《Reincarnation Of The Strongest Sword God》 1 Starting Over In the dead of night. At Green Bamboo upper-class area, Jin Hai City. Shi Feng held a folder of documents as he sat silently on the leather sofa. Gazing at the pool outside through the French window, Shi Feng was filled with both frustration and unwillingness. He was the captain of [Shadow], one of Jin Hai City''s top four gaming Workshops. He had commanded a guild of tens of thousands of people. Even more, he was Jin Hai City''s famous expert; he was the Sword Magician. However, now the only thing he could do was drink away his sorrows inside his home. Ten years, he had spent in gaming. Ten years, he had fought in blood-soaked battles. He experienced countless trials and suffering. Under his leadership, Shadow had successfully established ten City States in <>. They were finally capable of rivaling the First-Rate Guilds. However, before he could enjoy any of that endless glory, a single document had turned everything into passing smoke; once it was gone, it was never coming back. Shi Feng never thought his ten years of effort would just go to waste. He sacrificed so much just for the game and yet, all he did was pave the way for others to the very end. All of this culminated because he had opposed the decision for Shadow to join the Super-Guild, [World Dominators]. It wasn''t even the next day before Lan Hua Financial Group gave him their reply. He had to delete his Level 200 Sword King, the account he had spent ten years of blood and sweat on, and to collect his settlement check from the financial department. All he received was 5,000,000 Credits and a single mansion. When compared to the established ten City States inside the money generating virtual kingdom, it couldn''t even be considered a drop in the ocean. Shi Feng thought about how much he had contributed to Shadow. He thought about how his efforts had turned Lan Hua Groups into a large financial group. Then, he thought about how they still threw him away, as if he was no different from garbage; Shi Feng swore he would take revenge for their actions. "I won''t just let this go. At worst, I''ll just start over." Shi Feng''s eyes flashed with confidence and resolution; his hands tore the termination contract into little pieces. Grabbing the bottle of wine from the tabletop, he gulped down several mouthfuls. Even if he no longer had his Sword King account, even if he no longer had his team''s support, the skills and knowledge he obtained from the game would not betray him. As long as his skills remained, he could still rise once more within God''s Domain; he could rebuild a virtual kingdom of his own. Early morning. The sun had just risen. Di! Di! Di! The phone alarm continuously rang. Shi Feng woke up resentfully. He helplessly reached for his phone by the bedside; the effects from yesterday''s drinking still loomed over him. "Hey, what''s up?" "Brother Feng, it''s me, Blackie. You''re still asking what''s up? Didn''t we agree to become professional gamers? Shadow Workshop is recruiting at our school today. Haven''t you always wanted to become Shadow''s core member?" Shi Feng was slightly confused. Lan Hua Financial Group just fired him, so why would he attend Shadow''s examination? "Brother Feng? Brother Feng? Can you hear me? They''re testing at ten o''clock. If you don''t hurry up, you''re not gonna make it!" "Blackie, stop joking around; I just got fired from Shadow." "Fired? Brother Feng, how much did you drink yesterday? Even now, you''re still not awake? How could you be fired if Shadow hasn''t even recruited anybody until now? Alright, just come quickly." Blackie had cut the call before Shi Feng could respond. When Shi Feng looked at his phone in a daze, he discovered that this old and broken down iPhone 6 was not his phone. His phone was the latest iPhone 12. Immediately, Shi Feng inspected his surroundings. What met his eyes was a messy room, no larger than fifteen square meters. All around, there were books on gaming strategies. At a corner of the room, above the study table, there was an extremely outdated laptop. Within the wardrobe by the wall, there were clothes messily piled together. Inside the wardrobe, there was a mirror; a mirror that currently showed a familiar face. Shi Feng jumped up in shock when he saw this extremely familiar face. "How have I become young again?" Shi Feng immediately walked towards the mirror. Only after looking at the mirror, at the reflection shown on it, over and over, did Shi Feng confirm that he had indeed become young again. He slept in his luxurious and spacious bedroom yesterday but now he was in this broken down place after waking up. Not only that, he also had become young again. Shi Feng could still recall some memories regarding this place. He had lived here ten years ago. For over six months, Shi Feng rented this place in reluctance, all so that he could play God''s Domain while also attending university. Only after he had earned some money in God''s Domain had he rented a large condominium. Shi Feng thought back to those arduous years. His family circumstances at that time weren''t in good shape. For Shi Feng to attend university, his parents had racked up some debts. Even so, Shi Feng''s parents still made sure to send him sufficient living expenses every month, taking on the suffering, themselves, in return. Shi Feng wholeheartedly wanted to change his family circumstances. However, finding a well-paying job while the streets were filled with university graduates was tremendously hard; so he thought of the highly profitable Virtual Reality games. Setting professional gamer as his goal, he even bought a Virtual Gaming Helmet, training arduously within the game to improve his skills. During that time, bread and instant noodles became his daily meals. To save money, he had also avoided participating in social gatherings held by his classmates, causing him to become an invisible existence in his class. The boys would look at him with disdain, while the girls would distance themselves from him. Everytime Shi Feng went shopping for cup noodles, his wallet would have no more than 10 Credits. He did not even dare buy a ham sausage that only cost a single Credit. In pity, the female salesperson there had offered him the ham sausage at a discounted price. However, the feeling of his empty wallet made Shi Feng refuse with great reluctance. "Is someone playing a prank on me?" Shi Feng stared at his younger self through the mirror and at the familiar surroundings. Shi Feng couldn''t help but shake his head, denying such a conclusion. Even America, as the world''s most developed country, didn''t have such rejuvenating technology. Besides, who would play such a joke with a poor old uncle like him? Shi Feng looked at the time on his phone. 19th-April-2129. "Don''t tell me I have been reincarnated?" Shi Feng''s face revealed a bitter smile. He remembered today was the 5th of August, in the year 2139. It couldn''t possibly be April of 2129, the year he was still attending university. Shi Feng shook his head, trying to wake himself up. Yet, deep down, he still held onto a thread of hope, wishing that he could be reincarnated, returning to the time ten years ago. He walked towards the desk, powering up the laptop. Even if the time on his phone could be faked, the information on the internet definitely couldn''t. After surfing the web for several minutes... Shi Feng was utterly devastated. All the information he found on the internet showed that today was 19th of April, 2129. Even the highly anticipated official release date of God''s Domain was clearly displayed on its official site, counting down to six days from now, the 25th of April. "I really have been reincarnated! Did I really come back to ten years ago?" Shi Feng firmly stared at the news report of God''s Domain, emotional tears leaking from the corners of his eyes. Shi Feng''s feelings were hard to describe at that moment. He felt both regret, sadness, and joy. It was as if everything before him was just a dream. Nonetheless, the chirping of insects and the cold wind blown from the air conditioner told him otherwise, that everything was real. Looking at his phone, at the family photo he took when he entered university, Shi Feng never realized that his parents had white hair. The corners of his mother''s eyes even had wrinkles. They were no longer as lively as before; they were truly old now. A year and a half had already passed since God''s Domain''s release when Shi Feng noticed how aged his parents were. The large amounts of debt, excessive laboring, and stress had caused both his parents to fall ill, gravely ill. Curing them required millions of Credits but, during that time, Shi Feng was merely a squad captain in Shadow. The money he earned was far from enough to foot such expensive costs. Shi Feng tried everything to collect enough money, yet it was still not enough. Even with trying his all, Shi Feng''s parents still left him a few months later. In his previous life, he failed to care for his parents properly. How could he have known of the pain and suffering? After Shi Feng earned millions of Credits, this pain remained within Shi Feng''s heart for forever more. Never would he have thought fate would play such a joke on him. He unexpectedly returned to the starting point, starting back up from zero. "Great! This is just too great! Hahaha! Since I have been reincarnated, I have to change everything. I will earn enough money to cure mom and dad and I will let them live a life without worries." Shi Feng silently swore to himself as he wiped away the tears. Just when Shi Feng was planning for his future, Blackie''s call came ringing again, continuously urging Shi Feng to go quickly to the university for the test. Yet, Shi Feng did not rush. He dressed at a relaxed pace, tidying himself up before heading to Jin Hai University. He could not be more familiar with Shadow. Shi Feng still remembered. It was while he was still attending university, Lan Hua Groups prized son, Lan Hailong, started up Shadow Workshop to enter God''s Domain. Lan Hailong also invested considerable funding into the recruitment of the student experts of Jin Hai University. Shi Feng participated in Shadow''s examination at the time, successfully becoming a core member of the Workshop; whereas Blackie became an outer member. Shi Feng had been happy for quite some time after that incident. After three years of being under the leadership of Shi Feng, Shadow Workshop allowed Lan Hua Group to greatly profit from God''s Domain, quickly becoming a large financial group. However, Shi Feng would never have thought that Lan Hailong would be the one to fire him, personally. Since he had been reincarnated, he had an absolute advantage within God''s Domain that others did not. Naturally, he would not be joining Shadow to become a tool that profited others. He wanted to walk a different path; a path where he fought not for others, but for himself. He wanted to remove the need for his parents to send him living expenses. He wanted to pay back all the debt they had collected. To do that, he wanted to venture, to start his own Workshop, to start his own company, and to build his own virtual kingdom... all to live a better life. As soon as Shi Feng arrived at Teaching Block 1, he caught sight of a thin and tall figure in front of the building. The tanned youth was pacing around the hallway in a panic; this person was Blackie. "Brother Feng, you''ve finally decided to show up. Fortunately, registration hasn''t closed yet, so let''s hurry in and sign up." Blackie said anxiously after seeing Shi Feng. Shi Feng shook his head, seriously saying, "Blackie, I''m not joining Shadow; I''ll be opening my own Workshop. Will you join me?" Blackie was someone Shi Feng met in another Virtual Reality game and the former had pretty good skills. The two of them had faced many challenges together and they were no different than true brothers at this point. During their time together working in Shadow, Blackie showed great talent in administration, even though he lacked the talent for gaming. He managed the hundred thousand Guild members clearly and orderly. If Shi Feng had Blackie''s help this time, his plans would be one step further. Yet, he would respect Blackie''s decision regardless. It was because Shi Feng had nothing right now, and Blackie''s family circumstances were not that well, either. Blackie had only chosen to become a professional gamer and join Shadow to earn some Credits for living expenses. Blackie blanked at Shi Feng''s words, lowering his head in silence. It was just too sudden. Not only that, the Shi Feng that he saw today felt different. Unlike his usual impatient attitude, Shi Feng currently gave off an unshakable and confident aura. After a full minute, Blackie raised his head to look at Shi Feng. "Brother Feng, stop speaking nonsense. Do you know how much a Virtual Gaming Helmet costs? That''s 8,000 Credits. You also need at least six people to start up a Workshop. What about the workplace, salary, and everything else? Just the initial startup funds would require seventy to eighty thousand. There are also the follow-up investments. That''s a lot of Credits. Do you have that many Credits right now?" Blackie was very aware of Shi Feng''s circumstances. He knew Shi Feng''s household wasn''t well off, so he wanted to persuade Shi Feng away from this sort of crazy thinking. "You''re right. Right now, I don''t even have the Credits for a God''s Domain Virtual Gaming Helmet." Shi Feng nodded his head in admittance. It was like Blackie said. Even just seventy to eighty thousand was considered a small amount. Shi Feng recalled Lan Hailong had spent over 5,000,000 Credits for the hundred man Workshop he had recruited. He had also spent more in the later stages to upgrade the Workshop''s quality and strength. "Since this is so, rather than take the risk, wouldn''t it be safer to join Shadow? At the very least, Shadow can provide us with Virtual Gaming Helmets. Otherwise, forget becoming professional players; we wouldn''t even be able to play the game." Seeing that Shi Feng understood the core of the problem, Blackie sighed in relief as he pulled Shi Feng into the teaching block. Shi Feng shook away Blackie''s hand, sternly staring at Blackie before saying in a grave tone, "I still plan on starting my own Workshop. I don''t want to be controlled by others. So, Blackie, will you join me?" Shi Feng would not insist to Blackie since he did not have any guarantees. He also couldn''t reveal the secret that he had been reincarnated. He could only hope that Blackie would believe in him. Seeing Shi Feng''s serious expression, Blackie felt Shi Feng was acting weird today. This was madness. Everyone knew you couldn''t earn money during the initial periods of virtual games. Did Shi Feng have some way to make money in God''s Domain? Even if they did make money, it would be after a few months. They did not have that much time to waste. After hesitating for quite some time, Blackie reluctantly answered, "I get it. You''re the boss. I''ll start a Workshop together with you but what about the Virtual Gaming Helmets? We can''t play the game without them, right?" Shi Feng''s tightened brows immediately relaxed as he happily clapped Blackie''s shoulders, saying, "Now this is my good brother! Don''t worry about the gaming helmets. I recall that God''s Domain had a trial period available for university students. Every university has a distribution point and, as long as you show them your student identification, then, for ten days, you can obtain a gaming helmet for free. Let''s go and take a look." "What do we do after ten days?" Blackie''s tanned face turned ashen, suddenly feeling his future was pitch black. Why did he have to believe Shi Feng? Could it be Shi Feng''s confidence and steadiness? There wouldnt be a problem venturing together with Shi Feng, right? What could you do with ten days in God''s Domain? They would definitely miss out on the recruitment period of Workshops after ten days. In the end, they still had to buy the gaming helmet but where would the money come from? Not even a professional gamer with a group would be able to earn 16,000 Credits within ten days of God''s Domain''s opening. "Leave the money problem to me." Shi Feng revealed a confident smile as he clapped Blackie''s shoulders. Earning 16,000 Credits in ten days was indeed a pure fantasy. However, he had his spirit as a reincarnated person. No matter what the challenges were, he would break through them all and the release of God''s Domain was the starting point of his rise. Afterward, Shi Feng brought Blackie to retrieve the virtual gaming helmets. He then used all his money to buy two large boxes of instant noodles, placing them under his desk in his rented house. They were enough to last him for over ten days. After briefing Blackie on some things in God''s Domain, Shi Feng quietly waited for God''s Domain''s opening. 25th of April, 9 pm. Within the dark and silent room, a few glimmers of light flickered alive. Shi Feng laid on his bed, gently pushing the start button as he closed his eyes. "God''s Domain, here I come." 2 Sherlock’s Reques To accommodate the majority of players, God''s Domain could be played while sleeping. Also, the time within the game was different than in reality, where two hours within the game was equal to one hour in reality. Each day within the game was made up of forty-eight hours, consisting of thirty hours daytime and eighteen hours of night. Not only that, to allow the bulk of working class people to enjoy the game, nighttime, in reality, was daytime in the game. Shi Feng passed through a multicolored tunnel as soon as he arrived in God''s Domain, arriving at a solemn. golden temple. A female angel with four pairs of wings flew towards Shi Feng. She was only about palm sized. "Hello Adventurer, welcome to God''s Domain. I am the Navigation Angel, Gabriel. I will be introducing to you the four main categories and twelve main jobs. Please choose the job that you like most." With a wave of Gabriel''s small hand, an illustration introducing the twelve main jobs appeared in front of Shi Feng. These twelve jobs were categorized into four main classes. Warrior: Shield Warrior, Guardian Knight, Berserker. Weapons Specialist: Swordsman, Assassin, Ranger. Healer: Cleric, Druid, Oracle. Mage: Elementalist, Summoner, Cursemancer. Warriors specialized in defending against monsters; weapons specialists focused on physical damage output; healers focused on healing; mages focused on magical damage output. Every job had their own style of battle, which was one of the main selling points of God''s Domain. In his previous life, Shi Feng picked the Swordsman under Weapon Specialists and he was even known as the Sword Magician. Shi Feng had already invested too much in the Swordsman job, so naturally, he would not choose any other job. He chose the Swordsman class he was familiar with without hesitation. "Job selection complete. Please designate a name for your character." "Ye Feng." Shi Feng chose the same name he had in his previous life. "Naming successful. Do you wish to adjust your appearance? Adjustment rate limited to 15%." Thinking about it for awhile, Shi Feng chose to adjust his character''s appearance by 15% as to not stand out. With this, nobody could recognize Shi Feng if they saw his character, though it wasn''t as handsome as the original. "Please select a birthplace in the Star-Moon Kingdom." A map that displayed tens of cities belonging to the Star-Moon Kingdom appeared in front of Shi Feng. The opening of God''s Domain was globally synchronized. To accommodate for the hundreds of millions of players, the lands of God''s Domain were incredibly vast, measuring up to two or three times of Earth, and the kingdoms within were even more plentiful. However, a player''s living area and city, in reality, determined the country they would start in, so players could only choose the cities within the country. "White River City." Shi Feng did not plan to choose any other cities, so he chose the White River City that he was most familiar with. White River City was Star-Moon Kingdom''s fifth ranked city. It was an important city in the north of Star-Moon Kingdom There were quite a few Workshops that chose to develop there to avoid the struggles between large Guilds. "City confirmed. Player will arrive in Red Leaf Town of White River City in three seconds. We wish you happy gaming." The sight before Shi Feng immediately blurred as he was sent away. Red Leaf Town, the buildings that were chaotically arranged there had a similar style to the medieval ages. NPCs filled the bustling streets, making them feel as if it was another world. Shi Feng arrived at the front of a church, his new appearance resembling a penniless Swordsman. He currently wore a gray Novice Leather Armor and on his waist hung a Novice Sword. "I still ended up in Red Leaf Town, in the end." Shi Feng smiled faintly as he looked at the familiar sight of the small town, confidence welling up within him. At that moment, many players had started wandering around the town, speaking to NPCs in hopes of obtaining a trail for a Quest. There were also quite a few players that went out of the village, going out to the wilderness to kill monsters. Every one of them was carrying out their tasks as if their lives depended on it and they couldn''t help but wish they could split their time in two. Shi Feng didn''t pay attention to the other players. With a slight wave and touch of his finger, a player''s Attribute Panel appeared before him. Character: Ye Feng (Human) Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon Title: None Job: Swordsman Level: 0 HP: 100/100 Physical Attack Power: 13 Defense: 4 Attack Speed: 3 Movement Speed: 4 Attributes: Strength 5, Agility 3, Endurance 4, Intelligence 2, Vitality 2. Free Attribute Points: 4 Weapon Mastery: One-handed Sword Mastery +5 (Apprentice Rank - Increases One-handed Sword Damage by 5%) Two-handed Sword Mastery + 5 (Apprentice Rank - Increases Two-handed Sword Damage by 5%) Free Mastery Points: 0 Job Talent: Swordsman Talent 1: Sword-related Mastery +5 Swordsman Talent 2: Obtain 8 Free Mastery Points every 5 Levels. Swordsman Talent 3: Sword-related skills proficiency increased by 50%. Skills: Chop. Active skill. Requirement: Sword. Additional 8 points of damage. Cooldown: 5 seconds. Skill Level: 1 (Proficiency 0/300) Equipment: [Swordsman''s Leather Shirt] (Gray Trash) Level 0 Defense +2 Durability 10/10 [Novice Sword] (Gray Trash, One-handed Sword) Level 0 Equipment Requirement: Strength 3 Attack Power +3 Durability 15/15 Inside his bag, there were ten pieces of Bread and ten pouches of Water. Eating the Bread would recover 10 HP per second while drinking Water will recover 10 MP per second, and both effects lasted ten seconds. Every Swordsman started with the same Attributes, the only difference being the allocation of the Free Attribute Points. Each player could obtain 4 Free Attribute Points with each increase in Level. With each rise in Level, the different ways players used these points would result in their own unique style. Strength increases Physical Attack Power and the weight behind each attack. Agility increases Attack Speed and Movement Speed. Endurance increases maximum HP and stamina. Intelligence increases Magical Attack Power and maximum MP and Vitality increases the recovery rate of MP and HP. Every Job places emphasis on different Attributes. As Swordsmen belonged to the physical damage Jobs, most people would prioritize Strength. In his previous life, Shi Feng also made such a choice, adding 2 points to Strength, one point to Endurance, and one point to Agility for every Level. It was a very ordinary and commonplace choice. However, Shi Feng did not plan to do so in this life. Without hesitation, Shi Feng clicked on the plus sign (+) for Agility, placing all 4 Free Attribute Points into it. Shi Feng''s Agility increased to 7 points; his Attack Speed changing to 4 and Movement Speed to 5. This method of point allocation was something not even Assassins, who were widely known for their high Agility, would do. They would prioritize Strength first, as more damage meant an easier time leveling up. Unfortunately, Shi Feng didn''t think that way. For melee Jobs, Agility was the best choice at the early stages of God''s Domain. This was kept a secret, only being discovered several weeks after God''s Domain''s opening. When it was finally made known, countless melee players couldn''t help but hammer their chests in regret. After adding the Attribute Points, Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings. Only a while had passed before another large group of players were sent here. Green rhombus-like symbols belonging to players filled the air of the central plaza, blocking out the yellow symbols belonging to NPCs. Such a situation made looking for an NPC an even greater challenge. Di! Di! Di! Shi Feng''s voice communication rang, the caller''s name showing Black Cloud. It was Blackie calling. "Brother Feng, I chose Cursemancer and was sent to Falling Moon Town. Where are you?" Now that he had entered God''s Domain, Blackie was extremely excited, itching to start his journey quickly. "I''m in Red Leaf Town, not that far from Falling Moon Town. I''ll help you level up, so come to Red Leaf Town." Shi Feng said. "Brother Feng, you must be crazy. Do you know how far Falling Moon Town is from Red Leaf Village? The Map says that it''ll take me seven hours to get there. I''ll fall behind all the other players by a lot if I go there. We should just level up on our own and meet up at White River City after reaching Level 10." Blackie nearly coughed out blood in anger. Earning 16,000 Credits in ten days was already madness. Instead of frantically leveling up after entering God''s Domain, he was asked to waste seven hours? He wasn''t going to do that, even if he was beaten to death. "Don''t worry. You should just come over. You''ll get back the time you waste very quickly." Shi Feng said dully. When Blackie heard Shi Feng''s confident tone, he asked excitedly, "Brother Feng, could it be that you have a Beta Tester''s information?" God''s Domain had invited quite a few people to test the game before it opened and these people were called Beta Testers. These Beta Testers could get ahold of first-hand information for God''s Domain and, although changes would be made to the game, the Beta Testers would most definitely know more than regular players. "What do you think? Just hurry over here." Shi Feng answered in a mysterious tone, laughing. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Blackie knew Shi Feng had reliable information, and he couldn''t help but get excited, saying, "Ok, wait for me Brother Feng; I''ll go there right this instant." Ending Blackie''s call, Shi Feng walked towards a small dark alley of the town. There were hundreds of NPCs in Red Leaf Town. However, NPCs that gave Quests only numbered in the tens, while Hidden Quests numbered five, and Unique Quests numbered only one. A unique Quest would no longer be available once completed by a player. The Unique Quest in Red Leaf Town was only discovered two months after God''s Domain''s opening and it had caused a sensation throughout the entire White River City the last time. As the Quest was unique, the lucky player revealed the method to obtain it, earning the envy of many players. Unfortunately for them, the Quest was no longer available, even if they wanted to do it. Of course, Shi Feng wouldn''t let this Unique Quest go in this life. Shi Feng arrived at the dark alley filled with beggars in tattered clothing. The beggars were like wolves discovering fresh meat when they saw Shi Feng walking over, quickly surrounding him as they begged for food. There was once a player who had given these beggars a lot of food. These beggars would ask for items after having their fill and they would ask for more expensive items after each time. The player had agreed to all their requests, consecutively fulfilling more than ten of their wishes. Unfortunately, the beggars gave absolutely nothing in return, causing the player to nearly pop a vein, becoming a joke for others. "Get lost!" Shi Feng yelled as he pulled out his Novice Sword, causing the powerless beggars to quickly hide away. Shi Feng walked to a corner after the beggars dispersed; a vagrant middle-aged man was lying there. There wasn''t much of a difference between the man and the other beggars but if there were one, it would be the man''s unyielding integrity, as he was the only one not begging for food. "Do you need any help, Sir?" Shi Feng formally asked the man. "Can you give me some food? It''s been five days since I''ve last eaten," the male beggar responded. Shi Feng smiled faintly, seriously saying: "Unfortunately Sir, I cannot agree to your wish." A normal person would probably spew blood out in anger if they heard such a reply. However, this beggar merely let out a sigh, no longer saying a word. "However, if you are willing to pay an appropriate price, I can give you the food you need." Shi Feng said. The beggar lifted his head and looked at Shi Feng, his eyes carrying a hint of anticipation as he said, "If I had the money, I would definitely be willing to pay this cost, but right now I have nothing. Although, if you are willing to help me, I will pay you a sufficient price. Are you willing to help me?" "May I ask what you want me to do?" Shi Feng questioned. The beggar said seriously, "Please help me kill the Mayor of Red Leaf Town, Cross." Even though Red Leaf Town was just a small town, the Town Mayor was still a Level 15 Elite. There were also Level 25 Guards by his side. Aside from that, killing an NPC would result in being arrested. Killing the Mayor was, without a doubt, a crazy action and no player would believe this was a Quest, as this was no different than telling players to commit suicide. Nobody would agree to such a damnable request. "Alright, I promise you." Shi Feng unhesitatingly agreed with a smile. System: Unique Quest "Sherlock''s Request" accepted. Quest Details: Kill Cross, the Mayor of Red Leaf Town and bring the [Mayor''s Insignia] back to Sherlock. Players must not exceed Level 10. Shi Feng turned around and headed towards the Town Hall, the place where the Mayor was staying, at after receiving the Quest. 3 Lonely Snow Shi Feng walked on the path towards the town hall, crowded with people. The less than spacious road was filled with players. They were conversing with the NPCs, taking the chance to obtain a Quest. Such a scene gave one a feeling of arriving at a market. Unfortunately, it was not an easy task obtaining a Quest in Gods Domain. The main reason being, the NPCs had high intelligence, giving them the capability to hold one-to-one conversations. Also, players must watch what they say or risk being given the cold shoulder by the NPCs. And there was a tide of players as competition; obtaining an easily found Normal Quest was truly difficult. After more than ten minutes since Gods Domain started, there had yet to be a single player within Red Leaf Town to receive a Normal Quest. In comparison, Shi Fengs advantage as a reincarnated person was truly great. Not only has he received a Quest, but it was a Unique Quest; albeit a slightly damnable one. However, a Unique Quests reward was incredibly generous. Even top-tier players who had played Gods Domain for a month would drool at the reward of this Unique Quest. As a person who had been reincarnated, Shi Feng had the experience of leading thousands of people while he was in Shadow Workshop. They had even built ten City States. The amount of information on Gods Domain that was within his grasp far surpassed what the average player knew. It was especially true when it came to strategies on leveling up and earning money. These were the must-have essentials for a Workshop with thousands of players to grow in strength. Now that he had been reincarnated and was playing Gods Domain again, Shi Feng wanted to use this information to accumulate a significant amount of advantages. It was all to build a better foundation for his future development. So naturally, he would not be imitating the average player, wasting hours on the streets just to fight over a single Normal Quest. Even more so, he would not be emulating those skilled players, using their refined techniques to kill monsters in the wild, because, at this moment, there were probably more players than monsters in the wild. What Shi Feng wanted to do was to avoid these piles of players; hence why he chose the Unique Quest which had an absurd difficulty. However, completing this Quest required money, something Shi Feng did not have right now. Every player would receive 10 Copper Coins at the start of the game. Although it was not enough to buy a Weapon or Equipment, purchasing HP or MP replenishing refreshments was not a problem. When Shi Feng arrived at the front of the two-storied Town Hall, he was met with a scene of hundreds of people, queuing up into a long line. Regardless of which game it was, the Village Head or Town Mayor was unquestionably a target to receive Quests from. Naturally, no player would let this chance go. Hey newcomer, queue up if you dont wanna cause a public outrage, from within the queue, a simple and honest looking male Warrior looked at Shi Feng. The Warrior held up his hand, pointing towards the back of the line of people. Im not here to receive a Quest. Shi Feng said indifferently as he looked at the long line in front of the Town Hall. Compared to the other locations, this place had great order and efficiency. Although it would take more time to receive a Quest, it was much better than some who could not receive one at all. The male Warrior cautiously looked at Shi Feng. Everybody was frantically trying to receive a Quest right now... but there was someone who actually said that he wasnt interested towards it? Not even a ghost would believe that! Im honestly not here to receive a Quest, Shi Feng looked at the male warrior. Seeing the persons hostile eyes and how he thought Shi Feng had wanted to jump queue, Shi Feng said with a smile, However, I advise you to receive a Quest somewhere else. Youll just be pointlessly waiting here. Why would it be pointless? There were already a few people who came out after receiving a Quest. After determining that Shi Feng had no intention to jump queue, the male Warrior let out a sigh of relief. He had already been in the queue for over ten minutes now and he definitely would not want someone to cut in line. However, hearing Shi Fengs firm tone made him curious as to why he would be waiting for nothing. Shi Feng smiled but did not elaborate. Instead, he changed the topic saying, Seeing as youre not a bad person, Ill point you towards a brighter path. Kill mobs in the fields. Youll have a better future than remaining here. Im not going. There are too many monsters in the wild and I cant compete with those other people. This place is still better the male Warrior shook his head. He was not an idiot. At this moment, there were definitely tides of people out in the Field Area. With just his skills, he probably couldnt even snatch a monster, so he was better off just waiting here. Thats because you went to the wrong place. If you go somewhere with few monsters, naturally, there wouldnt be anybody to compete with you. Compared to the areas packed with both players and monsters, the leveling efficiency there is several times better. Not only that, the respawn rate of the monsters there is slow, so a single person could easily handle themselves, Shi Feng said with a smile. Is there really such a place? The male Warrior was excited after listening to Shi Feng. He was extremely interested in such a location. He still needed to wait for more than an hour to receive a Quest and the rewards he could obtain would only be EXP and some meager amount of money. If he could grind on monsters for an hour unhindered, the EXP he could obtain would far surpass that from the Quest. Of course there is. Ill give you a preferential price of 20 Coppers if you want to go to such a treasured location. Dont mention EXP; after grinding for a day, the materials you could obtain would earn you more than 40 Coppers. If youre lucky, you could make a ton more if a piece of equipment drops, Shi Feng walked closer to the male Warrior, whispering into his ears. Youre not tricking me, right? the male Warrior looked at Shi Feng with hesitation in his eyes. If there was such a treasured location, he could definitely surpass the other players by a lot; but 20 Coppers was not a small amount. The monsters in Gods Domain rarely drop money or equipment, so Copper Coins were incredibly precious. If you dont believe me, you can pay 10 Coppers up front first. Youll know just from trying after you arrive at the spot. If its true, you can then pay me the other 10 Coppers. Im only telling you this because I see that youre a good person. Just forget it, if you dont believe me. Shi Feng turned and left after saying his piece. Shi Feng wouldnt be doing this if he didn''t lack money. At worst, hell just use some other method to earn money. Just after walking a few steps away, Shi Feng was stopped by the male Warrior. Expert, hold on a moment. Lets talk about it, alright? Isnt it just a deposit of 10 Coppers? Here, take it. I trust that an expert like you wont trick me. The male Warrior revealed an honest smile, resolutely trading 10 Coppers to Shi Feng. Seeing your performance, Ill give you a good location. Although this place is slightly far-off, there is only a single mage-type Level 0 Green Gnome. It has low defense and a quick respawn rate. Chances are also greater of money dropping. A Berserker would be great at killing there. Shi Feng gave the Warrior a good grinding location after happily receiving the ten Coppers. The male Warrior was relieved when he noticed how familiar Shi Feng was with the wild monsters, even to the degree of knowing the amount of money dropped. He never imagined he would be so fortunate as to meet an expert of Gods Domain and not just any expert; Shi Feng might even be a Beta Tester. The male Warrior became even more excited as he thought of this possibility. Brother Expert, do you know a location that drops skill books for Berserkers? Its really hard to fight against mobs with only a single skill. The male Warrior was more fond of Shi Feng now, even treating Shi Feng as his superior. Its fine if you want to know., but itll cost you 2 Silvers, Shi Feng smiled. Who would give out such valuable information after only a short conversation? Shi Feng would not unless there was money involved, of course. The male Warrior paled when he heard the price. Two Silvers equaled 200 Coppers. Not even the average Guild would have that much money. Expert, lets add each other as friends. Im Lonely Snow. Ill contact you again once Ive saved up enough money. The male Warrior sent Shi Feng a friend request. Alright. Shi Feng accepted Lonely Snows request. Then Im off to fight mobs, Brother Expert. Ill mail you the 10 Copper immediately after Ive saved up enough. Lonely Snow happily parted with Shi Feng, leaving the long queue and dashing towards the grinding location. Now that Shi Feng had money, he walked towards the fruit stall by the Town Hall. Boss, how much for this Tomato? Shi Feng asked as he held up a ripe, red Tomato. Both Fruits and Vegetables could aid in recovering a players HP and MP. Their tastes were also quite delicious. The only downside was the bad recovery rate. In normal circumstances, players wouldnt buy them at all, especially during such a period where money was a big problem. Spending money on Fruits and Vegetables was just wasteful behavior. 2 Coppers each. Give me ten of them. Shi Feng paid the 20 Coppers. He walked into the Town Hall after receiving the 10 Tomatoes. Hey newcomer, queue up. Cant you see others are queuing up as well? Swordsman over there, what do you think youre trying to do? Do you know how many people are queuing up behind? The players in the queue became enraged and started criticizing when they saw Shi Feng cutting the line, walking directly towards the Town Mayor. They wouldve long since murdered Shi Feng, were it not for the fact that they could be jailed for attacking another player inside the town. Sorry, but Im really not here to receive a Quest. Im just here to take a look. Shi Feng smiled at the players; he turned to look at the fat Town Mayor, Cross. [Cross] (Elite, Friendly) Level 15 HP 2400/2400 MP 1500/1500 There was not a single player who could beat him at this stage. It was not possible, even with a team. Subsequently, Shi Feng took out a ripe and red Tomato, taking a bite out of it. What is this person doing? Hell! Hes actually eating a Tomato! Each of those costs 2 Coppers! Such luxury! The other players could not understand what Shi Feng was trying to do. By coming to the Town Hall to eat Tomatoes... was he trying to show off how rich he was? Halfway through his Tomato, Shi Feng suddenly threw it towards Town Mayor Cross face. The Tomato accurately landed on Cross face, spreading bright red liquid all over. System: Cross favorability towards you has been decreased by 100 points. Unsatisfied, Shi Feng took out another Tomato from his bag, throwing it at Cross. Hypocrite! Fatty! Bloodsucker! Youre not fit to be the Town Mayor! Shi Feng kept cursing as he threw Tomatoes, whereas Cross favorability kept decreasing. Cross body turned bright red as tomato juice kept flowing down his body. Adding to his enraged expression, it created an incomparably funny sight. However, nobody within the Town Hall was laughing; it was exceptionally quiet. All of the players became slack-jawed and dumbfounded at Shi Fengs actions. Just after twenty minutes since Gods Domains opening, there was a player that dared to actually attack an NPC and not just any NPC; he was attacking the leader of a town, the Boss of the Beginners Area! This person was insane! Wasnt he afraid of being jailed until his death? Did he no longer want to stay in Red Leaf Town? Even taking your revenge on society shouldnt be done in such a way! Just when the other players were expecting the Guards to detain Shi Feng or for the Town Mayor to kill off Shi Feng in a rage, none of these things actually occurred. None of the players knew that insulting an NPC was not considered an attack. Hence why neither the Guards nor Cross attacked Shi Feng. Shi Fengs actions would only lead to the NPC hating him to the bones and he could forget receiving Quests from the NPC in this lifetime. As Shi Fengs last Tomato landed on Cross face, Cross favorability fell towards Hostile. Cross Level became question marks and the yellow marker above him quickly turned a crimson red. Damnable insect! Ill send you down to hell! The bright red Cross roared loudly as he rushed at Shi Feng. 4 The Sensation Caused By Death Town Mayor Cross furious roar reverberated throughout the entire Town Hall. With a high speed, Cross instantly arrived in front of Shi Feng, his fist stretching out towards Shi Feng. The other players were currently reveling in Shi Fengs misfortune, taking the chance to gauge Town Mayor Cross strength. Cross was a Level 15 Elite, and a single slap from him was enough to swat the current players to death. However, Shi Feng was foolish to the degree of actually angering the mayor. Not a single person in the entire Red Leaf Town could save him now. He would be jailed until he was on his deathbed or he would be chased out of Red Leaf Town. However, Shi Fengs surprisingly calm attitude puzzled the other players. Was he already prepared for death? When Cross was about to hit Shi Feng, the stationary Shi Feng finally moved. Like a hunter waiting for his prey, Shi Feng immediately unsheathed his Novice Sword. With swift motions, he used the sword to defend his body. Peng! Cross fist landed on the Novice Sword, sending Shi Fengs entire person flying. Just as Shi Feng was about to fall, he flipped his body, landing steadily on the ground with the flexibility of a cat. However, his HP had instantly decreased by 84, and the Novice Sword in his grip trembled uncontrollably. The swords durability had even reduced by 1 point; the weapon would become useless once its durability dropped to 0. Si All the players drew in a cold breath. Seeing Shi Fengs troublemaking, they had initially thought of him as a mere rookie. However, after Shi Fengs recent performance, anybody with a discerning eye could tell he was a very skillful person. Even if Cross had low physical damage as a mage, as a Level 15 Elite, he could still kill any of the current players in a single strike. Yet, Shi Feng was alive. He had used his weapon to block the attack, reducing the damage to a minimum. Hes clearly a mage, and yet his strength and speed are truly shocking. Shi Feng silently marveled as he at looked the lamenting Novice Sword in his grip. Fortunately, he had added all his points to Agility, increasing his Attack Speed to 4. Otherwise, he would surely be dead by now, having to start his Quest all over again. Die, insect! After failing his strike, Cross was further enraged. Suddenly, his clothes were ripped apart, revealing a body covered in pitch black fur; Cross had turned into a Werewolf with sharp fangs. Every player was shocked at this moment. Never would they have thought the mayor was an evil Werewolf. Cross arrived at Shi Fengs back in an instant, raising his bright snowy claws and slashing them at Shi Fengs heart. However, Shi Feng revealed a cold grin, even though he only had 16 HP remaining. Cross claws suddenly stopped; they were only a few centimeters away from dealing with Shi Feng. Unfortunately, Cross was hit by a Level 25 Guards [Charge], entering a Fainted state for 1 second. hi Feng took this chance to quickly move away. Just when Cross was about to rush Shi Feng after awakening, he was interrupted once more by another Guard. Both of the Guards were Level 25 Warriors. Although neither of them was Elites, the damage they dished out was relatively high. A Charge, coupled with a normal attack, had quickly taken 300 HP away from Cross. Two Guards had taken away a total of 600 HP, causing Cross HP to fall to 1700 in an instant. As expected of the Guards, their attack power sure is high. Shi Feng chuckled as he looked at Cross sorry state. Guards were the protectors of the town. They were specialized in protecting the towns civilians and resisting against the invasion of evil beings. At this moment, the mayor had transformed into a Werewolf; proof that he was not a human, but a spy for the powers of evil. The guards would naturally not let him go, killing him as if he were no different than the monsters in the wild. On the surface, the conditions of Sherlocks request seemed harsh. In reality, however, players only needed to actively attack the mayor, subsequently surviving the mayors first strike. Afterward was just smooth sailing. The Guards would handle the rest after the mayor revealed his true self. In Shi Fengs previous life, the reason this Unique Quest could shock the entire White River City, was because the Town Mayor was a spy for the forces of evil. This Quest had allowed players to have a new perspective towards Gods Domain; the NPCs were not entirely reliable, as they might be one of the forces of evil in disguise. Simultaneously, the player who completed the Quest had shocked everyone with his method of baiting the Town Mayor. The player had racked his brain to complete the Quest and, naturally, he wanted to show off his efforts by revealing his strategy. Now, though, it was being taken advantage of by Shi Feng. As such, Cross was now being attacked by the two Guards. Although the damage dealt by the Guards was very high, Cross target had never shifted away from Shi Feng. He continuously aimed to kill Shi Feng but, unfortunately for him, the two Guards stuck to him like glue. One of the Guards used [Bone Crusher], while the other used [Thundering Strike], causing Cross Movement Speed to plummet. Fortunately, Shi Feng was able to escape death with his 5 points of Movement Speed. Just like that, Cross over 2000 HP was nearly depleted. When the other players saw Cross dying, many of them started becoming restless; they wanted to land the last strike on the mayor. They did not understand why the Guards were attacking Cross instead of Shi Feng but a Town Mayor who was also a Level 15 Elite if he died, he would definitely drop some great items. Hiding some place far away, Shi Feng smiled in disdain in regards to their thoughts. Was the Town Mayor someone they could have ideas about? Although the mayor had become one of the forces of evil, this was only a part of the Quests plot. In the eyes of the other players, the mayor was still in a Friendly state; it was not possible to attack the mayor at all. When Cross only had 100 HP remaining, all the other players started moving. All of them simultaneously rushed towards Town Mayor Cross. All of them wanted to give the final strike, snatching away the dropped items. Seeing that Cross was only a hit away from deaths door, Shi Feng, too, dashed out. Unfortunately, Cross still died under the Guards blade in the end. Not a single one of the players was able to strike at Cross. Although Shi Feng could attack, he did not want to risk it. After the mayors death, he immediately took away the [Mayors Insignia] and disappeared into the crowd. NPCs within a city would not yield any EXP or loot if killed. Shi Feng wouldnt even be able to obtain the Mayors Insignia were it not for a Quest. Crap! The Systems bugged! Why cant I attack the mayor? I want to complain! Why didnt the mayor drop anything after death? Some of the rookie players resentfully complained. A Level 15 Elite had died before their eyes, yet they did not obtain a single advantage; they simply could not accept it. Moron. Dont you know you have a Friendly relationship with the NPC? Players cant attack an NPC with a Friendly relationship. If you dont even know such common knowledge, why bother playing Gods Domain? After ridiculing the rookies, the competent players searched for traces of Shi Feng. A player who could kill the Town Mayor in such a way was definitely an expert, someone they should associate with. However, they could not spot Shi Feng, even after looking for a long time. They also did not know his name. They could not help but secretly feel pity. Meanwhile, news of Town Mayor Cross death spread throughout Red Leaf Village, creating a sensation amongst all the players. At this phase of the game, where players were still worrying over grinding monsters for Levels, the leader of a town was toyed to death so simply. This was just too mind-blowing! Not even thirty minutes since Gods Domains opening, a news thread appeared on the official sites forums. Mysterious Swordsman kills off Level 15 Elite, Red Leaf Town Mayor. The leader of a town was actually a Werewolf in disguise. Exactly what kind of game is Gods Domain? This news thread instantly caused a sensation amongst the players. It only took a moment for the number of clicks to the page to go past ten million. Everyone became interested with this mysterious Swordsman. Unfortunately, they could not contact the person since nobody knew his name. By now, Shi Feng had already arrived at the dark alley. Mister Sherlock, this is the Mayors Insignia that you requested. Shi Feng passed silver colored Mayors Insignia to the beggar, Sherlock. With the Quests completion, bad news came to both the players who had already received a Quest and for those who were currently trying to receive one from the mayor. This was because Cross would not respawn. They would have no place to submit their Quest even if it was completed. Red Leaf Town would also no longer have a mayor, though Shi Feng could care less about that. Thank you. Thank you, so much. I have finally attained revenge for my friend. These things should be of help to you. Sherlock passed Shi Feng a delicate little box. Subsequently, Sherlock took the Mayors Insignia and left the dark alley. System: Unique Quest Sherlocks Request completed. Rewarding 2000 EXP, 20 Free Mastery Points, 1 [Luxurious Ornament Box]. With a Hua sound, Shi Feng became Level 1, and he was only 1000 EXP away from Level 2. Shi Fengs Level became Red Leaf Towns top one, only thirty minutes after the start of Gods Domain. In normal circumstances, the average player required 1000 EXP to rise to Level 1. Such an amount required at least six or seven hours of grinding monsters, as each Level 0 monster only gave 3 EXP. Time was also needed to look for monsters, to recover, and so on. Factoring in the massive amount of players at the start of the game that was fighting over monsters, taking over ten hours to arrive at Level 1 could be considered average. Why is the Unique Quests reward so generous? Was it because I completed it at Level 0? Shi Feng became slightly uncertain but he was still delighted with such rewards. In his previous life, the rewards posted were not as luxurious. Although the amount of EXP was the same, the number of Free Mastery Points was not. The other person only received 10 points for it, as well as a Delicate Ornament Box, while Shi Feng received 20 points and a Luxurious Ornament Box. Free Mastery Points were extremely precious in Gods Domain. Rarely would a Quest award 3 to 5 points. This Unique Quest had awarded 20 points. Hopefully, it wont let me down. Although it isnt a Delicate Ornament Box, it is still the better Luxurious Ornament Box. It should come out. Shi Feng carefully held the Ornament box, a nervous gulp coming from his throat. Slowly, he opened the box. Though the EXP and Free Mastery Points were great, what Shi Feng really wanted was the item inside the Ornament Box. It was an essential item he needed to complete his leveling and money making plans. It was also a top-tier item that many experts drooled over. Shi Feng would cry to death if something went wrong. 5 Black Market Challenge As the Luxurious Ornament Box slowly opened, a dazzling array of multicolored light burst out from within. Fortunately, Shi Feng was currently standing inside a dark alley; there were no players who would wander over here. Otherwise, such a spectacle would have incited the greed in their hearts and Shi Feng would be killed and robbed. When the glowing brilliance faded, a simple silver necklace and a purple-gold ring could be seen lying inside the Luxurious Ornament Box. Carved on the rings exterior were words resembling the ancient language of Elves and within them stored a tremendous magical power. Fortunately, it is still the Ring of Gravity. Shi Feng let loose his breath when he saw the appearance of the ring. Carefully, he took the ring out of the box and inspected it. [Ring of Gravity] (Mysterious-Iron Rank) Equipment Level: 0 Strength +2, Agility +1, Endurance +1 Additional Skill: Gravity Liberation. Greatly reduces the gravity acting upon the user. Duration 30 seconds. Cooldown 5 minutes. Great! Its not just Bronze rank. After reading the items introduction, Shi Feng became extremely excited. The situation was far better than he had expected. The Equipment in Gods Domain was categorized into Trash, Common, Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, and Epic. At the start of the game, players only received Trash Equipment from the System. This equipment was utterly worthless. At this stage of the game, however, there were no players who possessed Common Equipment. While you could buy Common Equipment in large cities, the prices were costly. As for Bronze ranked, those were extremely rare and they also came with additional attributes. Mysterious-Iron Equipment, however, only dropped from Bosses and, needless to say, they were even more precious. In Shi Fengs previous life, the Ring of Gravity obtained by the player was only Bronze ranked. It gave only an additional 1 point to Strength. The skill Gravity Liberation, as well, only lasted for 15 seconds. It was a surprise to Shi Feng that completing the Quest at Level 0 would earn him a Mysterious-Iron Ring of Gravity. As for the necklace, it was just a Gray Item. NPC merchants coveted these items and they were willing to buy them at high prices. After wearing the Ring of Gravity, Shi Feng added the 4 Free Ability Points that came from leveling up all into Agility. Shi Fengs Agility rose to 12 points, his Attack Speed to 5 points, and his Movement Speed to 6 points. He could almost rival a pure Agility Assassin of the same Level now. My Agility will reach 20 points after rising to Level 3. At that time, I can unlock the Hidden Basic Skill of the Agility System. Shi Feng looked at his Attribute Panel in anticipation. Shi Feng moved his body, feeling it become a lot livelier than before. He wouldnt be in his previous sorry state if he were to face off with Town Mayor Cross, right now. If his Agility reached twenty points, the condition of his body would become even greater after activating the Basic Skill [Fast And Nimble]; he could even rival against those Wulin Experts depicted in Wuxia novels. Afterward, Shi Feng added 15 of the Free Mastery Points towards his One-Handed Sword Mastery, keeping the remaining 5 points for future use. With his One-Handed Sword Mastery now at a total of 20 points, Shi Feng advanced from Apprentice to Basic Swordsman and the additional damage dealt by using a one-handed sword increased to 10%. He was still 30 Mastery Points away from advancing to an Intermediate Swordsman. Regular attacks were only the basics for a Swordsman. If one wanted to become an expert with the sword, Skills were a must-have. The more, the better, as this would create more flexibility when in battle, thereby allowing the Swordsman to dish out greater Damage. Shi Feng was both an expert of the sword and a person who had been reincarnated. Now that he had a special tool such as the Ring of Gravity, he needed a large amount of Swordsman Skills to display the true potential of a Swordsman. He could then level up at a fast pace. Otherwise, it was impossible to increase the efficiency of killing monsters by relying on normal attacks. I recall there being a Black Market Challenge in Red Leaf Towns Trade Area. Players who cleared the challenge for the first time would be able to obtain a skill book for Swordsman. Most skill books dropped from monsters around Levels 3 to 5 and their drop rates were pitifully low. At this stage of the game, there were still no players capable of grinding those monsters. It would be a big waste of time if Shi Feng wanted to obtain the other skill books for Swordsman. He also did not have the time for it. So, the Black Market Challenge was the only way for Shi Feng to quickly obtain a skill book in Red Leaf town. Trade Area of Red Leaf Town Shops filled both sides of the street. There were pharmacies, smithies, bars and more; it was extremely flourishing, just like a small market. However, the current trade area wasnt as lively as it should be. It hasnt been long since Gods Domain started its operation, so most players were busy leveling up instead of enjoying what Gods Domain had to offer. As a result, there was only the minority of Lifestyle players staying here. They were here to learn Auxiliary Jobs such as Enchanter, Forger, Pharmacist, Chef, Engineer, Alchemist, etc. Buying herbs at a high price, contact me directly if you have any. Buying ores; rip-offs can stay away. Sincerely buying high ranking equipment. Price is negotiable. Willing to pay with Credits. Many logistics staffers of Workshops and Guilds had set up a small stall by the roadside of the Trade Area. They were mainly here to buy items and equipment. Shi Feng quickly headed towards a two-storied building without halting. High-ranking Gnomes guarded the building, and above the building read Black Market. This place was the dark side of Red Leaf Town and it was a place of entertainment built by the greedy Gnomes. The Gnomes Auction House could be seen just after entering the Black Market. Going down along the basement staircase led to two empty fields; one was the Battle Arena, while the other was the field for the Challenge Race. At the moment, several players were standing in front of the field. They were receiving the Gnomes challenge. Good luck! You have to succeed this time! Good luck! Stomp those Gnomes! A few players were currently cheering with all their might for an Assassin player that stood on the field. Their reddened eyes made them look no different than crazed gamblers. The Challenge Race could be considered a testing grounds for a players capabilities. Once a player entered the trial grounds, all their Attributes would be fixed at 10 points, their skills disabled, and their equipment rendered useless. Within the 30-yards-long and 10-yards-wide field, players were only allowed to block or dodge the incoming shots from the Gnomes muskets. A victory would ensue once players arrived at the finishing point. The Gnomes gave out three ranks of challenges: Copper Prize, Silver Prize, and Gold Prize. After a challenge was completed, there would be a three-day cooldown. There was a fee of 5 Coppers for the Copper Prize, 5 Silvers for the Silver Prize, and 5 Gold for the Gold Prize. Naturally, the higher ranked the challenge, the greater the prize. There was even the chance of obtaining a Dark-Gold Equipment. However, if a player obtained the First Clear for the challenge in Red Leaf Town, the reward of Copper Prize may be comparable even to the Silver Prize. In Shi Fengs previous life, this First Clear was obtained by a Swordsman named Fierce Gale and the person had received a rare skill book for Swordsman. After a short while, the Assassin on the field was struck. His body lay at the 20-yards mark, still ten yards away from the final point. Despicable. Just a little bit more. Do you guys still have money? Ill definitely clear it the next time. The male Assassin said after reviving from the field. A male Cleric shook his head saying, Boss Stabbing Heart, the five of us have already given you all our money. We dont have anymore. By the side, Shi Feng shifted his sight towards the Assassin. He was shocked after hearing the two words Stabbing Heart. The persons body was covered in black clothing. He had a short and skinny stature, just like a monkey. Shi Feng could hardly believe that the monkey in front of him was Stabbing Heart, the Assassin who ranked at number 10 on Star-Moon Kingdoms Assassin Leaderboard. The Assassin named Stabbing Heart shifted his gaze onto Shi Feng. After sizing Shi Feng up, his eyes revealed a gaze as if they had just found prey. With a smile, he walked up to Shi Feng and said, Nice to meet you, friend. Im Stabbing Heart, Assassin Squad Leader of the [Assassin''s Alliance]. Lend 5 Coppers to me and Ill return 20 Coppers to you tomorrow. How about it? Stabbing Heart was just ten yards away from the final point this time, so he was unwilling to accept defeat. He had already figured out some of the challenges patterns; he would be able to clear it if given another chance. Hence, he thought of using his Guilds name to shock and awe Shi Feng into lending him 5 Coppers. The Assassin''s Alliance was a large Guild that was well known in the world of virtual gaming. Any veteran gamer would know this name. Someone capable of becoming the squad leader for Assassins was definitely a great expert, a figure that was respected by many players. Instead of lending, the average player would definitely just give the 5 Coppers to gain some favors. 5 Coppers is it? After some thinking, Shi Feng answered: I can lend you the 5 Coppers, but you have to pay back 50 Coppers tomorrow. Stabbing Heart was surprised. He was Stabbing Heart, the Assassins Alliances famous Assassin Squad Leader. However, Shi Fengs uncourteous reaction was completely different than what he had imagined it would be. Could Shi Feng be a rookie gamer? Seeing Stabbing Heart staying silent, Shi Feng asked, Still borrowing? Ill borrow. Stabbing Heart wanted to weep. Other players would be going Expert, expert! when they met him, yet Shi Feng showed no such reaction. However, when he thought about the bountiful reward awaiting him, even 50 Coppers was worth it. Heres 5 Coppers. Lets add each other as friends. Dont forget to return 50 Coppers to me tomorrow. Shi Feng took 5 Coppers out of the 60 he obtained from selling the necklace, not forgetting to remind Stabbing Heart to return the 50 Coppers. With tears flowing down his face, Stabbing Heart received the 5 Coppers and said, Fine. I wont forget. Not knowing what Stabbing Heart was thinking, Shi Feng walked away after the trade was completed. He headed towards the green-skinned Gnome who was the Challenge Races administrator. Sir, time is money. What business do you have? The Gnome administrator said so in a lofty tone. I want to enter the Copper Prize Challenge. Shi Feng said as he handed over 5 Coppers. After flipping the Copper coins a few times, the Gnome nodded his head in approval. He opened the wooden door to the Challenge Race, allowing Shi Feng to enter. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new challenger on the field. Please let us welcome this brave Swordsman. The gnome loudly announced. Boss Stabbing Heart, the kid that lent you money is participating in the Challenge Race, the male Cleric pointed out. The resting Stabbing Heart laughingly said, That kids just a rookie. Does he think the Challenge Race is so easy? Even though the distance is only 30 yards, the Gnomes attack pattern will change after you get past 15 yards and their attack rates greatly increase. Not to mention, even I have difficulty facing them. Thats for sure! Even an expert such as Boss Stabbing Heart could only reach 20 yards. Im guessing that kid will, at most, reach five yards before being done in. The male Cleric nodded with a smile. Inside the field, the three Gnomes standing at the finishing line readied their muskets, aiming them towards Shi Feng. Above the challenge field, the timer started counting down. 3 2 1 Challenge Start! 6 Stunning Skills The instant the countdown ended... Shi Fengs body leaned forward and his legs bent. Just like a leopard, he dashed away from the starting line with explosive force. Xiu! By the time the muskets had started ringing and shooting towards the starting line, Shi Feng was already three yards away. Subsequently, another volley of musket shots rang out; a total of six bullets shot towards Shi Fengs path. Several green lines indicating the trajectory of the bullets covered Shi Fengs body. Shi Feng would become a sieve if his reactions were not keen. Just as the bullets were about to hit, Shi Feng dodged to the right with a sidestep. He rushed forward once more, after avoiding the second volley of shots. Bullet casings fell to the ground consistently as the three Gnomes continued to aim and shoot. However, Shi Feng avoided them with the vigor of a leopard, every single time. The way he stayed a step ahead of the bullets made it seem as if he had control over them. It cant be. Hes already at the 10-yard-mark. Seeing Shi Feng taking less than five seconds to reach the 10-yard-mark, the male Cleric couldnt help but be shocked; it was only a half of Stabbing Hearts time. Stabbing Heart became speechless by the side. He silently watched Shi Fengs advance. He had originally thought of Shi Feng as a fresh noob; someone that he didnt know of and someone that came to the Challenge Race for fun. Yet, the speed and accuracy Shi Feng just displayed were like a veteran who had tempered himself for countless years on the Challenge Race. Every move of his was straightforward and efficient, something a rookie definitely couldnt pull off. Even Stabbing Heart himself, after going through the challenge several times, felt he couldnt do any better. Stabbing Heart had the pride of an expert. He did not think that Shi Feng could be stronger than he was. He explained, With such nimbleness, maybe this rookie is an athlete or someone who trained in martial arts. However, the Gnomes will change their attack patterns after he goes past 15 yards. He wont be able to hold it, by that time. Youre right, boss. If its someone that isnt known to our Assassins Alliance, he definitely isnt an expert. Hell surely be shocked once he reaches 15 yards. Then, hell turn into a beehive. Right. After 15 yards, the number of bullets fired will be twelve. The target would also no longer be focused on the player, himself. Instead, itll cover a wide area. Dodging to either side wont be an option. The other members of Assassins Alliance voiced their agreements. They, too, had already witnessed such a scene before, seven to eight times, at that. Stabbing Heart passed 15 yards on his first challenge. In the subsequent challenges, however, his furthest distance was 20 yards. The difficulty after 15 yards was clear to behold. He went past 15 yards, an Assassins Alliance member commented. Stabbing Heart and the others quickly focused their sights on Shi Feng, wanting to see Shi Fengs performance. On the field, the three Gnomes became enraged once Shi Feng stepped past the 15-yard-line. They no longer aimed as they fired their muskets with wild abandon. Suddenly, the bullet trajectory-indicators within Shi Fengs sight covered a large area. There were only three bullets that would hit Shi Feng. However, it was game over if even a single bullet hit its mark. Finally, showing your shameless behavior, eh? Shi Feng revealed an indifferent smile. Unsheathing his Novice Sword, Shi Feng used it to greet the bullets. In his previous life, Shi Feng was always busy with work and leveling up as the captain of Shadow; he had no time to play the Challenge Race. However, he had seen it quite a few times, so he still had a clear understanding of the Challenge Race. He knew the Gnomes would change their attack patterns after the 15-yard-line. The fifteen-yard distance of the Black Markets Challenge Race was a bar that tested a players operating skills. Only those who passed it could be considered to have entry-level operating skills. However, a majority of the players required two or three months before being able to reach this level; a minority took a month. There were only a scant few experts capable of passing it in one try. Stabbing Heart was one of those few experts. Three bullets were about to hit Shi Fengs head, chest, and arm, three locations. As expected, this kids no good. The bullets are too numerous and too spread out. Hes already forgotten to dodge them. Hes even dashing ahead like an idiot. Stabbing Heart knew it was foolishness when he saw Shi Feng rushing towards the bullets. Did he think the challenge would continue if he were just shot by one or two bullets? Right this moment, Shi Fengs head shifted. He waved his Novice Sword, creating a white streak of light. Peng! A spark was created. Shi Feng had waved the Novice Sword just at the right spot, effortlessly hitting the bullet that aimed at his chest. The threat of the three bullets was simply resolved by Shi Feng. He had, once more, advanced another section of the distance. Yet, the three Gnomes did not stop firing. The muskets in their hands were like machine guns, firing volley after volley of bullets. Within an instant, Shi Feng faced off with another five bullets. There were also bullets all around that prevented him from dodging. Dang! Dang! Dang! Shi Feng swiftly moved his body while waving his sword to deflect the unavoidable bullets. As the bullets passed by his body, his ears could even hear the air being split. Only three seconds went by and Shi Feng had passed through the 20-yard-mark. He was only 10 yards away from the finishing point. Crap. Boss, who is this kid? He actually used his sword to block the bullets. The male Cleric widened his eyes in surprise. Shi Feng had given him an indescribable sense of shock. Although the bullet trajectories were indicated, accurately blocking them was easier said than done. Such an action required extreme precision and skill to carry out. Not to mention, the margin of error allowed was a damnable one. Stabbing Heart suddenly became speechless. Deflecting bullets with a weapon was like walking on a thread of wire high up in the sky; a single misstep would send you plunging into the abyss. As if he was enjoying it, Shi Feng blocked the oncoming bullets over and over. Whereas, the bullets seemed to have a life of their own, intentionally avoiding Shi Fengs body as they flew past. Boss, that Swordsman has run past 25 yards. Hell definitely pass the finish line at this rate. The male Clerics heart became a chaotic mess as he watched Shi Feng danced forward, sparks occasionally flashing in front of his body. I have eyes. I dont need you to remind me. Stabbing Heart said in annoyance. He was deeply drawn in by Shi Fengs actions. The moment Shi Feng went past 25 yards... Die, challenger. One of the Gnomes at the finish line laughed. The Gnome took out an automatic musket, sending a wave of bullets towards Shi Feng. Suddenly, the number of bullets increased to twenty-four. Not only that, their distance from Shi Feng was a mere 5 yards. It was an unavoidable distance for players. Hell! This is cheating! Stabbing Heart unwillingly shouted. The other players became extremely nervous when they saw the scene and they couldnt help but curse at the shamelessness of the Gnomes. Facing the hail of bullets, Shi Feng quickly turned grave. Although he had known about the second change at the 25-yard-mark, even he would panic in the face of so many bullets. Shi Feng bent his knees, leaping forward like a leopard. He darted headfirst towards the area with the least amount of bullets, reducing the surface area of his body that would come into contact with the bullets. Following which, he madly waved the Novice Sword, simultaneously creating four streaks of white light. Peng! Peng! Peng! Peng! After a series of sparks, Shi Fengs body passed through the storm of bullets. The moment his body was about to make contact with the ground, his free arm pressed downwards. Shi Feng quickly stood up with all his might, rushing past the finish line like a bolt of lightning. Total time spent: 14 seconds. Estimated record time of 18 seconds for Copper Prize broken. Ng Im really not used to this soft and weak body, Shi Feng slightly lamented after passing through the finish line. If he was over Level 100, with his bodys constitution, he could easily carry out the four simultaneous sword slashes with great ease. Ladies and Gentlemen, a round of applause! This Swordsman has passed the challenge! The Gnome administrator announced loudly. System: Player was the First to pass the Copper Challenge and break the record. Rewarding player with 1 Silver Coin and Swordsman Skill [Thundering Flash]. It cant be. It actually gave out the super-rare skill, Thundering Flash. This is a skill that even a Swordsman over Level 100 cant get. Shi Feng thought he was hallucinating. However, he was shocked when he saw the Thundering Flash skill book inside his bag. [Thundering Flash] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Rapidly send out three sword lights to 10- x 2-yards forward. Each hit will cause 130% damage and also give a Damage Amplification effect, amplifying the damage of your following attacks by 20% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds Without a second thought, Shi Feng clicked and learned the skill. Swordsman was a Job that mainly focused on dealing damage to single targets; it didnt have many powerful AOE skills. Thundering Flash was one of the few powerful AOE skills a Swordsman possessed. If it were learned during the early periods, it would definitely create a huge gap from the other Swordsman. After learning Thundering Flash, Shi Feng started to feel himself gaining the makings of a Swordsman. You guys continue playing; Ill be leaving first. Dont forget my 50 Coppers. Shi Feng looked towards the dumbfounded Stabbing Heart, leaving the Black Market after calling out to them. Stabbing Heart indifferently nodded his head. Boss, hes gone. He took away the prize, as well. Should we chase after him? the male Cleric asked. Stabbing Hearts shock gradually faded after Shi Feng left. He stared at the male Cleric, scolding, Are you an idiot? Well be lucky if we have time to even curry up to such an expert Swordsman. Making enemies of him? Are you courting death? Not good. I have to tell this to Guild Leader. Luckily, I added him as a friend. Is he called Ye Feng? I cant believe Ive never heard of such an expert. Could he be some sword expert in disguise? Stabbing Heart acknowledged that he could not pass the challenge in such a magnificent way. Especially the last bout after the 25-yard-mark; that was just cheating. It was impossible for players to block or dodge. Yet, Shi Feng had done it. At the Trade Area, Shi Feng met with Potion Master Kevin. He spent 120 Coppers purchasing 20 [Exploding Berry], instantly shrinking his wealth down to 30 Coppers. However, he still spent it, all to level at the speed of a rocket. Shi Feng took the Exploding Berries and left Red Leaf Town, running westward. At that moment, all players were at Level 0, and all of them were killing Level 0 monsters around Red Leaf Town. There were also a few with good techniques killing Level 1 Baby Wolves in a party. A Warrior tanking at the front and a damage dealer and healer behind, fighting together in an orderly manner. Although the EXP was shared between several people, the efficiency was a lot higher and there were fewer competitors. However, Shi Feng did not plan to compete with these people. Passing through the Level 1 monster area, followed by the Level 3 monster area, Shi Feng headed straight towards Red Leaf Forest, a Level 5 monster area. There were no players who would go there. There were still no players who dared to challenge Level 5 monsters at this stage of the game. Not only was there the suppression due to the difference in levels but there was also the significant disparity in HP and Attack Power. A Level 5 monster could easily steamroll over a Level 1 player. Even a 6-man-party was no match for a Level 5 monster. There was a heavy penalty whenever a player died. Not only would they lose an entire Levels worth of EXP but their Skill Proficiency would also be decreased. There were simply no players who would take the risk. Otherwise, hours of their hard earned EXP and Proficiency would become pointless. 7 Leveling With Ease Red Leaf Forest was made up of beautiful maple trees. Level 5 monsters roamed around the woods. To a player below Level 3, this was a restricted area. Shi Feng, as well, was no match for these Level 5 monsters, even though he had reached Level 1. However, Shi Feng ran into the Red Leaf Forest without hesitation. Cautiously, he advanced towards the inner reaches of the forest. Level 5 Forest Wolves could be seen patrolling around the woods from time to time. Shi Feng was currently just Level 1. If he did not stay a sufficient distance away from them, the Forest Wolfs sensitive nose would smell him out. A Level 5 Forest Wolf had 400 HP. It also had high Attack Power. It would only take two bites from the wolf for Shi Fengs 120 HP to meet its end. Shi Fengs only option was to stealthily avoid the Forest Wolves, taking a big detour around them. Aside from the Forest Wolves, Shi Feng also met with adorable Bear Cubs. The little cubs fumbled and tumbled around on the grassy plains, giving an innocent and cute look. However, they were still Level 5 monsters, and they were hated by melee players. This was because of their high HP and Defense, making a fight with the Cubs very exhausting. As Shi Feng used a tree to route past a Bear Cub, he heard a wolfs howl coming from behind him. Damn! A wolf den! As calm as Shi Feng was, he still couldnt help but call out. In his previous life, many players came in parties to the Red Leaf Forest. Most of them were Level 4 or 5. Aside from grinding a large number of monsters, the main reason players came here was because of the bountiful loot. Skill books, leatherworking materials, and equipment were such examples. There were also a large amount of herbs and ore that were attainable in the forest. However, a single mishap could still cause a party-wipe in the Red Leaf Forest. One of the dangers that caused such situations were wolf dens. A wolf den was hidden and hard to notice. If players did not pay close attention, a pack of Forest Wolves would pounce forth once the players entered the wolf dens area of alertness. If less, there would be 3 to 5 wolves; if more, 6 to 8. It was a party-wipe trap. Shi Fengs luck was bad. All at once, 7 Forest Wolves rushed out of the den; the meat on Shi Fengs body wasnt enough for them to share. The speed of the Forest Wolves was fast, but Shi Feng wasnt slow either. With his attribute points all going into Agility, his Movement Speed was at 6 points. He was still a Level 1 Swordsman, in the end. Even if he was a pure Agility one, his speed was still a notch slower than the Forest Wolves. Seeing the wolves catching up, Shi Feng stopped caring as he activated the lifesaving skill, Gravity Liberation. Shi Feng suddenly felt his body becoming as light as a feather. His speed increased by a massive leap, easily shaking off the Forest Wolves behind him. In the end, a common monster was still a common one. They gave up after chasing past a set area, allowing Shi Feng to keep his life. After running for over ten minutes, Shi Feng arrived at a range of mountains and hills. Several mountains stood over a hundred meters, located in the central region of Red Leaf Forest. The top of the mountains was surrounded by clouds and mist, creating a scene of immortal lands. Finally arrived. Shi Feng looked towards the towering mountain and its surroundings. Discovering a waterfall, he walked towards it. In his previous life, players were mostly over Level 20, so their attributes were naturally high. They could do much more than they could while they were low leveled. Many loved exploring the myriad of places in Gods Domain. The central region of Red Leaf Forest was one of the famous places, so Shadow Workshop had sent a small party of Assassins to investigate. Never would they have thought to find a treasure mountain there. On one of the mountains, they discovered many items: rare ore, herbs, and even Treasure Chests. At the peak of the mountain, there was a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. There were many secretive places in the wild of Gods Domain. Most of these places housed Treasure Chests, awaiting to be discovered by players. The items within Treasure Chests varied considerably, ranging from Copper Coins to Dark-Gold Equipment. The quality of Treasure Chests could be categorized into Common, Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, and Dark-Gold. However, even the loot from a Common Treasure Chest could rival the drops of Elite monsters. Not to even mention how good the loot from a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest could be. This Secret-Silver Treasure Box quickly allowed Shadow to become a well-known Workshop in White River City. This allowed Shadow to amass quite a fortune during the initial periods of the game. More than just equipment, the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest had a secret recipe for pharmaceutics and a Forging Design. In Gods Domain, the drop rate of pharmaceutical recipes was not even ten thousand to one; it was even lower for a Forging Design. You could create Bronze ranked equipment using Forging Designs, something sorely needed by players. With it, making money would become a simple task. Shi Fengs plan to earn 16,000 Credits within ten days all depended on the design. So naturally, he wouldnt be leaving it for Shadow Workshop. However, low leveled players without 40 Agility were unable to activate the Hidden Basic Ability [Flying Steps]. Without it, they had no way of climbing the rocky mountain. There were also no paths that led up the mountain, leaving rock climbing as the only option. Although Shi Feng did not have forty points in Agility, he had the Ring of Gravity. He could still climb the mountain after activating it. Shi Feng easily scaled up the mountain after activating Gravity Liberation. He was already 5 meters up after a few moments. When Gravity Liberation had 5 seconds remaining, Shi Feng found an empty spot of land to rest while waiting for Gravity Liberations cooldown. Not long after Shi Feng sat down, the rock wall suddenly shook. A [Rock Giant] appeared with bursts of roaring. [Rock Giant] (Common Monster) Level 5 HP 550 That was quick. Shi Feng had long since been ready when he saw the Rock Giant walking over. He took out an Explosive Berry from his bag and threw it towards the Rock Giants feet; sticky orange colored juice erupted all over the ground. As a Level 5 monster, the Rock Giant had extremely high Attack Power, HP, and Defense. However, it had low Attack Speed and reaction time. Its bodys turn rate was even slower. A player only needed 20 points in Agility to easily toy with the Rock Giant. There were plenty of Assassins who loved dealing with such dumb monsters. They could easily be killed without wasting a single HP. Although Shi Feng did not have 20 Agility, he had the Explosive Berries. Each had an effective area of 3- x 3-yards, reducing Movement Speed by 30%, and turn rate by 70% for one minute. It was a godly tool used to counter dumb monsters. Two months after Gods Domain started, a lot of players would use such a method to kill high leveled monsters that were slow-moving. However, such slow-moving monsters existed in limited numbers in God''s Domain, so grinding on them for quick levels was not possible. The Rock Giants speed sharply reduced after being hit by the Explosive Berry. Shi Feng pulled out his Novice Sword and rushed towards the Rock Giants back, chopping down at it. Above the Rock Giants head, three points of damage appeared. It was a hardly mentionable damage when compared to its 550 HP. The Rock Giant also regenerated 1% of its HP every 5 seconds; that was 5.5 HP every 5 seconds. It was very challenging to kill it within a minute. The Rock Giant tried to turn around when Shi Feng attacked it. However, its bodys turn rate was slow, to begin with. Now that there was an extra 70% speed reduction, it was just abominably slow. Shi Feng attacked it twice more, following up with another [Chop], causing a series of -3, -3, -6 to appear. The effect of Chop was not that great due to the level suppression. However, because the Rock Giant was 4 Levels higher, there was an additional bonus towards Skill Proficiency. Coupled with one of the Swordsmans natural Talents, a single usage had increased Chops SP by 3 points. This was an absolute location for raising Skill Proficiency. After much trouble, the Rock Giant turned around to face off against Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not give it any chance, quickly circling to its back where he continued attacking. Thundering Flash! Suddenly, a single sword light caused 4 damage, followed by another that dealt 5 damage, and the last one that dealt 7 damage. After all three streaks of thunder hit its mark, Thundering Flashs SP increased by 3 points. Another few slashes followed. A series of -4, -4, -4 damage was dealt. Though each strike only had an increase of 1 damage, the totaled up damage would still be great. Although the effect of Thundering Flash lasted only for fifteen seconds, it had greatly increased the speed of killing the Rock Giant. The battle could be ended within a single minute now, saving up a precious Explosive Berry. Even if the Rock Giant had high HP and Attack, it was no different than a practice dummy if it couldnt land a hit on Shi Feng. It was just giving Shi Feng EXP and SP. Skill Proficiency could not be increased just by using the skill. When using it on a monster of the same level, there was a 20% chance to increase it by one point. For monsters of a higher level, there was a 40% chance if it was one level higher, 70% for two levels, 100% for three levels, 150% for four levels, and 200% for five levels. The maximum limit was 200%. Now that Shi Feng was killing a Level 5 Rock Giant, his SP increased several times the rate of others. Not even a full minute had gone by before the Rock Giant finally fell. System: Level 5 Rock Giant killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 120 EXP. Shi Fengs EXP bar increased by a chunk. He was now 880 EXP away from Level 2. That meant he needed to kill another 8 Rock Giants to reach Level 2. These mountains in the central region were a great place for leveling up and looking for treasure. Unfortunately, two months had passed before people discovered them. Shi Feng searched the Rock Giants body after killing it, obtaining a [Bronze Ore]. It was a material used to make Bronze Equipment. He also acquired a piece of [Hard Stone]. Subsequently, Shi Feng searched around the empty land. A few moments later he found a rare herb called [Hundred Souls Flower]. It was one of the core materials used to make [Basic Regeneration Potion]. Just as he got close to it, another Rock Giant spawned. Shi Feng threw out another Explosive Berry. Thundering Flash! Chop! In just a short moment, Shi Feng obtained another Hard Stone, 120 EXP and a large amount of SP. Shi Feng continued climbing up when the cooldown finished on the Ring of Gravity. On his way up, he searched for rare herbs while killing Rock Giants. Following the fall of the 8th Rock Giant, Shi Feng became Level 2. He added all his points into Agility, letting it reach 16 points. He was just 4 points away from unlocking [Fast And Nimble]. The SP for Chop has also reached 300 points, raising the skill to Level 2; the next level required 600 SP. The skill now increased damage by 12 points, and its cooldown was reduced by 1 second. The other players would go crazy if they found out about Shi Fengs leveling speed. Just going from Level 0 to Level 1 required more than a handful of hours. As for going from Level 1 to 2, at the very least, doing so would require seven or eight hours. Shi Feng spent less than twenty minutes to reach Level 2. His leveling speed was like a rocket launching. Shi Feng walked towards a dead Rock Giant and searched it. Seems like my luck isnt bad at all. It even dropped equipment. Shi Feng discovered a piece of Cloth Armor, though he was somewhat disappointed. [Gorgeous Cloth-Shirt] (Common Equipment) Level 4 Defense +3 Mana +10 Durability 20/20 Gods Domain had just started operating. The drop rate of equipment was extremely low. Common Equipment was extremely rare, especially a Level 4 Common Equipment. There was definitely someone who would buy it at a high price. Shi Feng placed the equipment into his bag. Just as he was about to continue upwards, he suddenly noticed a cave not far ahead. When he walked over to check, Shi Fengs heart rate quickened. Shi Feng spotted a huge Rock Giant sleeping within the cave. Its entire body was made up of silvery rocks, different from the normal gray-colored ones. [Shrews] (Special Elite) Level 6 HP 900 Special Elites were a lot stronger than normal Elites. A regular Elite monster could decimate a 6-man-party of the same level. However, a Special Elite required twelve players of the same level to deal with, maybe even fifteen players. That meant Shrews required fifteen Level 6 players working together to kill. However, Shi Feng rushed ahead without hesitation. He used Thundering Flash immediately, causing ray after ray of thunder to cut across Shrews huge body. Damages of -1, -2, -3 appeared above Shrews head. 8 Killing Shrews Even though the damage dealt by Shi Feng was negligible, Shrews still woke up from his deep slumber. Anybody would be enraged when they were abruptly awoken. Ill flatten you, puny human! Shrews bellowed. The entire cave shook as Shrews stood. With giant strides, Shrews walked towards Shi Feng. Not giving Shrews any chance, Shi Feng took out an Explosive Berry and tossed it in front of Shrews path. Speed was always a Rock Giants weakness. There was no exception even for a Special Elite. Shrews only had a larger size, a stronger Attack, and more attack methods. Though his Movement Speed and Attack Speed were slightly faster, under the slowing effects of the Explosive Berry, he was still as slow as a turtle. On the other hand, Shi Fengs Movement Speed and Attack Speed were very fast due to his 16 Agility. Shi Feng immediately circled to Shrews back and began his fierce assault. A series of damages appeared above Shrews head. -2, -2, -2, -2 They were followed by another Chop that dealt 6 damage. It had to be said, Shrews had a frightening Defense. Even with the amplified damage from Thundering Flash, a Level 2 Chop had only dealt 6 damage. A Level 1 Chop would probably only deal 4 damage. Shrews only turned around after receiving a series of attacks. It lifted its mountain-sized foot and stomped down, towards Shi Feng. As a reincarnated person, Shi Feng had experienced countless battles in Gods Domain. He did not have a thread of panic in him when facing against Shrews. With a step, Shi Feng nimbly evaded towards Shrews back, avoiding Shrews sluggish attack. Shi Feng then followed up with a series of mad cuts. When five seconds passed, Shrews regenerated 18 HP, leaving him with a remainder of 886 HP. Half of Shi Fengs efforts had gone to waste within an instant. Compared to Common ones, Elite monsters or above would regenerate 2% of their HP every 5 seconds during battle. Shrews had 900 HP, so it was 18 HP every 5 seconds. This regeneration had exceeded the damage Shi Feng could deal using normal attacks. Even so, Shi Feng still calmly waved his sword, continuously reaping away Shrews HP. An average player wouldve already given up when seeing such high HP and regeneration. Shi Feng would not, though. Sixteen points of Agility allowed Shi Feng to avoid and attack with ease. His high Attack Speed also allowed the damage he dealt to mitigate Shrews'' regeneration completely. However, killing Shrews required a lot of time. It was very dull, just avoiding and madly attacking. Dealing out strong attacks was very tiring, both physically and mentally. With each passing second Shrews HP continually fell. Fifteen seconds later... Once Thundering Flashs amplifying effect disappeared, the damage Shi Feng caused sharply reduced. Each strike of his sword only dealt 1 damage, and Chop only took away 4 HP from Shrews. Shi Feng immediately fell into a bitter battle. Another 5 seconds passed, and Shrews once more regenerated 18 HP. However, Shi Feng only dealt 17 damage within that 5 seconds. It wasnt even enough to even make up for Shrews regeneration. Shi Feng wrinkled his brows. As expected, it was hard to kill off Shrews. It was just a pointless endeavor without sufficient damage. Do I give up? Just as Shi Feng was thinking so... I want to flatten you! Shrews roared as he stomped his foot. Suddenly, the entire cave shook. Sharp stalactites fell from the cave ceiling one after another, covering the entire cave. It even has a party-wipe skill? Seeing the bad situation, Shi Feng moved quickly away from Shrews side, dodging the falling stalactites. The stalactites continuously fell in great numbers. Their speed was quick as well. If a party came into this cramped space, there wouldnt be any place to dodge. They would definitely be party-wiped. If it werent for his nimble body and the somewhat spacious area, Shi Feng would be hard pressed to avoid these falling rocks. Shrews revealed an exhausted expression after finishing his skill. Shi Fengs eyes shone; he quickly rushed ahead. Thundering Flash! Chop! -4, -5, -6, -10. Suddenly, a series of terrifying damages were caused. [Fatigue] state, it was a period of weakness that appeared after a Boss used a powerful skill. In this state, the Boss would have both its Attack and Defense greatly reduced. With this Fatigue state, Shi Feng could see the hope of killing Shrews. Shi Feng took the chance to attack even more fervently. -4, -4, -4 Each sword strike took away 4 HP while Shrews was under both states of Fatigue and Damage Amplification. During this weakened period, Shrews regeneration also fell to 1%. By the time Shrews returned to his normal state, Shi Feng had already taken away 15% of Shrews HP. The subsequent battle was filled with persistence. Shi Feng would repeatedly attack to make up for Shrews regeneration. Every 30 seconds, he would deal a burst of damage with Thundering Flash. Following which, he would await Shrews use of his big move. This party-wipe skill was a nightmare to player parties. To Shi Feng however, it was a chance. As expected, Shrews would again use his big move after a period of time. Shi Feng took this chance to take away 16% of Shrews HP. Time passed bit by bit. After using 5 Explosive Berries, Shrews had 32% HP remaining. When Shrews activated his big move once more, Shi Feng took away another 16% of his HP. Shrews was quickly left with 16% HP remaining. Just as Shrews HP fell to 15%, a sudden change occurred. Shrews body continuously shrunk, his Attack and defense reducing as well. However, his Movement Speed and Attack Speed kept increasing. This change was very disadvantageous to Shi Feng. Although the Explosive Berry was still in effect, Shrews attacks were becoming faster. He had nearly landed a hit on Shi Feng. Shi Feng was just Level 2. Even if Shrews Attack Power had reduced, a single hit was enough to end Shi Feng. If Shi Feng died, he would lose a level and a lot of Skill Proficiency; it was not something he wished to see happen. Fight! A cold glint flashed through Shi Fengs eyes as he activated Gravity Liberation. Suddenly, dodging became relaxing. It was impossible to easily give up on a Special Elite with only 15% HP remaining. Shi Feng continued to circle and madly hack his sword at Shrews. Every hit dealt 3 damage, slowly reducing Shrews HP. 14%...10%...9%...8%...5%... Gravity Liberations duration became shorter and shorter. When there were only 7 seconds left, Shrews still had 5% of his HP. Shi Feng would definitely be one-shotted as soon as Gravity Liberation ended. Quick! Quick! Quick! Shi Fengs eyes turned blood red as his sword strikes became faster and faster. Just as Shrews had only 10 HP remaining, Gravity Liberation ended Shi Fengs speed dropped sharply. A cold, human-like grin appeared on Shrews face as he smashed his boulder-like fist down on Shi Feng. Die! The cooldown of Thundering Flash finally finished. Thundering Flash! In an instant, three streaks of light passed through Shrews body. -4, -5, -6. Shrews final 10 HP was taken away. Boom! Shrews turned into a pile of rubble. System: [Special Elite] Shrews killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 940 EXP. Shi Fengs experience bar abruptly rose by 27%, pushing him a big step closer towards Level 3. After killing off Shrews, Shi Feng searched around in the pile of rubble. The drops of a Special Elite were far better than a normal Elite. Shi Feng obtained an equipment, a skill book, and 16 Coppers. The rewards for challenging higher levels sure are good. Even a Bronze Shield dropped. I can definitely sell it for a high price. It would be great if I could grind it a few more times. Shi Feng looked at the blue cross-shaped shield in his hands. He could already imagine how the Guilds would be willing to pay a high price for the shield. [Rock-Iron Shield] (Bronze Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 8 Equipment Level: 5 Defense +21 Defense Rate 23% Strength +2, Endurance +4 HP +30 The shield could be considered high-quality with such attributes. When equipped, the shield would greatly increase Defense. HP would also be increased by 110 points; this was equivalent to one-third of a Level 5 Warrior class HP. Using it to dive into Level 5 Dungeons was more than enough. It could even be used to dive into Level 8 Dungeons. The skill book was a good one as well. It was a skill that could be used by all melee Jobs, [Parry]. It required a melee weapon to be used. It could block a single attack that came from the front, and it had a cooldown of thirty seconds. Parry was a popular skill among all melee Jobs. It was a must-learn skill for Warrior classes. The skill had a low drop rate, and it was almost never seen being sold on the market, as it was a lifesaving skill. You could activate it at a crucial moment, and it might even help you through a crisis. It was especially true when battling against a Boss. If the healers could not keep up, then you could use Parry to block an attack, giving the healers more time to heal you. Taking a look at skill, Shi Feng decided to learn it. Although he could get a better price if he sold the skill book together with the shield, the action was no different than killing the chicken to get the egg. It was something Shi Feng wouldnt do. Shi Feng continued climbing upwards after killing Shrews. The Bronze Shield was worth only a meager amount of money. The real fortune was the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. Shi Feng only had 4 Explosive Berries remaining. However, he was not even a third of the distance to the peak. It was also very easy to meet up with a monster at the resting points. This caused Shi Feng to choose his path more carefully. Half an hour later... After cautiously advancing the entire way up, Shi Feng was finally at the peak of the mountain. The visibility at the top was very poor with all the white clouds and mist. Shi Feng could only see twenty yards in front of him. On his way up, Shi Feng had used all 4 of the remaining Explosive Berries on Rock Giants. If another monster appeared, Shi Feng could only give up and start all over again. Just as Shi Feng walked ahead a few steps... A few blurry shadows could be seen up ahead. At this moment, an emergency notification came from the system. System: Player has discovered The Lost Lands. Activated Hidden Quest Past Glory. Temporarily disabled players communications to the outside world. Unable to leave the map until Quest is completed. Crap, those Assassins lied. Shi Feng silently cursed. Those Assassins had undoubtedly kept hidden some information. The situation at the mountain peak was entirely different from what the Assassins reported. 9 Might Of A Thousand Although the lies of those Assassins angered Shi Feng, he had to remain calm in facing this unknown situation. Even members of a Workshop would have their own selfish motives. They would definitely hide some of their important discoveries, silently empowering themselves and making a fortune. There were plenty of such people in a Workshop. Be they outer members or core members, after some time, there were always some exceptionally strong people who suddenly appeared, their social statuses abruptly rising. Shi Feng was one such example. Otherwise, he wouldnt be able to turn from a core member into the Workshops captain.They only told others about seeing a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest after coming to The Lost Lands and nothing else. There is definitely something more important that Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. Is it this Hidden Quest? Shi Feng called out the Systems Quest Panel.Hidden Quest of The Lost Lands - Past Glory. Aside from the name, there was no other information about the Quest. Shi Feng did not even know what he had to do. Is it a region-activated Quest? With his ten years of experience in Gods Domain, Shi Feng quickly discovered the essence of Hidden Quests. There were some Quests with special characteristics in Gods Domain. They were only triggered in certain areas. Not only that, these Quests did not provide any information. Players were required to search for it themselves. After the Quest was completed, it would no longer be triggered again, even if another player came to this place. It could be called as a special kind of Unique Quest.At the same time, it was a Quest filled with extreme danger. Searching for the method to complete the Quest in an unknown region also meant dealing with the unknown monsters of the region. For such special Quests, the regions monsters were usually several levels higher compared to the surrounding areas. An average player had no chance in completing the Quest.There were 6 Assassins over Level 20 that came to this place last time. The Quest was also triggered in this region with Level 5 monsters, so the Assassins could complete the Quest.Theres no point in bothering. Since I cant get out, I might as well look around. At worst Ill just die and be sent back to the town. Shi Feng advanced in large strides after thinking it through.A few moments after walking through the mists, Shi Feng spotted a few blurry figures up ahead. It was a city. A city which had been abandoned ages ago. All around, there were ruined houses. Judging from the size of the city and the magnificence of the buildings, it seemed this city once flourished. It was even more prosperous and brilliant than White River City.However, this flourishing city did not have even a shadow of a person now.Shi Feng silently entered the city. He observed the surroundings while looking for clues about his Quest. Looking through a city that could fit millions was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Hours quickly went by. After searching through tens of streets and hundreds of houses, Shi Feng had yet to find a single clue for his Quest. Gods Domain had just started. It was the best time to widen the gap with others, yet Shi Feng had wasted hours exploring this place. There were plenty of players who had already reached Level 1, but Shi Feng was still paused at 34% of Level 2. Shi Feng hesitated. Should he continue looking for clues to the Quest, or should he just end himself here and revive back at the town? Ill look for another hour. If its still no good, then Ill return to the town. Shi Feng laid down a timeframe for himself. Although Quests like these were precious, he did not have that much time to waste. He still had a ton of Quests he could do. There was no need to waste away in this place. Time slowly passed by, bit by bit. Shi Feng arrived at the central tower of the city. This place was once a sacred ground for mages. It was the best place to learn magic. Now, however, it was irreparably ruined. Even the Magic Crystal at the towers peak had shattered. Shi Feng went up the tower. He stood in the towers observatory, filling his eyes with the citys scenery. Shi Feng wouldve slowly savored the sight were he not in a rush. After taking a look around, he still did not find any special locations. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave.Young adventurer, welcome to the City In The Sky. A white-bearded, old man suddenly appeared. The old mans voice was filled with vicissitudes and wisdom. The sudden appearance of the old man shocked Shi Feng into a jump. He had even thought the old man was some monster that had appeared. However, he let loose a breath after noticing the yellow indicator above the old man. City In The Sky? Shi Feng became shocked when he thought of this well-known city of Gods Domain. City In The Sky, the name of this city had once shaken the entire continent of Gods Domain. There were countless legendary Jobs in this city. There was even the famous Demigod ranked Sword Saint, Ultear. It was a city which was even feared by Gods themselves. Unfortunately, the city had fallen during the Third Gods War, becoming a regret of Gods Domain. Respectful Elder, is there anything I can help you with? Shi Feng smiled and asked in a formal tone. Help? The white-bearded elder shook his head, smiling as he said: No, I dont need any help. I imagine you wish to become stronger. I can help you with that, but are you willing to accept a test of mine? Of course, Im willing to receive your test. Shi Feng felt relieved. The trail to the Quest, Past Glory was here. He didnt have to die back to town, losing both levels and SP.The elder nodded his head in satisfaction, gravely saying, Ill give you three choices. The first one is the Normal difficulty. After you pass it youll get a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. The second one is the Hard difficulty, where youll get a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. In addition, you can get additional rewards depending on your rate of completion. The third option is the Hell difficulty, where youll be rewarded a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. Youll also receive additional rewards depending on your rate of completion. Young adventurer, which do you choose? Three choices. Each harder than the other, and each more attractive than the other. The 6 Assassins who were over Level 20 had chosen the Hard difficulty. They returned with the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest but chose to hide the additional reward. This meant that the additional reward was even better than the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest.After some thought about it, Shi Feng decided to bravely challenge it. A person who had been reincarnated should have courage. Respected Elder, I choose the Hell difficulty. Shi Feng was confident he could manage this difficulty. If he could complete it, then it would have a great effect on his future developments.Hahaha! Young people sure are full of energy! I truly admire you, but be sure not to regret your choice. The elder disappeared after his hearty laughter.System: Quest Past Glory accepted. Face off against 1000 monsters of the same level. Considered Passed after killing 500 monsters. Time limit of 4 hours. Quest failure penalty - all Attributes permanently reduced by 10 points. Attributes are the essence of a Job. If Shi Fengs Attributes were all reduced by 10 points, then he was as good as crippled. This penalty sure is ruthless. Shi Fengs scalp started itching as he looked at the countless Specter Warriors appearing below the tower. The countdown started. There were five seconds remaining before the monsters attacked. [Specter Warrior] (Common Monster) Level 2 HP 230 Fighting against one of them would be easy. Against an ocean of them, however, even Shi Feng would start to panic.Rushing in was just plain suicide; Shi Feng would quickly become surrounded and killed. The only choice was to fight the monsters one by one.Shi Feng had a wealth of experience in battling. He quickly ran down the tower and stood at the staircase. The stairs only allowed two monsters to pass through at a time, so it was the best place to attack from. Shi Feng would be able to clear this Quest so long as he guarded the staircase. Once the five seconds were up, every single Specter Warrior rushed the tower with wild abandon. However, the staircase was too narrow. As a result, they were blocking each other; Shi Feng only had to face 2 Specter Warriors at a time. With regards to the warriors attacks, Shi Feng could dodge them with relative ease. Thundering Flash!Chop! Three streaks of light flashed across, instantly causing a high damage of 60 to all Specter Warriors within a two- by ten-yard area. The Chop that followed dealt 33 damage. Within an instant, the first Specter Warrior had only half of its HP remaining, whereas the tens of others behind had lost a quarter of their HP. Previously, Shi Feng faced off against high-leveled monsters with very high defense; the effects of Thundering Flash and Chop were both greatly reduced. Now that Shi Feng was facing monsters of the same level, Thundering Flash could vividly display its prowess as a powerful AOE damaging skill. With Thundering Flashs damage amplification effect, Shi Feng only needed 5 strikes from his sword to finish off the first Specter Warrior. In order to increase his killing speed, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation to increase his Attack Speed. Coupled with the damage amplification, each warrior only needed three seconds to be dealt with. Unfortunately, the Specter Warriors did not give any experience. Instead, Skill Proficiency had a 100% chance to increase by 1 point. With every death of a Specter Warrior, Shi Fengs SP continuously increased. Shi Feng became very happy after seeing such a sight. The elderly NPC probably had not imagined that a Level 2 Swordsman would possess such a powerful AOE skill. With such a skill, Shi Feng feared crowd-tactics the least. Shi Feng could also easily dodge attacks in a one versus two scenario. Other players would have most likely failed the Quest, yet Shi Feng was able to complete it with perfection. After two hours had gone by, Thundering Flash had reached Level 2 after its SP increased to 300 points. The skills damage increased from 130% to 135%, and its cooldown reduced from 30 seconds to 28 seconds. Chops SP had also increased to 426/600. It would reach Level 3 with just a little more.Shi Fengs monster grinding speed increased once more after Thundering Flash reached Level 2. The Specter Warriors fell in batches. When there were only 20 over warriors remaining, there was still an hour and a half remaining for the Quest.With another use of Thundering Flash, the last remaining 20 Specter Warriors fell as well. Not bad. Heres your reward, youngster. The elder appeared once more with a chuckle. Looking at Shi Feng, the elder took out a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest and a pitch black longsword. System: Quest Past Glory completed. Rewarding 1 Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, 1 Magic Weapon (Job-related). Obtained title Might Of A Thousand. [Might Of A Thousand] (Title) When this title is in use, allies in a 30-yard radius will receive an attribute increase of 10%. Simultaneously, title user will obtain an additional effect of Strength +5 and Endurance +5. Ive given you your reward. You can go now. The old man waved his hand after finishing his piece. Shi Fengs vision blurred. When he opened his eyes once more, he was back in the plaza of Red Leaf Town. Di! Di! Di! Shi Fengs system communication continuously rang. Blackie was contacting him. Brother Feng, youve finally picked up. How come I couldnt contact you before? What should I do now? Im already behind others by a level. Blackie was extremely panicked. However, he still patiently asked because he believed in Shi Feng. He had wasted seven hours just to run to Red Leaf Town. While he was still at Level 0, the players that filled the streets were already Level 1. How was he to make up for this gap? Nobody would want him in a party now; their minimum requirement was Level 1. A Level 0 noob like him would just be pushed aside. My bad, I was doing a Quest. Come to the central plaza, Ill take you with me to level. Shi Feng apologized. It had already been over 8 hours since Gods Domain started, and Shi Feng had spent over 5 hours doing his Quest. At this stage of the game, most players had already risen to Level 1, while some professional players were already close to Level 2. As a person who had been reincarnated, helping Blackie level up was an easy task. It wouldnt take long before Blackie would catch up to the professional players. 10 Abyssal Blade Shi Feng observed his surroundings after hanging up on Blackie. Seeing that nobody paid attention to his sudden arrival, he quickly entered an empty alley. Opening a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest would definitely cause a commotion. Opening and showing off a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest at the crowded plaza was a bold action. It was something only noobs would do.Compared to the real world, there were no constraints within the game world. It went without saying, the great powers in the game hungered for great treasures. If a player did not have the capability, one of the best case scenarios was one being killed back to Level 0 for the treasure. However, if the treasure did not drop out Then congratulations, you can only live in the city for the rest of your life. While other players were out in the wild leveling up, the only thing you could do was to hang around in the city. After a few months, you could proudly be promoted to City Guide.Shi Feng was not an Assassin who was capable of stealth, hiding, and assassination. Currently, he did not have the sufficient strength to protect himself, so keeping a low profile was necessary. Shi Feng quietly observed the empty alley for some time. After he made sure nobody followed him, he took out the black longsword. Shi Fengs brows wrinkled when he looked at the black longsword. [Abyssal Blade] (Magic Weapon) Job Requirement: Swordsman Do you wish to bind the equipment? Should I equip it or not? Shi Feng became frustrated when he looked at the Abyssal Blade. Shi Feng was very familiar with Magic Weapons. Magic Weapons were different from normal equipment. They did not have any rankings to differentiate them, and they were even rarer than Legendary Equipment. Its power was without question. However, a Magic Weapon was a double-edged sword. This was because the weapon had a side effect called Backlash. If the player using the Magic Weapon was not cautious, a single mistake could cripple their account. In his previous life, there were a few experts in Star-Moon Kingdom that became top-tier experts because of Magic Weapons. Even during his peak, Shi Feng could only look up to them. However, after a period of time, two of those experts crippled their accounts because they did not deal with the Backlash properly; their only choice was to start a new account.Forget it, lets just set it aside for now. I cant take the risk right now. Shi Feng shook his head as he kept the Abyssal Blade. He had to earn 16,000 Credits in ten days. The pressure on him was huge. If any mistakes were to happen, then all his efforts before would become wasted.Shi Feng took out the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. Shi Feng looked at the gold-plated treasure chest, unable to suppress the excitement in his heart, The Secret-Silver Treasure Chest they brought out the last time already contained a pharmaceutical recipe and blacksmithing design. I wonder what a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest would give? hi Feng had been playing Gods Domain for ten years now, and the number of Fine-Gold Treasure Chests he had seen did not exceed twenty. Wars were fought over for every Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. Shi Feng would not even dare to dream that he could be in possession of one.Shi Feng slowly opened the treasure chest. Suddenly, golden rays of light leaked out from the chest, illuminating the small alley. It would definitely be a dazzling beacon of light if it was night time; it would attract everyones attention. Not daring to take any risks, Shi Feng quickly retrieved all the items from the chest. The dazzling lights slowly faded away after the chest was emptied. Fortunately, it was an empty alley, so nobody would notice the short period of radiance. The settings for treasure chests in Gods Domain really are damned. Luckily its daytime here. Shi Feng glanced at the treasure chest by his side, then shifted his gaze towards the three treasures in his hands. There were two ancient books and a battle armor.The battle armor was a Secret-Silver Equipment. It was much worse than Shi Feng had imagined it to be. [Sky Armor] (Secret-Silver Rank) Plate Armor Equipment Requirement: Strength 20 Equipment Level: 5 Defense +25, Strength +6, Endurance +3, Agility +3 Durability 30/30 Additional Attribute: Power Weakening. Reduce physical damage received by 15% after equipping.Shi Feng became shocked after looking at the battle armors attributes. Although the level of the equipment was a lot lower than the one in his previous life, its attributes were top-tier. If it was worn by a Warrior-class, the high Defense coupled with Power Weakening would make tanking physical Bosses no longer a problem. If this armor was sold now, its price would definitely be astronomical.This is too great. Now I have armor for Level 5. Shi Feng happily stored the Sky Armor. Swordsman wore plate armor as well. When Shi Feng wore it at Level 5, he could definitely become a Shield Warrior. Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the two ancient books, becoming shocked once more when he saw their names. [Book Of Forging] and [Records Of Potions]. These two were both extremely rare treasured books. Everyone knew that Forging and Potion-making were extremely hard to learn. Every Forging Master and Potion Master were the symbols of strength of a Guild. Even Shadow, a Guild that possessed ten City States, only had two Forging Masters and five Potion Masters. Every one of them was treated like princes. With these two books, Shi Feng could create a Forging Master and a Potion Master. I remember there being a Hidden Quest in Dark Moon Valley. Not only would it teach Forging for free, it would also reward a Forging Talent. If I have both the Forging Talent and Book Of Forging, I could quickly become an Advanced Forging Apprentice. Then I could make Bronze Equipment and earn a lot of money. Shi Feng recalled a member of Shadow called Hammer Trading. The person had become a Forging Master because he completed that Hidden Quest. Dark Moon Valley was a Level 4 monster area. The Quest as well was a difficult one and would take up a lot of time. It seems I have to buy some items and make proper preparations. Shi Feng stored the two books and sent a mail to Blackie, telling him to meet up at the Trade Area. Shi Feng then headed to the Trade Area, himself. At this time, there were quite a lot of players at the Trade Area. Players who were tired of killing monsters would come to the Trade Area to rest, having a drink and chatting. There were also players selling their loot from grinding. Shi Feng searched for an empty spot, covering the ground with a piece of white cloth. He placed down the equipment and herbs he picked, starting his stall.The Level 4 Common Cloth Armor was priced at 1 Silver 20 Coppers, while the Bronze Shield was priced at 21 Silvers. It was a fair and cheap price at this stage of the game. Rare herbs, high-level equipment, those interested come and take a look. Shi Feng shouted. There were quite a number of players in the Trade Area. However, most of them were selling materials such as herbs, ore, etc. Until now, there had not been a single player selling equipment. Shi Fengs shout immediately became everyones focus. It cant be. There really is equipment! A Bronze Shield even! What unbelievable luck. I dont even have Common Equipment yet hes already got a piece of Bronze Equipment? This is Level 5 Equipment. Is this a joke? Im not seeing things, right? Whats so great about it? Dont forget, there was an expert that killed the Town Mayor. That was a Level 15 Elite. Now nobody can receive a Quest from the Town Mayor. Some players that received the Town Mayors Quest are also fuming with rage; all of them want to eat that expert alive. Twenty-one Silvers, this price is too high. I dont even have 1% of that money.The surrounding players were all in shock. Gods Domain hadnt been open for ten hours till now, yet someone could obtain such top-tier equipment. The most unbelievable part was that it was even being sold.It should be known that most Guilds and Workshops would wear the equipment they obtained, increasing their advantage as much as possible. They would definitely not sell them. Right now, players were, on average, Level 1. Level 5 equipment was something impossible to imagine, not to mention a Level 5 Bronze Shield. However, 21 Silvers was too high of a price. The income of the average player did not exceed 20 Coppers, and 21 Silvers equaled 2100 Coppers. It was an impossible price for them to shoulder.Shi Feng silently smiled as he looked at the increasing number of spectating players. He never hoped for these average players to buy it. What he wanted was the advertising effect. It was only a moment before a party of players rushed over. Leading them was a Shield Warrior. Give way, give way. Now that we, Shadow, are here, we are buying everything on the stall. Everybody else can just leave.The party members of Shadow created a path for the Shield Warrior to walk through.Shi Feng sent them a glance, discovering that the Shield Warrior was someone he knew. The man was called Flaming Tiger; he was the Team Leader for Shadow in Red Leaf Town. In his previous life, Shi Feng was constantly used as cannon fodder, preventing him from rapidly rising. Flaming Tiger was responsible for three-tenths of that effort. Shi Feng never thought he would meet up with this man so quickly. You the stall owner? Flaming Tiger became excited as he looked at the blue cross-shaped shield. He then looked at Shi Feng. He did not have the [Observing Eyes] skill, so he could not tell Shi Fengs level. However, Shi Feng was only clad in novice equipment, and he did not have any Guilds insignia on him. He was definitely just an average player. Obtaining such equipment should be due to good luck. Shi Feng nodded his head saying, Thats right. Good, I want everything here for 1 Silver. Flaming Tiger proudly stated. He said it as if everything on the stall was just unworthy garbage, and that giving 1 Silver for them was looking up to one. I dont negotiate prices. Please dont hinder my business by acting like a lord. Shi Feng did not get angry, choosing to ignore Flaming Tiger. At this moment, Flaming Tigers face became livid. He glared at Shi Feng, coldly saying, Are you sure you want to oppose us, Shadow? Ill give you one more chance, think carefully before you speak. Suddenly, all five other members of Shadow surrounded Shi Feng.Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Flaming Tiger, saying in a straightforward manner, Fools. He actually dared to threaten Shi Feng inside Red Leaf Town. Did he not know it was prohibited to take action inside a town? Youre courting death! Flaming Tiger raged, both his eyes turning blood red. He couldnt help but want to kill Shi Feng right this instant. Hahaha, truly interesting. A Level 5 Bronze Shield. How could us Assassins Alliance be left out. Another group of over ten players came at this moment. Every player wore the Assassins Alliances insignia. The person who spoke up was Stabbing Heart. He became shocked when he saw the stall owner.He did not expect to see Shi Feng, the expert who had cleared the Bronze Prize Challenge in a single try. Shi Feng had even obtained a Level 5 Bronze Shield now, so he had definitely killed a high leveled Elite monster. Stabbing Heart became even more respectful of Shi Feng. Heres 24 Silver, I want everything here. Lets become friends. The next time you have any good equipment, you must consider us, Assassins Alliance. Stabbing Heart handed over the 24 Silvers without hesitation. Although it was not easy for the Guild to collect these 24 Silvers, it was definitely worth it if he could become friends with an expert like Shi Feng.Alright. Since youre so straightforward, I wont ask for the 50 Coppers anymore. Ill contact you in the future. Shi Feng understood Stabbing Hearts intention. It wasnt a bad deal if he could cooperate with such a large Guild. Meanwhile, the surrounding players were shocked by Assassin Alliances overwhelming aire, handing over 24 Silvers without batting an eye. Now, this was a large Guild. Such an action had made a lot of players wanting to sign up for the Guild. Compared to the Assassins Alliance, there was no future in joining a Guild like Shadow. Everybody sent looks of contempt over to them. After being looked down upon by Shi Feng, then being given a slap by the Assassins Alliance, Flaming Tigers face became beet red. His eyes nearly crackled from anger. He called over an Assassin, coldly saying, Quiet Wolf, you keep an eye on that kid. Ill let him know what happens when he opposes Shadow.On the other side, Shi Feng had long since left the scene. He was currently purchasing items around the Trade Area. He now held 24 Silvers on his person. It was an amount even greater than the total wealth of an average guild. Now that Shi Feng was an absolute tycoon, he started buying things without a single care.He bought 20 bottles of Black Steel Beer, each costing 25 Coppers. He bought 30 Smoke Bombs, each costing 20 Coppers.He bought 100 Apple Pies, each costing 5 Coppers. Eating it recovered 30 HP every second, lasting 10 seconds. He bought 100 Magic Water, each costing 5 Coppers. Drinking it recovered 30 MP every second, lasting 10 seconds. Shi Feng spent a lot of his wealth within an instant, leaving him with only 3 Silvers. Brother Feng, youve finally decided to show up. What are we going to do now? Blackie had been waiting in the Trade Area for some time now. He wore a dark expression on his face, and his eyes were filled with resentment. Gods Domain had already been open for over 9 hours now. Aside from obtaining an [Explorer] title, Blackie did not obtain anything else. He was nearing the point of dying from depression. Lets go grind some monsters then. Shi Feng smiled, sending Blackie a party request. 11 Black Steel Beer After leaving Red Leaf Town... Shi Feng brought Blackie along as they headed straight towards Dark Moon Valley. Brother Feng, were on the path towards Dark Moon Valley. Thats a Level 4 monster area. Cant we choose a safer place? Seeing that Shi Fengs target was Level 4 monsters, Blackie couldnt help but ask nervously. Challenging higher levels in Gods Domain was extremely difficult. Usually, players would just challenge monsters that are one level higher than themselves. Challenging monsters two levels higher required at least a 6-man party for it to be possible. However, even 6-man parties wouldnt carry out such an action. Compared to exhausting themselves just to kill a single Level 3 monster, it was much more efficient to just kill a Level 2 monster. Shi Feng and Blackie were only two people. Ignoring Shi Feng, who was a Level 2 Swordsman, Blackie himself was still a Level 0 Cursemancer. He was just free food to a Level 4 monster. Going against Level 4 monsters just with the two of them was utterly suicide Shi Feng only smiled regarding Blackies worries. He securely said, Relax, cant you see that Im already Level 2? That friend of mine is an expert Beta Tester. If it weren''t for our good relation, he wouldnt even tell me such a secret. You can just wait to get on the leveling rocket. Shi Feng pushed all the problems that came with him being a reincarnated person onto his good friend. Now all his actions in Gods Domain could be easily answered, too. He also didnt have to explain much since Blackie would easily believe him. This was because a Beta Tester was the best explanation. As expected of Brother Feng, youre still the greatest. No wonder you didnt join Shadow Workshop to earn money. With an expert Beta Tester giving you pointers, you could definitely earn a lot of money in Gods Domain. The happiness of my bodys lower half will depend on you now. Blackie laughingly said as he became relieved. When joined the party before, he was very surprised to see Shi Feng already at Level 2. Currently, there had yet to be any news of a Level 2 player in Red Leaf Town. Even elites of a Workshop were no exception. However, Shi Feng had reached it. His leveling speed was absolutely terrifying. Blackie knew about Shi Fengs standards. Although his skills werent bad, he definitely wasnt that good. Before, Blackie still had some suspicions about the news of the Beta Tester. However, all his worries disappeared after seeing Shi Fengs level, because only a Beta Tester could make something like this happen. Blackie had also started believing the possibility of Shi Feng earning 16,000 Credits in ten days. Scram! This brothers straight! Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie, slightly widening the distance between them. However, Blackies gaze still carried some impurities, causing Shi Feng to panic slightly. What are you thinking, Brother Feng? My dream lover is the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. Blackie hurriedly explained. The Snow Goddess? Shi Feng had a very deep impression of this woman. She had performed extremely outstanding in other virtual games. Not only did she possess an absolutely beautiful face and devilish body, but she also had a proud attitude which was backed up by her excellent battle techniques. Because of these traits, she became even better received by the public. After three years since Gods Domains opening, she had become a top-tier expert within the whole country. She was also the top ten Berserker within the country. She was dubbed as the Battle Goddess. She had starred in plenty of commercials. Her personal net worth at that time had exceeded tens of billions of Credits. Not only that, but she was also the Vice Guild Leader of Ouroboros; millions of players would move with her single command. During those times, Shi Feng was only a minor character within Gods Domain. He could only look up to Gentle Snows shadow. Unfortunately, sometime later, Gentle Snow suddenly vanished from Gods Domain. Her disappearance became a hot topic within Gods Domain for some time. Brother Feng, look. Thats an Elite monster. Blackie pointed towards a snow-white fox in the distant paddy field as he shouted. Shi Feng looked over to the golden fields, discovering a white colored fox. There was even a little rabbit in the foxs mouth right now. [Cunning Snow Fox] (Rare Elite) Level 2 HP 450 Blackie, your eyesight and luck are seriously too good. You even spotted a Rare Elite. Were going to earn a fortune this time. Shi Feng stealthily walked closer to the fox as he directed Blackie, You just attack from a distance and leave the rest to me. Rare Elites were a special type of Elite. They had the same capabilities as a normal Elite monster, but the rewards they give out were a lot greater. It would take a long time for it to respawn after being killed. Whether you could meet one depended on your luck. Brother Feng, you must be crazy. Thats a Level 2 Elite. We cant go against it. Blackie wanted to stop Shi Feng. Only a small party of the same level could deal with an Elite. Fighting one alone, without any healing, would definitely lead to death. However, Blackie was too late. Shi Feng had quickly circled to the Snow Foxs back, launching a sudden attack. Chop! A sword strike flew. The Snow Foxs actions were very nimble. It immediately avoided a vital hit to its abdomen, taking only 32 damage. Such nimble actions. Its Defense isnt low either. Shi Feng made a quick judgment after observing how the Snow Fox dodged and took damage. He had the Might Of A Thousand title, so all his attributes were increased by 10%. There was also an additional 5 points to both Strength and Endurance, increasing his Strength to 13 and Endurance to 10. His Agility was also increased to 17 points. Now his Attack Power was 29, and he had 260 HP. With great speeds, the enraged Snow Fox bit towards Shi Fengs neck. It activated the skill [Fatal Blow]. However, with 17 Agility, Shi Fengs speed was not any slower than the Snow Fox. By the time the Snow Fox had rushed over, Shi Fengs Novice Sword had already struck down towards the foxs head. Peng! Shi Feng only had 13 points of Strength; it was still not enough to block the Snow Foxs attack. Forty-nine damage appeared above Shi Fengs head, and his Novice Swords durability decreased by 1 point, as well. On the other hand, the Snow Fox only received 5 damage. The gap between the two of them was as clear as day. Were dead! Were dead! Were so dead this time. Sweat started appearing on Blackies forehead. He had seen damage from Common monsters, but he never imagined that there was such a great difference from an Elite monster. Shi Feng was lucky he had blocked the attack with his sword, only taking close to 50 damage. If the attack landed on his body, wouldnt it be over a hundred? Shi Feng had reached Level 2 with great difficulty. If he died this time, he would return to Level 1; his great advantage over others would be gone. Move, Blackie! Shi Feng shouted. He really mustve gone mad. Fine! Fine, at worst Ill just die once. Im still Level 0, anyway. Blackie clenched his teeth and started chanting a curse, his hands making gestures. A [Dark Arrow] shot out, dealing 5 damage to the Snow Fox. Blackie sucked in a deep breath when he saw the damage. He had added all his points into Intelligence, yet 5 damage was all he could do. An Elite monsters Defense was just terrifying. Shi Feng who was facing the Snow Fox was under even more pressure. The Snow Fox had very high Agility. It was able to dodge whenever Shi Feng wanted to use Chop. In the end, Shi Feng could only use normal slashes, dealing 18 damage each time. However, each successful bite from the Snow Fox would deal over a hundred damage; it was greatly disproportionate. Tens seconds later, Shi Fengs HP fell to 31, while the Snow Fox still had 244. I guess theres still no way to directly face off against an Agility-type Elite with such a small amount of Skills. Shi Feng looked at the Snow Foxs half-remaining HP. If he continued to drag on this fight, he would be the one to die. He had to start bursting. Shi Feng took out a bottle of Black Steel Beer from his bag. After taking two mouthfuls, he became slightly drunk, and his vision started becoming blurry. He then activated Gravity Liberation, his speed increasing by a huge leap. He arrived at the Snow Foxs side with lightning speed. When Shi Feng looked at the Snow Foxs level again, it displayed Level 0, whereas he was Level 2. Suddenly, the suppression due to level difference was removed, letting Shi Fengs damage rise. Similarly, however, his body became difficult to control. Die! Shi Fengs eyes were icy cold, his grip around the Novice Sword tightened. Thundering Flash! Hua! Hua! Hua! Three lightning quick slashes struck past the Snow Foxs waist, causing it to let out a tragic cry. Damages of -30, -36, -42 appeared on top of its head, instantly taking away a quarter of its HP. Afterward, another Chop dealt 43 damage to it. The Snow Fox desperately resisted, but Shi Fengs speed after activating Gravity Liberation was very fast. Even if he was in a drunken state, with his many years of battle experiences, Shi Feng could still easily maneuver his body. This had placed the Snow Fox at an absolute disadvantage. Damn, what did you drink, Brother Feng? Youre suddenly so fierce! Blackies eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he saw Shi Fengs cheat-like performance. At this moment, the fierce Snow Fox had become Shi Fengs plaything. It had zero chance at resisting. When the Snow Fox had 42 HP remaining, Shi Feng was about to give the last strike. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt a shiver going down the back of his neck. It was as if he had a dagger pointed at his neck; it was a terrible feeling. Shi Feng instinctively leaped forward. In the next moment, a bright snowy dagger had slashed across his original position. Shi Feng had surprisingly avoided that strike. Behind Shi Feng, a figure with an extremely surprised expression revealed himself. He had already kept his presence hidden incredibly well; he did not even let out a single sound. Not only that, after he had raised to Level 1, his Agility had reached 10 points. However, his sneak attack had actually been dodged. What sort of intuition did Shi Feng have? Friend, we have no hatred or enmity between us. It isnt good doing something like this. Shi Feng focused his gaze on the newly appeared Assassin as he coldly said so. If you wish to place blame, then blame yourself for angering us Shadow. It is too late even if you regret it now. Quiet Wolf said excitedly. He held his dagger in reverse grip, paying attention to Shi Fengs every movement. Quiet Wolf had been following Shi Feng while also reporting his location. He never imagined that they would meet an Elite monster. The Snow Foxs current target was Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng had good skills, with the Snow Fox holding him back Quiet Wolf could definitely find a chance to kill of Shi Fengs remaining strand of life, then he could kill the Snow Fox. There were only benefits for him. As for the Cursemancer on the side, he was just garbage that was not even worth mentioning. Naturally, the Snow Fox wouldnt care about any of this. It just knew that it had to kill Shi Feng. The Snow Fox suddenly bellowed, its snow-white skin turning into a flaming red. Its body also increased in size and its HP rose by 20%. Then, the Snow Fox activated its final skill [Tearing Bite]. The skill amplified its damage by 50%, also causing a bleeding damage of 30, lasting for 5 seconds. You can go and regret, now! Ill take care of this Snow Fox in your stead. Quiet Wolf rushed at Shi Feng. He was prepared to kill off Shi Feng the moment he dodged the Snow Fox. 12 A Timeful Parry System: Player Quiet Wolf has attacked you and entered a Yellow Name state. Duration of one hour. Any players who attack Yellow Name players will not receive any penalty. Shi Feng only had 31 HP remaining. Being attacked from both sides by the Snow Fox and Quiet Wolf, put Shi Feng in a very dangerous position. Despicable!Standing at a distance, Blackie scolded Quiet Wolf for sneaking an attack at such a moment. However, he couldnt change a thing about it. The two of them were too far apart. It was too hard for him to land a hit on Quiet Wolf. He could only aim his attack on the Snow Fox, hoping to kill it off a second earlier and not letting Quiet Wolf profit off of them. Although mages had high output, compared to hitting monsters, it was far harder to land a hit on players unless they stood still without moving.This was because the moment the Dark Arrow shot out, there would be a prediction line appearing. In a situation where the distance was great, players with good standards could usually dodge it. If it was an expert, then dodging it would be a piece of cake. Just as the Snow Fox and Quiet Wolf were about to rush up...The corners of Shi Fengs mouth revealed a cold smile. He had been interacting with Quiet Wolf in Shadow for years now, so he was extremely familiar with Quiet Wolfs strengths and habits. Shi Feng took two steps back, forming a perfect triangle between the Snow Fox and Quiet Wolf. Shi Feng gripped the Novice Sword tightly in front of his chest. He stood there without moving as he awaited the arrival of their attacks. Did he give up?Quiet Wolf started looking down on Shi Feng when he saw Shi Feng preparing to block with his sword. Although players could reduce the damage received by defending the attack, the Snow Fox was an Elite. Even if Shi Feng could defend it, the attack would still cause around 50 damage. With just 31 HP remaining, Shi Feng couldnt even take a hit. The Snow Fox was a step ahead, biting towards Shi Feng. Tearing Bite!Just in time. Instead of retreating, Shi Feng advanced. He rushed towards the Snow Fox. The Novice Sword blocked the Snow Fox in its mouth. Using the lifesaving skill Parry, Shi Feng could block a frontal attack once. Shi Feng then continued by lifting the Snow Fox. The Snow Fox had low power, so Shi Feng had easily tossed it towards Quiet Wolf.Everything happened too quickly.Quiet Wolf who was rushing towards Shi Feng could not react in time. In an instant, his shoulder was bitten by the Snow Fox. A damage of -164 appeared on Quiet Wolfs head. His HP was instantly cleared down to zero. How? Quiet Wolf was unbelievably shocked. His heart was filled with unwillingness as he stared at Shi Fengs ridiculing smile. He never imagined that players could do such a thing. If he had known about it, he definitely wouldnt rush forward, just to get himself killed. At this point, regardless of how unwilling Quiet Wolf was, his HP had turned to 0. His body could only fall and turn into starlight. He had even dropped a piece of equipment.In the distance, Blackie became dumbfounded. He had even forgotten to attack the Snow Fox.Blackie, stop daydreaming! Hurry up and attack the Snow Fox! Shi Feng yelled and rushed at the Snow Fox again. After Blackie started reacting again, he chanted a curse, madly attacking the Snow Fox. Without Quiet Wolfs disturbance, the near-death Snow Fox was just a decoration. Within 10 seconds, the Snow Fox released a wail before falling down. System: [Rare Elite] Cunning Snow Fox killed. Obtained 130 EXP.Shi Feng was Level 2 now, so this amount of EXP was nothing to him. What Shi Feng was concerned about was the loot. Rare Elites were the love of all Gods Domain players because of their shocking drop rates. Furthermore, this was the First Kill of the Snow Fox, so the loot must be even better. It cant be. It actually dropped a weapon. Shi Feng obtained a Staff an Armguard. [Blackwood Staff] (Bronze Rank) Level 1 Equipment Requirements: Strength 5 Attack Power +8 Intelligence +3, Vitality +1, Mana +30 Durability 20/20This equipment would greatly strengthen a mage. Not only was its Attack Power high, it even gave an additional 3 Intelligence. If a mage equipped it, then their damage might increase up to two levels. [Fox Skin Gloves] (Common Rank, Leather Armor) Level 1 Equipment Requirements: Strength 3 Defense +4 Durability 20/20 On the other hand, Quiet Wolf had contributed a pair of Level 0 Common Leathered Shoes with +3 Defense. And here I thought it was some Gray Trash Equipment. It seems Quiet Wolfs luck isnt that bad, being able to obtain a piece of Common Equipment. Shi Feng had a different view of Quiet Wolf now. Obtaining a piece of Common Equipment at the starting period of the game definitely depended on luck. However, Quiet Wolfs luck now benefited Shi Feng instead. Swordsmen could wear both Plate Armor and Cloth Armor. Now that Shi Feng had two of these new items, his Defense had increased by a lot. Blackie, your equipment. Shi Feng passed the Blackwood Staff to Blackie. However, Blackie did not receive the equipment. He had a hesitant look on his face. Killing the Snow Fox depended entirely on Shi Feng. Blackie wasnt of much help, yet he had received the best equipment; a piece of Bronze Equipment no less. At this stage of the game, there werent many players capable of owning such an item. It was extremely valuable. Whats happened to you; arent we good brothers? Why are you being courteous with me? Besides, youre a Cursemancer. Once youve reached Level 1, you can fully exert the staffs greatest capabilities. With that, we can level even faster. Shi Feng said in a serious tone as if he knew what Blackie was thinking. After some thought, Blackie was able to make sense of it. He no longer refused it, saying, Thanks. Ill definitely use it properly. Now. thats much better. Shi Feng laughed, Lets go. Were going to Dark-Moon Valley. Red Leaf Town.Quiet Wolf, what were you even doing? Not only did you die, youve even dropped a piece of expensive Equipment. Do you know how precious that Equipment is? Flaming Tiger snapped as he cursed. Quiet Wolfs expression was as gloomy as dark water. That pair of shoes was something he had obtained after grinding for 7 hours, and now he had actually lost it. Even his heart was bleeding right now. Although he had wanted to explain, he did not know how to. Should he say how he was toyed with by Shi Feng? That wasnt something he was willing to admit. However, even if he wanted to snatch the equipment back, he wasnt an opponent for Shi Feng.Brother Tiger, I discovered a Rare Elite in the wild. I didnt think I would be discovered by that kid when I was about to kill off the Elite. That kid had even brought along another person. In a one versus three situation, I wasnt their opponent at all. Quiet Wolf pretended to be enraged as he turned black into white. He continuously tempted Flaming Tiger. That brat should have killed the Rare Elite by now. He mustve obtained some good equipment. They were on the path towards Dark Moon Valley. We could still catch up to them if we chase after them. We might even be able to get back the equipment. Rare Elite!? Flaming Tigers eyes started to shine. He no longer questioned Quiet Wolf. Instead, he was extremely interested in the loot of the Rare Elite. He said excitedly. Lets go. Well immediately chase after them. They actually dare to steal my equipment. I will make them regret even playing Gods Domain.Within a short moment, Flaming Tiger gathered all the members of Shadow Workshop present in Red Leaf Town. He brought along 11 Workshop members and rushed towards Dark Moon Valley. No matter what, he wanted to kill off Shi Feng and obtain his equipment. At this moment, Shi Feng and Blackie had already arrived at Dark Moon Valley.There was a smithy beside the flowing creek. Shi Feng and Blackie quietly stood in front of it. They were looking at a barechested, middle-aged uncle. In his hand, the man wielded a steel hammer. Ding! Dang! He kept hammering on the crimson red ore. Time slowly flowed by, bit by bit. Brother Feng, are we still going to wait? Its already been half an hour now. Blackie said. We have to wait. Without patience, he wont give us the Quest. Shi Feng affirmed. In his previous life, Hammer Trading had passed by this place on accident. He had discovered a smithy here. However, the blacksmith here didnt pay any attention to him regardless of how Hammer Trading talked to him. This had enraged Hammer Trading, so he decided to drag it on with the blacksmith. He kept standing to the side, sending death glares to the blacksmith. He had never imagined that after some time, the blacksmith would actively speak up. Not only that, the blacksmith even gave out a Hidden Quest. This had allowed Hammer Trading to learn the Forging Talent, becoming the Forging Master of the era. When Shi Feng thought about obtaining the Forging Talent, coupling it with the Book Of Forging, advancing into an Advanced Forging Apprentice became a very easy task. When that time came, Gold Coins would rain into his pockets. After waiting for more than ten minutesDo you two have an interested in Forging? The middle-aged blacksmith suddenly asked. Yes, sir. Weve loved Forging since we were young. Shi Feng immediately said. The middle-aged blacksmith nodded his head, saying in a satisfied tone, Then since you love Forging, I can teach it to you. But first, could you help me retrieve 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore? They can be found on the West side of Crimson Star Mine. Of course. We would gladly be at your service. Shi Feng respectfully answered. System: Hidden Quest Road Of Forging accepted. Player is requested by Forging Master Jack to obtain 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore from Crimson Star Mine. Crimson Star Mine was the nest of Level 4 Kobolds. These monsters loved ore the most. They would spend everyday mining within the mines. As such, Kobolds were born with great strength. However, they had short limbs. Because they stayed underground for long periods of time, their range of vision was short. They could only detect enemies within a 35-yard distance. This distance was also the maximum range of attack for a mage. At the mines entrance, there were many Kobolds walking around. An entire group of them would be attracted even if only one of them was attacked. [Kobold] Level 4 HP 420 Here. First, some food and drink to fill ourselves. Well start work after that. Shi Feng brought out a Black Steel Beer and an Apple Pie. Blackie didnt understand what Shi Feng was trying to do, but since it was Shi Fengs request, he must have his own reasons. Blackie sat down and started eating. Ten seconds after eating the Apple Pie, all of Blackies attributes were suddenly increased by +1 points, the effect lasting 30 minutes. After drinking the Black Steel Beer, Blackies vision started becoming hazy. When he looked at the distant Level 4 Kobolds, their Levels were suddenly reduced by 2; becoming Level 2.Alright, lets start then. A bottle of Black Steel Beers drunken effect only lasts 30 minutes. Shi Feng stood up. He took out a Smoke Bomb and walked closer to the mines entrance. Then, he threw it at the group of Level 4 Kobolds; there were currently over ten of them there. [Smoke Bomb] Able to reduce the visibility in a radius of 10 by 10 yards. Duration of one hour. The Smoke Bomb was able to reduce a monsters vision by 10 yards. It wasnt particularly useful against other monsters. However, it was great when facing Kobolds. Their vision was now reduced to 25 yards. As long as a mage attacked from a 30-yard distance, the Kobolds would not be able to spot them at all. They could only stand there and wait for their deaths.Attack. Shi Feng pointed to the Kobolds within the smoke. Blackie was half-doubting Shi Fengs actions, but he still chose to believe in Shi Feng. His mouth started chanting a curse. A moment later, a Dark Arrow shot out, landing directly on the foremost Kobold. 13 Blackie’s Good Luck The Kobold within the smoke was hit, 21 damage appearing above his head. The Kobold became furious after being inexplicably attacked. Like a searchlight, the Kobold looked around in all directions with his blood red eyes. Such an action had also caused the other Kobolds to start being on guard. Within the forest, Blackies heartbeat kept on speeding up. He was extremely panicked. Although the Kobolds looked to be Level 2, their Attributes 100% belonged to a Level 4. Drinking the Black Steel Beer allowed a player to become drunk, significantly increasing the players courage. As a result, all enemies seen by the player would have their Levels reduced by 2. However, this would not reduce the Kobolds Attributes. If these Kobolds came rushing at them, only death awaited Shi Feng and Blackie. Yet, Blackies worries were for naught. The attacked Kobold looked at its surroundings. However, it did not discover any enemies. After whining for a bit, it returned to its original state. The other Kobolds also stopped paying attention to their deranged companion as they continued walking about. Relax. They wont attack us as long as you maintain a 30-yard distance. Shi Feng clapped Blackies shoulders as he confidently commented. He had been planning all this ahead of time. Otherwise, he wouldnt have spent that much money buying all those items. Blackie became even more courageous after Shi Fengs encouragement. He continuously chanted curses and shot out Dark Arrows. The Kobold only had 420 HP, and it couldnt withstand Blackies bombardment at all. After receiving more than twenty Dark Arrows, it breathed its final breath. Meanwhile, the other Kobolds by its side did not show any reaction at all. Blackie became excited when he saw the first Kobold fall. He had killed a monster 4 levels higher. Although the EXP was shared due to being in a two-man party, the amount of EXP he received was still plenty. His experience had risen by 5% within an instant. This meant that Blackie would level up after killing 20 Kobolds. He was even safe and unharmed. If the monsters did not disappear completely, their leveling speed would be terrifying. With such a great way of leveling, they would be able to rise even to Level 6 very effectively. Blackie now understood why Shi Feng was so confident. Even if they had wasted several hours from traveling, being able to grind on monsters here was definitely worth it. After a while, the group of twenty or so Kobolds in front of the mines entrance was cleared out completely Blackie had also raised to Level 1. After he equipped the Blackwood Staff and added all his Free Ability Points into Intelligence, his damage was increased by a large leap. He could now take away 45 HP from the Kobolds in a single hit. Meanwhile, the group of Kobolds had dropped 12 Copper Coins and a Level 3 Common Cloth Armor. There were also 5 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Blackies luck was quite good. According to what Shi Feng had known, the drop rate of Meteorite Ore from the Kobolds was not high; only one would drop out of ten of them. Nearly 1000 Kobolds needed to be killed to obtain 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Now, however, just a group Kobolds had given them 5 pieces of Meteorite Ore. After storing the drops, Shi Feng went on to lure more monsters. With the advantage of his 16 Agility, Shi Fengs speed was faster than the Kobolds. Within moments, he had lured over 30 Kobolds. He also maintained the distance of around 20-yards, but not exceeding 25-yards. When he had lured all the Kobolds into the smoke cloud, Shi Feng increased his speed abruptly. He quickly distanced himself over 25-yards from the Kobolds, causing them to lose their target. After losing their target, the Kobolds stood on the spot in a daze. Blackie who stood over 30 yards away took the chance to attack. The group of over 30 Kobolds took less than ten minutes to be cleared. They dropped another 21 Coppers and 6 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Shi Feng and Blackies experience also greatly increased. In such a way, Shi Feng continued luring monsters while Blackie continued dealing damage. Although the process felt mechanical and boring, Blackie was not complaining one tiny bit. On the contrary, he became even more vigorous with each kill. He wished he could just kill all day without resting. After an hour, Blackies level had also risen to Level 2. His Dark Arrow rose to Level 3, and his damage went from more than 40 to more than 60. Such a rocket-like leveling speed made him speechlessly happy, giving him even more motivation to aim for Level 3. Their Kobold-killing efficiency also increased by quite a bit with Blackies greatly improved damage. The only downside was the increase in MP consumption following the Dark Arrows level up. Fortunately, there was the Magic Water that Shi Feng had bought. With it, Blackie could fully regenerate his MP before Shi Feng had lured a new group of monsters, allowing him to deal damage without pause. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was observing Blackies condition while he lured a suitable number of Kobolds. Other than that, he was just picking up the loot. The number of Copper Coins and Meteorite Ore were steadily increasing. After another hour of Blackies effort, they had managed to collect 73 pieces of Meteorite Ore, 6 pieces of Common Equipment, and 264 Coppers. They would be able to gather the remaining Meteorite Ore if they grinded for another hour. The system notification rang out just at this moment. System: Player Lonely Snow has sent you 10 Coppers. Subsequently, Shi Feng received a communication request. The person contacting him was Lonely Snow. You are? Shi Feng had just finished luring a group of monsters. Since he had nothing to do, he accepted the call request. Hello, Brother Expert. Im Lonely Snow. We met before at the Town Hall, and youve even pointed me to a grinding spot. That place was just too great. There wasnt anybody stealing mobs from me, and I could also easily handle them. Im already Level 2 now. Ive also looted a lot of materials and Copper coins. Ive already mailed you the 10 Coppers. I wonder if youve received it. Lonely Snow was extremely excited. Previously, he was worried that this expert would not bother with him any longer. This was because experts were usually very proud; they wouldnt even look at minor characters like him. Lonely Snow had earned over 60 Coppers from that treasured location he purchased. His level had even risen to Level 2, leading the other players by quite a lot. Spending 20 Coppers for this were definitely worth it. So it was you. Ive received the 10 Coppers. Shi Feng only remembered about it after being reminded. Indeed there was such a matter. However, that was when he needed the money to kill the Town Mayor a little earlier, so he had just casually given out some pointers. He didnt really mind regarding the remaining 10 Coppers. Brother Expert, the Level 2 Dungeon [Deathly Forest] has already been opened, so I wanted to invite you to dive into the Dungeon. My friends are all veterans, and theyre all Level 2 now. They will definitely not drag you down. Of course, all Swordsman Equipment obtained from the Dungeon will belong to you. Do you perhaps have the time? Lonely Snow was slightly nervous. Experts usually disdained bringing along other people, especially rookie newbies. It was the reason why Lonely Snow mentioned that there were Level 2 veterans in the party; he was afraid Shi Feng would just outright reject him. Deathly Forest? Shi Feng had a deep impression of this Dungeon. As long as the number of Level 2 players in Red Leaf Town reaches a certain amount, the first Level 2 Dungeon in Red Leaf Town, [Deathly Forest] would be opened. Along with the Deathly Forests opening, players of Gods Domain were made known to the difficulty of Dungeons. Deathly Forest was only conquered after many players had reached Level 4 or 5. Meanwhile, Deathly Forests true purpose was to increase the number of skills a player could possess. The monsters within the dungeon mainly dropped the basic skill books for every Job. However, the most precious item within the Dungeon was the forging design. Only the Final Boss, Werewolf Felot dropped it with a very low probability. Shi Feng was very interested in this forging design. If he could learn it, then he would be able to further progress in his plans. Fine. However, I have a condition of my own. I will be bringing a Cursemancer, so all Cursemancer and Swordsman equipment will belong to me. Also, I want all materials and design papers that the Boss drops. If you all are willing to agree to this condition then I can go with you. Shi Feng had just casually asked for the majority of the profits. However, he did not feel anything wrong with it. This Lonely Snow started sweating all over after hearing Shi Fengs condition. As expected, an experts asking price was definitely high. However, when Lonely Snow considered the strengths of a Beta Tester, he still reluctantly agreed, Alright then, I agree. Ill tell it to the others. Expert, when will you be free to come? Well meet at the Dungeons entrance in another two or so hours. Shi Feng estimated Blackies killing speed. In over an hour, they would definitely be able to finish gathering the 100 pieces of Meteorite Ore. Thats good. Then Ill start preparing over here. Ill see you at the Dungeons entrance, Brother Expert. Lonely Snow ended the call, a heavy weight being freed from him. At this moment, there were three other people standing beside Lonely Snow. Every one of them was Level 2. What did that expert say? a handsome Ranger asked. Lonely Snow explained it to them word for word. What dogs fart expert? Hes just here to take advantage and rip off equipment from us. Whats the point of inviting him? If we add another two damage dealers, we can enter the Dungeon all the same. a Shield Warrior angrily cursed. The male Cleric standing at a side curled his lips, saying in a bad mood, Then hes saying that all mage-class equipment belongs to his friend. Lonely Snow advised, That person is a real expert. Hes also a Beta Tester. He definitely has a deep understanding of the Dungeon. He might even be able to guide us through it. Dont you all want to clear the Deathly Forest? So, what if hes a Beta Tester? He just had an extra month of experience in Gods Domain and a rough understanding of it. Besides, the data has long been changed after the games official release. Even if he knew a lot about the Deathly Forest, how much use could there be? The Shield Warrior asked in disdain. He felt that those Beta Testers were only lucky. Their actual skills and strength might not even be comparable to them. Well see how it goes after they arrive. If its no good, then by that time there will be a lot more Level 2 players. It wont be too late, even if we find someone else by then. The leading Ranger said. After hearing this Ranger speak, the others nodded their heads in agreement. At this moment, there was a flash of light in Dark Moon Valley. Shi Feng had finally raised to Level 3. Unfortunately, the leaderboard for levels had yet to be opened. Otherwise, he would definitely be ranked first on Red Leaf Towns leaderboard for levels. Finally Level 3. Shi Feng hurriedly added 4 attribute points towards Agility, letting his Agility reach 20 points. System: Players Agility has reached 20 points. Activating Agility Hidden Basic Skill [Fast And Nimble]. [Fast And Nimble] (Active) When activated, possess a body exceeding the normal man. Bodys degree of freedom is completely released. Shi Feng suddenly felt a gush of strength from his entire body. He also felt his body becoming unspeakably agile. His five senses also received a great improvement. These improvements allowed Shi Feng to better exert his body''s potential. Besides Shi Feng reaching Level 3, the last Kobold that Blackie killed had unexpectedly dropped a Level 1 Bronze Equipment: Warboots. Shi Feng couldnt help but admire Blackies luck. Common monsters of Level 1 to 3 would not drop any Bronze Equipment. The drop rate of Bronze Equipment from Level 4 wild monsters was one out of ten thousand. Yet Blackie had actually got it; his luck was just heaven defying. Brother Feng, what are the attributes? Let me see as well! Blackie said so excitedly. The Warboots attributes are quite good. Shi Feng displayed the attributes. [Recruits Warboots] (Bronze Rank, Plate Armor) Level 1 Equipment Requirement: Strength 6 Defense +8 Strength +1, Endurance +1 Movement Speed +1 Durability 20/20 This is too great. With this equipment, Brother Fengs speed would become even faster, Blackie happily said. Before, it was only him who obtained a Bronze Equipment. It had troubled him to no end. Now that Shi Feng had one as well, his heart became relieved as he said, Brother Feng, how many Meteorite Ore are we still missing? Not many. Just 4 more pieces. Well be okay after another wave. Shi Feng looked into his bag. Unknowingly, there were already 96 pieces of Meteorite Ores in his bag. If someone else had come here to grind, they might have needed five to six hours to obtain this many. Luckily, there was Blackie. They had gathered most of it after just killing a few hundred Kobolds. Just when Shi Feng was about to lure more monsters, his keen senses detected three blurry figures were closing in from behind Blackie. Blackie, dodge quickly! Shi Feng yelled as he pulled out his Novice Sword. With lightning speed, Shi Feng rushed over. Blackie remained ignorant of the situation. He was still stuck being happy, unaware of the things approaching him. Only finding out now? Youre too late. Hell be the first one. Three figures suddenly appeared. They were three Assassin players, and one of them was Quiet Wolf, the person who was killed before. A mage being simultaneously ambushed by three Assassins would die, without question. There would be no suspense to it, even if Blackie was 1 level higher than them. 14 Extraordinary Players Physique The simultaneous attacks from the three Assassins caused a lot of damage to Blackie. Even though he wore several pieces of Common Cloth Armor, he had still lost nearly half of his HP. System: Guild [Shadow] has attacked your party. All party members are allowed to attack members of Guild [Shadow] without penalty. Duration of 1 hour. Ill fight you guys. Blackie knew he was sure to die. His speed was not comparable with an Assassins. However, he also wanted to retaliate before he died. Blackie started chanting a curse, firing a Dark Arrow towards Quiet Wolf at zero distance. Quiet Wolf smiled in disdain. Although the arrow was unavoidable, he still had 80 HP at Level 0. How strong could a Cursemancers attack be? Could it possibly instant-kill him? Hong! The Dark Arrow hit Quiet Wolf. A damage of 76 points appeared above Quiet Wolfs head, instantly leaving him with only some leftover HP. Quiet Wolf immediately became dumbfounded after seeing such damage; his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. The other two Assassins were equally shocked. How is this even a Cursemancer?! This was just a cannon! The person who dealt the damage was also shocked. Blackie had never imagined that the Level 3 Dark Arrow would be so powerful. In reality, however, it wasnt just the Level 3 Dark Arrows taking effect. There was also the high damage Blackwood Staff, the aura effect of Might Of A Thousand, and the bonus damage from level suppression. Such extreme damage was only possible with all these added together. Crap Lets kill him, brothers. His Staff is definitely a Mysterious-Iron Equipment, as a veteran gamer, Quiet Wolf quickly reacted, revealing his greed towards Blackies weapon. Blackie being able to deal such a high damage was definitely due to a Mysterious-Iron Weapon. Otherwise, he wouldnt be able to nearly instant-kill Quiet Wolf. Suddenly, the other two Assassins became full of energy as they rushed towards Blackie. Not to mention a Mysterious-Iron Weapon, they didnt even have a Common Weapon. If they could get Blackies Mysterious-Iron Weapon, then they would profit beautifully. The three Assassins attacked again, leaving Blackie with only 6 HP remaining. When they saw that Blackie was about to die, the three Assassins became even more excited; the Mysterious-Iron Weapon was about to come into their hands. At this moment, with unbelievable movement methods, Shi Feng appeared in front, blocking Blackie. Three sword strikes blocked the attacks from the three Assassins, creating three sparks. All three Assassins were sent flying backward. Before the Assassins could get over their shock, streaks of thunder appeared within their vision. Three streaks of thunder struck the Assassins that were still floating in midair. Damages of -32, -41, -50appeared on all three of their heads, all of their HP dropping to 0. Their bodies turned into starlight and disappeared within an instant. Because Assassins had low Defense and were under level suppression, the effect of a Level 2 Thundering Flash was extremely horrifying! Brother Feng Blackie became dumbfounded as he looked at Shi Fengs back, dumbly saying, Are you Brother Feng? Everything had happened all too quickly. Shi Feng had suddenly appeared and swung his sword three times, blocking three attacks from different directions. Then, he had followed it up with a Thundering Flash. All of these actions had been carried out within an instant. It was so fast that the Assassins could not even react. Shi Fengs actions and reactions were just inhuman. If Blackie wasnt familiar with the Shi Feng in front of him, he might have even thought it was someone else pretending to be Shi Feng. After sweeping his gaze around, Shi Feng discovered eight players surrounding them. Leading these players was Flaming Tiger. Shi Feng no longer dared to stay behind, hurriedly saying, Why are you still in a daze? Lets go. Shi Feng had activated Fast And Nimble, completely releasing his bodys degree of freedom. However, even though he had a constitution that could keep up and react to his thoughts, his actual bodys Attributes were too low. He had a very hard time controlling his body, and it was also mentally taxing. Taking explosive maneuvers two to three times was still possible, but doing it long-term was definitely too much. The enemies also consisted of numerous healers and Jobs that equipped plate armor. Shi Feng and Blackies only choice, now, was to run away. Blackie continuously nodded his head. Everyone go at them. You must definitely get me my Bronze Equipment and take over this mine. Flaming Tiger licked the corner of his lips. He was extremely excited. He did not mind the death of the three Assassins at all. Originally, Flaming Tiger was still burning with rage. They had spent hours at Dark Moon Valley searching for Shi Feng and his partner, causing their leveling speed to fall greatly. However, they had accidentally discovered Shi Feng and Blackie grinding monsters. At first, Flaming Tiger had wanted to immediately surround and kill the two. However, when he saw Blackie utilizing the smoke cloud at the caves entrance to kill the Level 4 Kobolds, Flaming Tiger nearly died from excitement. His hatred towards Shi Feng had also reduced by a large half. He had even wanted to thank Shi Feng for giving him such a valuable location. The difficulty of killing monsters of a higher level was famously known. If he could kill Level 4 monsters without any harm, then his leveling speed would be absolutely horrifying. It wont be more than ten hours before he would be leading the other players. After he had gained a huge advantage over others, the task of uniting Red Leaf Town would be at his fingertips. When that time came, he might even become Shadow Workshops Captain. Countless virtual game companies had closed shop because of Gods Domains opening. There were billions of players joining Gods Domain. To obtain their share in this, many enterprises and financial groups started investing in Gods Domain, one after the other. Gods Domain could be said to be the most profitable virtual game in the world. Flaming Tiger thought about how he would be able to stand out in Red Leaf Town. He thought about forcefully taking the large Guilds down a peg. He also thought about becoming Shadows Captain. When that time came, obtaining expensive cars, beautiful ladies, and luxury mansions were only a matter of time. When Flaming Tiger thought of these things, he became unspeakably excited. He had to appreciate Shi Feng for giving all of these things to him. However, appreciation remained just appreciation. He still couldnt let the Bronze Equipment on Shi Feng and Blackie go. Brother Tiger, those two are too fast. We cant catch up to them. A Berserker said. Theyre lucky that they run fast. However, this precious piece of land is enough. Flaming Tigers eyes shone when he looked at the mine. He had already fantasized himself leading Red Leaf Town with flair. Brother Tiger, what about Quiet Wolf and the other two? The three of them fell back to Level 0. They also lost quite a lot of Skill Proficiency, an Elementalist asked. Flaming Tiger rolled his eyes at his subordinate, asking, Is this even a problem? You saw as well just now. The Kobolds within the smoke cloud wont attack players if theyre attacked from a distance. Those are Level 4 monsters. Leveling will be easy, so hurry them over here. Brother Tiger is still the smart one. Being able to find such a precious spot, Brother Tiger will definitely become the number one person in Shadow, the Elementalist started bootlicking Flaming Tiger. Scram! Number one person in Shadow? I am the number one person in Gods Domain! Flaming Tiger angrily responded. The other members of Shadow also agreed, one after another, laughing at the Elementalist for licking on the wrong boot. A moment later, three mage players started attacking from a distance. As for the other players, they lured the monsters into the smoke cloud. Under Flaming Tigers command, they started killing the Kobolds in an orderly manner. Great, this is just great! Even after sharing a Kobolds EXP with so many people, my experience still increased by 2%. Brother Tiger, this is really fantastic! These monsters also drop ore and a lot of money. Not only that, but these Kobolds also respawn quickly. We can grind here without limits until we reach Level 6. By that time, we Shadow will definitely become Red Leaf Towns number one Guild. The members of Shadow started laughing happily. It wouldnt take many hours before every one of them reached Level 6. It was already great just imagining how they would suppress the other Guilds in Red Leaf Town. Hahaha! Consider yourselves lucky for following me. The other team leaders are nothing. When the time comes, Ill become Shadows Captain. Flaming Tiger was in a great mood. With such an increase in experience, it wouldnt take an hour before he rose to Level 2, compensating for his previous losses. Meanwhile, at the nearby location of Crimson Star Mine, Blackie was grinding his teeth in anger. Brother Feng, are we just going to let this go? That was hard-to-obtain information that came from a Beta Tester, but now its just profiting these people. I get angry just from thinking about it. These people from Shadow are just shameless. Fortunately, I didnt join them. Shi Feng shook his head as he looked at the System Panels clock, smiling indifferently, They dare to steal my things. Well let them enjoy it for now. In a moment, well let them know after happiness comes sorrow. 15 After Happiness, Comes Sorrow Time passed, bit by bit. Shi Feng and Blackie did not just do nothing. They were killing Level 4 Roaming Gnomes in a place not far from Crimson Star Mine. [Roaming Gnome] (Common) Level 4 HP 400 Compared to the Kobolds, the Roaming Gnomes were much more agile. They were very good at dodging. However, their Attack and Defense werent all that good. Moreover, Dark Moon Valley had yet to be developed. The monsters here were more numerous, and there was nobody here to compete with; there was no need to search for monsters to kill. Shi Feng was already a Level 3 Swordsman, while Blackie was a Level 2 Cursemancer. After activating Fast And Nimble, the Roaming Gnomes dagger had no chance of even touching Shi Feng. As for Blackie, his damage was even fiercer after drinking a Black Steel Beer. With Shi Feng entangling the gnomes in the front, and Blackie dealing damage from behind, killing off the Roaming Gnomes became very easy. The efficiency was even better than grinding off the Kobolds. In the front of the Crimson Star Mine, groups of Kobolds laid still before the mines entrance. Copper Coins and various kinds of ores were scattered all over the ground. Brother Tiger, this place is just too great. Its just been over half an hour, and everyone is already Level 2. So much money dropped, as well. Hahaha, keep up the effort everyone. You three, lure more monsters. As long as we continue grinding this way, it will only be three to four hours before we can rise to Level 3. Flaming Tiger excitedly commanded the three Assassins that just recently arrived to lure the Kobolds. The mages were already Level 2, so the speed of killing the Kobolds had increased by a big leap. Luring a group of over thirty Kobolds was not enough for them. Brother Tiger, something dropped here. A Berserker held on to a book as he shouted. Bring it here, let me have a look at it. Flaming Tiger said while smiling. He licked his dried lips when he saw something dropped. After Flaming Tiger received the book, he suddenly started laughing loudly. Great, really great! Not only has the spot that kid found after much effort been taken over by me, but if he knew a rare skill for Swordsman was even in my hands? I really want to see that kids look of regret. Brother Tiger, I saw that kid when I came here. They were still nearby killing Roaming Gnomes. Im guessing that theyre still unwilling to leave and still thinking of this place. Why dont we go over and kill them? Save us some trouble. A cold glint flashed through Quiet Wolfs eyes. They were filled with killing intent. He was overcome by a great resentment after being killed twice by Shi Feng. Flaming Tiger waved his hand; with a disdainful smile on his face as he said, Then let them look. Watch at how fast we level up and earn money, and at how we become the tyrants of Red Leaf Town. Meanwhile, they can only watch from a side with their hearts full of regret and unwillingness. Hahaha, I feel great just thinking about it. Although Quiet Wolf still held some resentment over it, when he imagined Shi Fengs unwilling appearance and how he could only exhaust himself killing Roaming Gnomes Quiet Wolfs heart felt a great gust of pleasure. Just you wait. The moment I reach Level 6 will be your death. Quiet Wolf did not actually give up on killing Shi Feng. Instead, when he thought about the pleasure he would feel after killing Shi Feng when he was Level 6, he couldn''t help but look forward to it. Meanwhile, in the forest 60 yards South of the Crimson Star Mine, Shi Feng was using a tree to hide while he observed Flaming Tiger and the others. Brother Feng, can the two of us handle it? Blackie asked in a worried tone. These 11 people were not just any average players. They were experts that had passed Shadow Workshops examination. Moreover, there were two healers on their side. It was impossible to kill all of these people just by depending on the two of them. Relax. The time is almost up. Well just watch the show. Shi Feng looked at the time, indifferently saying, In a moment, you go stand at the back. Kill whoever has low HP; dont let even one of them get away. Time is almost up? Blackie didnt understand what it meant. Shi Feng pointed towards the smoke cloud in front of the Crimson Star Mines entrance, saying with a smile, That Flaming Tiger must think that killing monsters of a higher level is easy. The Smoke Bomb that we placed before we left has a time limit, and only two minutes are left before the hour is up. Did they think they could continuously enjoy my domain after stealing it from me? Now, Ill teach them how to be proper human beings. Blackie was struck with a realization. His worship towards Shi Feng became even greater now. Brother Feng is still the smartest. Those brats from Shadow are definitely goners this time. Blackie said with a grin. The reason they could cross levels and harmlessly kill Kobolds was that of the Smoke Bombs. They definitely couldnt do without them. If there were no Smoke Bomb, then the consequences would be horrifying. Two minutes later, the smoke cloud in front of the Crimson Star Mine slowly dispersed. Brother Tiger, why is that smoke cloud disappearing? an Elementalist asked Flaming Tiger after noticing the disappearing smoke cloud. The smoke cloud disappeared? It cant be. Flaming Tiger abruptly woke up from his nap. When he looked over at the mines entrance, the smoke cloud really did disappear. If its gone, then fine. The smoke cloud might be a periodic thing. Dont bother with it; keep on grinding. Just as Flaming Tiger finished speaking, the usually stupid-looking Kobolds that did not retaliate suddenly looked towards the members of Shadow Workshop in unison. There were over forty Kobolds with blood red eyes. The Kobolds let out angry growls after finally discovering the people who had been attacking them. Suddenly, they all came rushing forth. The members of Shadow did not react at all. Within an instant, they were surrounded and given a beating by the Kobolds. A Level 2 player could hardly take 3 hits from a Kobold, not to mention a group of Kobolds. Seven players died within a blink of an eye. The backline players became a mess as they ran for their lives. However, the Kobolds were very fast. It only took them moments to catch up to the escaping mages. For each mage, they were gifted a hammer to their heads. The mages quickly lie still on the floor, never to rise up again. Crap, what is going on here? Why did these Kobolds suddenly become insane? Flaming Tiger cursed. He quickly turned tail and ran the moment he noticed the situation turned bad. They had risen to Level 2 after much effort. However, this death sent them all back to Level 1. There were even three Assassins who were Level 0. It was an absolute loss. With such an increase and decrease, the dream becoming the tyrants of Red Leaf Town also perished. Instead, the current members of Shadow werent even up to par with the average player. They were even further away from the other Guilds. Flaming Tigers heart started to bleed in pain. We meet again, Brother Tycoon, Shi Feng said with an indifferent smile. He currently blocked Flaming Tigers escape path. After seeing Shi Fengs sneer, even an idiot would understand that the Kobolds rebellion had something to do with him. Youre dead for sure, kid. You dare to actually scheme against me. If I dont kill you back to Level 0, then my name will be read backward. All of Flaming Tigers hair stood up in anger. He raised his shield and swung it at Shi Feng. Compared to the other members of Shadow Workshop, Flaming Tigers skills were clearly a tier higher. With one hand, he used his shield to block Shi Fengs vision, while he used the other to stab his short sword towards Shi Fengs vital point. It was simple, yet sinister, and it was very hard to stop. However, Flaming Tigers confident strike struck air. Where is he? Flaming Tiger fixed his gaze to the front. However, there wasnt even a shadow of a person present. Over here. Shi Feng stood behind Flaming Tiger, his sword waving down. Chop! A damage of -36 appeared above Flaming Tigers head. His HP had instantly gone from 220 to 184. When Flaming Tiger was hit, he hurriedly spun around and used [Shield Bash]. However, Shi Feng had long since seen through Flaming Tigers movements. He took a step backward and spun his body around, hiding by the shield. Then, Shi Feng arrived once more at Flaming Tigers back, giving him another sword slash. Without the use of any Skills, Shi Feng could only deal 23 damage to a Shield Warrior with high defense. You coward! Dont hide if you have the ability. I can kill you anytime I want! Flaming Tiger could not land any hits on the agile Shi Feng. His HP was constantly decreasing, and only 83 points of it remained now. He had no way of dealing with Shi Fengs attacks, so he decided to start ridiculing Shi Feng in hopes of provoking him, allowing Flaming Tiger the chance to kill Shi Feng. Sure, Ill stand here without dodging. Come attack me then. Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Flaming Tiger silently smiled. He never imagined that Shi Feng was such a fool, taking the bait with just a small amount of stimulation. Watch how Ill toy with you to death. Flaming Tiger raised his shield and used [Charge] at Shi Feng. If Shi Feng didnt dodge, then he could only take the hit forcefully. In terms of Strength, Flaming Tiger wouldnt lose to Shi Feng. However, only disappointment was waiting for him. Just when Flaming Tiger was 2 yards away from Shi Feng, Shi Feng immediately used Thundering Flash. Three streaks of thunder went past Flaming Tigers shield, directly landing on his body. Three high damages appeared above Flaming Tigers head, -28, -35, -41, his HP instantly dropping to 0. You Despicable! Flaming Tiger glared at Shi Feng. He was furious to the point of spitting out blood. If it weren''t for himself rushing towards Shi Feng on his own accord, he wouldnt have been struck by all the attacks of that skill. Are you alright, Brother Tycoon? I said I would stand here without dodging, but Ive never said I wouldnt move my hands. How could you be so gullible, even rushing over, yourself? Shi Feng spread out his arms, showing that it was all a mistake, saying, Oh, right. I still have to thank Brother Tycoon for earning me so many ores. Youve saved me a lot of time. Flaming Tiger pointed towards Shi Feng, wanting to say something. However, his body had already turned into starlight and disappeared. He couldnt even utter a single word, only leaving behind a pile of ore and a single book. 16 Everyones A Liar In Red Leaf Towns noisy plaza, flashes of white light appeared. Following which, figures of players appeared, one by one. These players were the revived members of Shadow. These people had down and extremely depressed expressions on their faces. Nothing could beat the pain and entangled feeling of having recently gained something, then losing it again. Just a moment ago, they were still dreaming of becoming the tyrants of Red Leaf Town. Their levels were increasing; it was like flying. In the next second, however, they died. Not only had their levels and Skill Proficiency decreased, but the experience they had at Level 1 was also lower than before. They were much worse off compared to the average player. Flaming Tigers expression after reviving was even more livid. His eyes alone could eat a person alive. System: Player Ye Feng has killed you. You will be revived in Red Leaf Town after 3 seconds. At the same time, you will lose 1 Level, and all your Skill Proficiencies will be reduced by 100 points. Ye Feng! I will not let you off! I will definitely make you wish for death! Flaming Tiger let out an angry bellow after looking at the numbers displayed by the System. His actions had caused the other players to quickly avoid him, not daring to look at this madman. After venting for a while, Flaming Tiger ordered the other members of Shadow to check their bags, checking for the items they dropped. Although this death caused great losses for everyone, there wasnt just the EXP gained from killing Kobolds. There was also loot; this was also the only thing they could be happy about. At the very least, they did not busy themselves for nothing. When Flaming Tiger took a look into his bag, a sweet taste suddenly entered his throat; he spat out a mouthful of blood. At once! Immediately! We head for Dark Moon Valley, now! I must kill that kid! Flaming Tigers bellowed, his anger reaching up to the skies. The skill book that he planned on using to ridicule Shi Feng was gone. It was an extremely rare skill for Swordsman, and it was also the most valuable item they got from grinding Kobolds. Now, it was gone. However, the most unforgivable thing was that the skill book had fallen into Shi Fengs hands. In the end, all of Flaming Tigers efforts had become Shi Fengs gains. This was something that he would not tolerate. His hatred was something that could not be resolved, even if he were to kill Shi Feng back to Level 0. The other members of Shadow did not understand what had happened to Flaming Tiger. Going to search for Shi Feng right now was just a futile effort. Nobody would be foolish enough to wait for them to take revenge. Shi Feng would definitely slip away, snickering at them in some other place. At this moment, Flaming Tigers System Communication rang. Who is it! Disturbing me at this time, are you trying to die? Flaming Tiger cursed after the call connected. Flaming Tiger, your temper sure has grown after not meeting for a day. The voice on the other side was ice cold, as if in a furious rage. Flaming Tiger felt the familiarity of that voice. When he found the corresponding identity to the voice, his face suddenly turned extremely ugly, Brother Zhang, it is you. Im currently educating my subordinates. I never thought Brother Zhang would contact me. Brother Zhang, please dont mind it. I wasnt speaking about you just now. Enough. I already know about your problem. Just looking at the damage youve caused towards Shadows development in Red Leaf Town,Looking at what the good youve done has accomplished towards Shadows development in Red Leaf Town, Ill come to you immediately. From now onwards, you dont have to continue being Red Leaf Towns Team Leader. Silent Rain, the teams Elementalist will take over temporarily. If, youre still not Level 2 by the time I arrive in Red Leaf Town, then you can just get lost. Shadow doesnt need garbage. Flaming Tiger became spiritless after hearing these words. His hatred for Shi Feng would never be washed away, even by the five lakes and four seas. Meanwhile, in Dark Moon Valley, Shi Feng and Blackie were picking up the drops from the members of Shadow. Shi Feng was currently holding the skill book dropped by Flaming Tiger. Flaming Tiger really is too generous. He had even left me such an item. Shi Feng chose to learn the skill without hesitation. [Wind Blade] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Level 1 Proficiency 0/300 Ambush an enemy outside 5 yards and within 30 yards. Movement Speed will be increased by 40% when rushing towards the target and Attack Speed increased by 20% for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds A Swordsman mobility would be greatly increased with this skill. It was a great counter to Rangers and mages who love to kite. Brother Feng, the Meteorite Ore we need are all here. There are also quite a few Bronze Ore. Shadow really helped us big this time. Blackie laughed loudly. As he was collecting the ore from the ground, he noticed a piece of dark green ore. Picking it up, he asked, Brother Feng, what is this [Star Crystal]? When Shi Feng heard about the Star Crystal, he ignored the Meteorite Ore below his feet, instantly turning around and running towards Blackie. Damn, it really is a Star Crystal! Blackie, your luck is really too good. You even picked up such a thing. Shi Feng said excitedly as he carefully looked at the dark green ore after receiving it. Every monster in the world had a chance of dropping a Star Crystal. The chances were a million to one. Maybe it was trash to other people, but to Shi Feng, it was a priceless treasure. It was also the thing he needed the most. Brother Feng, what is this Star Crystal for? Blackie curiously asked. Shi Feng was usually calm and indifferent. Such an excited reaction from him displayed the preciousness of the Star Crystal. Its for eating, but not for players. Shi Feng smiled slightly but did not continue explaining as he kept the Star Crystal. Its for eating? Blackie was slightly confused. Who would eat a rock? However, Shi Feng must have his own reasons for not explaining, so Blackie did not continue asking about it. A moment later, all the drops were collected. They had received a total of 14 pieces of Meteorite Ore, and 32 pieces of Bronze Ore. Not only had they completed Shi Fengs Quest, they even had some leftovers. Subsequently, the two of them arrived at the smithy. Master Jack, I have collected the Meteorite Ore you asked for. Shi Feng handed over all of the Meteorite Ore, not leaving even one behind. These were all Quest Items. A stack of them would only sell for 1 Copper to an NPC. It was utterly worthless. Not bad, young man. However, if you wish to become an outstanding Forger, you still need to have enough strength to obtain precious ore. There is a powerful Kobold Chieftain. Go kill it to prove your strength. Master Jack said eloquently as he stored away the Meteorite Ore. System: Hidden Quest Road Of Forging. Kill the Kobold Chieftain inside Crimson Star Mine. Time limit of 1 hour. When Shi Feng saw that there was still a second stage to the Quest, Shi Feng wished he could curse Hammer Trading. He had caused Shi Feng big trouble this time. As expected, everybody would have kept something to themselves. Nobody could be trusted. Everyones a liar. In Shi Fengs previous life, Hammer Trading had not mentioned a second stage of the Quest. Now a second stage, time-limited Quest had appeared. It was even against a Chieftain monster. That wasnt an Elite monster you simply run across. A Chieftain was even stronger than a Special Elite. It was the equivalent of a Dungeons Boss. Shi Feng was just Level 3, and a Leader monster was just too deadly to him. In Shi Fengs previous life, Hammer Trading was Level 16 when he accepted the Quest. Completing the Quest was extremely easy. Forget it; lets have a look at it first. He could do nothing about being tricked. However, Shi Feng did not plan to give up. The Forging Talent had too great of a use, and Shi Feng must learn it. Following which, Shi Feng and Blackie cleared the way of Kobolds as they headed towards the deeper parts of the Crimson Star Mine. Compared to the Kobolds at the entrance, the Kobolds inside were no longer Level 4; they were Level 5. They took more time and energy to kill. Often, another Kobold would respawn before one was killed. If there weren''t enough Black Steel Beer to reduce the Kobolds level by 2, then Shi Feng and Blackies killing speed would be completely unable to keep up with the respawn rate. Half an hour later, Shi Feng and Blackie arrived at the deepest part of the Crimson Star Mine. It was a large piece of empty land. There were over ten Kobolds mining for ore in the surroundings. There was a huge figure standing in the center of the empty area. It was a Kobold that wore armor, and it was constantly giving out commands to the other Kobolds. [Kobold Chieftain] (Chieftain-rank) Level 5 HP 2100/2100 Just its HP alone could cause a person despair, not to mention the heavy armor worn on the Kobold Chieftain; its Defense was definitely high. It was nearly impossible for physical-type attacks to cause a lot of damage. Moreover, Chieftain Rank monsters had a recovery speed of 2% HP every 5 seconds when in battle. That meant the Kobold Chieftain would recover 42 HP every 5 seconds. It was not a number to look down upon. An average Level 5 player with physical-type damage might not even be able to deal 42 damage within 5 seconds. As for using the Smoke bombs to kill the Kobold Chieftain safely, that was completely impossible. A Chieftain monsters range of vision was extremely wide. Even a Kobold would have a vision range of 55 yards. Using the Smoke Bomb to reduce its vision by 10 yards would still leave it with 45 yards. Even for Rangers, who had the furthest firing range of 40 yards, it was not enough. Shi Feng thought through it again and again as he looked at the Kobold Chieftain before him, helplessly laughing, Do I really have to use that? 17 Magic Weapon Released, Famed Swordsman Born Brother Feng, can we really beat this Kobold Chieftain? Blackie had not an ounce of confidence in him when he looked at the Kobold Chieftain. Ignoring its horrifying amount of HP, the giant ax on its back was enough to terrify someone. If Blackie were hit with that ax, he would definitely turn into meat paste within an instant. I dont know. Shi Feng shook his head. Plans can never keep up with change. There was not a single terrain within the mine that could be used. They could only fight the Kobold Chieftain head on if they wanted to kill it. The Kobold Chieftain was the most powerful monster Shi Feng had met up with to this point. If he had enough time, Shi Feng would come here when he was Level 5, with a full body of Bronze Equipment. He would have an eighty percent chance by then. However, there was little left of the time that Forging Master Jack gave him. If he wanted to finish the battle within the twenty minutes remaining, then he would need to send out a small party of Level 5 Elites to do so. However, there were only two of them. Their equipment was also poor. Trying to kill the Kobold Chieftain within twenty minutes was utterly impossible. However, there would be dire consequences if the Quest was not finished. There was only one chance to do this Hidden Quest. If it failed, Shi Feng would not be able to receive it ever again. Thus, Shi Feng was even more unwilling to give up this Quest. I can only try it. Shi Feng unwillingly took out the Magic Weapon, Abyssal Blade. In his previous life, the number of Magic Weapons Shi Feng had personally witnessed could be counted on his fingers. Anybody who had seen a Magic Weapons power would be brought to submission by it. Whereas, those who could properly wield a Magic Weapon was as rare as a phoenixs feather. Crimson War God was one such person. He had grown to fame within a Guild War that had involved over 100,000 people. During that war, Crimson War God held a bloodied Magic Weapon, the Crimson Ghost Ax. He rushed into groups of thousands of warriors with the ax and slaughtered. There was no one who could block his giant ax. In the end, the enemy Guild was forced to retreat in embarrassment. Crimson War God had created the scene of one man defending against 10,000. After that war, he built up the glorious War God Empire. There was also the Madman, Windchaser. He held the Magic Weapon, Evil Spirits Roar. With only the bow in hand, Windchaser had single-handedly defended a city. Of the thousands of enemy players, not one of them could enter within 100 yards of the city. Using a single arrow, Windchaser had even sniped Outstandingly Extraordinary, the Guild Leader of [Imposing Expert]. Outstandingly Extraordinary had been standing further than 100 yards from the city at that time. As long as they were a Magic Weapon user, then they would be famous, top-tier experts in Gods Domain that were respected by all. ystem: Do you wish to bind the Abyssal Blade? Shi Feng sucked in a deep breath, choosing to bind. He did not care anymore about the Backlash of the Magic Weapon. Since those people could control the Magic Weapons, then how could he, as a reincarnated person, lose to those newbies that had yet to grow up? The moment the binding was finished, Shi Feng could clearly feel his entire bodys strength being sapped away. His levels, as well, dropped one after the other, becoming Level 0 within an instant. In another moment, however, a force of strength started flowing through his body. His bodys current constitution was even stronger than when he was Level 3. When he checked the Abyssal Blade Attributes, Shi Feng became even more shocked. [Abyssal Blade] (Magic Weapon, One-handed Sword) Attack Power 24 All Attributes +10 Attack Speed +3 Ignore monsters Level by 5. Attacks have a 15% chance to cause 2 x damage, 10% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all stats by 30%, lasting 20 seconds. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman Job, all Skill Levels +2. Increase Free Ability Points received by 2 points for every increase in Level. Equipment Level 0. Can be leveled up. (Devour ten Level 5 Bronze Equipment and one Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Equipment to level up to Level 5). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 50% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, Doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration of 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration of 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly create nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for the wielder to use, each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 30% damage. Duration of 20 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. The Abyssal Blade was personally created by Master Smith Olysses, using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from being able to provide the wielder with immense strength, there would be a Backlash after a certain period of time. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing All Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Seeing such Attributes and these many Additional Skills, the Abyssal Blade was no different than a Gods Weapon. However, there were still thirty-five of these Famed Swords, and the Abyssal Blade was just one of the lower ranked ones. It was hard to imagine what kind of sword the first ranked was. Brother Feng, please dont scare me. How did you become Level 0? Glancing at Shi Feng from the side, Blackie became shocked. It had already been troublesome just facing the Kobold Chieftain. Now that Shi Feng had fallen back to Level 0, how could they fight it? Relax. Use the Smoke Bombs to clear off the small mobs first. Leave the Kobold Chieftain to me. Shi Feng called up the Attribute Panel, placing all 6 Free Attribute Points into Agility. His Agility had reached 20 points exactly, activating [Fast And Nimble]. Shi Feng was very eager to test his sword on the Kobold Chieftain. Character: Ye Feng (Human) Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon Title: Might Of A Thousand Job: Swordsman Level: 0 HP: 460/460 Attack Power: 72 Defense: 4 Attack Speed: 10 Movement Speed: 8 Attributes: Strength 24, Agility 20, Endurance 22, Intelligence 13, Vitality 13 System: Strength has reached 20 points. Activating Hidden Basic Skill, [Smashing Fists]. Able to destroy Trash Weapons with bare hands. System: Endurance has reached 20 points. Activating Hidden Basic Skill, [Robust Physique]. Along with the activation of the Hidden Basic Skills for Strength and Endurance, Shi Feng could now utilize the full potential of his current body. He was no longer a three-second hero. Although he was Level 0, his current Attack Power and Attributes were far above that of when he was Level 3. His HP was even more awesome. It wasnt any worse than a Level 5 Shield Warriors HP. Not to mention Shi Feng still had a bunch of high-level Skills. He could definitely fight it out with the Kobold Chieftain. While Shi Feng was getting used to his body, Blackie had cleared all of the Kobolds in the surrounding areas, leaving behind only the Kobold Chieftain. Wait for me to pull aggro, then you can start madly attacking. Shi Feng instructed. Taking a step forward, Shi Feng rushed towards the Kobold Chieftain. Wind Blade! In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had arrived in front of the Kobold Chieftain. The Kobold Chieftain had yet to react before two streaks of black light slashed at its neck. Suddenly, blood splashed from its neck, causing the Kobold Chieftain to scream in pain. Two frightening damages appeared above its head. -63, -128... The Kobold Chieftain finally reacted. However, just as it lifted its giant ax, another sword flash passed through an unprotected area of its body. Chop! Another -105 damage appeared on the Kobold Chieftain. The power of a Level 4 Chop was shocking. When the giant ax landed on the ground, it created a large crater. However, Shi Feng had long since retreated and followed up by using a Level 4 Thundering Flash. Three streaks of violent thunder passed through the Kobold Chieftains gigantic body, creating damages of -84, -101, -123. Shi Feng had taken over 600 HP away from the Kobold Chieftain after just a single exchange. The might of the Famed Sword, the Abyssal Blade even shocked Shi Feng himself. Blackie, who stood a distance away, was even more dumbfounded. 18 Nine Dragons Slash The Kobold Chieftain became enraged when he was dealt the heavy damage by Shi Fengs surprise attack. The blood that leaked from its wound became its stimulant. The Kobold Chieftain raised its giant ax, bombarding Shi Feng with one attack after another. The Kobold Chieftain could not react appropriately towards Shi Fengs previous surprise attack. It could only instinctively attack, so its attacks were aggressive. Against the wild attacks of the Kobold Chieftain, even a Level 5 Shield Warrior or Guardian Knight would die within an instant. Shi Feng could only retreat under such intense attacks. He did not have any chance to retaliate. He also needed to dodge the incoming rubble the size of fists. If they hit him, it would cause quite an amount of damage. A man and a beast exchanged moves at high speeds. If it were an average man, he most likely would not be able to make a single move. He would be halved by the giant ax, becoming very much dead. Blackie, hurry and attack it. I cant hold on for much longer. Shi Feng had been dodging for a whole seven or eight seconds now. When he saw Blackie, having yet to attack, he shouted loudly. They were currently facing a Chieftain Boss, not a little Elite. The attack patterns of a Chieftain Boss were not as monotonous as an Elites; it had a variety of attacks. The Chieftain Boss was a monster that possessed intelligence. It would even change its attack pattern for specific players. Couple that with a strength that was two to three times that of a normal Elite, the Chieftain Boss was stronger than an Elite by at least four times. Although Shi Feng had only exchanged blows with the Kobold Chieftain for seven or eight seconds, it felt like several minutes had gone by. Just from blocking attacks and the occasional counter attack had already taken over 100 HP from Shi Feng. If this situation continued, it wouldnt be long before his HP reached 0. With the Famed Sword, Abyssal Blade, Shi Fengs Attributes were greatly increased. It allowed three Hidden Basic Skills that were most important to a melee player to be activated. With these Skills, Shi Feng was able to exhibit extraordinary attacks and dodges continuously. If he did not possess the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng would have died long ago. Ah, Ill come help you, Brother Feng. Blackie realized his mistake as he finally reacted. He hurriedly waved his staff, his mouth chanting a curse. After aiming at the Kobold Chieftain, he shot a Dark Arrow. The Dark Arrow landed on the Kobold Chieftains body, only dealing 17 points of damage. Blackies mouth became wide open after seeing this damage. He couldnt help becoming astonished by a Chieftain monsters Defense. Blackie could cause over 50 damage if he attacked a Level 5 monster, however, it was only a third of that amount now. It could be seen how shocking a Chieftain monsters Defense was. On the other hand, Shi Feng could deal over a hundred damage in a hit. What kind of Attack Power was that? hi Feng abruptly slashed the Abyssal Blade in mid-battle. Chop! A black light dug itself through a gap in the Kobold Chieftains attack. Peng! Shi Feng took three steps backward before stabilizing his body, over 30 damage appearing above his head. On the other hand, only the Kobold Chieftains giant ax was pushed back, pausing slightly in midair. It worked. It seems like my Strength is just barely enough. Shi Feng was very satisfied with the attack this time. During battles within Gods Domain, not only could players defend and dodge, but they could also interrupt a monsters attack; this would cause the monsters attack to stop briefly, ending the monsters offensive. It was a high-leveled battle technique. Such techniques only started becoming popular half a year after Gods Domains opening, especially in Boss battles. If the MT (main tank) did not learn such techniques, the end-result would be a party-wipe. This was because there were no players capable of blocking a Boss crazed and continuous attacks. The Kobold Chieftains momentary pause had caused it to reveal a weak point. Shi Feng rushed in without hesitation. Gathering all his strength into his hand, Shi Feng gripped the Abyssal Blade tightly and continuously struck the Kobold Chieftain. Four streaks of sword light hit the unarmored parts of the Kobold Chieftain. With the damage amplification effect, Shi Fengs attack instantly took to 300 HP away from the Kobold Chieftain. Adding in Blackies attack, the Kobold Chieftain only had little over 900 HP remaining. Ao! Ao! Ao! The Kobold Chieftain started going into a frenzy. It threw its giant ax to a side, pulling out two machetes from its waist. The change in weapons caused the Kobold Chieftains attack patterns to change. If the Kobold Chieftain was a Berserker when he held the giant ax, then after wielding the pair of blades, the Kobold Chieftain was a dual-wielding Swordsman. The Kobold Chieftain now combined Strength with Agility, no longer just using violence to oppress its opponent. The attack pattern of the pair of blades was no longer monotonous. The Kobold Chieftains attack speed had a large increase as well. Just after Shi Feng dodged one of the blades, the other came following behind. Shi Feng hurriedly used the Abyssal Blade to block it. Dazzling sparks were created when the blade and sword intersected with each other. Shi Fengs entire person was sent flying away. When Shi Feng was still in midair, he saw the Kobold Chieftain leaping with all its might, its machete raised high for a frontal assault. Is it going all out? Shi Feng was shocked, hurriedly using... Parry! Hong! The Abyssal Blade blocked the machete. However, Shi Feng was like a meteorite as he fell heavily to the ground. Shi Feng had thought the Kobold Chieftains attack to be over. However, as it fell from the sky, its twin blades plunged downwards as well, with Shi Fengs chest as their target. Shi Feng was unable to move to dodge the attack. Phantom Kill! Instantly, a doppelganger of Shi Feng appeared 3 yards away from him. With lightning speed, Shi Feng swapped places with his doppelganger. When the Kobold Chieftain landed, both its blades stabbed into the doppelgangers chest. The doppelgangers HP madly fell, over 300 HP disappearing within an instant. Just as the Kobold Chieftain revealed an excited smile, Shi Feng appeared behind its back. The Abyssal Blade in his hand was also letting out a faint black glow. Nine Dragons Slash! Nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade appeared, silently floating in midair and circling Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng could not completely control all nine swords, using the nine of them for a simple attack was not a problem. Shashasha Nine Abyssal Blades danced as if they were playful sprites, continuously penetrating the Kobold Chieftains body. Small values that were just over -10 continuously appeared on the Kobold Chieftains head. Although the damage was very low, the quantity was high. Including Shi Fengs Chop and normal attacks, the Kobold Chieftains HP fell close to 500 HP. Seeing the Kobold Chieftain wanting to turn around, Shi Feng did not dare give it any chance for a counterattack. Immediately, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. The Kobold Chieftain could not move for 3 seconds, and its Defense was reduced by 100%. In a battle, where even blinking would get you killed, three seconds was enough to change the results. The Kobold Chieftain could not move after being bound by the pitch-black chains which came from the Abyssal Blade. The nine Abyssal Blades continued attacking without stop, creating damages of over -20 with each hit. The Kobold Chieftains HP madly fell, leaving it with only around 200 HP within a moment. Awoo! The Kobold Chieftain bellowed as it became thoroughly berserk, its body size becoming two-folds larger. Shi Feng watched as the 3 seconds passed by. The Kobold Chieftains strength was no joke after becoming completely berserk. Its strength had increased by at least 30%. However, all of Shi Fengs attacks and lifesaving skills were still on cooldown. As if having seen through Shi Fengs distress, the Kobold Chieftains face revealed a mocking expression. Two large blades came crashing towards Shi Feng, their speeds like that of flying arrows. At the moment of life and death, Shi Feng noticed a Kobold miner respawning from the corner of his eyes. Immediately, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation, followed by Wind Blade. With lightning speed, Shi Feng dodged the chop from the twin blades and rushed towards the Kobold miners front. Ao! Ao! Ao! When the Kobold Chieftain saw the near-death Shi Feng actually dodging its attack, its strong legs abruptly stomped on the ground, pushing it straight towards Shi Feng. Blackie felt chills down his back as he watched Shi Feng fighting. Regardless, his mouth never stopped chanting curses, sending out one Dark Arrow after another. However, the Kobold Chieftains speed was too fast, trying to hit it was just too hard. Fortunately, there was more than a 20-yard distance between the Kobold Chieftain and Shi Feng. The Kobold Chieftain would still need some time to catch up to Shi Feng. Within this period, Shi Feng might even be able to kill off the Kobold Chieftain with the nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade. However, both Shi Feng and Blackie had underestimated the Kobold Chieftains explosive strength. Not only were its Strength and Defense greatly increased, even its Agility had a great increase. It only took 2 seconds for the Kobold Chieftain to reach over 20 yards. The Kobold Chieftain lifted its twin blades, strongly slashing it down. The Kobold miner in front of Shi Feng was split into two, and a rain of blood fell 5 yards around it. This slash had closely brushed past Shi Fengs cheek, nearly taking his life away. Seeing the Kobold Chieftain preparing to slash down its other blade, Shi Feng strongly raised the Abyssal Blade in his hand. Three streaks of thunder penetrated the Kobold Chieftains body, taking away its last remaining 130 HP. Seeing the Kobold Chieftain finally fall, Shi Feng let loose a breath of relief. The Chieftain monster is truly too strong. Even if Shi Feng came here at Level 5 fully equipped with Bronze Equipment, he would still be a goner. He could only kill it due to luck. Compared to a Level 2 Thundering Flash, the Level 4 Thundering Flash only had a cooldown of 24 seconds. The cooldown had finished just in time, allowing Shi Feng to escape death. System: Level 5 Kobold Chieftain killed. Level difference of 5. EXP obtained increased by 500%. Obtained 2350 EXP. Shi Feng immediately rose to 76% of Level 1. System: Congratulations for becoming the first player to kill a Chieftain monster. Kobold Chieftains item drop increased by 200%. Reputation in Star-Moon Kingdom increased by 10 points. Suddenly, the Kobold Chieftains body started expanding. Its size continued increasing until its body exploded with a boom, scattering a pile of items all over the floor. 19 Evil Whip When the Kobold Chieftain exploded, items scattered all over the floor. Copper Coins paved the floor as well in a copper glow, shining through the entire mine as if celebrating Shi Fengs success. At the moment, Blackie sat paralyzed on the ground, cold sweat pervading his entire body. It was as if all of his strength was sapped out from his body; he could not care less about the drops on the ground. This battle was truly difficult. There was no time to even take a breath; every minute and every second were a soul-shocking moment that stimulated the eyes. Every moment of the battle just toyed with Blackies heart. He would not be able to take it at all if he did not have a strong heart. As for Shi Feng, who could battle against the Kobold Chieftain head-on, what kind of heart did he possess? This is too great! We won, Brother Feng! You really are my idol! Blackie loudly shouted in extreme excitement. Seeing Shi Fengs calm face, Blackie was filled with respect for him. Although Shi Fengs former strength was quite good, surpassing many average players, he was still just an average professional player. Shi Fengs skill had never been out of reach for Blackie. Shi Feng had been previously quick to get excited. He would even get into an endless conflict over a piece of common equipment as if he was an unsheathed blade. However, the current Shi Feng was hugely different than before; it was as if he became a different person. The present Shi Feng was extremely calm and did things without hesitation. He gave off a certain serenity that resembled that of a dormant dragon; he did not do anything outstanding normally; yet when he did, it would shock the world. Blackie, wasnt your idol Gentle Snow? Shi Feng slightly smiled as he said so. Of course Gentle Snow is my idol. However, youre awesome as well, Brother Feng! Usually, you keep quiet without revealing anything, but now that youve shown it, even such a powerful Kobold Chieftain was done in by you. Not even a true professional gamer could compare to you, so how could I not admire you? As they said, the shade is better under a large tree. Brother Feng, you should teach me how to play a Cursemancer! Even in my dreams, Ive dreamt of becoming a professional gamer. In Blackies eyes, Shi Feng was just like a mountain of gold. He was glad for the choice he had previously made. If he had gone to Shadow Workshop, he would probably still be a nameless gold-farming member. He wouldnt even have the chance to meet an expert; forget about becoming a real expert. Alright. Shi Feng smiled. Blackies character was just so straightforward. When Shi Feng was fired in his previous life, Blackie had resigned as well, without hesitation. Blackie had given up a job with an annual income of millions just to share the suffering together with him. Naturally, Shi Feng wouldnt betray Blackie; he would teach Blackie whatever he could. Although Shi Feng had not played a Cursemancer before, he had still observed plenty of expert Cursemancers. Shi Feng knew the general direction to develop a Cursemancer, and it was more than enough to give pointers to Blackie. Brother Feng, how do you think I should place my points early on? Do I go full Intelligence? Blackie asked. Shi Feng shook his head, saying after some thought, Although it isnt bad to go full Intelligence during the beginning periods, Agility is a must if you wish to become a powerful Cursemancer. Aside from just increasing your Movement Speed, Agility can also increase your Casting Speed. Cursemancers have very few lifesaving skills, are slow runners, and have many skills that require chanting. A Cursemancers Spells are also weak in power. They mainly rely on Curses to deal damage. However, unlike Elementalists, who are literal cannons, time is required for a Cursemancer to unleash that damage fully. Hence, after adding Intelligence up to 20 points, you should place half of your Free Ability Points into Agility. This will ensure your safety as well as allow you deal more damage. In Shi Fengs previous life, there was an extremely powerful Cursemancer. That person had broken the traditional point-allocation method of a Cursemancer by adding a large amount of Agility. Not only could he deal damage both quickly and fiercely, but he was even more powerful in PK. He had destroyed Assassins that were counters to mages. Even in death, those Assassins had not landed a single hit on that Cursemancer, breaking the law that stated mages would die if they were closed in by a melee player. After that incident, many Cursemancers had started adding Agility, causing Assassins to be endlessly depressed as they became bullied constantly by Cursemancers. Blackie nodded his head. He felt that Shi Fengs words made sense, saying with a smile, Alright then. After my Intelligence reaches 20 points, Ill go full Agility. After finished discussing how to add points for a Cursemancer, Shi Feng and Blackie started picking up the drops. The Kobold Chieftain deserved to be a Chieftain-ranked monster. Adding on that it was the First Kill, its drops were extremely bountiful. It had dropped a total of 8 pieces of Bronze Equipment; 1 Gray Giant Axe, 2 Plate Armor, 2 Leather Armor, 3 Cloth Armor. Aside from those, there were also 273 Coppers and 3 skill books. There was [Mock] for Shield Warriors, [Silent Steps] for Assassins, and [Evil Whip] for Cursemancers. Blackie, your luck really is too good. This Evil Whip skill book is rare with an extremely low drop rate. It is also one of the few control-and-damage skills that a Cursemancer has. As long as the skills level is high, it will become a godly skill for grinding monsters. Shi Feng tossed the Evil Whip skill book to Blackie without hesitation. He also gave two of the Level 2 Cloth Armor to Blackie. [Evil Whip] Cast time 3 seconds. Use 5 thorns to bind a target in a fixed area. As long as the target exits the area and breaks the thorns, every thorn will cause a base damage of 20 points, with an additional 30% Spell Damage. Cooldown: 20 seconds. Blackie became ecstatic when he saw the skill, learning it quickly. With this skill, his battle standards would be increased by a big leap. After he switched to the two pieces of equipment, it was as if he turned from an air gun into an artillery cannon. Blackies Intelligence increased to 20 points, increasing his Spell Damage to 48, and also activating the Hidden Basic Skill for Intelligence, [Rapid Cast]. [Rapid Cast] Allows the player to skip the chants of spells that are below 1.5 seconds, requiring only action to cast it. Also, allows the caster to better focus on attacking their target. As for the two pieces of Plate Armor, they were the [Recruits Heavy Armor], and [Black Steel Armguard]. However, amongst these pieces of Bronze Equipment, Shi Feng only fancied the Black Steel Armguards Attributes. [Black Steel Armguard] (Bronze Rank, Plate Armor) Level 3 Equipment Requirements: Strength 9 Defense +14 Strength +2, Endurance +2, Agility +1 Durability 20/20 The Recruits Heavy Armor was just mediocre. The Level 5 Recruits Heavy Armor could not compare to the Sky Armor at all. However, Plate Armors were still precious so it could be sold for a good price. The two pieces of Level 3 Bronze Leather Armor could be sold as well. Amongst these pieces of equipment, the most valuable one was the Gray Giant Ax. It was definitely the darling of Berserkers. [Gray Giant Ax] (Bronze Rank) Level 5 Equipment Requirements: Strength 15 Attack Power +21 Strength +5, Endurance +2 Durability 30/30 It was the absolute weapon for violence. If a Berserker got ahold of this weapon, their damage would become extremely violent and horrifying. If I could create a hype over this Gray Giant Ax, it would definitely be worth a lot of money, Shi Feng slightly smiled. He had a plan in his heart to make a load of money using the Gray Giant Axe. Afterward, Shi Feng and Blackie returned to the smithy. Master Jack, Ive killed the Kobold Chieftain. This is its skull. Shi Feng said respectfully as he took out a Kobolds skull. Master Jack, who was currently hammering away on steel, glanced at the Kobold skull. After he confirmed that Shi Feng had done it, he satisfyingly said, Not bad, young man. It seems you do have the right to inherit my forging skills. System: Hidden Quest Road Of Forging completed. Player has learned Forging. Player has become a Basic Forging Apprentice. Player has obtained the Forging Talent, Forging Genius. Rewarding 10 pieces of [Hundred Refinement Steel] [Forging Genius] After a successful forging, there is a fixed chance to increase 2 Proficiency Points. Two Proficiency Points were not to be looked down on. It should be known that a Basic Forging Apprentice making a piece of Common Equipment only had a 20% success rate. After successfully making the equipment, there was a 40% chance to obtain 1 Proficiency Point. Now, however, Shi Feng had a chance to obtain 2 Proficiency Points as long as his forging was successful, increasing his efficiency for promotion to the next rank by several folds. Becoming an Intermediate Forging Apprentice required 1000 Proficiency Points. An average player required more than ten days, at the very least, to become one. Their supply of materials must also be continuous, as the horrifying rate of failure would waste large amounts of materials. With the Forging Talent, Shi Feng could now save a lot of materials, saving him quite the amount of money. On the other hand, Hundred Refinement Steel was a good Support Material for making Bronze Equipment. It could increase the success rate of making a Bronze Equipment by 10%. With the Forging Talent and Book Of Forging, Shi Feng couldnt help but wish to start forging equipment immediately. However, he needed materials if he wanted to forge equipment, and in a large amount as well. If he were to collect the materials himself, it would waste too much time. He could only purchase them in bulk. However, that required a lot of money. Not only that, making Common Equipment would not earn him any money, but instead cause him to lose it. Only Bronze Equipment could be sold for a good price, but that required Forging Designs that Shi Feng did not have. Deathly Forest is a must-go. Shi Feng thought about the Bronze Equipment Forging Design that could be obtained from within the Deathly Forest. The equipment that could be forged using the Forging Design was both cheap to make and had very good Attributes. In his previous life, there were quite a few Forgers who became rich because of that Design. Just as Shi Feng turned around to leave... Young man, you truly make me look differently at you. Even after so many years of forging weapons, it is still my first time seeing a Magic Weapon. Master Jack called out to Shi Feng. He had sent his gaze towards the pitch-black sword hanging around Shi Fengs waist. Even if the black sword was rusty and looked like a fire poker, it could not escape the eyes of a Master Forger. 20 Curse Of The Abyssal Blade Shi Feng was surprised when Master Jack stopped him. Young man, are you willing to let me have a look at this sword? Master Jack looked at Shi Feng with eyes filled with a burning desire. His tone was no longer indifferent, but instead a little whispered. This Shi Feng was at a loss at Master Jacks sudden initiative request. However, it seemed logical after Shi Feng gave it some thought. The preciousness of a Magic Weapon, not to mention a Famed Sword forged by a master smith, went without saying. A Famed Sword was the lifelong pursuit of every Master Forger. They would definitely want to experience it after seeing one. Seeing Shi Feng hesitating, Master Jack quickly said, You can be at ease. I only wish to see it, and I wont let it be for nothing. If you have any requests, do mention them. When Shi Feng heard this sentence, he became extremely excited. This was a Master Forger! Just by simply forging, he could create a piece of equipment of Mysterious-Iron rank, Secret-Silver rank even. His request was just to have a look at Shi Fengs sword. Shi Feng agreed without hesitation. He passed the Abyssal Blade over to Master Jack. NPCs couldnt steal items from players, so he was completely unworried whether or not Master Jack would do away with the Abyssal Blade. He would allow Master Jack to look at it however he wished Afterward, Shi Feng would ask for a Secret-Silver One-handed Sword. By then, he would be able to fully display a Swordsman''s true strength. Master Jack held the Abyssal Blade that looked like a fire poker, both praising the delicateness of the blade and marveling at its strength. After looking at it for over ten minutes, Master Jack unwillingly returned the Abyssal Blade to Shi Feng. Young man, this is a good and infinitely powerful sword. However, the curse on this sword is extremely evil. The more you unleash the power of this sword, the stronger the curse will get. At the very end, its wielder will become trapped in the endless Abyss. It will be too difficult if you wish to control this sword with your strength, and the curse will easily devour you, Master Jack earnestly cautioned. Shi Feng knew about this point. Otherwise, he wouldnt have hesitated for such a long time before binding the Abyssal Blade. Master Jack, do you perhaps have any methods to weaken the curse? Shi Feng asked. Although he knew some weakening methods, he did not have the ability to carry them out right now. Young man, you should know that the master smith Olysses forged this sword. There is only one of it in Gods Domain, and only one of the other thirty-five Famed Swords could match up to it. Many unimaginably terrifying existences were killed in order for these Famed Swords to possess unparalleled power. After death, these existences were sealed into each sword by master smiths. It was impossible to suppress these swords without extremely great power. Master Jacks tone was filled with unparalleled reverence, but he immediately smiled and said, However, it isnt that there is no way to weaken the curse. May I ask what kind of method is there? Shi Feng quickly asked. If you wish to suppress a great power, you would need an equally great power to do so. The power sealed within the sword is a curse. If you wish to weaken it, you will need to have sufficiently great luck. Master Jack lamented, In the continent of Gods Domain, some stones have gathered the luck of Gods Domain. These stones are named Lucky Stones. As long as you have a Lucky Stone, then you could counterbalance the curse. Although this piece of stone could be found throughout the whole continent, there are only a very few people who could obtain it. Even I have not seen it before. Trying to find one is truly too difficult. If you can find a piece of this stone, then I can help you weaken the curse on your sword. Seeing Shi Fengs slack expression, Master Jack shook his head in consolation, saying, Young man, you have to know that the Lucky Stone is extremely rare. You shouldnt feel discouraged. It is normal not being able to find one. Only those who are blessed by God can obtain a Lucky Stone, and they are people that we cannot compare to. Master Jack, is it this piece of stone? Shi Feng slightly smiled as he took out the dark-green colored Star Crystal. Right, this is a Lucky Stone Master Jack nodded his head after seeing the dark-green colored Star Crystal. However, he became stunned a moment later. He was looking at Shi Feng as if he were looking at a monster. Shi Feng shrugged his shoulders, indicating that it was nothing. Shi Feng had been sluggish before because he found out that Master Jack was able to use the Lucky Stone to suppress the Abyssal Blade. It should be known that there was quite a few Master Forgers in the Star-Moon Kingdom. However, the number of Master Forgers capable of using a Lucky Stone to suppress the curse of a Magic Weapon could be counted on a single hand. Shi Feng had never thought that the Master Jack in front of him would be one of them. Master Jack, can you weaken the curse now? Shi Feng asked with anticipation. After a few moments, Master Jack finally recovered to his previous calmness. Pretending to be indifferent, he said, Ok, no problem. I can finish it within half an hour. To the side, Blackie held onto his stomach as he tried his best not to laugh. However, Master Jacks stupefied expression was truly too much for Blackie; he had to run off into the forest before laughing loudly. Half an hour later, Shi Feng received the Abyssal Blade. He discovered some changes to the Abyssal Blades introduction. The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses, using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from being able to provide the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every so often. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, then the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing All Attributes by 50%. Shi Fengs heart relaxed by a lot after seeing the description in this paragraph of words. At the very least, the Backlash wont be too powerful in a short period of time. Shi Feng stored away the Abyssal Blade. Suddenly, he noticed a lot of messages that had been sent by Lonely Snow. All of the messages asked why Shi Feng had yet to arrive, and how much longer would he need to reach the Deathly Forest. Blackie, let''s go dive into a Dungeon. Shi Feng sent a reply message stating that he would come immediately. Because of the issue with the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng had completely forgotten about the appointed time. He let Lonely Snow wait more than half an hour. However, Shi Feng would make the appropriate compensations within the Deathly Forest. Okay. I was just worrying that I wont have a chance to try out my new spells, Blackie said excitedly. When Shi Feng and Blackie arrived at the Dungeon Area of the Deathly Forest, the entire Deathly Forest was filled with people. Level 2 players were everywhere, and many players were forming parties to enter the Dungeon. Open party for Deathly Forest, welcoming violent damage dealers, 4 waiting for 2. Effective party for Deathly Forest, we are just missing a powerful healer; guaranteed to clear. Seeing such a scene, Shi Feng shook his head slightly. He walked towards Lonely Snow who was waving his arm. In Shi Fengs previous life, the players had been stuck at the Deathly Forest for a long time. The Dungeon was only cleared when the majority of players were Level 5. Brother Expert, youre finally here. Those friends of mine are already becoming impatient from waiting. Let us hurry. Lonely Snow was burning with anxiety when he saw Shi Feng leisurely walking over. Afterward, Lonely Snow brought Shi Feng and Blackie to the gathering point of the party. Lonely, this is the expert you said? I thought he was a person with three heads and six arms, but it seems hes nothing more than this. The male Cleric, Wordless Summer Night saw Shi Feng wearing novice equipment. There was also a fire poker that hung around his waist; it looked as if it was some trash weapon he had randomly picked up. When Wordless Summer Night saw this, he couldnt help but ridicule. Brother Wordless, how could you say such things about Brother Expert? He is a dignified Beta Tester, so he definitely must have something extraordinary. Otherwise, how would he dare to take all equipment for Swordsman and Cursemancer? The Shield Warrior, Battle To The End, stood to the side and sneered. The two of them had already felt displeasure for Shi Feng. This was because Shi Feng had wanted to take away all Plate Armor and Mage Equipment immediately after joining. Wouldnt they just be working away for nothing? If it were not for their Boss wanting to have a look at Shi Feng, they would have long since invited other players and dove into the Dungeon. Now that they saw Shi Feng in such poor equipment, they could criticize him and force him to leave. Lonely Snow wanted to retort as Shi Feng was someone he had personally invited. However, Shi Fengs equipment did not give Lonely Snow any chance to do so. He could only stare in silence. Alright, lets party up. A lot of people have already entered the Deathly Forest. If we dont dive in, we wont have a chance at competing for the First Kill. As the partys leader, the handsome male Ranger, Waving Slowly But Surely interrupted as he said. Blackie wanted to argue back, but Shi Feng stopped him. Shi Feng thought nothing of the two peoples ridicule. No matter what he said, he and Blackie had left them waiting for more than half an hour, so couldnt he just let them speak a few more sentences? Just as they finished partying up, the Shield Warrior furiously said, Crap, this noob is just Level 1! Hes just here to swindle equipment! Boss, Deathly Forest is a Level 2 Dungeon. If we let a Level 1 noob enter the Dungeon, arent we just waiting to get wiped? Wordless Summer Night looked towards the Ranger, Waving Slowly, showing his displeasure. Lonely Snow was equally shocked when he saw Shi Fengs level. It should be known that many players had already risen to Level 2. How was it possible for a Beta Tester not to reach Level 2? Boss Waving Slowly looked towards Shi Feng. Before this, he still had some hope for Shi Feng, but now it was all gone. He suddenly said in a cold tone, Did you die once before this? Nope. Shi Feng shook his head, honestly saying: However, entering Deathly Forest at Level 1 is enough. Then you can go now. We dont need such an expert like you here. We hope you can understand. Waving Slowly coldly said, his brows slightly wrinkled. Boss, this must be a misunderstanding. How about we try it out first? Lonely Snow explained. Try it out? Wordless Summer coldly laughed, Then who will be responsible when we die? You should know that we still lose experience if we die in a Dungeon. Although it is low, that is still 10%. Can this noob repay such a loss? Wordless, dont make it hard for Lonely. Waving Slowly repeatedly said, Lonely, I know you are trying to cover for this Swordsman, but I have to take responsibility for our party. I will only find veterans to enter the Dungeon. I will not waste time partying up with a novice. You have two choices now; one is to follow us into the Dungeon, two is to leave the party together with them. I will leave the party. Shi Feng did not want to embarrass Lonely Snow. He immediately left the party, turning to leave, Blackie, well party up with other people and enter the Dungeon. Alright. Blackie smiled with a hehe, leaving the party without a second thought. Humph, humph. The experts identity has been seen through. At least he has some self-awareness to leave after knowing he cant swindle equipment anymore. The Shield Warrior grinned and jeered, Lonely, you really are gullible. Such a noob would trick only you. You need to learn properly from Boss Waving Slowly in the future. Lonely Snows face turned livid after hearing this. However, he did not feel that he was mistaken; Shi Feng was definitely an expert. Boss Waving Slowly, sorry for this. Lonely Snow chose to leave the party. He was prepared to join Shi Feng in order to determine whether or not his judgment was correct. You! Waving Slowly was immediately stunned. He never thought Lonely Snow would be so decisive. It was simply a foolish decision. He would have long since chased Lonely Snow away if it wasnt because he had good techniques. Wordless Summer Night looked towards Lonely Snow, saying with a cold smile, Lonely, you better not regret the choice you made. Youll regret when we clear the Deathly Forest and obtain great equipment. Youll regret it for ten years, twenty years that you didnt follow Boss Waving Slowly. 21 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Being said in such a way by Wordless Summer, Lonely Snow did not give any rebuttals. He only lowered his head and left, chasing after Shi Feng. Waving Slowly squinted his eyes. When he thought about Shi Feng equipped in a body of trash equipment, he could not understand what methods Shi Feng had used to cause Lonely Snow to follow him. Lonely Snow had even given up on the clearing Deathly Forest. Boss, lets ignore that foolish Lonely Snow. At worst, well start looking for people again. There are plenty of Level 2 players now, Battle To The End said in disdain as he watched Lonely Snow. Waving Slowly nodded his head. Lonely Snows leaving did not cause any loss to their party. As for Shi Feng creating a party to dive into the Deathly Forest, not to mention clearing the Dungeon, nobody would go in with a Level 1 player. In front of the Deathly Forests entrance, Shi Feng and Blackie continuously shouted to recruit people. Open party for Deathly Forest, no rigid requirements, OK as long as youre a veteran gamer. 2 waiting for 4. Shi Feng shouted. When everyone heard of it, many Level 2 players had run over. It was because Shi Fengs requirements were very low. Many small parties would choose people based on equipment quality; they needed a few pieces of Common Equipment to pass. However, who would have that many pieces of Common Equipment in the early periods of the game? Party me, party me! Im already a Level 2 Cleric. Party me! Im a Level 2 Shield Warrior. I also have a piece of Level 1 Common Plate Armor Armguard. In just a moment, Shi Feng had invited 4 people. These 4 people were quite happy originally. There were over ten people currently present, but only they were chosen. However, after they saw the party leader, Shi Fengs level, they left the party in rage one after another. Fuck, its just a noob coming to die in the Deathly Forest at Level 1. If you want to enter the Dungeon, enter it by yourself. I wont accompany you. No wonder there are no requirements for the party. Want us to give you a ride? Not a chance. The 4 people were extremely enraged, and the voices they made were practically roars; every player at the Deathly Forest could hear it. Hehe, even a Level 1 player dares boast about entering the Deathly Forest. He just wants to tag along for experience and equipment. Lucky for me I didnt go over. There are all sorts of birds in a large forest. Who would be foolish enough to enter the Dungeon with a Level 1 noob? Isnt that just looking to be abused? One after another, the Level 2 players laughed at Shi Feng for overestimating himself and for his foolishness. Get lost if you dont wish to party up. Were not begging you all to come. Blackie became enraged after listening to them. Shi Feng''s techniques had long since convinced him, yet these people were calling Shi Feng a noob. Can a noob kill a Level 2 Rare Elite when he was Level 2? Can a noob kill a Level 5 Chieftain when he was Level 0? These people were just a group of snobs and idiots. Crap, my knowledge has been widened. A Level 1 noob party can be awesome. I really want to see how you two gather a full party. The Cleric that just left the party said with a cold smile. At this moment, Lonely Snow ran over. When he saw Shi Feng, he hurriedly said, Brother Expert, give me an invite. I want to enter the Deathly Forest together with you guys. I have 2 pieces of Common Plate Armor Equipment on me, Defense is 24. Alright. Shi Feng immediately sent an invitation. Blackie never imagined that Lonely Snow would actually leave his original party and come to them. He suddenly had a good impression of Lonely Snow. Blackie clapped Lonely Snows shoulders, heartily laughing, You have good eyes. Dont worry; following Brother Feng definitely wont be a mistake. Nonsense, nonsense. Lonely Snow was still slightly worried within his heart. The grinding spot Shi Feng had simply pointed him to had allowed him to rise to Level 2 quickly. However, Shi Feng himself hadnt even reached Level 2, and he was still wearing very poor equipment. Lonely Snow just couldnt understand how it could be so. The spectating players by the side all became dumbfounded. There was actually someone who would enter the Dungeon with a Level 1 noob. This person had good equipment, at that. The brand new Plate Armor and Boots on Lonely Snow must definitely be Common Equipment and not Trash Equipment. Although Lonely Snow had joined the party, not a single player had joined them after Shi Feng had recruited for over ten minutes. With just 3 of them alone, it was impossible to enter and clear the Dungeon. At this moment, Waving Slowly But Surely brought a group of people. Hehe, Brother Expert still hasnt partied anybody? Weve already invited another 3 strong members. All of them have at least two or three pieces of Level 1 Common Equipment. The Cleric, Endless Summer Night, said to Shi Feng in ridicule. Waving Slowly only sent a glance towards Shi Feng, then moved his sight towards Lonely Snow, saying, You wont have a future if you follow him around. Before we enter the Dungeon, you could still consider it over properly. I guarantee that you definitely wont suffer a loss. Afterward, Waving Slowly shifted his gaze towards Blackie. Previously, all his attention had been on Shi Feng, having ignored Blackie. Now that he took a closer look, Blackies clothing looked brand new. Blackie was even holding a Blackwood Staff. His equipment should be quite good, and he was also Level 2, so his techniques should be good as well. Youre not bad as well. Why dont you join our party? You should know that we are an Elite Party. Its not something average players could compare to. If were together, leveling, grinding, and Dungeon diving will be easy. Waving Slowly looked at Blackie with a smile. Get lost. Trying to poach me over just based on your little party? Blackie scolded as he pointed is Blackwood Staff at Waving Slowly. At the same time, he had selected to display the halo effect of the Bronze Equipment, saying, Its just two to three pieces of Common Equipment. I have three Bronze Equipment and two Common Equipment. Waving Slowly and the others were shocked. They never thought Blackie was that powerful. He actually possessed three pieces of Bronze Equipment. During this period of time, a person having two to three pieces of Common Equipment was considered an expert. As for having a piece of Bronze Equipment, that person would definitely be an expert; every Guild would fight over for that person. However, the Blackie before them actually had three pieces of Bronze Equipment. Waving Slowlys party also became surprised. When they saw the halo effect of the Bronze Equipment, their eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets. No wonder Shi Feng behaved that boldly. Shi Feng had nothing to fear because he had grabbed an experts favor. Meanwhile, Lonely Snow who stood beside Blackie was slackjawed. He looked at Blackie in disbelief. Lonely Snow had originally thought of Shi Feng as a rarely seen expert. He had never imagined that Blackie was the true great expert. Fellow brother, if you party up with such a noob and enter the Dungeon, it would also be a burden on you. Not to mention failing to clear the Dungeon, you might even have to die once. How about you come with us. All pieces of mage equipment from the Dungeon are free for you to choose from. Although Waving Slowly was enraged for being given such a slap, if he could rope over Blackie, then the chances for clearing the Dungeon would become a lot greater. I agree with your views. Joining a group of noobs such as yourselves really will be a burden to me Blackie chuckled. You Waving Slowlys face turned beet red, furiously saying, Then lets see who clears the Deathly Forest first. Finishing his piece, Waving Slowly spun around and left. He did not believe that a party with a noob in it could clear the Deathly Forest. Humph, hes just a powerful damage dealer entering the Dungeon. Does he really think he could clear it? Wordless Summer jealously murmured. Right. We are all veteran gamers. We are definitely stronger in Dungeon-diving than they are, The Shield Warrior curled his lips. After Waving Slowlys party left, the number of people applying for Shi Fengs party had also suddenly increased. Such an effect was mainly caused by the equipment that Blackie wore. At this period, Bronze Equipment was definitely the proof of an expert. Even if there was a noob as the party leader, an expert with three pieces of Bronze Equipment could be considered as strong as two people. The advantage of having such an expert was definitely greater than an average party. However, Shi Feng was no longer inviting people at random this time; there was a definite requirement. Such an action had caused the four players who had left Shi Fengs party previously to regret immensely. How could they have acted on impulse? Now, Shi Feng wouldnt give them a chance even if they wished to join. Just as Shi Feng was fervently recruiting party members... At the Southwest part of the Deathly Forest Dungeons entrance, a great disturbance suddenly appeared. Many players had run over, one after another, every one of them having excited expressions. It cant be. Meeting in such a place?Blackies two eyes stared straight ahead. Shi Feng was also shocked. They could even meet such an important figure in a small location like Red Leaf Town. It was just unimaginable. Could it be that Red Leaf Town was a place that had crouching tigers and hidden dragons; only, Shi Feng had never discovered it before? 22 Recruitment Storm As more players started going there, Shi Fengs area turned leisurely. Brother Feng, Im not seeing things, right? Or am I dreaming right now? Blackie rubbed his eyes as he asked with uncertainty. Shi Feng was speechless. With a bitter smile, he looked towards the three-man party that caused this disturbance. The newcomer was not just anybody; she was Blackies idol, Goddess Gentle Snow. Gentle Snows body was covered in a suit of gorgeous silver-colored Plate Armor, revealing her fine and curvaceous body. Adding to her angelic beauty and snow-cold temperament, even womens hearts would be moved by her, as well as a large group of men. Even Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that Gentle Snow was the most perfect woman he had seen before, be it regarding appearances, body, or temperament. There was not a single female celebrity who could match up to her. As for the two people on each side of Gentle Snow, Shi Feng was very familiar with them as well. He had seen them before on big news channels. They were all famous experts in Gods Domain. One of them was also an absolute beauty named Zhao Yueru. If Gentle Snow could be said to possess a perfect body and appearance, then Zhao Yueru possessed a devilishly enticing body and appearance. Every one of her movements was like a temptation that could influence a persons heart. Adding on the fiery red robe that she wore, her body radiated a wild-like charm. Such bewildering charms had caused many men wanting to go over and assault her. If you really did such a thing, however, then congratulations. Youve just earned a one-way ticket directly to hell. This was because words such as big breasts, no brains and as delicate as a flower were not applicable to Zhao Yueru. In Gods domain, she had another nickname of the Flame Witch. The reason why she held this title was that of the mountain of corpses she had piled up using these male players. There had once been a Guild Leader of a large Guild that had tried assaulting Zhao Yueru. As a result, the Guild that had over a hundred thousand players became no more; Zhao Yueru even hunted their Guild Leader. The incident only came to an end when that Guild Leader was killed back to Level 0. From then on, the title of Flame Witch had been cast on Zhao Yueru. Compared to the Snow Goddess and Flame Witch, the Priestess by their side could only be considered normal. She was not overly beautiful, her techniques were not bad, and she was also within the top hundred rankings of Star-Moon Kingdoms Priest Leaderboard. Two absolute beauties plus a great beauty, such a combination had created brilliant scenery in the Deathly Forest. Hundreds of players surrounded them, trying to become acquainted with the three women. Unfortunately, the three beauties did not even look at them. Sister Yueru, these people are really scary. How about we return and level up? The timid Xiao Yueer whispered. Hehe, Yueer, dont be afraid. With Gentle Snow here, even if you give these hateful, vulgar men ten times the courage, they wouldnt dare come over here, Zhao Yueru said with a smile, proudly sticking out her chest. Gentle Snow only nodded her head in reply. Regarding these salivating, vulgar men, she did not even place them in her eyes. Although the drops from Elite monsters are not bad, the drop rate for skill books is higher at the Deathly Forest. If we dont grind for a few more skill books, we will level up very slowly in the future, Gentle Snow quietly said. Zhao Yueru nodded her head in agreement. Although the three of them had killed quite many Elite monsters, the number of skill books that dropped was very little. Until now, the three of them had yet to learn even three skills. It was really affecting their strength utilization and grinding efficiency. Effective party for Deathly Forest, looking for a healer and MT, 3 waiting for 3. After taking a few looks, Shi Feng continued shouting. Although Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru were indeed attractive, Shi Feng was no longer a child. He had seen plenty of beauties, especially after he became Shadows Captain; many beauties would willingly throw themselves at Shi Feng. As for Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru, it was good enough to just look at them for pleasure. Such beauties were not something Shi Feng could have thoughts about. His main goal right now was to get down to business. However, Shi Fengs shouting did not yield any replies. Not a single player had even glanced at him. All of them were staring and salivating at Gentle Snows group of three. Even Blackie was no exception; his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets from staring. Shi Feng sighed, helplessly shaking his head and continued shouting and recruiting people. Crap, what is this fool blabbering about? Do you really think anybody would commit suicide together with you in the Dungeon? Quickly scram, you Level 1 noob! Stop distracting me from looking at beauties. Quite a few players started to express their discontentment. Two high-quality beauties had already shown up, yet instead of trying to get closer to them, Shi Feng was actually making noise here. What would you do if those beauties were scared off? That person is interesting. He can actually attract the hostility of so many people. Did he do something immoral before? Xiao Yueer revealed a crescent moon-like smile, giggling as she pointed at Shi Feng. Zhao Yueru aimed her eyes over as well. She felt nothing special from Shi Feng. He was even dressed in tattered clothing. Zhao Yueru felt that Shi Feng was just trying to seek attention from the crowd. She suddenly said in disdain, He is definitely doing so to grab our attention. Lets not bother with him and quickly party up 3 people to dive the Dungeon. Regarding the number of men who had tried to attract their attention, there were just too many of them. Zhao Yueru had seen all kinds of methods these men had used before, and Shi Fengs method was not a rare sight at all, but instead outdated. Gentle Snow did not voice out any opinions, only taking a look at Shi Feng. She felt an odd feeling coming from Shi Feng; this was the spirit of a hidden sword. Gentle Snow was especially concerned about the fire poker hanging around Shi Fengs waist. Gentle Snow, what happened to you? Zhao Yueru curiously looked at Gentle Snow. She did not understand why Gentle Snow would keep staring at the extremely ordinary Shi Feng. Its nothing. Maybe its just my imagination. We should hurry up and recruit some people to dive the Dungeon. Gentle Snow shook her head, no longer looking at the fire poker at Shi Fengs waist. Originally, Shi Fengs party already had trouble recruiting for people. However, because of Zhao Yuerus single sentence, nobody else had paid attention to Shi Fengs party; even if his party had an expert present. Shi Feng expressed his helplessness when seeing the hundreds of players queuing up in front of Zhao Yueru. The three womens arrival had really bad timing. Brother Feng, why dont we go over there as well, Blackie shamelessly suggested. Scram! What do you take me for? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. This fellow was just too shameless, forgetting friendship after finding love. Instead, Lonely Snow was the better one. He was a truly honest man. In the beginning, Lonely Snow had only taken a few glances but stopped after giving out a few praises. He had even helped Shi Feng in recruiting people by his side. Blackie did not dare to speak again after being scolded by Shi Feng. He could only silently look on in envy at those players in the queue. Over ten minutes later, Shi Feng still had not recruited a single person. Similarly, Gentle Snows party had also not recruited a single person. However, in Shi Fengs case, it was because nobody had come to join his party. Whereas for Gentle Snows party, it was because the players that wanted to join did not match up to their specifications. One party was in heaven, while the other was on earth. Shi Feng had no more choices. He could not just continue dragging on in such a way; his time was precious. He could only make exceptions in recruiting. Efficient party for Deathly Forest, we have an expert leading the party, clear in one try, no limit to levels, looking for healers and damage dealers, 3 waiting for 3. However, Shi Fengs words had caused many players to send over looks of disdain. Even if you were trying to attract attention, you should have a lower line! Currently, there had already been tens of Level 2 players who had died out of the Dungeon. Every one of them had said the Deathly Forest was impossible to clear. On the other hand, Shi Feng said his party had no level limits. Then wasnt he trying to say that he only needed one person to clear the Deathly Forest? Was this possible? However, Shi Feng lower line had still attracted some players attention. Within a few moments, a group of Level 1 players had come running over to join. 23 Tyrant Bear Tens of Level 1 players came running over. The area in front of Shi Fengs party had also started becoming lively. This person is really something. He is so desperate to enter the Dungeon that he would even want Level 1 noobs. Did he not know that there has already been a Level 2 Elite party that had returned after dying? Who cares about him. A noob is a noob after all. We wont be able to understand their thoughts. The long queue of Level 2 players started laughing one after another at Shi Fengs actions. They all wanted to watch Shi Feng become a joke. Those guys are really interesting. Even I dont have much confidence in clearing the Deathly Forest, yet they actually want to clear it with a group of Level 1 players. Zhao Yuerus lips curled up slightly, revealing an exuberant smile as she looked in Shi Fengs direction. Her voice carried a hint of ridicule and disdain. Gentle Snow also sent a glance towards Shi Feng from a distance. Shi Fengs temperament was both calm and confident. He did not become angry from being laughed at. Every one of his movements was very mature, not much different from the experts in Gods Domain she had seen before. However, she did not understand from where Shi Fengs confidence came. Deathly Forest was Red Leaf Towns first Dungeon, and it was also everyones first time being in touch with a Dungeon in Gods Domain; their difficulties were an unknown. Even the Elite parties of Guilds would carefully choose their members before entering the Dungeon. On the other hand, Shi Feng did not care in the slightest, as if just gathering 6 players was good enough. Maybe Im just overthinking things. Hes just a Level 1 player, so how could he clear the Deathly Forest. Gentle Snow caressed her elegant hair, her heart no longer thinking about Shi Fengs odd actions. She looked at her hand, at the player information displayed on it, Level 2 Summoner, Magic Attack 28, HP 150, Defense 8, Movement Speed 4. Fail. Next. Afterward, another Cursemancer stepped forward. The person tensely sent his own Attributes to the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. On the other side, Shi Feng as well was looking at player data. Although he did not have a lower line, he did have a bottom line. The equipment and levels of these Level 1 players were much worse than the Level 2 players that Gentle Snows party were recruiting. However, they were still players. As long as they did not simply add their 8 Free Attribute Points early on, the chance of clearing the Deathly Forest with a 6-man party was very high. As for those Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights who solely added Strength or Weapons Job but did not add Agility, all of them were rejected. Big brother, please party me. Although I am just a Level 1 Guardian Knight, I have a piece of Level 0 Common Equipment. Also, all 8 of my Attribute Points are still available. I can completely add them based on your requirements. A youth named Cola pleaded, his eyes filled with expectations. hi Feng was slightly surprised. A Guardian Knight that did not add any Attribute Points could actually reach Level 1. It was a masterpiece. It had to be known that Guardian Knights had very low Attack, making the killing of monsters difficult. Normally, they would party up to kill monsters. To increase grinding efficiency, they would add a few points of Strength. Otherwise, leveling up would be too slow. Guardian Knight Cola? Cola Cola. When Shi Feng looked at Colas face, and also his tall and muscular body, he felt that it was somewhat familiar. Suddenly, he entered into deep thought. His memory seemed to have such a person in it. Thats right! Its Tyrant Bear! Shi Feng managed to remember it; Tyrant Bears name was Cola. Tyrant Bear was the core MT of the first-rate Guild, [Brilliant Stars]. During the early periods of Gods Domain, Tyrant Bear was constantly unsuccessful. He was even kicked out by third-rate Guild, [Heavens Crown]. After entering Brilliant Stars, Cola suddenly started to shine. He turned from being a normal partys MT into the core elite partys MT in the Guild. He was ranked fifteenth on the Guardian Knight Leaderboard of Star-Moon Kingdom. Cola was known for both being able to attack and defend. Shi Feng had never thought that the Tyrant Bear would run up to him on his own. Cola was such a shy person, as well. It was totally different from the Tyrant Bear of ten years later. Suddenly, Shi Feng had an idea. Currently, the Tyrant Bear had yet to join Heavens Crown, not to mention Brilliant Stars. If Shi Feng could poach Cola over and turn Cola into his own MT, then wouldnt Dungeon-diving in the future be a lot easier? Big brother, I guarantee that I will absolutely listen to your commands when inside the Dungeon. Please consider it over, Colas tone carried hints of begging. Shi Feng had nearly let loose a laugh. The great Tyrant Bear would actually speak in such whispered tones just for a position in the Dungeon. However, Shi Feng still held it in. The Level 1 players that had come here all held hopes of getting lucky. The other parties that entered the Deathly Forest with Level 2 players were already no good, not to mention Level 1 players like them. If they could enter once into the Deathly Forest and fortunately obtain one or two pieces of equipment, then it would be of great help to their future development. At that time, entering into a large Guild would become much easier. Alright, I can add you in. Shi Fengs face turned grave as he said, However, you should know that bringing a Level 1 noob like you into the Deathly Forest isnt easy. I cant just carry you through the Deathly Forest, and then after you get equipment, you join some other elite parties. Wouldnt I just be striving for nothing? When Shi Feng finished his speech, quite a few Level 1 players had suddenly sent over looks of disdain. Werent you also a Level 1 noob? However, Shi Feng did not care about what these people felt. He continued saying, I wish to form a stable party. Even if we need members, it would be with stability as the priority. If you wish to enter the Dungeon, you need to be prepared for the long term. When I call you for Dungeon-diving, you must come. You cannot reject because you have some other matters. So, what will be your choice? When the other players heard Shi Feng saying so, they suddenly turned quiet. Shi Fengs intentions were very clear. If you wish to enter the party, then you wont be able to join other parties in the future, not to mention joining a Guild. Everybody knew that entering a Guild was the best method to increase your own strength quickly. Currently, they did not have the qualifications to join any of those Guilds. So, they were here to try their luck, hoping to obtain one or two pieces of equipment. They might even be able to join those Guilds afterward. So, how would they be able to give up their chances of entering a good Guild just to enter a Dungeon.? Cola had also never imagined that Shi Feng would give such a demand. However, it was still reasonable. You couldnt just expect other people to bring you up, then leave when you become strong. However, Shi Feng lacked the persuasiveness when he said these words. At this moment, Blackie stood out and furiously said, Just looking at you noobs, there is nobody that would want you down in the Dungeon. And you still wish to join a Guild in the future and enjoy their benefits? Are you thinking yourselves as experts, or are you taking us for idiots? Cola thought what Blackie, the expert, had said made sense. Even a Level 2 expert with three pieces of Bronze Equipment was in this party, whereas Cola himself was just a novice noob. So, what right did he have to complain? Many thanks for Big Brother Experts pointers. Little brother will definitely strive to fulfill his own role. Cola continuously thanked Blackie. Blackie felt somewhat uneasy from being thanked and referred to as an expert by Cola. Blackie was just a complete impostor of an expert. However, being called such by someone made Blackie want to become an expert in Gods Domain even more. Blackie, beautifully done! Shi Feng stretched out a thumbs-up, quietly praising Blackie. Shi Feng never imagined Blackie would tame the Tyrant Bear just like that. The Tyrant Bear had also called Blackie a Big Brother with a face full of respect. Blackie suddenly became confused. He did not understand what he had done that was worth being praised by Shi Feng. However, he was still very happy. At least he had done something for Shi Feng; although he didnt know what he had done exactly. Over ten minutes later, Shi Feng finally gathered six players. They could start Dungeon-diving now. 24 Hell’s Roar Although Shi Fengs party was gathered, the observing Level 2 players had started laughing. They were not laughing because all the players Shi Feng had invited were Level 1. Instead, the Jobs that were in the party were just too exotic. They couldnt help but laugh out loud. This noob really is something, and even I am starting to admire him. Theyre simply a suicide party. I really pity that expert for actually bringing along such an exotic player. The expert had even agreed to let him be the partys leader. The queued up Level 2 players started a debate, and there were quite a few players who were holding their stomachs while laughing loudly. He is just playing to the gallery. Zhao Yueru wrinkled her brows slightly. She turned her head away after taking a look at Shi Feng, her heart slightly discomforted. Before, she would be the focus of everyone wherever she went. Today, however, everyones attention was on an inconspicuous noob like Shi Feng. Although everyone was jeering at him, he was still their focal point. Alright Yueru, we should hurry and gather enough people. If we waste any more time, we will be left behind by the frontline players. Although Gentle Snow felt that Shi Feng seemed to be an expert, regarding levels, methods of recruiting people and such, he was just too far from being referred to as an expert. As for the notion of inviting Shi Feng into their Guild, it was no longer present now. Their Ouroboros only accepted experts. Got it. Zhao Yueru turned towards the Swordsman in front of her. With a little vengeance, she directly said, Datas not bad, but too bad we dont want a Swordsman. The Swordsman suddenly became spiritless. How could he not see what Zhao Yueru meant? Subsequently, he turned his head and glared at the distant Shi Feng, his eyes filled with hatred. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who knew nothing about what has happened, was currently activating the Deathly Forest. System: Please select activation difficulty. System: Normal, Hard, Hell. Shi Feng chose Hell without hesitation. Suddenly, the Transfer Passage in front of the Deathly Forest changed. It changed from a silvery-gray color to pitch-black. At the same time, a flickering skull that had its mouth wide opened could vaguely be seen. Meanwhile, the party members of Shi Fengs party all received a notification. System: You have chosen Hell Mode of Deathly Forest. Death penalty increased by 100%. Suddenly, the faces of the members of the party turned deathly white. Death penalty increased by 100%, doesnt that mean if they died within the Dungeon, they would lose 20% of their EXP? One or two hours of effort were required to make up for that EXP. Brother Feng, you chose the wrong one. Arent we going down the Normal Dungeon? Blackie hurriedly walked over and whispered a reminder. Nothings wrong. Its Hell Mode. What would I be doing here if it isnt to dive Hell Mode? Shi Feng snapped. The drop rate for forging designs was extremely low. If it was Normal Mode, then Werewolf Felts drop rate was only 1%; Hard Mode had 5% and Hell Mode had 30%. Although Normal Mode could be cleared without limit every day, who would have so much time to do so? Meanwhile, Hard Mode could only be cleared 5 times a day, and the probability of the forging design to drop was also not great. As for Hell Mode, it could only be cleared once a day, but it was also the one that had the most hopes of dropping it. Feng Brother Feng, what are you saying? Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest? Just look at our party. It is problematic to even clear Normal Mode, not to mention Hell Mode, Blackie panicked. Before, he had already seen several Elite parties that had returned after dying. According to what these people had said, the monsters in the Deathly Forest were extremely strong. Their intelligence was extremely high as well. It was impossible to beat them without reaching Level 4 or 5, so they had all left after giving up. If they dove into a Hell Mode Dungeon now, with noobs like them, that would truly be going down into Hell. Relax. If I weren''t certain, even I wouldnt do it. Shi Feng clapped Blackies shoulders, saying confidently with a smile. Alright, lets go inside then. Shi Feng led the party by entering first, followed by Blackie. Lonely Snow had also entered with a dazed head; he was prepared to tread this path to the very end. As for the remaining three, they hesitated for quite some time. We better go in. The expert has already gone inside, so what do we, Level 1 noobs, still have to be reluctant for? Moreover, were entering the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Even mentioning it would be a glory, Cola encouraged. The other two felt that it made sense and had also followed into the Dungeon. Meanwhile, the area in front of Gentle Snows party was completely silent. All of the Level 2 players were stunned. They were not just shocked, but thunderstruck. A Level 2 Elite party couldnt even clear the Normal Mode, yet a party that mainly consisted of Level 1 players had actually chosen the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Snow, did I see wrong? Thats Hell Mode, right? Zhao Yueru asked. Gentle Snow nodded her head; her beautiful eyes kept staring at the flickering skull. Her expression turned extremely serious. That fellow mustve abandoned himself to despair, entering Hell Mode after determining that he couldnt clear the Normal Mode. Well see how they come out dead in a moment. Zhao Yueru laughed. We dont have that sort of time. Lets go, weve gathered enough people. Gentle Snow led the way towards the Deathly Forest Dungeon. She selected Normal Mode for the difficulty of the Dungeon. If there were no problems with Normal Mode, they would enter Hard Mode after. Within the Dungeon of the Deathly Forest, there was a dark and gloomy forest. From time to time, there would be a chill wind blowing, causing a shiver down ones body. Aside from Shi Feng himself, every member of his party was tightly packed around the Dungeons entrance. They did not move even an inch for fear of attracting any monsters that would wipe their party. Brother Feng, why do I keep feeling a cold wind blowing by my back? Blackie asked in worry. Blackie, you need to bring out some temperament of an expert, only then will you have the possibility to become one. It is just Hell Mode. Aside from the monsters here having a little bit intelligence, their battle methods being a little bit complicated, and their Attack, Defense, and HP are a little bit higher, there isnt much else. Oh right, there is also a little bit more monsters here. After some thought, Shi Feng felt that he had nothing more to add. Suddenly, every member of the party sent looks of disdain towards Shi Feng. When diving a Dungeon, even a small difference in Attack and HP could cause a team wipe. As for Shi Feng, he had just simply explained. Moreover, what did he mean by just a little more intelligence? They had experienced before the battles with monsters in Gods Domain. Regarding those monsters with slightly higher intelligence, even with the same Attack and HP, their strength would still be increased by one or two folds. Alright, alright, stop minding these little matters. Ill be explaining the strategy for this Dungeon in a moment, so you guys better listen carefully. If you dont follow through, then your lives will become forfeit. Shi Feng waved his hands, ready to start explaining the strategy to conquer the Dungeon. Suddenly, a strong wind blew from the dark and gloomy forest, causing the trees to sway madly. Ao! Ao! Ao! After the howling wind came a furious roar that resounded throughout the entire Deathly Forest. Countless birds were scared, flying off into the sky. Blackie and the others were stunned by such an imposing aura. They were just youths around the age of 20. They had never experienced any great hardships, not to mention being tempered through life-or-death situations. It was their first time facing such a lung-piercing roar. Compared to hearing the traditional roar of a tiger in the forest, this roar was much more shocking to the human heart. This thing is what we should pay attention to. Shi Feng calmly said at this moment. The largest difference between Hell Mode and Hard Mode was this roar. Although it did not have a specific name to it, the players in Shi Fengs previous life had dubbed it as Hells Roar. 25 Night Ranger Shi Fengs words confused the other members. Wasnt it just a roar? What was there to pay attention to? When Shi Feng looked at everyones contemptuous expressions, he couldnt help but gravely say Listen well you all. Hells Roar is not as simple as what you think it is. In a moment, follow my demands while advancing. If anyone makes a mistake, dont blame me for immediately kicking you out of the party. Being lectured by Shi Feng in such a way, the other members all became serious. Nobody wished to leave the party. In a moment, Cola and I will walk in front. Lonely Snow, you walk in the middle and protect the Oracle. Blackie, you and the Summoner will walk at the back. Remember, you must not break formation regardless of any activities. Without my command, nobody is allowed to be the first to attack, do you all understand? Shi Feng explained the basics of formations once to the party. The reason Shi Feng had allowed the Guardian Knight, Cola, to walk in front was that he let Cola add all of his Free Ability Points into Endurance. His HP now reached 310 points. With this much HP, Cola could resist a little longer, sharing some of Shi Fengs burden. The Dungeons in Gods domain were unlike the Dungeons in other virtual reality games. The degree of freedom within the Dungeon was high, and the Dungeons, themselves, were very large. There were even quite a few player parties who had wandered around in the Dungeon for hours without even meeting a single Boss. Although the Deathly Forest was not as large, it was still possible to become lost within the dark and gloomy forest. If someone were to become lost Shi Feng only wished to say hehe. The scary part of the Deathly Forest was that players could become lost once they entered the forest. Eventually, the players would mysteriously die one after another. In Shi Fengs previous life, there were countless players who had entered the forest and died over and over again in such a way without even meeting the shadow of a monster. If they had good luck and met a monster, then the result was a party-wipe. Only after many experts of Guilds had done it, did everyone finally understand the dreadfulness of the Deathly Forest. They had acknowledged that it was a terrifying Dungeon that was impossible to clear without reaching Level 5. When Shadow Guild reached Level 5, they had organized hundreds of players to scout out the paths in the Deathly Forest. They had paid over hundreds of lives to finally have a clear understanding of the Deathly Forests map. The entire Deathly Forest had thirty-six paths. However, only three of them led to the first Boss, Willie. These three paths were paved with the lives of many players. Two of these three paths were extremely dangerous. Without sufficient strength, death would be the only result. There was only one path that had very few monsters. Under Shi Fengs lead, everyone walked into the forest. The moment they entered the forest, everyone discovered that there were too many pathways through the forest. They did not know which one was the right path. However, Shi Feng had chosen one without hesitation. Everyone else closely followed him while being cautious of their surroundings. After walking for about five minutes, they met their first monster. Suddenly, everybody started to become tense. Dont act on impulse. Listen to my commands. Shi Feng loudly shouted. In front of them was only a Level 2 Elite monster, a Night Rabbit. However, due to the Dungeons strengthening, its Attack, Defense, and HP were all greatly increased. Its HP was a whopping 700 points. Cola, you lure the monster over. Oracle, pay attention to healing. Everyone else, dont start the attack without my command, Shi Feng quickly gave out orders. The Guardian Knight, Cola gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He carefully walked towards the Night Rabbits attack range. Everyone else was nervous to the extreme. Although this was only a Level 2 Elite, they were currently in the Hell Mode of a Dungeon. However, everyones nervousness was for naught. The moment the Night Rabbit with a persons height saw Cola, it immediately dashed over. Cola had very successfully lured the Night Rabbit over. Moreover, he did not panic when he lured it. He retreated while using his shield to block the Night Rabbits attacks. However, even though every attack landed on the shield, the damage was still terrifying; just a single hit dealt 42 damage. By the time Cola returned to the front of the party, his HP had already dropped by a third. The Oracle, whose name was Drowsy Sloth, had good awareness. He had given out healing the moment Cola entered his casting range. However, every heal could only add 24 HP to Cola; it was completely not enough to stop Colas HP from falling. Brother Feng, are we still not attacking? Blackie was slightly nervous. At this moment, Colas remaining HP did not even reach one-third of its total. Bringing an Oracle into a Dungeon was just a complete mistake. Amongst the Healer Jobs, Oracles had the weakest healing abilities. However, since Shi Feng had chosen so, Blackie could only acknowledge it. Now that their MT was close to death, it would be unacceptable if they still did not attack. Hold on. Shi Feng resolutely said. Time passed bit by bit. Cola continuously used his shield to block the claw attacks of the Night Rabbit, whereas his HP continuously decreased. Cola only had 20% HP remaining, yet Shi Feng had yet to give out the command to attack. Just when everyone thought that Shi Feng wanted to give up on Cola, a flying arrow pierced through the forest, shooting directly for the partys Oracle, Drowsy Sloth. Lonely Snow had not reacted at all as Drowsy Sloth was struck directly on his chest. A very great damage of -123 points appeared. At this moment, Shi Feng shouted, Sloth, use Life Payment. Use the damage you received to heal Cola. Blackie, hold back the Night Rabbit to let Cola recover. Lonely, come with me. Everyone else attacks the Night Rabbit. Oracles were indeed the weakest regarding healing. However, Oracles had high HP; they would not be easily one-shotted. Also, Oracles had two skills when they first start out. One was Life Prayer, while the other was Life Payment. Life Payment could turn the damage received by the user into a heal to be used on other players. In the early periods of the game, healers did not possess many skills or equipment. In regards to such a situation, Oracles had a greater advantage over other healers when entering the Deathly Forest. It was the reason why Shi Feng had given up on choosing a Priest over an Oracle. After finishing his piece, Shi Feng rushed into the forest. Do you think I will let you run away? Shi Feng coldly said as he looked at the dark shadow running through the forest. Wind Blade! Shi Feng turned into a phantom, chasing directly forward. The reason why Shi Feng did not let anyone attack the Night Rabbit was to use Cola as bait. Shi Feng wanted to lure out the dark hand hiding behind the scenes. Although the Night Rabbit looked terrifying, an Elite party could face up to two or three of them at once without any problems. However, in Shi Fengs previous life, the reason why even a Level 5 Elite party could be party-wiped was that of the dark shadow in front of Shi Feng. This dark shadow used the Night Rabbit as bait, luring players into attacking it. The dark shadow, on the other hand, would ambush the healers from behind. As the Night Rabbit was occupying everyone else, there was no way to save the healer. In the end, everyone died. Inside the Deathly Forest, if players did not deal with this fellow, the result would be a party-wipe. With the increased Movement Speed from Wind Blade, Shi Feng quickly caught up to the dark shadow. Shi Feng waved out three sword slashes, sealing the dark shadows path of advance. The black shadow knew that it could not escape. It immediately turned around, unsheathing a pair of knives to block Shi Fengs attack. Dang! Dang! Dang! With the Abyssal Blade, Shi Fengs Strength was frighteningly high. His attacks caused the dark shadow to take three steps back, and each step it retreated would be followed by the damage that was over -10. In the end, the dark shadow revealed its figure under the moonlight. [Night Ranger] (Special Elite) Level 2 HP 1458/1500 Seeing the Night Ranger being repelled, Shi Feng immediately used Abyssal bind without giving him a chance. Nine pitch-black chains appeared to bind the Night Ranger, preventing him from moving for 3 seconds, and his Defense reduced by 100%. Thundering Flash! Chop! Damages of -81, -98, -119, -124 appeared. When the two skills landed, a frightening amount of damage appeared, taking away a quarter of the Night Rangers HP. No matter how capable the Night Ranger was, it could not break free from the binding of the nine chains. He could only silently take a beating for 3 whole seconds. Shi Feng was unrestrained as he sent out sword slash after sword slash, piercing through the vital point on the Night Rangers chest. By the time the Night Ranger broke free from the bindings, his remaining HP did not exceed 700 points. Wretched human! The Night Ranger was enraged. He brandished his twin blades like a gale, engulfing Shi Feng. At this moment, Lonely Snow finally caught up. A Charge from him had caused the Night Ranger to enter a fainted state, at the same time breaking the Night Rangers gale-like blade. Shi Feng took the chance to slash at the Night Rangers neck. Lonely Snow also brandished his large ax at the Night Ranger. By the time the Night Ranger had awoken, he only had a remnant of his HP left. The Night Ranger abruptly hacked his twin blades towards Lonely Snow, sending him flying backward and dealing 64 damage. The Night Ranger turned his head to stare at Shi Feng, once more brandishing his twin blades and slashing horizontally towards Shi Fengs neck. Dang! Shi Feng used Parry with his sword. Without giving the Night Ranger any chances to retaliate, Shi Feng lifted up the ranger and tossed him back. Then, Shi Feng followed up with a couple of sword strikes, finishing off the Night Ranger. Shi Feng conveniently picked up the two items that dropped, then immediately ran towards Colas location to provide help. Laying by the side, Lonely Snow became dumbfounded after seeing Shi Fengs agile skills. His heart filled with shock, Lonely Snow had even forgotten to follow Shi Feng to support. There was such a way even to kill monsters? 26 Miraculous Technique By the time Shi Feng returned to the party, the Elite Night Rabbit only had one-third of its HP remaining. Everyone had coordinated properly; Cola tanked in the front alone, while the others vigorously dealt damage. However, to control aggro, Blackie did not madly deal damage. Instead, he used Evil Whip to pin down the Night Rabbit, giving Cola some breathing space. Colas performance was also very good. He steadily tanked the monster, and he also had good control over aggro. Cola was not at the level of a novice, but there was still a long road ahead before he became an expert. Cola, dont always try to block with your shield. It isnt a must to block an attack like the other virtual reality games. You can also dodge to avoid an attack. That way, you could reduce the stress on the healer. For everyone else, focus your attacks on the target. Dont just randomly attack, aim your attacks at the wild rabbits claws or other weak points. That way, you can reduce a lot of burden on the MT. Shi Feng did not directly go up to help Cola, but instead, he taught everyone how to battle against monsters. If everyone battled while regarding Gods Domain as a traditional game, the results would be disastrous. This was because the healing given out was usually far from being able to keep up with the damage received. Some parties would bring an extra healer. However, this would result in the damage being insufficient; the result was still a party-wipe. Players only slowly got used to the combat style in Gods Domain several months after the game opened. The players then would no longer be as cute and simple as they were now. Shi Feng wanted to cultivate everyone to build a foundation for his future Workshop. So naturally, he needed to let these people learn the combat styles of Gods Domain earlier. Everyone thought Shi Feng was also a noob, so they held slight dissatisfaction within their hearts. The expert did not say anything, so why was a noob like him giving out commands? However, Shi Fengs words made sense, so they still consciously did as Shi Feng said. Cola had also started to change his battle style. He was no longer using his shield to block the attacks rigidly. Instead, he retreated a step back when the wild rabbit launched its attack, taking the chance to avoid it. Although Cola still needed to use his shield to block most of the time, it had still greatly reduced the burden on the healer. Such a change allowed killing the Night Rabbit to become even easier. The few Level 1 noobs were also slightly surprised. There was some change in their opinions towards Shi Feng. Shi Feng was not as unbearable as they had imagined him to be. Shi Feng only smiled at this situation. He did not mind their thoughts at all. Shi Feng only felt that Cola was quite good after seeing his performance. Although Cola was a first-rate expert ten years later, he currently was still far from that point. If it were an expert MT, they would not retreat, but choose to dodge the attack without even moving. Such a decision was because if the MT moved, the monster would move as well. This situation would cause trouble for long-ranged damage dealers, which would result in the loss of a lot of damage. However, such a technique required a bounty of experience in battle and a body with dexterous reactions. Cola still needed a lot of training. The Elite Night Rabbit fell within a moment. It dropped a skill book for Berserkers, [Whirlwind Slash]. It also dropped three Coppers. Everyone could not help but be amazed by the drop rate of Hell Mode. A skill book dropped just after they killed an Elite monster. If they killed over ten Elite monsters, then wouldnt they be able to obtain over ten skill books? It should be known that skill books were extremely rare, and even a Common skill could sell for 1 Silver. Shi Feng naturally knew of their thoughts. However, not even Hell Mode had that high of a drop rate. It was only three to four times that of Hard Mode. Afterward, Shi Feng passed Whirlwind Slash to the stupefied Lonely Snow; then he passed a Level 1 Bronze Defensive Plate Armor to Cola; the Night Ranger dropped the armor. With these items, the partys strength slightly increased. Colas mouth could not close after receiving the Defensive Plate Armor. He hurriedly thanked Shi Feng for it. With this Bronze Plate Armor, not only had Colas Defense increased by 14 points, but his HP had also become 350 points. Aside from Shi Feng and Blackie, everyone else on the scene was filled with envy. Bronze Equipment was the identification of an expert. Outside the Dungeon, it was impossible to obtain a piece of Bronze Equipment, even if you begged for it. And this piece of equipment was obtained by Shi Feng, alone. Yet, Shi Feng gave it to Cola without hesitation. Everyones opinion towards Shi Feng changed quite a bit. They felt such a party leader was not bad at all. Shi Feng was unlike the other party leaders who would prioritize themselves when equipment dropped. As for Bronze Equipment, forget giving it away to a temporary party member; they would definitely keep it for themselves. Afterward, everyone followed Shi Feng as they advanced. Although the dark and gloomy forest was scary, everyone was no longer as nervous as they were before going through a stimulating fight. From time to time, one or two patrolling Elite Night Rabbits would appear in front of them, and they would also respond to it quickly. When there were two Night Rabbits, Cola would tank one of them, while Shi Feng and Lonely Snow would rush over and kill the other. As for the ranged players, they would prioritize attacking the Night Rabbit in front of Shi Feng. The Night Rabbits 700 HP would be gone quickly under the fierce bombardment. Afterward, the party supported Cola and finished off the other Night Rabbit. Within moments, two Night Rabbits were no more. With this process, a skill book, [Restore], meant for healers also dropped. The skill had a 2 second cast time. When learned by Oracles, the skill could instantly restore 37 HP. It was far better than Life Prayer. It did not share the same Cooldown as Life Prayer, so the two could be used in coordination to negate the damage caused by the Elite Night Rabbits completely. Drowsy Sloth continuously thanked Shi Feng and the other party members for letting him learn the skill book. Restore was an extremely important skill for conquering Dungeons. If it were to be sold outside, it could go for at least 2 or 3 Silver coins. Dont mind it. Skill books are meant to be used. Lets continue onward. Shi Feng smiled as he answered. Aside from AoE attack skill books, healer-class skill books were the most expensive and rare. However, the Deathly Forest was a Dungeon meant to let players build up their foundation in Gods Domain. In Hell Mode, the drop rate for basic healing skills was very high. In Shi Fengs previous life, he had obtained four healing skill books just after entering Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest once. It was not considered valuable. After more than an hour, Shi Fengs party arrived at a flat grassland. They had finally met the first Boss of the Dungeon. [Willie] (Chieftain-rank) Level 3 HP 6000 Willie was a ferocious Night Rabbit. Its height was as tall as two people, and sharp steel claws decorated its paws. These claws loved creating a feast of fresh blood, and those caught by it would be ripped to shreds, turned into a river of blood. It was unknown how many players had died a gruesome death under these claws. A short distance away from Willie, there were seven Elite Night Rabbits on guard. These seven rabbits were very close to each other. As long as one of them was attacked, the other wild rabbits would rush over as well. There was also a great possibility of attracting the Boss. Even if it were Shi Feng, he would not be able to face off against seven Night Rabbits, not to mention including a Boss. However, if they did not finish off the seven Night Rabbits, there was no way for them to attack the Boss. Brother Feng, what should we do now? This place has too many Night Rabbits. The game isnt giving us any chances. Blackie was very anxious. Although the Boss was in front of them, the System had dealt them such a hand. This difficulty was just too great. No wonder it was a Hell Mode dungeon. It was impossible to pass through without absolute strength. The System''s setting also angered everyone. Who could fend off seven Elite Night Rabbits? Even a Level 5 Guardian Knight would not be able to do it. You all wait for me behind that rock. Cola, get ready to receive the monster. Everyone else is not allowed to attack without my command, Shi Feng pointed towards a large rock nearby; Shi Feng naturally knew that there were seven Elite Night Rabbits here. Everyone abided by Shi Fengs command without question. All the monsters they had killed on the way here relied on Shi Fengs commands for success. They killed quite a lot of Night Rabbits, and everyone had obtained one or two pieces of Bronze Equipment. Blackie even had five pieces of Bronze Equipment. Their partys strength has definitely surpassed the other elite parties. The credit for such an achievement belonged to Shi Fengs commands. As for Shi Feng, he had run to a location that was 40 yards away from the seven Night Rabbits. He quietly hid within the bushes, observing the Night Rabbits every movement. Everyone understood that Shi Feng was trying to lure monsters. However, the seven Night Rabbits were too close to each other. Shi Feng was a Swordsman. He did not possess any long-ranged attacking capabilities, so how could he lure monsters? Time passed bit by bit. Everyone was extremely anxious. If Shi Feng accidentally failed, then it would be a party-wipe. However, Shi Feng was calm. He moved not an inch as he watched the faraway Night Rabbits. At this moment, a cool breeze blew past. A dead leaf on the trees was sent flying over. Seeing the dead leaf hovering down towards the Night Rabbit, Shi Feng picked up a small stone beside him. Gently, he tossed the stone over. The direction the stone flew to was towards the Night Rabbit closest to the Boss. Were finished. Everyone understood what kind of outcome this would be. It would definitely be a combination of one Boss and seven Night Rabbits rushing towards them, turning them into blood sacrifices. The moment the stone was about to hit the Night Rabbit, the dead leaf just happened to have blocked between the stone and the Night Rabbit. The stone struck the dead leaf, smashing it onto the Night Rabbit. The Night Rabbit abruptly turned to look at its surroundings, only discovering a leaf. However, how could a leaf hitting it be so painful? Subsequently, the Night Rabbit left its unit to observe the surroundings. It looked around aimlessly, not knowing what it was trying to find. It had unknowingly moved over 20 yards away from its unit, and it was still moving further and further away. Too godly! Lonely Snow could not help but exclaim; his eyes had nearly popped out of their sockets. Everyone else had dumbly nodded as well. What kind of accurate judgment and aim was required to hit the dead leaf while hitting the Night Rabbit, and thereby confusing the Night Rabbits hatred, causing it to look for its target blindly? Even calling it as an ultimate skill was not excessive. Was Shi Feng really a noob? He couldnt be some gaming god here to make a fool of them, right? Summoner, the rest is up to you. Shi Feng walked to the rocks location. He looked at the Summoner, clapping the persons shoulders as he spoke, smiling. 27 Shi Feng’s Improved Party Hearing Shi Fengs comment, the Summoner, Gluttonous Mouse suddenly panicked. He did not understand what Shi Feng wanted him to do. If he had performed badly and was kicked from the party as a result, he would regret it until he died. It was hard to find a good party during this time, not to mention a party with an expert leading it. It was impossible to join such a party, even if you begged! Relax, I wont let you do anything dangerous. You just have to summon out a Flame Sprite and follow my instructions. You dont have to do anything else, Shi Feng said with a smile, trying ease the nerves of Gluttonous Mouse a little. Currently, Summoners were not strong; mainly due to the incapability of their skills. A Summoners method of attack mainly relied on their summoned creatures, whereas their normal attack was the low-damage Magic Bullet. However, a Summoner with awesome skills could become a one-man army. It was especially true for Summoners who could call out powerful elemental creatures. They could kill Elite monsters as if they were just playing around. Party leader, rest assured, Ill definitely do it. Gluttonous Mouse loudly said, his tone filled with respect. He was like a student who had met his teacher. Everyone else, distance yourselves from that rock, twenty yards away from it would be the best. Pay attention not to lure the other monsters. Sh Feng turned around and said to the other party members. Yes, party leader! The other party members loudly replied. Their current attitudes were completely different from before. Shi Feng was slightly shocked by everyones performance. Why was each and every one of them so obedient all of a sudden? However, Shi Feng did not know that the single stone he threw just now had completely shocked every one of them. They were filled with admiration towards Shi Fengs stone-throwing technique. Such skill and accuracy were definitely not something a normal person could do; professional players might not even be able to do so. Worshipping the strong was a common sight within a game. These Level 1 noobs were no exception. At this moment, the gaze everyone used to look at Shi Feng was completely different. Before, they merely felt that Shi Feng was a good commander. Now, however, Shi Feng was a strong person they worshipped. They had faintly grown a sense of reverence for Shi Feng. Standing to the side, Blackie clapped Lonely Snows shoulders, proudly saying, How is it? Following Brother Feng isnt bad, right? Lonely Snow silently nodded his head, rejoicing for the decision he made to follow after Shi Feng. Shi Feng was definitely a Beta Tester expert. Without sufficient experience and practice, such techniques were impossible to accomplish. Only a Beta Tester could possibly do it. Hahaha! What do you plan to do in the future? Blackie suddenly asked. He started to hatch ideas towards Lonely Snow. Blackie wanted to poach Lonely Snow for their Workshop, even though the Workshop was still non-existent. There was a 100% chance for Cola to join them, but Lonely Snow still did not have any plans to move in such a direction. The future? Lonely Snow had never considered it before. He was but an average player. He did not have any big ambitions, only wanting to earn some cash from playing games. He said honestly, I have never considered it before. I see that your techniques are quite good. Why dont you join us for now? Blackie nonchalantly asked. Really? Lonely Snow had anxiety about his future after Blackies question. He did not know where he wanted to go. If he could party with an expert, then it could not get any better. Of course. However, we still need to look at your future performance. We dont just simply accept people, Blackie proudly said, pretending to be an expert. Thank you, Brother Black. Lonely Snow happily responded. He never imagined his luck would be so great as to be noticed by an expert. Seeing Lonely Snow agree, Blackie released a sigh of relief. Currently, Blackie was just a fox pretending to be a tiger. He couldnt help out Shi Feng much in Gods Domain, but he could still help out in regards to administration. There wasnt even a shadow of their Workshop as of this moment. There was also the debt of 16,000 Credits. The Workshops members consisted of only Shi Feng and himself. It was definitely the poorest Workshop in history. If this was found out by the others, they would definitely turn around and leave. Now, Blackie could only fake being an expert to lure people to join their Workshop. At this moment, Shi Feng was currently explaining the contents of the operation to the Summoner. The operation was to let Gluttonous Mouse lure the remaining six Night Rabbits by controlling his Flame Sprite. Because the Night Rabbit that was closest to the Boss was no more, luring the other Night Rabbits would not attract the Boss. They could lure the monsters with ease. The Flame Sprite was extremely weak. Its HP was only a pitiful 15 points, and it would die in a single hit. However, its Movement Speed was extremely quick. Adding to its very small size, trying to hit it would be a difficult task. Start the operation. Mouse, remember to maintain a distance of 4 yards or above while circling around the rock, Shi Feng reminded once more. Gluttonous Mouse nodded his head. Carefully, he controlled the Flame Sprite to lure the six Night Rabbits. When the sprite entered the 35-yard distance, the nearest Elite Night Rabbit discovered the Flame Sprite. Suddenly, it turned its body around and rushed towards the Flame Sprite. The other Night Rabbits also came rushing along. Seeing the Night Rabbits taking the bait, Gluttonous Mouse immediately controlled the Flame Sprite and ran. The six Night Rabbits were in hot pursuit, but their speed could no match for the Flame Sprite. In a moment, the Flame Sprite had arrived beneath the large rock. It had lured the six Night Rabbits over and started circling around the large rock. On the other side, Cola had already aggroed the Night Rabbit that had left its unit. Cola interchanged between blocking and using his new skill, [Divine Strike]. With the effects of two pieces of Bronze Equipment, a single hit from Divine Strike had caused 26 damage. It was a lot higher compared to the 11 or 12 damage caused by a normal strike. Also, Divine Strike had the added effect of increasing Hatred. It became a lot easier to hold aggro. The Night Rabbit was killed off within a short moment. It dropped 5 Coppers. After this Night Rabbit was handled, only the six Night Rabbits that kept on circling around the large rock remained. Ill lure the Night Rabbits. Cola, pay attention to pull the monster. Shi Feng picked up another small stone, throwing it at the Night Rabbit that ran at the rear. The Night Rabbit rubbed its cranium after being struck on it. The rabbit turned around, discovering Shi Feng that had thrown the stone. The Night Rabbit suddenly became enraged. It madly hopped towards Shi Feng with its powerful legs. As for the other Night Rabbits, they were still excitedly chasing after the Flame Sprite, failing to notice the disappearance of one of their companions. Receive it! Seeing the Night Rabbit was only 20 yards away from the party, Shi Feng commanded. Cola rushed ahead, sending a Divine Strike towards the Night Rabbits head. The Night Rabbits target immediately changed, extending its claws towards Colas cranium. However, Cola had reacted quickly by dodging his body sideways. After avoiding the attack, Cola continued by using [Punishment]. The skill had once more strengthened the Night Rabbits Hatred to Cola. Everyone, focus fire. Shi Feng inwardly applauded after seeing Colas performance. He had never imagined Colas ability to learn would be this great. He had already found out about the Night Rabbits attack patterns after going through slightly more than ten battles. No wonder he was the core MT of a first-rate Guild, ten years later. His potential was limitless. The Night Rabbit in front of Cola had fallen within 20 seconds. It had even dropped a skill book for Swordsman, [Double Chop]. Shi Feng immediately learned it without reservations. [Double Chop] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Level 1 Proficiency 0/300 Rapidly deals damage twice. Every slash of the sword deals 120% +15 damage, also increasing Bleeding effect by 20%. Duration of 10 seconds. Stacks up to a maximum of 5 times. Cooldown: 8 seconds This skill book had greatly increased Shi Fengs explosive power. As for the problem of getting used to the skill, it was non-existent for Shi Feng. After playing for ten years as a Swordsman, the skills belonging to the Job were deeply ingrained into Shi Fengs bones. As long as Shi Feng got ahold of these skills, he would be able to utilize them to their greatest potential. Shi Feng had also lured the remaining five Night Rabbits over, one after another. The party had killed the rabbits one by one, and following the death of the final Night Rabbit, a golden glow appeared around Shi Fengs body; he had risen to Level 2. At the same time, the five Night Rabbits had contributed to the party a piece of Bronze Plate Armor for Guardian Knights. The equipment increased Colas HP to 390 points and his Defense to 56. It had also increased Colas ability to resist against the Night Rabbit Chieftain, Willie. 28 The Horror Of Hell Mode With the Elites that were on guard all dead, only the Boss, Willie, remained on the open field. At this moment, Willie was laying on the ground, sleeping. It would scratch its back from time to time, completely unaware of its missing henchmen. Everyone, recover for now. Ill explain the method to raid Willie in a moment. Shi Feng wanted everyone to ease up first. It would not be easy to face off against Willie. The fight would require a high degree of concentration because a single mistake would cause everyone to be buried together. Hearing Shi Fengs command, everyone sat down to recuperate. They ate and drank to recover to their best state. Shi Fengs finger waved and shook as he called up his Attribute Panel. He had recently reached Level 2. Because of the Abyssal Blade, the Free Attribute Points he obtained exceeded other players by 2 points. The choices he could make with his points were slightly more than the average player. In the initial period, it was sufficient for the Agility of a Swordsman to reach 20 points. However, Shi Feng increased his to 30 points. There would be a fixed increase in the bodys flexibility when Agility reached 30 points. Subsequently, Shi Feng added the remaining points into Strength, making it easier for him to contend with the Boss. Shi Feng had on him three pieces of Bronze Equipment, a Mysterious-Iron Ring, and a Magic Weapon. Shi Feng Attributes had basically reached his own requirements. Character: Ye Feng (Human) Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon Title: Might Of A Thousand Job: Swordsman Level: 2 HP: 520/520 Attack Power: 88 Defense Power: 39 Attack Speed: 15 Movement Speed: 13 Attributes: Strength 32, Agility 30, Endurance 24, Intelligence 13, Vitality 13. With such Attributes, Shi Feng had more confidence dealing with Willie. Seeing everyone recovered, Shi Feng started explaining, Willie has two skills. One of them is Killing Feast. When used, Willie will ignore Hatred and randomly attack the nearest players. Blackie and Lonely, you two have to pay attention to your positioning. The other skill is Death Claws. Cola, you have to distance yourself from the Boss before this skill is used. Lonely Snow, pay attention to interrupt the Boss. Ill remind you when the time comes. Another point to take note of, Willie is very smart, so dont keep on using the same attack pattern. Alright, thats it. If were ready, then start the battle, Cola. Brother Feng, is there nothing else we have to pay attention to? Blackie walked up to Shi Fengs side, whispering. This place was the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Not everyone was an expert, as well. However, Shi Fengs explanation was so simple that it made them feel conquering this Boss was very easy. However, there were so many Elite parties which had died inside Normal Mode, so how could Hell Mode be so simple? Party leader, are there no details we need to pay attention to? Everyone was very worried. They all held anticipation in their gazes as they looked towards Shi Feng, hoping that he would speak more about the finer details. They were noobs, so there were a lot of things they did not understand. In regards to an expert like Shi Feng, the things he felt were common knowledge, were definitely not common to noobs like them. Elites could not be compared to a Boss. The other Elite parties must have definitely died at the hands of the Boss. Although their equipment was better than an Elite partys, they were still Level 1 noobs. They clearly knew their own worth. You guys worry too much. Relax. When the time comes, Ill tell you what you should do and when you should do it, so dont worry about it. Cola, start the fight and remember to dodge more often. A single healer will not be able to match up to the Boss damage, Shi Feng smiled. He felt his party members were quite interesting. They were much more serious about the details than he had thought. In his previous life, Shi Feng had entered Hell Mode Dungeons countless times as the Captain of Shadow. There was also no lack of hundred-men Dungeons amongst those times. So, how could he not know how to guide a few noobs to beat a small Boss? Cola had no choice but to go at it hard. Willie abruptly leaped up the moment Cola entered its detection range. Its mouth salivated when it saw Cola, and its two pairs of steel claws intertwined to produce sparks. Cola had clearly stimulated Willies heart of massacre. It lifted its steel claws and hastily dashed towards Cola. Start casting heals. All damage dealers prepare to attack Willies limbs. Shi Feng commanded when he saw Willies menacing appearance. Just when Shi Feng finished speaking, Willie had arrived before of Cola. Before Cola could react, its sharp claws had fallen from the sky, slashing at Colas neck. Peng! Cola instinctively used his shield to block the steel claws, forming three brilliant streaks of sparks. There were also three claw marks left on the shield. Due to the immense rushing force, Cola was forced to retreat five or six steps as he stabilized his body. Above his head, a damage of -103 appeared. Before Cola could even attack, Willie once again waved out its steel. This time, Cola was sent flying with his shield, and a damage of -105 points appeared. Only at this moment did the heal land on Cola, recovering 43 HP for him. It was a truly insignificant amount when compared to the damage Cola received. Everyone was shocked. The Movement Speed and damage of the Boss was too horrifying. If Cola did not possess two pieces of Bronze Equipment, or if he did not block the attacks with his shield, he would have simply died from these two strikes. Lonely Snow, use Charge on Willie! Blackie, use Evil Whip! Shi Feng had long since expected such a situation. He quickly instructed Blackie to use a binding skill. Lonely Snow reacted by using a Charge to block Willies next attack and saved Colas life. However, Lonely Snows attack had only caused -11 damage to Willie. He became dumbfounded by it. He had added most of his Attribute Points into Strength, and he even had two pieces of Bronze Equipment on him. Yet, he had dealt such a small amount of damage. It should be known that the Boss in front of him had 6000 HP. Blackie also finished chanting from the side, sending out his Evil Whip. Five streaks of pitch-black thorns suddenly constricted Willies legs. Shi Feng took the chance to circle around to Willies rear. With the Abyssal Blade in hand, he used Double Chop on Willies neck, causing -66 and -67 damage. His attack also caused a Bleeding effect, causing Willie to lose 8 HP every second, lasting for 10 seconds. The high damage immediately caused Willie to switch its Hatred to Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not give it any chance. With his 30 Agility, Shi Feng easily dodged away from the steel claws, appearing 5 yards away from Willie. Ao! Ao! Ao! Willie furiously bellowed as it rushed at Shi Feng. Ranged players start attacking. Cola, come over and hold Willie after youre done recovering. Shi Feng systematically retreated while he dodged Willies claws. However, the others watching Shi Feng were shocked to their souls. This was because Willies claws would graze by Shi Fengs cranium every time it attacked, blowing his hair into a dance. Although everyone was shocked, they never stopped attacking. Magic attacks were sent out one after another, whereas Lonely Snow used Whirlwind Slash at Willies rear. However, not one of those damages had exceeded -20 points. Willies HP slowly decreased. When it was occasionally struck by Shi Feng, its HP would drop by a segment. Willies HP had fallen to 90% within a moment. Willie became enraged as it started a mad dance with its claws. It used Death Claws, greatly increasing its Attack Speed. Shi Feng was nearly hit by it. Fortunately, however, he had used the Abyssal Blade to block the attack, only receiving -130 damage from it. At this moment, the Cola rushed up with his full HP. He used a Divine Strike on Willies head, followed by a Punishment. Willies Hatred only switched to Cola after a series of attacks. The switching of Hatred had also interrupted Willies Death Claws, returning Willie to its normal state. Seeing Willie change targets, Shi Feng waved out a Thundering Flash. Three streaks of thunder passed through Willies body, dealing -92, -116, -137 damage. At the same time, giving Willie a damage amplification effect, it allowed others to deal 20% more damage to it. The fight with Willie became much easier. Blackie was sending out Dark Arrows without stopping, each dealing over -50 damage. Whereas the others only managed to deal over -20 damage to Willie. Being given a painful beating, Willie was just about to turn around and attack Shi Feng when Cola used both Divine Strike and Punishment once more. Willies Hatred was quickly pulled back to Cola. When Willie turned back to Cola, Shi Feng used a Chop on it. In such a way, Shi Feng and Cola took turns aggroing Willie, causing it unable to attack any players. Willies HP continuously dropped until it was 30%. Willie entered a berserk state, its body increasing by several sizes. Melee players stay away from the Boss! Blackie, use Evil Whip! Healer, heal me! Shi Feng loudly shouted. In its current state, Willie was definitely going to use its big move, Killing Feast. Lonely Snow and Cola immediately distanced themselves from the Boss after hearing Shi Fengs command, letting Shi Feng tank the Boss by himself. When the two of them had run out of the 10-yard range, Willie disappeared. No one understood what happened. When Willie reappeared, it had already arrived at Shi Fengs back, and its steel claws abruptly descended. Shi Feng had long since been ready for this. He used his sword to block the incoming claws. However, just after blocking this attack, Willie once again disappeared and again appeared behind Shi Feng. Within two short seconds, Willie had attacked Shi Fengs back seven times. Fortunately, Shi Fengs Agility had reached 30 points. It was barely enough to match up to Willies speed. However, every attack Shi Feng blocked would still take away a significant amount of HP from him. The heals he received also continuously recovered his HP. -96, -97, +46, -96, -97, +48, +32, -96, -97, +46 If Shi Feng did not possess 520 HP and blocked every claw that came at him, Shi Feng would have died from Willies Killing Feast with 100% certainty. At this moment, Shi Fengs remaining HP did not reach 100 points. Get rid of it! Shi Feng loudly shouted. After using his big move, Willie would enter a Weakened state. It was the perfect chance to kill it. Everyone continuously greeted Willie with their attacks, finally shaving off Willies remaining 30% HP. It dropped four items. Just as everyone was about to let loose their breaths, Shi Feng took a look at everyones current status. The healer, Drowsy Sloths remaining MP did not reach 20%, and the other mages MP did not reach 10%. Shi Feng hurriedly said, Everyone, sit down and recover immediately! Everyone was confused. Didnt the Boss just die? Why must they be in such a hurry? However, everyone still listened to Shi Fengs command to sit down and recover. Before they had even sat down and recuperated with food and drinks for five seconds, a violent roar entered everyones ears. The roar had shaken the entire Deathly Forest, and following it, a black shadow leaped out from within the forest. The black shadow was a gigantic Werewolf. The Werewolf looked at Willies corpse, then looked towards Shi Feng and the others. Its pitch-black eyes suddenly turned crimson red. Just when it wanted to release a roar, Shi Feng dashed towards it with Wind Blade. Immediately, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. Nine chains appeared and bound the Werewolf and its mouth, preventing it from making a sound. At this moment, everyone finally saw the Werewolfs statistics. It had a whopping two bars of HP. [Werewolf Felt] (Lord-rank) Level 3 HP 12000/12000 Crap, why is there a Lord Boss? Blackie cursed. They had barely rested just after killing a Boss, and now there was a Lord in front of them. Lords were a rank higher than Chieftains. The game was literally trying to kill them. Everyone remember, absolutely do not let Werewolf Felt let out another roar. Shi Feng continuously reminded everyone. However, the others were clearly frightened. Not because of Werewolf Felts body and HP, but because of that pair of horrifying crimson eyes. They gave off an intimidating feeling to everyone that made it hard to move. 29 Extraordinary State In front of the Dungeon of the Deathly Forest, the numbers of Level 2 players gathering were increasing. There was also an endless stream of players diving down into the Dungeon. Because there were a lot of Level 2 players, there was quite an amount of players who had set up stalls, peddling to the side. Good quality Level 0 Common Equipment, dont miss it when you pass by. You can only go down the Dungeon with good equipment. Equipment is limited, hurry over and buy. Small HP Potions instantly heals 90 HP once. A must-have tool for a battle that is worthy of you. Gods Domain had been open for over ten hours now. The players here were all Level 2 players. After over ten hours of battling, they had gathered quite a few items. Many Level 2 players had intended to sell the items which they had no use for, switching them for something they could use. Such a situation had caused business to flourish at the Deathly Forest. Although the number of players in front of the Deathly Forest continued to increase, the number of parties entering the Dungeon kept on decreasing. Only those parties that were unaware would enter the Deathly Forest. However, after those players had been properly nurtured by the Deathly Forest, they suddenly discovered their previous beliefs to be very naive. Hence, they obediently stood in front of the Dungeon. They talked about life with other parties while watching new parties enter the Dungeon with a smile. They had also investigated reports of the Deathly Forest together with the experienced parties, mutually improving their strategies to conquer the Dungeon. Following wave after wave of players entering and dying out of the Dungeon, the Deathly Forest had finally become the sore point of every player in Red Leaf Town. Every player who entered the Deathly Forest only had one impression of the Dungeon. It was extremely horrifying! Currently, in the Resurrection Graveyard of the Deathly Forest, six streaks of white light flashed into existence. Following which, six figures revealed themselves from within. There is just no way to clear this Dungeon. Snow, I think we would be better off grinding monsters or doing Quests. Just after reviving, Zhao Yueru stamped her delicate feet, her chest heaving up and down. The cuteness of her enraged, yet delicate appearance instantly attracted the attention of a crowd of male players. Gentle Snow shook her head, saying in contemplation, Our gains inside the Deathly Forest are relatively good, so we cant just easily give up. But the forest inside the Deathly Forest is too large. Adding in the great number of small paths, we would easily become lost without a map. However, I believe that amongst the numerous pathways, there must be a few that lead to the Boss location. The other paths are only there as a trap to confuse us. That is why we are always being ambushed by the Night Rabbits. The more we fight, the more Night Rabbits will come. For now, lets investigate for some information and see if we can complete a map for the Deathly Forest. Everyone felt that Gentle Snows speculation made sense, especially about the part where they attacked the Night Rabbits. Occasionally, a chilling arrow aimed at the Cleric, Xiao Yueer, would appear from within the forest. If it wasnt for Xiao Yueers skill at dodging, they would have long since party-wiped. Also, the deeper they went into the forest, the more numerous the Night Rabbits became. In the end, the Night Rabbits became too overwhelming in numbers. They were unable to shoulder all of the rabbits, which resulted in their return through death. If they could find the correct path, they might have already cleared the Dungeon by now. Zhao Yueru could only nod her head in agreement. The partys leader was, in fact, Gentle Snow, and Gentle Snows speculations were always very accurate. Zhao Yueru could not help but believe in her. Going with the suggestion, Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru nonchalantly shouted a few times, stating that they wanted to trade information about the Deathly Forest. It couldnt be denied, the striking effect created by two great beauties calling out. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the Deathly Forest started to boil as players rushed over, one after another. Every one of them wanted to be the first in position. Too many of the male players, this was a great chance for them to talk to a Goddess. Who knew, if the Goddess had looked upon them they might be able to live a blessed life in the future. Meanwhile, inside the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. The sky within the Dungeon had already darkened. Thousands of birds soared to the skies, leaving the forest in a deadly silence. Werewolf Felt was not any common monster. It was a very famous werewolf. In the past, it massacred countless in Red Leaf Town, nearly turning Red Leaf Town into a town of death. In a fit of rage, the Star-Moon Kingdom had sent out its army to surround Felt. In the end, after being heavily wounded by the Great Swordmaster, Hilton, Felt had escaped into the Deathly Forest to treat its wounds. It was the reason why the Dungeon of the Deathly Forest existed. In Hell Mode, Felt had three absolute skills. The first one was [Death Stare]. Enemies who Felt stared at would have their Attack Speed and Movement Speed greatly reduced. If one had a weak willpower, they might not even be able to move. Presently, only Shi Feng had 30 points in Agility. After he had activated the three Hidden Basic Skills he possessed, he gained a certain amount of resistance towards the Death Stare. As for the other people, their reactions would become very sluggish. That was why Shi Feng remained the one to keep Werewolf Felt in check, whereas Drowsy Sloth continuously healed Shi Feng. However, Drowsy Sloths casting speed had slowed by half. As for the melee players, they were no help whatsoever. However, it was not because they did not want to help, but it was because they had no way of helping at all. Werewolf Felts Attack Speed was just too fast. It was to the degree where they couldnt react to its attacks. It was as if they were facing off against an expert that came straight out from a Wuxia novel; normal people had no chance to interfere whatsoever. They would only be creating more trouble if they had rushed up to the battle. So, it was still better to just watch from the side. Currently, only the ranged mages dealt damage. However, the damage caused was just too low. Even Blackies Dark Arrows were only dealing -24 damage each. Lonely, interrupt the roar! Seeing Felt abruptly inhaling, Shi Feng immediately shouted. Lonely Snow had long since prepared for this moment. Immediately, he went forward and used Charge, causing Felt to enter a 1 second Fainted state. Then, he quickly retreated. Shi Feng took the chance to use Thundering Flash, Double Chop, and Chop. One attack after another landed on Felts chest. Before Felt could even regain its breath, it had spat out a mouthful of blood. Shi Feng had caused a terrifying -500 damage to it. Within an instant, Felts HP had fallen to 78%. Everyone watching became dumbfounded. Regarding Shi Fengs powerful actions, they only had one word to say: Amazing! They were even more impressed by Shi Fengs eyesight. He had actually discovered such a weakness on Felts body. Now, everyone was further reassured that Shi Feng was not as simple as he seemed. However, Shi Feng did not display any great excitement. Although they had interrupted Hells Roar and avoided a party-wipe, this would create a reverse effect. After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Werewolf Felts condition became much more pleasant. It spun its head around and immediately slashed its sharp claws at Shi Feng. The slashing speed of Felts claws was even a notch quicker than before, filling the sky with the afterimages of its claws. However, Shi Feng was not a weakling either. Strength, Agility, and Endurance, Shi Feng activated the Hidden Basic Skills of all three of these Attributes. With these skills activated, it meant that Shi Fengs constitution was no longer that of an average player, but an extraordinary one. Shi Fengs greatest asset in coming into the Deathly Forest was this Extraordinary State which he could activate at any given moment. With it, he could do things that normal players couldnt. Under a sky filled with after images of claws, Shi Feng could still remain safe and sound. It was as if Shi Feng was dancing under the afterimages. Occasionally, Shi Feng used his sword to fend off the attacks which he could not avoid. This was the power of being under an extraordinary condition. His five senses became extremely sensitive, and his brains processing abilities became exceptionally focused. Shi Feng could utilize his body to its greatest potential. If it was an average player, however, they would be unable to carry out such feats. It was both mentally and physically taxing to the extraordinary condition. If Shi Feng had not become accustomed to it before, he would only be able to maintain such a state for a few seconds. Claws and sword intertwined, creating countless dazzling sparks. Both sides had their HP continuously falling. Fortunately, Shi Feng was able to survive the exchange with Drowsy Sloths timely heals. Afterward, under Shi Fengs command, Lonely Snow would occasionally interrupt the Hells Roar, while Cola would hold back Felt whenever Shi Feng was in danger, and Blackie would use Evil Whip to contain Felts movements. In such a way, Werewolf Felts HP continuously decreased, 70%... 60%... 30%... Everyone stand in a straight line facing the Boss! Quickly! Shi Feng hurriedly shouted when he saw Werewolf Felts HP nearing 30%. Werewolf Felt would become the most frightening when its HP decreased to 30%. During this time, it was impossible to interrupt the Hells Roar. They could only take it head on. No one had any hesitation; they knew that the Boss was about to go berserk. They immediately took action, forming a straight line against Werewolf Felt, while also maintaining a 30-yard distance away from it. The moment Werewolf Felts HP reached 30%, its fur started changing colors. Within a moment, its fur had become snow white, and two streams of blood leaked from its eyes. Its chest also started to quickly expand, as if it was a swelled-up frog. Shi Feng immediately activated Gravity Liberation, quickly arriving in front of everyone else. Cola, use Protection Blessing on me! Shi Feng loudly shouted. Protection Blessing was able to reduce the damage taken by a party member by 50% for a duration of 6 seconds. It was a lifesaving skill with a 5-minute Cooldown, and right now was the perfect moment to use it. [Protection Blessing] of Guardian Knights and [Shield Wall] of Shield Warriors. These two skills had a high drop rate inside the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Before, the reason why Shi Feng had wasted time on clearing out some unnecessary Night Rabbits was all to obtain this skill, Protection Blessing. 30 Crimson Blade Cola had long since been ready for this moment. The instant Shi Feng let out the command, his mouth began chanting divine texts. Streaks of golden divine texts rushed at Shi Feng. Protection Blessing! Suddenly, Shi Feng was surrounded by countless golden divine texts, giving off a dazzling golden glow. At the same time, Drowsy Sloth, at the rear of the line, continuously cast Recover and Life Prayer, pulling Shi Fengs HP back up to full and returning him to his best condition. Prepare for a battering attack. Absolutely do not leave from my back. Seeing Werewolf Felts line of sight shifting towards them, Shi Feng held the Abyssal Blade across his chest as he commanded. Hearing Shi Fengs words, everyone started to tense up. Their hearts were not courageous, to begin with. Now, their hearts started to madly beat. They were being covered in a cold sweat even before Werewolf Felt used its skill. Suddenly, Werewolf Felt moved. Its expanded chest started moving upwards, moving past its throat and to its mouth. Hou!Within an instant, everyone aside from Shi Feng felt their hearts stop beating. It was as if the world had turned gray and silent. The soaring birds in the sky had also turned motionless. Everyone could clearly see the multitude of gray-colored waves being emitted from Werewolf Felts body. Streak after streak, it continuously expanded. The dark gray ripples quickly arrived in front of everyone. However, they could not move even a muscle. It was not because they did not wish to move, but because their bodies could not keep up with the speed of their thoughts. Everyone could feel that time was moving by at an exceptionally slow pace. However, everyone understood that although the movement of time appeared slow, in reality, it was moving at the pinnacle of speed. Just like absolute experts crossing swords; the moment the exchange happened, time would move exceptionally slowly. At this moment, only Shi Feng slightly moved. Phantom Kill! The instant the dark gray ripples arrived in front of Shi Feng, his doppelganger had blocked in front of him. At the same time, the doppelganger used Parry. Subsequently, the gray ripples made contact with the doppelganger. However, they were blocked by the doppelgangers Parry, whereas the doppelganger himself retreated a step back. He only stabilized his body after colliding with Shi Feng. Just after the doppelganger stabilized himself, another wave of ripples came smashing. The ripples passed through the doppelgangers body this time, causing his HP to instantly decrease by 300 points. Behind him, Shi Feng had also received -30 damage, while the others behind Shi Feng received -20 damage. However, the ripples did not stop with just one wave. When the third wave of ripples passed through the doppelganger, his body had instantly disintegrated. A damage of -100 points also appeared above Shi Fengs head. Subsequently, wave after wave of dark gray ripples followed.-100, -100, -100, -100, ...... hi Fengs HP fell time and time again until only 90 points remained. When the final wave of ripples was about to get rid of Shi Feng, he used Parry. Hong! Shi Feng retreated a big step backward. However, he did not receive any damage. The people behind him were also unharmed. However, their HP after going through several waves of attacks did not exceed 50%.At this moment, Drowsy Sloths Recover had only landed on Shi Fengs body, pulling Shi Fengs HP back to 140. Following which he used Life Payment, recovering 130 HP for Shi Feng. Within a moment, Shi Fengs HP had returned to over 50%. This roar really is powerful. I even thought we were finished, Blackie wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead. If Shi Feng had not blocked in front of them, they would all be goners by now. When he thought back to how Shi Feng nearly died, Blackies heart started beating rapidly, reaching 180 beats per minute. If Shi Feng died, then they would die as well; there was nobody else in the party who could pin down Werewolf Felt for a long period of time. At this moment, everyone looked at Shi Feng as if they were looking at a monster. Never would they have imagined that Shi Feng would ingeniously use his doppelganger to block two of those onslaughts. He had also used Parry on the final attack. The way Shi Feng had calculated both damage and HP was absolutely brilliant. Such a technique definitely belonged to the realm of gods.Stop daydreaming, all of you! Quickly attack the Boss; its in a Weakened state right now! Shi Feng only shrugged his shoulders at his partys reaction. Such a technique could be done by many experts in a few more years. However, Shi Feng had yet to relax. The thing he had to pay attention to the most right now was the Boss. Only he knew how hard it was to deal with Werewolf Felt. Wind Blade! With Gravity Liberation activated, Shi Feng instantly arrived in front of Felt. He tightly gripped the Abyssal Blade, continuously sending attacks towards Felts chest. Thundering Flash! Double Chop! Chop! Damage that exceeded -100 appeared above Werewolf Felts head, one after another. The other party members were also able to deal damage of over -20 with each attack. Very quickly, they had reduced Werewolf Felts HP down to 15%. When they saw that Felt was about to die, everyone revealed smiles of excitement. Dont be careless. Blackie, use your Evil Whip. Lonely Snow, prepare to interrupt with Charge. Shi Feng commanded as he dodged Werewolf Felts attack. Being told what to do in such a way, everyones hearts suddenly constricted. A Death Stare and a Hells Roar was already unimaginably terrifying. If it was any other party here, they would have long since revived back at the graveyard. Could Werewolf Felt actually have another powerful skill? How horrifying was this Hell Mode?! Shi Feng constantly paid attention to Werewolf Felts HP. Just when Felts HP fell down to 10%, its third big move finally came. Death Berserk! This move would increase Werewolf Felts Attack Speed by 100%, its Movement Speed by 40%, and its Attack Power by 100% until it died. It was precisely this move that had caused countless Elite parties to curse out in madness. After activating Death Berserk, Werewolf Felts fur started turning red; in a moment, it had become blood-red in color. Adding in its crimson red eyes and sharp fangs, Felt looked remarkably like a Blood Fiend. Its terrifying appearance had caused everyone to inadvertently retreat a step backward. They could clearly feel the air of danger given off by Felt. Shi Feng used another Double Chop, stacking the Bleeding effect to five layers. Afterward, he spun around and ran.After activating Death Berserk, there was no one under Level 5 who was able to block Felt. That included Shi Feng, even if he had a Magic Weapon. The only method was to kite[1] it and slowly grinding Felt to death. The moment Shi Feng had escaped the 10-yard distance, Felts thick thighs suddenly doubled in size. One of its legs abruptly stomped the ground, sending it flying like an arrow, rushing towards Shi Feng. Shi Feng was about to arrive at the location of the large rock, but behind him, Felts speed was just too fast. He definitely could not make it. Shi Feng abruptly made a 90-degrees sharp turn. Hong! Without making any turns, Werewolf Felt smashed straight into the large rock blocking its path, turning it into rubble. Fragmented rocks the size of a persons head were sent flying more than 10 yards away. Seeing such horrifying strength, even a fierce man such as Cola had his heart trembling. If he were struck by those claws, then he would definitely become meat paste... At this moment, Shi Feng had already distanced himself over 20 yards from Felt. Meanwhile, the attacks from the mages never stopped. They continuously ground away Felts HP. Shi Fengs plan to kite Felt was a success. Every time Werewolf Felt was about to catch up, Lonely Snow would Charge at it. He then followed it up with a Bone Crusher, greatly reducing Felts speed. Afterward, he pulled away from Felt once more. When Lonely Snows skills were on Cooldown, Blackie would use Evil Whip to constrict Felt once more. The skills of the two of them had a quick Cooldown. With Shi Fengs occasional Abyssal Bind, they had formed a perfect cycle to toy with Werewolf Felt without pause. 7%... 6%... 5%... 3%... Finally, when Felt only had 1% HP remaining, Shi Feng abruptly turned around. Wind Blade! Thundering Flash! Chop! Double Chop! Shi Fengs single sword slashed at Werewolf Felts chest, taking away its final 1% HP. System: Your party is the first to clear a Hell Mode Dungeon. Rewards increased by 100%; loot increased by 100%. System: Cleared Hell Mode of Deathly Forest. Rewarding 8000 EXP. At this moment, Werewolf Felt exploded, dropping out over 10 items. And amongst them, there was one that made Shi Fengs eyes shine. Crimson Blade! It was a sword that had the color of fresh blood. It gave off a dull red glow, and there was also faint drops of red liquid dripping off the edges of the blade. The entire sword revealed a dense killing aura. Shi Feng never imagined that the item with an abysmal drop rate would actually appear in front of him. * * * TL Notes: [1] kite: A term in video gaming and elsewhere to describe when a ranged fighter skirmishes with a hand-to-hand fighter by running and shooting. This can have 2 purposes: a) to damage the enemy while staying outside of hand-to-hand range, or b) to make the enemy follow you so you can lead them to a specific location 31 Hell’s Book Shi Feng walked over without hesitation. He quickly picked up the one-handed sword filled with killing intent. The Crimson Blade was one of the rarest drops within the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. It was also the best sword for a Swordsman below Level 6. [Crimson Blade] (Secret-Silver Rank, One-Handed Sword) Level 3 Equipment Requirement: Strength 12 Attack Power +21 Strength +5, Agility +6, Endurance +3 Durability 30/30 Its Attack Power alone could rival a Level 5 Two-Handed Bronze Axe. With the six extra points in Agility, it could increase the Attack Speed of a Swordsman by quite a lot. The Crimson Blade was definitely a precious weapon for Swordsmen. Unfortunately, Shi Feng could not equip it yet. His experience was currently at 69% of Level 2. There was still quite an amount before he could reach Level 3. Moreover, he wouldnt be able to equip it even if he had reached Level 3. This was because Swordsmen would only activate the Dual-Wielding Talent after they reached Level 5. At that time, Shi Feng would be able to wield two one-handed swords. By the time Shi Feng was Level 5, he would be able to wield the Abyssal Blade on his main-arm, and the Crimson Blade on his sub-arm. His Attack Power would be invincible amongst Level 5 players. Shi Feng felt great just thinking about such a future. Brother Feng, hurry up and pick up the equipment! Im dying of anxiety here! Blackie urged. Thats right, party leader! You cant just enjoy it by yourself! At least let us have a look at what equipment dropped! The loot on the ground had nearly blinded everyones eyes. The anxiety burning in their hearts had even caused them to forget their joy of reaching Level 2. They all wished to take a look at the drops of the two Hell Mode Bosses. As for rushing over to snatch the loot, there was nobody present who would do such a thing. Even if the items on the ground were valuable, they still wouldnt do it. If they had done such a thing, although they could feel great for the moment, they would instead regret their actions for the rest of their lives. This was because Shi Feng was the true treasure here. Even if Shi Feng wanted all of the equipment, there would not be a single person who would refuse him. After all, the only reason they could make it to this point was all because of Shi Feng. That was why everyone was just standing by the side, obediently watching instead of rushing up to fight for the loot. Alright, alright. No need to rush. Shi Feng smiled. He quickly began to collect the items on the ground. Shi Feng was very satisfied with everyones performance. They were unlike the players Shi Feng would occasionally party up with in his previous life. When the Boss died, those players would rush up in unison to snatch the equipment. They immediately disappeared once they took all the equipment, leaving Shi Feng enraged and speechless. The reason Shi Feng did not set the party so that only the leader could pick drops was to test everyones intentions. It was better to discover those treacherous people early on. Now that nobody had rushed up to snatch the items, Shi Feng could be more at ease with them. In a short moment, Shi Feng had collected all the loot on the ground. There were a total of 19 pieces of equipment and 5 Silver Coins. Such a harvest could rival the assets of a large Guild in its entirety. Arranging his bag, Shi Fengs lips curled up into a smile. He found a Forging Design. [Garrison Armor Forging Design] Able to create a piece of Level 3 Bronze-ranked Chest Armor after learning the design. Materials Required: 20 Copper Ores, 5 Bronze Ores, 5 Magic Essences This piece of equipment was a good item. As long as a partys MT equipped it, diving into the Normal Mode of the Deathly Forest would become much easier. Not only did it have high Defense and Strength, it also increased maximum HP by 200 points. It was an extremely important piece of equipment for any MT. In Shi Fengs previous life, when this equipment was released, every Guild madly fought over it. They also ignored all costs to enter the Deathly Forest in order to obtain this Forging Design. When Blackie saw Shi Fengs excited smile, his heart became even more anxious. It was needless to say for the other people, if a persons sight could kill, Shi Feng probably would have died over hundreds or thousands of times by now. The items are not bad. Here, you guys have a look. Shi Feng did not waste any more time. He immediately displayed the Attributes of all the equipment. There were a total of 15 pieces of equipment. Amongst them, there was only a single Secret-Silver Equipment, which was the Crimson Blade. There were also 5 pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment and 9 pieces of Bronze Equipment. The Bronze Equipment dropped by the Bosses of Hell Mode were all of the highest quality. The Bronze Equipment dropped by Elites were far from comparable. Amongst all the equipment, after the Crimson Blade, the most valuable items were the pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Out of the three Modes of the Deathly Forest, only Hell Mode dropped Mysterious-Iron Equipment, whereas Normal and Difficult only dropped Bronze Equipment. Blackies luck had always been good. Amongst the five pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, there were two pieces of the Dark Color Set meant for Cursemancers. The Dark Color Set was definitely the Set Equipment for Cursemancers below Level 5. There were a total of five pieces in the Dark Color Set; head, chest, legs, shoes, armguards. This time around, the parts that dropped were the chest and shoes. These two items had placed a wide smile on Blackies face. Brother Feng, I really love coming down to Hell! Lets come here once every day. That way, I can complete the Dark Color Set, and if anyone dares look down upon us at that time, Ill blast him to pieces! Blackie showed off the Dark Color Set in his hands. After wearing the Dark Color Set, Blackie felt himself becoming closer to an expert. His Magic Attack was increased to 66; a single Level 3 Dark Arrow could take away more than half the HP of a Level 1 Shield Warrior. If he could complete the Dark Color Set, then a single Dark Arrow could one-shot a Shield Warrior. He put on the suit of ash-gray fur robes, coupled with glistening pitch-black boots; everyone could tell they were pieces of a set with just a glance. The others drooled when they saw the black luster of the Dark Color Set. Their hearts were filled with hatred and envy for Blackie. They had never imagined entering Hell would be such a great experience. They truly hoped they could enter Hell a few more times in the future. The remaining three pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment were the set pieces for Guardian Knight, Shield Warrior, and Elementalist. Amongst those present, only Cola was a Guardian Knight. Thus, Shi Feng gave the piece of equipment to Cola and stored the others. As for the remaining Bronze Equipment, Cola received a shield and Lonely Snow received a greatsword. Both pieces of Level 2 equipment had the best Attributes possible on them. Drowsy Sloth and Gluttonous Mouse also received a piece of Bronze Equipment each. Quite a few pieces of Shi Fengs equipment were also replaced. Amongst the Bronze Equipment, there were three pieces that belonged to Swordsman. The two pieces of equipment that remained were stored away by Shi Feng. When everyone had changed their equipment, it was as if the entire party had a makeover. Every piece of their equipment was incomparably brilliant. Just a glance was enough to tell that they didnt just have Common Equipment. The entire party had also risen to Level 2. Blackies experience was even at 98% of Level 2, just a tad bit short of Level 3. The other four items were a Forging Design, a Potion Recipe, a rare skill for Cursemancers, and a notebook. The rare skill for Cursemancers overjoyed Blackie. It was an AOE skill called [Hell Flame]. [Hell Flame] Deals 150% Flame Damage to an 8 x 8 yard area. Duration of 5 seconds. Cooldown: 36 seconds. It was a godly skill for grinding monsters during the early periods of the game. What is this thing for? Shi Feng looked at the old notebook in his hand. He could not recall the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest dropping such an item. Taking a look inside, Shi Feng discovered words which he could not understand. However, Shi Feng knew these words belonged to the Ancient Language of the Elves. Within Gods Domain, any items which had a relationship with the Elven language were definitely not common items. Just like the Ring Of Gravity, there was a string of Elvish words carved onto it. They had allowed the ring to possess unimaginable powers. It seems I have to make a trip to the library. Shi Feng felt this notebook was not as simple as it seemed. In his previous life, he entered the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest tens of times. However, he had never seen such an item drop before. There was no such news from the other teams in the Guild as well. The likelihood of the notebook dropping only on the First Kill was high. If Shi Feng wanted to make heads with the situation, he had to translate its contents at the library. Brother Feng, what are we going to do afterward? Grinding mobs? Blackie was eager to try out the new skill he learned. Thats fine as well. Well grind and do Quests in Dark Moon Valley. The monsters there drop quite a lot of ore Shi Feng said after some thought. With the Forging Design in hand, all that was left was to obtain the materials. However, Shi Feng needed a lot of materials. Now that Blackie had Hell Flame, it should be a lot quicker to kill Kobolds and Gnomes. Furthermore, Shi Feng knew of a few good locations where it would be suitable to use Hell Flame. Shi Feng turned to look at the others, saying, Will you guys follow us or do Quests on your own? Big Brother Feng, how could you leave me out of grinding mobs? Ive already planned to follow Big Brother Feng in the future. Cola smiled like a fool as he gently caressed his new shield. Big Brother Feng, can we join as well? Drowsy Sloth and Gluttonous Mouse were both high-schoolers. Currently, they had their heads lowered in embarrassment. However, they did not wish to give up such a chance. Shi Feng was a great expert. They would reap endless benefits if they could learn a thing or two by staying by his side. Shi Feng said, smiling, Of course you are all welcome to join. Suddenly, the two of them revealed excited expressions, both their hands clenched up in excitement. Since nobody is opposed to it, then we will go grind in Dark Moon Valley. After finishing his piece, Shi Feng called out the System Panel. He selected the Dungeons Party Teleportation, parting with the Deathly Forest. 32 Stunning Invitation There was a sea of players in front of the Deathly Forest. Currently, they were all gathered around the Dungeons entrance. Such a situation was due to the actions of the large Guilds of Red Leaf Town. The Elite teams of these large Guilds had all arrived at the Deathly Forest. They were all prepared to challenge the Dungeon. These teams were much stronger than the loosely made Elite parties. Common Equipment covered their entire bodies. There were even pieces of Bronze Equipment in the mix. Thats Heavens Crowns core MT, Immovable Mountain. Never have I imagined that even he would come to this place. Someone will surely clear the Deathly Forest this time. Hmph, Heavens Crown is just a third-rate Guild. Look over there; even the Sub-Leader of Assassins Alliance, Stabbing Heart, is here. Also, the Guardian Knight named War Soul by his side is the top five Knight of the Assassins Alliance. He is even stronger than the Immovable Mountain. The players in the surrounding area started a discussion amongst themselves. They held optimistic views towards these large Guilds at clearing the Deathly Forest. It was to be expected, as there were over ten Guilds currently present, both large and small. Amongst these Guilds, the most well-known Guild would be the second-rate Guild, Assassins Alliance. Following them would be the third-rate Guild, Heavens Crown. The others were just some unknown Guilds, but they still would not be looked down on. This was because a Workshop stood behind every Guild. These Workshops hired experts. Average players could not compare to them. Each large Guild wanted to build its reputation in Red Leaf Town. Conquering the first Dungeon in Red Leaf Town was the perfect way to do so. Hence, all of the large Guilds made ample preparations for the Dungeon. They spent large sums of their assets to buy equipment and medicine. They also bought a lot of information on the Deathly Forest. So, they were extremely confident about conquering the Dungeon. Boss Waving, these Guild teams have gorgeous equipment! They will definitely clear the Deathly Forest this time, Wordless Summer Night commented with a pained expression. Waving Slowly But Surely crossed his arms in front of his chest. He nodded slightly, saying in a helpless tone, The Deathly Forest is too difficult. We party-wiped before we even met the Boss. In the end, parties like ours only became scouts for the Guilds. Whats there to brag about being a Guilds expert? Boss, its not our skills that are lacking. The Dungeon is just too horrifying. It has too high of an equipment quality requirement, the Shield Warrior, Battle To The End said in disdain. He held contempt for the Guild experts deep in his heart, and he was sure only their equipment prevented them from clearing the Dungeon. Thats right, Boss. If our party had such equipment, we would have long since cleared the Deathly Forest Wordless Summer Night confidently said. peaking of Dungeons, Wordless Summer thought of Shi Fengs party. He giggled as he said, Its not like we didnt have any gain. Weve killed two Night Rabbits and even got a skill book for Berserkers. Compared to that party led by Captain Noob, were much stronger. They still havent shown themselves. I guess theyve already fled from embarrassment. It sure is a pity for Lonely Snow. If he followed the Boss, then he would have been given this skill book. If he found out about it, he would regret not following us into the Dungeon. Thats right. Lonely Snow doesnt know how to appreciate the kindness given to him. Now, he will definitely regret not following the Boss, Battle To The End laughingly said. Lonely Snows skills are still quite good. I dont know how that noob managed to gain the favor of that expert called Blackie. However, no matter how great that experts techniques are, with dead weight pulling him back they would still party-wipe. He is probably too ashamed to show himself right now. If he had gone with us, we might have cleared the Deathly Forest by now, Waving Slowly was silently pleased with Blackies end. Boss, the Guilds are going to enter now, Wordless Summer said. However, just as the Guilds were about to enter the Deathly Forest, the Dungeons teleportation gate suddenly changed color. It instantly turned from a silvery-gray to a pitch-black color. There was also an indistinct skull that was roaring. The many members of the Guilds couldnt help but retreat a few steps back. What is this situation? Such a question appeared within everyones hearts. However, they quickly received their answer. Six figures suddenly appeared in front of the Dungeons entrance. Each and every one of them was clothed in glorious garments. Just by standing there, the six of them caused others to feel a faint pressure, especially the Cursemancer with the black-colored staff. The dark-gray colored equipment on the Cursemancer was clearly a set. A single glance was enough to tell they were not common goods. The materials it was made of were much better than Bronze Equipment. Eh? Why are there so many people? Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, discovering these people were the Elite teams of large Guilds. He was slightly confused as to why all these people were blocking the Dungeons entrance. Shi Fengs party members also started to panic. The pressure from being watched by so many people was no weaker than facing off against a Boss monster. Boss Waving, look. Isnt that the noob? Wordless Summer pointed towards Shi Feng. Waving Slowly knitted his brows. Shi Feng was not the only person he spotted; there was also Lonely Snow. He curiously asked, How could they be here? Didnt they run away long ago? In my view, I think they did not even enter the forest of the Dungeon. They knew they could not clear the Dungeon, but they were also afraid of embarrassing themselves. So, they stayed in there until now. Battle To The End laughed, But now they just happen to get caught after leaving the Dungeon. Just look at how ugly Lonely Snows expression is. Hahaha! As expected of a noob, he doesnt even have the courage to enter the Dungeon. Waving Slowly But Surely felt Wordless Summer Nights words made sense. If not, how could Shi Fengs party have returned safely? Waving Slowly and the other party members experienced the horrendous-ness of the Deathly Forest. After entering the forest of the Dungeon, there were only two possible results: either they cleared the Dungeon, or they party-wiped. There was no possibility of a third option. Now that Shi Fengs party had returned safely, there was only one possibility; they never entered the forest. It was impossible that they cleared the Deathly Forest. During the time Waving Slowly and company started laughing at Shi Fengs party, the players surrounding Shi Feng had already laughed themselves into madness. Such a scene confused Waving Slowly and party. Why were these people laughing at Shi Fengs party? Were they actually famous? What Waving Slowlys party did not know was that Shi Fengs party had already become famous throughout the entire Deathly Forest. Shi Fengs party mainly consisted of Level 1 noobs, yet they entered the Hell Mode of the Dungeon. There was no action more foolish than this. It would be hard for others not to notice such an action. As they say, Bad news has wings. Hahaha, that exotic player is back! I actually admired him for entering the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest, but he was just a coward. I cant take it anymore; my stomach hurts too much from laughing. The players surrounding Shi Fengs party understood their actions. They had foolishly entered the Hell Mode of the Dungeon, so they could not enter deep into the Dungeon. Instead, they stayed around the Dungeons entrance and looked for a time to leave the Dungeon in secret. Unfortunately, even God would not help them. They coincidentally left just to be seen by the many Guilds. Brother Feng, whats wrong with these people?Blackie looked at the laughing players laying on the ground. Scratching his head, he asked with an odd tone, Did their brains go bad? Why are they holding their stomachs and laughing on the ground? Who knows? Maybe their brains had a cramp. It seems we shouldnt play Gods Domain too long, especially for the first time. Shi Feng did not think their appearance had any relation to the actions of these people. We better leave. This is just giving me the creeps. The other members of the party nodded in agreement. The players in the Deathly Forest were truly strange. Big brother, please hold on for a moment. Just as Shi Fengs party was about to leave the Dungeons entrance, a ringing voice entered everyones ears. Taking a look at the voices origin, a beautiful and pure maiden dressed in a pure-white mages robe was seen walking towards Shi Fengs party. Shi Feng recognized this person. She was Star-Moon Kingdoms top-hundred Cleric, Xiao Yueer. Xiao Yueer walked to Shi Feng with an embarrassed look, a blush appearing on her tender-white cheeks. She whispered, Nice to meet you. I am Xiao Yueer of Ouroboros. We met before entering the Dungeon. Our partys leader wishes to have a chat with you about the Deathly Forests Dungeon. I wonder if you would be interested in sharing? 33 Changing from Arrogance to Humility 1 Xiao Yueers appearance shocked everyone present. Every player present knew who Xiao Yueer was. After all, she was the Goddess party mate. Coupled with Xiao Yueers beauty and purity, she was firmly implanted in everyones memories. However, why would such a pure maiden invite a noob? Furthermore, what was harder to imagine was the person who invited the noob was not Xiao Yueer, but the Goddess, Gentle Snow. Who was Gentle Snow? She was the publicly acknowledged Snow Goddess in the virtual gaming world. There were countless Mr. Perfects who wanted to approach her. There was even a trust fund baby who had offered ten million Credits just to have a meal with Gentle Snow; however, that person did not even receive a word from her. Scram!That trust fund baby was naturally enraged. Thus, he sought to get revenge and turn Gentle Snow into his possession. Yet, a few days later, this trust fund baby was dumbfounded. His father, a self-made wealthy man, suddenly became a poor pauper. All of his fathers properties had, within a night, become someone elses possession. When the trust fund babys father found the cause, he nearly beat his son to death. From then onwards, everyone finally knew the dreadfulness of Gentle Snow. However, Gentle Snows fans had further increased in number after this incident. Gentle Snow was like a true Goddess from the legends, divine and inviolable. Such a Goddess had actively invited such a noob. How could it not shock people? Currently, everyone was no longer in the mood for laughter. There was only envy and displeasure. What virtue and ability did a noob have to be invited to chat with the Goddess? Damn, this noob must have some dog-shit luck! Why him?! Im so handsome, yet the Goddess wont even speak a word to me." I, Jade Windtree, am an expert in Gods Domain, but why wont the Goddess come have a chat with me? Could it be that I am too handsome? Or does the Goddess prefer a wilder type? The Goddess must want to understand the situation inside the Hell Mode Dungeon. Thats why she looked for him. I never imagined even noobs would have such benefits. If I had known earlier, I would have also entered Hell Mode once. Everyone started their own discussions. They glared at Shi Feng, having thoughts of disdain and envy towards him. They could not help but want to kill him right that instant. Boss Waving Slowly, I didnt hear wrong, right? That noob actually received an invite from the Goddess. I must have heard wrong Wordless Summer Night pinched his thick cheeks, saying with a foolish expression. It should be right. However, the Goddess must have something she wishes to ask. He was only lucky; thats all, The prideful Waving Slowly deemed Shi Feng being able to chat with the Goddess was all just due to his luck.Battle To The End nodded his head to the side, agreeing to Waving Slowly But Surelys opinion. Gentle Snow was an existence they had looked up to. They were people of completely different worlds. Not to mention having a chat with her, they had already felt incredibly lucky just by being in the Deathly Forest with Gentle Snow. Just when everyone thought Shi Feng would smugly agree to the invitation, Shi Feng had instead given a contradictory answer. Not interested. Im in a rush for time, Shi Feng turned around and left immediately after responding. He did not care about Xiao Yueer in front of him at all, and he cared even less about Gentle Snows invitation. Now that the Forging Design was in his hands, he only lacked ore. The quicker the Garrison Armor made its appearance, the greater Shi Fengs income would be. If he missed out on this great chance, he would lose a large sum of Coins. Blackie had been extremely excited when he thought he would be able to get close to the Goddess. Shi Fengs answer, however, nearly drove him to madness. There must be a mispositioned nerve inside Shi Fengs brain to reject the invitation. It was not just Blackie who was dumbfounded; even Xiao Yueer was shocked motionless. It was the first time she met a man who actually rejected Sister Snows invitation. Many men begged for such an invitation, yet all of them remained empty-handed. Could this man be a fool? Lets go. What are you daydreaming about? He turned and asked his motionless party members when Shi Feng discovered nobody following him. Brother Feng, thats an invitation from the Snow Goddess. Wont you think about it some more? Blackie requested. His mind was bordering insanity right now. At the same time, his heart continually prayed for Shi Feng to agree quickly. Such a great chance would be impossible to come by in the future. Ive already said I dont have the time, Shi Feng responded with a smile. Shi Feng became speechless when he looked at Blackies prayerful eyes. No matter what, Blackies reverence for the Snow Goddess would not change one little bit. Currently, Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru walked over. Clad in a silvery-white plate armor, Gentle Snow was undoubtedly the focus of the entire Deathly Forest. Everyones eyes were glued to her perfectly curved body, their mouths drooling. Nobody had imagined Gentle Snow would personally make an appearance. Everyones envy and hatred for Shi Feng grew even more. You can be at ease. I will not waste too much of your time. This piece of Bronze Equipment can be your compensation, Gentle Snow carefully watched Shi Feng. She discovered Shi Feng was indeed different from other people. Although Shi Feng had a typical appearance, his body gave off a calm and steady feeling. There was also a faint murderous aura radiating from his body. Such temperament could only be honed after experiencing countless life-or-death battles. Snow? Zhao Yueru was shocked. She never thought Gentle Snow would think so highly of Shi Feng. Her beautiful eyes unwillingly turned towards Shi Feng. Her brows slightly creased, and she said in a contemptible tone, I dont think this fellow is worth a piece of Bronze Equipment; a piece of Gray Equipment at best. They had already been respectful by inviting Shi Feng over for a chat. However, not only did Shi Feng not appreciate their kindness, he even rejected them immediately. If someone else received such an invite, they would have long since come running over to fawn over them. It was the first time Zhao Yueru met such an unattractive man who took such an action. She firmly believed Shi Feng had some scheme in his mind and there was nothing good about him. No need for the Bronze Equipment. I have those things, myself, Shi Feng waved his hand, saying in an uncaring tone. He never tried to flatter the witch, to begin with, but he never imagined she would speak of him in such a way. However, he was not a poor ghost; he did not need any charity.Zhao Yuerus beautiful eyes measured up Shi Feng. She couldnt help but let loose a faint laughter, playfully saying, Such an unyielding spirit. You clearly want it, yet youre refusing to admit it. Snow, this fellow is really insincere! Yueru, Gentle Snow impatiently sent Zhao Yueru a glance, hinting her not to overdo it. To begin with, they were the ones who took the initiative to send the invite. It would not be proper to look down on others now. Zhao Yueru pouted. She shot a glance towards Shi Feng, puffing out her prideful twin peaks as she helplessly turned her head away. She did not think a poor fellow like Shi Feng would have anything they wanted. Sorry, please receive this piece of equipment as an apology,Gentle Snow took out a Level 0 Bronze Belt meant for a Swordsmen and traded it to Shi Feng. She wanted to put an end to this matter. Shi Feng did not reject the offer after seeing Gentle Snows sincerity. If he rejected it, it would only show how petty of a man he was. At the same time, he would cause Gentle Snow to think he did not wish to reconcile. He couldnt just keep on refusing the kindness of others. Besides, he was indeed missing a Bronze Belt. Hehe, and here I thought you had some great ability. In the end, you still need it, Zhao Yueru said in disdain. She inwardly felt unfortunate to lose a piece of Bronze Equipment. They obtained this piece of equipment after killing a Rare Elite with much difficulty. It was an absolute waste now that their efforts were benefiting Shi Feng. Shi Feng slightly wrinkled his brows. Not even a man would be able to stand being mocked and ridiculed in such a way, not to mention a reincarnated person like Shi Feng. Since Miss Snow gave me a piece of Bronze Equipment, it is only proper for me to reciprocate in kind. Let this item be the return gift. 34 Changing from Arrogance to Humility 2 Gentle Snows eyes flashed when Shi Feng also wanted to gift her something. She felt astonished and thought Shi Feng was an interesting person. Shi Feng conducted himself properly, and he was not as hard to get along with as she had imagined. You? Gifting Snow a present? Do you think Snow would even want it? Zhao Yueru could not help but turn her head around. Her fresh red lips curled into a seductive smile, and her eyes held a sneer within them. She was silently laughing at Shi Fengs overestimation of himself. What kind of item has Gentle Snow not seen before? Even luxury cars worth over ten million could not catch her attention, not to mention an item within a game. Currently, Shi Feng took out a piece of paper from his bag. This drawing was one of the drops from the Boss. Shi Feng nonchalantly passed the item over to Gentle Snow. When Zhao Yueru saw Shi Feng take out a piece of scrap paper and give it as a present to Gentle Snow, she could not help but coldly say, Are you trying to make a fool of us? No? Shi Feng said in a serious tone. Snow gave you a piece of Bronze Equipment, yet what about you? You took out a piece of scrap paper to trick her. Do you think a piece of scrap paper could compare to a piece of Bronze Equipment? If youre not playing us for fools, then what are you trying to do? hearing Shi Fengs answer, Zhao Yueru was further enraged.Behind Shi Feng, Blackie and the others were each covered in a cold sweat. Even if you did not wish to chat with the Goddess, you still should not make a fool of her! Wasnt this just courting death?! They clearly obtained a good amount of equipment inside the Dungeon, and just simply giving one of those pieces would easily solve the problem. If Shi Fengs actions angered the Goddess, even if the Goddess herself did not take action, the players surrounding them would surely kill them off for her. Seeing a mishap about to occur, Blackie thought of giving away the Bronze Staff he held. However, Gentle Snow gladly received the scrap paper Shi Feng gave her.Suddenly, Blackie and everyone elses mouths formed a 0h shape. The Goddess accepted it? What kind of situation was this? Thank you for your present; I like it very much. Now, can we go somewhere with fewer people to have our chat? Gentle Snow smiled in appreciation. Shi Feng also smiled and nodded in agreement. Looking at Gentle Snows faint smile was like watching a dazzling sun that warmed a persons heart. It would be hard to forget such a smile, even after a lifetime. Snow, youre going to forgive his rude actions just like that? Zhao Yueru asked in a puzzled tone. Its alright, Yueru. I like this item very much, Gentle Snow turned around after commenting, letting Shi Feng lead the way. Zhao Yueru was stunned. She just could not understand what kind of drug Shi Feng had given Gentle Snow. Was a piece of scrap paper enough?Just what was this piece of scrap paper? Snow, just what did that fellow give you? Zhao Yueru whispered. Just by seeing the fire poker on Shi Fengs waist, she could tell Shi Feng would not be able to give anything valuable. However, Gentle Snow still happily received it. Such a result puzzled Zhao Yueru significantly. A Potion Recipe for the Basic Strength Potion. When consumed, it will increase a players Strength by 6 points for half an hour, Gentle Snow calmly replied.What? Zhao Yueru leaped up in shock. How could he have such a precious recipe? Potionmaking was very hard to learn. The recipes needed were famed for being rare drops, even the current Ouroboros only had a few normal recipes, not to mention rare recipes. A recipe that was capable of increasing the Strength of a player by 6 points was unheard of until now. If the current Level 2 players could have an extra 6 points in Strength, that would equate to an additional 12 Attack Power. Such a potion would have a significant effect when they dove into a Dungeon. Regarding Guilds who frequently conquered Dungeons, the value of this recipe far surpassed that of tens of pieces of Bronze Equipment. As long as the Basic Strength Potion were for sale, the supply would never be able to meet the demand. Yet, Shi Feng gifted such a recipe away. Did Shi Feng not know the value of this recipe? However, Zhao Yueru shook her head, denying this assumption. Before, she had seen the confident expression on Shi Fengs face. He knew the immense value it had towards their guild. Currently, Zhao Yueru turned her head once more towards Shi Feng. A tinge of red appeared on her cheeks when she thought back to what she said before. She felt humiliated. She actually called a rare recipe a scrap paper. When she thought of Shi Fengs smile, he was definitely laughing at her lack of knowledge. He was such a hateful bastard!Now you finally know. Ive already said he wasnt simple, Gentle Snow smiled at Zhao Yueru.Even after Gentle Snow and Shi Feng left the scene, the surrounding players had yet to recover themselves. What kind of situation was this? A noob actually received the attention of the Goddess. Was this person really a noob? Boss Waving Slowly, that noob left with the Goddess. Wordless Summer Night was very upset. After watching the Goddess being very courteous with Shi Feng, even an idiot could tell Shi Feng was not that simple. Dont mind it. Ive heard from others that the noob entered the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. The Snow Goddess mustve intentionally invited him to learn about the difficulty of Hell Mode, Waving Slowly did not believe that he would misjudge a person. Shi Feng was definitely a noob. He must have just been incredibly fortunate. Before, he managed to gain the favor of an expert. Now, he also somehow managed to obtain the favor of the Goddess.In a rock pit over 200 yards south of the Deathly Forest, Gentle Snow and Shi Feng sat facing each other. Surrounding them was a beautiful scenery and gurgling streams. As for the others, they stood to the sides. None of them tried to eavesdrop on the conversation between Shi Feng and Gentle Snow. They comfortably sat down and started chatting amongst themselves. I wonder what business Miss Snow has for me? The Deathly Forest. Gentle Snow openly said, I want the strategy for the Deathly Forest. State your price. Hehe, Im afraid Miss Snow is overthinking things. How could I have the strategy to the Deathly Forest? Ive only entered the Dungeon once, Shi Feng would not admit to possessing the strategy. It would bring about the suspicion of others. After all, Gods Domain was a game constructed by the Main God System. Even Beta Testers would not know a detailed strategy for the Dungeon. It was still possible to trick amateurs such as Blackie, but it was impossible to trick Gentle Snow. Troubles would arise if Shi Feng were to generously share his strategy. Gentle Snow smiled sweetly; her eyes swept once across Shi Fengs party members before calmly saying, If Im not mistaken, the equipment your party members are wearing all came from the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Although your party has one or two players with proper techniques, everyone knows you had invited three Level 1 noobs as temporary members. Such a party was able to enter Hell Mode, and even came out with quite a lot of equipment. Do you think I would believe you if you said you did not have any information?Lets not twist our words around. I know youre a Beta Tester, and not just any Beta Tester. You must have done detailed research on the Deathly Forest. Otherwise, you wouldnt be able to clear the Dungeon at all. This Basic Strength Potion Recipe is the best evidence as to why I would say youve cleared it. You can rest assured however that I will not reveal your secret. Gentle Snow fixated her gaze on Shi Feng as if she saw through Shi Fengs entire being. Alright, what you say is correct. Shi Feng shrugged his shoulders, silently letting loose a breath. He never thought Gentle Snow would fill up the questionable gaps. It would not be any better for Shi Feng if Gentle Snow thought in such a way. State your price then, Gentle Snow was all smiles with Shi Feng. It was as though she was saying, Did you think I could not control a person like you? This lady knows everything. 35 Changing from Arrogance to Humility 3 Seeing Gentle Snow smile with confidence, Shi Feng was already snickering in silence. Sheep''s wool comes from a sheep. If you wished to earn money, it was natural to obtain it from a wealthy person. A first-rate Guild like Ouroboros was unquestionably an appropriate target.According to Shi Feng''s knowledge the Guild, Ouroboros, had already conquered over ten virtual reality games. However, the appearance of God''s Domain had shaken the virtual gaming world. It was dubbed as mankind''s second world. It caused the collapse of many other virtual reality games. Afterward, countless companies started madly investing in God''s Domain, nurturing their Guild, growing their influence, and building their place in the virtual financial world. Naturally, Ouroboros also invested in Gods Domain. They, too, wanted to share a bite of the countless assets. Also, Ouroboros was not just wealthy; it also had a great background. The number of experts working under Ouroboros exceeded over a thousand. These thousand men were famed as the God-Slaying Army in God''s Domain. The existence of these thousand experts allowed Ouroboros to establish a large virtual Empire. They unified over eighty Cities in God''s Domain that each had a population of over a million players. Ouroboros was a true tyrant in God''s Domain. During Ouroboros peak, it was the equivalent to the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. As for Shadow, it had only established ten Cities that did not have populations exceeding a million players. In such a way, Ouroboros had become a peerless tyrant in the real world. Their position was truly unimaginable.It should be known that Star-Moon Kingdom was a relatively large kingdom, even amongst the hundreds present in God''s Domain. It was at the upper middle-ranks. One could clearly see Ouroboros prowess when compared to it. How could Shi Feng not wish to work with such a powerful Guild? It was just the risk of working with Gentle Snow was too high. Because of her particular identity, the information she could get a hold of was just too great. Shi Feng could not help but be cautious of her. It was why he intentionally revealed some hints, especially with the recipe for the Basic Strength Potion. He wanted to see Gentle Snows reaction. If she behaved in a bad way, Shi Feng would naturally act ignorant and push all responsibility away. However, the present situation was undoubtedly the one Shi Feng looked forward to the most. Since you''ve already explained My asking price isn''t high. Twenty Silver Coins. Shi Feng calmly stated. To a small Guild of current times, 20 Silver Coins would already be their entire fortune. Even a hundred-man money-farming group would need two to three days to collect such an amount. Zhao Yueru sucked in a cold breath, nearly jumping up when she heard Shi Feng casually ask for 20 Silver Coins. She stared at Shi Feng, furiously saying, Why dont you just rob someone? That would be a faster way. I would do it if I could get that much money, Shi Feng said with a smile. You should know there is a lot of skill books, weapons, and equipment for players inside the Deathly Forest. They can quickly increase the strength of players. If you could conquer the Deathly Forest a step earlier, the benefits it would bring towards future developments go without saying. You Cant you make it a little cheaper? Twenty Silvers? Even we, Ouroboros, cant simply take out that much money, Zhao Yueru thoroughly disliked Shi Feng now. However, when she thought about the importance of the Deathly Forest, she still used a softer tone to speak to Shi Feng. Sorry, but no negotiations. If you dont agree to it, then I can only consider working with some other Guild, Shi Feng remained firm with his decision. He had been very sincere in dealing with Gentle Snow. If it was still not possible, he could only consider the Assassins Alliance. The Assassins Alliance was wealthy and imposing. Before, they spent over 20 Silvers to buy Shi Fengs Level 5 Bronze Shield. I understand. Twenty Silvers then. However, we need some time to collect the money. After all, our Ouroboros area of influence isnt in White River City, but at the capital, Star-Moon City. There are only a few Ouroboros members close to White River City. Give me a days time, take these 7 Silvers as a deposit. I will compensate you with 15 Silvers a day later. Gentle Snow had never imagined Shi Fengs appetite would be so great. Twenty Silvers was still a lot to her. However, the importance of clearing the Deathly Forest was too great. They had to grasp it as soon as possible. At the same time, Gentle Snow knew that Silver Coins were precious during the early periods of the game. Hence, she had given a little more to Shi Feng as interest. Alright. Here is the map of the Deathly Forest, and also the things you need to pay attention to when fighting against the Boss. Shi Feng also knew what Gentle Snow had said was true. Wanting to gather 20 Silver Coins would not be easy. Ouroboros did not have as great of influence in White River City as the Assassin''s Alliance did. Shi Feng sent mail to Gentle Snow containing detailed introductions to the Deathly Forest. With Gentle Snow''s abilities, they should be able to clear Normal Mode easily. Gentle Snow looked at the strategy she received for the Deathly Forest; her heart slightly shook only after a slight glance. She never imagined the Deathly Forest would be so horrifying. Just the number of paths available already numbered thirty-six. Thirty-three of them were dead ends. There was even a Night Ranger who moved based on opportunity. There was also a detailed description of the Boss and when it would cast its skills. She definitely got more than 20 Silvers worth of information. If she sent others to explore the paths bit by bit, the cost would exceed 20 Silvers. Suddenly, another change occurred to Gentle Snows perception of Shi Feng. She felt Shi Feng was not as simple as he seemed to be. He was certainly an expert. Only an expert could have such a profound understanding of the Dungeon. However, Gentle Snow had no recollection of an expert Swordsman like Shi Feng. In three days Ouroboros is planning to enter the first Level 5, twenty-man Dungeon, the Dark Moon Graveyard. I wonder if you will be interested in joining? Gentle Snow beautiful eyes looked towards Shi Feng as she invited him to the Team Dungeon. She already acknowledged Shi Feng''s strength. If Shi Feng was with them, entering the Team Dungeon, they might have an easier time in it. From a side, Blackie looked at Shi Feng with dumbstruck eyes. His admiration for Shi Feng had already reached the level of worship. He never imagined Shi Feng would be so awesome as to conquer the Snow Goddess in a few moves. The Goddess even wished to invite him to raid a Dungeon. How great of an honor was this? There were countless men who dreamt of raiding a Dungeon with the Snow Goddess. However, Zhao Yueru became irritated after hearing Gentle Snow invite him. Shi Feng was but a Beta Tester. At most, he had experienced God''s Domain a few more days than they did and had a deeper understanding of the Deathly Forest. However, the twenty-man Team Dungeon had only opened after the game''s official release. It did not exist during the Beta Test, so there was no way for Shi Feng to know anything about it. Also, Shi Feng wasn''t some powerful expert; what point would there be in inviting him? He would just be wasting a slot in the Dungeon. Shi Feng entered a thought. There were a lot of good items that dropped from a twenty-man Dungeon. It had been particularly true for the Dark Moon Graveyard which dropped a lot of worthwhile equipment for Swordsman. The Attributes of the equipment from that Dungeon were also much better than the ones obtained from Wild Bosses. However, Shi Feng was not able to organize a twenty-man party, so it wouldn''t be a disadvantage to join Gentle Snow for a round. Alright, but leave a few spots for me. Also, all Swordsman equipment and Forging Designs must belong to me, Shi Feng answered with a nod. Cant you be a little more humble? Zhao Yueru looked at Shi Feng, pouting. She felt Shi Feng was going too overboard. If Gentle Snow had asked anyone else, they would have readily agreed, even going as far as to forgo getting any equipment. Shi Feng, however, even wanted priority over equipment. He was not courteous with them at all. Gentle Snow did not imagine Shi Feng was truly different from the other people. He did not play around with his words. However, it was interesting that he would say whatever he wanted. Following which, Gentle Snow looked towards the party members behind Shi Feng. Although they were noobs, their equipment was all of good quality. They could barely manage in the twenty-man Dungeon. Thus, Gentle Snow said, Fine. Let''s add each other as friends then. We''ll be in touch when the time comes.Alright. You can just contact me a few hours before raiding the Dungeon. I''ll arrive on time. Shi Feng accepted Gentle Snow''s friend request.Subsequently, Shi Feng and his party members left the small rock pit, heading towards Dark Moon Valley. When the group passed through the Deathly Forests Dungeon, Stabbing Heart of the Assassin''s Alliance abruptly called out to Shi Feng.Brother Ye Feng, I nearly failed to recognize you. I never imagined you actually knew a big shot like the Snow Goddess. You must not forget a brother like me in the future! Stabbing Heart jokingly said as he walked towards Shi Feng. Nonsense. I just happen to meet with Miss Snow by chance, Shi Feng replied with a smile. Brother Ye Feng, you are too humble. Based on your strength, you are absolutely worthy of becoming friends with the Snow Goddess. After all, both of you are experts of the same level, Stabbing Heart thought Shi Feng was very humble. It was no wonder he was such a great expert. The way he conducted himself was different than ordinary people. Stabbing Heart wanted to befriend Shi Feng even more now. Our Assassin''s Alliance is preparing to enter the Dungeon. I wonder if Brother Ye Feng would be interested in joining us? Of course, you can pick any of the equipment that you want. You are too courteous, Brother Stabbing Heart. However, I still have some things to attend to. I will definitely join if there is another chance in the future, Shi Feng politely rejected the offer. Stabbing Heart spoke in a loud voice. Surrounding players clearly heard his words. At first, everyone thought of Shi Feng as just a noob. His being called upon by the Snow Goddess was just due to luck. Even now, Stabbing Heart of the Assassin''s Alliance wished to befriend Shi Feng. Just what sort of situation was this? The Assassin''s Alliance was a large Guild that was famous throughout White River City. As the Sub-Leader of the Guild''s Elite group, Stabbing Heart would not need to interact with normal players at all. However, he tried to befriend Shi Feng. Shi Feng had actually rejected him. Shi Feng was just too domineering. If someone were to call Shi Feng a noob, nobody would believe them. There was something strange about the situation. Everyone guessed that Shi Feng must be a hidden expert that normal players did not know of. Otherwise, why would big shots try to meet Shi Feng one after the other? Boss Waving, that Stabbing Heart actually tried to befriend that noob. I''m not dreaming, right? Wordless Summer Night was shocked. Was this Shi Feng really the noob they met before? Waving Slowly But Surely was currently upset in his heart. Initially, his heart still held hope that Shi Feng was just a noob. Now, however, that hope was utterly destroyed by Stabbing Heart. Shi Feng was not a noob. He was definitely an expert, just like Lonely Snow had said. Shi Feng might even be greater than Lonely Snow had described him to be. If Lonely Snow followed Shi Feng, then his future would certainly be filled with boundless prospects. On the other hand, they had chased Shi Feng away... They had missed a great chance for them to befriend an expert. Boss, why dont we go over and apologize? An expert is a magnanimous person. Who knows, he might even forgive us. At that time, we, too, could gain the favor of an expert, Battle To The End suggested. Wordless Summer Night nodded his head in complete agreement. Just as Shi Fengs party was about to leave the Deathly Forest, Waving Slowly But Surely and the others came running over. Big Brother Expert, weve had some misunderstandings before, so were here to apologize to you. We hope you can forgive our ignorance. Heres a Silver Coin to show our sincerity. We hope Big Brother Expert can take us under your wing, Waving Slowly was all smiles as he apologized. The arrogance he had before was completely gone now. Wordless Summer Night and Battle To The End were also sincerely apologizing without stop. They wished to grind monsters with Shi Feng. If you guys dont have anything else to say, then please leave. I still have matters to attend to, so I dont have any time to waste with you, Shi Feng spun around to leave after replying. He did not mind one little bit in regards to Waving Slowly and the others previous behavior. However, wanting him to carry[1] them? Not a chance. As for Lonely Snow, he only shook his head in regards to Waving Slowly and the others actions. If they had known that their actions would lead to such results today, maybe they wouldnt have acted so in the beginning. Watching Lonely Snow leave with Shi Feng, Wordless Summer curled his lips into a frown, saying in a sour tone, Bah! Whats there to be amazed about?! In the future, I, too, will become an expert! However, only Waving Slowly knew Lonely Snow would become successful in the future. He was already in a different world than them. * * * TL Notes: [1] carry: a gaming term used to refer to a player who largely contributed to the teams victory. 36 Hazard Gnome After leaving the Deathly Forest, Shi Fengs party rushed towards Dark Moon Valley without rest. At the current stage of the game, many players had already risen to Level 2. Aside from raiding the Dungeon at the Deathly Forest, they would stay in Brook Hills to kill Level 2 Cheetah Cubs. Only a few experts would go to the Level 4 area, Dark Moon Valley, to level up. However, along with the increase in player levels, it wouldnt be long before Dark Moon Valley would become occupied. After spending over half an hour returning to Dark Moon Valley, the scene they met with was the same as what Shi Feng expected. A few Elite parties who were uninterested in the Dungeon were currently killing Level 4 Kobolds that were wandering around the outer parts of the valley. These Elite parties were quite skilled. They lured two or three monsters each time, with the Shield warrior tanking in front and preventing the Kobolds from closing in on their mage and healer. The healer was continuously healing from behind, barely maintaining the Shield Warriors HP. Although it was taxing to grind in such a way, the gains from the fight were equally good. The three Kobolds had dropped 2 Coppers and some stone materials. In Gods Domain, only monsters Level 3 and above would drop skill books and Bronze Equipment. Although the chance was only ten thousand to one, it was still enough to cause players to go on wild goose chases. Currently, Bronze Equipment was very valuable; even more so were skill books. With these enticements here, there would be many experts who would come forth, even if there was some danger involved. After taking a few glances, Shi Feng turned and left towards the inner parts of the Dark Moon Valley. The other party members who were new to the Dark Moon Valley were very nervous. It was especially true when they saw the Level 4 monsters scattered throughout the entire area. Their breaths became slightly hurried. However, Blackie was extremely calm when he saw these Level 4 Kobolds. After all, he had previously killed hundreds of them. He did not seem panicked, unlike the other party members. He simply followed Shi Feng, entering the deeper regions of the valley. As for the Elite parties, they could not help but be shocked when they saw Shi Fengs party enter deep into the valley. They had never imagined the newcomer party would have such courage. There were very few players currently present in Dark Moon Valley. It had yet to be completely developed, so there were a lot of Kobolds in the middle of the valley. The deeper one headed towards the center, the greater the number of Kobolds. There would even be groups that consisted of ten or more Kobolds. Grinding monsters there was just too dangerous. The lowest number of Kobolds they had to face was at least four or five. It was not worth risking an unwarranted death. Unfortunately, these people did not know Shi Feng was more insane than they previously thought. hi Feng did not just enter the deeper regions of the valley. Instead, he went towards the core of the Dark Moon Valley. There was a good location to grind monsters there. Not only was there a large number of monsters, but their respawn rate was quick as well. Most importantly, the drop rate there for ore was high. Regarding understanding, Shi Feng was like the local god of the area when it came to the Dark Moon Valley. Be it the location of the monsters, the number of monsters available, or their respawn time, Shi Feng had spent countless hours researching in his previous life. His goal at that time was to increase the grinding speed of his party, all to improve his position within Shadow. Life was truly fascinating. Shi Fengs sacrifice towards Shadow in his previous life had currently turned around to help himself instead. It could increase his own partys level more quickly, while at the same time guaranteeing him a steady supply of ore. Moving along the path of broken rocks, groups of four or five Level 4 Kobolds would occasionally appear. However, it was just a small matter with the equipment of Shi Fengs party. Looking at the partys Guardian Knight, Cola, be it with HP or Defense, he could easily tank four Kobolds at the same time. The healer, Drowsy Sloth, could maintain Colas HP above 80% without wasting much effort. If Cola had let a monster past, then Lonely Snow would go up and push it back. As for the others, they would fervently deal damage. A simple sword strike from Shi Feng could already deal over a hundred damage, whereas Blackies Dark Arrows could each deal 88 damage. The fight could not get any easier than this. Within moments, the five Kobolds were all dealt with. Compared to the Elite party outside, Shi Fengs party was stronger by several folds. Shi Feng simply picked up the stone materials and ore that dropped, then continuing deeper into the Dark Moon Valley. After spending over an hour moving forward, Shi Fengs party had finally arrived in front of a mountain. The massive mountain was hundreds of meters in height. Kobolds no longer filled the area surrounding the mountain; Wandering Gnomes had replaced them. These Wandering Gnomes each held a small shovel in their hands, using it to dig into the rock wall of the mountain. There were also quite a few Gnome Overseers that inspected the surrounding areas with a whip in hand. Brother Feng, the monsters here are just too numerous. Are we really going to grind here? Blackies heart shook slightly when he took a look around. He discovered hundreds of Wandering Gnomes around the vast mountain. There was even a few Level 5 Gnome Overseers. Compared to the groups of over ten Kobolds outside, this place was a literal battlefield. Cola also gulped down a mouthful of saliva, worriedly saying, Party leader, Im not trying to boast, but tanking six or seven of them is my limit. I really can''t manage this many monsters. It wasn''t just Blackie or Cola. The others, as well, were apprehensive. Wandering Gnomes occupied the entire mountain, and these Gnomes were very close to each other. As long as they made a mistake while luring, then they would have to face-off against hundreds of Level 4 monsters. Such a large number of monsters was much scarier than the Lord-rank Felt. I know you guys can''t fend all of them off. However, who ever said about letting any of you tank hundreds of Gnomes? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at his party members. He was extremely clear regarding the party''s standards. Facing off against ten Gnomes at the same time was nearly their limit, so how could they deal with hundreds at the same time? Even a Level 10 player would be finished when met with hundreds if Level 4 monsters. However, wasn''t there a good saying that stated: if you can''t outfight them, outrun them? Shi Feng''s Agility had reached 30 points. Including the Bronze Shoes he had, his Movement Speed had exceeded the Wandering Gnomes by at least 4 points. He could easily kite the Gnomes and let Blackie use the AOE skill, Hell Flame. The efficiency of grinding in such a way was several times greater than that of killing individually. Following which, Shi Feng told everyone about his plan. He needed Blackie to get the timing right, maximizing the effect of Hell Flame. As for the others, they were responsible for taking out the Gnomes with low HP. When Shi Feng had chosen his position, he grabbed a handful of stones and rushed towards the nearby Gnome Overseer. Just as Shi Feng approached the 20-yard distance, the Overseer had started yelling loudly. Its screams attracted the attention of many of the surrounding Wandering Gnomes. Shi Feng waited first for a moment, avoiding the whip of the Gnome Overseer and allowing the Wandering Gnomes to continuously gather. When about 30 Gnomes had gathered, Shi Feng turned around and ran in the opposite direction. Afterward, he threw a small stone that struck another Gnome Overseer. The Overseer who was struck loudly bellowed, bringing along over twenty of its brethren and rushing at Shi Feng. Within moments, Shi Feng had lured over sixty monsters. However, Shi Feng was not yet satisfied. He started circling the mountain as he lured monsters, and within five minutes, there were hundreds of Wandering Gnomes and more than ten Gnome Overseers chasing behind him with all their might. Unfortunately for them, Shi Feng''s equipment was just too good. His speed was 30% greater when compared to the Gnomes. Including Shi Feng''s extraordinary techniques and control over his body, he was able to toy with the Gnomes whichever way he wanted. Blackie, get ready to cast, Shi Feng reminded. Alright. Blackie was extremely excited. This was his first time using AOE magic, so he did not know what kind of effects it would have. Subsequently, Blackie''s fingers started gesturing in midair. Brilliant magical seals started appearing, forming into a dazzling magic circle that gave off a peerless aura. As Blackie spat out the last syllable, the land shook. Jade green flames rushed to the sky, devouring the entire Gnome army. A field of damages over a hundred had appeared. Within five seconds, every Gnome chasing after Shi Feng received over two hundred damage, their remaining HP less than half. However, the target of these Gnomes had also changed. They no longer went after Shi Feng, but Blackie instead. Shi Feng abruptly stopped. He pulled out the Abyssal Blade and rushed forward. Thundering Flash! Not only did the Level 4 Thundering Flash have a low Cooldown, but its attack range also increased to 15 by 3 yards. It had nearly covered the entire Gnome army. Three streaks of thunder flew past the Gnome army, creating three damages of over 120 points to every Gnome. The attack had completely devoured the remaining HP of the Gnomes. As for the low HP ones that remained, they were quickly held back by Cola. Lonely Snow then rushed forward and used a Whirlwind Slash, thoroughly ending the remaining Gnomes. The hundreds of Gnomes had been wiped out, leaving behind a floor covered with items. Meanwhile, everyones experience madly rose. EXP of over ten points appeared one after the other, dazzling everyones eyes. Hua! Blackie had risen to Level 3. This is too awesome! Blackie roared in exhilaration. This is only the beginning. They will still respawn in a moment. Shi Feng laughed, Lets quickly pick up the drops. Suddenly, everyone started busying themselves. Even with six people retrieving the drops, the loot of hundreds of Gnomes still required them to spend a lot of time doing so. However, moments after they started collecting, a Gnome that piloted a gigantic robot suddenly appeared. The Gnomes face was crimson red. It immediately rushed towards Shi Fengs party with unparalleled rage. Not good! Its the Hazard Gnome! Everyone spread out! Shi Feng shouted the moment he laid eyes on the gigantic robot. 37 Rocket Boots The moment everyone saw the giant robot piloted by a midget Gnome, they instinctively knew he was something very dangerous. After hearing Shi Feng''s reminder, they ignored the loot on the ground and immediately ran towards the forest without a shred of hesitation. Naturally, Shi Feng would not stay behind either. The Hazard Gnome was a very dangerous monster. It was especially true when he first made his appearance. He was even stronger than Werewolf Felt with its Death Berserk activated. [Hazard Gnome] (Special Elite) Level 5 HP 1600/1600 There was a very small chance for the Hazard Gnome to appear after clearing out the Wandering Gnomes and Gnome Overseers. However, his appearance also signified the start of a player''s nightmare. There was a saying in God''s Domain that warns people not to look down on Gnomes just because they were midgets. If they were enraged, they could easily extinguish your life at any given moment. In his previous life, Shi Feng met the Hazard Gnome once before. At that time, he was with an Elite party who was grinding for ore. After killing the Gnomes, the Hazard Gnome appeared. They did not imagine they would meet a Special Elite, so they had all excitedly rushed at him. However, the situation ended up in a tragedy for the twenty-man party. The Hazard Gnome''s 1600 HP must not be taken lightly. His Defense was an abnormality, capable of reducing 80% of the damage he received. A Level 4 Berserker using an ax could only take 2 HP from the Gnome. On the other hand, the Hazard Gnomes attacks were even more powerful. Everyone would get a free trip back to the city after he fired a burst of bullets. Although Shi Fengs party had tried their best to run away, the Hazard Gnomes hatred for their evil deeds was clearly implacable. The rockets on the robots back suddenly ignited. The steel machine that was over three meters tall rushed at high speed towards Shi Fengs party. While being chased, Blackie attacked with his Dark Arrow as he ran. Although the arrow had struck the Hazard Gnome, it had only caused a meager -4 damage. Blackies eyes widened when he saw the damage. He said in a dumbstruck manner, Disgusting! If the robot wasnt protecting this Gnome, I could one-shot him anytime! Dont mind it for now and focus on running. Pay attention to dodging the bullets. As long as we are 1200 yards away from the mountain, the Hazard Gnome will return. Shi Feng never thought, just after a lecture from him, Blackies skill would improve to the degree of being able to hit his target while moving. However, fighting head-on with the Hazard Gnome would be very foolish. Blackie understood Shi Fengs intentions. He turned around and started chanting Evil Whip, binding the pursuing Hazard Gnome with five thorns and greatly reducing the Gnomes speed. With this, everyone managed to gain quite a distance from the Gnome. When the Hazard Gnome broke free from the five thorns, high damages of -23, -24, -23, -23, -24 suddenly appeared on his head. His HP had turned to 1479 within an instant. The damage caused by the Evil Whip was just ridiculous. Blackie was shocked. Before, his Level 3 Dark Arrow had only dealt -4 damage. On the other hand, the Evil Whip had caused over a hundred damage total. The difference between them was just too great. Did the Hazard Gnome have that kind of fetish? Shi Feng saw hope when the Hazard Gnomes HP suddenly fell by a portion. The Hazard Gnome did not have any immunity towards plant-based attacks. Shi Feng immediately commanded, Everybody stop running. Cola, get the Hazard Gnomes Hatred and let his back face toward the group. The others attack and mind your positions. As long as the Hazard Gnome lifts up his gun, immediately dodge the muzzle. Blackie, attack immediately after Evil Whips CD finishes. We have a chance to get rid of him. Whether they would live or die before they ran out of the 1200-yard mark was an uncertainty. So, why not fight it out? Who knows, they might even be able to get rid of this Hazard Gnome. In Shi Fengs previous life, there were no players who killed the Hazard Gnome before. If they were to kill him now, something good might drop. Currently, the Hazard Gnomes Hatred was targeted towards Blackie. However, Lonely Snow was a step ahead of the Gnome, using Charge on him. He used a Whirlwind Slash on the Gnome, causing 3 points of damage. Although the damage was low, the momentary Fainted state it caused gave Cola a chance to use Divine Strike, followed by Punishment. The two attacks caused -3, -2 damage and the additional Hatred they attracted had the Hazard Gnome locked onto Cola. The Hazard Gnome extended the electric saw on the robots right arm, violently slashing at Cola. Cola blocked the attack with his shield; his body retreated three steps backward and a damage of -147 appearing above his head. Cola was shocked. When the next attack from the electric saw came, he hurriedly dodged and rolled to the side, avoiding the attack completely. Drowsy Sloth immediately healed Cola twice, returning close to a hundred HP to Cola. Such fierce damage, Lonely Snow was shocked as well. He no longer dared to stay, turning around and running more than ten yards away from the Gnome. He would definitely die, even if he were only struck once by the electric saw. On the other hand, Shi Feng was not afraid of him. He immediately arrived at the Hazard Gnomes back, using out a series of skills: Thundering Flash, Double Chop, and Chop. The occasional critical hit would also cause -16 damage. Compared to the others, Shi Fengs damage was already very high. However, the Hazard Gnome only gave a look of contempt towards Shi Fengs attacks. He continued using his electric saw to attack Cola. A series of fierce attacks had forced Cola to constantly retreat backward; his HP was continuously falling as well. Behind, Drowsy Sloths healing could not keep up with the damage Cola was receiving. He could only watch as Cola inched closer to death. At the most crucial moment, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. Nine pitch-black chains bound the Hazard Gnome, giving Cola a breather. Within the three seconds[1], the Hazard Gnome had only lost 7% of his HP after being barraged by everyones attacks. The total damage the party dealt was not even the equivalent of a single Evil Whip from Blackie. When the three seconds had ended, the Hazard Gnome regained his freedom. The green-skinned Gnome revealed a mocking smile on his face, his tiny hands moving around and manipulating buttons. The robots arm holding the electric saw made a roundabout slash, creating a beautiful arc. Shi Fengs entire person was sent flying. He smashed into a tree and lost 286 HP. Cola rushed up in a hurry, his HP having recovered by more than half. He used Divine Strike and Punishment once again, trying to pull back the Hazard Gnomes Hatred. However, the Hazard Gnome had actually ignored Cola. Instead, he lifted the gun in his left hand, aimed it and fired a burst of bullets at Shi Feng. A barrage of densely packed bullets flew towards Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng had yet to land after being sent flying, so it was impossible to dodge the bullets. Phantom Kill! Shi Fengs doppelganger instantly appeared before him. The doppelganger waved his blade, continuously blocking the bullets. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had already activated Gravity Liberation. He jumped up to a treetop, avoiding the attack range of the Hazard Gnome. However, his doppelganger had already been killed.After finishing a cartridge of bullets, the Hazard Gnome started changing magazines. Afterward, he continued to rush at Shi Feng. Everyone else could only continue attacking, shaving away the Hazard Gnomes HP bit by bit. However, Shi Feng was not easy to hit after he activated Gravity Liberation. Shi Feng also used the trees for protection. He was barely dodging the flying bullets as he continued kiting the Gnome. As for Blackie, he would immediately use Evil Whip as soon as it was ready. The Hazard Gnomes HP continuously fell, 64%... 50%... 30%... 20%... 10%. When only 10% of the Hazard Gnomes HP remained, the Gnome suddenly jumped out of the metallic machine. He wore a pair of Rocket Boots and started to escape.It cant be Monsters can actually escape? Blackie watched as the Hazard Gnome ran, with extreme speed, to a location without people. The others were also shocked. They never imagined the Gnome would have such a high intelligence. He ran the moment he knew he could not win the fight. We cant let him escape! We will have fought for nothing otherwise! Cola immediately chased after the Gnome. He had been bullied by the Hazard Gnome just a moment ago, so his heart was currently filled with anger. How could he let the Hazard Gnome escape after having taken advantage of them? You want to escape? Not a chance! Shi Feng chased after him with Wind Blade. However, the Hazard Gnome was unperturbed. He sent Shi Feng a mocking expression before pressing a button on his waist. The Rocket Boots spewed out large amounts of flames, ready to fly away. * * * TL Notes: [1] Within three seconds: The effective duration of Abyssal Bind. 38 Twin Snake Ring The Hazard Gnomes shameless Rocket Boots shocked everyone. They had never seen a monster that was so good at escaping before. Its human-like expressions and actions were completely different from NPCs. The Hazard Gnome was like a person pretending to be an NPC. Two streaks of crimson flame flared, slowly lifting the Hazard Gnome into the air. Unwillingness filled everyones hearts. However, they could no longer stop it, but only watch the Hazard Gnome flee with their own eyes. The mages in the party were over 40 yards away from the Hazard Gnome. Lonely Snow as well was over 30 yards apart from it. It was not within the range of Charge. Also, the Faint effect of Charge would become ineffective because the target was floating in midair. Only the Movement Speed increase would take effect. Currently, only Shi Feng was close to the Hazard Gnome. He was only 15 yards away from it. However, Shi Feng did not have any range attacks. Even if he chased after it, the Hazard Gnome would raise over 20 yards from the ground by the time he arrived. In the end, Shi Feng would only watch the Hazard Gnome escape. Nine Dragons Slash! Shi Feng knew he could not catch up. He waved the Abyssal Blade, shrouded in black mist, in his hand. Within an instant, nine streaks of black mist shot towards the Hazard Gnome. Shi Feng was not willing to allow such a smart Hazard Gnome leave. Initially, Shi Feng only thought of the Hazard Gnome as an average Special Elite. He had never imagined the Gnome to be so much like a player. Throughout his ten years of playing Gods Domain, Shi Feng rarely saw such intelligent Gnomes. The Main God System wouldnt simply bestow a small monster with high intelligence. Such bestowals usually had a deeper meaning behind them. For example, those human Heroes or legendary beings were all great characters. Their existences caused people to shudder. Although the intelligence of this Hazard Gnome did not reach the level of those Heroes or legendary beings, he was still much smarter than a Boss monster. There might even be unimaginable gains by killing it. Currently, the Hazard Gnomes displayed information changed. He suddenly became Arcus Maddox. [Arcus Maddox] (Lord-rank) Level 5 HP 600/600 Shi Feng felt a sense of familiarity when he saw this name. It seems that he had heard of it before, yet he could not recall anything about it. However, the Gnome only had 600 HP. Shi Feng was confident he could kill the Gnome with the Nine Dragons Slash. Just when the nine sword shadows were about to pierce Arcus Maddox, the Gnome took out a few steel balls from his small bag. He threw the balls at the phantoms of the Abyssal Blade. Brilliant sparks flared up the moment the two attacks came into contact. Hong Hong Hong... A series of explosions forced the phantoms of the Abyssal Blade back. Just when the phantoms were prepared to attack Arcus Maddox once more, he immediately flew over 30 yards away. Meanwhile, the nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade could only attack targets within 30 yards of its reach. hi Feng could only watch helplessly as Arcus Maddox escaped. Crap. How could there be such a monster? His escaping ability is just a Bug[1]! Blackie stared at the fleeing Arcus Maddox as he cursed. Cola was grinding his teeth in hatred as well, sending a few punches towards a nearby tree. The other party members felt displeasure also. Everyone fought long and hard against this Elite monster. However, just when they were about to reap the rewards of their efforts, their prize grew wings and flew away. Was there anything more depressing? Brother Feng, let''s continue chasing it. Blackie discovered that the Gnomes Movement Speed was not fast. Also, there should be a limited amount of fuel powering that pair of boots. Who knows; the Gnome might land just after awhile. Forget it. Lets continue grinding Gnomes. Shi Feng shook his head. If they could chase the Gnome, Shi Feng would have long since chased after it. However, the Gnomes Rocket Boots were just too powerful. It was titled as one of Gods Domains godly escape tools. Currently, the boots had just been activated. Its speed would abruptly increase in a moment, and the Gnome would disappear in the blink of an eye. It would be an impossible task if they wished to find the Gnome. As expected, the flames gushing out from the Rocket Boots greatly increased after a moment. Xiu! Arcus Maddox disappeared from the air, unable to be seen anymore. Best not let us meet again. You can dream of escaping the next time. Blackie said in an unfortunate tone as he looked towards the spot where Arcus Maddox had disappeared. In his heart, Shi Feng felt that it was a pity to let the Gnome go. However, it would no longer be dangerous when they grinded on Wandering Gnomes from now on. After this experience, the Hazard Gnome most likely would not show himself ever again. Lets go, continue grinding on the Wandering Gnomes. Shi Feng turned around and said to his party. Brother Feng, youre still the best! How could I not think of it? If we killed all of this bastards kinsmen, well see if he doesnt show up again. Blackie laughingly said. Shi Feng was speechless. He turned around and left, no longer paying any attention to the fantasizing Blackie. Suddenly, Shi Feng stopped his feet in shock. Damn, our luck really is too poor! I never thought that Arcus Maddox would actually appear here, and he was also a Level 5 Hazard Gnome! Shi Feng tightly clenched his fists, his brows wrinkled. It was the first time he became so enraged. When everyone looked at Shi Fengs wrathful expression, they could faintly feel the surroundings become chilly. They could not help but retreat a step; their foreheads covered in a cold sweat. Before, they felt Shi Feng was a calm and easygoing person. Never would they have imagined Shi Feng would become so terrifying after becoming angry. The forest around them no longer seemed lively but more like a frozen hell, silent, cold, and dark. Brother Feng are you alright? Blackie carefully asked. He was shocked. Shi Feng was completely different from when he was mad or arguing with others. It was the first time Blackie saw Shi Feng enraged to such a degree. Oh, its nothing. Shi Feng reacted, replying with a smile. He stored back the dense killing intent into his heart. Such killing intent was slowly honed throughout the years Shi Feng had played Gods Domain. Compared to the Tyrant Bear Cola of ten years in the future, there was nothing special about Shi Fengs killing intent. However, at present, it was considered unbearable for Blackie and the others. Shi Feng finally recalled the name of Arcus Maddox. Arcus Maddox was a famous Grandmaster Engineer within Gods Domain. Three years after Arcus Maddox shocked the nation by creating the sky fortress, Twin Snake Ring, he had gone on to establish the Gnome Empire. With it, the new update Emergence of the New World also activated. At that time, countless Super-Guilds started expeditions towards the fortress, Twin Snake Ring. However, all of them were annihilated, and Arcus Maddox was the cause of such a result. On the other hand, Shi Feng was completely unaware of a great character had appeared right before his eyes. He also lost the chance to kill Arcus Maddox, so how could Shi Feng not be enraged? Party leader, theres a box here. Did it drop from Arcus Maddox during the explosions? Gluttonous Mouse, who had been silent all this while, asked as he picked up a small metallic box from the grass. Shi Feng received the box and took a look at it. He discovered the words Arcus Maddox carved onto the metallic box. Shortly after Shi Feng opened the box, he said suddenly with a laugh, Great! Good job, Mouse! With this, we didnt fight for nothing after all. When the group saw Shi Feng in a happy mood, they knew the item must be very precious, as common items were nothing in Shi Fengs eyes. As to wanting the item for themselves, none of them ever had such thoughts. They had long since made Shi Feng their idol, and being able to aid their idol naturally made them happy. Lets do it this way. You guys stay here to grind and level up. I still have something that needs to be done. Notify me when you have all reached Level 4. Shi Feng kept the metallic box and hastily made the arrangements. Nobody could help him with the following matter. Only Shi Feng was able to proceed. Everyone felt reluctant when they heard Shi Fengs command. However, hearing Shi Feng have plans for them after they reached Level 4, their anticipation grew as they abided Shi Fengs arrangements. Subsequently, Shi Feng left the deeper regions of the Dark Moon Valley. The party had Blackies AOE skill. Killing seven or eight Gnomes at a time was no problem at all, and their leveling speed was at least two or three times faster than the other parties. On the other hand, what Shi Feng needed to do was to utilize this metallic box, and to forward the first step of his plans in Gods Domain. * * * TL Notes: [1] Bug: A fault in the game that causes unexpected results when an action is carried out within the game. 39 Philosopher’s Stone After leaving the Dark Moon Valley, Shi Feng rushed towards Scarlet Lake. He had also activated Gravity Liberation to save more time. The players on their way to the Dark Moon Valley saw Shi Feng speeding past them like a gale of win. His speed was shockingly fast, and his figure was just a blur. Who is that person? Which Assassin is he? His speed is so fast! No, look at his waist. Thats a sword hanging there, not a dagger. He should be a Swordsman. Crap. Are the current Swordsmen that OP? The widely spread rumor on the forums stated that a mysterious Swordsman killed the Mayor of Red Leaf Town. There was also a powerful Swordsman at the Deathly Forest that received an invitation from the Snow Goddess. I would have played as a Swordsman if I had known about this earlier! Say, do you think theyre the same person? Definitely not. I saw the Swordsman that killed the Mayor. That male Swordsman was as big as a black bear. His arms alone were thicker than our thighs. He had forcefully killed that Level 15 Mayor. The players passing by started a discussion as they watched Shi Feng depart. They were inwardly speechless towards the Swordsman Job. They should have played as Swordsmen if there was such a powerful Job. However, it was too late now.Shi Feng might have laughed it off if he had known their thoughts. There was no strongest Job in Gods Domain, only the strongest player. Shi Feng ran for over two hours through the vast plains. He activated Gravity Liberation over tens of times, escaping the pursuit of high-leveled monsters. He passed through the Level 6 map, Wolfman''s Ruins, and the Level 8 map, Oro Fort, before arriving in the Level 10 area, Scarlet Lake. Scarlet Lake was the playground of Level 10 Water Elementals and Little Fishmen. Watching from a high location, Shi Feng could see groups of Little Fishmen patrolling. The closer it was to the Scarlet Lake, the more there were of Little Fishmen. The central region of the Scarlet Lake was the nest of the Little Fishmen, whereas annoying Water Elementals filled the water of the lake. Due to the densely packed and large number of monsters in the Scarlet Lake, the Little Fishmens curse skill was extremely horrendous. It could absorb a players Attributes and turned it into their own. The longer they fought, the stronger they would become. They were extremely hard to kill. Including the fact that there were no Quests here, there were rarely any players who would willingly come here to level up. However, Shi Feng had to enter into the deeper regions of the Scarlet Lake. The metal box dropped by Arcus Maddox was extremely precious. If Arcus Maddox were to know it fell into Shi Fengs hands, he would most likely bleed out in rage. There was a treasure map inside the box, and the treasure it hid was located at Scarlet Lake. Shi Feng had played Gods Domain for over ten years now. He had done extensive research regarding the history of Gods Domain. He truly did not think Arcus Maddox would have this treasure map. It was the record of a heaven-shaking secret. Nine hundred years ago, Alchemy Master Molotov had created an item with all his effort. Wars were waged between the large countries in Gods Domain for this item. There were over ten heroic figures that fought over it. However, this item became lost in the end, its whereabouts unknown. It had become an unsolved mystery in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the treasure map in Shi Fengs hands, by chance, recorded the location of this item.This item was the Philosophers Stone. It was a sacred item for Alchemy. If Alchemists could obtain the Philosophers Stone, then they would have the ability to transform stone into gold, amassing immense wealth. They would even be able to revive the dead, breaking the alchemy law of equivalent exchange. Who would have thought such a sacred item would be placed in such an unremarkable location as Scarlet Lake. However, the Scarlet Lake was still a dangerous place for Shi Feng. After all was said, there was still a gap of 8 Levels between Shi Feng and the monsters here. With the suppression due to levels, Shi Feng was not an opponent for the Level 10 monsters, not to mention the Attribute-stealing Little Fishmen. However, Shi Feng could not help but take the risk. The earlier he obtained the Philosophers Stone; the earlier his heart could be at ease. If he waited until he was Level 7 or 8, someone else might claim the item. He wouldnt even be able to feel regret when that time came. Shi Feng took out the metal box from his bag, carefully taking out the treasure map within it. He started researching it in detail. The marking on the treasure map was very clear. The treasure was located directly below the Little Fishmens nest. However, how would Shi Feng be able to circle around all these Little Fishmen? The problem with the Water Elementals also needed to be solved. Although Water Elementals had low HP, they had a 60% immunity to physical attacks. They also had a Movement Speed reduction skill, so they were a headache for melee players. After observing for half an hour, Shi Feng discovered that the Little Fishmen were not always on patrol. They would eventually take a break. Also, these Little Fishmen were only active by the lakes shores. They hardly ever entered the water, because once they entered it, their Movement Speed would sharply reduce by 60%. Shi Feng could use this short rest period to rush into the lake, and once he was in it, the Little Fishmen would not be able to chase after him. As for the Water Elementals under the water, Shi Feng could use the doppelganger of Phantom Kill to lure them away. Then, he could swim to the cavern below the Little Fishmens nest. If Shi Feng did not operate through his plan properly, he would definitely die. If he died, his losses would not be minor. It was not the experience loss that was a problem, however. With his advantage as a reincarnated person, Shi Feng could quickly recuperate the experience he lost. Only, he would be sent back to the town after dying once, and the time he would waste by returning here was just too much. Ten more seconds. Shi Feng watched the patrolling Little Fishmen, his heart estimating the time for him to sprint out. Time passed second after second. A group of patrolling Fishmen watched their surroundings. After discovering nothing out of the ordinary, they entered a small wooden hut by the lake to rest, emptying the land by the lake. With all his might, Shi Feng dashed towards the shore. When Shi Feng was about 30 yards away from the lake, another group of patrolling Fishmen discovered Shi Feng. They immediately sounded out an alarm, their hands wielding short swords as they rushed toward Shi Feng. When faced with four Level 10 Little Fishman, as powerful as Shi Feng was, he was not their match. Shi Fengs only hope was to jump into the water. However, the Little Fishmen were very quick, taking only a short moment to catch up to Shi Feng. They waved their short swords, slashing them at Shi Fengs back. Shi Feng knew he could not outrun the Fishmen. He turned around and used Abyssal Bind on one of them, then continued by using Parry to block another one of his attackers. As a result, Shi Feng stopped the other Little Fishmen from moving forward. Using the power behind the Fishmans attack, Shi Feng managed to pull away a distance of over three yards. He activated Gravity Liberation and then jumped onto the lake. However, the other Little Fishmen were quick to catch up, jumping into the lake after Shi Feng as well. Plop. Four Little Fishmen fell into the water. Shi Feng however, was madly running above the lakes surface. [Walking On Water] was a skill that could only be activated after Agility reached 80 points. However, Shi Feng had the Ring Of Gravity. As a result, his body had reached a state of near-weightlessness after activating Gravity Liberation. Including his Agility that was over 30 points, he, too, could move on the waters surface. His speed would not be reduced by the water. In a few moments, Shi Feng had shaken off the unyielding Little Fishmen. He ran to a location not far from the Little Fishmens nest, diving into the water. Just after entering the water, Shi Feng discovered a cavern that was surrounded by a lot of Water Elementals. The Water Elementals were encircling around the cavern as if they were protecting something. [Water Elemental] (Common monster) Level 10 HP 750/750 Shi Feng used Phantom Kill. His doppelganger swam over, luring the Water Elementals. Just as Shi Feng planned, a group of Water Elementals had discovered the doppelganger. One after another, they chased after the doppelganger. Meanwhile, the doppelganger swam upwards. Although the Water Elementals had high Movement Speed under water, it was an entirely different story when they were above ground. They were the opposite of the Little Fishmen, becoming extremely slow once they reached the shore. With the Water Elementals lured away by his doppelganger, Shi Feng took the chance to quickly swim towards the cavern. Before Shi Feng even reached the cavern, the system notified him of the death of his doppelganger. The doppelganger had only earned Shi Feng over 20 seconds. After killing the doppelganger, the Water Elementals discovered an intruder near the cavern. They all hurriedly swam back to the cavern entrance. After discovering Shi Feng, the speed of these Water Elementals increased by a fold as they sped towards Shi Feng. 40 Sun Temple Above the scarlet colored lake, the speeding Water Elementals created waves of water that struck at the Little Fishmens nest.Waves that were as tall as a person enveloped the entire nest, destroying many of the small wooden huts on it.The hundreds of Little Fishmen inside the nest entered a frenzy. They screamed and bellowed, each of them holding weapons as they jumped into the water and swam towards the cavern below the nest. Dual layered protection? Shi Feng took a look behind him, shocked. As if hundreds of Water Elementals were not enough, now there were also hundreds of Little Fishmen following behind. With this amount, even two or three Elite groups of players would not amount to anything. Shi Feng had no choice but to increase his speed and rush into the cave. There was still a thread of hope for survival. However, Shi Fengs speed underwater was very slow. It was incomparable to the Druids who had their Seal Transformation, where their Movement Speed was increased by 50% when moving underwater. Instead, Shi Fengs Movement Speed was reduced by 50%. Soon, Shi Feng was just 50 yards away from the caverns entrance. However, the enraged Water Elementals approached Shi Feng as if they were flying, their distance between Shi Feng shortening quickly. 42 yards 28 yards 20 yards 10 yards... Just when Shi Feng was only 5 yards away from the cavern entrance, the Water Elementals had caught up with Shi Feng. They waved their gigantic icy fists towards Shi Fengs head. The attacks from Water Elementals carried a Freezing effect that reduced Movement Speed. As long as they hit Shi Feng, the Water Elementals would cling to him till death. Shi Feng hurriedly spun around and used Parry, blocking the fist of the first Water Elemental. Using the Water Elementals immense strength, Shi Fengs body retreated backward by quite a distance. However, the remaining Water Elementals also rushed at him. It seems Ill be going back to town. Shi Feng looked at the hundreds of Water Elementals in front of him, feeling powerless. Just when Shi Feng was about to give up, he had floated into the cavern. Inside, he saw a human-shaped ghost roaming about. It was roughly thirty yards away from Shi Feng. Shi Feng gave caution to the wind. If he had to die, then he would die trying. At the very least, he could obtain a little more information for future preparations. Hence, Shi Feng used Wind Blade, his speed increasing by a large leap. Like a gale, Shi Feng swept through the water and rushed to the shore of the cavern, escaping the clutches of the Water Elementals just in the nick of time. The moment the Water Elementals left the water, their speed was sharply reduced. They could not catch up to Shi Feng''s mad dash at all. After leaving the water, Shi Feng quickly rushed towards the human-shaped ghost. The moment the Abyssal Blade was about to slash across the ghosts neck, Shi Feng suddenly discovered the half-transparent ghost did not actively attack him. hi Feng abruptly turned the tip of his sword away, the blade sliding past the ghost''s side. It did not attract the ghost''s Hatred. Close one, Shi Feng felt cold sweat down his back when he looked at the ghost''s information. [Brave One, Floyd]. (High Lord) Level 25 HP 360,000/360,000 If Shi Feng had attacked this Brave One and attracted his Hatred, even if he had a hundred lives, he would still end up dead. Within God''s Domain, Brave Ones were only second to Heroes regarding strength. Their position within a kingdom was even higher than that of a Marquis and was second only to a Duke. Even if such a great character had died and turned into a ghost, he was still a monster of the Great Lord rank. He was a tyrant amongst monsters. Without a hundred-men group of Elite players, it was impossible to kill off this ghost. Could he be the guardian of this place? Shi Feng looked at the Brave One, Floyd, silently guessing in his heart. There were usually guards posted around places with treasure. As for the Little Fishmen and Water Elementals outside, they could be considered, at most, as guard dogs. They were unfit to guard an important treasure. Shi Feng did not dare to stay any longer. After all, there was still a large group of monsters chasing after him. He hurriedly ran towards the inner regions of the cavern. The cavern was very large. There was a flight of stairs that led straight into the depths of the cavern and following it down ought to lead Shi Feng to the Philosophers Stone. When Shi Feng was right before the stairs, a sea of Water Elementals and Little Fishmen had rushed at him. It was as if they had an undying grudge against him. You lower lifeforms dare to sully this divine place? Prepare to receive divine punishment! Floyds gaze suddenly erupted in rage, pulling out a dark golden greatsword from his back. The sword gave out a surge of evil that made it seem as if it were the master of the world. When Floyd raised the greatsword, the surrounding air started becoming heavy.Following which, Floyd gave out a loud bellow as his arms swung the greatsword with all their might. A strong wind, followed by a sword flash swept through all the Water Elementals and Little Fishmen. Each and every one of the monsters turned into ash, and the caverns entrance instantly transformed into a pile of rubble. Strong! Shi Feng exclaimed in shock.He had sorely underestimated the strength of a Brave One. Floyds single sword could easily wipe out a hundred-men group of Level 30 Elite players. A three hundred-men group might be needed to even have a fighting chance. It was unexpected that the Water Elementals and Little Fishmen did not even have the right to become guard dogs. They were all annihilated in an instant. Shi Feng wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. Luckily, he was a human and not a lower lifeform. Otherwise, his outcome would be similar to those Water Elementals and Little Fishmen. This place is truly vicious. I guess I can only go downward now. Shi Feng looked at the collapsed entrance. Not even an earthworm could find a way through the debris. The stairs that led down were spiral-shaped. The rocky walls surrounding it were also enchanted with a kind of light-based magic, brightening the entire stairwell. However, this stairwell was extremely long. Fortunately, there were no dangers here. After walking for an entire half an hour, Shi Feng finally arrived at the end of the stairwell, at the beginning of a wide and spacious hall. The hall was about the size of an entire football field, and it looked similar to a shrine of sorts. Made out of gold and jade, the two sides of the hall were carved with an abundance of illustrations and texts. There was also an altar at the deepest part of the shrine; above the altar was a treasure chest made of pure gold. On each side of the treasure chest, there were two statues made of gold, both of them holding a greatsword in their hands. System: Player has discovered the Sun Temple. Sun Temple? It was the first time Shi Feng had heard this name. In his previous life, there was no information on the Sun Temple. It might have been because no player had activated it before, so there was no information about it on the official website. However, looking at the situation, it should be very dangerous. However, Shi Feng couldnt care less about it as he walked towards the golden altar. His target was the Philosophers Stone, and the golden chest before his eyes should be holding the item.The moment Shi Feng stepped onto the altar, he clearly felt a chill permeating his body. The chilliness came from the two gigantic golden statues. Shi Feng did not know what sort of consequences there would be if he continued onwards to retrieve the Philosophers Stone. However, he no longer had any choice. The caverns entrance had already been sealed off, so he could only decide after grabbing the Philosophers Stone. Shi Feng slowly opened the golden treasure chest. Golden rays of light leaked out from the chest, illuminating the entire temple. Subsequently, the golden rays started to fade, revealing three items inside the chest. Shi Feng pocketed the items with zero hesitation. Crap, how could the Philosophers Stone end up in such a state? Shi Feng looked at the thumb-sized blood-red stone, feeling extremely disappointed. [Philosophers Stone] (Damaged) Epic-rank Special Item (Dropped after death) A sacred item for Alchemy, the Philosophers Stone can be used to turn stone into gold, revive the dead, and has many more unfathomable uses. However, the Philosophers Stone was damaged and broken into five pieces by the Sword Emperor, Schneider. Nevertheless, the Philosophers Stone possesses immense strength. As long as the five pieces are gathered, it will be able to recover all of its strength. Active Effect: Due to being damaged, the Philosophers Stone possesses less than a tenth of its original strength. It is only possible to use it for Alchemy Conversion and Elemental Refinement. Although the effects were greatly reduced, Shi Feng was still satisfied with it. These two abilities would enable Shi Feng to accomplish a lot. As for the remaining two items, one of them was the [Golden Greatsword], a Level 10 Fine-Gold Weapon. The other item was an [Instantaneous Movement] Magic Scroll. A great treasure indeed. Shi Feng looked at the Golden Greatsword in his hands with extreme excitement. Aside from Magic Weapons, it was the best item a Level 10 player could have. If a Level 10 player were to equip this greatsword, they could definitely become invincible amongst players of the same Level. At this moment the two statues by the side shook. Their eyes released a red glow, locking their sights on Shi Feng. Shi Feng used the Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll without hesitation. Golden-colored magical seals suddenly wrapped around Shi Feng. The spell on the Magic Scroll had a cast time of three seconds, and it was capable of sending the player to a selected location.This Magic Scroll was extremely precious. Although there were only a few copies of it in the entire Gods Domain, dying in this place was a much greater loss to Shi Feng. Just as Shi Feng was about to be slashed by the golden statues, he vanished from the temple. 41 Commotion in Town Red Leaf Town, Fountain Plaza. The entire plaza was dyed crimson by the setting sun. There were quite a lot of Lifestyle players[1] setting up food stalls and selling snacks that were unique to Gods Domain. These snacks tasted delicious, and they were much better than the delicacies in real life. Also, their selling price was just 2 or 3 Coppers. It was truly a bargain. Many players would come here to rest and taste the delicacies of Gods Domain after a days worth of hard-fought battles. After all, they could only earn tens of Coppers in a single day, and after deducting the expended costs, they would only be left with slightly over ten Coppers. So, giving them a treat should not be a problem. There were quite a few couples sitting on the stone benches, chatting. They ate the food they bought as they enjoyed a lovely time. Suddenly, every player in Red Leaf Town received a System Announcement. System: A player has triggered a special storyline. Insurrection of the Little Fishmen has been activated. An Expedition Quest has been activated in Red Leaf Town. Players can now receive the Expedition Quest from the Adventurers Guild. Completing the Expedition Quest will reward players with bountiful rewards and Guild Reputation. All the players were shocked. In Red Leaf Town, a place where Quests were extremely rare, there was actually an Expedition Quest. Moreover, the rewards were great. It was truly unimaginable. Who was the awesome person that actually triggered a special storyline? The player who achieved this feat attracted the attention of every player in Red Leaf Town. Everyone wondered what great rewards this player gained for activating the storyline. After all, activating a storyline was definitely a rare occurrence. So, how could the rewards be few? Quite a lot of players started having their own wicked thoughts. They wanted to kill off the player who activated the storyline Quest. Unfortunately, the System Announcement did not reveal the players name.Compared to the average players, the various large Guilds were in a state of turmoil. At this stage of the game, aside from clearing Dungeons, there was not a single Quest that was capable of increasing Guild Reputation. A Guild required Guild Reputation to level up. As long as their Guild could reach Level 2 a step earlier, they would be able to obtain the corresponding Guild benefits, creating a large advantage over the other Guilds. Currently, the other Towns surrounding Scarlet River also received the same System Announcement; it wasn''t just Red Leaf Town. All of the large Guilds began strategizing a plan for their crusade against the Little Fishmen. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who was the cause of all this commotion, currently sat inside the Auction House. The Auction House was a very convenient place. The items placed on auction by players were not just limited to Red Leaf Town; they could be seen and bought in the hundreds of Towns and small Cities under the influence of White River City. However, the Auction House was very cunning. They charged a 5% handling fee for all items auctioned, so the items there are usually very expensive. However, the Auction House was unquestionably the best place for players to sell certain items anonymously. Also, it had been quite some time since God''s Domain started. The players had already amassed quite an amount of Coins, and the large Guilds should have already piled up a lot of funding. If Shi Feng were to set up a stall in Red Leaf Town, not only would he attract attention, he might also be targeted by people like Flaming Tiger. More importantly, the reason Shi Feng chose the Auction House was that there were too few players in Red Leaf Town who could afford the items he planned to sell. However, it was a different story if there were hundreds of Towns competing for them. Hence, Shi Feng placed a Mysterious-Iron Plate Armor on the Auction House, setting its base price at 25 Silver Coins. Then, he placed five pieces of Bronze Equipment, with the base price of the Plate Armor at 3 Silver Coins, and the others at 2 Silver Coins. As for the Level 10 Fine-Gold Greatsword, the result of placing it on auction would be too terrifying to imagine. This weapon was worth at least 2 Gold Coins, which was the equivalent of 200 Silver Coins. Currently, even 1 Silver Coin was extremely precious; so who would be able to even afford the weapon? Following which, Shi Feng searched his bag via the half-transparent screen. Initially, players were gifted with a bag that had 100 slots. However, it was far from enough for Shi Feng. Every player could equip a maximum of seven bags. So, Shi Feng immediately bought six of the largest bags currently available. Each of the bags had 25 slots, and each sold for 40 Copper Coins. Six bags meant 240 Copper Coins. Such an amount was definitely unaffordable to normal players, but it was just a small sum to Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s storage space increased by a lot after equipping the six bags.Afterward, Shi Feng left the Auction House and set up a stall not far from it. He was not the least bit interested with the Storyline Quest he triggered. He would not fight over the rewards with the others. He already had his fill; so it was only proper for the others to have the leftovers. Buying Magic Essences and Stones in bulk. A stack[2] of Magic Essences for 6 Coppers; a stack of Stones for 10 Coppers. Shi Feng loudly shouted. At this stage of the game, Magic Essences were some of the materials needed to practice Enchanting, whereas Stones were one of the building materials Engineers needed. However, many Level 0 to Level 3 monsters would drop these materials when killed, so they were barely worth anything. The materials the many Guilds obtained were also sufficient to supply their own Lifestyle players, so they would never buy any of them. As for normal players, they would only occasionally buy these materials. However, there was still an ocean of players that did not know how to deal with these materials. They would usually sell these materials to NPCs at a low price. A stack of 20 bottles of Magic Essence sold for 5 Coppers, and a stack of 100 Stones sold for 9 Coppers. Shi Feng bought them at a price of 1 Copper Coin higher, so there were quite a lot of players who were willing to sell their materials to him. An extra Copper per stack would still be quite a significant income. Magic Essence was one of the required materials to make the Garrison Armor. Besides that, large amounts of Copper Ore and Bronze Ore were also needed. These ores were scarcely available, and all the large Guilds bought them in bulk. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to get ahold of them. Shi Feng also originally planned to grind for ore. However, now that he had the Philosopher''s Stone, ore was no longer a problem. The Philosopher''s Stone could carry out Elemental Refinement. That meant it could refine Stone. There was a great chance to obtain ore, even rare ore. There was absolutely no need for Shi Feng to personally grind for them; he could just buy them at an extremely low price. Because of this, tens of thousands of players had effectively become Shi Feng''s laborers. Very quickly, a large crowd of players had gathered in front of Shi Feng. Big Brother, I have 6 stacks of Magic Essence here. Will you take them? I have 3 stacks of Stone; do you want them? Many players started asking Shi Feng, worried that his bag would fill. After all, they just had too many Magic Essences and Stones. There were no players who were willing to buy these materials. However, it was also a shame to just sell them to the NPCs, so the materials just stayed inside their bags. I''ll take all of them. Just trade them over, Shi Feng said. Before this, Shi Feng amassed quite a bit of wealth. Including his transaction with Gentle Snow, he was in possession of quite a lot of Coins. Shi Feng could definitely buy large amounts of Magic Essences and Stones. A player was selling three stacks of Magic Essences here A player was selling five stacks of Stones there Within moments, Shi Feng had acquired 60 stacks of Magic Essences and 85 stacks of Stones. The money that remained in his pockets was less than 10 Coppers now. Sorry, but Im full, Shi Feng packed up his stall after explaining. Suddenly, the many remaining players who came to sell off their Magic Essences and Stones had faces filled with disappointment. Big Brother, will you still buy them in the future? A player asked. I will. However, it will still be a period before I do buy them. You all can save them up for now. Shi Feng resolutely said. The amount of Magic Essences and Stones Shi Feng just purchased was far from enough for him to become an Advanced Forging Apprentice[3]. After leaving the business street, Shi Feng arrived at the Forging Association. He paid 5 Coppers to rent a Basic Forging Room for one hour. Inside the Basic Forging Room, all the equipment needed for forging was provided; players did not need to buy their own equipment. The Intermediate Ranked Forging Room was a lot better; it could increase the success rate of Forging by 3%. However, it costs 1 Silver per hour to use that room. As for Advanced Forging Rooms, those were not available in small Towns. They were only available in Cities. However, their prices were extremely staggering. TL Notes: [1]Lifestyle players: Players who focus on their Auxiliary Jobs i.e. Forgers, Alchemists/Potionmakers etc. [2]a stack: This is a gaming term used to refer to a group of identical items which will take up only one space/slot in the players bag. The stack of items has a maximum limit as to the amount of items it can hold within a slot, i.e. a full stack of Magic Essence has 20 bottles of the item. If a player has 21 bottles of Magic Essence, a second stack will be created in the players bag. [3]Advanced Forging Apprentice: Forgers can be distinguished into several stages, which are Forging Apprentice -> Forger -> Master Forger -> Grandmaster Forger. These stages are then further distinguished into three different ranks, Basic -> Intermediate -> Advanced 42 Elemental Refinemen Forging Association, inside a Forging Room. Shi Feng took out a stack of Stone, placing it on the table. A stack of Stone had a hundred pieces in total. They immediately filled up the round table; some even fell to the ground. Time to see how good you actually are, Shi Feng smiled as he retrieved the crimson red Philosopher''s Stone. If the Philosopher''s Stone were seen by someone else, the consequences Shi Feng would face would be immense. Hence, Shi Feng rented a Forging Room. Without his permission, nobody could enter the room. Shi Feng took a piece of Stone from the table and used the Philosopher''s Stone on it. System: Do you wish to use the Philosopher''s Stone for Elemental Refinement? Shi Feng immediately chose ''Yes.'' Following which, the Philosopher''s Stone started emitting a faint red glow; a mysterious power flowed into the Stone. Peng! The Stone the size of a fist suddenly turned into yellow sand, scattering to the ground. The result was a failure. However, Shi Feng revealed a calm smile at the result. It did not perturb him in the slightest. Afterward, he picked up another Stone and tried again. Ore was very precious. A normal Copper Ore sold for 2 Coppers; they were only worth 1 Copper Coin if sold to an NPC. A stack of 100 Copper Ore could be sold for 200 Copper Coins to Guilds, and they would still fight over them. Compared to a stack of Stone, which only sold for 10 Copper Coins, Copper Ore was just too expensive. Elemental Refinement extracted the Metal Element out of the Stone. However, some Stones did not possess any Metal Element. So, it was only natural that they turn to sand. Such failures were just too common. Peng Peng Peng There was still no ore after ten consecutive tries. Shi Feng started becoming depressed. The success rate was just too low. Shi Feng even started to suspect that these Stones were picked from a desert to result in all the yellow sand. Relax, relax. There are still many Stones left. Shi Feng sucked in a deep breath, reassuring himself. He picked up another piece of Stone, trying Elemental Refinement once more. Peng! This time, the Stone still scattered into a pile of sand. However, in the middle of the yellow grains, there was a piece of metal that had a purplish-red luster. It was Copper Ore. With the first piece of Copper Ore in his hands, Shi Feng let out a relaxed breath. His hands started moving at a faster pace. All the Stones above the stone table turned into yellow sand within moments. The stack of Stones had yielded a total of 23 pieces of Copper Ore and 2 pieces of Bronze Ore. Compared to Copper Ore, the price of Bronze Ore was three times that of Copper Ore; they were worth 3 Copper Coins when sold to NPCs. Due to the rarity of Bronze Ore, players would buy them at 7 Copper Coins a piece. eeing the ores on the table, Shi Feng felt the Philosophers Stone was truly a gold mine. Even if the Philosophers Stone was currently damaged, it was still out of the ordinary. It was no wonder why many kingdoms were willing to muster up their armies and fight for the Philosophers Stone. Having the Philosophers Stone in hand was the equivalent of having a wealthy treasury. At that time, a kingdom would find it hard not to become prosperous. Shi Feng kept the ores on the table and brought out another stack of Stones. Stack after stack of Stones disappeared, whereas the amount of yellow sand had piled up into a small hill. Fortunately, the Forging Room could be cleaned of rubbish with just a click of a button. After pushing the Clean button, the small hill of yellow sand vanished from sight. After spending an hours time, Shi Feng had refined 40 stacks of Stones. He had obtained a little over 7 stacks of Copper Ore and a little over 1 stack of Bronze Ore. They would be worth over 20 Silver Coins if Shi Feng sold them. Meanwhile, the cost of obtaining these ores were only four Silver Coins. The difference was five-times the price. It was an absolute profit. Most importantly, ores dropped in very small numbers, so it was impossible to buy them in bulk. Shi Feng received a System Notification the moment he had left the Forging Room. System: The Violent Bear Armor you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 31 Silvers 53 Coppers have been placed in your bag. System: The Dark Star Boots you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 3 Silvers 21 Coppers have been placed in your bag. A series of notifications from the Auction House had caused Shi Fengs lips into a smile. As expected, the greater the competition, the higher the price would go Shi Feng was very satisfied with the amount the items sold for. He never imagined that a Mysterious-Iron Plate Armor for Shield Warriors could actually be sold for over 30 Silver Coins. It seems there were a lot of wealthy people within the area of influence of White River City. After selling the equipment, Shi Feng had suddenly become a wealthy tycoon. With over 50 Silver Coins in his pockets, even his confidence was different now. Currently, players would still be happy over having twenty to thirty Copper Coins on their person. Shi Feng already possessed more than 50 Silver Coins. Including the Silver Coins Gentle Snow owed him, if Shi Feng were to sell off the Copper Ore he had immediately, he would instantly become wealthy with gold. However, he would not sell the ores. These ores were the foundation for Shi Feng to earn big money. Following which, Shi Feng rented the Forging Room for another hour. He turned the remaining Stones into ores. His luck was better this time around. From 45 stacks of Stones, he obtained 10 stacks of Copper Ore and 2 stacks of Bronze Ore. With this, Shi Feng had a total of 17 stacks of Copper Ore and 3 stacks of Bronze Ore. It would be quite some time before Shi Feng could use them all up. With money in hand now, Shi Feng once more arrived at the central area of the Forging Association, at the administration area. Currently, there were quite a few Forger players, that were groomed by Guilds, renting Forging Rooms. This is just evil. It actually costs 5 Coppers for an hour. My Guild just gave me 30 Coppers. Thats not enough at all. Thats considered good already. At least the equipment is all there. Look at the Forging equipment. Even the most common required a few Silvers. An entire set would cost over 30 Silver Coins! Its just a blatant rip-off! You still havent seen the Intermediate Forging Room. It costs one Silver an hour, but the room only increases your success rate by 3%. Even a first-rate Guild would not be able to handle such a price. A few Forgers continuously complained. They bitterly detested the prices set by the Forging Association. However, there was also a hint of bragging carried in their voices. After all, they had the support of their Guilds, whereas normal players wouldnt even be able to rent a Forging Room, not to mention increasing their Forging Levels. Shi Feng circled these players, walking towards the manager of the Association, saying, I want to rent an Intermediate Forging Room. May I know how long you wish to rent it for? The ashen youth who was the Associations manager excitedly asked. Currently, a majority of the adventurers were poor blokes. Every one of them only rented the Basic Forging Rooms, and even then, they rented with unwillingness. So, a great change occurred to the managers servicing attitude when he was able to see a rich adventurer like Shi Feng. Looking at the time, it was currently morning in the real world. When using the Virtual Gaming Helmet, a person could not stay within Gods Domain for too long. Two hours then. Shi Feng said after some thought. Alright, here is your key. That will be a total of 2 Silver Coins. The manager handed the key over to Shi Feng, smiling. Shi Feng took out two shiny Silver Coins, placing them on the table and turning around to leave. The players who had previously been discussing the deviousness of the Forging Association were all dumbstruck. They even thought they were hallucinating. However, they were indeed Silver Coins on the table, and not the scarlet-yellow Copper Coins. Crap, a tycoon! A male Elementalist said in envy. Brother Tycoon, Little Sister knows how to warm beds. Another pretty and flirtatious female player winked at Shi Feng, flattering him. Isnt it just some dirty money? I will definitely become an Intermediate Forging Apprentice a step ahead of him, a male Priest said in a sour tone, even though he knew it to be impossible. The facilities of the Intermediate Forging Room were much better than the Basic one. On the surface, the room itself only increased the success rate of forging by 3%. However, including the facilities that came with the room, the success rate was increased by at least 5%. To a Forger, a difference of 5% success rate was like the difference between heaven and earth. 43 Book Of Forging Shi Feng took the key to the Intermediate Forging Room and went up the second floor, ignoring the flirting young lady. The first floor of the Forging Association only had Basic Forging Rooms, whereas Intermediate Forging Rooms were located on the second floor. When compared to the first floor, there were far fewer people on the second floor. There were only NPCs walking around. Players would not come to this place at all. Also, there were only twenty Intermediate Forging Rooms, unlike the Basic Rooms, which numbered at fifty. Shi Feng entered the Intermediate Forging Room. The room was much larger and refined. The facilities available were also better than the Basic room, especially the Hammer and Flame. These two items were not simple at all. Shi Feng held up the silvery-white hammer that was placed on the iron-woven felt. [Hundred Refinement Hammer] (Bronze-rank) Forging Items: When Forging, the success rate is increased by 3%. Requirements: Strength 4 Just this Hundred Refinement Hammer alone was hard to obtain by players. The best hammers NPCs sold were Common Hammers. Those hammers did not increase the success rate of Forging. As for stealing this Hundred Refinement Hammer, it was an impossible task. Items that belonged to the Forging Room could not be taken away by players. The Flame here was extraordinary as well. Instead of the usual scarlet, yellow color, the Flame here burned with a scarlet, green color. It was not a common Flame, but a Mysterious Flame. Shi Feng took a look at its description. Scarlet Devil Flame (Tier 1 Mysterious Flame) Special Item: Possesses extremely high temperatures. Items smelted with the Flame will have higher purity. When refining potions or forging items, there will be a definite increase in success rates. Mysterious Flames were rare and powerful Flames. These Flames had varying strength, and they could be categorized into nine tiers. The first tier was the weakest, whereas the ninth tier was the strongest. However, even a first tier Mysterious Flame was not something that could be easily obtained by players. Due to the Mysterious Flames rarity, its price within Gods Domain was extremely high. Including the fact that both Potion-making and Forging required Mysterious Flames, the prices of Mysterious Flames had become even more shocking. There was once a Tier 4 Flame that caused tens of first-rate Guilds to fight over it. After the death of millions of players, the Flame finally ended up in the hands of the World Dominators. Not long after, a Master Potionmaker in World Dominators rose to become a Grandmaster Potionmaker, increasing the influence of the World Dominators by a large leap. Shi Feng had a great yearning within him when he looked at the burning Mysterious Flame. It was the thirst of a Forger. Just when Shi Feng was in deep thought, he suddenly recalled a matter. On the second month of Gods Domains operation, the third-rate Guild, Glorious Light, had discovered a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame, Ice-Blue Devil Flame. The Flame was found in the Hundred Ghosts Forest, and its discovery induced great envy into the other Guilds. At that time, there were a lot of Lifestyle players who had applied to join Glorious Light, allowing the Guilds power to abruptly increase and becoming the tyrant of a small City. However, there were also many Guilds who gathered information in secret, wanting to obtain a Mysterious Flame for themselves. Naturally, Shadow was no exception to this. Shadow had discovered the location and method of obtainment of the Mysterious Flame from Glorious Lights inner circle. Unfortunately, such Mysterious Flames only appeared once, never appearing again after they were gone. This discovery caused many Guilds to waste their efforts. As he was thinking about the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, Shi Feng suddenly started having intentions towards this Mysterious Flame. If he could make it his own, it would definitely be of great help to him in the future when he started his own Guild. Moreover, the Flame would be of great help in pushing Shi Feng to become a true Forger[1]. However, Shi Feng still needed to hash out a proper plan to obtain the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. He needed to prepare many things before he could obtain the Flame. Following which, Shi Feng took out the Garrison Armors Forging Design. Without wasting time, he immediately chose to learn it. System: You have learned how to forge the Garrison Armor. Afterward, Shi Feng placed all the needed materials onto the stone table. Then, he took out the immensely precious Book Of Forging and started to forge. Shi Feng was a Basic Forging Apprentice. His success rate for forging a Level 0 Common Equipment did not exceed 20%, and after a successful forging, there was a 40% chance for him to obtain 1 Proficiency Point. If Shi Feng were to forge the Garrison Armor, a Level 3 Bronze Equipment, his chance of success would not exceed 5%. Successfully forging a piece of Bronze Equipment would bring an additional bonus, which was a 100% chance to obtain 2 Proficiency Points. However, 1000 Proficiency Points were needed to become an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. Obtaining such a large amount of points required equally large funding to support it. There was no way for a Lifestyle player to support such a large sum of money by themselves. The Forgers in Guilds all started out by forging Common Equipment. There was not a single Guild who would allow these Lifestyle players to forge Bronze Equipment right off the bat. To begin with, they didnt even possess a Forging Design for Bronze Equipment, and even if they did, they wouldnt carry out such an action. The success rate of a Basic Forging Apprentice was just too low, and the materials needed were just too expensive. A single failure would cost 1 Silver Coin or more. It was a loss that not even Guilds could handle. Moreover, they couldnt even collect that many materials to make the equipment. However, Shi Feng did not have such worries. He had the Philosophers Stone, so he did not lack in resources. Furthermore, the materials needed to make the Garrison Armor were cheaply-priced. It only required 5 bottles of Magic Essences, 5 pieces of Bronze Ore, and 20 pieces of Copper Ore. The cost of making the Garrison Armor was only 80 Copper Coins. When compared to the cost of making other Bronze Equipment, it was at least 20 Coppers cheaper. The Garrison Armor also had very good Attributes, so it was extremely welcomed. Shi Feng wouldnt have to be troubled over figuring out how to sell it. The most important thing was the Book Of Forging. The Book Of Forging could increase the success rate of forging Common Equipment by 70%, Bronze Equipment by 50%, Mysterious-Iron Equipment by 30%, Secret-Silver Equipment by 20%, Fine-Gold Equipment by 10%, Dark-Gold Equipment by 5%, and Epic Equipment by 1%. With such Attributes, the Book Of Forging could allow a player to become a Master Forger easily and unimpeded. Basic Forging Apprentices originally had a 20% success rate at forging Common Equipment. Including the 70% from the book, the success rate would become 90%. Further including the facilities of the Intermediate Forging Room and removing the possibilities of mistakes, the success rate of making Common Equipment was 99% or higher. Unless the player was a pig[2], failure was impossible. The Book Of Forgings frightening abilities could clearly be seen from this. As for the Garrison Armor, Shi Feng had a 5% success rate for making it. Including the 50% from the book, the 3% from the rooms facilities, and also the effects of the Mysterious Flame, Shi Feng now had a 60% success rate for making the Garrison Armor. Not to mention Bronze Equipment, even if Common Equipment had a 60% success rate, it would still drive Forger players mad. Such a high percentage for success was something unimaginable to Forgers. Following which, Shi Feng started slowly making the Garrison Armor according to the Forging Designs requirements. He first smelted the Copper and Bronze Ore in the fire. After being in the fire for five minutes, the ores started to melt and form a lump. Afterward, Shi Feng added in the Magic Essence, letting it burn for another minute before removing the red-hot ore and placing it onto the metal felt. The ores scorching hot temperature caused Shi Feng to sweat. However, Shi Feng did not dare be careless, as the following process was the most important part. After finishing the preparations, Shi Feng held the Hundred Refinement Hammer and readied it to hammer the fiery ore. Dang Dang Dang... Sparks flew in all directions. The hammering sounds echoed throughout the wide Forging Room. Shi Feng struck every hit with careful precision. In his previous life, Shi Feng did not learn Forging. He only learned the Gathering skill. However, he still knew quite a lot about Forging. After all, he had conversed with a Master Forger quite often, so he was knowledgeable to the degree of not making certain low-leveled mistakes. After hammering the ore over a hundred times, Shi Feng felt that it was perfect. Shi Feng wiped away the sweat on his forehead, carefully selecting the crimson ores interface and clicking the Complete button. Following which, the red-hot ore started transforming. Within five seconds, it had transformed into a silvery-gray colored armor. On the surface, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. However, equipments successful forging did not just depend on its appearances; there was also its quality. Quality included the equipments Attributes and rank. Bronze Equipment that was badly forged would have their ranks decreased to Common, or their base Attributes would not be up to standards. Hence, Shi Feng selected the information of the armor, checking whether it was a success or a failure. TL Notes: [1]a true Forger => this part is referring to the ranks for a Forger i.e. Forging Apprentice -> Forger -> Master Forger -> Grandmaster Forger [2]Unless the player was a pig => An idiot 44 Change Although Shi Feng could handle failure, there was nobody who was willing to squander their money for no good reason. So, Shi Feng was, more or less, slightly nervous. After Shi Feng selected the option to check the armors information, three words appeared on the panel: Identification in progress. The red loading bar slowly increased. The System was currently determining the statistics of the equipment. After three seconds had passed, the System finished identifying the armor and revealed the armors information. [Garrison Armor] (Bronze-rank Plate Armor) Level 3 Equipment Requirement: Strength 10 Defense +22 Strength +2, Endurance +2 HP +150 Durability 35/35 Additional Ability- Defensive Power: reduces damage taken by 3%. Restricted to Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. System: Garrison Armor has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 2 points. Obtained 800 EXP. Great! It even has an Additional Ability, Defensive Power. Shi Feng was extremely happy when he saw the Additional Ability on the Garrison Armor. He never imagined his first try at forging a piece of Bronze Equipment would be a success. He even obtained so much EXP. It was no wonder why the Master Forgers in his previous life never went out to grind, but their levels were not a bit low. Not only had the Garrison Armor forged met the standard Attribute values, but it also possessed an Additional Ability. Originally, the Garrison Armor did not possess Defensive Power. However, when the Forger exhibited extraordinary skill, coupled with the presence of the Mysterious Flame, there was a chance for an Additional Ability to appear on the equipment. In such occurrences, the price of the equipment would be increased to another level. Shi Feng took his time sizing up the Garrison Armor, feeling the texture of the silvery-gray metal and admiring its eye-catching design. The average piece of Bronze Equipment was absolutely no match for it. Shi Feng was very satisfied with his creation. Currently, Common Equipment was still the mainstream equipment for players. Even if players were to reach Level 6 in the future, it would not be a surprise to find them wearing only Common Equipment. After all, it was too hard to obtain Bronze Equipment. As for the Elite parties, just having one to two pieces of Bronze Equipment was considered being blessed. The Garrison Armor could be used by both Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. If Shi Feng were to sell the armor, the Elite parties would definitely welcome it. After all, the quality of an MTs equipment could ease the difficulty of conquering a Dungeon a lot. Even if Shi Feng were to set the price at 4 Silver Coins, these parties would still buy the armor, regardless the cost. As for the Defensive Power of the Garrison Armor, its benefits towards a partys MT went without saying. Shi Feng would not accept anything lower than 5 Silver Coins for this armor. With his first experience at successful forging, Shi Feng continued forging Garrison Armors. However, Shi Feng took out the Hundred Refinement Steel this time. He wanted to know what effects the steel would have when it was used to forge equipment. Within ten minutes, the second Garrison Armor took form. However, the color on this Garrison Armor was different than the previous one. Instead of having a silvery-gray color, it was pitch-black now. After going through three seconds of identification, the System displayed the statistics to Shi Feng. [Garrison Heavy Armor] (Bronze-rank Plate Armor) Level 3 Equipment Requirement: Strength 14 Defense +25 Strength +2, Endurance +4 HP +150 Durability 40/40 Additional Ability- Defensive Power: reduces damage taken by 5%. Restricted to Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. System: Garrison Heavy Armor has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 2 points. Obtained 1,000 EXP. System: Due to your Forging Genius, Forging Proficiency has been increased by an additional 2 points. Currently, Shi Feng had completely forgotten about the additional Proficiency Points that his Forging Talent gave him. Instead, his eyes were fixated on the Garrison Heavy Armor. The Attributes on the armor were already comparable to a piece of Level 3 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. The price-tag on it was at least 10 Silver Coins. Shi Feng never imagined that the Hundred Refinement Steel would create such large changes. Shi Feng had no choice but to admit that the item given by a Master Forger was not ordinary. Unfortunately, Shi Feng only had nine pieces of Hundred Refinement Steel remaining. Naturally, now that Shi Feng knew the effects of the Hundred Refinement Steel, he would not simply squander them away. He would set them aside and use them when he had good equipment to forge. Two hours quickly passed by. Shi Feng forged Garrison Armors without stopping during this time. He had obtained a total of 23 pieces of Garrison Armor, but he also failed to forge four pieces. Shi Feng was very satisfied with the result. A single, successfully forged Garrison Armor could easily remedy the loss of the four failures. At the same time, Shi Feng himself had also risen to Level 3. His current level was not that far from the expert players. Moreover, his Forging Proficiency had increased to 44 points. Such an increase was at least four to five times faster than those Forgers that belonged to Guilds. Following which, Shi Feng left the Intermediate Forging Room and arrived in front of the Auction House. He immediately auctioned off the 11 pieces of Garrison Armor that did not possess Defensive Power, their base prices set at 4 Silver Coins. As for the Garrison Armors and Garrison Heavy Armor that possessed Defensive Power, Shi Feng placed them aside for now. He wanted to let these Guilds and Elite parties have a taste of the armor first. That way, the remaining Garrison Armors could be sold at an even better price. Afterward, Shi Feng set up a stall in the Trade Area, casually yelling out. Following which, many players ran over to Shi Feng, selling their Stones and Magic Essences to him. After purchasing the materials for half an hour, Shi Feng took a look at the time. It was near nightfall in Gods Domain. The monsters at night became much more powerful and killing them became much more difficult. This period was not suited for leveling, and Shi Feng should rest as well. Currently, he was still using the Virtual Gaming Helmet, not the Virtual Gaming Pod, to play Gods Domain. The Virtual Gaming Pod could provide the energy and nutrients required by the players body at any time. It could also stimulate the bodys muscles, preventing the body from weakening due to playing Gods Domain for long periods. Shi Fengs finger tapped and clicked, calling out the System Interface and choosing to log off. Currently, within the cramped rented apartment, the sunlight had long since seeped through the windows and scattered throughout the room. The temperature within the room was also starting to rise. Shi Feng took off the gaming helmet. He lifted up his body and stretched. After more than ten hours of inactivity and lying on the bed, Shi Fengs body was numbed throughout. He needed to move around before he could return to normal. Shi Feng started doing push-ups, sit-ups, and other forms of basic training. In this extremely materialistic age, body training had already become indispensable in ones life. After tens of years of constant research, scientists have managed to obtain a huge breakthrough in strengthening the human body and prolonging its lifespan. Mankind could now retain their youth for a longer period. The breakthrough also increased the average lifespan of a person to one hundred years old. At the same time, scientists had pointed out the necessity of working out the body. Henceforth, the age of exercise had arrived. In current times, sports tournaments and fighting competitions were the attention of the public eye. Just in the university alone, there were already plenty of sports societies and martial arts societies, and they were very welcomed by the students. In the current society, those who did not possess a trick up their sleeves would be looked down upon. On the other hand, those celebrity athletes and martial arts experts were absolutely revered. In the university, there was never a lack of beautiful women surrounding the distinguished athletes and students who often participated in mixed martial arts competitions. As for pretty boys, their time has long since faded from popularity. In his previous life, Shi Feng did not pay much attention to his body. As a result, he nearly caused its destruction. By the time he wanted to train his body, he was no longer young. Even if he had trained with all his might, the effects would not be great. In this life, Shi Feng would not be the same as before, naturally. He would not solely pay attention to Gods Domain, ignoring his bodys training. After training for half an hour, Shi Fengs entire body was covered with sweat. It looked as if he had just taken a shower. Just when he was about to dine on his cooked instant noodles, his phone started ringing. Shi Feng looked at the contacting person. Unexpectedly, it was the usually silent female class monitor, Zhao Ruoxi. Class Monitor, whats up? Shi Feng asked after answering the call. According to Shi Feng memories, aside from attending classes, Shi Feng never had any contact with the female class monitor. Within the four years, Shi Feng had spent in the university, he had not spoken over a hundred sentences with Zhao Ruoxi. Shi Feng, hurry over to school. I failed to notify you of this because you do not live in the male dormitories, but now Im telling you. At 11 oclock, there will be an important matter being announced at Teaching Block 3, Classroom 401. Shi Feng looked towards the electronic clock on his table. It was already half past ten right now. He answered, Alright, Ill go there immediately. 45 The Inferior Student of the Class Cutting off the call, Shi Feng immediately ate his instant noodles and hurried to school. When he was on the road, Shi Feng finally recalled this incident. It was one of the reasons that caused his parents to fall gravely ill. In Shi Fengs previous life, he and Blackie joined Shadow Workshop. When Zhao Ruoxi called him to go to the school, he chose to continue playing Gods Domain instead of going. He joined Shadow Workshop after much trouble. If he wanted to rise in position within Shadow, he needed to have a good performance. How could he have the time to care about small matters that happened in the classroom? As a result, his university recommendation became nonexistent. Although it was just a recommendation, it could allow students to find better jobs. The stress levels of the current society were extremely powerful, and jobs were not easy to find. Such a recommendation would be a stepping stone towards the higher levels of a company. Shi Fengs parents were deeply worried after they found out about this incident. It was also because of such worries that caused the mental stress on his parents to increase substantially. Only, Shi Fengs parents never revealed it to him. Instead, they encouraged him. They didnt want him to worry about their household debts. As a result, they became both physically and mentally exhausted, falling gravely ill a year later. In this life, Shi Feng did not wish to repeat such a disaster, even if the recommendation was absolutely useless to him. However, he also wished to know the reason that caused him to lose the recommendation. Shi Feng was considered average regarding results amongst his class. There were absolutely no problems with him obtaining the recommendation. He did not have a share in it. The only reason he could think of, for such a situation, was the incident that would happen today. After walking into the university, Shi Feng discovered a very interesting situation. The school was crowded; there was an abnormal number of students in the university today. Usually, there would not be that many people within the university grounds. The students would usually study in the library or gather outside to have some fun. Worst case scenario, they would just stay in their dormitories and play games. Unlike the current situation, they wouldnt normally come out for a stroll. When Shi Feng walked towards Teaching Block 3, he discovered that the normally empty classrooms were packed with people. All of them were fully occupied. What is happening today? Shi Feng was puzzled. The moment Shi Feng entered Classroom 401, he could feel the air in the room was slightly odd. His classmates all shifted their gaze towards him, their expressions filled with astonishment. Shi Feng was like something that should not be there, yet had actually appeared. The male students only glanced at Shi Feng. They did not pay him any attention as they continued with their conversations. Meanwhile, some of the gorgeously dressed females in the class sent Shi Feng expressions of disgust. However, Shi Feng had long since gotten used to such reactions. When he was about to turn around and look at them, the females immediately turned their heads away. Fellow student Shi Feng, youre here. Find a place to sit. When fellow student Ling Feilong arrives, everyone in the class will be present. The female monitor, Zhao Ruoxi, had a calm expression on her face when she spoke to Shi Feng as if it was all just for formalitys sake. However, Shi Feng could faintly feel a hint of expectation in Zhao Ruoxis eyes when she turned around to look at him. However, that expectation was not targeted towards him, but most probably towards the Ling Feilong she spoke of. Alright. Shi Feng nodded his head, simply choosing a corner to sit down in. As for sitting and starting a conversation with the other male classmates, Shi Feng could tell it would be impossible just by looking at their expressions. In regards to such a situation, Shi Feng could only let loose a bitter smile. In his previous life, he truly has failed at being a functioning human being... However, there was nothing he could do. To save money, he never participated in any of the student gatherings or class events. He had long since become an invisible existence within the class. In the eyes of his classmates, Shi Feng might be a very reclusive person. Why is this person here? The class monitor should be the one who notified him. I never thought he would actually show up. Hes just an inferior student in the class. Just looking at him makes me mad. Look at how cunning his eyes are. Dont tell me he took a fancy to this young lady? Disgusting. The students in the class started a quiet discussion about Shi Feng. They were very shocked at Shi Fengs arrival. Usually, Shi Feng would never participate in any events, but now, this person, himself, actually showed up. Their disgust towards Shi Feng was clear in their speech. Their tones when speaking also showed how much they looked down on him. The reason for such treatment was because Shi Feng was weak. He was also often bullied by students from other classes. Moreover, he was the inferior student who was always too poor to join the class outings. It was just an embarrassment to be in the same class as him. Although their voices were soft, Shi Feng could still hear them clearly. It was better to say they let Shi Feng hear their conversation. Learning was only secondary in everyones eyes. The truly important thing to have was a strong body. After all, the current age was one where body training was strongly emphasized upon. However, Shi Fengs weak body clearly did not fit the current age. So, naturally, he had become an outcast within the class. However, Shi Feng simply laughed away at his situation. He was no longer a child, so why would he be angry over the actions of these children? Currently, his heart was only concerned about the matters regarding the recommendation. Not long after, a robust youth entered the classroom. The youths height was an entire 1.9 meters. This person was Ling Feilong. According to Shi Fengs memories, Ling Feilong was a person with many tricks up his sleeve. After he graduated from university, he managed to woo the princess of a large corporation. Three years later, he became the corporations CEO. However, due to the virtual worlds influence towards the real world growing ever larger, Ling Feilong invested in Gods Domain as well. At that time, he looked for Shi Feng, his classmate, wanting to collaborate in Gods Domain. At that time, Shi Feng was the Captain of Shadow Workshop. He was also the Guild Leader of the Guild, Shadow. Shadow was barely considered a second-rate Guild during those times. However, it still had control over a large city with a population of five hundred thousand people. Considering they were once classmates, Shi Feng agreed to Ling Feilongs proposal. Afterward, although Shadow earned quite a lot of money from the collaboration, Ling Feilong earned even more. At the same time, Ling Feilong groomed several powerful subordinates. Then, he somehow managed to gain the favor of a first-rate Guild, abandoning Shadow. Everyone watched as Ling Feilong entered the classroom. The male students all stood up, displaying their respect towards him. On the other hand, the gorgeous female students from before sent meaningful gazes towards Ling Feilong. Even Zhao Ruoxi had some changes to her calm expression. Shi Feng had plenty of experience with women in his previous life, so he could tell Zhao Ruoxi was somewhat interested in Ling Feilong. What kind of situation was this? Shi Feng could not make heads of the current situation. It would be fine if it were just the other students, but Zhao Ruoxi was the class flower. She had a calm personality, an oval face, a graceful body, and even her family background were good. Normally, male students from other classes could be seen chasing after her. However, none of them ever entered her eyes. So, why did she take a fancy upon Ling Feilong? Was Ling Feilong fated to become a protagonist in life, a person who was loved and welcomed by all? Everyone, sit down. Like a leader, Ling Feilong naturally walked up to the lectern. He gratefully said, Thank you for coming to congratulate me. I would not be here today were it not for all of your support. Brother Feilong, you are too humble. More than five thousand people entered the schools fighting competition, yet youve managed to enter the top ten. You are the pride of our class. You now have the rights to enter Jin Hai Citys fighting competition without going through the preselections. This feat is not achievable by the average person. You mustn''t forget about us once youve become a martial arts master in the future. Thats right, Brother Feilong. Were looking forward to you becoming the champion. The students in the class gave their congratulations one after the other. Some of the female students even thought of throwing themselves at Ling Feilong. However, Shi Feng was an exception. He was truly dumbfounded. Originally, he thought a huge incident occurred, but it was just the schools fighting competition having just ended. They were only here to congratulate Ling Feilong for being able to enter the citys fighting competition. If it was before, Shi Feng might have envied Ling Feilong. After all, there were just too many people who liked fighting competitions. Those who were able to participate in the citys fighting competition were much more appreciated than some big celebrity. This was due to the difficulty of entering the fighting competition. There was a strict selection system, and it was considered good to have three to four people selected out of ten thousand. If these selected participants performed well, they might even get a contract to become the spokesperson for a large enterprise. With all the celebrity advertisements that would be offered, it wouldnt be difficult to amass wealth. Their futures would have boundless prospects. However, along with the rise in popularity of Gods Domain, people became even more addicted to fighting battles and wars in the game. After all, being able to personally experience the fight was still the best experience. The lack of danger of fighting in the game only made it even more exciting. As a result, many experts became idols of the players in Gods Domain. 46 Meeting an Acquaintance As everyone was giving their congratulations to Ling Feilong, the person, himself, had his eyes swept over to a corner of the room, the corner where Shi Feng sat. His eyes held a hint of dissatisfaction when he looked at Shi Feng. He was the pride of the class and, even more so, a future celebrity. Yet, an inferior student like Shi Feng actually did not intend to flatter him? After a round of flattery, Ling Feilong allowed the students to return to their seats. I thank everyone for your support. Please quiet down for a moment. I am here today because I have a matter that I wish to discuss, Ling Feilong said. Hearing Ling Feilongs announcement, everyone listened attentively. Only Shi Feng remained uninterested towards Ling Feilong''s matter. However, Shi Feng could not help but pay attention after hearing Ling Feilong speak. It''s something related to the schools recommendation. Ling Feilong calmly said, Everyone knows how I am obsessed with fighting. However, my grades at school aren''t that good, so it has caused some problems with my recommendation. So, I wish for someone here to give up a spot. The school has already agreed to this; so I am here to discuss this matter with everyone else. Brother Long, this is only a trivial matter. It is only a recommendation. As the pride of the class, as long as Brother Long requests it, there will definitely be someone in the class willing to give up their spot, a bootlicking male student said. Although everyone in the class agreed to this person''s words, there was nobody who willingly stood up to give away their recommendation. In the end, finding a job was just too hard. The recommendation was much more valued than a person''s educational background when working inside a big company. If they were to give up their recommendation, what would they do in the future? As for the ones who had no rights to the recommendation, to begin with, naturally, it was easier to be brave standing from a safe distance. They continuously incited the others like hot-blooded mad-men. Ling Feilong''s expression slightly darkened when he saw nobody taking initiative. Since everyone is reacting so proactively, it wont be good if Im the one who does the choosing. How about this, lets raise our hands and vote, Ling Feilong suggested with a smile. Thats a good idea! Brother Feilong is the smartest! Then lets start voting! The hot-blooded mad-men all stood up one after another, their faces holding expressions of delight, delight at the misfortune of others. Shi Feng, who sat by the wall, was suddenly enlightened after looking at this scene. Crap! So it was these bastards who stole my recommendation! A wrathful flame ignited within Shi Fengs heart. He was truly a fool in his previous life for actually working with Ling Feilong. Not in this life, however. If Ling Feilong wished to cause trouble for him in this life, he couldnt be blamed for reacting in kind. Maybe it was a continuation of his previous life, but the voting results did not change in the slightest. The students immediately sat Shi Feng on the throne.'' Fellow student Shi Feng, you are really lucky! Im slightly envious of you! Youll get to have Brother Long cover for you from now on; you should be grateful to us. Everyone in the class started congratulating Shi Feng as if Shi Feng had just won a five million Credit lottery. Fellow student, Shi Feng, thank you, truly. After school is over today, I invite you to come with me for a drink at the Maple Leaf Bar, Ling Feilong smiled a hypocritical smile. He did not place Shi Feng within his sights at all. There was not a hint of gratitude in his tone, only disdain. Following which, he turned to look at the other students, saying, Of course, everyone else is also invited. Let us enjoy ourselves today. Hold on a moment, Shi Feng suddenly said. Suddenly, everyone in the class turned their sights towards Shi Feng. If Shi Feng did not actively speak up, they might have long since forgotten about his existence. May I know if fellow student Shi Feng has something he wishes to say? Ling Feilong looked towards Shi Feng, asking with a smile. I will not agree with this;, so why are you getting all joyous all on your own? Shi Feng shot a glance at Ling Feilong, saying, If any of you wish to give him your recommendation, then just give it to him. In any case, I wont be letting go of my recommendation. If there are no other matters, Ill be leaving. Suddenly, the entire classroom became dead silent. Nobody could imagine that Shi Feng, a person constantly bullied by students of other classes, actually rebelled against Ling Feilong. His current display was very abnormal. Was Shi Feng not afraid of being taken out by Ling Feilong? Ling Feilong, as well, was shocked, not because of Shi Fengs actions, however, but at Shi Fengs foolishness. Did he actually think he could protect his recommendation just because he had refused to hand it over? This was a result voted by the entire class. It would be meaningless, even if Shi Feng refused. When the time came, the university would still give him the recommendation. Even though the result was unchangeable, Shi Feng still foolishly chose to stand against him. Should Shi Feng be called foolish? Or did he have a few screws loose? Just when Ling Feilong wanted to take action, an impatient voice sounded from outside the door. Little Long, are you still not done? Brother Zhang doesnt like to be kept waiting. A tall blond youth came in through the door. Following behind him was an alluring girl dressed in sexy and revealing clothing. The two together caused the male students to look on in envy. Shi Feng shot a glance over, discovering that it was actually an acquaintance. The tall and blond youth was coincidentally Flaming Tiger. His real name was Zhou Yuhu, and he was a fourth-year university student, similar to Shi Feng. This person had great talent, and he managed to obtain a good result of third place in the universitys fighting tournament this time around. Meanwhile, the enchanting female by Zhou Yuhus side was also an acquaintance of Shi Fengs. Her name was Qin Shuyu, and she was Shi Fengs classmate during high school; she was also the flower of the class at the time. Shi Feng was truly blind during those times. Young and dumb, he was actually enchanted by Qin Shuyu, even to the point of confessing his love to her. Naturally, the result was rejection. After entering university, Qin Shuyu had become Zhou Yuhus girlfriend. Qin Shuyu even mentioned to Zhou Yuhu the matter of Shi Fengs confession. As a result, Shi Feng was often taken care of by students from other classes. After Shi Feng joined Shadow, he was often sent to carry out senseless tasks, stunting his growth in Gods Domain. Brother Hu, why have you come here? Ill immediately go after Im done settling my business here. When Ling Feilong saw the person who had arrived, he respectfully went up to welcome him with a smiling face. How much longer do you need? I dont have that much time to waste Zhou Yuhu wrinkled his brows, impatiently saying. He was parted from his duties as Team Leader today all because of that Ye Feng character, and he had only recently risen to Level 2. Afterward, he was even given a scolding by Brother Zhang. These occurrences caused him to become greatly irritated deep within his heart. Two to three minutes should be enough. Ling Feilong replied. He felt teaching Shi Feng the ways to be a proper person should not be a big problem. Good, then hurry up, Zhou Yuhu demanded. Currently, Qin Shuyus eyes unintentionally landed on Shi Feng; her expression was suddenly turning sour. She had no good impressions of Shi Feng. He had neither money nor power. There was not the slightest feeling of safety or strength coming from him. When compared with Zhou Yuhu, the difference between the two was hundreds and thousands of miles apart. Shi Feng even confessed to her without knowing his own worth. It was just an insult to her person, and as a result, she was often made fun of by the other girls. Seeing the disgust on Qin Shuyus face, Zhou Yuhu hooked up her chin with his robust hand, teasingly saying, Baby, Ill take care of him for you immediately, lest he shows up in front of you again. Qin Shuyu faintly smiled as she nodded, not having any intention of stopping Zhou Yuhu. Hey brat, come over here, Zhou Yuhu pointed his finger at Shi Feng, loudly roaring. Everyone was shocked at seeing Zhou Yuhus imposing manner. Who was Zhou Yuhu? He was ranked third in the schools fighting tournament. He was much more powerful when compared to the ninth-ranked Ling Feilong. A single hit from him was enough to send a person to the hospital for half a month. Ling Feilong naturally understood what was happening before him; Zhou Yuhu was irritated by Shi Feng and wished to take care of him. Originally, he too wanted to teach Shi Feng a lesson and let the entire class know of his prowess. If he were to take care of Shi Feng right now, not only would he be helping himself, but he would also be able to sell a favor to Zhou Yuhu; he would be killing two birds with one stone. Hence, Ling Feilong stepped forward and volunteered, Brother Hu, no need for you to personally take action. Originally, I already wanted to teach this kid a lesson. Give me thirty seconds. Little Long, so the matter you had to deal with before was this. Zhou Yuhu looked towards Shi Feng in disdain. He licked his lips, saying with a cold smile, Better to let me. I also wish to loosen my bones a little. Saying this, Zhou Yuhu walked towards Shi Feng with a cold smile. 47 I Think Highly of You Zhou Yuhu walked towards Shi Feng in an imposing manner. He wanted to personally teach Shi Feng a good, hard lesson this time. On previous occasions, he always sent others to handle it for him. However, Shi Feng still did not learn to be good. Today, he wanted Shi Feng to imprint this lesson onto his bones. The people present could all see the conclusion that was coming for Shi Feng. In a society where the entire population underwent body training, fights between students were all too common. Even minor injuries were very common. As long as it didnt go overboard, it would not cause an incident. However, looking at Zhou Yuhus current attitude, Shi Feng would be staying in the hospital for at least a month. At that time, Shi Feng would be wearing a cast while receiving his graduation certificate on the stage. Hold it, Zhou Yuhu. This is our class. On what basis does an outsider like you have to come and bully someone from our class? Zhao Ruoxis delicate body suddenly blocked Shi Feng. She was not the slightest bit threatened by Zhou Yuhus imposing aura as she berated him. Zhou Ruoxis actions unquestionably left everyone else in shock. They never imagined that the normally gentle and graceful Zhao Ruoxi would stand up for an inferior student. She was even challenging Zhou Yuhu. She had such a strong heart to be so brave. Ruoxi, dont stir up trouble. Brother Hu only wishes to give Shi Feng some pointers. This should be Shi Fengs good fortune. Shi Feng is always being bullied by others, but with Brother Hus pointers, he might have some growth and learn to be a proper person, Ling Feilong explained with a smile. Due to Zhao Ruoxis above average appearance and attractive curves, he long since treated her as his personal property. Never would he have imagined that she would stand up for Shi Feng. Suddenly, the rage towards Shi Feng burned even greater in his heart. However, it would not be good for him to reveal that rage, so he simply tugged at Zhao Ruoxis delicate hand. He wanted to pull her away, stopping her from being a hindrance. Fellow student Ling Feilong, as the pride of the class, are you just going to watch as one of our classmates being bullied? Zhao Ruoxi shook off Ling Feilongs hand, looking at him and asking angrily. She originally thought Ling Feilong was in possession of a good personality. He also performed exceptionally in the fighting competition. So, she thought he was a good prospect. However, she didnt think that he was just a hypocrite. Ruoxi, how could you say such a thing about me? You are misunderstanding. It isnt my fault that Shi Feng does not know how to be a proper person. Now that Brother Hu is going to teach him how to become one, it would be beneficial to him in the future, Ling Feilong said with a righteous expression as if everything occurring was for Shi Fengs own good. You! Zhao Ruoxi was greatly angered by Ling Feilong. She promptly turned towards Shi Feng, saying, Hurry up and leave. Ill hold him off. This little girl is interesting and very sexy. I like it. Zhou Yuhus eyes started sizing up Zhao Ruoxi, liking very much what he saw. His lips could not help but curl up into an evil grin as his hand stretched to caress Zhao Ruoxis delicate face. He was no longer paying any attention to Shi Feng. However, before his salty pig-hand could touch Zhao Ruoxi, it was slapped away by another.Zhou Yuhu, since you wish to trade notes with me, I can agree. However, just trading notes would not have much meaning to it. How about we spice it up a little, Shi Feng proposed with a calm smile. He took a step forwards, tugging on Zhao Ruoxis jade-like arm and pulling her to a side. Zhao Ruoxi did not react to Shi Fengs actions at all. Until she was dragged behind him, she only then began to look at Shi Fengs average stature in stunning shock.When did Shi Feng become so manly? However, she also felt Shi Feng was very foolish. How could he trade pointers with Zhou Yuhu? Now, Zhou Yuhu would have an excuse to teach Shi Feng a lesson. Zhou Yuhu rubbed the reddened back of his hand, enraged. He glared at Shi Feng, suddenly discovering Shi Fengs current appearance was very calm and stable. It was as if Zhou Yuhu was looking at an entirely different person. Before, Shi Feng would easily be incited and get into fights with others. Now, however, not only was he not aroused, but he was also smiling happily. Was his brain damaged? Ling Feilong was deeply enraged when he saw Shi Fengs stretched arm actually touching Zhao Ruoxi. He could not help but wish he could take action immediately. However, he still held it in. He was prepared to put Shi Feng in his place in the future. Kid, you actually dare to challenge me. Truly interesting. Then Ill wager 1000 Credits. If you win, the 1000 Credits will be yours to keep. If you lose, then kneel and apologize to me, and also, compensate me with 1000 Credits. How about it? Do you dare to agree? Zhou Yuhu furiously smiled. He never thought Shi Fengs brain was truly damaged, daring to even provoke him. Such a petty wager. Arent you embarrassed from saying it out loud? Shi Feng shook his head and snorted in disdain. Your guts sure have grown after not meeting for a few days. Say it then, what kind of wager do you want? Zhou Yuhu was angered into a laugh. He knew Shi Feng was poor, and he could not even afford the 1000 Credits. Now though, he had actually dared to increase the bargaining chip. Was he complaining that he didnt have a quick enough death? It seems his brain was truly wedged between a door. Didnt you win a membership card for the Big Dipper Training Center from the schools fighting competition? Use that as the wager. If I lose, Ill pay ten thousand Credits to you a month later. If you dont have the courage to wager, then forget it. Shi Feng provokingly said. In Shi Fengs previous life, Zhou Yuhu showed off this membership card in front of others. Now, Shi Feng could coincidentally use it to train his body. The Big Dipper Training Center was well known in Jin Hai City. It had a great environment, and its training facilities were very thorough. The average person was not allowed to enter the training center at all, not to mention obtaining a VIP membership there. A normal membership was worth around eight to nine thousand Credits. Even if I wager this card, where would a poor wretch like you find that much money? I wont believe in empty words, Zhou Yuhu laughed coldly. Indeed, it was as Zhou Yuhu had said. Shi Feng had not a penny on him at the moment, not to mention ten thousand Credits. Hence, why he had said he would pay a month later. However, Zhou Yuhu would clearly not believe him. Instead, Zhou Yuhu turned around to mock him. It would seem Shi Fengs plan was going to be dashed this time. Shi Feng, did you think I dont know about your living conditions? You are so poor you cant even afford to have a good meal, yet youre still pretending to be wealthy, Qin Shuyu shot Shi Feng a glance, commenting in disdain.Ill pay the ten thousand Credits, Zhao Ruoxi abruptly said. Ling Feilongs eyes turned crimson when he saw Zhao Ruoxi standing up once again. He couldnt help but wish he could get rid of Shi Feng right this instant. Shi Feng was also shocked. He looked towards Zhao Ruoxi, astonished. He did not understand how Zhao Ruoxi had that much money. He wasnt very clear of Zhao Ruoxis family background, either. Shi Feng only knew that her family was relatively well off. However, Zhao Ruoxi was actually so believing of him, even to the degree of betting her money on him. Shi Feng could not understand why she had done so. To begin with, the relationship between the two of them wasnt that great. Zhao Ruoxi looked at Shi Feng. She knew the reason for Shi Fengs astonishment. However, to not let him misunderstand, she quietly explained, Im only lending you the money because I cant stand Zhou Yuhus arrogant attitude. I think highly of you, so even if you lose, lose with dignity. Thank you. I will definitely return twice the amount to you, Shi Feng gratefully said. This money was very important to him. Now, Zhou Yuhu would definitely agree to the wager. After Shi Feng obtained the membership card, he would be able to regularly train his body. It was better to start training earlier, rather than later. The earlier Shi Feng could train his body, the larger the benefit it would have to his future. Zhao Ruoxi had helped him greatly this time. When he started earning money in Gods Domain, paying Zhao Ruoxi an extra ten thousand would even be considered too little. However, Zhao Ruoxi did not take Shi Fengs words seriously. She only nodded with a smile. She did not think that Shi Feng could return her money, not to mention double the amount. Hahaha! Interesting! Then lets draw out the contract at the fighting arena! Zhou Yuhu licked his lips. He was even more interested in Zhao Ruoxi now. Although his luck in Gods Domain was bad today, his luck in real life was truly good. Not only had he found a good looking girl, but he could also receive ten thousand Credits for teaching Shi Feng a lesson. It truly was a blessing in disguise. Following which, everyone arrived at the fighting arena built by the school. Shi Feng and Zhou Yuhu signed a contract under the supervision of the Central Brain. Contracts acknowledged by the Central Brain were also recognized by the law. There was also a judge at the fighting arena. The judge was normally a teacher in the university who taught students how to fight. The judge also had good skills that would be used to promptly stop the fights to avoid any heavy injuries from occurring. The other students from the class stood below the fighting ring. They laughed at Shi Fengs stupidity. Instead of being an invisible existence like usual, he actually went insane now. Not only did he oppose Ling Feilong, but he also angered Zhou Yuhu, who was even more terrifying. After today, Shi Feng might never live a peaceful life ever again. Qin Shuyu looked above the ring, at the calm and steady Shi Feng. The feeling he gave people was completely different from before. He currently radiated an indescribable sense of security. She even felt Shi Fengs scrawny body had grown larger. Qin Shuyu quickly shook her head, mockingly saying, How strong could a weakling, who doesnt even know a single fighting technique, be? He even dares challenge Brother Hu now. He truly is reckless. 48 An Unequaled Figh None of the students below the ring had refuted Qin Shuyus words. Instead, they felt her words made sense. No matter what was said, Zhou Yuhu was ranked third in the universitys fighting tournament. He was also highly praised by several teachers who taught fighting. They predicted Zhou Yuhu would be able to create a reputation for himself in the upcoming citys fighting tournament, not to mention teaching the weak and scrawny Shi Feng a lesson. It was like using a butchers knife to kill a chicken. Even though he remains unyielding right now, I guess Shi Feng will kneel and beg for mercy in a moment. Does that even need to be mentioned? Why dont you look at who Zhou Yuhu is? My guess is Shi Feng will be lying on the floor within ten seconds. The male students in the class started to laugh as they discussed Shi Fengs end. What is wrong with you people? Is this how you treat a classmate of yours? Zhao Ruoxi asked, looking at her classmates with a furious expression. The students all turned silent. However, their eyes revealed a hint of disdain when they looked at Zhao Ruoxi. One of the gorgeously dressed girls in the class curled her lips in disdain, softly saying, You just have somewhat good looks. If it wasnt for Brother Long, who do you think would listen to your words? The other girls promptly nodded their heads. They were not taking their class monitor seriously at all. Although the female students spoke in soft tones, everyone present could hear them clearly. To the side, Ling Feilong felt invigorated as he enjoyed listening to their words. Zhao Ruoxi turned her head away in a rage, no longer paying attention to these people. Ling Feilong walked over to her and gently said, Ruoxi, I know that you have no choice in this matter as the class monitor. However, Shi Feng is the one finding trouble here, so you cant just blame everyone. Moreover, nobody believes Shi Feng can win with that small body of his. You are literally throwing your money into the ocean. In a moment, Ill talk it over with Brother Hu to not take your money and let Shi Feng pay for everything. Indeed, I am helping Shi Feng because I am the class monitor. However, regarding the matter with the money, I have never thought of asking for it back from him. Zhao Ruoxi glanced at Ling Feilong, coldly saying, On the other hand, youre the one who has taken the recommendation that is rightfully Shi Fengs. Instead of helping Shi Feng now, youre here making cynical remarks. Arent you afraid of people criticizing you behind your back? Also, how can this be considered trading pointers? One is ranked third in the school, while the other is a student who doesnt even know any fighting techniques. Do you not feel any shame when you speak of this? Zhao Ruoxis every word caused Ling Feilong piercing pain. In addition, her elegant and refined complexion gave off an indescribable sense of strength that struck at Ling Feilongs heart. Ling Feilong was speechless as he turned pale from anger. Just as Zhao Ruoxi had said, every class had a fixed number of spots for the recommendation. Only students with results amongst the top twenty in the class were qualified for this recommendation. However, Ling Feilong had managed to obtain the qualifications to participate in the citys fighting competition after much difficulty. If others were to know that he was a university student without a recommendation, it would be an absolute humiliation. The school had previously considered such reputational problems, as well. Hence, they had made it so that the top five contestants of the fighting tournament would receive a recommendation, even if their studies were not good. However, Ling Feilong was only ninth-ranked, so naturally, he could not obtain it. Hence, he had suggested such a matter to the school. Seeing that Ling Feilongs results were in the top thirty of the class, not that far from the twentieth place, the school had decided to agree to his request. However, the condition was someone had to willingly give up their recommendation. As for how he would get someone to give up their spot, that all depended on Ling Feilong himself. Shi Feng was just a weakling. Originally, Ling Feilong had intended to utilize the collective intentions of the class, in addition to his own strength, to easily oppress Shi Feng. Then, after giving Shi Feng some benefits, this matter would be considered over. However, Shi Fengs actions were completely different from what Ling Feilong had imagined they would be. Shi Feng had not taken him seriously in the slightest and had threatened him without hesitation. Now, he was even ridiculed by Zhao Ruoxi. Ling Feilongs heart was currently filled with an inextinguishable wrath. Correct, this isnt an equal fight. However, can Shi Feng blame others for being weak himself? Who was the one who agreed to this competition? Surely you cant blame me for this. Ling Feilong looked at Zhao Ruoxi with blood-red eyes. If Zhao Ruoxi did not have a beautiful appearance and attractive body, he would have long since sent a slap flying over. However, he endured it. Using force was definitely not a smart move. Moreover, Zhao Ruoxis family background was not simple at all. If he caused an incident now, his entire life would be over. Also, when Ling Feilong thought about how he could toy with Zhao Ruoxi in the future, the rage in his heart calmed down slightly. Brat, after making me take such a loss, just you wait and see, Ling Feilong glared at Shi Feng, silently swearing. Above, in the fighting ring, Shi Feng only smiled in disdain when he felt the hostility coming from Ling Feilong. However, he had to agree to one of Ling Feilongs words. This was indeed an uneven fight. In Shi Fengs previous life, although his physique was not comparable to those first-rate fighters, he could still beat them into submission. The thing he relied on to win was the life or death battles in Gods Domain. What was a hundred-battle hero? After living through a hundred wars, it would be hard not to become an expert hero. It was the same with many martial artists. Their training usually involved pushing themselves to the edge, using the feeling of having their lives hanging by a thread to train and improve themselves. However, such a method was too dangerous. The average person would definitely not do such a thing. It was extremely easy to go overboard and lose their lives. After Shi Feng went through extremely realistic life or death battles, the increase to his battle experience and techniques rapidly grew. His skills in battle even exceeded the national fighting competitions standards by several levels. In ten years time, any reputable melee player in Gods Domain could easily defeat the current fighting champion of Jin Hai City, not to mention Shi Feng, who was once the Captain of Shadow. In Shi Fengs eyes, the universitys fighting tournament was just like children playing house. Moreover, regarding physique, his current body exceeded his body ten years later. Fighting would not be a problem, even if he had to face up to five or six Ling Feilongs. Brat, you sure are carefree to be looking around. Watch how Ill fix you up! Zhou Yuhu said, rushing at Shi Feng. He immediately sent a slap towards Shi Fengs face, intending to humiliate him first. Naturally, Shi Feng could easily see through such an action. However, Shi Feng stood unmoving even though he was facing off against someone much stronger than he was. Shi Feng sent out a casual punch towards Zhou Yuhus face, completely ignoring Zhou Yuhus slap. Zhou Yuhu never imagined that Shi Fengs fist would have such precision, aiming directly at his face. Instinctively, Zhou Yuhu had used his hands to block off this fist. Shi Fengs lips curled upwards when he saw Zhou Yuhus actions. With lightning speed, Shi Fengs hand chopped towards Zhou Yuhus neck. Zhou Yuhu failed to react in time as he received a chop to his neck. With the precision of a surgery blade, Shi Fengs hand hacked at a major artery in Zhou Yuhus neck. Suddenly, Zhou Yuhu felt his vision blurring. There was a sense of suffocating as Zhou Yuhu felt all his strength leaving his body. Shi Feng did not give Zhou Yuhu time to catch his breath. Immediately, he sent another punch flying towards the side of Zhou Yuhus abdomen. Zhou Yuhu wanted to block the attack, but his body refused to listen to his thoughts. He could only feel a stabbing pain in his intestines as a stream of yellowish liquid shot out from his mouth. Zhou Yuhus vision became a blur. He could not cry out, even if he wanted to. Zhou Yuhus body instinctively wished to fall, but Shi Feng did not give him such a chance. Fist after fist landed on Zhou Yuhus abdomen, followed by a few more landing on his ribs. After receiving a series of consecutive punches, the acidic juices in Zhou Yuhus stomach had been completely drained out of his mouth. Then, his body fell to the ground like a dead dog. The entire arena suddenly became silent. Everything had happened all too quickly. It was so quick that not one person had even reacted. Only after Zhou Yuhu was laying on the ground, did the judge of the match finally react. Immediately, he declared the end of the fight and Shi Feng, the winner of it. At the same time, he hurriedly ran over to Zhou Yuhus side to check on him. The judge truly could not imagine it. Zhou Yuhu, the third-ranking student in the universitys fighting competition, was not even a match for such a weak-looking youth. By no means was Zhou Yuhu too weak. Instead, the weak-looking youth was just too strong. After watching several of Zhou Yuhus matches, the judge knew that he was very strong. At the very least, it would not be easy for the judge to deal with him. After looking at Zhou Yuhus injuries, the judge was dumbfounded. Shi Fengs techniques were just too horrifying. Every one of his moves was perfectly measured, breaking only two to three of Zhou Yuhus ribs but not heavily injuring him. Zhou Yuhu only needed more than a months time for his chest to heal up. 49 A New Ligh Seeing Zhou Yuhu unmoving on the ground, it was clear he had lost consciousness. The teacher then reported that Zhou Yuhu had no major injuries, and he would wake up in a moment. However, his injuries still needed to be tended to; also, he had to rest for more than a month. As for the citys fighting competition that would be held in three weeks, Zhou Yuhu could forget about joining. Everyones sights shifted toward Shi Feng. They looked at his thin and weak body, sucking in a cold breath when they recalled the explosive and terrifying strength it was capable of displaying. When they thought about the words they said to Shi Feng before, cold sweat started pouring out from their backs without stop. Currently, the expression in the male students eyes as they looked at Shi Feng had completely changed. There was no longer any ridicule or contempt contained within them. Instead, there was a deep fear. The third-ranking student in the school was actually defeated in a single exchange. Who else could become Shi Fengs opponent? If Shi Feng wished to take care of them, the consequences they would face would be unimaginable. On the other hand, they had actually dared to gift Shi Fengs recommendation to Ling Feilong. Thinking up to this point, the hearts of the hot-blooded warriors from before started to beat madly. Under the Central Brains witness, Shi Feng received the membership card for the Big Dipper Training Center and ten thousand Credits. Following which, he circled a glance at the people below the ring. When a few of the less courageous male students were met with Shi Fengs deep and profound eyes, their legs suddenly turned weak as they lost consciousness, foam appearing at their mouths. Teacher, not good. Little Liu has fainted. Before this sentence could finish being said, another male student lay flat on the ground Meanwhile, the male students that remained standing started becoming scared in their hearts. Shi Feng was just too terrifying. He actually shocked two male students into unconsciousness just by looking them in the eye. However, they were also envious of the two that lost consciousness. If they had fainted over, they wouldnt have to bear such a pressure right now. Currently, the air surrounding them was still, as if frozen. Breathing was starting to become a difficulty for them, and even their limbs felt heavy as if they were filled with lead. As for the female students in the class, they were all dumbfounded. Their heads quickly lowered when they saw Shi Feng looking over. They felt uncomfortable throughout their bodies as if they were frightened rabbits that were being stared at by a big gray wolf. Qin Shuyus delicate mouth widened. She rubbed her eyes, verifying what she saw over and over. Only then did she understand that Zhou Yuhu was struck unconscious by Shi Feng. Shi Feng was just too powerful. Why had she never discovered so before? If she could be with a man such as this, her sense of security would be off the charts. Just thinking about it had made her happy. As for money, that would not be a problem. Just based on his strength alone, Shi Feng could definitely get into the citys fighting tournament. Entering into the top ten would also not be a problem. When that time came, there would definitely be many requests for him to become a celebrity spokesperson. When Qin Shuyu saw that Shi Feng was looking over, she slightly tidied up her clothes and hair, appearing neat and moving. She also revealed deep cleavage, feebly saying, Brother Feng, its noon already. I know a good restaurant that has a great environment and good tasting food. Ill treat you; so, lets go there and have a try. However, Shi Feng did not pay Qin Shuyu any attention. Instead, he was looking for Zhao Ruoxi. When he found Zhao Ruoxi, he immediately walked over, completely ignoring Qin Shuyu. Seeing Shi Fengs cold and indifferent eyes, Qin Shuyu suddenly felt she had lost something very important. It was as if a knife stabbing at her heart. She regretted being blind and foolish when she was in high school. Class monitor, heres your ten thousand Credits. Ill repay the remaining ten thousand Credits as fast as I can. Shi Feng handed the money over, speaking with a calm smile. However, Zhao Ruoxi would not receive it. She blinked her attractive eyes as she looked at Shi Feng as if she was looking at an exotic animal. There was both shock and joy contained within them. Are you really Shi Feng? Zhao Ruoxi asked in a quiet and uncertain tone. Throughout Zhao Ruoxis four years in university, her impression of Shi Feng was one of an introvert. He was often bullied by others. He also appeared very prideful, never receiving help from others. He was like an injured little wolf, licking his own wounds, alone. She had never imagined Shi Fengs actions today would have such a great difference from before. She now viewed Shi Feng in a completely new light. Shi Feng had turned from being a little wolf into a slumbering dragon; he was unassuming when slumbering, but amazing when he took action. Even Zhao Yuhu, the third-ranking student in the entire university, was no match for him. If he had entered the schools fighting tournament, he might have already become the champion by now. Of course I am Shi Feng. Class monitor, why would you ask such a question? Could it be that I am just too handsome and different from my previous appearance? Shi Feng joked. He naturally understood Zhao Ruoxis thoughts. He had attracted too much attention today. However, even Shi Feng himself did not wish for such a situation to occur. The developments up to this point were all unintentional. Tch, dont get cocky. You are just barely able to enter my eyes. Zhao Ruoxi immediately snatched the money from Shi Feng, her fair and delicate face revealing a calm smile. As if she had thought of something, she quietly said, The Fellowship Party hosted by the university is in ten days. There will also be the upper echelons of well-known corporations in Jin Hai City attending the party. Arent you trying to find a profitable career? This is a good chance, so you should consider attending. The moment Zhao Ruoxi finished speaking, she thought of Shi Fengs financial situation. He definitely did not have the money to attend the party. Hence, she quietly said, As for the fee required to participate in the Fellowship Party, I can pay it for you. Shi Feng gave Zhao Ruoxis words some thought. The Fellowship Party hosted by Jin Hai University annually was a big event, and _that person_ might even participate in this party. Hence, Shi Feng nodded his head in agreement, saying, Thank you, class monitor. Ill go. As for the participation fee, Ill pay that myself. Zhao Ruoxi was slightly glad when she heard Shi Feng agreeing to go. However, there was an indescribable sense of disappointment when she heard Shi Feng saying that he would pay the participation fee on his own. The conversation between the two was also heard by everyone else. However, everyone doubted their hearing when they heard their class monitor, Zhao Ruoxi, actively invite Shi Feng to the Fellowship Party. She was even willing to pay for his participation fee. Zhao Ruoxi was a truly beautiful woman; only, she normally made no efforts to enhance her looks with makeup. Her clothing was also very common. However, it was still unable to mask her elegant and refined face and exquisite body. As long as she dressed herself up somewhat, even the schools top beauty might not be her match. Hence, there were quite a few rich and influential men who tried pursuing Zhao Ruoxi. However, every one of them was rejected. Ling Feilong was the only one who had managed to shorten the distance between them after much difficulty. However, it was only to the degree of getting Zhao Ruoxi to treat him somewhat better. Zhao Ruoxis pridefulness was clear to behold. Now, however, Zhao Ruoxi had actively invited Shi Feng. It was an absolutely jaw-dropping scene. With such a beauty inviting them, who could refuse? However, Shi Feng had tactfully rejected Zhao Ruoxis kind intentions. By the side, the wrathful flame in Ling Feilongs heart burned madly as he listened in on the twos conversation. Shi Feng, one must properly know ones own worth. There will be many great figures of Jin Hai City attending the Fellowship Party. Just based on the clothes you are wearing, the security might even chase you away. At that time, youll embarrass everyone in our class, Ling Feilong mockingly said. You dont have to worry about this point, fellow student Ling Feilong. Shi Feng turned to look at Ling Feilong. He pointed towards the ring, a cold glint flashing past his eyes as he coldly said, On the contrary, didnt you say you wanted to teach me how to become a proper person before? This place is the fighting arena; so why dont we exchange some pointers. Teach me how to become a proper person. Shi Feng you dont get ahead of yourself. I am only following the suggestion of the entire class, Ling Feilong stuttered as he looked at Shi Feng with hesitant eyes. He suddenly felt chills throughout his body, inadvertently retreating a step back. Having him exchange pointers with Shi Feng was just digging his own grave. For those who have never participated in a fighting competition, they would not be able to know the true meaning and horror of the exchange between Shi Feng and Zhou Yuhu. Zhou Yuhu was very powerful, and even Ling Feilong himself knew he was definitely not a match to Zhou Yuhu. However, Zhou Yuhu was still dispatched by Shi Feng within a moment. This fight could not even be considered a proper fight. It was just a one-sided play. The suggestion of the entire class? Shi Feng swept a glance towards his classmates standing to the side, coldly saying, What were your suggestions? Naturally, everyone would not stand on Ling Feilongs side. Even an idiot could tell how afraid Ling Feilong was of Shi Feng. Fine, I admit defeat. It was I who was blind. You tell me whats to be done. Ling Feilong looked above the ring at the unconscious Zhou Yuhu, gritting his teeth while saying. If he were to come into conflict with Shi Feng right now, he would not have any chance of resisting. He also did not believe that Shi Feng would show mercy. If he had continued offending Shi Feng, he would definitely be laying on a hospital bed for at least a month. When that time came, he would not be able to even participate in the citys fighting tournament, and such a loss was not something he was willing to bear. The five thousand Credits voucher for the Big Dipper Training Center awarded by the school, Shi Feng demanded. The Big Dipper had the best nutritionist in Jin Hai City. With this voucher, Shi Feng could replenish the nutrients required by his body and quickly improve his physique. Ling Feilong was extremely unwilling to give away the Big Dipper voucher. This was an item that could not be bought outside, even with ten thousand Credits After receiving the voucher, Shi Feng left the fighting arena. Shi Feng started training his body immediately after returning to his rented apartment. After tiring himself out, he looked for information related to Gods Domain and Jin Hai City on the internet. He was making ample preparations for his future development plan. It was especially true for the Fellowship Party this time around. He had to prepare sufficient information before the Fellowship started. Otherwise, it would be too hard to carry out his plan. When noon came, Shi Feng ate his lunch and lay on the bed. He wore his Virtual Gaming Helmet, starting his second day in Gods Domain. 50 The Popular Garrison Armor Dark clouds hovered over the skies of Red Leaf Town, surrounding the full moon that hung in midair. On the streets, magic lamps brightly lit up the town. Shi Feng had just logged in. It was still nighttime in Gods Domain. A majority of the players were currently in the Trade Area, making the place very crowded. There were only a scant few experts who would hunt for monsters to level up at this time of day. During the daytime, the street of the Trade Area was desolate. However, that street had currently turned into a bazaar, bustling with noise and excitement. Players could be seen setting up stalls throughout the wide cobblestone street, and above their white sheets of cloth were some items required by Auxiliary Jobs and also a few pieces of Common Equipment. Buyers and sellers were bargaining with each other, and some faces eve turned crimson over one or two Coppers. System: The Garrison Armor you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 5 Silvers 31 Coppers has been added to your inventory. System: The Garrison Armor you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 5 Silvers 67 Coppers has been added to your inventory. System: The Garrison Armor you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 5 Silvers 98 Coppers has been added to your inventory. Before Shi Feng had taken a step forward, a series of Auction House notifications from the System entered his ears. Shi Feng casually selected the System Notifications to appear, immediately becoming shocked. The Garrison Armors value had totally exceeded Shi Fengs estimates. Originally, Shi Feng intended to have it sold for, more or less, 5 Silvers. In reality, however, due to the competition in price growing fiercer, the Garrison Armor reached a maximum price of 6 Silvers 42 Coppers. The eleven Garrison Armors sold for a total of over 67 Silver Coins. The amount immediately turned Shi Feng into the owner of a Gold Coin. He had become a Gold-a-naire. At the current phase of the game, the purchasing power of a single Silver Coin was astonishing. For a second-rate Guild, their circulating funds would only amount to sixty or seventy Silver Coins. To properly develop their normal members during the initial periods of the game, the Guilds were unable to stock up on too many Copper Coins. Such an action would only hamper the Guilds future development. As for first-rate Guilds, their circulating funds might only be around one Gold Coin. However, these funds would seem insignificant when it was used on tens or hundreds of people. Now, Shi Feng was a true tycoon. After a day of battle, a majority of the players were currently returning to Town with their spoils of war. These players carried a lot of materials on their persons, and naturally, Shi Feng would not let this chance get away. Shi Feng casually chose a location with few people, setting his white cloth on the ground and starting up his stall to purchase materials. The highest leveled player right now should be at Level 4, whereas the average player was still at Level 2 and expert players at Level 3. Hence, the materials they sold varied greatly; there were high ranking goods, and there were also common goods. The current prices for high ranking materials were very expensive, so Shi Feng would naturally not buy them. Shi Feng relied solely on himself to make the Garrison Armor, so the money he could earn was limited. However, Shi Feng was just selling these pieces of equipment to accumulate some funds. Only when he had the funds could he earn more money. Buying Magic Essence, 6 Coppers a stack; Stones, 10 Coppers a stack. Also buying Hard Stones, 23 Coppers a stack, Shi Feng shouted. After hearing Shi Fengs words, the players on the street crowded around him, one after another. Boss, I have 10 stacks of Stones. How many stacks do you want? I have 6 stacks of Magic Essence; do you want all of them? I have a stack of Hard Stones. After grinding in the wild for an entire day, Magic Essences and Stones had become materials that polluted the street. Normally, players would sell these materials to NPCs or save them up for practicing their own Auxiliary Jobs. However, materials such as Hard Stones were very rare. They were usually found in Level 3 areas, only being dropped by Kobolds or Little Rock Monsters. There were twenty pieces of Hard Stones in a stack, and they were worth 20 Coppers when sold to NPCs. Hard Stones were used in forging; however, it was quite luxurious to use them at this stage of the game. Guilds very rarely purchased Hard Stones, so their prices were not very high. However, they would have a great purpose once players reached Level 7. There were many special monsters in the Level 7 monster areas, and it was extremely taxing on the durability of a weapon to fight against these monsters. A weapon would break when its durability reached zero. Once a weapon was broken, the chance of successfully repairing it was only around 20%. If failed, it would turn into scrap. Meanwhile, Hard Stones could be used to make Whetstones. When used on a weapon, it could temporarily increase its damage. More importantly, it could recover a weapons durability by 5 to 10 points. With the Whetstone, players did not have to return to town just to repair their weapons, saving them a lot of time and also increasing their monster grinding efficiency. In Shi Fengs previous life, Hard Stones were sold with extreme popularity. The price of Whetstones increased with even greater speed, allowing many forgers to make a hefty profit. To quickly increase their levels and gain an advantage, Shadow Guild had also been butchered by those sharks. They could only grit their teeth as they bought the Whetstones. In this life, it was Shi Fengs turn to make a huge profit. He was going to stock up these Hard Stones in advance. After purchasing materials for over an hour, Shi Feng had a total of eighty stacks of Magic Essence and 120 stacks of Stones. As for Hard Stones, Shi Feng had only collected 12 stacks of them a very small amount. Shi Fengs bag was quickly filled. He had no choice but to make a trip to the Banks warehouse to store all these items. The Banks warehouse had a fixed space of 500 slots. Expanding the warehouses space for the first time would give an additional 500 slots at the cost of 20 Coppers. The second time was 1000 slots for 50 Coppers. Afterward, every 1000 slots would cost 1 Silver Coin, and every additional thousand slots would result in a management fee of 10 Copper Coins per week. Currently, such an amount of money was nothing to Shi Feng. Immediately, Shi Feng expanded three thousand slots, and in the future, he would have to pay a processing fee of 30 Coppers every week. After storing all the materials, Shi Feng ran towards the Auction House. The Auction House linked together all the small Towns under the influence of White River City. Although there were few people who sold common materials here, there would surely still be some people who sold Hard Stones. Only, the prices they set were slightly higher. However, players would have no choice but to buy Whetstones for their weapons when they reached Level 7. So, Shi Feng wasnt concerned about the loss of money. After arriving at the Auction House, Shi Feng discovered a very peculiar situation. There were quite a lot of logistics members of Guilds present at the Auction House. Each and every one of them were standing guard at the Auction House, and it was a wonder what they were actually waiting for. Shi Feng randomly chose a place to sit down, calling out the operating panel of the Auction House. Just when Shi Feng was searching for Hard Stones, he heard a few logistics members of Guilds complaining to each other. How long more do we have to wait?! Why is that Garrison Armor still not showing up?! Let me buy it so I can report back! Youve only waited for three hours. Ive already been waiting here for more than ten hours. You havent seen the intensity of the competition for the Garrison Armor. Ive heard, because of this Garrison Armor, there were quite a few Guilds who were able to kill many wild Special Elites, reaping astonishing gains. There was even a Guild that managed to obtain quite a few pieces of equipment and skill books, thanks to the Garrison Armor. So, everyone is here to fight over it. Unfortunately, the remaining few pieces of Garrison Armor have all been bought. Exactly! Our Guild is currently regretting it dearly. If we had known how greatly we would fall behind to those Guilds, we would have bought the Garrison Armor, even if we had to pay 7 Silver Coins for one. Now, the higher-ups have already given the order. As long as the Garrison Armor appears, we definitely must buy it! During the discussion held by the logistic members, Shi Feng was also surprised by the speed of the Garrison Armor achieving his desired effect. Hence, Shi Feng took out the remaining seven Garrison Armor that possessed Defensive Power. He stealthily placed them on auction, setting the base price for each piece at 8 Silver Coins; 2 Silver Coins higher than his original estimation. However, these Guilds should be able to accept such a price. As for the best Garrison Heavy Armor, Shi Feng would only sell it after a period of time has passed. He would first let these Guilds slowly digest the current Garrison Armor. After placing the equipment on Auction, Shi Feng started searching for Hard Stones. Shi Feng wondered if there were many players who had auctioned them off. 51 Competition at the Auction House Shi Feng called out the Search Panel, immediately entering the words ''Hard Stone. Suddenly, rows of information appeared on the semi-transparent screen. In a single glance, Shi Feng could see over a hundred stacks of Hard Stones being sold. There were many players selling them. When Shi Feng saw a stack of Hard Stones selling for 1 Gold Coin, he felt such a player must have been driven insane by poverty. Immediately, Shi Feng filtered the display to show prices from lowest to highest. After adjusting the display, the cheapest stack of Hard Stones still cost 26 Coppers. After deducting the processing fees of the Auction House, players could still receive 25 Coppers. As expected, the prices were a lot higher than normal. However, Shi Feng still had to buy them. He could afford them as long as the price was below 30 Coppers. Suddenly, the number of Hard Stones available on the Auction House had been reduced by a large half. The remaining ones were all selling for 30 Coppers and above, and there was no spendthrift who would buy them. After looking at Hard Stones, Shi Feng casually took at the miscellaneous section. Shi Fengs eyes abruptly shone. There were actually Card Sets. Moreover, there was a large number of them. There was some chance for monsters to drop these Card Sets; however, the drop rate for it was extremely low. There was not even a ten thousand to one chance for one to drop. Monsters below Level 10 were able to drop twelve Card Sets, and they were divided into two ranks: Bronze Rank and Mysterious-Iron Rank. Warriors had Steel, Crusaders, and Insanity. Weapons Specialists had Chaos, Vengeance, and Hurricane. Healers had Divine, Nature, and Noble. Mages had Element, Fool, and Demon. These twelve Card Sets each represented the twelve different Jobs. Every set had nine cards in them, and each card had a number behind them. As long as a player could gather a complete set, they could exchange it for a piece of Set Equipment for the respective Job. Back in those days, a majority of the players did not know what these Card Sets were for. Moreover, there was no introduction for these Card Sets. Players, at that time, simply kept these Card Sets in their bags or sold them at the Auction House. Only when the Normal Mode of the fifty-man Level 10 Dungeon near the city was cleared, did these players discovered there was actually an NPC that would trade for these Card Sets. Depending on the rank of the Card Sets, they could be traded for either Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. These Set Equipment were absolutely marvelous. A Bronze Set of Equipment could rival an entire regular set of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, whereas a Mysterious-Iron Set of Equipment could rival an entire regular set of Secret-Silver Equipment. So, these Card Sets that nobody cared about before suddenly turned ragingly popular overnight. Every card was sold at an astronomical price. Even so, many Guilds were still frantic over them, constantly purchasing them. Meanwhile, there were hundreds of Card Sets currently displayed in front of Shi Feng, yet there was actually nobody who wanted them. Each card was being sold at no more than 5 Coppers, and even the maximum was 7 Coppers. Shi Feng bought them clean without hesitation. Shi Feng did not think much of the cost. Whats more, they would not increase in value even, if he had left them in his bag. Using the money to grow money, now that was the way of the king. After Shi Feng was finished with collecting Hard Stones and Card Sets, he was left with no more than 14 Silver Coins. Following which, Shi Feng searched for skill books through the Search Panel. To determine a players strength in Gods Domain, other than looking at their equipment, the number of skills they had learned was another factor. If a player possessed many skills, they could have a large variety of attack patterns to use in battle. An expert Swordsman could usually utilize more than twenty skills in battle, whereas first-rate experts could use more than forty skills in battle. As for the top-tier experts, they did not need to be mentioned. Shi Feng was a first-rate expert, yet, he possessed less than ten skills. His condition was truly pathetic However, there were very few skill books currently being sold. Under normal circumstances, players would usually use skill books on themselves or trade them for a skill they were able to use. Shi Feng went through more than ten pages in one go. As long as he saw a skill usable by Swordsmen, he immediately bought them. When Shi Feng arrived at the final page, his mind turned blank. Are you kidding me? Even [Defensive Blade] is being sold? Shi Feng went wild with joy. The Defensive Blade was a Swordsmans powerhouse skill. It was also a sure-kill skill when dealing with Mages. However, the skill also had a damnable drop rate. Even in his previous life, Shi Feng only managed to get his hands on the skill after he was well over Level 40. Shi Feng truly did not imagine he would be able to see it now. Although the selling price was slightly high, 6 Silvers was still acceptable to Shi Feng. Shi Feng immediately placed a bid of 7 Silver Coins, not wanting to waste too much time. Very quickly, Shi Feng bought the skill for 7 Silver Coins. With the current purchasing power of 7 Silver Coins, Shi Feng could buy five to six Basic skill books. However, Shi Feng spent them all on Defensive Blade without batting an eyelid. In addition to buying the Rare Skill, Defensive Blade, Shi Feng also purchased three Common Skills: Observing Eyes, Windwalk, and Earth Splitter. On another note, while Shi Feng was joyous over his purchase, the situation at the Auction House started turning frantic. The logistic members of the various Guilds were all crimson to their ears, their rage soaring to the skies. Crap, 9 Silver Coins still isnt enough to get this equipment?! Which rich Guild is it that bade 10 Silver Coins? You animals, why dont you take a look at my side? Someones already bid 10 Silvers and 65 coppers. These people are absolutely insane. Ive only brought 10 Silver Coins with me. What should I do now that I cant complete my task? Abominable! Theyre hiding their names and placing only these few pieces of equipment on auction; how can I even snatch one?! These people were the logistics members of unrated Guilds. They were on the brink of insanity when they saw the larger Guilds bid, each higher than the other. The most abominable person, however, was the creator of the equipment. Every time, this person only auctioned a few pieces of equipment. Previously, the competition over the equipment was already sufficiently intense. However, the Garrison Armor being auctioned right now had even better Attributes, and their numbers were even less. The money they brought along to bid was absolutely insufficient; so how were they going to fight for the equipment? It cant be, right? Are there that many tycoons? Someone actually bid 11 Silvers. Shi Fengs joy reached the tips of his brows when he looked at how the Garrison Armors price continuously increased. Within moments, the money he spent before had all been recovered, to the extent that it was more than before. Suddenly, Shi Feng thought of the Defensive Blade. The average player definitely had no chance of obtaining such a rare skill for Swordsmen, whereas Guilds would not sell it, even if they obtained it. The skill must have been sold by a certain Guild to collect funds to buy the Garrison Armor. Its just that their actions once again benefited Shi Feng. Within moments, all seven Garrison Armors had their prices increased past 11 Silvers. Such a price shocked even Shi Feng, himself. Where did so many powerful Guilds suddenly come from? With the financial resources of such Guilds, they ought to not spend that much money on a piece of Bronze Equipment. However, what Shi Feng did not know was, after he had placed the Garrison Armors on auction, the logistics members of various large Guilds reported the situation back to their Guild Leaders. Previously, these Guild Leaders saw the MT of other Guilds tanking Special Elites with the Garrison Armor. These MTs were able to allow the other players to attack the Special Elites with ease, obtaining various skill books and Bronze Equipment, Mysterious-Iron Equipment even. At such a sight, the eyes of these Guild Leaders had long since turned red with envy. Unfortunately, they had no solutions to this matter. They wished to let the Lifestyle players of their own respective Guilds forge this equipment, yet they did not have the Forging Design for it. They also wished to contact the player who had forged these Garrison Armors, yet this player had hidden his name, preventing any means of contact. Their only choice was to watch on, helplessly. Now, however, the Garrison Armor, this time, even possessed Defensive Power. They definitely must buy it. Hence, these Guilds started gathering funds immediately. Do you hear me; you definitely must get it! Immediately bid 13 Silver Coins! I want to see who else dares to bid. What? Is it already at 13 Silvers? Bid 13 Silvers 50 Coppers. I dont believe there is a Guild that is wealthier than us. There were over a hundred Towns under the influence of White River City, and there were hundreds of Guilds continuously bidding for the Garrison Armor. After half an hour, all seven Garrison Armors were auctioned off, with the lowest being sold at 14 Silvers 60 Coppers. Shi Feng earned more than one Gold Coin in an instant. Seeing how fervent these people were, Shi Feng took the chance to place the Garrison Heavy Armor on auction, setting its starting price at 16 Silver Coins. Following which, Shi Feng left the Auction House. It was still night, and there was about half an hour before sunrise. It was very unwise to go out and level right now, so Shi Feng went to the library in Red Leaf Town first. He wanted to have a better understanding of the diary, which contained elvish words, he obtained from the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. He might even obtain a new find. 52 Holy Sister The journey to Red Leaf Town''s Library was very dangerous. If a normal player went there, there was a 30% chance for that person to die once. As for the remaining seventy percent, he would die many times. Hence, before heading to the Library, Shi Feng stored all the Hard Stones and the Philosopher''s Stone into the Bank. The Philosopher''s Stone would drop after death. If Shi Feng had unexpectedly died on the way to the Library, then it would be a major loss. Following which, Shi Feng took out the four skill books he bought previously and chose to learn them. [Observing Eyes] Able to see clearly unknown and concealed targets. There is a fixed chance to detect targets weak point. Cooldown: 40 seconds [Windwalk] The user is wrapped in wind; Movement Speed increased by 30%. There is a 50% chance to avoid damage from ranged attacks. Duration of 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Earth Splitter] Requires: Sword Causes 30 base damage to target after use, and based on the period of charging power between 0.2 seconds to 3 seconds, a maximum of 300% weapon damage can be increased. Attack range of 8 yards. Cooldown: 1 minute [Defensive Blade] Requires: Sword Normal attacks range increased by 10 yards after use. Able to block up to a maximum of 6 ranged attacks or 3 melee attacks. Duration of 25 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes. With these new skills, Shi Fengs survivability and attack potential greatly increased; thus, the danger of him going to the Library was no longer great. Red Leaf Towns Library was distanced far from the Trade Area. It was located in Red Leaf Towns Slums. The Slums were the second most popular location after the Trade Area. There were all sorts of people there, and it was a place where crooks mixed with the honest folk. It was also the favorite visiting location of some players, and this was due to the Slums alternative name... Paradise of the Fallen! The moment Shi Feng entered the domain of this paradise, from the corners of the street, he discovered eyes filled with greed directed at him. These were the rats hidden in the darkness, the ones unaccepted by the light, and the wanderers of hells boundaries. There was bound to be a portion of players in Gods Domain that was different from ordinary person. They were neither interested in conquering Dungeons, nor were they interested in the excitement that came from adventuring and risking ones self. The only thing these players were interested in, was banditry. They would kill other players and plunder their equipment; then, they would sell it to others for a high price, making a bountiful amount of money. During daytime, these players would hunt for and plunder the players with good equipment. At night, they would return to the Slums to dispose of their stolen goods then party with the money they just earned. They would brag about their harvest to display their own strength, using the chance to elevate their position in the Slums. Ordinary players would never set foot in this place. If they did not possess sufficient strength, the only result would be a return via death. The reason being this location was not protected by the Guards. hi Feng simply glanced at the players hidden at the corners of the street. He discovered the indicators for all of these players were colored red. It was clear to see that they had done many kill-and-plunder deeds... Within Gods Domain, Red Players were not allowed to enter guarded areas. The equipment drop rate upon death for these players were also increased, and the penalty for death may be increased up to a maximum of 300%. Moreover, they would be apprehended and jailed by the Guards if they were to enter guarded areas, and the duration they were jailed depended on their Crime Value. However, even with all these disadvantages, there were still many players who had chosen to go down this path. After all, the rewards came very quickly this way. Red Players also had a place they could stay in Red Leaf Town. For example, the Slums. Moreover, if one wished to receive a good Quest in the Slums, one had to be a Yellow Player or even a Red Player. Regarding these players who lived on the edge of a knife, Shi Feng paid no attention to them. He immediately headed towards the main road of the Slums. On both sides of the street, there were quite a few flirty ladies dressed in revealing clothes. When they noticed the clothing Shi Feng was dressed in, they started flinging coquettish glances at his direction. They wanted to spend a pleasant night with Shi Feng, earning some Coin along the way. Little brother, are you here for some fun? Come over here to big sister. Big sister guarantees that you will have a pleasant night, an alluring lady dressed in vibrant red leather clothing blocked Shi Fengs way. Shi Feng immediately used Observing Eyes. [Sharlyn] (Elite Rank) Level 8 HP 1200/1200 Hahaha, Sharlyn, youre trying to sneak a bite again. How can you not invite us to such a happy occasion, a group of robust and fiendish men walked over, each of them carrying a cold grin on their faces. Is this a robbery? Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, calmly asking. He discovered himself already surrounded by NPCs. There were also a few Red Players by the corner of a broken house, sneers on their faces. In Gods Domain, it was very common for players to be robbed by NPCs. Moreover, it was also not Shi Fengs first time being robbed by NPCs. The incident that left the deepest impression on him was when he was at Creation Mountain Range. It was there that he was robbed by an NPC Warlord. At that time, Shi Feng could only helplessly pay out a road toll. Currently, before him, there was a Level 8 Elite NPC in addition to a group of Level 7 Common NPCs. It was a scene very commonly to the Slums, but Shi Feng had nobody to blame but himself for coming to this place. Brat, since you look like an upright person, we wont trouble you too much. Hand out 5 Silver Coins, and well let you pass. Otherwise, well personally take action, a scarred man said with a sneer. Then come over here and get it, Shi Feng sneered as he pulled out the Abyssal Blade. If you were to pay the road toll, then congratulations. Not only would you lose your money, but you also had to lose your life. You would lose at least a piece of equipment that was on your person. This was the reason why normal players had a 30% percent chance of dying once in the Slums. If you wanted these NPCs that wandered the boundaries of darkness to uphold their promise, there was definitely something broken with your brain. Sharlyns attractive face revealed a trace of malevolence. Brat, you are courting death! a Level 7 blade-wielding man rushed at Shi Feng. Shi Feng stabbed the Abyssal Blade towards the man without hesitation. Double Chop, Chop, Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter Sword slash after sword slash pierced through the mans neck and heart. With a body fully geared with Bronze Equipment, combined with the Abyssal Blades Attack Power, Shi Fengs attacks had immediately reduced the mans 750 HP down to zero. Still want to continue? Shi Feng glanced at the surrounding NPCs, sneering. The NPCs were all shocked by Shi Feng. They all parted and gave way to Shi Feng, one after another. Meanwhile, the players hiding in a corner were also shocked. Shi Feng had killed off a Level 7 NPC in just a few moves. This player was just too strong! Naturally, these players would not find trouble with a player whom they knew was strong. In the Slums, strength was everything. Stealthily, these players left the scene of the incident. Only Sharlyn stayed behind with an interested expression. Little brother, you are really powerful. Youve made big sister truly admire you. I wonder where you are headed? Big sister can guide you there and save you a lot of trouble, whereas you only have to pay a very small price, Sharlyn walked towards Shi Feng, offering with a calm smile. No need to trouble yourself. Im familiar with the way to the Library, Shi Feng did not wish to get entangled with these NPCs. He only wished to search for clues regarding the Elven diary. Sharlyn smiled with even more joy when she heard Shi Feng decline. I am the Librarian, Sharlyn. You can ask me matters regarding the Library. There is no one more familiar with it than myself, Sharlyn puffed out her prided twin peaks, smiling sweetly. Isnt Red Leaf Towns Librarian a Holy Sister? Shi Feng did not believe her. Oh? Are you talking about this? Sharlyn took out a set of nuns clothing and changed into it within an instant. Suddenly, her wild demeanor completely vanished. She was like an angel that had descended to the world, incomparably divine. Her presence made others desire repentance before her. At the same time, the information that Sharlyn displayed had changed. [Holy Sister Sharlyn] (Divine Official) Level 20 HP 10,000/10,000 Shi Feng was also shocked. What kind of situation was this? Even NPCs had a side job? 53 Darkness Descends Shi Feng was still slightly unable to accept Sharlyns makeover. However, Shi Feng could be considered lucky for being able to meet the rumored Librarian. According to the information he knew, the Librarian of Red Leaf Town was full of mystery her whereabouts unknown. Shi Feng never imagined the Librarian to be the female NPC who participated in a robbery against him. If Shi Feng had truly started a fight with Sharlyn just now, the consequences would be unimaginable. What did playing the pig to eat the tiger mean? Sharlyn was definitely a veteran in this field. Divine Official was the Tier 3 Job Advancement for an Oracle. In the case of Swordsman, it was called Sword King, whereas between these two was the Sword Master. Even if a Divine Official was only Level 20, she could still easily dispatch a Level 50 Lord. Perhaps, Sharlyn was the most powerful NPC in all of Red Leaf Town. Hehe, do you believe me now? Sharlyn giggled at Shi Feng. Her entire body radiated a golden glow as if she were the reincarnation of Mother Mary. Since you have some business with me, lets talk about it at the Library. System: Player has activated the Epic Quest, Darkness Descends. Contents unknown. Shi Feng stumbled suddenly when he heard the system notification, nearly falling. What was the reason for him to actually trigger this Epic Quest? Darkness Descends was the famous Epic Quest of Gods Domain. From the information he collected from the internet and Shadow, the difficulty for completing this Epic Quest was truly unimaginable. Of course, the rewards were also unimaginably bountiful. In Shi Fengs previous life, the person who completed this Epic Quest was the Spirit Emperor, Fantasy Extinguisher. He was a legendary character amongst Summoners. He was globally ranked within the top twenty Summoners and top five hundred in the entire game during the peak of Gods Domain. Although he was only ranked within the top five hundred within Gods Domain, it should not be looked down upon. The entire world had a total population of one hundred billion. Although there were only one hundred million players in Gods Domain currently, this number would increase past ten billion in a year. In three years, the number of players playing Gods Domain would go past thirty billion. Being able to rank within the top five hundred, Fantasy Extinguisher was definitely an amazing expert. However, the thing that made Shi Feng feel odd was why this Epic Quest was found here. Fantasy Extinguishers starting location was not in Star-Moon Kingdom. Instead, it was in Black Dragon Empire, which was far from Star-Moon Kingdom. Black Dragon Empire was far more powerful than Star-Moon Kingdom. Its landmass was three times that of Star-Moon Kingdoms. The competition between players and Guilds there was much fiercer. Could it be a reward for getting the First Clear on the Hell Mode of a Dungeon? hi Feng silently guessed as he followed Sharlyn. He felt it was a great possibility. Otherwise, why would an Epic Quest that should be found in Black Dragon Empire be found here in Star-Moon Kingdom? At this moment, Shi Feng''s system communication rang. Shi Feng took a look at the caller, learning it was Gentle Snow contacting him. Miss Snow, do you have business with me? Seeing that you''re logged on, I have something to tell you, Gentle Snow spoke in a very indifferent tone. She was like mysterious ice, unchanging even after ten thousand years and had no interest towards anything at all. I''m in need of money to purchase something, so I might need more time to return the 15 Silvers that I owe you. At the latest, I will return it to you by the end of today. Alright. If you are really in a bind, tomorrow is fine as well, Shi Feng calmly replied. He no longer paid any heed to the 15 Silver Coins Gentle Snow owed him. Currently, he had more than one Gold Coin on his person, and he was troubled over how to spend it. Gentle Snow was slightly surprised by Shi Feng''s indifference even toward that much money. However, since Shi Feng had already said so, naturally, she would not be courteous to him. She softly thanked him, saying, Thank you. However, aren''t you afraid I won''t return it, causing you to lose everything? You are the Snow Goddess. Why would you even try to cheat an average player of such a small amount of money? Shi Feng said with a grin. Average? You dare call yourself average? Even I am shocked by the map and strategy you provided. We only spent an hour to clear the Normal Mode of the Deathly Forest, then went on to clear Hard Mode as well. Unfortunately, Hell Mode is just too hard. We could not clear it, no matter what. Gentle Snow faintly smiled, saying, I am very curious as to how you all managed to clear Hell Mode. If you said it was due to your party members help, I would not believe you. . To conquer the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest, she especially rushed over Elite members of Ouroboros from other Towns. However, they couldn''t get past the first Chieftain-rank Boss, Willie, no matter what they did. Willies damage was especially terrifying. Even a Shield Warrior fully equipped with Bronze Equipment could not tank it. Gentle Snow truly could not understand how Shi Feng''s party had cleared Hell Mode. Just lucky, Shi Feng honestly said. Since you don''t want to say it, I still have to fight over a piece of equipment; so, I won''t speak with you any longer. Don''t forget our Dungeon appointment. Gentle Snow did not continue pursuing Shi Feng about how he was able to clear Hell Mode. Just Hard Mode alone gave them a great harvest. Fight over equipment? Is it the Garrison Heavy Armor? Shi Feng casually asked. En, how did you know? Are you also fighting for this equipment? Gentle Snow nodded her head while saying. The Attributes for this Garrison Heavy Armor was too great. If they had this piece of equipment, there would not be much trouble when they entered the Level 3 Wolfman Dungeon. Shi Feng knew he had said too much, but he remained calm as he replied, Yes, but I didnt think there would be that many people competing for it. Ive already given up on it by now. Indeed. The price has already reached 23 Silver Coins, and only a Guild with strong funding will be able to buy it. I wont speak with you any longer. I still need to sell some items, Gentle Snow disconnected the call after finishing her piece. Meanwhile, Zhao Yueru, who sat beside Gentle Snow, pouted her delicate lips. She kicked up a fuss, complaining, Snow, why must you let that bastard join our team, no matter what? That bastard was just lucky, and his skills are just average. He coincidentally encountered a small Dungeon like the Deathly Forest that did not change much since the games official release, and he very luckily cleared the Hell Mode of the Dungeon. It would be pointless bringing him into the twenty-man Team Dungeon. Also, the skill levels of his party members are just too miserable to even look at. They would definitely become a burden to our progress. The Elite members of Ouroboros standing behind Gentle Snow also agreed with Zhao Yuerus words. They were the Elites of Ouroboros. How could a group of average players compare to them? I feel that Big Brother Ye Feng is not that simple. He was definitely humble when he said he cleared the Dungeon due to luck. His skills are amazing, so it wouldnt be disadvantageous inviting him to join us, Xiao Yueer softly offered her personal opinion. Little girl, what do you know about liars? You just dont know how bad that bastard is. Also, he spent that much time just reaching Level 1. His skills are only so-so. This lady can instakill him with a single Flame Explosion, Zhao Yueru gave Xiao Yueer a stare, speaking confidently. Alright, stop arguing. I, too, feel Ye Feng is not that simple. Otherwise, how could he clear the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest with a group of novices? When we enter the Team Dungeon, we will see where his standards lay. If he is not bad, I might consider recruiting him into the God-Slaying Army. Now, however, lets first bid on this Garrison Heavy Armor, Gentle Snow let out a soft cough. Everyone abruptly became silent, astonished. They never imagined that Gentle Snow would have such considerations. She was actually planning to let Ye Feng join the God-Slaying Army. The members of the God-Slaying Army were the Elites amongst the Elites of Ouroboros. Each member had great skill, and they were experts who were selected out of tens of thousands of players. All of the Guilds resources were prioritized on the God-Slaying Army. Aside from the Guild Leader and Sub-Leader, members of the God-Slaying Army had the most authority within the Guild. Many experts in the virtual world struggled tirelessly to join the God-Slaying Army. However, a large majority of these people were all rejected. On the other hand, Ye Feng, who suddenly appeared before them, actually possessed a very great chance of entering the God-Slaying Army, and such a sight had caused great envy within them. 54 Bible of Darkness When Gentle Snow disconnected the call, Shi Feng let out a breath of relief. Fortunately, he was not discovered. If Gentle Snow found out that Shi Feng was the creator of the Garrison Armor, terrifying consequences might have occurred. Also, Shi Feng did not doubt the possibility of Gentle Snow utilizing a forceful approach. The Snow Goddess was not an empty title. Her iron-fist methods have tongue-tied countless experts. Otherwise, she would not have been able to take care of so many experts. However, Shi Feng discovered an interesting matter from Gentle Snows words. The many Guilds in White River City have already started attaching great importance towards the Garrison Armor. This meant the reputation of the Garrison Armor had already spread. Currently, the Garrison Armors popularity might have reached its peak. It was a great chance for Shi Feng to sell the Garrison Armor in large quantities, earning a ton of money. After another period had passed, the Garrison Armors worth would not be as great as it was now. Lets first take a look at the Epic Quest; then Ill return to making the Garrison Armors. Shi Feng impatiently wanted to return to making Garrison Armors now that a chance for him to make a lot of money had arrived. However, the Epic Quest currently before him was much more important. If he gave it up part way, he would definitely regret it for the rest of his life. This Epic Quest played a big role in allowing Fantasy Extinguisher a legendary achievement. Naturally, Shi Feng would not let go of this chance meeting.After spending twenty minutes maneuvering along the narrow pathways of the Slum Area, Shi Feng finally arrived at the Library. On his way here, Shi Feng discovered the wonder of having a Divine Official walking by his side in the Slums. The NPCs who intended to rob him all backed away accordingly after seeing Sharlyns attire. Otherwise, Shi Feng would have needed to spend over an hour for this trip, continuously battling against these sewer rats. Moreover, these NPCs were literally dirt poor. Shi Feng would not obtain any rewards for killing these NPCs, not even EXP. The Library of Red Leaf Town had a withered appearance. The building only had two floors to it, and there was nobody present to manage it as dead leaves could be seen climbing the walls. Entering the Library, dust and dirt covered the entire building. The books laying on the wooden table had long since been parceled up by a layer of dust. The Library looked more like a haunted house than a place in which people once lived. Apologies. It has been a long time since anybody has visited, so I havent been tidying up the place. Just sit wherever you want, Sharlyn faintly smiled as she pointed towards a dust-covered chair, not understanding that her action was very inappropriate. Revered Divine Official, I have come here because I wish to have this diary translated, Shi Feng said, getting straight towards the point. His eyebrows slightly wrinkled when he looked towards the finger-thick layer of dust covering the chair. He truly did not wish to dirty his clothes. However, Sharlyn continued minding her own business as she searched for something on the bookshelf. It was like she did not hear Shi Feng speak at all. Shi Feng was long used to such behaviors, so he chose to remain silent. There were all sorts of NPCs in Gods Domain. It was especially true for important NPCs. Unique and bizarre behaviors were considered small matters. There were well-known NPCs that were much more damnable. These NPCs caused many first-rate Guilds to curse their mothers. After waiting for ten whole minutes, Sharlyn finally came out from the pile of bookshelves. In her hands, she held a thick and tattered old book. I know why you are here. The moment youve set foot in the Slums, I could sense the evil energy coming from your body, Sharlyn said gravely. She placed the tattered book on the table, causing all the dust in the building to abruptly soar, Let me have a look at the item. Shi Feng naturally knew the diary triggered such a scenario. He took out the tattered diary from his bag, carefully passing it to Sharlyn. Sharlyn was not in a hurry to receive the diary. Instead, she chanted out a phrase of Divine Words. Suddenly, streaks of golden Divine Words wrapped around the diary. Just when Shi Feng was wondering about Sharlyns actions, a change suddenly came over the diary. Black smoke suddenly appeared on its pitch-black cover, and a sinister-looking face came into view. It looked as if it was in extreme pain. Evil be gone! Divine Spear! Sharlyn shouted, her jade-like hand drawing out Divine Words in midair. At the same time, she started singing out a Tier 3 Divine Curse, her voice echoing throughout the entire Library. A golden colored hexagram appeared above the Library, covering the entire building, and from the magic formation, three golden Spears of Judgement came flying out. The spears pierced the diary, tearing apart the sinister face. Hahaha, I wont give up! We will meet again! The sinister face loudly laughed as it spoke the bone-chilling words. Both of its eyes were firmly affixed toward Shi Feng as if the words it spoke were meant for him. Within a moment, the black smoke above the diary dispersed. Meanwhile, Sharlyns forehead was covered in sweat. Her complexion was deathly pale, and she currently looked extremely weak. System: You have been cursed by a Great Demon[1]. All Attributes reduced by 50%, experience received from killing monsters reduced by 95%. System: You have been eyed by a Great Demon. The phantom of the Great Demon will come for you in thirty days. If you are killed by the phantom, your body will be taken over by the Great Demon. Crap! Make it more ruthless, why dont you? Regardless of how self-restraint he had been, Shi Feng could not help but curse when he saw this notification. When compared to human standards, a Great Demon was the equivalent of a Tier 4 Job. It was on the same level as a Sword Emperor. Although it was just a phantom, it would still require Sharlyn, who had a Tier 3 Job, to handle it. However, instead of aiming for Sharlyn, the Great Demon actually went for a bystander and a minor character like Shi Feng. With this curse around, how would he be able to level up? Not to mention the 50% reduction in Attributes. It had caused his Attributes to sink down to the level of an average player. It would be a problem if he wanted to kill monsters of a higher level. He also had to face the phantom of the Great Demon Miss Sharlyn, are you alright? although he was cursed, Shi Feng still spoke politely. Sharlyn shook her head slightly, speaking with a smile, Nothing too bad. I never imagined that you would actually bring such a terrifying item. Youve weakened me quite a bit. However, the problem has been resolved now. If you had dragged on for a few more days, your body might have been possessed by the Great Demon, and your body would suffer in Hell for all eternity. Thank you, Miss Sharlyn. If it werent for you, I might have already been dead. Although Sharlyns words felt somewhat wrong, Shi Feng had still thanked her. He rejoiced at the fact that he had come to the Library without delay. Otherwise, he would truly be finished. However, the problem right now had yet to be resolved. No need for thanks. This diary is not as simple as it seems. It is a key. In it records the method to unlock the curse on a gate. Your job now is to find this gate, enter through it with this diary, and find the Bible of Darkness that is kept within. I can destroy the Bible of Darkness as long as you retrieve it for me. Once it is destroyed, the Great Demon would not be able to descend, Sharlyn explained. System: Epic Quest Darkness Descends accepted. Find and destroy the Bible of Darkness and prevent the Great Demon from descending. Rewards unknown. Although Shi Feng had known about the extreme difficulty of completing an Epic Quest, there was still no need for it to be so damnable! At the very least, the Quest should tell him where to find the Bible of Darkness! In Shi Fengs previous life, Fantasy Extinguisher had completed this Quest in Black Dragon Empire. However, Shi Feng couldnt just go to Black Dragon Empire. Even if he went there, the Teleportation Gates had not been activated at this stage of the game, so he would have to run there. However, even if he ran till his legs broke, he would still need to waste several months before he could reach the borders of Black Dragon Empire. TL Notes: [1]Great Demon: this is a rank for Demons (not monsters). This will be further clarified in future chapters when Demons are better introduced. 55 Moon Drip Shi Feng entered deep thought. He did not understand how Fantasy Extinguisher completed this Epic Quest in his previous life. Who the heck would know where the Bible of Darkness was stored? Moreover, in his previous life, the information Shi Feng collected regarding this Quest was very incomplete, so the parts he could use as reference were extremely limited. Currently, the evil curse Shi Feng was shouldering even made leveling a problem. No matter what, he had to think of a solution to this problem. Otherwise, the problems he would face in the future would be even greater. Esteemed Miss Sharlyn, I am now cursed by the demon. Do you have any methods to resolve it? Shi Feng calmed his heart. He turned to look at Sharlyn, who was currently in a delicate state, asking, Also, where can I find the Bible of Darkness? Even just a clue is helpful. Hearing Shi Fengs series of questions, a bright smile appeared on Sharlyns pure countenance. You sure have a lot of questions, huh, you little bastard? Its not like I dont have a method to resolve your curse. However, you should know, to get something, you have to give something in return. There is only one way to dispel the curse, and that is to carry out a Moon Drip. The Moon Drip is a ceremony that can dispel all magic and curses in the world. However, many materials are required to carry out this ceremony. I will provide the materials required, but in return, you have to pay 3 Gold Coins as remuneration for my services. If you wish to obtain a clue to the Bible of Darkness, you have to pay an additional 10 Gold Coins as an information fee. Shi Feng felt a chill going down his spine as he looked at Sharlyns expression, which became more excited the more she explained. It was especially true for Sharlyns eyes. Even if she looked incomparably pure right now, her appearance was still not enough to hide the burning desire within her eyes. In the end, one word still dictated everything. Money! System: Do you wish to accept the Quest to dispel the curse? Esteemed Miss Sharlyn, I am willing to pay the remunerations. What else could he have said? However, Sharlyns asking price of 3 Gold Coins was just too high. There was not a single player in White River City who could afford such an amount right now. Since you are willing, then pay a deposit of 1 Gold Coin, Sharlyn stretched out her delicate hand without restraint. Seeing Sharlyns actions, Shi Feng suspected that she had some sort of x-ray technique. However, he had to pay the money sooner or later, so Shi Feng reluctantly handed over 1 Gold Coin to Sharlyn. The moment Shi Feng had handed over the money, he went from being a wealthy tycoon to being a poor peasant. Here, this is for you. You need to fill the energy within this thing first. It will lead you to the Moonlight Forest to collect thirty pieces of Moonstone. Its fine if you just bring them back to me, Sharlyn took the shining Gold Coin with lightning speed, then took out a fist-sized crystal orb and passed it to Shi Feng. ystem: Quest Moon Drip accepted. You must collect thirty pieces of Moonstone and 2 Gold Coins for Sharlyn. Upon completion, Sharlyn will dispel the evil curse of the Great Demon on you. Shi Feng received the crystal orb and took a look at it. [Teleportation Magic Orb] Able to teleport the user to and from the Moonlight Forest immediately after activation. Activation condition: 200,000 EXP needed to be stored. Two hundred thousand experience points were enough to let the average player rise from Level 0 to Level 7 within an instant. To Shi Feng right now, such an amount was asking for his life. Currently, the experience he obtained from killing monsters would be reduced by 95%. He would obtain absolutely no experience from killing monsters of the same level. As for Elites, he would just be able to obtain around 10 EXP for killing one that was a Level higher. That meant he would have to kill twenty thousand Elites that were 1 Level higher than hem to collect 200,000 EXP. How long would it take for him to kill that many?! Moreover, there werent even that many Elite monsters in Red Leaf Town. It really is worthy of being called an Epic Quest? The difficulty is truly insane, Shi Feng bitterly laughed. In Shi Fengs previous life, Fantasy Extinguisher had the support of the first-rate Guild, [Fantasy Shrine]. So, he was able to complete the Quest after much difficulty. However, Shi Feng did not have the support of a first-rate Guild. It would be extremely difficult if he wanted to complete the Quest. However, as long as Shi Feng completed it, the rewards would easily outshine the troubles. The rewards for this Epic Quest resulted in Fantasy Extinguishers fame. Although Shi Feng did not have a first-rate Guild supporting him, he was a reincarnated person. He still had quite an advantage over the other players. At the very least, he would not lose out to the first-rate Guilds regarding earning money. It looks like I can only return and forge Garrison Armors for now. Shi Feng kept the crystal orb and left the Library. He planned to first earn enough Gold Coins before thinking of a way to store up 200,000 EXP. The sky outside was already bright by the time Shi Feng returned to the Trade Area. Many players already left to kill monsters and level up, emptying the streets by quite a bit. Shi Feng immediately went to the Bank to retrieve the forging materials and the Philosophers Stone. Just when Shi Feng was headed to the Forging Association, a notification came from the System. System: The Garrison Heavy Armor you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 31 Silvers 53 Coppers have been added to your bag space. Is it worth that much? Shi Feng was shocked. The Level 3 Garrison Heavy Armor was just a piece of equipment that had similar Attributes to a Mysterious-Iron Equipment. At most, it was worth 20 Silver Coins. Now, however, it had been sold for over 30 Silver Coins. One could just imagine how frantic these Guilds were towards the Garrison Heavy Armor. Shi Fengs enthusiasm was further boosted with the arrival of this information. He could not help but wish he could immediately forge a hundred pieces of Garrison Armor, selling them and making a big profit. Hence, Shi Feng activated Windwalk as he rushed towards the Forging Association. Without hesitation, Shi Feng reserved an Intermediate Forging Room for twenty hours. If he did not reap the money of those Guilds right now, he would not be doing justice towards his own reincarnation. Inside the Forging Room, Shi Feng refined all the Stone he collected, going all-out as he forged the Garrison Armors. When the first Garrison Armor was successfully forged... System: Garrison Armor has been successfully forged. Forgery Proficiency increased by 2 points. Obtained 800 EXP. System: Do you wish to store the experience obtained in the Teleportation Magic Orb? Suddenly, Shi Feng halted the work he was doing. He called out the System Interface, taking a careful look. I obtained 800 EXP from forging? Shi Feng placed a hand on his chin, pondering. Suddenly, he said with a smile, How could I forget about this in a panic? The curse is only aimed at the experience obtained from killing monsters. It has no effect towards experience that is rewarded. Although a lot of time was needed to forge a piece of equipment, it was a different story if the success rate was very high. Shi Fengs leveling speed at that time would be a lot faster than the average player, even with the 95% experience reduction state he was currently under. With such an opportune method in hand, the difficulty of the Epic Quest had been greatly reduced in an instant. Moreover, Shi Feng had the Book of Forging. It could increase the success rate of forging the Garrison Armor up to 60%. With it, Shi Fengs leveling speed would greatly surpass even the expert players. It would not be long before he would finish collecting the 200,000 EXP. In such a way, Shi Feng could earn not just money, but experience as well. It was killing two birds with one stone. It was absolutely great. Fantasy Extinguisher most likely did not imagine there was such a quick method to dispelling the curse. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately adjusted for the System to distribute 100% of the experience he obtained to be stored in the Teleportation Magic Orb. Then, he picked up an ore and started happily forging equipment. Because of his improved mood, Shi Fengs hands became much more nimble. The Hundred Refinement Hammer in his hands was like a musical instrument, rhythmically beating out a moving melody. By the time Shi Feng regained his sense of self, he was suddenly dumbfounded by the Garrison Armor before him. 56 Glimmer Chestplate The current Garrison Armor before Shi Feng was largely different than the previous ones. Its design had largely changed, and even the color had become a pale gold. This was absolutely not the Garrison Armor. Crap, Shi Feng understood he had failed. Before, he was too absorbed into his own excitement while he was forging the equipment. He smashed the hammer in whichever way he wanted, giving the Garrison Armor a completely different appearance. He even felt good about it. Still, the appearance of this new Plate Armor looked extremely cool. It would definitely look majestic while worn. Following which, Shi Feng chose to identify the equipments information. The System took a whole 10 seconds before giving a conclusion this time. [Unnamed] (Bronze-rank Plate Armor) Level 3 Equipment Requirement: Strength 12 Defense +23 Strength +3, Endurance +3 HP +120 Durability 35/35 Additional Ability- Healing Power: Healing effects received are increased by 10%. Restricted to Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. System: Unnamed equipment has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 3 points. Obtained 1,100 EXP. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to forge an entirely new piece of Bronze Equipment in Gods Domain. Obtained 3,000 EXP. Rewarding 1 Runic Hammer (Mysterious-Iron rank) that increases forging success rate by 5%. System: Please give a name to the equipment you have created. You are also able to leave a personal mark on this piece of equipment. Shi Feng was slightly shocked when he saw these notifications. He had unintentionally remodeled the Garrison Armor, and successfully at that. He even created an entirely new piece of Bronze Equipment. His luck was truly good. The Attributes of this equipment had already reached the level of an average Mysterious-Iron Equipment. If only the materials used were not so poor, it would definitely have become a Mysterious-Iron Equipment. In Gods Domain, players were able to create equipment. However, this was an extremely difficult task to accomplish. Not only did the player have to be extremely familiar with forging, but they also had to have a thorough understanding of the various materials available. After undergoing hundreds of trials, only then could completely new, and good quality, equipment be created. Usually, players who wanted to create new equipment would only start to do so after they had risen to become an Advanced Forger. After all, to become a Master Forger, not only did a player require sufficient Proficiency, they also needed to create three entirely new pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and also one entirely new piece of Secret-Silver Equipment. Only after all those conditions were achieved could a player become a Master Forger. Due to this condition, the players who became Master Forgers were extremely rare. Meanwhile, Shi Feng unintentionally created an entirely new piece of Bronze Equipment. Of course, the Book of Forgings effect played a large part in contributing to this success. "Since the color has become a pale gold, and its giving off a dull glow, lets call it the Glimmer Chestpiece. Shi Feng immediately confirmed the equipments new name. After which, he left an imprint of a black flame at a corner of the equipment. This imprint was the equivalent of a forgers name. In the future, when others see this symbol, they would know that this equipment was created by Master so-and-so. At the same time, the symbol also served to prevent others from falsifying the equipments original creator. In the blink of an eye, the equipments information also had a change to it. [Glimmer Chestpiece] (Bronze-rank Plate Armor) Level 3 Equipment Requirement: Strength 12 Defense +23 Strength +3, Endurance +3 HP +120 Durability 35/35 Additional Ability- Healing Power: Healing effects received are increased by 10%. Restricted to Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. On the right breast of the Glimmer Chestpiece, the mark of a black flame appeared. The flame constantly faded in and out of existence, further enriching the aesthetics of the Glimmer Chestpiece. System: Black Flame Imprint has been successfully registered. This Imprint has been bound to your gaming account, and nobody else is able to use it. System: Naming successful. Forging Design for the Glimmer Chestpiece has been automatically generated. Player can now voluntarily draw the Forging Design for the Glimmer Chestpiece, allowing others to learn the Forging Design. Suddenly, an additional window appeared in Shi Fengs Lifestyle Panel. It was called Forging Design Creation, and it allowed players to create their own Forging Designs. Shi Feng felt endless ecstasy when he saw this new window. This was the benefit of creating something original. As long as Shi Feng had a Pen and Drawing Paper, he could fabricate as many Forging Designs for the Glimmer Chestplate as he wanted. This was the treatment that was only available for original creations. Forging Designs were much more valuable than the equipment itself. In Shi Fengs previous life, countless Master Forgers constantly researched various materials and used all sorts of methods to develop new equipment. Other than trying to become a Grandmaster Forger, their main goal was to obtain an Original Forging Design. This item was the reason why some Master Forgers were extremely rich. The process of fabricating a Forging Design was very simple, and they could easily make tens to hundreds of them any time they wanted. Otherwise, how much money could they make, even if they exhaust themselves by forging equipment every single day? With the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design, earning 10 Gold Coins was a small matter. At that time, it was even possible for Shi Feng to earn up to 30 or 40 Gold Coins. After all, there were a lot of players in White River City and no shortage of Guilds, either. Afterward, Shi Feng continued forging Glimmer Chestplates, no longer forging Garrison Armors. Both of them required the same materials to make; however, the Glimmer Chestplate had a cooler-looking appearance and even came with an Additional Ability. There was another benefit for an original creation. When forging your own creation, the success rate for it was increased by 10%, and the equipment would also have a higher chance to come with an Additional Ability. As long as the Glimmer Chestplates fame spread, Shi Feng would have no troubles selling its Forging Design. Time passed, bit by bit. Shi Feng was completely unaware of his surroundings as he forged equipment. His heart was filled with the thoughts of money. One Gold Coin Two Gold Coins Three Gold Coins... Piece after piece of shining golden equipment piled up in the entire Forging Room. When ten hours had passed since Shi Feng rented the Forging Room, a loud notification had come from the System. Only then had Shi Feng suddenly realized ten hours had already gone by. His gains were even more shocking, however. He successfully made a total of 142 pieces of equipment, and the materials he had bought were nearly depleted. Amongst the Attributes of the equipment, there were some that were good, and some that were bad. The difference between them was the healing effects. The bad ones had 5%, while the good ones had 12%. There were a total of 76 pieces that had their healing effects below 7%, 48 pieces that had their healing effects between 7% and 9%, and 18 pieces that were between 10% and 12%. These pieces of equipment filled up over half of Shi Fengs bag space. At the same time, Shi Fengs Proficiency also had a big increase, reaching up to 514 points. Shi Feng was now halfway to becoming an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. Shi Feng took out the Teleportation Orb to have a look. The experience it had currently stored up was close to 150,000. As long as Shi Feng continued putting in an effort for several more hours, he would be able to store up the 200,000 and immediately go to the Moonlight Forest. The speed at which Shi Feng gained EXP was at least two to three times faster than the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds. After leaving the Forging Association, Shi Feng ran to the Auction House. Currently, a majority of the average players should have already risen to Level 3, whereas many veteran players should have risen to Level 4. Only expert players would be closing into Level 5. After all, a lot of experience was required to rise from Level 4 to Level 5. The amount needed was at least three to four times the amount needed to rise from Level 3 to Level 4. Right now was the perfect time for Shi Feng to sell the Level 3 Bronze Equipment. The various Guilds should also have amassed quite an amount of wealth after more than ten hours had passed, so it was a good chance for Shi Feng to make a big catch. If another period of time were to pass, the prices of equipment would most likely be greatly reduced. After arriving at the Auction House, Shi Feng noticed that the number of logistic players present significantly had reduced. It seemed as if they were no longer as enthusiastic towards the Garrison Armor as before. Fellow brother, why are there suddenly so few people at the Auction House? Shi Feng walked up behind a logistic player, asking. The tall and bespectacled logistic player was slightly surprised, explaining, Have you been killing monsters outside town all this time? You dont even know about such a huge matter? Yeah, Ive just returned after making some money from killing monsters and selling materials. Wasnt that Garrison Armor super popular? I, too, wanted to buy a piece, Shi Feng nodded. No wonder you dont know about it. Three hours ago, a player called Hammer Trading had sold a lot of Level 3 Bronze Plate Armor Equipment. Although the Attributes on it were slightly weaker than the Garrison Armor, its price was extremely low, costing only 4 Silver Coins. Moreover, that player even announced that there would be discounts if you contacted him and ordered in bulk. Naturally, the various Guilds all contacted him and ordered. That equipment is now extremely popular, so who would remain here and pay attention to the Garrison Armor? 57 Hammer Trading Hammer Trading? Shi Feng wanted to confirm once more. Correct. He even posted a thread on the forums criticizing the blackhearted forger that made the Garrison Armor. Currently, the thread has already received more than seven million clicks. With it, that guy has quickly become a famous person in White River City. I heard many large Guilds have already sent out an olive branch to him, trying to recruit him with a high price. The logistics player had a face filled with envy while he spoke. He couldn''t help but wish he could turn into Hammer Trading. That way, he would be able to live a life filled with beauties and riches. Shi Feng only smiled at the player as he turned to walk towards an empty seat. He sat down and called out the game''s official forum. He wanted to have a good look at this Hammer Trading who nearly robbed him of his business. In Shi Feng''s previous life, Hammer Trading did not reveal himself as quickly as this. Before Shadow scouted him, he had been playing Gods Domain with tens of fellow schoolmates. With the support of these schoolmates, in addition to some chance meetings that had allowed him to become an Intermediate Forging Apprentice, he managed to become acquainted with the upper echelons of Shadow. At that time, there were very few Intermediate Forging Apprentices. The Bronze Equipment that was forged at the time was also very popular. Seeing such a situation, Shadow also wanted a share of the profits. So, they paid a large price to hire Hammer Trading. Along with the continuous support of Shadow Workshop, Hammer Trading grew to become a shocking figure, becoming a relatively famous Forger and earning Shadow a lot of money. Afterward, Hammer Trading also obtained the Forging Talent[1] in addition to the great support from Shadow, allowing him to become a Master Forger. During those times, he did not have the slightest hint of respect for Shi Feng, who was the Guild Leader of Shadow at that time. In the end, with the strong support of Hammer Trading, along with several Master Forgers and Master Potionmakers, Lan Hua Financial Groups gladly agreed to World Dominator''s acquisition of Shadow. Otherwise, Lan Hua Financial Groups would not have agreed to the decision without hesitation and dismissing Shi Feng at the same time. Shi Feng opened the forums for Star-Moon Kingdom, his heart lamenting over how fate was toying with him. In this life, just when the Garrison Armor was beginning to sell like hotcakes, Hammer Trading appeared to break off his road to wealth. Shi Feng couldn''t help but admit that he and Hammer Trading were rivals in life. Shi Feng stole the Forging Talent from Hammer Trading, whereas Hammer Trading turned around to break off his road to wealth. Browsing the forums of Star-Moon Kingdom, Shi Feng quickly discovered a thread marked in red, positioned at the top of the forum. _ Upholding justice starts from us! We absolutely cannot let this blackhearted forger do as he pleases! I am a forger with a kind heart!_ These large, bright red words caused Shi Feng''s brows to furrow. What kind of trouble is he trying to cause here? The number of clicks exceeded ten million! Out of curiosity, Shi Feng had opened the thread. Shi Feng looked at the eloquently written condemnation that had over ten thousand words. The article had justifiably mentioned that the cost of making a piece of Bronze Equipment did not even exceed 1 Silver Coin. However, the blackhearted Shi Feng sold his equipment for up to 30 Silver Coins. He was ripping off other players. Hence, Hammer Trading wanted to oppose Shi Feng. He was even willing to sell Level 3 Bronze Equipment without limit. Only, due to the failure rates, he had no choice but to sell them at 4 Silvers a piece to reclaim his cost of making. This article received the support of a lot of players. They had all declared that they would no longer purchase the Garrison Armor and that they would support Hammer Trading''s actions of kindness. Shi Feng was speechless after reading the entire article. The entire article was just trying to put a smear on his reputation while heightening Hammer Trading''s own self. At the same time, Hammer Trading wanted to state that he, too, could forge Bronze Equipment. He was clearly trying to use Shi Feng as a stepping stone to raise his own worth and fame. He wanted to let the many large Guilds extend an olive branch to him, and in turn, raising his own worth. However, Shi Feng had to admit that Hammer Trading had succeeded. Not only had his fame risen in a burst, but many second-rate Guilds had also sent him an invitation. There were even a few first-rate Guilds who were willing to discuss matters of cooperation with Hammer Trading. Crap, not only has he broken off my path to wealth, he still wants to use me as a stepping stone?! Shi Feng could no longer hold back his two lifetime''s worth of rage. He wanted to properly teach Hammer Trading a lesson. Did he think he was awesome for selling Level 3 Bronze Equipment without limit? Shi Feng did not wish to have any relation with Hammer Trading if he did not try to use Shi Feng as a stepping stone. However, now that he had provoked Shi Feng, he must be ready to pay the appropriate price. Shi Feng felt it was just hilarious when he looked at the statements and numbers provided by Hammer Trading. Basic Forging Apprentices only had a 5% success rate when forging a piece of Level 3 Bronze Equipment. However, looking at the numbers provided by Hammer Trading, it could be seen that he did not possess just a Forging Design for a piece of Bronze Equipment. He must have also obtained an item that increased the success rate for forging. In addition to using the Intermediate Forging Room, his success rate should be around 20%. That was why he dared to spout nonsense and brought out several pieces of equipment for auction to prove his words. However, according to Shi Fengs estimates, to raise his reputation, Hammer Trading was taking a loss of 1 Silver Coin for every piece of Bronze Equipment he sold. Although Shi Feng did not know how much funding Hammer Trading had, he was still ten years too early from competing with Shi Feng. Selling at 4 Silver Coins, is it? Shi Feng would sell his equipment at 4 Silver Coins as well. He had the Philosophers Stone and the Book of Forging, so his initial cost was just slightly more than 10 Coppers. Including his terrifying success rate, Shi Feng was looking forward to seeing who had the last laugh. Without holding anything back, Shi Feng immediately posted a thread on the forum anonymously. The article was titled Shockingly high-quality Plate Armor on Auction House. Afterward, he called up the interface for the Auction House, placing twenty pieces of the worst Glimmer Chestplate on auction. The Healing Power on the Glimmer Chestplate had a remarkable effect on MTs when inside a Dungeon. It was even better when compared to the Garrison Armor. When compared to Hammer Tradings Savage Chestplate, it was more than two times better. Players would naturally know which equipment to choose when they saw the Glimmer Chestplate. Hammer Trading, didnt you want to be famous? Ill let you become super famous. Ill turn you into a celebrity. Shi Feng revealed a cold grin as he closed the interface. He turned around and left the Auction House, setting up a stall outside to purchase Stones and Hard Stones. Two minutes after Shi Feng had posted his thread A few players noticed Shi Fengs post. Average players were still very attentive towards high-quality equipment. Currently, the average player did not even possess a piece of Bronze Equipment, not to mention high-quality equipment. So, naturally, they wanted to get a glimpse. The moment these players arrived at the Auction House, they were stupefied by what they saw. The Attributes on the Glimmer Chestplate was just too good, especially the Healing Power. It was definitely the most beloved Ability for an MT when inside a Dungeon. After they finished looking at the Attributes, the players chose to try wearing it. They looked at their own appearance when wearing the Glimmer Chestplate. Streamline mold, dashing figure, and even a faint radiance coming off their bodies. There was also a flickering black flame on their left breast. They looked absolutely awesome! It was as if they had become the heroes from legends while wearing the Glimmer Chestplate, valiant and powerful. Then, they looked at the selling price. It actually only required 4 Silver Coins. These players did not dare believe their eyes. Such high-end equipment was only selling for 4 Silver Coins. If they did not buy it, they would be doing a disservice to their own lives. Even if they did not have much money on their persons, they were willing to sacrifice everything they had to buy the Glimmer Chestplate. Within a short fifteen minutes, Shi Fengs post had become the topic of the forum. There were even players who posted the information and appearance of the Glimmer Chestplate, the equipment instantly arousing everyones exclamation. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights could not help but wish they could obtain this high-end equipment right that instant. However, when they wanted to go to the Auction House and buy it, there were only four pieces of the equipment remaining. Moreover, every one of those pieces had their prices bade up to more than 6 Silver Coins One MT from an Elite party had reluctantly chosen to borrow money from all over the place. In the end, he successfully won a piece for 7 Silver Coins. When the Glimmer Chestplate arrived in his hands, he no longer minded the money he owed for it. With such Attributes and dashing appearance, he would not have any troubles earning money in the future. Thinking up to this point, the smile on this Shield Warrior spread widely. * * * TL Notes: 58 Equipment Competition Just a short twenty minutes after Shi Feng placed the Glimmer Chestplates on auction, all twenty pieces of them had been sold off. The Glimmer Chestplates popularity was far better than the Garrison Armor. There were even quite a few players showing off their purchases on the official forum. Previously, these players had to beg, using various methods, to join a party. Now, however, with their majestic-looking equipment, a simple shout would garner them tens of invites from Elite parties for their own choosing. Following the Glimmer Chestplates rise in popularity, the players that failed to buy one were all beating their own chest in anguish. They hated themselves for not borrowing money to buy the piece of equipment since, right now, it was no longer being sold. Meanwhile, the Forging Association in Golden Sand Town was packed with people. The spacious hall was entirely occupied by players. The players present were the spokespeople for various Guilds. They were here for only one purpose, and that was to invite Hammer Trading to their Guild. Amongst the Guilds present, there were quite a few that were very famous. There was no lack of spokespeople for third-rate Guilds. If it were during ordinary times, these spokespeople would act proud and arrogant. They would use a condescending attitude when dealing with Lifestyle players. Even so, these Lifestyle players would still treat them with great respect. They would even shed tears of emotion, pledging their loyalty to the Guild as they quickly signed the contract, becoming a part of a large Guild. However, the current trend of the game had changed. The higher-ups of the Guilds strongly emphasized that they, the spokespeople, must definitely invite Hammer Trading. Otherwise, they could start packing up their bags. Hence why these Guild spokespeople were like obedient grandchildren, standing and waiting in the hall for Hammer Tradings summons. Inside an Intermediate Forging Room on the second floor Brother Hammer, youre so awesome! I admire you so much! Before, those third-rate Guilds would not recruit you no matter what. Now, theyre just like grandchildren waiting upon you. They would not leave even if you chased them away, A sexy female cleric in her mid-twenties hugged around Hammer Tradings robust arm, giggling and speaking with admiration. Her bulging chest was rubbing against his arm. Hammer Trading had a very brutish appearance. He had a thick beard and beady eyes, and his skin color was similar to yellowish wax. Judging from his appearance, he looked to be over thirty years of age. Nobody was able to tell, however, that Hammer Trading was just a university student in reality. His age was just slightly over twenty. Hahaha, this is just a small matter. However, I truly have to thank the fool who opened the road for me and has even hidden his name. He made all the large Guilds know of my importance, Hammer Trading heartily laughed. He silently praised his own intelligence and wisdom for being able to think up of a plan to utilize that anonymous forgers fame. It allowed him his current good fortune, becoming every players idol, Wait till Ive entered a first-rate Guild and rise into their upper-echelons. It will be truly awesome. Right now, Im just showing a small part of my prowess. Let those third-rate Guilds continue waiting outside. I can use them to raise my own value and fame. Boss, what are we going to do about all the orders weve received? an Assassin asked. Hammer Trading rolled his eyes at the Assassin, saying in disdain, Who cares about them? Im taking a loss of 2 Silver Coins per piece of equipment. Do they think Im running a charity? My goal has already been met. Im only waiting for the first-rate Guilds to come. Dont bother with the other players; just tell them that were too busy and dont have time. To use Shi Feng as a stepping stone, Hammer Trading used up all the Silver Coins belonging to his classmates. He also spent a lot of Credits to purchase a lot of materials and Silver Coins. Yet, he only forged over ten Savage Chestplates from all those materials. So, selling each piece at a maximum of 4 Silver Coins caused a major loss for him. However, all his sacrifices were worth it. As long as he was recruited by a first-rate Guild, he could get as many materials as he wanted, a huge salary, and even a line of female players desiring his attention. Hammer Trading felt invigorated just from thinking of all these benefits. Suddenly, a Berserker entered the Forging Room with a panicked expression. What happened, Hadron? Seeing as youre in such a hurry, has the upper echelon of a first-rate Guild arrived? Hammer Trading teasingly asked. Big trouble! A lot of top-tier equipment has suddenly appeared at the Auction House. All the players on the games official forum are discussing it now, and the number of clicks on the post is madly increasing. The post has over five million clicks right now, and many Guilds have started to notice it. Moreover, the equipment is being sold by the same anonymous forger. The equipments price is set at a minimum of 4 Silver Coins. Everyone is starting to wonder about the identity of the forger responsible, and they are no longer paying any attention to you, Boss. Moreover, there are already a few first-rate Guilds who made a declaration on the forum. They are willing to hire that forger with a high salary and make him the Chief Forger of their Guild. A few representatives of large Guilds downstairs have also started leaving for the Auction House. Hammer Tradings expression froze when hearing Hadrons words. He only managed to attract the attention of first-rate Guilds after much difficulty. However, now, that anonymous forger stole his wind. If he did not steal it back, those first-rate Guilds would most likely forget about him. He has such nerve to steal my wind and position. Dont blame me for not being polite. Making that kind of top-tier equipment has a high cost and low success rate. If you sell it at 4 Silver Coins, then Ill sell at 3 Silver Coins. I wonder just how much you can afford to lose? Hammer Trading abruptly stood up. He wanted to let Shi Feng know he would definitely not let the position of Chief Forger, and his future happiness, go. He was already taking a loss of 2 Silver Coins for making the Savage Chestplate that had inferior Attributes. Then, Shi Feng would at least lose 4 to 5 Silver Coins for selling each piece of top-tier equipment at 4 Silver Coins. Maybe even more. Hammer Trading believed he could outlast Shi Feng. But, Boss, we don''t have many Silver Coins remaining. At most, we can afford to forge ten more Savage Chestplates, Hedron worryingly said. What is there to be afraid of? I still have some funds. Worst comes to worst, Ill spend some more Credits to buy materials and Silver Coins. I believe I can get rid of that little bastard. For every piece of equipment that little bastard sells, hes taking a loss of at least double or triple of ours. Why should we be afraid? Hammer Trading confidently asked. He assured himself that Shi Feng, too, was trying to attract the attention of first-rate Guilds by doing such lossful business. However, he would definitely be the final champion. An hour later, a few additional Savage Chestplates appeared on White River Citys Auction House. Their minimum selling price was 3 Silver Coins each. At the same time, a new post appeared on the games official forum. For the benefit of the masses, I, Hammer Trading, have decided to sell the Savage Chestplate at 3 Silver Coins each. I will make a stand against this blackhearted forger to the end! Requesting support! Requesting encouragement! Suddenly, a wave of players followed the post, sending it to the top of the forum. Every one of them supported Hammer Tradings kind actions. As a result of this incident, all of White River City became lively. Everyone understood this was a competition between two forgers that were capable of forging Bronze Equipment. Every player in White River City watched on with anticipation. The ones who would profit from this exchange, in the end, would definitely be them, the players. It would not be long before they would be able to purchase Bronze Equipment at a low price. The various Guilds also started watching by the sidelines, no longer expressing any of their intentions. They were all waiting for the final victor, while at the same time buying all of the equipment and developing their Guilds strength. However, Shi Feng himself did not know of this matter. He just finished purchasing Stones and Hard Stones. Just after entering the Auction House, he discovered that the number of players there had once more increased. Only then did he find out about this incident. You wish for a fight? Shi Feng faintly smiled, Then, come. He called out the Auction Houses control interface, placing all of his Glimmer Chestplates on auction. He assigned twenty pieces to be sold every hour, selling a total of 120 pieces of Glimmer Chestplates. Such a number was definitely enough to torment Hammer Trading. Afterward, Shi Feng used the money earned from selling Glimmer Chestplates to buy Hard Stones and Card Sets. After purchasing all these items, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that he still possessed a little more than 1 Gold Coin. From time to time, Shi Feng would receive a notification from the System. It would state that another Glimmer Chestplate had been sold, and some amount of Silver Coins have been deposited into his bag. Shi Feng felt, the more Silver Coins he spent, the more Silver Coins he had. The amount he did not seem to be decreasing in the slightest Shi Feng considered selling some of his Silver Coins at the Trade Center[1], exchanging it for some spending money in real life. It was much better than just holding on to these Silver Coins. TL Notes: [1] Trade Center: this is not the Trade Area in the game. Its something like an online market for game currency and items, where you can sell/buy Coins/items for real life money (Credits). 59 Violet Cloud Although Shi Feng was having a relaxing time selling equipment, Hammer Trading was not. To compete with Shi Feng, Hammer Trading was constantly forging new Savage Chestplates. The Silver Coins in his hands were no different than Copper as they disappeared in a flash. Hammer Trading also had to spend Credits to purchase more Silver Coins, giving him an immense heartache. However, when he thought of Shi Feng spending much more than him, his heart soothed by a lot. He wanted Shi Feng to go bankrupt. Meanwhile, Shi Feng left the lively Auction House. He arrived at the Bank, storing all the Card Sets and Hard Stones he had collected into his warehouse. Shi Feng was extremely excited as he looked at over a thousand slots of his warehouse filled. This was the benefit of being reincarnated. In his previous life, he in a miserable state thanks to these items. Now, however, they became one of his biggest sources of income. In the eyes of others, these items were still worthless. However, they would be priceless in the future. Their values could increase by over ten-folds, even tens of folds. It was especially true for Card Sets. A complete set would be worth tens of times more than a single piece. Even so, the large Guilds would still have a hard time obtaining them. After he was finished storing the items, Shi Feng made a trip to the Grocery Store. He bought five stacks of White Paper and one stack of pen and ink. These two items could be bought at extremely low prices at the Grocery Store. A stack of 200 White Papers only sold for 10 Copper Coins, whereas as a stack of 20 bottles of Black Ink sold for 15 Copper Coins. The best Feathered Pen also only sold for 20 Copper. Even so, Shi Fengs casual purchase far exceeded the daily income of an average player. An average player would definitely be unable to spend in such a way. However, to Shi Feng, these Copper Coins could no longer be considered money. Moreover, these items were all necessary for making Forging Designs. Shi Feng would still buy them, even if they cost 10 Silver Coins. After buying the items, Shi Feng headed for the Forging Association. Sir, do you need any cooling beverages? I have here the best Fruit Juice in Red Leaf Town. It tastes extremely good, and it is only 1 Copper Coin per cup. A fragile-looking young lady nervously asked a male Guardian Knight. The girl was holding onto a small basket, her doll-like eyes carrying with them earnest expectations as she looked at the man. Scram! Dont annoy me! Its just a virtual item, moreover a beverage, yet you are actually charging 1 Copper Coin for it? I wouldnt want it even if you were giving it for free! The Guardian Knight cursed in rage, pushing the 16 or 17 years old girl away. He then added, My luck is just bad. Just you wait and see; Ill take care of you if I dont get to buy a Glimmer Chestplate because you delayed me. The girl that was pushed down but did not cry. Instead, she stood up without wavering. She clapped the dust off her clothes, proceeding to another player with a smile on her face. Shi Feng was faintly shocked. He never imagined the girl to be so tough. The average female player usually would not carry out such laborious tasks, not to mention receiving the insults from other players. When Shi Feng looked at this girl, he was reminded of his own past self. Shi Feng used Observing Eyes on the girl. Violet Cloud, Level 1 Cleric. Shi Fengs heart slightly tightened when he saw this name. This girl was actually Violet Cloud, one of the top ten Clerics in Gods Domain. If he could recruit her to his side, his team would have a considerable future. Hahaha! This is a virtual game, yet youre actually trying to earn money by selling cold beverages? Do you think youre Milk Tea Sister[1]? Only idiots would buy them. Seeing that youre good-looking, why dont you come over to my place tonight? I can even give you 1 Silver Coin. A lecherous man in his thirties walked up to Violet Cloud, drooling as he harassed her. Sir, I am only selling cold beverages. Please have some self-respect. Violet Cloud retreated a step, resolutely saying. Ive given you praise, yet you''re still headstrong. Youre but a lowly Lifestyle player. If you dont agree with me today, then you can forget about doing business here in the future. The lecherous man threatened in rage. He blocked Violet Clouds path, staring at her snow-white neck and licking his lips. How could you act in such a way? You are simply shameless! Violet Clouds eyes were filled with anger. However, she could not win against him in a fight. If she were to continue wasting time here, even her final hope would be gone. Hehe, I am shameless. What are you going to do about it? Bite me? The man felt even better when he looked at Violet Clouds panicked expression. Watching Violet Cloud trying to hold back from crying and the tears that were rolling about in her eyes, she became even more lovable. Uncle, please give way. I want a thousand cups of Fruit Juice. Shi Feng used Observing Eyes on the lecherous man. His name was displayed as Drifting Blood, and he was currently Level 3. At this stage of the game, his level was considered relatively good. Drifting Blood turned towards Shi Feng, sending him a glare, saying, Brat, this girl is mine. If you dont wish for something to happen to you, then scram. You want a thousand cups? Then I want ten thousand cups. Do you think youre a tycoon capable of simply taking out 10 Silver Coins? If you continue competing with me like a fool, Ill send you back to Level 0. If fighting were not prohibited within the Town, he would have long since gotten rid of Shi Feng. Hahaha! An amusing show this early in the day. Go for it! Dont hold back! Dont argue if you can fight! What a tycoon, spending 10 Silver Coins just like that. Unfortunately for him, hes angered Fatty Bear of [Martial Union]. Theres going to be an amusing show to watch. Dogs fart tycoon; I bet hes just boasting to impress the girl. If he can really bring out 10 Silver Coins, Ill live-stream myself eating shit. Quite a few busybodies stopped to watch the occurring scene. They all started a discussion about Shi Fengs actions. Shi Feng did not pay any attention to Drifting Blood at all. He grabbed Drifting Bloods shoulder, applying a slight force. Before Drifting Blood could react, he was already kneeling on the ground. No matter how much strength he used, even to the point where his face had turned beet-red, he still could not stand back up. The surrounding onlookers were immediately dumbfounded. Shi Feng was just too courageous, directly taking action within the premises of Red Leaf Town. Was he not afraid of being caught and jailed by the Guards? Also, how did Shi Feng possess such immense strength? He had actually suppressed a Level 3 Guardian Knight with a single hand. Brat, youre dead for sure. Just you wait till the Guards arrive, Drifting Blood looked towards Shi Feng, smiling in disdain. However, after waiting for some time, the Guards had still not shown up Shi Feng paid no attention to Drifting Blood as he firmly pressed him onto the ground, preventing him from even moving. Shi Feng looked towards Violet Cloud, his other hand holding out 10 Silver Coins, saying, A thousand Fruit Juices, thank you. The players on the street, who were previously discussing amongst themselves, suddenly turned silent, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. This was 10 Silver Coins, not 10 Copper Coins. Currently, they had felt extremely wealthy to even have a single Silver Coin on their person. On the other hand, Shi Feng had just simply taken out 10 Silver Coins. How rich was Shi Feng? Was he really a Brother Tycoon? Violet Cloud rubbed her eyes. She looked at the 10 Coins in Shi Fengs hand that gave off a silvery glow, her expression filled with incomparable shock. Originally, she thought Shi Feng was just trying to help her by saying so. Never would she have imagined that he would truly take out 10 Silver Coins to buy a thousand cups of cold beverages that nobody wanted. Drifting Blood was similarly shocked. However, that shock quickly turned into greed. He thought about snatching the 10 Silver Coins and using them to buy a Glimmer Chestplate. There would even be leftovers remaining. Brat, Im a member of Martial Union. If you dont want to be killed back to Level 0, then immediately give me 20 Silvers. If you do so, I can consider letting you off this time. Otherwise, youll have to take responsibility for the consequences, Drifting Bloods gaze was affixed to the 10 Silver coins as he threatened in a chilling tone. Paying no attention to Drifting Blood, Shi Feng looked at Violet Cloud. Seeing that the girl did not react, he asked, Do you not have that much Fruit Juice? En. I only have 156 cups of Fruit Juice with me. How about you give me a Silver Coin, and Ill sell all of the Fruit Juice to you? Is that alright? Violet Cloud worried that she would anger Shi Feng. What would she do if he suddenly decided not to buy? At the same time, she also wanted to thank Shi Feng for helping her, so she reduced her selling price. Alright. I wonder how long it would take for you to make 900 cups of Fruit Juice? I want all of them, Shi Feng nodded after some thought, asking. The surrounding players were all dumbfounded. What was he planning to do? Did this brat know the value of 10 Silver Coins? Did this brat truly fancy this young lady? Im very slow at compounding Fruit Juice. If Sir is willing, I can be done in thirty hours. Violet Cloud became extremely glad at Shi Fengs words. However, when she thought of her extremely slow speed, she worried that Shi Feng would no longer wish to buy them. So, she stretched out five fingers, hurriedly saying, How about this? Ill just charge you 5 Silver Coins for 900 cups. * * * TL Notes: [1] Milk Tea Sister: this is a reference to Zhang Zetian, a.k.a. Milk Tea Sister̲, Chinas youngest female billionaire. Google it. 60 NPC? Looking at Violet Clouds panicked expression, Shi Feng could not help but break into a laugh. No need. I can still afford to pay such an amount of money. If you really sold them to me for 5 Silvers only, then you wouldnt be able to earn much. Shi Feng waved his hand. Shi Feng was not in a hurry to turn Violet Cloud into one of his subordinates. However, he was absolutely not going to let her go. If Shi Feng acted too impatiently, he might cause her to grow suspicious of him. So, it was better to deepen their relationship first. Nobody could have imagined that Violet Cloud, one of the top ten Clerics in Gods Domain, would have such an appearance. A Cleric God! That was a genuine Tier 6 Job. After ten years passed, there were only a few who reached that standard. Even Fantasy Extinguisher was just a Spirit Saint, at the pinnacle of Tier 5 ten years later. However, as a future Cleric God, Violet Cloud was actually a Lifestyle player during the initial periods of the game. It was such a waste of talent. Normally in Gods Domain, only players without any skills would earn money through methods other than killing monsters. However, the popular Auxiliary Jobs usually had very high requirements, such as a lot of funds, coupled with extremely low success rates. It was extremely hard for a player to survive in such a way without the support of a Guild. Meanwhile, Auxiliary Jobs such as Chef was much easier. The cost to support it was also extremely low and players alone could be supported by it by themselves. If their talents were high, and they were capable of creating delicious cuisines, they could still earn quite a lot of money in Gods Domain. However, delicious cuisines usually required Advanced Cooking Recipes and materials. These items were hard to obtain, so trying to earn a lot of money would not be easy. It was truly hard to imagine that a future Cleric God would be such a clumsy young lady. He recalled that Violet Cloud was one of the members of Ouroboros during her first three years in Gods Domain. When the Snow Goddess left Ouroboros, Violet Cloud similarly left the Guild. From then on, she was just a solo player. When she had become a Tier 4 Great Cleric, countless first-rate Guilds tried recruiting her with shockingly high prices. Ouroboros also tried countless times to invite her back. Unfortunately, Violet Cloud did not pay attention to any of them. Her actions greatly angered those first-rate Guilds. Since they could not obtain her, they would destroy her. Hence, they sent many experts to assassinate Violet Cloud. Unfortunately, not only did Violet Cloud not get destroyed, instead, she became even stronger. She massacred the players sent by these Guilds, giving them a crushing defeat. Not long after, she advanced her Job to Tier 5, becoming a Brilliant Cleric Saint. This caused those first-rate Guilds to become even more helpless. In the end, Violet Cloud became a Tier 6 Cleric God. At that time, she searched for all those first-rate Guilds to have her revenge. These Guilds could only pay the price of blood to quell this matter. From then on, Violet Cloud became one of the top ten Cleric Gods in the entire world. This incident caused the upper-echelons of Ouroboros to greatly regret not asking her to stay all those years ago. As a result of this incident, everyone made fun of the inability of the upper-echelons of Ouroboros. Instead of utilizing those with potential, they were only using those boot-lickers whom they were fond of. In the end, they had missed the chance to become a Super-Guild. However, Shi Feng could not find a Guild insignia on Violet Clouds person right now. In addition to Violet Clouds current appearance, Shi Feng could guess Violet Cloud must have been discovered by the Snow Goddess later on, which in turn resulted in Violet Cloud feeling indebted to the Snow Goddess. Hence, Violet Cloud left Ouroboros when the Snow Goddess stopped playing Gods Domain. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud currently had yet to meet the Snow Goddess. It was the perfect chance for Shi Feng to recruit her. Even if Violet Cloud was unskilled now, she had the potential to become a Cleric God. As long as she was properly nurtured, she would definitely be able to become a Cleric God in the future. Violet Cloud was no idiot. When she heard Shi Feng saying so, she stared at Shi Feng in a panic, both her hands covering her poorly-developed chest as she retreated a step. Sir, aside from selling Fruit Juice, I wont be selling anything else. If you are regretting it now, you can take back your money. Violet Cloud handed over the Silver Coins she had just received. However, her eyes still carried with them a hint of unwillingness as she did. At her time of despair, a person suddenly emerged, saying that he wanted to purchase a thousand cups of Fruit Juice. Moreover, he was even willing to wait for thirty hours without reducing her pay. She would not believe Shi Feng had no ulterior motives, even if she were beaten to death. Forget Violet Cloud; even the surrounding players would not believe it. If Shi Feng did not have any ulterior motives, why would he save her? He even spent 10 Silver Coins to buy those unwanted beverages. Shi Feng looked at Violet Clouds vigilant expression and actions. He then looked towards her smooth flat chest, suddenly laughing, Youre overthinking things. I really have no interest towards your flatlands. Im only buying this many because I just happened to have a use for Fruit Juice. If you dont wish to sell them to me, then so be it. Ill just find someone else to buy them from. Saying so, Shi Feng released Drifting Blood as he turned away and left. However, Drifting Blood was not willing to let Shi Feng go. Shi Feng publicly humiliated him by forcing him to kneel with just a single hand. Moreover, when has Martial Union been afraid of anyone? Since the Guards didnt seem to be paying attention, it would be extremely easy to get rid of Shi Feng. Thinking so, Drifting Blood pulled out a weapon and used Charge at Shi Feng. With his sensitive five senses, Shi Feng naturally knew of Drifting Bloods actions. Shi Feng spun around to face him, pulling out the Abyssal Blade and using parry. Dang! Drifting Bloods greatsword hacked at Shi Fengs sword. Instead of hurting Shi Feng however, Drifting Blood was knocked back by three yards. The durability of the greatsword in his hands instantly reduced by 2 points, and he looked at Shi Feng in shock. He did not understand how a person like Shi Feng would have such great strength. Shi Feng was like a beast in human skin. The surrounding players were similarly shocked. Drifting Blood was a Berserker, so he must have definitely added a lot of Strength points. He was also at Level 3, similar to Shi Feng; so how could the gap between them be so great? These players did not know, however, that this was still only half of Shi Fengs real Strength. After all, Shi Feng could obtain 6 Free Attribute Points for every increase to his level. It was 1.5 times that of an average player. Not to mention Shi Fengs body was protected by Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. There was even the powerful Magic Weapon. Even with just half of these aspects, Shi Fengs Strength far exceeded the average player. If Shi Fengs Strength had not been reduced by half, just by activating the Strength Hidden Basic Skill and the Strength provided by the Magic Weapon, Shi Feng could destroy that basic greatsword without a problem. Brat, youre courting death! See how Ill take care of you! Drifting Blood naturally would not believe that Shi Feng was his match. He immediately stood back up, lifting his greatsword as he looked at Shi Feng. Idiot. Shi Feng sheathed the Abyssal Blade, having completely lost interest in Drifting Blood. Watching Shi Feng store his weapon, Drifting Blood thought Shi Feng had become afraid and wanted to beg for mercy. However, he would not forgive Shi Feng. Drifting Blood further increased the power in his hands. Just as Drifting Blood was about to slash at Shi Feng, he was immediately sent into a Fainted state. Before Drifting Blood could turn around and curse the bastard that attacked him, he suddenly discovered six silvery-white armored Guards standing before him. Without saying anything further, the Guards placed Drifting Blood in shackles. Youve violated a Town Law, take a trip with us. Any resistance and youll be killed without consideration, the two Guards grabbed Drifting Blood from both sides, turning around and dragging him away. Crap, youve got the wrong person! Im just an ordinary citizen! Its that bastard who attacked me first! You guys should be arresting him! Drifting Blood continuously pointed at Shi Feng, yelling injustice in rage. However, the Guards paid no attention to his bellowing, taking him away immediately. Everyone was also in shock. Why did the Guards only appear now? Moreover, they even apprehended the wrong person. What sort of situation was this, exactly? Could Shi Feng actually be an NPC, a part of the nobility? Only Nobles would have such authority. To the side, Violet Cloud had a blank expression on her face, unable to make sense of the situation. Why didnt the Guards arrest Shi Feng? Instead, they arrested Drifting Blood. Was Shi Feng really a Noble NPC? Violet Clouds eyes were filled with reluctance as she watched Shi Feng leaving. She bit her rosy lips, her delicate hands tightly gripping the hem of her shirt. Of course, she was not reacting so because of how handsome Shi Feng was, but instead, she was truly in need of money. Those 10 Silver Counts were too important to her. 61 Poaching Just as everyone was guessing whether or not Shi Feng was a Noble NPC As Drifting Blood was being dragged away, he glared at Shi Feng with eyes of a poisonous snake, bellowing, Brat, just you wait. Ill remember you now. Our Martial Union will not let you off. Ill still be a good guy when I come out twelve hours later. When that time comes, there would be no place in Red Leaf Town for you. Everyone felt chills down their backs as they heard Drifting Bloods malicious threat. Was he planning to fight to the death? However, no one dared to belittle Shi Feng any longer. Just by judging from his single action just now, they knew Shi Feng was not as simple as he looked. Martial Union was a relatively famous Guild in Red Leaf Town. They were very well-known in other Wuxia virtual reality games. They were not a Guild managed by a Workshop, but instead, they were a Guild that was managed by casual gamers. Including investments from a few wealthy personages, Martial Union also started establishing a foothold in Gods Domain. Although they did not reach the standards of a third-rate Guild, they were not a Guild to be taken lightly. Currently, Gods Domain monopolized the entire virtual gaming industry. Under the support of the recently developed Main God System, Gods Domain did not require humans for operation. The Main God System assured fairness in the game, and it would also constantly evolve the game, continuously pumping out various Quests, Dungeons, hidden locations, and so on. Gods Domain was a living game, and it was something that no other virtual reality game could compare to. The maps in Gods Domain were also immensely vast, sufficient for the entire population of Earth. Moreover, a majority of the things available in real life could also be experienced within the game, in addition to things that could not be found in real life. Gods Domain was slowly trending towards becoming a second world, and other virtual reality games had no chance of competing with it. After Drifting Blood was dragged away by the Guards, everyones gaze turned towards Shi Feng. They all held curiosity on their faces, and their eyes tried to see through Shi Feng. They wanted to know whether or not Shi Feng was an NPC. Unfortunately, no matter what kind of observation skills they used, the results told them that Shi Feng was 100% a player and not an NPC. This only further increased everyones confusion. Yet, nobody dared to go over and ask Shi Feng, as Shi Feng might not even answer them. If by chance they were to cause Shi Feng displeasure, who knew, they might be the next Drifting Blood. Shi Feng looked at the puzzled faces of the people around him. He merely revealed a faint smile at the sight as he turned to leave. After living in Gods Domain for ten years, he long since clearly understood the rules of Gods Domain. A player would be captured and jailed if he were to attack another player inside a Safe Zone. However, as long as an action did not cause any damage, even if it were an intense bodily contact, the Guards would not pay heed to it. Pressing onto Drifting Blood and clapping his shoulders were both actions that did not cause damage. It was just that the strength behind it was different than what one would normally use for such actions. Naturally, the Guards would not care about such actions. However, Drifting Blood used Charge, a skill that would cause the target to enter into a Fainted state in addition to damage. Moreover, there were also his aggressive actions. The Guards naturally would not let him off freely. Meanwhile, female players only had to activate the Anti-harassment System to prevent harassing players from doing anything to them. However, Violet Cloud just recently entered Gods Domain, so it was natural for her not to know about it. Regarding Drifting Bloods threat, Shi Feng paid no heed to it. Martial Union was a Guild that did not even reach the standard of third-rate. Shi Feng previously used to lead the weak Shadow to stand off against many first-rate Guilds, and these first-rate Guilds were helpless dealing with them. Martial Union, a leisure Guild that only had several thousand players, was not worth even mentioning. If they wished to find trouble with him, he would just deal with them. As a reincarnated person with a Magic Weapon in hand, what was he afraid of? As for deepening his relationship with Violet Cloud, Shi Feng could only leave it aside for now as he searched for another way. The girls vigilance was just too heavy for him to get through. However, Shi Feng understood her reasons. If it were the Snow Goddess standing in his place, Violet Cloud might have a different reaction. Shi Feng bitterly laughed, shaking his head as he left. Sir, please hold on a moment, Violet Cloud finally said, no longer able to endure it. The enticement of 10 Silver Coins was just too great. This was her biggest chance. If she were to miss it, what would happen to her sick mother? Oh? Did you change your mind? Shi Feng turned around to look at Violet Clouds troubled expression, smiling as he spoke. Violet Cloud stayed on guard as she looked at Shi Fengs eyes, trying to discern any bad intentions within them. However, no matter how she looked at them, she could not discover any special emotions within them. Instead, she could feel a vast ocean hidden within the depths of Shi Fengs eyes. However, she still asked in caution, You truly want only the Fruit Juice and absolutely wont have other requests? Shi Feng was sweating profusely in his heart. For her to seek confirmation over and over just how unreliable was he? He would have left long ago, were it not for her potential to become a Cleric God, as even he was unable to endure being thought of as a lecherous bastard by others. In any case, Im in need of a Chef to make some things for me. How about this? Well set up a contract, and Ill hire you to be my Chef. Ill give you the same treatment as a Lifestyle player in a third-rate Guild. You should be able to relax with the Main God Systems guarantee. If you dont have any problems, then follow me. If you still cant feel reassured, then just stay here, Shi Feng let out a sigh, speaking unhurriedly. Violet Cloud was dumbfounded. The man before her was actually hiring her, and he was even giving her an ordinary job. It should be known that Chef was a Lifestyle Job that nobody thought highly of; no one ever hired Chef players. She had heard before, from her best friend, the treatment of a Lifestyle player in a third-rate guild. At that time, her friend even showed off that her boyfriend was a Lifestyle player in a third-rate Guild and how great the monthly treatment he received was. If he performed well, there would even be various kinds of benefits. The treatment was much better than many jobs that were available in real life, and this caused Violet Cloud to be extremely envious. Ill follow you. However, I work very slowly. Is there really no problem? Violet Cloud ground her teeth, deciding to agree with Shi Feng. If she were to let go of this chance, what sort of future awaited her? Judging from his various performances, Shi Feng did not seem like a bad person. Moreover, she was just a very ordinary female player. There was absolutely no need for him to conspire and trick her. This was a virtual world. If she did not reveal her address in real life, Shi Feng would not be able to track her at all. Moreover, Shi Feng would have to bear a great risk in doing so. Follow me then. I still have some things I need to buy, Shi Feng nodded his head, appearing to be very calm. However, inwardly, he was in ecstasy. He had swindled a Cleric God into his hands, just like that. As for the Snow Goddess, Shi Feng could only apologize and say, first come, first served. Subsequently, Violet Cloud left with Shi Feng. Shi Feng brought along Violet Cloud, returning to the Grocery Shop once more. He bought an assortment of equipment used by Chefs such as Pots, Spatulas, Knives, and so on, spending less than 2 Silver Coins in total. Afterward, he went to the Chefs Association, spending 1 Silver Coin to purchase two sheets of Basic Cooking Recipes. One was a recipe for cooking Wolf Meat, the other for making an Energizing Drink. At the same time, he spent an additional 5 Silver Coins purchasing plenty of materials that were required by these recipes, as well as the materials for the Fruit Juice. Violet Cloud was shocked by Shi Fengs actions. He actually spent so much money, buying so many things. He was just too rich. Her previous notion of Shi Feng being unreliable completely changed now. The materials and recipes Shi Feng had spent so much money buying were sufficient to allow her to promote herself to an Advanced Apprentice Chef. This was a treatment not even the Lifestyle players of first-rate Guilds would receive. However, what Violet Cloud did not know of was that Shi Feng felt that these items were very cheap. It was truly easy to nurture a Chef. All the materials required by the recipes could be bought from the NPC, and it only took 10 Silver Coins to nurture an Advanced Apprentice Chef. Such an amount of money would not even be enough to squander for nurturing a Forger or Potionmaker. Shi Feng then rented a Basic Kitchen, bringing Violet Cloud to it. After you sign the contract, all these materials and recipes will belong to you. You only need to create 900 cups of Fruit Juice first. Then, use everything remaining for these two recipes. You will receive a 20% share when these items are sold. At the same time, depending on your results, Ill decide your base salary every month. If you try to run away, youll have to compensate me ten times that amount. Sign it if you dont have any problems, Shi Feng brought out a standard employment contract for Lifestyle players from the Main God System. Aside from having different treatments, these contracts were the same as others. There were no loopholes in them, and the law held effect over it. 62 Moonlight Fores Violet Cloud was in a daze for a long time after reading the contract. She believed she was in a dream. She heard before the treatment Lifestyle players received in third-rate Guilds. The treatment she would be receiving was definitely better than those Lifestyle players. It was especially true for the base salary. Lifestyle players of third-rate Guilds definitely did not receive such treatment. Why are you being so good to me? Violet Cloud looked at Shi Feng with wide, teary eyes, asking. She wanted to know the reason. Dont misunderstand; Im only in need of a Chef. Ive only hired you because I can see youre a very hardworking and earnest person. If you try to take advantage of the situation and fail to hit my requirements, then you can get lost. Im not interested in nurturing someone useless, Shi Feng suddenly spoke in a grave tone. He wanted Violet Cloud to know that it was not easy to become his personal Chef. That was because people were bound to become wasteful when they constantly received things without effort. Violet Cloud was frightened after being told so by Shi Feng. She lowered her head, no longer daring to ask any more silly questions. Judging from Shi Fengs attitude, it was clear that he was indeed looking for a Chef, and that she had just been chosen by chance. Hence, Violet Cloud lifted the pen and signed the contract.This was her final chance at escaping her desperate situation. She definitely must grab ahold of it. Boss, will I be making them here? Violet Cloud immediately entered her role, appearing very respectful. She took a look at her surroundings. The environment here was very good, and it was also very peaceful. However, the rental for the Basic Kitchen was by no means cheap. Yeah, youll be manufacturing the items here from now on. Ive already applied for the membership here so that you can come here anytime. There is enough money stored for you to use a long period. There wont be anyone here to disturb you. The facilities here are also thorough, so your success rate can be increased by quite a bit. If you dont have any problems, then you can start working now. In thirty hours, if I dont see the nine hundred cups of Fruit Juice, then you may leave. Shi Feng was very satisfied with Violet Clouds attitude. He turned and left after finished saying his piece.As for luring Violet Cloud onto the path of battles and leveling, more time would be needed to slowly lead her towards that path. Moreover, Shi Feng had a great purpose for Fruit Juice. It would not be a bad choice to allow Violet Cloud to make them for him. Violet Clouds eyes followed Shi Fengs back as he left. Her heart was filled with gratitude towards Shi Feng. She made a firm resolution to work properly and to not disappoint her new boss. After leaving the Chefs Association, Shi Feng returned to the Forging Association. Currently, the number of Forgers in the Forging Association was constantly increasing. These players formed small conversation groups, either discussing how to increase their success rates or discussing the struggle between Hammer Trading and the mysterious forger. The two had become the target of envy, as well as idols of worship for these players. Did you see the article posted by Hammer Trading just now? Of course Ive seen it. I never imagined Hammer Trading would be so hot-tempered as to actually insistent on challenging the mysterious forger. He even declared that the first one to withdraw from this price war would be a son of a bitch. Ah, I truly envy them. They had actually obtained a Bronze Forging Design. How great would it be if I could have one as well? At the very least, I could join a third-rate Guild if I had one. What do you even know? Ive heard the Forgers that are in Guilds saying that the drop rate for Bronze Forging Designs is frighteningly low. Moreover, its success rate is also shockingly low. Currently, selling them for 3 to 4 Silver Coins per piece is just a complete loss. The Glimmer Chestplate with better Attributes would create an even bigger loss. On the other hand, the various Guilds are all in cheerful moods, even thanking Hammer Trading for his actions. Otherwise, how would they be able to buy Bronze Equipment at such low prices? Truthfully speaking, I dislike that Hammer Trading very much. Was it bad to let all Forgers profit together? Why must he insist on challenging the mysterious forger to the very end, causing both sides to suffer?Hearing the discussions of these players, Shi Feng entered deep thought. After a moment, he revealed a faint smile. Judging from Hammer Tradings actions, it was clear that he was currently having a hard time. The Silver Coins in his possession were definitely insufficient, and he must be wantonly purchasing Silver Coins from the market right now. This would lead to a great increase in prices for Silver Coins, so it was the perfect chance for Shi Feng to sell them. Shi Feng wanted to thank Hammer Trading. If it were not for him, the market for equipment would not be as lively as it is now. Currently, there would be a large amount of Silver Coins entering his pockets every so often. Meanwhile, although Shi Feng had spent quite a lot of it, the amount of money he possessed was still madly increasing. The money he possessed had already reached 3 Gold Coins. At the reception desk, Shi Feng once more rented an Intermediate Forging Room for five hours, starting a new round of forging and manufacturing. However, before he started forging, Shi Feng entered the Virtual Center. He wanted to check the prices for Gods Domains game currency and sell some of the game currency he possessed. Just leaving it in his pockets was truly a waste.Shi Feng was in the dark when he did not check, but the moment he did, he was shocked. Although there was a large number of players in Gods Domain, the number of players who were selling the games currency did not exceed a hundred. More importantly, the selling prices were astonishing. A single Silver Coin was selling for 60 Credits. The price was at least double of that during Shi Fengs previous life. However, the number of Silver Coins sold by these players were very small, mostly around 2 to 3 Silver Coins per player. Aside from the sellers, there were also players who were buying Gods Domain currency in bulk. The lowest buying price was at 55 Credits per Silver Coin, while the highest was at 58 Credits per Silver Coin. That meant that a single Silver Coin in Gods Domain was enough for Shi Feng to eat in luxury for two days. It was because of this competition that caused the prices of Silver Coins to be so expensive. At the current stage of the game, so long as a person had a brain, they would know not to sell any of their game currency. On the other hand, there were many Guilds who were purchasing game currencies in bulk, at a reasonable price. There were only a scant few money-farming groups and Workshops who would sell some of their currency. However, the amount they sold was extremely low. Moreover, their prices were extremely high. Only as a last resort would the various Guilds buy currency from these groups. However, these Guilds knew the price competition for equipment was a great chance for them to reap some benefits. So, they would definitely purchase game currency in bulk. However, there was not that much game currency available for sale. They could only purchase the game currency sold at the Virtual Center. Moreover, where did the large amount of game currency flow to? A majority of it was definitely in Shi Fengs pockets, while a minority was at the material merchants side. That meant Shi Feng was currently a big shot at selling game currency. Even a hundred-man money-farming group was far from being able to compare with Shi Feng. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately placed 3 Gold Coins up for sale, selling each Silver Coin at 60 Credits. Shi Feng still needed to collect the money to buy two virtual gaming helmets, so how could he be polite with these tycoons? Although the price was slightly high, to obtain equipment, the many Guilds in White River City will definitely buy them. When that time came, all these game currencies would eventually return to his hands. After settling this matter, Shi Feng started focusing on forging equipment and manufacturing Forging Designs. Five hours went by quickly. Shi Feng once more forged more than 80 Glimmer Chestplates and 50 Forging Designs for the Glimmer Chestplate. The 200,000 EXP required by the Teleportation Orb had been filled, and his own experience had also increased by quite a lot. He was just 22% away from Level 4 now, and he was just short of slightly more than 200 Proficiency Points before becoming an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. In this forging session, the Forging Designs made were the most valuable when compared to the equipment made. Looking at the current popularity of the Glimmer Chestplate, the various Guilds were definitely in a rush to obtain their own Bronze Equipment Forging Design. They wanted to nurture their own forgers and create their own Bronze Equipment. After all, the drop rate of Bronze Equipment was extremely low. There were also not that many Elite monsters available to hunt. In regards to the millions of players in White River City, the amount of equipment sold by Shi Feng and Hammer Trading was insignificant. There were still swarms of players requiring the equipment. After leaving the Forging Room, the amount of money in Shi Fengs pockets once more increased by a lot. Hence, Shi Feng made a trip to the Trade Area, once more purchasing Stones and Hard Stones. He then cleared out the Card Sets and Hard Stones that were sold at the Auction House, and in turn, placing the over 80 Glimmer Chestplates on auction. However, the selling price for the equipment this time was slightly different. The minimum price was no longer at 4 Silver Coins but 3 Silver Coins. Hammer Trading was quickly nearing insanity from the competition. When Hammer Trading saw Shi Feng had once again lowered his selling price, Hammer Trading even spat out blood. Now that Shi Feng reduced his selling price, naturally, Hammer Trading had to reduce his as well. Did Shi Feng want him to sell a kidney?! Must he be so merciless?! The person himself, however, did not put much consideration into such matters. Shi Feng only wanted to advertise the Glimmer Chestplate. After leaving the Auction House, Shi Feng stored the Philosophers Stone and materials in the Bank. Afterward, Shi Feng went to the Pharmacy to purchase two stacks of Basic Regeneration Potions. He then went to the Magic Shop, purchasing over ten types of Magic Scrolls. He bought 5 pieces of each kind, and each piece cost around 20 to 40 Coppers. Now that the experience required by the Teleportation Magic Orb has been fully collected, Shi Feng could go to the Moonlight Forest. However, the Moonlight Forest was not an easy and relaxing place to stay. On the contrary, crisis came one after another there, making the place extremely dangerous. Players dubbed the map as the Land of Eternal Rest. Without proper preparations, players would definitely die ten out of ten times there.The scrolls Shi Feng bought were all necessary tools for him to survive in the wilderness. Before, he did not have that much money, so he did not bother with purchasing the Magic Scrolls. Now that he did, he naturally would not be courteous. At the very least, these scrolls could improve his survival chances there, rather dying nine out of ten times. Following which, Shi Feng searched for a deserted location and activated the Teleportation Magic Orb. Shi Feng then transformed into a streak of white light, vanishing from Red Leaf Town. 63 Mountain Beast Fighter The sky was a dull grey. A full moon shone, scattering faint silvery rays throughout the tranquil forest. From the crystal clear lake, one could hear the croaking of frogs. Fireflies were dancing throughout the forest. The scene was like a fantasy from a childrens fairy tale. This place was the Moonlight Forest, also known as the Land of Eternal Rest by players. The moment Shi Feng arrived at this place, the first thing he did was take out an Isolation Scroll. Immediately, he activated the magic contained within the scroll. The dazzling magical runes written on the scroll came rushing out, and Shi Fengs body suddenly became blurry. If looking from a far distance, it was very hard to notice Shi Fengs existence. Each Isolation Scroll cost 40 Copper Coins. It was practically the entire fortune of an average player. Although the price was high, its effects were remarkable. The Isolation Scroll could greatly decrease a players sense of presence, making it hard for surrounding enemies to discover them. The scroll had a duration of half an hour, and it was a must-have tool when exploring dangerous areas. Although it was not as effective as an Assassins Stealth, it was better than nothing for Jobs that did not possess Stealth. When the Isolation Scroll was used, within a 30-yard radius, players would not be easily discovered by Common Monsters below Level 15. Unless, of course, said player was courting death and attacked the monster. Following which, Shi Feng infiltrated the forest. He headed towards the central region of the Moonlight Forest in search of Moonstones, wanting to remove the hateful curse even a little faster. The Moonlight Forest was a Level 9 monster area. Its location was not in Star-Moon Kingdom, but an isolated space. Every City had a Teleportation Gate directed towards the Moonlight Forest. In Shi Fengs previous life, over 90% of the Level 9 players in Gods Domain would grind for treasure here. However, even if a player were already Level 10, the place would still massacre them. That was because the monsters here usually stayed in groups of three to five, and they possessed powerful skills. A single misstep could cause a party-wipe. Even so, players would still persevere, rushing to their deaths over and over as if they were possessed. As a result of the constant deaths, the Moonlight Forest was referred to by others as the Land of Eternal Rest. Meanwhile, the reason these players would persevere to such a degree was mainly that the monsters here dropped Gemstones. Moreover, the drop rate was relatively high. The number of Treasure Chests here was also high. As long as one found a Treasure Chest, there was an 80% chance to obtain Gemstones. Gemstones were very valuable in Gods Domain. The reason being, they were able to increase the Attributes of a piece of equipment. Depending on the color of the Gemstones, the Attributes they increased were also different: red increased Strength, yellow increased Agility, blue increased Endurance, purple increased Intelligence, and green increased Vitality. A Tier 1 Gemstone could increase an Attribute by 2 points. However, such an amount must not be belittled. A piece of Bronze Equipment could have one Gemstone embed into it, whereas a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment could have two Gemstones into it. If every piece of equipment worn by a player were outfitted with Gemstones, a number of accumulated Attributes would be very terrifying. That was why the demand for Gemstones was extremely great. The prices of Gemstones would always remain high, causing many players to take the great risk of farming Gemstones at the Moonlight Forest. Moreover, there were various resources such as ore, herbs, rare food materials, and so on in the Moonlight Forest. However, the most well-known part about the Moonlight Forest was still the fifty-man Dungeon, the Sleeping Fortress, that resided there. The Dungeon was also the location to exchange Card Sets. However, only after the Dungeon had been cleared by a team, would players of the same Area be allowed to enter the Dungeon to exchange their Card Sets. However, Shi Fengs current goal was not the Card Sets, but the Moonstones. The Moonstones could only be found in the core area of the Moonlight Forest. Only, Shi Feng could not help but be careful when taking action. Not mentioning the extreme dangers found in the Moonlight Forest, Shi Feng was just Level 3 right now, and he was entering a Level 9 monster area. If he were to die an accidental death, then the 200,000 EXP he collected would be for naught, and he would have to start collecting it all over again. He had yet to reach Level 10, so he could not activate the Teleportation Gate found in Cities. If he were to die, his only choice was to return to Red Leaf Town; if he wished to return to this place, his only choice was to collect the required experience. Currently, Shi Feng was far behind the leading experts regarding level. It would be an absolute nightmare if Shi Feng were to die once and have to collect another 200,000 EXP. Just after entering the forest, Shi Feng could see Level 9 Shadow Leopards hiding either up in the trees or in the bushes, each of them prepared to ambush their foe. If it were not for the Isolation Scroll, Shi Feng would have long since been discovered. Shi Feng naturally wasnt an opponent for a Level 9 monster, so he could only avoid them. Besides, his goal here was not to kill monsters, and even more so, there was no need for him to pick a fight with the Shadow Leopards. Shi Feng carefully circled the Shadow Leopards, one after another. After spending more than an hour doing so, he arrived at a wide and towering forest made of stone. In this stone forest existed a group of battle maniacs called Mountain Beast Fighters. They were a group of tenacious warriors that did not fear suffering. The thing they loved most was battling, and the fiercer, the better. At the same time, they were also guarding a large pile of treasure, and amongst the treasure was the rarely seen Moonstone. However, the entire stone forest was filled with these armored, gigantic creatures. Wielding a spiked club the height of two people, these creatures patrolled the stone forest, preventing anyone from entering. If Shi Feng were to set foot in the stone forest, there was a 100% chance for him to be discovered. At that time, a group of those Mountain Beast Fighters would come rushing over, and a swing from each of those spiked clubs would easily turn Shi Feng into meat paste. [Mountain Beast Fighter] (Common Rank) Level 9 HP 1100/1100 Looks like I can only clear the way slowly. After searching for half a day, Shi Feng still could not find any safe way to penetrate the heart of the forest. His only choice was to kill his way there. Shi Feng could not help but admit that the difficulty of an Epic Quest was indeed very hard. This was just the beginning, yet he was already required to face off against the Level 9 Mountain Beast Fighters. He did not know what kinds of challenges he would meet further down the line. Fortunately, he was very familiar with the terrain of the Moonlight Forest. He knew many methods to deal with the Beast Warriors before him. The Mountain Beast Fighters were abnormally powerful, and their attacks were out of the ordinary. Even Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights of an equal level were unable to take more than a few hits from them. However, their bodies were enormous, resulting in their Movement Speed being relatively slow. In Shi Fengs previous life, there were many Elementalists who used Frost Arrow to reduce their speed. They then utilized the unique terrain of the stone forest to avoid the attacks from the spiked clubs, kiting and killing the Mountain Beast Fighters. Following which, this stone forest became a holy ground for ranged players. Mountain Beast Fighters could be seen being kited through various means throughout the stone forest. Although Shi Feng did not possess any speed reduction skills, he could use other methods to supplement it. As for kiting the Mountain Beast Fighters, he had the rare skill, Defensive Blade[1], which could increase his attack range by quite a lot. Shi Feng did not believe that a Sword King expert, such as himself, could not beat a Level 10 Elementalist regarding utilizing the terrain to dodge attacks. After properly observing the terrain, Shi Feng ran practice simulations in his mind a total of five times. Carrying out mental simulations would have a tremendous effect during actual operation. Hence, every expert would often carry out mental simulations of the operation before actually taking action. The reason why experts were experts, was because of the preparations they made were much greater than others. There would often be many average players who would admire the experts in Gods Domain. They would lament over their own skills being poor, determining that they would never be able to reach the level of these experts. In reality, however, they did not know how great of an effort these experts were putting into each day. The suffering these experts went through each day far exceeded the average player. It was the reason why they could shine brilliantly. After running through the simulations, Shi Feng took out a Black Steel Beer and a Speed Scroll. The Black Steel Beer could reduce a monsters level by 2. In addition to the Attributes of the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng would not be suppressed due to the level difference, even when facing a Level 9 monster. He would be able to deal damage normally. As for the Speed Scroll, each one of them cost 25 Copper Coins. It increased the users Movement Speed by 25% for a duration of 10 minutes. This scroll was a lifesaving item when out in the wilderness. Shi Feng bought a total of twenty of them just for such occasions. If the average player were to learn about this, they would definitely curse Shi Feng as a spendthrift. Such an item would only be used when one was in a life or death crisis. Meanwhile, Shi Feng used it for killing Common Monsters. It was just too extravagant. If Shi Feng were not cursed, he could easily kite these monsters, just based on his Attributes. However, his Attributes were now reduced by 50%. The suppression was just too great, so it was safer to use a Speed Scroll. If Shi Feng were to mess things up, it would not just be a matter of losing a level. He would have also wasted 200,000 EXP. Shi Feng took a deep breath, relaxing his body as he looked towards the closest Mountain Beast Fighter. Following which, his two feet exploded with strength, rushing towards the Mountain Beast Fighter. * * * TL Notes: Normal attacks range increased by 10 yards after use. Able to block up to a maximum of 6 ranged attacks or 3 melee attacks. Duration of 25 seconds. 64 Silvermoon Set Equipmen When the distance between Shi Feng and the Mountain Beast Fighter was less than 30 yards, the monster discovered Shi Feng speeding towards it. It widened its mouth and let out an ear-piercing battle cry. It raised its gigantic spiked club, using a Charge and rushing towards Shi Feng. Shi Feng immediately pulled out the Abyssal Blade. The blade slashed horizontally as Shi Feng used Parry.Peng! Shi Feng was knocked back by five yards, pulling some distance away from the Mountain Beast Fighter without taking any damage. After he landed, he immediately spun around and ran towards the stone forest. If players were hit by the Mountain Beast Fighters Charge, the monster would immediately follow up with a Break to reduce the players speed, preventing them from escaping. In Shi Fengs previous life, the Elementalists who were struck by the Beast Fighters Charge would immediately use Frozen Nova to freeze the monster for 8 seconds. They would take the chance to gain some distance, then continue by kiting the monster. The Mountain Beast Fighters would only use Charge on the first meeting, using suppressing skills afterward. As long as the Elementalists did not let the monsters catch up to them, there would be no danger whatsoever. Also, nearby there were numerous large rocks that could be used to toy with the Mountain Beast Fighters, making the process of killing them a lot easier. After using the Speed Scroll, Shi Fengs speed was faster than the Mountain Beast Fighter just by a thread. It was not very obvious, but it was this small difference that prevented the Mountain Beast Fighter from catching up to him. After entering the densely packed stone forest, Shi Feng turned around and used Thundering Flash. From a distance of 15 yards, three sword rays immediately pierced through the Beast Fighters armor, causing three damages of -15, -19, -13. Without the level suppression, even if Shi Fengs Attributes were reduced by 50%, his Attack Power and Skill Damage were still very powerful. After using the skill, Shi Fengs speed slightly reduced, and the Mountain Beast Fighter caught up to him within an instant. The Beast Fighter was clearly furious after being struck. It roared as it brandished its spiked club, smashing it at Shi Feng. Shi Feng hurriedly turned his body, hiding by a nearby rock. The spiked club did not land on Shi Feng; it only hit the stone and created a splash of broken rocks.During this attack, Shi Feng, once again, pulled a distance of over 8 yards away from the monster. After using Thundering Flash, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade. His attack range suddenly increased to 15 yards. As long as he maintained a 5-yard distance between the Mountain Beast Fighter, the monster would not be able to land a hit on him. Shi Feng brandished his sword as he paid attention to the distance between him and the monster, pulling back to avoid the club whenever he was too close. In such a way, streak after streak of sword light landed on the Mountain Beast Fighters body. The Beast Fighter could only bellow in helplessness as its HP continuously fell. It never imagined that a human could actually be so agile and cunning. Every time its attack was about to land, the human would dodge towards a nearby rock. Its bulky spiked club could not land a hit at all. Instead, it only served to create a gap between itself and the human. Just when the Mountain Beast Fighters HP went below 7%, another Mountain Beast Fighter suddenly appeared from behind a rock. It blocked Shi Fengs path, using Charge at him. Scram! Faced with the sudden appearance of another monster, Shi Feng immediately used Abyssal Bind on it, preventing the monster from moving. At the same time, the Abyssal Bind also canceled the life-threatening Charge. Since the Mountain Beast Fighter had been locked up, Shi Feng naturally would not let the skill go to waste. He immediately used Wind Blade, instantly shaking off the low HP Mountain Beast Fighter, and his blade landed on the bound Mountain Beast Fighters neck. Shi Feng continued by using Double Chop, causing a Bleeding effect on the monster. He then used another Chop on the monster. Just within 3 seconds, Shi Feng had taken away 16% of this Mountain Beast Fighters HP. Seeing as the low HP Mountain Beast Fighter was about to catch up, Shi Feng dodged and arrived at behind the restricted Beast Fighter. He raised the pitch black Abyssal Blade high, abruptly slashing down.Thundering Flash!Above the heads of both Mountain Beast Fighters, three consecutive damages of -16, -19, -23 appeared. The low HP Beast Warrior fell to the ground with a bang. System: Mountain Beast Fighter killed. Level difference of 6. EXP obtained increased by 600%. Obtained 36 EXP. Such an amount of experience could be considered negligible to Shi Feng, who was currently Level 3. On the other hand, the Proficiency Points for using skills were gained much faster. Every use would definitely increase the skills proficiency by 3 points. This allowed Chop to quickly rise to Level 3. In addition to the Abyssal Blades Attributes, Shi Fengs Chop was now Level 5; its might greatly increasing. Double Chop had also risen to Level 2, and if the skill were used through the Abyssal Blade, it would be a Level 4 Double Chop. The damage caused by the Bleeding effect also increased significantly. The restricted Mountain Beast Fighter bellowed. It finally broke free from the chains, and it wanted to annihilate Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng gave it no chance. He immediately distanced himself 5 yards away from the monster and continued kiting it. Although the Defensive Blade had a long Cooldown and a short duration, by using Thundering Flash, Double Chop, and Parry in concert, Shi Feng could still slowly grind the Mountain Beast Fighter down. Not a minute later, another Mountain Beast Fighter fell. However, the Mountain Beast Fighters did not reward Shi Feng with anything special. There were only three pieces of Hard Stone and 2 Copper Coins. On the other hand, killing these Mountain Beast Fighters was a good way to grind Skill Proficiency Points. Subsequently, Shi Feng advanced forward while killing Mountain Beast Fighters. These monsters had a short respawn time, so from time to time, Shi Feng would attract two to three of these Mountain Beast Fighters. Fortunately, the stone forest had narrow spaces. This resulted in the Beast Fighters blocking each others path, their numbers causing their speed to reduce instead. Seeing this, Shi Feng had sudden inspiration. He started luring more and more Mountain Beast Fighters, and within a short moment, he had lured over 20 of these monsters. The monsters chased after Shi Feng as a group, but the narrow pathways of the stone forest prevented them from even stretching their bodies. Just a slight movement and they would run into the other Mountain Beast Fighters. Such a situation allowed Shi Feng to become much more relaxed. Shi Feng constantly used Thundering Flash and various other skills to burn off the HP of the Mountain Beast Fighters behind him. Shi Feng kept luring new Mountain Beast Fighters as he attacked the ones behind him. In such a way, Shi Fengs Skill Proficiency Points increased without stop. After three hours, Thundering Flash had risen to Level 3; Chop had risen to Level 5, Double Chop to Level 4, Wind Blade to Level 3, Defensive Blade to Level 2, and Windwalk to Level 2. This increase allowed Shi Feng to kill monsters with greater ease. With the increase from the Abyssal Blade, the damage from a single Thundering Flash could take away over 90 HP from each Mountain Beast Fighter. A Chop could also cause more than 60 points of damage. The Bleeding damage caused by Double Chop was also very powerful.However, Shi Fengs level remained at 3. He was still quite a distance away from Level 4. If it were not for the curse, he would have long since risen in level. Looking at the ground littered with Mountain Beast Fighter corpses, Shi Feng decided to take a rest and pick up the loot. Otherwise, all these corpses would become too much of a hindrance. In Gods Domain, if a player did not pick up the loot, the monsters corpse would require 24 hours before it was removed by the System. The loot from hundreds of Mountain Beast Fighters was extremely shocking. Just from the money dropped, there was already more than 4 Silver Coins. There was also a lot of materials. As for the Moonstones, seven pieces were dropped; it was still quite a distance away from thirty pieces. Moreover, a few pieces of Level 7 to Level 10 Common Equipment also dropped. Eh? Isnt this a piece of the Silvermoon Set Equipment? Shi Feng picked up a silvery-white helmet from the ground, slightly shocked. [Silvermoon Helmet] (Bronze Plate Armor) Equipment Requirement: Strength 35 Defense +43 Strength +5, Agility +4, Endurance +4 Battle Recovery +1 Durability 40/40 Limited to Berserkers and Swordsman. This helmet was one out of five pieces of equipment belonging to the Silvermoon Set Equipment. As long as two pieces of the set were collected, the first Set Effect could be activated. Four pieces of equipment were required for the second Set Effect, while all five pieces were needed for the third Set Effect. Each Set Effect was better than the previous. The Silvermoon Set Equipment was regarded as one of the best Set Equipment for Berserkers and Swordsmen below Level 10. However, its drop rate was extremely low, and it was extremely hard to gather a complete set. Unlike other equipment, the Silvermoon Set Equipment did not possess a Level Limit. It was only limited by Attributes. So long as a player fulfilled the required Attributes, they would be able to wear it.Suddenly, Shi Feng grew a great interest towards the Silvermoon Set Equipment. Maybe it was because the map had yet to be populated, so the drop rate right now was so high. If Shi Feng were to miss out on this chance, he would definitely regret it in the future. Thirty-five points in Strength, to the average player, they would most likely need to reach Level 8 or Level 9 before they would be able to wear this equipment. However, with Shi Fengs Attributes, he would be able to wear it as long as he removed the curse and reached Level 5. If he were to collect the complete set, his Attributes would literally soar to the sky. At that time, killing a Level 5 Shield Warrior with a full body of Bronze Equipment would just be childs play. Just the thought of it excited Shi Feng. 65 Iron Treasure Ches Shi Feng stored the Silvermoon Helmet and continued moving deeper into the stone forest, searching for even more Mountain Beast Fighters. Before, Shi Fengs attention was solely focused on Moonstones and the horror of the Moonlight Forest. He had completely forgotten that the Moonlight Forest was an unexplored map. The treasures here were bountiful beyond comparison. It was just that, in Shi Fengs previous life, when he arrived at the Moonlight Forest, the place had long since been ransacked by those experts of first-rate and second-rate Guilds, leaving only scraps behind. Even then, Shi Feng still had to compete with the other Guilds for them. As for the average players, they didnt even have the chance to obtain those second-hand goods. By the time the average players arrived, who knew how many times the Moonlight Forest had been ransacked. However, these players still treated this place as a treasured land. One could imagine just how attractive the untouched Moonlight Forest was. Now that he was here, a step ahead, those first-rate and second-rate Guilds would not have their turn. He would personally explore every corner of the Moonlight Forest and plunder everything, letting those Guilds have a taste of getting second-hand goods. Two hours later, Shi Feng finally arrived at the core of the stone forest. On his way here, Shi Feng continuously killed Mountain Beast Fighters, obtaining 3 more pieces of Moonstone and a lot of money and materials. By chance, Shi Feng had discovered a camp made by the Mountain Beast Fighters. The camp was guarded by Mountain Beast Fighters on all sides, and just a rough calculation told Shi Feng that there were over forty of these monsters. Moreover, there were several squads of Mountain Beast Fighters patrolling near the camp. All in all, their numbers totaled past one hundred. The Mountain Beast Fighters camp was where they stored their treasures. Many Guilds would often send teams consisting of twenty Elite players to do a sweep on the various monster camps in the Moonlight Forest. Their harvests, every time they did so, were relatively good. Meanwhile, the Mountain Beast Fighter camp in front of Shi Feng had never been raided before. There was definitely a great treasure in there. Shi Feng might even be able to finish collecting the required Moonstone and obtain many Tier 1 Gemstones and equipment. However, every monster camp was not easy to deal with. If there were not a lot of rocks here, Shi Feng would not have paid any attention to the camp and would have most likely turned around and left already. But, the rocks here were much more concentrated. The pathways surrounding the camp could, at most, fit two Beast Fighters, while the narrower places could only fit one. It was definitely a good location to grind Mountain Beast Fighters. It would be a great pity if Shi Feng were to give up here. Hence, Shi Feng picked a few small pieces of stone from the ground and stealthily closed in on the monster camp. To prevent unexpected elements, Shi Feng decided to lure all the Mountain Beast Fighters in one go. Otherwise, if he were to meet up with another group of Mountain Beast Fighters during his kiting, he would definitely drop dead. The important factor when luring these Mountain Beast Fighters was finding a way to deal with their Charge. If that were not properly handled, Shi Feng would end up dead from the unlimited Charges. He had personally been met with such a scenario before. His strength at that time had clearly exceeded the monsters by a large leap, yet, the monsters Charged at him one after another, placing him in a Fainted state until he died. Although each Mountain Beast Fighter only used Charge once, hundreds of those monsters still meant hundreds of Charges. Trying to get them to Charge all at the same time was extremely difficult. With his current HP, Shi Feng would not last two hits under the Mountain Beast Fighters assault. Hence, he absolutely cannot make a mistake. He needed to let all the Mountain Beast Fighters simultaneously use Charge at him, then avoid the follow-up damage. Only then would he have a chance to get rid of all these Mountain Beast Fighters. He needed to get a good grasp on the timing when all the Mountain Beast Fighters rushed over. Otherwise, instead of grinding monsters, he would be the one beaten to a pulp. However, Shi Feng still held confidence in himself. After all, he was once a Sword King and a first-rate expert. The Mountain Beast Fighter on guard used its furry hand to caress its beloved niuweidao. It stood up high on the wall; its blood red eyes were constantly surveying its surroundings. As long as it discovered an intruder, it would immediately charge over and let its blade enjoy a delicious meal. Suddenly, a stone flew towards the Mountain Beast Fighter, striking its head. When the Beast Fighter turned its head towards the direction the stone came from, it discovered a human a distance away. There was also a piece of stone in the humans hand. Then, the Beast Fighter caressed its head that had been struck, suddenly entering a burning rage. A mere ant dared to throw a stone at it?! _Hou! Hou! Hou!_ The roar from the Mountain Beast Fighter alarmed the entire nest of monsters. Mountain Beast Fighters came rushing out of the camp, one after another, all of them rushing to kill Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng continued throwing stones towards the other squads of Mountain Beast Fighters. In just a short moment, he had enraged all of those monsters, causing them to rush at him. Seeing over a hundred Mountain Beast Fighters running towards him, Shi Feng remained unhurried. He used Phantom Kill, allowing his doppelganger to run into the stone forest while he faced off with the monsters. Not to mention Shi Feng alone, even a twenty-man Elite team would not be able to handle over a hundred Mountain Beast Fighters at the same time. As the distance between Shi Feng and the Mountain Beast Fighters shortened, Shi Fengs heart madly beat. His actions this time were insane. If there were even the tiniest mistake, only death awaited him. It had been a very long time since he had done something so exciting. His blood boiled, and his five senses grew even more sensitive. When the Mountain Beast Fighters were no more than thirty yards from Shi Feng, a majority of the beasts were within the range to use Charge. After a wrathful roar, a large majority of the Mountain Beast Fighters simultaneously activated Charge, with a few using it a moment later. Shi Feng immediately activated Defensive Blade. The skill could block three melee attacks. At the same time, Shi Feng gripped the Abyssal Blade and prepared to use Parry. When the first wave of monsters arrived, although Shi Feng used Parry, his body was still sent flying back. Following which, the second wave of monsters arrived, knocking Shi Feng into a Fainted state, preventing him from moving. Seeing many Mountain Beast Fighters raise their niuweidao, ready to strike, Shi Feng persevered and did not use any skills. Even when the blades slashed at him, Shi Feng still did not use the position swapping function of Phantom Kill. The Defensive Blades damage immunity to three melee attacks instantly vanished. Afterward, Shi Feng was struck by the large blade; his HP instantly fell by half. Another strike was all it would take to finish him off now. At this time, the third wave of monsters had finally arrived. Shi Feng once more entered a Fainted state, the blade of the second niuweidao just before his eyes. Substitute! Shi Feng shouted in his mind. Within an instant, Shi Feng and the doppelganger in the stone forest swapped places. After the blade slashed the doppelganger, the Charge of the fourth and final wave of monsters arrived. The doppelganger was simply beaten to death. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who was hiding in the stone forest, immediately took out a bottle of Basic Regeneration Potion. He gulped it down in one go, a sweet and sour taste permeating throughout his mouth. Shi Fengs HP immediately recovered by 180 points, allowing him to barely be able to receive another attack. After the doppelganger died, the Hatred of the Mountain Beast Fighters was directed towards Shi Feng, who was currently in the stone forest. Immediately, they swarmed into the forest. Inside the forest was naturally Shi Fengs realm. He activated a Speed Scroll, facing off against the crazed Mountain Beast Fighters who were crowding through the narrow path. Shi Feng used Thundering Flash. Three streaks of lightning passed through the monsters, instantly taking over 100 HP from each of them. Within ten minutes, all the lured Mountain Beast Fighters were dead. At the same time, the remaining thread of experience Shi Feng needed to reach Level 4 had been filled up. He finally reached Level 4, catching up to the second tier players. Shi Feng placed all 6 Attribute Points into Strength. Currently, damage was his priority. After cleaning up the loot, Shi Feng actually obtained another piece of the Silvermoon Set Equipment, a Silvermoon Leg Guard. He had also obtained 7 pieces of Moonstone, two Tier 1 Gemstones, and all sorts of materials and Common Equipment. His harvest was relatively good. However, the most bountiful treasure was not these items. The main focus remained within the camps storehouse. After all, Mountain Beast Fighters loved to place their collected treasures in the camps storehouse. After cleaning up the drops, Shi Feng quickly ran into the camp. He wanted to see just what sort of treasure was awaiting him inside the storehouse. As expected for the first time. There really is a lot of treasure. From afar, Shi Feng could already see a few large Treasure Chests placed inside the storehouse. Amongst them, there was even a pitch black Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. Filled with excitement, Shi Feng was just about to enter the storehouse and take a look at the items within the treasure chests when he heard a loud roar. Ao! Ao! Ao! A Mountain Beast Fighter, who was three sizes larger than its peers, rushed out from within the storehouse. The monster was covered in silver armor, and both its hands wielded a gigantic ax. Both its blood-red eyes stared tenaciously at Shi Feng. 66 Phantom Kill After this silver armored Mountain Beast Fighter rushed out, before Shi Feng could observe it, it had already thrown its incomparably heavy Mountain Splitting Ax. The ax flew like a rocket, reaching Shi Feng in an instant. Everything happened too quickly, too suddenly. If it were an average player in this situation, their head would have parted with their body before they could even react. However, Shi Feng was not an average player. He pulled out the Abyssal Blade with great speed, and the moment before the ax could hack at his neck, he Parried this flying death ax. The collision between the giant ax and the longsword did not produce any sparks, only the sound of an explosion. Shi Fengs entire person was sent flying back over ten yards. Following which, the giant ax landed on the ground, deeply penetrating the earth. Its landing caused the earth to start shaking. It could be seen just how heavy this giant ax was. Moreover, the silver-armored Mountain Beast Fighter who could simply throw this giant ax was even more terrifying. Such strength did not exceed the normal Mountain Beast Fighters by just a level After landing, Shi Feng immediately used Observing Eyes on the new monster. [Mountain Beast Warrior] (Special Elite) Level 10 HP 3500/3500 Shi Feng immediately understood the Mountain Beast Warriors strength after taking a look at these numbers. Without saying anything further, he turned tail and ran. What a joke. Directly battling against a Level 10 Special Elite was literally suicide. When meeting a Special Elite in the Moonlight Forest, players didnt have to consider whether or not they could kill it, rather whether or not they could run away. The Mountain Beast Warrior was stronger than the Mountain Beast Fighter by more than a notch. Not only regarding Strength, but its speed and flexibility were also greatly increased. It would not be easily toyed with like the Mountain Beast Fighters. If Shi Feng did not use Parry to defend against the ax, then, even if he had blocked the attack with the Abyssal Blade, he would still end up dead. The gap between their strength was just too huge. Although Shi Feng wished to escape, the Mountain Beast Warrior had no plans let this intruder go. It used Charge to rush at Shi Feng, picking up its giant ax along the way. The way it picked up the weapon was as if it were picking up a leaf, effortless. Seeing that the Mountain Beast Warrior had used Charge, Shi Feng knew he could not shake it off. He turned his body around in mid-air, pointing his sword at the Mountain Beast Warrior. Abyssal Bind! Within an instant, the Mountain Beast Warrior who was swiftly rushing at Shi Feng was restricted by pitch black chains. It could not move even a muscle, only helplessly stare at Shi Feng. Shi Feng did not dare stay any longer. He activated Windwalk, leaving the campsite at high speed and fleeing into the stone forest. With the added speed from Windwalk, the Mountain Beast Warrior had no chance of catching up to him. About twenty seconds later Finally broke away from it. Shi Feng turned his head around to take a look, discovering the Mountain Beast Warrior already turning around and heading back to its camp. Thereupon, Shi Feng let out a breath of relief. If it had continued chasing, Shi Fengs Windwalk would have timed out. His luck was truly rotten. There was actually a Special Elite inside the campsite. In his previous life, there were no monster camps that were guarded by a Special Elite. There would only be the occasional normal Elite monster. Shi Feng felt unfortunate for losing the Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. Currently, Blackies communication arrived. Brother Feng, all of our members have reached Level 4. Moreover, we obtained a lot of ore, equipment, and skill books. Everyone has learned quite a few skills, and our strength has greatly increased. Unfortunately, our leveling speed from grinding Gnomes has greatly decreased. When will you be coming over to carry us through the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest? Our fighting spirits are all sky-high right now, and were just waiting for your command, Blackie laughingly said. All of you are Level 4? Shi Feng entered a deep thought, trying to think of the next task for Blackie and the others to do. After some thought, Shi Feng thought of a good location, Blackie, you guys should stop grinding Gnomes and return to town to tidy up your bags. Go to the Level 5 area, the Red Leaf Forest. Follow this marker and grind Forest Wolves. The Wolf Meat and Wolf Skins are good stuff. The more you grind, the better, as all the drops can be sold, fattening your wallets. With Blackie and the others current potential, it would be very easy to grind Forest Wolves. This was especially true with Blackies equipment. The monsters 400 HP would be gone with just three Dark Arrows. Moreover, the location Shi Feng gave to Blackie was a large Wolf Den. The respawn rate there was very quick, and there was also higher ground for Blackie and the others to occupy. As long as Cola and Lonely Snow firmly block the pathway up the slope, preventing even a single wolf from moving past them, the ranged members could easily deal damage. Moreover, Beasts[1] were afraid of fire, taking additional damage from it. A single Hell Flame could wipe out the entire pack of wolves. Their leveling speed would increase by at least 60% to 70%. Great! Were bored out of our minds from constantly grinding Gnomes. Well go immediately after we tidy up our bags, Blackie excitedly confirmed. More and more players started going to their location to grind Gnomes now. In addition to them being Level 4, their leveling efficiency was constantly decreasing. They were naturally excited to have a new location to grind. Brothers, pack up! We wont have to compete with them anymore. Lets go play in a new location, Blackie said to the others after cutting off the call. Everyone stopped fighting over monsters with the other players when they heard Blackie say so. They cheerfully left this place with Blackie. When the Elite parties saw Blackie and the others leaving, their faces revealed expressions of joy. There would be fewer people competing over this precious leveling ground now. They inwardly sneered at the foolishness of Blackies party. Currently, players filled the entirety of Dark Moon Valley. How could the leveling speed at the other locations be faster than here? Elsewhere, just when Shi Feng was ready to look for other Mountain Beast Fighters, he noticed a problem from the conversation with Blackie. It was definitely not possible for him to kill the Mountain Beast Warrior by himself, but he could still escape. However, it was not necessary for him to kill the Mountain Beast Warrior to obtain the Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. As long as one person lured the Mountain Beast Warrior, another person could go and open the Treasure Chest. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Blade with a faint smile. As expected, Phantom Kill was a very powerful skill. Following which, Shi Feng once more returned to the Mountain Beast camp. He activated Phantom Kill, his doppelganger appearing before him. The doppelganger possessed all of Shi Fengs skills. It was sufficient to hold off the Mountain Beast Warrior for more than twenty seconds. With these twenty seconds, Shi Feng could activate the Treasure Chest and take away all the items. Shi Feng took out a Speed Scroll and Polymorph Scroll, giving them to the doppelganger. The Polymorph Scroll could polymorph monsters below Level 15 into a sheep for 4 seconds. However, the effective duration on a Special Elite would be greatly decreased. Although, it was enough as long as it could disrupt the Mountain Beast Warriors Charge. After activating the Speed Scroll, the doppelganger immediately went to the storehouse to lure the Mountain Beast Warrior. As expected, the scene from before replayed itself, and the doppelganger used Parry to block the flying death ax. It subsequently used Charge at the doppelganger. The doppelganger immediately used the Polymorph Scroll, instantly turning the Mountain Beast Warrior into a little white sheep. The Mountain Beast Warrior reverted to its original form in less than a second. It then chased after the doppelganger, entering deep into the stone forest. The Mountain Beast Warriors speed was slightly faster than the doppelganger, but the doppelganger activated Windwalk, its speed and the distance between them increasing once more. A short distance away, Shi Feng watched as the Mountain Beast Warrior departed from the campsite. He let out a small chuckle, similarly activating Windwalk as he rushed into the storehouse. This time, there were no monsters present to interrupt him when he entered the storehouse. Shi Feng first went up to the Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest, opening it. The Treasure Chest needed time to be opened. 1 second 2 seconds The loading bar for the Treasure Chest was still going, causing Shi Feng to become slightly nervous. The time his doppelganger could delay was limited. Aside from the Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest, there was still one more Bronze Treasure Chest and three Common Treasure Chests. Time was of the essence. As long as he opened a Treasure Chest now, it would not be possible to lure the tiger out of the mountain the next time around. After all, Special Elites possessed their own intelligence. Hurry, hurry Shi Feng impatiently looked at the loading bar. Ten seconds later, the Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest opened. At the same time, a wrathful roar came from the stone forest. It would seem that Shi Fengs actions had been discovered. Looking through the doppelgangers vision, Shi Feng could see that the Mountain Beast Warrior no longer paid the doppelganger any attention. Instead, it ran back towards the camps storehouse. Without pause, Shi Feng immediately stored all the items in the Treasure Chest into his bag. He then continued to open the Bronze Chest. The Bronze Treasure Chests loading bar started to move slowly. To Shi Feng, every second right now was crawling by. Meanwhile, the sound of the Mountain Beast Warriors bellow was getting closer and closer * * * TL Notes: [1] Beasts : A general category for monsters. 67 Ring of Nothingness The loading bar for the Treasure Chest was currently only halfway done. Hearing the roar getting closer and closer, Shi Feng became extremely anxious. Hurry Hurry The Mountain Beast Warrior had already entered the camp, yet the loading bar was still a hairs breadth away from full. When the Mountain Beast Warrior saw Shi Feng opening the Treasure Chest, its large pair of eyes turned crimson red. It aimed its giant ax at Shi Feng, throwing it at him. It could not help but wish for Shi Feng to go to hell immediately. At this moment, the Bronze Treasure Chest opened. Without giving the flying ax even a single glance, Shi Feng immediately activated Defensive Blade, blocking the attack from the flying death ax. Following which, his two hands swiftly stretched into the Treasure Chest, taking the items within and cramping them into his bag with lightning speed. When Shi Feng finished storing all of the items from the Treasure Chest, the Mountain Beast Warrior also arrived before him. It picked up the fallen ax with both of its hands, raising it up high as it prepared to murder. Having no plans to stay, Shi Feng turned and ran. _Boom!_ The earth split when the ax landed, leaving behind a scar and causing crushed stones to go flying. However, Shi Feng was already five yards away by the time the ax landed. He was running directly to the outside of the camp. Seeing that its attack missed, the Mountain Beast Warrior turned to face Shi Feng and used Charge. It did not intend to give Shi Feng any chance to escape. On the other hand, Shi Feng did not have any skills to deal with the Mountain Beast Warrior who was charging at him. He allowed the Mountain Beast Warrior to send him into a Fainted state, his body then receiving a slash from its ax. In an instant, the attack sent him flying over ten yards away. The attack from the Mountain Beast Warrior could cause even a Level 5 Shield Warrior to harbor a grudge, yet Shi Feng acted as if it was nobodys business as he stood and started running out of the camp once more. Now, Defensive Blade could only prevent Shi Feng from receiving damage from a melee attack one more time. Although only one chance remained, there was more than a 10-yard distance between Shi Feng and the Mountain Beast Warrior. As long as Shi Feng ran into the stone forest, he would be a lot safer. However, an unexpected situation occurred. The Mountain Beast Warrior that should have used Charge only once used it a second time, sending Shi Feng into a Fainted state once more. It raised its giant ax, slashing it again at Shi Fengs body. Shi Feng was sent flying for over ten yards again; this time it immediately threw him out of the camp. He was just a short distance away from the stone forest now. However, Shi Fengs expression became much more serious. The current Mountain Beast Warrior was completely different from before. Previously, it only used Charge once. Now, it used Charge twice. That meant that there was a possibility for a third or fourth Charge, maybe even more. That meant, as long as the distance between Shi Feng and the Mountain Beast Warrior exceeded eight yards, the Mountain Beast Warrior would use Charge. This was definitely not good news. Just as expected, the moment Shi Feng stepped out of the 8-yard range, the Mountain Beast Warrior used Charge once again. If Shi Feng were to be hit once more, he would definitely die. He was not willing to die just yet. Shi Feng took out a Polymorph Scroll, immediately turning the Mountain Beast Warrior that was charging at him into a sheep. Although it was polymorphed only for a second, just one second was enough for Shi Feng to run a long distance away. As long as Shi Feng could run out of the 30-yard range, it would be too far for the Mountain Beast Warrior to use Charge. Just after running 15 yards away, the Mountain Beast Warrior recovered. Shi Feng immediately spun around and cast Abyssal Bind. He then activated Gravity Liberation, his speed soaring greatly. The three seconds binding this time allowed Shi Feng to easily run past the 30-yard range, entering the stone forest. Currently, some of the Mountain Beast Fighters in the stone forest had already respawned, and by coincidence, one of them was blocking the path ahead of Shi Feng. Being struck by inspiration, Shi Feng quickly took the initiative. Wind Blade! Before the Mountain Beast Fighter could react, Shi Feng rushed to its front and brushed past it. Shi Feng then took out another Polymorph Scroll, turning the Mountain Beast Fighter into a sheep. With the speed increase from Wind Blade, Shi Feng easily shook off the Mountain Beast Warrior that was stubbornly chasing after him, escaping it quickly. After finding a safe location, Shi Feng sat down to rest as he slowly looked through the items his bag. Shi Feng went from clueless to shocked. He had to admit that ransacking the camp was extremely profitable. Just this one time was enough to make up for his hours of hard work. He instantly collected all of the Moonstone he needed, completing his Quest. The next thing he needed to do was to leave the Moonlight Forest and dispel the curse. Amongst these treasures, aside from the large amount of Moonstone, there were also seven Tier 1 Gemstones, three pieces of Bronze Equipment, and a single bronze-colored Mysterious-Iron Ring. Amongst the three pieces of Bronze Equipment, there was a Silvermoon Armguard. With it, Shi Feng now had three out of five pieces of the Silvermoon Set Equipment. As long as he put in more effort, he might be able to truly collect a complete set. However, Shi Feng did not have that much time. The earlier he removed the curse, the earlier he could regain his strength and level up quickly. He still had too many things to do, and he could not do any of them without Levels. Aside from the Silvermoon Armguard attracting Shi Fengs attention, the Mysterious-Iron Ring also gave him tremendous joy. [Ring of Nothingness] (Mysterious-Iron ranked Ring) Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 10 Strength +1, Agility +1, Intelligence +2 Additional Ability: Shadow of Nothingness: Allows the user to enter a state of nothingness. The user will not be able to see other players, while other players will not be able to see the user. Duration of 1 minute. Cooldown: 5 minutes (Only usable in a non-combative state) Rings such as this, which possessed an Additional Ability, were extremely rare. It was as rare as the Ring of Gravity, possessing many uses. In his previous life, Shi Feng had done a lot of research on the Moonlight Forest. Including the information found on the internet, he knew the spawn locations of many Treasure Chests. Originally, he planned to only go to a few locations that were easy to obtain Treasure Chests before leaving the Moonlight Forest. Now that he had the Ring of Nothingness, his train of thought widened, and the number of Treasure Chests that he could obtain greatly increased. The Moonlight Forest was still a virgin land, and treasures could be found everywhere. It was especially true for Treasure Chests that had been opened for the first time; the items inside were the best. Since he could easily obtain these treasures, would it matter if he wasted a little more time? Following which, Shi Feng put on the Ring of Nothingness. He then opened the map for the Moonlight Forest, confirming his current position. There was a Bronze Treasure Chest not far from his location. So, he kept the map and advanced towards the Treasure Chest. After walking for over ten minutes, he arrived at ruins of a shrine. The ruins were surrounded by Barbaric Beastmen who were guarding it, with several Elite Beastmen in the midst as well. Meanwhile, the Treasure Chest was located inside the collapsed shrine. However, without a team of twenty elite players, it was impossible to clear off all the Barbaric Beastmen. Although he could not beat the Barbaric Beastmen, Shi Feng had other methods to get to the Treasure Chest. Shi Feng immediately called out his doppelganger, allowing it to move to a distance away and find a safe location. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself moved closer to the temple. While staying outside the detection range of the Barbaric Beastmen, Shi Feng activated Shadow of Nothingness and entered a state of nothingness. He then ran towards the inside of the shrine with high speed. After entering a state of nothingness, Shi Feng could no longer see those Barbaric Beastmen, and the same went for the Barbaric Beastmen who could no longer see Shi Feng. In such a way, Shi Feng soundlessly entered the heavily guarded shrine. There were still several Barbaric Beastmen guarding inside the shrine. They were less than twenty yards away from the Bronze Treasure Chest. Meanwhile, Shi Feng unhurriedly opened the Treasure Chest. When opening the Treasure Chest, Shi Fengs state of nothingness did not fade, so the channeling process finished without a hitch. However, the moment the Treasure Chest was opened, just after Shi Fengs hand stretched into it, his state of nothingness vanished. Within an instant, the five Barbaric Beastmen inside the temple noticed Shi Feng. Suddenly entering a rage, they waved their stone hammers as they rushed towards him. Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade without hurry, storing the items in the Treasure Chest in his bag. Before the Barbaric Beastmen could break off the three layers of protection, Shi Feng had taken all the items from the Treasure Chest. He then swapped places with his doppelganger, his original body arriving at a very safe location. Shi Feng leisurely departed from the ruins, heading towards the location of the next Treasure Chest. Moonlight Forest was very large. With unyielding perseverance, Shi Feng spent more than ten hours before finally clearing the entirety of the Moonlight Forest. He harvested a total of three Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests, twenty-two Bronze Treasure Chests, and fifty-six Common Treasure Chests. His harvest was extremely invigorating. His entire bag was clogged full, and he was even forced to throw away several pieces of Common Equipment that had poor Attributes. When he was arranging all these items, a beeping noise came from the System. Shi Feng looked at the notification, seeing that it was the alarm that he previously set. It notified him that morning had arrived, and he needed to log off and rest. In consideration of his body, Shi Feng looked for a safe location before logging off. 68 Big Harves Early morning, a layer of fog still covered the outer layer of the window. Dark clouds densely covered the sky outside, and there were signs of rain falling soon. Hmm the air quality here is getting worse by the day After I earn enough money, I definitely have to move out of this broken district and move to a better house in the city. After sitting up, Shi Feng took a look out his window. Following which, he flexed his body and got down from his bed. He then went through twenty sets of workout motions before going to his cramped bathroom to wash up. Shi Feng grabbed his phone from the table once he finished tidying himself up. He started by checking the remaining money in his bank account. Constantly eating instant noodles was bad for his body. Moreover, the nutrients provided were definitely not enough to supplement his method of training. He had obtained the membership card and coupons for Big Dipper after much difficulty, yet, he discovered that he still needed to wait for five days before he could use them. This caused him to be slightly depressed. Now, his only hope was on the sales of the Gods Domain game currency. Previously, Shi Feng had registered 3 Gold Coins at the Virtual Trade Center. If there were someone who bought them, then the Credits earned would automatically be sent to his bank account. However, the Trade Center had a 3-hour transaction delay. Moreover, Shi Feng did not turn on the notifications for his trade account. So, even if the transaction had already been done, he did not know how much had been transferred to his account. He could only use his old-modeled phone to check his bank account. Shi Feng currently did not possess the money to purchase the latest quantum watch[1]. Otherwise, a lot of matters could be easily resolved using the quantum watch. Even credit card payments could be done through the quantum watch. Moreover, all shops that sold items supported payment using the quantum watch, as it was both safe and fast. In a short moment, Shi Feng logged into his bank account using his handphone, checking the amount of money he had remaining. If there were enough Credits, he would go and have a good meal. The last time he remembered having meat was when he was still in his third year of university. Now, he was in his fourth year and would be graduating soon. Previously, he had retrieved all of his money from his bank account to buy instant noodles. His current balance should not be more than 1 Credit. After selling for an entire night, there should be some people who would purchase some of his game currency. It was especially true for the Guilds in White River City. Shi Feng did not believe those Guilds could amass funds that quickly. Even if they were to sign a contract with money-farming teams or have their money-farming teams, it was absolutely impossible for them to purchase that much equipment in such a short period. More or less, they should have purchased some game currency. They actually bought quite a lot. I guess I wont have to fuss over food for a few days, Shi Feng smiled slightly when he saw that there were over 1,700 Credits in his bank account. However, the trade tax was truly high. He sold a total of 30 Silver Coins which were worth 1,800 Credits, but 100 of those Credits went to taxes. The amount was truly sinister. In any case, Shi Feng now had some money, and it was double the amount of living expenses he would have each month. It was enough for him to eat properly for quite some time. If all 3 Gold Coins sold, then that would amount to 18,000 Credits. Shi Feng would then have the money to buy two Virtual Gaming Helmets. The only worry he had right now was whether or not all 3 Gold Coins would sell. After some consideration, Shi Feng decided that he definitely must make these Guilds and players spend more money during this period. Otherwise, if they were to make business deals in the game, they would easily be able to solve their problem with money. At that time, they would not have to purchase game currency from the Virtual Trade Center. Subsequently, Shi Feng left his rented apartment. He made a trip to the bank, withdrawing all of his money. Now that he had some money, Shi Feng went to the Nutrition Center and bought three bottles of C-rank Nutrient Fluids. They were enough to last him for up to nine days. When the beautiful saleswoman saw that Shi Feng had bought three bottles without even blinking, she could not help but have delightful thoughts. Taking the initiative, she asked, Are you free this afternoon, handsome? How about we go to Youlan Square to have a drink? My treat. Youlan Square was a nearby well-known romantic location, and many youths, both males and females, loved going there. Looking at the beautiful saleswomans graceful body and lust-filled eyes, she was much better than the gorgeously dressed girls in his class. However, Shi Feng only gave her a calm smile. How could he not know what her thoughts were? He tactfully rejected her and turned around to leave. Shi Fengs reaction caused the beautiful saleswoman to feel slightly unfortunate. A large catch had run away just like that. Was she not beautiful? Was her body lacking? Nutrient Fluids were the pinnacle products of the new age. Not only could they slow down aging, but they could also discretely mend the injuries that could not be detected, regenerate body cells, develop the brain cells, and many more astonishing impacts. These items have already become must-haves for athletes and martial artists. However, they were very expensive, so the common folk could only occasionally buy a bottle to drink. After all, a months salary was only so much. It was impossible for them to afford a bottle every three days. Only the wealthy were able to treat these Nutrient Fluids as drinks, constantly transforming their bodies. Hundreds of years ago, very rarely would the children of wealthy families be ugly. Females would normally be beauties, while males would normally be handsome men. However, with the Nutrient Fluids in this current age, beautiful women and handsome men could be commonly seen throughout the streets. A bottle of C-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 400 Credits. A bottle of B-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 1,000 Credits. A bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 10,000 Credits. As for the best S-rank Nutrient Fluids, those were items that could not be bought by common folk even if they wanted to. These Nutrient Fluids were only sold to the inner circles of society. In his previous life, Shi Feng was fortunate enough to buy one because of his status as a core member of Shadow. The S-rank Nutrient Fluid was extremely expensive, costing a million Credits per bottle. However, its effects were similarly astonishing. A-rank Nutrient Fluids were far from being comparable to it. Although S-rank Nutrient Fluids were very expensive, there were plenty of wealthy people in the world. The ones who could afford to buy it would not trouble themselves over such an amount of money. After all, who wouldnt want to trade money for their own youth? It was truly hard to imagine; the dream of humanity hundreds of years ago had now become a reality. The body was a needed asset to make a revolution. If Shi Feng wanted to improve his skills in Gods Domain and stand at the very top of the game, then a strong body and nimble mind were indispensable. Hence, Shi Feng would not make the same mistake in this aspect as he did in his previous life. Following which, Shi Feng went to a gourmet restaurant. He spent a hundred Credits purchasing two sets of nutrient set meals; one was for him to eat right now and another as takeaway for his lunch. After eating, Shi Feng made a trip to a normal workout center. After spending 60 Credits, he trained for four hours before returning home. In the evening, around 7 p.m., Shi Feng drank a bottle of Nutrient Fluid and laid on the bed. He activated the gaming helmet and connected to Gods Domain. After logging in, Shi Feng started arranging the items he obtained. When he was done arranging the items, Shi Feng started feeling emotional. It was no wonder the Moonlight Forest was a land of treasures. Just the various Tier 1 Gemstones he obtained alone amounted to over 300 pieces. There were also tens of skill books, dozens of pieces of Bronze Equipment, five pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, over fifty Card Sets, more than twenty recipes for Lifestyle Jobs, over thirty Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, and four Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. The Magic Scrolls from Treasure Chests were much better than those sold in the Magic Shop. This was because the various scrolls in the Magic Shop did not even reach the standard of Tier 1. Meanwhile, Tier 2 Magic Scrolls were much more precious. Every piece would have a great purpose, and there would be nobody willing to sell it. As for the thing that brought Shi Feng the most joy He finished collecting the Silvermoon Set Equipment. In addition, he also collected a complete set of Blackblood Set Equipment meant for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. The Blackblood Set Equipments value far exceeded that of the Silvermoon Set Equipment. It was one of the best Set Equipment for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights that were below Level 10. If Cola were to equip this set at Level 6 or Level 7, then Hell Mode Dungeons below Level 10 would no longer be a problem. With so many good items, Shi Feng already had a solid base for forming a twenty-man team. The only concerns remaining would be recruiting members and their skills. After finished arranging his bag and confirming that there were no more profits to be gained from the Moonlight Forest, Shi Feng activated the Teleportation Magic Orb, leaving the Moonlight Forest. * * * TL Notes: [1]quantum watch: something like a wristwatch version of a quantum computer? 69 Lunatic In the real world, the sky slowly darkened as the sun went under the mountain. On the other hand, players in Gods Domain were welcoming the rise of the morning sun. Red Leaf Town was currently brightly lit as if it were daytime. In the Trade Area, players could be found everywhere as they pushed their way through the streets. Compared to yesterday, there were a lot more players currently in Red Leaf Town, and a lot of them were new players who were Level 0. After being officially active for two days, many people started to notice the difference between Gods Domain and other virtual reality games. The battling alone was extremely attractive, not to mention other sources of entertainment. The monsters in Gods Domain improved with the increase in Levels, making the battles seem increasingly real. It was no longer the usual simple bouts where players and monsters would take turns fighting each other. The battles in Gods Domain were more similar to the fighting competitions in real life. This was the age where the worlds entire population would exercise. In the real world, people had already reached a level of obsession in regards to fighting competitions, making such competitions extremely popular. Everyone wished for a battle in which they could fight to their hearts content, and even more so when exchanging blows with an expert. They wanted to chase after the intense feeling of excitement that made ones blood boil. It was an addicting feeling that was impossible to give up. Meanwhile, Gods Domain had all of this, and there were no dangers to a persons life. Moreover, Gods Domain contained great adventures that were both fascinating and thrilling. There were also countless unknowns waiting to be discovered and explored. Time in the game was also double that of real life. Many players wished they could stay inside Gods Domain for the rest of their lives, living their second life within the game. It was also because of this reason that many players were attracted to Gods Domain. Many virtual gaming companies, after seeing this irreversible situation, declared bankruptcy, one after another, as they prepared to invest in Gods Domain. Such a situation also caused some unwilling veteran gamers to enter Gods Domain, greatly increasing the number of players. Just after returning to Red Leaf Town, Shi Feng received a bunch of System Notifications. Almost all of them were sales notifications from the Auction House. Within an instant, the money Shi Feng possessed increased to over 500 Silver Coins or 5 Gold Coins. Shi Feng still remembered having recently registering 3 Gold Coins at the Virtual Trade Center. After less than a days worth of effort, he now possessed an additional 5 Gold Coins. Those Guilds obtained all this money after much difficulty, yet, they all contributed to him in the end. Currently, there might not be another player in White River City who was wealthier than he was. The Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds were no exception. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The real moneymaking moment was just starting. Shi Feng first stored all the items that were in his bag into his warehouse. He was not planning on selling them but instead, kept them for future use. After all, items such as Gemstones and skill books were hard currencies[a]; their prices would never depreciate. On the contrary, it was equipment that would depreciate along with the increase in player levels. Soon afterward, Shi Feng started doing his old business again. Nighttime was the best period for doing business. Seeing that the sun was soon to rise, Shi Feng set aside his Quest for now and set up a street stall, purchasing Stones, Magic Essences, Hard Stones, and Card Sets. Due to previous similar occurrences, many players would deliberately stay here and await Shi Fengs arrival. Now, just a casual shout from Shi Feng was enough to cause a crowd of players to come running towards him. In such a way, Shi Feng bought materials while listening to the conversations of players nearby. The Assassins Alliance has obtained great glory this time. They completed the Insurrection of the Little Fishmen Quest and earned a lot of Guild Reputation. It wont be long before the Assassins Alliance will become a Level 2 Guild. Whats the big deal? Ive heard that a major event occurred in the capital city. The Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, Star River Federation, completed a major Quest and has already become a First Class Citizen. Just a little more and he will become part of the nobility. When he obtains the status of a noble, what would a little Guild Reputation matter? After becoming a noble, he could go to the Army Camp and City Hall to ask for Guild Quests. Star River Federation could catch up and surpass the Assassins Alliance at any time. Including the various privileges available to nobles, their accumulated advantage is huge. Just the current Star River Federation was enough to suppress Ouroboros. When the fight for the capital city begins, the city would most likely fall into the hands of the Star River Federation. Those are just small matters. Now, the most popular matter would have to be the showdown between that Black Flame Forger and Hammer Trading. Who doesnt know about that? Right now, there is most likely not a single person in the White River City Area that doesnt know of it. However, I never truly imagined that the victor would be so quickly determined. Even further, I never thought that the final winner would be Hammer Trading. Hehe, thankfully I was quick-witted and borrowed some money to buy a Glimmer Chestplate. Many people are currently buying them at high prices. I could easily earn 3 Silver Coins as long as I resell the one I have. Exactly! Regardless of Attributes or design, the Glimmer Chestplate is way better, so its cost must be extremely high. It only sold for such a low price because of the competition with Hammer Trading. Black Flame must have lost that battle after constantly losing money. Unfortunately, he is not selling even a single piece of the equipment right now. Otherwise, I would definitely borrow money to buy one. Right now, Hammer Tradings fame has exploded. On the forums, he had even started proudly scolding the mysterious forger as incompetent, calling the mysterious forger a son of a bitch for not daring to compete with him. To increase their fame and influence, those first-rate Guilds will certainly invite him. Hammer Trading must already be discussing contract terms with them right now. The Chief Forger of a first-rate Guild, people would drool just thinking about such a position. However, we can only look on in envy because we dont have a Forging Design for Bronze Equipment. If I had such an item, even if I were to go bankrupt, I would definitely compete with Hammer Trading to the end. When I get the Chief position of a first-rate Guild, my future will be filled with fame and fortune. When Shi Feng heard their conversation, his brows slightly wrinkled. He then called up the official forum. Sure enough, Hammer Trading was ridiculing him with all sorts of insults. Son of a bitch, werent you so awesome? Why have you turned into a coward? Lets continue competing if you have the ability! See how Ill flatten a blackhearted forger like you! Looking at Hammer Tradings inferior shenanigans, Shi Feng smiled calmly. He could not help but admire Hammer Trading. To become famous, he turned into a lunatic that was willing to use any means. Just like in Shi Fengs previous life, to join World Dominators and become their Chief Forger, Hammer Trading was willing to sell out their entire Guild. After he finished purchasing the materials, Shi Feng headed towards the Auction House. After all the clamor Hammer Trading made, the Glimmer Chestplate had thoroughly become famous. Shi Feng could now start his next moneymaking operation. In the current stage of the game, a majority of the average players were already Level 3, while many veterans were Level 4 and experts were Level 5. The average player could not afford a Glimmer Chestplate. Whereas veterans would have to borrow some money to purchase a piece for themselves. As for experts, the usage of the Glimmer Chestplate was not that great. There was a lot of equipment inside Level 5 Dungeons that was far better than the Glimmer Chestplate. That meant that the Glimmer Chestplate could no longer earn Shi Feng a lot of money. After all, the major buyers of the equipment were mostly those Guilds. Maybe there were some nouveau riche who could afford to buy one to toy around with, but they were in the extreme minorities amongst the average players. Shi Feng walked into the Auction House, into the large hall that was packed with people. Without a better option, Shi Feng looked for a corner and silently brought up the display screen of the Auction House. He then placed twenty copies of the Forging Design for the Glimmer Chestplate on auction. The base price for each Forging Design was set at 30 Silver Coins, and they would be sold one by one at intervals of half an hour. It was not because Shi Feng did not wish to sell them in bulk, but because doing so would result in their price staying low. Only through hunger marketing would he be able to reap the greatest profit. Let those Guilds slowly fight amongst themselves. Afterwards, Shi Feng cleaned out the accumulated Hard Stones and Card Sets from the Auction House. He then left the Auction House and headed towards the Library. 70 Success or Failure Boils Down to the Same Person Kuruk Fields, this was the playground for the Level 6 Grassland Lion Cubs. At this stage of the game, there were very few players who would come here to grind and level up. That was because the level here was slightly higher. Moreover, the monsters were numerous and concentrated, making them hard to kill. These Grassland Lion Cubs hunted in groups of three to five. Sometimes, they would even be followed by a fully grown Elite Grassland Lion, making them very hard to deal with. However, there was currently a six-man party on these fields, fighting a group of lions. A girl dressed in water-blue armor brandished her greatsword, directly confronting an Elite Grassland Lion. Not only did she easily evade the Grassland Lions sharp claws, she even took the chance to attack and deal damage. Her valiant appearance could captivate even women. This girl was the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. She had already reached Level 5, and she wore the Level 4 Bronze Set Equipment, Azure Scar. In her hands, she held the Mysterious-Iron ranked Conquerors Sword. Compared to before, her current strength had greatly increased. Also, there was also a Shield Warrior who was not any weaker, tanking four Grassland Lion Cubs at once. The partys healer, Xiao Yueer, chanted a prayer, her delicate hands tracing divine texts in midair. Xiao Yueer took care of the Shield Warrior while also healing Gentle Snow, allowing both their HPs to remain above the safety line. The Flame Witch, Zhao Yueru, was also wearing the Level 4 Fantasy Flame Set Equipment. Large Fireballs constantly shot out from her hand, causing a frightening amount of damage to appear above the Grassland Lions head. Within moments, they massacred the group of Elite-led lions. Gentle Snow picked up the loot from the Grassland Lion, discovering that it was a skill book. No equipment dropped. She then looked towards Xiao Yueer, saying, Xiao Yueer, its your Sacred Light Shield; learn it quickly. After some rest, we will continue looking for another Grassland Lion. We absolutely must get the Revival skill. Great! With this skill, healing wont be so intense anymore, Xiao Yueer happily said as she received the skill. Currently resting, Zhao Yueru suddenly asked in a curious tone, Snow, that Hammer Trading has already garnered a huge amount of fame. We should at least send a person to recruit him. We can still increase our Guilds fame if were successful. Moreover, his forging skills are not bad. It would be unfortunate if we were to let some other Guild snatch him away. No need. It wont be long before Level 3 Bronze Equipment is of little value. He only knows how to forge Level 3 Bronze Equipment and doesnt possess any Forging Designs for higher level equipment. Why should we spend a large sum of money fighting over him? We would just lose out on earning a little money. Moreover, we dont even know when our Guild would be able to obtain a Forging Design for high-leveled Bronze Equipment. What would we need him for? Gentle Snow shook her head. She held no particular interests towards a person like Hammer Trading. Instead, she said, On the contrary, Im more interested in the Black Flame Forger, especially the forgers actions. I can not see through his intentions. If he wanted to attract the attention of first-rate Guilds and stand out, then he has no reason to hide his name. There would be plenty of large Guilds contacting him. However, he has hidden his name, preventing anybody from contacting him. That means that he does not wish for others to know of his identity. Yet, he still competed with Hammer Trading, lowering the price for his equipment and letting everyone know of him once more. Now that he has entered our eyes, at the most heated moment, he suddenly withdraws from the competition and fades out of our sight once more. He has continuously brought us three different kinds of forged equipment. Being able to obtain that many Forging Designs for Bronze Equipment shows that he has great strength. Yet, why would he suddenly withdraw? What is this Black Flame Forgers goal? Or did he withdraw because he already achieved his goal? Until now, I still dont know what that Black Flame Forger is trying to do. He is filled with mystery in all aspects. Snow, how about I have someone research this forger? Hearing you say so, even I want to see what kind of person he is. After hearing Gentle Snows analysis, realization struck Zhao Yueru. She suddenly grew an interest towards this Black Flame Forger. She also felt this person was not simple. Her interest towards the Black Flame Forgers identity overflowed. Just the thought of being able to expose this persons identity made her feel slightly excited. Meanwhile, inside an Intermediate Forging Room on the second floor of the Forging Association Everyone, how goes your consideration? Hammer Trading sat cross-legged, casually asking as he looked at the representatives of the first-rate Guilds with narrowed eyes. However, the conditions set out by Hammer Trading caused these first-rate Guilds to go silent. Hammer Tradings conditions were too harsh. Just the villa he wanted in the city he lived in and the annual salary of five million Credits would cause these Guilds to take a step back, not to mention that he wanted all resources to be prioritized to him. Such treatment was most likely only enjoyed by the Guild Leader and the Vice Leader. Meanwhile, Hammer Trading wanted the same treatment as them. Then, didnt that mean he would be on equal footings with the Guild Leader and Vice Leader? You guys have to think through this clearly. It isnt easy for me to earn such a great reputation. As long as I join your Guild, your popularity will immediately soar and surpass the other Guilds. You wont have a shortage of Bronze Equipment and will be able to earn a large sum of money because of my forging techniques. The price Ive given shouldnt be considered much, Hammer Trading said with a smile. His face held an expression that said, If you dont recruit me, there will be others who will. Dont regret it when that time comes. Hammer Trading had these first-rate Guilds eating out of the palm of his hand. Right now, each of these first-rate Guilds wanted to be a step ahead of the others. If so, they would be able to have a larger advantage in taking hold of a City. The wealth that came with possessing control over a virtual City was not something a mere five million Credits and a villa could compare to. Hammer Tradings asking price could be considered low. Looking at the representatives of these first-rate Guilds, although their expressions held hesitation, their eyes flashed with the conviction of recruiting him. Hammer Trading suddenly felt his action of investing all of his possessions into the competition this time was truly wise. If he hadnt steeled his heart to borrow money from loan sharks at the last second, he might have actually lost to the Black Flame Forger. Fortunately, the Black Flame Forger bit the dust a step earlier than he did, allowing him to taste the final fruit of victory. Just as Hammer Trading was being pleased with himself, the expressions of the numerous representatives around the conference table suddenly changed. Each and every one of them revealed expressions of shock and ecstasy. Brother Hammer Trading, I am truly sorry, but our Guild has decided to withdraw from this competition and yield to the other Guilds. Our Guild wont be joining anymore, and I still have matters to attend to, so Ill be leaving, Star River Federations representative suddenly said. This price is just too high. Our Guild can only give up as well. We can only hope to cooperate with you in the future. For a moment, all the Guild representatives started leaving. Moreover, every one of them seemed to be in a hurry. It was as if they could not help but to immediately run to some other place, not wanting to waste even a little time. What do you all mean? Not negotiating anymore? You guys better not regret it. Im a Forger that can craft Bronze Equipment! I wont join in the future, even if you all beg me! Is being able to forge Bronze Equipment amazing? Right now, the Auction House is selling Forging Designs for Bronze Equipment. With the Forging Design, we can nurture our own forgers. We dont need to spend as much as five million Credits at all, one of the representatives coldly laughed at Hammer Trading before leaving the Forging Room. What did you say? Speak clearly before you leave! Hammer Trading abruptly stood up after hearing this. He thought he had heard wrong. 71 Focus of the Auction House Seeing as everyone had left, Hammer Trading sat in his chair, paralyzed. Both his eyes had a lifeless look in them. There was actually someone who was selling Forging Design for Bronze Equipment at the Auction House? How was this possible? Hammer Trading had no way of understanding such behavior. It was as foolish as literally handing the keys to a treasury filled with gold to someone else. Only a brain-dead person would do such an idiotic action. No, they must be trying to trick me. Hammer Trading abruptly stood up, calling out the official forum. He wanted to make these people regret. He wanted to rip them off for daring to look down on him. However, when Hammer Trading looked at a few pinned discussion threads, he became instantly dumbfounded. There really was an idiot who was selling a Forging Design! Bronze Equipment Forging Design appearing in the Auction House! Pictures as evidence available! Clicking on the thread to take a look, Hammer Tradings mind went thoroughly blank. The Forging Design was actually for the Glimmer Chestplate. It was the equipment previously sold by the Black Flame Forger. Everyone was very aware of how good the Attributes on this item were. It was an absolutely top-tier item. If a first-rate Guild were to get ahold of this Forging Design, they would not need him. This was because fame served little purpose to a first-rate Guild. Previously, he dared to act presumptuously because he learned the Forging Design for the Savage Chestplate. Now that others had a better Forging Design, who would pay him any heed? In the discussion, many first-rate Guilds declared the Forging Design to be theirs, and they would fight whoever dared competed with them over it. Hence, everyone had started paying attention to the problem of the ownership of this Forging Design. There was no longer anybody who paid attention to Hammer Trading. Instead, each and every one of them was joyful over his misfortune, making fun of his end. This incident led everyone to admire the mysterious player who was selling the Forging Design. This mysterious players means were extremely great, and people could not help but praise him. There was practically no blood seen when he killed. He only used a piece of paper to cause Hammer Trading, the rising star that received the envy and admiration of tens of thousands, to fall from his heavenly altar, tumbling down into the bottomless abyss and never being able to climb back up. Hammer Trading already bore a bitter hatred towards this player who sold the Forging Design. Just when his life of luxury was within his reach, it was all destroyed. Moreover, it was destroyed by a person who was brain-dead. Fear not a god-like rival, but fear a pig-like ally. Now, that saying needed an additional verse: and fear more a foolish passerby _._ Hammer Tradings eyes had currently turned crimson, his face extremely ashen. His expression alone was enough to devour a person. Not good. I definitely must buy it no matter the price. As long as I buy it, I can get back all the advantages. At that time, not only will I have the Savage Chestplate, but I will also have the Glimmer Chestplate. When that time comes, those first-rate Guilds will have to prostrate and beg before me. Hammer Tradings current expression was just like a gambler who lost badly. He placed all of his hopes on buying out the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design. Thinking up to this point, Hammer Trading was no longer able to hold himself back as he swiftly rushed towards the Auction House. However, it was not just Hammer Trading who was rushing towards the Auction House. There were also the upper echelons of various Guilds of various Towns under the influence of White River City. All of them wanted to purchase the Forging Design. After all, everyone knew how powerful the Glimmer Chestplate was. Owning the Forging Design was the equivalent of owning a mountain of gold. This incident caused an uproar at the Auction Houses of the various Towns in White River City. The Auction Houses became unusually lively as players pushed against one another inside the building. The Auction Houses were filled to the entrances, making it hard for players even to enter. Meanwhile, the competition for the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design entered into full swing. Every one of the Guilds had bid high prices. Within ten short minutes, the price for the item had reached 1 Gold Coin. Thats right; it was 1 Gold Coin. That was practically a large Guilds entire fluid funds. In such a way, the price of the Forging Design constantly rose without any signs of stopping. Guild Leader, I dont have enough money anymore. What do we do now? Crap, how can that be? I gave you 1 Gold and 20 Silvers; how can that not be enough? But its selling at 1 Gold 56 Silvers now Crap, these people are insane. Its just a Forging Design. Hold on a bit; Ill immediately ask for some money from the money-farming team. I dont believe we cant get it. As the price of the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design rose, bit by bit, each of the various Guilds was constantly raising funds. They contacted money-farming teams, their Guild members, and in the end, even purchased from the Virtual Trade Center. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, the cause of all this madness in White River City, had just comfortably arrived at the Library. Revered Miss Sharlyn, I have brought the items you requested. Can you dispel the curse for me now? Shi Feng sincerely took out 2 Gold Coins, 30 pieces of Moonstones, and the Teleportation Magic Orb. After seeing the glittering Gold Coins, Sharlyn nodded her head in satisfaction. However, similar to the Holy Mother, Sharlyn shook her head and said in a pitiful tone, Adventurer, you have truly astonished me. You managed to gather all the needed materials in such a short period. If I had known earlier, I would have told you that the Moon Drip ceremony possessed tiers. Tiers? Shi Feng looked at Sharlyns regretful expression, and he could not help but feel slightly odd about the situation. It was as if he was a mouse being stared at by a cat. Mmhmm. Sharlyn sighed, saying, The Moon Drip is a very ancient ceremony. In fact, aside from having a dispelling effect, there are still other effects. However, for conveniences sake, the ceremony was only used to dispel curses after constant alterations, while the other effects were greatly weakened. If you pay another 3 Gold Coins, I can gather all the needed materials to carry out the complete Moon Drip ceremony. Aside from helping you dispel the curse, it will also give you a unimaginably big harvest. Wont you reconsider it? Big harvest, when Sharlyn uttered these two words, her voice sounded exceptionally loud, making it sound as if this big harvest was something amazing. However, Shi Feng knew that the Sharlyn before him had some kind of see-through skill. Otherwise, how could she have guessed that there were still 3 Gold Coins inside his bag? He already wasted 3 Gold Coins to dispel the curse, and he did not wish to become a sucker. As if having seen through Shi Fengs thoughts, Sharlyn added, Adventurer, do you know of the legend about the Demon Slaying Sword Saint, Celius? Legends has it that Celius was cursed by the Great Demon King, undergoing torment for a long period. However, after experiencing untold hardships, he finally discovered a method to dispel the curse, which was the Moon Drip. After undergoing the Moon Drip ceremony, he obtained a new life. He received matchless strength from the ceremony, thereby allowing him to defeat the Great Demon King and becoming a legendary Sword Saint on the continent of Gods Domain. Dont you think the Sword Saint Celius was very mighty? As she was speaking, Sharlyns doll-like eyes constantly snuck peeks at Shi Feng. She constantly let out lamented sighs at the mention of Sword Saint. ... Shi Feng suddenly became speechless. Watching Sharlyns actions, it was clear they were saying, The Sword Saint is beckoning at you. Youngster, wont you give it a go? Shi Feng glanced at Sharlyns face, full of smiles, and his heart filled with helplessness. This Sharlyn was a diamond salesperson! Although Sharlyn possessed an unruly temperament and criminally attractive body, asking for 6 Gold Coins was just a huge scam! 6 Gold Coins! That was equivalent to 36,000 Credits! Very well. His heart was moved. If he could become a Sword Saint in the future, it would all be worth it. The new wouldnt come if the old didnt go. Esteemed Miss Sharlyn, I wish to try the complete Moon Drip ceremony. Will there be any danger? Shi Feng unwillingly dug out another 3 Gold Coins. After receiving the Gold Coins, Sharlyn happily smiled as she said, You can be at ease, Adventurer. Although this is my first time, my skills are very good. Even my teacher praised me as a genius. Let us begin right away. 72 Demon Hunter The sky was still dark as the moon lay unhidden, high up in the air. Inside the Library located in the Slums of Red Leaf Town... Adventurer, if you do not have any problems, then walk to the center of the magic circle. There will be a slight pain after the ceremony starts, so just endure it, and it will be over, Sharlyn pointed towards the center of the altar made of black stone. Her eyes carried a hint of excitement as she could finally start this experiment. Shi Feng was completely unaware of Sharlyns thoughts. He nodded his head as he walked into the magic circle. No matter how he put it, Sharlyn was a major character who possessed a Tier 3 Job, so there shouldnt be any complications. As for the pain he would have to suffer, he thought nothing of it. During battles inside Gods Domain, a player could similarly feel pain when attacked by monsters. However, a majority of the players still chose to accept this kind of setting. Their goal was to increase the sense of realism, so they did not adjust the pain transmission to 0%. More importantly, they wanted to increase their skills in battle. There was an old saying of spare the rod and spoil the child. Only with pain would one be able to remember the lesson, and only by learning the lesson, would one be able to further improve. Hence, if one wanted to grow in Gods Domain, learning to accept such pain was a definite must. However, considering each players tolerances, Gods Domain set the pain transmission at 20% by default. However, some experts would adjust the transmission to 60%, allowing them to be more alert. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself had adjusted it to 50%. This was the degree of pain he was accustomed to, and it was the amount at which he could best exhibit his strength. After standing in position, Shi Feng sent a nod towards Sharlyn, indicating that she could start the ceremony. Descent of the Moon Goddess! Sharlyn started her prayer; divine incantations left her mouth as her fingers traced out divine texts. Line after line of divine texts floated in midair and towards the horizon. Compared to the Tier 3 magic from before, the divine texts written in this ceremony were extremely numerous. Even after writing hundreds of lines, Sharlyn showed no signs of stopping. Sweat had already started dripping down Sharlyns face, clearly indicating that she was somewhat exhausted. Meanwhile, the magic circle on the ground started to radiate a dazzling silver glow, the magic circle itself gradually rising into the air. After over ten minutes had passed, a streak of shining moonlight shot towards Shi Fengs body. Suddenly, dark smoke emerged from Shi Fengs body. The dark smoke was extremely reluctant to part from Shi Fengs body as it rose into the air. Meanwhile, sweat started appearing on Shi Fengs forehead. His face turned pale white as he endured an intense pain. hi Feng nearly cursed at Sharlyn. This was definitely not at the level of just a slight pain, but it was very, very painful. It was as if his limbs were being torn from his body. If he had not already played Gods Domain for ten years, having long since become accustomed to pain, he might be wailing like a ghost and howling like a wolf right now. After persistently being lit by the moonlight for several minutes, the black smoke finally departed from Shi Fengs body. However, it did not just simply fade away. Instead, it formed into a dark shadow that was a carbon copy of Shi Feng. Adventurer, you need to kill this demons doppelganger in order to dispel the curse. I have to conduct the ceremony, so I cannot lend you any aid. It is all up to you now, Sharlyn reminded. Somewhat exhausted, Shi Feng used Observing Eyes on this dark shadow. [Ye Feng (Demons Doppelganger)] (Elite Rank) Level 4 HP 2,000/2,000 An Elite? Shi Fengs complexion turned serious. The demons doppelganger did not have a lot of HP, and its level was similar to his. If this doppelganger did not possess any powerful skills, then dealing with it would not be a huge problem. However, that probability was slim. Wretched Moon Drip! Despicable human! Did you think that by using the complete Moon Drip to weaken my strength, you would be able to defeat me? Ill let you know the reason why lowly humans like you will never win against us powerful demons! The demons doppelganger had an enraged expression as it pulled out a black longsword, slashing it at Shi Feng. In the blink of an eye, the doppelganger arrived before Shi Feng. A faint black ray followed as it waved its longsword. Within an instant, that single black ray turned into four streaks, all of them threatening to dice Shi Feng into blocks of meat. Extraordinary condition! Shi Feng was greatly shocked when seeing such an action. This speed far exceeded that of a normal Elite. Immediately, Shi Feng used Parry. _Dang, Dang, Dang_ Shi Feng retreated several steps before he stabilized his body. If not for the complete Moon Drip, this demons doppelganger might not have been just an Elite, but a Special Elite. Die! Despite having the upper hand, the demons doppelganger did not give Shi Feng any chances. It used Shi Fengs Chop; its sword pierced towards Shi Fengs heart. Shi Feng immediately activated Windwalk, his body abruptly dodging to a side as he distanced himself from the demons doppelganger. After missing its attack, the doppelganger turned its head, using Windwalk as well to chase after Shi Feng. Regarding Strength, speed, and HP, the demons doppelganger held most of the advantage. Moreover, the doppelganger also possessed the same Skills as Shi Feng. It was an extremely unfavorable situation for Shi Feng. Seeing that it was about to catch up to Shi Feng, the demons doppelganger revealed a ruthless smile, saying, I know whatever you know. Moreover, my strength is greater than yours. You have no chance to defeat me, so be good and wait for death. This is your fate. Then, do you know this move? Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. Nine sword phantoms appeared beside him, and with a crashing sound, all nine of them shot towards the demons doppelganger. Although the doppelganger could block a majority of the attacks, a few phantoms of the Abyssal Blade still managed to pierce its body. Every attack from the phantoms dealt over -30 damage to the doppelganger. Despicable human, you are just relying on your weapons strength. Ill let you know that all your efforts will be in vain, saying so, the doppelganger rushed to Shi Fengs front and used Thundering Flash. The moment the sword lights came, Shi Feng calmly smiled as he took out two scrolls from his bag; one of them was a Speed Scroll, while the other was a Polymorph Scroll. Within an instant, Shi Fengs speed abruptly increased, dodging to a side and avoiding the strikes from Thundering Flash. At the same time, he turned the demons doppelganger into a sheep. After turning it into a sheep, Shi Feng immediately slashed at it with his sword. Thundering Flash! Unable to dodge, the demons doppelganger received all three sword lights. As a result, Shi Fengs Level 5 Thundering Strike caused three terrifying damages of -112, -135, -163. The demons doppelganger was greatly enraged as it activated Defensive Blade. With its attack range greatly increased, it immediately slashed its sword down at Shi Feng. This human was just too despicable. He actually used an unsightly method such as turning it into a sheep. Hehe, and here I wondered how strong a demon would be. You clearly have a body thats stronger than mine, yet, you are still using the same skills as I do. I guess your standards are just at this level, Shi Feng mocked as he dodged the incoming attack. You are courting death! A single sentence from Shi Feng nearly caused the demons doppelganger to faint from anger. It sent a Double Chop at Shi Fengs neck. Shi Feng pointed the Abyssal Blade at the demons doppelganger, and within an instant, nine pitch-black chains appeared and bound it, restricting it for three seconds. Phantom Kill! Simultaneously, both the original and doppelganger activated Defensive Blade, and both started an onslaught on the demons doppelganger. Thundering Flash, Chop, Earth Splitter, Double Chop, and many more skills struck the demons doppelganger. In addition to the continuous attacks from the Nine Dragons Slash, the demons doppelgangers HP madly decreased, dropping down to 10% within a moment. So what if you have a strong physique? So what if you know all of my Skills? So what if you are a demon?! Shi Feng demanded he pierced the chest of the demons doppelganger. Meanwhile, the demons doppelganger could only grit its teeth, grimacing in pain; its fury burned within it. The moment the bindings restricting it were released, it would be able to properly deal with Shi Feng. Just as it was about to bring out its special ability, however, the demons doppelganger saw the scroll within Shi Fengs hand. Suddenly, the demons doppelganger thoroughly despaired. Bye-bye! Shi Feng waved his hand at the demons doppelganger. He knew that the demons doppelganger was about to show its hand, so he had activated the Tier 1 Magic Scroll within his hand. Thunder Bombardment! This Tier 1 Magic Scroll was capable of dealing -500 damage to a single enemy that was below Level 20. It was more than enough to deal with the demons doppelganger that currently had less than 200 HP. Suddenly, a green thunder struck down from the sky above. It caused -500 damage to the demons doppelganger, instantly transforming it into dark smoke and it vanished. It also left behind a piece of dark gray-colored equipment. System: Quest Moon Drip completed. Rewarding 10,000 EXP, and Demon Hunter title. Reputation in Star-Moon Kingdom +5, Reputation in White River City +20, Reputation in Red Leaf Town +100. System: Reputation in Red Leaf Town has reached 50 points. Upgrading to Red Leaf Town First-Class Citizen. System: Reputation in Red Leaf Town has reached 100 points. Upgrading to Red Leaf Town Third-Class Noble. 73 Demon Mask Shi Feng was slightly shocked at seeing the series of notifications. Ten thousand EXP was not considered much to a Level 4 player like himself. It only raised him to 27% of Level 4, and there was still quite a distance away before he became Level 5. On the contrary, it was the other rewards that caused his eyes to shine. Just by killing an extremely foolish Elite Demon, he was able to obtain an ample amount of Reputation as payback. Shi Feng truly did not dare imagine it was real. Reputation was extremely precious within Gods Domain. There were very few Quests that could raise a players Reputation, and even those Quests would only increase a minuscule amount. As long as a players Reputation was sufficiently high, they would be able to receive high-level Quests that were normally unavailable. Players would also be able to purchase items that were not normally for sale, such as Bronze Equipment, special potions, and so on. At the same time, there would be discounts when purchasing items, and NPCs would have a favorable impression of you. All in all, there were many benefits brought about by Reputation. After a players Reputation reached a certain degree, they could also become a Noble. In Gods Domain, Nobles were considered amongst the privileged class, and they enjoyed plenty of benefits. Being a Noble was also a symbol of status. If a Commoner were to anger a Noble, the consequences would be severe. A light offense would result in imprisonment, while a heavy offense would result in execution. Hence, players did not dare offend Nobles. So much so, that even if a Noble were to beat up a Commoner inside a Safe Zone, the Guards would pay no heed to the commotion. This was the gap between statuses. This was also the reason Shi Feng was so shocked. Now that he possessed the title of Noble in Red Leaf Town, he would be able to do things with much more convenience in the future. Shi Feng then thought of several high-level Quests that only Nobles could accept. What function does this Demon Hunter title have? Shi Feng called out the System Interface, taking a look at the information about the Demon Hunter title. [Demon Hunter] A brave warrior and an exorcist of demons who is revered by others. Wherever you go, you will possess a status equal to a Noble. You are the grim reaper who is feared by all beings affiliated with darkness. In a 100-yard radius, monsters affiliated with Darkness will have their Attributes reduced by 10%. At the same time, attacks you deal towards monsters affiliated with Darkness will have a 10% increase in damage. Crap, this title is just too awesome, Shi Feng became slightly excited after reading the introduction to the Demon Hunter title. If a person did not have a considerable understanding of Gods Domain, they would have no understanding of the significance of this title. It was similar to how a dog would not know the value of a gemstone. hi Feng only became a Noble in Red Leaf Town after his Reputation there had reached 100 points. However, this title was only limited to Red Leaf Town. After leaving the Red Leaf Town, nobody would acknowledge him as a Noble. Of course, if Shi Feng were a Noble of White River City, he would be acknowledged as one throughout the area under the administration of White River City. The title had a much wider range of application. Compared to a Noble of a Town, the difference between the two was obvious at a glance. Meanwhile, a Demon Hunter would have the status of a Noble in every region. This meant, that even after leaving Star-Moon Kingdom, Shi Feng would still be acknowledged as a Noble in other countries. It should be known that not every country was friendly with each other. There were even some who were enemies. If Shi Feng wanted to do a Quest in another, he would have to go through many difficulties and even be discriminated against. However, with this title, he would no longer be discriminated against by NPCs. This was the true value of the Demon Hunter title. Compared to it, being a Noble in Red Leaf Town was no longer worth mentioning. Shi Feng picked up the equipment dropped by the demons doppelganger. [Demon Mask] (Special Item) Upon wearing it, the user can disguise himself as another person. Disguise cannot be broken without using a high level observing skill. Truly a good item. The 6 Gold I spent was definitely worth it. Shi Feng happily stored the Demon Mask. This item was an artifact meant for robbing houses. Although he wouldnt do such a thing, it would not hurt him to use it for other matters. Adventurer, the ceremony has ended. Carrying out this ceremony has greatly weakened me, so I am going to White River City to recover for some time. If you wish to know more information about the Bible of Darkness, then find me there along with my payment. I will be waiting for you. Currently, Sharlyn appeared to be very delicate, her previous shrewdness completely gone. After saying her piece, she immediately activated a Teleportation Circle and went to White River City to recover. Shi Feng was inwardly shocked as he watched Sharlyns beautiful image departing. The Moon Drip ceremony this time was definitely not as simple as he previously thought. Otherwise, a Divine Official, which was a Tier 3 Job, would not be so greatly weakened. Even Shi Feng felt as though he would be able to defeat Sharlyn right now. One could imagine just how weakened Sharlyn was. Forget it; thats none of my business. Now that the curse has been dispelled, and my Attributes have recovered, I can finally start speed-leveling. The earlier I reach Level 10, the earlier I can activate the Teleportation Gate to White River City. Shi Feng shrugged his shoulders, no longer minding the matters of great characters. A small character like him still had many matters to take care of. To build up from nothing, many things needed to be done. Forget competing with those Guilds; just being paid attention to by a Great Demon had caused him enough headaches. He was not so leisurely as to pay attention to other matters. Following which, Shi Feng departed from the Library. He headed to the Chefs Association to take a look at Violet Clouds current progress. Red Leaf Town, Trade Area... Just after setting foot in the Trade Area, Shi Feng discovered something fishy. Now that the sun had risen, logic dictated that players should have gone out to level up. Yet, the streets were currently filled with players who were holding discussions with each other. In short, it was extremely lively. It was as if a festival of celebration was being held. From time to time, Shi Feng could also see some of the upper echelons of large Guilds running about the streets, shouting. They were urgently shouting, Purchasing game currency; the greater the amount, the more well pay. If it were any other time, Shi Feng would not think much of it. However, the street was currently filled with various players purchasing game currency. Now, that was something abnormal. What happened? The big shots from Guilds were actually loosely buying game currency from average players. According to reason, these Guilds would have their own money-farming teams or a signed contract with money-farming specialists. In such a way, they would be able to obtain a lot of game currency. However, their current actions meant the game currency supplied by the money-farming teams was insufficient. Originally, Shi Feng was still fretting over the problem of how he would get these Guilds to spend their money. Now, however, it would seem that he had done something unnecessary. With a wave of his finger, Shi Feng called out the Virtual Trade Center. He wanted to investigate the current trade conditions. Hell, what sort of situation is this? All of it is sold out already! Shi Feng discovered that the remaining 2 Gold 70 Silver he registered had all sold out. Now, over 15,000 Credits were being transferred to his bank account. Consequently, Shi Feng then took a look at the sales condition of other Gods Domain game currency. Currently, the highest price for 1 Silver Coin had reached 72 Credits, while a majority of the people were buying them at 68 Credits. The current price had increased by no small margin. Just as Shi Feng was rejoicing over having sold all of his Gold Coins, a cursing voice came from behind him, breaking his good mood. Boss, this bastards the one. The day before yesterday, I saw him casually taking out 10 Silver Coins. He must definitely be rich. Now that our Guild is in such a need of money, if we dont make this brat bleed a little, there will be no justice for me being locked up for so long, Drifting Blood said with a cold smile as he pointed towards Shi Feng, a group of players following behind him. Brat, you were the one who had attacked my brother? looking towards Shi Feng, the person referred to as Boss snorted as he asked. Shi Feng turned around, his brows wrinkling after taking a look. The person referred to as Boss was comparable in size to Cola. He had a fierce-looking face, and he seemed to be around thirty years of age. In Shi Fengs previous life, he once crossed paths with this person. Similarly a Swordsman, the person was named Ironsword Lion. He was one of the finest experts in Martial Union, and his strength was extremely powerful. During those days, their two Guilds had fought over monsters on several occasions, and Ironsword Lion killed Flaming Tiger twice throughout those confrontations. Ironsword Lion caused Shi Fengs party major losses, and they had no choice but to flee in dejection. Even Stabbing Heart of Assassins Alliance suffered defeat at the hands of Ironsword Lion. From then on, Ironsword Lions name was widely spread, allowing Martial Union to rise to a third-rate Guild. Shi Feng intended to say something, but he was interrupted by Ironsword Lion. Ironsword Lion looked at Shi Fengs scrawny body. Although the equipment on Shi Feng was of good quality, Shi Feng himself did not possess the air of an expert, and furthermore, he did not possess a Guild Emblem. Ironsword Lion determined that Shi Feng was just a leisure player and that he mustve bought some equipment just to show off. Immediately, Ironsword Lion proudly said, Little brother, since youve beat my underling, pay up 20 Silver Coins, and this matter will be over. Otherwise, dont blame my sword for being merciless. 74 Ironsword Lion It would be a miracle not to attract attention, getting involved in a robbery in the middle of the bustling Trade Area. As expected, just after Ironsword Lion finished speaking, a crowd of players surrounded them to get in on the fun. Huh, isnt that Ironsword Lion from Martial Union? Is he awesome or something? You dont say! Why dont you look at his level and equipment? Hes one of the rare few Level 5 experts, and he is wearing at least 6 pieces of Bronze Equipment. Ive also seen the weapon in his hand before. Its called Knights Longsword, a very awesome weapon amongst Level 4 Bronze Weapons. Moreover, he previously killed a lot of players outside the town, earning him a lot of glory. Che theyre just relying on numbers to bully others. How can that even be considered being skillful? If theyre that good, they should fight those large Guilds. At most, they can only bully newbies. Theyre even asking that guy for 20 Silver Coins; isnt that just going overboard? Gaming experts would only have 3 or 4 Silver Coins on them, not to mention carrying 20. They are clearly forcing him into a corner. Shh! Speak softer! That Ironsword Lion isnt bullying people with numbers. His strength is the real deal. Previously, he was a top-tier expert in a Wuxia virtual reality game, but he was compelled to transition to Gods Domain. Yesterday, he kill-stealed[1] outside of town with other players and single-handedly defeated all four of them. Those four players were not noobs but gaming veterans. They are stronger than us by at least a few leagues. If Ironsword Lion were to hear you, then tough luck, buddy. At that time, your only way out would be to delete your account and start all over again Listening up to this point, the surrounding players all sucked in a breath of cold air. They no longer dared spout baseless gossip, their eyes sending pitiful gazes towards Shi Feng. Of all the people Shi Feng could provoke, he had chosen to provoke an expert. Moreover, an expert that covered up the shortcomings of his subordinates. Unless Shi Feng deleted and recreated his account, he would definitely have to pay the 20 Silver Coins. However, leveling up to Level 4 was a difficult task. If Shi Feng chose to delete his account, then two days of his effort would be wasted. The average person would rather pay up than delete their accounts. This guy is just meeting one misfortune after the other. If it were normal times, he would just have to spend a few Credits to collect the 20 Silver Coins. Now, however, not only are the prices for Gods Domain game currency ridiculously high, but it is also extremely hard to buy any. Right! Seeing such a high buying price, even I am thinking of selling my game currency. However, going with this trend, the prices will still increase in the future. I want to stock up a little more, putting them up for sale later on. Just as the surrounding players were lamenting over Shi Fengs bad luck, at a stall by the street, several players were quietly watching Shi Feng. These players all wore luxurious equipment on their bodies, and each of them carried a faint smile on their faces. Brother Stabbing Heart, should I go lend a hand? That way, Ye Feng will have to owe us a favor, a male Cleric that resembled a skinny monkey asked as he looked at Stabbing Heart. Stabbing Heart fell into deep thought. He felt that the Clerics words were logical. Indeed, Shi Feng had very powerful techniques, and he was also acquainted with a great character like the Snow Goddess. However, Ironsword Lion was a brutish expert. He also had the support of his Guild. Overall, Shi Feng was definitely in a disadvantageous situation. If Stabbing Heart were to lend Shi Feng a helping hand, Shi Feng would definitely be grateful to him. The favor of a great expert was extremely valuable. Often, a great expert such as Shi Feng was necessary for clearing a large Dungeon. However, without good relations, such experts would usually pay zero heed to invitations, and some would go so far as to look down on them in contempt. Who did you think you are? Have you not received any education? Go, we definitely must go. However, let us wait for a while. Our value will only stand out in a crucial moment. It is also a good chance to let those plebeian Guilds know of our might, Stabbing Heart softly said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. After spending so many years within the virtual gaming world, Stabbing Heart understood a single principle. Every additional expert he befriended was an additional path he could take in the future. Whats more, Shi Feng was a great, hidden expert that was acquainted with the Snow Goddess. If he were to antagonize instead of befriending Shi Feng, he would be digging his own grave. He would be creating a great enemy for himself in the future. Alas, a small Guild was doomed to remain a small Guild. After mingling about for so many years, they did not even possess the eyesight to differentiate an expert from average players. It definitely wouldnt be long before natural selection eliminated them. When the moment came, Assassins Alliance would kill the chicken to warn the monkey[2], utilizing Martial Union to raise their influence in Red Leaf Town. Little fool, werent you so awesome? How come youre acting like a fool now? Ive said before that I would return, and when that time came, it would be your time of death. If you obediently hand over 20 Silver Coins right now, you can continue mingling about. Otherwise, delete your account and start all over again. Standing behind Ironsword Lion, Drifting Blood watched Shi Feng stand there in silence. He felt immensely pleased with himself, thinking Shi Feng had become afraid. However, such a reaction was only natural. Boss Ironswords strength was a profound mystery, and even ten of himself would not be a match to Boss Ironsword. If a mere leisure player like Shi Feng were to meet the tyrannic Boss Ironsword, he might have already been shocked dumb. Enough, Drifting Blood. Im not an evil tyrant, nor do I wish for more trouble. These 20 Silver Coins can be considered as a lesson to him. I want him to know who he should and should not provoke. Ironsword Lion looked Drifting Blood in the eye, then turned towards Shi Feng and proudly said, You dont have to worry, either. I, Ironsword Lion, am a person who holds true to my words. Hand over 20 Silver Coins, and as long as you dont provoke Martial Union, we will not find trouble with you. Hearing Ironsword Lion say so, Shi Feng really took out 20 Silver Coins from his bag, the silvery glow given off by the coins attracted peoples hearts. At this crucial period of the game, 20 Silver Coins were extremely hard to procure, even if one spent Credits to purchase them. As for taking out 20 Silver Coins in one go Crap, brat, you really are rich! So, what Drifting Blood said was indeed true. How about we become friends, and Ill cover for you in the future. Anybody who provokes you will be provoking Martial Union, Ironsword Lion was greatly shocked at seeing the 20 Silver Coins, gulping down his saliva. Even he did not possess 20 Silver Coins right now. He did not imagine that Shi Feng, a leisure player, could bring out 20 Silver Coins. With that much money, Ironsword Lion would have much more confidence in competing for the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design. When the surrounding players saw all these Silver Coins, their mouths all gaped wide in shock. Shi Feng was truly rich. He was definitely a tycoon. Some of the upper echelons of large Guilds also had their eyes turn red after seeing this scene. Ironsword Lions luck was truly good. He was able to meet a Brother Tycoon just by simply searching for a player. How could it be? From afar, Stabbing Hearts expression was one of incomparable shock after witnessing Shi Fengs actions. However, what Stabbing Heart was shocked about was not the amount of money. Instead, he was shocked by Shi Fengs unexpected action. Even if Shi Feng could not win in a fight against Martial Union, this place was currently a Safe Zone; nobody would dare to take action in here. After leaving the Town, with Shi Fengs skills, escaping was definitely not a problem. So, just why did Shi Feng compromise and offered up 20 Silver Coins? You wanted 20 Silver Coins, right? Shi Feng asked Ironsword Lion with a smile. Mmhmm, lets trade. Noticing that he had lost his composure, Ironsword Lion immediately turned serious. Just as everyone was watching Ironsword Lion with envy An incomparably pitch black longsword pierced through the pit of Ironsword Lions stomach. Ironsword Lions HP was instantly reduced by over 100 points. Just as the person himself wanted to resist, he had discovered many chains binding him, preventing him from even moving a muscle. Shi Feng calmly pulled the Abyssal Blade out from Ironsword Lions stomach. He then followed up with a Chop and an Earth Splitter, his sword slashing down on Ironsword Lions body. As a result, Ironsword Lions HP madly fell without any signs of stopping. The might of a Magic Weapon was incomparably shocking, even more so when coupled with a Level 6 Chop and a Level 4 Earth Splitter. Killing a Level 5 Swordsman fully geared with Bronze Equipment was a truly simple matter, not to mention that Shi Feng had been the one to take the initiative and carried out a sneak attack. Even an expert would fall under such circumstances. These two attacks took all of Ironsword Lions HP. Ironsword Lion did not even get the chance to retaliate before letting out a pitiful cry, his body falling to the ground, never to move again. Then, his body turned into starlight, vanishing and leaving behind a piece of equipment. Who else wants it? Shi Feng fixed his gaze on the members of Martial Union, giggling as he asked. The entire street of the Trade Area suddenly became deathly silent. Not a single person was able to mutter a word. * * * TL Notes: [1]kill-steal: practice of obtaining credit for killing an enemy, when another player has put more effort into the kill. [2] kill the chicken to warn the monkey (idiom) : to punish an individual as an example to others. 75 Money is a Burden Ironsword Lion died, just like that. This ending was the complete opposite of everyones expectations. From the moment Shi Fengs sword pierced Ironsword Lions stomach to the moment of Ironsword Lions death, everyone clearly witnessed Shi Fengs every action. However, one thing that made everyone feel odd was that Shi Fengs sword was not really that fast. From their perspective, even they could easily dodge Shi Fengs sword. So, why couldnt an expert like Ironsword Lion? Ironsword Lion died without even being able to retaliate. Could it be... did Ironsword Lion just looked impressive, but was actually a weakling? Was he just a paper tiger? However, everyone immediately denied such a silly notion in their hearts. Ironsword Lions equipment was not fake. Him being Level 5 was not fake, either. He was a genuine expert. However, how could an expert fully geared in Bronze Equipment, whose Defense and HP far outstripped the average player, be killed so easily? It was truly inconceivable. Even if an average player were to attack Ironsword Lion madly, they would need quite some time before they could kill him off. However, Ironsword Lion was taken care of by Shi Feng in only two moves. How horrifying of an Attack Power did Shi Feng possess to achieve such a feat? Thinking up to this point, everyone felt utterly defeated. What fat sheep? What tycoon? The Shi Feng before them was simply a devil wearing a human mask, giggling at them. Meanwhile, they had been completely oblivious to the truth. A cold chill suddenly flowed through their bodies, causing them to shiver. They no longer dared to look at Shi Fengs smiling face. You Youre despicable! Drifting Blood retreated a few steps, his trembling finger pointing at Shi Feng. Currently, Drifting Blood was facing incomparable shock in his heart. Compared to other people, he had a much greater understanding of Ironsword Lions strength. Regarding Shi Fengs strength, he had a deep experience and fear of it. He became even more frightened now that he was targeted by Shi Feng once more. However, after having a better understanding of the situation, the place they were currently was a Safe Zone. What should he be afraid of? Suddenly, he laughingly said, Youre finished! Since you dared kill inside a Safe Zone, nobody will be able to protect you now. Just wait for the Guards to come give you your sentence and lock you up. Everyone came to a sudden realization after hearing Drifting Blood say so. Previously, Shi Feng sent all of them into shock. They had actually forgotten that this place was a Safe Zone and there were powerful Guards protecting this place. Even if Shi Feng was powerful, was he able to overpower the Guards? In a moment, Shi Feng would definitely be captured by the Guards, falling to a miserable end. Truly a pity. However, he is truly courageous for killing someone inside a Safe Zone. It would still be worthwhile, even if he were killed by the Guards and sent to closed confinement. Whatever the case, he was able to shine for a moment. He will still be a hero when he gets released tomorrow. So cool! Big Brother Expert, little sister knows how to warm beds! Please add me as a friend! Please help me level! I swear Ill be obedient! Amongst the players present, plenty started admiring Shi Fengs courage. Not only did he dare to go against Martial Union, he even challenged the laws of Red Leaf Town. Shi Feng was literally their idol. Quite a number of good-looking female players started looking up information about Shi Feng. Some of them had even taken the initiative to send him a friend request, wanting to get to know him. At this moment, a team of heavily-armored soldier walked over. Drifting Blood pointed at Shi Feng, laughingly saying, Werent you very awesome? I want to see what youre going to do this time. Not only are you going to lose a level, but you will also be confined for 24 hours. Even if you are an expert, you will be reduced to a second-rate player after being confined for a day. At that time, Ill be looking forward to how our Martial Union will take care of you. Whether you go up to Heaven or fall to Hell, nobody will be able to save you. A distance away, Stabbing Heart was currently feeling endless regret. Although Shi Fengs series of actions just now looked to be slow, the feeling it gave off was extremely natural. His actions were as natural as breathing, not a hint of awkwardness about them. Stabbing Hearts admiration for Shi Feng was even greater now. Shi Fengs actions were the assassination techniques that Stabbing Heart pursued after. Average people would not understand what this represented. However, Stabbing Heart had played plenty of virtual reality games before, and he also had experience participating in fighting competitions. Hence, he understood just how powerful Shi Fengs skills were. If it were the him of the past, Stabbing Heart would not feel anything special about Shi Feng. However, he previously had the fortune of interacting with a martial arts master. That martial arts master previously mentioned such a situation. Battling itself was just the pursuit of the simplest method of slaughter. When such a technique was mastered to the extreme, others would be unable to feel any awkwardness about it. Instead, it would give off a very natural feeling. As for those experts who had reached such a level, all of them were extremely dangerous. That was because, even if they were to stand before you with a smile, slashing a blade across your throat and you clearly witnessed it all, you would still take it as a joke. So much so that you wouldnt even feel the danger that approached you. Your body would not react, and even until death, you would still be unaware of the attack. This was not some sort of profound technique. It was a kind of instinct that could only be learned after experiencing countless battles and training. However, such brutal training was not something the average person could go through. However, Shi Feng had taken away Stabbing Hearts rare chance at making Shi Feng owe him a favor. Stabbing Heart did not imagine Shi Feng would be so decisive, killing Ironsword Lion with zero hesitation. How was he supposed to show off now? How was he supposed to find an opportunity to seek Shi Fengs guidance now? Stabbing Heart had no ways to deal with the Guards who just arrived. Regarding this situation, Stabbing Heart held bitter hatred towards Ironsword Lion. The person actually caused him to lose a good chance to ask for guidance. Wearing a silvery-gray heavy armor, the Guard Captain walked up to Shi Feng. The other Guards surrounded him accordingly, causing the atmosphere of the street to become abnormally oppressive. Mister Guards, it was him who killed my big brother. You definitely must arrest him! Drifting Blood walked towards the Guard Captain, his face carrying a cold smile as he pointed at Shi Feng, accusing. However, the Guard Captain paid no heed to Drifting Blood. Instead, his deep gaze shifted to Shi Feng, a faint smile appearing on his face, saying, Revered Lord Demon Hunter, this place is Red Leaf Town. According to the laws of the Town, you have to pay the price for killing someone here. Otherwise, I can only invite you to make a trip to the Confinement Room. Everyone became dumbfounded after listening to the Guard Captains words. Drifting Bloods mouth widened even more; it could fit three chicken eggs. What sort of situation was this? The Guards did not actually kill Shi Feng on the spot? Moreover, he would only be confined if he did not pay the fine. Was Shi Feng the Town Mayors son or something? No, that wasnt right. The Town Mayor was already dead. No one understood why the Guards were so courteous today. When usually meeting them, not to mention a faint smile, they were gods of slaughter with grim expressions. I only killed him because he threatened me. However, I am not an unreasonable person. Tell me, what price do I have to pay? Shi Feng nodded his head, calmly turning towards Drifting Blood and giving him a calm smile. Shi Feng had his own reasons for daring to kill Ironsword Lion. Everyone else just recently entered Gods Domain, so they were still unfamiliar with the rules of the game. However, Shi Feng had lived within Gods Domain for ten years. He had long since memorized what actions he could and could not take and to what extent he could take them. Shi Feng was currently a Noble. His status far outstripped that of commoners. If he was not a Noble, he might have just turned around and left without paying any attention to Ironsword Lion. At worst, he would just start an exciting battle if they were to meet outside the Town. Who would win at that time was still an unknown. However, Shi Feng was now a Noble. Even if he killed a normal player, the Guards would not speak much of it, only requiring Shi Feng to pay a fine. As for how much he would have to pay, that depended on his identity and status. However, according to his own wealth, Shi Feng was still able to accept the fine. Two Silver Coins. The Guard Captain straightforwardly said. Ok, got it. Here are 20 Silver Coins; keep them. Shi Feng did not imagine that it would be so cheap. Hence, he took out 20 Silver Coins and passed it to the Guard Captain. Lord Demon Hunter, what are you trying to do here? Looking at the 20 Silver Coins in his hand, the Guard Captain oddly asked. Nothing much. These people before me threatened me previously, so I still wish to kill a few more people. Take it as an advanced payment. ...... the Guard Captain was stunned. Finished speaking, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. He used the Level 5 Thundering Flash, three streaks of thunder instantly piercing the bodies of Drifting Blood and the others. All of them were instantly killed, dropping quite a lot of equipment. Even till death, Drifting Blood had not reacted to what happened. At the same time, Shi Fengs green colored player indicator had turned a devilish red. All of the onlookers were stupefied. Who was this Shi Feng?! He was just too awesome! The players from Martial Union were most likely dumbfounded now. Shi Feng had simply spent 20 Silver Coins to purchase their lives. With money, you could do whatever you wanted! The more unfathomable thing was that the Guard Captain did not say a word about Shi Fengs actions. He only counted the number of players who died. Discovering that he had received 4 extra Silver Coins, he returned the additional Silver Coins to Shi Feng before he turned around and left 76 Shattering Name After getting rid of all of Martial Unions members, Shi Feng sealed the feud between him and Martial Union. However, Shi Feng did not regret his actions. Even if he turned and left just now, the players from Martial Union would not have let him go. So, he might as well weaken Martial Unions strength. He would have an easier time dealing with them the next time they met. Seeing several pieces of equipment on the ground, without paying any attention to the shock and curiosity of the onlookers, Shi Feng went over and collected them. At the very least, these items could recompense the money he lost for purchasing lives. Oh, isnt this the Knights Longsword? Shi Feng discovered that two pieces of Bronze Equipment dropped, and one of the two was the Bronze Weapon of Ironsword Lion. Perhaps Ironsword Lion was already spewing blood in anger in the graveyard right now. The Knights Longsword was a good weapon amongst Level 4 Bronze Equipment. In Gods Domain, equipment for Weapons Specialists and MTs were slightly higher than other equipment of the same Level. Currently, the Knights Longsword would be worth at least 10 Silver Coins. In addition to the other piece of Level 3 Bronze Cloth Armor and several pieces of Common Equipment Shi Feng discovered that he actually did not take a loss. On the contrary, he had made an additional 1 or 2 Silver Coins. Just when Shi Feng was planning to leave, a change occurred to the gazes of the onlooking players. Greed permeated their faces. Shi Feng had easily taken care of Ironsword Lion. He even killed several elite players with a single move. Not even a ghost would believe that Shi Feng did not possess top-tier equipment. Moreover, Shi Feng was currently a Red Player. If a Red Player were killed, the penalty they received would increase. Moreover, Shi Feng had killed so many players. If he were to die, he would at least drop three or four pieces of equipment. So, what if the Guards confined them for some time? Could it compare to obtaining top-tier equipment? If a noob wished to grow into an expert, having good equipment was a must. If they were to kill Shi Feng, they would have a chance at becoming an expert. So, why wouldnt they kill him, unless they were willing to remain mediocre? What? You guys are looking for trouble with me, as well? Shi Feng coldly laughed as he looked at his surroundings. It had been awhile since he felt the sensation of being deep within enemy grounds. After receiving Shi Fengs cold glare, everyone inadvertently retreated. None of them dared to be the first to attack. They were all waiting for someone to attack first, then take advantage of the situation to reap benefits for themselves. All of you, get out of the way! Ye Feng is a friend of our Assassins Alliance. Whoever looks for trouble with him, will be looking for trouble with our Assassins Alliance! At this moment, Stabbing Heart, along with a group of over ten subordinates, created a path through the crowd as they headed towards Shi Feng. When the players who wanted to kill Shi Feng heard Stabbing Heart, every one of them were shocked. Who actually was Shi Feng? Not only did he possess formidable strength, but the Assassins Alliance even protected him. The Assassins Alliance was well-known throughout Red Leaf Town. It was the sole second-rate Guild in Red Leaf Town, and its members could be found throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. However, the core strength of the Assassins Alliance was located around the area of White River City. Other Guilds could not compare to its influence. If they were to become enemies with the Assassins Alliance, they would really have to delete their accounts and start all over again. That was because the Assassins Alliance was famed for their assassinations. The feeling of being targeted by a group of Assassins just thinking about it could make a person tremble with unease. With the appearance of the Assassins Alliance, the surrounding players no longer dared to have ideas over Shi Feng. Since they could not fish up any advantages, everyone promptly left the scene. Many thanks, Shi Feng said gratefully, looking towards Stabbing Heart. Nonsense. With Brother Ye Fengs strength, even if I didnt show up, they would still be helpless against you. I was just pushing the boat along the current[1]. Stabbing Heart cupped his hands, saying in admiration, Today, Brother Ye Feng has really widened my horizons. Even I would find it hard to kill Ironsword Lion. I did not imagine Brother Ye Fengs skills to be so powerful as to get rid of Ironsword Lion in just a few moves. I was just lucky, Shi Feng calmly said with a smile. Brother Ye Feng really is humble. However, there is one matter that I cant make sense of. Why wont the Guards find trouble with Brother Ye Feng, even when you killed players in the Safe Zone? Stabbing Heart had faintly guessed the answer already; however, he still did not believe that Shi Feng could accomplish it that quickly. Nothing much. I only have such a special privilege because I just completed a Quest and became a Noble in Red Leaf Town, Shi Feng did not hide the truth from Stabbing Heart. He knew that he would not be able to hide it, so he might as well reveal a portion of the truth. As for the Demon Hunter title, he would still have to keep it a secret. Otherwise, it would be too eye-catching and attract unwanted trouble. Stabbing Hearts heart loudly thumped when hearing Shi Fengs explanation his eyes stared at Shi Feng, mind-boggled. Assassins Alliance had spent an unknown amount of effort to obtain Reputation for Red Leaf Town. Yet, they only managed to obtain 10 Reputation to date. Even Broken Wind, Guild Leader of the first-rate Guild, Star River Federation, was only a First Class Citizen, and there was still a long way to go before he became a Noble. However, the Shi Feng before him was actually a Noble already. The difference between them was just too huge! Originally, Stabbing Heart already had a high estimation of Shi Fengs strength. He truly did not imagine that he was still underestimating Shi Feng. However, according to his memory, he was acquainted with most of the top-tier experts that used swords. Even the ones he werent acquainted with, he had at least met before. However, Shi Feng did not resemble any of the figures in Stabbing Hearts memory. However, the world was a wide place. There was bound to be some top-tier experts who hid from the world. Now that Gods Domains influence was growing larger by the day, it wasnt particularly strange for these experts to enter Gods Domain as well. It was no wonder that the Snow Goddess acted extremely friendly when dealing with Shi Feng. Stabbing Heart guessed that Shi Feng was an extremely famous but hidden expert and that he was merely unaware of him. The earlier he tightened the connection with such hidden experts, the greater the aid it would be towards the Guilds future development. Thinking of up to this point, Stabbing Heart smiled slightly. He felt his luck was good for discovering a top-tier expert like Shi Feng. Shi Feng, on the other hand, did not know why Stabbing Heart suddenly smiled. He took a glance at the street filled with Guilds purchasing game currency, abruptly asking, Brother Stabbing Heart, I wonder what has happened here? Why are there so many Guilds trying to collect game currency? Oh, you dont know? Stabbing Heart was slightly shocked, looking at Shi Feng with astonished eyes. This matter had already become well known amongst the players in White River City, so how could Shi Feng not know about it? Shi Feng shook his head, saying, Ive been doing my Quest all this time, only returning now. So, thats why. This matter has also only recently started. Stabbing Heart came to a realization. He then explained, Not long ago, a Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design appeared on the Auction House. You should know how good the Attributes on the Glimmer Chestplate are. The usefulness of its Forging Design goes without saying. After all the Guilds discovered its existence, all of them started competing over it. Our Guild is no exception. Unfortunately, our Guilds background is still slightly lacking, and Star River Federation won the Forging Design for 2 Gold and 33 Silver Coins. Originally, our Guild had already given up. However, it wasnt long before another Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design appeared on the Auction House. That was the start of all the commotion. Every Guild has started to madly collect funds, all of them wanting to bid on it. The bidding this time ended with the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design being sold for 2 Gold 51 Silver Coins. Nobody could have imagined that a third piece would have appeared right when many Guilds were feeling disappointment. Right now, everyone is still bidding over the third piece. However, according to my estimates, the third piece will be sold at an even higher price. Only, nobody knows if there will be more of the Forging Designs up for auction, so I came here to collect game currency. Currently, everyone is guessing that Black Flame Forger is selling the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs. After all, Bronze Equipment Forging Designs arent just cabbage, not to mention similar Forging Designs. Moreover, the Black Flame Forger was the one who previously sold Glimmer Chestplates. So, everyone inwardly understands that these Forging Designs are being sold anonymously by this Black Flame Forger. I have to admit that this Black Flame Forgers strategy is truly clever. Previously, he competed with Hammer Trading to reduce the price of Glimmer Chestplate. However, it turns out that his eyes were not set on the equipment, but on the current Forging Designs. Hammer Trading, who had competed with the Black Flame Forger, had thoroughly become insane as well. Although he declared that he would compete with the Black Flame Forger until one of them went broke, unfortunately for him, the Black Flame Forger no longer paid any attention to him. Currently, a lot of people wish to get in touch with the Black Flame Forger. Unfortunately, there is no way to contact that person. The Snow Goddess of Ouroboros even posted a thread on the forums, asking the Black Flame Forger to contact her; she wants to discuss the matters of cooperation and wants him to state his price without hesitation. With this, the Black Flame Forger had thoroughly become famous. Aside from White River City, the entire Star-Moon Kingdom is currently discussing the Black Flame Forger. He is currently acknowledged as the number one Forger in all of Star-Moon Kingdom. Stabbing Heart felt deep regret as he spoke; his expression revealed reverence towards the Black Flame Forger. So, thats it. I wonder if Brother Stabbing Heart would be interested in purchasing the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design? Shi Feng casually asked Stabbing Heart, after having a general grasp of the situation. * * * TL Notes: [1]pushing the boat along the current˳ˮ: taking advantage of the situation for one''s own benefit. 77 Adding Fuel to the Fire Although Shi Feng only casually asked, Stabbing Hearts head, however, abruptly spun, his eyes looking at Shi Feng with anticipation. With an excited expression on his face, he asked, Could it be Brother Ye Feng, you have the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design? Currently, Forging Designs for Bronze Equipment were madly fought over by the large Guilds, all of them competing with the depth of their financial backing. Nobody could firmly say the remaining number of Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs that would be sold. Maybe the first-rate Guilds would buy up all the Forging Designs; second-rate Guilds chance to obtain one might never come. If he could obtain a Forging Design for a Bronze Equipment right now, then the Assassins Alliance could stay a step ahead of the other second-rate Guilds. They would be able to create a great reputation for themselves and make a large profit. At that time, they would have a greater chance when competing over White River City. However, Shi Feng simply shook his head. Stabbing Hearts excited mood was suddenly extinguished, becoming downhearted. However, after he gave it some thought, aside from the Black Flame Forger and Hammer Trading, there had yet to be a third player who could bring out a Forging Design. After all, such an item depended on luck to obtain it. Didnt you want to bid for the Glimmer Chestplate? I can lend you some money, Shi Feng said in an unhurried tone. Realization struck Stabbing Heart. Shi Feng indeed was very rich. It was obvious that he had considerable possessions from the way he was able to take out 20 Silver Coins without effort. However, compared to those first-rate Guilds, the difference was still far too great. It would be amazing if Shi Feng had 30 to 40 Silver Coins. Hence, Stabbing Heart said with a sigh, Brother Ye Feng, its not that I dont believe you, but the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs price is just too high. Just 20 or 30 Silver Coins wont be very useful. Oh, then how much do you need to bid for it? Shi Feng confidently asked. Although Shi Feng did not know how much was needed to bid for the Forging Design, he had over 4 Gold Coins that he obtained from the two Forging Designs that were sold. The money from these two items had already been deposited in his bag, so he was certain he would be able to bid for the third Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design successfully. He could also make Stabbing Heart owe him a favor by doing so. In any case, these Coins would still end up in his hands. Why would he be against this decision? The results of the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design far surpassed Shi Fengs expectations. With this many Guilds going all out, competing for the Forging Design, it was no wonder there was a game currency shortage, causing the price to soar. However, this situation was a very good news to Shi Feng. If Shi Feng did not add fuel to the fire right now, he would not be doing his long period of arduous effort any justice. tabbing Heart raised three fingers, helplessly saying, The competition right now is becoming increasingly heated. According to my estimates, we would need at least 3 Gold Coins to secure the bid. Otherwise, there is no hope for success. How much do you have on your side? Shi Feng asked, taking the initiative. He did not intend to lend Stabbing Heart 3 Gold Coins in a single breath. I have 2 Gold 10 Silver. It is extremely hard to collect game currency right now, as the other Guilds have purchased almost all of it. I have already planned to give up the competition, and instead, go and level up, Stabbing Heart said with a sigh. Then Ill lend you 90 Silvers. That way, you will have collected 3 Gold Coins, Shi Feng said, smiling. He immediately selected to trade with Stabbing Heart, placing 90 Silver Coins in the Trade Window. Stabbing Heart was suddenly shocked when he saw the 90 Silver Coins inside the Trade Window. He did not imagine Shi Feng would possess that much money. Also, Shi Feng had also spent over 10 Silver Coins just now. Didnt that mean that Shi Feng had at least 1 Gold Coin on his person? If the Assassins Alliance did not put all their efforts into collecting funds, then the Guilds fluid funds would be similar to the amount Shi Feng possessed. However, they were a second-rate Guild, and their Guild members numbered over 20,000. They also had a specialized 500-man money-farming team. Meanwhile, the money Shi Feng had earned, alone, was actually more or less the same as their Guild. Brother Ye Feng, thank you, truly! I will repay this favor in the future! Stabbing Heart excitedly exclaimed, However, I cant just let Brother take a loss. Tomorrow, I will definitely return 1 Gold Coin to you. Currently, the game currency of Gods Domain was extremely precious, especially in this period where Forging Designs were being competed over. Originally, Stabbing Heart wanted to purchase it using Credits. However, when he thought about the preciousness of the game currency, it was hard to buy, even if he had the money. Moreover, Shi Feng did not lack Credits. Hence, he did not have the nerve to let those words leave his mouth and instead chose to compensate Shi Feng with an interest of 10 Silver Coins. However, Shi Feng had become slightly speechless as he only wished for Credits. He was shouldering a large debt right now. In addition to the workshop and the rent he needed in the future, he was desperately in need of money. What would he do with that much game currency? How could it be as dependable as Credits? The earlier he started his Workshop, the earlier he could recruit stable party members. When he could enter large-scale Dungeons, he would be able better earn money, level up, and increase the Workshops reputation, building a better foundation for establishing his Guild. If he started too late, it would be hard even to set foot in White River City. Every moment counted right now. Brother Stabbing Heart, dont say it such. If you didnt show up today, I would not be able to avoid a bloody battle. I owe you a favor, so for these 90 Silvers, Ill just sell you each Silver Coin at 60 Credits. Every Guild would be in need of Coins in the initial stages of the game, so you dont have to be polite with me, Shi Feng said in a sincere tone. Stabbing Heart was immediately moved by Shi Fengs words. He thought that Shi Feng was a friend who was worth knowing. If he returned Shi Feng 1 Gold Coin tomorrow, it would cause quite a lot of trouble to the Guilds operation. Moreover, nurturing Forgers and purchasing materials required large sums of Coins. It couldnt be any better if he purchased them using Credits. I cant thank Brother Ye Feng enough! However, 60 Credits is a little too low. I dont have the nerve to buy them at that price, and just saying it would cause others to make fun of me. Ill buy each Silver Coin for 80 Credits for a total of 7,200 Credits. Ill transfer them to your account immediately. Stabbing Heart was very joyful. Even if Shi Feng were to have complaints about the matter, Stabbing Heart would still stubbornly transfer all 7,200 Credits to Shi Feng. Brother Ye Feng, Ill be leaving to bid for the Forging Design first! If you have any problems in the future, please dont hesitate to contact me. Ill definitely go all-out to help you. Finished speaking, Stabbing Heart hurriedly left with his subordinates to the Auction House. Seeing the additional 7,200 Credits in his bank account, Shi Feng helplessly smiled. His opinion of Stabbing Heart grew even more favorable in his heart. Currently, his bank account had more than 20,000 Credits; the money for two Virtual Gaming Helmets was now secured. At the very least, he would not lose the Virtual Gaming Helmet after the 7-day-duration was up and lose the ability to play Gods Domain. The remaining task he had was to earn even more money and collect some funds before the start of the schools Fellowship Party. Who knew, he might obtain a great chance at the Fellowship Party, building an unshakable foundation for his Workshop. In Shi Fengs previous life, Shadow had obtained a big chance at the Fellowship Party. It was precisely because of this chance that allowed Shadow Workshops strength to greatly increase, giving them the confidence to compete with other third-rate Guilds over controlling rights for White River City. In this life, since he was to attend the Fellowship Party, he would not let go of this great opportunity, naturally. He would compete for as much as he could. Following which, Shi Feng looked for a Hotel and rented a guest room there. In Red Leaf Town, the Red Name above his head was too eye-catching. If he did not look for a way to deal with it, his every action would attract the attention of surrounding players. I never thought I would have to use this item this quickly, Shi Feng took out the Demon Mask from his bag. He could not help but shake his head and laugh. If he did not have this item, he really would a difficult time solving the matter of his Red Name. After wearing the Demon Mask, Shi Feng adjusted his facial appearance. His new appearance was very different from his original self. At the same time, his Red Name also turned green. If others did not possess a high-leveled Observation Skill, they would not be able to see through his disguise. After confirming that there were no problems, Shi Feng placed his remaining 3 Gold Coins onto the Virtual Trade Center; each Silver Coin was sold for 80 Credits. Based on the current level of competition, as long as the Assassins Alliance successfully bid for the Forging Design, those first-rate Guilds and other second-rate Guilds would most likely be unable to sit tight. The competition then would be more insane than now. Shi Feng was not worried that his game currency would not sell. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the Hotel, a sudden realization flashed past him. He lightly tapped his own forehead. How could I forget about this thing! Now that I have the Demons Mask, how can I not properly use it? Shi Feng revealed a bright smile. 78 Black and White Interweave The Demon Mask was able to hide the users identity. In Gods Domain, it would be inconvenient for Shi Feng to reveal himself in many matters. However, with the Demon Mask, he would be able to have another identity to move about in the darkness, carrying out many tasks that he, himself, could not do. And right now was one such time. After walking out of the Hotel, Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings. He discovered several players behaving oddly. Their eyes were glued onto the Hotels main entrance as if they were waiting for something. However, due to the effects of the Demon Mask, these players did not pay any attention to Shi Feng. Why hasnt that brat come out yet? Is he planning to stay inside there until his Red Name changes back? an Assassin standing outside the Hotel entrance said impatiently. What are you in a rush for? That brat is dead for sure. He actually dared to sneak an attack on Boss Ironsword. He even killed so many of our brothers. The enmity between him and Martial Union has already reached an irreconcilable state. I want to see just how long he can hide. If he were to wait foolishly, instead of killing monsters to reduce the weight of his crime, he would need to wait more than thirty hours before his Red Name disappears. Even if he is currently powerful, after more than thirty hours have gone by, our equipment and levels will surpass him by a huge leap. At that time, killing him to Level 0 will be much easier, another Assassin said with a sneer. While these players from Martial Union were making fun of Shi Feng, they did not notice their target standing right next to them, and that he heard every single detail of their conversation. _Martial Unions sure is quick in taking action. They really are thinking highly of me if they sent a party of Assassins to watch out for me. Unfortunately, I dont have the time to play around with them. Ill just let them wait for the sky to turn bright._ Shi Feng had long since guessed that Ironsword Lion would not let him go. After all, Shi Feng had crossed paths with Ironsword Lion many times in his previous life. He had a very good understanding of Ironsword Lions personality; Ironsword Lion would definitely want revenge. Even if he had to pay a great price, as long as he was able to obtain revenge, he would definitely do it. Moreover, he would repay it hundreds to thousands of times over. If one were to put it nicely, Ironsword Lion was a simple man. If one were to put it badly, however, Ironsword Lion was a person with a one-track mind. Others could easily discern his thoughts. Following which, Shi Feng departed from the Hotel with a carefree attitude. Meanwhile, the party of Assassins was still foolishly waiting in front of the Hotels entrance. They were jeering at Shi Fengs cowardice, only daring to hide inside the Hotel. In the end, death would still be awaiting him. At the Trade Area, a sea of people crowded in front of the Auction House. Shi Feng could not even squeeze himself inside to purchase materials. Without a better option, Shi Feng could only give up for now and visit the Chefs Association to take a look at Violet Clouds progress first. Compared to the currently popular Forging Association, the Chefs Association was completely deserted. There was only a fragment of Lifestyle players entering and leaving the Association. After arriving at the Kitchen he previously rented, Shi Feng readjusted the Demon Mask, returning to his original appearance but still hiding his Red Name. After entering the Kitchen, Shi Feng discovered Violet Cloud currently concentrating on making Fruit Juice. Her hand movements were extraordinarily speedy and experienced. She was currently also Level 3, surpassing many other Lifestyle players. Although Shi Feng had seen many Master Chefs make cold beverages before, none of their actions were as smooth and natural as Violet Clouds. It was truly hard to believe why Violet Cloud would say her production speed was extremely slow. Her speed was shockingly fast. Did Violet Cloud intentionally trick him? Shi Feng shook his head, feeling that Violet Cloud had no reason for doing such a thing. Hence, he walked over and suddenly asked, Violet, how are you faring? However, as if Shi Fengs question did not enter Violet Clouds ears; she was still concentrating on making Fruit Juice. There was nothing else present in her heart. Looking at Violet Clouds degree of focus, Shi Feng was slightly shocked himself. He no longer tried to interrupt Violet Cloud and instead, chose to stand by the side and observe her. After more than ten minutes had passed, Violet Cloud had yet to discover Shi Fengs presence. Meanwhile, she had already crafted more than ten cups of Fruit Juice. These Fruit Juices looked extremely refreshing, and they gave off a faint, captivating fragrance. After she used up the materials in her hands, just when Violet Cloud was about to retrieve more Ah! Violet Cloud was shocked into a jump as she discovered that her boss, Shi Feng, was standing behind her. From the looks of it, he had been waiting for quite some time now. Violet Clouds heart became frantic as she thought about how she let her employer wait for so long. Lowering her head, she said in a nervous tone, Sir. Have you completed the nine hundred cups of Fruit Juice? Shi Feng asked with a smile. Shi Fengs evaluation of Violet Cloud had greatly risen as of this moment. The more focused someone was when doing something, the greater the efficiency. It was also easier for them to overcome difficulties. However, not everyone was able to constantly maintain a high degree of focus, just like how a students thoughts would wander after studying for a long period of time, or become absent-minded after listening to the teachers lecture for some time. However, Violet Cloud possessed extraordinary focus. When carrying out a task, her efficiency would definitely increase by several folds, doing half the work for double the effect. It was no wonder why she was able to become a Cleric God in the end. Even if she were not a Cleric, and instead played some other Job, her achievements would most likely still be great. En, theyre all done. However, I obtained a realization when I was making them before. After spending a lot of materials, I created a new Fruit Juice. You wont blame me for it, right, Sir? Violet Cloud said, slightly afraid. After all, she did not carry out her task according to Shi Fengs requirements. After completing the nine hundred cups of Fruit Juice, she went on to concoct other recipes. Shi Feng involuntarily laughed. Looking at the hundreds of cups of Fruit Juice on the table, he encouragingly said, Why would I blame you? More than that, I want to reward you. With the new Fruit Juice, I will have greater confidence in carrying out that task of mine. Here are 3 Silver Coins as your reward. I hope that you can bring forth many new creations in the future. As for your share in the sales of these Fruit Juices, Ill give it to you after I sell them. As for the Fruit Juices, you no longer need to make them for now. Afterward, focus on making the Wolf Meat Dishes. I still have a great use for them. Currently, players did not regard Wolf Meat as precious. However, after it was turned into a Wolf Meat Dish, its price could be increased over ten times. Such an increase was due to the fact that after consuming the Wolf Meat Dish, every Job would have their main Attributes increased by 5 points, and its duration was one hour. Such an increase was extremely attractive to a majority of the players. The increase was equivalent to gaining another level, and with it, they would be able to kill monsters much more quickly. Only, after taking the manufacturing costs into account, most of the current Chef players did not pay much attention to dishes with such high costs. However, by the time they did pay attention, they would have already missed a huge opportunity. Thank you, Sir. I will definitely complete my task. Excitement and appreciation filled Violet Clouds face after she received the 3 Silver Coins. She felt she was truly lucky for being able to meet Shi Feng. Otherwise, she would still have to conduct sales out in the streets, only to end up selling just a few cups. Even if she were to strive for an entire week, she would not be able to earn 3 Silver Coins. Yet, she had such an amount with just a days effort. Following which, Shi Feng stored all the Fruit Juices in his bag. There were more than 1,700 cups of them, and if each cup were sold at 1 Copper Coin, then that would sum up to 17 Silver Coins. To an average player, it was definitely a huge sum of money. To Shi Feng, however, it was just spare change. However, Shi Feng did not intend to sell any of them as he had another use for them. System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 76 Silver has been added to your bag space. Has Assassins Alliance won the bid already? Shi Feng called out the official forums. Just as expected, the Assassins Alliance posted a thread, widely advertising the Forging Design they successfully bid on and taking the chance to increase their fame and influence. After all, being able to purchase a Forging Design indicated the Guilds background. This would cause many leisure players to reconsider their estimates of the Assassins Alliances strength. Violet, if you wish to convert your Coins to Credits, wait for another hour or two before registering them on the Virtual Trade Center. That way, you will be able to obtain a higher price, Shi Feng reminded Violet Cloud after some thought. Mmhmm. Violet Cloud obediently nodded her head. Although she did not understand Shi Fengs intentions, she still chose to believe in him. After all, Shi Feng was currently her knight in shining armor. Afterward, Shi Feng gave Violet Cloud another 5 Silver Coins for her to purchase the materials needed to make the Wolf Meat Dish. He then departed from the Chefs Association, his appearance changing into an older gentleman. Its about time I contacted her, Shi Feng had done all the necessary preparations. Moreover, the Assassins Alliance had caused the other Guilds to start to panic. So, now was about the right time to contact that person. Shi Feng called out his Friend Window and looked for the Snow Goddess, a cunning smile appearing on his face. 79 Mysterious Black Flame In the core area of Kuruk Fields, one could see groups of Grassland Lion Cubs every hundred meters or so. If a partys positioning were slightly off, they would attract tens of Grassland Lion Cubs towards them. Moreover, at the large tree located in central region of the fields, there lived a Level 6 Elite Grassland Lion. That place could be said to be a forbidden area for Level 6 players. However, inside this forbidden area, Gentle Snows party was constantly clearing the surrounding Level 6 Grassland Lion Cubs. They were clearing out an empty land for the purpose of hunting the Elite Grassland Lion. If ordinary players were to see their daring actions, they would definitely exclaim in astonishment. A party waged battle against more than ten Grassland Lion Cubs. Wearing a suit of azure armor, Gentle Snow valiantly battled. She was like a War Goddess, fighting one against ten thousand. A simple slash from her had sent three Grassland Lion Cubs flying. Simultaneously, she was dodging the claws of the remaining two Lion Cubs. If an expert were to see Gentle Snow battle, their eyes might have popped out of their sockets by now. Although her single slash seemed simple, she struck the vital points of all three Grassland Lion Cubs. Her dodges were even more accurate. It was like she possessed eyes at the back of her head. Without even turning her head, she was able to avoid the claw strikes that came from behind her. On another side, the Flame Witch, Zhao Yueru, was like an artillery cannon. A single Frostflame Blast from her had taken away a third of the Grassland Lion Cubs HP. Just when the Grassland Lion Cub switched Hatred and was about to rush at Zhao Yueru, the woman, herself, revealed a smile of disdain. As her mouth chanted the final verse of an incantation, her lily-white hands finished writing the incantation. Following which, a flame dragon appeared. The dragon spewed scorching hot flames, immediately decimating the Grassland Lion Cub rushing towards Zhao Yueru. Zhao Yuerus control over magic was extremely subtle, reaching its pinnacle. Her chanting and tracing were even more extraordinary. Normally, players would need 3 seconds to complete both actions, but Zhao Yueru only spent 1.6 seconds. Her Completion Rate was even at 86%, increasing the damage of Fire Dragons Roar by 120%. This single move instantly took away two-thirds of the Grassland Lion Cubs HP. A few moments later, more than ten Grassland Lion Cubs lay dead on the ground. Rest for a while and prepare to lure those two Elite Grassland Lions over. Shield Warrior, youll tank one, while I handle the other, after tidying up the loot, Gentle Snow commanded as she looked towards the two patrolling Elite Grassland Lions in the distance. Just as everyone was resting, Gentle Snow received a single message signed with the name of Black Flame. Looking at this signature, Gentle Snows brows slightly wrinkled. Previously, she put out word that she wished to discuss matters of cooperation with the Black Flame Forger. It did not take long before she received a reply. Originally, she had felt rather joyous at the fact. However, a few moments later, she received another pile of similar messages. All of them claiming themselves to be the Black Flame Forger. However, after undergoing a simple questioning and identification, she discovered that all of these players were fakes. Every one of them wanted to swindle some money from her. Snow, is it another harassing message? Why not you just set it so you can only receive messages from your friends. That way, these messages wont bother you anymore. Zhao Yueru suggested after noticing Gentle Snows unnatural behavior. Gentle Snow shook her head, saying in a serious tone, Im not acquainted with the Black Flame Forger. If the real Black Flame Forger were to contact us, and we werent able to receive his message, wouldnt we have posted that thread for nothing? Ill still take a look at it. In any case, it is very easy to determine the authenticity of the Black Flame Forger. However, Gentle Snow suddenly froze when she read the message. That was because this message had very clearly proven the authenticity of this Black Flame. He wanted her to go to the Virtual Trade Center, and using the password he had given, enter a designated Trade Room to trade for the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design. It seems that I finally have some gains after waiting for so long. Gentle Snow revealed a faint smile. From the contents of the message, she could clearly feel that this Black Flame was the real deal. Otherwise, he would not suggest trading the Forging Design at the Virtual Trade Center. After all, Black Flame impostors would not have a Forging Design. What is it? Did the real Black Flame contact you? Looking at Gentle Snow nodding to her question, Zhao Yueru became immediately excited. Wishing to meet this mysterious Forger, she asked, When do we meet him? Currently, the Black Flame Forger was known by everybody. He was even in possession of a Forging Design that could increase a Guilds influence. After carrying out one questionable action after another, only now did they find out his true motive. Zhao Yueru couldnt help but admit the brilliance of the Black Flame Forgers methods. He paid such a huge price all to control the initiative in the game played by the various Guilds. Now, every Guild within the area of White River City could not help but get caught up in this spiral; otherwise, they would be eliminated by the other Guilds. His unpredictable actions even caused her to feel admiration. He was unlike a certain someone who was clearly just a lucky bastard, yet, still pretended to be an expert. Just thinking about that person made Zhao Yuerus blood boil in anger. Compared to the Black Flame Forger, the difference between them was thousands of miles apart. I just contacted him. However, he does not want to add us as friends. He only said he wants to meet at the Level 8 map, Physis Canyon, in four hours. Physis Canyon isnt that far away from our current location. Ill buy the Forging Design first; then well quickly clear up these Elite Grassland Lions. If we hurry over, we should be able to make it. Even Gentle Snow was clearly excited right now. There were so many first-rate Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom, yet, she didnt imagine that the Black Flame Forger would actually be willing to cooperate with them. She couldnt help but admit that they were extremely lucky or maybe that Black Flame had some other plans. In any case, she wouldnt be able to see through the thoughts of this Black Flame. Great! Then lets hurry! If we make him wait too long, it would be terrible if he didnt want to meet us anymore, Zhao Yueru abruptly stood up, excitedly saying so. Look at you in such a hurry We still have time. Gentle Snow rolled her eyes at Zhao Yueru. She did not imagine that Zhao Yueru would be so interested in Black Flame. Normally, she would not be as enthusiastic towards other people she met. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, the target of Gentle Snow and Zhao Yuerus conversation, had already departed from Red Leaf Town. He was running towards the White Sand Ruins. The White Sand Ruins was a Level 10 monster area. It was also one of the must-come leveling areas for players of Red Leaf Town and several other nearby Towns. That was because the Quests available here were very numerous. Amongst them, there was no lack of Guild Quests and Reputation Quests. There were even two Unique Quests here. The rewards for these two Unique Quests were extremely bountiful, and they would bring plenty of benefits to Shi Feng when he officially entered White River City in the future. Hence why Shi Feng was running to the White Sand Ruins. Just as Shi Feng arrived at a sea of white sand, a message from Gentle Snow arrived. The message stated that they had to delay the meeting time by an hour suddenly, and as a compensation, aside from buying the Forging Design at price of 24,000 Credits, they would give him an additional 20,000 Credits. Their wealth was practically overbearing. Shi Feng did not really mind the delay in time. In any case, he also needed quite some time to complete the Quests here. Meanwhile, 20,000 Credits was two months worth of salary of a gold collar worker[1]. Gentle Snow used it as compensation for being late Moreover, this was only the start of the business between them; yet, he had already earned more than 40,000 Credits. He could not help but admit that there were many benefits for working with a person like Gentle Snow, especially when the person herself was not lacking money. Even the rich from other virtual reality games could not compete with her. Following which, based on his memories, Shi Feng searched for a secret path in the White Sand Ruins. After walking this path for nearly half an hour, he caught sight of a bunker buried in the white sand. Two Level 10 Elite Blacksteel Dwarves guarded the bunkers entrance. One of the two Unique Quests, Steel Fortress Barrutia, could be found inside this bunker. * * * TL Notes: [1]gold collar worker: Highly skilled professionals who may be in high demand, such as chartered accountants, surgeons, anesthesiologists, engineers, and lawyers. 80 Steel Fortress Barrutia Blacksteel Dwarves, they were a group fanatics addicted to forging. The civilization of the Blacksteel Dwarves was once incomparably brilliant, and their shadows could be found in the creation of countless pieces of Legendary Equipment. The arms of Blacksteel Dwarves were as thick and robust as their thighs, and their muscles were as hard as stone. In addition to their dark skin color, often they were mistaken for rocks during nighttime, and many people would sit on them accidentally. Of course, the consequences of such an action were very grave, as the thing these Blacksteel Dwarves hated the most was being treated as stools. Shi Feng straightforwardly walked over. This bunker in the White Sand Ruins was extremely well hidden. In Shi Fengs previous life, it took a long time before the many Guilds doing Quests in the White Sand Ruins discovered the bunker. They received many good Quests from this bunker, and some Quests even gave away Mysterious-Iron Equipment. However, such Quests usually required a party in order to complete them. It was absolutely impossible for a person to complete them alone. However, compared to these Quests, the Favorability of these Blacksteel Dwarves was much more important. This secret was also only discovered after players had already reached more than twenty levels. There was a Unique Quest called Steel Fortress Barrutia available here. However, because the Unique Quest required a certain amount of favorability before a player could receive it, many players missed the chance to obtain it. On the contrary, an unknown average player received the Unique Quest. Moreover, after completing the Unique Quest, the player instantly become the recruitment target of many Guilds. Arriving in front of the bunkers entrance, the two Elite Blacksteel Dwarves standing guard let Shi Feng enter after giving him a simple glance. The inside of the bunker was very large. It was just like an underground Town. Blacksteel Dwarves were everywhere, and the majority of the streets were composed of either Weapons and Equipment shops or bars, with very few places of entertainment. Moving along the main street, Shi Feng arrived before a steel building after making several turns and detours. The building was the City Hall, and when Shi Feng entered the building, the Town Mayor, a Level 30 Elite NPC, quickly noticed him. As it has been a long time since any outsiders entered this small Town, the Mayor happily went up to welcome Shi Feng. Hello, Adventurer! Welcome to Stonehammer Town! I am Blackbeard, the Town Mayor! Blackbeard warmly said. Hello, Lord Mayor. It is my first time coming here, so I wonder if I could be of any use to you? Shi Feng performed respectfully, as such actions would give NPCs a more favorable opinion of him. Blackbeard caressed his thick beard. After thinking for awhile, he said, Adventurer, our small Town indeed needs help. The weather of area around here is getting hotter by the day, and our water supply is continuously diminishing. As a result, it is getting harder for the inhabitants to live in this small Town. I will pay a sufficient price, so I hope you can help us obtain a large water supply or something that can help with the heat. ystem: Do you wish to accept the Quest, Blackbeards Request? Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. He was here exactly because of this. I will be happy to help, Shi Feng responded. The most important thing in Rockhammer Town was the Town Mayors Favorability. However, the Town Mayors Favorability was not that easy to obtain. That was because the Quest he gave was not easy to complete. Moreover, the rewards of the Quest were few, causing many players to give up on grinding for the Town Mayors Favorability. System: Quest Blackbeards Request accepted. Offer 100 bags of Clear Water or 5 cups of Cold Beverage to the Town Mayor Blackbeard. Following which, Shi Feng retrieved the Fruit Juice he had prepared. For every 5 cups of Fruit Juice Shi Feng offered, he could obtain 2 Copper Coins, an increase of 1 point to Blackbeards Favorability, and 100 EXP. To a Level 8 to 9 player, 100 EXP could be considered negligible. Just by simply killing a Level 10 Common monster, they would be able to obtain over 200 EXP. Moreover, 100 bags of Clear Water were sold for 5 Copper Coins in other Towns, and 5 cups of the cheapest kind of Cold Beverage would similarly cost 5 Copper Coins. After deducting the cost, that meant that players would be spending 3 Copper Coins in exchange for 100 EXP. Only a lunatic would be willing to do such a thing. However, Shi Feng was very willing. To his current Level, 100 EXP was not a small amount. It was a lot more than the EXP he would obtain from killing a Level 5 Common monster. Following which, Shi Feng handed over Fruit Juices without stop. After he handed over 1,000 cups of Fruit Juice, he obtained a total of 400 Copper Coins and 200 points of Favorability. He also obtained 20,000 EXP, instantly bringing him up to 69% of Level 4. He had risen so much just within ten short minutes. It was literally faster than grinding on Level 10 Elite monsters. After his Favorability reached 200 points, Shi Feng started asking Blackbeard about the Unique Quest. However, Blackbeard remained silent, his eyes darting about, pretending to know nothing about the Quest. As expected, my Favorability is still not high enough. Shi Feng had more or less expected such a result. Hence, he brought out Violet Clouds new type of Fruit Juice, Lord Mayor, what do you think about this kind of Fruit Juice? After seeing this new Fruit Juice, Blackbeard took it in his hands and gave it a whiff. Suddenly, both his eyes shone as he excitedly said, This cup completely surpasses the previous five cups. Adventurer, I wonder how many of these do you have? I am willing to pay an extra 1 copper Coin to purchase it. Shi Feng couldnt help but be stunned when he saw Blackbeards extremely satisfied expression. He did not imagine that Violet Clouds craftsmanship would be so good as to tempt even an NPC into willingly to concede. Such a situation was very rarely seen in Gods Domain. Since Blackbeard liked the new Fruit Juice, Shi Feng naturally continued the transaction without stop. He had a total of 750 cups of the new type of Fruit Juice. Every cup earned him 3 Copper Coins, 1 point of Favorability, and 100 EXP. It could be seen just how much Blackbeard loved this item. In such a way, Shi Feng easily received 2,250 Coppers and 750 points of Favorability. He also received 75,000 EXP, instantly bringing him to 46% of Level 5. His leveling speed was like a rocket. Unfortunately, making the new type of Fruit Juice required a lot of time. Moreover, Violet Cloud still had other matters to tend to. Otherwise, Shi Feng really wanted Violet Cloud to make up to 10,000 cups for him, instantly rushing to Level 10 and over. With 950 points of Favorability, the Town Mayor Blackbeard finally opened his mouth. Moreover, he did not hide any secrets this time. He was treating Shi Feng like his close friend. Shi Feng had even received the Stonehammer Key, which had not been mentioned by the player in his previous life. System: Unique Quest Steel Fortress Barrutia accepted. Player is required to go to Physis Canyon to look for the fallen Steel Fortress Barrutia and obtain the Titans Heart from within it. Town Mayor Blackbeard will provide an extremely bountiful reward for it. With such a high amount of Favorability, Shi Feng could also purchase Forging Designs from Blackbeard. Shi Feng was shocked after taking a rough look at the available items. There were a total of ten Forging Designs for sale; five of them were Common Equipment Forging Designs, three of them were Bronze Equipment Forging Designs, one of them was a Mysterious-Iron Weapon Forging Design, and the last was a Mysterious-Iron Equipment Forging Design. Blackbeard mustve even taken out his inheritance with this! These Forging Designs were all for Level 8 to Level 10 equipment. However, the Bronze Equipment Forging Designs were sold for 60 Silver Coins each, while the Mysterious-Iron ranked Forging Designs were sold for up to 1 Gold and 50 Silver Coins. Even if an average player were to discover them, they would definitely be unable to purchase them. Fortunately, this time around, Shi Feng had sold another three pieces of the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design. The money he possessed increased by more than 9 Gold Coins once more. Otherwise, even he could only look at the items with envy. Lord Mayor, these three Bronze ranked Forging Designs and two Mysterious-Iron ranked Forging Designs, I want all of them, Shi Feng simply handed over 4 Gold 80 Silver. Unfortunately, these Forging Designs were bound upon purchase. Otherwise, he would be able to earn at least double or triple the amount just from reselling them. The weakest amongst these Forging Designs was a Level 8 Bronze Equipment. However, even that would bring about an unimaginable improvement to the current Guilds. After all, the current highest leveled players were just nearing Level 6, while a large majority of the players were still using Level 1 or Level 2 Common Equipment. Just imagining when everyone rose to Level 8 and every member of a party possessed a piece of Level 8 Bronze Equipment was frightening. After completing the transaction, Shi Feng suddenly received a System Notification. 81 Equipment Improvemen Shi Feng was shocked after reading the System Notification. Blackbeards Favorability of him rose to 1000 points, reaching the level of Revered. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to achieve Revered Favorability with an NPC. Rewarding 1 Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. Luck really cant be stopped once it comes. I wonder what items will come out? Shi Feng impatiently opened the refined Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. Inside the Treasure Chest, there was a piece of equipment and an Ornament. [Dark Pursuers Cape](Secret-Silver Rank) Equipment Requirement: Agility 70 Defense +20 Strength +4, Agility +8, Endurance +4 Movement Speed +2 Evasion +6 Additional Ability: Silent Steps: Allows the user to arrive at the targets back silently. Maximum range of 40 yards. Cooldown: 3 minutes. [Interpreters Pendant] (Mysterious-Iron Rank) Level 7 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 30 Intelligence +6, Endurance +2 Magic Damage increased by 5%. In the current times, these two pieces of equipment could be considered extremely rare. It was especially true for the Dark Pursuers Cape. The Cape was well suited for Weapons Specialists, and it would definitely increase their strength when equipped. Meanwhile, Silent Steps was an ability similar to the Instantaneous Movement of Mages and Shadow Steps of Assassins. It was Equipment meant for PK[1]. The Interpreters Pendant was even more of a top-tier Ornament. Just based on the 5% increase in Magic Damage alone, Mages could continue wearing the pendant until Level 20 without falling behind in the slightest. Lets give this Ornament to Blackie. After some thought, Shi Feng deemed that Blackie was most reliable person right now, and he was also a Mage. As for the Cape, he was currently unable to equip it. Its requirement of 70 Agility was just too high. At the very least, Shi Feng needed to be Level 10 before he could equip it. Looking at the equipment, Shi Feng suddenly recalled that he was already Level 5. Just by relying on the Abyssal Blades Attributes, in addition to adding his 6 Free Attribute Points into Strength, he was now able to equip the Silvermoon Set Equipment. Just at Level 5, Shi Feng was able to equip the best Set Equipment for Swordsman under Level 10. His overall Attributes were literally without rival, and the Quests he would do later on would become much easier. Hence, Shi Feng added all his Free Attribute Points into Strength and equipped the five Silvermoon Set pieces. Also, now that Shi Feng was Level 5, the Swordsmans Dual-Wielding Talent had activated. Shi Feng was now able to wield two One-handed Swords. Shi Feng then took out the Secret-Silver ranked Crimson Blade, equipping it on his Sub-arm. After completely equipping himself, Shi Feng was shocked when he took a look at his own Attributes. There were very, very few players with Attributes like his in all of Gods Domain. Not to mention the Set Effects on the Silvermoon Set Equipment Effect 1: Attack Power +15, Defense +30. Effect 2: HP increased by 10%, Life Shield (Tier 2): After activating, creates a Life Shield that absorbs 60% of the damage received, with 500 maximum damage absorbed. Effect 3: Damage received reduced by 10%, Attack Speed increased by 10%. Shi Fengs HP was now close to 1,000 points. With these three Effects, he was even tankier than an MT. His damage output had received an even larger improvement. Wearing a suit of silvery-white armor, the pitch black Abyssal Blade hanging on one side of his waist while the bloody red Crimson Blade hung on the other, Shi Feng was like a hero that traveling around the world. There was still some time before the meeting with Gentle Snow, so Shi Feng received two Advanced Quests from Hammerstone Town. They were all Quests requiring him to kill Level 10 Twin-headed Snakes. The Quests required 20 Snake Galls and 30 Venomous Fangs. After completing the Quests, Shi Feng would be able to obtain rare Ore and Forging Materials. These materials were all needed to make the Mysterious-Iron Equipment and Weapon, and normally, they were extremely hard to find. After jogging for over twenty minutes, Shi Feng finally arrived at an oasis in the White Sand Desert. There was a group of Twin-headed Snakes circling nearby. [Twin-headed Snake](Common Rank) Level 10 HP 950/950 Although the Twin-headed Snakes had low HP, an average Level 10 player would not be capable of going solo against them. Normally, they would need help to take these monsters on. Monsters in Gods Domain would have a qualitative change once they reach Level 10. Their attack patterns were extremely flexible, and they knew how to defend against attacks. These were traits you would not find in Common monsters below Level 10. Without plenty of battle experience, average players would find it very hard to block or evade their attacks. Apart from this, their attacks would carry an additional Special Skill, and a slight slip in attention would cost players their lives. As for the Twin-headed Snakes attack pattern, it would usually attack with one of its heads, while defending with the other. Because of this, a solo player would find it hard to deal damage. In addition to the Fatal Fang skill it possessed, as long as it bit a player, they would be poisoned and lose 50 HP every second for 15 seconds. If they did not dispel the poison, an average player would practically lose their lives to it. Shi Feng slowly closed in on the Twin-headed Snakes. Before he even reached the 20-yard range, a Twin-headed Snake the height of an adult spat out its tongue, rushing towards Shi Feng. Since he had been discovered, Shi Feng took the initiative to rush over as well. Wind Blade! The Abyssal Blade transformed into a black streak of light, piercing towards the vital point of the Twin-headed Snake. The snake reacted extremely quickly, one of its heads immediately bit down on the Abyssal Blade, preventing the Abyssal Blade from moving a single inch. Meanwhile, its other head opened its mouth widely, its sharp venomous fangs leaking a bluish-green poison as it bit at Shi Feng. Shi Fengs other hand waved the Crimson Blade, the weapon transforming into a red streak as it slashed at the Twin-headed Snake. _Peng!_ He stuck as the Twin-headed Snake was retreating, and a damage of over 60 points appeared above its head. On the other hand, Shi Feng only lost slightly more than 10 HP, and he did not retreat even a single step backward. Following which, the Abyssal Blade slashed towards the undefended belly of the Twin-headed Snake, immediately causing -96 damage. Incidentally, the Abyssal Blades ability, Doom Curse, was triggered, greatly reducing the Twin-headed Snakes Attributes. However, Shi Feng was not finished. He continued slashing the Crimson Blade, piercing the Twin-headed Snakes vital points and causing another -112 damage. By the time the Twin-headed Snake started reacting, its HP had already been reduced by half. When one of the snake-heads bit at Shi Feng, he dodged to a side, and his foot stomped on the ground, pushing him forward. His actions caught the other snake-head by surprise, rendering it unable attack or defend. Double Chop! The Abyssal Blade and Crimson Blade pierced deeply into the Twin-headed Snakes abdomen. Shi Feng then abruptly pulled on them, slashing apart the Twin-headed Snakes body and leaving two long gashes. Two damages appeared above the Twin-headed Snakes head, -156 and -132. In addition, the snake also received a Bleeding Debuff. The Twin-headed Snake still wished to retaliate. However, before it could reach Shi Feng, it bled itself to death. System: Level 10 Twin-headed Snake killed. Level difference of 5. EXP obtained increased by 500%. Obtained 1,000 EXP. The Twin-headed Snake contributed a Snake Gall to Shi Feng. Shi Feng did not use many skills throughout the entire killing process, mainly only using normal attacks. He easily took care of a Level 10 monster. However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied. It was especially true for his first piercing attack. The Twin-headed Snake actually blocked the attack. Otherwise, he would have been able to kill the Twin-headed Snake with a series of continues strikes. Shi Feng then started searching for his next target. After an hour, Shi Feng had killed over forty Twin-headed Snakes. His experience rose to 81% of Level 5. His leveling speed was like a rocket, and his experience gain was even faster than that of forging equipment. Shi Feng couldnt help but have mixed feelings about it. With the entire Silvermoon Set Equipment in addition to two top-tier Weapons, killing monsters that were of higher levels became extremely easy. If the situation continued as such, Shi Feng would reach Level 6 in less than an hour. Im still missing 3 Snake Galls and 5 Venomous Fangs. However, all the Twin-headed Snakes in this area are already dead. It might take awhile for new monsters to respawn. Shi Feng observed his surroundings. There was actually not a single Twin-headed Snake present. Shi Feng had no choice but to run to another spot to grind Twin-headed Snakes. However, just after taking a few steps, three Twin-headed Snakes slithered out from the oasis. Amongst the three, one of them had larger heads than the other two, and there was also a horn on each of its heads. This was a Snake King patrolling its territory. En, a Rare Elite, is it? Shi Feng licked his lips when he saw the Twin-headed Snake King, his lips revealing a faint smile. A Rare Elite was not something that a person could often meet. It would appear randomly, and its strength was slightly more than normal Elite monsters. Its drop rate was also extremely good. Being able to meet one depended all on luck. * * * TL Notes: [1]PK: Player Killing. 82 headed Snake King The Twin-headed Snake King, along with its two subordinates, slowly slithered towards Shi Feng. However, it did not discover Shi Fengs existence. Its tail calmly swayed, and its head proudly raised as it overlooked its own territory. Meanwhile, the two normal Twin-headed Snakes were closely following the Snake King. They did not act proudly like the Snake King, but more like bodyguards, their chilling gazes sweeping across their surroundings. As long as there were any signs of activity, they would immediately become their Kings sharp swords, killing all enemies that were harmful to their King. From when the Twin-headed Snake King approached his location to when it turned around and left, Shi Feng only watched it, silently. However, Shi Feng was in no hurry to make a move. Instead, he stealthily followed it, using Observing Eyes on it, and waiting for the best terrain to start his attack. [Twin-headed Snake King] (Rare Elite) Level 10 HP 4,000/4,000 The other two Twin-headed Snake Guards were both Common monsters. They were both Level 10, and they both had 1,400 HP. Shi Feng was about to face three Level 10 monsters together. Moreover, there was even a Rare Elite amongst them. Even though Shi Feng equipped with the full Silvermoon Set Equipment, he still needed to plan properly before taking action. After all, the few cant fight the many. Also, the Snake race had extremely quick Movement Speeds and the Snake King even more so. Shi Feng followed the Twin-headed Snake King to an area filled with sandstone. There were several stones taller than a person here that could be used to obstruct the Twin-headed Snake Kings vision, so Shi Feng finally started taking action. Shi Feng would be at a big disadvantage if he were to take on all three Twin-headed Snakes at the same time. So, he needed to split them up and kill them one at a time, with the Common monsters taking priority. Shi Feng immediately used Phantom Kill, letting his doppelganger stay behind waiting while he took charge. Shi Feng used Wind Blade, his sword stabbing at the nearest Twin-headed Snake Guard. With the ambush and the speed increase from Wind Blade, the Twin-headed Snake was not able to react to the attack at all. Shi Fengs two swords immediately stabbed it in the backs, causing damages of -76 and -61. Following which, Shi Feng used Double Chop, causing -103 and -89 damage, and leaving the Twin-headed Snake Guard with a Bleeding effect. Shi Feng was fully equipped with top-tier equipment and high-leveled Skills. Even if the Twin-headed Snake Guard had a high Defense, the damage Shi Feng could cause was extremely high. If it were a Level 5 average player attacking the Twin-headed Snake Guard, with the level suppression and the monsters high Defense, they would at most cause -3 or -4 damage to it. The Twin-headed Snake Guard wailed in pain. It immediately spun its heads around, attacking Shi Feng. The other Twin-headed Snake Guard also came over, biting at Shi Feng. Shi Feng now received attacks from two sides at the same time. hi Feng slightly smiled at this. He used Thundering Flash, sending three streaks of thunder at one of the Twin-headed Snake Guards. However, the Twin-headed Snake Guard reacted extremely quickly; one of its heads blocked, while the other bit at Shi Feng. The three streaks of thunder were blocked, causing an insignificant amount of damage. Just as the Snakes venomous fangs were about to bite down, Shi Feng used Parry and activated Windwalk. After blocking an attack, Shi Feng immediately turned around and ran. The Twin-headed Snake Guards would naturally not let go of an enemy who angered them. Slithering at high speeds, they chased after Shi Feng. As for the unharmed Twin-headed Snake King, one could see boiling rage in its chilling eyes. It, too, slithered and chased after Shi Feng. However, just after the Twin-headed Snake King moved several yards, Shi Fengs doppelganger used Windblade and rushed at the Twin-headed Snake King. The doppelganger slashed at the Twin-headed Snake Kings neck, causing -24 damage. The Twin-headed Snake King was enraged by this attack. With the speed of a thunderbolt, the Twin-headed Snake King bit at the doppelganger. As the doppelgangers goal had been achieved, it, too, activated Windwalk, turning around and leaving. Now, the Twin-headed Snake Guards were separated from the Snake King. Although the two Twin-headed Snake Guards were tough, without the support of their King, they were unable to stand against Shi Fengs fierce attacks. One move after another, Shi Fengs blades would always strike at the vital points of the Twin-headed Snake Guards. After all, the Silvermoon Set Equipment was not just for show. Right now, Shi Fengs Agility exceeded 60 points. Even if the Twin-headed Snake Guards could defend against one of Shi Fengs attacks in time, they would still be struck by his other sword. Every sword that landed would take away 60 to 70 HP, while the occasional Critical Hit would cause over -150 damage. Shi Fengs sword strikes were like a fierce gale passing by. The sword strikes constantly landed on the two Twin-headed Snake Guards, causing their HP to fall madly. Within a few moments, the two Twin-headed Snake Guards breathed their last breaths. After looting the drops, Shi Feng rushed at the Twin-headed Snake King. Currently, the doppelgangers HP had fallen below 30%. It was exhausting itself trying to pin down the Twin-headed Snake King. The Rare Elites attacks were extremely quick. It would, from time to time, spit out a poisonous fog, enveloping a large area with it. The doppelganger only possessed 50% of the original bodys Attributes, so it could only constantly defend and escape. Otherwise, it would have long since dropped dead. However, now that the original body had arrived, the doppelganger did not need to pin down the Twin-headed Snake King any longer. Shi Feng immediately used Nine Dragons Slash, shooting out nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade. Shi Feng then used Defensive Blade, his attack range greatly increasing. He could only attack from afar when facing the Twin-headed Snake King who was capable of spewing out poisonous fog. If he were to enter a melee with the Twin-headed Snake King, he would not last twenty seconds. Even if he were to activate all of his life-saving skills, he still would not survive. The Twin-headed Snake King was very cunning. When facing Shi Feng, one of its heads defended against Shi Fengs attacks while its other head constantly attacked his doppelganger, paying no attention to Shi Feng himself. After three to four hits, the doppelganger could no longer take it, vanishing. Meanwhile, the Twin-headed Snake Kings HP was still over 70%. Its other head now turned to stare at Shi Feng. It opened its mouth, spitting out a mouthful of poison. The poison was like an arrow as it shot towards Shi Feng. Shi Fengs expression suddenly sank. His body dodged sideways, avoiding the poison. When the poisonous fluid struck a sandstone, the fluid immediately passed through, leaving behind a large hole. This was the Twin-headed Snake Kings Corroding Acid. If one were to block it, though a Secret-Silver Weapon might still be fine, a Common Weapon would immediately melt. As for a Bronze Weapon, its Durability would, at least, be reduced by half and taking two hits from the Corroding Acid would turn it into scrap. In such a way, one man and one snake started maintaining their distance between each other, attacking and dodging. Shi Feng madly slashed his swords, streak after streak of sword light filling up the area. Meanwhile, the Twin-headed Snake Kings two heads spat out poison without halt, leaving behind countless holes. From time to time, it would also fill a large area with a poisonous fog, leaving not even a blade of grass alive. From time to time, Shi Feng would be poisoned during battle. After over ten minutes of constant battle, even though Shi Feng was constantly drinking Basic Regeneration Potions as soon as the Cooldown was finished, his remaining HP was only at 8%. Meanwhile, the Twin-headed Snake King still had 14% of its HP remaining. Seeing as both their HPs were low, the Twin-headed Snake King revealed a sinister look. Its size faintly increased by a fold; then, suddenly, it leaped into the air. One of its heads widely opened its mouth, revealing its snow-white poisonous fangs, while its other head spewed out poisonous fog. The Twin-headed Snake King used an attack pattern that contained both attack and defense, and as long as Shi Feng closed in on it, he would be trapped in the harmful fog. Going all out now? Currently, Shi Feng could withstand the poisonous fog for 3 seconds at best or take one strike from the Snake King itself. Hence, Shi Feng took out a bottle of Basic Regeneration Potion from his bag, gulping it down and recovering 180 HP. In his other hand, Shi Feng took out a Polymorph Scroll. Just as the Twin-headed Snake King was about to land, it was immediately turned into a sheep. Thundering Flash! Chop! Double Chop! Earth Splitter! After a series of attacks, the Twin-headed Snake King only had 5% of its HP remaining. However, it had transformed back into its original form, while its surroundings were filled with poisonous fog. The Twin-headed Snake Kings recovery speed increased by a fold while inside the fog, while its enemies would madly lose their HP. Shi Feng immediately retreated, using Abyssal Bind on the Twin-headed Snake King. Shi Feng then took out the Tier 1 Magic Scroll, Continuous Flame Bombs, and started chanting. Five large Fireballs smashed onto the Twin-headed Snake Kings body, taking away the last of its HP. The Twin-headed Snake King dropped four items as it died. System: Twin-headed Snake King killed. Level difference of 5. EXP obtained increased by 500%. Obtained 5,000 EXP. Shi Feng finally loosened his breath. As expected, a Level 10 Rare Elite was extremely hard to deal with. If he did not possess the Silvermoon Set Equipment and the Tier 1 Magic Scroll, he would have been the one to die in this battle. Fortunately, Shi Feng killed it. Amongst the four items dropped, there was the Level 8 Mysterious-Iron Staff, Song of Life, meant for Clerics. Its overall Attributes were quite good, and it also increased the levels of Recovery Skills by +1. It was absolutely a top-tier Staff. The next item was a Level 10 Bronze Cross Shield with average Attributes. However, Shields were considered rare items, so it was already pretty good that one dropped. The final two items were the Snake Kings Gall and the Snake Kings Skin. Both were rare materials in making Poison and Leather Armor. The Quest Items had already been collected, so after some rest, Shi Feng returned to turn in the Quests. He obtained the rare forging materials, and his experience increased to 91% of Level 5, just a little more before reaching Level 6. Looking at the time, it was not long before the arranged meeting time. So, Shi Feng started heading towards the Level 8 area, Physis Canyon. 83 Second Meeting Physis Canyon, a paradise on earth, it was a place filled with lush green vegetation. Multiple streams of water flowed through the canyon, while flocks of birds flew in the sky above. The forest, as well, was filled with the sounds of hundreds of birds squabbling with each other. Although this place was beautiful, right now, there was not a single player that came here to level up. After all, the highest leveled player right now was just Level 6. Normally, they would be safely leveling up in Level 6 or Level 7 areas. Physis Canyon was a Level 8 monster area, and Level 9 monsters could even be found in the inner areas. For a short period, there wouldnt be any players coming to disturb this place. More importantly, Shi Feng was here for the Unique Quest Steel Fortress Barrutia. This Quest was extremely important for him to establish his future Guild. In Shi Fengs previous life, the player who completed this Unique Quest, just by relying on the Quest rewards alone, increased a second-rate Guilds standing to first-rate. However, now that Shi Feng had received this Unique Quest, he would use it to benefit the Guild he would establish. After entering the canyon, Shi Feng used the Demons Mask to alter his own appearance. He transformed the silvery-white Silvermoon Set Equipment into a suit of shining pitch black Set Equipment. It could be called the Blackmoon Set Equipment. Shi Feng also altered his face into one of an older gentleman, his age around 26 to 27. He then donned a black cloak, his face hidden within the cloak. At first glance, his appearance exuded a strong sense of mystery, allowing others to think he was a man with a story. Shi Fengs get-up was somewhat similar to the Night Ranger[1], only he had two longswords hanging on his back rather than a simple black bow. Moreover, Shi Feng was not of the Night Elf race. Now that Shi Feng had disguised himself, nobody would be able to recognize who he was. Even with Gentle Snows discerning eyes, it was impossible for her to recognize him. Arriving at the meeting location, Shi Feng discovered Gentle Snow and her group had yet to arrive. Shi Feng called out the System Notifications, taking a look at the sales condition of the Forging Designs this time around. Sold out already? Shi Feng looked at the series of notifications, his eyes almost shining. There were over ten notifications from the Auction House, and every one of them notified him that he had an increase of around 3 Gold Coins. Shi Feng auctioned a total of 20 pieces of Forging Designs, yet, they were sold at an average price of 3 Gold Coins. One could just imagine how desperate these Guilds were. However, compared to the price of 3 Gold Coins, these Guilds that bought the Forging Designs could also, very quickly, earn that money back. Gods Domain had only officially started three days ago. Along with the increase in time, there would be more and more people joining Gods Domain. The number of new players might even exceed that of the old players. These new players were the main consumers, and the supply Level 3 Glimmer Chestplates would be unable to meet the demand. In a short period, the value of the Glimmer Chestplate would not depreciate, and instead, its value might even increase. However, Shi Fengs goal had already been met, so he no longer planned to make more Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs to earn money. Right now, his bag was holding over 50 Gold Coins. These Coins were the entirety of the fluid funds of more than ten large Guilds. If Shi Feng were to use all of it to operate a Guild, how formidable would this be? Unfortunately, money was not the only thing needed to operate a Guild. Shi Feng took out 20 Gold Coins and registered them on the Virtual Trade Center. After all, he couldnt just keep all those Gold Coins on hand. If he did that, he would be throwing money away. Based on the selling price right now, these 20 Gold Coins were worth 180,000 Credits. Shi Feng did not imagine things would go so smoothly. He earned so many Credits in just three short days. However, if he wanted to start a good Workshop, such a small amount of money was still insufficient. To start up Shadow Workshop, Lan Hailong invested five million Credits from the start. In the following month, he even invested over ten million Credits. One could just imagine how much money it took to start up a Workshop, not to mention a Guild with thousands or tens of thousands of members. However, after the Workshop and Guild were established, things would be greatly different. To a Guild, hundreds of thousands of Credits was nothing. Shi Feng still needed to earn a lot of money. Hence why Shi Feng had chosen to work with Gentle Snow secretly. Are you Black Flame? a voice as crisp as a jade falling to the ground came from behind Shi Feng. Shi Feng turned around, discovering Gentle Snows beautiful figure walking over while sizing him up. Although it was their second time meeting, he was still unaccustomed to Gentle Snows attentive gaze. In a slightly deep tone, Shi Feng said, Correct. I am. Hearing Shi Fengs answer, moreover receiving the information proving Black Flames identity, Gentle Snows beautiful eyes focused. She secretly used an Observation skill. Suddenly, Gentle Snow stared blankly. She was unable to discern Shi Fengs name. The information only showed him as an unknown Level 5. Gentle Snow originally thought that Black Flame only had good forging skills, many lucky encounters, superior strategies, and relatively good gaming skills. She never imagined that Black Flames gaming skills were not just the average kind of good. He was definitely a top-tier expert. Otherwise, he would not be able to obtain such a high-grade item. Special Items that could hide a persons identity, even Ouroboros did not possess a single one of such an item. They had also never heard of any other first-rate Guilds obtaining one. Meanwhile, not only did the mysterious man in front of her possess such an item, but Gentle Snow could also feel a powerful strength emanating from the equipment he was wearing. Even though the equipments special effects were hidden, a single glance at the equipments delicate make and the magical markings circling it told Gentle Snow that it was a set. In fact, Black Flames equipment might not be any worse than hers. Her equipment was obtained through the efforts of the Elite party behind her. How much time had they spent obtaining them? How did the man in front of her obtain such good equipment? Gentle Snow attentively gazed at Shi Feng. She was even starting to suspect whether or not Black Flame was a player or the leader of a mysterious organization. Otherwise, how would he possess such financial and physical resources to carry out all those tasks? His title of Chief Forger was even publicly acknowledged by the players of Star-Moon Kingdom. Just carrying out tasks such as forging and organizing would take up most of his time, so how was it possible he obtained such a good set of equipment? Hello, I am called Gentle Snow, First Vice Leader of Ouroboros. Gentle Snow stretched out her jade-white hand in a very formal manner. It was different from the casual meeting when Shi Feng first met her, where she regarded Shi Feng with a superior attitude. The party members behind Gentle Snow were all shocked. They never imagined their leader would actually take the initiative to shake hands with someone else. Was this older gentleman in front of them that powerful to necessitate such formality? Zhao Yueru, who stood behind Gentle Snow, was constantly sizing up Shi Feng with her beautiful eyes. Prior to this meeting, Shi Fengs series of performances had caused her to become very interested in him. Now that she was meeting him in person, she discovered that Shi Fengs entire body was exuding a mature and calm feeling, causing others to pay attention to him inadvertently. Now that even Gentle Snow had given her approval, Zhao Yueru had a faintly better impression of him. Hello, you can address me as Black Flame. Not wanting to act too aloof, Shi Feng shook hands with Gentle Snow. He discovered that her hand was very soft and smooth as expected. If Blackie were to know of this incident, he would most likely shake Shi Fengs hands, then not wash them for three days. The reason why Shi Feng did not completely alter the Silvermoon Set Equipments appearance was to awe and intimidate them. Seeing the satisfying results, Shi Feng got right to the point and said, I have contacted you this time to cooperate with your Ouroboros. I wonder what your opinion of this is? Of course, we welcome it very much. If you are willing to become the Chief Forger of our Ouroboros, just state your price, Gentle Snow said with confidence. She guessed that Shi Feng would demand an exorbitant price. However, as long as they could successfully poach Shi Feng, then everything would be worth it. Moreover, with her current influence, satisfying Shi Fengs appetite was no problem at all. Miss Snow, I think you are misunderstanding something here. I will not be joining your Guild. Instead, I will be using an equal status to cooperate with your Guild. If Miss Snow is unable to make this problem clear, we do not need to continue this discussion. Finished speaking, Shi Feng turned to leave. * * * TL Notes: 84 Horizon Alliance Seeing as Shi Feng was about to leave... The members from Ouroboros were stupefied. There was actually a man who would treat Gentle Snow in such a way. He even discarded the chance to work with Ouroboros without hesitation. Zhao Yueru panicked, her words caught in her mouth. She almost wanted to hold back Shi Feng and mediate between them. Even the wise Gentle Snow had yet to speak. If Zhao Yueru took action herself, her standing out might cause the situation to worsen. So, without a better choice, she just pulled on Gentle Snows arm, secretly reminding her. However, what Zhao Yueru did not know was that Gentle Snow was similarly stupefied. She did not imagine that Shi Fengs goal from the start was not to join Ouroboros but to cooperate with them on equal standing. However, did Shi Feng have the qualifications to do so? Ouroboros was not as simple as it looked. It was a colossus in the virtual gaming world. The resources in its possession were not something an average player could imagine. To be able to cooperate with Ouroboros with equal statuses, at the very least, they needed to be a first-rate Guild equally. On the other hand, the man before Gentle Snow wanted to cooperate with Ouroboros on equal standings as if it were a matter of course. For him to be so confident, did this man truly have some sort of hidden power standing behind him? This was also not an impossibility. Being able to carry out this series of matters, in addition to obtaining such a set of equipment, was not something a person could do within such a short period. Black Flame definitely possessed the support of a great power. Thats the only way he would be capable of causing the vicious competition that was happening right now. According to their Guilds statistics, the income Black Flame obtained from selling the Forging Designs exceeded 60 Gold Coins. Meanwhile, the fluid funds of a first-rate Guild right now did not exceed even 3 Gold Coins. If this money were utilized properly, it would allow a first-rate Guild to surpass the other first-rate Guilds instantly. Becoming a Super-Guild would not be a problem. Suddenly, Gentle Snow felt chills crawl down her spine. As the Vice Leader of Ouroboros, she actually failed to notice such a great hidden power. However, for a power to be unknown to her, one could just imagine how deep this power hid. Fortunately, she was able to discover it now. Whether they were a friend or a foe remained unknown. Please wait. Gentle Snow urged Shi Feng to stay, saying, You, too, should know that our Ouroboros is a first-rate Guild. There are not many powers out there who possess the qualifications to work with us. If you can prove that you have the ability and capital and that your proposal would bring Ouroboros great benefits, then we can come to an agreement. Humph! Ouroboros sure does have a very big tone. You should know that the first-rate Guilds that I can choose to cooperate with arent just limited to you. Shi Feng turned around and looked at Gentle Snow, acting as if he did not place Ouroboros in his eyes at all. Afterward, he took out one of the Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment Forging Designs that he bought from Blackbeard, waving it in front of Gentle Snows face. He then said with a sneer, I wonder what thoughts you will have after seeing this? Do you think I have enough qualifications? How could it be?! Gentle Snow could not believe what her eyes were seeing. Her heart was filled with extreme shock, How did you obtain a Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Forging Design? Right now, even the Level 3 Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design was being fought over insanely. The value of the Forging Design in Shi Fengs hands right now simply could not be imagined. To the Elites of a Guild, the Level 3 Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design was not particularly useful. The main purpose of a Guild obtaining it was just to earn money and nurture their own Forgers, increasing the advantage that their Guild possessed over others. However, when compared to the Forging Design that Shi Feng was currently holding, the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design was not even worth being mentioned. Lead by one step, then lead to every other step. This was the natural law of the virtual gaming world. Every Guild knew of this law. Trade secret. Dont think too much about it. Shi Feng kept the Forging Design, If there arent any other matters, then Ill be leaving. It was absolutely impossible for Gentle Snow to allow the person in front of her, who possesses a Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment Forging Design, to leave. Moreover, to allow him to cooperate with another first-rate Guild. If she were to allow the other first-rate Guilds to obtain him and mass-produce these pieces of equipment, equipping every Elite member with it, then the competition for the Kingdoms Capital would no longer be necessary. Alright, I agree. State how we should cooperate then. Gentle Snow grit her teeth, yielding to Shi Feng in the end. Hehe, but I dont wish to cooperate with you anymore. Shi Feng said in a deep tone. You?! Gentle Snows expression suddenly turned cold. However, very quickly, she calmed back down. She no longer had her high and aloof attitude, her face revealing a calm smile as she said, I apologize for my previous poor manners. I wonder if you can reconsider? Our Ouroboros is willing to pay double the price of the other Guilds. Shi Feng nodded his head, saying with a smile, Alright then, seeing as you are so sincere. After this scene, everyone else thought that they had heard wrong. The incomparably proud Snow Goddess actually surrendered. Moreover, she even apologized for her previous behavior. How terrifying was this Black Flame? Currently, Zhao Yuerus eyes were shining as they looked at Black Flame with admiration. She knew full well how proud and intelligent Gentle Snow was. Since meeting her, Zhao Yueru had never seen a person who could make Gentle Snow apologize. I wonder how you wish to cooperate? Gentle Snow sent a glare towards the snickering Zhao Yueru behind her, then looked back at Shi Feng and asked. Its very simple. I am planning to establish a loose Lifestyle organization called Horizon Alliance and recruit all sorts of Lifestyle players. You just need to help me advertise it and spread its influence, and Ill give your Guild a discounted price. Ill even sell you equipment and tools that are unavailable to the public, Shi Feng unhurriedly said. You really want to establish such an organization? Gentle Snow was slightly shocked. Although she did not think highly of Shi Feng, the terms he stated were very attractive. Zhao Yuerus eyes widened in shock. She unbelievably looked at Shi Feng, feeling he was too insane. After everyone else heard Shi Feng, they all thought that Shi Feng simply had too much money to waste. He was actually trying to establish such an organization. Shi Fengs plan was truly outrageous. It was utterly impossible to unify all the Lifestyle players. The financial resources, physical resources, and manpower required to carry out such a feat were simply too great. Every Guild has been nurturing their own Lifestyle players. Moreover, they only recruited the Elites among them in order to avoid wasting resources. That meant that the leftover Lifestyle players were just mob characters, and there wouldnt be a big effect if all of them gathered together. The resources needed to nurture these Lifestyle players were even more needless. There was not a single Guild out there who was willing to bear such a price. Of course, if it were to succeed, the profits would be truly unimaginable. You dont have to worry about this. When the time comes, I will naturally notify you to help me advertise the organization and spread its influence. In any case, you all dont have anything to lose. Of course, I will give you all some remuneration in advance. Ten Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs should be enough for your Guild to nurture quite a few Forgers. If Shi Feng were to advertise the organization himself, not to mention how much time it would waste, the effects would not be that great. He would need a lot of time to increase the organizations influence. However, it was a different story if Ouroboros were the ones advertising the organization. They could practically cover the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, greatly shortening the process of gathering influence. Gentle Snow gave Shi Fengs offer some thought. It was not much work for them to do the advertising. They could also obtain ten Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs now, allowing them to widen the gap between Ouroboros and the other Guilds. They would also be able to nurture a large batch of Lifestyle players, earning even more Coins. As for the matter of establishing such a Lifestyle Alliance, nurturing Lifestyle players in large batches meant it was a process of constantly spending money. It wouldnt be long before such a plan would collapse. Nurturing Lifestyle players was an extremely tough task. If Shi Feng did not possess the resource and financial support from a large Guild, it would be very hard for him to obtain any achievements. Following which, Gentle Snow signed a contract with Shi Feng, stating that she was willing to help Shi Feng spread his organizations influence throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. After doing so, Shi Feng must repay her with a hundred pieces of Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. At the same time, Ouroboros will be able to purchase equipment and tools from Shi Feng at the discounted price. Gentle Snow looked rather happy after receiving the ten Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs. She passed the Forging Designs to an Assassin, letting him take the Forging Designs back to the Guild. Then, she looked towards Shi Feng, inviting him, I see that the number of Humanoid Monsters is quite high here. Although their levels are slightly higher, it is a good place to level up. Why dont you level up with us? It would be much faster than leveling up by yourself. 85 Birdman Gentle Snows invite caused both Zhao Yueru and Xiao Yueer to pay attention. Shi Fengs strength must definitely be great. However, they have never specifically seen him in action, so they were extremely curious about his capabilities. They wanted to experience the strength of the rumored Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom. Right! Join our party, Big Brother Black Flame! Our party members are all very skilled, so our leveling efficiency will be a lot higher, Xiao Yueer said from the side. Zhao Yueru sent a glare towards Xiao Yueer. The girl actually made the statement before she could. Xiao Yueer hid behind Gentle Snow, cutely sticking her little tongue out at Zhao Yueru. Zhao Yueru stamped her feet in anger, causing her chest to bounce indefinitely. If it were not for Black Flame being present, she would have taught this little girl a lesson right this instant. Although the beauties were filled with interest in Shi Fengs strength, the remaining two male players had their fighting spirits raised instead. Just what did Shi Feng possess to earn the attention of the three beauties? Suddenly, a heart of competition grew within them. They looked at Shi Feng with a provocative expression, not believing that they were any worse than Shi Feng. Regarding these provocative glances, Shi Feng paid no attention to them. He said in a low tone, Thank you for your kind intentions, Miss Snow. However, I have a Quest that I need to do here, so I cant level up with everyone. A Quest, is it? Gentle Snow was slightly shocked. This place was a Level 8 monster area, so she was extremely curious about this Quest Shi Feng possessed. However, trying to ask about someone elses secret would be impolite, so she formally said, Then, we wont disturb you anymore. If you need help, just ask. Although we dont know how much help we could be, we will still try our best to assist you. Shi Feng smiled faintly when he heard Gentle Snows offer. It was naturally good news that there was someone willing to help him. It would not be an easy task entering the Steel Fortress Barrutia. There would definitely be monsters there, and it would take Shi Feng a long time to deal with them by himself. If there were such a powerful party helping him, then he would be able to save a lot of time. Thats great! I need to go to a certain place. However, there are a lot of monsters there, so it wont be easy for me to enter by myself. Can you all help me clear the area? Shi Feng implored. Originally, Gentle Snow was still thinking of a way to deepen the relationship between them and Shi Feng. Never would she have thought that Shi Feng would actually take the initiative to ask them for help. Gentle Snow quickly said, Okay, Ill invite you to the party. You lead the way. Shi Feng accepted the invite, joining Gentle Snows party. Under Shi Fengs guidance, the party of players quickly arrived at the core region of Physis Canyon. Well arrive after passing through this forest. However, the number of Birdmen here is very high. They are all living up in the trees and are hard to detect, so you all have to pay attention to the Birdmen descending at any time. If they catch you in their talons, they will carry you high up into the air, then throw you your death, Shi Feng informed as he walked. Its just a bunch of Birdmen. Whats there to be afraid of? Watch how well take care of these Birdmen, the Shield Warrior of the party clapped his chest, speaking in a disdainful tone. Shi Feng spoke no more, only silently pushed aside the tree leaves that hindered his path. However, Gentle Snow was not careless. Instead, she commanded, Everyone, pay attention to the air above. Protect the healer. Yes! The two male players immediately turned serious, not daring to be careless. They tightly guarded Xiao Yueers sides. As long as Xiao Yueer survived, she would be able to revive them after leaving the battle. That way, the EXP and skill proficiency lost would be massively reduced. As expected, not a moment later, four white-feathered Birdmen descended from the treetops. The sharp talons on both of their feet shot down with shocking speed, like an eagle hunting its prey, catching the male Ranger in an instant. The remaining party members reacted quickly, either using their weapons to block the talons or avoiding them completely. Get rid of them! Yueru, attack the Birdman that caught Little Song! Yueer, stay in the back! Gentle Snow shouted orders. She used Whirlwind Slash on two Birdmen; however, the two Birdmen reacted very quickly, avoiding the attack by flying up into the air. Following which, Gentle Snow used Charge, running to save the male Ranger named Little Song. Although the twin daggers in Little Songs hands constantly retaliated, the talons of the Birdman were too hard. No matter what he did, he could not hack away the talons gripping his shoulders. Although he wanted to attack the Birdman directly, his position prevented him from landing a hit on the monsters body. He could only helplessly dangle, slowly rising into the air. Zhao Yueru used a Flame Explosion on the Level 9 Birdmans wings, causing -53 damage. The flames burned away some of the Birdmans feathers, causing the Birdman to plummet from the sky instantly. Gentle Snow was already waiting down below by the time the Birdman landed. She directed a Cleave at the Birdmans neck, sending the Birdman and its prey flying with the attack and causing -61 damage. Facing the Level 9 Birdman, Zhao Yueru and Gentle Snow dealing such a high amount of damage despite the level difference of 4 Levels was quite good. The injured Birdman looked pitiful. However, Birdmen had a total of 1,000 HP. Just this amount of damage was nothing to it. It would be better again after rubbing some spit on its wounds. Moreover, it was the first time Gentle Snow and the others dealt with the attack patterns of flying monsters. They did not know any effective attack patterns and battle techniques. Although Gentle Snows party managed to save the Ranger, they were still at a disadvantage against the four Birdmen hovering in the sky. Aside from Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru, who managed to deal over 50 damage to the Birdmen, the damages dealt by the Ranger and the Shield Warrior did not exceed 20. However, it was not because they were weak, but because the Birdmen were wearing Leather Armor; their Defense was not low. In addition to the level suppression, the two male players would be unable to deal any significant damage. What is this brat trying to do? He still hasnt helped out after all this time. He is even watching from the side. Is he just a paper tiger!? the Shield Warrior, unable to stand by idly and watch, ridiculed Shi Feng in a soft tone. However, just as the Shield Warrior finished speaking, Shi Feng took action. With an abrupt leap, Shi Feng jumped past the trees, arriving in the treetops. Now that Shi Fengs Agility had reached 40 points, in addition to activating the Hidden Skill, Flying Steps, he was able to leap around the treetops effortlessly like a martial arts expert. His swords then landed on the Birdmen flying in midair, one after another. Every slash from Shi Fengs swords caused -160 damage, at least triple the amount of what Gentle Snow and the others dealt. This caused the Shield Warrior and Ranger to shut their mouths immediately. Xiao Yueer watched Shi Feng leaping around the forest with a face filled with admiration, both her eyes glistening radiantly. Zhao Yueru, as well, was slightly captivated. Black Flame was definitely not like some person who had dog-shit luck. Only Gentle Snow remained very calm. However, Shi Fengs way of battle had truly given her some enlightenment. She felt that her previous ways of battling were inflexible, unable to accommodate different situations. However, she was not to blame for this. The previous virtual reality games that were available did not contain such a flexible battle styles. It would not be easy for her to change in such a short period. A short moment later, four of the hovering Birdmen fell dead. Their bodies fell heavily to the ground, dropping several Copper Coins and some Light Feathers. Lets go. Shi Feng sheathed his pair of swords after landing on the ground. He then walked in the direction of his destination. Big Brother Black Flame, dont walk so quickly! Teach me how to battle as well, alright? Xiao Yueer excitedly chased after Shi Feng, hugging Shi Fengs arm and shaking it. This is a technique for Melee Jobs. You dont need to learn it as a Cleric. Shi Feng did not think that Xiao Yueer would be so easy-going and unrestrained. She was completely different from the distinguished person she would be several years later. You little girl! Just a moment and youre already making trouble! Didnt Big Brother Black Flame already say it? Youre not suited for it! Zhao Yueru pulled Xiao Yueer away, panting in rage. Unconsciously, the way she referred to Shi Feng had changed as well, suddenly becoming much more intimate. 86 Mechanical Army Watching Shi Fengs back, Gentle Snow grit her teeth. When she thought about the horrifying amount of damage Shi Feng previously dealt and his extraordinary battle methods, she suddenly felt Shi Feng was even more opaque to her than before. She knew all of the top-tier experts in the virtual gaming world. However, she had never heard of a top-tier expert such as Black Flame. The equipment she was currently wearing could be considered the pinnacle amongst the current players. Both she and Shi Feng were Level 5, as well. However, the difference in their damage was actually so large. Just how excellent was Shi Fengs equipment? Could it be that he was wearing a full set of Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment? What Gentle Snow did not know was that the Silvermoon Set Equipment Shi Feng wore was the best Set Equipment for Swordsmen below Level 10. Its Attributes were much better than Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. In addition, Shi Feng possessed a Magic Weapon and a Secret-Silver Weapon. Also, because of the effects of the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng could deal damage to the Birdmen while ignoring the level suppression. So, his damage would naturally be extremely high. On their way through the forest, the number of Birdmen they met constantly grew. However, even if they were to face more than ten Birdmen at a time, these Birdmen would still be killed off very quickly. Such a result was because of Shi Fengs horrifying damage in addition to the Shield Warrior holding off the monsters and Gentle Snow and the others becoming more familiar with the battles. The leveling efficiency of Gentle Snows party right now was much higher than before Shi Feng joined them. Half an hour later, Shi Feng and the others finally arrived at the Ruined Lands. Although it was called the Ruined Lands, in reality, it was just a gigantic crater. Cave systems of various depths and sizes could be found inside the crater. If one entered deep into a cave, they would easily become lost within it. Big Brother Black Flame, is this the place where you have to do your Quest? Zhao Yueru moved closer to Shi Fengs side, flipping her fine black hair and asking in a soft tone. After being in such a close range with the Witch, Zhao Yueru, and seeing deep cleavage revealed by her red robes, it was impossible for Shi Feng not to have thoughts about it. Even if he did not possess any evil intentions, it became much harder for him to pretend to be profound now. En. Well reach it once we go down this path. However, there are too many Birdmen circling in the sky, so wont be easy to get over there. Shi Feng deliberately shifted his gaze to a side, watching the sky above the canyon that led towards the large crater. The Shield Warrior and Ranger no longer belittled Shi Fengs reminder this time. Instead, they held a hint of reverence towards Shi Feng now. Taking precautions, they looked towards the Birdmen in the sky. On the way to this place, it was only thanks to Shi Feng that the two of them did not end up dead. Watching Shi Feng take the first step, entering the narrow canyon, a faint smile appeared on Zhao Yuerus face. She kept on having a familiar feeling when she looked at Shi Feng. This was the first time she felt this sort of sensation. Soon after, Zhao Yueru followed Shi Feng tightly into the canyon. Gentle Snow only smiled sweetly at this scene. How could she not know Zhao Yuerus thoughts? There were extremely few situations where Zhao Yueru was interested in a man in such a way. Of course, if Zhao Yueru could enchant Shi Feng, pulling him into Ouroboros, that, too, would be advantageous. Although there were a lot of Birdmen in the canyon, Gentle Snows party had become increasingly familiar with dealing with these monsters. It was especially true for Gentle Snow. She was a genius. She had already learned Shi Fengs battle methods after only seeing them a few times. She used the cliff walls to jump back and forth, and every time she brandished her blade, she would strike a Birdman from the air, sending it to the ground. Moreover, she was able to dodge and avoid the talons and fierce attacks of the Birdmen in midair. Even without Shi Fengs help, Gentle Snows party could get rid of all theses Birdmen. After continuously killing several hundred Birdmen, a flash of golden light appeared around Shi Fengs body. He had finally reached Level 6, catching up to those leveling madmen. In order to equip the Dark Pursuers Cape a little earlier, Shi Feng placed all of his Attribute Points into Agility. If he were to level up the Abyssal Blade to Level 5, he might even be able to equip the Dark Pursuers Cape at Level 8. Hes Level 6 already? Gentle Snow looked over at Shi Feng. She did not imagine that his leveling speed would be so swift. She had been killing monsters to level up without stop, yet, she was currently still 23% away from reaching Level 6. Meanwhile, Shi Feng clearly busied himself with a variety of things, yet, he could still reach Level 6 before her. However, when she thought about how Shi Feng could kill monsters of a higher level with such ease, it was no wonder he could level up so quickly. You want to go to that place? The number of monsters there is just too high. Amongst them, there are even quite a lot of Level 9 Elites and Level 10 Special Elites. Are you sure you want to enter? After arriving at the deeper regions of the large crater, Gentle Snow suddenly discovered that the place was filled with wandering Mechanical Golems. She could not figure out just what kind of Quest Shi Feng had received that actually had such a high difficulty. Even if Shi Feng were even more powerful than he was now, it was absolutely impossible for him to enter that place. The Mechanical Golems were around a persons height. [Mechanical Golem] (Common Monster) Level 9 HP 1,500/1,500 The Mechanical Warriors were double the size of the Mechanical Golems, and their hands were holding a blade and shield. [Mechanical Warrior] (Elite Monster) Level 9 HP 3,000/3,000 The Mechanical Knights were the most terrifying of them all. They rode Mechanical Horses, and they held long pikes. They were over 6 meters tall, just like a two-storied building. [Mechanical Knight] (Special Elite) Level 10 HP 7,000/7,000 In the deepest parts of this horde of Mechanical monsters, there was a pair of tightly shut steel gates. However, the number of Mechanical Puppets and Mechanical Warriors was just too ridiculous. Just from a simple glance, Gentle Snow estimated over 800 of them. Moreover, in the deepest parts, there were over a hundred Mechanical Knights tightly guarding the front of the steel gates. Clearing all of those Mechanical Knights without a thousand-man Elite army was only a pipe dream. The amount of these Mechanical monsters simply caused one despair. Even being more than a hundred yards away from these Mechanical monsters frightened Zhao Yueru and the others. The Mechanical army would be unparalleled if they were to rush over altogether. The army would be able to annihilate Zhao Yueru and the others instantly. Big Brother Black Flame, are you really going to go? You will definitely die. Even though Zhao Yueru was confident in her partys strength, just based on the standards of their Level 5 party, clearing the surrounding Mechanical Golems and Mechanical Warriors was already a huge problem, not to mention the Mechanical Knights. A single Mechanical Knight might be enough to get rid of them all, let alone facing a hundred of them. Eh, I must go there. However, we need to clear these Golems and Warriors, which are just hindrances, first, Shi Feng nodded his head. Then, lets slowly lure them over and kill them, clearing the way bit by bit. Gentle Snow had already promised Shi Feng that they would spare no effort in helping him. Naturally, she would not shrink back now. Moreover, this place was quite good for leveling up. After killing so many Birdmen on the way here, they gained quite a lot of Common Equipment and materials. If they were to clear all these Mechanical Warriors, their gains should be even greater. It was just that the strength of the Mechanical Warriors was still an unknown to them. Then, Ill lure them over one by one, Zhao Yueru volunteered. It was easiest for a ranged player to lure monsters. Moreover, based on her skills, even if the monsters were tightly packed together, she would still be able to lure only two to three of them over. Their party would also be able to dispose of the monsters easily. Hold on, Shi Feng suddenly pulled Zhao Yueru back. Is there something wrong? Zhao Yueru asked. The others looked towards Shi Feng, puzzled. Could it be that Shi Feng did not believe in Zhao Yuerus skills? Shi Feng was very clear with the difficulty of this place. However, Zhao Yueru and the others did not know that these Mechanical monsters were all weapons of war made by the Dwarven civilization. If Zhao Yueru were to go and lure the monsters without knowing this, it would only lead to a party-wipe. The Mechanical monsters are extremely troublesome to deal with. Their agro range is extremely wide. There is no need to mention their Defense and Attack Power. If you were to try and lure one, at least ten more would follow. With the level suppression, we will definitely be unable to take on that many of them at once. I have another idea. Which one of you here has a Movement Speed of over 14 points? My Movement Speed is 17. Little Song has also reached 14 points, Gentle Snow answered even though she did not understand why Shi Feng asked such a question. You and Little Song both use a Speed Scroll. In a moment, lure all of the surrounding Mechanical monsters and gather them in a single location. Then, leave the rest to me. Shi Feng took out two Speed Scrolls. With these items, based on the Mechanical monsters speed, the Mechanical monsters would definitely be unable to catch up to the two of them. After associating with Shi Feng for some time, Gentle Snow knew that Shi Feng was not one to spout nonsense. He definitely must have his own reasonings. Hence, she and Little Song both used the Speed Scrolls, the two of them starting to lure the monsters from both sides. 87 Flame Blade Dance Gentle Snow and Little Song started luring monsters from two sides. Before they even came close to the 30-yard range, the monsters discovered the two of them. The monsters eyes flashed a red glow, all of them turning their heads and staring at the intruders. Alert! Alert! Intruders detected! After the alarm rang out, all of the Mechanical Golems and Mechanical Warriors within a 40-yard radius were alerted. The surrounding Mechanical monsters locked onto the two players, and within a moment, the two were being chased by hundreds of Mechanical Golems and Mechanical Warriors.Zhao Yueru was secretly shocked at seeing this. Fortunately, she did not rashly act and lure the monsters. Otherwise, they would definitely party-wipe.Big Brother Black Flame, there wont be a problem luring the monsters in such a way, right? Zhao Yueru saw that Gentle Snow and Little Song were both being chased closely after by the Mechanical army. If they had not run away in time, they might have already been dead by now. Relax. With the Speed Scroll in effect, these Mechanical monsters wont be able to catch up to them, Shi Feng said confidently. After some time, as expected, not a single one of the Mechanical monsters caught up to the two. Everything happened just as Shi Feng predicted. After luring all the surrounding Mechanical monsters, the two of them circled the large, empty crater, while the Mechanical Golems and Mechanical Warriors chased them without stop. The two of them were very adept at luring monsters. Within a short moment, they had merged the two waves of Mechanical monsters into a single wave. Inwardly, Zhao Yueru was speechless. She, too, had a Speed Scroll. However, this item was just too expensive. Even if it was her party members, each of them only possessed one Speed Scroll for the purpose of saving their own lives. She never imagined that Shi Feng could easily take out two of them. Moreover, he was only using it to lure monsters. It was truly an extravagant use.However, it was true that, with this added Speed Scroll, the two of them were able to lure all of the monsters safely. Now, though, the real problem had arrived. After luring so many monsters, how were they going to deal with them? They did not possess any AOE magic, and even if they did, they would not dare to use it. Doing so would cause disorder to the control of Hatred, as their MT did not learn an advanced skill such as Crowd Mock. At that time, everyone would just die. Shi Feng naturally knew the question everyone was thinking. However, he only revealed a mysterious smile as he walked forward. In ten seconds, both of you lure all the monsters to the center, Shi Feng said in the party chat. Understood, Gentle Snow answered.Finished speaking, Shi Feng took out a delicate, dark red scroll, then spreading it open in one go. Incantations were written throughout the inside of the scroll. Just the light coming from the incantations was enough to cause the fire mana in the surroundings to surge. After seeing this, even an amateur would know that the item Shi Feng took out was not simple. As an Elementalist, Zhao Yuerus face was filled with shock. Just what kind of Magic Scroll was this? The Magic Scrolls sold by the Magic Shops were definitely unable to create such a feat. Just the incantations alone were enough to cause the fire mana of the surrounding area to gather quickly, becoming incomparably violent. Such a gathering of fire mana was even stronger than the Fire Dragons Roar she used by several times. If Shi Feng were to release it, who knew how strong it would be?At this moment, Shi Feng activated the Magic Scroll and pulled out the Abyssal Blade. Suddenly, the fire mana collected above the Magic Scroll poured down like mercury, and streak after streak of flames over ten meters in length penetrated the Abyssal Blade. Magnificent flames then burst out of the Abyssal Blades form, suddenly transforming into a sword of flame. It faintly released the cry of a phoenix, resounding throughout the surroundings. Naturally, everyone noticed such a vast and mighty power. Nobody thought Shi Feng would actually still have such a hidden ace in the hole. In fact, Shi Feng did not wish to use this Tier 2 Magic Scroll. He would have one less after every use. Moreover, Shi Feng had only harvested four such items from all of Moonlight Forest. Now that he had used one, he only had three remaining. At this time, Gentle Snow and Little Song had already lured all of the Mechanical monsters to the central region of the crater. They then ran towards Shi Feng. The Mechanical monsters were coming in closer and closer, 40 yards 30 yards 20 yards 10 yards However, Shi Feng had still not taken any action. He was only standing there, silently, with his hand holding the dazzling and burning-hot sword. Just as Gentle Snow and Little Song ran past Shi Feng, Shi Feng abruptly took action, slashing out his burning blade.Tier 2 Magic, Flame Blade Dance!In the blink of an eye, Shi Fengs slash released countless crimson flames. The scorching flames were like an ocean, instantly swallowing the entire Mechanical army. The cone-shaped flames burned everything in a 60-yard distance to ash. Even if the Mechanical Warriors had 3,000 HP, they were still unable to withstand the damage from this move as they all turned into a pile of scrap metal.Meanwhile, Shi Fengs experience abruptly increased by a large chunk, rising to 37% of Level 6. The other party members had also broken through from Level 5, one after another, all of them reaching Level 6. Their leveling speed was just too awesome.Everyones gazes then went towards the loot littering the ground, joy immediately rushing up to their heads. Shi Feng was just too awesome! He used a single move to kill Level 9 Elite monsters instantly. Although he depended on an external item to do so, being able to obtain such an item was still proof of his ability. If they were to go through this process again several more times, they would be able to reach Level 10 at any minute! At this moment, Gentle Snow, as well, was rejoicing at her choice to aid Shi Feng in his Quest. Just the EXP they obtained alone profited them big time.Big Brother Black Flame, what kind of Scroll did you use? It was actually so powerful, Zhao Yueru blinked her eyes at Shi Feng, asking curiously. A Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Shi Feng casually said.Big Brother Black Flame, where can I buy it? Zhao Yueru was captivated by the this Magic Scroll after seeing its destructive capabilities. It would be worth it even if she had to spend 10 Silver Coins to buy one. Shi Feng shook his head, saying with a smile, This item cant be bought. It will only appear by chance when opening a high-grade Treasure Chest. Oh Zhao Yueru was slightly disappointed.Shi Feng might have spat out blood if he knew Zhao Yueru thought of buying the Tier 2 Magic Scroll for only 10 Silver Coins. Nobody would sell a Tier 2 Magic Scroll. That was because this item was just too valuable. If used at a crucial point, it was possible to create a comeback situation. In Shi Fengs previous life, there were many large Guilds who offered two to three Gold Coins for Tier 2 Magic Scrolls but still failed to purchase any. If it were not due to the importance of this Quest, Shi Feng would not have been willing to use this Scroll. Gentle Snow originally wished to find out more about the Magic Scroll, as this item was truly too useful. However, after hearing Shi Fengs tone, it was clear that he was feeling heartache over having used the item. Even the rich and overbearing Chief Forger was feeling heartache. One could just imagine how rare this item was. However, when Gentle Snow heard that she could obtain such an item from a high-grade Treasure Chest, she thought to herself that she would let the players from her Guild make a note of it. Following which, everyone else started cleaning up the loot. There were plenty of Elite monsters amongst the over eight hundred Mechanical monsters, so there were many items dropped. Amongst them, there was no lack of Level 7 to Level 8 Common Equipment. There were even over thirty pieces of Bronze Equipment and several skill books. You killed all these monsters, and we were not of much help. So, we wont be taking any of the equipment or skill books. Gentle Snow traded all the items to Shi Feng after she finished arranging the loot. However, the Shield Warrior started drooling when he looked at all the equipment for MTs. He was extremely reluctant to part with them. However, he also did not dare have any objections to give everything to Shi Feng.You all helped out quite a lot. Lets split according to Job requirements. As for these skill books, Ill be taking them. Shi Feng only kept all of the skill books because he discovered a special skill, Precision Throw, amongst them. This skill was extremely useful to him. As for the Bronze Equipment, they were worth but a few Gold Coins, so they were not as valuable to him. The equipment he was currently wearing was the Silvermoon Set Equipment. Shi Feng did not plan on changing equipment while he was below Level 10. As for Blackie and the others, he would obtain equipment that would better suit them. Although the equipment did not serve much purpose to Shi Feng, they were very useful to Gentle Snow. I would feel embarrassed if I were to accept them vainly. How about I purchase all of them? I currently dont have enough game Coins on hand. Could I pay using Credits? Gentle Snow, not wishing to owe Shi Feng a favor, softly asked. Paying with Credits is fine as well, Shi Feng was naturally very willing. In a short moment, Gentle Snow had transferred 50,000 Credits to Shi Feng, enriching Shi Feng quite a lot once more.What about the remaining Mechanical Knights? Are you going to use a Magic Scroll again? Gentle Snow looked towards the over a hundred Mechanical Knights guarding the large gate, asking in anticipation.A Tier 2 Magic Scroll cant get rid of them. Moreover, I dont need to kill them to enter into that place. I just need to lure them away. When Shi Feng heard Gentle Snow saying so, his forehead couldnt help but sweat. Tier 2 Magic Scrolls werent just some kind of cabbage he could waste.Leave it to me, then. Gentle Snow looked at the terrain and entered into deep thought. She felt that there should be no problem in accomplishing the task. Here are some Speed Scrolls and Return Scrolls. As long as you run out of the crater, they will not continue chasing. After leaving the battle, you all can use the Return Scrolls to leave this place, Shi Feng explained and took out several Scrolls. Seeing that they were about to part from each other, Zhao Yueru felt unwillingness in her heart. She did not know why, but she could feel a sense of ease and security when she was with Shi Feng.Big Brother Black Flame, lets add each other as friends! Were going to enter a Level 5 Dungeon tomorrow, so how about you come and join us? Zhao Yueru suddenly said.Gentle Snow was faintly astonished. She looked at Zhao Yueru with a helpless smile. However, she felt that this was not really a bad choice. With Shi Feng around, their chances of clearing the Level 5 Dungeon would be even greater. Er Shi Feng did not think that this Witch would actually want to add him as a friend. Moreover, she even invited him to dive into a Dungeon. This behavior of hers right now was just way too different from before. We can add each other as friends, but I have some things to do tomorrow. Well dive into a Dungeon together when I have time in the future, Shi Feng tactically rejected the invitation. After all, he couldnt suddenly multiply himself into two people. As for the matter of adding each other as friends, Shi Feng possessed another independent circle of friends after donning the Demon Mask. So, others would not be able to discover any issues. Let us add each other as friends then, Zhao Yueru softly bit her lips. She was slightly disappointed that she would not be able to dive into a Dungeon with Shi Feng immediately. However, it was still good that she could add him as a friend. She would be able to contact him more easily in the future. System: Do you wish to accept Flaming Moons friend request? Shi Feng hit accept, and the name Flaming Moon entered Black Flames Friend Window. Afterward, Shi Feng headed towards the left side of the gate. At this moment, Gentle Snow had already arrived at the gates right side, prepared to lure the Mechanical Knights.Elder Sister Yueru, let us leave first. We can just leave the rest to Elder Sister Snow, Xiao Yueer softly said when she noticed that Zhao Yueru remained motionless.I got it. Zhao Yueru, after taking another glance at Shi Fengs back, turned around and left. Seeing that Shi Feng was ready, Gentle Snow activated the Speed Scroll and rushed at the Level 10 Mechanical Knights. Halfway there, the eyes of Mechanical Knights in front of the large gate shone brightly. Their enormous bodies started moving, and all of them had their eyes focused on Gentle Snow. Gentle Snow immediately halted her steps. She then turned around and escaped.The Mechanical Knights bellowed in rage as they moved their large figures, chasing after Gentle Snow. Only when all of the Mechanical Knights left did Shi Feng hastily run towards the large steel gates. Although Gentle Snow had lured the Mechanical Knights away, the amount of time they could be lured was limited. Moreover, they would not fall for the same trick the next time, so Shi Feng had to seize the opportunity. Arriving at the large gate, Shi Feng found a moss-covered keyhole. He then inserted the broken obsidian crystal given to him by Blackbeard. The fortress key had already been stored away for almost a millennium. Blackbeard also mentioned that the key might not be able to open the gates. However, it was still worth a try. 88 Advancing to Intermediate Rank After inserting the obsidian key, there was no reaction from the steel gate. It was still as unmoving as ever. At this moment, a message arrived from Gentle Snow. She told Shi Feng that the Mechanical Knights had suddenly stopped chasing her and were quickly returning. Crap, it cant be, right? The key really doesnt work? In a fit of rage, Shi Feng abruptly sent a punch towards the keyhole. Since he could not use the simplest way to enter, then he could only use the more dangerous method to enter. Di Di Di Suddenly, a dazzling golden light radiated out from the keyhole. Countless energy runes flashed on the pair of three-storied gates. After which, the gates slowly opened, letting out ear-piercing creaking sounds. Seeing that the Mechanical Knights had already hurried over, while a gap fit for a person had opened between the pair of gates Without hesitation, Shi Feng pulled out the obsidian key, and the gates stopped moving instantly. Following which, Shi Feng squeezed himself through the gap between the gates. System: You have discovered the Steel Fortress Barrutia. The two-storied tall Mechanical Knights tried to rush in through the gates. However, the gap between the gates was just too narrow for them to pass through. In addition to the gates immense weight, the Mechanical Knights could only bombard attacks at the gate outside. Unfortunately, their actions were not one bit useful. Im inside. After Shi Feng sent a message to Gentle Snow, he carefully headed forward along the gigantic steel pathway. On the other side of the Ruined Lands... Snow, how is he? waiting by the side, Zhao Yueru asked when she saw Gentle Snow running in her direction. No problems. Hes already inside. However, this Quest is truly dangerous. Ive roughly estimated the Mechanical Knights strength just now, and Ive discovered that these Mechanical Knights are completely different than other Special Elites. They can swiftly block my attacks, in addition to instantly returning with a counter attack. If it wasnt for my quick reaction, I might have died just now. If we do not possess a skill that could continuously deal large amounts of damage, even if we could kite them around, we would still be helpless against these Mechanical Knights. Instead, we would just be piling up our own corpses. Gentle Snow sat down and took out some refreshments, eating and drinking to recover. Currently, her mind filled with the battle scenes from before. It was truly a thrilling situation. Just by receiving the shockwave, which resulted from the Mechanical Knights pike striking the ground, she lost over 200 HP. If the weapon hit her directly, the consequences would be inconceivable. After listening to Gentle Snows words, for reasons unknown, Zhao Yueru released a relieved breath. Alright, stop dreaming. Well be grinding Birdmen in the canyon. The loot and experience here are quite good, so we should be able to quickly surpass those top-tier experts, After recovering, Gentle Snow stood up and commanded. Meanwhile, inside the Steel Fortress, Shi Feng was advancing carefully. Signs of rust and corrosion covered every inch inside the fortress. There were only flashing fragments of light inside, barely allowing Shi Feng to see the path clearly. After walking for quite some distance, Shi Feng did not discover any danger. There was only the occasional sound of dripping water and the rumbling sounds of machines operating. Even though more than a millennium had passed, a majority of the machinery here still functioned normally. One could clearly see just how advanced the techniques the Dwarven civilization possessed were. After passing through the large hallway, Shi Feng arrived at an area with a humongous smelting furnace. The surrounding steel walls around the furnace were linked together with steel stairs, and at the bottom of the furnace was an endlessly deep pool of water. However, Shi Feng did not head along the stairs towards the next exit. Instead, he leaped and jumped towards the pool. Halfway down, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation. His falling speed sharply reduced, his body slowly descending like a feather. During his descent, Shi Feng suddenly noticed a passage on the walls. The passage could barely allow a person to enter. However, the information Shi Feng had collected in his previous life did not mention such a passage. Hence, Shi Feng slowly floated over, accurately landing in the hidden passageway. There is actually a Treasure Chest here! Did none of those people notice it last time? Shi Feng discovered that, in the deepest part of the passageway, there was a large pitch black steel chest. Many runes were carved onto the chest, and a glance was enough to tell it was not just a simple chest. After observing it in detail, Shi Feng determined that the chest was a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. However, Shi Feng did not rush to open the Treasure Chest. Instead, he used Phantom Kill, allowing his doppelganger to go over and take a look. Just as the doppelganger started activating the Treasure Chest, the surrounding steel walls shot out countless flying arrows. The doppelganger was killed in an instant, giving Shi Feng a scare. Fortunately, Shi Feng had made it a habit to be cautious and prudent when in Gods Domain. Otherwise, he would have really died. Such types of traps were normally one-time uses. However, Shi Feng did not rush. In any case, the chest wouldnt run away, so he might as well wait until Phantom Kills Cooldown finished, then use his doppelganger to open the Treasure Chest. This time, the doppelganger had managed to open the Treasure Chest safely. With no more dangers present, Shi Feng walked over to the Chest and took out its contents. Inside, there was a Mysterious-Iron ranked Blackstone Shield. It was absolutely a top-tier Level 10 Shield. [Blackstone Shield] (Mysterious-Iron Rank) Level 10 Equipment Requirement: Strength 25 Defense +69 Defend Rate 29% Strength +7, Endurance +10 HP +200 After equipping, all damage received from the front will be reduced by 10%. There was also a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book. When used, players would randomly receive 10 to 50 Free Mastery Points. This item was several times rarer than the Blackstone Shield. That was because Mastery Points could last a player forever, while the Blackstone Shield could not. Hopefully my luck wont be too bad, Shi Feng slightly prayed before selecting to use the Mastery Book. Following which, the System started displaying a pile of random numbers ranging from 10 to 50. As long as Shi Feng yelled Stop, the final number to appear would be the number of Mastery Points he would obtain. It was something similar to Russian Roulette. In Shi Fengs previous life, many experts collected various kinds of Mastery Books to increase their Weapon Mastery. However, Mastery Books were just too rare, and even with money, one may not necessarily be able to buy it. Most players that obtained a Mastery Book would use it instead of selling it. After all, it was extremely hard to obtain a single Free Mastery Point. Shi Feng had once seen a person who was fortunate enough to obtain a Fine-Gold Mastery Book. Many players looked at that person with immense envy, and some were even willing to spend a million Credits to buy the Mastery Book from that person. However, that person refused to sell and instead, used the Mastery Book for himself. The range of Free Mastery Points provided by the Fine-Gold Mastery Book was between 30 to 200. Originally, everyone thought this fellow had very good luck. However, that person only obtained 31 Free Mastery Points, in the end, becoming a laughing stock to everyone. The points he obtained was no better than a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book. Looking at the numbers constantly spinning, Shi Fengs heart madly thumped, not knowing what number would come out. Stop! Shi Feng shouted. The wheel of numbers abruptly halted, and Shi Feng peered open his eyes and took a look. 32 points. A relatively good number. Shi Feng had just effortlessly obtained 32 Free Mastery Points, which was the equivalent of the Free Mastery Points he would obtain by leveling up to Level 20. Shi Feng opened his One-handed Sword Mastery Window. Currently, his One-handed Sword Mastery was still at 20 points, placing him at the level of Basic Apprentice Swordsman and increasing his Base Damage by 10%. If including the 8 Free Mastery Points he obtained for leveling up to Level 5, and the 5 points he had remaining from before, he now had a total of 45 Free Mastery Points. Shi Feng immediately added 30 Mastery Points to his One-handed Sword Mastery. Instantly, his One-handed Sword Mastery rose to the level of an Intermediate Apprentice Swordsman, increasing his Base Damage by 15%. As for becoming an Advanced Apprentice Swordsman, he was still 50 points away from doing so. Although it was just a 5% increase in Base Damage, it should not be taken lightly. This Base Damage would be magnified many times after factoring in the bonuses from Skills. Often, the gap present between a top-tier expert and a normal expert was due to the difference in Base Damages. At this stage of the game, there might only be a fragment of experts who have reached Basic Mastery. Shi Feng had already reached Intermediate Mastery, leading them by a lot. Just as Shi Feng was about to continue advancing deeper into the Steel Fortress, the fortress alarm rang out. 89 Barrutia’s Core Area Alert! Alert! There is an intruder in Area F! Activating self-defense system! Before Shi Feng could celebrate his gains, a bucket of cold water dumped over his head by this loud voice. He did not think that there would be such a trap after opening the Treasure Chest. Just after arriving at the passages exit, Shi Feng discovered that the passages leading to the other areas of the Steel Fortress were all sealed off, preventing him from entering. Meanwhile, the water level of the pool below started rising, and according to its speed, it would not be long before the passage flooded. Without hesitation, Shi Feng took out a bottle of Underwater Breathing Potion, drinking it. The potion allowed players to breathe underwater for 20 minutes. Following which, Shi Feng immediately leaped into the pool, diving towards the deepest region. After swimming down for over ten minutes, Shi Feng finally saw a dark passage. However, the water currents from there flowed rapidly, and it would not be easy for Shi Feng to approach the passage. After spending a long period, and drinking a second bottle of Underwater Breathing Potion, Shi Feng managed to crawl his way towards the passage entrance with much difficulty. Following which, he was washed away by the rapidly flowing water, his body unable to move as the current continuously pushed him along the passageway. After flowing along the water currents for several minutes, Shi Feng was thrown out of the passage and landed in another large pool. Near a wall of the large pool, some stairs spiraled upward. As long as he went up these stairs, he would arrive at the core of the fortress. Shi Feng swam towards the stairway. He then looked at the time. It was almost 8 oclock in the morning now, and since locating the Titans Heart was not accomplishable in a short amount of time, Shi Feng immediately called out the System Interface and chose to log out. Upon waking up early in the morning, the first thing Shi Feng did was train his body. This action had long since deeply ingrained in his bones. However, he could clearly feel that his body was different from yesterday. His body no longer felt stiff, and instead, it felt extremely refreshed. The positive effects of the C-rank Nutrient Fluids he drank were evident. The fluid was slowly altering his bodys condition. Strike the iron while it''s hot. Shi Feng then started working out, doing sit-ups, pushups and other muscle-strengthening actions. After working out for over an hour, Shi Feng still did not feel tired. On the contrary, his body felt comfortably warm, as if there were an inexhaustible amount of energy within him. However, he did not continue training his body. Instead, he went downstairs to have a meal. Desperately working out was not necessarily a good thing. It needed to be done in moderation, as overworking his body would only yield opposite effects. After going through a nights struggle, the Gold Coins he sold and the Credits he obtained from Gentle Snow filled his current bank account with over 200,000 Credits. A night of his efforts was worth two months of salary of an executive from a big company. This was the power of Gods Domain that had turned around the virtual economy. After a year, becoming rich overnight in Gods Domain was not a strange affair whatsoever. Unfortunately, not many enterprises had discovered this fact yet. By the time they did discover it, they would have lagged far behind those companies that invested in Gods Domain in the beginning. After eating, Shi Feng made a trip to the bank. He specifically retrieved 30,000 Credits, intending to buy the virtual reality helmets he rented. Otherwise, if he were to leave it and forget about it, he would eventually be forced out of the game. At that time, he would have to wait until the next working day before handling the necessary procedures and only after could he continue playing. Currently, the game was in a sprinting stage. If Shi Feng were to fall behind by a day, it would be extremely difficult for him to catch back up. It was also a good chance for Shi Feng to invite Blackie out for a stroll. If Blackie always hid inside his dormitory, his body was bound to have problems. There were very few people on the streets of the university early in the morning. There were only some sports societies doing their morning exercises, warming up for their work out later on. Watching these university students that radiated youth, Shi Feng felt an unreal feeling. It was as if the ten years he spent battling in Gods Domain were just an illusion, an illusion that would vanish with just a touch. Walking along the roadside, Shi Feng admired the university campus as he headed towards Blackies dormitory. He was experiencing the sceneries on the campus that he paid no attention to in his previous life. As he was about to enter into Blackies dormitory, Shi Feng heard sounds of laughter coming from within. Blackie, werent you extremely confident in getting into Shadow Workshop before? Ive been waiting for you for several days now, so why havent I seen you there yet? Wu Yi, havent I already said it before? I joined another Workshop, so I didnt participate in Shadows test. Blackie, dont try to trick me. Where in the entire Jin Hai University is there another Workshop? What is it called? How many members does it have? Who established it? Can you tell me that? If they treat players well, I might even decide to join! Being asked in such a way, Blackie suddenly realized that Shi Feng did not actually tell him the name of their Workshop. As for the number of members taking everything into account, there were exactly 6 people. Not to mention having a Workshop to play Gods Domain, they possessed absolutely nothing right now and were even riddled with debt. Blackie, stop being obstinate. I know that you didnt pass Shadows test. If it really is no good, then let Brother Wu plead for you. In any case, Brother Wu is currently an official member. Who knows; you might be able to become an outer member of Shadow. At the very least, you could continue playing Gods Domain, and earning two thousand Credits a month should not be a problem. Dont forget, the trial period for the virtual gaming helmet is only ten days. After this period, you will not be able to continue playing the game, Blackies fellow dorm mate sneered. It cant be, right? What kind of Workshop cant even afford an official virtual gaming helmet? Isnt that just too pitiful? Wu Yi pretended to be shocked. He then clapped Blackies shoulders, saying with a sigh, Even the outer members of Shadow are given an official helmet. Official members even receive an advanced helmet thats worth 20,000 Credits. Your Workshop is just ripping you off. Who started the thing? Ill demand justice for you. Why dont you mingle with me from now on? I can guarantee that youll obtain an official helmet. By the time I become a core member of Shadow, I guarantee that youll be able to live in luxury. You should know that Young Master Lan has already invested five million Credits in Shadow. I heard that he has invested another two million now. If you enter Shadow, your future will be limitless. Wu Yi, Ive already said it. I wont be joining. Im currently getting by very well, Blackie quickly rejected. Blackie, you should know that there arent many such chances. Shadow Workshop is the best Workshop in Jin Hai University. If it werent for the fact that youre already Level 5 and were classmates, I wouldnt even be looking for you. Wu Yi patiently persuaded, You keep saying that youve joined some other Workshop, but you have to tell me at least the name, right? Must you keep lying to a classmate in such a way? What? Dont tell me that this Workshop doesnt even have a name? Even if it doesnt have a name, you must know which person established it, right? Nowadays, even nobodies dare to make Workshops, so you musnt be tricked. Shadow Workshop has an upright business sponsoring it, and there is also a contract to ensure that you wont starve to death at the very least. Wu Yi was all praises about Shadow. It was as if one would become an elite in society just for entering Shadow Workshop, becoming the envy of others. However, Blackie had long since seen through Shadow. He did not have even the slightest favorable opinion towards Shadow. He only blamed himself for having a big mouth, showing off to others that he had already risen to Level 5. As a result, the information was found out by Shadow Workshop, and they had sent Wu Yi, his classmate, to recruit him. However, how could he so easily betray Shi Feng and join Shadow? He was only able to obtain all of his current achievements by relying on Shi Feng. Even if he had to suffer hardships right now, he still believed that Shi Feng would lead him towards the path of success. At this stage of the game, all the Level 5 players were experts. To Shadow Workshop, which was currently lacking experts, Blackie was an alluring beauty. So, naturally, they were itching to try and recruit him, turning him into one of the their belongings. At this moment, Shi Feng opened the door, taking a step into the room. I am the nobody that established the Workshop. I wonder what kind of opinion you have? Shi Feng looked towards the robust Wu Yi, speaking coldly. 90 Starting from Zero As Shi Feng entered and spoke Who are you? Wu Yi was slightly startled, his eyes evaluating Shi Feng. Shi Feng wore a cheap-looking white-blue sporting wear. Although his imposing manner gave Wu Yi chills down his back, after seeing that Shi Feng was not even wearing a quantum watch on his wrist, a hint of disdain entered Wu Yis eyes. In this day and age, even the slightly wealthier students all possessed quantum watches. Wu Yi determined that Shi Feng was not one of the wealthy children and that he was in a similar situation as Blackie. Brother Feng, why are you here? Blackies expression was slightly panicked. He was worried Shi Feng would misunderstand and think he was trying to job-hop, Brother Feng, I really didnt seek out Shadow. Ive also rejected them, but Wu Yi wont stop annoying me about it. When Blackies classmates saw him panicking and explaining, they were all puzzled at the identity of this new arrival. Blackie had already risen to Level 5 in Gods Domain, so he was definitely an expert. Many Workshops would fight over for him, treating him as an important guest. Even Shadow sent someone over to recruit Blackie. If the upper-echelons of Shadow met Blackie, they might also act very cordially and treat him with respect. However, Blackie had respectfully addressed the stranger in front of them as Brother Feng, confusing them. Could the person in front of them be some famous person in their school? However, no matter how they wracked their brains, they could not think of such a person present in their university. I know, Shi Feng sent Blackie an expression that told him to be at ease. Shi Feng then looked towards the man named Wu Yi and laughingly said, Im called Shi Feng, and I am the nobody who established the Workshop you just mentioned. Didnt you wish to know the name of my Workshop? I can tell it to you. The Workshops name is Zero Wing. It means that everything has to start out from zero and to spread your wings and soar. If you dont have any other matters, please return and tell your boss not to try poaching the members of other Workshops. He is better off taking care of his own lands, lest they fall apart without him even knowing what happened. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Wu Yu couldnt help but reveal a sneer as he laughed. As expected, even a nobody knows how to start a Workshop. Why dont you take a look at yourself? Do you think you can start a Workshop just by announcing it? Wu Yi narrowed his eyes, mocking, Do you know how large our Shadow Workshop is? Do you know how many members our Shadow Workshop has? Do you know who is backing our Shadow Workshop? Do you know how much our Workshop has invested? Do you still think that we need to poach members from worthless Workshops like yours? Just based on the fact that you guys are still using the trial helmet to play the game shows how dirt poor you are. Did you think that, just by being full of zeal, you could establish yourselves in Gods Domain and earn money? All the Workshops that have tried to establish themselves in Gods Domain have at least invested several millions of Credits. Meanwhile, you have no money, no members, no facilities, and not even the most basic of assurance. So, what right do you have to compare to us, Shadow? If you kneel down and beg me right now, I might even put in a few good words to Brother Lan. If you pay up some ten or twenty thousand Credits, you might be able to join the Workshop. How about it? Think about it; this is a rare chance for you. Wu Yi smiled savagely. He then shifted his gaze to Blackie, coldly saying, Shadow is already giving you a lot of respect by sending me here to recruit you. As long as you join, youll immediately receive the treatment of being a core member, and your monthly salary will be at least 5,000 Credits. It is hundreds of times better than staying in a Workshop that is barely surviving. When Blackies several dorm mates heard of this treatment, all of them had expressions of shock on their faces. They did not think that playing Gods Domain would be so rewarding. Compared to those city white-collar workers, Blackies salary was much higher. Suddenly, the gazes they used to look at Blackie changed. They no longer looked down on him; rather, their gazes now filled with envy and admiration. They were only several months away from graduating from the university. Right now, they were still having headaches over finding jobs. Meanwhile, Blackie had someone personally coming to his door to recruit him, and the other party had even offered a minimum monthly salary of 5,000. As the saying went, comparisons are odious. If they had known about this earlier, they would have properly played games and gave Gods Domain a try. They might have even become experts. They would not have had to chase after girls for their four years in universities and been looked down upon by those girls. If they managed to earn money, beauties would be lined up for their choosing. However, after listening to Wu Yi, Blackie, instead, started laughing. Wu Yi actually dared to make fun of the Workshop Shi Feng had started, calling it worthless, and even wanted to make Shi Feng kneel before him in order to join Shadow. He was retarded. _The Snow Goddess is even paying attention to Brother Feng, and she even wanted to recruit Shi Feng!_ Who was the Snow Goddess? She was the Vice Captain of the first-rate Guild, Ouroboros. She was the publicly acknowledged Goddess of the virtual gaming world. Compared to Ouroboros, Shadow Workshop was not even worth a dime. Seeing Wu Yis mood sour, Blackie sneered at him and said, Wu Yi, even if you exaggerate it to no end, my decision will remain unchanged. Although Zero Wing Workshop has just started, I believe that our future achievements will definitely be greater than Shadows. I advise you to leave Shadow a little earlier and join our Zero Wing Workshop. Ill ask Brother Feng for a favor. If you kneel and apologize to him, who knows, you might even be able to become a member of Zero Wing! Blackies dorm mates were shocked upon hearing him. His declaration confused them greatly. In the end, which Workshop was truly the awesome one? Could it be that, nowadays, choosing the Workshop that couldnt even afford an official gaming helmet was the right choice? You You are simply unreasonable! Wu Yi was almost speechless with anger. Blackie actually used his own words to make fun of him. If it werent for Brother Zhang instructing him that he definitely must invite Blackie, he would have long since left. It was against his expectations that Blackie would have a brain defect, throwing away a good future and insisting on mingling in a gutter-like place. Blackie, I am only reminding you because I value talent. Our Shadow is currently trying to annex the 45th ranked Workshop in Jin Hai City, Hungry Wolves Workshop. When Shadow succeeds in doing so, we will rank at the top of all of Jin Hai City. If you were to miss this chance now, there would be no more chances for you in the future. Wu Yi shot a glance at Shi Feng, coldly saying, Meanwhile, your Workshop cant even afford the official gaming helmet. How do you plan to play Gods Domain in the future? It would be better if you joined Shadow. A great future is awaiting you here. Faced with such a brazen way of poaching people, even if Shi Fengs temper were much cooler, he would still get slightly angry. Since they were fated to battle each other, then battle it was! Who said that our Workshop couldnt afford the official gaming helmet? Shi Feng took out the 20,000 Credits from his pocket, casually throwing it on the table, saying, I previously decided that starting a Workshop would be too sudden, and I was never able to decide which type of official gaming helmet I would buy. So, I was only using the trial helmet as a temporary replacement. However, today, Im here to give Blackie the money to buy an advanced gaming helmet. But really, its not that Im trying to criticize Shadow, but arent you guys being too cheap in poaching for people? The salary Im giving Blackie is 20,000 Credits minimum. Your Shadow is so rich, and has invested so much, yet, the salary youre offering is only a minimum of 5,000 Credits? When Blackie saw the shining-white Credits on the table, he turned to look at Shi Feng astonished eyes. Nobody was more knowledgeable of Shi Fengs financial condition than he was, so how was he able to suddenly throw down 20,000 Credits? Could it be that Shi Feng robbed a bank? The others in the dormitory swallowed their saliva when they saw the Credits scattered across the table. Usually, Blackie remained hidden and did not seem like anything special. They did not think that his monthly salary would be 20,000 Credits. It was no wonder why he refused to join Shadow Workshop. After all, Shadow was only offering him 5,000 Credits, four times less than his current earnings. Even an idiot would know which side to choose. What was even more unthinkable was that Shi Feng, who was wearing a suit of cheaply-looking sportswear, was actually a Brother Tycoon. 91 Going Through Thick and Thin Together Looking at the Credits on the table, Wu Yis complexion alternated between green and red. His face was gloomy to the degree of being able to squeeze water out. How was this possible?! Ignoring the credibility of the monthly salary of 20,000 Credits, just being able to toss down 20,000 Credits casually was not normal. Wu Yi had seen many wealthy tycoons before, and his eyesight had never failed him before. The clothing that Shi Feng was currently wearing was not even worth 300 Credits, so how could Shi Feng possibly have that much money? Moreover, when he took it out, it was just so simple. He even casually threw it onto the table. This series of actions were not habits of an average person, and they were impossible fake. Only those tycoons that paid no heed to Credits would carry the action out in such a relaxed and comfortable manner. What Wu Yi did not know was that Shi Feng was once the Guild Leader of Shadow. Throwing money away like dirt was just a small matter to him. He even spent tens of millions of Credits to poach a few Master-level Lifestyle players. During those times, he had thrown stack after stack of Credits onto the table, causing those Lifestyle players to worship him immediately. Throwing out just 20,000 Credits was not even a warm-up for him. Humph! Just this amount of money is nothing. As long as you have the strength to join the upper-echelons of Shadow, a monthly salary of 50,000 to 60,000 Credits is just a small matter. Moreover, we have the support of Young Master Lan, so our funds are extremely abundant. Furthermore, the celebrities of our school have also joined Shadow. The 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th ranked students in the universitys most recent fighting competition have all joined Shadow. These people are the true experts, and they could easily rise to fame in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, what kind of true experts does your Workshop have? Wu Yi pretended to be calm as he coldly snorted. However, he still could not help himself to steal a glance at the 20,000 Credits thrown on the table. The basic wage for an official member of Shadow was just 3,000 to 5,000 Credits. Although it was slightly better than the salary of many university fresh graduates, there was still a limit. Such an amount was not enough for one to act carelessly. Wu Yi, we will deal with the matters of Zero Wing by ourselves. It is still not up to you to comment on our problems. If your boss wishes to annex our Workshop, first offer up a monthly salary of 100,000 or above, let me be Shadows Vice Leader, and Brother Feng the Guild Leader. Otherwise, please return. Blackie was extremely irritated after hearing Wu Yi speak. He abruptly stood up and pointed towards the dormitorys entrance as he looked at Wu Yi with a disdainful smile. Blackies performance was extremely arrogant and incomparably rampant. He held no regard for Shadow at all. Was it amazing to have many members? Did being an expert in a fighting competition mean they could play well in Gods Domain? If one had the ability, then they could hitch up a relationship with those first-rate Guilds. See if they pay any attention! Blackie, you better not regret this in the future. Shadow is fated to become a giant in Jin Hai City. When that time comes, dont even think about joining Shadow, Wu Yi left after speaking. He was determined to tell Brother Zhang and Young Master Lan about everything that had happened here, letting them take care of the ignorant Shi Feng and Blackie. Thanks for your worries, but I never eat the medicine of regret when I do something. Although Shadow is amazing, unfortunately, it isnt enough to enter my eyes. Blackie loudly declared, and almost everyone in the entire building could hear him speak. Blackies dorm mates were all stunned. When did Blackie become so awesome? He actually dared to let out such bombastic words, publicly rejecting the invitation of Shadow Workshop thats famous throughout the whole university. How many people dreamed of the job he rejected? After Wu Yi left, Blackie instantly lost his previous heroism. His bum immediately landed in a chair, his heart silently lamenting that it was all over. Because of his momentary rampant emotions, he became hot-headed and made enemies out of Shadow. Wasnt this just making trouble for Zero Wing? On the other hand, Shi Feng was extremely touched. As expected, Blackie was still the same in both his previous and current lives. In Shi Fengs previous life, Blackie had immediately resigned from his position without hesitation and followed Shi Feng. Now, this was a true brother. In Shi Fengs previous life, the countless people around him could only share the gains but not the pains. Shi Feng also knew what Blackie was currently worried about, so he clapped his hands and said in agreement, Well said! In the struggles of the virtual gaming world, winning or losing can be changed in the blink of an eye. There are no such things as eternal winners. As long as we work hard enough, sooner or later, we will definitely surpass Shadow. As long as Zero Wing Workshop developed, they were bound to come into conflict with Shadow. If Shadow wished to spare no expense to deal with them, then they could just use Shadows reputation to spread Zero Wings fame throughout the university campus. That way, Shi Feng would not have to waste efforts to publicize his Guild. Lets go. Well go out and take a walk and buy an advanced helmet on the way. Always staying in your dormitory wont be good for your body. Shi Feng left the room, letting Blackie tidy himself up. Blackie was constantly holed up in his dorm room these days. He was even playing Gods Domain during the daytime, not doing any other activities. Although it wouldnt be a problem in the short-term, after awhile, the damage to his body would become very significant. Brother Feng, wait for a moment. Ill come immediately. Blackie immediately collected all the Credits on the table, then tidied himself before leaving the dormitory with Shi Feng. Only his dumbfounded dorm mates remained in the room. They all looked at each other, their faces revealing bitter smiles. Normally, they had, many times, made fun of Blackie. Never would they have thought that Blackie was hiding his true appearance. He even managed to gain the favor of a tycoon. This wont do. I will also apply for a trial gaming helmet. Ive decided. Ill become a professional gamer in Gods Domain. When Shi Feng had walked out of the dormitory, Blackie quietly stuffed the 20,000 Credits into Shi Fengs pocket. Brother Feng, you really gave me a shock today. However, the way you threw out the money was just too cool! I felt awesome just seeing Wu Yis expression. But, you better keep this money properly. Dont simply throw it around next time, Blackie said excitedly. What are you trying to do? Shi Feng slightly wrinkled his brows. He then gave the money back to Blackie. He had never been putting up an act; from the beginning, he intended to give Blackie the money. He knew that Blackies family situation was not that good either. With this money, he would be able to alleviate a lot of his familys burden. Ive already said that your basic salary every month would be 20,000 Credits. Did you think I was just joking with Wu Yi? Just take this money as your salary in advance. Looking at the 20,000 Credits in his hands, Blackies mouth widened, staring blankly at the money. Originally, even if Shi Fengs previous words were but a joke, they were enough to make him feel happy. However, looking at Shi Fengs expression, he knew that Shi Feng was not joking. Shi Feng had truly intended to give him a monthly salary of 20,000 Credits. Moreover, Shi Feng intended to give him the money that he was currently holding. However, where did all this money come from? Blackie was extremely clear about Shi Fengs condition. Being able to borrow 20,000 Credits was already a difficult feat. Now, Shi Feng was even giving all of it to him. This was just insane. Brother Feng, if you give away this money, what will you do about the Workshop? Moreover, the deadline for the trial gaming helmets is almost up. You are bound to have to buy the official gaming helmet, right? Wont this money be just the right amount to buy it? In any case, Im currently not in need of money. Blackie pushed the Credits back to Shi Feng again. It would be a lie if he were to say that the 20,000 Credits didnt attract him. However, he couldnt just ignore his brothers situation just because of some money. Shi Feng could naturally discern Blackies worries. He clapped Blackies shoulders and couldnt help but reveal a smile. His bank account currently held over 100,000 Credits, and most likely, during this period, it had risen to over 200,000 Credits. In another ten days or so, he would earn even more money. You dont have to worry about this. You also dont have to worry about the matter of the gaming helmets. Havent I said it already? Leave the matters regarding money to me. Shi Feng possessed the memories of his previous life. He was also the Guild Leader of Shadow. All beginnings had with hardships. Although earning the initial fundings was extremely difficult, as long as he obtained them, the following matters would become much easier to deal with. If he did not even possess the method of making money with money, then how would he have been able to turn Shadow into a second-rate Guild? Brother Feng, you couldnt have possibly Seeing that Shi Feng was so confident, Blackies first feelings were not excitement or happiness. Instead, he was trembling. He worried that Shi Feng might have done something bad, such as being ** by a rich woman to obtain this money. Compared to borrowing the money, this was a much more horrifying scenario. What are you blindly thinking about? Dont forget about the matter of cooperation we have with Gentle Snow. This is just the compensation she has given. Now, we no longer have to stay poor and blank. We already have some funds, so relax. Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. This fellows thinking was just too slanted. Shi Feng did not reveal the real truth. Otherwise, it would be extremely hard for him to explain. So, he simply pushed everything onto Gentle Snow. In any case, Gentle Snow was the Great Goddess that everybody knew. When Blackie heard Shi Feng, sudden realization struck him. He sent Shi Feng a gaze filled with worship. Being able to gain the favor of the Snow Goddess was the dream of every man! It was as expected of Brother Feng! His methods were just too awesome! 92 Virtual Reality Inside a finely decorated office, a robust man with thick eyebrows sat in an office chair as his fingers tapped on the desk. In his other hand, he was flipping through a thick stack of resumes. _Dang! Dang! Dang!_ Enter, the man with the thick eyebrows said in a deep tone. Brother Zhang, Ive done the thing that you asked of me. Wu Yi gently opened the door and carefully entered. He then stood, panicked, in front of the desk. Although it was not his first time meeting Shadows person-in-power, Zhang Luowei, he still felt an intense pressure every time they met. He was always scared and on edge whenever he spoke with this person. In Shadow Workshop, aside from Lan Hailong, Zhang Luoweis authority was the highest. Moreover, Zhang Luowei was the champion of Jin Hai Universitys fighting competition. He was also one of the hot contenders for becoming the champion of Jin Hai Citys fighting competition. Even Lan Hailong was respectful before this person, as one of the main reasons why Shadow became so popular within the university was due to Zhang Luoweis personal fame. Sit. Tell me about it. Zhang Luowei placed the resumes to a side, his finger pointing towards the leathered sofa in front of his desk. Although Zhang Luowei looked like an amiable person, Wu Yi knew that, below that appearance, there was an abyss-like horror. Zhang Luoweis personality was both vicious and merciless. Otherwise, he wouldnt have been able to suppress fighting experts like Zhou Yuhu and others. After some thought, Wu Yi slightly organized his words before saying, Brother Zhang, the others have already agreed. It is only that Blackie that is a stone inside a latrine pit, both smelly and hard. He wouldnt agree, no matter what, and he had joined a newly established Workshop called Zero Wing. He even said that it was beneath him to join a trash Workshop like Shadow. Not willing to join, is it? Hes even joined Zero Wing Workshop? Zhang Luowei displayed contemplation as he smiled. However, inside his eyes, a cold glint flashed, What is the origin of this Zero Wing Workshop? Why havent I heard of it before? Brother Zhang, Zero Wing Workshop was established by a Year Four student named Shi Feng. I heard that this Workshop has nothing at all. They are also buying their gaming facilities only today. However, that person is quite rich. He offered Blackie a basic monthly salary of 20,000 Credits. He even wanted me to bring back word to Brother Zhang, telling you to stop trying to poach members of other Workshops and take care of your own land. Wu Yi was very angry while he spoke, When I heard this, even I couldnt bear to stomach it. They are just a greenhorn Workshop, yet they dare to challenge Shadow. Brother Zhang, how about I take some men to extinguish their overwhelming attitude? Shi Feng, is it? I seem to have heard this name before. Zhang Luowei wrinkled his brows slightly, trying to figure out where he heard this name. However, after thinking for some time, he still could not recall. He shook his head, saying, Dont bother with them. In a few days, the school will be holding the annual Fellowship Party. This is a great chance for Shadow to have a meteoric rise, so we dont have the time to waste on these little Workshops. Right, you organize the newly recruited members and have them quickly level up. The Guilds in White River City will be starting the competition over the honor of getting the First Clear for the twenty-man Dungeon very soon. We also have to fight for the fame obtaining the First Clear of a Level 5 Dungeon. Yes! You can rest assured, Brother Zhang. I will help them quickly rise to Level 5, Wu Yi clapped his chest, assuring. Elsewhere, Shi Feng brought Blackie along to purchase two advanced virtual gaming helmets. Although the current virtual reality technology was very advanced, the basic helmet was a cheaply made in consideration of the general masses. Its degree of synchronization was just 80%. However, the advanced version of the helmet could reach up to 90% synchronization, and the users five senses would become much more sensitive. Although the difference did not seem too great, during a battle between equal strengths, this small difference would be the determining factor of victory or defeat. The battles in Gods Domain were always life or death battles. Moreover, the penalty of a single death was a great amount of EXP and Skill Proficiency. Hence, most large-scale Workshops would allocate an advanced virtual gaming helmet to all their official members . Previously, Shi Feng did not have the money to purchase even a basic gaming helmet. Now that he had the money, however, he naturally would not fall behind in this aspect. After purchasing the advanced gaming helmets, Shi Feng found a good restaurant and ordered some high-class nutrition meals. He ate with Blackie as they talked about the future development of their Workshop. Such a situation made Blackie feel like he was in a dream. Gods Domain had only been running for slightly more than three days. Not only had Shi Feng solved the problem of the gaming helmets, but Shi Feng also brought him to a high-class restaurant for a meal and discussion of the matters of developing their Workshop. The more unbelievable thing was that Shi Feng unhesitatingly gave him a salary of 20,000 Credits. Just how many university students dream was it to have a monthly salary of 20,000 Credits? On the other hand, he hadnt even helped Shi Feng out much, yet, he was able to obtain such a salary. Although Blackie did not voice it, inwardly, he was extremely moved. He felt extremely apologetic to Shi Feng, so he silently swore that he would work hard to be of help to Shi Feng. Shi Feng and Blackie conversed for a long time. They properly discussed the matters regarding the future development of their Workshop. They also prepared to officially recruit Lonely Snow and the others, establishing a real Workshop. The remaining matters were to find a location to set up their Workshop, purchasing facilities for the Workshop, and the Workshops administration. Brother Feng, leave these to me since Im usually doing nothing during the day. It is already hard on you just to level up and earn money. Anyway, I am an Economy and Management major, so it is a great chance for me to display my specialty. I guarantee that you will be satisfied, Blackie assured. He couldnt help but want to start his work immediately. Good, then Ill leave it to you, Shi Feng smiled. He felt extremely relieved with Blackie managing things. After the two parted, Shi Feng sent a message to his parents. He then sent them 3,000 Credits, telling them not to send him living expenses any longer. He told them that he had already found a good job, and that he was able to support himself financially. Shi Feng was still not ready to tell his parents about everything. If he were to tell them that he had earned over 200,000 Credits in just a few days, they would most likely not accept it. So, he might as well take it slow, gradually increasing the money he sent them. That way, his old folks would be able to gradually accept it, thinking it reasonable and fair. At 7 oclock in the evening, after having his meal, Shi Feng drank a bottle of C-rank Nutrient Fluid. He put on the newly-bought advanced virtual gaming helmet, starting his conquest in Gods Domain. Upon entering Gods Domain this time, the sensation Shi Feng felt when he stood beside the large pool was completely different. The cool breeze blowing... The sounds water flowing into the pool The scratches and rust that were clearly visible on the steel walls The faint smell of machine oil Even the feeling of manipulating his own body had become much more relaxed. Shi Feng flexed his body on the stairway. He then pulled out his swords, slashing out streak after streak of beautiful sword images. The sword images kept flickering in and out of existence, giving an unpredictable feeling. Eh. The feeling I had while playing Gods Domain in the previous life is finally back, Shi Feng stopped waving his swords, extremely pleased with his current condition. In his previous life, Shi Feng was used to using the virtual reality cabin. The virtual reality cabins synchronizing rate could reach up to 97%. In Gods Domain, if the System Interface, Status indicators and other such things werent present, players would be practically unable to differentiate between the real world and the virtual world. After getting used to his body, Shi Feng felt that he should start searching for the Titans Heart. 93 Dark Clown The spiral staircase led directly to the core control area on the highest floor. After climbing an unknown number of steps, Shi Feng arrived at a winding corridor that led towards the core area. Ancient magical runes were carved into the walls on both sides of the corridor, and even though almost a millennium had passed, this corridor was still gleaming with light. Only some parts of the corridor had decayed, damaging the magical circuits etched in it and plunging those particular areas into darkness. Fortunately, not many parts of the corridor were badly decayed, so Shi Feng was still able to clearly see the entirety of the long, narrow, and maze-like corridor. Just after Shi Feng set foot into the corridor, the alarm once again rang out. Alert! Alert! The intruder has already invaded Area A of the fortress, the Magic Corridor. Activating Guardian Statues on duty! Shi Feng then heard loud booming noises coming from the corridor, as if some gigantic machine had started moving. Shi Feng no longer dared advance slowly. He immediately used a Speed Scroll, dashing through the Magic Corridor at flying speed. After taking several turns in the Magic Corridor, Shi Feng discovered a machine that had a flashing red light. Although this machine was just the size of a football, it was constantly producing alarms, as if it were a tool meant for guiding the Guardian Statues. [Sentinel Guard] (Common Monster) Level 10 HP 200/200 Shi Feng immediately understood how he was so easily discovered. This Sentinel Guard was just like a radar. It could detect enemies within a range of 500 yards, and after discovering them, it would set off an alarm. The distance between the entrance of the corridor and this location was roughly around 500 yards, so the Sentinel Guard was able to immediately discover Shi Feng. As long as Shi Feng could get rid of it, then he would be able to rid himself of the alarms of this area. However, this thing had very sensitive reactions. It would not let any enemies get within 30 yards. Also, if it were attacked even once, it would try to retreat with all its might. Simultaneously, it would increase its speed of calling for its allies, and it would absolutely not give the enemy a second chance to attack. It was extremely hard to deal with. I guess Ive no choice left. I can only give it a try. Shi Feng unsheathed both of his swords. He could already hear the angry roars of the Guardian Statues coming from behind him. Based on his strength, fighting in this narrow area would only lead to his own death. His only chance of throwing off those Guardian Statues was to get rid of this Sentinel Guard. When Shi Feng was nearing the 30-yard range, just as the Sentinel Guard was about to break into a run Shi Fengs eyes locked onto the Sentinel Guard, the muscles in both of his arms bulged, and with the strength of his entire body, he cast out both swords. _Xiu!_ Both swords flew towards the Sentinel Guard. Precision Throw! The throwing distance of the skill was just at 30 yards, and it caused 150% of his weapons damage. The Sentinel Guard was extremely vigilant. It rapidly moved its body, immediately dodging the Crimson Blade that flew at it. However, the Sentinel Guards dodge had, in turn, placed it in the flight path of Shi Fengs second sword, the Abyssal Blade. _Peng!_ The Abyssal Blade pierced through the Sentinel Guard, causing -211 damage and instantly killing it. System: Level 10 Sentinel Guard killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 800 EXP. Shi Feng activated Windwalk, his speed once again increasing by a notch as he rushed to pull out his swords that pierced into the ground. He then rushed towards the Magic Corridors exit. Without the guidance of the Sentinel Guard, the Guardian Statues were like flies that lost their eyes. They ran around all over the place, completely unable to find Shi Feng. More than a dozen minutes later, after getting rid of another three Sentinel Guards, Shi Feng finally escaped the Magic Corridor, arriving at the control room. There was a barrier in the central region of the control room. A dark grey colored sphere of iron was placed inside the barrier. This sphere of iron was the heart of the Steel Fortress, and it was the fortress source of energy. It was the Titans Heart. I never thought that, after so many years have passed, there would still be somebody who would come to this place. Before Shi Feng could examine the entire control room in detail, he heard a deep sneer coming from the entrance of the barrier. This sound was bone-chilling, and no human was capable of producing such a sound. Only a puppet or a corpse would be capable of sounding so emotionless. Welcome to my Steel Fortress Barrutia! In order to celebrate your arrival, Ive decided to use your fiery flesh and blood to feed my baby! Come out, Hellhound! Shi Feng could faintly see the outline of a humanoid lifeform inside the barrier. However, the figure seemed to be currently absorbing the energy of the Titans Heart, so it did not have surplus powers to deal with Shi Feng, sending out its pet in its stead. Ao! Ao! Ao! A large black dog, its entire body covered in flames, rushed out from the barrier. [Hellhound] (Elite-rank) Level 15 HP 6,000/6,000 Crap, did I come at a bad time? Shi Fengs brows slightly wrinkled as he observed the Hellhound. According to the information in his previous life, there were definitely no lifeforms or monsters in this place. The person that did the Quest was able to safely take the Titans Heart away. So, why was it that, when it was his turn to do the Quest, a mysterious character appeared here, trying to steal the Titans Hearts energy. However, Shi Feng also thought of another possibility. This mysterious character stole all the energy of the Titans Heart first. Meanwhile, the player who came here had merely taken away the Titans Heart that was empty of any energy. On the other hand, Shi Feng had coincidentally run into this energy thief. However, unfortunately for Shi Feng, he wasnt even capable of defeating the pet of this mysterious character, not to mention the person, itself. Since you want to battle, then come! Shi Feng pulled out his swords, his attention affixed on the slowly approaching Hellhound. As the Hellhounds distance from him continuously shortened, Shi Feng could feel his surroundings become exceptionally hot, causing his mouth to feel parched. Shi Feng thought of taking out a Cold Beverage to enjoy, but he currently couldnt carelessly move about. He would immediately reveal a weak point as soon as he moved. As a Level 15 Elite monster, the Hellhounds intelligence was already extremely high. It was the reason why it leisurely walked towards Shi Feng. That was because the Hellhound knew the best time for it to launch an attack. As long as Shi Feng revealed a gap, it would immediately bite at him with all its might, not letting go of Shi Feng until he was completely dead. In the confrontation between the two, after all was said and done, the Hellhound was still the more powerful. So, naturally, it would not simply wait. Its legs immediately pushed against the ground, leaping high into the air and transforming into a ball of fire. It then opened its flaming maw. Shi Feng rolled to a side, dodging the Hellhounds pouncing attack. However, immediately after the Hellhound landed, its flaming claws slashed horizontally. Shi Feng had long since prepared for this, so he used both of his swords to Parry. _Peng!_ Although Shi Feng did not receive any damage, his entire body was thrown. The Hellhound immediately opened its large mouth, spewing scorching-hot flames. The flames wrapped around Shi Feng completely, preventing him from escaping. Shi Feng clenched his teeth. He used Phantom Kill, and at the moment of imminent peril, he swapped positions with his doppelganger in mid-air. Shi Fengs doppelganger was immediately swallowed by the flames, instantly turning into a pile of ash. Meanwhile, the System Notification showed a damage of up to -3,000. Even if Shi Feng were to take the hit with his HP full and all of his Life Shield[1] activated, he still wouldnt be able to shoulder this attack. Shi Feng clearly felt how powerful the Hellhound was. Such damage was definitely not something a Level 15 Elite monster could dish out. Its strength was greatly increased because of the Quests Story Line. According to his experience, Shi Feng estimated the Hellhounds actual level to be over Level 30, and it should be a Lord-rank Boss. If the pet were already this powerful, then what about its owner? Seeing that the Hellhounds flaming claws were about to slap down at him, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. Even if the Hellhound were any stronger, it would still be restricted for 3 seconds. Following which, Shi Feng rushed into the barrier at the center of the room. Currently, the best option Shi Feng possessed was to snatch the Titans Heart and swiftly depart. However, just after entering the barrier, Shi Feng immediately became shocked upon seeing this mysterious persons true identity. Dark Clown! Shi Feng immediately recognized the identity of this mysterious character. His heart could not help but be surprised, Why is such a bastard here? * * * TL Notes: 94 Titan’s Hear Although Shi Feng was shocked, his feet never stopped moving. His figure turned into an after image as he rushed towards the Titans Heart, located at the center of the barrier. He then used Observing Eyes on the Dark Clown. Unknown? Shi Feng was shocked. Aside from the information showing that the figure was indeed a Dark Clown, there was nothing else displayed. All of it was just question marks. There were only two possibilities for such a situation to occur. The first was that the Dark Clown was equipping an advanced camouflage item. The other was that its strength was simply too overwhelming, preventing the basic Observing Eyes from identifying it. It was very clearly the latter situation taking place in this case. According to Shi Feng''s memories, Dark Clowns were a group of mysterious lifeforms. They always wore clown clothing with many bells as decorations. They looked human, but were not human. However, neither were they living spirits. Each one of them was extremely powerful. They could simply appear at any location, and they could come and go without leaving behind a single trace. Even if it was the Palace of Star-Moon Kingdom, they could still easily enter it. However, this was but a small matter. Shi Feng had previously seen a Tier 3 Great Druid NPC die at the hands of the Dark Clowns. Their methods of attacking were simply unforgettable. The attacks were impossible to avoid. Despicable human, you actually dare barge into this place?! The Dark Clown had its face wrapped in a black cloth, revealing only its two glowing red eyes. Although its enraged expression could not be seen, its tone was extremely agitated. Streak after streak of green colored energy was currently being absorbed by the Dark Clown. Clearly it was a crucial moment, so it was unable to take action against Shi Feng. This situation gave Shi Feng a chance to prevent this assimilation ceremony, and deal heavy damage to the Dark Clown. Otherwise, when this critical period passed, the Dark Clown, which was capable of killing even a Tier 3 Great Druid, would instantly kill Shi Feng with just a wave of its hand. Cyber, get rid of him for me! the Dark Clown urged. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. Seeing the Dark Clowns anxious appearance, Shi Feng tried even harder to deal some damage against it. As for the Hellhound behind him, it was still restricted by chains. It was too late, even if it tried to rush over to Shi Feng. Chop! Shi Feng used all of his strength. With the flick of his wrist, a large explosion sounded out. The Abyssal Blade turned into a streak of black light, piercing directly towards the Magic Circle that was absorbing energy from the Titans Heart. _Dang!_ _ _ The Magic Weapon Abyssal Blade, which had been successful in every previous endeavor, was blocked outside of the Magic Array. It created brilliant white sparks as it collided with the Magic Array, dealing no damage at all to the Absorption Magic Array. Pitiful human. Did you think a weak little Swordsman like you could destroy my Magic Array? Just give up and become Cybers food! Who knows, I might even let your soul go. Otherwise, prepare for endless pain after you die! the Dark Clown threatened. At this moment, the Hellhound rushed over. Youre just a clown, yet you dare spout nonsense! Did you think I have no ways to deal with you? Shi Feng sneered. He took out a dark, gray-colored Magic Scroll from his bag. No! Youre literally insane! Do you know what you are trying to do!? The Dark Clown abruptly yelled out in shock after seeing this piece of dark, gray-colored Magic Scroll. It seems you know your stuff. At worst, well both die together. Shi Feng did not wish to use this item either, however, he was going to die anyway, so why should he still care? He then unfolded the Magic Scroll, and his mouth started chanting the activation incantation. This was one of the only three Tier 2 Magic Scrolls that Shi Feng possessed: Obliterating Torrent. It possessed the ability to devour all magic elements, turning them into nothingness. This Magic Scroll belonged to the peak of Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Suddenly, the magic elements in the center of the barrier surged, becoming incomparably violent, following which, it started collapsing without any signs of stopping. The Absorption Magic Array was made up of magic elements, so, naturally, it could not escape its fate as it collapsed and exploded. The entire Magic Array was similar to frying beans, producing crackling sounds. The Magic Array loudly exploded, dispersing streak after streak of dazzling shockwaves. Shi Feng immediately activated Defensive Blade, becoming immune to the damage of six ranged attacks. He then rushed towards the Titans Heart. However, it was not easy to collect the Titans Heart. Shi Feng either had to deplete all the energy the Titans Heart possessed, or he would need to have the key to remove the barrier. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the key. In the midst of the explosions, Shi Feng unlocked the barrier protecting the Titans Heart, then stored it in his bag. The shockwaves created by the Obliterating Torrent sent the Hellhound flying away, violently slamming it into a wall. The wall then split apart like a spiderweb. Following which, the Hellhound heavily landed on the ground, and didnt stand back up. However, the shockwaves of the explosion did no harm to the Dark Clown, as if they had just passed through its body. The Dark Clowns body seemed as though it did not exist in this plane of existence. However, the backlash from the magic ceremony failing had caused great damage to it. The Dark Clown silently glared at Shi Feng, faintly having the intention to take action. Humph! Come if you have the ability! Shi Feng smiled in disdain as he took out another deep-blue colored Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Shi Feng had already obtained the Titans Heart. Even if he died, a Quest Item could not be dropped. The Dark Clown was already extremely weakened as well, and at most, it would only be slightly stronger than him. Shi Feng still had two pieces of Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. At worst, he would perish together with the Dark Clown. He could still revive after dying, but if the Dark Clown died, then it would truly be dead. _Lets see whos afraid of who!_ Despicable human, Ill let you off this time! We will meet again sooner or later. It will be your death when that time comes! The Dark Clown gave up the notion of getting rid of Shi Feng after seeing the Magic Scroll. It only left behind a ruthless remark as it disappeared from the control room, together with the Hellhound. Shi Feng silently waited for a moment. After confirming no movements from his surroundings, he let loose a breath of relief. However, he did not store away the Tier 2 Magic Scroll. He truly did not wish to use the Tier 2 Magic Scroll and perish together with the Dark Clown. However, based on the Dark Clowns intelligence, it too would make the right choice. Shi Feng had already obtained the Titans Heart. He took out a Return Scroll and started chanting. Thirty seconds later Shi Feng turned into a white glow, disappearing from the control room as well. After Shi Feng disappeared, the Dark Clown appeared once more. The red glow let out from its eyes became even more brilliant now. It clearly did not expect Shi Feng to be so cautious. From beginning to end, Shi Feng had never put away the Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Otherwise, it would have had a chance to kill Shi Feng. Wretched human! The method Ive spent more than ten years researching to absorb the energy from the Titans Heart! When I recover, I will definitely make you wish for death! the Dark Clown bellowed. It abruptly waved its hand, and tens of flying blades destroyed the pedestal, which lost the protection of the barrier. On the other side, Shi Feng had already returned to Red Leaf Town. Currently, the amount of players in Red Leaf Town grew even greater. The streets were filled with players selling Level 0 to Level 2 Common Equipment and basic skill books. Shi Feng took a look at his bag. It had been some time since Gold Coins stopped entering his account. He thus decided to go sell some items before going to hand in his Quest. The previous Forging Designs were already sold out. Shi Feng took out another twenty pieces of Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs and placed them at the Auction House to be sold in batches. At this time, a communication request came from Gentle Snow. Three hours from now, meet up in front of Dark Moon Graveyards entrance. Get your team prepared for it and bring the necessary potions. Our Ouroboros must definitely snatch the First Clear of this Dungeon this time, so well be looking forward to your performance, Gentle Snows tone was very indifferent, as if she was giving out a command. It was completely different from their meeting just now. Will do. Ill definitely arrive three hours from now. However, Shi Feng did not particularly mind it, as that was the Snow Goddesss regular attitude. He estimated the time, thinking that he should be able to make it. Neither of them traded unnecessary words, immediately disconnecting the call. After that, Shi Feng purchased Card Sets and Hard Stones at the Auction House. He also bought some materials required to make Bronze Equipment and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. After storing the materials inside the bank, Shi Feng went on to buy some Magic Scrolls and necessary potions. He then ran towards the White Sand Ruins to turn in his Quest. 95 Abyssal Devour Blackie, how are things at your place at the moment? What level are you guys at right now? Shi Feng asked. Leveling up in this hidden area is just too awesome! There is still no one coming over here to steal monsters, and everyone is at Level 5 right now. Moreover, we obtained a lot of Wolf Meat and Wolf Skin, and our bags have long since been filled to the brim. Right now, were preparing to return to town and clear out our bags a bit, Blackie excitedly said. In this short period of time, they had obtained four pieces of Level 5 Bronze Equipment from grinding on Forest Wolf Dens. Amongst them, there was a Level 5 Bronze Staff that allowed Blackies damage to increase by a lot. Full already? You guys sure are efficient. Shi Feng was slightly shocked. A stack of Wolf Meat had 100 pieces in it. Previously, Blackie and the others had purchased plenty of Big Bags. Shi Feng never thought that they would be filled so quickly. _How many Wolf Meat was this?_ If all of them were to be given to Violet Cloud to be made into advanced cookings, then it would become a huge profit. Thats right, you guys pass all of your Wolf Meat to a female Cleric called Violet Cloud. Just give out my name when you meet her. Afterward, you guys rest up a little and buy some HP and MP recovery potions, then wait for me at the Trade Area. Brother Feng, are we going to go Dungeon-diving with the Snow Goddess? Blackie excitedly asked, after recalling some things. En, so properly rest up. Youll have to tense up your nerves after entering the Dungeon. Shi Feng nodded his head, disconnecting the call. On the other hand, Blackie had nearly jumped up in excitement. Originally, he had thought Shi Feng would not be bringing them along to the Dungeon. After all, their techniques were not that great. They would only be making fools of themselves if they were to go. However, since Shi Feng did not forsake them, what else did they have to say? Anticipation grew within Blackie. He was fortunate enough to dive a Dungeon together with the Snow Goddess. So what if he would shame himself? It would still be an honor when mentioned to others. Regardless of what others may say, they would be players who had gone Dungeon-diving with the Snow Goddess in the same party. White Sand Ruins, Stonehammer Town. When the Town Mayor Blackbeard saw Shi Feng entering, he went forward and greeted Shi Feng in a very welcoming manner. Brother Ye Feng, youve come. The Fruit Juice you sold to me the last time was just too good! It captivated everyone in our little town. Now, we cant sleep properly if we dont drink a cup before bed every day, Blackbeard joked. Lord Mayor Blackbeard, is this the Titans Heart that you wanted? Shi Feng smiled, taking out the Titans Heart as he asked. When Blackbeard saw the gray-colored, metallic sphere, his mouth suddenly opened wide in shock. This shape, this color, this texture It was exactly the same as the Titans Heart mentioned in the legends. Correct, this is the Titans Heart. It is exactly the same as the one recorded in the ancient records. I never thought that I would be able to personally see it in my lifetime. Brother Ye Feng, I truly did not think that you were such a powerful Adventurer. For bringing back our Blacksteel Dwarves glory, I represent all Blacksteel Dwarves in thanking you sincerely, Blackbeard excitedly received the Titans Heart, continuously thanking Shi Feng. System: Unique Quest Steel Fortress Barrutia completed. Rewarding 1 Blacksteel Insignia. Obtained Blackbeards Recommendation Letter. Obtained Advanced Book of Magic. Rewarding 10,000 EXP. Reputation at Blacksteel Town has reached Worship. The large amount of rewards dazzled Shi Fengs eyes. His level had also risen to 73% of Level 6. Such a leveling speed had even exceeded that of those leveling madmen. Shi Feng did not care much about the amount of EXP. Instead, the other items were the most important ones. The rewards this time far exceeded Shi Fengs expectations. A Titans Heart that possessed no energy in it could transform a third-rate Guild into a second-rate Guild. However, right now the Titans Heart in Shi Fengs hands still possessed a quarter of its energy. Shi Feng never imagined the rewards to be so good. In his previous life, the player that completed this Unique Quest did not obtain such a bountiful reward. The player had only obtained a Recommendation Letter, an Intermediate Book of Magic, and reputation reaching the level of Worship. There was absolutely no Blacksteels Insignia. [Blacksteel Insignia] (Fine-Gold rank) Unique Equipment User restriction: Ye Feng The[e] Blacksteel Insignia is the highest medal of honor amongst the Blacksteel Dwarves. After equipping it: Forging success rate increased by 5%. Proficiency has a 10% chance to increase by 1 extra point. When forging, there is a 1% chance to increase the forged items Attributes. Shi Feng was shocked after looking at the introduction. This Blacksteel Insignia was literally a godly tool for forging. It was several degrees stronger than the Forging Talent. It was especially true with the 1% chance for an Attribute increase. That meant that, out of a hundred items forged, there would be one piece that would have its Attributes increased. If Shi Feng forged items everyday without stop, he would have no problem making three to four hundred pieces of equipment. In turn, he would have three to four pieces of equipment with their Attributes raised. The thing players compared most when playing games was the quality of their equipment. Even if the Attributes on a piece of equipment was only slightly higher, when the Attributes of all the other pieces of equipment were accumulated together, the total amount would allow a player to exceed the others by quite a lot. Regardless of whether it was PK or Dungeon-diving, the player would have a great advantage in both situations. Although Shi Feng did not know how much of an equipments Attributes would be increased, even an increase of a single point would cause an equipments price to increase by multiple percentages. If it was a big increase, then the price would increase by several folds; the price of a single piece of equipment could even rival the price of ten or more pieces. The Blacksteel Insignia was an unexpected profit. Shi Fengs main purpose for doing this Quest was to obtain the Book of Magic and Recommendation Letter, as both of these items were capable of allowing a Guild to rise up. It was especially true for the Book of Magic. Moreover, the one Shi Feng obtained was even an Advanced Book of Magic. Aside from forging equipment, Shi Feng could also forge other items, such as Armor Kits, Gemstone Buckles, Alchemy Wands, and much more. Amongst them, Armor Kits were the most popular and also had the largest demand. Generally, Armor Kits were capable of increasing either a Chestplates Defense or Attributes. These all depended on the Armor Kits quality and level. Meanwhile, the Book of Magic Shi Feng obtained from Blackbeard was for making the strengthened version of the Armor Kit: the Mana Armor Kit. The Book of Magic was a unique item, and there was only one of it in the entire Gods Domain. In Shi Fengs previous life, it was exactly this item that had allowed a Guild to earn a large sum of money, turning it from a third-rate Guild into a second-rate Guild. As for Blackbeards Recommendation Letter, it would only be useful in White River City, so Shi Feng was still unable to use it right now. however, now that Shi Fengs Reputation in Stonehammer Town had reached the level of Worship, he could purchase a few Bronze Equipment, and even Mysterious-Iron Equipment, that would bind to the players character upon purchase. Moreover, the prices of these equipment items were very cheap, to the degree that even an average player at Level 10 could afford them. Stonehammer Town could be called the best location for players to obtain Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Hence, many players loved coming to this place to grind for Reputation. After their Reputation reached Worship, they would be able to gear themselves fully with Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Unfortunately, it was not easy to grind for Reputation. It was almost impossible for anybody to fully equip themselves with Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Reputation Equipment. Moreover, a complete set of Mysterious-Iron Reputation Equipment was still somewhat weaker than the Bronze ranked Silvermoon Set Equipment. So, top-tier players all felt that it was below their dignity to equip it. Although Shi Feng would not be equipping these items, he still had other uses for them. For example, using them to level up the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade needed to devour Weapons in order to level up. According to his understanding, the better the quality of the Weapon devoured, the higher the increase in Attributes of the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade was like a cultivating weapon, hence the reason it was so much more powerful than those Epic ranked Weapons. They were even capable of rivaling Legendary Weapons. If Shi Feng nurtured it properly, the Abyssal Blades Attributes could definitely surpass a Legendary Weapon. Sadly, too many items were required to carry out such a feat. Even if it was the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, they would not be able to support such a heavy cost. There was also the risk of facing a huge backlash. It was why many players both loved and hated Magic Weapons. In consideration for the Abyssal Blades Attributes, instead of feeding it the original one piece of Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Weapon, and ten pieces of Level 5 Bronze Weapon, Shi Feng decided to buy eleven pieces of Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Weapon from the Weapon Shop. It was unknown how much of an increase in Attributes such an action would yield. Following which, Shi Feng called out the leveling interface for the Abyssal Blade. He then fed all these Weapons to the Abyssal Blade. 96 Magic Weapon Transformation After choosing the weapons to devour and clicking Level Up for the Abyssal Blade The Abyssal Blade suddenly let out a dragons roar. Countless black flames started emerging from the blade of the sword. The black flames then transformed into a dragons head, immediately biting at the weapons that had been chosen. The dragon devoured the weapons, bite by bite. In the blink of an eye, the black flame devoured all eleven Mysterious-Iron Weapons, and all of their essences flowed into the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade no longer looked like a fire poker, and it now gave off a faint cold feeling of sharpness. The blades color and luster had also become more rustic, similar to a blade covered in dust for many years. When Shi Feng held the Abyssal Blade once again, the weapon felt slightly heavier than before. He felt a refreshing feeling when his hand wrapped around the swords hilt. Shi Feng then waved the sword a few times. _Hua... Hua Hua_ The air was like paper, creating tearing sounds as he sliced it apart. The boss of the Weapon Shop was also a forging expert. When he saw this, his mouth opened wide in shock. He even nearly pulled out his goatee. The ordinary-looking weapon was actually so sharp that it could easily surpass a Fine-Gold Weapon. If it were utilized properly, it might even be able to break apart a Bronze Weapon with a single slash. Good sword! Shi Feng waved the Abyssal Blade a few more times. After leveling up the sword, Shi Feng felt that it had become much more suitable for him. He then checked the Abyssal Blades Attributes. \--- [Abyssal Blade] (Magic Weapon, One-handed Sword) Attack Power 39 All Attributes +14 Attack Speed +5 Ignore monsters level by 5 Levels. Attacks have a 15% chance to cause 2 times damage, 10% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all stats by 40%, lasting 30 seconds. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman Job, all Skill Levels +2. Increase Free Ability Points received by 2 points for every increase in Level. Equipment Level 5. Can be leveled up. (Devour ten Level 10 Bronze Equipment and one Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment to level up to Level 10). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 50% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration of 35 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevent movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration of 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly create nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for the wielder to use, each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 30% damage. Duration of 24 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from being able to provide the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing All Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. \--- The Abyssal Blades Attributes increased by quite a lot. Just its Attack Power alone could rival a Level 5 Mysterious Iron Two-handed Weapon. With the Basic Attributes included, it would far exceed even a Level 5 Secret-Silver Two-handed Weapon. It was a One-handed Weapon that had the destructive power of a Two-handed Weapon. Moreover, a One-handed Sword was much lighter, and its speed was much faster. That meant the Abyssal Blade possessed both the destructive power of a Two-handed Weapon and at the same time, the lightness and speed of a One-handed Weapon. This was the terrifying part of Magic Weapons, and only master smiths were capable of forging such weapons. With such a result, Shi Feng was looking forward to the Abyssal Blades rise to Level 10. Originally, Shi Feng intended to sell off the Level 10 Fine-Gold Greatsword he had obtained from the Sun Temple. However, he dismissed that notion. If he were to let the Abyssal Blade devour this weapon, he wondered just how much of an increase the Abyssal Blade would have. However, it was but a thought of Shi Fengs. To obtain an overall positive increase, it would not be possible just depending on a single weapon. Shi Feng would, at the very least, need to pair it up with ten Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapons. Currently, even Mysterious-Iron Weapons were as rare as a phoenixs feather, not to mention priceless Secret-Silver Weapons. After sheathing the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and started chanting, returning to Red Leaf Town. If he were to run back instead, he would, with a 100% chance, be late. If he were to make the Snow Goddess wait for him, he dared not to think of the consequences Red Leaf Town, Trade Area. After Shi Feng transformed back to his original appearance, he made some minor adjustments to the appearance of the Silvermoon Set Equipment. It now looked more like an assembled set of Bronze Equipment. If Shi Feng were to appear in front of Gentle Snow with his original appearance, she would definitely find something fishy about it. At that time, Shi Feng would not find it easy to explain himself. Brother Feng, were over here. Blackie stood up and shouted as he saw Shi Feng walking over. The others, as well, stood up to welcome Shi Feng when they saw him approaching, sending gazes of appreciation at him. If Shi Feng had not let Blackie carry them, they most likely would not have been able to reach Level 5 so quickly, and very likely, they would still be struggling at the bottom of the ranks. Currently, most of the veteran players in Gods Domain were Level 4, and a minority had reached Level 5. However, there was nothing great about the equipment they were using. If veteran players were lucky, they might possess one or two pieces of Bronze Equipment that had good Attributes. Only those expert players would possess six or seven pieces of Bronze Equipment. On the other hand, every one of them now possessed seven or eight pieces of Bronze Equipment. Originally, this reason alone already caused them to be extremely grateful towards Shi Feng. They all decided to continue following Shi Feng. They never thought that Blackie would actually be willing to sign a contract with them, allowing them to join Zero Wing Workshop and become one of its official members. They could also enjoy a monthly salary of 4,000 Credits. They were not just fools playing a game. They knew the treatment an official member received in other Workshops. The treatment for official members of top-ranking Workshops in the city only received a monthly salary of 3,000 Credits. Even so, many veteran players would still try to worm themselves into these Workshops in whichever way they could. Meanwhile, they were just a bunch of fresh noobs, yet, they actually had a monthly salary of 4,000 Credits. This situation was just like a dream to them. Although they requested to lower the treatment they received, Blackie had firmly rejected all of them. He had said that Shi Feng had personally declared it as such, and no changes were permitted. Helpless, they could only sign the contract, becoming official members of Zero Wing Workshop. Although they looked well-off now, deep in their hearts, they were very clear about their own strengths. It was practically impossible for them to get invited to a Workshop. It would be a good thing if they could even become outer members, not to mention official members. Shi Feng swept a glance at everyones equipment. Based on his many years of experience, he could roughly estimate an equipments Attributes. The Basic Attributes of the equipment his party members were wearing had definitely exceeded the elite members of many small Guilds. However, it was still not enough, Lets make a trip to the Warehouse first. Everyone was confused. What were they going to do at the Warehouse? However, they did not question Shi Fengs decision, only following him. Arriving at the Bank, Shi Feng retrieved all the equipment that could be used by his party members. He obtained all of the equipment from the Treasure Chests he opened in the Moonlight Forest. Every piece of the equipment had extremely good Attributes. Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the equipment. They had ceaselessly grinded monsters and had even killed quite a few Elites. Yet, all of their gains combined could not even rival the equipment Shi Feng had obtained by himself. The quality was, of course, much higher. It was all Level 5 Bronze Equipment, surpassing the Level 2 or Level 3 equipment they obtained by leaps and bounds. Brother Feng, how many Elite monsters did you actually kill?! Blackies heart was filled with shock. However, he did not remain courteous as he swapped all his equipment that could be swapped. After doing so, the set of equipment on his person was just slightly weaker than a Level 5 Bronze Set Equipment. However, the Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Staff he wielded easily made up for this gap. The other party members also fully swapped out their equipment. Their Basic Attributes right now far surpassed those of the elite members of large Guilds. Every one of them had exchanged their shotguns for cannons. Even if they were to enter a twenty-man Dungeon right now, they would still be full of confidence. Shi Feng examined through everyones Attributes once, nodding his head in satisfaction as he said, Lets go. * * * Shameless vote request! If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! 97 Gathering of Heroes Dark Moon Valley, Dark Moon Graveyard. Countless tombstones stood around a dilapidated chapel. In the midst of night, one could hear wails of agony coming out from the tombstones. Meanwhile, Kobold Assassins roamed the dark and hidden locations around the broken down chapel. This place was the most famous location of Dark Moon Valley. Due to this place being the closest and the first twenty-man Team Dungeon activated near Red Leaf Town, it held high importance to the many Guilds stationed in Red Leaf Town. Compared to the previous six-man Party Dungeon, the various Guilds were paying the most attention to this Team Dungeon. That was because Team Dungeons and Party Dungeons were different. Not only was the difficulty for Team Dungeons higher, but the equipment that dropped from them was also better. Moreover, only by clearing a Team Dungeon would a Guild be able to prove their strength. Aside from that, there was a gigantic Glory List beside the Teleportation Gate of every Team Dungeon. On it, the names of the Team and players who obtained the First Clear for the Dungeon would be listed for latecomers to admire. Of course, aside from the First Clear, the record for the fastest to clear the Dungeon would also be recorded, with the reserved record set at three hours. As long as a team surpassed the record time, their names would be recorded. However, this record was not permanent, but only temporary. As long as another team could obtain an even shorter record time, they would replace the current holders of the record. Currently, players filled all of the Dark Moon Graveyard. Aside from the various large Guilds from Red Leaf town, there were plenty of temporary groups attempting to challenge this Team Dungeon. Wow! Its just as expected of the competition for the First Clear of the Team Dungeon. The equipment on these guys is just too gorgeous! Our temporary group has no chance of competing against them at all. Thats only natural. Why dont you look at just how many times these Guilds have cleared the Level 3 to Level 4 Party Dungeons? Even the team belonging to the weakest Guild here would have seven to eight pieces of Bronze Equipment on each party member. Look at Martial Union over there; all of their members are wearing Bronze Equipment. Their leader, Ironsword Lion, is wearing the Wolf Fang Set Equipment that can only be obtained from the Level 4 Dungeon, Black Wolfs Den. Ironsword Lions equipment could be considered quite good amongst the unrated Guilds. However, look over there at the third-rate Guild, Heavens Crowns. The equipment on their elite teams vice-leader, Passenger of Wind, is the Spirit Wind Set Equipment obtained from the Level 4 Advanced Dungeon, Ghost Fortress. The players of temporary teams gazed at the equipment of the Guild teams in envy. They spoke about the items as if enumerating their own familys valuables, and the more they spoke, the more drool leaked out from the corner of their mouths. Only the Elite parties of Guilds could clear those high difficulty Party Dungeons. Unaffiliated individuals like themselves could only look on with envy. Just as everyone was sighing in admiration at the equipment of these elite teams, Stabbing Heart of Assassins Alliance led a group of players over. The equipment of the group was extremely unified. All twenty players wore the same Level 4 Bronze Equipment. Amongst them, the two silver daggers hung around Stabbing Hearts waist looked extraordinarily radiant. Crap, it cant be, right? Those are Geminis Thorns that only drop from the final Boss of the Hard Mode of Ghost Fortress, an Assassin who was a dagger-fanatic cried out in shock. Suddenly, the team leaders and upper echelons of the other Guilds all cast sidelong glances over to Stabbing Heart. This design and color were exactly the same as the information displayed on the official announcement. As expected of a second-rate Guild; the Assassins Alliances strength cannot be taken lightly. They managed to clear the Hard Mode of Ghost Fortress without anyone noticing. Meanwhile, until now, we have merely killed off the first Boss of Hard Mode, Passenger of Wind sighed with regret. Humph! So what if they managed to clear the Hard Mode? We will still start from the same starting point from now on. The difficulty of a Team Dungeon is not something a Party Dungeon can compare to. Clearing it depends more on the commands given, Ironsword Lion wrinkled his brows, snorting in disdain. He believed that his own techniques were no weaker than Stabbing Hearts. If he had not been ambushed by that Ye Feng, causing him to lose a level, the party he led might have been able to clear the Hard Mode of Ghost Fortress. Interesting, when Shadows leader, Zhang Luowei, heard the discussions of the other Guilds, a faint smile appeared on his face. He was immensely arrogant, as if he did not place importance on any of these players. The various Guilds present were unwilling to comply with each other. After all, Gods Domain had only recently begun; nobody would know what the future would bring. The Assassins Alliance was only this powerful due to their strong initial foundation. However, the First Clear for the Dark Moon Graveyard could not be obtained just by relying on a strong foundation. At best, the Assassins Alliance would only have a minor advantage over the other Guilds. The First Clear of this Team Dungeon this time around was considered a shuffling of power in Red Leaf Town. Whoever obtained the First Clear would increase their prestige in Red Leaf Town, improving their Guilds development. It would have a great effect on attracting new players to join their Guilds. Everyone looked at the time. There was still over twenty minutes before the opening of Dark Moon Graveyard. They all stood by a side, patiently waiting. Sister Snow, this place is really lively! Xiao Yueer giggled, pulling on Gentle Snows delicate arm as she took a look at her surroundings. Gentle Snow nodded. She looked around with an indifferent face, her expression as cold as ice. She did not pay any attention to the Guilds present. Instead, she was looking for a certain someone. Although Gentle Snow and her group kept a low profile when they arrived at the Dark Moon Graveyard, everyones sights still unconsciously turned towards the group; including the upper echelons of the various Guilds. They still possessed the chance to compete in the case of second-rate Guilds. However, it was but a fleeting dream for them to compete against a first-rate Guild. The main reason being the gap between a first-rate Guild and a second-rate Guild was just too wide. Not only was there a difference in the number of players in the Guild, but there was also the difference of the quality of players and fundings. Just by standing in this place, Gentle Snow caused a great pressure to loom over the upper echelons of the many Guilds present. As for the cause for this pressure, aside from the disparity between their Guilds, the disparity between personal strength was also one of the causes. As long as one played virtual reality games, they would certainly know of the Snow Goddess. However, this name was not praise for Gentle Snows stunning complexion, but for her frightening strength. As expected of the Snow Goddess. The equipment on her body is likely the most top-notch equipment available to players at this stage of the game, Stabbing Heart inwardly admired the silver-red battle armor that Gentle Snow wore. This was the Flame Light Set Equipment that could only be obtained from the Level 5 Advanced Dungeon, Lava Cavern. The Assassins Alliance was never able to clear this Dungeon. Moreover, this Flame Light Set was a Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment that would only drop from the Hard Mode of the Dungeon. The Set Equipment was much better than any other equipment, not to mention the crimson-colored Flame Spirit Greatsword in Gentle Snows hands. That was a Level 5 Secret-Silver Two-handed Sword. The weapon itself could easily overwhelm his pair of Mysterious-Iron ranked Geminis Thorns. The pressure this set of equipment gave off to the other experts present was enormous. In addition to Zhao Yueru and Xiao Yueers Mysterious-Iron Equipment, Gentle Snows group practically flattened everyone else at the Dark Moon Graveyard. How were these experts supposed to compete against Gentle Snows group now? Why isnt he here yet? after taking a look around, a faint layer of frost appeared on Gentle Snows face as she was unable to discover Shi Fengs figure anywhere. Hahaha! Snow, that guy mustve known that he would just humiliate himself, so he didnt dare show up. Why dont we just call a few more members over? Zhao Yueru stuck out her impressive twin peaks, laughing delightfully. Gentle Snow gave Zhao Yuerus words some thought. The First Clear for the Dark Moon Graveyard was extremely important. If Shi Feng really was not coming, then she should be making some preparations ahead of time. Just as Gentle Snow was prepared to contact her subordinates, Shi Feng and his party ran over. Sorry, Ive made you all wait, Shi Feng scratched his head, apologizing. Although he hurried over, the distance was just too far. Moreover, they had met a Level 5 Extremely Rare Elite on the way here, so they had wasted some time * * * Shameless vote request! If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! 98 Whetstone Recipe After not meeting for just more than a day, Shi Feng discovered that Gentle Snow and the others of her group had changed their equipment. All of them were wearing gorgeous equipment. The Level 5 Flame Light Set Equipment all of them were wearing was the best team equipment currently available.[a][b] With this equipment, as long as the team leader commanded properly, they would definitely conquer the Normal Mode of Dark Moon Valley after familiarizing themselves with the Dungeon. Regarding the Dark Moon Graveyard Even if Shi Feng now possessed a full suit of Silvermoon Set Equipment, he still had quite a lot of requirements. For instance, the Advanced Whetstone Recipe. This was the strengthened version of the Whetstone. The Recipe for this item could only be obtained from Team Dungeons. Moreover, only Bosses of the Dungeon would have a chance of dropping it. You still remembered to come Thats enough. Since youre already here, leave your party, and well reform the group. Zhao Yueru originally wanted to taunt Shi Feng, but Gentle Snow stopped her a step earlier. Gentle Snow was still slightly angry from before, but after sweeping a glance at Shi Feng, she shockingly discovered that Shi Feng had reached Level 6. Currently, the Level 6 players in all of Red Leaf Town were top-tier players. Previously, when she met Shi Feng, his level was nothing special. It was just below average. Now that he was able to catch up to such a degree, one could see that Shi Fengs leveling speed was extremely fast. As for Blackie and the others standing behind Shi Feng, all of them were Level 5. They were also fully geared with Bronze Equipment, and such a standard was relatively good amongst temporary teams. Shi Fengs party then disbanded, all of them joining Gentle Snows team. All of the surrounding Guilds and players saw Shi Feng join Gentle Snows team. Judging from the equipment of Shi Fengs party, it was obvious that Shi Feng and the others were not members of Ouroboros. However, it was extremely odd that they were still able to join Gentle Snows team and enter the Dungeon together. The equipment worn by Shi Fengs party did not seem very high-leveled. They wore only scattered pieces of Bronze Equipment, not that different from the equipment of a temporary team. This was the important struggle for the First Clear of a Team Dungeon. Was Gentle Snow so confident in being able to easily obtain it that shed invite a group of people like this? Only Stabbing Heart knew of Shi Fengs strength. Now that both powerhouses had joined, the competition for the First Clear of the Dark Moon Graveyard had just become much harder. Brother Zhang, thats the brat that set up our men, Flaming Tiger hatefully commented when he saw Shi Feng. So, it is him? Zhang Luowei raised his brows. He could not help but pay more attention to Shi Feng. He then said in a deep tone, Since he has some connection with the Snow Goddess, try not to stir up trouble with them in the future. I dont wish for us to go against a first-rate Guild right now. Being able to wipe out Flaming Tigers group, and having a connection with the Snow Goddess, this person was not that simple. He still needed to do some investigations of this person. If this person had just joined the Snow Goddess by chance, he would definitely make this person pay for his actions. Yes, I understand, Brother Zhang. Flaming Tiger glared at Shi Feng, only gritting his teeth as he answered. However, it was a different situation on the side of Martial Union. Every member of Martial Union could not help but wish they could get rid of Shi Feng right that instant. It was especially true for Ironsword Lion. Previously, he put out the word that he would kill Shi Feng back to Level 0. Now that he saw Shi Feng had already reached Level 6, one level higher than Ironsword Lion, himself, he felt extremely humiliated. What is that group of Assassins doing? They actually allowed him to wash away his Red Name, and even rise to Level 6. Just the fact that Shi Feng was standing in this place, unscathed, caused the light on Ironsword Lions face to fade. His face turned crimson from anger, saying, Immediately contact the party of Assassins. What exactly is going on here? Boss, whats up? one of the Assassins standing guard in front of the Hotel asked. Whats up? Ironsword Lion nearly suffocated from anger when he heard those words. He bellowed, I told you all to pay attention to Ye Feng, yet, what have you all been doing? Boss, weve constantly been keeping an eye out for him. However, Ye Feng has not set foot outside the Hotel. Im guessing that he must be afraid, the Assassin said, puzzled. Youve constantly been keeping an eye out for him? Then you tell me; who is this person that I am looking at? Ironsword Lion sent a screenshot, asking coldly. Impossible! Weve really been constantly keeping an eye out for Ye Feng, and he never came out! The Assassin, immediately dumbfounded, looked at the screenshot. Youre a bunch of rubbish that cant even keep watch over a single person! Get out of Martial Union immediately! I dont wish to see you any longer! rage completely flooded Ironsword Lions mind. Shortly after, he turned to glare at Shi Feng, saying to his subordinate, Call some men over, as many as you can. After theyre done with the Dungeon, I want him dead immediately. Boss Ironsword, this wouldnt be a good move, right? No matter how you put it, he still has some connection with the Snow Goddess. If we create a bad relationship with Ouroboros, it would be detrimental to the development of our Guild, a Druid said. Out in the streets, we live by depending on our reputation. Now that someone has stomped our reputation to the ground, who cares about anything else? Ironsword Lion said in disdain, So what if shes the Snow Goddess? She still hasnt met this daddy right here. I dont believe that a stupid skank like her could do much to me. If she knows how to be tactful, I can still give her some face. If not, then Ill kill her back to Level 0 as well. Boss is right! Gods Domain just has slightly more players. How prestigious was it during those years that we swept across Martial World? Now, we can also sweep across Gods Domain just like before. What should we be afraid of? The players that had constantly followed Ironsword Lion all voiced out their agreements, all of them releasing the aura of a mad dog from their bodies. In their opinion, one had to be fierce when playing virtual reality games. Compared to Wuxia games, Gods Domain merely had more players. Moreover, they had to take into consideration so many problems every single day. What good was worrying about each and every little thing? Wont everything be solved if they just killed these first-rate Guilds into submission? They had only depended on being fierce to succeed in the previous Wuxia game they played, and it would be the same in Gods Domain. Only the Druid, who had only recently joined, helplessly shook his head. These people were insane! Shi Feng did not notice the movements of Martial Union. He only discussed the matter of cooperation with Gentle Snow. The items dropped from the Dungeon will be distributed according to Job requirements. If both sides require the same equipment, then there should be no problem if we just Roll for it, right? We dont have any problems with the distribution of equipment. However, I want priority over the recipes and materials for Lifestyle Jobs. Shi Fengs goal in coming here was the Advanced Whetstone Recipe, while equipment didnt really matter to him. You! Dont forget that we are the ones who will be carrying you through the Dungeon! Moreover, do you know how valuable the recipes for Lifestyle Jobs are? After hearing Shi Fengs words, Zhao Yueru stamped her feet in anger, bellowing like a fierce tigress. The other members of Gentle Snows team were also feeling aggrieved. Shi Feng and his party were just a group of wild players[1]. They were already extremely benevolent by Rolling to distribute the equipment. Despite that fact, Shi Feng was still trying to take advantage of them. Brother Feng, your request is going slightly overboard. In any case, our equipment is slightly weaker than theirs, and even just clearing the Dungeon would be a problem for us. So why dont you change your requirements? Blackie advised. Although their equipment was very good, compared to the Set Equipment of these people, they were clearly still a step behind. Being able to Roll for equipment was already a good condition. Going further to compete over recipes for Lifestyle Jobs Nobody would be willing to concede to such a request. To put it bluntly, even without them joining, Gentle Snows team could similarly clear the Dark Moon Graveyard. Shi Feng shook his head. He would not mind if it were any other recipes. However, he would not concede even a single step for the Advanced Whetstone Recipe. He also could not reveal any specifics to avoid attracting the suspicion of others. After all, before a Team Dungeon was conquered, the Official Website would not reveal any information about its drops. Twenty-man Dungeons would only refresh once every three days. There were only that many Team Dungeons nearby, and every one of them was extremely precious. The earlier Shi Feng obtained the Advanced Whetstone Recipe, the earlier he would obtain an advantage over the other players. To a Workshop like theirs that lived on the edge, they had even more reasons not to concede. Gentle Snow, who had an ice-cold expression, also opened up her mouth this time around, saying, Recipes for Lifestyle Jobs are extremely important to our Guild. Your request, I cannot agree to it. * * * TL Notes: [1] wild players: players that are unaffiliated to any Guilds. [a]From the last chapter, I honestly had the impression that only Gentle Snow possessed this Set Equipment... as for "team equipment", that''s what the author wrote. I refuse to capitalize it though... Sooner or later, he''s gonna bring some shit like Guild equipment or party equipment... [b]lol 99 Dark Moon Graveyard Gentle Snows single sentence determined the final verdict, not allowing anybody to refuse. After having worked with Black Flame, Gentle Snow discovered the importance of Lifestyle Jobs. Although their influence towards Gods Domain was small right now, who could guarantee that it would remain so in the future? Hence, she would not let even a single recipe that dropped from the Dungeon slip by. With Gentle Snows approval, the confidence of the members of Ouroboros grew. Every one of them looked towards the foolish-looking Shi Feng. _Now that our leader has refused, lets see how you are going to continue acting arrogant! If you have the ability, then form your own team to enter the Dark Moon Graveyard. We will have an easier time that way as well._ Shi Feng slightly wrinkled his brows. He did not think that Gentle Snow would be so resolute. He wondered what had happened to Gentle Snow to trigger a nerve in her. She was completely different from when they first met. At that time, there was still room for discussion. However, Shi Feng did not have a clue that the person who triggered Gentle Snow was exactly himself How about this, then? Well hold a party auction for the Lifestyle recipes that drop, Shi Feng said. Without having any better options, he could only take a step back and make some compromises. Hearing Shi Feng, Zhao Yueru covered her delicate mouth as she revealed a shallow smile. Ye Feng, stop dreaming. Team Dungeons only reset once every three days. The recipes obtained from inside are extremely important to a Guilds development. How could we auction them amongst the party? If you insist on doing so, then we will just call in a few more of our elite members. That way, those enter the Dark Moon Graveyard will all be our members, and we wont need to share anything with you, Zhao Yuerus tone turned chilling. Zhao Yueru had already made her words extremely clear: If you are going to stay, then forget about the recipes. Otherwise, pack up and leave. We wont be obstructing you on your way. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow showed no signs of hindering Zhao Yueru. Her actions meant that she, too, agreed with Zhao Yuerus viewpoint. Miss Zhao, please dont get angry. Brother Feng doesnt know how important the recipes are to you all. I apologize. Blackie could no longer stand to watch this scene continue to unfold. Any more of this, and the final result would definitely be a separation. They managed to obtain the favor of the Snow goddess after much difficulty. Hence, they could not simply just let go of this chance to further advance their Workshop. Blackie continuously hinted Shi Feng not to act rashly and to properly grab ahold of this chance. Shi Feng could feel Gentle Snows resolute behavior. Such an attitude gave him a headache. However, it would not be easy for him to find another team to enter the Dark Moon Graveyard with. It was a Team Dungeon, after all. A certain standard of equipment, trust, and cooperation was required to successfully clear it. Moreover, players that were abruptly recruited might not necessarily be reliable. They might even bring adverse effects to the team. Alright then, lets go with your arrangements. It was clearly not wise for him to enter a deadlock with Gentle Snow right now. Shi Feng had no choice but to just give up this chance. His only choice was to look for new, reliable members after he finished the Dungeon. He would then bring them to dive into other Team Dungeons. Seeing Shi Feng agree, Blackie let loose a breath of relief. On the other hand, Zhao Yueru was slightly pouting. She inwardly felt unfortunate that she was not able to chase Shi Feng away. Gentle Snow did not pay attention to Zhao Yuerus irritation. The time for the Dungeons opening already arrived. The other Guild teams were all entering the Dungeon, one after another. Hence, Gentle Snow said in the team chat, Lets go in then. Before entering the Dungeon, Gentle Snow had set the Dungeons difficulty at Normal. That way, after entering the Teleportation Gate, everyone would be sent to the Normal Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard. Team Dungeons were similar to Party Dungeons, in which they had three different difficulties: Normal, Hard, and Hell. However, Guilds that were not familiar with the Dungeon would usually start off by obtaining and understanding information from the Normal Mode of the Dungeon. They would then use the information obtained to prepare for Hard Mode and Hell Mode. Right now, every Guild was competing for the First Clear of the Dark Moon Graveyard. They wanted to use this chance to increase their influence towards the players in Red Leaf Town. So, naturally, they would not start off by challenging a higher difficulty. The team entered the Teleportation Gate, one after another. They all turned into a streak of white light as they entered the Dark Moon Graveyard. Team Dungeons were unlike Party Dungeons. The map inside a Team Dungeon was extremely large. They were practically the same size as a small Town, with some being the same size as a city with a population in the millions. The Dark Moon Graveyard was the first Team Dungeon available near Red Leaf Town, so the map of the Dungeon was relatively small. Unlike the Team Dungeons in other virtual reality games, the main goal when entering any Team Dungeons in Gods Domain was to find the exit. As long as players could find the exit and leave the Dungeon, then they would have cleared the Dungeon. After leaving the Dungeon, they would also receive the corresponding Dungeon rewards. Dark Moon Graveyard was different precisely because of this reason. Taking into consideration that this was the first time players of Gods Domain came into contact with Team Dungeons, the Dark Moon Graveyards difficulty was lower than other Team Dungeons. Players only needed to consider one key point when inside the Dungeon. Survive! As long as they could survive and leave through the exit, they would clear the Dungeon. Immediately after everyone entered the Dark Moon Graveyard, a chilling wind ambushed them, causing their entire bodies to shiver. It was past dusk in this place, and a red moon hung above the sky, shining down on the earth. Gravestones littered the wasteland, and the gigantic stones formed one gigantic maze. A strange atmosphere filled the place, coupled with countless wails of anguish. Ill divide up our responsibilities first, so when the time comes, just make sure you do your own part. Gentle Snow was not even the slightest bit shocked by the strange atmosphere. Instead, the corners of her lips curved upwards, forming an excited smile. Although they wasted several minutes, they properly determined each team members responsibilities. That way, whenever anything unexpected occurred, everyone could react with the quickest time possible. The team had a total of four healers, with two being Clerics, one Oracle, and one Druid. There were two MTs in the team. One of them was a Shield Warrior; the other, a Guardian Knight. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was arranged into the Dagger Party. The partys main goal was to combat at the frontlines. On the other hand, Lonely Snow was arranged into the Protection Party. Their main goal was to protect the teams lifeline, the healers. Alright, Scout Party, search for a path. We will follow behind at a slower pace. Once Gentle Snow was satisfied with the teams formation, she arranged for two Assassins to scout ahead. After entering the wasteland maze, the two Assassins immediately reported the situation they discovered. Gentle Snow responded immediately, allowing her team to advance towards the best possible route and easily avoid the traps set up by the Kobold Assassins and Kobold Warriors. [Kobold Assassin] (Common rank) Level 5 HP 1,600/1,600 [Kobold Warrior] (Elite rank) Level 5 HP 3,500/3,500 If they triggered the trap here, they would have to go up against more than thirty Kobold Assassins and seven or eight Elite Kobold Warriors. Such a situation would definitely cause major losses to the team. Thanks to Gentle Snows quick decisions, the team inched closer and closer towards the mazes exit. On the way, they only needed to kill a small amount of Kobolds. Even Shi Feng was slightly shocked by Gentle Snows leadership. It was as if all matters within the Dark Moon Graveyard were within the palms of her hands. Zhao Yueru walked up to Shi Fengs side, proudly saying, What do you think? You should see how far apart your strengths are now, right? Shi Feng remained silent. He did not pay much heed to Zhao Yueru, his hand only tightening its grip on his treasured sword hanging on his waist. Humph! Speechless now, are you? Zhao Yueru thought Shi Feng was tacitly agreeing, her heart feeling a wave of pleasure. However, not long after Zhao Yueru felt pleased with herself, two blood-curling screams came through the teams chat. Scout Party, what happened? Gentle Snow hurriedly asked. System: Player White Cry has died. System: Player Wind Shadow has died. What happened? When Zhao Yueru saw that the two players who died were both from the Scout Party, her heart filled with questions. However, nobody answered Zhao Yueru. Due the settings of Gods Domain, players were unable to initiate communication after death. Everyone immediately tensed up. They watched their surroundings vigilantly. The mysterious deaths of the two players informed the members of Ouroboros of one thing. Both players who died had very good techniques. Otherwise, they wouldnt have become elite members of Ouroboros. Their sudden deaths and the lack of even the slightest information could only mean one thing this place had become extremely dangerous. 100 Go Ahead, If You Can Everyone, pay attention to your surroundings! Healers, stand in the middle! Protection Party, guard the healers! MTs, prepare to activate your lifesaving skills at any time! Dagger Party, prepare for battle! Gentle Snow was not frightened by the situation. She immediately gave out commands, staying combat ready. Haughtiness invites disaster; humility receives benefit. This sentence just happened to be applicable to the members of Ouroboros. It was especially true for the arrogant Zhao Yueru. Problems were bound to occur when one became complacent. Only, the problems, this time, arrived somewhat too quickly. Zhao Yueru, who was still relaxed, suddenly tightened her grip on her Crystal Staff. She was no longer acting cheerful or witty; her expression now turned solemn. She observed her surroundings for every little detail, revealing the unquestionable quality of an expert. The other members of Ouroboros also no longer dared be careless. Although they were confident in their equipment, even possessing the confidence to overcome the Dark Moon Graveyard, this confidence still gradually faded after the two players were instantly killed. They could not help but become cautious and timid. As for Shi Fengs party, they were even more nervous. Inside their hearts, they were still considering themselves to be a bunch of noobs. Meanwhile, the elite members of Ouroboros before them were experts. Their techniques surpassed them by leaps and bounds. However, such experts that wore top-tier Set Equipment still died an unfathomable death. This Dark Moon Graveyard was just too horrifying! Seeing everyone in such a panic, Shi Feng remained incomparably calm. As for what actually happened, nobody had a better understanding of it than him, or rather, he long since predicted such a situation. Since Dark Moon Graveyard had a lower difficulty, depending on equipment and some experts, it was easy enough that it could be relaxingly cleared. However, in Shi Fengs previous life, an unknown number of Guilds fell to the dungeon over and over, to the degree of cursing someones mother. Based on the strength of Gentle Snows team, they would still be able to clear the Dungeon, even after being team-wiped over a dozen times. Only, the price to pay for such an action was very high. Somethings coming. MTs, pay attention, Shi Feng warned. He squinted his eyes, looking towards the fog that floated nearer. Everyone abruptly tensed, looking over. Whats that? The Shield Warrior discovered a blurry figure inside the mist. The figure was hidden inside the murky fog, preventing anybody from getting a clear look at it. The team only knew that the thing was gradually wobbling closer, step after step, crawling as slow as a snail. As the distance between the two sides shortened, the wails of anguish became louder, causing all those present to have goosebumps. Just when the figure was about to leave the fog... MTs activate your lifesaving skills! Shi Feng yelled. However, the Shield Warrior paid no attention to Shi Fengs words. He had always looked down upon Shi Feng in his heart. The last time they met, Shi Feng was just a noob who got lucky. Shi Feng was only able to attract their leaders attention because he familiarized himself with Gods Domain ahead of time. Although Shi Feng was currently reached Level 6, he had definitely depended on his familiarity with the Quests and monsters in order to level up so quickly. He did not truly possess strength. Even if Shi Fengs skills were good, the number of experts Ouroboros had recruited over the years from other virtual reality games exceeded five thousand. They were not lacking people such as Shi Feng at all. In other words, within Ouroboros, there were plenty of players that were much better than Shi Feng. Although the Shield Warrior did not pay attention to Shi Fengs words, the Guardian Knight, Cola, had always trusted in Shi Feng. He had, at the first instance, activated Protection Blessing on himself. Just as the figure within the fog was about to reveal itself, two black rays of light shot out from the fog, reaching the MTs on the frontlines in the blink of an eye. These two rays of light were as swift as bullets. The bulky MTs had no way of dodging them. At that moment, Gentle Snow only shouted, MTs, use your lifesaving skills! Unfortunately, Gentle Snow was still one step behind. One of the black rays immediately pierced the Shield Warriors body, a damage of -1,600 appearing above his head. He was killed instantly. The Shield Warriors eyes affixed to his chest where the black ray penetrated, unwillingly passing on. Meanwhile, after activating Protection Blessing, the damage Cola received reduced by 50%. In addition to the Secret-Silver ranked Sky Armor that he received from Shi Feng, Cola only received slightly more than -500 damage, losing slightly more than half of his HP. Everyone was dumbfounded after seeing this. A Level 5 MT wearing Bronze Set Equipment died, just like that. Meanwhile, more figures started appearing out of the fog. When Gentle Snow recalled the terrifying black rays from before, she immediately commanded, Healers, heal! Everyone retreat. Guardian Knight, cover everyone elses retreat. Anybody with a Defense Skill, pay attention and protect the Guardian Knight. Hearing Gentle Snows commands, Cola hesitated slightly. He turned to look at Shi Feng, intending to wait for Shi Fengs command. Retreat then. Pay attention to your positioning and maintain a straight line with the people behind, Shi Feng nodded his head. After receiving Shi Fengs orders, Cola immediately took action. Seeing such a scene, Gentle Snow felt slightly upset in her heart. However, she did not voice it. On the other hand, Zhao Yueru was not as willing. _A noob like you, instead of listening to Snows commands, you actually listened to that_ _lucky dog shits_ _words?_ Was he trying to imply that the Snow Goddess strength and commands werent as reliable as Shi Fengs? However, just as Zhao Yueru was about to open her mouth, she immediately snapped it closed. That was because, while Cola was retreating, he was actually able to simultaneously use his shield to block the black rays that fired towards the other players. He was even able to dodge the attacks of the black rays while, at the same time, retreating in an orderly manner. Such a feat was absolutely impossible for a fresh noob to accomplish. His skills were even better than their own Shield Warriors by a thread. With four healers healing him, Cola was able to maintain his HP above the safety line. During the occasional desperate moments, Shi Feng would use Parry to help Cola block the black rays, allowing Cola to retain his life. Such scenes caused the members of Ouroboros, who had been previously dissatisfied with Shi Feng, to have a change of heart. They questioned whether they were able to carry out such actions. Moreover, Shi Feng rescued Cola multiple times now, proving that it was not just a coincidence, but skill. As long as Cola did not die, the remaining team members would remain safe. It could be said that Shi Feng was holding onto the lives of the entire team. It would seem...that I have still been underestimating him. Gentle Snow started viewing Shi Feng in a different light. Although she, too, helped Cola block some attacks, her actions were not as natural and pleasant as Shi Fengs. He was capable of blocking the attacks while not hindering Colas movements. After everyone retreated some distance, they were finally able to clearly see the figures within the fog. They had gigantic bodies with the height of two people. Their arms were both equipped with black, metallic claws. When they attacked, their claws were like swords shooting forth and sheathing quickly after, all within a blink of an eye. [Kobold Zombie] (Special Elite) Level 6 HP 5,000/5,000 Just a single Kobold Zombie was headache to them. However, there were a total of six Kobold Zombies that appeared from the fog. Such numbers practically demanded their lives. To make matters worse, a group of Kobold Warriors also appeared in their path of retreat. Everyone finally understood the difficulty of a Team Dungeon. Its difficulty was practically over ten times that of a Party Dungeon. Were finished, Zhao Yueru felt despair in her heart when she saw the number of Elites and Special Elites, How are we supposed to fight this many Elites and Special Elites? Moreover, they have both ranged and melee to cooperate with each other. The other team members similarly agreed with Zhao Yuerus opinion. Is there no way for us to pass through? Gentle Snow creased her brows. She was unwilling to just leave the Dungeon like this. At that moment, Shi Feng opened his mouth, saying, If we utilise the terrain properly and cooperate well with each other, it is not entirely impossible. The members of Ouroboros felt displeasure in their hearts when they heard Shi Feng. He was wholly mocking the inability of Gentle Snows commands. Easier said than done. Who would know how to deal with this many Elites and Special Elites? Go ahead, if you can, Zhao Yueru sneered, looking at Shi Feng with disdain. 101 Entering Hell Once More Ridiculed by Zhao Yueru in such a way, the expressions on Shi Fengs party members turned dark. Even if Blackie loved beautiful women, he was still unable to overlook such an action. How could a great beauty like her have such a poisonous mouth? Although Blackie wanted to refute her, his words were unable to leave his mouth. The Dark Moon Graveyard was just too hard. Even if they believed in Shi Fengs strengths and techniques, when faced with so many Elites and Special Elites, who could guarantee that theyd be able to pass through? What? Nothing to say? Zhao Yueru asked coldly when Shi Feng had remained silent as if he were in deep thought. The members of Ouroboros were also looking at Shi Feng with disdain. They were already feeling despair towards the Dark Moon Graveyard, and even Gentle Snow felt helpless. So, what could a Beta Tester, with only some slightly good techniques, do? Youre just a Beta Tester. Who doesnt know how to talk big? If you have the ability, then you take command and kill all of those monsters. If you dont, stop spouting bullshit. Humph! Just a bunch of independent players foolishly making second-guesses after we cant get through. The members of Ouroboros all had their own arrogance. They all supported Zhao Yueru, one after another. They hurtled all sorts of ridicule towards Shi Feng, venting the despair in their hearts. What did guys you say? If it werent for Brother Feng, would you still be alive right now? Shi Fengs party members could no longer stand by idly and watch. Every one of them revealed expressions of anger, intentions of starting a fight surfacing. If it werent for Shi Fengs warning, both of the teams MTs would have died. Without the MTs to act as meat-shields, the players behind would have definitely died, and it would be lucky if even a few survived. Just as both sides were about to start a dispute, a deep muffled voice came from the team, disrupting everyones argument. Every one of the team members was dumbstruck, thinking they had misheard. After observing the surrounding area and those monsters, Ive thought of a way to get through the fog. I wonder if Miss Snow would be willing to let me take command? Shi Feng faintly smiled as he looked at Gentle Snow. Regarding the ridicules of Zhao Yueru and the others, Shi Feng did not mind them in the slightest. That was because everything was going according to his plan. From the moment Zhao Yueru started mocking him, his goals had already been achieved. If Zhao Yueru and the others did not react the way they did, how would he be able to seize the opportunity to take the initiative? If you can lead everyone across the fog, it wont be a problem to pass leadership to you. Gentle Snows iceberg-like expression faintly changed. Being able to get through the fog was a good thing. She was also not a petty person. It was just that, for some reason, when she looked at Shi Fengs smile, she had a faint feeling of disharmony as if all of this was within Shi Fengs grasp. Snow, I was only joking. How could you give this bastard leadership over the team? Zhao Yueru panicked. Ouroboros First Vice-Leader was actually being commanded by an outsider. Wouldnt that make them the laughingstock of the other first-rate Guilds? They would call out Ouroboros for their inability. If you have any other methods to pass through, I wont really mind, Shi Feng shrugged, spreading his hands to signify that he did not care. Zhao Yueru wanted to dissuade Gentle Snow. She had only been speaking out of anger before. If Shi Feng had really become the teams leader, then wouldnt an upheaval occur within the team? Who would be willing to submit to an independent player? Even if Shi Fengs techniques were quite good, there were still heaps of such personnel within the Guild. Okay, now is not the time to care about reputation. Clearing this Dungeon is our priority. From now on, Ye Feng will command the team. His words are my words. If anybody doesnt listen, youll know the consequences, Gentle Snow said in a chilling tone. Gentle Snow naturally knew Zhao Yuerus concerns. She, too, had considered the problems. However, if they gave up the Team Dungeons First Clear due to this little reputation, that would truly cause their Guild to become the laughingstock of other Guilds. Alright, then. Whatever you say. However, if he doesnt command us adequately, only blindly giving out orders, I wont obey. Zhao Yueru shot a glance at Shi Feng in anger. She did not believe that Shi Feng could properly command the team, not to mention lead them through the fogged area. After all, Shi Feng was just an independent player. It was impossible for him to have any experience in commanding a team. In a moment, she would watch and make fun of Shi Feng making a fool of himself. Seeing that Gentle Snow had already nodded her head in agreement, Shi Feng unhurriedly said, Since were done with the matter of leadership, lets talk about the matter of distribution. All of the equipment will be given out according to Job requirements, while the other items will be auctioned within the team. Any problems? Ye Feng! Dont go overboard! Zhao Yueru glared at Shi Feng like a wrathful tigress. Miss Zhao, Im not trying to swindle even a single item. Were just fairly competing inside the Dungeon, so is there a need to talk about going overboard? Shi Feng calmly smiled. Previously, Shi Feng agreed to Gentle Snows arrangements because he did not possess the power to back himself up. He knew the strategy to conquer the Dark Moon Graveyard. However, he couldnt reveal that fact earlier. After all, Team Dungeons had not activated during the Beta Test of Gods Domain. Hence, if Shi Feng were to reveal knowledge that not even Beta Testers of Gods Domain had, Gentle Snow and the others would definitely become suspicious. Now, everyone was aware of the Dark Moon Graveyards information. Moreover, Shi Feng, himself, had followed them into the Dungeon. As long as Shi Feng performed thinking up a strategy, naturally, no one would question him. Even the astute Gentle Snow would not suspect Shi Feng had long since known how to conquer the Dark Moon Graveyard. You Zhao Yueru became speechless from anger. She felt Shi Feng was just a scoundrel intoxicated by success. On the other hand, Gentle Snow did not hesitate as she revealed a faint smile, calmly saying, Alright. As long as we can get through, Ill agree to your conditions. Snow! Zhao Yueru did not dare believe her own ears. Gentle Snow agreed, just like that. Recipes for Lifestyle Jobs! The ones dropped from Team Dungeons were even more priceless! How could they just let others take advantage of them? Enough. Its all just a waste of breath if we cant get through the Dungeon. If we manage to get through and an item drops, well just buy it as is. Do you think an independent player like Ye Feng is wealthier than us? Gentle Snow softly explained. Hearing this, Zhao Yueru came to a realization. If they were competing regarding capabilities, even a hundred Ye Fengs would not be a match for them. At the end of the day, the item would still be theirs. Humph! Humph! Be pleased with yourself while you can. Zhao Yuerus mood greatly improved. She even looked forward to clearing the Dungeon as quickly as possible, obtaining several recipes. She wanted Shi Feng to know just how foolish his decision was. Since I will be commanding the team from now on, lets first leave the Dungeon and re-enter it once everybody gathers, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and started chanting. Using a Return Scroll inside a Dungeon would automatically send players back to the Dungeons entrance, saving players the wasted time running back. The others also promptly took out Return Scrolls after watching Shi Feng do so. Indeed, three people had died in the team, so some reorganization was necessary. Outside the Dark Moon Graveyard, many teams belonging to Guilds had returned after dying. They were currently reorganizing themselves, preparing to challenge the Dungeon once more. When they saw the Snow Goddess and her team leave the Dungeon, they all were abruptly shocked. All of them hurriedly looked towards the Glory List at the Dungeons entrance. The Snow Goddess fame was extremely great. In addition to so many of her team members leaving through the Dungeons entrance, there was a high chance that they had already cleared the Dungeon. However, the Glory List was still as empty as ever. Everyone let loose a breath of relief. They continued with their rest, discussing how they would raid the Dungeon. After over a dozen minutes, the entire team was assembled. Everyone, once more, walked towards the Teleportation Gate. As the leader of the team, Shi Feng immediately adjusted the Dungeons difficulty to Hell Mode. Immediately, the color of the Teleportation Gate changed. A flickering image of a ghosts head appeared, causing others to shudder. Before anyone within the team could react, they turned into black rays of light as they entered the Dark Moon Graveyard. Outside the Dungeons entrance, the members of the various Guilds were all dumbfounded. What sort of situation was this? Didnt they just enter Normal Mode once? After understanding some information about the Dark Moon Graveyard, theyre already starting to raid Hell Mode? Was there a need to be so strong-willed? 102 Kobold King 1 The sky was dark, and the bright moon illuminated all of the Dark Moon Graveyard. Compared to the Normal Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard, a great expanse of dense fog shrouded the wasteland. Not only did it obstruct ones vision, but it also carried with it an endless air of murder. It was like a battlefield; a heavy and oppressive feeling permeated the wasteland, causing ones body to grow sluggish. This is the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard? Gentle Snow surveyed her surroundings, revealing an indifferent smile. She discovered that the fog here was almost alive, and she felt as if she were being watched. Moreover, there were crimson red spots glowing, floating about the fog, most likely the blood-red eyes of the Kobolds. Just the number of monsters here far exceeded that of the Normal Mode. Moreover, there was also the dense fog hindering ones vision, greatly increasing the difficulty of battle. Ye Feng, what are you trying to do here? Why did you bring us to Hell? Zhao Yueru looked towards Shi Feng, interrogating him. After experiencing the terror of Normal Mode, even an idiot knew how horrifying Hell Mode would be. This was not a place for people at all. Right now, they could not even clear Normal Mode, so coming to Hell Mode was just plain suicide. Gentle Snow was also curious as to why Shi Feng had done such a thing. Judging from Shi Fengs behavior, he was definitely not a brainless person. Even Shi Fengs own party members were extremely curious. They had clearly agreed on entering the Normal Mode, yet, why had they entered Hell Mode? Im the team leader now; my words are final. Since Ive chosen Hell Mode, I obviously have my own reasons. You may leave if you have any opinions about it; I wont be stopping you, Shi Feng said with a smile. What comes around, goes around. Previously, he had only humbly submitted to Zhao Yueru because he could not reveal his hand. Now that they were in his territory, naturally, he would no longer act with modesty. You You bully~! Zhao Yuerus almond eyes widened into circles as she glared at Shi Feng, her twin peaks bouncing indefinitely. She stomped the rock beneath her feet, unable to find any words. She gritted her teeth, immediately turning her head away and no longer looking at Shi Feng. This scoundrel actually went so far as to use her previous words to spite her, possessing not even a hint of a gentleman. When all of this was over, she would properly put Shi Feng in his place. Originally, Blackie intended to mediate between the two. However, when he saw Zhao Yuerus sudden silence, not speaking even a word, he secretly raised his thumb at Shi Feng. _As expected of Brother Feng! He even dared meet a great beauty head-on!_ If he were standing in Shi Fengs position, he would not have been able to do such a thing. Ye Feng, do you really have the confidence to clear Hell Mode? You should know that, although the difficulty is only different by two levels on the surface, in reality it is ten or more times harder. The requirement of equipment, cooperation, and leadership also increases by several levels. I dont want my team members to die a meaningless death, Gentle Snow softly asked. Although the death penalty inside Team Dungeons was much lower than the death penalty in Party Dungeons, it was still a 5% experience loss. Moreover, Hell Mode was different than the other difficulties. The loss of experience in Hell Mode after a single death was 10%. Without a success rate of 70% or above, most players were unwilling to dive into the Hell Mode of a Dungeon. There should be no problems. However, we still have to try before we can know the results. Shi Feng did not reveal his full opinion. Based on the teams current composition and equipment, Shi Feng was extremely confident of clearing the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard. Otherwise, he wouldnt have chosen Hell Mode in the first place. In Shi Fengs previous life, only after going through countless team-wipes and experience accumulation, he figured out several methods of passing through the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard. If he let Gentle Snow to fumble about slowly, who knew how long he would have to wait or how many team-wipes theyd have to go through before they successfully passed through. Watching Shi Fengs calm behavior, after giving it some thought, Gentle Snow decided to support Shi Fengs decision. It was a good chance for her to observe the extent of Shi Fengs capabilities. If he performed well, it would be beneficial to invite him to join the God-Slaying Army. Gentle Snow nodded. At this time, even if the others were still unwilling, they had no choice but to listen to Shi Fengs commands. However, it was not because they believed in Shi Feng; rather, they believed in Gentle Snows decision. After which, Shi Feng started assigning responsibilities. Overall, his arrangements were mostly similar to Gentle Snows. The difference was that he placed three Elementalists in the Dagger Party and disbanded the Scout Party to place their members in the Protection Party instead, protecting the healers. After entering the fog, both MTs are to activate your lifesaving skills and rush after me without stopping. However, pay attention to dodge attacks. Everyone in the back must also follow, and remember, no matter what happens, never stop moving your feet. Healers only need to use instant-cast skills to heal the two MTs. Everyone else should use your own recovery potions, Shi Feng explained. If all of you understand, then everyone should use a Speed Scroll now. Everyone grew suspicious after hearing Shi Feng. What was he trying to do, turn them into kamikazes? He even wanted them to use Speed Scrolls. Was he complaining that they wouldnt die quick enough? Moreover, they could only earn so much money from a trip into the Dungeon. There were twenty players in the entire team, which meant they would be expending twenty Speed Scrolls. Just how much money was that!? Alright, everyone just use your Speed Scrolls, noticing the unwillingness in everyones eyes, Gentle Snow could only helplessly support the command. Everyone was helpless. Speed Scrolls were very expensive, and each of them had only prepared two. However, before they even started killing monsters, they were already required to use one of them. This was just too extravagant. However, such a decision did not alarm Shi Fengs party members. Speed Scrolls had long since become a necessity for them to grind Elite monsters, so they each had six or seven on their person. After everyone used a Speed Scroll, they followed Shi Feng towards the entrance of the maze area. Follow closely. I wont concern myself if you fall behind, Shi Feng reminded in the team chat. Having Shi Feng tell them in such a way, everyone became nervous. If they fell behind, needless to say, only death waited for them. Run! After seeing everybody ready, Shi Feng activated his title, Might of a Thousand, greatly increasing everyones Attributes. As a result, their running speed also increased. Before shock took hold of anyone over their increased Attributes, Shi Feng started running. Every one of them tightly chased after him, disappearing into the fog. Within, the fog massively limited everyones vision. They could only barely make out an area of five yards. After running for some time, Shi Feng suddenly said, MTs, use your lifesaving skills. Healers, heal. Hearing Shi Fengs commands, the two MTs started activating their lifesaving skills. The healers also started using their healing skills on the two MTs. Following which, black rays appeared, fired out from the fog. The black rays struck the two MTs, dealing a horrifying amount of damage. Fortunately, the healers constantly replenished their HPs to make up for the damage they received. In addition, the two MTs had high movement speeds, reducing the chances of the black rays striking them. With the two MTs taking the full brunt of the damage, the other team members behind had nothing to worry about. In such a way, everyone ran after Shi Feng for a full ten minutes, making twists and turns every so often. In between, they all used another Speed Scroll. If the healers were lacking Mana, they would drink Mana Recovery Potions. Such a situation worried the members of Ouroboros greatly. How was this still a Dungeon raid? They were just throwing money away! Moreover, everyone clearly felt the countless monsters closely chasing after them. The monsters constantly bellowed, and as long as they halted their steps, those monsters would definitely kill them. Fortunately, this place was just like a maze. There were plenty of paths available for them. Moreover, the paths were relatively narrow, resulting in a situation where the monsters hindered each others advance. As a result, it would not be easy for the monsters to catch up to the team. Turn left ahead and enter the small path. After everyone has entered, both MTs block the entrance of the path and use your lifesaving skills. Healers, spam your heals on them. Blackie, prepare to use Hell Flame. When the MTs are unable to hold on, the three Elementalists should use Frozen Nova to block the monsters. If the MTs die, all melees are to stand forward and block the way, but none of you are allowed to attack! Shi Feng immediately shouted in the teams chat as he looked towards the small path a short distance away. Following which, everyone quickly poured into the narrow pathway. Both the MTs just happened to block the entire entrance of this path successfully. When both MTs were in position, they received powerful attacks, one after another, constantly pushing them backward. Damage appeared above their heads endlessly. Just as the two of them were about to be sent flying from the barrage of attacks, Shi Feng placed both his hands on their backs, bracing against them. The two MTs felt like they leaned against a wall; their bodies unable to retreat any further. Blackie, hurry up! Elementalists, prepare your Frozen Novas! Shi Feng hurriedly commanded. Im ready! Blackie chanted the final incantation. MTs, retreat! Elementalists, cast Frozen Nova! Shi Feng yelled. Following which, a Frozen Nova spread out to encompass all the monsters, freezing them and stopping their movements. Over twenty points of damage appeared over every monsters head. Such a high Ice Resistance... Zhao Yuerus brows slightly cringed. She was extremely dissatisfied with the damage she inflicted. At this time, pillars of green-colored flames shot up amidst the monsters, causing damages of over -300 to every monster. The pillars of flame lasted for 5 seconds, and during this period, the monsters HP incessantly fell. This scene dumbfounded everyone. Even Blackie, himself, was stunned. Wasnt this damage a little too high? After all, these monsters were all Elites and Special Elites. Being able to cause damages of over -100 was fortunate. However, what Blackie did not know was that the Kobolds in the Dark Moon Graveyard lived in this cold and dark environment for many years now. They loved the cold but were afraid of fire. Hence, the damage from fire-attributed magic would be multiplied by several folds. It was especially true for the Kobold Zombies, as they feared fire the most. After Hell Flame ended, the two MTs stepped forward once more to block the monsters. Due to the road being narrow, only two or three monsters could attack at a single time. If it was the large-sized Kobold Zombies, just one of them was enough to fill the entire path. Moreover, the Kobold Zombies were unable to display their might in such a narrow space. At most, one or two claw attacks would land on the MTs, and even then, the MTs were sharing the burden with each other. As a result, the Kobold Zombies became utterly harmless. After more than ten minutes passed, Blackies Hell Flame annihilated the Kobolds that rushed towards the team. Everyones experience greatly increased as a result, and there was even a pile of dropped items. The members of Ouroboros were astonished. Although Blackies magic surprised them, Shi Fengs strategy thoroughly stunned them. He was actually able to think up such a strategy and discover such a location. His mind and perception were truly great. Members of Ouroboros had always revered the strong. As a result, every one of them now felt embarrassed over their previous slandering of Shi Feng. Even Zhao Yueru was rendered speechless after witnessing Shi Fengs leadership. However, she still felt hatred for Shi Feng inside her heart. She silently lamented over the stupidity of these monsters. As expected, he does possess real skill. It is no wonder he rose to Level 6 so quickly. Gentle Snow started her reevaluation of Shi Fengs strength. She did not imagine that he would be capable to this degree. Not only did he possess a Title that could raise the entire teams Attributes, but he also had such a frightening perception. Shi Fengs performance far exceeded her expectations. If her team had such personnel in the future, they would have a much easier time conquering Dungeons. A total of twenty-eight pieces of equipment dropped. Among them, there are nine pieces of Mysterious-Iron rank, while the rest are Bronze Equipment. Well distribute them according to Jobs. Shi Feng arranged the loot and distributed the equipment. He distributed them accordingly, and players who had similar Jobs would Roll for the equipment, with the higher number obtaining the equipment. Hearing Shi Feng report their gains, everyone sucked in a deep breath. They were unable to utter a single word due to their excitement. Currently, Mysterious-Iron Equipment was considered top-tier equipment. Previously, they had killed so many monsters in the Normal Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard, yet, only a few pieces of Bronze Equipment dropped. Right now, however, they only killed a large wave of monsters, but already obtained so much Mysterious-Iron Equipment and Bronze Equipment. This drop rate was just too frightening! 103 Kobold King 2 Discovering that the Hell Mode of a Dungeon dropped so much valuable equipment, even Gentle Snow was stunned. If they could clear the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard, it was unknown just how much top-tier equipment they could obtain. With top-tier equipment, they would have a much easier time conquering the other Team Dungeons. Thinking up to this point, Gentle Snow became much more interested towards conquering the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard. It was just that she did not know whether Shi Feng was capable of accomplishing this magnificent feat. After Shi Feng distributed the equipment, many of the team members immediately swapped out their old equipment for the new. It was especially true for the extremely lucky Blackie. Blackie was the only Cursemancer on the entire team. Among the nine pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, there were two pieces of the Death Word Set Equipment meant for Cursemancers. The Death Word Set Equipment was at the apex of all Level 5 Set Equipment for Cursemancers. Just the effect of having two set pieces increased Blackies Dark Arrow by 1 Level. In addition, Blackies Dark Arrow was already Level 4. At Level 5, the Dark Arrows damage increased by a large leap. Meanwhile, Cola managed to win a Mysterious-Iron Shield by Rolling. After equipping the shield, his Defense surpassed the Shield Warrior from Ouroboros, Ghost Chop, by quite a lot. Although many items dropped, Shi Feng incessantly shook his head at these items. None of these items attracted his attention. Why dont you want this piece of Bronze Equipment for Swordsmen? Gentle Snow asked, astonished. With just a glance at Shi Fengs equipment, anybody could tell it was just individual Bronze Equipment assembled together. According to logic, their Attributes should be much weaker than the equipment dropped from the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard. However, Shi Feng remained indifferent towards the equipment dropped. The Attributes of this equipment isnt as good as what Im currently using. Just give it to your Guilds Swordsman. Shi Feng carelessly gave the equipment to Gentle Snow. Naturally, he would not mention that he already possessed a set of Silvermoon Set Equipment, which was the best Set Equipment for Swordsmen under Level 10. After hearing Shi Feng, the other Swordsman in the team repeatedly expressed his gratitude towards him. Even if Shi Feng were to take away the equipment for Swordsman, nobody on the team would complain. On the contrary, they would feel it was only natural that he would do so. No matter what anybody said, it was all due to Shi Fengs efforts that they were able to obtain so much equipment. However, Shi Feng displayed himself to be extremely impartial, causing the members of Ouroboros further admiration; their gazes when they looked at Shi Feng held even more reverence now. hi Feng stayed unmoved while faced with top-tier equipment. In the virtual gaming world, not many people would be capable of remaining as impartial when leading a temporary team. Noticing everyone had mostly recovered, Shi Feng said inside the team chat, Everyone, prepare yourselves. We will be going to the next strategic point. Those without Speed Scrolls, come get them from me. The members of Ouroboros were troubled when they heard this. Each of them had only carried two Speed Scrolls and both had already been used. However, they felt extremely awkward asking for Speed Scrolls from Shi Feng. After all, they previously made a mockery of Shi Feng. It would practically be a slap to their own faces if they asked Shi Feng for the expensive Speed Scrolls now. However, if they remained stubborn, they would only embarrass themselves when they died later on. Can I buy some Speed Scrolls from you? I didnt have them prepare enough Speed Scrolls previously. We would feel extremely ashamed if you were to just give them to us for free. Gentle Snow naturally knew of her teammates embarrassment. Without having a better option, she chose to take the initiative. Alright. Since Gentle Snow already asked, Shi Feng would not refuse. After all, his money didnt grow on trees, either. Fortunately, Shi Feng was prepared for such a situation, purchasing plenty of Speed Scrolls. He provided each team member of Ouroboros with three Speed Scrolls. However, when the members of Ouroboros were trading the Speed Scrolls with Shi Feng, they all had their heads lowered in embarrassment. They felt deeply ashamed in their hearts. Some of them also thanked Shi Feng directly, leaving Shi Feng at a loss. Dirty bastard, this lady is a magnanimous person. Seeing that youve performed well, Ive decided to forgive you. Give me the scroll then! Zhao Yueru walked towards Shi Feng, her head raised and her arms hugging her bosom. The crimson red robe she wore revealed a deep cleavage, and a bashful tinge of red appeared on her delicate face as she spoke. Shi Feng naturally understood that it was a difficult feat for the incomparably prideful Flame Witch from his previous life to carry out such an action. If other players were to see her behaving as such right now, most likely, their jaws would have fallen to the ground from shock by now. Not only was Zhao Yueru currently displaying frailty, but she also apologized to Shi Feng! Even Xiao Yueer was pinching her own tender, pink cheeks, thinking she was hallucinating. Shi Feng only revealed a smile at Zhao Yuerus display as he traded the Speed Scrolls to her. However, inwardly, he was baffled. Was the Sun rising from the West? He did not think that Zhao Yueru had such a side to her. If other men were to see this, their bones might turn to mush! Shi Feng did not think that his unintentional action would actually allow him to witness such a scene. A pity he did not record the moment. On the other side, just as Shi Feng and the others busied themselves in the Dark Moon Graveyard, the other Guilds were still exploring the maze. They died over and over. Such a situation caused many Guilds to give up their conquest of the Dark Moon Graveyard. If they continued this act of suicide, they might not properly recover their horrifying experience loss. However, there were still some of the stronger Guilds who continued their exploration, conquering the Dark Moon Graveyard bit by bit. Three hours after the Dark Moon Graveyard opened, there was still not a single Guild that managed to clear the Dungeon. After frantically trying to conquer the Dungeon, the Assassins Alliance, Heavens Crown, and other rated Guilds started to cool their actions. They started to calmly analyze all the information they obtained from the Dungeon. Meanwhile, the team Shi Feng led had already killed their way towards an underground mausoleum, preparing to enter it. In order to arrive at this mausoleum, Shi Feng had led the team through two more similar massacres, obtaining more than forty pieces of equipment and various materials. Everyone in the team greatly improved as a result. The two MTs in the team also surpassed the 400 Defense threshold. Now, even when faced against the Kobold Zombies claw attacks, they could resist two hits head on. This underground mausoleum was situated in the central region of the wasteland. It was also the Dark Moon Graveyards sole exit. In order to avoid suspicion, Shi Feng intentionally took several detours. Just as Shi Feng and the others were about to enter Gentle Snow looked towards the serene and distant mausoleum, suddenly saying, There are no monsters in the surroundings. This place may very well be the exit of the Dark Moon Graveyard. We should let the Assassins scout ahead first. That way, if there are traps ahead, we wont risk a team-wipe. Alright. Although Shi Feng knew there were no traps, he couldnt actually reveal that. So, he could only agree to Gentle Snows suggestion. Following which, one of the Assassins snuck into the mausoleum. After more than ten minutes passed, the Assassin reported that there were no dangers ahead. The Assassin also discovered a Teleportation Circle inside a large hall. However, there was a gigantic monster standing guard in the middle of the Teleportation Circle. The Assassin did not close in on the monster for fear of being discovered. Moreover, the room was dimly lit, so the Assassin could not clearly see the information of the monster within. Lets go take a look then, Shi Feng said as he entered the mausoleum. Although the Assassin did not know what kind of monster was inside, Shi Feng certainly knew. The monster guarding the Teleportation Circle was the final Boss of the Dark Moon Graveyard. It used to be the king of Kobolds, the Kobold King Patch Leo. The moment everyone entered the large hall, the dimly lit hall suddenly changed. The extinguished candles around the room flared to life, emitting a dark green flame and illuminating the entire hall. Meanwhile, a figure over three meters tall stood in the center of the hall. The figure was a ferocious Kobold, its body covered in blue-colored armor and its hands wielding a pitch-black greatsword decorated with runes. The Kobold silently stood on the magic circle, not even moving a muscle as its entire body radiated a frightening pressure. Everyone used Observation Skills, one after another, wanting to understand this monster. However, after seeing its information, everyones complexion turned pale. They felt a deep terror as they gazed at this creature, and even Gentle Snow sucked in a cold breath. None of them had any confidence in killing this monster. 104 An Unknown Way of Battle Everyone stood silently within the bright mausoleum hall, turning the place eerily quiet. After some time had passed Brother Feng, what do we do now? This Boss is just too terrifying. It is impossible for us to kill it, Blackie looked towards Shi Feng, asking. On the other side, Zhao Yueru said helplessly, Snow, it seems we wont be able to clear the Dungeon after all. The other team members also indicated their agreement. There could be no greater folly than to attempt something they already knew to be impossible. Are we just going to give up like this? Gentle Snows slender eyelashes trembled slightly, her crystal-clear eyes shifting towards the Kobold Kings figure once more. They had reached this point after much difficulty. Were they just going to give up like this? [Kobold King Patch Leo] (Lord Rank) Level 6 HP 120,000/120,000 Not mentioning its frightening amount of HP, just the mere words, Lord Rank were enough to cause players to tremble. That meant that there was a single aspect to this monster that was extremely terrifying; either in terms of speed, strength, or magic. Based solely on the terrifying aura radiating off of the Kobold Kings body, its bulging, iron-like muscles, the pitch-black greatsword as tall as a man, which pierced deeply into the ground... Even without having any exchanges with this Kobold King everyone knew there was no way to overpower it. Why dont we give it a try first? Ghost Chop, try out the Boss capabilities. The others will leave the hall first, Gentle Snow said after giving it some thought. Gentle Snow still intended to give the Boss a try. She was hoping to look for a strategy to kill it. Lets leave first then, Shi Feng said as well. Gentle Snows thoughts were exactly the same as his. He would let the MT try out the Boss, then let the team watch. That way, he would have an appropriate excuse when he revealed his strategy. Following this the Shield Warrior, Ghost Chop, activated his video recording, charging towards the Kobold King alone. Meanwhile, the thick and heavy stone doors leading into the hall started closing. Just as Ghost Chop was midway through his Charge, the Kobold King abruptly opened its eyes. _Kachak._ The Kobold King casually pulled out the pitch-black sword from the ground; its robust legs abruptly exploded with power as it similarly charged at Ghost Chop. Like a fierce gale, the Kobold King swept towards Ghost Chop. Ghost Chops body was frightened stiff. He rapidly reacted by raising his shield, blocking it in front of his chest. In the blink of an eye, a black ray, which carried with it an explosive sound, struck on the shield. _Hong!_ Ghost Chops entire person was sent flying, and a damage of 633 points appeared above his head. His entire arm felt numb from the attack. If he had not used his shield to block, he might have been killed instantly. Ghost Chop felt that his own techniques were quite good, and he was an elite member of Ouroboros. Moreover, his task right now wasnt even to kill off the Boss. If he could not even force the Boss to reveal its hidden cards, then he would be an absolute disgrace. Ghost Chop abruptly stood up. He poured a bottle of Basic Regeneration Potion down his throat, his HP recovering to more than half of its total. Just as he was considering attempting another bout with the Boss, he suddenly discovered that the Boss was already standing behind him, its greatsword raised up high. Abruptly, the Kobold King slashed the greatsword at Ghost Chop. Shield Wall! Ghost Chop no longer had the option to dodge the attack. He could only use his lifesaving skill to take the attack at full force. When used, Shield Wall would reduce the damage the user received by half for a duration of 12 seconds. The black runic greatsword struck down once more. Although Ghost Chop had used his shield to block the attack again, he was instantly forced into a kneeling position by the resulting pressure. The stone bricks beneath his feet cracked apart like a spiders web, and his HP instantly fell by 426 points, leaving him with only a thread of life remaining. The Kobold King then kicked towards the side of Ghost Chops abdomen. Ghost Chop helplessly imprinted himself onto a wall, and his HP instantly dropped down to zero. Only three seconds had passed since the start of the battle. Just like that, an MT that was equipped with top-tier equipment was dead. So much so that, even before the stone doors had closed shut, they had opened once more. Everyone looked at Ghost Chop, who was planted into a wall, shocked. _What was this situation?_ The door had just closed before opening again, and their MT was already dead Yueer, revive Ghost Chop, Gentle Snow said with a gloomy expression. Ghost Chop being killed so quickly was a clear indicator of how strong this Boss was. After Ghost Chop was revived, a somber expression hung on his face. He unwillingly shared with everyone the recording he made, allowing them all to analyze the Boss strength. Strong! Zhao Yueru could not help but say in shock, This general speed and reaction speed, this strength, and also the constantly varying attack patterns Is this really an NPC? Are we sure this isnt a martial arts expert in disguise? Before even witnessing the Boss in battle, everyone could already feel how powerful it was. Now that they witnessed this for themselves, aside from feeling shocked, they were also astounded. With Ghost Chops skills, he was actually unable to even damage the Boss. This was just too horrifying. Even if it was the strongest Chieftain Rank monster Gentle Snow met before, in comparison to this Kobold King, it would only be a little rabbit. As for Shi Fengs party, whom had battled with a Lord Rank Boss before, after looking at the recording, even they were feeling apprehensive. As expected of a Lord Rank Boss in a Team Dungeon, compared to the Lord Rank Boss of a Party Dungeon, it was at least several times stronger. Not only was its speed and strength a problem, but its attack patterns were even more so. There were just too many variations. It was as if they were fighting in a close-quartered combat against an expert. Moreover, the physical attributes of this expert were better than theirs by several fold. Just how were they supposed to continue battling against this Boss? Even if their Brother Feng was very powerful, he might not be able to last long against this Boss. After all, this Boss had a HP of 120,000 and their HP did not even reach 1,000. Lets withdraw. After considering for a good while and thinking up of all sorts of simulations, Gentle Snow still came to the conclusion that they would be team-wiped. She was not prepared to waste time here, and rather prepared to raid the Normal Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard. The Boss in the Normal Mode should be a Chieftain Rank Boss, which should be much weaker. According to their current equipment, they would at least have a twenty to thirty percent chance of killing the Boss. Everyone else could only give up after hearing Gentle Snow say this, so all of them took out Return Scrolls. At this moment, Shi Feng suddenly said in the team chat, After looking at the Kobold Kings attack patterns, if Miss Snow, the two MTs, and myself were to implement a rotation battle, we should have somewhat of a chance at succeeding. I wonder if Miss Snow still wishes to raid this Boss? Although Shi Fengs voice was soft, it was as if a light in the darkness appeared, brightening everyones spirits. Brother Feng, are we really going to fight it? Blackie looked at the Kobold King, swallowing down a mouthful of saliva. Even at such a distance away from it, Blackie could still feel his legs trembling. If he were to close in on it a little more, he might already be on the ground, kneeling. In fact, it wasnt just Blackie who was impacted by the Kobold Kings imposing aura. The other team members did not fare any better than Blackie. They instinctively acknowledged that they could not beat it, wanting to run away from it. You have a plan? Shock flashed past Zhao Yuerus eyes as she looked at Shi Feng, asking. This was a Lord inside a Team Dungeon. Its HP was several times higher than the Lords in the wild. Its Attack Power and attack patterns, as well, were despairingly powerful. Zhao Yueru did not think that Shi Feng would have a method to raid it. Shi Feng shrugged his shoulders, looking at the Kobold King as he said, My confidence at succeeding isnt high. However, we can still give it a try. Isnt it just a 10% experience loss? Killing all the way here, the experience we obtained has far exceeded just 10%. Even if we died, we have already obtained a lot of equipment. Dont tell me that you guys are so willing to just give up? Gentle Snow was slightly shocked. She did not think that Shi Feng could bring her so many surprises. Even if they could not raid the Boss this time, she would definitely pull Shi Feng into Ouroboros. What are the chances for success? Gentle Snow asked, her iceberg-like expression finally revealing a warm smile. Twenty percent. Shi Feng had already made the most conservative estimation. In reality, he had estimated their success rate to be at fifty percent. However, he was worried that if he were to say it out loud it would be bad; he might attract suspicion. What? You said twenty percent?! Zhao Yueru rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. _With such a low success rate, who would dare take the challenge?_ Alright, lets hear your plan then. We will be supporting you fully, Gentle Snow interrupted Zhao Yueru, saying softly. Gentle Snow herself had estimated their chances at getting rid of the Lord Rank Boss at zero percent. As for a Chieftain Rank Boss, she had estimated the success rate to be at twenty to thirty percent chance. Judging from Shi Fengs previous behavior, he did not seem like a person that exaggerated things. Since Shi Feng had a similar certainty for success, wouldnt killing the Lord Rank Boss be much better? Moreover, she was extremely interested in the four-man rotation battle Shi Feng had mentioned. She did not know what kind of method of battle this was to actually let them have such a high chance of success against the Lord Rank Kobold King. 105 Ash Blade 1 Although the members of Ouroboros admired Shi Feng, they still felt that it was impossible for them to raid this Boss. _What would happen if they were wiped out?_ However, Gentle Snow had already nodded her head in agreement. That meant she was also willing to take on this risk. Even if everyone were to lose 10% of their experience and some Skill Proficiency, losing to the other Guilds in terms of levels by a little, she would shoulder all the responsibility. Although 10% of experience seemed like a small amount when a player had reached Level 6, raising their experience by 10% would require at least two to three hours worth of effort. If the team was wiped out as a result of Gentle Snows decision, the losses the team suffered would not be small. It was obvious just how much trust she placed in Shi Feng. The members of Ouroboros looked at each other, feeling that they were all too timid. After playing virtual reality games for so long, they had all turned towards stability. They thought that, in order to raise their standings in the Guild, the less deaths they had, the better. Yet, unknowingly, they had forgotten one of the most important points when playing a virtual reality game The thrill of adventure! That was the reason why most people played virtual reality games. They had already gained a bountiful harvest from the Dungeon. Just like what Shi Feng had said, it wouldnt really matter, even if they died. Leader, well do as you say then. Whatever you want me to do, I guarantee that Ill do it, the Shield Warrior, Ghost Chop, looked towards Shi Feng, clapping his chest as he said so. Leader, say it. Right, say it. The members of Ouroboros all looked towards Shi Feng. They had thought it through already. If they were going to make a loss, so be it. However, on the off chance that they did succeed, endless glory would await them. Since everyone has agreed, Ill tell you my strategy. After we start the raid, only me, Miss Snow, and the two MTs will battle with the Kobold King. The other melee Jobs are to all stay at a distance. Berserkers, listen to my command to use Charge. Assassins, after giving the Boss a Bleeding effect, immediately distance yourselves and use Bows to attack. The other ranged Jobs should just dish out as much damage as you can. However, pay attention to maintain a distance of 25 yards or above from the Boss. The two Clerics and Druids should focus on healing the MTs, while the Oracles will heal Miss Snow and I, Shi Feng started explaining his strategy, giving Gentle Snow and the others detailed explanation on the method of rotation battle. The rotation battle method was a technique that allowed the weak to win against the strong. It was a technique specifically meant for dealing with Bosses. In Shi Fengs previous life, this method of battle was gradually discovered by some experts a month after Gods Domains opening. These experts then carried out the technique in an actual battle against the Boss of a Dungeon. Unexpectedly, the technique yielded remarkable results. Bosses, which they were previously helpless against, were easily gotten rid of with this technique. Following which, this technique slowly spread out, and within two months time, almost every Guilds elite team members had learned the technique. Right now, if they wished to raid this Lord Rank Kobold King, then they would need to utilize this method of battle. Otherwise, for as many battles as they carried out, they would die an equal amount of deaths. There would be no exceptions. After Shi Fengs explanation ended, everyone entered into the large hall of the mausoleum. The Kobold King, equipped with blue-colored armor, still stood silently in the middle of the hall. "Cola, start the raid. Pay attention to your positioning and set aside the Kobold King for the ranged players. After which, you and I will cooperate to hold off the Boss. When we are both unable to hold it off any longer, Ghost Chop will be responsible for relaying the Boss over and cooperate with Miss Snow to hold it off. After we have stabilized the Boss'' aggro, all ranged players can start dealing damage..." Shi Feng unsheathed his pair of swords, giving out instructions one after the other in a methodical manner. Leave it to me! Cola appeared slightly panicked. However, after having gone through Shi Fengs guidance for a period of time, he gradually began displaying the potential of an apex expert. After everyone was in position, Cola immediately rushed at the Kobold King with his bear-like robust body. However, before he had even covered half the distance, and having yet to alert the Kobold King, he used Divine Shield Strike. Colas shield flew out, transforming into a shooting star as it shot towards the Kobold King. Just as the flying shield was about to hit the Kobold King, the Kobold King abruptly opened its eyes, revealing two blood red orbs. Its mouth opened wide, exposing a sinister, cold smile. With a single draw of its greatsword, the Kobold King sent the shield flying away. The shield did not cause even a single point of damage. Before anybody could be shocked by the Kobold Kings skill, the Kobold King had taken a large stride forward. It reached Cola in the blink of an eye, its greatsword striking downwards. With the arm that was holding onto the shield, Cola blocked against the attack from the greatsword, receiving more than 400 damage. Meanwhile, Colas other hand abruptly tightened its grip around the dagger, and with a yell, he slashed out the dagger, striking at the side of the pitch-black greatsword. _Peng!_ The sword brandished by the Kobold King, due to the offset produced from Colas dagger, had slid off along his shield and pierced into the ground, causing a halt to the Kobold Kings battle rhythm. Beautifully done! Shi Feng appeared behind Cola at this moment. Shi Feng brandished the Crimson Blade, striking at the Kobold Kings greatsword once more, causing the greatsword to sink deeper into the ground. At the same time, Shi Feng cast Chop, using the Abyssal Blade, the sword transformed into a black ray as it pierced at the Kobold Kings neck. This time, they finally caused damage to the Kobold King, with a damage of 193 points appearing above its head. Before Shi Feng could retrieve his swords, the Kobold King had released its grip on its greatsword, sending a punch towards Shi Feng. Switch! Shi Feng yelled. Ghost Chop had long since been waiting at the side. Immediately he sent a slash at the Kobold Kings arm. As a result of the impact, he was sent retreating two steps backward by the Kobold Kings fist with a damage of over 200 points appearing above his head. However, the Kobold King was also forced back, its body nearly losing its balance. Gentle Snow rushed up at this time, her Flame Spirit Greatsword transforming into a sword of fire as she used Flame Slash on a gap in the Kobold Kings armor, dealing 132 damage to it. Soon after, the Kobold King finally managed to stabilize its body. It brandished its greatsword in a fit of rage, casting a Horizontal Slash. However, Cola was a step ahead of it as he forcefully received this Horizontal Slash. As a result, no one else received a single point of damage from the Kobold Kings attack. Cola himself, however, received 560 damage. Fortunately, there were three healers healing him at the same time, bringing his HP from a critical state back up to more than half. Subsequently, Shi Feng and Gentle Snow continuously overlapped their attacks with each other, while Cola and Ghost Chop kept on receiving the damage, and the healers healed them without stopping. In such a way, the team slowly reduced the Kobold Kings HP. After coordinating their attacks for several rounds, Gentle Snow was extremely astonished. She did not think there was such a way to fight against a Boss. She really did not know just how Shi Feng had managed to think up such a technique. However, what shocked everyone even more was the damage caused by Shi Feng. The damage he caused left everyone practically dumbstruck. A single Thundering Flash was able to cause almost 700 total damage; Earth Splitter caused over 400 damage, while his normal attacks each caused over 100 damage. Compared to that, Gentle Snow, who was equipped with a suit of Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment and a Secret-Silver Greatsword, had only managed to deal around 240 damage, even after using her most powerful skill. Seeing such a scene, everyone began to wonder, between Shi Feng and Gentle Snow, just who was actually the Berserker here? However, no one knew that Shi Feng wielded a Magic Weapon in his hands. In addition to the Silvermoon Set Equipment and his damaging skills, which were at Level 4 to Level 5, the damage he could cause would naturally be exaggerated. Ranged players can start attacking now, Shi Feng shouted in the teams chat after feeling that the Boss Hatred had been completely stabilized. At this time, the others were woken up with a start. The mages started reading out incantations, sending out Fireballs and Dark Arrows. Meanwhile, the Rangers continuously fired off arrows from their bows, causing a series of damage to the Kobold King. Amongst all these attacks, Zhao Yueru was the person who dealt the highest damage in a single attack, which was over 100 damage. Following her, Blackie could also deal over 80 damage with each of his Dark Arrows, while the others only dealt 40 to 50 damage. Under Shi Fengs instructions and the constant combination attacks, the Kobold King became helpless. The Kobold King was forced to retreat, step after step, until its HP continuously decreased without pausing. From start to finish, it was constantly forced into a passive state, unable to display its true potential. After being continuously attacked for over ten minutes, the Kobold Kings HP had been reduced down to 30%. Reaching the boundary of entering a Berserk state, the Kobold Kings body started increasing its size, and its muscles inflated. After it goes Berserk, we wont be able to hold on for long. Ranged players stop all your attacks, and MTs prepare to activate your lifesaving skills to escape. Remember to pull the Boss aggro before running. Everyone else should distance yourselves from the Boss. The other Warriors, wait for my command to use Charge. Mages who have restriction skills should all get ready, seeing that the Kobold King was starting to go Berserk, Shi Feng loudly reminded. Immediately, he too distanced himself from the Kobold King. A Lord Rank Boss Berserk was no small matter. If it was not properly dealt with, then the result would be a team-wipe. Now, their chances of successfully killing the Kobold King depended on whether the two MTs were able to survive. 106 Ash Blade 2 Ao! Ao! Ao! The Kobold King let out an angry roar. Multiple shockwaves rolled out and struck the team, causing 60 to 70 damage to everyone with each consecutive wave. Moreover, the mages in the team were constantly forced to retreat backward by each shockwave, having no choice but to lean against a wall. Lowly ants! You dare taint this sacred ground with your presence?! Receive the punishment of death! The Kobold Kings enlarged foot abruptly stomped down, causing the stone ground in a 5-yard radius to crack, and sending debris flying into the air. After seeing this destructive power, the two MTs could not help but have a cold sweat seep down their backs. Fortunately, they had retreated a step earlier. Otherwise, the consequences of receiving that stomp would have been unimaginable. Just as the both of them were still celebrating, the Kobold King tightly gripped onto its greatsword with both its hands. Without warning, it abruptly slashed the greatsword at the two MTs from a distance. A black streak of sword aura sliced through the air, striking across the bodies of the two players, and causing more than 600 damage to each of them. A sword aura area attack? Gentle Snow wrinkled her brows. She did not think that, after the Kobold Kings HP decreased to 30% it would actually switch to attacking from a range. Moreover, the damage it dealt was still so high that even after both MTs had activated their lifesaving skills, reducing the damage they took by 50%. The difficulty of raiding the Kobold King had suddenly increased by many folds. If the Chieftain Rank Kobold King could carry out a similar feat, then it would be quite fortunate if her previous estimates could have even a ten percent success rate. All healers heal the two MTs. The other ranged players, distance yourselves from the two MTs. MTs, pay attention to your positioning. Absolutely do not let yourselves come into range of the Boss. The other Warriors, prepare to use Charge to restrict the Boss, Shi Feng immediately commanded. Before Shi Feng could finish his words, the Kobold King took action. It stepped out from the debris and abruptly rushed towards the Guardian Knight, Cola, who first held its aggro. The Kobold King reached Cola in an instant. The Kobold King swung down its raised sword, the sword bringing along a fierce gale as it descended. Meanwhile, Cola, who had suffered over 600 damage from the previous attack, did not possess even half of his total HP. If he received this attack right now, he would die with 100% certainty. Following the descent of the greatsword, a loud boom resounded, and a fierce gale enveloped the entire hall. Eh? Why am I still alive? Cola peeped open his eyes and discovered that his surroundings had not turn pitch-black. Instead, he saw a familiar back standing in front of him. He immediately shouted in surprise, Brother Feng! Run, quickly! Although Shi Feng had Parried the attack with both his swords, the Kobold King was already prepared to swing out its sword a second time. Unable to use Parry any longer, Shi Feng was left with no choice but to use out one of his lifesaving skills, Defensive Blade. Cola dared not stay any longer, hurriedly running away. Meanwhile, the healing spells from the four healers only now landed upon Colas body, recovering him back to his full HP. After running away for about two yards, Cola turned his head to the sound of stone bricks exploding in his ears and saw clouds of dust rising into the air. Following which, Shi Feng ran out from the dust cloud, not daring to stay even half a second longer. After all, the Berserk Kobold King possessed the capability of instant-killing him. Just after Shi Feng ran out of the dust cloud, the Kobold King was already hot on his heels. However, its target was not Shi Feng, but the escaping Cola. Use Charge to block it! Shi Feng naturally would not let the Kobold King have its way. Immediately after Shi Feng commanded, the three spectating Berserkers started using Charge in succession. The first Charge only caused the Kobold King to pause slightly. Following it, the second Charge caused it to retreat by a single step, while the third Charge made it retreat by two steps. Although the Kobold King did not enter a Fainted state, it was sufficient just by having the knockback effect. After they finished using Charge, the Berserkers immediately got out of the way. However, one of them was a tad bit slower, and the sword aura coming from the Kobold Kings Horizontal Slash brushed past him. Instantly, the Berserkers HP fell down to zero, his body falling flat on the ground. The shorter the distance, the greater the damage the Kobold Kings sword aura attack caused. Within a distance of just two to three yards, a single strike could instant-kill a full HP MT, not to mention a Berserker whose HP was inferior to an MTs. However, the Berserkers death was still a worthwhile sacrifice. At the very least, the felled Berserker had managed to earn the team some time, allowing the two MTs to have a better chance of survival. The mages had also started using restriction skills to restrict the Boss, allowing the two MTs to be more scared than hurt[1]. Amongst the skills that best restricted the Kobold King was Blackies Evil Whip; the Kobold King had wasted quite some time in order to escape from those thorns. The Frozen Nova from the other mages had all failed to induce a Frozen effect on the Kobold King. The mages had also used it to reduce the Kobold Kings speed, though the effects were minimal. Time passed bit by bit. Although Cola and Ghost Chop were chased all over the place by the Kobold King, fortunately, both of them were still able to stay alive. Finally, the Kobold Kings Berserk ended, returning it to its original state. However, its HP recovery speed had increased considerably when it went Berserk. Its current HP was restored by more than 50%, which was over 60,000 HP! Attack it in rotation! After the Kobold Kings Berserk had ended, Shi Feng naturally would not give the Boss any leeway, immediately starting their retaliation. With the four of them attacking in rotation, the Kobold King was once more placed in a disadvantageous position. Furthermore, the four of them were becoming more practiced with carrying out joint attacks. After a few minutes, the Kobold Kings HP had fallen to 20%. This time, the Kobold King did not go Berserk. Instead, it abandoned its greatsword, pulling out two blood-red, one-handed longswords that had runes carved into them. It then began madly brandishing its swords. The Kobold King transformed into a tornado that engulfed everything, and anything that came into contact with its blades turned to ashes. This move was one of the Kobold Kings ultimate: Blade Storm. All Berserkers use Charge, then immediately retreat! Mages, use all of your restricting skills, and pay attention to avoid the tornado! Stay at least 10 yards from it! Shi Feng immediately shouted. After battling up to this point, everyone in the team had become extremely trusting of Shi Feng. Without hesitation, the Berserkers immediately used Charge. All the Warriors, including Gentle Snow, rushed up to the Kobold King, ramming their bodies at the Kobold King. The mages all used Ice Sphere, while Blackie used Evil Whip. The seven thorn vines bound both legs of the Kobold King, immediately reducing the Kobold Kings speed greatly. The power of its rotation was also significantly weakened. Although the speed of the Kobold Kings Blade Storm had slowed down a lot, and its might reduced slightly, there were still a few players engulfed by it, turning into meat paste in less than two seconds. Within the Blade Storms duration of 15 seconds, out of the twenty players within the team, six had already died. Amongst them, there were two Berserkers, one Assassin, one Cleric, one Ranger, and one Swordsman. Meanwhile, the Kobold King still had 10% of its total HP. Seeing that the two MTs had their HP hanging by a thread, the Kobold King followed up by slashing its two swords at both their necks. Just as the two MTs were about to meet their makers, Shi Feng appeared behind the Kobold King. Abyssal Bind! Thundering Flash! Double Chop! Nine pitch-black chains bound the Kobold King, preventing it from moving even a single step. After saving the two MTs, Shi Feng followed up with a series of slashes on the Kobold Kings weak point. The speed at which he drew his swords was frighteningly fast. Gentle Snow could not help but be shocked at Shi Fengs sword drawing speed and accuracy. However, she did not halt her actions as she continued slashing at the Kobold King with her greatsword. Within a short three seconds, everyone had taken away close to 4,000 HP from the Kobold King, plunging its HP down to a critical point. Ao! The Kobold King was truly enraged now. Following its roar, the entire hall started trembling. This was the Kobold Kings final ultimate, Deaths Intimidation. The skill causes all enemies in a radius of 50 yards to fall into fear, unable to attack for a duration of 10 seconds. Suddenly, everyone had fallen into fear, blankly standing still and unable to move. At this sight, the Kobold King revealed a sneer that resembled a humans. It brandished its twin swords as it began a massacre. Within an instant, it had taken the lives of a Berserker and Assassin. Striking out, sword after sword, the two MTs were killed off as well. Meanwhile, not even 4 seconds had passed since the Kobold King had used Deaths Intimidation. If the Kobold King was allowed to continue having its way, everyone would be dead when the 10 seconds were up. After half of the entire team was dead, Shi Feng became the Kobold Kings target... Shi Feng was finally able to move. Previously, he had activated his extraordinary physique[2], his resistance to fear became higher than the average player. So, the effective duration of the fear induced was also reduced by quite a lot. However, the Kobold Kings sword was already descending. Unable to avoid it, Shi Feng bellowed as he activated Life Shield. At the most critical moment, just as the Kobold Kings greatsword was about to land on Shi Feng, the Abyssal Blade had managed to block off this attack. Following which, Shi Fengs entire person was sent flying from it, with a damage of over 640 points appearing above his head. Fortunately, Shi Feng had over 1,000 HP right now. In addition to the Life Shield absorbing some of the damage he took, he had managed to survive the Kobold Kings attack. However, the Life Shield was also destroyed by this attack. Seeing that Shi Feng did not die, the Kobold King became flabbergasted. It then rushed towards Shi Feng, wanting to give him the final blow. Phantom Kill! Nine Dragons Slash! Shi Fengs doppelganger used Parry to block against the Kobold Kings attack. Simultaneously, the doppelganger activated Defensive Blade and was able to delay the Kobold King for quite some time. Meanwhile, the Kobold King was receiving continuous attacks from the nine Abyssal Blades. Its HP steadily fell, leaving it with only 1% remaining. Seeing that the Cooldown for his own Defensive Blade was finished, Shi Feng as well activated the skill. From a distance of ten yards, Shi Feng started attacking the Kobold King with sword auras. Damages of over 100 points kept on appearing above the Kobold Kings head, taking its HP away bit by bit. After the Kobold King had managed to get rid of the doppelganger, its remaining HP did not even reach 300 points. Suddenly, it threw out both of its swords, sending them piercing towards Shi Feng. Unfortunately, both swords were blocked off by Shi Fengs Defensive Blade. However, the Kobold King had yet to give up. It turned into a streak of shadow, appearing in front of Shi Feng in the blink of an eye and sending a slap at Shi Feng with its claws. At this moment, Shi Fengs Thundering Flash had finished its Cooldown. Blocking the sharp claws with the Crimson Blade, Shi Feng slashed at the Kobold Kings neck with the Abyssal Blade, the blade turning into a streak of lightning as it struck at its target. Peng! Shi Feng was blasted towards a wall, with only a thread of his HP remaining. On the other hand, the Kobold King lay on the floor, motionless! Shi Feng had also abruptly risen by a level, reaching Level 7. A large pile of items dropped. Amongst these items, there was one that was unusually dazzling. The item released a demonic silver glow, bringing a chill to those who laid their eyes on it. Ash Blade! Shi Feng was shocked after seeing this item. This thing was the legendary item of Dark Moon Graveyard. In Shi Fengs previous life, he had only heard rumors of it, and never actually saw it before. * * * TL Notes: [1]to be more scared than hurt (о): a Chinese idiom referring to something seemingly frightening/scary/soul-stirring, yet carries no danger.? 107 Moment of Glory After the Kobold Kings death, everyones fear was similarly dispelled. They all regained their freedom of movement. However, at that moment, there were only six members alive in the entire team. When everyone looked at the corpse of the Kobold King laying on the floor, they all had expressions of shock on their faces. Even Gentle Snow was baffled at this result. Logically speaking, they should not have been able to survive through the fear state. _So, just how did the Kobold King die?_ However, when she looked at Shi Feng standing beside the Kobold Kings corpse, and furthermore, at the scant amount of HP he had remaining, realization struck Gentle Snow. Needless to say, Shi Feng was definitely the one who had killed the Kobold King. The others were shocked into speechlessness. _In such a situation, just what method did Shi Feng use that_ _enable_ _d him to kill the Kobold King?_ Brother Feng, you are too awesome! You killed the Boss, even under such a situation. You are literally my idol right now! Blackie excitedly said as he looked at Shi Feng with worshipful eyes. The First Clear of the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Valley. This was definitely a moment for excitement. This signified that they would be leaving their names on the Glory List for all eternity. In the future, as long as there were players wanting to enter the Dark Moon Graveyard, their names would be on display for these players to behold and revere. At that time, they would become famous even if they didnt want to be! Alright, quickly revive the others. Shi Feng, who was currently sitting on the ground, did not become too excited; he only pointed towards the members that had died. It was not nice to let them continue laying on the ground. At Shi Fengs comment, Gentle Snow finally managed to recover from her shock. She looked towards the only surviving healer, Xiao Yueer, and said, Yueer, quickly revive them. En. Xiao Yueer nodded her head, starting to cast Revival. Several minutes later, all the team members were finally resurrected. After Zhao Yueru was revived, she vacantly asked, Yueer, was the team wiped out? Nope. We cleared it, Xiao Yueer faintly smiled. Ah as expected, it was still a team-wipe... Zhao Yueru shook her head, inwardly lamenting. If everyone present possessed a dispelling skill, then at the very least they would not end up being completely wiped out. To bear witness to a low HP Kobold King obtaining victory in the end Xiao Yueer could not help but let out a laugh. If she did not personally witness the Kobold King dying, she too would not have believed it. Hence, she loudly proclaimed, Sister Yueru, the Boss is already dead! Impossible. None of us has a skill to dispel fear, Zhao Yueru said with confidence, Even if we wait for the fear to end, the remaining members would not be able to get rid of the Boss! If you dont believe it, look over there. The Kobold King was killed off by Big Brother Ye Feng in the end. You dont know just how dangerous of a situation Big Brother Ye Feng was in at the time. He went all out in the last strike, intending to die together with the Kobold King. In the end, he barely survived with only 16 HP remaining, Xiao Yueer pointed towards the corpse of the Kobold King in the distance, admiration in her voice as she recounted Shi Fengs feats. Zhao Yueru turned her head around Sure enough, it was the corpse of the Kobold King. Zhao Yueru tilted her head, her beautiful eyes sizing up Shi Fengs back. She discovered that Shi Feng was truly a mysterious person. The way he had commanded the team before was as if a veteran general of many years commanding his team. Every line of command he gave out was extremely precise, and even the positioning of each member was clearly stated. Just how was he an independent player? Even a team leader of a Guild who often went Dungeon-diving would not be able to replicate his feats. Shi Feng was simply inconceivable. Now, Shi Feng had even landed the final strike that defeated the Kobold King, his strength powerful to the degree of leaving others speechless. Observing capabilities, commanding capabilities, battle techniques Shi Feng was practically standing at the peak in all these aspects. Shi Feng had broken every understanding she had of him. Truly an evil bastard Zhao Yueru lightly bit down on her lips, her heart filled with displeasure as she looked at Shi Feng. She felt that Shi Feng was definitely toying with her. She could not help but wish that she could give Shi Feng a few bites to relieve her anger. However, Zhao Yueru only had thoughts of doing so. She would not truly carry out such an action. Only after everyone had gathered did Shi Feng begin to tidy up the loot from the Kobold King. Looking at loot, each and every one of the team members anxiously waited for Shi Feng to complete his task. These things were all items that only dropped from the Boss of the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. Every one of them was completely priceless. Im done arranging them. There are a total of eight pieces of equipment and six other items. Amongst these are two pieces of Secret-Silver Weapons: a Level 5 Greatsword and a Level 5 Shield. There are also two independent pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment: one is for Clerics, the other is for Swordsmen. The remaining four pieces of equipment are all pieces of Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. We will decide by Rolling if more than one person needs the same piece of equipment, Shi Feng gave a general introduction of the items. At the same time, he shared the information for everyone to observe. [Runic Sword] (Secret-Silver Rank, Two-handed Sword) Level 5 Equipment Requirement: Strength 30 Attack Power +45 Strength +9, Endurance +8 Attack Speed +1 When attacking, there is a 10% chance to cause a heavy impact effect and 10% armor destruction effect. [Runic Shield] (Secret-Silver Rank) Level 5 Equipment Requirement: Strength 23 Defense +69 Block Rate: 35% Strength +6, Endurance +10 Additional Skill- Tough Shield: When activated, reduces the damage taken from the front by 30%. Duration of 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes Everyone was stunned after seeing the Attributes on these equipment pieces. Every piece of equipment was a top-tier item. Amongst them, the Runic Sword and Runic Shield were the absolute best. If they were to be sold right now, they would sell for 80 Silver Coins, at the very least. However, they definitely would not sell any of these items. With good equipment in hand, they would have an easier time leveling up later on. Only an idiot would be dumb enough to sell them. Following which, everyone on the team began madly Rolling for points as they competed over the equipment. In the end, the Runic Sword fell into the hands of Gentle Snow, while the Runic Shield went to Cola. Shi Feng also obtained a Secret-Silver Pauldron, greatly increasing his Attributes once more. Then next would be the other items. We will hold an internal auction for them. Highest bidder wins, Shi Feng said. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, the members of Ouroboros felt slightly embarrassed. They knew that the worth of the other items surpassed these pieces. It was especially true for that dazzling, broken blade called Ash Blade. Just judging from the introduction of that item was enough to excite a person. Moreover, there was also a piece of Advanced Whetstone Recipe and a few more rare materials. Every one of them was priceless. However, if it were not for Shi Feng, just how would they be able to even clear the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard? Furthermore, they had obtained so much top-tier equipment, greatly improving themselves. Right now, they were already leading the other Guilds by a large margin. So, how could they not feel shame fighting over these items with Shi Feng? Gentle Snow had naturally considered this point. Moreover, she had wanted to pull Shi Feng into Ouroboros herself, so naturally she had to deepen her relationship with Shi Feng. Hence, she looked towards Shi Feng, taking the initiative as she said, We were only able to conquer the Dark Moon Graveyard due to your great contribution. We have already received enough, so the other items will all belong to you. I cant even begin to thank you enough. The other members of Ouroboros all nodded their heads in quick succession. Shi Feng was slightly astonished. He did not think that Gentle Snow would actually give up on the auction. Although, he also was not afraid of having an auction. He had plenty of Gold Coins inside of his bag, enough to buy out both the Advanced Whetstone Recipe and the Ash Blade. Since Gentle Snow did not wish to compete, he naturally would not refuse her offer. He stowed all of the items into his bag. With the Dungeon conquered and the loot distributed, Shi Feng walked towards a corner of the mausoleum. He then activated the mechanism to trigger the Teleportation Gate. Everyone walked into the Teleportation Gate, disappearing from the large hall of the mausoleum one after another. Just after everyone had left from the Dark Moon Graveyard White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with 10 Reputation Points in White River City. Red Leaf Town Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with 30 Reputation Points in Red Leaf Town. System: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with one Mysterious Treasure Chest, 50,000 EXP, and 10 Glory Points. 108 Shaking the Four Corners Outside the Dark Moon Graveyard This Dungeon is just impossible! Without an average level of 10, who would be able to clear it?! Flaming Tiger who had just revived out of the Dungeon cursed. In all three times he had entered the Dark Moon Graveyard, not once had he even found the location of the Dungeons Boss before his entire team dropped dead. This Dungeon was just toying with them. Everywhere inside the Dungeon was filled with Elite monsters. Even if they killed some, there was still an endless stream of monsters to slowly grind them to death. It was absolutely frustrating. Zhang Luowei raised his thick brows, his complexion gloomy as he looked back toward the Teleportation Gate of the Dark Moon Graveyard in the distance. With such lack of progress, it had long since passed the point of just making a loss. If this situation continued, it would be detrimental to the teams future development. Everyone rest up for awhile. We cant continue wasting our time here. Im guessing that the progress of the other Guilds isnt that good either. They should have died several times as well, already. Let''s take this chance when the other Guilds are focusing on the Dark Moon Graveyard to raid the Level 5 Party Dungeon, and Lava Cavern, in separate groups. In any case, they wont be able to conquer this Team Dungeon. We can also use this time to increase our levels quickly, Zhang Luowei said, choosing to give up on the Dark Moon Graveyard. Although leaving their names on the Glory List would be a quick way to raise the fame and influence of their Guild, it was an entirely different matter if everyone was similarly unable to conquer the Dungeon. The only other thing they could compete in were in terms of average level and equipment of the Guilds elite members, and also, in terms of who could set foot into White River City the earliest. In fact, it wasnt just the members of Shadow that were faced with such a situation. All the Guilds in the entire White River City were currently trapped in this suffering known as Team Dungeons. Nobody had thought that the Team Dungeons difficulty would be so high, leaving them utterly helpless. The virtual reality games in the past usually had less monsters than players inside of Dungeons. In Gods Domain, however, the number of monsters inside the Dungeons greatly outnumbered that of the players. It was a number that was simply impossible to cope with. Even if they increased the number of MTs and healers they brought with, it would still be a useless endeavor. After some time had passed, the second rate Guild, Assassins Alliance, had also died out from the Dungeon with dejection covering their faces. Whats gotten into all of you? Its just a few deaths. Dont forget, for each time we die, we will gain significant progress. We will be able to clear the Dungeon sooner or later, so stop feeling dejected. Right now, we should try to think up a method to get through the fog. After some rest, we will try to raid the Dungeon one more time today, Stabbing Heart said inside the team chat. Being encouraged by Stabbing Heart like this, the team members regained quite a lot of their confidence. They all started voicing out their ideas and suggestions, intending to conquer the Dark Moon Graveyard at all costs. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with 10 Reputation Points in White River City. Red Leaf Town Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with 30 Reputation Points in Red Leaf Town. Just as the various Guilds were considering whether they should give up raiding the Dark Moon Graveyard, two consecutive System Announcements immediately attracted the attention of every Guild within White River City. Meanwhile, when the players of Red Leaf Town heard of this System Announcement, they were first filled with shock, but they were soon cheering and shouting in worship. Ouroboros is just too awesome! Theyre practically inhuman! I heard that the Snow Goddess was the one who led the Dungeon raiding team. My Goddess is just too powerful! The other Guilds havent even cleared the Normal Mode, but the Goddess has already cleared Hell Mode! This wont do; I want to join Ouroboros! I would be satisfied even if I could become the Goddess servant! The players in Red Leaf Town had all started conversing about Ouroboros and the Snow Goddess. Aside from worship, they were also filled with awe. Simultaneously, the entire region of White River City was sent into a cacophony of noise. What kind of joke is this? We cant even manage to find the Boss of the Normal Mode, so just how did Ouroboros manage to even clear the Hell Mode? the Guild Leader of Emerald Dragon Gate slammed on the desk as he cursed. Could the Team Dungeon in Red Leaf Town possibly be easier? Then Stabbing Heart should have, at the very least, cleared the Normal Mode already, the Guild Leader of the Assassins Alliance entered deep thought after looking at the System Announcement. While all the large Guilds were still having headaches over obtaining a Town Region Announcement for themselves, as if trying to take their lives, a City Region Announcement had appeared. The upper echelons of the various Guilds suddenly felt an immense pressure weighing on them, pushing them to accelerate their raiding progress quickly. However, such a pressure did not come from the fact that the Snow Goddess had managed to clear the Hell Mode of a Team Dungeon. Instead, it came from the fact that the influence of the System Announcement was simply too huge. In merely a moment, the System Announcement had placed Ouroboros at the summit of White River City. Players who were new to Gods Domain did not possess extensive knowledge about the strengths of the various Guilds in existence. However, what they did know was that Ouroboros was definitely the best Guild in White River City. They couldnt help but admit that the Snow Goddess performance was just too dazzling. Compared to the Guild Leader of Ouroboros himself, who had a large number of experts under him in Star-Moon City, the Snow Goddess was much more formidable. A short moment after the appearance of this System Announcement, all the upper echelons of the Guilds within Star-Moon Kingdom discovered that they had underestimated the Snow Goddess ability. Fortunately, the Snow Goddess was not tasked around the area of Star-Moon City. Otherwise, the consequences for them would be unimaginable. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow herself remained unaware of what was currently happening in the various regions of Gods Domain. She was still busy looking at the Glory List together with Shi Feng and the others. The Glory List, which was made up of obsidian stone, was three meters in height and two meters in width. On it, the names of Gentle Snow and the other team members were already carved. Moreover, their names were carved at an extraordinarily eye-catching location, at the very top of the Glory List. On the first line of the Glory List, the word Ouroboros was carved in big, scarlet characters. Meanwhile, below Ouroboros, the names of every team member were recorded in smaller sized, silvery-white characters. Brother Feng, look! Were on the list! Were on the list! Blackie was close to shedding tears of excitement after seeing his own name up on the Glory List. After playing games for so many years, not once had he ever enjoyed such an honor. However, it wasnt just Blackie who behaved in such a way. The other members of Shi Fengs party were similarly excited. They all rejoiced at being able to follow after Shi Feng, becoming official members of Zero Wing Workshop. Meanwhile, the various Guilds standing in the distance all looked towards the Glory List with eyes full of envy. For as long as future players arrived at the Dark Moon Graveyard, they would inevitably see these names, giving their admiration and worship. On the other hand, the upper echelons of the various Guilds present had instead looked towards the icy cold, Gentle Snow, expressions of respect and helplessness appearing on their faces. Everyone was clear about the difficulty of the Dark Moon Graveyard. Absolutely none of them would think that the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard was easier than the Normal Mode. At the very least, the difficulty in Hell Mode would be several times higher. However, despite all odds, the team led by Gentle Snow had succeeded in raiding it. Moreover, she had even brought along a few independent players instead of bringing along the strongest team in her Guild. The Snow Goddess had clearly surpassed them in terms of leadership and personal strength by leaps and bounds. They were on two completely different levels. Up to this point, these upper echelons had all begun to think that their luck was just too poor. Being tasked in the same Town as the Snow Goddess had sealed their fates at becoming merely the grass that sets off the color of her flower. We will need to wait three more days before being able to enter the Dark Moon Graveyard again. During this time, would you be interested in joining us in raiding the Goblin Factory? Gentle Snow earnestly invited Shi Feng. Although Gentle Snows voice was not loud, the outside of the Dark Moon Graveyard was extremely quiet. Even from a distance, her voice could very clearly be heard. The upper echelons of the various Guilds were all dumbfounded. Just who was this Shi Feng exactly? The Snow Goddess was actually inviting him from one Dungeon raid to another. Could the Snow Goddess have possibly fallen for him? However, why would the highly haughty Snow Goddess fall for such an unattractive brat? Moreover, the person did not possess even the slightest hint of an expert. Meanwhile, standing at a distance, Flaming Tigers eyes had nearly popped out of his sockets, going crazy from envy. Not only was Shi Feng able to be in the same team as the Snow Goddess, he was even able to leave his name on the Glory List. Flaming Tigers hatred for Shi Feng immediately increased by hundreds of folds. Just as everyone was shocked at such a scene, hundreds of players suddenly appeared and surrounded Shi Feng and his team, each and every one of them filled with a murderous intent. Brat, we meet again, Ironsword Lion slowly walked out from the tide of players, sending Shi Feng a cold glare as he sneered. 109 Domineering Ironsword This moment Ironsword Lion had waited for too long. He was unable to suppress the excitement in his heart. Previously, after failing the Dungeon raid, he chose to give up on the endeavor. Instead, he camped outside the Dark Moon Graveyard. However, he was greatly shocked when Shi Feng and the others safely exited the Dungeon, followed by the emergence of the System Announcements Although Martial Union had entered the Dark Moon Graveyard, they did not gain a single thing from it. On the other hand, not only had Shi Fengs team manage to clear the Dungeon, but it was also the Hard Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. Although Ironsword Lion was a brute, he still knew that the gains from clearing the Dark Moon Graveyard would not be meager. Needless to say, the harvest from Hell Mode would be even more astonishing. When Martial Union first set foot in Gods Domain, they did not possess any significant wealth or resources. Moreover, they were unfamiliar with a game such as Gods Domain. Developing a Guild was extremely challenging. They had to grow by competing over Elite monsters, killing well-equipped players for equipment and money, and raiding Party Dungeons. The larger their Guild became, the more wealth and resources they needed. However, they were unable to find any sources of income, only relying on robbery to sustain their Guilds operation. Now that Shi Feng and his team had cleared the Dungeon, it was undoubtedly good news for Ironsword Lion. Not only would he be able to obtain revenge, but he would also be able to make a huge profit out of it, killing two birds with one stone. Boss Ironsword, look at the shield on their Guardian Knight. Not only are there runes carved on it, but the shield is also giving off a faint violet hue that only Secret-Silver Equipment possess. That is definitely equipment they obtained from the Dark Moon Graveyard. Boss, look at that brats pauldrons. It is also giving off a violet hue. It is a Secret-Silver Equipment as well. The subordinates behind Ironsword Lion salivated as they pointed towards the equipment on the bodies of Shi Fengs party members. The worst equipment currently worn by Shi Fengs party members were Bronze Ranked, while there were even some who had Mysterious-Iron Equipment. However, they clearly did not possess the equipment before they entered the Dungeon. Hence, they must have obtained them from within the Dark Moon Graveyard, which also meant that all of them were Level 5 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and Secret-Silver Equipment. Every piece of the equipment was priceless. Boss, if we were to steal all of the equipment and sell them, it would solve the problem of developing our Guild, Drifting Blood looked towards Shi Fengs equipment, giggling as he spoke. Ironsword Lion nodded, thinking that Drifting Bloods words made sense. The main reason their Guild was developing slowly right now was due to their lack of funds. If they stole all of the equipment worn by Shi Fengs party, then the problem of their lack of funds would be solved. Although Shi Fengs strength was not bad, even rising up to Level 7, when faced with over a hundred players, what more could he do? Brat, dont even think of escaping today. Be smart and hand over all your equipment, compensate me with 10 Gold Coins, and let me kill you back to Level 0. Then, Ill consider this matter settled. Otherwise, prepare to delete your account and start all over, Ironsword Lion glared at Shi Feng, sneering. Shi Feng looked at his surroundings, discovering that Ironsword Lion had brought over 130 players with him. Amongst them, a majority of the players were around Level 3, their equipment terribly poor. There were only slightly more than 30 players who had reached Level 5, while the equipment they were using was all Bronze Equipment. Meanwhile, Ironsword Lion was the strongest out of all of these players. He was wearing a suit of Level 4 Bronze Set Equipment. In a moment, employ a hit-and-run tactic as we run towards the forest. Their numbers are too great right now, so it would be bad if we get surrounded, Shi Feng said inside the teams chat. Good! My hands have been itching to PK someone for quite some time now, Blackie rubbed his fists as he spoke. The other members of Shi Fengs party all started laughing. They had long since wanted to test out the prowess of their new equipment. They intended to kill to their heart''s desire. If they could each kill two players, it would be a two-for-one profit. If they could kill three or more, they would make a huge profit. At this moment, Gentle Snow stood out from the team and looked towards Ironsword Lion, softly saying, Ye Feng is a friend of mine. I wonder if you can give Ouroboros some face and forget about this matter? Everyone from Ouroboros could already tell that the players from Martial Union were here for revenge, Shi Feng being their target. They wondered just what Shi Feng had done to enrage them. Was he trying to battle an entire Guild just by himself? As expected, every expert would have their own unique personalities. Even Shi Feng was no exception to this fact. However, Martial Union was just an unrated Guild. Since Ouroboros had already shown themselves, as long as the upper echelons of Martial Union had some brains, they should naturally know to back off. After all, Ouroboros was much much stronger than Martial Union. Move aside, stupid hoe! I dont give a damn about Ouroboros. If you wish to help this brat, Ill take care of you all the same! Ironsword Lion cursed in a bad mood. Although Gentle Snow was indeed a world-shaking beauty, the equipment she wore was even more dazzling. It was especially true for the black runic greatsword in her hands. Just a simple glance at it and one could tell that it was a high quality Secret-Silver Weapon. It just so happened that he was also in need of such a weapon. Moreover, if he got rid of Gentle Snow, he would be able to spread his name throughout Gods Domain. It was killing multiple birds with a single stone. However, what Ironsword Lion did not know was that, because of his casual remark, the entire Dark Moon Graveyard had entered a solemn state. Each and every player present looked towards Ironsword Lion in shock, inwardly admiring Ironsword Lion for his courage. Then, does that mean that you intend to start a war with Ouroboros? Gentle Snows expression sunk, her tone abruptly turned chilly as she asked. Although Gentle Snow casually spoke those words, the frostiness her words gave off could be felt, even by those uninvolved. The members of Ouroboros similarly remained silent, not daring to let out even a sound as they watched Gentle Snow. Gentle Snows angered appearance none of them had seen it before, nor did they wished to see it. Right now, however, there was a fool that actually dared to curse at Gentle Snow. This was the first time they had witnessed such a scene. They no longer dared imagine what would happen. Bitch, the others may fear your Ouroboros, but not me! Ironsword Lion licked his lips, his eyes filled with greed as he looked at the attractive equipment on Gentle Snows body. However, he remembered that he wanted to kill Shi Feng the most. He then turned his sights towards Shi Feng, loudly saying, Brat, dont think that, with a bitch protecting you, youll be able to survive through today. Rest assured, I wont let either of you get away. Brothers, go! Kill them and well share all of their equipment! Suddenly, over a hundred players rushed at Shi Feng and his team, murder in their eyes. Ironsword Lion even took the lead as he charged towards Shi Feng, no longer able to hold back his treasured sword. Only by drenching it with Shi Fengs blood would it be able to achieve satisfaction. Hit-and-run as we head towards the forest. Dont overextend yourselves, Shi Feng unsheathed his pair of swords, once more commanding through the team chat. Just after Blackie and the others had taken a few steps, they suddenly discovered that Gentle Snow and the members of Ouroboros remained unmoving, intending to face the players from Martial Union head on. They truly did not know what was going through Gentle Snows head. However, since Gentle Snow was sticking up for Shi Feng, naturally, Shi Feng could not escape into the forest to carry out guerilla warfare. Blackie and the others also looked towards Shi Feng with questioning gazes. Shi Feng sighed, helplessly saying, Cola, you hold the front, and remember not to extend yourself too far out. Drowsy Sloth, pay attention to healing the others. Blackie, use Hell Flame in the areas with more people. Gluttonous Mouse, stay behind and kill the ones with low HP. Lonely Snow, youre with me. Before both sides collided with each other; the enemys magic had already struck at Shi Feng and the others. Fireballs and Frost Arrows struck at the team, one after another. Ghost Chop stood in the front as he held off against the attacks. Cola, as well, rushed up in time. He raised the Runic Shield and activated Tough Shield. At the same time as the enemy magic landed on both Ghost Chop and Colas shields, the heals coming from behind them similarly landed. Each of the magical attacks caused -20 to -30 damage to Ghost Chop, whereas Cola only received damages of over -10 points. The highest damage Cola received was only over -30 points. Moreover, the attack was from a Level 5 Elementalist who was fully geared in Bronze Equipment. As the heals landed on the two MTs, both their HPs were instantly recovered to full. The members of Martial Union were immediately dumbstruck after seeing this sight. It was especially true for the Level 5 Elementalist. Normally, a single Flame Explosion from him could deal over -100 damage to an MT. However, when used on Cola, the skill only caused around -30 damage. Colas Defense was just too high. 110 Drenching Dark Moon in Blood Cola and Ghost Chops Defenses were just too high. In addition, the four healers behind them were similarly strong. The attacks from the mages of Martial Union had absolutely no effect on the two MTs. As for attacking the other members, with the two MTs blocking upfront, Martial Union had no way of attacking them at all. Dont panic; just keep killing. We outnumber them by six to one. Well kill them, even if we have to throw bodies at them. Assassins, circle around and kill the healers. Ironsword Lion was similarly having a headache towards the two MTs. However, his many years of battle experience allowed him to quickly think of a solution. At that moment, the team announcement for Ouroboros rang out. System: Team Martial Union has initiated an attack against your team. For the next two hours, all members within the team are be able to freely retaliate without receiving any punishment. Without the need to worry about becoming a Red Player, everyone became much more motivated. You dare initiate a war against us Ouroboros? None of you know the immensity of heaven and earth! All of you, die! The Flame Witch, Zhao Yueru, could finally display her frightening might. After her hand traced out the final incantation in the air, one of her ultimate skill, Frostflame Explosions, activated. Magic struck Martial Unions MT, causing a series of damages over -200 points and instantly reduced his HP to a critical level. However, shortly after, the healers of Martial Union quickly pulled their MTs HP back up. Fire Dragons Roar! Zhao Yueru revealed a smile as she finished chanting her incantation. She lightly pointed a finger at that MT, causing the fire mana in her surroundings to gather at the tip of her finger. In the blink of an eye, a gigantic fire dragon appeared and rushed at that MT, devouring him whole. Even with over half of his HP remaining, the MT of Martial Union instantly died. Ss! the melee players of Martial Union all sucked in a cold breath. The MT that had just fallen was Martial Unions core MT. He was equipped with a complete set of Level 4 Bronze Set Equipment, and he was also using a Level 5 Bronze Shield. The top mages within the Guild could only cause -80 to -90 damage to him. Now, even though there were healers healing him, he was still killed in two moves. Just how high was that female Elementalists damage? During Martial Unions momentary pause, Blackie had finished chanting the incantation of Hell Flame. Immediately, pillars of green colored flame appeared amongst the areas with a high density of players. The pillars of flame that shot towards the sky caused over -300 damage each second to every player, and within an instant, over ten players lost their lives. The players from Martial Union were all dumbfounded at this sight. A single spell killed over ten players. Just how were they supposed to contend against this? Dont be afraid! Spread out a bit! Theyll be finished as long as we can get close to them! Ironsword Lion shouted confidently. The members of Martial Union felt what Ironsword Lion said was logical. They then continued charging towards the group from Ouroboros, starting a melee battle. The players from Martial Union were many, and very quickly, they surrounded everyone from Ouroboros. Gentle Snow raised her sword, immediately using Charge to send three players flying. With a wave of the Runic Sword, Gentle Snow used Cleave, dealing over -450 damage to the six Level 3 players that rushed at her. As a result, all six of those players directly fell. The players from Martial Union did not know just how frightening a Berserker with 50 Strength was. With just 20 Strength, a Berserker could snap a Common Weapon in half with only their bare hands. If a Berserker had 50 Strength, one could just imagine how frightening they were After killing the first wave of players, Gentle Snow rushed headlong into the crowd. Like a flood dragon entering the ocean, Gentle Snow wreaked havoc amidst Martial Union. A fierce gale unfolded as Gentle Snow used Whirlwind Slash. The players within a 5-yard radius around her were all sent flying upwards, and damages of over -500 points appeared above their heads. The players crashed heavily into the ground, becoming deader than dead. The healers standing at the backlines could not even manage to heal them before they were slaughtered. The players from Martial Union who surrounded Gentle Snow were scared to a tremble. The aura Gentle Snow emanated was just too frightening, snatching away their courage. As for the other players from Martial Union, every one of them were still valiantly attacking, using their skills on the members of Ouroboros. However, each of their attacks only managed to cause -40 to -50 damage. On the other hand, a single hit from the players of Ouroboros took away over half of their HP; just two hits left them dead, and not even the healers could manage to save them in time. The players from Martial Union quickly discovered a problem, that, although they had the advantage of numbers on their side, the majority of them were all new players to Gods Domain. In other words, they were noobs. Not only was the difference in their levels huge, the gap in their equipment was even more ridiculous. Only the elites of Martial Union could barely contend with the members of Ouroboros. Meanwhile, on the side of Ouroboros, there was a beauty of a Cleric that always gave out a Heal and Truth Shield at the most crucial of moments, saving the members of Ouroboros from death. As a result, the members of Martial Union went mad with frustration. However, even though they wished to kill off this Cleric, the person, herself, was constantly being protected by two Assassins. As long as any player rushed at the group, a chain of attacks from the two Assassins would massacre them. In the end, the members of Martial Union were caught in a stalemate. They could neither advance nor retreat. All Assassins use Stealth and get rid of their healers! Without healers, their deaths are all but guaranteed! Ironsword Lion bellowed in the team chat. If half a dozen Assassins from Martial Union could sneak over with Stealth, they could easily kill off a Cleric if they joined hands with each other. Drifting Blood, where is that brat? I want to personally kill him myself, Ironsword Lion asked in a rage. He glanced at the surroundings, but failed to discover Shi Fengs figure at all. Their losses from this battle today would definitely be huge, and all of it was due to Shi Feng. Ironsword Lion would naturally not let Shi Feng escape. Boss Ironsword, I dont see the brat here either. He seems to have vanished, Drifting Blood anxiously replied. Find him! He must be found! Ironsword Lions rage burned. The person he wanted to kill the most had disappeared. If this news were to spread, he would definitely become a laughingstock. At this moment, Shi Feng had already snuck to Martial Unions backline through the use of Shadow of Nothingness. This location should be it. Shi Feng looked at the surrounding terrain. He then canceled the Shadow of Nothingness, suddenly appearing some distance behind the healers of Martial Union. Meanwhile, the healers of Martial Union were currently busy healing the players on the frontlines, failing to discover Shi Fengs appearance. Wind Blade! Shi Feng turned into a fierce gale, sweeping towards the healers of Martial Union. While in the middle of chanting a prayer, a male Cleric suddenly found a pitch black sword piercing through his chest. Following which, he felt a burst of pain at his neck before the sight before him turned dull gray. Under Shi Fengs blade, a Level 5 cloth-armored Cleric was no different than a piece of paper. A normal strike from Shi Fengs sword was able to cause over -330 damage. With two just two basic attacks, Shi Feng could kill off a single Cleric. If he were to use a skill, he could practically kill a Cleric with every attack. Ah! Theres an Assassin! the female Cleric nearby screamed when she witnessed this scene. She did not think that the male Cleric would die so quickly or so cruelly. Ye Feng! Ironsword Lion immediately turned his head towards the backlines, discovering Shi Feng rapidly harvesting their healers, just like sheep entering a tigers mouth. Ironsword Lions eyes nearly cracked open in rage at this sight. He loudly bellowed as he rushed at Shi Feng. Unfortunately, Shi Fengs speed was extremely fast. The healers held no chance of escaping Shi Fengs blades. In mere moments, Shi Feng claimed more than ten healers lives. Without healers, the frontline of Martial Union started to quickly crumble as Gentle Snow and the others butchered them. Die! Ironsword Lions eyes turned crimson red. He used Wind Blade, his sword stabbing towards Shi Fengs back. Now that their healers were all dead, it was needless to say that they would lose this battle. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was the main perpetrator for all of this. If he did not kill Shi Feng, he vowed not to be a human. After annihilating all the healers, Shi Feng currently picked up the equipment they dropped. When he discovered Ironsword Lion rushing over, he did not even turn his head as he tightened his grip on the Abyssal Blade. Then, with a twist of his body, Shi Feng slashed the Abyssal Blade down at Ironsword Lions pair of swords. _Peng!_ Ironsword Lion was forced to retreat several steps before he managed to stabilise his body, his face filled with shock as he looked at Shi Feng. Shi Fengs casual swing of his sword forced Ironsword Lion into retreating so many steps. Such a feat was absolutely impossible without a huge difference regarding Strength. After reaching Level 7, Shi Feng placed all his Free Attribute Points into Strength. Shi Fengs Strength was even higher than Gentle Snows, not to mention Ironsword Lions, who had only average equipment. However, Ironsword Lion did not know this. After knocking Ironsword Lion back with a single slash, Shi Feng gave Ironsword Lion no time to think before following up with a Double Chop. Shi Fengs pair of swords instantly transformed into four sword images, slashing towards Ironsword Lion. With this many sword images sweeping towards him, although Ironsword Lion tried to block all of them with all his might, he only managed to block two of them. There were still two sword images that pierced his body, each causing -180 damage. Ironsword Lion hurriedly retreated, taking out a Basic Recovery Potion and drinking it. Seeing that he was no match for Shi Feng, Ironsword Lion tried to turn tail and run. However, within a split second, three lightning flashes entered his eyes. Before his body could even defend against the streaks of lightning, damages of -266, -352, and -463 appeared above his head. Ironsword Lion instantly died under Shi Fengs swords. At his death, Ironsword Lion dropped a piece of equipment and one other item. 111 Dragon Hidden in the Abyss Boss Ironsword! Boss When a few players from Martial Union saw that Ironsword Lion was easily taken care of, they were all incomparably shocked. They had all personally witnessed Ironsword Lions great strength before, capable of killing players as though he was merely cutting up vegetables. Now, however, that Ironsword Lion had actually been killed by Shi Feng in just a few moves it was truly an incomprehensible sight. The upper echelons of the various Guilds looking from afar were similarly tongue-tied from this scene. Only Stabbing Heart was well aware of Shi Fengs strength. The moment Ironsword Lion had provoked Shi Feng, Stabbing Heart knew that the Martial Union in Red Leaf Town was finished. However, the others present did not know this fact. Regardless of what anyone said, Ironsword Lion had created much fame for himself within Red Leaf Town. Previously, they had only heard of Ironsword Lion being ambushed by Shi Feng, dying an accidental death. If it were a head-on fight, however, Ironsword Lion would definitely be the victor. Yet, nobody could have imagined that, in a straightforward exchange, Ironsword Lion was easily defeated in just a few moves. As expected, rumors could not be trusted. Looking at the speed and accuracy at which Shi Feng drew his swords, creating four sword images with just two swords, even those in the various Guild upper echelons would not be able to block off all those attacks. In addition to Shi Fengs excessively high Attack Power, Ironsword Lion was definitely not his opponent. Shi Feng was no ordinary Swordsman. It was no wonder why the Snow Goddess would stick out and defend him. I had originally thought that Ironsword Lion would be a huge competition to us. Now that Im looking at him, he is but an upstart from another small virtual reality game. I never thought that he would be such a brain-dead fool, biting at whoever he meets. Hehe, Martial Union is finished this time. First, he went and provoked such a top-tier expert. Now, he has even blindly declared war against the Snow Goddess. Did he think mingling in Gods Domain was so easy? It would be enough if he were to be a fool in reality. Now, he is even showing it in Gods Domain. As expected of someone that came from a minor game. He truly does not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Martial Union will definitely have to remove their name from Red Leaf Town now. There were plenty of Workshops and Guilds entering Gods Domain every day. Similarly, there were also plenty of Workshops and Guilds who had vanished from Gods Domain every day; this was a common occurrence within Gods Domain. After Ironsword Lion died, there was no longer anyone to command the players from Martial Union. Very quickly, turmoil ensued amongst the players from Martial Union, and all of them started madly running away for their lives. hi Feng naturally would not let go of this chance to give Martial Union a huge blow. Immediately after picking up the loot dropped by Ironsword Lion, Shi Feng activated Windwalk and hunted the remaining players. Ignoring the Level 3 noobs, Shi Feng specifically chased after the elite players of Martial Union. With every kill of these players, Shi Feng would be able to obtain a piece of Bronze Equipment, causing a significant loss to Martial Union. Drifting Blood, we meet again. Shi Feng blocked off the escape path of several Martial Union elites, discovering a person he was familiar with amongst them. It was Drifting Blood, the person who had harassed Violet Cloud, and had then gone on to seek trouble with Shi Feng. Drifting Blood was shocked into a jump. He trembled as he pointed a finger at Shi Feng, timidly saying, Ye Feng, you shameless bastard! What kind of expert are you, to bully four people with one?! Without speaking any further, Shi Feng stepped forward, slashing both of his blades. Eight sword images appeared, immediately aiming for the lives of the four players. A Shield Warrior amongst the four immediately activated Shield Wall, prepared to receive Shi Fengs attack. Meanwhile, Drifting Blood had used Chop at Shi Feng, while another Berserker used Charge, and a Cursemancer used Dark Arrow. Shi Feng noticed that the cooperation between the four was very good. It would not be beneficial for him if he were to receive their attacks forcefully. Deciding so, Shi Feng used Phantom kill, his doppelganger blocking the attacks in front of him. Shi Feng then hurriedly turned his body, his feet carrying out an illusory footwork as they left behind afterimages. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs doppelganger had continuously fended off the attacks of the four players, receiving some damage in the process as well. However, after Shi Feng himself moved to a side, he abruptly waved the Abyssal Blade. The three streaks of lightning from Thundering Flash had struck at the three melee players that were battling against his doppelganger, instantly killing Drifting Blood and the other Berserker. As the Shield Warrior had Shield Wall activated, he was able to barely survive the attack. However, Shi Fengs doppelganger had taken the chance to use a Chop on the Shield Warrior. Now, only the Cursemancer, who was in the midst of chanting, remained. Shi Feng used Wind Blade, dashing up to the Cursemancer like a fierce gale. Seeing this scene, the Cursemancer was frightened into a run. However, Shi Feng had used Chop, his sword slashing down on the Cursemancers back, causing a critical hit of -1156 damage and instantly killing the Cursemancer. With the difference, in terms of equipment and battle techniques, Shi Feng was able to bring an end to the battle quickly. After looting the equipment dropped by the four players, Shi Feng continued hunting for the other elite players from Martial Union. Ten minutes later, all the elite players from Martial Union were dead. The damage caused to Martial Union this time was absolutely devastating. It was practically impossible for them to contend with the other Guilds for dominance over Red Leaf Town now. Miss Snow, thank you for help today. Otherwise, our losses would be immeasurable, Shi Feng expressed his gratitude towards Gentle Snow. Even if he could kill off many players in a battle against Martial Union, and even escaping in the end, his other party members would definitely have died. Its nothing. Just a minor effort. Although Martial Unions losses are devastating in Red Leaf Town, there are still members of Martial Union in other Towns. When everyone is gathered at White River City at Level 10, that version of Martial Union will not be as easy to deal with as this small group, Gentle Snow softly said, I see that youre just an independent player without any Guilds to rely on. If you do not have any large Guilds protecting you, you would easily become a target for Martial Union. Why dont you join Ouroboros? Right, Big Brother Ye Feng! With Ouroboros strength, by the time we reach White River City, even the people from first-rate Guilds would not dare to provoke us. Moreover, our Guild gives out extremely good benefits, Xiao Yueer commented. Many thanks for Miss Snows worries. However, Im too used to freedom, so I never had any intentions to join a Guild before, Shi Feng straightforwardly rejected the invitation. Although Ouroboros was a good Guild, they similarly had a lot of problems. Take Gentle Snow for example. She was clearly the First Vice-Leader of the Guild, yet, she had still left Ouroboros in the end, just like how Shi Feng himself was casually chased away from Shadow. At the end of the day, it was still best to hold his decision rights in his own hands. Since that is your way of thinking, I wont try to insist that you join us. However, if you ever change your mind in the future, Ouroboros would welcome you anytime, Gentle Snow could naturally see through Shi Fengs thoughts. However, everyone had their own ambitions, and it would not do well for her to force the situation. Right now, it was enough for them to maintain an amicable relationship. Following which, Shi Feng led Blackie and the others away from the Dark Moon Graveyard, returning to Town to sort out everyones bags. He then planned to take them to level up. Previously, he had always been tight for time. Now that he had finished dealing with his matters, the time was just right for everyone to rise up to Level 10 quickly. Meanwhile, Zhao Yueru looked at Shi Fengs departing back, faintly feeling a sense of familiarity. She did not know why she was feeling an indescribable sense of loss in her heart. Snow, why didnt you try harder? If you told him about the matters of the God Slaying Army, he might have even agreed to join, Zhao Yueru asked. Gentle Snow smiled, saying, Didnt you hate the thought of him joining us before? But now you want him to join us instead? A blush appeared on Zhao Yuerus delicate face as she said in an upright tone, Arent I doing this for you? Regardless of what anyone said, he is also a top-tier expert. If you were to lure him into Ouroboros, he would become a person on our side. In the future, if he gets along well in the God Slaying Army, he would be able to bring you a lot of influence and authority. If he didnt perform so outstandingly well just now, I would definitely try my best at pulling him over. However, he was just too remarkable, just like a true dragon. Right now, he is but a dragon hidden in the abyss. Sooner or later, he will be able to soar into the skies, and we will be able to do nothing to hold him back. Who knows, in the future, he might even become a headache of an opponent to Ouroboros, Gentle Snow lightly laughed. An opponent, is it? Zhao Yueru entered a deep thought. 112 Seven Luminaries Gemstone After Martial Union was exterminated, the news of its demise was quickly spread around Red Leaf Town. Some people had even recorded the battle and posted it onto the official forums, the incident quickly becoming popular. Ouroboros had first conquered the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. They had then gotten rid of Martial Unions over one hundred members. The valiant appearance of the Snow Goddess had captured the hearts of all the male players, and instantly, Ouroboros position and influence around the region of White River City had skyrocketed. As a result, countless players wished to join Ouroboros. Due to the recording of this battle, there were plenty of upper echelons of Guilds that had noticed Shi Fengs existence. The origin of this battle was, after all, due to Martial Unions enmity towards Shi Feng. However, not only had Shi Feng himself received the aid of the Snow Goddess, he had even personally killed off Ironsword Lion in a head-on confrontation. This was enough proof of Shi Fengs exceptional strength, and also his good relations with the Snow Goddess. Taking these points into mind, these upper echelons needed to let their subordinates pay more attention towards Shi Feng. When Shi Feng and the others returned to Red Leaf Town, many players on the streets had shifted their gazes towards the group. Crap, isnt that Ye Feng, the person that went Dungeon raiding together with the Snow Goddess? a male Warrior said. If I go and beg Big Brother Ye Feng, I wonder if Big Brother Ye Feng will bring me to Level 10? another female Elementalist bashfully said to her companion. Shi Feng had completely become a celebrity now. Wherever he went, there would definitely be someone paying attention to, and talking about, him. Brother Feng, youre already a famous person. Now, you only need to wiggle your finger, and there would be a crowd of beauties running over to you. In the future, you mustnt forget to introduce a few to me, Blackie laughingly said. Stop talking nonsense. Our priority right now is to level up. The sooner we get to Level 10, the sooner we can compete for more advantages after we enter White River City, Shi Feng smiled as he said, Since everyone is tired now, lets rest for an hour. Well gather again after you all get your equipment repaired, and replenish your necessities. After hearing Shi Fengs arrangements, Blackie and the others immediately went to the Smithy to repair their equipment. They did not know why, but normally when they were grinding on the Level 5 Forest Wolves, even if they had been grinding for over ten hours, the durability of their equipment did not fall by much. However, right now, just after raiding a Dungeon once, the durability of their equipment had all fallen by almost half. If they were to raid the Dungeon another time, the durability of their equipment might fall to 1 within just three to four hours, becoming useless. When everyone arrived at the Smithy to repair their equipment, they suddenly discovered a frightening matter. Previously, it was a normal occurrence for them to change into new equipment. Hence, they had never repaired their equipment even once before. Now, however, all the equipment Cola was wearing only had half of its durability remaining. As a result, repairing all of it had required a fee of 1 Silver 63 Coppers. Such an amount was enough to purchase a Level 1 Bronze Equipment. The higher the durability loss of an equipment, the higher the repair fees would be. If every piece of equipment on Colas character had dropped down to 1 it would take, at the very least, 4 Silver Coins to get it all repaired. Such an amount was the equivalent to two days of Colas earnings. However, because Cola had become a follower of Shi Feng, the speed at which he earned money was much faster when compared to many other elite players. If those elite players were to repair their equipment, the total fees would be equivalent to several days of their earnings. Boss, are you trying to rob us here? Cola complained, unwilling to fork out such an expensive repair fee. Previously, he had obtained a Mysterious Treasure Chest from clearing the hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. From the Mysterious Treasure Chest, he had received over 3 Silver coins and five bottles of Intermediate Recovery Potions. If it werent for that Treasure Chest, just this repair fee alone would have turned him into a broke bastard. Adventurer, I have already given you a 10% discount. It is already a very cheap price, the Blacksmith said with a huff. Hearing the Blacksmith saying so, Blackie and the others suddenly came to a realization. Their Reputation in Red Leaf Town had already reached 30 points, receiving a 10% discount for all purchases made in Red Leaf Town. They truly did not think that it would be so costly just to repair their equipment. However, if their equipment turned to scrap, not only would they lose their equipment, their leveling speed would also be greatly reduced. Hence, they had no choice but to repair their equipment. Trade Area, Auction House. Shi Feng was frantically purchasing items from the Auction House. The previous Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs Shi Feng sold before had once again allowed him to profit greatly. Now, there were at least 73 Gold Coins in his bag. In the entire White River City, there was not a single player who was more rich than him at the moment. Right now, if he saw any items whose prices would inflate in the future, he would buy all of them. This was because, once players reached higher levels it became much easier for them to earn game currency and, as a result, the value of game currency fell. Instead of just waiting for the Coins in his hand to depreciate in value, he might as well purchase some items that would increase in value and store them in the Bank. After some time not visiting the Auction House, the number of Hard Stones, Card Sets, and other items whose value would increase in the future had grown once more. Shi Feng had spent over 8 Gold Coins on such items, filling up the six 40-slot Bags he had just bought, and even needing to make several trips to the Bank. It wouldnt be long before these items would have their values increased by manifold. Just thinking about it gave Shi Feng a delighted feeling. Meanwhile, the value of the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design had now begun to fall. Currently, each piece was only being sold for around 2 Gold Coins, and it wouldnt be long before it became completely worthless. Seeing that the number of Guilds purchasing the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design was becoming fewer, Shi Feng decided to continue selling them for awhile more before thinking of another way to make money. Now, his main goal was to earn Credits. Just judging from the small amount of Credits he currently possessed, it was still not enough for his Workshop to squander. Currently, Shi Feng still possessed more than 60 Gold Coins. He then took out 30 Gold Coins and registered them on the Virtual Trade Center. Right now, various large Guilds were in the midst of purchasing Coins in bulk. It wouldnt be long before he could sell all his Coins, earning him a lot of Credits. Following which, inside the Bank, Shi Feng started arranging the harvest he obtained today. He had already obtained more than ten pieces of Bronze Equipment just from the elite players of Martial Union he had killed. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to sell off these equipment pieces. However, his Workshop would definitely be recruiting new members in the future. Hence, he decided to store them inside his Warehouse, as they might come into use in the future. In any case, he was not lacking in this small amount of money. As for the Ash Blade, the most important item he obtained from the Dark Moon Graveyard, he kept it inside his Warehouse for now. It was still of no use to him right now. Only when he arrived at Star-Moon City would he have a chance at finding a clue about the Ash Blade. After all, the owner of the Ash Blade had an unfathomable origin, being titled as the God Slayer in Gods Domain; an existence feared even by the Gods. The clues relating to this Ash Blade could only be found in the Capital City of Star-Moon Kingdom. Ah? Whats this thing here? Shi Feng dug up a crystal the size of his palm from his bag. En, isnt this one of the items dropped by Ironsword Lion? Shi Feng discovered that he was somewhat familiar with this item. It was indeed one of the two items that were dropped by Ironsword Lion. [Seven Luminaries Gemstone] (Special Item) Transports the user to Blackwing City. (Uses remaining 4/5) Dropped after death. This Ironsword Lion truly cant be underestimated. It was no wonder he was so powerful in the previous life. It was all because of this item here, Shi Feng looked at the Seven Luminaries Gemstone in his hand, unable to refrain from revealing a smile. Blackwing City was no ordinary location. It was also not a place that players could simply go to as they wished. Players needed a Teleportation Crystal to go to that place, and the Seven Luminaries Gemstone was one of those passes. In Shi Fengs previous life, Blackwing Citys fame resounded throughout Gods Domain. All the major powers would willingly purchase the passes to Blackwing City at high prices. However, to an average player, it would be meaningless, even if they went to Blackwing City. At most, they would only go there to widen their horizons. However, to the upper echelons of a major power, it was an absolute heaven. After going there once, they would want to go there again. Shi Feng looked at the time, discovering that today was a big day in Blackwing City. He definitely must make a trip to Blackwing City today. Hence, he sent a message to Blackie, saying, Blackie, I still have some other things to take care of, so I wont be able to bring you all leveling for now. After all of you are rested, go to the Level 8 area, Roaring Hill, to level up. As long as you guys are careful, your leveling speeds there will be extremely quick. 113 Blackwing City Red Leaf Town, Slum Area. Although it was still daytime, the Enchanted Bar was packed with Red Players that tread along the boundaries of darkness. However, amongst this crowd of players, there were several Green Players present in the Bar, seemingly highly out of place. These players were Ironsword Lion and his several subordinates. Absolute Heaven, I need you to kill a person for me. Name your price, Ironsword Lion said to the man before him. The man who held a stern expression was currently drinking from a beer bottle. The stern-looking male did not pay any heed to Ironsword Lion, one of his arms wrapped around an alluring, well-developed woman, while the other held onto a beer bottle. The man only minded his own business as he flirted with the woman, his lips curling into a wicked smile, giving others a chilling feeling. Ironsword Lions expression immediately sank. Beside him, Drifting Blood immediately slammed his hands on the table, cursing, Hey, cant you hear that our Boss is speaking to you? Stop trying to act deaf! Just after Drifting Blood finished speaking, a snow-bright dagger had slashed across his neck. The dagger then stabbed into his heart, finally being abruptly pulled downwards and slashed apart a deep wound. A stab, a pull, and a slash, all three moves were executed in a very natural manner. Before Drifting Blood could even cry out in pain, his body had already fallen to the ground. Absolute Heaven, what are you trying to do? Im here to talk business. What is the meaning of you killing my subordinate? watching Drifting Blood be instantly dealt with, Ironsword Lion bellowed. However, he did not dare attack the man before him, because he knew that if he were to take action, his end would only be similar to that of Drifting Blood. Because I like it. What? You have something to say about it? Absolute Heaven laughed as he indifferently looked at Ironsword Lion. He casually brandished his dagger, creating an image of a flower. You Ironsword Lion was angered to madness, but he still dared not let out the curse through his mouth. Absolute Heaven was an assassin in real life... A famous one, to boot! He was also a top-tier expert within virtual reality games. However, there were very few people who knew of him. For those who did know him, they were usually ones who had been assassinated by him before. When Ironsword Lion used to play some other Wuxia game before, he had been assassinated by Absolute Heaven several times previously, which was how he got to know Absolute Heaven. However, Absolute Heavens temper was extremely odd. Regarding the things he was uninterested in, no matter how much money he was offered, he would refuse to carry them out. He was only willing to carry out tasks that managed to pique his interests. Until today, he had yet to fail a single task that he had taken on. If Absolute Heaven was threatened or compelled into doing something, then oftentimes, the customer that did so did not have a happy ending. Ironsword Lion had once seen a customer wanting Absolute Heaven to kill a player back to Level 0 no matter what. However, Absolute Heaven refused to do so. That customer was similarly an ill-tempered person, declaring to take action against Absolute Heaven as well. As a result, that customer was personally killed by Absolute Heaven all the way back to Level 0, forced to delete his account in the end. Seeing Ironsword Lion remaining silent, Absolute Heaven smiled. He then resumed hugging onto the beauty by his side and drinking his beer without a care in the world, acting as if everything before had never happened. Drifting Blood being killed off in the Bar similarly did not attract the attention of any other players. That was because incidents like this occurred on a daily basis in this place. Everyone had long since gotten used to seeing it. Meanwhile, Ironsword Lion could only inhale deeply several times, calming down the rage in his heart. Absolute Heaven, dont be so quick to refuse. If I tell you the name of this person, you will definitely be interested, Ironsword Lion said in a serious tone. However, Absolute Heaven remained uncaring, as if Ironsword Lion was just empty air. This person is called Ye Feng. He is a top-tier expert. I only wish for you to kill him back to Level 0, or force him to delete his account and start all over again. As for the price, it is up to you to decide. Ironsword Lion took out a recording, sending it to Absolute Heaven. The recording depicted the scene where Ironsword Lion himself was killed off by Shi Feng. Two swords, four images; impossible to fend off. The final strike that killed off Ironsword Lion was also extremely swift and graceful, impossible for anyone to block. After taking a look at the recording, Absolute Heavens interest was immediately piqued. He then said, A million Credits, one-time payment. Ironsword Lions heart could not help but twitch after hearing this price. However, he had long since known of Absolute Heavens way of setting prices based on the targets strength. Normally, killing a player would only cost around 100,000 Credits. Ironsword Lion did not imagine that Shi Feng would be worth so much, actually requiring a million Credits. Fine. Give me your account; Ill transfer it to you immediately. However, how much time would you require to get the job done? Ironsword Lion was very determined. Even if he had to dig out all his resources, he still had to get rid of Shi Feng in order to appease his anger. Five days, Absolute Heaven looked at Shi Feng inside the recording, excitedly saying so. Hearing Absolute Heavens guarantee, Ironsword Lion could already picture the sight of Shi Feng being killed back to Level 0. He then transferred the money to Absolute Heaven. On the other side, the person in question had already arrived at Blackwing City. Blackwing City was one of the most mysterious Cities in Gods Domain. It was much more flourishing than Star-Moon Kingdom. Just by standing on the streets, one could see gorgeous-looking, European-styled, medieval-aged buildings. Even if it was nighttime, the city was still illuminated with glorious lights. Moreover, the NPCs that walked the streets were all over Level 100. There were even quite a few NPCs who possessed Tier 2, and even Tier 3, Jobs. Rumor had it when the King of Star-Moon Kingdom met up with the City Lord of the Blackwing city; even the King was required to act respectfully in fear of offending the City Lord. Within Blackwing City, there were plenty of interesting things to be found. If one were to tour around the City, it would take at least a few weeks to do so. Blackwing City also had plenty of Masters of various Lifestyle Jobs living here. The items made by these Masters would usually end up being sold in shops in the city. Moreover, players were also able to purchase the specialties of other Countries in Blackwing City. This was definitely a treatment not found in other, ordinary Cities. With all these attractions, the most famous amongst them was the Auction House of Blackwing City. The Auction House here held an auction once every week. Moreover, the items auctioned were all rare ones sold by NPCs. Epic Rank items would even be sold in this weekly auction. Such an item was definitely impossible to purchase outside of Blackwing City. Hence, this was the reason why the upper echelons of all the major powers wished to come to Blackwing City. On the other hand, even if the average player were to come here, at most, they would only be here to sightsee. It was because they were completely unable to afford the items sold by the NPCs here. Moreover, there were no wild monsters here in Blackwing City. There were also no Quests to be found here. It was a City purely meant for players to conduct trade within. Blackwing City was a heaven, loved by the tycoons of the game. _There are still two hours before the auction starts. Ill go buy some local specialties first, then._ Shi Feng looked at the time, discovering that he was still early. He hailed for a horse carriage, bringing him to the Business District of Blackwing City. Blackwing City was just too huge. If Shi Feng were to walk on foot, he would need, at the very least, two to three hours to arrive at the Business District. Normally, players would spend money to hire horse carriages as a means of transportation. However, hiring a horse carriage did not come cheap. At the minimum, a horse carriage would cost 1 Silver Coin, and depending on the distance traveled, the price would similarly change. If an average player were to come to Blackwing City at this period of the game, they most likely would not even be able to afford a horse carriage After more than ten minutes had passed, Shi Feng alighted from the carriage, arriving at an Engineering Shop. This Engineering Shop was not large. It was only a small building with two floors. There was an old-looking, wooden signboard hung at the entrance with the words, Cruzes Workshop carved into the wood. Although the shop seemed shabby at first sight, Shi Feng knew that this shop was opened by the Engineering Grandmaster, Cruze Gaia. He was also the one and only Engineering Grandmaster in Blackwing City. As for the other Engineering Shops, those were all operated by Engineering Masters or Engineers. Although those shops appeared to be flourishing, the items sold by them were all very expensive, yet of poor quality. Back in the early days, Shi Feng had often been scammed by those shops. Shi Feng pushed open the door, entering Cruzes Workshop. The caretaker of the shop was called Luciola, a shy-looking girl who had her hair tied into two ponytails. If one used Observing Eyes, they would quickly discover that this frail-looking girl was in actuality, a Professional Mage, a Job that advanced two tiers, from an Elementalist. Furthermore, she was even at Level 100. A Level 100 Tier 2 Mage could easily extinguish a single Red Leaf Town. If a player dared to cause a scene in this shop, they would quickly turn into a pile of ash. 114 Blackwing Auction House Very rarely did Cruzes Workshop have customers, and Shi Fengs entry into the shop immediately roused Luciolas attention. Lord Demon Hunter, I wonder what items my lord requires? Our shop has a variety of items, and we guarantee their quality, Luciola walked towards Shi Feng, asking respectfully. Shi Feng did not think that, regardless of location, the Demon Hunter title would be so respected. The title even held effect in Blackwing City. I wish to have a look at the new goods you have this week, Shi Feng replied. My lord, our shop is stocked with many new items this week. I guarantee that my lord will be satisfied with them, Luciola said. Guide me to them, then, Shi Feng nodded his head. In Shi Fengs previous life, he had never once before gone to the second floor of the shop. He did not think there were even items being sold on the second floor. My lord, this way, please, saying so, Luciola brought Shi Feng to the second floor. The second floor was filled with display cabinets, all of them showcasing many rare Engineering Tools that dazzled a persons eyes. Amongst the display cabinets, there was an item that greatly attracted Shi Fengs attention. _Rocket Boots!_ One of the godly escaping tools in Gods Domain. With it, one could easily escape when met with dangers in the wild or when being hunted by other players. Moreover, this was Epic Equipment that was made by an Engineering Grandmaster. Regardless if it was the Attributes or effects, both were not something with which the Common Ranked Rocket Boots could compare. However, the price tag hanging on the Epic Ranked Rocket Boots was a frightening 1,200 Gold. Even if Shi Feng considered himself as rich, he could not even afford a fraction of such an amount. After making a round through the display cabinets, a majority of the items sold were all to Shi Fengs liking. Moreover, they would be of huge aid to himself, and he could not help but wish that he could just take all of them away. However, his pockets were not sufficiently deep, and he could only lament over his fate. Lord Demon Hunter, are these items not to your liking? Seeing that her long-awaited customer was shaking his head, Luciola hurriedly asked. However, how would Shi Feng have the cheek to tell Luciola that he did not have that much money? Any of the items showcased here would, at the bare minimum, cost around tens to hundreds of Gold Coins. Just based on the thirty over Gold Coins in his bag, he would at most be able to purchase a single item here. Do you have Frost Grenades here? after giving it some thought, Shi Feng decided that it would be better to buy some more useful items. Lord Demon Hunter, the Frost Grenades are sold in the Common Section on the first floor. The VIP Section on the second floor does not sell them. My lord, please follow me, Luciola brought Shi Feng down to the first floor once more. At this moment, Shi Feng finally realized that the second floor was the VIP Section. It was no wonder the items on display there were so expensive. In his previous life, when he had discovered this Workshop here, he was already around Level 70 to Level 80. However, he did not possess the Demon Hunter title at that time, so he could only shop at the Common Section. Yet, even then his gains were already bountiful. Now, he had inadvertently discovered the VIP Section on the second floor. Moreover, there were so many items sold in that section. Unfortunately, the money he possessed was just too little to buy anything. He could only come again in the future, after earning more money. Corresponding to the lower number of items being sold on the first floor, their prices were similarly much lower. Lord Demon Hunter, these are the Frost Grenades that you requested. They are categorized into three tiers. "May I know what type you are seeking?" [Basic Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 30. Deals 200 frost damage in a radius of 10 yards, which freezes targets for 5 seconds, then reduces Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 1 Silver 50 Coppers [Intermediate Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 70. Deals 800 frost damage in a radius of 12 yards, which freezes targets for 5 seconds, then reduces Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 10 Silvers [Advanced Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 120. Deals 2,000 frost damage in a radius of 15 yards, which freezes targets for 5 seconds, then reduces Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 70 Silvers Just a single Intermediate Frost Grenade was enough to instantly kill a Level 5 MT, fully equipped with Bronze Equipment. Meanwhile, although the Basic Frost Grenade could not instantly kill a player, it could freeze them for 5 seconds, followed by a 60% reduction in Movement Speed for 12 seconds. These effects were just too frightening. As for the Advanced Frost Grenades, this item was not something with which an ordinary player could mess around. Not mentioning the 2,000 frost damage it could cause, it also possessed an effective radius of 15 yards. If Shi Feng were to have used this item in his previous battle with Martial Union, it would have saved him much trouble. Just throwing three of these things would rid him of all his problems. However, a single Advanced Frost Grenade already cost 70 Silver Coins. It was just too expensive a price tag. Moreover, using such an item at his level was simply too extravagant. I want three stacks of Basic Frost Grenades and thirty units of Intermediate Frost Grenades. Shi Feng thought that it was still best to purchase a few Intermediate ones as a preventive measure. If he were to end up being hunted by Martial Union again, these Intermediate Frost Grenades would aid him in getting rid of all those troubles. A stack of Frost Grenades consisted of 200 units, and three whole stacks would be enough to last him for a very long time. Lord Demon Hunter, you can enjoy a 10% discount in our shop. The total amount for these items is 10 Gold 80 Silver, Luciola brought out all the requested items, saying after making a quick calculation. Alright. Shi Feng felt joy in his heart. In his previous life, even with his status as a Tier 3 Sword King, he had never received discounts when purchasing items here. He did not imagine that the Demon Hunter title would be so awesome, even earning him a discount within Blackwing City. This was truly an unexpected happiness. After purchasing the Frost Grenades, Shi Feng rode on the horse carriage to the heart of the Trade Area, the Blackwing Auction House. The Blackwing Auction House was one of the most majestic buildings within Blackwing City. The land it took up was the size of four football fields. Moreover, the building possessed 188 floors. The royalty of the various countries in Gods Domain, and even great characters, like Tier 5 NPCs, would sometimes visit this place to purchase items. Immediately after arriving at the Blackwing Auction House, Shi Feng had noticed that there was actually a dozen or so players queuing up to enter the Auction House. However, such a sight was nothing strange to behold. Even a small place like Red Leaf Town had managed to produce a pass to Blackwing City. There were hundreds of Towns under the influence of White River City, while there were over a hundred Cities under the rule of Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, there were hundreds of countries in the entirety of Gods Domain. Hence, it was only normal for hundreds of players to appear in Blackwing City right now. The ones who were capable of coming to Blackwing City right now were either those who had extremely good luck or those who belonged to the upper echelons of major powers. For the average players that did arrive at this place, however, they would quickly discover that although Blackwing City was a good location to be, it would be of no help to average players like them. Hence, it would be better for them to sell the entry ticket to a major power, earning some quick money. Meanwhile, the players that were lined up here all had very high levels. The highest amongst them was a Level 7 bearded man. The large man wore a complete Level 5 Bronze Set Equipment and was also carrying a Mysterious-Iron Ax on his back. One glance at the man was enough to tell that the mans strength was not to be trifled with. As for the other players, they were all at Level 6, each wearing complete Bronze Set Equipment, and none of them looking to have a simple background. Noticing Shi Feng walking over, these players all discovered that Shi Feng was surprisingly at Level 7, the same level as the bearded man beside them. However, the silvery-white, delicate Set Equipment worn by Shi Feng faintly gave off a chilling and heavy pressure. Although it was a Bronze Set Equipment, a single look at it and anyone could tell that it was not just any ordinary Set Equipment. Moreover, there were even individual pieces of Secret-Silver Ranked Equipment. Although they could not tell what rank the black sword hanging around Shi Fengs waist was at, the other sword gave off the glow of a Secret-Silver Equipment. Compared to the bearded man, Shi Feng was obviously much more powerful, and the players present immediately started having notions of befriending him. This one is Lonely Goose of the Moon Temple. Fellow friend, I have never seen you around before. Is this your first time visiting Blackwing City? a gentle scholarly-looking, Level 6 Swordsman walked up and asked Shi Feng. After arriving at Blackwing City, Shi Feng did not disguise his equipment, leaving them in their original appearance. He had only altered his own facial appearance, turning it into the appearance of the middle-aged man, Black Flame. That way, nobody would be able to recognize him as Ye Feng. Hearing this scholarly person introduce himself, Shi Feng could not help but size up this man called Lonely Goose. 115 Egoistic Blade The Moon Temple was a very well-known Guild in Gods Domain. However, their area of influence was not situated in Star-Moon Kingdom, but instead, the Tulip Empire. The competition between Guilds there was much more intense compared to Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, the Moon Temple was one of the top few Guilds in Tulip Empire. Compared to Ouroboros, they were much stronger. The scholarly Lonely Goose in front of Shi Feng right now was also a famous top-tier Swordsman. It would be advantageous to Shi Feng if he befriended such a person. Hello, Shi Feng nodded his head, giving others a taciturn feeling. Aside from Lonely Goose, several more players came up and introduced themselves to Shi Feng. They all wished to befriend him. After all, an additional friend meant an additional path they could have in the future. It was especially true for the top-tier experts that could arrive at Blackwing City. As to whether they would become enemies in the future, the possibility of such a situation happening was low. As for the reason to such a conclusion, up till now, the group of them had yet to see a top-tier expert belonging to the same country as them in Blackwing City. Also, every country was very far apart from each other, and countries coming in touch with each other would be a matter in the far future. On the other hand, if they could become friends and have a cooperative relationship, then it would be beneficial to both sides. This was also one of the hidden benefits of Blackwing City. The bearded man swept a glance at Shi Feng, discovering that Shi Fengs level was actually the same as his own. Being able to reach Level 7 was an achievement of which he was extremely proud. However, now that he realized he was the same level as an independent player, he immediately felt a sense of provocation. In addition to the other players trying to befriend Shi Feng, the bearded man snorted, Hmph, hes just an independent player. What is the point in trying to curry favor with him? With the bearded mans words, the entire atmosphere in the Auction House became tense. Playing the part of the friendly guy, Lonely Goose said with a smile, Brother Egoistic Blade, not everyone can easily come to Blackwing City. Is there a need for such a cold treatment? If we can all get along with each other, it would be a great benefit for all of us in the future. Help? Just based on the luck of an independent player, how would he be able to mutually cooperate with us? How can he be of any help to us? The disdain in the bearded mans words kept on growing. The man then flaunted the Guild emblem on his chest, the words Bloodthirsty War God written on the emblem. The emblem was silver in color, signifying that the bearded man was at the rank of an elder within the Guild. Bloodthirsty War God was one of the top three first-rate Guilds in Black Dragon Empire. Bloodthirsty War God was a long-established Guild, its lengthy history tracing back at least 60 years ago. At that time, not even Shi Fengs parents had been born yet. Looking at Egoistic Blade behaving so, even Lonely Goose felt helpless about it. He then looked at Shi Feng, apologizing, Truly sorry. Brother Egoistic Blade doesnt usually behave this way. Maybe he is in a bad mood today. This should be Brother Black Flames first time coming to the Blackwing Auction House, right? Youve come at a good time. Today just happens to be a day where the Blackwing Auction House is holding an auction. However, if you wish to participate in the auction, you need to purchase a Blackwing Insignia that costs 2 Gold Coins. You will only be allowed entry if you possess the Blackwing Insignia. Furthermore, the players who possess the Blackwing Insignia can bring along two more players with them. How about Brother Black Flame let me bring you into the auction? You could save a big expenditure that way. As Shi Feng was about to voice his rejection, Egoistic Blade sneered, A beggar that cant even afford a Blackwing Insignia, what right do you have to come along with us? I only have one thing to say. I dont wish to be together with this little bastard. If you all wish to form an alliance, its either me or him. You guys make your choice. Either he goes, or I go. Egoistic Blade had the Bloodthirsty War God serving as his background, while Shi Feng had nothing he could rely on. Egoistic Blade was extremely confident that Lonely Goose and the others would choose him without even the need to think. Only when the strong cooperate with each other, would they be able to bring out the greatest benefits. If they were to cooperate with an independent player, who could guarantee that, after this persons entry ticket to Blackwing City had been used up, he would still be able to return to Blackwing City. Meanwhile, Egoistic Blade had a first-rate Guild supporting him. It would be tens of thousands of times easier for him to obtain another pass to Blackwing City when compared to a mere independent player. If Shi Feng did not even possess the ability to frequently visit Blackwing City, how would he be able to guarantee a mutual cooperation? Brother Egoistic Blade, must you do so? Lonely Goose and the others could not help but have a headache as they tried to mediate the situation. They only wished to mutually profit from each other. Yet, Egoistic Blade had created such a situation and had even spoken such words. If they chose to accept Shi Feng into their group, then Egoistic Blade would definitely feel humiliated. However, if they accepted Egoistic Blade, then Shi Feng would naturally leave feeling angry and as though he had been crossed. On one side, it was a first-rate Guild. On the other, it was an independent player. The situation left everyone in a state of distress. What are you all hesitating about? Is it such a hard decision to make? I have the Bloodthirsty War God backing me. The information and resources I have at my disposal far exceed what any of you can imagine. If you all do not wish to cooperate, then I can simply look for some other Guilds to cooperate with. No matter what, I dont wish to see an independent player within our alliance group, Egoistic Blade looked at Lonely Goose and the others, saying in an extremely displeased manner. Shi Feng watched Egoistic Blades extremely stubborn behavior as if the world revolved solely around him alone. The man was even using the influence of his background in order to chase Shi Feng out of the group. Although Lonely Goose and the others had clearly come up to Shi Feng on their own accord, they now showed signs of hesitation. Seeing this situation, Shi Feng sneered, Since Im just an independent player, I wont trouble you any longer, Brother Lonely Goose. People who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Let us go our separate ways from now on. Finished saying so, Shi Feng walked towards the entrance of the Auction House. Looking at Shi Feng walking away in a huff, Lonely Snow and the others could do nothing but drop the subject. After all, Shi Feng was but an independent player. Although he was an expert, he would not be able to bring them much benefit. Hmph, a mere independent player wishes to have the same standing as us? Dont even dream about it, Egoistic Blade jeered. After some time, the gates to the Auction House opened, allowing the masses entry into the building. When Egoistic Blade and the others walked to the entrance Im sorry, Sir, but you are not allowed to enter. A Knight blocked Egoistic Blade and the others. Lord Knight, all of us possesses the Blackwing Insignia, Lonely Goose pointed towards the insignia on his chest, saying. The auction held today is the VIP Auction. Commoners are not allowed entry. The normal auction will only be held next week, so please come back again at that time, the Knight explained. Egoistic Blade then pointed at Shi Feng, who was currently walking into the Auction House, moodily saying, Lord Knight, then what right does that person have to enter? He doesnt even have a Blackwing Insignia on him. It wont be good if you do something like that, right? The Knight became extremely displeased by Egoistic Blades attitude. However, he still looked along the direction Egoistic Blade pointed to, discovering the Lord Demon Hunter, Shi Feng. The Knight then swept his gaze at Egoistic Blade and the others, saying in disdain, Just based on you commoners, you all wish to have the same standing as the Lord Demon Hunter? Be smart and get lost quickly! Ill have all of you arrested if you continue making a scene! the Knight angrily yelled at Egoistic Blade and the others. Egoistic Blade was extremely shocked. How could a random, independent player they met be so awesome? He then thought back to the mocking words said by the Knight. Werent they the words he had uttered just now? If there was a hole available right now, Egoistic Blade wished he could have jumped into it immediately. It was simply too mortifying. Lonely Goose and the others were even more startled. They looked at Shi Feng with shocked expressions, endless regret filling up their hearts. After making plenty of investigations, they discovered that there would be an auction held today. Moreover, the items auctioned were extremely rare, so they had paid a huge price in order to prepare a significant amount of Coins. Yet, in the end, they couldnt even manage to get past the entrance Looking at the Knights respectful attitude towards Shi Feng, they immediately knew that the title of Demon Hunter must be a very powerful title. Shi Feng definitely would have been able to bring along a few more players with him. However, they had chosen to forsake Shi Feng instead, missing out on the chance to participate in the auction this time around. The regret in their hearts was quickly pushing them to their deaths right now. At that time, just why did they choose to give up on Shi Feng?! Lonely Goose and the others then thought of Egoistic Blade, the main perpetrator of this disaster. If it werent for Egoistic Blade, such an incident would not have happened. Immediately, everyone turned to look at Egoistic Blade in rage and bitterness. 116 Silver Dawn Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, please come over here. Take the floating platform up to the 66th floor; there will be a person assigned there to receive you, a golden-haired beauty stood beside the floating platform, saying with a smile. The floating platform of the Blackwing Auction House was extremely large, capable of fitting more than 50 people at a time. It was from Seven Luminaries Crystals[1], which have extremely good magical conductivity. Many magical runes were carved onto the crystals, allowing the platform to freely float in the air. However, the floating platform was extremely expensive to make, and even if all of Red Leaf Town was sold, it would not be enough to make a floating platform as large as the one in Blackwing City. In the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, only the Auction House at Star-Moon City, and also the Royal Palace, had a floating platform implemented. Moreover, the size of each of those floating platforms was much smaller when compared to the one in the Blackwing Auction House. It displayed the level of wealth held by the Blackwing Auction House. To say the least, the Blackwing Auction House was extremely large in size. It was categorized into three different sections, which were the Common Section, the VIP Section, and the Luxury Section. The auction venue for the Common Section was located from the 4th floor to the 36th floor. As long as one possessed the Blackwing Insignia, they could participate in the Common auction. However, there were much less rare items auctioned there. The auction venue for the VIP Section was located from the 50th floor to the 100th floor. One must have a certain amount of status before being allowed to participate in the VIP auction. As for the items auctioned, rare items were the mainstay of the auction, with the occasional precious item. The auction venue in the Luxury Section was located from the 150th floor to the 180th floor. Aside from those with transcendental strength, they were usually the overlords of a region. For example, the characters at the pinnacle of Star-Moon Kingdom. In Shi Fengs previous life, after he became a Tier 3 Sword King, he obtained a relatively good title, allowing him the fortune of entering the VIP Section. As for the Luxury Section, only the Guild Leaders and Vice-Leaders of first-rate Guilds had the right to enter this area. The pinnacle players who had reached Tier 5 in their Jobs were also allowed in this area. As to what items were sold at the Luxury auction, Shi Feng had no information about them whatsoever. It was a secret only known to the tyrants and pinnacle players of Gods Domain. Shi Feng arrived at the auction venue on the 66th floor. The entire venue was about the size of a single football field, and at this moment, it was completely packed with people. These people were all NPCs with the status of nobles or above, and it was an extremely difficult task for players who wished to compete for items with these NPCs. These NPCs were here specifically to prevent players from easily winning a bid without any competition. Frankly speaking, the NPCs were just props at the auction venue. If a players bid did not reach the standard amount, then the item would be taken away by the NPCs, preventing players from conveniently obtaining rare items. After everyone was seated, the auction officially started. After a white-bearded old man walked up to the stage, declaring the start of the auction, an item was slowly brought out onto the stage. The first item auctioned was a Level 20 Secret-Silver Chestplate, its starting bid set at 2 Gold. The Attributes on it are good, but the price is just too expensive, clicking on the equipments information, Shi Feng quickly gave up after looking at its Attributes. Although it was good equipment, he was unable to put it to use right now. If Shi Feng could really buy the item for only 2 Gold, then he might have still considered it. However, after a bout of bidding from the NPCs, the price of the equipment had already soared to 7 Gold. If he were to sell the Chestplate to a first-rate Guild, he could not possibly obtain 7 Gold for it. At most, he could sell it for 3 to 4 Gold. After all, to the average players right now, even Copper Coins were considered a precious commodity, not to mention Gold Coins. After which, piece after piece of Secret-Silver Equipment was brought out. There was even Fine-Gold Equipment being auctioned. However, not a single piece managed to attract Shi Fengs attraction. The reason was simple. All of them were just too expensive. If the average level of players reached around Level 20, then the prices of equipment would become much cheaper. However, Gods Domain had started its operation only recently, so most players were still around Level 4. Where would these players find that much money? Half an hour later, the equipment phase of the auction finally ended, and the auction for other items began. The following item being auctioned is a Weapon Forging Design. This Forging Design is a fine work of Master Corian, and the bid for it will start at 3 Gold Coins. Immediately, Shi Fengs interest was roused. He then clicked to check on the items information. [Silver Dawn Forging Design] (Secret-Silver Rank, One-handed Sword) Level 10 Seeing that it was Secret-Silver Ranked, Shi Feng knew that his luck had come. Moreover, the Silver Dawn was a Level 10 weapon; it was absolutely something that he needed the most. The Abyssal Blade also needed ten Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapons to level up. With this Forging Design, that problem would easily be handled. However, besides Shi Feng, there were still a few other Forgers who participated in the bid. After all, a Secret-Silver Forging Design was extremely rare. With that, the bidding for the Forging Design quickly started. Within moments, the bidding price had already reached 6 Gold. Shi Feng gritted his teeth, shouting, 7 Gold! 7 Gold 30 Silvers. 7 Gold 50 Silvers. 8 Gold. With the crazed bidding from the NPCs, the price for the Silver Dawn steadily rose. Crap, I bid 15 Gold! Seeing that the price has reached 13 Gold, Shi Feng immediately raised it by 2 Gold, showing his determination, and shaking the composure of these NPCs. If the price continued to rise, even Shi Feng would not be able to stomach it. After all, he only had slightly more than 20 Gold Coins remaining. 16 Gold! The original worth of this Forging Design was around 15 Gold Coins. Shi Feng did not think that the NPCs would still compete. 17 Gold! Shi Feng made his decision. If the NPC Forgers were to bid once more, he would immediately bid 20 Gold for it. At that point, if it was still no good, then he could only consider himself as unlucky. Finally, the NPC Forgers shook their heads at this price, no longer competing in the bid. Congratulations to Mister Black Flame for winning Master Corians Silver Dawn Forging Design! the white-bearded old man clapped his hands, congratulating Shi Feng. After receiving the Forging Design, Shi Feng let loose a sigh of relief. At the very least, he did not waste a trip to the Auction House this time. As for the 17 Gold, he had spent, sooner or later, he would be able to get it all back through the Silver Dawn. After auctioning off the Forging Design, the white-bearded old man continued, The next item is a super-rare skill for melee Jobs, the bid starts at 5 Gold Coins. [Thunder Flame Explosion] (Action-type) Requires: Melee Weapon Causes 200 base damage, and additional flame and thunder damage to enemies within a 5-yard radius. Enemies struck will be placed in a fainted state for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 45 seconds Shi Fengs eyes shone after seeing this item. Thunder Flame Explosion was definitely a super-skill for melee Jobs and was one of the most precious items in this auction. What to do? I dont have enough money right now Shi Feng greatly desired this skill book. However, the starting bid for it was already at 5 Gold. At the very least, the final price for it would be 20 Gold or above. While Shi Feng was in silent contemplation, the price for the skill book had already risen to 10 Gold. Compared to the Silver Dawn, the bidding for the skill book was even more fiery. Shi Feng had no choice but to call out the interface for the Virtual Trade Center, canceling the remaining Gold Coins he had registered. Thank god Shi Feng let loose a breath as he discovered that there was still 23 Gold remaining out of the 30 Gold he had registered. In addition to the Coins he had on hand right now, it just barely totaled over 30 Gold. Such an amount should be sufficient to purchase this Thunder Flame Explosion. 20 Gold! Shi Feng shouted. 20 Gold! Mister Black Flame has bid 20 Gold. Is there anyone else interested in bidding? This is the only precious item in the auction this time around. Everyone should not miss this chance to obtain it! Shi Feng could not help but send a disdainful glare at this old man. 21 Gold. Since it is a precious item, then it definitely wont be anything simple. I bid 24 Gold, a Tier 2 Swordsman pleasingly said. I bid 26 Gold, a Tier 3 Shadower yelled. The majority of the NPCs present in this auction consisted of melee Jobs. Hence, the competition for the skill book was extraordinarily intense. Moreover, the higher tiered NPCs were all filthy rich. Just by doing a simple Quest, they would be able to obtain compensation of several Gold Coins, so their rate of income was extremely quick. If Shi Feng did not earn a lot previously, he stood absolutely no chance at competing with these high-tiered NPCs. Looking at these high-tiered NPCs, he found each one of them was more powerful than the other. There was even a Tier 4 NPC placing a bid for the skill book. Seeing as the price was about to reach Shi Fengs bottom line... 30 Gold! Shi Feng placed his final bid. He would either succeed or die trying. 117 Aqua Rose With Shi Fengs bid of 30 Gold Coins, the price of the skill book was greatly increased. A few Tier 2 NPCs shook their heads at this sight, giving up the bid, one after another. Although this skill book was good, its price was simply too high. Just as Shi Feng was about to relax 35 Gold! A resonant voice resounded throughout the entire auction venue. Shi Feng turned his head to look at the source of the voice, nearly cursing out loud as he found the voices originator. The person who yelled out the bid was actually not an NPC with a melee Job, but a Tier 4 female Wizard. Magicians[1] were always the richest individuals in Gods Domain. To a Tier 4 Wizard, they only need carry out a single magical research to earn 30 to 50 Gold Coins. How unfortunate. Shi Feng shook his head, no longer competing for the skill book. He only had slightly over 30 Gold Coins. He couldnt compete for it even if he wanted to. If he had known this skill book would be sold, then he would not have chosen to sell his Gold Coins for Credits. Although Shi Feng had retired from the bidding competition, the other Tier 4 melee Job NPCs were still fervently competing over it. The price of the Thunder Flame Explosion had already risen to 45 Gold at this point. Aside from the equipment that were over Level 100, none of the items auctioned so far could beat this price. 45 Gold going once! 45 Gold going twice! At this moment, the sound of a notification from the System arrived. System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 31 Silver have been added to your bag space. System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 44 Silver have been added to your bag space. System: The Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design you have placed on auction has been sold. After deducting the processing fees, a total of 2 Gold 27 Silver have been added to your bag space. A series of notifications arrived, numbering at least twenty. Shi Feng was immediately shocked when he heard these notifications arriving. He did not understand what had actually happened. During the time he had been in Blackwing City, there were actually so many players who had bought the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design, that in just a moment, his wallet had greatly expanded. Since Shi Fengs wallet was bulging now as he yelled out without hesitation, 46 Gold! 45 Gold going thrice! This gentleman has bid 46 Gold! Are there any higher bids? 49 Gold, the Tier 4 female Wizard knit her brows slightly. Shi Feng was now extremely confident. If the female Wizard truly wished to buy the skill book, then he would definitely lose the bid. However, the value of this skill book was certainly not that great to this lady. Shi Feng did not believe that she would spend such a large amount of money just to buy it. 55 Gold, Shi Feng decided to be decisive instead of waiting for the price to slowly rise. For just a skill book, 55 Gold Coins was definitely an astronomical price. The female Wizard was no fool herself, so she immediately gave up on winning the bid. Seeing Shi Feng bidding with such a high price, the other NPCs looked at Shi Feng like they saw a fool. Even if they were to hire a Tier 3 or Tier 4 Job-related tutor to teach them a skill, the fees would not exceed one or two dozen Gold Coins. Moreover, the skills they could learn were much better than the Thunder Flame Explosion. Now, Shi Feng was actually spending 55 Gold Coins to learn such a skill. He was no different than a fool for doing so. However, NPCs would not be able to understand the world of players. In the initial stages of the game, the prowess of a skill could greatly change the overall strength of a player. It was especially true for a super-rare skill like Thunder Flame Explosion, which was an AOE skill that carried along a Fainting effect. It would bring endless benefits to Shi Feng in the future. Even if he had to spend 100 Gold Coins for the skill, it would still be worth it. Without any more NPCs joining the bid, the white-bearded old man finally slammed the hammer. Congratulations to Mister Black Flame for winning the Thunder Flame Explosion! Shi Feng joyfully handed over the 55 Gold Coins, receiving the Thunder Flame Explosion skill book in return. He then immediately learned the skill. Thunder Flame Explosion was a godly skill for grinding monsters and PK in the early stages of the game. With the skill in hand, Shi Feng had thought of several more ways to grind monsters. Following this, the auction went on for another hour or so before ending. However, none of the items that appeared were the ones Shi Feng needed right now. Moreover, every one of those items was auctioned off at prices of over a hundred Gold. The final item to appear was even an Epic Ranked item. Many Tier 4 NPCs madly bid for the item, with the final bid priced at over 5,000 Gold. Shi Feng could only observe the bidding process at that time, unable to join in on the actual fun. After the auction ended, Shi Feng walked out the entrance of the Auction Hall, satisfied. He wanted to return to Red Leaf Town immediately to find out what had actually happened there. Just why did the number of players who purchased the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design increase so much? If there was still money that could be earned from the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design, then he would immediately create another batch. He would earn as much money from it as possible, alleviating the emptiness of his wallet in the process. Shi Feng was originally considered a very wealthy person within the region of White River City. However, after making a trip to Blackwing City, he had suddenly discovered that he was actually just a poor bastard. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave Blackwing City, a hurried shout came from behind. Brother Black Flame, please hold on! Shi Feng turned his head around, discovering Lonely Goose and the other players from before. Amongst the bunch, there was also Egoistic Blade, the person who had eagerly tried to chase him away. What? Shi Feng indifferently asked. Although Shi Feng could understand the reason behind Lonely Gooses exclusion of him just now, understanding only remained as understanding. After all, who would have any pleasant feelings with being chased away just after being invited? Hearing Shi Fengs indifferent tone, Lonely Goose helplessly smiled, saying, Brother Black Flame, I apologize for the incident just now. It was all a misunderstanding. I wonder if we can still have a chat? Brother Lonely Goose, Ive already said before, people who walk different paths cannot make plans together. How would Shi Feng not know what the thoughts Lonely Goose and the others were? Before, these players were able to discard him because of profit. Now that they had found out he could enter the Auction House, they all came running back. Regarding the behavior of Lonely Goose and the others, he felt only disgust for it. Forget cooperation, who knows when they would sell him out for profit once more? Seeing that Shi Feng had turned around to leave, Egoistic Blade furiously shouted, Dont simply throw away this chance weve given you. The influence that first-rate Guilds like us possess far exceeds what you can imagine. By aiding us, you will be able to receive a generous return of at least 5 Gold Coins; thats enough for you to become the richest person in a Town. Others wont ever get a chance like this, so you best think it through clearly. After some more time passes, your title will be of little value. This is definitely your one chance to make a lot of money. To any independent player, being able to become the richest person in a Town was definitely just a pipe-dream. Achieving such a feat meant that a player had to have more than three to four Gold Coins in their pockets. To a Town that was still using Copper Coins as the main medium of trade, this was definitely an astronomical sum. Richest in Town? Shi Feng could not help but laugh, saying, This is truly an attractive remuneration. Unfortunately, Im not interested in it. What a joke. Before he had come to Blackwing City, he was already the richest person in the _City._ He did not lack in that amount of money at all. May I know if you are Mister Black Flame? At this time, a beautiful female player walked over, asking. The girl looked to be between the ages of 21 and 22, her appearance extremely beautiful, and her body garbed in a gorgeous purple robe. The girl had her lips pursed; her eyes squinted into a smile as she looked at Shi Feng. On her delicate white cheeks, a tinge of blush could be seen as she smiled at Shi Feng, further increasing her charms. Thats right, and you are? Shi Feng was not familiar with this girl before him. However, seeing that she was a Level 7 Cursemancer[2] and she wore a complete Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, it would seem that her strength was definitely out of the ordinary. Hello, you can call me Aqua Rose. We previously met inside the auction venue, but you might have missed me there, the elegant girl named Aqua Rose said with a smile. Hearing the girls self-introduction, Shi Feng was greatly shocked. One of the top ten ranking Cursemancers in Gods Domain, the Tier 6 Curse God[3], Aqua Rose. Shi Feng was actually able to meet her at this place. In Shi Fengs previous life, Aqua Roses fame was much greater than the Cleric God, Violet Cloud. En, were you at the auction just now? Shi Feng was startled. It should be known that, in order to enter the VIP Sections auction venue, one required a certain amount of status. Shi Feng was only fortunate to have obtained the Demon Hunter title after doing the first phase of an Epic Quest. I naturally cant compare to Mister Black Flame. I was only in there to take a look, unlike you, Mister Black Flame, spending 55 Gold just to buy a single skill book, Aqua Rose sighed, saying, Hence, I am representing Twilight Echo to seek cooperation with you. I wonder if Mister Black Flame would be interested in this? Twilight Echo was a grandly reputed Guild in the virtual gaming world, a titanic existence. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was one of the more famous elders of Twilight Echo, and her position was extremely high within the Guild. Her fame was no less than that of Gentle Snow, and she was an existence of which very few had not heard. Hearing the conversation between Aqua Rose and Shi Feng, Egoistic Blade and the others were extremely shaken, their tongues tied up as they dumbly stared. Originally, they had thought of Shi Feng as a mere independent player. So, how much money would a player like that possess? If they were to give him 5 Gold Coins, he would definitely be deeply grateful to them. Yet, from Aqua Roses words, Shi Feng had actually spent 55 Gold just to buy a single skill book. Even if they added up all the money they possessed, such an amount was still more than double theirs _Just who was this Shi Feng actually?_ TL Notes: [1]Magician: Im not really sure about this class, but since it wasnt mentioned in one of the 12 main classes, Im assuming that it is some hidden class or one that was limited to NPCs only. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! 118 Another Road to Wealth Receiving Aqua Roses invitation, Shi Feng nodded his head in agreement. In any case, he was bound to have to cooperate with the large Guilds in Blackwing City. So, instead of choosing Bloodthirsty War God and Guilds of similar influence, it would be much better for him to choose the more famous and more influential, Twilight Echo, with which to cooperate. Moreover, Aqua Rose was a very well-renowned name. She was not a girl who prioritized profits, but more friendly relationships. In Shi Fengs previous life, one of Aqua Roses close friends was targeted by a first-rate Guild. The first-rate Guild in question wanted to kill her friend back to Level 0 no matter what, and they even wanted her friend to hand out all of her precious items. In order to aid her friend, Aqua Rose had unhesitatingly declared war with that first-rate Guild. As a result, both Guilds incurred massive damage, and Twilight Echos overall strength was greatly reduced, becoming only an ordinary first-rate Guild from then on. If a person prioritized profit over friendship, then they would never have done such a damaging action just to help a friend. However, Aqua Rose had done it. Aqua Roses friend became extremely touched because of Aqua Roses actions, becoming one of the fierce generals of Twilight Echo. In the end, Aqua Roses friend, Unyielding Ice, had even become a Tier 6 Mage God, turning Twilight Echo into a tyrannic existence in Gods Domain. With Aqua Roses personality guaranteed, Shi Feng felt much more assured at cooperating with her. I know a good restaurant up ahead. Lets have a chat over there, after Shi Feng agreed to her invitation, Aqua Rose revealed a faint smile. She then guided Shi Feng towards the restaurant. After Shi Feng and Aqua Rose departed, Egoistic Blade curled his lips in disdain, sourly saying, Does he think hes amazing just because he has some money? Hes just a wealthy spindrift. Sooner or later, Ill definitely be richer than him. Hearing Egoistic Blade saying so, Lonely Goose and the others could not help but look at him in disdain. Shi Feng was already having discussions of cooperation in Blackwing City with Aqua Rose. Based on Shi Fengs formidable wealth and special status, he would definitely become an influential figure in Blackwing City in the very near future. Shi Feng was not someone that Egoistic Blade could compare to. In fact, Egoistic Blade himself knew this truth. He was only speaking to ease the pain in his heart. Red Rose High Class Restaurant: It was one of the few upper class restaurants in Blackwing City. Just the NPCs that were guarding the restaurants entrance were already Level 180 Tier 2 Jobs. Moreover, the delicacies served here were of absolute perfection. Even if the food served was just a virtual object, eating it would give one an unspeakable sense of satisfaction. However, the average player would definitely not have the courage to dine at this place. That was because just a random cup of tea already cost over a dozen Silver Coins. Inside a luxurious private room on the fourth floor of the restaurant building, Aqua Rose had casually ordered a few of the most expensive teas available. She sat down quietly, staring at Shi Feng, completely unfazed at spending more than 30 Silver Coins on just beverages. Whatever sorts of cooperation you have in mind, just speak. It would feel extremely awkward if you just keep staring at me like that. Looking at Aqua Roses smiling expression as she stared at him, Shi Feng started inwardly getting the chills. Pardon me; I was just very curious about you. I never imagined that the famous Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom would actually be such a matured and composed man like you. Originally, I had even thought that the Chief Forger would be some quirky old man in his fifties or sixties, Aqua Rose smiled. I didnt know that Miss Aqua would be so interested in Forging. Could it be, Miss Aqua wishes to recruit me into your Guild? Shi Feng drank a mouthful of the black tea served, smiling faintly. Shi Feng did not feel anything out of the ordinary from Aqua Rose knowing his identity as a Forger. After all, the name of Black Flame had become relatively huge now. As long as one made a quick search on the internet, they would be able to find plenty of related information. Aqua Rose shook her head, softly saying, No. I know that Master Black Flames ambition is not that small. Hence, I do not have such an intention. I only wish to purchase a few Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, and also some equipment made by Master Black Flame. For example, a Secret-Silver Weapon such as the Silver Dawn. In addition, I wish to make a long-term purchase of Gold Coins from Master Black Flame. Naturally, I would buy the Coins at 20% above the market price. I wonder how Master Black Flame feels about all of this? There wont be a problem with selling you the Forging Designs and equipment. However, I can only say that I am helpless about the sale of Gold Coins. Moreover, I have an additional condition myself, Shi Feng said after some thought. If Aqua Rose was willing to purchase his items in bulk, then it would naturally be a good thing. It was especially true for the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Design. Selling that item was no different than carrying out daylight robbery. Furthermore, Shi Feng could also utilize Twilight Echo to purchase some items for him. As for the Gold Coins, Shi Feng had no intentions of selling them. Master Black Flame, please speak. If it is something that we, Twilight Echo, can carry out, we will definitely do so, Aqua Rose joyfully said as she saw Shi Feng agreeing to her conditions. I need various types of ores and stones. You should know that a lot of ores and materials are required to forge equipment. With the influence of Twilight Echo, I deem that it should be very easy for you all to purchase a large number of ores, right? In addition, I also require the entry pass for Blackwing City. If I cannot frequently come to Blackwing City, I would also be unable to conduct trade with you all, Shi Feng calmly said. At this point, Master Black Flame can rest assured. I can obtain as many ores for you as you want. Moreover, their prices will definitely be cheap. As for the entry pass to Blackwing City, even if Master Black Flame does not mention it, we will definitely prepare them for you. Hearing Shi Fengs request, Aqua Roses smile became even more dazzling. Twilight Echos location was situated in the Storm Empire. The Storm Empire was a giant at ore production. Hence, the quantity of ores available was extremely high, while their prices were extremely cheap. It would be a very easy task for Twilight Echo to obtain a large amount of ores and stones for forging. Moreover, they could also earn a large sum of money from selling the ores and other materials. Shi Feng naturally knew why Aqua Rose was so cheerful. Star-Moon Kingdom was unlike the Storm Empire. Its geography was situated on flatlands; hence, the amount of ores available was very little, while their prices were extremely high. Hence why Shi Feng wanted Aqua Rose to provide him with a large amount of ores, while he would provide the equipment, making it a mutually beneficial exchange. Moreover, if he was unable to use up the ores and materials he purchased at a low price, he could simply sell them off to the other Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom. These Guilds all needed to nurture their own Forgers. Hence, they would need a very large amount of ores and materials. Shi Feng would not have to worry about looking for a buyer at all. Shi Feng did not imagine that, just by making a single trip to Blackwing City, he would obtain both the items he wanted, and also another road to wealth. Lets trade the Forging Designs first, then. As for the other equipment and materials, we will trade them on another day. How about two days later? Shi Fengs heart was constantly filled with thoughts regarding the Fellowship Party of Jin Hai University. It was only a few days before the Fellowship Party would be held. With his forging skills, if he were to put all his efforts into forging equipment in these two days, he should be able to make a large sum of money. If he took the chance to sell off ores as well, he would make even more money. If his luck was good, he might be able to obtain a good harvest from the Fellowship Party. Master Black Flame, you too should know that Gods Domain has only recently started its operation, so every Guild is slightly tight on Gold Coins. Can we perhaps conduct the trade with both Gold Coins and Credits? If we can conduct the trade in this way, Master Black Flame, I will purchase as many Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs as you possess, Aqua Rose said in a slightly embarrassed tone. Oh dear Shi Feng pretended to sigh, showing a troubled expression. Seeing this, Aqua Rose became slightly panicked. Right now, every large Guild was tight on Gold Coins, and though they wished to purchase them in bulk, it was an extremely difficult task. After all, Gods Domain only acknowledged Coins, not Credits. Moreover, the officials of Gods Domain had also declared that they would not activate the mechanics of exchanging Credits to Gold Coins. Instead, they only conducted the exchange of Gold Coins to Credits. Regarding the selling price of the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, Aqua Rose had previously conducted an investigation. Each Forging Design was sold at around 3 Gold Coins. If she was to use only Gold Coins to conduct the exchange, she would at most be able to buy four to five pieces. However, after purchasing them, the Gold Coins spent would greatly affect the development of her Guild. Yet, looking at Shi Fengs appearance, he did not seem to be very lacking in Credits. If she had to trade in only Gold Coins, then she would truly be left helpless. 119 Gods Domain Upgraded Miss Aqua, I wonder in what ratio you wish to trade at? Shi Feng let out a dry cough, softly saying. If it was the Shi Feng of before, he would not have minded fully selling the Forging Designs for Credits. However, it was a different story now. Although Credits were extremely important to Shi Feng, the value of Gold Coins right now was similarly huge. It was especially true after Shi Feng had come to Blackwing City. All the good items sold here had astronomical prices. Moreover, the NPCs here only accepted Gold Coins, running a no money, no talk policy. If possible, 2% Gold Coins and 98% Credits. What do you think, Master Black Flame? Aqua Roses curved eyelashes flickered as she spoke in an embarrassed tone. After all, the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs were just too expensive. Moreover, she intended to buy a large amount of them. Even if she were to pay just 10% of the price in Gold Coins, Twilight Echo might not be able to handle it. Shi Feng nearly spat out the tea he was drinking after hearing her offer. Paying 2% in Gold Coins meant that, for a transaction worth 100 Gold, Shi Feng would only receive 2 Gold, while receiving the remaining 98% in Credits. Although Shi Feng was not trying to be petty, wasnt this amount a little _too_ low? Miss Aqua, after arriving at Blackwing City, you should know that the items sold here will be of great help to us. However, the items here are just too expensive. In addition, the Auction House would often sell top-tier items. The value of Gold Coins goes without saying. The ratio for Gold Coins you offered is truly not enough. At the very least, it should be at 10%, Shi Feng unhurriedly said. I know that I am troubling Master Black Flame. However, Twilight Echo is truly unable to bring out that many Gold Coins. If Master Black Flame is willing to reduce the ratio down to 5%, I am willing to pay out an additional 20% in Credits. I wonder if that would be possible? Aqua Rose was similarly helpless. However, the Coins in Gods Domain were simply too valuable. Even the Coins obtained by the money-farming teams of Twilight Echo, which consisted of 3,000 players, was not enough to support the Guilds expenditure. Although Twilight Echo was constantly expanding the size for the money-farming teams, from beginning to end, the amount obtained was never enough. Otherwise, Aqua Rose would not be bargaining ceaselessly with Shi Feng. Shi Feng entered a deep thought. The 5% was very close to his bottom-line already. Moreover, Aqua Rose was willing to pay an additional 20% in Credits. To Shi Feng, this was an extremely attractive proposition. Currently, 1 Silver Coin was priced at 100 Credits. It could be said that the value of Coins was the highest at this moment. At the very minimum, their trade would be worth at least 50 Gold Coins. An additional 20% would be the equivalent of over 90,000 Credits, after tax. It was already a large amount. Alright, well go with 5%, then. How many pieces of the Forging Design does Miss Aqua wish to buy? Shi Feng nodded his head, asking. Aqua Rose stretched out five of her delicate fingers. Five pieces, is it? Shi Feng could not help but be startled. After a half a days worth of discussion, she only wanted five pieces? Was she toying with him? Aqua shook her head at Shi Fengs words. It cant be 50 pieces, right? Shi Feng was shocked. If all 50 pieces were sold at an additional 20% based on the market price, then each piece would be priced at 3 Gold Coins. Fifty pieces would be 150 Gold Coins! Just thinking about it was enough to cause Shi Feng to be excited. He didnt think that Aqua Rose would have such a big appetite, making a 150 Gold transaction amount. This had far exceeded his initial estimates. Just within moments, Shi Feng was able to earn several millions of Credits. With this amount of money, he would have much more confidence when attending the Fellowship Party. After all, if one wanted to develop their influence, money was an absolute necessity. No, I want 500 pieces. I wonder if Master Black Flame has that many pieces? Aqua Rose brightly smiled. It was as if she was not buying Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, but a stack of plain paper. Miss Aqua, are you sure you wish to buy 500 pieces? You should know that the price for such an amount is not a joke, Shi Feng verified once more. He could not help but admit that Aqua Rose frightened him. With this many pieces of Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, it was sufficient to provide for the needs of more than a dozen Guilds. Twilight Echo would absolutely be unable to use all of them. Master Black Flame, I am very sure of it. However, with such a large transaction, I too have an additional condition, Aqua Rose said with a mysterious smile. Speak, Shi Feng said. Within Blackwing City, your Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs are only allowed to be sold to us, Twilight Echo. Moreover, with such a large transaction, even if only 5% of it would be traded in Gold Coins, that would still be 75 Gold Coins. I can only pay all these Gold Coins in installments. Of course, the first payment would be 10 Gold Coins. Afterward, I will make sure to pay off the debt within a month. I wonder if you can be satisfied with that? Aqua Rose said. After hearing Aqua Rose speak, Shi Feng immediately understood her intentions. This girl intended to purchase his Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs to resell them to the other Guilds. That way, she too would be able to earn a ton. Shi Feng similarly understood the reason for Aqua Roses sincerity. Furthermore, he was not a petty person himself. He immediately said in a generous tone, Alright, and since you are buying that many pieces, you only need to pay 10 Gold Coins. The remainder you can just pay it all off in Credits. It would be fine as long as he could sell off the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs. As for who he sold them to, it did not matter that much. He wouldnt be envious of Aqua Rose either. Aqua Roses connections were much, much wider than his own. Being able to sell that many pieces of the Forging Designs, and at an even higher price, would all be due to Aqua Roses own ability. On the other hand, Shi Feng did not possess such an ability, so why should he bother himself with these matters? He would be satisfied as long as he could earn all the money possible for him to earn from the Forging Designs. Following which, Shi Feng searched for a lounge, spending more than two hours in it to make over 600 pieces of Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs. Yet, even after making so many of them, his cost did not even exceed 2 Silver Coins. This way of earning money was literally quicker than robbing an NPC Bank. Shi Feng passed 500 pieces of the Forging Designs to Aqua Rose, receiving 10 Gold Coins in return. At the same time, Aqua Rose immediately deposited 17.88 million Credits into Shi Fengs account. In addition to the Credits Shi Feng earned previously, he now had over 18 million Credits in his bank account. Shi Feng had become a millionaire within an instant. Shi Feng nearly fainted from the rush of joy he felt. Originally, Shi Feng had thought that it would be fortunate if he was able to earn a few million Credits in the following few days. Now, however, he had earned nearly 18 million Credits in an instant. In a few more days, that amount might even rise to 20 million. Although it was not enough to put him on the same level as the young masters of large corporations, it was still enough for him to compete with Shadow at the Fellowship Party. Moreover, he would be able to establish a high quality Workshop quickly. Aqua Rose became overjoyed when she received the 500 pieces of Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs. With Twilight Echos influence, she would definitely be able to sell out all of the Forging Designs, earning a large sum of Gold Coins. The speed at which she earned Gold Coins would be several hundred times faster than that of the money-farming teams. With this many Gold Coins, the development of the Guild would definitely rise greatly. Who would be able to compete with Twilight Echo from then on? Master Black Flame, lets set our next transaction to be at three days later, then. At that time, I will bring you the various ores that you require. Also, please dont forget to bring more Weapons and Equipment. I want as many as you have. Alright, you wont be disappointed. After the two of them finished their trade, both promptly departed from Blackwing City, returning to their own respective countries to make preparations. At that moment, the sky in Red Leaf Town was growing dimmer. The players outside the Town were all starting to return. After dark, the monsters in the wild would have their strength increased by 20%. Moreover, their numbers would greatly increase. If a player had the misfortune of being wrapped up like a dumpling by the monsters, dying back to Town, then that would be a true tragedy. After returning to Red Leaf Town, originally, Shi Feng had intended to investigate the situation at the Auction House. He wanted to know why exactly the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs were being so well-received. However, the color of the sky suddenly changed. The azure colored sky turned rainbow-colored. It was a magnificent sight, which bewitched a persons mind. Immediately after, the entire sky had let out an overwhelming sound that resounded throughout the entire Gods Domain. System Announcement: Emergency notice! Emergency notice! System Announcement: Gods Domain will be undergoing a system upgrade. The system upgrade will require 12 real-life hours. May all players please logout of the game within 10 minutes. System Announcement: Gods Domain will be undergoing a system upgrade. The system upgrade will require 12 real-life hours. May all players please logout of the game within 10 minutes. System Announcement: Gods Domain will be undergoing a system upgrade. The system upgrade will require 12 real-life hours. May all players please logout of the game within 10 minutes. A series of four consecutive System Announcement resounded throughout the entirety of Gods Domain. Countless players were shaken by the sight and sound coming from the sky, all of them starting a discussion over it. They did not understand just what had happened to Gods Domain. Why was there a need for such a sudden upgrade to the System? Just what is happening here? Why is Gods Domain evolving so quickly? Shi Fengs brows creased into a bundle after hearing the System Announcement. According to his memories, Gods Domains first upgrade would only happen at least a month later. Right now, Gods Domain evolving was bad news to Shi Feng. 120 Evolution Once the System Announcement ended, every single player began looking for a safe location, preparing to log out of the game. Although many players held resentment towards the System upgrade, Gods Domain was quickly entering nighttime. Even if they stayed in the game, they would not be able to do much. The only things they could do were to trade off the days harvest or chat with their companions, enjoying their time. Shi Feng took this chance to immediately run towards the Auction House of Red Leaf Town, clearing out items such ore, herbs, and various other materials; as long as they were rare materials, Shi Feng bought them all. After purchasing all the items he could and filling his bag up completely, Shi Feng ran towards the Bank, intending to return to the Auction House once more to do more shopping. Unfortunately, the system notified him that he only had three minutes remaining to logout. He would not have enough time to make a return trip from the Bank. Hah I only managed to buy this many Shi Feng looked at the time, releasing a helpless sigh. Fortunately, he had obtained quite a number of Gold Coins from the trade just now, allowing him to purchase materials worth more than a dozen Gold Coins. Soon after, Shi Feng headed to the Hotel, preparing to log out. On his way, he met many players who were uncontrollably excited over the System upgrade that was to come. They all started a discussion amongst themselves, anticipating the benefits that would come with this System upgrade. Shi Feng only wanted to chuckle at them due to their anticipation. Without a doubt, there would be benefits from the evolution of Gods Domain. However, many would be unexpected. After arriving at the Hotel, Shi Feng paid a fee of 10 Coppers to rest for a day. Meanwhile, the other players noticed Shi Feng was extravagantly spending 10 Copper Coins to rent a room. They could only obtain such an amount after putting their all into grinding monsters for five to six hours. Such spending was simply too wasteful. However, when they saw that Shi Feng had already reached Level 7, none of them dared comment on his actions. A Level 7 player was definitely a character at the apex of Red Leaf Town. If they accidentally provoked Shi Feng, it would not be an impossible matter for them to die back to Level 0. After all, these sorts of incidents often occurred in Red Leaf Town. These players could only inwardly look at Shi Feng in disdain. One could be quite capricious when one was rich! Shi Feng only minded himself as he entered one of the guest rooms, paying no heed to those other players. He would not bother explaining to those players the reason why he chose to rent a room and not just log out of the game from a random location. As the morning sun rose, Shi Feng got up from his bed, removing the advanced gaming helmet from his head. It was eight oclock in the morning, just in time to start his usual morning training. At that moment, Shi Fengs phone rang, the caller ID showing it was Blackie calling him. Blackie, did something happen? Shi Feng answered the call, asking curiously. Normally, Blackie would not take the initiative to contact him unless it was an urgent matter. Brother Feng, something big has happened! Quick, turn on your TV! Right now, the news channels are showing it right now. Almost every TV channel is showing it! Blackie said with ragged breaths, his tone greatly excited. If Shi Feng was unfamiliar with Blackie, he mightve thought Blackie had been doing some sort of extreme exercise. Shi Feng turned on the old and small TV in his broken down apartment. He then switched the channels, discovering that every TV channel was interrupted by the same news report. Today at 5 a.m., the top 1,000 largest global corporations all announced their decision to invest in Gods Domain. They wish to improve the development of the virtual economy further. At the same time, each of these corporations will all be establishing their own Gods Domain Workshops. As for the latest report on Gods Domain, according to official statistics, all the vendors selling the Gods Domain virtual gaming helmets were flooded with customers within the short three hours since the announcement. This is all due to the corporations across the globe investing in the game. As a result, the player population of Gods Domain suddenly increased by over 800 million users. At the same time, the current player population was boosted to 1.8 billion users, breaking the world record for the number of players of any virtual reality game. Various news constantly played on the television. The news reports were advertising the idea of making Gods Domain a second world for mankind, encouraging everyone to experience the game. Also, to further advance the data collection by the Main God System, further completing Gods Domain, the price of the basic virtual reality helmets reduced from 8,000 Credits to 4,000 Credits. As for the price of advanced virtual reality helmets and virtual gaming cabins, those remained unchanged. That was fast, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile after listening to these reports. However, he was not shocked by them. Although the report arrived slightly earlier than he expected. In Shi Fengs previous life, these reports only surfaced after ten days of Gods Domains operation. Due to these large corporations investing themselves in Gods Domain, virtual reality games began receiving an extensive range of attention. The entire virtual gaming world similarly burned like a raging inferno, and the previously retired gaming experts all joined Gods Domain. Moreover, the few remaining popular virtual reality games were forced to shut down due to the popularity of Gods Domain. As a result, all the affected gamers transferred to Gods Domain, instantly causing the games player population to explode. The competition within the game similarly grew fiercer. All virtual reality games had a definite similarity with each other - limited resources. If the original population of a single Town suddenly grew from several thousand to over ten thousand, the number of players competing over the available resources greatly increased. Naturally, the prices of items would also greatly increase. So thats why Realization suddenly struck Shi Feng. It was no wonder why the number of people buying the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs had increased. It turned out that it was all due to these large corporations investing in the game and the additional 800 million new players joining the game. These players were all Level 0; so, naturally, their need for equipment was intense. They would not hesitate to buy the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, forging a large amount of Glimmer Chestplates and earning a lot of money. What a shame. These new players came at such a bad time. Shi Feng pitied the players who had just joined Gods Domain. The timing they chose to join was just too unfortunate. Of all the times they could have chosen, they chose to join immediately after Gods Domain had its first evolution. With this, they were destined to be doomed. The upgrading of Gods Domain was the games self-evolution. However, nobody understood the true meaning of this matter. Only after they experienced it for themselves would they come to understand fully. The reason Shi Feng chose to use the words evolution instead of upgrade was because evolution represented evolving and adapting. It was survival of the fittest, in short. While players were living their lives in Gods Domain, the Main God System constantly collected various data from the game. When the data collected reached a certain degree, quantitative change would become qualitative change, which meant evolution. Virtual reality allowed players the ultimate experience of a realistic fantasy world. However, the process of turning something virtual into reality was just incredibly difficult. Moreover, Gods Domain was an extremely realistic world in which magic and superhumans existed. Hence why the existence of the Main God System. The Systems purpose was to turn Gods Domain into an even more realistic world, constantly perfecting and evolving Gods Domain. Shi Feng felt the main perpetrator for hastening the evolution should be himself. His reasoned that, in his previous life, the Hell Mode of the Team Dungeon was cleared exactly a month after Gods Domains opening, with the upgrade following soon after. Right now, the Hell Mode of the Team Dungeon had been cleared, and similarly, the game announced a System upgrade almost immediately. In the end, they greatly expedited the schedule. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng suddenly felt he should be more careful with his future actions. Due to his good luck this time, he was able to have a chance encounter with Aqua Rose from Twilight Echo. This fortunate encounter allowed him to earn over ten million Credits easily. Even now, Shi Feng felt like he was in a dream. However, after this evolution, it was practically impossible for him to earn that much money so easily. If he did not earn a large sum of money during this time, now that the major corporations have decided to involve themselves, in addition to Gods Domains evolution, his plans in Gods Domain would suffer severe disruption. Finished reading the reports, Shi Feng proceeded to train his body. This was an assignment he had to carry out every single day. Now that the major corporations have entered Gods Domain, they would surely have poached plenty of veteran gamers and newcomers with great potential. They may even recruit experts from fighting tournaments. These experts standards were entirely different from the average players of Gods Domain. They would only take a short time becoming an expert in the game. With the proper guidance, their development would have rapid progress. The arrival of these players would massively impact Gods Domain. In order to maintain an even greater advantage, Shi Feng needed to quickly and diligently train his body. Training his body would hasten the absorption process of the energy from the nutrient fluids, providing even more nutrients and increasing the activity of the brain. This way he would be able to increase his combat prowess in Gods Domain further. After going through his morning training, Shi Feng prepared to leave the house to restock his nutrient fluids. He would also search for a better home. It would have a negative impact on his body if he continued staying in this rented apartment, surrounded by an unhealthy environment. Since he had earned quite a bit of money, it was high time for him to switch to find a new place. 121 Invitation When Shi Feng arrived at Jin Hai Citys business district, he wandered about and discovered customers flooding the electronics department store. He noticed several youths rushing out of the department store after much difficulty, their hands holding a Gods Domain virtual gaming helmet and their expressions filled with joy and excitement. After leaving the apartment, Shi Feng immediately hitched a ride to the business district in the citys center. Hahaha, this is just wonderful! Fortunately, I came here as early as 7 oclock in the morning to queue up. After three hours of waiting, I finally got my hands on it! From today onwards, I will be fighting for my future in Gods Domain! the lean youth wearing a blue T-shirt laughed loudly as he grasped the helmet. Do you need me to carry you guys? I have a friend who has been playing Gods Domain since the game started. Right now, he is already a Level 4. As long as we have him to help us, well definitely level quickly. If were lucky, we might even be able to have him carry us, another curly haired youth proudly proclaimed. Really? Then its a promise! Our futures will be in your hands from now on. As for your lunches at the university, well pay them for you. Leave it to me! He and I are close brothers! When these youths heard there was an expert willing to give them pointers and carry them, they were all incredibly excited. They fantasized about their beautiful futures. With the many global corporations fiercely investing in Gods Domain, in addition to the many news reports about it, the common folk all discovered a new way to make money. These large corporations would easily offer a gaming expert a high salary. So much so that, for some of the veteran and expert players, the annual salaries would reach as high as three million Credits. This was an unimaginable figure when considering the virtual reality games of the past. Previously, those with an annual salary in the millions just from gaming were godlike players standing at the apex. Now, however, even retired experts could receive an annual salary of three million Credits. Meanwhile, the current trending top-tier experts could receive an annual salary of up to eight million Credits. According to Shi Fengs knowledge, the annual salary of the Guild Leader of Ouroboros did not even exceed six million Credits, while Gentle Snows annual salary was only four million Credits. Of course, the Snow Goddess would not even pay heed to this small amount of money. She could easily obtain an income of several tens of millions just from advertisement. In addition to her family background, money was truly not a problem for her. Unlike Shi Feng, who played Gods Domain to change his fate, fulfilling his wish that never was fulfilled, Gentle Snows goal was purely the joy gained from stimulating adventures. Luckily, Im not here to buy a gaming helmet, Shi Feng sent a glance to the sea of people at the department store, exclaiming. He then turned towards a mobile phone store near the electronics department store. It was an inconvenience for him to continue using an old-modeled phone. Hence, Shi Feng was prepared to switch to a quantum watch instead. Not only did it support communication between multiple languages, but it also supported bank account binding, allowing Shi Feng to transfer Credits at any given time. This way, he would neither have to always go to the bank to retrieve money nor would he have to constantly carry around a stack of cash, causing a bulge in his pockets. He could avoid showing others a bulge on his lower body, preventing an awkward situation from occurring. Immediately after Shi Feng walked into the quantum watch store, a beautiful saleswoman came up to greet him. How may I help you, Sir? Our stores number one priority is quality. We have various models of mobile phones. I especially recommend the latest Quantum 3000. It has an independent binding, is water resistant, and is definitely safe. Not only can it carry out payment in real-time, but the Quantum 3000 also supports transactions from the virtual reality game, Gods Domain. Alright, take me to see it then. This way, please, Sir. Judging from Shi Fengs tone, the beautiful saleswoman could discern that Shi Feng intended to buy a quantum watch. Immediately, she respectfully brought Shi Feng to the area dedicated to selling quantum watches. She then took out dozens of models. Not only were their designs beautiful, but they were also elegant-looking and convenient to use. They were all operated by a holographic screen, and even when carrying out vigorous activities, the clarity of the display and sound would not be affected in the slightest. Sir, as we are doing a promotion for Gods Domain, you only need to pay 29,999 Credits instead of the usual 30,000 Credits to take the Quantum 3000 home. Shi Feng could not help but sweat at the saleswomans promotion. _Just how was this any different from 30,000 Credits?_ This price was practically unaffordable for the average university student if they did not possess a well-paying job, and even then, they would usually need to save up for half a year before being able to buy one. However, Shi Feng was indeed in need of the latest quantum watch. After all, it would be particularly convenient for him. Although running to the bank was good training for his body, it was, after all, a very troublesome task. It was especially true when he needed to make a transaction of millions of Credits. He would definitely look fishy if he carried around a large suitcase filled with money. Give me this blue one, then, Shi Feng chose a good-looking model. Under the beautiful saleswomans guidance, Shi Feng carried out the bindings for his identity, original phone number, bank account, and so on. Shi Feng then swiped using his new quantum watch, paying the bill for it. It was a very convenient item. Now that he had obtained a quantum watch, Shi Feng went on to purchase 10 bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluids and 50 bottles of B-rank Nutrient Fluids, spending a total of 150,000 Credits for them. Although it was a heartache to spend so much money, in consideration for the future of his body, Shi Feng still needed to carry out several in-depth strengthening training sessions. So, he needed to purchase this number of Nutrient Fluids at the very least. _Di Di Di..._ His quantum watch rang and vibrated, notifying him that his class monitor, Zhao Ruoxi, was calling him. Aside from notifying him about the class assembly last time, the class beauty, Zhao Ruoxi, had never once contacted him. Class monitor, is something the matter? Shi Feng immediately asked. Fellow student Shi Feng, must I have a purpose to call you? Or are you trying to tell me that you hate receiving calls from me? Zhao Ruoxi said in a slightly downcast tone. No, no. How could that be possible? I still havent thanked you for your help the last time! hearing such a bitter tone from Zhao Ruoxi, Shi Feng hurriedly responded. In his heart, Zhao Ruoxi was a very good girl. Not only was she smart, kind, and beautiful, but she was also the only one who stood up to Ling Feilong, demanding justice for Shi Feng. Her actions gave Shi Feng a warm feeling. Thats better. At least you still have a conscience. Zhao Ruoxi laughed, The date of the Fellowship Party I mentioned to you the last time has been confirmed. It will be held next Friday. Every participant will be required to pay a fee of 5,000 Credits. Ive already paid it for you, so dont forget to show up. Finished speaking, Zhao Ruoxi immediately disconnected the call. As a result, Shi Feng was left dumbfounded for a long moment. Ruoxi, why did you notify Shi Feng? Youve even paid the participation fee for him. Hes not anything good, to begin with, always keeping his thoughts and emotions to himself. He must have a hidden motive. There is a wide gap between both of your statuses, and to change his own fate, he will definitely use unscrupulous means to get close to you. You better not let him trick you, Ling Feilong pretended to care about Zhao Ruoxi. However, inwardly, he was close to the point of going insane with anger. A poor bastard like Shi Feng actually received Zhao Ruoxis attention. She even footed the participation fee for him. Her actions revealed that she indeed possessed some interest towards him. Enough, Ling Feilong. Whoever I pay for is my own business. I dont need you to butt in on it, Zhao Ruoxi said in displeasure. Ling Feilong was speechless. However, he did not dare to display his thoughts, hatred for Shi Feng permeating his heart. Originally, everything had been smooth sailing for him. Yet, Shi Fengs sudden appearance caused everything to run amok. _Shi Feng, just you wait If I cant deal with you myself, then Ill just tell Zhao Ruoxis uncle. Well see how he takes care of you_ Ling Feilong inwardly sneered. With Shi Fengs lowly status, Zhao Ruoxis uncle would definitely reject them being together. As long as he exerted a little effort, hecould easily deal with a small fry like Shi Feng. At 6 p.m., Shi Feng returned to his rented apartment. After spending the afternoon running around, Shi Feng finally found himself a good apartment in the citys center. The furnishing of the apartment was quite thorough. Moreover, the surrounding environment was very appealing. With the initial deposit paid, as long as he packed up his things, he could move into the apartment tomorrow. After tidying himself up, Shi Feng drank a bottle of B-rank Nutrient Fluids. He then lay on the bed, donning his gaming helmet and resuming his conquest in Gods Domain. 122 God’s Domain Changes The sky above Red Leaf Town glimmered brightly. Players, one after another, appeared on the wide, spacious road, all of their faces filled with excitement. They all wished to dive into experiencing the new changes to Gods Domain. However, these players were all quickly disappointed. Be it the System Interface or all of Red Leaf Town itself, there was not a hint of change felt. Everything was just the same as usual. What kind of bullshit is this? Ive painstakingly waited for twelve hours, and this is what you give me? Why isnt the official website showing the changelog for the upgrade? Many veteran players started their discussions on the streets. There were also some players who paid no attention towards the upgrade, immediately heading out of Town to kill monsters and level up. Aside from these veteran players, there were tons of newcomers in Red Leaf Town now. Most of these newcomers were curiously enjoying the novelty of Gods Domain. Looking for top-tier experts to carry me! Ill pay 100 Credits for every level-up! If you are looking for a fool to scam, then dont bother talking to me! Im looking for serious inquiries only! a new player shouted on the wide street. Following, several more newcomers similarly shouted. However, though their offers were all lower than 100 Credits, they all acted like tycoons, standing proudly as they shouted out their offers. At that moment, Shi Feng stepped out of the Hotel. He felt his spirit brimming with energy, one of the benefits of staying in a Hotel. After the evolution of Gods Domain, the number of Hidden Attributes a player possessed had greatly increased. For example, Stamina, Concentration, and so on. However, one would only become aware of these changes after personally experiencing them. Players could no longer run tens of kilometers without tiring like before, nor would they be able to battle for as long as they wanted. Before, the only problem players faced was the tiring of the spirit. Now, however, everything was largely different. For players at Level 0, they would become dead-tired after only walking for two or three kilometers, not having even an ounce of fighting strength remaining. Similarly, continuously grinding monsters also became much more difficult. It was just like jogging. Players would consume a lot of stamina when battling monsters. Once a players stamina reduced to a certain threshold, their four limbs would turn feeble, while their spirits would grow exhausted. Besides that, there were many more hidden changes that occurred after the evolution of Gods Domain. As the Main God System made Gods Domain more realistic, simultaneously, players would find it even more difficult for them to level up. It should be time for me to go shopping. In Shi Fengs previous life, after the upgrade of Gods Domain, the prices of items soared sky-high, increasing by at least two or three folds. As a result, many players regretted not stockpiling a large number of resources after the evolution of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the current situation was slightly different from before. The prices of items increased even more than last time. Aside from the difficulty of leveling up increasing, the time just so happened to coincide with the influx of a lot of newcomers. As a result, the competition for items would become much fiercer, increasing the difficulty of obtaining resources by manyfold. Hence, the increase in prices for these items would be even more exaggerated than in Shi Fengs previous life. Now that Gods Domain had recently evolved, before players discovered the new changes, Shi Feng could use this chance to purchase and stockpile all the important items. After the prices soared, he could then resell all of them. If the major Guilds were to get ahold of this information right now, they would definitely soar to become the tyrants of their respective Towns. For Shi Feng, however, he could only make a quick buck. When comparing an individual to a Guild, the resources obtainable by both were on totally different levels. There were plenty of players within a Guild, so they would be able to easily obtain a ton of rare resources within no time at all. Meanwhile, although Shi Feng knew how to obtain those resources, just how much of them could he obtain by himself? During the time he was procuring those resources, his level might be surpassed by other players. Hence, his only choice was to shop for the resources at the Auction House. This expert over here, please wait a moment. Are you interested in making some extra income? a Level 0 Berserker walked up to Shi Feng, asking with a smile on his face. Shi Feng was wearing a complete Silvermoon Set Equipment. His weapon was also a Secret-Silver Rank. Although newcomers did not possess Identification Skills[1] to discern Shi Fengs level, Shi Fengs dazzlingly high-quality equipment was clearly much better than the veteran players on the street. It was needless to say that Shi Feng was definitely an expert. Extra income? Shi Feng turned around, discovering that it was a newcomer calling out to him. For convenience sake, some of the more wealthy players would normally hire experts to aid them in completing a Quest. In return, they would pay a considerable amount of Credits as remuneration. Regarding such extra incomes, Shi Feng was still somewhat interested. He continued, Tell me about it, then. Its very simple; you just need to help me level up. Im also not a miserly person, so Im willing to pay 100 Credits per level. If you can help me catch up with the majority of the other players, I am even willing to pay you 1,000 Credits. What do you think? the Berserker proudly stated. Shi Fengs brows wrinkled as he heard the man speaking, Sorry, but I dont have the time. You should look for someone else to help you. Shi Feng had too many things he had to do. Not only did he need to make sure his level didnt fall behind, but he also needed to earn money and accumulate advantages for his future Guild. He needed to make preparations for the upcoming power struggle in White River City. Just from clearing out the items in the Auction House, he could earn several hundreds of thousands of Credits. So, why would he waste his time just for a measly 1,000 Credits? He hadnt fallen to such a low standard as of yet. Finished saying his piece, Shi Feng turned and walked away, heading towards the Bank to store his items. Hold on a moment the Berserker called out for a long time, but Shi Feng paid him no attention from beginning to end. Immediately, the Berserker said in a fit of rage, Crap, whats there to be so proud of? If you dont want to do it, there will be many other experts who would be willing to carry me. Youll regret it when that time comes! Looking for an expert to power-level me! One hundred Credits per level! Dont miss this good opportunity! the Berserker started shouting once again. However, even after shouting for a long time, not a single veteran player paid him any heed. Hahaha! This newcomer is just too hilarious! My stomach is hurting from laughing too much! a Level 5 Ranger laughed as he passed. Dont bother with him. There are bound to be fools amongst the newcomers. We dont have any time to spare right now. We need to purchase some bread and potions quickly. Otherwise, were going to be scolded by our leader, the Rangers pro companion[2] hurriedly said. I know. I know. I just think that person is a fool. Does he really think Gods Domain is just some small-time game? Does he think we can level up once every minute? Forget 100 Credits per level; even if it were 1,000 Credits per level, I still wouldnt do it, not to mention a top-tier expert player. Without ten to twenty thousand Credits, there wont even be a need for a discussion! the Ranger sneered. In the initial period of the game, everyone was rushing to level up. They were all afraid of being left behind by the majority of the players, losing their chance to shine. Hence, where would they find the time to help the newcomers? Not to mention 100 Credits, right now, the pro players at Level 5 could earn more than 1 Silver in a single day. When converted to Credits, that amount would be more than 100 Credits. If their luck was good and they managed to obtain a piece of Common Equipment, that would be the equivalent of obtaining several hundreds of Credits. If it were an expert player, it was an entirely different story altogether. They certainly did not lack such a meager amount money. When the newbie Berserker heard their conversation, he was greatly shocked by the Rangers words. Moreover, he could tell that the Ranger was not fooling around. The Berserker was just a white-collar worker in a company. Previously, he was similarly willing to spend some money to seek the aid of others, letting others power-level him. At that time, his offer had been only 30 to 50 Credits, yet, even then, there were tons of players fighting over his offer. However, right now, his offer of 100 Credits did not receive even the slightest attention. It turned out that power-leveling even a single level required several thousand Credits. That was practically an entire month of his salary! The Berserkers face immediately flushed bright red. He felt that he had just humiliated himself greatly. He had been shouting on the streets for so long, thinking highly of himself all this time. Even when he heard the gossiping of the passerby players, he only thought that they were astonished by his offer. However, in reality, it turned out that they were just scolding him as foolish. It was no wonder the previous expert had rejected his offer immediately after hearing the price. Meanwhile, the other newcomers seeking the aid of an expert had similarly shut their mouths, one after another. Every one of them felt their cheeks burning up, shamefully walking away to search for Quests to level up. In another location, Shi Feng was currently fervently buying items at the Auction House, accumulating a large amount of rare resources. When he had spent all of his money, only then did Shi Feng release a sigh of relief. He then placed the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs for auction, their base prices set at 2 Gold Coins each. He would not need to worry about them not selling. It should be about time to collect the Ice-Blue Devil Flame After Shi Feng finished busying himself, he switched back to his original appearance. He prepared himself to collect the Mysterious Flame ahead of schedule. Now that Gods Domain had evolved ahead of schedule, the Mysterious Flame might similarly be obtained by other players ahead of schedule. To prevent the unexpected from happening, it was best for him to obtain it a little earlier. He would only be able to relax when the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was in his possession. * * * TL Notes: [1]Identification Skills: Observation Skills will now be changed to Identification Skills. [2] pro companion: the term pro will be used to refer to occupational players from now on. However, do take note that pro doesnt necessarily mean that they are on the level of experts. I hope Im not offending anybody with this, but experts are like the globally renown singers that earn millions of dollars, while pros are like full-time/part-time pub singers that earn thousands of dollars. Of course, pros definitely possess the chances of becoming experts. 123 Survival of the Fittes Ice-Blue Devil Flame. It was one of the handful of Tier 2 Mysterious Flames that could only be found in White River City. This flame held a fatal attraction towards Forgers. Moreover, the Hundred Ghost Forest that housed the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was only a short distance from Red Leaf Town. Hence, it would be a big waste if Shi Feng did not obtain it for himself. Be it earning money or forging items, the Mysterious Flame would provide Shi Feng with a tremendous amount of aid. Right now, Shi Feng was still several hundred Proficiency Points away from becoming an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. However, even if he became one, it would still be quite difficult for him to forge the Secret-Silver ranked Silver Dawn. When forging Secret-Silver Equipment, an Intermediate Forging Apprentice only had a 2% chance of success, while a Basic Forging Apprentice had a pitiful 1%. If Shi Feng included the 20% from the Book of Forging, 5% from Blacksteels Insignia, and 5% from the Runic Hammer, he would, at best, have a 32% success rate after becoming an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. Furthermore, forging the Silver Dawn required three extremely rare materials, which dictated that Shi Feng would be unable to create many of them. If Shi Feng forged the Silver Dawn with such low success rates, he would absolutely take an irrecoverable loss. Although the loss of tens of Silver Coins with each failure was not a problem to Shi Feng, the materials required were simply too rare. They were not items Shi Feng could obtain simply by wishing. An extensive amount of time was needed to obtain all of them. Moreover, the Abyssal Blade probably required ten Silver Dawns to level up. Hence, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was a must-have for Shi Feng. The Tier 2 Ice-Blue Devil Flame would considerably increase the forging success rate, not to mention the various benefits it would bring Shi Feng in the future. Hence, this trip to the Hundred Ghost Forest was a must for Shi Feng. Shi Feng departed Red Leaf Town, his destination: north. Due to the matter regarding stamina, Shi Feng did not hurry too much. The quicker he ran, the quicker he would run out of stamina. Instead, if he maintained his running speed at a certain threshold, the rate his stamina replenished was equal to its consumption. However, this threshold differed for every player as it depended on the players Attributes, making it extremely hard for players to obtain. When Shi Feng passed by the Level 5 monster area, Gray Wolf Prairie... In the midst of the grass that grew to the waist of an adult, players corpses randomly lay about, scattered. From a glance, the majority of players who died were solo players, while a minority consisted of parties who party-wiped. Going several hundred yards deeper into the prairie, the thick grass suddenly grew restless. At the sight, Shi Feng immediately unsheathed both of his weapons. oon after, two Level 5 players rushed out from the thicket, their appearances extremely unsightly. Bloodstains littered their clothing, and their weapons were no longer on their persons. When the two of them noticed Shi Feng, without hesitation, both of them immediately rushed toward him. After the two players ran out of the grass, a group of Level 5 White-eyed Gray Wolves similarly came running, closely pursuing the two players. The White-eyed Gray Wolves howled as they chased their prey as if announcing the location of their quarry to others of their pack. [White-eyed Gray Wolf] (Common Monster) Level 5 HP 540/540 Shi Feng immediately understood the two players intentions; they wanted to shift their calamity onto him. Brat, count yourself as unlucky for meeting us. Since you are going to die anyway, you might as well help us lure this wolf pack! an Assassin looked towards Shi Feng, laughing grimly. Saying so, the speed at which the two ran at Shi Feng increased somewhat slightly. However, they greatly underestimated Shi Feng. When the players were about to run past Shi Feng, Shi Fengs hands immediately latched onto the twos arms. With his superb Strength, he immediately tossed the players back to the pack of wolves that rushed ahead. Before the players could even react, they landed in the middle of the wolf pack. Their bodies smashed onto a few of the White-eyed Gray Wolves as they landed, eliciting a few anguished wails from the wolves. You before the Assassin could even curse, the surrounding White-eyed Gray Wolves snapped at his neck and limbs. His flesh being torn apart, the Assassins HP madly fell as he let out an agonizing wail. The Ranger beside him was naturally not spared this fate, and very quickly, the wolf pack finished him off as well. Shi Feng held not an ounce of pity towards them. If the two of them had run in a different direction, they might have had the slight hope of surviving. However, instead of doing so, they made the worst possible decision of trying to drag Shi Feng into the mess. They had absolutely no idea that, when compared to the pack of wolves chasing them, Shi Feng was much more terrifying. While the wolf pack was attacking the two players, Shi Feng took the chance to use Thundering Flash the instant the two players were about to die. Like a fierce tiger released from its cage, the green colored arc of lightning loosed an earth-shaking howl as it pierced the bodies of the White-eyed Gray Wolves, causing a series of damages over -300 points. The White-eyed Gray Wolves died instantly, and only piles of burnt ash remained. Although Shi Feng had killed over ten White-eyed Gray Wolves with a single attack, he was already Level 7. The total EXP of several hundred points was almost negligible to him now. After collecting all the loot, Shi Feng took an Isolation Scroll out from his bag. With the evolution of Gods Domain, the monsters in the wild had similarly received a huge upgrade. Not only was their sensitivity greatly increased, but they also had a more flexible way of thinking, and their range of activity greatly widened. Their battle methods started varying, becoming more similar to real melee battle. Meanwhile, the biggest change the monsters underwent after the evolution of Gods Domain was that these monsters would no longer shrink back, even against high-leveled players. Also, their range of vigilance would no longer reduce. Hence, players needed even more caution when dealing with monsters. Otherwise, they could easily lure a large group of monsters onto themselves. On his way to this place, Shi Feng had met many players who died in such a way. For example, a party that had killed a few White-eyed Gray Wolves failed to leave the location quickly. As a result, the scent of blood spread to the surroundings and attracted more White-eyed Gray Wolves, wiping out the party. After using the Isolation Scroll, Shi Feng quickly departed the Gray Wolf Prairie. He then passed through Kirk Grand Canyon, Cybus Lake, and many other high-level monster areas. After traveling for six hours, Shi Feng finally arrived at the Level 15 monster area, Hundred Ghost Forest. The Hundred Ghost Forest was a cursed location. In this dark and withered forest, where sunlight never reached, only the Cursed Apparitions lingered. These apparitions had a 60% resistance against physical attacks and possessed 20% evasion. The monsters also had insanely high Attack Power, and to the current Shi Feng, they only needed to land two or three hits to kill him. However, these monsters only had 600 HP, and magical attack damage was increased by 100%. Hence, the Hundred Ghost Forest was a leveling heaven for mage classes. Due to Gods Domain evolving, these Cursed Apparitions had become much more sensitive to their surroundings. They were widely different from the other beast-type monsters. Instead of scent, these monsters could easily sniff out the aura of living beings within a hundred-yard radius, and even if one used Stealth, the Cursed Apparitions could still detect them. However, Shi Feng had come prepared. He took out a bottle of Dispersing Potion, immediately emptying its contents. The potion concealed the aura of a living being for 10 minutes. With the aid of the Dispersing Potion, Shi Feng only needed to be slightly careful to avoid the detection of the Cursed Apparitions. According to Shi Fengs knowledge, the location of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was at the center of the Hundred Ghost Forest, at the fountain located at the central of Hundred Ghost Town. To obtain this Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the Guild, Glorious Light, had gone through a painstaking amount of trouble. Only after sending thousands of their members and having hundreds of them die, did they manage to clean out all the monsters found in Hundred Ghost City, obtaining the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Naturally, Shi Feng knew he did not possess the ability to clear out all the monsters in Hundred Ghost Town. However, he had other methods of securing the Mysterious Flame. Only, they were all filled with extreme danger. After arriving at the Hundred Ghost Town, with much difficulty, Shi Feng halted his steps, observing the Town. When a cooling breeze blew over Shi Feng from the withered forest, he suddenly felt an indescribable chill. Killing intent! If Shi Feng did not have the experience of many years of blood-soaked combat, earning himself a natural instinct to detect danger, he would have been completely ignorant towards this faintly discernible killing intent. As this was not his first time feeling such a chillingly cold killing intent, Shi Feng immediately unsheathed both his swords. At that very instant, a black figure appeared behind Shi Feng. Following which, a silver glow stabbed directly towards Shi Fengs neck and another towards his lower back. Like a poisonous snake, the two attacks were both swift and fatal. From these two actions alone, Shi Feng knew his attacker was a top-tier expert immediately. Although Shi Feng was slightly on guard, the speed of the attacks was just too swift for him to dodge. 124 Absolute Heaven Just as Shi Feng was about to take damage Shi Feng abruptly activated Defensive Blade, successfully blocking the ambush. If an Assassins ambush struck a player, they would enter a Fainted state for three seconds. These three short seconds were enough for an expert Assassin to obliterate half a MTs HP. Moreover, Assassins did not possess only a single skill that could place their target in a Fainted state. As long as an Assassin placed a player in the Fainted state, they would remaining in that state until their death. Scram! Shi Feng roared. He struck out with his sword as he withdrew his body, his sword capable of annihilating an army of thousands. As the Abyssal Blade hurtled towards its target, it carried along sounds of explosions. Interesting. The black figure reacted quickly, doing a swallows turnover[1]. As the Abyssal Blade scraped past his body, like a whip, the black figure brandished both his weapons once more, one of his daggers slicing into Shi Fengs side. Throughout the entire process, the black figures actions were as smooth and natural as flowing water. Youre courting death! However, Shi Feng paid no attention to the dagger sailing towards him, the Crimson Blade already in motion. The Crimson Blade transformed into four sword images, all aimed for the black figures vital points. Shi Feng was utterly confident in his own Attack Power. The black figure was suddenly shocked. He did not think Shi Feng would be so decisive, giving up his defense and instead, aiming for mutual destruction. In a hurried motion, the black figure used his other dagger to block Shi Fengs attacks. _Dang Dang Dang_ Sparks flew in mid-air. Shi Fengs immense strength knocked the black figure back by two yards; he only managed to stabilise his body after retreating three consecutive steps. The black figure gazed at Shi Feng in shock. Indeed, you do not disappoint me, the black figure let out a muffled sneer. The black figure did not understand how Shi Feng possessed such impressive strength. Shi Feng also perceived him right before his ambush, taking preventive measures against it immediately. Furthermore, the instant before Shi Feng was attacked, he unhesitatingly choose to attack in turn, giving the black figure no choice but to attack. This was the first time he had failed an ambush in a virtual reality game. At this moment, Shi Feng was similarly in great shock. This black figure was practically a killer amongst killers. His movements were both soundless and lethal. His assassination techniques also seemed extremely well-practised. Furthermore, his attack speed was insanely quick. The black figure was even able to tail Shi Feng without discovery. If he had not revealed his killing intent the instant before he attacked, Shi Feng might truly have been his prey. The black figure wore a black hooded-cape, which completely concealed his facial features. Moreover, the hooded-cape he used was very special. It was capable of rendering Identification Skills useless, and as a result, even his name was obscured. hi Feng then turned to read at the System Notification. System: Red Player Absolute Heaven has initiated an attack against you. Although the cape managed to trick Identification Skills, hiding the black figures Red Name, it could not fool the System. Shi Feng had never heard the name Absolute Heaven. However, judging from his skills, Absolute Heaven was definitely not some nameless figure. The failure this time is due to my inept preparation. The next time I come, Ill definitely take your life, Absolute Heaven said as he turned around to retreat. You think you can escape?! Shi Feng used Wind Blade, the Abyssal Blade thrusting towards Absolute Heaven. As long as an Assassin was revealed, their battle prowess reduced by half. Since Absolute Heaven wanted to kill him, Shi Feng would not let him off, naturally. He needed to kill this Assassin before anything else. He did not wish to have someone constantly following him, aiming for his life. The Abyssal Blade moved along the wind, instantly arriving and slicing towards Absolute Heavens back. As if he had long since been prepared, Absolute Heaven twisted his body, lifting his silvery-white dagger. Using only a small amount of strength, Absolute Heaven managed to block Shi Fengs sword. Simultaneously, his other silver-colored dagger stabbed towards Shi Fengs abdomen. Kidney Strike! From the series of attacks from before, Absolute Heaven had accumulated sufficient Energy to force Shi Feng into a Fainted state for 4 seconds. Shi Feng did not think that Absolute Heaven would return with a counterattack. He immediately did a side-flip, avoiding the Kidney Strike. However, Absolute Heavens second dagger closely followed, the dagger aiming for Shi Fengs backside. Backstab! Shi Feng immediately leaped into the air, avoiding the Backstab. Then, as Shi Feng descended, he abruptly brandished the Abyssal Blade. Thunder and fire coalesced around the Abyssal Blade, and like a thunder dragon roaring, the weapon struck down towards the ground. Thunder Flame Explosion! Absolute Heaven instantly noticed the ferocity of Shi Fengs attack. He lifted both his daggers in front of him, using Block to defend against this violent strike. However, how could Shi Fengs super strength be so easy to defend against? At the moment of contact, Absolute Heaven was immediately forced to kneel. Both his legs sank into the ground, while his body nearly crumbled from the pressure. The successful block of the Thunder Flame Explosion shocked Shi Feng. However, he reacted by swinging the Abyssal Blade, casting Abyssal Bind on Absolute Heaven. Immediately, nine chains bound Absolute Heaven, preventing him from moving a muscle. Shi Feng then followed up with an attack with both of his swords, his full strength placed behind the strikes. Ten sword images flew towards Absolute Heaven, the target unable to dodge or avoid any of the images. Lets meet again next time, Absolute Heaven laughed. He discovered that Shi Feng had a plethora of attack patterns, allowing him to send out attacks in unbroken succession. Absolute Heavens body then started dissipating, the nine chains that bound him falling to the ground. Similarly, the ten sword images managed to pierce only air. This was an advanced skill of Assassins, Vanish. Not only would it forcefully place the user in an Invisible state, but it would also allow the user to enter an Invulnerable state for 1 second. Dont even think of getting away! Shi Feng was not willing to let Absolute Heaven go. Looking at the impressions in the grass left by Absolute Heavens feet, Shi Feng used Thundering Flash. Three electric arcs shot out. Absolute Heaven activated Wind Steps, entering an Invulnerable state once more for 1 second and successfully fending off the attacks of Thundering Flash. He then ran speedily away. Similarly, Shi Feng activated Windwalk to chase after him. However, shortly after Shi Feng began pursuit of Absolute Heaven, he noticed Absolute Heaven taking out a handful of white powder. Shi Feng immediately turned his head, shutting his eyes tightly. The moment Absolute Heaven scattered the white powder, he released a blinding white light. Flash Powder, it was an item that temporarily blinded monsters and players below Level 20 for 4 seconds. It was an extremely rare tool, and it was only sold in the Magic Shop located in the Slums of Red Leaf Town. Moreover, each player could only purchase ten bags of it per day. After the momentarily blinding light subsided, Shi Feng opened his eyes, searching for Absolute Heaven. However, he discovered that Absolute Heaven had long since escaped, his figure no longer in sight. After searching for a long time, Shi Feng was unable to discover his tracks. Without any better options, Shi Feng could only choose to give up. Just where is this Absolute Heaven from? Shi Fengs heart filled with questions. Not only did this Assassin possess excellent techniques, but he also had a large number of Skills. Moreover, Absolute Heaven was equipped with a complete Level 5 Bronze Set Equipment, and both his daggers were Secret-Silver Ranked. His origin was definitely not ordinary. Shi Feng had only been to Blackwing City recently. Even if he had provoked the Bloodthirsty War God Guild, those people did not know of his true identity. If Shi Feng were to think of who else he may have provoked, then theyd be Flaming Tiger from Shadow and Ironsword Lion from Martial Union. Shi Feng was extremely familiar with the internal members of Shadow, and he knew Flaming Tiger was not capable of finding such an unknown expert. The only possibility remaining was Ironsword Lion. Shi Feng had previously killed Ironsword Lion. Based on Ironsword Lions personality, he would definitely not let this matter rest. There was over an 80% possibility that Ironsword Lion had hired this hidden expert. Shi Feng could not help but admit that this situation was a headache. With his current strength, he was unafraid of Ironsword Lion coming at him straight on. However, an Assassin[h] constantly following him, especially an expert Assassin like Absolute Heaven, was truly a bother. If Absolute Heaven appeared and attacked him while he fought a monster or during a crucial moment, there was a 90% possibility for him to actually die. _It looks like I can only use another appearance in the future._ For now, Shi Fengs only option was to alter his appearance. This way, even if that Assassin called Absolute Heaven was powerful, he would absolutely be unable to find him. If Absolute Heaven couldnt find him,he couldnt harass him. However, Shi Feng could not alter his appearance right now. He needed to find a place with nobody present before doing so. Shi Feng worried that this person named Absolute Heaven hadnt left the vicinity yet, and instead, was still tailing him. Thinking so, Shi Feng immediately activated the Ring of Nothingness, his body vanishing in thin air. First, he needed to look for a place without other players before changing his appearance. Then, he would continue searching for the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Some time after Shi Feng vanished, a figure revealed itself from behind one of the large withered trees. Indeed, this figure was Absolute Heaven. Crap, is he an Assassin or a Swordsman? Absolute Heaven could not help but curse. He was normally not one to easily give up. Previously, he constantly said that he was leaving all in order to misled Shi Feng, looking for a good chance to ambush his target once more. He did not think Shi Feng possessed such a move, instantly disappearing. Just how was he supposed to look for the chance to ambush Shi Feng now? * * * TL Notes: [1]Swallows turnover(ӷ): its some sort of barrel-roll, where one jumps, shifts their body to be parallel to the ground, then spins/rolls to avoid an attack 125 Hundred Ghost Town Cold winds blew within the Hundred Ghost Forest. It was a place daylight never reached. On an abandoned little farm, Shi Feng, with his newly-disguised appearance, was currently standing within a wooden building, searching for something. Ive finally found it! Looks like the information wasnt wrong. After turning the place upside-down, Shi Feng obtained a bronze key from a wooden bucket. [Secret Door Key] Able to open the steel gate to the secret passageway of the Hundred Ghost Town. Now that an Assassin crouched in a corner, waiting for him, Shi Feng worried that a problem would crop up at a crucial moment. Hence, he gave up the notion of entering the Hundred Ghost Town through the front door. With this key, he could use the secret passage to enter the Hundred Ghost Town. Only, the process of doing so was filled with many complications. Legends had it, the entire Hundred Ghost Forest was once cursed by an extremely powerful Dark Cursemancer, turning all the living inhabitants into ghosts. Trapped in an existence of endless torment, these ghosts harbored an intense hatred of the living. As long as a living person approached the Hundred Ghost Town, the countless evil ghosts would ambush and devour them. Meanwhile, the secret passage would lead Shi Feng directly to the central region of the Hundred Ghost Town. Although Absolute Heaven was very powerful, he could not enter the Hundred Ghost Town. Whats more, Shi Feng had altered his disguise again. Even if they met, Absolute Heaven wouldn''t recognize him. Shi Feng found a cellar a short distance from the farm. This cellar was the entrance to the secret passage that led to the Hundred Ghost Town, while the owner of the farm was this secret passages gatekeeper. The cellar was very dark, and Shi Feng could not make out a single thing within. His only option was to take out a Magic Lamp to shine the way. He followed along the cellars passage, advancing forward until he finally reached the large steel gates that led to the secret passage. At this moment, however, the steel gates were tightly sealed. If Shi Fengs Strength were over 100 points, even if he did not possess a key, he would be able to force open these steel gates with his arms alone. However, he was still very far from possessing 100 points in Strength, so he could only obediently use the key to open the gates. En. After only taking a few steps into the secret passageway, Shi Feng discovered that his surroundings were littered with pearly white bones, while the walls on both sides were filled with the scars of battle. Such a sight gave Shi Feng a very bad premonition. The curse on the Hundred Ghost Forest turned the living into ghosts. That meant that all the inhabitants of this place were ghosts. This pile of skeletons... Aooo! At this moment, a large group of pitch-black Evil Spirits came rushing out from the depths of the secret passage, roaring. Their scarlet eyes firmly locked onto Shi Feng as they bared their fangs and brandished their, speeding towards him. [Cursed Evil Spirit] (Common Monster) Level 15 HP 700/700 Cursed Evil Spirits, when compared to Cursed Apparitions, were much more ferocious. They were unlike the Cursed Apparitions who were sluggish in their motions, depending solely on their instincts to move. Cursed Evil Spirits possessed a set intelligence and were extremely lively. They also possessed an instinctive madness and sensitivity to flesh and blood. The Cursed Evil Spirits were all Level 15. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was only Level 7. With a level suppression of eight levels, in addition to the 60% resistance and 20% evasion of physical attacks, Shi Feng would not be able to deal with even one of these monsters, not to mention a group of over thirty. These Cursed Evil Spirits could even wipe out a Level 15 party with relative ease. Watching these Cursed Evil Spirits rush at him Shi Feng took out a Frost Grenade from his bag, throwing it at them. The Frost Grenade instantly discharged in the midst of the group of Cursed Evil Spirits. In the blink of an eye, the Cursed Evil Spirits within a 10-yard radius were frozen. They also received -400 frost damage from the explosion. As expected, the 100% increase to magical damage was these ghosts Achilles heel. The reason Shi Feng choose to hurry to Hundred Ghost Forest was the Frost Grenades he had managed to buy during his trip to Blackwing City. The Basic Frost Grenades were sufficient to deal with the ghosts in Hundred Ghost Town. After all, 200 damage was no small amount. In addition, the Frost Grenades would have a 100% damage increase when used on the ghosts here, becoming even more remarkable. As expected, the Frost Grenades were very effective against these ghost-type monsters. Moreover, they had a throwing range of 30 yards and a Cooldown of 1 second. However, it was half as effective when used against players. Previously, Shi Feng was worried that the number of Frost Grenades he brought to Hundred Ghost Town was not enough. Hence, he did not use any of them against Absolute Heaven. Moreover, the Frost Grenades might not be able to surely kill off Absolute Heaven, and even if they did manage to kill Absolute Heaven, Shi Feng would reveal one of his trump cards. If others caught wind of this information and started making preparations against the Frost Grenades, it would truly be an unworthwhile trade. If he revealed this card, he needed to reap the most benefit out of it. Using the Frost Grenades to get rid of a single Absolute Heaven was just not worth it. At the very least, he should use them to give Martial Union a ruthless blow. _Right! How could I forget that the ghosts are darkness-type monsters? The Demon Hunter title should have quite some use._ Shi feng suddenly recalled his own Demon Hunter title, swapping out his current title. Immediately, the Attributes of the Cursed Evil Spirits reduced by 10%, while the damage they received increased by 10%. Shi Feng then threw another Frost Grenade, the bomb exploding with a loud bang in the midst of the group of Evil Spirits. A patch of damages of -440 points appeared above the group of monsters. Instantly, he annihilated the thirty plus Cursed Evil Spirits. System: Level 15 Cursed Evil Spirit killed. Level difference of 8. EXP obtained increased by 800%. Obtained 4,800 EXP. System: Level 15 Cursed Evil Spirit killed. Level difference of 8. EXP obtained increased by 800%. Obtained 4,800 EXP. System: Level 15 Cursed Evil Spirit killed. Level difference of 8. EXP obtained increased by 800%. Obtained 4,800 EXP. A series of more than thirty notifications appeared in Shi Fengs view. Although ghost-type monsters gave the least amount of EXP, the rewarded EXP for killing monsters of a higher level was still extremely high. Even if Shi Feng was Level 7 now, his experience bar still increased by a sizeable chunk. He reached 23% of Level 7, his leveling speed even faster than a rocket. After these Evil Spirits died, they dropped quite a lot of Copper Coins and Tiny Spirit Essences. Ten Tiny Spirit Essences could be used to form a Spirit Essence, one of the needed materials to forge magical attachments. Hence, Spirit Essences were also worth quite a lot of money. After collecting the drops, Shi Feng discovered that the Evil Spirits had actually given him over 1 Silver Coin. There were also over a dozen Tiny Spirit Essences that dropped. When formed into a Spirit Essence, it was worth 1 Silver Coin. This was definitely a good place to earn money. Although there was still the loss of two Frost Grenades, costing a total of 3 Silver Coins, if Shi Feng could lure more than fifty monsters each time, he would barely make a small profit. Hopefully there will be more Evil Spirits in this place, Shi Feng said with expectation, his hand holding another Frost Grenade. Half an hour later Shi Feng finally arrived at the secret passages exit. The secret passage was very long, and on his way here, he met with the ambushes of another five groups of Evil Spirits. However, the Frost Grenades dealt with them all. The number of Evil Spirits in each ambush only counted slightly over twenty, causing Shi Feng a loss. In return, however, Shi Fengs experience quickly rose. He would level up if he just killed a few more groups of Evil Spirits. It was truly an invigorating experience. The gate that opened to the Hundred Ghost Town was widely agape. Before Shi Feng exited the secret passage, he could already hear the countless roars and wails outside. Above the secret passage was the Hotel of Hundred Ghost Town, and one could just imagine that the number of ghosts there was definitely not few. However, in such a cramped space, it would not be a good idea for Shi Feng to use the Frost Grenades. Having no better choice, Shi Feng activated the Ring of Nothingness. The state of nothingness was different from Stealth. Shi Feng entered another space entirely, and even the ghosts could not discover Shi Feng. Shi Feng could stay in the state of nothingness for a short time. Hence, he ran with wild abandon as he quickly departed the Hotel, dashing towards one of the private houses. Seeing the duration of the state of nothingness about to end... If Shi Feng were to take a stroll on the streets of Hundred Ghost Town, filled with ghosts, he would truly be seeking death. As for the Frost Grenades, they had a 1 second Cooldown, and they could encompass every location. 3 seconds 2 seconds 1 second With only 10 yards remaining before Shi Feng reached the private house, the state of nothingness ended; his body, revealed. Suddenly, the heads of the countless ghosts on the streets all turned towards Shi Feng, revealing sinister expressions. Amongst these ghosts, there was no lack the Elite-ranked monster, Ferocious Evil Spirit, and they all rushed towards Shi Feng. 126 Left in the Dus Watching the ghosts rushing forth from all around Shi Feng immediately activated Windwalk, his speed increasing by a huge leap as he dashed towards the dilapidated house. Aooo! The Level 15 Elite-ranked Ferocious Evil Spirits let out an ear-piercing screech. Immediately, more Cursed Evil Spirits dashed over, crowding the private house. Under the command of the Ferocious Evil Spirits, they all stormed into the house in a well-organized manner. The private house was not large, and the place was a mess, with dust covering every surface. Meanwhile, the main door of the house could, at most, fit only two people at a time. The moment the Cursed Evil Spirits squeezed through the main door A small-sized Basic Frost Grenade exploded in the threshold. Cold air overflowed from the entrance, and everything within a 10-yard radius froze solid. Instantly, the fifty plus Cursed Evil Spirits in front of the private house froze as well, and a damage of -440 points appearing above each of their heads. Their remaining HPs dropped under half. With the Cursed Evil Spirits at the entrance rooted in place, the others who, unaffected, were unable to rush into the house to devour Shi Feng. The Frost Grenade could hold the Evil Spirits for 5 seconds. Shi Feng took this chance to use Thundering Flash; three arcs of lightning immediately pierced towards the main entrance. However, due to the gap between levels being too wide, the total damage the skill caused to each Cursed Evil Spirit did not even exceed -100 points. System: Proficiency of Thundering Flash raised by 3 points. However, because of the high level of these Cursed Evil Spirits, whenever Shi Feng used a skill to attack them, his skill proficiency greatly increased. Each usage would raise the skill proficiency by 3 points. As it so happened, Shi Feng could use these Cursed Evil Spirits to train his skill proficiency while waiting for the Cooldown of the Frost Grenades to end. Earth Splitter! Thunder Flame Explosion! AOE skills landed on the Cursed Evil Spirits, one after another. Although the damage was extremely low, the skill proficiency greatly increased. After using the three skills, Shi Feng threw another Frost Grenade. Instantly, the fifty plus Cursed Evil Spirits died, transforming into a large sum of EXP for Shi Feng and dropping plenty of Copper Coins and Tiny Spirit Essences. With the first wave of Cursed Evil Spirits dead, the ones behind rushed forward once more. Shi Feng waited until they started squeezing through the main entrance before throwing a Frost Grenade. Once again, the Cursed Evil Spirits halted. Shi Feng then used the skills that had their Cooldown completed before using another Frost Grenade to finish off these Cursed Evil Spirits. Countless Cursed Evil Spirits swarmed the Hundred Ghost Town. There were also the Ferocious Evil Spirits continuously screeching and luring the other Cursed Evil Spirits over. By this time, Cursed Evil Spirits and Ferocious Evil Spirits overflowed the private houses yard. If there were not a team of several hundred players here, it was practically a pipe-dream to clear all these monsters. However, Shi Feng only camped inside the private house, using the Frost Grenades to clean away these monsters slowly. Although his efficiency was a lot slower when compared to a team with hundreds of players, his method was extremely safe. He could also grind for skill proficiency, killing two birds with one stone. With the deaths of batch after batch of Cursed Evil Spirits, Shi Fengs experience and skill proficiency rose without stop. Before five minutes had even passed, Shi Feng had already risen to Level 8. Although he had killed an insane number of Cursed Evil Spirits, towards the Hundred Ghost Town, such a number was only a drop in the bucket. After reaching Level 8, the EXP he obtained from killing the Cursed Evil Spirits was reduced by a large chunk. However, the death of each Cursed Evil Spirit still yielded Shi Feng with 4,200 EXP, and his leveling speed was still rising quicker than a rocket. With every wave of monsters killed, his experience bar filled by a large chunk. If others were to see this, their eyes would most likely pop out of their sockets. They could only raise their experience bars by a small chunk after striving for one or two hours. Yet, Shi Fengs experience bar expanded by a large portion with each passing moment. With the slow decrease of Shi Fengs remaining Frost Grenades, the number of Cursed Evil Spirits also continuously fell. This situation greatly enraged the Ferocious Evil Spirits, and they worked even harder at summoning their allies. Twenty minutes later, a golden flash surrounded Shi Fengs body. He leveled up once more, reaching Level 9. Meanwhile, Thunder Flame Explosion had risen to Level 2, and Earth Splitter to Level 3. If including the skill level bonus from the Abyssal Blade, Thunder Flame Explosion would be Level 4, while Earth Splitter would be Level 5. [Thunder Flame Explosion] (Action-type) Level 4 Requires: Melee Weapon Causes 300 base damage and additional flame and thunder damage to enemies within a 5-yard radius. Enemies struck will be placed in a Fainted state for 4.5 seconds. Cooldown: 36 seconds [Earth Splitter] Level 5 Requires: Sword Causes 190 base damage and based on the period of charging power between 0.2 seconds to 3 seconds, a maximum of 360% weapon damage. Attack range of 10 yards. Cooldown: 40 seconds The Cooldown of both of these skills greatly reduced, while their power increased. If both skills were used, Common Monsters of the same level would die without question. However, the most frightening part was still the fact that Shi Feng had risen to Level 9. Even in all of White River City, no one could find another Level 9 player. If there were a ranking for levels, Shi Feng would unquestionably be placed at the number one spot, while the player in second place was still a great distance from Level 8. It could be said that Shi Feng had left others in his dust, and even if the others tried, they could not catch up. After reaching Level 9, Shi Feng placed all of his Attribute Points into Agility. With this, Shi Fengs Agility finally reached 75 points, satisfying the condition for equipping the Dark Pursuers Cape. After equipping the Dark Pursuers Cape, Shi Fengs Attributes greatly increased once more, his Agility immediately rising to 80 points. As long as it reached 100 points, he could unlock Agilitys Special Hidden Skill, greatly increasing his battle prowess. Besides that, Shi Fengs HP had also increased to 1,200 points, his Movement Speed to 24 points, and his Attack Speed to 30 points, allowing him to learn the skill, Silent Steps. The next time he met Absolute Heaven, he would not allow him to escape so easily. Now that Shi Feng was Level 9, the level suppression from the Cursed Evil Spirits was no longer as significant as before. Furthermore, Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter, and Thunder Flame Explosion had all leveled up as well, notably increasing their might. Right now, Shi Feng only needed to combine one Frost Grenade and his three skills to end the Cursed Evil Spirits, saving him a lot of Frost Grenades. After which, Shi Feng continued massacring the Cursed Evil Spirits for over a dozen minutes, his experience bar rising to 36% of Level 9. As long as he continued grinding like this for an hour, he could definitely reach Level 10. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had cleared out all the Cursed Evil Spirits that once filled the streets. Finally, those Ferocious Evil Spirits were no longer able to remain idle. They released angry roars, intending to rip Shi Feng to shreds with their own bare hands. The scene frightened the other Cursed Evil Spirits. They hurriedly parted to give way to the Ferocious Evil Spirits. Suddenly, over a dozen incomparably sinister-looking beings stormed the private house, every one of the Ferocious Evil Spirits intending to rend Shi Feng into tens of thousands of pieces. [Ferocious Evil Spirit] (Elite Rank) Level 15 HP 5,000/5,000 Compared to the Cursed Evil Spirits, not only did the Ferocious Evil Spirits have larger bodies, but their Attack Power and Movement Speed also greatly surpassed the former. They had many powerful melee skills, in addition to their 5,000 HP, 70% resistance, and 30% evasion to physical attacks. They were capable of easily decimating any melee class of the same levels. Moreover, the damage of magical attacks used on these monsters only increased by 50%, while magical damage of the same attribute would reduce by 50%. As a result, even mage classes were helpless against them. However, those were still not the most frightening aspects of these monsters. After Gods Domain underwent its first evolution, Common Monsters above Level 10 all possessed a certain amount of wisdom. Meanwhile, these Level 15 Elites possessed even greater wisdom, increasing their battle prowess by manyfolds. In Shi Fengs previous life, these Ferocious Evil Spirits slaughtered many players from Glorious Light. To kill these Ferocious Evil Spirits, Glorious Light had paid with the lives of hundreds of players. Finally here, eh? Despite watching the Ferocious Evil Spirits rushing at him, Shi Feng remained extremely calm. In actuality, there was one thing that Shi Feng had always wanted to know. In Gods Domain, if these monsters with high intelligence were met with players that greatly surpassed them, just what sort of reaction would occur? 127 Ghost Rider Just as the Ferocious Evil Spirits were about to rush into the house Shi Feng took out an Intermediate Frost Grenade from his bag, throwing it. The Ferocious Evil Spirits already had a rough understanding of the Frost Grenades formidable power, and they showed extreme disdain towards it. Without even attempting to dodge the Frost Grenade, their pitch-black claws abruptly extended forward, slashing towards Shi Fengs heart. However, after the Frost Grenade discharged, the cold air that expanded was several times colder than before. At this moment, the Ferocious Evil Spirits immediately realized something was wrong; the sinister expression on their faces revealed a hint of fear. In the blink of an eye, cold air invaded the forms of all the Ferocious Evil Spirits, transforming them into ice sculptures. The Intermediate Frost Grenade was the trump card that Shi Feng had prepared. Each one was worth 10 Silver Coins, which was nearly several days of a pro players earnings. The Intermediate Frost Grenade also caused -1,320 damage to each of the Ferocious Evil Spirits. With Shi Fengs Demon Hunter title equipped, the Ferocious Evil Spirits only had a maximum of 4,500 HP each, and this attack instantly destroyed a third of their HP. Due to using the Intermediate Frost Grenades for the first time, it achieved the maximum effect. When used the next time, these Ferocious Evil Spirits would possess ice resistance, greatly reducing the potential damage of the Intermediate Frost Grenades. Die! Shi Feng unsheathed his swords, his feet moving to an appropriate position before using Thundering Flash. Three green, electric arcs encompassed the Ferocious Evil Spirits. Thundering Flash belonged to the lightning-type magic damage; hence, its damage increased by 50% when used on the Ferocious Evil Spirits. Moreover, Shi Feng had already reached Level 9, while the Abyssal Blade could ignore a monsters level by 5 Levels. In actuality, the Ferocious Evil Spirits were only considered one level higher than Shi Feng, and the level suppression on Shi Feng was almost non-existent. The Level 5 Thundering Flash dealt damages of -176, -230, and -297 to these frozen monsters. The skill also placed an additional amplification effect on the monsters, increasing the damage they received by 30% over the next 20 seconds. With the Ferocious Evil Spirits unable to move for a full 5 seconds, Shi Feng was able to launch attacks at them freely. Chop! Double Chop! Earth Splitter! Physical-type damage was no different than a scratch to these Ferocious Evil Spirits, and even a fully-charged Earth Splitter caused no more than 100 damage. As the seconds ticked by, the ice covering the bodies of the Ferocious Evil Spirits started showing signs of cracking. It would only be a moment before they struggled free of their imprisonment. hi Feng leaped lightly, the Abyssal Blade raised high as it condensed the power of thunder and flame around it. When Shi Feng landed in the midst of the group of Ferocious Evil Spirits, an abrupt explosion occurred. Thunder and flame instantly swallowed the surroundings, enveloping the Ferocious Evil Spirits and causing damages of over -500 points. In just a moment, the Ferocious Evil Spirits all lost two-fifths of their HP, and he forced them all into a Fainted state. Due to these monsters being high-leveled Elites, the Fainted state was less effective on them, lasting, at most, 3 seconds. Meanwhile, after Shi Fengs Attributes had greatly increased explosively, he created twelve sword images. Like a fierce gale, Shi Feng swept through the Ferocious Evil Spirits. Multiple damages of roughly -30 points appeared above the Ferocious Evil Spirits heads, with the occasional -60 points or so damage. Immediately, the Ferocious Evil Spirits HP reduced slightly once more. As the 3 seconds were about to pass, Shi Feng tossed out another Intermediate Frost Grenade, turning these Ferocious Evil Spirits into ice sculptures yet again. This time, the Intermediate Frost Grenade only managed to cause -860 damage to the monsters. However, the damage was enough to reduce the HP of these Ferocious Evil Spirits to a critical level. These Ferocious Evil Spirits truly did not imagine a weakling like Shi Feng was so powerful. Within a short timespan of less than ten seconds, he managed to send all of them near deaths door. Every one of these Ferocious Evil Spirits revealed expressions of fear. They started to struggle out of the ice with all their might, their hearts filled with thoughts of escape. Unfortunately, their efforts were for naught. As another second passed, Shi Feng threw out the third Intermediate Frost Grenade, taking the lives of the dozen-plus Ferocious Evil Spirits. After their deaths, the Ferocious Evil Spirits dropped a pile of loot. System: Level 15 Ferocious Evil Spirit killed. Level difference of 6. EXP obtained increased by 600%. Obtained 12,000 EXP. System: Level 15 Ferocious Evil Spirit killed. Level difference of 6. EXP obtained increased by 600%. Obtained 12,000 EXP. System: Level 15 Ferocious Evil Spirit killed. Level difference of 6. EXP obtained increased by 600%. Obtained 12,000 EXP. A series of notification appeared in Shi Fengs sight. Immediately, Shi Fengs experience bar rose to 54% of Level 9, pushing him closer to the Level 10 threshold. Without the leadership of the Ferocious Evil Spirits, the instincts of the Cursed Evil Spirits towards flesh and blood immediately flared, all of them fervently squeezing through the entrance of the private house. However, Shi Feng quickly dealt with them using the Basic Frost Grenades, and the deaths of the Cursed Evil Spirits increasing his experience to 67% of Level 9. In less than two hours, Shi Feng rose by more than two levels. Although his leveling speed was impressively quick, the money he spent to do so was equally astonishing. Such a method of leveling was only possible to a tycoon like Shi Feng. After all, each Basic Frost Grenade cost 1 Silver, 50 Coppers. Aside from the fact that Shi Feng had used over 400 Basic Frost Grenades, he also used three Intermediate Frost Grenades, which cost 10 Silver Coins each. All in all, Shi Feng spent over 6 Gold Coins to achieve such a leveling speed. If converted to Credits, that would be over 60,000 Credits spent on this endeavor. In other words, each level cost Shi Feng over 30,000 Credits. Even the elite members of society could not afford such spending. Following which, Shi Feng collected the drops from the monsters. With the entire street of ghosts murdered by Shi Feng, it took him over half an hour to collect all the loot that dropped. Making a rough calculation, Shi Feng discovered that he actually did not take a loss. Instead, he profited from this adventure of his. Shi Feng picked up a total of 1 Gold, 32 Silvers. Amongst the loot, there were also over 3,000 Tiny Spirit Essences, more than ten skill books for various classes, tens of pieces of Level 12 and Level 13 Common Equipment, over twenty pieces of Level 10 and above Bronze Equipment, and two pieces of Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As for the two pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, one was a Level 15 cloth shirt for mages, and the other was a Level 15 two-handed great ax. Between the two, the weapon was the most valuable. The mage shirt could be sold for over 1 Gold Coin, while the great ax would sell for at least 2 Gold Coins. As for the Bronze Equipment, each piece would sell for at least 20 Silver Coins. Shi Fengs profit was simply through the roof. _This place is so profitable. Ill bring Blackie and the others to level up in the future._ Shi Feng felt this was an optimal location. Not to mention the fact that he made a profit despite all the money he spent, his level also increased in a flash, killing two birds with one stone. However, he still needed some time before making a decision. Right now, he needed to let the others slowly familiarize themselves with the battle methods in the newly-evolved Gods Domain. If they only depended on the Frost Grenades to level up, their techniques would never improve. After clearing out the ghosts from the entire street, Shi Feng effortlessly arrived at the central plaza of the Hundred Ghost Town. Although there were no longer any ghosts left on the street, the central plaza was still densely packed with even larger numbers than before. Meanwhile, at the center of the plaza, a faint blue flame burned brightly above a fountain, giving off a deep blue glow. This flame was the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, and it was currently guarded by Ferocious Evil Spirits. Furthermore, there was a knight, clad in jet-black armor, standing among the Ferocious Evil Spirits. The knight carried a silver-colored greatsword on its back, and both its eyes gave off a green glow as it stood quietly by the side. All of the ghosts surrounding this knight treated it with respect, awaiting his command. The nature of this knight was different than the other ghosts. Its entire body was just a skeleton covered in faint-blue flames. The heat given off by those flames caused the land around it to dry up and crack. [Ghost Rider] (Chieftain Rank) Level 15 HP 100,000/100,000 _As expected, it is very strong. Its n_ _o wonder_ _Glorious Light lost several hundreds of their elite players after battling the Ghost Rider._ Just by looking at it, Shi Feng knew it would be impossible for him to have a direct confrontation with the Ghost Rider. Without several hundred elite players, it was an impossible task to kill the Ghost Rider. Moreover, there were also thousands of Cursed Evil Spirits and Ferocious Evil Spirits present. 128 Engaging the Ghost Rider The flames in the Ghost Riders eyes flickered, its emotions impossible to discern. However, none of the Ferocious Evil Spirits dared to approach within 20 yards of it. With the frightening prowess of the Ghost Rider, even if Shi Feng had risen to Level 20 and brought along a 20-man elite team, he would still fail to kill the Ghost Rider. Moreover, there was a 90% chance they would be wiped out instead. The Ghost Rider was simply too strong. At this stage of the game, many Guilds would occasionally encounter a few Elite or Special Elite monsters, and they could usually deal with these monsters with only a party or a team. However, after the evolution of Gods Domain, even only a Level 5 Chieftain Ranked monster could completely wipe out a 20-man team filled with Level 5 elite players. Moreover, a monster over Level 10 would have their intellect greatly boosted. A Level 10 Chieftain needed at least thirty Level 15 elite players to deal with, and even then, the number casualties would be very high. As for a high-leveled Chieftain like the Ghost Rider, it possessed a large variety of AOE damaging skills. It was also capable of commanding all the ghosts in the entire Hundred Ghost Town. Although it was only a Level 15 monster, its raid difficulty was even above that of a Level 20 Chieftain. Glorious Light had sent out thousands of its members to slay the Ghost Rider, paying a very heavy price. Currently, Shi Feng lacked both resources and influence. Not mentioning the gap of 6 Levels, he was also alone in this place. He had absolutely no chance of challenging the Ghost Rider. _It seems I can only use that method._ Shi Feng observed the situation in the center of the plaza, inwardly running calculations and simulations in his mind. Right now, he stood over 300 yards from the fountain. If he wanted to obtain the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, first and foremost, he needed to dispose of all these Cursed Evil Spirits and Ferocious Evil Spirits, then finally, deal with the Ghost Rider. As long as there was the tiniest of mistakes, he would end up dead and sent back to town. Shi Feng took out two Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. These were the only two remaining treasured scrolls he had left. It would be extremely difficult for him to obtain another one in the future, as obtaining these scrolls largely depended on ones luck. If it werent for obtaining the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, he would not even be using such precious items. _Phantom Kill,_ Shi Feng inwardly chanted, a doppelganger of him slowlyforming into being. Shi Feng immediately passed over a dozen Frost Grenades to his doppelganger. The doppelganger then rushed towards the plaza. The moment the doppelganger set foot into the plaza, the Ghost Rider discovered it immediately. The Ghost Riders pearly white skull turned towards the doppelganger, the flames in its eye-sockets flaring. All living beings must die! The Ghost Rider unsheathed the silver greatsword from its back, pointing it at the doppelganger. The blue flames surrounding its body abruptly moved to engulf the greatsword as well, warping the greatsword in shape. The pommel of the sword transformed into a white-colored skull and sinister-looking barbed tips appeared on the blade. Following the Ghost Riders command, the countless Cursed Evil Spirits in the plaza surged towards the doppelganger like a tidal wave. The doppelganger activated a Speed Scroll. It then tossed out a Frost Grenade, instantly turning a large group of Cursed Evil Spirits into ice sculptures, before turning to escape. On Shi Fengs side, he activated Windwalk and used a Speed Scroll, then activating the Ring of Nothingness. Once in the state of nothingness, Shi Feng dashed towards the fountain like a fierce gale. As the duration of the state of nothingness quickly flew by, Shi Fengs distance between the fountain shortened. 300 yards 200 yards 100 yards As Shi Feng was about to arrive at the fountain, his grip on the two Tier 2 Magic Scrolls tightened. His expression became abnormally calm as both his eyes fixated on the heart of the fountain. Little rat, did you think that you could hide from my eyes? The Ghost Rider suddenly appeared before Shi Feng, and as if the flames in its eyes could see past all things, it spoke in a deep, disdainful tone. The Ghost Rider then raised its White Bone Greatsword, the faint blue flames surrounding the sword immediately raising the surrounding temperature to scorching-hot levels. With an abrupt wave, the greatsword transformed into a flowing stream of light, splitting apart the air as it descended towards Shi Fengs head. _How could it be?!_ Shi Feng was shocked. He did not doubt that the Ghost Riders sword had the capability of instantly killing him. Hence, both his legs curved into a bend, his body similarly bending downwards. Like a cat arching its body, Shi Feng instantly pulled out both the Abyssal Blade and the Crimson Blade, using Parry with both swords. Suddenly, Shi Fengs legs burst with strength, and with the addition of the strength from his lower back, Shi Feng charged directly at the descending greatsword. The three swords colliding with each other created an explosive sound. The Ghost Riders immense strength caused the ground that Shi Feng stood on to crack apart; dust and debris scattered. Shi Fengs body, as well, was removed from the state of nothingness, revealed beside the fountain. Although Shi Feng did not receive any damage from the collision, the flames of the White Bone Greatsword were just too blistering. As the Abyssal Blade was a Magic Weapon, there were no problems with it. However, the Secret-Silver Ranked Crimson Blade was different. Not only was its durability greatly reducing, but the Crimson Blade itself also turned a glowing red and even showed signs of melting. Meanwhile, the Ghost Rider was slightly shocked that its sword did not yield it an immediate victory. However, it waved its sword for a second strike. The flames on the White Bone Greatsword soared, rising over 5 meters into the air as the sword slashed at Shi Feng. This was the Ghost Riders Devil Flame Slash. When this move was used, all beings in its path would lose their lives and reduce to ashes. However, contrary to expectations, Shi Feng did not retreat when faced with this attack. Instead, he activated Defensive Blade as he rushed towards the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Although the Ghost Riders Devil Flame Slash landed on Shi Feng, it had no effect at all. Instead, Shi Feng made use of the wave of steam generated by the White Bone Greatsword to further increase his speed. Just as Shi Feng was about to reach the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, as if they had been long since prepared for this moment, tens of Ferocious Evil Spirits rushed at him. _Become frozen!_ Shi Feng threw out an Intermediate Frost Grenade, turning all the Ferocious Evil Spirits into ice sculptures. A bunch of rubbish! seeing that its subordinates were actually so useless, the Ghost Rider loudly cursed. It abruptly leaped, its body landing and blocking Shi Feng. Its greatsword then slashed downwards, Die, little rat! Abyssal Bind! Nine pitch-black chains instantly bound the Ghost Rider, saving Shi Fengs life. However, the Ghost Riders strength was just too immense. In the blink of an eye, one of the chains snapped. Seeing this, Shi Feng dared not stop his movements as he ran towards the fountain. Wretched little rat, you have truly angered me this time! the Ghost Rider roared as it saw that Shi Feng was already beside the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. It struggled free from the chains binding it, its body turning into a shadow as it swept towards Shi Feng, fully intending to dice him into chunks of meat. Due to the Ghost Riders flames, the freezing effect of the Frost Grenades was also greatly weakened. The Ferocious Evil Spirits were quickly thawed from their icy prisons, all of them rushing at Shi Feng once more. Shi Feng only revealed a faint smile at this sight. He spread opened the deep blue-colored Tier 2 Magic Scroll in his hands. Within an instant, the water-attributed mana from the surrounding environment gathered above the magic scroll. Tidal Overflow! Shi Feng pointed the magic scroll towards the incoming Ghost Rider and Ferocious Evil Spirits, a dark blue magic circle forming above the scroll. Immediately, a violent torrent poured out of the magic circle, engulfing the Ghost Rider and the Ferocious Evil Spirits. The resulting water pressure even caused a deep pit to form on the ground. The power of a Tier 2 spell instantly killed all of the Ferocious Evil Spirits. However, this magic had not greatly damaged the Ghost Rider as, during the moment of life and death, the Ghost Rider used its White Bone Greatsword to block the Tidal Overflow. As a result, the ferocious torrent only pushed back the Ghost Rider by over 30 yards. At such a distance, the Ghost Rider would only need a few steps to reach Shi Feng. However, time was needed to retrieve the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, time which the Ghost Rider would not give Shi Feng. Just as the Ghost Rider took its first rage-filled step towards Shi Feng Shi Feng took out the last golden-colored scroll in his hands. The scroll gave off a sacred and inviolable strength, and it was also Shi Fengs final trump card. 129 Blue Devil Flame Wretched little rat, feel the wrath of the flames of hell! the flames in the eye-sockets of the Ghost Rider were capable of seeing through all things, and when it saw the scroll within Shi Fengs hand, it revealed a human-like disdainful expression. Although the might of a Tier 2 magic was great, it was not enough to deal a heavy blow. Furthermore, how many Tier 2 Magic Scrolls could Shi Feng possibly possess? If the other players knew the Ghost Riders thoughts, they would definitely not think the Ghost Rider was an NPC, but an actual player. However, after the evolution of Gods Domain, the intellect of these high ranking monsters was simply that high. At this moment, the faint blue flames surrounding the Ghost Rider all disappeared. The flames had all gathered on the White Bone Greatsword, boosting the flames by ten-fold. All living beings must die! the Ghost Rider bellowed. The berserk roar resounded throughout the entire central plaza as the Ghost Rider abruptly threw the White Bone Greatsword in its hand. The instant the White Bone Greatsword left the Ghost Riders hands, it transformed into a faint blue-colored flame serpent. The flame serpent was over ten meters in length, and if coiled into a bundle, it would look like a small building. The serpent spread open its mouth, biting towards Shi Feng. As the ferocious flame serpent grew closer and closer Shi Feng still had yet to activate the final Tier 2 Magic Scroll in his hand. This magic scroll was different from the other magic scrolls in that it needed some time to take effect after being activated. _Hurry! Please hurry!_ _Hurry, dammit!_ As the flame serpent flew closer and closer, Shi Feng started panicking. However, the activation bar still increased slowly as always. Just as the flame serpents widened mouth was about to devour Shi Feng, the activation bar finished loading. System: A Mysterious-Iron Ranked Weapon or above is needed to be sacrificed. Confirm to sacrifice? Without hesitation, Shi Feng chose to sacrifice. As for the sacrificed weapon, it was the Crimson Blade he held in his hand. At this moment, the Crimson Blade had already reduced to just scrap metal, and it would be meaningless for Shi Feng to continue holding onto it. In the blink of an eye, the Crimson Blade in his hand released a bright golden glow, illuminating the entire central plaza. At the same time, with Shi Feng as the focal point, a large golden magic circle appeared. The magic circle then ascended to the skies at high speeds. When the golden glow shone upon the flame serpent, it wailed in agony. Following which, the Crimson Blade transformed into a stream of light, shooting up to the air. In the next instant, the stream of light transformed into thousands of Holy Swords of Light. The holy swords rained down from the sky, forming a holy domain in a 30-yard radius around Shi Feng. The flame serpent, which was inside the domain, was immediately pinned down by tens of holy swords, its body unable to move even an inch. The flame serpent released an unwilling roar. _Made it at the last second_ Shi Feng released a sigh as he looked at the thousands of holy swords surrounding him. The holy swords even encompassed the fountain as well. Immediately, Shi Feng started retrieving the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. This golden magic scroll was the most powerful Tier 2 lifesaving Magic Scroll Shi Feng possessed, the Holy Sword Seal. When used, all attacks within a 30-yard radius would be blocked, while all enemies within the affected area would be suppressed, preventing them from moving even an inch. However, the user would be unable to attack any of the enemies, and any outside enemies and attacks could not enter the holy domain. The duration of the holy domain was 36 seconds. Due to these effects, the Holy Sword Seal was considered the strongest defensive scroll amongst all Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Meanwhile, Shi Feng only needed around 5 seconds to collect the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. In addition to the cast time of the Return Scroll, which needed 30 seconds, the total time was just about right. The Ghost Rider outside of the holy barrier instantly entered a violent fury. It pulled out a White Bone Great Ax, swinging it at the holy barrier repeatedly like a god of death. Unfortunately, all its efforts yielded no results. The Holy Sword Seal was the strongest defensive skill amongst all Tier 2 skills. Not to mention a Level 15 Chieftains attacks, even if it were a normal Tier 3 skill, it could not easily destroy the holy barrier. Very quickly, Shi Feng finished retrieving the scorching hot Tier 2 Mysterious Flame, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Though his heart was currently filled with extreme excitement, he suppressed it and activated Defensive Blade. He then started the chant for the Return Scroll. Despicable little rat, I will definitely make you suffer a living hell! Seeing that Shi Feng had already retrieved the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the Ghost Rider suddenly went berserk. The faint blue flames covering its body flared up several times greater than before, and it swung its White Bone Great Ax to the ground with all its might. _Boom!_ The entire central plaza started quivering. The ground of the plaza cracked apart, spitting out tens of pillars of flames, sending countless debris flying. Only now was Shi Feng fully aware of how powerful the Ghost Rider was. The previous exchanges they had were not even a warm-up for the Ghost Rider. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the strongest Tier 2 defensive skill on his side. If it were only a Tier 1 defensive scroll, it could not have fended off the Ghost Rider at all. Time flowed past, little by little. Though the Ghost Rider poured out attacks on the holy barrier like a madman, fortunately, none of them made any actual difference. The Ghost Rider could only watch as Shi Feng completed the chant for the Return Scroll. With only 2 seconds remaining for the chant to finish, the Holy Sword Shields duration ended. At this moment, the Ghost Rider revealed a sinister smile as it dashed forward two steps, instantly arriving before Shi Feng. With its ax raised, the Ghost Rider struck down at Shi Feng. _Peng!_ The ax was unable to advance any further when it was several centimeters away from Shi Fengs body. Shi Feng was shocked into a cold sweat. The Ghost Riders speed was just too fast after becoming berserk. Even he could only barely see it move. Fortunately, he had activated Defensive Blade beforehand. The Level 2 Defensive Blade could completely resist 4 melee attacks or 7 ranged attacks. Now that the skill blocked one attack, only three more blocks remained. Seeing that its attack did nothing, the flame in the Ghost Riders eye-sockets congealed slightly. It then started madly attacking Shi Feng. Second strike! Third strike! Fourth strike! Very quickly, all three of Shi Fengs remaining blocks were used up. The Ghost Rider then abruptly did a Horizontal Slash, intending to bisect Shi Feng in half. At the moment of life and death, Shi Feng finished the Return Scrolls chant a step ahead. He then transformed into a white glow, vanishing. The White Bone Ax only managed to slice the white glow in half, but not Shi Feng. Aooo! The Ghost Rider was incomparably furious. The Ice-Blue Devil Flame was its most valuable treasure. The reason it could turn from a Cursed Apparition into a Ghost Rider was all due to the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. As long as it had another half a year, it could once more evolve and become a Lord. With a Lords strength, it could launch attacks at the living beings in the nearby Towns, slowly strengthening its army of ghosts. Now, however, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was snatched away by a wretched little rat right before his eyes. So, just how was he supposed to not become angry? After returning to Red Leaf Town, Shi Feng could not help but wipe away the cold sweat from his forehead. If he were slower by even a millisecond, he would have definitely died. At that time, not only would he have wasted two Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, he would also need to wait a very long period before he could attempt to obtain the Ice-Blue Devil Flame again. However, now that he had collected the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, everything returned to his control. As for a high ranking Chieftain monster like the Ghost Rider, it was without a doubt a walking treasure trove. If Shi Feng were to kill it off, he wondered just how many good items would drop. Before he went to the Hundred Ghost Forest, he once considered forming his own team in the future in order to raid the Ghost Rider. However, after meeting it, Shi Feng decided that it would be too troublesome to deal with the Ghost Rider. It would be much better if he just sold the information about the Ghost Rider. For example, he could sell the information to Gentle Snow or Stabbing Heart. After all, large Guilds all loved to hunt for Elite monsters in the wild, not to mention a Chieftain ranked monster. Every Chieftain ranked monster possessed a great sum of riches. Moreover, only these large Guilds could gather hundreds of players in Red Leaf Town within a short amount of time. When they reached White River City, gathering even thousands of players would not be a problem. There would be no problems if thousands of players were used to deal with the Ghost Rider. Only, the losses in doing so would be somewhat heavy. However, with the information provided by Shi Feng, raiding the Ghost Rider would become much easier. Just as Shi Feng was about to go to the Forging Association to take a look at the Ice-Blue Devil Flames Attributes, he discovered that many players in Red Leaf Town were currently discussing a single matter. Did you hear? Martial Union has already released an announcement that they will reward 10,000 Credits to whoever kills Ye Feng once. There is also a reward of 1,000 Credits for killing Ye Fengs teammates. The person who provides accurate information on Ye Fengs whereabouts will also receive 2 Silver Coins as a reward. With this, Martial Union truly intends to start a blood feud with Ye Feng! Ive heard about it already. The topic has long since blown up in the official forums. Right now, there are plenty of players searching around. Even if they cant kill that expert called Ye Feng, they could still kill one of his teammates. A thousand Credits per kill, this isnt a small number. This time, that expert called Ye Feng will not have an easy time mingling in Red Leaf Town. 130 If it’s War They Want, Then it’s War They’ll Ge Red Leaf Town, Slum Area, The Enchanted Bar: Ironsword Lion and several of his subordinates currently held a drinking party in one of the private rooms on the second floor of The Enchanted Bar. They heartily downed mouthfuls of Old Tom Gin[1] one after another. An hour ago, Ironsword Lion posted a Guild announcement on the official forums. He had placed a bounty on Ye Feng, intending to start an irreconcilable feud with him. In an instant, Martial Union had become the center of attention of all players in Gods Domain. Who was Ye Feng? Almost every veteran player within the region of White River City had heard of him. Right now, Ye Fengs name was carved onto the Glory List at the entrance of the Team Dungeon, Dark Moon Graveyard. After clearing the Team Dungeon, Ye Feng even killed the top-tier expert of Martial Union, Ironsword Lion. He was then publicly acknowledged as one of the Swordsman experts of Gods Domain. The recording of Ye Feng killing Ironsword Lion even spread and was used as a learning model for many Swordsmen. Aside from that, according to the rumors floating about, Ye Fengs relationship with the Snow Goddess was not just a shallow one, and they might be having an affair. Otherwise, why would a Goddess like Gentle Snow, instead of choosing the elite members of her own Guild, choose to take an outsider along into the Dark Moon Graveyard? Many players had long since felt unsatisfied with Ye Feng, and now, with a bounty on him, many players were already tempted into action. Martial Union offered ten thousand Credits for killing Shi Feng just once! Moreover, not only would they be able to obtain the prize money, but they would also obtain immense fame for killing a publicly acknowledged expert of Gods Domain. Such a feat would prove that their strength was exceptional. Right now, the major financial corporations around the world were beginning their investment into Gods Domain, recruiting players for their own Workshops and Guilds. As long as one could prove their strength, they could earn the good graces of these major corporations, receiving very high treatment. So, why not go for it? Boss Ironsword, this move of yours is just too clever! With this announcement, that Ye Feng is dead for sure this time! Even if he doesnt die, the target on his back will still annoy him to death. Other players will hunt throughout the entire day; he wont even be able to level up, Drifting Blood flattered as he took a drink. Humph! Thats nothing at all. The best part has yet to come. Ironsword Lion sneered, Now that the son of a bitch has hidden, nobody can find him at all. However, it wont matter. I believe that we can find his teammates. As long as we kill his teammates to Level 0, I hardly believe that he will remain hidden. As long as he dares reveal himself, Absolute Heaven will immediately take action. It will be his death when that time comes. Just as Ironsword Lion laughed colding, Shi Feng received a communication request from someone on his friend list. Are you alright? Gentle Snow abruptly asked. Shi Feng was slightly astonished. He did not imagine that even Gentle Snow would worry for him. He shook his head, saying, Im fine. If things get too difficult for you to handle, I can utilize the strength of Ouroboros in White River City region to deal with Martial Union. That way, Martial Union will very quickly give up on you. Although Gentle Snow had downplayed her words, Shi Feng knew just how frightening it would be if Ouroboros went all out against Martial Union. Just the tens of thousands of Gentle Snows fans alone were enough to extinguish Martial Union, not to mention when the many experts of Ouroboros took action. Martial Union would not hold on for even a few days before needing to disband. Thanks. Ill be careful, Shi Feng said in gratitude. Shortly after ending the call with Gentle Snow, another suddenly arrived. Brother Ye Feng, are you alright? Stabbing Heart asked. Im fine, Shi Feng replied, a smile appearing on his face. He couldnt help but feel a sense of deja vu. Its good that youre alright. I saw Martial Union declare war on you. Moreover, they even placed a bounty on your head, paying as much as 10,000 Credits for every kill. The bounty even includes several friends of yours, with 1,000 Credits for each of them. Many of the experts I know have all taken an interest in you, and they will definitely look for trouble with you. It would be troublesome if you tangle with so many people, so it is best if you stay hidden for a while. Otherwise, you can level up with us. With the Assassins Alliances reputation, those experts will give way. If we meet any fools, my side can also help you deal with them. Shi Feng could not help but feel grateful towards Stabbing Hearts worries. He said, Thanks, but Ill deal with this matter myself. On the contrary, would Brother Stabbing Heart be interested in buying some high-level equipment? I have a few pieces, and I can sell them to you at a low price. Shi Feng still possessed plenty of the equipment he obtained from the Moonlight Forest. Right now, the prices for equipment were at their highest. Their values would depreciate if he sold them in the future, so he might as well sell them to Stabbing Heart right now, turning them into money. Shi Feng previously considered selling the equipment to Gentle Snow. However, Gentle Snow possessed a greater understanding of him than Stabbing Heart. It would be bad if she discovered something unnecessary about him. Hence, Stabbing Heart was the best choice to sell the equipment to in this case. Really? With the new influx of players right now, our Guild became sorely lacking in equipment. If you could sell them at a lower price and trade fully using Credits, then I will buy as much as you have. Right now, the available equipment on the market was fervently contested over. Meanwhile, Stabbing Heart knew Shi Feng would have a lot of equipment. After all, Shi Feng managed to clear the Dark Moon Graveyard. That meant that the other Party Dungeons would be easy pickings for him. Moreover, Shi Feng only had a single party under his command. He would definitely possess plenty of extra equipment. If Stabbing Heart could purchase all of it, it would be a huge boost to his Guild. Im busy right now. How about we meet up and trade inside the Hotel at the Trade Area? Shi Feng asked. That would be great! I also need to some time to collect the money needed, Stabbing Heart replied with a smile. Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call with Stabbing Heart. He then sent a message to Blackie and the others, telling them to be careful of ambushes from other players. Currently, with Blackie and the others equipment and level, a dozen or so average players could not do anything to them at all. Shi Feng was only afraid of those elite players taking action. Blackie and the others would not have an easy time if they truly met up with such players. Hence, it would be best if they took precautions early on. After receiving the information, Blackie immediately led the others to depart from their current grinding spot. They went to an even more secretive location Shi Feng gave them. It would not be easily discovered, even by those pro players. Martial Union, since you guys want war, then to war we shall go! Shi Fengs eyes flashed with a cold glint. Shi Fengs mind constantly considered how he should earn money in Gods Domain and his future development in the game. He did not imagine Martial Union would send a top-tier Assassin at him, and even go further to place a bounty on his head. They had gone too far. Did Martial Union think he would be helpless against them? Shi Feng immediately logged onto the official forums. Using the name Ye Feng, he sent out a declaration. Martial Union, since you guys want war, then to war we shall go! I now place a bounty on all players from Martial Union! As long as you can kill a normal member of the Guild, you will receive a reward of 100 Credits or 1 Silver Coin! For one of the upper echelons of the Guild, every kill will earn 1,000 Credits or 10 Silver Coins! As for Ironsword Lion, I will pay you 5,000 Credits or 50 Silver Coins for every time you kill him! This bounty will be effective until Martial Union completely disappears from Red Leaf Town! After Shi Feng issued the post, it instantly caused a sensation in the forums of all of White River City region, giving rise to a raging tempest. A single independent player actually dared to declare war against a large Guild. This was a first in the entire Gods Domain. Before this, one would only hear about Guilds issuing bounties on a single player. It was the first time players had actually seen a single person place a bounty on an entire Guild. The players who read Shi Fengs post were completely astonished. If a large Guild acted rich and overbearing, then so be it. However, they never imagined an independent player would also make such a move. Said player even placed bounties on every single member of a Guild. Although it was only limited to the area within Red Leaf Town, a large Guild would still have several hundreds of players there. The money needed for such a feat was impressive, and such a way of spending was no different than running water. Even tycoons would not dare play in such a way. * * * TL Notes: [1]Old Tom Gin: Link: https://www.google.com/search?q=old+tom+gin&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTjbbT5__XAhUTTo8KHWqaCHwQ_AUICSgA&biw=1920&bih=1012&dpr=1 131 Owning a Mysterious Flame Shortly after Shi Feng published the post, many players replied to it. No way! Such a high bounty! It would be great if I had chosen to start at Red Leaf Town! One Silver Coin just for the regular members thats already an entire days worth of my earnings. If I strive hard an entire day, I could kill at least seven or eight of them, which would be seven or eight hundred Credits. If I continued hunting for an entire month, the amount I can earn would be several times higher than my normal salary! Could it be a scam? Wasnt that Ye Feng an expert in dire straits? Where did he get so much money? The commenter above is right! This is definitely a scam. This Ye Feng is just trying to make a name for himself and win the pity of the masses, tricking us into opposing Martial Union. There were many players who voiced out their own varying opinions. Some supported Shi Feng, while some felt disgusted with him. A large number of players cursed at Shi Feng, and an even greater number refused to believe that Shi Feng possessed that much money. After all, making a rough calculation, just killing all the members of Martial Union in Red Leaf Town once would cost a lot, not to mention killing them several times. Even a normal tycoon would not dare carry out such an action, much less a poor expert in dire straits. I am Stabbing Heart of Assassins Alliance. I am in full support of Brother Ye Feng, and I can guarantee that everything Brother Ye Feng has said is the truth. If you arent able to cash in your bounties from him, you can collect them from me instead. Just when everyone determined Shi Feng was a scammer, Stabbing Hearts abrupt reply sent a tremor through the forums once more. Although Ye Feng was famous, when compared to a large Guild, his prestige was still sorely lacking. On the other hand, the words Stabbing Heart from the Assassins Alliance had written were wholly different. Ignoring the fact that the Assassins Alliance was a second-rate Guild, possessing a member count in the tens of thousands, just the dozen years or so fame they had accumulated from other virtual reality games was strongly persuasive. Wow! The Assassins Alliances Stabbing Heart has appeared! Please let me join the Assassins Alliance! Even Stabbing Heart has already shown himself, so the bounty must be real! This time, the players of Red Leaf Town are going to make a fortune! Not long after Stabbing Hearts appearance, another reply appeared which instantly caused the number of views on Shi Fengs post to multiply by tens. Ye Feng is my friend. I can guarantee his credibility. If there are any problems, you can find me to deal with them. The reply, indeed, belonged to the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, herself. Moreover, she was willing to make assurances for Shi Feng. Those who cursed at Shi Feng previously immediately shut up after her reply, because if they did not, the Snow Goddess fans might pummel them into meat paste. Ye Feng, you are my idol! Please take me in as your disciple! Im willing to do anything you ask! I guarantee it! Big Brother Ye Feng, do you have a girlfriend? Little sister is 18-years-old, has a beautiful appearance, a sexy body, and wishes to become big brothers girlfriend! I can give birth to a bunch of little monkeys for big brother! Looking at Gentle Snows reply, everyone immediately thought Shi Feng was just too awesome. He had received the support of Stabbing Heart of Assassins Alliance and the Snow Goddess of Ouroboros. This was not a treatment any ordinary expert would receive. Now that Gods Domain was so popular, Shi Fengs future would be limitless. Slum Area, The Enchanted Bar: Boss Ironsword, this is not good! Ye Feng placed a bounty on our heads! an Assassin suddenly rushed into the private room. Currently, Ironsword Lion happily drank away, his face flushed red. He did not think the alcohol in a virtual world could get a person get drunk. The alcohol had such a rich and mellow taste. Compared to the alcohol available in the real world, what he drank right now was much better. It was no wonder those players that tread on the path of darkness all loved to hang around in this place. At this moment, the person who rushed into the room shouting had immediately interrupting Ironsword Lion from enjoying his drink. Annoyed, he said, Why are you shouting? Its not like the sky is falling. Which son of a bitch was it that placed a bounty on me? Lets see if I dont hack him into pieces. Boss, I heard it was that Ye Feng who placed the bounty on us, Drifting Blood said in a daze. Ye Feng? With him alone, he wants to place a bounty on us, Martial Union? Who would even believe his words? Ironsword Lion laughed in contempt, swallowing another mouthful of Old Tom Gin. Boss Ironsword, its true! If you dont believe it, take a look at Ye Fengs post. Right now, views on it have exceeded one million already, the Assassin helplessly said. Originally, he did not believe that an independent player would dare place a bounty on a large Guild, either. Anyone who dared would just be digging their own graves. Without great enmity against a Guild, no one would not carry out such an action. Such an action was a major threat to the reputation of a Guild, and they would definitely not let off any players who dared provoke them. If they did not kill the player until he quit the game, they would not let the matter rest. However, reality told him otherwise, as such an incident had truly occurred. Ironsword Lion still did not believe his subordinates words. To place a bounty on the members of Martial Union, was this Ye Feng seeking death? Hence, Ironsword Lion checked out the official forums. Immediately, Ironsword Lion was dumbfounded. Ye Feng actually dared place a bounty on all of Martial Union! He really intended to fight until one side was gone! However, Ironsword Lion had forgotten that he was the one who first placed a bounty on Ye Feng. He had already forgotten his own declaration to fight until one of them was obliterated. After taking a closer look at the contents of the post, Ironsword Lion was truly shocked. Those who originally called Ye Feng a scammer had all shut their mouths now, and they all itched to slaughter the members of Martial Union. It was like they discussed competing over vegetables on the forum. When Ironsword Lion saw the price tag of his own bounty, he nearly exploded with anger. He had spent a million Credits to hire Absolute Heaven to assassinate Ye Feng, and the bounty of 10,000 Credits he publicly declared was just for entertainment. He was not hoping that someone would kill Ye Feng at all; his main goal was to kill Ye Fengs teammates. Now, however, Shi Feng had tagged him with a bounty of 5,000 Credits. In doing so, wasnt Ye Feng stating that he was far from being his equal? The most unbelievable thing was that Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow had also stood out to show their support for Ye Feng. Ironsword Lion simply could not understand this situation. The bounty he placed was only on Ye Feng, yet, why did these fellows mind other peoples business? Gentle Snow was one thing, but why had Stabbing Heart appeared as well? He and the Assassins Alliance had always minded their own business, and he had never provoked the Assassins Alliance before. So, why was Stabbing Heart showing his support to Ye Feng? Good! Good! Good! Ironsword Lion repeatedly said. His anger jerked him out of his drunken stupor, his expression turning extremely sinister as he coldly said, Since he wants to play, then Ill play! Immediately place a bounty on anyone with the guts to kill any of our members! Also, increase the bounty on Shi Fengs teammates to 2,000 Credits per person. I want to see just who can tempt these players. Tell the ones below to be careful of their actions and form parties when they go out leveling. Yes. After Ironsword Lion finished giving out his instructions, the Assassin turned and left. Following which, Ironsword Lion initiated contact with Absolute Heaven. He wanted Absolute Heaven to take action a little sooner, killing Ye Feng to absolve him of this anger. Elsewhere, Shi Feng had rented an Intermediate Forging Room in the Forging Association. Now that the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was in his hands, Shi Feng was prepared to use this time to train his Forging, placing all his effort into making the Silver Dawn and other equipment. Shi Feng walked to the furnace, canceling the Tier 1 Mysterious Flame provided by the Intermediate Forging Room. He then took out a dark blue flame from his bag. This dark blue flame was just like a flame sprite, joyfully jumping about in Shi Fengs palm. Furthermore, the flame gave off a scorching heat, causing the temperature in the room to rise quickly. System: Do you wish to bind the Ice-Blue Devil Flame as your personal Mysterious Flame? Bind? Dont tell me that I can only use it after its bound? Shi Feng did not know why, but although he held the Ice-Blue Devil Flame in his hand, he was unable to glean any information about it. Even a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame was extremely rare throughout Gods Domain. In his previous life, he had never come into contact with a Mysterious Flame, and this was his first time learning that the flame needed to be bound before use. He recalled that the Mysterious Flame could be placed in the Forging Room of the Guild. That way, all Guild members were able to use it while not being able to take it away. So, just why was this Mysterious Flame a bound item? Shi Feng stopped caring about the details. He immediately chose to bind the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, intending to learn its effects. 132 Evolution Crisis After Shi Feng chose to bind the Ice-Blue Devil Flame Suddenly, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame started transforming. The small flame within Shi Fengs palm momentarily burned fiercely, wrapping Shi Fengs entire palm. Shi Feng immediately felt a scorching heat surrounding his hand as if he had just dipped it into boiling water. Previously, he was unable to feel the high temperature of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, and only now did he truly experience its heat. Although he tried to store the flame back into his bag, no matter what he tried, there was no reaction from the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Instead, a binding loading bar appeared, slowly increasing. Successfully fused 3%... 4%... 5%... _Isnt it a binding? Why did it turn into a fusion?_ Looking at the green colored fusion bar, Shi Feng felt a sense of unease. He could barely endure just the pain he currently felt. However, the temperature of the flame constantly rose, while the fusion rate of the flame was extremely slow. If this situation were to continue, Shi Feng would, sooner or later, die from the pain alone. Just when Shi Feng had called out the pain perceptionsystems interface, intending to turn off all his senses of pain, his flaming hand no longer felt hot. Instead, he felt a cooling feeling on his palm as if it submerged in ice-cold water. _Is the fusion complete?_ Shi Feng took another look at the fusion bar; it showed 8%, still very far from reaching 100%. However, since it was no longer hot, Shi Feng gave up the notion of turning off the pain perception system. However, another moment later, his flaming hand grew colder and colder as if it were inside an ice-cube. Shi Feng could not help but shiver at the chilling temperature. Just when he was unable to endure the cold any longer, the flame surrounding his hand turned hot once more. In such a way, the flame constantly alternated between hot and cold. Shi Feng was also able to understand the reason for this phenomena. Just like its name, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame possessed both ice and fire attributes. However, Shi Feng no longer wished to endure torture by the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, so he chose to turn off the pain perception system. System: During the fusion process of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, if pain perception falls below 20%, fusion will fail and cause a fixed amount of damage to the player. Are you sure you want to turn off the pain system? Crap! Shi Feng could not help but curse at the despicable system. The system was clearly trying to toy with him. Moreover, it did not mention what sort of damage the fixed damage was. The fusion progress was already at 30%, so he couldnt just give up halfway. Helpless about the situation, Shi Feng could only tune down his pain perception from the original 40% to 20%. That way, he could, more or less, bear through the suffering. However, things were far from over. After the fusion bar reached 50%, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame started spreading throughout Shi Fengs entire body, turning Shi Feng into a flaming man. Shi Fengs entire body burned with a deep blue flame, just like the Ghost Rider. Compared to the Ghost Riders flame, however, the flame burning Shi Fengs body was much more pure and dazzling. Even the ground below his feet started showing signs of melting. The floor of the Forging Room had undergone special strengthening techniques specifically to resist high temperatures. The floors of the Forging Room were much stronger than even a Secret-Silver Weapon. However, this floor could still not withstand the flame surrounding Shi Fengs body. One could just imagine the frightening temperature that was emitted by the flame. Right now, if someone were to attack Shi Feng using a Bronze Weapon, the scorching flame would, most likely, melt the weapon before it could even come near Shi Feng. Fortunately, Shi Feng had long since familiarized himself with pain. He had also adjusted his pain perception down to 20%. Otherwise, he really could not endure the ever-changing temperatures of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. After enduring the same process for twenty minutes, the fusion of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame finally completed. System: The Ice-Blue Devil Flame has been bound as Player Ye Fengs personal belonging. System: Fusion of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame completed. After undergoing the tempering of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, players physique has improved. Strength +10, Endurance +10, Agility +10, Ice Resistance +20, Fire Resistance +20. Able to fully control the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. _Even this is possible_ _?_ Shi Feng was shocked. Ignoring how valuable the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was to Forgers, Shi Feng did not think that it could even improve a players physique after fusion. Shi Feng had effortlessly obtained 30 Attribute Points and 20 points in both Ice Resistance and Fire Resistance. Resistance was extremely hard to obtain in Gods Domain, and a single point increase would have a large effect, not to mention an increase of 20 points. Such an increase was enough to instill despair in many mage classes. If fire magic could originally deal 100 damage to Shi Feng, right now, it would be good if could even deal him 30 damage. Shi Feng then chanted a name in his mind, a deep blue flame appearing in the middle of his palm. This was indeed the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Following Shi Fengs thoughts, the flame freely moved about, growing and shrinking. [Ice-Blue Devil Flame] (Tier 2 Mysterious Flame) Can be used in battle to increase damage by 20%, and an additional 40% damage to ice or fire attributed skills. Simultaneously, it increases the success rate for Potionmaking, Forging, and Cooking by 10%. These Attributes had completely surpassed Shi Fengs imagination. In his previous life, he had never received any information regarding Mysterious Flames being capable of increasing a players battle prowess. It was also impossible for the Mysterious Flames to only increase a players battle prowess in this life. Hence, the only possibility was that the players who obtained Mysterious Flames did not leak a single word about it, silently enjoying the fortune. Just the Mysterious Flames ability to increase the success rate of Forging and Potionmaking was sufficient to send all the major powers in Gods Domain into an uproar. If the information about it being capable of increasing a players battle prowess leaked, the competition over Mysterious Flames would become much more intense. Forgers and Potionmakers would have no chance to obtain a Mysterious Flame for themselves at all. Mysterious Flames were always said to give the greatest benefits to Potionmaking and Forging, but in Shi Fengs view, Elementalists who learned Potionmaking were the ones who gained the greatest benefits. Originally, an Elementalists damage was very frightening. They were like human cannons. If they were to receive an upgrade to their ice and fire attributed skills, it would leave others speechless. In addition, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame originally increased its users damage by 20%, which meant that an Elementalist who had the Ice-Blue Devil Flame would have their damage output increased by 60%. The Elementalist possessing the Ice-Blue Devil Flame could easily kill an MT of the same level with the same quality of equipment in just two or three moves. Although Shi Feng was not an Elementalist, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame still provided a relatively large increase to his battle strength. With the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, Shi Feng felt that the future development of his skills should be more directed towards the fire or ice attributes. That way, he could reap the greatest benefits from using the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Following which, Shi Feng took out a pile of Hard Stones and started making Advanced Whetstones, increasing his forging proficiency. The success rate for making an Advanced Whetstone was 60%, with the possibility of increasing proficiency by 1 point with each success. Although the increase was not as much as when he made Bronze Equipment, the time needed to make an Advanced Whetstone was much shorter. Shi Feng only needed to burn the Hard Stones in the Ice-Blue Devil Flame for a short while, followed by a couple of knocks from his hammer; then he would have completed an Advanced Whetstone. If Shi Feng were to make Glimmer Chestplates, he would not be able to sell them for a lot of money. After all, there were various Guilds currently selling that item. On the other hand, making the high-level Bronze Equipment and Mysterious-Iron Equipment from the Forging Designs he bought from Stonehammer Town was not very efficient. It would be much better for him to just upgrade to an Intermediate Forging Apprentice, increasing his success rate a little earlier. At that time, it would not be too late for him to start using those Forging Designs. Meanwhile, while Shi Feng made the Advanced Whetstones, tension rose throughout the entire Red Leaf Town. However, it was not only due to the matter of Shi Feng and Martial Union placing a bounty on each other. There was also the crisis after Gods Domains evolution. Due to the difficulty of the monsters in the wild increasing, the large influx of newcomers, and Shi Fengs stock clearance of the Auction House, the prices of items rapidly increased. Within a short two hours, the prices of items had already doubled, causing many players to voice out their complaints. Originally, the money they earned within a day was small. They also needed to buy many items they needed in the wild, such as food and beverages, Return Scrolls, and such items. There were also the Regeneration Potions and Mana Recovery Potions. However, the prices for all these items had suddenly skyrocketed. Amongst the items with inflated prices, the highest was equipment. Previously, 20 Copper Coins was sufficient for a player to purchase a piece of Level 2 Common Equipment. Right now, they would need 40 Copper Coins to do so. As for Bronze Equipment and higher, the increase in their prices was even greater. However, without good equipment, how could they hunt monsters? Hence, the majority of the players right now all held the thought that they had to obtain a good piece of equipment no matter what, even at the cost of saving up the money meant for potions. With good equipment, they could easily look for a party to join. Their efficiency of killing monsters would also rise as a result, and it was only a matter of time before they earned back their money. As a result, the prices of equipment constantly rose. Similarly, this phenomenon caused plenty of players, who were wealthy in real life, to purchase Coins using Credits for purchasing equipment, causing the price of Coins to skyrocket, too. Looking at this situation, the players in Red Leaf Town became even more attentive towards the bounty put out by both Shi Feng and Martial Union. The players, who were previously uninterested in participating, started to take action. There were many experts who began searching for Shi Feng and his teammates, and there were some who set their sights on Martial Union. Forming a party to hunt Ye Fengs party! Must be Level 6 or above, with a complete suit of Bronze Equipment! Those who fulfill the conditions, please gather at my location! Forming a party to hunt members of Martial Union! Must be Level 5 or above! Those who wish to make a quick buck, dont miss this chance! Meanwhile, there were plenty of players shouting out party recruitments in the plaza of Red Leaf Town. However, their grinding targets were no longer monsters, but players. Suddenly, Shi Feng and Martial Unions game of hunting lured the players throughout all of Red Leaf Town. 133 Fire Dance Inside the Red Leaf Forest, where the green grass was plush like a cushion... A party of Level 5 players currently surrounded a group of three Level 5 Forest Wolves. The players advanced and retreated in battle familiarly, steadily pushing the three Forest Wolves towards defeat. In a short moment, one of the Forest Wolves died from the large fireball that flew at it, while the remaining two Forest Wolves only had a small amount of HP remaining. Leader, were already Level 5. Were tired of constantly killing the same Forest Wolves. Lets just kill the Level 6 Grassland Lion Cubs! I hear the loot is quite good. Moreover, everyone can obtain a larger share of experience there, the bold and powerful Shield Warrior said as he blocked a Forest Wolfs attack. Forget it. In these troubled times, you forget that everyone from our Martial Union has a bounty on their heads. Each one of us is worth 1 Silver Coin, and there are plenty of people looking for this transaction, the party leader, an Elementalist, shook his head. He felt that the Shield Warriors suggestion was too risky. Leader, since when have you become such a coward? a Berserker with waxy skin curled his lips, asking disdainfully. Before, when we snatched Elite monsters and equipment and even killed the other players, Ive never seen you reluctant before! Regardless of what other people say, Martial Union is a famous large Guild in Red Leaf Town. I dont believe that those people would be so foolish, daring to kill us. Even if they come, we can kill them off and make a quick buck! The Elementalist party leader nodded, thinking that his subordinates words sounded logical. In Red Leaf Town, only Martial Union bullied others. Whoever dared provoke them was only seeking death. The Elementalist party leader then said, Alright. After we kill these two Forest Wolves, well go kill the Grassland Lion Cubs. Oh yeah! The Shield Warrior grinned, using his shield to send one of the Forest Wolves flying. He then followed up with a Heroic Strike on the other Forest Wolf, taking away its remaining HP. Immediately after the party from Martial Union killed the final Forest Wolf, they suddenly discovered that they were surrounded by a team of over twenty players. Moreover, every one of these players was Red Named, and clearly, they had already killed a lot of players. Brothers, our luck is good this time! They are all from Martial Union! A Red Named female Assassin with a provocative body revealed herself from Stealth. She wore a smile as she looked at the players from Martial Union. The members of Martial Union immediately felt chills through their bodies. This female Assassin was clearly the scout for this entire team. Although she should have been hiding near their party this entire time, they did not detect her presence at all. What are you all trying to do? the Elementalist party leader asked in a cold tone, his eyes observing his surroundings. What are we doing? the female Assassin gleefully smiled at the party leader from Martial Union, saying with a laugh, Of course, we are here to do some _happy_ things with you. Sister Fire Dance, why are you wasting your breath on them? Lets just kill them and be done with it, one of the Rangers standing in the encirclement said, feeling restless. His bow was already nocked and aimed at Martial Unions Cleric. The Shield Warrior from Martial Union knew that they were not a match for these group of players. Hence, he intimidated, You guys better think through this. You will not have a good ending if you become Martial Unions enemies. By the time we take care of that Ye Feng, we will take revenge on those who dared attack the members of our Guild. You guys best consider your actions properly. Dont make a mistake. Is Martial Union really that amazing? The female Assassin named Fire Dance played with the dagger in her hand. Curling up her lips slightly, she said, Why have I heard that you guys suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of my idol, Ye Feng? Moreover, since you guys dared make trouble with my idol, its no different than seeking for trouble with me. You should all just die, right here. Brothers, take action! Dont let any of them escape! Hearing Fire Dances command, the twenty-plus players surrounding Martial Union rushed forward. Meanwhile, the female Assassin named Fire Dance suddenly appeared behind the party leader from Martial Union. She immediately knocked the Elementalist unconscious, her icy-cold dagger slashing across his neck. She then followed up with a Backstab and Eviscerate, instantly taking the party leaders life, her techniques both quick and efficient. The other members of Martial Union were extremely shocked by this scene; their hearts stopped beating completely. Immediately, they turned and ran. However, would it be that easy to run away? Immediately, the Ice Walls of Elementalists blocked their escape, followed by Ice Spheres reducing their Movement Speeds. Several Berserkers separately used Charge on their targets, followed by Breaks, greatly reducing the Movement Speeds of the members of Martial Union once more. With their fleeing speed slower than even a tortoise, the members of Martial Union died within moments. Tidy up the loot quickly. Well be looking for our next target, Fire Dance issued her command. These fellows sure are fat[1]. They have contributed three pieces of Bronze Equipment to our inventory. It really makes you wonder just how fat Ye Fengs party, which is much more powerful, is, a lean Berserker said as he collected the dropped items. He couldnt help but drool when he gazed at the Bronze Equipment the members of Martial Union left behind. Hmm? Water Buffalo, are you having ideas about my idols teammates? Fire Dance looked at the Berserker, smiling faintly as she asked. Immediately, the Berserker called Water Buffalo quivered, hurriedly laughing as he replied, How would I even dare? I was only fantasizing in my mind a little! If I really did look for trouble with them, I would only be there to die at their hands! Humph! At least you know your limits, Fire Dance snorted. She then turned, departing in search of her next target. Red Leaf Town, Slum Area, The Enchanted Bar: _Peng!_ Ironsword Lion angrily smashed the alcohol bottle in his hand after seeing the report from his subordinates. Who can tell me what is going on exactly? Why is it only our members are dying, while not even a shadow of Ye Fengs teammates can be found? According to the report from his subordinates, within a short two hours, of all the members of Martial Union stationed in Red Leaf Town, 58 of them, had already died once. Amongst those who died, nine of them were even the top echelons or elites of their Guild. Not only had they lost a level as a result of dying, they even dropped some of their equipment. This was a huge loss for Martial Unions Red Leaf Town branch. Moreover, Ironsword Lion was required to compensate them for their losses. Besides that, the large number of deaths had largely impacted the loyalty of the members of Martial Union. Many started to think of leaving the Guild as they did not wish to be dragged into this game of hunting. If this matter did not quickly resolve, the Martial Union branch at Red Leaf Town would, sooner or later, break up. Boss Ironsword, could they be hiding? Why dont we increase the bounty on them? That might tempt the true experts, Drifting Blood suggested. Fine, increase the bounty immediately. I dont believe that we cant find them, Ironsword Lion nodded his head. He then continued saying, Remember, as long as you receive any information, immediately contact Absolute Heaven. Leave it to me, Boss. Ill relay the information immediately. Inside an Intermediate Forging Room, Shi Feng repeated the same task, over and over. Shi Feng took out a Hard Stone, immediately using the Ice-Blue Devil Flame to burn it. He then used the Runic Hammer to tap at it a few times, very quickly forming a high-quality Advanced Whetstone. System: Advanced Whetstone has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 1 point. Obtained 200 EXP. [Advanced Whetstone] (Consumable) When used on a Level 20 weapon or below, recovers the durability by 8 to 12 points. Simultaneously, it increases the damage of the weapon by 3% for a duration of 30 minutes. Number of usage remaining: 3 In the later stages of the game, the value of this item would become greater and greater. The reason was that the damage to a weapon increased as monsters prowess increased. It was especially true for monsters that were Level 7 and above, as some of them possessed skills that could greatly reduce the durability of a weapon. Hence, Whetstones became one of the necessities when grinding and battling in Gods Domains wilds. Compared to a normal Whetstone, not only could the Advanced Whetstone recover a weapons durability, but it could also increase the weapons sharpness, increasing the weapons damage by 3%. This effect could even compare to a buff, and it would greatly benefit melee players. There would be plenty of melee classes scrambling over this item, and they would still be willing to buy more after buying the first. No player would willingly reduce their damage when fighting monsters, even if it were just a 3% reduction. Right after Shi Feng finished the Advanced Whetstone... System: Congratulations! You are the first player to be promoted to an Intermediate Forging Apprentice. Obtained 50,000 EXP. Rewarding 10 Runic Steel. * * * TL Notes: [1]fat: this isnt the obese kind of fat. This term is used to refer to those who are very wealthy in terms of game equipment/money. 134 Silver Lake After seeing the system notification, a faint smile appeared on Shi Fengs face. He finally received the promotion to Intermediate Forging Apprentice after making over 400 Advanced Whetstones. However, to obtain the promotion to Advanced Forging Apprentice, he needed 3,000 Proficiency Points. He could not achieve such an amount in a short period. Shi Feng looked at his experience bar. It was currently at 94% of Level 9, only 6% away from the Level 10 threshold. As long as he strived a little further, he would break through that threshold. In Gods Domain, there was a huge boost in Attributes every ten levels. When players obtained their first ten levels, it was an indication that they could enter a city. In a city, players could enjoy various benefits. Not only could they purchase resources not sold in towns, but they could also obtain plenty of high-leveled quests. Players could even purchase Bronze Equipment at a low price, though that depended on the players luck. It would also be much easier for players to make money once they reached a city. Furthermore, players could use the Teleportation Gates available in the city to transfer to high-level monster areas; they would not need to waste a huge amount of time on travel, quickly arriving at Level 10 or higher monster areas. Moreover, the game of Gods Domain only truly began after entering a city. When that time came, the players from tens or hundreds of towns would gather in a city. A single city would have, at the very least, over 100,000 players. Moreover, White River City was one of the five largest cities located in Star-Moon Kingdom. The number of players that would gather there would exceed a million. At that time, the various Guilds could centralize their influence completely, displaying the true strength of a Guild. This would also increase the competition between Guilds. It would be a lot less peaceful when the various Guilds competed over the limited resources available. This was the case with all virtual reality games. The resources available were limited, and the best resources and leveling spots would only number so many within a citys region. However, with the huge amount of players, if one wanted to level up and upgrade themselves quickly, they needed to compete over said resources. As a result, those without strength would be eliminated and left behind. Not to mention an independent player, even a small Guild would have absolutely no chance of surviving inside a city. The large Guilds would all monopolize the various high-level resources and valuable leveling areas, while the small Guilds and independent players could only hole themselves up in locations with inferior resources. Hence, if one could set foot in the city even a moment earlier, the competition they would face would greatly lessen. However, that did not necessarily mean that one would be safe just by entering the city ahead of others. Instead, the more advantages a person possessed before entering the city, the better off one would become afterward. Take Blackwing City for example. If an average player were to enter the city, they would only be there to gain some knowledge and experience, a purely time-wasting endeavor. However, if it were one of the upper echelons of a large Guild, things would be quite different. Aside from being able to form a relationship of mutual exchange with Guilds from other countries, they could purchase items unique to Blackwing City in bulk. Such benefits would lead to huge improvements of a Guild. Right now, Shi Fengs level was ranked number one in White River City, and the others would need at least two or three days before they could catch up. During this time, Shi Feng wanted to increase the gap further. Only then could he carve out a place for the Zero Wing Guild he wanted to establish in White River City. _So this is Runic Steel? As expected, this is a treasure._ Shi Feng took out a piece of blue steel, filled with magic, from his bag, joy filling his entire being. In Shi Fengs previous life, many Forgers competed madly for just a piece of Runic Steel. Even if they managed to buy one, they would treat it like their baby; they would not use it lightly. Meanwhile, Shi Feng possessed ten pieces of Runic Steel right now. [Runic Steel] (Fine-Gold Rank Consumable) When used to forge Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment or below, increases success rate by 10%. There is a fixed chance to increase the forged equipments rank by one, up to a maximum of Fine-Gold Rank. No matter how one looked at it, Runic Steel was significantly better than the Hundred Refinement Steel. Moreover, it could even increase an equipments rank. Hahaha! With this Runic Steel, my success rate for forging the Silver Dawn will be even greater now! Shi Feng had purchased all the materials required to forge the Silver Down at the Auction House. In addition to the materials he had purchased before, he could forge a total of 16 Silver Downs. Just the cost alone for a single Silver Dawn was over 37 Silver Coins. Even an elite party needed to raid a Hard Mode Party Dungeon half a dozen times before collecting such an amount. Hence, Shi Feng only chose to forge the Silver Dawn after he was promoted to Intermediate Forging Apprentice. Shi Feng took out the Forging Design for the Silver Dawn, clicking to learn it. He began the process of forging his first Silver Dawn. Previously, before he had obtained the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, his success rate for forging the Silver Dawn was only 32%. After the addition of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the success rate increased to 42%. If Shi Feng used the Runic Steel, he could further increase it to 52%. A mere Intermediate Forging Apprentices chance of successfully forging a Secret-Silver Weapon was just over 50%.Even a Master Forger would be flabbergasted at this success rate. The reason was that a Basic Master Forger only possessed a 30% success rate when forging a Secret-Silver Equipment, and only a Grandmaster Forger had a 50% success rate. Shi Feng carefully read through the process of making the Silver Dawn before refining the materials. Shi Feng first used the Philosophers Stone to obtain a high-purity refinement of the materials. He then placed the materials into the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, waiting for them to merge. Shi Feng possessed 100% control over the Ice-Blue Devil Flame; so he could merge the materials together to an exceptional degree. However, Shi Feng chose not to include the incomparably precious Runic Steel in the forging process this time. The first attempt was only for Shi Feng to familiarize himself with the forging process of the Silver Dawn. Moreover, he only possessed ten pieces of Runic Steel, and each one of them was worth at least 1 Gold Coin. The Runic Steel was extremely hard to obtain, and using it now would just be a waste. If other Forgers knew that Shi Feng intended to use the Runic Steel to forge the Silver Dawn, they would curse at Shi Feng in anger. The Silver Dawn was only a Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapon, yet, Shi Feng actually thought of using the Runic Steel to forge it. Such an action was simply maddening. Ten minutes later, the refinement process was complete. Shi Feng looked at the product of his refinement with satisfaction. He then placed the piece of metal on the anvil, using the Runic Hammer to pound at it. Sparks flew about as the sounds of the hammer striking the metal resounded throughout the Forging Room. Shi Feng was extremely careful with every strike, afraid that a single misstep would affect the final shape of the Silver Dawn. After striking at the metal hundreds of times, sweat drenched Shi Feng. Satisfied, he clicked the Generate button. Following which, the red-hot metal began to take shape, transforming into a silver-colored longsword. He investigated the weapons information. After a full 5 seconds System: Forging of the Silver Dawn has failed. Shi Feng looked at the weapons Attributes, discovering that it was only a Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Weapon. Indeed, the forging failed. However, Shi Feng was not overly disappointed at the results. Although the success rate stated was 42% on the surface, due to it being Shi Fengs first time forging the Silver Dawn, the actual success rate was much lower. Success was impossible, no matter how one looked at it. If he succeeded, it would be a true miracle. With a failure in hand, Shi Feng summarized his experience into a lesson for himself. The reason Shi Feng could lead a third-rate Guild like Shadow to become one of the top second-rate Guilds was not due to any inborn talent of his. Instead, it was because Shi Feng always summarized and learned from his experiences. If others gained experiences from success, Shi Feng gained experiences from failure. After reviewing for over ten minutes, Shi Feng started forging a second time. However, after twenty minutes or so, it was another failure. The weapon he forged was still Mysterious-Iron ranked, though with a slight improvement; the Attributes of the weapon were slightly better. Shi Feng continued forging, and failing, for a total of six tries, taking a loss of over 2 Gold Coins. Feeling that he was mostly familiar with the forging procedures, Shi Feng started his seventh attempt of forging the Silver Dawn. He even used a Runic Steel this time. Soon after, Shi Feng refined, hammered, and shaped the lump of metal. Clicking Generate... Suddenly, an exquisite-looking light blue-colored longsword formed. There were even mysterious runes carved on the blade of the sword, the runes possessing faint traces of magic circulating within. With a glance, one could immediately tell that it was no ordinary weapon. Shi Feng immediately grew excited. He knew that he lucked out this time, and it was not as simple as a mere success. _I wonder what the Attributes are?_ Shi Feng clicked to check the weapons Attributes. He had to wait a total of ten seconds before the system could give him a conclusion. System: Runic Steels effect triggered; rank increased by 1. System: Blacksteel Insignia effect triggered; Attributes increased. System: Silver Lake has been successfully forged. Forgery Proficiency increased by 3 points. Obtained 10,000 EXP. 135 Personal Exclusive The series of system notifications startled Shi Feng slightly. He had only made some slight adjustments to the Silver Dawn based on his habits and battle styles. He did not think his luck would be so heaven-defying. Even out of a hundred tries, both effects definitely wont trigger together again. One could just imagine how greatly enhanced the Silver Lakes Attributes are; to what extent of an increase, however, nobody knew. The Runic Steel could upgrade an items quality by one rank. That meant that Secret-Silver Rank could be upgraded to Fine-Gold Rank. As for Blacksteels Insignia, it could increase the Attribute values of a piece of equipment, and the increase would normally be between 5% to 25%. If the weapons Attributes rose by 20%, it would be the equivalent of having upgraded the weapons quality by an entire rank. If both effects stacked with each other, the refined light blue longsword would, at the very least, be a top-tier Fine-Gold Weapon, with the possibility of even being a Dark-Gold Weapon. A Level 10 Dark-Gold Weapon At this stage of the game, aside from Magic Weapons, it was the most powerful weapon available, period. Immediately, Shi Feng held up the Silver Lake that gave off a blue glow, checking its Attributes. [Silver Lake] (Fine-Gold Rank, One-handed Sword) Level 10 Equipment Requirement: Strength 45, Agility 80 Attack Power +78 Strength +18, Agility +22 Attack Speed +1 Durability 70/70 Additional Passive Skill - Flowing Shadow: Creates an afterimage effect while attacking. Simultaneously, the faster the Attack Speed is, the greater the damage caused. Damage can be increased up to a maximum of 50%. These Attributes completely surpassed that of a top-tier Fine-Gold Weapon. With the additional skill, Flowing Shadow, the Silver Lake was absolutely comparable to a Dark-Gold Weapon. _The Attributes combine both speed and Strength. As expected, it is as I thought._ The more he looked at the Silver Lake, the greater his love for it became. In Gods Domain, the equipment forged generally had better Attributes than the equipment dropped by the Bosses from Dungeons. Moreover, the forged ones were more suitable for specific classes. Hence, many experts preferred to hire Master Forgers to craft them custom weapons and equipment personally. Hence, Master Forgers were extremely welcomed and respected in Gods Domain. The experts of Gods Domain, especially, loved to make friends with Master Forgers. Master Forgers also held great influence within a Guild. Within Gods Domain, nobody would rashly offend a Master Forger. Who knew which expert a Master Forger had forged a weapon for before? If one carelessly provoked a Master Forger, they might end up assassinated or hunted by a large number of experts. After all, these experts all wished to earn a favor from a Master Forger, calling it in for custom equipment. Only suitable equipment would be the best equipment. Although these personalized weapons and equipment were only slightly better than equipment dropped from Dungeons, the battle prowess a player could display while using the equipment would increase manyfold. Regarding these sorts of weapons and equipment, they were all referred to as Exclusive Equipment. They were only suited to a single individual or a certain type of individual. The Silver Lake was a Personal Exclusive Weapon that Shi Feng created for himself. If other Swordsmen used the Silver Lake, it would only display the power of a normal Fine-Gold Weapon. However, in Shi Fengs hands, it could display the prowess of a Dark-Gold Weapon. Previously, Shi Feng had lost the Crimson Blade in battle, and he just happened to be in need of a new weapon. This Silver Lake would suffice for Shi Fengs use for a very long time, and he would not need a new weapon any time soon. Now that he had crafted his first Personal Exclusive Weapon, Shi Feng felt much more assured. He then continued forging more Silver Dawns. After successfully forging the Fine-Gold Ranked Silver Lake, it became much easier for Shi Feng to forge the Silver Dawn. Two days quickly passed. During the day, Shi Feng would move some items to his new house, decorating his new home with some furniture. He then trained his body as usual. At night, after he entered Gods Domain, he forged equipment without stopping. In such a way, his time was fully occupied. After training his body for a time, in addition to the constant aid of the Nutrient Fluids, Shi Feng could feel a clear improvement in his bodys physique. Also, his mind felt much more clear. Currently, his physique had only caught up with the average standard of the athletes in his university. As long as he persevered for another fortnight, he might be able to reach the standard of the fighting and martial arts societies members. At that time, his body could absorb Nutrient Fluids more efficiently, allowing his mind to become much more active. Meanwhile, during the nights in Gods Domain, aside from occasionally visiting the Auction House to purchase materials and appreciation items, Shi Feng had conducted a large transaction with Stabbing Heart. Shi Feng sold the Level 5 to Level 7 Bronze Equipment he possessed in bulk, earning himself over 2 Gold Coins and over 200,000 Credits. Other than that, Shi Feng spent the remainder of his time cooped up in the Intermediate Forging Room. Not only did he forge Silver Dawns, but he also forged plenty of equipment using the Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Forging Designs he obtained from Blackbeard. After he spent all his money on forging equipment, he continued making Advanced Whetstones. In a period of two days, Shi Feng had forged a total of 31 Silver Dawns, over 200 pieces of Level 8 Bronze Equipment, over 100 pieces of Level 9 Bronze Equipment, over 100 pieces of Level 10 Bronze Equipment, over 60 Mysterious-Iron Weapons, over 70 pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and over 2,000 Advanced Whetstones. If other Forgers saw at these numbers, they might faint from shock. Shi Fengs forging speed was simply outrageous. However, the main reason Shi Feng could create so many items was his low rate of failure. After forging so much equipment, Shi Fengs level had long since reached Level 10, and he was not that far from Level 11. As long as Shi Feng desired, he could go to White River City at any time. However, he did not plan to make that journey yet. At the very least, he wanted to make a trip to Blackwing City first, before going to White River City. According to Shi Fengs understanding, the average players were mostly at Level 6, the pro players at Level 7, while only those leveling madmen who played the game 24 hours a day might be Level 9. Hence, Shi Feng was not in a hurry. Going from Level 9 to Level 10, the EXP needed was not a small amount. At the very least, it would take over a day to obtain it. Just as Shi Feng prepared to go to the Auction House and sell a few more Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs... Shi Feng suddenly discovered an interesting matter. The members of Martial Union, whom he could previously see on the streets, were nowhere to be found. _Could Martial Union have disbanded already?_ Shi Feng was slightly puzzled. He then called out the Bounty System governed by the Main God System, checking just how many members of Martial Union have died during this period. The collection of bounties in Gods Domain could be done through the Main God System. As long as a player completed a bounty and submitted the appropriate information, the Main God System would verify the information. After verification, the bounty previously registered and stored by the employer would be handed over to the player. There was absolutely no need for the employer to personally verify all information submitted, wasting a lot of time in the process. Previously, Shi Feng stored 5 Gold Coins and a million Credits in the Main God System, enough to burn Martial Union for a month or two. However, now that Shi Feng took a look, he was immediately dumbfounded. The 5 Gold Coins he placed were no more, while there was still around 800,000 remaining of the one million Credits. The bounty on a normal member of Martial Union was only 1 Silver Coin or 100 Credits; five Gold Coins meant 500 kills. If it were an elite member of the Guild, the bounty was 10 Silver Coins or 1,000 Credits, and 5 Gold Coins was the equivalent of 50 kills. Such a number was sufficient to send all the elites of Martial Union in Red Leaf Town back to Level 0. Furthermore, there was still more than 100,000 Credits used up. It had only been slightly more than two days since Shi Feng announced the bounty, and yet, so much was gone already. With this, nearly all members of Martial Union stationed within Red Leaf Town had died, several times to boot. This was a devastating and irrecoverable strike to Martial Union in Red Leaf Town. It was no wonder there were no players from Martial Union on the streets. After looking at the numbers and video evidence, Shi Feng only had one word in his heart. Awesome! Having suffered to such a degree had definitely crippled Martial Union. Among all the kill counts, a female Assassin held the record for the most kills. She slaughtered over 50 members of Martial Union, and none were repetitive. This attracted Shi Fengs attention. After watching the recordings of the female Assassin in action, Shi Feng was incomparably shocked. The girls techniques were extremely skilled, and in battle, her usage of skills was simply perfect. She was absolutely one of the rare expert Assassins. Fire Dance? Shi Feng looked at the name displayed at the number one spot, his mouth softly reciting it. According to his memories, there didnt seem to be an expert female Assassin called Fire Dance. At this moment, a call request suddenly came from Blackie. What happened, Blackie? Shi Feng knew that Blackie would not randomly call without a purpose. The only possibility was that something had happened. Brother Feng, I dont know what happened, but those bastards from Martial Union found us. They also sent many of their elite players to surround us. Among them, there were also a few experts from Martial Union that I have never seen before. We went all out to break out of the encirclement, but because of my inability, Cola sacrificed himself and stayed behind to cover for us. The others also died as they tried to open a path. Right now, Lonely Snow and I are the only ones left alive. Brother Feng, you need to be careful. You definitely mustnt allow them to discover you. If they do, you wont even have the time to use a Return Scroll, Blackie said with an extremely hurried tone; both rage and resistance filled his voice. Ever since he started grinding for levels with Cola and the others, adventuring and going through life and death together, they had long since formed a very deep bond. Now, however, to secure his escape, Cola and the others took the initiative to stay behind and stall the enemies, while he could only run away. Thinking up to this point, even more anger filled Blackie over his own inadequacy. If he could become slightly stronger, he might not have to watch his teammates die, one after another. Where are you? Ill come immediately. Hearing Blackies report, Shi Feng burned with rage. However, he remained calm as he spoke. Brother Feng, you mustn''t come here! There are too many players from Martial Union right now. Moreover, there are several experts here as well. Ill try to think of a way to escape with Lonely Snow, Blackie advised. The only reason he contacted Shi Feng was that he worried Shi Feng might accidentally encounter the players from Martial Union. It was not that he did not believe in Shi Fengs strength, but the players from Martial Union simply numbered too many. There were also many experts among them; Shi Feng would have no chance against them. Tell me where you two are, now, Shi Feng said each word coldly, an icy glint flashing in his eyes. Hearing Shi Fengs grave tone, Blackie knew that Shi Feng was serious. Moreover, Shi Feng was very angry. Helpless, Blackie said, Were in Gale Valley. Alright, Ill be there immediately. Be careful not to get surrounded, Shi Feng said. Lonely Snow and I have escaped into the inner regions of the Gale Valley. Shrubs and fog fill this place, so they should not easily discover us. Blackie felt that he should not have contacted Shi Feng. That way, he wouldnt have dragged Shi Feng into this mess as well. Good, then. Since you cant use Return Scrolls, someone might be using some special skill to stop you. However, you two can still use Isolation Scrolls. That way, it will be much harder for them to discover you. Find a good place to hide. Ill arrive soon, Shi Feng disconnected the call. Although Shi Feng did not know how Martial Union managed to find another group of players, even with experts leading them, they were gravely mistaken if they thought they could easily bully him. Shi Feng dashed towards Gale Valley. 136 Resonant Sword Gale Valley was quite far from Red Leaf Town. For the sake of speed, Shi Feng used a Speed Scroll without hesitation. Instantly, Shi Fengs speed soared, his body leaving behind afterimages as he ran. Crap! Whos that? How can he be so quick? Is he hacking? How could that be? This is Gods Domain... However, that is truly fast. Before I could get a clear look at him, he was already gone. That person must be an Assassin who went full Agility with all his speed-increasing skills activated. The players who saw Shi Feng running were all shocked by his wind-like speed. He was no slower than a sports car. Ever since Shi Feng reached Level 10 and equipped his new weapon, the Silver Lake, his battle prowess was at least double that of at Level 9. Moreover, after players reached Level 10, all Attributes increased by 10 points and HP by 100 points. Due to this increase, there was a large gap between Level 9 and Level 10 players. However, compared to the average Level 10 player, Shi Fengs Attributes were much higher. The Ice-Blue Devil Flame alone had greatly increased Shi Fengs Attributes, not to mention the Magic Weapon, Abyssal Blade, and the Fine-Gold Weapon, Silver Lake. Furthermore, Shi Feng possessed the complete Silvermoon Set Equipment, coupled with a few independent pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. He also had the title, Might of a Thousand, currently equipped. Shi Fengs Strength alone reached 93 points. It was absolutely an unreachable amount to the average player. Moreover, Shi Fengs Agility had broken through the 100-point threshold, activating the Intermediate Agility Hidden Passive Skill. Like the Wind. It was renowned as a godly skill for battling in the open. With this new passive skill, players Movement Speed increased by 15%, Attack Speed increased by 5%, and the shrubs and brambles of roads and forests would no longer affect him. Simultaneously, consumption of Stamina had slightly reduced, greatly improving a players survivability and ability in battle. Originally, Shi Feng needed to travel for about two hours to reach Gale Valley. However, with this new passive skill, it took Shi Feng less than an hour to arrive. The outer region of Gale Valley was a Level 8 area, while its inner regions were Level 9. Not only was there a large number of monsters in Gale Valley, but the monsters here also traveled in groups. Without a certain amount of strength, one could only seek death by coming to this place. Right now, only a small minority of players dared come here to level up. The Gale Valley was long and narrow. If over 500 players were present, they could perform an inch-by-inch search as they advanced. However, based on the information Blackie provided, Martial Union had only sent around 200 players. It was not enough to create a perfect encirclement of the area, and it would not be easy for them to locate Blackie and Lonely Snow. Moreover, if these 200 or so players wished to locate Blackie, they would have to spread out and form search parties. In regards to jungle battles such as this, Shi Feng had experienced plenty in the past. In his previous life, he had done battle with many second-rate Guilds, and even first-rate Guilds, in forested areas. Although the players involved numbered in the tens of thousands, he still bloodily massacred his enemies. It could be said that Shi Feng was most familiar with these types of battles. For the players who had only recently experienced the evolution of Gods Domain, however, their experiences of such warfare was nil. _As expected, there is a sentry here._ Before arriving at the entrance of Gale Valley, Shi Feng had altered his appearance. After entering Gale Valley, with his extraordinary five senses, Shi Feng immediately discovered the four Level 6 Assassins hidden around the valleys entrance. These Assassins were all scouts of Martial Union specialized in investigation. They were currently tasked to report back all the players who entered the Gale Valley, determining whether or not said players were here as the enemys backup. With this information, they could allow their members to prepare beforehand and set up an ambush. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had long since guessed this, hence his alteration of his appearance before entering the Gale Valley. Even if the experts of Martial Union knew that someone had entered the Gale Valley, they would not know it was Shi Feng. They would only see him as an independent player, here to level up, and they would not be wary of him. Shi Feng paid no heed to these Assassins. Instead, he went deeper into the Gale Valley. Based on Shi Fengs strength alone, it would be extremely easy for Shi Feng to kill these four Level 6 Assassins. However, he would not. Doing so would only alert the enemy of his presence. If he caused the members of Martial Union to become vigilant, he could not achieve the greatest effect when he ambushed them later on. Boss Unstable, theres a player entering the Gale Valley. However, hes not the target, Ye Feng, one of the Assassins on guard at the valleys entrance reported. Got it; you guys stay on guard there. As long as Ye Feng enters the Gale Valley, immediately report it to me. Also, remember to tail him, and do not let him discover any of you. As long as you all do a good job, you will be members of the Guilds elite team in the future, the player called Unstable commanded seriously. Yes! After finishing his report, the Assassin grew extremely excited. He became much more serious as he silently awaited by the entrance for Ye Feng. However, he did not know that the person he mentioned had long since entered the Gale Valley. After Shi Feng entered the Gale Valley, he constantly advanced, through the treetops. He utilized his heightened vision to observe the surrounding situation, making accurate decisions. _En, someones here._ Very quickly, Shi Feng detected sounds of battle from the forest a short distance ahead. Moreover, it did not seem like a small battle. Immediately, Shi Feng stealthily closed in on the origin of the sounds, intending to discover more about the situation. If it were only a battle between players and monsters, there would not be so much movement. Moreover, the closer Shi Feng was, the clearer the sounds of metal clashing against metal and the ear-piercing screech of blades and swords interweaving with each other. _Could they have discovered Blackie?_ Shi Feng shook his head, feeling that the possibility was extremely low. Previously, when Blackie contacted him, Blackie stayed in the Level 9 inner regions of Gale Valley. Meanwhile, this was the Level 8 area of Gale Valley, and there was no way Martial Union had encountered Blackie. When Shi Feng leaped up to one of the trees closest to the scene of the battle, he discovered that it was indeed a conflict between players. Moreover, the battle was very intense. The weaker of the two parties only had six players remaining, and they did not even have a healer. Meanwhile, the players bearing the Guild Emblem of Martial Union were still considerably strong; they had a total of 18 players remaining, with three of which were healers. Amongst the healers, two were Level 7 Clerics, while one was a Level 8 Druid. They all wore matching Bronze Set Equipment mixed with a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. The rest of the players also had relatively good equipment, and the lowest leveled among them was a Level 7 player possessing a complete set of Bronze Equipment. These 18 players were elite members of Martial Union. If they were not elites, they would not possess such levels and equipment. They looked even stronger than the elites Shi Feng had faced off with before. _Since when did Martial Union possess so many elites?_ Shi Feng was slightly puzzled. Logically, Martial Union should have long since been crippled after dying so many times. So, how did so many elites suddenly appear? Moreover, every one of them possessed good equipment, and compared to Martial Union at its peak, they were much stronger. In Red Leaf Town, their power could rival that of a third-rate Guild. It was truly an unfathomable situation. Little girl, dont even think of escaping this time. Just obediently wait for your deaths! the commanding team leader from Martial Union sneered as he looked at the female Assassin possessing a sexy body. Looking at the hot female Assassin, she had an attractive oval face, slender eyebrows, and eyes as clear as water. The girl was very beautiful, like a dazzling pearl or fluorescent jade, and beneath her appearance, she hid a faint lovely tenderness. Arent you thinking too highly of yourselves? You want me to stay put and let you kill me? Dream on. Even if I die, Ill take you guys with me, the provocative-looking girl glanced at the Swordsman team leader, the corners of her lips curling up slightly as she said disdainfully. Sister Fire Dance, you should leave! Let us hold them off for you. If we continue dragging this on, none of us will get away. Dont forget; we are now Red Players, and the death penalty is extremely severe. At the very least, we would lose two levels and three or four pieces of equipment, the Berserker beside the girl softly suggested. Although the Berserker spoke in a very soft tone, Shi Feng, who possessed extraordinary five senses, managed to hear him clearly. _Fire Dance?_ It was no wonder Shi Feng thought that the female Assassin looked familiar. It turned out that she was Fire Dance, the female Assassin who ranked at number one for killing the members of Martial Union. _It seems that I have to lend some help this time._ Shi Feng faintly smiled as he stood on the branch. Even if he were not familiar with Fire Dance, he would still lend her some help. The reason he came here was to kill everyone from Martial Union, creating rivers of blood. He wanted to teach the players from Martial Union what the rage of an independent player truly meant. At this moment, the Swordsman team leader laughed loudly, saying, Do you think you can still escape? The moment we discovered you, we called for all our comrades to hurry over. We have long since surrounded this place. If you can still manage to escape, Ill eat this greatsword of mine. 137 Monster It seems they will bury us here. Our only choice is to carve out a trail of blood, Fire Dance said. After hearing the Swordsman team leader from Martial Union speak, Fire Dances expression turned grim, gritting her teeth slightly. Originally, she intended to come here to kill the members of Martial Union. She did not think that she would fall into Martial Unions trap instead. After killing their way out of the encirclement with much difficulty, these players once more surrounded them. Their chances of escaping were already scant, and if another twenty or so enemies arrived, even that tiny hope of escape would vanish. If she and her teammates died now, with the previous Crime Value they had accumulated, at the very least, her teammates would each lose two levels, while she would lose at least three levels and all of her equipment. Such a loss would devastate them, and their team would very likely disband, never to rise again. Hahaha! Its too late to fear now! Originally, we prepared this ambush for that Ye Feng, but I never thought you guys would send yourselves to death. From now on, the fine equipment that you guys use will belong to us! Brothers, go! Leave that little girl for me to deal with, the Swordsman team leader licked his lips as he spoke, his eyes revealing an undisguised greed as he gazed at Fire Dances sexy body. Naturally, Shi Feng, who was hiding in the forest, heard the entire conversation. Although he knew Martial Union definitely had some hidden plot, it turned out that they planned to set a trap for him all along. Previously, he had stayed inside the Forging Room, creating equipment. Moreover, he had also altered his outward appearance, making it impossible for Martial Union to find him. Hence, they chose to take action against Blackie and the others, using them to lure him out. At the same time, they would set up a trap and surround him. Unfortunately, although they had prepared for a variety of situations, they missed out on two important points. First, Shi Feng possessed the Demon Mask that allowed him to disguise his characters appearance and information easily. Second, they gravely underestimated Shi Fengs current strength. Brothers, follow me and lets kill our way out! At this moment, Fire Dance chose to take the initiative and launched an attack. In the blink of an eye, she rushed towards the spot where the encirclement had the least amount of players. Before the Berserker standing there could react, Fire Dances dagger had already pierced the back of his head, forcing him into a Fainted state. Fire Dance immediately followed up with a Backstab, Assassinate, and Eviscerate, instantly removing half of the Berserkers HP. The other members of Fire Dances team also rushed forward with her, breaking through the encirclement. However, just as the several Level 7 players fell to critical health, a dazzling white light surrounded their bodies, recovering over half of their total HP. Moreover, those players were not just weaklings. They stubbornly held back the members of Fire Dances team, not backing down in the slightest. Mages, go all out! Clerics, cast your Shields! Rangers, mark the Assassins! Do not let them get away! I dont want to become a laughing-stock for the players in Blue Water Town, the Swordsman from Martial Union commanded as he similarly charged at Fire Dance. Including herself, Fire Dances team only had six players remaining. Each of them faced off against two or three enemies. Their enemies also had healers constantly replenishing their health. They had no chance for victory at all. Moreover, with the constant bombardment from the backline mages of Martial Union, Fire Dance lost another two of her teammates in the blink of an eye. Is this really it for us? Fire Dance watched her comrades fall in front of her eyes, her heart bleeding at the sight. However, Fire Dance had no time for anger as she faced off against three enemies at once. One of the three was also the team leader from Martial Union. However, in addition to being outnumbered, she also had to deal with the constant attacks from the mages. As a result, her HP reduced continuously, while a majority of her skills were on Cooldown. She could only dodge the incoming attacks to reduce as much damage as possible. Hahaha! Little girl, if you wish to blame someone, then blame that Ye Feng of yours for standing out! All who go against Martial Union will earn a fatal ending! However, you can be relieved. That Ye Feng fella will sooner or later accompany you as well! Just when the Swordsman thought that victory was in his grasp, a black figure silently appeared behind Martial Unions healers. Nobody had even discovered the appearance of this person. Without anybody noticing, two sword lights pierced through one of the Level 7 Clerics, causing damages of -397 and -542, instantly killing him. Only when the Cleric died did the second Cleric and Druid notice an enemy right beside them. Moreover, this new enemy instantly killed one of their comrades. Ene...my The other Cleric attempted to yell out in fright, yet, he suddenly discovered that he was unable to yell out. He did not know when it started, but at this moment, both his abdomen and neck spurted out fresh blood. Moreover, when he turned to look at the Druid beside him, he noticed that the Druid was in a similar situation. However, neither of them noticed that, in actuality, they had been attacked at the same time as the first Cleric. Only, their reactions were slightly delayed, failing to notice their own HPs had already to zero. Staring at each other, they both fell forward, their visions turning a dull grey. _Thats three down._ Shi Fengs eyes flashed with a cold glint. He then shifted his cold gaze to the mages nearby. Based on Shi Fengs current Attack Power, even if he did not depend on the Ice-Blue Devil Flames damage increase and did not use any of his skills, he could still kill any Cloth Armor classes of the same level with only two strikes from his swords. Two swords, six images. With Shi Fengs current Attributes, it was an easy feat, and there were burdens when doing so. Moreover, the faster Shi Fengs sword slashes were, the greater the damage the Silver Lake could cause. If Shi Fengs speed reached its pinnacle, it might even be possible for him to instant-kill a Cloth Armor class with just a single sword strike. In an open battlefield like this, Shi Feng was just like a harvester, reaping players lives. With Shi Fengs current Attack Speed, if other players did not activate their Extraordinary State[1], they could not block Shi Fengs attacks at all. Without a doubt, they would instantly die. Meanwhile, the current players able to activate the Extraordinary State were usually melee classes, such as the Swordsman team leader. Only with it could they possibly have a chance to react and retaliate against Shi Feng. However, even then, it was only a possibility. Shi Feng then activated Wind Blade, rushing towards the nearest Elementalist of Martial Union. Are you healers dead or what? Dont you even know how to heal? a low HP Assassin of Martial Union cursed. However, the Assassins curses received no replies. Seizing the opportunity, Fire Dance, with her accumulated 3-Star Energy, used Eviscerate to finish off this Assassin. The backline mages witnessing this scene all turned to look at the healers behind them, intending to find out what had happened. However, the moment one turned, he immediately discovered a dark shadow sliding across his neck, with another blue shadow piercing through his chest. His HP bar displayed before him rapidly decreased. Soon after, his vision darkened, and his life extinguished. After killing the Elementalist, Shi Feng turned towards the other mage classes. Leader, theres a monster ambushing us, a Summoner at a distance shouted in fright after witnessing this scene. However, before he could even get a clear look at this ambusher, the Level 7 Elementalist was already dead. Such a scene caused this Summoner to have shivers all down his body. Cant you see that Im busy here? If its just a monster ambush, dont you know how to deal with it yourselves? the Swordsman retorted angrily. At this moment, he still exchanged moves with Fire Dance, and he could not afford a distraction. _Its just a monster; wheres the need to report even that?! Are you_ _a_ _n idiot or what?_ Hearing no reply from the Summoner, the Swordsman thought his subordinate turned to deal with the monster. Hence, he focused more on his battle against Fire Dance. In reality, however, the Summoner already lay beneath Shi Fengs feet. The three mages nearby who attempted to escape were dead as well. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs name turned a crimson red, as if it would bleed at any time. Currently, only three players remained on Fire Dances team, and all three of their HPs were almost gone. Meanwhile, Martial Union still had nine melee players whose HPs were above 50%. Leader, somethings not right! Im already at half health, but the healers havent healed me yet, a Berserker shouted. Crap, what are you healers doing?! Do you not want to play anymore? the Swordsman bellowed after discovering the problem as well. However, just after he finished his bellow, he suddenly felt a chill down his back. He hurriedly rolled to a side, dodging. Immediately after, three sword images pierced through the space he stood before. The two other players in front of him were not as lucky. Both of Shi Fengs swords pierced through their backs. Without even knowing the cause of their deaths, both of their bodies fell lifelessly to the ground, their eyes wide open. As the leader, the Swordsman was the strongest among the entire team. However, when he saw this scene play out before him, he suddenly felt cold throughout his body. Being able to kill both of his comrades instantly and without using any skills to boot, just how heaven-defying was this persons Attack Power?! Who are you? Why are you acting against us? The team leader gathered up his courage, angrily shouting, Do you know who we are? We are members of Martial Union! If you dont wish to die, leave this place immediately! I can still let you off the hook! However, he suddenly heard the reply whispered from behind him. The ones Im here to kill are precisely you from Martial Union. The Swordsman team leader turned his head, his complexion turning pale instantly. Previously, the mysterious player standing in front of him had, in the blink of an eye, arrived at his back, giving him a cold smile. Before the Swordsman team leader could even scream, Shi Feng sent a Chop at him. The pitch-black Abyssal blade pierced through his chest, causing over -700 damage, instantly dropping his HP to zero. Pairing up Silent Steps and Chop, Shi Feng had killed off the Level 8 Swordsman team leader. Meanwhile, Fire Dance, witnessing this scene from a distance, was utterly dumbfounded. This mysterious player had instantly killed the Swordsman team leader, whom she had difficulty dealing with. _Is this mysterious player truly a player?_ _He cant be a ghost of Gods Domain, right?!_ After the team leader of Martial Union died, the other members were all fear-stricken. After witnessing Shi Fengs extraordinary speed and frightening damage, they all felt unprecedented fear. Is this even a player? He cant be a monster, right? This way of thinking reverberated in the minds of these players, causing them to tremble with fear. Although Fire Dance had good technique, at this moment, she did not dare to make any careless movements. She could only watch in silence, and unknowingly, a streak of sweat rolled down from her forehead. When faced with this mysterious player before her, Fire Dances instincts were telling her that, if this mysterious player wanted to deal with her, death would be the only outcome for her. * * * TL Notes: 138 Hidden Exper Fire Dances eyes flickered when she saw Shi Fengs figure. Aside from the immense pressure that she felt from him, she could also smell the stench of death on him. From the moment Shi Feng appeared, she was aware of Shi Fengs existence. However, Shi Fengs movements and battle techniques were just too quick, to the point where she even questioned her own senses. Only when the team leader died was she shocked out of her daze. From the death of the first Cleric to the death of the Swordsman, only a short five seconds had passed. Every time Shi Feng revealed himself, another player fell to the ground, blood spurting from their bodies. Shi Feng was like the Grim Reaper, harvesting the lives of Martial Unions members. One could only describe Shi Fengs movements as erratic. Shi Feng also wore a pitch-black hooded cape that hid his face. In addition, the Demon Mask hid his name, level, and other information. Aside from his HP bar, there was nothing else to see. It would not be strange even if he received the same treatment as a monster. The only reason Fire Dance knew Shi Feng was not a monster was that she had overheard Shi Feng speaking to the Swordsman team leader in a low tone. However, the fact that Shi Feng was not a monster, but instead, a player, shocked Fire Dance even more. Just how high were Shi Fengs Attributes for him to be so strong?! Meanwhile, Shi Feng felt nothing unexpected about the feats he had just accomplished. The Attributes of these players was not even half of his own. Virtual reality games were just that cruel. Although the gap of Attributes between each level was small, when accumulated to a certain degree, the gap in total strength would be massive. Quick, escape! Thats a monster! Im not fighting anymore; that monster is just too scary! Although they knew that this was just a virtual reality, the remaining five players from Martial Union were still utterly afraid, their hearts beating madly. Their team leader, the strongest amongst them, died in an instant; he wasnt even able to retaliate in the slightest. This was no longer a monster that players could handle. Immediately, every one of them fled, intending to meet up with the others hurrying over. Only then could they have peace of mind. Its too late to escape now. Shi Feng activated Windwalk, and like an arrow, his body shot forth, instantly catching up to the first Assassin. In a fright, that Assassin attempted to turn his body to block Shi Fengs attack; unfortunately for him, Shi Fengs Attack Speed was just too fast. With a wave of the Abyssal Blade, three sword images landed upon the Assassins vital points. Without even managing to block a single sword image, the Assassin died. When the several other escaping players saw that an Assassin, a class widely known for their Agility, fell without even being able to defend, immense fear permeated their minds. They poured more into their effort to escape. However, it was futile as the distance between them and Shi Feng only grew shorter and shorter. Meanwhile, the Abyssal Blade was like the scythe of the Grim Reaper already placed around their necks. Shi Feng needed only a slight tug, and their lives would be forfeit, right then and there. Within a moment, with an absolute difference of speed, Shi Feng very quickly killed the five escaping players. He then started tidying up the loot. These Martial Union players all wore pretty nice armor. A majority of them were all fully equipped with Bronze Equipment, and some even had a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. However, the equipment was all just Level 4 or Level 5 equipment. Meanwhile, they each dropped at least one piece of equipment after death. Eighteen players meant eighteen pieces of Level 4 to Level 5 Bronze Equipment. If Shi Feng sold it all, he could make a small fortune. While Shi Feng picked up the drops, Fire Dance, standing at a distance, held her delicate hand over her madly beating heart. Slightly calming her emotions, she picked up the courage to walk towards Shi Feng, saying in gratitude, I am called Fire Dance. Thank you for saving us. Originally, Fire Dance despaired, having prepared for her death. Only, she never imagined that someone would suddenly appear. Moreover, that someone massacred the players from Martial Union. Everything that happened was like a dream. Although Fire Dance also worried that the mysterious man before her would suddenly go berserk, killing her and her teammates as well to steal their equipment, based on the mans previous actions, Fire Dance knew that the mysterious man before her did not mean them any harm. Otherwise, he would have already taken their lives along with the Swordsmans of Martial Union. You dont have to thank me. To begin with, these people originally set up this trap for me. You guys should hurry and leave. This place is very dangerous right now, and the other members of Martial Union should be arriving very soon, Shi Feng softly said as he picked up the dropped equipment. He had only saved Fire Dance and her companions in passing. He could also take the chance to thank Fire Dance for working so hard, killing the members of Martial Union. Fire Dance suddenly blanked at Shi Fengs words, staring at him with her big, watery eyes. Her heartbeat accelerated further, feeling like it was too good to be true. You Youre Ye Feng? Fire Dance asked in disbelief. The reason she came to the Gale Valley was that she had heard that Martial Union intended to deal with Ye Fengs teammates. Hence, she thought of coming to lend some help, and just maybe, she might even get to meet Ye Feng, himself. It was truly unbelievable how fate could toy with a persons life. Originally, she thought of offering Ye Feng aid, yet in the end, Ye Feng had saved her. Was this fate? Thinking up to this point, a faint blush added to Fire Dances snow-white cheeks. She felt that she was overthinking, and she was unclear as to why she would have such a thought. Thats right; I am Ye Feng. How did you know who I am? Shi Feng looked at the excited Fire Dance, puzzled. He was sure he was not acquainted with this beauty standing in front of him. However, seeing Fire Dances expression, it would seem that she was somehow familiar with him. Meanwhile, the Berserker, Water Buffalo, was tongue-tied after hearing Shi Feng admit that he was indeed Fire Dances idol, Ye Feng; an incomparable fanaticism appeared in his eyes. Previously, he felt Shi Feng was not all that powerful, and that he was only an expert over-exaggerated by others. Now, he was utterly convinced. Sure enough, there was nothing false about Shi Fengs famous reputation. Shi Feng could solo the elite team from Martial Union that even they could not deal with. In the past, even if others hyped it all over the place, he would still have not believed any of it. Now, however, aside from shock, admiration for Ye Feng filled his being. It was no wonder why Ye Feng was Fire Dances idol. Big Brother Ye Feng, you dont know this, but in reality, Sister Fire Dance is your before Water Buffalo could finish speaking, he received a kick from Fire Dance. He grimaced from the pain, but when he looked at the expression in Fire Dances eyes that seemed able to eat a person whole, he immediately chose to cover his mouth, not uttering a single word. Is my what? Shi Feng was puzzled. Its nothing! Water Buffalo is just having an epileptic fit! Big Brother Ye Feng, wont you leave with us? Fire Dance slightly shook her head. She then worriedly said, This time, Martial Union has sent over two hundred men here. They have long since surrounded this entire area. There are also several powerful Level 9 experts, and all of them are wearing sets of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. They killed many of our teammates. If they surround us, we will have no chance of escaping at all. Big Brother Ye Feng, it is not too late to escape. If we wait any longer, well lose the chance. If it werent for those experts, her team would not have incurred such huge losses. Level 9 experts, is it? Shi Feng was slightly shocked. The current Level 9 players in Red Leaf Town were experts at the pinnacle. Now, however, several Level 9 hidden experts suddenly appeared here. Moreover, they were all Martial Unions men. However, so what if they were Level 9 experts? Since they wished to deal with him, he would receive every one of them. It just so happened that he could use them to test his sword. You guys should hurry up and leave. Ill stay here and take a look at these experts. 139 Unstable Devastation After he finished speaking, Shi Feng snuck into the forest. Sister Fire Dance, what do we do now? Do we leave? Water Buffalo asked. Fire Dance rolled her eyes at Water Buffalo. She looked towards the direction Shi Feng departed, saying, Brother Ye Feng is the one who saved our lives. Of course, we have to help. Although Fire Dance believed in Ye Fengs strength, she had personally witnessed how powerful those other players were. If they surrounded Ye Feng, he might end up in a very dangerous situation. If something occurred, a little help from her might allow Shi Feng to escape. Immediately, the two snuck into the forest as well, following Ye Feng. In the deeper regions of the dense forest, among the overgrown shrubs, Level 8 Shadow Leopards hid in the shadows. At this moment, a 50-man team from Martial Union currently cleared away the Shadow Leopards in their path while they pushed forward. Brother Unstable, wont we waste time if we go after that little girl called Fire Dance instead of continuing our search for Ye Fengs teammates? Ironsword Lion asked, disgruntled; his eyebrows scrunched up tightly as he looked towards the center of the team at the handsome youth humming a song with overflowing interest. The humming youth was around the age of 27 or 28, and he was indeed the Brother Unstable who Ironsword Lion called out to. He was also the Vice-Leader of Martial Union, Unstable Devastation. Be it status or strength, Unstable Devastation far surpasses Ironsword Lion, and even Ironsword Lion had to refer to him as Brother respectfully. Ironsword, you are still such a simple person. It is no wonder that brat Ye Feng toyed with you. You even entangled the Guild in this huge mess. Thanks to you, Martial Unions reputation has suffered, utterly tarnished; do you understand that? Unstable Devastation suddenly halted his steps. He looked towards Ironsword Lion, growling angrily, If I had not discovered this so soon, Martial Union might have had no place in Red Leaf Town by now. Ironsword Lion lowered his head in silence. Your poor management has already destroyed Red Leaf Towns Martial Union. Right now, in order to help clean up this mess of yours, I have no choice but to transfer all of the elites from the other three towns to Red Leaf Town to redeem our reputation. Yet, you still have the gall to speak up? Unstable Devastation reprimanded Ironsword Lion in front of everyone else, not leaving Ironsword Lion any face. Ironsword Lion flushed red with anger. However, he did not dare reply, only enduring in silence. The other leaders from the three towns sneered at this sight. Every time Martial Union switched to a new game, the Guilds hierarchy also reshuffled. In the past, Ironsword Lion was always able to go wild, but not this time. Currently, Ironsword Lion was only Level 8, while they were all Level 9. Moreover, the Guilds development in their respective towns progressed fairly well, and they managed to recruit many newcomers with valuable potential. Compared to the current state of the Guild branch in Red Leaf Town, with only a few weaklings remaining, their branches were stronger by leaps and bounds. Ironsword, do you truly think that, after I have spent so much effort cornering Ye Fengs teammates, I would let two of them escape? You should know that Ye Feng is our main target; his teammates are simply lures. If all his teammates died here, do you think he will still show? We have already confined his teammates within Gale Valley, so we have achieved our initial goal. Right now, what we ought to do is to take revenge, and show the players in the town what the consequences are for challenging Martial Union. Meanwhile, that little girl is the best option as an example. She has killed so many of our people; many players are bound to pay attention to her. As long as we kill her back to Level 0, Martial Unions reputation will definitely recover to its peak. If we manage to kill Ye Feng, then Martial Union can also use this chance to leap through the threshold of a third-rate Guild. Unstable Devastation had long since possessed a plan of his own. Ironsword Lion had always been one of the Guild Leaders most trusted aides. Many of the elders in the Guild also supported the Guild Leader. If Unstable wished to become Guild Leader, he needed to increase both his influence and fame. Meanwhile, Ye Feng was a player with a certain amount of fame within White River City. He was a publicly acknowledged Swordsman expert, and his fame even far exceeded that of the Guild Leader, Nameless Pride. Hence, Ye Feng was his best choice. As long as he could kill Ye Feng and upload the recording, he would instantly become an apex expert, famous throughout White River City. Moreover, it would allow the Guild branch in Red Leaf Town to rise back up to prominence. When that time came, the elders in the Guild would side with him, and the day he became the Guild Leader of Martial Union would only be around the corner. Ye Feng, you will become my stepping stone! Unstable Devastation proudly said with a laugh. He did not believe that an independent player could survive once surrounded by so many. Only, even until now, Shi Feng had yet to show himself, annoying Unstable. Just as Martial Union slowly advanced Shi Feng, traversing through the treetops, discovered Unstable Devastation and the others. After some silent observation, he discovered that these players were all elites. The lowest amongst them was Level 7, and a majority of them were Level 8. There were also four players who had reached Level 9\. They all wore Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and the weakest of their weapons was also Mysterious-Iron Rank. Meanwhile, the handsome youth leading these players wore a Secret-Silver ranked longbow across his back. Isnt that Unstable Devastation? Shi Feng immediately recognized the bow-carrying youth. In Shi Fengs previous life, he had clashed many times with Unstable Devastation. Unstable Devastation was a cunning and cruel individual. His battle prowess ranked within the top five throughout all of Martial Union. Compared to Ironsword Lion, he was much stronger. Shi Feng was also familiar with the other three Level 9 players. They were all experts comparable to Ironsword Lion, and they were all branch leaders in other towns. _No wonder Martial Union suddenly has so many players. It turns out that theyve called over the elites from three of the towns nearby._ Shi Feng came to a realization. These three Level 9 branch leaders were very strong. Only, in Shi Fengs previous life, Ironsword Lion had managed to obtain the pass to Blackwing City, allowing him a lead against the others. He then gradually widened the gap, finally becoming the Guild Leader of Mini Martial Union. However, the tracks of history had already changed. In this life, not only had Shi Feng kill Ironsword Lion twice, but he also obtained the Blackwing City pass that Ironsword Lion possessed. Ironsword Lions life was fated to end in a tragedy, and he naturally was much weaker than the other three branch leaders. If it were during the previous life, if Shi Feng met any one of these leaders, he would have had to proceed with extreme caution. If he met two of them together, he would definitely need to avoid them. Now, however, although all five of them were together, Shi Feng had no intentions of leaving. The situation was different this time. Not only did Shi Feng possess a Magic Weapon, but he had also obtained the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and many other pieces of equipment that were top-tier at this stage of the game. He also had the advantage of levels; so, he naturally possessed the confidence to battle. Even if he couldnt win against them, he could still escape them. At this moment, Unstable Devastation had yet to learn that one of his elite teams had been wiped out. That was because players needed to wait 10 minutes before reviving at the graveyard. Within 30 minutes of revival, players could not transmit any information or communication. Hence, Unstable Devastation and the others did not know that Shi Feng had arrived. They were not cautious in the least, and it was a perfect chance for Shi Feng to launch an ambush them. Hence, Shi Feng continued to follow his targets unhurried advancement. While they traveled, the team maintained impressive positioning. Their healers stayed in the middle, while Unstable Devastation and the other experts walked beside them. Moreover, the players in the center of the formation only watched the players at the front battle, with no intentions of killing the monsters themselves. This way, it would be difficult for even a top-tier Assassin to attack the healers. Meanwhile, the players in the outer layer would not move further than 15 yards from the center. If something unexpected occurred, they could immediately lend aid. Shi Feng did not seek a frontal confrontation. Instead, he would take advantage of his speed to slowly chip at the outer layer of this team. Soon after, Shi Feng silently closed in on them. Within a short moment, the players of Martial Union met with a group of Shadow Leopards. An extremely ferocious Level 8 Chieftain-Ranked Shadow Leopard King led the small leap of Shadow Leopards. Shi Feng felt that this was his chance. He crept closer to the team, hiding in a bush and waiting. Time passed, bit by bit... The guards around the Shadow Leopard King were all dead, and the King was the only one left. The players of Martial Union grew very excited. Seeing as good equipment was about to drop, they all became much more serious and focused on the battle. They remained completely unaware of Shi Feng, already positioned on the tree above their heads. MT, make sure to dodge its skills; dont let its claws land on you. As for everyone else, hold off as many strikes as you can. Healers, go all out with your heals. Unstable Devastation was also excited. Immediately, the speed at which the arrows fired from his bow accelerated. Unstable Devastation did not think that his luck would be so good as to allow him to meet a Level 8 Chieftain. This kind of field Chieftain would not just drop a single piece of equipment, but would normally drop several. Based on the Shadow Leopard Kings level, at the very least, it would drop Level 7 or Level 8 Secret-Silver Equipment and possibly Fine-Gold Equipment. Mysterious-Iron Equipment was considered high quality at this stage of the game. In the entire Martial Union, the total amount of Secret-Silver Equipment they possessed was no more than ten pieces. It was obvious just how precious they were. Meanwhile, the Shadow Leopard King before them had the possibility of dropping Fine-Gold Equipment. Compared to Secret-Silver Equipment, it was much rarer, and its Attributes were much higher. Currently, not a single person in Martial Union possessed a piece of Fine-Gold Equipment. Not to mention Martial Union, even those third-rate Guilds did not possess a single piece of Fine-Gold Equipment. Only second-rate Guilds or higher possibly owned such an item. However, Only the Guild Leader or Vice-leader would have access, while elite members could only look at it. It would be impossible for them to obtain it, as it would be the symbol of a Guilds status. If they could obtain one or two pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment, killing Shi Feng would be a small matter. As the Shadow Leopard King was a Chieftain Rank monster, the other branch leaders and Ironsword Lion also participated in the battle, both sides engaging in intense combat. [Shadow Leopard King] (Chieftain Rank) Level 8 HP 40,000/40,000 A casual pouncing attack from the Shadow Leopard King could easily end a players life, while a single swipe of its tail could obliterate more than half the HP of a group of players. When it struck with its sharp claws, if an MT did not defend properly, they would instantly die. If the Shadow Leopard King roared, it could force back the enemies within an 8-yard radius, forcing them into a Fainted state for 3 seconds. In addition, the Shadow Leopard King was quite nimble and had extremely high Defense. As a result, the casualties and fatalities on Martial Unions side were relatively high. Meanwhile, the damage Martial Union inflicted was limited. The strongest player among them, Unstable Devastation, could only cause -40 to -50 damage to it, while the others could only manage slightly over -10 damage. Fortunately, there were plenty of players on Martial Unions side. With a total of fifty players surrounding the Shadow Leopard King, they managed to shave off a lot of the monsters HP. The Shadow Leopard Kings HP steadily fell, and when its HP was about to reach 50%... Shi Feng immediately used Phantom Kill. Controlling his doppelganger to circle the group, Shi Feng prepared his doppelganger to ambush the mage classes and healers. 140 Shadow Leopard King The Shadow Leopard King was a Level 8 Chieftain Ranked monster. As long as its HP fell below 50%, it would enter a berserk state. Both its Attack Power and Attack Speed would then increase by 20%, and even an MT geared with a full set of Level 5 Set Equipment could hold it off. Guardian Knights, pay attention to cast Protection Blessing on the Shield Warriors. Shield Warriors, prepare to activate Shield Wall at any time. As long as we can endure its berserk period, we will be victorious, Unstable Devastation knew about the berserk state; hence, he hurriedly gave commands as he saw the Shadow Leopard Kings HP reaching 50%. Protection Blessing could reduce the damage an ally received by 50%. A Shield Warriors Shield Wall could also reduce damage by 50%. With both effects stacked, the Shield Warrior would only receive 25% of the total damage. Even if the Shadow Leopard King went berserk, the Shield Warrior could hold it off completely. Finally, the Shadow Leopard Kings HP dropped below the 50% threshold. Aooo! the Shadow Leopard King bellowed, its body abruptly expanding. Everything was within Unstable Devastations grasp. Just as he was about to reveal a victorious smile, the situation suddenly changed. At this moment, the Shadow Leopard King summoned two more Level 8 Elite Ranked Shadow Leopards, each of them possessing 3,000 HP. The two new arrivals roared as they abruptly pounced, arriving behind the healers on the backline. Before any of these healers could react, the two Shadow Leopards pinned them to the ground. Shift focus! Get rid of these two Elite Shadow Leopards first! Unstable Devastations expression turned grim. Just after he finished speaking, the Elite Shadow Leopards annihilated two of their healers. However, the Level 9 branch leaders were not to be trifled with. Just after the two Elite Shadow Leopards killed the healers, they moved into position to fend off the attacks of these two monsters, preventing the damage from extending any further. However, with the loss of two healers, the pressure the core MT faced greatly increased. Even with Protection Blessing and Shield Wall, every attack he received from the Shadow Leopard King exceeded over -300 points. On the other hand, his own HP did not even exceed 1,200 points. Moreover, the Attack Speed of the Shadow Leopard King was very quick. If it were not for him constantly dodging its attacks, he might have long since died already. Just with the Shadow Leopard King going berserk, Martial Union had lost over five players in the blink of an eye. The Shadow Leopard Kings tail swipe took out three melee players. All three were instantly thrown and died while in mid-air. Hold on for a little longer. Its berserk period will be over soon. Watching his team members die, one after another, Unstable Devastation became very depressed and annoyed. The players he had brought with him were all elites, and every death was a huge loss to Martial Union. Fortunately, they could revive these players, greatly reducing the lost EXP. However, as long as they could kill the Shadow Leopard King, all of the losses would be worth it. Just when everyone from Martial Union thought the situation had stabilized, Shi Fengs doppelganger used Wind Blade, arriving behind a Cursemancer. The Cursemancer had completely concentrated on the Shadow Leopard King, chanting incantations. He paid no attention to the surrounding situation at all. Due to all of Gale Valley falling under Martial Unions control, the risk of an ambush was nonexistent. Hence, the Cursemancer was very much at ease. However, such a way of thinking was a big mistake. After the doppelgangers sword pierced through the Cursemancers back, it then followed up with a Chop to the Cursemancers head. The doppelganger followed up with another normal attack. Although the doppelganger only possessed 50% of the original bodys Attributes, just 50% of Shi Fengs Attributes was terrifying. It could compare to a Level 10 Swordsman geared with a complete set of Level 10 Bronze Set Equipment. Moreover, the doppelgangers target Cursemancer was only Level 7, wearing only Level 4 and 5 Bronze Equipment. The difference between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. In the blink of an eye, three damages of -189, -468, and -266 appeared above the Cursemancers head. Shi Fengs doppelganger instantly killed the Cursemancer whose HP was less than 700 points. The Cursemancers death quickly alerted the other mage classes. Someones kill-stealing[1]! an Elementalist shouted, startled. The surrounding mages all felt a heavy pressure weighing down on them. This intruder finished off a Level 7 Cursemancer in just three moves. If this mysterious Swordsman closed in on them, only death awaited. Without delay, Shi Fengs doppelganger used Thundering Flash. Three streaks of lightning arced towards the nearest four mages, immediately sending all four of them into a fright. Among them, two Elementalists instantly reacted, using Blink to dodge the lightning. Meanwhile, the Cursemancer, who did not possess Blink, threw himself to the ground, barely avoiding the attack. However, the last of the four mages, the Summoner, was not as fortunate. As he was closest to the attack, even though he, too, attempted to dodge, he was late by a breath. Without a hint of suspense, the Level 5 Thunder Flash instantly fried him to a crisp. Although the doppelganger only managed to kill a Summoner, a smile appeared on its face. The goal of this Thundering Flash was not to kill someone but to open a path. At this moment, there were no obstructions between Shi Fengs doppelganger and Martial Unions healers. The doppelganger activated Windwalk, dashing over. As long as it killed one or two more healers, Martial Unions entire team would fall into a huge predicament. Dont even think about killing the healers! At this moment, Ironsword Lion used Windblade and rushed to block the doppelganger. The swords from both parties collided, and as they attacked, they maintained their Extraordinary States, battling with four sword images each. The doppelganger could not help but halt its momentum, forced to block the attacks. After exchanging several moves, Ironsword Lion was incomparably shocked. He felt that the Swordsman, whose information displayed as Unknown, facing him was a powerhouse. This mysterious Swordsman actually blocked all of his attacks. Moreover, every time their swords collided, Ironsword Lion could feel an immense weight bearing down on him, causing both his arms to go numb. Occasionally, there were even few sudden stabs aimed at his vitals, forcing him to activate Defensive Blade to block. Ironsword, it seems that you have truly fallen. You cant even get rid of an average player trying to kill-steal, a Level 9 Berserker geared in silver-gray battle armor snidely remarked. Crap. Five Rats, you come try, if you have the ability! Originally, he was already greatly aggrieved due to the constant pressure from Shi Fengs doppelganger, and his HP constantly fell. Now that he received jeers on top of it, he immediately enraged. Since you want me to join, then Ill join! the Level 9 Berserker, Five Rats, used Charge at Shi Fengs doppelganger. Charge carried with it a Fainted effect. Moreover, the surrounding mages were already in the midst of chanting incantations for their spells, sending Fireballs and Frost Arrows at the doppelganger. The doppelganger activated Defensive Blade. It dodged the incoming magical attacks while it gradually closed in on Martial Unions healers. The Level 2 Defensive Blade aided the doppelganger in mitigating the damage from the attacks it received. However, Five Rats followed up his Charge with a Break, greatly reducing the doppelgangers speed. You three, get rid of him, Unstable Devastation commanded the three Assassins, pointing. He did not have the time to think about an idiot who was attempting to kill-stealing a team with around 40 players remaining. After receiving the command, the there Assassins immediately rushed at Shi Fengs doppelganger. Receiving the focused fire of over a dozen players, although the doppelganger managed to dodge a majority of the attacks, it still received a relatively significant amount of damage. The doppelgangers HP continuously fell, and within a moment, only 30% remained. Hahaha! I didnt think that it would be a fat fish with brain problems! Judging on the exchanges made and damage caused, Five Rats determined that this mysterious Swordsmans equipment was exceptional. As long as he could kill the Swordsman, he would definitely drop a lot of good equipment. The reason Five Rats thought so was that a single normal attack from the mysterious Swordsman dealt him around -100 damage. Meanwhile, his normal attacks also chipped away 100 of the Swordsmans HP. However, the problem lay in the fact that the mysterious Swordsman used a one-handed sword, while he used a two-handed sword. In Gods Domain, a two-handed weapons Attack Power was much higher than that of a one-handed weapon, and the damage a two-handed weapon caused was normally around twice that of a one-handed weapon. Due to the strong power stored within a two-handed weapon, every attack from the weapon could cause a devastating amount of damage. Meanwhile, the damage a one-handed weapon could cause was much less. However, its Attack Speed was much quicker. As a result, the average amount of damage dealt by both weapons, in the long run, was about the same. However, Five Rats had only managed to deal -100 damage to the mysterious Swordsman. It showed just how good the mysterious Swordsmans equipment was. _Unfortunately, it is still too little It would be great if they could send more people over._ In the distance, hidden within a bush, Shi Feng was slightly depressed as he saw that a dozen or so players attacked his doppelganger. He bitterly thought, _Forget_ _it; I shouldnt be too greedy. I should reel in the_ _net, now_ _._ Abruptly, Shi Fengs doppelganger burst with power. It suddenly leaped into the air. The Abyssal Blade in the doppelgangers hand then started to emit flames and thunder, immediately releasing a blast of elements towards the most crowded location. * * * TL Notes: [1]kill-stealing(KS): In multiplayer video games, particularly in MOBAs, first-person shooters, MMORPGs and MUDs, kill stealing is the practice of obtaining credit for killing an enemy, when another player has put more effort into the kill. This usually happens when a game only keeps track of which player defeats an enemy. If one player whittles down some enemy''s health points, but a different player eventually finishes the enemy off, this second player might obtain all of the loot or experience points from the enemy. Kill stealing is common when the rewards for finishing enemies off is highly desired within the game. (Source: Wikipedia) 141 You are Ye Feng? The sudden burst of power coming from Shi Fengs doppelganger alarmed the players who were previously behaving indifferently. A vast sea of thunder and flames erupted from the doppelganger''s Thunder Flame Explosion. The players present could feel an oppressive feeling that was even more powerful than that of the Shadow Leopard King. As for the ones who were in direct confrontation with the doppelgangers Thunder Flame Explosion No! A few players immediately cried out in fear when confronted with the approaching fire and thunder. They all turned around and fled immediately. However, Thunder Flame Explosion had an effective radius of five yards. Moreover, the skill descended on the players extremely quickly, and they had no time to run out of the area at all. They were only able to watch helplessly as the power of the skill consumed them. The players who possessed lifesaving skills immediately activated them. Assassins used Wind Steps; Swordsmen used Parry; Berserkers used Block. As for those who had their lifesaving skills on cooldown, all of them were swallowed by the thunder and fire. Without lifesaving skills, those with already low HP immediately died. In the end, four members of Martial Union died from the doppelgangers Thunder Flame Explosion, while the remaining survivors all heaved a sigh of relief. Humph! Brat, youre dead now for sure, so just accept your fate! The Level 9 Berserker, Five Rats, glared at Shi Fengs doppelganger, smiling contemptuously. He abruptly brandished his greatsword, casting Cleave on the doppelganger. The other survivors also used their explosively powerful skills, launching their attacks towards Shi Fengs doppelganger. Shi Fengs doppelganger suddenly smiled. The doppelganger did not attempt to defend against any of the attacks. Instead, it used Earth Splitter, slashing its sword towards the players from Martial Union. Witnessing Shi Fengs ludicrous actions, the players from Martial Union were all dumbfounded. Did he want them to perish together with him? The might of the Earth Splitter was extremely great, and the attacking players were all caught by surprise. In the blink of an eye, two low HP players were killed by the doppelgangers sword, with three having their HP reduced to a critical level. Only Ironsword Lion and Five Rats still had over half of their HP. However, Shi Fengs doppelganger was similarly struck by everyones skills, and its HP continuously fell. Within the blink of an eye, its HP was close to reaching zero. Youre truly a lunatic. However, your equipment, Ill gladly receive. Greed flashed across Five Rats eyes as he looked at Shi Fengs dark black equipment. This mysterious Swordsman had taken the initiative to attack them, even managing to cull quite a lot of their numbers, so he had definitely become a Red Player, a huge one at that. If he were to die, he might even drop every single piece of equipment on his person. Moreover, both Swordsmen and Berserkers wore plate armor. Also, very little equipment at this stage of the game had class limitations. So, there was a possibility that Five Rats would be able to use some of the equipment that dropped. Ironsword Lion also heaved a sigh of relief. The mysterious Swordsman before him was just too powerful. If not for so many players surrounding the mysterious Swordsman, Ironsword Lion would have very quickly been killed. However, for reasons unknown, Ironsword Lion had felt a sense of familiarity when he crossed swords with the mysterious Swordsman. Yet, he was unable to figure out why. At this moment, Shi Fengs doppelganger sent a faint smile at Five Rats. Swap! At the instant the doppelganger was about to disappear, Shi Fengs original body swapped positions with the doppelganger. However, nobody managed to discover this fact. The Abyssal Blade and Silver Lake in Shi Fengs hands transformed into a storm, sweeping across all the surviving melee players. Sixteen sword images instantly stabbed towards the players who had lowered their guards. Five Rats looked at his own HP rapidly sliding downwards, dumbfounded. His heart filled with both shock and confusion. Wasnt the mysterious Swordsman in front of him supposed to be dead? So, why was the mysterious Swordsman still able to attack him? Moreover, the mysterious Swordsmans speed was so great that not even Five Rats himself was able to react. Two swords, sixteen sword images. Just what sort of speed was this? However, the more shocking matter to Five Rats was the mysterious Swordsmans damage. Even Five Rats, whose damage and defense were the highest amongst the players present, had received over -300 points of damage from each sword image, with the highest damage reaching over -500 points. Five Rats HP was only a measly 840 points, and even under a state of full HP, he would still be instantly killed. You are Ye Feng? Ironsword Lion glared at Ye Feng as he died, both his eyes turning incomparably crimson. His eyes were full of both shock and unwillingness. He truly did not think that he would actually be killed by Ye Feng once again. The reason he felt that the mysterious Swordsman was Ye Feng was that he was extremely familiar with this move. He had been killed by this move twice before, and it would be hard for him to forget it even if he wanted to. Originally, he could have become an influential figure in Red Leaf Town, catching up to the influence of a third-rate Guild. In the end, however, he was turned into a mess by Ye Feng. He had even lost his most precious pass to Blackwing City. After he placed a bounty on Ye Feng and his teammates, he in turn had a bounty placed upon him by Ye Feng, becoming the laughingstock of the entire White River City. Originally, he thought that he would be able to give Ye Feng a crushing defeat with a high bounty. In the end, however, a large majority of his Guild members were crushed and ended up leaving the Guild. The original member count of Martial Union in Red Leaf Town was quickly reduced from the original hundred-plus members down to less than ten players. Martial Union then became the laughingstock of the players in Red Leaf Town. Now, they had prepared to surround Ye Feng, but the results had still turned out as such. Again and again, Ironsword Lion had tried to deal with Ye Feng. Yet, every single time, he ended up with failure. Ironsword Lion even believed that Ye Feng was the bane of his life. Otherwise, how could he explain his continuous series of failures? Now that Ye Feng had killed him for the third time, Ironsword Lions confidence had been thoroughly shattered. The first time, he used the excuse that he was ambushed by Ye Feng, being killed in just two moves. The second time, he used the excuse of not having a full understanding of Ye Fengs strength, being insta-killed in just one move. Now, it was the third time. Ye Feng did not even use a skill this time, yet Ironsword Lion was still instantly killed in just two attacks. A deep fear had been instilled into Ironsword Lion. Every time he met with Ye Feng, he could feel that the gap between himself and Ye Feng was growing wider and wider. Up until this instance, he did not even possess the qualifications to go against Ye Feng. It was just like how Absolute Heaven had killed him many times over in the past. Although he frantically tried to take revenge, in the end, he would still choose to compromise. Be it Absolute Heaven or Ye Feng, both were existences that he could no longer afford to provoke. When the players from Martial Union heard Ironsword Lions dying words, each and every one of them was greatly shocked. Being able to kill five players within an instant, with branch leaders like Ironsword Lion and Five Rats included amongst them This strength was simply too frightening... So he is Ye Feng? It was the first time Unstable Devastation personally met Ye Feng. Although he tried identifying Ye Fengs information, the results he obtained actually displayed it as unknown, giving him a slight shock. Aside from Ye Fengs HP bar, there was nothing else Unstable Devastation could see. However, the dark black equipment Ye Feng was wearing was undoubtedly an Equipment Set. Also, due to the hooded cape Ye Feng was wearing, Unstable Devastation was unable to get a clear image of his appearance. Ye Feng held a sword of unidentifiable quality in one hand, and a treasured sword that gave off a light blue glow in the other. The treasured sword was at least Secret-Silver Ranked. Judging from Ye Fengs performance in the battle before, Ye Feng was much stronger than what Ironsword Lion had stated... If Ye Feng was already so powerful right now, he would definitely become unstoppable in the future. If Unstable Devastation were to meet Ye Feng before, he definitely would not have provoked Ye Feng, no matter what. However, Ye Feng already had an unresolvable grudge with Martial Union, so Unstable Devastation would not be courteous with him anymore. Before Ye Feng grew to unreachable heights, he needed to thoroughly nip the bud. While everyone else was observing Shi Fengs information, Shi Feng himself did not stay idle. He bent down, picking up all five pieces of equipment that dropped on the ground and storing them in his bag. He would be able to sell the equipment for a large sum of money. Seeing Ye Feng take away five pieces of equipment that were above Level 5, Unstable Devastation trembled in rage. This equipment all belonged to their Martial Union, yet Ye Feng actually dared take it away right before his eyes! Shi Feng simply did not place any importance on him! Originally, I was still worried that you were an extraordinarily calm person, and that you would not show up no matter what. However, I never imagined that you were just a simple fool. Since you have arrived, Ill just deal with you as well! Unstable Devastation squinted his eyes, a chilling glow coming from them. He stared fixedly at Shi Feng, laughing coldly as he said, Aside from Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, and healers, everyone else, get rid of him for me! Unstable Devastation did not know how Ye Feng was able to enter the Gale Valley undetected. He was even able to discover them while they were in the midst of battling against the Shadow Leopard King. However, Ye Feng was simply courting death by hurrying to this place. Unstable Devastation aimed his bow at Ye Feng, locking onto Ye Fengs vital points. _Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!_ Three arrows consecutively fired out of Unstable Devastations bow. Right now, the Shadow Leopard Kings berserk period was already over, and its remaining HP did not reach even 30%. The two Elite Shadow Leopards that the king summoned previously were also dead now, so it was only a matter of time before the Shadow Leopard King itself would die. Unstable Devastation was not afraid of Ye Fengs disturbance at all. At this moment, the other players all started sending attacks at Shi Feng. Fireball, Frost Arrow, Dark Arrow, Charge, and many more attacking and restricting skills... Shi Feng smiled as he looked at everyone attacking him, not moving a single step. He then used Silent Steps to quietly appear behind the healers of Martial Union, very quickly dodging everyones attacks. 142 Turnabou Shi Fengs Silent Steps allowed him to move behind a target within a 40-yard distance. Although it was not as convenient as an Elementalists Blink and had a longer Cooldown, its range was much farther than Blink. Moreover, there were no activation gestures required for the skill. The skill could be activated wordlessly, making it extremely hard to discover. No! Run! Unstable Devastation abruptly shouted when he observed his surroundings, suddenly discovering Shi Feng behind their healers. Although the healers heard Unstable Devastation yelling, they still turned their heads to look at him. They had no idea what Unstable Devastation was trying to say. Why did they need to run? Too late. Naturally, Shi Feng would not give them any chances. To save time, he did not even use a skill. Instead, he instantly created twelve sword images, instant-killing the four defenseless healers. Ye Feng! Unstable Devastation glared at Shi Feng, both his eyes emitting flames of rage. He bellowed, Youre courting death! Unstable Devastation was truly furious now. With all their healers dead, they would definitely have to pay an extremely high price to deal with the Shadow Leopard King. There was even a possibility of them team-wiping, and the main culprit of this was Ye Feng. In the blink of an eye, Unstable Devastation retrieved five pitch-black arrows from his bag. He aimed and shot all of them at Shi Feng in succession. Fatal Shot! The five arrows almost instantly pierced Shi Fengs vital points; they blocked Shi Fengs path. You guys enjoy yourselves! Ill leave first! After killing all of the healers, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile at the arrows flying towards him. He dared not stay any longer. If he fell under the restricting skills of other classes, he would end tragically. It would be better for him to depart now and observe the tigers battle each other. Hence, Shi Feng activated Windwalk, leaving behind an afterimage as he disappeared towards the forest. In the end, the five arrows only sliced through the afterimage Shi Feng left behind. Although the players from Martial Union tried to chase after Shi Feng, his speed was just too fast for them. After he entered the forest, they could no longer find any trace of him. Abominable! Watching Shi Feng escape, Unstable Devastations expression turned indignant, his fists tightening. Boss Unstable, are we still giving chase? an Assassin carefully asked. Unstable Devastation shook his head, dismal, No. With all their healers dead, if they were to simultaneously search for Shi Feng while they battled the Shadow Leopard King, there would only be one ending for them: a complete team-wipe. That would even allow Shi Feng to reap the benefits. Just the battle prowess Shi Feng displayed was enough to give Unstable Devastation a headache. If he sent only a single party to chase Shi Feng, it would be no different than serving them up on a silver platter. Without a full team, they would have no way of dealing with Shi Feng. Moreover, if Shi Feng used that extraordinary speed of his to engage in a getaway battle, a single team would not be enough to deal with him. If they rushed into the forest to chase after Shi Feng, he would simply pick them off, one by one, while they would be completely helpless. Everyone, retreat! Dont bother with the Shadow Leopard King anymore, and prepare for an ambush by Ye Feng! Notify the other teams, and tell them to gather here immediately. If he thinks he can take advantage of me, he should think again! Unstable Devastation said in a calm tone. He suppressed his anger, calming his excited heart. The Shadow Leopard King still had 20% of its HP remaining, and they would need to throw away a lot of lives to kill it. Although it was unfortunate to give up on the Shadow Leopard King, Unstable Devastation did not believe that Shi Feng would not return to take advantage of the injured. Not only could he get rid of them this way, but he could also obtain the loot from the Shadow Leopard King. Killing two birds with one stone, who wouldnt go for such a good deal? Thinking up to this point, Unstable Devastation decided to give up on the Shadow Leopard King. Instead of letting Shi Feng gain an advantage, he would rather give up. That way, neither side would gain anything. Right now, the Shadow Leopard King still had 20% of its HP remaining. Even if Shi Feng wanted to kill it, it would be impossible. If he tried, they might benefit from it. Not only would they get to kill Ye Feng, but Ye Feng would also have reduced the Shadow Leopard Kings HP even further. If Shi Feng did not intend to deal with the Shadow Leopard King, that, too, would be fine. As long as their other forces arrive, the Shadow Leopard King would still belong to Martial Union. At that time, Shi Feng could only watch from the side. With Unstable Devastations command, the members of Martial Union could only helplessly retreat, giving up a good chance to kill the Shadow Leopard King. However, before the players from Martial Union could properly retreat, the Shadow Leopard King suddenly let out a fierce roar. It summoned forth two Elite Shadow Leopards once more to chase after them. As Martial Unions players retreated and the Shadow Leopards pursued them, they discovered a peculiar matter. The Shadow Leopard King did not seem to intend to give up the chase whatsoever. It had killed many other players and even decimated most of a Shield Warriors HP. Boss Unstable, the Shadow Leopard King is faster than us, and it is still chasing after us. If this continues, it will wipe us out sooner or later. What do we do now? an Elementalist beside Unstable Devastation asked worriedly. I can see that! I dont need you to remind me! Unstable Devastation said in a huff. Unstable Devastation suffered a massive headache over the incessant pursuit by the Shadow Leopard King. If he had known earlier, he would have chosen to kill the Shadow Leopard King instead. He truly did not think that this Shadow Leopard King would bear a grudge, refusing to give up. They could not escape even if they wanted to now. Moreover, more members were dying in the chase than in the fight. Notify the other teams to hurry. Well delay the Shadow Leopard King while we move toward the meeting point, and look out for ambushes. Helpless about the situation, Unstable Devastation could only think of this plan. Meanwhile, hidden within the forest, Shi Feng witnessed this scene with perfect clarity. Although Unstable Devastations decision was an intelligent one, he could not outdo Shi Feng. Shi Feng had long since known that the Shadow Leopard King would ceaselessly chase after Martial Union. Otherwise, he would not have chosen to depart. He was merely awaiting the perfect chance to take action. After Gods Domain evolved, the range of monsters activity had also greatly increased. For Chieftain ranked monsters such as the Shadow Leopard King, its range of activity might even encompass a large half of the entire Gale Valley. Unless everyone from Martial Union left the Gale Valley, or they entered the core area of the Gale Valley, the Shadow Leopard King would not let them get away. As time slowly passed, the number of players the Shadow Leopard King killed grew higher and higher. However, it only had 10% HP remaining now. Meanwhile, Martial Unions previous 50-man team had only 16 players remaining. One could not help but admit that the losses they suffered were incomparably bitter. Are they still not here? Unstable Devastation paid attention to the surrounding movements as he attacked the Shadow Leopard King, his heart filled with wariness for Shi Fengs ambush. Now that the Shadow Leopard King had less than 10% HP remaining, it was definitely an opportune time for Shi Feng to launch an ambush. Hence, Unstable Devastations expression turned exceptionally grave. Boss Unstable, they said that they are only ten minutes away. Ten minutes? Why dont you tell them to go die instead?! Unstable Devastation cursed. This was a crucial moment. The Shadow Leopard King in front of them was about to die, and Shi Feng would appear at any given moment. If they waited for another ten minutes, the Shadow Leopard King would already be dead. He truly regretted not bringing more players with him. Now, Shi Feng, who was hiding in a dark corner, possessed the advantage of initiative, while they were completely helpless against him. It was truly depressing. After a period, the Shadow Leopard Kings HP fell below 2%. However, there were still no signs of Shi Fengs assault, causing Unstable Devastation to become incomparably excited. Everyone surround the Shadow Leopard King and focus all firepower on it! It is about to die, so look out for Ye Feng! Unstable Devastation said with a loud laugh. If Shi Feng had appeared sometime earlier, there was an 80% chance of them team-wiping. Now that the Shadow Leopard King was about to die, however, even if Shi Feng dared to show himself, Unstable Devastation was confident at holding him at bay, allowing his teammates to kill the Shadow Leopard King. Finally, the Shadow Leopard Kings HP fell below 200 points. As long as Martial Union sent two more rounds of attacks at it, they would kill the Shadow Leopard King. Hahaha! The Shadow Leopard King is mine! Unstable Devastation used Power Shot. He had long since accumulated his Power[1] to the maximum amount, and a single arrow could deal over -100 damage to the Shadow Leopard King. _Shu!_ The arrow whistled through the air, flying towards the Shadow Leopard Kings weak point. At this moment, Shi Feng suddenly appeared, without a sound, behind the Shadow Leopard King. He sent a Chop slashing down on the monster, causing -332 damage, killing the Shadow Leopard King. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastations arrow merely shot the Shadow Leopard Kings corpse. In Gods Domain, if players of a different party or team dealt with the same monster, the player who delivered the final strike would obtain 60% of the monsters EXP. Due to the Shadow Leopard King being a Level 8 Chieftain, the EXP it gave was extremely bountiful. Within an instant, Shi Fengs experience bar greatly rose. Meanwhile, the dozen or so players only shared the remaining 40% EXP amongst themselves. Immediately after the Shadow Leopard King died, it dropped a large pile of items. There were over ten items, and it was one of the rarely seen mammoth drops. Get rid of him! Unstable Devastation bellowed, his eyes bulging. Immediately, more than a dozen players surrounded Shi Feng, giving him no chances to escape. Each and every one of them used their restricting skills on Shi Feng. Shi Feng paid no attention to them as he activated Defensive Blade. He then frantically picked up the drops. Streaks of magic struck Shi Fengs body, one after another, but they were all blocked by Defensive Blade. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had picked up nine pieces of the loot. Among them was even an item that gave off a dazzling black glow. A single look and one could immediately tell that the item was nothing ordinary. It was definitely priceless. Seeing that the charges of the Defensive Blade were about to run out completely, he immediately swapped places with his doppelganger located deep within the forest. He instantly escaped from Martial Unions encirclement, while his doppelganger received attacks from all directions. Until the moment the doppelganger died, it managed to kill another five members of Martial Union, including a Level 9 Elementalist branch leader. When Unstable Devastation discovered that the Shi Feng they killed was only a doppelganger, he truly exploded. Ye Feng, just you wait! Unstable Devastations bellow resounded throughout the forest. He had spent so much effort and had lost so much. Yet, in the end, all he did was pave the way for Shi Feng. Even if Unstable Devastation wanted to calm down, he could not. He swore that he would definitely kill Shi Feng back to Level 0. Meanwhile, in a tree a short distance away, both Fire Dance and Water Buffalo had witnessed the entire scene from start to end. After they witnessed a team, composed of fifty elite players, fall into such a state, they were both utterly dumbfounded. Only now did Fire Dance and Water Buffalo know that there was actually such a battle style in Gods Domain! * * * TL Notes: [1]Power: something like the Energy Count for Assassins 143 Shadow’s Blessing While Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were both inwardly shocked, a deep voice came from behind them. Why havent you guys left yet? The voice startled them both. They hurriedly jumped, spinning around to dodge while unsheathing their weapons; they stared at the figure that had appeared behind them. Big Brother Ye Feng. Fire Dance let out a sigh of relief after identifying the newcomer. She pulled back her dagger and returned it to its sheath at her waist. The men from Martial Union were all over Gale Valley. If a battle were to occur, they would immediately call to their companions, and there would be no end to the enemies that Fire Dance needed to kill. We came to help. Martial Union has killed so many of our companions; we must take revenge, Fire Dances eyes turned cold as she spoke about Martial Union. I wish to form a large team to enter large-scale Dungeons in the future. I wonder if you all would be interested in joining? Shi Feng felt that Fire Dance had great talent. Moreover, Fire Dance and the others were all independent players that did not belong to any Guilds. If he could rope them in and form his own team, it would be a great benefit to his Zero Wing Workshop. This Fire Dance was slightly hesitant after hearing Shi Fengs proposal. Water Buffalo also turned taciturn. Do you guys already have your own large team? Shi Feng inwardly lamented. After entering White River City, there would be many large-scaled Dungeons. They were the main source of equipment, materials, and many other resources. If an independent player wished to obtain good equipment, they needed to raid these large-scale Dungeons. Moreover, if a Guild wished to level up, conquering large-scale Dungeons was a must. Hence, if one wanted to develop at all in Gods Domain, conquering large-scale Dungeons was one of the necessary conditions. However, it was extremely difficult for independent players to form a large team capable of raiding a large-scale Dungeon. The most common large-scaled Dungeons were all 50-man Dungeons, while there were even some 100-man Dungeons available. Gathering so many players was a near-impossible task. Not to mention whether the entire team possessed sufficient strength, just the degree of trust and the distribution of equipment would be a huge hurdle. In this, however, the elite teams of Guilds and large-scale Workshops had it much easier. No, we dont have our own large team. Our team currently only consists of players who prioritizes amusement and dont really care much about other matters. Could you give me some time? Fire Dance explained. In reality, she, too, wished to develop in Gods Domain properly. In spite of that, the majority of the players in her current team were not too keen on raiding Dungeons. They only wished to play casually. If they joined a large team, they would definitely experience certain constraints and would not be willing to join. Alright. In any case, there is still time. Lets add each other as friends then. When youve made your decision, you can contact me at any time. Shi Feng knew that such matters could not be decided upon immediately. If one wished to obtain something, they would have to lose something in return. Shi Feng did not wish for just any random person to join him. Thats good. Ill contact you after discussing it with them, Fire Dance nodded. She also felt that it was about time to make a decision. Soon after Shi Feng added Fire Dance as his friend, he ran towards the deeper regions of the Gale Valley in search of Blackie and Lonely Snow. On his way there, in order to avoid Martial Unions patrols, Shi Feng hid in the treetops and waited for the players of Martial Union to move past. Since he had nothing better to do, Shi Feng took out the loot from the Shadow Leopard King. He wanted to see just what valuables the monster dropped. _Isnt my luck just too good?_ _The profits from a Chieftain monster are impressive._ Shi Feng was slightly shocked after looking at the drops. Among the nine items, there were two Secret-Silver Weapons, three pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, two rare materials needed to make Secret-Silver Equipment, one Bronze-ranked cooking knife, and one Secret-Silver Accessory. The two Secret-Silver Weapons were a Level 8 staff and a Level 8 two-handed axe. The Mysterious-Iron Equipment was also Level 8. Moreover, the usefulness of the Bronze-ranked cooking knife was also not small. It could increase the speed and success rate of ones cooking. However, the most valuable item among all these items was the Secret-Silver Accessory, the Shadows Blessing. It was one of the most precious items that the Shadow Leopard King could drop. [Shadows Blessing] (Secret-Silver Rank, Necklace) Level 8 All Attributes +5 Luck +3 In Gods Domain, Accessories were extremely rare. Even when players reached Level 20 or above, they would, at most, possess one or two Bronze Accessories. Moreover, these accessories would all be below Level 10. Meanwhile, the accessory in Shi Fengs hands was Secret-Silver rank, and it was much more precious than a Fine-Gold Weapon of the same Level. The Luck Attribute was extremely rare in Gods Domain, and it was capable of increasing the drop-rate of items when killing monsters. There was once a player who calculated that, with 1 point in Luck, the drop-rate would nearly double. However, the higher a persons Luck was, the less effective every additional point would be. At 3 points in Luck, a players drop-rate would only triple. Besides that, the Luck Attribute also held a great effect for Lifestyle classes, so its value would never depreciate. If Shi Feng estimated correctly, the Shadows Blessing would only be worth 2 to 3 Gold Coins to the average player. However, to Shi Feng, this items value was around 10 Gold Coins. Immediately, Shi Feng equipped the Shadows Blessing. That way, when he killed high-level monsters in the future, the amount and quality of the equipment he would obtain would increase. After some time, the team from Martial Union finally left. Shi Feng then continued his journey into the depths of the Gale Valley. Blackie, where are you guys right now? Shi Feng sent a voice call, asking. We seem to be beside a swamp. I dont know where this place is, but the monsters here have very high levels. Ill send you the coordinates. Blackie sighed in relief after learning that nothing had happened to Shi Feng. He then sent his coordinates. Dont go any deeper, and stay where you are. Ill be there soon. Shi Feng immediately knew Blackies whereabouts after glancing at the coordinates. He truly did not think that Blackie could actually survive in the Silent Swamp. There were two entrances to the Gale Valley. One was where Shi Feng entered, and the other was at the Silent Swamp, which led to the high-level monster areas. The Silent Swamp was a Level 15 to Level 20 monster area. To the players at the current stage of the game, it was a forbidden area. Half an hour later, Shi Feng managed to locate Blackie and Lonely Snow. The two of them sat beneath a tree, silently observing their surroundings. They had previously met a Level 15 Swamp Crocodile, frightening them into a run. The Swamp Crocodile had nearly turned them into its chow, but fortunately, they had Speed Scrolls and Isolation Scrolls, allowing them to escape. After this meeting, they no longer dared roam. As expected of Brother Feng! You avoided Martial Unions search and arrived here safely! Blackie immediately felt that there was hope for them when he saw Shi Feng walking over, Lets leave this place immediately. This place is simply too dangerous. Lonely Snow nodded in agreement. They were only Level 8, and the gap between them and the Level 15 Swamp Crocodiles was just too massive. It was extremely dangerous for them to stay here. No; lets stay here to level up. Shi Feng shook his head, saying, Ive previously killed quite a lot of Martial Unions members, so they should be frantically looking for me right about now. It would be too difficult to get you guys out of here without discovery. Hearing Shi Feng, Blackie and Lonely Snow finally discovered the bright red marker displayed above Shi Fengs head. This mark was deeply crimson, and it was a wonder just how many players Shi Feng had killed in order to turn it into such a state. However, it was only right when one thought about it. Martial Unions men currently filled the Gale Valley, and it would be impossible for Shi Feng to arrive without being seen. Shi Feng would have encountered some players from Martial Union on his way. _With Brother Fengs skills, he would have no problems facing three to four players at a time. He has definitely killed a lot of players on his way here._ Thinking up to this point, Blackie and Lonely Snow were extremely moved. Although Shi Feng spoke in a casual manner, they knew that his journey must have been filled with extreme dangers. Alright, Ill party you two up. You guys should change into this equipment first, saying so, Shi Feng passed the staff and two-handed axe, dropped by the Shadow Leopard King, over to Blackie and Lonely Snow. When the two of them received the weapons, they were shocked. Level 8 Secret-Silver Weapons were the most top-tier weapons currently available. Though they did not understand just how Shi Feng managed to obtain them, they did not attempt to look into it too deeply. They knew that some questions were not meant to be asked, and such a situation would be beneficial to both parties. After partying up, Blackie was immediately startled when he looked at Shi Fengs level. He asked, voice trembling, Brother Feng, you youre Level 10 already? They reached Level 8 after continuously grinding monsters and leveling up in Gale Valley. Even if their levels were not the highest amongst all the players throughout Gods Domain, they were still considered close to the top. However, after not meeting for only a few days, Shi Feng had left them behind by two levels. Such a leveling speed was simply frightening. 144 Forming a Party In regards to Blackies and Lonely Snows shock, Shi Feng merely nodded in reply. Brother Feng, your leveling speed is just too fast! The highest leveled player Ive previously met was only Level 9. Right now, there might not be another who has reached Level 10 in the entire White River City. Moreover, since there has not been any information on the official website stating that a player has reached Level 10 and entered a City, this means that there are no players who have reached Level 10 at all. Brother Feng, now that youve Level 10, you are definitely the top player in all of Star-Moon Kingdom! Blackie was incomparably excited. Only high-leveled players would know how hard it was to go from Level 8 to Level 9, not to mention rising from Level 9 to Level 10. The difference in EXP required was at least several times higher. Right now, Shi Feng was far ahead of everyone else. If the players from Martial Union found out about this, their intestines would turn green with regret. Every gamer knew that once you got ahead, you stayed ahead. The small gap during the initial period of the game would only grow wider later on. As long as Shi Feng slowly expanded his advantages, little by little, he would sooner or later cause the players from Martial Union to tremble in fear. Meanwhile, Lonely Snow, who stood by a side, was dumbstruck, not knowing what he should say. Previously, he had been worried that it would not bode well for them to continue entangling themselves with Martial Union. However, after he saw that Shi Feng had already reached Level 10 and possessed a pile of Secret-Silver Equipment, confidence filled his heart. If this continued, he could, sooner or later, step on Martial Union, becoming a future tyrant of White River City. Alright, quickly swap out your equipment. Well look for a place to level up, Shi Feng looked at the excited expressions on Blackie and Lonely Snow and smiled helplessly. Due to constant tasks earlier, he was never able to lead his own party personally. Now, he still had quite some time before he had to go to Blackwing City to conduct the trade with Aqua Rose, and in the meantime, he could carry Blackie and the others. In the future, he would have to form a Guild. However, a framework was required to establish a Guild. Otherwise, the Guild would simply fall apart. The members of his current party would become the framework of his future Guild; so, Shi Feng decided to upgrade the overall strength of his party from now on. If the members of his party could reach Level 10 a step earlier and enter White River City, it would be a tremendous help to him in the future. Blackie and Lonely Snow looked at each other, smiles on their faces as they changed into their new equipment. Previously, the two of them wore Level 5 to Level 6 Bronze Equipment, mixed in with a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Now, however, the majority of their equipment consisted of Level 8 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, matched with a few pieces of Level 8 Secret-Silver Equipment. Their strengths greatly increased with this. If they met Martial Union now, they would not end up in such a sorry state. Brother Feng, if we are going to level up here, what will happen to Cola and the others? They say that theyre under constant surveillance and going out into the fields to level up is extremely dangerous, Blackie worriedly asked. Relax; Ive already told them to do something more meaningful in Town. Well call them over after Martial Union leaves the Gale Valley. At that time, you two might even have a fright when you meet them, Shi Feng said with a smile. Seeing Shi Fengs mysterious smile, curiosity swarmed both Blackie and Lonely Snow about the task Shi Feng had given Cola and the others. Just what sort of quest could it be to shock them? Alright; lets level up then. Shi Feng wordlessly smiled at the twos puzzled expressions. In actuality, having Martial Union focus on Cola and the others was not a bad thing at all. Before, while they had been busy leveling up, Shi Feng stopped them from completing the quest. Now that they couldnt out and level up, they could give the quest a try. If Cola and the others could truly complete it He would be able to carry out his plan with much less effort and more confidence. Although the Silent Swamp was a Level 15 to Level 20 monster area, the outer edge of the swamp was only a Level 15 monster area, while the inner regions were Level 16 to Level 18 monster areas. Level 20 monsters would only appear in the core region of the swamp. With the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng could reduce the level suppression by 5 Levels, making the outer region a perfect fit. Lets go there and take a look. Looking at the systems map, Shi Feng pointed to the bubbling black pool of water in the distance. Although Blackie and Lonely Snow did not voice out about it, they were overcome with worry. After all, Level 15 monsters owned this place. Even if they received an upgrade to their equipment and could challenge Level 10 Common monsters without much of a problem, Level 15 monsters would still annihilate them. Just as Shi Feng and the others set foot beside the black-colored pool, a mass of bubbles broke out across the surface. A pair of black, shiny eyes surfaced from the pool, staring at Shi Fengs party from a distance. Brother Feng, I dont think this place is safe. Look; a large pair of eyes are watching us from over there, Blackie looked at the fist-sized eyeballs, anxiety gripping his heart. He definitely did not think that the monster hidden in the water was Common. While Blackie spoke, the monster in the pool surfaced, its gigantic figure slowly revealing itself to the party. [Steel-skinned Hippo] (Elite Rank) Level 15 HP 6,000/6,000 Brother Feng, lets leave! Thats a Level 15 Elite! If it chases us, well suffer the consequences! Blackie panicked as he watched the Steel-skinned Hippo closing in on them. Naturally, Shi Feng knew that Blackie and Lonely Snow could not contend with a Level 15 monster, not to mention an Elite. However, Shi Feng had his own strategies for dealing with monsters with special weaknesses, and the Steel-skinned Hippo belonged to this category. After the evolution of Gods Domain, everything in the game became more realistic. The weaknesses of these Hippo-type monsters also increased as a result. As long as players could find a way to deal with said weaknesses, these monsters would be very easy to deal with. Shortly after the Steel-skinned Hippo revealed itself, another group of Swamp Hippos surfaced in the black-colored pool. There were over twenty of these Swamp Hippos. [Swamp Hippo] (Common Rank) Level 15 HP 2,000/2,000 Watching these hippos leave the pool so overbearingly, rushing towards them, Shi Feng took out an Isolation Scroll from his bag. He then softly said, You guys use an Isolation Scroll as well. Hearing Shi Fengs order, Blackie and Lonely Snow immediately took out their own Isolation Scrolls. The Isolation Scroll was only effective against monsters up to Level 15. When used, the scroll greatly reduced the users presence, turning them half-transparent for half an hour. After the two of them used the Isolation Scrolls, they discovered that the hippos had suddenly stopped their movements, looking around in confusion. It was as if they had become invisible to these hippos. Hippos have very bad vision, and they cannot see clearly beyond a certain distance. After using the Isolation Scrolls, our bodies are close to transparent, so they cannot see us, Shi Feng explained. Blackie, use your Dark Arrows to attack the Steel-skinned Hippo but pay attention to maintain a distance of at least 25 yards. It wont see you that way. Blackie came to a realization after listening to Shi Fengs explanation. He immediately tried Shi Fengs instructions. A Dark Arrow flew from Blackie, striking the Steel-skinned Hippo that was dozing off. Damage of -24 points appeared above the Elite Hippo. Although the damage was minuscule, it was enough to send the Steel-skinned Hippo into a flying rage. The Elite immediately spun towards the source of the Dark Arrow. However, it failed to discover even a single person in that direction. It took several steps forward but still failed to discover anybody. Just when it was about to return to the pool of water, another Dark Arrow struck its body. The Steel-skinned Hippo was truly enraged now. Letting out an intense snort, it abruptly charged towards the direction the Dark Arrow originated from. However, after rushing forward over ten yards, it still could not find the enemy who attacked it. The Steel-skinned Hippo started to turn in circles in confusion. Blackie watched the stupid-looking Steel-skinned Hippo in the distance, inwardly laughing at it. He continuously sent Dark Arrows at his target, and with each consecutive arrow, he slowly lured it away from the group of Swamp Hippos. At this moment, only Level 15 Swamp Hippos occupied the pool. Shi Feng silently closed in on them. After closing a distance of 20 yards, the Swamp Hippos finally discovered Shi Feng. Immediately, they all parted from the pool. More than twenty Swamp Hippos thundered after Shi Feng in a grandiose manner. Such a group could easily flatten a Level 15 party. 145 Might of the Devil Flame 1 The Swamp Hippos were each the size of a small car. When over twenty of them charged forward, it was like being run over by twenty cars going full-speed. The earth trembled under the combined weight of the Swamp Hippos. Their imposing aura surged forth, instilling shock and awe into all observers. In the distance, Lonely Snow, who observed this scene, wore a nervous expression. He tightly gripped the Secret-Silver ranked greataxe in his hands. He wondered just what their party leader, Shi Feng, intended to do. This was a group of over twenty Level 15 Swamp Hippos. Not only did these monsters possess thick hides and sturdy muscles, but they also possessed 2,000 HP each. Just judging by how the earth trembled with each step, one could easily tell just how powerful these Swamp Hippos were. If that kind of body plowed into Shi Feng, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, Shi Feng remained extraordinarily calm as he silently awaited the arrival of the Swamp Hippos. 15 yards... 10 yards 5 yards Just as the Swamp Hippos were right before him, Shi Feng finally took action. As Shi Feng raised the pitch-black Abyssal Blade, it released a chilling glow. Green arcs of electricity abruptly appeared on the blade, producing crackling sounds. Shi Feng then slashed down, the Abyssal Blade pointing at the incoming Swamp Hippos. Thundering Flash! Three electric arcs chained towards the Swamp Hippos, one after another. When the Swamp Hippos leading the charge noticed these arcs of electricity moving towards them, their bodies instinctively trembled. Though they tried to halt their feet to dodge these electric arcs, the Swamp Hippos at the back crashed into them. As a result, none of them managed to dodge the incoming attack. In the end, they received all three hits. After the electric arcs flashed by, the squealing of pigs at slaughter filled the surrounding space. The smell of something burning also filled the air. A series of damages appeared above the twenty-plus Swamp Hippos, creating a dazzling sight. Every Swamp Hippo received frightening damages of -356, -481, and -648. Some even received critical hits, suffering damages of over -1,000 points, their HPs immediately falling to zero. The remaining dozen or so Swamp Hippos were burnt black. Their HP bars also dropped to dangerous levels, turning a bloody-red color. Moreover, a Debuff icon appeared beside their HP bars: Damage Amplification. All damage received increased by 20% for 20 seconds. Immediately, fear surfaced on the faces of all the surviving Swamp Hippos. They all wished to scatter and escape. Shi Feng gave them no chance whatsoever. With a sudden leap, Shi Feng jumped into the airspace above these Swamp Hippos. He raised the Silver Lake, the sword giving off a faint-blue glow as it carried with it the power of thunder and fire. Shi Feng loosed a Thunder Flame Explosion in the midst of the Swamp Hippos, thunder and fire exploding outwards, devouring every single Swamp Hippo. With the Damage Amplification effect, this attack of Shi Fengs caused over -900 damage on the Swamp Hippo, instantly killing every single one of them. The gigantic figures of the twenty-plus Swamp Hippos fell to the ground with a loud boom, shaking and trembling the earth. The scene was similar over twenty small cars descending from the air, heavily smashing into the ground. When the bodies of the Swamp Hippos collided with the ground, the resulting impact generated gusts of wind that spread to the surroundings, causing the leaves and branches of the nearby trees to snap and float in mid-air. Lonely Snow, watching this scene from a distance, was completely dumbfounded. Be it the visual or physical sensation, both impacted him greatly. Shi Feng caused over -1,000 damage to the Level 15 Swamp Hippos, ending their lives in just two moves. Just how high of an Attack Power was required to achieve such a feat? If Shi Feng fought against average players, wouldnt he kill one with every strike? Lonely Snow even started to suspect that he and Shi Feng were not playing the same Gods Domain. The difference in strength between them was no longer just several stages. It was practically the difference between the sky and the earth. Lonely, you pick up the loot. Ill go help Blackie, Shi Fen instructed before turning to chase after the Steel-skinned Hippo. Lonely Snow nodded in reply, though an absent-minded expression remained on his face. He thought that he had hallucinated before, but after giving his eyes a rub, the pile of Swamp Hippo corpses still remained. Plenty of items and Coins blanketed the ground surrounding them. He now knew that this was not a dream, but reality. When Lonely Snow looked at the system notifications and his experience bar, he was once more given a shock. System: Level 15 Swamp Hippo killed. Level difference of 7. EXP obtained increased by 700%. Obtained 1,650 EXP. System: Level 15 Swamp Hippo killed. Level difference of 7. EXP obtained increased by 700%. Obtained 1,650 EXP. System: Level 15 Swamp Hippo killed. Level difference of 7. EXP obtained increased by 700%. Obtained 1,650 EXP. After a series of notifications displayed, Lonely Snows experience bar greatly increased, reaching 69% of Level 8. The amount of EXP he obtained was truly frightening. Previously, even when faced with Level 8 monsters, they needed to kill each one while being extremely cautious and prudent. Moreover, every kill only yielded each member of the party several tens of EXP. After spending over an hour repeating the same process, they would see their experience bars increase by a sizable portion. On the other hand, Shi Feng casually killed off a large group of Level 15 Swamp Hippos with only a few moves. Even after splitting the EXP obtained amongst the three of them, Lonely Snows experience bar still increased by a sizable chunk. Only now did Lonely Snow understand how Shi Feng managed to level up so quickly. In this regard, Lonely Snow became even more respectful towards Shi Feng. There was even a hint of fanaticism in his eyes. If he followed someone as strong as Shi Feng, his future would be limitless. Even if he could not become Shi Fengs equal, as long as he continued struggling forward, he could still become a true expert one day. On the other side, Blackie was still toying around with the Steel-skinned Hippo, continuously decreasing the Elite Hippos HP. However, not only did the Steel-skinned Hippo had a very high recovery rate, but its HP was also very high; it would recover a lot of HP every 5 seconds. Moreover, Blackies attacks could only inflict a tiny amount of damage. If he wanted to grind away the Steel-skinned Hippos life completely, he would need at least twenty minutes. And yet, instead of tiring, Blackie grew even more excited. Dark Arrows flew from his hand, one after another, each arrow bringing Blackie even more joy. The reason Blackie reacted this way was that challenging monsters of a higher level in Gods Domain was extremely difficult. Meanwhile, he was currently bypassing seven levels to challenge a Level 15 Elite monster. If he spoke of this feat in the future, he would enjoy supreme glory. It was this sense of achievement that became the largest motivation for Blackie. Blackie, use Evil Whip, Shi Feng said in the party chat after hurrying over. Okay, seeing Shi Feng arrive, Blackie knew that it was time to deal with the Steel-skinned Hippo. As Blackies chanting came to an end, nine black-barbed vines sprung up and bound the Steel-skinned Hippos four limbs, restricting its speed. However, the Steel-skinned Hippos strength was just too high. In the blink of an eye, one of the vines snapped, while the remaining eight were only a small matter. At this moment, Shi Feng used Wind Blade, rapidly arriving behind the Steel-skinned Hippo. Instantly, three sword strikes landed on the Steel-skinned Hippos body, the collision producing glittering sparks. Seeing that the attacks from his swords had only dealt -22 damage each to the Steel-skinned Hippo, Shi Feng was slightly speechless. It was as expected of the Steel-skinned Hippo. Its physical defense was truly frightening. It also possessed its innate steel skin, reducing all physical damage it received by 70%. If even Shi Feng could only cause slightly over 20 damage to the Steel-skinned Hippo, a normal physical damage dealer would most likely cause 2 or 3 damage. This rate of damage certainly could not contend with the Steel-skinned Hippos regeneration speed. Shi Fengs attacks had yet to end. He immediately followed up with a Thundering Flash, the three electric arcs causing -125, -160, and -211 damage. The Steel-skinned Hippo was instantly enraged. It spun around, charging at Shi Feng. However, with the thorny vines restricting it, the Steel-skinned Hippos turning speed was slowed. This situation gave Shi Feng the chance to evade its charge easily. Shi Feng continued with a series of attacks on the Steel-skinned Hippo, using one skill after another. However, the damages his attacks managed to cause were generally very low. Ao! Enraged, the Steel-skinned Hippo abruptly jumped. It intended to use War Stomp. War Stomp was Hippos killing move. When used, the skill would cause all enemies within a 15-yard radius to enter a Fainted state for 5 seconds. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng immediately cast Abyssal Bind on the Steel-skinned Hippo. The hippos movements immediately halted, and its War Stomp canceled. Originally, Shi Feng did not think that there would be any issues. However, a chilling sensation pervaded his entire body, preventing him from moving a muscle. All of his skills were unusable. _This is the Tier 1 magic, Deaths Lock!_ Shi Feng was astonished. With his many years of experience, he immediately knewwhat sort of attack struck him. This was definitely not a move of the Steel-skinned Hippo! Not bad. This is something that I specifically prepared just for you. You can be at ease and be on your way, a black figure suddenly appeared behind Shi Feng. This figure was precisely the Absolute Heaven, the expert Assassin Shi Feng had met before. In the same moment Absolute Heaven revealed himself, the silver dagger in his hand sunk into Shi Fengs back. Absolute Heavens Ambush instantly caused -357 damage. 146 Might of the Devil Flame 2 A single Ambush instantly devoured one-quarter of Shi Fengs HP. Blackie, who stood at a distance, was dumbfounded by this scene. He did not understand why an Assassin suddenly appeared here and attacked Shi Feng. Although he wished to help Shi Feng, time was needed to cast his spells. Moreover, all his restricting skills were already in use on the Steel-skinned Hippo. He could only helplessly watch as the scene unfolded. The only thing Blackie could do now was to chant and attack with his Dark Arrows. _Such high damage!_ Watching his HP abruptly decrease by a large portion, Shi Feng was inwardly shocked. Previously, when Shi Feng faced the Level 9 Berserker, Five Rats, the maximum damage Shi Feng received was only slightly over -100 damage. Yet, one of Absolute Heavens Ambushes caused over -300 damage. Compared to Five Rats, Absolute Heavens Attack Power was much stronger. Assassins had very fast Attack Speeds, so generally, their attack damage could not compete with that of a Berserkers. However, they could complement their low attack damage with the number of attacks they could dish out. To say nothing of Absolute Heavens attack damage, which far exceeded that of the Berserker Five Rats, if an Assassin could deal the same amount of damage as a Berserker with each attack, their total output would be at least double or triple that of a Berserkers. In the case of Absolute Heaven, his total output would be three to four times that of Five Rats. Although Shi Feng was shocked, Absolute Heaven was similarly shocked. When he had used his Ambush on an MT who possessed a complete Bronze Set Equipment and was the same level, the attack stole at least two-thirds of the MTs HP. Now, however, he only managed to remove one-quarter of Shi Fengs HP. Compared to those well-equipped MTs, Shi Fengs Defense and HP far exceeded them. Die! Absolute Heavens hands twisted, a streak of silver swiping across Shi Fengs neck. Simultaneously, his other dagger stabbed into Shi Fengs back once more. Garrote! Backstab! Although Absolute Heaven was shocked, an Assassins explosive power did not lie in just the first strike, but a burst of continuous skills. From the moment Shi Feng appeared in the Gale Valley to the moment Shi Feng began kill-stealing the Shadow Leopard King, he had constantly trailed after Shi Feng. He had silently waited for the best moment to attack Shi Feng. He knew that Shi Feng was extremely powerful, so he needed to wait for the moment when Shi Feng was the most vulnerable. Only when Shi Feng did not possess any Skills, would he have a chance at getting rid of him. However, he never found the perfect time to strike. However, his patience had finally paid off. While battling the Steel-skinned Hippo, Shi Feng finally revealed a weak point. However, in order to guard against the unexpected, he unhesitatingly decided to use the Deaths Lock Scroll he had bought at an extremely high price. He bought this scroll precisely for this sort of situation. [Deaths Lock] Disables all skills of the target, temporarily preventing the target from using any skills. Targets movement will also be disabled. Duration of 6 seconds Although Shi Feng had high Defense and HP, a 6-second burst was enough to kill Shi Feng. In such close quarters, Shi Feng could clearly feel the two incoming daggers. If he received the burst of Absolute Heavens attacks, he would definitely die. At the moment of life and death, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill, immediately swapping positions with his doppelganger. The Deaths Lock could only seal the skills a player had learned. However, it would not affect the skills attached to equipment. Just after swapping positions, Absolute Heavens two daggers immediately sliced into the doppelgangers body. Bleeding damage of -212 points and a skill damage of -257 points appeared above the doppelgangers head. Absolute Heaven continued with a flurry of attacks. The two daggers in his hands assaulted the doppelganger, and ten streaks of silver light stabbed the doppelgangers vital points. The series of normal attacks coupled with an Assassinate and the poison damage on his daggers instantly decimated the doppelgangers HP. A doppelganger? Originally, Absolute Heaven drowned in ecstasy at the thought of having killed Shi Feng. However, he did not expect that, after all of his effort, what he had killed was only a doppelganger. Absolute Heavens expression turned grim. He squinted his eyes as he observed his surroundings. Very quickly, he discovered Shi Feng a distance away, behind him. He immediately spun, charging towards Shi Feng. The Deaths Lock had a duration of 6 seconds. Right now, there were 4 seconds remaining, so how could he so easily allow Shi Feng to break free from the Deaths Lock that he had spent a fortune on? Just as Absolute Heaven arrived before Shi Feng, a Dark Arrow came flying at him. Garbage, I dont have time to deal with you right now. Absolute Heaven ignored Blackies Dark Arrow, his dagger aimed straight for Shi Feng. Regarding Shi Fengs teammates, Absolute Heaven did not place any importance on them at all. As long as he dealt with Shi Feng, killing Blackie would be a simple task. _Boom!_ The Dark Arrow exploded on Absolute Heavens body. Damage of -221 points appeared above Absolute Heavens head, removing one-quarter of his HP. _Why is this garbages damage so high?!_ Absolute Heavens brows slightly wrinkled, inwardly shock ed. Absolute Heaven had not the slightest knowledge that the staff in Blackies hands was actually a Level 8 Secret-Silver ranked staff. Moreover, Blackie wore a few pieces of Level 7 and Level 8 Mysterious Iron Equipment. He also used the Mysterious-Iron Accessory, the Interpreters Pendant, that Shi Feng had given him. Blackies magical damage had long since reached the apex. If it were not for Absolute Heavens equipment being of excellent quality, he might have lost more than half of his HP from just one of Blackies Dark Arrows. However, Blackies high magical damage could not stop Absolute Heaven. Absolute Heaven still accurately slid his daggers into Shi Fengs vital points. The moment Absolute Heavens dagger was about to stab Shi Feng, Shi Feng used Silent Steps, instantly appearing behind Blackie. Crap! Seeing Shi Feng vanish before him, rage and dismay filled the Assassin. Shi Feng was clearly unable to use any of his learned skills, yet, he still possessed so many skills to avoid the ambush. There were over 25 yards between Absolute Heaven and Blackie. If Absolute Heaven ran towards Blackie, he would waste a lot of time. The seal on Shi Feng would definitely dissipate, and it would become incomparably harder for him to kill Shi Feng. Brother Feng, youre too awesome! You still managed to escape under such conditions! Blackie said with a smile. Watching the previous exchange, shock overwhelmed Blackie. The Assassins speed was impressive. If Shi Feng had reacted a bit slower, he would definitely have lost his life. Blackie couldnt help but break out in cold sweat as he had watched the scene unfold. However, now that the distance between them was sizable, that Assassin would be at his wits end. Stop fooling around and be more careful. That Assassin is not someone simple, Shi Feng warned as Blackie still seemed to be in a joking mood. Got it; leave it to me! The Cooldown on my skills have already finished, Blackie confidently said. However, just as Blackie turned to look at Absolute Heaven, he discovered that Absolute Heaven was missing. He could only see an enraged Steel-skinned Hippo, bellowing as it searched for its enemy. Brother Feng, that persons gone missing. Did he just choose to run away since he failed his ambush? Blackie said with a laugh. Just as Blackie turned to look at Shi Feng, his expression immediately turned grim. The Assassin from before stood right behind Shi Feng. Causing me so much trouble, you guys should be proud of yourselves, Absolute Heaven sneered, his hand holding some Flash Powder. He tossed the powder at Blackie. Blackie instantly shrieked as both his eyes lost their vision, causing Blackie to lose his battle prowess. After restricting Blackie, Absolute Heavens dagger immediately stabbed Shi Feng. Shi Feng did not think that Absolute Heaven could actually learn a high-tier skill like Shadow Steps. Assassins Shadow Steps allowed them to instantly appear behind an enemy and increased the damage of their next attack by 15%. However, Shi Feng still could not move. Moreover, he did not have any skills left to avoid Absolute Heavens attack. He could only grit his teeth as he activated the Silvermoon Set Equipments second Set Effect, the Tier 2 Life Shield. The Tier 2 Life Shield would absorb 60% of the damage Shi Feng received, up to a maximum of -500 points. It could delay Absolute Heaven for some time. When Absolute Heaven saw the Life Shield appear on Shi Feng, he was momentarily speechless. He did not understand just how Shi Feng came to possess so many lifesaving skills, using them one after another. However, a single Life Shield was still not enough to extinguish his determination to kill Shi Feng. Immediately, Absolute Heaven brandished his daggers, sending a flurry of attacks at Shi Feng like a fierce gale. He used normal attacks, coupled with Assassinate, Backstab, and many other damaging skills. _Peng!_ Shi Fengs Life Shield quickly shattered and disappeared. Shi Feng had less than 500 HP remaining. Die! Absolute Heaven excitedly shouted. Immediately, he placed all five Skill Points that he had held on to into his finishing skill, Eviscerate. With all his might, he prepared to use his most powerful damaging skill. Soon after, Absolute Heavens dagger swiveled, accurately sailing towards Shi Fengs back. Finishing skill, Eviscerate! A plume of blue flame suddenly appeared above Shi Fengs palm... 147 Might of the Devil Flame 3 Absolute Heaven suddenly convulsed in shock when he saw the clear-blue flame floating above Shi Fengs palm. Although this flame looked miniscule, the heat it gave off was extraordinarily hot. Within an instant, he could already feel his mouth drying up. However, since the arrow was nocked, he had no choice but to let it loose. Within an instant, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame covered Shi Fengs entire body, turning him into a man on fire. The ice-cold dagger suddenly stabbed into Shi Fengs back. You can move already? Absolute Heaven was greatly shocked. To a top-tier expert like himself, he had a very precise grasp on time. At worst, there was only an error of 0.1 seconds. Absolute Heaven clearly felt that the 6 second duration for the Deaths Lock had yet to pass. Yet, Shi Feng was still able to use Defensive Blade to block his finishing move, Eviscerate. Didnt you have a fun time beating me up just now? Shi Feng revealed a faint smile, coldly saying, Its my turn now. Wielding the Abyssal Blade, which was covered by a layer of clear-blue flames, Shi Feng used Chop, and the Abyssal Blade transformed into a blazing streak of light as it struck towards Absolute Heaven. You have less than 500 HP remaining right now. Do you think you can defeat me? Absolute Heaven sneered, retaliating. The instant the two weapons collided, a trace of shock immediately appeared on Absolute Heavens frosty expression. It was as if the opponent he was facing against right now was not Shi Feng, but a humongous bear. Shi Fengs strength had thoroughly numbed his arm, and he was forced to retreat several steps before stabilizing his body. _How can he have such great strength_ _?!_ __ When Absolute Heaven had exchanged moves with Shi Feng the previous time, Shi Fengs strength was not yet quite so terrifying. However, now that he had changed and upgraded most of his equipment, increasing his Attributes by a large leap, he not only surpassed Shi Feng, but the gap between them had somehow grown even wider! Now that he had failed at ambushing Shi Feng, it was already impossible for him to kill Shi Feng in a direct confrontation. He could only patiently wait for his next chance. After forcing Absolute Heaven into a retreat, Shi Feng quickly took out a Basic Regeneration Potion and drank it. Very quickly, Shi Fengs HP recovered more than 700 points. Absolute Heaven, it seems you only amount to this much. Youve failed to kill me in both of your ambushes, so now its my turn to get revenge. Dont even think of getting away from me today, Shi Feng revealed a calm smile as he looked at Absolute Heaven, who was currently filled with killing intent. He could not help but admire, and admit, that Absolute Heavens assassination abilities were very powerful. Not only did Absolute Heaven manage to persevere and track Shi Feng to this place, he had even managed to set up an ambush the instant Shi Feng relaxed his guard during his battle against the Steel-skinned Hippo. As a result, Absolute Heaven nearly managed to kill him. Unfortunately, Absolute Heaven did not know that the Ice-Blue Devil Flame had strengthened Shi Fengs body, slightly reducing the duration of the Deaths Lock on him. Otherwise, he would truly be finished. Now that he was back to normal, he used the Ice-Blue Devil Flame to aid him; a 20% increase in damage was no laughing matter. What a joke. Youve only managed to live this time due to luck. I will definitely kill you the next time we meet. As for you wanting to keep me here? You couldnt do it the last time, and you similarly wont be able to do it this time! Absolute Heaven felt that Shi Feng was simply too conceited, daring to declare that he could kill him. The rage in his heart burned from Shi Fengs words. He inwardly vowed to form a more thorough plan to utterly vanquish Shi Feng the next time. Brother Feng, Ill help! at that moment, Blackies vision was finally restored. He angrily glared at Absolute Heaven, prepared to use his Evil Whip. Shi Feng waved his hand, saying with a laugh, No need. Against him, I alone am enough. Brother Feng, he is an Assassin; he definitely has a lot of lifesaving skills. His speed is also very fast. If he manages to escape, what should we do if he comes back to ambush us again? Blackie had seen before an Assassins myriad of escaping skills. If not properly countered, one would be completely helpless against an Assassin. Relax, he cant get away. Alright, then. Since Shi Feng insisted, Blackie could only resolve himself to watch. The reason why Shi Feng voiced out those words was to agitate and provoke Absolute Heaven. When dealing with experts like Absolute Heaven, it was not easy to kill them. Dealing with such experts, one first needed to attack them emotionally, provoking them and sending their state of mind into a mess, before looking for a chink or weak point. Brat, you sure have a big mouth. I want to see just how you intend to block my path, Absolute Heaven said with a sneer, rage clouding over his expression. Well know once we try, Shi Feng revealed a calm smile. He activated Wind Blade, his body piercing towards Absolute Heaven. Originally, Shi Fengs speed was already very fast. Now, with Wind Blade activated, Shi Fengs speed was on a whole nother level. He arrived in front of Absolute Heaven within an instant, six sword images immediately stabbing towards Absolute Heavens vital points. So fast! Absolute Heaven was awe-shocked, hurriedly using his daggers to block the attacks. _Peng! Peng! Peng!_ With the added power from the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, Shi Fengs attacks were not something that Absolute Heaven could easily block. Immediately, Absolute Heaven was in a disadvantageous position. He desperately blocked and dodged Shi Fengs attacks, and he was forced into a retreat with every consecutive attack. After exchanging several moves without using any skills, Absolute Heaven was struck once by Shi Feng. As a result, Absolute Heaven lost over 300 HP within an instant. Damn! Originally, Absolute Heaven only intended to exchange a few moves with Shi Feng, grinding away Shi Fengs arrogance. Never would he have imagined that he would instead be forced into a constant retreat. Yet, his pride as an expert was unwilling to admit that he had actually lost against Shi Feng in a normal exchange. Seeing as the flaming sword was about to hit him, Absolute Heaven gritted his teeth, using the skill Block to defend against this attack. If he was to receive another attack from that flaming sword, then he would very well lose his life. _Not good, time to leave. The gap between our Attributes and Attack Power is just too wide._ After coming to grips with Shi Feng, he clearly understood the gap between the two of them. It was especially true for that clear-blue flame. Every time his equipment came into contact with it, their durability would continuously fall. Though his Secret-Silver ranked dagger was better off, only losing a little durability with each clash, the armor he obtained with much difficulty was only of Mysterious-Iron rank. Just a single stab from Shi Fengs sword had reduced over a quarter of the armors total durability. If this situation were to continue, then his equipment would all soon turn to waste. Without the Attributes provided by his equipment, he would definitely die under Shi Fengs swords. Hence, he immediately turned and ran. You cant escape. Shi Feng gave Absolute Heaven no chances at all, activating Windwalk immediately. As fast as a ghost, Shi Feng caught up with Absolute Heaven in the blink of an eye. He then let loose his most powerful strength, creating sixteen sword images in the blink of an eye. The sword images fully surrounded Absolute Heaven, the flames released by them looking as if they intended to devour Absolute Heaven. Absolute Heaven was greatly shocked. There was no way at all for him to stop so many sword images. He then hurriedly activated Wind Steps, using the 1 second invincibility to block all the incoming attacks. With his speed greatly increased, he immediately entered Stealth mode. I said, you can not get away! Shi Feng immediately leaped up, the Silver Lake in his hand releasing the power of fire and thunder towards Absolute Heavens path of advancement. Absolute Heaven knew that this move of Shi Fengs was immensely powerful. He immediately used Vanish, the 1 second of invincibility allowing him to avoid the damage, and Fainted effect of the Thunder Flame Explosion. After successfully blocking the Thunder Flame Explosion, Absolute Heaven no longer possessed any lifesaving skills in his arsenal. Just like last time, he was prepared to leap up into the trees, shaking off Shi Fengs pursuit. At this moment, he suddenly discovered that he was unable to jump, nor move. Unknown as to when it happened, both his legs had been frozen solid, and even his figure was revealed. Ive already said that you can not escape. Shi Feng was extremely satisfied with the effect of the Frost Grenade. Once again, he sent a burst of sixteen sword images stabbing at Absolute Heaven. This time, Absolute Heaven could only go all-out, desperately stopping the incoming attacks with his daggers. Two swords Four swords Six swords By the time Absolute Heaven blocked the eleventh sword, he was no longer able to keep up with the remaining sword images. He could only helplessly watch as the sword images stabbed into him, damages of over -300 points, and even -400 points, appearing above his head, one after another. Moreover, the durability of the equipment on his body fell madly. By the time Absolute Heavens HP reached zero, the equipment on his body was all turned to scrape. Absolute Heaven suffered an incomparable heartache, gnashing his teeth. All these equipment were gathered by him, one by one, after spending a large amount of time. Yet, they were all destroyed now. The only thing he could rejoice about was that the two Secret-Silver ranked daggers, which were as precious as his own life, were not destroyed. Soon after, Absolute Heavens dead body fell to the ground, an expression of unwillingness displayed on his face. Ive already said that you wont get away. Your weapon, Ill gratefully accept! Shi Feng looked towards the silver-colored dagger that Absolute Heaven dropped with a smile, picking it up. 148 Underworld Absolute Heaven disappeared with the wind after he died. Shi Feng toyed around with the dagger Absolute Heaven dropped. The edge of the blade seemed capable of slicing air apart. A dagger with such a degree of sharpness was definitely a rarely seen item. _Blade of Assassination?_ Shi Feng took a look at the daggers introduction, discovering that the weapon was actually an exclusive item for Assassins. [Blade of Assassination] (Dagger, Secret-Silver Rank) Level 8 Attack Power +51 Strength +5, Agility +12 Attack Speed +2 Durability 35/60 Additional Passive Skill- Sharp Edge: Attacks have a 15% chance to cause an Armor Break effect, reducing targets Defense by 50% for 10 seconds. Non-stackable. Class Restriction: Assassin With such a high Attack Power and Agility, it was no wonder Absolute Heaven was able to deal such massive damage to Shi Feng. This Blade of Assassination was an assassination weapon completely made to increase the users Attack Power and Speed. It was definitely a favored weapon for the Agility-type Assassins. Based on Shi Fengs estimations, the Blade of Assassination was worth at least 1 Gold Coin. _With this death, Absolute Heaven will probably need a very long time before he can recover!_ Shi Feng looked at the Blade of Assassination, a smile plastered on his face. Previously, Shi Feng still felt apprehensive towards Absolute Heaven constantly following him around and abruptly ambushing him. Now that Shi Feng used the Ice-Blue Devil Flame to give Absolute Heaven a thorough beating, not only did Absolute Heaven lose a level, all the equipment on his body was destroyed as well. Absolute Heaven had even dropped his Blade of Assassination after dying. It would be a long time before it would be possible for Absolute Heaven to come looking for trouble again. Brother Feng, you youre just too awesome! You were like the incarnation of the Fire God just now! Just looking from afar, I could already feel myself being burned. I didnt think that Swordsmen would have such a skill. If I had known about it earlier on, I would have chosen to play as a Swordsman as well! If I were to use this skill to pick up chicks in the future, I would definitely catch one with every hook I send! Blackie excitedly ran up to Shi Feng, his eyes filled with endless envy as he looked at the Ice-Blue Devil Flame covering Shi Fengs body. As for the matter of Shi Feng managing to kill Absolute Heaven, Blackie paid no attention to it at all. In Blackies eyes, although Absolute Heaven was indeed an expert, he was still just an elite player of Martial Union. Shi Feng being able to kill him was all too normal. On the other hand, the elegant looking clear-blue flame surrounding Shi Feng was the truly shocking matter. Hearing Blackie describing the Ice-Blue Devil Flame as a tool to pick up girls, Shi Feng became speechless. He did not understand just what was going through Blackies mind every day. This flame isnt a Swordsman skill. It is a Mysterious Flame, and it can increase a players attack damage, Shi Feng explained. Mysterious Flame? Blackies face filled with confusion. Although Blackie did not know what a Mysterious Flame was but hearing that it was able to increase a players attack damage confirmed it was definitely an extremely precious item. Seeing that Shi Feng possessed such an item, instead of becoming envious, his heart filled with joy. With the Mysterious Flame, Shi Feng could become even stronger than before. When the time comes, lets see who still dared to bully them! At this moment, Lonely Snow also hurried over after finishing picking up the loot from the Swamp Hippos. When he saw that Shi Fengs entire body was covered in flames, giving off a scorching hot temperature and that Shi Feng was even able to control these brilliantly beautiful clear-blue flames, he too became incomparably shocked. He nearly regarded Shi Feng as a Hidden Class. However, after listening to Blackies explanation, Lonely Snow as well understood just how precious and powerful was the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. The Ice-Blue Devil flame was definitely one of Shi Fengs secrets. If others were to find out about this secret, there would definitely be tons of players wanting to obtain the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Moreover, Shi Feng being willing to share this secret with them showed just how much he trusted them. Just this piece of trust alone was enough to let Lonely Snow feel that it was worth striving for Shi Feng. Lets not chat for now. We should get rid of the Steel-skinned Hippo and quickly leave this place. After Absolute Heaven revives, he might tell the other players from Martial Union to come here and surround us, Shi Feng no longer continued to explain, turning around and charging towards the Steel-skinned Hippo. Blackie knew that they could not stay in this place for too long as well. He started chanting incantations, aiding Shi Feng in attacking and restricting the Steel-skinned Hippo. Although the Steel-skinned Hippo had high HP and Defense, with its short vision range, it was destined to become an easy kill for Shi Feng. What Shi Feng needed to do now was to charge up and go all out at dealing damage. After bursting out all of his skills, he would then turn to escape. Meanwhile, Blackie would desperately attack from a distance, and as long as Shi Feng finished using all of his skills, Blackie would use Evil Whip to restrict the Steel-skinned Hippo. Lonely Snow would then use Charge and Break before escaping as well. After Shi Feng was more than 25 yards away from the Steel-skinned Hippo, the Steel-skinned Hippo would lose its target, dumbly rushing about. When the Cooldown for Shi Fengs skills ended, he would then continue with another round of bombardment, repeating the cycle all over again. This time, Shi Feng did not keep his strength hidden away. He immediately used the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, increasing his damage output by 20%. Simultaneously, the power of ice-type and fire-type skills was increased by 40%. With such an increase, Shi Fengs damage against the Steel-skinned Hippo instantly soared. Even his normal attacks could deal around 50 to 60 damage now. As for Thunder Flame Explosion, the skill could cause over 400 damage to the Steel-skinned Hippo. Even if the Steel-skinned Hippo had high HP, it still frantically decreased under the fierce onslaught. Several minutes later, the Steel-skinned Hippo let out a blood-curdling shriek as its body fell to the ground with a boom. It dropped four items and gave a large amount of EXP after it died. Amongst the four items, two of them were Level 15 Bronze Equipment, while the remaining items were a Tier 1 Strength Gemstone and a Bronze ranked leatherworking material. The effects of the Shadows Blessing was fully displayed here. Otherwise, aside from giving out a lot of EXP, a Level 15 Elite would at most give out a piece of equipment and some materials only. Lets go somewhere else to kill Swamp Hippos. After killing the Steel-skinned Hippo, Shi Feng brought Blackie and Lonely Snow to another grinding spot. The Silent Swamp was extremely large in size. Its size was at least two to three times that of the Gale Valley. Meanwhile, the habitat of the Swamp Hippos took up one-tenth of the entire Silent Swamp. Moreover, they were scattered throughout the entire silent Swamp. With the one to two hundred members of Martial Union, it would be hard pressed for them to locate Shi Fengs party successfully. Moreover, Shi Feng was very familiar with the Silent Swamp. He had once lived at this place for over twenty days in his previous life, so he knew which locations had the highest number of Swamp Hippos and also the locations with the fastest respawn rates. Shi Feng also knew the spawn locations for the Elite monsters in Silent Swamp. However, with the strength of their party of three right now, the only Elite monster they could deal with was the Steel-skinned Hippo, as the other Elite monsters did not possess any clear weaknesses. If they were to go against these Elite monsters, they would have to risk their lives doing so. Leveling up at this place is just too awesome! Originally, I thought that the leveling speed at Gale Valley was already extremely fast, but after coming to this place for less than two hours, Ive already managed to reach Level 9. If we are to continue in this trend, within three hours, I would definitely reach Level 10 and be able to enter White River City! At this speed, the elites of those major Guilds have probably just reached Level 9! Blackie excitedly said, If Cola and the others didnt die and were with us right now, we six would be able to enter White River City today, becoming the first party to enter White River City! Lonely Snow nodded, agreeing with Blackies statement. He too could not help but admit to the invigorating feeling of having Shi Feng power-leveling them. This leveling speed was at least ten times faster than the other players. Even if Martial Union surrounded them and killed them once right now, with Shi Feng carrying them, they would quickly recuperate their losses. They did not need to fear having a confrontation with a large Guild like Martial Union at all. Red Leaf Town, Slums. Absolute Heaven was currently drinking away his sorrows in the Enchanted Bar. When the others saw Absolute Heaven, they all obediently distanced themselves to a corner, not daring to go near him at all. The reason was due to the waves of killing intent radiating off of Absolute Heaven. There was nobody who was willing to come into contact with that aura. Damn! I made a huge loss this time! Sooner or later, I will definitely have my revenge! Though Absolute Heaven did not feel heartache over the loss of his levels, it was a different story for the equipment he lost. It was especially true for the Blade of Assassination. As long as he put some time into it, he could easily catch up in terms of EXP. However, it was a different story for equipment. It was especially true for top-tier equipment. Those top-tier equipment were only obtainable through killing monsters or doing high-level quests. They were not something that could be obtained within a short amount of time. The opportunity was also needed to obtain them. _Just what is that clear-blue flame? After equipping his weapon, he could actually destroy my Mysterious-Iron Equipment with such ease, and even greatly reducing the durability of my Secret-Silver Weapons._ Recalling the Ice-Blue Devil Flame that surrounded Shi Fengs body, Absolute Heaven could not help but shudder in fear. To every player, the destruction of their equipment was much more terrifying than facing death itself. Just considering the future, every time he fought Shi Feng, he would once again risk the possibility of all of his hard-earned, top-tier equipment being destroyed. It was truly a nightmare! Brother Absolute Heaven, long time no see! I see that you still love drinking like always! a short-bearded man wearing a black cape said as he sat opposite to Absolute Heaven. South Wolf, why do you have the time to come looking for me? When Absolute Heaven looked at the person speaking to him, his previous indifferent attitude was completely gone. Of course, it is to congratulate you! the man named South Wolf said with a laugh, Didnt you always want to join Underworld? Right now, the higher-ups have already recognized your potential, and you already have the rights to become an outer member of Underworld. In the future, you too will be one of Underworlds members. I think you should know what this means, right? What? I passed the test? Absolute Heaven nearly jumped up from excitement. The frustration and depression Absolute Heaven felt from being killed by Shi Feng before were immediately swept clean. He no longer minded even the loss of the Blade of Assassination, as there was nothing more joyous than being able to join Underworld. In order to join Underworld, Absolute Heaven had spent three full years undergoing over a dozen assessments and tests. Now, he finally obtained Underworlds recognition, officially becoming one of Underworlds outer members. Underworld was a very mysterious organization. Its strength in the real world was extremely terrifying. The resources, influence, and information it possessed was not something any outsider could imagine. Just based on some of the identities of the outer members of Underworld that Absolute Heaven knew of was enough to astonish him greatly. However, for reasons unknown, Underworld started investing into virtual reality games some ten years ago. In order to join Underworld, the real world Assassin, Absolute Heaven, had also started playing virtual reality games. Right now, Underworld was paying unprecedented attention towards Gods Domain. Hence why Absolute Heaven decided to fully devote himself into Gods Domain. Now that he finally managed to become an outer member of Underworld, how could he not be excited? Absolute Heaven, werent you Level 9 the last time I saw you? Why are you Level 8 now? You couldnt have been killed by a player, right? the man named South Wolf joked as he downed his drink. He was extremely clear about Absolute Heavens strength. Absolute Heaven was definitely a top-tier Assassin. Moreover, the equipment on him was all of excellent quality, and he even had Secret-Silver Weapons. He also learned plenty of rare advanced skills. There were only a scant few players in Red Leaf Town who were capable of directly confronting Absolute Heaven. Moreover, the majority of these players would not have a win-rate of over 60%. As for players who would have a win-rate of 80% and above, in the entire Red Leaf Town, only the famous Snow Goddess could possibly achieve such a feat; it was absolutely impossible for other players. Moreover, if Absolute Heaven were to put all his might into escaping, even the Snow Goddess would not be able to hold him down. Now that Absolute Heaven lost a level, there was a high possibility that it was due to him accidentally dying while carrying out a high-difficulty Quest. However, after hearing South Wolf say so, Absolute Heavens expression abruptly turned gloomy, his mood turning extremely sour. It cant be, right? Were you really killed by someone? Who did it? Dont tell me you went and provoked the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow? You couldnt have been so foolish, right? Daring to provoke even her. Looking at Absolute Heavens dark expression, South Wolf immediately knew that he guessed correctly. He couldnt help but abruptly spit out all the alcohol in his mouth. 149 Freezing Shadow Im no fool. Why would I dig my own grave by provoking Gentle Snow? Absolute Heaven shook his head. If you didnt provoke Gentle Snow, then who killed you? I doubt that there is another expert like her in the entire Red Leaf Town. South Wolf could not help but become curious. Based on the information he obtained, the experts in Red Leaf Town only numbered so many. If it wasnt a top-tier expert like Gentle Snow, could there possibly be another top-tier expert appearing in Red Leaf Town without him knowing? South Wolfs curiosity deeply pierced Absolute Heavens pride. He tightly gripped his fist to the point where blood almost came out. He had spent such a long time planning and preparing so many measures. Originally, he had a 100% possibility to kill Shi Feng. However, the rate at which Shi Feng increased his strength had far surpassed Absolute Heavens estimations. Looking at Absolute Heavens silence, South Wolf could not help but let loose a smile. He was now even more interested in the expert that managed to kill Absolute Heaven. Absolute Heaven, you know what my job entails, right? Now that such an expert has appeared in Red Leaf Town, I need to know just who that person is, South Wolf looked at Absolute Heaven, asking in a low tone. Absolute Heavens expression turned sullen. He did not wish to tell anybody of this embarrassing matter at all, not to mention telling it to the South Wolf before him. Absolute Heaven had maintained a no-loss record for three whole years. Yet, today that record was ripped apart by the unknown Shi Feng. Moreover, today was even the big day where he got to join Underworld. With such an incident happening, it would definitely affect his standing in Underworld in the future. Hah I can understand how you are feeling right now. Youve managed to join Underworld after much difficulty, yet, you were immediately met with such an incident. It would definitely have a huge impact on your mood. However, this is my job. If you do not cooperate, as an outer member, you might even be expelled from the organization. You should think clearly about your decision, South Wolf said strictly. You Absolute Heaven was extremely aggravated. However, he could not retaliate against South Wolfs words at all. He could only forcefully suppress the burning rage in his heart, saying in a low tone, The persons a Swordsman called Ye Feng. Swordsman Ye Feng? Isnt that the Ye Feng that cleared the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard together with Gentle Snow? South Wolf entered into deep thought, Ive seen his battle recording before, and Ive also analyzed his strength. He is indeed an expert, but it is only up to a normal standard. He has no qualifications to join Underworld at all. Now that he has actually managed to kill you, however, it would seem that he has previously hidden quite a lot of his strength. What hidden strength? Its just dumb luck. I dont know where he got it from, but that flame of his was extremely powerful. It was able to destroy my equipment during battle, and that flame greatly reduced even the durability of my Secret-Silver Weapons. If it wasnt for that flame, he would have no chance at killing me at all, Absolute Heaven said in disdain. Flame? It could even destroy equipment, and not even Secret-Silver Weapons could block it? South Wolf became even more curious, I recall that Swordsmen do not possess such a skill. It should be some sort of special equipment skill. However, if not even a Secret-Silver Weapon could block it, the skill is definitely not anything simple. This special equipment quality must be extremely high. It must be a Dark-Gold ranked special equipment or item. However, even Dark-Gold items would not have such a strong effect. There is a substantial possibility that it is an Epic ranked item. Epic rank! Absolute Heaven was greatly astonished, It cant be, right? Right now, I havent even heard the news of someone obtaining a Dark-Gold ranked item. Yet he, as an independent player, could obtain an Epic ranked item? Whats there to be surprised about? Gods Domain is filled with mystery. Even if it is only at this stage of the game, there is no surprise at obtaining an Epic ranked item. Within Underworld, there has already been more than one person who obtained a Dark-Gold ranked item, but it is indeed my first time hearing about an Epic ranked item. However, this is still just a guess of mine. It requires deeper investigation. South Wolfs face was filled with joy. Thinking that he could obtain such information, even if it was only a possibility, he could still receive quite a reward from the higher-ups. If he could confirm this information, he might even be able to increase his standing within Underworld further. Ive already passed on all the information about which the Underworld wishes to inform you. Ill now go and investigate about that flame. If it truly is an Epic ranked item, as long as Ye Feng hands over that flame, taking into account his techniques, he might be able to become an outer member of Underworld. Within this period, you should avoid seeking him out for trouble. After all, you guys might be colleagues in the future, South Wolf said with a laugh as he departed from the bar. Damn it! Looking at South Wolfs unconcerned attitude as he departed, Absolute Heaven abruptly punched his fist onto the table. The beer bottles on the table all fell to the ground, breaking apart into fragments. Silent Swamp, Stream Falls. Shi Feng was currently leading Blackie and Lonely Snow to attack a jade-green, three-headed snake. [Three-headed Snake Demon] (Rare Elite) Level 16 HP 15,000/15,000 A Rare Elite was not much stronger when compared to a normal Elite monster of the same level. It was extremely rare for players to meet one, hence why it was called a Rare Elite. However, even these Rare Elites had specified respawn points. Only, they had many locations they could spawn from, so it was not easy to locate them at all. The loot of Rare Elites was much better than that of normal Elites. Hence why many players loved Rare Elites. There were only a total of five Rare Elites in the Silent Swamp. Amongst them, the weakest one was the Three-headed Snake Demon. Also, when a Rare Elite died, they would only respawn two days later. After carrying both Blackie and Lonely Snow to Level 10, Shi Feng himself reached Level 11 as well. He felt that they should roughly be able to kill the Three-headed Snake Demon, hence why they had spent a lot of time looking for it. Brother Feng, this Rare Elites Movement Speed is simply too fast. I cant land a hit on it at all. Blackie continuously used Dark Arrow to attack the Three-headed Snake Demon. However, the Snake Demon was extremely swift in its movements. It was able to dodge all the Dark Arrows that flew at it easily. No problems. You just need to use Curse to weaken the Three-headed Snake Demons speed and strength, Shi Feng said in the party chat. Previously, they obtained many good items from grinding the Swamp Hippos. Amongst those items was the Weakening Curse skill book for Cursemancers. The skill was able to reduce all the Attributes of the target by 15%, damage dealt by 15%, and increase the Darkness damage the target received by 10%. It was one of the signature skills of Cursemancers. In addition to the Evil Whip binding and restricting the Three-headed Snake Demon, and also Lonely Snows Charge and Break, Shi Feng could easily deal with this monster. The Three-headed Snake Demons main form of attack was a long-range venom attack. This venom was extremely terrifying, and even a Level 15 MT would not be able to withstand the sustained damage caused by the venom. Moreover, Basic Antidotes were completely ineffective against it. On the bright side, the Three-headed Snake Demon had very low physical damage. Moreover, the Three-headed Snake Demon had much less Defense when compared to the Steel-skinned Hippo. Just Shi Fengs normal attacks alone could deal over -150 damage to the Snake Demon. In addition to the Damage Amplification effect from Thundering Strike, each of Shi Fengs normal attacks could deal close to -200 damage. If he were to use a skill, then the damage dealt would exceed 300 to 400 points. With only 15,000 HP, the Three-headed Snake King stood no chance at all against Shi Fengs frightening damage. After ten minutes or so, the Three-headed Snake released a pained cry, its body smashing down into the stream. It also dropped five pieces of items. Brother Feng, your luck recently is getting better and better. Its even better than mine now, looking at the large number of good items dropping from the monster Shi Feng killed; Blackie could not help but curiously comment. According to his memories, Shi Fengs luck before was not very good. Even if Shi Feng killed Elite monsters, at most he would get one piece of Bronze Equipment. Now, he would get at least three pieces of Bronze Equipment, and even rare materials or skill books. It was truly unfathomable. Hahaha! Its a secret! Shi Feng smiled. He naturally would not reveal that it was due to the contribution of the Shadows Blessing. The effect of the 3 points in Luck was not something with which Blackie could catch up. Shi Feng then picked up the loot, discovering a very familiar item, Eh? Isnt this the Freezing Shadow? This thing really brings back memories. Brother Feng, what dropped? Blackie asked. Lonely Snow was also very curious. We got quite the good harvest. We got two Level 15 Bronze Equipment, one Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, one rare Dungeon Teleport Scroll, and one consumable item, the Freezing Shadow. We definitely hit the jackpot with this. Shi Feng displayed the Attributes on all the items for the two to see, Now that the Three-headed Snake is dead, it will take another two days before another respawns. Lets continue grinding Swamp Hippos, then. Just as Shi Feng and the others were about to continue grinding Swamp Hippos Shi Feng suddenly received a communication request. Whos South Wolf? Shi Feng looked at the caller ID, discovering that it was a stranger. Moreover, there was no such person in his memories, Since it is someone I dont know, lets just reject it then. Saying so, Shi Feng rejected the call. 150 Star River Valley After Shi Feng rejected the call, he continued searching for Swamp Hippos. He actually rejected South Wolf looked at the rejection notification, feeling a sense of discomfort in his heart. Normally, those with social standings would earnestly wish to converse with him in order to form friendly ties. Now, however, he was actually met with a situation like this. It was definitely a first for him. However, the ones above had already given him the command to make contact with Shi Feng. Hence, he could only endure it and continue attempting to contact Shi Feng. After he reported the information about Shi Feng and the flame, Underworld carried out an analysis on the effects of the flame. They immediately discovered that the flame was definitely extremely precious, and there was over a 70% chance that it could possibly be an Epic ranked item. Hence, South Wolf was tasked with negotiating with Shi Feng to obtain the flame for Underworld. South Wolf sucked in a few deep breaths, calming down his mood. He then sent another communication request to Shi Feng. However, every single request for communication was met with rejection. Crap! I cant believe this! Lets see how long you can keep on rejecting my calls! South Wolf sent a communication request once more. This is getting irritating Shi Feng rejected the request once again. He then adjusted the system settings to stop receiving calls from strangers. After turning off the system interface, Shi Feng suddenly felt that the world became much more peaceful and serene than before. Leader, I discovered a very special place here! The rivers are actually flowing in mid-air! There are also lots of golden-colored fish swimming in the silver-colored river! Moreover, these fish are all Level 20 Special Elites! Lonely Snow suddenly said in the party chat, his voice containing great excitement. A group of Level 20 Special Elite fish? Isnt this too much of an exaggeration? Lonely Snow, are you sure you saw right? Blackie did not believe Lonely Snows words at all. Special Elites! They were much stronger than ordinary Elite monsters. The reason being, Special Elites were very outstanding in a particular field. If it were not in terms of speed, then it would either be in terms of strength, magic, or something else. There were extremely few Special Elites in Gods Domain, and their rarity was comparable to Rare Elites. Not to mention finding a group of Special Elites, even meeting with a single one was extremely difficult. Its true! If you dont believe me, Ill send you a picture of it! After taking a look at the picture, it was indeed as Lonely Snow said. The location in the picture was like a wonderland on earth, dazzlingly beautiful. It was truly hard to imagine that the dark and damp Silent Swamp would have such a location in it. There were hundreds of big golden fish in the silver river, and they all shone brilliantly, creating a dazzling sight. Golden-colored fish? Shi Feng entered deep thought as he looked at the golden fish in the river. Suddenly, he thought of a possibility, What are the coordinates? Ill come over immediately. When Shi Feng and Blackie arrived at the silver-colored river, they discovered that this river was actually moving in position, though it moved at an extremely slow speed. Shi Feng and Blackie only managed to locate this river due to Lonely Snow continuously following it. _As expected... It is the Star River Valley._ Shi Feng smiled. Star River Valley was one of the rarely seen marvels in Gods Domain. These marvels would usually appear at maps that were below Level 50. Any players that were able to meet such marvels were all extremely lucky, as this meeting represented an opportunity. Shi Feng had once heard of a player obtaining a Fine-Gold ranked item from the Star River Valley. There was even a player who obtained an Epic ranked item, causing others to feel envious. However, there were also rumors that the person was just lying. Brother Feng, how do we deal with these big golden fish? Blackie felt a headache coming on just from looking at all the big golden fishes swimming in the silver-colored river. [Golden Fish] (Special Elite) Level 20 HP 100,000/100,000 Ignoring the level suppression, Attack, and Defense of the Golden Fishes, just their 100,000 HP was enough to bring a person to despair. These Golden Fish are swimming in a river thats floating in mid-air. Ive previously tested it out before, and I couldnt land an attack at all. However, if we solely depended on Blackies magical attacks, the damage dealt might not even match up with the Golden Fishs recovery speed. Lonely Snow said, Leader, do you have any good ideas? Lets take a look at the surroundings first, then. We might be able to discover some clues, Shi Feng said. It was also Shi Fengs first time meeting the Star River Valley. If their luck was good, they might receive a huge harvest, possibly even obtaining one or two pieces of Fine-Gold ranked items. En Blackie and Lonely Snow started searching through the entire region of the Star River Valley. After searching for over ten minutes, Blackie discovered an elderly man floating in mid-air. The elder was holding onto a fishing rod, fishing. Brother Feng, I found an NPC over here, Blackie excitedly said. Ill be there immediately, Shi Feng said, also becoming excited. The NPC elder was called Faust, and he was a Level 100 NPC that was capable of easily suppressing Shi Feng and the others. Respected elder, can we help you with anything? Shi Feng respectfully said. The elder, Faust, seemed not to have heard Shi Feng speaking. His eyelids remained shut as he quietly fished. He cant be deaf, right? Blackie said. He cant be a deaf person, right? Im guessing that his hearing is impaired. After all, that NPCs setting is that of an old man, so his hearing should have deteriorated. He should be able to hear us if we speak louder, Lonely Snow shook his head. This old man is the Great Faust. You adventurers are truly ill-mannered, daring to actually speak about this old man in such a way. This old man is going to give you two a punishment! Faust abruptly opened his eyes. Floating in mid-air, he looked at both Blackie and Lonely Snow as he spoke in a furious tone. Holy Crap! This NPC doesnt react to praises, but immediately reacts when we talk bad about him? Isnt his IQ too high? Blackie was shocked. Lonely Snow was also incomparably shocked. However, before the two of them could recover from their shock, Faust casually pointed a finger at them. The two of them suddenly floated high up into the air, before plunging down to the ground, nearly dying from the fall. After teaching the two a lesson, Faust started fishing once again. You two Shi Feng laughed as he spoke in the party chat, The NPCs in Gods Domain possess extremely high intelligence. This is especially true for almost all high-level NPCs. They are totally different from the average Joe. You guys should treat powerful NPCs with respect in the future. This time, Faust could be considered to have given you a light lesson. If he were to become truly angry, there is the possibility that he might even kill you. In Shi Fengs previous life, many players who paid little respect to NPCs. In the end, they were killed off by said NPCs. Shi Feng had even seen more severe cases where NPCs would kill off a player whenever they met. Brother Feng, why didnt you say so early? Blackie complained. I wanted to say it, but you guys spoke before I had a chance to say anything, Shi Feng shrugged, shoving away the blame. Di! Di! Di! Just as Shi Feng was about to reveal his strategy, the systems message notification constantly rang out. One after another, the message notifications created a symphony of beeps. Shi Feng became speechless. Just where did so many messages come from? Why is it South Wolf again?! Shi Feng did not think that this person called South Wolf would be so persistent. The person had actually sent several hundred messages over. He was truly insane. Do you dare accept a voice call? Do you know who I am?! Are you reading this?! I know youre reading this! There is a big opportunity awaiting you right now. You best contact me immediately! Looking at these messages, speaking from a certain perspective, this person called South Wolf was indeed a very awesome person. Shi Feng was extremely curious about why this person was trying to look for him. He also could not continue involving himself with this person, so he readjusted the system settings to allow calls from strangers again. 151 Come If You Can! Very quickly, South Wolfs communication request arrived. Who are you? If you have something to say, then say it quickly. Im very busy, Shi Feng said in an annoyed tone after picking up the call. You Do you know who I Shi Fengs words nearly caused South Wolf to lose it. However, in the end, he still endured it. After all, this was a task handed down to him from above, so he needed to carry out the job properly. If it were any other person who dared speak to him in such a way, they would definitely face a tragic end. If you have nothing to say, then Im hanging up, Shi Feng said. South Wolf furiously said, Why would I look for you if I have nothing to say?! Then speak of it quickly; Im very busy, Shi Feng said, annoyed. There was a huge opportunity right before his eyes, so where would he find the time to bicker with a stranger? South Wolf nearly burst out in rage once again at Shi Fengs words. A loose expert like Shi Feng dared to speak to him in such a way. However, after giving it some thought, South Wolf realized that Shi Feng only dared to speak to him in such a way due to not knowing his real identity. I need to calm down... Calm down __ South Wolf consoled himself, saying, As long as he knows my identity, he will definitely be shocked witless. I am the spokesperson for Underworld. I assume that you have never heard of the name of Underworld, right? Thats because Underworld is a gigantic hidden organization. If a person does not reach a certain degree of standard, they will have no qualifications for knowing about our existence at all. As for the strength of Underworld, I can tell you about it right now. Even if it is an assassination expert like Absolute Heaven, after striving for three years, only now did he manage to obtain the qualifications to become an outer member of Underworld. Until now, he was just an existence at the very bottom. What? Absolute Heaven is just an outer member of Underworld? Shi Feng was slightly shocked. Indeed, he had never heard of the name of Underworld before. He also did not know how powerful it was. However, if a top-tier assassin like Absolute Heaven was just an outer member, it could be seen just how unfathomable a background Underworld possessed. Shi Feng also did not think that South Wolf was speaking a lie. After experiencing so many things in Gods Domain, Shi Feng was rather proficient at determining whether a person was lying or not. Moreover, the way South Wolf spoke carried the hint of someone speaking down from high above, like an emperor overlooking commoners. This was not an action that could be faked. _They cant be wanting to take revenge because I killed Absolute Heaven, right?_ Shi Feng inwardly guessed. Previously, he had not discovered any Guild Emblem on Absolute Heavens person. Hence, he always thought that Absolute Heaven was a hidden expert working as a solo Assassin. He did not think that Absolute Heaven would have such backing. Hearing Shi Fengs shock, South Wolf felt slightly satisfied. Actually, this isnt anything special. Underworld also possesses an unimaginable influence in the real world. The resources and information we possess far exceed your imagination. Even as an outer member, the strength you possess could cause even a major corporation in a city to tremble. Even the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, that youre very familiar with, has to treat an intermediate member of Underworld with respect, not to mention the upper management of Underworld. South Wolf laughed, proudly saying, By telling you all this information, I am not trying to brag about Underworld, but instead, I am telling you just how powerful of a background Underworld possesses. If you dont believe me, you can go ask Gentle Snow. Without sufficient strength, one would not even have the qualifications to know about the existence of Underworld. Im contacting you to tell you that you have already received the attention of Underworld. You now possess the qualifications to join Underworld. Is it because I killed Absolute Heaven? Shi Feng calmly asked. En, you can put it that way. If you did not have the strength to kill Absolute Heaven, then you really would not be able to catch the attention of Underworld. South Wolf was slightly astonished. Shi Feng was actually not the least bit excited after hearing his words. If others were to receive a similar message, they would normally be ecstatic, wishing they could join immediately. After all, by joining Underworld, one could have many chances to become acquainted with a group of large characters. Carrying out tasks in the future would also become much more convenient. The information Underworld possessed far exceeded what one could imagine, and it would have an unimaginable benefit towards ones future development. So youre saying, as long as I agree, I can become an outer member of Underworld immediately? Shi Feng had long since weathered through plenty of storms. He was no longer that immature youth in his early twenties. Hence, he reacted extremely calmly. In Shi Fengs previous life, as the Guild Leader of Shadow, he had never heard of the existence of Underworld. However, Shi Feng did not find it strange either. After all, Shadow was only a second-rate Guild. In the eyes of first-rate Guilds, they were but an ant on the road, not worthy to be mentioned at all. You can put it that way as well. However, it would not be easy if you wish to join Underworld. Right now, you only possess the qualifications to join. Moreover, in Underworld, we have always believed that, if you wished to obtain something, then you need to pay an equivalent price for it. Only when you can afford the price to join Underworld, would you be able to officially become an outer member. Can you tell me what sort of price I need to pay? The price to join Underworld is a considerable amount. Even Absolute Heaven spent three years to join. However, you are extremely lucky. From my previous investigations, I discovered that there is a certain flame in your possession that is able to greatly increase your attack and destructive power. As long as you hand over that flame, and pay a monthly membership fee of 10 Gold Coins, you will officially become an outer member of Underworld. I see, realization struck Shi Feng. The organization, Underworld, was similar to a grand chamber of commerce in real life. If one wanted to join the organization, then they needed to pay the membership fee. However, not just anybody possessed the qualifications to join the organization. Within the organization, members would be able to form platforms for mutual assistance, information sharing, and resource sharing. With this, members would be able to obtain many more business opportunities to develop their own enterprises further. Since you understand, when are you prepared to pay the price? I cant stay too long in Red Leaf Town. I still have many other things that I need to do, South Wolf said with a laugh. As long as he could obtain the Epic ranked flame in Shi Fengs hands, coupling it with several years of accumulated contributions, he would be able to officially become an intermediate member of Underworld. At that time, he would be able to call the wind and rain as he pleased. Sorry, but I refuse to join. You should look for someone else, Shi Feng said in a stern tone. After his experience with Shadow, he no longer wished to join someone elses organization. Moreover, he did not need to join someone elses organization. With his advantage as a reincarnated person, he had knowledge of tons of information of which others were unaware. He also knew the trends in which the future would develop toward. If Underworld was seeking him out to cooperate as equals, then he could put some consideration into the matter. However, for him to become a member of Underworld, it would only be a different form of slaving off for someone else. Fortunately, he did not possess such a hobby. Right now, he could already start establishing a large Workshop. The goal of establishing a large Guild was also within close sight, so he truly did not see any need to join Underworld. The most valuable thing one could obtain within Underworld was information about Gods Domain. In the eyes of others, although such information was extremely precious, to Shi Feng it was common knowledge. The reason he spoke so much was simply to find out more about Underworld. What did you say? South Wolf thought he had heard incorrectly. After speaking for such a long time, Shi Feng had simply rejected him. Im not interested in joining Underworld. You should look for someone else, Shi Feng reiterated once more. After speaking so much, in the end, you are just toying with me? South Wolf angrily said, Do you know what kind of consequences your actions will bring? It is you who contacted me first. Now that I dont wish to join Underworld, are you going to threaten me to join? Shi Feng sneered. Since you dare to toy around with us, Underworld, you naturally have to pay the price. Hand over the flame, and Ill consider it as if this matter never happened. Otherwise, prepare to suffer Underworlds wrath! South Wolf threatened in a cold tone. Hahaha! You finally revealed your foxs tail. Since the beginning, your goal has always been the flame, right? You found out from Absolute Heaven that my flame is not anything simple, so you wish to have it for yourselves now, is it? Shi Feng calmly said, I only have one sentence to say to you: If you guys have the ability, then come! 152 Legendary Character South Wolf fell silent at Shi Fengs calm reply. He clearly informed Shi Feng of Underworlds background and its frightening might, yet, Shi Feng still resolutely chose to oppose Underworld, refusing to hand over the flame. This was the first time South Wolf encountered such a case. If you think that, just by being acquainted with and backing of Gentle Snow, Underworld will not dare target you, you couldnt be more wrong. South Wolf sneered, Even the currently famous Ouroboros does not dare possess enmity against Underworld, not to mention a measly First Vice-Leader. Ill give you one last chance to hand over the flame. That way, you can still play in Gods Domain comfortably. Otherwise, there will be no place to accommodate you in all of Gods Domain. It looks like you really dont understand human words. Or is there a problem with your intelligence? Shi Feng laughed disdainfully, You wish to take something that belongs to me just with just a few words? Do you think that your family runs Gods Domain or something? Ill tell you one more time; if you have the ability, then come! Im eager to see just what you can do to me! If it were his last life, Shi Feng might have yielded. However, it was a different story altogether now. In this life, he possessed both the capital and confidence to challenge a gigantic existence like Underworld. After reincarnating, Shi Fengs goal in life was to complete the dream he never accomplished in his previous life, establishing his own virtual empire. On this path, he was destined to make enemies of the many major powers of Gods Domain. If he lowered his head to Underworld now, how could he challenge the tyrants of Gods Domain in the future? How could he compete over the resources, territory, equipment, and such in Gods Domain? Although Underworlds influence was massive, and its influence in reality similarly great, when faced with Gods Domain, the globally acknowledged second world, nary a power in the world could interfere with the Main God System, not to mention a measly Underworld. Even if Underworld wished to investigate Shi Fengs identity in real life, it was an impossible task to achieve. After over a hundred years of operation and improvements, the privacy of players in virtual reality games was nigh perfect. It was also impossible to uncover a persons identity through virtual trades. Very good! Since it seems that you have truly steeled your heart to oppose Underworld, you better make your preparations to enter hell! South Wolf was so angry, he smiled. He truly did not think that there would be a person who did not fear death. Shi Feng was but a single independent player, and he only dared speak those conceited words because he did not know the terror of Underworld at all. In South Wolfs view, Shi Feng was just an arrogant and presumptuous fool who did not know fear. Underworlds main influence covered two empires and several kingdoms, Star-Moon Kingdom included. As long as he reported this matter to the higher-ups, within a few days, an independent player like Shi Feng would no longer remain mingling in Gods Domain. At that time, Shi Feng would have no choice but to offer up that Epic ranked flame. Hell, is it? Ive enjoyed its atmosphere plenty of times before, and entering yours wont make any difference! Shi Feng shrugged, smiling insolently as he spoke. Shi Feng now possessed the Ice-Blue Devil flame. With his current battle prowess, he did not fear any player in the least. If they wished to gang up on him, he would use guerilla warfare to deal with them. His leveling speed was extremely rapid, so he could afford to face off against them. He did not believe that there was any Guild or power that could afford to waste that much manpower and resources to continuously battle him in Red Leaf Town. After speaking his piece, Shi Feng disconnected the call. Brother Feng, what happened? Blackie could feel Shi Fengs rage from the conversation he just had. Nothing much; it was just someone trying to rob me, Shi Feng shook his head, casually describing Underworld as a bandit. Were better off thinking of a way to get information off of that elderly NPC. Okay, Blackie nodded, agreeing. Although Shi Feng spoke lightly, Blackie knew that the matter was not as simple as Shi feng described. Blackie inwardly hated himself for not being any help to Shi Feng. If he could become more powerful, he might be of help to Shi Feng in the future. In actuality, Blackie was not alone in this train of thought. Lonely Snow also detected the abnormality in Shi Fengs tone, and he similarly hated himself for being so weak and helpless. _I must work harder to improve my technique and strength! At the very least, I cant remain as dead-weight to Brother Feng!_ Suddenly, the two of them held an eager desire to increase their own strength. \--- Meanwhile, after Shi Feng hung up on him, South Wolf immediately contacted the upper echelons of Underworld. South Wolf, how is the matter regarding the Epic ranked item coming along? Young Master Feng, Ive already tried my best, but that brat Ye Feng still refused. He also looked down on Underworld, telling us to come at him if we have the ability. Hahaha! Hes truly an interesting fellow! It is no wonder Snow is paying attention to him. I havent met such an arrogant person for a very long time now. Since he has rejected my good intentions, let him disappear from Gods Domain. Ill give you the authority to mobilize all of Underworld in White River City, so quickly fetch me that item. Yes, this subordinate will definitely succeed. After the call ended, South Wolf released a sigh of relief. Listening to that persons tone, they were definitely angry. Otherwise, that person would not have given him the authority to mobilize the full strength of Underworld in White River City just to deal with a single Ye Feng. Ye Feng, lets see how long you continue acting freely. Very soon, Ill show what kind of place hell really is. Just thinking of Shi Feng was enough to cause South Wolfs belly to fill with rage. However, when he thought about how he could operate all the power of Underworld in the White River City region, he could not help his excitement. Although Underworld had a very low member count, each and every one of them were elite experts. Some were even the upper echelons of major Guilds. If he gathered all of the members within the White River City region, the total power might even surpass that of a third-rate Guild in White River City. Being able to mobilize such a power, just thinking of it gave him an invigorating feeling. Moreover, a majority of Underworlds members were players who walked the path of darkness. What they loved most was murder, and they were the best at dealing with independent players like Shi Feng. \--- Meanwhile, as South Wolf thought of ways to deal with Shi Feng, the person, himself, was in the process of having a conversation with the NPC named Faust, albeit a one-sided one. According to Shi Fengs understanding, Faust was a strange old man. Although Faust was a strange old man, he was also a legendary character. He was once known as the Elemental Dominator. During his youth, Faust had once killed a mighty dragon and had even sealed the Great Demon King. A Great Demon King was the human equivalent of a Tier 5 class. Moreover, Faust was once a teacher to the emperor of the Black Dragon Empire. Rumor had it that Faust had once fought against a God and survived the encounter. However, when he reached the age of 100, he suddenly started wandering all over Gods Domain. Right now, Faust was already an old monster that exceeded the age of 300. As to how powerful Faust was right now, Shi Feng was unable to properly discern that. In short, Fausts strength was immeasurably deep. Hence, it was extremely difficult to start a conversation with Faust. The first condition to do so was to have sufficient strength to attract Fausts attention. The second condition was to have delicious cooking. Only when both of these conditions were fulfilled would Faust give out a Rare Quest called Delicious Golden Fish. When this quest was completed, one could obtain a reward. In reality, displaying sufficient strength to Faust was a simple task. To do so, one merely needed to deal over 100 damage to the Golden Fish. However, it was an extremely difficult challenge for players below Level 20 to cause over 100 damage. At the very minimum, one needed to be Level 20 and possess a complete set of Bronze Set Equipment and a Mysterious-Iron Weapon to achieve such damage. Moreover, before one displayed their strength, they needed to initiate a conversation with Faust. On the surface, Faust appeared to not take notice of players; in reality, he secretly paid attention. Yet, just when Shi Feng was about to inform Blackie and Lonely Snow about these conditions, the two of them started cursing at Faust. However, this could also attract Fausts attention... 153 Legendary Item After attracting Fausts attention, Shi Fengs remaining task was to deal damage to the Golden Fish. These Level 20 Golden Fish currently swam within the bright silver river suspended in mid-air. The river was around 25 to 30 yards above the ground, making it impossible for any normal melee class to attack the Golden Fish. Moreover, the Golden Fish had scales as hard as diamonds, and it was nigh impossible for players below Level 20 to cause them over 100 damage in a single attack. The Golden Fish possessed a very high magic resistance as well, reducing the magic damage they received by 40%. Also, the Golden Fish swam at exceptionally fast speeds in the silver river, making them extremely hard to hit. As a result, there were many players who gained nothing despite having found the Star River Valley. One thing that greatly differed Gods Domain from other virtual reality games was that, in Gods Domain, there were many of fortuitous encounters available out in the field. These encounters could allow a player to soar to fame and power overnight, and Shi Feng had seen many such examples before. However, even though there were plenty of fortuitous encounters available in Gods Domain, encountering one did not necessarily guarantee any harvests. Whether one could obtain anything from such an encounter depended on ones abilities. Blackie, Lonely, you two take this. Shi Feng took two Basic Frost Grenades from his bag, passing them to the two. Previously, to obtain the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, he used a lot of the Frost Grenades he stocked up. Right now, there were less than twenty remaining, and they were not enough to deal with all the Golden Fish in the silver river. Wah! Arent these Frost Grenades effects too powerful? These are godly tools for PK and grinding! If we could use them without limit, then our leveling speed would be absolutely heaven-defying! Blackie said, shocked, after taking a look at the Frost Grenades introduction. Just imagine if they used these Frost Grenades to grind on groups of Level 30 monsters They might even level up once every minute! At that time, what would Martial Union amount to them? Just the level suppression alone would be enough to oppress them to death. It would be fantastic if we could get more of these. In the future, if PKers surround us, we wouldnt even have to use a single skill to deal with them. Just by throwing a dozen or so of these Frost Grenades, they would definitely fall dead. However, with effects as good as these, Im guessing that these items should be extremely rare and precious, Lonely Snow lamented. Indeed. Not to mention using them for grinding and PK, just having a few of these tools of massacre as lifesavers would be good enough. The longer Blackie looked at the Frost Grenade in his hand, the more he could not bear to part with it. With this item in hand, he could use it to save his life at the most crucial of moments. hi Feng only revealed a smile at the twos reactions. He took out another Frost Grenade for himself, turning to look at the Golden Fish in the suspended river, saying, Stop chatting. In a moment, Ill count down to three, and well all throw our Frost Grenades at the Golden Fish together. Blackie and Lonely Snow looked at the Frost Grenades in their hands, reluctance filling their eyes. Brother Feng, using the Frost Grenades to deal with these Golden Fish is just too wasteful. The Golden Fish have 100,000 HP each. The 200 damage from these Frost Grenades will not make any difference. Moreover, these items can be used at a crucial moment to save our lives. Using them right now is simply a waste! Thats right, Leader! Blackie and Lonely Snow both tried to persuade Shi Feng. His actions right now were simply that of a wastrel! Shi Feng was dumbfounded and speechless at the twos persuasion. Previously, he had used these Frost Grenades to grind to Level 9. Just use them with ease! I still have plenty of them in my possession. Later, Ill give every member of the party 30 of these Frost Grenades, Shi Feng said with a laugh. Blackie and Lonely Snow were immediately shocked, even thinking that they had heard wrong. A Frost Grenade was such a precious item, yet, Shi Feng planned to give each of them 30 in the future? This was simply madness! In the future, if they met those bastards from Martial Union, with the Frost Grenades in hand, couldnt they utterly massacre them? With Shi Fengs assurance, the two of them followed Shi Fengs instructions, throwing their Frost Grenades at the Golden Fish suspended in mid-air. _Boom!_ The Frost Grenades exploded in the midst of the silver river. Even though the Golden Fish were adept at dodging, the explosion radius of the Frost Grenades was extremely wide. Some of the Golden Fish that did not manage to escape immediately froze solid, damages of over -100 points appearing above their heads. Faust, sitting suspended in mid-air, stroked his white beard. He nodded his head, saying, Not bad. It seems that you guys have some ability, to actually cause some damage to these Golden Fish. Esteemed Lord Faust, we are only here to catch some Golden Fish to cook. We hope that our brutish actions did not disturb you, Shi Feng acted courteously as he said. Oh? I didnt think that you guys would be interested in cooking these Golden Fish, when Faust heard the word cook, a flash immediately appeared in his eyes. Since you guys wish to catch the Golden Fish, I wonder if you can help me catch some live ones as well? My strength is too strong, and I will simply kill these Golden Fish if I am not careful. This dilemma has left me with no choice but to slowly fish here. This Shi Feng said with a hesitant expression. Relax; I wont mistreat you all. As long as you can obtain a satisfactory amount of Golden Fish for me, I can trade some items for them. How about it? Faust casually waved his hand, and immediately, tens of items with pleasing appearances appeared and floated in mid-air. Every single one of these tens of items was extremely valuable. Moreover, beside the items introduction, the amount of Golden Fish required to trade for the item was displayed as well. Brother Feng, look! Thats a Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked staff! There! Thats a Mysterious-Iron ranked mage robe! Wah! Thats a Fine-Gold ranked cloth armor armguard! Blackie instantly drooled at the sight of these items. Lonely Snow also discovered a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked two-handed axe, his eyes sparkling at the sight of the weapon. Moreover, the Attributes of the weapon were simply mind-blowing. If he equipped that weapon, his Attack Power would instantly soar by several times. He could get rid of an MT of the same level with just two to three attacks. However, amongst the many items, an item with a faint orange glow attracted Shi Fengs attention. That was the glowing effect only found on Legendary ranked items! A Legendary ranked item? Shi Feng was shocked. Previously, he had only heard of players obtaining an Epic item at most from the Star River Valley. Shi Feng had even doubted the reliability of the information. Now, however, it seemed that the information was indeed true. The rarity of a Legendary item was several tens of times greater than that of an Epic item. If a Legendary item were already present among the rewards, it would not be strange for there to be an Epic item as well. In Shi Fengs previous life, even after he reached Level 200 and became a top-tier Sword King, he did not possess a single Legendary ranked item. To Shi Feng, a Legendary ranked item was but a fleeting dream. Only the extremely few Tier 4 apex experts would possess one or two Legendary items. It was obvious just how rare a Legendary item was. Meanwhile, these players who possessed one or two Legendary items, even if they were only at the peak of Tier 4, their battle prowess would not be any weaker than a Tier 5 player that did not possess any Legendary items. It was apparent just how much of an improvement a Legendary item provided to a players strength. Shi Feng did not think that, in this life, he would bear witness to a Legendary ranked item. This situation was no different than a dream. It was not just Shi Feng who discovered the Legendary ranked item. Even Blackie and Lonely Snow noticed it, as the orange glow that the item gave off was simply too eye-catching. Brother Feng, Im not dreaming, right? Thats a Legendary ranked item, right!? Blackie pinched his own cheeks, saying. Meanwhile, Lonely Snow was speechless from excitement. He kept clapping Blackies shoulders as he pointed towards the Legendary item. You guys are not hallucinating. That is indeed a Legendary ranked item. It is also something that I chanced upon. However, this item is useless to me. Although it is possible to obtain this item if you want it, it wont be so easy, Faust stroked his beard as he said with self-satisfaction. He felt extremely satisfied by the shocked expressions of Shi Feng and the others. At this time, Shi Feng had calmed down. Although a Legendary item was right before his eyes, obtaining it was an entirely different matter. As for snatching the item away from Faust, that would be no different than suicide. They could only follow the rules to obtain it. Shi Feng then clicked to look at the Legendary items introduction. [Heavenly Dragons Sacred Breath] (Fragmented Legendary Rank) 154 A Quest that is Impossible to Complete Fragmented Legendary rank? Shi Feng was slightly surprised, but he still felt that it was reasonable. In Shi Fengs previous life, the statistics showed that, after operating for over ten years, there were no more than 3,000 Legendary ranked items discovered in Gods Domain. Right now, however, Gods Domain had only recently started operation. So, how would it be possible for a Legendary item to appear here so easily? Just a fragment alone was already a miracle in and of itself. Blackie and Lonely Snow were dumbfounded after seeing that the item was only Fragmented Legendary rank. They got all excited over something that was completely different from what they imagined. As a result, their fiery, passionate hearts instantly cooled. Isnt this just a scam? Didnt you say that it was a Legendary item? Why is it only a fragment? Blackie complained to Faust. It was no wonder the strange old man was so generous as to take out a Legendary ranked item. In reality, it was only a fragment. It was not even close to a Legendary item at all. You little brats, arent you being too greedy here? Do you think that Legendary ranked items are like cabbages? Do you think you can just find one in any random place? Faust, flabbergasted, scolded, Moreover, do you think that you brats can successfully obtain it? Youre better off looking for something else. Im not trying to belittle you all, but with your current abilities, it is an absolutely impossible goal. Dont waste your energy on such thoughts. I will cast a spell to strengthen you all, give you the ability to float in mid-air, and deal increased damage to the Golden Fish. As long as you severely injure the Golden Fish, for a short time, the Golden Fish will enter a crippled state and wont be able to move. At that time, use these magical nets to catch them. Following which, Faust took out three golden-colored, magical nets, handing them over to Shi Fengs group. He then chanted some incantations, providing Shi Fengs group with over a dozen buffs, greatly increasing the threes Attributes. Their Attributes multiplied by almost three to four folds, and at the same time, they could ignore up to 15 Levels. Who says we wont obtain? With such powerful Attributes, the Heavenly Dragons Breath will definitely be ours! looking at his increased Attributes, Blackies confidence instantly grew by over a hundred-fold. Lonely Snow nodded in agreement as well. He could not help but wish he could begin his assault on the Golden Fish immediately. Regarding Shi Fengs strength, the two of them held an almost blind faith in it. Shi Feng had simply shown them too many miracles. His battle techniques were even matchless. Hahaha! Young folk being so confident is a good thing indeed. However, you should first look at the exchange quantities. Faust stroked his white beard as he laughed. He did not mind Blackies words at all. The three of them immediately checked the exchange quantities. Level 15 Bronze ranked item and Level 20 Bronze ranked item required 1 to 2 Golden Fish. Level 15 Mysterious-Iron ranked item and Level 20 Mysterious-Iron ranked item required 3 to 5 Golden Fish. Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked item and Level 20 Secret-Silver ranked item required 10 to 15 Golden Fish. Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked item and Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked item required 30 to 50 Golden Fish. Level 15 Dark-Gold ranked item and Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked item required 100 to 200 Golden Fish. Fragmented Legendary ranked item required 1,000 Golden Fish. There were a lot of Golden Fish in the entire silver river. At a single glance, one could tell that there were several thousand Golden Fish in the river. Blackie and Lonely Snow could not help but smile. Here I thought you required some astronomical amount. Isnt it just a thousand Golden Fish? Well quickly gather them up for you, Blackie laughed. Shi Feng also felt that it would not be difficult for them to obtain a thousand Golden Fish. Only, it would require a lot of time to do so. However, to obtain a Fragmented Legendary rank item, even spending several days would be worth it. Just as Shi Feng and the other two were about to take action... Before you all start, I need to give you a small reminder. The Star River Valley will not remain in the Silent Swamp for too long. At most, it will disappear from the Silent Swamp in four to five hours. I, too, will disappear with it. If you do not hand the Golden Fish to me before that happens, you wont receive any rewards, Faust revealed a slight smile as he spoke. System: Rare Quest Delicious Golden Fish accepted. Within the allocated amount of time, catch as many Golden Fish as you can and hand them over to Faust. The more you catch, the better the rewards will be. Although there was a time limit, Blackie and Lonely Snow still brimmed with confidence. Even if they could not obtain other equipment, it would be enough if they obtained the Heavenly Dragons Breath. Four to five hours, is it? Shi Feng looked at Fausts smiling figure, inwardly feeling that the matter was not as simple as it appeared. Otherwise, why would Faust be so generous as to show off a Fragmented Legendary rank item for exchange? However, time was of the essence. The three of them immediately started catching the Golden Fish. At this moment, Shi Fengs communication notification rang up again; the calls requestor was Gentle Snow. Miss Snow, I truly have to thank you for your support last time. Otherwise, those internet trolls would have painted me as a scammer, Shi Feng jokingly said. In his heart, Gentle Snow was definitely someone worth his friendship, and all her care and aid towards him had clearly proven this matter. At least you still have a good heart, Gentle Snow laughed sweetly. More importantly, Im contacting you this time just to ask you about a single matter. What happened? Shi Feng inwardly felt that Gentle Snow behaved somewhat strangely today. Did you come into contact with people from Underworld? Gentle Snow suddenly asked. Thats right; they contacted me, Shi Feng nodded his head, saying. Hearing Shi Fengs acknowledgment, Gentle Snow could not help but ask in curiosity, Just what happened between you? Nothing much. They just wanted something from me, and I refused to give it to them, Shi Feng calmly said. How could this be? Although I dont know what actually happened, dont try to trick me. If it is only a small matter like this, that person from Underworld would not specifically send me a message, telling me not to get involved. What exactly happened between you two? If you tell me the truth right now, I might be able to offer some help. Underworlds strength is definitely not something an unrated Guild like Martial Union could compare to. Just its strength in White River City alone is probably more than ten times that of Martial Union. There are also plenty of top-tier experts amongst their ranks that walk the path of darkness. If they go all-out to deal with you, it might not even be safe for you to stay within the confines of the town. Gentle Snows tone turned grave as she spoke. A hint of fear towards Underworlds power also colored her tone. She simply could not understand how an independent player like Shi Feng could anger Underworld to such a degree. It was truly unbelievable. Its true. Why would I lie to you? They only wished to obtain something that I possess; I simply refused them and told them to bring it on, if they can. There really isnt anything else, Shi Feng said with a bitter smile. You call that _nothing else_? I truly admire you right now. You are the first one to actually dare provoke Underworld in such a way, Gentle Snow nearly choked when she heard Shi Fengs words. Fortunately, your matter isnt too severe. Ill try to explain to the management of Underworld and see if this matter can be settled. Hopefully this event will become bygones. Shi Feng did not particularly mind the matter of Underworld trying to deal with him. In any case, adding one more to his list of enemies wouldnt make much of a difference. However, seeing Gentle Snow earnestly trying to help him, he couldnt just not give her face and reject her kind intentions. Thank you. No need for that. Were friends after all, and it is only natural for friends to help each other. Just dont forget to sell me any high-level equipment that you dont need in the future. Gentle Snow revealed a faint smile before hanging up. Soon after, Shi Feng joined Blackie and Lonely Snows fishing party. However, before Shi Feng had even reached the Golden Fish and attacked them, he quickly discovered a problem. After his Attributes increased, Blackie was comparable to a powerful Level 20 Cursemancer equipped with a complete Secret-Silver Set Equipment and a Fine-Gold Weapon. However, even then, Blackies attacks dealt less than 400 damage to the Golden Fish. Moreover, the Movement Speed of the Golden Fish was extremely quick in the silver river. Even if Blackies techniques improved by quite a lot, out of ten Dark Arrows he sent out, only five managed to find their targets. As a result, Blackies damage output was greatly reduced. The Golden Fishs 100,000 HP was like a huge mountain. Meanwhile, on Lonely Snows side, he felt even more helpless. The Golden Fish only dodged and did not attack. Not mentioning whether a melee class could land a hit, to begin with, just trying to chase after the Golden Fish was a big problem. In addition, the Golden Fishs physical defense was simply too high. Lonely Snows normal attacks only dealt around 200 damage, and his overall damage output could not even compare to Blackies. To strike a Golden Fish down to critical health, the two of them, with their strengths combined, needed to spend over four minutes concentrating their attacks. The total quest duration was only around four to five hours. At this rate, they could only catch around 70 Golden Fish within five hours. They would not even hit one-tenth of the required 1,000 Golden Fish. 155 Devour Once More After spending a long amount of time, Blackie and Lonely Snow finally managed to catch a Golden Fish. At this moment, they both realized that they had greatly underestimated the difficulty of the challenge. Not to mention a Fragmented Legendary ranked item, even a Dark-Gold ranked item was a fanciful delusion. This old man has already said that your strengths are just too weak. Stop thinking about the Heavenly Dragons Breath and be more realistic. Otherwise, you all might not get anything in the end, Faust, who floated in the air, smiled. In reality, Faust only teased Shi Fengs group for fun by taking out the Fragmented Legendary rank item. In Gods Domain, even a Fragmented Legendary rank item was an incomparably precious item. Its value was over ten times that of an Epic ranked item. If one were lucky, one might even restore the Legendary Fragment into a true Legendary ranked item. So, who would be willing to give it away? This was why Faust had set such an unreasonable and unattainable amount for exchange. That damned old man! He is clearly just toying with us! Blackie cursed in the party chat. Leader, what do we do now? Should we just give up on the Fragmented Legendary and Dark-Gold ranked items and just go for a Fine-Gold ranked item? Lonely Snow had already given up on an unattainable item. Shi Feng shook his head, saying, You guys focus on catching the Golden Fish. Ill try by myself. It was impossible for Shi Feng to give up on the Fragmented Legendary rank item. Who knew when he would have another chance to meet with a Fragmented Legendary ranked item? Moreover, the difficulty of obtaining one at that time would definitely be much higher than now. If he couldnt even obtain a Fragmented Legendary ranked item, how could he secure a Legendary ranked item in the future? Soon after, with his Attributes now greatly increased, Shi Feng rushed towards a Golden Fish that currently swam in the silver river. Chop! A black light slashed at the Golden Fishs soft-sided abdomen. He struck the Golden Fish before it could even react, a damage of over -1,400 points appearing above its head. Immediately after, Shi Feng sent a normal slash at the Golden Fish, causing over -800 damage. Following which, Shi Feng brandished the Silver Lake in his hand. Three electric arcs wove across eight Golden Fish. Instantly, damages of -1056, -1384, and -1758 appeared above their heads. In the blink of an eye, the Golden Fish lost over 6,000 HP. The frightening damage surprised Faust. Not bad, Faust praised as he stroked his white beard. However, he still did not hold a thread of belief that Shi Feng could procure the Heavenly Dragons Breath. On the other hand, there was a large possibility for him to secure a Dark-Gold ranked item. Brother Feng! Leader! Looking at the damage Shi Feng had caused, Blackie and Lonely Snow forgot to continue attacking the Golden Fish as their eyes filled with fanaticism and excitement. With such frightening damage, there might really be a hope of completing the quest. Dont just stare at me; continue your attacks! Shi Feng said in the party chat, his hands not halting their actions as he spoke. Shi Fengs intense attacks quickly caused the Golden Fishs HP to fall at flying speeds. In the end, Shi Feng had only spent about 100 seconds to capture a Golden Fish, using around two-fifths of Blackie and Lonely Snows time. As expected, its still not enough, Shi Feng wrinkled his brows. At this rate, even if Shi Feng continuously attacked and captured the Golden Fish without stop, he would, at most, capture 170 to 190 Golden Fish. There would still be an immense gap from the targeted 1,000 Golden Fish. Hahaha! Young man, you have truly given me a shock! However, Ive already said this before, you all should not try to obtain the Fragmented Legendary ranked item. With all three of you combined, it would be good enough to trade for one or two Dark-Gold ranked items, Faust laughed with confidence. Naturally, Shi Feng did not give up at Fausts words. Suddenly, a clear-blue flame appeared floating above Shi Fengs palm. This flame was the Ice-Blue Devil flame. The Ice-Blue Devil Flame wrapped around Shi Fengs entire body, increasing Shi Fengs damage by 20%. Ive truly underestimated you. You can even control a Mysterious Flame, when Faust saw the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, he was once more given a shock. Looking at the Mysterious-Flames power, it should be a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame. Mastering a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame at such a young age, you are truly not a simple fellow. Unfortunately, it is still not enough. With the support of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, Shi Fengs damage soared once more. He then attacked zealously, filling the sky with sword images. Now, his normal slashes alone could deal over a thousand damage, while his Chop dealt over -1,700 damage. The most frightening was the Thunder Flame Explosion, dealing over -3,000 damage. In the end, Shi Feng only spent around one minute to successfully catch a Golden Fish. Moreover, Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter, and Thunder Flame Explosion also dealt some damage to the other Golden Fish. Only, the Cooldowns for these skills were too long. In addition to the Golden Fish constantly swimming about, never staying in a single place, the effects of these AOE skills were extremely limited. Continuing at this pace, Shi Feng could catch somewhere over 300 Golden Fish in 5 hours. However, it was still a great distance from 1,000. _Am I really not able to attain the Fragmented Legendary ranked item?_ Shi Feng felt very reluctant. No matter what was said, a Fragmented Legendary ranked item was simply too rare. Finding one now was only due to heaven-defying luck. Hahaha! Dont be discouraged, young man. You have already performed quite well. If you all can capture 400 Golden Fish, I can trade you an Epic ranked item. Consider it as a reward for your efforts, Faust smiled, consoling. It had been very long since he had seen a youth with such a fighting spirit. However, with Shi Feng and the others current standards, there was not a great likelihood they could earn even an Epic ranked item. That damned old man! He only knows how to toy with us! Even if we have a full five hours right now, our chances of catching 400 Golden Fish are less than 40%, Blackie cursed in the party chat. Having learned his lesson, he no longer cursed out directly. _My Attack Power is still too low; my Attack Speed is also too slow. I need an increase to my damage and speed._ Shi Feng entered deep thought as he tried to think of a way to increase his abilities. If he used the Intermediate Frost Grenades, with all three of them bombarding a wide area of the silver river, they might capture over 400 Golden Fish. The problem was, however, that he simply did not have that many Intermediate Frost Grenades. Moreover, each Intermediate Frost Grenade cost 10 Silver Coins. A single Intermediate Frost Grenade could deal around -500 damage to the Golden Fish. Then, killing a Golden Fish would require 200 Intermediate Frost Grenades, which would cost up to 20 Gold Coins. Taking into account the effective area of the Frost Grenades, every 200 Frost Grenades would kill around 20 Golden Fish, making the value of each Golden Fish the equivalent of 1 Gold Coin. Meanwhile, 1,000 Golden Fish would equal to 1,000 Gold Coins. Although purchasing a Fragmented Legendary ranked item for 1,000 Gold Coins was no different than daylight robbery, to begin with, Shi Feng did not possess nearly that much money. Hence, this method was not feasible. _What should I do?_ _How can I increase my Attack Power?_ Shi Feng flipped through his bag. He managed to think of over a dozen methods, but not one of them were feasible. At this moment, Shi Feng discovered the Level 10 Fine-Gold ranked greatsword that he collected from the Sun Temple. This greatsword was something he had prepared for the Abyssal Blades level up. He had completely forgotten about it due to being too busy. Now that he collected ten Silver Dawns, he could level up the Abyssal Blade. _Thats right! If I can raise the Abyssal Blade to Level 10, its Attributes will massively increase. Maybe it would be possible at that time!_ Inspiration struck Shi Feng. There would be a checkpoint for weapons at every ten levels, and there would be a big improvement when these checkpoints were reached. Right now, the Level 5 Abyssal Blade could rival a Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapon. If it devoured a Fine-Gold Weapon and ten Secret-Silver Weapons, it would undergo an impressive growth. Lets start devouring, then. Shi Feng immediately chose to level up the Abyssal Blade, starting the devouring process. 156 Black Dragon Coming into Being At a glance, the Kabulu Wilderness was comprised mainly of silt and gravel. There were also plenty of abandoned pastures and farmland. From time to time, sounds of crows cawing reverberated throughout the land. Level 10 monsters, such as White-tusk Boars, Large Bisons, and vultures, roamed this land, and they were all extremely ferocious. At this stage of the game, a Level 10 monster area was an extremely dangerous place for players. However, in a certain pasture in the Kabulu Wilderness, a twenty-man team currently grinded on White-tusk Boars. Were almost finished clearing out the monsters over here. Little Shadow, go lure some more monsters over, a handsome youth commanded. This youth wore a set of golden armor and wielded a greatsword. Yes, the Level 9 Assassin called Little Shadow very respectfully answered. He then turned to lure more monsters. If an average player witnessed this scene, they would probably be incomparably shocked. A Level 9 Assassin wearing Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment was definitely an expert of Gods Domain. No matter which large Guild such an expert joined, he would be one of the upper-echelons of the Guild. However, such an expert was unexpectedly willing to take on the role of an errand boy, and there was not even a hint of resentment or rage in his eyes when treated as such. On the contrary, there was even a hint of pride in them. What? Snow? the golden armored youth was slightly surprised when he received a communication request from this person. He picked up the call and spoke in a soft tone, Snow, its been awhile since youve contacted me. How have you been recently? I really dont know why you insist on staying in a Guild like Ouroboros. Wont you develop further if you join me in Underworld? Feng Xuanyang, Ive already said it before; I will not join Underworld. I will depend on myself to create my own legacy. Im only looking for you today to ask for your help on a matter, Gentle Snow calmly said. Say it, then. As long as its a request from you, Snow, I will strive to fulfill it, the golden armored youth immediately said with a smile. This was the first time Gentle Snow had came to him asking for help. Previously, Gentle Snow had constantly tried to put distance between them, so this was a golden opportunity for him to show off. Its nothing big. Its about the message that you sent me before, telling me to stay out of that matter. I understand the crux of the problem, and isnt it just a small conflict? Moreover, Ye Feng is a friend of mine. So, I hope that you can give me some face and let this matter go, Gentle Snow said. Ye Feng, is it? Feng Xuanyang wrinkled his brows. He did not think that Gentle Snow would ask him about this matter. Thats right; its Ye Feng. What are your thoughts? Gentle Snow asked. Since youve already spoken, naturally, there will be no problems. You can rest assured; Ill talk to my subordinates about it, Feng Xuanyang smiled. oon after, Gentle Snow disconnected the call. Snow, why would you care so much about that Ye Feng? You dont usually pay much attention to anyone else. Dont tell me youve taken a liking to that brat? Zhao Yueru, who stood beside Gentle Snow, giggled, the expression she revealed suggesting the two must be involved with each other. Youre overthinking things, Gentle Snow rolled her eyes at Zhao Yueru. She then said in a soft tone, Moreover, dont forget who it was that gave us the Potionmaking recipe. Not only did it allow you to become an Intermediate Potionmaking Apprentice, but you are also earning a lot of money with it. Arent you happily counting your Silver Coins all day right now? Fine; I admit that he was indeed a great help, so we ought to help him in return this time Hearing Gentle Snow saying so, Zhao Yueru was like a kitten that had its sore spot poked, acting pitifully. Moreover, Ye Fengs help isnt limited to just that one time. It was only thanks to him that we managed to clear the Hell Mode of the Dark Moon Graveyard, allowing my position in Ouroboros to rise rapidly. Many elders in the Guild have also changed their initial attitudes towards me, choosing to stand on my side instead. This result has saved me from many troubles, and I havent even gotten the chance to thank Ye Feng for this yet. Helping him with a small matter like this is nothing. Gentle Snow then continued, If Underworld still doesnt give up and still wishes to deal with Ye Feng, I can only use _that_ move. However, since Feng Xuanyang has already agreed, there should be no problems. \--- On the other side, after Feng Xuanyang ended the call, his face paled with anger. Feng Xuanyang could not understand just what sort of relationship Gentle Snow had with that Ye Feng for her to actually speak up for him. Feng Xuanyang had been trying to woo Gentle Snow for so long, yet, she had paid him no attention from the start. Right now, Underworld was just teaching Ye Feng a lesson, yet Gentle Snow immediately came calling. The degree of care that she gave Ye Feng was abnormally high. It had even reached a degree that caused Feng Xuanyang jealousy. Feng Xuanyang had both money and power. He was also incomparably handsome. He was hundreds of times better than that Ye Feng in every way. Yet, Gentle Snow chose to pay attention to Ye Feng instead. There must be a problem here. However, Feng Xuanyang was extremely clear about Gentle Snows daily lifestyle. There was no chance that a minor character like Ye Feng could meet her in real life. The only possibility was in Gods Domain. There must be something that he had here that led to Gentle Snow treating him so well. If Ye Feng remained in Gods Domain, the two of them might have a deeper development. The more Feng Xuanyang thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Feng Xuanyangs eyes gleamed with a cold glint. He had no intentions of watching his years of effort go to waste, _I absolutely cannot let that Ye Feng remain in Gods Domain!_ He would not tolerate Ye Fengs continued contact with Gentle Snow. He needed to get rid of Ye Feng immediately. Only with Ye Feng gone would there be no possibility of any development occurring between him and Gentle Snow. Young Master Feng, do you have any commands? South Wolf respectfully asked. I want you to break apart the relationship between Ye Feng and Gentle Snow. Think of a way to turn them against each other, then make Ye Feng disappear from Gods Domain. However, you cannot let others know that Underworld is involved in this matter. Do you understand? Feng Xuanyang coldly said. Understood. This subordinate will carry out your orders. However, I hope that Young Master Feng can allot me some more helpers. That way, I can do things more easily, South Wolf smiled as he spoke. Fine. Ill send a party from the Underworld Guards to assist you. However, you have to carry things out more beautifully, Feng Xuanyang said. Hearing the name Underworld Guards, South Wolf was shocked into a jump. He simply did not know how Ye Feng had provoked Young Master Feng to unleash the Underworld Guards, the core strength of Underworld. Moreover, it was not tasking just an individual, but a full party. Young Master Feng, rest assured; this subordinate will carry out your orders without fail, South Wolf assured. \--- Star River Valley. The Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand suddenly emitted pitch-black flames. These black flames instantly wrapped around the Fine-Gold ranked greatsword and the ten Silver Dawns. The flames radiated a scorchingly hot temperature as they melted these weapons. The temperature of the black flames was on an entirely different level compared to the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. In the blink of an eye, even the Fine-Gold ranked greatsword melted into a lump of metal, the Abyssal Blade continuously absorbing the essence of the weapon. After the devouring process completed, the Abyssal Blade flared with a gigantic black flame. The black flame was like a living being, transforming into a black dragon. The size of the dragon was like a great mountain with the height of around 200 to 300 meters, and pitch-black scales that were even harder than steel covered its entire body. Soon after, the black dragon released a heaven-shaking roar, instantly scattering the dark clouds in the sky. The roar of the dragon shocked the entire Star River Valley, and even the Golden Fish in the silver river were shocked still, not moving at all. Magic Weapon! Faust, who floated in mid-air, instantly knew what was happening when he saw the black dragons appearance from the Abyssal Blade. His constantly calm expression before even showed signs of shock right now, How is this possible? A young fellow like you actually controls a Magic Weapon and havent felt its curse yet! 157 Battle Prowess Dramatically Rises The appearance of the black dragon instantly sent Blackie and Lonely Snow into shock. Just standing on the ground and feeling the roar that rang through the skies was enough to cause one to tremble with fear. As for the flames surrounding the black dragon, the temperature it radiated increased the temperature throughout Star River Valley by more than ten degrees. The black dragon had thoroughly frightened them stiff. The black dragon glanced at its surroundings, its sight stopping on Faust momentarily before shifting to Shi Feng. It isnt trying to kill me, right? this was the first time Shi Feng had personally witnessed a dragon. In Gods Domain, dragons were the symbol of power and destruction. It was obvious just how terrifying dragons were. Not to mention, the dragon before him right now was a king amongst dragons, the Black Dragon King. Young man, relax. It died long ago, and this is merely a phantom of its past. It cannot hurt anybody at all. It has only materialized itself now because you allowed the Magic Weapon to devour and obtain new power, Faust could see the worry in Shi Fengs eyes; hence, he explained with a smile. As expected, the Black Dragon King before Shi Feng simply stared him, taking no other actions. However, even if it were just a phantom, it was still enough to frighten a person greatly. If the actual body of the Black Dragon King were here right now, it might have instantly turned the entire Star River Valley into a sea of flames, a living hell. Shi Feng and the others would not have remained standing there, safe and sound. After a moment, the shadow of the Black Dragon King dissipated, turning into black flames as it returned into the Abyssal Blade. Immediately, the Abyssal Blade began its transformation. Unknown silver-colored runes suddenly appeared on the pitch-black blade in Shi Fengs hand. The Abyssal Blade itself gave off a faint illusion of being surrounded by black flames. There was also a dragon coiling around the hilt of the sword now. A single glance was enough to tell that the Abyssal Blade was no ordinary item. _Is this the new power of the Abyssal Blade?_ As Shi Feng held the Abyssal Blade, he felt the misconception of two minds connecting with each other. It felt as if the Abyssal Blade were becoming another part of his body, and moving it was no different than stretching his own arm. Aside from this misconception, the Attributes of the Abyssal Blade also underwent an earthshaking transformation. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +96 All Attributes +22 Attack Speed +6 Ignore Levels +7 Attacks have a 30% chance of causing 200% damage; 10% chance to cause 300% damage; 20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40%, lasting 30 seconds. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman Job, all Skill Levels +3. Increase Free Ability Points received by 2 points for every increase in Level. Equipment Level 10. Can be leveled up. (Devour ten Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and one Level 15 Secret-Silver Equipment to level up to Level 15). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 50% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration of 40 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration of 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly create nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for the wielders use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 30% damage. Duration of 28 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Additional Skill 4: Dark Violent Dance. 40% of the total damage dealt spreads in a cone-shaped area towards targets within a distance of 12 yards for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from providing the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period of time. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing All Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. _It looks like, if the Abyssal Blade devours better quality weapons, the resulting improvements are also greater._ Shi Feng was extremely satisfied by the Abyssal Blades improvements. Right now, the Abyssal Blades Attack Power has reached the standard of a Level 10 Dark-Gold ranked two-handed weapon, not to mention its frightening Attributes. Just the chances of causing a double-damage critical hit increasing to 30% was a frightening improvement, not to mention the chances of inflicting the Doom Curse increasing to 20%. As long as the target was cursed, all their Attributes would be reduced by 40%. It was a fatal power. Lets test out the new power, Shi Feng tightened his grip on the Abyssal Blade as he looked towards the thousands of Golden Fish swimming in the silver river. The Heavenly Dragons Breath will definitely be mine. Young man, you are still better off giving up. Although you have greatly increased your weapons prowess, it is still impossible for you to obtain the Fragmented Legendary ranked item, Faust said with a smile. It was not that he looked down on Shi Feng; rather, he was extremely clear about the difficulty of the challenge he had set. If Shi Feng reached Level 20 right now and possessed a complete set of Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, in addition to a Level 20 Magic Weapon, he would then have a chance of completing this quest. However, it was clear that Shi Feng had yet to reach such a standard. Moreover, he was still far from achieving it. On the other hand, there was a great possibility that he could earn an Epic ranked item now. What if I used this? Shi Feng suddenly took out the Freezing Shadow he previously obtained. [Freezing Shadow] (Dart-type Consumable Item) Usage count: 10,000/10,000 Causes 120% frost damage towards a target. Only effective towards enemies that are Level 30 and below. No Cooldown. At a glance, even Blackie and Lonely Shadow, who were familiar with Shi Feng, might not understand this item. The Freezing Shadow darts could only attack a single target at a time. Compared to using a skill to cause damage, it was much weaker, so how could it possibly reach the target of 1,000 Golden Fish? Faust could not help but shake his head, silent as he turned back to his fishing. Blackie, Lonely Snow, come over here and help me capture the Golden Fish, Shi Feng flew up to the silver river as he spoke to his companions. Although the two did not know what Shi Feng was trying to do, they still chose to trust him unconditionally. Lets start, then. After the two of them made their preparations to capture the Golden Fish with the magical net, Shi Feng also finished his own preparations. Immediately after Shi Feng activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, he rushed towards the group of fish with the Abyssal Blade in one hand and the Freezing Shadow in the other. Shi Feng then slashed the Abyssal Blade towards the spot with the highest concentration of Golden Fish. Thundering Flash! Instantly, three electric arcs weaved across over twenty Golden Fish, inflicting frightening damages of -1846, -2389, and -3201. There were also some Golden Fish that received critical hits, doubling the damage they received to -3692, -4778, and -6402. There were even some that felt the Doom Curse upon them, immediately reducing their Attributes by 40% and their maximum HP to 60,000 points. Earth Splitter! Thunder Flame Explosion! After the three massive AOE skills, every Golden Fish Shi Feng struck lost at least 20,000 HP. The ones that received critical strikes lost over 30,000 HP, while those that received the Doom Curse instantly lost close to half of their HP. Seeing these damages, Blackie and Lonely Snow were both dumbfounded. They even thought that they were dreaming. Scatter and go, Dark Violent Dance! after using the three massive AOE skills, he wielded the Freezing Shadow as he activated the Dark Violent Dance. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Instantly, more than ten Freezing Shadow darts pierced the Golden Fish inflicted with the Doom Curse. Every dart caused over -1,700 damage. Simultaneously, the damage spread effect of the Dark Violent Dance caused over -600 damage to each of the surrounding Golden Fish. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred Golden Fish had their HP reduced. Unlike the Frost Grenades, the Freezing Shadows did not have a Cooldown. The number of darts a player could toss out within a fixed period of time depended solely on their Attack Speed. Due to the Attribute improvement of the Abyssal Blade, Shi Fengs Attack Speed had become much faster. In addition to Fausts buff, Shi Feng could easily throw out twenty Freezing Shadow darts simultaneously. However, in an attempt to pursue stability and accuracy, Shi Feng limited the number of darts he tossed out to 12 at a time. Due to Shi Fengs unrestrained damaging, the HP of the Golden Fish afflicted by the Doom Curse madly reduced. Very quickly, the 60,000 HP of these Golden Fish fell to a critical level, forcing them into a crippled state. 158 The Final Violent Dance Lonely, Im not dreaming, right? Blackie slapped Lonely Snows shoulders, his finger pointing towards the group of crippled Golden Fish. Lonely Snows gaze turned sluggish as he shook his head in a daze. Compared to the rapid decrease of the Golden Fishs HP, Lonely Snow was more shocked by Shi Fengs techniques. He only managed to see the countless shadows left behind by Shi Fengs hands. Before Lonely Snow could even get a clear view of Shi Fengs hands, more than ten Freezing Shadow darts already flew out. Such speed could practically rival an assault rifle. Aside from Shi Fengs frightening speed, his accuracy also caused others to submit. Every dart he shot out had accurately landed on the Golden Fish afflicted with the Doom Curse. Moreover, they even landed on the softer side-abdomens of the Golden Fish. If Lonely Snow were in Shi Fengs shoes, it would be fortunate if he could toss out one Freezing Shadow dart at a time and land the hit, not to mention tossing out more than ten darts at a time and land every single one on the side-abdomens of the Golden Fish. Ill be satisfied when I can achieve such a level of technique, Lonely Snow was completely trapped in the fantasy of Shi Fengs dart-throwing technique. Stop daydreaming and quickly capture the crippled Golden Fish! Shi Feng hurriedly commanded. At this time, Blackie and Lonely Snow were finally aroused from their thoughts. They immediately used the magical nets to capture the crippled Golden Fish. One fish Two fish Three fish Shi Feng only spent a short 30 seconds to force three Golden Fish into a crippled state. Shi Fengs violent speed had shocked even Faust himself, and he could not help but feel a slight ache in his heart. However, when the effects of the damage amplification, Doom Curse, and Dark Violent Dance dissipated, the capturing speed of the Golden Fish immediately slowed. Shi Feng could only wait until the Cooldown for Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter, Thunder Flame Explosion, and Dark Violent Dance to finish before renewing his assault. Overall, Shi Fengs group captured an average of five Golden Fish per minute. Within one hour, they could capture around 300 Golden Fish, and within four hours, they could collect the required 1,000 Golden Fish and complete the quest. Time passed, little by little. Unknowingly, over four hours passed by already. Were rich! Were rich! Lonely, how many fish did you catch? I got 618. You? Hahaha! I have more than you! I have 645. Well have 1,263 if we add them together. Weve already reached the targeted 1,000 to trade for the Fragmented Legendary ranked item! Leader, hang in there! We should still have some time remaining! We might even gather another hundred or so Golden Fish to trade for a Dark-Gold ranked item. Blackie and Lonely Snow captured the Golden Fish in exhilaration. As they watched the number of Golden Fish continuously grow in their bags, they could not suppress even a smile a their faces. The only misfortune in this situation was that Shi Feng could not raise his skill proficiency by attacking these Golden Fish. He also did not obtain a single point of experience from his efforts. If he killed this many Level 20 Special Elites in a normal situation, the three of them would have long since risen by two or three levels. However, Shi Feng did not feel much from this. It was only Blackie and Lonely Snow who did not know of the rarity of a Fragmented Legendary ranked item. They might not get another chance to secure one for a very long time. To obtain the Fragmented Legendary ranked item, the Heavenly Dragons Breath, right now, even spending one to two days would be worth it, not to mention spending only several hours. Shi Fengs strength would soar if they possessed a Fragmented Legendary ranked item. As long as he equipped it, even when faced with apex experts, he would still suppress them with overwhelming strength. In Gods Domain, there were none willing to follow a weakling. Players would only revere the strong. If Shi Feng wanted to establish his own virtual empire, he first needed to empower himself. Only then could attract others to follow him. During the early stages of Gods Domain, players like Shi Feng, who had yet to start up their own Workshops, had zero chances of competing against the various large Guilds. In Gods Domain, there were plenty of high-leveled field Bosses that dropped valuable loot. There were even some that would drop Dark-Gold ranked items. If lucky, players might even encounter a High Lord ranked monster. Although High Lord ranked monsters were incomparably powerful, they possessed a small chance to drop an Epic ranked item. As for the usefulness of an Epic ranked item to a Guild, that was obvious. Not only could it increase a players personal strength, allowing them to kill even more powerful monsters, they would also attract plenty of famous players to join the Guild, further increasing the Guilds overall prowess. In regards to dealing with high-level monsters or High Lord ranked monsters, large Guilds could simply use numbers to overwhelm them. Although they would have to pay a heavy price, everything would be worth it if they could obtain top-tier equipment. Meanwhile, small Guilds and Workshops did not have such capabilities, and such a situation would allow the large Guilds to have a much easier time procuring top-tier equipment. As more time passed, the gap between the two would continue to grow larger and larger, and soon, the small Guilds would have no chance to compare to large Guilds at all. Although developing a Guild with a massive amount of members was an easy task, it was a long and arduous process to fully persuade these players to willing stay in the Guild and share in the wealth and woe together. Time was necessary for the members to improve their cooperation with each other. A Guild also needed a core framework that could properly manage the Guild members. Aside from that, a Guild needed sufficiently attractive incentives and treatment to attract new members. It also needed to have a massive space for improvements and wonderful future prospects. Meanwhile, having wonderful future prospects meant having a powerhouse as a leader. None of these points could be to be missing. Otherwise, the recruited members would easily choose to leave the Guild. For Guilds like Martial Union, Assassins Alliance, and Ouroboros, they had long since formed a sturdy foundation. They were also led by apex powerhouses. Hence, the moment they entered a new virtual reality game, they would very quickly develop themselves. They also continuously recruited a large number of players. Hence, even if they suffered massive setbacks, they would very quickly rise again. Meanwhile, for startup Guilds like Shadow, they did not even possess a proper welfare system. If they wished to recruit a large number of players within a short period, they might cause an adverse effect, entering a period of stagnation and maybe even a period of declination. Thus, Shi Feng chose to go down the road of the elite. He planned to first form a powerful team as the Guilds foundation. He would then improve it steadily, gradually increasing the Guilds member capacity. He would not follow in the footsteps of Shadow; where the Guild appeared superb on the outside, but in reality, it was riddled with holes, unable to withstand even a single blow. If Shi Feng wished to form a sturdy foundation, powerhouses were a definite must, even more so for a newly established Guild and Workshop like Zero Wing. Without strength that surpassed others, how could they suppress those other experts and recruit them into the Guild? Only with great strength would Zero Wing show others the possibilities of advancement in their Guild. Meanwhile, the Fragmented Legendary ranked item was unquestionably a great source of strength for Shi Feng. Time is almost up. I should start the final spurt, then. After battling at full-power for over four hours, Shi Feng was drenched in sweat. Be it mentally or physically, he was exhausted near to collapsing. If it were not for the attraction of the Fragmented Legendary ranked item, he would have long since fainted into a deep sleep. Soon after, Shi Feng took out all the Frost Grenades he had in his possession and all of the Tier 1 Magic Scrolls he had. He then distributed them to Blackie and Lonely Snow. These items are very precious. Well use them together. Absolutely do not waste them, Shi Feng sternly said in the party chat. Brother Feng, rest assured. Im a Cursemancer, so it will not be a problem for me to release these Tier 1 Magic Scrolls! Leave it to me! Blackie and Lonely Snow could also feel the weight of these items. Not mentioning the Frost Grenades, just the value of such a large quantity of Tier 1 Magic Scrolls was immeasurable. If any accidents occurred, their losses would be abnormally huge. Attack that group of Golden Fish with me, Shi Feng tossed out an Intermediate Frost Grenade, solidifying a group of Golden Fish in place. He then used Thundering Flash, inflicting a damage amplification effect and the Doom Curse on them. Soon after, he unfurled a fire-type Tier 1 Magic Scroll, blasting an attack at the group of Golden Fish. Blackie and Lonely Snow also tossed out their Frost Grenades at the same time, freezing all the Golden Fish. They then followed up by using the Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, immediately starting violent bombardment. A series of explosions resounded throughout the silver river, giving rise to layers upon layers of waves. The shocking damages caused the HP of the group of Golden Fish to roll downwards frantically. Compared to Shi Fengs initial burst, this burst was much more powerful. Watching this, Faust could not help but wipe away the cold sweat that formed on his forehead. "Are these young lads trying to snatch even my family inheritance away?" 159 The Forgotten History The power of Tier 1 Magic Scrolls far surpassed the capabilities of the magic of players at this stage of the game. The might of fire-type and ice-type magics that Shi Feng wielded was especially frightening. A Tier 1 AOE scroll, Flame Explosion, instantly caused over -6,000 damage to the Golden Fish, while another Tier 1 AOE scroll, Cold Wind Blowing, caused over -5,000 damage. With all three members of Shi Fengs group attacking simultaneously, the Golden Fish had nowhere to hide. Due to being frozen by the Frost Grenades, the Golden Fish were unable to move at all. Tier 1 Magic Scrolls bombarded them with magical attacks, one after another, rapidly reducing the Golden Fishs HP and sending them into a crippled state. After an all-out burst lasting more than ten minutes, Shi Feng completely exhausted all of the attack-type Tier 1 Magic Scrolls he obtained from the Moonlight Forest. They had also fully depleted the Frost Grenades he bought from the Blackwing City. If totaled, the value of all of the items used was at least 20 Gold Coins. This loss could bankrupt a normal Guild. However, their harvest during these ten minutes or so was bountiful. They captured a total of 247 Golden Fish during this time, increasing their total accumulated number to 1510 Golden Fish, far exceeding Shi Fengs initial estimation. They had perfectly achieved the quests targeted number. Brother Feng, heres the Golden Fish I collected. Heres mine as well. Blackie and Lonely Snow excitedly handed over all the Golden Fish they captured to Shi Feng. Anticipation filled their eyes as they waited for Shi Feng to trade for the Heavenly Dragons Breath. They wanted to see just how powerful the Attributes a Fragmented Legendary ranked item were. Just as Shi Feng received all the Golden Fish, hesitation appeared on his face. Originally, his goal from the beginning had been the Heavenly Dragons Breath. Now, however, he had an additional 500 or so Golden Fish in his possession, far exceeding his initial estimates. He did not know just what sort of items he should trade for with these extras. Brother Feng, whats wrong? Blackie curiously asked as he noticed Shi Fengs thoughtful expression. Nothing much. I want to ask you guys for your opinions. Right now, we have over 500 extra Golden Fish; so we can gain plenty more items with them. If we trade them for Dark-Gold Equipment, we can get two to three pieces. If we convert them to Level 15 Fine-Gold Equipment, we have enough for more than ten pieces. If we trade them for Secret-Silver ranked items, we can outfit the entire party with them, greatly increasing the partys strength. However, we can also exchange 500 Golden Fish for an Epic ranked item, Shi Feng said. When everyone reaches Level 15, the entire party can be fully equipped with Level 15 Secret-Silver Equipment? Blackie trembled with excitement just from the thought of it. Although they still needed some time before they reached Level 15, and by the time they reached that level, the scarcity of equipment would have decreased, an entire party fully geared with Secret-Silver Equipment was not a feat that even a first-rate Guild could achieve. Even the elites amongst the elites of these first-rate Guilds would, at most, have one to two pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. Moreover, the equipment would be Level 10, not Level 15. Possibly, only those very few apex experts that reached Level 15 could gather a full set of Secret-Silver Equipment. However, it would still be impossible for them to gather a complete set of Level 15 Secret-Silver Equipment. This meant that the moment all the members of the Zero Wing party reached Level 15, they would instantly soar to become an apex party in Gods Domain. None of the elite parties of the major Guilds would be their equal. We could surpass all the elite parties of first-rate Guilds and become the topmost Level 15 elite party in Gods Domain? Lonely Snow grew excited as well. What do you guys think? Shi Feng asked. Blackie and Lonely Snow entered deep thought. This was an extremely grave matter, as it was a problem related to the future development of the Zero Wing Workshop. After the three of them gave the matter some thought, Blackie suddenly said, Brother Feng, my suggestion is to trade for the Epic ranked item. Although it would be awesome for our party fully equip Secret-Silver Equipment the moment we reached Level 15, it isnt exactly impossible for us to get more Secret-Silver Equipment in the future. Meanwhile, an Epic ranked item is definitely something we wont encounter again. We also dont know when well get another chance like this. This is an extremely rare opportunity, so we need to grab it without hesitation. Although an Epic ranked item can only raise a single persons strength, its benefits to the party not that great. However, with a single powerhouse in the party, we will have a much easier time obtaining Secret-Silver ranked items. On the other hand, even if we had a party fully geared with Secret-Silver Equipment, we wont obtain even a single Epic ranked item. When considering the future, Level 15 Secret-Silver Equipment will sooner or later be worthless. However, it is a different matter for an Epic ranked item. It can bring us longer-lasting benefits. I also agree. To a large Guild, the improvements brought about by an Epic ranked item might not compare to over a hundred pieces of Secret-Silver ranked items. However, these large Guilds are still willing to use hundreds of Secret-Silver ranked items to trade for just a single Epic ranked item. The reason being, although having a hundred or more Secret-Silver ranked items could temporarily increase our strength, what about the future? Leader, I think we should exchange for an Epic ranked item instead. Blackie and Lonely Snow exchanged looks with each other. They had both given Shi Feng their most earnest opinions. They both believed that, once Shi Feng grew stronger, by the time they reached Level 15, he could outfit them with a pile of good equipment. So, why should they carry out an action that was the equivalent of killing the chicken to get the egg? I get it. Ill take a look and see whether or not the Epic ranked items available for trade will be of any help to us in the future. If they are useless, then Ill exchange for a dozen or so Fine-Gold ranked items, Shi Feng nodded his head. In reality, Shi Feng had thought of this matter as well. However, he couldnt be too selfish either. Compared to a Fragmented Legendary ranked item, an Epic ranked item was not as important. Hence, when trading for other items, he needed to consider everyone elses opinions. After all, this was a result that was only possible through everyones joint efforts. Young adventurer, here is the list of items. Have a look, and simply tell me whichever items you wish to trade, Faust said with a stiff expression. He truly did not expect the young fellow before him to be so powerful. To actually obtain the Heavenly Dragons Breath that he had treasured for so many years He had not been willing to sell it in the past, even when someone offered 30,000 Gold Coins. Yet, today, he was trading it away for only 1,000 Golden Fish... Shi Feng looked at the list of items, discovering that there were three additional Epic ranked items available for trade. There was a necklace called Heart of Light, a longbow called Starchaser, and a staff called Mavis''s Guard. As for the Dark-Gold ranked items and Fine-Gold ranked items, there were a ton of them available. Almost every kind of item was available. However, the item that aroused the most attention was still the Fragmented Legendary ranked item, the Heavenly Dragons Breath. It was needless to be mentioned that the Heavenly Dragons Breath had to be purchased. As for the remaining three Epic ranked items, one of them was a longbow, a weapon for Rangers, and it was useless to their current party. Hence, only the necklace and staff remained as options. However, when Shi Feng looked at both the Attributes of these items, he was instantly speechless. He could not decide which item would bring the greatest personal improvement to his party. Which one should I choose? Shi Fengs gaze kept switching between the two Epic ranked items before him, indecisive. Faust only revealed a smile at this sight. What he loved watching the most was the distressed appearance of young people. After hesitating for a long time, Shi Feng suddenly recalled a name in his memories from long ago. This name had once resounded throughout Gods Domain. However, after going through the ravages of time, this name slowly became unknown and forgotten. Esteemed Lord Faust, I wish to exchange for the Heavenly Dragons Breath, Mavis''s Guard, and this Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked ring, the Ring of Glory, Shi Feng said. How do you know about this matter?! Listening to the items that Shi Feng wanted to exchange, Faust was instantly dumbfounded. He fixedly stared at Shi Feng, asking in disbelief. 160 Shocking Attributes _Great! The gamble paid off! It really is a treasure left behind by that great existence!_ Shi Feng inwardly felt immense excitement. However, he did not reveal it on his face, maintaining a calm outward expression. To Fausts shock and questioning, Shi Feng did not give out an answer. He only revealed a mysterious smile at Faust. Esteemed Lord Faust, I wonder if I can purchase these items? Shi Feng asked once more. Hah Maybe this too is fate, Faust sighed. He then said, Since youve already made your choice, you have to use this strength properly. The total is 1,510 Golden Fish for all three items. Esteemed Lord Faust, here are 1,510 Golden Fish, Shi Feng handed over the Golden Fish, receiving three items in return. He had made a huge profit from this trade. Actually, Shi Feng did not think that his luck would be so heaven-defying after his reincarnation. In Shi Fengs previous life, six years after Gods Domain began, Shadow accidentally discovered a Level 150 lost ruin. Moreover, to fully explore the lost ruin, they had sacrificed a disastrous amount of resources. However, they did not obtain anything significant from this exploration, only managing to find a golden book on a goddess statue. There was nothing special about this book. It was simply a book made of pure gold, so it did not rot easily. Recorded in the book was a segment about a long forgotten history. Meanwhile, one of the phrases within the book contained the name, Mavis. During that ancient era, Mavis was likened to a God, and she was referred to as the God of Light. Compared to the strange old man, Faust, Mavis was much stronger. Aside from that, Shi Feng had not a clue about who Mavis was. Even so, an item left behind by a legendary existence much stronger than Faust would not be an ordinary item. Meanwhile, Blackie and Lonely Snow stood silently in confusion as they watched Shi Feng. They did not understand why Shi Feng was so joyful. However, listening to Fausts words, they faintly felt that they had gained a great advantage from the trade. Young man, seeing that fate has allowed us to meet let me give you a warning; the Magic Weapon in your hand is extremely terrifying. Sealed within the Magic Weapon is the curse of the Black Dragon King, which even I will not face. This curse is extremely formidable, and even if the Lucky Stone suppresses it, sooner or later, you will have to face it, Fausts caution was grim. He then continued, saying, While you allow your Magic Weapon to absorb more power, you also strengthen the curse suppressed within the weapon. Remember that a Magic Weapon is a double-edged sword. If you wish to obtain extraordinary strength, your will must be extraordinary as well. Otherwise, strength will, soon or later, devour you whole. Maybe, this is also fate. Although the Heavenly Dragons Breath is only a fragmented item, it could still, more or less, aid you in resisting your Magic Weapons backlash. If you can fully restore the Heavenly Dragons Breath, it will bring you unimaginable benefits. Strive harder, young man. Finished speaking, Fausts body vanished, while the entire Star River Valley gradually faded from existence as well. System: Rare Quest Delicious Golden Fish completed. Rewarding 300,000 EXP. Reputation in White River City +10. Shi Feng instantly rose to Level 12, a golden glow enveloping his body. Immediately after, a golden glow also coated Blackie and Lonely Snow, both of them reaching Level 11. This quest is too awesome! It instantly gave me 150,000 EXP! Blackie said, entranced. Lonely Snow also nodded, saying with a smile, I also received 140,000 EXP. With this, our Zero Wing party dominates the top three positions of White River City. If others know of this, our Zero Wing Workshop will become famous. We might be more than famous; those other players from major Guilds might even be dumbfounded. Those bastards from Martial Union would regret becoming enemies with us. The next time we meet them, I will teach them a good lesson, confidence about the future filled Blackies heart. Now that his level was so high, and his equipment was excellent, even if he encountered several experts from Martial Union, he could still kill them all. While Blackie fantasized, the Star River Valley had completely disappeared. Only the dark Silent Swamp and dying forest remained around them. Brother Feng, that strange old man looked so shocked just now. Just what did you obtain from him? Blackie curiously asked. Nothing much. I got the Fragmented Legendary ranked item, the Heavenly Dragons Breath, an Epic ranked staff, Mavis''s Guard, and a Secret-Silver ranked ring, the Ring of Glory, Shi Feng shared the information of the items with the other two. [Heavenly Dragons Breath] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 200, Agility 200, Intelligence 120 Strength +40%, Agility +40%, Intelligence +30%, Endurance +50% Movement Speed +20% Attack Speed +30% Ignore Levels +10 All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Skill 1: Dragons Authority. Suppress all enemies in the surroundings with the might of the Heavenly Dragon, inflicting the Fear status onto enemies within a 30-yard distance, reducing their Attack Power by 20%, Attack Speed by 20%, and Movement Speed by 20% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 minutes Additional Skill 2: Dragon Breath. Inflicts 6X damage in a 30*5 yard line in front of you. There is a 20% chance to induce the Fainted state for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 3: Heavenly Dragons Power. Allows the user to temporarily possess the power of the Heavenly Dragon, increasing HP by 300%, Strength by 100%, and Defense by 300%, and grants immunity to all controlling effects for 2 minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours The Dragon Slayer Mekaseru once owned the Heavenly Dragons Breath. It was originally a Legendary Ranked Item possessing the suppressed strength of the dragon tribe. Due to damage resulting from a war between Gods, its might has greatly decreased. However, the Heavenly Dragons Breath possesses an incomparably strong magic power and possesses the potential to restore itself. Its past glory may be restored with three Magic Stars and one Dragons Heart. Current restoration (0/4). [Mavis''s Guard] (Staff, Epic Rank) Level 1 - Level 60 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 80 Attributes adjust according to users level. Magic Damage +20% Maximum Mana +20% Mana Consumption -10% Ignore Levels +10 All magic-type skills +2 Levels. All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Passive Skill: Spear of Light. There is a 15% chance to trigger this skill when attacking, launching a Spear of Light at the target and causing 200% magic damage. Additional Skill 1: Guardian of Light. Grants a target immunity to all magic damage, reduces physical damage by 80%, and recovers 5% HP every second for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 20 minutes Additional Skill 2: Stars of Light. Deals 500% magic damage to targets within a 5-yard radius, or deals 300% magic damage to targets within a 20-yard radius. The damage scales up by 10% every second for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes Mavis''s Guard was once a staff blessed by the God of Light, Mavis. It possesses incomparably powerful magic. However, due to the limited materials used to make the staff, it is unable to display its full might. Its maximum level can increase to Level 100 if a Master Forger uses five Radiant God-steal to reforge the staff [Ring of Glory] (Ring, Secret-Silver Rank) Level 15 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 40 Intelligence +24, Vitality +15, Endurance +10, Strength +8, Agility +8 Increases damage of all light-type magic by 15%. These are a Fragmented Legendary ranked item and an Epic rank item? Arent they too OP?! Blackie and Lonely Snows eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they saw the Attributes of the three items. Previously, they thought that the Attributes of a Secret-Silver Weapon were already powerful. Only now, after seeing these Attributes, did they understand that no matter how strong you were, there would always be someone stronger than you. In the face of Fragmented Legendary ranked items and Epic ranked items, Secret-Silver ranked items were simply... Trash! 161 Frightening Damage Seeing these items Attributes, even Shi Feng himself was greatly shocked. It was the first time he had witnessed the Attributes of a Fragmented Legendary ranked item. In his previous life, the Attributes of Fragmented Legendary ranked items were all kept secret by their respective owners, so others could only guess the actual Attributes. He truly did not think that the Heavenly Dragons Breath would be so powerful. Instead of increasing a fixed amount of Attributes, it had a percentage-based increase of the users Attributes. It was no wonder the powerhouses who possessed Legendary ranked items claimed that only a powerhouse could use the full potential of such items. Even if a weakling obtained one, the bonuses would not be significant. If Shi Feng could equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath right now, with his current Attributes, he could easily kill a Level 20 elite player. Unfortunately, with the equipment requirements of 200 Strength, 200 Agility, and 120 Intelligence, Shi Feng could only helplessly stare at it. Right now, his Strength was only at 111 points, with only 123 points in Agility, and a measly 50 points in Intelligence. He was still far from possessing the required Attributes. With the Magic Weapon he possessed, he would obtain two more Free Attribute Points than other players for each level up. Even so, if he wished to equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath, he needed to be Level 20, at the very least, and own a full set of Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment. Blackie, see if you can equip Mavis''s Guard and the Ring of Glory, Shi Feng handed the two pieces of equipment to Blackie. Shi Feng had made considerations when he chose these two pieces of equipment. He could not always carry everyone in the party, as he still had many things he needed to tend to. However, if he wanted his party to level up quickly, the party needed a powerhouse to lead it. Meanwhile, the matter regarding an Epic Weapon was extremely important. The person he could trust the most was Blackie; so he could feel secure passing both the Mavis''s Guard and Ring of Glory to Blackie. With the improvement brought about by these two pieces of equipment, Blackies damage output might even surpass his own. After all, his Magic Weapon was currently only the equivalent of a Dark-Gold Weapon. It was still a distance away from rivaling an Epic Weapon. Moreover, Blackie was a mage class, and Blackies grinding speed was originally faster than his. In addition, the skills Mavis''s Guard granted were extremely powerful. Blackie would have a much easier time leveling up the party than he would. This alright, then. At first, Blackie hesitated. He felt that he did not possess the qualifications to wield this Epic Weapon in the least. However, looking at Shi Fengs serious attitude and trust, he nodded his head earnestly. Although the requirement of 80 Intelligence was very high, Blackie was already Level 11. His characters Attributes massively increased. He also had a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. After he added all his Attribute Points he received from leveling up into Intelligence, he just barely reached the staffs requirement, managing to equip Mavis''s Guard. Right now, Mavis''s Guard was a Level 11 Epic ranked staff. The staff increased numerous Attributes. There was also an additional critical Attribute that gave a 20% chance of magical attacks achieving a critical hit. It was much more powerful than Blackies original goal. Mavis''s Guard also reduced the level requirement for equipment by 5 Levels. After Blackie equipped the Ring of Glory and the previously obtained Level 15 mage-class Mysterious-Iron Equipment and Bronze Equipment, he was completely born anew. He now gave others a faint oppressive feeling. This isnt real, right? My Intelligence has reached 186 points! Blackie exclaimed, looking at his Attribute Panel. Compared to before, the 186 Intelligence was more than double what he had before, not to mention the increase in his magic damage. His overall Attributes had exceeded even the currently most powerful mage-class by at least twofold. He could possibly one-shot a properly-geared Level 10 MT. Too powerful! Lonely Snow gazed at Blackies dazzling Attributes with admiration. Even so, he would not feel jealousy over Blackie. After all, this was a natural matter as he had only recently joined Zero Wing Workshop. Just the aid he received in leveling up and the amount of Secret-Silver Equipment were already unimaginable, not to mention receiving an extremely important item such as an Epic ranked item. On the other hand, it would be extremely strange if he received an Epic ranked item that he could use right now. Moreover, when Lonely Snow looked at Shi Fengs carefree reaction as he gave Blackie the Epic ranked item, he knew that, as long as he performed well in Zero Wing Workshop, there was bound to be a day where he could obtain his very own Epic ranked item as well. Hence, he did not need to be jealous over Blackie. An Epic Weapon is as frightening as expected, Shi Feng said with a smile, looking at Blackies Attributes. Normally, an Epic ranked items level would grow along with its user. Only when Blackie reached Level 60 could he display the true potential of Maviss Protection. The potential displayed by the Level 11 Mavis''s Guard was but the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, Shi Feng knew of plenty of locations which hid Epic ranked items. However, he did not have the ability to retrieve them right now. He also did not have a powerful team, so he had no way of obtaining those Epic ranked items at the moment. He could only wait until his Workshop developed before setting out to claim them. Brother Feng, lets go kill some Elite monsters! I want to see the awe of an Epic Weapon! Blackie looked at Shi Feng, restless with anticipation. Fine; lets go look for some, then, Shi Feng replied with a smile. During that year when he held his first Epic ranked item, he, too, was as excited as Blackie right now. He had been extremely eager to test out his strength on powerful monsters. Very quickly, under Shi Fengs leadership, the trio located a Level 17 Rare Elite, the Swamp Lizard. [Swamp Lizard] (Rare Elite) Level 17 HP 200,000/200,000 Ill lure it over. Lonely, try to restrict it as it attempts to spit out grey fog and use caution. Blackie, pay careful attention while you kite it. Make sure you maintain your distance from it, Shi Feng spoke in the party chat. The Swamp Lizard was the most challenging Rare Elite in the Silent Swamp. If it was not for reaching Level 12, the Abyssal Blade having upgraded to Level 10, and Blackies possession of Mavis''s Guard now, he would not have chosen to fight this monster at all. The Swamp Lizard was a physical melee-type monster. However, it could deal a lot of damage. With a single claw attack, it could take away more than half of a normal Level 15 MTs HP. Its attacks also carried an additional petrification effect that slowed the target. Moreover, the Swamp Lizards Movement Speed ranked at the very top of all the monsters found in the Silent Swamp. If a normal Level 15 party met it, the usual result would be a party-wipe. Soon after, Shi Feng circled the Swamp Lizard. Without holding back, he activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. He then used Wind Blade, his swords piercing towards the back of the Swamp Lizard. Two damages of -288 and -224 points appeared above the Swamp Lizards head. Compared to when Shi Feng dealt with the Three-headed Snake Demon, his damage had greatly increased. However, to the Swamp Lizard, which possessed 200,000 HP, such damage was negligible. With an angry bellow, the Swamp Lizard slashed its claws at Shi Feng. Shi Feng dodged to the side, sending a Level 7 Chop slashing towards the Swamp Lizards waist. A damage of -1058 popped up above the Swamp Lizards head. The Swamp Lizard immediately released a pained wail; its steel-like tail turned into a black shadow as it swiped at Shi Feng. Shi Feng quickly reacted; he leaped into the air and dodged the attack, distancing himself from the Swamp Lizard at the same time. Lonely Snow took this chance to use Charge on the Swamp Lizard, interrupting the Swamp Lizards follow-up attack. He then sent a Violent Strike at the Swamp Lizards back, causing -28 damage. Lonely Snow nearly spat out blood when he witnessed this damage. However, he was utterly helpless about it. Not mentioning the level suppression, the Swamp Lizards physical defense was extremely high. Moreover, Lonely Snow could only deal this amount of damage due to reaching Level 11 and wielding a Secret-Silver Weapon. Otherwise, he wouldnt even deal over 10 damage. Let me see just how amazing you are, Mavis''s Guard! Blackie had waited in frustration. He shot out a Level 7 Dark Arrow strengthened by the Mavis''s Guard. When the skill blasted the Swamp Lizards body, a damage of -712 points appeared above its head. Immediately after, Blackies attack triggered the passive skill on Mavis''s Guard, the Spear of Light. A silver-colored Spear of Light struck the Swamp Lizard once more, landing a critical hit of -1354 damage; the damage was far more powerful than Shi Fengs attacks. Immediately after, Blackie used Evil Whip. Nine thick chains constricted the Swamp Lizard. When the Swamp Lizard broke free from one of the chains with much difficulty, a damage of -116 points appeared above its head. By the time it broke free from all the chains, Evil Whip had caused close to -1,000 damage. Due to Blackies Intelligence reaching over a hundred points, he activated the Intermediate Hidden Passive Skill for Intelligence, Quick Chant. The passive greatly reduced the time required for chanting spells, increasing Blackies rate of attack. As a result, damages in the hundreds continuously appeared above the Swamp Lizards head in quick succession, its HP decreasing like water flowing from an opened tap. This is too powerful! This is an Epic Weapon? Lonely Snow was tongue-tied from watching this scene; Blackie was similarly dumbfounded. In addition to Shi Feng controlling and damaging the Swamp Lizard, before even a minute had passed, the Swamp Lizard fell dead. It dropped four items in total: a Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and three rare materials. Come on; lets look for a place with plenty of monsters to release the Stars of Light, seeing that even normal spells were so powerful, Shi Feng highly anticipated witnessing the staffs additional AOE spell. 162 eye Level 15 monster area, Silent Swamp. Leader, where are we headed? Brother Feng, wasnt there a herd of Swamp Hippos just now? Blackie and Lonely Snow followed after Shi Feng all this time, moving deeper into the Silent Swamp. They could not figure out just what kind of monster Shi Feng intended to test the Stars of Light on. The Stars of Light has a Cooldown of half an hour. It would be a huge waste to use it on just a group of Level 15 common monsters. Right now, were going to a place with monsters that are much stronger and more numerous, Shi Feng explained. Even the Level 17 Rare Elite Swamp Lizard died with ease. It was obvious just how high Blackies damage had become, not to mention a skill like the Stars of Light. The skill could possibly one-shot the Level 15 Swamp Hippos with only 2,000 HP each. That would not properly display the true might of the Stars of Light. Only by seeing the skills full potential could Shi Feng make an accurate judgment. He could then let Blackie lead the others to the most suitable high-level monster area to level up. That way, be it Martial Union or Underworld, neither could locate Blackie and the others, much less surround them. Under Shi Fengs lead, after the trio reached the core area of the Silent Swamp, they discovered a large, naturally occurring, marsh. All around, there were a total of five groups of Level 20 Swamp Rhinos. Occasionally, they spotted a few Level 20 Elite Twin-horned Rhinos. There was also a small island situated in the middle of this large marsh, and a gigantic figure laid flat on this island. This gigantic figure was a two-story-tall rhino. From a distance, the trio could vaguely see the information of this large rhino. It was a monster named Rhino Chieftain One-eye. Brother Feng, isnt this a little too dangerous? witnessing so many Level 20 rhinos gathered together, Blackie felt his confidence waver. [Swamp Rhino] (Common Monster) Level 20 HP 3,200/3,200 [Twin-horned Rhino] (Elite Monster) Level 20 HP 17,500/17,5000 [Rhino Chieftain One-eye] (Special Elite) Level 20 HP 50,000/50,000 Common monsters were still fine. However, it would be extremely dangerous to tangle with Elite monsters, not to mention Special Elites. Even if Shi Feng were very powerful, and his movements extremely agile, when surrounded by so many monsters, he would still meet his end. Only here can the Stars of Light display its true might. Ill think of a way to lure even more monsters, so choose when you cast the spell carefully, Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings, his mind planning his route. Leader, this is too dangerous. On the off chance that we die, it would be a huge loss, Lonely Snow opposed. The monsters here were not numbered in the twenties or thirties, but in the hundreds. Every one of them could trample a Level 15 player with ease, not to mention the Elite monsters or the Special Elite monster. Moreover, with their currently low levels, the monsters would have an easier time discovering them. They could easily be surrounded, and at that time, only death awaited them. If I activate a Speed Scroll, my speed will be faster than theirs. However, when I lure all of them over, Blackie, I need you to use Guardian of Light on me, then use Stars of Light. You dont need to panic. Just maintain a calm heart, and you will be fine, seeing Blackies nervous expression, Shi Feng spoke with a smile. I get it, Blackie nodded, suppressing the panic in his heart. Soon after, Shi Feng sent Blackie and Lonely Snow to a slightly elevated location. On his own, Shi Feng activated a Speed Scroll before rushing towards the rhinos. The rhinos immersed in the marsh quickly discovered the intruder. After all, Shi Fengs level was simply too low. He was only Level 12, and there was a huge distance from Level 20. In addition, Shi Feng did not attempt to hide his movements in the least, making it even easier for the monsters to discover him. Within moments, over twenty rhinos stood and rushed towards Shi Feng. Although the marsh did not reduce Movement Speed by half, it still reduced it by 30%. Fortunately, this Movement Speed reduction was also effective against the rhinos. Now that Shi Feng had used a Speed Scroll, catching up to him was impossible. Shi Feng followed along the route he had planned before and circled the central island. He intended to lure all the rhinos in the marsh, aside from the one atop the central island. The Rhino Chieftain One-eye on the central island was extremely difficult to deal with, and it would be a huge loss if he lost his life as a result of an accident. Hence, Shi Feng had no intentions of luring it. Brother Feng! Leaders movement technique is truly powerful. If I were in his place, those rhinos would have already turned me into meat paste. Standing on high ground, Blackie and Lonely Snow watched Shi Feng use various movements and methods to dodge the attacks from the group of rhinos. They could not help but wipe away the sweat permeating their foreheads. The number of rhinos Shi Feng lured grew larger and larger. He had only run half the distance, yet, he lured over a hundred rhinos. Every time he dodged an attack, the rhinos would dangerously scrap past his body. However, after witnessing this scene repeat itself over and over, Blackie and Lonely Snow discovered that Shi Feng successfully dodged every single time. He would always dodge the attack at the very last millisecond. He relied purely on technique to do so, and there was not a hint of luck or coincidence at all. Blackie and Lonely Snow both engraved this scene deeply into their minds, resolving themselves to learn from Shi Feng in the future. With an expert like Shi Feng demonstrating the moves, they would not have to spend time slowly exploring these techniques. After watching for only a moment, the two of them had benefitted greatly. They could not help but wish they could try out these dodging techniques right this instant. Just when Shi Feng thought that all was within his control... An Elite Twin-horned Rhino suddenly appeared in front of Shi Feng, charging at him. Although Shi Feng used Parry to block this attack, his entire person was still sent flying. By rotten luck, he landed on the edges of the central island, alarming the Rhino Chieftain One-eye. Discovering that a human had disturbed its rest, One-eye abruptly stood up. It glared at Shi Feng with its blood-red eye, its front hoofs gouging the solid ground as it released an angry roar. Suddenly, it charged at Shi Feng with its steel-like horn. Compared to the other rhinos, this Rhino Chieftain One-eye possessed an extremely fast speed, and not even the marsh could impede its immense charging power. This was the Rhino Chieftain One-eyes skill, Violent Charge. Even a Level 20 MT would instantly die if One-eyes horn smashed into them. Come, knowing that he wouldnt be able to dodge, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade. He then used Chop, the Abyssal Blade slashing at One-eyes horn. Due to the Defensive Blades absolute defense effect, Shi Feng did not retreat by even an inch. Instead, a damage of -367 points appeared above the Rhino Chieftain One-eyes head. _Such a tough defense!_ Shi Feng was slightly shocked. However, Shi Feng did not intend to continue entangling with the Rhino Chieftain One-eye. The moment One-eye used War Trample, Shi Feng used Silent Steps to appear behind a Swamp Rhino that was 30 yards away, successfully evading One-eyes attack. Aoo! One-eye became further enraged when it saw that its target had evaded. It immediately charged at Shi Feng. However, it did not use Violent Charge this time, so its speed was only slightly faster than the other rhinos. Blackie, use the skill, after arriving at the appointed location, Shi Feng stopped and spoke into the party chat. Although his plan did not include luring the Rhino Chieftain One-eye, the plan still had to proceed. He simply had to be more careful now. Leave it to me, Blackie had long since waited with anticipation. Immediately, a golden brilliance descended upon Shi Fengs form. This was the effect of the first additional skill of Mavis''s Guard, Guardian of Light. For 20 seconds, Shi Feng became immune to all magic damage. He also enjoyed 80% physical damage reduction and 5% HP recovery every second. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Tier 2 Life Shield, his maximum HP soaring. Over 200 rhinos surrounded Shi Feng. If it were a Level 20 MT standing in place of Shi Feng, that MT would have long since been trampled to death. However, Shi Feng could hold on. Through evading alone, Shi Feng managed to dodge over 60% of the attacks sent at him. In addition to Guardian of Light recovering 5% of his HP every second, he was able to hold onto his life. Almost! Shine out, Stars of Light! When Blackie saw all those monsters grouped together, he used Mavis''s Guards other skill, Stars of Light. After chanting the final verse of the incantation, Blackie lost half of his mana in an instant. Immediately after, Blackie pointed his staff towards the sky. The dark clouds hovering above the large marsh were instantly pierced and disappeared. The sky trembled, and suddenly, a gigantic golden magic circle appeared in the sky, shining down on the core of the Silent Swamp. 163 Mad Leveling This is Shi Feng looked towards the sky, discovering that this magic circle was much more powerful than he imagined it to be. Even a Tier 2 spell wasn''t as mighty as this. The magic circle actually shook the sky. This was definitely not something a Tier 2 spell was capable of. Although Shi Feng did not know exactly how powerful the Stars of Light was, as long as its might surpassed that of a Tier 2 spell, it would be enough to deal with the rhinos chasing after him. Such a powerful magic power! Blackie looked at the sky, towards the light element that madly gathered in the magic circle, with eyes filled with disbelief. This was the most powerful magic he had seen since he started playing Gods Domain. As the magic circle in the sky gathered an endless amount of magic, the rhinos on the ground panicked. They started sieging Shi Feng desperately from all corners in an attempt to dispel the fear in their hearts. As a result, Shi Feng had to deal with the simultaneous attacks from over a dozen Swamp Rhinos; the space available for him to evade was extremely limited. Fortunately, he had a physical damage reduction of 80%, and he could generate 5% of his HP every second. Faced with no chances of dodging the incoming attacks, Shi Feng abruptly leaped into the sky and activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. The clear-blue flame instantly covered his body, while the power of thunder and fire gathered around the Abyssal Blade. Thunder Flame Explosion! The moment the Abyssal Blade struck down, thunder and fire engulfed and devoured all the monsters within a 5-yard radius. Damages of -626 points appeared above the heads of the monsters, and there were even some rhinos who received critical strikes, succumbing to over -1,000 damage. All the rhinos Shi Fengs attack struck fell into a fainted state, unable to move for 4 seconds. The monsters surrounding Shi Feng in a fainted state formed a natural barrier, granting Shi Feng a short breather. Is it starting? Shi Feng detected that the golden magic circle in the sky had finished gathering magic power. The magic circle then transformed into a shooting star, falling from the sky. Before the shooting star collided with the ground, Shi Feng cast Thundering Flash at the Rhino Chieftain One-eye. Unfortunately, the three streaks of thunder did not deal much damage to One-eye; all three attacks only caused around a total of -900 damage. However, Shi Fengs aim was not its damage, but the additional 20% damage amplification effect. It would allow the Stars of Light to inflict massive amounts of damage to One-eye. Finally, the golden shooting star reached the ground, landing in the center of the rhinos. An explosion occurred, and a blinding light devoured every inch of the large marsh. From a high position, Blackie and Lonely Snow saw damages of over -1,000 points appearing above all the rhinos in the marsh. There were also plenty that received critical strikes, receiving over -2,000 damage. Furthermore, the rhinos close to the epicenter received damages of over -3,000 points, and some even received frightening damages of over -6,000 points. A Level 20 Swamp Rhino only had 3,200 HP, while the Elite Twin-horned Rhinos had 17,500 HP. Even the Rhino Chieftain One-eye only had 50,000 HP; -3,000 damage was not a light injury. Ao! One-eye was enraged. It immediately directed its furious gaze at Blackie. It was not just the Rhino Chieftain One-eye. All the other rhinos also redirected their rage to Blackie, as the damages Blackie caused were simply too high. There were many Swamp Rhinos that instantly died from this single attack. However, during the time these rhino monsters directed their angry gazes towards Blackie, a second golden-colored shooting star appeared in the sky. It, too, descended. This time, the impact of the shooting star caused 10% more damage than the previous one. This attack wiped out all of the Level 20 Swamp Rhinos, and only the high-HP Elites and Chieftain One-eye remained alive. However, this was not the end. With every passing second, for a total of 15 seconds, a shooting star would appear and descend from the sky. Moreover, each shooting star would deal 10% more damage than the previous one. The Elite ranked Twin-horned Rhinos could only hold on until the fifth shooting star before dying out completely. Meanwhile, Chieftain One-eye remained alive. Its angry gaze turned deadly as it glared at Blackie atop the high slope. Chieftain One-eye instantly went berserk, its Defense and Attack Power greatly increasing as it charged forth. I wont let you go! Shi Feng used Wind Blade and arrived in front of the Rhino Chieftain One-eye. He then stabbed the Abyssal Blade at it. Abyssal Bind! Nine abyssal chains instantly coiled around One-eye, preventing it from moving even an inch. Following which, streak after streak of Stars of Light crashed down into the marsh. From the initial -3,000 damage, the damage had now accumulated up to over -7,000 damage. Rhino Chieftain One-eyes 50,000 HP very quickly drained to 0. It then vanished within the blinding light, leaving behind a pile of items. After the Stars of Light ended, the entire marsh fell deathly silent. All the monsters within had turned into ashes, leaving behind piles upon piles of items. At the same time, golden lights surrounded the bodies of both Blackie and Lonely Snow. Within an instant, their levels jumped from Level 11 to a little beyond Level 13. Shi Feng had also risen to 92% of Level 13; only a thread away from Level 14. This Blackie looked at the staff in his hands, then looked at the marsh. He did not know how to express the emotions that filled his heart. Not only had the Stars of Light kill the Level 20 Elite monsters, it even killed a Level 20 Special Elite. Its intense might far exceeded Blackies imagination. Previously, they had enjoyed an extremely envious leveling speed. Now, however, it was no longer envious, but shocking. They rose by two levels in just slightly over ten seconds. Moreover, they had risen from Level 11 to Level 13 and not from Level 1 to Level 3. Even elite players would have to grind for five or six days to obtain such a frightening amount of EXP. However, they achieved it in the blink of an eye. This is simply too formidable. If this skill is used in a team battle, no matter how powerful the enemy team was, they would still have to surrender, Lonely Snow unconsciously shuddered as he spoke. Only now did they truly understand why all those large Guilds were so desperate to obtain an Epic ranked item. Even if they had to sacrifice countless members, they would still willingly choose to overwhelm those powerful monsters with the lives of their people. As long as they obtained an Epic ranked item, be it leveling up or securing high-level equipment, everything would become a lot easier. The current scene before Blackie and Lonely Snow was the perfect example. Not to mention a Special Elite, the Stars of Light could inflict massive damage to even a Chieftain ranked field Boss. This was definitely not a feat that a party, fully equipped with Secret-Silver Equipment, could achieve. The aid rendered by an Epic ranked item to a Workshops development was simply immense. It far outstripped the usefulness of more than a hundred Secret-Silver ranked items. The massacre the Stars of Light caused yielded Shi Fengs group with plenty of Level 15 to Level 20 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. There were also plenty of varying Gemstones. At the very least, the total value of all these items was 10 Gold Coins or more. Its finally over. Shi Feng let loose a relieved breath. If it were not for the Stars of Light, he definitely could not contend with a Level 20 Special Elite that went berserk. However, he managed to verify the prowess of the Stars of Light personally. He could now send Blackie and the others to the Level 22 map, the Crystal Forest, to level up. The drop rate for Gemstones in the Crystal Forest was much higher than in the Moonlight Forest. Not only could they level up quickly, but they could also earn a lot of money and extremely precious Gemstones and Equipment. Moreover, it would be impossible for their enemies to locate Blackie and the others, killing three birds with one stone. After the trio tidied up all the loot, Shi Feng intended to make a trip back to town to clear up his inventory. Leader, the situation you wanted me to investigate has already occurred. Several Guilds have started taking action. Should we start taking action now? Cola, who was in Red Leaf Town, suddenly contacted Shi Feng, his face filled with excitement. Great! Just in time! Ive waited a long time for this moment. Our Zero Wing Workshop should also start taking action now, Shi Feng smiled brightly. Its about time we show off Zero Wing Workshops strength. 164 The First Crisis Cola was at a loss when he heard Shi Fengs words. Show the strength of Zero Wing Workshop? Others had constantly targeted the three of them, so they had been hiding in Red Leaf Town all this time. They had no chances to leave town to grind and quest, and they were all only Level 7 right now; they were only slightly stronger than the average player. They had no chances of competing with the members of other Guilds at all. If this situation continued, their levels would, sooner or later, fall behind even the average players. _Is leader telling us to go level up?_ Cola grew excited at the thought of this possibility. _This is too great! Were being stifled to death by constantly staying in town. It would be fine even if we have to slaughter our way out._ You three wait for me inside the Hotel in the Trade Area; Ill be there soon, Shi Feng did not further explain, only revealing a faint smile. Brother Feng, what happened to make you so happy? Blackie curiously asked, seeing Shi Fengs joyous smile. Something good. You two, stay here and continue leveling up. Ill bring Cola and the others later on. After you carry them to Level 10, go to White River City to do some high-level quests, Shi Feng said. Brother Feng, rest assured; now that Im fully geared in Level 15 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment and possess Mavis''s Protection, carrying Cola and the others will be a breeze, Blackie assured his leader. He was Level 13 right now and even had an Epic ranked staff. If he could not carry Cola and the others to Level 10 quickly, he might as well revert to playing with mud rather than play Gods Domain. When Cola and the others see our levels, they will be shocked. And when they see Blackies Epic ranked staff, the Mavis''s Protection, they will be stunned speechless. I am even eager to see their expressions, Lonely Snow joked. Thats right! Cola and the others could not possibly imagine that, within just a short few hours, we went from hiding from Martial Unions pursuit to reaching to Level 13. Weve taken the top three rankings within the Star-Moon Kingdom and even possess an Epic Weapon now. Compared to before, it is like the difference between heaven and earth. If I were in their shoes, even I wouldnt believe it, Blackie grew even more joyful at the thought of the shocked expressions of Cola and the others. You guys Shi Feng helplessly smiled at the sight of his two teammates. Soon after, he took out a Return Scroll, teleporting to Red Leaf Town. \--- At this moment, there were a lot of changes occurring in Red Leaf Town as well. The number of players purchasing equipment in the Trade Area grew larger and larger, and an endless stream of shouts for purchase filled the air of the Trade Area. There were many new players walking around and looking at the stalls set up throughout the street, looking for required items and equipment. \--- Meanwhile, inside the Hotel at the Trade Area Ive previously asked you guys to collect Hard Stones, so just how many have you actually collected? Why is the number of Whetstones still zero? Unstable Devastations expression turned grim as he asked; he abruptly stood up after taking a look at his subordinates report. Boss Unstable, under your commands, we desperately tried to purchase all the Hard Stones available. However, were not sure why, but Hard Stones are extremely scarce on the market right now. Moreover, theyre very expensive. After much determination, we only managed to collect slightly more than four stacks. However, our Guild has only recently started nurturing Forgers, so their success rate of making Whetstones is extremely low. So that subordinate timidly said. Peng! Unstable Devastation slammed his fist onto the table, snarling, You bunch of useless wastes! I clearly notified you all of this matter long ago, and three or four hours have passed already. Yet, you guys couldnt even produce a single Whetstone? How is the elite team supposed to level up this way? Why do I even need you guys here? Boss Unstable, maybe the other Guilds have discovered the issue of their weapons deteriorating quickly? Maybe thats why we only managed to purchase a few stacks of Hard Stones? the Berserker, Five Rats, said. Thats a high possibility. After all, it isnt only our Guild leveling up in high-level monster areas. However, Hard Stones arent exactly rare, and they can be obtained from Level 2 monster areas or above. Moreover, normally nobody touches those things, so there should be a huge stockpile available in Red Leaf Town right now. There should also be plenty of players selling them on the Auction House. We also discovered this matter fairly quickly, so even if the other Guilds have taken action, it is impossible for them to buy them all out immediately! Unstable Devastation nodded, then shook his head again. He could not make any sense of the situation. After they started hunting Ye Fengs party, they discovered that the durability of their weapons fell extraordinarily fast. In the beginning, they paid no attention to it, only focusing on leveling up and their search for Ye Fengs party. However, before they found Ye Feng, their equipment and weapons were already close to scrap. Without a choice, they had to give up their search for Ye Feng, returning to town to repair their equipment. Although the journey back wasted a lot of time, the elite teams equipment was extremely precious. If they did not repair it all in time, resulting in their equipment turning into scrap, the Guild would suffer an irrecoverable loss. Moreover, without the equipment, they would also have no way to grind and level up. Thus, they needed to return and repair their equipment. After repairing their equipment, Unstable Devastation began hearing complaints from his subordinates. The repair fees were too expensive, they said. The cost of repairs had nearly depleted all the money they had. As for classes that wore plate armor, they were even forced to borrow money from others for the repair fees. This situation dumbfounded Unstable Devastation. These players were all elites amongst elites. Normally, they carried a lot of money on their persons, and they were considered wealthy. However, their wealth was not enough to cover the fees. Unstable Devastation quickly discovered the crux of the problem. The lower the remaining durability of a piece of equipment was, and the higher the level of the equipment was, the more expensive the resulting repair fee would be. Grinding high-level monster areas greatly depleted equipments durability. Making a trip to-and-fro from town to these high-level areas also required them to waste at least two to three hours. Moreover, they could, at most, stay for three to four hours at these high-level monster areas before they needed to return to town to repair their equipment. This meant that they had to spend almost half their time in Gods Domain just traveling. As a result, the time needed for a single level-up almost doubled. If they could negate the travel time, their leveling speed would surpass the other players. When Unstable Devastation thought of this crucial matter, he immediately instructed his subordinates to look for a solution to this problem. The resulting solution was the Whetstones. Although this item could only repair a small amount of durability of a weapon, even that small amount was enough. Compared to equipment used for protection, a weapons durability decreased at a much greater rate. If they used Whetstones to repair their weapons, the total cost would be much less than repairing it at the Smithy. Hence, Unstable Devastation quickly ordered his subordinates to purchase Whetstones. However, they quickly discovered that forgers did not normally create this item as its cost was simply too high. Moreover, Whetstones normally did not sell at all. Unstable Devastation could only take a step back once again, and instead, choose to purchase Hard Stones, the materials required to make Whetstones. Hard Stones were also relatively cheap items. They were mainly used to create Whetstones and certain engineering components. Each stack was only around 30 Copper Coins, and there were 20 in a stack, which meant that they could make 20 Whetstones from a single stack of Hard Stones. However, Unstable Devastation had received even more shocking news. If they could not purchase Whetstones directly, then so be it. However, how could Hard Stones be difficult to purchase as well? In reality, it wasnt just Martial Union who had discovered this problem; the other Guilds had also discovered this issue. By the time they tried to purchase Hard Stones, they suddenly discovered that, be it the Auction House or the stalls in town, there were only scarce amounts of Hard Stones remaining. It was far from enough for the forgers in their own Guilds to create Whetstones with. \--- Elsewhere, Shi Feng had just set foot on the main street of the Trade Area. He watched as the various large Guilds tried to purchase Hard Stones at a high price; they purchased each stack for 80 Copper Coins. The price of Hard Stones had more than doubled. Immediately, Shi Feng felt an intense joy in his heart. The moment he had long awaited had finally arrived. However, this was only the beginning. He still wanted to add oil to the fire, causing the price to soar sky-high. 165 A Foolish Choice? Shi Feng completely ignored the high prices these Guilds were willing to pay. He headed to the appointed Hotel directly. He had stockpiled Hard Stones for so long, to the point where He had purchased 90% of the Hard Stones available in White River City. Thus, he would not reveal his hand just for this little bit of profit. Right now, the danger of equipment durability was only beginning. Along with the constant increase of players levels, they would head towards monster areas of a higher level. Very quickly, players would discover the problem regarding their equipment durability and the importance of Whetstones. If they did not possess Whetstones, it would greatly affect their leveling speed, and as a result, others would increase the gap between them. This result had caused the demand for Whetstones to soar; they were as popular as the commonly used Regeneration Potions and Mana Recovery Potions. Meanwhile, Hard Stones were required to make Whetstones. Along with the growing demand for Whetstones, the prices of Hard Stones would still increase by several folds. In Shi Fengs previous life, Hard Stones once sold for a maximum price of 3 Silver Coins per stack; its price had increased by tenfold from the original. Right now, due to Gods Domains evolution and the investment of major corporations, the available resources were more precious than in Shi Fengs previous life. Most likely, the prices of Hard Stones would increase to record highs. The current price of 80 Copper per stack was only the beginning. \--- Red Leaf town, Trade Area, Black Rose Bar. At this moment, Fire Dance had gathered her entire team to discuss matters regarding the teams future development. Fire Dances team often frequented this Black Rose Bar, as it occupied a more secluded region; very few players came to this place. Thus, this place became the gathering spot for Fire Dances team. Every time they completed a Dungeon raid or obtained some precious item, they would come to this bar to celebrate. Fire Dance, we understand what your intentions are. However, I will still tell you the same thing. We are only playing Gods Domain to pass the time, and we dont have any great ambitions. We prefer to be free, and we arent planning to earn any achievements through Gods Domain. If you want me to join that person called Ye Fengs team, I can only tell you that Im sorry. Thats right, Fire Dance. If it were a normal situation, maybe joining would be fine. However, Ye Feng has a beef with Martial Union, and right now, Martial Union targets us too. Martial Union has already put out the word that, if we do not sever our relations with Ye Feng and apologize to them, we wont ever need to think about leaving town to level up and quest. If we leave town, theyll just kill us and send us back. If we join Ye Fengs team, wont we end up in an even worse situation? Thats right! Martial Union is just too powerful right now. There is no way Ye Feng can establish himself in Red Leaf Town. If you want us to join Ye Fengs team, I can only look for another way out of this. I, too, share this opinion. We have lost a lot of our levels, and our average right now is only Level 5. We can only apologize to Martial Union if we want to have the possibility to continue mingling in Red Leaf Town. If we join Ye Fengs team, well truly be finished. According to my investigations, the Martial Union branch in Red Leaf Town is completely under the control of that person called Unstable Devastation. He has gathered all the players from Martial Union in five different towns to Red Leaf Town, and he is prepared to go all-out developing in Red Leaf Town. There are many experts from Martial Union in Red Leaf Town right now. Their Guilds treatment is generous, and its development rate is impressively fast. I heard that their member count has already exceeded 1,000, and amongst them, there are over 200 elite members. They are much stronger than before. Martial Union has the ability to constantly target us and prevent us from leaving town to grind and level up. We can afford to provoke them any longer. Even if we reach Level 10 and go to White River City, Martial Unions member count would have exceeded 10,000 by then. It would only be a simple matter for them to deal with us. It was a mistake to provoke them right from the very beginning. Our only way out of this mess is to offer them an apology. Right, I agree as well. Our original goal in playing Gods Domain was simply to mess around. We are completely different from that Ye Feng who has embroiled himself in a fight with Martial Union. If you, Fire Dance, wish to join him, please don''t drag us in as well. We dont wish to be under surveillance 24 hours a day. Fire Dance did not expect everyone to voice their opinions. They all expressed their refusal to join Shi Fengs team, and they even wanted her to apologize to Martial Union. Hah I understand. Ill only ask this one last time, then. If there are any of you willing to join Ye Fengs team with me, please stand by my side. Fire Dance understood their troubles. Previously, they were all veteran gamers of virtual reality games. However, the virtual reality games they played before only had a player base in the hundreds of thousands. Even until the later stages of the game, a top-tier Guild would only have several thousand members. On the other hand, Gods Domain had made clear to them the true meaning of a large Guild and the true power of a game with over two billion players across the globe. Gods Domain was completely different from any other virtual reality games. It had utterly shattered their concept of virtual reality games, as it was practically a second reality. Previously, they didnt think there was anything special about the various large Guilds. Only now did they truly understand how frightening a Guild could be in a virtual reality game. Just the members of Martial Union inside a single town reached the thousands, and it was still increasing. If they reached White River City, their member count would break into the tens of thousands. A team of independent players like themselves could not afford to provoke such a large Guild. Moreover, such a large Guild like Martial Union was only an unrated Guild. As for third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate Guilds, they were tyrannical existences. Although Martial Union was a very frightening existence in Red Leaf Town, Ye Fengs shocking performance had been deeply engraved onto Fire Dances soul. She truly thought that she had wasted her time playing those other games before. Right now, only the thought of following Ye Feng filled her heart. She wanted to get to know and experience the world of apex experts. Fire Dance, wake up, alright? We will not follow you. Right now, our only way out of this mess is to apologize. Havent you always dreamt of becoming an expert in Gods Domain? If you continue fighting it out with Martial Union, you will head away from that goal. Stop being silly and acting foolish. After Fire Dance finished speaking, aside from Water Buffalo, there was not a single person who walked towards Fire Dances position. They all had their heads lowered, feeling that Fire Dance was simply too foolish. She had truly been bewitched by that Ye Feng for her to dig her own grave by joining him. Alright, since you guys have decided, Water Buffalo and I will join Big Brother Ye Feng by ourselves, Fire Dances mood sank after hearing everyones decision. They had joined each other after much difficulty, dreaming of reaching some achievements in Gods Domain. Yet, the result was such in the end. Soon after, Fire Dance opened her friends list, selected Ye Feng, and contacted him. Previously, she had told Ye Feng that she would contact him after speaking with her team. Now that everyone had finished their discussion, she had to notify him. Big Brother Ye Feng, Im done on my side, Fire Dance said, disappointed. Although she had long since guessed such a result, she originally thought that three to five others would follow her. Now, however, there were only two of them. She was too embarrassed to even speak of this matter. Thats great! How many people do you have? If we have enough, we can raid a team dungeon. At this moment, Shi Feng had just finished meeting with Cola and the others. He was prepared to focus fully on establishing a core team for Zero Wing. Before that, he sent Cola and the other two to visit the Auction House to purchase some bags with larger capacities, a large amount of Mana Recovery Potions, and some refreshments. He also asked Violet Cloud to join Blackie to grind and level up. However, he did not think that Fire Dance would contact him just in time. Her timing was impeccable. 166 Initial Formation of the Team There are only two, Water Buffalo and myself. Everyone has their own opinions, so I cant demand this of them, Fire Dance nearly choked on her words after hearing Ye Fengs excited tone. Two people? Thats not too bad, Shi Feng lightly laughed. Do you guys have anything you need to do right now? If not, you can join me. In reality, Shi Feng did not particularly mind the matter with Fire Dances teammates. Previously, Fire Dance mentioned that her teammates were not ambitious and that they were only casual players in Gods Domain. Hence, it was best for Shi Feng if all of these people did not join him; it would save him a lot of trouble. He also did not need to waste time on training them. I dont have anything else to do here; Water Buffalo and I will meet you. Previously, Fire Dance had worried that she would disappoint Ye Feng with the news. However, after listening to his relaxed tone, she could not help but sigh in relief. After disconnecting the call, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo bade farewell to everyone else. They did not know when they would meet again. Hah I truly cant understand her. Why is she so obsessed with that guy? an Assassin in leather armor said after Fire Dance departed. He could not help but sigh. Im also very curious about that Ye Feng. Just what is so good about him? If she becomes Martial Unions enemy like this, by the time we enter White River City, she might very well still be in hiding in this town, not daring to leave. Would there even be a meaning to such a gaming life? The team members that chose to stay behind voiced their confusion, one after another. Meanwhile, at the fountain plaza of Red Leaf Town, although it was still daytime in Gods Domain, the benches that decorated the plaza were currently overcrowded with players. All around, one could see couples flirting with each other; the scene was the complete opposite of a battlefield. Big Brother Feng, sorry for making you wait, upon her arrival to the fountain plaza, she discovered Ye Feng enjoying the breeze as he waited for someone. No worries. All our members are finally here now. In the future, we will all be members of the same team. Let me introduce you all, then, Shi Feng smiled as he started introducing each of the team members. There were a total of six members present, excluding himself: the Guardian Knight, Cola, the Oracle, Drowsy Sloth, the Summoner, Gluttonous Mouse, the Cleric, Violet Cloud, the Assassin, Fire Dance, and the Berserker, Water Buffalo. With all six of them, they could be a standard Dungeon party. Fire Dance, being Level 9, was the highest leveled player amongst them. Following her was Violet Cloud and Water Buffalo, who were both at Level 8. The remaining were all Level 7. Looking at how Violet Cloud had raised herself to Level 8 just through cooking, the effort and suffering she had gone through were obvious. If it were not for Shi Fengs stern command, Violet Cloud would not intend to go out to grind at all. She rather preferred continuously cooking and earning money. When Cola and the others saw Fire Dances level, admiration filled their hearts. Moreover, she was also a great beauty. They only reached Level 8 with Shi Fengs guidance. Even if Martial Union had not killed them, sending them back to Level 7, they would only be Level 8. They were still far from Level 9. Moreover, Fire Dances equipment was extremely high quality. She also possessed a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment, while the others were Mysterious-Iron. One could see that Fire Dance was definitely an expert, far more amazing than themselves. As for the one who managed to recruit such an expert beauty into the team, Cola and the other two could not help but five Shi Feng a thumbs-up. This was as expected of their leader! As for Shi Fengs level, nobody in the team could discern it, as Shi Feng had hidden his information with the Demon Mask. The others could only see Unknown. However, nobody felt concerned about his actions. Shi Feng constantly felt like a mysterious expert to them; so it was only natural that they could see his identity. Big Brother Ye Feng is amazing as expected! Weve only been apart for half a day, yet the pressure you give off has massively increased! After Fire Dance met Ye Feng again, she could clearly feel that he was different from before. He was like an unsheathed sword, and her six senses told her that Ye Feng had become much stronger. Since everyone is familiar with each other now, Ill tell you guys what you need to do next, Shi Feng said formally. However, just as Shi Feng was about to reveal their goal, a group of players suddenly appeared and surrounded the fountain plaza. Martial Union is dealing with an issue; all those uninvolved, leave immediately! Martial Unions members chased away the other players, taking complete control of the fountain plaza. Ye Feng, youve made me look for you for a long time now, a scholarly youth said as he stepped out from the crowd. This was Unstable Devastation. There were over 400 members of Martial Union crowding the fountain plaza. When Cola and the others saw all these players, they immediately panicked, their expressions turning solemn. What? You want to take action here? Shi Feng swept a glance over the players from Martial Union. The majority of them were Level 5 or Level 6; only a minority were Level 8 or Level 9 elites. How could I possibly be such a brute? Im only here today to give you all a final warning, Unstable Devastation said with a smile. Last time, he had taken a huge loss because of Ye Feng. If he could, he really wished to kill Ye Feng now. However, they were right in the middle of town. If he killed Ye Feng here, he might implicate Martial Union as well. However, if he mobilized a dozen or so players against Ye Feng, they would only be helpless against him, disgracing Martial Unions reputation. This was not a result he wished to see. Warning? Weve already reached the point of no return. Your warning holds zero meaning to me; it is only a bunch of nonsense, Shi Feng laughed. You are still so fearless, even when faced with so many of our members; I truly admire you for that. Unfortunately, your strength is limited; you are not an opponent for Martial Union at all. My warning isnt actually directed at you, Unstable Devastation clapped his hands, shifting his sights towards Cola and the others. He then coldly said, This time, my warning is for the teammates standing behind you. You all better come to your senses. If you sever your relationship with Ye Feng immediately, I assure you that I will not pursue past matters and let you all go. Of course, if you resolve to stand with the powerless Ye Feng, prepare to suffer the rage of Martial Union. I admit that killing Ye Feng himself is extremely difficult; however, it is only a simple matter for Martial Union to exterminate you all. Although Unstable Devastation smiled as he spoke, Cola and the others could only feel a deep chill from his words. They could not help but admit that Unstable Devastations words sounded logical. They were not top-tier experts, and they did not possess that many lifesaving skills that could help them escape. Although Martial Union could not kill Ye Feng, that did not mean they could not get rid of them. As proven, they had died once before already. There would definitely be a second time in the future. If such a situation continued, they would not have a future in Gods Domain to speak of. Looking at the panicked and hesitant expressions on Cola and the others, Shi Feng spoke not a single word; he remained silent as he stood there. This move of Unstable Devastations was extremely vicious. He wanted Shi Feng to taste the betrayal of his closest friends. Not only would it reduce his overall power, but it could also become a hit to his heart. Unfortunately, Shi Feng was no longer the arrogant brat that he used to be. On the contrary, he wanted to use this plan of Unstable Devastations to refine the members of his elite team. In the future, the team he led would have to face off against many powerful foes. If they could not handle the challenge before them right now, how could they succeed in the future? Shi Feng did not desire teammates who only enjoyed the good times, but could not suffer through the bad with him. This could be Shi Fengs test for them. He wanted to see just what sort of choice they would make in such a situation. After quite some time had passed, Cola and the others exchanged glances with each other, smiles on their faces. They had all made their decisions, and they all stood by Shi Fengs side without hesitation, having zero intentions of leaving. Cola, Drowsy Sloth, Gluttonous Mouse, and Violet Cloud were originally players who others looked down on. They lived at the very bottom of Gods Domain, and they only possessed the levels and equipment they had today because of Shi Fengs help. By becoming enemies with Martial Union, at worst, they would only revert to their original states. So, how could they possibly betray Shi Feng in this sort of situation? As for Fire Dance and Water Buffalo, they had long since steeled their hearts to follow Ye Feng. They wished to experience the world of top-tier experts, and faced with such a threat, they paid no mind at all. Unstable Devastation, even in death, we would never betray our leader. If you have the ability, then come! Cola laughed loudly as he looked at Unstable Devastation. Good! Very well said! Unstable Devastation smiled with indignation, saying, Dont say that I never gave you a chance. This is something youve all chosen for yourselves, so dont blame me for not lacking courtesy. Boys, get them! Originally, Unstable Devastation thought that he could take this chance to shame Ye Feng, turning him into a laughingstock. However, he truly did not think that these people would be so muddle-headed. They mustve eaten something wrong to follow Ye Feng so steadfastly. Otherwise, Ye Feng must have shown a hopeful fantasy, letting them think that they still had a future. Since he was already here, he would not let Ye Feng and the others escape unscathed. 167 The Disparity Between Realms Immediately, more than 400 players in the fountain plaza surrounded Shi Feng and the others. They all unsheathed their swords and armed their crossbows as they eyed their prey. However, to Shi Fengs surprise, none of them showed any intentions of rushing forward. Instead, they parted to the sides and opened a path, letting through twenty-odd players. When these twenty-plus players arrived by Unstable Devastations side, their complexions were as gloomy as water, and their expressions numbed. These players levels were not high; only around Level 5 or Level 6. Their equipment was also nothing special. Compared to the elites of Martial Union, the difference was just too great. They did not seem like players from Martial Union at all. Ill be looking forward to your performances, Unstable Devastation spoke to these newcomers harshly. He then turned his sights towards Fire Dance, revealing a fierce sneer as he looked forward to the start of a good show. These newcomers nodded their heads indifferently. They took out their weapons and walked towards Shi Feng. In the distance, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were immediately stunned when they saw these players. You guys why are you all with Martial Union? Fire Dance loudly questioned these players. The twenty plus players that walked over were not strangers to Fire Dance. On the contrary, they were the ex-companions with whom Fire Dance shared both bitter and sweet times. At this moment, Unstable Devastation looked at Ye Feng, laughter escaping his mouth as he said, Hahaha! Ye Feng, I am an extremely generous person. Previously, these players aided you in killing many of Martial Unions members. Ive promised them that, as long as they kill you and your companions, I will forgive all of their past transgressions, and Martial Union would no longer seek trouble with them. Ye Feng, dont you think that you should do something for them to compensate their losses? Unstable Devastation jeered. Ye Feng had embarrassed him greatly last time, so he would not let him off the hook so easily. He eagerly wished to see whether Ye Feng would dare take action or not. As long as Ye Feng took action, the headline on tomorrows official forums would be: Publicly acknowledged Swordsman expert is an extremely treacherous person! He willingly killed his allies to save himself! At that time, only tatters would remain of Ye Fengs reputation. Unstable Devastation wanted to see just how Ye Feng intended to mingle in Gods Domain in the future. Unable to endure it any longer, Fire Dance abruptly burst out in rage. Her eyes sent a chill as she glared at Unstable Devastation, yelling loudly, Unstable Devastation, you despicable little man! These people have all killed your Martial Union members under my commands! If you have the guts, then come at me! Originally, Fire Dance felt extremely joy for being able to join Ye Fengs team. She did not think that she would cause Ye Feng such a mess. If Ye Feng killed all of these people right now, others would gossip, and nasty rumors about him would spread. Ye Feng would be slandered as a merciless person, a person willing to kill even those who had helped him in the past. Although this matter was not of her doing, these people were still her past companions. She was responsible for leading them to kill the members of Martial Union. Now that these people had betrayed her and sided with Martial Union, bringing trouble to Ye Feng, she felt extremely apologetic towards Ye Feng. Fire Dance, we have no choice in this matter. We have to do this if we wish to obtain Martial Unions forgiveness and continue playing in Red Leaf Town. Fire Dance, this is our only way out. We hope that you can understand. Thats right! They forced us, left us no way out. Let us kill you just this once! Fire Dances companions closed the distance as they spoke. Some of the mage classes even started chanting their spells, prepared to launch their attacks. You guys Fire Dances complexion turned extremely ugly. She immediately turned towards Ye Feng, apologetically saying, Im sorry, Big Brother Ye Feng! I will definitely give you an account of this matter! Unstable Devastation, you best listen up! I, Fire Dance, will immediately leave the team right now. I will no longer have any relations with Big Brother Ye Feng, so let me shoulder this debt between us! Fire Dance immediately left the party. After her public declaration, she unsheathed her daggers as she walked forth, towards her companions. She intended to deal with these companions of hers personally. That way, Ye Feng would not experience in any sort of slander. After seeing this, Unstable Devastations complexion turned pale with anger. He did not think that this woman called Fire Dance would be so determined. Fire Dance, arent you just making things harder for us? Regardless of the circumstances, we were once companions in the past. How could you treat us like this? Thats right! Weve gone through life and death so many times together. Are you really going to treat us like this? Fire Dances previous team voiced their accusations, one after another. These accusations deeply pierced Fire Dances heart. The laughs and suffering they went through together, all the bonds had simply turned to smoke. The only thing she could do was hold back her tears and kill the emotions in her heart. Fire Dance, are you going to be so heartless as to kill us? a middle-aged Assassin wearing grey-colored leather armor asked resentfully. His words had immediately caused Fire Dance to pause. However, immediately after, this middle-aged Assassin stabbed his dagger towards Fire Dances heart. Dang! Before the gleaming dagger could reach its target, a pitch-black sword blocked the attack. Fire Dance, youre not taking me, the team leader, seriously, are you? Since youve already joined my team, you are still a member of our team until this leader decided to kick you out. I will not acknowledge your selfish retirement from the team. Now that you are a member of our team, this team leader has the responsibility of shouldering everything for you. So, in regards to your painful memories, I will help you purge them all. Ever since Shi Feng re-entered Gods Domain, he no longer cared about what others thought of him, because only weaklings would mind how others looked at them. Oh, right. I forgot to mention one more thing to you guys. Anyone who joins my team has to keep in mind one important thing; if you constantly mind how others look at you, you will never truly improve your own strength and techniques. You dont have to care how others look at you. It is enough as long as you advance on the path that you wish to take. Only with that can you become a true expert. Shi Feng suddenly appeared in front of Fire Dance. To Fire Dance, he towered like a mountain before her, blocking any and all dangers from reaching her. Big Brother Ye Feng Tears inadvertently leaked out from Fire Dances eyes; Ye Fengs actions and words truly touched her heart. After listening to his words, it was as if the door to the realm of experts slowly opened for her. Maybe her hesitation held her back from becoming a true expert. So what if he killed them? Who cared about others opinions? The strong would never pay attention to such small matters. The only things they needed to consider were the courage to forge ahead and constantly raising their own strength! By the side, after Water Buffalo listened to Ye Fengs words, his heart was inexplicably moved. He would never have thought Ye Feng would be such a dependable person; a person others could admire. Meanwhile, Cola and the other two merely exchanged glances with each other, smiles plastered on their faces. Thats right! This was the leader that they respected and admired! Immediately, Cola and the others stepped forward, one after another, blocking Fire Dance. Well said! So? What are you guys still waiting for? Unstable Devastation felt extreme joy. He had recorded all of Ye Fengs words. When the time came, he could deny his actions. Ye Feng, you despicable little man! Weve already helped you so much, yet, in the end, you still wish to kill us? You are simply inhuman! Fire Dances ex-companions cursed, enraged. They all rushed at Ye Feng, one after another, intending to slash and bash him to death. Shi Feng smiled disdainfully at their actions. Looking at the twenty plus melee and mage class players launching their attacks at him, Shi Feng only lightly waved the Abyssal Blade. Thundering Flash! Three electric arcs instantly weaved across the bodies of the twenty plus players. Damages ranging from -500 to more than -1,000 appeared above everyones heads, instantly killing everyone. Meanwhile, the green prism marker above Shi Fengs head instantly turned bloody red, giving others a chilling feeling. Big Brother Ye Feng! Leader! Fire Dance and the others immediately panicked. If a player actively killed other players within a town, the guards would hunt them until death. Moreover, after the offending player revived, the guards would toss them in jail. Judging by the intensity of Shi Fengs red name, he would lose at least three levels after death, maybe even four. Hahaha! Ye Fengs name is finally red! Without the towns protection, we can kill you here without any repercussions and make you lose all of your items! Unstable Devastation laughed madly, saying, Everyone else, get him! I will immediately promote whoever manages to kill Ye Feng into the leader of an elite team! However, immediately after Unstable Devastation finished his words, a familiar voice sounded from behind him. Has Ironsword Lion never told you how he died? Shi Feng asked coldly, appeared behind Unstable Devastation after using Silent Steps. 168 ranked Exper Ye Feng had previously killed over twenty players in a single move. The frightening damage that he dealt that was over -1,000 points completely shocked all of the surrounding onlookers, and now, Ye Feng had appeared right behind Unstable Devastation. Unstable Devastation was both shocked and angered. Indeed, he did not know how Ironsword Lion had died. However, the current Ye Feng was far more powerful than he imagined; Ye Fengs strength exceeded his previous estimates. If he received an attack from Ye Feng right now, he would unquestioningly die. Unstable Devastation almost instinctively used one of his lifesaving skills. He dashed forth, unhindered, then leaped high into the air. He was currently immune to all restricting effects, and by the time he landed, he was already twenty yards from his original location. Shi Feng merely smiled at Unstable Devastations reaction. With his current reaction speed and powerful Attributes, it would be an extremely easy task to destroy Unstable Devastation. Or, speaking from another perspective, Unstable Devastation had zero chances of retaliation. However, since Unstable Devastation dared to make enemies with him, the Martial Union player needed to prepare to enter hell. It would be too good of an ending if he allowed Unstable Devastation to die, just like that. He wanted Unstable Devastation to feel despair in front of absolute strength and then die. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, block him! Elementalists, use Ice Spheres! Focus all attacks and eliminate him! before Unstable Devastation even landed on the ground, he calmly gave out commands. Reacting quickly, the Shield Warriors and Berserkers immediately used Charge at Shi Feng. Seeing that more than ten warriors charged at Shi Feng and were about to stun him... Shi Feng abruptly leaped up, the Abyssal Blade carrying with it the power of thunder and lightning as he landed. Boom! A wave of thunder and fire devoured all of the warriors. Even the highest leveled Shield Warrior could not react in time and activate Shield Wall before Shi Fengs Thunder Flame Explosion devoured him. The Shield Warrior received a critical hit of over -1,700 damage, dying instantly. However, even a normal hit of more than -800 damage was enough to critically slash a Level 9 Shield Warriors HP, not to mention the Berserkers with less HP and Defense. They all died in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a pile of equipment. The remaining survivors were all Level 8 Shield Warriors. They were the fortunate ones, spared from a critical hit. However, even though they were alive, they suffered a Fainted state for 4 seconds. When the players from Martial Union witnessed this scene, they all stared in shock. Previously, it was no big deal when Shi Feng had instant-killed those crippled Level 5 to Level 6 players. However, the players he had just killed were no random Tom, Dick, or Harry. They were all Level 8 or Level 9 elites of Martial Union. Healers, quickly heal them! Ranged players, attack with everything youve got! Only now was Unstable Devastation aware of how formidable Shi Feng was. His monster-like Attack Power could even instantly kill a Shield Warrior that boasted the highest Defense amongst all classes. No one present could defend against his attacks. Fortunately, they had the advantage of numbers. They could exhaust Shi Feng to death. Immediately after several heals landed on a Shield Warrior, pulling his HP back up to half, another of Shi Fengs slashes landed on the Shield Warriors HP. A huge damage of over -700 points appeared above the Shield Warriors head, his HP plummeting to zero; his body fell to the ground. Following which, with every slash of his sword, Shi Feng culled the lives of the surviving Shield Warriors. Even if the Shield Warriors possessed the Defense of heavy armor and passive skills that reduced the damage they received, every one of Shi Fengs casual attack caused around -300 damage. The healers could not maintain the Shield Warriors HPs at all. As for the Berserkers without heavy armor, a single sword strike dealt them over -400 damage. Very quickly, the remaining Shield Warriors lay flat on the ground. At this moment, the Guardian Knights all activated Protection Blessing as they rushed forward. Meanwhile, the mages behind them shot out streak after streak of magic. Fireballs and Ice Spheres flew at Shi Feng, one after another. Shi Feng activated Wind Steps, avoiding more than half of the ranged attacks. Immediately after, he rushed after Unstable Devastation. Although Shi Feng dodged more than half of the spells, there were still a few occasional spells that hit him. However, the damage these spells dealt nearly dazzled the backline mages. Even when blasting a Level 9 MT, skills such as the Flame Explosion and Great Fireball could deal over a hundred damage. However, none of them had actually dealt more than 20 damage to Shi Feng. The highest damage was only -15 points, while a majority of the spells only dealt single digits. To Shi Feng, who possessed over 1,500 HP, these spells simply tickled. Shi Fengs automatic recovery alone regenerated 30 HP for him every five seconds. This indicated that, even if Shi Feng received the ice and flame magic attacks from a normal Level 7 or Level 8 Elementalist, Shi Feng would not die, even if he did nothing. Shi Fengs was currently Level 13, and these mages had no idea. Shi Feng also had 20 points in both fire-type and ice-type resistance. Even without the level suppression of four or more Levels, their damage to Shi Feng would not exceed forty points. There were many mages on Martial Unions side. However, their damages were too pitiful to watch. Standing behind Shi Feng, Drowsy Sloth and Violet Cloud merely used one heal each, and within an instant, Shi Fengs HP was already back to full. Faced with another wave of melee classes charging at him, Shi Feng activated Dark Violet Dance, using the 12-yard cone attack. Taking a step forward, Shi Feng instantly circled the Guardian Knights, and like a ferocious lion, he pounced on the other melee classes. Before one of the Swordsman could even use Parry, Shi Fengs sword sent him flying. The Swordsman died in mid-flight, dropping a piece of equipment as his body disappeared. To Shi Feng, these Swordsmen and Assassins attempts to block him were meaningless. With a single Earth Splitter, more than ten players lost their lives. Shi Fengs attacks were all one-hit kills. With over one hundred points in Strength, he could snap a Common Weapon in half with his bare hands. As for the current Shi Feng, who held the Abyssal Blade and Silver Lake in each hand, a simple slash from either weapon could easily send the Assassins and Swordsmen flying and greatly damage their weapons. For some who reacted slower and failed to block Shi Fengs attacks, they died under a single slash. Not only did their defensive equipments durability greatly decrease, but they also dropped a level and lost a piece of equipment. However, this was all; there was still the cleaving effect. Before the players behind could make sense of things, they lost close to half of their total HP, and in the next moment, even that remaining half vanished. As a result, a group of players lay dead on the ground after meeting their inexplicable demise. Within a short five seconds, Martial Union lost over a dozen elite members and several dozen average members. Shi Feng was like the god of death that caused peoples hearts to shudder. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation stood only several meters away from that frightening god of death. Shi Fengs chilling gaze landed on Unstable Devastation, the intent he radiated sent a chill down the surrounding Martial Union players backs. Just looking into Shi Fengs cold eyes caused them to retreat backward inadvertently. Everyone, block him for me! Even when bombarded with so many spells and sieged on all sides by so many players, Shi Feng still walked forth, step after step, leaving behind a massacre as he advanced. It was the first time Unstable Devastation felt such a deep-seated fear. To Unstable Devastation, Shi Feng was no longer a player, but a devil. There was also the tangible killing intent that surrounded Shi Feng. Although Unstable Devastation knew that this was only a game, the realistic effects of virtual reality caused Unstable Devastation to forget that this was just a virtual world completely. He had even forgotten how many elites of Martial Union had died and how grave losses were to Martial Union. The only thing Unstable Devastation knew was that he was in an extremely dangerous situation. If he did not escape immediately, only death awaited him. Immediately, Unstable Devastation activated a Speed Scroll. He then turned and ran. Shi Feng simply smiled at Unstable Devastation attempt to escape. With a single Wind Blade, his sword pierced towards Unstable Devastations back. Unstable Devastation spun around, firing an arrow from his bow in an attempt to hold Shi Feng back. However, he immediately discovered that Shi Feng was truly too frightening. Shi Fengs pitch-black Abyssal Blade easily split the arrow, and in the blink of an eye, Shi Feng arrived in front of him. A silver glow pierced his heart, and immediately after, another black glow slashed across his neck. Unable to stop his HP from madly decreasing, his HP reached zero in an instant. Even until death, Unstable Devastation wore a stupefied expression. The others from Martial Union were similarly shocked as they witnessed this sight. Unstable Devastation was one of the big bosses of Martial Union. He was also a Level 9 Ranger. Yet, when facing Ye Feng, he had no power to retaliate at all. Just how strong was this Ye Feng? Shi Feng noticed a Secret-Silver ranked longbow dropping after Unstable Devastations death. He casually picked up the longbow and placed it in his bag. He then turned to look at the other members of Martial Union. Although Shi Feng did not take any action, only sending them a glance, his might had already deeply engraved into their minds. The members of Martial Union all halted their actions, inadvertently backing off. They all revealed fearful expressions as they looked at Shi Feng. Why hadnt the town guards arrived yet? This thought suddenly appeared in their minds. They felt that only the guards could protect them from Shi Fengs attacks. However, from the moment Shi Feng began his assault to the moment Unstable Devastation died, only a brief eight or nine seconds had passed. Even if the town guards hurried over, they would need at least ten minutes before they arrived. Faced with the members of Martial Union who dared not move, Shi Feng only swept a glance at them; he did not rush up and kill them. The Cooldown for most of his skills had almost finished. Although he could kill a sizable chunk of Martial Union if he continued his spree, he would run the risk of paying with his and his teammates lives, and this was not an ending that he wished to see. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs actions had caused plenty of the surrounding onlookers to become tongue-tied. A single glance from Shi Feng was enough to petrify the hundreds of players from Martial Union. This power was just too frightening. Just who is this guy? Is he a god-ranked expert? The onlooking players were with both curious and shocked as they watched Shi Feng. He had single-handedly faced off against several hundred players and even managed to kill tens of players without receiving any damage. Even a god-ranked expert was not capable of such a feat. After some time, the town guards finally arrived. The guards are here! Were saved! Seeing dozens of guards in silver heavy-armor rushing over, the members of Martial Union sighed in relief. 169 The Most Awesome Red Name At this moment, thousands of players surrounded the fountain plaza of Red Leaf Town. Due to the increase of new players in Gods Domain, Red Leaf Town had become the most prosperous town among the few surrounding towns. The player count in Red Leaf Town was already close to 20,000. Hence, the scene of Martial Union suddenly chasing away all the players from the towns fountain plaza would naturally attract the attention of other players; curiosity would grow over the disturbance. This wasnt limited to independent players; even the other large Guilds had sent players over to investigate what Martial Union was up to. When all these players arrived, they discovered that Martial Union currently attempted to carry out a vendetta against an independent player. Moreover, they did so right in the middle of Red Leaf Town. However, Red Leaf Town possessed a protective mechanism for players. If they started a battle here, the town guards would definitely appear. Not only would they kill red players on the spot, but they would also jail them upon revival. No matter how one looked at it, killing someone in town was unwise. Both sides would only suffer losses. At this stage of the game, no matter how many players one had on their side, they still would not dare provoke the town guards. Every player clearly understood how powerful these guards were. As these guards would normally patrol around the town, players could easily find one and observe their statistics. The normal guards alone were Level 60, while the guard captain was a Level 80 Elite. It would not matter how many players went up against them; any who resisted would only meet their demise. To put it another way, the current players in Gods Domain had no abilities whatsoever to retaliate against the town guards. However, nobody would have imagined that someone would actually take action. Moreover, the one who took action was that independent player. Originally, everyone thought that the independent player was fated to die. In spite of that, the results exceeded everyones expectations. One man alone had massacred the players from Martial Union, instilling a paralyzing fear. This feat was too heaven-defying! Unfortunately, even if that independent player were powerful, he would still die at the hands of the town guards. Who told them to start a fight right in the middle of town? The town guards that hurried over had surrounded the fountain plaza, detaining all of the players involved in causing this ruckus. Big Brother Ye Feng, Im sorry! Its my fault for dragging you into this mess! Fire Dance apologized as she walked over. Shi Fengs character name had begun to turn black due to the high intensity of the red color. Just looking at it caused one to shudder. Including her past companions, Shi Feng had killed more than a hundred players during this battle. With this Crime Value, if Shi Feng died, he would lose at least seven Levels. Meanwhile, the town guards had them surrounded. The guards would kill all Red Players, leaving Shi Feng no chance to escape. This was still not the most important point. After the guards killed him, Shi Feng would immediately revive in jail, and his Crime Value would determine the duration of his imprisonment. With Shi Fengs Crime Value, he would be locked up for around a week before he could clear away his Crime Value. The players of Martial Union watched Shi Feng with ridiculing expressions. Although they, too would receive punishment, compared to Shi Feng, theirs would significantly pale in comparison. Relax, Shi Feng laughed. Cola and the others had smiles on their faces. It was especially true for Violet Cloud. This was not the first time she had experienced such a situation. Martial Union had also caused the previous incident she encountered. She would have never imagined that history would repeat itself. The reactions of Shi Fengs teammates confused Fire Dance and Water Buffalo. Why, as teammates, were Cola and the others not worried for Shi Feng one little bit? Big Sister Fire Dance, you should relax. Our leader isnt an ordinary person, Violet Cloud giggled as she spoke. The moment Violet Cloud finished speaking, a guard, donned with silvery-grey-colored heavy armor, walked up. Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter, we meet again. How may I be of service to you this time? the guard captain was all smiles as he greeted Shi Feng respectfully. Compared to the last meeting, Shi Fengs current reputation was much higher. Hence, the guard captain spoke to Shi Feng with even more respect. Although Shi Feng and his teammates felt that the guard captains actions were only natural, this scene shocked the other onlookers. It was especially true for the members of Martial Union; their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in shock. Shi Feng was clearly a devil of massacre, yet, instead of quickly killing him, the guard captain spoke to him with such regard? What was going on in this world? Isnt that person Ye Feng? I remember him. Last time, he killed the members of Martial Union right in front of the guards. In the end, he got away with simply paying a small sum of money. I was dumbfounded at that time, but later on, I found out that if a player became a noble, they gain special privileges. Even if he killed players right in front of the guards, he would not receive any sort of punishment. At worst, he would have to pay a small compensation fee. How could Martial Union be so forgetful this time? They still dare to take action against Ye Feng inside of Red Leaf Town. Dont they know that Ye Feng is a noble of Red Leaf Town? How foolish could they get? You might not know this, but the Martial Union in Red Leaf Town has already changed. The previous members have long since left the Guild, and Unstable Devastation is the new leader. Right now, the members of Martial Union are all players called in from other towns. A large majority of them also consist of newcomers, so they have no idea about this matter at all. Some of the players aware of the previous incident simply shook their heads while laughing. They felt that Martial Union, as a Guild, was truly beyond salvation. At the very least, before they tried to deal with Ye Feng, they should have investigated and tried to understand more about him. Regardless of what others said, Ye Feng was one of the few players who managed to clear the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. Hearing the explanation from these knowledgeable players, the faces of everyone from Martial Union turned grim. Only now did they know why Shi Feng behaved so calmly. However, now that matters had reached this point, they could only glare at him, their gazes full of reluctance. Esteemed Lord Guard Captain, this isnt the first time these people from Martial Union have provoked me in town. I wonder if there is any way to prevent such incidents from happening in the future? Shi Feng asked with a smile. Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter, since this Guild called Martial Union has a record of past offense, with My Lords high status, you can employ your rights to chase this Guild out of Red Leaf Town. However, you will have to pay a fixed amount of reputation to utilize this right. What will My Lord decide? the Guard Captain stated. Originally, Shi Feng simply inquired. After all, without a definite degree of status, he could not employ such a right. However, he never imagined that a Demon Hunter would have such a high social status. Hence, he asked, How much do I have to pay? Since Martial Union does not possess any members of nobility in Red Leaf Town, My Lord only needs to pay 100 Red Leaf Town Reputation Points, the guard captain said. I understand. Shi Feng only had 130 Red Leaf Town Reputation Points right now. However, spending 100 points as a precautionary measure was nothing of significance. He had the Demon Hunter title in any case; he would be a noble wherever he went, and he did not lack such a small amount of Reputation Points. I wish to employ this right. System: You have used your special privileges; Reputation in Red Leaf Town reduced by 100 points. Red Leaf Town will deport all members of Martial Union. As you wish, Esteemed Lord Demon Hunter! Immediately, the guard captain gave out the deportation order to his subordinates. However, all members of Martial Union currently in the fountain plaza would first sit in jail for three hours before their removal from Red Leaf Town. As for the other members of Martial Union, the guards would immediately exercise them from Town, and any who resist would be immediately killed. Simultaneously, all members of Martial Union within Red Leaf Town received the deportation notice. The notice stunned every one of them, and even Unstable Devastation, who just revived with a stomach full of anger, was dumbfounded. He had already given up on his plan to develop Martial Union in five different towns, and after much difficulty, he only just managed to solidify Martial Unions foundation in Red Leaf Town. Just as he was about to welcome a bright future, that future shattered. How could this be? Just what happened? Unstable Devastations mental state was a mess right now. Everything had happened far too quickly for him to react. He had wasted so much manpower, resources and a great amount of time, yet it all had gone to waste. Just who was this Ye Feng? Why did he possess such great authority? How could a Red Player have the authority to deport an entire Guild from a town? For a time, countless questions darted through Unstable Devastations mind. However, regardless of how hard he racked his brain, he could not think of any way to deal with this matter. He also could not change the fact that they were being deported. He could only watch as guards walked up to him, intending to chase him out of Red Leaf Town. Everyone had sentimental attachments for their homeland. If they suddenly moved, within a short time, they could not adapt to the new location. It was even more so for average players. They would not suddenly accept having to leave the location with which they were most familiar. Thus, they all promptly chose to leave Martial Union instead. For a time, the member count of Martial Union frantically decreased. Only a few moments had passed since the deportation started, and the member count had already dropped below 500. The majority of the members who stayed mostly consisted of the members that Unstable Devastation had originally brought over from other towns. Hence, they did not choose to leave the Guild immediately. However, leaving for another town now would greatly impact their leveling speed. As a result, the Guilds development would stagnate for a long period. The loss they incurred was simply immeasurable. Watching the town guards deport the members of Martial Union, the onlooking players were at a loss; they were shocked into speechlessness. Just what was happening here? Could that Red Player be the new mayor of Red Leaf Town? However, compared to Martial Unions exorcism, the members of other Guilds concerned themselves with another matter. Boss, Ive discovered big news here. Look at the recording I just sent to you. Vice-Leader, I discovered another god-ranked expert. Big Bro, something big happened in Red Leaf Town. Someone in the fountain plaza has flipped over Martial Unions several hundred players by himself, and even the guards could do nothing against him. The members of various large Guilds started contacting the upper echelons of their Guilds. They intended to report this unbelievable incident, letting the upper echelons determining their next move. Originally, these upper echelons refused to believe the reports. However, after watching the irrefutable evidence, they were all greatly shocked. Could a single player be so strong? Shi Feng had killed a Level 9 Shield Warrior in a single hit. Moreover, they were very familiar with this Shield Warrior. He was Cold Mountain Fighting Spirit, the core MT of Martial Unions elite team, and he was fully geared with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Yet, he still died from a single hit. Xuanzi, listen up. You must keep an eye on him. Ill hurry over there now. For such a god-ranked expert to actually be an independent player, we must recruit him. Remember, you absolutely cannot provoke him. If any problems occur, itll all be on your head, Undefeated Wolf, the Vice-Leader of the third-rate Guild, Heavens Crown, said sternly. Boss, rest assured; Ill keep an eye on him. I will not let him out of my sight. At this moment, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds had made a similar decision: to recruit Shi Feng into their Guilds, no matter what it took. One could no longer use the normal standard to judge a great expert like Shi Feng. He was a tactical-ranked expert that could single-handedly decide the results of a team battle. If they could recruit him, be it Team Dungeons or fighting field Bosses, he would have a decisive role. 170 Famous After the guard captain respectfully left, Fire Dance finally understood why her new teammates were not concerned one bit for Shi Feng. However, more questions tumbled through her mind now. Just who was Shi Feng? Standing by the side, Water Buffalo finally managed to shut his hanging jaw. There was a saying commonly used in virtual reality games; a teams achievements depended on their leader. Right now, even the guard captain treated Shi Feng with such respect. With a team leader like Shi Feng, just to what heights would he lead them? In Gods Domain, gaming experts like Shi Feng were definitely highly sought after characters. With a simple word from Shi Feng, countless large Guilds would be willing to offer a high price to recruit him into their Guilds; even first-rate Guilds were no exception. Water Buffalo never imagined that Shi Feng would form his own team instead. Meanwhile, the players who joined such a team would become the envy of others. Previously, the main reason Water Buffalo willingly joined Shi Fengs team was his trust in Fire Dance. Meanwhile, Fire Dance was, more or less, an expert herself. As for Water Buffalo, he had his own heros dream, and he only joined Fire Dances team to learn various techniques from her. Since the beginning, this was the first time Water Buffalo truly felt fortunate for being able to join Shi Fengs team. However, it was not due to Shi Fengs terrifying Attack Power. Instead, it was because of the techniques Shi Feng displayed during battle. Be it dodging, angles to attack, timing, or a confident grasp of the surrounding terrain, Shi Feng was extremely precise with all of these aspects. Otherwise, Shi Feng could not have made fools out of Martial Union. Moreover, Shi Feng was a righteous person. Regarding potential, Shi Feng stood at the apex of the virtual gaming world. If Water Buffalo could learn even a little from this new team leader of his, he would have no troubles with becoming a normal expert. If he followed Shi Fengs guidance, he might even set foot in the unreachable world of top-tier experts. Ugh theres too many people here. Lets go to a restaurant with fewer people before we continue our discussion. Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings, discovering that there were over three or four hundred players staring fervently at him. This was not a suitable place to speak about his future plans. Cola and the others nodded; they could no longer endure the countless stares either. These gazes all belonged to independent players that wished to join their team. Among them, there were plenty who were Level 7 or Level 8. There were even quite a few wealthy players who offered tens of thousands of Credits in exchange for power-leveling, or in some cases, assistance with their quests. There were also plenty of good-looking female players running up, asking to become friends. That aroused the envy of many male players. However, they were helpless in the face of Shi Fengs ferocity. Shi Feng was like a hero from ancient times. In this day and age, men who possessed powerful techniques were very attractive to beautiful women, not to mention a god-ranked expert like Shi Feng. However, something more amazing occurred simultaneously. The various large Guilds in Red Leaf Town flooded Shi Feng with communication requests, wishing to chat with him; he rejected them all. Sister Fire Dance, you have to strive harder! This is a great chance for you right now. In the future, as leaders popularity grows larger and larger, who knows, there might be even more powerful beauties joining the team! Water Buffalo nudged Fire Dance, laughing quietly. Scram! Who said that I wanted to become Big Brother Ye Fengs girl-girlfriend! Fire Dance stuttered, a light blush suddenly appearing on her cheeks. \--- Atop a hill, outside Red Leaf Town, hundreds of Martial Unions members gathered. They could only observe Red Leaf Town from the hilltop, not daring to go near the town. Despicable! Despicable! That damnable Ye Feng! All my plans have been ruined now because of him! Unstable Devastation coldly glared at Red Leaf Town, his heart burning with anger. Previously, he had looked down upon Shi Feng. He merely thought of Shi Feng as a vagabond expert; how powerful could he be? Only now did he realize the crux of the problem; Shi Feng was no ordinary expert. As proven, he was even capable of deporting their entire Guild. If Unstable Devastation had known of this matter earlier, he would not have taken such a foolish action. _Ye Feng, you will only enjoy this glory for the moment. Very quickly, the footage that will ruin you will dominate the official forums. When that time arrives, everyone will condemn you. Although I cant kill you, it will be enough if I can annoy you to death. We''ll see if you can establish your own team with your reputation in tatters. Without a team, a persons strength is limited. When we enter White River City, Ill deal with you slowly. I dont believe that you can deport Martial Union from White River City as well!_ Unstable Devastation laughed contemptuously. He then uploaded the footage he recorded to the official forums, and while doing so, he instructed his subordinates to hype things up. To save his own life, Shi Feng slaughtered his own companions. Sooner or later, Shi Fengs name would fall into ruin. Who would dare team up with such a person then? \--- Inside a restaurant in Red Leaf Town, Shi Feng finally managed to break away from all the pestering that had overwhelmed him. Nobody could disturb him inside a private room. After spending more than ten minutes discussing and arranging the necessary tasks for Cola and the others, just as they were about to take action... Leader, as expected, that Unstable Devastation has retaliated. Right now, a video has appeared on the official forums. The post also stated that, in order to save your own life, you willingly killed your own companions; extremely despicable. There are also plenty of people slandering you below the post, Cola said. Fire Dance and the others took a look at the post as well. _ God-ranked expert is a despicable little man! Proof available!_ Immediately, the teams expressions turned livid. They did not imagine that their former companions would behave so shamelessly. They actually stood up to accuse Shi Feng. They had clearly received Shi Fengs reward, yet, they worded it as if they had only attacked Martial Union because of their friendship with Shi Feng. After they realized their wrongdoings, when they tried to denounce Shi Feng, he killed them all. Such a treacherous little man did not deserve to be called an expert. However, as Shi Feng was too strong, and they were only a group of weaklings, they were powerless to seek justice; they could denounce Shi Feng online. The proof lay in their previous leader, Fire Dance, joining Shi Fengs current team; it was irrefutable, solid proof that Shi Feng could not challenge. Shi Feng was originally very famous throughout White River City. Not only did he clear the Hell Mode of a Team Dungeon, but he also enjoyed an indistinct relationship with the Snow Goddess, becoming the envy of others. Now that a scandal about him surfaced, in addition to the post being extremely one-sided, Shi Feng became everyones target. All kinds of curses were written in response to the post. Some of Shi Fengs previous supporters also voiced their shock at Shi Fengs hideous behavior, exclaiming their bad judgment from before. Instantly, this post became the most viewed topic in White River City. Its view count soared, far surpassing the post made during the war between Black Flame and Hammer Trading. Leader, lets start a counterattack right now! Cola could no longer endure this travesty. Unstable Devastation was simply too despicable. He had failed to defeat Shi Feng in an upright battle; so, he retaliated from the shadows, slandering Shi Fengs reputation. Although Shi Feng did not suffer any substantial losses, he still needed to establish his own Guild in the future. Those players blinded by this matter would certainly not join a Guild with such a leader. How were they supposed to develop their Guild? How could they compete with those large Guilds? Hahaha! It is truly well said, with both proof and logic! Im so touched; Im tearing up! Shi Feng could not help but laugh after seeing the post. Shi Feng had seen such tactics countless times in his past life. Among them, Unstable Devastation had used such tactics more than a dozen times to deal a hit to his enemies. Shi Feng could not help but admit that the tactic was indeed effective. However, so what? Unstable Devastation was the same as in the past. In the end, he could still not become the Guild Leader of Martial Union, and his strength in the later stages of the game was even weaker than Ironsword Lion by several stages. In front of absolute strength, all minor tricks were pointless. Alright, everyones dismissed. Go to the Silent Swamp and meet up with Blackie and Lonely Snow. Also, take these two Group Isolation Scrolls. Find a place inside of town to use these, then leave town and head for the Silent Swamp, Shi Feng took out two Tier 1 Group Isolation Magic Scrolls, handing them to Fire Dance and Cola. The Group Isolation Scroll allowed players to enter Stealth mode and increased Movement Speed by 10%. It could only be used in a non-combative state, and it had a duration of half an hour. The Stealth effect would break when players entered combat. With this item, Cola and the others could easily meet up with Blackie while avoiding surveillance. The group departed from the restaurant. Meanwhile, Shi Feng headed towards Red Leaf Towns Town Hall by himself. Unstable Devastation, Ill teach you, right now, that, no matter what tricks you have up your sleeves, in front of absolute strength, it is all meaningless, Shi Feng smiled as he closed the official forums. He then entered the tightly guarded Town Hall. 171 Underworld Guard Red Leaf Town, Slums, The Enchanted Bar. It was currently daytime in Gods Domain. A majority of the players were all out in the fields, leveling up, so there were very few players currently in the bar. However, there were currently over ten men geared with high-level equipment sitting in the corner of the bar. A murderous air surrounded these ten-plus men, and each of them possessed a sharp gaze similar to that of a poisonous snake, causing the hairs of others to stand on end. The presence of these men kept other players a respectful distance from them, chasing them from the bar, one after another. Hence, aside from the NPCs present, only these ten plus men remained within. There was a man with thick eyebrows who sat at the outermost edge of these players. He was a former captain of Martial Union, Ironsword Lion. At this moment, Ironsword Lion did not wear the Guild emblem of Martial Union, signifying that he was no longer one of Martial Unions men. Ironsword, youve done well this time. It is only thanks to you that Unstable Devastation has done as I wished. Once we return, Ill give you credit for your efforts. As long as you continue working hard, sooner or later, you can be the same as Absolute Heaven, an outer member of Underworld, seated at the head of the table, South Wolf praised Ironsword Lion. Thank you, Lord South Wolf, for your support! I will definitely give my utmost to complete all tasks given by the organization! Ironsword Lion respectfully said, his face filled with extreme excitement. Ever since Absolute Heaven had recommended him to South Wolf, Ironsword Lion discovered that his previous self was a frog in a well. His past self did not truly know how deep the waters of Gods Domain were. The interests involved in Gods Domain were simply too big for him to comprehend. If it were not for him coming into contact with a mysterious organization like Underworld, he would not know about this huge secret at all. Ironsword Lion was immediately stunned when he found out about this secret. He even thought that he had heard wrong. It took him more than ten minutes before he could accept this chilling secret. He celebrated the fact that he could gain the favor of Underworld, leaving behind the worthless Martial Union. Gods Domain was not a place in which unrated Guilds like Martial Union could play around. Even third-rate Guilds could be annihilated at any time. Only those second-rate Guilds or above, which possessed a strong background, could qualify to compete for authority in Gods Domain. If Ironsword Lion could become an outer member of Underworld, he could live a carefree life in the future. At that time, having an annual salary would only be a small matter. The more important part of becoming an outer member of Underworld was the status and authority that came with the position. He would be on equal standings with those big shots of corporations in the city; this was something that he had always dreamt of becoming. Lets continue by discussing how to deal with Ye Feng. With Unstable Devastation slandering him right now, Ye Feng will, sooner or later, fall from fame. The next step is destroying the relationship he has with Gentle Snow; then, finally giving Ye Feng a fatal blow, we will make him disappear from Gods Domain completely. When South Wolf recalled Shi Fengs arrogant words, he could not help but narrow his eyes, a cold glint shining in them. He wished he could get rid of Shi Feng right this instant. However, Young Master Feng had already given him a command and had even sent a party of Underworld Guards to assist him. Hence, South Wolf could only vent his anger by slowly toying with Shi Feng. At this moment, Absolute Heaven, silent all this time, suddenly opened his mouth, saying, It would be very simple to break apart the relationship between Ye Feng and Gentle Snow. The problem is, how are we going to deal with Ye Feng? From the footage transmitted to us just now, I think that everyone has clearly seen how powerful he is. Even several hundred players could do nothing to Ye Feng. Who could block that frightening Attack Power of his? The last time I exchanged moves with him, I could withstand a few his blows. If I met him now, however, I probably wouldnt even have the chance to escape. As for a direct confrontation, he could most likely kill me in two to three moves. Dealing with Ye Feng right now? Wed only have a chance if we had ten or more top-tier experts to surround him. However, where can we find so many experts? Naturally, I realize this. This is also the reason why we need to deal with Ye Feng. He possesses an Epic ranked item, so his strength is intense. However, you shouldnt downplay our strengths just because of this. He merely got rid of a group of trash like Martial Union. Although the Underworld Guards are not as capable as Ye Feng, we can do the same thing. The only thing we lack is Attack Power. Regarding pure technique, Underworld Guard is much stronger than Ye Feng. Moreover, Young Master Feng has specifically sent us a full party of Underworld Guards as assistance. With a party of Underworld Guards, even if Ye Feng has an Epic ranked item, he will still be helpless against them. So, you dont have to worry about this, South Wolf said, smirking. He is simply a small character that got lucky. If it werent for Young Master Fengs command, I would be enough to deal with him. There would be no need for our entire party to take action a Level 9 Assassin named Flying Rat said disdainfully as he toyed with his dagger. Flying Rat wore the Level 8 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, the Blood Dawn. Thats enough, Flying Rat. That Ye Feng has some ability. Otherwise, Young Master Feng would not have told all of us to come here. South Wolf, contact us if you have any matters that you need us to deal with; the Underworld Guards arent free all day. The higher-ups have already given us a command to reach Level 10 by tomorrow. Otherwise, theyll expel us from the Underworld Guards. So, were off to level for now, Ming Sha, the party leader of this group of Underworld Guards, said. Ming Sha had a large body, and he was a stern-looking man over forty years old. Killing intent radiated from his entire body, and even Absolute Heaven feared this man. That is only natural. How could I possibly waste Big Bro Ming Shas valuable time? South Wolf said respectfully. Within the Underworld organization, the position of the Underworld Guards was relatively high up as they were the core strength of all of Underworld. Normally, Underworld Guards would only listen to the commands of the Guild Leader or elders. As for Young Master Feng, however, he was not even an elder in the organization. He could only mobilize the Underworld Guards due to his position in Underworld being slightly special. If it were any other person, the Underworld Guards would not pay them any attention. \--- Elsewhere, Shi Feng had already walked into the town hall. Sir, how may I be of service to you today? an elegant female worker walked up and asked Shi Feng. I wish to activate the permission to utilize the teleportation circle, Shi Feng said. In Gods Domain, only when a player reached Level 10 would they have the qualifications to come to the town hall and utilize the teleportation gates. After all, teleportation gates were extremely precious, and their maintenance required a lot of resources. Not just anybody could use them. I understand. Please follow me. Following which, Shi Feng arrived at the front desk of the town hall. After dealing with all the necessary procedures, he obtained a new identity card. With it, he could freely utilize the teleportation gate. However, he would have to pay a fee each time he used it. Normally, when one teleported from a town to a city, the fees were 1 Silver Coin. Meanwhile, teleportation between cities was slightly more expensive, and the fees would change depending on the distance. Teleporting to one of the closest cities from White River City cost at least 20 Silver Coins. Meanwhile, teleporting to the capital city, Star-Moon City, from White River City, cost around 1 Gold Coin. As a result, average players had no way to utilize these teleportation gates to travel between cities. Thus, average players would normally stay within the surroundings of their own cities to level up; they would not go to other cities to grind or do quests. Of course, they could run to other cities by foot as well. Only, they would need to spend at least a few days running to cross such a distance. When Shi Feng arrived at the teleportation hall of Red Leaf Town, the place was void of players. There were only a few Level 100 Elite guards wandering about. In actuality, Shi Feng did not originally intend to go to White River City so early. However, after the ruckus Unstable Devastation caused, his troubles had grown larger and larger. In order to develop his Guild in the future, he could only hasten his plans and take action now. Adventurer, you have to pay 1 Silver Coin to use the teleportation gate, the magician guarding the teleportation gate informed Shi Feng. Shi Feng paid the fees without hesitation, walking up to the teleportation gate. _Shua!_ Shi Feng disappeared from the teleportation hall of Red Leaf Town. At the same time, a notification rang out throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ye Feng for becoming the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to arrive at a city! Rewarding 20 Reputation Points in White River City and the title of Honorary Citizen of White River City. The appearance of this notice immediately sent trembles through all the players in the Star-Moon Kingdom. 172 Shocking All Sides Currently, the players of Martial Union hurried towards Clear Water Town. Clear Water Town was the nearest town to Red Leaf Town, and the player base there was around five to six thousand. Hahaha! Although we will incur a huge loss moving our base of operations, we can just start all over again. However, Ye Feng, your reputation is ruined! Everyone is denouncing you right now! I really want to see just how you are going to mingling in Gods Domain, and who else will dare join your team now! Unstable Devastation could not help but laugh as he read the forum post. Originally, the others from Martial Union felt depressed over having to move to another town. However, after watching Shi Fengs fame fall into complete ruin, their moods greatly improved. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ye Feng for becoming the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to arrive at a city! Rewarding 20 Reputation Points in White River City and the title of Honorary Citizen of White River City. What is this? Unstable Devastation immediately froze, shocked, after listening to this system announcement. Five to six seconds passed before he sobered up, and questions instantly filled his mind. How did Shi Feng reach Level 10 so quickly? The EXP required to go from Level 9 to Level 10 was several times that of the EXP needed to go from Level 8 to Level 9. Even for the upper echelons of first-rate Guilds, the most heaven-defying were only at 70% or so of Level 9 right now. Yet, Shi Feng had already reached Level 10. This also meant that Shi Feng had reached Level 10 before they had surrounded him. In regards to an independent player, such a leveling speed was simply unimaginable. Boss Unstable, not good! A new post about Ye Feng has appeared on the forums, and it is filled with all sorts of reverence and support for Ye Feng! Unstable Devastation hurriedly opened the official forums. At this moment, the post his subordinate mentioned already owned the top position on the forum, with the title: The number one player in White River City! Instantly, the popularity of the post surpassed the post Unstable Devastation had previously submitted. In this post, aside from Shi Fengs achievement of becoming the number one player in White River City, there were also plenty of other accomplishments mentioned. There was even uploaded footage of Shi Feng massacring the hundreds of players of Martial Union. In the footage, Shi Feng had killed close to a hundred players by himself, while he had frightened the hundreds of Martial Unions players present. Shi Fengs domineering actions had caused many players to start worshipping him. Although the footage only lasted a few short seconds, even after viewing it over a hundred times, one would still not tire of it. Shi Fengs lightning-speed dodging techniques and battle techniques were especially worth watching and learning. Previously, there had been quite a few people writing harsh words about Shi Feng, stating that he edited the footage and that it was impossible that he could be so powerful. They also argued that Shi Feng was only a back-stabbing, traitorous bastard, that there should be a limit to how far he could go, even when severing relationships. These people warned others not fall for such tricks, claiming that people like Shi Feng did not deserve praise. However, very quickly, people started standing up and speaking for Shi Feng. These people had all personally witnessed the entire incident, and knew more information than others. Moreover, videos recorded in Gods Domain could not be photoshopped, as these videos were under the supervision of the Main God System. Thus, the law acknowledged both the videos recorded and contracts signed in Gods Domain. Immediately, those who slandered Shi Feng fell abruptly silent, as they knew that they would only become a joke if they continued mindlessly causing trouble. Simultaneously, plenty of people who explained the truth of the matter came out of the woodwork. These idiots only scandalize others because they cant stand others living a better life. Im a player of Red Leaf Town, and I witnessed the incident very clearly. Even Martial Union was helpless against Ye Feng; do you think hell need that trashs help? Those losers were people who took the bounty Ye Feng offered, and they slandered Ye Feng simply because they were afraid of Martial Union taking revenge on them. Ive also heard about it. Those people are the scum of society! To avoid Martial Unions retaliation, they were even willing to kill their own team leader! Meanwhile, Ye Feng killed all of them because he simply could not sit back and watch. Now, not only have these people not repented for their actions, but they also took the initiative to blame Ye Feng! They are simply too despicable! Hahaha! Those people received a big slap to their faces! Ye Feng can frighten hundreds of players from Martial Union into a pause. Do you people really think that you are fit to become a god-ranked experts companions? You even have the gall to say that you helped Ye Feng? Is your second-grade syndrome incurable? You guys dont know how awesome Ye Feng is. Just a word from him, and right now, all of Martial Union is being removed from Red Leaf Town. You cant find a single player from Martial Union standing on the streets now! Ye Feng is just too awesome! As expected of a god-ranked expert! When god slaps faces, all of those haters will have to dismiss themselves. Unstable Devastation was immediately dumbfounded as he read the replies to the post. He had only managed to slander Shi Feng after great difficulties. Yet, in the end, without even saying a word, Shi Feng had recovered using a single system announcement. Not only did he solved the problem, but he had also increased his fame to greater heights. \--- As for Fire Dances companions, when they saw the system announcement and the forum post, their expressions turned extremely ugly; even their intestines turned green with regret. They did not imagine that Shi Feng was actually so powerful. How great would it have been if, at that time, they had joined Shi Fengs team with Fire Dance? Instead, they were now scorned and verbally abused by others. Furthermore, they had lost another level due to their deaths at Shi Fengs hands. They could not even compare to average players anymore. At that time, they only acted in such a way to avoid the retaliation of Martial Union. In the end, however, Martial Union was deported from Red Leaf Town, so they wouldnt be able to retaliate against them in the first place. Such an end left them feeling empty and lost. Just why had they chosen such a path? \--- Meanwhile, it wasnt just Unstable Devastation who was shocked by this development. On Underworlds side, both South Wolf and the Underworld Guards were similarly stunned by this news. Wasnt this Ye Fengs leveling speed a little too fast? South Wolf nearly spat blood in anger. Now that Shi Feng had entered the city, his previous detailed plan was useless; he needed to start from the very beginning again. \--- When Gentle Snow, who was currently in a Level 10 monster area, discovered this news, she fell into deep thought for quite some time. I truly underestimated him. Although my level is already quite high, I still have to grind for five to six hours before I can reach Level 10. During these five to six hours, Ye Feng might very well widen the gap in our levels even further after entering White River City, Gentle Snow laughed bitterly. Everyone knew that all virtual reality games shared a common point; the resources available were limited. There were only so many leveling resources available in every region. Unquestionably, the more resources a person possessed, the greater their leveling and development speed would be. As for the resources available in the city, without a doubt, the earlier one entered the city, the more resources one could obtain. There were plenty of high-level quests in a city. The existence of teleportation gates also enabled fast travel to leveling areas. Hence, by entering the city ahead of others, one could quickly monopolize the best areas for leveling up. In the city, the tools and items sold were also limited. These items would be of great help to a teams speedy development. This gap of five to six hours would allow Shi Feng to do plenty of things in the city. By the time we reach White River City, most likely, we would have to discuss matters of cooperation with him once again, Gentle Snow revealed a helpless smile. \--- In actuality, Gentle Snow wasnt the only person who intended to discuss matters of cooperation with Shi Feng. The various large Guilds around White River City also tried desperately to contact Shi Feng. They all wished to recruit Shi Feng into their command. As for the Guilds outside of White River City, they all developed a curiosity towards Shi Feng. An independent player was actually the first player to reach Level 10; it was an incredible feat. If Shi Feng were some great character from a large Guild, they might not have thought much about this matter. However, this was not the case. The upper echelons of the various Guilds all had a group of elite players aiding them with grinding monsters. Thus, their leveling efficiency was much higher than other players. However, against all odds, the first person to enter a city was an independent player. How could this not shock them? At the same time, Shi Fengs entrance into White River City had rung alarm bells to the many Guilds out there. Someone had already started their development in a city. If they continued dragging their feet, this would become a big threat to their futures. To increase their leveling speed, they all focused on crafting Whetstones. They purchased Hard Stones in bulks, inflating the cost of Hard Stones once more. However, all these large Guilds were unaware that their actions were precisely as Shi Feng had planned. \--- White River City, one of the five major cities in Star Moon Kingdom. From afar, one could see towering buildings erected throughout the city. It was a sight no town could ever hope to compare with. Just the number of NPCs residing within the city exceeded 100,000. Moreover, the city could hold over two million players within its walls. It was a sight that many Guilds would fight to possess. At this time, Shi Feng walked down the main street of White River City. Before he had arrived in White River City, Shi Feng had wiped clean his name using the Demon Mask, so he was not afraid of the city guards. In any case, he was a globally recognized noble. Even if he entered White River City with a red name, he would not face any major challenges. Only, there were some NPCs unwilling to deal with red players, preventing Shi Feng from accepting any high-level quests. So, he chose to clear up his name. _Lets have a look at the city hall for now._ Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. He took out the recommendation letter that he received from Blackbeard, the mayor of Stonehammer Town. This letter was one of the items he would use as capital to rise in White River City. 173 Magistrate Weissman White River City was the fifth most populated city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Although it was incredibly small compared to Blackwing City, if one wanted to explore the entire city fully, one would need at least several days. The teleportation hall of White River City was located on the south-west side of the city. It was relatively close to the citys entrance. Meanwhile, the city hall was situated right in the heart of the city, by the White River Plaza in the Trade Area. White River City was considered a city because its administration was far more strict than a towns. At the same time, it was also much active. Being the focal point of several hundred towns, there were many more merchants here. On either side of the main street, one could easily find various item shops, bars, restaurants, fruit stores, clothing stores, leather clothing stores, armor stores, magic stores, alchemy workshops, smithies, and much more. In the city, players were not allowed to set up their own stalls. If they wished to sell their items, they needed to purchase a shop. However, it was extremely expensive to purchase a personal shop in the city; ordinary players could not afford a shop by themselves. Not just any player could purchase a shop either. Players needed a set amount of reputation points before they were able to do so, and the locations of the shops they could buy depended on their status. However, this didnt mean that players had no chances of selling their items at all. The first method players could employ, other than purchasing their own shops, was the Auction House. The Auction House of White River City was extremely prosperous as it connected to the closest eight cities with lower populations. As long as players placed put their items up for auction, players from the other eight cities could access them. However, the Auction House charged an extraordinary fee for their services. The registration fees depended on an items selling price and the duration the owner wished to auction for. There was also an 8% auction fee after the item sold. If players sold an item in the Auction House, overall, they would have to pay 15% of the items value in fees. It was not worthwhile in the least. Items sold in a citys Auction House were extremely expensive. Some of the minor items were not even worth auctioning. As for the second method, there would be a large-scale market once every three days in the plaza of White River City. Players only need pay a small fee, and they could set up their own stalls to sell their items. This method suited independent players extremely well. The only unfortunate aspect was that the market only occurred once every three days. Moreover, the market began at night and only lasted for ten hours. For players uninterested in grinding and adventure, yet still desiring development within God''s Domain, opening their own shops in a city was of the utmost importance. Only with a shop could players conduct business 48 hours in a day. Moreover, along with the development of Gods Domain, the money one could earn from opening a shop in White River City could rival the earnings of opening a shop in real life. In Shi Fengs previous life, there were plenty of players who were unimpressed by grinding monsters and leveling. Instead, these players spent all their efforts to purchase a shop. Although the locations of their shops were very secluded, the amount of money they earned was enough to cover their living expenses in real life with a lot to spare as well. Shi Feng rode a horse carriage towards the city hall. Compared to the town hall in Red Leaf Town, the city hall in White River City was a much more spectacular sight. The building had a total of ten floors, and the area it covered was about the size of a football field. At the entrance of the building, there were more than twenty garrison knights standing guard. These guards were all Level 150 Elites. The garrison captain was a Level 160 Tier 2 Knight; with his strength, he could easily decimate an entire town. Moreover, for a large city like White River City, there would be two to three Tier 4 class NPCs on guard. Powerful monsters and dark powers dared not come near it. Immediately after Shi Feng stepped into the city hall, an elegant beauty walked towards him. Esteemed Sir, is there anything I can help you with? the beautiful employee blinked her doll-like eyes as she asked. I wish to see the Magistrate, Lord Weissman. I have with me Blackbeards letter of introduction, Shi Feng said, displaying his Demon Hunter title. Commoners had no right to meet the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman, as one needed sufficient status to do so. After all, a magistrate was equivalent of a mayor, and Magistrate Weissman controlled all military and political power in White River City. If one wished to speak with him, at the barest minimum, one needed to be a noble of White River City. However, Shi Fengs reputation in White River City was far from a noble. He could only reveal his identity as a Demon Hunter. So it is Lord Demon Hunter. Magistrate Weissman is currently occupied with public affairs. My Lord will have to wait for some time before he becomes available. If you are not in a hurry, you can wait in the lounge, and I will notify Lord Weissman of your arrival, the beautiful employee showed respect upon seeing Shi Fengs title. A noble was not an existence commoners like her could afford to provoke, even if she worked for the kingdom. Yes, please notify him for me, Shi Feng nodded. He then wandered towards the city halls lounge. Sitting in the empty lounge with nothing better to do, Shi Feng switched his system communications back on. Di! Di! Di! Previously, to avoid interruption, Shi Feng had intentionally switched off the system communication function; nobody could contact him that way. However, the moment he switched it back on, he discovered hundreds of communication requests pending his approval. Shi Feng was familiar with many of these players. A majority of them were the upper echelons of large Guilds situated in White River City. Some were even the Vice-Leaders or elders of Guilds. Of course, Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow were no exception to this list. After all, the advantage of entering White River City ahead of others was far too impressive to ignore. Before entering White River City, information such as the best leveling grounds and the best locations to farm resources were a big mystery to everyone. Without entering the city, one could not obtain any information about the quests available in the city and the city laws imposed on players. To a Guild, obtaining such information before others was a great boon. They could occupy the best leveling spots and obtain high-level quests a step ahead of others. They could purchase daily and weekly limited items and gather herbs, ores, and such resources ahead of others. Guilds were most eager for this information as it would enable them to rise ahead of their competitors. Especially now as these Guilds neared level ten and the ability to enter White River City. If they could obtain this information beforehand, they could adapt to the new environment quickly and confidently go out to grind and gather resources. They would not need to waste time collecting this information. They could also use the time saved to pull ahead of the other Guilds developing in other cities. With so many benefits, these Guilds would not Shi Feng slip through their grasps. They would find a way to contact him. Unfortunately, the results of their efforts simply dumbfounded all of them. They did not think that Shi Feng would shut down all forms of communications, leaving them with no way to contact him at all. The only choice they had left was to leave Shi Feng messages. As a result, thousands of messages filled Shi Fengs mailbox. If he read all of them, he would need to spend at least four to five hours. However, since Shi Feng had nothing better to do right now, he looked at the messages sent by Guilds worth contacting. After all, he was an independent player. If he did not sell even any information, he would only gain enemies. With his current strength and influence, he would only end up in tragedy by doing so. So, he would choose a few to do business with. Naturally, Stabbing Heart and Gentle Snow were on his list of business partners. Shi Feng was already friends with them no matter how he looked at it. He would sell them information at a reduced price. However, it was a different story for the other Guilds. Shi Feng also had to consider what information he would sell. After all, he knew White River City like his own backyard. However, there was no way he could sell all the information he knew. He needed to consider what information he could sell. This information should greatly interest these Guilds. He could charge a high price while not giving these Guilds too much advantage and hindering to his own future. Shi Feng was gaining a migraine over this decision. 174 Blacksteels Contrac Shortly after Shi Feng entered White River City, all the players within White River City region entered a crazed state. The various large Guilds behaved in the same way. They all began forming teams to grind and level up, intending to enter White River City as soon as possible. However, the higher level the monster areas they grinded in were, the more problems they encountered. Not mentioning the fact that more players explored the high-level areas, nor the matter of the Guilds competing and battling with each other, just the simple matter of weapon and equipment durability was already a huge headache to these various large Guilds. Have they still not sent the Whetstones, yet? The entire teams weapon durability is almost at its limit, Stabbing Heart said in the team chat. They just informed me that the forgers have just finished a new batch and are sending it our way, a Ranger replied. How many are they sending? Stabbing Heart asked. Five stacks, a total of 100 Whetstones, the Ranger said in a soft and troubled tone. Why are there only 100? Didnt we buy over 500 Hard Stones? Stabbing Hearts expression sunk, turning extremely ugly to behold. There were over 60 players in their elite team, and they all were currently grinding in a Level 10 monster area. Each Whetstone could recover 3 to 7 durability points on a weapon, and 100 Whetstones would only last them around an hour or so. Theyve already used all 500. We are trying to purchase them in bulk, but we simply cant find any. Many players are just paying forgers to turn their Hard Stones into Whetstones. Weve already sent out many of our newcomers to grind for Hard Stones in Dark Moon Valley. However, ever since Gods Domains upgrade, the drop-rate of Hard Stones has decreased. Moreover, the ten plus forgers weve nurtured are only Basic Forging Apprentices right now; they have a very low success rate for making Whetstones. The success rate would be higher if they were Intermediate Forging Apprentices; we wouldnt have to waste so many Hard Stones. However, the increase in proficiency in forging is just too slow. Right now, they dont have enough proficiency points to become an Intermediate Forging Apprentices at the moment. The Rangers face turned awkward as he explained. Nurturing forgers and potionmakers had been very important to their Guild for some time. However, where would they find enough money and resources to invest in them? Until now, these lifestyle players had not supplied any advantages to the Guild. Hah Stabbing Heart let out a deep sigh. He grew worried as he listened to his subordinates report. Only now did he truly realize the importance of forgers. Although their Guild had started nurturing forgers from an early period, collecting plenty of resources and investing a great amount of money into their development, they never thought that it would be so hard to raise a forger. If the Guild had an Intermediate Forging Apprentice right now, they wouldnt have been so desperate for Whetstones. I understand. Tell the elite team members to use them sparingly, then. Try to reduce the contact their weapons have with monsters; that way, they can slow down the damage to their weapons. Also, tell the outer members to put more effort into gathering Hard Stones, Stabbing Heart said helplessly. The lack of Whetstones had left a second-rate apex Guild like the Assassins Alliance in such a poor state. Of course, this wasnt due to them not having money, but simply because they could not buy any Hard Stones, not to mention Whetstones. Even if a stack of Whetstones sold for 10 Silver Coins at the moment, Stabbing Heart would not hesitate to purchase it. Unfortunately, there were none to be found on the market. The Assassins Alliance wasnt the only Guild faced with such a predicament. All the Guilds throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom currently held an intense desire for Whetstones. Only, they were not as tense as the Guilds situated within the White River City region. Speaking of which, the Guilds in the White River City region were currently in a desperate situation. The durability of their weapons fell too quickly, so they could not battle for long periods. However, without weapons, how could they battle at all? Even though they had such a large-sized Guild, there were only a scarce few forgers that could create Whetstones. An average Guild based in a town would normally have an elite team of around 30 players grinding in high-level monster areas. As for the third-rate Guilds in the White River City region, they had elite teams of around 500 to 600 players, while second-rate Guilds had over 1,000, and first-rate Guilds had over 3,000 to 4,000 players. Of course, there were still the independent players. Right now, the demand for Whetstones throughout the White River City region was intimidating. However, due to all of these Guilds desperately grinding towards Level 10, the price of Hard Stones soared once again. Each stack of Hard Stones sold of 1 Silver 20 Coppers right now. Yet, even with such a high price, the many Guilds in the White River City region still failed to purchase any \--- White River City, City Hall. Unknowingly, more than half an hour had passed since Shi Feng began his wait. During this half hour or so, Shi Feng managed to tidy up all the information regarding White River City. To the Guilds in the White River City region that did not know anything, this information was gold. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had organized this information into two versions. One was the simplified version; the other was the luxury version. After players read the simplified version, they would only have a rough understanding of White River City. For example, they would know that White River City held a large-scale market once every three days. However, the simplified version would not touch on the topic of resource distribution. On the other hand, the luxury version would give a rough introduction to it. It would tell the owner which locations were suited to certain classes for leveling, and which locations would have the most of a particular resource and more such information. This was the information large Guilds needed the most. Originally, Shi Feng intended to sell this information to these Guilds personally, converting it into Gold Coins. However, it was simply too troublesome to carry out these tasks. Moreover, Shi Feng did not lack Gold Coins right now, but Credits. After some careful consideration, Shi Feng finally decided to sell the information through the official forums. He would conduct the trade in Credits. The simplified version would target the independent players, while the luxury version would target the Guilds. Shi Feng sold the simplified version for 300 Credits. If players possessed the simplified version, it would be the equivalent of purchasing a guidebook of the city. At the very least, players would not be at a complete loss after entering the city, not knowing a single thing. As for the luxury version, Shi Feng sold it for 20,000 Credits. Although these Guilds would, sooner or later, discover the information themselves, they would need to waste a lot of time to do so. According to Shi Fengs estimates, at the very least, they would need to spend two to three days time investigating. Moreover, the information they obtained by themselves would not be as accurate as Shi Fengs. Two to three days time was incomparably precious to a Guild, so they would not pay any heed to wasting 20,000 Credits. Lord Demon Hunter, Magistrate Weissman waits for you in the parlor. Please, follow me, the beautiful employee suddenly returned to Shi Fengs side, softly saying. Alright, lead the way. Shi Feng stood and nodded. He followed the female employee up to the parlor on the buildings second floor. When he stepped into the spacious and elegant-looking parlor, the person waiting for him wore a silvery-grey-colored robe. The well-dressed man was in his fifties, and he held a staff with a deep-blue-colored gemstone embedded in it. The man currently sat by the windowside, gazing at the scenery outside the window in silence. This man was the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman. He was also a Tier 4 Wizard, and he was a Level 200 NPC. Without question, he was one of the strongest individuals currently in White River City. Even though Weissman stood there in silence, Shi Feng could clearly feel the elemental mana in the room frantically gathering around Weissman, forming a weak magical domain that pressured others. However, this was merely an unconscious action of Weissmans. It went to show just how frightening a Tier 4 powerhouse was. If Weissman employed his magical domain, he could instantly turn Shi Feng into a pile of ash. Although Weissman only appeared to be a man in his fifties, his true age was well over 100-years-old. He was, without a doubt, an old monster. Young man, I hear you have a recommendation letter from Blackbeard? Weissman asked, smiling at Shi Feng. Although the Demon Hunter title held sway over normal NPCs, to a powerhouse like Weissman, it was nothing worthy of mention. Weissmans identity as a Tier 4 class far exceeded the status of a Demon Hunter. Thats right. Mayor Blackbeard wanted me to pass this to you, Shi Feng took out the recommendation letter, handing it over to Weissman. After Weissman received the letter, he did not immediately open it. He simply let out a deep sigh as he looked at Shi Feng, saying, That which should have come has finally arrived. Ive waited for this letter for thirty years. Only, I never imagined a young man like you would bring it to me. I guess it is now time for me to fulfill the contract made so long ago. 175 Demons Hear Contract? Shi Feng silently murmured, confused. From the information he collected in his previous life, there was no mention of a contract. That fortunate player had not revealed this information, so naturally, Shi Feng had no idea. However, since that fortunate player managed to complete the quest, Shi Feng did not believe that he could not complete it himself. After all, he was much stronger than that fortunate player in his previous life, so there was no reason why he couldnt do it as well. As long as he completed this quest, he would have the capital to establish himself in White River City. As for what that capital was...? Was there even a need to mention it? To any players new to White River City, there was nothing better than to own their own real estate. Moreover, this real estate wasnt ordinary; it was one of the nobles mansions, located in the heart of the Trade Area. Only with a mansion could one establish a Guild Residence. A Guild Residence was extremely important to a Guild. It was a Guilds most important benefit, second to none. Every Guild Residence acted as private territory. The greatest benefits it provided were an increase in leveling speed and unique Resident Quests. As long as a Guild possessed a Residence, all members that rested within could gain a Double EXP buff. With this buff, whether grinding or questing, players could obtain double the original EXP. However, players needed to rest in the Guild Residence for a certain amount of time to gain the Double EXP buff. Normally, resting for 48 hours would grant a player 20% Double EXP, and players could gain up to an entire level''s worth of Double EXP. To Guild members tired from battle, this feature was fatally tempting. There were also the special Resident Quests only available in the Guild Residence. The local NPCs commissioned these quests, and there would be some available every day. Moreover, the rewards for these quests were quite bountiful. There were even times that a quest would reward a Dark-Gold ranked item. When these Resident Quests were completed, the Guild would also receive Guild Reputation and Guild funds, as 20% of the remuneration for these Resident Quests would belong to the Guild. However, even though the Guild members only received 80% of the reward money, it was still a great deal more than the reward money of the majority of high-level quests. Aside from all that, a Guild Residence had many more functions. Thus, a Guild Residence was the core of a Guild. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard for Guilds to obtain their own Residence. First-rate Guilds could usually not obtain a Residence until more than a month had passed since Gods Domains release, not to mention the second-rate and third-rate Guilds. Even after four months, there would still be plenty of third-rate Guilds without Guild Residences. In Shi Fengs previous life, Shadow only managed to obtain its first Guild Residence after seven months in Gods Domain. By that time, a majority of the players were already around Level 50 or so. After much difficulty, Shadow only secured a Guild Residence in a relatively isolated city with only a population base of 200,000 to 300,000. From that moment onwards, Shadow had finally begun walking the path of a rated Guild. In Gods Domain, a Guild would only be officially recognized when they possessed a Guild Residence. Also, the speed at which they procured a Residence displayed the Guilds strength. Shi Fengs goal was to attain his own Guild Residence fifteen days after he entered White River City, and Blackbeards recommendation letter was the fastest way to achieve that goal. Right, however Weissman measured up Shi Feng in detail, shaking his head, saying, Young man, you are still too weak right now. Im afraid that you cannot fulfill this contract. Although I dont understand why Blackbeard places such trust in you, it is still too early for you right now. Lord Weissman, I believe that I am competent enough to complete this quest, Shi Feng spoke with determination. Weissman couldnt help but smile. _Young people are so confident. However, they will realize their ignorance when they meet true trouble._ He immediately replied, Young man, how about we make an accord? If you can pass the test I give you, Ill agree to your request. I will even aid you in completing Blackbeards contract. If you fail, however, then please, only return after you have officially become a Swordsman. How about it? Shi Feng lowered his head in silent contemplation. Based on what he could recall from his past life, that fortunate player also received his private territory when he was only around Level 10. Meanwhile, Weissman insisted that Shi Feng only return after officially becoming a Swordsman. At the beginning of the game, players did not actually start out with official classes; they were merely class apprentices. If they wished to receive an official class, a Tier 1 class, they needed to reach Level 20. Players would then need to apply for a class examination at the Class Association. Only when players passed the test would they officially be a Tier 1 class. In Shi Fengs case, after he passed the class examination, he would officially become a Swordsman. At that time, not only would his Attributes greatly increase, but he could also learn skills that catered to Tier 1 Swordsmen. He would also receive an official Swordsmans emblem. If even that Level 10 fortunate player could clear the quest, Shi Feng did not believe that he couldnt. After all, he was already Level 13; he hadnt just reached Level 10. Moreover, the equipment he wore was extremely good quality, so there was no reason for him to fail the quest. Lord Weissman, I accept your test, Shi Feng nodded his head in affirmation. My requirement is very simple. Bring me a Demons Heart. In the Cursed Land, there is a demons castle. Originally, it was the residence of a lord. However, after being tempted by a demon, that lord became a demon himself, reborn as the Dark Knight Gaia. He then cursed the land he ruled over, turning all of its people into demonkin. I need you to retrieve Gaias heart to dispel this curse. I wonder if you would be willing to go to that cursed castle and kill Dark Knight Gaia, fetching his heart for me? Weissman asked, his tone stern. The Demons Castle in the Cursed Land? Shi Feng could not help his shock. That was where the apex 20-man Team Dungeon for levels 10 to 15 was. In the past, there had been countless Guilds who experienced team-wipe after team-wipe raiding the Demons Castle. They had all died at the hands of Dark Knight Gaia. Thats right. If you cant accomplish even this task, I can only advise you to give up on the contract, Weissman persuaded. Is there a time limit? Shi Feng asked. None. It will be fine even if you complete the task after youve been promoted to an official Swordsman, Weissman smiled. Alright, then. I accept this agreement, Shi Feng released a breath. Most of the players in Gods Domain had yet to reach Level 10. If there were a short time limit, he could not complete this quest at all. If there were no time limit, however, then there would not be any huge problems. Shi Feng finally understood how that fortunate player completed this quest. At that time, a large majority of the players had already reached Level 20 or so. The elite team of a third-rate Guild could easily raid and conquer the Demons Castle, obtaining the Demons Heart. However, to the current Guilds in Gods Domain, it was an impossible task. At the very least, a team of twenty players was necessary to raid the Demons Castle. Moreover, their levels needed to be around Level 12 or Level 13, and they needed to possess adequate equipment. Otherwise, raiding the Demons Castle was only a pipe dream. _It seems that I need to hurry up and establish a team._ Shi Feng now had an approximate goal in his heart. The Fellowship Party being held in a few days time was an especially a good place for Shi Feng to recruit new members. If he had sufficient capital, he might be able to establish a powerful team. At that time, conquering the Demons Castle would be much easier. Watching Shi Feng leave, Weissman suddenly thought of something. He called at Shi Feng, saying, Young man, wait a moment! I still have something very important to tell you. 176 Blazing Meteor Shi Feng could not help but wonder when he was suddenly called. After all, Weissman was a Tier 4 Wizard and the tyrant of White River City. Any item he gave would have unlimited uses to Shi Feng. Regardless of the circumstances, my good friend still sent you. Take this item and this letter; hand them over to Master Seliora. It may be of some help to you, Weissman took out a flame-red-colored crystal and a letter, handing them to Shi Feng. Lord Weissman, thank you for your help. I will complete this agreement as soon as possible, Shi Feng said gratefully. System: Unique Quest Demons Heart accepted. Quest details: Go to the Demons Castle and obtain the Demons Heart for Weissman. Quest rewards: Unknown. System: Hidden Quest Search for Seliora accepted. Quest details: Look for Seliora in White River City and pass her the items that Weissman has given you. Quest rewards: Unknown. Instantly, Shi Feng received two precious quests. They were both more amazing than any high-level quests, especially the Unique Quest. As long as Shi Feng completed it, he could earn shocking rewards. Since he had received the quests, Shi Feng would not continue to waste his time here. He departed from the city hall immediately, summoning a horse carriage and dashing towards the Free Zone of White River City. The person Weissman wanted him to look for, Seliora, was a Master Forger. In White River City, very few players would know of Selioras fame. However, that did not mean that Seliora was not amazing. On the contrary, Seliora was known as a genius in the forging world. Seliora had become a Master Forger at a very young age, and she was only a step away from becoming a Grandmaster Forger. However, Seliora preferred to maintain a low profile, so not many people were aware of her existence. Shi Feng was one of the scant few players who knew about Seliora. Moreover, Shi Feng even knew where Seliora lived. The Hidden Quest Weissman gave might have troubled other players, but it was no trouble to Shi Feng at all. As for the Unique Quest Demons Heart, Shi Feng could only leave it alone for now. He also still had the Epic Quest Darkness Descends. Although Sharlyn was also in White River City, Shi Feng was too poor right now; he could not afford the information fee of 10 Gold Coins. So, he could only leave it alone for now as well. Moreover, when compared to the Demons Heart quest, an Epic Quest was most likely much harder to complete. Even if Shi Feng had the clue to complete the Epic Quest, he would still be powerless to complete it. So, he might as well set it aside for now. In any case, he had 30 days to complete it, and the time limit was still far away. It would not be too late for him to accomplish the quest after he further raised his strength. Twenty-something minutes later, Shi Feng finally arrived a very small smithy located within the Free Zone; the wooden door to this smithy was still closed. If outsiders saw this, they would think that the smithy was either closed to the public or no longer in operation. So, naturally, nobody would visit this place. After paying the 60 Copper carriage fee, Shi Feng walked towards the humble-looking smithy, knocking on the door gently. However, even after a long time, Shi Feng did not receive an answer. Hello, Master Seliora. I was sent here by Lord Weissman. I have with me a letter for you from the Magistrate. If Shi Feng barged into the smithy, even after having knocked for a long while without an answer and possessing the status of a noble, the guards would apprehend him and lock him up in jail for a good while. Hence, Shi Feng could only use a big character like Weissman to lure Seliora out. That way, Seliora would not continue feigning ignorance. After some time, there was finally some movement in the house. _Kachik_ _._ The thick wooden door opened, and a great beauty dressed in a black leather shirt stepped out. Below the large V-shaped collar,her ample bosom revealed itself. The beauty wore a pair of extremely short leather pants, revealing her long and slender legs. Her skin was a healthy wheat-color, and her dark hair cascaded down to her fine and delicate waist. Her entire body gave off a wild charm. The woman before him was indeed the Master Forger, Seliora. If Blackie could see this sight before Shi Feng right now, he would whistle his praise, his drool puddling on the ground. For Shi Feng, however, he had long since grown accustomed to such a sight. Seliora was the black rose of the forging world, and she was one of the rare few beauties who worked as a forger. After all, most forgers were muscular barbarians, unlike Seliora who was a young beauty, both sexy and attractive. Im very busy. Pass me the thing and leave, Seliora spoke impatiently, glancing at Shi Feng. Hearing Seliora speaking in such a way, Shi Feng felt extremely familiar with these words. He felt as if he had heard of them before from somewhere. After giving it some thought, Shi Feng suddenly recalled something. Wasnt he usually fond of using these words? This is the letter that Lord Weissman wanted me to give you, Shi Feng took out the letter, passing it to Seliora. Seliora received the letter. Not sparing the letter a single glance, she arbitrarily said, You can return now. Seliora started shutting the wooden door. Shi Feng was immediately left speechless, even though he had long since known of Selioras personality. He couldnt help but admit that any sort of master would have their own strange personality; Seliora was no exception. However, Shi Feng had made Seliora submit in his previous life, so there was no reason he could not do so now. Moreover, he seemed to have learned his catchphrase, Im busy, from Seliora. Ill leave, then, Shi Feng took out the flame-red colored crystal given to him by Weissman as he said so. He toyed with the crystal as he turned to leave. The flame-red crystal gave off a dazzling red-colored glow. Just by taking it out, the fire-type mana in the surrounding area started crazily gathering around the crystal. The flame-red glow increased its brilliance, attracting the attention of all onlookers. Wait! Seliora suddenly called out to Shi Feng. Master Seliora, do you still have some other matter? Shi Feng turned, a faint smile on his face as he asked. At this moment, Selioras large eyes were already glued onto the flame-red crystal in Shi Fengs hand. She was like an enamored little kitten, and her eyes followed the flame-red crystals movement in Shi Fengs hand, going up and down with great interest. Although Selioras personality was somewhat strange, she too faced a common problem that all forgers faced, the desire of rare forging materials. There was not a single forger out there who did not wish to create an item, famed throughout the entire continent, in their lifetime. Meanwhile, the prerequisite to create such an item was incomparably precious materials. Take the Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hands for example. In order for its fame to spread throughout the continent, the famous smith, Olysses, used the Black Dragon Kings fang as its core forging material. What was the Black Dragon King? That was the king among dragons, which represented destruction. It was a frightening creature that was the closest being to a God. Just the breath it spat out could destroy a city with millions of inhabitants. It was a frightening existence that could single-handedly destroy an entire kingdom. Meanwhile, to create the Abyssal Blade, the most precious fang of that frightening existences body was necessary. In the end, after the Abyssal Blades creation, it became one of the thirty-six famed swords in Gods Domain. The Abyssal Blades existence shook all of Gods Domain, and even after thousands of years, its might was still boundless. Can you sell me that item? Seliora asked,her face filled with desire, her tone making a complete transformation. Shi Feng shook his head, saying, I am truly sorry, Master Seliora, but Lord Weissman originally wanted me to bring this item to you to forge an item for me. However, seeing as you are busy, I would feel bad to continue disturbing you. So, I intend to look for Master Praust and see if he will make the item that I want. What? You are actually going to take this precious material to that old bastard, Praust? Do you know how wasteful you are being? If you want to forge an item, I can help you. Also, since you are a Swordsman, with this item, I would have no problems forging a Blazing Meteor of relatively high quality. If you give this material to that old bastard, he will definitely ruin it. 177 Selioras Shock Seliora stared at Shi Feng with her almond-shaped eyes, her hands on her hips; she looked like an angry lioness. This scene dumbfounded Shi Feng; he did not know what to say in this situation. Before, Seliora simply reacted with cold indifference towards him, yet, now, she was so obedient? The Blazing Meteor was a weapon that only Seliora knew how to create, and it was also her most famous creation. It was a weapon that all Swordsman dreamt of having. In Shi Fengs previous life, as long as one was a Swordsman, they would definitely have begged Seliora to create a Blazing Meteor for them. Many players were even willing to go bankrupt to obtain a Blazing Meteor. Shi Feng, who at, that time, had already become a Sword King, was no exception. He only managed to obtain one with much difficulty after a very long time. Although Shi Feng had already met his goal, he still toyed with Seliora by pretending hesitation. Immediately, Seliora started panicking. If she truly allowed that old bastard Praust obtain such a large Starfire Crystal, that old rat would come over to her place to show off and very often, at that. You should know that I am the most amazing Master Forger in White River City. None of the items I forge are of ordinary quality. Moreover, I am in a very good mood right now, so I will even use a rare material from my exclusive collection to forge a Blazing Meteor suitable for you! If you dont believe me, then come in and have a look! Seliora hurriedly pulled Shi Feng into her smithy, letting Shi Feng witness the masterpieces she had created. After entering the house, one would immediately discover that the exterior and interior of the house were practically two entirely different worlds. Although the exterior of the house was broken-down and humble, the interior was both beautiful and magnificent. Fine weaponry and equipment were all showcased within crystal cabinets. Not a single one of these weapons or equipment were of ordinary quality. They were all masterpieces of Fine-Gold rank or above. These were all masterpieces because, when compared to items of the same rank and level, the Attributes of the weapons and equipment made by Seliora were far superior. How is it? Do you see that dark-red-colored greatsword placed in the highest position? Thats an Epic Weapon that I personally made, Seliora stuck out her chest, boasting. Indeed, it was as Seliora had said. Among all these weapons and equipment, the most amazing item was the Level 120 Epic Weapon. In terms of strength, it exceeded the Mavis Protection by leaps and bounds. It was Selioras greatest creation to date, and it was also the only Epic ranked item that she had ever made. The reason Seliora bore the title of genius of the forging world was due to her accidentally creating this Epic Weapon. After all, it was nearly impossible for a forger to forge an Epic Weapon intentionally, as the success rate for even a Master Forger was abysmally low. Normally, only Grandmaster Forgers could achieve this feat. Unfortunately, Seliora was stuck at a bottleneck, and she would constantly be a step away from becoming a Grandmaster Forger. Hence, Seliora did not wish for anyone to disturb her as she stayed hidden in the Free Zone of White River City, continuously researching the art of forging. Now you know how amazing I am, right? Aside from those old hidden monsters, there has not been anybody else who can beat me regarding forging techniques, Seliora grinned; her gaze shifted back to the Starfire Crystal in Shi Fengs hand. With my techniques and the Starfire Crystal, I guarantee that I can create an exceptional Blazing Meteor. Moreover, since Lord Weissman sent you to me, I will naturally give it my all to help you. Shi Feng simply smiled at Selioras words. He handed the Starfire Crystal over to Seliora, softly saying, Ill be troubling you, then, Master Seliora. Seliora revealed a wide smile as she received the Starfire Crystal. Immediately, she ran towards her forging room, intending to create the Blazing Meteor straight away. Master Seliora, please wait a moment, Shi Feng hurriedly said. What is it? Dont tell me that youre going back on your word? Selioras eyebrows slightly wrinkled. She was extremely reluctant to part with the Starfire Crystal in her hands. You misunderstand me, Master Seliora. I think that this item should be of some help to you? Shi Feng took out a piece of Runic Steel that he received as a system reward. This item could increase the forging success rate, and at the same time, it had a chance to increase the forged items Attributes. Seliora could not help her shock when she saw the Runic Steel. She instantly snatched it out of Shi Fengs hands. She then started appraising Shi Feng with her charming eyes, her delicate tongue sliding across her pouty lips. Giggling, she said, Why, I didnt think you would have so many precious treasures on you. What else do you have? Just pull them all out. Alright, then. I still have an item that I can temporarily lend to you, under Selioras eager gaze, Shi Feng could not help but smile bitterly. He then took out the Book of Forging. Suddenly, Selioras eyes widened as they locked onto the Book of Forging in Shi Fengs hands. She was under immense shock, unable to speak a single word. This is the Book of Forging personally penned by the Forging God! You Why do you have this item?! Seliora was incomparably shocked, and her voice trembled with excitement as she spoke. She could not help but immediately snatch the Book of Forging, delving in. Master Seliora, I assume that you also know how precious this item is. I can loan it to you temporarily; so I hope you can use it properly and create a masterpiece, Shi Feng held high expectations of the Blazing Meteor. So, naturally, he would not hold anything back in its creation. Moreover, NPCs could not steal items owned by players. Really? Seliora could not believe her own ears. She pounced Shi Feng in excitement, planting a kiss on him. She then took the Book of Forging, rushing into her personal forging room. Wait here for awhile; I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. Shi Feng was stunned. However, he recovered very quickly, revealing a bitter smile. Seliora needed a long time to forge a piece of equipment. Since Shi Feng had nothing better to do, he continued enhancing the luxury version of the White River City Guidebook. After all, he had an expansive amount of information on White River City. Although he had already made plans for its revelation, he couldnt explain everything in a few sentences. Time flowed by unnoticed, and two hours had passed since Shi Feng entered White River City. \--- Meanwhile, the various Guilds in the White River City region were in full swing. They continuously purchased and exchanged Whetstones, and at the same time, desperately grinded in high-level monster areas. Snow, the number of players here grows larger and larger, and it is slowing our leveling speed by a lot. Why dont we go to the Gloomy Valley to level up? With a single Triple Flame Barrage, Zhao Yueru finished off a low HP Level 10 Shadow Werewolf. She then turned to Gentle Snow and spoke. Originally, there had not been that many players in this Level 10 area. However, due to Shi Fengs actions, Level 8 and Level 9 players began arriving, crowding the area. Every region had limited leveling resources, and every extra player in a region decreased the availability of those resources. With a decrease in resources, naturally, leveling speed would similarly fall. Thus, Zhao Yueru suggested going to the Gloomy Valley, which was a monster area of an even higher level. The Gloomy Valley was a Level 11 to Level 14 monster area. With their current equipment, they could still deal with Level 11 and Level 12 monsters. Only, the danger would increase significantly. However, their leveling speed there would surpass that of this place by leaps. The Gloomy Valley was also only a short distance from their current location. If they hurried, they could reach it in just half an hour. If they used a Speed Scroll, they could arrive there in ten minutes or so. Gentle Snow looked at her surroundings, discovering that the number of players had certainly increased. Moreover, these players were all elites of various large Guilds. Whether luring or snatching monsters, they were all extremely experienced. As a result, the number of monsters available decreased, and their current leveling speed was less than half of what they started with. The players gathered here were still increasing in number. If this situation continued, they might not even reach Level 10 within seven to eight hours grinding here. Alright, then. After we receive the new batch of Whetstones, well head for the Gloomy Valley, Gentle Snow looked at her weapons durability as she spoke. Only 9 points remained. As her weapon was Secret-Silver rank, she could still wield it for over an hour before its durability reached a critical point. At this moment, Gentle Snows communicator rang out. Originally, Gentle Snow intended to reject the call without giving it much thought. However, when she saw that the caller was Shi Feng, a faint smile appeared on her face. Previously, after Shi Feng entered White River City, she had tried contacting Shi Feng as well. However, Shi Feng had immediately shut down all forms of communication, leaving her with no way of contacting him. She could only send him a message. Now that he was personally contacting her, it was possible that he had finally seen her message. 178 Gold Rank Since Shi Feng attempted to contact her, Gentle Snow would not reject the call. In any case, there was still some time before the new batch of Whetstones would arrive. Busy man, you finally have the time to contact me? Gentle Snow laughed softly after the call connected. You jest, Miss Snow. I am helpless about this as well. I was worried that my communicator would ring endlessly and distract me, so I simply turned it off. Didnt I immediately contact Miss Snow after I finished with my matters? Shi Feng smiled. From Gentle Snows tone, Shi Feng could somewhat discern her aggrieved feelings. However, he was simply helpless with this. He had spent quite a long time conquering White River City. Moreover, he needed to waste even more time. After all, if he published the White River City Guidebook shortly after he entered White River City, others would become highly suspicious. Without spending some time, how could he conduct an investigation? If he made the guidebook without any prior investigation, it would be strange if nobody suspected him. Hence, Shi Feng intentionally took such a long time before he initiated contact, letting others think that he used this time to inspect White River City. Since youve come looking for me, it means that youve seen my message regarding the information about White River City. What are your thoughts? Name a price; Ill buy it all, Gentle Snow said seriously. If she could obtain information about White River City, she could prepare ahead of time. This way, they could get a huge lead on the other Guilds. As for the matter of money, she rarely paid any mind. Moreover, she believed that Shi Feng would not just set a random price. Ive already compiled a guidebook with information about White River City. The guidebooks are divided into two versions; a simplified version and a luxury version. Im prepared to publish and sell them on the official forums after some time, Shi Feng nodded as he spoke. Gentle Snow was at a loss when she heard Shi Feng. She couldnt help but admit that Shi Feng was too good at grasping business opportunities. If Shi Feng truly did such a thing, in addition to his identity as the first player to enter White River City, the legitimacy of the White River City Guidebooks were surely guaranteed. The various large Guilds would all compete for them. She had to admit that even she admired Shi Fengs business acumen. There were countless Guilds, both large and small, within the White River City region. A rough estimate would put the number at over a thousand. Even if Shi Feng earned only a thousand Credits from each of these Guilds, he could still earn well over a million Credits. When she heard of him mention a simplified version, it was clearly meant for average players. There would definitely be countless players purchasing it, so Shi Feng would earn quite a lot from them as well. Just by collecting information for a few hours, in addition to his title as the Number One of White River City, Shi Feng had already made a net profit of several million in a single night. It was possible that only Shi Feng was capable of such a feat. I cant help but praise your idea. However, I wish to obtain this information in advance. Of course, I will pay a higher price. To put it another way, I hope that you can delay the informations release for three or four hours. Not only will I purchase the information at a high price, but I am also willing to pay a million Credits as a postponement fee. I wonder if that would be possible? Gentle Snow inquired, smiling. A one million Credits postponement fee, is it? Shi Feng was truly shocked. Originally, by contacting Gentle Snow, he merely intended to sell the White River City Guidebook to her in advance. He didnt think that Gentle Snow would have a move like this. He could not help but appreciate her intelligence. In actuality, even if Gentle Snow did not pay any compensation, he would still delay the release of the guidebooks by two or three hours. That way, the credibility of the guidebooks would be even higher. At the same time, it would increase those Guilds urgency. After all, they were already close to reaching Level 10, so they were in dire need of information about White River City. Is it not enough? Then two million should be fine, right? Gentle Snow wrinkled her eyebrows slightly, feeling that Shi Feng was somewhat too greedy for money. No, one million is enough. Its just... I wonder if you want the simplified version or the luxury version? Shi Feng teased with a laugh. Do you even need to ask? The more detailed, the better, Gentle Snow rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. She was even willing to spend a million Credits as an extension fee, so would she even lack that kind of money? That would be the luxury version then. Im selling it for 20,000 Credits. As a matter of fact, I still have a super-luxury version of the guidebook in my possession. I wonder if Miss Snow would be interested in it? Shi Feng smiled as he asked. A super-luxury version? How much do you want for it? Gentle Snow responded, slightly contemptuous. One million! Shi Feng said earnestly. The luxury version is selling for 20,000 Credits, but youre selling the super-luxury version for one million Credits? Are you taking me for a fool? Gentle Snow accused. How could that be? Ive poured my blood into making it. If you dont want it, so be it. It is similarly sufficient to purchase just the luxury version, Shi Feng was only filled with kind intentions. He would add some of the truly important information to the super-luxury version. For example, information pertaining to the matter of how to quickly develop oneself and information about the various daily quests available in White River City that could quickly increase ones level and reputation. Although it was not a lot of information, the help it provided was still considerable. It was enough to allow Gentle Snow to pull ahead of the other Guilds by a great distance. Originally, Shi Feng did not intend to sell this information. However, Gentle Snow was a slightly special case. The main reason was that Ouroboros, the Guild Gentle Snow belonged to, did not have any conflicts with him. After all, Ouroboros main power was based in the capital city, Star-Moon City. Gentle Snow would, sooner or later, have to head to the capital to continue her development. Right now, he simply offered Gentle Snow a favor. In the future, if he were to meet with trouble, he might even be able to get Gentle Snow to help him. After all, the competition in White River City was bound to be intense. If some large Guild intentionally targeted his own while his tasks swamped him, he could ask Gentle Snow for assistance. With Gentle Snows personality, she would definitely lend him a hand. Also, another reason Shi Feng did such a thing was to disperse the attention from himself. Destruction always pursued the great. If there were another, more outstanding, existence around, the various large Guilds would shift their line of sight from Shi Feng to that existence. Shi Feng could kill two birds with one stone with his action, and only Gentle Snows decision remained as the final hurdle. After a few seconds of silence, Gentle Snow let out a deep sigh as she said, Alright, then. Ill buy it. When can you give it to me? In half an hour, Shi Feng affirmed. Good, then. Ill transfer the money to you at that time, Gentle Snow disconnected the call. Standing beside Gentle Snow, Zhao Yueru had heard every word of the conversation. Puzzled, she asked, Snow, Im not trying to reprimand you, but although that Ye Feng is one of the rare top-tier experts, within only a short few hours, just how much information could he possibly have gathered? Not to mention, that information is even priced at one million Credits. He is clearly just trying to make a quick buck off of us. That Ye Feng is insincere. We have already helped him out so much and even dealt with the matter of Underworld targeting him. Lets have a look at it before we judge, Gentle Snow sighed. In reality, even she did not hold much hope about the information. If it truly contained some valuable information, she would not take too big of a loss, at the very least. Following which, Shi Feng also made a similar deal with Stabbing Heart of the Assassins Alliance. However, he did not offer the super-luxury version this time. After all, the Assassins Alliances main power was stationed in White River City. He only sold them the information in advance because of the friendship he had with Stabbing Heart. Stabbing Heart naturally knew this, so he was greatly touched by Shi Fengs actions. He immediately paid 50,000 Credits as gratitude to Shi Feng. At the same time, with this information about White River City in hand, Stabbing Heart would also have the confidence to request the higher-ups to review the matter of suppressing Martial Unions development in White River City. That way, Martial Union would not even have the time to find trouble with Shi Feng. Soon, another half hour passed by. Shi Feng finally managed to compile and arrange the super-luxury version of the White River City Guidebook. He then sent it to Gentle Snow, Blackie, and the other members of his team. With Blackies power-leveling speed, every member of the team would quickly rise to Level 10. They would be much faster than Gentle Snow, so Shi Feng had to provide Blackie and the others with a better understanding of White River City ahead of time. Otherwise, they would simply be lost after entering White River City. At this moment, the metal door of the forging room opened, and Seliora walked out. Compared to when she entered the forging room, Seliora clearly felt more fatigued now. Crystal clear sweat coated her healthy, wheat-colored skin, and she looked like she had just stepped out of a pool of water; her appearance was utterly seductive. Here, this items for you, Seliora took out the Book of Forging, handing it to Shi Feng with great reluctance. She then took out a flame-red flying dart. This flying dart radiated a brilliant red that intoxicated a persons heart. Aside from the Epic ranked greatsword, this item could be called my greatest masterpiece. Due to the quality of the materials being a limiting factor, this item could not achieve Epic rank. However, it has still surpassed Dark-Gold rank. You could call it a Super Dark-Gold ranked throwing weapon; so you have to cherish it properly. Super Dark-Gold Rank? Whats that? Doubt filled Shi Feng. If it was Dark-Gold, then it was Dark-Gold. If it was Epic, then it was Epic. Why would there be a Super Dark-Gold rank? Looking at the meaning that Seliora tried to express, this item seemed to possess a special quality between the two ranks. 179 Extraordinary Attributes Within Shi Fengs memories, there was no mention of a Super-Dark Gold rank. However, if a Master Forger like Seliora called it such, thats what it was. Only, just what kind of Attributes would this Blazing Meteor possess? Are you unsure of what the Super Dark-Gold rank is? Seliora was in a very good mood after forging such a masterpiece. Hence, she explained, It is utterly understandable that you have not heard of it. Matters like these are only privy to those old monsters of the Grandmaster Forger rank. Even I discovered it by chance. Indeed, in Gods Domain, the rank after Dark-Gold is Epic. However, between these two ranks, there is a humongous threshold. One could say that items undergo a massive leap in quality when upgraded from Dark-Gold rank to Epic rank. Dont you feel that it is strange? Shi Feng nodded, deeply expressing his agreement. It was just like Seliora had said. Dark-Gold Equipment was only somewhat stronger than Fine-Gold Equipment. However, regarding Attributes, Epic Equipment was several tiers above Dark-Gold Equipment. Take the Mavis Guard in Blackies hands for example. It was far superior to the Silver Lake in Shi Fengs hands that possessed Attributes rivaling a Dark-Gold Weapon. Simply equipping an Epic Weapon instantly gave Blackie a stronger damage output and Attack Power than Shi Fengs. The power of an Epic ranked item was obvious. It seems that you also understand the gap between these two ranks. Seliora revealed a smile, saying, In actuality, Epic ranked items possess another name. Another name? This was the first Shi Feng had heard of this. Thats right; another name. This is also something I found out after researching the Book of Forging you lent me, coupled with the literature Ive collected over the years, Seliora nodded. During the ancient times, Epic ranked items were also called Extraordinary items. The owners of these items would possess an absolute strength that allowed them to surpass ordinary mortals; thus they were known as Extraordinary. Meanwhile, I did not utilize any extraordinary materials in forging the Blazing Meteor, so it could not become an extraordinary item. However, it can still be considered a Pseudo-extraordinary item. A Pseudo-extraordinary item? Shi Feng started to understand a few points. He could not help but grow even more curious about the Attributes of the Blazing Meteor, which caused Seliora so much excitement. Have a look at it yourself, then. Seliora handed the Blazing Meteor over to Shi Feng, softly saying, A Pseudo-extraordinary item is the maximum limit that mortals can achieve with their own power, while this Blazing Meteor can be considered a masterpiece, the closest thing to an extraordinary item. Shi Fengs heart started beating quickly as he heard those words. It was an item that approached the quality of an Epic ranked item. Most likely, aside from his Magic Weapon, the Abyssal Blade, no other item in his possession could rival this Blazing Meteor. Furthermore, the Blazing Meteor he received in his previous life was only Dark-Gold rank. He did not expect to obtain a Pseudo-extraordinary item in this life. hi Feng immediately received the Blazing Meteor from Seliora, taking a look at its Attributes. [Blazing Meteor] (Throwing Weapon, Dark-Gold Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 120, Agility 140 Attack Power (Players Strength*2) Strength +50, Agility +65, Endurance +10 Attack Speed +5 Maximum throwing distance: 45 yards Ignore Levels +8 Attack Speed increased by 15% When attacking: 35% chance to ignore targets Defense. 30% chance to activate Quadruple Phantom effect, each phantom causing 50% flame damage. 10% chance to activate Knockback effect. 5% chance to activate Burning Flames effect, dealing 200 flame damage to the target every second for 10 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times. Additional Skill: Flame Gods Fury. Deals physical and flame damage to enemies within a 40*3 yard area. Deals 900% damage to the initial target and damage reduces by 10% with each consecutive enemy hit to a minimum of 500% damage. Cooldown: 3 minutes The Blazing Meteor was forged by the Grandmaster Forger, Seliora. Due to the limit of its materials, it is only a Pseudo-extraordinary item possessing strength at the very limit of mortal men. The Blazing Meteor can be reforged into an Epic Ranked item after gathering Epic ranked fire-type materials. User restriction: Ye Feng Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Shi Feng was instantly dumbfounded when he saw these Attributes. As expected of a Pseudo-extraordinary item, it was far superior to ordinary Dark-Gold ranked items. As long as Shi Fengs Attributes reached the prerequisite and he equipped the Blazing Meteor, his strength would instantly soar by several tiers. After receiving the Blazing Meteor, Shi Feng finally felt that he was a true Swordsman. There were two variations of the Swordsman class: duel-wielding Swordsmen and two-handed Swordsmen. At the same time, a Swordsman could also equip a long-range throwing weapon. However, a Swordsman was still a melee class at its heart, so their ranged attacks were not particularly powerful. A majority of the Swordsman players did not pay much attention to ranged throwing weapons. However, Shi Feng heavily relied on his ranged attacks. After all, there were many instances when facing monsters with melee combat was troublesome. If he could switch to ranged attacks, he would have a much easier time. Moreover, there were plenty of shared skills in Gods Domain. Among them, there were quite a few throwing skills. If Shi Feng could learn a few of them, he would not fall too far behind the other ranged classes. Now that he had the Pseudo-extraordinary item, the Blazing Meteor, ranged attacks were no longer one of Shi Fengs weaknesses. Moreover, throwing weapons were not consumable items. Due to the magical ingredients involved in its forging, the Blazing Meteor number of uses were limitless. Whenever a throwing weapon hit an enemy, it would instantly vanish and reappear in the players hands. It was an extremely convenient function. Unfortunately, Shi Fengs current Attributes prevented him from equipping the Blazing Meteor. Only by replacing and upgrading the equipment he currently wore could he achieve the requirements of the Blazing Meteor. After Shi Feng finished reading the Blazing Meteors introduction, he was suddenly shocked. Seliora was originally a Master Forger, so why did the introduction describe her as a Grandmaster Forger? Master Seliora, could it be that youre already a Grandmaster Forger? Shi Feng looked at Seliora with doubtful eyes. The system introduction could not be faked. If the system displayed it, it must be true. However, that was inconceivable. Seliora, who was not even thirty years of age, had actually become a Grandmaster Forger. There was not a single Grandmaster Forger throughout all of the Star-Moon Kingdom. Grandmaster Forgers were existences that stood at the pinnacle of forging in Gods Domain, and even Tier 5 apex powerhouses had to suck up to a Grandmaster Forger. Their statuses were no lower than the ruler of a country. Normally, one could only meet a Grandmaster Forger with luck in the capital city of an empire or places like Blackwing City. Meanwhile, the Seliora before him was one such existence. Hmm! I didnt expect your eyesight to be so sharp! I have indeed become a Grandmaster Forger! However, this is all thanks to you. If you did not lend me the Book of Forging, allowing me to unravel the mysteries that have troubled me for the past several years, it would still be impossible for me to become a Grandmaster. As a thank you, here is my communication crystal. In the future, you can contact me at any time through this item, Seliora nodded, smiling as she spoke. System: Hidden Quest Search for Seliora completed, exceeded by aiding Seliora in becoming a Grandmaster Forger. Rewarding player with the Pseudo-extraordinary item, the Blazing Meteor. Rewarding Selioras Communication Crystal. Selioras Favorability increased by 200 points. Reputation in Star-Moon Kingdom +50. Reputation in White River City +300. Obtained the title Grandmasters Friend. Forging Proficiency increased by 500 points. Rewarding 200,000 EXP. Instantly, Shi Feng rose to Level 14. Shi Feng was stunned for a long time when he saw this series of rewards. Ignoring the fact that, with Selioras Communication Crystal, he could often request Seliora to handle certain affairs for him, just the 300 Reputation Points in White River City would make the purchase of a real estate in White River City much easier. As long as he became a Baron, he could purchase private territory in White River City, establishing a Guild Residence. However, a Baron could only purchase the outermost land of White River City. As for Saliora, she had only recently become a Grandmaster Forger, so she intended to go on a journey. She wanted to commemorate her achievement by making her first Epic ranked item, so she needed to explore and search for materials. Soon after, Shi Feng departed from the smithy. Seeing that the time was just about right... Shi Feng posted the White River City Guidebook on the official forums, setting the post to publish in three hours. He then used the pass to Blackwing City, teleporting there. Shortly after Shi Feng departed, another batch of players set foot in White River City. Immediately, White River City Region System Announcements rang out. 180 Anonymous Sensation Hahaha! Weve finally arrived in White River City! This place looks spectacular! Such amazing NPCs! The moment Blackie and the others arrived in White River City, the amazing sight stunned them all. Their feelings alternated between joy, excitement, and an indescribable sense of pride. Everyone had suddenly arrived in White River City. Aside from Blackie and Lonely Snow, who both remained relatively calm, Cola and the others were in a daze. They thought that they were in a dream. When Fire Dance and Cola regrouped with Blackie, they discovered that Blackie and Lonely Snow had actually brought them to deal with a group of Level 20 monsters. At that time, they nearly had heart attacks from the shock. Gods Domain was unlike any other virtual reality game, and killing monsters of a higher level in Gods Domain was an extremely difficult task. Moreover, their average levels did not even reach Level 8. It was simply suicidal for them to challenge a Level 20 Swamp Rhino. Yet, Blackie and Lonely Snow immediately dragged their group and charged towards the Swamp Rhinos. The two acted as if the Swamp Rhinos were not Level 20 monsters, but Level 0 Green Gnomes awaiting death. However, Fire Dance and Cola could not have imagined what had actually occurred. Blackie instantly roasted the Level 20 Rhinos Lonely Snow had lured with a single Hell Flame. It was like the Rhinos suffered from some weakening aura. At that time, their experience bars instantly increased by a huge chunk. Looking at this scene, Cola and the others eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in surprise. There was a saying; after three days had passed, one could no longer use ones old perspective to judge others[1]. However, that involved the prerequisite of three days passing! It had only been several hours since separated from each other, but the growth rate of Blackie and Lonely Snow had switched from ascending by climbing a ladder to ascending by using an elevator. It was as if their growth rates had received hormone injections, increasing by tens of times. Within half an hour, they had all collectively gained a level. When they asked about Blackie and Lonely Snows levels, Cola and Fire Dance were both utterly shocked; they were both already Level 13. This gap made a world of difference. How did Blackie and Lonely Snow suddenly become so powerful? The only possibility they could think of was that their team leader, Shi Feng, had power-leveled the two. It was also the only logical explanation for Blackie and Lonely Snows achievements. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were both utterly shocked by Shi Feng. It would be fine if Shi Feng were the only one so powerful. However, their team even had two other Level 13 powerhouses. Just how powerful was this team? If others discovered this, they might be less shocked by the sky falling. After several hours, Cola and the others reached Level 10, one after another. Meanwhile, Blackie and Lonely Snow had both risen to Level 14. They acted in accordance with Shi Fengs request, entering White River City and familiarizing themselves with the city. They would then receive some of the rare and daily quests, obtaining some rare items in exchange for the quests completion. However, shortly after they entered White River City, a system announcement entered their ears. White River City Region System Announcement: 5 players have entered White River City. Activating White River Citys Ranking List. White River City Region System Announcement: 5 players have entered White River City. Activating White River Citys Ranking List. White River City Region System Announcement: 5 players have entered White River City. Activating White River Citys Ranking List. \--- After the announcement repeated thrice, all the players within the White River City region were sent into a daze. What sort of situation was this? More than five players have already entered White River City? How long had it been since Shi Feng accomplished that feat? Crap! What did these people eat when they grew up? Ive only reached Level 8, yet there is already a bunch of Level 10s! Cant they play normally?! It cant be, right? None of these people are Guild players! How could they all be independent players?! Hahaha! Too awesome! Didnt those Guilds think they were very amazing? This will teach them that independent players like us are still the strongest! Why havent I heard of these people before? Just who are these people? Moreover, they even entered White River City together. They cant be players of the same party, right? Players throughout the White River City region discussed Blackie and the others entrance to White River City and the activation of the regional Ranking List. The players on the Ranking List were, without a doubt, everyones focus right now. Investigate! I want to know just who these people are immediately! They are all independent players! Immediately contact them! Even if we have to give them official positions, we must recruit them into our Guild! The various large Guilds all felt a heavy pressure weighing down on them. The Ranking List should have been a competition between the various large Guilds, yet, it now belonged to a group of independent players. Moreover, they had taken hold of the top six positions. This utterly embarrassed these large Guilds. Right now, these Guilds needed to recruit these independent players into their Guilds. That way, these Guilds names would also appear on the Ranking List. \--- Meanwhile, Blackie and Lonely Snow obeyed Shi Fengs previous request; the moment they entered White River City, the system asked if they wanted to place their names on the Ranking List. They both immediately rejected the offer. However, it was not a big deal for Cola and the other five members of the team. It was a good chance to cause panic in those large Guilds, and they could increase their fame while doing so. After all, Cola and the others were still Level 10. It was an expected level. However, if Blackie and Lonely Snow add their names to the Ranking List... It would be a double-edged sword; bringing them fame while also poisoning their lives. Right now, these large Guilds could understand Cola and the others reaching Level 10. However, if two Level 14 players suddenly appeared on the Ranking List, no amount of brainpower could allow these Guilds to make sense of things. Just leveling up from Level 9 to Level 10 would require more than an entire days grinding. It was understandable if Blackie and Lonely Snow had powerful techniques and found a good leveling spot. However, a gap of 4 Levels would simply provoke these Guilds. They would create unscrupulous ways to obtain this leveling secret. Right now, if Blackie and Lonely Snow displayed their names on the Ranking List, they would gain the enmity of every single player in the White River City region. Why isnt Ye Fengs name there? Moreover, why do these names seem so familiar? Gentle Snow opened the Ranking List, discovering that the top six players were all uniformly Level 10. However, the number one position did not belong to Shi Feng, but a player named Fire Dance. Moreover, Shi Fengs name was not among the top six Level 10 players at all. This situation confused Gentle Snow greatly. Snow, arent Cola, Drowsy Sloth, and Gluttonous Mouse Ye Fengs teammates? They even left their names with ours at the Dark Moon Graveyard. I never thought that their leveling speed would be so fast. Zhao Yueru quickly recognized the names on the Ranking List. This scene had shocked her. After all, she had a clear understanding of the background of these players. They were definitely noobs of Gods Domain, and they were not even close to being experts. The first time they met was at the Deathly Forest, and at that time, they were simply noobs that Shi Feng had randomly chosen to party with. The second time they met, though their levels had not equaled hers, the gap between them had somewhat shrunk. Now, however, they had surpassed her. It was unbelievable. After receiving Zhao Yuerus reminder, sudden realization struck Gentle Snow. As a result, the usually calm and confident Gentle Snow, at this moment, revealed a look of surprise and bewilderment. _Ye Feng, just who are you?_ Gentle Snow could not help but inwardly wonder. Leading a group of noobs into becoming the focal point of the entire White River City just how did Shi Feng do it? Also, Shi Feng, his good friend Blackie, and Lonely Snow had actually refrained from displaying their names on the Ranking List. Gentle Snow could not understand this action. After all, the noobs that Shi Feng had personally led had all risen to Level 10. She did not believe that his good friend, Blackie, and Lonely Snow had not become Level 10. The only possibility was that they hid their levels. But why would they want to hide their levels? Wasnt this a good chance to increase their reputation? Why would they hide them? What was there to gain? Suddenly, Gentle Snow thought of a possibility, or better yet, the only possibility. After she thought of this possibility... Gentle Snow involuntarily shuddered. * * * TL Notes: [1]after three days had passed, one could no longer use ones old foresight to judge others (ʿգĿ ): This is a Chinese idiom that tells one not to view others with an old perspective, as after three days of not meeting, others would already have some improvements. 181 A Joke One had to admit that virtual reality was extremely realistic. There was only a small change to Gentle Snows expression, yet, Zhao Yueru immediately discovered it. Snow, whats wrong? Zhao Yueru worriedly asked. It was the first time she had seen such a surprised look on Gentle Snow. Although it was indeed unexpected that the group of noobs had become the Level 10 players, it shouldnt be that much of a surprise to Gentle Snow. Its nothing. I just thought of some matters; thats all, Gentle Snow waved her hand, dismissing Zhao Yuerus concern. Gentle Snow paid no attention to Cola and the others who entered White River City, nor did she care that they had taken the top six spots on the Ranking List. What she was truly concerned about were Shi Feng and his friends levels. If it were really as she imagined, becoming friends with Shi Feng was a very wise decision. \--- Elsewhere, when Unstable Devastation and Fire Dances past companions saw the Ranking List, they were all dumbfounded. This was especially true for Fire Dances past companions. Not only had Fire Dance reached Level 10, but Water Buffalo had also risen to Level 10. As a result, envy and regret ate at their hearts. If they had chosen to follow Fire Dance and join Shi Fengs team, they would be their team members right now. They enjoyed the envy and admiration of all players throughout the White River City region, a situation that many dreamt of experiencing Unfortunately, they were no longer related to this matter. As they looked at the Ranking List, they tried to contact Fire Dance and Water Buffalo. They all tried to apologize, and they wished that they could mend and recover their past relationships. After all, this was only a game; there was no need to be so serious, and they had only been joking. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo had received their calls. However, they merely gave a single reply. There is no point crying over spilled milk. I do not wish to stay in touch in the future! Did they think that pushing off their actions as a joke would resolve everything? Now, that really was a joke! Fire Dances and Water Buffalos words had unquestionably shattered their final hopes, sending them spiraling into a sea of endless regrets. As for Unstable Devastation, envy nearly drove him mad. He clearly remembered that his team had killed Colas group of three once before, their levels dropping to Level 7. When they met in Red Leaf Towns fountain, they were still Level 7. On the other hand, Unstable Devastations level had dropped to Level 8 after dying once. During these past several hours, he had frantically grinded monsters and was about to reach Level 9. Yet, Colas group had all reached Level 10 during this same period. Just what sort of leveling speed was this? At first, it was Shi Feng who had reached Level 10. Now, even Cola and the others had risen to Level 10. There was definitely something fishy about this. There must be some sort of method that allowed them to reach Level 10 quickly. Shi Feng obviously knew this method. It might even be some gigantic bug in the game. However, Unstable Devastation could do nothing against Shi Feng. He had no way to force this secret out of Shi Feng. uddenly, an idea popped up in Unstable Devastations head. If he published this matter on the official forums, revealing this bug, the system might punish Shi Feng for exploiting it. On the other hand, if it were not a bug, the other Guilds would definitely not let go of this great chance to rise to Level 10 swiftly. They would force Shi Feng to reveal this leveling method. If Shi Feng kept his lips sealed, he would make enemies out of every Guild in the White River City region. Meanwhile, if he revealed this leveling method and the system fixed it, it would similarly enrage the various Guilds. Regardless what Shi Feng did, he could no longer continue mingling in the White River City region. However, Unstable Devastation could not allow Shi Feng to take any of these actions yet. Ye Feng, no man is wise all the time. I have finally grasped ahold of your weakness, Unstable Devastation grew excited. As long as he used this move to threaten Shi Feng, Shi Feng would obediently hand over the secret. Immediately after, Unstable Devastation sent Shi Feng a communication request. The first time, Shi Feng did not pick up... The second time, Shi Feng did not pick up... Unstable Devastation made more than ten consecutive calls to Shi Feng; however, Shi Feng did not answer any of them. As a result, Unstable Devastation nearly vomited blood in anger. However, when he thought of his beautiful future, he endured. Finally, after sending over forty communication requests, the call finally connected. Youre annoying! Cant you learn your lesson after so many rejections? Are you a pig? Must I give you a scolding before you are satisfied? I dont have anything to say to you. Go, play around wherever you want, and dont come bothering me! Shi Feng immediately started cursing the moment he picked up the call. Originally, he had been conducting business with Aqua Rose, in a good mood. However, one after another, Unstable Devastations calls endlessly pestered him, interrupting Shi Fengs good mood. At first, Shi Feng thought that Unstable Devastation would give up after a few rejections. However, Shi Feng never thought that there would be no end to the disturbances. Hence, after telling Aqua Rose that he had some matters he needed to attend to for a moment, he looked for a place without people and gave Unstable Devastation a good scolding, soothing his mood. He then placed Unstable Devastation on his blacklist, preventing Unstable Devastation to further annoying him. Ye Feng, you you dare to cut my call! After making over forty calls, Unstable Devastation burned with anger. Now that Shi Feng had insulted him, his blood boiled and his face turned crimson. The blood vessels in his face had nearly burst. However, just when he was about to curse at Shi Feng, the call disconnected. This thoroughly enraged Unstable Devastation, and immediately, he called Shi Feng again. However, this time, his calls did not even ring. He was on Shi Fengs blacklist. Unstable Devastation nearly fainted in anger. He had wasted so much time trying to call Shi Feng, yet, the only thing he got in return was a scolding. Shi Feng had even blacklisted him. How was he supposed to threaten Shi Feng now? How was he going to force Shi Fengs obedience? Unstable Devastation immediately directed one of his subordinates to contact Shi Feng. After attempting to contact Shi Feng a few more times, the call finally connected. Unstable Devastations subordinate then pressed the multi-party button that allowed others to participate in the conversation. Who are you? Shi Feng asked. Ye Feng, youve finally picked up! I have in my hands your speed-leveling secret. If you dont wish to become an enemy of the entire White River City region, obey my wishes. Otherwise, Ill post the evidence on the official forums. Im thinking that many Guilds would be interested in your teammates leveling secret, and they will go all out to deal with you. This time, Unstable Devastation spoke his piece quickly, fearing that Shi Feng would hang up on him again. I asked: who are you? Whats the point of all this nonsense? Are you a pig? Shi Feng demanded. Youre the pig! Everyone in your whole family is a pig! I am Unstable Devastation! I know that you have some secret to your teams leveling speed. You need to understand the situation youre in right now. If you dare continue to speak to me with such a tone, Ill release this secret of yours to everyone else. All the players in the entire White River City region will start trouble, and the various large Guilds will hunt you down to learn your secret. When that happens, there will no longer be any place for you in Gods Domain! Unstable Devastation hated being called an idiot. Now that Shi Feng had repeatedly called him a pig, he could no longer endure it. So, you really are a pig! Hello, pig! Goodbye, pig! Shi Feng immediately disconnected the call, blacklisting the new character ID as well. Shi Feng had never been a person to feel threatened by others, and regarding Unstable Devastations threat, he paid no mind to it at all. The only reason he did not let Blackie and Lonely Snow reveal themselves was to avoid unnecessary trouble from those various large Guilds, as that would delay their development. However, if there really were a need for a battle, he would not shrink from it. In fact, they could all bring it on if they wanted. The final winner and loser had yet to be determined. Master Black Flame, it looks like you have met with some trouble? As an ally of yours, why dont you let Twilight Echo deal with it for you? the graceful Aqua Rose suddenly walked over, smiling at Shi Feng as she offered her assistance. 182 Clue About the God Slayer As Shi Fengs call had been set to private, outsiders could not listen in on his conversation with Unstable Devastation. However, although Aqua Rose could not hear what Shi Feng said, she could clearly feel the killing intent radiating off of his body. To become friends with Shi Feng, deepening their relationship, Aqua Rose would not let this chance pass her by. Thus, she made her offer. Shi Feng understood Aqua Roses intentions. He simply smiled at her and said, Thank you for your concern, Miss Aqua. It isnt anything big, only an annoying fly that I can kill with a slap at any time. We should continue with our business talks. At Shi Fengs immediate rejection, Aqua Rose could do nothing but relent. After which, the two returned to their private room in the restaurant. At this moment, however, another male youth had appeared in the private room. This person was a knight geared with heavy-armor. Based on his appearance, this man was obviously a Shield Warrior; a bone shield hung at his back, coupled with an exquisite, black-colored battle axe. These two pieces of equipment looked extraordinary, and one could easily tell that they were Secret-Silver rank. Moreover, this man was similar to Aqua Rose, in which they were both Level 9. Why are you here, Brilliant? Aqua Rose asked, surprised at his sudden appearance. I only worry that others will try to scam you, so I came to check up on you. Last time, you spent tens of millions of Credits and returned with only a pile of worthless scrap paper. This incident invoked many elders dissatisfaction. This time, you spent another large sum of money and manpower to purchase various ores and materials. Moreover, you didnt even notify the elders about any of your actions; they are furious right now. Im here to tell you that, at the very least, you need their approvals in the future before you take action. Come back with me and offer them an explanation for now. Otherwise, those elders will make your life difficult in the future. The man named Brilliant Wargod shot Shi Feng a glare. He had always treated Aqua Rose as his own woman. Meanwhile, the black-hooded Shi Feng before him was a small character, beneath his notice. Yet, this small character actually dared to have a tryst with Aqua Rose. Immediately, Brilliant Wargod tugged on Aqua Roses hand, intending to take her from this place. Shi Feng merely shrugged at Brilliant Wargods provocation. He did not mind this man with the IQ of a monkey in the least. He simply took it as watching a monkey show. Aqua Rose slapped away Brilliant Wargods hand, her crescent eyebrows wrinkling slightly. She had only managed to secure her relationship with Shi Feng after much difficulty and was just about to enter a proper business discussion. She did not expect Brilliant Wargod to find out about it and actually came running to interrupt her. If it werent for her and Brilliant Wargods families having friendly ties, she would not pay him any attention. Brilliant, I have important matters to discuss. Return by yourself for now. As for the matter of the Guild elders, Ill give them an explanation when I return, Aqua Rose said impatiently. For her trades with Shi Feng, she always used her own money and people. The Guild elders had no right to interfere, nor did they have the ability. Not to mention, she was an honorary elder of the Guild, so her station was similar to theirs; they had no right to involve themselves in her matters. They were merely envious that she had earned a lot of money, and they all wanted a share of the pie. Seeing Aqua Roses attitude, Brilliant Wargod could only give up his efforts. Since you dont wish to go, Ill stay by your side to protect you. Itll destroy others ideas of taking advantage of you, Brilliant Wargod glanced at Shi Feng, his tone filled with ill intent as he spoke. Aqua Rose became furious at his words. She and Shi Feng were going to discuss extremely confidential trade secrets; how could she allow Brilliant Wargod to listen in? No, you should return, Aqua Rose spoke, her tone frosty. Hearing Aqua Rose, Brilliant Wargod grew even more indignant. He sent a wrathful glare at Shi Feng, sending a message to Shi Feng secretly. I am an elder of Twilight Echo. Brat, you better know your place and scram. Aqua is my plaything, so you are not allowed to contact her again. You should know the consequences if I discover that youve done otherwise. Brilliant Wargod was usually a tyrant of a man, and nobody dared defy him due to his identity. Whenever he met with a situation, he simply needed to announce his identity, and others would immediately flee with their tails between their legs. Now that he had spoken, Shi Feng would be no exception to this. After Shi Feng saw this message, he involuntarily laughed. It seemed that this Brilliant Wargod had arrived to cause trouble without understanding the situation; saying that he had the IQ of a monkey gave him too much credit. His actual IQ might not even equal a dogs. With such a wealthy prince in the Guild, it was no wonder Twilight Echo could not develop itself in the early stages of the game. It was actually due to the presence of this fool. Miss Aqua, I have something that Id like you to see, Shi Feng smiled. Aqua Rose grew very curious. Just what did Shi Feng have to show her this time? Since Brilliant Wargod dared threaten Shi Feng in such a way, Shi Feng would act in kind. He forwarded Brilliant Wargods message to Aqua Rose. Shi Feng wanted this fool to know that one should be careful with their words and messages. Otherwise, accidents could occur. Brilliant Wargod! Get out of my sight immediately! I dont wish to see you ever again! I will definitely tell uncle and aunty about this matter! Regarding the marriage affairs between our two families, dont even think about it from this moment onwards! Aqua Roses complexion was instantly livid the moment she read the message. She already disliked Brilliant Wargod. Now, not to mention publicly trying to drive Shi Feng away, he even dared call her his plaything! Brilliant Wargod was confused. Before he could even wonder why Aqua Rose wanted to sever their relationship, she had already kicked him from the private room. Im sorry that you had to see such a joke, Aqua Rose apologized. Its nothing. Im used to such matters. Not minding matters at all, Shi Feng said, Lets continue discussing about our trade, then. At this moment, Brilliant Wargod started loudly cursing outside the door, saying, Black Flame, you despicable little man! You actually dare frame me! Get out here right now if you have the ability! I challenge you to a duel! The loser clears their level back to zero! Do you dare accept it?! What? You can frame me, but cant accept my challenge? Just as Shi Feng and Aqua Rose were about to resume their business talks, Brilliant Wargod finally came to a realization. It turned out that Shi Feng had forwarded his message to Aqua Rose. He really did not think that such an incident would occur. His past actions, which had never failed him, were actually useless against Shi Feng. However, to redeem himself, he could only insist that Shi Feng had framed him. Master Black Flame, I am truly sorry about this. Ill chase him away immediately. This was the first time Aqua Rose had realized that Brilliant Wargod was so obnoxious; his IQ was even in the negatives. With the existence of the Main God System, how could players possibly modify others messages and IDs? No need. I have my own faults in this matter, so let me deal with it, Shi Feng rose from his seat, walking out of the private room. Black Flame, you despicable little man, you finally dare to show yourself! If you are a man, accept my challenge! If you lose, you will explain to Aqua Rose that you framed me! Do you dare accept? Brilliant Wargod jeered. What if you lose? Shi Feng laughed. Hahaha! Can I even lose? Brilliant Wargod was incomparably arrogant. He took out a map, saying disdainfully, If you really are lucky enough to win, this item will be yours to keep. I only obtained this map after I organized a team of hundreds of elites to kill a wild Level 10 Lord ranked Boss. This was the only item it dropped. Initially, Shi Feng had little to no interest in the map Brilliant Wargod held. After all, he had a clear understanding of Gods Domain. If it were a map obtained in some other country, it held no meaning to him at all. However, the moment Shi Feng spotted the symbol of an Ash Blade on the back of the map, it instantly roused his interest. The Ash Blade was the mark of the God Slayer. Normally, only items related to the God Slayer bear such mark. Master Black Flame, you cant agree to him! He is a Shield Warrior, so he has a massive innate advantage when dealing with physical-type classes! Moreover, the Diamond Guard he wears is a Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. His weapon and shield are also Level 9 Mysterious-Iron ranked items, and he has over 1,400 HP. Moreover, Brilliant Wargod has powerful techniques, himself; even two to three physical-type class experts attacking together wouldnt be his match! Aqua Rose hurriedly stopped Shi Feng. It was simply a farce for a Swordsman to duel a Shield Warrior. Moreover, Black Flame was only a forger; his battle prowess was sub-par at best. What? Afraid? Brilliant Wargod jeered as he glared at Shi Feng. Alright, Ill agree, Shi Feng smiled. 183 Special Condition What did you say? Brilliant Wargod was stunned. Of course, I accept your challenge, Shi Feng smiled. After Shi Fengs reaffirmation, Brilliant Wargod knew that he did not hear wrong. Originally, he had thought that Shi Feng would immediately reject his challenge after learning how fearsome he was. He had even been in the midst of thinking of a way to provoke or anger Shi Feng into accepting his challenge. However, it would seem that he had simply been wasting his time. He had actually met a fool with mental issues. Aqua Rose had explained to Shi Feng how amazing he was, yet this person still happily agreed. However, this situation was fine as well. It would save him plenty of trouble. I didnt think that you would have the guts. Since youve accepted, lets take this outside. Rest assured, Ill give you a quick and painless death, and I wont embarrass you too much! Hahaha! Saying so, Brilliant Wargod laughed as he headed towards the restaurants exit. Master Black Flame, you really shouldnt agree to him. Although he usually bullies others with his authority, his strength ranks within the top five amongst all the Shield Warriors in Echo Twilight. Moreover, the Diamond Guard Set Equipment he just obtained is Mysterious-Iron rank, while his Giant Bear Waraxe is Secret-Silver rank. On the other hand, you are a Swordsman. You also focus on your subclass as a forger. Dueling him would only be a farce, Aqua Rose said worriedly as she walked over to Shi Feng. Aqua Rose had a clear understanding of Brilliant Wargods strength. If he had the chance, he would humiliate Shi Feng in every way possible to take revenge for the previous incident. If Shi Feng were humiliated, how could she continue her cooperation with Shi Feng? She had already spent so much effort and purchased so many forging materials. Originally, she could have earned a big sum of money by cooperating with Shi Feng. Now, however, Brilliant Wargod ruined it all. She wished that she could chop Brilliant Wargod into pieces right this instant. Miss Aqua, thank you for informing me of this. I already understand the situation, Shi Feng thanked. Its good that you understand, Aqua Rose sighed in relief when she heard Shi Feng. Now, everything would be fine as long as she drove Brilliant Wargod away. Originally, Aqua Rose wanted to say, Let me deal with this matter, then. However, Shi Feng interrupted her, saying, You can rest assured that I will settle this battle very quickly. Finished speaking, Shi Feng exited the restaurant as well, leaving behind a dazed Aqua Rose. After wasting her breath for so long, it turned out that Shi Feng did not understand her at all. On the contrary, he even headed to the duel with confidence. Aqua Rose started to suspect that she had misspoken, causing Shi Feng to think that Brilliant Wargod was extremely weak. In a city, duels could normally be conducted on the streets. However, both parties must agree to the rules and conditions before the duel could occur. Otherwise, it was only an attack, and the guards would personally kill and jail the player initiating the attack. The moment Shi Feng set foot out of the restaurant, Brilliant Wargod sent the duel challenge. Moreover, the rewards and punishments were already set, and only Shi Fengs agreement was necessary to start the duel officially. As the rules were absolute, once both sides agreed to them, there was no escaping the rewards or punishments. Even if players were unwilling to hand over the items gambled, the system would still automatically transfer the items to the winner; the loser would similarly receive the punishment agreed upon before the duel. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that Brilliant Wargod had a truly cruel heart. The condition set for the loser was an immediate drop to Level 0, destroying their leveling efforts over the past several days. The loser would also have a huge level gap with the majority of the current players. It would be extremely difficult for the loser to catch up. If there are no problems, click the agree button, Brilliant Wargod smiled coldly. Shi Feng gave the conditions a general glance. After confirming that there were no problems, he clicked Agree. Lets start this meaningless battle, then. Immediately after Shi Feng clicked agree, gigantic numbers appeared floating in mid-air. It was the 10-second countdown timer for the start of the duel, and players were given this time to prepare for the upcoming battle. Hahaha! Little brat, although this duel will be extremely boring, since youve dared slander me in front of Aqua Rose, this young master will make things a little more fun! Ill let you know what the difference in strength truly is and how it feels to painfully struggle! Brilliant Wargod retrieved his shield and one-handed axe from his back, his face revealing a sinister smile. He looked just like a hungry wolf hunting its prey, and a red glint flashed in his eyes as he glared at Shi Feng. Only at this moment did Aqua Rose exit the restaurant. Looking at Brilliant Wargods appearance, her expression immediately sank. Im finished Aqua Rose already despaired. Not mentioning the fact that Shi Feng would definitely lose, Brilliant Wargods current condition was extremely dangerous. There might even be the possibility that he would drive Shi Feng insane, trapping Shi Feng in fear for a long time. Brilliant Wargod would very rarely display such an ability. The last time Aqua Rose saw Brilliant Wargod in such a condition, countless corpses littered around his feet; he had massacred a small Guild with several hundreds of players. She did not think that Brilliant Wargod would fall into this madness today. Brilliant Wargod was extremely arrogant in his usual battles, and he would laugh madly as he fought. Only when he entered an extremely incited condition would he occasionally reveal such a sinister and cruel appearance. During such times, Brilliant Wargod was a lunatic, filled with unruliness. His battle prowess would also increase by several folds. In such a state, Brilliant Wargod was a truly bloodthirsty berserker. If even the normal Brilliant Wargod ranked within the top five Shield Warriors in Twilight Echo, it was uncertain where the current Brilliant Wargod might rank. It was possible that even the number one ranking Shield Warrior in Twilight Echo, Lonely Leaf, might not be a match for him. Very quickly, the 10-second preparation time ended. Little brat, Ill first cripple all four of your limbs! Ill turn you into a crawling worm, then toy with you slowly! Brilliant Wargod lifted his Bone Shield while his other hand wielded the Giant Bear Waraxe. His face revealed a sinister smile as he charged at Shi Feng. Brilliant Wargods current appearance did not resemble anything human. Instead, he looked more like a lunatic possessed by a demon. After entering this crazed state, Brilliant Wargod became extraordinary fast and nimble. He charged Shi Feng head-on. However, when Shi Feng sent a sword stabbing at him, Shi Fengs sword merely penetrated the afterimage left behind by Brilliant Wargod. Ill first cripple your right arm! Brilliant Wargod suddenly appeared at Shi Fengs right, his Giant Bear Waraxe abruptly descending and slashing at Shi Fengs right arm. By the side, Aqua Roses complexion turned terrifyingly pale. After seeing Shi Feng taking action, she immediately knew that Shi Feng was not strong at all, just as she had expected. However, it was an ordinary situation after all. To become Star-Moon Kingdoms number one forger, Shi Feng must have spent a lot of his effort on forging. Where would he find the time to increase his battle techniques? Even if Shi Feng were an expert in some other virtual reality game, it would not be the same in Gods Domain. After entering Gods Domain, even the experts of other virtual reality games would only be slightly stronger than others. A lot of time was necessary to sharpen oneself in Gods Domain, and one needed to constantly battle monsters to improve. However, Shi Feng clearly did not possess that much time. Brilliant Wargod would torture Shi Feng here and now. He would fall into mental derangement for a long period. Even if he did not go crazy, he would be in a daze for a long time. How was she supposed to continue their trade with Shi Feng in such a state? It seems that I can only wait longer, Aqua Rose said helplessly as she looked at the right arm Brilliant Wargod targeted. Surprisingly, however, Shi Feng did not scream in pain. 184 Absolute Suppression At this moment, Brilliant Wargods Giant Bear Waraxe left a deep red streak across Shi Fengs arm. In Gods Domain, although players would not receive high damages when their limbs were attacked, they would feel a faint numbing feeling in their limbs. Moreover, the numbing effect lasted for quite some time. During this time, players reactions would slow down, affecting their battle conditions and slightly reducing their battle prowess. However, players would rarely attack limbs when they PKed others, as there was no meaning to such an action. Compared to attacking the limbs, the body was a much easier target. After all, it was much easier to defend against an attack aimed at the limbs. Moreover, the limbs were much more nimble than the body, making them harder to hit. Most importantly, however, attacking vital points on the body would cause much more damage. Normally, only when experts PKed new players, would experts use such an attack method to toy with the new players. Right now, Brilliant Wargod clearly intended to toy with Shi Feng. However, although Shi Feng had been hurt, he did not scream in pain as expected. This utterly surprised Aqua Rose. Shi Feng was, after all, only a forger. In Gods Domain, he would be the equivalent of a civilian worker, and his pain tolerance would be very low. Even if he were a battle veteran of Gods Domain, his face would at least twitch, and he would suck in a light breath when he received an attack. No matter how she looked at it, with Shi Fengs subclass as a forger, he should at least make a sound as he was hit. Was it possible that Shi Feng had turned off his pain perception completely? Normally, experts would maintain their pain perception at 30%, and only the newcomers and noobs would turn it off as they could not endure the pain. However, a majority of the players in Gods Domain would maintain it around 20%. No matter how one looked at Shi Feng, he was by no means a newcomer or a noob, so it was impossible that he would turn off his pain perception completely. Yet, his arm sustained the hit just now, but not the slightest hint of pain showed on his face. On the contrary, a smile filled his face right now; this was simply too abnormal. However, Brilliant Wargod paid no mind to these matters. Although he felt that something was missing, such as the screams of pain, that would not deter his continued attacks on Shi Feng. Axe swing after axe swing landed on Shi Fengs four limbs, and after a full five seconds, Brilliant Wargod nearly roared with excitement from his ceaseless attacking. Meanwhile, Aqua Roses shock grew as she stood a distance away and watched the scene before her. Black Flame, which locations god are you?! However, she was not shocked due to how precise Brilliant Wargods crazy attacks were. Instead, she was shocked by the HP bar above Shi Feng. Brilliant Wargods frantic attacks barely reduced Shi Fengs HP. As of this moment, Shi Feng had only lost 10% of his total HP. On the contrary, after five seconds passed, Shi Fengs HP once again rose to 95%. The most shocking thing to Aqua Rose was how little damage Brilliant Wargod inflicted on Shi Feng. Although Brilliant Wargod was a Shield Warrior, and his damage was much less than a Berserker with the same standards, at the end of the day, Brilliant Wargod still wore a set of Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. He also wielded the Secret-Silver rank Giant Bear Waraxe, so his Attack Power was no less than a normal Level 9 Berserker. Even though Brilliant Wargod did not use any skills, his normal attacks failed to cause over -15 damage with each strike. Wasnt Shi Fengs Defense a little too frightening? Why do you still have so much HP? Brilliant Wargod, who had attacked all this time, suddenly stilled his hands. He had wanted to see Shi Fengs suffering expression, yet, he was immediately shocked to discover that Shi Feng did not lose much HP at all. He then looked at his damage log, discovering a series of damages that was only around -10 You have keen reactions, precise attacks, good battle techniques, above average standards, and youre capable of activating Extraordinary Condition. Its as expected of Twilight Echos fifth ranking Shield Warrior, Shi Feng made a general deduction of Brilliant Wargods standards. He then said with a smile, Since youre done attacking, it should be my turn now. Shi Feng was currently Level 14 while Brilliant Wargod was only Level 9. In Gods Domain, if players and monsters had a level gap of 3 Levels, then due to the level suppression, players would have their damage reduced by around 50%. Meanwhile, in a situation where both sides consisted of players, the party with the lower level would have their damage reduced by 65%. If the gap grew to 5 Levels, then there would be an 80% damage reduction; for 10 Levels and above, the damage reduction was 95% and above. In addition, Shi Feng currently wore the Silvermoon Set Equipment, so his Defense was very high, to begin with. After he had risen to Level 14, his Endurance Attribute increased just beyond 80 points, activating the Hidden Passive Skill for Endurance, Basic Body Strengthening. With this passive skill, all attacks causing less than 50 damage were greatly weakened, his battle recovery rate would slightly increase, and his Stamina recovery would slightly improve as well. Due to the damage Brilliant Wargod caused him being extremely low, his battle recovery could replenish most of his lost HP in one-shot. This was the specialty of virtual reality games. Due to the gap in levels and Attributes, the disparity in strength was worlds apart. Brilliant Wargod was obviously unaware of this. Stop bluffing. Youre merely a blockhead with high Defense. Watch how Ill get rid of you and send you back to Level 0! Regret becoming my enemy! Brilliant Wargod did not and would not believe that Shi Feng could retaliate. He raised his Giant Bear Waraxe, sending a fierce slash towards Shi Fengs chest. Brilliant Wargod no longer fooled around. He wanted to get rid of Shi Feng instantly like a fierce gale, so he coupled his attack with a skill. However, standing at a distance, Aqua Rose did not think that Shi Feng bluffed at all. Since the start of the battle, Shi Feng had waved his sword only once, then stood without moving, allowing Brilliant Wargod to attack him for an entire five seconds continuously. Five seconds Even the weakest players could attack or defend many times within this amount of time. Yet, Shi Feng chose to do nothing at all The moment Brilliant Wargods Giant Bear Axe passed through Shi Fengs body, Brilliant Wargod involuntarily revealed a cold smile. His belief that Shi Feng only bluffed was reaffirmed. Afterimage! Brilliant Wargod immediately noticed that sensation of his axe passing through Shi Feng felt odd. At this moment, he realized that the Shi Feng before him was simply an afterimage. He then spun, searching for Shi Fengs position. At this moment, Shi Feng had already arrived at Brilliant Wargods back. His movements were silent as if he did not exist at all. Shi Fengs right hand twitched, and the Abyssal Blade lightly pierced through Brilliant Wargods back. A hole appeared in the hard armor that Brilliant Wargod wore, and the Shield Warrior instantly felt his heart cool to freezing temperatures. Brilliant Wargod felt an immense pain in his chest. Since when had a young master like himself experienced such a degree of pain? Immediately, he released an agonizing scream as a damage of over -300 appeared above his head. With a single hit, Brilliant Wargod lost over a fifth of his total HP. Such speed and Attack Power! Aqua Rose had distinctly witnessed it from a distance, and her shock-filled eyes involuntarily blinked as a result. She did not think that Shi Feng, as a forger, would actually be so amazing in battle. His Attack Power was simply inhumane. Because of the equipment he possessed, Brilliant Wargods Defense was frightening. Yet, Shi Fengs normal attack dealt over -300 damage to the Warrior... Between the two of them, be it Defense or Attack Power, Brilliant Wargod was far from Shi Fengs equal. The disparity in strength was clear for all to behold. The two of them were on completely different levels. It was simply unbelievable. Even with Brilliant Wargods standards, there was still an evident gap in strength between him and Shi Feng. This fight had completely renewed Aqua Roses recognition of Gods Domain. After stabbing Brilliant Wargod once, Shi Feng did not give Brilliant Wargod any chances. He once again waved the Abyssal Blade, sending a Chop at Brilliant Wargods body. Shi Feng landed a triple damage critical attack, causing over -2,400 damage and instantly killing Brilliant Wargod. 185 Ruined Mountain Range Shi Feng pulled back his sword, sliding it back into its scabbard. Immediately after, an agonizing wail resounded throughout the streets. Brilliant Wargod stared Shi Feng with eyes filled with poisonous hatred. However, there was also a thread of fear hidden within that hatred. After all, Shi Feng had only used a single Swordsman skill, Chop, to kill him instantly. Brilliant Wargods past confidence and arrogance had, at this moment, shattered. He quietly watched as his HP frantically decreased, and in the blink of an eye, he only had 1 HP remaining. Brilliant Wargod fell to his knees, his eyes filled with shock and fear. As this was only a duel, Brilliant Wargod could escape death this time. However, as Brilliant Wargod regained some of his spirit, he finally understood Shi Fengs comment of this would be a boring battle. At that time, Brilliant Wargod had still thought that it was Shi Fengs arrogance, not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth. In reality, however... No! Brilliant Wargod exclaimed as he noticed his levels swiftly decreasing. In the blink of an eye, he had already fallen to Level 0. Although duels would not allow players to die, the punishment the losing party received would not be altered in the slightest. The sinister punishment Brilliant Wargod had previously set for Shi Feng had all come biting back at him. The system also transferred the map he gambled into Shi Fengs inventory. This time, not only had he dug his own grave, but he also bought his own coffin, suffering twice the loss. Miss Aqua, Im done. Lets continue our talks, Shi Feng looked towards Aqua Rose with a smile as he spoke. Brilliant Wargod glared at Shi Feng with a malicious expression, his teeth gnashing. Immediately after Shi Feng turned his back on Brilliant Wargod, the Shield Warrior took out a Tier 1 Magic Scroll, using it on Shi Feng. Black Flame, die! the Tier 1 Magic Scroll that Brilliant Wargod used was a flame-type spell called Flame Spear. The scroll contained a relatively strong, single-target, destructive spell. In any case, Brilliant Wargod had already fallen to Level 0. He would not suffer a loss if the guards captured and jailed him. At worst, he would just have to delete his account and start all over again. It would be acceptable if he could kill Shi Feng and appease his hatred. Careful! Aqua Rose warned. Shi Feng did not expect Brilliant Wargod to be insane enough to dare attack him in the middle of Blackwing City. However, due to the short distance between them, it was too late by the time Shi Feng realized Brilliant Wargods actions. The Flame Spear instantly struck Shi Fengs back, and Brilliant Wargod revealed a sinister smile as his attack landed. This Flame Spear was Brilliant Wargods trump card. It was capable of causing up to 2,000 flame damage to a single target. Even if Shi Feng were amazing, he was a single Swordsman. How high could his HP be? It would already be heaven-defying if he had 1,200 HP. With this 2,000 damage, Shi Feng would unquestionably die. After the raging flames dissipated, Shi Fengs HP madly fell. Hahaha! So what if you are amazing? Since you dared provoke this young master, only death awaits you! Brilliant Wargod laughed loudly as he watched Shi Fengs full HP trickle to zero. Brilliant Wargod, you are too despicable! With this action, Aqua Rose finally saw through to Brilliant Wargods true self. She did not think that he would be such despicable filth without even the most basic self-respect. Despicable? The victor becomes king, whereas the loser becomes a bandit! He can only blame himself for his own lack of skills! Brilliant Wargod sneered as he spoke. However, Brilliant Wargods smile quickly faded the moment he discovered that Shi Fengs HP had stopped decreasing after reaching 20%. Why? Why arent you dead? Looking at Shi Feng standing there, Brilliant Wargod retreated several steps; his trembling finger pointed at Shi Feng as he panicked. This, you dont need to know. However, since youve dared take action here, Im guessing that youre prepared to receive your punishment, Shi Feng softly said. He chuckled as he clapped at the flames remaining on his body, extinguishing them. The damage caused by the Flame Spear could indeed kill a Level 14 player with one hit. However, Shi Feng was different. He possessed 20 points of Fire Resistance. He also had the Basic Body Strengthening passive skill activated, which would somewhat increase some of the hidden magic resistance. In addition, Shi Feng currently had a maximum HP of 1,840 points, so a single Flame Spear was not enough to kill him. To put it another way, Tier 1 Magic had no possibility of killing him with a single hit. At most, it would gravely injure him. Im Impossible! Brilliant Wargod was completely dumbfounded by this scene. After all, that was the most powerful Tier 1 Magic Scroll he had in his possession. It cant be, right? Aqua Rose was similarly shocked. Fire-type magic possessed the highest destructive force of all elemental magic. Yet, Shi Feng had survived after taking a direct hit from a Tier 1 fire-type spell. Just what kind of Defense did he possess? Aqua Rose even started to suspect that Shi Feng was a Shield Warrior or a Guardian Knight in disguise. However, even Guardian Knights possessing the highest magic resistance could not forcefully survive this move. While the two suffered their shock, the Black Knights of Blackwing City had arrived. Compared to other towns and normal cities, Blackwing Citys management was far more strict. The penalties it administered were even more unbearable. Hence, in Shi Fengs previous life, no players dared cause a scene while in Blackwing City. Any who did simply sought their own deaths. Not to mention, Brilliant Wargod had actually dared attack Shi Feng, who possessed the status of a Demon Hunter. Hence, Shi Feng did not immediately take action against Brilliant Wargod. In reality, he simply waited for the punishment Blackwing City would provide to Brilliant Wargod. Brilliant Wargod, you have committed an offense against Blackwing Citys laws. Moreover, you attacked the Lord Demon Hunter. From now on, you will remain in jail in Blackwing City for 15 days. After your release, all your Attributes would be decreased by 10% for a duration of ten days, and the EXP you gain will decrease by 20%, the Black Knight Captain walked up to Brilliant Wargod, stating his verdict. Hearing such a penalty, Aqua Rose sucked in a cold breath. This penalty was simply too heavy. Even if they locked Brilliant Wargod up for 15 days, as an elder of Twilight Echo, there were other people available to help him level back up. However, now that he was Level 0, with the 15-day gap and 20% EXP gain reduction, Brilliant Wargod would need to grind ceaselessly for over a month to catch up with the level of the majority of the players, not to mention catching up to the top-ranking players. Hahaha! Black Flame, I admit that you are amazing! However, from the moment I took action, I had already decided to delete my account and start all over again! Did you really think I would fear the system punishment? Although Brilliant Wargod trembled slightly when he heard the penalty he was to receive, giving it another thought, he planned to delete and rebuild his account. What should he be afraid of? Is that so? Then, I look forward to you deleting and rebuilding your account, Shi Feng smiled faintly, not bothering to explain. Seeing Brilliant Wargods confident smile, Shi Feng could not bear to shatter his fantasies. Brilliant Wargod thought too lightly of Gods Domain. If a pig-brained person like Brilliant Wargod could think of such a method to escape punishment, the Main God System would certainly have a solution. In Shi Fengs previous life, plenty of players had thought of Gods Domain as only a virtual reality game; they thought they could do whatever they wanted. There were even some players who had done unscrupulous and condemnable things towards female NPCs. After all, these players all thought they could simply avoid punishment by deleting and rebuilding their accounts from scratch. However, the outcome spoke differently. Unless one no longer wanted to play Gods Domain, any and all punishments would be meted out. No matter how many times one deleted their accounts or changed their gaming helmets, the consequences were inescapable. Although Gods Domain was a virtual reality game, it had its own bottom line as well; the rules of Gods Domain were the final bottom line. Any and all who dared go past this bottom line would do well to prepare themselves for their punishments, no exceptions. When Brilliant Wargod saw Shi Fengs smile, he suddenly felt uncertain about his decision. However, when he gave it more thought, it was possible that Shi Feng just tried to frighten him. Immediately, Brilliant Wargod logged out of Gods Domain, preparing to delete and rebuild his account. Meanwhile, Shi Feng no longer cared to pay any attention to this brainless princeling. He then opened his bag, examining the clue to the God Slayer that he had just obtained. There was no marked location on this map. There were also no written words to give an explanation. If any other players were to obtain this map, they would have no clue of what to do with it. After all, they would not know the location displayed on the map, nor would they know how to look for it. Moreover, the official site did not publish a world map for Gods Domain. That explained Brilliant Wargods ignorant generosity of wagering this map. Fortunately, Shi Feng was extremely familiar with Gods Domain. In Shi Fengs previous life, the various major Guilds in Gods Domain made their own maps of Gods Domain, and Shadow was no exception. Ten years after Gods Domain started its operation, the world map that Shadow possessed was very thorough. Meanwhile, familiarizing oneself with the world map was one of the basic requirements of a Guild Leader, including Shi Feng. However, the map currently in Shi Fengs hands displayed very complicated terrain. Only after racking his brain for some time did Shi Feng manage to recall a place with a similar terrain as shown on this map. It was the forbidden territory for humans, the Ruined Mountain Range. 186 State A Price Just as Shi Feng recognized the location shown on the map Four Level 200 Black Guards appeared on Light Street, each wielding a black spear in their hands and walking towards Brilliant Wargod; they intended to take him away. Dont even think of catching me. Brilliant Wargod immediately logged out of the game. However, an unbelievable situation occurred. One could describe this as an out-of-body experience. Like an empty shell, Brilliant Wargods body suddenly fell to the ground, motionless. However, the four Black Guards did not care much about this. Two of the knights grabbed ahold of Brilliant Wargods body from each side, dragging him away from Light Street. Soon after, the Black Knights also dispersed from the scene. Master Black Flame, what is going on here? Didnt Brilliant Wargod log off? Logically, his body should also have disappeared! Aqua Rose looked at Shi Feng, her shining eyes blinking as she asked. Although Aqua Rose did not know why she would ask Shi Feng, her instincts told her that Shi Feng might know the answer. If Shi Feng knew that Aqua Rose had asked him about this matter out of instinct, the fearsomeness of a womans intuition would certainly surprise him. Hearing Aqua Roses question, Shi Feng simply smiled and said, It should be that the system doesnt allow players avoid punishment. Blackwing Citys judgment was, without a doubt, the systems judgment. If Brilliant Wargod had properly received his punishment, he would only have to pay the smallest price. However, if Brilliant Wargod deleted and rebuilt his account, not to mention losing the money and equipment that he originally had, he would also lose all the reputation he had earned in Gods Domain. Reputation was not easy to gain. After all, many of the quests that rewarded players with reputation points were Unique Quests. So, it is like that. Aqua Rose understood the truth of the matter. Otherwise, if everyone simply deleted and rebuilt their accounts the moment they did something nefarious, wouldnt that turn Gods Domain into a heaping mess? However, along with the passing of time, player levels would become higher, while the chances of such matters occurring would decrease as well. After all, players had dedicated a great amount of time and energy onto cultivating their Gods Domain accounts; there would be few people with the courage to start all over again. However, if players encountered a situation like Brilliant Wargods, a majority of them would choose to delete and rebuild. After all, it would be much faster to start all over again, and it could be a way to take advantage of the system. Naturally, the Main God System would not make such a mistake. Regarding the calamity that had befallen Brilliant Wargod, Aqua Rose did not display a hint of sympathy. On the contrary, she was very grateful for Shi Fengs significant help. Her and Brilliant Wargods families had always been friendly with each other, and both families intended to increase and widen their wealth and influence through marriage. On the other hand, Aqua Rose had, from the very beginning, opposed this notion. She intended to create a legacy for herself, increasing her right of speech within her family to oppose this marriage. Gods Domain just so happened to have given her this very good chance. As long as she could further herself in Gods Domain, and adding in Brilliant Wargods actions, she could easily vanquish the notion of marriage between the two families. After dealing with the matter of Brilliant Wargod, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose returned to the restaurant and resumed their business talks. Originally, Shi Feng wanted to investigate the God Slayers whereabouts. However, he set it aside for now. In Gods Domain, the Ruined Mountain Range was an absolutely forbidden place for humans. In Shi Fengs previous life, many players did not believe this fact. In the end, all who went there found only death. From then on, nobody dared casually enter the Ruined Mountain Range. With Shi Fengs current strength, not to mention entering the Ruined Mountain Range, even the path leading to the Ruined Mountain Range presented an impossible challenge for Shi Feng. How would he reach the location marked on the map? The only choice he had right now was to increase his strength. When he had sufficient strength, he could then think of a way to go there. Master Black Flame, these are the various forging materials that youve requested. Due to limited bag space, Ive only brought the rare and precious materials. This time, Master Black Flame has helped me a great deal, so Ill sell these to you at a lower price. You just need to pay me 43 Gold Coins for them, Aqua Rose displayed the transaction list, smiling as she spoke. The cost of purchasing all these materials came to a total of just over 37 Gold. Originally, Aqua Rose intended to sell all these materials to Shi Feng for 50 Gold. However, since Shi Feng had helped her out, she chose to earn a little less in this transaction. Initially, Aqua Rose had not possessed enough Gold Coins to purchase all these materials. However, she made a big profit from the Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs, which she bought from Shi Feng last time. Not only had she earned over a hundred Gold Coins, but she also earned back all the Credits she used to purchase the forging designs. She still had quite a few Glimmer Chestplate Forging Designs remaining. If she sold all of them, she could still earn tens of Gold Coins and hundreds of thousands of Credits. Even for an apex first-rate Guild like Twilight Echo, the entire Guilds currently available fluid funds only amounted to twenty to thirty Gold. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose had over a hundred Gold in her possession, provoking the Guilds elders jealousy. After having the first tastes of profit, Aqua Rose greatly anticipated the surprise Shi Feng was about to create. 43 Gold? When Shi Feng looked at the transaction list, his heart skipped a beat. He had not expected Aqua Rose to be so capable. She had actually gathered so many materials. Taking a quick glance at the transaction list, the materials listed were all rare, required for forging Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver ranked items. There were even some extremely rare Fine-Gold ranked materials. At this stage of the game, it was absolutely impossible for players to find any of these materials in Star-Moon Kingdom. Aqua Rose had also bought a large quantity of Hard Stones, as Shi Feng had specially requested a lot of them. Now, Aqua Rose had close to a thousand stacks of Hard Stones for Shi Feng, completely filling up her ore bags. Shi Feng could not help but admit that the Ore Country was aptly named. Ore bags were different from normal bags. They were specifically made for storing forging materials. Hence, these bags had extremely large storage spaces, and each one was several times, some even several tens of times, larger than a normal bag. In Aqua Roses case, aside from her main bag having 100 slots, her remaining six bags were all ore bags. Every one of her ore bags had 350 slots for items, and all six ore bags were currently filled to the brim. The country Aqua Rose came from did not lack ores. Hence, Aqua Rose only sold each stack of Hard Stones to Shi Feng at a price of 80 Copper Coins. Aqua Rose had probably purchased all of these Hard Stones at an even lower price. Compared to these sold in Star-Moon Kingdom, the price of these Hard Stones was simply too cheap. Right now, each stack of Hard Stones sold for 3 Silver Coins. Just by selling these Hard Stones to other players, Shi Feng could make a profit of several times his cost. Moreover, those players would fight over these Hard Stones. However, even Shi Feng could not afford 43 gold in a single transaction. Fortunately, Shi Feng came prepared. He removed a pile of Level 8 and Level 9 Bronze Equipment and quite a lot of Mysterious-Iron Equipment from his bag. He had personally forged a majority of the equipment, while he had obtained the remainder from the Moonlight Forest. However, the most eye-catching equipment among was the Level 10 Secret-Silver ranked one-handed swords, the Silver Dawns, that Shi Feng had crafted. Secret-Silver Weapons, even to a first-rate Guild, they were extremely rare. Normally, only the core upper-echelons of the Guild would possess two to three Secret-Silver ranked items, while the elites of the Guild could not even dream of possessing one. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had filled the private room with equipment, dazzling the sight of all beholders. Making a general count, Shi Feng had over 500 pieces of equipment. Aqua Rose was instantly dumbfounded by this sight. Only after tens of seconds had passed did she gradually recover her spirit, and shock filled her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. One could easily outfit a large elite team with this much equipment. Moreover, Shi Feng had forged the majority. Aqua Rose was greatly confused at how Shi Feng could forge so much equipment all by himself. After all, she had personally witnessed forgers create equipment before. The process could be summed up in one word C slow. These were all Bronze and Mysterious-Iron ranked Equipment. If one were not careful while forging them, the result would easily fail. So, the process of forging equipment of such quality was definitely much slower than that of Common Equipment. Since the last time Aqua Rose met with Shi Feng, only a little more than three days had passed. Even if Shi Feng continuously forged equipment without sleep or food during this period, it should still be impossible for him to forge this much equipment. Miss Aqua, I already brought the equipment. State a price, Shi Feng smiled. Aqua Rose immediately felt as if she had been cheated. Originally, she intended to make a big profit off of Shi Feng. However, with 500 plus pieces of high-level equipment placed before her, even if she sold herself to Shi Feng, it still might not be enough... 187 Frightening Forger The private room of the restaurant was very large. However, it was insufficient to contain all of the weapons and equipment that Shi Feng had taken out. The entire room was cramped with items right now. After counting for a long while, Aqua Rose finally had a firm grasp on the number of weapons and equipment that Shi Feng had brought. Among them, there were over 200 Level 8 and above Bronze Weapons, over 300 pieces of Level 8 and above Bronze Equipment, 70 Level 9 and above Mysterious-Iron Weapons, 80 pieces of Level 9 and above Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and 20 Level 10 Silver Dawns. There was close to a total of 700 weapons and pieces of equipment. With this much equipment, Aqua Rose would have no problems gearing up even a 100-man team. The Attributes of the Silver Dawns were especially frightening. Compared to the Giant Bear Waraxe that Brilliant Wargod had, the Silver Dawns Attributes were much stronger. Twilight Echo had sacrificed many of their elite members to obtain Brilliant Wargods Level 9 Giant Bear Waraxe. After all, it was only a normal occurrence to lose over twenty elite players when dealing with a Chieftain ranked field Boss. Chieftain ranked field Bosses were extremely rare in Gods Domain and meeting one all depended on luck. Moreover, after meeting one, sacrifices were necessary to bring it down. This was the exchange of the lives of the Guilds elites for equipment, and it was a huge loss to the Guild. Yet, Shi Feng casually displayed twenty Secret-Silver Weapons. Aqua Rose no longer knew how to describe Shi Feng. Despite having an immeasurably high strength, his standards as a forger were also at their apex, as Aqua Rose had yet to hear news of any player forging a Secret-Silver ranked item. Shi Fengs existence simply caused others despair. At the same time, Aqua Rose had finally come to an understanding of just how frightening a forger could be. If any Guild could have a forger like Shi Feng, that Guild would not have to worry about trying to obtain equipment. As long as they had the forging designs, they could have whatever equipment they wanted, and at any time they wanted it. There would be no need for them to waste tremendous effort to kill Bosses. Moreover, killing an extremely powerful Boss would only yield several pieces of equipment. On the other hand, as long as a forger had the materials, they could create as many pieces of equipment as they wanted; it was much faster and more convenient. Miss Aqua, you look a little pale. Are you alright? Shi Feng looked at the dazed Aqua Rose, asking with concern. Me? As Aqua Rose regained her senses, she involuntarily wiped the sweat from her forehead, Im fine. Why would I have any problems? Is it possible that Miss Aqua cant afford this many weapons and equipment? If this is so, just pick as many as you can, Shi Feng could sympathize with Aqua Roses situation. After all, even a first-rate Guild could not buy up all this equipment in one go, not to mention Aqua Rose by herself. Master Black Flame, I want all of these items. However, can we carry out the transaction with Credits? Otherwise, if I give Master Black Flame all of my Gold Coins, I would starve, Aqua Rose smiled bitterly. There were so many good items before her eyes, and it would be a sin not to gobble all of them up right now. What did the various large Guilds lack the most? The answer was obvious: high-level weapons and equipment. Level 8 and above weapons and equipment just so happened to be what Guilds lacked the most. Just a single piece of Level 8 Bronze Equipment was worth well over 20 Silvers on the market right now. Level 8 Bronze Weapons even sold for 30 Silvers or more, while Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Equipment was worth 50 Silvers or more, and Level 9 Mysterious-Iron Weapons sold for 80 Silvers or more. As for the Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapons, the Silver Dawns, they were priceless treasures, and not a single person out there would willingly sell one. If a price were truly to be set, with the Silver Dawns Attributes, at the very least, it would sell for 2 Gold Coins or more. Twenty Silver Dawns would then equate 40 Gold Coins. That was nearly half of all the game currency Aqua Rose owned. Moreover, this was the lowest price for the Silver Dawn. Thats fine as well. Ill just take these forging materials, in addition to 50 Gold, to cover for a portion of the bill. You can pay the remainder using Credits, Shi Feng spoke after giving it some thought. This Aqua Rose hesitated for a long time. In the end, however, she gnashed her teeth as she agreed, saying, Alright; I understand. Hearing Shi Fengs words, Aqua Rose really wished that she could recruit Shi Feng. In just a few moments, Shi Feng had taken away a greater half of the Gold Coins she had earned after much effort. Aqua Rose felt extreme frustration in her heart. However, Aqua Rose suddenly discovered that she truly did not possess anything that could attract Shi Feng to her side. Regarding weapons and equipment, as a forger, Shi Feng did not lack any of these, to begin with. His money-earning capabilities were obvious. As for status, although he was simply a nobody right now, the moment the name of the Black Flame Forger spread, his status would become undeniably grand, earning the respect of others. The only thing remaining was a girlfriend. If Shi Feng did not have one right now, there were plenty of great beauties in Aqua Roses elite team. Every one of them possessed beauty that could easily move ones heart, and their bodies were all curved in the right places. Plenty of men often tried to court these women. Aqua Rose would be rich if she could get one of her teams beauties to hook up Shi Feng. However, it would be unquestionably foolish if she asked Shi Feng this question right now. She could only wait until their relationship grew before digging for some hints. If Shi Feng knew the thoughts Aqua Rose had in her head right now, she would probably frighten him away. After all, who would have thought that the elegant and cheerful Aqua Rose could be so cunning? Very quickly, the two of them completed their transaction. Aside from obtaining the 43 Golds worth of materials from selling the equipment, Shi Feng also obtained an additional 50 Gold Coins and over 2 million Credits. Just by striving for three short days, Shi Feng had instantly multiplied the ten plus Gold he had initially spent by more than ten folds. Shi Feng had made a huge profit from this trade. This time, regarding Gold Coins, Shi Feng had once again become the richest person in White River City. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was also greatly pleased. With this many weapons and equipment, she could greatly strengthen her own legion and very quickly turn it into the number one legion in Twilight Echo. At that time, her right to speak would also grow, while those elders would no longer dare speak nonsense in front of her. Master Black Flame, lets schedule next trade for four days from now? It just so happens to coincide with the day the Blackwing Auction will be held. What do you think? Without realizing it, Aqua Rose treated Shi Feng as a good friend now. Alright. I can also save the number of uses left on the pass, Shi Feng nodded in agreement. He had earned simply too much this time. He also needed quite some time to forge new weapons and equipment. Now that Aqua Rose had yet to obtain additional Blackwing City passes, it was also beneficial to have a time extension. Soon after, the two parted ways. Shi Feng then went to purchase more Frost Grenades. This time, he bought a full stack of 200 Intermediate Frost Grenades for 18 Gold. He also bought five stacks of 1,000 Basic Frost Grenades for 13 Gold, 50 Silver. In just a short moment, he had spent 31 Gold, 50 Silver. However, Shi Feng did not feel any heartache over it as the money he obtained from Aqua Rose just now was simply the tip of the iceberg. The true iceberg was still within his grasp with the incomparably popular Hard Stone. To Aqua Rose, Whetstones were neither rare nor special. After all, being from the Ore Country, such items were available in abundance. The number of forgers there was as plentiful as the hairs on an ox, so they were not particularly desperate for such items. However, it was a different story for the Star-Moon Kingdom with the various Guilds in the White River City region who were desperately trying to level up. These Guilds were in desperate need of Hard Stones. Yet, it was just too difficult to obtain any. They might even go bald from over-worrying right now. As for after these Guilds entered White River City, Shi Feng did not need to worry that these Guilds would suddenly halt their need for Whetstones. Even after everyone entered White River City, the issue of durability would still plague them. It might even become a much more serious issue. Hence, Shi Feng did not worry in the slightest that he could not sell his Hard Stones. He merely had to decide at what price he would sell them for. Just as Shi Feng was about to return to White River City, Blackie suddenly sent news. Brother Feng, this is not good! Right now, all of the Guilds within the White River City region are looking for you. They say that if you do not give an explanation on the official forums, all the Guilds within the White River City region will add us to the wanted list! 188 You Are Digging Your Own Grave! After reading Blackies message, Shi Feng was confused. Why would the Guilds within the White River City region suddenly look for trouble with them for no reason? Moreover, they even wanted an explanation. What did they want him to explain? However, Shi Feng did not pay further attention to this matter. It would be better for him to get the details after he returned to White River City. Hence, he took out the Seven Luminaries Crystal, teleporting to White River City. \--- Level 10 monster area, White Sand Ruins. A 40-man elite team was currently clearing Level 10 Desert Twin-headed Snakes. Every member of the team took action in an organized fashion, and very quickly, the team dispatched all of the tens of Desert Twin-headed Snakes, turning them into an abundance of EXP. This elite team belonged to the Guild, Martial Union, chased out of Red Leaf Town by Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the leader of this team none other than Unstable Devastation. Boss Unstable, the deed is done. Ive already told them the conditions, pros, and cons. At that time, well share the secret Shi Feng used to reach Level 10 quickly. Currently, there are a total of eight unrated Guilds that have agreed to enter our little alliance, an Assassin came running, reporting. Good; youve done well! Unstable Devastation laughed with a smirk on his face. He then said confidently, Ye Feng, you are the one courting death! You actually dared ignore my words! Now, the entire White River City region has discovered the leveling secret you used to reach Level 10! Ive also established my own alliance. Whether you reveal that leveling secret or not, you will be finished! When Shi Feng had utterly rejected him, Unstable Devastation had been sent into a daze for a long time. He did not think that Shi Feng would act so decisively. However, since Unstable Devastation could not control Shi Feng through threats, he could only use a more strenuous method to deal with Shi Feng, publicizing the matter about this secret to all of the other Guilds. Now that the competition between the various large Guilds was so intense, every one of these Guilds worked towards swiftly raising their members levels to Level 10. Meanwhile, Shi Feng possessed a leveling secret that could allow these Guilds to achieve such a feat, so these various large Guilds would naturally want it. After all, while the other Guilds still worried over the matter of reaching Level 10, Shi Feng''s entire team was already Level 10 and currently developed themselves further in White River City. Their situations were worlds apart. Currently, Shi Feng''s team occupied all of the resources available in White River City. With that access, they could increase the gap even further. By the time the majority of the players in the White River City region entered White River City, Shi Feng''s team may already occupy all the high-level resource areas available in the city. How were other players supposed to mingle in White River City then? That was to say, if any Guild could obtain Shi Fengs leveling secret, they would become a tyrant in White River City in the future. With such a temptation in sight, who could resist? Not to mention, Shi Feng was merely an independent player. He did not have the protection of any major power. Gods Domain was still not kind enough to allow a weakling exclusive monopoly on treasures. With treasures up for grabs, how could any of these Guilds let go of this chance? They would do whatever they could to snatch it. As for obtaining the leveling secret through fair trade, it was an impossible notion. After all, the initial criterion for a fair trade was that both parties had to be of equal power. How could a single independent player possibly equal a large Guild? If Shi Feng did not obediently hand the leveling secret over, there would only be a single ending for him C Death! However, even if he handed it over, death would still be the only thing awaiting him. This was the sorrow of weaklings. At this moment, even Unstable Devastation pitied Shi Feng. However, who told this fool to refuse his kind suggestion? \--- White River City, Trade Area, Bank. The moment Shi Feng returned to White River City, he immediately emptied all of the forging materials he had on him into the bank. Seeing over ten thousand slots of his warehouse full to the brim, Shi Feng could not help but grow emotional. After all, in his previous life, he did not possess such a rich and spectacular warehouse. He wondered just how much money he could make if he sold all of these items. At the very least, it should be enough to serve as his Guilds reserve funds. In actuality, Shi Fengs current fame could allow him to establish a Guild easily. However, Shi Feng chose to do it surely, but steadily. He should first deal with the welfare of the Guild. After finishing that, the Guild he established would shock the world, and no power out there would be able to touch them. Even if those third-rate and second-rate Guilds wished to suppress his Guild, they could not stop his Guilds swift development. After all, his Guild would already possess a sturdy foundation and huge funding at that time; a small skirmish would not easily destroy it. After he finished tidying up his warehouse, Shi Feng opened his system message log, taking a look at what was actually going on. Previously, to prevent Unstable Devastation from disturbing his trade, Shi Feng had set his system communication and messages to prevent strangers from disturbing him. However, he did not think that so much would occur during the time he did so. Compared to when he entered White River City, the messages he now received exceeded 10,000. Independent players had sent a majority of them, while various Guilds had sent the minority. After reading a few of these messages, Shi Feng managed to grasp the general gist of what these players wanted. A majority of these players wanted to privately purchase his strategy of quickly reaching to Level 10, while a minority of them directly demanded that Shi Feng hand the strategy over. Naturally, this minority consisted of Guild representatives. Every one of the words in their messages contained force. Although they did not use threatening words, their intent was unmistakable. They told Shi Feng to do whatever he saw fit, but he would have to take responsibility for the consequences. Meanwhile, the demand for an explanation posted on the forums was also the doing of these Guilds. They were clearly trying to force him into a corner. Fortunately, however, the Guilds that had directly suggested that Shi Feng hand over the leveling strategy were all unrated, without a single rated Guild among them. Unstable Devastation, Shi Fengs brows wrinkled, a chilling battle intent shone in his eyes. This was a scheme concocted by Unstable Devastation in order to push him down to a hell beyond salvation. From the experiences in his past life, Shi Feng clearly understood a single matter. A hungry ghost could never devour enough[1]. Hmm? Even Shadow is trying to have a part in this? Shi Feng found a new post on the forums. It was a declaration of alliance made by Unstable Devastation and several other Guilds. They requested Shi Feng to hand over his leveling strategy to satisfy everyone. Otherwise, they would impose a sanction on him. Meanwhile, Shadow was among the several Guilds that had joined this alliance. Immediately, plenty of people showed their support for Unstable Devastation. They all wanted Shi Feng to hand over his leveling strategy, benefiting everyone. Shi Feng simply smiled. Did they really take him for someone who could be easily bullied, someone they could mold in the palm of their hands? If Gentle Snow possessed this leveling secret, these Guilds and players would have long since shut their mouths. Rather, they would cheer and sing her praises. Immediately after, Shi Feng created a post on the forums. Selling the leveling strategy to reach Level 10 quickly for 10 billion Credits! All insincere buyers will be ignored! Shi Feng then set aside the official forums, looking at the time. It was nearing dawn in the real world, so Shi Feng promptly logged off to rest. However, Shi Fengs post had instantly become popular. Almost everybody paid attention to it when they saw Shi Fengs asking price of 10 billion. Those who had previously wanted Shi Feng to publicly disclose the strategy for free now cursed even more fervently. Ten billion Credits? Why dont you die instead! Unstable Devastation and other unknown Guilds had all involuntarily cursed the moment they saw Ye Fengs post. This Ye Feng had simply gone insane for money. Which fool out there would spend 10 billion Credits to buy a garbage strategy? However, anyone smart enough could easily discern Shi Fengs true intentions. Naturally, these Guilds also understood what Shi Feng tried to say. This was Shi Fengs way of indirectly sending them a message, saying, Want this secret for free? Dream on! Without a doubt, Shi Feng declared war with these Guilds. Ye Feng, you are digging your own grave! Unstable Devastation spoke in rage, though his tone carried with it a hint of gloating. He was furious due to Shi Feng ridiculing him for being poor, while he was happy as there were over 30 Guilds who would deal with Shi Feng. Even if Shi Feng were amazing, he would still be finished the moment these Guilds entered White River City. Unless, of course, Shi Feng could repeat the scene from last time, banishing all of these Guilds from White River City. However, was that possible? * * * TL Notes: [1]A hungry ghost could never devour enough: signifying that greed is endless. 189 Berserked Marke Shortly after Shi Feng logged off The post Shi Feng had left on the forums became instantly popular. One view became ten; ten became a hundred. Players had strong gossiping hearts, so they would not miss out on this good show. Within a short twenty minutes, almost all players within the White River City region had discovered this matter. The Guilds that had demanded the leveling strategy from Shi Feng were all enraged. Crap! Find all of the information about that little bastard for me! Not only am I going to kill him back to Level 0, but Im also going to kill all his friends back to Level 0! Since he dares humiliate Ghost Wheel, he can forget thinking of mingling in Gods Domain any longer! Sleeping Bones, the Guild Leader of Ghost Wheel, was furious after listening to his subordinates report. Although Ghost Wheel was an unrated Guild, they were still a large Guild with over five thousand members. Yet, a lone, independent player looked down on them. How were they supposed to show their faces in public in the future if they took this lying down? Leader, Ive already investigated him, an Elementalist said. Speak! Since he dares look down on Ghost Wheel, I cant retain the name Sleeping Bones if I dont kill all of his friends back to Level 0! Sleeping Bones bellowed. That Ye Feng is an independent player, and Ive confirmed that he has eight team members. Aside from them, Ye Feng also has a good relationship with Stabbing Heart, the Vice-Leader of the Assassins Alliance. Rumor also has it that he has a very close relationship with the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, as well that Elementalist answered. ...... Sleeping Bones suddenly fell silent. Was this a joke? If they dared to actually kill Stabbing Heart of Assassins Alliance and Gentle Snow of Ouroboros, then the day they entered White River City would be the day Ghost Wheel disbanded. Forget it! I, Sleeping Bones, am a magnanimous person! Well just stick to killing Ye Feng and his teammates, lest we want other people to start gossiping about us! Roger! Guild Leader is the wisest! At the same time, the other Guilds that did not have a clear understanding of Shi Feng began their investigations about him. They were prepared to properly deal with him the moment they entered White River City. \--- Meanwhile, on the forums, players were currently discussing this incident. They all felt that White River Citys battle of the century was about to begin. This fellow brother Ye Feng simply too awesome! Isnt he trying to oppose those various Guilds? He is just overestimating himself. Who does he think he is? When these Guilds enter White River City, it will take no effort for them to destroy him. What do you know? Ye Feng is a god-ranked expert! Previously, he turned Martial Union upside down, while Martial Union could do nothing against him. They were even chased out of Red Leaf Town. Now, Ye Feng is even facing off against so many strong powers. He is truly my generations role model! Whats so amazing about that? I could do it as well! Dont forget, that incident happened in a town. The various large Guilds strength scattered; how many members could they possibly have in a single town? It was only natural that they were defeated! There were many players browsing the forums. However, a majority of them did not feel optimistic about Shi Fengs chances. They were especially confused about Shi Fengs actions. Just how stupid could Shi Feng be, to actually dare taunt the Guilds? Was he not afraid of these Guilds taking revenge and killing him back to Level 0? Along with the growing intensity of the discussions, the so-called god-ranked expert had also become a courageous fool. Many started ridiculing Shi Feng. Just when the forums reached their zenith, Shi Fengs White River City Guidebook post revealed itself the moment the preset time arrived. The posts appearance caused a massive ripple effect. The White River City Guidebook was undeniably what various large Guilds needed the most right now. A few Level 9 independent players also urgently needed it. If these players had the White River City Guidebook, they would not have to spend a large amount of time exploring the city. They only needed to refer to the guidebook to learn what they needed to know. Compared to the heavenly price of ten billion for a single leveling strategy, using 20,000 Credits to purchase a luxury version of the White River City Guidebook was unquestionably a lot cheaper; it was practically the price of cabbage. Also, the cheaper, simplified version only sold for 300 Credits. These various Guilds and players could easily accept that price. However, afraid of Shi Fengs trickery, a large majority of the Guilds chose to purchase the simplified guidebook, taking a look at it before making further decisions. After all, they could afford a loss of 300 Credits. As for the players that wished to develop themselves in Gods Domain, they all grew extremely curious about White River City, a fascinating city. They wished to experience it in advance, so many players had gnashed their teeth as they bought the simplified guidebook. Within half an hour, the simplified version of the White River City Guidebook was like a best-selling novel. Sales of the guidebook continuously increased, and before anyone knew it, over 5,000 copies had already sold. In other words, Shi Feng had earned 1.5 million Credits within this short time. Many players had discovered business opportunities from this. Players who originally worried about whether or not they could make money in Gods Domain relaxed at this sight. After all, Shi Feng was their best example. As long as they could grasp ahold of the opportunity, becoming rich in a single night was not just a dream; it was just like how Shi Feng became the first person to enter White River City. Immediately, plenty of players outside of the White River City region grew excited. If they too could be the first to enter their own respective cities and write a city guidebook, couldnt they also become rich? This thought inspired desperation in all of the players in Gods Domain. As if possessed by the devil, they all started rushing to level up. They all wished to become the first person to enter their respective cities, making a huge profit and becoming rich overnight. \--- Meanwhile, in the trade market of the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, the popularity of Whetstones had instantly soared. As long as a forger had at least a 30% success rate of crafting Whetstones, the various large guilds would instantly target them. The Guilds used all sorts of methods to recruit these forgers, continuously raising the standard of treatment. As a result, these forgers earned salaries comparable to the white-collar workers in the big cities. Such a result inspired other players to become forgers. However, forging materials were utterly necessary if one wanted to hone their forging skill. Like adding fuel to a fire, this new situation instantly ignited a blazing inferno that raged through all of the Star Moon Kingdom. The prices of forging materials soared, again and again, madly increasing the price of Hard Stones as well. By the time Shi Feng entered Gods Domain that night, a stack of 20 Hard Stones already sold for a sky-high price of 8 Silver Coins. However, the supply could not keep up with the demand. Furthermore, even the most common Bronze Ore sold for 15 Silver Coins per stack, with 200 per stack. Hahaha! Luck cant be stopped once it comes! I would never have thought that the White River City Guidebook would so fiercely drive the materials market! Shi Feng rejoiced the moment he logged in. During the day, aside from training his body, Shi Feng had gone to the city center to look for suitable locations to start up his Workshop. His requirements were very simple; he wanted a good environment surrounding the office building. After surveying over ten locations, Shi Feng finally found a relatively pleasing office building. It was located in the city center. Moreover, it was an entire floor being sold. The office floor had a wide space of 5,000 square-meters, so it was extremely spacious. There would be no problems turning it into an office for several hundred people. Moreover, the surrounding environment and traffic were convenient. However, the most important factor was that the office was relatively close to Big Dipper, the best gym in Jin Hai City. The owner of the office floor only sold it to make up for issues surfacing with his business. Otherwise, he would not bear parting with such an amazing location. However, that person had set a price of 60 million Credits for the place, with each square meter priced at 12,000 Credits. Although such a price was not considered expensive in the city center, it was not cheap either. Shi Feng only had somewhere over 20 million Credits stored in his bank right now. He still needed that money for the Fellowship Party hosted by his school. In the end, Shi Feng could only ask the owner for fifteen days to think it over. Shi Feng never imagined that he would be given a fright the moment he returned to Gods Domain. When he saw the sales of the White River City Guidebook, he even thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. 190 Taking Precautions Shi Feng had already received attention since the problem of the leveling strategy cropped up. Now that he had priced the leveling strategy at a shockingly high price of ten billion Credits, he was once more pushed into the spotlight. Hence, it was only natural for the White River City Guidebook to receive everyones attention the moment it appeared. These sales had far exceeded Shi Fengs expectations. Shi Feng quietly called up the half-transparent display screen. When he examined the sales records displayed on the official forums, Shi Feng involuntarily revealed a knowing smile. The simplified version of the White River City Guidebook sold 25,364 copies. The luxury version of the White River City Guidebook sold 367 copies. In only half a days time, the sales had already reached such numbers. Even a best-selling book could achieve such a feat. The simplified version, which was the cheapest version of the guidebook, already cost 300 Credits. This was much more expensive than any ordinary book. However, over 25,000 copies still sold. Moreover, 367 copies of the 20,000 Credit version of the guidebook also sold. It was obvious just how great the business opportunities were in Gods Domain. Just the Credits Shi Feng earned within a day exceeded ten million. It was practically faster than robbing a bank. Of course, the main contributor to such success was Shi Feng becoming too eye-catching and famous, even if most of it was infamy. Moreover, along with the passing of time, the sales of the White River City Guidebook would still increase. Although Shi Feng wont be earning as much as he was now, his daily earnings would still be considerable. Originally, Shi Feng estimated his earnings from the guidebooks would be around several million Credits. Moreover, he reached this conclusion after taking into consideration that every Guild within the White River City region would purchase a copy of the luxury version. However, the conversation records on the forums made it clear that it wasnt just players within the White River City region paying attention to the guidebook. Players and Guilds from other cities also purchased the guidebooks, which, in turn, led to such a high selling rate. Although it was a strange situation, Shi Feng could guess the intentions of the players and Guilds of other cities. The difference between cities was not particularly large. Mostly, only the quests available, leveling spots, and amount of NPCs were different. However, the main rules in a city and the ways to develop a Guild in a city were the same. As long as they bought the White River City Guidebook, they would understand the basic rules of their respective cities. They could also quickly adapt to the playstyle in the cities. So, naturally, they would purchase a copy of the guidebook to get a general understanding of their respective cities. Now that Shi Feng had gained over ten million Credits for no good reason, confidence regarding his future filled his heart. He might even be able to suppress Shadow at the Fellowship Party in a few days, becoming the center of attention during the party. However, before he could become the focal point, he needed to make plenty of preparations. After all, his background was simply too weak compared to Shadows right now. _Hard Stones will soar in price from now on. It should reach its peak by the time the first corporation enter White River City. That time would be the best opportunity for me to sell my stock and make a killing._ Shi Feng closed the official forums as he thought. Right now, aside from Credits, he needed a lot of Gold Coins to increase his Workshops background. However, he could not just hold on to a ton of Gold Coins. After all, the true way of earning money in a virtual reality game was by spending money in the first place. He currently had far too few Coins to carry out such a feat. Hence, he needed to earn many more Gold Coins. Right now, becoming enemies with that many unrated Guilds had placed quite a pressure on Shi Feng. Although these Guilds were not much of a threat to him as a lone player, he still wanted to establish his own Guild in the future. Such a situation would be detrimental to his Guild. As the saying went, the barefooted did not fear those with shoes[1]. Establishing your own Guild was the equivalent of putting on shoes. Having a Guild was the equivalent of having a house, supplying your enemies with an easy target; they could deal with you with greater ease. Hence, in Shi Fengs previous life, plenty of small Guilds were forced to disperse due to being targeted by a large Guild. On the other hand, the fixed teams formed by independent players got by rather peacefully, and it went without saying that lone players could do so as well. However, there was a limit to the strength of a single individual in Gods Domain. It was the same in the case of a large team. If Shi Feng wanted to establish his own virtual empire, he, even more, was in need of the strength of a Guild. Hence, establishing a Guild was his only available option. To reduce the pressure on himself, Shi Feng needed to increase the pressure on these unrated Guilds. That way, they couldnt spare any time to deal with him. Although there was still a long time until these Guilds would search him out, it was wise to take precautions. Immediately, Shi Feng contacted Stabbing Heart. Brother Ye Feng, I am truly grateful for your help the last time! Because of your guidebook, the elite teams of our Guild could prepare far more than other Guilds. After we enter White River City, I believe it wont be long before our Assassins Alliance reigns supreme over the other Guilds in White River City! Stabbing Heart excitedly said, However, after not meeting for some time, I never imagined that Brother Ye Feng would grow even more famous! I am truly envious! If I become as famous as Brother Ye Feng, I might even be promoted to an elder position during the next Guild meeting! Id rather be more ordinary, Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he shook his head. The nail that stuck out would be hammered down. Although Shi Feng had long since been prepared for this in his heart, he did not think that the actual situation would be so intense. Brother Ye Feng, since you are looking for me, do you need help for something? Stabbing Heart asked. Normally, Shi Feng would not take the initiative to contact him unless there was something going on. Of course. Moreover, it is good news for you, Shi Feng laughed. Good news? Stabbing Heart grew slightly excited. He had received plenty of praises from the Guild Leader due to the help he received from Shi Feng the past several times. As a result, his position in Assassins Alliance had risen by quite a bit. Meanwhile, the matter of the White River City Guidebook even earned him the good graces of the Guild elders; they had already labeled him as one of the reserve elders of the Guild. Such a promotion was rare in the Assassins Alliance, and it displayed how highly the Guild Leader and elders thought of him. Do you lack Hard Stones right now? Shi Feng asked. Lack?! My subordinates and I have a headache over this matter right now! Even though Id sent many people out to grind, the amount of Hard Stones we obtained is merely a drop in the bucket! Does Brother Ye Feng need some Hard Stones right now? Stabbing Heart breathed out a tired sigh when he heard the words Hard Stone. He then immediately said, If Brother Ye Feng needs them, I should be able to gather three to four stacks for you. I truly cant spare any more than that. Stabbing Heart only spoke the truth. After all, he had prepared these Hard Stones for the forgers in his Guild to craft Whetstones. Brother Stabbing Heart, youre overthinking things. Im not calling to buy, but to sell, Shi Feng laughed. Sell? Stabbing Heart was awe-stricken. Hard Stones were extremely rare right now, and it was insanely difficult for average players to obtain them. Not to mention selling them, players would normally choose to keep them for their own use. After all, if one wanted to level up quickly, Whetstones were a must. How many do you have? Be it two or three stacks, I want all of them! Ill even buy them at above market price! What do you think about 9 Silver Coins per stack? In Stabbing Hearts mind, Shi Feng was only an independent player. It was already heaven-defying for him to have two to three stacks. After all, Stabbing Hearts own team, which consisted of hundreds of players, had only managed to obtain three to four stacks after a long time. No; I have fifty stacks. However, Im only taking Coins for them, Shi Feng casually responded, extended five fingers. * * * TL Notes: [1]the barefooted did not fear those with shoes: this is a Chinese saying that refers to a person that has no scruples of doing something, as that person was already not allowed to do so. 191 Moon’s Big Ten Stabbing Heart immediately froze in shock when he heard that Shi Feng had fifty stacks of Hard Stones. The entire Assassins Alliance could not even manage to gather up five full stacks. Yet, Shi Feng said he had fifty. If fifty stacks of Hard Stones were used to craft Whetstones, even if the forgers crafting them had slightly lower success rates, it could allow all the elite players in the Assassins Alliance to reach Level 10, entering White River City. Brother Ye Feng, youre not tricking me, right? Do you really have fifty stacks? Stabbing Heart asked doubtfully. It was not that he did not trust Shi Feng, but this number was simply too huge. Even a first-rate Guild in a town could not offer up that many. It would be impressive if they could even gather six to seven stacks. Naturally. Since when have I joked around before? Shi Feng shook his head, laughing. The reason Shi Feng offered Stabbing Heart this many Hard Stones was not purely to earn Coins. A large part of the reason was to assist the Assassins Alliance in entering White River City and starting their development at an earlier date. After all, the Assassins Alliances main forces were all stationed around the few cities near White River City. As long as the Assassins Alliance grew stronger, with his relationship with Stabbing Heart, Stabbing Heart could help him suppress and stamp out those unrated Guilds. That way, these Guilds would be too busy dealing with the Assassins Alliance to pay any attention to him. Originally, Shi Feng had wanted to sell some Hard Stones to Gentle Snow as well. However, Gentle Snows team was simply developing too quickly. They had managed to reach Level 10 in only half a days time, and at this time, all the elite members of Ouroboros had already arrived at White River City. Naturally, they would not need his help anymore. The most important point was that Gentle Snow possessed the super-luxury version of the White River City Guidebook that Shi Feng had sold to her. With it, she could easily widen the gap between herself and the other Guilds, standing out from the crowd. Now that Shi Feng had protective umbrellas like Gentle Snow and Stabbing Heart, would those unrated Guilds possibly dare do anything to him? He could progress with his own development with a peace of mind. Brother Ye Feng, I dont know how to thank you for this! If you have anything you need help with in the future, just mention it! If it is something that I can help with, I will give it my all! Stabbing Heart was extremely touched right now. In his heart, he had already taken Shi Feng as his good brother. However, 4 Gold, 50 Silver was not easy to obtain. He needed some time to gather the liquid funds from the other towns and collect some from the money-farming team. Although it was a large expenditure, with fifty stacks of Hard Stones, Stabbing Heart could allow the team in Red Leaf Town to be the first team, out of all the other team in the Assassins Alliance, to enter White River City. At that time, he would receive a promotion in the Guild once more. He might even become an elder of the Assassins Alliance. Meanwhile, such an achievement was only possible due to Shi Fengs help. Although Stabbing Heart felt slightly ashamed of himself for to not being of great help to Shi Feng, he had already decided that, once he entered White River City, he would fully support Shi Feng. Whoever dared to go against Shi Feng would go against him as well! When will you can send someone over to Red Leaf Town to conduct the trade? Shi Feng asked. As long as you are free, any time is good! Stabbing Heart answered. Oh, right. I have something I need to ask you. Do you know the current whereabouts of the team from Martial Union led by Unstable Devastation? Shi Feng felt that, since he was going to make a trip back to Red Leaf Town, he might as well look for Unstable Devastation to extract his revenge. This, I know. Theyre currently at the White Sand Ruins. Are you planning on taking revenge on them? Ill call some men over to go with you. They have quite a few of players on their side, so it would be dangerous for you hunt them by yourself, Stabbing Heart was slightly surprised. He did not think that Shi Feng would take revenge so quickly. Moreover, he was even going to deal with the elite team led by Unstable Devastation directly. After all, that elite team formed after Unstable Devastation merged the elite teams from five different towns. The number of elites in that team even far exceeded that of Stabbing Hearts own elite team, so it would not be easy to deal with them. Thanks, but I wish to deal with my own matters by myself. Lets meet up in front of Red Leaf Towns Bank in twenty minutes, Shi Feng thanked him. Alright. Ill send some men to investigate Martial Unions exact location. At that time, Ill pass on their exact whereabouts to you along with the 4 Gold, 50 Silver. Stabbing Heart naturally knew of the arrogance of an expert, so he did not pursue the matter. Otherwise, if he were to find trouble with Martial Union without Shi Fengs agreement, he might even incur Shi Fengs ire. \--- Twenty minutes later... Shi Feng arrived in front of the Bank in Red Leaf Town. Hello, Big Brother Ye Feng. I am Cocoa, from the Assassins Alliance, Big Brother Stabbing Heart sent me here. Here is the grinding location of Martial Unions elite team. A pure and pleasant looking female Elementalist walked over, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Shi Feng. After all, the Shi Feng before her was the god-ranked expert of Red Leaf Town that everybody knew about. He was a person that even team leader Stabbing Heart of Red Leaf Town treated with respect. Most importantly, Shi Feng was good friends with the Snow Goddess that she admired greatly. There was absolutely no chance for a normal lifestyle player like herself to come into contact with such a legendary figure. She was only here today to conduct a trade because the other forgers in the Guild were too busy, while she was a newly recruited forger in the Guild. Only, she did not think that she could meet such a great character. Shi Feng glanced at this girl, and his expression immediately froze. Cream Cocoa, wasnt she that famous Master Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom? As one of the Ten Great Master Forgers in Star-Moon Kingdom, Cream Cocoa was a forging genius who was the closest to becoming a Grandmaster Forger. Her talent was almost comparable to that of Seliora of White River City. She was both a beauty and a forging genius; plenty of first-rate Guilds had willingly offered her an annual salary of hundreds of millions to recruit her. Unfortunately, she rejected them all, one after another, as she wanted to stay in the third-rate Guild, Prayer Temple. Rumor had it that she had done so to repay a debt of gratitude, as Cream Cocoa was relatively clumsy during her early days, causing her success rate to be abysmally low. Due to her clumsiness, plenty of Guilds had refused to accept her. In the end, Prayer Temple was the only Guild that had accepted and nurtured her, so she did not wish to leave them. Unfortunately, even with such a genius Master Forger in their Guild, Ouroboros still destroyed Prayer Temple in the end. As a result, Cream Cocoa chose to join World Dominators, a first-rate Guild in direct opposition of Ouroboros, to take revenge on the first-rate Guild. However, why was Cream Cocoa in the Assassins Alliance right now? Shi Feng was slightly confused, as Prayer Temples main force was not located in White River City, but in the capital city, Star-Moon City. It was also the reason why Ouroboros destroyed them. _Could it be that, after being ignored by the Assassins Alliance, she chose to head to Star-Moon City to develop herself after she reached a higher Level, which then led her to Prayer Temple?_ Shi Feng could only make guesses. If the Assassin''s Alliance found out that they had chased away a Master Forger during their early days in Gods Domain, they might even kill themselves in regret. Big Brother Ye Feng? When Cream Cocoa discovered that Shi Feng stared at her sternly, she couldnt help but panic. Only now did Shi Feng regain his senses. His actions could not be considered overreacting, as a top-tier Master Forger was simply too important to a Guild. However, he couldnt just try to recruit Cream Cocoa to his group. After all, Cream Cocoa was still a member of the Assassins Alliance right now. His only option at the moment was to wait for Cream Cocoa to leave the Assassins Alliance before trying to recruit her. Oh, its nothing. Here are the fifty stacks of Hard Stones, Shi Feng immediately traded the fifty stacks of Hard Stones to Cream Cocoa. When Cream Cocoa saw the fifty stacks of Hard Stones in her trade window, her eyes widened in shock. She did not even dare believe her own eyes. Right now, it was hard to even purchase one or two Hard Stones. Yet, Shi Feng had easily managed to bring out fifty stacks. It was no wonder why team leader Stabbing Heart was so respectful to Ye Feng! As expected, he was a figure that average players like her could only look up to! Soon after the trade completed, Shi Feng departed from Red Leaf Town, heading towards the White Sand Ruins. However, he did not add Cream Cocoa as a friend, as such an action might cause a change to the track of history, causing Cream Cocoa to instead stay with the Assassins Alliance. If that happened, he would definitely cry with regret. Hence, he would let history repeat itself without his interference. Now that he knew Martial Unions precise location, he would immediately teach Unstable Devastation the consequences of becoming his enemy. 192 Wild and Domineering White Sand Ruins, as a key location for players to reach Level 10, the Level 9 players from the surrounding towns would naturally come here to level up. Not only did this place possess Level 10 monsters, which were a better source of EXP, there were also plenty of quests in this region. Moreover, a majority of them rewarded high amounts of EXP, and some high-level quests even gave out Bronze ranked or above equipment. It was especially true for the newly discovered Stonehammer Town. It was practically a heaven for players. As long as ones reputation in Stonehammer Town reached a certain degree, they could purchase Level 10 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment at extremely low prices. It was impossible to find such treatment in other towns. Thus, White Sand Ruins became the mainstream leveling location for Level 9 players. Naturally, Guilds like Martial Union would not miss out on such a great location. Ever since Shi Feng had killed Unstable Devastation in Red Leaf Town, Unstable Devastation had immediately escaped to this place to level up. After a period of hard work, Unstable Devastation had finally managed to get back to Level 9; he was also not far from reaching Level 10. Ye Feng, just you wait. The day our alliance of Guilds enter White River City will be the day of your funeral! Unstable Devastation silently cursed as he killed a Level 10 Three-tailed Scorpion. Although he had exposed Shi Fengs secret, and Shi Feng provoked and angered the other Guilds, there had yet to be a person that could do a thing to Shi Feng. Moreover, not only was Shi Feng living comfortably, he was even earning a large sum of money right now! This envious situation of Shi Fengs had driven Unstable Devastation to near insanity, and he silently questioned why he couldnt enjoy such fortune. Martial Union was originally a Guild that had migrated to Gods Domain from another virtual reality game, so they did not possess the investment of any large corporation. There were only a few wealthy young masters spending money to support the Guild. While Martial Union still played that other virtual reality game, these wealthy young masters were considered rich tycoons. They could casually spend up to several hundred thousand Credits, allowing the Martial Union of those days to take the gaming world by storm easily. Such a situation had allowed these wealthy young masters great pleasure; hence they went on to establish Martial Union in Gods Domain. They wanted to continue taking the world by storm. As Unstable Devastation was one of the upper echelons of Martial Union, his monthly salary was over ten thousand Credits. It was a relatively high salary even within the big city. He was even extremely elated about this matter, often bragging in front of his friends about how he was a god-ranked player. When he treated his friends to a normal restaurant, he would always foot the bill with a casual wave of his hand, appearing domineering and earning the envy of others. However, after Unstable Devastation witnessed the sales of the White River City Guidebook, his mind turned into a complete mess. With a rough calculation, Unstable Devastation guessed that Shi Fengs earnings in a single day had exceeded ten million Credits. Considering the follow-up earnings, Shi Fengs assets might have surpassed even that of the wealthy young masters in Martial Union. If Shi Feng took a step further and sold his leveling strategy at a low price, he might truly be able to live his remaining years without worry. Wealth and beauties would be within Shi Feng grasp; his life might become even more comfortable than those young masters. Thinking up to this point, bitterness and envy filled Unstable Devastations heart. However, the only fortunate thing was that Shi Feng had not offered the leveling strategy at a low price. As long as he could snatch it, becoming the first one to sell it on the official forums, he wouldnt need to remain a professional player any longer. He could immediately live a rich life in the real world. Boss Unstable, I discovered a location with an extraordinarily high amount of monsters. The respawn rate is also quite fast. Our leveling efficiency could probably rise by 60% or more there, an Assassin said in the team chat. Report the location. Well head there right away, Unstable Devastation grew excited upon hearing this. Right now, there were simply too many players in the White Sand Ruins, while the number of monsters was far from enough for them to grind. If there were such a valuable location available, they might make it to White River City today. These are the coordinates, that Assassin immediately transmitted the coordinates into the team chat. Good. Well head over there after we get rid of these monsters, Unstable Devastation laughed. His luck had finally arrived. In a moment, Unstable Devastation led his team of elite players to that location. Just like that Assassin had reported, this place was extremely secluded. There were plenty of monsters here as well. There were almost more than fifty Three-tailed Scorpions respawning every interval. To a large elite team like theirs with over a hundred players, this place was certainly a worthwhile grinding spot. The only problem was that there were already quite a few players grinding here as well. Boss Unstable, what are we going to do? a Shield Warrior looked towards the 60 to 70 players grinding ahead, his eyebrows scrunching as he spoke. Duh! Cant you see that theyre all independent players? Unstable Devastation said disdainfully, Theyre merely temporary parties grinding here. How can we let them occupy such a good location? Go, get rid of them. From now on, this place will be Martial Unions grinding spot. Indeed, just as Unstable Devastation said, the players here were all independent players that did not belong to any Guilds. They had simply teamed up temporarily to grind. If a normal Guild were to see this many players, they would not dare attempt to steal this territory. However, it was a different story for Unstable Devastation and the bunch from Martial Union. Unstable Devastations team consisted of the elite players of five different towns, and even the elite team Stabbing Heart led could not outnumber them. Clear out the place! All those not from Martial Union, leave! Otherwise, deal with the consequences at your own risk! Unstable Devastation glared at the group of independent players with contempt as he yelled his warning. Meanwhile, the hundred-plus elite players from Martial Union all wore sneers as they surrounded the location. As long as anybody dared resist, they would extinguish them without hesitation. The equipment of independent players had always been of poor quality. Even if these players had reached Level 9, their equipment was still far from comparing with Martial Unions. Martial Union even had the advantage of numbers, up to 132 players, while these independent players only numbered around 60 to 70. Not to mention, these independent players were not unified in heart, so they were even less of a challenge to Martial Union. At this moment, the representative sent out by these independent players said, Brothers from Martial Union, shouldnt we do things properly? It isnt easy for everyone to level up. Why dont we do this; well each take half of these monsters. Scram! Ill count to ten. If all of you dont get lost by then, I dont mind letting you stay here forever! Unstable Devastation bellowed. You guys are too arrogant! Weve only managed to discover this place after much difficulty, so what right do you have to chase us away? Listen to me, everyone. Why dont we team up and fight it out against Martial Union? At most, both sides will suffer losses. I dont believe that these players from Martial Union are really so fearless as fight it out with us! Just as one of the parties tried to organize everyone else into a team to go against Martial Union, tens of Fireballs blasted on the players of said party, instantly killing them all. This situation had frightened these independent players. However, they did not dare utter a word, only silently glare at Unstable Devastation. What? Do you have something to say? Unstable Devastation laughed coldly, waving his hand once again. Suddenly, another dozen spells fell upon them, and several more players glaring at Unstable Devastation perished. Lets go, unable to endure the pressure, one of the parties took the lead. Soon after, the several remaining parties looked at each other. They all shook their heads as they departed. As for the two parties that died, nobody cared about them any longer. Hahaha! They are merely a bunch of trash, yet they dare compete with us, Martial Union? Unstable Devastation watched the departing independent players, jeering. Meanwhile, the other members of Martial Union also started laughing, exhilarated. At this moment, Shi Feng arrived at the White Sand Ruins after running without rest. Martial Union should not be far ahead, Shi Feng compared his current location to the marked location on the map, increasing his pace as he headed onward. 193 Holy Grail Knights When Shi Feng arrived at the location Stabbing Heart had provided, he couldnt even find a shadow of Martial Union. Where are they? Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings. Aside from a dozen or so Three-tailed Scorpions, not a single player occupied this flat, sandy area. Was there an error in the information Stabbing Heart gave me? Shi Feng thought the possibility of such an error was low. After all, the Assassins Alliance was a top-tier, second-rate Guild; there shouldnt be any significant errors in their information gathering. Moreover, Stabbing Heart had been so confident in providing the information, so he must have had a basis for his confidence. Forget it. I didnt have much hope of finding them immediately in any case, since Shi Feng was not in a hurry, he started searching around the surrounding area. If Martial Union had already entered White River City, Stabbing Heart would have notified him at the first notice. However, there was not a huge possibility for Martial Union to enter White River City right now as even Stabbing Hearts team had yet to enter the city. Time passed, little by little. More and more players reached Level 10, each of them entering White River City, one after another. Right now, the majority of the players who entered White River City were the elites and upper echelons of Guilds. There was only a small amount of teams consisting of independent players. Most of these independent players had purchased the White River City Guidebook, and they all admired its creator. Leader, this Ye Feng is truly amazing. The information he wrote in this Guidebook is so detailed. Fortunately, we bought the luxury version. The introductions in the simplified version were overly brief, and it only helps one get a general understanding of White River City. Meanwhile, the luxury version mentioned plenty of locations with good quests meant for specific classes. Thanks to it, Ive accepted plenty of valuable quests. I know, right? It is all thanks to team leaders wisdom for buying the luxury version. If I didnt know that Ye Feng had personally penned this guidebook, I would even think that the game officials had published it. I really wonder what Ye Fengs previous profession was to possess such powerful observation skills. That Ye Feng indeed has some skills. Originally, I had simply intended to purchase the guidebook as a reference; I never thought that the information was all true. I was shocked after we arrived at White River City. It was worth the 20,000 Credits. If it were up to me, I wouldnt willingly sell this information even for 50,000 Credits. Not only does the information require time to arrange, but this is also first-hand information. I cant imagine why Ye Feng would willingly sell all of this for only 20,000 Credits. In front of the Teleportation Hall of White River City, a non-Guild team consisting of ten-plus elite players happily chatted while waiting for their other companions. Hmm? An independent team? At this moment, Gentle Snow emerged from a Teleportation Gate, spotting this merry team of players. She felt slightly surprised by the sight. At this time, aside from those elite teams of large Guilds, there was even an independent team who had reached White River City. This was an extremely rare sight, and it illustrated this teams strength. I know who they are. Five years ago, these players were very famous in a relatively sizeable virtual reality game. They were known as the Holy Grail Knights at that time. Although they arent a Guild, and their numbers never exceeded a hundred players, every member of their team was extremely skilled. Their battle prowess was extremely frightening. Their leader, War Wolf, even had the reputation as the strongest Warrior in the game. During those days, not a single Guild in the game that dared provoke them. However, for reasons unknown, their team disbanded, and plenty of their members stopped playing the game. The remaining players then went on to become the upper echelons or core members of first-rate and second-rate Guilds. The Holy Grail Knights is a legend of sorts in the virtual gaming world now. When the Shield Warrior, Ghost Chop, who was knowledgeable about these independent players saw the average-looking Shield Warrior standing amidst those players, his expression suddenly turned solemn. This person was indeed War Wolf, the past team leader of the Holy Grail Knights. Back in those days, Ghost Chop had admired and respected this man; thus, he chose to play as a Shield Warrior as well. He then turned to Gentle Snow, slowly starting his recollection. I see, Gentle Snow could not help but notice War Wolf. Five years ago, she had yet to experience virtual reality games. Hence, she did not know that such a person had existed. Snow, are you thinking of recruiting him into Ouroboros? Zhao Yueru asked with a smile when she noticed Gentle Snows moved expression. Although this person seemed to lack spirit at first glance, he seemed as deep and profound as an ocean at the same time. Moreover, the equipment hes wearing is all Mysterious-Iron rank, though his weapon slightly lacks as it is not Secret-Silver rank. However, it should be extremely difficult for an independent team to have such a geared Shield Warrior, so it clearly displays how powerful the members of this team are. Meanwhile, a team leader capable of leading such a team is not a simple character. If we can recruit him, it should be of great help to our future Dungeon raids, Gentle Snow did not directly deny Zhao Yuerus question. Her previous intentions of recruiting Shi Feng as a subordinate were already dashed. Unfortunately, she could not see through Shi Feng, as Shi Fengs entire being was shrouded in mystery. The guidebook he had sold her further solidified this fact. She was greatly shocked when she arrived at White River City. Using the luxury version of the guidebook as a comparison, Gentle Snow came to fully understand the value of the exclusive guidebook Shi Feng had sold to her. If the other first-rate Guilds discovered this guidebook, they might even start an all-out war with Ouroboros to snatch it away. Gentle Snow had estimated the true value of this guidebook to be five million Credits or more. After all, within the super-luxury guidebook, there was information pertaining to the problems one would usually face when developing a Guild. The guidebook also touched on the topic of how to develop and strengthen a Guild. Moreover, it mentioned the daily quests available that could raise a persons reputation in White River City. Such information could allow them to surpass the other Guilds greatly, and that was not something that could be purchased with a measly five million Credits. Even now, Gentle Snow did not dare reveal this information to any other person; she did not wish to bring a calamity upon herself. Due to this reason, Gentle Snow had become fully aware of just how much of a danger Shi Feng was. If she was already in so much danger just by becoming friends with him, what kind of consequences would she have to face if she accepted him as her subordinate? Gentle Snow no longer dared dwell on the consequences. Shi Fengs provocation of tens of Guilds presented a prime example. Fortunately, they were all unrated Guilds as the leveling secret did not hold much attraction to the true major Guilds. After all, the upper echelons of these Guilds knew many secrets, and they had a great understanding of Gods Domain. These Guilds were much stronger than those half-assed, unrated Guilds. There were no bugs in Gods Domain. Even if there were one, the system would discover and correct it immediately. If there truly were a leveling secret, the only possibility was killing monsters of a higher level or carrying out high-level quests to obtain massive amounts of EXP. Only experts or players with exceptional equipment could achieve the former. As for the latter, it was clearly an unrepeatable situation because such high-level quests would have great limitations and rarity; not everybody could receive such quests. They might even be Rare or Unique Quests. Thus, all of the rated Guilds did not have a particular interest in this secret that was not really a secret. On the contrary, they were much more interested in the White River City Guidebook. However, since Shi Feng had wisely offered the information for sale, these rated Guilds would naturally not look for trouble with Shi Feng. They also did not have so much time on their hands, unlike those half-assed Guilds. Shi Feng belonged to a category of people so intimidating that they possessed few friends. To put it another way, without sufficient strength, friendship with Shi Feng was an extremely dangerous endeavor. As for the War Wolf before her, there was not much danger in building a friendship with such a person. Moreover, with such great strength, it would be an utter loss not to recruit him. Go. Lets go and strike up a conversation with them, then, seeing that all the members of her team were already present, she opened her mouth and spoke. 194 Flame Demon White Sand Ruins. Martial Union is simply too much! They dont respect any of us independent players at all! When I grow stronger, Ill take revenge on those bastards! Shh! Shut up! Didnt you see Martial Union kill those other two parties simply for speaking up? We cant do anything about this. We arent as powerful as they are, so we can only give way and take a step back. If I was a member of a third-rate Guild, I dont believe that Martial Union would dare kick us around like they just did. Leader, why dont we just join a large Guild? With our current technique standards, we should be able to join a large Guild. A Guild, is it? Indeed, we should consider it. However, lets talk about this after we enter White River City. The Assassins Alliance is currently the strongest Guild in Red Leaf Town, but when we get to White River City, the Assassins Alliance would only rank above average at best. There are still a bunch of first-rate Guilds we can choose from. One of the six-man parties Martial Union had chased away started a discussion as they searched for a new grinding location. They had experienced, first-hand, the strength and usefulness of a Guild. If they did not join a Guild, they could only compete with other independent players over locations with scarce resources when these Guilds occupied all the valuable leveling locations. Excuse me, but do you know where Martial Union is? Shi Feng had been searching the White Sand Ruins for quite some time, having no luck of finding any traces of Martial Union. At this moment, however, he had overheard these passing players discussing Martial Union, so he asked them. Yeah, we know it. What business do you have with them? Dont tell me; youre not trying to join Martial Union, are you? the leader of this party nodded. However, when he noticed that Shi Feng was an independent player with both his name and level hidden, aside from trying to join Martial Union, what other reason could a player like Shi Feng have to look for Martial Union? Hearing that the player in front of them intended to join Martial Union, the other members of the party instantly shot glares filled with killing intent at Shi Feng. The rage they had from Martial Unions oppression had yet to subside. If it were not for Martial Union having the advantage of numbers, they would have long since started a fight with Martial Union. From the conversation Shi Feng had eavesdropped on before, he knew that Martial Union had bullied these players. Hence, their hatred towards Martial Union should be intense. In addition to their party leaders words about Shi Feng wanting to join Martial Union, the other party members moods would naturally sour. If he dared claim that he intended to join Martial Union, these players might charge at him without hesitation. Im not trying to join Martial Union. Im looking for Martial Union because I have some business with them. I wonder if you can tell me their current whereabouts? Heres an inquiry fee of 1 Silver Coin, Shi Feng smiled, taking out a Silver Coin. To average players, their daily income would, at most, range around several tens of Copper Coins. Even if these veteran players banded together to form a party, their total earnings would be around one to two Silver Coins. Hence, an inquiry fee of 1 Silver Coin was not a small amount to them. _What a rich fellow._ The party leaders eyes shone when he saw Shi Feng offer a Silver Coin as an inquiry fee. He then spoke in the party chat, Brothers, this is a fat sheep! If we harvest him and earn some money, we might be able to cover the repair fees for all our weapons and equipment! Do we kill him or not? Kill him! Why shouldnt we kill him?! This bastard is obviously related to Martial Union. As long as its someone related, we cant let them off! Well follow leaders decision. The other party members all voiced their support. It seems that this fellow has a deep connection with Martial Union. Martial Union had badly tormented us few brothers, and rage still fills our bellies. Since you have some connections with Martial Union, and you are so rich, shouldnt you pay us some compensation in place of Martial Union? We dont want a lot; just leave behind 20 Silver Coins and all of your equipment; then Ill tell you Martial Unions location. How about it? the Guardian Knight party leader said with a cold laugh. With that said, the other party members also started moving forward, their faces carrying cold smiles as they closed in on Shi Feng. I said I dont have any connections with Martial Union. Im only looking for them for some business. Whatever has happened between you and Martial Union has nothing to do with me. If you guys arent going to tell me where they are, so be it. Please move aside, Shi Feng said. This, I understand. However, it is still your fault for mentioning Martial Union to us. If you dont agree to our demands, we can only use you to relieve some stress. Although we dont know your level, it should still be around Level 8 or Level 9. If you lose a level right now, you will probably lose one to two days worth of effort. You should think through your options, the party leader jeered, his hands retrieving the gladius and shield from his back. Shi Feng couldnt help but laugh when he heard these words. Pitiful people were bound to have a hateful side to them. Although these players endured Martial Unions bullying and oppression, when the tables turned, didnt they act just as Martial Union had? Little fool, what are you laughing at?! Ill smash your face into a pulp if you keep laughing! an Assassin bellowed. Didnt you guys want money? Ill pay the fare for your trip down to hell! Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade as he said so. Immediately, clear-blue flames covered the body of the Abyssal Blade. Shi Feng had no room for pity for players like these. Shi Feng brandished his two swords, and instantly, countless sword images filled the sky, surrounding these players. Although these independent players had good techniques and were also relatively powerful in terms of strength, they were simply too weak compared to Shi Feng. Before any of them could react, the sword images made pincushions of their bodies. Aside from the Guardian Knight party leader, the remaining five party members died within an instant. Moreover, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame destroyed all of their equipment. Even though these players had relatively high levels, the equipment they wore was of very poor quality. They only had six or seven pieces of Bronze Equipment each, and none had even a single piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Under the Ice-Blue Devil Flames might, none of their equipment could survive even one hit, and it all immediately became nothing more than scrap. So? Are you willing to tell me Martial Unions whereabouts now? Shi Feng looked towards the party leader, smiling calmly as he spoke. That party leader was dumbfounded. The person before him could actually produce fire all over his body, and his attacks were so fast that none of them could even react. At this moment, the party leader only had one thought about his situation; he had met a demon. Moreover, it was a fire demon capable of controlling flames! Ill speak! Ill Speak! Martial Union is at a nearby sunken land to the southwest! There are also plenty of cavities around the area! Very good. You may go now. Shi Feng immediately extinguished this party leaders life. He then advanced towards Martial Unions location. By the time these independent players revived back at Red Leaf Town, they immediately filled the skies with their screams of anguish. Not only did they lose a level from dying, but all their equipment had also been destroyed. Not to mention leveling up, they could not even go out into the fields to kill monsters now. Suddenly, a rumor about a flame demon in the White Sand Ruins spread. The rumor stated that the flame demon wore a black hooded cloak, and he revealed no personal information. The demon also had two sharp swords hanging from his waist; one was black and the other, white. The rumor also mentioned that if players did not quickly answer this flame demons question, they would die and lose all their equipment. One wouldnt even have the chance to shed tears of regret when that time came. However, Shi Feng, the origin of this rumor, was not aware of any of this. Ive finally found you, Unstable Devastation. At this moment, Shi Feng stood atop a tall slope, looking down at the hundred-plus players currently butchering several dozen Three-tailed Scorpions. These players were all Level 9, and they were not far from reaching Level 10. On the other hand, Unstable Devastation, who currently commanded from the rear of the team, had already reached Level 10. The reason why he had reached Level 10 with such speed was that he was not in a party with these elite players. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation killed the monsters that had their HP lowered to a critical point. Due to the rules of Gods Domain, Unstable Devastation would receive 60% of the total EXP from the kill; Thus, he reached Level 10 ahead of the other elite players. 195 One Against One Hundred You, lure some more monsters over. With such a good leveling spot, I want to charge to number one on the Ranking List and teach the other Guilds in the Alliance the strength of Martial Union, Unstable Devastation spoke in the team chat. Yes, the several Assassins replied. Right now, Fire Dance still occupied the first place on the Ranking List. However, the second place had already changed. However, it wasnt because Fire Dance and the others leveling speed was slower than the other players. They were simply busy doing quests. These quests were all Rare Reputation Quests, and they could obtain relatively large amounts of White River City Reputation by completing them. In Gods Domain, if players wished to have an official class when they reached Level 20, they could only apply at the Class Association in the various large cities. However, players required a certain amount of reputation before doing so. Hence, the first task Shi Feng wanted Blackie and the others to accomplish after they entered White River City was to do these Rare Quests and quickly raise their reputation. By the time they reached Level 20, they would be able to change into their basic classes immediately. If they discovered this fact only after they reached Level 20, they would have to waste a lot of time earning sufficient reputation, which, in turn, would delay their progress. Just as Unstable Devastation excitedly hunted Three-tailed Scorpions, Shi Feng had also arrived at Martial Unions healers position using the Ring of Nothingness. Nobody would ever think that a single independent player would take the initiative to seek vengeance upon a Guilds elite team. After all, this was simply an overestimation of ones own abilities. However, Shi Feng dared to do just that because of his sufficient strength. Unstable Devastation was Level 10, and the others present were all Level 9. There was a 5 level gap between them and Shi Feng. Moreover, equipment that could ignore an opponents levels were extremely rare at this stage of the game. These conditions allowed Shi Feng to easily sweep the floor with this group of Level 9 players. Just as the healers of Martial Union were about to replenish the HP of the frontline players, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before them. Shi Feng cast Thundering Flash, the skill instantly devouring the group of panicked healers. Frightening damages of over -500 appeared on every healers head, and some even received critical hits of over -1,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, a majority of the healers died. However, due to the healers standing relatively spread apart, there were three who managed to remain unscathed after Shi Fengs attack. Shi Feng immediately used Wind Blade and charged over. He used Chop on one of the shocked healers, killing them instantly. Shi Feng then continued to brandish his sword at the two remaining healers, reaping their lives with a few sword strokes. Ye Feng! Unstable Devastation bellowed, countless veins surfacing on his forehead. Unstable Devastation, havent you been trying to find me all this time? Shi Feng faintly smiled as he looked at Unstable Devastation. Regarding the hundred-plus players standing around Unstable Devastation, glaring at him, Shi Feng paid no attention to them at all. Now that Ive arrived, I wonder if youve prepared to die yet? Kill me? Im afraid that youre the one who wont leave this place alive! I lost to you the previous time because you had a higher level. This time, however, I am Level 10 as well! Do you think that Im still afraid of you? Everyone, get him! Kill him! Unstable Devastation smiled disdainfully, immediately commanding all of his subordinates to get rid of Shi Feng. Unstable Devastation did not believe that Shi Feng could leave alive when faced with his team of over a hundred elite players, not to mention, manage to kill him. The players from Martial Union revealed sneers as they looked at Shi Feng; they all thought that there was a problem with Shi Fengs head. However, they didnt mind teaching Shi Feng a lesson. One against one hundred? Did he really think he was Superman? In the past, the players from Martial Union that surrounded Shi Feng were mostly normal members. There were only a few elite members of the Guild present at the time; hence, Shi Feng caused such a massacre. This time, however, they were all Martial Unions elites, and they were all Level 9 players. Ye Feng would only meet one end today C Death! Suddenly, tens of spells launched at Shi Feng. The other remaining tens of Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, and Swordsmen charged towards Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the Assassins entered Stealth, waiting for their chance to strike. Faced with the attacks of dozens of mages, Shi Feng dared not be careless. He immediately activated Windwalk and the Tier 2 Life Shield before proceeding to charge at the incoming wave of players. As Shi Fengs speed was extremely fast; very few of the tens of spells hit Shi Feng. In the end, only three or four spells actually managed to deal damage to Shi Feng. Unfortunately, these spells were all fire-type and ice-type spells such as Fireball and Frost Arrows. With Shi Fengs resistances, these spells managed to cause less than -10 damage each. In addition to the Life Shield absorbing a portion of the damage, the actual damage these spells caused was less than -6 points. All of the mages were shocked. Even if it is a tiny amount of damage, beat him with all youve got! There has to be a limit to his HP! Without any healers, he wont last long! Melee classes, spread out and be careful of his AOE skills! Unstable Devastation was similarly shocked. However, after giving it some thought, even if Shi Feng had an insanely high Defense, he still wasnt a Boss. There was bound to be a limit to his HP. Even if they only dealt damage in the single digits, with tens of them continuously attacking, how long could Shi Feng last? Watching his HP fall continuously, Shi Feng clearly understood that he could not hold on for much longer. The difference in Attributes was simply not enough to overcome the strength of over a hundred elite players. Almost When the distance between Shi Feng and the crowd from Martial Union shrunk to less than 20 yards, Shi Feng took out an Intermediate Frost Grenade, tossing it at them. Martial Union noticed Shi Feng throwing an item. However, since it was not a skill, they did not pay it any heed. Instantly, the Intermediate Frost Grenade exploded, releasing a shroud of cold air, covering a 12-yard radius. The cold air froze the players for 3 seconds and dealt -400 damage to every one of them. The shroud of cold air swallowed more than half of the melee players. MTs, activate your lifesaving skills! Mages, increase your firepower and controlling skills! We must not let him get near the frozen players! Unstable Devastation hurriedly shouted. The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights immediately activated their Shield Walls and Protection Blessings respectively after receiving the command. However, deep in their hearts, they were extremely clear that these skills were absolutely useless in front of Shi Feng. They merely used these skills in the hopes that, with their increased durability, Shi Feng would instead choose to go for the other players first. Meanwhile, the mages standing at the rear line started casting controlling spells, one after another. They used spells such as Ice Walls and Ice Spheres to prevent Shi Feng from closing in on the frozen players. Shi Feng simply smiled. Using Silent Steps, he instantly arrived behind these mages. With the Ice-Blue Devil Flame covering his entire body, he sent Thunder Flame Explosion blasting down on these mages. The Elementalists and Cursemancers who were within the range of Thunder Flame Explosion were instantly wiped out of existence. Moreover, those who received critical hits of over -2,000 damage also had their equipment destroyed. A few Elementalists with quick reactions had immediately activated Frozen Circle, coupled with a Blink. They intended to slow Shi Feng down as they fled for their lives. Unfortunately, Shi Feng reacted even faster than they did. He activated Defensive Blade and Dark Violent Dance. Gaining immunity to the Frozen Circles, Shi Feng waved the flaming Abyssal Blade in his hand. A streak of deep-blue flaming sword aura landed on one of the escaping Elementalists 10 yards away, dealing over -1,000 damage and instantly killing him. Simultaneously, the two Summoners in front of him also received damage from the attack, instantly losing over 400 HP. Shi Feng then continued with a barrage of attacks. As a result, deep-blue flames annihilated the mages within a 15-yard radius. Kill him! Dont be afraid; we have more men on our side! He only has half of his HP remaining! Although Shi Feng only had half of his HP remaining right now, Unstable Devastation had lost much of his confidence. Even so, he did not stop sending out streak after streak of Frost Arrows and Fatal Shots. However, Shi Feng had dodged every one of them. In addition to the sudden appearance of Shi Fengs flame transformation and terrifying AOE damage, Unstable Devastation already had the notion of escaping for his life. However, he needed to observe the situation further before he made his decision. Half HP, is it? Shi Feng calmly smiled. He then proceeded to take out his next trump card from his bag. [Intermediate Recovery Potion] Instantly recovers 800 HP after use. Cooldown: 1 minute In White River City, players were only allowed to purchase five Intermediate Recovery Potions each day, and each bottle cost 3 Silver Coins. It was an item meant for a crucial time. Shi Feng downed the bottle, his HP instantly recovering to full. At this sight, Martial Unions players were instantly afraid. They had sacrificed dozens of players to take away close to half of Shi Fengs HP. Yet, Shi Fengs HP was full once again. Moreover, the scorching flame that surrounded his body greatly increased his battle prowess. Just by closing in on him, the durability of their equipment constantly fell. Faced with such a situation, their confidence instantly sunk into a bottomless pit. 196 Devastating Strike The elites of Martial Union, who had originally looked down on Shi Feng, had started to panic now. What did a full HP Shi Feng mean? Martial Unions elites already had the experience deeply ingrained into their bodies, so they understood what it meant. Compared to only losing a level after dying, their current situation was far graver. As they had spent all this time grinding monsters, their equipment and weapons durability was almost depleted. If they received an attack from Shi Feng right now, that little durability would decrease even further, and their equipment and weapons might even be destroyed. This was much more frightening than simply losing a level. If they lost a level, they could recover it through grinding. However, it would be a different story if they lost the equipment and weapons they currently relied on. They had only managed to collect all these items after much difficulty, and compared to regaining a single level, it would be much more troublesome to recover these items. There was even the possibility that they could not recover these items at all. Ye Feng, dont go overboard! It wont be beneficial to either of us if you continue your actions! It is not too late for you to leave this place right now! In the future, we will mind our own business, and we will each walk our separate paths! Although Unstable Devastation felt dissatisfied, Shi Fengs strength was simply too frightening. He could only grit his teeth and take a step back in this matter. If he lost everything he had right now, his dreams of rising in Martial Union would also vanish. Overboard? These are your last words? Shi Feng laughed at the absurdity. He truly could not understand Unstable Devastations thought process. Did he think that, after slapping someone across the face, everything could be settled just with a simple apology? Hearing Shi Fengs contempt, Unstable Devastation felt humiliation for the first time. He had already taken a step back, yet, Shi Feng reacted so aggressively. However, he could do nothing to Shi Feng right now, so he could only watch as his subordinates were butchered, one after another. This sort of helplessness had driven him close to insanity. Unstable Devastation never thought that such a day would befall him. In the beginning, he had a 100% certainty of crushing Shi Feng. Now, however, due to a mystical exploding object and an Intermediate Recovery Potion, that confidence shattered. Even if they managed to kill Shi Feng today, the elites of Martial Union would receive insufferable losses. Ye Feng, you have forced my hand! Lets see which one of us will die first, then! Everyone, attack him together! He already has a super-red name! As long as we can kill him, he will drop all of his equipment, and it will be enough to make up for all our losses! Dont be afraid! His HP Potions Cooldown is definitely very long! We can exhaust him to death! Upon receiving Unstable Devastations command, the members of Martial Union went into a frenzy. They used all their skills and techniques to restrict Shi Feng while slowly depleting his HP. Meanwhile, Unstable Devastation also reluctantly retrieved a flame-red arrow from his back, aiming and firing it at Shi Feng. This was Unstable Devastations strongest treasure. Originally, he had intended to use this arrow to deal with a Lord ranked Boss. Now, however, he could only use it to get rid of Shi Feng. _Xiu!_ The flame-red arrow soared through the air, leaving behind a sonic boom as it shot towards Shi Fengs heart. Extremely complicated incantations were carved on the flame-red arrows body, causing the surrounding fire-type mana to gather around the arrow. It seemed like a consumable item. Shi Feng had also noticed this flame-red arrow flying at him. He stopped paying attention to the spells attacking him and immediately used Parry to block this flame-red arrow. _Boom! Boom! Boom!_ The moment the arrow collided with Shi Fengs swords, it exploded. The force of the explosion instantly sent Shi Feng flying. Fortunately, Parry had managed to block the attack fully, and Shi Feng received no damage from the arrow. Shortly after, Shi Feng landed, unscathed. Immediately, he charged towards the mages, resuming his massacre of Martial Unions elites. Just like slapping at flies, Shi Feng killed one player from Martial Union with each of his attacks. Within a short moment, four elites had died. Watching this scene play out, Unstable Devastations eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Even after he used his final trump card, Shi Feng had taken not a thread of damage from it. On the contrary, his attack aided Shi Feng in closing in on the mages and continuing his slaughter. To begin with, Shi Fengs Movement Speed was extremely quick. These mages had no chances of escaping him at all. Furthermore, due to the level suppression and Shi Fengs magic resistance, these mages were rendered utterly helpless. They could only watch as they were slaughtered. Noticing that the frozen effect on the melee players was about to dissipate, the mages of Martial Union released a sigh of relief. They finally saw hope. Unfortunately, Shi Feng took out another Intermediate Frost Grenade from his bag, tossing it at the melee players again. The Frost Grenade landed precisely on the same location as before, and in the blink of an eye, these melee players froze solid once more. A damage of -400 also appeared on every one of their heads, and the Assassins and Swordsmen who had low HP fell into critical conditions. Shi Feng then made a slashing motion with his sword, sending a flame blade flying at the Assassins and Swordsmen, ending their lives. This attack even destroyed the equipment they wore. At this stage of the game, where everyones levels were still low, there were plenty of skills that players had yet to learn. It was especially true for high-level skills that could remove controlling effects. Thus, the elites had no defenses against Shi Fengs Frost Grenades. They had no ways of dealing with them at all. With the melee players frozen once again, and Shi Feng killing so many of their allies, these mages truly felt despair. They no longer cared about Unstable Devastations command; they all ran, escaping in any direction they could. Nobody would have thought that Shi Feng would still have a weapon of mass destruction like that. If they had known about this earlier, they would have long since fled and not remained here for slaughter. Everyones escaping now? Shi Feng immediately felt his head ache. If he hunted them down, one by one, he might let even more players escape. After all, although the Frost Grenades had frightening might, nobody would be foolish enough to stand still and wait for their deaths. Helpless, Shi Feng could only start throwing out Basic Frost Grenades without stop. Although there was a one-second Cooldown, it could freeze a player for three seconds. With this, Shi Feng could get rid of all these scattered players. With Basic Frost Grenades tossed out, one after another, the sandy grounds turned into a world of ice, while all of the members of Martial Union turned into ice sculptures. Shi Feng then used the blazingly hot Abyssal Blade to end each of their lives. Watching as his teammates died and their equipment destroyed, the remaining players trembled in fear as they were driven to insanity. Some of the players who could not endure the sight even tried to log off from the game immediately. However, players were not allowed to log off during combat. So, they could only helplessly wait as Shi Feng walked, step by step, closing in on them. Very quickly, Shi Feng had reaped the lives of one hundred-plus elite members of Martial Union, and only Unstable Devastation remained alive now. Unstable Devastation quietly stood still, his mind in a daze. He had even forgotten to resist. Over a hundred elite players had died, and all of their equipment was destroyed. These were all of his assets, and right now, it was impossible for him to climb back up in Martial Union even if he wanted to. He no longer had any means to compete with his rivals in the Guild. At this moment, Unstable Devastation only had regret filling his heart. All of this had stemmed from his own arrogance. If he had known that Shi Feng was so frightening from the very beginning, he wouldnt have dared to become enemies with Shi Feng, even if he were beaten to death. Even if he had to become enemies with Shi Feng, at the very least, he would have waited until all members of Martial Union had entered White River City. However, it was too late now. Soon after, Shi Feng killed Unstable Devastation with two sword slashes as well. Im finally done cleaning up. It should also be about time to bring Blackie and the others down to a Dungeon for some equipment upgrades. Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings. After confirming that there werent any members from Martial Union remaining, he used the Demon Mask to wipe clean his name. He then took out a Return Scroll, chanting the incantation and returning to White River City. After killing Unstable Devastation and the elite players under him, even if Unstable Devastation wanted to do anything to Shi Feng in the future, he would need to wait until these elite members recovered before he could. However, there was no need to concern himself over a matter that couldnt happen for quite a while. \--- Shortly after Shi Feng wiped out Unstable Devastations entire elite team... A large commotion occurred among the alliance of Guilds that wished to carry out a crusade against Shi Feng. This commotion was a result of Unstable Devastation suddenly declaring his retirement from this small alliance. Unstable Devastations actions had confused these other Guilds. He also refused to speak of anything in the alliances chat before leaving it. After witnessing Shi Fengs fearsomeness, Unstable Devastation didn''t dare battle Shi Feng any longer. Since Shi Feng could kill him at the White Sand Ruins, then he could similarly kill him again and again out in the field. The same went for his team. Unstable Devastation no longer dared think of this matter. He still wished to make a living through Gods Domain. He was truly afraid of Shi Feng now. Hence, Unstable Devastation also expressed his apologies on the official forums. In the future, he swore to no longer participate in any matters relating to Shi Feng. As long as he met Shi Feng, he would make a circle and do his best to avoid Shi Feng. Immediately, Unstable Devastations actions had sent shockwaves through the White River City region. 197 Crazy Stone Although Unstable Devastation was not considerably well-known, he was still one of the upper echelons of Martial Union. He was also arch-enemies with Shi Feng, and he had recently revealed one of Shi Fengs big secrets. So, there were quite a number of people who knew about him. Nobody would have thought that Unstable Devastation would publicly apologize to Shi Feng. Many people were stunned when they read Unstable Devastations message. Martial Union was obviously a large Guild, yet, they had actually submitted to a lone independent player. Although such incidents had occurred before in past virtual reality games, the total occurrences could definitely be counted on one hand. Above all, Gods Domain was a game that had just recently released. At this stage of the game, the difference in strength between players would mainly display itself in terms of techniques, and this difference could easily be overcome using the advantage in numbers. Yet, Unstable Devastation had succumbed to Shi Feng. It was simply unbelievable. Can someone tell me just what is going on here? Wah! Is this going to be the uprising of independent players? As expected of my idol, Ye Feng! Whats so great about Guilds? Havent they succumbed to strength all the same? Chaos ensued in the official forums of the White River City region. Unstable Devastations message was like a small pebble thrown into a tranquil pond, generating ripples that spread out in all directions. As a result, players on the forum posted their own opinions, especially the independent players. No matter which virtual reality game they were in, Guild players and independent players would frequently conflict with each other. However, this could not be helped. After all, to surpass others, one must obtain more resources. Naturally, Guilds would occupy these resources. Meanwhile, the independent players who lacked strength could only retreat in the face of these Guilds. Thus, it created conflicts. Now that an independent player like Shi Feng had made a large Guild submit to him, this incident received an unquestionably huge response from many independent players. However, to the alliance of Guilds that planned a crusade against Shi Feng, this matter was just like a bomb filled with peril. Unstable Devastation, the leader who started this alliance and planned this crusade, had actually chosen to withdraw from the alliance. Moreover, he did not even speak a word about this incident. Just what sort of power could cause Unstable Devastation to react in such a way? This incident struck panic into the other Guilds of this small alliance. Brother Zhang, what should we do? Flaming Tiger quietly asked. Due to Unstable Devastations shocking actions, the various Guilds in the small alliance started feeling insecure. Zhang Luowei fell deep into thought for some time before saying, Lets not involve ourselves just yet. Well wait until we are all in White River City before we deal with this matter. However, for him to force a person like Unstable Devastation to submit, I have truly underestimated this Ye Feng. Tell Ling Feilong to get in touch with Ye Feng; see if he can get Ye Feng to join Shadow. Although Shadow has only recently started its development, our resources are plenty. Tell Ling Feilong this; as long as Ye Feng agrees, I can give Ye Feng an elder position, an annual salary of a million Credits, and 10% of the Workshops shares. Flaming Tiger was stunned. He admitted that he was not Shi Fengs opponent and that Shi Fengs skills were a level higher than his, but wasnt this promise a little too great? Not only could an elder of the Guild live leisurely, but the authority they wielded was also great. Aside from Brother Lan and Zhang Luowei, Shi Feng would have the highest authority in Shadow, not to mention an annual salary of a million Credits and 10% of the Workshops shares. Even Flaming Tiger only had a minimum monthly salary of 20,000 Credits. Flaming Tiger simply could not understand why they had to pay such a huge price to recruit Shi Feng. However, he did not have a say in this matter, so he could only do as he was told. \--- White River City, Trade Area. After returning to White River City, Shi Feng first headed towards the Bank. He retrieved 500 stacks of Hard Stones, intending to sell only a portion of his stock for now. Due to the great increase in the Hard Stones demand, the price had already reached Shi Fengs estimation of 10 Silver Coins per stack. Although this price would still rise later, it was already close to the limit players could handle. These 500 stacks of Hard Stones were only a small portion of the Hard Stones Shi Feng owned. Just based on the amount of Hard Stones that Shi Feng had constantly purchased before, his stock exceeded 10,000 stacks. This was also one of the reasons why the various large Guilds in White River City could not purchase any Hard Stones. Shi Feng had purchased all of these Hard Stones when the prices were at their lowest, and he only paid around 30 Gold Coins for them. However, their current value far exceeded their initial cost. _After selling these 500 stacks, it should be about time to bring Blackie and the others to raid the Level 10 Team Dungeon, the_ _Goblin_ _Factor_ _y_ _._ Shi Feng inwardly planned. Although Blackie and Lonely Snows levels were high, the overall equipment they had was subpar at best. The same went for Shi Fengs equipment. However, at least his was the best Swordsman Set Equipment for players Level 10 and below. His teammates equipment, on the other hand, could only be described as miserable. As of this moment, there were already more than 500 players who had reached Level 10 and had their names etched on the Ranking List of the White River City region. Which was to say, there were already more than 500 players who had entered White River City. A majority of these players were members of well-known Guilds. Aside from doing some quests in White River City right now, these players main objective remained Dungeon raiding, as Dungeons were the best source for good equipment. Only with good equipment would these players level up with greater efficiency. Hence, plenty of Guilds had already started diving into Dungeons. White River City was different from towns. Gods Domain only truly began after players reached Level 10 and the city. As for the town-life players experienced at the start of the game, it was merely an introduction to life in Gods Domain. There were plenty of Level 10 Dungeons throughout the White River City region. The number of Level 10 to Level 12 Party Dungeons exceeded 20, and their raiding difficulty varied greatly. Meanwhile, 10-man Level 10 Team Dungeons numbered slightly lower, but there were still 12 such Dungeons available. As for Level 10 large-scale Dungeons, there were 3 within the White River City region. As long as one successfully raided one of these three large Dungeons, they could activate the Card Set exchange system. The value of Card Sets would also be at their highest when that time came. Meanwhile, after entering White River City, the normal raiding procedure for players began with the Party Dungeons to upgrade their equipment. They would then proceed to small-scale Team Dungeons and finally, the Level 10 large-scale Dungeons. Right now, many Guilds had already started raiding small Dungeons and were continuously upgrading their equipment. Eventually, all the Guilds in White River City would have only one goal: obtaining the First Clear of one of the three large-scale Team Dungeons. A team could only obtain the First Clear by clearing the Hell Mode of the Dungeon. Moreover, the First Clear of large-scale Team Dungeons was slightly different from that of small-scale Team Dungeons. The achievement would not only be announced throughout the White River City region, but it would also be announced throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. It was one of the best ways to increase ones fame throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom, and it was also a display of a Guilds strength. Hence, large-scale Dungeons were considered the true battlegrounds for the various large Guilds. Meanwhile, for these Guilds who frequently battled inside Dungeons, Whetstones would become one of their strategic supplies. This situation would further increase these Guilds need for Hard Stones, causing the price of Hard Stones to soar once again. Thus, Shi Feng chose to sell his stock of Hard Stones at this time. Right now, Shi Feng was not focused on conquering the large-scale Team Dungeons. He knew his own limits, and he would not try to compete with those well-known Guilds. His goal right now was only to conquer the Level 15 small-scale Team Dungeon, the Demons Castle. However, regarding strength or numbers, his team was still far from capable of raiding the Demons Castle. They needed some upgrades before they could rise to that challenge. Arriving at the Auction House of White River City, Shi Feng casually took a seat in the corner and opened the Auction Houses system interface. He then selected to sell his wares within the White River City region. That way, he would not need to foot such a large fee. Similar to selling at a towns Auction House, only players within the White River City region could see the items he placed on auction. As for selling the Hard Stones to the other cities, Shi Feng had never intended to do so. Just the expensive handling fee alone would greatly reduce his profits. Not to mention, the other cities were not as much in need of Hard Stones as White River City, so the prices the stones would sell for much less. Shi Feng first placed ten stacks of Hard Stones on auction with a minimum price of 10 Silver Coins per stack and a buyout price of 12 Silver Coins. He did so to take a look at the results. If he placed all 500 stacks up for auction at once, it could drastically affect the market; Hard Stones'' prices would plummet. Hence, he would slowly sell off his stock, carrying out hunger marketing. As expected, before even a minute had passed, all ten stacks of Hard Stones sold. Moreover, they had been purchased at the buyout price of 12 Silvers. There wasnt even a competition to speak of. It cant be, right? Shi Feng was stunned when he received the notification from the Auction House. Such a great demand had far exceeded his expectations. Although he knew that there was a shortage of Hard Stones right now, he never thought that someone would pay 12 Silvers without hesitation. This was simply insane! Did these people not know that one Silver Coin could be exchanged for 107 Credits right now? Spending an additional 2 Silver coins would be the equivalent of spending 214 Credits. To a fresh university graduate, that would be a tenth of their monthly salary. 198 Trial of God Shi Feng had only sold 10 stacks of Hard Stones. When compared to the demand of the entire White River City region, it was a drop in the ocean. Seeing such burning demand, Shi Feng placed another 10 stacks of Hard Stones up for auction. This time, he changed the minimum price to 12 Silver Coins and the buyout price at 15 Silver Coins. By doing so, he tried to find out the highest price Hard Stones could currently sell for and the bottom line of these desperate players. As expected, nobody paid the buyout price immediately this time. Instead, they bid over the Hard Stones. However, the numbers rose very slowly, and there was only a small increase of several Coppers with each consecutive bid. One minute later... The price of the 10 stacks of Hard Stones finally displayed a significant increase. The bidding had gone from 12 Silver Coins to 13 Silver Coins, and it continued to rise to 13 Silver, 30 Coppers before finally stopping. Obviously, this was the final price these desperate players were willing to fork out. Their bottom line should be around 13 Silver Coins, huh? Still, this has surpassed my expectations. In the future, I can simply sit tight and wait for the money to roll in, Shi Feng also felt that 13 Silver Coins was the limit for Hard Stones. If the prices further increased, then aside from Guilds, average players could not endure such an expense. Moreover, Shi Feng had only paid around 30 Coppers for each stack of Hard Stones when he purchased them in bulk. Now, he sold them for 13 Silver Coins per stack; their value had increased over 30 folds. One could not be too greedy. Shi Feng was currently satisfied with the results. Shi Feng then continued removing Hard Stones from his bag, setting them up for auction; he sold 20 stacks per batch, and each batch would be available every ten minutes or so. Considering the consumption rate and finances of the players in the White River City region, 1,600 to 1,700 stacks should sell each day. If Shi Feng sold a thousand stacks per day, not only could the entire White River City region fully deplete his stock, it also would not cause any adverse effects on the price of Hard Stones. If Shi Feng could sell 1,000 stacks each day, he could earn over 100 Gold every day by selling the Hard Stones at 13 Silvers per stack. Moreover, these were genuine Gold Coins and not Credits. Such a daily income was more than ten times higher than the daily income of first-rate Guilds. With such funds in his hands, Shi Feng would not have to worry about financial issues when he developed his Guild in the future. With the sales system all set and done, Shi Fengs finger tapped and slid, calling out the half-transparent communication interface. His finger then moved and tapped on his good friend Blackies call button. Blackie, are you guys done with the Reputation Quests? If you are, then gather in front of the teleportation gate. Well go Dungeon diving together, Shi Feng asked. Were already done with our quests. However, it seems that weve been trapped inside a sealed map. We need to go through a trial if we wish to leave, Blackie grew excited when he heard about Dungeon diving, and he wished he could immediately go to display his prowess. Ever since he obtained Mavis Guard, he had started browsing the internet and watching videos of experts displaying their skills. He had also frequently sparred with his team members, and his techniques had greatly improved. He would definitely shock Shi Feng with his new techniques. Unfortunate, he couldnt do any of that right now. A sealed map? Shi Fengs eyebrows wrinkled, his mind entering a deep thought. He did not know how Blackie and the others managed to enter a sealed map. Logically, the quests he sent them on had no such locations. However, after recalling Blackies description of the place, he suddenly understood the situation Blackie and the others were in. He could not help but admit that their luck was truly impressive. There were various miraculous opportunities available in Gods Domain, and players most frequently discovered the Trial of God. Players also called it the Trial of Heroes, and it was a test given by Gods for mortals to become heroes. As long as it was a Level 10 map or above, there was a chance for this trial to appear. Players would occasionally encounter this trial out in the fields, questing or grinding. However, less than one out of ten thousand players would have a chance of meeting this trial. Blackie and the others were definitely lucky for encountering this trial. Every Trial of Heroes was a heaven-sent opportunity. As long as players could clear it, they would receive a bountiful reward. In this trial, equipment and EXP were considered the lowest form of reward. If players could perform exceedingly well in the Trial of Heroes, they could receive permanent Attribute increases, super-rare or improved skills, an abundant amount of Weapon Mastery, and many more super-rare rewards. Weapons and equipment could only be used for a period of time; they were like foreign objects. They were not truly part of ones strength. However, it would be a different story if players could receive things like permanent Attribute increases and super-rare skills. The value of such things far surpassed that of weapons and equipment, and they would be of immense help towards ones future development. How many colors were on the trial door that you guys entered? Shi Feng asked. Shi Fengs question confused Blackie. However, since Shi Feng had asked, Blackie tried to recall the number of different colors on the large double doors they had entered. He then said unconfidently, I think there were four colors. Four?! Are you guys trying to get yourselves killed?! Shi Feng immediately wanted to scold Blackie. The Trial of God did not only possess rewards, but it would also mete out punishments. The punishments and rewards given were also equal. In Gods Domain, with opportunity came danger. There was no such thing as a free lunch in Gods Domain, and even if there were, it might very well poison you to death. The Trial of Heroes was normally categorized into seven tiers. If there were only one color on the teleportation gate, then the trial would be Tier 1; it was also the easiest trial to clear. Along with the increase in number of colors, the difficulty would increase exponentially. If there were four colors on the Door of Trials, then it would be a Tier 4 trial. Its difficulty would be around eight times or above that of a Tier 1 trial. If Blackie and the others could clear it, the minimum rewards they could obtain would be Fine-Gold rank or above weapons and equipment. Normally, it would be a Dark-Gold ranked item. If they could finish the trial with a sufficiently high completion rate, there was a possibility they could receive permanent Attribute increases or have one of their skills upgraded to a stronger version. However The punishment for a Tier 4 trial was no joking matter. If Blackie and the others failed to complete the trial, the lightest punishment they might receive was a massive loss in EXP; they could very well lose several levels. Blackie and the others might even lose a portion of their Attributes or skill mastery permanently, possibly entering a weakened state for a long period of time. Such severe punishments were also one of the reasons why most players would avoid entering the Door of Trials after finding one. They would instead choose to sell the information to a large Guild, making a huge profit. Brother Feng, are we in a very dangerous situation? hearing Shi Fengs panic, Blackie could not help but swallow nervously, his heartbeat increasing in pace. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others who stood beside Blackie also became extraordinarily serious after hearing Shi Fengs words. They no longer dared belittle this trial. I can only give you guys advice. Act within your capabilities. Do not attempt meritorious deeds; only try to leave in one piece. Dont forget to pass on my advice to everyone in the team. However, Blackie, since you have Mavis Guard, logically, you guys should have a very high possibility of clearing the trial. However, remember not to rush things. Even if you have to waste a lot of time, you must never hurry. The rest will depend on your battle techniques, intelligence, and wisdom, Shi Feng then continued to pass on all his knowledge about the trials onto Blackie. As for whether or not they could clear the trial, it would depend solely on Blackie and the others. The tests of the Trial of Heroes had never repeated, so there were no known strategies to conquering one. However, in Shi Fengs previous life, after collecting the knowledge and wisdom of many predecessors, he managed to form a strategy that was not an actual strategy, which was to act within ones own capabilities and plan before taking action. One must not rush when carrying out the Trial of Heroes. Other than that, there was no true strategy for conquering the Trial of Heroes. _With Fire Dance, Cola, and Blackies Mavis Guard, they should be able to clear a four-colored trial. However, they should not be able to leave the trial in a short time_ Shi Feng felt a headache building. He originally intended to upgrade their equipment by raiding a Dungeon. However, that plan had gone down the drain now. He did not even know if Blackie and the others could manage to leave the trial within a week. The Trial of Heroes was never simple, and it was an extremely time-consuming trial. In Shi Fengs previous life, it wasnt unusual if players spent more than a month clearing a trial. In the past, a top-tier expert had once made a fair evaluation of the trials. A five-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling an Epic Quest. A six-colored trial had the difficulty rivaling a Legendary Quest. As for a seven-colored trial, it had the difficulty rivaling a top-tier Legendary Quest. In Shi Fengs previous life, even after Gods Domain had been in operation for over a decade, there had yet to be a player that could clear a seven-colored trial. Of course, part of the reason was that no true apex expert had encountered a seven-colored trial. In the past, the highest tiered trial cleared was a six-colored trial. Meanwhile, one of the conquerors of a six-colored trial was the Cleric God, Violet Cloud, one of the publicly acknowledged top ten Cleric Gods in Gods Domain. Thinking that Violet Cloud was currently with Blackie and the others, Shi Feng hesitantly released a sigh of relief. Although Violet Cloud had yet to grow into her prime, her potential could not be ignored. For a four-colored trial, Blackie and the others should... might... possibly... be able to clear it. Forget it. No point worrying about it too much. It seems that I can only upgrade my own equipment for now, Shi Feng sighed. Habitually, he opened up the Auction House interface, searching for items under the Miscellaneous section. The Miscellaneous section of the Auction House was just like TaoBao[1]. Oftentimes, players would auction some good things without realizing their actual value or things that they felt were not valuable at all. Hence, Shi Feng often browsed through this section, hoping to find a lucky catch. Just as Shi Feng casually flipped through the pages... Flaming Sun Scripture. Shi Feng incidentally discovered a flame-red book displayed on the item interface of the Auction House. Shi Fengs expression trembled at the sight of this book, and he could not help but wish he could immediately snatch this book into his hands. _Someone dared to sell even this item? This is simply ludicrous._ Shi Fengs sight then shifted towards the price tag displayed on the upper-left corner the ancient book. * * * TL Notes: [1] TaoBao: Taobao is a Chinese online shopping website similar to eBay, Amazon and Rakuten, which is operated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang by Alibaba Group. 199 Flaming Sun Scripture Displayed on the half-transparent pale-blue screen, the price of the Flaming Sun Scripture was similarly striking. Crap! This seller must have been dropped on his head as a child! Shi Feng loudly cursed the moment he saw the price. In actuality, Shi Feng wasnt the only person who loudly cursed when they saw the price for this Flaming Sun Scripture; some players would even couple their curses with a few finger motions. A thousand Gold Coins. This person was simply insane. Shi Feng then took a look at the sellers name. Sinfully Handsome. Shi Feng could only look at this person with respect when seeing this exotic name. Just how much of a narcissist was this person? Looking at this name, Shi Feng could also vaguely guess the reason why the price of this Flaming Sun Scripture was so high. However, since he had seen the Flaming Sun Scripture, he could not easily give it up. Hence, he sent out a communication request to this person called Sinfully Handsome. However, Shi Feng hid his name when he made the call, preventing this Sinfully Handsome from discovering his identity. After waiting for ten seconds or so, Sinfully Handsome picked up the call. Who are you? What business do you have with me? You cant be asking me to power-level you, right? If youre a pretty girl, this brother can carry you to victory with me, narcissism filled Sinfully Handsomes voice when he spoke, and he gave others the hint of being a hooligan. Shi Feng was instantly dumbfounded when he heard Sinfully Handsomes words. Girl? Carry you to victory? Just who was this person? Even a person like this could obtain the Flaming Sun Scripture? Was this world already in such a mess? Hey, speak a few words, why dont you? Are you dead? Dont tell me youre a tranny, right? This brother doesnt have that kind of taste, Sinfully Handsome suddenly started panicking. Hello, Im interested in buying the Flaming Sun Scripture that youve placed on the Auction House. I wonder if you can sell it to me at a lower price? Shi Feng asked. Oh! So you want to buy that item? Of course, I can! Sinfully Handsome smiled in realization, Ill slightly reduce the price for you then! How does 900 Gold sound? This is a very justifiable price! Shi Feng faintly smiled at Sinfully Handsomes asking price. He then calmly stated his own price, 20 Silver Coins. Shi Feng did not believe Sinfully Handsome knew the Flaming Sun Scriptures true value. Only fire-type humanoids Level 10 or higher would drop the Flaming Sun Scripture. However, its drop rate was somewhat low, so its selling price was very high; the average person usually couldnt afford it. Even so, it was still not worth an insane 1,000 Gold. With that kind of money, players could even purchase an Epic ranked item. Why would they bother buying an item like the Flaming Sun Scripture if they had that kind of money? Hey, fellow brother, youre not being sincere here. You are the one who took the initiative to contact me, yet, youre offering such a price? Do you know which Guild I belong to? Sinfully Handsome beamed a smile, proudly saying, Have you heard of Dark Star before? Its an apex third-rate Guild in White River City! With this name alone, shouldnt you at least offer 100 Gold? Dark Star, it was indeed a powerful Guild in White River City. However, what did that have to do with Shi Feng? One Gold Coin. If you dont wish to sell, then forget it, Shi Feng understood that Sinfully Handsome took him for a fool. However, he was also in quite a need for the Flaming Sun Scripture, so he decided to offer such a high price. Unfortunately, Sinfully Handsome misunderstood Shi Fengs intentions. You have to think through this clearly. In the entire White River City, only I possess this Flaming Sun Scripture! Seeing that youre an honest person, Ill make a large sacrifice and sell it to you for 10 Gold with an additional 100,000 Credits. If you still dont want it, I can only look for another buyer, Sinfully Handsome confidently said. Goodbye! Shi Feng immediately disconnected the call. Sinfully Handsome suddenly panicked when Shi Feng disconnected the call. He did not think that Shi Feng would be so decisive. _At least try to bargain!_ Watching his 1 Gold Coin fly out of his grasp, Sinfully Handsomes heart bled with regret. However, he was too embarrassed to contact Shi Feng again. Humph! I dont believe that you can so easily give up on this Flaming Sun Scripture! Sinfully Handsome snorted. Although he did not know the use of the Flaming Sun Scripture, based on its powerful and tyrannical name, it was not an ordinary item. Sinfully Handsome was very sure that Shi Feng knew this items value. However, he did not wish to pay too high a price, so he retreated for the sake of advancing. With this thought, Sinfully Handsome was further assured of the Flaming Sun Scriptures value; it was definitely worth more than 1,000 Gold Coins. Hence, Sinfully Handsome ran towards the Auction House, changing the price of the Flaming Sun Scripture from 1,000 Gold Coins to 10,000 Gold Coins. He wanted to see if Shi Feng was willing to beg him for this item. However, when Sinfully Handsome arrived at the Auction House, he discovered that there was not only a single Flaming Sun Scripture on auction anymore; there were five of these books now. Aside from his copy, priced at 10,000 Gold Coins, the other four books were all priced at 15 Silver Coins. The most inconceivable thing was that the number of Flaming Sun Scriptures up for auction continued to increase. In the blink of an eye, there were already 10 copies of the book up for sale. Just what sort of situation is this? Sinfully Handsomes eyes widened; he thought he was dreaming right now. How could there be so many Flaming Sun Scriptures?? While the quantity of these Flaming Sun Scriptures increased, someone else bought them, one after another. There were a total of 32 copies of the Flaming Sun Scripture offered in the Auction House. Among them, Shi Feng had bought 30 of them. Only Sinfully Handsomes copy and another copy sold by Nobody Cares for 20 Silver Coins remained. Sinfully Handsome suddenly thought of something. He then hurriedly opened the trade section under White River Citys official forums. As expected, there was an anonymous post stating: _Buying Flaming Sun Scriptures at 14 Silver Coins per book! Willing to purchase it at 15 Silver Coins if placed in the Auction House._ One could often find such purchasing methods in virtual reality games. After all, players had plenty of items that they kept on hand without placing them on the Auction House. There were only a scarce amount of players like Sinfully Handsome who would place items of unknown value on the Auction House. Shi Feng also remembered this fact, and he thought that, by now, there should be quite a few players who have gotten their hands on a Flaming Sun Scripture. Ah! My 1 Gold Coin! Sinfully Handsome wanted to cry. Originally, he thought that the Flaming Sun Scriptures value could rival that of an Epic ranked item. However, after seeing so many other players possessing this item, Sinfully Handsome immediately realized his mistake. If he had sold his copy for 1 Gold Coin, he would have made a huge profit. Elsewhere, Shi Feng felt great satisfaction after purchasing 30 copies of the Flaming Sun Scripture. He would have completely forgotten about this items existence if he had not discovered the Flaming Sun Scripture on the Auction House in the first place. Thirty books should be enough for my purposes. Shi Feng looked at the 30 Flaming Sun Scriptures laying in his bag, utterly pleased. Although he had spent 4 Gold, 50 Silvers, shrinking his assets slightly, the Gold Coins he possessed would only depreciate as time passed. It was much better if he used those Gold Coins to profit further. Thus, Shi Feng had spent so much money to purchase the Flaming Sun Scriptures. In Shi Fengs previous life, plenty of players had obtained the Flaming Sun Scripture. Unfortunately, none of them knew its purpose. Hence, they sold it at bargain prices. However, there was a Ranger who had desperately bought these Flaming Sun Scriptures. Even after the prices of the Flaming Sun Scriptures rose to 1 Gold Coin per book, that player still bought them without hesitation, earning the suspicion of many. So, many players started to investigate the Flaming Sun Scripture. On one occasion, a party of players met with a Ranger who grinded solo at the Level 25 map, Flame Gods Cave. Moreover, that Ranger displayed a shocking scene of killing the Boss and Elite monsters there by himself. Later on, however, the players discovered that the reason the Ranger could grind at the Flame Gods Cave alone was all thanks to the Flaming Sun Scripture. From then on, the secret of the Flaming Sun Scripture was revealed, causing its price to skyrocket. In the end, even when the Flaming Sun Scripture sold for 3 Gold Coins per book, there were still players willing to buy it. Right now, Shi Feng had only spent 15 Silver Coins to purchase each book. He had made a huge profit from this trade. In any case, Blackie and the others still needed a long time before they could return to White River City. Since Shi Feng had nothing better to do, he might as well grind the Boss at the Flame Gods Cave. After all, his current strength was too weak right now. He could complete neither the Epic Quest, Darkness Descends, nor the Unique Quest, Demons Heart. Moreover, there were plenty of important quests in White River City that required a team to carry out. This was the tragedy that befell all solo players. Hence, grinding Bosses was the best option available for Shi Feng at the moment. Most importantly, the Flame Gods Cave was a valuable location specialized in dropping forging designs. These forging designs had made that Ranger into a rich man, and he had earned over 600 Gold Coins from all the forging designs he sold, becoming the envy of countless players. Soon after, Shi Feng hurried towards the teleportation gate. He paid a fee of 24 Silver Coins and teleported to Red Flame Fortress, the nearest teleportation point to the Flame Gods Cave. 200 Flame Gods Cave Red Flame Fortress was located in the middle of the Scorching Hot Canyon; a large volcano loomed behind it. The terrain around this region was extremely hot all year round, and the air was similarly parched and blistering. A gust of wind here was like a wave of heat, and one wouldnt feel a hint of relief from it. Meanwhile, the surrounding environment of the canyon consisted of only scorched, barren earth and mountains. All around, web-like cracks decorated the ground. Just this sight would cause one to lose their appetite. As this was a virtual environment, players could fully experience the scorching heat. Being parched and drenched in sweat were only minor inconveniences, but ones vision blurring? That was a bigger problem. Moreover, battling in such an environment was extremely taxing to a players stamina. Due to such a brutal environment, many players did not like grinding or questing here. Moreover, the Scorching Hot Canyon wasnt the only Level 20 to Level 25 map. There were more than 20 such maps within the White River City region. The millions of players within the White River City region could simply choose any one of these other locations to grind and do quests. For example, the Cooling Lakeside, the Shady Forest, and such were all good locations. There was no need for them to torture themselves by coming to the Scorching Hot Canyon. For Shi Feng, however, such a brutal environment did not affect him much. In addition to having activated the Hidden Passive Skill, Basic Body Strengthening, Shi Feng also had 20 points of Fire Resistance. As a result, the high temperature of the Scorching Hot Canyon did not have any effect on Shi Feng. Shi Feng would not greatly exhaust his stamina by fighting in this hot environment either. Moreover, the majority of the monsters in the Scorching Hot Canyon dealt fire-type damage, so this place was suitable for players like Shi Feng, who had high Fire Resistance, to level. Shi Fengs leveling efficiency would increase by at least 20% compared to leveling up at other maps. In Gods Domain, natures power was very strong. If players wanted to level up quickly, they needed to overcome many of such natural environments. As players progressed down their paths in Gods Domain, the importance of resistances would also increase. This was why Shi Feng grew excited when he learned that the Ice-Blue Devil Flame increased both his Fire Resistance and Ice Resistance. After arriving at the Flame Red Fortress, Shi Feng opened the system map. Confirming the location of the Flame Gods Cave, Shi Feng advanced towards it along a red dirt road. Although there were plenty of Level 20 and higher monsters, such as the Fire Raging Bull and Violet Flame Wolf, along the way to the Flame Gods Cave, Shi Feng walked on the official road. There were normally high-level NPCs patrolling the official roads, and these NPCs were usually 15 Levels higher than the map they occupied. Moreover, they patrolled in small parties rather than individually. If there were any foolish monsters that dared come close to the official road, these Level 40 NPCs would immediately dispatch the offending beast. The moment they came within a 40-yard distance to the official road, the patrolling NPCs would discover these monsters and turn them into soup. Hence, all the surrounding monsters did not dare come within 40 yards of the official road at all, allowing players to travel safely through it. \--- Around half an hour later, Shi Feng finally arrived at the Flame Gods Cave. The Flame Gods Cave was situated close to a volcano at the outer edges of the Scorching Hot Canyon. Plenty of Elite monsters and Chieftain ranked Bosses resided within the cave. However, even when players discovered this location, they would normally choose to turn around and leave as the monsters here were simply too strong. If monsters had not chased that party, they would not have run to the Flame Gods Cave, incidentally discovering the Rangers secret of grinding Bosses and Elite monsters. However, only Shi Feng knew of this secret right now. The monsters in the Flame Gods Cave were all Level 25, and generally, only players who had reached Level 20 would grind here. However, Shi Fengs equipment had the Ignore Levels Attribute, so he could barely grind here as well, though with much lower efficiency. Regardless, he would still be grinding Level 25 monsters. Even if his speed were slower than a Level 20 player, his gains would still be much greater compared to grinding Level 14 monsters. As for why the monsters in the Flame Gods Cave were so amazing, it was mainly because of the extraordinarily high damage of their fire-type attacks. Even if it were only a Level 25 Common monster, it could still kill an MT of the same level with just two or three moves. Not to mention, the monsters in the Flame Gods Cave all lived in groups, and one would usually meet five or six monsters at the same time. Even an MT with top-tier equipment could not handle so many monsters at once. There was also a large amount of Elite and Special Elite monsters here; they could practically one-shot an MT of the same level. Hence, even when players knew about the Flame Gods Cave, there was still nobody daring enough to grind at this place. However, it was a different story when one had the Flaming Sun Scripture. The Flaming Sun Scripture could grant players a Flaming Suns Blessing effect. The effect was closely related to the surrounding environment; the denser the fire-type mana present in a location, the greater were its effects. The effect lasted for two hours. However, the introduction of the Flaming Sun Scripture did not reveal such an effect, so players in the past couldnt discover its exact purpose. The Flame Gods Cave could be considered as one of the locations within Scorching Hot Canyon that had the densest fire-type mana. As a result, the fire-type damage of the monsters inside was extraordinarily high. However, precisely because of this same reason, the Flame Gods Cave was also a perfect place for one to use the Flaming Sun Scripture. However, even with the Flaming Sun Scripture, Shi Feng needed to be extremely careful while he was here. After all, the Flame Gods Cave was a nest for Level 25 monsters. With the level gap of 11 Levels, these monsters could easily extinguish Shi Fengs life with just two moves, and Shi Feng would not even have the chance to resist before dying. Moreover, Shi Fengs level was just too low; these monsters could detect him easily. Hence, he needed to act with extreme caution. The moment Shi Feng carefully set foot in the cave, a wave of hot air swept past him from within the cave. Just when Shi Fengs five senses heightened to their maximum limit, his system communication suddenly rang out. Crap! That nearly gave me a heart attack! Shi Feng jumped, taken by surprise. He glanced at the system notification. Fortunately, monsters could not hear the system notifications. In the same way team chat worked, only specified players could hear them, while outsiders would remain unaffected. Flying Dragon? Why is he playing Gods Domain as well? Shi Feng wrinkled his eyebrows at the sight of the caller ID blinking before him. This Flying Dragon was none other than Shi Fengs classmate and the ninth-ranked in Jin Hai Universitys fighting competition, Ling Feilong. However, in Shi Fengs previous life, Ling Feilong only joined Gods Domain long after the games release. At that time, Shi Feng had already become the Guild Leader of Shadow. _For Ling Feilong to join Gods Domain in advance, could this be the result of the butterfly effect?_ Shi Feng lowered his head in thought. However, he soon revealed a smirk. In this life, he had not revealed his characters ID to anyone else. As for Blackie, Shi Feng had long since told him not to reveal anything. Hence, no one in Jin Hai University knew Shi Feng was Ye Feng. Similarly, nobody else knew that Blackie was Black Cloud in Gods Domain. Blackies friends only knew that he was getting by fairly well in the game. Who are you? What business do you have with me? Shi Feng answered the call with a cold and imposing tone as if he were a god looking down on an ant. Ling Feilong immediately felt chills all down his body when he heard Shi Fengs voice, followed by immense pressure. He felt like he had just walked out of a cold pool of water. His heartbeat instantly soared to 180 beats per minute. _This is Ye Feng, the god-ranked expert that caused even Martial Union to submit? His voice alone is already so imposing and threatening The pressure he gives off is even stronger than Brother Zhangs! Its as expected of a god-ranked expert. No wonder Brother Zhang wanted me to recruit him._ Ling Feilong was inwardly shocked, and he grew even more respectful towards Shi Feng. Originally, Zhou Yuhu should have been the one to contact the god-ranked expert. However, Zhou Yuhu previously had a falling out with the god-ranked expert, so the responsibility had been pushed onto him, Ling Feilong, instead. Ling Feilong felt that his chance to shine had arrived. As long as he could deal with this matter appropriately and gain the favor of such a god-ranked expert, his position in Shadow would rise quickly in the future; he would surely surpass Zhou Yuhu. After all, Zhou Yuhu had once found conflict with this god-ranked expert. In the future, Zhou Yuhu would certainly have difficulty getting by in Shadow. Before Ling Feilong had personally felt Ye Fengs imposing aura, he always thought that nobody could be as strong as Brother Zhang. However, Ling Feilong was now completely certain that, if this god-ranked expert joined Shadow, even Zhang Luowei would have to submit to his strength. Meanwhile, Shadow would similarly fall under the control of this expert. How are you, expert? I am Shadows representative, Flying Dragon. We sincerely want to recruit a god-ranked expert like yourself into Shadow. As for the treatment you will receive, please rest assured. We at Shadow will certainly not mistreat you, Ling Feilongs tone was both soft and respectful when he spoke. After all, the god-ranked expert before his eyes right now someone he needed to fawn over desperately in the future. He was truly afraid that this god-ranked expert would immediately disconnect his call. 201 Scriptures Migh Hearing Ling Feilong attempt to fawn over him and his respectful attitude while doing so, Shi Feng couldnt help but sigh. The shoe was on the other foot now! Fate truly knew how to toy with people. Judging from Ling Feilongs tone, Shi Feng could discern that Ling Feilong intended to ride on his coattails. If you wish to recruit me, tell me what sort of benefits you plan to offer first, Shi Feng calmly asked. Brother expert, I guarantee that youll be satisfied. As long as you join Shadow, youll immediately become an elder of the Guild. Moreover, our Guild has a large backing behind us, and we have plenty of funding, so we can temporarily set your annual salary at one million Credits. In addition, well give you 10% of Shadows shares. I think you should know the value of Guild shares, right? As long as Shadow rises to glory in the future, this 10% will far exceed tens of millions of Credits. No other Guild can offer you this kind of treatment, Ling Feilong explained, very satisfied with himself. His words even moved his own heart. That was 10% of the Guilds shares! Right now, all of the Guilds out there only offered high annual salaries when recruiting an expert; none of them would willingly hand over a portion of the Guilds shares. Along with a Guilds growth, the value of its shares would continuously rise. In addition to Gods Domains growth potential, if Shadow properly developed as time went on, this 10% could represent billions of Credits or more. Hence, all the large Guilds would not simply offer their shares, and instead, choose the wise decision of offering a static salary. Whos making this promise? Shi Feng was slightly bewildered. He did not think that Shadow would be so decisive in their actions. In Shi Fengs previous life, although he was the Guild Leader of Shadow, he did not possess any shares of the Guild. However, Shi Feng had only recently become the Guild Leader at that time, so he did put too much thought into the matter. In the end, the Guild kicked him out. One could say that the shares of a Guild were the true proof of ones authority. If Shi Feng had 10% of the Guilds shares at that time, Lan Hailong would not have dared to casually expel him from the Guild and sever all connections with him. Our Guild Leader made this promise. Of course, with your strength, the position of Guild Leader will doubtlessly be yours in the future, Ling Feilong unwaveringly started flattering Shi Feng. Oh? Very well, Shi Feng calmly laughed. He then, with a tone as cold as ice, arrogantly said, Return and tell your Guild Leader this; if you want me to join Shadow, then I want 60% of the Guilds shares and the position of Guild Leader. Otherwise, theres no deal. Finished speaking, Shi Feng disconnected the call. Of course, he only said those words as a joke to toy with Ling Feilong. Even if Shadow were willing to hand over 100% of its shares, Shi Feng would still reject the offer without hesitation. He swore that would never again wear the hateful name of Shadow. He simply said those words because he knew that Ling Feilong, Zhang Luowei, and Lan Hailong could never truly agree to such a request. After all, with 60% of the Guilds shares, Shi Feng would become the head honcho of Shadow; his word would be final. Whether it was Zhang Luowei or Lan Hailong, neither could endure being a subordinate of someone else. Such a domineering tone! No wonder he could force Martial Union, who is even stronger than Shadow, to take a huge loss. Unfortunately, he isnt a broad-minded person. If he had accepted the offer, based on the strength he possessed, he could have easily become the Shadows true boss in the future if he wanted to. Although Ling Feilong admired Shi Feng, he sneered disdainfully as he determined Shi Feng to be a boorish fellow. Yet, without a backer to rely on, it was impossible for Ling Feilong to climb further up the ranks of Shadow. Zhang Luowei trusted Zhou Yuhu much more than Ling Feilong. Ling Feilong was simply an elite member of the Guild in Zhang Luoweis eyes. So, it was imperative that Ling Feilong looked for a reliable backer. Meanwhile, a boor like Shi Feng couldnt be a better backer. Although 60% of the total shares seemed a little high, if Ling Feilong expended a lot of effort, it was not an impossible number to accomplish. It seems that Ill have to rearrange his words before reporting back to Brother Zhang and Brother Lan. At this moment, Shi Feng would have never imagined that his casual remark meant to anger Lan Hailong and Zhang Luowei would become Ling Feilongs new goal. \--- Inside the Flame Gods Cave, Shi Feng took out one of the Flaming Sun Scriptures from his bag. He then opened the book, reading the incantations inside. All of a sudden, the Flaming Sun Scripture ignited, emitting dazzling golden flames. As if the fire-type mana within the Flame Gods Cave had transformed into soldiers, it all charged towards the golden flame, submitting to it. The golden flame was like an emperor among flames. In reality, it wasnt just the fire-type mana that was affected. Even Shi Fengs Ice-Blue Devil Flame felt restless, giving off the notion of submission. _Just what kind of flame is it?_ Shi Feng looked at the bundle of golden flame; his heart filled with curiosity. _To cause even the Tier 2 Ice-Blue Devil Flame to submit,_ _if this flame had a rank,_ _I wonder what tier it belonged to? It should be at least Tier 3, possibly Tier 4._ If Shi Feng could absorb this bundle of golden flame, his strength might rise to a whole new level. Unfortunately, this flame was not a Mysterious Flame, so Shi Feng had no way of absorbing it. After a minute passed, the golden flame sank into Shi Fengs body after it absorbed a sufficient amount of fire-type mana. Instantly, a new status effect appeared on Shi Fengs status bar. [Flaming Suns Blessing] Increases Fire Resistance by 100 points and reduces damage from fire-type attacks by 90%. All fire-type damage received has a 20% chance to recover an equivalent amount of HP. Damage dealt towards fire-type monsters increased by 100%. Duration of two hours. Effective only within the Flame Gods Cave. In reality, the Flaming Sun Scriptures original purpose was simply for the convenience of players when grinding in a hot environment. However, when used inside the Flame Gods Cave, where the density of fire-type mana was extremely high, its effects increased by manyfold. Hence why the Ranger in Shi Fengs previous life was able to solo the Elite monsters and Chieftain ranked Bosses here. To begin with, Shi Feng already had 20 points of Fire Resistance. Now that he gained an additional 100 points, normal fire attacks would only be an itch to him. Not to mention, there was also the 90% damage reduction to fire-type attacks. This increase was just too awesome. With the Flaming Suns Blessing, Shi Feng boldly advanced deeper into the Flame Gods Cave. There were multiple pathways in the Flame Gods Cave, and it was extremely spacious. Players could easily get lost in the cave. This, however, was not a problem for Shi Feng. The Flame Gods Cave was like his own backyard, and very quickly, he located a lone Level 25 Lava Hound lying on solidified, blackened lava. [Lava Hound] (Common Monster) Level 25 HP 5,400/5,400 The Lava Hound was several sizes larger compared to a normal lion. Its entire body emitted red flames; its skin was a dark yellow, and it had a pair of large, crimson eyes. Detecting Shi Fengs presence, the Lava Hound abruptly stood; its blood-red eyes glared at Shi Feng as it let out a low, angry growl. The Lava Hounds sharp claws easily shattered a chunk of charred rock. Just as Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and Silver Lake, the Lava Hound spat a mouthful of flames at Shi Feng. Without holding anything back, Shi Feng activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, covering his entire body with a deep-blue flame. He then charged at the ball of flames head-on. The Lava Hounds attack could originally devour close to half of the HP of an MT of the same level. However, when struck Shi Feng, the attack merely caused around -10 points of damage. The damage the Lava Hounds attack dealt was even less than the attacks of a Level 10 Common monster. _As expected, with 120 points of Fire Resistance, my resistance has reached extraordinary levels._ Finished experimenting with his durability, Shi Feng arrived in front of the Lava Hound and sent a Chop slashing at its nape, drawing a pool of piping-hot blood. A damage of -345 points appeared above the Lava Hounds head. The damage was barely within Shi Fengs acceptable range. Moreover, due to the Lava Hound being 11 Levels higher than himself, Shi Fengs Skill Proficiency also soared with lightning speed. Every usage netted him 3 Proficiency points. Although the Lava Hound was powerful, Shi Feng only needed to take note of its AOE skills like the Flame Breath and Flame Explosion. Without the threat of these powerful skills, Shi Feng only needed to deal with the Lava Hounds sharp claws. With Shi Fengs extraordinary evasive techniques, in addition to his very high Agility, he could easily dodge the attacks from the Lava Hounds sharp claws. Before even a minute had passed, Shi Feng had killed the Level 25 Lava Hound, the monster leaving behind a Flame Crystal and several Copper Coins after it died. System: Level 25 Lava Hound killed. Level difference of 11. EXP obtained increased by 1,100%. Obtained 16,500 EXP. 202 Scorching Lamia Within the brightly lit Flame Gods Cave, Shi Feng advanced further into the cave relentlessly. The Lava Hound he previously killed had raised his Skill Proficiencies by quite a bit. However, that was it. In contrast, the EXP the Level 25 Lava Hound gave was much less. However, this was not strange. After all, the monsters within the Flame Gods Cave had both high Attack Power and HP but gave out very little EXP. Under normal circumstances, average players would not grind here at all. However, it was a different story once players had the Flaming Sun Scripture. With it, they could easily deal with the monsters in the Flame Gods Cave. Moreover, the monsters here dropped Flame Crystals. Flame Crystals were the main materials used for crafting Basic Fire Resistance Potions. By the time the majority of players reached levels between 20 to 30, they would discover that most Party and Team Dungeons required a high Fire Resistance. Otherwise, they would have no way of raiding these Dungeons. The Level 25 large-scale Team Dungeon, the Flame Nest, for example; without Basic Fire Resistance Potions, players would have absolutely no way of conquering it. Yet, this Team Dungeon had loads of good equipment and items in it. Moreover, out of all the Level 25 Dungeons, the Flame Nest gave out the most Guild Reputation. Most importantly, there was a very small chance for players to obtain a Guild Mine Certificate and Guild Medicine Garden Certificate from the Dungeon. These were both items that could allow a Guild to develop itself further. Normally, only Guilds with their own Guild Residence would be considered true Guilds. Meanwhile, players could establish certain constructs within the Guild Residence to further aid in the Guilds development. Among these facilities, two of the most important constructs were the Medicine Garden and Mine. These two constructs could provide the Guild with a fixed amount of herbs and ore on a daily basis, and it could greatly reduce the Guilds burden. It could also allow Potionmakers and Forgers to have sufficient resources to increase their Lifestyle Skill Proficiencies. Hence, as long as it was a Guild that possessed their own Guild Residence, they would unhesitatingly raid the Flame Nest regardless of the price they had to pay to obtain these two certificates. As such, plenty of Guilds had tried to raid the Flame Nest when their players reached between 20 and 30 Levels, causing the Basic Fire Resistance Potion to become a high-demand product. Even until now, Shi Feng had remembered that the Basic Fire Resistance Potions at that time had sold for 50 Silver Coins per bottle. Meanwhile, a single Flame Crystal sold for 15 Silver Coins. Thus, even at the cost of three to four Gold Coins, players would willingly purchase the Flaming Sun Scripture. After all, they could easily obtain 25 to 30 Flame Crystals by grinding the Flame Gods Cave for two hours. In the Flame Gods Cave, a Common ranked Lava Hound had a 3% chance of dropping a Flame Crystal, three times higher than the drop rate of fire-type monsters outside. Meanwhile, the Level 25 Elite monsters in the Flame Gods Cave had a 100% chance to drop one Flame Crystal and a 10% chance to drop two Flame Crystals. Of course, these monsters would also drop equipment. As for Level 25 Special Elites, they had a 100% chance of dropping two Flame Crystals, a 20% chance to drop four Flame Crystals, and a 10% chance to drop five to seven Flame Crystals. Level 25 Chieftain Bosses were even more rewarding. They had a 100% chance to drop 10 Flame Crystals, a 30% chance to drop 13 pieces of Flame Crystals, and 20% chance to drop 20 to 25 Flame Crystals. Players could easily earn up to 2 Gold Coins by killing a single Chieftain Boss. Not to mention, these Bosses also dropped equipment and tools. Shi Feng continuously killed lone Level 25 Lava Hounds as he advanced further into the depths of the Flame Gods Cave. Even when he met two Lava Hounds at the same time, he still easily dealt with them. Only, more time was necessary. The Flame Breath of the Lava Hounds could be easily dodged. Players only needed to take note of the Lava Hounds throat. When its throat glowed and gave off the color of fire, it was about to spit out flames. However, the damage of this move was only a small matter to Shi Feng; it dealt about only -100 damage in total to Shi Feng. As for the Lava Hounds other skill, Flame Explosion, it could cause extremely high flame damage to all enemies within an 8-yard radius. Without 120 points in Fire Resistance and 90% damage reduction to fire-type attacks, MTs of the same level would instantly lose three-fourths of their HP to this single attack. However, the Lava Hounds actions were obvious before it would cast this skill. It would raise its claws high, then slam them on the ground, creating an explosion of flames. However, the skills effective range was wide, making it extremely hard to avoid. It was practically a sure-hit skill. Fortunately, Shi Fengs Fire Resistance was extremely high, and he would, at most, receive around -100 damage from the Lava Hounds Flame Explosion. Shi Feng had over 1,800 HP, so this damage was not significant. Another hour or so passed by, and Shi Feng finally arrived at the core area of the Flame Gods Cave. On his way here, Shi Feng had killed many Lava Hounds, and due to the Luck +3 provided by the Shadows Blessing he wore, he obtained a bountiful number of Flame Crystals. He could get one Flame Crystal for every half a dozen or so Lava Hounds he killed. Throughout his journey, Shi Feng had killed over 40 Lava Hounds, and obtained a total of eight Flame Crystals. His experience had also risen to 37% of Level 14; his leveling speed could already be described as flying. His skills, Chop, Thundering Flash, and Thunder Flame Explosion, also rose to Level 7, Level 5, and Level 3 respectively. If including the upgrade provided by the Abyssal Blade, these skills would be Level 10, Level 8, and Level 6 respectively. These improvements had pushed Shi Fengs damage output to a whole new level once more. Unfortunately, the Lava Hounds Shi Feng killed did not drop any equipment; the same went for the Forging Designs that Shi Feng most desired. The core area Shi Feng had reached was a large, empty lava field; molten lava flowed throughout the surroundings. At the highest point of the empty field sat plenty of bright crystals reflecting the glow of the lava into the surroundings, illuminating the spacious and empty field. The cooled accumulation of lava formed the land here. This place was more like a swamp than a durable stone road, and players would find it very hard to transverse across this lava field. A single misstep would instantly lead to players fall into a pit of molten lava. If players did not possess a definite control over their own bodies, they would find themselves at a serious disadvantage when battling here. Meanwhile, on the empty land a short distance away, Shi Feng discovered plenty of Level 25 Elite Flame Naga silently guarding. Occasionally, he could also spot a few Level 25 Special Elite Flame Naga Warriors. Compared to the Lava Hound, these monsters possessed much more intelligence. Aside from attacking with flames, they could also deal a substantial amount of physical damage. These monsters also had exceptionally fast reactions, especially the Flame Naga Warriors. These warriors wore armor and wielded a shield in one of their hands. They were practically Shield Warriors, and players would find them extremely difficult to deal with. [Flame Naga] (Elite Rank) Level 25 HP 20,000/20,000 [Flame Naga Warrior] (Special Elite) Level 25 HP 50,000/50,000 Soon after, Shi Feng lifted his head and shifted his gaze towards the distant central region of this lava field. Due to the long distance, Shi Feng had to squint and focus his eyes for quite some time. Only after activating his Extraordinary Vision could he discover a beautiful figure laying atop a stone altar. That was a Lamia. Unlike her Naga brethren, who possessed the heads and faces of a snake, although the lower half of this Lamia body was a snakes tail, her upper body was that of a humans. This Lamia possessed beauty that even women would envy. Her eyes were like red gemstones, giving off a dazzling glow. Her lustrous and seductive black hair was tied into twin ponytails. Exposed to the light of the flames, her delicate white skin shone like supple white jade. The most attractive parts of this Lamia were her elegant temperament and her exotic beauty. The bright silken blouse she wore was especially eye-catching, as it served to accentuate her delicate body and ample breasts further. Just a glance at this Lamia would easily captivate any intruder. It was truly hard to imagine that this delicate and beautiful Lamia was the Scorching Lamia Cela, the Level 25 High Lord ranked Boss of the Flame Gods Cave. Sure enough, the benefits of pioneering a new land are plentiful; I have already found a High Lord rank on this first trip. In Shi Fengs previous life, most of the Bosses Shi Feng had met were Chieftain rank, and only rarely could he meet a Lord ranked Boss. Only with superb luck could one find a Lord ranked Boss. Shi Fengs eyes shone as he gazed at Scorching Lamia Celas attractive appearance; his breathing became slightly hurried. He also grew excited, a never-before-seen resplendent smile appearing on his calm face. Of course, Shi Feng wasnt captivated by Celas beauty, but the bountiful wealth that a High Lord ranked Boss represented. Not to mention, Cela was the High Lord of the Flame Gods Cave. If he could kill her, he wondered just how much EXP and high-level items and equipment he could obtain. If Blackie and the others knew Shi Fengs current thoughts and appearance, they would definitely curse Shi Feng for being inhuman. Not sparing even a weak and delicate Lamia, Shi Feng was practically a beast... 203 Scorching Hear Molten lava slowly flowed across the vast, empty field. Meanwhile, the Scorching Lamia Cela paid no particular attention to the intruder, Shi Feng. She simply swished her tail, slithering to a pool of lava. With a splash, Cela dove straight into the scorching pool, frolicking with a content expression. If a normal player copied Celas actions and jumped into the lava pool, they could lose their lives in a given minute. Even if they activated the Flaming Suns Blessing and received an additional 100 points to their Fire Resistance, they would still lose 300 HP every second they submerged in the lava pool. Taking a good, long look, Shi Feng finally decided upon a plan. [Scorching Lamia Cela] (High Lord Rank) Level 25 HP 500,000/500,000 A Lord ranked Boss was not as easy to deal with as a Chieftain ranked Boss. If it were a Level 25 Lord ranked Boss, not to mention a 20-man elite team, even a 100-man elite-team would still die at the Bosss hands. A Lord ranked Boss was simply too powerful. The only way to kill these Bosses was to gather thousands of players and use the advantage of numbers to exhaust these Bosses to death slowly. Other than that, there was no other way around it. Meanwhile, the Scorching Lamia, who bathed in the lava pool, was even more intimidating than a normal Lord ranked Boss. Without the Flaming Sun Scripture, even thousands of players would have zero chances of defeating Cela. On the other hand, Shi Feng had a method of dealing with the Scorching Lamia. However, he first needed to clear out the surrounding Elite and Special Elite monsters. Otherwise, he would be similarly helpless against the Scorching Lamia. _Lets first lure them slowly and clear them, bit by bit._ Shi Feng then randomly looked for a solitary Flame Naga, boldly walking over to it. He did not intend to use any special means to lure these monsters. As Shi Feng was only Level 14 right now, when faced with Level 25 elites, these Elites would all charge at him in a craze as long as he came within 40 yards. Hence, he still needed to apply some techniques to lure only one Flame Naga. Be it a snake-type monster or a Naga, both were innately born with exceptional hearing. Hence, players needed to be light on their feet when approaching these Naga. If players made even the tiniest disturbance, they would find only their own deaths. Shi Feng walked with a strong and steady pace atop the soft and unstable ground, and with relative ease, he attracted the attention of a Flame Naga. Immediately, Shi Feng watched as the Flame Naga charged at him like a madman. Come, come! Seeing that the Naga had taken the bait, Shi Feng faintly smiled as he spun around and ran towards a distant rock cliff. The Flame Naga was well versed in close combat. Meanwhile, its only ranged attack was the Raging Flame Roar, and it belonged to the category of channeling spells. The skill had an effective area of 40*4 yards, and it needed 3 seconds to channel the skill fully. However, this skill did not pose any threat to Shi Feng. On the contrary, melee combat with the Flame Naga was much more difficult. As the chase continued, although the Flame Naga was fast, Shi Feng was not any slower than it either. The moment Shi Feng arrived in front the rock cliff, with no further paths of retreat remaining, Shi Feng started climbing up the extremely steep cliff with great ease. When he arrived at the top of the cliff, he stuck out his tongue at the creature as he silently looked down at the Flame Naga. The Flame Naga was further incensed by Shi Fengs blatant provocation, and it, too, started frantically climbing the cliff. Although Shi Feng was not a ranged class, and he could not kite the Flame Naga, melee battle the Flame Naga was simply too dangerous. If Shi Feng was slightly careless, the Flame Naga could kill him with just two moves. Hence, Shi Feng intended to fight from a range. Seeing that the Flame Naga was about to climb the cliff, Shi Feng took out a Basic Frost Grenade from his bag. He then threw it at the Flame Naga. _Peng!_ Ice fragments scattered, and cold air spread out to the surroundings. The Flame Naga instantly froze. Due to the Flame Nagas fear of the cold, the Basic Frost Grenade managed to deal -300 damage to it. However, the Flame Naga possessed 20,000 HP, so this small amount of damage barely made a scratch. Frozen halfway through its climb up the rock cliff, the Flame Nagas immobile body fell. Two stones, protruding from the rock wall, halted the serpentine beast''s fall, sandwiching the Flame Naga''s body between the rocks as it hung halfway up the cliff. Be it attacking or dodging, the Flame Naga would find it extremely challenging to do either from its current position. It could not even carry out the simple action of turning its own body right now. Shi Feng smiled at this sight. He jumped down from his elevated position, landing on one of the stones trapping his opponent. He then started attacking the Flame Naga from behind. It was extremely easy to kill a Flame Naga that had zero means of retaliating. Shi Feng sent a Level 10 Chop slashing at the Flame Nagas back, earning him a scream of pain coupled with a damage of -168 above the monsters head. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that a Level 25 Elite was truly amazing. With the level suppression, in addition to the Flame Nagas superior Defense, his attack could not even deal -200 damage even with the damage multiplier from the Flaming Sun Scripture. Immediately after, Shi Feng followed up with Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter, Double Chop, and Thunder Flame Explosion. A series of damages appeared above the Flame Nagas head. However, even with the damage amplification effect inflicted by Thundering Flash, the highest damage Shi Feng had dealt with a single attack was barely over -200 points. Though there was the occasional critical hit of over -400 damage, the Flame Naga had a total of 20,000 HP. Aside from Shi Fengs skills being capable of causing more than -100 damage to the Flame Naga, his normal attacks could not deal over -50 damage. Moreover, Shi Feng had activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flames effect before his attacks. Seeing as the freezing effect was about to end, Shi Feng threw another Basic Frost Grenade at the Flame Naga, freezing his target once more. He then resumed his barrage of attacks. Although the Flame Naga had relatively fast regeneration, neither was the damage Shi Feng was causing to it a small amount. Two minutes later, the Flame Nagas HP finally fell to 20%. Simultaneously, the Flame Naga released a fierce roar. Flames covered its entire body, and shortly after, its body started trembling. Shi Feng had long since been prepared for it. Immediately, he hid behind the corner of a rock. _Boom!_ Countless flying flame-blades shot out from the Flame Nagas body. These flame blades were the beasts scales, and their appearance signaled its ultimate move, Flame Bullets. The damage these Flame Bullets dealt was a combination of physical and fire-type damage. With Shi Fengs current HP that was slightly over 1,800 points, these bullets could instantly send him into a critical condition. However, with the iron-like rock blocking these blades for him, Shi Feng received no damage at all. After the waves of Flame Bullets ended, Shi Feng threw out another Frost Grenade before resuming his attack. In the end, Shi Feng killed the Level 25 Flame Naga with relative ease. The instant the Flame Naga died, Shi Fengs experience bar increased by a small portion. Shi Feng was already Level 14, and he needed an extremely large amount of EXP to reach Level 15. His experience bar rising by a noticeable chunk showed just how bountiful the EXP the Flame Naga provided was. The Flame Naga also dropped two Flame Crystals, one Bronze Ornament, and tens of Copper Coins. Ornaments were the rarest of all equipment. Compared to jewelry such as rings and necklaces, ornaments were far more valuable. In Gods Domain, every player could equip three ornaments at most. As of this moment, however, Shi Fengs ornament window was still a big, empty space. He truly did not imagine that he would inadvertently obtain a Bronze Ornament. His luck was simply too good. [Scorching Heart] (Ornament, Bronze Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 80 Strength +10, Agility +10, Endurance +10 Fire Resistance +3 Can be activated to cast a Tier 2 Flame Shield that can absorb a maximum of 1,000 flame damage. Although this ornament did not offer a large increase to his Attributes, ornaments that could increase ones resistances were extremely rare. Every such ornament was valued at 6 Gold Coins or more. This is too great! Im now Level 14, and I have 114 points in Strength and 131 points in Agility. If I equip this Scorching Heart, it will increase both my Strength and Agility by 10 points, just enough for me to meet the requirements of 120 points in Strength and 140 points in Agility for the Blazing Meteor! Shi Feng was ecstatic as he held the flame-red-colored Scorching Heart. Shi Feng did not think that he could equip the Pseudo-extraordinary Weapon within such a short period after obtaining it. If he could equip the Blazing Meteor right now, his strength would definitely receive an explosive increase. He might even reach the standards of an official Tier 1 Swordsman. 204 Battle Prowess of a Tier 1 If he could increase his strength to the standards of a Tier 1 Swordsman, he could easily deal with the High Lord ranked Scorching Lamia. The Scorching Lamia had 500,000 HP. Possessing the superior battle recovery of a High Lord ranked Boss, the Scorching Lamia could recover 10,000 HP every five seconds. If players did not possess a DPS[1] of 2,000, Cela was, essentially, invincible. This was one the reasons even an elite team of hundreds of players could not exhaust a High Lord to death. Not to mention, the Scorching Lamia possessed frightening attacks and overly powerful skills. If players wanted to raid Cela head-on, it would be no different than seeking their own deaths even with a team of thousands of players. However, it would be a different story if they possessed the Flaming Sun Scripture. Previously, before Shi Feng obtained the Scorching Heart, he had close to no confidence of successfully soloing the Scorching Lamia. He merely thought of giving it a try. In any case, he would not incur a huge loss. However, he now had some confidence in actually killing Cela. Although Shi Feng had never experienced the might of a Pseudo-extraordinary Weapon, according to Shi Fengs estimates, it should grant him the strength of an official Tier 1 Swordsman. Immediately, Shi Feng retrieved the Pseudo-extraordinary Weapon, the Blazing Meteor, from his bag, equipping it on himself. [Blazing Meteor] (Throwing Weapon, Dark-Gold Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 120, Agility 140 Attack Power (Value is set at Players Strength*2) Strength +50, Agility +65, Endurance +10 Attack Speed +5 Maximum throwing distance: 45 yards Ignore Levels +8 Attack Speed increased by 15% When attacking: 35% chance to ignore targets Defense. 30% chance to activate Quadruple Phantom effect, each phantom causing 50% flame damage. 10% chance to activate Knockback effect. 5% chance to activate Burning Flames effect, dealing 200 flame damage to the target every second for 10 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times. Additional Skill: Flame Gods Fury. Deals physical and flame damage to enemies within a 40*3 yard area. Deals 900% damage to the initial target, and damage reduces by 10% with each consecutive enemy hit to a minimum of 500% damage. Cooldown: 3 minutes The Blazing Meteor was forged by the Grandmaster Forger, Seliora. Due to the limit of its materials, it is only a Pseudo-extraordinary item possessing strength at the very limit of mortal men. The Blazing Meteor can be reforged into an Epic Ranked item after gathering Epic ranked fire-type materials. User restriction: Ye Feng Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. After equipping it, Shi Fengs Attributes instantly soared. His Strength reached 174 points, while Agility reached 206 points. He was only a few Attribute points away from being able to equip the Fragmented-Legendary ranked item, the Heavenly Dragons Breath, which required 200 points in Strength and 120 points in Intelligence. With the improvements provided by the Pseudo-extraordinary Weapon, Shi Fengs Attack Power with throwing weapons increased to 696 points, while his melee Attack Power with his right and left hand were 444 and 426 respectively. The base damage for his ranged attacks far surpassed his melee attacks. In addition, due to the Blazing Meteor ignoring +8 Levels, Shi Feng would no longer face any level suppressions, which would greatly reduce his damage, when dealing with Level 25 monsters. As Shi Fengs Agility Attribute reached 200 points, he once again activated one of the Hidden Passive Skills, Basic Disappearance. The passive skill increased Shi Fengs Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 20% and greatly decreased his stamina consumption during a battle. When he tread water, he could travel a distance of 10 yards with a single leap. His evasion also increased by 10%. With such a boost, Shi Fengs confidence increased once more. I can start clearing the place now, Shi Feng shifted his gaze towards the distant Elites and Special Elites. Since his ranged attacks were more impressive than his melee attacks now, he would naturally avoid using his previous, inefficient battle techniques. He could simply copy the Ranger in his previous life, using the basic kiting method to kill these Naga. That way, not only would the battle be swift, but he could also guarantee his own safety. At a spot 43 yards away, two Level 25 Elite Flame Naga and one Special Elite Flame Naga Warrior currently conversed with each other in soft tones. None of them had noticed Shi Fengs presence. In contrast, Shi Feng, currently covered in deep-blue flames, retrieved the flame-red, thin, needle-like Blazing Meteor from his waist. He aimed the Blazing Meteor at the Flame Naga Warrior standing between the other two Flame Naga, initiating his attack. _Xiu!_ The Blazing Meteor shot through the air, transforming into a meteor and instantly piercing the Flame Naga Warriors forehead. Simultaneously, the Ignore Targets Defense effect and Quadruple Phantom effect both triggered upon impact. Before that Flame Naga Warrior could even manage a scream, -1526, -758, -758, -758, -758 appeared above its head. Even Shi Feng dared not believe his own eyes right now. Although he had the support of the Flaming Sun Scripture, the might of this single attack was still too powerful. A single, normal attack had destroyed over 4,500 HP from the Flame Naga Warrior, which was close to one-tenth of the Special Elite monsters total HP. Shi Feng only needed to repeat this attack 11 more times to kill a Level 25 Special Elite. In the entire Gods Domain, aside from Shi Feng, there might not be a second person capable of carrying out such a feat. Replying to Shi Fengs brutal attack, the three Naga released angry roars. They revealed sinister expressions as they charged towards Shi Feng, gradually splitting from the main force of the Naga. When the distance between the three Naga and Shi Feng had shortened 20 yards, Shi Feng threw a Basic Frost Grenade at them. The three Naga immediately froze in place, damages of -300 appearing above their heads. Holding nothing back, Shi Feng threw the Blazing Meteor at the three Naga relentlessly. The Blazing Meteors effects constantly triggered, each attack dealing over -1,000 damage, while the occasional critical hit dealt over -2,000 damage. The three Naga were helpless. They could only attack Shi Feng using fire-type spells. However, Shi Feng always managed to predict the location of their attacks, so he could dodge the attacks beforehand, never letting any of the spells land on him. Before even two minutes had passed, the two Elite and one Special Elite monster died. They contributed a large amount of EXP and multiple Flame Crystals to Shi Feng. Possibly due to the Shadows Blessings effect, the Special Elite Naga even dropped a Level 22 Mysterious-Iron ranked plate armor. Afterwards, Shi Feng repeated this process of luring and killing the Elite and Special Elite Naga. Although the process was mind-bogglingly boring, the fatigue on his spirit lessened greatly when Shi Feng thought about the Flame Crystals and the various Level 20 to Level 25 equipment he could obtain. \--- Unknowingly, more than four hours had passed. Shi Feng had cleared out practically all of the Naga present in this lava field. Shi Feng had also risen to Level 15, and he was only a tad bit away from Level 16. While Shi Feng rested, he opened the Ranking List for White River City. Right now, the first place on the Ranking List was occupied by a Level 13 player. Shi Feng could not help his shock at this sight. How could there be someone leveling so quickly? Not much time had passed since players outside of Shi Fengs team had entered White River City. Logically, it would already be amazing for players to reach Level 11. Yet, there was actually someone that had reached Level 13? Was this person hunting monsters of a higher level as well? Shi Fengs mouth twitched when he saw the name of this first-ranked player Lone Tyrant. _Who was this person? How come Ive never heard this name before?_ Meanwhile, the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, occupied the second place on the Ranking List; she was Level 12 right now. Following closely, another Level 12 player possessed the third rank., and Level 12 players occupied the remaining top then ranks. This situation confounded Shi Feng. This leveling speed far surpassed his expectations. _Could this be due to the butterfly effect?_ Shi Fengwondered. Although players leveling speed would indeed increase after entering White River City, it shouldnt increase to such a degree. Meanwhile, the eleventh to fiftieth-ranked players on the Ranking List were all Level 11. Reaching this level was still reasonable. If these players were all Level 12 or 13, Shi Feng would truly be speechless. Although the first ranked player had already reached Level 13, that player could not even reach Shi Fengs shadow. If other players discovered this fact, they would definitely be shocked. After Shi Feng reached Level 15, he had placed all his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence. He had done so to meet the requirements of the Heavenly Dragons Breath as soon as possible. However, the points he added were only a drop in the bucket. It should be about time to deal with you now. After recovering to perfect condition, Shi Feng abruptly stood. He looked at the Scorching Lamia still lounging in the pool of lava, a faint smile appearing on his face. * * * TL Notes: [1] DPS: Stands for Damage Per Second 205 Queens Rage Just when Shi Feng contemplated raiding the delicate and weak-looking Scorching Lamia, the entire White River City region flew into an uproar. The cause was no other than the White River City regions Ranking List. A Level 13 player actually held the first place. What is this? Ive only managed to reach Level 10 and enter White River City after much difficulty, yet, there is already a Level 13 player? What did this bastard eat growing up? I know, right? That Lone Tyrant fellow previously ranked in the tens, but he had suddenly shot up to first place, surpassing even the Snow Goddess! Lone Tyrant is from a Guild called Dark Star. Isnt that a third-rate Guild? How could they be so strong as to surpass the Snow Goddess? The official forums were already in a fiery uproar over this matter, and the previous issue relating to Shi Feng had become forgotten history. \--- Inside the Level 10, 10-man Team Dungeon, the Dark Crow Cave. A Black-feathered Crow with a six-meter tall body lay motionless on the ground, a pile of items sitting by its side. Among these items, there were pieces of Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. There were even two Secret-Silver ranked items and a large number of rare materials. Meanwhile, standing beside this Black-feathered Crow was a fairy. This fairy possessed skin as white as snow and an appearance that could charm any mortal man. Her body was the very definition of absolute perfection. However, this fairys eyes possessed a penetrating gaze with a boundless and intimidating chill. This woman who seemed to transcend mortal men was none other than Gentle Snow. System: Ouroboros has cleared the Hard Mode of Black Crow Cave. Rewarding 300 Guild Reputation. Snow, someones reached Level 13 already. Theyre a lot faster than we are. Why dont we stop Dungeon-diving and resume leveling up? possessing a similarly devilish body, Zhao Yueru pouted as she spoke, displeased. After going to a Level 12 monster area while they were only Level 9, they quickly discovered that they could constantly improve their battle prowess. Although it was extremely difficult to kill those monsters, in the beginning, they rose swiftly after experiencing many near-death situations and long periods of research and self-reflection. With their battle techniques having greatly improved, they felt that killing monsters three levels higher was no longer just a pipe dream. They also felt that they could achieve the feats Shi Feng had displayed in the past, similarly obtaining an effortless victory over a great number of players. After arriving at White River City, they immediately picked up the Daily Reputation Quests. They then looked for an extremely good leveling spot, grinding there for a period. However, due to their equipment being slightly outdated, they decided to raid a Dungeon to upgrade their equipment, making preparations to obtain the First Clear of one of the Level 10 large-scale Team Dungeons. Otherwise, a player from a measly third-rate Guild wouldnt have surpassed them. Ignore him. Compared to Levels, the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon is far more important. Moreover, after exceeding Level 15, it wont matter, even if we manage to clear the Hell Mode of a Level 10 large-scale Team Dungeon. Our equipment should be close to ready now, so lets start with obtaining the First Clear of a Level 10 Party Dungeon. When Gentle Snow noticed Lone Tyrants name occupying the first position on the Ranking List, a calm smile appeared on her pure and untainted complexion. Gentle Snows team members revealed excited smiles when faced with Gentle Snows decision. They could finally display their prowess for all to see. After all, they had all been experts in the past virtual reality games. Throughout this period, they had constantly strived and battled against high-level monsters. During their breaks, they would research the videos of experts, especially Shi Fengs battle footage. Although the video was short, it held great significance. The more they studied Shi Fengs battle, the more shocked they became. Unknowingly, their own battle techniques also began to improve madly. To put it another way, they had started to familiarize themselves with the realistic battle methods of Gods Domain. Simultaneously, they had also grasped ahold of their bodys true strength. The Hard Mode of a Team Dungeon could not fully sate their thirst for growth. It was especially true after they familiarized themselves with their Extraordinary Condition. Right now, only Hell Mode could truly excite them. Just like when they were in the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard, they wished to experience the feeling of having every single cell within their bodies tremble. In the past, they believed that their trembling represented fear. In reality, however, that trembling resulted from the excitement that grew in their hearts. Meanwhile, the other large Guilds were similarly shocked by the sudden appearance of Lone Tyrant but quickly dismissed this matter from their minds. The average players, however, were astonished. This incident had allowed the apex third-rate Guild, Dark Star, to firmly established a foothold in White River City. Even the second-rate Guild, the Assassins Alliance, was a step behind them. None of the top ten players on the Ranking List belonged to the Assassins Alliance. Contrary to expectations, the Assassins Alliance had three members ranked within the top 30. One of them was the Guild Leader, ranking 18th. The second person was Stabbing Heart, who ranked 26th. Finally, the Assassins Alliances top Elementalist ranked at 29th. Yet, to the majority of the players within the White River City region, having such a rank was no different than having no rank at all. The fame of having such a rank was worlds apart from that of being in first place. \--- Flame Gods Cave. At this moment, Shi Feng had lured the Level 25 High Lord ranked Scorching Lamia to a corner absent of any lava. Half of the Celas amazing prowess relied on the presence of lava. Hence, by luring her away from the lava, the raid difficulty of the Scorching Lamia instantly reduced by half. However, even with such a reduction, Cela was still a High Lord ranked Boss. She was not something average players could afford to provoke. Kneel before me and receive your punishment of flames! the Scorching Lamias finger trembled, and suddenly, a whip of flames appeared from her finger. She then abruptly cracked her whip towards Shi Fengs skull. The flame whip transformed into a streak of flowing light as it swung towards Shi Fengs cranium. Queens Whip! This was the melee skill that the Scorching Lamia often used. If an MT of the same level did not possess the Flaming Suns Blessing, this single whip could instantly kill him. In addition, this skill was a wide-range AOE skill, and it had a maximum attack range of 25 yards. If players wished to use the advantage of numbers to deal with the Scorching Lamia, they would quickly find themselves cremated by her whip. After all, even an MT could not block this attack, let alone the other fragile classes. Faced with the incoming flame whip, Shi Feng sprung himself into the air and threw himself to the ground. Although he easily avoided the flame whip, the whips flaming trail still singed Shi Feng, dealing slightly over -70 damage. However, Shi Feng took this chance to pull quite a distance away from the Cela. He then jumped and twisted his body in the air, throwing the Blazing Meteor at the Scorching Lamia. A red glow shot forth, accurately piercing the left arm that the Scorching Lamia was about to lift. The attack activated the rarely seen Burning Flames effect, immediately causing -754 damage and inflicting a negative status effect that caused -400 flame damage per second for 10 seconds. Simultaneously, the attack also interrupted the rhythm of the Scorching Lamias next attack. Despicable human! I will capture you and make you my pet! Rage surfaced on the Celas beautiful face. Immediately, she swung her tail with all her might. Her speed abruptly soared, instantly shortening the distance between Shi Feng and herself. Almost Shi Feng took a look at the surrounding environment, abruptly halting his steps. He then turned to face the Scorching Lamia, throwing a Basic Frost Grenade at her. Hard, iron-like rocks surrounded their current location; not a single drop of lava was visible. This terrain would greatly limit the Scorching Lamias most powerful skill, Queens Rage. This skill allowed her to command the surrounding lava, transforming it into a wave that engulfed everything in its path. Even if Shi Feng had 123 points of Fire Resistance, he still couldnt endure this fierce move. The Queens Rage was the Scorching Lamias ultimate team-wipe skill. Aside from the Queens Rage, Shi Feng also needed to be careful of the arrows from the Scorching Snake Ladys bow, as this attack caused a combination of physical and flame damage. The Flaming Suns Blessing did not provide any physical damage reduction. Hence, Shi Feng could, at most, take two hits from her arrows before saying goodbye to his life. Hence, he needed to treat them with care. 206 High Lord Ranked Battle Due to the Frost Grenades effects, a layer of snow covered the black, charred land. Meanwhile, the Scorching Lamias tail had frozen to the ground; her motions halted as a result. A hint of fury surfaced on her beautiful countenance. She raised her right hand, pointing a finger at Shi Feng. Immediately, a large gathering of violent fire-type mana collected at her tender, jade-like finger. This was one of Celas skills, Flame Burst. Flame Burst had a 2-second cast time, and it was a continuous-attack skill that caused extremely high fire-type damage to the target. It could practically instant-kill a top-tier MT with full HP, and even if that MT possessed the Flaming Suns Blessing, he would still receive a ton of damage. Watching the flames gathering at the Scorching Lamias fingertip grow more violent, Shi Feng immediately activated Defensive Blade. His eyes focused on the ferocious flames, and the instant she launched her attack, Shi Feng simultaneously attacked with the Blazing Meteor. He intended to interrupt, or at least delay, the Scorching Lamias assault. In Gods Domain, players could dodge spell attacks. However, they needed an accurate grasp on the timing of the attack. Otherwise, whether dodging a second too late or too early, the attack might land on its target. As casting spells would provide the caster with a lagging advantage, the caster could gain a clear grasp of their targets movements before launching their attacks. If players dodged before the spell released, they would become an easier target. Hence, the best time to dodge a spell was the moment the spell was released. However, once a spell discharged, it would travel to its target with blinding speed, making it extremely challenging to dodge. Of course, if players had very fast Movement Speeds, they could utilize that speed to their advantage, preventing the enemy caster from getting a firm lock on them. When faced with the High Lord ranked Scorching Lamia, however, it was beneficial to have such thoughts. Shi Feng sent attack after attack with the Blazing Meteor, causing a series of damages of -743, -1,502, -751, and -749. Although the damages looked awesome at first glance, to Celas 500,000 HP, they were just a drop in the bucket. The Scorching Lamia also had a frightening battle recovery, so in reality, Shi Feng did not cause any significant damage to her at all. However, as he had triggered the Knockback effect of the Blazing Meteor, Shi Feng managed to interrupt the casting time of the Scorching Lamias Flame Burst. I will burn your soul with the flames of god! The Scorching Lamias smile was imposing. At this moment, the tip of her jade-like finger suddenly shone with a dazzling light, illuminating the entire cave. The temperature within the cave also increased by several folds. The light on Celas finger was like a miniature sun. Suddenly, streak after streak of searing, white flames shot out from the Scorching Lamias fingertip. One streak after another, the flames bombarded Shi Feng like a heavy machine gun. The instant Cela launched her flames, Shi Feng used his evasive maneuvers. However, he was still a step too late. In the blink of an eye, one of the flames struck him, robbing the Defensive Blade of one of its limited charges. Although the first streak hit its target, Shi Feng dodged both the second and third. The flames scraped past Shi Fengs clothes, striking the rock wall behind him. _Boom! Boom!_ The wall, which was normally as hard as steel, was as soft as water when struck by the white flames. Not to mention easily piercing through the rock wall, the flames even formed a one-meter-wide and ten-meter-deep tunnel into the rock wall. What was even more shocking was that the tunnel seemed polished. The walls of the tunnel were smooth and sparkling, giving it a metallic sheen. This was the result of those molten white flames. If Shi Feng had not used the Defensive Blade to block that attack, he would have evaporated out of existence. Although this was not the first time Shi Feng had encountered this attack, he would still feel his heart skip a beat each time he witnessed this frightening power. This was the strength of a High Lord. A battle with a High Lord ranked Boss was no ordinary battle. Instead, it was a superhuman battle that could cause the destruction and reformation of the surrounding terrain. When the bombardment ended, Shi Feng had exhausted the remaining charges on the Defensive Blade. However, the Scorching Lamia had halted her steps for quite a while now. Due to Shi Feng constantly throwing Frost Grenades at her, Cela could only take out her bow and attacked with her fire arrows. Compared to the Flame Burst, these fire arrows were much easier to dodge. Shi Feng managed to attack with the Blazing Meteor while simultaneously dodging the fire arrows, steadily depleting the Scorching Lamias HP. However, Cela was no fool. She, too, knew how to dodge. Only, due to her frozen body, very rarely did she manage to dodge or block against an attack. 98%... 95%... 93%... 91%... Over an hour had passed, and Shi Feng didnt even know how many times he had thrown the Blazing Meteor. In the meantime, the Scorching Lamias HP gradually decreased, finally reaching 80%. During this time, the Scorching Lamia had cast up to nine Flame Bursts and Queens Whips, but Shi Feng defended against all of them with either Defensive Blade or Parry. At one point, a Flame Burst nearly killed Shi Feng. Fortunately, he quickly used an Intermediate Recovery Potion, replenishing much of his missing HP. Although constantly attacking and dodging made the battle seem tedious, it would still be extremely worthwhile if such a tedious task allowed Shi Feng to kill a High Lord ranked Boss. A High Lord ranked Bosss drops were normally bountiful, and at the very minimum, it would drop a Fine-Gold ranked item. There was even the possibility of dropping several Dark-Gold ranked items. Fine-Gold rank or Dark-Gold rank, players at this stage of the game could only dream of possessing either. Not to mention, before Shi Feng had even reached Level 25, he already had a reliable source for Level 25 equipment. After landing attack after attack on the Scorching Lamia, the Burning Flames effect had stacked up to five times, causing Cela to lose 2,000 HP per second. The damage was just right to combat the Scorching Lamias battle recovery. Suddenly, the Scorching Lamias HP started rapidly decreasing. After another two hours, the Scorching Lamias HP fell to 23%. If Shi Feng continued with this pace, the battle would conclude in, at most, one hour. At that thought, Shi Fengs hands moved faster as he further increased his attack rate. At this moment, Shi Fengs system communication suddenly rang; the caller was Stabbing Heart of the Assassins Alliance. By now, Shi Feng had already gotten used to dodging Celas attacks after repeating the process so many times. Since he had nothing better to do, he accepted the call. Brother Ye Feng, I wonder if I can request your help on a matter? Stabbing Heart spoke without adding any unnecessary flattery, getting right to the point. However, he immediately felt surprised by his own actions in suddenly seeking Shi Fengs help. After all, an experts time was extremely valuable. Not to mention, the competition in White River City right now was far more intense than the competition in Red Leaf City in the past. After all, when all was said and done, Red Leaf Town only had a player base 20,000 to 30,000 in the past. Meanwhile, White River City had over a million players right now. Adding to the fact that plenty of experts had gathered at White River City, the intensity of the competition there had increased by several times. Help? I wonder what Brother Stabbing Heart needs me to do? Shi Feng asked. Its like this. I wish to invite you to raid a Team Dungeon with us. If we have the help of an expert like Brother Ye Feng, we will have a very high possibility of clearing the Dungeon. Stabbing Heart was clearly embarrassed for asking. Which Team Dungeon is it? Dont tell me that youre looking at one of the three Level 10 large-scale Dungeons? Shi Feng was slightly astonished. He did not think that Stabbing Heart would look to him for help with a Dungeon. Regarding the three large-scale Dungeons, Shi Feng had no intentions of involving himself with them. After all, it would have a huge impact on the course of history. His First Clear of Dark Moon Graveyard had already affected the progression of history. If he helped the Assassins Alliance obtain the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon, god knew if something out of his control would happen in the future. Large-scale Team Dungeons were worlds apart from normal Team Dungeons. Their difficulty was directly increased by two to three levels. Even if Shi Feng gave his help, with the current state of the Assassins Alliance, they could not even clear the Normal Mode of the Dungeon. 207 Killing the Queen Shi Feng did not want this timeline to develop out of his control. If Stabbing Heart really wanted to raid one of the three great Dungeons He could only sternly refuse. Stabbing Heart shook his head, faintly exclaiming, It isnt one of the three great Dungeons. It is just one of the 20-man Team Dungeons, the Beastman Munition Factory. That is a Level 10 to Level 13 Team Dungeon, and the equipment dropped there would be of great help to us when we raid the three large-scale Dungeons. Although weve already cleared the Normal Mode of that Dungeon, the Hard Mode is simply too difficult. We have been stuck at the first Boss all this time, so we wished to seek your aid. Shi Fengs heart was slightly moved when he heard of the words Beastman Munition Factory. That Dungeon did indeed possess a lot of valuable items, especially the Basic Fire Resistance Potion Recipe and the Level 10 Swordsman Set Equipment, Wind Extinguisher. It would not be a bad idea to make a trip there for these items. Fine, but I have a demand, Shi Feng said. Brother Ye Feng, there is no need to hold back! Stabbing Heart released a sigh of relief after hearing Shi Fengs agreement. He was deeply afraid that Shi Feng would refuse. I want all the Recipes and Forging Designs we obtain from the Dungeon. In addition, I want priority over all Swordsman equipment. If you can agree to these conditions, I will have no problem offering my assistance, Shi Feng listed his demands. Stabbing Heart carefully considered Shi Fengs words. If he were the one leading the team this time, he wouldnt hesitate to agree to Shi Fengs demands. However, the leader of the team this time was the Guild Leader of the Assassins Alliance, Cruel Sword. So, Stabbing Heart had no authority to make this decision. Brother Ye Feng, I have to consult with the Guild Leader about this matter. Can I give you a reply sometime later? Stabbing Heart said with less confidence. Sure. In any case, Shi Feng was not in a hurry. There was still some time before he could kill the Scorching Lamia. \--- After Stabbing Heart disconnected the call, he immediately went up to the Guild Leader, Cruel Sword. Cruel Sword was currently a short distance away, clearing the monsters in the Dungeon. Based on appearance alone, Cruel Sword looked very young, and his tall and robust body seemed full of energy. In actuality, he was already 39 years old. Normally, he wore a stern expression, and he would always look at others with an intimidating and penetrating gaze. His ferocious appearance was just like that of a warrior about to enter a battlefield. In fact, Cruel Sword was a mercenary in reality. However, he had long since retired from his squad. After his retirement, he joined the then-weak Assassins Alliance, and after enduring over ten years of hardships, he finally managed to turn the Assassins Alliance into an apex second-rate Guild, gaining plenty of support and sponsors from large corporations. How did your negotiations with him go? Cruel Sword turned his head and glanced at Stabbing Heart, asking sternly. Previously, the Assassins Alliance had been stuck at the first Boss of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory. Hence, Stabbing Heart suggested recruiting a god-ranked expert to help them. However, Cruel Sword felt that it was beneath him to do such a thing. _What god-ranked expert? Everyones just blindly overestimating him._ If it werent for the fact that Stabbing Heart had performed extremely well in recent days and been promoted to an elder of the Guild, Cruel Sword would not have let Stabbing Heart contact Shi Feng at all. He agrees to come, but he has a demand. He wants all of the Swordsman equipment and the Forging Designs and Recipes that drop. Stabbing Heart carefully said, However, I feel that Ye Feng is worth this price. After all, even the Snow Goddess greatly valued his performance. After listening to these words, Cruel Swords coarse eyebrows furrowed. He clearly felt dissatisfied about Shi Fengs demands. Boss Cruel Sword, Ye Feng is truly powerful. Without Shi Feng, the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, might not have even obtained the First Clear of the Dark Moon Graveyard, Stabbing Heart hurriedly said. Gentle Snow, is it? Cruel Swords resolve slightly wavered after hearing this name. Just half an hour ago, Gentle Snow had shocked all players throughout the entire White River City region, Cruel Blade included. Gentle Snow had taken down the First Clear of four Level 10 Party Dungeons and two Level 10 small-scale Team Dungeons. Moreover, it wasnt the First Clear of Hard Mode, but the First Clear of Hell Mode. Simultaneously, her achievements signified the gap between her and the other Guilds growing even larger. Moreover, Cruel Sword received information that Gentle Snow had already begun raiding the Hell Mode of a 20-man Team Dungeon. If Gentle Snow really succeeded... She would no longer occupy the same playing field as the other Guilds within the White River City region. It seems that Ye Feng indeed has some capabilities. Since that is the case, agree to his demands. Cruel Sword was very curious about Shi Feng now. He wondered if Shi Feng was truly as strong as Stabbing Heart described him. In truth, Cruel Sword did not want any outsiders participating in the Guilds expedition. However, the Assassins Alliances position in White River City was becoming more insignificant as time passed. Ignoring the first-rate Guild, Ouroboros, even the third-rate Guild, Dark Star, would soon surpass them. The severity of this matter further increased due to the sudden appearance of that Lone Tyrant, who occupied the first position on the Ranking List. Dark Star then continued to successfully raid the Hard Mode of two small-scale Team Dungeons, greatly increasing their fame and surpassing the other Guilds. On the other hand, aside from obtaining the First Clear of several Normal Mode Dungeons, the Assassins Alliance had yet to even obtain the First Clear of a single Hard Mode Dungeon. Hence, Cruel Sword had personally organized an elite team to raid the Beastman Munition Factory. He intended to take this chance to obtain the First Clear of a Hard Mode Dungeon, increasing the Guilds influence in White River City and ending the gossip of Assassins Alliances inferiority to Dark Star. Hearing Cruel Swords command, Stabbing Heart immediately contacted Shi Feng, excited. Brother Ye Feng, our Guild Leader has agreed to your demands. I wonder if you can come here immediately? Stabbing Heart asked. At this moment, Shi Feng still battled the Scorching Lamia, so how could he possibly leave now? Making a rough estimate, he said, I still have some matters to attend to right now. Ill need around two hours before I can hurry over. Alright, then lets meet up at the entrance of the Beastman Munition Factory in two hours. Although Stabbing Heart wanted Shi Feng to arrive as soon as possible, Stabbing Heart did not dare insist on the matter since Shi Feng had his own matters to attend. After all, it was already stunning that Shi Feng would willingly help them out. Alright. Ill be there in two hours. Shi Feng disconnected the call, resuming his barrage of attacks on Cela. Just after the Scorching Lamias HP fell below 20%, a change suddenly overcame her previously beautiful appearance. Crimson-red sacred runes suddenly appeared on her jade-white skin, releasing a frightening magic power. Moreover, her red gemstone-like eyes released a brilliant white light. Immediately, the Flame Gods Cave trembled. Cracks appeared on the ground, and very quickly, these cracks widened into large fissures that spewed molten magma. The lava formed a river as it moved and spread throughout the ground. This was the Scorching Lamias strongest skill. Queens Rage! Fortunately, Shi Feng had long since lured Cela to this location. Otherwise, the lava that spewed from the ground would not be limited to a single river; it would form a great ocean that could instantly turn tens of thousands of players into ashes, becoming fertilizer for this great piece of land. Immediately, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation. He jumped up into the air, and like a cannonball, he shot forth towards a rock wall some ten meters away, successfully avoiding the incoming surge of lava. Approximately half a minute passed before the lava fully receded. However, the land was still dyed a crimson-red, releasing piping-hot steam into the air and the surrounding environment. If an average player set foot on this land, they would lose at least 500 HP every second in the best case scenario. However, Shi Feng was different. He had 123 points in Fire Resistance, so he could completely ignore the grounds high temperature. After he landed, he immediately resumed his attacks on the Scorching Lamia. It was extremely exhausting for Cela to cast Queens Rage. So, after using the skill, she would enter a period of weakness. During this period, she would not have any Attack Power remaining, and it was the best time for Shi Feng to kill her. If Shi Feng waited for the land to recover its normal state, the Scorching Lamia would have also recovered from her weakened state. In addition, her HP would also recover to 30% or above. The Scorching Lamia in a weakened state stood no chance against Shi Feng. The Blazing Meteor caused over -1,500 damage to Cela with every strike, with the occasional critical hit causing over -3,000 damage. 18%... 16%... 14%... 12%... By the time the Scorching Lamia had broken away from her weakened state, she only had 10% of her HP remaining. In the end, the Scorching Lamia entered a berserk state, and her damage increased by several folds. However, with Shi Fengs Frost Grenades controlling her movements from beginning to end, Cela could not display her frightening might in melee combat at all. After another ten minutes or so, the Scorching Lamia released a blood-curdling scream as her body fell to the ground. Instantly, Shi Fengs level increased by one, reaching 17% of Level 16. The bountiful EXP even shocked Shi Feng. Shi Feng then heard the sound of an explosion, and a large amount of Flame Crystals, equipment, and items appeared in place of the Scorching Lamias body. 208 Beastman Munition Factory It really is great to have the Shadows Blessing. Shi Fengs eyes slightly twitched as he looked at the shining loot scattered across the ground. It was the first time he truly felt fortunate about the 3 points of Luck. It seems that I should get more equipment that increases the Luck Attribute in the future. I can use it specifically when killing Bosses. If he obtained jackpots similar to the Scorching Lamias as well, accumulating wealth would be a very simple task. In Gods Domain, the term jackpot only applied to Boss monsters, since Bosses would give out more loot than usual. Normally, the number of items dropped was double or triple the usual amount, and players looked forward to such situations the most. Unfortunately, aside from obtaining the First Clear of a Dungeon, the chances of a Boss dropping a jackpot were abysmally low. Depending on a players Luck Attribute, the chances of obtaining a jackpot would also increase. However, Shi Feng did not know the exact value each point of Luck provided. He only knew that the higher the Luck, the greater were the chances of obtaining a jackpot. If Shi Fengs Luck increased to 10 points, he might obtain another jackpot if he killed a High Lord ranked Boss in the future. To players, nothing was more exciting than obtaining even more high-level equipment and items. As this was the Flame Gods Cave, the Scorching Lamias jackpot was extremely valuable. It was much more beneficial than killing two to three High Lord ranked Bosses. This is ridiculous! Just a single Scorching Lamia dropped close to half of my previous harvest of Flame Crystals! Shi Feng was immediately shocked after he collected and arranged all the loot. Previously, he had only obtained a total of 223 Flame Crystals from killing many Level 25 Common, Elite, and Special Elite monsters. Yet, the Scorching Lamia gave him 102 Crystals. If converted to Gold Coins, that amount would be worth 15 Gold, 30 Silvers. Moreover, this was only the price of the Flame Crystals. Compared to the Flame Crystals, the equipment and Forging Designs dropped were much more valuable. Arent these the Flame Boots? Shi Feng noticed a flame-red colored, delicate pair of boots. There were three gorgeous Flame Crystals embedded into each side, giving the boots a dazzling appearance. [Flame Boots] (Plate Boots, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 25 Defense +175 Strength +21, Agility +30, Endurance +15 Movement Speed +8 Fire Resistance +5 Additional Skill- Flame Rush: Increases Movement Speed by 100% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes Just the value of this piece of equipment exceeded 20 Gold. In addition, Cela also dropped a Dark-Gold ranked shield. [Light of Day] (Shield, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 25 Equipment Requirement: Strength 130 Defense +665 Block Rate: 41% Defend skill level +2 Strength +34, Agility +10, Endurance +32 Maximum HP +15% Additional Passive Skill- Guardian Heart: Reduces incoming damage from the front by 20%. In addition, all damage received reduced by 10%. Not to mention a shield, equipment meant for MTs was usually abnormally expensive. Moreover, the Attributes of this shield were extremely beneficial. If sold, its minimum price would be at least 40 Gold. Aside from those two Dark-Gold ranked items, there were seven Secret-Silver ranked items. Three of them were Level 25 mage equipment, two were Level 25 healer equipment, one was Level 25 leather armor, and the last was a Level 25 two-handed axe. Every piece could sell for at least 3 Gold Coins. Meanwhile, the most precious of them all was the Raging Flames Armor Forging Design. This was also Shi Fengs first time seeing this item. Shi Feng was immediately stunned when he read the introduction of this Forging Design. The Raging Flames Armor was a Level 25 Secret-Silver ranked plate armor. Although its base Attributes were ordinary, it was a very valuable item. It specifically catered to MTs when dealing with fire-type monsters. One could say that the Raging Flames Armor was the best Level 25 Secret-Silver ranked breastplate. If utilized properly, the value of this Forging Design could exceed a hundred Gold. However, Flame Crystals were necessary to craft the Raging Flames Armor. In addition, it also needed a rare Secret-Silver ranked ore, resulting in a high manufacturing cost. However, it would be greatly desired once forged. In particular, when it was used in the Level 25 large-scale Team Dungeon, Flames Nest, it would be frighteningly effective. The Raging Flames breastplate gave eight points of Fire Resistance and reduced the users flame damage received by 20%. No other Secret-Silver equipment could compare to this effect. Aside from the equipment, there was also a flame-red-colored skill book. The words Flame Burst decorated the cover. This was the same skill the Scorching Lamia had used on Shi Feng. Shi Feng had personally witnessed this attack and knew full well the frightening might of that skill. Yet, such a skill was unexpectedly a Universal Skill that any class could learn. Without hesitation, Shi Feng chose to learn the skill. He then called out the skill interface. [Flame Burst] Level 1 (Requires 100,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Channeling time: 2 seconds Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 300% damage to the target. Attack Count: 4 times Cooldown: 5 minutes Compared to other skills that required Skill Proficiency to level up, Flame Burst belonged to the Special Skills category. Instead of Skill Proficiency, it required EXP to level up. Shi Feng greatly admired Celas Flame Burst. If he could possess a similar might to the Scorching Lamia when he used the Flame Burst, he needed only a single move to instant-kill a player of the same level. Just the thought of achieving such a feat invigorated him. However, the skill level was too low right now. It could not achieve such an effect an all. Since his level was relatively high right now and his leveling speed was also very fast, Shi Feng did not feel much heartache towards such a small amount of EXP. Hence, he immediately supplied 100,000 EXP to the skill, upgrading it up to Level 2. The Flame Bursts damage increased to 350%, while the Attack Count remained unchanged. There was also no change to its Cooldown. This time, 300,000 EXP was needed to upgrade the skill to Level 3. However, Shi Feng chose to upgrade it without hesitation. He needed several million EXP just to level up now, so 300,000 was not a significant amount. Instantly, Shi Feng fell back down to Level 15. The damage of the Level 3 Flame Burst increased to 380%, while its Attack Count increased to 5 times, and Cooldown decreased to 4 minutes 30 seconds. This was a more noticeable improvement. Meanwhile, it now required 800,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4. Yet, Shi Feng still chose to upgrade it. The damage of the skill increased to 400%, Attack Count remained at 5 times, and Cooldown decreased to 4 minutes. The skill needed 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 5 this time. Shi Feng similarly upgraded it to Level 5 without hesitation. The damage of Flame Burst increased to 420%, Attack Count increased to 6 times, and Cooldown decreased to 3 minutes 30 seconds. As a result of such a huge increase, however, Shi Feng had fallen to Level 14. If he wanted to upgrade the skill to Level 6, he needed to supply 4,000,000 EXP. Even if he dropped back down to Level 0, he could not raise Flame Burst to Level 6. _It seems that I can only wait until after_ _Level 20_ _before upgrading the Flame Burst again._ Shi Feng felt it was unfortunate. However, a Level 5 Flame Burst was sufficiently amazing already. It was certainly a very useful trump card. Shi Feng had spent quite a sum of money on his trip to the Flame Gods Cave this time. Not to mention using more than two stacks of Basic Frost Grenades, he also used the Flaming Sun Scripture. However, with such an astonishing harvest, the losses he incurred were negligible. _Theres still some time left. Ill get some rest before heading to the Beastman Munition Factory._ Shi Feng called out the system clock, discovering that he still had some time before the appointed time. Seizing this chance, he could get some repairs done to his equipment and store his loot into the Bank. He would return to the Flame Gods Cave again in the future when he had the time. The Boss of the Flame Gods Cave had a respawn time of two days. In other words, Shi Feng would return to the Flame Gods Cave to kill its Boss once every two days. Not only could he level up quickly by doing so, but he could also obtain plenty of high-level equipment. This place was sacred ground for players. It was no wonder the Ranger, who was the first person to discover this place, made a huge earning. \--- Outside of the Beastman Munition Factory, Cruel Blade and the others had already gathered at the Dungeons entrance. They currently discussed their strategy to raid the Dungeon. During the time they spent waiting for Shi Feng, they challenged the Dungeon twice more. However, the end result was still the same. Obtaining the First Clear of a Hard Mode Team Dungeon was much more difficult than they had imagined. Although they had managed to clear the Hard Mode of a 10-man Team Dungeon, some other Guild was already a step ahead of them by the time they cleared it. Right now, only the First Clears of 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons were available. However, the Hard Mode of a 20-man Team Dungeon was obviously more difficult compared to a 10-man Team Dungeon. No matter how much thought they put into it, they could not come up with any methods to clear the Dungeon. They could only wait for Shi Fengs arrival at the Dungeons entrance. This was also a good chance for the team to get some rest. Although Stabbing Heart had continuously recommended Shi Feng, Cruel Blade did not place much hope in him. After all, the Assassins Alliance was an apex second-rate Guild. Experts were a dime a dozen within the Guild. Meanwhile, they had gathered 20 experts to raid the Beastman Munition Factory, but they still died under the first Boss feet. What difference would an additional, independent player with good techniques make? Guild Leader, someones coming, one of the Guilds scouting Assassins suddenly spoke in the team chat. 209 Lone Tyran Hearing that someone approached, Stabbing Heart thought that it was Shi Feng. Hence, he turned his gaze towards the entrance. However, the person walking over was not Shi Feng at all. Moreover, it was not just a single player, but a group of players. This was a 20-man team. The members of this team all wore impressive equipment; practically all of them wore a mix of Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment, with the majority being Mysterious-Iron Equipment. There were also a few players among them wearing Level 10 Class-specific Set Equipment that only dropped from Level 10 Team Dungeons. Although they were only individual pieces, at this stage of the game, they were definitely considered top-tier equipment to Guilds. The leader of this team was a Guardian Knight. Judging by appearances, the man looked to be around 25 years of age. There was a nasty smile on the mans face. The man wore a mix of red and white-colored heavy-armor and carried a blood-red cross-shield and longsword. It cant be, right? That Shield Warrior has the complete Bloody Brilliance Set Equipment! Thats a Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment! The glow from his shield and longsword show that they are both of Secret-Silver rank. How come I have never seen such equipment before? The members of Assassins Alliance started a quiet discussion when they saw the leading Guardian Knight. The Bloody Brilliance Set Equipment could only be obtained from Level 10 Hard Mode Team Dungeons. The fact that this group of newcomers had gathered a full set displayed just how powerful their team was. They seem to be players from Dark Star. Making a careful observation, Stabbing Heart suddenly discovered that the Guild Emblem these players donned belong to that of the Guild, Dark Star. He then observed the leading Guardian Knight, suddenly exclaiming in shock, Hes Dark Stars Lone Tyrant! Cruel Swords complexion immediately turned grim at these words. Lone Tyrant of Dark Star was currently number one on the Ranking List. In addition, Dark Star had also managed to obtain the First Clear of two Hard Mode Dungeons. Due to the contribution of these two factors, Dark Star was already like the sun at high noon, and they were currently in their heyday. Cruel Sword did not think that Dark Star would make their move so soon; they were already attempting to raid a 20-man Team Dungeon. If they really obtained the First Clear of a 20-man Team Dungeon, the Assassins Alliance would truly be in an embarrassing position in White River City. After all, due to obtaining the luxury guidebook of White River City in advance, the Assassins Alliance had made ample preparations before entering the city itself. As a result, they enjoyed a flourishing period after they entered White River City. Many players even thought that the Assassins Alliance had the possibility to surpass the first-rate Guilds. Hence, now that Dark Star was on the rise, players would naturally compare the Assassins Alliance and Dark Star, resulting in the Assassins Alliances status in White River City becoming very awkward. Oh? Isnt this the Guild Leader of the Assassins Alliance? What a coincidence! Lone Tyrant laughed as he spoke to Cruel Sword, Unfortunately, you guys have simply wasted your time by coming here, as the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory already belongs to Dark Star. The other members of Dark Star similarly revealed disdainful smiles as they looked at the members of the Assassins Alliance. Currently, throughout the White River City region, Dark Stars influence surpassed that of the Assassins Alliance. Moreover, Dark Star had a much shorter history than the Assassins Alliance. The Assassins Alliance current success lay in the fact that they had a long-established history, so the benefits they provided to their Guild members were slightly better. However, Dark Star would definitely surpass the Assassins Alliance in the future. Well see about that. Cruel Sword ignored Lone Tyrants provocation, only coldly replying with a single sentence. Only by personally experiencing it would one understand the difficulty of a 20-man Hard Mode Dungeon. It would be meaningless to argue with a little bastard over who would obtain the First Clear of a Hard Mode Dungeon. When Lone Tyrant saw that his provocation had failed, he quickly lost interest and turned to leave. At this moment, a deep and low voice resounded by everyones ears. Sorry, Im late. The person speaking was precisely Shi Feng. As he had to repair his equipment, store his items in the Bank, and register more Hard Stones on the Auction House, he had wasted quite a lot of time before coming here. Brother Ye Feng, youre finally here! Stabbing Heart, who was originally enraged due to Lone Tyrants provocation, immediately cheered up when he noticed Shi Fengs arrival. He hurriedly went up and welcomed Shi Feng. Meanwhile, this was the first time Cruel Sword had personally met Shi Feng. He discovered that Shi Feng still used a complete Bronze Set Equipment. Shi Fengs level and the quality of his other equipment were also indiscernible. Moreover, looking at Shi Fengs age and appearance, he was obviously just an immature youth; he did not possess the sharp temperament of a top-tier expert at all. However, he had obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Dark Moon Graveyard with Gentle Snow. Coupling that with the widespread battle footage from before and the fact that Shi Feng was the first player to enter White River City, Shi Feng should possess some real skills. However, they were not here to fight other players in the Dungeon. Although Shi Feng had impressive combat capabilities, one could not clear a Dungeon by depending on combat capabilities alone. Hence, Cruel Sword did not look favorably upon Shi Feng. Hahahaha! What a joke! So even the famous Assassins Alliance has to invite someone to raid a Team Dungeon! Moreover, youve even invited an independent player! It seems that the Assassins Alliance only amounts to this much. To think that Ive always thought of the Assassins Alliance as an actual opponent, I was truly blind! Lone Tyrant looked at Shi Feng, then turned to look at Cruel Sword again before involuntarily laughing. You! Stabbing Heart wanted to flare up in rage; however, he had no counter to Lone Tyrants words. After all, what he said was true. The other Assassins Alliance members had also lowered their heads in shame. At this moment, their hearts harbored dissatisfaction towards Stabbing Heart. They were already disappointed with Stabbing Hearts previous decision of inviting Shi Feng, so the humiliating situation now only made it worse. Yet, although they wished they could immediately chase Shi Feng away, they dared not voice their opinions. After making fun of the Assassins Alliance, Lone Tyrants gaze shifted towards Shi Feng. Pretending to be surprised, he sneered and said, And here I thought the Assassins Alliance had invited some amazing person. Isnt this Ye Feng, the first player to enter White River City and the previous first place on the Ranking List? I am truly sorry about this. I never imagined that you would be so easy to surpass, so I accidentally snatched away your first position. Oh? Thats not right? Why cant I find your name within the top 100 of the Ranking List? It seems that there is a limit to a persons good luck. Without any real strength, one would quickly be surpassed by others. Isnt that right, Little Brother Ye Feng? Although Lone Tyrant could not see Shi Fengs current level, he did not think that Shi Feng was anything amazing. Otherwise, why would he choose not to display his level? There was only one possibility for such an action, and it was because he was too shameful to show his level. Shi Feng was clearly the first player to enter White River City, yet, a majority of players surpassed him in levels. So it was very logical that he would choose to hide his level in shame. Brother Ye Feng, lets just ignore him and enter the Dungeon. Afraid that Shi Feng would grow angry and leave, Stabbing Heart hurriedly dragged Shi Feng away from the players of Dark Star. The players within the White River City region have constantly used the Assassins Alliance as a comparison to Dark Star. Previously, I had felt proud of this matter, but now, I can only feel embarrassment. Please dont associate Dark Star with you all anymore in the future. We really cant bear this sort of shame. Lone Tyrant did not care much about an expert who was already past his prime. He shifted his gaze once more to Cruel Sword, mocking him. An apex second-rate Guild? Pah! They arent even comparable to a third-rate Guild! The Assassins Alliance has truly declined. If I were them, I would have long since killed myself to avoid the embarrassment. They have actually allowed a lucky noob to join their team. Did they think that, by doing so, they could obtain the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory? Who are they trying to kid? How could you say such a thing? This is known as birds of a feather flocking together! A trash of a Guild would naturally seek out a trash player to aid them! If this situation happened in our Guild, we would have long since expelled such noobs from the Guild! Allowing such trash to join our team would definitely lower our intelligence and strength! Hey, youve got that wrong! In reality, the Assassins Alliance is so powerful that they are not afraid of having a noob as a team member! They could still clear the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory with no problems, even with such a member on their team! This is definitely something Dark Star cant dream of comparing with! The relationship between Dark Star and the Assassins Alliance had long since been similar to that of fire and water. Now that there was such a good opportunity, the members of Dark Star took this chance to ridicule the Assassins Alliance. Immediately, the atmosphere on the Assassins Alliances side became abnormally depressing. The players from the Assassins Alliance all resentfully glared at Stabbing Heart. Contrary to expectations, however, Stabbing Heart did not feel any heartache due to these hateful gazes. Instead, he felt apologetic to Shi Feng. Originally, Dark Star merely directed its ridicule at the Assassins Alliance. Now, even Shi Feng had been dragged into this matter. At this moment, Shi Feng could no longer stomach this situation. If this situation continued, they would have no chances of raiding the Dungeon, and he did not wish to lose the opportunity. After all, he planned to obtain the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment and Basic Fire Resistance Potion Recipe from this trip. He did not wish to see Dark Star spoil this opportunity. Having no better choice, Shi Feng stood out from the crowd. With pupils as deep as black holes, he gazed at Lone Tyrant. He then calmly said with a smile, Im very curious about something. If the nobodies that youve looked down on suddenly obtain the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beast Munition Factory a step ahead of you, then what would you all amount to? 210 opener Shi Fengs words struck Lone Tyrant and the others. Immediately, the atmosphere became incomparably tense. Neither side spoke a single word, and both sides stood on the cusp of lashing out right now. However, nobody intended to make the first move. After all, everyone present understood that, if they took action right now, it would lead to an all-out war between the two Guilds. Regardless of who won and who lost in this confrontation, both sides would take heavy losses. Hence, be it Cruel Sword or Lone Tyrant, neither wished for such a situation to occur. As both sides could no longer endure the stifling atmosphere... Getting the Hard Modes First Clear ahead of us? With trash like you? Lone Tyrants complexion abruptly turned cold. With a ridiculing smile, he spoke with contempt, Good, very good! Let everyone see the truth, then! I really want to see if your strength is as good as that mouth of yours! After he finished speaking, Lone Tyrant led his team into the Beastman Munition Factory. Moreover, they chose to immediately start with the Dungeons Hard Mode without warm-up or preparation. They clearly wished to prove to Shi Feng and the Assassins Alliance just how wide the difference between them was. Why are they trying to act so bold? They will suffer defeat when the time comes. Stabbing Heart curled his lips, revealing a cold smile. Without personally experiencing the 20-man Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory, one could not truly gauge the difficulty of the Dungeon. Otherwise, they would not have sought Shi Fengs help. They had only chosen this method as a last resort. After all, the Assassins Alliance was in a precarious position right now, and they were in dire need of a breakthrough. Hence, they had to obtain the First Clear of a Hard Mode Dungeon. Thats right! Dark Star is nothing! Theyll cry with regret once they enter the Dungeon! Guild Leader, lets hurry and enter! We must teach those bastards from Dark Star the strength of the Assassins Alliance! Thats right! Guild Leader, we must get the First Clear this time! The players from the Assassins Alliance wiped away their depression from before. They all cracked their knuckles as their thirst for battle grew. Shi Feng remained silent as he listened to everyones enthusiasm with a faint smile on his face. However, due to Shi Fengs actions, the Guild Leader of the Assassins Alliance, Cruel Blade, viewed Shi Feng in a new light. Cruel Blade considered that Shi Feng might not just be all talk. Due to Shi Fengs provocation, the teams originally downcast mood received underwent a complete change. Right now, everyone was indignant over the injustice they had received rather than depressed, and they immediately wanted to charge into the Dungeon and slaughter the Boss within. They wanted to obtain the First Clear of the Hard Mode Dungeon, letting the players from Dark Star witness their might. However, Shi Feng did not give much thought to Cruel Swords renewed opinion of him. After all, he had been a Guild Leader in his previous life as well. If one wanted to increase the unity of a team, they only needed one thing. They needed an enemy. In fact, Lone Tyrant was already an enemy of the Assassins Alliance. Shi Feng merely poured some oil on the already-burning fire, further raising their fighting spirits. Naturally, high fighting spirits were only a mental boost, and it would not help the Assassins Alliance to clear the Dungeon. If the Assassins Alliance wanted to clear the Hard Mode Team Dungeon, they still needed some other key elements. However, Shi Feng did not reveal this fact. He merely quietly joined the Assassins Alliances team, entering the Beast Munition Factory with Cruel Sword and the others. The Beast Munition Factory was a dilapidated weapon manufacturing factory. Hence, the terrain inside the Dungeon was not particularly complicated. Players only needed to walk down a single path to reach the Boss. There were a total of three Bosses throughout the Dungeon. Although the number was low, each Boss was extremely powerful. In 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons, the Bosses were all High Chieftain rank. Every one of them had powerful skills, and it was a normal occurrence for these Bosses to instant-kill an MT. If a team were not familiar with these Bosses skills, failing to grasp the timing of their attacks fully, it would not be strange for a team to team-wipe over ten times. In comparison to these Bosses, however, players would have a much easier time clearing the Elite monsters within the Dungeon. I think that everyone should know what to do by now. However, since this is Brother Ye Fengs first time entering this Dungeon, Ill give you a short explanation on what you should expect later on. Your task is to go all-out, dealing damage, while simultaneously evading the skills of the Elite monsters. On another note, the monsters here have very high Attack Power, and they deal a ton of damage, even to the MTs. Moreover, these monsters are immune to crowd control skills. Hence, healers will be under a lot of pressure. They will have no time to heal anyone other than the MT, so you need to be careful not to pull aggro, Cruel Sword explained patiently. Alright, thats it for my explanation. Lets first use the four Elite monsters guarding at the entrance as practice for our coordination. Finished speaking, Cruel Sword directed two of the teams MT to charge at the four axe-wielding Level 10 Elite Beastman Warriors. [Beastman Warrior] (Elite Rank) Level 10 HP 50,000/50,000 As this was a Dungeon, the monsters in here had both their HP and Attack Power greatly increased. They were much stronger compared to the Level 10 Elite monsters out in the fields. One of the two MTs was a Shield Warrior, while the other was a Guardian Knight. Each of them held the two monsters agro. However, when Shi Feng saw the damage these two MTs dealt to the monsters, he was immediately stunned. A normal attack from the Shield Warrior only dealt -32 damage to the Beastman Warriors. When the Shield Warrior used Heroic Strike, he only dealt -66 damage. Meanwhile, the Guardian Knight fared even worse than the Shield Warrior. The Guardian Knights normal attack only dealt -24 damage, while his Divine Strike only dealt -51 damage. Both of these MTs were Level 10 players, and both of them wielded Mysterious-Iron Weapons. Even if it were a one-handed weapon, when faced with an Elite monster of the same level, it should not deal such little damage. Thus, Shi Feng was shocked by this sight he witnessed. Although the two MTs took care to evade the attacks of the monsters, they were very clumsy. As a result, the number of attacks they received exceeded the number of times they dodged. Moreover, each time they received an attack, they needed to retreat a few steps before they could stabilize themselves. The only fortunate thing was that the damage they received was not high; they received around -300 damage from each attack. Meanwhile, each MT possessed around 2,400 HP. With two monsters attacking each MT simultaneously, each MT received a rough total of -600 damage; a quarter of their total HP. This situation resulted in the healers suffering. However, Shi Feng was similarly shocked when he discovered that both MTs possessed around 2,400 HP. _What the heck?!_ _Isnt their HP a little too high?_ _They both couldnt have only added their Free Attribute Points into Endurance, completely ignoring Strength and Agility, right?_ However, this was the only explanation that made sense. It explained why, even though both MTs were clearly gaming experts, they required so much effort just to dodge an attack and why their damages were so pitiful. In contrast, a Level 10 Assassin, who similarly used a one-handed weapon, could deal over -100 damage to an Elite monster like the Beastman Warrior. They could even deal over -200 damage if they used a skill. The MTs Strength was just abysmal. Their Agility was similarly too low, preventing them from dodging attacks that they could have clearly evaded. It was obvious that the players of the Assassins Alliance have yet to adapt to the battle methods of Gods Domain. They clearly possessed plenty of expert players, yet, they were unable to exhibit their full potential. It was no wonder the Assassins Alliance became an obscure existence during the early stages of the game. Only after half a year had passed since Gods Domains launch did they gain some achievements. If the Assassins Alliance battled the Boss of the Beastman Munition Factory like so, Shi Feng would be surprised if they didnt team-wipe. It was truly a wonder as to how they managed to clear a 10-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. I wish to say something; is that alright? Shi Feng looked at Cruel Sword, asking softly. Although the Assassins Alliance now possessed Lone Tyrant as a great enemy, the members of the team still had negative opinions of Shi Feng. They only kept their mouths shut due to his relationship with Stabbing Heart. However, if Shi Feng dared push his luck, they would not sit idle. Speak your mind. As long as it benefits the Dungeon raid, we will not reject it, Cruel Sword had managed to discern Shi Fengs capabilities somewhat. He could somewhat understand why Gentle Snow would take a fancy to Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng indeed possessed strength. Can we replace the two MTs? Shi Feng asked, holding nothing back. 211 Brilliant Effec Although Shi Fengs tone was soft, power filled his voice. It caused the female healers nearby to tremble, nearly failing to cast their heals on the two MTs. The two MTs tanking the four Elite monsters were similarly shocked stiff, receiving a direct hit from the giant steel axes of the Beastman Warriors. Damages of over -400 points appeared above both MTs, and the two retreated close to half a dozen steps before they managed to stabilize themselves. The other damage-dealing team members also froze. They all stared at Shi Feng with dumbfounded gazes, thinking that their ears had played a trick on them. Replace the MTs? What kind of joke was this? The two players tanking the Elite monsters belonged to the top three MTs of the Guild. Yet, Shi Feng wanted to replace them with someone else? Wasnt he just looking for trouble? Shi Fengs decision would be understandable if the two MTs had made an error while luring the monsters, or lost the monsters aggro. However, neither of the MTs made such mistakes. So, why should they be replaced? Did they do something wrong? Cruel Sword asked. MTs were the core of a team. A powerful MT could greatly reduce the raiding difficulty of a Dungeon; a team should never rashly replace their MTs. Nothing. Shi Feng shook his head. Indeed, the two MTs did not make any mistakes up until this point. However, not making any mistakes did not necessarily mean that everything was fine. Capable of holding aggro and taking blows, if this were a normal virtual reality game, there would be no problems if the MTs of a team could perform these two tasks. However, Gods Domain was different. Just carrying out these tasks was still not enough to secure a victory for the team. Since there are no problems, why should we need to replace the MTs? Cruel Sword wrinkled his eyebrows. The two MTs in question were furious right now, clearly displaying their displeasure. Shi Feng was just someone they had invited, yet, he dared criticize such powerful MTs like themselves? Wasnt he being too arrogant? Their ability to evade attacks is just too poor. To put it bluntly, they are taking too much damage. When they face a Boss, even four healers will not be sufficient to keep them alive. Moreover, their damage output is too low. In a Boss battle, even 1% of HP could decide victory or defeat. Im guessing that, when you guys faced the first Boss of this Dungeon, aside from having insufficient damage, your healers mana ran dry as well. In the end, the result was a complete team-wipe, Shi Feng said with a smile. Listening to Shi Fengs words, the two MTs immediately fell speechless... Cruel Sword was also awestruck. Clearly, he had not mentioned the matter of their team-wiped to Shi Feng before. Yet, Shi Feng correctly guessed each detail of their previous encounter. Everything Shi Feng had just said was clear and logical, and Cruel Sword agreed that he needed to make some changes. I wonder if Brother Ye Feng has any suggestions on how we can improve? What kind of MT do we need? Cruel Sword earnestly sought Shi Fengs guidance. The other members of the Assassins Alliance were no fools, either. They had discerned the meaning behind Shi Fengs words. As a result, the dissatisfaction they felt towards Shi Feng in their hearts lessened greatly, while respect slightly grew. Each of them perked up, focusing Shi Fengs wise opinion. Its very simple. Look for two Guardian Knights who have allocated their Free Attribute Points in the ratio of 2 Strength: 1 Agility: 2 Endurance. It would be best if they have learned both Guardian Aura and Power Aura, Shi Feng unhurriedly spoke. Unknowingly, Shi Feng had suddenly become the heart of the team. Within moments, Cruel Sword had found two Guardian Knights from his Guild that fit Shi Fengs requirements. However, these Guardian Knights techniques were not anything impressive, and their equipment was sub-par at best. One of them was White Feather, and he only possessed slightly over 1,700 HP. The other Guardian Knight was called Water Lake, and his HP was just over 1,800 points. Furthermore, the twos Defense was lower than the previous MTs by more than 200 points; they were on completely different levels. However, Shi Feng saw nothing amiss after examining the twos equipment. The remaining problem would be their techniques. Shi Feng then continued by explaining to the two Guardian Knights how they should battle the Elite monsters and how they should dodge attacks. As for how much of his explanation they actually understood, that would depend on their own comprehensive abilities. Following which, Shi Feng instructed one of the Guardian Knights to activate Guardian Aura, increasing the Defense of the entire team by 20 points. He then instructed the other Guardian Knight to activate Power Aura, increasing the Strength of the entire team by 5 points. Shi Feng also switched his title to Might of a Thousand, greatly increasing the Attributes of the entire team. As a result, the HP of the two Guardian Knights almost reached the 2,000 HP threshold. The teams jaws dropped when they witnessed the brilliant effect brought about by Shi Fengs Might of a Thousand title. Increasing all Attributes by 10%? This was an outstanding weapon for Dungeon raiding. Such an increase was the equivalent of raising every team members equipment by an entire rank. With such a brilliant effect, they had far more confidence in dealing with the Bosses of the Dungeon. Hence, everyone started clearing the Elite monsters with great excitement. When they first started out, everyone still felt skeptical about Shi Fengs decision to replace the two MTs. It was simply illogical to replace their previously powerful MTs with weaker ones. However, shortly after the two Guardian Knights began tanking the Elite monsters, they immediately discovered that there was a massive difference. Although the Beastman Warriors dealt around -450 damage to the two Guardian Knights with each hit, these Beastman Warriors only managed to land one out of every three attacks. In comparison, the previous two MTs would receive two out of every three attacks, taking an additional -150 damage every three attacks. With such a glaring difference in damage, the burden on the healers greatly lessened. Moreover, as they faced more battles, the two new MTs gradually evaded with better efficiency, taking fewer hits as a result. This had allowed the healers to expend less of their mana, thereby increasing their endurance. By the time they arrived before the first Boss of the Dungeon, Karur, the healers no longer felt any pressure in healing the two Guardian Knights. They even had time to attend to the other team members. Karur was a large and ferocious Beastman. He was twice as large as a normal Beastman, and his body was fully covered in steel-like, scarlet muscles. On his back, Karur carried a mammoth magical saber that was as long as he was tall. Meanwhile, Karur himself was a Level 12 High Chieftain ranked Boss with a whopping 450,000 HP. Brother Ye Feng, I wonder if you have any ideas of how to best raid this Boss? When facing with Karur once again, Cruel Swords thoughts started growing heavy. After all, Karur had already team-wiped them multiple times. MTs should hold aggro properly, while everyone else should evade Karurs skills. That should be it, I guess, Shi Feng casually spoke after giving the question some thought. Everyone in the team immediately sent contemptful glares at Shi Feng. Wasnt this just a bunch of nonsense!? Wasnt that obvious?! Alright, MTs, take action. You two should take turns tanking the Boss. Whoevers HP falls to a critical state should immediately back off and let the other tank. As for everyone else, try to use your attacks to assist the two MTs, Shi Feng instructed. Shortly after, the two Guardian Knights charged at Karur. According to Shi Fengs knowledge, the Hard Mode Karur only had two moves. One was the Blade Storm. It was a skill that turned Karur into a tornado, causing -600 damage per second to all enemies within a 12-yard distance. The skill had a duration of 20 seconds. The other skill was Avatar Slash. When Karur used this skill, he would immediately vanish from everyones sight. He would then randomly reappear behind three to five players, attacking them and causing -500 static damage. Simultaneously, he would inflict players with a Damage Amplification effect, causing them to take 10% more damage for 2 minutes. To make things worse, this effect stacked. With these two skills at Karurs disposal, the Boss prevented players from turning this raid into a prolonged battle. Otherwise, once the Damage Amplification effect stacked so many times, Karurs Avatar Slash could instant-kill any player. At that time, there would be no way for the battle to continue. Hence, there was only one requirement when facing Karur: resolve the battle in the shortest time possible. The longer the battle dragged on, the more difficult it would become. Taking the lead, the Guardian Knight, Water Lake, brandished his sword, sending a Punishment at Karurs head. The attack only caused -126 damage. Compared to the Elite monsters from before, Karurs Defense was clearly a notch higher. Moreover, such a small amount of damage was practically negligible in the face of Karurs massive 450,000 HP. By contrast, as Water Lake failed to dodge Karurs counter-attack; the Bosss saber sent him flying. A frightening damage of -1,134 points appeared above Water Lakes head, instantly devouring over half of his total HP. Following which, White Feather promptly dashed forward and activated Righteous Fury. He then used Shield of Vengeance to attract Karurs aggro. The four healers on the team did not dare make any mistakes. They immediately cast their heals on Water Lake. +234, +215, +221, +225 A Cleric then released an instant-cast skill, Recover, on Water Lake. Every three seconds for 15 seconds, the target would recover 70 HP. Simultaneously, a Druid also used Life Bloom on Water Lake, recovering 43 HP every two seconds for 12 seconds. Immediately, Water Lakes HP recovered to 90%. He then returned to his position on the frontlines, coordinating with White Feather to tank the Boss. 212 Raiding Karur By taking turns attacking Karur, the two Guardian Knights quickly established a strong hold on Karurs aggro. However, compared to when they battled Elite monsters, the pressure on the healers had visibly increased. Moreover, both Water Lake and White Feather were clearly unfamiliar with the Bosss attack patterns; their movements were somewhat stiff when dodging attacks. Right now, they could only dodge every other sent at them. Even so, compared to the last time the Assassins Alliance had raided Karur, the healers were having a slightly easier time keeping these MTs alive. The healers mana consumption made this obvious. Originally, Cruel Sword still worried that the two Guardian Knights could not manage. However, based on the results before him, it was clearly an unnecessary thought. The healers managed themselves with perfect order right now, unlike the several raids before where they had to cast their heals desperately, without caring about any proper order. The four healers couldnt even catch their breaths unless they wanted the previous two MTs to die instantly. In reality, such failures were very common. In Gods Domain, Level 10 players had a large threshold to overcome. The levels before Level 10 were merely an adaptation period. Once players reached Level 10, they would no longer receive any preferential treatment. Hence, entering a Level 10, 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon at Level 10 was the equivalent of entering a Level 5, 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon at Level 5. How could it possibly be easy? In addition, Bosses would have much higher intelligence. It would take a certain degree of skill to hold the aggro of a Boss and prevent it from attacking the ranged classes and healers. MTs especially needed to know how to pin down and restrain the Boss monsters, as just having aggro did not mean that the Boss would only hit the MT. After all, even with aggro, Boss monsters would still find an opportune moment to massacre the healers, the weakest players on the team. When this occurred, MTs had the task of restraining the Boss, preventing it from attacking the healers. Hence, the requirements for an MTs techniques were very high. If the previous MTs were currently tanking the Boss, they would fare much better than Water Lake and White Feather regarding techniques. They had simply made a mistake during the allocation of their Free Attribute Points. However, there was no way to reset ones Attribute Points in Gods Domain, so these two players could only be replaced. Moreover, for a long time, these two players would have to allocate all the Free Attribute Points they obtained from leveling up into both Strength and Agility. Otherwise, they would cripple their characters. Everyone, start attacking now. Berserkers and Swordsmen, assist the MTs in blocking some attacks. Focus your attacks on the Bosss weapons or arms, and aim your attacks where they can interrupt the Bosss attack. As for ranged classes, focus on dealing as much damage as you can, Shi Feng commanded. Immediately, a group of players charged forward to give Karur a beating, while the ranged players launched their bombardment at Karur. -124, -137, -108, -189, -175... One damage after another appeared above Karurs head. However, the damage was not particularly high. Among these, the highest damage dealt belonged to the Berserker, Cruel Sword. His normal attacks could deal around -266 damage with each hit, while a Violent Strike could deal up to -448 damage. Right behind Cruel Sword was Stabbing Heart. As Stabbing Heart was an Assassin, his normal attacks could only deal around -120 damage with each hit. However, his attack rate was much faster than Cruel Swords. Meanwhile, a 5-star Eviscerate decimated 587 HP from Karur. Ranking in third was the teams cute and lovable little sister, the Elementalist, Mu Qing. She was the captain of the Assassins Alliances Elementalist team, and her techniques were first-rate. She was also one of the famous female Elementalists in Star-Moon Kingdom; she could rank within the top 100 Elementalists within Star-Moon Kingdom. Every one of her attacks could deal around -300 to -400 damage, but due to her spells requiring a long time to cast, her overall damage was slightly less than the two aforementioned players. Originally, Cruel Sword had intended to say to Shi Feng, Look! Isnt our teams damage output powerful? Why dont you join our Guild? The position of First Vice Leader will be yours if you do! However, when Cruel Sword saw Shi Feng charging at Karur, subsequently slashing his sword at Karur, Cruel Sword was immediately dumbfounded. His words shrunk back into a secluded location in his mind. Shi Fengs two casual slashes dealt damages of -395 and -376 to Karur. Immediately after, Shi Feng followed up with a Level 10 Chop. The skill achieved a critical hit, instantly causing -2,137 damage to Karur. He then continued by using Thundering Flash, dealing damages of -643, -832, and -1,102 to Karur, as well as inflicting a damage amplification effect. Shi Feng then abruptly jumped up into the air. As he descended, he smashed the Abyssal Blade covered in the power of thunder and fire down onto Karurs head. Suddenly, Karur let out a soul-piercing scream of pain. Thunder Flame Explosion instantly caused -3,312 damage, and everyone on the team, aside from Shi Feng, became slack-jawed when they witnessed this scene. If Water Lake had not reacted quickly by using Mock, followed by Righteous Punishment, Shi Feng might have snagged most, if not all, of Karurs aggro. Stabbing Heart, just where did you find a Swordsman expert as amazing as him? Mu Qings exquisite lips parted as she gaped and involuntarily questioned Stabbing Heart. As Mu Qing had not started out in Red Leaf Town, she was not particularly knowledgeable about Shi Feng. Since the launch of Gods Domain, she had always focused on leveling up and raiding Dungeons. Even after she entered White River City, she had not met many players who could surpass her. Hence, Mu Qing naturally considered herself as a top-tier expert. However, Shi Feng had utterly shattered that belief. The highest damage she could deal was only around -700 points, and that was when she achieved a critical hit. Meanwhile, Shi Feng could casually deal over -700 damage with a single hit. Right now, he had even dealt over -3,000 damage to a High Chieftain ranked Boss. Mu Qing felt extremely embarrassed to think that she actually thought of herself as a top-tier expert. What a joke! Hehe, isnt this big brother amazing? Shortly after I started playing Gods Domain, I discovered Brother Ye Fengs prowess! With such a massive damage output, the First Clear of this Hard Mode Dungeon will definitely be ours this time! Stabbing Heart gleefully said. After all, he was the one who had invited Shi Feng to this raid. Now that Shi Feng performed so valiantly, shocking everyone on the team, Stabbing Heart felt extremely proud. Scram! Youre not Ye Feng; whats there to be proud of?! If you have the ability, then show me that you can deal over 1,000 damage! Mu Qing glared at Stabbing Heart. Little Sister Mu Qing, you think too highly of me! How can I compare to Brother Ye Feng? He is the publicly acknowledged god-ranked expert of White River City! His damage alone can trump over a dozen players! I would be satisfied if I had even a third of his damage. Stabbing Heart smiled bitterly. Shi Feng was a great expert just like Gentle Snow. He and Shi Feng were on entirely different levels, so how could he compare to Shi Feng? Previously, the players who still had some complaints about Shi Feng now had none. Shi Feng was simply too amazing. Not only were his attacks incredibly powerful, but the timing and techniques he applied to interrupt the Bosss rhythm continuously were also praiseworthy. Every time one of Shi Fengs swords attacked Karur, his other sword would simultaneously strike at Karurs saber, shifting the Bosss attack slightly. This situation allowed the two MTs to dodge Karurs attacks with far more ease, greatly reducing the burden on the healers. At this moment, everyone finally understood what a true Swordsman was. Aside from having fierce attacks, Shi Feng could also nimbly assist the MT. With such a Swordsman on the team, raiding the Dungeon became much easier than before. By making a rough estimate, their chances of victory had risen by at least twofold. At this moment, Cruel Sword suddenly sent a private message to Mu Qing, Mu Qing, youre one of the great beauties in our Guild. You can see how amazing Ye Feng is; it would be a shame not to recruit him into our Guild. It wouldnt be too good for a brute like me to invite him directly. Can you use your charms to persuade him to join us? If you manage to pull Ye Feng into our Guild, I can guarantee that your current treatment will increase by threefold, and you will also be promoted to an elder of the Guild. Cruel Sword also tried to think of a few other methods to recruit Shi Feng into the Assassins Alliance. However, he immediately discovered that the Assassins Alliance did not have any great benefits to Shi Feng. With Shi Fengs techniques, even first-rate Guilds would willingly wage a bloody battle with each other to recruit him. As for the price tag the Assassins Alliance could offer, any first-rate Guilds could easily double or triple the amount. Hence, the only option Cruel Sword had remaining was to play the relationship card. Looking at Shi Fengs age, he should only be in his early twenties. He was at the age where he should be both vigorous and passionate. Meanwhile, a great beauty like Mu Qing was perfect for this situation. Although Cruel Sword hated resorting to such methods, the competition in Gods Domain was just too intense. There were plenty of Guilds using similar tactics. If he continued being conservative, he might regret it in the future. Guild Leader, are you for real? Mu Qing excitedly asked. Of course, Cruel Sword earnestly replied. Guild Leader, leave it to me! With this young ladys charm, I will definitely recruit Ye Feng into our Guild! Mu Qing laughed coquettishly, her large eyes shifting towards Shi Feng. Cruel Sword had similarly notified Stabbing Heart of his plan. However, Stabbing Heart simply shook his head and smiled bitterly after he heard it. Stabbing Heart really wished to say, If even a saint like Gentle Snow and a demoness like Zhao Yueru failed to capture Ye Fengs heart, Im afraid Mu Qing will not have any chances at all. Although Mu Qing was indeed a beauty as pretty as a flower, when Stabbing Heart gazed at Mu Qings flat chest and recalled Gentle Snows and Zhao Yuerus outstanding lethal weapons They were on entirely different levels... However, Stabbing Heart did not try to ruin Mu Qings beautiful fantasy. At this moment, Karurs HP had decreased to 50%. Suddenly, Karur let out an angry bellow. Everyone, get away from the Boss! Shi Feng knew that Karur was about to use Blade Storm. With Shi Fengs reminder, the elites of the Assassins Alliance quickly distanced themselves more than 20 yards from Karur. Shortly after, Karur started spinning, transforming into a tornado that engulfed everything around it. Even after Karurs Blade Storm ended, nobody from the team had died. At worst, there were some players who had their HP damaged to a critical point. However, they were healed back to full HP by the healers very quickly. Following which, the team proceeded to decrease Karurs HP to 40%. Karur then started using his Avatar Slash. Although Karur only used Avatar Slash once every 20 seconds, there were bound to be some players who were extremely unlucky, chosen as targets for seven or eight consecutive times. For these unlucky players, surviving would be difficult regardless of how they held on. As one team member after another fell, Karurs HP also decreased to 10%. Karur went berserk. His speed and Attack Power soared by 30%, and he now had a critical hit effect. White Feather, unfortunately, received a critical hit. Even with Protection Blessing activated, he instantly lost over 1,400 HP. Moreover, when White Feather received this hit, he only had around 60% of his total HP remaining. Hence, he instantly died. White Feathers death greatly increased the pressure on Water Lake. To make things worse, there were only 12 players left alive in the team, while Karur still had 4% of his HP remaining, almost 20,000 HP. Helpless, Shi Feng could only choose to use one of his trump cards, the Flame Burst. During the short two-second cast time, Karur had used Avatar Slash once more, instant-killing three more players. One of the three players killed was even a healer. This was truly a desperate situation. Meanwhile, Karur still had 3% of his HP, which meant that he had around 13,000 HP remaining. At this moment, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand started glowing a dazzling white. The white glow surrounding the Abyssal Blade shone like a miniature sun; its presence alone raised the surrounding temperature by several folds. Shi Feng activated Wind Blade and arrived behind Karur. Lightly jumping up, Shi Feng brandished the Abyssal Blade at Karurs back, instantly forming six sword images. The six sword images resembling the sun instantly devoured Karur, causing frightening damages of -2,153, -2,203, -2,178, -4,356, -2,206, -4,422 to appear above Karurs head. Under this tremendous might, Karurs four-meter-tall body shot like a cannonball towards a steel wall. _Boom!_ An indentation in the shape of Karur immediately formed on the steel wall. Meanwhile, Karur was thoroughly charred black, as void of life as a stone. 213 Dark Warlock Salou Karur is down We won What was that skill? How could it be so frightening? The surviving members looked at the charred Karur, all involuntarily gulping a mouthful of saliva. The scene Shi Feng displayed before was simply unheard of. It was as if the thing he brandished was not a sword but a miniature sun. Even when standing at a distance of over 30 yards, they could feel the scorching temperature through the pain and burning of their skin. Meanwhile, the damage Shi Feng had dealt was even more shocking. Of his six last strikes, not one had dealt lower than -2,000 damage to the High Chieftain ranked Boss. Among them, there were even two that achieved a critical hit, causing over -4,000 damage. It was the first time they had seen such a powerful skill. Stabbing Heart jaw also hung open. Although he knew that Shi Feng was amazing, he never imagined that he would be this amazing. Cruel Sword was also awestruck. Originally, he had prepared for another failure. He never thought that Shi Feng would have a move like this hidden. Shi Feng had sent a Level 12 High Chieftain Boss flying and instantly caused more than -10,000 damage. This was definitely the highest damage Cruel Sword had seen so far. At this moment, Cruel Swords gaze grew even more fervent when he looked at Shi Feng. He couldnt help but wish that he could drag Shi Feng into the Assassins Alliance right this instant. Mu Qing reacted quickly. This moment was her best chance to get closer to Shi Feng. Hence, Mu Qing immediately walked up to Shi Fengs side, acting excited as she pulled on Shi Fengs arm. Big Brother Ye Feng, this move of yours is just too amazing! Just what sort of skill is it? This is my first time seeing such a skill! Mu Qing eyed Shi Feng as she spoke in a soft and supple tone, her slender eyelashes constantly fluttering. Admiration filled her gaze, and her expression was fragile, invoking any mans protective instincts. Flame Burst. Its a Universal Special Skill that any class can use. Shi Feng could clearly feel a sense of warmth and softness on the arm she clung to. However, he did not put much thought into it. He deemed that Mu Qing had only done such a thing due to her excitement. Hence, he casually gave her the answer. A Special Skill, is it? How unfortunate. Originally, I thought of inviting Brother Ye Feng to help me grind for one Mu Qings excitement withered when she heard Shi Fengs words. One could only come across something like a special skill serendipitously; it was not something that one could obtain through effort. _Indeed, how could such a powerful skill be so easily obtained?_ Lets take a look at the drops, then, Shi Feng said with a laugh, looking at Mu Qings disappointed expression. Reminded by Shi Feng, everyone finally recalled the fact that Karur, who had just died, was a High Chieftain ranked Boss. The loot he dropped would doubtlessly be bountiful. They had forgotten this fact due to their shock at Shi Fengs strength. Following which, the surviving healers started reviving their fallen allies. Only when everyone was revived did Cruel Sword begin to collect the loot. Karur had dropped a total of five pieces of equipment, and all of them were Mysterious-Iron rank. Compared to the Boss of a 10-man Dungeon, Karur had dropped an extra two to three pieces of equipment. Among the five pieces of equipment, there was a Level 10 greatshield, a Level 10 longbow for Rangers, a Level 10 breastplate for Berserkers, a Level 10 staff for healers, and the last piece was a Level 10 breastplate for Swordsmen. The breastplates for Berserkers and Swordsmen in particular were pieces of Set Equipment. As for money, everyone in the team received 32 Coppers. In general, it was a great harvest. As Shi Feng previously had an agreement with the Assassins Alliance, the Wind Extinguisher Breastplate was given to him directly. [Wind Extinguisher Breastplate] (Chest Piece, Plate Armor, Mysterious-Iron Rank) Level 10 Defense +83 Strength +7, Agility +10, Endurance +6 Restricted to Swordsman. Part of Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment (1/6) Two-piece effect: Increase damage by 10%. Four-piece effect: Increase Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 15% Six-piece effect: Ignore Levels +3. When attacking, 15% chance to increase Attack Power by 50 points for 20 seconds. Regarding Attributes or set effects, the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment definitely possessed a qualitative increase compared to the Silvermoon Set Equipment. Shi Fengs best available option was to gather this whole set now and upgrade his equipment. However, it would not be an easy task. After receiving the Wind Extinguisher Breastplate, Shi Feng was in no hurry to swap it out with his current breastplate. After all, once he made the change, he would lose one of the set effects of the Silvermoon Set Equipment. He only intended to make the change after he collected four pieces of the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment. After distributing the equipment, everyone advanced towards the next Boss. Now that Water Lake possessed a Level 10 Mysterious-Iron ranked shield, his Defense and HP had both increased significantly. As a result, they easily dealt with the monsters they met on their journey. Within 10 minutes, they arrived at a fighting arena. In the middle of the arena, Morlock, a Beastman Assassin, stood there. He was also the second Boss of the Beastman Munition Factory. [Morlock] (High Chieftain Rank) Level 12 HP 400,000/400,000 Although Morlocks HP was lower than Karurs, Morlock was, in reality, much harder to deal with than Karur. Unlike Karur, Morlock was an Assassin. During battle, Morlock would unpredictably disappear and reappear at another location. He would also frequently attack players while ignoring aggro, choosing to attack players on the rearn line rather than those on the frontline. More importantly, Morlock had three skills that rendered players speechless. The first skill he possessed was Armor Break. Every one of Morlocks attacks would inflict a stackable armor break effect. To any plate armor classes, this could be a fatal skill, as once the armor break effect reached 10 stacks, their Defense would essentially reduce to 0. Even if it were an MT that possessed over 2,000 HP, Morlock could still kill them with just two to three hits. Before the healers could replenish the MTs lost HP, the MT would have already succumbed to Morlocks stunning Attack Speed, dying helplessly. The only fortunate aspect for players was that the armor break effect only had a short duration of 30 seconds. Players raiding Morlock only needed to swap out their MTs when the effect stacked up to five times. Morlocks second skill was Killing Feast. When activated, Morlock would attack all enemies within an 8-yard radius a total of 16 times. Throughout the duration of this skill, Morlock would enter a state of invulnerability. Moreover, Morlock would carry out these 16 attacks very quickly; he would finish all 16 attacks in just two seconds. If, when Morlock activated this skill, there were only the two MTs within range, these two MTs would die with a 100% guarantee. Thus, players needed to share the burden of this attack. This would also place an extreme pressure onto the healers. Morlocks third skill was called Vanish. When activated, Morlock would randomly ambush a player. If the ambushed player were a cloth armor class, then, without question, that player would die. Only players that belonged to a plate armor class would have any hopes of surviving Morlocks ambush. At this moment, everyone in the team looked towards Shi Feng, intending to obtain his opinion on how to deal with this second High Chieftain Boss. Contrary to their expectations, Shi Feng did not tell them any strategies to raid the Boss. Instead, he instructed one healer and two MTs to test the waters. Otherwise, he might have to explain how he obtained his strategy. After making a few tests, Shi Feng started explaining his strategy for the initial stages of the Boss fight. In reality, the plan was very simple. All plate armor classes would become tanks during the early stages of the raid, taking turns tanking Morlock. After all, Morlocks damage was not particularly high. It would only become powerful after the armor break effect stacked so many times. So, as long as one belonged to a plate armor class, they could withstand Morlocks damage. Naturally, it was the same when dealing with Morlocks Killing Feast. In short, players only needed to surround and beat up this Boss. After eight minutes passed, Morlock, the second Boss of the Beastman Munition Factory, fell. The main reason for Morlocks fall was because Shi Feng was simply too strong. Shi Feng had practically tanked Morlock by himself. Shi Feng was extremely nimble when dodging Morlocks attacks, and Morlock could very rarely land an attack on him. This, in turn, resulted in a decrease to Shi Fengs damage output. With a stable tanker like Shi Feng, the healers enjoyed a rather easy time throughout this raid. They could spread their attention towards other members of the team, allowing everyone to have an easier time dealing with the Boss. Problems only arose when Morlock used Vanish and appeared behind a cloth armor class. These unfortunate players could only curse their own bad luck as they accepted their deaths. 214 Dungeon Cleared After Morlock died, he dropped a total of four pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Everyone received a share of 34 Copper Coins and a large amount of EXP. Meanwhile, Shi Feng obtained a pair of Wind Extinguisher Leg Guards, increasing his collection of the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment to two pieces. Everyone on the team looked at each other with a smile after they had killed Morlock, a High Chieftain ranked Boss, with such ease. They all felt blissful from the fact that Shi Feng had joined their team. Right now, no one on the team felt the same panic they had when they first entered the Dungeon. They could joke around with each other and had even become pals with Shi Feng. Occasionally, they would even ask Shi Feng to teach them a few battle techniques. While Shi Feng gave out casual pointers, the team members admiration for Shi Feng gradually grew. Under Shi Fengs casual guidance, many players in the team exhibited noticeable improvement. Soon after, everyone arrived at the final throne room. Here, they met the final Boss, the Dark Warlock Salou. [Dark Warlock Salou] (High Chieftain Rank) Level 12 HP 500,000/500,000 \--- Elsewhere, while Shi Feng and the others had arrived before the final Boss, Dark Stars Lone Tyrant still tangled with the first Boss of the Beastman Munition Factory, Karur. As of this moment, Lone Tyrant and his team had already experienced three team-wipes. Moreover, Karurs Avatar Slash had caused all three. They had not improved one little bit since their first battle. Lone Tyrant grew hysterical at this situation. He did not know why a 20-man Dungeon would have such a huge increase in difficulty compared to a 10-man Dungeon. After pondering for a long time, Lone Tyrant discovered the reason for their failures. _This Boss needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible. However, our overall damage simply isnt enough to finish him. Unless the teams equipment is further upgraded, the possibility of clearing this Dungeon doesnt exist. Do we really have to go and upgrade our equipment_ _before trying again_ _?_ Lone Tyrant wore a hesitant expression as he glared at Karur. Due to his previous boasting, he was now stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, Lone Tyrant suddenly came to a realization. If the damage of his own team were insufficient to deal with Karur, then the Assassins Alliance, who had poorer quality equipment, would have even less of a chance of killing Karur. At this moment, the team from the Assassins Alliance must certainly be stuck at the first Boss as well. When Lone Tyrant thought about this, his mood immediately lifted. He decided to reflect on their raiding strategy, giving the Boss another try. \--- Meanwhile, in the magnificent throne room of the Beastman Munition Factory The Assassins Alliance had already investigated the Dark Warlock Salous skills. Aside from Dark Arrow being Salous most basic attack, Salou was immune to all controlling effects. Salou also possessed two killing moves. One of them was a skill called Shadow Wound. When cast, the Boss would fire 12 Dark Arrows. Each Dark Arrow would cause -800 damage and inflict a Fear effect that lasted 6 seconds. The other was a skill called Summon Flame Giant. The Flame Giant was a Level 12 Special Elite with 50,000 HP. Each Flame Giant that Salou summoned possessed Self-immolation effect that dealt -300 flame damage to all targets within a 10-yard range every second. The Flame Giant was also the largest hurdle to overcome when raiding the Dark Warlock Salou, as the self-immolation was an AoE DoT[1]. If any players other than MTs received -300 flame damage every second, they would last four to five seconds at most. Meanwhile, Salou would summon an additional Flame Giant every one to two minutes. Factoring in the fear effect from Shadow Wound, many players in the team would die under the combination of these two skills. Even if this combination did not immediately kill them, with three Flame Giants running about, they would similarly end in destruction. Three Flame Giants would mean -900 total damage per second. Even Shi Feng could not last 3 seconds under this damage, much less the other players in the team. However, if they focused their attacks on the Flame Giants summoned instead, they would waste precious time. As a result, Salou would fully recover his HP due to his battle recovery. A battle of attrition like this would only end with the healers exhausting their mana and a team-wipe. Meanwhile, after sending a group of half a dozen players to test the waters, everyone learned Dark Warlock Salous true strength. As a result, their hearts sunk, and their confidence wavered. Ignoring the fact that each of Salous Dark Arrows could cause -800 damage to their MTs and -1,000 damage to everyone else, the Flame Giants alone were extremely difficult to deal with. After all, none of the melee players could go near a Flame Giant, and even if only the MTs tanked it, the healers still wouldnt be able to cope with the high damage. Not to mention, there was also Salous AoE skill, Shadow Wound, that would suddenly cause -800 damage. The Flame Giant itself could cause over -300 damage to the MT with its attacks. Coupling that with the Flame Giants self-immolation effect, its prowess could rival that of a Boss. If they suddenly received an attack from Salous Shadow Wound in addition to the Flame Giants attacks, even their MTs might instantly die. Moreover, if they did not kill the first Flame Giant within one to two minutes of its summoning, Salou would summon the second Flame Giant. Under the simultaneous attacks of two Flame Giants, their MTs wouldnt have a chance. With their current equipment and levels, it was impossible for them to face Dark Warlock Salou head-on in battle. Thinking up to this point, everyones moods grew somber. Isnt this only Hard Mode? Why is the difficulty so high? What would happen if this were Hell Mode? Stabbing Heart was similarly bitter after seeing Dark Warlock Salous capabilities. The Guild Leader of the Assassins Alliance, Cruel Sword, wrinkled his brows, falling into deep thought. Salous raiding difficulty was clearly much higher than the previous two Bosses. _As expected of a final Boss, it wont be easy to clear this hurdle._ At the very least, Cruel Sword did not have any good methods to raid Salou. While everyone was discouraged Why dont we give it a try first? Its not like were completely helpless right now, Shi Feng suddenly said in the team chat. Shi Fengs words were like a ray of hope. Brother Ye Feng, can we really raid this Boss? Mu Qing blinked her mesmerizing eyes, her delicate body sticking close to Shi Feng as she asked. It should be possible. We can only find out if we try it, right? Shi Feng merely shrugged as he spoke, his calm appearance giving Mu Qing a slight surprise. Following which, Shi Feng gave a brief overview of his raiding plan. Shi Fengs plan was simple. He, alone, would kite the summoned Flame Giants, while the other members of the team would focus their attacks on the Boss. In this situation, three of the four healers on the team would be responsible for healing the MTs, while the last healer would be responsible for keeping Shi Feng alive. However, this plan was very risky. Its success relied heavily on Shi Fengs ability to kite the Flame Giants. As the throne room did not provide a wide area for movement, Shi Feng needed to be mindful of his positioning. Any mistakes could lead to a team-wipe. However, nobody rejected Shi Fengs proposal. They did not even have the slightest opinion about Shi Fengs plan. They had long since been convinced of Shi Fengs strength. Since Shi Feng shared his plan, he must be very confident about it. Thus, they believed that Shi Feng could really pull it off. Water Lake, youll activate Darkness Aura. White Feather, youll activate Crusader Aura. Lets start the raid, then, Shi Feng said. A Guardian Knights Darkness Aura could provide an additional 5 points Dark Resistance to allies, decreasing the darkness damage they received. Meanwhile, the Crusader Aura could increase allies Movement Speed by 10%, letting everyone have an easier time evading the Flame Giants. With these two auras, the team would have a much easier time raiding the Boss. Water Lake was the first to dash at Salou. While Salou was still in the process of casting a spell, Water Lake smashed Shield of Vengeance into Salous face, causing -181 damage. Water Lake then followed up with Righteous Punishment, dealing -201 damage. However, neither of these attacks had interrupted or delayed Salous chanting, and shortly after, a streak of dark light skewered Water Lake through the chest, causing -800 damage to him. A moment later, three Healing Lights landed on Water Lakes body, recovering over 700 HP of his HP. After Water Lake solidified his grasp on Salous aggro, Shi Feng instructed the other players to initiate their attacks. After a moment, Salou pointed his staff towards the sky. A large, azure-green fireball descended from the sky, crashing into the throne room. Immediately, Shi Feng tossed out the Blazing Meteor at the azure-green Flame Giant, causing -621 damage and instantly becoming its main target. Seeing the Flame Giant charging at him, Shi Feng spun around and fled, luring the Flame Giant away from the rest of the team. He then started circling around the hall with the Flame Giant right behind him. As Salous HP continued decreasing, the Flame Giants he summoned also grew stronger. Unfortunately, Shi Feng lured away all of the Flame Giants Salou summoned, spoiling his fun. After more than ten minutes, Salou released a resentful bellow. His body fell to the throne as he passed away. * * * TL Notes: [1]DoT: Damage-over-Time. 215 Basic Fire Resistance Potion From beginning to end, Shi Feng had lured a total of nine Flame Giants, kiting them around the throne room. Due to his actions, the Flame Giants had not been able to showcase their prowess even once in this entire battle. As a result, the Dark Warlock Salou became very easy to deal with, breathing his last under everyones heavy bombardment. Even an amazing Boss could not compete against a reincarnated player. Their only fate was to be a plaything... unto death. Seeing Salou fall, everyone jumped in celebration. The Beastman Munition Factory belonged to the category of Expedition Dungeons. Unlike the Dark Moon Graveyard, which was a Survival Dungeon, players only needed to kill the final Boss in an expedition Dungeon to clear it; there was no need to leave the Dungeon for the clear to be official. At this moment, the White River City Region System Announcement had already appeared. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Assassins Alliance for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory. All players within the team will be rewarded with 50,000 EXP and 1 Silver Coin. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Assassins Alliance for becoming the fastest team to conquer the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory. All players within the team will be rewarded with 50,000 EXP and one Tier 1 Gemstone of random Attribute. As it was not the First Clear of Hell Mode, the Main God System would not be so generous as to reward them with reputation points. Normally, players would only receive EXP for obtaining the First Clear of Hard Mode. Also, the race for Team Dungeons was categorized into two types: Hard Mode and Hell Mode. Normal Mode was not taken into consideration as no time challenge existed. Normally, the Main God System would implement a clear time for Team Dungeons. The clear time set by the system depended on the type of Team Dungeon and its difficulty. Meanwhile, the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factorys clear time was set at three hours. The Main God System would usually set the clear time at a very high bar. Only if players had achieved the standard of an elite team, determined by the Main God System, would they have a chance to clear the Dungeon in this set amount of time. Meanwhile, under Shi Fengs command, the Assassins Alliance had only spent 2 hours and 22 minutes to clear the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory, surpassing the estimated time. This proved that the teams strength was already above the standards of a normal elite team. However, everyone on the team knew full well that this achievement was all due to Shi Fengs contributions. After a round of mad celebration, everyone finally welcomed the most exciting moment. They began examining the item drops of the Dark Warlock Salou, the final Boss monster of the Beastman Munition Factory. Compared to the previous two Bosses, the loot from Salou was far more bountiful. Salou had dropped a total of seven items. Among them, five were Level 10 Mysterious-Iron ranked helmets, each being a part of a Set Equipment for different classes. With great luck, Salou even dropped a Basic Fire Resistance Potion Recipe. As for the final item, it was a Secret-Silver Staff meant for Elementalists. [Elemental Scepter] (Staff, Secret-Silver Rank) Level 10 Intelligence +15, Strength +4, Agility +4, Endurance +10 Increases elemental damage by 5% Increases casting speed by 10% Durability 80/80 With just a glance, one could immediately tell that this was a top-tier staff meant for Elementalists. When the mages in the team looked at the details of this staff, drool nearly leaked from their mouths. Although these mages had quite a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment on their persons, their weapons and equipment were all below Level 10. They were clearly much weaker compared to Level 10 weapons and equipment, not to mention a Secret-Silver ranked staff. Cruel Sword immediately handed the Elemental Staff to Mu Qing. However, nobody in the team expressed any dissatisfaction about Cruel Swords decision because Mu Qings strength was indeed very powerful. Moreover, her damage was ranked number one amongst all the mages present. Following which, Cruel Sword handed the Wind Extinguisher Helmet, Wind Extinguisher Armguard, and Basic Fire Resistance Potion Recipe to Shi Feng. Similarly, nobody in the team had any gripes about this decision. If it werent for Shi Feng, they would not have cleared this Dungeon in the first place. With this, Shi Feng now had four pieces of the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment. Although he did not possess all six pieces, they were sufficient for him to replace the Bronze ranked Silvermoon Set Equipment. Brother Ye Feng, youve helped us out so much, yet, youre only taking so few items. I am truly embarrassed about this, so please let me pay you another 100,000 Credits as compensation. Otherwise, if the other Guilds discover this matter, they will definitely make mock us for being insincere! Cruel Sword said with a laugh as he looked at Shi Feng. Putting aside the advertising benefits brought about from obtaining the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory, just the equipment they obtained was already of considerable value. It was especially true for the Secret-Silver ranked Elemental Scepter. The value of this staff alone could compare to half a dozen pieces of Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Hence, spending an additional 100,000 Credits to compensate Shi Feng was a minor matter. To put it another way, the Assassins Alliance had made a huge profit from this deal. After all, the First Clear of a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon held extraordinary significance, as up until this moment, any Guild had yet to obtain the First Clear of a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. Obtaining the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory had undeniably allowed the Assassins Alliance to break free from their awkward position in White River City. They no longer had to suffer the suppression from Dark Star. Of course, by giving Shi Feng 100,000 Credits, Cruel Sword also had the intention of deepening the relationship between Shi Feng and the Assassins Alliance. Cruel Sword still wished to recruit Shi Feng into the Guild. Shi Feng could easily see through Cruel Swords intentions. However, he merely smiled in reply, receiving all that Cruel Sword offered without hesitation. Cruel Sword had no idea that Shi Feng did not really care about this equipment. Even if it were the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment, it was simply a temporary set of equipment for Shi Feng. Meanwhile, amongst these items, the one Shi Feng paid the most attention to was the Basic Fire Resistance Potion Recipe. [Basic Fire Resistance Potion] After consumption, increases Fire Resistance by 15 points for 1 hour. Currently, this item had no market value. However, when the various large Guilds started raiding the Level 25 Flame Nest, the value of this Basic Fire Resistance Potion Recipe would soar beyond ones imagination. Its worth would not be less than a piece of Fine-Gold Equipment. Players were not allowed to use the Flaming Sun Scripture when in a Dungeon. Meanwhile, equipment that increased a players Fire Resistance was extremely rare. The quickest way to increase ones Fire Resistance was through the use of a Basic Fire Resistance Potion. If players did not possess this potion, raiding the Flame Nest would only be possible in their dreams. If Shi Feng started looking for a Potionmaker to craft the Basic Fire Resistance Potion now, he would carve out an additional path to wealth for the future. Even ten pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment could not rival what he could earn with these potions. Brother Ye Feng, are you free tomorrow? At this moment, Mu Qing walked over to Shi Feng after receiving a silent hint from Cruel Sword. Sweetly, she said, My party is planning to raid the Old Ruins, a high-level 10-man Team Dungeon, tomorrow. However, one of the original party members had applied for leave due to some personal matters. Id really love it if you would join me. Will you?? After a Team Dungeon was cleared, it would have a Cooldown period of three days. Hence, they needed to wait for three days before they could enter the Beastman Munition Factory again. Standing to the side, Cruel Sword inwardly clapped his hands at Mu Qings performance. Relationships needed care and gentle nurturing. Although he could tell that Shi Feng had no particular interest in Mu Qing, with increased interactions, who was to say would happen in the future? I still have something that I need to do tomorrow. Lets find some other time to go Dungeon diving. Shi Feng could naturally tell what Mu Qing was trying to do. However, he simply waved his hand and tactfully rejected her. Although the Old Ruins was a high-level Team Dungeon, there was nothing there that could rouse his interests. He would only waste time by going there. Now that he had changed into the four pieces of Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment, his Attributes had greatly increased once again. He should be able to attempt the continuation of the Epic Quest, Darkness Descends, now. Mu Qings innocent eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment. She did not think that her charm, which had only brought her success so far, would fail against Shi Feng. Was she really lacking in charm, or were Shi Fengs defenses just too high? 216 Surpassing Imagination Beastman Munition Factory. Boss, weve already team-wiped four times now and have lost 20% of our experience. If we are to continue to die, at this rate, we might not even be a high enough level to enter the Dungeons entrance. Why dont we give up? Alright, then. Everyone, get some rest. Afterwards, well head to a 10-man Dungeon to upgrade our equipment. Lone Tyrant currently wore a gloomy expression on his face. They had tried all sorts of methods to raid the High Chieftain ranked Boss, Karur, yet, ultimately, they still failed due to a lack of damage. Before, he had even made a solemn vow to kill Karur. Now that he thought about it, he felt that his decision had been slightly rash. Fortunately, the players from the Assassins Alliance had absolutely no chances of clearing the Dungeon. Otherwise, he would be utterly humiliated. Just as the members of Dark Star were resting... Suddenly, two system notifications relating to the Assassins Alliance rang out beside everyones ears. In the beginning, the members of Dark Star thought that they had heard wrong. Hence, they quickly called up the announcement interface. The extraordinarily large and clear words proved them wrong. The Assassins Alliance had indeed obtained the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory. Immediately, the atmosphere surrounding the members of Dark Star sunk. Why was there such a large difference between their two teams? Werent they supposed to be stronger than the Assassins Alliance? How could the Assassins Alliance have already obtained the First Clear, while they were still stuck at the first Boss? Lone Tyrant felt like he had just been given two tight slaps to his face when he looked at these notifications; his cheeks felt as if they were on fire. He felt even worse when he recalled Shi Fengs words from before. If the nobodies that youve looked down on suddenly obtain the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beast Munition Factory a step ahead of you, then what would you all amount to? At this moment, those words were like sharp swords, continuously slashing at Lone Tyrants pride. Lone Tyrant truly never imagined that such a situation would occur. However, Lone Tyrant was no fool. He did not believe the Assassins Alliance had relied on only themselves to clear the Dungeon. The only possible way they could do so was with to Shi Fengs help. _Just where did this mysterious person come from?_ In reality, Dark Star wasnt the only one to have been shocked by this piece of news. When the announcement spread throughout the entire White River City region, it had grabbed the attention of many other Guilds. The Assassins Alliances position in White River City was self-evident from the fact that their development speed had surpassed even that of a first-rate Guild. However, Dark Stars fame had recently suppressed Assassins Alliance, adding to the fact that they had not produced any significant results from the Team Dungeons, their status in White River City had become slightly awkward. Now that they had obtained the First Clear of the Beastman Munition Factory, their fame instantly soared. This allowed the Assassins Alliance to regain their rightful reputation. From now on, their development speed would definitely be faster than before. \--- White River Citys Adventurers Association. Brother Zhang! Brother Zhang! The Assassins Alliance has obtained the First Clear of the Hard Mode Beastman Munition Factory! Ling Feilong suddenly rushed into Shadows Guild Hall, announcing the news with a face filled with excitement. In Gods Domain, as long as Guilds registered themselves at the Adventurers Association, they would be provided a free lounge for their own personal use in the various large cities. Guilds could carry out meetings and rest in this room, and they could also receive quests from the Adventurers Association. Why are you shouting? Who doesnt know of this matter? Zhou Yuhu, who was resting in the corner of the room, rolled his eyes at Ling Feilong. Of course, I know of this. However, there is another hidden truth to this matter. Ling Feilong shot a glance at Zhou Yuhu, before shifting his gaze towards the person sitting in the Guild Leaders seat, Zhang Luowei. A hidden truth? Speak. Ling Feilongs words caused Zhang Luowei, who had previously been indifferent towards this matter, to grow interested. Ling Feilongs previous report about his efforts to recruit Ye Feng had nearly caused Zhang Luowei to lash out in anger. Shi Feng had actually demanded to become the Guild Leader of Shadow. Did Ye Feng even place him in his eyes? Moreover, he had asked for 60% of the Guilds shares. What did he take them for? Did he really think they were fools? Meanwhile, the most shocking thing was that Ling Feilong had actually suggested that Zhang Luowei accept Shi Fengs conditions. Hence, Zhang Luowei now looked down on Ling Feilong, resulting in Ling Feilong receiving cold treatment within the Guild. Brother Zhang, look at the Assassins Alliances First Clear name list! Ye Feng is among the names! Ling Feilong called out his system interface, pointing at the Assassins Alliances First Clear name list as he spoke excitedly. So? Zhou Yuhu laughed disdainfully. If they really allowed Ye Feng to join Shadow, he would no longer need to remain in the Guild. The Assassins Alliance is a through and through second-rate Guild. They were clearly on an expedition to clear the Beastman Munition Factory, yet, why would they suddenly let an outsider join their team? Previously, for a long time, the Assassins Alliance could not even obtain a single First Clear of a Level 10 Team Dungeon. However, they are now the first ones to obtain the First Clear of a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. Why is that? This matter definitely has something to do with Ye Feng. Ye Fengs relationship with the Assassins Alliance is anything but shallow. Originally, the Assassins Alliance was only a normal second-rate Guild. However, after entering White River City, their development speed suddenly soared like crazy. They have even surpassed many first-rate Guilds. Again, why? Ye Feng was the first person to enter White River City, and the White River City Guidebook is also selling like hotcakes now. There is a very high likelihood that Ye Feng sold the guidebook to the Assassins Alliance in advance, allowing them to make ample preparations beforehand. Hence, after they entered White River City, they developed with flying speeds. Right now, Ye Feng has even helped the Assassins Alliance obtain a First Clear. Regarding fame or background, the Assassins Alliance now stands at the very top of White River City; they have even surpassed many first-rate Guilds. This is a clear proof of Ye Fengs capabilities. If Ye Feng joins Shadow, within a month, we can stand our own ground in White River City. Ling Feilong had made a thorough investigation of Ye Feng, and the more information he uncovered about Ye Feng, the more frightened he became. Ye Fengs accomplishments far surpassed his imagination. This was also the reason Ling Feilong became even more determined to hug a golden leg like Shi Feng. At that time, what would Zhang Luowei amount to? What would Lan Hailong amount to? Dont even think about it! In the future, if you ever dare to mention Ye Fengs name to me again or tell Lan Hailong about this matter, you better be prepared for the consequences! Zhang Luoweis countenance suddenly turned livid. With a tone filled with killing intent, he said, Ye Feng is just a clown, jumping about on the stage. The Assassins Alliance is an apex second-rate Guild with an immense background. Their Guild Leader, Cruel Sword, is even a long-established expert. He has personally nurtured the Assassins Alliance to its current status, so it is not unusual for him to produce such results. To begin with, what sort of impact could that Ye Feng even have? In my opinion, that Ye Feng would, at best, take on the role of a bystander. Being reprimanded by Zhang Luowei in such a way, Ling Feilong immediately revealed a fearful expression. Hurriedly nodding his head, he said, Yes, I understand, Brother Zhang. I definitely wont mention this again in the future. Inwardly, however, Ling Feilong smiled brightly. He was even more assured of Ye Fengs might now. After all, if Zhang Luowei did not feel greatly threatened by Ye Feng, why would he be so angry at the mention this expert? In fact, Ling Feilong had long since told Lan Hailong about this matter, and Lan Hailong had instructed him to contact Shi Feng secretly once more. Once he attained certain achievements in Gods Domain, would he still be afraid of not being able to earn money? With wealth, would he still need to be afraid that Zhao Ruoxi wouldnt welcome his embrace of her own volition? Her family might very well obediently hand her over to him. \--- Just as everyone discussed the Assassins Alliances First Clear, Shi Feng had already swapped out his old equipment for the four pieces of the Wind Extinguisher Set Equipment and had arrived at the Library of White River City. Compared to the dilapidated house used as a Library in Red Leaf Town, the Library at White River City was a true library. Not only did it possess a majestic atmosphere, but its appearance was also splendid and magnificent. It was like a Babylonian shrine, and it was situated right in the heart of the city. The people going through the entrance of the Library were mostly nobles of White River City and mage-class NPCs. There were even some who possessed Tier 2 classes. Hence, the Library was not a place where the common folk could simply visit. Meanwhile, Sharlyn, the Tier 3 Divine Official whom Shi Feng searched for, currently recuperated within this wealth of knowledge. 217 Thoughtful Rain At the entrance of White River Citys majestic Library... Aside from a large number of NPCs entering and leaving the premises, there were also plenty of players surrounding the Librarys entrance. However, no matter how hard they tried, they still could not enter the Library. Hence, a majority of these players were currently trying to befriend some of the NPCs here, increasing their intimacy in the hopes of these NPCs taking them along into the Library. There were even some attractive female players that tried to seduce the NPC nobles. Meanwhile, the players that attempted these actions were mostly mages such as Elementalists, Cursemancers, and Summoners. As for why these players tried to get into the Library? It was mainly because of the amazing skills they could learn within the Library. Aside from obtaining these skills from monsters and Dungeons, the Library also possessed some of the more common, high-level mage skills. As for healers, they would have to visit the Light Temple to learn their respective skills. Meanwhile, all melee classes could learn new skills from their respective class instructors in the Apocalypse Temple. These players had read about the Library in the White River City Guidebook by Shi Feng. Hence, they had all come here to obtain new skills. After all, compared to upgrading their weapons and equipment, it was much easier to upgrade their arsenal of skills. As long as players could learn some of these high-level skills, their overall prowess would massively improve. However, learning a skill was very expensive. Players also needed to do a series of quests and waste precious time to obtain a skill. Hence, Shi Feng never thought of obtaining his skills through such means. After all, the skills he had learned so far were not any weaker than those high-level class-specific skills. So, he naturally would not waste time trying to obtain them. Seeing Shi Feng walking towards the Librarys entrance, the spectating players by the sidelines revealed sneers on their faces. Look, another new guy is trying to enter. How many players has that been already? Lets watch the guard kick him out. Most of these players had suffered a loss at the hands of the gatekeeper. As none of them possessed an entry pass, the guards had chased them all away. There were also some players who tried to cause a scene after being refused entry. However, these players were either jailed or sent flying away with a kick. Just as Shi Feng was about to walk towards the tightly shut large steel doors, a female Elementalist pulled on Shi Feng, stopping him. The guards here will kick out any player without an entry pass. It is best if you do not try to approach them, the female player warned Shi Feng. Shi Feng already knew this. However, since the other party had approached him with kind intentions, Shi Feng turned his head and looked at the female player that had stopped him. Immediately, Shi Feng discovered that the female player who stopped him was very beautiful. Amongst all the female Elementalists he knew, only the Flame Witch, Zhao Yueru, might trump this girls beauty. Moreover, the equipment on this girl fully comprised of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Although her weapons and equipment were all below Level 10, they were still extremely valuable. As the girl before him was an independent player, it was much more difficult for her to obtain such equipment compared to a member of a Guild. However, for some unknown reason, Shi Feng felt a sense of familiarity when he looked at this female player. Yet, he could not recall when he had met her before. He then used Observing Eyes and took a look at this girls name. Thoughtful Rain. Shi Feng had no recollection of this ID, and he was very sure that there was no female expert in his previous life with such a name. Since she was not a female expert, why did he feel a sense of familiarity with her? Shi Feng shook his head. There was no point thinking about it if he couldnt remember. It might just be a misconception due to his reincarnation. Thanks, Shi Feng said. Thoughtful Rain faintly smiled. She thought that, since Shi Feng had shown his appreciation, he must have a kind personality, unlike others who would reply to goodwill with malice. Hence, she pointed towards the group of players a short distance away that was currently surrounding a few NPC nobles, softly saying, En, your attitude isnt so bad after all. If you wish to enter the Library, it is best if you obtain an entry pass first. You can also try to befriend one of those NPC nobles. They possess some entry passes. Miss Rain, are you trying to enter the Library as well? Shi Feng asked. En, but those NPC nobles are simply too vile. So, I was just about to leave in search of an entry pass somewhere else. Thoughtful Rain nodded her head. However, when she recalled those fat and oily NPC nobles, an expression of disgust appeared on her face. Since that is the case, why dont you enter the Library with me? Shi Feng asked. He had no ulterior motives in inviting her along. He was simply trying to repay Thoughtful Rains kind reminder. Enter? Thoughtful Rain asked in confusion, Do you have an entry pass? No. Shi Feng shook his head. He then smiled as he explained, However, I have other methods. It shouldnt be possible, right? The guards here will only allow those with an entry pass or those related to the Library to enter, Thoughtful Rain revealed an unconvinced expression as if saying, Youre tricking me. Shi Feng merely smiled at her reaction, not bothering to explain. He then walked towards the large metal doors. Before Thoughtful Rain could stop Shi Feng, the guard on duty had already noticed him. The spectating players in the distance all started snickering at the thought of the misfortunate about to befall on Shi Feng. This noob is trying too hard to impress the beauty he just met. I want to watch the guard put him in his place. With his figure, Im guessing that the guard will send him flying over 10 yards. If he continues making a ruckus, the guard might even capture him and hang him by the Librarys entrance for display. That isnt right. The guard kicked that last Berserker over 10 yards. I bet that he will fly 15 yards away! Just as everyone wore mocking smiles, the guard moved forward and blocked Shi Fengs path. Halt! the powerful and mighty guard at the entrance suddenly blocked Shi Feng with his spear. He then coldly said, You will need to present your pass if you wish to enter the Library. Im a Demon Hunter. Will that do? Shi Feng swapped out his Might of a Thousand title for the Demon Hunter title, asking. So, it is Lord Demon Hunter! Please pardon my rudeness! The gatekeeper immediately retracted his spear, showing Shi Feng extreme respect. This situation immediately stunned the spectating players standing at a side. Their mouths gaped as the scene left them speechless. Even after they tried countless methods to obtain an entry pass from the NPC nobles, they still failed. Yet, the noob before them had actually made the gatekeeper kneel before him in respect just by uttering a single sentence. Could this be the rumored secret signal? Or was it the entry password? Shi Feng nodded towards the guard. He then pointed at Thoughtful Rain, saying, She is a friend of mine. However, she does not possess an entry pass. I wonder if she can enter with me? I can be her guarantor. Of course! Since she is a friend of the Lord Demon Hunter, she is naturally allowed to enter! The guard took a look at Thoughtful Rain, immediately noticing that she was an exquisite beauty. He then returned his gaze to Shi Feng, an understanding look on his face as he hurriedly said, In addition, here is a Library Members Emblem. This will allow Lord Demon Hunters friend to enter the Library freely in the future. Saying so, the guard respectfully passed the Library Members Emblem to Shi Feng. Shi Feng was slightly stunned. Gods Domain had only undergone one evolution as of this moment. He never thought that these NPC guards would be so intelligent already. Though he felt slightly shocked, he had no hesitation when accepting the Library Members Emblem from the guard. An entry pass could only provide a single entry into the Library for players. However, one could not complete the process of learning a new skill with a single trip. Meanwhile, there was no limit to the number of uses for the Library Members Emblem; players could enter the Library without any restrictions if they possessed this emblem. Originally, obtaining the Library Members Emblem for a friend was a special right reserved for nobles in White River City. Shi Feng did not think that even a Demon Hunter would have such rights. Miss Rain, please hold onto this Library members emblem properly. In the future, you simply need to wear it on your person, and none of these guards will bar you from the Library, Shi Feng said, handing the emblem to Thoughtful Rain, who was currently still in a daze. Following which, the two of them entered the Library under everyones stunned gazes. Some of the players were immediately dumbfounded. A few female players also revealed their envy as they watched Thoughtful Rain. At this moment, the players who had previously mocked Shi Feng ran up to the Librarys entrance. Halt! The gatekeeper blocked all the players, coldly saying, You will need to present your pass if you wish to enter the Library. Im a Demon Hunter. Will that do? these players repeated Shi Fengs words, inwardly praising themselves for their clever minds. How brave! You actually dare to impersonate the Lord Demon Hunter?! When the guard swept a glance over these players, he failed to discover any of them in possession of the Demon Hunter title. Immediately, the guard flared with anger. In the end, all these smart people ended up in tragedy... 218 Starstreak Trading Firm After Shi Feng and Thoughtful Rain entered the Library Thoughtful Rains eyes flashed with a hint of shock when she saw the spectacular scene inside the Library. The interior of the LIbrary was like something from a fantasy world. Countless documents and materials were displayed all around the Library, and a massive, transparent crystal globe occupied the center. This crystal globe was like a supercomputer; one could search for any information available pertaining to the Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, numerous open-air meditation rooms made of Magic Crystals decorated the surroundings of the crystal globe. Inside these meditation rooms, players could either research new spells or practice using their current spells. Normally, only Tier 3 and above mage classes would research new spells. The players at this stage of the game had yet to possess a deep understanding of magic, so researching new spells was out of the question for them. Moreover, the spells that players currently used were only entry-level spells. However, along with the increase in their levels, the spells they used would also grow more complex. If they did not possess a specific degree of understanding of magic, they could stop dreaming of casting any high-tier spells. As a result, many mages in Gods Domain had given up on their adventuring career, switching to a Lifestyle class instead. In fact, magic wasnt the only thing that had stringent requirements for players. It was the same for battle techniques. The more powerful a battle technique was, the higher its requirement would be of a players control over their body. As a result, this requirement had created a gap in strength between the players of Gods Domain. It was one of the reasons that some players could advance to a Tier 5 class, while some failed even to reach Tier 3. Although it would be of some help if players increased their Levels and Attributes, such factors would make little difference the further players advanced in Gods Domain. This was also the reason why God Tier powerhouses were so rare. Thus, Shi Feng continuously trained his body day in and day out, in addition to spending a large number of Credits to purchase nutrient fluids to improve his bodys physique. It was all meant to improve his brains potential and performance. Only by developing his brains potential could he master his body in the game and obtain extraordinary battle prowess. He could then advance to a Tier 5 class and take the challenge to advance to the Tier 6 godhood, reaching the pinnacle of Gods Domain. Lets part ways here; I still need to look for someone. If you want to learn high-level skills, the Tier 2 instructor over there can help you, Shi Feng pointed towards a mage in white robes standing by the large crystal globe. Thank you, Thoughtful Rain appeared slightly embarrassed as she expressed her gratitude. Originally, she had intended to help Shi Feng. Never would she have imagined that she would be the one who received help instead. She then said, Seeing as you are so familiar with this place, are you perhaps a professional player? I guess you can put it that way, Shi Feng nodded. Lets add each other as friends, then. I dont normally play games, so I usually buy my game equipment from others. In the future, if I am looking to purchase equipment or do a quest, I can also look to you for some help. Thoughtful Rain beamed a smile as she sent Shi Feng a friend request. Thats fine, but if you need help with a quest, it would be best if you contact me about it in advance, Shi Feng accepted the friend request. He did not think that, by coming here to do a quest, he would actually meet a potential female customer. When his Workshop started its operations in the future, aside from raiding Dungeons to obtain equipment, they would also need to look for tycoons and various corporations for sponsorship. However, it was extremely difficult for an upstart Workshop to obtain sponsorship from a large corporation. Newly established Workshops usually depended on rich players who were willing to spend large sums of money. Only after becoming a large Guild would a Workshop attract the sponsorship of large Corporations. Although Shi Fengs Workshop had yet to start its operation officially, there was already one customer waiting at the front door. His luck was relatively good. After Shi Feng left, Thoughtful Rain inspected Shi Fengs ID. Oh? He is Ye Feng, White River Citys number one expert? As Shi Feng had kept his ID hidden, it was only revealed after Shi Feng accepted her friend request. Although Thoughtful Rain was not a gaming expert, having a poor understanding of the gaming world, Shi Fengs fame had long since shaken the White River City region. He had also received many titles such as White River Citys number one independent player, god-ranked expert, and so on. Furthermore, Shi Feng had also personally penned the luxury version of the White River City Guidebook she had bought. So, how could she not know who Shi Feng was? No wonder why I thought he looked familiar. It turns out that he is Ye Feng. This looks interesting. Thoughtful Rains bright red lips slightly lifted upwards as she lost herself in her own thoughts. \--- On the Librarys uppermost floor, Star-Moon Hall... Several Level 180 Tier 1 Knights stood guard outside of Star-Moon Hall. These Knights wore rigid expressions. Under normal circumstances, even normal nobles were not allowed into the Star-Moon Hall. However, these Knights did not stop Shi Feng this time. On the contrary, they immediately parted the crystal doors for Shi Feng upon his arrival. Ive been bitterly waiting for you for so long; why have you only decided to come now? Sharlyn asked, smiling sweetly from her seat next to a shiny, stone table. The woman currently wore a set of pure white, magical robes. The delicate and luxurious robes radiated a faint silvery glow, making Sharlyn appear as though she were a flawless noble saint. She crossed one thigh over the other, revealing fair, supple skin. It was almost as if Sharlyn was trying to toy with Shi Feng. At this moment, Sharlyn was no longer a Level 20 Tier 3 Divine Official, but a Level 180 Tier 3 Divine Official. Aside from the few Tier 4 tyrants, Sharlyn could very well be considered the most powerful person in White River City. Why are you standing there, daydreaming? Come over here and sit! We have plenty of time to have a lengthy chat. Sharlyn smiled faintly as she pointed towards the empty seat beside her. Shi Feng instinctively shuddered when he faced a golddigger like Sharlyn. He felt as if he were being stared at by a nine-tailed fox, his wallet no longer safe. However, to obtain the clue for the Epic Quest, Shi Feng had no choice but to advance, taking a seat beside Sharlyn. Shi Feng took out 10 Gold Coins, placing them on the table. He then asked in a soft tone, Esteemed Lady Sharlyn, Ive brought the 10 Gold Coins you requested. I wonder if you can tell me the location of the Bible of Darkness now? Sharlyn made a slight waving motion and the Gold Coins on the stone table immediately flew to her lily-white hand. Giggling, she played with the shiny Coins in her hand. I didnt think that your moneymaking speed would be so fast. This big sister has truly underestimated you. After storing the Gold Coins, Sharlyn unhurriedly said, However, I now have a new piece of information. I wonder if you would be interested in hearing it? Moreover, this information is extremely accurate. It will definitely help you in locating the Bible of Darkness. Shi Fengs lips involuntarily twitched at Sharlyns words. She was going ask for more money! Say it. How much do you want? Shi Feng truly felt regretful now. Due to the successful sales of Hard Stones, Shi Feng now had over 70 Gold Coins on his person. If he had known something like this would happen, he would have stored all his money in the Bank before coming to the Library. However, there was also another possibility. Only when players possessed a certain amount of money could they trigger the revelation of new information. If so, without a doubt, Shi Feng had reached this goal. Not much; an additional 40 Gold Coins would be enough. Of course, you can choose not to listen to this new information. Im not trying to belittle you, but with your current strength, it is impossible for you to locate the Bible of Darkness by relying on the old clue. Are you sure you dont want to know this new clue? Sharlyn blinked her eyes at Shi Feng, her body radiating a holy aura. Those affected by this aura would find it hard to refuse Sharlyns request. A total of 50 Gold Coins. At this moment, Shi Feng wanted to shout, Why dont you just rob me and be done with it?! However, Shi Feng endured it. As long as he could obtain the reward for the Epic Quest, spending 50 Gold Coins was nothing in comparison. Here is 40 Gold Coins. Shi Feng ground his teeth as he placed another 40 Gold Coins on the stone table, forming a small, gold mountain. Sharlyns eyes shone as she saw the small mountain of gold. After snagging the Gold Coins, she unhurriedly took out a letter and handed it to Shi Feng. She then said, This is a contract for White River Citys Starstreak Trading Firm. As long as you bring this contract to President Henry, he will tell you how to reach the Dark Den. 219 Background _Starstreak Trading Firm?_ Shi Feng was slightly confused by Sharlyns words. After all, this was the second phase of an Epic Quest. Yet, Sharlyn did not send him on a dangerous mission, but simply to find a person instead? The difficulty of this task was simply inconceivable. _Could money really make the Devil turn millstones for you? Can spending money reduce the difficulty of a quest?_ Shi Feng wondered. Giving the situation some thought, it wasnt exactly impossible. Right now, a first-rate Guilds daily liquid funds only amounted to six to seven Gold Coins at best. Even if Fantasy Extinguisher had the full support of the first-rate Guild, the Fantasy Shrine, it would have been impossible for him to gather 50 Gold Coins. Even if the Fantasy Shrine possessed 50 Gold Coins, they would not simply allow Fantasy Extinguisher to spend it. After all, a large Guild could make major improvements to itself with 50 Gold Coins. If Shi Feng had not received a daily income of over 100 Gold Coins from selling the Hard Stones, he would not pay 50 Gold Coins, even if it killed him. According to the Main God Systems principle of equal value exchange, there was a very high possibility that he could reduce the difficulty of the Epic Quest by paying 50 Gold Coins. In any case, Shi Feng did not lack money right now. After all, he had a daily income of over 100 Gold. His earnings could rival the total sum of all the famous Guilds liquid funds in White River City. It was not an exaggeration to say that his personal wealth could rival an entire citys. If he could reduce the difficulty of an Epic Quest by paying some money, he would definitely do so. If he had known about this earlier, he wouldve waited a few more days before coming to meet Sharlyn. If he gathered 500 or 600 Gold Coins, he might be able to go to the Dark Den immediately to complete the quest. He would save plenty of time and trouble. Thank you, Lady Sharlyn. Shi Feng respectfully received the contract. I have faith in you. Dont make me wait too long. As more time passes, the strength of the great demon will also increase. At that time, even I might not be able to challenge it. As for you, youll just have to live the remainder of your life as a walking corpse, Sharlyn warned. System: Second phase of the Epic Quest Darkness Descends, Gospel Project, accepted. Quest content: Go to Starstreak Trading Firm and look for President Henry for more information about the Dark Den. Rewards unknown. Although Shi Feng did not know the exact contents of the quest, he felt that it should not be as easy as he had previously imagined. After all, he was only meeting Henry to learn more information and not heading directly to the Dark Den. Starstreak Trading Firm was very famous throughout White River City. The range of operation of the Starstreak Trading Firm was not limited to White River City alone. It also operated in the seven cities surrounding White River City. It was a massive trading firm. With such a wide reach, the amount of information they possessed would be immense as well. It was no wonder Sharlyn sent him to meet President Henry. Soon after, Shi Feng bade farewell to Sharlyn. If he remained here, the remaining 20 Gold Coins in his pockets might very well end up in Sharlyns pockets instead. After leaving the Library, Shi Feng hailed a horse carriage and hurried over to Starstreak Trading Firm. As the horse carriage galloped through the wide streets, Shi Feng could see players who had just arrived at White River City all around. Through the passing of time, the atmosphere in White River City had grown livelier. There was a high possibility that, in just another few days, the streets of White River City would be packed with people. Ten minutes or so later, the horse carriage halted in front of the storefront of Starstreak Trading Firm. The Starstreak Trading Firms store appeared luxurious. The building had a total of six floors. This store was definitely one of the tallest buildings in White River City, making it extremely eye-catching. Moreover, it was situated in a very good location; right in the heart of the Trade Area. The Bank of White River City was also just next door, while the Auction House was only a short distance away. There were only eight shops in total situated within this golden district. Among them, three shops occupied the largest areas; each occupied two to three times more land than the other shops. Naturally, Starstreak Trading Firm was one of these shops. Moreover, Starstreak Trading Firm similarly occupied such a golden district in the other seven cities. It was obvious just how powerful the background of Starstreak Trading Firm was. During the initial stages of Gods Domain, countless first-rate Guilds had tried to form connections with the Starstreak Trading Firm to conduct business. Unfortunately, these Guilds failed to meet even the shadow of President Henry. Yet, right now, Shi Feng could get in touch with President Henry through his quest. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that an Epic Quest was truly awe-inspiring. Although the price of failure was similarly horrifying, as long as he could complete it, the benefits he could obtain were unimaginable. The best example for this was the Demon Hunter title and Demon Mask Shi Feng had received from completing the first phase of the Darkness Descends quest. These two items had been of great help to him. _I wonder what sort of rewards I could obtain from completing this phase of the quest?_ Shi Feng inwardly felt anticipation. As of this moment, Shi Feng had finally realized why the Fantasy Shrine would hold nothing back in helping Fantasy Extinguisher complete his Epic Quest. After all, the profits they could reap from this quest was just astonishing. If a mere independent player like him could receive such profits, what could a Guild accomplish? Hence, this was the reason the Fantasy Shrine had risen to the top of Black Dragon Empire during the early periods of the game in the past, suppressing all the other first-rate Guilds. Unfortunately, Fantasy Shrine was doomed to normality in this life. Unless Fantasy Extinguisher managed to find another Epic Quest, Fantasy Shrine would not have any chances of achieving prominence. However, such a discovery was extremely unlikely. In the past, Shi Feng had only accepted one Epic Quest throughout the decade he had spent in Gods Domain. Moreover, he had only received it by chance when he was around Level 150. One could imagine just how rare an Epic Quest was. At this moment, Shi Feng suddenly received a system announcement. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode Crystal Ruins. All players within the team will be rewarded with 50,000 EXP and 1 Silver Coin. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the fastest team to conquer the Hard Mode Crystal Ruins. All players within the team will be rewarded with 50,000 EXP and one Tier 1 Gemstone of random Attribute. This system announcement undeniably caused a sensation among the players in White River City. Right now, the independent players who had arrived in White River City all had impressive techniques. Meanwhile, a large majority of them were unwilling to join a small Guild; they all wished to join a large, top-tier Guild. However, these independent players would not determine a Guilds strength solely through the fame of the Guild. After all, every time a Guild started out in a new virtual reality game, they had to start from the very bottom. Moreover, there would always be some nameless Guild suddenly rising in the ranks, becoming the tyrant of this new virtual reality game. Similarly, there was also plenty of well-known Guilds that had vanished without a trace. Hence, players would usually determine a Guilds strength through their Dungeon raiding capabilities. This situation also caused the system announcements to be extraordinarily important to Guilds, as this was the basis of reference for independent players. In fact, the players who had previously intended to join the Assassins Alliance had all changed their minds to join Ouroboros instead. After all, not only was Ouroboros a first-rate Guild, but they had also obtained the First Clear of a Hell Mode Dungeon. Regarding wealth, influence, or strength, Ouroboros was far more powerful than the Assassins Alliance. Even an idiot knew which Guild to choose. This was the difference in backgrounds... _As expected of Gentle Snow; her speed is astonishing. Ive only just recently helped the Assassins Alliance obtain the First Clear of a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon, yet, in the blink of an eye, she too has obtained one already. If she had not suddenly stopped playing Gods Domain, she might have turned Ouroboros into a Super Guild in the past._ Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed. How great would it be if he could recruit Gentle Snow into his own Guild? If Shi Feng incorporated the Cleric God, Violet Cloud, the Tyrant Bear, Cola, the skillful Fire Dance, and his own past experiences into his own Guild, they would have no trouble becoming a first-rate Guild, or even a Super Guild, in the future. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng suddenly felt that he really needed to upgrade his teams strength. After all, a Guild couldnt rely on a handful of apex experts for support. They needed a stronger backbone. The best case scenario for Shi Feng right now was to recruit some of the future powerhouses who were still obscure existences right now. However, the Guild he established by himself did not possess a deep background or great fame. These experts were no fools. If Shi Feng tried to recruit them, they might not even consider the option before rejecting him. Hence, the foremost thing Shi Feng needed to do was to establish a Guild with a strong background and limitless potential. Only by doing so could he attract those nameless experts. 220 Tier 4 Magic Scroll First-floor reception hall of Starstreak Trading Firm. The Starstreak Trading Firms store was different from normal stores. As it specialized in big businesses across cities, it had its own specialized reception room set up in the building. At the same time, there was also a sales area located on the first floor of the building. The sales area sold various merchandise such as clothing, weapons, equipment, potions, alchemy products, magic scrolls, and much more. This place was just like a supermarket in reality. A trading firm was different from the Auction House. As the Auction House charged players exorbitant processing fees, the items sold there were far more expensive than the items sold in normal stores. Earning money in Gods Domain was no simple task. Hence, rather selling their wares at the Auction Houses, losing 15% of their profits in the process, a large majority of the players in Gods Domain would prefer to spend more time, selling their wares at trading companies or stores. Esteemed Sir, how may I assist you? The beautiful and dignified young lady at the receptionist counter smiled at Shi Feng. I wish to meet President Henry. Please tell President Henry that Lady Sharlyn sent me to speak with him, Shi Feng said. Please wait for a moment. I will notify the president immediately. The receptionist immediately took out a Multicolored Communication Crystal, transferring Shi Fengs information through the crystal. After several minutes Mister Ye Feng, the President is waiting for you in the Presidents Office on the third floor. Thank you. Immediately, Shi Feng walked towards the spiral staircase in the distance. When he arrived before the Presidents Office on the third floor, he met two Level 150 guards who stood by the offices door. Average players were absolutely not allowed to enter the Presidents Office. In the past, countless Guild executives had queued up in front of this office. They had wished to meet with President Henry to discuss matters of renting out the first floor of Starstreak Trading Firms store for business. Unfortunately, they did not manage to catch even the shadow of President Henry. However, when Shi Feng walked up to the office, the two ferocious-looking guards immediately parted the sturdy, mahogany doors for him. Inside the luxurious and spacious office, a man in his fifties sat on a sofa in the middle of the room. The man had an elegant and dignified appearance. This person was indeed President Henry of Starstreak Trading Firm, and he was a well-known financial magnate in White River City. Your Excellency, Ye Feng, please, sit, President Henry said when his eyes met Shi Fengs, his finger pointing to the beastskin sofa before him. President Henry, this is the contract that Miss Sharlyn wanted me to bring to you. Shi Feng sat down. He retrieved the contract from his bag, handing it over for Henrys inspection. No need. Before you arrived, Her Highness Sharlyn had already notified me of your coming here. Ive also learned some information about you from Her Highness Sharlyn. The young truly are promising, Henry praised. He then said, Since you are here now, I feel reassured. Reassured? What are you reassured about? Shi Feng had a bewildered look on his face. Just what was President Henry saying? Also, just what did Sharlyn tell Henry? Oh? Did Her Highness Sharlyn not tell Your Excellency about it? Confused, Henry said, This contract was set between me and Her Highness Sharlyn. As long as Her Highness can save the Starstreak Trading Firm from its current predicament, she will obtain 20% of Starstreak Trading Firms shares and the Tier 4 Magic Scroll that was obtained from the ancient ruins. You say 20% of the companys shares and a Tier 4 Magic Scroll? Shi Fengs expression froze. Sharlyn was simply ruthless. Sharlyn had sent him to deal with the predicament, yet, she would receive a Tier 4 Magic Scroll in addition to 20% of the companys shares? Thats right. Ive already mentioned this to Her Highness. As long as Your Excellency can save us from this predicament, that Tier 4 Magic Scroll will belong to Your Excellency, Henry said, nodding his head. May I know what kind of magic scroll it is? Shi Feng was incredibly curious about the Tier 4 Magic Scroll. In the past, the most powerful magic scroll Shi Feng had seen was only a Tier 4. If he sold the scroll, the minimum price for it would be 500 Gold Coins. If it were an amazing Tier 4 Magic Scroll, he could even sell it for over 1,000 Gold Coins. However, players who obtained a Tier 4 Magic Scroll were not usually willing to sell it. It is a Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll. With it, one can teleport to anywhere they wished within an instant. However, this scroll was made using the technology of an ancient civilization. In our current era, we have no way of replicating such technology. Hence, this scroll is the only one that currently exists in Star-Moon Kingdom. It is priceless, Henry said pridefully. This scroll was his most precious treasure; he had always been reluctant to part with it. If it were not for the trading firm facing a great predicament, he would never willingly offer this Tier 4 Magic Scroll as a remuneration. Hearing Henry saying so, Shi Feng came to a realization. If he had the Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll, he could teleport directly to the Dark Den. He would not even have to waste time searching for its exact location. It was no wonder Sharlyn was so confident in her information. President Henry, I wonder what sort of predicament your trading firm wishes me to solve? Shi Feng asked. To be honest, bandits have snatched one of our shipments carrying precious merchandise, costing the trading firm massively. To make up for the loss, our trading firm had to pay a large sum of money as compensation, which in turn, resulted in our trading firm facing its current crisis. So, I hope that Your Excellency can help us resolve this predicament. Otherwise, if this problem drags on for another month, our trading firm will have to declare bankruptcy, Henry unhurriedly explained. Then, President Henry, are you telling me to get rid of those bandits and retrieve your stolen merchandise? It would be best if that is possible. Then, which band of bandits stole your merchandise? The Black Scorpion Corps of Black Cloud Ridge, led by Black Scorpion himself. He is a Level 180 Tier 3 Shadow Warrior. If you can get rid of him and retrieve our merchandise, I would greatly appreciate it. Hearing the words Tier 3 Shadow Warrior, Shi Feng nearly fell off of his seat. Was President Henry telling him to deal with a Tier 3 NPC? Only players who did not know how to write the word death would accept this request! Not to mention a month, Shi Feng would still fail this task even if he had two years to complete it! This had to be a joke! Shi Feng had originally thought that the Epic Quests difficulty had been reduced. Rather, wasnt this the exact opposite?! Noticing Shi Fengs troubled expression, Henry once more unhurriedly said, If Your Excellency feels that this request is too difficult, there is a second option. It is also for this reason that Her Highness Sharlyn sent Your Excellency here. Shi Feng slightly recovered from his shock as he heard that there was a second option. In reality, our trading firm also feels that it is impossible to retrieve the merchandise. The only possibility for Starstreak Trading Firm to get through this predicament is for us to collect 30,000 Gold Coins within a month. Her Highness Sharlyn has always praised Your Excellency as a business prodigy. If Your Excellency manages our Starstreak Trading Firm, I believe that we can achieve that goal. Seeing Henrys anticipating gaze, Shi Feng only wanted to curse. Just because he managed to earn a few Coins, he was suddenly a business prodigy... What kind of sick joke was this? Earning 30,000 Gold in a month! Moreover, he didnt actually have 30 days at all! Considering the time when the great demon would appear, Shi Feng would, at most, have 20 days to earn 30,000 Gold Coins. Even if he currently earned 100 Gold or so per day, ten days would only net him 1,000 Gold, while 30 days would only net him at 3,000 Gold. That was only one-tenth of the required amount! Players were still stuck in the initial stages of Gods Domain right now, so it was impossible for anyone to make that much money. If one added a weeks earnings of every player in the White River City region together, it might equal 30,000 Gold. How was he supposed to earn that sort of money? He might as well become a bandit and snatch the money from someone else. No, thats not right! Even if he tried to steal it, there was no way he could get that much money! Before Shi Feng could reject the quest, a system notification popped up before him. System: Epic Quest Phase 2 Gospel Project accepted. Quest content: You have become the manager of Starstreak Trading Firm! Earn 30,000 Gold Coins within a month and resolve Starstreak Trading Firms predicament! Rewards Unknown. 221 Astonishing Decision Its not even going to give me a choice? Shi Feng laughed bitterly as he looked at the system notification. Shi Feng did not even have the right to reject an Epic Quest. Shi Feng was truly confused as to how Fantasy Extinguisher had actually managed to complete this Epic Quest. In theory, he shouldnt be able to complete the quest even if he sacrificed the entire Fantasy Shrine. When converted to Credits, 30,000 Gold Coins was the equivalent of 300 million Credits. One could even buy a large company with that kind of money. Moreover, compared to the difficulty of earning 300 million Credits, in reality, it was much harder to earn 30,000 Gold in Gods Domain. Naturally, it was impossible for Shi Feng to earn 300 million Credits in reality right now. To speak frankly, if he were capable of such a thing, he would have long since done so. Why bother playing Gods Domain at all? However, it would still be better for him to develop himself in Gods Domain, as Gods Domain had more prospects. Earning Credits in Gods Domain would be much faster than earning Credits in reality. Your Excellency Ye Feng, from now on, the entire Starstreak Trading Firm will be under your command. We will carry out any orders you give. Also, I would like to introduce you to someone. If Your Excellency needs anything, simply let her know, Henry said, clapping his hands once. At this moment, the large doors of the office suddenly opened, and a beautiful girl with golden-blonde hair stepped into the office. The girl with blue eyes wore a beautiful purple dress; the edges of her dress brushed against the red-carpeted floor. The girl had a fair and pretty face, and her long wavy hair, which reached her buttocks, fluttered in the wind as she moved. Her bangs covered her sea-blue left eye, while her uncovered right eye looked just like a shiny, blue gemstone. As she walked closer to Shi Feng and President Henry, her thin red lips formed a tranquil, yet attractive, smile. Anna, from today onwards, His Excellency Ye Feng will be the acting president of Starstreak Trading Firm, while you will be His Excellencys assistant. You must properly assist His Excellency, understood? Henry asked. Yes, President. I will not disappoint His Excellency Ye Feng. Following which, Henry sent a beaming smile at Shi Feng as he said, Your Excellency Ye Feng, from today onwards, the Starstreak Trading Firms fate will be in your hands. Anna is very familiar with the Starstreak Trading Firm, and she is also very intelligent and capable. If you have any commands, please dont hesitate to let her carry them out. System: Player has activated the NPC Administration System. Please call out the NPC Administration Interface to manage your subordinated NPCs. Seeing Henrys smile, in addition to Annas attractive appearance, Shi Feng was slightly stunned. He could almost feel cold sweat dripping down his forehead. Henry obviously worried that Shi Feng would not give it his all in helping them. Thus, Henry had given Shi Feng this benefit. Fine. Leave the matter of Starstreak Trading Firm to me, then. Shi Feng laughed bitterly. He never imagined that he could obtain a beautiful assistant in Gods Domain. Not even a Guild Leader would enjoy such treatment. Also, Shi Feng felt relieved at the fact that he was not required to give 30,000 Gold to Starstreak Trading Firm. Instead, he only needed to help the trading firm make 30,000 Gold. Without a doubt, the difficulty of the quest had greatly reduced. Immediately, Shi Feng called out the system interface, investigating the NPC administration interface. [Ana] (Ye Fengs Assistant) Gender: Female Age: 20 Loyalty: 50 Charm: 86 Physique: 60 Wisdom: 91 Level: 50 HP: 10,000 _Her Wisdom is so high!_ Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the information displayed. In Gods Domain, Wisdom determined an NPCs potential. Normally, NPCs would not have Wisdom exceeding 50 points. If an NPCs Wisdom reached 60 points, they would possess extraordinary statuses in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, those with 70 points in Wisdom were usually Tier 2 mages. As for NPCs who had 90 points in Wisdom, they were usually characters such as Sharlyn, a Tier 3 Divine Official. However, Anna was far more amazing than Sharlyn. Sharlyn had a Tier 3 Class, so her Attributes would have been increased, resulting in her Wisdom reaching 90 points. However, Anna did not possess any class right now. If Anna obtained a Tier 3 class, her Wisdom would exceed 100 points. Although it was only a difference of 10 points, Wisdom increased slower as it reached higher numbers. Similarly, the difference between a single point in Wisdom would also become greater. An NPC with 100 points in Wisdom was the equivalent to Magistrate Weissman of White River City, an apex Tier 4 Wizard. With such a powerful subordinate, Shi Fengs mood improved greatly. Although 30,000 Gold was a huge sum of money, if Shi Feng earned it through the Starstreak Trading Firm, he would still have a thread of hope of succeeding. Since he was already capable of earning 100 Gold per day by himself, if he utilized Starstreak Trading Firms influence, he had a very high possibility of earning the 30,000 Gold Coins. After all, Starstreak Trading Firm had shops based in eight cities, and every one of them was in the heart of the Trade Areas of each respective city. Meanwhile, the total population of these eight cities exceeded five million players. With such a large player base, it would be very easy for Shi Feng to make money. Thinking up to this point, a flash of inspiration struck Shi Feng. All this time, he thought of opening a shop in White River City. Only, he did not possess the sufficient reputation or money to do so. After all, not to mention purchasing a shop located within the Trade Area, even the cheapest shop in White River City required players to have 500 White River City Reputation Points in addition to 1,000 to 5,000 Gold Coins. Although the price looked high, in reality, it was not as expensive as one would imagine. After all, the hardest part of purchasing a shop was the required 500 reputation points. By the time players obtained 500 White River City Reputation Points, a lot of time would have passed, and they would have long since collected the necessary Coins to purchase a shop. Moreover, the Coins at that time would not be as valuable as right now. At that time, 1 Gold Coin would at most be worth around 200 Credits, unlike the current situation where 1 Silver Coin could sell for more than 100 Credits. By becoming the acting president of the Starstreak Trading Company, Shi Feng had essentially obtained the most valuable shops in eight different cities. What did this situation hint at? Nobody had a better understanding of this situation than Shi Feng. Shortly after, under Annas lead, Shi Feng left the Presidents Office to tour the Starstreak Trading Firm. In truth, however, even without exploring the place, Shi Feng already had a thorough understanding of the Starstreak Trading Firm. NPCs were different from players in that they could only sell common goods. Even the equipment they sold was Common rank and very rarely would there be a Bronze ranked item for sale. However, it would be a different story altogether if the store were run by a player. On top of everything else, Shi Feng was also the officially acknowledged Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom. Just as Anna guided Shi Feng around the Starstreak Trading Firm, a few players who came to purchase some necessities such as food, water, scrolls, and potions were immediately dumbstruck when they noticed the duo. That NPC is beautiful! Just who is that player? Isnt he too good at getting the ladies? He has even managed to land an NPC sister. This wont do; I need to convince him to teach me! The scene of Shi Feng and Anna walking together immediately attracted the attention of plenty of players. In reality, such attention wasnt just due to Annas beauty. It was also due to the fact that Shi Feng had managed to get together with a female NPC. Such a feat was far more stunning than just getting together with a beautiful female player. Countless male players glowered at Shi Feng in envy. Meanwhile, this information spread throughout the forums like a storm, especially the footage of Shi Feng and Anna strolling through the sales area. This footage became a sensation among players, and it allowed them to gain a new perspective on Gods Domain. Fortunately, Shi Feng had not used his true appearance at that time. Instead, he wore the identity of Black Flame. This should be enough, Shi Feng looked at the surrounding onlookers as he revealed a faint smile. The reason he had asked Anna to come out for a stroll was precisely to attract attention. He then spoke to Anna, Ive decided to change the Starstreak Trading Firms business model. I wonder if that would be alright? Annas eyes suddenly widened in surprise. She looked at Shi Feng with a confused expression as she thought, _He has just taken the position as the acting president, yet, he is already taking such a bold and decisive action? Is this person really a business prodigy?_ However, Shi Feng was her boss. Moreover, President Henry had already instructed her to listen to Shi Feng. Hence, she nodded her head, saying, If Your Excellency wishes to change the business models, I wonder what Your Excellency needs me to do? Very simple. I wish to hire adventurers to craft items for me, then sell the items they have crafted. So, I need you to get someone to refurbish the eight shops we own. The first and second floors of the building will be used to sell our wares, while the fourth to sixth floors will be rebuilt as a workspace. Also, get the news out that we are hiring Lifestyle players. Whether they are just normal people or adventurers, as long as they reach our standards, we will offer them 30% more than what others are offering. Listening up to this point, Anna grew shocked. This wasnt just a change in the business models; this was practically a change of occupation... 222 Trump Card Immediately after Shi Feng gave his command, Anna started making the necessary preparations. Compared to a normal NPC, Anna was simply too smart. In just a short amount of time, she had already finished carrying out Shi Fengs request. During the time Shi Feng brainstormed on how he was going to utilize the Starstreak Trading Firm to earn 30,000 Gold, the entire Starstreak Trading Firm had also started its renovation. Following Shi Fengs request, the first and second floors were outfitted with sales counters. The first floor sold only the commonly used items, while the second floor would sell exquisite and precious items. Meanwhile, the fourth to sixth floors were refurbished into workshops for Lifestyle players. Out of those three floors, the fourth floor consisted of solely Forging Rooms, while the fifth floor consisted of Potionmaking Rooms. The sixth floor consisted of workshops for the remaining classes and a warehouse meant for the use of both NPCs and players. Meanwhile, the Starstreak Trading Firms renovation had attracted the attention of many players. Due to the footage of Shi Feng and Anna from before, plenty of players had arrived the trading firm to take a look out of curiosity. Yet, by the time they arrived, they discovered that the Starstreak Trading Firm was actually undergoing renovations. This situation made all the players grow even more curious. Just what was going on here? Your Excellency Ye Feng, the matter you requested has been completed. Does Your Excellency have any other instructions? Anna spoke gently as she walked up to Shi Feng, a tranquil smile on her face. Good. How many people did you manage to recruit? Shi Feng asked. From the eight cities, weve recruited 245 Potionmakers. Among them, 209 are Basic Potionmakers, 29 are Intermediate Potionmakers, and 7 are Advanced Potionmakers. In addition, we also recruited 228 Forgers. Among them, 188 are Basic Forgers, 31 are Intermediate Forgers, and 9 are Advanced Forgers.Anna took out a name list and place it on the table. Thats quite a lot, Shi Feng was very satisfied as he looked at the number of NPCs on the list. If a first-rate Guilds upper management saw such numbers, they would surely be shocked beyond recovery. After all, these were all genuine Potionmakers and Forgers; they were not apprentices. With such a frightening force, one could instantly turn a third-rate Guild into a Super Guild. This was the amazing aspect the Starstreak Trading Firm. If it were a player-established store, they could not recruit nearly this many high-level NPCs. The best NPCs they could recruit would only be apprentices. On the other hand, the Starstreak Trading Firm had easily recruited this many Potionmakers and Forgers. These NPCs were far more capable than player apprentices. The only downside was their slightly lower efficiency, slow improvements, and much lower growth potential. Your Excellency, I feel that it isnt very appropriate to offer such a high salary. Since we are hiring so many people, we will also have to provide an equally large number of materials. We will take a huge loss through this transaction. If we continue down such a path, not to mention a month, the Starstreak Trading Firm will go bankrupt within ten days, Anna said worriedly. In order to hire all these people, the Starstreak Trading Firm had offered 30% more than the market price. The trading firm also had to bear the failures of these crafters. This was simply madness. Moreover, whether it was potions or equipment, neither could earn them a lot of money. The sales of these items were similarly average. Only those Master-level characters would earn a lot of money from their craft. Right now, they were simply taking a loss by recruiting so many people. Anna truly could not understand why Shi Feng would invite all these people to work here. Wouldnt it be better to purchase the finished products from these crafters? That way, their trading firm would not have to suffer any losses. Unfortunately, Anna had no idea just how important these Potionmakers and Forgers were to the current players of Gods Domain. You dont need to bother with this. The remaining thing we need is to convince the Basic Potionmakers to continuously make the Basic Recovery Potions and Basic Mana Regeneration Potions that they are adept at making. As for the Intermediate and Advanced Potionmakers, get them to make Intermediate Recovery Potions and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions. For the Forgers, get all of them to make only Whetstones, Shi Feng said with a smile. There were plenty of NPC Potionmakers and Forgers in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, only players with their own shops had the right to hire these NPCs. Otherwise, even when players provided the materials, these NPCs would refuse to make anything for these players. However, there was a downside to getting these NPCs to make items. Simply put, they were slow. The number of items they could craft within a day was fixed. As for the advantage, NPCs had a much higher success rate, so they did not waste as many materials as players did. Meanwhile, during the later stages of Gods Domain, as player-made items grew in abundance, the usefulness of these NPCs would similarly start to wane. Right now, however, these Forgers and Potionmakers were of great use to Shi Feng. It was especially true for the Intermediate Recovery Potion and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potion. These two items were very useful to players, as they could save their lives during a crucial moment. Although these two items were common products, and their respective recipes were also available for sale at the Potionmaking Association, the players at this stage of the game were simply incapable of crafting them. Meanwhile, these two potions were only available for purchase from hidden NPCs, and only a limited amount was sold each day. They were items that a majority of the players in Gods Domain had no chance of enjoying. If these NPC Potionmakers crafted these two potions, their success rate would be more than 70%. The materials needed to make an Intermediate Potion were only around 30 to 40 Copper, yet, each completed bottle could sell for 5 to 6 Silver Coins. If Shi Feng deducted the cost of hiring, he would still make a profit of 4 to 5 Silver Coins. So, why wouldnt he carry out this transaction? Players needed these items the most right now. If the Starstreak Trading Firm sold these items, they would make a killing. There were also the Whetstones. This was an item that all players lacked. Currently, each stack of Hard Stones sold for 13 Silver Coins, while a stack of Whetstones sold for 40 Silver Coins. When comparing the success rate of Forging Apprentices and an official Forger, how could the former even hope to win over the latter? The only problem was materials. As the Starstreak Trading Firm had previously only purchased finished products from Forgers and Potionmakers, they did not have any materials of their own stored up. Now, they needed to provide the materials for these crafters. Although the trading firm could purchase the more common materials at low prices, Shi Feng needed to be the one to gather the materials required to make Intermediate Recovery Potions, Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions, and Whetstones. However, Shi Feng was not afraid of this. The herbs needed to make the Intermediate Recovery Potion and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potion were not very expensive. After all, these herbs were utterly useless to players right now. The players in Gods Domain at the moment were still Apprentice Potionmakers. Crafting Basic Recovery Potions was already impressive. Why would they bother wasting materials to make unrewarding potions? As a result, the herbs required to craft Intermediate Recovery Potions and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions were very cheap. As for Hard Stones, Shi Feng wasnt worried. After all, he still had a humongous stock in his warehouse. He had enough for these NPC Forgers for a long time. Moreover, he could also continue purchasing them from Aqua Rose. He would not lack Hard Stones at all. He would also sell these items in eight different cities. With all of these advantages, it would be challenging not to make a profit. Moreover, Shi Feng also revealed one of his trump cards. Advanced Whetstones! Advanced Whetstones were much stronger than a normal Whetstones. Not only did they recover twice the amount of a weapons durability, but they could also increase the weapons damage. Shi Feng had already intended to sell each for 7 Silver Coins, and one stack would sell for 1 Gold, 40 Silvers. As long as he placed the Advanced Whetstones on the second floor, a majority of the players would fight over it, especially the large Guilds. Oftentimes, just a 1% difference in damage could decide the victory or defeat of a Boss raid. Meanwhile, the Advanced Whetstone provided a 3% increase to a weapons damage. So, how could the various Guilds, who were currently in a rush to raid Dungeons, miss out on this item? They would definitely be in a mad rush to purchase them. Previously, Shi Feng had kept all the Advanced Whetstones for his personal use. Later on, he passed some of them to his teammates, leaving him with 800 or so for himself. With this amount, the Starstreak Trading Firm should be able to last a relatively long time. However, Shi Fengs plans were not limited to this. Now that he had such a large market available to him, he should fully utilize it as he would not have a similar chance like this in the future. Hence, Shi Feng thought up this plan. He intended to fully manipulate the Starstreak Trading Firm to help him set up his own shop in the future. Afterwards, Shi Feng left the follow-up work to Anna, while he departed the Starstreak Trading Firm alone. 223 Popular Starstreak Inside a hotel in White River City. Along with Gods Domains evolution, players understood the importance of rest. If they grinded monsters without rest, not only would their Stamina decrease, but their Concentration would also fall. Hence, after a day of battle, players would now rest at the hotel, having a drink and chatting with each other. Players discovered that places like restaurants, hotels, and bars allowed them to recover Stamina and Concentration more quickly. After relaxing for two or three hours, they would feel refreshed and filled with energy. Did you hear? The Starstreak Trading Firm seems to be undergoing renovations. I heard that they are going to release new products for sale. Who doesnt know about this? After I made some inquiries, I found out that the Starstreak Trading Firm has also recruited tons of Potionmakers and Forgers. The trading firm is even hiring Lifestyle players right now. However, no players have dared apply for a position yet, thinking that it wouldnt be a reliable job. I wonder what sort of new items they are going to sell? Aside from the common usage items, what else could an NPC-owned store sell? They cant possibly offer Bronze Equipment or rare potions, right? That sounds about right. While the players in the hotel conversed, a male player suddenly pushed open the saloon doors, panting. Big news! Starstreak Trading Firm has finished its renovations and has officially opened for business! the panting Ranger exclaimed to his companions loudly. Why are you making a fuss? Arent they just reopening their business? We dont lack Basic Potions or Common Equipment right now, so we dont need to replenish our stock. As the leader of the party, the Shield Warrior rolled his eyes as he watched this embarrassing companion of his. Others would make fun of them for the Rangers unsightly appearance. Indeed, just like the Shield Warrior had feared, the other players in the hotel sent belittling glances, mocking smiles on their faces. Leader listen to me That Ranger excitedly said, I saw Whetstones inside the shop! There are also Intermediate Recovery Potions and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions! Moreover, the Basic Potions are cheaper than anywhere else! What did you say? There are Whetstones? The Shield Warrior froze, stunned. The entire hotel fell silent. Lets go. Take us there immediately! We have to buy all of them, now! The Shield Warrior abruptly stood up, casting Charge and arriving at the Rangers side. Grabbing the Ranger by the arm, he immediately rushed out of the hotel, running towards the Starstreak Trading Firm. The other players inside the hotel were dumbfounded by this scene. What? Crap, theyre going to buy out the Whetstones! We need to hurry as well! After entering White River City, players need for Whetstones had not decreased in the slightest. On the contrary, their need had grown. It was especially true when they faced high-level monsters, as the durability of their weapons reduced at a much faster rate. As a result, the popularity of Whetstones had exploded. The available supply was far from meeting the demand. By the time everyone had arrived at the Starstreak Trading Firm, a sea of people had already obliterated the shops doors. Aside from Whetstones, the players present also fought to purchase the Intermediate Recovery and Mana Regeneration Potions like madmen. \--- Meanwhile, this information had quickly spread to the ears of the various Guilds. Guild Leader, Ive already collected a large sum from all our members, and weve managed to purchase 30 stacks of Hard Stones. This amount should be enough to last us a long time, Stabbing Heart spoke through the system communicator. Good. The moment the money-making team sends over the latest batch of Gold Coins, immediately return all the money we borrowed from our members, Cruel Sword excitedly said. \--- Aside from the Assassins Alliance, other Guilds also frantically gathered funds. Snow, just what is happening at that Starstreak Trading Firm? Why would they suddenly start selling these items? Zhao Yueru wrinkled her crescent brows when she looked at the latest news that she had just received. She then said helplessly, Weve already spent a lot of money to purchase our previous stock of Hard Stones. We dont have any money to purchase any more right now. Ive heard that the Starstreak Trading Firm is also selling limited edition Advanced Whetstones right now. Rumor has it the Advanced Whetstones effects are at least double that of normal Whetstones. In addition, it also provides a 3% Damage Buff! Although it is slightly more expensive, costing 7 Silver Coins per piece, we would have a much easier time raiding the Dungeon Bosses with them! Gentle Snow shook her head, a helpless expression appearing on her beautiful face as she said, Under normal circumstances, NPCs would never sell these items. However, there is something strange going on. A player has created a connection with the Starstreak Trading Firm. Im just wondering who could possibly achieve such a feat. Also, who would possess enough funding to supply so many Whetstones and Intermediate Potions. This is simply unbelievable. Send someone to investigate this matter immediately. Recently, she had managed to raise 20 Gold Coins and had purchased Hard Stones with that money. Yet, the Starstreak Trading Firm now sold Whetstones. She had not received any information before this incident, causing her to suffer disaster. Currently, the issue of weapon durability had caused a roadblock in their Dungeon raiding progress. Everything would be too late by the time their Guilds forgers managed to turn those Hard Stones into Whetstones. Other Guilds would have long since surpassed them. They needed to obtain the Whetstones right this instant, especially the Advanced Whetstones. \--- Meanwhile, inside an Intermediate Forging room in the Forging Association, Shi Feng currently crafted Advanced Whetstones. He did so to increase his Forging Proficiency and earn money. The present market was not the same as before. With the Starstreak Trading Firm around, he could now sell the Advanced Whetstones he made in eight cities. Although the Advanced Whetstones were somewhat expensive, players from the eight cities would still buy them. Even if Shi Feng forged Advanced Whetstones 24 hours a day, he still wouldnt meet the demand of the eight cities. Currently, Gold Coins poured into the Starstreak Trading Firms accounts with every passing moment. Shi Feng did not even dare open the money system notification. Only one short hour had passed since Starstreak Trading Firm reopened, yet, already, it had earned over 300 Gold Coins. However, this was only the beginning. Things would become more exciting later on. Aside from making money, Shi Fengs goal in making Advanced Whetstones was to upgrade himself to an Advanced Forging Apprentice. If he became an Advanced Forging Apprentice, he could learn the Advanced Book of Magic he had obtained from Stonehammer Town. Previously, he only had White River City as the sole market for his wares. Now, however, he had eight markets. He also did not need to foot any of the high processing fees, so he could not waste this chance. Shi Feng intended to gain an impressive reputation and prestige among the eight cities. However, the Advanced Whetstones alone were not enough to achieve this result. Moreover, Advanced Whetstones could not increase his reputation, as these things did not carry his personal mark. Only the Starstreak Trading Firm would gain reputation from these Advanced Whetstones. Most importantly, after everyone had a taste of the benefits of the Advanced Whetstones, they would fervently investigate how they could obtain the recipe. After all, the recipe for the Advanced Whetstone was not unique; players could obtain them from multiple Team Dungeons. By the time Shi Feng opened his own shop, he would no longer possess the advantage he had right now. Thus, he needed to become an Advanced Forging Apprentice and learn the Advanced Book of Magic, creating the one and only Mana Armor Kit. Once he thoroughly spread the Black Flame Forgers reputation with the Mana Armor Kits that only he could create, tons of players would search him out. 224 Runic Gold In the quiet and steamy Forging Room, a deep blue flame burned brilliantly as it refined one Hard Stone after the next. Originally, forging Advanced Whetstones had a low success rate. Yet, when Shi Feng made them, the process was as smooth as flowing water. Whether regarding production speed or quality, both were equally amazing, and one couldnt help but give praise when witnessing this scene. Although the repetitive task was slightly cumbersome, when Shi Fengs thoughts wandered to the fact that each Advanced Whetstone could sell for 7 Silver Coins, endless motivation flowed into him. After three hours had passed since Shi Feng started this laborious work, he had made 180 Advanced Whetstones. His speed could practically rival the efficiency of three or four Forgers combined. Also, without noticing it, Shi Feng had also recovered his previously lost level, returning from Level 14 to Level 15. His current leveling speed was far more efficient than grinding normal monsters. Having decided to take a short rest, Shi Feng examined his current Forging Proficiency. It was already at 1,253 points right now. He needed 3,000 Proficiency Points to be promoted from an Intermediate Forging Apprentice to an Advanced Forging Apprentice. As long as he continued to work hard for two or three more days, he could become an Advanced Forging Apprentice. If other players knew of Shi Fengs promotion speed, they might become stupefied. After all, throughout the entire White River City region, aside from Shi Feng, there was not a single Intermediate Forging Apprentice to be found. Shi Fengs forging promotion speed was monstrously fast. _Based on_ _this speed, if I focus_ _solely_ _on forging, I can become an Advanced Forging Apprentice in two days_ _,_ _just_ _in_ _time_ _for_ _the next transaction with Aqua Rose. I can rake in another_ _large_ _sum of money from Aqua Rose._ Shi Feng made a rough estimation, growing excited. He greatly profited every time he met with Aqua Rose. If he could make another large sum this time, he would have mostly dealt with the matter of setting up his Workshop. Later on, he only needed to think of a way to recruit a large number of players that could serve as the backbone of the Guild in the future. If he wished to establish a Guild with tens of thousands of members, he needed at least several hundred players to serve as the backbone of the Guild. Otherwise, he could not manage so many players properly. Hence, Shi Feng had decisively bought the office building to establish his Workshop. It would save him the trouble of having to move to a new Workshop in the future, limiting such issues related to the Guilds development. Di Di Di Hm? Gentle Snow? When Shi Feng heard the ringtone for his communicator, he discovered the caller was Gentle Snow. However, she was not looking for Ye Feng, but Black Flame instead. It just so happened that Shi Feng had reasons to look for Gentle Snow as well. Previously, he had intended to use the ID of Black Flame to establish the Lifestyle Guild, the Horizon Alliance. However, he never found the chance to do so. Now, a chance had arrived. Currently, he was temporarily in charge of the Starstreak Trading Firm, which possessed shops in eight different cities. Moreover, these shops were all located in the heart of each city. Regarding materials, workplace, or a place to sell items, Shi Feng now had everything a Lifestyle player would need in his possession. If he factored in Gentle Snows advertising, establishing the Horizon Alliance was practically a done deal. If Horizon Alliance successfully developed, it would be worth a gold mine. He could obtain both funding and materials through this Lifestyle Guild. At that time, Shi Feng would not have to worry about Zero Wings development. Black Flame, are you interested in making a deal? Gentle Snow immediately asked without any greeting. A deal? I wonder what sort of deal Miss Snow wishes to make? Shi Feng asked, curious. I know that you are related to the matter of the Starstreak Trading Firm, so I wish to purchase some Whetstones from you, especially the Advanced Whetstones. Ill pay Credits, and Ill buy as many as you have right now, Gentle Snow said. So, you desire the Whetstones. This should be simple. However, I need Gold Coins far more than Credits right now. If Miss Snow has a lot of them, I can definitely sell you my entire stock. Shi Feng did not refute Gentle Snows claim. After all, it was not strange that she had discovered his relation to the Starstreak Trading Firm. Previously, he had used the appearance of Black Flame to stroll through the trading firm with Anna openly. Moreover, many players had recorded a video of that scene. Since Gentle Snow had seen Black Flame before, she could easily figure out the relationship between him and the Starstreak Trading Firm as long as she saw one of those videos. Ill pay you three times of the market price via Credits. Gentle Snow did not want the other Guilds to catch up to them. Hence, she did not mind spending some extra Credits. Miss Snow, there is no need to continue. You and I both know how important Gold Coins are right now. If you do not have the sincerity to conduct this trade, let us just forget it altogether. I am sincere about this deal. However, Ive recently purchased a large batch of Hard Stones, so I dont have any excess Gold Coins at the moment. How about five times the market price? Gentle Snow felt helpless right now. Black Flame certainly had a powerful backer supporting him, so he might not value Credits as much as Gold Coins. However, she truly had nothing she could use to trade. She only had Credits. Lets just forget about the Credits. Dont you have a lot of Hard Stones right now? Shi Feng revealed a faint, bitter smile. If he were not required to earn 30,000 Gold Coins within 20 days, he would have definitely agreed to five times the market price. However, Gold Coins were much more important to him right now. This matter affected his own future development, so he could not compromise. Hence, he suggested, Lets exchange using Hard Stones, then. Exchange? Gentle Snows beautiful face froze. Stunned, she asked, What will the ratio of exchange be? That will depend on you. For the normal Whetstones, it will be a 1-to-4 ratio. As for the Advanced Whetstones, I require a 1-to-9 ratio, Shi Feng stated calmly. Fine. However, I want only Advanced Whetstones. Moreover, I want to conduct the trade immediately. After giving the matter some thought, Gentle Snow felt that this exchange seemed reasonable. However, Gentle Snow inwardly cursed at Shi Feng for being too hateful. _It is a_ _s expected of the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom._ If she allowed the forgers in her Guild to make Whetstones right now, they could produce one Whetstone with every four or five Hard Stones. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had accurately suggested trading one Whetstone for four Hard Stones. The result of this exchange was just slightly better than the result the forgers in her Guild could produce. So, Gentle Snow agreed to trade the majority of their stock of Hard Stones for Advanced Whetstones, leaving the remainder for the forgers in her Guild to increase their Forging Proficiency. Alright, then. Look for an NPC named Anna once you arrive at the Starstreak Trading Firm. She will conduct the exchange immediately, Shi Feng instructed, chuckling. Soon after, Shi Feng disconnected the call, resuming his production of Advanced Whetstones. Shi Fengs trade with Gentle Snow was only a small interlude. After Gentle Snow had exchanged four stacks of Advanced Whetstones with Anna, under Shi Fengs instructions, Anna made the exchange mechanism open to the public. The exchange ratio was the same as he previously mentioned to Gentle Snow. As a result, many players who lacked the money to purchase Whetstones started frantically exchanging their Hard Stones. They no longer needed Forging Apprentices to rip them off. With this, not only could the Starstreak Trading Firm deal with its material supply issue, but it could also make a profit from this exchange. This scene caused many Lifestyle players to have second thoughts about applying to work at the trading firm. \--- Two days later System: Congratulations! You are the first player to be promoted to an Advanced Forging Apprentice! Obtained 200,000 EXP. Rewarding 5 Runic Gold. Finally! Still, the system is really generous this time, to think it would even give me a rare item like Runic Gold. Shi Feng involuntarily smiled when he saw the system rewards. Runic Gold could increase the forging success rate of an item by 10%. Simultaneously, it would have a chance to upgrade the rank of the forged item by one. Unlike Runic Steel, which could only upgrade an items quality to a maximum of Fine-Gold rank, Runic Gold could increase an items quality up to Dark-Gold rank. However, Shi Fengs joy focused on the promotion to an Advanced Forging Apprentice. Ever since his Forging Proficiency had reached 2,000 points, the Advance Whetstones no longer rewarded 1 Proficiency Point 100% of the time. They only had a 70% chance to reward a Proficiency Point. Meanwhile, after he reached 2,500 points, there was only a 40% chance of obtaining 1 Proficiency Point, while at 2,800 points, that chance further decreased to 20%. After spending two days forging away, he finally managed to earn the promotion to an Advanced Forging Apprentice. After becoming an Advanced Forging Apprentice, Shi Feng immediately retrieved the Advanced Book of Magic from his bag, choosing to learn it without hesitation. Suddenly, a golden glow surrounded Shi Fengs body, and within Shi Fengs mind, the knowledge of producing the Magic Armor Kit appeared. During these two days, aside from continuously producing Advanced Whetstones and raising his Forging Proficiency, Shi Feng had also made sure to train his body during the day. Incidentally, he also bought that office building in the city center for his Workshop. Shi Feng had to pay a total of 60 million Credits in installments. He first paid 20 million Credits, while he would pay the remaining 40 million in full within 3 months. Shi Feng had also earned over 10 million Credits from selling the White River City Guidebooks. He used 5 million or so to purchase various gaming facilities and other items to complete his Workshop. That way, when it was time to attend the universitys Fellowship Party, he would have 5 million Credits and a luxurious Workshop to back him up. He was no weaker than Shadow right now. Comparing Workshop facilities and environments, Shi Fengs Workshop utterly destroyed Shadows. 225 Mana Armor Ki While Shi Feng had been stuck in the Forging Room for the past two days, many of the players that had just entered the city were amazed by the scene they witnessed. They never imagined that such benefits would be available in the city. Whetstones were no longer items solely monopolized by Guilds. They could be purchased at the Starstreak Trading Firm along with the rare Intermediate Recovery and Mana Potions. Compared to other shops in White River City, the Starstreak Trading Firms stock was far more thorough. Most importantly, the Starstreak Trading Firm was the only location that sold Advanced Whetstones. This item had become the Starstreak Trading Firms signature item and was only sold in limited numbers everyday. With such an advantage, the Starstreak Trading Firm instantly obtained a strong foothold in the eight cities it occupied, suppressing the other shops. During these two days, players no longer visited other shops to purchase their items, as they could simply purchase everything they needed at the Starstreak Trading Firm. As a result, business boomed for the trading firm. Meanwhile, a huge incident also happened in White River City, and even Shi Feng, who was extremely knowledgeable about Gods Domain, was shocked. Ten Guilds had suddenly grouped, forming an entirely new, single Guild. This matter sent shockwaves throughout the entire White River City region. Many of the second-rate and third-rate Guilds started panicking at this news. They all increased the treatment they offered to their members and continuously tried to recruit new members into their Guilds. Simultaneously, they also increased their speed of annexing smaller Guilds. As for the unrated Guilds, they started to form alliances to resist the annexation of these second-rate and third-rate Guilds for self-preservation. White River City, which originally had hundreds of Guilds contending with each other for supremacy, suddenly entered a new phase where only a handful of powers contended with each other. In reality, a dozen or so unrated Guilds coming together to form one large Guild would not greatly affect these second-rate and third-rate Guilds. The main reason this merger frightened these powerful Guilds was the guild at its core; it was none other than the top-tier, third-rate Guild, Dark Star. Furthermore, Dark Star had a new Guild Leader. Lone Tyrant had suddenly become Dark Stars new Guild Leader, while the previous Guild Leader had been chased out of his own Guild. Originally, Dark Star already had Lone Tyrant, who was ranked first on the Ranking List. They also managed to obtain the First Clear of several Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Previously, they had even competed against the Assassins Alliance over supremacy in White River City. However, due to lacking a powerful background, they could not grow any stronger within a short time. Now that Lone Tyrant had become the Guild Leader, not only had Dark Star annexed a large number of Guilds, but they had also managed to recruit quite a few hidden experts. Just a short time after the merger, Dark Star had obtained the First Clear of two Hard Mode Team Dungeons, and one of them was even the First Clear of a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. As a result, Dark Stars fame soared once again. They were no longer beneath the Assassins Alliance; they might have already surpassed the Assassins Alliance. Currently, Dark Stars influence in White River City could rival that of a first-rate Guild. They had become one of the tyrants of White River City. On another note, for reasons unknown, the first thing Lone Tyrant did after he unified those unrated Guilds was place a bounty on Shi Fengs head. Moreover, the bounty he set was rather generous. As long as someone could kill Shi Feng to Level 0, he would immediately reward the person responsible with five million Credits and an elder position in Dark Star. Meanwhile, any player who killed Shi Feng once could receive a reward of 200,000 Credits. In a virtual reality game, such a high bounty was mind-blowing. Right now, major corporations in the real world were only offering an annual salary of five million Credits or so when recruiting well-known top-tier experts. On the other hand, Shi Feng was not even a great character from a first-rate Guild. Such a high bounty on an unknown player was a first in the world of virtual reality. Even though they did not know what sort of enmity Lone Tyrant had with Shi Feng, many players had expressed their sympathies for Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Lone Tyrants tyrannic actions had undeniably garnered the attention of many independent players, compelling them to join Dark Star to develop themselves further. However, from Shi Fengs point of view... Lone Tyrant was simply a lunatic. He had snatched away only one First Clear away from Lone Tyrant; was there really a need to be so unforgiving? Moreover, Shi Feng was really confused as to when Dark Star had become such an amazing existence. They had actually managed to annex more than ten unrated Guilds within such a short amount of time. One should know that each Guild would have at least one to two thousand members. In the case of a larger Guild, there might be even five to six thousand members. Yet, Dark Star had actually devoured and incorporated them in a single go with room to spare. Even the Assassins Alliance did not possess a background strong enough to carry out such a feat. Although Dark Star was very powerful right now, Shi Feng considered the bounty on his head no more than a joke. If Shi Feng were only a normal expert, he might have trembled in fear as he could not continue mingling in White River City. However, was Shi Feng a normal expert? No, he wasnt. In a situation where everyone else had yet to familiarize themselves with Gods Domain fully, Shi Feng already had ten years worth of experience playing in Gods Domain as an expert Swordsman. As of this moment, Lone Tyrant, the current first ranked player on the Ranking List, was only Level 14. However, during the time Shi Feng had spent cooped up inside an Intermediate Forging Room producing Advanced Whetstones, he had already recovered to Level 16. Shi Feng was leaps ahead of Lone Tyrant regarding EXP they had. Moreover, with his current Level and equipment, Shi Feng had dared to face an absolute powerhouse head-on from his previous life. So, why would he possibly be afraid of Dark Star? This time, however, Shi Feng could not use the same strategy he had with Martial Union within Red Leaf Town. There was nobody in White River City who dared provoke a tyrannic tiger like Dark Star. Moreover, Dark Star had too many members; Shi Feng would go bankrupt if he placed a bounty on all its members. Not to mention, whether it was Gold Coins or Credits, Shi Feng was sorely in need of both right now. Hence, Shi Feng chose to ignore Dark Star and instead, focus on his own matters, producing Mana Armor Kits. Compared to normal Armor Kits, Mana Armor Kits were far more powerful. Aside from providing additional Defense, normal Armor Kits only provided a small bonus to Attributes. On the other hand, Mana Armor Kits provided a significant bonus. Moreover, Mana Armor Kits could be equipped on both plate and cloth armor. The materials needed to produce them were also very basic; no expensive or rare materials were necessary at all. [Basic Mana Armor Kit] Materials required: 10 Copper Ore, 3 Bronze Ore, 1 Basic Recovery Potion or 1 Basic Mana Regeneration Potion Can be crafted into either Physical or Magical Basic Armor Kit. Bound to character after equipping. [Basic Physical Armor Kit] Defense +80 Strength +3, Endurance +4, Agility +3 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 10 equipment or above. [Basic Magical Armor Kit] Defense +30 Intelligence +3, Endurance +4, Vitality +3 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 10 equipment or above. [Intermediate Mana Armor Kit] Materials required: 15 Iron Ore, 5 Fine Iron Ore, 1 Intermediate Recovery Potion or 1 Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potion. Can be crafted into either Physical or Magical Intermediate Armor Kit. Bound to character after equipping. [Intermediate Physical Armor Kit] Defense +200 Strength +10, Endurance +12, Agility +10 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 25 equipment or above. [Intermediate Magical Armor Kit] Defense +60 Intelligence +10, Endurance +12, Vitality +10 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 25 equipment or above. [Advanced Mana Armor Kit] Materials required: 20 Silver Ore, 8 Mithril Ore, 2 Advanced Recovery Potion or 2 Advanced Mana Regeneration Potion. Can be crafted into either Physical or Magical Advanced Armor Kit. Bound to character after equipping. [Advanced Physical Armor Kit] Defense +400 Strength +30, Endurance +40, Agility +30 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 50 equipment or above. [Advanced Magical Armor Kit] Defense +150 Intelligence +30, Endurance +40, Vitality +30 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 50 equipment or above. As long as a player bound three Mana Armor Kits to their equipment, they would have the equivalent of an additional piece of precious equipment. Whether in a normal battle or Dungeon raid, the Mana Armor Kits would provide an immense improvement to a player. Who could resist such an enticing item? 226 Attracted by Fame On a street located in the heart of the Trade Area, a man hiding himself under a hooded cloak hurriedly walked into the tall building, the Starstreak Trading Firm, by the roadside. Due to its raging popularity, there were plenty of players entering and leaving the Starstreak Trading Firm. Moreover, players who wore cloaks were common at the trading firm, so the hurried man did not attract the attention of other players. However, if one observed carefully, they would discover two exquisite longswords strapped to his back. Of the two swords, one released a faint glow that resembled a black flame, while the other released a green stream of light. One could easily tell that these two swords were extraordinary items. Moreover, the style of this mans equipment clearly indicated it was a Set Equipment and a high-quality Set Equipment at that. This person was none other than Shi Feng currently disguised as Black Flame. Previously, after spending most of his day hiding in a Forging Room, Shi Feng had forged a total of 600 Basic Mana Armor Kits; 400 of them were Physical Armor Kits, while the remaining 200 were Magic Armor Kits. A large amount of Copper Ore, Bronze Ore, Intermediate Recovery Potions, and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions was required to make so many Armor Kits. Fortunately, Shi Feng had these materials in spades. With the Philosophers Stone, Shi Feng could refine Stones into Ores. There was no need for him to purchase any at all. As for Basic Potions, he simply needed to spend some money to purchase a large stock of them. However, when compared to the value of the Basic Mana Armor Kits, the cost of these potions was practically negligible. Shi Feng had even resolved the issue of production success rate, which was the most troublesome factor when producing the Basic Mana Armor Kits. For starters, as an Advanced Forging Apprentice, Shi Feng possessed a 20% success rate when forging the Basic Mana Armor Kits. After factoring in the Book of Forging and the various supporting tools he possessed, his success rate was further boosted to 66%. Although there was still the chance of failure, each try would only cost him 70 Copper Coins. With Shi Fengs current wealth, he would not feel even an itch from losing such a meager amount of money. After arriving at the third floor of the Starstreak Trading Firm, Shi Feng quickly discovered a long line of people in the hallway. These people were currently queued up outside an office. A majority of these people consisted of NPCs, while the minority were players. Hey, do you know what first come, first served means? You mannerless brute! You actually dare break the rules that Lady Anna has set! Bro, you sure have guts, huh? Arent you afraid of Goddess Anna kicking you out? Regardless if it were the NPCs or players queued up in the hallway, all of them sent fierce glares at Shi Feng. However, their anger did not stem from their hatred of meeting Shi Feng for the first time. Instead, they were afraid of Shi Fengs rudeness earning the ire of Lady Anna. They had been painstakingly waiting to meet Lady Anna for a long time now. If Lady Anna chased all of them away in a fit of rage, it would be a tragedy. What are you guys queuing for? Shi Feng asked curiously. Shi Feng casually glanced at the people queued up in the hallway. Just from a rough estimate, there should be over 200 people present; this was in no way a small number. Moreover, looking at how all of these people referred to Anna as Lady Anna or Goddess Anna with both admiration and respect, Shi Feng couldnt help but grow astonished. You dare come here without even knowing this? Everyone immediately rolled their eyes at Shi Feng. They looked at Shi Feng as if he was a noob, their gazes filled with disdain. The Starstreak Trading Firm is currently hiring a large number of Forgers and Potionmakers. If were chosen and can work for Starstreak, we will enjoy a private workshop all to ourselves. Moreover, the trading firm will provide us with an endless supply of materials. If we perform well, the trading firm will even reward us with our very own private research room and provide us with all the materials we need to carry out our research. In other words, as long as we can become a Forger or Potionmaker of Starstreak Trading Firm, both money and fame will be available for our picking. Speaking up to this point, everyone couldnt help but sigh incessantly. They felt great envy towards those who had already become Forgers and Potionmakers of the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, when a female player suddenly walked out from the office with a disappointed look on her face, everyones mood immediately dampened. Due to Starstreak growing more and more famous, the number of NPCs and players who wished to join the trading firm had also grown explosively. Hence, the tests difficulty had also been increased. It was no longer as easy as the trading firms initial recruitment. How many consecutive eliminations have that been already? I think this should be the seventh. The test is becoming more and more challenging. Previously, one of every five applicants would succeed. Now, only one out of eight succeed. I wonder what the chances will be when it is my turn? The people queued near the back started growing anxious. Anna sure is strict. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile. Although having such strict selection criteria wasnt a problem, players were still fundamentally different from NPCs. Especially for players who were timid and introverted, it was a little extreme to reject them after undergoing only a single test. Cream Cocoa, the female player who had just walked out from Annas office, was one such example. In the past, Cream Cocoa was a genius forger who had the title as one of the Ten Great Master Forgers of Star-Moon Kingdom, and Shi Feng was fully intent of recruiting her into his Guild in this life. He did not think that, shortly after Cream Cocoa had left the Assassins Alliance, she would immediately come to Starstreak, only to be rejected once more. Fortunately, Shi Feng had made a trip to Starstreak Trading Firm. Otherwise, he would similarly be shedding tears of regret with Cruel Sword Hah another failure Where am I supposed to head to now? At this moment Cream Cocoa wore a dejected expression. Previously, she had been chased out of the Assassins Alliance due to her production success rate being overly low. Now, Starstreak Trading Firm had also rejected her. After these consecutive failures, she no longer knew where she should head. Am I really not cut out for forging? Maybe I should go adventuring and fight like the other players. However, I am a sports idiot. How am I supposed to fight like the others? Hello. Are you here to apply for a job at Starstreak Trading Firm? Shi Feng asked, blocking Cream Cocoas path. Mhm, Cream Cocoa nodded as she glanced at Shi Feng. Currently, she did not have the mood at all to pay any attention to a stranger. Are you interested in taking another test? Shi Feng asked with a smile. Shock flashed in Cream Cocoas eyes. Immediately, she lifted her head and focused on Shi Feng. For a moment, she had even thought that Shi Feng was one of Starstreaks personnel. However, when she failed to find the Starstreak Trading Firms emblem on Shi Fengs clothing, she couldnt help but feel disappointed. Hahaha! Who do you think you are? Starstreaks President? Can you let someone, who has already been rejected, take the test again? If you wish to pretend, at least think of the time and place. Look at where you are at right now. At the very least, you should get a Starstreak Emblem before putting up your act, a tall and beautiful Cleric sneered as she sent a disdainful gaze at Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not get angry at this girls provocation. Instead, he used Observing Eyes on this tall beauty. [Melancholic Smile] Level 10 Cleric Seeing this name, Shi Feng was shocked. Although not as famous as Cream Cocoa, Melancholic Smile, the tall beauty of a Cleric before him, was also one of Star-Moon Kingdoms future Master Forgers. Shi Feng truly did not think that the Starstreak Trading Firm could be so attractive as to lure two future Master Forgers. My bad, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Just as Shi Feng was about to introduce himself, Anna suddenly walked out from the office as she called for the next batch of interviewees. However, the moment her eyes spotted Shi Feng, she hurriedly walked over to Shi Feng in a panic. Meanwhile, everyone else revealed ridiculing smiles as they watched Shi Feng. They fully intended to enjoy the show that was about to play out. _Youve humiliated yourself big time, now._ Shi Feng actually dared pretend to be Starstreak Trading Firm personnel. Now that he had been caught in the act, he would definitely be shown the way out. Your Excellency, this subordinate is extremely sorry for this! I did not think that these people would disturb you. I will immediately send them away, Anna glared at Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile, hurriedly apologizing to Shi Feng. 227 Master Black Flame Ahhh! Everyone who wore a mocking smile a moment before was so shocked that their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they heard Lady Anna speak to Shi Feng. Their jaws nearly hit the floor. They swallowed the ridiculing words they had prepared as their faces turned extraordinarily pale. Cream Cocoa was similarly shocked by this scene. However, she accepted this news relatively quickly. _This is too great! I have another chance!_ Cream Cocoas disappointed expression instantly shifted to excitement as she looked at Shi Feng. Seeing Lady Annas humble attitude towards Shi Feng, even going as far as to refer to Shi Feng as Your Excellency, Cream Cocoa was sure that Shi Feng was no ordinary character. Since such a great character was willing to give her another chance, the flame of hope within her instantly ignited. On the other hand, Melancholic Smiles current mood was the exact opposite of Cream Cocoas. At this moment, she looked at Shi Feng with a face filled with astonishment. She then shifted her gaze towards the beautiful Anna. Melancholic Smile discovered reverence in Annas mesmerizing bright blue eyes as she gazed at Shi Feng. Clearly, Anna was not acting. Moreover, when Anna noticed Melancholic Smiles gaze on her, she glanced at Melancholic Smile, and the reverence in her eyes instantly transformed into rage. Melancholic Smile immediately panicked. _Its over Its over Why is my luck so terrible? Previously, I got kicked out of the Guild after offending one of its upper echelons. Now, before I have even set foot in the Starstreak Trading Firm, I have offended one of its great characters_ Melancholic Smiles thoughts were chaotic, and her heart was distraught. She did not know how she should explain herself to Lady Anna to get out of this mess. Shi Feng couldnt help but smile when he noticed Annas furious glare and Melancholic Smiles flustered expression. However, when Melancholic Smile noticed Shi Fengs smile, her delicate body couldnt help but tremble, dread filling her heart. _It seems that I can no longer stay in the Starstreak Trading Firm_ , Melancholic Smile lamented. If she had known about this beforehand, she would not have attempted to speak out of turn, interrupting Shi Fengs happy occasion. In the end, she had dug her own grave. However, Shi Fengs following words shocked Melancholic Smile. Anna, dont mind me and continue your evaluations, Shi Feng instructed Anna. He then shifted his sights to Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile, softly saying, I will conduct both of your tests. Everyone else, continue as usual. Yes, Your Excellency, Anna respectfully replied. Compared to a few days ago, Annas current Loyalty had risen from 50 to 70 points. Although it wasnt a particularly high number, it was passable. At the very least, Anna would not cause him any trouble. _Do I still have a chance?_ Melancholic Smile never thought Shi Feng would give her another chance. After all, she had spoiled Shi Fengs happy occasion. Logically speaking, he should have chased her out of Starstreak instead. Following which, Shi Feng led both Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile up to the fourth floor of the building. Just who is he? Isnt he too amazing? He had actually made Lady Anna bow before him. If I could achieve a similar feat, I could die without regrets. Some of the players watched Shi Fengs departing figure with admiration, inwardly guessing Shi Fengs identity. In the entire White River City, there had yet to be a single player-owned shop. Even Ouroboros, currently most famous Guild, had not accomplished such a thing. Yet, Shi Feng had succeeded in doing just that. Moreover, he was in the upper echelon of the Starstreak Trading Firm; his position was far above Annas. So, how could this piece of news not be shocking? Just how powerful of a backer must Shi Feng have to cooperate with the Starstreak Trading Firm? Meanwhile, when some of the male players saw Shi Feng leading away both Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile, they inwardly cursed and called him an animal. _O_ _ne was not enough for him? He_ _is_ _practically abusing his authority!_ Inwardly, these male players felt both envy and disdain for Shi Feng. \--- Inside a forging room on the fourth floor, Shi Feng prepared five sets of materials to craft Whetstones for each of the two girls. Looking at the materials placed on the stone table, Melancholic Smiles thoughts slightly lagged. She never thought that Shi Feng would truly give them a test and not have any unscrupulous thoughts towards them. What is it? Have you not learned how to make Whetstones yet? Shi Feng asked curiously when he noticed Melancholic Smiles dazed expression. The Forging Association sold the recipe for Whetstones. Moreover, it was available for only 30 Copper Coins. Logically speaking, every player who aspired to become a forger should have learned the recipe, not to mention players who had managed to enter White River City. Ah, thats not it! I know how to make them! Melancholic Smile hurriedly shook her head, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. She felt ashamed of herself for completely misunderstanding Shi Fengs intentions. On the other hand, Cream Cocoa had a much purer mind than Melancholic Smile. She had not overthought things like the Cleric had. However, she was still extremely nervous at the thought of having to make a Whetstone in front of Shi Feng. She felt deeply afraid that she would fail the test. Shi Feng had given each of them five sets of materials, and his requirement was for them to achieve at least two successful attempts. However, during her time at the Assassins Alliance, Cream Cocoa could only make one or two Whetstones out of ten sets of materials. Before you start, Ill give you two a demonstration, Shi Feng retrieved a set of materials from his inventory. With a wave of his hand, he started producing the Whetstone. You are a forger as well? Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile asked in astonishment. Ah, how forgetful of me. I still havent introduced myself. As Shi Feng had kept both his name and level hidden, others could not discover who he was. I am Black Flame, a forger. You are the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom?! You are Master Black Flame, the one that developed the Glimmer Chestplate?! Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile immediately grew flustered. They would never have believed that they would meet the legendary Master Black Flame. After all, he was the person responsible for elevating the status of forgers, turning it into the most popular Lifestyle class in Star-Moon Kingdom. Simultaneously, he had also given the various large Guilds a reason to support and nurture their forgers. One could say that Master Black Flame had done every forger within Star-Moon Kingdom a favor. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that Black Flame was actually the ordinary and detached-looking man before them. In their eyes, Black Flame should have either been a handsome young man or a strange old man. However, Black Flame did not match either description. Although Black Flame looked different from what they had imagined, that did not stop their growing excitement. If this man before them was the famous Black Flame, that would explain why Lady Anna showed so much respect. It also explained how the Starstreak Trading Firm could possess items such as the Advanced Whetstones. Noticing Cream Cocoas and Melancholic Smiles excited and hungry gazes, cold sweat dripped down Shi Fengs forehead. He coughed dryly and said sternly, I will only demonstrate this once. If you cannot complete two Whetstones, you can show yourselves out. I wont accept you into the firm. The two girls instantly calmed after being admonished by Shi Feng. Afraid that they would miss out on something, they both heightened their concentration as they watched Shi Fengs hands. However, Shi Fengs actions rendered them speechless. Shi Fengs production speed was simply too fast. Moreover, his actions were as smooth and natural as flowing water; one would easily find themselves mesmerized. Before they could react, Shi Feng had already finished producing a Whetstone. Alright, it is your turn now, Shi Feng smiled calmly as he pointed the two towards the materials on the stone table. He was already an Advanced Forging Apprentice. Even if he did not utilize the Book of Forging, he still had an 80% success rate when producing Whetstones. However, even if he succeeded in making one, he would not receive any additional Proficiency Points. He had only done so to test the two girls potential. After all, they were both future Master Forgers. If they could not gain any inspiration after watching him work, it proved that they had only become a Master Forger due to luck. 228 Meteoric Rise As the level of technique Shi Feng demonstrated was slightly high, in addition to his strict requirement, Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile immediately grew serious. Shi Fengs forging techniques had clearly undergone refinement hundreds and thousands of times. It was not something inexperienced forgers like them could hope to compare to. However, they had, more or less, noticed the key points in Shi Fengs demonstration. Soon after, the two girls stepped up to their separate forging tables. As if they had received some enlightenment, they held up the forging materials and fell into deep thought. _As expected of future Master Forgers._ Shi Feng revealed a faint smile when he noticed their actions. At this point, it was impossible for the average player to possess sufficient materials to practice their forging with, not to mention the precious materials to produce items. However, Shi Feng was different from these inexperienced forgers. During his ten years of playing Gods Domain, he had encountered plenty of Master Forgers. In their free time, these players would usually discuss forging. For players with their skill level, their conversations were no longer about simply playing a game but instead, counted as true research. Shi Feng had experienced many such conversations. Coupling that knowledge with an endless supply of materials to use as practice, he had naturally learned the craft fairly quickly. However, in terms of talent, Shi Feng was far from being a match of the girls currently before him. After all, at the end of the day, Shi Feng was still a player more suited to battle and adventure. The only thing he could do was combine the knowledge he had gained from listening to those masters with his own understanding of forging techniques and display it. Although it would not be of great help, it would be enough as long as they could realize their own deficiencies. At this stage of the game, a majority of the players had a relatively high success rate when producing Whetstones. They should have at least a 40% success rate; they should be able to produce two Whetstones out of five sets of materials. If they had passable techniques, it wouldnt be unusual if they could even produce three. However, a majority of the players at this stage could only produce one Whetstone out of five attempts. Although the Forging Rooms in the Starstreak Trading Firm were not comparable to the Intermediate Forging Rooms in the Forging Association, they should still be much better than the Basic Forging Rooms. When making a common item like the Whetstone, the Forging Room should increase a players success rate by at least 5%. Due to this, Shi Feng required the both of them to produce two Whetstones out of five sets of materials. After a period of silence, the two girls finally started their first attempt at producing the Whetstone. Three minutes later, both had produced their first Whetstones. They wore joyful expressions as they handed their products to Shi Feng for evaluation. A failure. The same goes for this one, Shi Feng shook his head after he checked the information on the two items. Both Whetstones were of poor quality, and they yielded zero effects when used. Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile were both disappointed by these results. They knew they did not have many chances remaining. If they did not produce two Whetstones out of the remaining four sets of materials, without a doubt, they would be chased out of the trading firm. After experiencing failure on their first try, the two girls spent more time reflecting before their second attempt. After reflecting for more than ten minutes... The next action the two girls took astonished Shi Feng. Within a single breath, the two had used up all four sets of materials. Moreover, their production speed was much faster than before. After producing all four Whetstones, the two smiled at each other. They then placed their completed Whetstones on the table, awaiting Shi Fengs evaluation. You two have really surprised me. Out of four pieces, both of you actually managed three successes, Shi Feng couldnt help his shock when he looked at the information displayed before him. Very good. From today onwards, you two are officially members of the Horizon Alliance. Here is the contract. If there arent any problems, just sign it. Horizon Alliance? It isnt the Starstreak Trading Firm? Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile were confused when they took a look at the contract. After all, their goal in coming here had been to join the wealthy and powerful Starstreak Trading Firm. However, after they read the contract, they discovered that the benefits stated were abnormally good. Even Cream Cocoa, who had come from the Assassins Alliance, found the offer quite attractive. After all, not only would they be provided with limitless materials and Forging Designs, but they would also obtain 15% of the profits once the item sold. They would also earn a minimum monthly salary of 2,000 Credits. On the other hand, the other Guilds only provided their forgers with 5% of the profits and a low monthly salary. The materials these Guilds provided were also very limited. Under normal circumstances, the best materials would be given to the forgers with better techniques, leaving remaining forgers wanting. I cant reveal what kind of relationship the Horizon Alliance has with the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, I can tell you one thing; the Horizon Alliance is a Lifestyle Guild. It is not like your usual adventure and battle Guild, and Lifestyle players will be the core of this Guild. Moreover, in the future, the Horizon Alliance will expand its market much further than the Starstreak Trading Firm. We wont only sell our products in eight cities, but in every city throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, you guys will not have to worry about materials. As long as you can produce items of sufficient quality, you wont need to worry about failing to sell the item. Shi Feng calmly smiled as he continued, Of course, if you dont want to, you can choose to join the Starstreak Trading Firm instead. It all depends on you. Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile considered their options carefully. At present, the Starstreak Trading Firm was undeniably the better choice if they wished to develop themselves further. Moreover, they had never even heard of the Horizon Alliance, not to mention a Guild run by Lifestyle players. I am willing to join the Horizon Alliance. However, Cream Cocoa signed the contract without hesitation. Melancholic Smile simply shook her head at this sight, thinking that Cream Cocoa was simply too naive. However, although she thought in such a way, she had similarly signed her name on the contract she received from Shi Feng. The reason she had chosen was the man currently before her. Not only was he the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, but he also had deep ties with the Starstreak Trading Firm. One could also say that, without the Advanced Whetstone, the Starstreak Trading Firm would not be enjoying its current popularity. Most importantly, it was the Horizon Alliances future potential. Good. Since you two have signed the contract, you are now official members of the Horizon Alliance. From this moment onwards, you two can use the Forging Rooms in the Starstreak Trading Firm any time you want. If you lack materials, just notify Anna, and she will provide them for you. You two only need to focus on advancing into a true Forger, Shi Feng said, smiling. With two potential Master Forgers joining, Shi Feng felt much more optimistic about Horizon Alliances future. Shi Feng also made Melancholic Smile the Horizon Alliances temporary manager. While she managed the Horizon Alliance, she was also tasked with poaching some of the Forgers and Potionmakers with potential from the Starstreak Trading Firm. After all, Shi Feng was only an acting president of the trading firm. Starstreak Trading Firms Forgers and Potionmakers belonged to Starstreak only, not the Horizon Alliance. When Shi Feng completed the second phase of the Epic Quest, he would no longer have any relation to the Starstreak Trading Firm. He would not be able to sell items through the Starstreak Trading Firm any longer. In other words, he and the Starstreak Trading Firm would draw a line between each other. So, he naturally had to recruit players with potential to his side. Soon after, Shi Feng placed the Basic Mana Armor Kit for sale on the second floor of the Starstreak Trading Firm. He priced each Basic Mana Armor Kit at 20 Silver Coins. Although this price could rival that of a piece of Level 10 Bronze Equipment, Shi Feng did not mind. After all, he had no fear that this item would not sell. He only feared that it would sell too quickly; thus, he had set such a high price. Shi Feng then returned to his Forging Room and resumed forging Basic Mana Armor Kits. The 600 Basic Mana Armor Kits were just a drop in the bucket. He still needed to produce a lot more to meet demand. Not to mention, Shi Feng still had a mountain in the form of 30,000 Gold Coins weighing down on him. Moreover, plenty of Guilds had started growing greedy after seeing Shi Feng make so much money from selling the Advanced Whetstones. They all started thinking up of plans to obtain the recipe for themselves. Hence, during the past few days, many Guilds had started investigating the origins of the Advanced Whetstone. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that a Guild was indeed far more powerful than an individual. Within a short amount of time, these Guilds had discovered the origins of the Advanced Whetstone. They had even managed to obtain its recipe. \--- The Moonlight Forest. Treasures filled this place. Aside from having plenty of Treasure Chests and Field Bosses, the drop rate for Gemstones here was much higher than other maps. The various large Guilds in White River City had long since regarded the Moonlight Forest as a cash machine. On the other hand, independent players had no share of these bountiful resources. Guild Leader, the Intermediate Forging Apprentices in our Guild have successfully produced Advanced Whetstones. The Intermediate Apprentice Potionmakers have also managed to produce Intermediate Recovery Potions and Intermediate Mana Regeneration Potions, a Ranger reported. Very good. It just so happens that White River Citys bazaar will be held tonight. We can use this chance to show off Dark Stars strength, Lone Tyrant smiled satisfactorily. He had long since grown impatient after witnessing the Starstreak Trading Firm rake in an ocean of wealth. Now that their Guild could similarly produce and sell Advanced Whetstones and Intermediate Potions, he was one step closer to becoming the true tyrant of White River City. 229 Black Flame Effec Starstreak Trading Firm, at the premium goods counter on the second floor... Due to the raging popularity of the Advanced Whetstones and the fact that only a limited amount was available for sale each day, many Guilds and players could normally be seen queuing and waiting at the counter. Today, however, fewer people were present on the second floor of the trading firm. No one waited in line at the premium goods counter. Those present were only independent players just window shopping, and not a single Guild player wandered the spacious hall. Nobody present even asked about the availability of the Advanced Whetstones, and such a situation had caused Anna, the manager of the trading firm, to grow anxious. Immediately, she started an investigation into the cause of this sudden lack of customers. She then forwarded her findings to Shi Feng, letting him decide what to do with it. Although I have long since expected this, they certainly took action quickly. Is Dark Star trying to start a price war with us? Shi Feng revealed a calm smile after he read the message Anna had sent him. The reason the Starstreak Trading Firms business would suddenly grow cold was mainly due to Dark Star. Dark Star had managed to nurture Forgers and Potionmakers capable of producing Advanced Whetstones and Intermediate Potions. Furthermore, they had widely trumpeted the fact that they offered their products for a much lower price. Originally, a stack of Advanced Whetstones sold for 1 Gold, 40 Silvers at the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, Dark Star sold them for only 1 Gold per stack. As for the Intermediate Potions, both types sold at a price 1 Silver Coins cheaper. Although the prices were greatly reduced, the Advanced Whetstone and Intermediate Potions were originally products that sold at greatly inflated prices. Even if one reduced their selling price, they would still earn several times the base cost of the items. Hence, in order to solicit customers, Dark Star would naturally initiate a price reduction. As for the players looking to purchase these items, they would purchase these items for the lowest price. This was the natural law of human nature. Nobody would be so foolish as to purchase an item of equal quality for a higher price. However, a price reduction was only the beginning of Dark Stars strategy. To make matters worse, Dark Star had even made a decisive change to the exchange mechanism. Although the exchange rate they used for normal Whetstones was similar to the Starstreak Trading Firms, they had reduced the Advanced Whetstones-to-Hard Stones ratio from a 1-to-9 ratio to a 1-to-7 ratio. This ratio was just slightly higher than the production requirements of Intermediate Forging Apprentices. Compared to the Starstreak Trading Firm, Dark Stars exchange rates were far more lucrative. As a result, many players had turned to Dark Star to trade their Hard Stones. Now that the Starstreak Trading Firm had lost its main source of income for Hard Stones, even if they relied on the Hard Stones Shi Feng had previously accumulated, they would, sooner or later, run out. Without the necessary basic materials, how were they supposed to produce anything? Moreover, Dark Star also possessed an advantage that Shi Feng did not; they had more people producing the Advanced Whetstones. As more time passed, Dark Star would obtain more Advanced Whetstone Recipes from raiding Dungeons. They could endlessly increase the number of people capable of producing Advanced Whetstones in their Guild. Meanwhile, the Starstreak Trading Firm only had Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng currently had neither the manpower nor the time to waste raiding a low-level Dungeon for the recipes. If this situation persisted, Dark Star would surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm eventually. Soon after, Shi Feng passed on his verdict to Anna. Since Dark Star wanted to start a price war, he would gladly engage. Hence, he adjusted the prices and exchange rates to equal Dark Stars. However, this change would only take effect in White River City; the prices and exchange rates would remain the same in the other seven cities. Simultaneously, Shi Feng also took this chance to reveal the Basic Mana Armor Kit. Anna was very efficient in her work. Shortly after Shi Feng assigned her the tasks, she had completed all of them. Moreover, she had also added an additional counter on the second floor specifically for selling the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Visiting players quickly discovered the new addition. Huh? Theres a new counter here. Whats this Basic Mana Armor Kit? Wont we know once we take a look? Originally, one of the elite parties present on the second floor had only come to the Starstreak Trading Firm with the intention of purchasing some normal Whetstones for future use. However, when they noticed the appearance of the new counter and a new product, curiosity got the better of them, and they decided to investigate. Crap! This is insane! Is this thing made of silver? Theyre actually charging 20 Silver Coins for a Broken Armor Kit! I can get a piece of Level 10 Bronze Equipment with that kind of money! Theyre even limiting the sales of this thing to 50 pieces a day! This is too expensive. Even though we are an elite party, our harvest from a single Dungeon raid will, at best, amount to two to three pieces of Bronze Equipment. Moreover, not only do we risk losing experience, but we also need to spend money on potions and repairs after a raid. One Armor Kit already amounts to our partys total harvest in a single day. Wait a minute, why are the Attributes of this Armor Kit so high? We can bind a total of three pieces on per character?! The total Attributes of three pieces is even higher than a Level 10 Mysterious-Iron ranked breastplate! Look! Every Armor Kit is marked with a black flame! Dont tell me this is something made by the Black Flame Forger?! Originally, the members of the team had cursed the Starstreak Trading Firm for trying to rip them off. However, the moment they noticed the Attributes on the Mana Armor Kits and the Black Flame mark, they involuntary shuddered. Who was Black Flame? He was someone every veteran player throughout Star-Moon Kingdom knew. Although the Glimmer Chestplate was outdated at this point, it was an undeniable fact that the item had once caused an uproar throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, due to its gallant appearance, many players still held onto their Glimmer Chestplates. The ones that held the Black Flame mark looked even more awesome, and countless collectors wished to possess of one of these pieces. Unfortunately, such marked pieces were exceedingly rare, and right now, each piece was already worth 50 Silver Coins on the black market. Yet, even at such an insane price, nobody would willingly sell theirs. Now, Black Flame had revealed himself once more. He was even selling such powerful Mana Armor Kits. It was just like the saying that had circulated Star-Moon Kingdom; anything produced by Black Flame would definitely be a premium product. How much money do we have right now? speaking softly, the leader of the elite party suddenly asked in the party chat. Brother Qin, we barely have 43 Silver Coins if all six of us pool our money together. We have only managed to collect this after much difficulty to repair our equipment and buy some potions. You cant be thinking to Trade a portion of the Hard Stones we collected for normal Whetstones, then sell the rest. Also, sell all of the Gemstones we previously obtained. Before anybody discovers this Armor Kit, we need to buy as many as we can. As long as we can equip our MT and healer with three of these Mana Armor Kits, we can easily clear Normal Mode Party Dungeons. Furthermore, by the time Starstreak sells out on these Mana Armor Kits, we can resell our extras for a high price. We should be able to earn back most of what we have spent. When the other party members realized the logic behind their party leaders words, they immediately started pooling their money and sold all of their expendable items to buy as many Basic Mana Armor Kits as they could. If both their MT and healer could have an additional piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, they could greatly reduce the number of deaths when they raided a Dungeon. With an additional 240 Defense and 12 Endurance, their MTs strength would soar to the next level; their MT could tank Boss monsters with much greater ease. Not to mention, their healer would also receive an upgrade. Soon after, the elite partys MT and healer each bound three Basic Mana Armor Kits to their equipment. The party also bought an extra piece for future use. In reality, it wasnt just this particular elite party that had found out about the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Several other elite parties and independent players that had wandered into the Starstreak Trading Firm had secretly sold off their assets after discovering the Armor Kits. Some of the players who were wealthy in reality even went as far as to purchase Coins at a high price to purchase the Armor Kits. As a result, 50 Basic Mana Armor Kits silently disappeared from the Starstreak Trading Firm. \--- During the night, when the moon was bright, and the stars were few, many players would come to the pub to relax and chat. Old Qin, why is your party so happy today? You guys even bought such expensive alcohol to drink. Dont tell me its your birthday? a party leader of another elite party asked. Our Three-headed Wolves party is very happy today! Here! Ill treat your Nine-headed Birds party to this bottle of Ice Blue Spirit! Did you guys strike it rich? Why are you being so generous? This is a high-quality spirit that costs 3 Silver Coins! Of course! Today, our party managed to clear a Hard Mode Party Dungeon for the first time! We also managed to get a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment for our MT from that Dungeon raid. Tomorrow, we plan to raid another Hard Mode Party Dungeon. The other players inside the bar were immediately shocked when they heard that someone had managed to clear a Hard Mode Party Dungeon. They all sent envious gazes at the player called Qin. Throughout White River City, the number of independent parties that managed to clear a Hard Mode Party Dungeon could be counted on ones hands. Old Qin, stop boasting! Did you think I dont know about your partys strength? Not to mention Hard Mode, you guys still have to struggle through life and death to even clear a Normal Mode Party Dungeon! The party leader of the Nine-headed Birds frowned in disbelief. Hahaha! If it were in the past, of course, it would be impossible. However, our partys MT has over 1,000 Defense and 1,600 HP right now! Qin gleefully boasted. The party leader of the Nine-headed Birds was greatly shocked by this information. After all, he and the other party leader had known each other for a long time now, so he knew Qin from top to bottom. Previously, the Three-headed Wolves MT had not been so powerful; he was even weaker than the Nine-headed Birds MT by a small margin. After some probing, the Nine-headed Birds spent 20 Silver Coins to obtain the secret the Three-headed Wolves used to clear a Hard Mode Party Dungeon. The main reason for the Three-headed Wolves success was the contribution of the Basic Mana Armor Kits. During the day, the Three-headed Wolves were one of the parties that had secretly bought the Basic Mana Armor Kits from the Starstreak Trading Firm. With their newly improved MT and healer, in addition to their familiarity with the Dungeon they cleared, they finally managed to achieve the feat that all independent parties aimed for, clearing a Hard Mode Party Dungeon. 230 Crazy Nigh The night bazaar of White River City had been organized to allow players to conduct business with each other. Due to Dark Stars incessant advertising, the bazaar today had grown lively. Many Guilds had collected a large amount of Hard Stones and Coins to purchase the Advanced Whetstones from Dark Star. Players busied themselves with setting up stalls throughout the plaza where the bazaar would occur. As one had to pay a steep processing fee to use the services of the Auction House, many players had opted to sell their accumulated loot today instead. Meanwhile, of the many stalls set up at this plaza, the most attention-grabbing one belonged to Dark Star, as there were several hundred players currently lined up before Dark Stars stall. Seeing this, Lone Tyrants heart fluttered with joy. By the time tomorrow arrived, Dark Star would become the wealthiest Guild in White River City, and very soon, they would even surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm. They would become the possessor of White River Citys economic lifeline. At that time, even Ouroboros would not be a match for Dark Star! \--- Half an hour after the bazaar started, something odd happened. This incident caused plenty of Guilds to grow sluggish in their thoughts, and even Lone Tyrant was utterly dumbfounded. Can someone tell me just what has happened here?! Lone Tyrant bellowed, pointing towards the empty plaza. Boss, I made some inquiries just now and found out that the Starstreak Trading Firm has similarly reduced the prices of their items. Aside from having the same prices as we do, they have also released a new product. I hear that the product is a Basic Mana Armor Kit made by Black Flame. As long as one binds this Armor Kit to their equipment, they will receive a great improvement to their Attributes and Defense. If a player binds three pieces to their equipment, then it would be the equivalent of having an additional top-tier Mysterious-Iron ranked breastplate. However, Starstreak has limited the sales of the Armor Kit to 50 each day. So, everyone went to queue up for the item instead. Black Flame? Isnt that the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom? Why would he work with the Starstreak Trading Firm? Lone Tyrants brows wrinkled. He had also heard rumors about Black Flame. However, the man was simply too mysterious, so nobody had a concrete idea which major power stood behind him. The public only knew that there was a deeply hidden major power supporting Black Flame. So what if he is the Chief Forger? Lone Tyrant sneered, Since Black Flame can create such a good item, we only need to make it as well. Immediately investigate the Basic Mana Armor Kit; find out where we can get the Forging Design. I truly wish to thank Black Flame for giving us this great business opportunity. Boss is the best! Ill investigate it immediately! \--- Meanwhile, at the Starstreak Trading Firm, there was already a sea of people lining up outside the building. Selling one stack of Hard Stones for a low price! Come over here if you are interested! Level 10 Bronze Axe for 30 Silver Coins! Buying Silver Coins for a high price! Ill take as much as you have! Unknowingly, a market had formed outside of the Starstreak Trading Firm. Although players could not set up stalls there, they could still do face-to-face trading. Albeit troublesome, nobody would mind such a small matter. After all, they were currently trying to make as much money as they could. By the time the Starstreak Trading Firm started selling the Basic Mana Armor Kits again, they would buy as many as possible. While everyone stood in line outside the building, many had struck up conversations with one another. They started to boast about the effects of the Basic Mana Armor Kit. What the Three-headed Wolves party had accomplished had especially become the envy of many independent parties. Meanwhile, the more this news spread, the more it was blown out of proportion. Currently, the rumors mentioned that the Three-headed Wolves had originally not been able to clear even a Normal Mode Party Dungeon. However, after their MT and healer had each bound three Basic Mana Armor Kits to their equipment, the party immediately succeeded in raiding a Level 10 Hell Mode Party Dungeon. They had even obtained a Secret-Silver ranked shield and many other Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment pieces from the raid, increasing their teams prowess to that of a party of experts. Some said that the Three-headed Wolves were currently stronger than even the elite members of a first-rate Guild. This rumor had caused many independent players to long for the Basic Mana Armor Kits. They wished to obtain the Armor Kits and achieve great success. Aside from independent players focusing on the Basic Mana Armor Kit, the various Guilds had also started taking action. They tried to think of ways to contact Black Flame. They wanted to purchase a large number of the Armor Kits from him directly. After all, if they could equip every member of their elite team with three Basic Mana Armor Kits, their teams strength would rise to an entirely different level. At that time, conquering the 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon would no longer be a dream. Taking a step back, even if they could not clear the Hell Mode, if they could manage to clear the Hard Mode, they could still reap a lot of benefits. Hence, it was a must for them to obtain the Basic Mana Armor Kits. \--- Di Di Di... Snow, is Big Brother Black Flame offline? Zhao Yueru asked, worried. Gentle Snow nodded her head, saying bitterly, I have truly underestimated Black Flame. Originally, I thought that he would suffer a small setback after Dark Star revealed the Advanced Whetstones and Intermediate Potions. However, I would never have imagined that he would reveal such a card, catching everyone by surprise. Gentle Snow had believed that she had a good understanding of the man called Black Flame. However, time and again, Black Flame continued to surpass her expectations. It was as if Black Flame had brought out two cards, one white and one black, forcing others to guess which card he would reveal. In the end, however, he had done the unpredictable by taking out a gray card, catching everyone by surprise. \--- Night in Gods Domain was day in reality. At this moment, Shi Feng had already logged off from the game and started training his body. Hence, he had absolutely no idea about the current goings-on in White River City. Ever since Shi Feng had moved to his new apartment, the first thing he did after waking up every morning was drink a bottle of Nutrient Fluids. He would then complete 20 sets of muscle strengthening exercises and a 10-kilometer morning run. The Nutrient Fluid is as extraordinary as expected. My current physique should be on the level of a normal member of the schools fighting society. After ending his morning run, Shi Feng made a rough estimate of his bodys current condition. However, if he wanted a more accurate estimate, he would need to test his abilities in an appropriate training room. After training and strengthening his body these past few days, Shi Feng was no longer as frail and thin as he used to be. Currently, Shi Fengs body had grown much sturdier, giving others a faint feeling that it was packed with vitality. As usual, after completing his daily workout routine, Shi Feng paid a visit to the Workshop to check on its current renovation progress. A Gaming Workshop occupied an entire office floor of such size. In the past, such a notion was simply inconceivable. However, along with Gods Domains growing influence, it wouldnt be odd even if a Gaming Workshop took up an entire office building, not to mention a single floor. In the past, Shadow was one such example. However, the Shadow of that time possessed a lot of members. It had even established ten great city-states under its name. It was only normal to have such a large Workshop. Brother Feng, youre here! The Workshops renovation is complete. We are just waiting for the gaming facilities we ordered to arrive, and well set them up. After we finish that, our Zero Wing Workshop will finally take shape! Blackie excitedly said, At that time, those who we recruit to our Guild might just join without hesitation after seeing our Workshop! A few days ago, Shi Feng had suddenly paid a visit to Blackies dormitory. He notified Blackie that he had already purchased a Workshop in the city center. In the future, Blackie would not need to live in the dormitory, disturbed by others. Blackie could simply live in the Workshop and focus on playing Gods Domain. Moreover, there was a high-class restaurant situated a floor below the Workshop. The well-known Big Dipper Training Center was also located on the street next to their building. Compared to living in the universitys dormitory, it would be far more comfortable for Blackie to live in the Workshop. In the beginning, Blackie had thought that the Workshop Shi Feng had mentioned would only be a house of 50 to 60 square meters. Even so, that would still be a relatively comfortable place to live. However, when Blackie arrived at the building floor and discovered that the entire floor was meant for their Workshop, Blackie had nearly thrown out his back in shock. Shortly after, that shock had turned into immense joy. After all, this large Workshop of theirs was far more amazing than Shadows. With such an amazing Workshop, would they even need to worry that they couldnt surpass Shadow in the future? Oh, right. Blackie, how are things on your side? How much longer do you guys need before getting out of there? Shi Feng asked. 231 Legendary Genius Blackie and the others had been trapped in the Trial of God for several days now. If they remained inside, Shi Feng didnt know when he could go to the Demons castle to obtain the Demons Heart. Hence, Shi Feng needed to know their current progress. If they were truly unable to leave the trial anytime soon, his only option was to seek Gentle Snows help. However, he did not want Gentle Snow to know too much about him. Unless it was a desperate situation, he would not turn to Gentle Snow for help. Right! I totally forgot to tell you since I was so excited about the Workshop! Blackie lightly tapped his own head. The matter of the Workshop was simply too shocking. He continued, Brother Feng, just where did you find such an expert little sister? She is just too awesome! Originally, we nearly despaired from the difficulty of the trial. However, thanks to her, we all made it through the trial with great ease! Right now, were about to head to the highest floor to receive our reward. An expert? Little sister? Are you talking about Fire Dance? Havent you already seen how amazing she is? Shi Feng curiously asked. No, its not Fire Dance, but Violet! We managed to clear the trial only thanks to her! But really, she is simply too strong! Blackie lamented, At the beginning of the trial, Little Sister Violet had only healed us from behind. As we progressed, her healing grew better and better, and she was able to grasp the timing of her heals perfectly! However, the monsters in the trial also grew stronger. After some time, we were barely surviving, even with Little Sister Violets excellent healing. It was then that she took action. Although her combat standards, in the beginning, were very crude, as the battles continued, one after another, her combat standards increased endlessly. Within just a day, she had already surpassed Fire Dance! I even felt that the Trial of God was created specifically for Little Sister Violet. Inside the Trial of God, for every trial we cleared, we would be given an evaluation and an appropriate reward. Meanwhile, ever since Little Sister Violet took action, she always obtained an evaluation of Rank A or above. Her Equipment and Skills continuously upgraded, and regarding damage output, even though I had the Maviss Guard, I only won against her by a small margin. If Little Sister Violet also had an Epic ranked staff, she would have long since left me in the dust! Little Sister Violet is the most talented person I have ever met in Gods Domain. Brother Feng, if you saw her frightening growth rate, you, too, would be shocked! After having mentioned Violet Cloud, Blackie could not stop his mouth as he talked on and on about her. Blackie spoke as if Violet Cloud were the strongest expert in Gods Domain, and nobody was above her. Of course, Blackie was speaking about Violet Clouds innate talent, and not her current strength. After all, Violet Clouds rate of improvement was simply horrifying. With such an improvement rate, she would sooner or later become the strongest player in Gods Domain. Its good that you guys passed the trial. However, you shouldnt just pay attention to Violet. Dont forget that you are a Cursemancer, while she is a Cleric. You also hold an Epic ranked staff in your hands. If your damage really does lose to hers, then youre going to have to hand over the Maviss Guard to Violet! Shi Feng joked. However, he was truly relieved. It was no wonder Violet Cloud had managed to become a Cleric God in the past. Her innate talent was not a sham. However, maybe because Violet Cloud had played a Cleric in the past, she had never revealed her true potential during the early stages of the game. However, after leaving Ouroboros, Violet Cloud could no longer depend on her healing to play Gods Domain as she only had herself to rely on in battles. Hence, she started to display her frightening talent. Similar to the current situation in the Trial of God, healing alone was not enough. Hence, Violet Cloud had no choice but to engage in battle as well, inadvertently revealing her explosive talent. Maybe she is one of the legendary geniuses, Shi Feng sighed. In the past, although his techniques were good, when compared to Violet Cloud, the difference between them was like heaven and earth. It was no wonder Violet Cloud had become a Cleric God. However, Shi Feng would no longer waste his time in this life. He would not ignore training his body. Currently, the Workshop could accommodate up to several hundred people. Moreover, there were also private rooms meant for upper management. Furniture of superior quality decorated these private rooms, and just the cost of a single set would have left Shi Fengs past self in awe. Aside from the private rooms, Shi Feng had also set up a workout room that allowed one to carry out some simple exercises. Gods Domain was not just any random game where players could become a tyrant by pulling a few all-nighters. If one wanted to campaign in Gods Domain, they needed to prepare for a long and arduous war. Hence, players in Gods Domain needed to balance both work and rest, and most importantly, train their bodies if they wanted to succeed. Brother Feng, the universitys Fellowship Party is the day after tomorrow. Should we buy a luxury car and drive there? At that time, I want to see just who would dare look down on our Zero Wing Workshop! Blackie said excitedly. Ill pass on the luxury car. I cannot afford such a thing right now. Shi Feng shook his head as he laughed. Although Shi Feng had similarly thought of buying a luxury car to keep up appearances, he was currently tight on money. He still owed a large sum of Credits. It would be better to take a more pragmatic approach. Following which, Shi Feng and Blackie spent the entire day putting up the finishing touches to the Workshop. The remaining problem they faced was the lack of members. They needed to recruit a large number of new members with potential. \--- When night arrived in the real world, Shi Feng entered Gods Domain once more. Shortly after leaving the Forging Room, a low ring sounded by Shi Fengs ears. It was the alert tone that signified the arrival of a system message. However, the alert did not end at just that once. The ringing persisted for a long time and only stopped after over ten minutes had passed. With a headache, Shi Feng called up the message interface. Immediately, several thousand messages appeared on his display, and all of these messages had been sent to his alternate ID, Black Flame. Shi Feng then took a look at these messages. All of them were from people attempting to purchase the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Moreover, aside from the players in White River City, even the Guilds from other cities were trying to contact him. However, Shi Feng simply revealed a smile at these messages, as he had already achieved his goal. Fame. Not Starstreaks fame, but Black Flames. Moreover, as long as he had the Basic Mana Armor Kit, Starstreak Trading Firms business would not sour. According to Annas latest report, the Starstreak Trading Firm had earned over 900 Gold per day. However, this was only the beginning. As they increased the number of Forgers and Potionmakers under their command, their daily production rate would also increase. As a result, the money they earned would similarly increase. It was only a matter of time before they managed to earn 30,000 Gold. However, there was still a far more important matter that Shi Feng needed to deal with right now. Hence, Shi Feng immediately contacted Gentle Snow. Miss Snow, can I ask you for some help? I wish to buy a few Advanced Whetstone Recipes from you, Shi Feng asked. The drop rate for the Advanced Whetstone Recipe is extremely low, and even Ouroboros has only managed to procure several copies. Since we are old acquaintances, I can sell a few to you. However, I want to conduct the trade using Basic Mana Armor Kits. Gentle Snow revealed a smile. She rejoiced at the fact that Black Flame came to her for help. If so, she could just directly request to exchange for the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Ever since the Basic Mana Armor Kits were revealed to the public, she immediately had her subordinates conduct an investigation on the item. However, they promptly discovered something unusual; it did not drop from anywhere at all. It seemed to be a Special Forging Design obtained through a quest, so there was no way for others to obtain it at all. Hence, if they wanted to obtain any Mana Armor Kits, they could only obtain them from Black Flame himself. Alright, but I wonder how Miss Snow plans to exchange? One Advanced Whetstone Recipe for 20 Mana Armor Kits. I can trade three copies with you. Deal. You can send one of your subordinates to conduct the trade at the Starstreak Trading Firm. Shi Feng did not hesitate to accept Gentle Snows high price. After they agreed upon the transaction, Shi Feng disconnected the call. He then took the Mana Armor Kits he had just finished producing to the Starstreak Trading Firm. Shi Feng intended for Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile to learn these Advanced Whetstone Recipes. After all, he still had many matters of his own that he needed to deal with; he couldnt just forge items all day. In the future, the Horizon Alliances main strength would still have to depend on them. Thus, he purchased those recipes. Brother Feng, were out of the trials. When do we head to the Demons Castle? Shortly after Shi Feng had finished dealing with his own matters, Blackies message arrived. 232 Returning from the Trial At this moment, several figures suddenly appeared in the Teleportation Hall of White River City. Hahaha! Were finally out of that suffocating place! There are so many players in White River City! Of course! Weve been stuck in that broken place for so many days now! The conversation of these new figures resounded throughout the Teleportation Hall, and these players were none other than Fire Dance and the others who had just returned from the Trial of Gods. The moment they set foot out of the Teleportation Hall, the group immediately attracted the attention of many players. The equipment Fire Dance and the others wore was simply too dazzling, nearly blinding all observers. Even the elite team members of first-rate Guilds were not immune. After all, among the eight members of the team, the poorest quality equipment they wore was Mysterious-Iron rank. Meanwhile, out of everyone in the party, the Cleric, Violet Cloud, had the best quality equipment. Although she did not have any Set Equipment, she still had 6 pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment and a Fine-Gold ranked staff. No matter how one looked at it, Violet Clouds equipment far surpassed that of any member of a Guilds main force. Moreover, such magnificent equipment decorated Violet Clouds slender and elegant body, making her look even more stunning than usual. She looked like an angel descending to the mortal realm, simply breathtaking. Aside from a beauty like Violet Cloud, there was another female member of the party who was equally beautiful. Garbed in a flame-red, tight-fitting leather shirt, the sexiness of Fire Dances polished body was further accentuated. With two exquisite beauties present, the team of eight would naturally attract a lot of attention. As a result, many of the teams present, who were originally about to set out to a Dungeon, crowded around Fire Dance and the others. They sent Fire Dance invitations, one after another, requesting Fire Dance and her team to join them in raiding a 20-man Team Dungeon. Having a powerful Cleric like Violet Cloud would significantly increase their chances of success. Moreover, aside from Violet Cloud, the Guardian Knight, Cola, also had superb equipment. If these experts were willing to do them a favor, they could easily gain a few pieces of top-tier equipment. Unfortunately, their beautiful dreams were doomed from the start as Fire Dance rejected them all without hesitation. Weve fallen pretty far behind in levels. After we replenish our necessities, lets go level up, Fire Dance said, speaking in the team chat, completely ignoring the hungry gazes of the surrounding players. Nobody in the team opposed her suggestion. After getting along with each other for several days, Fire Dance had already become the core of the team. Everyone had especially acknowledged Fire Dances ability to command. Simply put, if it were not for Fire Dances leadership, they would not have survived the Trial of God. Just when Fire Dance and the others were about to head to the Starstreak Trading Firm to purchase some recovery items, over a dozen players walked towards them. Although these players did not possess a Guild emblem on their characters, they were clearly not a team to be underestimated. Even though the Shield Warrior leading this team was a man with an emaciated face and thin body, his appearance could not overshadow the keenness of his gaze. Moreover, this man currently wore a complete Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, in addition to a Secret-Silver ranked shield and one-handed sword. Possessing such items was a clear proof of his strength. While Fire Dance and the others were shocked by the equipment and strength of the team moving towards them, the team in question was similarly shocked by Fire Dance and the others. Crap! Who is that little sister? She actually has six pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment on her! Im not seeing things, right? Smuggled Goods, I look down upon you! Youre actually only paying attention to the girls body! Cant you see the weapon the Cleric girl has? Also, look at that vulgar-looking Cursemancers staff! It should be Secret-Silver rank or stronger! Scram! I have no interests in flat chests! I am obviously talking about the hot little sister standing next to the Cleric! ... Although the Guardian Knight of Fire Dances team was lacking compared to their own MT, their Cleric and Cursemancer were obviously much worse than the two before them. Moreover, the two teams were similar in that they both were independent teams and neither belonged to the main force of a Guild. In White River City, where Guilds occupied most of the important resource points, it was a rare sight for an independent team to possess such top-tier equipment. So, how could they not attract attention? Hello, I am War Wolf, team leader of the Holy Grail Knights. The emaciated man, War Wolf, took the initiative to introduce himself to Fire Dance. Zero Wings team leader, Fire Dance, Fire Dance replied, her interest to befriend this new team growing. Shi Feng had passed the management of the team to Fire Dance, and Fire Dance knew Shi Feng had done so due to his trust in her. She did not wish to betray that trust. Hence, taking their future Guild into consideration, as the manager of the team, she naturally had to think of a way to expand and strengthen the team. Meanwhile, the foreign team before her was clearly a formidable independent team. She felt their leader, War Wolf, was more than he appeared. Although she had never fought with him before, she knew that he was one of the rarely seen apex experts. If she had to PK against War Wolf, she would not have any advantage against him. If she could recruit such an expert and team into their Guild, they would have no worries when raiding large-scale Team Dungeons in the future. Fire Dance? War Wolf was slightly surprised when he heard this name. He then said, So youre Fire Dance, the earliest player to get first place on White River Citys Ranking List? How fortunate to meet you. War Wolfs evaluation of Fire Dance rose even higher after learning the news. Aside from Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru, Fire Dances imposing aura was likely the most powerful of all the female players he had met. Moreover, Fire Dance was also an independent player. I was just lucky. Fire Dance smiled as she said, I see that Team Leader Wolf is about to go Dungeon diving? Thats right. Were currently about to raid the Level 12 Frost Nest, War Wolf revealed. Is Miss Fire Dance interested in joining us? The Frost Nest was a Level 12, 20-man Team Dungeon. Currently, aside from the main force of the major Guilds, no other team possessed the strength to challenge such a Dungeon. Thank you for your kind offer, but we still have our own matters to attend. We will definitely join you if we have the chance in the future, Fire Dance immediately rejected War Wolfs offer. Shi Feng had previously instructed them to raise their levels as he still had some important matters to deal with. If they entered a Dungeon right now, their leveling speed would suffer, and they might even lose some EXP. Hence, Fire Dance chose to reject the offer without a second thought. Thats truly unfortunate. Lets add each other as friends, Miss Fire Dance. If we have a chance to raid a large-scale Team Dungeon together in the future, we can contact each other more conveniently. War Wolf sent Fire Dance a friend request. Since Fire Dance was also an expert of Gods Domain, Common Equipment would not satisfy her, yet, to obtain high-quality equipment, aside from killing Lord ranked Field Bosses and completing Special Quests, the only other option was raiding a Team Dungeon or a large-scale Team Dungeons. However, an independent team was different from Guild members. The teams were loosely formed, and the strength of the members usually varied. If an independent team relied solely on themselves, they would have no way of clearing a large-scale Team Dungeon. Hence, independent teams needed to cooperate with one another. Only by combining the strength of multiple independent teams would they have a chance of raiding a 50-man or above large-scale Team Dungeon. Yet, not just any independent teams would be fit for the task; a sufficiently strong independent team was necessary. Otherwise, entering a large-scale Team Dungeon would be suicide. Hence, War Wolf planned to befriend powerful independent teams. If they had powerful allies, they would have a much easier time raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. \--- Just as Fire Dance and War Wolf added each other as friends, Shi Feng had arrived at Blackwing City. He had come to conduct his third business transaction with Aqua Rose. This time, however, Shi Feng had not brought a lot of the Level 10 equipment and weapons he had forged. Now that the majority of the players in Gods Domain were over Level 10, these items were no longer as valuable as they were before. Hence, Shi Feng did not produce many of them. Instead, he prepared something better, something that could even attract the attention of first-rate Guilds. In addition, the Blackwing Auction House was holding an auction today. To any wealthy player, this was a chance that must not be missed, including Shi Feng who currently possessed enormous wealth. However, after Shi Feng had arrived at the appointed restaurant, Aqua Rose did not show up, even after a long time had passed. Instead, a pot-bellied man resembling Maitreya[1] walked over and quietly sat opposite of Shi Feng. With a gentle and elegant smile, he said, Hello there, Master Black Flame. As Miss Aqua has some urgent matters to attend to today, she has sent me to represent her in this transaction. Miss Aqua expresses her sincerest apologies. TL Notes: [1] Maitreya: https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/exterior/landmark/3d-models-maitreya-buddha-statue-ba4f62b45edade1c8e90a8f97c5fe95e 233 Astronomical Transaction Miss Aqua has some urgent matters? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Thats right. Although I cannot reveal to Your Excellency what those matters are, I, Joking Scholar, can represent Miss Aqua in conducting the transaction with you. However, Shi Feng did not believe him. Every time he and Aqua Rose completed a transaction, both sides would gain massive profits. Logically speaking, there should be nothing more important than this matter. Even if Aqua Rose truly had an urgent matter, she should have at least notified him beforehand. However, Aqua Rose had not. Shi Feng carefully observed this Maitreya-like person. Although he appeared absolutely harmless, his body exuded a sense of shrewdness that spoke of vast experience in the business world. Virtual reality... In this realistic world, regarding a players expressions or demeanor, both would be fully displayed on their characters. With over a decade of experience campaigning in Gods Domain, Shi Feng could immediately perceive the delight and panic hidden behind those beady little eyes. Since Miss Aqua has some matters to deal with, let us postpone our business transaction till next time, then. Shi Feng smiled calmly before standing up, saying, I still have some matters that I need to attend to, so Ill leave first. Hearing that Shi Feng had no intention to continue the trade and intended to leave, Maitreyas facial expression immediately changed. A hint of panic appeared in his friendly smile when Shi Feng stood. Master Black Flame, dont be in such a rush! Although Miss Aqua is absent, Twilight Echo sincerely desires this trades success. We are willing to pay 30% more than the previously mentioned price! Joking Scholar hurriedly stood and held back Shi Feng. Thirty percent? It seems that you guys really are sincere about this. Shi Feng halted his steps, smiling. He then turned to face the panicked Maitreya, saying, Since youve already made the offer, let us negotiate the price. Of course, of course! Joking Scholar hurriedly nodded his head, once more revealing his friendly smile. Following which, the two sat and resumed their business transaction. Do you have what I asked of Miss Aqua the last time? Shi Feng asked. Master Black Flame, please have a look, Joking Scholar retrieved several Ore Bags. Hard Stones and rare forging materials filled the majority of these bags. Moreover, aside from taking out five 400-slot Ore Bags, which were the largest Ore Bags currently available to players, he had also taken out a black leather bag. There were many runes carved on the exterior of this bag, and one could tell that it was not an ordinary item with just a glance. _It is a_ _s expected of Twilight Echo. They_ _even have_ _a Runic Ore Bag._ Shi Feng was inwardly shocked. The Runic Ore Bag was a Mysterious-Iron grade Ore Bag. It had a massive capacity of 1,200 slots, four times that of a Common grade Ore Bag. However, this item was not easy to obtain. Only Lord ranked Bosses in mines had a chance of dropping this item. Compared to the previous encounter, this transaction would be far larger. Joking Scholar had prepared over 2,000 stacks of Hard Stones, 300 stacks of Fine Iron Ore, 400 stacks of Silver Ore, and 200 stacks of Mithril Ore. Furthermore, there were also 100 stacks of Gold Ore, which was currently unavailable in Star-Moon Kingdom. Just how much manpower and resources had they spent in the process of gathering such a large amount of precious ores? This was precisely the strength of a first-rate Guild. It was not something a normal Guild could compare to. Good, everything that I requested is here. Deducting all these ores, if we factor in the 30% increase in price you previously mentioned, you just need to pay me an additional 120 million Credits. Shi Feng took out a letter that had been encrypted by the System and placed it on the table. Only a specified person could open this letter, and outsiders had no way to discover its contents. When Joking Scholar heard the price of 120 million Credits, his smiling expression immediately froze. He had nearly spat the black tea that was in his mouth, the teacup in his hand nearly falling to the ground due to his trembling. The 120 million Credits is the price of this encrypted letter? Joking Scholar looked at the white envelope on the table, his facial expression turning extraordinarily ugly. His previously beady eyes abruptly widened as he sent a chilling glare at Shi Feng, coldly saying, Master Black Flame, arent you going a little too overboard? We of Twilight Echo have come here with the sincerest intentions to conduct business with you. Are you looking down on Twilight Echo? Or do you not take Miss Aqua seriously? No matter how stupid Joking Scholar was, he knew that no transaction in Gods Domain could currently achieve such a frightening cost. That was 120 million Credits! Not 120 million Hell Money[1]! Such an amount was sufficient for a normal person to live the rest of their life in luxury! Even Joking Scholar himself would not earn such an amount in this lifetime! The only possibility was that Shi Feng was toying with him, or that Shi Feng had already found out that he was a fake. However, as a preventive measure, he still used Aqua Roses name to warn Shi Feng. Shi Feng calmly smiled at this Maitreyas reaction. He paid no mind to Joking Scholars chilling and threatening gaze, unhurriedly saying, How could you say such a thing? Werent you the one that suggested for the 30% increase in price? Ive fully followed our previous agreement and have brought what that Miss Aqua requested. Could Miss Aqua have forgotten to tell you about it? Or is it because you are fake? A chilling light suddenly flashed in Shi Fengs eyes as he loudly questioned. You! At this moment, Joking Scholar gnashed his teeth in anger. Shi Feng had clearly pretended to be the fool here. Yet, he could not just reveal Shi Fengs act. Master Black Flame, of course, I was sent here by Miss Aqua! Please stop trying to probe me! Miss Rose never agreed to this! Joking Scholar was no fool. He thought that Shi Feng was currently trying to probe him, so he quickly cooled his temper. Probe? What reason would I have to probe you? Shi Feng smiled as he said, I am very serious. If Aqua Rose didnt mention such an important agreement to you and you have no knowledge of it, then it seems you are indeed a fake. If that is so, then I am truly sorry. Our business transaction ends here. Saying so, Shi Feng stood and prepared to leave. Joking Scholar immediately panicked. He could no longer discern whether Shi Fengs words were true or not. In the beginning, he thought Shi Feng was trying to swindle him. Now, however, it would seem that his previous preconception might be wrong. _Have I really guessed wrong? Was this letter actually what they intended to trade?_ Joking Scholar felt that his brain was no longer sufficient to process this matter. He could not see through Shi Feng at all. Previously, Shi Feng had expressed immense interest in continuing the trade. Now, however, Shi Feng was about to leave after scoffing. Just what was he supposed to do? Joking Scholar had personally witnessed the benefits Aqua Rose had obtained through her transactions with Shi Feng. If Twilight Echo could periodically conduct similar trades with Shi Feng and obtain such immense profits every time, the other first-rate Guilds in their kingdom would have no chance to compete with them. They would become the tyrant of their kingdom. Just by becoming the lord of a city, the benefits that ensued were enough to attract the world-class corporations investments. Not to mention receiving a few hundred million, they could even receive tens of billions of Credits. If Twilight Echo could become the tyrant of a kingdom, they could receive investments from over ten major corporations. The Credits they could earn were unimaginable. In comparison, the 120 million Credit transaction right now could be considered negligible. However, 120 million Credits was not pocket change either. Moreover, their Guild had only obtained the many ores before him through the painstaking work. If they gave them all to Shi Feng, the losses would be mind-blowing. Of course, if such a powerful benefit were truly available, it could greatly assist Twilight Echo in elevating its current position, becoming the tyrant of the capital city. However, Joking Scholar could not see past Shi Fengs thoughts at all. He did not know whether Shi Feng had the sincerity to continue their current cooperation. With his status, he did not dare make this gamble. Master Black Flame, please wait a minute! Maybe Miss Aqua has forgotten to mention this to me. Ill have to ask Miss Aqua about this before making a decision. If there truly are no problems, then the 120 million Credits and these materials will all be yours. Joking Scholar decided to hold Shi Feng back for now. He needed to report this matter to his superiors and let them decide what to do. That way, he wont have to take responsibility for this matter. * * * TL Notes: [1]Hell Money: a form of joss paper printed to resemble legal tender bank notes.The notes are not an official form of recognized currency or legal tender since their sole intended purpose is to be offered as burnt offerings to the deceased as a superstitious solution to resolve their ancestors financial problems. This custom has been practiced by the modern Chinese and across East Asia since the late 19th century. Early 20th century examples resembled minor commercial currency of the type issued by businesses across China until the mid-1940s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_money 234 While the Priest Climbs a Post, the Devil Climbs Ten Naturally, Shi Feng could not just walk away after hearing Joking Scholars words. Although he did not know what had happened to Aqua Rose, if he could swindle so many materials and Credits, he would make a huge profit. Fine. Ill give you one minute. Im in a hurry. Shi Feng swept a glance at the clock displayed on the system interface. There were still two hours before the auction started at the Blackwing City Auction House. If he missed this chance, he would have to wait for several more days before the next. Since a lot was at stake, Joking Scholar dared not waste any more time. He immediately sent a message to his superior, awaiting the decision. After waiting for half a minute or so, Joking Scholar received a reply. Joking Scholar immediately felt his mood refresh when he read the reply. Master Black Flame, Miss Aqua has said that, due to the transaction being of such magnitude, if we are to conduct this trade, we need to verify the item that you have provided. Of course, I will preside over this verification. If there truly are no problems, we will immediately transfer the money to you, Joking Scholar confidently informed Shi Feng. That wont do. If you guys get a look at the contents of this letter, then the information inside will no longer have any value. What if you decide not to pay me? Wouldnt I take a huge loss instead? Unless you give me the money first, I will not let you look at the contents. Shi Feng sneered, Since Twilight Echo doesnt have any sincerity in continuing this trade, so be it. Contrary to Joking Scholars belief, the information inside the encrypted letter was the real deal. It could instantly promote a large Guild to the next level. The information was especially useful to a first-rate Guild. Of course, this information would not actually sell for an astronomical price of 120 million Credits. Since he had cooperated with Aqua Rose in the past, he would not betray her and cooperate with someone else. Hence, he had only mentioned such an astronomical price to play with Joking Scholar. Master Black Flame, we are very sincere in this matter. If you continue responding to our sincerity in such a way, we can only take it as you toying with Twilight Echo. None who attempt to make fools of Twilight Echo find a good ending. If Master Black Flame doesnt want a misunderstanding, please let me take a look at the information contained in the letter. As long as there are no problems, then based on Twilight Echos credibility, we certainly will not go back on our word and ruin our own reputation. Although Joking Scholar spoke with an amicable tone, he did not try to hide the cold glint in his eyes in the least. Are you threatening me? Shi Fengs tone turned cold as he said, Although Twilight Echo is a first-rate Guild, dont think that I, Black Flame, am someone you can easily mess around with. Since this matter has reached this point, our cooperation ends right here and now. hi Feng immediately left the restaurant, leaving behind a dumbfounded Joking Scholar. Joking Scholar never thought Shi Feng would react so decisively. In his opinion, Black Flame was only a forger. How could he possibly dare call shots with a first-rate Guild like Twilight Echo? Hence, Joking Scholar decided to threaten him. Yet, Shi Feng had not reacted as he had expected at all, so much so that his threat had yielded the exact opposite effect he had wanted. The higher ups of the Guild had tasked him with maintaining the current business relationship they had with Black Flame. If there were a possibility, the best case scenario would be to recruit Black Flame into Twilight Echo. How abominable! This Black Flame is simply impervious to reason! Joking Scholar had originally intended to hold Shi Feng back once more. However, doing so was simply too humiliating. After speaking those decisive words, if he had to suddenly change his tone and try to ingratiate himself with Shi Feng He simply could not do it. _He is definitely toying with me! Thats the only plausible reason why he isnt willing to show me the contents of that letter!_ Immediately after, Joking Scholar contacted his superior. Scholar, how did it go? a dignified tone came through the communicator. Boss, that Black Flame rejected our proposal. He refused to let me take a look at the letters contents. However, I am very sure that he is trying to play us for fools. There is nothing important in the letter, Scholar confidently assured. I understand. Although it is slightly unfortunate, Black Flame has also given us some enlightenment. Since Black Flame is unwilling to do business with us, we can just look for someone else. I hear that Star-Moon Kingdom, where Black Flame is from, should be in dire need of ores. Look for a powerful Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom at Blackwing City. I believe that they should be very willing to cooperate with us. Yes, Boss. Currently, Joking Scholar felt exhilarated. Black Flame, did you really think that you are so amazing? Once I sell these ores to some other Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, well see if you can still survive there! Soon after, Joking Scholar had departed from the restaurant as well. He started looking for a new business partner from Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng left the restaurant, he immediately changed his appearance using the Demon Mask. He had long since waited for Joking Scholars departure. Although Shi Feng did not intend to do business with Joking Scholar, that would not stop him from swindling the man. After all, it was not easy for him to obtain so many ores. Moreover, it was not his style to just let Joking Scholar escape. Previously, he had used the appearance of Black Flame, so he could not swindle those ores from him. However, now that he had changed his appearance, even if he swindled Joking Scholar, he would be fine as long as he immediately donned a new appearance. Twilight Echo had spent a lot of wealth and manpower to procure the ores. If they failed to sell them, keeping those ores for their own use instead, they would need over ten days to exhaust such a large supply fully. Twilight Echo could not bear such a heavy cost. After all, these ores could not increase their Guilds battle prowess. They could only do so by turning these materials into currency. However, If they wished to turn these ores into money, they had to sell them to a Guild that was in dire need of ores. As for independent players, they simply had no way to deplete such a stock. No. Unless they paid with Credits, even a first-rate Guild could not afford so many ores. However, would Twilight Echo lack Credits? Thats right; they didnt lack Credits. If they could spend Credits to purchase a large amount of Gold Coins, they would have spent several hundred million Credits without hesitation. However, the Main God System had not activated an exchange system for Coins. As for the virtual trade center, there was simply not enough Gold Coins to satisfy their demands. Most importantly, if they purchased Gold Coins in bulk, their actions would inflate the prices of Gold Coins endlessly, and doing so was not a worthwhile investment. This was also one of the reasons why large Guilds normally would not purchase Gold Coins in bulk. If Twilight Echo could not sell these ores quickly, it would wound the Guilds development. However, it would not be an easy task to find a business partner willing to purchase so many ores. The only possibility they had was to look for a Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom. As long as Twilight Echo investigated, they would immediately discover that Black Flame was from Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, the fact that Black Flame purchased so many forging materials proved that Star-Moon Kingdom was in dire need. As long as the upper echelon of Twilight Echo had brains, they would naturally look for someone from Star-Moon Kingdom to cooperate with. Unfortunately, Twilight Echo had miscalculated one point. It was not easy to obtain the pass required to enter Blackwing City. Even for a large Guild, they would need to spend a lot of time and effort to obtain one. Not to mention, the majority of the Guilds and players in Star-Moon Kingdom didnt even know about the existence of Blackwing City. Quite some time had passed since the launch of Gods Domain. However, the players from Star-Moon Kingdom who could enter Blackwing City were among the extreme minority. It went without saying there were even fewer players who could afford so many ores. \--- An hour quickly passed with Shi Feng trailing Joking Scholar. Sure enough, Joking Scholar failed to find even a single player from Star-Moon Kingdom. The majority of the players he met were independent players from other kingdoms and empires. Even when he met players belonging to Guilds, these players were not part of their Guilds backbone. Most importantly, none of these players had any interest in Twilight Echos ores. This situation depressed Joking Scholar. He wondered just why he could not meet any players from Star-Moon Kingdom. _It would be fine even if it were even an independent player!_ At this moment, Shi Feng took on Lone Tyrants appearance using the Demon Mask, and he walked towards Joking Scholar casually. 235 Extreme Squeezing Shi Fengs disguise looked extremely similar to the real deal. Moreover, the equipment he wore had also changed appearance. He now wore a complete Secret-Silver Set Equipment. On his back, he carried the Fine-Gold ranked Blood Red Longsword and Blood Red Cross Shield. Not to mention the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, even the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild would find it difficult to obtain equipment as dazzling as Shi Fengs. In addition, Shi Feng had completely replicated Lone Tyrants arrogant air, creating a vivid image of the Guild Leader. Right now, even if someone familiar with Lone Tyrant stood before Shi Feng, they could not tell whether he was the real Lone Tyrant or not. The players that walked past Shi Feng involuntarily found their heads turning towards him; both envy and admiration filled the gazes they sent his way. The glowing effect of a Fine-Gold Weapon had nearly blinded their eyes. At this moment, Joking Scholar was still blindly searching the streets for his target, a gloomy expression portrayed on his face. However, when his eyes landed on Lone Tyrant, who was Shi Feng in disguise, his eyes flashed with a glint of excitement. _His equipment! Not even our Guild Leader compares to him!_ _The Guild he belongs to must be very powerful!_ _I hope he is a player from Star-Moon Kingdom._ __ Joking Scholar made a silent prayer as he walked towards Shi Feng. Hello! I am Joking Scholar of Twilight Echo. May I ask if Your Excellency comes from Star-Moon Kingdom? Joking Scholar asked in anticipation. Are your eyes a decoration? Of course, I am from Star-Moon Kingdom! If you don''t even know who I am, why are you even playing Gods Domain? Shi Feng arrogantly scoffed. Contrary to expectations, not only did Shi Fengs scolding fail to anger Joking Scholar, but it had also made him rejoice. Immediately, Joking Scholar used an identification skill on Shi Feng. [Lone Tyrant] Affiliated Guild: Dark Star After reading Shi Fengs basic information, Joking Scholarly immediately started a search through the official forums for information. Very quickly, Joking Scholar uncovered most of the information available about Lone Tyrant, and his mood instantly lifted higher than before. How careless of me! I did not expect to meet the well-renowned Guild Leader Lone Tyrant of Star-Moon Kingdom! I wonder if Your Excellency would be interested in purchasing some ores? Joking Scholar spoke unhurriedly. However, Shi Feng inwardly smiled at Joking Scholars words. Just as he had guessed, Joking Scholar was in a hurry to get rid of the ores in his hands. Ores? Are you looking down on our Guild? Shi Feng angrily demanded. Guild Leader Tyrant has misunderstood me. Of course, I know that Your Excellency does not lack materials. Joking Scholar calmly said, However, what about the other Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom? If Guild Leader Tyrant can sell a large number of ores to those Guilds at a low price, wouldnt Your Excellency make a huge profit? At this moment, Shi Feng faked an interested expression. Guild Leader Tyrant, after the recent update of Gods Domain, fighting monsters places a huge toll on a weapons durability. Hence, I believe that every Guild would be very interested in Whetstones. Meanwhile, the main material needed to produce Whetstones is Hard Stones. I just happen to have plenty of Hard Stones with me right now, and I can sell all of them to Your Excellency at a very low price, Joking Scholar hurriedly said. Cheap Hard Stones? Shi Feng appeared even more interested now, saying, Speak, then. I can sell these Hard Stones to Your Excellency at a price of 10 Silver Coins a stack. Similarly, I can also sell the other ores I have with me for much cheaper than those found in Star-Moon Kingdom, Joking Scholar offered confidently. You call 10 Silver Coins per stack cheap? Are you trying to toy with me? Do you think I have so much time to waste on you? Shi Feng growled, I will pay, at most, 5 Silver Coins a stack. Otherwise, we do not need to continue this conversation. Your Excellency, I know how much Hard Stones sell for in Star-Moon Kingdom. Normally, each stack can sell for 11 to 12 Silver Coins. By reselling the Hard Stones Your Excellency buys from me, Your Excellency can still make an effortless one to two Silver Coins. Moreover, the amount of Hard Stones I have with me is by no means small. They can allow Your Excellency to make an immense profit. Joking Scholar had done his homework, thoroughly researching the prices of ores in Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, Joking Scholar felt confident that Lone Tyrant was interested in buying the Hard Stones; Lone Tyrant was simply trying to lower the prices to maximize his profits. Twelve Silver Coins? Shi Feng disdainfully said, That was the price two days ago. Now that everyones level is higher, the available locations they can farm Hard Stones from has also increased. It is absolutely impossible to sell them at such a high price anymore. Ill repeat myself one more time: 5 Silver Coins a stack. If you dont want to sell, then so be it. Immediately, Joking Scholar grew flustered at Shi Fengs words. Indeed, he had investigated the ore prices in Star-Moon Kingdom two days ago. Moreover, just as Shi Feng had said, players levels rose constantly. Not only would the drop rate of Hard Stones from monsters increase, but players could also obtain quite a number from mining ores. Take the Hard Stones Twilight Echo had gathered, for example. Twilight Echo had previously paid around 3 to 4 Silver Coins per stack while gathering the Hard Stones. If they sold them for only 5 Silver Coins a stack to Shi Feng, they wouldnt make a huge profit. Your Excellency drives a hard bargain. How about this; what do you think about 8 Silver Coins a stack? Joking Scholar probed. Scram! If youre not going to sell them, then forget it! Shi Feng pretended to grow angry. Although Shi Feng stated that the prices of Hard Stones had fallen, the prices in White River City had not decreased by much. Each stack could still sell for around 11 Silver Coins right now. However, Shi Feng was in no hurry. He knew that Twilight Echo was deeply afraid of keeping the Hard Stones and having their value depreciate as time passed. Such a loss could greatly hamper Twilight Echos growth, letting the other Guilds surpass them. Your Excellency, please wait a moment. How about 7 Silver Coins per stack? Joking Scholar hurriedly bargained when he noticed Shi Feng about to walk away. However, his offer failed to halt Shi Fengs steps. Alright, alright; 6 Silver Coins. I cant lower the price any further than that. Joking Scholar felt helpless at Shi Fengs unyielding attitude. However, it was simply too difficult to find players from Star-Moon Kingdom in Blackwing City. It was especially true for a Guild Leader like Lone Tyrant. If Joking Scholar could not sell these Hard Stones as quickly as possible, their value would continue to depreciate. However, reality was cruel. Shi Feng did not halt his steps at all. Joking Scholar started to panic now. He hurriedly ran to stop Shi Feng, saying in an urgent tone, Your Excellency! Are you really not going to consider it? Six Silver coins is already a very low price! You cant find such an offer anywhere else! Cant find? Shi Feng smiled. Although Star-Moon Kingdom ranked above average among kingdoms that produced herbs, regarding mineral production, Star-Moon Kingdom ranked below average. Thus, the mineral supply in Star-Moon Kingdom lacked constantly. However, not every kingdom and empire was in a similar situation to the Star-Moon Kingdom. Immediately, Shi Feng loudly yelled, Selling Hard Stones for 6 Silver Coins a stack! You definitely cant find a price lower than this! Shi Fengs actions dumbfounded Joking Scholar. However, many players on the street sent gazes of contempt towards Shi Feng. Stop joking around! You call 6 Silver Coins a stack cheap? Even 5, Silver 30 Coppers is expensive where I come from! If you want to purchase in bulk, I can sell them to you at 5 Silver Coins a stack! Ah! I nearly died from laughter just now! Many players on the street started laughing at Shi Feng. However, the one who was truly embarrassed was Joking Scholar. At this moment, he felt so ashamed that he could not even raise his head to face Shi Feng. His absolute confidence from before had returned to slap him in the face. Moreover, someone had already made an offer of 5 Silver Coins per stack. Nothing could have a more powerful impact than this. How about it? Didnt you say that your Hard Stones were the cheapest? Didnt you say that I absolutely couldnt find a lower price than yours? Shi Feng snorted as he asked, Why is everyone offering me a lower price, then? Did you really think that I am a fool? This is a misunderstanding! Really! Joking Scholar hurriedly said, Just like Your Excellency suggested before, how about 5 Silver Coins a stack? Too late. Ill offer, at best, 2 Silver Coins now. Before, I had only casually asked around on the street, and already, someone has offered me a price of 5 Silver Coins. If I ask even more people, I might even find a cheaper offer than that. There are plenty of kingdoms rich in ores. Shi Feng smiled contemptuously. 236 Mysterious NPC Shi Fengs offer this time truly shocked Joking Scholar. However, Joking Scholar knew that it was no longer possible for him to sell the forging materials for a good price. At this moment, Joking Scholar had finally realized that making money in Blackwing City was not an easy task. Although Blackwing City provided players with various opportunities, the competition here was more intense than any other city in Gods Domain. The players in Blackwing City came from various kingdoms and empires, and each one of these kingdoms and empires had their own specialties. Although Twilight Echo was a first-rate Guild, they held no advantage whatsoever in this city. Even the forging materials they were so proud of held no advantage in this city. Joking Scholar honestly wondered how Aqua Rose had managed to make so much money from her trips to Blackwing City. Your Excellency, can you give me some time? After all, the price you offered is simply too low. I need to consult with my superiors before making a decision, Joking Scholar persuaded Shi Feng. Fine. It just so happens that I need to purchase some items. Well meet up in this plaza in 30 minutes. Shi Feng nodded. The two promptly added each other as friends. After parting, Shi Feng immediately walked into an empty alley. The reason he had offered an extremely low price of 2 Silver Coins was to force Joking Scholar to contact his superiors. More importantly, he had done so to part with Joking Scholar. Otherwise, he would have no way of realizing his plan. After walking into the alley, Shi Feng immediately used the Seven Luminaries Crystal and returned to White River City. He then rushed to the Bank, retrieving several hundred stacks of Hard Stones and other ores, before using the Seven Luminaries Crystal again to travel to Blackwing City. Afterward, Shi Feng looked for a dark, narrow alley. Glancing at his surroundings and making sure that he had not been followed, Shi Feng changed into a new appearance again. This time, he disguised himself as an old man with white hair. He then donned a black hooded cloak and changed his name to Carlos. Aside from his name, he had concealed his information. That should be about it. Shi Feng examined his disguise. Regarding outward appearance or temperament, both looked extremely mysterious. Moreover, his body also exuded a frightening aura. He did not look like a player at all. After confirming that there were no problems with his disguise, Shi Feng walked towards a relatively populated street. On the street, he discovered a relatively well-equipped Guardian Knight, and without hesitation, he walked towards this Guardian Knight. While he walked past this man, Shi Feng pretended to accidentally bump into him, knocking the man down to the ground. Originally, the Guardian Knight was enraged from being knocked down. However, just before he started cursing, he noticed that the old man before him had a shockingly powerful aura, so much so that he could feel his own body trembling slightly before this elder. Immediately, he used an identification skill on this old man and found out that the old man was called Carlos. Meanwhile, any remaining information about the old man displayed as Unknown. In Gods Domain, there were only two scenarios that resulted in an unknown return from an identification skill. One was when the targeted player used a special item to conceal their information, while the other was due to a large gap in strength. In both cases, a normal identification skill would not suffice to determine the targets information. Meanwhile, the old man before him was clearly not a player, but an NPC. Hence, the Guardian Knight determined that the old man named Carlos was very powerful. Afraid that he would earn the ire of this mysterious NPC and get himself killed, the Guardian Knight immediately swallowed his words. Young man, are you alright? Shi Feng spoke in a dignified tone, casting an overlooking gaze at the Guardian Knight. No, there are no problems at all, the Guardian Knight hurriedly said. Its good that youre alright. However, it is still my fault for bumping into you. As compensation, you can come to my place to purchase items in the future. I will sell them to you at a discount, Shi Feng said. Immediately, he started walking towards a nearby alleyway. Could my luck have come? The Guardian Knight reacted quickly as he immediately followed Shi Feng into the alleyway. Shi Feng was shrouded in mystery, and the aura he exuded was extremely frightening. Coupling that with the fact that he had bumped into a player, he would naturally attract the attention of many players on the street. Although Shi Fengs words had not been loud, many of the surrounding players had clearly heard him. There were countless fortuitous encounters in Gods Domain. It was especially so for a place like Blackwing City. It was not strange for players to purchase some rare items from a Hidden NPC. The elderly man before them was such a powerful NPC; it would not be odd for him to sell some powerful, rare item. So, how could they possibly miss out on such a good opportunity? Hence, every player on the street followed Shi Feng and the Guardian Knight. Damn, why are there so many people following us? The Guardian Knight felt depressed when he noticed the crowd of players trailing behind him and the old man. However, his feet did not stop as he continued after Shi Feng. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng noticed the large number of players following him, his lips curled into a smile. He had already achieved his goal. Soon after, Shi Feng led the crowd of players past the street where Joking Scholar was. As Joking Scholar had only needed to notify his superiors about the current situation, he had not wandered too far from his original location. Naturally, he also noticed the strange sight of a crowd of players following a mysterious old man. Hence, he hurried after one of the players trailing Shi Feng. After making a short inquiry, Joking Scholar learned the reason for this strange situation. His face lit up with joy as he, too, joined this army of players. Seeing that Joking Scholar had taken the bait, Shi Feng located an unoccupied gazebo and took a seat there. His expression remained indifferent as he gazed at the players following him. The Guardian Knight from before immediately walked up to Shi Feng without hesitation. He intended to find out what items he could purchase from the old man. In response to the Guardian Knights actions, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he retrieved Hard Stones and many other types of rare ores. He then quoted extremely low prices for all these ores. Shi Feng quoted one stack of Hard Stones for 40 Copper Coins, a stack of 200 Iron Ore for 4 Silver Coins, a stack of 200 Fine Iron Ore for 6 Silver Coins, 200 Silver Ore for 10 Silver Coins, and 200 Mithril Ore for 12 Silver Coins. The Guardian Knight was immediately dumbfounded when he heard these prices. The prices Shi Feng quoted were far lower than the current market prices. It was especially true for the Hard Stones that were currently in high demand. Your Excellency Carlos, I wish to purchase 30 stacks of Hard Stones, the Guardian Knight said, excitement clear in his voice. After all, if he returned to his own country and resold these Hard Stones at 5 Silver Coins, he would make an immense profit. Anyone would grow excited over such a situation. Hence, the Guardian Knight spent all of the money he had on him to purchase Hard Stones from Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the players that arrived a tad bit later were immediately stunned by the Guardian Knights transaction. Immediately, they rushed forward to purchase Hard Stones from Shi Feng. A majority of the players currently in Blackwing City were independent players. The money they carried did not amount to much, so the number of Hard Stones they could buy was limited. Most of the players only bought a dozen or so stacks of Hard Stones from Shi Feng. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had already sold over 200 stacks. The players who managed to purchase Hard Stones from Shi Feng left with wide smiles. Some had even purchased Gold Coins using Credits, shouting their offer on the streets. If they were to purchase Coins through the virtual trade center, the Coins would need at least 2 hours to arrive in their accounts. If it were a private transaction between players, however, they could immediately pay and receive the Coins. Hence, these players immediately started yelling on the streets, going so far as to offer double the market price. Joking Scholar immediately panicked. This mysterious NPC was actually selling these items and at such a low price. There were even so many players purchasing Coins on the streets. If news of this matter reached Dark Stars Guild Leader, Lone Tyrants ears... If that happened, he would never get rid of the forging materials in his hands! Immediately, Joking Scholar sent this information back to his superior, and just as quickly, he received a reply. They ordered him to sell as many of the materials as he could at a low price. Following which, Joking Scholar immediately rushed towards the meeting location he had agreed upon with Shi Feng. He then sent Shi Feng a message, stating that they could conduct their trade immediately. Joking Scholar was deeply afraid of Shi Feng discovering the matter with the mysterious NPC. If Shi Feng found out about it, he wouldnt even be able to sell his Hard Stones for 2 Silver Coins a stack. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile after seeing receiving Joking Scholars message. Immediately, he told the players that he had sold out for the day and that he would return tomorrow. Many of the new arrivals were gravely disappointed. They lamented over the fact that they had been so slow, and they had no choice but to return tomorrow. Soon after, Shi Feng vanished from the players sight. He searched for a secluded location and donned the appearance of Lone Tyrant once more, before hurrying over to the meeting location. 237 If You Don’t Do Stupid Things, They Won’t Come Back and Bite You in the Ass In the central plaza of Blackwing City, many players wandered, sightseeing. Blackwing City was a must-see destination as it had been built atop the peak of a mountain. Meanwhile, the Stargazing Tower loomed in the central plaza of the city. Through the usage of a floating platform, players could arrive at the top of the tower and witness the full beauty of Blackwing City. Beneath the Stargazing Tower, Shi Feng located Joking Scholar. At this moment, panic painted Joking Scholars face. His eyes were like searchlights as they scanned the plaza. When he finally spotted Shi Feng, he hurried over. Guild Leader Tyrant, the higher-ups have given me my instructions. To maintain long-term cooperations with Guild Leader Tyrant, we agree to sell the Hard Stones to you at 2 Silver Coins a stack. As long as you take these forging materials back to Star-Moon Kingdom, you can earn back at least three to four times the cost, Joking Scholar said as he walked up to Shi Feng, a smile filling his face. Twilight Echo had spent a lot of time to obtain these forging materials. They had even spent an impressive sum of Coins and Credits in the process. Meanwhile, their main goal was to turn these forging materials into Coins. If luck would have it, they could even make a small profit from the trade. By the looks of it, however, that would not happen. After all, not only were the forging materials of other kingdoms and empires similarly cheap, but there was also a mysterious NPC in Blackwing City selling these materials far below bottom-line prices now. The only thing Joking Scholar could do now was turn all these forging materials into Coins, even at the cost of taking a small loss. He could then head to the Blackwing City Auction and purchase some items that would benefit the Guilds development. However, although ideals were wonderful, reality was very cruel. It was clearly impossible for Shi Feng to spend hundreds of Gold to purchase these materials. Even if he had over 3,000 Gold Coins, he still wouldnt spend it in such a way. Not to mention, Shi Feng had spent so much effort in swindling Joking Scholar. He naturally wouldnt stop at just 2 Silver Coins. Two Silver Coins a stack, now thats what I call sincere. However, just before I came here, someone mentioned to me that they are willing to sell a large amount of Hard Stones for 1 Silver Coin a stack. Moreover, if I am willing to purchase over a thousand stacks, they will lower that price even further. Shi Feng shook his head, feigning disinterest. What? One Silver Coin a stack? Who said that? Joking Scholar was already on the brink of insanity. He had only found a large transaction after much difficulty. Now, however, someone was trying to undersell him. Moreover, that person clearly knew about the mysterious NPC selling forging materials. If he had to sell each stack of Hard Stones for only 1 Silver Coin, he might as well take them back to his own empire and sell them there. Yet, the various Guilds in Storm Empire, the empire Twilight Echo belonged to, was far from lacking forging materials. As for the independent players there, most were self-sufficient. As a result, the players purchasing Hard Stones were very few. On the contrary, there were plenty of players selling them. However, due to Twilight Echos recent mass purchase, the prices of Hard Stones in the Storm Empire had increased. Originally, 2 Silver Coins would be more than enough to purchase one stack of Hard Stones. If these Hard Stones were forged into Whetstones, though, the demand would slightly increase. You will have to investigate this person yourself. If there arent any more matters here, Ill be going. I still have to discuss the exact pricing with that person. If I buy several thousand stacks, I wonder if he will sell at an even lower price? Shi Feng laughed. Guild Leader Tyrant, please wait a moment! Joking Scholar hurriedly said, If you are willing to purchase a large amount, Twilight Echo is willing to offer the same price as that person! If you are willing to buy more than 20,000 stacks, I can offer you a price of 60 Copper Coins a stack! Take it as a sign of friendship! Currently, Joking Scholar no longer cared about price. The only fortunate matter to him right now was the fact that Lone Tyrant had yet to discover the mysterious NPC. Although Twilight Echo would incur an astronomical loss by selling the 2,000 stacks of Hard Stones they currently had at a price of 60 Copper, they could simply purchase more Hard Stones at a price of 40 Coppers from the mysterious NPC. If they resold those Hard Stones at 60 Coppers, they would make a clean profit of 20 Coppers per stack. If they resold 18,000 stacks, they could easily recoup their losses. Hence, Joking Scholar needed to take action quickly. If Lone Tyrant found out about this matter, he might not even be able to sell the Hard Stones he had for 40 Coppers a stack. Sixty Copper Coins a stack? Moreover, you guys actually have over 20,000 stacks?! Shi Feng feigned astonishment as he spoke. Of course! This is our way of showing sincerity! However, you have to buy 20,000 stacks to get such a low price. Joking Scholar nodded his head, smiling. Hold on a minute. Ill ask that person what price he is willing to offer if I buy 20,000 stacks, Shi Feng said. Hearing that Shi Feng was about to contact the person who knew about the mysterious NPC, Joking Scholars panic grew. Anyone aware of this information only needed to spend as much effort as flipping a hand over in this transaction. Even if they made a profit of 1 Copper Coin per stack, they could still earn 2 Gold Coins from selling 20,000 stacks. However, Joking Scholars situation was different. Hence, he hurriedly shouted, Guild Leader Tyrant, please wait a minute! I dont wish to waste time competing with those people, so Ill offer you a cost price of 50 Copper Coins! Take it as me trying to befriend you! However, you have to purchase 50,000 stacks! Ill even gift you 300 stacks of Iron Ore, 400 stacks of Silver Ore, 200 stacks of Mithril Ore, 100 stacks of Gold Ore, and also a Mysterious-Iron ranked Runic Ore Bag! Nobody can offer you a lower price than me! Youre offering 50 Copper Coins a stack, and they come with a gift of rare ores as well? There are even 100 stacks of Gold Ore, a high-quality ore that I have never seen before. It seems that you are indeed sincere. I doubt that the other side can offer a price lower than this. Alright, then. Ill buy 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones from you! Shi Feng smiled contently. He was already quite satisfied that he could purchase 2,000 stacks of Hard Stones for only 50 Copper Coins a stack. At the expense of selling over 200 stacks of Hard Stones at a price of 40 Copper Coins a stack, he could purchase over 2,000 stacks at a price of 50 Copper Coins in return. He had made a huge profit out of this transaction. As for the remaining 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones, if Joking Scholar uncovered the truth, he would never sell him Hard Stones for such a low price again. Basically, there wouldnt be another business transaction between him and Twilight Echo. However, Shi Feng paid no mind to this. With this batch of forging materials, he would not run out of Hard Stones anytime soon. Lets sign a contract then, Guild Leader Tyrant, Joking Scholar took out an electronic contract. With the Main God System bearing testimony to this contract, neither party involved was allowed to violate the conditions set. What is the meaning of this? Shi Feng wrinkled his brows slightly. Guild Leader Tyrant, this is a large transaction that involves 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones. If Guild Leader Tyrant suddenly decides not to buy the Hard Stones, wouldnt I suffer the loss? Of course, I am not trying to question Guild Leader Tyrants credibility. However, to avoid any future disputes, let us be villains before nobles, Joking Scholar explained. Still, isnt there a problem with this agreement? I dont mind that the trade has to be done within ten days, but why do I have to compensate you 5,000 Gold Coins or 50 million Credits, with Gold Coins as priority, if I renege on the contract, while you guys dont have to pay anything if you renege on your commitment? Shi Feng angrily said, You call this not questioning my reputation? From the way I see it, maybe we should forget about this business transaction altogether. Although Shi Feng appeared angry, inwardly, he couldnt be any happier. Originally, he had no hopes of getting the remaining 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones. He would never have thought that Joking Scholar would take such an action. Contrary to being furious, Shi Feng couldnt help but eagerly agree to this contract! The evil one brought upon themselves truly was the hardest to bear! Please wait, Guild Leader Tyrant! I simply forgot to write it in! If Twilight Echo reneges on the agreement, we will similarly compensate you with 5,000 Gold Coins or 50 million Credits. Moreover, Guild Leader Tyrant can rest assured about the validity of this contract, as our Guild Leader has personally signed. The only thing remaining is Guild Leader Tyrants signature, Joking Scholar hurriedly amended the agreement. He had indeed forgotten about this matter out of panic. After all, he was deeply afraid of Shi Feng discovering the mysterious NPC who sold forging materials. However, as long as both parties signed this agreement, even if Lone Tyrant discovered this mysterious NPC, Joking Scholar had nothing to fear. Now, thats more like it, Shi Feng said with satisfaction after finding no problems with the agreement. Shi Feng was nearly unable to suppress the excitement in his heart. After calming his excited mood down, he signed the contract. However, Joking Scholar was far more excited than Shi Feng; his heart was about to break out of his chest. As he watched Shi Feng finally sign the agreement, the contract receiving the recognition of the Main God System, he simultaneously revealed a cold smile. 238 Perfect Substitute Lets first trade the 2,000 stacks that I have with me, then, Joking Scholar felt fully relieved now. Sure, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile, nodding. Joking Scholar then called up the trade interface, initiating the trade. With the agreement in effect now, even if Lone Tyrant discovered the secret, he would not dare renege on the deal. If he did so, he had to pay 5,000 Gold Coins or 50 million Credits, with Gold Coins set the priority. Hence, he could only gnash his teeth as he purchased 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones for 50 Copper Coins a stack. The full transaction would total to 250 Gold Coins. Meanwhile, by reselling the 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones he would obtain from the mysterious NPC, Joking Scholar could make a clean profit of 48 Gold. In addition to the 10 Gold he just obtained, he would have a total profit of 58 Gold. Such an amount could allow him to purchase quite a lot of items at the Blackwing City Auction. He could also use the leftovers to increase the Guilds fluid funds. Joking Scholar nearly roared with excitement. _This feeling is great!_ However, Joking Scholar suppressed his excitement. He still needed to maintain a proper outward appearance. Now that Twilight Echo had such fluid funds, they could develop at a much faster rate. Also, since his contribution in this matter was so great, Joking Scholar wondered just what sort of reward the Guild Leader would give him. Currently, Shi Feng also felt exhilarated at the sight of so many forging materials. Most importantly, he had only spent 10 Gold Coins for all of them. Nothing could feel better than this. As long as he resold them in White River City, he could earn 200 Gold Coins from the 2,000 stacks of Hard Stones alone. If he forged all of them into Whetstones, he could make 800 Gold. If he turned them into Advanced Whetstones, that would be a 2,000 Gold profit! Although he could not make Whetstones and Advanced Whetstones at a 100% success rate, after deducting costs, he could still easily earn over 1,000 Gold. Moreover, this was only in the case for 2,000 stacks. If he received the full 50,000 Stacks of Hard Stones from Twilight Echo, he could easily achieve the 30,000 Gold needed for his Epic Quest. Guild Leader Tyrant, please hold on a moment. Ill go and retrieve the remaining Hard Stones. Joking Scholar was satisfied after receiving the money. He would immediately use this money to purchase even more Hard Stones from that mysterious NPC. Fine. Lets meet up at the Bank, then. Shi Feng couldnt help but smile as well when he saw Joking Scholars smile. Although players could not retrieve their personal belongings from the Bank of Blackwing City, they were still allowed to store items. Right now, Shi Fengs bag was full to the brim. It would be inconvenient for him to attend the Blackwing City Auction in such a state. Hence, he planned to store his items first. As for the remaining forging materials he had been promised, Shi Feng no longer held any hopes of receiving them. After all, he could already envision the end result. Shi Feng wondered just what sort of expression Joking Scholar would make when he found out that not only was the NPC that sold the forging materials no longer there, but the NPC would also never return. Very quickly, Joking Scholar ran over to the gazebo the mysterious NPC had previously occupied. Where is he? Joking Scholar looked at the scarcely populated alley. Aside from a few players, the mysterious NPC was nowhere to be found. Are you referring to that NPC that sold the forging materials? You came late. That NPC sold out of materials a while ago. He said he would only return tomorrow after restocking. You guys are gullible. Did you really think such things will happen every day? I bet this was a one-time event triggered by some sort of quest. I highly doubt that old man will return. Otherwise, if the old man sold so many Hard Stones every single day, wouldnt it break the market? The Main God System shouldnt make such a mistake. Two kind-hearted players passing by suddenly started chatting about this incident. How could this be? Hearing the words of the two kind-hearted players, Joking Scholars face instantly turned ashen. Words could no longer describe his current mood. God, just what have I done? Whether the mysterious NPC sold the Hard Stones in limited amounts every day or stopped selling altogether, to Joking Scholar, there was no difference between the two. No matter which scenario occurred, it was impossible for him to put together 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones within ten days. If he failed to do so, then he would break the terms of the contract. If so, he would have to compensate Shi Feng with 5,000 Gold Coins, or 50 million Credits. Faced with such a heavy price, Joking Scholar had instantly fallen from heaven directly into hell. Moreover, he had fallen to the most horrifying eighteenth layer of hell, Avicii[1]. If he had known such a situation would occur, he absolutely would not have sold those forging materials he had for such a low price. In the end, he had only gained 10 Gold Coins for all those precious materials. Moreover, he had even dug his own grave and bought his own coffin by signing that 50,000-stack contract with Lone Tyrant. What was he supposed to do now? This wont do. I need to contact Lone Tyrant immediately! I have to think of a way to scrap that contract! At the end of the day, Joking Scholar was still a veteran businessman. Now that he knew what he should do, he hurriedly ran towards the Bank of Blackwing City. If he had only lost this batch of forging materials, Twilight Echo could still bear such a loss; it would not greatly hamper the Guilds overall development. Furthermore, he had at least received 10 Gold Coins for those materials. However, the remaining 48,000 stacks of Hard Stones would take Twilight Echos life. If he took Twilight Echos life, the Guild Leader would take his. Just after Shi Feng stored all the materials in the Bank, he noticed Joking Scholar running over to him in a flurry. Although Joking Scholar tried to feign calmness, with the immense pressure and fear bearing down on him, he failed. Brother Scholar is fast. It must be exhausting for you to transport the stones back and forth. I wonder how many stacks you have brought this time? Shi Feng poked fun at Joking Scholar. Your Excellency Tyrant, I need to discuss a certain matter with you. Joking Scholar no longer had the confidence from before. He even started using honorifics in his speech. However, he had no choice as his life was now in Shi Fengs hands. We are already business partners. If you have anything to say, just say it. Shi Feng nodded. Your Excellency Tyrant is right. We at Twilight Echo have always been villains before gentlemen. Since we are business partners, we have to consider each other. If we trade 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones in a single go, Im assuming that Your Excellency Tyrant wont have enough Gold Coins. Even if given ten days, that should not be possible. Hence, after careful consideration, we have decided to alter the contract, loosening the conditions stated on it. How do you feel about this, Your Excellency Tyrant? Joking Scholar slowly explained, his words sounding very logical. If Shi Feng hadnt known that Joking Scholar was trying to renege on the contract, he might have been moved to tears by Joking Scholars words. _As expected of a veteran businessman; he can still wear a straight face when tricking someone. For a moment there, I even believed he was thinking of my own good._ Shi Feng inwardly sneered. Unfortunately, such words could not move his heart or trick him, especially since he had long since known Joking Scholars true colors. Many thanks for Brother Scholars worries. However, Brother Scholar can rest assured that, as long as I return to my kingdom with these materials and resell them, I can earn the money back very quickly. I guarantee that I can clear the debt within ten days, so there is no need for the extra trouble of altering the contract. Shi Feng faintly smiled, saying, Lets hurry and finish the trade, then. The auction is about to start. Following which, Joking Scholar gave a dozen more reasons to cancel the agreement, such as lowering the price even further, or increasing the trade amount, and so on. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had rejected each and every one of them. This situation had pushed Joking Scholar to the brink of insanity. However, Joking Scholar didnt wish to reveal his intentions accidentally, so even though he was close to the point of vomiting blood out of anger, he chose to hold it in. Brother Scholar, you dont have to waste any more words in trying to change the agreement. I will not change it no matter what. After all, I can purchase 50,000 stacks of Hard Stones at a price of 50 Coppers a stack. That is a rare opportunity that I wont find even if I try. Even if I bought them from an NPC, I definitely couldnt buy so many! You knew all along! Of course. Who wouldnt know about such a huge incident? Is there something wrong with your head? You wanted to resell the Hard Stones you bought from that NPC and make a huge profit off of me? Keep that in your dreams. I already felt that the NPC was unreliable. Thus, I agreed to your offer. Seeing your frustration, as expected, that NPC really was unreliable. I eagerly anticipate the arrival of the remaining 48,000 Hard Stones! You swindled me! I am representing Twilight Echo! Arent you afraid of angering Twilight Echo with your actions?! We can extinguish a third-rate Guild like Dark Star at any given minute! Oooh! Twilight Echo is a first-rate Guild! Im so scared! Unfortunately for you, Twilight Echo is based in the distant Storm Empire. You guys are simply too far away from Star-Moon Kingdom. So what if you are amazing? Can you do anything to me? What can you do to Dark Star? If you have the ability, then come to Star-Moon Kingdom! Ill gladly exterminate Twilight Echo and remove its name from Gods Domain permanently! However, for now, you guys best think of a plan to deal with the compensation! Hahaha! Saying so, Shi Feng departed from Blackwing Citys Bank, laughing loudly and leaving behind an utterly dazed Joking Scholar. Joking Scholar was completely unable to accept the reality that he had been swindled. However, compared to being swindled, he felt more humiliated over the fact that Shi Feng had been toying with him from the beginning. Moreover, he had gladly jumped for joy like a monkey. When Joking Scholar thought about this, he felt utterly humiliated. After a good while had passed, Joking Scholar bellowed, Lone Tyrant, just you wait! Twilight Echos power far exceeds your imagination! We will definitely destroy you and Dark Star! TL Notes: [1] eighteenth layer of hell, Avicii : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diyu 239 Surprised Again and Again After Joking Scholar recovered from his shock, he immediately called up the system communication interface and reported to Twilight Echos Guild Leader, Glorious Echo. Guild Leader, that Lone Tyrant clearly looks down on Twilight Echo! He has already resolved to swindle 5,000 Gold Coins from us! Joking Scholar reported everything that happened to Glorious Echo, trembling as he spoke. Although he was one of the core members of Twilight Echo, he had caused a huge loss to the Guild this time. Who knew what the Guild Leader would do to him? I understand. However, a mere third-rate Guild is not yet worthy of me taking action personally. Ill send Brilliant Wargod to deal with the corporation standing behind Dark Star in reality. If Lone Tyrant is sensible, he should know what to do. If he thinks he can easily take 5,000 Gold Coins from me, he should think again. However, Scholar, your performance this time has disappointed me. After youre done with the auction, return and hand over your duties to Green Wave. Yes, Guild Leader. I will meet with Green Wave once I return. Although Glorious Echo had not scolded Joking Scholar, he had made his intentions clear. Instantly, Joking Scholars outward appearance seemed to age by over a decade. Even if he inwardly felt reluctant, he could only accept this conclusion. At this moment, hatred of Lone Tyrant filled Joking Scholars very soul. If it werent for Lone Tyrant, he would not have fallen to such a fate. Unless he could perform astonishingly, bringing a huge benefit to the Guild, the Guild would no longer regard him with any importance. No! I cant just give up! As long as I can buy an item at the Blackwing Auction that will surprise the Guild Leader, he might even decide to rescind my punishment! A final trace of hope ignited in Joking Scholar. With the 8 Gold he had brought from the Guild, in addition to the 10 Gold he previously obtained, he currently had 18 Gold on him. With so much money, not even a first-rate Guild could contest him in the auction. \--- Elsewhere, Shi Feng had already arrived at the Blackwing Auction House under the guise of Black Flame. Shi Fengs plan had succeeded magnificently. Not only had he earned a large sum of Coins and Credits, but he also helped Dark Star make a powerful enemy. Twilight Echo was a first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, as the Guild Leader of this first-rate Guild, Glorious Echo possessed over 20 years of experience playing virtual reality games. Furthermore, he had led Twilight Echo in campaigns in the virtual world for over a decade, so he had a wealth of experience, and his strength and techniques were also extremely powerful. Aside from such an impressive Guild Leader, Twilight Echo also possessed tens of top-tier experts. In the past, every one of these experts had become Tier 4 or above powerhouses. In addition, Twilight Echo also had three members who had achieved a Tier 6 class in the past, becoming god-ranked powerhouses. Among those three, one was none other than Twilight Echos Guild Leader, Glorious Echo himself. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose and one of her good friends took up the other two spots. This was the reason Twilight Echo stood out amongst the many tyrants surrounding them, becoming one of the few Super Guilds in Gods Domain. In the past, Twilight Echo had far surpassed Ouroboros in every aspect, and they had even established a gigantic virtual empire for themselves. Back then, Twilight Echo was an existence that Shi Feng could only admire from afar. Of course, Shi Feng could not take the current Twilight Echo lightly. After all, Twilight Echo was still a first-rate Guild. It had an extraordinary background, and there were countless corporations supporting them financially. They similarly had a large influence in the real world. To deal with a third-rate Guild like Dark Star, they could simply put some pressure on Dark Star economically in reality, and Dark Star would suffer. Hence the reason Shi Feng had chosen to disguise himself as Lone Tyrant when toying with Twilight Echo. Right now, Shi Feng still did not know who supported Dark Star from behind the scenes. However, with a first-rate Guild like Twilight Echo placing financial pressure on them in the real world, Shi Feng could, at least, glimpse the powerful organization standing behind Dark Star. That way, Shi Feng could take appropriate measures to deal with them in the future. Just as Shi Feng was about to take a seat in the auction hall... Shi Fengs system communicator rang out. The person contacting him was none other than Aqua Rose, who had been out of reach all this time. Miss Aqua, you sure are a busy person. You actually sent a representative for such an important business transaction, Shi Feng teased. Shi Feng was very clear that Aqua Roses absence had something to do with Glorious Echo. After all, Aqua Roses recent performance had been too impressive. The nail that stuck out would be hammered down. Glorious Echo mustve felt Aqua Rose was a threat to his position. Master Black Flame, you must be joking. Ive only managed to log into Gods Domain after much difficulty. However, it seems that I am still too late. Aqua Roses tone was helpless as she spoke. What happened? Shi Feng asked curiously. Based on Aqua Roses tone, Shi Feng could tell that this matter was not as simple as it seemed. Otherwise, why would a strong woman like Aqua Rose reveal a trace of depression and helplessness? At the end of the day, Aqua Rose was still an honorary elder of Twilight Echo. Her position in the Guild was extremely high. Moreover, Aqua Roses family in the real world had a powerful background. Her family was also one of the corporations supporting Twilight Echo financially, so they possessed significant shares of the Guild. Thus, unless Glorious Echo had gone insane, he should not have taken any vicious actions against Aqua Rose. The current situation was merely a business competition, and both were still doing it to develop Twilight Echo. At worst, both parties would only feel dissatisfied with each other; they would not break off all relations with and start an all-out war. Its nothing much. I only left Twilight Echo; thats all, Aqua Rose casually replied. What? You left Twilight Echo? Did your family not say anything about this? Shi Feng nearly thought his ears had played a trick on him. Although Aqua Rose sounded relaxed, Shi Feng could feel the aggrieved feelings hidden behind her words. After all, he had personally experienced a similar situation in the past. _Still_ _, the corporation behind Aqua Rose possesses a significant_ _number_ _of the Twilight Echos shares. That Glorious Echo mustve gone insane to expel Aqua Rose from the Guild._ My family tried to force me to do something that I didnt want to do. I refused, so I was expelled from Twilight Echo as a result. In a fit of rage, I also ran away from home. I am penniless now after buying a new virtual reality helmet. I wonder if Master Black Flame would be willing to shelter me? Aqua Rose giggled as she joked. She had only been joking about her current financial state. After all, it was a fact that she was the princess of a major corporation. It was inevitable that she would have some money saved up. Even if she ran away from home and did not rely on her parents, the money she had in her bank account could allow her to live the rest of her life in peace without working. Sure. I would gladly welcome a powerful helper like Miss Rose. How does an annual salary of one million Credits, in addition to 5% of my Workshops shares sound to you? Shi Feng naturally knew Aqua Rose only joked with him. However, Shi Feng did not wish to miss such a fortuitous opportunity now that it had landed in his lap. Who knew how long he would have to wait to encounter such an opportunity again? Aqua Rose was immediately dumbfounded by Shi Fengs offer. Normally, it was already impressive for a Guild to offer an annual salary in the millions. Yet, Shi Feng went as far as to offer her 5% of his Guilds shares willingly. This was an unimaginable offer, and it clearly showed how highly Shi Feng viewed her. Aqua Rose suddenly felt bewildered. Originally, she had intended to start up her own Workshop from scratch. After all, some of her loyal subordinates had left Twilight Echo with her after learning of her expulsion. With this group of people under her command, she could still establish a relatively strong Workshop. In the future, she intended to build a Guild powerful enough to rival Twilight Echo. She wanted to teach her family that their decision was a mistake. The only problem remaining would be Twilight Echos oppression. It was also why she currently had a massive headache. If she wished to continue developing herself and her Workshop in the Storm Empire, they would have to face the full brunt of Twilight Echo. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was very clear on just how amazing Twilight Echo was as a Guild. But now that Shi Feng had invited her with such sincerity, she was at a loss on what to do. 240 Purgatory’s Shadow If that is still not enough, you can become the Vice Leader of the Guild. You can also form your own elite team and maintain independence. How about it? Shi Feng added. _Twilight Echos abandonment of a future Tier 6 god-ranked powerhouse was the same as crippling both of_ _their_ _arms._ The reason Shi Feng thought both and not just one of their arms, was because, without Aqua Rose, her Tier 6 friend would not join Twilight Echo. Hence, Twilight Echos decision to expel Aqua Rose was the equivalent of expelling two future god-ranked powerhouses. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had single-handedly caused this tragedy of Twilight Echos, albeit unintentionally. If he could recruit Aqua Rose into his Guild, he very much looked forward to the Guilds future. Even if I agreed to your offer, I still have a group of subordinates in the Storm Empire. I might be able to afford the expensive teleportation fee for myself, but they wont be able to. Moreover, for my sake, they chose to leave Twilight Echo and abandon their bright futures there. I cant just abandon them for my own selfish reasons. I am truly sorry about this. Although Shi Fengs offer was very attractive, Aqua Rose was not willing to abandon her subordinates. Are there a lot of them? Shi Feng asked. There should be over a hundred people. Master Black Flame, you should just give up. Not even Twilight Echo can afford the teleportation fee for so many people, Aqua Rose naturally understood Shi Fengs intentions behind the question. Teleportation across countries was costly. Moreover, the Storm Empire was very far away from Star-Moon Kingdom, so the teleportation fee involved would be far more expensive. A rough estimate for a single player was 2 to 3 Gold Coins, while the total for a hundred players would be at least 200 to 300 Gold Coins. Not to mention just one first-rate Guild, even ten first-rate Guilds combined couldnt afford such a price. It was impossible that Shi Feng would possess so many Gold Coins. So, its only a hundred or so. Fortunately, there arent too many. Shi Feng sighed in relief. If there were over a thousand players, then he would truly feel heartache from the teleportation fees. Come to Star-Moon Kingdom, then. Ill pay the teleportation fees. He had earned a ton from Twilight Echo before, and right now, it just so happened that he could return some of it to Aqua Rose. This could be considered as a type of fate as well. However, if Glorious Echo found out about this, he would most likely vomit blood out of anger. Master Black Flame, thats 300hundredGold Coins, not 3 Gold Coins, Aqua Rose reminded Shi Feng. Yes, I know that. Ill send 300 Gold to you in a moment. After you arrive in White River City, head to the Starstreak Trading Firm to look for me. As the Blackwing Auction had already started, Shi Feng disconnected the call after saying so. hi Fengs words left Aqua Rose utterly shocked. Just what kind of power is behind Master Black Flame? How could he have such astonishing wealth? To casually hand over 300 Gold Coins Could it be one of those Super Guilds? Shi Fengs tone when he spoke had been very casual as if the 300 Gold Coins he mentioned were merely 3 Gold Coins. __ Aqua Rose shook her head. No, even those Super Guilds cant spend 300 Gold Coins with such ease. This is interesting. Anyway, Ill get my answers as long as I arrive at White River City. Aqua Rose revealed a faint smile, anticipation filling her heart. \--- Meanwhile, the venue of todays Blackwing Auction was already packed with players. Among all these players, a majority consisted of the upper echelons of large Guilds. These Guilds had scraped up every single Coin they could for todays auction. From their inquiries, they learned that the Auction House sold many astonishing items. Even if it was only in the normal auction, items such as Fine-Gold Equipment and materials required to forge Dark-Gold Equipment would be available. There was also a small possibility for items such as Dark-Gold Weapons and Epic ranked items to appear in the auction. One only needed sufficient Coins to purchase these precious items. After going through several warm-up auctions, the fiery atmosphere in the auction venue reached its zenith. From the start, players desired every item that had been up for auction. However, none of these items piqued Shi Fengs interest, as all of them were only Mysterious-Iron rank. Although such items were useful to a Guilds elite members, they were not of much use to him. Meanwhile, the following item that appeared on stage instantly caused the eyes of every player present to shine. They all expressed great interest in this item. This item was a Fine-Gold ranked dagger. [Ice Thorn] (Dagger, Fine-Gold Rank) Level 15 Attack +134 Strength +18, Agility +24, Endurance +15 Additional Passive Skill- Power of Frost: Deals 50% frost damage to the target, reducing targets Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50% for 4 seconds. If an Assassin equipped this dagger, they would be like a tiger that had grown wings. Even if the Assassin failed to kill the enemy with a single hit, with the speed reduction in effect, they could continue linking skills to destroy their enemy. Aside from the Ice Thorn, there was also a dagger called Raging Flames Dagger. [Raging Flames Dagger] (Dagger, Fine-Gold Rank) Level 15 Attack +134 Strength +18, Agility +24, Endurance +15 Additional Skill- Power of Flames: Deals 50% flame damage to the target, reducing the targets Defense by 10% for 20 seconds. Effect stacks up to a maximum of 5 times. All Assassins in the auction venue grew excited at the appearance of these two daggers. They practically drooled, wishing they could equip these blades. Regarding the speed reduction, the armor break effect, or the additional 50% magic damage, they were all precious to Assassins. One could say that these two daggers were the best weapons for Assassins at this stage of the game, and they were second to none. However, the minimum bid also caused the players to feel helpless and frustrated. The bidding started at 5 Gold Coins. Moreover, the minimum increment for each bid was 10 Silver Coins. If they were to compete for this item, the price would still increase by a lot. If one of the large Guilds present bid on these daggers, that Guild would lose the ability to compete for the following items to show up in the auction. Unless they had a particular need for these daggers, none of the Guilds present would insist on buying them. Not bad. They are indeed top-tier weapons for a Level 15 Assassin. It just so happens that I can gift them to Fire Dance, Shi Feng said in satisfaction after examining the Attributes of the daggers. Great! Heaven has yet to forsake me! If I can present these daggers to the Guild Leader, he would definitely be very happy! He might even decide to my repeal punishment! Sitting at the forefront of the auction hall, Joking Scholars eyes turned crimson as he looked at the Ice Thorn and Raging Flames Dagger displayed on the stage. If Level 200 guards were not present, he might have rushed onto the stage to snatch the weapons. After the auctioneer announced the start of the bidding, the entire auction hall exploded. Five Gold! Five Gold, 50 Silvers! Six Gold! ... Before a minute had passed, the price of the daggers had reached 7 Gold 20 Silvers. When the majority of the Guilds saw such a price, they quickly gave up on the daggers. _Hahaha! You all can compete with each other all you want, but dont even think that you can win against me!_ Joking Scholar was completely confident at the moment. He was not afraid that someone could bid higher than he could. Moreover, this was only the start of the auction; many more items would appear later on, and no one knew how powerful the following items would be. Everyone would hold back their bids. Hence, Joking Scholar was not afraid of someone competing with him over the daggers. Seeing that the bids had stopped, Shi Feng opened his mouth and said, 10 Gold Coins. The auction venue instantly fell silent. Although these daggers were top-tier weapons for an Assassin, that price was simply too high. However, that was not to say that these daggers were worth such a price tag. Rather, not many players currently present could afford such a price. They had not brought that many Coins with them to the auction. If the auction were conducted using Credits, many players would be more than willing to spend 500,000 Credits to buy these daggers. Black Flame? Shit! He is actually trying to compete with me! How could he have so much money?! Joking Scholar was on the brink of insanity. If he offered an even higher price for the daggers, then he could not afford to bid on later items. Yet, if he did not buy these daggers, his future would be bleak. In the end, Joking Scholar made a decision, loudly shouting, 10 Gold 20 Silvers! In response, Shi Feng merely smiled as he casually said, 12 Gold. Twelve Gold 10 Silvers! Joking Scholar gripped his chest in pain as he shouted, his hatred for Shi Feng growing intensely. Annoying little pest. Twenty Gold. Shi Feng did not wish to waste his time with Joking Scholar, so he abruptly raised the bid by a huge margin. He did not mind spending such a small amount of money. After all, he had made a huge profit off Twilight Echo today. Black Flame! Joking Scholar glared at Shi Feng, a hint of despair hidden within his eyes. He only had 18 Gold on him right now, so he had no way to compete for the daggers at all. He never imagined that, in the very end, the Black Flame he had looked down on would give him the final blow, sending him into the abyss of despair. On the other hand, Shi Feng felt it troublesome to pay attention to Joking Scholar. He did not even glance at the Maitreya as he focused on the next auctioned item. Purgatorys Shadow! This was one of the three treasures one could only find in the Blackwing Auction House! 241 Envious Wealth All the players present at the auction venue were awestruck by Shi Fengs bid of 20 Gold Coins. Players who could attend the Blackwing Auction all had extraordinary backgrounds. Even so, none of them could afford such a price. Although plenty of the players present were provided funding by their own Guilds, that only amounted to 10 Gold or so. Even the wealthiest Guild present had brought only a little more than 20 Gold. Hence, nobody present would be willing to go all-out just for a pair of Level 15 daggers, even if they were weapons of supreme quality. Although these daggers could instantly turn an expert Assassin into an apex Assassin, they would not be of much help to the Guild in the long run. Even if the players present could afford to buy these daggers, they would not spend 20 Gold to do so. After the auctioneer slammed his hammer for the third time, everyone in the audience started laughing maniacally. What a stupid guy! He actually spent 20 Gold for those two daggers! I wonder who he is trying to impress, for him to willingly part with so much money? Hahaha! At least I have one less competitor now! Twenty Gold! What a rich tycoon! While ignoring everyones mockery, Shi Feng paid 20 Gold to the Auction House and received the two daggers. He then shifted his focus to the next item up for bid. [Purgatorys Shadow] (One-handed Sword, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 20 (Can be upgraded twice) Attack +273 Strength+30, Agility +25, Endurance +22 Attack Speed +2 20% chance to cause 300% damage. 10% chance to reduce damage dealt by target by 20%. Effect not stackable. Additional Skill- Purgatory Power: When activated, increases Attack Speed by 100% and damage dealt by 30% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes In Gods Domain, weapons and equipment could be categorized into two types: those that could be upgraded, and those that could not be upgraded. A majority of the weapons and equipment available belonged to the latter category, and only a scant few items could be upgraded. Normally, only items of Epic rank or above could grow along with a players level, and very rarely would any item below Epic rank possess such a capability. _It can be upgraded twice? As expected of one of the treasures of the Blackwing Auction House. If this item could be upgraded to Level 30, it can still be of use even when players reach Level 45._ Shi Feng was very satisfied with this weapon. He could equip the Purgatorys Shadow once he reached Level 20, and he would not need to waste time looking for a new weapon. Not only was the Purgatorys Shadow suited to Swordsmen, it was also suitable for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. If an MT equipped this sword, not only would their maximum HP greatly increase, their damage output would similarly increase by a huge margin; they could aggro monsters much more firmly. However, the most important feature of this sword was its ability to reduce a targets damage-dealing by 20%. This weapon was practically made to counter Boss monsters. If used inside a Team Dungeon, its effect would be decisive. Compared to the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers from before, the Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow would be of much greater help to a Guild. However, the minimum price for the Purgatorys Shadow was likewise greater. Many Guilds were overwhelmed by the swords starting bid of 15 Gold. With the funds they possessed, they could only sit on the sidelines in this auction. This sword belongs to me! Everyone else, dont even think of trying to compete against me for it! Who the fuck are you? We, World Dominators, have taken a liking to this sword! Whoever dares to bid will be looking for trouble with us! Do you guys think you are the only first-rate Guild present in this auction? Our Guild is the Bloodthirsty War God! Anyone who dares to bid will be dead meat! Although the price of the Purgatorys Shadow was high, the competition for it was still intense. It made one truly wonder just what price it would achieve in this auction. Hence, the many first-rate Guilds present started sending warnings to the other Guilds in the hopes of buying the Purgatorys Shadow at a cheap price. Idiots. Shi Feng helplessly shook his head at their actions. Did these people think that the ones buying items here were limited only to players? Although the minimum bid for the Purgatorys Shadow was 15 Gold, according to Shi Fengs understanding, one needed to bid at least 25 Gold in order to secure the item. Otherwise, it would be bought out by NPCs. Did these first-rate Guilds think that, by voicing threats, they could take advantage of loopholes in the system? Soon after, the bidding for the Purgatorys Shadow started, and the price for the sword soared continuously. In a blink of an eye, the price of the sword had already reached 20 Gold. The ones currently bidding for the sword consisted of only first-rate Guilds. Second-rate and third-rate Guilds did not have the funds to take part in this auction at all. They could only look on in silence, unwillingness filling their hearts. Meanwhile, Joking Scholar similarly felt helpless as he sat in the front row of the auction. If he had not been swindled by Lone Tyrant, he could have bought those two daggers already and also this Purgatorys Shadow, while the other Guilds could only watch as he did so. After the bidding continued for several minutes, the price for the Purgatorys Shadow finally stopped increasing. At 24 Gold 30 Silvers, this price was very low where Level 20 Dark-Gold Weapons were concerned. Not to mention, this was also a Dark-Gold Weapon that could be upgraded. Hahaha! This Purgatorys Shadow belongs to me now! Seeing that nobody else was outbidding him, the Berserker from World Dominators cheered. The members of other Guilds could only look at this Berserker with unwillingness in their eyes. In an auction, players competed with one another in terms of wealth, not influence. However, immediately after the auctioneer slammed his hammer for the second time, someone broke the silence and made a bid. Moreover, it wasnt just limited to a single person. Twenty-five Gold. Twenty-six Gold. This sword looks finely made. I can add it to my collection. Ill bid 30 Gold Coins. At this moment, a nobleman of Blackwing City placed an astonishing bid, stupefying all the Guilds present. Why are the NPCs joining the bid as well? This question baffled many of those present in this auction. If NPCs were going to bid against them too, how were they supposed to compete? That man was an NPC! A noble of Blackwing City at that! How were players supposed to outbid him? Damn! This Auction House is clearly trying to toy around with us! Theyre only letting us players compete for the non-precious items! If I had known this would happen, I wouldve bought those two Fine-Gold ranked daggers from before! That person was truly lucky. He managed to so easily obtain those two daggers. Many of the players present started regretting their previous inaction. They never thought that the Auction House would play such a card. Thirty-one Gold. At this moment, a familiar, indifferent voice resounded in the auction hall. Every player in the venue immediately turned their gazes toward the origin of this indifferent voice. However, their eyes were immediately filled with both shock and disbelief when they discovered the owner of the voice. The person who called out this bid was none other than Shi Feng, the person who previously bought the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers for 20 Gold. Now, he had once again placed a bid of 31 Gold. How much money does this fellow have? Everyone started making speculations that Shi Feng might have robbed an NPC noble. Otherwise, how could he have so much money? After Shi Feng shouted his bid of 31 Gold, the great noble immediately countered with a bid of 32 Gold. However, Shi Feng did not fall behind as he followed up with 33 Gold. As both parties took turns placing bids, the price of the Purgatorys Shadow gradually increased. Every player witnessing this scene had their mouths gaping wide in shock. Finally, Shi Feng secured the Purgatorys Shadow at a price of 39 Gold. Following which, several rounds of auction passed without much commotion. Compared to Shi Fengs 39 Gold purchase, the other auctioned items were sold at much lower prices. Although another treasure appeared during the auction, it was a Dark-Gold ranked leather armor that failed to pique Shi Fengs interest. In the end, the equipment was bought by an NPC for 32 Gold. When the auction reached its peak, the bid for the third treasure finally started. This third treasure could also be considered the grand finale of this auction. Just the starting bid of this item was already set at 30 Gold, causing every Guild present to give up on bidding for it. After all, they already knew that, in order to secure this item, they would have to bid at least 50 Gold or above. Unless several first-rate Guilds pooled their funds together, it would be an impossible feat. However, the notion of forming such an alliance was simply unimaginable for the many first-rate Guilds present. Lending money to other Guilds at this point in time would be no different from lending money to an enemy. Even if they did join together and purchased the item, there would only be one copy of the item. How were they supposed to split it? Hence, it was impossible for any of the Guilds present to form an alliance. 242 Arclight Shield Originally, the Guilds attending the Blackwing Auction had already given up on bidding for the final item. They merely stayed to take a look at how high the price of the final item would reach. The minimum price for the item was 30 Gold. None of the Guilds present were that flush with fluid funds. However, the moment their sights landed on the final item, they instantly had a change of heart. The reason being, the item displayed on stage was simply too important to a Guild. The final item was neither weapon nor equipment. Instead, it was a Forging Design. If the Forging Design was for a normal weapon or equipment, nobody would have paid any attention to it. However, the Forging Design being auctioned was for the Arclight Shield, a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked shield. If they could produce this item, it would definitely provide a huge improvement for the MTs in their Guilds. This shield was especially useful during this crucial period of the game. With more and more First Clears of 10-man and 20-man Dungeons taken, the various large Guilds had already started challenging 50-man Team Dungeons. However, there was one problem that vexed them without end: their MTs could not even tank the first Boss of the Dungeon. If their MTs couldnt even survive the attacks of the Boss, how were they supposed to raid it? However, if a handful of MTs equipped this Arclight Shield, raiding the Dungeon would become a much easier endeavor. This wont do! Our Guild needs to get this item! I have to contact the Guild Leader immediately! This shield is simply too good! I must have it! The representatives of the first-rate Guilds present had, at the first moment, contacted their respective Guild Leaders and reported this matter to them. The answer these representatives received was also one of confirmation. They were told to obtain the Forging Design at all costs. These representatives were also told to contact the other second-rate and third-rate Guilds present at the auction venue, to seek their cooperation. In return, the first-rate Guilds would produce the appropriate amount of Arclight Shields for them based on the amount of money they contributed. Originally, the second-rate and third-rate Guilds present had long since given up on bidding for the Arclight Shield Forging Design. After all, they could not even afford the minimum price of the item. Now that they were given new hope, they would naturally be more than willing to lend their help. One Two Three More and more second-rate and third-rate Guilds started allying themselves with first-rate Guilds. They pooled together all the funds they had, and very quickly, plenty of first-rate Guilds had managed to collect a total sum of around 50 Gold. They then proceeded to place bids one after another. The price of the Arclight Shield Forging Design consistently rose. tarting from the minimum bid of 30 Gold, its price quickly increased to 51 Gold. The Guilds strived very hard to outbid each other. As soon as they received the funds of another Guild, they would immediately call out the highest bid they could afford. They were deeply afraid that, if they gave the other Guilds too much time, the other Guilds would be able to obtain even more funds. Just as these Guilds were competing against one another with a fiery passion Sixty Gold. Shi Feng immediately raised the bid by nine Gold. Shi Feng did not wish to waste too much time on this auction. In any case, it was a must for him to obtain this Arclight Shield Forging Design. Why do you have so much money? Just who is this brat? Previously, they had already been shocked by Shi Fengs wealth. Now, however, they started feeling frightened. After spending 59 Gold to purchase three weapons, Shi Feng was still able to place a bid of 60 Gold. If they had not been aware of the fact that players were not allowed to place a bid without having the corresponding amount of money, they would definitely have thought that Shi Feng was just joking around. Faced with the pressure of 60 Gold, two first-rate Guilds immediately joined hands to place a new bid. Meanwhile, the Guild to take the lead in this alliance was World Dominators. The representative for this Guild yelled out his bid of 61 Gold right away. Seventy Gold. Shi Feng no longer wished to play around in these muddied waters. Otherwise, he would have to pointlessly waste a lot of money. Seventy-one Gold! Eighty Gold. Eighty-one Gold! Ninety Gold. Before even a minute had passed, the price of the Arclight Shield Forging Design had already reached a staggering 106 Gold. If such an amount was converted into Credits, that would be more than 1 million Credits. If one took into account the inflation that would occur due to the volume purchase of Coins, then the value of 106 Gold Coins might even reach 2 million Credits. Two million Credits just for a Forging Design. If a normal player were to learn about this, they would definitely consider Shi Feng insane, a spendthrift that had nowhere to spend his money. However, Shi Feng felt that the Arclight Shield Forging Design was worth such an amount of money. After all, the value of this Forging Design would only grow higher once it entered his hands. Damn! To actually run out of money at this crucial time! We definitely cant fall short at this final moment! Who else has money?! Overlord War Bear, the Berserker from World Dominators, started panicking. His Guild Leader had already given him the command to obtain the Forging Design at all costs. However, even after joining hands with another first-rate Guild and more than a dozen second-rate and third-rate Guilds, they still could not outbid a single Shi Feng. War Bear was truly at a loss on what to do now. He had even secretly contacted Shi Feng before. As long as Shi Feng was willing to let World Dominators have the Forging Design, he was willing to compensate Shi Feng with a million Credits. Yet, the price of the Forging Design still continued to increase higher and higher. He was already nearing the brink of insanity right now. I can lend you a hand. I have 18 Gold with me here. This should be enough to suppress that Black Flame. Joking Scholar walked over to War Bear at this moment. What conditions do you have? I advise you to give up if they are too outrageous. I wont hand over this Forging Design no matter what. Of course I know this. My conditions are simple; after World Dominators obtains the Forging Design, just give me the Arclight Shield that I deserve. In addition, I also wish for you guys to take care of that Black Flame. He is affiliated with the Star-Moon Kingdom, and I know World Dominators has quite a number of members there. Dealing with Black Flame should be no problem for you all. Aside from his hatred for Lone Tyrant, Joking Scholars remaining hatred was targeted at Black Flame. Unfortunately, Joking Scholar did not know that both persons were actually one. Fine, Ill agree to your conditions. In truth, without needing your mention, World Dominators would similarly take care of him. Overlord War Bear revealed a faint smile. The two of them quickly reached an agreement. Joking Scholar then traded all his Gold Coins over to Overlord War Bear. Just as the auctioneer was about to slam the hammer for the second time, Overlord War Bear hurriedly shouted, 108 Gold! Shi Feng sent a glance at Joking Scholar and Overlord War Bear, a sneer on his face. He couldnt help but shake his head as he indifferently said, 115 Gold. One hundred twenty-one Gold! I dont believe that I cant surpass you even after I bid everything I have! Although Overlord War Bear did not know Shi Fengs bottom line, the increment on his latest bid was much lower than usual; Shi Feng was definitely reaching his limit. Hence, War Bear immediately added six Gold to the bid. Shi Feng definitely could not take out so much money. Brat, youre a hundred years too early if you think you can compete against me! This is your bottom line? Shi Feng calmly smiled. One hundred thirty-five Gold! He increased the bid by 14 Gold in a single go. World Dominators would not be able to fill up this gap even if they included another second-rate Guild into their little alliance. As for recruiting a first-rate Guild, that was an extremely difficult matter to achieve. One hundred thirty-five Gold! How could this be possible! I must be dreaming! How could he possibly have so much money?! Isnt he just an independent player?! Joking Scholar was immediately dumbfounded when he heard Shi Fengs bid. As for Overlord War Bear standing beside Joking Scholar, he was fervently contacting other Guilds to form an alliance. However, although he received a favorable reply from another first-rate Guild, the condition set by that Guild was for them to receive the Forging Design instead of World Dominators. Naturally, Overlord War Bear refused this condition. Yet the few additional third-rate Guilds he managed to recruit barely had any money on them. Even after summing up all the additional Coins he received, Overlord War Bear did not have the right to shout out a bid at all. One hundred thirty-five Gold going once! One hundred thirty-five Gold going twice! Even when the auctioneers hammer landed for the second time, not a single Guild present was able to place a new bid. They watched blankly as the auction proceeded toward its end, powerless to do anything about it. One hundred thirty-five Gold going thrice! Let us congratulate Mister Black Flame for obtaining this Arclight Shield Forging Design! Following which, a beautiful hostess brought the Forging Design to Shi Feng. After Shi Feng paid the 135 Gold to the Auction House, the hostess similarly handed the Forging Design over to Shi Feng. After officially receiving the Arclight Shield Forging Design, Shi Feng wondered just what sort of Attributes the shield itself possessed. With such a thought in mind, Shi Feng tapped on the item and took a look at its description. Immediately, his lips curled up slightly in a smile. 243 Bountiful Harves Overlord War Bear and Joking Scholar felt great resentment for Shi Feng when they saw his smile; they thought Shi Feng was mocking them and looking at them in contempt. In reality, Shi Fengs smile was purely due to his joy. However, compared to when Overlord War Bear and Joking Scholar first met Shi Feng, they dared not underestimate him any longer. On the contrary, their eyes were filled with vigilance now. Shi Feng showed everyone that he was more than capable of spending such a large amount of Coins. If someone were to say that Shi Feng did not possess any major power supporting him from behind, not even a ghost would believe them. The only question that remained was, what sort of power backed Shi Feng? Since War Bear failed to complete the task given to him by his Guild Leader, his expression looked extremely bad right now. However, he was simply helpless in this matter. One hundred thirty-five Gold. Even if every member of World Dominators pooled their Coins together, they still wouldnt be able to collect such an amount. It was only natural that he lost the bid. Compared to Overlord War Bear, Joking Scholar was in a much more tragic situation. First, he had ruined the matter of the business transaction. Now, he didnt even manage to buy a single item in the Blackwing Auction. What kind of explanation was he supposed to give his Guild Leader, Glorious Echo? However, Shi Feng was very grateful for Joking Scholar. It was only thanks to Joking Scholars greed that he managed to obtain so many forging materials. As for the reason why he had smiled, it was simply because of the materials needed to produce the Arclight Shield. The main ingredients for producing it were Mithril Ore and Gold Ore. Though difficult, Shi Feng could still find ways to obtain the Mithril Ore. For Gold Ore, however, it was simply too rare in the Star-Moon Kingdom, not to mention White River City. However, Twilight Echo had given him quite an amount of them, enough for him to make plenty of Arclight Shields. As for the other material needed, it was the Magic Crystals that were dropped by the Bosses of Team Dungeons with a 100% drop rate. This item was not particularly precious. However, due to the amount dropped each time being low, it would be difficult for Shi Feng to mass-produce the Arclight Shield. Furthermore, the Attributes of the Arclight Shield had far surpassed Shi Fengs original estimation, and he could already envision the popularity of the shield itself. [Arclight Shield] (Shield, Fine-Gold Rank) Level 15 Equipment Requirement: Strength 90 Defense +460 Block Rate: 37% Strength +15, Endurance +25 Evasion +8 Additional Passive Skill 1- Sound of Life: Every attack received will grant user a stack of Power of Life, increasing maximum HP by 3% and received healing by 1% for 1 minute. Maximum of 10 stacks. Additional Passive Skill 2- Refraction: Triggers once every 30 seconds. Becomes immune to one attack. Leaving aside the shields high Defense and Block Rate, just the passive skills Sound of Life and Refraction would greatly increase an MTs durability. Not to mention, the Basic Attributes of the Shield itself were also very good. The Arclight Shield was definitely an excellent piece of equipment. If a 50-man team could have all their MTs equipped with the Arclight Shield, they might have a very high chance of successfully raiding the Normal Mode of a 50-man Team Dungeon right now. _It should be about time for me to return._ Shi Feng was very satisfied with his trip to Blackwing City this time. He had reaped a bountiful harvest. First was the 50 million Credit agreement. Next was his successful recruitment of Aqua Rose. Now, he had even obtained the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. Most importantly, Aqua Rose was also going to bring her 100-plus elite players over. Their addition had instantly increased his Guilds overall strength by a large margin. The next problem he had to deal with was how he would integrate these new members into his Guild. Over a hundred people, huh? Aqua Rose has truly given me a huge help this time. Now, I wont have to worry about lacking members to raid the Demons Castle. Shi Feng felt that it would not be enough just to have a Workshop. He needed to make some additional preparations and initiate his follow-up plans. After Shi Feng departed from the Blackwing Auction House, he immediately mailed 300 Gold to Aqua Rose. He then returned to White River City, intending to await Aqua Rose and her allies arrival at the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, the process of mailing money to other players usually took between 30 minutes to an hour. Hence, Shi Feng decided to first head to the Adventurers Association. Currently, none of the Guilds in White River City had their own Guild Residence yet. Members of various Guilds had to visit the Adventurers Association in order to receive Guild Quests, which they complete to increase Guild Reputation and strengthen the Guild. Hence, the Adventurers Association had become the second most-popular location in White River City. Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Adventurers Association, his communicator rang. It cant be this quick, right? At first, Shi Feng thought Aqua Rose was contacting him. However, when he saw that the caller ID displayed actually belonged to Gentle Snow, he couldnt help but be shocked. Dont tell me its about the Mana Armor Kits again? Previously, Shi Feng had used quite a number of Basic Mana Armor Kits to trade for a few Advanced Whetstone Recipes with Gentle Snow. He had then let Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile learn the recipes. During this period of time, both girls had already been promoted to Intermediate Forging Apprentices, and were currently in the midst of striving to become Advanced Forging Apprentices. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that both of them were indeed future Master Forgers. Both of them improved very quickly. In addition, the more they forged, the higher their success rate. Currently, they already had a 20% success rate at producing the Advanced Whetstones. When compared to the forgers of other Guilds, the two girls were ahead by leaps and bounds. In a few more days, the two of them could very well be promoted to Advanced Forging Apprentices, becoming a true help to him. Miss Snow, did you find some new Advanced Whetstone Recipes? Shi Feng asked. Master Black Flame, how could you hide such an important matter from me? I feel hurt. Gentle Snow faintly smiled. Hide? Miss Snow, you must be joking. I am a very superficial person that can easily be seen through. How could I possibly hide anything from you? Shi Feng joked. Alright, stop acting. You placed yourself in the limelight at the Blackwing Auction House just now, and the news of this matter has long since spread throughout the various first-rate Guilds. Each and every one of them wishes to seek cooperation with you and purchase those Arclight Shields from you. Gentle Snow smiled as she continued, Arent we old friends? Shouldnt you sell them to me for a cheap price? Your information gathering is truly efficient, Miss Snow. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he said, I can sell a few Arclight Shields to you. However, you must pay for them using Coins, or exchange for them using the Magic Crystals you obtained from Team Dungeons. Magic Crystals? Although the Bosses drop them every time, the amount they drop is minimal, yet these Magic Crystals possess a very wide range of uses. Lets just use Gold Coins. I wonder how much you are charging for them, Master Black Flame? Alright, then. Since it is for you, Miss Snow, I wont rip you off. As the Arclight Shield is a Fine-Gold ranked shield, I imagine that you know how precious the materials needed to produce it are. Moreover, the success rate of producing it is also very low. Ill sell you each Arclight Shield for 25 Gold, no negotiations. Shi Feng had already expected Gentle Snow to decline exchanging the shields for Magic Crystals. However, it was much better for him if she used Gold Coins to buy them. Twenty-five Gold?! Even if I took the fluid funds of every Ouroboros branch in the Star-Moon Kingdom, I still wont have that much money! Cant we trade using Credits? How about 500,000 for each shield? Gentle Snow was astonished by the Arclight Shields price. However, she similarly knew of the difficulty of crafting a Fine-Gold ranked shield. If it were up to their forgers to make the shield, the cost might not even stop at just 25 Gold. Yet, it was clearly impossible for them to fork out 25 Gold to purchase an Arclight Shield, unless of course, they decided to stop the Guilds development. Still, halting development at this stage of the game would put the Guild into a decline, so they absolutely could not stop their development. Currently, all the major Guilds were attempting to obtain the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon, while the Arclight Shield was a must-have item for them to get a lead over the other Guilds. Faced with two difficult choices, Gentle Snow could only bitterly smile as she was caught in indecision. Alright, then. Ill exchange using Magic Crystals, Gentle Snow helplessly said. Ouroboros, a grand and mighty first-rate Guild, was actually poorer than a single independent player. Black Flame was truly a monster. Thats fine as well. The exchange ratio would be 1-to-100. Ill notify you after I manage to produce them. Shi Feng smiled as he disconnected the call. He then proceeded to enter the Adventurers Association. 244 Establishing the Guild At this moment, there was a crowd of players surrounding the Quest Board in the lobby of the Adventurers Association. Although the EXP awarded by these quests were negligible, the Guild Reputation they gave was very high. Moreover, each player was limited to only three Guild Quests a day. A Guild could be promoted after it accumulated a set amount of Reputation, and the members of the Guild would receive much better Guild benefits such as bonus EXP when doing Quests. Excuse me, sir, what can I do for you today? the blue-haired lady standing behind the reception counter asked Shi Feng, a smile on her face. I wish to establish a Guild, Shi Feng said. Understood. Please fill up this application form. The receptionist passed Shi Feng a Guild application form. It was very easy for players to establish a Guild in Gods Domain. Players only needed to decide on a name for their Guild and designate a Guild Emblem. They were then required to purchase a Guild Certificate for 10 Copper Coins and have at least seven independent players place their signatures on it. When all these things were completed, the Guild would then be officially established. Newly founded Guilds would all start out as 1-Star Guilds, and the only benefit available for the members of a 1-Star Guild were the availability of the Guild Quests. Guild name, is it? Shi Feng hesitated as he looked at the blank space meant for the Guilds name, wondering what he should write in exactly. After giving it some thought, he decided to stick with using the Zero Wing Workshops name. In any case, along with the Guilds development and growing fame, his identity would sooner or later be leaked. Lets name it Zero Wing, then. Shi Feng then designed the Guild Emblem in the form of six silver wings. After purchasing the Guild Certificate, Shi Feng sent Fire Dance and the others a Guild Signature invitation. \--- Meanwhile, at the Black Wind Canyon, a Level 20 to Level 25 map, Fire Dance and the others were currently grinding on Level 22 Demonic Bats. They had come to this place under the suggestion of Shi Feng. The reason Shi Feng had recommended it was because the Demonic Bats here belonged to the type of monsters that had high Attack but low HP. Most importantly, the monsters here were concentrated in number. Normally, the Demonic Bats would appear in groups of seven or eight, and any solo independent player would easily find themselves losing their lives here. However, to a party that had amazing AOE damage, this place was a holy land for leveling up. In the case of Fire Dances party, Fire Dance herself was responsible for luring the monsters, as she had the highest Movement Speed out of everyone in the party. She would lure over a hundred monsters every time, and afterward, the Guardian Knight, Cola, would activate Protection Blessing and cast Devotion, a group aggro skill, to gather the monsters into one location. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud would be responsible for healing Cola, while Blackie would get rid of all the monsters in a single blow. Throughout this process, everyones cooperation and grasp of timing was perfect. If other players were to witness this scene, they would definitely be shocked into a daze. Presently, the average level of players was only at Level 12 or so, while professional players would be around Level 13. Even the number one player on White River Citys Ranking List, Lone Tyrant, was only at Level 15 right now. Yet, Fire Dance and the others had long since passed Level 15. Even the lowest leveled player in the party, the Oracle, Gluttonous Mouse, was Level 18. Meanwhile, Blackie, who was the highest leveled player in the party, was currently at 45% of Level 19. Although there was only a gap of one level between the two players, the difference in EXP could allow a player to directly rise from Level 0 all the way up to Level 15. Huh? What is this message? While taking a break, Fire Dance and the others simultaneously received a Guild Signature invitation. As long as they agreed to the invitation, they would immediately become official members of the Guild after the Guild was established. Originally, Fire Dance and the others had intended to immediately reject the invitation. However, their hands unanimously paused when they saw the name of the Guild. Zero Wing? Isnt that the name of our Workshop? Blackie asked, curious. This is an invitation sent by Big Brother Ye Feng! Big Brother Ye Feng is finally going to establish the Guild! Violet Cloud said excitedly when she noticed that one of the names inscribed on the Guild Certificate was Ye Feng. She then said with joy, Great! We will have our own Guild in the future! Isnt it still too early to establish the Guild? We only have so few members right now. Brother Feng had also said before that we are lacking in members, and that we need to wait for some time before establishing the Guild. Did something happen? Dont bother about this for now. We should put our signatures first. Fire Dance was similarly surprised by Shi Fengs sudden decision. However, since Shi Feng had decided to do so, he must have had his own considerations. Moreover, it wouldnt be a bad idea to establish the Guild ahead of time. Immediately, everyone in the party clicked Agree. They then received a system notification. System: Congratulations on becoming a member of Zero Wing! System: This is your first time joining a Guild. Activating Guild System. \--- On the other side, Shi Feng had already left the Adventurers Association, returning to the Starstreak Trading Firm. At this moment, the Starstreak Trading Firm was packed with players. The trading firm was currently the most lively location in White River City, second to none. Hey, bro, I see that youre here to buy those Basic Mana Armor Kits, right? With so many people lining up here, you would need to wait at least a week before you can even get one for yourself. However, I have here a way to help you save your time, letting you jump the queue to buy the Mana Armor Kits in advance. A thinly built Swordsman walked around the entrance of the Starstreak Trading Firm, chatting up the players lined up outside the building. Really? A player clearly grew interested. Of course. A Basic Mana Armor Kit costs 20 Silver Coins, while you only need to pay 2 Silver Coins to skip the long wait to buy it, the thin Swordsman said with a smile. Alright, bring me there. Its just an extra 2 Silver Coins. Our party wont miss this little amount of money. Following which, the thin Swordsman led the player up to the second floor, skipping the long queue on the first floor. Really, any sort of business goes, huh? Shi Feng couldnt help but exclaim after seeing this sight. The Basic Mana Armor Kits were in high demand. However, the Starstreak Trading Firm only sold 50 pieces of the item each day, so only a very small number of players could obtain them. However, this couldnt be helped. Shi Feng couldnt just focus all his attention on producing the Basic Mana Armor Kits. He still had many things he needed to do. The Basic Mana Armor Kit was simply an item for him to accumulate reputation. It was not meant to be a true money-maker for him. Afterward, Shi Feng arrived at the fourth floor of the trading firm and entered a Forging Room. He then started forging the Arclight Shield. During this crucial period, many Guilds were thinking of how they could obtain the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon. Naturally, the equipment of their MTs became the top priority in their considerations, especially the shields their MTs used. Meanwhile, an excellent shield like the Fine-Gold ranked Arclight Shield would, without a doubt, attract the attention of these Guilds. As long as Shi Feng placed the Arclight Shields up for sale, many Guilds would definitely pay a huge sum in order obtain it. Hence, the sooner he produced the Arclight Shields, the higher the price he could sell them for. However, the success rate for forging a Fine-Gold ranked item was extremely low. A normal Advanced Forging Apprentice only had a 2% success rate, meaning that, out of 100 tries, they would only successfully produce two Arclight Shields. In reality, however, they might not even be able to produce one out of 100 tries. However, Shi Feng had both the Book of Forging and Blacksteels Insignia. He also had the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and various other tools that increased his forging success rate. Even so, his final success rate at forging a Fine-Gold ranked item only sat at around 20%. In addition, Shi Feng was not familiar with the forging process of the Arclight Shield, so his success rate should be much lower than 20%. If he was promoted to a Basic Forger, his base success rate would increase to 5%. However, that still wouldnt make much of a difference. Only by becoming an Advanced Forger would there be a significant improvement. With the 10% base success rate of an Advanced Forger, in addition to the various supporting tools Shi Feng had, his success rate for forging a Fine-Gold ranked item could reach up to 30%. However, Shi Feng needed to invest a lot of time in order to become an Advanced Forger, and time was something he sorely lacked right now. He had no choice but to give it a try now. In any case, he had plenty of materials to experiment with. He could simply try again if he failed. 245 Gold Before Shi Feng started forging the Arclight Shield, he decided to first forge a few Basic Mana Armor Kits to serve as a warm-up. After Gods Domain evolved, the process of forging grew more complicated, greatly increasing the difficulty of producing an item. Unlike the Advanced Whetstones and Basic Mana Armor Kits, which were still considerably simple to make, items such as weapons and equipment had a much more complex forging procedure. It should be about time I give the shield a try. After Shi Feng produced tens of Basic Mana Armor Kits, he finally retrieved the Silver Ore and Gold Ore needed to forge the Arclight Shield. He had also received the Magic Crystals from Gentle Snow in advance. Gentle Snow had wanted to obtain the Arclight Shields as soon as possible, so Shi Feng required her to send him the Magic Crystals in advance. Shi Feng had received a total of 200 Magic Crystals from Gentle Snow. Such an amount was sufficient for 20 attempts to produce the Arclight Shield. Shi Feng only had a 20% success rate for forging the Arclight Shield. It was the lowest success rate he had ever had since he started forging equipment. However, if any other forger were in his shoes right now, they might not be able to produce even one Arclight Shield out of several hundred sets of materials. Those conceited Guilds thought that they could easily produce the Arclight Shield after obtaining its Forging Design. However, if Shi Feng had not won the bid for the Forging Design, by the time those Guilds managed to produce a single Arclight Shield, the 50-man Team Dungeons would have long since been conquered. In order to gain experience, when Shi Feng started his first attempt at forging the Arclight Shield, he went through the process slowly and steadily, carrying out each step to the best of his abilities. Before he knew it, Shi Feng had spent over 20 minutes producing the first Arclight Shield. Compared to a normal shield, the Arclight Shield had a crescent-shaped design. The entire shield was colored in silver, and many runic patterns were carved on the shields body. Although the shield looked mighty and powerful at first glance, it was still unknown whether it was a failed or successful product. Shi Feng then chose to generate the shields data. After ten seconds of waiting, the identification process for the shield was completed. As expected, its a failure, Shi Feng sighed when he took a look at the shields data. Although it was indeed an Arclight Shield, its quality was a rank lower than the original; it was only Secret-Silver rank. [Arclight Shield] (Shield, Secret-Silver Rank) Level 15 Equipment Requirement: Strength 90 Defense +330 Block Rate: 31% Strength +10, Endurance +20 Evasion +3 Additional Passive Skill 1- Sound of Life: Every attack received will grant user with a stack of Power of Life, increasing maximum HP by 2% and received healing by 1% for 1 minute. Maximum of 10 stacks. Additional Passive Skill 2- Refraction: Triggers once every 50 seconds. Becomes immune to one attack. From a general point of view, though, it is not a bad result, all the same. At the very least, it is still a Secret-Silver ranked shield. I should be able to sell it for a good price even then. Shi Feng was relatively satisfied with this failed product. After all, a Secret-Silver ranked shield remained a rare item at this stage of the game. According to Shi Fengs knowledge, a majority of the core MTs of second-rate and third-rate Guilds were still using Mysterious-Iron ranked shields. If he sold this failure, he could still earn around 6 to 7 Gold Coins from it. Although he had failed this time, it was not a complete failure. At the very least, it did not turn out as a scrap item. This partial failure indicated that he must have made a mistake somewhere during the forging process. There shouldnt be any problems with the forging of the main body itself. I mustve messed up when I was carving the runes on the shield, preventing it from reaching Fine-Gold rank, Shi Feng concluded after carefully reviewing his actions. According to past experiences, if a problem had truly occurred during the formation of the shield, then the Arclight Shield wouldnt just fall by a single rank. It wouldnt even be unusual for the shield to end up being Bronze rank or lower. Afterward, Shi Feng did not rush to start his second attempt. Instead, he carefully studied the runes he had carved on the Arclight Shield. The inscription of the runes were mainly done using the Magic Crystals. However, the process of completing these runes was not easy, as Shi Feng did not truly understand their meaning. He could only make blind imitations of the drawings. Although he did not understand the meaning behind the runes, if he practiced drawing them over and over, it should still yield some positive effect. Hence, Shi Feng started practicing drawing the runes. Once Twice Ten times Every drawing took around four to five minutes to complete. However, as the number of times he practiced increased, he grew more proficient at drawing the runes. The runes he drew now also started resembling the original. This cost-free way of practicing was much more economical than learning through actual production. Shi Feng naturally wouldnt mind more practice. This should be enough. Shi Feng looked at the latest rune he drew, feeling extremely satisfied with it. This imitation of his looked practically the same as the rune shown on the Forging Design. Hence, Shi Feng started his second attempt at producing the Arclight Shield. This time, the entire forging process of the shield flowed very smoothly. Shi Feng had only spent around 10 minutes to complete the second Arclight Shield. However, his attempt this time ended in complete failure. Shi Fengs 20% success rate did not stand on his side this time around. Following which, Shi Feng consecutively produced ten Arclight Shields. Moreover, with each successive shield he made, the time he spent producing them also decreased. His hands also moved with much more proficiency. Out of the ten Arclight Shields he made, only two barely achieved the passing standard, two ended up as defective products, while the remaining ones were complete failures. As for the two defective shields, one was Mysterious-Iron rank, while the other was Secret-Silver rank. In general, the results were quite good. However, Shi Feng was still unsatisfied with the quality of the Arclight Shields. Now that I am proficient at making the Arclight Shields, the next step would be increasing its quality. If I can let Cola use a Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Shield, our chances at clearing the Demons Castle would become much higher. Shi Feng decided to take out the Runic Gold, the reward he obtained for his promotion to Advanced Forging Apprentice. Not only could the Runic Gold increase his success rate by 10%, there was also a small chance for it to increase an items rank by one, up to a maximum of Dark-Gold rank. Unfortunately, Shi Feng only had five of these things, meaning that he only had five chances to produce a Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Shield. The Runic Gold was a piece of ore that gave off a metallic glow and contained runic energy within it. After refining the Runic Gold, Shi Feng poured the molten Runic Gold into the Silver-Gold alloy. Immediately, a change occurred in the alloy. The originally bright red alloy turned dark red in color. Moreover, it also started greedily absorbing the energy of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. As the amount of energy it absorbed increased, the alloy started emitting many golden runes, slowly forming an array of runes. Knowing that the fusion was completed, Shi Feng immediately retrieved the scorching hot alloy from the furnace, placed it on the anvil, and started hammering on it. Slowly, the piece of alloy started taking on the shape of an Arclight Shield, and on the shields surface, there was even a layer of naturally occurring golden runes. The shield looked incredibly holy. After hammering for several minutes, Shi Feng finally formed the Arclight Shield. Immediately, he retrieved a black liquid and started drawing the runes on the shield. The black liquid was the liquified product of the Magic Crystals. Shi Feng concentrated his full attention on each and every stroke, afraid of making even the slightest mistake. When he completed the final stroke, the naturally occurring golden runes on the shield actually melded together with the runes Shi Feng had drawn. Together, they formed completely new golden runes possessing no resemblance to the black runes found on the previous Arclight Shields Shi Feng made. Please be a success! Shi Feng timidly selected to identify the shield. Although the Arclight Shield looked absolutely perfect appearance-wise, whether it was a success or a failure still depended on the final data. One second Two seconds This time, even after 20 seconds had passed, the system was still unable to determine the shields exact data. This situation caused Shi Feng to grow slightly nervous. The longer identification time indicated that even the system itself was hesitant. _In the end, is it a success or a failure?_ Shi Feng had carried out the entire forging procedure perfectly.At the end of the day, however, his success rate was only 30%. Oftentimes, when the identification process took longer than usual, there was a higher chance that the result was a failure. Finally, after 30 seconds passed, the system returned the identification results. System: Arclight Guard has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 2 points. Obtained 80,000 EXP. 246 Neither Weak nor Strong Success on the first attempt? It seems my luck really is good. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile when he heard the system notification sound. Along with the Arclight Shields promotion to Dark-Gold rank, a change occurred to its name as well. Shi Feng then started inspecting the silver-colored, crescent-shaped shield that was placed on the iron-weave felt. He was extremely curious to find out just what sort of Attributes the Arclight Guard possessed. [Arclight Guard] (Shield, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 15 Equipment Requirement: Strength 110 Defense +550 Block Rate: 39% Strength +21, Endurance +30 Evasion +10 Additional Passive Skill 1- Sound of Life: Every attack received will grant user with a stack of Power of Life, increasing maximum HP by 3% and received healing by 2% for 1 minute. Maximum of 10 stacks. Additional Passive Skill 2- Refraction: Triggers once every 25 seconds. Becomes immune to one attack. Additional Skill- Time Arc: When activated, allows the user to save current state, and return to saved state 9 seconds later. Cooldown: 10 minutes Isnt this Time Arc skill overpowered?! No wonder there wasnt much of an improvement on the other Attributes. Just this skill alone made the Arclight Guard deserving of being a Dark-Gold ranked shield, Shi Feng exclaimed. Saving current state, which was to say, after nine seconds, even if the user of the Arclight Guard died, they would still recover to their saved state. The Cooldown of skills used after Time Arc was invoked would recover as well. Compared to a skill that provided invincibility, Time Arc was a much more amazing skill. The only downside to this skill was its long Cooldown. However, when taking into consideration the heaven-defying effect of this skill, a 10-minute Cooldown was considerably short. If the Cooldown of this skill was any shorter, then the Arclight Guard would no longer be just a Dark-Gold ranked shield, but an Epic ranked shield instead. Although Shi Feng had already made one Arclight Guard, he was still not satisfied; he wished to make even more Arclight Guards. Deciding so, he used up the remaining four pieces of Runic Gold when forging the Arclight Shields. However, the results were horrible. Out of his four attempts, two were complete failures; they did not even achieve Bronze rank. As for the remaining two Arclight Shields, one achieved Secret-Silver rank, while the other achieved Fine-Gold rank. However, such a success rate was already very good. He had used a total of five Runic Gold to forge the Arclight Shields. Among them, one had achieved Dark-Gold rank, one had achieved Fine-Gold rank, and one had achieved Secret-Silver rank. Out of the three shields, Shi Feng would naturally save the Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Guard for Colas use. With the Arclight Guard, they would have no problems raiding the Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon, the Demons Castle. Just as Shi Feng thought of carrying on with forging Arclight Shields, someone knocked on the door of the Forging Room. Come in. When the door to the Forging Room opened, a golden-haired beauty walked in. This person was none other than Shi Fengs assistant, Anna. Your Excellency, an adventurer named Aqua Rose wishes to meet you. She says she has an appointment with you, and she is currently waiting in the meeting room on the third floor, Anna said respectfully. Alright, Ill be there in a minute, Shi Feng nodded his head. Shi Feng had similarly guessed that Aqua Rose should arrive right about now. After all, teleportation occurred instantaneously. Aqua Rose only needed to gather her subordinates, explain to them the situation, and make some future plans. \--- Inside the meeting room on the third floor, Aqua Rose and her hundred-plus subordinates were seated around the room, having a small discussion about matters relating to Shi Feng. These players all had relatively high Levels. The lowest out of all of them was Level 13, while the others were Level 14. Even if placed inside a first-rate Guild, all these players would be considered elite members. These players were all Aqua Roses most trusted aides. Before they had arrived here, they hadnt dared to imagine that there would actually be someone willing to spend 300 Gold Coins to bring them to this place. If the organization this person belonged to wasnt extremely rich, then this person was just insane! However, after they discovered that Shi Feng actually had a connection with such a large trading firm, their thoughts immediately changed. Not only did Shi Feng manage to achieve something that no other Guild had achieved, his fame in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom could already be described as the sun in midday. It was especially true for the recently popular Basic Mana Armor Kit. This was an item that plenty of Guilds could only dream of having. If they could be a part of the power Shi Feng belonged to, then couldnt every one of them obtain their very own Basic Mana Armor Kit? This was definitely a treatment that no other first-rate Guild could provide. Big Sis Aqua, just who is that Black Flame? Is he in the upper management of a Super Guild? a female Swordsman curiously asked. Aqua Rose shook her head, a bitter smile on her face as she replied, I dont know, either. He has always been very mysterious. However, I believe that we will be able to find out his true identity today. In truth, Aqua Rose was also interested in finding out the truth. However, now that they were going to join the power Black Flame belonged to, Black Flame would have no need to hide the truth from them. They could finally take a look at the giant hidden behind Shi Feng. Sorry to keep all of you waiting. The moment Shi Feng walked into the meeting room, everyone inside immediately fell silent. Everyone present stood up as they looked at Shi Feng, deep veneration in their eyes. They were like interviewees standing up to welcome their interviewer; some were nervous, while some were excited. After leaving Twilight Echo, they were like homeless little birds. Although they wished to soar higher into the sky, they did not possess a home they could return to. Feelings of helplessness and disappointment constantly filled their minds as they wondered what sort of future awaited them. However, the situation was different now. They would be joining an even greater family now. At this moment, these ex-members of Twilight Echo rejoiced over the fact that they had chosen to leave Twilight Echo together with Aqua Rose, praising themselves for making a wise decision. After all, a bright future had already opened its doors to them! I am the one who should be sorry for making Master Black Flame wait for us for so long, Aqua Rose apologized. Since we will be companions in the future, stop referring me as Master this or Master that. Just call me Black Flame. Shi Feng could sense the cautiousness behind Aqua Rose and everyone elses actions. However, this was to be expected. I have only asked you all to come here so that I can invite everyone into the Guild first. Later on, Miss Aqua can freely decide how you all wish to develop yourselves. I wont set any restrictions for you. Right, here is a copy of the White River City Guidebook. After you are done reading it, you should be able to familiarize yourself with White River City, Miss Aqua. Saying so, Shi Feng sent a copy of the luxury version White River City Guidebook to Aqua Rose. Simultaneously, he had sent everyone present a Guild invitation. Zero Wing? What is this Guild? Why is it only a 1-Star Guild? Wasnt it supposed to be some sort of hidden power? Everyone entered a daze for a long time after they received Shi Fengs Guild invitation. Ignoring the fact that they had never even heard of such a Guild, just having status of a 1-Star Guild showed how weak Zero Wing was. The reason being, even third-rate Guilds at this stage of the game were 3-Star Guilds, not to mention first-rate Guilds. After taking a look at the member count of the Guild, everyone was further dumbfounded. Before they had joined, this Guild only had nine members? What kind of Guild was this? Zero Wing was the weakest Guild they had seen so far, second to none. Even Aqua Rose herself was shocked by this revelation. The current situation was completely different from what she had imagined it to be. She had thought Shi Feng would be bringing her to meet the many great characters of this Guild, allowing her to get a grasp on the frightening background of the Guild. Yet, the truth that Shi Feng revealed had far exceeded her expectations. The reason being, the influence of this Guild could literally be determined in a single glance. You all must be very disappointed to find out that my Guild is actually so weak, right? Shi Feng looked at everyones crestfallen expressions. Suddenly, he said in a cold voice, Let me give it to you straight. This, this is Zero Wing. It is neither weak, nor strong. It is merely a home that you can stay in. As for how others are going to view us, it will depend on your own performances. 247 Seizing the Ranking Lis Although they felt that what Shi Feng said was logical, their disappointment still did not decrease by the slightest. Out of everyone present, only Aqua Roses fighting spirit truly ignited. She was the only one who truly understood the meaning of Shi Fengs words. Strength that depended on ones self rather than others. The best example for this was Shi Feng who stood right before them. His Guild was clearly very weak. Yet, he managed to achieve many things that not even many first-rate Guilds and even Super Guilds could. As a result, he made everyone believe that there was a mysterious power secretly supporting him from behind. However, what was the reality of the matter? By depending on only himself, Shi Feng had created a miracle. He had even overwhelmed everyone back at the Blackwing Auction, causing a sensation. Since Shi Feng was capable of such feats, why couldnt she do so as well? At this moment, Aqua Rose truly found it laughable when she recalled how she had intended to utilize the mysterious power behind Shi Feng to prove herself to her parents and everyone back at Twilight Echo. Black Flame is right. How powerful a Guild is, is not important. How powerful we are, ourselves, is the crucial point. Since we have joined Zero Wing, let us be the ones to change how others view Zero Wing, Aqua Rose explained loudly, in complete agreement with Shi Fengs opinion. Everyone fell silent at Aqua Roses words, but a fiery fighting spirit could be seen growing in their eyes. That was right! They had originally intended to start from the very beginning. Now that they had a wealthy tycoon like Shi Feng supporting them, what more should they be afraid of? A Guilds development mainly relied on financial resources. The remaining factors would be the presence of experts to lead the Guild in raiding Team Dungeons and completing Epic Quests that were impossible to complete. They would definitely turn Zero Wing into the number one Guild in White River City. At this moment, Shi Feng sent Fire Dance and the others a message: You can start now. Immediately, Shi Feng received a reply: Understood. After seeing this message, Shi Fengs gaze shifted towards everyone present in the meeting room. He then announced loudly, I know that some of you still have some worries, so Ill give you all a little surprise. Ill let you all get a better understanding of just what Zero Wing is. A better understanding of Zero Wing? Does this Guild still have any secrets? Everyone grew confused at Shi Fengs words. Everything about this Guild was clear in one glance, so what secrets could there possibly be? The only thing that could possibly be a secret was the Guilds frightening financial resources. With such a large fortune, they should have no problems getting their hands on the various welfare benefits that players would receive upon joining a Guild. Moreover, Black Flame was the publicly acknowledged Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom. In the future, Guild members would have no lack of weapons and equipment to use. However, this shouldnt count as a secret, right? Everyone can take a look at White River Citys Ranking List now, Shi Feng said softly. Ranking List? Everyone promptly called out the Ranking List to take a look. Is there something wrong with the Ranking List? I remember that when I came to White River City, the top player on the Ranking List was Lone Tyrant. At that time, he was only at Level 15. How did he suddenly become Level 19? Did the system make a mistake? No, thats not right! Look at the player ID! Its not Lone Tyrant! It might not be a mistake by the system. Look, the top eight players have all been switched out. Even the player at eighth place is Level 18 now. Lone Tyrant is still Level 15, and hes placed ninth now. How is this possible? Level 18! Isnt this level too much of an exaggeration? Even at the Storm Empire, the highest leveled player is only at Level 16. How could White River City possess eight players who have managed to surpass the top player at Storm Empire? Wait! These players all belong to the same Guild, and the Guilds name is called Zero Wing! Everyone was dumbfounded when they discovered the changes in the Ranking List. They trembled, not daring to believe their own eyes. These eight players were actually their Guild members. However, everyones hearts were filled with questions. If Zero Wing had eight such powerful experts, why did the Guild remain unknown to the public even until now? This was simply unimaginable. This is the strength of Zero Wing? At this moment, Aqua Rose started renewing her evaluation of Shi Feng and this Guild. Although Zero Wing was small, it was a gathering of experts. Wealth, manpower, and finally, fame. As things were, Zero Wing possessed the foundation necessary to become a large Guild. As long as they managed the Guild benefits they offered properly, Zero Wing could easily become a large Guild within a short period of time. It was no wonder Shi Feng looked so confident. Meanwhile, as Aqua Rose and her subordinates were reeling over their new discovery, the entire White River City had already been thrown into an uproar. Lone Tyrant, who had been monopolizing the first position on White River Citys Ranking List all this time, had actually been kicked off by someone else. Moreover, he wasnt just kicked off by a single person, but by eight. The sudden appearance of these eight players made Lone Tyrants previous glory look like a joke. It was as if these eight players had merely been giving in to Lone Tyrant before, just like how an adult would indulge a little child. Now, however, they were no longer letting Lone Tyrant have his way. Otherwise, how would they explain this situation where eight players had instantly taken away the top eight spots on the Ranking List? There was only one possible explanation: they had constantly been hiding their levels. These people are inhuman! Crap! The first place is Level 19, and even the eighth place is Level 18! Ive only managed to hit Level 13 after working so hard. Are they trying to make me despair? God, carry me, please! What kind of backing does this Zero Wing have? Arent they a little too amazing? Is some major power planning to set up a stronghold in White River City? Many players within the White River City region were stirred up by this incident. The top eight positions on the Ranking List were actually taken over by a single Guild; one could just imagine how powerful this Guild was. Even Ouroboros, the number one Guild in White River City, was not as powerful. Many independent players had started making inquiries into just what kind of Guild Zero Wing was. There were even some independent players who had directly asked how they could join Zero Wing on the public forums. After all, with such leveling monsters in the Guild, wouldnt they too be able to level up like a rocket if they joined? Suddenly, Zero Wing had become the hottest topic for every player in White River City, and many had expressed their willingness to join such a Guild. Although independent players went into raptures over Zero Wing, the various large Guilds, on the other hand, were having a headache over it. They held nothing back at investigating this new Guild that suddenly popped up and also the top eight players on the Ranking List. However, the information they received made Zero Wing look even more mysterious, as they failed to find out even who the Guild Leader of Zero Wing was. The only thing they knew was that Fire Dance had once occupied the first place on the White River City Ranking List. In addition, the other seven players had also once been among the top ten of the Ranking List. Meanwhile, all eight of these players shared a common point. All eight of these players had vanished from the public eye for quite some time now. Previously, everyone had assumed that they had gone silent because they were overtaken on the list. However, the reality of the matter was that these players had intentionally hidden themselves simply to avoid discovery until now. \--- Can someone tell me what is going on here? Lone Tyrant looked at the Ranking List, bellowing, Just where did these bastards pop out from? At this moment, nothing was more humiliating for Lone Tyrant than his position on the Ranking List. His past glory was already worthless now. Instead, he had become the laughingstock of everyone in White River City. Guild Leader, Ive already investigated these players. It seems that all of them are associated with Ye Feng. Moreover, Ive also looked up Zero Wing at the Adventurers Association. The Guild was registered only recently, and it is possible that it is a Guild formed by Ye Feng himself, a Ranger said. Good. Very good. At first, I thought that he had hidden himself out of self-awareness after I placed a bounty on him. However, it seems he is taking me lightly! Since he has come out to slap me in the face, and has even started a Guild in White River City, I will make him regret his decision! Immediately find out all the members belonging to Ye Fengs Guild! I want his Guild destroyed! Lone Tyrant bellowed as he announced a command to the entire Guild. He had to destroy this Guild and flatten Shi Feng at all costs. Not only was he doing this for himself, it was also the command of that mighty personage. 248 Extraordinary Starts Out from Ordinary Lone Tyrant wasnt the only person who was enraged by the matter of the Ranking List. The other Guilds in White River City were similarly furious. The Ranking List was a place for Guilds like them to increase their reputation. Although such a method of advertising was not as effective as obtaining the First Clear of a Dungeon, if they could occupy the Ranking List for extended periods of time, it would still bring about significant effects. Now, however, Zero Wing occupied eight of the top ten positions, and many Guilds were disgruntled over Zero Wings monopoly of the Ranking List. These Guilds couldnt help but wish they could invite Zero Wings Guild Leader and give him a piece of their mind to relieve their dissatisfaction. \--- At the Level 18 map Pyroxene Mountain, a 20-man elite team was currently clearing out the Level 18 Six-armed Stone Monkeys here. The Six-armed Stone Monkeys were monsters with large bodies. Although they were two meters in height, their movements were extremely agile. Their Physical Defense was very high, and their only weakness was their low Magical Resistance. Hence, using large-scale magic attacks against these monsters would be very effective. Moreover, the Six-armed Stone Monkeys lived in groups on this mountain, and players could very easily lure a group and promptly kill them. Snow, the Ranking List has been occupied by Zero Wing. Moreover, their levels are all very high. It would be very difficult for us to catch up to them. It really makes you wonder how they managed to level up so quickly. Zhao Yueru currently sat on a rock, resting as she replenished her Mana. After receiving a report from her subordinate and promptly taking a look at the Ranking List, she was immediately shocked by what she discovered. As a player who had originally ranked within the top ten of the Ranking List, Zhao Yueru knew very clearly just how large a gap there was between Level 15 and level 18. At the very least, she would need to spend another week grinding before she could even reach Level 18. This was equivalent to saying that these eight players would remain on the Ranking List for another week at the very minimum. However, this was assuming they did absolutely nothing during the entire week. If they were to continue grinding and leveling up at their current pace, who knew when there would be a change to the top eight positions? As expected, they are very strong. That Ye Feng has quite the ambition as well, even though he usually maintains a low profile. It seems that he has finally decided to take action now. Gentle Snow did not feel any shock when she looked at the IDs of the top eight players. Snow, have you known all along? Zhao Yueru asked, confused. She had a very clear understanding of Shi Fengs capabilities. Shi Fengs strength, leadership ability, and observation ability were above average; however, these traits alone were not enough for him to establish a Guild. Establishing a Guild was not as easy as playing a game of house since forming a Guild signified ones intentions to compete for dominance with the other Guilds. For a small Guild like Shi Fengs, maintaining a low profile would be more beneficial. If they did so, most of the large Guilds would not have paid much attention to them. However, now that theyd done the exact opposite, they were practically telling the other Guilds to come at them. Mm, after they decided to hide their levels, I figured that their levels were not that simple. Ye Feng did not wish others to know, so he kept them hidden. Only, I never imagined that their actual levels would be so high. Gentle Snow was greatly interested in these talents. She inwardly lamented the fact that these experts could only stay holed up in such a small Guild. If they joined Ouroboros, they would definitely shine with even greater brilliance. If they stayed in such a small Guild, they would very quickly fall. After all, a Guild needed financial resources to develop itself. Gentle Snow firmly believed that Shi Feng did not possess a frightening amount of financial resources, especially Gold Coins. There was also the lack of manpower. It would be impossible to develop a Guild in Gods Domain just by relying on several players. In addition, they would also have to suffer the oppression of other large Guilds. Hence, Gentle Snow determined that Zero Wing would not last long at all. However, at the end of the day, Shi Feng was still her friend. Hence, Gentle Snow sent a message to Shi Feng, congratulating him on establishing Zero Wing. As to how he should develop his Guild, as an outsider, it would not be good for her to make any suggestions. \--- On the third floor of the Starstreak Trading Firm, the situation was not as grim as Gentle Snow believed it to be. If Gentle Snow could see this scene right now, she would definitely be shocked. After all, not only did Shi Feng possess enough funding, he had also managed to recruit a group of players who had recently left a first-rate Guild, Twilight Echo. He had also managed to recruit Aqua Rose, who was once an honorary elder of Twilight Echo. As someone who had once managed a first-rate Guild with over 10,000 subordinates, Aqua Rose possessed a wealth of experience. Hence, when placed in a situation where she had a large amount of financial resources but only a small Guild of slightly more than a hundred players to manage, she could carry out her tasks with little to no effort. Guild Leader, I have received your intentions. I will increase our member count up to 5,000 to the best of my abilities. As for the matter relating to the Guild perks system, for the moment, I will implement Twilight Echos Guild perks system as a temporary replacement. However, I hope that you can draft it as soon as possible. Otherwise, once some time passes, it would not be as easy to make changes to it. Aqua Rose now had a good grasp of Zero Wings situation, and she felt very optimistic about Zero Wings future prospects. Wealth, manpower, and fame. With all three things together, it would be very easy for them to recruit a large batch of new members. Then, Ill have to trouble Miss Aqua with this matter. Plans could never keep up with change. Based on his original estimates, it would still have been a long time before he established his own Guild. However, with the sudden addition of Aqua Rose, Shi Feng could not afford to wait any longer. Even if his preparations were currently lacking, he still needed to establish the Guild. Moreover, he had intended all along to deal with these Guild matters as soon as possible; it was just that he still had other things he needed to handle. Now that there was a professional standing right before him, why wouldnt he make use of her? Guild Leader Black Flame, I am already the Vice-Leader of Zero Wing. Please just call me Aqua from now on. If Guild Leader doesnt have any other orders, then I will start making the necessary arrangements now, Aqua Rose said in a professional tone. Maybe because she had received a new position, Aqua Rose had very quickly entered a superwoman mode. Shi Feng could only take a step back in this matter. He then returned to producing the Arclight Shields and Basic Mana Armor Kits. Later on, the members of the Guild continuously increased. The reason being, Shi Feng had set the exchange of Basic Mana Armor Kits as one of the perks available to Guild members. This item held a fatal attraction to independent players, and if new members wished to obtain them, they needed to exchange for them using Guild Contribution Points. Meanwhile, there were many methods for them to obtain Guild Contribution Points: 1) Dungeon diving. 2) Exchanging Bronze ranked equipment or above. 3) Making a contribution to the Guild - the upper management of the Guild would reward players who made a contribution with Contribution Points. 4) Carrying out Guild Quests - Contribution Points would be awarded by the system in this case. 5) Personal Guild Reputation received reaching a certain amount. Hence, with so many methods available, Guild members would have no need to worry about not being able to earn sufficient Guild Contribution Points. However, to prevent abuse by opportunistic players, further restrictions were added to increase the difficulty for Guild members to obtain the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Above all, one had to contribute a set amount of Reputation Points to the Guild before being allowed to exchange for the Armor Kits. Secondly, one needed a large number of Guild Contribution Points to exchange for the Armor Kits. Meanwhile, the total value of these Guild Contribution Points was no lesser than 20 Silver Coins. With these two safeguards present, there would be no opportunity for Guild members to abuse the Guild perks system implemented. Meanwhile, during the time Shi Feng was producing the Arclight Shields and Basic Mana Armor Kits, Aqua Rose had also arranged for her subordinates to recruit players at the Trade Area and Adventurers Association. After half a day of recruitment, Zero Wings member count increased explosively. From the original hundred or so members, there were now over 3,000 players in the Guild. Moreover, the tide of players wanting to join the Guild showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Big Sis Aqua, the number of players wanting to join the Guild hasnt decreased at all. If this situation continues, we can easily recruit double the target of 5,000 members. Should we increase the number of players we recruit? Follow the original plan; we wont be able to handle so many players right now. If we did so, it would instead force the Guild into a period of stagnation, hindering our development. Increase the entry requirements for the Guild; raise the minimum level requirement from Level 11 to Level 12. Under Aqua Roses management, the newly recruited Guild members started taking on Guild Quests. Aqua Roses direct subordinates had also split up and formed new parties to raid Party Dungeons, upgrading the equipment of the new members. Everything was flowing smoothly at Zero Wing, and it did not look like a newly established Guild at all. Before he knew it, nighttime arrived at Gods Domain. After making a large number of Basic Mana Armor Kits and three Fine-Gold ranked Arclight Shields, Shi Feng immediately logged out of the game. The reason being, the Jin Hai Fellowship Party that Shi Feng had been looking forward to was being held today. He needed to make some preparations before he attended the party. 249 Gathering of Elites The first rays of the morning sun pierced through the window, shining on Shi Feng, who was currently working out in the living room. Currently, Shi Feng no longer carried out the intense muscle exercises of the past few days. He quietly stood still for a long time, before slowly lowering his body, entering into a horse stance[1]. Closing his eyes, Shi Feng relaxed his body. Suddenly, his chest expanded as he inhaled deeply. He then exhaled, a trail of white mist coming out of his mouth. Like a water pistol, the white mist that shot out from his mouth managed to actually reach a distance of over two meters before gradually dissipating. If any normal person were to witness this scene, they would definitely be shocked by it. The season right now was summer. Yet, Shi Feng had recreated a scene that could usually be found only during winter time. After repeating this process for an hour, Shi Feng stopped his rhythmic breathing. The effect of this Eight-sectioned Brocade exercise is quite good. Ive only trained in it for an hour, and I can already feel my body becoming lighter. The exercise has also significantly cleared my mind. Shi Feng clenched and released his fists. His entire body felt comfortably warm, and his five senses felt keener than usual. This Eight-sectioned Brocade exercise was something he had accidentally stumbled upon in the past, after becoming the Guild Leader of Shadow, when he visited an antique shop. Originally, he had planned to test the effectiveness of the exercise. However, after the company hired a martial arts master as an instructor at the Workshop, Shi Feng gave up on that notion. During those days, people were already going crazy over Gods Domain. In order to improve their actual combat skills, they would practice martial arts like madmen. Naturally, Shi Feng was no exception. At that time, however, he was no longer young, and his body was similarly no longer in its prime. The things he could do were limited, and the most he could do was practice some Taichi and Eight Trigram Palms, training his techniques as much as he could. However, his current self was different. Not only had he started consuming Nutrient Fluids at a much earlier period than in the past, after undergoing several workout sessions, his current bodys physique far surpassed the one of his past. There was a saying in martial arts: Internally, spirit and breathing are practiced; externally, muscles, bones, and skin are practiced. Meanwhile, Shi Feng related this saying to the Eight-sectioned Brocade. Only, he had not thought the exercise would yield such good results. Although the exercise did not increase his bodys strength, it refreshed his psyche and allowed him to remain calm at all times. Such an effect was an unexpected harvest for Shi Feng. After Shi Feng had his breakfast, he received a call from Zhao Ruoxi. She said that she was going to give him a ride to the Fellowship Party. When Shi Feng arrived downstairs of his apartment, he immediately discovered Zhao Ruoxi standing in front of a blue sports car. She wore a pure white dress today, while her hair was tied up into a double ponytail. Her pure and beautiful appearance attracted the attention of every man that walked past her, sending them into a daze as drool leaked out of their mouths. Lets go. Zhao Ruoxi smiled sweetly when she noticed Shi Feng walking over. Is this your car? Shi Feng looked at the blue sports car before him, feeling somewhat surprised. Suspicion of Zhao Ruoxis identity started growing within him. This blue sports car was a limited edition Maglev Ferrari Z75, and it had a selling price of six million Credits. One would not be able to find one even in the entire Jin Hai City, yet Zhao Ruoxi actually owned one herself. Of course. What? Surprised? Its just that, normally, I dont like driving it to school. However, we are going to a formal occasion today, so I need to make an impression. Zhao Ruoxi nodded her head slightly in reply. Hurry up and get on. The venue of the Fellowship Party is quite a distance away. Although Shi Feng was mildly astonished by this new revelation, he didnt attempt to delve further into the matter. After all, everyone had their own secrets. Hence, he slid into the passenger seat. Soon after, Zhao Ruoxi stepped on the accelerator, and with a whoosh, the Ferrari Z75 sped along the road of the neighborhood. Envy filled the eyes of the many pedestrians walking on the street as they watched the Ferrari Z75 speed down the road. They inwardly wished that they too could drive such a sports car one day. The trip, which should have taken over an hour by car, was reduced to just slightly over 30 minutes by Zhao Ruoxi. Hmm? Are you carsick? Zhao Ruoxi asked curiously, looking at Shi Fengs pale complexion after she alighted from the car. Shi Feng was a fighting expert within the school, and he was a person capable of knocking down a powerhouse like Zhou Yuhu in a single move. Yet, he had actually gotten carsick. If others heard about this, probably nobody would believe it. Its nothing. My body just feels slightly uncomfortable. It might be due to the breakfast I had this morning. Shi Feng casually made an excuse. In truth, however, Shi Feng really wanted to say, You call that driving? Thats practically attempted murder! However, since Zhao Ruoxi had brought him here out of goodwill, he naturally would not say such words. Then, have you taken some medicine? Zhao Ruoxi asked in worry, blinking her eyes. Shi Feng turned speechless. The Jin Hai Fellowship Party was being held at a five-star hotel. Although the event was organized by Jin Hai University, the participants were not limited to the students and staff of the university. Other universities and elites of society would also be participating in this event, and it would not be an exaggeration to call this Fellowship Party a gathering of elites. The Jin Hai Fellowship Party was an annual event held in Jin Hai City. Even though plenty of people wished to participate in this event, not everyone received the chance to actually do so. Moreover, the Fellowship Party held today was unlike any other before it. Aside from having invited personages that participated in Jin Hai Citys fighting competition, the event organizers had also invited many experts from gaming workshops this time around. As to why they would decide to invite such gaming experts, it was mainly due to the growing popularity of Gods Domain. People could already see the limitless potential of Gods Domain. Hence, many wished to form a good relationship in advance with these gaming experts. The decision of the event organizers was undeniably the correct one to make, because several years from now, every single gaming expert that participated in this Fellowship Party would grow to become a famous celebrity in Jin Hai City. Just as Zhao Ruoxi and Shi Feng were about to enter the hotel, Shi Feng was unexpectedly blocked by the security guard at the door. Im sorry, sir, but your name is not on the list of invited guests. You cannot enter this place, the tall and robust security guard leader said in a cold voice, looking at Shi Feng with a sharp gaze. This security guard leader was a former member of the Special Forces, and he had experienced multiple battlefields before. The murderous intent he radiated could scare most of the people he met, and others usually did not dare to look directly at him. If a normal person was the focus of the stare of this security guard leader, their hearts would immediately palpitate with fear as they redirected their gaze somewhere else. Yet, even after receiving this security guards glare, Shi Fengs expression still remained as placid as before, his lack of reaction confusing this security guard greatly. Thats not possible. I registered Shi Feng myself. Can you check again? Zhao Ruoxis brows wrinkled. She had personally gone to the Student Council at the university, and had directly handed two persons worth of participation fees to the Student Council President. How was it possible that she was registered, while Shi Feng was not? The security guard captain scanned Shi Feng once more. In the end, the results he got still showed him as Unknown and that he was not allowed entry. To make sure that nothing was wrong with the machine, he tried it on other people as well, and the results showed that nothing was wrong with the machine. Thats not right. I registered both of us together. Ill contact He Youcai. Something mustve gone wrong somewhere. Ill get him to fix it immediately, Zhao Ruoxi said. Sorry, but I have to do things according to the rules. Anyone not registered is not allowed to enter. Impromptu registrations are not acceptable, either. These are the rules, the security guard captain said coldly. Who is the person responsible here? Zhao Ruoxi asked angrily. Shi Feng was someone she had personally invited. Now that Shi Feng was barred entry, how could she not get angry? Miss, please stop making things difficult for me. This is how the rules have always been. I cant change it just because of one person. The security guard captain could not help but soften his tone when he discerned that Zhao Ruoxis identity was not simple. At this moment, several people walked out from the hotel. One of them was none other than the person Zhao Ruoxi was looking for, the President of the Student Council, He Youcai. Walking beside him were people Shi Feng were familiar with: Ling Feilong, Zhou Yuhu, and Qin Shuyu. Meanwhile, it was Shi Fengs first time to meet the Student Council President, He Youcai. The person in question had a stout body and round face, and his voice when he spoke was extremely gentle. It was very hard to imagine such a person being able to actually become the Student Council President. Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, what urgent matters do you have? Why are you looking for me so frantically? He Youcai asked. Zhao Ruoxi then gave a short summary of what had happened. I am truly sorry about this, fellow student Zhao Ruoxi. I never would have imagined that such a mistake would occur in the registrations. I sincerely apologize, but since things have already gotten to this point, I am helpless as well; these are the rules that the school set long ago. Regarding your loss, Ill compensate you with double the amount you paid. He Youcai sent a glance at Shi Feng, a smile on his face as he spoke. Standing to one side, both Ling Feilong and Zhou Yuhu looked at Shi Feng with mocking smiles on their faces. Even an idiot could tell that this matter had something to do with them. TL Notes: [1] horse stance: https://www.wikihow.com/Do-the-Horse-Stance-in-Kung-Fu 250 Serious Inquiries Only Helpless about it? Zhao Ruoxis eyes widened in rage. He Youcai, this is your mistake! You need to think of a way to fix this! At this moment, Ling Feilong stood out and interrupted, saying in a gentle tone, Ruoxi, you know that this is only a small mistake. Something mustve gone wrong with the system, so you cant just put the blame on He Youcai. Then what should Shi Feng do? Since you already know something went wrong, does that mean Shi Feng is allowed to go in now? Zhao Ruoxi completely ignored Ling Feilong, directly asking He Youcai, In any case, you can prove that Shi Feng has indeed registered for this event. Shi Feng also has no problem proving that he is a student of our school. Dont tell me that this is still not enough? Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, I can indeed verify that Shi Feng has registered for this event. However, whether he can enter or not is not up to a Student Council President like me to decide. You have to ask this big brother security guard here. He Youcai shifted his gaze towards the security guard leader, instantly pushing all responsibility on the security guard. He Youcai then revealed a bitter smile, making the situation seem as if it had nothing to do with him. The security guards mouth clearly twitched when he listened to He Youcais words. He Youcai obviously did not help Shi Feng register for this event to begin with, yet He Youcai was pushing everything on him now? If He Youcai insisted that Shi Feng be allowed into the hotel, what could a mere security guard captain like him do? He Youcai had already made his intentions very clear. Absolutely not allowedthat was He Youcais answer. However, looking at Zhao Ruoxi, she too did not seem like someone he could provoke. Otherwise, why would He Youcai even bother making so many superficial excuses? Caught in a dilemma, this security guard captain did not know which would be the wiser choice to make. Currently, Zhao Ruoxis wrathful gaze had already shifted to the security guard captain. She asked in a grim tone, What do you say? Me? Even though he had experienced many battlefields before, the security guard captain could not help but hesitate at this moment. In the end, however, he still said strictly, I have my responsibilities. Miss, please dont make things difficult for me. You! Class Monitor, its fine. This matter cant be helped. If I cant enter, so be it. Shi Feng held back the raging Zhao Ruoxi. He then beamed a smile towards He Youcai and the others who were really good at spoiling his good fortune. It is great that fellow student Shi Feng can understand my troubles. This was truly an accident. I guarantee that there will not be a similar situation like this the next time, He Youcai sneered. Right. A situation like this wont happen the next time, Zhou Yuhu laughed loudly. Ling Feilong sent a contemptuous smile at Shi Feng, before saying in a gentle tone to Zhao Ruoxi, Ruoxi, lets go. Uncle Jianhua has been anxiously waiting for you for a while now. Why is Uncle Jianhua here? Zhao Ruoxi was clearly surprised when she heard this name. However, when she thought about how Shi Fengs problem still remained unsolved, a sudden inspiration flashed across her mind. Thats right! Uncle Jianhua is one of the sponsors for the Fellowship Party! He should be able to get you in! Shi Feng, wait here. Ill ask Uncle Jianhua to come immediately. That way, youll definitely be able to enter. Shi Feng nodded his head in reply. He then watched as Zhao Ruoxi frantically walked into the hotel. In the next instant, however, Shi Feng noticed Ling Feilong sending a cold smile his way. Shi Feng felt a bad premonition at this sight. Seeing that Zhao Ruoxi had left, He Youcai revealed a mocking smile as he said, Fellow student Shi Feng, please return from whence you came; this Fellowship Party is not fit for someone like you. He then told the security guard leader, Remember, he is not allowed to set even a foot in this building. Otherwise, you can just pack up and leave. Understood. Finished speaking, He Youcai and the others walked back into the hotel, their laughter filling the air as they left. The security guard then fixed his gaze at Shi Feng. As long as Shi Feng dared come near this building, he would personally chase him out. However, Shi Feng did not react in anger. On the contrary, he was feeling extraordinarily calm right now. _If you dont want me to go in, then so be it. In any case,_ _I dont have to actually be in the party to do what I came to do_ _._ Shi Feng turned around and left, the corner of his lips raised slightly. The Jin Hai Fellowship Party held at this time was the perfect chance for him to recruit new members for his Guild. If he were to miss it, who knew how long he would have to wait before another such chance arrived? The reason why a small Guild like Shadow could survive in Gods Domain was mainly due to the group of people they had recruited at this event. This group of people had helped Shadow endure its hardest times. Otherwise, with the little manpower Shadow possessed, there was no way they could avoid annexation by a large Guild. Although Zero Wing already had a powerhouse like Aqua Rose and also a group of elite players in its midst, a Guild could never have an excess of powerhouses and elite players. Since he was not allowed to recruit inside the event venue, it should be fine if he did it outside, right? Hence, Shi Feng visited a nearby printing shop. Soon after, he set up a large sign a short distance away from the venue of the Fellowship Party. Zero Wing Guild recruiting new members! Serious inquiries only! Although the color of the words on the sign was monochrome and looked somewhat shabby, it still clearly conveyed the meaning Shi Feng wanted. As to whether or not others would recognize the sign for what it was Shi Feng was not worried about that one little bit. After all, Zero Wings fame was not limited to just White River City, but the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. On the official forums of the Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wings popularity had long since gone off the charts. Not to mention having eight players occupying the top positions on the Ranking List, the levels of these players had even exceeded everyones imaginations. The lowest leveled player among them was Level 18. This was a level that elicited awe in others. Even when ranked throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, these eight players would still be the top eight players. Not to mention a first-rate Guild, even an apex first-rate Guild could not achieve such a feat. How could people not yearn to join such a Guild? Hence, many independent players wished they could join Zero Wing. There were even thousands of threads posted on the forums by independent players, all of them expressing their intentions to join Zero Wing. However, Zero Wing only recruited members at White River City, so not everyone could actually join the Guild. Shortly after the sign was raised, it had already started attracting attention. Little Hao, look at that sign! Its actually Zero Wing recruiting members! Zero Wing Guild? How is that possible? That Guild is very mysterious. I heard that the strength of the eight great experts of that Guild is several times more amazing than even the experts of first-rate Guilds. How could they be recruiting members at this place? If it really is Zero Wing recruiting, I will definitely be the first one to apply. The passersby who noticed this sign immediately started a discussion among themselves. After all, Zero Wing was simply too famous right now. They could only be described with words such as mysterious and strong. \--- Meanwhile, in one of the lounges on the tenth floor of the hotel was an old man dressed in luxurious clothing. Although the man was already in his fifties, he had a keenness that belied his age, his sharp gaze capable of seeing through peoples hearts. This person was none other than Zhao Jianhua. Second Uncle, why have you come here today? Zhao Ruoxi smiled sweetly at this old man after entering the room. Zhao Jianhua was the younger brother of Zhao Ruoxis father. He was also one of the board members of the Zhao Group. However, Zhao Jianhua did not have any children of his own, so he had always loved Zhao Ruoxi dearly as if she were his own daughter, treating her like the most delicate flower in the world. Of course I am here to take a look at you. Youre always staying at school recently, not bothering to even pay a visit back home, Zhao Jianhua replied with a doting smile. Second Uncle, youre one of the sponsors for this get-together, right? I have a friend who wishes to join this event as well. Could you let him in? Zhao Ruoxi said sweetly, grabbing and shaking Zhao Jianhuas arm. Are you referring to that Shi Feng? Zhao Jianhuas brows wrinkled, his expression sinking immediately. How did you know, Second Uncle? Zhao Ruoxi asked curiously. I was the one who arranged for him to be barred from entering. He is merely a mediocre person that came from an ordinary family. You shouldnt associate with such a person. You are the Zhao Groups successor, an elite standing at the very top of the pyramid of society. Others will gossip about you if they learn that you are associating with this kind of person. I am very clear about people like this Shi Feng. People like him will do whatever it takes to get ahead, and there is no limit to the amount of flattery hell spout. He does not like you at all; he simply covets the assets of the Zhao Group. I definitely wont allow him to continue tricking you. As for Shi Fengs side of things, I will speak with him personally. 251 Great Trees are Good for Shade Zhao Ruoxi was silent for a long time after receiving Zhao Jianhuas lecture. Zhao Ruoxi never would have thought that her second uncle, who had always pampered her to the extreme, would say such words to her. Moreover, he had described Shi Feng as such an ugly person. There was clearly a serious misunderstanding here; someone had definitely worked on him. Second Uncle, whom did you hear this from? Zhao Ruoxi did not immediately refute Zhao Jianhua. Instead, she wanted to find out just what was going on right now. It isnt important who told me about it. Ruoxi, in the future, you are not allowed to associate with people like Shi Feng anymore. This is also elder brothers wish. Zhao Ruoxi had already been corrupted by Shi Feng, and nothing he said would actually change her mind. Hence, he needed to take decisive measures to end their relationship once and for all. Afterwards, he would approach Shi Feng and have him completely distance himself from Zhao Ruoxi. Meanwhile, Zhao Ruoxi found herself stuck between laughter and tears. She knew that her second uncle was saying these things for her own good. However, she and Shi Feng clearly werent in the kind of relationship her second uncle thought they were in; they were merely classmates. Yet, judging from her second uncles words, it sounded as if she and Shi Fengs relationship had already reached the point where they were inseparable lovers joined together at the hip. Zhao Ruoxi couldnt help but laugh as she said, Second Uncle, since when did you start providing cover for someone? Let me guess this person must be Ling Feilong, right? Thats right. It is indeed Ling Feilong. Since Zhao Ruoxi had already guessed correctly, Zhao Jianhua did not contradict her. Instead, he straightforwardly argued, Shi Feng is only a nobody. On the other hand, I feel that this child, Feilong, is not bad. Not only does he look good, he is also ambitious and possesses great skills in fighting. Nowadays, the popularity of Gods Domain has already reached never-before-seen heights, and I hear that Feilong brat is even in the upper echelon of the Shadow Guild. He also has a very good insight towards the future. Yet, instead of choosing a youth with good potential like him, you chose to go with an incompetent person. I am sure elder brother would stand together with me on this matter as well. Second Uncle, youre really misunderstanding things here! There isnt anything between me and Shi Feng! Zhao Ruoxi was utterly at a loss for words. Rather, she felt furious about Ling Feilongs actions. However, she was inwardly rejoicing as well right now. Thanks to Shi Fengs appearance, she could finally see Ling Feilongs true colors clearly. Misunderstand? Your second uncle possesses discerning eyes, and I very much understand your situation. In any case, I will absolutely not allow that brat to enter this event. I am still capable of that, at least. Zhao Jianhua did not believe Zhao Ruoxis words. He knew how very sly Zhao Ruoxi had been since her childhood. In any case, he refused to be fooled in this matter. Zhao Jianhua was not some shrewd businessman, nor was he part of the Zhao Groups management. Instead, he was a fighter that loved martial arts. Only afterwards did he start handling the security department of the Zhao Group. The real boss of the Zhao Group was Zhao Ruoxis father, Zhao Jianxuan. Hence, Zhao Jianhua had always liked future professional fighters like Ling Feilong. After all, only a strong man could properly protect his own woman. Yet, what was Shi Feng? Zhao Jianhua had had Shi Feng investigated, and he discovered that Shi Feng was only a weakling who was constantly bullied by others. A person like Shi Feng was simply too unreliable. Hence, Zhao Jianhua was adamant at ending Zhao Ruoxis relationship with Shi Feng this time. While Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Ruoxi were having their discussion, Ling Feilong, who was outside the door, eavesdropping on their conversation, secretly felt delighted. Although he could not directly defeat Shi Feng, he could still play Shi Feng to death using a roundabout approach. In addition, he had also informed Zhao Jianxuan about this matter in advance. With both Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Jianxuan vehemently opposing their relationship, even if Shi Feng had seduced and captivated Zhao Ruoxis heart completely, the two of them could never be together. Hence, as long as he could develop himself in Shadow, becoming one of the core members of the Guild, Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Jianxuan would definitely support his pursuit of Zhao Ruoxi. After obtaining the wealth of the Zhao Group, he could easily take control of the entire Shadow Guild. At that time, what would Shi Feng amount to? What would Zhang Luowei amount to? What would Lan Hailong amount to? Youcai, youve done well this time. Ill put in a few good words for you when I meet up with Brother Zhang next time. After you graduate, just come to Shadow, Ling Feilong said with satisfaction, patting He Youcai, who stood beside him in a deferential manner. This is but a trivial matter. In the future, I will be relying on Brother Long for support, He Youcai said with a smile. Although He Youcai, as the Student Council President, was indeed an amazing character in Jin Hai University, after he graduated from the school, however, he would only amount to nothing. Nobody in society would give a damn about him. Aware of this reality, He Youcai had no choice but to agree to Ling Feilongs request to remove Shi Fengs registration for the Fellowship Party. Furthermore, Zhou Jianhua himself had even instructed him not to allow Shi Feng entry into the event. Since he could satisfy both parties with just an action, killing two birds with one stone, why wouldnt he do so? Only, neither He Youcai nor Ling Feilong knew that, at this moment, the hotels surroundings had become extremely lively. Originally, the Jin Hai Fellowship Party was a well-known event throughout Jin Hai City. Hence, many reporters and media outlets would show up to cover it. There was also no lack of onlookers hanging around the event venue. However, the outside of the event venue was much livelier compared to previous years. Instead of just a small crowd, there was a sea of people here. Young and old, tall and short, all kinds of people could be seen lining up on the streets. Some of the uninformed passersby even thought an international celebrity had showed up at this place. It made them wonder just what these people were lining up for. Little brother, whats happening in front? Why are there so many people lining up here? Huh? You dont know? The Zero Wing Guild is recruiting members. Zero Wing Guild? Whats that? Of course it is Star-Moon Kingdoms most amazing and mysterious Guild! Whats Star-Moon Kingdom? Crap! Have you even played Gods Domain before? You dont even know that? Which hole did you crawl out from? The passersby mostly consisted of office workers, and they usually worked from 9am to 5pm. Their lives were mostly taken up by their work, so how would they find the time to play a game? Naturally, they would not know anything about Gods Domain. However, when these office workers looked at the hundreds of people lining up, many of them started feeling confused about the game called Gods Domain. They wondered just what sort of game Gods Domain was, to actually have such a strong influence on so many people. It was simply a Guild from a game recruiting members. Yet, there were actually several hundred people applying to join. Moreover, the numbers were still increasing without end. In a short moment, the number of people applying might even break through to the thousands. However, the most unfathomable thing was that even the reporters from television stations were running over to carry out a live broadcast on this situation. Just what sort of situation was this? Isnt it just membership recruitment for a Guild in a game? You cant even earn a cent from playing a game, so whats the point of wasting so much time lining up? What foolish people, one of the passersby who was a white-collared elite mockingly laughed. The instant this white-collar elite said those words, many of the people lining up immediately turned contemptuous gazes at him, as if they were looking at an idiot. What an idiot. He doesnt even know what membership recruitment by a Guild in Gods Domain means. No doubt hell be in the rat race all his life. What are you minding him for? How would he know that when a Guild is recruiting members in reality, they are also recruiting professional players for the Guilds gaming workshop. A white-collar elite like him would be earning four to five thousand Credits a month. He would naturally look down on us part-timers who can only make two to three thousand Credits a month. What are you saying? Thats the salary for an outer member of a Guild. If we become official members, then well have a minimum salary of 5,000 a month. Meanwhile, elite members could get at least 10,000. Zero Wing is also recruiting quite a lot of members this time. Theyre recruiting 300 outer members, 100 official members, and 20 elite members. With so many available spots, we might even get a chance to join Zero Wing. I guess youre right. I also hear that core members get a base salary of 50,000 Credits. I wonder just how much the eight great experts of Zero Wing are earning each month. I hear that their salaries are over 10 million. Previously, there had been a financial corporation that offered them an astronomical amount of 8 million, yet, none of the eight experts had even reacted to it. Zero Wings wealth is simply unimaginable. The players lining up started a discussion among themselves. However, the white-collar elite was no longer as calm as he was before. After all, he had only managed to obtain a monthly salary of 5,000 Credits after attending countless interviews and working for his current company for three years. Yet, he was barely comparable to an official member of a gaming guild. Moreover, these gamers were only working part-time during the night. Suddenly, this office-worker had the urge to join the queue as well. While Shi Feng was interviewing player after player on the street, his actions had also attracted the attention of the guests participating in the Fellowship Party. It was especially true for the large-scale Workshops in Jin Hai City. Some of the professional fighters that planned to start their career in Gods Domain also grew interested by this sight. Hahaha! Zero Wing has actually showed up at this place! Attending this Fellowship Party this time wasnt a waste of my time at all! Zero Wing Guild? Lets hurry up and meet up with that person! This is a great chance for our Workshop! Who knows how many people and financial corporations are trying but failing to meet someone in the upper echelons of the Guild. We are truly fortunate to be able to meet one at this event. 252 I am a Coward On the highest floor, the 36th floor, of the Golden Bridge Hotel, the Jin Hai Fellowship Party had officially started. Most of the participants present at this event were well-known figures from various sectors of Jin Hai City. On the contrary, only a minority consisted of students who were about to graduate from Jin Hai University. The Jin Hai Fellowship Party held this year was the grandest one yet, and the number of people invited this year was also the highest compared to past occasions. As a result, the soon-to-be graduates of Jin Hai University were provided with more career prospects. This was especially true for players of Gods Domain. Many people from all walks of life had an optimistic view on Gods Domains future, because aside from allowing its players to experience battles and adventures, Gods Domain also allowed players to enjoy various lifestyles and forms of entertainment. The array of activities one could experience in Gods Domain was much more abundant than in the real world, and this aspect of the game allowed many corporations in the real world to integrate and develop themselves in the game. Currently, there was an energetic old man in his sixties, who wore a white tunic, sitting at a corner of the event venue. Meanwhile, surrounding the old man were some of the most influential and powerful figures of Jin Hai City. Zhao Ruoxis second uncle, Zhao Jianhua, was seated among these powerful personages as well. Are they not here yet? the old man in the white tunic suddenly asked He Youcai who stood beside him. Theyve already arrived, but He Youcais expression faltered as he hesitated on his words. The elderly man before him was both the Headmaster and Chairman of Jin Hai University, Xu Wenqing, and he was a very influential man in Jin Hai City. The reason being, under Xu Wenqings tutelage, many students had graduated from Jin Hai University with outstanding achievements, and such a contribution made Xu Wenqing a well-known and well-respected character in the various sectors of Jin Hai City. Xu Wenqings influence was so great that he could easily send Jin Hai City into an uproar with his words alone. Speak, Xu Wenqing suddenly said in a cold voice. Theyre outside right now He Youcai answered feebly, the sudden pressure making the knees of an inexperienced youth like him go weak. Since theyre already outside, why arent they coming in? Xu Wenqing questioned, Dont tell me they want this decrepit old man to invite them in? Who do they think they are? They actually want Elder Xu to invite them in? Do they think that, just because theyre good at playing a game, they can disregard us? Zhao Jianhua angrily said. You few, go take a look at the situation and call them up. Tell them that I said so. Xu Wenqing felt that something was amiss after light contemplation. Aside from the professional players from gaming workshops, quite a few well-known figures from fighting competitions were still absent from the event as well. Yes. Receiving the command, Xu Wenqings bodyguards, who stood by his side, immediately took the elevator down the hotel. These bodyguards wore black suits and black sunglasses, and all of them had tall and robust bodies. I dont understand what is going through these peoples minds. Whats the point of staying downstairs instead of coming up? Has something happened downstairs? Zhao Jianhua felt furious at the absentees, and his view of professional gamers lowered even further now. In his opinion, no matter how good a gamer was, they were, in the end, still gamers. Without corporations supporting and financing them, they would only remain as small fries in society. I, too, am curious. Just what sort of mentality do young people have nowadays? Maybe we old folks are no longer able to keep up with the changing times? said a middle-aged man dressed in black martial artist clothing with a self-deprecating laugh. As if he was a great ocean, the man gave others a calm and gentle feeling, and one would not be able to find a hint of energetic spirit coming off this man. However, nobody present in the room would dare look down on this middle-aged man. The reason being, this man was Jin Hai Citys well-known martial arts master, Chen Wu. Several years ago, Chen Wu was the reigning champion of Jin Hai Citys fighting competition. He was the uncontested number one back then. However, now that he was older, he no longer participated in any fighting competitions. Instead, he had started his own dojo in Jin Hai City, which was very well-received. Master Chen Wu must be joking. Young people nowadays just dont know the immensity of heaven and earth. It is only a virtual reality game. With Master Chen Wus skills, if you entered that game called Gods Domain, you can easily become one of the apex experts there, Zhao Jianhua said. The real world and the virtual world are different things entirely. Moreover, times have changed. The future belongs to the younger folk now. Chen Wu shook his head. As a martial arts practitioner, he was very sensitive towards matters that occurred around him. He could clearly feel the change of an era approaching quickly. It was especially true with the appearance of Gods Domain. Ignoring the fact that corporations all over the world were already investing in Gods Domain one after another, just the number of players the game had already surpassed ones imagination. Anybody could easily tell how huge a potential Gods Domain had. Moreover, there had to be yet another secret being kept hidden about Gods Domain. Although Chen Wu did not know what exactly this secret was, he did know that it was a secret capable of attracting the countless corporations around the world to scramble madly over. The virtual reality game known as Gods Domain was definitely not as simple as it appeared to be. Meanwhile, although the various major corporations in Jin Hai City had similarly invested in Gods Domain, they were simply like stray cats that smelled the scent of fish. They had no idea at all what sort of secrets Gods Domain possessed. After Chen Wu and Zhao Jianhua chatted for a bit, Xu Wenqing received a call from one of his bodyguards. Elder Xu, the people down here say that they have an important matter they need to do right now. They will need some time before they can go up. Important matter? What could be more important than the Fellowship Party this time? Dont they want the sponsorship and support from other corporations anymore? Xu Wenqings tone turned grim. Although he did not show it on his face, many who knew Xu Wenqings temper immediately realized he was angry. It seems that they are trying to meet with one of Zero Wing Guilds upper management. However, there are too many people lining up right now, so it will be some time before they are done. Zero Wing Guild? Is it a Guild from Gods Domain? Xu Wenqing asked, curious. Wasnt it just a gaming guild? Was there a need for so many famous gaming workshops to try to suck up to it? Could this Zero Wing Guild be a very powerful existence within Gods Domain? Although Xu Wenqing did not play virtual reality games himself, he was still familiar with the well-known Guilds within the virtual reality world. Even so, Zero Wing was not among the famous Guilds he knew of. They say that Zero Wing is an extremely famous Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. In certain aspects, Zero Wing is even superior to first-rate Guilds. Many corporations are also wishing to meet the upper management of Zero Wing. However, due to Zero Wing being overly mysterious, nobody has ever found a chance to make contact, so none of them want to miss this chance right now. Putting it in such a way, this means that Zero Wing Guild isnt an existence that can be ignored. Xu Wenqing grew interested in this Zero Wing Guild, especially since such a Guild had appeared in a city like Jin Hai City. To think that such an amazing Guild has appeared in our Jin Hai City without this old man knowing. Since it is so, invite this representative of Zero Wing Guild to come up and have a chat. This old man wishes to see just what kind of person this representative is. Moreover, it would not be a good thing to have so many participants of the Fellowship Party staying downstairs instead of being present at the actual event. He might as well have the representative of Zero Wing come up. That way, the guests from other gaming workshops could also participate in the Fellowship Party. Everyone was shocked when they heard Xu Wenqing actually inviting an unknown guild representative to the Fellowship Party. \--- Meanwhile, outside the Golden Bridge Hotel, Xu Wenqings bodyguards had already met up with Shi Feng. They then relayed their employers intentions to Shi Feng, inviting him upstairs. However, to these bodyguards surprise, Shi Feng immediately rejected the invitation. Mister Shi Feng, Elder Xu is wholeheartedly inviting you to join him upstairs. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed, the leader of the bodyguards patiently persuaded Shi Feng. I understand. However, I am still not done with the recruitment here. Also, even if I do agree, youll have to ask the people lining up here if theyll agree to let me go. Shi Feng smiled as he pointed at the long line in front of him consisting of over a thousand people. He then continued, Moreover, even if I am willing to go with you, someone inside will also chase me out again. I am a coward. That person has threatened me and said that I am not allowed to set even a foot in the hotel. I still have many people I need to interview, so please stop making things difficult for me. Xu Wenqings bodyguards were immediately rendered speechless. Wasnt this just blatant disregard of them? However, they had no choice but to report this matter back to Xu Wenqing. \--- What? Someone is threatening him from entering? Xu Wenqing couldnt help but laugh when he heard these words. He then said, Then, tell him that, as long as this old man is here, I guarantee that nothing will happen to him in this Fellowship Party, and nobody will dare chase him out. However, he still says that he doesnt dare enter. He doesnt wish to be chased out for a second time, the bodyguard said helplessly. Chased out for a second time? Does that mean he was originally a guest of this Fellowship Party? Yes. Xu Wenqing was stunned. However, anger immediately shot to his head when he finally reacted. Someone had actually dared to chase out a guest that he invited! Wasnt this just giving him a slap across his old face? Who? Who dares chase away a guest I invited? At this moment, Xu Wenqings voice turned extremely chilling. Although he was not a martial artist himself, the pressure he emitted caused many of those present to become fearful. The bodyguard trembled as he slowly said, He Youcai. 253 Five Demon Generals Good! Very good! Although Xu Wenqing was smiling, the tone he spoke with was as chilling as the winter cold. At this moment, even an idiot could tell that Xu Wenqing was furious. Due to the conversation being held over the phone, nobody but Xu Wenqing himself could hear what his bodyguard had said. However, based on the words Xu Wenqing had spoken, the people around him knew that someone had done something to badly anger Xu Wenqing. Where a matter such as chasing away an invited guest was concerned, neither Chen Wu nor Zhao Jianhua had such courage to do so, as doing so was equivalent to giving Xu Wenqing a slap across his face. Everyone valued their prestige. Since this person had dared give Xu Wenqing a slap, then this person shouldnt expect Xu Wenqing to welcome it with a smile. At this moment, Zhao Jianhua, Chen Wu, and everyone else started feeling pity for the person that angered Xu Wenqing. This was practically bearding the lion in its den[1], a truly suicidal action. However, they were also very curious about the person that dared to chase away an invited guest. They wanted to know just who this daring person was. He Youcai, come over here. Xu Wenqing looked at He Youcai, who was cluelessly standing at one side. Confused, He Youcai thought Xu Wenqing had some orders for him to carry out, failing to notice that Xu Wenqings chilling intent was directed at him. Go downstairs and invite that person up here. If he isnt willing to come up, then you dont have to come back, either, Xu Wenqing said coldly. Headmaster, this He Youcai was utterly confused about the meaning of Xu Wenqings words. Youll naturally understand after you go downstairs. Xu Wenqing sent a glance at the bodyguard beside him. The bodyguard intuitively understood Xu Wenqings intentions, and he immediately grabbed He Youcai and dragged him towards the elevator. Headmaster Xu, there must be a misunderstanding somewhere! I really didnt do something like that! He Youcai shouted in a panic, the fat on his body jiggling. Even if he was given a hundred lives, he would never dare kick out an invited guest. He was merely a student of Jin Hai University, and nobody among the invited guests was someone he could afford to offend. If he had to name someone that he had really driven away, then the only person that came to mind would be Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng was simply a student that was not worth mentioning. He was not an invited guest at all. No matter how He Youcai looked at this situation, Shi Feng would not be related to it in any way. This brat sure has guts, Zhao Jianhua said in an ambiguous tone. It was unknown whether he was actually praising He Youcai, or disparaging him. However, everyone else was in full agreement with Zhao Jianhuas words. The bystanders could clearly tell that this incident was caused by He Youcai. This incident had truly given them a shock. He Youcai was merely a Student Council Presidentan insignificant existenceyet he had actually dared to recklessly abuse the little power he was given. If He Youcai did not deal with this matter perfectly, then his best option to save himself was to pack up and leave Jin Hai City. Otherwise, only a tragic end awaited him. \--- Meanwhile, Zero Wings recruitment location had already become the most eye-catching sight on this street. Before he knew it, Shi Feng had recruited many new people for his Guild. Some well-known Workshops in Jin Hai City were even included among them. The members of these Workshops were all relatively skilled. However, since they didnt have a top-tier expert leading them, they had a difficult time obtaining good equipment in Gods Domain. The reason being, a majority of the high-quality equipment could only be obtained from a Dungeon, while a minority came from Field Bosses. However, to a Guildless Workshop, Field Bosses were simply an unattainable dream. This situation resulted in the Workshops having a hard time making money in Gods Domain. Hence, many of these Workshops wished to join a Guild, a powerful Guild, in particular. If they had a top-tier expert guiding them, Dungeon diving would become a much easier endeavor. Moreover, compared to groping in the dark by themselves, they could improve themselves with much greater efficiency by learning techniques from the said expert. Meanwhile, the Zero Wing Guild was undeniably the best option available in Jin Hai City for these Guildless Workshops. Currently, none of the Guilds in Jin Hai City had officially become a rated Guild. In the past, if Shadow had not spent a humongous sum of money to annex a large number of Workshops and recruited some new members with great potential, it would have had no way to quickly become a third-rate Guild. In such a situation, Shadow would have also fallen in the competition over White River City, as this was the brutality of Gods Domain. _The Five Demon Generals have yet to show up even now. Could they be uninterested in joining Zero Wing?_ Shi Feng had already interviewed several hundreds of people. However, not a single one of the Five Demon Generals were actually among those hundreds of people. In the past, the Five Demon Generals were the most powerful experts in Shadow. If their growth had not been limited by Shadow, they might have been promoted to a Tier 4 class or above. These five people also played an indispensable role in aiding Shadow in obtaining the ten City States. One could even say that Shi Fengs main goal in attending this Fellowship Party was to recruit these five people. _Dont tell me theyre afraid of taking the interview?_ Shi Feng felt that there was a very high possibilityof such a thing happening. After all, the current Five Demon Generals were obscure existences right now, nobodies in Gods Domain. If they concluded that they would not be accepted into Zero Wing, they would naturally avoid taking the interview altogether, saving themselves the humiliation when they got rejected. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt troubled. It was very possible for these five people to be inside the Fellowship Party right now. Yet, he had no way of entering the actual event venue. So, how should he go about recruiting those five? Just as Shi Feng was feeling distressed over this matter, He Youcai came walking over. Why is it you? He Youcai was immediately dumbfounded when he discovered the person he had been sent to invite actually turned out to be Shi Feng. In He Youcais opinion, Shi Feng was simply an ordinary student. His and Xu Wenqings statuses were worlds apart from each other, and it was impossible for Xu Wenqing to actually send a personal invitation to Shi Feng. Yet, the impossible had actually happened now Meanwhile, Shi Feng couldnt help but shift his gaze to He Youcai. Suddenly, he asked with a smile, President He, what brings you here? Dont tell me you wish to chase me away from this street as well? This is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Fellow student Shi Feng, how could I possibly dare to chase you away? All of this is simply a misunderstanding! Previously, due to an error to the system, your information was not properly registered. However, everything is fine now. Fellow student Shi Feng, you can now participate in the Fellowship Party as well! He Youcai said with a fawning smile. President He, I am a very cowardly person. Previously, you yourself, President He, had said that, as long as I dare set even a single foot in the hotel, you would immediately chase me out. I truly do not dare provoke a personage such as you. I also feel quite comfortable staying here. If you dont have any other matters, then, please return to your event. I am still very busy right now. Shi Feng smiled, shifting his attention away from He Youcai. Hearing Shi Fengs words, He Youcais face instantly paled. Even an idiot could make out the meaning behind Shi Fengs words. _You chased me away without any hesitation before. Yet, now, you wish to invite me back? Do you think its possible that I will agree?_ He Youcai really wished to say its possible. He Youcai was merely a Student Council President. Now that Xu Wenqing had already spoken, if He Youcai did not deal with this matter properly, his future would be over. Moreover, with Xu Wenqings horrific reach, He Youcai did not even dare to think about having a future. Noticing Xu Wenqings bodyguard coldly looking at him, He Youcais body shuddered with fear. Immediately, he did something that shocked even Shi Feng himself. He Youcai immediately knelt before Shi Feng, hugging Shi Fengs thigh as he cried like a little girl, saying, Fellow student Shi Feng No! Brother Feng! I was the one in the wrong! I have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Taishan[2]! I am deserving of death! How could I have been so blind to actually listen to the words of that bastard, Ling Feilong! Brother Feng, I apologize to you! Please! If it can help cool your temper, please beat me up as much as you wish! As long as Brother Feng is willing to go upstairs with me! Shi Feng wasnt the only one shocked by He Youcais actions. Even the bystanders were dumbfounded by this scene. Did he really think he was invincible just because he was shameless?! TL Notes: [1] bearding the lion in its den: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/beard-the-lion [2] have eyes but failed to recognize Mount Taishan: to fail to recognize sb important or sb''s great talent Some of you may know that this idiom should actually be "have eyes but failed to recognize Taishan," but I''m going to go with the version that can be found on Baidu (Chinese version of Google) basically because it''s the commonly accepted translation of the idiom (many people do know that it''s incorrect, fyi). At this point in time, using the idiom without the word ''Mount'' in it just sounds weird, at least to me it does... Baidu link: https://baike.google.com/item/%E6%9C%89%E7%9C%BC%E4%B8%8D%E8%AF%86%E6%B3%B0%E5%B1%B1/5594126 254 The Young Will Surpass the Old As expected, it was Ling Feilong plotting behind the scenes. In truth, Shi Feng did not pay any attention to an insignificant character like He Youcai. He only wished to find out who was trying to make trouble for him. Since he was able to ascertain that it was indeed Ling Feilong playing tricks on him, he no longer had any use for He Youcai. Alright, save your crocodile tears. Ill go up with you. However, my requirement is for you to clearly repeat the words you just said to Headmaster Xu. Otherwise, pray for your own future, Shi Feng said calmly as he kicked He Youcai away. How could you do this to me? Instantly, He Youcai recovered his previous smiling appearance, making it look as if none of the embarrassing scene from before had actually happened. However, there was a hint of hatred hidden beneath his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. He Youcai had already embarrassed Xu Wenqing. If he told Xu Wenqing of this matter, then he would be adding Ling Feilong to the list of people he had offended. Moreover, Ling Feilong was supported by Zhao Jianhua, who was an even more frightening existence. Even if Xu Wenqing were to forgive him, Ling Feilong and Zhao Jianhua would definitely not let him off. A wolf in front, and a tiger behindeven if he did not lose his life, his future would be ruined. Shi Feng was simply too cruel for wanting him to do such a thing! Why cant I do such a thing? I am only asking you to tell the truth. Now, tell me, what is your decision? Shi Feng smiled calmly, completely ignoring the poisonous glare He Youcai was sending him. What comes around, goes around. After some contemplation, He Youcai took a few deep breaths before coming to a decision. He then shifted his eyes towards Shi Feng, a malicious glint in his eyes as he said, I can agree to your demands; however, you must allow me to join Zero Wing. It seems that you still arent clear about your current situation. You wish to discuss conditions with me? Then let me tell you, you only have two options right now. You either speak or dont. In my personal opinion, its best that you speak the truth. At the very least, you will earn the pardon of Headmaster Xu. Shi Feng then raised his brows, stating, My patience is limited. I will give you three seconds to consider. Alright! Ill speak! He Youcai quickly made his choice. Compared to Ling Feilong and Zhao Jianhua, he was even more afraid of Xu Wenqing. After all, Xu Wenqings influence was simply too extensive. Soon after, Shi Feng followed He Youcai and Xu Wenqings bodyguard into the hotel and took the elevator up to the 36th floor. Shi Fengs arrival at the event venue immediately attracted a majority of the participants attention. Due to Xu Wenqings rage, many of the guests present had already found out about the incident concerning Shi Feng. They were very curious to see just what sort of person warranted a personal invitation from Xu Wenqing himself. Under the bodyguards lead, Shi Feng and He Youcai arrived before Xu Wenqing. When an ordinary youth in black sportswear appeared before them, everyone couldnt help but widen their eyes. They started attentively evaluating Shi Feng, intent on discerning the secrets hidden behind Shi Fengs ordinary appearance. To their disappointment, however, be it Shi Fengs attire or aura, both were similarly plain and ordinary. Shi Feng? Why are you here? Ling Feilong couldnt help but grow astonished. Originally, he had intended to use this Fellowship Party to form a deeper connection with Zhao Jianhua. However, he never imagined that Shi Feng could actually make it into the event. The current situation went far beyond his expectations. Everything has an exception to it, isnt that so? Shi Feng replied with a smile. Shi Feng, its great that you made it! Originally, I planned to go down and look for you, but it seems that wont be necessary now! Zhao Ruoxi said excitedly when she saw the new arrival was Shi Feng. Were it not for Zhao Jianhua holding her back, preventing her from leaving, she would have long since left this boring Fellowship Party. Sitting beside Zhao Ruoxi, Zhao Jianhua immediately turned grim when he heard Zhao Ruoxis words. Previously, Zhao Ruoxi had pestered him endlessly for him to let Shi Feng come up, angering him greatly. Never would Zhao Jianhua have thought that, not only did this commoner not give up, he had actually entered the event venue now. _Did_ _nt I_ _tell_ _the ones below not to let him in? How did he manage to get in?_ Zhao Jianhuas mind was filled with questions; he failed to realize that Shi Feng was none other than the Zero Wing representative that Xu Wenqing had invited. Young man, come over here and take a seat. This old man is called Xu Wenqing, the current Headmaster of Jin Hai University. Xu Wenqing slowly stood up and formally introduced himself. Shi Feng, a fourth year student of Jin Hai University, Shi Feng replied softly. You are a student of our school? Indeed, the young will surpass the old. So young, yet youve already entered the middle management of the Zero Wing Guild, Xu Wenqing said, slightly surprised. He did not believe Shi Feng had a very high position in the Zero Wing Guild. However, normally, only those in middle management or higher had the right to recruit members. Shi Feng had yet to graduate from university, yet he had already managed to become a middle manager of a mysterious Guild. In the eyes of commoners, this could be considered a great achievement. At the very least, Shi Feng was much more successful than most of the students present at the Fellowship Party today. Xu Wenqings amiable bearing and praise towards Shi Feng slightly surprised Chen Wu and Zhao Jianhua, who sat close to Xu Wenqing. They never thought Xu Wenqing would praise a younger generation like so, a plain and ordinary youth like Shi Feng, no less. For a second, they even thought that their ears were playing tricks on them. Even when faced with Zhang Luowei, the person with the brightest future in Jin Hai University, Xu Wenqing had simply said the words not bad Although they were shocked by the fact that a person like Shi Feng was a middle manager of a Guild, an achievement like this did not warrant such praise from Xu Wenqing himself. After all, Xu Wenqing was a very influential character in Jin Hai City. However, Xu Wenqing held an optimistic view on Shi Fengs future. Shi Fengs temperament, which was as calm as the great ocean, especially solidified this opinion of his. This was not something a youth like him should have, or to put it bluntly, it should be impossible for a youth like Shi Feng to possess such a temperament. If not for the fact that Xu Wenqing had met with countless people, and had seen all sorts of people throughout his life, he too would not have discovered this particular trait of Shi Fengs. Being capable of entering the middle management of such a powerful Guild clearly showcased Shi Fengs ability. Before long, Shi Feng would definitely enter the upper management of the Guild, hence why Xu Wenqing was being so courteous with Shi Feng. Headmaster must be joking. Shi Feng laughed. After Xu Wenqing exchanged a few words with Shi Feng, Xu Wenqing shifted his gaze once more to He Youcai, who was currently trembling where he stood. Xu Wenqing demanded coldly, Speak. What happened? Although Xu Wenqings voice was soft, it was filled with oppressiveness. Frightened, He Youcai no longer dared hide anything from him. Ling Feilong was the one that told me to do everything! He said he did not wish to see Shi Feng entangled with fellow student Zhao Ruoxi! Hence, under his coercion, I did not register Shi Feng for the Fellowship Party. He Youcai immediately pointed towards Ling Feilong, denouncing him. At this moment, he no longer cared about the consequences of his words. Immediately, everyones attention shifted to Ling Feilong. Ling Feilong instantly felt a huge pressure bearing down on him. At this moment, Ling Feilong felt utterly powerless, his breathing faltering. He was at a complete loss for words right now; anything he said would easily offend others. He also never imagined that Shi Feng would have Zero Wing Guild as his backing. Since you have nothing to say for yourself, then please leave this place. The Jin Hai Fellowship Party does not welcome you, Xu Wenqing said abruptly in a deep tone, the rage contained within his words clear for all to hear. Looking at Ling Feilongs expression, it was obvious what He Youcai had said was the truth. Following which, two robust bodyguards walked towards Ling Feilong, clearly intending to send Ling Feilong on his way. Elder Xu, please wait a moment, Zhao Jianhua suddenly spoke up. Meanwhile, standing beside Zhao Jianhua were two of Shadows major shareholders, Lan Hailong and Zhang Luowei. 255 There is Only One Protagonis Zhao Jianhuas deep voice suddenly caused the splendorous and lively venue to go silent. Everyone present knew that, once Xu Wenqing made a decision, nobody was allowed to interfere with it. However, Zhao Jianhua actually stepped in and tried to interrupt Xu Wenqing. Suddenly, the atmosphere within the event hall turned extraordinarily intense, like a minefield where a single misstep could trigger a massive explosion. In reply to Zhao Jianhuas interruption, Xu Wenqing did not speak any words. Instead, he merely stretched out his hand, halting the two bodyguards from dragging Ling Feilong away. He then returned his focus to Zhao Jianhua, his eyes carrying a questioning look. He wanted to know just what sort of reason Zhao Jianhua had for going against his decision. Zhao Jianhua was one of the main sponsors for the Jin Hai Fellowship Party. He was also one of the directors of the Zhao Group, a major corporation in Jin Hai City. Hence, Xu Wenqing could not simply ignore Zhao Jianhuas opinion. Elder Xu, I am the one who allowed Ling Feilong to prevent Shi Feng from entering this place. Moreover, I feel that I did not make any mistake in this decision. Please dont make things difficult for Feilong. Zhao Jianhua then added with a laugh, As for the reason why I didnt allow Shi Feng to enter, it was simply because I did not want him to continue associating with Ruoxi. Please understand my decision, Elder Xu. Second Uncle, Ive already said that our relationship isnt what you imagined it to be! Zhao Ruoxi argued immediately, her crescent brows slightly wrinkled. Listening to the niece and uncle pair bickering with each other, Xu Wenqing, with his many years of experience, instantly figured out the crux of the matter. Suddenly, he laughed and said, It is indeed good to be young. Since it is a matter between young people, then I will not intervene. Ling Feilong immediately let out a sigh of relief when he heard Xu Wenqings words. If he were truly chased out of the Fellowship Party, then his reputation would be in tatters. Fortunately, he had Zhao Jianhua on his side. Ling Feilong gave Shi Feng a look that seemed to say So what if you received praise from Elder Xu? Arent I still completely fine right now? Shi Feng merely shrugged at Ling Feilongs provocation, paying him no mind at all. Right now, his sole goal for coming upstairs was to look for the Five Demon Generals. Ling Feilong could do whatever he wanted for all Shi Feng cared. However, if Ling Feilong dared to actively seek trouble with him again, then he couldnt be blamed for responding in kind. At this moment, the elegant and handsome-looking Lan Hailong sent a glance at Zhang Luowei, who currently stood beside him. Fellow student Shi Feng, please wait a moment. Zhang Luowei stepped forward, hurrying to Shi Feng as he shouted, I have been looking forward to meeting with Zero Wing for a long time now. I never would have thought I would get the chance to do so at this Fellowship Party. I hear that Zero Wing has plenty of experts, and each and every one of them has extraordinary skills. Fellow student Shi Feng, as a middle manager of Zero Wing, I believe that you must definitely be skilled. Hence, I wish to seek some pointers from you. We can also take it as an entertainment for this Fellowship Party. I wonder, what is fellow student Shi Fengs opinion on this matter? Hearing Zhang Luoweis suggestion, glints flashed through Xu Wenqings, Zhao Jianhuas, Chen Wus, and everyone elses eyes. They felt that it was a good suggestion. However, they still chose to remain silent as this was a matter for the younger generation; it wouldnt be good for old folks like them to intervene. Among those who showed interest in Zhang Luoweis suggestion, Zhao Jianhua was the most eager for it to take place. Zhao Jianhua knew very well how amazing Zhang Luowei was. After all, even a martial arts master like Chen Wu looked favorably upon Zhang Luowei. Within a few years, Zhang Luowei would definitely become the fighting champion of Jin Hai City. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng embarrassed himself in front of Ruoxi right now, at the very minimum, he could make Zhao Ruoxi understand how ordinary Shi Feng actually was. Once she knew that they were people of two different worlds, she might even decide to give up on her relationship with Shi Feng. Is this going to be a martial arts competition?! Excellent! To think that Ill get the chance to witness Jin Hai Universitys champion fighter exchanging moves with an expert from Zero Wing; the money I paid to join this Fellowship Party is totally worth it! Anticipation started filling the eyes of everyone present within the event venue. Hahaha! Fellow student Shi Feng, see how everyone is looking forward to an exchange between you and Luowei! It wouldnt be good to disappoint everyone, right? You can rest assured, though, since this is only an exchange of pointers, we wont go too far in this competition. We are only doing this to liven things up at this party, Lan Hailong chimed in with a laugh. He continued, I am also a board member of Shadow, and in regard to a Guild as powerful as Zero Wing, I had always wanted to learn a thing or two from you all. I wish to take a look at the gap between us so that I can turn Shadow into a Guild that would not lose out to Zero Wing. I hope fellow student Shi Feng will not refuse this competition. The shrewd Lan Hailong was very good with his words. He had made the simple competition between Zhang Luowei and Shi Feng sound as if it were a competition between Shadow and Zero Wing. Lan Hailong was clearly intending to use Zero Wing to raise Shadows status. Originally, the protagonist for the Fellowship Party should have been Shadow Guild. However, that role had been hijacked by Shi Feng midway, and now, Zero Wing had become the protagonist of the event. Moreover, Shi Feng had also managed to recruit plenty of new members with good potential. Lan Hailong and Zhang Luowei naturally couldnt stomach such a scene occurring right before their eyes. Hence, they thought of using Shi Feng as a stepping stone. That way, Shadows fame at this event would instantly surpass Zero Wing. Moreover, Lan Hailongs plans werent limited to just this one point. He also intended to publicize Shi Fengs loss, allowing everyone, both inside and outside of Gods Domain, to know that an expert from Zero Wing had lost badly to a player from Shadow. At that time, Shadows reputation would not lose out to Zero Wing by one little bit. As for Shi Feng himself, he would definitely be expelled from Zero Wing after turning the Guild into a laughing stock. This could be considered Lan Hailongs revenge on Shi Feng for stealing Shadows limelight at this event. Also, now that the event had become so lively, with so many people cheering and calling out Shi Fengs name, Shi Feng would not have an easy time declining the competition request. How could you say such a thing? Zhao Ruoxi asked, dissatisfaction in her tone. Shi Feng is a gaming expert, not some fighting expert. What point would there be for the two of them to have a match with each other? Immediately, many people among the audience came to a realization. Although Shi Feng was amazing inside a game, that did not mean he would be equally amazing at fighting in real life. Even if Zhang Luowei defeated him, that did not prove that Zhang Luowei was strong inside the game. Fellow student Zhao Ruoxi, you must be joking. Gods Domain is a virtual reality game, and every aspect of the game is extremely realistic; I believe that anyone who has experienced combat in Gods Domain would know this. Although being good at fighting in real life does not necessarily make someone good at the game, the same cannot be said for the opposite. If one is good at the game, then it shows that they are equally skilled at fighting in real life. In fact, I know just how amazing fellow student Shi Feng is. After all, he was able to defeat Zhou Yuhu, the student who placed third in Jin Hai Universitys fighting competition. With such strength, it would be a pity for the two of them to not compete against each other. Lan Hailong smiled calmly. Contrary to his words, he had absolute confidence in Zhang Luowei obtaining victory. As for Shi Feng, although he was relatively powerful himself, he was definitely not a match for Zhang Luowei. The reason being, Zhang Luowei had already reached the standards of a professional. He was on an entirely different level when compared to Zhou Yuhu. What?! That Zhou Yuhu was actually defeated by Shi Feng? No wonder he managed to become a middle manager of Zero Wing. As expected, Zero Wing is powerful! Many of those present in the event hall was shocked by this revelation, their anticipation towards the competition between Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei growing even more intense. It seems that I really cant underestimate young people. To think that he would choose to keep himself hidden despite possessing such skills. It is truly rare for a youngster like him to have such a humble heart, Xu Wenqing commented, his evaluation of Shi Feng rising even higher now. With such a temperament, his future achievements would definitely be extraordinary. Chief Zhao, dont you think your requirements are a little too high? You should just let the younger folk handle themselves; it wouldnt be right for us older generations to constantly stick a hand into their matters. It cant be true, right? He managed to defeat Zhou Yuhu with a small body like that? Zhao Jianhua looked at Shi Feng suspiciously. He had a good grasp on the standards of the fighting competition held in Jin Hai University. It was also the reason why he admired Ling Feilongs achievement of obtaining ninth place in the competition. Alright, then. Since everyone is looking forward to it so much, how could I bear to refuse? Shi Feng laughed. Lan Hailong was still as good with words as he had been in the past. Shi Feng had a very clear understanding of Lan Hailong. Lan Hailong was also the cause for his decade of hard work going to waste. Shi Feng remembered this point very clearly. Originally, Shi Feng had not intended to seek trouble with Lan Hailong in this life. After all, those matters had all occurred in his previous life. Hence, Shi Feng decided that, as long as Lan Hailong did not provoke him in this life, he couldnt care less what Lan Hailong did. Yet, Lan Hailong just had to come looking for trouble. Since it was so, Shi Feng would not remain courteous with Lan Hailong. It was also a good chance for him to rid himself of past grudges. 256 Demon The brat actually agreed. It seems he still has some courage to him. Zhao Jianhuas opinion of Shi Feng changed slightly. Zhang Luowei was reputed to be a genius at fighting, and his mastery of Luohan Quan[1] was very high. Many professional fighters were not even his match. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was only a gamer. Although his achievement of defeating Zhou Yuhu was indeed praiseworthy, when compared to Zhang Luowei, they were still on entirely different levels. Standing beside Zhao Jianhua, Zhao Ruoxi grew panicked. _Why is this Shi Feng acting so foolishly?_ Zhao Ruoxi was inwardly speechless at Shi Fengs decision. _Lan Hailong merely flattered him a little, yet hes already acting so cocky. Doesnt he know that Zhang Luowei is a real martial arts expert?_ Meanwhile, Ling Feilong stood at a distance, sneering at Shi Feng. He had personally witnessed Shi Fengs fight with Zhou Yuhu, so he knew Shi Feng was pretty skilled as well. However, he still had a long way to go before he was Zhang Luoweis match. Moreover, Zhou Yuhu had taken Shi Feng lightly the last time, resulting in him being caught off guard and losing to Shi Feng in one strike. If Zhou Yuhu had paid more attention to the fight, the final result definitely wouldnt have been so decisive. Currently, Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei were no longer fighting as individuals. Instead, they were representing their respective Guilds in a competition. As long as Zhang Luowei defeated Shi Feng, in addition to Lan Hailong wantonly spreading the news about it, Shi Feng would definitely bring great shame to Zero Wing. This was also the part Lan Hailong was brilliant at. Death by overpraising! First, he endlessly praised Shi Feng and spoke of how amazing he was in front of everyone else. Then he made Shi Feng sound as if he was representing his Guild in this competition, turning this normal exchange into a contest between two Guilds. Finally, once Zhang Luowei defeated this amazingly powerful Shi Feng, Lan Hailong would use this piece of information to showcase just how amazing Shadow was. Even if Shi Feng was a middle manager of Zero Wing, he would definitely still receive a heavy punishment. After all, this matter concerned the reputation of the Guild. Lan Hailongs means were indeed cruel and decisive. As the audience started cheering and discussing the competition, the staff members of the event went ahead with preparing a fighting ring for the competition. Who do you think will win? Of course it is Zhang Luowei! He is my idol! During the universitys fighting competition, he obtained first place with great ease. None of the contestants could take three moves from him before being defeated. Although Shi Feng is also very strong, he doesnt have much of a presence; I can feel nothing from him at all, as if he doesnt even exist. Zhang Luowei, on the other hand, is like a cruel and ferocious beast. When I stood near him, I could feel a heavy pressure bearing down on me. When his eyes landed on me, I even felt a shiver go down my spine. I agree. Shi Feng might be an expert in Gods Domain, but this is a real-life martial arts competition. It would be good if he could survive ten moves from Zhang Luowei. If this fight was held in Gods Domain, however, it would definitely be an interesting duel. \--- While everyone was feeling pessimistic about Shi Fengs chances of winning, Zhou Yuhu, who was resting at a corner of the event hall, walked up to Zhang Luoweis side. Brother Zhang, you have to be careful when you are going up against Shi Feng. Ive fought with him before. Although he doesnt have remarkable strength, and his physique is no good as well, he is very experienced in combat. He has a very good grasp of when to take action, and his fists and feet are extremely nimble, Zhou Yuhu said. Little Hu, youre overthinking things. Even if Shi Feng has reached the level of a professional, I can likewise defeat him with ease. Dont worry, Ill return the shame he brought to you, Zhang Luowei laughed as he clapped Zhou Yuhus shoulders. He was completely unaffected by Zhou Yuhus words. When one reached his level of skill, ones determination would be as hard as steel. Certainly, Zhang Luowei was not underestimating Shi Feng. He had simply reacted this way due to the arrogance of an expert. He would have confidence no matter what kind of enemy he faced. Brother Zhang Zhou Yuhu knew that his advice had fallen on deaf ears. However, only those who had personally exchanged moves with Shi Feng would know how frightening he truly was. If Zhang Luowei was described as a ferocious beast, then Shi Feng was like the great ocean. No matter how powerful a person was, they would be helpless in the face of Mother Nature. In truth, Zhou Yuhu had wanted to dissuade Zhang Luowei from having a competition with Shi Feng. Only, after taking into consideration Zhang Luoweis prestige, he had instead chosen to warn him to be careful. However, his words had clearly been in vain. \--- The staff members had very quickly enclosed an area for the martial arts competition. Although the fighting ring was somewhat smaller than one in an official setting, there was still a space of 100 square meters available. It was sufficient for two people to exchange punches and kicks with each other. Meanwhile, Xu Wenqing, Zhao Jianhua, Chen Wu, and several other well-known figures in Jin Hai City sat in the section closest to the fighting ring. Everyone else could only stand several meters behind them to observe the fight. In the ring, Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei stood five meters apart from each other. The former was an ordinary man who had no presence whatsoever, while the latter was like a muscular beast that looked as if he could swallow a man whole. The imposing aura Zhang Luowei emitted could cause others to tremble in fear. A great battle between these two men could happen at any moment now. Meanwhile, the audience around the ring started tensing up, their eyes locked on the two fighters every movement. Unlike a fight between ordinary people, which would take a long time to finish, an exchange between experts would end in an instant. Hence, they were deeply afraid of missing out even the slightest detail of the brilliant exchange between the two. In contrast, Xu Wenqing and the other influential characters were currently talking cheerfully with one another. Master Chen Wu, as an ex-professional fighter and a martial arts master, which of the two do you think will win in this competition? Xu Wenqing asked, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he caressed his beard. I cant say for sure. In a martial arts competition, strength and luck are both equally important. If I were to judge solely based on presence and physique, then Zhang Luowei is clearly a cut above Shi Feng. However, I have never personally witnessed how skilled Shi Feng is, so I cant make a clear judgement. Chen Wu shook his head, not providing a definite answer. If it was anyone else, even if it was the first time for Chen Wu to meet them, he could still determine the persons strength based on the presence he felt. He would then further evaluate the persons physique and make a rough evaluation. In Shi Fengs case, however, Chen Wu could sense nothing from him. Shi Fengs presence was so weak that Chen Wu might overlook him. If Shi Feng were just an ordinary person who had not defeated a combat expert like Zhou Yuhu, then Chen Wu would definitely conclude Shi Feng was a harmless white rabbit, an insignificant existence. Yet, defying all expectations, this little white rabbit had actually defeated a ferocious tiger like Zhou Yuhu. Hence, Chen Wu could not help but reevaluate his opinion of Shi Feng. After all, if a little white rabbit could get rid of a ferocious tiger, who would believe that it was still a little white rabbit? Even if Shi Feng was a little white rabbit, he was still a rabbit demon that was capable of killing a tiger. If Shi Feng had truly cultivated into a demon, then his presence was merely a facade. If one had cultivated into a demon, while the other was still an ordinary animal, the two would be on entirely different levels. However, experts capable of cultivating themselves into a demon were extremely rare existences. The so-called cultivating into a demon did not refer to one becoming a demon physically, but spiritually; it also referred to wisdom. When an expert reached this realm, the martial arts they practiced would no longer be something inanimate; it would start to take on life. However, a youth like Shi Feng should not be capable of reaching such a realm yet. Hence, Chen Wu could not determine Shi Fengs degree of mastery. Master Chen Wu, how can your keen eyes fail to make a judgement? Both Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei are just youngsters. Although both of them can greatly improve in the future, you should have some indication of who will win, right? Zhao Jianhua refused to believe Chen Wus words. After all, it was clear at first glance who was stronger, and who was weaker. Hence, Zhao Jianhua believed that Chen Wu was simply leaving some face for Shi Feng. Unfortunately, Zhao Jianhua did not know that martial arts practitioners were usually forthright in their actions, even more so for a martial arts master like Chen Wu. He was always straightforward with his words, and he would never do something like twist his words around. He would only speak whatever was on his mind. While the few of them were having their cheerful conversations The referee in the fighting ring sent a glance at both Shi Feng and Zhang Luowei, before abruptly swiping his hand down between the two fighters. Immediately, he shouted, Begin! TL Notes: [1] Luohan Quan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luohan_(martial_arts) 257 Extraordinary The moment the referee gave the signal, Zhang Luowei took action and immediately charged at Shi Feng. However, Zhang Luowei did not rush forth like a normal person would, as attacking in a straight line would be too plain and predictable. Instead, he zigzagged as he moved, his footwork constantly changing as he swiftly weaved his way towards Shi Feng. If it were any ordinary person faced with Zhang Luoweis footwork, they definitely would not know how to react to it properly. They would be enthralled by Zhang Luoweis erratic footwork and allow him to close in on them. Aside from placing emphasis on footwork, Luohan Quan practitioners also stressed fast, accurate, and fierce punches. If one failed to block a punch from a Luohan Quan practitioner and received a hit to the chest, the battle would end right there and then. Meanwhile, as a person of this modern era, and also as a professional fighter, Zhang Luowei had an arm strength of over 100 kilograms. Receiving a punch from him would be no different from being smashed in the chest with a hammer. Humans were also not made out of metal. Even if they were, after receiving tens of smashes from a hammer, they would still turn into scrap metal, needless to say what would happen to a body made of flesh. With Zhang Luoweis physique, it would be no surprise if he broke most of Shi Fengs ribs with a single punch, sending him flying back one to two meters away even. However, Shi Feng was no ordinary person. Instead of retreating, he chose to advance and face Zhang Luowei head-on. Shi Feng utilized the Swimming Dragon Steps as he strode forward, his feet moving as if the ground was completely frictionless. Shi Feng immediately slid towards Zhang Luowei, catching the latter off guard. Zhang Luowei never thought Shi Feng would actually know such nimble and irregular footwork. Right now, he could not find any way to land a good punch on Shi Feng. Shi Feng had over a decade of campaigning in Gods Domain. The combat experience he possessed far exceeded the imagination of an ordinary person. After all, there had been no dearth of martial arts masters and powerful Boss monsters to serve as his opponents in the past. On the other hand, Zhang Luowei did not even possess a thousandth of Shi Fengs combat experience. Although Shi Fengs current physique was no match for Zhang Luoweis, Shi Feng made up for it by using the agility and fast reaction speed he gained from his years of battle. When fighting Bosses in Gods Domain, even the slightest mistake could cause players to lose their lives. Among the countless Boss battles Shi Feng experienced, there was many a time when he had to rely on his bodys instinctive reactions instead of his eyes to make decisions. Such instinctive reactions were done under an unconscious state. If one wished to train themselves to this level, they needed to experience plenty of battles, regularly treading the line between life and death. However, one would rarely encounter such conditions for training in real life, even as a professional fighter. After all, when faced with a life-or-death situation in the real world, there was a high chance of losing ones life, and once dead, there was no second chance available. On the other hand, players could experience these life-or-death battles countless times without any risk of actual death. They could simply try again once they died in the game. This was also the reason why many professional fighters were obsessed with Gods Domain in the past. Only when one was placed in a life-or-death situation would one be able to display ones full potential. As long as they survived the battle, the insight they received from the battle could greatly increase their strength. Why did so many experts in the real world train at precipices? It was to experience the feeling of having their life hanging by a thread; they wanted to use the threat of death to stimulate their innate potential. However, taking such a course was extremely dangerous. Normally, only experts dared to do such a thing. If ordinary people tried it, ten out of ten, they would lose their lives. Meanwhile, when a player died in battle in Gods Domain, they could just revive with an intact body. An expert in a hundred battles. After experiencing a hundred battles, even an ordinary person could become a combat expert. Meanwhile, in regard to the countless battles Shi Feng had experienced in the past, even an idiot could become a demon. Not to mention, Shi Feng had learned plenty of martial arts in the past. He had been a top-tier Sword King in the past as well, and he had only been a thread away from being promoted to a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. The reason he could not become a Sword Emperor, however, was not because his techniques had been lacking. After all, Shi Fengs combat techniques had already achieved perfection at that time, and he could easily adopt many techniques to his battles, not limiting himself to just a single style of combat. Although Zhang Luoweis footwork was nimble, Shi Feng was clearly a cut above him. Be it a punch, a chop, or a hammer strike, Zhang Luowei sent fist after fist at Shi Feng. Zhang Luoweis hammer strikes were especially deadly. If a bull received this strike, it would immediately fall to the ground and would not be able to recover within a short period of time. Unfortunately, every strike Zhang Luowei sent at Shi Feng would always rub past the edge of his clothes. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was constantly drifting around Zhang Luoweis side, revolving around him like a true dragon. No matter how Zhang Luowei tried to move, he could not escape from Shi Fengs shadow. After exchanging over a dozen moves, Zhang Luoweis heart grew panicked. Never had he imagined Shi Feng to be a martial arts expert as well. When Shi Feng executed the Swimming Dragon Steps, he was like a true dragon traversing the nine heavens, advancing and retreating with ease. However, Zhang Luowei also knew that Shi Feng did not dare take him head-on. Yet, if Zhang Luowei continued his successive attacks, he would sooner or later exhaust himself completely and definitely be defeated. Scram! Zhang Luowei decided to use his finishing move, Fierce Tiger Pouncing on its Prey[1], springing at Shi Feng like a hungry tiger. Shi Feng immediately moved his feet, effortlessly dodging Zhang Luoweis attack. Zhang Luowei took this chance to twist his body around, planting one of his feet forward as he swung his fists around, executing Twin Peaks Piercing the Clouds at Shi Fengs side. The moment Zhang Luoweis fists struck out, those close to the fighting ring could clearly hear the sound of wind whistling. If Shi Feng was struck by this move, he would be either dead or crippled. Contrary to expectations, Shi Feng reacted calmly and unhurriedly. He simply smiled in reply to Zhang Luoweis vicious attack. Putting strength into his toes, Shi Feng immediately did a flip in mid-air. He then executed the move Swimming Dragons Stable Strike, using his bodys momentum to redirect Zhang Luoweis fists away, letting them strike nothing but air. Immediately afterwards, Shi Fengs fists opened up, and utilizing the centripetal force of his bodys rotation, he struck the major artery on Zhang Luoweis neck with his palm. Before Zhang Luowei could properly react, he suddenly felt a chill at his neck, his breathing becoming difficult. Due to his brain receiving a shortage of blood, Zhang Luoweis limbs started to stiffen. However, Zhang Luowei was no ordinary person. He instantly knew he had received an attack from Shi Feng, causing the response of his four limbs to lag. As a last resort, Zhang Luowei rammed his head at Shi Feng, who was currently full of openings as he hung in mid-air. Zhang Luowei was fully intent on ending the battle in mutual destruction. If Shi Feng wished to attack him in this situation, Shi Feng would have to receive the ramming attack from him. Good! Shi Feng first felt surprise, then joy. Contrary to expectations, Shi Feng did not choose to retreat and give Zhang Luowei a chance to catch his breath. Instead, Shi Feng executed the move Dragons Palm, taking advantage of the situation to send another palm strike at Zhang Luoweis neck. With this strike, Shi Feng immediately redirected Zhang Luoweis all-out charge, completely neutralizing the latters attack. In addition, Shi Fengs attack was further fueled by the force of his bodys rotation. As a result, Zhang Luoweis body spun uncontrollably in mid-air after receiving the strike, just like a rotating arrow that was let loose. Right after that, Shi Feng planted his palm on Zhang Luoweis chest and abruptly struck down. Zhang Luoweis body landed heavily, a web of cracks appearing on the marble floor beneath him. At this time, Zhang Luowei fell flat on his back, blood spewing out of his mouth. Shi Fengs attack had fractured many of his ribs, and at this moment, he did not possess even the strength to speak. Zhang Luoweis eyes were filled with disbelief as he lost consciousness soon after. Although this series of complex actions sounded slow when described, in reality, everything had happened within an instant. The audience was stunned into silence. Every one of them looked at the fighting ring with dumbfounded expressions. The two in the ring were clearly locked in battle before. Before anyone could react, Zhang Luoweis body was already falling to the floor, his body not even twitching as he landed. He actually defeated Zhang Luowei? My eyes arent playing tricks on me, right? Zhao Jianhua rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was hallucinating. However, the fact that Zhang Luowei lay on the floor, unmoving, proved that he was not imagining things. A plain and ordinary person that did not possess the presence of an expert had actually defeated a combat genius. Who could believe such a thing? Second Uncle, how are Shi Fengs skills? Zhao Ruoxi proudly asked Zhao Jianhua, who was sitting beside her, her tone making it sound as if Shi Fengs victory was her own victory. Strong, very strong. However, I still feel strange when I look at him. Even though I myself am a martial arts practitioner as well, I couldnt tell what kind of technique he used to defeat Zhang Luowei, Zhao Jianhua said, his heart filled with questions. He then asked, Master Chen Wu, do you know what kind of technique he used? TL Notes: [1] Fierce Tiger Pouncing on its Prey: one of the moves in Luohan Quan (or Arhat fist) No. 17 http://matrialartchinese001.blogspot.my/2013/05/shaolin-arhat-eighteen-hands.html 258 Increased Backing Zhao Jianhuas expectant gaze made it difficult for Chen Wu to respond. Previously, he did not have a clear grasp on Shi Fengs actual strength. He had merely felt that it was possible for Shi Feng to have already reached _that_ realm. However, now that he had actually witnessed Shi Feng in action, shock was the only word that could describe his current state. Chen Wu had not dared to imagine that a young man in his early twenties could already attain such a high understanding of martial arts. If Shi Fengs understanding of martial arts had merely achieved perfection, Chen Wu could still attribute it to him being a genius. Yet, when Shi Feng executed his moves, his actions were like nature itself, alive and full of spirit. Such actions were impossible with theoretical understanding alone. One needed to experience extensive combat, and also undergo countless life-or-death experiences in order to attain such a level. Even Chen Wu himself had only recently reached such a level, and he was already 45 years old this year. Ever since he started practicing martial arts at the age of 16, he had participated in hundreds of battles, both large and small. He had even entered actual battlefields before. He could only achieve such a level today after undergoing the baptism of these fields of blood. Chen Wu found it hard to believe that Shi Feng would possess so much hands-on experience. Even if he started participating in life-or-death battles in his mothers womb, it was impossible for him to achieve such a degree of perfection in only 20 years or so. As he isnt limiting himself to a single style of combat, I cant make a good judgment. In Jin Hai City, however, there probably isnt another youth like him who has cultivated his martial arts to such a level. Chen Wu sighed, a soft chuckle escaping his mouth. It cant be, right? Master Chen Wu, arent you appraising him too highly? Zhao Jianhua was shocked by Chen Wus words. No, my evaluation is not high at all. Although Shi Fengs physique is on the weak side, in terms of actual combat strength, he would have no problem entering the top ten of the provincial fighting tournament. Chen Wu shook his head, refuting Zhao Jianhuas words. Chen Wus words instantly shocked Xu Wenqing and Zhao Jianhua. Although the champion fighter of Jin Hai City could be considered a top-tier expert, on the provincial level, he would not amount to much. After all, there were tens of cities within a single province. Not to mention the top ten, even entering the top thirty in a provincial fighting tournament would be a difficult challenge. Yet, a martial arts master like Chen Wu was confident that Shi Feng could make it to the top ten. The listeners could not help but raise their evaluation of Shi Feng. In the past, Chen Wu had personally entered the top three in a provincial tournament, so he had a very good grasp on the standards of the fighters at that level. If Chen Wu said so, then Shi Feng did indeed possess the strength to enter the top ten of the province. There were hundreds of millions of people within the province, and the number of fighters participating in the tournament was in the hundreds of thousands. If Shi Feng was capable of entering the top ten out of so many participants, then his value would far exceed even that of the champion fighter of Jin Hai City. In regard to a combat genius like Zhang Luowei, Zhao Jianhua and the others only treated him as one of the younger generation. Although they looked favorably on him, it was not to the degree of placing actual importance on him. In Shi Fengs case, however, not only was it necessary for them to consider him someone of consequence, they also had to treat him as an equal when dealing with him. _It seems that I have misjudged that little brat._ _He held such strength in his hands, yet he actually chose to keep it hidden. It is no wonder Ruoxi is placing such importance on him._ At this moment, Zhao Jianhua no longer looked at Shi Feng with anger and contempt; on the contrary, admiration filled his eyes. He then shifted his gaze towards Ling Feilong who sat beside him, thinking in rage, _This brat,_ _on the other hand,_ _actually dared to use me as a_ _hatchet man_ _[1]_ _._ _It seems he needs to be taught a lesson_ _._ Previously, Zhao Jianhua had a favorable opinion of Ling Feilong. He was also clear on the fact that Ling Feilong was trying to pursue Zhao Ruoxi. However, he did not block Ling Feilongs actions as the boy was indeed excellent; he had the qualifications necessary to pursue his beloved niece, Ruoxi. Now, however, Zhao Jianhua only felt loathing for Ling Feilong. At this point, even if Zhao Jianhua was an idiot, he could still tell that Ling Feilong had been using him all along. Previously, Ling Feilong had many a time commented on Shi Fengs shortcomings, his familys poverty, and how Shi Feng was constantly stalking Ruoxi. Ling Feilong had also mentioned that Shi Feng was often bullied by others, that he was a mediocre person, and so on. Now, however, it would seem that the situation was completely different from what Ling Feilong had made it out to be. In reality, Ling Feilong had no chance of being compared to Shi Feng, hence why Ling Feilong slandered Shi Feng, giving Zhao Jianhua a bad impression of Shi Feng. Placing ninth in the university? That might be an impressive feat in Jin Hai University, but against the backdrop of Jin Hai Citys fighting tournament? Ling Feilong would only amount to the standard of a fresh contestant. Meanwhile, there were hundreds of such new contestants participating in the citys fighting tournament every year. If placed in a provincial tournament, not even a hint of Ling Feilongs shadow would be found. As it were, the gap between Ling Feilong and Shi Feng was like the gap between heaven and earth. _It seems that my eyes are really growing bad. Indeed, just like Elder Xu had said, young people should be left to deal with their own matters._ Zhao Jianhua no longer planned to interfere in the matters between Shi Feng and Zhao Ruoxi, intending to let nature take its course. As for what the final result would look like, that would depend on Ruoxi herself. Soon after the martial arts competition ended, Shi Feng had undeniably become the main protagonist of the Fellowship Party this time around. Many students from the university came over to greet Shi Feng, hoping to form a connection with him. By contrast, although Zhang Luowei clearly lay unconscious on the floor, not a single person bothered to check up on himnot even his associate Lan Hailong. Although Shi Feng had long since known about Lan Hailongs personality, he still couldnt help but sigh when he saw this scene. Such was the fickleness of human nature. However, Shi Feng did not sympathize with Zhang Luowei, because Zhang Luowei was also such a person. In the past, Shadow had recruited plenty of new players with good potential. Just when they were about to enter a period of rapid development, a sudden dispute occurred between Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong. As a result of that dispute, the two had broken off all relations with each other, and Zhang Luowei had chosen to leave Shadow for good. To add insult to injury, Zhang Luowei had also drawn away a significant number of experts from the Guild when he left to join World Dominators. Shadow received massive damages due to his actions. If such a split had not occurred in the past, Shadow would not have lagged behind in its development and remained a third-rate Guild. Only after Shi Feng had taken over as Guild Leader did Shadow gradually start to develop into a top-tier second-rate Guild. Yet, in this life, things were completely different. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to pay a huge price to compete for talent against Shadow. Now, however, it would seem that all his plans were unnecessary. Zhang Luowei had suffered an overwhelming defeat, causing everyones opinion of Shadow to fall significantly. By contrast, Zero Wing had become the sole target of the audience now, and Lan Hailong could do nothing but gnash his teeth at this development. If Lan Hailong had known from the beginning that Shi Feng was so powerful, he definitely would not have agreed to Zhang Luowei having a match with Shi Feng. At the very least, he could still have recruited some experts or new players with good potential. Now, however, he had lost all drawing power in this event. He could only choose from the leftovers of Zero Wing. Fellow student Shi Feng, do you think I can join Zero Wing? Even an outer member of the Guild is fine! Hello, I am Ye Wumian, the president of Jin Hai Citys number one Workshop, Green Leaf. I wish to let my entire Workshop join Zero Wing. I wonder if Brother Shi Feng will be willing to accept us? We dont need many positions, only ten official member spots, and fifty outer member spots. Just as Shi Feng restarted his Guild recruitment, the elite students of the university quickly surrounded him. There were also plenty of Workshop representatives and professional fighters trying to meet with him. Among all these requests to join his Guild, the most shocking one was the request from Green Leaf Workshop. In the past, Green Leaf Workshop had completely ignored Shadows attempts at recruiting them, and they had instead established their own Guild. After doing so, they had managed to obtain the aid and sponsorship of several corporations, becoming a third-rate Guild in Gods Domain. At that time, however, the number of Guilds being established in Jin Hai City was growing by the day, which resulted in the dilution of available funding. If the Green Leaf Guild had not been lacking in funds at that time, without a doubt, they would have been a powerful rival for Shadow. Besides that, Shi Feng had finally managed to locate the Five Demon Generals of Shadow. By the time the Fellowship Party ended, the number of people he managed to recruit had exceeded the quota he previously set by more than a hundred. Just the number of potential experts he recruited had already exceeded fifty people, as well as nine future top-tier experts. Among those nine were the Five Demon Generals, while the remaining four were core members of Green Leaf Workshop. After recruiting all these people, Zero Wing Workshop instantly became a huge existence in Jin Hai Citys virtual gaming world. Compared to other third-rate Guilds, Zero Wing had a much more powerful backing now. As long as Shi Feng could turn these players into the backbone of Zero Wing, he would not falter even if he had to start a war with a second-rate Guild. Following which, Shi Feng spent the remainder of his day signing contracts with these newly recruited members. As for the management of Zero Wing Workshop, Blackie had long since dealt with it. Moreover, most of the people Shi Feng recruited were originally members of other Workshops, so they took no time at all to adjust themselves to a new environment. In addition, these people could also contribute significantly on the management side of things. However, Blackie was truly shocked when he found out about the amount of people Shi Feng managed to recruit. The influx of over 400 people had instantly filled up Zero Wings workplace. Suddenly, the entire Workshop was much livelier, no longer as empty and quiet as before. It was a fitting atmosphere for such a large Workshop. Only when night arrived did Shi Feng finally arrive back home. He then cooked a casual meal for himself and downed a bottle of Nutrient Fluids, before starting a new day in Gods Domain. Also, this new day was fated to be extraordinary. TL Notes: [1] hatchet man: someone that does the dirty work of others. https://www.google.com/search?q=hatchet+man&oq=hatched+man&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.2551j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 259 Surging Situation The first thing Shi Feng did after entering Gods Domain was to contact Gentle Snow and conduct the transaction for the Arclight Shields. Currently, he had exhausted most of his supply of Magic Crystals to forge the Arclight Shields. Moreover, during this period of time, the various large Guilds had already started raiding the three Level 10 large-scale Team Dungeons. Although the elite members of these Guilds had already reached Level 13 or Level 14, it was still impossible for them to raid even the Normal Mode of the three large-scale Team Dungeons. Even though these were only Level 10 Dungeons, in reality, the Bosses inside were not limited to just Level 10. The highest leveled Boss inside the Normal Mode Dungeon reached Level 13. There was nothing special about the loot of the Normal Mode Dungeon; the best items players could get were a bunch of Level 10 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment, and also some number of materials needed by Lifestyle players. However, the Hard Mode of the large-scale Team Dungeon was markedly different. The main reason why they were titled the Three Great Dungeons was because of the fact that, along with the increase in difficulty, the levels of the monsters inside the Dungeon would also increase. For the Hard Mode of the Three Great Dungeons, the Bosses inside were all Level 15. Hence, it would not be an easy endeavor for players at this stage of the game to obtain the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons. In addition, the loot obtainable from the Hard Mode of these Dungeons was significantly different, as a majority of the weapons and equipment dropped were of Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, they were Growth-type Weapons and Equipment; they were capable of growing from Level 10 to Level 15. However, they were bound to players upon equipping. As for Hell Mode, the Bosses inside were all Level 18, and the weapons and equipment they dropped were mostly Dark-Gold rank. These items were also capable of growing from Level 10 to Level 18, and similarly were bound to players upon equipping. The Hell Mode of the Three Great Dungeons was also the most difficult among Dungeons below Level 20. After Level 20, there would be new large-scale Dungeons available to players within the White River City region. There were a total of four such Dungeons, and among them, three were 50-man Dungeons, while the remaining one was a 100-man Dungeon. The difficulty of a 100-man Dungeon was on an entirely different level when compared to a 50-man Dungeon. The main reason being, as long as someone managed to obtain the First Clear of a 100-man Dungeon, the achievement would be announced to the entire Gods Domain. The announcement wasnt just limited to a single country. In other words, this achievement would be seen by the two billion players that were playing Gods Domain. In addition, the achievement would be recorded in the Epic List of Gods Domain, allowing everyone in Gods Domain look at it. However, it was extremely difficult for players to obtain the first Clear of a 100-man Dungeon. Even Shi Feng himself did not have a strategy to raid it. \--- Gentle Snow pushed open the doors of one of the parlors of the Starstreak Trading Firm and entered the room. Gentle Snows equipment now was quite different from the last time Shi Feng had met with her. Most of the equipment she had on were of Secret-Silver rank. Among them, the silvery-white greatsword that she carried on her back was even of Fine-Gold rank. Currently, Gentle Snow had already reached Level 16. It was obvious that she had been grinding nonstop, night and day, to reach such a level. Lets hurry up and make the trade, Gentle Snow said impatiently, not bothering to even take a seat. It seems that you are in quite a hurry, Miss Snow. Did something happen? Shi Feng asked curiously. This was a transaction involving Fine-Gold ranked shields. It was definitely a matter of utmost importance. However, it seemed that Gentle Snow had an even more important matter to attend to. Its nothing much. I just heard that Dark Star has already reached the second-to-last Boss of the Land of Death, so I wish to be done with this trade quickly. In a moment, Ill need to head to the Land of Death as well. Gentle Snow did not try to hide the reason for her distress. The number one Guild in White River City was actually a step behind Dark Star, a third-rate Guild, in terms of raiding one of the Three Great Dungeons. How could she not feel anxious? They sure are fast. Since when did Dark Star possess such powerful experts? Shi Feng felt something fishy about Dark Star. First, it had annexed over ten unrated Guilds. Now, a group of experts had appeared in its ranks. Its raiding progress of the Three Great Dungeons was even faster than Ouroboross. It should be known that Ouroboros was the current number one Guild in White River City. Moreover, in order to better develop the Guild in White River City, Gentle Snow had transferred over many experts stationed at Star-Moon City. She had even requested for a party from the God-Slaying Army to be sent to White River City, and each and every member of the God-Slaying Army was a top-tier expert. Yet, even when these top-tier experts were led by great experts such as Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru, they still were not a match for Dark Star. Each of the Three Great Dungeons had five Bosses. Meanwhile, Dark Star had already cleared up to the fourth Boss, while a powerful team like Ouroboros was only at the second Boss. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, Dark Stars progression was simply unbelievable. The difference between second-rate Guilds and first-rate Guilds lay in the quality of their experts. In order to nurture these experts, first-rate Guilds had spent over a decade researching and gaining experience. Meanwhile, for a Guild like the Assassins Alliance, although it was a second-rate Guild, in terms of nurturing experts, it was still at the stage of accumulating experience. Compared to a first-rate Guild, they were on entirely different levels. However, what did Dark Star amount to? Moreover, Shi Feng had made Dark Star an enemy of the first-rate Guild Twilight Echo. Yet, nothing had actually happened to Dark Star; Shi Feng had received no news of anything happening to it. On the other hand, Twilight Echo had done something so unbelievable that even Shi Feng himself was shocked. The Guild had actually paid the 50 million Credits willingly to Shi Feng. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt that the power supporting Dark Star from behind was far stronger than he had imagined. Twilight Echo mustve discovered something about Dark Star for it to willingly pay up the 50 million Credits. Here are 200 Magic Crystals. Here are the four Arclight Shields, please verify them. Gentle Snow was no longer in the mood to discuss Dark Star. She immediately called out her trade window. Shi Feng, likewise, tactfully stopped speaking of this topic. Seeing Gentle Snow in such a hurry, it seemed that Dark Star was putting quite a pressure on her. It was possible that Gentle Snows worries were not just limited to the Dungeon; there should be some other matters troubling her. In any case, this had nothing to do with Shi Feng. Of course, if Gentle Snow was willing to reveal her troubles to him, Shi Feng would naturally offer a helping hand, as a friend. However, Gentle Snow chose to keep quiet about them, so Shi Feng could only remain silent as well. Moreover, these four Arclight Shields should provide quite an upgrade to the MTs of Gentle Snows team. They should have no problems surpassing Dark Star if they had these shields. The moment Gentle Snow inspected the Attributes of the Arclight Shields, her eyes immediately glowed, a hint of joy surfacing on her face. Excellent! The Attributes on these Arclight Shields are simply too good! I will need two more of these items. I wonder when you will be able to finish them for me? At this time, excitement was evident on Gentle Snows face. With these four shields, they would definitely have no problem clearing the second Boss. The success rate for producing these shields is simply too low. I will need around half a days time to complete two of them, Shi Feng replied after giving it some thought. Then, Ill visit again in half a days time. You better not sell them to anyone else! Gentle Snow nodded her head. She then left the parlor hastily. \--- Shortly after Gentle Snow departed, Fire Dance arrived at the Starstreak Trading Firm. Guild Leader, weve already finished our Dungeon-raiding preparations. We can head to the Demons Castle at any time. Fire Dance looked at Shi Feng with passionate eyes. She couldnt help but wish she could immediately show Shi Feng how amazing the team she managed was. Its a little too early for that right now. The Demons Castle is a 20-man Team Dungeon. You should also know that Zero Wing Workshop has recently recruited a new batch of members. On average, the level of these players are quite low. There are even some who have just made their accounts and entered the game. I want you guys to power-level some of them, bring them up to Level 15 quickly, and form a main team to raid the Demons Castle, Shi Feng said with a smile, passing Fire Dance a namelist. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to have Aqua Rose send some of her subordinates over to aid them. However, most of her subordinates were currently managing the new recruits of the Guild. In addition, Aqua Roses group was also in the midst of raiding 10-man and 20-man Dungeons to upgrade their equipment, preparing themselves to raid the Three Great Dungeons. They had neither the time nor energy to help him raid the Demons Castle. Hence, Shi Feng planned to form a main force for the Guild. He could not let the nine top-tier experts he just recently recruited go to waste, so he decided to let Fire Dance and the others carry them. I understand, Fire Dance answered with disappointment. However, when she thought about how Shi Feng was willing to let her lead even more players and, in addition, become the leader of the Guilds main team, she couldnt help but grow joyous. After all, this showed that Shi Feng acknowledged her abilities. Oh, right. I nearly forgot to give these things to you. Just as Fire Dance was about to turn around and leave, Shi Feng tapped his head and suddenly called out to her. 260 Top Six Fire Dance halted her steps and turned around to look at Shi Feng. She immediately noticed that Shi Feng had brought a few items, and each and every one of them had a golden glow surrounding them. They certainly did not look like ordinary items. This pair of daggers is for you. Theres also this shield for Cola. Tell him to make sure he lives up to this shield. Shi Feng traded the three items to Fire Dance. Of these, the pair of daggers were none other than the Fine-Gold ranked Ice Thorn and Raging Flames Dagger that Shi Feng won at the Blackwing Auction. As the team leader of the Guilds main force, Fire Dances equipment naturally should not lose out to others. These two daggers were just right to give a boost to her current equipment. In addition, there was also the Dark-Gold ranked Arclight Guard. If Cola equipped this shield, no other Guardian Knight in White River City could even hope to match him. This Fire Dance was instantly mesmerized by the Attributes of the two daggers. Although the daggers she currently used were of relatively good quality, when compared to the Ice Thorn and Raging Flames Dagger, the difference was like silver and gold. Fire Dance swapped out her old daggers for the new ones right away. The streaks of white and red hanging on the sides of Fire Dances willowy waist looked extremely captivating. Ive already instructed the nine players to head to the appointed location. You just need to fetch them and help them level up, Shi Feng said. I understand, Guild Leader. Fire Dance nodded her head, a smile on her face. She then took hold of her new daggers, brandishing them, the impatience in her eyes clearly showing her eagerness to test out her new weapons. \--- After Fire Dance left the parlor, Shi Feng headed to his Forging Room on the fourth floor. Now that he had received a new batch of Magic Crystals, he would naturally resume forging more Arclight Shields. As time slowly passed, unknowingly, the competition at the Three Great Dungeons of White River City grew even more intense. Dark Star, which was at the forefront in terms of progression, finally started raiding the final Boss of the Land of Death. Meanwhile, Ouroboros, which was placed second, started raiding the fourth Boss. The advance of these two Guilds greatly shocked the other Guilds in White River City. What did that woman, Gentle Snow, eat? How could their progression suddenly increase so rapidly?! The Guardian Knight, Lone Tyrant, felt pressured after receiving the latest report from his subordinate. Dont worry. We spent almost five hours raiding the fourth Boss. At the very minimum, Gentle Snow would need two to three hours to finish it. We will definitely clear the Dungeon a step ahead of her, the burly-looking Ranger standing beside Lone Tyrant said. Thats true. Weve sent all our elites out this time, and our battle prowess is clearly stronger than Gentle Snows team by a notch. Lone Tyrant also felt that he was being oversensitive to things. They would definitely be the first one to clear the Normal Mode of the Land of Death. Although there would be no announcement for being the first to clear a Normal Mode Team Dungeon, it would still make other Guilds know how fearsome Dark Star was, solidifying their position in White River City. Guild Leader, Ive just received news that Gentle Snow has somehow managed to obtain four Arclight Shields. The addition of these four shields to their team has greatly reduced the burden placed on their healers, giving more time for the damage dealers to attack. Hence why they could conquer the Bosses so easily. Arclight Shield? Isnt that the Forging Design Black Flame got? How could he possibly manage to produce them in such a short amount of time? Lone Tyrant had not even been able contain his drool when he had heard about Black Flame obtaining the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. If possible, he had planned to buy one of those Arclight Shields as well. However, contacting Black Flame was simply too difficult, making the Arclight Shield almost impossible to obtain. \--- Meanwhile, the matter of Ouroboros obtaining the Arclight Shields had also quickly spread to the other Guilds. They couldnt help but grow envious at this piece of news. The victory or defeat of a Boss battle was usually determined by the strength of the MT. Meanwhile, the prerequisite for a powerful MT was equipment. It was especially true for the shield the MT used. Currently, only a few main MTs of the various large Guilds possessed Secret-Silver ranked shields. However, despite having such a shield, these MTs still had a very hard time tanking the Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons. If they could swap it out for a Fine-Gold ranked shield, it would undeniably reduce the pressure placed on them, instantly reducing the difficulty of the raid by a large margin. Ouroboros was the best proof. After all, during todays competition for the Land of Death, although a latecomer, Ouroboros had still managed to clear the Normal Mode Dungeon ahead of Dark Star. This achievement dumbfounded every Guild in White River City. As for Dark Stars Lone Tyrant, he was currently burning with rage over this matter. He had secretly prepared so much, all in order to surpass Ouroboros. In the end, however, he was instead given a big slap to the face by Ouroboros. Soon after, the various large Guilds in White River City started asking around, hoping to find out from the members of Ouroboros what method they used to obtain the Arclight Shields. Some Guilds had even directly created forum posts offering several hundred thousands of Credits to purchase an Arclight Shield. Looking at this scene, many players felt that these Guilds had gone insane. They were actually willing to spend so much money just to buy a Fine-Gold ranked shield. However, this bottom line was, very quickly, broken by a Guild. One million Credits! It was a number that inspired awe in ordinary people. Meanwhile, the goal of spending such a large sum of money was to purchase the Arclight Shield. How could this piece of news not bring shock to others? At the same time, the Guild offering such an insane price was none other than Dark Star. The players who discovered this matter thought the people of Dark Star were idiots with too much money in their pockets. However, when Shi Feng saw Dark Stars offer, he couldnt help but inwardly praise them for their shrewdness. Aside from trying to purchase the Arclight Shield, they had also made the post with the intention of directing players attention towards Dark Star. If they truly managed to purchase the shield for one million Credits, it would definitely become the subject of conversation for many players. This method they were using was much more effective than directly spending money to create advertisements. A million? Unfortunately, Im not lacking in Credits right now. Shi Feng did not intend to let Dark Star gain both fame and fortune by selling the Arclight Shield to them. However, this incident also revealed to Shi Feng the fact that the various large Guilds were starting to pay more importance to the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons. If Shi Feng had sold the Arclight Shields at an earlier time, he definitely would not have obtained such a high price for them. However, due to Ouroboross efficiency, the various large Guilds thought that they could easily clear the Normal Mode of the Three Great Dungeons so long as they possessed the Arclight Shield. They could also have a better chance at obtaining the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons. After working for half a day, Shi Feng managed to produce six Arclight Shields in total. He had also made a large number of Basic Mana Armor Kits. Out of the six shields he made, he stored three in the Guild Warehouse, allowing Guild members to exchange for it. However, it would not be easy to exchange for these shields. After all, if sold outside, one could get at least 25 Gold for it. The sight of three Arclight Shields appearing in Zero Wings Guild Warehouse brought the newly recruited members even greater hope, despite their not being able to obtain it for themselves. At the same time, Shi Fengs actions nearly caused the other Guilds in White River City to vomit blood in anger. After all, instead of letting the MTs of the Guild use these excellent shields, Shi Feng had chosen to put them on display. It was as if these Arclight Shields meant nothing to Zero Wing. Just recently Zero Wing created a sensation throughout White River City. Now, its member count had already exceeded 5,000. It also had the eight great experts holding down the fort for them; Zero Wings strength could no longer be categorized within the levels of only second-rate or third-rate Guilds. Now that Zero Wing caused another sensation in White River City, many players could not help but reevaluate their opinion of Zero Wing. When players tried to further investigate Zero Wing, they were immediately shocked by what they found. Not only was Zero Wing home to the eight great experts, it also had Aqua Rose, a great expert who was no weaker than the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. In addition, there was also a rumor that the leveling expert, Shi Feng, was overseeing the Guild. With so many experts there, Zero Wings strength within White River City did not lose out to the three first-rate Guilds in the slightest. Although it was weaker than the first-rate Guilds in terms of Dungeon-raiding, it had an extremely huge potential for growth. Unwittingly, Zero Wing had become publicly acknowledged as one of the top six Guilds in White River City. The top six Guilds were Ouroboros, Emperors Light, World Dominators, Dark Star, Assassins Alliance, and Zero Wing. Among these Guilds, Ouroboros, Emperors Light, and World Dominators were all first-rate Guilds, and each of them possessed very powerful backgrounds. Even if only a portion of their actual strength was stationed in White River City, second-rate and third-rate Guilds were still far from being comparable to them. Shortly after this incident, Shi Feng exchanged another two Arclight Shields with Gentle Snow. He then placed the remaining one for sale at the Starstreak Trading Firm. Thirty Gold, no negotiations. If converted to Credits, one could obtain 30 Gold Coins simply by spending around 600,000 Credits. However, it would still require some effort to fully gather 30 Gold Coins. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had reached Level 17 unawares just by forging items. Although his leveling speed was not as fast as that of Blackie and the others, who grinded on monsters on a higher level, nobody else in White River City could be a match for him. Guild Leader, theyre now all Level 15 already. Moreover, weve also raided a few Hard Mode Team Dungeons, so their equipment are all of acceptable quality now. What should we do next? Fire Dance spoke through the communicator. Nicely done! Gather up everyone from the main team. Lets meet up at the Demons Castle half an hour from now. Shi Feng was a little surprised by Fire Dances revelation. He never imagined that Fire Dance would bring him results so quickly. Originally, Shi Feng had estimated that she would take a full days time to complete the task. In the end, she barely took half a day to complete his request. It was completely beyond his expectations. 261 Magnificent Lineup What? Youre saying Starstreak is selling an Arclight Shield right now? Are you sure about this? Lone Tyrant grew excited when he received this piece of news. Boss, how could I be mistaken? The Arclight Shield is being sold at a special counter on the second floor, but theyre selling it for 30 Gold Coins. Many people were stunned by the price, and they could only drool as they looked at it, an Assassin that kept watch on the Starstreak Trading Firm affirmed. I understand. Ill go purchase the Coins we need right now. You can stop lining up for the Mana Armor Kits for now. Go keep an eye on the Arclight Shield for me. Youre not allowed to take even a half step away from it! As soon as I gather enough money, Ill send someone over to buy it, Lone Tyrant said. Although 30 Gold Coins was not a small sum for any Guild, Lone Tyrant did not hesitate as he made this decision. The reason being, Lone Tyrant knew how vital the Arclight Shield was. If one wished to clear the Three Great Dungeons, one must first possess a sufficiently powerful MT. Meanwhile, the best shield available to players was currently the Arclight Shield. Hence, he needed to obtain it no matter what. Just as Lone Tyrant received this piece of news, the other Guilds based in the eight cities where the Starstreak Trading Firm had shops also received this information, because all items sold by the Starstreak Trading Firm were interconnected. As long as an item was sold in one of the shops of the Starstreak Trading Firm, the item would also appear in the seven other shops. As a result, the competition to purchase the Arclight Shield was made even more intense now. \--- Just as the many Guilds were desperately raising Coins, Shi Feng had already arrived in front of the Demons Castle. The Demons Castle was once a lords territory. However, the lord of this place had been bewitched by a demon and turned into a demon himself, gaining tremendous power in return. The lord had then turned this place into a demons lair. Now, the area surrounding the Demons Castle was filled with Level 15 or so Demonkins. Compared to other monsters, demon-type monsters were born with very high magic resistance, and they also possessed very high magical perception. Hence, their magic attacks were very powerful. Even a normal Fireball from a Level 15 Demonkin could take away a quarter of a Level 15 Berserkers total HP. If it was a skill that possessed great destructive force such as the Great Fireball or Flame Explosion, then a single attack could take away half of a Level 15 Berserkers total HP. To make matters worse, these Demonkins never acted alone; they normally moved around in groups of three or four. If a solo player met a group of these Demonkins, the result would be an instant kill. Hence, players normally only came to the Demons Castle after forming a party or a team. However, even though this was a dangerous location, many players still chose to come here. As Demons were greedy by nature, they were very fond of money and Gemstones. In general, demon-type monsters had a much higher drop rate for money and Gemstones than normal monsters. Hence, plenty of players would grind here. A Tier 1 Gemstone could sell for roughly 1 Silver Coin on the market; it was neither too cheap nor too expensive. However, many players were not willing to inlay their equipment with these Gemstones. After all, Gemstones were one-time use items; they would be gone once inlaid into equipment. Hence, it would be a huge waste to do so if the quality of their equipment was too poor. Generally, players would only choose to inlay Gemstones into their equipment if it was of Mysterious-Iron rank or above. However, how many players could actually get their hands on Mysterious-Iron Equipment? A majority of the players at this stage of the game were still using Bronze Equipment. Who would be willing to inlay Gemstones into Bronze Equipment? Normally, players would either sell the Gemstones they obtained or exchange them for items to further enhance their own strength. After all, grinding monsters would exhaust a significant amount of their resources with equipment repairs taking up the majority. However, this situation was exactly what Shi Feng had been hoping for, hence why he had been secretly purchasing Gemstones all this time. A Tier 1 Gemstone only increased Attributes by a trivial amount; they only increased one point in specific Basic Attributes. Even if a player inlaid every piece of equipment they wore with Gemstones, they would not see any significant improvement. However, in the case of Tier 2 Gemstones, it was an entirely different story. Tier 2 Gemstones increased specific Attributes by two to three points. If players could fully inlay all their equipment with Tier 2 Gemstones, then they could obtain an additional 20 to 30 Attribute points. The difference between the benefits provided by a Tier 1 Gemstone and a Tier 2 Gemstone was as clear as day. Such an increase was the equivalent of possessing an additional piece of equipment, thus, the prices for Tier 2 Gemstones would naturally be high. Although Tier 1 Gemstones could only sell for around 1 Silver, a Tier 2 Gemstone could sell for at least 10 Silvers. Also, Shi Feng knew of a secret that nobody else knew right now: Tier 1 Gemstones could be used to synthesize Tier 2 Gemstones. Moreover, only three Tier 1 Gemstones were needed to do so. In truth, this wasnt any great secret at all. As long as someone managed to clear the Three Great Dungeons, the Alchemy Synthesis System would be unlocked for White River City. Players could then just head to an Alchemist to synthesize Tier 2 Gemstones. At that time, the prices of Tier 1 Gemstones would abruptly soar. They would sell for at least 3 to 4 Silvers. For now, however, nobody but Shi Feng knew of this secret. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had been hoarding Tier 1 Gemstones nonstop as he waited for someone to activate the Alchemy Synthesis System. Once that happened, he could easily earn back double or triple the original cost. However, Shi Feng hoped that this time the activation of the Alchemy Synthesis System would come a little later. That way, he would have more time to hoard even more Tier 1 Gemstones. Through the Starstreak Trading Firm, not only could Shi Feng obtain Tier 1 Gemstones from White River City, he could also purchase them from seven other cities. His current acquisition rate was much faster than before he became the manager of the Starstreak Trading Firm. Naturally, the longer it took for players to clear the Three Great Dungeons, the more money he could earn. Guild Leader, what did you call me here for all of a sudden? Aqua Rose asked in a confused tone as she arrived at the entrance of the Demons Castle Dungeon. As a 20-man Level 15 Team Dungeon, there were very few Guilds that possessed the strength to challenge this place right now. However, even if these Guilds did possess the strength to do so, they would not attempt to raid this Dungeon. The reason being, they were all held up by the Hell Mode of the Level 10 Team Dungeons, and also the Three Great Dungeons. Moreover, the level requirement for the Demons Castle was simply too high. Also, if they were unable to clear the Hard Mode of the Demons Castle, raiding it would bring little improvement to their teams equipment, making it a waste of time. It would be much better for them to place their focus on the Hell Mode of Level 10 Team Dungeons. Hence, Aqua Rose felt curious as to why Shi Feng would call her to this place. Of course, it is to raid the Demons Castle, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Aqua Rose was shocked by his words. Immediately, she said, Guild Leader, isnt it a little too early to raid the Demons Castle? It would be better for us to focus on raiding the Level 10 Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Although our Guild started slower than the others, we can still try to compete with the other Guilds over the Three Great Dungeons. No. Aqua, our Guild will not be competing over the Three Great Dungeons. Our goal is the Level 20, 100-man Dungeon, the Thunder Palace. So, we need to start preparing for it now. Once were done with this raid, you should get everyone to level up as quick as possible. Dont intentionally suppress their levels. It wont be a worthwhile thing to do, Shi Feng said, confidence filling his eyes as he shook his head. Aqua Rose was rendered speechless by Shi Fengs words. She couldnt help but sigh as she felt pessimistic about Shi Fengs whimsical thoughts. Let alone the 100-man Dungeon, Thunder Palace, it was not even possible for them to obtain the First Clear of the Demons Castle. Although she believed in Shi Fengs strength, the equipment of their team was simply insufficient. Theyre here. Shi Feng looked towards a group of a dozen or so players walking over. They were none other than Fire Dance and her team. They? Aqua Rose turned towards the direction Shi Feng was looking at and was immediately shocked by what she saw. She discovered more than ten players walking over, each of them looking extremely dazzling. It was especially true for the sexy beauty walking in the lead. The two daggers by the womans waist were actually giving off the glow of a Fine-Gold ranked weapon. In addition, quite a few members of this team also possessed gorgeous-looking equipment; they all wore Secret-Silver Equipment. Although the Cursemancer of this team had hidden the special effects of his staff, judging by the delicate make of the weapon, it should be of Fine-Gold rank at the very least. As for the teams Guardian Knight, the equipment he wore were mostly of Secret-Silver rank, with two pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment mixed in. Although the Guardian Knight had likewise hidden the special effects of his shield, based on looks alone, it shouldnt be lower than Secret-Silver rank. It was possible that not even the main force of Ouroboros could compare to this dazzling team. When Aqua Rose took a closer look at this group of players, she was surprised to discover that each and every of them sported a six-winged emblem. They were actually members of their Zero Wing. Aqua Roses delicate mouth suddenly parted in disbelief. Guild Leader, Ive brought everyone here, Fire Dance said, walking up to Shi Feng. She and the other core members of Zero Wing already knew about Shi Fengs secret identity. Hence, they were not confused by his appearance as Black Flame. Good. Leave your teams and Ill send an invite to all of you. Shi Feng nodded in reply. 262 We Are Very Strong Aqua Rose was shocked. They are the eight players at the top of the Ranking List? Aqua Rose whispered in silence. Although she did not use any identification skills on these players, aside from the top eight players, she could think of no other members of Zero Wing that could possibly possess such excellent equipment. Yeah. Shi Feng nodded his head. He then started inviting Fire Dance and the others into his team. There were a total of 17 players in Fire Dances team. Aqua Rose had also brought along a good friend of hers, Icy Fruit. Aqua Rose had chosen her upon Shi Fengs request for a healer who was Level 15 or above. Shi Feng had exactly 20 members in his team now. Of them, two were MTs. One of them was the Guardian Knight, Cola, while the other was Ye Wumian, who was a Shield Warrior. There were also a total of four healers in the team. It was a standard composition for a 20-man Dungeon-raiding team. Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Dungeon, another team came walking over to the Dungeons entrance. The members of this team were out of the ordinary. Let alone possessing Mysterious-Iron Equipment as their lowest ranked equipment, there were also several of them with Secret-Silver Equipment. This was a sight impossible to be found in an independent team. Yet, contrary to expectations, these players were not Guild players but independent players. None of them wore a Guild Emblem on their bodies. War Wolf! Fire Dance said in astonishment when she saw the slim-looking man walking over. Oh? Is it an acquaintance? Whether it was his memory of this life or his past life, Shi Feng had no recollection of the man who looked to be the leader of this team. However, if these players were able to come into possession of such quality weapons and equipment, they could definitely be considered an expert team. In theory, they should not be unknown existences. _Could they have stopped playing midway in the past?_ Shi Feng inwardly wondered. Hello. We meet again, War Wolf said in greeting, looking at Fire Dance. After not meeting for some time, I never imagined that Miss Fire Dance would have joined a Guild. No. In truth, we were originally members of this Guild. It was only due to some complications that we did not establish the Guild before, Fire Dance explained. Let me introduce you. This man here is our Guild Leader, Black Flame. What a shock. So it turns out that Your Excellency is none other than the famous Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, Black Flame. War Wolf was somewhat taken aback by this revelation. Although he had long since known that Fire Dance and the others were not ordinary players, never would he have thought that their Guild Leader would be such a well-known character. Team leader War Wolf is the one who has left me in shock. You are actually starting to raid the Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon already. The teams that are capable of diving into the Demons Castle at this time definitely belong to the apex of White River City. Although Shi Feng had never heard of War Wolf before, a person capable of leading such a team definitely would not be a mediocre person. Shi Feng suddenly had the urge to recruit this team of players. Fortunately. We are only an independent team, and its impossible for us to compete with those Guilds over the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons. So, we can only choose to come here. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has something to do, we wont continue bothering you. War Wolf did not possess any good feelings towards Guilds, so he immediately brought his team into the Dungeon after speaking a few perfunctory words. This persons attitude is really weird. The previous time we met, he was welcoming when he spoke to us. Now, he only said a few words before taking his leave. Isnt this change in attitude a little too much? Blackie said in an unhappy tone. He probably doesnt like Guilds too much. Shi Feng revealed a helpless smile as he looked at War Wolf entering the Dungeon. There were all kinds of people in Gods Domain, and naturally, there were bound to be some who disliked Guilds. After all, most Guilds usually acted in an overbearing manner. Many players just wanted to experience the world of Gods Domain, so they werent all that interested in Guilds. Meanwhile, many of these players who were wholeheartedly chasing after adventure were surprisingly powerful. Among them, the most famous adventurer team in the past was the Midnight Tea Party. Although there were only twenty-plus members in the team, not a single Guild in Gods Domain dared to underestimate this adventurer team. Even Super Guilds had to draw a clear line with the Midnight Tea Party, both sides minding their own businesses. Obviously, War Wolf belonged to this type of adventurer. _I guess it cant be helped. Everybody has their own aspirations,_ Shi Feng silently lamented. There sure are a lot of powerhouses in White River City. Aqua Rose was astonished to find that there were actually so many crouching tigers and hidden dragons in White River City. Soon after, Shi Feng and the others had also entered the Demons Castle. However, Shi Feng had chosen a different difficulty from War Wolfs teams. Hell Mode, a difficulty that made all players pale when they talked about it. Yet, Shi Feng had chosen it without much thought. Aqua Rose was momentarily rendered speechless. She couldnt stand it anymore. Shi Feng was always taking unconventional actions. This was the Hell Mode of a 20-man Team Dungeon! At the very least, they should have started with Normal Mode to familiarize themselves with the Dungeon. They could then start accumulating better equipment from Hard Mode, before finally challenging Hell Mode. However, Shi Feng had started with Hell Mode right from the very beginning. Just what did he think of a Hell Mode Dungeon? Even if they had powerful experts in their team, they couldnt just be so reckless. Did Shi Feng forget the fact that almost half of the members in this team still didnt possess particularly good equipment? Meanwhile, these players in question were none other than the Five Demon Generals and the four experts from Green Leaf Workshop. Although they had already reached Level 15, and were also fully geared in Mysterious-Iron Equipment, they were still far from reaching the requirement to raid the Hell Mode of the Demons Castle. Hence, these nine players reacted with panic when they realized Shi Fengs decision. As this was Hell Mode, the monsters inside the castle all received an upgrade. Even the normal Elite monsters could cause one to tremble. Meanwhile, such monsters were wandering around in groups inside the castle corridors. [Demon Maid] (Elite Rank) Level 15 HP 80,000/80,000 Good at magical attacks, particularly fire-type damage. [Demon Butler] (Elite Rank) Level 15 HP 100,000/100,000 Good at melee attacks. Of these two types of monsters, the Demon Butlers were more difficult to deal with, as they would ignore aggro when they used Charge. In addition, when their Charge connected, they would also inflict a DoT debuff called Blood Curse, causing players to continuously lose HP. Also, due to this being Hell Mode, the debuff was further strengthened. When afflicted with this enhanced Blood Curse, players would lose 300 HP every three seconds, and receive 10% additional magic damage for 30 seconds. The debuff was also stackable up to 10 times. To make matters worse, demonic beings were born with high magic resistance, making them extremely difficult to deal with. Alright, Cola, go pull some monsters. Ye Wumian, youll act as support for Cola. Healers, pay attention to the MTs HP and remember to cast Dispel when necessary. As for everyone else, just focus on your damage output, Shi Feng instructed casually. Guild Leader, I suggest that we should take things slowly. After all, this is a Hell Mode Dungeon, not a Normal Mode. Even if Colas equipment is excellent, we still cant act so recklessly. Aqua Rose was close to collapsing from Shi Fengs carefree attitude. Its okay, Shi Feng said, smiling. We are very strong! Shi Feng had a clear grasp on the strength of this team, hence his carefree and confident attitude. Cola was currently Level 18, and with the Arclight Guard equipped, his HP had already reached 3,340 points. His Defense was even a frightening 2,300 points. In terms of Attributes, not a single MT within White River City could match him. The Elite monsters inside the Dungeon were only at Level 15. With three levels of suppression, these monsters could hardly harm Cola at all. Meanwhile, Cola did not hesitate in carrying out Shi Fengs orders. Immediately, he rushed at a group of monsters, raising his shield and throwing it at them. In a blink of an eye, the shield struck five Elite monsters, causing over 300 damage and placing a Silenced effect on each of the monsters, preventing them from using magic for six seconds. Shortly after, the shield returned to Colas hands. Before coming to this Dungeon, Cola had experienced luring over a hundred Level 25 monsters. Of them, there had been no lack of Elite monsters. Compared to those times, the few Elites before him were hardly worth mentioning. These demonic monsters simply had slightly higher HP and slightly more powerful skills. All of you, come over! Cola executed Justice Roar, compelling monsters within a fixed range to attack only him. Letting out angry roars, the Demon Maids at a distance had no choice but to attack Cola. As if he had transformed into a steel wall, Cola fully blocked the charge of the three Demon Butlers and four Demon Maids. Cola then used the group aggro skill Devotion. As the sacred aura provided by the skill dealt holy damage, it inflicted amplified damage on the seven demons. Every second, the seven demons would receive 200 holy damage. Before long, the aggro Cola had on these monsters was unshakably stable. On the other hand, the Demon Butlers only dealt around -240 damage with each of their attacks, while the Demon Maids dealt around -400 damage with their magical attacks. However, Cola managed to dodge the majority of these attacks by utilizing his nimble footwork, greatly reducing the damage he received. As a result, only Violet Cloud was actually required to maintain Colas HP above a safe threshold. Meanwhile, the other healers and Ye Wumian could only watch helplessly on the sidelines. No way. Aqua Roses delicate body trembled slightly. Currently, the excitement she felt could no longer be described with words. 263 Like a Hot Knife through Butter The task that originally required two MTs to accomplish was now handled by Cola alone. Moreover, it was obvious that Cola still had energy to spare. Fire Dance, go lure another wave. Ye Wumian, assist Cola and attract the aggro of the Demon Maids. Shi Feng determined that they would have no problems handling two waves of monsters at once, and that it would be much more efficient to do so. Although the Demon Butlers would frequently inflict the Blood Curse on Cola, with two Clerics taking turns casting Dispel on him, the debuff was not a particularly big problem. Moreover, the two Clerics in the team were very skilled. It was especially true for Violet Cloud. After undergoing the baptism of the Trial of Gods, it was as if she had been reborn anew. It was no wonder she had become a Tier 6 Cleric God shortly after clearing a six-colored trial. Although she had only cleared a four-colored trial this time, it was already a remarkable feat. The rewards she obtained from the trial also included permanent Attribute increases, enhanced skills, weapons, equipment, and other precious items. Currently, in terms of healing power, no other healer in White River City could match Violet Cloud. After Fire Dance lured another wave of monsters, Cola immediately aimed his shield at the three Demon Butlers and threw it, executing the Shield of Vengeance. The skill caused over -300 damage to the Demon Butlers, and their aggro instantly switched from Fire Dance to Cola. Immediately after, Ye Wumian used Flame Charge on the four Demon Maids at the back, stunning them. He then followed up with a Thunderclap, lightning flickering and electrocuting the four Demon Maids and causing close to -100 damage to them; Ye Wumians damage was clearly much worse than Colas. The Demon Maids grew furious at being attacked, and one of them shot a Flame Explosion at Ye Wumian right away, engulfing the Shield Warrior in brilliant flames. Ye Wumian had to retreat two steps before he could shake off the attack. His HP abruptly decreased by a large chunk as a damage of over -700 appeared above his head. Ye Wumian had a maximum HP of 2,580 points, while his Defense was 1,875 points. When compared to all the other Shield Warriors in White River City, he could definitely be counted as a top-tier expert. After all, Ye Wumian was originally the boss of Jin Hai Citys number one Workshop; the original equipment he used was already of good quality. In addition, Fire Dance had also helped them upgrade their equipment by raiding a few Hard Mode Dungeons. Currently, most of Ye Wumians equipment were of Mysterious-Iron rank, while three were of Secret-Silver rank; the items that were of Secret-Silver rank were his shield, breastplate, and leg guards. Yet, even with such equipment, his Attributes were still far from being comparable to Colas. Strong! When Aqua Rose witnessed the difference between Cola and Ye Wumian, she could not help but look at Cola, who was handling ten monsters simultaneously, in shock. Before, when Aqua Rose watched how effortlessly Cola had lured and tanked the monsters, she had even believed for a second that they were not actually in a 20-man Hell Mode Dungeon. However, now that she had witnessed Ye Wumian tanking, she immediately woke up from her stupor. This was indeed Hell Mode. Cola was simply too powerful, making the monsters look weak instead. It was no wonder Shi Feng was confident enough to challenge the Hell Mode of the Demons Castle right away. With such a powerful MT, it was not impossible for them to start from Hell Mode. Healers, prioritize healing Ye Wumian. Everyone else, focus your attacks and kill the Demon Maids first. Shi Feng immediately rushed into the fray after saying so, aiming for one of the Demon Maids. Leave it to me! Blackie said excitedly; it was finally his turn to display his strength. He then waved his Epic ranked staff, Maviss Guard, sending a bombardment of spells at the Demon Maids. Blackies firepower spoke for itself. Each one of his Dark Arrows caused -964 damage to the monsters, and critical hits caused -2,106 damage. If the effect of his staff, Spear of Light, triggered, he could also deal around -800 additional damage. Blackie then used Hell Flame, dealing over -1,000 damage every second to all targets within a 10-yard radius of the targeted location. If demons did not possess high magic resistance, the damage of this spell would have been even higher. Compared to Blackie, Aqua Roses damage as an Elementalist was much weaker. Every time she used Flame Explosion or Chain Explosion, she could only deal -670 damage or so. Aqua Rose felt slightly depressed at this scene. After all, she used to be an honorary elder of Twilight Echo, yet her damage was actually lower than Blackies by over 300 points. However, Aqua Rose did not know that Blackie held an Epic ranked staff in his hands. If she were to find out about it, she would definitely jump in shock. As for the other mages in the team, the damage they dealt was all above -500 or so. As for the melee players, Fire Dance stood out the most. Although she only dealt around -280 damage with her normal attacks and her skills dealt around -460 damage, her Attack Speed with the two daggers was extremely fast. When she attacked a Demon Maid, not only was the Demon Maid unable to use any spells, its HP also madly decreased. After Fire Dance accumulated eight stars worth of energy, she immediately used Eviscerate on the Demon Maid, dealing over -2,400 damage to the monster. As for Lonely Snow the Berserker, although his weapon was only a Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked two-handed axe, his normal attacks still dealt over -500 damage; his attacks that achieved a critical hit dealt over -900 damage. However, when compared to an Assassin, his attack rate was much lower. In regard to the damage output of the eight great experts of Zero Wing, the newly joined Five Demon Generals and the four experts from Green Leaf Workshop had long since grown numb of it. Not to mention, the power the experts of Zero Wing showed right now was only the tip of the iceberg. Just as Aqua Rose and Icy Fruit were getting over their shock, Shi Fengs damage once again blew their minds away. Shi Feng looked just like the Grim Reaper when he brandished the Abyssal Blade and the Silver Lake, sweeping through the monsters like a violent tornado. Just his normal attacks alone dealt over -350 damage. However, that was not the end. When his attacks achieved a critical hit, they dealt over -700 damage. Sometimes, triple critical hits would even appear, dealing over -1,000 damage in a single attack. Meanwhile, due to Shi Fengs high attack rate, the chances for double critical hits were also very high. It was a very pleasing sight to behold. Shi Feng then used Thundering Flash, three arcs of lightning passing through all the elite monsters. Instantly, damages of -510, -721, and -1,020 appeared above the monsters heads. Some of the monsters had even received critical hits, multiplying the damage they received by twofold, and even threefold. Immediately after, Shi Feng activated Dark Violent Dance, the skill enabling him to spread 40% of the target damage towards enemies within a 12-yard cone in front of him. Every time he slashed his sword, the 14 Elite monsters behind his main target would receive over -100 damage. If he executed the Level 10 Chop, the 14 monsters would instantly receive over -300 damage. Although Shi Fengs damage was frightening, it was not his most amazing aspect. Instead, the area he excelled at the most was his perfect grasp of timing and the overall situation. As long as these Elite monsters showed the slightest signs of leaving the group, he would immediately execute Thunder Flame Explosion, placing all these Elite monsters into a Fainted state. As a result, the two MTs would have more time to react to the situation, readjusting their positions and retaking the aggro of the monsters. Although Aqua Rose had long since known of Shi Fengs strength, she still could not help but be shocked when she personally witnessed Shi Fengs damage output. After killing these two waves of Elites, Shi Feng took a look at the teams Damage Output List. Hah, Im no good anymore. Its been too long since I upgraded my equipment. I never thought I would deal only this little damage. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Although Shi Fengs total damage ranked at the very top of the team, his damage exceeding even Blackies, in terms of single-attack output, he was far from being Blackies match. All this time, Shi Feng had been busy making money and increasing his Guilds backing. Hence, he did not get much of a chance to upgrade his own equipment. Presently, he was still using the Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, the Wind Extinguisher set. He only had three pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment on his entire person, and they were even Level 10 equipment only... Shi Feng depended mainly on the Abyssal Blade and his Pseudo-extraordinary item, the Blazing Meteor, to produce his frightening damage. Without them, he would only rank around fifth or sixth place at best within the team. However, Shi Fengs words had immediately earned him the contemptuous gazes of everyone in the team. If Shi Feng, who ranked first in terms of damage output, said he was no good, then what were they supposed to be? Following which, under Shi Fengs command, everyone advanced deeper into the castle, killing hundreds of Elites and a dozen or so Special Elites. Of the latter, the Demon Hounds were extremely ferocious. Moreover, these Demon Hounds moved in groups of four. Fortunately, Cola was capable of tanking three of these monsters at once, leaving the remaining one to Ye Wumian. If Cola had not been sufficiently strong, they would have definitely team-wiped. Naturally, the teams harvest was also bountiful. Aside from a few Tier 1 Gemstones, and Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment, they had also obtained two pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. One of them was a cloth-armor chest piece for Elementalists, which was promptly distributed to Aqua Rose. The other item was cloth-armor shoes for Clerics. As Violet Cloud already had excellent equipment, she had no need for the shoes at all. Hence, the equipment was given to the other Cleric in the team, Icy Fruit. The profits of a 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon is truly high. We have obtained so many Mysterious-Iron Equipment just from the Elite monsters. The Special Elites even drop Secret-Silver Equipment, Aqua Rose exclaimed. Just the harvest they reaped from arriving at the first Boss was already comparable to the harvest of raiding a Hard Mode Team Dungeon. If they could kill one or two Bosses this time, they would definitely make a huge profit. Its still too early to get excited. Save your joy for after we finish raiding this Boss before us. Shi Fengs pupils contracted, focusing his gaze towards the center of the arena. A tall heavy-armored knight with bloodshot eyes stood there, an aura of bloodthirst surrounding it. [Knight Captain Justin Freed] (Demonic Being, Lord Rank) Level 16 HP 880,000/880,000 264 Nemesis Such a high HP! Aqua Rose couldnt help but wrinkle her brows at this sight. The amount of HP a Boss was correlated with the amount of time needed to kill it, and the more HP a Boss had, the higher the demands on the damage dealers. The Bosses of Level 10, 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons would have 700,000 HP at maximum. Even so, not a single team in White River City had managed to clear one such Dungeon yet. Meanwhile, the Boss before them had 880,000 HP. Aqua Rose instantly felt despair at this sight. Fire Dance and the others, on the other hand, felt nothing much about it. They were simply waiting for Shi Fengs orders. Feeling everyones fervent gaze on him, Shi Feng smiled as he said, Cola, go test the waters. Gluttonous Mouse, youll be responsible for healing him. Everyone else, pay close attention to the Bosss movement patterns and habits; be sure to take a video recording. Afterwards, well think of a way to raid it. As the Knight Captain of the Demons Castle, Justin Freed excelled in melee combat. Even though Cola boasted excellent equipment, he could survive three hits at most from this Boss. If it were any other MT, they would definitely die in two hits. Aside from possessing high Attack Power, Justin Freed was a heavy-armored knight and his Defense spoke for itself. Now that he had been converted into a demon, his natural magic resistance was also very high. Justin Freed was practically a Boss without weaknesses. Justin Freed had two major skills, and if not taken with caution, either one of these skills could easily wipe out their entire team. Moreover, these two skills were further strengthened by the Hell Mode difficulty, making them extremely hard to deal with. The first skill was called Demon Summoning. Periodically, Justin Freed would summon three Demon Guards. If players failed to kill these three Demon Guards within a set amount of time, they would be absorbed into Justin Freeds body, replenishing the Bosss HP. In the Hard Mode difficulty of the Dungeon, each Demon Guard would heal Justin Freed of 3% of his maximum HP, while in Hell Mode, that percentage was increased to 5%. Hence, players needed to kill these Demon Guards no matter what. The second skill was called Death Blow. When using this skill, Justin Freed would randomly mark a player and throw a spear at them, dealing large amounts of damage. Players struck by this spear would also have their Movement Speed reduced by 60%, and Defense reduced by 100%. Justin Freed would then charge towards this marked player. During this charge, players had to avoid standing between Justin Freed and the marked player. Otherwise, both the marked player and the players standing in Justin Freeds way would die without question. Hence, when a player was marked by Justin Freed, they needed to run as far away from everyone else as possible. The marked player would be fine as long as they could survive Justin Freeds onslaught for 10 seconds. Just these two skills alone would already cause many challengers to despair. However, Justin Freed also possessed multiple other minor skills, although those would not be a huge problem if players made sure to dodge them. After Cola and Gluttonous Mouse battled with the Boss a few times, everyone fully understood just how amazing Justin Freed was. If struck by Justin Freeds greatsword, even a powerful tank like Cola would lose over 1,400 HP. It would take Justin Freed only two attacks to finish off anyone else within the team. Moreover, Justin Freed had a very high Attack Speed; he had no problems brandishing his greatsword twice in one second. If they wished to successfully clear this Boss, they needed to cooperate with each other properly. Not only did the MTs have to know when to dodge Justin Freeds attacks, the other melee classes also needed to know how to interrupt the Bosss attack pattern. Start the raid! After Shi Feng finished giving out his instructions, everyone went to their assigned positions, making a perfect encirclement around Justin Freed. Once ready, Cola immediately rushed towards Justin Freed, while Ye Wumian waited at one side for the appearance of the three Demon Guards. Compared to attacking an Elite monster, the damage Cola dealt to Justin Freed was much lower; his normal attacks only dealt slightly more than -100 damage to the Boss. After Cola solidified his aggro of the Boss, everyone else promptly barraged Justin Freed with attacks. However, the team quickly discovered a crucial matterJustin Freeds Defense was seriously too high. During the trial runs, Cola had been the only one attacking. Hence, everyone had not really noticed how high Justin Freeds Defense was. Take Lonely Snow for example. As a Berserker, every time he struck Justin Freeds back with his two-handed axe, he could only deal slightly more than -200 damage. Even after using Armor Break on the Boss, his damage only barely reached -300. As for the newcomers, the damage they dealt was far less. His Defense is too high! Even with her most powerful spells, Aqua Rose only managed to deal around -500 damage to the Boss. Shadow Burst! Blackie didnt dare hold back, immediately using the new skill he received for clearing the four-colored trial. Five black streaks of light immediately shot out from his staff, landed on Justin Freeds back, and exploded. Damages of -736, -741, -726, -732, -738 appeared above Justin Freeds head. Shi Feng was also slashing madly at Justin Freeds back. However, the damage he dealt was far lower than Blackies. Each of his basic attacks only dealt over -100 damage. However, this damage was further increased when Shi Feng triggered one of the Abyssal Blades effects, inflicting the Doom Curse on the Boss. There was also the Damage Amplification effect from Thundering Flash. As Justin Freed was a Hell Mode Boss, both the Abyssal Blades Doom Curse and the effect of Thundering Flash were greatly weakened. Overall, the two debuffs had weakened Justin Freed by 15%. Simultaneously, Shi Feng swapped out his Might of a Thousand title for his Demon Hunter title, further weakening Justin Freed. Now, Justin Freed only possessed 80% of his original strength. This result undeniably reduced the burden placed on everyone in the team. Guild Leader, the additional passive skill of your weapon and also the effect of your title are simply too amazing! Thanks to you, the difficulty of this Boss has been forcefully brought down a notch! Cola said with a smile. Undeniably, he was the person who profited the most from these debuffs. Aqua Roses eyes glowed with joy as well when she witnessed this scene. Thanks to Shi Fengs skills and title, they now had hope of defeating this Boss. _It seems that I, too, should get more of such titles in the future. It would make Boss raids a lot easier._ Aqua Rose looked at Shi Fengs title in envy. However, she knew it would be very difficult to obtain such a title. Aqua Rose made a note to herself to ask Shi Feng how she, too, could obtain such a title when they left this Dungeon. When Justin Freeds HP fell to 90%, Shi Feng immediately shouted through the team chat, Ye Wumian, get ready to aggro the monsters! Everyone, focus fire on the spawns the moment they appear! Fire Dance and I will help Cola cope with the Boss! Damnable trespassers! Guards! Get rid of them! Justin Freed bellowed. Suddenly, three Demon Guards ran in from outside the arena. Every one of these Demon Guards were Elite monsters. Moreover, each of them possessed 40,000 HP. Fortunately, the Demon Guards had much lower Defense compared to the Boss. The team took no time at all to finish all three, especially when they had a powerhouse like Blackie. Everyone then returned their focus to the Boss. During the entire battle, Shi Feng did not get many chances to deal damage. Possibly due to there being many more people attacking him, Justin Freeds attack pattern right now was slightly different from when only Cola and Gluttonous Mouse were raiding him. The Boss could always accurately force Cola into a corner whenever he brandished his greatsword, preventing Cola from effectively dodging his attacks. To make matters worse, aside from Shi Feng, nobody else in the team could accurately find a way to interrupt the Bosss attack rhythm. Although Fire Dance managed to react to the situation and find a suitable location to attack, due to her low Strength as an Assassin, she failed to interrupt Justin Freeds attack. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to focus all his attention on interrupting the Bosss attacks. Otherwise, if Cola were to make a mistake and eat any of the Bosss minor skills, he would definitely lose his life because the healers would not be able to keep up with their healing. Concurrently, Colas death would also mean everyone elses death. When Justin Freeds HP fell to 78%, he finally used Death Blow in a fit of rage. Meanwhile, the target of this skill was none other than Shi Feng. Shi Fengs first reaction to the activation of this skill was to turn tail and run. After being marked by this skill, unless players activated skills that provided invincibility, they would unquestionably die when Justin Freed closed in on them. Justin Freed retrieved a silver spear and abruptly threw it at Shi Feng. Instantly, a silver flash streaked across the sky and flew at Shi Feng, producing a boom as it broke the sound barrier. Players were unable to dodge this silver spear, so they could only try to block it. Hence, just as the spear was about to reach him, Shi Feng immediately spun his body around and activated Parry. The spear smashed into the Abyssal Blade, generating brilliant sparks as metal clashed against metal. Shi Feng was forced to retreat over a dozen steps before he could shake off the attack and stabilize his body. Both his hands felt numb after blocking Justin Freeds attack, and he had very nearly lost his grip on his swords. He then took a glance at the Abyssal Blade, finding a clear scar on the blade of the sword. _Unbelievable. To think that this move could even damage a Magic Weapon If it were a Secret-Silver Weapon taking this hit, wouldnt it get destroyed instantly? Even a Fine-Gold Weapon might not survive this attack._ Shi Feng secretly rejoiced that he had not used the Silver Lake to block this attack. Otherwise, the sword would have been finished. After seeing his spear blocked, Justin Freed grew furious. Ignoring Cola, he charged at Shi Feng with large strides. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately activated Windwalk, increasing his Movement Speed by 30%. He then started moving in circles around the arena. As Shi Feng did not receive any damage from Justin Freeds spear, he also did not receive the Movement Speed reduction debuff. Hence, no matter how hard the Boss tried to chase Shi Feng, he simply couldnt catch up. In the end, Shi Feng kited the Boss around the arena for the full ten seconds. With both of Justin Freeds major skills dealt with, everyone returned to their positions and resumed their attack on Justin Freed. Later on, no matter how many times Justin Freed used his major skills, the end result was still the same. After a dozen minutes passed, even when Justin Freed entered his berserk state, he still could not change the inevitable. The reason being, Cola had Protection Blessing to stave off the Bosss increased damage. Cola also had the Arclight Guards additional skill, Time Arc. The effect of this skill was the equivalent of providing Cola with nine seconds of invincibility. It also allowed him to reset the Cooldown of any skills he had used during Time Arcs duration. One way or another, Cola had managed to endure and survive through the 20-second duration of the Bosss berserk state. In the end, Justin Freed let out a scream of resentment as he fell to the ground, his body leaving behind a pile of dazzling items as it disappeared. 265 Dark Knight Gaia Its a jackpot! Our karma must be too good! I wonder what well get? This is the Hell Mode of the Demons Castle. A jackpot should give us at least a Dark-Gold Weapon, right? Justin Freeds death allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. However, when they saw the pile of items on the ground, everyone knew that their luck had come. Just a brief glance told them that Justin Freed had dropped more than ten items. It was an obvious sign that this was one of those rare karmic jackpots. Alright, dont get too excited right now. Rest and recover for now. Shi Feng simply smiled when he looked at his teammates excitement. However, he knew that the jackpot this time around was no coincidence. Others might not know this, but the Demons Castle was actually the hardest Dungeon out of all the Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeons, although everyone believed that it was simply a 20-man Dungeon with above average difficulty. In the past, countless Guilds had suffered team-wipe after team-wipe in order to raid the Demons Castle. According to Shi Fengs understanding, the Bosses of every Hell Mode Team Dungeon that possessed the highest difficulty out of all Hell Mode Team Dungeons of the same level would always yield a jackpot when it was being raided for the first time. This was a reward by the system for pioneering the Team Dungeon with the highest difficulty. \--- While Shi Feng was counting up the loot from Justin Freed, a group of players revived at the entrance of the Demons Castle. Boss, that Justin Freeds Defense and Attack are simply too high. Compared to a Level 10 Dungeon, the Demons Castle is far more difficult. Moreover, this is only the Normal Mode Dungeon. Even a powerful MT like yourself could not survive three hits from the first Boss. I dont think theres any way we can raid this Dungeon right now, a Druid said. It seems that two MTs are required for this Boss, to share the damage. We can just let a Ranger kite the three summoned monsters. After experiencing a battle with Justin Freed, War Wolf fully realized just how powerful the Boss was. Every time Justin Freed attacked, War Wolf would be forced into a corner and prevented from dodging; he had no choice but to take the full brunt of the Bosss attack. If he only had to endure Justin Freeds basic attacks, War Wolf was confident he could make do with the heals he received. However, one of Justin Freeds minor skills, Thousand Sweep, dealt at least -1,000 damage to all targets within an 8-yard radius. Meanwhile, the activation time for this skill was practically instantaneous, so War Wolf had no chance at dodging it. When War Wolf ate this minor skill in addition to a basic attack, he would instantly lose at least 2,000 HP. Only with all four healers in the team focusing their heals on him could they barely manage to get his HP back up to a safe level before Justin Freeds next attack connected. However, shortly after, the Boss summoned three Demon Guards. Once the healers spread their focus to the other members of the team, War Wolf was promptly slain by Justin Freed. The end result? A team-wipe. \--- As War Wolfs team was about to enter the Demons Castle for the second time, Shi Feng had already started distributing the loot. The jackpot this time had yielded 11 weapons and equipment in total. There were also quite a number of Magic Crystals and precious materials. Among the weapons and equipment dropped were three Secret-Silver Equipment: leg guards for Rangers, a hat for Druids, and shoulder guards for Summoners. As this was a Guild-only team, and also a pioneer raid, the distribution of items this time was not done using the contribution-auction method. Instead, Shi Feng assigned the items to specific players while placing priority on increasing the overall battle prowess of the team. Meanwhile, Fine-Gold ranked weapons and equipment numbered the most. There was a total of six of such items dropped by Justin Freed. The Attributes of these items spoke for themselves. The items dropped from the Hell Mode of the Demons Castle were all of the finest quality. Lonely Snow received a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked greataxe, while Cola received a Level 15 Fine-Gold ranked shortsword. Meanwhile, the Secret-Silver Weapons the two previously used were passed on to their teammates. The remaining four items were Fine-Gold Equipment: shoes for Swordsmen, arm guards for Cursemancers, a chest piece for Oracles, and a chest piece for Elementalists. Shi Feng kept the shoes for Swordsmen for himself, exchanging it with his Level 10 Mysterious-Iron ranked boots. [Triumph Boots] (Shoes, Plate Armor, Fine-Gold Rank) Level 15 Defense +184 Strength +17, Agility +20, Endurance +12 Movement Speed +5 Restricted to Swordsman. Additional Passive Skill- Light-footed: Increases Movement Speed by 5%. Shi Feng then handed the Fine-Gold ranked arm guards to Blackie, the chest piece for Oracles to Gluttonous Mouse, and the chest piece for Elementalists to Aqua. The final two items were of Dark-Gold rank. One was a pitch-black longsword, while the other was a dark-gray colored staff that emitted black mist. [Demonbane] (One-handed Sword, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 15 Attack Power +183 Strength +20, Agility +21, Endurance +10 Attack Speed +3 Durability 100/100 Additional Passive Skill- Demonbane: Deals 20% additional damage towards darkness-type monsters. Although the Demonbane was only at the level of being satisfactory in terms of Attributes, the passive skill that came along with it was perfect for raiding the Demons Castle. Shi Feng just happened to be able to replace his Level 10 Dark-Gold Weapon, the Silver Lake. Although the Silver Lake was a Personal Exclusive Weapon, in terms of Attributes and Attack Power, it was much weaker than the Level 15 Demonbane. The reason being, there would be a huge increase in the performance of weapons and equipment every five Levels. Moreover, when taking into consideration the convenience of the upcoming battles, Shi Feng had even more reason to exchange the Silver Lake for the Demonbane. As for the Dark-Gold ranked staff, it was also of extremely good quality. [Black Mist Staff] (Two-handed Staff, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 15 Equipment Requirement: Strength 40, Intelligence 60 Attack Power +154 Intelligence +42, Vitality +28, Endurance +33 Chanting Speed +6 Durability 100/100 Elemental Spell Damage increased by 10% Elemental Spells have 18% chance to achieve a critical hit. Ignore Levels +3 Cast Range +2 Elemental Spell Levels +1 Restricted to Elementalist. Wow! The Attributes on this staff are insane! Its practically tailored for Elementalists! Even though Blackie already had an Epic ranked staff, he still couldnt help but exclaim when he saw the Attributes on this staff. The eyes of the two Elementalists in the team immediately glowed upon seeing the Attributes of this staff. This staff will go to Aqua. Shi Feng handed the staff over to Aqua Rose without hesitation. Although Taciturn Goose, who was one of the newly recruited Five Demon Generals, was also an Elementalist, Aqua Rose was the Vice-Leader of the Guild. It would not look well if the Vice-Leader of the Guild continued using only a Secret-Silver ranked staff. Moreover, Aqua Roses techniques and strength was far above Taciturn Gooses, and she would be able to display the staffs true power better. For me? Although Aqua Rose indeed liked this Black Mist Staff very much, she had only recently joined the Guild. She would feel very awkward if she were to receive such an amazing staff so quickly. Take it. Youre the Vice-Leader of our Guild. We cant have other Guilds looking down on Zero Wing now, can we? Shi Feng said, a grin on his face. Thats right, Vice-Leader! Our Guild is acknowledged as one of the six major Guilds right now! If the other Guilds were to find out that our Vice-Leader was still using a Secret-Silver ranked staff, they would definitely make fun of us! Blackie said. Alright, then. Ill take it. Aqua Rose felt that their words were logical. As one of the top management of the Guild, every action she took affected the Guilds reputation. If others were to discover her poor quality equipment, although they might not outright slander them with insults, they would definitely look down on Zero Wing. It would make others think that Zero Wing was not as good as it seemed to be. After equipping this exquisite staff, Aqua Rose suddenly felt the responsibilities placed upon on her shoulders growing heavier. Following which, after everyone was rested, they resumed advancing towards the heart of the Demons Castle. Due to the jackpot from Justin Freed, the teams overall strength was greatly increased. They had a much easier time now when they fought against the Elites and Special Elites, and very quickly, they arrived at the main hall of the Demons Castle. The final Boss, the Dark Knight Gaia, sat high above on the throne inside the hall. The moment everyone set foot inside the hall, the atmosphere of the room suddenly changed, and even the air started feeling heavy. Everyone in the team sucked in a mouthful of cold breath at the scene inside the hall. This is a joke, right? Blackie looked at the throne in the distance, his mouth gaping wide open in shock. What is going on here? Why are there two more Bosses with Dark Knight Gaia? Astonished, Shi Feng stared at the two beauties standing beside the throne. The two beauties had a pair of pitch-black wings on their backs, and both of them were giving off an imposing aura that was no weaker than Dark Knight Gaias. 266 Holy Ligh Just Dark Knight Gaia alone was a challenge for them to deal with. Yet, there were two more Bosses of equal strength now. Even Shi Feng felt powerless at this sight However, the fact that there were three Bosses in this hall was not the most important point. The key point was that even a single Boss was enough to cause everyone to despair. _The difficulty of this quest is too high._ Shi Fengs head ached when he looked at the three Bosses. He never imagined that Weissmans quest would be so difficult. If it were the normal Hell Mode Demons Castle, Shi Feng would still have a way to clear it. However, if he had to face the three Bosses before him simultaneously, then there really was no hope for clearing this Dungeon at all. [Dark Knight Gaia] (High Lord Rank) Level 16 HP 4,000,000/4,000,000 [Fallen Angel Ayr] (High Lord Rank) Level 16 HP 3,600,000/3,600,000 [Fallen Angel Lara] (High Lord Rank) Level 16 HP 3,600,000/3,600,000 Not only did the quest increase the number of Bosses, it had also greatly increased their strength. With a frightening 4,000,000 HP, even if their healers exhausted all their Mana, they still wouldnt be able to kill Dark Knight Gaia. It was also highly possible that Cola would die with a single stab from Dark Knight Gaias spear. Guild Leader, I think we should withdraw. There must be a problem with the System. Four million HP is just ridiculous Cola said, shaking his head while sighing. I think so as well, Brother Feng. Maybe we should go out and reset the Dungeon, Blackie said. The others had similar thoughts as well. Even if this was Hell Mode, the difficulty of these Bosses was simply preposterous. Since weve already come this far, lets give it a try. There should be a special mechanism in place if the Bosses are set to be so powerful. Shi Feng did not think there was an error with the System. It definitely had its own reasoning for making the Bosses this powerful. So, they might as well test the water. Who knows? They might even discover some secret trick that will allow them to defeat these Bosses. Since Shi Feng had already spoken, the others naturally did not oppose his decision. At worst, they would simply waste some of their EXP, and EXP was something they could easily obtain. Hence, like the previous time, Cola and Gluttonous Mouse went ahead to gauge the standards of the Bosses. Like before, Cola threw his shield at the three Bosses, activating Shield of Vengeance. Yet, the moment Colas shield struck the three Bosses, everyone in the team was stunned by what they saw. -1 -1 -1 Only one point of damage appeared above each of the three Bosses. Their frightening Defense rendered everyone in the team speechless. You are seeking death! Dark Knight Gaia spoke in a tone that was neither enraged nor arrogant. Rather, his voice was only filled with coldness and indifference. He spoke just like a machineemotionless. Gaia then slowly got up from his throne. He did not rush to attack Cola, instead choosing to abruptly focus his eyes on Cola. Cola instantly felt a chill overcome his body. Although this was a game, the pressure he felt was nothing but real. Similarly, the two Fallen Angels by Gaias side did not take any action. They did not even give Cola a single glance, as if saying Cola was not worth their attention at all. I refuse to believe it yet. Cola summoned up his courage as he used Punishment on Dark Knight Gaia. However, just like before, his attack only dealt one point of damage to the Boss. Everyone cringed at this result. This time, Dark Knight Gaia finally retaliated against Colas attack. Gaia casually retrieved a spear from his side, aimed it at Cola, and threw it. Before anyone could react, a flash of light pierced through Colas chest, followed by a sonic boom reverberating throughout the hall. The attack caused over -2,900 damage to Cola, leaving him with only several hundred HP remaining. This casual attack had nearly taken Colas pitiful life. Just as Dark Knight Gaia was about to attack for the second time, a pillar of holy light descended from the sky, enveloping Cola. When Gaias spear clashed against the holy light, it was as if the spear had struck an impenetrable wallthe spear could not advance by even an inch. There was a trick to it as expected. Shi Feng smiled faintly when he saw the holy light descending from the sky. He also discovered the silhouette of a person floating amidst the pillar of holy light. Hence, Shi Feng shouted in the team chat, Everyone, together! Healers, get Colas HP back up first! Previously, everyone merely had the intention of giving the Bosses a try; they did not hold any hope of actually killing them. Now that a chance had appeared, how could they easily give it up? The atmosphere surrounding the team instantly changed. No longer were they shrouded by despair. _Huh? Why is it her?_ When the person inside the pillar of light walked out, Shi Feng discovered a familiar face. When he caught a clearer view of that saintly appearance, his mind immediately turned sluggish. The person that walked out of the pillar of holy light was actually the Tier 3 Divine Official Sharlyn. Wow! My Goddess! Blackies eyes widened upon seeing Sharlyn, his drool nearly leaking out of his mouth. Putting aside Sharlyns peerless appearance and graceful figure, just that extraordinary aura that she exuded would attract others to her. Gifted with both appearance and aura, Sharlyn was even more mesmerizing than the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. After Sharlyn descended into the hall, she did not look at the people behind her. Instead, she focused her attention on the black throne, at Dark Knight Gaia and the two Fallen Angels by his side. Dark Knight Gaia no longer maintained his look of indifference when he noticed Sharlyns appearance. Instead, a hint of fear showed on his face. Gaia, leave that woman to us. You take care of those ants and activate the teleportation gate. It is about time we let this continent be filled with fear and death once more, Fallen Angel Ayr said. Yes, Lady Ayr, Dark Knight Gaia answered respectfully. At the same time, Sharlyn whirled around to look at everyone, saying, Adventurers! For his selfish gains, Gaia has turned the past inhabitants of this castle into demons, letting them live a life that is worse than death! Now, he is even trying to open a gate to the Demon World, summoning the Legion of Dead to attack White River City! You must stop Gaia from doing so at all costs and prevent a terrible fate from befalling the inhabitants of White River City! Finished speaking, Sharlyn immediately chanted some divine incantations. She then pointed a finger at the players before her. Suddenly, everyone in the team received a buff. [Blessing of Holy Light] Increases all Attributes by 200 points. This blessing is insane! My Magic Damage is over a thousand points! My HP is also over 5,000! This feels awesome! Blackie said in exhilaration. Everyone else shared Blackies feelings. Their bodies felt full of power, and they felt that they could easily go back and trample the previous Boss, Justin Freed. Just the HP of the ranged players had already exceeded the 5,000 threshold. The other melee players also had their HPs increased past the 6,000 threshold. As for the monstrous MT of the team, Cola, his HP had already gone past the 7,000 threshold. Cola was practically a mini Boss now. After Sharlyn and the two Fallen Angels departed to do battle, Dark Knight Gaia immediately charged towards the team of players, intending to massacre them quickly. At this time, everyone in the team no longer looked at Dark Knight Gaia with fearful eyes like before. Even if Cola received close to -3,000 damage from a single spear throw from the Boss, the Guardian Knight presently had over 7,000 HP. Moreover, the healers also had their Magic Damage increased from the blessing. Now, a casual heal from any one of them could replenish over a thousand HP for Cola. They had no problems coping with Dark Knight Gaias frightening damage. Taking the lead, Cola immediately slashed his sword at Gaia, following up the attack with a Punishment. -328, -641. Two damages appeared above Dark Knight Gaias head. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had used Silent Steps and arrived at Dark Knight Gaias back. Executing Chop, he slashed his sword down at Gaias neck, immediately causing more than -1,200 damage to the Boss. His follow-up normal attacks also caused around -600 damage. However, compared to physical damage classes, the mages had a much greater improvement. Each of Blackies Dark Arrows caused over -2,000 damage to the Boss; over -4,000 damage if it was a critical hit. As for Aqua Rose, her Flame Explosion dealt over -1,500 damage to the Boss. The other mages in the team could also deal over -1,200 damage with each of their attacks, which was very impressive. On the other hand, Dark Knight Gaias damage towards Cola was slightly reduced. Each of his attacks only dealt slightly over -2,400 damage to Cola now. One side was strengthened, while the other, weakened. Even if Dark Knight Gaia had 4,000,000 HP, everyone still felt confident of defeating him. As Dark Knight Gaias HP continuously fell, his attack rate also grew fiercer, and the damage he dealt also became greater. From the initial -2,400 damage, Cola now received around -2,700 from each of Gaias attacks. 267 Legendary Power _This wont do. The damage were dealing is still too low. If this keeps up, we will definitely be the ones to die._ After several exchanges with Dark Knight Gaia, Shi Feng had already deduced the most likely ending of this raid. His mind immediately started churning for a solution to this problem. When Dark Knight Gaias HP fell to 70%, everyone else detected that something was wrong. The spear Gaia brandished was like a python, containing both power and agility. Gaia had a more relaxed time responding to everyones attacks now, successfully blocking and rendering many of the attacks sent at him ineffective. Currently, Gaia was like the reincarnation of the spear god. Dark Knight Gaia abruptly swept his spear in a circle, sending Shi Feng and the others, who were attacking his back, flying. Shi Feng reacted quickly and used Parry without hesitation, preventing any harm from reaching him. Unfortunately, everyone else in the team was not as quick to react. As a result, each of them received over -2,000 damage from the attack, suddenly increasing the burden placed on the healers. Meanwhile, the main target of Dark Knight Gaias attack, Cola, had to retreat a handful of steps before stabilizing his body. A frightening damage of -4,300 also appeared above his head. Guild Leader, the Boss is getting more powerful the longer we fight! I dont think I will last long if this situation continues! At this moment, the Guardian Knight, Cola, was no longer as calm and composed as he was before. Currently, the Dark Knight Gaia would deal around -3,000 damage each time he attacked Cola. If the Boss triggered a critical hit or used a skill, he would deal over -4,000 damage. Even if Cola had over 7,000 HP, the pressure placed on him was huge. His HP constantly hovered around the safety threshold, which was a very dangerous situation. This was exactly where the Dark Knight Gaia excelled. The longer he fought, the braver he got. On the surface, Dark Knight Gaia did not seem to use any major skills. However, in reality, he had been using them constantly. Blood Rage. With this skill, the longer Dark Knight Gaia battled, the higher his damage would become. His Attack Speed would also rise as time passed. Just this skill alone was already sufficient to make any team that dared challenge him kneel and accept defeat. In addition, Dark Knight Gaia also possessed an AOE skill, Blood Domain. The skill had an effective area of 100 yards. When used, a Blood Demon would spawn behind all enemies within this range. These Blood Fiends each had 10,000 HP. Contrary to expectations, these Blood Fiends would not attack players. Instead, if these Blood Fiends came within 3 yards of their locked target, they would self-destruct. The resulting explosion had an effective radius of 20 yards, and in Hell Mode, the explosion would deal -2,000 damage. However, due to Shi Fengs quest, the current Boss the team faced was an enhanced version of the Hell Mode Dark Knight Gaia. Hence, Shi Feng did not know how much damage the Blood Fiends would deal if they exploded; it was bound to be more than -2,000 damage. If they could not deal with these Blood Fiends quickly, leaving the monsters to self-destruct without control, the end result would, without a doubt, be a team-wipe. Yet, if everyone were to run around the hall while having the Blood Fiends chase after them, it would disrupt the teams formation; any mistake made during this confusion would easily lead to a team-wipe. Hence, the moment these Blood Fiends appeared, they needed to deal with them within the shortest amount of time possible. _Just depending on the Blessing of Holy Light wont be enough to deal with this Boss. If we cant increase our damage output, we will die sooner or later._ Shi Feng took a look at the Mana levels of the four healers and discovered that all of them only had around half remaining. However, Dark Knight Gaia still had 65% of his HP left. If this situation continued, they wouldnt be able to last until the end. Not to mention, Dark Knight Gaia hadnt used Blood Domain yet. At that time, the burden on the healers would definitely be huge. Brother Feng, well definitely be team-wiped if this continues! Should I use Stars of Light now? Blackie secretly sent a private message to Shi Feng. Stars of Light was the most powerful skill of the Epic ranked staff, Maviss Guard. Its might surpassed even that of a Tier 2 spell. It was a spell that could devastate both heaven and earth. Unfortunately, this powerful spell had a Cooldown time of half an hour. Hence, it was a trump card that could only be used once in a Boss battle. As a result, whenever Blackie was in a party together with Shi Feng, he would always seek Shi Fengs advice, letting Shi Feng decide when he should use the skill. No, its still too early for it. Shi Feng had long since planned for Blackie to use Stars of Light when Gaia used Blood Domain. The might of the skill would instantly evaporate the Blood Fiends that spawn. Yet, if they did not use the skill now, they might not even survive to see Dark Knight Gaia use Blood Domain. With two difficult options at hand, Shi Feng was at a loss which to pick. _In the end, we still arent strong enough._ Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Even though their team was already so powerful, it was still not enough to clear this quest. Shi Feng truly did not know how those players in the past had managed to complete this quest. However, it was also a fact that the players had already completed their Tier 1 class promotion when they completed this quest. With a team of Tier 1 players with top-tier Level 20 equipment and weapons, it would be a simple walk in the park for them to conquer the enhanced Hell Mode of the Demons Castle. Also, even if nobody in the team had reached Level 20, if everyones weapons and equipment were of Dark-Gold rank or above, Dark Knight Gaia would still have no choice but to submit to them. To put it bluntly, they were lacking in preparations. _As expected, our current equipment is still too weak._ Shi Feng could not help but lament as he watched the Boss getting stronger as time passed. Suddenly, however, a flash of realization came to Shi Feng. _Thats right! If its equipment, dont I have the Fragmented Legendary item?_ Shi Feng thought of the ring that had been left asleep inside his bag. The Heavenly Dragons Breath. As a Fragmented Legendary item, it possessed the strength to change a players Tier. Yes, Tier, not Level. Previously, Shi Feng had never managed to reach the requirements of the Fragmented Legendary item. Now, however, he had already achieved it. [Heavenly Dragons Breath] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 200, Agility 200, Intelligence 120 Strength +40%, Agility +40%, Intelligence +30%, Endurance +50% Movement Speed +20% Attack Speed +30% Ignore Levels +10 All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Skill 1: Dragons Authority. Suppress all enemies in the surroundings with the might of the Heavenly Dragon, inflicting the Fear status onto enemies within a 30-yard distance, reducing their Attack Power by 20%, Attack Speed by 20%, and Movement Speed by 20% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 minutes Additional Skill 2: Dragon Breath. Inflicts 6X damage in a 30*5 yard line in front of you. There is a 20% chance to induce the Fainted state for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 3: Heavenly Dragons Power. Allows the user to temporarily possess the power of the Heavenly Dragon, increasing HP by 300%, Strength by 100%, and Defense by 300%, and grants immunity to all controlling effects for 2 minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours The Dragon Slayer Mekaseru once owned the Heavenly Dragons Breath. It was originally a Legendary Ranked Item possessing the suppressed strength of the dragon tribe. Due to damage resulting from a war between Gods, its might has greatly decreased. However, the Heavenly Dragons Breath possesses an incomparably strong magic power and possesses the potential to restore itself. Its past glory may be restored with three Magic Stars and one Dragons Heart. Current restoration (0/4). [Blessing of Holy Light] Increases all Attributes by 200 points. This blessing had allowed Shi Feng to instantly surpass the daunting requirement of having 120 Intelligence. Without wasting any more time, Shi Feng immediately retrieved the Heavenly Dragons Breath from his bag. The instant he wore the ring, he immediately felt it transmit a boundless power into his body. Not even the Blessing of Holy Light could compare to this power. Good. The raid officially starts, now! Shi Feng looked at the silver dragon-shaped ring on his finger, a smile on his face. Whether it was his past life or his present life, this was the very first time he was feeling the strength of a Legendary item, even if it was only a fragment. He then shifted his gaze towards Dark Knight Gaia, his eyes abruptly focusing. Dragons Authority! Instantly, everyone felt Shi Fengs transformation. They could feel the might of an ancient dragon coming off him, and even their souls quivered in the face of this power. Meanwhile, as if stuck in a deep quagmire, Dark Knight Gaias movements turned sluggish. Gaias Attack Power was greatly reduced as well, letting Cola gain a breather. Cola no longer felt overwhelmed by Gaias attacks, and he could even dodge the Bosss attacks now. It wasnt just limited to Cola. Everyone else started attacking with greater efficiency as well. Originally, they were on the verge of being team-wiped. Yet, the situation suddenly had a huge change. It was simply unbelievable. What happened? Aqua Rose was shocked. 268 Everything is Insubstantial Although everyone was shocked by Dark Knight Gaias weakening, they were even more shocked by the person who activated Dragons Authority, Shi Feng. Currently, raging winds surrounded Shi Fengs body, swirling in all directions and creating a dazzling sight. Shi Feng had now become the focus of this hall. When Shi Feng took a step forward, his body instantly disappeared and reappeared in front of Dark Knight Gaia. Brandishing both the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane, Shi Feng sent over a dozen slashes at the Boss, the afterimages of his swords creating an impression of a lotus flower. Due to the Heavenly Dragons Breath, Shi Fengs Attributes were greatly increased once more. Currently, his Strength had already exceeded 500 points, while his Attack was well over 1,200 points. His Agility had also exceeded 600 points. Whether it was his Attack Power or Attack Speed, both were far above the standards of even a Tier 1 Swordsman. Right now, Shi Feng could even give a Tier 2 Sword Master a run for his money. This was the power of a Legendary item. Even though Shi Feng only had a fragmented version of it, the increase in combat power he received could allow him to challenge enemies of a higher tier. Damages of over -1,000 appeared one after another. Some of his attacks had even dealt over -2,000 and -3,000 damage. Dark Knight Gaia, who had previously been like an immovable mountain, was currently being forced to retreat step after step by the torrent of sword slashes. He could not even enter a basic stance due to the incessant attacks. Meanwhile, Cola was having a relaxed time going against the Boss, expending almost no effort on evading the Bosss attacks. However, Shi Fengs onslaught had yet to end. Thundering Flash! Chop! Double Chop! Earth Splitter! Thunder Flame Explosion! Every skill dealt over -2,000 damage. Of them, the Level 8 Thunder Flame Explosion had even achieved a critical hit, dealing over -6,000 damage to the Boss. Shi Fengs damage far surpassed even that of Blackie now. Guild Leader, what sort of potion did you take? How did you suddenly become so awesome? Cola was extremely curious about Shi Fengs sudden transformation. Previously, Shi Fengs single-output damage was even below Blackies and Aqua Roses. Now, however, his damage had completely left that of the two in the dust. If Shi Feng said it was nothing, not even a ghost would believe him. Potion? Cola, youre thinking too highly of potions. This is the trump card of our Guild! Blackie said, a grin on his face. He had a fair idea of what was actually going on. After all, he had also been present when Shi Feng obtained the Heavenly Dragons Breath. Brother Black is right. Cola, youre looking down on Guild Leader too much, Lonely Snow chimed in with a proud tone. The matter of the Fragmented Legendary item had always been a secret between the three of them. Shi Feng had previously told them not to leak any information about it, so nobody else, other than them, knew about it. After all, just an Epic ranked item alone could entice a first-rate Guild to take action. If it was known that their Guild possessed a Fragmented Legendary item, rivers of blood might start to flow in White River City. Its not a potion? Aqua Rose was also surprised. However, after she gave it a thought, their words felt right. It should not be possible for potions to provide such a powerful upgrade. Yet, if it was not a potion, what else could allow Shi Fengs battle strength to increase so tremendously? Suddenly, Aqua Rose started growing more confused about the Guild known as Zero Wing. It was clearly a recently established Guild. It could even be described as a blank slate. Yet, shortly after she had joined the Guild, she received one shock after another. Aqua Rose had even begun to suspect that Shi Feng was an elder of one of those Super Guilds, and that he had come to White River City to play the role of a pig to devour the tiger. Only a dozen seconds passed since the battle resumed, and already, Dark Knight Gaia had lost 5% of his HP. Currently, he only had 54% of his HP remaining. If this trend continued, his life would end before three minutes even passed. However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied with this result. The reason being, along with the passing of time, Dark Knight Gaia would grow stronger and stronger. Moreover, Dragons Authority lasted for only one minute. After the minute was up, Dark Knight Gaia would once again be like the reincarnation of a spear god. With Colas equipment, he would not last long under the Bosss onslaught. Just as Dark Knight Gaia was about to recover his battle strength I wonder how well this move will perform? The Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand suddenly ignited in flames, the fire-type mana within a 30-yard radius frantically gathering around the weapon. The light from the scorching flames illuminated the dark hall, while the heat evaporated the moisture in the air. Currently, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand was like a miniature sun. This was none other than Shi Fengs ultimate move, Flame Burst. Due to his increased Attributes, the current Flame Burst was much stronger than the last time Shi Feng used it. Before anyone could react, the Abyssal Blade turned into a shooting star, smashing into Dark Knight Gaias chest. Gaias previously impenetrable armor was like tofu when it met with the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade easily pierced Gaias steel armor and body like a hot knife through butter, creating a large hole in Gaias chest. However, this was not the end of Shi Fengs attack. Shi Feng then followed up with five more slashes, each of his slashes dealing over -6,000 damage. Some of them had even achieved a critical hit, dealing over -13,000 damage. Meanwhile, the armor on Dark Knight Gaias body was instantly shattered, the sundered metal fragments smashing heavily against the stone pillars at the sides of the hall. These stone pillars completely collapsed at the impact of the metal fragments. Receiving these six continuous attacks, Dark Knight Gaia instantly lost over 60,000 HP. This scene absolutely dumbfounded everyone in the team. Right now, Shi Feng looked more like the Boss here with Dark Knight Gaia as the player. The situation was so shocking that Cola and everyone else in the team even forgot to attack Dark Knight Gaia. Oi! Stop daydreaming! The Boss is still alive! Shi Feng smiled helplessly as he received everyones fervent gazes. After Shi Fengs reminder, Cola and Ye Wumian quickly reacted and charged at the Boss. Maybe because he no longer had his armor, Dark Knight Gaia was actually receiving an additional 30% damage from everyones attacks now. The raid progressed at a much faster rate right away. You ants have angered me! Accept the punishment of darkness! The moment Dark Knight Gaia bellowed, the entire hall turned bloody red. Immediately, 20 ferocious-looking Blood Fiends appeared within the hall. Meanwhile, these Blood Fiends each had 20,000 HP, and each of them quickly ran towards their locked targets after being summoned. Blackie! Shi Feng said in the team chat. Got it! Its finally time for me to show off! Blackie chuckled as he waved his staff. A gigantic magic circle appeared above the hall, and in the blink of an eye, a dazzling star emerged from the magic circle and crashed downwards. The Stars of Light had a very wide coverage. Hence, Blackie easily enveloped all the Blood Fiends within the skill, the enraged Dark Knight Gaia included. Each star caused over -5,000 damage. After over a dozen stars came crashing down, not even ashes remained of the Blood Fiends. As for Dark Knight Gaia, he was left in a miserable state after the duration of the skill ended. Everyone else in the team took this chance to use their most powerful moves on the Boss, holding nothing back. Before even a minute passed, Dark Knight Gaias HP fell to 30%. Instantly, the Boss went into a berserk state, his body doubling in size. In this state, both his Attack Power and Defense were greatly increased. Even when Cola had Protection Blessing activated, the skill reducing any damage he received by 50%, he lost over 3,000 HP the instant Dark Knight Gaias spear connected with his body. Just in time. Shi Feng had been waiting for this moment all along. Did he think going berserk was amazing? In front of a dragon, everything was insubstantial! Shi Feng immediately activated Heavenly Dragons Power, increasing his HP by 300%, Strength by 100%, Defense by 300%, and also becoming immune to all controlling effects for two minutes. After the activation of Heavenly Dragons Power, Shi Fengs body underwent a transformation. Dragon scales suddenly covered his skin, making him look as if he was wearing dragon-scale armor. With the addition of these dragon scales, Shi Fengs originally ordinary appearance suddenly became tyrannical. 269 Violent Conclusion Originally, everyone was still worried about how they should deal with the berserk Boss. However, Shi Fengs shocking transformation immediately attracted their attention. Leaving aside Shi Fengs new handsome and gorgeous appearance, just by standing there, he was already giving off an insurmountable pressure. This was no longer an oppression due to strength. Instead, this pressure was the instinctive reverence for a primordial life form. Just what is going on here? Aqua Rose asked in shock. It was a known fact that players could not transform their bodies. Yet, Shi Feng had actually transformed in defiance of that notion. Moreover, that frightening pressure he was giving off was much more terrifying when compared to the berserk Dark Knight Gaia. Let alone the others, even Blackie and Lonely Snow, who knew about the Fragmented Legendary item, were greatly astonished by Shi Fengs sudden transformation. They never thought that a player could actually become so powerful after activating the Heavenly Dragons Power. I think the Guild Leader can kill me in a single hit now, Lonely Snow said, a bitter smile on his face. Let alone you, even Cola might not survive a single hit from Brother Feng. With the activation of the Heavenly Dragons Power, Shi Fengs Strength received a severalfold increase, which meant that his Attack Power had increased as well. When Blackie thought about how his most powerful skill, Stars of Light, already failed to match Shi Fengs previous strength If Shi Feng used a skill, even Cola, who had over 7,000 HP, would be reduced to ash. _The Heavenly Dragons Power is strong, as expected,_ Shi Feng thought as he shook his fists. He could feel boundless power coursing through his body. In addition, after activating this skill, Shi Feng could feel his mind becoming much clearer than before, allowing him to reach a peak condition that he had never experienced. Shi Fengs Strength now exceeded 1,000 points. His Attack Power was also over 2,300 points, while his HP was over 15,900. In addition, his Defense had gone past 4,500 pointsalmost twice that of Colas. Currently, he could easily be considered a mini Boss. Cola, leave tanking the Boss to me. Shi Feng wanted to test his new body. Moreover, it would be much more effective for him to tank the Boss instead of Cola right now. Apart from having higher Attack, Defense, and HP, Shi Fengs current dodging capabilities were miles ahead of Colas. Alright. Although Cola was still shocked by Shi Fengs transformation, he managed to muster a reply. With more than 15,900 HP, nobody was a more reliable MT than Shi Feng. After relieving Cola of his duties, Shi Feng immediately slashed a sword at Dark Knight Gaia. Like a lightning bolt, Shi Fengs sword smashed into Dark Knight Gaias body with the might of a thousand. The attack dealt over -2,000 damage to the Boss, and the strength behind the attack forced the Boss to retreat three steps. Each step the Boss retreated left behind a deep footprint on the hard tiled floor. This was the benefit of increasing ones Strength. Compared to increasing just Attack Power, if players with physical damage classes increased their Strength, not only could they gain additional Attack Power, their increased Strength would also create a suppression effect during battle. This effect would further raise the damage they dealt their enemies. When attacking, players could also cause their enemies to lose their balance. In a battle, if one could not maintain a proper stance, it would be very easy for problems to arise. Hence, compared to purely increasing ones Attack Power, it would be much more beneficial to increase ones Strength instead. This was a kind of invisible support, and many players only discovered the importance of Basic Attributes after playing the game for a long time. Currently, Shi Fengs battle with Dark Knight Gaia was in full swing, and the other melee classes had no chance to get close to the Boss at all. The reason being, aside from MTs like Cola and Ye Wumian, the other melee classes could not even survive a single hit from Dark Knight Gaia. In this situation, only the ranged players could continue attacking without worry. Although Dark Knight Gaia had gone berserk, he was merely an insignificant being in the face of the Shi Feng who had the Heavenly Dragons Power activated. The battle between the two of them was just like a battle between two Boss monsters. Although Shi Fengs HP was only a tiny fraction of Dark Knight Gaias 4,000,000 HP, in this battle, Shi Feng was the only one doing actual damage. Whenever Dark Knight Gaia attacked Shi Feng, the latter would either dodge the attack or block it. Dark Knight Gaia was unable to deal any real damage to Shi Feng. Moreover, every time Shi Feng brandished his two swords, Dark Knight Gaia would be forced to retreat. Each of Shi Fengs attacks dealt over -2,000 damage, but more often than not, his attacks would achieve a critical hit and deal over -4,000 damage. A critical Chop also dealt over -6,000 damage. On the other hand, Dark Knight Gaia could only deal around -2,000 damage to Shi Feng with each attack. With close to 16,000 HP, the healers could take their sweet time healing Shi Feng; they had no need to fear stealing the aggro of the Boss at all. As a tank, Shi Feng was currently far stronger than the Guilds number one MT, Cola. After the 30-second berserk period was over Dark Knight Gaias body shrank back to its original size. Even though he still had Blood Rage in effect, he no longer possessed the previous ferocity he had possessed in his berserk state. Meanwhile, the Heavenly Dragons Power had a duration of two minutes; there were still 90 seconds left before Shi Fengs transformation ended. Without the berserk effect, Dark Knight Gaia was like a venomous snake that lost its fangs. He could only receive a one-sided beating from Shi Feng now. Whenever Shi Feng slashed his sword, Dark Knight Gaia would have to retreat a handful of steps. The gap between the two of them simply rendered one speechless. Throw in everything youve got. We need to end the battle as quick as possible, Shi Feng said in the team chat. Upon Shi Fengs reminder, the others who hadnt dared to approach the Boss before immediately rushed up in a hurry. As a result, the damage rate to the Boss instantly soared. When Dark Knight Gaias HP fell to 15%, he used Blood Domain once more, summoning another group of Blood Fiends. However, unlike the first group of Blood Fiends, these newly summoned monsters each had 30,000 HP. As expected, even his skills have changed. Shi Feng had been afraid of something like this happening, hence why he wanted to end the battle as quickly as possible. Since the quest had altered the raiding difficulty of the Dungeon, a change to the skills of the Boss would naturally occur. Since there wasnt much of a change in Dark Knight Gaias Blood Rage, then the only skill that remained was Blood Domain. Everyone, gather in the center! Shi Feng immediately shouted. When Blood Domain was previously used, the team had a wide-range AOE skill like the Stars of Light to depend on. However, they had no such skill that could quickly deal with all the Blood Fiends this time. Stars of Light had a 30-minute Cooldown, so there was no way of using it for the second time in this battle. Hence, they could only hope to group up and concentrate their attacks on the monsters. Everyone in the team reacted fast. Before three seconds had passed, all of them were already standing together. Having the shape of a demonic beast, the blood-red monsters revealed malicious expressions upon being summoned. After locking on to their respective targets, the Blood Fiends let out frenzied roars as they charged forward. By the time the Blood Fiends started moving, Aqua Rose had already finished chanting an incantation. First, she summoned an Ice Wall to block off all the Blood Fiends from closing in on their group. The Ice Wall also placed an additional debuff on the Blood Fiends, slowing the monsters Movement Speeds. Right after that, Aqua Rose shot an Ice Sphere at the group of monsters, reducing their Movement Speeds even further. With the successive use of these two skills, the group of Blood Fiends now moved as slow as snails. However, Aqua Rose was still not done with her spells. She then followed up with a third spell called Blizzard. Not only could this spell deal high amounts of damage, it also had a very good Movement Speed reduction effect Without staying idle, the other ranged players started throwing out attacks at the monsters as well. Blackie had also taken this chance to use the most powerful AOE skill currently available to him. Hell Flame! Pillars of dark green flames shot up from the ground, repeatedly dealing over -2,000 damage to the group of Blood Fiends for five seconds. However, such an amount of damage was still not enough to deal with the Blood Fiends. Just as the Blood Fiends were about to close in on the team, Shi Feng suddenly appeared in front of everyone, blocking the Blood Fiends path of advance. Die! Shi Feng bellowed at the group of Blood Fiends. Shi Feng used Thundering Flash, causing damages of -3,125, -4,321, and -6,040, and also inflicting the Damage Amplification effect to all of these Blood Fiends. However, these monsters were still not dead. Next, Shi Feng inhaled abruptly and executed Dragon Breath. Before anyone noticed, countless wind blades transformed into streaks of silver light, piercing through everything that stood in Shi Fengs path. These Blood Fiends instantly turned into minced meat, and not even Dark Knight Gaia, who was charging at the team, was spared from this attack. Dark Knight Gaia was sent flying by the attack, and his body was embedded into the distant wall. However, an instant later, the wall behind him shattered, and Dark Knight Gaia was again sent flying for more than ten yards. Dark Knight Gaias body was filled with bloody injuries now. Meanwhile, Dark Knight Gaia had received over -15,000 damage from Dragon Breath. The amount of violence this skill displayed was far above Blackies Hell Flame. Without the threat of Blood Domain, the battle continued for only 30 more seconds before Dark Knight Gaia died in the middle of the hall, letting out an agonized roar as his life faded away. Immediately, many people in the team leveled up. Shi Feng had also risen from Level 17 to Level 18. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode Demons Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP, and 10 Silver Coins. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the fastest team to conquer the Hell Mode Demons Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP and one Tier 2 Gemstone of random Attribute. System: Hell Mode Demons Castle has been cleared for the first time. Loot increased by 100%. 270 Ennobled Outside one of the Three Great Dungeons, the Land of Death, there were many Guilds that had established a base of operations to facilitate raiding the Dungeon. Meanwhile, inside Dark Stars base of operations The Arclight Shield is already in our hands now, so the MT problem has been dealt with. The next thing we need to do is to snatch the First Clear of the Land of Death right in front of everyone, Lone Tyrant said in high spirits. Lone Tyrant had spent a lot of effort in order to acquire the Arclight Shield. In order to quickly collect the required 30 Gold Coins, he had played the role of the gullible fool and purchased them at an overpriced value of 700,000 Credits. However, now that the actual item was in his hands, Dark Star would officially become the second Guild in White River City to start raiding the Hard Mode of one of the Three Great Dungeons. Previously, the main reason why Dark Star had been surpassed by Ouroboros was the insufficient strength of their MT. Now, however, the situation was different. With their newly acquired Arclight Shield, Dark Star would be competing with Ouroboros on a level playing field. As for the other Guilds, Dark Star had no reason to be fearful of them. Even if Zero Wing already had their own Arclight Shields, they were only a recently established Guild. They did not possess the backing required to raid the Three Great Dungeons. At this moment, however, a System Announcement rang out White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode Demons Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP, and 10 Silver Coins. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the fastest team to conquer the Hell Mode Demons Castle. All players within the team will be rewarded with 40 Reputation Points in White River City, 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 300,000 EXP and one Tier 2 Gemstone of random Attribute. The announcement was repeated three times. Lone Tyrant was dumbfounded by this announcement. He was very clear about what sort of Dungeon the Demons Castle was. If not for the fact that the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons was too important to them, Dark Star would have long since started raiding the Demons Castle. However, Zero Wing had gotten the drop on them and secretly taken the First Clear of the Demons Castle. Moreover, it was the First Clear of the Hell Mode Demons Castle Currently, Ouroboros was the only Guild in White River City that could successfully raid a 20-man Hard Mode Dungeon. However, that capability was limited to the Level 10 low-difficulty Dungeons, and not a Level 15 high-difficulty Dungeon. How did they do it? Arent they just a recently established Guild? Lone Tyrant could not make sense of the situation. Did that Ye Feng help them in secret? Even so, they still shouldnt be able to clear it. Thats a 20-man Dungeon; there is a limit to one persons strength. Boss, do you want us to go investigate? an Assassin asked. No need. The Three Great Dungeons takes priority. Zero Wing has only obtained the First Clear of the Demons Castle. By the time we obtain the First Clear of the Land of Death, Zero Wing would only serve as a foil to make Dark Star look even better. Lone Tyrant shook his head, a contemptuous smile on his face. Although Lone Tyrant acted dismissively towards Zero Wings achievement, the other Guilds in White River City did not. In addition, the independent players in White River City were also greatly astonished by Zero Wings achievement. Before, not everyone felt that Zero Wing really deserved to be ranked as one of the top six Guilds of White River City. After all, the only real achievement of the Guild was its monopoly of the top eight positions on the Ranking List; nothing else about the Guild was worth mentioning. Now that they had obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Demons Castle, it showed that Dungeon-raiding was no longer a weakness of Zero Wing. This situation had caused many gaming experts who were previously hesitant about joining Zero Wing to change their minds. The reason being, Zero Wing was the second Guild in White River City to have successfully cleared a 20-man Hell Mode Dungeon. Moreover, the Dungeon they had cleared was a Level 15 Dungeon, the highest-leveled Dungeon that players could currently enter. This showed that their strength had surpassed the other Guilds by a large margin. \--- Just as the players in White River City were fervently discussing this matter, Shi Fengs team started distributing their spoils of war. Originally, aside from the Hell Mode Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons, Dark Knight Gaia could be considered as the strongest Boss below Level 20. After receiving the frightening enhancement from Shi Fengs quest, Dark Knight Gaia had become even stronger than the final Boss of the Hell Mode of the Three Great Dungeons. Hence, the loot he dropped would naturally be excellent. Dark Knight Gaia had dropped a total of 27 items: nine weapons and equipment, one Forging Design, one Tailoring Design, one Potion Recipe, one Cooking Recipe, three precious production materials, ten Magic Crystals, and one Demons Heart. The last item was also Shi Fengs quest item this time around. Among the nine weapons and equipment, five were of Dark-Gold rank, and all of them were items that could level up from Level 15 all the way up to Level 20. Of the five items, one was a staff for Clerics, and one was a cloth-armor chest piece for Clerics. Both items were given to Violet Cloud. Meanwhile, Blackie received a hat for Cursemancers, Aqua Rose received shoulder guards for Elementalists, and Ye Wumian received arm guards for Shield Warriors. The remaining four weapons and equipment were of Fine-Gold rank. The leather-armor chest piece and shoulder guards were both given to Fire Dance. There was also a longbow for Rangers, which was given to Sentimental Memories, one of the Five Demon Generals. Lastly, the Berserker, Water Buffalo, received a greatsword. After having distributed all the equipment, the teams battle power greatly increased once again. With such equipment, no other team in White River City could even hope to compare to them. As for the other items, Shi Feng promptly kept them for himself. _Weve got a good harvest this time._ Shi Feng felt exhilarated when he looked at the designs and recipes in his bag. In the hands of others, these items would only be worth a small sum of money. In his hands, however, these items would be money-making machines. Most importantly, the Forging Design he obtained was meant to produce the Gemstone Buckle. This item could allow players to equip an additional Gemstone onto equipment that were of Bronze rank or above. Meanwhile, players could apply up to three Gemstone Buckles on their characters, meaning they could have up to three additional Gemstones. The value of this item was no less than the Advanced Whetstone. As for the other recipes and designs, they were relatively valuable as well. Only, they were not as valuable as the Gemstone Buckle. \--- After leaving the Demons Castle, Shi Feng allowed everyone to go ahead with their own agendas while he headed to the City Hall of White River City. When Shi Feng arrived at the reception room of the City Hall, the Tier 4 Wizard Weissman was still as leisurely as he was before. Weissman currently stood by the window, a peaceful expression on his face as he observed the plaza outside the City Hall. Young man, youre here. Ive already heard about your achievements from that little girl, Sharlyn. Before Shi Feng had even entered the room, Weissman had already detected his presence. At this time, Weissman moved away from the window and walked towards Shi Feng. He then nodded his head, a smile on his face as he said, Not bad! Truly not bad at all! I never imagined a day would come when this old man would misjudge somebody! Hahaha! Not only have you slain Gaia, you have also saved the entire White River City. I dont even know how I should reward you for your efforts. How about this? With the power vested in me, from this day onwards, you are a Viscount of White River City! With your strength, I believe you should be able to protect _that_ place. Take this Blacksteels Contract here and head over to _that_ place, then. System: Unique Quest Demons Heart completed. Quest rewards: Position of Viscount in White River City, Blacksteels Contract, 500,000 EXP, 50 Free Mastery Points, and 2 Gold Coins. Shi Feng was momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected rewards. These rewards were simply too bountiful, especially the position of Viscount. In the entire White River City, perhaps only Shi Feng would understand the importance of this position. Right, I nearly forgot to mention, that little girl, Sharlyn, said she has some matters that she needs to speak with you about. She is at the Stargazing Tower right now. If you have nothing else to do, you should go see that little girl. You dont want to miss out on a rare opportunity, Weissman said, giving Shi Feng a meaningful smile. 271 Guild Residence Lady Sharlyn is looking for me? A bad premonition stirred in Shi Fengs mind. Shi Feng had a very good understanding of Sharlyns personality. She was definitely the type of person that would not act out of altruism, and Shi Feng couldnt help but wonder just which item on him Sharlyn had her eye on again. _Forget it. Its better if I just go and see what she has in store for me,_ Shi Feng decided after giving it some thought. Although Sharlyn was a money grubber, he had always received a great harvest every time they met. This time, Sharlyn might give him some advanced quest again. If the quest rewards were good, he would consider giving it a try. However, the Stargazing Tower was located in Blackwing City, and this situation puzzled Shi Feng greatly. Since when had Sharlyn run all the way to Blackwing City? If Shi Feng had not known the location of the Stargazing Tower, he would have definitely wasted much of his time blindly searching for Sharlyn in White River City. Moreover, it was not easy to go to Blackwing City. Without the appropriate pass, players would find it impossible to go there at all. To put it simply, if any other player wished to meet with Sharlyn, it would be a very difficult endeavor. Fortunately, it was a simple task for Shi Feng. Although he had already depleted the number of uses on the Seven Luminaries Gemstone, his pass to Blackwing City, Aqua Rose still had a few Blackwing Passes of her own. On second thought, maybe I should postpone meeting up with Sharlyn. Based on Shi Fengs many years of experience campaigning in Gods Domain, the quest that he could trigger by going to Blackwing City would definitely not be simple. He also had many things he needed to do right now, so it was better for him to just push this matter to a later time. \--- After leaving the City Hall, Shi Feng called for Aqua Rose and Fire Dance to meet up with him. They then headed towards the Purple Sun Mansion located in the Trade Area of White River City. The Purple Sun Mansion was originally the official residence of a Count. However, this Count had mysteriously disappeared inside the Purple Sun Mansion over half a century ago. In the following decades, every new owner of the residence would also mysteriously disappear overnight. An answer was never found for their disappearance, and ultimately, the residence was sealed by the city more than a decade ago. Moreover, the city had even stationed guards in front of the residence, preventing anyone from entering the place. It went without saying that the area the Purple Sun Mansion occupied, as the official residence of a count, was one of the largest within the Trade Area of White River City. Even though Shi Feng was now a Viscount, the personal land he could purchase would be less than a third of the Purple Sun Mansion. Guild Leader, why did you bring us to this abandoned residence? Aqua Rose asked in curiosity as she looked at the dilapidated residence in the distance, and also at the eight guards stationed outside the place. Their Guild had just recently obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Demons Castle, and the resulting fame had attracted many players to apply to join the Guild right now. As a result, Aqua Rose was swamped with work. Although Blackie was also helping out with management, he was mainly focused on managing the Workshop side of things. The Guild within the game, on the other hand, was left to Aqua Rose to manage. As for Fire Dance, she was responsible for leading the main force of the Guild. Each of them had their own respective duties. However, the management of the Guild was the most onerous task out of the three. Zero Wing had been established only recently, so there were still many problems on the management side of things. Aside from the Guild perks system still being imperfect, their Guild was also not prepared to recruit so many players. Therefore, Aqua Rose could only carefully select whom to allow into the Guild. Meanwhile, her criteria for selection were not based on a players level. Instead, she chose players based on how skilled they were in battle, and such strict selection criteria were very laborious and time-consuming. Aside from recruitment affairs, Aqua Rose also had to manage the daily affairs of the Guild, and this, in turn, had made Aqua Rose a very busy woman. If Shi Feng had not called her over, most likely, she would still be occupied with the matter of recruitment right now. What do you think of this residence? Shi Feng asked, a smile on his face. What do I think of it? Aqua Rose carefully scrutinized the Purple Sun Mansion. Although it was currently daytime in Gods Domain, with the sun shining brightly up in the sky, the Purple Sun Mansion was surrounded by a depressing atmosphere. It even gave others an eerie feeling. However, this residence occupied a very large plot of land, and it was also situated in the heart of White River City; it was definitely prime real estate. Although it looks shabby, its location is very strategic. Both the Bank and Auction House are only two streets to the west, while the Adventurers Association is three streets to the east. There are only five such strategic locations throughout White River City, and four are already owned by major nobles; only this place is left without an owner. Moreover, out of the five residences, the Purple Sun Mansion occupies the largest area. Unfortunately, it is not for sale, and it is also protected by guards. If a Guild can establish a Guild Residence here, it would be very beneficial towards the Guilds development in the future. Aqua Rose replied with eloquence. She was extremely familiar with the real estate of White River City. Her eyes were filled with yearning when she looked at this dilapidated residence. However, since they could not obtain it, there was not much point in talking about it. Not to mention owning private territory within the Trade Area, they did not have the power to purchase land in even the outermost sectors of the city right now. Indeed. Within White River City, the Purple Sun Mansion could be considered the best location to establish a Guild Residence. Shi Feng nodded his head in agreement. He then said with a soft chuckle, However, from today onwards, this Purple Sun Mansion belongs to us, Zero Wing. After Shi Feng finished speaking, both Aqua Rose and Fire Dance were instantly dumbfounded. They looked at Shi Feng with eyes filled with disbelief. Guild Leader, what did you say? Aqua Rose couldnt believe the words she just heard. This prime real estate belonged to Zero Wing from now on? No matter how she thought about this matter, it was simply impossible for it to be true. This Purple Sun Mansion will be Zero Wings Guild Residence from now on, Shi Feng said with a smile. Guild Leader, stop joking around. For such prime real estate, not to mention now, even if another month passed by, it would still be impossible for anyone to obtain it. Aqua Rose had a clear understanding about Guild Residences. Currently, not a single Guild in White River City possessed a Guild Residence of their own. Yet, Shi Feng was saying that this hot property was now under the ownership of Zero Wing? If what Shi Feng said was indeed true, then it would be even more shocking than Zero Wing obtaining the First Clear of one of the Three Great Dungeons right this instant. It was simply unbelievable. I knew you wouldnt believe me, which is why I brought you over to take a look. Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. If Zero Wing wished to develop rapidly, a Guild Residence was a must. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was the manager of the Guild, so Shi Feng naturally had to bring her over to take a look at their future Guild Residence. It would allow Aqua Rose to better plan for the future. After all, it was one thing to obtain the land for the Guild Residence; actually establishing it was an entirely different matter. It would be better for them to plan ahead. Just as the three of them arrived in front of the steel gate of the Purple Sun Mansion, the captain of the stationed guards walked up to them, blocking their paths. This is a forbidden location of White River City. Those unrelated, please leave, the guard captain berated. Dont tell me even I am not allowed entry? Shi Feng revealed his title of Viscount. So it is Lord Viscount. Forgive this humble one for not recognizing my lord. However, Magistrate Weissman has personally given orders that nobody is allowed entry into this place, and even if it is you, Lord Viscount, I am afraid that I cannot allow you to enter. The guard captain suddenly grew respectful when speaking to Shi Feng. What about this? Shi Feng took out the Blacksteels Contract this time. The guard captain was shocked after seeing this piece of paper. After all, this paper was the deed to the Purple Sun Mansion. In other words, from this moment onwards, the Purple Sun Mansion was the private territory of the Viscount before him. Since Lord Viscount has already become the owner of this place, of course this humble one would not stop my lord from entering, the guard captain said carefully. He then added, However, there is something very strange about this Purple Sun Mansion. If my lord is planning to enter, please exercise caution. I understand. Shi Feng nodded in reply. Following which, the eight guards moved away from the entrance, allowing the three of them entry into the residence. Meanwhile, both Aqua Rose and Fire Dance were shocked by Shi Fengs revelation. He was actually a Viscount of White River City! Nobility was unlike Levels. One could not get ennobled simply by wishing for it. Instead, one needed a large amount of reputation to do so. Currently, all the Guilds in White River City were busy trying to raise the White River City Reputation they had. Although there were already players who had become citizens, there had yet to be a single person who achieved nobility even until now. Meanwhile, nobility could be categorized into five tiers, which were Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron. Just the difficulty of becoming a Baron had made all the Guilds in White River City lament over their powerlessness, not to mention obtaining the position of Viscount, which was one tier above Baron. 272 Spirited Away Based on Aqua Roses knowledge about the authority of Barons, aside from being able to purchase private territory within White River City, they could also hire their own guards. A Baron could hire a total of 10 NPCs to serve as guards for his own territory. However, a Baron was the lowest rank of nobility. Only when one was promoted to Viscount would one be counted as one of the true nobles of the city. A Viscount could not only purchase private territory, one could recruit up to 40 NPCs as guards, as well as have two personal guards. Having personal guards was a special privilege available only to true nobles. The normal guards hired by players were not capable of growth, unlike personal guards. In other words, after recruitment, the Levels of normal guards would not change no matter how much time passed. On the other hand, personal guards could be leveled up. They would also receive bonus Attributes from leveling up, making them much stronger than normal guards. The difference between the two was like the difference between a Common monster and a Boss monster. Meanwhile, if their Guild had these personal guards protecting their Guild Residence, at this stage of the game, the defense of their Guild Residence would definitely be foolproof. Furthermore, they could even have these personal guards participate in Boss battles. Although the levels of these NPCs would be suppressed, they would still be a lot stronger than the average player. With these personal guards, Zero Wing would have a greater advantage over other Guilds when contesting for Field Bosses. Thinking up to this point, Aqua Rose couldnt help but reevaluate her opinion of Shi Feng once again. Guild Leader, the more I get to know you, the less I actually understand about you. Not only have you managed to obtain such an excellent location for a Guild Residence, you are also a Viscount of White River City. If other Guilds were to find out about this matter, they would definitely go insane, Aqua Rose giggled, blinking her shining large eyes. Indeed, they will definitely hunt me down like maniacs, Shi Feng laughed. The moment a Guild possessed their own Residence, they would be like a seedling that had finally set down roots; they would no longer be at the mercy of the winds and rain. Only by growing roots could a plant thrive and have the possibility to grow into a towering tree. In the past, a player had once joked that a Guild without their own Guild Residence was like a gang of mountain bandits, while a Guild that had their own Guild Residence was like the lord of a region. The reason being, only with a Guild Residence could a Guild gradually perfect the many benefits they provided. It was especially true for Guild Quests. At this stage of the game, as nobody possessed their own Guild Residence yet, the NPCs within the city were unable to privately publish quests to the Guilds. Hence, players could only accept some daily quests from the Adventurers Association to earn Guild Reputation. In comparison to the individual quests that players received from the Adventurers Association, the private Guild Quests published by NPCs rewarded much higher Guild Reputation. If a Guild was sufficiently powerful, there was even the possibility that a quest rewarding an Epic ranked item would appear. Moreover, unlike at the Adventurers Association, the number of quests available to Guild members was not just limited to two or three As long as a Guild was sufficiently powerful, there would be several hundreds, even thousands of Guild Quests being published in the Guild Residence every day. With so many quests available, players would be able to level up and upgrade their equipment more efficiently than if they were limited to grinding monsters. Also, statistical analysis made by professionals in the past showed that Guilds with Guild Residences made at least double, or even triple, the amount of money of Guilds without Guild Residences. Moreover, only with a Guild Residence would a Guild officially have a stable source of income. The reason being, whenever a Guild member completed a Guild Quest, the Guild would automatically collect 15% of the quest reward as processing fee. The fees collected would then be stored inside the Guild Bank to serve as funding for the Guild. This was the reason why Guild Residences were so important. The location of the Guild Residence was also very important as this correlated to the number of Guild Quests a Guild would receive. A newly established Guild Residence would be an unknown existence in White River City. To be precise, it would be unknown to the NPCs of White River City, and that anonymity would prevent many of these NPCs from commissioning quests with such newly established Guild Residences. If, however, a Guild Residence was established in a high-traffic location like the Trade Area, it would be easily noticed by NPCs. As a result, the number of quests the Guild Residence received would increase. Meanwhile, as the number of quests resolved by the Guild increased, the fame of the Guild among NPCs would also rise. And the number of NPCs willing to commission quests would also increase in turn. Such a snowball-like development speed would be unstoppable once it started. Hence, if the Guilds in White River City were to find out about Zero Wing coming into possession of a Guild Residence, they would definitely hate Shi Feng down to the bone. Fortunately, Zero Wing had already grown past the stage of a fledgling Guild; unrated Guilds would not dare to make an enemy out of Zero Wing. Only third-rate Guilds or above would pose a threat. However, once Zero Wing officially establishes its Guild Residence, not even third-rate Guilds would dare to become its enemies. While Shi Feng and Aqua Rose were having their merry discussion, the three of them arrived inside the main building of the Purple Sun Mansion. After remaining vacant for over a decade, the interior of the mansion was fully covered in a layer of dust. Weeds could even be seen growing in certain locations inside the mansion. The interior of the building looked extremely dilapidated, as if it could collapse at any moment. Not to mention people, even rats would not want to live in this place. It seems this place needs to be completely demolished and rebuilt, Shi Feng said in heartache as he swept a glance at the interior of the mansion. For privately owned territories, any expenditures spent on it had to come out from the owners own pockets. However, not to mention building a Guild Hall meant for an entire Guild, even the cost of building an ordinary house was insanely expensive; it was a price that no normal person could afford. Only a large Guild with immense wealth could afford such a price. Guild Leader, you are the wealthiest player in White River City, yet youre actually crying about being poor? Aqua Rose rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. She knew for a fact that Shi Feng had spent over 100 Gold Coins without even blinking when he bought the Arclight Shield Forging Design. Shi Feng could only shake his head and bitterly smile in reply to Aqua Roses teasing. What Aqua Rose did not know was that a fee of 200 Gold Coins was required in order to construct even the most common Guild Hall. Meanwhile, such a Guild Hall only had a capacity of 500 players. If it were a Guild Hall with a capacity of 1,000 players, the construction fee would be 500 Gold Coins. With the area the Purple Sun Mansion occupied, Shi Feng could build an Advanced Guild Hall with a capacity of 3,000 players, at the very least. However, the price tag for an Advanced Guild Hall was 3,000 Gold Coins Three thousand Gold was an astronomical sum for any one Guild. Even though Shi Feng indeed had the ability to construct an Advanced Guild Hall, he still had the burden of 30,000 Gold from the Gospel Project quest bearing down on him; he dared not randomly spend his money. The only reason he had spent over 100 Gold for the Arclight Shield Forging Design was because he was confident of earning back the money through sales of the shields he produced. In the case of the Guild Hall, however, it was a one-way expenditure. Just as Shi Fengs group arrived at a flight of stairs, Shi Feng suddenly felt a gust of cold wind blowing over his face. He could also hear an indistinct voice whispering by his ears, as if calling him to descend the stairs. Instantly, Shi Feng felt all the hairs on his body stand up. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane, raising his five senses to their very limits. In this moment, he was fully prepared for any enemies that would show up. Aqua Rose and Fire Dance, on the other hand, reacted a tad slower than Shi Feng. However, they too promptly readied their weapons as they fixed their gazes at the staircase. Contrary to their expectations, however, nothing appeared from the staircase. Only a cold breeze blew up from below, causing the weeds within the mansion to quiver slightly. How can there be wind coming from inside the building? Fire Dance asked, feeling there was something very strange about the situation. The virtual world of Gods Domain closely resembled reality. Meanwhile, their current location was the heart of the mansion. It was an enclosed space, so it should have been impossible for any wind to be present. Likewise, Shi Feng also felt this matter was strange. However, according to Shi Fengs knowledge, there was indeed something very strange about this Purple Sun Mansion. After all, it was a fact that every previous owner of the mansion had disappeared without a trace while staying inside the building. It was due to these disappearances that the inhabitants of White River City had nicknamed the building the Ghost Mansion. Even the Tier 4 Wizard Weissman could not find the reason for the past owners disappearances. The only solution he had was to send out a team of guards to prevent anyone from entering the mansion. Shi Feng also had not learned anything about the Purple Sun Mansion in his past life. Hence, he could only rely on himself to resolve this matter. Only, he never expected to feel such a great pressure just by standing at the entrance of the staircase. It felt as if he was standing in front of a ferocious beast. Moreover, this kind of pressure had a sense of familiarity. However, Shi Feng could not recall where he had felt this pressure before. The cold wind seems to be coming from the basement. Lets go have a look at it for now. Shi Feng shook his head. He decided to first discover the source of this mysterious wind before making any further decisions. 273 Forgotten Lands After entering the basement of the Purple Sun Mansion Shi Feng took a look around, finding nothing special about the place. The entire room was empty. There was none of the cold wind from before, neither was there the oppressive feeling that could shock even ones soul. Theres nothing here? Were my senses playing tricks on me? When Fire Dance discovered no monsters in the basement, she promptly put away her daggers, sheathing the weapons back into their scabbards. I dont know, but it is indeed true that there is no danger here, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. As players experienced more and more battles in Gods Domain, their sensitivity towards danger would also gradually improve. It was especially true for an expert of Gods Domain. Moreover, this ability of players to perceive danger was usually not wrong. Lets take a closer look around, Shi Feng said. If they could not resolve this mysterious situation whereby the mansions inhabitants were spirited away, should something actually happen, it would be a tragedy if the incident scared away the NPCs that came to commission quests with the Guild. If players were the ones to get caught up in this mystery, they would at worst die once, losing a Level and some Skill Proficiency. However, it would be different if an NPC were to get entangled in this matter. If they died, then it would be a true death for them; the Main God System would not revive them. Hence, it was imperative for Shi Feng to resolve this mystery as soon as possible. Otherwise, this prime real estate would be worthless. After the trio searched for more than ten minutes, they found no problems with the place. Not to mention a monster, they couldnt even find a mouse in this place. However, Shi Feng did not think that the enormous pressure he felt before was an illusion, especially since he had also felt this pressure previously in his past life; it was just that he could not recall when he had felt it exactly. After searching for a long time and getting no results, Shi Fengs group had no other choice but to return upstairs. Whats going on here?! The moment the group arrived upstairs, Aqua Rose immediately called out in shock when she saw the scene before her. Aqua Rose wasnt the only person who was shocked; even Shi Feng was taken aback by what he saw. They had simply returned to the hall on the first floor, yet, the scene here was completely different from before. No longer was it the empty, dilapidated hall they had seen. Instead, the sight that greeted the three after they exited the staircase was an intricate labyrinthine corridor. It was as if they had arrived at an entirely different place; it was definitely not the former Purple Sun Mansion they had been in. At this moment, a notification sounded from the system. System: Players have discovered the Forgotten Lands. All communications to the outside world are temporarily disabled. So it turns out to be something like this. Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization. He finally knew why the previous owners of the mansion had all disappeared one after another. It turned out that all of them had been transported to this location. Guild Leader, I cant use my Return Scroll, Fire Dance said, her eyebrows wrinkled. This is just like the time in the Trial of God. It seems that this place isnt ordinary at all. Shi Feng began observing his surroundings. Shi Feng had encountered numerous such situations in his previous life. It was just like the Lost Lands he had encountered shortly after entering Gods Domain in this life. He had even obtained the Abyssal Blade from that place. Although the Forgotten Lands was different from the Lost Lands, both still had their similarities. Most likely, players trapped in this place would be released after they completed a certain quest. However, unlike the time in the Lost Lands, none of them received any notifications of having triggered a quest. Soon after, Shi Fengs group of three advanced into the labyrinth and began to explore the map. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that this map was very large. Even after they had wandered around for more than six hours, they still hadnt finished exploring the place. In the end, the three of them decided to split up and continue their exploration. In any case, they had not met with any dangers so far, and it would be much more efficient if they explored the map separately. Unwittingly, a day passed by without anything happening. Only on the second day did Aqua Rose find something new in the region she explored. Aqua Rose discovered a large magic array. According to the speculations of Shi Feng and an Elementalist like Aqua Rose, it should be a magic array that was Tier 5 or above. However, as to what this magic array was used for, not even Shi Feng with his bountiful experience could guess. Unless there was a Tier 5 Wizard or a Tier 6 Mage God before them Following which, after spending the rest of the day exploring the place, Fire Dance discovered a second magic array that looked exactly the same as the first one. Other than this discovery, the trio found nothing else. They did not find even a single monster throughout their exploration, nor did they receive any quest notifications. Aqua Rose entertained the thought of simply giving up on this pointless endeavor. It would be more worthwhile for her to just kill herself and return to the city. In this godforsaken place, they could not level up, neither was there any quest for them to complete. They were simply wasting their time by staying here. Moreover, she was the manager of the Guild; she still had many things she needed to do. How could she afford to waste so much precious time in this place? Moreover, there was still the matter of the Guild Residence. However, Shi Feng discouraged Aqua Rose from taking such an action. The reason being, there was no guarantee she could return to the city even if she killed herself. In the event that she could not return, she would have lost a Level for nothing. Listening to Shi Fengs words, Aqua Rose had no choice but to give up on this idea of hers as she continued exploring this Forgotten Lands. When the third day arrived, after exploring a majority of the Forgotten Lands, the group discovered three more magic arrays. In total, they had discovered five of such Tier 5 magic arrays. Soon after, the three of them met up and shared their map information with each other. The moment their map information sharing was completed, a notification sounded from the system System: Unique Quest Miracles Unsealed activated. Quest details: Remove the seal on the Forgotten Lands. Quest rewards: Unknown. Remove the seal on the Forgotten Lands? The quest doesnt even tell us how to do so. What are we even supposed to do here? Fire Dance glared at the notification screen in anger. They had been exploring this place for three days now, yet, the only thing they got in return was this quest that provided them with no hints at all. The game was simply too despicable. It should be around here, Shi Feng said, pointing on the map. To be precise, he was pointing at an area central to the five magic arrays. Magic arrays require Mana to operate, and normally use Mana Crystals as a source for Mana. However, although the magic arrays were functioning properly when we discovered them, there was no sign of any Mana Crystals on site powering them. Moreover, these five magic arrays seem to be an integrated structure, so there should be a place where they draw their Mana from. Weve already explored the outskirts of the Forgotten Lands, and the only area we have yet to explore is the central region. There is a high possibility the power source for these magic arrays are situated in the central region. If we destroy the Mana Crystal there, we should be able to complete this quest. Guild Leader, I never expected you to know so much about magic arrays. For a second there, I even thought you were an Elementalist or a Cursemancer, and not a Swordsman at all, Aqua Rose said teasingly. I just studied the topic by accident. There are plenty of books on magic arrays inside the Library of White River City, after all. If you manage to read all the books inside the White River City Library, you will definitely be more amazing than I am, Shi Feng laughed. The Library? I would like to go there, but Ill need a permit to do so. Guild Leader, since youre the one who mentioned it, you have to take responsibility! Aqua Rose also knew the importance of the Library. If an Elementalist wished to learn more powerful spells, the best way to do so was at the Library. Unfortunately, she lacked the permit to enter the Library. The only choice she had now was to steadily raise her reputation in White River City. Okay, Ill get you a permit to the Library after we leave this place. Shi Feng shook his head and laughed again. As a Demon Hunter, he could obtain a permit to the Library any time he wanted. Moreover, now that he was a Viscount of White River City, as one of the true nobles of the city, he could easily obtain a handful of Library Emblems. Following which, the three of them ran towards the central region of the Forgotten Lands. Four hours later, the trio arrived outside the central region. If they wished to enter the place, they needed to go through a very long crystalline pathway. However, there was a giant three-headed wolf made out of blue crystals blocking the entrance of the pathway. So there is a monster here after all. Fire Dances eyes glowed with interest when she saw this three-headed wolf. After several days of no combat, her hands were already itching for action. 274 Gold Treasure Ches The presence of a monster doesnt necessarily mean its a good thing, Shi Feng said, a bitter smile on his face as he looked at the three-headed wolf guarding the entrance of the crystal pathway. [Crystal Warwolf] (Lord Rank) Level 25 HP 300,000/300,000 Compared to a Dungeon Boss, a Field Boss of the same rank was much more powerful. Moreover, in order to counter zerg tactics[1], Gods Domain had set it so that Field Bosses would have their combat power and HP increased in proportion to the number of players participating in the battle. Generally, the optimum number of players required to raid a Lord ranked Field Boss was around ten to twenty, unless of course it was a Special Boss. However, judging from the appearance of the Crystal Warwolf before them, Shi Feng felt that it should not be a Special Boss. In other words, at least ten players were needed to raid this Boss. To make matters worse, the Crystal Warwolf was a Level 25 monster, while nobody in Shi Fengs group had even reached Level 20; the resulting level suppression would be dire. Of those present, aside from Shi Feng, who had the Abyssal Blade, which allowed him to fully ignore this level suppression, only Aqua Rose possessed a piece of equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute. Even so, her equipment only allowed her to ignore up to three Levels. Aqua Rose herself was only at Level 17 right now, and a level suppression of five Levels would not be easy for her to deal with. As for Fire Dance, there was nothing to say. Of course, every cloud had a silver lining. Since the Boss guarding the crystal pathway was very strong, it meant that the things beyond the pathway was equally important. Moreover, Shi Feng also discovered a treasure chest sitting beside the pathway. This treasure chest was a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest, and Shi Fengs heart burned with a fiery passion as he looked at it. The loot he could get from this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest would be much better than the loot from the Boss before him. We wont be able to defeat a Level 20 Lord with just the three of us alone; well need to call for reinforcements. Aqua Roses eyes glowed with excitement when she looked at the Crystal Warwolf before her. It was extremely difficult for players to meet with a Field Boss. They would definitely make a huge profit after killing it. Not to mention, there was also the treasure chest the Crystal Warwolf was guarding. Following which, Aqua Rose temporarily logged off the game to contact Blackie, who was at the Zero Wing Workshop, telling him to bring the main force of Zero Wing to the Purple Sun Mansion and enter the staircase to the basement, in order to meet up with them at the Forgotten Lands. Meanwhile, Shi Feng ceaselessly observed the Crystal Warwolf and the surrounding terrain, trying to think of a strategy to raid the Boss. Ten minutes later, Aqua Rose logged back into the game. How did it go? When will they be arriving? Shi Feng asked. Theyre already at the Purple Sun Mansion. However, no matter what they tried, they cant seem to find the entrance to this map, Aqua Rose said, slight disappointment showing on her face. If so, the appearance of the entrance should be random, Shi Feng said, lapsing into silent contemplation. After a while, he shifted his sights to the Crystal Warwolf and added, It seems we can only depend on ourselves to defeat this Boss. Hearing Shi Fengs conclusion, both Aqua Rose and Fire Dance immediately thought that Shi Feng had gone insane. He was actually suggesting they deal with this Crystal Warwolf before them. They had neither an MT nor a healer in the party right now. With just three damage dealers, how were they supposed to deal with a Level 25 Lord ranked Boss that had a height of over ten meters? Although both girls knew of Shi Fengs unrivalled strength, a Lord ranked Boss was still not something that could be defeated with just three players. We are only giving it a try. In any case, we cant just stay stuck in this place forever, right? Moreover, even if we do die, it is a good chance to check whether or not we can actually leave this place after dying. Well be killing two birds with one stone, Shi Feng joked. Guild Leader, you decide what we should do, then, Fire Dance said with high spirits. Aqua Rose sighed helplessly. Alright, then. Ill join in as well. We cant just fight this Crystal Warwolf head-on; the only choice we have is to kite it. Ill act as bait. Aqua Rose, youll be the main damage-dealer. Fire Dance, youll be responsible for restricting its movements as much as possible. After some consideration, Shi Feng settled on this strategy. Although he could no longer equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath, his Agility was still over 200 points. Moreover, his equipment also provided additional Movement Speed. His Movement Speed was definitely faster than a Level 25 Lord. Combining those with his keen reactions, out of the three players in the party, he was definitely the most suited to be the bait. Following which, Shi Feng gave Fire Dance plenty of Basic Frost Grenades and Intermediate Frost Grenades, letting her use them as she saw fit. Fire Dance never thought Shi Feng would possess such good items. With the Frost Grenades, Shi Feng would have a much higher chance of success at kiting the Boss. After the three of them were in position, Shi Feng retrieved the Blazing Meteor from his waist. Standing at a distance of 40 yards from the Crystal Warwolf, Shi Feng aimed the throwing weapon at the Boss and threw it. _Xiu!_ The Blazing Meteor streaked through the air and pierced the Crystal Warwolfs eye, causing -651 damage to it. Compared to a one-handed sword, Shi Fengs damage with the throwing weapon was much higher. Ao! The Crystal Warwolf let out an agonized wail. With bloodshot eyes, the Crystal Warwolf glared at the direction where the throwing weapon came from. As a result of its actions, however, the Blazing Meteor, which was still lodged in its eye, damaged the visual organ even further, causing an additional burst of -1,300 damage. The Crystal Warwolf was utterly angered now, and using its powerful hind legs, it leaped and charged at Shi Feng. Immediately, Shi Feng turned around and ran. Everything was just like Shi Feng had guessed: his speed was just a tad faster than the Crystal Warwolfs. However, in order to avoid having Aqua Roses and Fire Dances aggro on the Boss exceed his, which would in turn lead to the Crystal Warwolf attacking the two girls, Shi Feng needed to constantly send attacks at the Boss to strengthen his aggro on it. As a result, the Crystal Warwolf would oftentimes catch up and attack him. The Crystal Warwolfs attacks were extremely powerful. A single swipe from its paws could easily shatter the floor, resulting in fist-sized rubble flying everywhere. Fortunately, Shi Feng always managed to nimbly evade the Crystal Warwolfs razor-sharp claws at the very last second, before pulling away from the Boss and attacking it once more. Shi Fengs attacks were only meant as a provocation; Aqua Rose was the true damage dealer this time around. After the Demons Castle raid, Aqua Rose had two Dark-Gold ranked items on her person. Of the two, one was even a Dark-Gold ranked staff of the finest quality; Aqua Roses damage right now was already considerably high. If not for Blackie outshining her with the Epic ranked Maviss Guard, Aqua Rose would definitely have the highest single-output damage in the Guild. As Shi Feng ran around the perimeter with the Crystal Warwolf chasing after him, Aqua Rose stood in the center and blasted Frost Arrows and Frost Spears on the Crystal Warwolfs body. Not only could these spells reduce Movement Speed, each of these spells also dealt over -500 damage to the Boss. If not due to the level suppression of five Levels, her spells would definitely deal over -800 damage. Fortunately, unlike Shi Feng who could only attack intermittently, Aqua Rose could attack continuously and deal a constant stream of damage to the Boss. On the other side, Fire Dance kept inflicting the Bleeding debuff and using poisons that reduced Movement Speed on the Boss. With the two Movement Speed Reduction effects stacked together, the Crystal Warwolf slowed down significantly. Also, whenever the Crystal Warwolf got too close to Shi Feng, Fire Dance would immediately throw a Frost Grenade at the Boss, freezing it. However, as the Crystal Warwolf was a Lord ranked Boss, the freezing effect of the Frost Grenades was greatly diminished, lasting no more than 3 seconds; sometimes it lasted for only one short second. However, when experts exchanged moves, it took only an instant to reach a conclusion, so one second was more than enough for Shi Feng to pull a great distance away from the Boss. Although the three of them dealt only a small amount of damage, the HP of the Crystal Warwolf continuously rose and fell. After more than a dozen minutes passed, the Crystal Warwolf had only 30% of its 300,000 HP remaining. By simple estimates, the Boss would die in less than 10 minutes. Aooo! The Crystal Warwolf went berserk. Just like a deflated balloon, its towering body, which was over ten meters in height, suddenly shrank. Within moments, the Boss became much smaller than it was before. Not good! This is the type of berserk that discards power for speed! Shi Feng had encountered plenty of such Bosses in the past. Hence, the moment he witnessed the Crystal Warwolfs transformation, he immediately recognized the Boss for what it was. Fire Dance, keep on using the Frost Grenades to slow it down! Understood! Fire Dance knew that this was a crucial period. Hence, she tossed out the Frost Grenades in her hands one after another without pause. However, something unexpected happened. Aside from the Frost Grenades dealing much less damage than before, both their Movement Speed Reduction and freezing effects were completely useless against the Boss. In the blink of an eye, the shrunken Crystal Warwolf appeared before Shi Feng. It brandished its claws. Its three heads bared the fangs in its mouths, and it bit down at him. Although Shi Feng managed to deftly evade the three jaws clamping down on him, he failed to evade one of the paws that quickly followed. Suddenly, Shi Fengs entire person was sent flying for more than ten yards, and a frightening damage of more than -2,100 appeared above his head. Shi Feng felt as if his chest had caved in when he received the attack. Shi Fengs HP instantly fell to a dangerous level, his previously green HP bar turning into a bright red. TL Notes: [1]zerg tactics: a strategy that uses numbers rather then strategy to defeat the enemy. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=zerg 275 Seven Luminaries Key The moment Shi Feng landed on the ground, the Crystal Warwolf arrived at his back like a savage gale. Without giving Shi Feng any chance to defend, the three heads of the Crystal Warwolf opened their jaws to bite down on Shi Feng. Guild Leader! Fire Dance was greatly shocked. Immediately, she closed in on the Crystal Warwolf, sending a 3-star Kidney Strike to its body. However, even a controlling skill like Kidney Strike had no effect on the Crystal Warwolf. Just as the fangs of the Crystal Warwolf were about to close on Shi Fengs head, Shi Feng managed to cross his swords and execute Parry in the nick of time. _Boom!_ The floor beneath Shi Feng instantly cracked from the force. What a strong fellow, Shi Feng laughed bitterly. Although Parry allowed players to block the physical damage of an attack, it did not neutralize the force of the impact. There was no healer in the party right now. If Shi Feng ate another attack, he would definitely lose his life. From this brief exchange, Shi Feng had also gotten a general understanding of how much more powerful the Crystal Warwolf had become. In Shi Fengs estimation, although the Crystal Warwolf had not received much of an increase in terms of strength, its current speed was at least 30% faster than before it went berserk. At this moment, only by equipping the Heavenly Dragons Breath could Shi Feng have a chance at grasping victory. Otherwise, he would only receive unilateral abuse from the Boss. Unfortunately, although reaching 200 points in Agility was a simple task, it was not easy for a Swordsman like Shi Feng to attain 120 points in Intelligence. Moreover, very few plate-armor equipment meant for Swordsmen had the Intelligence Attribute on it; those that did would be considered garbage equipment. Seeing that its attack had failed to kill its prey, the Crystal Warwolf immediately rotated its body, its diamond-like tail whipping at Shi Feng as it did so. As Parry was still on Cooldown, Shi Feng had no choice but to activate one of his lifesaving skills, Defensive Blade. Defensive Blade was currently at Level 4, and it protected Shi Feng from nine ranged attacks or four melee attacks. Defensive Blade was a skill that provided complete immunity to any attack, be it damage or the resulting impact. It was one of the must-have basic combat skills for Swordsmen. As for why Shi Feng had chosen to use Parry first instead of Defensive Blade, it was for the sole purpose of determining the combat power of the berserk Crystal Warwolf. Only by experiencing the force of the impact could Shi Feng make the best judgment. Meanwhile, the conclusion Shi Feng arrived at was to face the Crystal Warwolf head-on. If he tried to escape, he would only die faster. Following which, he raised the Abyssal Blade up in the air. Green electric arcs surrounded the body of the sword as it moved to meet with the snowy, sharp claws of the Crystal Warwolf. Thundering Flash! The green electric arcs pierced the Crystal Warwolfs body, causing -572, -1,623, and -1,204 damage to it. Although only one out of the three arcs achieved a critical hit, the attack also managed to trigger the curse of the Abyssal Blade, inflicting the Doom Curse on the Crystal Warwolf. Immediately, all of the Crystal Warwolfs Attributes were reduced by 20%. Suddenly, the berserk Crystal Warwolf that had had its Agility increased by 30% was weakened greatly. However, Shi Feng was still not done with his attacks. He activated Phantom Kill right away, his doppelganger appearing beside the Crystal Warwolf. Shortly after, Shi Fengs doppelganger started sending a barrage of attacks at the Crystal Warwolf as well. Although the doppelganger only had 50% of Shi Fengs Attributes, it had fully inherited the skills Shi Feng had learned. Yet, despite having greatly reduced the Crystal Warwolfs speed, Shi Feng still did not have an easy time evading its attacks. Having no other choice, Shi Feng activated Gravity Liberation. Shi Fengs body instantly became as light as a feather, and like a spirited monkey, he dodged the originally unavoidable attack. Wind Blade! Immediately, Shi Fengs Attack Speed increased even further. Double Chop! Earth Splitter! Thunder Flame Explosion! Skills blasted on the Crystal Warwolf one after another, each dealing over -1,000 damage. Although the Crystal Warwolfs attacks became stronger and its speed much faster after going berserk, these improvements came at the price of its Defense being weakened. Combined with the 20% Damage Amplification effect of Thundering Flash, the damage the Crystal Warwolf received became a lot higher than before. Fire Dances and Aqua Roses attacks also landed at this point, so the Crystal Warwolfs HP fell sharply. By the time the 30-second duration of Gravity Liberation was almost over, the Crystal Warwolf only had 10% of its HP remaining. Just as the effect of Gravity Liberation was about to end, Shi Feng executed Nine Dragons Slash. Nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade appeared behind Shi Feng, and all of them shot towards the Crystal Warwolf. Meanwhile, just as an attack from the Crystal Warwolf was about to land on Shi Feng, Shi Feng swapped positions with his doppelganger. Upon being relocated, the doppelganger immediately used Parry and Defensive Blade to repel the Crystal Warwolfs attacks. Each phantom of the Abyssal Blade had high Attack Power, and each of them could deal over -150 damage every time they struck at the Crystal Warwolf. In total, the nine phantoms dealt over -1,300 damage to the Crystal Warwolf every second. Meanwhile, there were 28 seconds before the effect of Nine Dragons Slash ended. After having used up both of its lifesaving skills, Parry and Defensive Blade, the doppelganger received a direct hit from the Crystal Warwolfs claws. Alas, the doppelganger only had 50% of Shi Fengs Attributes, so it died on the spot. However, the doppelganger had earned a lot of time for Shi Feng. With the doppelganger gone, the Crystal Warwolf shifted its attention back to Shi Fengs actual body. Shi Feng activated Wind Walk again without hesitation. He then whirled around and ran. Fortunately, with his Movement Speed increased by 30%, Shi Feng was still a tad faster than the Crystal Warwolf, which was still under the 20% Attribute Reduction effect of the Doom Curse. Thus, the kiting strategy began once more. Under Aqua Roses and Fire Dances constant barrage, the Crystal Warwolfs HP fell lower and lower. 9% 8% 7% By the time the effect of Shi Fengs Windwalk was about to end, the Crystal Warwolf only had 3% of its HP remaining. It should be about time At this moment, Shi Feng stopped running. He then turned to face the Crystal Warwolf, pointing the Abyssal Blade at the monster. Abyssal Bind! Nine snakelike chains suddenly surfaced from the floor, instantly binding the Crystal Warwolf. Although the Crystal Warwolf had been immune to the control skills used on it before, its movements were still bound by the pitch-black chains. In Gods Domain, the so-called immunity to control skills did not necessarily make one immune to all control skills. Instead, it simply made one immune to control skills that were below a certain tier. Skills such as Frost Arrow, Ice Sphere, and Kidney Strike were all considered basic skills. In other words, they were Tier 0 skills. As these skills were of the lowest tier, the Crystal Warwolf was completely immune to their effects. As a Level 25 Lord, the Crystal Warwolf was immune to any control skills that was below Tier 2. However, Tier 2 or Tier 3 control skills could still restrain it. Although Shi Feng did not know which tier the Abyssal Bind belonged to, it was a skill attached to a Magic Weapon. In Shi Fengs estimation, it should be at least Tier 3 or above, meaning that it would be effective against all Bosses that could possibly appear at this stage of the game. With the Crystal Warwolf completely restrained, Shi Feng took a step forward as he activated his ultimate skill, Flame Burst, which could only be used around once every four minutes. Shi Fengs two swords were just like miniature suns with the activation of Flame Burst. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng slashed the Crystal Warwolfs body six times with his swords. -2,238, -4,452, -2,198, -2,212, -4,408, -2,216 The six attacks dealt a total of more than -17,000 damage, instantly wiping away the Crystal Warwolfs remaining 3% HP. System: Level 25 Crystal Warwolf killed. Level difference of 7. EXP obtained increased by 700%. Obtained 485,630 EXP. The experience bars of all three of them instantly increased by a large chunk. Aqua Rose even advanced to Level 18. As for Shi Feng, he had only recently reached Level 18, so he was still at Level 18 even after killing the Crystal Warwolf. If he could kill several more of such Lord rank Bosses, he would definitely level up very quickly. I never thought a Lord ranked Boss could be killed in such a way as well. This battle was an eye-opener for Aqua Rose. In truth, however, if not for Shi Feng being capable of holding a stable aggro on the Crystal Warwolf, in addition to consistently evading its multitude of attacks, they definitely could not have killed it. Guild Leader, quickly check the loot! As a huge fan of Shi Feng, Fire Dance was not surprised by Shi Fengs ingenuity. She had always believed Shi Feng could lead them to victory. Moreover, Fire Dance was hoping to reach Shi Fengs standards one day. How could she allow herself to falter when faced with a Lord ranked Boss? Shi Feng nodded in reply, promptly going ahead and checking the loot left behind by the Crystal Warwolf. It cant be, right? How could this Boss be so cheap? How could it drop only one key and one piece of equipment? Aqua Rose immediately grew unhappy when she saw the information shared by Shi Feng. What was even more annoying was that the equipment dropped was only a Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked plate-armor wrist guard; it wasnt even Dark-Gold rank. Not bad. Dont forget that this Seven Luminaries Key can be used up to three times to open a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Isnt there a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest right before us? Shi Feng laughed. After Aqua Rose had followed Shi Feng for some time, unconsciously, her standard for judging items became much higher than before. If it was in the past, Aqua Rose would definitely have forgotten herself in joy if she saw a Fine-Gold Equipment. Now, however, unless an item was of Dark-Gold rank, it would not even pique her interest. Thats right! Aqua Rose shifted her sights towards the distant treasure chest. After the arduous battle, the existence of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest had completely slipped her mind. They could get a Dark-Gold Equipment at the very minimum if they opened this treasure chest. There was also a small chance for them to obtain an Epic ranked item. Epic ranked items. Aqua Rose did not dare to even hope for one. 276 Dragonscale Set Equipmen Its locked, as expected. No matter how hard Shi Feng tried, he could not open the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Hence, he retrieved the key he had just obtained from his bag. _Kachak!_ The lid of the purple-gold-colored treasure chest popped open slightly. Multicolored lights escaped between the gap, the lights illuminating even areas that were several hundred yards away. If this treasure chest had been opened out in the fields, it would definitely cause a huge commotion and attract many players to come and snatch it. Fortunately, there was only Shi Fengs group of three in the Forgotten Lands. After the multicolored lights faded away, Shi Feng reached into the treasure chest. However, he quickly discovered there were only very few items inside it. The treasure chest contained a total of three items. Of them, two were Dark-Gold Equipment, while one was a Forging Manual. The two Dark-Gold Equipment were the Crystal Armor and the Boots of Extreme Speed. [Crystal Armor] (Chest Piece, Plate Armor, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 20 Equipment Requirement: Strength 120, Agility 140 Defense +140 Strength +24, Agility +21, Endurance +20 Restricted to Swordsman. Additional Passive Skill- Smart Outbreak: Every time user receives damage, Strength and Agility increased by 2% for 15 seconds. Stacks up to 5 times. Although the Basic Attributes on this piece of equipment could only be considered at the level of being good, the passive skill that was attached to it was simply amazing. After all, the passive skill could potentially increase a players Strength and Agility by 10%. If the wearer of the Crystal Armor originally had high amounts of Strength and Agility, the additional Attributes provided by Smart Outbreak would be like having equipped an additional piece of equipment at the very least. The only downside to this passive skill was its need for the user to take damage up to five times. Although such a condition had made it relatively useless in Boss battles, when used in grinding monsters and PK, it would definitely provide the wearer of the Crystal Armor with unspeakable advantages. [Boots of Extreme Speed] (Shoes, Leather Armor, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 20 Equipment Requirement: Strength 90, Agility 130 Defense +143, Strength +20, Agility +26, Endurance +18 Movement Speed +10 Evasion +7 Additional Passive Skill- Rapid Movement: Increases Movement Speed by 12% and Agility by 8%. In regard to Assassins and Rangers, the most sought-after Attribute for these two classes was Agility, followed by Strength. Meanwhile, this pair of boots increased the wearers Agility to the extremes. One could even argue that no other Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked shoes could increase Agility as much as the Boots of Extreme Speed could. Although these two pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment were excellent, they were worth barely a fragment of the true value of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. After all, the item that reflected the true value of the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was none other than the Forging Manual. In addition, it was even a Fine-Gold ranked Forging Manual. Forging Manuals were different from Forging Designs. In the case of Forging Designs, only one particular piece of equipment could be made using it. In the case of Forging Manuals, however, an entire set of equipment could be made using it. This Forging Manual was meant to produce the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment. There were a total of six pieces in this set, and it could be worn by any class that could use plate armor. Previously, Shi Feng had spent over 100 Gold at the Blackwing Auction House just to purchase the Forging Design for the Arclight Shield. However, the value of the Arclight Shield was far from being comparable to the Dragonscale Set Equipment. After all, the Dragonscale Set Equipment was a Fine-Gold ranked Set Equipment. Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, not a single Guild had managed to obtain a Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment up to now. One could simply imagine the value of a Fine-Gold ranked Set Equipment. If Shi Feng could forge a few sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment and give them to the plate-armor classes in the Guilds main force when these players walked on the streets wearing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, one could simply imagine the shock on the other players faces when they see the Set Equipment. The members of other Guilds would definitely tremble with fear. Just the thought of such a scene was simply exhilarating. However, it would definitely be extremely difficult to forge the Dragonscale Set Equipment. As it was a Set Equipment, the difficulty of producing the entire set would be no less than producing a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. Shi Feng was only an Advanced Forging Apprentice right now. Without raising his forging level, producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment would only be a pipe dream. At the very least, he needed to get promoted to an Intermediate Forger or Advanced Forger before he had an actual chance of producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment. _I have to raise my forging levels after we return._ Shi Feng formed a plan in his mind as he looked at the Dragonscale Forging Manual. Shi Feng then handed the Boots of Extreme Speed to Fire Dance. Now that Fire Dance had reached Level 19, she was only a short distance away from Level 20. As for the Crystal Armor and Dragonscale Forging Manual, he kept both of them for himself. After resting for a short while, Shi Fengs group of three entered the crystal pathway. The crystal pathway was so long that one could not see the end of it in a single glance. Moreover, the Elemental Mana present in this pathway was extremely dense, so much so that it was even visible in the form of an aurora. It was an absolutely stunning sight to behold. Aside from being visually appealing, the dense Mana also gave the three of them a buff, increasing the magic damage they could deal by 300%. One could simply imagine how dense the Elemental Mana was in this pathway. Before they knew it, Shi Fengs group of three had walked for more than an hour inside this crystal pathway. When they finally emerged, they were at the base of a huge mountain. When the three of them laid eyes on this mountain, they were immediately stunned. This entire mountain cant be made out of Seven Luminaries Crystal, right?! Aqua Rose stared at the crystal mountain, her heart filled with immense shock. Aqua Rose had previously visited the Blackwing Auction House, so she had seen Seven Luminaries Crystal before. It was common knowledge that the Seven Luminaries Crystal was one of the best mana-conducting crystals in Gods Domain. Not only was it extremely rare, its price was even more impressive. Not even White River City, a city with a population of several million, was qualified to use such a precious commodity. Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, only the palace and Star-Moon Auction House at the capital city could afford to use a floating platform made out of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Previously, Aqua Rose had believed that the crystal pathway was actually made out of Mana Crystals. However, the sight of this large mountain and its surrounding environment overturned her previous assumptions. The reason being, it was simply impossible for mere Mana Crystals to fill their surroundings with such dense Elemental Mana, resulting in even the formation of Seven-colored Mana Clouds. It should be. Shi Feng nodded blankly. Shi Fengs mind grew heated at the thought of having so much Seven Luminaries Crystal. On the market, a Seven Luminaries Crystal the size of a small residential house could be used to purchase a large town with a population of 50,000, with plenty to spare. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Crystal before him was in the form of a mountain, and in terms of size, this mountain could rival even White River City. A city made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystal, just what sort of concept was this? Even if the entire Star-Moon Kingdom was sold, it would not be enough to purchase so much Seven Luminaries Crystals. Unfortunately, none of these crystals could be taken away. It was not even possible to pick some to take back. If they wished to mine these Seven Luminaries Crystals, at the very least, they needed to reach Master level in mining. Shi Feng was only at Basic Apprentice level in mining right now, and not even in his dreams could he mine these Seven Luminaries Crystals. Seven Luminaries Crystal was even more valuable than gold. Yet, even though so much Seven Luminaries Crystals were sitting right before him, he could do nothing but look at it. Shi Fengs heart simply bled at this thought. However, this couldnt be helped. Who would have ever thought there would be so much Seven Luminaries Crystals at this place? Shi Feng shook his head, banishing his thoughts. He then moved his sights towards a flight of stairs a short distance away that led to the peak of the mountain, saying, Lets go up and take a look. We might discover how to unseal this place up there. Fire Dance did not know the true value of Seven Luminaries Crystal, hence she barely reacted to it. She had simply been mesmerized by the beauty of this mountain. Aqua Rose, on the other hand, knew full well the value of this mountain. If Fire Dance had not given her a shove, rousing her from her stupor, Aqua Rose would definitely still be immersed in her shock. After all, this entire mountain was a mountain of money If she could nick even a tiny piece of this mountain, the Coins converted from it would be enough to sustain even a first-rate Guild for a long time. As the trio traversed the stairs up the mountain, Shi Feng suddenly felt an oppressive pressure bearing down on him. Moreover, this pressure was exactly the same as what he had felt at the Purple Sun Mansion, only a lot more powerful. The pressure only grew stronger and stronger as they climbed further up the mountain. By the time Shi Feng arrived at the mountaintop, he was already drenched in sweat. His body also felt extremely heavy, as if it were made out of lead. Meanwhile, the two girls, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose, fared much worse than Shi Feng. At this moment, both girls were sprawled on the ground, their bodies refusing to move even an inch. Unable to help his teammates, Shi Feng decided to walk towards a monolith visible at a distance by himself. Just by looking at this semi-transparent sky-blue monolith, Shi Feng could immediately sense that it was the heart of this land. It was obvious that this standing stone was the thing that filled the surrounding environment with such dense Elemental Mana, and not the mountain-sized Seven Luminaries Crystal. Arriving before the monolith, Shi Feng discovered many golden divine runes engraved on the bottom of the standing stone. They were by far the most complicated divine runes Shi Feng had ever seen. Also, Shi Feng had actually discovered a figure flickering in and out of existence within the semi-transparent monolith. When Shi Feng took a closer look at this figure, his eyes immediately widened in shock. He simply couldnt believe what he was seeing was real. The reason being, Shi Feng had seen the figure inside the stone before. However, Shi Feng was confused. Why would this person appear here? 277 A God’s Grave While Shi Feng was still in a daze, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose caught up with him, having recovered from their exhaustion. Guild Leader, did you find anything? Fire Dance asked out of curiosity when she saw Shi Feng lost in thought. Aqua Rose, on the other hand, did not notice any difference in Shi Fengs demeanor, because the moment she arrived before the monolith, her attention was completely caught by something else. As an Elementalist, she was much more sensitive to magic power than players of other classes. The frightening magic power radiating from the monolith was definitely the purest form of magic power Aqua Rose had ever felt, as if it was the master of all Elemental Mana. When Aqua Rose noticed the figure inside the monolith, she, too, froze on the spot. How is it possible? Aqua Rose could not believe what she saw. She rubbed her eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on her. Aqua Roses reaction baffled Fire Dance. What has gotten into the two of you? Fire Dance looked at Aqua Rose, then at Shi Feng, confused by their reactions. Youll understand after taking a look inside the monolith, Shi Feng said slowly, pointing towards the figure in the monolith. Fire Dance then transferred her gaze to the monolith. How could she be here? Fire Dance asked in shock. Fire Dance knew the figure in the monolith. Moreover, she had met this person only recently. This person was none other than Sharlyn, the Divine Official who faced off against the two Fallen Angels back at the Demons Castle. To be precise, the woman within the monolith looked exactly the same as Sharlyn. Even the saintly aura she emitted was similar to Sharlyns. If Fire Dance had to point to a difference between the two women, then it would be the pressure this woman gave off. This was no longer an oppression due to strength. Instead, this pressure was the instinctive reverence for a primordial life form, just like the reverence mortals had towards Gods. Could she possibly be a God? Fire Dance suddenly had this thought when she looked at the woman who looked like Sharlyn. Shi Fengs thoughts were running along similar lines to Fire Dances. However, Shi Feng could say with certainty that the woman inside the monolith was definitely a Tier 6 God, because in the past he had personally experienced this overbearing pressure, which could only be exuded by a God. If the woman in the monolith was simply a Tier 6 God, Shi Feng would not have found the matter too shocking. After all, during his decade of playing Gods Domain, he had personally met with plenty of Tier 6 players and NPCs. The thing that truly startled him was the fact that the woman before him looked identical to Sharlyn. Back at the Purple Sun Mansion, he had already experienced this kind of pressure. He had simply forgotten where he had felt it before. Now he knew why that pressure felt so familiar. After all, he had felt a similar pressure from Sharlyn. Only, the pressure Sharlyn gave off was not as powerful as the one he felt at the Purple Sun Mansion, hence he failed to recognize it. Not only did the two women look exactly the same, even the pressure they emitted felt similar. The only real difference between the two were their actual strengths. If Shi Feng was told that the woman before him was Sharlyn, he would definitely not believe it. After all, Sharlyn was only a Tier 3 Divine Official. She was still miles away from becoming a Tier 6 God. Yet, if he was told that Sharlyn had no connection to this woman before him, then he likewise would not believe it. Although the woman inside the monolith was clearly no longer alive, at the end of the day, she was still a God. As long as her body did not receive any intentional damage, it would not undergo any decay. As of now, Shi Feng finally realized that the Forgotten Lands was merely the grave of a God. However, he was still curious about who had actually created this masterpiece. This great personage had actually made such a complex magic array that utilized a Gods body as its power source. The materials used to create the magic array even included the extremely valuable Seven Luminaries Crystal. Just what kind of thing was this great personage trying to seal? Even if it was for the purpose of sealing a God, there should not be a need for so much resources It seems there is a deep connection between Sharlyn and this place. Shi Feng had long since felt that Sharlyns origins were not simple. The fact that she was a Tier 3 NPC was already amazing in and of itself. Sharlyn was also capable of handing out an Epic Quest to Shi Feng. Now, there was even a God that looked exactly the same as Sharlyn. Even Shi Feng could not fathom Sharlyns true identity. Unless he went and asked Sharlyn herself Shi Feng was extremely curious about this matter. He vowed to himself to visit Sharlyn, who was at the Stargazing Tower at Blackwing City, after this entire ordeal was over. Guild Leader, what are we supposed to do now? Destroy this monolith? Aqua Rose asked. The mana source of this magic array clearly originated from this monolith. If they wished to release the seal on the Forgotten Lands, their only choice was to destroy the monolith. However, it was unknown what sort of reaction they would incur if they did so. There was a God inside the monolith, after all. Lets give it a try. Shi Feng had taken a look at the monoliths surroundings just now. However, he did not discover any mechanisms that would allow him to undo the magic array. After Shi Feng nodded, Fire Dance immediately took action by slashing at the monolith with her two daggers. However, the two Fine-Gold ranked daggers, which could easily cut through metal like a hot knife through butter, simply grazed the surface of the monolith, creating dazzling sparks in the process. There was not even a mark left on the monolith. Hard. Fire Dances hands went numb from the attack. It felt as if her daggers had hit God-steel. Ill try using magic. Aqua Rose started chanting the incantation for Chain Explosion. With the Elemental Mana so dense in this place, any spells used here would be greatly enhanced. Originally, Chain Explosion would only summon five fireballs, each the size of a washbowl. When Aqua Rose cast the spell now, however, the fireballs grew to the size of a small house. When these fireballs bombarded the monolith, they were like meteors hurtling down from the sky. Sparks flew in all directions as the fireballs crashed into the monolith. After the flames subsided, Aqua Rose was greatly shocked by the result. The monolith remained completely unscathed. On the contrary, it even looked more brilliant and dazzling than before Shi Feng wrinkled his brows at this sight. If even Aqua Roses ultimate move could not deal any damage to the monolith, he would most likely end up with a similar result if he tried to attack the monolith. Since we cant destroy the monolith, well need to use some other method to destroy the magic array, Shi Feng said. The Main God System would not hand out a quest that players had no hope of actually completing. If they couldnt destroy the power source of the magic array nor the magic array itself, then there was only one other thing they could destroy. The connection points! Aqua, help me look for the connection points of this magic array, Shi Feng said. I see! Aqua Rose immediately understood Shi Fengs intention. Fire Dance, however, remained clueless after the twos brief conversation. As an Assassin, she knew next to nothing about magic. Hence, she could only stay by the monoliths side as she watched her two friends hard at work. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose started searching the surroundings of the monolith for the veins that carried magic power to the five modules of the magic array. Only by looking for veins could they locate the connection points. Normally, the quickest way to destroy a magic array was to destroy its power core. If that was not viable, then the two other remaining options would be to destroy the magic array itself and to destroy the connection points of the magic array. Destroying the magic array itself was an extremely challenging task to pull off. On the other hand, it was a very simple task to destroy the connection points. Unfortunately, locating these connection points was also a very difficult task. A connection point was a node that connected the magic array to its power source. It acted similar to a circuit breaker in real life. Only, instead of being used to prevent an overflow of electric current, the connection point served to limit the amount of mana flowing from the power source to the magic array. If the connection point was damaged, then the mana supply would surge, and consequently, the magic array would destroy itself due to excessive mana input. After searching for some time, Shi Feng finally found a connection point. He promptly struck down with the Abyssal Blade, destroying the connection point. However, this enormous and complex magic array did not possess only a single connection point. They needed to search and destroy all the connection points of the magic array. After several more hours passed, Aqua Rose found another connection point, which she quickly destroyed. Even so, the magic array remained stable. In this way, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose spent the entire day destroying more than twenty connection points. Although the destruction of the connection points had a slight effect on the magic array, it was clear that the damage was within the parameters of the magic arrays design. Not good! Guild Leader, one of the connection points you previously destroyed is back to normal! Having nothing better to do, Fire Dance had tagged along with Shi Feng, hoping to learn how she, too, could search for the connection points. However, during her observations, she suddenly discovered that one of the connection points Shi Feng had previously destroyed had actually recovered. What did you say? Shi Feng asked in disbelief. Even the connection points could restore themselves? Shi Feng started to suspect that this was no longer an ordinary magic array but a magic array that had already cultivated into a demon. Shi Feng had seen plenty of Tier 5 magic arrays in the past; he had even seen Tier 6 magic arrays before. However, he had never once heard of a magic array that was capable of repairing itself. 278 The Great Catastrophe By no means can we continue like this. There might be hundreds of connection points in this magic array. By the time we locate the ones remaining, the other connection points might have repaired themselves already, Shi Feng said, his head aching. A magic array that was capable of self-repair was simply unheard-of. If they did not have a dozen or so players moving separately to destroy the connection points, it was simply impossible to destroy every single connection point in this magic array. Destroying the connection points suddenly became a much harder task than Shi Feng had imagined it to be. Guild Leader, I found something here. Come over and take a look, Aqua Rose said through the party chat. Hearing that there was a new discovery, Shi Feng immediately hurried over to Aqua Roses location. Aqua Rose was currently situated in the middle of this Seven Luminaries Mountain, inside an extremely obscure cave. If not for the indicator provided by the system map, Shi Feng could not have found the cave Aqua Rose was in. After entering the cave, Shi Feng immediately observed his surroundings. He discovered that the walls of the cave were covered with engravings of divine runes, the golden glow these divine runes were giving off brightly illuminating the interior of the cave. Looking at the caves central crystal pillar, Shi Feng noticed a blood-red stone embedded in it. This piece of stone was just like a beating heart, only, instead of bright-red liquid, an endless amount of mana passed through it. Meanwhile, the mana that passed through this blood-red stone became much purer in quality. Aqua, how did you manage to find this place? Shi Feng asked, astonished by this scene before him. I just happened to discover a particularly thick mana vein and followed it here. Aqua Rose beamed a proud smile at Shi Feng. If they demolished this place, then the magic array would definitely be finished. Guild Leader, Ill start destroying this place, alright? Aqua Rose could wait no longer. She had been trapped in this godforsaken place for so many days now. During this period of time, she had no option but to keep contact with her subordinates through the phone in order to make arrangements for the daily affairs of the Guild. She had also instructed them to prepare for the establishment of their Guild Residence. Currently, most of the average players in White River City were already around Level 14 to Level 15, while the elite players of the various Guilds were already at Level 17. The intensity of the competition for the Three Great Dungeons had also reached its peak by now. Out of all the Guilds in White River City, Ouroboros shone the brightest. They had already managed to take down the second Boss of the Hard Mode Land of Death, and they were currently in the midst of challenging the third Boss of the Dungeon. Meanwhile, Dark Star, which ranked after Ouroboros, was still attempting to raid the second Boss. As for the other Guilds, they had also passed through Normal Mode, and were currently preparing to raid Hard Mode. Furthermore, as players started raiding the Hard Mode Bosses of the Three Great Dungeons, they soon discovered the astonishing benefits they could obtain. Aside from dropping Level 15 Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment, the Bosses also dropped plenty of recipes and designs. Players could also obtain the Guild Task Order that could not be obtained from 20-man Team Dungeons or lower. These Guild Task Orders could be used to accelerate the promotion of a Guild. Otherwise, it would take ages for Guilds to get promoted if they simply relied on the meager Guild Reputation their members obtained by completing Daily Quests. Yet, as one of the top six Guilds in White River City, Zero Wing had actually remained inactive all this time. Not only had it accomplished nothing during this period of time, it did not even set foot in any of the Three Great Dungeons. It had simply focused its attention on raiding Level 15, 10- and 20-man Dungeons, and its decision to do so had greatly confused the masses. Even though Zero Wing clearly had the strength to challenge the Three Great Dungeons, it had chosen not to take action instead. The Guilds behavior had caused many of the new members to grow dissatisfied, and a majority of these players had chosen to leave the Guild one after another. Very quickly, Zero Wings member count that had originally exceeded 8,000 had quickly dwindled down to just slightly more than 6,000. This situation had panicked Aqua Rose somewhat. In reply to Aqua Roses panic, Shi Feng had simply said, If they wish to leave, then let them leave. You dont need to stop them. The Guild is too bloated right now, so this is a good chance to rid ourselves of those that joined solely with the intention of taking advantage of us. The Guild would become much purer after those players are gone. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Aqua Rose had no choice but to turn a blind eye to all the players withdrawing from the Guild. However, she did make sure to record the names of those who left. In the future, they would no longer be welcomed into the Guild. Meanwhile, the players that withdrew from the Guild simply reacted with contempt at Aqua Roses actions. They had even made a mockery of Zero Wing, declaring that they would never rejoin a lousy Guild like Zero Wing. Moreover, as if to rub salt into the wound, Dark Star had also been secretly killing many players from Zero Wing, causing even more players to withdraw from the Guild. As of this moment, there were only around 4,000 members remaining in Zero Wing. Not to mention a third-rate Guild, they were not even comparable to a large unrated Guild right now. Hence, Aqua Rose was in a rush to break out of this place. She wanted to quickly return and rectify the Guild. Hold on a minute, Shi Feng hurriedly said when he noticed a large fireball already appearing in Aqua Roses hand. We dont really need to destroy it. But, how are we supposed to leave this place if we dont destroy it, then? Aqua Rose asked. I have my own ways. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he looked at the blood-red stone embedded inside the crystal pillar. Shi Feng truly had not expected to find this piece of blood-red stone here. Instead of calling it a blood-red stone, it would be more appropriate to refer to it as the Philosophers Stone. Previously, Shi Feng had obtained a fragment of the Philosophers Stone back at the Sun Temple. Now, he had stumbled upon another fragment. The Philosophers Stone was an alchemy treasure. Despite being fragmented into five pieces, each of these individual pieces still contained the strength of an Epic ranked item. Also, when Shi Feng discovered the Philosophers Stone at this place, he quickly understood just how the connection points of the magic array had managed to repair themselves. It turned out it was all because of the Philosophers Stone. _Although I cant take away any of these Seven Luminaries Crystals, it is still not bad if I can return with this piece of the Philosophers Stone._ Shi Feng arrived before the crystal pillar. He then inserted the tip of the Abyssal Blade into the crevice in the crystal pillar where the Philosophers Stone was set. With a light tap on the pommel of the Abyssal Blade, the Philosophers Stone easily popped out from the crystal pillar. Shi Feng promptly retrieved the item and stored it in his bag. Shortly after the Philosophers Stone was removed from the crystal pillar, the cave started fading away. Moreover, the rate at which it disappeared was visible to the naked eye. The dense Elemental Mana that filled the air and land also gradually dispersed, becoming thinner and thinner. As for the incomparably hard Seven Luminaries Crystals, they, too, had began turning into ash. Not good! This place is about to collapse! We need to leave immediately! Shi Feng shouted through the party chat as soon as he noticed this change. Shi Fengs group of three rushed down the Seven Luminaries Mountain, and before long the entire mountain started imploding. The magic array that sealed the Forgotten Lands also lost its effectiveness. As for the monolith that had previously been standing on the mountaintop, it remained floating high up in the sky. Gradually, the monolith rose higher and higher, before suddenly releasing a rainbow brilliance. The monolith was like a miniature sun at this moment. Soon after, the dazzling glow disappeared, along with the gigantic monolith itself. After the Seven Luminaries Mountain collapsed, a bottomless pit appeared in its place. The pit was just like a black hole, devouring everything that entered it. At the deepest reaches of this bottomless pit, there was actually a boundless aura of destruction, and any object that came into contact with this pressure instantly turned into ash. Surprisingly, Shi Feng felt signs of life at the very bottom of this immeasurably deep pit, and his entire body instinctively shuddered at this discovery. Guild Leader, did we do something bad? Fire Dance asked Shi Feng in a careful tone. She, too, could feel the immensely frightening pressure that came from the bottomless pit. I dont know, either, Shi Feng said, a bitter smile on his face. At this moment, a notification from the system sounded. System: Unique Quest Miracles Unsealed completed. Quest rewards: 1,000,000 EXP, 40 Free Attribute Points, and 40 Free Mastery Points. System: The Endless Abyss has come into existence. Activating new expansion pack, The Great Catastrophe. System: Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest Seven Treasures activated. Quest details: The Endless Abyss has been unsealed. You are required to immediately notify the War Gods Temple in order to have them reseal the Endless Abyss. After reading these notifications, Shi Feng finally had an inkling of what was going on. Inadvertently, they had actually opened the door of taboos. According to Shi Fengs memories, the new expansion pack The Great Catastrophe had only appeared three months after Gods Domains launch in his previous life. Now, however, because of him, the Great Catastrophe had appeared in advance 279 Quality over Quantity When Aqua Rose and Fire Dance read the notifications they received, both of them were immediately sent into a daze. A Legendary Quest! Moreover, it was a Main Storyline Quest, a quest that was capable of changing the history of Gods Domain. The reward for such a quest would definitely be luxuriant. According to rumors, the minimum reward for completing an Epic Quest was an Epic ranked item, or an item of equivalent value. In other words, if they completed a Legendary Quest, then the minimum reward they could obtain would be a Legendary ranked item. They had never even seen an Epic ranked item before, much less a Legendary ranked item. It could definitely become the symbol of the Guild. However, when the two of them thought about how they were required to seal this Endless Abyss, they sank into deep despair The Return Scrolls are usable now. Lets leave this place, then. Shi Fengs memories of the new expansion pack The Great Catastrophe were still fresh in his mind. After the Great Catastrophe occurred, the monsters throughout Gods Domain started becoming restless. Towns, especially, would randomly come under attack from Demonic Beasts, resulting in chaos. According to Shi Fengs memories, some of the weaker border towns had even been conquered by the Demonic Beasts, turning those into Demonic Beast Towns. Among the biggest changes made to the game were to the nights in Gods Domain. After the new pack was implemented, the number of monsters that would appear during nighttime was much higher than before. Moreover, monsters corrupted by the Endless Abyss would also appear. These corrupted monsters would all be transformed into Demonic Beasts, and even the weakest of Demonic Beasts were Tier 1 monsters. Which was to say, if players had still not received their promotion into a Tier 1 class, it would be tremendously difficult for them to fight against these monsters. Instead of being the ones doing the killing, players would have a much higher chance of getting killed by these Demonic Beasts. Hence, after the new expansion pack, players would find it very difficult to grind and level up during nighttime. In contrast to the shock Aqua Rose and Fire Dance felt, the revelation of the new pack caused a sensation throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Players could not help but feel excited after finding out about the Great Catastrophe expansion pack. The official developers of the game had already revealed information about this new expansion pack. In the future, Demonic Beasts would randomly launch assaults on towns, and in response to such attacks, towns would issue Defense Quests to players. As long as players managed to defend the town, they would receive bountiful rewards. Of these rewards, there would even be Secret-Silver ranked items and many more valuable items. In addition, players would also receive City Reputation from completing the Defense Quest. These Defense Quests would undeniably allow average players to quickly improve themselves, hence the excitement of many of the average players over the arrival of this new expansion pack. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in White River City had also suddenly cooled down, as many players had chosen to head out to the towns instead. They intended to grind for some levels while they awaited for a Demonic Beast assault to occur. If luck would have it, they might even happen upon a Demonic Beast assault, making a huge profit from completing the resultant Defense Quest. Guild Leader, should we arrange for a few members to head towards various towns and keep an eye out for a Demonic Beast assault? Aqua Rose suggested, her brows wrinkled slightly when she looked at the deserted streets of White River City. The other Guilds were currently busying themselves with raiding the Three Great Dungeons. They definitely would not have the time to pay attention to these Demonic Beast assaults. Hence, this was a good chance for Zero Wing to shine. Lets not participate in the Demonic Beast assaults. Focus on leveling up. Level 20 is the time when our Guild will shine. Shi Feng shook his head, a knowing smile on his face. In the past, Shi Feng had experienced many assaults launched by Demonic Beasts. Hence, he knew very well how difficult it was to actually receive the reward of a Defense Quest. The reason being, even the weakest Demonic Beast was a Tier 1 monster; they would all be Level 30 or above. Shi Feng had even once encountered a Tier 3 Demonic Beast during an assault. If they were to try and defend a town right now, it would simply be suicide. Naturally, Shi Feng would not let the members of his Guild die a pointless death. One could say that towns were extremely dangerous locations right now. If players were to truly meet with a Demonic Beast assault, then it was not luck but fate. Currently, the safest places in Gods Domain were cities, since there would be high-tier NPCs guarding them. Take White River City for example. There were three Tier 4 NPCs guarding it, so Demonic Beasts would not dare to casually approach the city itself. If we dont participate and make some achievements, many more of the remaining members might choose to withdraw from the Guild. Aqua Rose could not understand what was going through Shi Fengs mind. Before, they had given up on competing over the Three Great Dungeons. Now, they were also going to give up such a good chance to earn precious equipment and reputation. Just what were they supposed to do? Let them leave, then. Our Guild is only capable of handling 3,000 members right now, and we are still well above that number. It would be even better if they do leave. Shi Feng smiled without care. What Shi Feng was trying to pursue was quality, not quantity. Gods Domain was a game, and the resources available to players were limited. Meanwhile, the more members they had in the Guild, the more resources the Guild needed to spend. However, if the resources available in the Guild only amounted to so much, having more members in the Guild would mean that each member would receive less resources. As a result, their development speed would also fall. In the past, Shadow had conducted a mass recruitment of players, recruiting all kinds of players into the Guild. In the end, the Guild had bitten off more than it could chew, causing its development to slow to a crawl. In this life, Shi Feng would not repeat the same mistakes Shadow made in the past. The members in the Guild could just leave for all he cared. He definitely would not try to stop them from leaving. Talent was very important if one wished to become an expert in Gods Domain. However, truly talented people were limited. In the past, a majority of the experts in Gods Domain had participated in one battle after another, gradually learning and accumulating the experience needed to become an expert, instead of relying on talent. Instead of cultivating some two-faced talented Guild members, Shi Feng would rather invest his resources in nurturing normal, but loyal, Guild members. In the past, a Super-Guild called Black Tower had sent over 200,000 of their members to attack a second-rate Guild called Solitary Rulers. Meanwhile, Solitary Rulers had less than 80,000 members in total; the Guild was believed to have the fewest members among all second-rate Guilds. Before the battle between the two Guilds had even started, everyone had already expected Black Tower to easily obtain victory. However, the end result was far from what others had imagined it to be. Although both Guilds clashed tens of times, Black Tower hadnt succeeded in destroying the city governed by Solitary Rulers. While more than 30,000 members of Solitary Rulers had died in that battle, Black Tower had lost more than three times that number, with over 100,000 members of Black Tower dying. Black Tower suffered a tremendous loss after that battle, greatly shocking the other Guilds that were watching from the sidelines. In the end, Black Tower had no choice but to mobilize its seven Tier 5 Saint-rank players and one of its Tier 6 God-rank players to destroy Solitary Rulers. However, every member of Solitary Rulers still fought to the bloody end, fighting tooth and nail against their eventual demise. Before they lost their city, they had even managed to kill two of the Saint-rank players and another 100,000 or so Black Tower members. In the subsequent clashes between the two Guilds, Solitary Rulers had suffered one defeat after another. After all, the Tier 6 God-rank expert and seven Tier 5 Saint-rank experts were simply too powerful. As a result, Solitary Rulers lost five of the cities they governed in quick succession. By the time the battlefield moved to Solitary Rulers final base of operations, Unparalleled City, amazingly, not a single member had chosen to withdraw from the Guild. Even after dying tens of times, they still chose to charge head-on into the battlefield. Shi Feng couldnt help but shiver every time he recalled the unyielding attitude of those iron-blooded souls. Clearly, the difference in strength between the two Guilds was like heaven and earth. Yet, instead of giving up and accepting their fates, every single member of Solitary Rulers had chosen to brave the battlefield. It was also due to this reason that Black Tower had suffered such immense losses. If it were any other Guild standing in Solitary Rulers place, the members would have long since abandoned hope and quit the Guild. They would not have chosen to fight at all. While Black Tower was in the midst of conquering Solitary Rulers final city, however, another Super-Guild had attempted to take advantage of the situation and laid siege to Black Towers cities. As a result, Black Tower had no choice but to give up their plan of completely annihilating Solitary Rulers. Meanwhile, Solitary Rulers had instantly risen to fame after this conflict, becoming the role model of all second-rate and third-rate Guilds. Aside from Solitary Rulers as an example of quality over quantity, there was also the adventurer team that was known throughout the entire Gods Domain, the Midnight Tea Party. Although its members numbered less than 30, not even Super-Guilds dared to cross it. In Gods Domain, although quantity was important, quality was even more important. I understand. Looking at Shi Fengs determined expression, Aqua Rose had no better choice but to concede to his decision. It was indeed like Shi Feng had said: there were too many members in the Guild. The current member count far exceeded their range of tolerance. By having those unfaithful members leave, they could also lay a good foundation for their Guilds future. Another reason why Aqua Rose had agreed to Shi Fengs decision was mainly because of the Guild Residence. Once they revealed their Guild Residence to the public, there would be no shortage of players wanting to join their Guild. If they did not possess the Guild Residence, Aqua Rose definitely would not have agreed to such a self-destructive course. After Aqua Rose went on her own way, Shi Feng headed to the Adventurers Guild. Now that the Great Catastrophe expansion pack had been activated, he needed to quickly handle the matters concerning the Guild Residence. 280 Zero Wing Residence Currently, the interior of the Adventurers Association of White River City was filled with players coming and going. Most of these players were here to accept or hand in their Daily Quests. However, there were insufficient NPCs to cater to the large number of players. As a result, these players usually needed to wait in the lounge for a period of time before they could accept or turn in their quests. Having nothing better to do inside the lounge, some Guild players started ordering alcohol and holding a discussion among themselves. Zero Wing is getting worse by the day! If I had known this would happen earlier, I would have definitely joined some other large Guild to develop myself! Perhaps I might have already become the leader of a party by now! Brother Hui, as expected, you are still the smarter and wiser one! You joined Dark Star from the very start, and now, youve already become the vice-leader of a 15-man team! Now that I have left Zero Wing, I will be relying on Brother Huis guidance from now on! A Shield Warrior with tanned skin flattered the robust-looking Berserker sitting beside him. No problem! With me around, you will definitely have no problem joining the Guild! the Berserker assured him, clapping his chest. Meanwhile, sitting beside this Berserker addressed as Brother Hui was a pretty female mage. Although her face looked average, she had an excellent figure. Coquettishly fluttering her eyelashes, the female mage looked at the person known as Brother Hui, sweetly saying, Big Brother Hui, Ive been wanting to go to the Level 15 Wind Ridge. When will you take me there? Wind Ridge was a Level 15, 20-man Team Dungeon. Among Level 15 Team Dungeons, Wind Ridge had a below-average difficulty. However, to average players at this stage of the game, even a Level 15, 10-man Team Dungeon was a great challenge, not to mention a 20-man Dungeon like Wind Ridge. Of course, of course! Isnt it just Wind Ridge? Youre already my woman now, how could you settle for only a meager Wind Ridge? Tomorrow, Ill call up my men and bring you to the Demons Castle! The Berserker wrapped his arm around the female mages willowy waist, a nasty grin on his face. Many onlookers grew envious at this scene. They could not help but wish that they, too, could join Dark Star and getting a beauty for themselves as well. Brother Hui, I hear that the Demons Castle has a very high difficulty. Dont tell me youve already managed to obtain the raid strategy from Zero Wings main force? the tanned Shield Warrior asked curiously. Indeed, weve managed to obtain the strategy already. However, even without it, with Dark Stars strength, we could still easily conquer the Demons Castle. The main reason we havent done so is simply because of the competition were having with Ouroboros. Otherwise, Zero Wing would not have had the chance to take the limelight as they did before. Look, isnt Zero Wing in shambles now? Theyre simply a little faster in terms of leveling up. They havent even cleared the Normal Mode of any of the Three Great Dungeons yet. Dark Star, on the other hand, has already killed the second Boss of Hard Mode and started trying to raid the third Boss. We have already caught up with Ouroboros. It is only a matter of time before we surpass Ouroboros. I really dont know what qualifications Zero Wing possesses to be considered as one of the top six Guilds in White River City. The Berserkers loud voice was filled with disdain as he spoke of Zero Wing. Even though the Guild clearly has no future, there is still more than half the original number of players remaining in it. It really makes you wonder just what is going through those peoples minds. Theyre just fools. Brother Hui, youre right! I really regret listening to my friends words about joining Zero Wing back then. The Shield Warrior nodded his head in agreement, his heart filled with great disappointment. If he had joined Dark Star early on, he might also have had a beauty accompanying him by now. Meanwhile, seated near this trio, Shi Feng was currently quietly browsing through information on the official forums. Naturally, he could clearly hear the loud conversation between the robust Berserker and the skinny Shield Warrior, and the same went for everyone else waiting inside the lounge. However, Shi Feng made no comment on their mocking words. After all, everyone had the freedom to make their own decisions. As for the Shield Warriors regret at joining Zero Wing? Shi Feng simply revealed a calm smile. If this Shield Warrior knew that Zero Wing was about to establish their very own Guild Residence, just what sort of emotions would he have? At that time, even the words earth-shattering would not be enough to describe the amount of shock he would feel. However, Shi Feng really could not be blamed for this Soon after, Shi Feng headed to the counter and dealt with all the necessary procedures. After he turned his private territory into a Guild Residence, he also spent 3,000 Gold to build an Advanced Guild Hall in place of the Purple Sun Mansion. The Advanced Guild Hall could fit up to 3,000 people. As for the other facilities of the Guild Residence, those would only be obtainable from large-scale Team Dungeons that were Level 25 or above. Some time was needed before the construction of the Advanced Guild Hall could be completed. After Shi Feng completed all the necessary procedures, his remaining task was to head to the War Gods Temple and report the matter of the Endless Abyss. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the Adventurers Association, the system notification sounded. Moreover, this wasnt just any normal notification. Instead, it was a notification sent to the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to establish a Guild Residence! Rewarding 10,000 Guild Reputation, 10,000 Guild Popularity and 10 Gold Coins to the Guild. I spent 3,000 Gold, yet only got 10 Gold in return. The System sure is tightfisted. Shi Feng laughed. However, Shi Feng did not concern himself with such an amount of Gold. The reason being, in these past few days, the Starstreak Trading Firm was already making a daily profit of over 1,700 Gold. It was all thanks to the popularity it gained from selling the Arclight Shield, as well as the Basic Mana Armor Kits. During this period of time, the forging genius, Cream Cocoa, had also been continuously producing Gemstone Buckles, Advanced Whetstones, and many more forging products. Moreover, the number of forging players Melancholic Smile recruited was also rising. Not only did the combination of these new forgers and the various Forging Designs provided by Zero Wing increase the number of products sold by the Starstreak Trading Firm, it also expanded the companys product selection. As a result, the daily profits of the Starstreak Trading Firm continuously rose. Currently, the Starstreak Trading Firm already controlled over half of the market for forging products in White River City. Moreover, such a situation wasnt limited to just White River City; it extended to the seven surrounding cities. Hence, Shi Feng was not lacking in money at all. Compared to having spent 3,000 Gold Coins, Shi Feng was more interested in the 10,000 Guild Popularity points. This was a feature that would only become available to a Guild after it established a Guild Residence. The higher the Guild Popularity, the more famous a Guild would become among NPCs. With 10,000 Guild Popularity, Zero Wing could be considered relatively famous among the NPC populace. Compared to starting from scratch, having this 10,000 Guild Popularity made things much simpler for him. It should be known that, when a Guild member completed a quest commissioned by an NPC, the Guild would normally receive only one to three Guild Popularity. Only quests with high difficulty would reward five to ten points. In other words, a Guild needed to complete thousands of Guild Quests in order to accumulate 10,000 Guild Popularity. These bonus Guild Popularity points had saved the Guild plenty of development time. Meanwhile, inside the lounge of the Adventurers Association, the tanned Shield Warrior that had just recently left Zero Wing no longer felt joyful about joining Dark Star. On the contrary, his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. \--- Inside the Land of Death, one of the Three Great Dungeons Dark Stars main team was currently battling against a White-bone Giant Elephant, which was over 20 meters in height. At this time, the MT of the team, Lone Tyrant, was enduring the attacks from this White-bone Giant Elephant. Every time he took an attack from the Boss, he would receive over -2,000 damage. His HP constantly rose and fell, his life hanging by a thread. Just as the White-bone Giant Elephant in the distance was preparing to charge, Lone Tyrant suddenly received a system notification. Lone Tyrant was momentarily stunned by what he saw. How did Zero Wing obtain a Guild Residence so quickly?! Lone Tyrant couldnt help but yell out when he saw the description of this system notification, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He even forgot to use a skill to block the incoming attack from the White-bone Giant Elephant before him. As a result, he was turned into a pile of meat paste by the Bosss foot, losing his life instantly. What followed was what would be expected: a team-wipe 281 A Guild’s Most Powerful Weapon Tens of players were currently lining up outside a large and peaceful tomb. Everyone in this team of players was Level 17 or above, and all of their equipment were at least Mysterious-Iron rank with a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment mixed in. Most of the equipment the leading MT of this team had were of Secret-Silver rank, and the crescent-shaped shield he carried was even of Fine-Gold rank. Meanwhile, all of these well-equipped players were looking reverently at the peerless beauty standing before them. Looking out through the gaps of her silver-white helmet, her black, crystalline eyes shone with both intelligence and wisdom. Her hair, which was a midnight-black, hung down to her waist, gently brushing against the silver-white armor she wore. Resting her hand on the hilt of a dark-blue greatsword glowing dark blue, she exuded the indomitable aura of a goddess of war as she silently stood there. This peerless war goddess was none other than the Snow Goddess of Ouroboros, Gentle Snow. After undergoing the baptism of the Three Great Dungeons, Gentle Snow was even more dazzling than before. She was like a rough stone that had been polished, instantly revealing the sparkle of an icy-cold sapphire. Currently, not only was Gentle Snow fully equipped with the Snowfall Set Equipment, a Secret-Silver ranked Set Equipment, the greatsword she wielded, albeit of indiscernible quality, was also giving off a frightening amount of energy. The Snowfall Set Equipment could only be obtained from the Hard Mode of the Three Great Dungeons. As for the Blue Sky greatsword Gentle Snow wielded, she had obtained it after killing a Great Lord that served as a protector of a ruined temple. If Shi Feng saw this two-handed greatsword, he would definitely be shocked. The reason being, this greatsword was similar to the Abyssal Blade, since it, too, was a Magic Weapon. Furthermore, it was also one of the thirty-six Famed Swords of Gods Domain, Blue Sky. Just as Gentle Snows team was about to raid the fourth Boss of the Land of Death, the White-bone General Jera Gentle Snow suddenly received a system notification, and a hint of astonishment flashed through her eyes when she read its contents. How can he be so fast? Gentle Snow knew exactly how difficult it was to obtain a Guild Residence. Even though she had a powerful Guild like Ouroboros, the number one Guild in White River City, backing her, the Reputation she had collected was still far from enough to allow her to become a Baroness of White River City. Yet, Zero Wing was still a step ahead of her. Gentle Snows lips suddenly curled into a faint smile as she muttered, It seems I need to congratulate him. In White River City, Ouroboros and Zero Wing were actually allies, although this matter was not known to the public. If people did find out, however, they would definitely be greatly shocked. After all, who would ever imagine that White River Citys number one Guild would actually be willing to form an alliance with Zero Wing, a Guild that was declining by the day. However, Gentle Snow had indeed done such a thing. Although Ouroboros was the number one Guild in White River City, they were still far from being considered an unshakable existence. Just the fact that Dark Star was close to surpassing them showed how vulnerable Ouroboros was. Moreover, Dark Star also had some hidden connections with World Dominators, which was also a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros. If these two powerful Guilds joined hands to wage war against Ouroboros, then Ouroboros would definitely suffer a huge loss. Hence, Ouroboros itself needed allies. Setting aside Dark Star and World Dominators, there were still three others among the top six Guilds in White River City. Of the three, the most powerful would be Emperors Light, a first-rate Guild, while coming in second would be the Assassins Alliance, a second-rate Guild. As for Zero Wing, they were considered the weakest of the top six Guilds in White River City. Yet in defiance of all logic, Gentle Snow had chosen to ally herself with the recently established Zero Wing, out of these three Guilds. The reason for her decision was her optimism for Zero Wing. Setting aside the mysterious, elusive, and heaven-defyingly powerful Ye Feng, just the fact that Zero Wing had Black Flame in its midst had already solidified Gentle Snows conviction. Not only was Black Flame the publicly acknowledged Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, his personal combat strength was also frighteningly great. In addition, he had a mysterious organization supporting him from behind the scenes, not to mention a deep connection with the Starstreak Trading Firm. Black Flames shocking financial power put even Gentle Snow herself to shame. Although she could not make head or tail of the connection between Ye Feng and Black Flame, she knew for a fact that both of them possessed immeasurable strength. Yet, despite being so powerful, neither of them chose to reveal that strength to the public, and such an action greatly confused Gentle Snow. Just the thought of the two of them working together had sent chills down Gentle Snows spine. As if to put icing on the cake, the person named Aqua Rose had also appeared in Zero Wing out of nowhere. Aqua Rose used to be an honorary elder of Twilight Echo. Although her fame was less than Gentle Snows, that was only because Gentle Snow had appeared in many advertisements before, raising her profile in the public eye. Gentle Snow had never personally fought against Aqua Rose. However, based on the video recordings of Aqua Roses battles, in terms of combat techniques, should they ever have a fight between themselves, Gentle Snow felt she only had a fifty percent chance of emerging victorious. In any case, just the presence of these three powerhouses in Zero Wing made it worthwhile for Gentle Snow to ally herself with them. Not to mention, Zero Wing still had many other experts within their ranks. Their true strength and potential were simply unfathomable. In the eyes of the public, Zero Wing would sooner or later vanish from existence. However, Gentle Snow knew very clearly Zero Wings current calm was merely the prelude to their next breakout. The situation right now would be the best example. Against all expectations, Zero Wing had suddenly become the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to obtain its own Guild Residence, miles ahead of the other Guilds. Within moments, Zero Wing had become the focal point of all players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. \--- Shortly after the appearance of the system notification, Zero Wings recruitment point was overrun by a stampede of players. Although Aqua Rose had long since prepared for such a reaction, the sea of players desperately trying to join the Guild still left her breathless. Meanwhile, the players who had previously withdrawn from Zero Wing presently had regret filling up their intestines. If they had not acted so impulsively and had waited just a few more days, they would have been able to enjoy the various benefits offered by a Guild Residence. Now, unless they deleted their game accounts and started over with a new name, it was impossible for them to join Zero Wing anymore. However, who would have the courage to actually delete their account and start all over again? As for the players that had chosen to remain in Zero Wing, currently, they were extremely happy about their wise decision. Now that Zero Wing had a Guild Residence, not to mention being able to receive more quests, they could save a lot of money, thanks to the equipment and weapons repair facility of the Guild Residence. Neither would they need to spend money to recover their Stamina at Hotels; they could simply do so at the Guild Residence. Furthermore, they could also obtain a Double EXP buff just by resting inside the Guild Residence. With this buff, they could grind and level up with much greater efficiency than before. In addition, Guild Residences could also provide Private Rooms. This was also the greatest benefit of having a Guild Residence. In Gods Domain, every player would wish to possess their very own private room or house. As long as players logged off inside their own rooms, they could still accumulate the Double EXP buff, and with much greater efficiency than in the Guild Lounge to boot, even though they werent personally within the game. Normally, when Guild members rested within the Guild Residences Guild Lounge for 48 hours, they could accumulate 20% Double EXP, and they could accumulate up to one Levels worth of Double EXP. In the case of a private room, however, players only needed to rest for 24 hours in order to accumulate 20% Double EXP, and they could likewise accumulate up to one Levels worth of Double EXP. Although the maximum capacity of the buff was the same, the accumulation speed inside a private room was double that of the Guild Lounge. Of course, this was only in the case of a 1-star Private Housing. In Gods Domain, housing was also categorized into different levels. Meanwhile, the higher the level, the greater the benefits a player could enjoy. The lowest level housing was 1-star, while the highest was 10-star. Each increase in level required a huge sum of money, and also certain special materials. It would not be easy for players to upgrade their private housings. For a 1-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 20% Double EXP, up to a maximum of 1 Levels worth of Double EXP. For a 2-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 25% Double EXP, up to a maximum of 1 Levels worth of Double EXP. For a 7-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Double EXP, up to a maximum of 1 Levels worth of Double EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 5% for 2 hours. For a 8-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Triple EXP, up to a maximum of 1.5 Levels worth of Triple EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 5% for 3 hours. For a 9-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Triple EXP, up to a maximum of 2 Levels worth of Triple EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 8% for 3 hours. For a 10-star Private Housing, every 24 hours, players could accumulate 50% Triple EXP, up to a maximum of 3 Levels worth of Triple EXP. In addition, players would also receive a Vigor Increased buff, increasing all Attributes by 10% for 4 hours. However, it was simply too difficult for players to obtain their own houses in White River City. Yet, buying a house in a town would not be convenient for them. Meanwhile, Guild Residences could provide its members with private rooms, although not everyone could enjoy the benefits of a private room, due to limited space inside a Guild Residence. Normally, these private rooms would be given to members who contributed greatly to the Guild and also the upper management of the Guild. If there were any additional private rooms, Guild members could also rent them using the contribution points they accumulated from raiding Dungeons and doing quests. In Gods Domain, the matter of leveling up would always be a headache to players. Moreover, the further into the game a player went, the harder it was for them to level up. It would not be strange for players to level up only once every three to four days. If players died out in the fields, they would also lose an entire level as a penalty. Hence, a tool that could aid players in leveling up quicker would definitely be well-received. This Guild benefit alone already held a fatal attraction for all players. And that was in addition to the large number of Guild Quests available for choosing, which would dramatically accelerate players leveling speed. 282 Dark Wind The War Gods Temple, an organization that was founded shortly after the Great Destruction, had been in existence for thousands of years now, protecting the human race from invasions by foreign races. Now that the Endless Abyss had been opened, the humans of Gods Domain would have to rely on the War Gods Temple to deal with the invasion of Demonic Beasts. It was no longer a situation that could be handled by any single country. Aside from being the protector of the human race, the War Gods Temple was also a location for players to learn advanced skills. Meanwhile, players only needed to complete the quests they received at the War Gods Temple in order to do so. Shortly after Shi Feng arrived at the War Gods Temple, he reported the Endless Abyss to the Knight Captain on duty. The War Gods Temple was considered one of the most powerful forces in Gods Domain. Just a normal Knight here was already a Level 180 Tier 2 NPC. As for the Knight Captain, he was a Level 200 Tier 3 NPC. The Knight Captain revealed an anxious expression after hearing Shi Fengs report. Your Excellency Black Flame, this matter is of utmost importance. However, as Ill need to immediately send out warnings to all cities throughout the kingdom and also muster troops to the frontlines, Ill have to trouble you to head to the War Gods Temple in the capital city and report this matter to Lord Ucarus and seek his aid. The Knight Captain passed a gold token to Shi Feng, then promptly headed out of the temple, not giving Shi Feng any chance to even refuse. Shi Feng was left speechless by the Knight Captains words. Fortunately, he only needed to head to the capital city and look for the person named Ucarus, an easy task to accomplish. Following which, Shi Feng left the War Gods Temple and hurried over to White River Citys Teleportation Hall. Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Teleportation Hall, however, six robust-looking players stood in front of the stone staircase, completely blocking the entryway. These six players were all Level 18; such a level could definitely be ranked at the very top of White River City. Moreover, the equipment these players wore were of excellent quality, majority of which were of Secret-Silver rank. Meanwhile, the solemn-looking middle-aged man who looked like the leader of this party of players had the best equipment out of these six players. He was actually fully equipped with Secret-Silver Equipment. His gaze was like a sharp blade, and his entire body exuded such an icy-cold aura that other players unconsciously detoured as they walked past him. Although Shi Feng had never fought against these six players before, he could clearly tell that they were very strong. There were very few parties of their caliber in White River City. Meanwhile, pinned to the chests of these players were black six-pointed stars. This black star was none other than Dark Stars Guild Emblem. What can I do for you? Shi Feng asked. Youre Black Flame, right? I am Ming Sha of Underworld. I am here to give you a piece of good news, the middle-aged man said in a condescending tone. Although Black Flame had been titled as the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, in Ming Shas eyes, he was merely a clown prancing on the stage. Whether it was in reality or in Gods Domain, only strength truly mattered. A forger that only knew how to stay hidden inside a room was nothing more than a tool for strong players like them. If not for the matter of the Guild Residence astonishing the upper echelons of Underworld, Ming Sha would not even be here trying to make contact with Black Flame. Instead of Black Flame, the person Ming Sha was interested in was Ye Feng, the player widely acclaimed a God-ranked Swordsman. Ming Sha really wished to meet him. Moreover, Young Master Feng had also given orders to get rid of that Ye Feng and obtain the Epic ranked item in Shi Fengs hands. Unfortunately, Ye Feng proved simply too elusive. No matter how many men Ming Sha had sent out, they still could not find a trace of that Ye Feng. Ming Sha was very disappointed by such a result, as he never imagined that Ye Feng would be such a coward, not having the courage to even come out and fight. Good news? Then why do I feel that you guys are coming with bad intentions in hand? Shi Feng revealed an indifferent smile as he sent a glance at the other five menacing players. Master Black Flame, it is our fault for behaving too rashly. However, we truly do have great news for you. Only, I hope that you can take a trip with us. After all, this place isnt exactly suitable for discussions of such an important matter. At this moment, another person walked up from behind the six players. This person was similarly a middle-aged man. Currently, this man had a wide smile on his honest-looking face. When Shi Feng used Observing Eyes on this man, he discovered that this man was actually called South Wolf. Immediately, Shi Feng came to a realization. _The road for enemies truly is narrow._ Shi Feng inwardly chuckled. South Wolf was none other than the person that tried to threaten Shi Feng into surrendering his Ice-Blue Devil Flame. After being rejected, South Wolf had even declared that he would take action against Shi Feng. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to take a look at just how powerful the organization known as Underworld was. Unfortunately, this matter had been quelled by Gentle Snow. Shi Feng never thought he would meet this fellow once again today. What if I dont want to go? Shi Feng asked. We have long since thought of this point; hence I asked Brother Ming Sha and his friends to come and personally invite Master Black Flame over, South Wolf said with a hypocritical smile, sending a glance at the six Underworld Guards beside him. Alright, then, since you guys are being so sincere. Shi Feng nodded. South Wolf had obviously already familiarized himself with the rules of White River City. Although the rules stated that battles were not allowed within the city limits, that was on the premise that actual damage was caused. There would be no problems if they simply dragged him away. Of course, Shi Fengs Strength Attribute was extremely high. South Wolfs group had absolutely no chance of abducting him. Just recently, he had obtained 40 Free Attribute Points as a reward for releasing the Forgotten Lands. Although Shi Feng had added 30 of those points into Intelligence, in order to equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath even a little earlier, he had placed the remaining 10 into Strength. Aside from that, due to the Abyssal Blades Attributes, Shi Feng obtained two additional Free Attribute Points every time he leveled up. When coupling those with the Strength provided by his other equipment, Shi Fengs Strength Attribute had long since broken through the 170-point threshold. In terms of the Strength Attribute, very few players throughout Gods Domain could be a match for him. However, it seemed that someone from the mysterious upper echelon of Underworld wanted to meet him, and Shi Feng was curious enough to agree. Let us go, then, South Wolf said as he led the way. A short while later, Shi Feng and the others arrived inside a high-class bar. Very few average players could be seen inside this bar, as most could not afford this luxurious place. Master Black Flame, please, come in. Young Master Feng has been waiting for you for a long time now. South Wolf pushed apart the doors to a private room, hinting that Shi Feng should enter. Upon entering the private room, Shi Feng immediately discovered an imposing yet charming youth sitting inside. This youth was also accompanied by two beautiful female companions at his sides. These two beauties were not players but NPCs. Just like how Anna was working as Shi Fengs assistant at the Starstreak Trading Firm, these beauties were clearly servants of this young man. This sight was far more shocking than if he had two attractive female players accompanying him. At this stage of the game, having the ability to possess two NPC servants showed that this youth before him was definitely out of the ordinary. You are in the upper echelon of Underworld? Shi Feng asked. Thats right. This one here is known as Feng Xuanyang, the Vice-Leader of Underworlds Star-Moon Kingdom Eastern Branch. Of course, you can also call me by my character name, Dark Wind. Feng Xuanyang introduced himself. I wonder, what business does Vice-Leader Feng have with me? Shi Feng asked. Judging from Feng Xuanyangs tone, Shi Feng had already made a rough guess as to Underworlds strength. Although he had long since deduced that Underworld had a great deal of power and that their influence covered more than just a single kingdom, Shi Feng still could not help but feel shocked after having his conclusions confirmed. It was no wonder even that Gentle Snow was wary of them. Star-Moon Kingdom could be categorized into five separate regions: north, south, east, west, and center. White River City was located in the east side. Meanwhile, Feng Xuanyang was in charge of managing the affairs of Underworlds Star-Moon Kingdom Eastern Branch. The authority he wielded was definitely great. I heard that Master Black Flame is the founder of Zero Wing. You have even managed to elevate Zero Wing to its current position. We at Underworld feel very optimistic about Zero Wings future; hence we wish to invest in some shares. Feng Xuanyang then pointed towards Ming Sha, who was currently standing by the door, saying, Youve already seen for yourself the strength of Underworld. Because of us, even the previously insignificant third-rate Guild Dark Star has instantly become a powerhouse in White River City. If Master Black Flame is willing, Underworld can similarly make Zero Wing grow rapidly. Not only could you become the overlord of White River City, you could even become the number one Guild in the entire eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom. I wonder if Master Black Flame might be interested? 283 Arrogance Feng Xuanyangs words dripped with temptation. Just the prestige of being the number one Guild in the entire eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom would cause many to fight over it. These exact same words might have been used to attract Lone Tyrant into cooperating with Underworld back then. Under the banner of the number one player on the Ranking List, in addition to Underworlds covert support, Dark Star had managed to rocket to fame, becoming a Guild capable of rivalling even the powerful Ouroboros. _So thats how it is_ _._ Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization. He finally understood why Dark Star could become so amazing, just like that, with experts appearing in the Guild out of nowhere. Its abrupt rise was all because of Underworld helping it in secret. However, now that Zero Wing had established a Guild Residence, Underworld couldnt help but reconsider its original plans, hence its interest in investing in Zero Wing. Shi Feng couldnt help but acknowledge that Underworld was indeed amazing. They were willing to support an entirely different Guild even at the cost of sacrificing all their previous investments. From an outsiders perspective, such an action was plain foolish. However, Shi Feng knew that Underworlds decision was, in fact, very wise. It was obvious at first glance how great an influence a Guild Residence would have towards a Guilds success. If it were up to him, he, too, would choose to take such an action. Master Black Flame, you should know that there are over 20 cities just in Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region alone. If Master Black Flame agrees to our proposition, in the future, you will become the absolute overlord of these 20-plus cities. Moreover, even though Underworld will be investing in Zero Wing, we will not interfere directly in the management of the Guild itself. Rather, we will provide you with a large sum in funding and manpower, Feng Xuanyang slowly said in a tempting tone. We at Underworld have already decided that, as long as Master Black Flame agrees, we will immediately inject one billion Credits into Zero Wing, and also provide the Guild with 100 Gold Coins every week. In addition, we will also provide 100 experts, and also one team of Underworld Guards for you, Master Black Flame, to command as you see fit. If Zero Wing develops well, Underworld will invest even more into the Guild in the future. Master Black Flame, what do you think? Feng Xuanyang had taken Shi Fengs previous silence for hesitation, thinking that Shi Feng was definitely considering his proposition; hence he sweetened the deal. In Gods Domain, wasnt the main purpose one established a Guild earning money and gaining status? For a newly established Guild, one billion Credits was definitely an astronomical sum. Even a major corporation in a city couldnt easily take out one billion Credits. Recently, due to Gods Domains raging popularity, the number of corporations investing in the game had been continuously increasing. The value of Guilds in Gods Domain had similarly shot up abruptly. Yet, even so, a third-rate Guild with a member count of 20 to 30 thousand would, at most, be worth two to three hundred million Credits. Meanwhile, Zero Wing merely had several thousand members in its ranks. Although it had both fame and experts, its value was still not worth one billion Credits. After taking into account the value of a Guild Residence, Zero Wing would at most be worth 500 million Credits. Hence, it would be completely illogical for Shi Feng to refuse the offer of one billion Credits. I wonder how much shares Young Master Feng is intending to purchase? Shi Feng asked, an indifferent smile on his face. Not much, just 50%. In exchange for 50% of Zero Wings shares, you can obtain one billion Credits, in addition to having many experts to assist you. I believe that no other corporation will be willing to offer such a high price, Feng Xuanyang said confidently. Shi Feng propped up his chin with his hand, entering into a deep contemplation. Shortly after, he slowly said, Although your offer is indeed attractive, 50% of the Guilds shares is simply too much. I am willing to sell 10% at most. Although Feng Xuanyangs offer of 50% seemed as if both sides would be wielding half of the Guilds shares, it was simply a trick to make Shi Feng drop his guard. In reality, wielding 50% of Zero Wings shares was already tantamount to full control of the Guild. After all, when Shi Feng established his Guild, he hadnt claimed the full 100% shares of the Guild; he had given a small portion to Aqua Rose. If Feng Xuanyang purchased 1% of Zero Wings shares from Aqua Rose, then he would have 51% of the Guilds shares. At that time, Feng Xuanyangs words would become law in Zero Wing, while Shi Feng would sooner or later end up in a situation like the one in his previous life. Shi Feng had sworn to never let something like that happen again in this life. Ten percent? Feng Xuanyang did not dare believe his own ears. He was going to spend one billion Credits on Zero Wing, yet, all he would get in return was 10% of its shares? Did Shi Feng really take Zero Wing for the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom? Vice-Leader Feng, you must think that the amount Im offering is too low, right? Shi Feng asked, his indifferent smile still on his face. Its only normal that you would think so. However, what Im trying to say is that one billion Credits really isnt a big sum of money. Im already giving Young Master Feng a lot of face by offering you 10% of Zero Wings shares. If it were anyone else here today, I would only offer them 1% at most. In fact, Shi Feng was not speaking conceited nonsense at all. Just the Gold Coins he had on hand right now already exceeded 10,000. If he converted them into Credits, they would be worth at least 200 million Credits. His daily income was also continuously rising day after day. Just the benefits he could obtain from the Starstreak Trading Firm had already far exceeded one billion Credits. Not to mention, Zero Wings Guild Residence was also built on a strategic location like the Purple Sun Mansion. The Purple Sun Mansion was the best location for players to establish a Guild Residence in White River City. It also occupied a broad tract of land, larger than even a football field, which could contain 50,000 people. Not to mention the current state of White River City, where every square inch of land was worth its inch in gold; even after a decade passed since Gods Domains official launch, the land of the Purple Sun Mansion would still be worth more than ten billion Credits. Although one billion Credits was indeed an astronomical sum, it was truly not worth 10% of Zero Wings shares. Even 1% was an overestimation, not to mention 10% Master Black Flame, there has to be a limit even to jokes. By toying around with me like this, do you take me for someone easily bullied? Feng Xuanyangs expression suddenly changed; his tone turned cold as well. Vice-Leader Feng, what I speak is the truth. If Vice-Leader Feng feels wronged, then lets just forget about this matter entirely. Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. After this meeting, he, too, started thinking of looking for an investment partner. The falling flowers are yearning for love, but the heartless brook ripples on[1]. If Shi Feng had rejected Feng Xuanyangs investment proposal from the very beginning, or had argued that Feng Xuanyang was asking for too high a percentage of Zero Wings shares, Feng Xuanyang might still have accepted Shi Fengs answer with a smile. This was the atrocity of the truth; hence people would often prefer to hear a lie than the truth. The reason being, the truth was much crueler than a lie. If Aqua Rose were here right now, she would definitely scold Shi Feng for speaking the truth. Soon after, Shi Feng departed from the private room, leaving behind a thoroughly incensed Feng Xuanyang. South Wolf, get in here! Feng Xuanyang roared. South Wolf hurriedly entered the private room, asking, Young Master Feng, why are you so angry? Did that brat Black Flame fail to appreciate your kindness? Tell Lone Tyrant that he can take action immediately. I dont wish to see the Guild called Zero Wing in White River City anymore. Feng Xuanyang no longer had his elegant appearance from before. Instead, he revealed his sinister nature, saying, Since he isnt willing to cooperate with Underworld, then we will just remove him, one way or another. White River City does not need a Guild that Underworld cannot control. Yes, Ill notify Lone Tyrant immediately, South Wolf said with excitement as he licked his lips. \--- After Shi Feng departed from the high-class bar, he immediately headed towards the Teleportation Hall. Spending 32 Silver Coins, he quickly arrived at Star-Moon City, Star-Moon Kingdoms most affluent city. Compared to White River City, the competition at Star-Moon City was much more intense. Just the number of first-rate Guilds present in the city already surpassed five. The second- and third-rate Guilds were even more numerous. Meanwhile, the player population at Star-Moon City was over three million. Such a number could easily match the total number of players in White River City and its neighboring seven cities. One could say that Star-Moon City was a location that every Guild needed to compete for in the future. After all, it was a super-city that would be able to contain over ten million players in the future. Meanwhile, the resources available in the surroundings of Star-Moon City were even more abundant. There were plenty of high-level maps that were only a short distance away from the city. Obtaining Star-Moon City would be the equivalent of occupying a fifth of the entire Star-Moon Kingdoms resources. TL Notes: [1]The falling flowers are yearning for love, but the heartless brook ripples on: this is a Chinese idiom that gives the meaning - one side is willing, yet the other one remains indifferent 284 Ghost Raider As the capital city of Star-Moon Kingdom, beneath the flourishing appearance of Star-Moon City were piles and piles of pearly white bones. The moment Shi Feng arrived at the city, he could already sniff out the strong smell of blood. When Shi Feng walked the bustling streets of Star-Moon City, none of the players he saw belonged to small and unknown Guilds. Instead, all the Guild players he saw belonged to third-rate Guilds or above. As for the unrated Guilds, Shi Feng could make a general guess as to where they had gone. They had definitely been completely annexed by these large Guilds. Furthermore, the average level of players in Star-Moon City was very high. In terms of equipment, the players of Star-Moon City were also a notch higher than the players of White River City. Originally, it was a very rare sight to find average players possessing Bronze Equipment. At Star-Moon City, however, it was not a rare sight at all. Shi Feng had even seen some independent players who possessed equipment of Mysterious-Iron rank and above. As for the players who wore a Guild Emblem on them, majority of their equipment were of Mysterious-Iron rank. Some elite members of Guilds were even fully geared with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. The standards of Star-Moon City were clearly a lot higher than White River Citys. However, if these players were to be compared to Shi Feng, they would still be miles and miles behind. When Shi Feng arrived in Star-Moon City, he had removed his disguise of Black Flame. Instead, he had chosen to use his original appearance of Ye Feng to move around the city. Hence, he did not choose to hide the equipment he had on him right now. Although Shi Feng had already turned off the innate glowing effect that Dark-Gold Equipment possessed, he was unable to do anything about the originally dashing appearance of the item itself. There was also the two weapons at his waist, the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane, whose quality could not be discerned through sight alone. Overall, Shi Fengs equipment had caused all the players who walked past him to cast sidelong glances at him. Shi Feng was just like a famous celebrity as he strolled along the streets of Star-Moon City; it was impossible for him to keep a low profile even if he wanted to. However, Shi Feng paid no attention to the stares he was receiving, focusing only on the task at hand. After arriving at Star-Moon City, a new city, Shi Feng first made a trip to the citys Auction House by force of habit. He intended to gauge the market conditions of this entire city. As the capital city, Star-Moon City was geographically located in the central region of Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, whether it was the northern, southern, western, or eastern region, all trade would pass through this place. In the past, during the peak of Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City controlled a full quarter of Star-Moon Kingdoms trade volume. One could simply imagine how large the trade volume at Star-Moon City was. If one could dominate Star-Moon City, the daily profits one could rake in would be astronomical. In comparison, the Starstreak Trading Firms daily profit of 1,600 to 1,700 Gold Coins was merely a trifling sum. With such a large trade volume available, it would be a lie to say that Shi Feng did not have aspirations towards it. Unfortunately, Zero Wing had just recently set out on its journey. It would still be a long time before he could attempt to get a share of the pie known as Star-Moon City. Today, Shi Feng was simply here to lay the groundwork for his eventual entry into Star-Moon Citys market in the future. Star-Moon Citys Auction House was also the largest Auction House in Star-Moon Kingdom. When players registered an item here, the item would also be available for the players in the surrounding tens of cities to purchase. It was much more amazing than the White River City Auction House. Moreover, when players from another country wished to visit Star-Moon Kingdom, or when players from the kingdom itself wished to head to another country, they would be required to make a transit through Star-Moon City, as it was the capital city of the kingdom. This situation also led to players from other countries selling their wares at the Star-Moon Auction House. Hence, there was a very large variety of items available at the Star-Moon Auction House, and no other Auction House in Star-Moon Kingdom could ever dream of being its equal. This was also one of the reasons why many players would willingly come here to purchase or sell their items. \--- The inside of the Auction House was filled with a sea of players. After entering the building, Shi Feng quickly looked for a quiet corner and sat down. He then called out the Auction House interface, quietly browsing through its contents. Brother Blade, look at that persons amazing equipment! Although my Eagle Eyes skill allows me to identify any weapon or equipment that is Fine-Gold rank or below, when I tried identifying that persons stuff, many of them returned as Unidentifiable! a skinny Ranger said excitedly as he drooled at Shi Fengs equipment. What? Unidentifiable? Dont tell me hes using Dark-Gold Equipment? Imperial Thunder, did something go wrong with your skill? Let alone a player from an unknown Guild, even the Guild Leaders of Ouroboros and the Star Alliance wouldnt be able to possess so many Dark-Gold Equipment, the robust-looking Berserker named Lifeless Blade argued, laughing. Brother Blade, you should know that this identification skill of mine is an advanced skill that I obtained only after completing a Unique Quest. When had it ever gone wrong before? the Ranger named Imperial Thunder replied earnestly. Lifeless Blade nodded, his expression turning serious. He then looked towards Shi Feng, who currently sat on a stone chair, noticing that he was actually unfamiliar with this person. Ye Feng? He isnt an expert of Star-Moon City. He should have come from some other city. After Lifeless Blade used an identification skill on Shi Feng, he immediately knew that Shi Feng was not a player belonging to Star-Moon City. Lifeless Blade could be considered a somewhat famous person in Star-Moon Kingdom. He had met many players before, and he had also met majority of the experts that could be found in the city. As for the experts he had yet to meet, he knew what they were called, at the very least. Even so, he had never heard of an expert called Ye Feng before. And yet, I seem to recall hearing this name, Ye Feng, from somewhere Lifeless Blade drifted into deep thought. I recall seeing this name on the official forums before. I wonder if I can still find it now. Thinking so, Lifeless Blade opened the official forums and started searching for information relating to a player called Ye Feng. At this moment, Imperial Thunder used Eagle Eyes on the Guild Emblem hanging on Shi Fengs chest. Instantly, a shocked expression surfaced on his face. Yet, immediately after, that shock turned into great excitement. Imperial Thunder, what happened to you? Lifeless Blade asked curiously. It was his first time seeing Imperial Thunder produce such an expression. In the past, Imperial Thunder did not react with such intensity even when he saw a Lord ranked Field Boss. Brother Blade, hes a member of Zero Wing! Imperial Thunder said excitedly. Zero Wing? Why would they be here? Lifeless Blade asked curiously. Nobody in Star-Moon Kingdom had not heard of Zero Wing at this point. After all, it was the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to possess its own Guild Residence. Moreover, there were plenty of experts in its midst. Even the top ranking player in Star-Moon Kingdom was a member of Zero Wing. Not only was this Guild extremely mysterious, it also had Star-Moon Kingdoms Chief Forger providing them with equipment. Countless players wished to join Zero Wing. Unfortunately, the Guild was only recruiting members in White River City. Unless players from other cities migrated there, they would have no chance of joining it at all. At this moment, Lifeless Blade had also found some information relating to Ye Feng on the forums. Aside from finding out that Ye Feng was the author of the White River City Guidebook, Lifeless Blade had also found some video recordings of Ye Fengs battles. Of them, the video showing Ye Fengs one-man battle against hundreds of Martial Union members was still ranked within the top 30 most-viewed videos. The video had even been titled _God-ranked Swordsmans Instructional Video_. So he is that god-ranked expert, Ye Feng. Lifeless Blade felt greatly surprised at this moment. He never imagined he would get the chance to meet such a great expert. While Lifeless Blade and Imperial Thunder were watching Shi Feng, Shi Feng, with his extraordinary five senses, had long since noticed his two observers. The interest these two players emitted was very strong. In addition, the fervor in their gazes made it hard for Shi Feng not to notice them, even if he wasnt trying. And here I was, wondering who was spying on me. It turned out that it was Lifeless Blade and Imperial Thunder. Shi Feng glanced at his two admirers, sending a faint smile at them. Shi Feng had been looking forward to meeting these two famous players for a long time now. Before they had even started playing Gods Domain, they were already a relatively famous independent party. In the gaming world, they had even been called the Sharp Arrow party. After they entered Gods Domain, they shone even more than before. In the past, the team they had formed managed to successfully raid plenty of Team Dungeons that even the main force of first-rate Guilds were helpless against. Meanwhile, the team leader, Lifeless Blade, had also been nicknamed the Ghost Raider. Brother Blade, such a chance wont fall into our laps a second time. Why dont we go get acquainted with him? Who knows, we might even become friends, Imperial Thunder suggested to Lifeless Blade. 285 Market Research Imperial Thunders suggestion sent Lifeless Blade into a light contemplation. Soon after, Lifeless Blade replied with a nod. As the saying went: another friend is another opportunity. If one wished to succeed in a game, an extensive network of friends was necessary. It was especially true when it came to friends who were experts. If we are going to hastily approach and interrupt him like this, we need to be careful with our words when we speak. After all, every expert has their own unique personality: some might be cheerful, some might be indifferent, and some might be arrogant. It would be counterproductive if we happened to accidentally provoke him, Lifeless Blade whispered. Ah, of course I know about this point! Imperial Thunder laughed. You do, huh? Lifeless Blade rolled his eyes at Imperial Thunder. He then continued, Do you still remember how you managed to provoke Yuan Fei, one of the top ten rookies of the gaming world, whom we met last time? That was his fault for going overboard! He actually tried to Roll for every equipment we got from that Boss! Imperial Thunder still held a grudge against the player called Yuan Fei. When they had discovered a Lord ranked Field Boss before, they had kindly sent Yuan Fei an invite to raid the Boss together. After the Boss died, the loot the Boss dropped was distributed using the dice-rolling system, as more than a dozen players had participated in the raid. It was also logical that every team member would only Roll for the items they needed. Yet, contrary to custom, Yuan Fei had Rolled for every single item the Boss dropped. Yuan Feis actions clearly stated that, if he could not use it, then he could still sell it. You could have just spoken up about the matter. At worst, we could have just stopped contacting him; there was no need for us to become enemies. Yet, you chose to pick a fight with him without even trying to talk things out. Thats not how you make friends; thats how you make enemies. Yuan Fei is still holding a grudge against us even until now. Lifeless Blade felt speechless when he recalled the incident back then. Yuan Fei was one of this years top ten rookies of the virtual gaming world, and the Star Alliance had even offered him an annual salary of two million Credits in order to recruit him. Meanwhile, just because their team had provoked that petty-minded Yuan Fei, they had received plenty of oppression from the Star Alliance, making it hard for them to mingle in Star-Moon City. If not for the fact that Lifeless Blade was acquainted with the Guild Leader of the Star Alliance, this matter would never have been settled, and their team would have been forced out of Star-Moon City long ago. I understand I wont repeat the same mistakes Imperial Thunder said in a soft tone. In fact, he, too, recognized the mistake he made in the past. However, it was not easy for him to fix his short temper. As the two of them quietly conversed while they made their way towards Shi Feng Shi Feng had already grasped the general market trend in Star-Moon City. Overall, the items sold here were cheaper than White River City. In White River City, a stack of Hard Stones could be sold for 10 Silver Coins. At this place, however, each stack was being sold for only 9 Silver Coins. The same went for Whetstones. In White River City, each stack of Whetstones could be sold for 35 Silver Coins, while at this place, it was being sold for only 32 Silver Coins. Only Advanced Whetstones were sold at the same price in both cities, whereby each stack went for 1 Gold Coin. On the other hand, Mysterious-Iron ranked weapons and equipment sold here were at least 10% to 20% more expensive than the ones sold at White River City. As for Secret-Silver ranked weapons and equipment, those were sold at prices 30% to 40% higher. _Sure enough, with more players around, the resources available is also greater in volume. Even though Mysterious-Iron Equipment is such a rare commodity in White River City,_ _here_ _in Star-Moon City, these items seem to be available in abundance. There is someone actually selling Secret-Silver Equipment as well. As expected of the capital city, the number of experts here is much higher than other cities._ Just by looking at the items being sold at the Auction House, Shi Feng could clearly feel the intensity of the competitionat Star-Moon City, with higher quality equipment in greater demand. It was also precisely this fierce competition that resulted in more experts being produced here. In order to survive in this city, one had to rack their brains and constantly think of ways to improve themselves, gradually climbing up the ranks of this prosperous city. Otherwise, what other explanation would there be for a precious Secret-Silver Equipment to appear at the Auction House? It was simply impossible for Guilds to sell any weapons or equipment that were of Mysterious-Iron rank or better. After all, these items were strategic materiel for a Guild. At most, they would sell the equipment produced by their own forgers. However, where would they find a forger who was capable of producing Secret-Silver Equipment? Even Shi Feng, who possessed plenty of support items, could not easily produce them. It went without saying that other forgers should only be able to produce Bronze Equipment, or at best, Mysterious-Iron Equipment at this stage of the game. Hence, the Secret-Silver ranked weapons and equipment being sold at the Auction House were definitely the offerings of independent teams. Meanwhile, their purpose in selling was simply to bolster their teams strength and obtain the funds necessary to cover their expenses. The number of independent teams that could obtain Secret-Silver ranked weapons and equipment at White River City could definitely be counted using ones fingers. As far as Shi Feng knew, the only team capable of such a feat was the Holy Grail Knights that he had met by coincidence last time. On the other hand, there were a number of such independent teams in Star-Moon City. One could just imagine the difference between the two cities. _If I am going to try to enter Star-Moon Citys market,_ _it seems that selling high-end equipment would be the most effective way to do so_ _._ At this moment, the Fine-Gold ranked Dragonscale Set Equipment popped up in Shi Fengs mind. He felt that it might not be a bad idea to rely on the Dragonscale Set Equipment to break into Star-Moon Citys market. However, his current forging standards were still too low. Cream Cocoa was also only an Advanced Forging Apprentice right now; she was still in the midst of striving to get promoted into a true Forger. Moreover, another condition needed to be met if Shi Feng wished to enter Star-Moon Citys market. Currently, Shi Fengs Guild was based only in White River City. If he were to establish a branch Guild at Star-Moon City at this period of time, that branch Guild would immediately be annihilated by the many large Guilds of Star-Moon City. Hence, what Shi Feng needed right now to enter Star-Moon Citys market was a shop to do business with. However, not to mention a shop, even if Shi Feng wished to set up a stall, he first needed to become a minor noble of Star-Moon City. As for establishing a shop, at the very least, he needed to become a Baron before he could do so. _As expected, if_ _I dont deal with this shop issue, I wont have any way of entering Star-Moon Citys market at all_ _._ After all, the Auction Houses 15% processing fee was simply too expensive. More importantly, placing items at the Auction House was something only independent teams or players would do. If one wished to have any sort of development and earn large sums of money and fame, a shop of their own was essential. Hello there, friend. I am called Lifeless Blade. Seeing that you have come to the Auction House, Im guessing that you are here to sell some equipment, right? I am somewhat well-known in Star-Moon City, and I have plenty of sales channels. If you wish to sell your equipment at a good price and its Attributes are good, I can lend you a hand with selling them, Lifeless Blade said as he walked over, a smile on his face. Selling equipment? Shi Feng took a look at his own get-up, discovering that the weapons and equipment he had on him were far better than what anyone else present inside the Auction House had. From an observers point of view, he definitely would not have any demands for the items sold at the Auction House. In which case, the possibility of him coming to the Auction House to sell some of his unwanted equipment was very high. After all, with so many good equipment on hand, there were bound to be some obsolete equipment that he needed to dispose of. Immediately, Shi Feng shook his head, saying, No, you misunderstand. Im just here to take a look. Sorry, its my fault for misunderstanding, Lifeless Blade quickly said in embarrassment when he realized that he had acted too rashly. In truth, Im not trying to earn some middlemans fees. Im just trying to make your acquaintance. This here is a brother of mine, Imperial Thunder. Imperial Thunder nodded in reply, his mind still slightly dazed, completely mesmerized by the elegant appearance of the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane when seen at such a close distance. Dark-Gold Weapons! Even the Guild Leader of the Star Alliance, a first-rate Guild, did not possess such powerful weapons. Imperial Thunder wondered just what kind of Attributes such weapons could possess. Just how much did they surpass the Secret-Silver Weapon he wielded? Seeing his companion constantly staring at the weapons hanging at Shi Fengs waist, the drool in Imperial Thunders mouth nearly overflowing, Lifeless Blade immediately clapped Imperial Thunders back. He then let out an awkward laugh as he said to Shi Feng, Please excuse him. He doesnt normally act this way. Shi Feng had been playing Gods Domain for many years now, and his eye for people was still quite accurate. Naturally, he could tell that the two players before him did not harbor any evil intentions in their hearts; they were really just trying to get acquainted with him. Furthermore, from the stories hed heard about Lifeless Blade and Imperial Thunder in the past, he had quite a good grasp on the twos personalities. They were definitely not sinister, villainous people. Lifeless Blade was the calm and silent type. As for Imperial Thunder, although he was brash, he was a man of integrity. No problem. I can tell that Brother Imperial is a straightforward man. Shi Feng waved his hand, laughing. Since Brother Blade wishes to become friends, it would be my honor to oblige. Lifeless Blades eyes immediately glowed. He hadnt expected Shi Feng to be so easy to get along with, having such an easygoing attitude. Hence, the two quickly started a conversation between themselves. When they touched on the topic of combat techniques, Shi Feng thoroughly shocked Lifeless Blade with his words. Meanwhile, Lifeless Blade finally understood why the public would acclaim Shi Feng a god-ranked expert. After conversing for more than half an hour, Shi Feng managed to obtain a more detailed understanding of the situation at Star-Moon City, thanks to Lifeless Blade. Ive gained plenty from this discussion of ours. If not for Brother Ye Feng, Im afraid I wouldnt even know such a combat technique existed. This knowledge is simply priceless for Dungeon-raiding, Lifeless Blade said earnestly. He then retrieved a special tool from his back and presented it to Shi Feng, saying, This ring is the only item I can offer you as thanks. Brother Ye Feng, please accept it. Otherwise, my conscience wont let me rest. 286 The Eternal Throne Shi Feng had not expected Lifeless Blade to be such a forthright person. Although Lifeless Blade had only taken out an ordinary-looking silver ring, Shi Feng knew exactly how precious this item was. The reason being, not only had he seen this ring in the past, he had even owned one before. The ring was a Space Ring; it was a storage item. One could not judge it simply based on its Mysterious-Iron rank. The Space Ring could store up to 200 slots of items; it was a very significant amount. It also did not impart any additional weight to the user, regardless of the number of items stored in it. However, this was still not the most important point about this ring. Instead, the Space Ring excelled the most when used during battle. Although it did not have many uses in a normal battle, when used in a fight between experts, a battlefield, or a Boss battle, it could bring about game-changing effects. For example, if players wished to use Magic Scrolls or support items during a battle, they needed to first place their hands into their bags and search for their items before pulling those out. This entire process would waste much time. However, it was a different story if players possessed the Space Ring. With a simple thought, the item specified would instantly appear within the players hands. The Space Ring was much more convenient than a bag. In reply to Lifeless Blades offer, however, Shi Feng shook his head and said, This item is too valuable. I cannot accept it. Brother Ye Feng, I am a man who never takes advantage of his friends; Ill feel extremely guilty if you dont accept it. Moreover, this ring is merely a storage item. Its not particularly valuable, so please accept it, Lifeless Blade said. Well, how about this? I have a favor to ask of Brother Blade. I wonder, how many reputation points does Brother Blade have at Star-Moon City right now? Shi Feng whispered, sighing. Lifeless Blade grew confused at Shi Fengs question, failing to understand why Shi Feng would ask him such a thing. However, he still chose to answer honestly. Im only 30 points away from becoming a minor noble of Star-Moon City. As the capital city of Star-Moon Kingdom, the reputation points of Star-Moon City was the most difficult to earn out of all the cities in the kingdom. Even if Lifeless Blade and his team were amazing, they were still a distance away from becoming nobles of the city. Thirty points? Shi Feng sank into deep contemplation. He thought to himself, _Thats not a lot, I guess. If he_ _complete_ _s those several quests, he should be able to get those points._ Must your favor require a noble to accomplish, Brother Ye Feng? Lifeless Blade asked. Yeah. Shi Feng nodded. Only by becoming a noble could one purchase a stall in Star-Moon City. Also, exchanging of stalls could only be conducted between nobles of Star-Moon City, in order to prevent players from taking advantage of any loopholes. However, Shi Feng was a Demon Hunter. No matter where he went, he would still be treated like a noble. Hence, after Lifeless Blade purchased the stall, there would be no problems if he simply transferred ownership of the stall to Shi Feng. In this way, Shi Feng would have a stall in Star-Moon City to officially sell his items. Originally, Shi Feng had thought to complete a few quests in Star-Moon City to increase his reputation here. However, it would not be easy to obtain 100 Star-Moon City Reputation Points; he needed to invest plenty of time to do so. Meanwhile, Lifeless Blade had a trustworthy character, and it would be much faster to earn just 30 reputation points than to earn 100 reputation points. At first, Lifeless Blade felt ashamed for being unable to be of any help to Shi Feng. However, Shi Fengs next remark immediately sent him into a daze. I know a few high-level quests that can increase reputation points. After Brother Blade completes them, you should be able to become a noble of Star-Moon City. After saying so, Shi Feng proceeded to list out the few quests he had in mind to Lifeless Blade, withholding nothing at all. This shouldnt be a good idea, right? Lifeless Blade was nearly left speechless. Originally, he had fully intended to help Shi Feng. In the end, however, he had been the one to receive help from Shi Feng instead. Currently, the many Guilds in Star-Moon City were desperately searching for quests that could increase ones reputation, holding back nothing to do so. However, even when they offered a huge reward for any related information, they still had no luck in finding any. Yet, Shi Feng had just casually revealed to him four high-level quests that rewarded reputation points, his casual remarks making it seem as if these quests were plain cabbages that could be found anywhere. Is the difficulty of these quests too hard for you to manage? Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization when he saw Lifeless Blades troubled expression. I still know a few quests that reward reputation. However, as their difficulty is much lower, the reputation points rewarded is similarly low. Youll have to complete at least seven or eight of them in order to accumulate 30 points. ... Lifeless Blades mind was an utter mess now. He even started to suspect Shi Feng was a GM, to actually know of so many Reputation Quests in Star-Moon City. However, Lifeless Blade quickly dispelled this notion from his mind. After all, Gods Domain was controlled by the Main God System; nobody else was allowed to interfere with the game. Hence, the quests in the game were auto-generated by the system, and nobody should know about them in advance. Of course, if there was an exception to this point, then that would be the extremely mysterious Beta Testers. However, after Gods Domain was officially released, many settings and quests in the game were changed. In theory, the quests that were originally present during the Beta Test should no longer exist. Thinking up to this point, Lifeless Blade was thoroughly confused by Shi Fengs identity. Just how was he able to know so many things? Are you wondering why I know so much? Naturally, Shi Feng could discern Lifeless Blades doubts. Ah. Lifeless Blade silently nodded his head, making no attempt to hide his thoughts. Its because I am a reincarnated person. I returned to this time from ten years into the future; hence I know about all these quests, Shi Feng said in full honesty. Brother Ye Feng sure knows how to joke! Lifeless Blade abruptly burst into laughter. Ill complete these quests as quickly as possible. After Ive managed to become a noble, Ill immediately notify Brother Ye Feng! Lifeless Blade knew full well that everyone had their own secrets. Meanwhile, information on Reputation Quests would definitely be categorized as a top secret by Guilds. Shi Fengs willingness to reveal such precious information to him showed how much trust Shi Feng placed in him. If Lifeless Blade still tried to probe deeper into the matter, then he would simply be too insensible. Im telling the truth, Shi Feng laughed bitterly. Ah, I know. Lifeless Blade nodded his head repeatedly, the smile on his face seemingly saying, I understand. ... Shi Feng was left completely speechless. Although he had long since grown familiar with such a behavior, he still could not help but feel helpless every time he was faced with it. Why wouldnt anybody believe him even though he was telling the truth? Why must the world make an honest man like him tell a lie before somebody was willing to believe him? Shi Feng was no longer able to make sense of this world Soon after, Lifeless Blade added Shi Feng as a friend before hurrying off to complete the quests. Meanwhile, thanks to Lifeless Blade, Shi Feng now had a better understanding of Star-Moon Citys situation. After Lifeless Blades departure, Shi Feng hailed a horse carriage and headed to the War Gods Temple of Star-Moon City. He intended to continue carrying out his Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest. \--- The War Gods Temple of Star-Moon City was built beside the palace. From the outside, the building looked like a magnificent and majestic pyramid, and at the summit of this pyramid was a house-sized Sunstone, which exuded a divine light. Be it day or night, this Sunstone would shine brilliantly on the entire War Gods Temple, and one couldnt help but admire this dazzling construction when seeing it. As the main branch of the War Gods Temple, it had Tier 3 NPCs roaming around outside the temple itself, and even a Tier 5 Shadow Saint would not be able to penetrate the tight security here. Although this was not Shi Fengs first time visiting this War Gods Temple, it was still his first time coming to the ninth floor of the temple. The Eternal Throne! Just the NPC guiding Shi Feng to this place was already a Tier 4 Glory Knight. In other cities, such an NPC would be an overlord-like existence that could cause others to tremble in fear. However, in this place, this NPC simply amounted to a guide. After entering the Eternal Throne, Shi Feng immediately discovered one purple throne and nine golden thrones suspended in the center of the room. On the sides were fifty silver thrones. Aside from the empty purple throne, every other throne was occupied by a person. Moreover, these people were all apex powerhouses of Gods Domain. A single step of theirs could send tremors throughout the entire continent. However, among all these people, only one of them had a real body; the others were simply phantoms. Sitting in their thrones, these powerhouses quietly observed Shi Feng. Meanwhile, as the recipient of these gazes, Shi Feng could not help but feel that his life was no longer in his hands. His body felt incomparably heavy under these stares, and his back was also already drenched in sweat. This was the imposing aura of a true apex powerhouse. It was not something Tier 4 classes could ever hope of equaling. _As expected of one of Gods Domains strongest powers. To think they actually have so many apex powerhouses in their midst._ Shi Feng was racked with emotion right now. Although he had played Gods Domain for over a decade, this was the first time he personally witnessed the War Gods Temples true strength. What an interesting young man. However, I dont believe a little guy like you can accomplish that quest. This is something that involves the fate of the entire continent, after all. Since it is so, let us give this little guy a test. If he passes it, I believe that nobody here would have any other objections, right? A test? This lady likes it! Lets go with that! If he passes the test, Ill throw in my vote of support. If he fails Well, hell already be dead at that point, so no punishment will be necessary. How are we going to test him? Obviously, we are going to activate the Twelve Trials! Hahaha! The Twelve Trials! I have only heard of it before and only treated it as a legend. The last time it was activated was more than 900 years ago. I didnt expect that I would be so lucky as to witness it being activated in my lifetime. I must really thank you, little guy! I do hope you can last a few rounds, though! Let this old man here widen my horizons! 287 Twelve Trials The occupants of the silver thrones voiced their opinions one after another, merrily deciding how they should deal with Shi Feng. Standing a short distance from the golden doors of this chamber, Shi Feng silently muttered, Crap! Dont players have any human rights? However, Shi Feng had no choice under the circumstances. The NPCs before him were all apex powerhouses of Gods Domain; Shi Feng was merely an ant in their eyes. It would be fortunate if they even decided to give him a few extra glances, not to mention involve him in their discussion. At this moment, a youth garbed in white robes, one of the occupants of the silver thrones, moved and instantly appeared before Shi Feng. Although this youth was simply standing in front of Shi Feng, showing no animosity whatsoever to Shi Feng, the formidable pressure Shi Feng felt from him was much more overwhelming than what hed felt from White River Citys Magistrate Weissman. This white-robed youth was none other than Ucarus, the Star-Moon Temple Lord of the War Gods Temple, whom Shi Feng had been instructed to look for. Young man, we already know your reason for coming to this place. Although the Endless Abyss has indeed been unsealed, this is something that would have happened sooner or later. After all, no seal is eternal. In the face of time, everything is powerless. It is already good that the seal could suppress the Endless Abyss for hundreds of years. In the near future, we will join forces to suppress the Endless Abyss, preventing this matter from escalating. However, before we go and suppress it, we need to choose a person to collect the materials needed to reseal the Endless Abyss. However, this person must be a heaven-blessed person, and you just so happen to be one. Hence, weve decided to send you to collect the materials for us. Before we send you on your way, though, we need to first take a look at your potential. If you are no good, we will have no choice but to look for someone more suitable for the task. By heaven-blessed person, the NPC meant a player. In the NPCs settings, heaven-blessed people were immortal existences, as even if these individuals died, they could still revive shortly after. Hence, heaven-blessed people were the best candidates for collecting the materials needed for the seal. We have decided that your test will be the War Gods Temples Twelve Trials. You will be considered to have passed the test as long as you can clear six of the twelve trials. Of course, we wont make you go through the trials for nothing. As long as you can clear up to the 2nd trial, you will be rewarded with 100 War Gods Temple Merit Points. Also, the rewards will be doubled with every subsequent trial you clear. After youre done with a trial, you can use the treasury of the War Gods Temple to exchange your Merit Points for treasures. You should know that the treasury of the War Gods Temple contains the most treasure throughout Gods Domain. An ordinary Secret-Silver ranked item only costs 200 Merit Points, while a Fine-Gold ranked item costs 500 Merit Points, a Dark-Gold ranked item costs 1,500 Merit Points, an Epic ranked item costs 4,000 Merit Points, a Fragmented Legendary item costs 15,000 Merit Points, and lastly, a Legendary item costs 60,000 Merit Points. If you have sufficient strength, you can even exchange for a Divine Artifact. However, that would require 200,000 Merit Points. While Ucarus was giving his explanation with a smile, Shi Fengs heart was already pounding madly with excitement. Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that a Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest was indeed amazing. The highest ranked item Shi Feng had seen before was only of Legendary rank. He had only heard rumors about Divine Artifacts; he had never personally seen one before. Now that he had the chance to actually see one, his gains from this trip to the War Gods Temple was already plenty. However, Shi Feng knew his own limits. Even a Legendary item was already a luxury for him, not to mention a Divine Artifact. Shi Feng did not even dare fancy the notion of owning one. He would be satisfied as long as he could take a look at it. Just as Shi Feng was imagining what a Divine Artifact looked like Ucarus started chanting some incantations, while drawing complex divine runes with his fingers. After Ucarus finished chanting, a pair of large golden doors appeared before him. There were twelve scenes carved into the dazzling golden doors, and each scene told of a cruel battle. When the doors parted, a very ancient and violent aura gushed forth from within, as if there was a ferocious primordial beast housed beyond those doors. Young man, the Twelve Trials lies beyond these gates. Go ahead, Ucarus said slowly as he pointed towards the golden doors. Shi Feng nodded in reply. Step by step, he slowly walked towards and beyond the doors, soon vanishing from the Eternal Throne. Hahaha! That little guy sure is brave! Doesnt he know that the Twelve Trials is the cruelest trial of the War Gods Temple? Ucarus, youre a devious bastard yourself as well! You actually used such a temptation against that little guy! Moreover, youve only mentioned the abundant rewards he could gain, but not the penalty for death! The Merit Points needed for the Divine Artifact Even after saving for an entire lifetime, this old man still hasnt collected the necessary amount If he wishes to obtain the Divine Artifact, at the very least, he needs to clear the 11th trial. Ever since the War Gods Temple was established, from ancient times until now, only one person has ever managed to do so. However, that great personage was a mighty god who had saved the entire continent in the past. This lady has read plenty of ancient texts relating to the Twelve Trials. According to the information in those ancient texts, the majority of the people that had entered the trial only managed to clear up to the 3rd or 4th trial. Meanwhile, the ones that were capable of clearing up to the 6th trial were as rare as a phoenixs feather and a qilins horn. Ucarus, your requirement for him sure is high. Collecting the Seven Treasures is a matter of great importance. Without sufficient strength, how can he expect to gather all of them? Besides, we cant afford to waste any energy on a weak little ant. Just as the occupants of the silver thrones were having another round of discussions among themselves, one of the occupants of the golden thrones, who had remained silent throughout the prior discussion, finally spoke. This matter is decided. Just as Ucarus has said, the old monsters sealed within the Endless Abyss are becoming restless. We cant afford to waste too much energy on a single weakling. If he can pass the 6th trial, I will lend him a hand as well. As you command, my lord. The occupants of the silver thrones could not help but feel astonished when they heard one of the lords of the golden thrones speak. They never expected that this great personage would take action as well. This was a fortune that could not be obtained even if one begged for it. Soon after, Ucarus waved his hand, summoning a water screen into the Eternal Throne. The water screen that was suspended in mid-air showed the image of Shi Feng who was currently facing the 1st trial. \--- Shi Fengs current location was at the summit of a precipice. Aside from the 100-yard or so plateau available to him, he was surrounded on all sides by deep cliffs. In addition, the winds here were extremely violent, and a single misstep could send him plunging into the endless abyss. Shi Feng quietly sat on a platform paved with stone slabs. Immediately, he discovered that, aside from the weapons and equipment he had on him, everything else he possessed was unusable. The powerful Frost Grenades could only lie quietly inside his bag. Even the Magic Scrolls Shi Feng had prepared beforehand were completely useless, and the same went for recovery potions. Instantly, Shi Fengs combat strength had been reduced sharply. _It seems that these trials are meant to purely test my combat power. I wonder who my opponent will be?_ Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings and failed to discover any monsters. He then thought to himself in bewilderment, _Dont tell me the monster is invisible?_ Having thought up to this point, Shi Feng immediately extended his five senses to their limits. Invisible monsters were not unusual in Gods Domain. In fact, some of the truly powerful monsters were even capable of serial teleportation. \--- Meanwhile, inside the Eternal Throne, the big shots of Gods Domain were excitedly observing Shi Fengs trial. After all, it had been close to a millennium since the Twelve Trials had last been activated. None of the occupants of the silver thrones were that old yet, so they were naturally very curious about the Twelve Trials. I wonder who will be his first opponent? Though there are no records about it in the ancient texts, I did hear that the creatures inside the Twelve Trials are all primordial beasts that are extremely ferocious. However, this is only the 1st trial. That little guy isnt even a Tier 1 Swordsman yet, so the monsters strength should be barely within the Tier 1 realm. Look, somethings flying over. 288 Continuous Clearance Primordial beasts. In the Gods Domain of today, these creatures were either extremely rare, or had long since gone extinct. They were beings that one would not normally see. Now that the Twelve Trials had been activated, Shi Feng would also have the fortune of meeting one. If he were at any other location, it would be extremely hard for him to meet a primordial beast. Above the stage of the 1st trial, a blurred figure slowly descended from the skies, remaining unperturbed even in the face of the turbulent winds of this realm. This gigantic figure landed at the center of the stage, towering over the tiny Shi Feng. With the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a lion, this monster was none other than the king of the skies, a Gryphon. [Gryphon] (Elite Rank) Level 20 HP 30,000/30,000 I didnt expect a Gryphon would be so big. Just its wingspan alone is over 20 meters. Shi Feng did not hurry into action. Instead, he took his time carefully observing the Gryphon. He was currently within a trial. The monsters in here were completely different from their counterparts in the outside world. Not only would the monsters inside a trial possess a large variety of skills, their Basic Attributes would also be much higher. Most importantly, their intelligence would also be higher; they would not follow a set pattern when they fought. However, the Gryphon did not provide Shi Feng with too much time to think. With a piercing cry, the Gryphon flapped its wings, generating a violent gale. Instantly, two tornados over three meters in height swept towards Shi Feng, and where the blades of wind passed, everything shattered. _Using a skill right off the bat? As expected, this Gryphon_ _isnt an ordinary_ _monster._ Revealing a faint smile, Shi Fengs figure flashed, swiftly withdrawing from the attack range of the two tornadoes. Following which, he activated Silent Steps, instantly appearing behind the Gryphon. Before the king of the skies could react, the pitch-black Abyssal Blade turned into multiple streaks of black, slashing down at the Gryphons wings. Like snowflakes, the Gryphons snowy white feathers fluttered onto the now bloodstained ground. Aooo! The Gryphon let out an agonized roar, damages of over -400 points appearing above its head, one after another. The attacks that achieved a critical hit had even dealt over -800 damage. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng followed up with a Level 10 Chop, his sword slicing off a large chunk from one of the Gryphons wings, completely crippling it. Meanwhile, the Gryphon instantly lost over 1,900 HP from the attack. From this short exchange, the Gryphon had already lost 16% of its total HP. Furthermore, with one of its wings now crippled, it could not fly even if it wanted to. The gap in strength was obvious in a single glance. Against a Shi Feng who had over 200 points in Agility, a flightless Gryphon would only amount to a sitting duck. Following which, Shi Feng constantly shuttled around the Gryphon, sending streak after streak of black radiance stabbing into the Gryphons body. However, Shi Feng only used basic attacks throughout all this. This way he would not be affected by the awkward movements consequent to using a skill, which would hinder his ability to dodge. Moreover, Shi Fengs attacks were extremely accurate. Every one of his attacks would land either on a vital point of the Gryphon or at a joint that would affect the Gryphons movements, making it even harder for the Gryphon to strike him. Although every hit Shi Feng landed only caused around -400 damage, after a dozen or so seconds passed, the ferocious Gryphon fell. System: Gryphon defeated. First trial completed. Rewarding 100,000 EXP and 5 Free Mastery Points. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 50 points. System: First trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? _The trial even rewards Free Mastery Points? How wonderful._ When Shi Feng saw the rewards he received, a faint smile appeared on his face. After sheathing the Abyssal Blade and the Demonbane back into their scabbards, he clicked Yes to start the next trial. Although the monsters of the trial were indeed powerful, they were barely worth mentioning when compared to Shi Fengs Attributes and equipment. \--- He cleared it, and with such ease as well. Not bad. Although he hasnt yet officially become a Tier 1 Swordsman, his combat power is already at that tier. It is only natural that he is able to kill the Gryphon. If this continues, he should be able to get through the first three trials without any problems. From the 4th trial onwards, however, things wont be as easy anymore. Thats right. The Twelve Trials would undergo a change in level once every three trials. The monsters would also receive a huge increase in combat power between levels. The 1st to 3rd trials will be basic level, while the 4th to 6th trials will be intermediate level, the 7th to 9th trials will be the advanced level, and the 10th to 12th trials will be the peak level. My bet is that the kid will hit his limit once he reaches the 5th trial. The people within the Eternal Throne were all apex powerhouses, and their eyes were well tempered by experience. After watching only one of Shi Fengs battles, they could already make a relatively clear judgment. \--- Indeed, just like the big shots of the War Gods Temple had guessed The stage for the 2nd trial was a sylvan setting, and Shi Fengs opponent this time was the Moon-howling Silver Wolf. Inside a forest, this monster was an alpha predator. Similar to the Gryphon, the Moon-howling Silver Wolf was a Level 20 Elite monster with 30,000 HP. Although it, too, was a Tier 1 primordial beast, unlike the Gryphon, the Moon-howling Silver Wolf was much stronger on land. Its physical attacks were much more powerful, and its reaction speed was also much faster than the Gryphons. However, as if to replicate the scene from the 1st trial, Shi Feng immediately activated Silent Steps and arrived at the hind leg of the Moon-howling Silver Wolf. Again, similar to the time with the Gryphon, Shi Feng slashed his swords down at the wolfs hind legs, crippling them and greatly reducing the monsters Movement Speed. Following which, Shi Feng simply kited the Moon-howling Silver Wolf with the Blazing Meteor. Before thirty seconds had passed, the Moon-howling Silver Wolf fell. System: Moon-howling Silver Wolf defeated. Second trial completed. Rewarding 300,000 EXP and 10 Free Mastery Points. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 50 points. System: Second trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? Immediately after, a golden glow surrounded Shi Fengs body, signifying his rise to Level 19. Shi Feng then placed all six of his newly obtained Free Attribute Points into Strength, increasing the Attribute to 180 points and activating Basic Destructive Power, the Hidden Passive Skill for Strength. Now, Shi Fengs bare hands were capable of destroying a Bronze ranked item. In other words, Shi Fengs unarmed attacks could damage Bronze ranked weapons and equipment, reducing their durability, and eventually destroying them. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to place all six of his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence. However, he wanted to increase his combat power for the sake of the trial, even if it was only by a small amount. Soon after, Shi Feng clicked Yes and started the next trial. The 3rd trials monster was a Blue-eyed Spider, while the stage for the 3rd trial was a location completely befitting a spiderinside a dark cave. Fortunately, there was no change to the Blue-eyed Spiders level despite Shi Fengs rise to Level 19. Similar to the previous two monsters, it was a Level 20 Elite monster with 30,000 HP. However, the Blue-eyed Spider was much stronger than the Moon-howling Silver Wolf, though not in terms of Attack Power and Movement Speed. Instead, the Blue-eyed Spider had its highly potent venom and its tough and sticky silk. It also possessed superb eyesight. Even if its surroundings were pitch-black, the Blue-eyed Spider would still be able to see clearly, as if it were daytime. Moreover, its eyes also provided it with a 360-degree field of vision without any gaps in between. Shi Feng carefully looked around. Even if he possessed extraordinary strength, his range of visibility was limited to a maximum range of five yards. Meanwhile, the Blue-eyed Spider could easily spot any attempt Shi Feng made to attack from a distance of thirty to forty yards, making the situation extremely unfavorable for Shi Feng. Interesting. However, Shi Feng did not show any signs of panic. On the contrary, his lips curled up slightly. If it were any other player here, they might have to fight a bitter battle if they did not possess any supportive tools. Unfortunately, not me. Suddenly, a deep-blue flame appeared in Shi Fengs hand, lighting up the surrounding area. The scorching flame also caused the freezing temperatures inside the cave to rise sharply. Nevertheless, this was still not the end. The Ice-Blue Devil Flame in Shi Fengs hand quickly expanded and enveloped his body, completely covering him in a layer of deep-blue flames. At this moment, Shi Feng looked just like a god of fire, the flames on his body brightly illuminating the entire cave. Meanwhile, the Blue-eyed Spiders position had also been clearly revealed. 289 eyed Lion King The Blue-eyed Spider lived in darkness all year round. Hence, its eyes, which were accustomed to the dark, could not adapt at all when the dazzling flame suddenly illuminated the entire cave. The Blue-eyed Spider was just like a frightened little rabbit. Suddenly, the Blue-eyed Spider, which had previously had the upper hand, was placed in an unfavorable situation. On the other hand, Shi Feng, who had summoned the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, could now deal 20% more damage and his fire- and ice-type attacks would also have an additional 40% damage, instantly breaking out of his disadvantageous position. While the Blue-eyed Spider was still incapacitated, Shi Feng used Silent Steps and arrived over 20 yards behind the eight-legged monster. With the power of thunder and flames coating its length, the Abyssal Blade smashed into the Blue-eyed Spiders body. -1,836 A frightening amount of damage appeared above the Blue-eyed Spiders charred head. The attack had also placed it in a Fainted state for four seconds. Shi Feng then followed up the attack with a Thundering Flash and a normal attack. -634, -1,751, -1,087, -1,169 After suffering this series of attacks, the Blue-eyed Spider finally broke out of its stupor. However, it only had 72% of its HP remaining now. The Blue-eyed Spider was furious. Rotating its body, it spat a stream of dark-green venom at Shi Feng. Having long since anticipated such an attack, Shi Feng swiftly dodged to the side, avoiding the attack completely. He then activated Windwalk and escaped. Shi Feng knew full well how frightening the Blue-eyed Spider could be. Its venom attack just now was merely the tip of the iceberg. The deadliest feature of the monster was the poisonous gas emitted by its venom. If he stood his ground to fight the Blue-eyed Spider, the end result would be obvioushe would inevitably die of poisoning. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs purpose in using Thundering Flash on the Blue-eyed Spider was simply to inflict the Damage Amplification effect on the monster. He would then kite it using the Blazing Meteor. Shortly after, one by one, fiery red needles streaked through the air and pierced the Blue-eyed Spiders body. Although the Blue-eyed Spider was very skilled at dodging and blocking attacks, Shi Feng still managed to land two out of every three hits thanks to Precision Throw, the Special Skill he obtained back at the Steel Fortress Barrutia. Moreover, his attacks would occasionally trigger the Quadruple Phantom effect of the Blazing Meteor, instantly causing four -600 damages to appear above the Blue-eyed Spider. When his luck was good, he would also trigger the Burning Flames effect. When the effect stacked up to five times, combined with the amplification effects of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the debuff caused -1,600 damage every second to the Blue-eyed Spider. The damage of this debuff was even higher than Shi Fengs melee damage. However, such an occurrence was only natural. Although Magic Weapons were amazing, before they were fully released, they would still be far from comparable to a Pseudo-extraordinary item. Meanwhile, aside from Venom Attack, the only other ranged attack the Blue-eyed Spider possessed was Silk Bind. However, these two skills were simply superfluous when used against Shi Feng. Shi Feng simply made an effortless sidestep to dodge these attacks, and with a flick of his wrist, he would send yet another needle into the Blue-eyed Spider. Following which, the Blue-eyed Spiders HP bar constantly decreased. 62% 45% 33% 20% Within a few moments, the Blue-eyed Spider died at Shi Fengs hands as well. System: Blue-eyed Spider defeated. Third trial completed. Rewarding 1,000,000 EXP and 10 Free Mastery Points. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 100 points. System: Third trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? _A million EXP just for clearing the 3rd trial? The system sure is generous. The difficulty for the first three trials isnt that high, though. It seems that the truly difficult part would start from the 4th trial onwards. I should take a rest and get my mental state back to peak condition for now._ Despite having effortlessly cleared the first three trials, Shi Feng did not believe, even for a second, that a Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest could be so easily completed. Although Shi Feng did not possess a good understanding of the Twelve Trials, it was still established as one part of a Legendary Quest; its difficulty would definitely be high. The passing requirement was for Shi Feng to clear up to the 6th trial. Yet, the difficulty of the first three trials was not particularly high. According to combat power, the monsters Shi Feng had faced were only at the basic level of a Tier 1 monster. Hence, the truly difficult part was definitely the 4th to 6th trials. Shi Feng had always been a careful person. Hence, he intended to make ample preparations. \--- Inside the Eternal Throne, the many apex powerhouses there had been slightly surprised by Shi Fengs battle. That was a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. It seems that the kid is still hiding his strength. It seems he really does have a chance at clearing the 6th trial. Based on his current strength, from the 4th trial onwards, he should be facing intermediate level Tier 1 primordial beasts. In terms of combat power, the kid is already at the intermediate level of Tier 1. Since the primordial beast that would appear in the 6th trial will be at the peak of intermediate Tier 1, he should have a 30% chance of defeating it with his current combat power. The big shots sitting in the silver thrones unanimously acknowledged Shi Fengs potential. \--- After resting for more than ten minutes, Shi Feng discovered an interesting matter. Although he could not use any potions or Magic Scrolls, he could still eat food made from Cooking to boost his Attributes. It was a good choice to let Violet Cloud continue pursuing the Chef subclass. Shi Feng smiled. After Zero Wings Workshop was established, Shi Feng had given Violet Cloud a very high salary. The salary was much higher than what Violet Cloud earned from selling her cooking products; there was no need for her to continue on the path of a Chef. However, Violet Cloud had chosen to continue cooking, giving the reason that it had already become a habit of sorts. Moreover, Violet Cloud herself loved cooking, and currently, she was already an Advanced Chef; she was not far away from being promoted to a Master Chef. Now, not only could the Delicious Steaks she cooked increase the consumers HP regeneration rate while in a non-combat state, it could also provide an additional buff that increased the consumers Strength by 10% for 10 minutes. To others, a 10% increase in the Strength Attribute might not amount to much. However, to Shi Feng, who currently had 180 points in Strength, that would mean an additional 18 points in Strength, which was also equivalent to an additional 36 points in Attack Power. Overall, the effect of the Delicious Steak provided Shi Feng with a significant increase in combat power. After Shi Feng was rested, he clicked Yes to start the 4th trial. Soon after, Shi Feng was teleported to a grassy plain. Taking a look at his surroundings, Shi Feng quickly discovered a lion with a golden mane lazily sprawled across a large boulder, its stout tail swishing around in a leisurely manner. However, Shi Fengs arrival had obviously alerted it. When this golden-maned lion stood up, its height exceeded five meters. A chill flashed in the lions silver eyes as it raised its eyelids. In the next moment, the lush, green grass beneath its paws was frozen solid. The grassy plains had also been instantly transformed into an icy hell, the green landscape turning snow-white. [Silver-eyed Lion King] (Special Elite) Level 20 HP 100,000/100,000 The difficulty of the 4th trial was clearly much greater than the 3rd trial. Amazing. As expected of the primordial beast of the 4th trial. It is actually capable of affecting its surroundings, transforming its environment into the ideal territory for it to fight in. Shi Feng couldnt help but be shocked. Even with his ten years of experience playing Gods Domain, Shi Feng had very rarely encountered such a monster. However, the icy hell had minimal effect on Shi Feng. After activating the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the icy hell instantly returned to its original state. Just like that, the Silver-eyed Lions environmental advantage was easily vanquished by Shi Feng. Although the Silver-eyed Lion had lost its advantage, its innate Strength and destructive power was still high. With a swipe of its paws, a large pit was formed in the grassland and gravel flew all over the place. Before Shi Feng could get a good grasp of the situation, he was hit by the shockwave ensuing from the impact of its claws and instantly lost 621 HP. _What terrifying Strength. Just the shockwave of its attack could already deal over -600 damage to me. If I received a direct hit from its claws, the damage will definitely be_ _in the thousands._ __ Although Shi Feng had been caught off guard by the Silver-eyed Lion, he did not freeze in place. Immediately, he activated Windwalk and escaped. If he fought a direct battle against the Silver-eyed Lion, there was no question that he would die. Although Shi Feng could avoid the Silver-eyed Lions claws in a head-on confrontation, if its claws battered the ground just like before, the resulting shockwave would propagate over at least an 8-yard radius. Shi Feng would have no way of dodging the shockwave at all. Also, Shi Feng only had a little more than 2,400 HP in total; he would last only a few hits at best. 290 Simultaneous Advancemen The Silver-eyed Lion King roared furiously when it saw Shi Feng running away. Focusing its eyes on Shi Feng, the Silver-eyed Lion King abruptly pushed against the ground with its robust and powerful legs. Like a violent gale, its body shot forth directly at Shi Feng. Unfortunately for it, in terms of speed, Shi Feng had a clear advantage over the Silver-eyed Lion King. The distance between Shi Feng and the Silver-eyed Lion King gradually grew as the chase continued. However, if Shi Feng started his kiting maneuver, the Silver-eyed Lion King would quickly close this distance. Under a situation where he was not allowed to use potions to recover his HP, Shi Fengs only recovery method was his innate battle recovery. However, he would only recover 1% of his HP every five seconds. Based on Shi Fengs total HP, he would only recover around 24 HP every five seconds. If he wished to recover the 600-plus HP hed lost, he needed to spend a relatively long period of time to do so. _Fortunately, Im a tad faster than it. The stage this time also covers a large area, so I can run around without any worries. Otherwise, I will really lose my life this time._ Shi Feng sent a casual glance at the Silver-eyed Lion King, while majority of his attention was focused on the surrounding terrain. Gods Domain was different from other virtual reality games in that it was much more realistic than the others. One could say that a players combat power was responsible for only around 50% of a battles outcome. Meanwhile, 40% was due to environmental factors, while the remaining 10% was up to luck. Luck was something filled with uncertainties, so there was no need to place much consideration into it. As for the 50% combat power and 40% environmental factors, how much a player could grasp them was an important indicator of how skilled a player was. A normal expert could only exhibit around 50% of their personal combat power. In Gods Domain, the Main God System would be the one responsible for evaluating and making the final judgment on a players personal combat power. This method of calculation was the most credible way to judge a players personal combat power. As to how it was calculated, only the Main God System knew this. Currently, however, the Main God System would not show players how much their personal combat power was, and how much of it they could actually exhibit. Once the first 100-man Team Dungeon was successfully raided, the second evolution of Gods Domain would be activated. After the second evolution, a teleportation gate to the Divine Colosseum would appear in every city. When players entered the Divine Colosseum, they could compete and battle against other players there. Not only could they obtain equipment there, they could also upgrade and improve their combat techniques. It was also due to this reason that the fights in Gods Domain became extremely popular. As more time passed, the popularity of fights in Gods Domain would even grow to surpass that of the fighting competitions in the real world. Those who were capable of exhibiting over 50% of their personal combat power would be considered normal experts. Meanwhile, players that could exhibit over 60% would be considered second-rate experts. Once a player could exhibit 70%, they would be considered first-rate experts. If one could exhibit more than 85% of their personal combat power, then they would be considered apex experts. A majority of the players within this category were famous experts of Gods Domain, and they would often participate in the international competition that was held only once a year by the developers of Gods Domain. They were, without a doubt, the most popular individuals in Gods Domain. Back in the days when Shi Feng was still a Tier 3 Sword King, although he was not comparable to these great experts of Gods Domain, he had still been categorized a first-rate expert since he could exhibit around 80% of his personal combat power. However, compared to exhibiting his personal combat power, Shi Feng was much stronger in terms of observing and utilizing his surroundings. Currently, in terms of combat power, Shi Feng was about equal to the Silver-eyed Lion King. However, the Silver-eyed Lion Kings HP was many times greater than Shi Fengs. Without taking into consideration the environmental factors, Shi Feng would definitely die if he chose to clash head-on with the Silver-eyed Lion King. If Shi Feng had met the Silver-eyed Lion King under normal circumstances, he would simply accept his death. At worst, he would just lose a single Level. However, the current situation he was in did not allow him to do so. This was a trial given by his quest; there was no second chance for him, and his death would also signify the end of the quest. Hence, he absolutely could not die right now. After running for over a dozen minutes, Shi Feng arrived at a hill. As for the Silver-eyed Lion King, it was still far from catching up to Shi Feng. Shi Feng wandered around this hill for awhile and eventually discovered a cliff. Immediately, Shi Fengs eyes glowed and his lips curled up in a smile. At last, Ive found the key to victory. Shi Feng chuckled lightly. He then activated Windwalk, dashing towards the edge of the cliff. Originally, Shi Feng could have used this period of time to increase the gap between him and the Silver-eyed Lion King even further. However, Shi Feng chose not to do so because he wanted to find a favorable terrain to deal with the Silver-eyed Lion King. A minute later, Shi Feng stood at the edge of the cliff. Below him was a large gorge. _This height should be sufficient._ Shi Feng made some mental calculations and felt that his plan was feasible. After several more seconds passed, the Silver-eyed Lion King finally caught up. Just as the Silver-eyed Lion King leapt into the air, its razor-sharp claws about to slash Shi Fengs head, Shi Feng jumped, dodging the attack completely. In the next moment, the Silver-eyed Lion Kings paws smashed into the cliff. _Boom!_ The ground beneath Shi Feng and the Silver-eyed Lion King was destroyed, both man and beast plunging towards the very bottom of the cliff. Just as Shi Fengs body was about to hit the ground, he activated Gravity Liberation, his body instantly becoming as light as a feather. Immediately, Shi Fengs rate of descent dropped sharply. The Silver-eyed Lion King, on the other hand, was not as fortunate. When its body hit the ground, a large crater was formed from the impact. Still not dead? Youre quite durable, arent you? Shi Feng commented as he looked at the Silver-eyed Lion King that was embedded into the ground. Right now, the Silver-eyed Lion King only had a thread of its HP left. Youve already dug your own grave, so you might as well stay in it. Shi Feng unceremoniously sent a Thundering Flash at the monster. Three arcs of lightning streaked into the Silver-eyed Lion King, taking away its remaining 1,000 or so HP. Before, if Shi Feng had chosen to jump down the cliff first, the Silver-eyed Lion King definitely wouldnt have followed suit; its intelligence was not that low, after all. Instead, it would simply have taken a detour down the cliff. Hence, Shi Feng had chosen to borrow the Silver-eyed Lion Kings immense destructive power to destroy the edge of the cliff. That way, there was no doubt the Silver-eyed Lion King would be caught unawares. System: Silver-eyed Lion King defeated. Fourth trial completed. Rewarding 3,000,000 EXP, 20 Free Mastery Points, and 10 Gold Coins. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 300 points. System: Fourth trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? Three million EXP? Isnt this reward a little too lavish? Shi Feng was immediately shocked by the systems reward. He had only recently risen to Level 19. Yet, now, he was already close to welcoming Level 20. Moreover, after the 4th trial, Shi Fengs War Gods Temple Merit Points were already at 700 points. He could now afford to exchange for one Fine-Gold ranked item and one Secret-Silver ranked item. And as long as he cleared the 5th trial, he could obtain another 800 Merit Points. The points in that round alone trumped those from all the previous rounds combined. He would then be able to afford to exchange for either one Dark-Gold ranked item or three Fine-Gold ranked items. After a short rest, Shi Feng clicked Yes again and started the 5th trial. The stage of the 5th trial was set in a desert. Meanwhile, the primordial beast that would serve as his opponent in this trial was a monstrosity that had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a snake as its tail. The moment this monster noticed Shi Fengs entry into its territory, its crimson red eyes immediately squinted, a hint of excitement leaking out from them. Chimera! Shi Feng was surprised. Without even needing to use Observing Eyes on the monster before him, Shi Feng already knew what it was. After all, he had fought this monster countless times in the past. A Chimera was the final Boss of a 100-man Team Dungeon. In the past, Shi Feng and the team he led had suffered defeat after defeat under the hands of the Chimera. Only after experiencing innumerable team-wipes did they manage to finally kill it. Hence, Shi Feng had a very deep impression of Chimeras. [Chimera] (Special Elite) Level 20 HP 120,000/120,000 The Chimera was a monster Shi Feng was extremely familiar with. Shi Feng knew both the strengths and weaknesses of a Chimera like the back of his hand. A Chimera could spit fire from its mouth, and its Strength was comparable to the Silver-eyed Lion King. Meanwhile, the snake that acted as the Chimeras tail was equivalent to another monster entirely. The snake boasted powerful venom attacks. If players were struck by the Chimeras flames after being poisoned by its tail, they would die with 100% certainty. However, the Chimera also possessed a fatal weaknesspoison. Shi Feng immediately activated Windwalk. Faced with the Chimeras sharp claws and venom attacks, Shi Feng chose only to dodge and not retaliate. After the venom spat out by the Chimeras tail started spreading and emitting a poisonous gas into the surroundings, Shi Feng finally took action. Without hesitation, Shi Feng charged into the poisonous fog, with the Chimera following closely behind him. The moment Shi Feng stepped into the poisonous fog, he was inflicted with a Poisoned debuff, losing 200 HP every second. However, Shi Feng paid no mind to the debuff. After he ran out of the poisonous fog, he spun his body around and threw the Blazing Meteor. When the blazing needle entered the poisonous fog, the vivid green fog instantly turned into a dark green. Immediately after, an explosion occurred. The explosion promptly sent the Chimera, which was still standing inside the poisonous fog, flying. The monster lost over 10,000 HP from the explosion, and it was placed in a momentary Crippled state. Taking advantage of this change, Shi Feng launched a barrage of attacks at the Chimera. By the time the Chimera had recovered from its Crippled state, Shi Feng had already taken an additional 6,000 or so HP away from it. Furious, the Chimera charged at Shi Feng, while the latter started evading the Chimeras attacks once more, biding his time while he waited for the next poisonous fog to form. After repeating this process several times, the battle finally came to an end. Although Shi Feng had only around 400 HP remaining, the Chimera had already fallen at his feet. System: Chimera defeated. Fifth trial completed. Rewarding 6,000,000 EXP, 20 Free Mastery Points, and 10 Gold Coins. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 300 points. System: Fifth trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? Immediately, Shi Fengs experience bar rose to 62% of Level 20. He was not far away from reaching Level 21. Although Shi Feng was slightly stronger now after allocating his Free Attribute Points, he still felt that the next trial would be extremely dangerous. If not for the fact that Shi Feng was familiar with the Chimeras habits, he would have definitely died in the 5th trial. Meanwhile, the monster in the 6th trial would definitely be much stronger than the Chimera. It would be fortunate if the monster that appeared in the 6th trial was something Shi Feng was familiar with. However, what would he do if it was a monster he had never seen before? Most likely, death would be his only ending Shi Feng would not rely on luck to decide such an important matter for him. Hence, Shi Feng did not immediately start the 6th trial after he was rested this time. Instead, he called out his Attribute Panel, choosing to use the Free Mastery Points he had reserved all this time. [One-handed Sword Mastery] [Intermediate Apprentice Swordsman] Mastery Points required: 50 Damage when using a One-handed Weapon increased by 15%. [Advanced Apprentice Swordsman] Mastery Points required: 100 Damage when using a One-handed Weapon increased by 20%. [Basic Swordsman] Mastery Points required: 150 Damage when using a One-handed Weapon increased by 30%. There is a 5% chance for a qualitative change to occur. [Intermediate Swordsman] Mastery Points required: 200 Damage when using a One-handed Weapon increased by 40%. There is a 10% chance for a qualitative change to occur. Normally, even after players were promoted into a Tier 1 Swordsman, their One-handed Sword or Two-handed Sword Mastery would only be at the Intermediate Apprentice Swordsman rank. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had received a total of 65 Free Mastery Points from clearing the first five trials. In addition to the points he had received from completing quests and the points that were rewarded once every five levels, he now had a total of 168 unused Free Mastery Points. After Shi Feng used up all his Free Mastery Points, his One-handed Sword Mastery had reached the rank of a Basic Swordsman.[1] However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied with this result. Following which, he retrieved the Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow, which he had previously bought at the Blackwing Auction House, from his bag and swapped out the Level 15 Demonbane. Lets start the devouring process, then. Shi Feng looked at the pitch-black Abyssal Blade in his hand. He then offered the ten Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Weapons, which he had prepared at an earlier date, and the Level 15 Demonbane as sacrifices to upgrade the Abyssal Blade. Although it was unfortunate that he did not possess ten Level 15 Secret-Silver Weapons to use as a sacrifice, the Legendary Quest was of utmost importance. He could not afford even the slightest misstep, and it was necessary for him to utilize all available avenues. TL Notes: [1] There are some inconsistencies with the following two paragraphs: Meanwhile, Shi Feng had received a total of 65 Free Mastery Points from clearing the first five trials. In addition to the points he had received from completing quests and the points that were rewarded once every five levels, he now had a total of 168 unused Free Mastery Points. After Shi Feng used up all his Free Mastery Points, his One-handed Sword Mastery had reached the rank of a Basic Swordsman. Remaining Free Mastery Points at Ch.88: 15 points Demons Heart quest (Ch. 270): 50 points Miracles Unsealed quest (Ch. 278): 40 points Level 10, 15, 20: 3 * 8 points = 24 points Five trials: 5+10+10+20+20 = 65 points Total: 194 points [Note: the points for One-handed Sword Mastery are cumulative, so its not 50+100+150+200 etc Instead, its like, One-handed Sword Mastery: 50 points (Intermediate Apprentice Swordsman) One-handed Sword Mastery: 100 points (Advanced Apprentice Swordsman)] After alls said and done, however, please assume that Shi Feng only has 168 Free Mastery Points at the moment, and after using them up, hes only at the Basic Swordsman rank. [2] Also, important note. Basic Swordsman Basic Apprentice Swordsman Intermediate Swordsman Intermediate Apprentice Swordsman Basic Mastery Basic Apprentice Mastery Intermediate Mastery Intermediate Apprentice Mastery 291 The Beginning of Greatness In order to increase the Abyssal Blades potential, Shi Feng had intended to gather ten Level 15 Fine-Gold Weapons to serve as a sacrifice. Hence, he had deliberately kept the Abyssal Blade at Level 10 all this time. Now, however, he no longer had the leeway to do so. The Abyssal Blade started exuding a dark fog, which immediately charged at the sacrificial weapons Shi Feng had prepared. Within three seconds, even the incomparably hard Demonbane, a Dark-Gold ranked one-handed sword, had been turned into dark fog and was absorbed by the Abyssal Blade. After the Abyssal Blade had finished devouring the sacrificial weapons, the weapon was no longer completely pitch-black in appearance. Golden divine runes appeared on the blade of the sword, giving off a faint golden glow. Meanwhile, the entire blade itself had also become silvery gray. When Shi Feng casually brandished the Abyssal Blade, slashing it through the air, the feeling he got was like he was cutting a transparent sheet of paper. Sharp! Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Blade in his hand, astonishment filling his eyes. If he combined such sharpness with the Basic Destructive Power passive skill, even without the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, he could still easily destroy Mysterious-Iron ranked weapons and equipment. Secret-Silver ranked items would also last only a while longer. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +211 All Attributes +25 Attack Speed +8 Ignore Levels +8 Attacks have: 35% chance to cause 200% damage. 10% chance to cause 300% damage. 20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40% for 30 seconds. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +3. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 15. Can be upgraded. (Devour ten Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Weapons and one Level 20 Secret-Silver Weapon to upgrade to Level 20). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 55% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration: 40 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 3 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly creates nine phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 30% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 4: Dark Violent Dance. 45% of the total damage dealt to the target spreads in a cone-shaped area towards targets within a distance of 12 yards. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from providing the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period of time. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing All Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. _As expected of a Magic Weapon. Even though only ten Mysterious-Iron Weapons and one Dark-Gold Weapon were used as its sacrifice, its new Attack Power is even higher than a Dark-Gold Weapon of the same level. This Attack Power could already rival a Dark-Gold ranked two-handed sword._ Shi Feng smiled in satisfaction. The Level 15 Dark-Gold ranked Demonbane only had 183 Attack Power. Meanwhile, the Abyssal Blade had 211 Attack Power; it was far stronger than the Demonbane. Not to mention, the other Attributes and Skills of the Abyssal Blade had also received a significant improvement from the upgrade this time around. Unfortunately, the Abyssal Blade was still far from being a match for the Purgatorys Shadow, a Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked one-handed sword. [Purgatorys Shadow] (One-handed Sword, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 20 (Can be upgraded twice) Attack Power +273 Strength+30, Agility +25, Endurance +22 Attack Speed +2 Attacks have: 20% chance to cause 300% damage. 10% chance to reduce damage dealt by target by 20%. Effect not stackable. Additional Skill- Purgatory Power: When activated, increases Attack Speed by 100% and damage dealt by 30% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes However, this could not be helped. Level 20 weapons and equipment were essentially more powerful than Level 15 ones. At Level 20, players could take the promotion to become a Tier 1 class. Hence, Level 20 weapons and equipment would all be significantly stronger. _Although the Attack Power has improved greatly, it wont be enough to get me through the 6th trial._ Shi Feng knew that a players combat power could not simply be measured through their Attack Power alone. An increase in Attack Power only meant that the damage players dealt would be higher than before. Meanwhile, combat power was the synthesis of various other factors such as Strength, Agility, Endurance, and other Basic Attributes. Skill Level was also a factor to consider. Even if Shi Feng multiplied his current Attack Power by three to four times, his HP would still be tens of times lower than the monster in the 6th trial. If he could not dodge the monsters attacks, he would still lose his life after taking a few hits. So, an increase in Attack Power would not bring too great an increase to his overall combat power. A player was just like a wooden bucket that was used to collect water[1]. How strong they were depended not on their strengths but their weaknesses. Shi Feng called out the system interface. As Ucarus had already opened up the Exchange System of the War Gods Temples treasury for Shi Feng, he could now directly exchange his Merit Points through the system. Shi Feng immediately used 1,500 Merit Points to exchange for a Level 20 Dark-Gold Weapon. He then took out another ten Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Weapons from his bag. There were plenty of Mysterious-Iron Weapons stored inside the Guild Warehouse. Moreover, during the past few days, while Shi Feng, Aqua Rose, and Fire Dance were trapped within the Forgotten Lands, Blackie and the others had kept themselves busy raiding Level 20, 5-man Party Dungeons to level up and obtain materials and equipment. They were making preparations to challenge the Level 20, 10-man Great Dungeon. During this process, they had obtained plenty of Level 20 Mysterious-Iron ranked weapons and equipment. Currently, Zero Wing possessed the most Level 20 weapons and equipment out of all the Guilds in White River City. With such a large supply, Shi Feng had set aside some of the Level 20 Mysterious-Iron ranked weapons and equipment with the weakest performance for future use. However, he had never thought he would get to put them to good use so quickly. Following which, Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Abyssal Blade once more. In Gods Domain, Level 20 was considered a large threshold. Just like the time the Abyssal Blade had risen to Level 10, it would receive a large improvement when it was upgraded to Level 20. Now, whether or not Shi Feng could clear the next trial would rely solely on the performance of the Level 20 Abyssal Blade. The devouring process this time was clearly different from when the Abyssal Blade got upgraded to Level 15. After devouring the offerings, the Abyssal Blade erupted and let loose a dragons roar. The sky and earth trembled in the face of this mighty roar. Immediately after, the Abyssal Blade broke free from Shi Fengs grasp and floated in mid-air. _Boom!_ The Abyssal Blade exploded, transforming into a black tornado. The surroundings went deathly still as if with bated breath. As the black tornado dissipated, a gigantic figure emerged in its place. This figure was none other than the phantom of the Black Dragon King that Shi Feng had previously seen. However, compared to the first time Shi Feng had seen it, the phantom that appeared this time was much more vivid. Moreover, the destructive aura it emitted was far stronger than before. Even when he was faced with the apex powerhouses back at the Eternal Throne, Shi Feng had not been so scared. Of course, this disparity was also due to the fact that those big shots had been intentionally suppressing their auras. At this moment, the Black Dragon Kings phantom, which was several hundred meters in height, actually turned to look at Shi Feng and revealed a human-like sneer. Soon after, the phantom dissipated and transformed back into the Abyssal Blade. As the sword landed, its blade stabbed deep into the earth before Shi Feng, with only its hilt remaining aboveground. Some time passed before Shi Feng gradually recovered from his stupor. He then slowly extended his hand and pulled out the Abyssal Blade. The appearance of the Abyssal Blade had greatly changed after being upgraded. The entire sword was now silvery gray in color, and it exuded a faint, black aura of death. The image of a black dragon could also be seen fading in and out of existence on the blade of the sword. Meanwhile, the image of a dragon had also been carved out of the hilt of the Abyssal Blade. There were small black chains wrapped around the hilt as well, seemingly acting as a seal for the dragon. Have I just done something I shouldnt have? Shi Feng wondered, laughing bitterly as he looked at the lifelike dragon sculpture. Everything was playing out just as Faust, the legendary character Shi Feng had met back at the Star River Valley, had said. A Magic Weapon was a double-edged sword. As one allowed the Magic Weapon to grow in strength, the curse contained within it would also grow stronger. Meanwhile, the wielder would sooner or later be devoured by the strength of the Magic Weapon. TL Notes: [1] This is the bucket thats being used as description. https://gss1.bdstatic.com/-vo3dSag_xI4khGkpoWK1HF6hhy/baike/c0%3Dbaike92%2C5%2C5%2C92%2C30/sign=e09bcf35d3c8a786aa27425c0660a258/4d086e061d950a7bc78c210b08d162d9f3d3c940.jpg How much water the bucket can hold relies not on the longest plank used to make the bucket, but the shortest plank instead. 292 Black Emperor Extraordinary strength comes from an extraordinary will. This was the only advice Faust had given Shi Feng. After Shi Feng grasped the Abyssal Blade, which had undergone a huge change in its appearance, he could fully feel the terrifying strength contained within the sword itself. It was like the sword was alive. Shi Feng could even feel pulsations when he gripped the hilt of the Abyssal Blade. It felt as if the Black Dragon King was roaring inside the Abyssal Blade and likely to break through its seals at any given time. Such powerful Attributes! When Shi Feng checked the Attributes of the Abyssal Blade, he couldnt help but secretly marvel at them. The Abyssal Blade was definitely the best weapon below Epic rank Shi Feng had seen. Even the Blazing Meteor, which had been crafted by the forging genius Seliora, was not its match. Currently, based on the Abyssal Blades Attributes, it would not be an exaggeration to label the sword a Pseudo-extraordinary item. Provided that he could continue upgrading it, it would reach the Epic rank standard before long. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +302 All Attributes +30 Attack Speed +10 Ignore Levels +10 Attacks have: 40% chance to cause 200% damage. 15% chance to cause 300% damage. 20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40% for 30 seconds. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +3. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 20. Can be upgraded. (Devour ten Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapons and one Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon to upgrade to Level 25). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 70% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration: 40 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 40% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 4: Dark Violent Dance. 50% of the total damage dealt to the target spreads in a cone-shaped area towards targets within a distance of 12 yards. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor. When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one layer of Death Aura. Each layer of death aura can be used to increase all Attributes of wielder by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds, or be used to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 30 layers of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 18 hours The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from providing the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period of time. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. As expected of a Magic Weapon. It really doesnt disappoint. Even Epic Weapons rarely have Profound Inheritances attached to them. Now, before even reaching the standard of an Epic weapon, it already possesses a Profound Inheritance. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief after carefully reading through the introduction of the Black Emperor. With it, he should not have any problems facing the 6th trial. Profound Inheritances were rarely seen during the early stages of Gods Domain. They only started becoming widely known during the middle stages of the game. Inheritances and Skills were different. In Gods Domain, the skills provided to each class were made to accommodate the masses of players, so there was no sense of individuality to them. To put it another way, instead of skills being made to cater to the individual player, players were required to adapt themselves to premade skills, regardless of the suitability of said skills. Meanwhile, Inheritances could be used by players to create their own unique method of attacking, allowing more freedom in their fighting styles. It could also further increase a players combat power. The most basic of Inheritances in Gods Domain would enhance a players Skills, such as increasing the skills damage or altering the effects of said skill to allow a more flexible fighting style. As for the more advanced Inheritances, not only would they alter a players Skills, they could also increase a players Attributes. Meanwhile, the Black Emperor Inheritance clearly belonged to this category. If others were to see the Attributes on the Abyssal Blade, their jaws would definitely fall to the ground in shock. Some would even harbor thoughts of owning it for themselves. An organization like Underworld, which had been continuously gathering all kinds of powerful items, would definitely not hesitate to use unscrupulous means to take possession of the Abyssal Blade. In todays society, virtual gaming had already become one of the worlds main forms of entertainment. The emergence of Gods Domain had further solidified the position of virtual reality games in peoples lives. Currently, the average person would spend close to half of their day living inside Gods Domain. It was also due to this reason that players all wished to live a better and more respectable life in Gods Domain. After all, life in Gods Domain was just like another part of their own lives. However, unlike their lives in the real world, their lives in the virtual world were much purer and simpler. Generally, they only needed good weapons, equipment, and influence in the game. At this current age, players pursuit of virtual items was no less than womens pursuit of luxury goods. After all, in the eyes of average players, weapons and equipment were the representation of strength. Gorgeous-looking weapons and equipment that allowed one to have amazing damage output were all the envy of average players. High-level weapons and equipment were symbols of strength in Gods Domain, and countless players pursued them. It was also the reason why many players were willing to spend hundreds and thousands, and sometimes even tens of thousands of Credits to purchase these powerful items. Some wealthy youths that were born with a golden spoon would even spend several millions without blinking just to obtain a powerful item. These people were willing to go to such lengths because, with powerful weapons and equipment, they could experience the pleasure of being superior to others. In the case of a Magic Weapon like the Abyssal Blade, it wouldnt be impossible for it to sell for an astronomical price of several tens of millions. Shi Feng recalled that one year after Gods Domains official launch in the past, a Legendary item had appeared in the World Auction, which was held in the real world. At that time, the Legendary item had been sold off for 60 million Credits. The price had thoroughly shocked the entire world. Shortly after the auction, however, the person who sold the Legendary item immediately regretted that decision. There was only a limited number of Legendary items throughout the entire Gods Domain, and every single one of them was considered a strategic weapon by Guilds. Just by owning one, a player could easily get through their Tier 4 or even Tier 5 class promotions. Meanwhile, the value of a Tier 5 powerhouse could reach up to tens of billions of Credits. The reason being, when a Guild gave birth to a Tier 5 powerhouse, the Guild would have the ability to conquer two or three additional cities that could each hold a population of several million people. Of course, the Abyssal Blade was still incapable of rivaling a Legendary Weapon at present; it wasnt even at the level of an Epic Weapon yet. However, it was what Shi Feng currently needed the most. For Shi Feng, several hundred points of additional Attributes werent as beneficial a powerful skill. And the Black Emperor Inheritance just happened to fit the bill. Shi Feng had learned many powerful skills. However, all of them possessed the same fatal weakness; all of them possessed explosive power, but none of them possessed any staying power. Maybe this weakness wouldnt be a problem when these skills were used inside a Dungeon or against players with poor equipment. After all, when going against players with poor equipment, Shi Feng did not even need to use up all the skills in his arsenal to finish them off. He could simply overwhelm them with superior Attributes, and not even techniques would be required. Meanwhile, when inside Dungeons, he would have MTs to tank the monsters at the frontlines, healers to heal him from behind, and many other players to support him. He only needed to survive and wait for the Cooldown of his skills to end before starting the next volley of attacks. But when fighting against monsters or players that were equal in strength with him, just a short burst of damage would not carry him to victory. Without sustainability, he would be trampled by his opponent after his short burst. Just take Absolute Heaven for example. When he had ambushed Shi Feng, after his series of attacks had been defended against by Shi Feng, the only other thing Absolute Heaven could do was to escape. Unless Absolute Heaven had a method to take advantage of his opponents weakness, only death awaited him. Following the upgrade of the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng sank into deep contemplation for more than two hours, thinking of ways to incorporate the Black Emperor Inheritance into his fighting style. Now, he felt much more confident about clearing the 6th trial. Lets see what kind of monster is awaiting me in the 6th trial, then. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. Stretching his finger, he tapped Yes on the system interface and started the next trial. 293 Balrog Serpen Inside the Eternal Throne, the apex powerhouses of the War Gods Temple were currently observing the situation inside the Twelve Trials, and they were all very shocked to discover that Shi Feng actually wielded a Magic Weapon. What an amazing little guy. He isnt even a Tier 1 Swordsman, yet he is actually able to master a Magic Weapon. Moreover, he has even released its power to such a degree. Controller of a Magic Weapon. Dominator of a Mysterious Flame. Moreover, his control over his own power has obviously crossed _that_ threshold. He sure knows how to surprise us time after time. Yes. It would have been fine if it were just the Magic Weapon and Mysterious Flame, but he has even reached such a level of control over his own power already. Many of those who have attained a Tier 3 class cant even achieve such a degree of control. It seems he wont have any problems clearing the 6th trial. With such great potential hidden in him, if he had come to us a little later, he might have been able to clear even the 7th trial. Such a pity. The threshold these NPC big shots were referring to was simply ones ability to display 50% of ones own combat power. However, none of these NPCs knew that, in the past, Shi Feng had once been a Tier 3 Sword King. Back then, Shi Feng was capable of displaying up to 80% of his personal combat power. If not for his weak physique limiting his brains development potential and also the quality of his own equipment being a problem, Shi Feng would have long since been promoted to a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. This cant be helped. Who would have known the Endless Abyss would break the seal so quickly? There is no point feeling pity over the matter. We old folks should make some preparations for when the trial ends as well. Otherwise, well break our backs from overwork later. The lords of the silver thrones unanimously acknowledged Shi Fengs potential. However, in regard to Shi Fengs managing to clear the 7th trial, they held no hope towards it at all. The reason being, it had been over a millennium since the 7th trial had been cleared. \--- Inside the Twelve Trials, the stage for the 6th trial was a cave of lava similar to the Flame Gods Cave. However, the fire-type mana here was far purer than in the Flame Gods Cave. Shi Feng currently stood inside this cave, and the molten hot lava around him was making bubbling sounds as it flowed through the cave. If Shi Feng did not possess 20 points in Fire Resistance, allowing him a certain degree of immunity to heat, he would have long since been cooked by the scalding hot temperatures. Any average player that came here might already be half-dead before they even started battling. Before Shi Feng could fully observe the terrain inside the cave, a gigantic flame-covered snake over twenty meters long emerged from the molten lava. [Balrog Serpent] (Special Elite) Level 20 HP 150,000/150,000 Even if Shi Feng did not know exactly how powerful this Balrog Serpent was, he had no doubt whatsoever that this serpent had a very high resistance towards fire-type attacks. Lets use you as a test for my new weapons. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow. However, he did not directly charge at the Balrog Serpent, as that was something only an idiot would do. Before charging into battle, experts would first try to understand as much as they could about their opponent. Hence, Shi Feng simply stood still and calmly observed the Balrog Serpents every action, familiarizing himself with the giant serpents movement patterns. The Balrog Serpent was also no idiot itself. It obviously knew that it was much stronger than Shi Feng and that its HP was tens of times higher than Shi Fengs as well. So, instead of giving Shi Feng time to study it, the Balrog Serpent immediately widened its mouth and sent fireballs flying one after another at Shi Feng. Shi Fengs feet moved, his body instantly reacting and leaving behind an afterimage as he effortlessly dodged these incoming fireballs. Not giving up, the Balrog Serpent continued bombarding Shi Feng with a stream of fireballs. If three were not enough, then five. If five were not enough, then ten. Soon, the space within the cave was packed with fireballs. By attacking in such a way, not only could the Balrog Serpent damage its enemies, it could also prevent them from closing in on it. Faced with such a method of attack that combined both offense and defense, average players would definitely grow helpless and suffer the bombardment of these dozens of fireballs. Shi Feng, however, was no average player. In the face of all these fireballs, instead of retreating, he chose to advance without the slightest shred of hesitation. Yet, contrary to expectations, Shi Feng did not end up suffering a tragic end at the hands of the fireballs. Instead, he looked as if he was dancing as he weaved through the rain of fire, his actions seemingly easy and enjoyable. However, when the distance between him and the Balrog Serpent shortened to 20 yards, he could no longer rely solely on evading the fireballs to move forward. _Ive mostly grasped its attack timing. Now, its time to have a look at how amazing my new weapons are._ Shi Feng inwardly smiled as he looked at the Balrog Serpent that was constantly spitting out fireballs. Shi Feng activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, and deep-blue flames immediately wrapped around his body. He then used Silent Steps to appear right behind the Balrog Serpents head. The first thing he did when he arrived was to send a vertical slash down on the Balrog Serpents head, causing -372 damage to the monster. Such strong Defense! Shi Feng looked at the resulting damage, disbelief filling his eyes. The Abyssal Blade itself already possessed 302 Attack Power. If Shi Fengs Strength were taken into account, his total Attack Power should be well over 700 points. Moreover, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame had also increased the damage he dealt by 20%. Yet, he had managed to cause only -372 damage to the monster. The Balrog Serpents Defense could already rival a Lord ranked monster of the same level. If Shi Feng had not upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 20 nor equipped the Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow, Shi Feng might not even be able to deal -150 damage to the Balrog Serpent right now. At this moment, Shi Feng felt fortunate that he had not rushed before to start the 6th trial. Otherwise, his chances of victory would have been lower than 20%. However, although Shi Feng had allowed this thought to linger in his mind for a moment, his attacks on the Balrog Serpent never stopped. Immediately after his first sword strike, Shi Feng followed up by using Thundering Flash. Three electric arcs dove into the flaming Balrog Serpent, piercing its gigantic body and causing damages of -554, -1,528, and -1,125. The damage he dealt was much higher than before. Simultaneously, he had also inflicted a Damage Amplification debuff that lasted 20 seconds on the Balrog Serpent. Following which, Shi Feng continued with a Chop, the attack achieving a critical hit and dealing close to -2,000 damage. When Shi Feng landed on the ground, he immediately followed up with a flurry of sword slashes. The Abyssal Blade now had a 40% chance to deal a critical hit, so Shi Feng could deal a critical hit with almost every other attack. From this series of attacks, the Balrog Serpent had lost over 7,000 HP. However, the giant serpent had 150,000 HP; Shi Feng would need to repeat such a burst of attacks at least twenty more times in order to completely kill it. Originally, Shi Feng felt quite happy with the damage he was dealing. At this rate, even if he did not activate Black Emperor, he still possessed a very high chance of killing the Balrog Serpent. Unfortunately, that happiness was short-lived. The reason being, Shi Feng soon discovered that the Balrog Serpents HP was rapidly returning to full; it was actually recovering 500 HP every second. That amount was even higher than a single one of Shi Fengs normal attacks. If Shi Feng remained idle, the Balrog Serpent would fully recover in less than 20 seconds. Meanwhile, the Balrog Serpent immediately sent its tail swiping at Shi Feng, finally reacting to Shi Fengs attacks. Shi Feng hurriedly used Parry to block the attack. Although he suffered no damage from the Balrog Serpents tail strike, he was forced to retreat three steps, with his hands growing numb from the force of the impact as well. In terms of destructive power, the Balrog Serpent was definitely superior to the Chimera. The Balrog Serpent was also much faster. Shi Feng had actually been forced to use Parry because he could not dodge in time. Currently, Shi Fengs Parry was at Level 7, so it had a Cooldown of 21 seconds. Aside from Parry, Shi Feng also had Defensive Blade, a skill that had both offensive and defensive capabilities. Currently, Defensive Blade was at Level 6, and it had a Cooldown of two minutes. Although its Cooldown was much longer than Parry, it allowed Shi Feng to completely block four melee attacks and eight ranged attacks. He would also be immune to Charge attacks. Just as the dozens of fireballs were about to hit him, Shi Feng jumped into the air, dodging them completely. Right after that, the Balrog Serpent swiped its tail at Shi Feng again, the sound of wind whistling could be heard as its tail streaked through the air. In the face of this powerful attack, Shi Feng showed no signs of weaknesses. Immediately, he countered the attack with the Level 7 Thunder Flame Explosion. When sword and tail collided, sparks of flame scattered in all directions. The Balrog Serpents tail was knocked back, the monster itself receiving over -400 damage from the brief clash. On the other hand, Shi Feng landed heavily onto the ground, his feet sinking partly into the molten lava. A damage of over -700 points also appeared above his head. As expected, in a direct confrontation, Shi Feng was definitely a lot weaker than the Balrog Serpent. However, Shi Feng was probably the only player in Gods Domain right now who dared to actually fight a Special Elite monster in such a way. 294 Storm of Swords Although Shi Feng lost against the Balrog Serpent in a direct confrontation, Thunder Flame Explosion, the skill he used, wasnt just a powerful destructive skill. It was also a control skill. However, the Balrog Serpent was a Special Elite monster; it possessed a degree of resistance towards control skills. Hence, the Level 7 Thunder Flame Explosion, which would originally place enemies hit by it in a Fainted state for five seconds, only managed to incapacitate the Balrog Serpent for 3.5 seconds. For average players, 3.5 seconds might not seem like a long time. For Shi Feng, however, it was plenty of time. Wind Blade! Shi Feng instantly arrived before the Balrog Serpent. Simultaneously, his Attack Speed received a 30% increase. However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied with this. He then proceeded to activate the additional skill of the Purgatorys Shadow, Purgatory Power. [Purgatory Power] When activated, increases Attack Speed by 100% and damage dealt by 30% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes Shi Feng then activated Nine Dragons Slash. Twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade suddenly appeared, floating around Shi Feng. Each phantom was capable of dealing 40% damage for 30 seconds. However, it had a long Cooldown of five minutes. Shi Feng brandished his two swords using his full strength. In addition to the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms he was controlling, a total of fourteen swords surrounded and madly attacked the Balrog Serpent. Within moments, the cave was filled with sword images dancing around. Fourteen Twenty-eight Fifty-six One hundred and twelve Countless sword images flashed in the air, forming a storm of swords that devoured the Balrog Serpent whole. Shi Fengs swords slashed at the Balrog Serpents body one after another, each strike causing close to -500 damage. Moreover, close to half of this barrage of attacks achieved a critical hit, each dealing close to -1,000 damage to the monster. Meanwhile, each of the phantoms of the Abyssal Blade had also managed to deal over -200 damage to the Balrog Serpent. The total damage of the twelve phantoms was even more frightening than that of Shi Feng himself. As if the floodgates to the Balrog Serpents 150,000 HP had been opened, the Balrog Serpent lost HP incessantly. Within a short 3.5 seconds, the Balrog Serpents HP had already fallen to 61%. When the Balrog Serpent regained consciousness, it immediately released an enraged roar. At this moment, however, Shi Feng pointed the Abyssal Blade at the Balrog Serpent. Now is still not the time for you to wake up. Shi Feng cast Abyssal Bind on the Balrog Serpent right away. If he were to allow the Balrog Serpent to start retaliating, his previous efforts would all go to waste. In the blink of an eye, nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground, quickly wrapping around and binding the Balrog Serpent. Meanwhile, the Balrog Serpent could do nothing but roar in anger as it helplessly watched sword after sword piercing its own body, continuously reaping its HP. The Abyssal Bind had a duration of four seconds. Moreover, the Balrog Serpents resistance towards control skills was completely ineffective against it; the Abyssal Binds effective duration was not reduced in the slightest. In addition, the Abyssal Bind reduced the Balrog Serpents Defense by 100%, rendering the Balrog Serpents innately powerful Defense utterly useless. Now, each of Shi Fengs sword strikes dealt over -800 damage, with the occasional triple critical hit dealing over -2,500 damage. A series of splendid numbers appeared above the Balrog Serpents head. Before the eye-catching number of -2,500 disappeared, a damage of over -1,700 points appeared on top of it. Practically one out of every two strikes would achieve a critical hit. Meanwhile, each of the twelve Abyssal Blade Phantoms were now dealing over -350 damage to the Balrog Serpent. For the Balrog Serpent, these four seconds were a complete hell. By the time the Balrog Serpent escaped from the chains binding it, it had only 19% HP remaining. However, Shi Feng had long since been prepared for this moment. Disappear! Shi Feng raised the silvery-gray Abyssal Blade. The dense fire-type mana in the surroundings started gathering around the Abyssal Blade, causing the sword to release a blinding glow. This was indeed Shi Fengs ultimate skill, Flame Burst. [Flame Burst] Level 5 (Requires 4,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Channeling time: 2 seconds Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 420% damage to the target. Attack Count: 6 times Cooldown: 3 minutes 30 seconds Before the Balrog Serpent could even start attacking, Shi Feng had already brandished the scorching hot Abyssal Blade six times. All six sword slashes immediately sank into the Balrog Serpents body. -3,310, -3,347, -6,784, -6,706, -3,371, -6,754. Six frightening damages appeared consecutively above the Balrog Serpents head, instantly taking away the monsters remaining 28,000 HP. Soon after, the Balrog Serpents body started fading away, and only after it disappeared completely, did Shi Feng release a sigh of relief. System: Balrog Serpent defeated. Sixth trial completed. Rewarding 9,000,000 EXP, 20 Free Mastery Points, and 10 Gold Coins. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 500 points. System: Sixth trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? Shi Fengs experience bar immediately rose to 41% of Level 21. If put on the Ranking List on White River City, Shi Feng would only be beneath Violet Cloud and the others. However, he was still two levels behind Blackie, the current top ranking player of White River City. _Finally, Ive passed the requirement. Should I try to take on the 7th trial, though?_ Shi Feng looked at the system interface showing the trials prompt. Privately, Shi Feng had the notion to take the challenge. Now that he had cleared the 6th trial, it signified that his task was already over. He had no need to brave the dangers and accept the next trial at all. Moreover, if he happened to lose his life in the next trial, he would definitely suffer a heavy penalty; it absolutely wouldnt be limited to just losing a single Level. Truth be told, however, Shi Feng felt confident about his chances at clearing the 7th trial. After all, he had not even unveiled the Black Emperor Inheritance when he fought the Balrog Serpent. He definitely had the necessary strength to challenge the 7th trial. After clearing the 6th trial, Shi Feng obtained an additional 1,600 Merit Points. If he were to clear the 7th trial, he could obtain another 3,200 Merit Points, bringing his total to 4,800 Merit Points. It would be enough points for him to exchange for an Epic ranked item. Just the prospect of obtaining an Epic ranked item made Shi Feng feel that he should give it a try. Besides, Shi Feng no longer had any burdens to carry, so why not give it a try? However, Shi Feng was unsure of what kind of price he would have to pay if he were to suffer death. If it was only losing a single level, then Shi Feng would gladly proceed to the 7th trial. However, Shi Feng knew such an outcome was not likely. Just the penalty for not completing the Trial of Gods was already considered unbearable for players; some players might even have to delete and restart their accounts due to the harsh penalties imposed. Meanwhile, the Twelve Trials was the most challenging trial of the War Gods Temple. It would be an insult to the War Gods Temple if the punishment for dying was only the loss of a single level. Just as Shi Feng was hesitating, his system communicator rang. Meanwhile, the person calling him was Aqua Rose. Did something happen? Shi Feng asked. Previously, Shi Feng had already told Aqua Rose that he did not wish to be disturbed as he was about to do a quest, and that, unless there was something big happening, she shouldnt try to contact him. Based on Aqua Roses serious personality, if it wasnt an extremely important matter, then she definitely wouldnt try to contact him, hence Shi Fengs question. Dark Star has suddenly declared an all-out war against us, and several hundreds of our Guild members have already been killed by members of Dark Star while they were out grinding. Moreover, the core team, led by Fire Dance, has also been trapped by Dark Star inside the Silverleaf Forest. Although weve already sent reinforcements, they were blocked by members of Dark Star outside the forest. What Im trying to say is that, Guild Leader, you need to immediately contact Gentle Snow and have her send some people to help contain Dark Star so that our members can take the opportunity to save Fire Dance and the others! Aqua Rose was extremely anxious at this moment. They had already failed to break through the encirclement of Dark Star around the Silverleaf Forest multiple times now. If this situation continued, Fire Dance and the others would truly be finished. _Feng Xuanyang! You did good!_ __ Shi Fengs expression immediately sank, a cold killing intent gleaming in his eyes. If Fire Dance and the others belonging to the main force of the Guild were to die a few times, it would be a tremendous loss to Zero Wing. Leaving aside the fame that Fire Dance and the others had accumulated for themselves, just losing a part of the equipment they possessed would be a serious blow to the Guild. Just how long would it take for them to recover such precious equipment? Meanwhile, when Shi Feng tried to figure out who was responsible for such a situation, Feng Xuanyang came up as his strongest suspect. Feng Xuanyang was the true wielder of authority in Dark Star. After Shi Fengs previous forthright rejection, it would not be strange if Feng Xuanyang retaliated. Hence, who else could be responsible for Dark Stars declaration of war? 295 Mirage Beas Although Shi Feng was incensed by this news, Fire Dance and the others would have long since lost their lives by the time he arrived at the Silverleaf Forest. Alright, Ill contact Gentle Snow immediately. Shi Feng disconnected his call with Aqua Rose after saying so. He then called out his friends list, selected Gentle Snows name, and chose to contact her. It was a fact that Ouroboros and Zero Wing were allies. Since an ally was under attack, Gentle Snow naturally did not refuse to send reinforcements when Shi Feng asked. Moreover, Gentle Snow had found out about this entire matter a step ahead of Shi Feng. Hence, she had already organized her subordinates even before Shi Feng contacted her, and they were just about to hurry over to the Silverleaf Forest right at that moment. Gentle Snow had gathered 2,000 members from Ouroboros to aid Zero Wing. Of them, 500 were elite members of the Guild. Such a powerful force would pose a huge threat to the 6,000 members of Dark Star blocking the way into the Silverleaf Forest. Many thanks for your help, Miss Snow. In the future, members of Ouroboros that shop at the Starstreak Trading Firm can enjoy a 10% discount on all products, Shi Feng said in thanks. You said this yourself. Ill gladly accept your offer, then. Gentle Snow revealed a faint smile. Currently, over half of the player population in White River City was patronizing the Starstreak Trading Firm. After all, not only were the items sold there of good quality, there was also a large selection available. Moreover, the product supply was plentiful. Normally, the various Guilds in White River City would always make a trip to the Starstreak Trading Firm before they went Dungeon-diving. If Ouroboros could receive a 10% discount when purchasing items there, it would save the Guild a lot of money. Really, though, just what is going through the minds of those people in Dark Star? It would be fine if it were just the usual minor skirmish. However, they have actually declared an all-out war on Zero Wing. Isnt Lone Tyrant afraid that his Guild might suffer heavy losses and lose the ability to compete for the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons? Gentle Snow commented curiously. The competition over the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons had already reached its most crucial moment right now. Moreover, Dark Star only had the final Boss left to defeat in order to snag the First Clear of the Land of Deathand gain an absolute advantage over the other Guilds. However, Dark Star had instead chosen to take action against Zero Wing at this critical junction. Gods Domain had been launched just recently. At this early stage of the game, everyone was busy leveling up and raiding Dungeons to strengthen themselves. Guilds, in particular, were deeply afraid of falling behind others. Even if conflict arose between Guilds, both sides would usually choose to show restraint. After all, an all-out war between Guilds would profit nobody. Worse, they might even get taken advantage of by a third party. If such a situation were to truly occur, then the damage to both Guilds would grow even more massive. Hence, unless there was a huge disparity in strength between both sides, nobody would casually choose to start a war. Dark Star and Zero Wing were both among the top six Guilds in White River City, so the difference in strength between the two Guilds was not particularly wide. No matter how Gentle Snow looked at the situation, she could not figure out why Dark Star would choose to suddenly declare war. I am afraid that the one starting the war this time around isnt Lone Tyrant, but the organization thats backing him, Underworld, Shi Feng said, laughing bitterly. Underworld! Gentle Snow couldnt help but wrinkle her eyebrows at this revelation. So thats how it is. Ive been wondering how Dark Star had managed to suddenly obtain so many experts. It turns out the mysterious power supporting Dark Star is Underworld. However, how did you manage to find out about this? Even though Ive planted many spies inside Dark Star, I never managed to uncover the forces hidden behind Dark Star. Feng Xuanyang from Underworld came looking for me to buy some of Zero Wings shares. However, the price he offered was simply too low. I rejected his offer, so now he is trying to get back at me by destroying Zero Wing. Shi Feng revealed the truth. Gentle Snow immediately understood the situation after listening to Shi Fengs words. It was no wonder Dark Star was completely unafraid of commencing an all-out war. With Underworlds background, it only needed to field a part of its forces located in the eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom to completely destroy Zero Wing. With such a large disparity in strength, it was natural for Dark Star not to fear a war. So it is Feng Xuanyang. He is indeed a person who would take revenge for the slightest of offenses. However, with Underworlds financial power, his offer to buy Zero Wing, which possesses a Guild Residence, should not have been low. At the very least, he should have offered 500 to 600 million, right? Gentle Snow came to an abrupt realization. However, she also felt curious about this matter, as the Feng Xuanyang she knew was not a tightfisted person. One billion Credits and several hundred experts. In addition, they would also provide 100 Gold Coins as support every week, Shi Feng said. One billion Credits and also 100 Gold Coins per week? Feng Xuanyang sure is generous. Even I might feel tempted if given such an offer. Yet, you actually complained that its too little? No wonder hes angry. Gentle Snow chuckled softly. Shi Feng simply replied with a faint smile, not bothering to give an explanation on the matter. Aside from a few core Guild members knowing about the Purple Sun Mansion being their new Guild Residence, nobody else knew anything about it. The others only knew that Zero Wing possessed a Guild Residence. They were not clear where exactly it was located. After all, there were simply too many plots of land available in White River City. Moreover, the Purple Sun Mansion was currently under reconstruction. It would take two more days before it can be used and also unveiled to the public. Following which, Shi Feng made some small talk with Gentle Snow before ending the call. He then proceeded to start the 7th trial. If nothing unexpected happened, the 2,000 players led by Gentle Snow could definitely break apart Dark Stars encirclement around the Silverleaf Forest. Hence, what Shi Feng needed to do now was to increase his own strength by obtaining even better tools and equipment, slowly and gradually enhancing their Guilds foundation. In regard to the battle at the Silverleaf Forest, Shi Feng could only play the role of an observer. Even if he were to rush over there right this instant, everything would have long since been over by the time he arrived. However, Shi Feng would definitely remember this debt of hatred. Sooner or later, he would repay this debt to Dark Star and Underworld ten times over. The stage for the 7th trial was an ancient coliseum. The moment Shi Feng laid eyes on his opponent, he was immediately shocked by what he saw. Why is it myself? Shi Feng looked at the familiar figure gradually appearing at a corner of the coliseum, feeling very surprised. However, when he used Observing Eyes on this twin of his, he immediately came to an understanding. [Mirage Beast] (Rare Special Elite) Level 20 HP 200,000/200,000 This Mirage Beast was capable of replicating the appearance and skills of an enemy. However, unlike players, it had a frightening amount of HP. In a one-on-one situation, players would find it extremely difficult to kill the Mirage Beast. In Gods Domain, the only advantage players had over monsters was the diversity of skills they possessed. Meanwhile, players could use these skills in various combinations to exert even stronger power. Yet, if the Mirage Beast possessed the same skills that players did, then players would lose even that little advantage they had. When comparing the power of skills, the Mirage Beasts skills might even be more powerful than the players. Good timing. I was just thinking of trying out a few things. Shi Feng advanced, immediately directing a Chop at the Mirage Beast. Meanwhile, the Mirage Beast had similarly charged at Shi Feng, and it, too, had sent a Chop at Shi Feng. The moment the two swords clashed, sparks flew all around. However, when all was said and done, Shi Feng was still a player. In terms of Strength, he was still far inferior to the Mirage Beast. Hence, Shi Feng was easily repelled, forced by the Mirage Beast to retreat step by step. Meanwhile, the Mirage Beast was also superior in terms of Attack Speed. Although the ensuing damage from a collision of weapons was small, after clashing for tens or even hundreds of times, Shi Feng would eventually lose his life. After all, the Mirage Beast possessed 200,000 HP, while Shi Fengs HP was just slightly over 2,600 after reaching Level 21. Moreover, Shi Feng was receiving more damage than the Mirage Beast from their exchanges. Not to mention, both sides were also executing various skills. When Shi Feng used Thundering Flash, the Mirage Beast would activate Windwalk to dodge the attack. It would then counter with a Thundering Flash of its own. Knowing that he could not receive the attack directly, Shi Feng, too, activated Windwalk to dodge. However, the Mirage Beast activated Wind Blade to immediately appear before Shi Feng. It then followed up with a Chop, sending an extremely quick vertical slash down towards its prey. Shi Feng hastily used Parry to block the Mirage Beasts Chop. He countered with a Thunder Flame Explosion right away. In the end, however, the Mirage Beast used Parry to fend off the powerful attack. Shi Feng then followed up with a Flame Burst, which was promptly countered with a Defensive Blade by the Mirage Beast. The exchange between both sides was extremely intense. After a dozen seconds or so, Shi Fengs HP had fallen to 60%. On the other hand, the Mirage Beast had lost only a negligible amount of HP. Just the Mirage Beasts battle recovery negated most of the damage Shi Feng had caused. As expected of the 7th trial, even the monsters normal attacks and skills are used with such viciousness. However, instead of feeling afraid, a sense of excitement was bubbling within Shi Feng at the moment. However, do you know this move? Shi Feng looked at the Mirage Beast, a faint smile appearing on his face. He then proceeded to activate the Black Emperor Inheritance. Dark fog immediately started emerging from the Abyssal Blade and then entered Shi Fengs body. 296 Perfect Combination Although the Mirage Beast was capable of duplicating a players every skill, Shi Feng had already obtained a clear understanding of the Mirage Beast during this short period of time. Shi Feng had previously activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame after starting the battle. Yet, the Mirage Beast had not done so. The Ice-Blue Devil Flame was not a skill Shi Feng had learned. Instead, it was an additional effect provided by the item known as the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Hence, Shi Feng could say with certainty that the Mirage Beast was incapable of duplicating the additional skills of a players equipment. The moment the dark fog, which emanated from the Abyssal Blade, started permeating Shi Fengs body, a faint silvery-gray aura of death emerged on the surface of his body. Immediately, he charged at the Mirage Beast, while simultaneously activating Nine Dragons Slash. The twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms promptly started attacking the Mirage Beast the moment they came into existence. When the Mirage Beast saw the twelve phantoms striking at it, it cleverly chose not to block them. Instead, it bombarded Shi Feng with a Thunder Flame Explosion. As long as Shi Feng died, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms would naturally disappear along with him. Seeing the Mirage Beasts actions, Shi Feng simply revealed a calm smile. Rather than dodge the attack, however, Shi Feng chose to activate Defensive Blade and proceeded to assault the Mirage Beasts vital point. Defensive Blade provided Shi Feng with complete immunity to four melee attacks. He could simply allow the Mirage Beasts attack to connect without needing to defend using his sword at all. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs twin swords had also landed on the Mirage Beasts body. Previously, in order to block Shi Fengs Thunder Flame Explosion, the Mirage Beast had used up its own Defensive Blade. Hence, it had no choice but to endure Shi Fengs attacks right now. Shi Feng took this chance to make seven consecutive slashes on the Mirage Beasts body. His normal attacks caused over -500 damage, while critical hits dealt over -1,000 damage. Meanwhile, each of the Abyssal Blade phantoms could also inflict over -200 damage. Out of the seven sword strikes Shi Feng landed on the Mirage Beast, four achieved a critical hit. Coupling those sword strikes with the attacks of the Abyssal Blade phantoms, Shi Feng dealt over -7,000 damage within this brief moment. It was a very impressive amount of damage. However, the Mirage Beast, which had taken on Shi Fengs appearance, simply gave Shi Feng a smile of disdain. The Mirage Beast looked as if it was saying, This is your limit. The Mirage Beast had 200,000 HP, so -7,000 damage was only a scratch to it. It would be perfectly fine again once it rubbed some spit on its wounds. On the other hand, now that Shi Feng no longer possessed any lifesaving skills, only death awaited him. A high HP is really a great asset. Shi Feng sighed when he looked at the Mirage Beasts HP bar. In the next moment, though, Shi Feng revealed a smile, saying, However, you are still ten years too early if you think you can overpower me just with this asset of yours alone. Shi Feng activated the Purgatory Shadows additional skill, Purgatory Power, increasing his Attack Speed by 100% and damage by 30% for 15 seconds. Shi Feng then pointed the Abyssal Blade at the Mirage Beast charging at him. Abyssal Bind. Nine chilling chains instantly emerged from the ground, wrapping around and restraining the Mirage Beast. Abyssal Bind had a duration of four seconds. Despite being sealed, however, the Mirage Beast showed no signs of panic at all. It did not even try to resist in the slightest. Instead, it revealed a mocking expression as it looked at Shi Feng, as if telling Shi Feng to slash it as much as he wanted to. Previously, Shi Feng had only managed to take away around 7,000 of its HP after attacking it for slightly over a second. Even if the Mirage Beast allowed Shi Feng free rein for four full seconds, the most it would lose was around 30,000 HP. That was not even a quarter of its total HP. Moreover, after Shi Feng exhausted all his skills, he would also lose his means of dealing bursts of damage. With neither lifesaving skills nor bursting skills, the end result was obvious. Hence, the Mirage Beast felt very assured of its victory. Since the very beginning, this human never had a chance of defeating it. However, the Mirage Beast quickly discovered that reality was much crueler than fantasy. The Abyssal Bind indeed had a duration of only four seconds. However, the skill also possessed the effect of reducing its targets Defense by 100%, and this allowed Shi Fengs damage to abruptly soar. Now, each of Shi Fengs normal attacks could deal over -700 damage. Miraculously, one of his attacks even triggered the Doom Curse, one of the Abyssal Blades effects. Instantly, the Mirage Beast had its Attributes reduced by 30%, and its maximum HP fell from 200,000 to 140,000. Engulfed by the storm of swords, the Mirage Beasts HP fell crazily. Shi Feng also achieved critical hits with his attacks one after another, stacking layer upon layer of Death Aura around his body. In this situation, the Nine Dragons Slash could be said to be a perfect match for the Black Emperor Inheritance. After activating the Nine Dragons Slash, Shi Feng would not be lacking in Death Auras at all. Before the four seconds were up, the Mirage Beasts HP had already gone below the 70% threshold. Just as the Abyssal Bind was about to lose effect, and the Mirage Beast was about to regain its freedom, Shi Feng abruptly leaped into the air and switched sword techniques. Simultaneously, he used ten of the 30 layers of Death Aura he had accumulated to reduce the Thunder Flame Explosions Cooldown. The Level 7 Thunder Flame Explosion had a Cooldown of 30 seconds. Meanwhile, each layer of Death Aura could reduce a skills Cooldown by three seconds. After using ten layers of Death Aura, Thunder Flame Explosion could be used again. However, Shi Feng was still not done. He then used the remaining 20 layers of Death Aura on himself, instantly increasing all his Basic Attributes by 40%, and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 20% for ten seconds. After receiving this new buff, Shi Feng executed Thunder Flame Explosion, bombarding the Mirage Beasts head and sending sparks of flame flying all around. A damage of over -1,300 points appeared above the Mirage Beasts head, and the monster was placed into a Fainted state for three seconds. Unless a monster was completely immune to control skills, powerful experts could usually restrain said monster continuously until death. Meanwhile, it was obvious that the monsters were not completely immune to control skills; they simply had a certain degree of resistance that would degrade the effects of control skills. Otherwise, it would truly be impossible for players to clear the Twelve Trials. Nevertheless, Shi Feng was very clear about his own situation. Currently, as his Level was still low and the number of skills he had learned was few, he only possessed explosive power but no staying power. After his short burst, if his enemy wasnt dead, the only options left for him were either to die or to flee. At present, Shi Feng still had many gaps to fill in terms of the Skills he had learned. However, the Black Emperor Inheritance just happened to be able to fill these gaps, allowing him to create a perfect cycle with his skills. Without the Black Emperor Inheritance, Shi Feng would not have dared to challenge the 7th trial at all. The only pity was that the effects of the Black Emperor Inheritance could only be used on the skills Shi Feng had personally learned; it could not be used on the additional skills that came with equipment or weapons. If it were actually possible to do so, it would simply be too overpowered Throughout the Fainted debuffs three-second duration, Shi Feng had not only dealt a ton of damage himself, he had also managed to collect over 20 layers of Death Aura, thanks to the Nine Dragons Slash. When the Mirage Beast was about to regain consciousness, Shi Feng spent another ten layers of Death Aura to reset the Cooldown of Thunder Flame Explosion, before promptly using it on the Mirage Beast again. This time, however, the Fainted debuff of Thunder Flame Explosion was less effective on the Mirage Beast; the debuffs duration was less than three seconds now. However, Shi Feng did not care about this matter, because at this time, he was drowning in the pleasure he felt from brandishing his two swords. He felt that this was the true combat method a Swordsman should have, and it was a combat method he had always been pursuing. Excessive strength easily gave rise to gaps. Instead of mindlessly trying to deal as much damage as possible, the true way to battle was to combine and coordinate ones Skills to attack steadily like flowing water. In this way, Shi Feng continually used Thunder Flame Explosion to incapacitate the Mirage Beast. Although the Fainted debuffs effect grew weaker and weaker each time, the Mirage Beasts remaining 140,000 HP was still forcefully wiped out by Shi Fengs perfect control. Ultimately, the Mirage Beast remained helpless until the very end. The various big shots present in the Eternal Throne also could not help but be shocked by this result. They had never imagined that Shi Feng had such strength within him. System: Mirage Beast defeated. Seventh trial completed. Rewarding 15,000,000 EXP, 30 Free Mastery Points, and 10 Gold Coins. Proficiency of all Skills increased by 800 points. System: Seventh trial cleared. Do you wish to start the next trial? The moment Shi Feng received 15,000,000 EXP, he instantly leveled up twice to Level 23. Currently, only Blackie had reached Level 23 throughout the entire White River City. However, Blackie had spent several days in order to go from Level 21 to Level 23. On the other hand, Shi Feng had taken less than ten seconds to do so Shi Feng then looked at the system notification. Although his heart was filled with anticipation towards the 8th trial, he still shook his head, thinking to himself, _One needs to know when to stop. With the points Ive earned, I can already exchange for an Epic ranked item. If I were to choose to continue, I would no longer be an expert but a gambler._ The Twelve Trials was the toughest trial of the War Gods Temple. The difficulty of the trials would definitely multiply severalfold the further he went. In Shi Fengs estimation, the monster of the 8th trial would not be just a Special Elite monster. Instead, it was highly possible for it to be a Chieftain ranked monster. A Chieftain was much more powerful than a mere Special Elite. Aside from having even more HP, it would also possess a much greater resistance to control skills. Chieftain ranked monsters also possessed team-wipe skills, and a single mistake would mean the end for Shi Feng. Moreover, Shi Feng did not possess the slightest idea what kind of monster he would be facing in the 8th trial. If it was a Chieftain ranked monster that he was completely unfamiliar with, then he practically had no chance of successfully killing it. The ability to make calm analyses was also a prerequisite to becoming an expert in Gods Domain. As a first-rate expert, Shi Feng naturally knew when to decisively give up. Following which, Shi Feng selected No in reply to the systems prompt. He was then teleported out of the Twelve Trials. 297 Stigmata Interesting. Truly interesting. Sitting on a silver throne, Ucarus voiced his praise as he looked at Shi Feng. Your performance has completely surpassed our expectations. It is also for this reason that we have decided to reward you with an additional 2,000 Merit Points. It was also a fact that the last time someone managed to clear the 7th trial was over a millennium ago. System: Rewarding 2,000 War Gods Temple Merit Points. _Thats generous of them._ An expression of joy appeared on Shi Fengs face. With 1,500 Merit Points, Shi Feng could afford to exchange for a Dark-Gold ranked item. Meanwhile, 4,000 Merit Points would be equivalent to an Epic ranked item. Hence, the additional 2,000 Merit Points he received right now was truly a big harvest. Since youve already passed our test, walk to the center of the chamber. We will give you the strength necessary to locate the Seven Treasures, Ucarus said. Shi Feng then strode to the center of the Eternal Throne. There were countless divine runes inscribed on the floor there, joined together to form a huge magic array. Meanwhile, the fifty silver thrones were hovering around this magic array, the thrones themselves apparently connected somehow with this magic array. Let us begin, then, Ucarus said as he looked at his companions. The lords of the silver thrones nodded their heads and promptly stood up. Immediately after, the mana inside the Eternal Throne started churning. The mana density here was no less than at the Gods Grave. Meanwhile, this thick mana clustered around the magic array, forming fifty dense-looking fluid balls. Each one of these fluid balls was the size of a basin. These balls of liquid mana were definitely the densest mana Shi Feng had ever seen in all his years of playing Gods Domain. At this time, Ucarus had also turned his head to look at one of the lords of the golden thrones. My lord, the preparations are completed, Ucarus said respectfully. It is still not enough, the phantom sitting in a golden throne said in a low tone. Ucarus was confused by these words. The liquid mana they had formed was several hundred times more precious than even Seven Luminaries Crystals, and each and every drop had taken the fifty of them great efforts to form, not to mention fifty basin-sized liquid mana. Such an amount of liquid mana was more than enough to cast a Silver Stigmata. It is rare to find good talent. Let us lend a hand as well, the phantom sitting in a golden throne said to his eight other companions. Very well, then. A person capable of passing the 7th trial is indeed worthy of the nine of us taking action. The other eight lords of the golden thrones nodded their heads in reply to their companions suggestion. They then stood from their seats, floating in mid-air as they started to condense mana as well. In the blink of an eye, nine house-sized balls of liquid mana appeared in the air above the thrones in the Eternal Throne. Ucarus and the others were shocked by this sight. Never would they have imagined that these nine lords would actually take action and work together to cast a stigmata for a minor existence like Shi Feng. This was the first time since the appearance of that absolute genius thousands of years ago. As for Shi Feng, at this moment, he could no longer keep his mouth closed. In regard to liquid mana, Shi Feng had seen this item before in the past. Mages considered it a priceless treasure. Even when offered Epic ranked items in trade, mage players would not be willing to part with the liquid mana they possessed. Just the basin-sized balls of liquid mana that each of the lords of the silver thrones had formed had already given Shi Feng a great shock. Now, the nine peerless existences floating in front of the golden thrones had actually managed to each form a house-sized ball of liquid mana. Judging based on sizes, the total liquid mana summoned by the fifty people from before did not amount to even one-tenth of a single house. In the next moment, all of the liquid mana summoned was injected into the magic array. The divine runes engraved into the chamber started lighting up one after another, and within moments, every single divine rune inside the grand chamber was giving off a golden glow. In the center of the Eternal Throne, a golden divine pattern took form. This divine pattern then melded with Shi Fengs body. Shi Feng immediately felt his body being filled up with an infinite amount of power, his mind clear as day, as if he knew everything there was to know in the world. However, this feeling only lasted for a few short seconds before it completely dissipated. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs pupils, which were originally pitch-black in color, had also turned golden for a brief moment. Although his pupils regained their original color, careful observation would reveal innumerable bright stars flashing within them, looking just like the starry skies at night. System: Congratulations! Player has obtained Golden Stigmata. Reputation with the War Gods Temple increased by 3,000 points. The seal on the Endless Abyss has been broken. If we wish to reseal the Endless Abyss, we need the assistance of the Seven Treasures, which the Gods had bestowed upon the human race. However, the Seven Treasures have been missing for hundreds of years now, scattered throughout this large continent. A few of these Seven Treasures have even been damaged. It would be extremely difficult to locate and gather the Seven Treasures. However, with the Stigmata that we have engraved into your body, your task of locating the Seven Treasures should become much easier. As long as you come within a certain range of one of the Seven Treasures, the Stigmata will produce a response to notify you of it. If you happen to come across one of the Seven Treasures that is damaged, the Stigmata can also aid you in repairing it. Now that our part here is done, we will move to suppress the Endless Abyss. The fate of the entire continent will depend on you now. I pray that you will be able to gather the Seven Treasures as soon as possible. System: Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest Seven Treasures accepted. Quest details: The Seven Treasures have been scattered throughout the continent. Player is required to gather the Seven Treasures within two years. Otherwise, the Endless Abyss will break through the War Gods Temples suppression and plunge all inhabitants of Gods Domain into misery and suffering, turning the continent into the playground of darkness. If player is unable to complete this quest, players Level will drop by 30, all Attributes will be permanently reduced by 70%, and all EXP gained will be reduced by 90%. _The system really is ruthless. If I cant complete this quest, this account would definitely have to be scrapped. Fortunately, I have two years to complete it._ Shi Feng inwardly clicked his tongue when he read the system notification. _However, just what is this Stigmata thing?_ Shi Feng wondered as there was nothing new on his body or in his bag. He then opened his status bar to take a look. As expected, there was an additional column labeled Stigmata there. [Golden Stigmata] Automatically perceives the presence of the Seven Treasures within a radius of 5,000 yards. Detect can be used once a day to search for the specific location of the Seven Treasures within a radius of 50,000 yards. In addition, player will receive Stigmatas Power, providing player with Ignore Levels +20 and all Resistances +40. For every increase in five Levels, all Attributes of player will increase by 5 points, in addition to receiving 10 Free Attribute Points and 10 Free Mastery Points. Player will also receive the skill Omniscient Eyes. [Omniscient Eyes] A pair of eyes that can see through everything and find out all information. Nothing is capable of hiding from the Omniscient Eyes. The Omniscient Eyes have a perception range of 100 yards. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 10 minutes Such amazing effects! Shi Fengs excitement after looking at the effects of the Golden Stigmata was indescribable. For starters, the additional 40 points in all Resistances meant that he could ignore most of the environmental factors of many terrains. He would also receive reduced damage from spells. When battling against magic-type monsters, he could easily take on the role of an MT. However, the most amazing part about the Golden Stigmata would still have to be the increase in Attributes. The Golden Stigmata was unlike the Abyssal Blade, whereby Shi Feng would receive two additional Free Attribute Points every time he leveled up. However, the Golden Stigmata would provide Shi Feng with an average of seven Basic Attribute Points per level, two points of which were even Free Attribute Points. This was definitely a huge increase. Moreover, the Golden Stigmata also provided Shi Feng with a powerful identification skill. This skill would be of significant help when used against Dungeon Bosses or during field battles. It seems the Heavenly Dragons Breath is already waving its hands at me. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. Originally, the Heavenly Dragons Breaths requirement of 120 points in Intelligence had given Shi Feng a major headache. Now, however, with the bonuses provided by the Golden Stigmata and his Magic Weapon, as long as he received his promotion to a Tier 1 Swordsman, he could definitely equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath before he reached Level 30. He would actually get to equip a Fragmented Legendary item before reaching Level 30. If it were in the past, Shi Feng would not even have dared to dream about it. Following which, Shi Feng called out the exchange interface of the War Gods Temple and began to carefully look through the treasures there. 298 Deep Pockets Previously, Shi Feng had focused his attention purely on clearing the trials. Even when he upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 20, he had only picked out a random Level 20 Dark-Gold Weapon. The War Gods Temple was one of the strongest powers in Gods Domain. This was a fact that remained true from ancient times up to the present. Shi Feng had been able to fully experience this truth simply by seeing the various big shots in the Eternal Throne take action. Hence, one could just imagine how wealthy the War Gods Temples treasury would be. As for this War Gods Temple Exchange System, players would automatically activate it after obtaining the First Clear on a 100-man Team Dungeon. However, one would already require large amounts of War Gods Temple Reputation even to exchange for a Fine-Gold item. In Gods Domain, Reputation with the War Gods Temple was infamous for being extremely hard to obtain, not to mention meeting the required Reputation for exchanging an Epic item. If not for his quest, Shi Feng would not have the chance to exchange for an Epic ranked item. He would not even have the chance to lay eyes on them. He would not get the chance to see the never-before-seen Divine Artifacts, either. I wonder what sort of Divine Artifacts are in the treasury of the War Gods Temple? Shi Fengs heart was filled with anticipation as he filtered the exchange window to display only Divine Artifacts. A total of two Divine Artifacts was shown. [Luminous Starlight] (Divine Rank, Two-handed Staff) Equipment Requirement: Strength 3,000, Intelligence 8,000 Required Merit Points: 200,000 [Skyfrost Blizzard] (Divine Rank, Two-handed Spear) Equipment Requirement: Strength 10,000, Intelligence 4,000 Required Merit Points: 250,000 Although he could not see the exact Attributes of these two items, just the Merit Points demanded and the equipment requirements of these two Divine Artifacts left Shi Feng utterly speechless. Can a person really equip these Divine Artifacts? Shi Feng had his doubts. It was simply unthinkable for a person to possess 10,000 Strength. Even during his prime, Shi Feng had not even been close to meeting such a requirement. After having his fill of looking at the Divine Artifacts, Shi Feng filtered the window to display only Epic ranked items. Immediately, an endless list of items appeared before him. A simple glance told Shi Feng that there were more than 10,000 items listed, and he could not help but wish he could take them all to enrich his own Guild Warehouse. If Zero Wings Guild Warehouse had so many Epic ranked items stored within it, then dominating the entire Star-Moon Kingdom would not be a problem, let alone conquering White River City. However, this was only a passing thought. Shi Feng currently had 6,800 Merit Points, and he could exchange for only a single Epic ranked item at most. However, it was also not a simple task to choose a suitable item for himself out of these tens of thousands of items. _For starters, lets forget about weapons. Armor should be a good place to start from,_ Shi Feng thought. Presently, he already possessed a Magic Weapon, the Abyssal Blade. The Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow he now wielded was also sufficient for his current self. If he wished to further increase his strength, then he needed to replace some of the Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver ranked equipment he was still using. Yet, when Shi Feng looked at the long list of equipment, his mind was racked with indecision. However, Shi Feng still managed to pick out a few good breastplates that caught his fancy. Not only did these breastplates offer large amounts of Strength and Agility, some even provided additional Intelligence, an Attribute that Shi Feng was currently in need of. Meanwhile, the usage levels for these breastplates ranged between Level 20 to Level 80, and they all were Epic equipment that could level up to Level 100. One of these breastplates was called the Purple Fire Battle Armor and it required 5,000 Merit Points. It was a breastplate that mainly focused on the Strength Attribute, in addition to providing a certain amount of Intelligence. The other one was called Merciless and required 5,300 Merit Points. It was similarly a breastplate that mainly focused on the Strength Attribute, and likewise it provided a certain amount of Intelligence. The final breastplate that caught Shi Fengs fancy was a breastplate called the Carnage Chest Protector. It required 6,000 Merit Points to exchange for, and it provided a balanced amount of Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. The design of the breastplate was also very good, and it was also Shi Fengs favorite out of the three breastplates. However, if he were to exchange for the Carnage Chest Protector, he would not be able to do much with his remaining Merit Points. _Lets take a look at some other items for now._ After some contemplation, Shi Feng filtered the exchange window to display ornaments that had a minimum equipment requirement of Level 20. The Merit Points of the War Gods Temple were extremely precious, so he needed to be extra careful when spending them. After browsing through the list for some time, Shi Feng suddenly discovered an item he was extremely familiar with. Space Ring. However, instead of being of Mysterious-Iron rank, this Space Ring was of Epic rank. It was capable of storing up to 2,000 slots of items and cost 4,500 Merit Points. However, it would simply be a luxury to spend 4,500 Merit Points on this item, and Shi Feng was definitely not willing to waste his precious Merit Points to purchase it. Ah? Isnt this the ring mentioned in the legends? Why is it categorized under Epic ranked items? Shi Feng noticed another ring he was familiar with. Seven Luminaries Ring. Shi Feng had done his fair share of research on the history of Gods Domain during his past life. The Seven Luminaries Ring was a ring crafted by one of the Ancient Gods, the Twilight Goddess. Seven formidable powers were sealed inside this ring, and each one of these seven powers could match the power of a God. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring allowed the simultaneous use of these seven powers. Even a mere mortal would have the power to destroy heaven and earth when equipped with this ring. Rumor had it that the legendary God Slayer possessed this Seven Luminaries Ring, and it was precisely because of this ring that he had the power to kill Gods. Is it a replica? Shi Feng did not believe that the War Gods Temple possessed the real Seven Luminaries Ring. The reason being, an Epic ranked item would not be powerful enough to decimate heaven and earth. Even a Divine Artifact did not have that strength. According to Shi Fengs understanding, the Seven Luminaries Ring was a true Godly Relic. However, even a replica was an extremely rare find. To put it bluntly, replicas were weaker copies of the real deal. Although the replica Seven Luminaries Ring would not possess the power to decimate heaven and earth, at the very least, it could still be used to beat some tigers and kill some wolves. It should still have the original features, albeit greatly watered-down versions of them. Shi Feng then looked at the Merit Points required, discovering that the ring actually cost 8,000 Merit Points. It was worth almost half of a Fragmented Legendary item. Are you kidding me? Is this the brand effect? Shi Feng couldnt help but inwardly curse the War Gods Temple. It was simply a replica. The other Epic ranked rings only cost 6,000 points, at most, so on what basis would a replica be worth 8,000 points? Eight thousand Merit Points It seems I wont be able to exchange for it Shi Feng sighed. Although he coveted the Seven Luminaries Ring greatly, he had only 6,800 Merit Points. Following which, after taking his time looking through the myriad items, he still did not find anything that he fancied. Ultimately, he ended up choosing the Carnage Chest Protector. As for the Seven Luminaries Ring, he could only slowly accumulate Merit Points and exchange for it in the future. System: 6,000 Merit Points are required to exchange for the Carnage Chest Protector. Current Merit Points in possession: 6,800. Do you wish to exchange? Shi Feng immediately clicked Yes. System: Players Reputation with the War Gods Temple has reached 3,000 points. Player is allowed to pay 20% of the required Merit Points using Gold Coins. Do you wish to pay using Gold Coins? It cant be, right? I can also pay using Gold Coins? Shi Feng grew ecstatic. He had hope of obtaining the Seven Luminaries Ring now. Currently, he needed to pay 1,800 Gold Coins for 1,200 Merit Points. This meant that each Merit Point was equivalent to 1 Gold 50 Silvers. Such a price was much more expensive than just simply buying Epic ranked items on the market, where one Epic ranked item was worth only around 1,000 Gold. If 6,000 Merit Points were converted to Gold Coins, that would be a total of 9,000 Gold. This price was at least eight to nine times more expensive than the markets. The system was truly blackhearted. However, this was a rare chance for Shi Feng. If he could pay a portion of the Merit Points required using Gold Coins, he would be more than willing to do so. Following which, Shi Feng chose to exchange for the Seven Luminaries Ring instead. Twenty percent of 8,000 Merit Points would be 1,600 points, which would be 2,400 Gold Coins. At this stage of the game, average players would be glad just to have a few extra Silver Coins to spend, and spending 20 to 30 Silver Coins at once would be considered an extravagance. As for Gold Coins, average players might not even know what these things looked like. Currently, one Gold Coin could be sold for 11,000 Credits. Meanwhile, 2,400 Gold Coins would be worth over 25 million Credits. Even a first-rate Guild would not spend so much money just to obtain an Epic ranked item, not to mention spending 2,400 Gold Coins. If Aqua Rose were to find out about this matter, she would definitely label Shi Feng a spendthrift. However, Shi Feng chose to pay the 2,400 Gold Coins without hesitation. He had 5,000 Gold on his person at this time, having originally intended to use this money to purchase a stall in Star-Moon City. Now, though, doing so was no longer possible. After completing the exchange, a purple-gold crystal ring appeared on Shi Fengs palm. There were seven different gems inlaid into the ring, and the entire ring itself exuded a faint purple aura. It looked absolutely luxurious and fascinating. 299 One Word When Shi Feng received the ring, he could not help but grow excited. In the past, a Legendary item had been sold for tens of millions of Credits at the World Auction. At that time, the news had thoroughly shocked the entire world. Many people felt that the person who purchased the Legendary item was a complete fool. After all, it was simply an item inside a virtual world; it was nothing more than a data-generated item. Only a person whose head was caught in the door would spend so much money to purchase it. Now, if Shi Feng converted the War Gods Temple Merit Points and Gold Coins he had spent into Credits, the total amount would be even higher than the price of the auctioned Legendary item. More importantly, he had spent such a large sum just to obtain an Epic item, which was two ranks lower than a Legendary item. However, even if Shi Feng were called a fool several hundred times over, he would still be willing to do what he had done without hesitation. He was only afraid that he would not get such a chance. Back then, countless people had ridiculed the person who purchased the Legendary item as a big fool. Later on, however, that person became the Guild Leader of Kings Return, Odin. Kings Return was a Super Guild, and the territories it occupied surpassed even an empire. Meanwhile, as the Guild Leader of such an amazing Guild, Odin was an existence that made everyone feel fear and respect. The wealth and status he possessed was simply unimaginable. Did anyone laugh at him after that? The answer wasno. Instead, the target of peoples ridicule shifted to the fool who had sold the Legendary item in the first place. At that time, not to mention several tens of million, even if traded using a city with a population of several millions, it would still have been a losing transaction. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring was a Godly Relic mentioned in legends. Although the one Shi Feng had was only a replica, replicas could still be divided into different categories. If one took a replica of a Fine-Gold item and a replica of an Epic item and placed them side by side, without even making an in-depth comparison, one could already tell which one was the better item. After all, there was already a huge gap between the calibers of the two items. Moreover, the higher the quality of the target of replication, the greater the difficulty in replicating it. One could not produce a replica simply by wishing for it. The difficulty of producing an Epic item that was the replica of a Godly Relic was much higher than simply producing a normal Epic item. The difficulty of doing so might even rival the difficulty of producing a Legendary item. The person who produced this ring must be a truly amazing Forging Sage. If the materials and energy used were of higher quality, the final product might even have become a Legendary item. Shi Feng was a forger himself, so he naturally could tell just how amazing the forger that managed to produce this Seven Luminaries Ring was. The replica of a Godly Relic would definitely not have been easy to produce. Even a Grandmaster Forger would not be able to produce one. It would only be possible for a Forging Sage. [Seven Luminaries Ring (Replica)] (Ring, Epic Rank) Level 20 - Level 80 (Current Level: 23) Equipment Requirement: Strength 200 Attributes will be adjusted according to users level. Strength +45, Agility +35, Intelligence +35, Endurance +30, Vitality +30 Damage +10% Maximum HP +15% Ignore Levels +10 All skills +2 Levels. All items level requirement reduced by 5 Levels. Additional Skill- Seven Luminaries Aura: There are seven different Auras: earth, water, wind, fire, time, illusion, and space. Only one Aura can be used each time, and there will be a Cooldown of one minute when changing between Auras. [Aura of Earth] Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Defense increased by 30%. Damage taken reduced by 20%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Defense: Provides immunity to seven attacks. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds [Aura of Water] Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Received healing increased by 30%. Cast Consumption reduced by 20%. Activatable Skill- Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 10% HP every second for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds [Aura of Wind] Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Movement Speed increased by 20%. Attack Speed increased by 20%. Agility increased by 15%. Activatable Skill- Wind Rider: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 100% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Aura of Fire] Level 1 (Requires 1,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Damage increased by 30%. Targets Defense reduced by 20%. Activatable Skill- Firestorm: Inflicts 500% damage within a range of 10*10 yards for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes [Aura of Time] Level 1 (Requires 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 20%. Enemies within a 100-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 20%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 20%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Time: Prevents enemies within a range of 50*50 yards from using any skills or tools for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Illusion] Level 1 (Requires 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) All Attributes increased by 20%. Enemies within a 100-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced by 20%. Activatable Skill- Fantasy World: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 10% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover players HP for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Space] Level 1 (Requires 2,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 2) Immunity to all control and restricting effects. Activatable Skill- Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of 300,000 yards. Cooldown: 10 minutes As expected of a Godly Relics replica. Even if it is only at Epic rank, apart from the Basic Attributes it provides being inferior to a Legendary item, its other aspects are much stronger. Shi Fengs surprise reached its limits after he read the Attributes of the Seven Luminaries Ring. This was the first time Shi Feng was seeing the exact abilities of the Seven Luminaries Ring. At this moment, Shi Feng finally understood why the legends had said that even an ordinary mortal would have the ability to decimate heaven and earth when in possession of the genuine Seven Luminaries Ring. One could even kill Gods with this ring. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring in Shi Fengs hand was only a replica. It was also only at Epic rank, and it was tens of thousands of miles away from being comparable to the genuine article. However, even if it was only an Epic ranked replica, in Shi Fengs eyes, it was already a miniature Godly Relic. It could easily outshine any other Epic item. It would be great if I could upgrade this Epic ranked Seven Luminaries Ring to Legendary rank. Shi Feng could not help but start fantasizing. If he could raise the Seven Luminaries Rings rank to Legendary, then its value would become immeasurable. At that time, only Divine Artifacts would be able to suppress it. After Shi Feng equipped the Seven Luminaries Ring, his Attributes greatly increased. His Intelligence reached 91 pointsonly a small distance short of 120 points. I can use the Aura of Earth when acting as an MT; Aura of Water when acting as a healer; Aura of Wind when hunting or escaping; Aura of Fire when battling; Aura of Time and Aura of Illusion when fighting in a team battle; and Aura of Space when Im in a hurry. This ring covers almost every possible situation. It truly is the most powerful Epic item. Shi Feng had mostly grasped the uses of the seven Auras in the Seven Luminaries Ring. It really made one wonder just how powerful the genuine Godly Relic was Just as Shi Feng was fantasizing about the genuine Godly Relic, he suddenly thought of another matter. If he used the Aura of Space, he could still make it if he hurried to the Silverleaf Forest right now. After all, a distance of 300,000 yards could generally cover two regions. Shi Feng could first teleport to Stream Fort from White River City. Afterwards, he only needed to pass through four regions in order to arrive at the Silverleaf Forest. Under normal circumstances, even if Shi Feng ran with all his might, he would still need around five hours to travel across these four regions. However, now that Shi Feng could instantly travel across two regions, he might even arrive at the Silverleaf Forest before Gentle Snows reinforcements did. Thinking so, Shi Feng immediately departed from the War Gods Temple and headed towards the Teleportation Hall of Star-Moon City. 300 Midway Interception The Silverleaf Forest, also called the Silver Forest by players, was a place filled with monsters ranging from Level 18 to Level 25. It was a rich land. As to why it was called rich, it was because the monsters here were a great source for high-quality leather. These leathers were important materials used in the production of bags and leather armor. Moreover, the monsters here also dropped high-quality meat. Most importantly, however, there were a total of fourteen Field Bosses present in this Silverleaf Forest. Field Bosses were one of the main sources of income for Guilds. Also, unlike Team Dungeons, which would reset only once every three days, Field Bosses respawned daily. The improvement these Field Bosses could bring to a Guilds equipment was quite significant. It was also the reason why Fire Dance had led Zero Wings core team here to kill Field Bosses. Now, however, the Silverleaf Forest swarmed with members of Dark Star. These players were grouped into smaller teams of a dozen or so players and larger teams with as many as a hundred or so players. Meanwhile, each and every one of these players was currently out searching for members of Zero Wing. Master Tyrant, we need to speed up our operations. If we wait until Gentle Snows people arrive, it will be difficult if we wish to wipe out Zero Wings main force, South Wolf said as he looked at Lone Tyrant. For her to actually willingly send out reinforcements, it seems that woman really does have a deep relationship with Zero Wing. Lone Tyrant was slightly surprised. His lips then curled into a sneer as he said, Even so, she is too late. Weve already searched through the majority of this Silverleaf Forest. Weve also tightly blockaded the three exits for this place. In addition, weve also placed a Guild War Order to seal off the entire Silverleaf Forest, so the bastards wont be able to simply return to the city using a Return Scroll. It wont be long before we will find them and get rid of them. However, even if they did use a Return Scroll and returned to the city, their Red Names would get them killed by the guards the moment they arrived. They would also get locked up and lose their freedom for a long period of time. Such a penalty would be much worse than simply getting killed by us. South Wolf nodded in agreement. In order to deal with Zero Wings main force this time, Dark Star had spared no effort, sending out all the elite members it had. Even Underworld had sent a team of Underworld Guards into the fray. There were over 10,000 players participating in the hunt this time around, and of those, 6,000 were used to hinder Zero Wings reinforcements. With its current power, Zero Wing definitely could not contend against these 6,000 players. However, South Wolf himself could not help but admit that Zero Wing indeed possessed some real ability. Even when they were ambushed, they had still reacted in an extremely calm manner. They had immediately launched a counterattack and bravely fought back. Moreover, many within their ranks possessed relatively good techniques. This time, in order to kill the few hundred elite members of Zero Wing, Dark Star had lost over a thousand members. South Wolf found this result simply unbelievable. The reason being, of the thousand-plus members that died, over 300 were elite members of Dark Star. Their fighting techniques could definitely be considered first-rate. The most unbelievable part was that even a few members of the Underworld Guards had been killed by Zero Wing. However, that was it. So what if Zero Wing was top-notch when it came to Dungeon raiding? In a field battle, numbers triumphed over everything else. This was an unchangeable fact for all games. Its a pity that we didnt manage to locate Black Flame or Ye Feng. If we could deal with them as well, we can thoroughly remove Zero Wings name from White River City. Well see if they dare act presumptuously in front of Young Master Feng again. South Wolfs hatred of Shi Feng had never dissipated in the slightest, and he had always intended to fulfill the words he had spoken before. However, now that they were about to get rid of Zero Wings main force, the anger in his heart had lessened slightly. Relax, those two will soon be finished as well. In White River City, nobody can protect them. Even the elites led by Gentle Snow wont be able to do so, Lone Tyrant said proudly. How so? asked South Wolf, somewhat surprised. If Zero Wing can make allies, why cant Dark Star do so as well? Lone Tyrant softly chuckled. Allies? This was the first time South Wolf was hearing about this. Of course you wouldnt know about this matter; this is a heavily guarded secret of Dark Star. I made this alliance precisely to forestall Gentle Snows intervention, and also to prevent them from joining together with Zero Wing to deal with us, Lone Tyrant said pridefully, as if he had full control over everything. If Gentle Snow wishes to bring reinforcements over, shell have to first see if she can arrive at the Silverleaf Forests entrance. Regarding the matter of exterminating Zero Wing, this time, you can rest assured. You just need to remind Vice-Leader Feng of the agreement we made. Guild Leader Tyrant can rest assured on this matter. As long as you complete the task this time, we will definitely deliver the 100 million Credits and weekly funding of 150 Gold that we promised. South Wolf laughed. Fine, as long as you guys dont forget your promise. Lone Tyrant nodded in satisfaction. In truth, he did not place much importance on Zero Wing. When Feng Xuanyang had asked him to deal with Black Flame and Zero Wing, Lone Tyrant had simply agreed, not giving the request much thought. After all, Lone Tyrant had never acknowledged Zero Wing as Dark Stars opponent. His true enemy was only one personGentle Snow. However, the capital injection offered by Feng Xuanyang this time around was quite attractive, so Lone Tyrant naturally yielded to his request. With this capital injection, he would be able to contend against Gentle Snow for White River City on an equal footing. As an added bonus, he could also gain plenty of good equipment from Zero Wing. Guild Leader, weve found them, an Assassin suddenly said in the team chat. Good, well head over there immediately. Lone Tyrant softly chuckled. He then gave a command through the Guild channel, saying, Everyone, hurry over to that location! We musnt let them escape this time! The precious equipment on their bodies are waving their hands at us! Immediately, all the members of Dark Star that had come to the Silverleaf Forest cheered loudly. They had long since been drooling over Zero Wings precious equipment. What Secret-Silver Equipment? Many members of Zero Wings main force possessed Fine-Gold Equipment, and some even Dark-Gold Equipment! \--- Meanwhile, at one of the dense thickets of the Silverleaf Forest, space suddenly ruptured. One man walked out from this rupture in space, and this person was none other than Shi Feng, who had arrived using Space Movement. Space Movement sure is convenient. Too bad it has a slightly long Cooldown. Shi Feng was liking the Seven Luminaries Ring more and more now. Shi Feng had taken less than an hour to get here from Star-Moon City, even arriving ahead of Gentle Snow. Just as Shi Feng was about to contact Fire Dance, a call came from Gentle Snow. We got ambushed by 500 or so elite players, so it may be a little later before we can reach the Silverleaf Forest, Gentle Snow apologized. Ambushed? Shi Feng was surprised. To actually muster so much manpower, that Lone Tyrant sure came prepared. We werent ambushed by players from Dark Star. Gentle Snow shook her head. No? Is it Underworld, then? Shi Feng couldnt help but feel amazed by Underworlds strength. It definitely should not be easy to field so many players for this hunt. Yet, they were actually able to deploy another 500-plus elites to hinder Gentle Snow. The organization known as Underworld really possessed a powerful framework. No. Theyre elites from World Dominators. My guess is that Dark Star has already joined hands with World Dominators. Gentle Snow then suggested, It wont be possible for my side to break through any time soon. If your reinforcements really cant break through, you all should just give up. If we wait until World Dominators troops head over there and carry out a pincer attack against you, then Zero Wing will truly be finished. I know. Shi Feng fully understood the situation now. Dark Star wasnt planning on just giving a huge blow to Zero Wing this time. Instead, they intended to wipe out Zero Wing, removing it as a threat completely. 301 Fangs The reinforcements form Ouroboros definitely wont make it now. Zero Wings forces had also been blocked at the outer perimeter of the Silverleaf Forest. According to Shi Fengs understanding, Dark Star currently had over 3,000 members searching inside the Silverleaf Forest, including practically all of Dark Stars elites. The 6,000 or so players blockading the outer perimeter were merely cannon fodder. If this stalemate continued, World Dominators might succeed in carrying out a pincer attack with Dark Star, annihilating Zero Wings forces. Aqua, would it be possible to break through on your side? Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and asked. With the current numbers we have at hand, definitely not. However, Ive already mentioned this matter in the Guild channel and have sent for more members to hurry over. We should be able to gather another 3,000 members in half an hour. The level and quality of equipment of our Guild members are much higher than Dark Stars, so as long as we can join with these 3,000 members, we can break through their blockade, Aqua Rose said confidently. She had faith in their Guilds combat prowess. Although Zero Wing had far fewer members than Dark Star, with Dark Star having well over 30,000 members, there wasnt much of a difference in the number of elite players each Guild possessed. Of Dark Stars 30,000 members, more than 10,000 were newbies around Level 10. Meanwhile, the elites that managed to reach Level 16 only numbered around 6,000. On the other hand, despite recruiting only a small amount of players, their member count only hovering slightly above 5,000, there were actually over 4,000 elites in Zero Wing who were over Level 16. If other Guilds discovered this fact, they would be shocked. This was also why Aqua Rose had maintained an optimistic view of Zero Wings future. As long as Zero Wing could assemble these remaining 3,000 members, they could easily deal with Dark Stars 6,000 extras. However, it would be impossible for them to engage in an all-out war against Dark Star. After all, there was still a big gap in the total number of elites each Guild possessed. On top of that, Dark Star still had over 10,000 extras. Even if their combat prowess was weak, they could still overwhelm and kill Zero Wings elites using the advantage of numbers. I understand. World Dominators is currently hindering Gentle Snows group. You should stop trying to break through into the Silverleaf Forest from your side. Instead, turn around and begin a pincer attack on World Dominators. Lets take this chance to kick them out of White River City, Shi Feng issued his commands after some thought. However, Shi Fengs words had shocked Aqua Rose into a daze. Guild Leader, were here to save people. Wouldnt it be a bad idea to start a war with World Dominators right now? Aqua Rose asked worriedly. World Dominators was a first-rate Guild. Although the main force of World Dominators was not based in White River City, they still should not be taken lightly. Just like Ouroboros, even though their main force was based outside of White River City, they were still the top Guild in White River City. Moreover, wasnt World Dominators similarly one of the top six Guilds in White River City? If Zero Wing headed over and attacked the members of World Dominators right now, it would be a declaration of war. Dealing with Dark Star was already a huge headache. If they had to face another one of the top six Guilds in White River City, how could Zero Wing continue mingling in White River City? Itll be alright; just go. Remember, the moment you arrive, immediately use a Guild War Order to seal the location. Dont allow anyone from World Dominators to use a Return Scroll to leave that area and make sure you kill every single one of those bastards. Teach them that there is a price to pay if they wish to take advantage of Zero Wing, Shi Feng growled murderously. Although Shi Feng advocated a low-profile and secretive development, that did not mean that he would receive enemies with a smile, even when said enemy banged on their front door. Whether it was Dark Star or World Dominators, if they really thought Zero Wing was a sickly animal that they could easily bully, they should get ready to pay a heavy price. But what do we do about Fire Dance and the others? There are still more than 50 players with them, and they are all the cream of the crop of our Guild. Now that they are all Red Names, if they die, our Guild will suffer tremendous losses. Although Aqua Rose could discern Shi Fengs rage and killing intent from the tone of his voice, she still tried to dissuade him. Ill save Fire Dance and the others. Shi Feng answered with absolute confidence. Aqua Rose sighed at Shi Fengs answer. However, she no longer chose to pursue the matter, and instead, she said, Fine, but as the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, dont you think you should say a few words to your fellow Guild members as well? You havent expressed your intentions since Dark Star declared war against us. Although nobody in the Guild has said anything about it, considering the weight of this incident and the declaration of war against World Dominators, how can you stay silent? After the war with Dark Star began, both murderous intentions and excitement swept through everyone in Zero Wing. Many in the Guild had expressed their eagerness for vengeance, speaking in the Guild channel about how they were going to teach the bastards from Dark Star a lesson and show Dark Star know how amazing Zero Wing was. However, as the intensity of the battle between both Guilds grew, and the number of deaths increased, the atmosphere in Zero Wing became heavy. Even though they had fought for so long, they still hadnt managed to break past Dark Stars blockade around the Silverleaf Forest. The number of dead Zero Wing elites inside the Silverleaf Forest also grew as time passed. Hence, it was inevitable that Zero Wings momentum would falter. At this point, most of the Zero Wing members had already lost their motivation to continue fighting, not to mention carrying out a pincer attack on World Dominators. Shi Feng, of course, was aware of Aqua Roses concerns. However, compared to just speaking through the Guild channel, Shi Feng had taken more decisive action and directly uploaded a post to the official forums. Dark Star, today youve dared to send tens of thousands of players to hunt the hundreds of players of Zero Wing. My Zero Wing Guild will return this slight one hundredfold! Even if were down to our very last breath, we will massacre your 30,000 members as payback! The name of Black Flame, the Chief Forger of Star-Moon Kingdom, had long since spread throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, Zero Wing was also the first Guild to own a Guild Residence. The moment this post uploaded, it immediately garnered the attention of the residents of Star-Moon Kingdom. Crap! Are they starting an all-out war? I show my support for Zero Wing! Zero Wing is as amazing as expected! Even though there are only several hundred, Dark Star actually had to send tens of thousands of players to hunt them! Does anybody know the final result? I heard that Zero Wing had lost over 300 members to Dark Star already, and there are still a few dozen being hunted down. On the other hand, Dark Star has already lost over a thousand members. Right now, every player in White River City is discussing this matter. Amazing! With just several hundred players on their side, even when faced with more than ten thousand players, they can still kill over a thousand players! Dozens are still alive, too! I also want to join Zero Wing and become an expert! "I despise Dark Star! If they can, they should duel Zero Wing fairly! Whats so great about using numbers to bully someone? I am one of the members of Zero Wing that had been surrounded and killed. You guys should have seen how amazing our Guilds Sister Dance and Brother Black fought! Sister Dance weaved across thousands of players, killing over a hundred Dark Star members in a row! Brother Blacks spells instantly vaporized hundreds of Dark Star members the moment it landed! I have a video recording of the battle, so come to Zero Wings forum section if you want to have a look at it! After Shi Feng uploaded his post, the entire forum exploded in a storm of comments. The players that had only recently started playing Gods Domain also started paying attention to Zero Wing as a result of this commotion, especially after seeing the battlefield containing thousands of players. In comparison, the battle scenes they usually saw in movies were boring. The scene where countless stars crashed onto the battlefield, destroying the land and instantly turning hundreds of players into ash, especially stunned them. They couldnt help their boiling blood after watching this scene. After watching this video, many players started considering joining Zero Wing. 302 Strong Capital Shi Feng had used the name of Black Flame when he uploaded his post. Hence, just a few minutes after the post when live, it had already received a massive amount of visitors. The number of replies easily passed ten thousand. Shortly after, the post had been automatically pinned at the top of the forums by the game officials, and there was also an additional bright red War tag on the post. This single word was eye-catching. Meanwhile, due to Shi Fengs post, the originally crestfallen Guild members fighting spirits immediately reignited, and they hungered for Dark Stars death. Moreover, the video of Dark Stars ambush of Zero Wing had also shocked its viewers. The video allowed everyone to understand that even players could become so powerful. When the Stars of Light descended, the scene seemed as if the world was coming to an end, and within an instant, hundreds of players had been vaporized. Even players outside of the spells damage range were not spared as the wind generated by the spells impact sent them flying. Seeing the power of this skill, everyone finally understood why Blackie had such a high Level. While everyone else struggled to kill a single monster, Blackie could simply lure several hundred monsters and kill all of them with a single move. How could anybody hope to compare to such a leveling speed? After watching this video, countless players started dreaming of the day that they, too, could possess such power. Such a skill was far more useful than any piece of quality equipment. Dark Star, just you wait! I will kill everyone who tries to block our way! Thats right! Brother Black and Sister Dance are waiting for us right now! How can we be so shameful? Arent they just 6,000 monkeys? Even if I have to die ten times over, I will extinguish Dark Star! The members of Zero Wing all released spirited battle-cries as they glared at the members of Dark Star blocking their path. As long as Aqua Rose gave the command, they would charge and take action. However, just as they turned their gazes to Aqua Rose, Zero Wings Vice-Leader, Shi Fengs voice suddenly dominated the Guild channel. Im sure everyone is clear about what has happened today. Dark Star has declared all-out war against us, and they wish to wipe our names from White River City. Although we, Zero Wing, have just started our journey and the member count of our Guild cannot compare to the other Guilds in White River City, Dark Star has actually started a war with us, thinking that we are easy to bully. What do you all think we should do about this? Kill them all! Thats right! Why should we fear fighting back?! Now, lets show those bastards that, if they wish to swallow us whole, they should prepare to lose a few teeth! Since everyone is going to try their best, as the Guild Leader, I cannot be stingy. Before the battle, I sent for someone to retrieve some battle tools stored inside the Guild Warehouse. Everyone should now look for Vice-Leader Aqua Rose for your share. Also, for those who participate in todays battle, you will gain 10 Guild Points for each enemy you kill. Those who manage to accumulate 10 kills will be rewarded one piece of Secret-Silver Equipment; while those who kill 50 will get a piece of Fine-Gold Equipment! If you manage to kill 100, you will even receive a Private Room in the Guild Residence! Even if you die in battle, you will still receive 10 Guild Points as compensation! The moment Shi Feng finished his monolog, everyones hearts beat fervently, and their eyes glowed with excitement. Zero Wings administration was very thorough, and one could only use Guild Points to exchange for items from the Guild Warehouse. However, it was extremely difficult for members to earn Guild Points. If converted to Coins, each Guild Point was worth around 30 Copper. Meanwhile, trading them for a Level 10 Bronze Equipment required 30 Guild Points, which would be 9 Silver Coins. Currently, Level 10 Bronze Equipment only sold for around 7 to 8 Silver Coins on the market. To put it simply, it was not a worthwhile exchange. It was also for this reason that another batch of players had withdrawn from the Guild. In fact, this was something Shi Feng and Aqua Rose had already taken into consideration. If the Guild sold equipment cheaper than market price, then many members would try to take advantage of this fact to trade for Guild equipment to resell elsewhere. They could then use the money to buy Guild Points again. Hence, the high prices were set to prevent an outflow of Guild equipment and items. However, after the emergence of the Guild Residence and the additional benefit of renting Private Rooms, everyone in the Guild no longer had a disfavorable opinion of the Guilds administration. On the contrary, they all felt that the administration was extremely fair. Private Rooms were something ordinary players dared not even dream of obtaining in other Guilds. After all, the land in White River City and each Guild Residence could only contain a limited number of Private Rooms. Meanwhile, the higher-ups of the Guild would surely occupy these rooms. Ordinary members would never be able to enjoy this benefit. Yet, Zero Wing had defied all expectations and actually opened up a few Private Rooms for ordinary members. Ordinary members of Zero Wing could actually rent these Private Rooms for a low cost of only two Guild Points per day. Although the price was slightly higher than staying a night at a Hotel, unlike Hotels, one could accumulate Double EXP buffs from Private Rooms. With this feature, it was definitely worth spending a few extra Copper Coins. The members present in this battle also heard of the benefits provided by other Guilds. Although other Guilds also provided rewards and compensation to its members for killing and dying in battle, the amount offered was far worse than Shi Fengs. Ten Guild Points equalled 3 Silver Coins There were 3,000 members participating in this battle. If each one of them managed to kill one enemy, the total Guild Points awarded would be the equivalent of 9,000 Silver Coins or 90 Gold. This was a massive sum of money. Moreover, Shi Feng also promised to compensate for each Guild members death. At the very least, he would have to spend over 100 Gold. If converted to Credits, 100 Gold would be worth over one million. This situation reaffirmed everyones confidence in Zero Wings financial resources and background. With such great benefits, powerful financial resources, and most importantly, such an amazing Guild Leader, was it possible for such a Guild not to grow powerful? Even if I have to die, Ill still drag at least ten guys with me! Humph! Dont you have any ambition? Didnt you hear the Guild Leader say that he would reward those who manage to get 100 kills with their own Private Room? You have to be capable of actually doing that first! Have you not seen how easily Brother Black and Sister Dance managed it? ... The momentum pushing the Guild members to kill their enemies was stronger than ever now. Although the Guild would only rent out not sell, any of the Private Rooms, one could imagine how much a Private Room would cost. It was definitely not something worth a measly 1,000 Guild Points. Although their chances of actually killing 100 people were slim, there was still a small possibility. Naturally, they would fight for that glimmer of hope. Everyone, come to me to receive the Frost Grenades. Each person will only get two. Party leaders will get three Frost Grenades and one Tier 0 Attack or Defense Magic Scroll. Team leaders and vice team leaders will receive five Frost Grenades and one Tier 1 Magic Scroll. After Shi Feng finished his speech, Aqua Rose started distributing the supportive tools to every Guild member. In order to display Zero Wings might to everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom, Shi Feng bled his pockets dry this time. He retrieved all the supportive tools from inside the Guild Warehouse for this battle. The moment everyone received the supportive tools, everyone felt even more certain of their victory over Dark Star. Just by arming all of them with a single Frost Grenade, they could easily force Dark Stars 6,000 members to eat a huge loss. Adding in the control effect of the Frost Grenades, their chances of defeating these 6,000 players increased by at least 30%. Vice-Leader Aqua, how should we fight? Well all listen to your commands! Thats right! With these tools of war, I can easily kill over ten people and earn a ton! One hundred people, here I come! Lets hope that those bastards dont run away! Everyone started joking around as they felt confident in defeating Dark Star now. Since everyone is ready, follow me. Aqua Rose nodded. The next moment, however, she turned around and ran in the opposite direction of the Silverleaf Forest. 303 Hold Nothing Back Deep inside the Silverleaf Forest Boss, I dont know whats going on with Zero Wing, but theyve retreated from Silverleaf Forests entrance, an Assassin who used Stealth to stalk Zero Wings troops reported in the team chat. It seems that theyre giving up on trying to get in. Hahaha! That Black Flame made such a bold statement, yet, now, hes fleeing with his tail between his legs? If we upload this news to the forums, he will definitely become a laughing stock! South Wolf laughed loudly when he received this report. Lone Tyrants lips curled into a sneer as well, saying contemptuously, Zero Wing is just a gathering of nobodies. Since the very beginning, they have never stood a chance at victory. They should consider themselves lucky. If they waited until we finished wiping out Zero Wings core team, we would have turned around and begun a pincer attack on them with World Dominators. At that time, even their remaining three to four thousand members would have no hope, and Zero Wing would utterly disappear from White River City. Guild Leader Tyrant is as amazing as expected. It turns out that you had such a plan readied as well; no wonder you are an expert capable of competing with Gentle Snow over White River City. Not only do you possess extraordinary strength, but your intellect is also at the top of White River City! South Wolf flattered as he came to a realization. As long as you can remove Zero Wings name from White River City, the only obstacle in your way will be Ouroboros. However, with Dark Star and World Dominators working together, even the team led by Gentle Snow would no longer pose a threat. At that time, Guild Leader Tyrant would become the true overlord of White River City. Its still too early to make such claims. Lone Tyrant chuckled as pleasure filled his heart. He then continued, saying, Ultimately, Gentle Snow is a well-known expert and leader in the virtual gaming world. Im afraid that Ill need more strength before I can chase her out of White River City. When the time comes, it will also depend on whether or not Underworld plays its part. Hahaha! Guild Leader Tyrant can rest assured! As long as Dark Star possesses a high chance of becoming the overlord of White River City, Underworld will invest greatly in it. When the time comes, Underworld will send even more experts to help Dark Star solidify its position as overlord. South Wolf laughed, answering with certainty. With your word, South Wolf, I can rest assured. Lone Tyrant laughed with South Wolf. Currently, confidence regarding Dark Stars future filled Lone Tyrant. Now that Zero Wing has given up on saving Fire Dance and the core members, although I pity them slightly, we should still quickly end their lives. When South Wolf thought of Fire Dances sexy body, a lecherous smile unconsciously appeared on his face. \--- Elsewhere, Fire Dance and her group were currently in a very precarious situation. Players from Dark Star had them surrounded, and although they had constantly carved out a path of bodies, they could not use Return Scrolls to escape. Dark Star had the Silverleaf Forest under siege, and all exits were blocked. If this situation continued, they would, sooner or later, lose their lives. However, they could not afford to die. At this moment, there were only 30-plus players remaining in their team, and they were all were Red Names. As for herself and Blackie, their names were already close to turning black now. If they died, losing three or four levels would only be a small matter. The most crucial point was that they could not afford the loss of their equipment. Sister Fire Dance, what are we going to do now? The bastards from Dark Star have discovered our location again, Lonely Snow asked. At this moment, he appeared to be in quite a sorry state. After being surrounded and attacked over a dozen times, his willpower had started to falter as well. Unfortunately, no matter what they did, they could not find a way to escape from Dark Star. Lets retreat first, then talk. Aqua Rose and the others are currently breaking through the entrance now. Moreover, they also have a large stock of supportive tools, so they can definitely break past Dark Stars blockade. We just need to hold on for a little while longer before were rescued. Fire Dance had also racked her mind, trying to think of a way to escape. However, Dark Star simply had too many players. No matter how they tried to run, another group of players always waited for them. If not for the fact that their equipment and techniques were so impressive, they would have long since died. Just as everyone was desperately running for their lives, Shi Feng contacted Fire Dance and suddenly joined the team. Guild Leader! Guild Leader! Youre finally here! A glimmer of hope immediately flared in Blackies heart when he noticed Shi Feng join the team. Blackies opinion of Shi Feng had reached blind worship long ago, and he believed that there was nothing that Shi Feng could not accomplish. In fact, Blackie wasnt alone in having such an opinion. Everyone in the core team thought so as well. Meanwhile, the originally gloomy atmosphere instantly dispersed upon Shi Fengs arrival. Guild Leader, youre even more amazing than the Fountain of Life! By simply joining the team, you have caused everyones spirits to recover instantly; their fighting powers have doubled! Fire Dance joked. Hahaha! I never knew I had such an effect! Shi Feng laughed. They all could not help but laugh with him. Instantly, the atmosphere relaxed. How are things on your side? Shi Feng asked. Dark Star has us forced into a corner, and its practically impossible for barge through any of the exits. At most, I think we have another half an hour before well have to make a final stand against them Fire Dance gave Shi Feng a brief explanation of their current position. Meanwhile, as a veteran of the battlefield, Shi Feng quickly grasped the general situation. If Fire Dance and her group faced Dark Stars 3,000 players in direct combat, the conclusion would be obvious. Even if they had Shi Feng with them, the result would be the same. After a long moment of silence I understand. Head to these coordinates. Ill meet you guys there, Shi Feng said. Now that Fire Dances group had been forced to such a corner, even Shi Feng could not turn the tides. Dark Star had 3,000 players fighting for them, not just one or two hundred. At this stage of the game, most players should have already learned quite a few Skills, and of them, there would definitely be a few lifesaving skills. Furthermore, their fighting techniques would have improved greatly. It was no longer possible for Shi Feng to slaughter them by the hundreds as he had with Martial Union. Fortunately, Shi Feng was very familiar with the Silverleaf Forest. After giving it some thought, he concluded that there was only one location Fire Dance and the others could head to survive. The chances for survival was less than 30%. However, a 30% chance of survival was far better than none at all. After all, if they faced Dark Stars 3,000-strong army, they would die ten out of ten times. _Hopefully, Aqua Rose can take action quickly. Otherwise, we really will suffer a total defeat._ Following which, Shi Feng disconnected his call with Fire Dance. He then activated the Seven Luminaries Rings Space Movement once more, teleporting to the meeting location that he gave Fire Dances group. Although Guild War Orders could seal off the usage of teleportation scrolls, they were completely useless against the power of the Seven Luminaries Ring. \--- On the gravel road leading to the Silverleaf Forest, the players from World Dominators had already started battling the players from Ouroboros. Throughout their battle, both sides had constantly sent for more reinforcements, involving more and more players in the fray. Both sides were first-rate Guilds with extraordinary backgrounds. To hinder Gentle Snows advance, World Dominators had sent over 10,000 players to this fight. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow had even more players on her side. Currently, her army had increased to over 14,000 players. The intensity of the battle between these two Guilds far outstripped the battle between Dark Star and Zero Wing. This massive encounter had shocked many players in White River City. Just what was happening in White River City? Why were four of the top six Guilds in White River City battling it out against each other? Moreover, it wasnt just a minor skirmish between Guilds. These four Guilds had actually started a full-fledged war against each other, where only one side would rest when the other was obliterated. Such a situation was simply unimaginable in other cities. Players were still in the initial stages of Gods Domain, and currently, every Guild in Gods Domain fully occupied themselves with raiding Dungeons and development. Yet, these four Guilds in White River City actually dared to start a full-fledged war. Regardless of which side won or lost, they would all be losers in Gods Domain. Snow, this war is getting out of hand. Both sides have already incurred over a thousand fatalities. If this situation continues, Emperors Light and the Assassins Alliance might be tempted to take advantage of the situation. I think we should retreat for now. After fighting for so long, we have fulfilled our duty to Zero Wing, Zhao Yueru urged as she looked at Gentle Snow who currently issued commands. 304 Ferocious Beasts Released In reply to Zhao Yuerus suggestion, Gentle Snow merely shook her head and revealed a smile, not bothering to give any additional explanations. Are we just going to continue fighting like this? Although we have the advantage right now, if we wish to repel World Dominators, our losses will be immense. We might very well ruin the great advantage we have in White River City. Snow, you should know that the people of Star-Moon City have long since had an opinion of you. If we lose the advantage we have in White River City, they will take advantage of the situation and cause you trouble. Zhao Yueru could not make sense of Gentle Snows thoughts. Although they were good friends with Black Flame, it wasnt enough of a reason to destroy the influence they had obtained through painstaking efforts. The fight between their two Guilds was no longer a simple skirmish, but a war that involved over ten thousand people. Without sufficient benefits, one should never start a war. War was not a childs game. Not only were they required to give out rewards and compensation to the participants, but they also needed to pay for many other expenditures. To put it plainly, war was just a way for players to waste money. Though, it would not have mattered as much if they could pay these expenses using Credits. After all, their families in the real world were both wealthy and influential; they could easily ignore such insignificant expenses. However, what they were not spending Credits, but Coins, a commodity that could not be easily obtained. If they continued fighting this war, the advantage they previously held over the other Guilds in White River City would fall behind significantly. Zhao Yueru knew that Gentle Snow was a person who spoke of righteousness and possessed high morals. If it were for a personal matter, she would never allow her companions to fight in such a desperate war. It was also the reason many experts willingly followed and respected her. Even if it were for personal reasons, Gentle Snow absolutely would not drag in the entirety of Ouroboros in White River City. Is Zero Wing truly worth the effort to attempt to win this battle and protect them? Zhao Yueru asked in confusion. Yes. I believe my own foresight. Gentle Snows crystal clear eyes glowed with firm confidence. In truth, Gentle Snow wanted to say that she believed in Black Flame and Ye Fengs potential. In addition, there was also a great power hidden behind Black Flame. Even to this moment, Gentle Snow had yet to glean any important information about Black Flame. Not only could he form a connection with the Starstreak Trading Firm, but he was also allowed to sell his products there. This was definitely not a feat that any ordinary power could help achieve. At the very least, to this day, Gentle Snow had yet to find any other Guild successfully forming a relationship with the NPCs of a trading firm. Moreover, the experts in Zero Wing had practically appeared from thin air. If one claimed that no power supported Zero Wing from behind, then how was it even possible for a recently established Guild like Zero Wing to draw in so many experts? Hence, Gentle Snow felt confident that she had made the right decision. However, if Gentle Snow discovered that Shi Feng had simply recruited people in Jin Hai City who had been experts in the past, just what would her expression be? \--- As the desperate battle between Ouroboros and World Dominators continued, the Vice-Leader of World Dominators, Blood Halberd, experienced a slight headache. Has that Gentle Snow gone insane? Isnt she just helping out some foreign Guild? Is there a need to try so desperately? Blood Halberd appeared disappointed and confused as he looked at the casualty report he had received. As of this moment, they had lost over 1,500 players. Just the compensation they had to pay out had already reached astronomical amounts. The more Blood Halberd read the death toll written in the report, the darker his expression became. No matter how he considered things, World Dominators would undertake a huge loss this time. Guild Leader Tyrant, World Dominators has incurred an immense loss due to your great plan. If you dont compensate us appropriately, dont blame me if the relationship between our Guilds turns sour. Blood Halberd was furious now. He felt that Lone Tyrant had used him as cannon fodder. Vice-Leader Blood, please calm your anger. This entire incident was purely an accident. I did not expect Gentle Snow to be a madman. Rest assured, I will definitely compensate you for your losses. Lone Tyrant agreed to Blood Halberds demands without hesitation. Or to put it in another way, he did not dare hesitate. Although Dark Star was powerful in White River City, it was still weaker than Ouroboros. If a misunderstanding occurred with World Dominators, it would be a disaster if they joined hands with Ouroboros to deal with Dark Star. Hence, Lone Tyrant had no choice but to compensate them. After all, he was the one who had requested World Dominators to hinder Ouroboros. However, Lone Tyrants heart ached when he thought about how he needed to compensate for over 1,500 deaths. Fine. Since Guild Leader Tyrant has made such a promise, I wont say anything more. \--- While Blood Halberd and Lone Tyrant conversed, Aqua Rose and the members of Zero Wing finally arrived at the battlefield between Ouroboros and World Dominators. Its up to all of you now, Shi Feng spoke in the Guild channel. Guild Leader, leave it to us! At worst, we will just have to die once. No matter what, we are going to teach World Dominators that, if they wish to join hands with Dark Star to face us, they better not think of leaving unscathed! Right! Since they wish to start a war, we will show them that anybody who dares provoke Zero Wing will suffer the consequences! Energy filled the 3,000-plus members of Zero Wing that had hurried to the battlefield. The moment Shi Feng gave the order, they would instantly transform into ferocious beasts and tear apart their enemies. Good, listen to my command. Assassins, your job is to use Stealth and sneak over to World Dominators healers. Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, and Swordsmen, all of you are to charge into the heart of World Dominators and break their formation. Healers, follow the group closely and keep everyone in the unit alive. As for ranged attackers, block their path of retreat. We will not let a single one of them leave here alive. Aqua Rose will be in charge of commanding the ranged classes. Under Shi Fengs commands, everyone from Zero Wing took organized action. Very quickly, more than 300 Assassins snuck to World Dominators rear lines. Meanwhile, as all of the players from World Dominators were occupied with their battle against Ouroboros, none of them managed to discover the forces of Zero Wing arriving behind them, let alone the Assassins sneaking up on them. Assassins, confirm your targets. Have two people deal with each target and kill the healers with certainty. Do not give World Dominators a chance to react, Shi Feng said in the Guild channel. Guild Leader, were in position, the Assassin party leader reported. Good. On the count to five, take action together. After the Assassins make their move, Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, remember to activate your lifesaving skills immediately as you start your charge. You all are to become a wall for everyone else and block of every bit of damage sent at you. As you move closer to World Dominators, everyone is to attack using the Frost Grenades that you received to break their first line of defense. Afterward, shatter their formation. Does everyone understand? Shi Feng said. Following which, as Shi Feng started his countdown, everyone began to grow nervous. It was especially true for the Assassins tasked with launching the first attacks. Meanwhile, the healers of World Dominators stood comfortably in their positions as they carried out their duties. None of them had any sense of danger instilled in them at all. However, they could not be blamed for this. After all, they had an army of over ten thousand strong between the perceived enemy and themselves. No enemy should be able to touch them unless they broke through the defensive lines. Also, even if one or two players managed to sneak past the front lines, what could they possibly do to several hundred healers? The moment they revealed themselves, they would die instantly. Good! On my command! Five Four Three Two One. Kill! Let not a single one of them go! After Shi Fengs shout, all 300-plus Assassins took action simultaneously, with every two Assassins launching attacks on a single healer. When ambushed by an Assassin, any ordinary healer would lose more than half of their HP, let alone an ambush by two elite Assassins. Momentarily, many of World Dominators healers felt a sting at the back of their heads. After they were forced into a Fainted state, two piercing cold daggers slashed across their necks, followed by two frightening damages appearing above their heads. In the next moment, their bodies were no longer under their control. In the blink of an eye, World Dominators lost close to 200 healers. Immediately, Zero Wings melee players began their charge. A moment later, Aqua Rose used a Guild War Order to lock down the entire region, preventing any from using a Return Scroll to leave the battlefield. 305 Zero Wing’s Migh The sudden loss of almost 200 healers stunned everyone from World Dominators. Its an ambush! Run! Faced with several hundred Assassins so close without any protectors by their side, the only way the healers of World Dominators could escape death was to run towards the main army of World Dominators. However, healers were inherently slow. The Assassins from Zero Wing quickly caught up to them. Originally, if these healers had worked together to retaliate against the Assassins from Zero Wing, they could have at least offered some semblance of resistance. It would not have been so easy to kill them. However, their decision to run immediately created chaos, and those who could have originally survived died as well. Without any healing or resistance, these healers were lambs to the slaughter. Zero Wings Assassins killed them arbitrarily. By the time the rear guards of World Dominators came to the rescue, a majority of their healers were already dead. Just as the surviving healers thought they were safe, they quickly discovered several thousand players charging in their direction. Every one of these players was like a ferocious tiger as they crashed into their enemys ranks, and the several hundred players who served as World Dominators rear guards were instantly dispersed. This situation allowed the Assassins to continue their slaughter of the healers. Guild Leader, not good! Our rear line has been ambushed, and weve lost over half of our healers already. These newcomers are fierce, and the rear line needs help to hold them off, one of the team leaders defending against Zero Wings ambush hurriedly reported. What? Who are these people? Blood Halberd had been busy issuing commands from the frontlines all this time. The moment he received the report, he immediately turned to look. He discovered that there were actually several thousand players charging and killing into their ranks, and anyone from World Dominators who tried to block their charge instantly died. These newcomers were like a sharp blade, instantly splitting World Dominators forces in half with their precision charge. World Dominators currently fought a desperate battle against Ouroboros, and the damage they received from such an ambush was self-evident. Without the healers support, the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights who stood on the frontlines rapidly fell, one after another. The frontline was also continuously forced into a retreat, and within moments, over a hundred players from World Dominators had died. Damn! Just who are they? To actually dare start a war against World Dominators, do they not want to live anymore? Blood Halberds eyes had already become blood-red from anger. He wished he could immediately chop their ambushers into a million pieces. Guild Leader, theyre wearing a six-winged emblem on their chests. They should be players from Zero Wing, a Ranger reported. Zero Wing? Werent they fighting Dark Star? Why have they suddenly appeared here? Questions filled Blood Halberds mind. However, he halted his thoughts as he spoke through the Guilds war channel, These losers have actually dared ambush us; theyre simply overestimating themselves! Everyone, turn around and focus all your attacks on Zero Wing! Wipe these fools from Zero Wing out first! Blood Halberd was one of the upper echelons of World Dominators, and he had experienced many battles that involved tens of thousands of players in the past. Thus, he was very clear on what actions he needed to take right now. World Dominators was no longer a match for Ouroboros in this battle. Now that Zero Wing had ambushed them from behind, launching a pincer attack with Ouroboros, World Dominators was in a fatal situation. If they continued this battle, they would suffer total annihilation. The only options they had was to either break through from one side, or defend their positions and wait for help. Since the second option was clearly not viable, the only option they had left was to break through and escape this battlefield. However, it was clearly impossible for them to break through from Ouroboros side. That left them with annihilating Zero Wing. Regarding numbers and total combat power, World Dominators was above Zero Wing by leaps and bounds. Meanwhile, on Ouroboross side, Gentle Snow very quickly noticed that someone had ambushed World Dominators. Moreover, the ambush came from directly behind World Dominators. Although Gentle Snow did not know who launched the attack, this was a great chance that she could not miss. They might even be able to give World Dominators a huge blow in this situation. Everyone, charge forward! Dont let World Dominators reorganize their formation! Gentle Snow commanded her forces, wearing a faint smile on her face. To readjust their formation, World Dominators turned around to attack Zero Wing. Unfortunately, that decision came at a high price. Unwittingly, World Dominators lost thousands of their members. Blood Halberds heart bled at this sight. Although they had fought Ouroboros for a long time, they had only lost around 1,000 or so players. Now, in just a few short minutes, they lost several times that amount. Kill! Annihilate Zero Wing! Blood Halberd bellowed through the Guild channel as he pointed his sword at Zero Wings 3,000 members. Currently, World Dominators still had close to 10,000 players alive. It would be an easy task for them to deal with just 3,000 players. Both sides immediately entered a desperate struggle, flames and arrows filling the skies. A few independent players that stood a distance away were thoroughly shocked when they witnessed this scene. This battle was far more realistic and shocking than any movie they had watched before. Sounds of smashing and swords clashing filled the surroundings. There was also the constant stream of spells bombarding the land, sending debris and dust flying into the air. This was truly a bloody battlefield. In this battlefield, personal strength was insignificant. When struck by hundreds of Fireballs and Frost Arrows, even the most powerful MTs would die instantly. Very good. It should be about time to use them now. Shi Feng closely observed the battle through the live stream from Aqua Rose. After watching both sides clash for some time and seeing how closely packed the players on the enemys side were, Shi Feng commanded in the Guild channel, Use all your Frost Grenades and Magic Scrolls now! Hold nothing back and use all of them at once! The members of Zero Wing who had long since hungered for this moment immediately tossed the Frost Grenades in their hands. This time around, the members of Zero Wing only used Basic Frost Grenades. Moreover, Frost Grenades were only half as effective when used against players, so each Basic Frost Grenade only dealt 100 damage to players. However, with several thousand players using them simultaneously, the accumulated damage could easily exceed 10,000 points. Currently, a majority of the players in Gods Domain were around Level 15, and even top-tier experts would be Level 20 at best. Meanwhile, a Level 20 Shield Warrior or Guardian Knight would only have around 3,000 HP. In the face of so many Basic Frost Grenades, these players were cannon fodder; they could die at any given moment. Shortly after the Basic Frost Grenades were thrown, a large swath of players from World Dominators died. As for those lucky enough to survive, they transformed into pure-white ice sculptures. Immediately, the reinforcements from World Dominators who were just about to charge over were stunned stiff on the spot, intense fear permeating their hearts. As for Gentle Snow who stood at a far distance, she had only noticed the center of the battlefield suddenly transforming into a snowy field. In this lush, green land surrounded by blistering hot temperatures, this white contrast made for relatively beautiful scenery. However, Blood Halberd was not in the mood to appreciate this pleasing sight. Zero Wings combined Frost Grenade attack had instantly killed over 1,000 players. Adding in the follow-up control effect of the Frost Grenades and Ouroboros continuous assault from behind, the death toll in this brief moment was at least 3,000. Moreover, even without this wave of Frost Grenades, Blood Halberd had discovered something very important. Although Zero Wing only had around 3,000 members, a large majority of them were elite players. Not only did they possess high Levels, but their equipment was also of good quality. With these two advantages, these players could easily take on two to three average players. If the 10,000 or so players of World Dominators faced off against 3,000 average players, it would not take them very long to annihilate the latter and break out of this pincer attack. However, it was a completely different story if they faced 3,000 elite players. There was absolutely no way to break through this hurdle in a short time. Not to mention, they also had to pay a huge price to do so. It was the same situation when World Dominators had initially hindered Ouroboross advance towards the Silverleaf Forest. At that time, they had only used several hundred elite players to block Ouroboross army of 2,000 players. Now that World Dominators faced 3,000 elite players, in addition to the previous Frost Grenade attack, Blood Halberd began to consider suicide. If he had known about this earlier, he would have chosen to break through the pincer attack through Ouroboross side. It would have been much easier that way. How did Zero Wing come into possession so many elite players? Blood Halberd could neither understand why nor did he try to understand it, as there was only one thing he could do right now. Everyone, listen to my command! All of you use Return Scrolls and leave this place immediately! Blood Halberd shouted reluctantly in the Guild channel. This could not be helped. If they received several more waves of Frost Grenade attacks from Zero Wing, in addition to Ouroboros assault, World Dominators would be annihilated. There was only one thing they could do now. Escape! Although it would be both costly and time-consuming to use Return Scrolls, and even more people would die, it was a much better alternative than suffering total annihilation. Guild Leader, this is not good! This area has been sealed! We cant use Return Scrolls! 306 The Price of Being a sPasserby” His subordinates report stunned Blood Halberd. Do they really intend to fight to the bitter end?! Blood Halberds eyes turned crimson, his current mood similar to an imminent volcanic eruption. With the entire area sealed off, preventing the use of Return Scrolls, World Dominators had no way to escape. The steep slopes on both sides of this area left only one line of movement available. One could only advance forward or retreat backward; there was no third option available. Right now, however, Ouroboros blocked the road back to the city, while Zero Wing blocked the road to the Silverleaf Forest. Originally, Blood Halberd felt only contempt for Zero Wings attempt to launch a pincer attack on World Dominators. Now that he had personally witnessed Zero Wings strength, however, Blood Halberd no longer dared underestimate Zero Wing. Whether it was Ouroboros or Zero Wing, neither of them was easy to deal with. Blood Halberds current situation could be perfectly described as being stuck between a rock and a hard place. However, inaction would similarly result in World Dominators complete annihilation. Originally, World Dominators had come to this place simply to aid Dark Star in delaying Ouroboross advance. Now, however, they had become the center of the war. Everyone, defensive formation! Blood Halberd commanded after a bit of thought, not daring to delay any longer. The members of World Dominators immediately formed a circle to repel attacks from both sides and reduce their losses. Meanwhile, Blood Halberd sent out a communication request to Lone Tyrant. Originally, Lone Tyrant was still joyous over locating Fire Dances group. However, he suddenly received an urgent call from Blood Halberd. Vice-Leader Blood, I will definitely send over the compensation after this entire matter is dealt with. Please stop rushing me, Lone Tyrant said, slightly annoyed. Compensation? Blood Halberds anger boiled over when he heard this word. Originally, Dark Star was the one responsible for dealing with Zero Wing. However, World Dominators now had to handle both Zero Wing and Ouroboros, placing Blood Halberds Guild in such a dangerous situation. Was this something mere compensation could make up for? Guild Leader Tyrant, I promised to help you delay Ouroboros, not to start an all-out war with them! Now, not only have you let Zero Wings forces run away, youre even making World Dominators face two Guilds at once! Meanwhile, you, Guild Leader Tyrant, only know how to utter the word compensation?! Guild Leader Tyrant, youre good! Youre very good! The more Blood Halberd spoke, the angrier he got. He felt that Lone Tyrant had plotted against World Dominators all this time. First, Lone Tyrant had let them fight it out with Ouroboros. Then, he had allowed Zero Wings forces to escape. In order to escape, Zero Wing could only pass through the area where World Dominators and Ouroboros were fighting. In the end, Zero Wing had no choice but to start a fight with World Dominators. With this plan, Lone Tyrant could kill three birds with one stone. Success meant that three of the top six Guilds in White River City would receive a huge blow, with Dark Star the only beneficiary of this chaos. Lone Tyrant was certain that there was a misunderstanding the moment he heard Blood Halberds words. After all, he had not intentionally allowed Zero Wing to escape. Instead, the players from Zero Wing had left on their own, and they just happened to encounter World Dominators on their way back, which resulted in World Dominators suffering a pincer attack. Everything was simply a coincidence. As for Zero Wings decision to directly oppose World Dominators, any normal person would not do that. Currently, Dark Star was in an all-out war with Zero Wing, a war that would end only when one side was completely annihilated. Just before, Black Flame had even publicly declared that he would make Dark Star pay the price of 30,000 people. So, why would they suddenly go and provoke a first-rate Guild like World Dominators? Only a person who wished to die a quicker death or a person with brain damage would declare war simultaneously on two of the top six Guilds in White River City. However, no matter what Lone Tyrant said now, Blood Halberd definitely would not believe him. Hence, Lone Tyrant hurriedly said, Vice-Leader Blood, I truly know nothing about this matter. Ill send my army over there right away. If we execute a pincer attack, Im sure we can wipe out Zero Wing. Well, come quickly, then! Blood Halberd shouted in rage. The more he listened to Lone Tyrant speak, the more disgusted he was with this person. Lone Tyrant had actually used World Dominators as bait! However, the priority right now was for the Guild to escape this predicament; everything else was secondary. Okay, Ill have them head over immediately. Lone Tyrant ended the call and promptly contacted his troops stationed outside the Silverleaf Forest. Of the 6,000 players there, Lone Tyrant sent 5,000 over to deal with Zero Wing, while the remaining 1,000 stayed behind to continue blocking the exits of the Silverleaf Forest. However, as time slowly passed, World Dominators situation turned grimmer and grimmer. Zero Wings 3,000 elites were incredibly zealous. After several consecutive charges, although Zero Wing lost several hundred of their members, World Dominators lost at least three to four times that number. Not to mention, Ouroboros was also madly assaulting them on the other side. After gathering up his courage, one of the team leaders of the elite teams, Lonely, walked up to Blood Halberd and asked in a soft tone, Guild Leader! If this situation continues, well definitely be finished! Are the reinforcements from Dark Star not here yet? If the elite members of World Dominators were to lose two or three Levelsin addition to most of the weapons and equipment on their bodiesWorld Dominators would definitely not be able to compete for White River City any longer. I know that! But they still need around 10 minutes before they can arrive! At this moment, Blood Halberds heart was bleeding in pain. However, he was helpless in this situationunless of course Zero Wing or Ouroboros showed mercy and let them go. Blood Halberds eyes shone when this thought occurred to him. He was not out of options yet. World Dominators and Ouroboros were bitter enemies, so it was obviously impossible to ask Ouroboros to show mercy. However, there was a slight possibility of success with Zero Wing. After all, World Dominators had never come into direct conflict with Zero Wing before. Also, Zero Wings main enemy was Dark Star, while World Dominators was simply a passerby in this matter. Hence, Blood Halberd immediately tried to contact Shi Feng. Vice-Leader Halberd, to what do I owe this pleasure? Shi Feng asked, a smile on his face. When he received Blood Halberds call, he had chosen to accept it right away. Guild Leader Black Flame, the war between our Guilds is just a misunderstanding. World Dominators has a feud only with Ouroboros. We came here simply to fight Ouroboros, and we truly never intended to fight your Guild. In regard to the losses and inconvenience caused to your Guild, I can compensate you on behalf of World Dominators. As long as Zero Wing stops attacking us right now, I will immediately have our Guilds finance department send over one million Credits to serve as compensation. What do you think, Guild Leader Black Flame? Although Blood Halberd had tried to speak casually, he could not completely hide the panic in his tone. After all, at least one elite member of World Dominators was dying with each passing second. One million Credits. In past virtual reality games, even well-known Gaming Workshops needed a months time to earn such a sum. Hence, Blood Halberds offer of one million clearly showed his sincerity. So it was all a misunderstanding! Shi Feng acted as if he had come to a sudden realization, letting Blood Halberd feel a hint of hope. However, before Blood Halberd could even feel joy, Shi Fengs tone changed abruptly as he said, I am moved by Vice-Leader Halberds generosity. Sadly, one of my shortcomings as a person is that I am extremely headstrong. Since it is a misunderstanding, let us just continue this misunderstanding, then. Youre making an enemy out of World Dominators! Arent you afraid of our retaliation?! Blood Halberd screamed in anger. Vice-Leader Halberd, whats there to get angry about? The moment we started playing this game, we were bound to meet with some trouble. If you arent even prepared to suffer such a small setback, I think it is better for you to retire sooner rather than later. Although World Dominators is only playing the role of a passerby in Dark Stars plan this time, by provoking Zero Wing, you also have to pay a terrible price. Shi Feng chuckled. However, dont you worry. Dark Star will soon be joining you all. After Shi Feng disconnected the call, he then contacted Aqua Rose, saying, No need to be polite. Leave none of them alive. Show everyone the consequences for those who dare to be a passerby and have thoughts about Zero Wing! 307 Famous in a Single War Damn! This Black Flame is practically a mad dog that bites anyone it sees! Blood Halberd cursed. Ill definitely remember this matter! If there is a chance in the future, Ill definitely not let him off! Vice-Leader, weve lost too many healers. This long battle is also taking a heavy toll on the remaining healers mana. They cant leave their combat status to use the Magic Spring, so they can only rely on Mana Recovery Potions to replenish their mana. However, most of them have already consumed all the potions they have. If the reinforcements from Dark Star still dont arrive, we will definitely be finished, Lonely reported hurriedly. Naturally, Blood Halberd was aware of this matter. Before Zero Wings intervention, World Dominators had been able to split its healers into two teams, with one team healing the players at the front and the other falling back to replenish their mana, and rotate them accordingly. However, Zero Wings ambush had taken out over half of World Dominators healers. If World Dominators were to insist on maintaining the rotation system, its death toll would at least double. Damn that Lone Tyrant! If he had not goaded me into hindering Ouroboros, we would not have fallen into this situation! Blood Halberd also hated Lone Tyrant greatly at this moment, regretting his decision to listen to him. If he had known that Zero Wing was so powerful, and also how insane Black Flame was, he definitely would have chosen to watch this entire affair play out from a safe distance. In the end, he now suffered from his own decision. Originally, there had already been a gap between World Dominators and Zero Wing in overall combat power. Now that World Dominators had lost the support of its healers, that gap had widened further. Following the crippling of World Dominators healers, its players were like wheat being reaped, their lives effortlessly harvested by the members of Zero Wing. In contrast, Zero Wings healers carried out their task with great zeal. The frontline players of Zero Wing found it hard to die even if they wanted to. Within moments, the mortality ratio of the two Guilds soared to frightening heights. When Zero Wing initiated their ambush, the mortality ratio had only been 1-to-3, with World Dominators having the higher number of deaths. Now, however, that ratio had risen to 1-to-8 and would soon approach 1-to-9. In other words, for every player Zero Wing lost, World Dominators would lose eight or nine players. On the other front, the players from Ouroboros were fighting valiantly as well, and they had succeeded in pushing the original mortality ratio of 1-to-1.2 up to the current ratio of 1-to-3. No, we cant wait any longer. At this rate, well be completely annihilated by the time the reinforcements from Dark Star arrive. Both anger and grief filled Blood Halberd at this moment. World Dominators had started this war with over 10,000 members. Yet, now, only 5,000 or so members remained alive. Immediately, Blood Halberd shouted in the Guild channel, All of you, charge together with me! Were leaving with as many lives as we can! At Blood Halberds command, everyone from World Dominators commenced a desperate charge while ignoring even the magical bombardments from enemy mages. Naturally, such an exodus only made it much easier for Zero Wing and Ouroboros to kill them. The price these two Guilds had to pay also lessened greatly. However, with 5,000-plus players desperately trying to escape en masse, it was also impossible for the two Guilds to kill every single one of them. In the end, less than 500 of the 10,000-plus members World Dominators had started this war with made it out alive; everyone else died. After suffering such a massive loss, World Dominators no longer had any chance of competing for dominance in White River City. Zero Wing really is amazing. Although they only number around 3,000 or so, a large majority of them are actually elite players. After obtaining victory in this battle, Zhao Yueru had a renewed opinion of the Guild called Zero Wing. With only around 5,000 members in Zero Wing, its total member count was not even comparable to a third-rate Guilds. However, after Zhao Yueru witnessed the combat power its 3,000-plus members displayed in this battle, she no longer found it strange for Zero Wing to be considered one of the top six Guilds in White River City. Zero Wing was indeed worthy of its fame. Second-rate and third-rate Guilds would be no match for Zero Wing at all. Moreover, the destructive force displayed by the Frost Grenades that Zero Wing had used was simply too shocking. If not for those tools of mass destruction, this war might still be ongoing right now, while the price Ouroboros had to pay would also be greater. Snow, your foresight is as diabolical as always. Zero Wing is indeed not a simple existence, Zhao Yueru giggled. Although World Dominators managed to escape with a few hundred of its members, its heavy losses this time means it no longer has any chance of fighting over White River City. Without this old nemesis of ours, Ouroboros has a greater chance of becoming the overlord of White River City. Gentle Snow rolled her eyes at the giggling Zhao Yueru. The girl actually dared describe her in such a way. However, Zero Wings performance had truly surpassed her expectations. Although Zero Wing had a mere 3,000 or so members on their side, in the face of World Dominators overwhelming numbers, Zero Wing had lost only a paltry 1,000 or so members. This was definitely a brilliant battle record. If the beginning of this battle had not been so intense, the peak of mortality occurring during this period of time, Zero Wing would have lost at most 500 or 600 members in this entire battle. Meanwhile, World Dominators had lost over 10,000 players. One could just see how powerful Zero Wing was. After the end of the battle, both sides started distributing the spoils of war. Even leaving aside the equipment that was originally dropped by both sides, the number of weapons and equipment dropped by the 10,000-plus players from World Dominators remained quite considerable. Very quickly, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow agreed to split the loot in a 2-to-8 ratio based on the total value of all the equipment dropped. Zero Wing would receive 20% of the total loot, while Ouroboros would receive 80%. However, Zero Wing would mainly receive equipment of Bronze rank or higher. Aqua Rose settled for such an unbalanced ratio due to Shi Fengs arrangements. As to why Shi Feng would propose such a division, firstly, it was his form of gratitude for Ouroboross aid. Secondly, they had no use for that many pieces of equipment. The reason being, most of the equipment left behind by World Dominators were not even Bronze rank. As for Mysterious-Iron Equipment, there were only a pitiful amount of them dropped in this battle. Arming the Guilds normal members with such poor quality equipment might be fine, but for the elite members, Shi Feng had yet to fall to such a low standard. Hence, he was satisfied as long as he could obtain some Bronze ranked weapons and equipment to arm the newcomers of the Guild. Meanwhile, after the battle involving tens of thousands of players ended, the independent players who had been observing it uploaded recordings of the entire battle to the forums. The battle instantly became a sensation in White River City. Nobody could have ever imagined that Zero Wing was actually so fierce. Its battle record was also brilliantly amazing. However, Zero Wings decision to fight World Dominators confused many. Instead of killing the members of Dark Star, they had chosen to annihilate World Dominators, which had played the role of a passerby. Many people posted about Zero Wings ruthlessness for such a decision. In regard to this, Shi Feng did not offer any explanation. Even when Aqua Rose raised this matter to Shi Feng, he only laughed it off without saying anything. In truth, Shi Feng really did have his own motives for making such a decision. On one side, there was Dark Star, a Guild supported by a gigantic existence like Underworld. On the other, there was World Dominators, a first-rate Guild with an extraordinary background. If these two Guilds cooperated to suppress Zero Wing, such an alliance would be detrimental to Zero Wings development in White River City, even with the help of Ouroboros. After Shi Feng found out that these two Guilds had joined hands, the first thing he thought to do was to annihilate World Dominators in White River City. Although World Dominators was a first-rate Guild, their main force was not based in Star-Moon Kingdom. There were countless cities in Gods Domain. After World Dominators spread its forces widely, it had only a few experts in each city. The Guild would only make a small investment in a small city like White River City. However, everything would change if World Dominators truly had a good chance of becoming the overlord of White River City. At such a time, the Guild would definitely increase its investments greatly, and then, World Dominators power in White River City would grow severalfold, making it even harder to deal with. In the past, Blood Halberd had achieved amazing feats in White River City. He also had the help of a first-rate expert like Lonely, so he had managed to develop the Guild to the point where it had the possibility of becoming the overlord of White River City. As a result, World Dominators had boosted the number of experts and funding it sent over, in order to solidify its influence over White River City. Thus, the Guilds power in White River City greatly increased, and it became even more powerful than the current Ouroboros. Now that World Dominators had decided to oppose Zero Wing, Shi Feng definitely could not allow it to develop in White River City. Otherwise, they would have to face a powerful foe in the future. This was also the reason why Feng Xuanyang decided to annihilate Zero Wing without hesitation, after Shi Feng rejected Feng Xuanyangs proposal. Although Feng Xuanyangs decision was due in part to his vicious personality, the more important reason was how very great a potential a Guild that possessed a Guild Residence had. If he did not destroy Zero Wing while the Guild was still in its infancy, he would be raising a tiger to serve as his future enemy. Shi Fengs actions were exactly the same as Feng Xuanyangs; he was killing a powerful opponent that was still in its cradle. Meanwhile, World Dominators starting a fight with Ouroboros at a place with only one escape route was the perfect chance for Shi Feng to do so. Naturally, Shi Feng would not let such a rare chance get away. \--- Shortly after the battle with World Dominators ended, Fire Dance and the others also arrived at the location Shi Feng had appointed. Guild Leader, weve already arrived at the location you specified. What are we supposed to do next? Fire Dance said in the team chat after confirming her groups location. 308 Black Flame and Ye Feng Good, Ill head over there now, Shi Feng said. Standing atop a tree, he inspected his surroundings before jumping off the tree and proceeding towards the meeting point. Now that Fire Dance and the others had accomplished the difficult first step, what remained depended solely on luck. If his plan worked, then Fire Dances group would succeed in escaping. As for directly confronting Dark Star, choosing to face over 3,000 elites from Dark Star was simply suicidal. _Oh? Someones coming over._ While Shi Feng was transversing the forest, his keen five senses suddenly picked up on movement a short distance away. He promptly jumped up onto a tree. Towards the west side of the forest, a team of over one hundred elite players was currently searching the vicinity as they moved. The majority of these players were Red Names, creating a very eye-catching sight. Moreover, none of them tried to hide their presencewhich made it very easy for Shi Feng to discover them. Uncle South Wolf, Zero Wing has played a significant role in the war between Ouroboros and World Dominators this time. We also cant overlook the combat power Zero Wing displayed. It is definitely not as simple as it appears in the video recordings of their battle. If Zero Wing had not suddenly ambushed World Dominators from behind, World Dominators would not have lost so overwhelmingly. Now, World Dominators in White River City is only an empty shell of its past self. Blood Halberd is also continuously lambasting Lone Tyrant with a barrage of curses. However, since Lone Tyrant does not dare to become hostile with Blood Halberd, he has no choice but to suffer in silence. Black Flame is truly decisive with his actions. Not only did he eliminate World Dominators from White River City, he has also severed a large portion of Dark Stars support. In addition, the post he made before declaring war on Dark Star has led to the war between Zero Wing and World Dominators receiving widespread attention. Using only 3,000 players to defeat a first-rate Guild like World Dominators, with such a brilliant battle record, Zero Wing has instantly risen to fame from this single battle. Killing three birds with one stone. Even I am starting to admire this person named Black Flame. The commentary of the female Summoner walking beside South Wolf on Zero Wings battle was eloquent. She spoke as if she knew every little detail of Shi Fengs plan. This girl was around 20 years old. She had a pair of beautiful eyes that was both bright and dazzling, making it difficult to discern the girls thoughts. Her cherry lips were currently tilted up slightly, while her eyelids were curved into small crescents. The girl exuded a calm and mysterious aura. During the few occasions when she giggled, she would also reveal a noble and elegant temperament that drew the attention of others despite themselves. Youlan, you are Underworlds female Zhuge[1]. How can you uplift others prestige while downplaying your own worth? That Black Flame simply got lucky. He definitely isnt as smart as you make him out to be. South Wolf felt that Youlan overestimated Black Flame, who South Wolf believed was simply an arrogant and despotic person. Meanwhile, Zero Wings victory in the war this time and the subsequent trouble that visited Dark Star were simply coincidences. There was nothing worthy of their concern. Maybe I am overthinking things, Youlan laughed, having no intention of refuting South Wolfs words. Although Zero Wing has risen to fame with this single battle and they have also managed to cause us some trouble, their core team is still trapped in this Silverleaf Forest. We have them completely surrounded now. Even if Ouroboros and the rest of Zero Wing rush over here right away, they will still be too late to change anything. As long as Zero Wings core team is annihilated, the Guild itself will receive a fatal blow. At that time, well see how Black Flame can continue acting rampantly, South Wolf scoffed proudly. Zero Wing had only managed to garner the reputation it had today due to their continuous monopoly of the top ten positions on the Ranking List of White River City. The eight experts of Zero Wing were known by all, and they still occupied the top eight positions on the Ranking List until this day; nobody had managed to threaten their positions all this time. If these eight players died today, they would definitely fall out of the top ten. Subsequently, Zero Wing would also lose the fame and prestige it possessed. I guess this could be considered a flaw of Guild Leader Black Flame. Players have always worshiped the strong. Although occupying the top position on the Ranking List would bring him great benefits, if he fails to maintain this position, it would instead become a sword that will stab him in the heart. Youlan nodded. In the middle of South Wolf and Youlans conversation, an Assassin suddenly spoke in the team chat, Brother South Wolf, Ive found them. Assassins were not only proficient in the art of assassination, they were also proficient in the art of tracking. Hence, Assassins were definitely the best choice when hunting for players. Good! Even the heavens are aiding me! I will bring an end to Zero Wing! Blade, immediately inform Guild Leader Tyrant of this and have them come quickly. Well go ahead and delay Fire Dances group. The moment everyone arrives will be their time of death. South Wolf laughed. It is a pity Ye Feng isnt with them. Otherwise, I will definitely make him regret making a mockery out of Underworld. Regardless, I will use the deaths of Zero Wings core team members as a greeting gift to him. Ye Feng? Uncle South Wolf, are you referring to the god-ranked expert of White River City, that Ye Feng? Youlan suddenly grew interested. What dogs fart expert? If he had not hidden himself, I would have already made him kneel and beg for forgiveness by now, South Wolf said in disdain. Youlan entered a deep contemplation after hearing South Wolfs words. Suddenly, a smile appeared on her face and a hint of joy glimmered in her eyes. It was as if she had found a new toy to play with. Laughing lightly, she said, First, there is Black Flame, and now, there is Ye Feng, a god-ranked expert. Zero Wing is truly an interesting existence. \--- Just as South Wolfs group was closing in on Fire Dance and the others, Shi Feng hid himself within the dense treetops, waiting for South Wolfs group to approach him. Guild Leader, were ready, Fire Dance said through the team chat. Good. Fire Dance, you and the other Assassins sneak over to their healers and prepare an ambush. Make sure to maintain a certain distance from their group and be careful of detection. Although it is unlikely that any of them have learned a stealth-erasing skill, we cannot rule out even the slightest possibility. Wait until they have entered Blackies attack range, then make your move. No matter what, do not let them discover our tracks, Shi Feng said quietly. After Shi Feng had discovered South Wolfs group, he had immediately contacted Fire Dance and ordered them to ready themselves to get rid of these players. Shi Feng had chosen to do so mainly because it was of utmost importance that Dark Star not find out where they were going. South Wolfs elite team consisted of over a hundred players. All of them possessed relatively good quality equipment. Although there were a few Bronze Equipment mixed in, most of them were using Mysterious-Iron Equipment. This team was definitely one of Dark Stars core teams. Conversely, although Shi Feng had only around 30 players on his side, every one of them was an expert. It was not exactly impossible for them to eliminate these 100-plus elite players in a short amount of time. Not to mention, Shi Feng still had plenty of Basic Frost Grenades and Tier 1 Magic Scrolls on him. Naturally, he had distributed quite a lot of them to Fire Dance and the others. In addition, if they could kill all these elite players, the deaths would cause significant damage to Dark Star. So, why not? Leave it to me. Saying so, Fire Dance immediately led five Assassins and snuck over. Although South Wolfs group consisted of 100-plus elite players, their levels were only around Level 17, with Level 19 being the highest. Meanwhile, Fire Dance was currently Level 21. Fire Dances techniques and equipment also surpassed these elite players by leaps and bounds. All these factors combined allowed Fire Dance to effortlessly sneak up on the enemys healers. The five other Assassins accompanying Fire Dance were not weaklings, either. They were all core members of Zero Wing, sporting equipment of Mysterious-Iron rank or above, and were also at Level 20 right now. When they snuck up on the healers of Dark Star, none of them were detected. So when South Wolf and his group walked into Blackies attack range, they all remained unaware of the looming danger. Kill! Shi Feng commanded through the team chat, and immediately, everyone sprang into action. TL Notes: [1] Zhuge: a genius strategist during the Three Kingdoms period. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuge_Liang 309 ranked M The ten healers from Dark Star did not detect the presence of the six figures swiftly closing in on them at all. Fire Dance was extremely quick. She crossed the distance of eight yards within an instant. The Level 19 Cleric that Fire Dance approached had no clue whatsoever. The Cleric did not sense even a thread of danger as a snowy cold dagger stabbed into the back of his head. Before the Cleric could even feel pain, another dagger, this one scorching hot, slashed his neck. After placing the Level 19 Cleric in a Fainted state, Fire Dance immediately followed up with a flurry of attacks. Backstab! Shadow Strike! Quadruple Assassinate! A series of frightening damages appeared above the Clerics head. Fire Dance was currently using the pair of Fine-Gold ranked daggers she had received from Shi Feng. In addition, the equipment she wore consisted of Fine-Gold and even Dark-Gold items. For her, dealing with a cloth armor class like a Cleric was a piece of cake. She instantly killed the Level 19 Cleric, who did not possess even 1,800 HP. The other five Assassins that moved with Fire Dance performed similarly well, killing their targets almost as quickly as Fire Dance had hers. They actually dared to lay an ambush on us. What a bunch of suicidal fools. Everyone, do not panic. Guardian Knights, cast Protection Blessing on the healers. Rangers, mark those fools immediately; absolutely do not let them disappear again. Elementalists, use ice-type magic to restrict their movements. Everyone else, charge at them. South Wolf quickly issued commands after discovering the deaths of six of their healers, a cold sneer on his face. The Shield Warriors and Berserkers closest to the healers reacted quickly. They used Charge on the six enemy Assassins in an attempt to save the remaining healers in their team. Simultaneously, the Guardian Knights of Dark Star cast Protection Blessing on the four remaining healers, reducing the physical damage they received by 50%. One could not help but admit that the Dark Star elites were truly skilled players. Their response made it practically impossible for Fire Dances group to kill the remaining four healers now. In the face of the Shield Warriors and Berserkers Charge and also the barrage of Frost Arrows sent by the Elementalists, Fire Dance and her fellow Assassins promptly used Wind Steps, gaining more than a seconds worth of invincibility, thanks to the skills effect. All six of them then turned around and ran, leaving behind only the corpses of the six healers they killed as they plunged into the forest. Despicable! Assassins, chase after them! Make sure you dont lose track of them! South Wolf bellowed, anger filling his heart. Their team consisted of 100-plus elite players. Yet, not only had they lost six of their healers in an ambush by six Assassins, they had even allowed these ambushers to escape. Wouldnt they become laughingstocks if others were to find out about this matter? Before the elites of Dark Star could set off in pursuit of Fire Dances group, the female Summoner, Youlan, suddenly shouted loudly, Do not chase after them! Everyone, scatter immediately! The moment Youlan finished speaking, she promptly sprinted away from this part of the forest. South Wolf was confused by Youlans actions, failing to understand why she would do such a thing. However, he still chose to listen to her advice and started running. At the same time, in the distance, Blackie finished chanting the final verse of his spells incantation. In the next moment, an enormous, golden magic array appeared in the sky, covering a large part of the forest. Shortly after, a dazzlingly brilliant star appeared from the magic array and plummeted towards the forest. One after another, the Dark Star Elementalists with quick reactions responded by immediately activating Instantaneous Movement. Meanwhile, the other classes also activated their own lifesaving skills while doing their best to escape the effective range of the attack. However, there were a few players from Dark Star that failed to respond appropriately. Moreover, Blackies Stars of Light possessed a very large effective range. Hence, when the first star impacted the ground, the blast caught over a dozen Dark Star players. The continuous bombardment of the Stars of Light easily wiped out even Shield Warriors that possessed more than 3,000 HP. To put it simply, all those within the Stars of Lights effective range died. What an amazing skill. Now that Im seeing it in person, this skill is extraordinary as expected. Aside from Black Flame and Ye Feng, the top ranker of White River City cannot be taken lightly, either. Although Youlan had managed to avoid the bombardment of the Stars of Light, she still could not help but marvel at the terrifying destructive power of the skill. Youlan, if not for your reminder, we would have lost more than just a dozen or so members. At this moment, South Wolf had yet to recover from his shock. After all, he had originally been standing at ground zero of the attack. If he had not escaped as quickly as he had, he might have been among the dozen or so players who had died. Uncle South Wolf, please contact Guild Leader Tyrant immediately and have them on the lookout in their vicinity. Make sure they dont split up, as the ambushers from Zero Wing are definitely not limited to just those six, Youlan said in the team chat after surveying her surroundings. Youlan, you worry too much. Although we have lost some of our people, this team of ours consists entirely of Dark Stars elite. Fire Dances group has only around 30 or so members remaining. In a direct confrontation, they stand no chance against us at all. The most they can achieve right now is an ambush on us. Now that they have revealed themselves, it is the perfect chance for us to pursue them. So, how can we choose to wait for our deaths in this place? South Wolf felt that Youlan was panicking slightly after seeing the Stars of Light. Originally, Youlan had wanted to dissuade South Wolf. However, the latter was simply too impatient. He also did not wish to miss this great chance to get rid of Fire Dance and her group. Hence, before Youlan could say anything more, South Wolf had already led the team off, charging in the direction where Fire Dance and the others had disappeared. Just in time. Seeing South Wolf and his team running over, Shi Feng revealed a smile as he waved his hand. At Shi Fengs gesture, Cola and the other plate armor classes immediately charged forward to meet with the Dark Star members. The moment South Wolfs group noticed the dozen or so Zero Wing members charging at them, they, too, did not hesitate to hasten their steps, their eagerness to get rid of Cola and the others showing clearly in their eyes. Cola was the Chief MT of Zero Wing, and his current level was at Level 21. In addition, Cola was mostly geared with Fine-Gold Equipment, Secret-Silver being the poorest quality for the items he had on him. The Arclight Guard in his hand was also a Dark-Gold ranked shield. With such good items, Colas HP exceeded the 3,900 threshold, and his Defense was likewise frightening. When a Flame Explosion sent by one of Dark Stars Elementalists landed on him, the spell barely managed to deal slightly over -300 damage. The caster of the spell goggled from shock when he saw such a low damage, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. Meanwhile, an arrow shot by a Ranger from Dark Star dealt only around -100 damage. The attack could barely be considered a scratch on Cola. To make matters worse, Cola also excelled at dodging. In the face of a sky filled with spells and arrows, Cola actually managed to dodge over half of these attacks. Meanwhile, standing at the rear, Violet Cloud merely had to gesture with her delicate hand, casting a basic Recover on Cola. Instantly, the spell fully restored the 400-plus HP Cola lost, returning the Guardian Knight to full health. Moreover, Recover was a skill that restored the targets HP once every three seconds for a duration of 15 seconds. Seeing this scene, everyone from Dark Star was immediately dumbfounded. What kind of healer is she?! I am a Cleric as well, yet my Recover can restore only around 200 HP each time! Shes already comparable to the top five healers of Dark Star! a Cleric for Dark Star commented in shock. Originally, they were already having a hard time trying to kill Cola. Now that there was also an amazing healer supporting him from behind, it was simply impossible for them to kill him. Shortly after both sides started confronting each other, the players from Dark Star suddenly discovered a shocking matter: Colas HP had actually risen past 5,000! Moreover, the heals he was receiving had also increased from the original 400-plus to 500-plus, making him even more impossible to kill. Unknown to the members of Dark Star, Colas sudden upgrade was all due to the Arclight Guards passive skill, Sound of Life. Every time Cola received an attack, he would receive a stack of Power of Life. Each stack of Power of Life increased Colas maximum HP by 3% and the healing he received by 2% for one minute, and Cola could accumulate a maximum of 10 stacks of Power of Life. Hence, Cola suddenly became much more powerful. Kill him! All ranged classes, focus fire on him! South Wolf knew that if Cola did not die, it would be a huge blow to the teams morale. Therefore, killing Cola had priority. Immediately, half a dozen Berserkers surrounded Cola, while the ranged damage dealers sent a continuous stream of attacks at him. They no longer treated Cola like a player but a Boss monster. In response to their actions, Cola simply smiled in disdain. He then activated Protection Blessing, reducing the damage he received by 50%. Now, the highest damage the players from Dark Star managed to inflict on Cola did not exceed -200 points. A majority of the attacks were even below -100 damage. In the face of Colas 5,000-plus HP, such damages were simply insignificant. However, due to the large number of attacks, Colas HP quickly fell below the 50% threshold. Right then, Violet Cloud took action again. She casually cast Guardian Shield and Recover on Cola. At Violet Clouds current level, her Guardian Shield would provide her target with a buff that could absorb over -700 damage. She followed up with Healing Light. In the next moment, a healing value of +1,600 appeared above Colas head, in addition to the 500-plus HP regenerated with Recover. Colas HP instantly went back up to full again 310 Reversal Originally, the Guardian Knight Cola was already a huge headache due to his high HP and Defense, and Dark Stars players exerted quite a lot of effort in order to reduce his HP by over half. Yet, in the next moment, he was now back to full health. South Wolf nearly popped a vein when he witnessed this scene. Although Cola was an MT, the damage he dealt was not one bit low; a casual slash from his sword could deal around -300 to -400 damage to Dark Stars Shield Warriors. If Cola used a skill, he could even deal -500 to -600 damagewhich was even higher than that of the Berserkers of Dark Star. Moreover, Cola could tank four Berserkers simultaneously, all by himself, and he even managed to send them flying back. Meanwhile, such a Boss ranked MT was now immortal due to a single Cleric from Zero Wing. However, this still was not the end of South Wolfs headache. The MTs in his team were relatively high-ranking MTs in White River City. But But the two Berserkers named Lonely Snow and Water Buffalo still sliced them up in no time. For example, one of the Guardian Knights of Dark Star had come under the combined assault of the two Berserkers. At first, the Guardian Knight had received two normal attacks from the Berserkers. Unfortunately, both attacks had achieved a critical hit, with Lonely Snow dealing over -1,400 damage and Water Buffalo dealing over -1,300 damage. Without leaving any gaps, the two then followed up with Beheaded, both of their skills dealing over -1,000 damage each. As a result, even though the Guardian Knight had two healers focusing on him, his 3,000 HP was still reaped away within an instant. Meanwhile, Fire Dance was even more amazing than the two Berserkers. After dishing out a flurry of attacks, she followed up with a 7-star Eviscerate that achieved a critical hit, dealing over -2,300 damage. Within moments, one more Guardian Knight of Dark Star died. South Wolf had even begun to suspect that the members of Zero Wing were no longer playing the same game Dark Stars players were. After all, whether it was Zero Wings MT, healer, or DPS, all of them were so powerful. On the other hand, the players of Dark Star were like paper, dying from just a touch. With merely a brief exchange, South Wolfs team had already lost nine members. It should be known that all these players were core members of Dark Star; they were not random noobs that could be found anywhere on the streets of White River City. Each and every one of them was a skilled player and they all had a good sense for battle. Although they were not comparable to experts, neither were they far from one. Yet, even so, these elite players still died with barely any resistance. As the battle continued, the players from Dark Star grew more and more frightened. They had yet to kill a single player of Zero Wing, even until now. This was definitely a huge psychological blow to the elites of Dark Star. Dont panic! We outnumber them thrice over! Assassins and Rangers, take out their healers first! As long as the healers are dead, the others will soon follow, even if their combat power is superior! South Wolf was no idiot, and he immediately sought to utilize Dark Stars advantage. Zerg tactics. It was the easiest tactic for obtaining victory in any virtual reality game. As South Wolf had the numerical advantage, he could afford to divide his troops into two groups: one to pin down the enemy forces, and another to circle around and strike at the enemys weak point. Very quickly, over twenty Assassins and Rangers from Dark Star flanked Zero Wings forces and immediately charged towards Violet Clouds group of five healers. Contrary to expectations, however, even when Violet Clouds group noticed Dark Stars players charging towards them, none of them chose to run away. Instead, they continued healing their allies at the front, paying no attention to their attackers at all. In regard to the healers lack of reaction, Dark Stars players did not give it too much thought. They simply continued charging forward, having concluded that Zero Wings healers had already given up on escaping. When there was only a short distance of eight yards between the Assassins and Violet Clouds group, an Intermediate Frost Grenade suddenly landed, exploding in the midst of the Assassins. Dark Stars Rangers, who stood 30 yards away, also received an Intermediate Frost Grenade of their own. In the blink of an eye, both groups were frozen solid. A damage of -400 also appeared above each of their heads. Although the eight Assassins immediately used Vanish to escape the freezing effect, they were still unable to advance as an Ice Wall appeared, blocking the path between them and Violet Clouds group. Meanwhile, the person responsible for casting this Ice Wall was one of the Five Demon Generals that Shi Feng had recruited, Ice Queen Su Qianliu. Ice Wall was the perfect skill for this scenario. Without magic immunity, if the Assassins were to charge into the Ice Wall[1], their Movement Speeds would slow to a crawl. At that time, their fates would be as good as sealed. Although Ice Wall had a short duration of only two to three seconds, it still provided the healers with a brief, but important, moment of respite. As for the Rangers of Dark Star, none of them had any skills that could be used to dispel the effects of control skills, and neither did any of them possess any lifesaving skills. Hence, they could do nothing but stand there and watch. At this moment, Shi Feng used Silent Steps and suddenly appeared behind these frozen Rangers. To Shi Feng, a group of immobile players was entirely negligible. Shi Feng was currently at Level 23. He was also equipped with the newly acquired Seven Luminaries Ring, and had recently received the Golden Stigmata. His overall Attributes surpassed these elite players manyfold. Moreover, Shi Feng currently had the Aura of Fire activated, the aura effect increasing his damage by 30% while also reducing his targets Defense by 30%. Immediately, Shi Feng sent a Level 8 Thundering Flash at the group of Rangers. Green arcs of lightning crackled as they instantly pierced the bodies of these Rangers. Damages of -1,102, -1,528, and -2,140 appeared above each of the twelve Rangers heads. Although none of Shi Fengs attacks had achieved a critical hit, these Rangers had only around 2,000 HP. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs Thundering Flash had dealt more than -4,700 damage in total, far surpassing the Rangers maximum HP. The members of Dark Star saw Shi Feng killing all those Rangers with a single strike. Each and every one of the witnesses was completely dumbfounded, their jaw hanging wide open. South Wolf nearly had his eyes pop out of their own sockets. The twelve Rangers simultaneously collapsed to the ground, their actions in complete unison. In the next moment, piles of weapons and equipment were scattered around their bodies. In this chaotic battlefield, this scene was both striking and shocking. The twelve Rangers were all either Level 18 or Level 19 players. Most of the equipment they used was also Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and every one of them had more than 2,000 HP. Yet they were killed off so easily. Moreover, it wasnt just one person that got killed but an entire group. For a moment, South Wolf believed that he was dreaming. He even considered giving one of his subordinates a slap and then asking said subordinate if it hurt, to confirm whether or not this was a dream. As for the Assassins of Dark Star who had been waiting for the Ice Wall to disappear, after witnessing this unforgettable scene, they had completely forgotten their original task of dealing with Violet Clouds group of healers. They idly stood there as they watched their Ranger companions die, their minds empty of all thought. They then swallowed a big gulp of saliva as they suddenly recalled an important matter With the number of murders they had committed so far, if they died as well, not only would they lose two to three levels, they would even lose all the equipment on their bodies! Watching from a distance, Blackie was similarly astonished by the instant deaths of the twelve elite players. However, he had long since grown inured to Shi Fengs horror-inducing feats, so he quickly regained his composure and threw a Basic Frost Grenade at the still-dazed Assassins of Dark Star, freezing them once more. This time, none of the Assassins could use Vanish to remove the freezing effect on them. Hence, they could only obediently stay frozen. Following which, Blackie chanted an incantation and used Hell Flame. One could easily imagine the might of a Hell Flame that was powered by the Epic ranked staff Maviss Guard. Damages of over -1,000 points immediately appeared above these Assassins heads, and within three seconds, all of these Assassins turned into ashes, leaving behind a pile of shining weapons and equipment. However, this was still not the end. After Shi Feng had dealt with Dark Stars Rangers, he then cast Firestorm, the activatable skill of the Aura of Fire, at the heart of the battlefield. [Firestorm] Inflicts 500% damage within a range of 10*10 yards for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes In terms of damage, Firestorm did not lose out to Stars of Light by much. However, it had a much smaller effective range. Currently, Cola was surrounded by plenty of Dark Stars elite players. Before anyone could react, a storm of flames suddenly emerged above them, and the HP of all of Dark Stars players within 10 yards of Cola fell at a crazy rate. Although Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights were classes with high HP and Defense, Shi Fengs equipment was simply too amazing, which resulted in his current Attack Power being well over 800 points. With such a high base value, even though the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights of Dark Star possessed plenty of damage reduction items, they still received more than -2,000 DPS. As for the other classes, they received more than -3,000 DPS. Even when the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights activated their lifesaving skills, which allowed them to halve the damage they received, they still could not avoid death. After Firestorm ended, all of Dark Stars players caught within its effective range were reduced to cinders. Only Cola and the other frontline members of Zero Wing remained alive; Dark Stars forty or so frontline players had died. All of a sudden, Zero Wings side outnumbered Dark Stars. Black Flame, why are you here? South Wolf instantly recognized the person responsible for killing the majority of Dark Stars players. At this moment, South Wolfs eyes were filled with incomparable shock as his trembling finger pointed at Shi Fengs crimson red name. South Wolf failed to understand why Black Flame would appear at this place. He also could not understand why Black Flame was so powerful. Wasnt Black Flame just a forger? Originally, there had been a huge numerical difference between the two sides. However, in the blink of an eye, a strategic change occurred, all because of Black Flames fleeting blow. Dark Star was no match for Zero Wing even when Dark Star had the advantage of numbers. Now that the situation was reversed, the end result was obvious. TL Notes: [1]Ice Wall: Uh, if you play Dota/ Dota2, no further explanations are needed. If you dont play Dota, this is a skill belonging to one of the Heroes in the game, Invoker. Although Ice Wall is an actual wall of ice, it is not a pathing blocker (determined by the game developers), and any unit can pass through it. However, those who touch the Ice Wall summoned will have their Movement Speeds slowed significantly. https://dota2.gamepedia.com/Invoker#Ice_Wall 311 Absolute Control Watching up to this point, South Wolf knew that defeat was inevitable, though he was loath to admit it, and his heart was filled with indignation. Currently, his team had fewer than 30 players, and practically all of them were mages and healers. He alone was the only melee class alive. With such a team composition, Dark Star stood absolutely no chance against Zero Wings core team, which currently consisted of over 30 players. The single sword strike Black Flame had displayed far exceeded South Wolfs imagination. Not only was Black Flame inconceivably fast, his grasp of his Skills had also reached perfection, as shown by his single attacks impeccable coverage of all twelve Rangers. Such a feat required one to possess excellent control over the skill itself and the angle of attack as well. South Wolf was no fool, and neither was he a greenhorn that had been playing virtual reality games for only one or two years. As a representative of Underworld, he had met with and recruited lots of gaming experts before. He had also participated in a considerable number of team battles, so his experience in the virtual gaming world was quite plentiful. Naturally, he understood the strategy Black Flame had used since the start of the battle. Black Flame made the Guardian Knights, Shield Warriors, and other plate armor classes charge forward to lure the members of Dark Star into gathering around them. The female Cleric, Violet Cloud, was pivotal to this strategy. Although on the surface her healing ability was only double that of the healers of Dark Star, the effectiveness she displayed during the team battle far surpassed that of three or four healers combined. Violet Cloud had an excellent grasp of the battle situation. Not only could she keep Cola alive and well, she could also simultaneously stabilize several other players HP. Throughout the battle, she performed smoothly and calmly. She was definitely not an existence to be trifled with. Originally, Zero Wing already had powerful experts like Fire Dance, the team leader of Zero Wings core team, and Blackie, the number one player on White River Citys Ranking List. Now, South Wolf suddenly discovered that Zero Wing possessed not only Fire Dance and Blackie, Cola and Violet Cloud were definitely first-rate experts as well. Everyone else in Zero Wings core team were also all experts. Meanwhile, Black Flame, who had suddenly appeared, was even more terrifying. The strength he displayed far surpassed that of all those previously mentioned. The scene South Wolf witnessed was like a replay of the god-ranked expert Ye Feng slaying the hundreds of players of Martial Union. South Wolf could not figure out why there were so many experts gathering at a newly established Guild like Zero Wing. Even a Guild that was newly established by a major corporation could not achieve what Zero Wing had manage in such a short amount of time. outh Wolf truly wondered how Black Flame had accomplished such a feat. Although South Wolf was shocked by Black Flames personal strength and by Blackie, who possessed a strategic-level skill that could affect the entire battlefield Black Flame, you are indeed amazing. However, the entire Silverleaf Forest is already under Dark Stars control. Although your team of 30 or so players can easily defeat an elite team with more than 100 players, do you think you can do the same against 3,000 players? You have simply delayed the time of your demise. South Wolf laughed coldly as he looked at Shi Feng, his current appearance making it seem as if he no longer cared about the many elite players that had died. Lets go. It will be their time of death when Guild Leader Tyrant arrives. Since his team was no match for Zero Wing, South Wolf naturally would not remain in this place and increase his losses. The fact that he had discovered Black Flame, Zero Wings Guild Leader, here easily made up for the elite players he lost. After all, Black Flames death would become a huge blow to Zero Wings reputation and prestige in White River City. Coming and going as you wish, do you think the Silverleaf Forest is your house? Shi Feng smiled calmly, his eyes revealing a cold killing intent. Since youve already pursued us to this place, I insist that you stay. Do you think you can keep me here? South Wolf laughed in disdain. He was an Assassin, the class that boasted the greatest survivability in the wild. If he hid himself in the dense forest, nobody would be able to find him. You can try. If any single one of you manages to escape today, then I will let you go. Shi Feng waved, and all 30-plus members of Zero Wing immediately charged forward, starting their hunt of South Wolf and the surviving players of Dark Star. The reason why South Wolf had never participated in the battle before was to leave a path of retreat for himself. This was a habit of his. After all, once he entered combat status, he could no longer use Stealth. At that time, he would only be left with Vanish to enter Stealth mode. However, Vanish was a lifesaving skill, so it should only be used at the most crucial of moments. Looking at the enemy players charging at him, South Wolf revealed a disdainful expression. Just as he was about to use Stealth and hide himself in the dense forest Whats going on? South Wolf suddenly discovered that he could not use the skill. Like a prisoner deprived of his freedom, South Wolf frantically called out his skill bar to look for the cause of this situation. Boss South Wolf, we cant use our skills! What are we supposed to do now? the Elementalists of Dark Star asked, frightened. Originally, they had intended to cast Ice Wall to delay Zero Wings charge. Now, however, none of them could use any of their skillsand an Elementalist that could not use skills was like a lamb to the slaughter. Aside from sacrificing their lives to earn a few extra seconds for their allies, they were helpless. Run first, talk later. South Wolf was confused about this situation as well, and he suspected that something must have gone wrong with the system. Since none of them could use skills, they could only rely on their two feet to escape. As an Assassin, South Wolf had great confidence in his own speed. However, just as he was turning to escape, he suddenly discovered that his Movement Speed had been greatly reduced. Everyone else from Dark Star faced a similar situation as well. Just what is going on? South Wolf started panicking as the players of Zero Wing raced closer and closer to them. However, he was simply helpless in the situation. In the next moment, South Wolf noticed a black figure dashing past Cola and the others. Like a mad gale, the figure instantly caught up with the escaping players of Dark Star. This person was none other than Shi Feng himself. At present, Shi Fengs Agility exceeded 240 points, and there were also the bonuses provided by the equipment he wore. In terms of Movement Speed, Shi Feng was definitely ranked at the apex of Star-Moon Kingdom. Shi Feng used Silent Steps and appeared behind South Wolf like a ghost. He then said softly, Ive already said that you cant escape. Previously, while Shi Feng was conversing with South Wolf, he had secretly switched the Aura of Fire on the Seven Luminaries Ring to the Aura of Time. Meanwhile, the Aura of Time reduced the Movement Speed and Attack Speed of enemies within a 100-yard radius by 20%, and increased the Cooldown of their Skills by 20%. When its activatable skill, Absolute Time, was used, it would even prevent enemies within a range of 50*50 yards from using any skills or tools for 20 seconds. After Shi Feng used Absolute Time to envelope this entire area, everybody from Dark Star could not use any skills or tools for 20 seconds. Dark Stars current surviving members mostly consisted of mages and healers, so this restriction had truly rendered them completely helpless. One could say that the moment South Wolfs team stepped into this region of the Silverleaf Forest, their lives passed into Shi Fengs hands. _Just what did he do?_ South Wolfs heart was filled with shock when he noticed Shi Feng appearing behind him. Before South Wolf could even ponder on the subject, Shi Fengs Abyssal Blade had already left its scabbard. Countless silver lights pierced the numerous vital points on South Wolfs body. South Wolf had only leather armor, so every one of Shi Fengs attacks managed to cause over -500 damage, while critical hits dealt over -1,000 damage. On the other hand, the Mysterious-Iron ranked chest piece South Wolf wore was like a piece of tofu. Not only was it easily pierced by Shi Fengs Abyssal Blade, each attack it received greatly diminished the armors durability. Just three strikes had nearly reduced it to scrap already. Shi Fengs attacks were lightning-fast, and he had brandished his sword eight times in a single series. By the time South Wolf had recovered from shock, his 2,000-plus HP was completely gone. Suddenly, South Wolfs field of vision turned gray, while his body fell to the ground involuntarily. Even as he died, shock and confusion still filled his face. As South Wolf had not participated in any of the battles so far, his name remained white all this time. After he died, only one piece of equipment dropped by his body. He also lost only a single level. However, were Shi Fengs attacks as simple as they looked? The reason why Shi Feng had chosen not to use any Skills, and had instead carried out only normal attacks, was to destroy the equipment on South Wolfs body. When South Wolf died, nearly half of the equipment on his body had already turned to scrap. Now that he had dropped yet another piece of equipment, he had definitely suffered heavy losses. 312 Diving into Danger Alone After South Wolf died, the members of Dark Star were like headless flies. Frightened and scared, they fled in all directions. Zero Wings Berserker Lonely Snow swiftly closed the gap between him and an Elementalist of Dark Star to 20 yards before using Charge to instantly catch up to and incapacitate the Elementalist. After that, Lonely Snow used Thunder Clap, Violent Strike, Suppression, and Whirlwind Slash in rapid succession, making quick work of the Elementalist. Following closely, everyone else from Zero Wing took action as well. Against a group of mages and healers that could use neither skills nor tools, in addition to the fact that these classes were innately slow runners, the members of Zero Wing required no time at all to finish off the surviving Dark Star members. As these players died, they left behind piles of weapons and equipment. Hahaha! What a fun battle! Those bastards from Dark Star think that they are so amazing, but now, all of them are dead! Cola laughed loudly as he looked at the weapons and equipment scattered all over the ground. The frustration he had accumulated from continuously running away was completely swept away now. Fire Dance nodded her head in agreement, a faint smile appearing on her face. She then said with a light chuckle, This battle was indeed a good stress reliever. None of us died this time, while Dark Star lost over 100 players. After this battle, Dark Star will have to reorganize their plans to pursue us. If they could deal with a team of over 100 elite players in such a short time, it also signified that Dark Star would be simply sending its members to their deaths if a team had fewer than 200 or 300 players. In order to reduce its losses, Dark Star would definitely consolidate its teams and at least double or triple the member count of each team. At this moment, Blackie and the others were laughing without restraint as well. After all, they were able to kill over 100 elite members of Dark Star. This would, without a doubt, be a huge blow to Dark Star. Collect the loot. Dark Star will be arriving here soon, Shi Feng commanded. The loot they obtained from killing the 100-plus elite members of Dark Star was extremely bountiful. They had collected close to a thousand weapons and equipment, and a majority of them were even Mysterious-Iron rank. The harvest they got from this single battle far exceeded even the harvest Aqua Rose obtained from the battle that involved tens of thousands of players. Even Shi Feng was somewhat moved by this harvest. Kill and plunder. Just from this battle, they had obtained the resources required to arm an elite team of 100 players. This was precisely the reason why, in the past, many large Guilds preferred to kill and plunder the core teams of smaller Guilds. Not only could they increase their Guilds fame and prestige by doing so, they could also make a huge profit. They could upgrade their weapons and equipment much faster this way, compared to raiding Dungeons and killing Bosses. However, the harvest from this battle was still insufficient to offset the losses Zero Wing had suffered. After all, the weapons and equipment of Dark Stars elites were inferior to those of Zero Wings elite members, not to mention those of Zero Wings core members. Every core member of Zero Wing possessed quite a few pieces of Secret-Silver ranked weapons and equipment, and some even possessed Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked weapons and equipment. Guild Leader, why arent you leaving? Fire Dance looked curiously at Shi Feng who had jumped onto a large tree. You guys go first. Ill hold down the fort. Shi Feng was not a lord who would sit comfortably in his throne while his subordinates fought. Since he was already here, naturally, he needed to take something away from Dark Star. But, Guild Leader, this place is too dangerous. Youre also not an Assassin, Fire Dance said worriedly. You guys have done enough. Let your Guild Leader handle the rest. Shi Feng waved them off, hurrying Fire Dance and the others to the designated location. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, everyone from Zero Wing was immediately moved. In Gods Domain, Guild Leaders who were willing to brave danger for his fellow Guild members were definitely as rare as a phoenixs feather. Not to mention, Shi Feng was currently a famous existence in Gods Domain. If he were to die, his reputation would be greatly affected. Then, Ill stay behind as well! Blackie said. How could I be left out from such an important matter! Cola stepped forward. Suddenly, everyone else started voicing intentions to remain. All of you, stop making a fuss and leave with me. You all will only be a hindrance to Guild Leader if you stay behind. Fire Dance could feel the cold killing intent radiating from Shi Feng at this moment. She knew that he could no longer hold himself back. She then raised her head and looked at Shi Feng, saying, Guild Leader, you have to be careful. Rest assured, I know my own limits. Shi Feng laughed. He then retrieved a Basic Stealth Scroll from his bag. This scroll allowed players to enter Stealth mode. The Stealth Scrolls effect had a duration of one hour, and as long as players did not carry out any attacks during this period of time, the scroll would remain in effect. \--- Shortly after Fire Dance and the others departed Youlan came hurrying over to this place with a huge team of more than 300 players. Sure enough, all of them died. Youlan sighed softly when she saw the ground littered with corpses. However, she was not surprised by this outcome. Obviously, the ambush before was meant to lure them into a trap. However, South Wolf had been too eager for successwhich resulted in a team-wipe, as she had expected. Revive them, Youlan said to the healers in her team. Immediately, the 30-plus healers in the team started using resurrection skills. If players died outside of a Dungeon, there were two methods for them to revive. The first method was to revive back at the cemetery. However, players were required to wait for half an hour before they could do so. The other method was to have one of the healer classes use a resurrection skill. Players could be revived immediately using this method. However, upon resurrection, players would have to wait another ten minutes before resurrection skills could be used on them again. A short while later, all 100-plus elite players had been revived. Meanwhile, after being resurrected, South Wolf felt fortunate over the fact that he was not a Red Name. He had only lost one piece of equipment and fallen by one Level after he died. Yet, when he discovered that most of the equipment he wore had been turned to scrap, he nearly went insane. South Wolf had been using Level 15 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment, which could be obtained only from a Level 15 Team Dungeon. In order to obtain the complete set, South Wolf had expended a huge amount of time and effort. Now, however, all of them were destroyed! Unlike Field Bosses, Team Dungeons reset only once every three days, and there were only a limited number of Level 15 Team Dungeons within the region of White River City. Gathering the complete set had taken South Wolf two cycles. If he wished to obtain the set once again, he would have to wait through another two cycles. At this moment, Lone Tyrant arrived at the scene. He then asked, South Wolf, what happened here? How did all of you die? South Wolf was someone from Underworld, so he did not particularly care how many players from Dark Star had died. He cared more about himself instead. However, the same could not be said for Lone Tyrant. The strength of Dark Star determined his future as its Guild Leader. Now, more than 100 elites from his Guild had died for no reason. The worst part was that these elites had lost most, if not all, of their weapons and equipment. The levels they lost could be recovered, but it would not be as easy to recover the equipment. We were lured into an ambush unprepared, and all of us got killed. However, I discovered something even more important. I dont know how he managed it, but Black Flame is now with the core team of Zero Wing. He has also become a Red Name at this point, so this is the perfect chance for us to destroy Zero Wing. Although Black Flame is very powerful, we should have no problems dealing with all of them if we send in a team of 300 to 400 players. We can still catch up if we chase after them right away. South Wolfs words immediately allowed Lone Tyrant and Youlan to come to a realization. Truly an interesting person, Youlan muttered softly, her interest towards the player named Black Flame growing. As for Lone Tyrant, his expression turned grim upon receiving this piece of information. Obviously, with Black Flame commanding Zero Wings core team, their combat power had increased to frightening heights. Also, from South Wolfs description of the one-sided battle that took place before, Lone Tyrant also learned that Black Flame was a great expert. Not only did Black Flame possess extraordinary combat power, he also possessed a strategic-level skill. A team of 100 elite players would definitely be insufficient to deal with him. Hence, they needed to rearrange their team compositions. Each team now had to have 200 players at the very least. Otherwise, they would only suffice as cannon fodder. Black Flame, youve actually dared show yourself here. Since youve come seeking your own death, dont even think about leaving this place alive today! Lone Tyrant revealed a sinister expression. He inwardly mocked Shi Feng for his foolish actions. In order to save Zero Wings core team, Shi Feng had actually disregarded the dangers and barged into Lone Tyrants domain. Shi Feng must not know how to write the word death! 313 Killing the Commander Gather everyone immediately and surround this area. I dont believe that they can grow wings and fly away, Lone Tyrant sternly issued his command. The news of World Dominators defeat had already spread, and very few in White River City did not know about the battle that took place. This result had greatly boosted Zero Wings prestige. If Dark Star could get rid of not only Zero Wings core team, but Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, also, then they could destroy the fame that Zero Wing had accumulated up until this point. At that time, Dark Star would also garner fame themselves, killing two birds with one stone. Naturally, Lone Tyrant would not let go of such a valuable opportunity. Immediately, everyone from Dark Star started moving. Previously, they had tried to cover too large an area in their search. Now that Shi Feng and the core team of Zero Wing had exposed themselves, Lone Tyrant quickly concentrated their hunt. \--- Soon, more and more Dark Star members gathered at the stated location in the dense forest. Shi Feng, who remained hidden in a tree, did not panic at this situation. Instead, he continued to wait for all the members of Dark Star to arrive. Come, come. The more, the merrier, Shi Feng inwardly chuckled as he saw that the number of players gathered had already exceeded 1,000. Before the battle even started, Shi Feng had already considered the consequences. If he had not come fully prepared, he would not have allowed Fire Dance and the others to obliterate South Wolfs team of elites. Guild Leader, our members have surrounded this part of the forest. As long as any Zero Wings members show themselves, it will be their death, a Ranger reported as he walked up to Lone Tyrant. Good. Start shrinking the encirclement. Lone Tyrant laughed satisfyingly. He then looked towards Ming Sha, the team leader of the Underworld Guards, and respectfully said, In a moment, we will have to rely on Brother Ming Sha and your men to take care of the experts from Zero Wing. Rest assured; Young Master Feng sent us to deal with Fire Dance and her team of experts. Although there is now an additional Black Flame added to the equation, the Underworld Guards can resolve this solution all the same. We wont let any of them escape, Ming Sha replied and nodded his head. In order to extinguish Zero Wings core team, Feng Xuanyang had specifically sent a team of Underworld Guards to assist Dark Star. Feng Xuanyang had gone all out on this hunt. Every Underworld Guard was an expert that Underworld had spent many years searching for to recruit. Underworld had also spent massive amounts of resources on nurturing these experts further. Compared to Absolute Heaven, the top-tier Assassin that Shi Feng faced before, these Underworld Guards were stronger, not weaker. Meanwhile, Feng Xuanyang had sent a team of 20 of such Guards. One could just imagine the frightening might this team possessed. Even a 100-man elite team from Dark Star was no match for this team. Also, the leader, Ming Sha, was an expert among experts. In the virtual gaming world, he ranked near the top. Regarding pure combat techniques, he was on the same level as the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. However, as Gentle Snow was in possession of a huge amount of resources, in terms of equipment, Ming Sha was definitely no match for her. Originally, Feng Xuanyang had arranged for Ming Sha to go to White River City to deal with Ye Feng. However, Ye Feng was simply too elusive as if he had completely vanished from White River City. Hence, Feng Xuanyang sent Ming Sha to deal with the top experts of Zero Wing, such as Fire Dance and Blackie. In regards to Ming Shas strength, Lone Tyrant had personally experienced its power. Even though he was clearly above Ming Sha in terms of Levels, and his equipment was of higher quality, he still suffered defeat at Ming Shas hands in less than twenty exchanges. On the other hand, he had only managed to reduce Ming Shas HP by one-tenth. Meanwhile, after taking some time to focus on upgrades, Ming Shas equipment could now compare to Lone Tyrants. Now, Ming Sha was mostly geared with several pieces of Level 15 Secret-Silver Set Equipment and Fine-Gold Equipment. He also wielded a Level 15 Fine-Gold greatsword, the Bone Shatterer. His equipment certainly ranked at the very top of White River City. Lone Tyrant had estimated that, if he fought Ming Sha now, he would last ten exchanges at most before his defeat. Now that he had so many players surrounding this area and a powerful team of experts like the Underworld Guards supporting him, even a top-tier Assassin like Fire Dance could not escape. Just as Lone Tyrant felt confident and was about to declare that he would annihilate everyone from Zero Wing, a figure suddenly appeared in the top of a nearby tree. Someones there! Ming Sha, who possessed acute senses, immediately discovered the figure. As Ming Sha turned his sights to the intruder, everyone similarly followed his line of sight. Indeed, in the top of the tree, they discovered a person quietly watching them. Black Flame! South Wolf immediately recognized the figure, his eyes burning with rage as he revealed this persons identity. At South Wolfs reminder, everyone finally realized Shi Fengs identity. After all, Black Flame had always been a mysterious existence, and most players had never actually seen Black Flame before. Now that this intruder had revealed himself, everyone from Dark Star discovered that Black Flame was just an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man. He did not even possess the type of aura that a Guild Leader should have. No matter how they looked at him, he was only an ordinary man. So, it is Guild Leader Black Flame. I didnt expect you to show yourself here. Since you have refused to walk the path towards heaven and have instead barged your way down to hell, today will be the day that you die! Lone Tyrant laughed coldly. He then commanded, Everyone, kill him! Immediately, over a thousand players from Dark Star surrounded and charged at Shi Feng. Their encirclement was tightly packed, and not even a fly could get past them. Faced with over a thousand players charging at him, Shi Feng did not panic in the slightest. Instead, his eyes emanated a chilling glow as he glared down at Lone Tyrant, smiling faintly. It was as if these thousand-plus players meant nothing to him. Meanwhile, as the recipient of this gaze, Lone Tyrants heart inadvertently quivered. However, Lone Tyrant quickly dispelled this feeling because he did not believe Shi Feng could do anything to him while so many players surrounded him. In the next moment, however, Shi Feng vanished from the treetop and everyones sight. This is not good! Hes trying to escape! Quickly, use Flare! Lone Tyrant hurriedly shouted. The Rangers quickly used Flare upon receiving Lone Tyrants command, brightly illuminating the surrounding area. Within the effective range of Flare, all stealth-type skills would lose their effects. Yet, even after tens of Flares had been launched, Shi Fengs figure still could not be found. What the players of Dark Star did not know was that, after Shi Feng had activated the Ring of Nothingness, his first task was not to escape, but to leap forward and charge towards the tree closest to Lone Tyrant. Hence, the Flares used to seal his path of escape served no purpose whatsoever. Damn it! He plans to kill his way over! Use Flare and shine Guild Leader Tyrants surroundings! When Youlan recalled the faint smile on Black Flames face as he pinned Lone Tyrant with a glare, she instinctively felt that Shi Feng aimed to kill the commander. Only by doing could Shi Feng possibly redeem Zero Wings fame and prestige. At that time, even if Dark Star managed to annihilate Zero Wings core team, it would not damage Zero Wings reputation if Lone Tyrant, Dark Stars Guild Leader, died at Black Flames hands. After all, even though Zero Wing only had tens of players on their side, they would still have managed to kill Dark Stars Guild Leader while under the protection of over a thousand players. At that time, Dark Star would be the one suffering humiliation. Why are you all still daydreaming?! Move! Youlan angrily shouted when she noticed that none of Dark Stars Rangers had reacted. However, Youlan suddenly felt that something was amiss. Instead of looking towards the outskirts of the encirclement, all of these Rangers stared at the space above her. Immediately, Youlan raised her head, discovering a figure falling towards her, and this figure was none other than Shi Feng himself. Panic surfaced on Lone Tyrants face. He never imagined that Shi Feng would be so suicidal as to come for his life. Black Flame, if you wish to die then Ill grant your wish! The corners of Lone Tyrants mouth raised slightly. He then picked up his shield and sword, fully prepared to guard against Shi Fengs attack. What amazing courage! Ming Sha, who stood by Lone Tyrants side, brimmed with fighting spirit right now, his eyes glowing as he watched Shi Feng fall. He then retrieved the Bone Shatterer from his back and stood in front of Lone Tyrant, acting like a highly defensive wall. Ming Sha secretly admired Shi Fengs performance, and he deeply wished he that could properly exchange blows with this man. However, responsibilities came first, so he had no choice but to get rid Shi Feng. Even with Ming Sha protecting Lone Tyrant, Youlan still felt that something was off. After all, why would an intelligent and resourceful man like Black Flame carry out such a reckless action? As insurance, Youlan hurriedly commanded, Guardian Knights, use Protection Blessing on Guild Leader Tyrant! All healers focus on healing Guild Leader Tyrant as well! Do not let Black Flame succeed! 314 True Exper When Shi Feng landed soundlessly on the ground, he was only 20 yards away from Lone Tyrant. In the next moment, Sacred Heals graced Lone Tyrant, one after another. Lone Tyrant was one of the top ten players on the Ranking List of White River City; he was one of the apex MTs throughout White River City as well. Although he was only Level 21 at the moment, he had over 3,700 HP, and he was not much weaker than Cola. With high HP and Defense, physical damage classes such as Assassins, Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Rangers would find it extremely difficult to kill Lone Tyrant. Not to mention, Lone Tyrant now had a large team of healers keeping him alive. Moreover, there was also the great expert, Ming Sha, currently guarding him. Hence, Youlan was greatly confused as she watched Shi Fengs foolish actions. Let me see what you are made of! Ming Sha smiled at the oncoming Shi Feng, and at the same time, he lifted the Bone Shatterer and slashed it down at his enemy. The Bone Shatterer was a massive greatsword, yet, Ming Sha wielded it nimbly and accurately. In a single strike, he had completely sealed off Shi Fengs path of advance. At this moment, the surrounding melee players of Dark Star charged at Shi Feng, intending to make mincemeat of him. Meanwhile, the mages standing a short distance away also started casting their spells. As long as Ming Sha managed to delay Shi Feng for a few more seconds, Shi Feng would receive the bombardment of hundreds of spells. Even Zero Wings Chief MT, the Guardian Knight Cola, would lose his life if he received so many spells, not to mention a Swordsman like Shi Feng. Yet, as if he did not see these mages readying their attacks, Shi Feng continued to charge forward, showing no intentions of slowing. Just as Ming Shas second strike was about to land on Shi Fengs body, however, Shi Fengs entire person disappeared. Subsequently, Ming Shas Bone Shatterer struck only air, generating a powerful gust of wind. The Elementalists, Cursemancers, Summoners, and all other ranged classes that were about to launch their attacks also interrupted their chanting after they lost sight of their target. Where is he? When Ming Sha failed to find Shi Feng in front of him, he could not help but examine his surroundings. Suddenly, Ming Sha felt a chilling intent coming from behind him. Spinning around, he discovered that, just like a ghost, Shi Feng had soundlessly appeared behind Lone Tyrant. If not for his acute senses, he would not have detected Shi Fengs presence at all. After Shi Feng used Silent Steps to appear behind Lone Tyrant, he immediately activated Absolute Time. With himself as the center point, all enemies within a 50-yard radius were now unable to use any skills or tools. Shi Feng then brandished the Abyssal Blade, casting Abyssal Bind on Lone Tyrant. Meanwhile, Lone Tyrant only felt a cold wind blowing on his back. Only after Shi Feng started brandishing the Abyssal Blade did Lone Tyrant notice that someone stood behind him. Horrified, Lone Tyrant hurriedly leaped forward, hoping to dodge the attack aimed at his back. As insurance, Lone Tyrant even intended to cast Protection Blessing on himself. However, Shi Feng was simply too fast. He had activated Absolute Time and Abyssal Bind almost simultaneously. Discovering that he could not activate Protection Blessing, Lone Tyrants heart grew extremely anxious. In the next instant, nine pitch-black chains bound his body, preventing him from moving even an inch. Meanwhile, the healers standing in the distance could only watch this scene play out. With their skills locked, the most they could do was provide moral support. Damn. Seeing that Shi Feng was the only person standing close to Lone Tyrant, Ming Sha realized that he had been tricked. Shi Feng had deceived him into leaving Lone Tyrants side. Suddenly, a feeling that he had just been played for a fool grew in Ming Shas mind. This was the first time he had felt such a feeling. Lone Tyrant was bound and completely unguarded right now. He was unable to resist in the slightest. If he, Ming Sha, had stayed by Lone Tyrants side, even if Lone Tyrant were bound, he could have still helped defend against attacks. Now, however, he was almost a full ten yards away from Lone Tyrant. If this were any other day, he could have closed the distance between them using the Charge he had specifically reserved. Now, however, none of his skills would work. Even if he wanted to save Lone Tyrant, he was powerless to do so. However, he only needed around two seconds to close a distance of ten yards. As long as Lone Tyrant could survive that long, Ming Sha was confident in stopping Shi Feng, preventing Shi Feng from dealing any more damage to Lone Tyrant. Naturally, Lone Tyrant had considered this as well. Hence, even when faced with Shi Fengs Abyssal Blade and Purgatorys Shadow, he still revealed his confidence as if saying, What can you do to me? He was a Guardian Knight who possessed 3,700 HP. It was simply impossible for Shi Feng to kill him in two short seconds. Unfortunately, reality had cruelly slapped Lone Tyrant in the face. When Shi Fengs Chop landed on Lone Tyrant, who now had his Defense reduced by 100% due to the effects of the Abyssal Bind, a frightening damage of -1,500 appeared above Lone Tyrants head. This single slash had erased Lone Tyrants confidence. Now, an expression of fear decorated Lone Tyrants face instead. Immediately, Lone Tyrant struggled to escape Abyssal Bind. However, no matter how much energy he expended, the bone-chilling chains remain unperturbed. This was the first time Lone Tyrant had felt so powerless. He had over a thousand subordinates and a team of experts protecting him. Yet, Shi Feng regarded them all as nothing. Now, he could not even resist while Shi Feng arbitrarily slaughtered him. Shi Feng lifted the Abyssal Blade high. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade, which was covered in green arcs of lightning, descended, and three arcs of lightning penetrated Lone Tyrants body. -984, -1370, -1892. After Thundering Flash ended, Lone Tyrants body fell to the ground. From beginning to end, Shi Feng had only used two moves to finish off Lone Tyrant, and the time he spent doing so had not exceeded one second. Shi Fengs Attack Power thoroughly shocked everyone from Dark Star. Shi Fengs performance was simply stunning. Even when faced with over a thousand elites from Dark Star, he managed to kill Dark Stars Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant. Ming Sha was also stunned by this scene. He had never imagined that Lone Tyrant would die so quickly under Shi Fengs assault. Everybody, get him! No matter what, do not let him escape! Ming Sha bellowed as he felt unprecedented humiliation. After finishing off Lone Tyrant, Shi Feng sent a chilling gaze to his surroundings. Those who received his gaze inadvertently halted their steps, and none dared to look Shi Feng in the eyes. Shi Feng was like a king that had descended from heaven; nobody dared compete with him over dominance. Faced with Ming Shas glare, Shi Feng simply raised his index finger at Ming Sha. He then made a hooking motion with his finger and softly chuckled. Ming Shas rage burned even brighter after receiving such a blatant provocation. Immediately, he lifted his greatsword and charged at his opponent. In reply to Ming Shas actions, Shi Feng gently waved the Abyssal Blade as he walked forward. Shi Feng had the presence of a king facing an ants challenge, his mind appearing completely at ease. When the two swords collided, sparks flew. The impact of the attack forced Ming Sha to retreat multiple steps before he could stabilize himself. Shi Feng, however, had not moved an inch. The gap in strength between the two was clear at a glance. Giving Ming Sha no time, Shi Feng instantly charged forward and brandished his sword. One slash Two slashes Three slashes Shi Fengs attacks were like a violent gale. Ming Sha desperately dodged and blocked the onslaught. However, each time Ming Sha was knocked back, it was very difficult for him to stabilize his form. After receiving over a dozen attacks, Ming Sha finally failed to block an attack. He received a hit to his abdomen, and the blow sent him flying. However, Shi Feng was not done. Shi Fengs feet suddenly exerted an explosive force, creating a deep pit in the ground as his body shot towards Ming Sha like an artillery shell. While his body remained in mid-air, Ming Sha was unable to exert any force to retaliate or dodge. The moment Shi Feng shot past Ming Sha, he brandished his swords multiple times. Each and every attack struck Ming Shas vital points, all of them causing over -600 damage. In the blink of an eye, Ming Shas life was no more. The scene dumbfounded the audience from Dark Star. What they had witnessed was simply Shi Feng flying past Ming Sha, followed by silvery sword streaks wrapping around Ming Shas body. By the time Shi Feng passed Ming Shas body, Mind Sha was already dead. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng dove into the dense forest, with a few leaps, his figure completely vanished. At this time, some of Dark Stars members finally responded and rushed in the direction Shi Feng had disappeared. Youlan, do we chase after him? South Wolf worriedly asked as he looked to Youlan. South Wolf was very clear about just how powerful Ming Sha was. Yet, such a powerful expert still died at Shi Fengs hands. Moreover, from beginning to end, Shi Feng had not used any Skills in the exchange with Ming Sha. He relied purely on techniques to kill his opponent. This was something that South Wolf had never dared to imagine possible in the past. Now, however, South Wolf finally realized what a true expert was. Youlan shook her head and released a soft sigh, saying, No. If Black Flame possesses such strength, even if we chase after him, what can we actually do to him? Not to mention, our speed cant compare to his at all. We should save our energy and give up. First, he had killed Lone Tyrant, Dark Stars Guild Leader, amidst an army of thousands. Next, while he was escaping, he managed to kill an expert like Ming Sha. This time, Dark Star had truly lost all dignity. Even if Dark Star managed to exterminate Zero Wings core team at a later date, it would only add on to the gossip about Dark Star. This time, Dark Star had truly suffered a defeat. 315 Breaking Past the Encirclemen Are we giving up, just like that? South Wolf still held some resentment in his heart. After all, Shi Feng had killed him once before. Then what do you propose? Youlan revealed a calm smile. She then pointed towards the direction of the Silverleaf Forest in which Shi Feng had disappeared, saying, If you arent satisfied, be my guest. However, you have already fully experienced Black Flames horrifying might. Under that complete silencing skill, he can easily kill whoever he wants. As long as the Cooldown for that skill refreshes, he might turn around and start another massacre. At that time, the first target hell go after will be you. When South Wolf heard her reasoning, cold sweat permeated his forehead as he recalled the scene of Shi Feng killing Ming Sha before escaping. Even until now, fear lingered within him. But how should we explain things to Young Master Feng? Although South Wolf feared Shi Feng, Feng Xuanyang was not someone he could afford to provoke. Ill deal with Young Master Feng. Today, we experienced Black Flames true strength, so consider it a great harvest. As for the other matters, lets leave those to Guild Leader Tyrant to deal with. Youlan said as she revealed a mysterious smile. She then turned around and left. Feeling helpless, South Wolf sighed and departed with Youlan. Now that both Lone Tyrant and Ming Sha had died, what could he, South Wolf, possibly do? Moreover, his main task for today was to show Youlan around the Guild and allow her to assess the situation at Dark Star. Hunting Zero Wing was a side task. \--- At a lake nestled in the Silverleaf Forest, Fire Dance and the other core members of Zero Wing had been waiting for a long time now. However, even after so much time had passed, Shi Feng had yet to show up, causing them all to grow slightly anxious. Sister Fire Dance, Guild Leader still hasnt shown up yet. Why dont we check on him? one of the Five Demon Generals, the Assassin, Flying Shadow asked. In the past, Flying Shadow had been a solitary person. However, his strength could rank at the very top of Shadow. Although he had not performed any outstanding feats during the early stages of the game, he had not performed badly either. In general, he had been an average player. In this life, however, after Shi Feng recruited him into the Zero Wing Workshop, he immediately assigned him to Zero Wings core team. Many in the Guild had initially voiced their opinions against this matter. However, as time slowly passed, everyone finally realized that Shi Fengs decision was still as impeccable as always. It was not something the likes of them could hope to compare to. Within the Zero Wings core team, Fire Dance had always been the publicly acknowledged number one Assassin of Zero Wing. Meanwhile, the position of number two Assassin had been undetermined. However, after Flying Shadow joined the Guild, his techniques rose rapidly with each passing battle and friendly competition. Very quickly, everyone began to acknowledge him, and now, he was considered the most powerful Assassin in Zero Wing after Fire Dance. No. Since Guild Leader has chosen to stay behind, he obviously is confident of obtaining victory. We will only be a hindrance if we try to help, Fire Dance shook her head and rejected Flying Shadows proposal. In reality, however, she was also worried about Shi Feng. At this moment, a black figure pierced through the brush, landing by the lakeside soundlessly. Before anyone noticed, this black figure had arrived before them. Fire Dance and Violet Cloud were the first to detect this figures presence. Instinctively, Fire Dance retrieved the daggers from her waist, preparing to meet with a great enemy. Soon after, everyone else discovered the presence of this new-comer as well, and they too promptly readied their weapons. Although they could not see this black figures appearance clearly, the pressure the figure emitted was no less than a Lord ranked Boss. Guild Leader! Fire Dance quickly recognized Shi Fengs appearance, and she was greatly shocked when she felt his aura. Previously, as they had been in a hurry to escape, she had not noticed Shi Fengs change. Now that she confronted Shi Feng, face to face, she suddenly realized that Shi Fengs strength had greatly improved. Right now, even she could not determine exactly how powerful Shi Feng was. It was especially true for the sharp and frightening aura he emanated. It seems that all of you have improved greatly recently. You actually managed to discover me so quickly. Shi Feng examined his Guild members and revealed a satisfied smile. Battles in Gods Domain were unlike any other virtual reality game. The improvement of a persons strength was not limited to techniques and equipment. One must also possess a bestial intuition. After all, the penalty for death was not low, so such an intuition was essential when engaged in combat in the fields. In reality, if players did not suffer death when grinding out in the fields, they could easily reach Level 200 within two years. Yet, Shi Feng had taken a decade to reach Level 200 in the past. Death was inevitable when battling in Gods Domain. In the past, Shi Feng had died countless times while participating in all sorts of combat. In Gods Domain, danger always lurked around the corner. Guild wars were only a small part of the dangers in Gods Domain. Thus, it was of utmost importance for a player to nurture a bestial intuition to avoid unnecessary deaths. It was also a key to leveling up quickly. Peoples lives in reality were simply too peaceful, so this bestial intuition had been completely buried deep in their bodies. However, as players experienced more battles in Gods Domain, this intuition would slowly rise to the surface. Meanwhile, the rate at which players improved also correlated to how strong their intuition became, and this was one of the main factors differentiating average players from experts. Shi Feng chose to appear so stealthily to test everyones intuition, and the result had not disappointed him. Compared to several days ago, everyone present had improved greatly. Though, when compared to Fire Dance and Violet Cloud, everyone elses improvement paled slightly. Nevertheless, they were still much stronger than the average elite player. After Shi Feng finished evaluating everyones strengths, he then said with a smile, Alright, lets leave this place. Follow me. Leave? This was exactly what everyone had constantly tried to do. However, it was simply too difficult to accomplish. Currently, Dark Stars forces locked down the Silverleaf Forest. With their team of slightly more than 30, it was impossible to fight their way out of the forest. In the next moment, however, Shi Feng gave everyone an Underwater Breathing Potion. This potion allowed players to breathe underwater for half an hour. Following which, Shi Feng gulped down the Breathing Potion and jumped into the lake. He then dove into the depths of the lake. The team copied Shi Fengs actions, drinking the Breathing Potion and jumping into the lake as well. This lake was not just a pool of stagnant water. Instead, it connected to the other lakes found in the Silverleaf Forest. A player in the past had accidentally stumbled on this particular secret. This player had only managed to discover this secret as he tried to catch the Silver Carp found in the Silverleaf Forest. The Silver Carp was a precious cooking ingredient, and its flavor far surpassed the carp found in the real world. Moreover, after eating the dishes made using the Silver Carp, there was a very small chance for players to receive a permanent increase of 1 point to a Basic Attribute. Players could receive up to a total of 20 Attribute Points through consuming these delicacies. Unfortunately, the Attribute rewarded was always random. Even so, players still valued the Silver Carp. Many players who were gourmands and wished to increase their strength would willingly spend a massive sum of money to purchase Silver Carp. So, Silver Carp had always been short in supply, and their prices had steadily increased over time. Back in the day, plenty of players would come to the Silverleaf Forest to fish for the Silver Carp. There was also no lack of bloodbaths due to competition over these Silver Carp as well. Shi Feng led everyone through one underwater tunnel after another, gradually distancing themselves from Dark Stars encirclement. However, Dark Star still held Silverleaf Forests exits. So, it was impossible for them to depart from the forest safely. A Guild War Order could seal an area for 24 hours. During this period, no one could use Return Scrolls in this area. In addition, if enemy Guild members logged out of the game while in this area, they would receive very harsh punishment. This punishment was far more severe than even the penalty for death as it was meant to prevent players from abusing this method to avoid the war. However, Guild War Orders had a Cooldown time of two natural days. In Gods Domain, that would be 96 hours. Hence, after players managed to endure and survive through the Guild War Orders effective period of 24 hours, they could return directly to the city using a Return Scroll. Shi Feng intended to take advantage of these underwater tunnels before anyone discovered their existence. By doing so, they could escape Dark Stars surveillance and wait out the seal of the Guild War Order. \--- Dark Star had a lot of members inside the Silverleaf Forest. However, due to Shi Fengs group killing one of their teams, which had consisted of over 100 elite players, in addition to Shi Fengs impossible feat of killing both Lone Tyrant and Ming Sha amidst the encirclement of over 1,000 players, Dark Star no longer dared spread their forces too thin. They even called for more reinforcements to the Silverleaf Forest. Yet, even after thoroughly searching the area where the previous battle took place, they still could not manage to locate any traces of Shi Feng and the others. Time passed, little by little. After his resurrection, Lone Tyrant was like a madman as he sent out all members of Dark Star to hunt Shi Fengs team in the Silverleaf Forest. His insanity also attracted the attention of the players in White River City. Why was Dark Star sending even more players to the Silverleaf Forest? Were the thousands of players they had sent there before not enough to deal with the core members of Zero Wing? At this time, a new post from Black Flame appeared on the forums, and within the post, there was a video. This video bore the title: Dark Stars Guild Leader, Lone Tyrants death! 316 Moon The confrontation between Dark Star and Zero Wing had already become explosively popular on the forums. Previously, using the name Black Flame, Shi Feng had declared that he would exact vengeance against Dark Star. In response, those who knew of Dark Stars strength were not optimistic about Zero Wings chances of success. After all, everyone knew that Zero Wing had only recently established; it did not possess a significant background. However, Zero Wing was still the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to possess a Guild Residence, so most considered it to have great potential. If it spent a few more months developing, it might become an existence that surpassed even Dark Star. At the moment, though, it was simply too early for Zero Wing to go against Dark Star. Yet, sometime later, such remarks about Zero Wing completely disappeared. World Dominators, veteran first-rate Guild, had actually suffered defeat. Moreover, the Guild had been eliminated from the competition for dominance over White River City. Zero Wing had played a significant role in achieving this feat, so it was apparent that Zero Wing was not as weak as everyone had imagined. Hence, the moment the video of Shi Feng killing Dark Stars Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant, uploaded, its popularity instantly grew. In particular, the scene where Shi Feng indifferently faced off against an army of over a thousand elites and managed to kill Lone Tyrant by himself garnered huge amounts of attention. Shi Fengs actions made it seem as if killing the enemy commander while surrounded by an army as simple as taking something out of his pockets. A scene that was only possible in storybooks had actually occurred in reality. In the face of Shi Feng, the Guild Leader of Dark Star was like a little kid. Even as Lone Tyrant died, he had not offered the least bit of resistance. On the other hand, just a glance from Shi Feng caused the thousands of players of Dark Star to freeze in fright. At that time, Shi Feng was like a king. Before him, everybody else could only submit. Also, the scene in which Shi Feng killed Ming Sha as he departed was even more amazing. Anybody could tell at a glance that the Berserker, Ming Sha, was not just an ordinary expert. Yet, even so, Shi Feng killed him effortlessly. However, this did not mean that Ming Sha was weak. Instead, Shi Feng was simply too strong. This Black Flame is too powerful! With his skills, he can rank on the Gods Domain Experts List. Not likely. Thats the Gods Domain Experts List youre talking about. The Secret Pavilion has collected information on all experts in Gods Domain to compile that list and the Gods Domain experts that rank on it are all monsters. Previously, even though the god-ranked expert, Ye Feng, had killed over a hundred players all by himself, he still failed to earn a spot on that list. The Secret Pavilion was famous in the virtual gaming world, and one could find the Secret Pavilions presence in practically every virtual reality game available. The Experts List compiled by the Secret Pavilion was also well-received by many players. After all, by browsing through the Experts List, one could easily find information such as the major events that had occurred in Gods Domain, what kind of experts were present in the game, who the number one player was, and more. Players had no need to go through the trouble of searching for such information through the official forums. Any player who managed earn a place on the Experts List was a target for recruitment of all of the major Workshops in the gaming industry. Although nobody knew whether Black Flame was capable of ranking on the Experts List, undoubtedly, he had already earned his fame in Star-Moon Kingdom. In the future, whenever people talked about Zero Wing, the first thing that would come to their minds would be Black Flame. \--- Damn it! Damn that Black Flame! Lone Tyrant burst into an uncontrollable rage when he discovered the video Shi Feng had uploaded. His original plan to destroy Zero Wing had completely backfired, and instead, he became the laughingstock throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Have we not found them yet?! Lone Tyrant bellowed. Dark Star had suffered a tremendous loss this time. Not only had it lost more than a thousand players to Zero Wing, but Dark Stars fame and prestige had also been destroyed. Lone Tyrants reputation had gone up in flames. To make things worse, he still had to compensate World Dominators for its losses. The amount they had to pay would definitely put a dent in Dark Stars funds, damaging the Guilds development. In this war, Dark Star had suffered a double loss]. However, Lone Tyrant was completely helpless about this situation. Guild Leader, weve already increased the number of people searching for them to 15,000. However, its as if they grew wings and flew away; even after rummaging through the entire Silverleaf Forest, we still cant find any traces of Zero Wing. I suspect that they have long since left the Forest. Otherwise, if Black Flame and the core members of Zero Wing were still here, Zero Wings and Ouroboross forces would have carved a path of blood into this forest by now. They wouldnt have dispersed and went on to do their own things. Lone Tyrants confidant explained slowly. Before, Lone Tyrants anger had blinded him, so he had not considered this. However, now that he thought it through, it was as his confidant said. If Black Flame, Zero Wings Guild Leader, were still trapped deep in his enemys territory, how could the other members of his Guild possibly sit and do nothing? They would have charged forward in desperation. If Zero Wing had joined hands with Ouroboros, based on Dark Stars strength, Dark Star would have no choice but to back off. Yet, Zero Wing had not done so. Even the reinforcements Lone Tyrant had called in from White River City received no obstruction whatsoever from the other Guild. Based on Zero Wings inaction, one could conclude that Black Flame had indeed already left the Silverleaf Forest. Damn that Black Flame! Weve wasted so much time and manpower! Lone Tyrants eyes burned with anger. However, he was simply helpless against Zero Wing. It was no longer possible to deal with their enemy now. Previously, he had the help of World Dominators to hinder Ouroboros. Now that World Dominators was out of the competition, if Dark Star wished to deal with Zero Wing, it would have to fight both Zero Wing and Ouroboros simultaneously. Even with Underworlds support, it was still not an opponent for these two Guilds. Suddenly, Lone Tyrant seemed to age by several years. Pass on my command: everybody is dismissed. Those who should rest, rest. Those who wish to level up, go level up. As for the rewards and compensations, I will issue those later. After Lone Tyrant finished speaking, as if all the strength in his body drained away, his entire person became powerless. Soon after, everyone from Dark Star departed from the Silverleaf Forest, one after another. As for the seal of Guild War Order, that, too, had dissipated. \--- When the thousands of players from Dark Star hunted Shi Fengs group, having nothing better to do, Shi Feng and the others had spent their time searching for Silver Carp at a lake. Currently, nobody that knew how precious Silver Carp were. Moreover, now that the underwater areas of the Silverleaf Forest had yet to develop, one could find a large number of Silver Carp in the lakes in the area. Even in the very beginning, each Silver Carp sold for 20 Silver Coins. Presently, 20 Silver was worth 3,000 Credits; it could compare to the monthly salaries of white-collared workers. By the time everybody discovered the Silver Carps value, its price had soared from the initial 20 Silver Coins to 2 Gold Coins. To an average player, such an amount was a fortune. During the several hours Dark Star had hunted them, Shi Feng and the others had managed to catch over 20 Silver Carp. They even discovered multiple Treasure Chests. Although they were only Bronze and Mysterious-Iron rank, it was still a considerable harvest. Guild Leader, as you predicted, Dark Star has released the seal on the Silverleaf Forest, Fire Dance reported excitedly. Although everything had gone according to Shi Fengs plan, when everyone witnessed the area seal lifting so quickly, they could not help their astonishment. It was as if everything was within Shi Fengs grasp. Thats that. However, we are now Red Players. If we arent nobles of White River City, we wont have any way to enter the city safely. Most of us are already Level 20, so if we wish to upgrade ourselves further, we need to complete our class change. Lets first wash away our Red Names. Otherwise, we cant enter White River City to accept our class change quest. Shi Feng was not particularly surprised about the seal on the Silverleaf Forest releasing. After spending so much time and manpower, Dark Star had still failed to locate any of them. As long as Lone Tyrant was not an idiot, he would definitely stop searching for them like a fool. 317 Town Capture Guild Leader, our names are as red as blood right now. Most of us have killed more than ten people, while Blackie and I have killed more than a hundred each. Well need to waste a lot of time to cleanse our Red Names completely. By the time we do, most of the players from the other Guilds will have already reached Level 20, Fire Dance said as she smiled bitterly. If a player wished to remove their status as a Red Name, they needed to remove the Crime Value they had accumulated. One of the most common ways to get rid of Crime Value was to wait, as a players Crime Value decreased over time. However, if ones Crime Value was excessively high, they needed to punish evil and promote righteousness. However, although killing NPCs such as villains, criminals, and bandits would significantly reduce a players Crime Value, there was no other benefit for doing so. Killing these NPCs would not provide players with any additional rewards or EXP. Moreover, these NPCs were very few and usually scattered all over Gods Domain. It would be fine if players hunted for these NPCs by themselves, but hunting as a group would be time-consuming and inefficient. Indeed. Lets forget about cleansing your Red Names for now. Well raise our White River City Reputation. As long as you become nobles, entering the city as Red Names will not have significant consequences. We should have no problems taking on the class change quest, Shi Feng made his decision after some thought. Otherwise, it would take around two to three days effort to cleanse such a high Crime Value. ... Everyone fell speechless when they heard Shi Fengs decision to raise their Reputation in White River City to the degree of becoming a noble. Shi Feng made it sound as if becoming a noble of White River City was as easy as buying cabbage from the market. It was extremely difficult for players to raise their White River City Reputation, and one needed to invest a lot of time to accumulate sufficient Reputation Points to become a noble. In this case, it would be much easier to hunt for NPC bandits. Guild Leader, do you have a method to increase our White River City Reputation quickly? Blackie knew that Shi Feng would not speak without reason. Suddenly, his eyes shone with a hint of excitement as he looked to his Guild Leader for answers. A noble of White River City! Currently, one could count the number of players that had become nobles of White River City on ones fingers. After becoming a noble, not only could one purchase a business stall in White River City, but one could also receive high-level quests in the City. The rewards were enough to drool over. Although the EXP rewarded was low, the monetary rewards consisted of Silver Coins, not Copper Coins. Most importantly, nobles could receive a 10% discount when purchasing items in White River City. They could also receive a 30% discount when repairing weapons and equipment! Currently, every time they went to repair items, they would always leave with a stomach ache. Due to the quality of their items, the repair fees were at least six times higher than the average players. If they could become nobles of White River City, in the future, they would not become poor bastards whenever they needed to repair their equipment. They might even get the chance to enter the Nobles District. Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie, saying, Do you really think it is so easy to become a noble? The team could not help their laughter at Blackie as he nearly choked from Shi Fengs reply. Although it is not easy to raise ones Reputation in White River City, if one wishes to increase it quickly, there is indeed a method to do so. Guild Leader, is there really such a method? Cola asked excitedly. It was an absolute nightmare for him whenever he had to repair his equipment. Out of cloth armor, leather armor, and plate armor, the repair fees for cloth armor were the cheapest. On the other hand, plate armor cost the most to repair, and normally, the fees were at least double that of cloth armor. Ah, there is one method: Town Capture, Shi Feng nodded, revealing a mysterious smile. Shi Fengs announcement stunned his Guildmates. What kind of trouble was Shi Feng trying to stir? They had just escaped from Dark Stars pursuit, yet, now, they were going to capture a town? Town Capture? Cola was confused. Although he did not know why Shi Feng suggested they capture a town, such a thing was not easy. Level 50 Elite NPCs guarded every town. There were even Tier 2 NPCs protecting them. Even with their strength combined, they wouldnt be a match for even a single Level 50 Elite NPC, not to mention a Tier 2 NPC. Thats right. However, were not going to capture just any town. Instead, our aim is Creek Town, one of the towns within the White River City region thats occupied by evil-aligned NPCs. As long as we capture this town, we can obtain a lot of White River City Reputation Points. If were lucky, there might even be unexpected rewards, Shi Feng explained. However, it wont be easy. Ill need to make some preparations before we set off. Just stay here and catch some fish for now. Ill head back and make the necessary arrangements. Ill notify you guys once Im done. After Shi Feng said so, he used a Return Scroll. Town Capture. During the middle stages of Gods Domain, this was a commonplace activity for players. There were plenty of small towns in Gods Domain, and a majority of these towns were not under the management of any kingdoms or empires. Instead, other forces occupied these towns. So long as players wished to establish their own empire in Gods Domain, it was a must for them to occupy towns. Meanwhile, if players wished to occupy a town, they needed to chase away the forces that occupied said town first. Only by doing so could they turn the town into their own Guild Town. They could then slowly develop and upgrade the towns rank. It was also not impossible for players to develop a town to surpass even Star-Moon City. However, the conditions for doing so were extremely demanding, so it was very difficult for players to succeed. Moreover, capturing a town was easier said than done. Even if the current number one Guild in White River City, Ouroboros, went all out, they should not have any clue of how to capture a town. It should be impossible for Ouroboros to capture even the most bordered and resource-poor town. On top of that, now that Shi Feng had unsealed the Endless Abyss, towns had upgraded their overall strength in preparation for the assault from Demonic Beasts, making it even more challenging for players to capture a town. However, Creek Town, the town Shi Feng had chosen as his target, was slightly special. There was a Hidden Quest in White River City that would greatly reduce the overall strength of Creek Town. If the town were weakened, capture would become far easier. However, in order to accept this Hidden Quest, at the very minimum, one must first become a Viscount of White River City. Fortunately, Shi Feng just happened to be just that. After Shi Feng returned to White River City, he suddenly became the focus of the entire city. Any players who saw him immediately began whispering to companions or strangers by their sides. Shi Feng was a celebrity right now, and everyone in White River City knew about him. Although part of the reason why Shi Feng attracted so much attention was due to his blood-red name, the actual cause for his fame was due to the name Black Flame. The video of the battle in the Silverleaf Forest was extremely exciting. The scene where Shi Feng had leaped high into the air to finish off Ming Sha was particularly unforgettable. Countless players had tried to mimic Shi Fengs actions. Unfortunately, average players could, at most, jump two to three meters high. Compared to Shi Feng, who had managed to reach a height of eight meters, the gap between them was simply too massive. Moreover, Shi Feng had brandished his sword six times while in mid-air, and every strike accurately landed on Ming Shas vital points. Through their attempts to mimic Shi Fengs actions, everyones admiration for him grew. Everyone knew that a players Basic Attributes determined the gap between them and others. Only after making a comparison did they know just how wide the gap was between them and Shi Feng. Guild Leader Black Flame! When will Zero Wing hold another mass recruitment? Ive been waiting to join Zero Wing for a long time now! a Level 17 male Swordsman asked loudly. Thats right! This little girl wishes to join Zero Wing as well! Big Brother Black Flame, please tell this little sister when youll recruit again! It can be our little secret! I promise not to tell anyone! a beautiful female Summoner asked sweetly. Everyones eagerness to join Zero Wing grew greater and greater. If Zero Wing had not announced to the public that it had temporarily halted recruitment in order to fine-tune the management of the Guild, the stampede of players might have trampled Zero Wings recruitment area by now. The crowds enthusiasm started to make even Shi Feng grow afraid. Without a better choice, he said, Everyone can rest assured that Zero Wing will definitely recruit for more members. Moreover, we will have even more slots available during the next recruitment. As for the time and venue, the recruitment will be held in three days at Zero Wings Guild Residence. I hope that everyone will show up for the registration when the time comes. Finished speaking, Shi Feng hurriedly escaped. If he remained any longer, he might not be able to get away. In three days? Great! I can use that time to improve my techniques and strength! I will definitely pass the test and become a member of Zero Wing! After receiving a specific time, everyone grew even more enthusiastic. They all swore to join Zero Wing no matter what. In their minds, Zero Wing stood out like a sacred temple of experts. Assassin Fire Dance, Guardian Knight Cola, Elementalist Aqua Rose, Berserker Lonely Snow, Cursemancer Black Cloud, Cleric Violet Cloud, Swordsman Black Flame, Swordsman Ye Feng, and many other experts all belonged to Zero Wing. These experts possessed brilliant battle records in Gods Domain, and they were far stronger than other Guilds experts. 318 Blood Hand Shi Fengs return immediately attracted the attention of the various powers in White River City. When these powers learned about Shi Fengs return, in addition, his blood-red colored name, they knew that Dark Stars encirclement had failed. Dark Star had dispatched over 10,000 members during this encounter. Yet, they still failed to annihilate Zero Wings core members. This conclusion had greatly boosted Zero Wings fame. Moreover, Lone Tyrants death at Shi Fengs hands had also been a huge blow to Dark Stars reputation. Excluding World Dominators, which had already been eliminated from the competition for the dominance over White River City, Dark Stars current reputation ranked at the very bottom of the top six Guilds of White River City. As a result, many players who had originally intended to join Dark Star now had their sights on Zero Wing instead. As things stood, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing surpassed Dark Star. After escaping the attention of the passionate players surrounding him, Shi Feng immediately draped a Black Cloak over his shoulders, covering his face and hiding his name. He then hurried towards the Adventurers Association of White River City. On the way, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and had her bring around 60 core members to the Adventurers Association to meet up with him. Twenty minutes later, Aqua Rose showed up at the entrance of the Adventurers Association with the requested Guildmates. Every one of these core members wore equipment that was Mysterious-Iron rank and above. Among them, many possessed Secret-Silver Equipment. The group looked dazzling when they stood in front of the entrance, invoking the envy and admiration of many passing players. Although Dark Stars ambush and the battle with World Dominators had significantly damaged Zero Wing, fortunately, the Guild possessed a relatively large stock of Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment to compensate for the loss. Only, some time was required to regain the lost Levels. Meanwhile, Aqua Roses group consisted of players that had been busy raiding Dungeons while the Guild War had taken place. They had not been able to make it in time to help. Big Sis Aqua, why do you think the Guild Leader called us here? a female Cleric called Snow Goose asked curiously. Isnt it obvious? Dark Star caused us trouble, picking a fight. Our Guild Leader obviously wants us here to plan our payback, a Berserker said, laughing. Thats great! The Dungeon we raided before was too far away, so we couldnt join in the Guild War. Now, Ill get to teach those bastards from Dark Star a lesson! Snow Goose giggled as she waved her delicate fist around. Watching this scene, Aqua Rose could not help but laugh, saying, Snow Goose, arent you a little too aggressive? Although the Guild Leader hasnt expressed his plans for us yet, I feel that he called us here for something else. Otherwise, if we start a war against Dark Star with the few numbers we have here, we wont even fill in the gaps between their teeth. Stop guessing blindly. In any case, well know what he wants us to do soon enough. Hearing that their Guild Leader had called them here for something else, Snow Gooses mood dampened slightly. The others also revealed disappointed expressions. Shi Feng finally arrived after Aqua Rose and the others had waited at the Adventurers Associations entrance for a short while. Guild Leader, why are you still wearing a cloak? Are we not allowed to expose ourselves in this operation? Should we leave and sneak back over here? Aqua Rose could not help her confusion when she saw Shi Feng hiding his face. At this moment, Shi Feng looked like a wanted criminal who was afraid of being discovered. I hadnt intended to use it. However, being too famous doesnt help me either. If I removed my cloak, I dont think I will get further than the front door of the Adventurers Association, Shi Feng said, laughing bitterly. Forget about it. Invite me to the team and lets get down to business. From Shi Fengs brief explanation, Aqua Rose imagined the comical scene of a horde of players mobbing Shi Feng. Involuntarily, Aqua Roses lips hooked up into a bright smile. The dignified Guild Leader of Zero Wing had been fearless even against an army of thousands. Yet, now, he was actually afraid of his fans enthusiasm. After Aqua Rose invited Shi Feng to the team, she passed the team leader position to Shi Feng. After becoming the leader of the team, Shi Feng immediately examined everyones Level, and he could not help but feel proud at what he saw. A majority of the team was Level 19, while a small portion had already reached Level 20. This was unimaginable in any other Guild. As the various large Guilds competed over the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons, naturally, they would not hurry to level up. In truth, the Guilds actions were similar to putting the cart before the horse. Although obtaining the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons was important, Gods Domain worked differently from other MMOs. If players paid too much attention to their gains and losses during the early stages of the game, they could easily miss other opportunities. Take the promotion to become a Tier 1 class for example. Level 20 Dungeons specifically catered to Tier 1 classes. The only reason Fire Dance and the others had managed to clear Level 20 Dungeons was mainly due to the excellent equipment they possessed. Otherwise, it would have been extremely difficult to achieve such a feat. Not to mention, there were still the 50-man and 100-man Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons. Hence, the earlier they completed their Tier 1 promotion, the better their chances were of obtaining the First Clear of the 100-man Team Dungeon. The only benefit of obtaining the First Clear of the Level 10 Three Great Dungeons was fame among players. By obtaining the First Clear of a Level 20, 100-man Team Dungeon, however, not only could they increase their fame, but they could also encounter a great opportunity. Lets head to the second floor, Shi Feng said in the team chat. \--- Normally, nobody visited the second floor of the Adventurers Association. This place did not receive individual Guild players. Instead, this place was exclusive to Guild teams. Sister Aqua, why do you think the Guild Leader has led us here? Snow Goose asked curiously. I dont know. Aqua Rose shook her head. She, too, could not see through their Guild Leader, Shi Feng. However, it was precisely because of this that she had chosen to join Zero Wing. She then continued, However, this is where Guilds come to take on large-scale quests. I wonder what kind of great quest the Guild Leader plans to accept? At this time, Shi Feng sat in front of the VIP counter. With a smile, the beautiful receptionist behind the counter asked, Lord Viscount, how may I be of service today? I wish to take on a Guild Crusade Quest, Shi Feng requested. Okay. However, as the Zero Wing guild is only a 3-star Guild, there are only four locations available for a crusade. May I know which location Lord Viscount desires? The receptionist listed the four locations. They were rather remote towns, barren wastelands. However, dark forces occupied each location. Without two to three thousand Level 30 Tier 1 players, one should not even consider capturing it. Of course, this was only in the case for attacking normally. If it were a crusade, however, the difficulty of capturing the town would significantly decrease. Even so, it was still extremely difficult. If one attempted to capture these towns with only 100 players around Level 20, it would be suicide. Creek Town, then. Shi Feng was very familiar with the Crusade Quests available in White River City. He chose Creek Town, which was occupied by the Blood Hand Association, without hesitation. Among the many dark forces in the White River City region, the Blood Hand Association was one of the weakest and smallest powers; it ranked at the very bottom. Taking on any of the other three locations, each of which was controlled by lower-middle class dark forces, would be nothing more than suicide for Shi Feng and his team. They would have no chances of successfully capturing the town at all. Okay. A 1-star Crusade Quest will require a deposit of 30 Gold Coins. If the quest is not completed within five days, then the deposit will not be refunded. Snow Goose, who currently stood behind Shi Feng, widened her delicate mouth in shock when she heard the requirement of a 30 Gold deposit. Just what kind of quest was this? To think that they actually needed to pay a deposit before accepting the quest. Moreover, the deposit was even 30 Gold Coins! Big Sis Aqua, what kind of quest is that? It actually needs 30 Gold Coins! Even if I sold myself, I still wouldnt earn so much money! Snow Goose said, stunned. Snow Gooses words left everyone speechless. Shi Feng, on the other hand, merely revealed a calm smile as he paid the 30 Gold Coins deposit gladly. He then said in the team chat, This is a Guild Crusade Quest. Unless one becomes a true noble of White River City, they cant even accept such a quest. Moreover, 30 Gold Coins is actually very cheap. Cheap? Everyone was truly speechless this time. At this stage of the game, 30 Gold Coins was practically the maximum a third-rate Guild would possess. If they could not complete this Crusade Quest, those 30 Gold Coins would be gone forever. 319 Windbreaker After Shi Feng accepted the 1-star Guild Crusade Quest, he led everyone to the Twilight Temple. The Twilight Temple was a main hub for healer classes. Here Clerics, Oracles, and Druids could take on quests that rewarded high-level skills related to their classes. Guild Leader, what are we doing here? Aqua Rose asked, confused. Were looking for assistance. Shi Feng smiled faintly, not bothering to explain further. After entering the main hall of the Twilight Temple, they saw Level 180 Elite Guards crowding the temple. This hall also contained the statue of the Twilight Goddess, below which stood a Level 200 Priest dressed in red. An Oracle advanced to Priest after reaching Tier 2. To Shi Feng and the others, a Level 200 Priest was an existence that they could only revere. At this moment, however, this Priest dressed in red took the initiative to walk up to Shi Feng and welcome him. Greetings, Lord Viscount, the Priest said, fawning. Greetings, Esteemed Lord Priest. I wish to purchase some Water of Life. Do you have some here? Shi Feng asked softly. The Water of Life was the spring water taken from the Fountain of Eternal Life; it was sacred medicine in Gods Domain that could heal any wound in an instant. It could even regenerate a persons lost limbs, so The Water of Life was extremely valuable. To NPCs, the Water of Life held great importance. The Twilight Temple worshipped the Twilight Goddess. Meanwhile, the Fountain of Eternal Life was a Godly Relic that the Twilight Goddess had bestowed upon the Twilight Temple. Hence, throughout Gods Domain, only the Twilight Temple could possibly obtain the Water of Life. Lord Viscount, Water of Life is precious. This is a gift of the Twilight Goddess to we humans, and every drop is a treasure. It is not something a Priest like myself can give to others casually, so I beg for Lord Viscounts forgiveness, the Priest said, appearing slightly angry. However, a Viscount was a person of relatively high status in White River City. Even if Shi Fengs request angered the Priest, the Priest still had to endure and hold it in. If any other player stood in Shi Fengs place right now, the Priest might have thrown them out of the temple already. Naturally, Shi Feng knew this. Although he had guessed that his identity as a Viscount would not get him the Water of Life, the Priests unwavering refusal still shocked him slightly. Shi Feng then activated the Golden Stigmata and looked at the Priest, asking, Will this not do? Suddenly, twinkling golden stars appeared in Shi Fengs dark pupils. His body began to emanate a terrifying aura. In the face of this aura, the Priest felt even his soul tremble. You are The Priest was the manager of this Twilight Temple, so it was only natural that he would possess vast knowledge regarding Gods Domain. tigmata were the War Gods Temples symbol of supremacy, and they were categorized into three different colors: silver, gold, and purple. A person capable of controlling a Golden Stigmata was definitely a core character of the War Gods Temple. Is it really not possible? Shi Feng asked again. In truth, he was not confident in obtaining the Water of Life. If players wished to purchase the Water of Life from the Twilight Temple, the prerequisite was sufficient status among humans. As to what degree of status, even Shi Feng was unsure. However, characters like Weissman, the controller of a city, could definitely purchase some. Shi Feng was not a city lord, so if he wished to purchase the Water of Life, he could only try his other identities. If it were not possible to obtain any, he would have to look for other assistance to help him with the Crusade Quest instead. After he gained sufficient status in the future, he would return and purchase Water of Life. After some struggling, the Priest finally opened his mouth and said, Lord Viscount, with your esteemed status, you can purchase one drop. Okay, Ill take it, Shi Feng replied, slightly excited. However, his excitement confused the members of Zero Wing behind him. Wasnt it just a single drop of Water of Life? Yet, it actually caused their usually calm and indifferent Guild Leader to grow excited. Could this Water of Life possibly be an Epic item? That will be 300 Gold, Lord Viscount. The Priest carefully took out a small crystal vial from his pocket. Within this vial, there was a single droplet of dark-blue liquid. Aqua Rose immediately revealed a shocked expression when she heard the required price of 300 Gold. The others were stunned as well. However, Shi Feng was not surprised by this price. Instead, he handed over 300 Gold to the Priest without hesitation; his actions even seemed a little impatient. Aqua Rose was speechless when she heard the price for a drop of Water of Life. There was not a single Guild in Gods Domain that could possibly afford such an amount. Hence, when she saw Shi Feng hand over 300 Gold to the Priest, her disbelief was overwhelming. Although Aqua Rose had long since known that Shi Feng was rich, she never thought his fortune was this vast. No wonder Guild Leader said that 30 Gold was cheap before Snow Goose finally understood Shi Fengs words back at the Adventurers Association. Indeed, compared to 300 Gold, the 30 Gold deposit for the Guild Crusade Quest was nothing. With 300 Gold, one could fully arm a 100-man elite team with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. _In the end, just how deeply hidden is this guy? Just how much do I not know about Zero Wing?_ Aqua Rose shifted her gaze to Shi Feng, a complicated feeling possessing her heart. If Lone Tyrant of Dark Star knew about this, he would definitely regret making an enemy out of Zero Wing. Wars between Guilds were mainly competitions in financial power. Meanwhile, by showing off its own financial power, Dark Star had simply shown off its slight skill in front of an expert. However, what Aqua Rose did not know was that Dark Star could have caused Shi Feng some significant problems had they really annihilated Zero Wings core team. After all, Blackie wielded an Epic ranked staff. The others also possessed excellent Dark-Gold items. If Dark Star had managed to obtain these items, the consequences would have been unimaginably dire. After Shi Feng obtained the Water of Life, he hurried over to a simple, and crude, looking house located in the Slums of White River City. In this house lived a middle-aged man with only a single arm. Originally, this man had been a powerful Tier 2 Sword Master. However, during the Great Demon War, he had lost one of his arms, and subsequently, his strength deteriorated, reverting to an ordinary citizen. This man was Kite. Even before he had lost his arm, Kite had not been very famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, he was simply a Tier 2 Swordsman, something common. The reason Shi Feng had come for Kite was mainly that of his potential. Five years after Gods Domain had officially launched, Kite had another name. Windbreaker! Nobody would have thought that a one-armed man living in the Slums of White River City would, after becoming the personal guard of a player, one day grow to become a Tier 5 Titled Sword Saint. The more shocking matter was the fact that the owner of this Windbreaker was actually just an independent player with subpar techniques, and this player was simply a Lifestyle player. However, due to the presence of this Tier 5 Titled Sword Saint, this insignificant, independent player had actually become an existence that nobody dared to provoke casually. The same went for the first-rate Guilds at that time. Many first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had also offered astronomical prices in order to recruit this independent player. Moreover, the prices they offered were much higher than what they would usually offer when recruiting a Tier 5 expert. The reason being, NPCs were different from players. NPCs of the same rank were much more powerful than players, not to mention a Tier 5 Sword Saint that received a title. Kites strength far surpassed other ordinary Tier 5 Sword Saints. If ranked according to tiers, a Title Sword Saint could be considered a Tier 5.5 class, and only Tier 6 god-ranked players could possibly suppress this Windbreaker. Esteemed Lord Viscount, how may I be of service to you? Kite asked in a tone that was neither servile nor overbearing when he saw Shi Feng entering his house. Although he had become a cripple with low status, his bearing was completely different when compared to the Priest back at the Twilight Temple. 320 Personal Guard When Shi Feng saw Kites depressing state, Shi Feng wondered just how much determination that independent player, Drunk Xiao, had when he decided to recruit Kite as his personal guard and invest in grooming Swordsman. However, reality had proven that Drunk Xiao certainly had impressive foresight. When choosing a personal guard, players relied on two things: foresight and luck. If a player made the wrong choice, they could only blame themselves for being dull and impatient. Before placing an NPC under their command, players had absolutely no access to said NPCs data. They would have no access even if they took in an NPC as a normal guard. In the case of Anna, Shi Feng could only view her data because she was an assistant provided due to an Epic Quest. Anna belonged to Shi Feng completely, so she fit under the category of a personal guard. After becoming a Viscount, players were given two slots for personal guards and 48 slots for normal guards. These slots were precious, as after signing the contract with an NPC, players were required to pay a considerable fee should they ever wish to dissolve the contract. If it were merely dissolving the contract for normal guards, most players could afford the fee. After all, normal guards were incapable of growth. As a players strength grew, sooner or later, they would have to replace these normal guards. However, personal guards were a different story. Personal guards could grow with a player. Even if it were Shi Feng, he would not dare dissolve contracts of personal guards casually, as the price was simply too high. Hence, after players became Viscounts, they would be very careful when selecting their personal guards. They absolutely would not waste these two slots. However, leaving it empty was also unwise. Even if one accepted personal guards with slightly lower potential,, these personal guards could be of great help when properly developed, especially when leveling up. Moreover, the sooner one started nurturing a personal guard, the stronger they could become later on. Also, players could not simply recruit any NPC they wished. For example, players could not recruit NPCs directly affiliated to the various kingdoms, empires, or the several strongest powers of Gods Domain. In other words, the NPCs must not be affiliated with any powers. In addition, the stronger the NPC was, the harder it was for a player to put them under their command. Hence, thoughts such as recruiting a Level 200 Tier 5 NPC should be kept to ones dreams. In the past, Drunk Xiaos decision to accept Kite as his personal guard relied on both foresight and luck. It was not a feat normal people could repeat. In this life, however, Shi Feng had decided that he needed to obtain the NPC named Kite no matter what. Mister Kite, I have just recently become a Viscount of White River City, and currently, I am trying to recruit guards for myself. I wonder if you would be interested? Shi Feng asked. Kite looked a little excited when he heard Shi Fengs offer. However, when he looked at the empty space where his right arm used to be, he sighed and said, My lord, you, too, can see for yourself. I am but a cripple now, so I have no way to serve as one of my lords guard. I realize Mister Kites concerns. I had heard that Mister Kite became a Tier 2 Sword Master at an early age. During the Great Demon War, you have even managed to injure a Tier 3 Demon heavily, though at the cost of your sword arm. Today, I have come to recruit you as my guard, so of course, I have come prepared. Do you know what this is? Shi Feng smiled as he retrieved a small, crystalline bottle. Within the crystalline bottle, there was a single droplet of dark-blue liquid. Just by looking through the crystal wall of the bottle, one could already feel the boundless life energy coming from this droplet. Water of Life! Kite immediately recognized this liquid, a hint of emotion appearing on his stone-cold face. After all, this liquid was something he had yearned for all this time. Now that it was in front of him, how could he not recognize it? Thats right. As long as Mister Kite agrees to become my personal guard, the Water of Life in this bottle is yours. Shi Feng smiled. Esteemed Lord Viscount, are you truly willing to use this precious Water of Life on a mere Sword Master like me? Kite asked carefully. In reality, Shi Fengs offer was touching. My lord, you should know that, with this droplet alone, even a Tier 3 powerhouse would agree to become your personal guard. Aqua Rose was greatly shocked when she heard Kites declaration. She never realized the Water of Life was so precious. A single droplet could actually convince a Tier 3 NPC to serve as a players personal guard! That was a Tier 3 class! Players revered even Tier 2 classes, let alone Tier 3 classes. If their Guild could have a Tier 3 NPC as a guard, they could simply annihilate anyone who provoked them. Unfortunately, Aqua Roses thoughts were too good to be true. Although the Water of Life could be enough recruit a Tier 3 powerhouse, Shi Feng was simply too weak right now. He would not be able to recruit a Tier 3 NPC, even if he wanted to. Of course, I already know that, Mister Kite. However, I value your potential even more. Based on your firm and unyielding will and the fact that you have not fallen to become a Demonkin yet, I believe that you will one day become an apex powerhouse on the continent, Shi Feng affirmed. Shi Fengs words were not without justification. One should never provoke a Demon. Shi Feng had simply met with the phantom of a Tier 4 Great Demon, and as a result, he bore its curse. If Sharlyn, a Tier 3 Divine Official, had not dispelled the curse for him, he would have had no choice but to delete and restart a new account. Meanwhile, Kite had fought a real Tier 3 Demon, so how could he have avoided receiving its curse? A Demons power was the evilest force that could corrode a humans spirit. However, after suffering the Demons curse for so many years, although Kite had lost his powers, he continued to live normally; he had not turned into a Demonkin. If Kite had not possessed a firm and unyielding will, the Demons power would have devoured him long ago. Mister Kite, I wonder if you are willing to become my guard? Shi Feng asked seriously. Since Lord Viscount is willing to accept a cripple like myself, how could I possibly reject my lords good intentions? From today onwards, my lord will be my only master. I swear allegiance, Kite dropped to a knee in front of Shi Feng, receiving the Water of Life respectfully. System: Do you wish to assign Kite as your personal guard? Shi Feng clicked Agree. Following which, Kites data appeared in Shi Fengs NPC Managing interface. [Kite] (Ye Fengs Personal Guard) Gender: Male Age: 39 Loyalty: 90 Charm: 60 Physique: 40 Wisdom: 81 Growth Potential: 26 Class: Tier 1 Swordsman Level: 30 HP: 8,000/8,000 Attack Power: 600-720 Defense: 3,100 Attributes: Strength 125, Agility 130, Endurance 200, Intelligence 90, Vitality 180 Although Shi Feng had mentally prepared himself, when he looked at Kites data, his heart could not help but twitch. Setting aside Kites other Attributes, his Growth Potential was only at 26 points. This number was simply maddening. Shi Feng truly wondered how Drunk Xiao had managed to endure and nurture Kite in the past. Common ranked personal guards had 0 to 30 Growth Potential. Basically, no one wanted such personal guards. Bronze ranked personal guards had 31 to 50 Growth Potential. These were the lowest ranked personal guard players would usually possess. Mysterious-Iron ranked personal guards had 51 to 70 Growth Potential. Meeting personal guards of such rank was rare. Normally, one required honed foresight and had to carry out long-term observation to find such guards. Secret-Silver ranked personal guards had 71 to 80 Growth Potential. Such personal guards were extremely rare. Normally, players that managed to obtain these NPCs would treat them like their own babies. Fine-Gold ranked personal guards had 81 to 90 Growth Potential. These individuals were as rare as a phoenixs feather. Dark-Gold ranked personal guards had 91 to 100 Growth Potential. If a player managed to recruit such a personal guard, as long as developed properly, the players strength no longer mattered. As for Epic ranked personal guards, which were above Dark-Gold rank, Shi Feng had never actually seen one before. He also did not know how powerful Epic ranked personal guards were. However, it would not be unusual if such a guard transcended the realm of normal men, achieving godhood. 321 NPC Army After Kite became Shi Fengs personal guard, he opened the crystalline bottle and drank the Water of Life within. When Aqua Rose saw Kite drink the droplet of Water of Life, which cost 300 Gold, she could not hide her pained expression. As for the other Guild members, they, too, gulped at the sight. Three hundred Gold! It was enough to outfit a 20-man team with Secret-Silver Equipment fully. Yet, their Guild Leader spent that 300 gold on an ordinary-looking and crippled NPC. They could not help their envy. However, Shi Feng paid no attention to the others thoughts. In the past, Drunk Xiao had become a famous character throughout Gods Domain due to his personal guard. Even when countless first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had offered astronomical prices to purchase this guard, Drunk Xiao refused to sell. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had only spent 300 Gold to obtain this future Tier 5 Titled Sword Saint. How was this not a worthwhile trade? Shortly after Kite drank the Water of Life, his body suddenly emitted a bright green light. This light originated from the Water of Life. Not only did it possess frightening healing powers, but it could also remove all abnormal statuses. A few moments later, Kites body expelled a cloud of dark gas, and following its removal, Kites originally pale complexion turned rosy red. The right arm that he had lost also began to regenerate at a rate visible to the naked eye. One minute later, Kite had fully recovered. Guild Leader, he At this moment, Aqua Rose dared not believe her own eyes. She had long since developed a keen intuition, so she could immediately discover the change in the NPC named Kite. Although Kites clothing was still worn out, the aura he gave off no longer felt depressing; rather, it was refreshing. At this moment, he seemed like a caged lion that had broken out of its confinement, releasing a heaven-shocking roar to let everyone know of its return. This is the real him. Shi Feng laughed. In the past, Drunk Xiao had gone through great pains for Kite. He had practically bankrupted himself to obtain a droplet of Water of Life. In this life, however, Shi Feng had easy accomplished Drunk Xiaos feats. Moreover, Shi Feng had managed to heal Kite while he was still Level 30. In the past, Drunk Xiao had only managed to obtain the Water of Life after Kite passed Level 100. Despite having the same Growth Potential, there would be a huge difference in strength between a personal guard nurtured from Level 30 and a personal guard nurtured from Level 100. His Growth Potential is as shocking as expected, Shi Feng could not help but mutter happily when he examined Kites data again. [Kite] (Ye Fengs Personal Guard) Gender: Male Age: 39 Loyalty: 90 Charm: 75 Physique: 95 Wisdom: 88 Growth Potential: 94 Class: Tier 1 Swordsman Level: 30 HP: 15,400/15,400 Attack Power: 830-960 Defense: 4,500 Attributes: Strength 384, Agility 364, Endurance 420, Intelligence 276, Vitality 280 Kites current Attributes were worlds apart from the Attributes he had before he drank the Water of Life. _It seems that taking the Water of Life earlier has also affected his Growth Potential._ Shi Feng could recall that Kites Growth Potential in the past was 92 points. Now, it was two points higher. After 90 points, even a difference of one point in Growth Potential would create a significant difference regarding Attributes, let alone two points. These additional points would be of immense help to Kites growth in the future. Kite, take these and use them for now, issuing his instructions, Shi Feng retrieved several pieces of Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and passed them to Kite. Although they were somewhat incompatible for the Level 30 Swordsman, they were all Shi Feng had at the moment. After all, Zero Wing had yet to start raiding Level 20 Team Dungeons. They had only raided the Level 20 5-man Party Dungeons. After Kite equipped the Level 20 Mysterious-Iron items, he appeared valiant and extraordinary. His Attributes also increased significantly. His HP broke through the 18,000 threshold, his Attack Power increased past 1,400 points, and Defense reached 6,000 points. Kites Defense far surpassed even Zero Wings Chief MT, Cola. Kite was practically a Boss monster now. Lets go. We still have to recruit some more people. Shi Feng then led everyone to the Mercenary Alliance. The Mercenary Alliance was the best place for players to recruit normal guards. The NPCs of the Mercenary Alliance were all well-trained, and they were far more reliable than the NPCs players recruited randomly from the streets. Normal guards were different from personal guards. Players were required to pay for their services, and the prices varied depending on the strength of the NPC. With Shi Fengs current level, the strongest guards he could recruit were Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs. A normal Level 50 guard cost 5 Silver Coins per day, and the payment would be due once every ten days. A Level 50 Tier guard cost 30 Silver Coins per day with payment due once every ten days as well. The difference between a normal guard and a Tier 1 guard was like the difference between a Common monster and an Elite monster; thus, the price of a Tier 1 guard was six times higher than a normal guard. Some Tier 1 guards that were more powerful would cost even more. After arriving at the Mercenary Alliance, Shi Feng signed a contract with 48 Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs. Among them, some were melee classes, some were ranged classes, and some were healers. Of the 48 NPCs, there were six NPCs in particular that were more powerful than the others. They were Tier 1 advanced guards, and they cost 50 Silver Coins per day. Shi Feng had hired these guards for one month, and the fee totaled to 468 Gold. Shi Fengs financial power completely eclipsed all the Guilds in White River City. Afterward, Shi Feng led the 48 NPCs and walked through the streets, the group of Level 50 Tier 1 guards looking valiant and mighty. Many players even consciously moved out of the way, not daring to block the path of this small army of powerful NPCs. Crap, why are there so many Tier 1 NPCs? Did something happen in White River City? No, look! Some of them arent NPCs, but players! Arent they members of Zero Wing? Where are they heading? The players quickly discovered the problem. This small army of NPCs and the members of Zero Wing were actually together. Moreover, all of these NPCs were Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs. With such a large NPC army, who, in White River City, would dare make an enemy of Zero Wing? In the face of so many Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs, even Dark Stars army of tens of thousands of players amounted to nothing. The level suppression alone would leave the players of Dark Star completely helpless. Not to mention, these Tier 1 NPCs also possessed many powerful Skills in their arsenal. Zero Wing is too amazing! I heard that Zero Wing is going to recruit members again in three days! I will definitely have to apply! The number of players gathered on the street continued to increase, and many started recording this majestic scene. This army of 48 NPCs was more imposing than an army of thousands of players. The combat power this small army possessed was no weaker than the total battle power of a starting town. Although nobody knew what relationship this NPC army had with Zero Wing, the fact that Zero Wing could mobilize so many NPCs was already amazing. Meanwhile, the news of this matter spread quickly, creating a sensation on the official forums and increasing Zero Wings fame once more. The members of Dark Star wore extremely ugly expressions when they discovered about this matter. Deeply afraid that Zero Wing would lead this group of NPCs to attack them, many of Dark Stars members chose to hide in cities or towns. Some chose to remove their Guild Emblems temporarily and secretly grind monsters. At the same time, the members of World Dominators were similarly frightened by this news, and they were also hiding, not daring to explore and level up. 322 Crusade Against Creek Town Creek Town was one of the border towns within White River Citys jurisdiction. The town was nestled in a desert, and it was so desolate that not even birds would come to lay their eggs. However, such a small town was a popular gathering place for Red Names and those who walk the path of darkness. Unlike towns, cities like White River City were managed strictly. Hence, Red Names who had often killed other players for equipment during the initial stages of the game could only find a desolate place like Creek Town to receive quests and level up. Near Creek Town, high leveled monsters dwelled, ranging from Level 15 to Level 30, which were perfectly suitable for players at this stage of the game. In Creek Town, Red Names crowded the streets. Most of these players were above Level 15, while only a few were below Level 15. The Blood Hand Association, a dark force, managed the town. So, naturally, the NPCs here would not kill these Red Names. On the contrary, the NPCs welcomed these Red Names. Red Names could also receive better quests depending on their Crime Value, and through completing these quests, they could raise their Reputation among the dark forces they served. Guild Leader, there are over a thousand players in this town. In addition to the NPCs guarding this place, I dont think we can conquer it successfully. After spending a long time scouting, Aqua Rose had obtained a general grasp on Creek Towns overall combat power. Setting aside the fact that there were over a thousand Red Names in this town, there were more than 500 NPCs guarding the town, the lowest of which was Level 50. Among them, there was no lack of Elite Guards. There was even a few Level 70 Tier 1 guard captains. If they charged in, the actual number of enemy NPCs might increase further. With only 100 players and 49 guards, they stood no chance at all. Also, if a town were attacked, the NPCs within would not wait for players to close in on them before retaliating. Instead, all of the guards in the town would gather and fight back. Moreover, there was a huge difference between NPCs and monsters. The reason being, unlike monsters, NPCs knew how to coordinate with each other, making them far more difficult to deal with. Furthermore, these Red Names would definitely try to take advantage of their battle with the NPCs, inconveniencing them at the very least. Moreover, these Red Names were not easy opponents. The fact that these players that could survive as a Red Name until now and possessed such a high level indicated that they had strong fighting techniques. Naturally, the equipment they used would be of high quality as well. Killing and plundering was their main occupation in the game, so even if they were not fully equipped with Secret-Silver Equipment, at the very least, they would possess Bronze Equipment or above. If any of these Red Names were in a Guild, they could easily become the elite or even core players of the Guild. Moreover, the frequent PKs they took part in allowed them to gain plenty of combat experience, so there was no shortage of experts among these Red Names. To put it simply, although there were only around a thousand Red Names in Creek Town, these 1,000 or so players could easily rival 2,000 elites of Dark Star. Thus, if they wished to conquer Creek Town, the task could only be described with one wordchallenging! Of course, we stand no chance against them if we attack normally. However, we have come here with a Crusade Quest. Shi Feng knew how difficult it was to capture a town. How could a Crusade Quest possibly be easy? If it were, the system would not reward players with shocking rewards and Reputation. These Red Names were usually the bandits; they were not used to being the victims. This time, however, it was their turn to shed some blood. Fire Dance, how are the preparations coming on your side? Shi Feng asked through the team chat. The 48 Level 50 Tier 1 guards Shi Feng had recruited were no pushovers. Although these guards could not be used to kill monsters or raid Dungeons, they could defend a town or private residence. More importantly, they could also help players complete large-scale Guild Quests. If not for this fact, Shi Feng would not have recruited so many Tier 1 guards. However, even though all 48 were Tier 1, they were insufficient to deal with all of the NPCs in Creek Town. Moreover, Shi Feng had not intended for them to launch a frontal assault on the guards of Creek Town. Among the 48 Tier 1 guards Shi Feng had recruited, some were Rangers and Assassins. Hence, Shi Feng had tasked Fire Dance and the others to take along one of these guards to lure the Blood Hand Associations NPCs out of town. After all, the intelligence the Tier 1 guards possessed was much lower than players. If Shi Feng allowed the Tier 1 guards to lure the enemy NPCs, they could easily fail. Yet, if players lured the enemy NPCs, due to the great disparity in Attributes, the NPCs could catch up and kill the players. Hence, Shi Fengs solution was to have players instructing the Tier 1 guards individually. Were all ready. Weve grasped most of the basic commands, so were only waiting for your command now, Fire Dance said with a smile. Good. After I initiate the Crusade Quest, all of you take action immediately. Remember not to lure the town guards too far. Otherwise, they will run back to town. After Shi Feng gave a few reminders, he then walked towards Creek Town. Shi Feng stopped a few hundred yards before the town, taking out the Crusade Order. He then pointed the Crusade Order at the sky. Suddenly, rays of golden light shot from the Crusade Order, and in the next moment, a golden magic array appeared above Creek Town. In the evening sky, this magic array was extremely conspicuous, and it quickly attracted the attention of many players inside the town. A short moment later, the magic elements of this array burst open, and one after another, golden ripples spread from this magic array, enveloping the entire region of Creek Town. At this moment, if viewed from the outside, a protective, golden dome appeared, covering Creek Town. Creek Town System Announcement: Zero Wing has started a crusade against Creek Town. Unrelated parties, please leave immediately! Creek Town System Announcement: Zero Wing has started a crusade against Creek Town. Unrelated parties, please leave immediately! Creek Town System Announcement: Zero Wing has started a crusade against Creek Town. Unrelated parties, please leave immediately! The Crusade Announcement repeated three times, and all of the Red Names in Creek Town were shocked by this notification. There was actually a Guild that dared to capture a Red Name Town. Shortly after, all of the players belonging to the dark forces in Creek Town received another message. However, the message this time was from the Blood Hand Association. The message stated that, as long as they could successfully defend the town, all players would receive bountiful rewards. Moreover, players would receive Achievement Points for each enemy they killed. After the battle was over, players could exchange these Achievement Points for weapons and equipment. Zero Wing sure is kind. They have actually come to gift us money. Do they think they are amazing? Since they dared to come into our territory and make trouble, well annihilate every single one of them! The players of Creek Towns blood boiled, their killing intent rose to new heights. Although Zero Wing shone like the sun in midsky[1] in White River City, in their eyes, Zero Wing wasnt worth mentioning. After all, they all had impressive techniques and none of them mingled in White River City, so they had no need to fear Zero Wings vengeance. Even if Zero Wing tried to take revenge on them, they only needed to hide, and Zero Wing could do nothing to them. The barefooted are not afraid of those who wear shoes. They were the hoodlums of Gods Domain, so why would they fear Zero Wing? \--- Inside one of the bars in Creek Town, an Assassin clothed in black currently drowned himself in alcohol. The man felt like a piece of ice to others; he exuded a chilling intent that made others instinctively distance themselves. Shockingly, this man was actually Level 20, and he all of his equipment was Secret-Silver Equipment. In White River City, this man would definitely be considered a first-rate expert. This black clothed Assassin was stunned when he received the system announcement, the beer bottle in his hand falling to the ground. Zero Wing? Doesnt that mean that Ye Feng might show up as well? The black clothed Assassins lips curled upward, forming a sinister smile. The last time, I lost to him because of equipment quality. This time, Im going to take back everything that he owes me. If Shi Feng could see this Assassins appearance, he would recognize this person as none other than Absolute Heaven, the Assassin that he killed in the past. TL Notes: [1] like the sun in midsky: heyday (definition: the period of a persons or things greatest success, popularity, activity, or vigor.) 323 Nightmare To avenge his hatred, Absolute Heaven had worked desperately to improve his techniques and upgrade his equipment. Now, even if Ye Feng were not involved in this sudden assault, he would still give the members of Zero Wing a taste of his new strength. However, just after Absolute Heaven walked out of the bars entrance, he discovered the golden magic array hovering in the evening sky. This magic array was a result of the Crusade Quests activation, and it would change the NPCs of Creek Town. The guards that had originally been Level 50 immediately fell to Level 30, while the Level 70 Tier 1 guard captains became Level 50, the same level as Shi Fengs normal guards. Although Creek Towns had been weakened, none of these guards delayed in taking action. The moment the warning bell rang, a storm of guards rushed out of the many buildings within the town. In moments, over two thousand guards surrounded the town. These NPCs belonged to the Blood Hand Association. At this moment, they had all removed their disguises, and the normal guards had revealed themselves as Blood Hand Association Members, while the guard captains were Blood Hand Association Elites. [Blood Hand Association Members] (Elite Rank) Level 30 HP 100,000/100,000 [Blood Hand Association Elites] (Tier 1 Elite Rank) Level 50 300,000/300,000 Why have all the guards become weaker? Whats there to fear? Even if they are weaker, can Zero Wing defeat so many NPCs? Besides, we are here as well. If Zero Wing wants to attack, well make them suffer the consequences. When the players of Creek Town discovered that the guards beside them had suddenly grown weaker, worry grew in their hearts. However, they soon rid their minds of this worry. Even during its peak, Zero Wing only had around 8,000 members. Moreover, due to the surge of players that had withdrawn from the Guild, they now had less than 5,000. Even if Zero Wing had mobilized all 5,000 of its members, in the face of 2,000 NPCs, charging into the town would be nothing more than suicide. At this stage of the game, players had yet to reach Level 30. Furthermore, not a single player had managed to upgrade to a Tier 1 class. So, how could they possibly hope to fight against Level 30 and Level 50 NPCs? In Gods Domain, such a massive gap between levels was fatal. Begin! Shi Feng commanded in the team chat. Fire Dance and the others immediately took action, each of them commanding a Level 50 Tier 1 guard as they charged towards the Blood Hand Associations army. The guards Fire Dance and the others controlled were Tier 1 Rangers and Assassins. Regarding Movement Speed, they were much faster than the Blood Hand Association Members. Rangers also possessed ultra-long-ranged attack capabilities, and they could launch their attacks from 100 yards away. Hence, they were perfect for the role of a lure. Within moments, the Red Names of Creek Town noticed several figures rushing at them with speeds that no players could hope to achieve. In the next moment, these Rangers retrieved their longbows, nocking arrows and releasing them. _Xiu!_ The arrows struck their targets, several Level 30 Blood Hand Association Members, from roughly 90 yards away. Each arrow dealt over -5,000 damage to these Level 30 NPCs. If a player received one of these arrows, they would die with a single hit. The Rangers attack attracted the attention of the Blood Hand Association NPCs. Without hesitation, over a thousand Blood Hand Association NPCs unsheathed their weapons and charged. Seeing this, the Rangers turned on their heels and fled. Very quickly, they had drawn these Blood Hand Association NPCs away from the city. Werent we being attacked by players from Zero Wing? Why are there Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs as well? The Red Names were confused. They simply stood where they were, not following the Blood Hand Association NPCs in pursuit of the Tier 1 Rangers. Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs only needed a single hit to kill them. If they did not possess lifesaving skills, fighting such an NPC was suicide. Moreover, they were all Red Names. If they died, they would pay a severe penalty. At the very minimum, they would lose two to three levels and a majority of their equipment. Naturally, they had to weigh the costs and benefits before they took action. Not to mention, they had never intended to charge with the NPCs since the very beginning. Instead, they had planned to take advantage of the confusion while the Blood Hand Association NPCs and Zero Wing clashed. Now, however, those NPC guards had lured away all of the Blood Hand Association NPCs. At this moment, even they began to wonder whether they should join in the pursuit or not. Just as these Red Names contemplated their actions, the Blood Hand Association NPCs had distanced themselves several hundred yards from the town. This is bad. The Blood Hand Association NPCs are gone! one of the Red Names realized the situation and shouted. We need to go help them! If Zero Wing manages to kite and kill them, well be finished! This players words shook everyone to attention. Unfortunately, these Red Names were neither a single group nor of a single heart. Most importantly, they all understood that the first person to charge into battle would also be the first person to leave. Even though they had realized how serious their predicament was, none of them were willing to take action first. Instead, they all chose to stay put and do nothing at all. None of these Red Names had discovered that, at this time, Shi Feng had already led the remaining forty Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs in a charge from another direction. When capturing a town, the NPCs were the not the most troublesome obstacle. Instead, it was the players residing in said town. If the players and NPCs inside the town were allowed to cooperate, without absolute strength, it would be impossible to capture the town successfully. Hence, the most important thing Shi Feng needed to do right now was to get rid of the players; only then would it be the NPCs turn to die. After players died, they had to wait half an hour before they could revive at the Graveyard. Furthermore, if these Red Names died, even if they had the determination to continue fighting, they would not have the strength to present a challenge. The penalty they suffered was simply too severe. Although the forty Level 50 Tier 1 guards did not possess as much HP as the Blood Hand Association Elites, they still had over 100,000 HP each. Moreover, the opponents they faced right now were not NPCs, but players; it would only take a single attack to kill a player instantly. When all forty Tier 1 guards charged at the Red Names of Creek Town, they were like a group of ferocious beasts as they killed everything in their path. Although there were many Red Names in Creek Town, they were completely unable to defend themselves against these guards. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights could take two hits at most. In the blink of an eye, Red Names died, one after another, littering the ground with bodies and equipment. In contrast, although the Red Names attacked continuously, due to the level suppression of over 30 Levels, the damage the Red Names managed to deal was negligible. One thousand Level 20 players were required to take down a single Tier 1 guard, let alone forty guards. With the forty guards sharing the damage from the enemy players, their battle recovery alone made up for the HP they lost. Not to mention, among the forty guards, there were also Clerics and other healer classes. A casual heal from one of these NPCs could replenish over 10,000 HP. Within tens of seconds, over 200 Red Names of Creek Town died, while all forty guards that Shi Feng led still had full HP. The disparity in strength caused the Red Names to despair. These NPC guards are too strong! We need to retreat and meet up with the Blood Hand Association NPCs! You bastards from Zero Wing are shameless! You actually brought Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs to capture a town! If you have the strength to face us, dont use those NPC guards and fight us fairly! The Red Names cursed Shi Feng at the others as they fought the NPCs. Shi Feng could only chuckle at their words. Immediately, he instructed the NPC mages to cast their AOE spells. Suddenly, rain of fire descended from the sky. In the next moment, thunderbolts struck down at the Red Names. When cast by the Tier 1 mages, the Tier 1 AOE spells could display their true might. The Red Names of Creek Town died in batches. After several AOE spells landed, the battlefield fell quiet. Of all the Red Names that had resided in Creek Town, only 400 or so remained, while everyone else was dead. This scene not only shocked the players of the town, but Aqua Rose and the others were also stunned. A single wave of AOE spells became a nightmare for the Red Players of Creek Town. Run! Nobody knew who shouted, but every surviving Red Name agreed wholeheartedly as they fled in all directions. Lets start the slaughter. A majority of these Red Names wear Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Killing one of them will profit us more than killing a small Boss. Such an opportunity will be rare in the future, Shi Feng laughed. Following which, with Aqua Rose in the lead, both players and NPCs chased and killed the fleeing Red Names. When Shi Feng was the last remaining on the high slope, he suddenly opened his mouth and said, Now that no one is around, you can come out, right? Shortly after the battle began, Shi Feng faintly sensed someone spying on them from nearby. Moreover, the gaze that he felt contained a cold killing intent. However, it was only a feeling, so Shi Feng had not paid too much attention to it. After his team left, however, this feeling became much clearer. He then activated the Golden Stigmatas skill, Omniscient Eyes. The skill allowed him to perceive everything within 100 yards, and all stealth effects were useless in the face of this skill. And as expected, Shi Feng discovered an Assassin slowly creeping up on him from behind. However, even after Shi Feng spoke, the Assassin continued to hide. Do you think I am playing a trick on you? Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and immediately sent a Thundering Flash behind him. Three green arcs of lightning streaked across the air. In the next moment, a black figure suddenly appeared and swiftly dodged the attack. It was none other than the Assassin that Shi Feng had killed before, Absolute Heaven. At this moment, shock filled Absolute Heavens chilling gaze. Someone was actually capable of discovering his presence from such a long distance away. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. 324 Times Have Changed _So, its him. After not seeing him for some time, his techniques and equipment have improved quite a lot. No wonder he could get so close to me before my senses picked up on him._ Absolute Heaven had left a deep impression on Shi Feng. During the time Shi Feng had searched for the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, this expert Assassin had very nearly killed him. Afterward, Absolute Heaven had ambushed him again when he led Blackie and Lonely Snow to level up. At that time, Shi Fengs life had hung on by a thread. Since Shi Feng started playing Gods Domain in this life, although he had made plenty of enemies, Absolute Heaven was the only person who had almost taken his life. After such a long time, Absolute Heaven would definitely be much stronger now that he had accustomed himself with the combat style of Gods Domain. If Absolute Heaven had not been careless and underestimated Black Flame, Shi Fengs alternate identity, by not concealing his killing intent, Absolute Heaven might have successfully ambushed Shi Feng. Now that I know youre there, you arent going to escape? Shi Feng revealed a calm smile as he turned to Absolute Heaven. Escape? Absolute Heaven revealed a hint of arrogance on his chilling face. I admit that youre strong. It is as expected of the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Black Flame. According to my estimation, your strength should be on par with Ye Feng. Last time, Ye Feng only managed to kill me because of my own impatience. It was my mistake to use all of my skills on Ye Feng so early in the fight. Otherwise, with his strength, he could not even dream of killing me. Now, although I have revealed myself, do you really think that you can kill me while I still possess all of my skills? Indeed, it is as you say. Unless all of your skills are on Cooldown, it will not be easy to kill a top-tier Assassin like yourself. Shi Feng acknowledged Absolute Heavens power. However, times had changed. Although Absolute Heaven had improved, Shi Feng had also raised his strength. Since youre so confident, why dont we make a bet? A bet? Do you think that you can fool me? Originally, I intended to kill you today to show Ye Feng that I, Absolute Heaven, have returned. Since I cant kill you, you can tell Ye Feng this; when I, Absolute Heaven, wish to kill someone, that person will definitely die! Absolute Heaven laughed coldly. He then turned around to leave. If you want me to pass your message on, sure. However, the condition is that you need to escape. Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Ring, using the Aura of Time skill, Absolute Time. He instantly charged at Absolute Heaven. [Absolute Time] Prevents enemies within a range of 50*50 yards from using any skills or tools for 20 seconds. With this skill activated, all of Absolute Heavens skills were in a similar state as a forced Cooldown. Meanwhile, an Assassin that could not use skills was like a tiger without claws or fangs. You think I cant escape? Absolute Heaven smiled confidently in reply to Shi Fengs taunt. He then tried to use Blind on his opponent. If he could do so, he could escape from this place easily. However, Absolute Heaven immediately discovered that he could not use any of his skills. Suddenly, he started to panic. Nobody understood better than Absolute Heaven just how fragile an Assassin was without his skills. However, Absolute Heaven was no ordinary player. He immediately calmed himself, turning around to flee. Absolute Heaven quickly concluded that such a powerful skill had to have a limited duration; it was impossible for the effect to last indefinitely. As long as he could drag the fight out until the duration of this effect was over, he could fly freely like a bird. At this moment, however, Shi Feng had already appeared at Absolute Heavens back after using Silent Steps, not giving Absolute Heaven an opportunity to run. Soundlessly, Shi Feng slashed the Abyssal Blade at Assassin. Absolute Heaven responded swiftly and used his dagger to meet Shi Fengs sword. When the silvery gray Abyssal Blade collided with Absolute Heavens dagger, he felt an immense pressure flowing from his dagger to his hand. That pressure then suppressed his entire body, forcing Absolute Heaven to kneel on the ground involuntarily. _Such poweras expected from the person who killed Ming Sha!_ Absolute Heaven silently clicked his tongue. If he had not personally experienced Black Flames might, he would never have imagined that Black Flames strength was actually on par with a Boss monster. At this moment, Absolute Heaven finally realized why a great expert like Ming Sha had been forced into a constant retreat and could retaliate against Black Flame. Shi Feng brandished his sword over ten times repeatedly; each slash was as abrupt as a thunderbolt and as heavy as a mountain. Faced with this brutal assault, Absolute Heaven had no other choice but to block as many attacks as he could. However, although Absolute Heaven could reduce the damage he received by blocking with his dagger, his HP still decreased, frustrating him greatly. Absolute Heaven inwardly cursed Shi Feng for being a despicable and shameless bastard. Shi Feng actually used force to suppress him. Shi Feng had not used any techniques and simply relied on brute force to brandish his sword. Shi Fengs way of battle, which traded a life for a life, prevented Absolute Heaven from displaying any of his techniques. If Absolute Heaven could use his skills, he could easily escape his current predicament. Unfortunately, none of his skills would work. Despite being a powerhouse, Absolute Heaven felt powerless. Just as Shi Feng was about to send Absolute Heaven to his death with a bombardment of attacks, Absolute Heaven suddenly felt that this situation was extremely familiar. It was just like when he had ambushed Ye Feng. Back then, he had used a Magic Scroll to seal all of Ye Fengs skills and had even frozen his movement, turning Ye Feng into a fangless tiger. At that time, Ye Feng could only escape and had not dared confront him head-on. Meanwhile, his current situation was almost exactly the same as the last time he encountered Ye Feng. Only, this time, the roles were reversed. If he had known Black Flame possessed such a skill, he would never have closed in on Black Flame. Worse, he had even wasted time by chatting with his enemy, giving Black Flame ample time to set a trap for him. He had practically sought out his own death. _Hah It seems that Im really going to die this time._ With only a thread of his HP remaining, Absolute Heaven could already see his demise. He was currently a Red Name. If he died, he would lose all of his equipment. His level would also plummet. At that time, he would no longer have the ability to exact revenge on Ye Feng. However, just as the Abyssal Blade was about to collide with Absolute Heavens body, it suddenly froze in mid-air. What? Youre not gonna kill me? If you wait until I can use my skills again, you wont be able to kill me. Absolute Heaven laughed coldly as he watched Shi Feng curiously. As I said before, I want to make a bet with you, but you thought that I only said those words to fool you and kill you. Now that you only have a thread of your HP remaining, it will only take me a casual wave to destroy your weapon, equipment, and level. However, Ill repeat my offer. Are you interested in placing a bet? Shi Feng asked, smiling as he returned the Abyssal Blade to its sheath. It seems that youre really not trying to cheat me. Then was the fight your way of proving that you wish not to kill me, but to make a bet instead? Absolute Heaven asked, greatly confused by Shi Fengs actions. He could not figure out just what was going through Shi Fengs mind. Of course. Otherwise, why do you think I would even bother fighting you? Does it look like I have too much time on my hands? Shi Feng laughed bitterly. Absolute Heaven was suddenly rendered speechless. What? You still dont believe me? Shi Fengs expression turned cold, No, no! I believe you! Tell me, then. What do you want to bet? At this moment, Absolute Heaven grew interested in the bet Shi Feng proposed. Bet your life! Shi Feng said straightforwardly. Bet my life? Isnt my life already in your hands?! Absolute Heaven nearly cursed at Shi Feng. Shi Feng shook his head, then slowly, he said, You previously mentioned that, as long as you can use your skills, you can escape from me easily. Isnt that right? Thats right! Absolute Heaven answered without hesitation. Although Absolute Heaven had already witnessed Shi Fengs frightening strength, he was still confident that he could flee from this battle. Simply put, I dont believe you. So, lets make a bet. While you can fully utilize all of your skills, well see whether or not you can escape. What do you think? Shi Feng asked with a smile. 325 Life and Death Are you toying with me? Absolute Heaven glared at Shi Feng, trying to figure out just what was going through Shi Fengs mind. However, no matter how he examined his opponent, he still could not see through Shi Feng, who had currently disguised himself using the Demon Mask. Absolute Heaven could only see a middle-aged man with a faint smile in front of him. No matter how hard Absolute Heaven racked his mind, he just could not figure out what Shi Feng was trying to do. After nearly taking his life, Shi Feng suggested gambling his life away. Was there a need for so much trouble? Wouldnt it be easier just to finish him right now? Why would I toy with you? Shi Feng laughed. Fine, Ill make the bet. What will happen if I survive? What if I die? For his own pride and honor, Absolute Heaven refused to die. If you escape safely, Ill do one thing for you. If you die, youll have to do one thing for me. How about it? At this moment, Shi Feng finally revealed his true intentions. He had done everything so far all for this single goal. One thing, huh? Absolute Heaven considered it carefully. After giving it some thought, he looked at Shi Feng and said, If I ask you to kill Ye Feng, will you do it? Absolute Heavens request caught Shi Feng off guard, but soon after, he let out a soft chuckle. In White River City, everybody knew that Black Flame and Ye Feng were the two symbols of Zero Wing. Never would Shi Feng have imagined that Absolute Heavens request would be something like this. He had to admit that Absolute Heaven was indeed ruthless. If the public learned that Black Flame had killed Ye Feng, it would greatly affect Zero Wings reputation. At the same time, it would also affect Black Flame and Ye Fengs reputations. However, be it Black Flame or Ye Feng, only a few core members of Zero Wing knew that both identities belonged to a single person, which was Shi Feng himself. Meanwhile, Absolute Heaven requested that he kill himself. The difficulty of this request was indeed quite high What? Didnt you say that youll do one thing for me if I win? Absolute Heaven smiled complacently. He then said, My request is so small, yet, you hesitate? No, I just didnt think that you would make such a simple request. Originally, I thought you would want to kill me once. After all, I am the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, and Feng Xuanyang of Underworld possess a deep hatred of me. As long as you manage to kill me and pass on the recording to the higher-ups of Underworld, you will receive Underworlds attention. Your position in the organization will soar as well, Shi Feng mentioned. If Black Flame died, the prestige that Zero Wing had managed to accumulate due to his efforts would crumble. At this moment, Absolute Heaven suddenly came to a realization. He had actually forgotten about such a possibility. The loss and humiliation Dark Star had suffered caused Feng Xuanyangs hatred of Zero Wing to soar. The Guild he had nurtured with so much effort had actually fallen into such a state. Naturally, he would not let Zero Wing off the hook. Hence, Feng Xuanyang put out a bounty to all members of Underworld stating that, as long as anyone from Underworld managed to kill the higher-ups of Zero Wing and cause trouble, the rewards would be bountiful. As long as someone could accomplish this task, they could gain fame, status, and wealth. If one could annihilate Zero Wing, receiving a promotion from outer member to elite member of Underworld would be a simple matter. There were not many elite members in Underworld. They were few and far between, but those who obtained the prestigious title would also become influential in reality. Every day, there were countless outer members in Underworld working as hard as they could to become official members. Only after becoming an official member could one possibly become an elite member. If he, Absolute Heaven, could kill Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, there might actually have a chance at receiving the promotion to that elite group. Even if it were not possible, at the very least, he could still become an official member. Alright, then. I agree to the bet. Lets start after I have fully recovered. Absolute Heaven directly agreed. After a few moments, Absolute Heavens HP and Stamina recovered completely. Shi Feng then took out a Gold Coin, suggesting, Ill toss this Gold Coin into the air. The battle will start the moment the Coin reaches maximum altitude and begins to fall. How about it? Okay. Absolute Heaven was momentarily speechless when he saw Shi Feng use a Gold Coin as a starting signal. Was he not afraid of losing the Gold Coin? Currently, Absolute Heaven only had around 20 Silver Coins in his pockets. Even so, he was considered relatively wealthy. Yet, Shi Feng had actually taken out five times that amount and treated it like a toy. Comparisons are indeed odious! Lets start, then! Shi Feng tossed the Gold Coin into the air. The Coin soared upward. Only when it was around four meters above ground did its speed begin to slow, the Coin faintly showing signs of stopping and succumbing to gravity. Absolute Heaven focused his gaze sternly on the Coin. The moment it started to fall, he intended to use Blind on Shi Feng immediately. He would then activate Wind Steps and start running towards the town. In such a wide open area, if he attempted to use Vanish to enter stealth mode, Shi Feng would discover him easily. However, it would be a different story in town. Although terrain on the way to town was complex, aside from Vanish, he possessed other lifesaving skills and tools to help him get through this distance. As long as he could reach the town and use Vanish, even if Shi Feng possessed excellent senses, it would be impossible to locate him. However, from start to end, Shi Feng had been paying attention to Absolute Heaven. He did not even take a look at the Gold Coin in mid-air. The moment the Gold Coin started to descend, just as Absolute Heaven was about to use Blind, Shi Feng instantly vanished. Immediately, he appeared at Absolute Heavens back, sending a Chop towards the Assassin. The speed of this attack was astonishing, and Absolute Heaven had no way to dodge. Absolute Heaven suddenly felt an icy feeling coming from behind him. Moreover, the Blind that Absolute Heaven had used before had lost its target, becoming ineffective. Without giving it a second thought, Absolute Heaven immediately proceeded with the next part of his plan and activated Wind Steps. When activating this skill, he would become invincible for nearly one second. Absolute Heaven took advantage of this short moment of invincibility to block Shi Fengs attack, negating all damage. Moreover, Absolute Heaven also took advantage of the impact of Shi Fengs attack to send himself flying almost six yards away, creating a relatively large gap between Shi Feng and himself. Shi Feng inwardly praised his opponent as he watched Absolute Heavens fleeing figure. If Absolute Heaven had not chosen to use Wind Steps and used Block instead, Shi Fengs sword would have destroyed at least half of his life. Now, as a result of his accurate judgment, not only had Absolute Heaven managed to use Wind Steps to defend the attack, but he also managed to place quite some distance between them. Moreover, due to the 40% Movement Speed buff provided by Silent Steps, Absolute Heaven managed to widen the gap even further. Seeing this, Shi Feng used Wind Blade and chased after Absolute Heaven. In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two shortened greatly. Shi Fengs Agility was very high. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, nobody that could surpass him in terms of Agility. There were also his equipments passive skills. Nobody could match Shi Feng in terms of speed. At this place, only the Level 50 Tier 1 Assassin and Ranger NPCs had a chance at beating him. Absolute Heaven could not help his shocked. Immediately, he retrieved a Magic Scroll from his bag. This Magic Scroll was aqua-colored, and it looked very exquisite. It turned out that it was actually a Tier 1 Magic Scroll. Absolute Heaven then unrolled the Magic Scroll and used it on Shi Feng. Water Binding! Immediately, several jets of water shot out from the Magic Scroll. The water flew towards Shi Feng, intending to wrap around him. Shi Feng revealed a calm smile, not faltering at the slightest as he continued charging at Absolute Heaven. The moment the blue jets of water came into contact with Shi Feng, they lost all effectiveness and disappeared. It didnt work? A stunned expression appeared on Absolute Heavens face. That was one of the precious Tier 1 Magic Scrolls that he possessed. The Magic Scroll could even entrap a Boss monster for a short moment. Yet, it was actually ineffective against Shi Feng. Absolute Heaven did not know that before the battle had begun, Shi Feng had already activated the Aura of Space of the Seven Luminaries Crystal. The Aura of Space granted Shi Feng immunity to all control effects. Based on the strength of a Tier 1 Magic Scroll, it was still too weak to break through the effect of the Seven Luminaries Ring. Damn, it seems that I have no choice but to use this thing. Absolute Heaven unwillingly took out a shabby-looking Magic Scroll from his bag. This was an item that he had obtained by coincidence from an underground ruin. Although the Magic Scroll looked shabby, the magic power it gave off was frightening. Even an NPC Appraiser could not identify what Tier the Magic Scroll was. However, that Appraiser estimated that the Magic Scroll should be Tier 2 or higher. Originally, Absolute Heaven had not intended to use this Scroll. After all, he only had one. However, if he did not use it now, with his opponents frightening speed, Shi Feng would definitely catch up to him in no time. If that happened, he would be in big trouble. 326 Recklessly Wasting Resources While Shi Feng and Absolute Heaven were occupied with their bet, a bloody storm swept through Creek Town. Originally, over a thousand Red Names had resided in Creek Town. However, after being slaughtered by the forty NPC guards and Zero Wings 100-man team, less than 200 Red Names remained. No longer did these Red Names possess the arrogance they had before. Instead, they all ran and scattered in all directions. Before the start of Zero Wings crusade, these Red Names had always been the ones killing and plundering the equipment of other players. Not only could they earn a fortune by doing so, but they could also enjoy watching the frightened and unwilling expressions of the players they killed. Those times were simply blissful, and their continued success only encouraged them to travel further down the path of being a Red Name. Now, however, these Red Names had finally learned what it felt like to be on the other side of the blade and what it felt like to be a powerless weakling. Although many among these Red Names were experts and elite players, in the end, their techniques were simply insufficient to make up for the huge difference in strength between both sides. After all, no matter how fierce an ant was, it would never be a match against a mighty lion. Since Zero Wing doesnt plan to let us live, we should fight to the bitter end! a Cursemancer appealed to the other Red Names when he realized that they could no longer escape. Some of the Red Names considered the Cursemancers suggestion rational, and many of them decided to cooperate with each other to retaliate against Zero Wing. However, just as they turned around. One of the Tier 1 Elementalist guards launched a Flame Explosion, instantly killing the Cursemancer who had attempted to rally his allies. Following closely, one Tier 1 Berserker guard used Flame Charge and arrived before four Red Names. The Berserker then used Whirlwind Slash, killing all four in a single attack. After the players died, a pile of equipment littered the ground around the four players lifeless bodies. Seeing this, the Red Names who had originally thought of staying behind immediately changed their minds. Without hesitation, they all turned and fled towards the Blood Hand Associations NPCs who Zero Wing had previously lured away. Although they had the option of retreating from the town, desert surrounded Creek Town. They would simply become easy targets without any cover. Only by reuniting with the Blood Hand Associations NPCs would they have a chance for survival. If they died right now, they would lose several days worth of effort. Even if they had already familiarized themselves with the combat style of Gods Domain, they would still need around four days to recover the lost levels. Not to mention, they would also lose a majority of the equipment they owned. These consequences frightened them greatly. Hence, these Red Names ran desperately towards the Blood Hand Associations NPCs. Unfortunately, the Tier 1 NPC guards Shi Feng had hired had very high Movement Speeds. Aside from Assassins, none of the other Red Names could outrun these Tier 1 NPCs. Moreover, faced with these Level 50 NPCs, the Stealth of these Level 20 Assassins was completely useless. They only had a higher chance of escaping due to their high Movement Speeds. Big Sis Aqua, we have really hit it big this time! The items these Red Names have dropped are all Bronze rank and above, with a majority being Mysterious-Iron rank! If we sell all of these weapons and equipment for Credits, we can buy a large house at the city center! Snow Goose exclaimed as she picked up the items dropped by the Red Names alongside the NPC guards. You little money-grubber! If we sell these items for Credits, well only suffer a loss. Gods Domain has only recently begun, so both equipment and Coins are currently scarce. The various large Guilds also face a shortage of equipment. Zero Wing is only getting by because our current member count is low. By the time the construction of the Guild Residence is complete, and we start recruiting members again, the stockpile of items we have in the Guild Warehouse would run out in the blink of an eye. Now that we have obtained so much equipment, it just so happens that we can use it to meet our urgent needs, Aqua Rose chuckled as she flicked a finger on Snow Gooses forehead. \--- At this moment, a change occurred on one of the high slopes outside of Creek Town. A crimson pillar of light shot into the sky, attracting everyones attention. Not only was the pillar of light extremely eye-catching, but everyone could also feel a great threat coming from it. The source of this pillar was none other than Absolute Heavens shabby-looking Magic Scroll. _This is n_ _ot good. This is the Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Phantom Beasts Descent._ Shi Feng recognized the Magic Scroll instantly. The might of a Tier 3 Magic Scroll could not be underestimated. Even when Shi Feng was at his prime, he would still have suffered greatly if struck by the skill contained within a Tier 3 Magic Scroll, let alone the current him who was not even a Tier 1 class. Fortunately, the skill contained within Phantom Beasts Descent Magic Scroll was not a pure attack-type skill. Instead, it was a summoning skill. The Phantom Beasts Descent was capable of summoning a powerful Phantom Beast to fight alongside its summoner. Suddenly, a black magic array in the shape of a seven-pointed star appeared in the sky. Just as Shi Feng was about to kill Absolute Heaven, the magic array fired a black ray of light towards Shi Feng. Shi Feng dared not be careless. Immediately, he activated Defensive Blade. _Boom! Boom! Boom!_ After three consecutive bombardments, a large crater occupied the originally flat slope. If Shi Feng had not activated Defensive Blade, becoming immune to nine ranged attacks or four melee attacks, he might have died. In the center of the crater, a giant tiger sat quietly beside Absolute Heaven. This tigers body resembled a galaxy of stars. The tiger focused its silver eyes on Shi Feng as it gnashed its teeth. It released an aura that was even more powerful than a Lord ranked monster. Guild Leader Black Flame, the agreement we had before said that, as long as I can escape from you, you promise to do one thing for me. I wonder, is that agreement still valid if I kill you? Absolute Heaven laughed. Naturally. However, you sure are willing to part with such a rarity. Do you even know the value of a Tier 3 Magic Scroll? Shi Feng glanced at the Phantom Beast the Assassin had summoned, inwardly pitying the loss of such a precious item. Tier 0 players could not display the true might of a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. This was especially true for a Summoning Scroll. If a Tier 1 player used such a Scroll, the summoned Phantom Beast could easily decide the outcome of a war involving tens of thousands of players. If used by a Tier 2 player, the Phantom Beast would have no problems eradicating a large-scale town. In Shi Fengs previous life, many Guilds had willingly spent thousands of Gold Coins to purchase such a Magic Scroll. At this moment, however, Absolute Heaven had used such a precious Magic Scroll on this small battle. This was simply a reckless waste. Of course, I know. However, you are too fast. I know that I wont reach Creek Town if this continues. Compared to dying, Id rather use it. Absolute Heaven had mourned the use of the Scroll as well. However, he no longer wished to experience the humiliation of dying once again. Since Ive already used this Magic Scroll, you can rest in peace now, Guild Leader Black Flame. Go! Get rid of him! Absolute Heaven commanded the Phantom Beast as he pointed at Shi Feng. [Nebula Tiger] (High Lord Rank) Level 30 HP 1,800,000/1,800,000 The strength of a Phantom Beast summoned from a Summoning Scroll was determined by the summoners level and tier. Absolute Heaven was currently Level 20, so the summoned beast would be Level 30, which was ten levels higher than himself. If Absolute Heaven were a Tier 1 class, then the Nebula Tiger would not be just a High Lord. At the very least, it would be a Great Lord ranked monster. A Great Lord ranked monster could only be described using the wordChorrifying. Hundreds of players of the same level would be no more than ants in front of a Great Lord. When such a monster was under the control of a player, it would become even more frightening and powerful. This was also why Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls were so precious. A controllable Great Lord ranked monster could easily decide the outcome of a war involving tens of thousands of players. 327 Moment of Brilliance Aoo! The Nebula Tiger roared angrily, releasing shockwaves with the sound. The Nebula Tigers roar echoed throughout Creek Town, causing everyone who heard it to shudder. This was the might of a High Lord ranked Phantom Beast. A single roar could send tremors through a persons heart. However, the main reason the Nebula Tiger released this roar was not to shock its enemies. Instead, it was meant for its master. In the next moment, a layer of crimson mist surrounded Absolute Heavens body. This was the effect of Life Ward, a special skill gained by summoned monsters. When this skill activated, it would form a protective shield around the summoner, increasing the summoners defense. When all was said and done, a summoned monster was still a summoned monster. If the summoner of the monster died, the monster would also disappear. Hence, all summoned monsters would possess skills capable of protecting their masters. When Absolute Heaven saw the effects of Life Ward, his lips immediately curled into a smile. When used, Life Ward created a protective shield capable of absorbing 20,000 damage. Even if an enemy managed to close the distance and engage him in melee combat, they would need to expend a significant amount of effort to exhaust the Life Ward. Furthermore, Absolute Heaven possessed high combat power as well. His opponent might die before he could overcome the Life Ward. Absolute Heaven had originally worried that Shi Feng could simply deal with him directly. However, with the Life Ward protecting him, his only fear vanished. Black Flame, your time of death has come! Absolute Heaven started commanding the Nebula Tiger to attack Shi Feng. The greatest difference between a summoned monster and a normal monster was the players control. While under a players control, monsters that had originally possessed powerful Attributes would become even more formidable. Not to mention, as a High Lord ranked monster, the Nebula Tiger possessed quite a number of skills. It would only take an instant for the Nebula Tiger to kill a player. The Nebula Tiger, which was over three meters in height, lightly tapped its feet on the ground, crossing the distance of over ten yards between Shi Feng and itself in an instant. So fast! Shi Feng was surprised. The Nebula Tiger swiped its claws at Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng wanted to dodge the attack, his reaction was a step behind, and the attack landed on its target. However, the Nebula Tigers attack did not manage to deal any damage due to Defensive Blade. Seeing that its first attack had failed, the Nebula Tiger immediately brandished its claws at Shi Feng again. After swiping its claws at Shi Feng several times, the Defensive Blades effect quickly broke. Just as the Nebula Tigers Fatal Swipe was about to reach Shi Feng, Shi Feng barely managed to activate Parry to defend himself. _Peng!_ A Level 30 High Lord ranked monster was simply too powerful. Shi Feng did not even possess a Tier 1 class yet, so it was impossible for him to stop the attack. Like a cannonball, the tigers attack launched Shi Feng backward. As expected of a great expert like Guild Leader Black Flame, youve even managed to block such an attack. Absolute Heaven could not help but applaud as he watched the exchange between Shi Feng and the Nebula Tiger. Absolute Heaven was not making fun of Shi Feng at all. Rather, he praised his enemy sincerely. Absolute Heaven himself was certain that, if he were the one receiving the Nebula Tigers attacks right now, he would have no way of defending himself. Most likely, before he could even use Block, the tiger would have killed him already. Yet, Shi Feng held it off. However, Shi Feng also paid a heavy price when he blocked the attack. As Shi Feng landed, he was both physically and mentally unstable. He could no longer dodge or defend against another one of the Nebula Tigers attacks. The huge gap in Attributes was not something that could be made up for by solely relying on battle techniques. Previously, Shi Feng had used overwhelming destructive force to suppress Absolute Heaven. Now, Shi Feng faced a similar crisis. It was already praiseworthy that he managed to survive for so long. Just as the Nebula Tiger pounced at Shi Feng once more, a figure suddenly dashed over and stood before Shi Feng, blocking the Nebula Tigers attack and saving Shi Fengs life. Absolute Heaven was greatly stunned by this scene. The figures speed was simply too fast, and before he could catch a clear glimpse, the figure appeared in front of Shi Feng. More importantly, this figure blocked a full-powered attack from the Nebula Tiger. It was simply unbelievable. At this moment, Shi Feng looked at the tall figure standing proudly before him. Smiling, he muttered, Just in time. The person that blocked the Nebula Tiger was none other than Kite, Shi Fengs personal guard. Kite was a Dark-Gold ranked personal guard. Moreover, he was even a Tier 1 Swordsman who had reached Level 30. Naturally, no player could compare to his strength. Originally, Shi Feng had not planned to use Kite so soon. However, now that Absolute Heaven had summoned a High Lord ranked monster, he would meet his own death if he did not deploy Kite. So, its just an NPC guard. And here I wondered who was so powerful to block the Nebula Tigers attack. However, do you really believe a Level 30 Tier 1 Swordsman can defeat my High Lord ranked Nebula Tiger? Absolute Heaven asked disdainfully. Of course, since he used a summoned monster, he would not criticize Shi Fengs decision to use an NPC guard. Even so, he was still confident that his Nebula Tiger was stronger than Shi Fengs personal guard. Although both were Level 30, the Nebula Tiger was far more powerful than a Tier 1 NPC. In his eyes, Shi Feng had done nothing more than delay the inevitable. I admit that Kite is not a match for the Nebula Tiger, but he can hold it back for some time. Now, lets find out which will happen first: your death or Kites. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. He then charged towards Absolute Heaven. When all was said and done, Kite was still a Tier 1 NPC. Although he could not defeat the High Lord ranked Nebula Tiger, he would have no problems delaying the monster for some time. Otherwise, he would not deserve the rank of Dark-Gold. Although the Nebula Tiger tried to chase after Shi Feng, Kite once more stopped the monster in its path, annoying the beast greatly. In just a moment, Shi Feng swiftly arrived before Absolute Heaven. Absolute Heaven knew that with Kite present, the Nebula Tiger could not do anything to Shi Feng. Hence, he commanded, Get rid of that guard first. Absolute Heaven still possessed the Life Ward that would absorb 20,000 damage. He did not believe that Shi Feng could kill him so easily. Moreover, he did not intend to confront Shi Feng directly. After giving his command, Absolute Heaven immediately turned and ran, not giving Shi Feng any chance to attack. Absolute Heaven knew that even if the Nebula Tiger failed to kill Shi Feng, as long as he could escape and hide inside the town, Shi Feng would lose the bet. After the Nebula Tiger switched its targets, Kites HP started to decrease madly. After all, the Nebula Tiger was a High Lord ranked monster. Both its Attack Power and Movement Speed were terrifying, and even Kite would sometimes fail to block the beasts attack. Whenever he was struck, he would lose close to 3,000 HP. Meanwhile, Kite only had slightly more than 18,000 HP. However, Kite was not an ordinary guard. With a single Cross Slash, he managed to deal close to -10,000 damage. He then followed up with Frozen Slash, Windwalk, and other skills that either reduced the Nebula Tigers Movement Speed or increased his own Movement Speed, making it harder for the Nebula Tiger to hit him. When the tiger used Heaven Splitting Claw, Kite used Triple Spin Attack, a Tier 1 Swordsman skill. When used, the skill made the user invincible for 1.5 seconds while attacking the enemy three times. Moreover, 60% of the damage dealt would even be used to recover the users HP. Unfortunately, Triple Spin Attack had a long Cooldown of one minute. Kite landed one slash after another on the Nebula Tiger, and every hit dealt over -2,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, Kite had recovered all the HP he had lost. Absolute Heaven was baffled by this scene. He had not expected Kite to be so powerful that he could actually contend with the Nebula Tiger. If the Nebula Tiger had not possessed a frightening 1,800,000 HP, Absolute Heaven suspected that Kite might actually succeed in killing the monster. Absolute Heaven came to the conclusion that the Nebula Tiger could not finish off Kite in a short amount of time. Hence, the only way out for him right now was to escape into Creek Town. However, Shi Feng no longer gave Absolute Heaven any chances. When only a few yards stood between him and Absolute Heaven, he used Abyssal Bind on the Assassin. Knowing that the situation had turned out of his favor, Absolute Heaven used Vanish without hesitation, causing Abyssal Bind to lose its target. Moreover, Vanish allowed him to enter a state of Forced Stealth for three seconds. During this period, even if Absolute Heaven received any damage, he would only break Stealth temporarily before automatically re-entering Stealth once again. Shi Feng simply revealed a smile at his opponents actions. Shi Feng then used Earth Splitter. A sword aura immediately rushed towards the location where Absolute Heaven had stood, the attack revealing Absolute Heaven momentarily before he disappeared again. Although it was only an instant, Shi Feng had enough time to lock onto Absolute Heavens position. Shi Feng then used Space Movement, appearing directly above the Assassin. Thunder Flame Explosion! Lighting and fire descended from the skies, landing directly on Absolute Heavens head. Absolute Heaven responded quickly to the incoming attack and threw himself forward. Simultaneously, Absolute Heaven used Shadow Cloak to negate the damage from Thunder Flame Explosion and resist the Faint effect. Shi Feng was slightly astonished when he saw the skill Absolute Heaven used. He never expected for Absolute Heaven to have learned even Shadow Cloak. It was no wonder why Absolute Heaven was so confident of escaping. Shadow Cloak allowed the user to become immune to all magic damage and control effects for five seconds. It was the perfect skill for escaping. However, Shi Feng immediately switched the Aura of Space to the Aura of Fire, increasing his damage by 30% and decreasing his targets Defense by 30%. He then cast Firestorm at the location where Absolute Heaven had disappeared from again. [Firestorm] Inflicts 500% damage within a range of 10*10 yards for 5 seconds. Although Firestorm would not deal any damage to Absolute Heaven, it could still expose Absolute Heaven. Sure enough, Absolute Heavens figure appeared once again after the attack landed. Moreover, while Absolute Heaven remained within the effective range of Firestorm, it was impossible for him to re-enter Stealth. Shi Feng advanced and charged at Absolute Heaven. Simultaneously, he had activated Purgatory Power, greatly increasing his Attack Speed and damage. He then used Flame Burst at the escaping Absolute Heaven. Covered in flames, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand was like a miniature sun. Shi Feng brandished his sword six times at Absolute Heaven, striking the protective shield repeatedly. Every strike dealt over -4,000 damage. His critical hits dealt close to -9,000 damage. Even though the Life Ward protecting Absolute Heaven could absorb up to 20,000 damage, in the face of Flame Burst, Shi Feng sliced the protective shield apart like paper. Hiss subsequent attack after breaking the shield struck Absolute Heavens back. The Secret-Silver Equipment Absolute Heaven wore also lost more than half of its durability from the attack. To Absolute Heavens disbelief, his HP, which had been over 2,000, plummeted to zero. The Assassins body fell to the ground, his weapons and equipment scattered around his body. Although everything seemed to have happened slowly, in reality, it only lasted an instant. The battle stunned the Zero Wing members who watched from a distance. At this moment, no words could describe their feelings. It turned out that a battle between players in Gods Domain could also be so frightening. It was a battle that shook them to their core. From the appearance of the red pillar of light to the end of the battle, less than 20 seconds had passed. First, there was the confrontation between the High Lord ranked monster and the Tier 1 NPC Swordsman, and then, there was the chasing battle. The spectating members of Zero Wing had only managed to catch the afterimages of two figures running towards town, with one escaping while the other pursued. As the battle continued, the appearance of lightning and fire dazzled the eyes. Finally, after the momentary appearance of a miniature sun, one person lay flat on the ground with items strewn around his lifeless body. On the other side, the battle between the Nebula Tiger and Kite also came to an end. Now that its master was dead, the Nebula Tiger transformed into light particles and disappeared. Only Kite remained, standing there quietly and covered in numerous wounds. Meanwhile, the land surrounding Kite was in a miserable state. Pits and cracks surrounded him. One could just imagine how fierce the battle had been. 328 Harvest After the Battle After the battle with Absolute Heaven came to an end, Shi Feng sighed in relief. If not for the Seven Luminaries Ring, he might really have let the cunning Absolute Heaven get away. This was how Gods Domain worked. When players attempted to gain some achievements and make a name for themselves, they were like a boat traveling against the current; either they advanced forward or were forced backward. Todays glory might very well become tomorrows laughingstock. Although Absolute Heavens growth was impressive, there was still a considerable gap between him and Shi Feng. Soon after, Shi Feng looted the items the Assassin had dropped. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished when he examined Absolute Heavens items. The equipment Absolute Heaven dropped was top-tier even among Secret-Silver Equipment. Meanwhile, the daggers he dropped were Fine-Gold rank. With these items, even among the core members of Zero Wing, Absolute Heaven could still reach the middle ranks. Among the Assassins, only Fire Dance and Flying Shadow surpassed Absolute Heaven. Absolute Heaven was a lone wolf. Yet, even without relying on the support of a Guild or an organization, he still obtained such quality items for himself. He was already an expert standing at the peak of White River City. If Absolute Heaven were not a solo player, the equipment he had possessed might not have been Secret-Silver, but Fine-Gold rank. If Absolute Heaven had been fully geared with Fine-Gold Equipment today, Shi Fengs victory would not have been so easily secured. Big Sis Aqua, is that really our Guild Leader? Snow Goose asked hesitantly; her big, round eyes focused on the figure standing proudly within the sea of fire. He looks so much more powerful than when he appeared in the video. Guild Leader is usually a very ordinary, approachable, and gentle person. But now, even when looking at him from such a distance, I still feel overwhelmed. Naturally. Aqua Rose giggled. This is our Guild Leader: ordinary yet reliable. Snow Goose had been raiding Dungeons all this time, so she had only ever heard and not personally seen any of Shi Fengs battles. Now that she had personally witnessed Shi Feng fight for the first time, it was only natural that shock filled her heart. After all, a video could only portray so much. Only by personally experiencing something could one truly understand it. Alright, stop daydreaming. Clean up these remaining Red Players quickly. Over 2,000 NPCs are still chasing Fire Dance and the others, and they could obliterate our team at any moment. The Red Names of Creek Town had despaired when faced with Shi Feng and his NPC entourage. Now that Shi Feng had also extinguished the hope presented by Absolute Heaven and the High Lord ranked monster, these Red Names completely lost their heart to resist. Escape? How were they supposed to escape? With Shi Fengs gale like speed, even if they grew a few more legs, it still would not be enough for them to get away. After these Red Names lost their fighting spirit, Aqua Rose and the others took little effort to clean up. They took less than a minute to deal with the remaining Red Names of Creek Town. Meanwhile, the harvest they obtained was sufficient to arm a team of 1,000 players. Throughout this battle, although a few of their members had died and lost a level, when compared to the harvest they obtained, such loss was practically negligible. The items they obtained had easily made up for the total losses Zero Wing had suffered with surplus. Aqua Rose was overjoyed when she examined their harvest. As the manager of Zero Wings daily affairs, she was very clear about what these items represented. With the addition of this batch of items, after Zero Wing finished recruiting new members, they could arm a large batch of elite players, pushing Zero Wings combat power to a whole other level. At that time, even if Dark Star declared another war on Zero Wing, they could still deal with it without needing Ouroboross assistance. Guild Leader, weve dealt with all the Red Names. We can start cooperating with Fire Dance and the others to kill the Blood Hand Association NPCs now, Aqua Rose happily reported through the team chat. Okay. Follow the plan and kill those Blood Hand Association NPCs. Be careful not to lure too many at once. Those NPCs are more sensitive than field monsters, Shi Feng said. Oh, right. Send me a healer. I need someone revived. Im a Cleric! Ill go! Ill go! Snow Goose hurriedly shouted in the team chat, excitedly waving her hand. Seeing the girls reaction, Aqua Rose indulgently said, Fine, off you go then. In any case, the Tier 1 guards will be responsible for killing those NPCs. Our role is to supply support. The Blood Hand Association NPCs were all Level 30 and above, while the members of Zero Wing were only around Level 20. Among those present, only Shi Feng and Blackie possessed 10 Ignore Levels. Everyone else could only deal minute amounts of damage to these NPCs. The most they could do was use some control skills on these Blood Hand Association NPCs. Although these Blood Hand Association NPCs possessed a certain degree of intelligence, it was only slightly higher than normal field monsters. Otherwise, Fire Dances group could not have lured them away. What Aqua Roses group needed to do was to lure the Blood Hand Association NPCs away in small batches and kill them separately. With the strength of forty Level 50 Tier 1 guards, they could easily take care of up to 300 Level 30 Blood Hand Association NPCs each time. With a massive difference of 20 levels, the attacks of the Blood Hand Association NPCs would only deal damage in the double digits to a Tier 1 Shield Warrior guard. Meanwhile, a Level 50 Tier 1 Shield Warrior possessed over 200,000 HP. Even if dozens of Blood Hand Association NPCs attacked simultaneously, the total damage would only be a tickle to a Level 50 Tier 1 Shield Warrior. The Shield Warriors battle recovery alone could restore most of the HP lost. Not to mention, there were still the Tier 1 healers waiting in the wings. However, NPCs were different from monsters. The NPCs of the Blood Hand Association were very organized when they fought. The warriors that served as meat-shields[1] would stand in front, and the mages would attack from behind, coordinating their attacks with the melee fighters. The healers standing at the rear would also spam heals on the tanks. There was even one time where an Assassin from the Blood Hand Association had circled and ambushed Aqua Roses group. If Cola had not reacted quickly and immediately aggroed the NPC Assassin, the team would have lost at least one member to the NPC. Compared to everyone else who the NPCs suppressed, Blackie was free and unfettered as he sent spell after spell at the Blood Hand Association. The Maviss Guard Blackie wielded allowed him to ignore the massive level difference completely, and each one of Blackies attacks could deal around -700 to -800 damage to these Level 30 Elite NPCs. When Blackie used Stars of Light, the result was simply earthshaking. A damage of over -1,000 appeared above every enemy NPC caught within the skills range. Moreover, with each successive bombardment, the damage of the Stars of Light increased by 10%. The skill had a duration of 15 seconds, and by the time the 15th bombardment landed, the enemy NPCs were already receiving over -6,000 damage each. Some of the attacks even achieved critical hits, dealing over -10,000 damage to the enemy NPCs. These Level 30 Elite NPCs only had 100,000 HP. They stood no chance against Blackies Stars of Light. After Stars of Light ended, over 200 Level 30 Elite NPCs fell to the ground lifelessly. Suddenly, everyones experience bars started increasing madly. Some even leveled from Level 19 to Level 20. Even Blackie, who was currently Level 23, saw a huge increase in his experience bar. Even though the EXP was shared with over a hundred players, each person still obtained a frightening amount. Originally, everyone had only come here to kill these NPCs for the purpose of completing the Crusade Quest. Now that they had discovered the wealth of EXP in front of them, everyone started working even more enthusiastically. After killing several waves of NPCs, everyone managed to level up to Level 20 or above. Blackie even reached Level 24. Everyones leveling speed was simply frightening. Hahaha! Sister Aqua, at the rate were leveling, Zero Wing will fully occupy the top 100 spots on the White River City Ranking List! Blackie laughed. Thats a nice idea. All this time, that leveling madman Lone Tyrant had held the ninth position on the Ranking List. Although Guild Leader had killed him once back in the Silverleaf Forest, he had only fallen to tenth place. Seeing that Dark Star is so adamant in challenging us, if we kick Lone Tyrant out of the top 100 of the Ranking List, it would be a massive blow to both Lone Tyrants and Dark Stars reputation. Moreover, we would also elevate Zero Wings fame and prestige, killing two birds with one stone. Aqua Rose revealed a playful smile when she considered this interesting idea. Okay! Lets kick Lone Tyrant out of the Ranking List! TL Notes: [1]meat-shields - Noun. (plural meat shields) (video games) A so-called "tank" whose main purpose is to hold aggro from MOBs and absorb damage. (video games) A stunned or dead enemy character used as a shield against attacks. 329 You Don’t Have a Choice Shi Feng could not stop his smile when he heard Aqua Roses words. In actuality, it would be a simple task for Shi Feng to let Zero Wing fully occupy the top 100 spots on the White River City Ranking List. The only reason he had not done so yet was that he was afraid of attracting too much attention and the publics enmity. After all, Zero Wing was currently only a small Guild. If a small Guild like theirs overstepped their bounds, every Guild in White River City would most likely team up and retaliate against them. However, Zero Wing was no longer a weak Guild. Even if Zero Wing pulled such a huge stunt, it would only shock the other Guilds; they would not feel insulted or humiliated. Hence, Shi Feng made no attempt to stop his Guild members actions. The Ranking List was the only glory for Lone Tyrant. Even if he had to exceed the Level 20 limit for the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons, he still had to maintain his position within the top ten of the Ranking List. Lone Tyrants obsession with the Ranking List was apparent. Gentle Snow, on the other hand, was different. To secure the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons, Gentle Snow had frozen her experience bar at 99.99% of Level 20. She paid absolutely no attention to the Ranking List at all. After all, her title of Snow Goddess had originated not from her high Level, but her strength instead. However, Lone Tyrant was not like Gentle Snow. He had relied solely on the Ranking List to gain the fame he currently possessed. It was why he worked desperately hard to maintain his spot within the top ten of the Ranking List. Although Shi Feng had killed Lone Tyrant once already, robbing him of a level, he had managed to recover the lost EXP quickly. After all, he had large groups of players to help him level up. Currently, he had once again reached Level 21, though he still required large amounts of EXP to reach Level 22. \--- While Aqua Rose and the others swiftly leveled from killing the NPCs of the Blood Hand Association, the Cleric, Snow Goose resurrected Absolute Heaven. At this moment, Absolute Heaven was overcome with disappointment. Not only had he lost most of the items he had on him, but he had also fallen to Level 16. He no longer possessed the high spirits he had before. Ive won this bet of ours. Do you have anything to say? Shi Feng asked lightly as he looked at the crestfallen Absolute Heaven. Absolute Heaven glared at Shi Feng, clearly irritated, before turning his head away, tacitly agreeing to Shi Fengs words. Hehe, it seems that someone is pouting after losing. What an unmanly person, Snow Goose softly muttered contemptuously after discerning the general situation. Absolute Heaven was suddenly livid upon hearing her comment. When all was said and done, he was still a top-tier Assassin. Although he was not a well-known expert, he was still a man of his word. Now that a female player ridiculed him, how could he possibly be happy? Reluctantly, Absolute Heaven muttered in a low tone, I I lost. Say it, then. What do you want me to do? What is up with your attitude? Youve clearly lost, yet, you still sound like an aggrieved woman. Youre making it seem as if our Guild Leader is a bully, Snow Goose added. You! Absolute Heavens complexion alternated between flushed red and pale white, his blood boiling. He very nearly vomited blood out of anger. Never in his life had he been so greatly humiliated before. However, with Shi Feng standing beside her, Absolute Heaven simply could not do anything to this infuriating girl. Before he died, he had not been a match for Shi Feng. Now that he had fallen to Level 16 and lost most of his items, it was impossible for him to escape Shi Fengs grasp. At this moment, Shi Feng spoke, Alright, Snow Goose. Absolute Heaven is a top-tier expert Assassin. If you continue speaking of him this way, his little heart might not handle it. No matter what, you should at least show him some respect. Oh! Snow Goose smiled and nodded. Absolute Heaven nearly fainted from anger. Seeing Absolute Heavens ashen complexion, Shi Feng smiled faintly and said, Since youve acknowledged your loss, Ill make it simple. I dont need you to do anything difficult. Just help me collect all the information relating to Underworld in Gods Domain. Youre insane! Thats Underworld youre talking about! If they find out that I leaked important information, they will hunt me down! Absolute Heaven never thought that Shi Feng would actually aim for such a thing. Oh? I didnt think you would really have such information. The Assassins reaction surprised Shi Feng. His demand had only been casual. After all, Absolute Heaven was only an outer member of Underworld. How could he possibly possess all the important information relating to the organization? Logically, only those belonging to Underworlds middle management or above should possess the information he was looking for. Absolute Heaven was momentarily stunned. Immediately after, he bellowed, Black Flame, you deceived me! Absolute Heaven had always thought of joining Underworlds core upper management. Hence, he had collected plenty of information regarding Underworld so that he would have an easier time climbing the ranks of the organization. After becoming an outer member, he had met with Feng Xuanyang through South Wolfs introduction. Feng Xuanyang even gave him one of the reserved spots for becoming an Underworld Guard after learning of his skill. With his new status as an Underworld Guard reservist, Absolute Heaven managed to obtain even more information about Underworld in Gods Domain. Yet, Shi Feng had played him so easily. Since you have the information, hand it over to me. Shi Feng was extremely interested in discovering Underworlds situation in Gods Domain. After all, he had provoked Feng Xuanyang. Who knew what Underworld would try in the future? Without knowing anything about his enemy, Shi Feng could not take appropriate measures. However, if he possessed inside information about the organization, the situation would be greatly different. One who knows his own strength and that of the enemy is invincible in battle. If Shi Feng had not possessed his advantage of being a reincarnated person, Dark Star, the Guild controlled by Underworld, would have long since eliminated both him and his Guild. Hence, Shi Feng had to take preventive measures against Underworld. Only, Shi Feng had not expected this boon to arrive so quickly. Originally, Shi Feng had only intended to toy with Absolute Heaven for a little bit before changing his condition. His actual goal was to have Absolute Heaven report Underworlds movements within the White River City region. Now, however, things had become far simpler. He could obtain all information regarding Underworld in Gods Domain directly. No. I absolutely will not agree to this. Underworld far surpasses your imagination. You have no idea what you are going up against. I urge you to change your request. This is not just about me. You, too, would be better off without knowing anything. Why create trouble for yourself? Absolute Heaven said resolutely. It turns out that even a top-tier expert will renege on his word. It seems that I have misjudged you, Shi Feng sighed. Guild Leader, I could tell that he was a scoundrel that would break his promises with a single glance. Whats the point of wasting your time arguing with him? Lets just do away with him. Kill him every time he revives. After we kill him to Level 0, lets see how he can survive in Underworld, Snow Goose suggested, sporting a cheeky grin. You! Snow Gooses suggestion left the Assassin utterly speechless. Kill him every time he revived? Was this girl really a Cleric? Could she be a demon disguised as a human instead? Snow Goose, how could you speak like that? As a girl, you should act gently and reserved. Kill him every time he revives? Thats simply too cruel. What will you do if you terrify him? Shi Feng could not help but reprimand the cheeky little girl. At most, well upload the video recording the previous fight and our dialogue to the forums. It will be fine as long as we reveal this to everyone. Youre right, Guild Leader! Snow Goose applauded cheerfully. As long as the video of the battle went viral, not only would everyone know that Absolute Heaven was a man who broke his promises, but the hidden organization named Underworld would also be exposed to the public eye. Even if Absolute Heaven did not reveal any secrets, Underworld would hunt him down for what little he had already said. Black Flame! Raging flames burned in Absolute Heavens eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. He only wished that he could murder the smiling demon before him right now. Just hand it over. Shi Feng calmly smiled. I have already sealed off all paths of retreat. You dont have a choice. 330 Shock Shi Fengs words left Absolute Heaven speechless. At this moment, Absolute Heaven finally understood why Shi Feng would insist on making a bet with him. Shi Feng was clearly capable of killing him with a single hit. Yet, Shi Feng had given him hope of retaliation for this very moment. A terrible thought suddenly emerged in Absolute Heavens mind. Had Shi Feng planned to deal with Underworld all this time? Before joining Underworld, Absolute Heaven had known that Underworlds background was unfathomably deep. It was an existence that he could not afford to provoke. After joining the organization, that thought had only strengthened; he absolutely could not make an enemy of Underworld. Yet, now, Shi Feng dared to consider challenging Underworld. He simply did not know how to differentiate between life and death. It would have been fine if only Shi Feng did not know how to differentiate between life and death. Yet, Shi Feng intended to drag him down as well! Moreover, the Swordsman left him with no other options. Shi Feng was eviler than a demon. When Absolute Heaven saw that Shi Fengs finger was about to click the Upload Video button, he lowered his head and helplessly said, Fine! However, I have a condition. No one can know that I gave you this information! You can rest assured on this point. Since I have asked you to do such a thing for me, I will not make things difficult for you. I wont let anyone but myself look at the information relating to Underworld, Shi Feng assured and nodded. Absolute Heavens worries were unfounded. After all, Shi Feng was also worried about this situation becoming public, which would, in turn, allow Underworld to take precautionary actions. Ill send you the files tomorrow after I have compiled them, Absolute Heaven said before turning to leave. However, Shi Feng was a step ahead and blocked his retreat. What? Worried that Ill deceive you? You currently have information to use against me. What tricks could I possibly play on you? Absolute Heaven laughed bitterly. Youre overthinking things. Im just returning the items you dropped when you died. As for your levels, with your strength, you should recover quickly. Shi Feng then took out the items he had looted from Absolute Heaven and returned them to their original owner. After some hesitation, Absolute Heaven finally decided to receive the items before leaving. Guild Leader, are we really going to start a war with that mysterious organization named Underworld? Snow Goose asked. Based on Absolute Heavens words, Snow Goose could discern just how terrifying Underworld was. Even a top-tier expert like Absolute Heaven was afraid when talking about it. Furthermore, a powerful Guild like Dark Star was just a puppet of Underworld. With Zero Wings current strength, wouldnt acting against Underworld be akin to smashing an egg against a rock? What? Afraid? Shi Feng chuckled. Of course not! Our Zero Wing is invincible! How could we possibly lose to Underworld? Snow Gooses eyes glowed as her fighting spirit soared. She had left Twilight Echo with Aqua Rose to create their own legacy in Gods Domain. How could they give up so easily because of a single Underworld? \--- Time passed, little by little. At this moment, Aqua Rose and the others were still battling against the Blood Hand Association NPCs. Even though it was night in Gods Domain, spells of war illuminated the sky around Creek Town so brilliantly that it appeared to be day. Although these NPCs provided no loot, the EXP they gave was bountiful. The members of Zero Wing were only able to kill these Blood Hand Association NPCs with such ease due to the assistance of the Level 50 Tier 1 guards. In the future, it would not be so easy for them to come across such a valuable opportunity. As more Blood Hand Association NPCs died, the Zero Wing Guild members watched their levels soar. The Ranking List of White River City also underwent dramatic changes. Players from Zero Wing continuously appeared within the top 100 of the Ranking List. The change had not been obvious at the beginning, as only a few members had entered the 90s. However, as time passed, the EXP growth of Zero Wing never stopped. The Guild members who originally ranked within the 90s jumped into the 80s; then jumped again from the 80s to the 70s, their positions ever rising. However, this was still not the most shocking incident. What really shocked people was the fact that the Zero Wing members occupied every rank between 70 and 100. They had forced all others out of the top 100 ranks. Is this real or fake? Arent the members of Zero Wing too impressive? It was already amazing that they managed to occupy the top eight positions before. Now, they fully occupy the 70th to the 100th positions. What did these people eat to become so fierce? As expected of the Guild that I fancy! If this continues, Zero Wing will sooner or later occupy all 100 spots on the White River City Ranking List. That shouldnt be possible, right? After all, there is still Lone Tyrant who ranks 10th. Although Black Flame had killed him once, he has already managed to recover to Level 21. It shouldnt be possible to kick him out of the top 100. Lone Tyrant? So what? Hadnt he been the top player on the White River City Ranking List before? In the end, eight experts from Zero Wing still shoved him aside. Even now, he is still stuck at ninth place. Now that Zero Wing is showing its might, he might not keep his rank for long. Serves him right. Who told Lone Tyrant to behave so arrogantly before? He had dared to ambush and made an enemy of Zero Wing. Now, Zero Wing is merely teaching Lone Tyrant a lesson, letting him know that his pride is worth nothing to Zero Wing. They can surpass him anytime they want to. Everyone was very concerned about the sudden emergence of the Zero Wing members on the Ranking List, and they all began to voice their suggestions and opinions. Many felt that this was Zero Wings retaliation towards Dark Star. The timing of this situation was simply too coincidental, being only a few hours after Dark Stars war with Zero Wing had ended. Moreover, Zero Wing also declared that Dark Star would pay for their actions. However, nobody ever thought that Zero Wing would take action so quickly. If Zero Wing really succeeds, this will become a true legend in Gods Domain. Not even first-rate Guilds have managed to occupy the Ranking List of a city. Zero Wing rocks! Go, Zero Wing! Kick Lone Tyrant out of the Ranking List! Everyone in White River City highly anticipated the arrival of a legend, creating a huge commotion over this matter. The thought of a single Guild monopolizing the entire Ranking List had sent shivers down their spines. At that time, if they joined such a Guild and wore the six-winged emblem on their chests, they would definitely become the targets of everyones admiration. On the other hand, while the casual players in White River City were very excited over this matter, the many Guilds were not happy at all. It had been an earthshaking matter when Zero Wing had occupied the top eight positions on the Ranking List. Yet, now, Zero Wing was actually trying to occupy the top 100 positions of the Ranking List. Just how were they, the other Guilds, supposed to continue competing in White River City? \--- Inside the Silverleaf Forest, leading a team of several hundred players, Lone Tyrant was desperately leveling up. Can someone tell me just what is going on? Lone Tyrant demanded, irritated. He had spared no effort to raise his own level. Yet, now, as if on steroids, the members of Zero Wing leveled at a rate many times faster than himself. Based on the Zero Wing members current leveling speed, it was only a matter of time before they surpassed him. Unfortunately, nobody could answer Lone Tyrants question. Youre a bunch of trash! Go, investigate immediately! They must have found a good grinding spot! Once you find them, send someone to eliminate them! I will never allow these people to surpass me! Lone Tyrant commanded the Guild members of Dark Star. The only reason he had managed to lead Dark Star to its current status in White River City was that of his previous occupancy of the White River City Ranking Lists number one position. However, due to Blackie and the others, he was no longer the top player in the region. Even so, he still occupied the top ten in the eyes of the public. If he fell out of the top 100, what else would he have? Aside from his identity as the Guild Leader of Dark Star, there was nothing special about him. Although Lone Tyrant was quite powerful, he knew that he could not compare with top-tier experts. If not for the massive support from Underworld, Dark Star would not have developed to its present state. Lone Tyrant knew that, after the siege on Zero Wing had failed, Underworld started to look down on him. If he lost his only merit as well, based on how Underworld conducted business, he would not keep his position as Guild Leader for long. 331 Hidden Warehouse Considering the events up to this point, Lone Tyrant grew worried. Hurry, lure more monsters! Those bastards from Zero Wing are dreaming if they think they can surpass me and kick me out of the Ranking List! I wont give this position away! Lone Tyrant commanded once more, a bloody glow flashing in his eyes. Soon after, a group of Rangers and Assassins left to carry out his orders and lure more monsters. The mages of Dark Star also promptly increased their attack rate, using more AOE skills than before. As for Lone Tyrant, who was not in a team with his Guild members, he began methodically kill-stealing[1] the low HP monsters, taking the majority of the monsters EXP for himself rather than sharing with his comrades. This leveling method was extremely extravagant. Even a party of experts continuously grinding monsters could not compare to Lone Tyrants current leveling speed. Unfortunately, Lone Tyrant did not know that the monsters he and the members of Zero Wing grinded were on entirely different levels. Lone Tyrant only grinded Level 20 Common monsters at the moment, so he received no bonus EXP for killing them. On the other hand, Zero Wings 100-man team was killing Level 30 Elite NPCs. Originally, these Elite NPCs had provided an abundance of EXP. They also gained the bonus EXP rewarded for killing a monster that was 10 levels higher. After splitting the EXP for each NPC killed across 100 players evenly, everyone leveled up far faster than Lone Tyrant. \--- Time flew by quickly. White River City was bustling at that night. As a Saturday, even though it was already daytime in the real world, many players had not logged out and were still having fun in Gods Domain. However, as it was dangerous to leave the city at night, many players had chosen to visit bars in the city. With nothing better to do, players had started focusing their attention to Zero Wings ranks. Many also began guessing on whether or not Zero Wing would kick Lone Tyrant out of the Ranking List. It had been over an hour since the commotion had begun. Now, instead of occupying up to just the 70th position, Zero Wing occupied up to the 40th position of the Ranking List. Bystanders fell speechless when witnessing the leveling speed of this new Guild. Originally, many players had simply guessed and joked around. None of them actually thought that Zero Wing could accomplish such a feat. Watching this momentum, however, Zero Wing might really intend to monopolize the top 100 spots on the Ranking List. Everyone could not help but grow excited in anticipation. If Zero Wing truly managed to achieve such a feat, then they, as players who preferred to play solo, might have a few things to consider carefully. Should they or should they not join Zero Wing? \--- Inside one of the bars in White River City, the members of the Holy Grail Knights were currently drinking in celebration. Today, they had managed to raid a Level 15, 20-man Hard Mode Dungeon, the Bloodfang Fort. They also obtained quite a load of equipment and materials from the raid. Brother War Wolf, that Zero Wing sure is godly, huh? First, they defeated World Dominators. After that, they managed to kill Dark Stars Lone Tyrant. Now, they are even planning to kick Lone Tyrant out of the top 10 and monopolize the Ranking List. Soon, they might even rule White River City. In reply, War Wolf, the leader of the Holy Grail Knights, shook his head and said, Its still too early to say. Moreover, the other top six Guilds arent here just for show. They wont allow Zero Wing to develop freely. Although, it is true that I have underestimated Zero Wing before. Moments after War Wolf started speaking, a few cloaked players walked into the bar. The equipment these players wore immediately attracted the attention of the others inside the bar. These newcomers were fully geared with Secret-Silver Equipment. Moreover, none of them possessed a Guild Emblem on their chests, signifying that they were all independent players. Meanwhile, the leader of this group was a beautiful female Summoner. If Shi Feng were here right now, he would definitely notice that this female Summoner was none other than Youlan of Underworld. Big Brother War Wolf, long time no see. Youlan walked up to War Wolf and greeted him with a bright smile. Its been a long time indeed. The pure and sweet little girl from the past has grown into a beautiful tigress. Time really is amazing. War Wolf sighed ruefully as he looked at the noble and graceful girl in front of him. Big Brother War Wolf, you jest. Everything I have today is all thanks to you. Youlan smiled faintly. Looking around, she said, We havent seen each other for so many years now, and I really wish to have a nice conversation with you. There are too many bystanders here. Why dont we find a room upstairs to catch up? Indeed, it has been many years since we last met. We should really have a nice chat. War Wolf immediately spent 5 Silvers to rent a guest room on the second floor. He then walked towards the stairs leading to the bars second floor. Youlan promptly followed after War Wolf. The other cloaked players that had entered the bar with Youlan also moved to guard the staircase, preventing anyone from going upstairs. At this moment, the entire bar was silent. The other members of the Holy Grail Knights, as well as the other guests in the bar, were still stunned by what they just saw; their minds were unable to process what had just happened. The leader of an independent team actually knew such a noble and elegant beauty. Moreover, they even rented a private room to have a conversation. The other players minds went wild with fantasy. \--- A short distance away from Creek Town, Aqua Rose and the other members of Zero Wing still grinded the Blood Hand Associations NPCs relentlessly, their experience bars continuously rising. There were over 2,000 NPCs in Creek Town, and it would not be an easy task to kill every one of them. Although Blackies Stars of Light skill was very effective against the enemy NPCs, the skill had a long Cooldown. As for everyone else, the damage they dealt to the enemy NPCs was practically negligible. In the end, the main source of damage was the Level 50 Tier 1 guards. However, there were healers among the Blood Hand Association NPCs, as well as some powerful Level 50 Blood Hand Association Elites. It was not possible to eliminate all of them within a short time. Seeing that the situation had mostly stabilized, Shi Feng said in the team chat, Cola and Violet, you two come with me. Were going to make a trip to the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. Everyone else, remain here and continue grinding. Guild Leader, youre too biased! I helped you revive that bastard from before. Why are you taking Violet but not me? Snow Goose pouted. Well be going to the Blood Hand Associations stronghold, and nothing good is waiting for us there. Why would you even want to go? Shi Feng laughed bitterly. Shi Feng had his own reasons for not bringing anyone else along. How could a Crusade Quest possibly be so easy? Previously, Fire Dance and the others had merely lured away the NPCs guarding the town. There were still plenty of enemy NPCs waiting for them inside the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. Right now, they were merely going to scout ahead. Is it very dangerous? Snow Goose asked, tilting her head slightly. Of course, Shi Feng said seriously with a nod. Forget it. I cant compare to Violet in terms of survivability, and it would be a pity if I lost my Fine-Gold ranked staff, Snow Goose said after giving it some thought. Soon after, Shi Feng led Cola and Violet Cloud to the Blood Hand Associations stronghold in Creek Town. As the Blood Hand Associations stronghold, the security around the construct was usually very strict. However, now that all of the NPCs had been drawn away, Shi Fengs group managed to enter the stronghold without any trouble. The inside of the tower was a resplendent sight. Such a luxurious building in a barren place like Creek Town was unimaginable. Careful. This is the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. There are definitely a lot of traps here, Shi Feng reminded his team. In the past, World Dominators had suffered heavy losses to conquer Creek Town. They had dispatched over 6,000 Tier 1 players and returned with less than 1,000. Meanwhile, close to half of those deaths had been because of the hidden traps inside the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. One could just imagine how deadly the traps inside the Blood Hand Associations stronghold were. Although World Dominators had paid a steep price, their harvest was equally shocking. It was especially true for the hidden warehouse inside the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. One of the main reasons that many large Guilds preferred to capture towns ruled by dark forces was because of the treasures they possessed. Of course, different towns gave varying amounts of treasure. In this case, the Blood Hand Association possessed a significantly large treasury. Even though the loot available was limited due to Crusade Quest, the final sum was still sufficient to move even Shi Fengs heart. Otherwise, who would be so foolish as to spend 30 Gold Coins to take on a Crusade Quest? Moreover, only a Viscount or someone of higher status could accept such a quest. TL Notes: [1] kill-stealing: refers to getting the last hit on a monster. In Gods Domain, if players of a different party or team attack the same monster, the player who delivers the final strike will obtain 60% of the monsters EXP. 332 Encountering a Magic Weapon Once Again Inside of the Blood Hand Associations stronghold, it was like a maze. There were also many Level 30 Blood Hand Association Knights patrolling the construct. These NPCs wore red leather armor and wielded spears. They also had 200,000 HP. Moreover, these NPCs always moved in groups of ten, and their coordination made them extremely difficult to deal with. If Shi Feng and the others recklessly charged into a group of these NPCs, even with a Tier 1 Swordsman like Kite protecting them, the result would be the same. These Knights would eliminate them in an instant. In fact, even if Shi Fengs group were strong enough to fight these Blood Hand Association Knights, they would still meet their deaths if they chose to confront these NPCs. This was due to the many hidden traps and mechanisms throughout the stronghold. In the past, World Dominators had paid a steep price because of these traps. Naturally, Shi Feng would not behave as recklessly as World Dominators had in the past. Hence, he would always detour and bypass any Knights they met, avoiding a confrontation with the NPCs at all costs. In any case, the paths in this stronghold all connected in one way or another. As long as one was careful, it was possible to find the Blood Hand Associations hidden warehouse without engaging in combat. Finally, after a long time, Shi Fengs group arrived before a pair of tightly-sealed, stone doors. Two words were etched into the wall next to the doorsControl Room. This was where all of the traps within the Blood Hand Associations stronghold were controlled. As long as they disabled these traps, they would have nothing to worry about as they traveled through the construct. Just after Cola forced open the heavy stone doors, the group immediately discovered an old, one-eyed man dressed in black robes inside the control room. The old man held a Redwood Staff as he manipulated a magic array. [Inca Richter] (Tier 1 Elementalist) Level 30 HP 1,000,000/1,000,000 _Thank god it is as I speculated. Hes only Level 30 and not a Level 50 Tier 2 mage._ Shi Feng could not help but sigh in relief when he saw Inca Richters information. If not for the Crusade Quest, the old man before them would be near impossible to deal with. Although Inca Richter would only be Level 50, as a Tier 2 mage, he could kill a Level 50 Tier 1 player as easily as squishing a bug. Guild Leader, its a Level 30 Tier 1 Elementalist. Im afraid that he might be somewhat difficult to deal with. Should we call for reinforcements? Cola had a clear understanding of his own abilities. Currently, he was only Level 22. If it were a Level 20 Tier 1 Elementalist, he could tank it. However, it was impossible for him to endure the attacks of a Level 30 Tier 1 Elementalist. The tier suppression alone would greatly increase the damage he received, not to mention the level suppression. With the two combined, even as the Chief MT of Zero Wing, he would be cannon fodder at best. Relax; you dont need to tank. Shi Feng smiled. He then looked at his personal guard, Kite, who stood beside him, saying, Kite will be our MT. Cola, youll act as support. You just need to activate your Magic Resistance Aura and use Protection Blessing on Kite during crucial moments. Cola suddenly remembered that Shi Feng had a personal guard like Kite beside him. Kite had over 18,000 HP. Compared to Cola, Kite was far more durable as an MT. Although Kite was far inferior to Inca Richter regarding HP, as a Level 30 Tier 1 Swordsman, Kites close combat capabilities far surpassed a Tier 1 Elementalist. Kite, youll tank Inca Richter. Violet, youll heal Kite. Cola, focus on using Protection Blessing on Kite when needed, Shi Feng commanded. Without hesitation, Kite charged Inca Richter, slashing his sword at the old man. A damage of over -4,000 appeared above Inca Richters head. Compared to the High Lord ranked Nebula Tiger, Inca Richters Defense was much lower. Despicable intruders, Ill turn all of you into my lab rats! Inca Richter used Instantaneous Movement, dodging Kites sword techniques. The old man then waved his staff, summoning an aqua-blue Magic Shield that covered his body. The Magic Shield was one of the most frequently used defensive spells that Elementalists possessed, and it could protect the caster against a considerable amount of damage. Following which, Inca Richter waved his free hand, summoning an Ice Wall to prevent Kite from advancing. However, Kite was no ordinary guard. Immediately, Kite activated Wind Blade and jumped. Kite effortlessly leaped across the Ice Wall in his path and arrived before Inca Richter. He then brandished his sword at the Elementalist multiple times in quick succession. After taking a few hits from Kites sword, the Magic Shield surrounding Inca Richters body shattered into particles of light, leaving the casters feeble body vulnerable to Kites attacks. Fortunately for the old man, the Magic Shield had earned him enough time to cast Frozen Circle. White, bone-chilling mist spread out from Inca Richter and assaulted Kite. In response to the spell, Kite abruptly jumped into the air and dodged the Frozen Circle. Inca Richter cursed when he saw the Swordsman avoid another spell with such a simple action. In a fit of rage, Inca Richter pointed a finger at Kite, sending multiple Fireballs flying at the Swordsman who was still suspended in mid-air. As the Fireballs approached him, Kite calmly twisted his body and brandished his sword so fast that only bright afterimages were visible. He sliced the incoming Fireballs in half, one after another. The speed of Kite and Inca Richters exchange was stunning, and any ordinary player would have difficulty following the fight. Standing at a distance, both Cola and Violet Cloud were dumbfounded by the scene before them. This was the first time they had witnessed a fight between NPCs. Never would they have expected that a fight between NPCs could actually be more exciting than a fight between experts. The longer they watched, the more felt ashamed of themselves. Inwardly, they also began to estimate how they would fare if they fought Inca Richter if they were the same level and tier. However, as they continued watching the exchange between Kite and Inca Richter, they soon reached a shocking conclusion. They were not even opponents for Inca Richter! The reason they came to such a conclusion, however, was not because of the great disparity between their HPs. Instead, it was because of the difference in combat techniques. This conclusion left them both speechless. What are you two daydreaming about? They are both high-level NPCs. Ordinary monsters cannot compare to them. Its no big deal if your current combat techniques are not a match for theirs. As long as you participate in more battles and accumulate experience, you will surpass Inca Richter sooner or later. Shi Feng could not help but console the two. Naturally, he could discern their thoughts. Inca Richter was different from the Blood Hand Association Elites battling outside the town. Before the Crusade Quest had weakened him, Inca Richter had originally been a Tier 2 NPC. Thus, his combat proficiency was superior to those ordinary NPCs. As for Kite, not only was he a Dark-Gold ranked personal guard, but he had also been a Tier 2 Sword Master in the past. His combat techniques were excellent. In truth, Shi Feng had also been shocked when he had first witnessed a battle between high-level NPCs. It was especially true for battles involving Tier 3 NPCs or above. Regarding control over personal combat power, these NPCs could actually exhibit more than 70% of their strength. According to the evaluation criteria of Gods Domain, those capable of exhibiting more than 70% of their personal combat power were considered first-rate experts. These NPCs were far superior to the current top-tier experts. Moreover, even an NPC like Inca Richter was only capable of exhibiting 60% of his personal combat power. Hence, it was natural for Cola and Violet Cloud to be inferior to NPCs like Kite and Inca Richter. Following which, Violet Cloud began healing the Tier 1 Swordsman while Shi Feng supported Kite from the sides. From time to time, Shi Feng would use control skills such as Thunder Flame Explosion and Abyssal Bind to restrain Inca Richter. Shi Feng also used the Seven Luminaries Ring, swapping between Aura of Time and Aura of Fire. While Aura of Time was activated, Shi Feng would cast Absolute Time. While Aura of Fire was activated, Shi Feng would use Firestorm. Whenever Inca Richter was about to cast a powerful spell, Shi Feng would deftly activate Absolute Time, interrupting Inca Richters spell and forcing the old man to defend against Kites sword techniques using his staff. A mage that could not cast spells was like a tiger that without its fangs and claws. In such circumstances, Inca Richter could only endure Shi Feng and everyone elses attacks helplessly. Very quickly, Inca Richters 1,000,000 HP fell rapidly. 90%... 70%... 30%... After more than ten minutes, Inca Richters body finally dropped to the floor, transforming into an abundance of EXP. Shi Feng reached Level 24 with the sudden influx of EXP. Following which, Shi Feng turned off all of the traps within the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. Now that there were no more traps, it would be much easier to deal with the enemy NPCs. Suddenly, Cola excitedly ran towards Shi Fengs side and asked, Guild Leader, I found a key beside this old mans body. What do you think this is? A key? Shi Feng was slightly puzzled. Logically, none of the Blood Hand Association NPCs should drop any items. Shi Feng received the purple-gold key from Cola and examined it. There were complex runes carved onto the body of this key. To Shi Fengs surprise, he could not obtain any information about the key. Everything displayed as Unknown. What a strange key. In Shi Fengs memory, there were no records mentioning this key. However, since Inca Richter had dropped it, it should be extraordinary. It seems that we will have to look for an Appraiser after we return to White River City. When considering unknown items, Shi Feng suddenly remembered the additional skill of his Golden Stigmata, Omniscient Eyes. The Omniscient Eyes could obtain all information on any items. This skill was far more amazing than the Appraising Eyes of Appraisers. Lets have a look, then. Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and took a look at the key in his hand once more. This time, the information displayed was no longer Unknown. All secrets about the key unveiled before Shi Fengs eyes. Its actually a Magic Weapon! Shock filled Shi Fengs heart as he investigated the purple-gold key in his hand. 333 Hidden Class Magic Weapon? Cola did not quite understand Shi Fengs words. Violet Cloud was confused as well. Shifting her gaze to Shi Feng, she hoped to find out from Shi Feng what a Magic Weapon was. It was their first time hearing the term Magic Weapon. A Magic Weapon isnt an orthodox weapon. You can think of it as a double-edged sword of tremendous power. It can either raise a players combat power to frightening heights, or completely ruin them, Shi Feng explained, smiling. He had naturally noticed the twos interest. Shi Feng had never revealed the secret of the Abyssal Blade to others. Aside from Blackie and Lonely Snow, nobody else in the Guild knew about it. Matters regarding Magic Weapons were of utmost importance. Compared to Blackies Epic ranked staff, Magic Weapons were much more precious. After all, they were weapons capable of rivaling Legendary Weapons. Had it been possible, Shi Feng would have wished that the Abyssal Blade in his hands could become an Epic Weapon instead of a Magic Weapon. Although his combat power would have decreased significantly, he would not have to worry about the Abyssal Blades backlash. Although Shi Feng had never personally witnessed the result of a backlash, he had still heard rumors about it. In the past, many first-rate experts had been devoured by their own Magic Weapons. After suffering the backlash, these first-rate experts had no choice but to delete their accounts and start all over again. Such a heavy price frightened even Shi Feng. Currently, he had no other choice but to continuously improve himselfin both combat techniques and combat powerin order to face the future backlash. So it turns out that Magic Weapons are so amazing. But, Guild Leader, is there even a class that uses a key as a weapon? None of the twelve main classes in Gods Domain that I know of uses a key as a weapon, Cola asked. There is. However, it is a hidden class, Shi Feng answered. Hidden class? So there really are hidden classes in Gods Domain? Then, arent hidden classes very amazing? Guild Leader, is it possible for us to switch to a hidden class? Colas trust in Shi Feng had long since reached the level of blind faith. He did not had a shred of doubt about Shi Fengs words. If Shi Feng said hidden classes existed in Gods Domain, then, to Cola, these definitely existed in Gods Domain. Even if there werent any hidden classes, Cola would still believe that there were. Big Brother Cola, what are you getting so anxious for? You should let Guild Leader finish speaking first. Violet Cloud was also very interested in regard to hidden classes. Seeing his two party members looking at him with such fervent eyes, Shi Feng could not help but laugh, saying, This hidden class is called Astromancer and it can be considered a branch of the mage classes. Any mage or healer class can convert to an Astromancer. The minimum requirement is that you must first reach Level 20. More importantly, you must also receive and complete the Class Change Quest for the hidden class. Meanwhile, this key is very special. Not only is it a weapon, it is also a tool meant for triggering the Class Change Quest for the hidden class. You just need to bring this key to White River City and youll automatically receive the Hidden Class Change Quest. Guild Leader, is an Astromancer strong? Can I still continue healing after I become an Astromancer? Violet Cloud was suddenly excited. As Zero Wing developed, the number of battles the Guild would be involved in would increase. Although she loved being a Cleric, the things she could do were clearly limited. After all, when all was said and done, a Cleric was not a combat-oriented class. Violet Cloud dearly wanted to fight as well. She did not wish to always stand in the rear and receive the protection of others. Although it is called a hidden class, youre not exactly going to be changing to an entirely different class. It is more like having extra unique class skills. You will simply be gaining an additional skill set that does not belong to your original class. The downside to this is that you will take several times longer to level up, compared to normal classes. Moreover, it wont be an easy task to learn the system skills of a hidden class. Simply put, your life will become much harder after converting to a hidden class, Shi Feng explained. In addition, Astromancer isnt a class suitable for the average player. The controls involved are very complicated, and the control difficulty is at least two to three times that of a normal mage class. If an ordinary player were to convert into an Astromancer, they might find themselves losing fights to opponents that they had managed to defeat in the past. On the other hand, if you successfully master the class, even if you meet someone who had become much more powerful than they were in the past, you can still beat them up until their mothers no longer recognize them. Overall, Astromancer could be considered a very extreme hidden class. Seeing Violet Clouds passionate gaze, Shi Feng asked, Do you wish to convert to this hidden class? Uhm. I dont want to always stay at the back and heal. I want to be the same as Big Sis Fire Dance and Big Sis Aqua. I want to be able to fight enemies at the frontlines as well. Violet Cloud nodded. She then looked at Shi Feng and asked timidly, Guild Leader, can you please let me have this hidden class? Violet Cloud knew that she was being selfish. After all, she did not obtain this key by herself. Moreover, countless others in the Guild would be willing to fight over a hidden class. There were also powerful mage experts such as Aqua Rose, Ice Queen Su Qianliu, Blackie, and many others in the Guild. If they were to change classes into an Astromancer, they could greatly increase the Guilds strength. There was simply no place for a healer like her. However, she wished to contribute more to the Guild. Colas mouth widened in shock when he heard Violet Cloud speak. He had not expected the usually quiet and lovely Violet Cloud to make such a bold move. This Shi Feng wrinkled his sharp brows, entering a deep contemplation. Looking at Shi Fengs grave expression, Violet Cloud could not help but start panicking. Guild Leader, Violets control and techniques are definitely first-rate! Even I am no match for her! Wont you consider giving her a chance? Cola voiced his opinion. After thinking it over for a while, Shi Feng seriously looked at Violet Cloud, saying, Im not forbidding you to convert your class into an Astromancer. Only, this key is slightly troublesome. If you use this key to convert your class into an Astromancer, your path will be fraught with an endless amount of trouble in the future. You might even ruin your account. All your efforts would go down the drain. At that time, while everyone is over Level 100, you will have to start from scratch. Do you really have the courage and determination to do so? In fact, Shi Feng had no doubts in regard to Violet Clouds control and techniques. If Shi Feng did not possess ten years worth of experience playing Gods Domain, Violet Cloud might have already surpassed him by now. Based on Violet Clouds standards, she might immediately become one of Zero Wings top combatants once she was an Astromancer. Shi Feng would naturally feel happy over this matter. Yet, what he had in his hand right now was a Magic Weapon. If the weapon were a Legendary Weapon and not a Magic Weapon, he would willingly give it to Violet Cloud without hesitation as long as she wanted it. A Magic Weapon, on the other hand, had pros and cons that Shi Feng was very clear about. As long as a player unsealed a Magic Weapon and became its controller, then they would inevitably have to face the backlash of the Magic Weapon one day. Based on the current situation, the disadvantages of giving Violet Cloud the Magic Weapon greatly outweighed the advantages. Most importantly, not every player could handle the pressure of having to start all over again. Guild Leader, Im not afraid of trouble. I only hope that I can do more for the Guild. Even if I end up back in square one because of this item, I will have no regrets. At the very least, I would have contributed greatly towards the Guilds current development. Violet Cloud looked at Shi Feng, her eyes shining with conviction. Faced with Violet Clouds gaze, Shi Feng abruptly recalled how he had been back then, and burst out in sudden laughter. Thats right! Whats there to be afraid of? Its just a restart at worst! The worry that filled Shi Fengs heart disappeared. He then handed the key to Violet Cloud. This key is still sealed. After returning to White River City, go look for someone who can unseal it. After it is unsealed, you will automatically receive the Tier 1 Hidden Class Change Quest. Thank you, Guild Leader! I definitely wont let you down! Violet Cloud sincerely thanked Shi Feng as she excitedly received the purple-gold key. 334 Occupying the Ranking Lis After Violet Cloud received the key, her heart could not help but pound in anticipation. She wished that she could quickly return to the city, undo the seal on this key, and become an important combat power for Zero Wing as soon as possible. Although the Guilds in White River City currently appeared to be at peace on the surface, beneath that surface were surging undercurrents. Nobody knew what kind of plans these Guilds were concocting. This was especially true for Dark Star and World Dominators. No matter how one looked at it, they were not Guilds that would give up after suffering only one or two defeats. Yet, despite Zero Wing maintaining such a high profile, these two Guilds had actually done nothing at all. How could their lack of a response not give rise to suspicions? Although Violet Cloud did not know what these two Guilds were planning, she was sure of one thing: as long as Zero Wing became sufficiently strong, no matter what sort of tricks or means those two Guilds used, all would be rendered useless. Stars Reminiscence? Violet Cloud softly muttered after checking the information of the key in her hands. [Stars Reminiscence] (Magic Weapon) A key belonging to the ancient and great Star Sage, Raines. Inside this key remains a fragment of Star Sage Rainess power. Currently, Rainess power has been sealed by a mysterious power, and information about the key can only be unveiled after the seal has been undone. This seal requires a Tier 3 Great Mage to undo. After Shi Feng had used Omniscient Eyes on this Stars Reminiscence, a portion of the information that had displayed as Unknown became available. Star Sage Raines was one of the many legendary characters of Gods Domain. Even among legendary characters, Star Sage Raines was one of the more dazzling figures. The reason being, the Astromancer class had managed to become powerful and prosperous only due to the efforts of Star Sage Raines. Unfortunately, along with the demise of Star Sage Raines, the entire Astromancer class had slowly vanished through time. As of today, most people had already forgotten about the existence of Astromancers. Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, saying, Now that the traps have been removed, we should return as well. With the magic array of the control room deactivated, what they needed to do next was to wipe out all the Blood Hand Association NPCs outside Creek Town, as well as all the NPCs inside the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. After that was done, the Crusade Quest would be officially completed. \--- While Shi Fengs group of four was leaving the Blood Hand Associations stronghold, a major incident occurred at White River City. Originally, the members of Zero Wing had occupied only up to the 40th position on the White River City Ranking List. However, after another two hours had passed, Zero Wing now occupied every rank up to the 20th position of the Ranking List. Currently, Zero Wing was only 11 ranks away from obtaining full monopoly over the Ranking List. At present, not a single Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom had managed to achieve the feat of completely monopolizing the Ranking List of a single city. To be precise, nobody had even dared to think of achieving such a feat. After all, there were plenty of experts in every city; there were bound to be a few leveling madmen. It was practically impossible for a single Guild to surpass every other player in a city. Not to mention, White River City wasnt just a small city. On the contrary, it was the most important city in Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region. It was also the fifth largest city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Needless to say, there were plenty of Guilds and experts gathered here, making it very difficult to fully monopolize the citys Ranking List. Yet, now, Zero Wing was actually about to accomplish such a feat. How could the players of White River City not grow excited about it? However, the players most excited over this situation were still the members of Zero Wing. At this moment, many members of Zero Wing started cheering loudly on the streets as they tracked the Ranking List, showing their fervent support for Aqua Rose and the others. Of course, while some were rejoicing over Zero Wings inevitable monopoly over the Ranking List, others grew anxious at this situation. When Lone Tyrant saw that Zero Wing members were quickly catching up to him, he started using every means available to him to level up. Lone Tyrant sent for another 600 players from Dark Star to assist him in leveling up. He then split these 600 players into 30 teams of 20 players. These teams were then tasked with gathering and killing monsters around Lone Tyrant. As long as a team was about to kill the monsters they had herded, they would immediately invite Lone Tyrant into their teams before killing said monsters. That way Lone Tyrant could still receive a portion of the EXP without needing to personally land the killing blow. After the monsters were killed, Lone Tyrant would then leave the team and go on to join other teams. Including the several hundred players that were originally helping him, Lone Tyrant now had over 30 teams of players assisting him in leveling up. Lone Tyrant continued to leave and join teams this way, accumulating large amounts of EXP for himself. Naturally, the effect on his leveling speed was self-evident. However, such an extravagant way of leveling was only possible because Lone Tyrant was the Guild Leader of Dark Star. Other people could only look on in envy. Not even tycoons dared to level up in such a way. In truth, Lone Tyrant himself was reluctant to waste so much manpower. However, he simply had no other choice. Despite sending out a horde of people to search for Zero Wings whereabouts, no one returned with positive results. Lone Tyrant could not stop Zero Wings progress even if he wanted to. No matter how hard Lone Tyrant racked his brain, he simply could not figure out how the members of Zero Wing were leveling up so quickly. Even when he was using such an extravagant way of leveling, his leveling speed was still far inferior to theirs. It would be fine if this situation was only limited to one or two individuals in Zero Wing. However, such a large group of players was actually leveling up so quickly. Just what kind of method were they using to accomplish such a feat? If Zero Wing were to really kick him out of the Ranking List, then he, as the Guild Leader of Dark Star and also someone who was famed for his high level, would really become the laughingstock of White River City. Hence, Lone Tyrant had no choice but to carry out such an unwise move. However, with the passage of time, Lone Tyrant grew increasingly frightened. Everyone in White River City was greatly surprised as well. The reason being, not only did Zero Wings leveling speed not slow down, it somehow was even accelerating. The rankings changed practically every few minutes. The positions Zero Wing occupied rapidly went from the 20th to the 15th, before increasing to 12th, and finally stopping at 10th. Now, Lone Tyrant was the only player on the Ranking List who was not part of Zero Wing. Lone Tyrant became even more frantic at this sight. Lure more monsters! The more the better! Everyone else, give me all the Magic Scrolls you have! Lone Tyrants eyes were glowing red at this moment. He looked just like a gambler who had lost all his bets and was planning to stake everything on one final throw. Black Flame, youre a hundred years too early if you think you can kick me out of the Ranking List! Shortly after, Lone Tyrant started hysterically using all sorts of AOE attack Magic Scrolls, killing the hundreds of monsters his subordinates had lured over. Each and every one of these AOE attack Magic Scrolls were very precious, and they were normally treated as the Guilds strategic materiel. At this moment, however, Lone Tyrant treated these Magic Scrolls as if they were toys, using them with wild abandon. Lone Tyrants experience bar also soared within a short period of time. However, compared to the rise in experience, Lone Tyrants behavior was simply throwing good money after bad. Everyone from Dark Star felt their hearts ache at this sight. They had managed to obtain these Magic Scrolls only after going through many difficulties. Now, however, all their efforts had gone to waste in order to allow Lone Tyrant to quickly level up. Despite their heartache, the members of Dark Star could do nothing about the situation. After all, the person holding the position of Guild Leader was not them but Lone Tyrant. Many people started regretting their decision to join Dark Star instead of Zero Wing. With such a selfish Guild Leader, would Dark Star even possess a future? In contrast, Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, had not hesitated to charge to the rescue in order to save his brothers and sisters in arms from being bullied. Back when the core members of Zero Wing had been surrounded inside the Silverleaf Forest, Black Flame had ventured into enemy territory all by himself. Moreover, after the war, he had even spent huge sums of money in order to compensate his own Guild members. From Black Flames actions, one could tell that he was a person who would rather bear the suffering himself than to let his brothers and sisters be wronged. If they could have such a Guild Leader, so what if they had to suffer? \--- However, just as Lone Tyrant was hysterically using Magic Scrolls Zero Wings 100-man team were also in the midst of killing the remaining Level 50 Tier 1 Blood Hand Association Elites. In order to deal with these Level 50 NPCs, Blackie used Stars of Light, while Shi Feng used Firestorm. Shi Fengs normal guards also used all their AOE skills. The scene of the battle was like Armageddon; even the Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs could not endure this relentless bombardment. Soon after, these Blood Hand Association Elites started dying one after another. Simultaneously, the experience bars of everyone from Zero Wing soared like a rocket. The reason for such rapid leveling was simple. First of all, Tier 1 NPCs gave much more EXP than ordinary NPCs when killed. Second, most of the members of Zero Wing were only Level 20, while the rest were only a few levels higher, so the bonus EXP they could obtain from killing a Level 50 NPC was munificent. When both of these factors were combined, the levels of Zero Wings 100-man team naturally increased by leaps and bounds. After several tens of Blood Hand Association Elites died, everyone from Zero Wing had risen to Level 21 or above, instantly monopolizing all 100 spots on the White River City Ranking List. At this moment, every player in White River City fell silent. Zero Wing had done it. Zero Wing had actually fully occupied the top 100 spots of the White River City Ranking List. The sight stunned Lone Tyrant. He even forgot to use the Magic Scroll in his hands. At the same time, a series of system notifications sounded throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. 335 Experts Gathering at White River City Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild to exclusively monopolize the top 10 of a citys Ranking List! Rewarding 100 Gold Coins, 5,000 Guild Popularity, and 1,000 Guild Reputation. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild to exclusively monopolize the top 30 of a citys Ranking List! Rewarding 200 Gold Coins, 10,000 Guild Popularity, and 3,000 Guild Reputation. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild to exclusively monopolize the top 100 of a citys Ranking List! Rewarding Honored Guild title, 500 Gold Coins, 30,000 Guild Popularity, and 7,000 Guild Reputation. Originally, Zero Wings attempt at monopolizing the Ranking List was a matter limited to only White River City. Hence, aside from the players based in White River City, nobody else in Star-Moon Kingdom paid any particular attention to this incident. However, the appearance of these three system notifications dumbfounded every player in Star-Moon Kingdom. Players who were currently inside a Dungeon were no exception. At this moment, everyone was shocked when they saw these system notifications. Just the amount of Gold Coins rewarded was enough to cause the large Guilds of many cities to feel envy and hatred. From the three rewards, Zero Wing had obtained a total of 800 Gold Coins. At this stage of the game, a large Guild would have only around a dozen Gold Coins in fluid funds. After all, it was not easy to earn in-game currency in Gods Domain. Although players were reaching higher levels with each passing day and they were making more money than before, their daily expenditures had also increased inadvertently. Simply put, there were too many aspects where one was required to spend money in Gods Domain. For example, repairing equipment For example,learning skills For example, purchasing potions, Whetstones, and other necessities for adventuring Most importantly, hotels and daily meals. Originally, before the first evolution of Gods Domain, players had no need to rest at a hotel. They also had no need to have meals. However, after Gods Domain evolved, if players did not rest for long periods of time, their mental state would start to deteriorate. If players did not consume food for long periods of time, although no changes would occur to their characters Attributes, their bodys physical state would be affected. This, in turn, would reduce a players efficiency when grinding monsters and leveling. Because of these aspects, players rarely had a lot of money sitting in their pockets. In fact, they had even less money than before the first evolution of Gods Domain. However, it was also due to this reason that many inconspicuous lifestyle classes had started receiving attention from players and begun to develop rapidly. After all, mainstream lifestyle classes werent the only lifestyle classes that could make a lot of money. Even non-mainstream lifestyle classes could achieve similar results. As for Guilds, they could barely make ends meet. If the various large Guilds did not possess big money-farming teams of their own, their development would have long since stagnated. To any Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, 800 Gold was an astronomical sum of money. If others had thought that Zero Wing was a considerably good Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom before, then from now on, Zero Wing would be very well-known as an excellent Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. At this moment, posts relating to Zero Wing were flooding the official forums for Star-Moon Kingdom, and none of them was not astounded by Zero Wings achievement. Its Zero Wing again. First, it was the Guild Residence. Now, theyve fully occupied the White River City Ranking List; thats a feat that not even first-rate Guilds have managed to accomplish. Yet, a recently established Guild like Zero Wing actually did it. At this rate, wont Zero Wing become the overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom? Why cant Zero Wing start recruitment in our city? If they start recruiting, Ill definitely be the first one to sign up! I hear that Zero Wing is about to start another recruitment session again. I think Ill just migrate to White River City. Although Ill have to spend some money, if I can join such a good Guild, so what if I have to spend some money? Indeed. I hear that the benefits offered by Zero Wing are excellent. Members even have the opportunity to rent out the Private Rooms inside the Guild Residence and accumulate Double EXP buff. If I can join Zero Wing, even spending 20 Silver Coins would be worth it! Many players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom started entertaining thoughts of joining Zero Wing. Previously, many players had lamented the fact that Zero Wing only recruited members in White River City, and not in other cities. However, as Zero Wing grew increasingly dazzling, the number of players wanting to join the Guild would definitely increase as well. If players did not take this chance to join now, the competition in the future might become even more intense. At that time, they might not be able to join Zero Wing even if they wanted to. Moreover, if they joined Zero Wing ahead of time, they could also accumulate Guild Contribution Points quicker and enjoy the various benefits of the Guild earlier. Big Brother Shadow Sword, we dont have enough funds for a single persons teleportation fee even if we add both of our assets together. Why dont we skip Zero Wings recruitment this time and wait for the next one? a tall and slender female Guardian Knight suggested. The woman was geared in an assortment of Common and Bronze ranked Equipment. With big, bright eyes, she looked at the stalwart-looking Berserker in front of her, adding, There are also a few first-rate and second-rate Guilds recruiting in Greenstone City right now. With our strength, we should have no problems joining those Guilds. So, why bother spending so much money to go to White River City? Turtledove, you dont understand. Im not rushing to join Zero Wing because of their fame. Instead, I plan to join them in order to improve my strength. All these years, I have been stuck at a bottleneck and never managed to break through. When I watched Black Flames and Ye Fengs battle videos, I learned a lot from them. However, the things one can learn from watching a video will always be limited. If I wish to further improve myself, I need to go and personally experience such battles. Meanwhile, joining Zero Wing would be the fastest way to do so, the Berserker named Shadow Sword explained as he shook his head. If we lack money, then Ill just use all the Credits Ive previously saved up to buy some Silver Coins. We should have enough by then. Big Brother Shadow Sword, you cant! You saved that money in order to join the city fighting competition! the female Guardian Knight named Turtledove argued anxiously. Shadow Sword waved his hand, softly saying, You dont need to worry about this. If I cant raise my current strength, I would only become a joke by joining the fighting competition. I understand Turtledove nodded helplessly. At the same time, many players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom started planning a trip to White River City. Every one of these players had reached a certain standard. After all, the teleportation fees required to go to White River City were not cheap. Being able to gather so much money was also proof of ones own abilities. \--- While everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom were discussing Zero Wing Creek Town, Blood Hand Associations stronghold. Under Shi Fengs lead, Zero Wings 100-man team and the 48 Level 50 Tier 1 guards had cleared out all the Blood Hand Association Knights inside the stronghold and arrived before the doors leading to the hidden warehouse. The doors to the Blood Hand Associations hidden warehouse were made of extremely tough steel. The pair of thick doors was not something that could be pushed apart by only a handful of players. The result would be the same even if Shi Feng, someone who possessed staggering amounts of Strength, was included. Lets open it together. Following Shi Fengs command, everyone started pushing against this pair of large doors. After combining the strength of all the players and Level 50 Tier 1 guards, the team only barely managed to push apart the large doors. Moreover, the speed at which the doors were opened was extremely slow. After spending over a dozen minutes pushing, the team finally succeeded in pushing these large doors apart completely. Simultaneously, the space inside the hidden warehouse also appeared before everyone. The space inside the hidden warehouse was extremely large and commodious, just like a gymnasium. Tens of metal pillars lined the walls of the building. At this moment, however, nobody paid attention to the appearance of the hidden warehouse. Instead, all eyes were focused at the center of the open space. That area had a small mountain of treasures piled up there. With a single glance, one could immediately discover many Treasure Chests sitting in the mountain of gold. Just the Treasure Chests that could be seen on the surface already numbered in the tens. Moreover, a majority of these Treasure Chests were of Mysterious-Iron rank. There were even some Secret-Silver Treasure Chests. Guild Leader, were rich! Blackie drooled as he looked at all those Treasure Chests, as well as the Gold Coins and various other items scattered around the hidden warehouse. Is this the reward for completing the Crusade Quest? Although Aqua Rose was a wealthy princess herself, she was still shocked at the sight of the mountain of treasures before her. Only now did she truly understand why Shi Feng had said the Crusade Quests deposit of 30 Gold Coins was a very cheap price to pay. Compared to the mountain of gold before her, 30 Gold Coins was not worth mentioning at all. At this moment, Snow Gooses eyes were practically shining. She could not help but wish she could immediately charge up and dive into this mountain of gold. However, Snow Goose did not rush forward. As the location the Blood Hand Association used to store its treasures, this hidden warehouse would naturally have guards. A total of eight Mechanical Watchers and one Mechanical Slayer was standing at the periphery of the mountain of treasure. Moreover, there was also a magic barrier layered over the mountain of treasure. Unless one removed this magic barrier, nobody could even think of getting the treasure. It seems we can only obtain the treasure after defeating these mechanical guards. Shi Fengs gaze slowly shifted towards the nine gigantic mechanical guards. 336 Mutan The hidden warehouse was the most important location of the Blood Hand Association. After all, the warehouse stored all of the treasures the Blood Hand Association had collected over the many years. Naturally, the security of this hidden warehouse would also be the most intense. The NPCs outside of this hidden warehouse would, at most, comprise 40% of the Blood Hand Associations combat power. Meanwhile, the remaining 60% would be the nine giant mechanical guards guarding inside the hidden warehouse. The combat power of these nine mechanical guards alone surpassed that of thousands of NPCs. One could just imagine how powerful these robots were. [Mechanical Watcher] (Lord Rank) Level 30 HP 1,500,000/1,500,000 [Mechanical Slayer] (High Lord Rank) Level 50 HP 9,000,000/9,000,000 Everyone felt their hearts grow cold when they saw the shining pitch-black bodies of the Mechanical Watchers. In Team Dungeons, Lord ranked monsters were all categorized as Bosses. As field Bosses, although these Mechanical Watchers had less HP than Team Dungeon Bosses of the same level, their Attack Power and Defense was far superior. Field Bosses were much stronger than Dungeon Bosses of the same level, and a dozen players were no match for them. As for the High Lord ranked Mechanical Slayer, a Boss of such rank would only appear in 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons or 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Moreover, the Mechanical Slayer before them was a Level 50 High Lord ranked boss. It was simply impossible for a group of Level 20 players to kill it. The level suppression alone would render the players utterly helpless. To put it simply, even if the Mechanical Slayer stood still without taking action, Shi Fengs 100-man team still could not kill it. Im afraid that our combat power might be a little lacking? Aqua Rose concluded helplessly after observing the nine mechanical guards. They would need around fifty Level 30 players to deal with a single Mechanical Watcher. In other words, they would need around 400 players to deal with the eight Mechanical Watchers before them. Moreover, all 400 players needed to be Level 30. As for the Mechanical Slayer, under normal circumstances, they would need at least 300 Level 50 Tier 1 players to raid it. Their current lineup had no hope against such a monster. Moreover, these nine mechanical guards would definitely work together to repel intruders. At that time, Shi Fengs team would not even amount to dust in the face of these Guards. Shi Feng examined his surroundings. There were many iron pillars situated around the hidden warehouse. Moreover, they were incredibly dense and almost indestructible. Meanwhile, mechanical-type monsters all shared a single weakness. Although mechanical-type monsters possessed extremely high magic resistance, Defense, and Attack Power, these monsters usually had very slow Movement Speeds. Their Attack Speeds were also very slow. Moreover, the nine mechanical guards were large, so they could not maneuver between the large iron pillars easily. uddenly, an idea popped into Shi Fengs mind. Fire Dance, take these Intermediate Frost Grenades. At the start of the raid, I want each of you to lure one of these Mechanical Watchers away. As for the Mechanical Slayer, leave it to me. Everyone else, attack the Mechanical Watchers with the NPC guards. Remember, dont let any of these monsters close in on you. Also, remember to dodge these mechanical monsters skills. Although they move slowly, the Skills they possess will make up for their speed. As he instructed his team, Shi Feng took out a bunch of Intermediate Frost Grenades and passed them to Fire Dance and seven other Zero Wing members with the highest Movement Speeds. By now, everyone was fully aware of how powerful the Frost Grenades were. It was especially true when they were used in a team battle. After the war between World Dominators, Shi Feng had sent Aqua Rose to Blackwing City to buy more of them. However, they had not purchased many Intermediate Frost Grenades. Intermediate Frost Grenades could deal 800 Frost Damage to targets that were Level 70 or below, freezing them for 5 seconds and reducing their Movement Speeds by 60% for 12 seconds. However, each Intermediate Frost Grenade cost 10 Silver Coins. They certainly werent cheap. Aqua Rose had only purchased 200 Intermediate Frost Grenades. Even so, the total had reached 20 Gold Coins. The price concerned and distressed her. However, she knew just how powerful these items were. So, even if they were more expensive, they still needed to buy some as a reserve. At this moment, Shi Feng couldnt care less about the expense of the Intermediate Frost Grenades. After all, relying on the Movement Speed reduction and control skills of the NPC guards would not be enough to pin down these mechanical monsters. Following which, Shi Feng assigned everyone on the team their tasks. Their main goal was to circumnavigate around the iron pillars and take the chance to kill these slow mechanical monsters, though the main damage dealers would be Shi Fengs guards. Begin! The moment Shi Feng commanded, everyone took action. To start things off, Fire Dance and the others lured the eight Mechanical Watchers away. Shi Feng then charged towards the Mechanical Slayer. When he was only 40 yards away, he threw the Blazing Meteor at the High Lord ranked monster. A streak of flame instantly struck the Mechanical Slayers forehead. _Dang!_ -2 Shi Feng smiled bitterly when he saw the damage that appeared above the Mechanical Slayers head. What was a futile action? This was. Faced with the Mechanical Slayers 9,000,000 HP, -2 points of damage wasnt even a mosquito bite. When in battle, the Mechanical Slayer recovered 1% of its HP every five seconds. In other words, the Mechanical Slayer could recover 90,000 HP every five seconds However, Shi Feng had already achieved his goal. The Mechanical Slayers gloomy eyes suddenly illuminated and flashed red. Immediately, it retrieved the serrated greatsword from its back and slowly advanced towards Shi Feng. Although the Mechanical Slayers pace seemed slow, due to its gigantic body, each step covered more than a dozen yards. It was not one bit slower than ordinary players. When approaching Shi Feng, the Mechanical Slayer revealed a human-like sneer. Shi Feng felt slightly astonished as he had not expected a mechanical-type monster to possess such high intelligence. In the past, he had never encountered a monster like this. Normally, only high-level NPCs would display such behavior. Come; follow me. Lets see if you can get rid of me. Shi Feng revealed a calm smile. He then tossed the Blazing Meteor at the Mechanical Slayer once more. He activated Windwalk and ran towards a corner of the hidden warehouse, luring the Mechanical Slayer away from the Mechanical Watchers. After activating Windwalk, Shi Fengs Movement Speed reached frightening heights. Moreover, Shi Feng had also used the Aura of Wind from the Seven Luminaries Ring, increasing his Movement Speed by an additional 20%. However, even with both effects stacked, the Mechanical Slayer was still faster than Shi Feng. The distance that took Shi Feng several steps to cross only took the Mechanical Slayer a single step. When the distance between them shortened to 20 yards, the Mechanical Slayer abruptly swung its greatsword at Shi Feng, wielding it singlehandedly. Clearly, there was still a distance of 20 yards between the Mechanical Slayer and Shi Feng. Although the Mechanical Slayers serrated greatsword was very large and long, it could not hit Shi Feng. Yet, the Mechanical Slayer still chose to swing its greatsword. When the serrated greatsword descended, it created a loud boom. Even the air surrounding the greatsword compressed and became extremely heavy. Suddenly, tens of air blades shot towards Shi Feng. The blades resembled a wall of air pressing down on Shi Feng. The gaps between air blades simply did not allow Shi Feng any space to evade. Moreover, they covered a frightening range. Shi Feng could not dodge them even if he wanted to. Yet, if Shi Feng took the attack head-on, the blades would end his life. Defensive Blade would not change the outcome. At most, the skill could help Shi Feng block nine air blades. Its using a skill already? As expected, a High Lord wont give players any chances. It would be simply impossible for an ordinary player to escape alive. Shi Feng was utterly astonished. He had not expected the Mechanical Slayer to use such a powerful skill so soon. However, it would be wishful thinking on the Mechanical Slayers part if it thought it could kill Shi Feng so easily. In the next moment, Shi Feng suddenly flew. In the nick of time, Shi Feng flew out of the range of the air blades, leaving behind afterimages as he charged towards the closest iron pillar. This was none other than the effect of Wind Rider, the activatable skill of the Aura of Wind. [Wind Rider] Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 100% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes The Mechanical Slayer bellowed angrily. It actually failed to kill an ant like Shi Feng with a single attack. This was simply humiliating Immediately after, the Mechanical Slayer no longer wielded its serrated greatsword single-handedly. Instead, it swung the greatsword with both hands now. _Boom!_ The serrated greatsword plunged into the sturdy ground. Suddenly, the entire warehouse started trembling. With the Mechanical Slayer as the epicenter, the ground began to crack. Covering a radius of around 70 yards, streams of air blasted up from the ground, decimating everything in their path. The attack caught one unfortunate Level 50 Tier 1 guard, killing him instantly. The skills power dumbfounded everyone. It was simply unbelievable. The Level 50 Tier 1 guard had over 100,000 HP. Yet, he was gone in an instant This was not Shi Fengs first time meeting a High Lord. However, Shi Feng could say for sure that a High Lord was definitely not capable of instant-killing a Tier 1 NPC of the same level. At this moment, several thousand Level 50 Tier 1 players would not be enough to kill the Mechanical Slayer. Fortunately, Shi Feng had Wind Rider activated, so he barely managed to escape the Mechanical Slayers skill. At this moment, when Shi Feng looked at the Mechanical Slayer again, Shi Feng was shocked to discover a cruel smile on its face. Seeing this, Shi Feng thought of an unlikely possibility. Suddenly, Shi Fengs body shivered as it was overcome with a terrifying chill. This is not good; its a Mutant! Everyone, leave the warehouse immediately! Run as far as you can! Shi Feng shouted. At this moment, various emotions passed through Shi Fengs heart. Originally, Shi Feng had everything under his control. However, he never would have expected that such a thing would occur. To begin with, it was simply impossible for this kind of thing to exist at this stage of the game. Yet, it had actually happened. Although Shi Fengs command confused his guildmates, they carried it out without hesitation. Following Shi Fengs command, everyone ran from the hidden warehouse. At the same time, Shi Feng also tasked his normal guards to stay behind and pin down the Mechanical Slayer, allowing everyone the chance to escape. In the face of the Mechanical Slayer, however, the Level 50 Tier 1 guards, which had been insurmountable existences to players, could not last a single hit. Guild Leader, what is going on? Aqua Rose dared not believe her own eyes right now. The Level 50 Tier 1 guards were actually dying with a single hit. A single hit! At this moment, Aqua Rose wasnt the only person present who had questions. Everyone in the team was dazed and confused. Such a powerful monster no longer belonged to the category of a High Lord. However, at this moment, nobody had the time to ask their questions. Over a dozen guards sent to hold back the Mechanical Slayer had already fallen. Moreover, from beginning to end, only a few short seconds had passed. Dont ask! Just run! Run as far as you can! Absolutely do not turn back! Shi Feng shouted as he tossed an Intermediate Frost Grenade. Currently, Wind Rider was still in effect. So, Shi Feng took advantage of his speed to delay the Mechanical Slayer as much as he could. Originally, an Intermediate Frost Grenade could deal 800 frost damage to monsters Level 70 or below and freeze them for five seconds. However, when used on the Mechanical Slayer, the Intermediate Frost Grenade had only dealt -100 damage. The freezing effect only lasted for one second. Although it was only one second, it was effective enough for Shi Feng. Fortunately, the Cooldown between uses for the Frost Grenades was also one second, allowing Shi Feng to freeze the Mechanical Slayer perpetually. Shi Feng tossed one Frost Grenade after another, delaying the Mechanical Slayer for over twenty seconds. At this time, his team had finally left the hidden warehouse. Guild Leader, weve left the warehouse, Fire Dance said in the team chat. No! I told you to run as far as you can! Leave Creek Town immediately! Shi Feng said. Presently, nobody but Shi Feng knew what the appearance of a Mutant signified. However, Shi Feng did not have the time to explain at the moment. If they did not run fast or far enough, the consequences would be dire. 337 Unfathomably Deep Listening to Shi Fengs anxious tone, everyone from Zero Wing knew that the situation was not as simple as it appeared. Since Shi Feng had issued his command, none of them would tarry. One after another, they quickly ran for the entrance of the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. The Mechanical Slayers strength was simply too terrifying. Not only did it possess region-scale destruction skills, but it could also kill Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs with a single hit. If it had only been a region-scale destruction skill, they could have dealt with it. The key thing was that even the Mechanical Slayers basic attacks could instantly kill an NPC guard with over 100,000 HP. At this stage of the game, players had no hope of defeating the Mechanical Slayer. Guild Leader, be careful. Fire Dance could not help but tighten her fists, reluctance filling her heart. Yeah, Shi Feng gave a simple reply. At the moment, he could not relax as he had before. His current enemies were not limited to just the Mechanical Slayer. They also included the eight other Mechanical Watchers. Previously, these Mechanical Watchers had run out of the hidden warehouse in pursuit of the other members of Zero Wing. However, after everyone escaped from the hidden warehouse, these Mechanical Watchers rushed back to deal with Shi Feng. It was extremely challenging for Shi Feng to slow the Mechanical Slayers movements while simultaneously dodging the attacks of the eight Mechanical Watchers. When all was said and done, Shi Feng was only a Level 24 Tier 0 Swordsman. Only by activating all the lifesaving skills he possessed could he barely avoid death. However, he was about to run out of gas. Damn you fools! Im clearly helping you right now, yet you idiots are trying to kill me! Since you all wish for death so badly, Ill grant you your wish! Shi Feng looked at the eight Mechanical Watchers that only focused their attacks on him in anger. Then, instead of throwing the Intermediate Frost Grenade in his hand at the Mechanical Slayer, Shi Feng aimed it at the Mechanical Watchers charging at him. Have fun with each other. Damn you bastards. After freezing the eight Mechanical Watchers, Shi Feng retrieved a Speed Scroll from his bag and used it. His Movement Speed soared once more. He then charged directly towards the hidden warehouses entrance. You will all die! The Mechanical Slayer let out a mechanical roar after escaping its icy imprisonment. The entire warehouse trembled at its mighty roar. Instantly, the Mechanical Slayer strode forward and charged at the escaping Swordsman. While moving forward, however, the Mechanical Slayer found itself blocked by the eight frozen Mechanical Watchers. Without a shred of hesitation, the Slayer swung its greatsword at one of its supposed-allies. The strike sent one of the heavy, over six-feet-tall Watchers flying. Making eight quick successive swings, the Mechanical Slayer sent all eight Mechanical Watchers into the warehouses walls. Such horrifying damage...it is as expected of a Mutant. At this moment, Shi Feng finally managed to glimpse of the Mechanical Slayers real damage. A basic swing from its greatsword devoured more than 300,000 HP from each of the Mechanical Watchers. In other words, the Mechanical Slayer could easily kill a Level 30 Lord ranked Mechanical Watcher with only five basic attacks. With such strength, the Mechanical Slayer could effortlessly massacre a starter town. It seems that fleeing to a town is out of the question. Shi Feng frowned as he gauged the Mechanical Slayers combat power. Mutants were a special existence in Gods Domain. They were not bound by the logic of the game. Normally, Mutants were born from mutated monsters. However, a Mutants spawn rate was as low as that of obtaining a Lucky Stone in Gods Domain. The systems laws had no effect on these Mutants, and they were completely independent creatures. They could wander about to any region, and they would attack and destroy any living being they come across. In Shi Fengs previous life, every time a Mutant appeared in Gods Domain, a disaster would follow. Mutants were like the various natural disasters in the real world, and they were not something that a single player could deal with. Mutants possessed an intellect several times higher than normal monsters, and they were practically on the same level as a high-level NPC. In addition, when a monster mutated, their combat power would increase by several folds. Shi Feng had met with a Mutant in the past. The Mutant had originally been a Level 80 Common monster. However, after it mutated, it had instant-killed the Level 75 Tier 2 player who had been its opponent at the time. If a Level 75 Tier 2 player possessed incredible techniques, soloing a Level 80 Lord ranked monster was only a matter of time. Naturally, if such a player wished to escape, they would have no problems doing so. Yet, faced with a Level 80 Common monster, the Level 75 Tier 2 player had no chance to flee. Of course, one of the reasons for that players demise was negligence. However, the fact that a Level 80 Common monster was capable of instant-killing a Level 75 Tier 2 player clearly displayed how much more powerful it became after becoming a Mutant. Following which, that mutated Common monster had become the nightmare of players. By the time everyone was aware of the Mutants existence, over 10,000 players had died at its hands. More importantly, the Mutant monster grew stronger the more it killed. This incident had attracted the attention of many large Guilds. Based on everyones knowledge, the more powerful a monster was, the better was the quality of the items it dropped. This was an iron-law of Gods Domain, and even Mutants should have been no exception to this law. Since this mutated monster was so powerful, being even stronger than a High Lord of the same level, its loot would be magnificent. Hence, the various Guilds at the time had sent their own armies to hunt this Mutant. At that time, over 100,000 players had been dispatched, and all of them were above Level 70. There were even Tier 2 professional experts among them. The battle between the Mutant and the player army had shaken the heaven and earth. A starter town had even been decimated as a result of that war. Although the player army had successfully killed the Mutant in the end, the losses they suffered were tremendous. Out of the 100,000 players sent out, less than 3,000 survived. Meanwhile, the Mutant before Shi Feng right now had mutated from a High Lord monster. Currently, the Mechanical Slayer was just a newborn; its strength was at its weakest right now. Shi Feng did not dare imagine how powerful it would become once it matured. In the past, a Level 80 Common Mutant had grown to be able to wipe out over 90,000 players from a 100,000 strong army. Moreover, some of those players had been Tier 2 experts, and everyones levels at that time were not much different than the Mutants. Meanwhile, although the Mechanical Slayer before Shi Feng was only Level 50, not a single player had reached Level 40 yet. To put it simply, the Mechanical Slayer was invincible against players. During the time Shi Feng took to escape the hidden warehouse, the Mechanical Slayer had taken care of all eight Mechanical Watchers. Finished with the nuisances, the Mechanical Slayer renewed its charge at Shi Feng. So fast! Shi Feng hurriedly threw a Frost Grenade at it. This time, however, the Mechanical Slayer had not fallen for the same trick. With nimble steps, it easily avoided the Intermediate Frost Grenade Shi Feng had thrown. Damn! Its those Mechanical Watchers fault! Shi Fengs anger grew. In the beginning, when the Mechanical Slayer had just awoken, its intellect had still been considerably low. Hence, it failed to dodge the first Frost Grenade. Moreover, as long as Shi Fengs stock of Intermediate Frost Grenades did not run out, he could freeze the Mechanical Slayer for an indefinite amount of time. Now, however, this strategy was no longer viable. Almost immediately, the Mechanical Slayer caught up to Shi Feng, its serrated greatsword coursing its way towards him. Currently, the hallway Shi Feng was in only had one path. There was nowhere to dodge, and death was all but inevitable. Shi Feng had no choice but to bet everything he had, pointing the Abyssal Blade at the Mechanical Slayer. Abyssal Bind! Nine pitch-black chains suddenly sprouted from the ground, binding the Mechanical Slayer. Aooo! The Mechanical Slayer struggled madly, and in the blink of an eye, it shattered one of the chains. Soon, the second and third chain broke apart as well. At this moment, the chains of Abyssal Bind that had never failed Shi Feng until now seemed as fragile as strips of paper. 338 Hunted After easily snapping the chains that bound it, the Mechanical Slayer swung down its serrated greatsword. Unlike the downward slash it had used at the very beginning of the raid, this swing had sliced apart the air, the greatsword meeting no resistance whatsoever. The air blades that the slash produced had also become much finer, sharper, and quicker. Its improvement rate is too fast. Shi Feng had not imagined that the Abyssal Bind, which could restrain even the High Lord ranked Nebula Tiger, would not affect the Mechanical Slayer. However, the Mechanical Slayers improvement was far more frightening. It seems that I can only fool around here. Shi Feng watched the air blades that filled the hall. There was simply nowhere to take cover. He had also used up all of his lifesaving skills to deal with the eight Mechanical Watchers. However, even if he had his lifesaving skills, he still couldnt defend against the Mechanical Slayers attack. Not delaying any further, Shi Feng switched out the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Wind to the Aura of Space. Suddenly, a spatial crack formed in front of Shi Feng. Through this crack, one could see a completely different view from that of the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. In the blink of an eye, the spatial crack widened large enough to allow a single person to pass through. Shi Feng jumped through the spatial crack without hesitation. Soon after, the air blades entered the spatial crack as well, following their target. However, the moment these blades of air entered the spatial crack, they immediately disappeared without a trace like a rock sinking into a bottomless ocean. This spatial crack was formed by none other than the Aura of Spaces activatable skill, Space Movement. Although the skill was not as convenient as an Elementalists Instantaneous Movement, the distance one could cross using Space Movement far surpassed that of Instantaneous Movement. Mutants were different from other monsters. If a monster or NPC killed a player, they would only suffer the standard system penalty. However, if a Mutant killed a player Not only would the penalty for death double, but players would also need to wait one natural day before they could revive in the game. Healers resurrection skills would also not work on players Mutants had killed. Hence, players were required to wait one natural day before they could resume playing Gods Domain. Moreover, after reviving, players would enter a weakened state, having all their Attributes reduced by 30% and EXP received by 50% for two natural days. In Gods Domain, time was money. A Guild would suffer tremendous losses if its members became useless for three days. Even first-rate Guilds could not afford to suffer such a loss. When the Mechanical Slayer saw Shi Feng disappear into the spatial crack, a hint of suspicion appeared on its icy face. The Mechanical Slayer had only recently gained its own consciousness, and there were simply too many things in this world that it did not know. Shi Feng was but an ant in its eyes; something that it could easily crush. However, not only had this ant damaged it, freezing it for a long time, but this ant also managed to escape right before its eyes. Moreover, the method this ant used to escape was something it had never encountered before. Damned ant, do you think you can escape me? The Mechanical Slayer laughed coldly, almost human-like. No matter how far you run, you wont escape my grasp. Following which, the Mechanical Slayer swung its greatsword upwards, piercing a large hole through the ceiling and creating a path out of the Blood Hand Associations stronghold. Focusing its strength in its legs, the Mechanical Slayer jumped out of the stronghold. So, this is how flying works, the Mechanical Slayer chuckled as it hovered in mid-air. If Shi Feng could hear the Mechanical Slayers words or witness the flying ability it displayed, cold sweat would drench his back. Not only did the intelligence of this Mechanical Slayer undergo a tremendous transformation, but its learning capability also reached frightening levels. The Mechanical Slayer had only seen Shi Feng use Wind Rider once, yet, it actually learned the skill so quickly Hmm. I see that youve managed to run quite far away. Hovering above the Blood Hand Associations stronghold, the Mechanical Slayers lips curled up with a trace of playfulness as it looked towards the northwest. Immediately, it flew in that direction, hunting its prey. \--- At this moment, Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and everyone else from Zero Wing had just left the Blood Hand Associations stronghold, confusion still occupying their minds. Before anyone could react, the roof of the Blood Hand Associations stronghold suddenly collapsed, creating a hole that led towards the strongholds underground space. In the next moment, the Mechanical Slayer appeared from the hole and hovered above the stronghold. Soon after, the Mechanical Slayer transformed into a streak of light and departed from Creek Town. After a period of silence, Snow Goose rubbed her eyes, asking uncertainly, Big Sis Aqua, my eyes arent playing tricks on me, right? That thing that flew away just now was the Mechanical Slayer, right? Uh...yes. Aqua Rose nodded her head blankly. The Mechanical Slayer looked like a flying fortress as it soared through the sky. Not only had it possessed frightening, destructive force, but it also possessed speed that completely surpassed players. Faced with an enemy like this, any player would be left speechless, let alone those who had personally witnessed the power of this creature. Although the Mechanical Slayer had already departed from Creek Town, fear lingered in everyones hearts. Was it really possible for players to contend with such a monster? This question echoed in everyones minds. Crap! Since the Mechanical Slayer has left, doesnt that mean that Guild Leader died inside the hidden warehouse?! Fire Dance suddenly realized, her expression undergoing an abrupt change. Filled with worry, Fire Dance immediately activated Wind Steps and rushed back into the stronghold, charging towards the collapsed warehouse. In Gods Domain, there were only two possibilities for a monster to leave battle. The first was when players had run beyond the monsters range predetermined by the system. The other scenario was when the monster successfully killed its target. Now that the Mechanical Slayer had departed from Creek Town, it was obvious that the second scenario had occurred. Ill go with you. Violet Cloud also reacted quickly and chased after Fire Dance. Following which, everyone finally understood the situation. Shame overcame them as they followed the two girls. They were the elite members of Zero Wing, yet, they had allowed their Guild Leader to sacrifice himself to protect them. What kind of elite members were they? However, as everyone arrived before the hidden warehouse, they were all dumbfounded by what they saw. Unbelievably, the corpses of the eight Mechanical Watchers were embedded into the steel walls of the hidden warehouse. In addition, items littered the floor around the dead Watchers. However, to everyones surprise, Shi Fengs body was nowhere to be found. Just what was going on here? They were left with even more questions, now. Fire Dance immediately checked the team member list, discovering that Shi Fengs name was still illuminated. The fact that Shi Fengs name had not turned gray showed that Shi Feng was still alive. Just what is happening? Fire Dance sighed in relief. Though she was visibly more at ease now, the questions plaguing her had only increased. Just as everyone was at a loss, Shi Feng suddenly spoke through the team chat, asking, Whats the situation in Creek Town? Is the Mechanical Slayer still there? Guild Leader, where did you run off to? We thought that the Slayer had done away with you! Snow Goose giggled. She then added, Big Sis Fire Dance even went into a flurry and wanted to take revenge! We couldnt stop her, even working together! Hearing these words, Fire Dance shot Snow Goose a glare, a faint blush appearing on her delicate white cheeks. Snow Goose stuck her little tongue out playfully at Fire Dance. She then hid behind Aqua Rose, only revealing her head to glance at Fire Dance with her hands on her hips. Snow Goose, stop being naughty. We need to get down to business, Aqua Rose flicked a finger at Snow Gooses forehead, pretending to be angry. Big Sis Aqua, I was wrong. However, you shouldnt always flick my forehead! Ill get brain damage at this rate! Snow Goose clutched her forehead, her eyes tearing. Completely ignoring Snow Gooses spoiled act, Aqua Rose spoke through the team chat, Guild Leader, the Blood Hand Associations stronghold has been destroyed. Moreover, the Mechanical Slayer departed from Creek Town and flew towards the northwest. As I expected; its still chasing after me. Shi Feng pondered. He then smiled, saying, I guess its good that it is coming after me. Since the Mechanical Slayer is no longer in Creek Town, Ill leave collecting the treasures inside the warehouse to you. Do not let others take advantage of us. To undo the magic barrier protecting the treasures, they needed to get rid of the eight Mechanical Watchers and the Mechanical Slayer. Now that all eight Mechanical Watchers were dead, only the Mechanical Slayer remained. As long as the Mechanical Slayer died, the magic barrier would vanish. Meanwhile, now that the Blood Hand Associations stronghold had been destroyed, the treasures had also been revealed. Sooner or later, the Red Names that had just revived or escaped previously would discover the treasure. As long as the magic barrier vanished, those bandits would not sit quietly and watch as their team looted the stronghold. They would take the opportunity to snatch some for themselves. Guild Leader, please rest assured. How could anything belonging to our Zero Wing be that easy to steal? Aqua Rose said, a chilling glow flashing in her eyes. Following which, Shi Feng began to flee once more. Space Movement had a maximum range of 300,000 yards, which was only around one or two leveling zones. However, Creek Town was located at the borders of the White River City region. There were no other towns in its vicinity. Even if there were, though, the forces there would not be enough to stop the Mechanical Slayer. Right now, White River City was the only location that could fend off the Mechanical Slayer. Thus, Shi Feng used Space Movement to arrive at the closest teleportation point, teleporting to White River City. After arriving at White River City, before Shi Feng even stepped out of the teleportation magic array, he discovered a commotion going on at the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. At this moment, there were many Guild players surrounding the entrance of the Teleportation Hall, and every one of them acted overbearingly. 339 Making an Enemy Out of Everyone _Whats going on in White River City?_ Shi Feng thought as he looked at the overbearing crowd blockading the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. _Do they recognize me somehow?_ However, Shi Feng quickly rejected this idea, realizing that he should not be this crowds target. In order to avoid attracting attention, Shi Feng donned the Black Cloak before he teleported to White River City, hiding both his appearance and ID. Moreover, he had not told anyone of his whereabouts, so why would anyone expect him? Furthermore, this was the Teleportation Hall of White River City. What reason was there to blockading this place? The White River City guards were not just for show. Hence, Shi Feng was sure that these Guilds occupied the Teleportation Hall for some other purpose. _Interesting. I wonder what sort of evil plan these Guilds have this time?_ Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he walked towards the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. Currently, Zero Wing was like the sun at noon. Naturally, many Guilds would feel insecure about losing their position, so it was normal for them to take action. At this moment, the entrance of the Teleportation Hall was filled with noise. Several Guilds had gathered, many of which were third-rate Guilds. Even the members of Dark Star and World Dominators, two of the top six Guilds of White River City, were present. What are you Guilds trying to do here?! Didnt we tell you already that were not interested in joining you?! a female Guardian Knight growled in annoyance. The woman was an extraordinary beauty with bright eyes. Lady, dont say that. Interest is something that can be nurtured. Your disinterest is simply because you dont fully understand us right now. I believe that as long as we spend some time together, your enthusiasm in joining us will grow, a Level 18 male Assassin insisted, laughing. The Assassin was fully geared with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. After the male Assassin spoke, the tens of players behind him tightened their blockade of the entrance with no intentions of letting anyone get past them. Are all Guilds in White River City like you guys? the female Guardian Knight said as she wrinkled her brows. Hahaha! Dont misunderstand us. We arent forcing you to join any of the Guilds present. If you arent interested in joining any of us, you only need to pay a 5 Silver Coin service fee. After all, you cant expect us to make a trip here for nothing! the male Assassin chuckled coldly. You all are going too far! In a fit of rage, the female Guardian Knight unsheathed her saber and shield. Although her equipment was a mix of Common and Bronze rank, her level of 17 was not to be underestimated. Currently, the majority of players were only Level 13, and few among the average players had reached Level 14. Those who managed to reach Level 15 were all veteran players. As for those who were Level 16 or above, such players were usually the elite members of Guilds. The fact that an independent player like the female Guardian Knight had managed to reach Level 17 showed that she possessed definite abilities. What? You want to challenge me? Come at me, then! Ill even stand here and let you hit me! Hit me if you can! The male Assassin laughed arrogantly. He even took the initiative to move closer towards the female Guardian Knights saber. You shameless bastard! Although the female Guardian Knight was furious, she did not take action. They were in White River City. If she attacked first, the guards would capture or kill her. Yet, with so many people blocking the entrance, there was simply no way to leave the building. However, she was also unwilling to pay these bastards. To teleport to White River City, they had spent a lot of money. Now, these Guilds wanted to charge them a passage fee of 5 Silver Coins per person. That was practically everything an average player would have. Turtledove, dont let them get to you, a tall and sturdy male Berserker said, pulling back the female Guardian Knight. Big Brother Shadow Sword, they are simply too much! I need to teach them a lesson! At worst, the guards will just lock me up, the female Guardian Knight named Turtledove persisted, the expression on her face showing that she was not afraid of death. Even if you take action, you might not necessarily be able to deal with the problem at hand. Weve just arrived at White River City, and we dont have any Reputation here. However, they are different. They have already accumulated a certain amount of Reputation in White River City. Even if they arent nobles, they will still be citizens of White River City. If we attack them, they can retaliate without suffering any consequences, the Berserker named Shadow Sword warned. Oh? It seems that you still possess some insight! the male Assassin sneered. Thats right. We have earned enough Reputation to become White River City citizens. Some of us here are even first-class citizens, which is only a rank behind nobles! I believe you should know what a first-class citizen signifies, right? In Gods Domain, citizens of any particular city would receive a special treatment. When a confrontation occurred between players inside a city, as long as no damage occurred, the guards of the city would not pay any attention. Meanwhile, when attacking a first-class citizen inside a city, if one were not a citizen of that particular city, then the punishment they received would double. If Turtledove dared to attack a first-class citizen of White River City, a very severe punishment would await her. Even if said first-class citizen killed her, she would still be arrested and jailed once she respawned. She would also have to pay a fine. If she did not possess sufficient funds to pay the fine, she would have to pawn the items she had on her to make up for it. At this moment, Turtledove came to a realization. She was inwardly relieved that she had not acted rashly just now. Otherwise, she would have truly played into those bastards hands. Did you think that you could leave just because you didnt make a move? The male Assassin laughed, glaring at Turtledove contemptuously. If first-class citizens strike, I wonder how you will respond? You shameless bastards! Turtledove understood what these Guild players were trying to do. Suddenly, she said in a frosty tone, We have come to White River City to join Zero Wing. Are you guys not afraid that Zero Wing will retaliate because of this despicable display? Hahaha! Zero Wing? So what? This daddy here is a member of Dark Star! Even if Zero Wing has great potential, it is still not a match for Dark Star right now! Those bastards from Zero Wing dont even dare to fight us out in the open! the male Assassin said in disdain. Moreover, havent you noticed that there are other Guilds present here as well? You guys are really foolish. You actually fell for the crap that some newly-established Guild like Zero Wing spews. Did you guys really think that White River City belongs entirely to Zero Wing? Just Dark Star alone is enough to send Zero Wing trembling in fear! Right now, there are seven third-rate Guilds and more than ten unrated Guilds with over 3,000 members present. Even if Zero Wing grew a spine, do you think they would dare to provoke all of us? Do you really think Zero Wing is willing to make an enemy out of everyone present? Turtledoves composure wavered at the male Assassins words. Zero Wing was indeed a newly-established Guild. Moreover, although there were over a million Guild players in White River City, only a fraction belonged to the top six Guilds of White River City, whereas the majority belonged to normal unrated Guilds. Although these unrated Guilds only possessed three to five thousand members on average, there was a large number of unrated Guilds in White River City. If their numbers combined, the total members that these unrated Guilds possessed far surpassed the top six Guilds of White River City. If these unrated Guilds allied with each other, not even the top six Guilds of White River City would be a match for them. With so many Guilds working together, how could Zero Wing possibly oppose them? Thinking up to this point, Turtledove started growing anxious. Turtledove, my inconsideration has implicated you in this matter. In a moment, Ill hold them off while you take the chance to escape. As long as you leave the Teleportation Hall, none of these Guilds can do anything to you, Shadow Sword whispered to Turtledove. No. At worst, well die together. Isnt it just losing some levels and equipment? Its not my first time suffering such a setback. Turtledove shook her head, tightening her grip on her saber. I applaud you for your bravery. Unfortunately, you guys came at the wrong time. Brothers, go! Show these folks our _passion_! The male Assassins lips curled up into a mocking sneer. He thenmotioned with his hand. Immediately, three players possessing the status of first-class citizens moved. However, before the three first-class citizen players arrived in front of Shadow Sword and Turtledove, a black figure suddenly appeared, blocking them. This person hidden under a Black Cloak was none other than Shi Feng. Making an enemy of everyone? Such a bold claim... is Dark Star not afraid of biting its own tongue? Do you really think Dark Star is the overlord of White River City? 340 Major Noble Shi Fengs appearance stunned the Guild players blocking the entrance. To think there was actually someone so foolish. Brat, you must be a newcomer, right? In White River City, we are the sky. Even Zero Wing, which is in its heyday right now, has to bow before us. Since you are also new, Ill give you a piece of advice. Join us. Why bother with a Guild that has no future like Zero Wing? Of course, its also fine if you dont wish to join us. Just pay 5 Silver Coins, and well let you be on your way. The various Guild players laughed maniacally. Shi Feng paid no mind to the ridicule and laughter. Instead, he said, So, it turns out that your Guilds are such good-for-nothings. Instead of growing the courage to confront Zero Wing, you came here to target the players intending to join them. Dont you think youre ridiculous? Brat, you trying to challenge us? the male Assassin from Dark Star sneered disdainfully. As the male Assassin spoke, the other Guilds sent forward a few of their own first-class citizens. As first-class citizens, as long as they did not damage players without Reputation, even if they manhandled the other party, they would not face any consequences. Hence, they could simply drag Shi Feng and the other two newcomers out of White River City. Kill them? Cut them? They could do whatever they wanted. It would be even better if the newcomers retaliated. As long as the newcomers retaliated, they could kill them. In other words, regardless of whether Shi Feng and the other two retaliated or not, they would not have a happy ending. At this moment, Shadow Sword whispered to Shi Feng, saying, Fellow brother, thank you for standing up for us. In a moment, Ill charge ahead, so take the chance to escape. As long as you leave the Teleportation Hall, you should be able to avoid them. If you hide in the high-class area of the city, they cant use force against you. There were differences between the areas in a city. In the common areas of the city, as long as no actual damage occurred, the NPC guards would not pay any attention to the friction between players. However, it was a different story if such a situation occurred in the high-class areas or Trade Area. The same applied to the restaurants and shops inside the city. Even first-class citizens would be arrested and jailed if they tried to create trouble in this areas. Shi Feng smiled in reply to Shadow Swords words. However, he did not take them to heart as he continued advancing, walking step by step towards Drunken Maniac, the male Assassin from Dark Star. Whats wrong with this person? Originally, Turtledove had some goodwill towards Shi Feng. However, seeing that Shi Feng ignored Shadow Swords words, her impression of him worsened slightly. Turtledove! Shadow Sword chided in a low tone. Hmph! I want to see what hes going to do next! Turtledove snorted as she frowned Shi Fengs frail back. Shadow Sword remained silent, quietly watching Shi Feng. Shadow Sword felt that Shi Feng was not as simple as he appeared. Although the Black Cloak that Shi Feng wore hid his appearance, level, and name, it could not hide the air of an expert his body exuded. Moreover, looking at Shi Fengs unperturbed appearance, Shadow Swords certainty that Shi Feng was a powerful expert grew; hence, he hindered Turtledoves actions. However, Shadow Sword had not expected anything to actually happen. After all, they were still within White River City. Even experts were not allowed to take action here. Oh? Since you want to die, well play with you. Six players with statuses of first-class citizens immediately surrounded and grabbed at Shi Feng, intending to drag him away and out of the city. Huh? Whats going on? one of the six first-class citizen players asked, astonished. Despite the six of them working together, no matter how much strength they used, Shi Feng did not even budge a single inch. What happened to you all? Isnt he just a newcomer? Why havent you dragged him away yet? Drunken Maniac demanded, his brows wrinkling. Lone Tyrant had sent him to deal with players that came from other cities to join Zero Wing. Due to Zero Wings growing popularity, many players on the forums had expressed their intentions to migrate to White River City to join the up and coming Guild. Faced with such a situation, the various Guilds in White River City were unable to sit still. It was especially true for Dark Star and World Dominators. Currently, Zero Wing was a huge headache for them. If they allowed experts from other cities to bolster Zero Wings ranks, the Guild would soon grow to become an unstoppable force in White River City. Hence, many Guilds decided to cooperate with each other and sent a few of their members with high Reputation to occupy the Teleportation Hall. With so many Guilds working together, even Zero Wing would not dare create conflict casually. By doing so, not only could they reduce the numbers joining Zero Wing, but they could also reduce some of Zero Wings prestige, killing two birds with one stone. However, the only reply Drunken Maniac received was the flash of a sword. Earth Splitter! The players surrounding Shi Feng were only Level 16. Their HP was only slightly over 2,000. They could not endure Shi Fengs sword at all. With a single attack, all six players surrounding Shi Feng fell like puppets who had their strings cut. You! You actually attacked us! Drunken Maniac gaped Shi Feng in disbelief. He could not understand why Shi Feng dared to attack them. They were still inside White River City. They also had so many players on their side. So, shouldnt Shi Feng be on his knees, begging for mercy and allowing them to trample him? Meanwhile, Turtledove, who stood behind Shi Feng, had her mouth open wide in shock. With her eyes fixed on Shi Fengs back, she couldnt help but mutter in a low tone, Who Just who is he? At this moment, Shadow Swords expression turned solemn. He was not surprised by the fact that Shi Feng had made a move. However, being able to kill six elite Guild members with a single hit was simply unbelievable. Shi Fengs Attack Power was practically on the same level as a Boss monster. After killing the six players who had surrounded him, Shi Feng turned to Drunken Maniac. With a faint smile, he asked, So, what if I attacked you? Shi Feng was a Viscount of White River City. He was a bona fide major noble. Yet, these players had dared to flaunt their slight skill before him. These players simply did not know their own place. First-class citizen was just a nice-sounding title. In reality, they were commoners in White River City. Meanwhile, a commoner that dared to make a move against a major noble was a commoner that did not know the meaning of the word death. Drunken Maniac felt a chill crawl down his body when Shi Feng had glanced at him. It was as if Shi Feng were a towering giant that could easily stomp him to death. Involuntarily, Drunken Maniac retreated a few steps. However, when he thought of the many allies behind him, courage filled his heart. He then pointed at Shi Feng with unflattering rage. Brat, youre courting death! Since you dared to kill us within White River City, nobody in the entire City can save you now! It would be the same even if Black Flame were here right now! Brothers, kill him! Tens of Dark Star members charged at Shi Feng. In the distance, over a dozen mages had also begun to chant their spells. In the next moment, however, everyone discovered that they were actually unable to use any of their skills. Immediately, Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade and sent three arcs of lightning at the group charging at him, causing damages of over -1,000 points to appear three times over everyones head. Under the lightnings might, none survived. At this moment, even a fool could tell that Shi Feng was not a simple character. Originally, the members of the various Guilds present had laughed at Shi Feng for his foolishness. Now, however, no one laughed. Shi Fengs first strike had killed six players, while his second had killed tens of players. At this moment, nobody dared to make even the slightest movement, deeply afraid that the next person to die would be themselves. The only thing they could do right now was to wait for the arrival of the city guards. Only the city guards could deal with a monster like Shi Feng. You Just who are you? Drunken Maniac retreated, his body trembling uncontrollably. Shi Feng was simply too powerful! This was the first time Drunken Maniac had felt such an invisible power. Although there was nothing surrounding his body, Drunken Maniac felt as if his body were made of lead. Even his breath became extremely heavy. You said that it would be useless even if Black Flame were here. Well, Im standing here right now. What you are going to do about it? Shi Feng removed the Black Cloak. He then smiled at Drunken Maniac once more, slowly advancing towards the Assassin, step by step. Without the Black Cloak, everyone recognized him as Black Flame. 341 It has Come As long as one was from White River City, they would definitely recognize Black Flame. Its Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame! Why is he here? No wonder hes so strong. The various Guild players present started panicking. If Shi Feng were simply an expert from another city, at most, they would feel a little nervous. After all, no matter how powerful Shi Feng was, he could not contend with the entire city. However, Black Flame was different. Not only did the man possess astonishing strength, but he also had a powerful Guild backing him up. You Drunken Maniac retreated as he gaped at Shi Feng, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He had simply been sent here by his Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant, to harass some independent players. He would never have imagined that he would come across the famous, yet mysterious, Black Flame of White River City. Not long ago, Black Flame had killed Lone Tyrant while surrounded by an army of thousands. Meanwhile, he only had a few hundred men. Moreover, in terms of combat power, he was far inferior to Lone Tyrant. So, how was he going to survive? _Guild Leader, youve really_ _brought a calamity down on me this time._ __ Drunken Maniac laughed bitterly in his heart. As for escape, although Drunken Maniac was arrogant, he was not a fool. Shi Feng could have killed him with his previous strike. Yet, Shi Feng had not done so. Why? It was because, to Shi Feng, taking his life would be as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. I really did not expect Guild Leader Black Flame to pay us a visit! Although I know that I am certainly not strong enough to challenge you, if Guild Leader Black Flame wishes to kill me, I will not resist. However, I stand here today as not just the representative of Dark Star, but also the many Guilds in White River City. Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that by killing me Zero Wing will show its opposition to the many Guilds present today. Drunken Maniac did not wish to die. Moreover, the support of so many Guilds standing by him emboldened and strengthened the Assassin. However, although Drunken Maniacs words sounded awe-inspiring and many Guilds stood by as back-up, Shi Fengs footsteps did not stop. Guild Leader Black Flame, our Guilds have chosen Drunken Maniac as our representative here today. If you kill him, your actions will offend our Guilds. So, I hope Guild Leader Black Flame will think things through. Thats right; thats right. Although Zero Wing is powerful in White River City, we are not that easily bullied. Moreover, nobody will benefit from a life and death struggle. Guild Leader Black Flame, you have to think it through carefully. Guild Leader Black Flame, in my opinion, you should just let bygones be bygones. Wouldnt it be better if both sides take a step back? Why must you push the situation to an impasse? Neither party will benefit from such a situation. Zero Wing only has around 5,000 members. However, our Guilds combined numbers exceed 100,000. Even if experts are aplenty in Zero Wing, could each of these experts take on twenty people by themselves? After one person stood up Shi Feng, the other Guilds also started to voice their opinions. Although these Guild players persuasion attempts seemed gentle, in reality, they were using another method to strike at Zero Wing. If Shi Feng did not retaliate today, it would mean that Zero Wings invincible momentum had finally broken. To outsiders, it would look as if Black Flame had admitted defeat. At that time, even without their Guilds hindering players from other cities from joining Zero Wing, those players might give up on Zero Wing due to their disappointment in the Guild. At this moment, Turtledove and Shadow Sword, who stood behind Shi Feng, still wore shocked expressions. They never thought that the stranger who willingly lent them a hand when they were in trouble would actually be the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Meeting the mysterious Guild Leader of Zero Wing was more difficult than winning the lottery in reality. After all, there was simply too many players in White River City. Yet, they had actually encountered him. However, resentment began to fill their hearts as they listened to the many Guilds. These people are just a bunch of trash, Turtledove did not originally have a positive opinion of these Guilds. Now, that opinion had only grown worse. Shadow Sword nodded his head in agreement. This was why he did not wish to join these Guilds. These Guilds only knew how to use underhanded tactics to reap the greatest benefits. To these Guilds, todays enemies may be tomorrows friends. In Shadow Swords eyes, these Guilds were simply despicable. Although they were outsiders, they could easily tell what these Guilds were trying to do. These Guilds were clearly in the wrong. Hindering players from joining Zero Wing was already an affront to Zero Wings reputation. Now, they shamelessly accused Shi Feng of bullying. However, Shadow Sword could not help but admit that the current Zero Wing was not so powerful that it could afford to ignore the alliance of all these Guilds. What will he do? Shadow Sword paid closer attention to Shi Fengs every move. If Shi Feng allowed this situation, although Zero Wing would retain its current strength, it would become a laughingstock. Yet, if Shi Feng acted recklessly, he would have played directly into Dark Stars hands and become these Guilds enemy. However, Shi Fengs next action completely surprised Shadow Sword. Without saying a word, Shi Feng arrived before Drunken Maniac, a calm smile on his face. Guild Leader Black Flame is as wise as expected, Drunken Maniac sighed in relief when he saw Shi Fengs smile. At least he would not die today. In the next second, however, Drunken Maniac saw a silver shimmer flash before his eyes. Suddenly, Drunken Maniacs vision turned gray, his legs turning limp and his body falling to the ground. You Why? Drunken Maniac failed to understand. Everyone else was similarly puzzled. Why had Shi Feng dared to take action? Did he not understand how serious the consequences were? It seems that you still dont understand Zero Wing, Shi Feng chuckled. Although our Guild isnt very impressive, it also isnt a Guild that stands by in silence while others are bullied. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Since you struck first, whats there to fuss about now that Im striking back? Did you really think I would be so naive as to let you off? Although Shi Fengs voice was soft, everyone present could hear his words as clear as day. Every word was like a sledgehammer banging at their hearts. Wow! Turtledove was momentarily overwhelmed by the man before her. This was her ideal Guild, a Guild that would not falter even when surrounded by enemies. Ah, my trip was not wasted. Now that I see him in person, I am even more certain that I must join Zero Wing. Shadow Sword struggled to contain his excitement. Although Shi Fengs actions had delighted Shadow Sword and Turtledove, the various Guilds blockading the Teleportation Hall were not pleased in the least. Lunatic! Hes simply a lunatic! He actually dared to kill Drunken Maniac right in front of us! I hear that his entire body is filled with treasure. Now that hes a Red Name, well be rich if we can kill him. Even if his strength is absolute, with so many people on our side, he will not survive! At that time, well gain double the profits! Although Shi Fengs words had left the various Guild players shaken, now that he had dropped all pretense, they would not let him go. After all, the fame and fortune they could gain by killing Shi Feng were extremely abundant. Not good! These bastards intend to slaughter him! Watching the Guild players slowly advance, Turtledove grew worried for Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng had managed to kill Lone Tyrant within an army of thousands the last time, that did not mean Shi Feng was capable of exterminating an army of thousands. Moreover, there was no place for Shi Feng to run since this place was so crowded. If Shi Feng had to face several hundred players all at the same time, the result was obvious. Only death would await him. Considering the circumstances, Shadow Sword and Turtledove immediately stepped up to Shi Fengs sides. They were both prepared to enter battle with Shi Feng. Just as the battle was about to start, the sound of an explosion came from the outside of the Teleportation Hall, the massive boom echoing throughout the entire building. Before anybody realized what had happened, another series of explosions resounded. Moreover, the sounds were getting louder and louder, so much so that everyone in the Teleportation Hall could feel the ground tremble. It certainly arrived quickly. Shi Fengs lips slightly curled up as he watched the clouds of dust rise from the streets. Standing beside Shi Feng, both Shadow Sword and Turtledove grew curious as they looked at Shi Fengs calm demeanor. It was as if Shi Feng knew the cause of the explosions. However, compared to the turmoil happening outside, they now faced with hundreds of players. How could Shi Feng possibly smile at a moment like this? 342 Monster Attacking the City Although the explosions from outside the Teleportation Hall grew increasingly louder, they had not dissuaded any of the various Guild players from their opportunity for fame and fortune. Currently, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing stood before them. As long as they could kill Black Flame, they would become famous overnight. Whether it was for themselves or their Guild, they would benefit greatly from killing Black Flame. Black Flames reputation was simply too powerful. The prestige Zero Wing enjoyed today was largely due to Black Flame. Now that such a fortuitous opportunity lay before them, they simply could not pass it up. Black Flame had already taken the initiative to kill so many players inside the city, violating White River Citys laws. Now, he was no longer protected by the City. In a moment, the guards would arrive to kill Black Flame. Which was to say, even if they killed Black Flame, the guards of White River City would do nothing to them. Currently, they had the Teleportation Halls only exit blocked off. They might never encounter such a godsend opportunity in the future. Ignore whats happening outside for now! Lets get rid of Black Flame first, then talk. If the guards arrive, we wont have the chance to kill him anymore! Thats right! We cant let him get away! Black Flame, dont think that you are amazing just because you are an expert! Today, you will die! So what if youre an expert? Do you know what strength in numbers means? The various Guild players all wore sneers on their faces. Obviously, they no longer held any respect for Shi Feng. There was only greed and highly-inflated confidence in their eyes right now. Guild Leader Black Flame, Ill attract their attention in a moment, so take the chance to escape, Shadow Sword said as he suddenly moved in front of Shi Feng. Shi Feng looked at Shadow Sword strangely. Previously, Shi Feng had not been too concerned about Shadow Sword as he had focused on the situation itself. Now that he took a closer look at Shadow Sword, he suddenly discovered that this person was not as simple as he seemed. Although Shadow Swords equipment was nothing special, and he was only Level 17, his every movement exuded the unique temperament that only martial arts practitioners possessed. _Although I had never heard of an expert named Shadow Sword in the past, this person is still quite interesting._ Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he examined Shadow Swords figure. Although Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of Shadow in the past and had played Gods Domain for over a decade, it was simply impossible for him to remember the names of every expert in Gods Domain. After all, there were simply too many experts in this game. However, what Shi Feng admired about Shadow Sword was not his skills. Rather, it was Shadow Swords behavior. In a situation where most people would hide and cower, Shadow Sword actively rushed forward instead. Even though he knew that this was a suicidal thing to do, he had still done it. It had been a long time since Shi Feng had encountered such a fool. Even while hundreds of players charged at Shi Feng, Turtledove discovered that Shi Feng had not moved an inch. Instead, he stood there quietly, watching the crowd. Inwardly, Turtledove was stunned, wondering what was going through Shi Fengs mind. _Has he already given up?_ Oh? There really are a lot of Guilds here. It seems that Ill have to use a little effort this time, Shi Feng looked around, memorizing all the Guilds here today. If he did not give these Guilds a taste of Zero Wings might, their actions would only grow bolder in the future. Normally, he would not stand a chance against such a crowd. Now, however, the situation was different. It should be about time. You two, in a moment, distance yourselves. The farther, the better. It would be unfortunate if I mistakenly injured you, Shi Feng whispered a reminder to Shadow Sword and Turtledove before slowly advancing on the crowd. At the same time, he activated the Aura of Space on the Seven Luminaries Ring, becoming immune to all control and restricting effects. Shi Fengs instructions confused the two independent players. Just what was he planning to do? Did he really intend to engage in a deathmatch with these hundreds of players? Presumptuous! Die! One of the Level 16 Berserkers who led the charge smiled disdainfully. Lifting his battle axe, he used Charge and took the lead to hack at Shi Feng. The giant battle axe carried a strong wind with it as it descended. Originally, the Berserker thought he could repel Shi Feng with a single attack. In the next moment, however, this Level 16 Berserker finally realized what true Strength was. Making a casual swing with the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng slashed at the steel battle axe, sending both the axe and the Berserker flying. Following which, Shi Feng charged towards his incoming opponents like a bullet, crashing into and dispersing the crowd. Is he a monster? Turtledove was dumbfounded. The players from the various large Guilds were also momentarily stunned. However, they quickly recovered their wits. Mages, kill him! Although the melee players who had charged at Shi Feng had scattered, the mages standing in the back had not stopped their chanting. Soon, spells flew at Shi Feng, one after another. Not daring to take all of those spells head-on, Shi Feng quickly carried out complex footwork, his dance becoming ethereal. Dodging one spell after another, Shi Feng charged towards the crowd. Not good! Hes going for the healers! All melees, block him! A group of melee players immediately charged forward and blocked Shi Fengs path. However, their attempt was futile. Shi Feng was currently Level 24, and most of the equipment he wore was Fine-Gold rank or above. All of his Attributes far surpassed these Level 16 and Level 17 melee players. With ease, Shi Feng plowed through all obstacles before him. Sword flashes enveloped these players. Even though these players had skills that could block attacks, their bodies could not keep up and react appropriately. Hence, Shi Feng eliminated them easily. Moreover, as Shi Feng weaved his way through the crowd, the ranged mages were unable to hit the Swordsman. There was always someone Shi Feng could use as a shield, taking the hits for him. Even if some players used targeted control skills on him, Shi Feng possessed the Aura of Spaces effect that made him immune to all control effects. You melees are too stupid! Dont you know how to get out of the way? Crap, you mages are the idiots! Why cant you aim properly? Fresh blood splashed through the air. After the death of over a dozen people, the various Guild players grew fretful, and they began to bicker amongst themselves. Why are you so anxious? Cant you all see that Black Flames HP has fallen by quite a bit? He doesnt have a healer. He wont last long. At this time, a sturdy and robust looking Guardian Knight stepped out from within the Teleportation Hall. Several hundred Guild players followed him as well. Guild Leader Lone Tyrant, why are you here? Everyone present immediately recognized the Guardian Knight. At this moment, Lone Tyrant no longer possessed his previous calm. Now, as if possessed by a devil, both of his eyes glowed with a crimson light. When Lone Tyrant discovered Shi Feng appearance in the Teleportation Hall, he immediately used a Return Scroll and rushed back to White River City. His previous death at Shi Fengs hands had been an utter disgrace. Afterward, he had been forced out of the Ranking List. At this moment, Lone Tyrants hatred for Shi Feng was deeper than an ocean. Black Flame, today you will die! Everyone, charge! Lone Tyrant laughed madly as he watched Shi Feng fight. Kill! Suddenly, several hundred Dark Star elite members charged at Shi Feng. This Lone Tyrant sure has good timing. Shi Feng could not help but wrinkle his brows. Currently, although he still had over 70% of his HP remaining, he would not last long if he had to face an additional mob of several hundred Dark Star elite members. It seems that I can only retreat for now. Just as Shi Feng charged towards the entrance A huge explosion occurred in front of the Teleportation Hall. The hundreds of players blocking the entrance were instantly obliterated, and not even their corpses remained. Only the items these players had dropped were left behind. Shocked, everyone turned to look at the source of the explosion. What is that? Turtledoves eyes widened, a look of disbelief plastered on her face. A steel giant had appeared at the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. Just by standing there, the steel giant caused those who looked at it to feel chills down their spines. Simultaneously, all players in White River City received a notification. White River City System Announcement: Monsters have invaded White River City! Assist the guards of White River City to repel the attack! Players will receive bountiful rewards based on contributions. However, despite this system notification, this steel giants contemptuous laughter petrified any player who heard it. Ive finally found you. 343 Slaughter Time The players in White River City grew excited when they heard the announcement. It was extremely rare for monsters to attack a city. Furthermore, they could obtain bountiful rewards and witness experts techniques. These factors alone were reason enough for players to involve themselves. Lets head over to the city gates and have a look. We wont get any rewards if we let the guards wipe out all of the monsters. I heard that a monster has appeared at the Teleportation Hall. Hopefully, they havent killed it already. Lets hurry to the Teleportation Hall, then. Immediately, groups of players resting inside bars and hotels started running towards the Teleportation Hall, which was only a short distance away from White River Citys gates. \--- At this moment, silence filled the inside of the Teleportation Hall. The steel giant that had suddenly appeared currently captivated everyones attention. [Mechanical Slayer] (Mutant High Lord Rank) Level 50 HP 40,000,000/40,000,000 Compared to the first time Shi Feng had seen it, the Mechanical Slayers current HP had undergone an earth-shattering change. Its HP of 40,000,000 shook the players inside the Hall, despair seeping through the crowd. Moreover, the Mechanical Slayer had killed over a hundred players with a single attack. Any player who witnessed this scene would feel one thingfear. However, what surprised everyone was that the steel giants gaze was locked on Black Flame. It was clear that the steel giants words Finally found you, were meant for famed Guild Leader. But why was such a powerful monster looking for Black Flame? This question filled everyones minds. Why would a Level 50 High Lord appear here? Lone Tyrant looked at the Mechanical Slayer that had suddenly appeared, feeling greatly astonished. This was also the first time Lone Tyrant had heard of or seen the rank Mutant High Lord. There were hundreds of Level 150 guards and Level 150 Tier 2 Guard Generals in White River City. The Mechanical Slayer, a Level 50 High Lord ranked monster, stood no chance against these NPCs. Yet, the Mechanical Slayer still chose to appear here. Such a situation was simply unbelievable. However, what was even more surprising was the Mechanical Slayers performance and actions. Its speech, which carried a playful tone, was nothing like a monster. In Lone Tyrants opinion, the Mechanical Slayer seemed more like a haughty and overbearing player than a monster. These factors revealed that this Mutant High Lord was definitely more powerful than an ordinary High Lord ranked monster. Boss Tyrant, what should we do about that monster? Should we escape? The members of Dark Star struggled to swallow their fear when they thought about the Mechanical Slayers level and frightening, destructive power. Escape? Lone Tyrant sneered. With such a god-given opportunity, why would we escape? Right now, the monster has the exit blocked. Meanwhile, Black Flame is clearly its target. Who else could be a better guard than that monster? First, we need to deal with Black Flame. After we get rid of him, we can deal with that monster. Everyone, charge! We must not let Black Flame get away today! Since Lone Tyrant had given the command, as members of Dark Star, they could not disobey his orders. One after another, the Dark Star members charged towards Shi Feng. At the same time, Lone Tyrant had also mobilized members through the Guild channel, instructing more to join him. Whether it was Black Flame or the Mechanical Slayer before him, Dark Star would be the one to take them both down. It was especially true for the monster before him. Despite it clearly being a High Lord, the Mechanical Slayer possessed intelligence that far surpassed that of an ordinary High Lord. Moreover, it was also frighteningly strong. If they could kill it. When the other Guild players saw Dark Stars hundreds of members charging at Shi Feng, they, too, started contacting their respective Guilds and rallied for more troops, not wanting to miss out on this opportunity. In addition to taking Black Flames life, they all intended to fight over the contribution and drops of killing the Mechanical Slayer. Its over! Theres a tiger at the front and a wolf at the back! I told him that he should have escaped earlier! Its too late now! Turtledove panicked when she saw their opponents surrounding Shi Feng. The steel giant also had the exit blocked off. She then suggested, Why dont we rush over to help him now? Hold on, Shadow Sword pulled back Turtledove. Softly, he said, Lets listen to Guild Leader Black Flame and think of a way to escape. Big Brother Shadow Sword, the situation has changed! He will die if we dont help him! Turtledove said. Even if we try to help, what can we actually do? Shadow Sword shook his head. Although he wished to help Shi Feng as well, a dark feeling had surfaced in his heart. Meanwhile, this darkness told him that, if he stayed here, the situation might really conclude as Shi Feng had said. It would be better than doing nothing at all! Ignoring Shadow Swords words, Turtledove charged towards the crowd. However, before Turtledove made it too far, something unbelievable happened. A massive figure suddenly appeared above Shi Feng. The figure then landed heavily on the ground, easily crushing the stone floor into dust and sending tremors throughout the entire Teleportation Hall. More than a hundred players who had charged at Shi Feng died instantly under the figures descent. Only Shi Feng, who had activated Defensive Blade, had barely remained standing. Youve finally taken action. Ive been waiting for a long time now, Shi Feng smiled faintly. At this moment, he had less than 50% HP remaining. If he continued battling the sea of players, sooner or later, he would have no choice but to run. However, now that the Mechanical Slayer had made its move against him, things were vastly different. Little ant, you sure are persistent. However, in front of Us, only death awaits you. The Mechanical Slayer lifted its serrated greatsword, slashing the weapon down at Shi Feng. Countless air blades flew towards Shi Feng. Perfect. Faced with the countless air blades, Shi Fengs smile only widened. Using Silent Steps, Shi Feng dodged the air blades that assaulted him like a tsunami easily and appeared where the healers of the various Guilds had gathered. Although Shi Feng had evaded the Mechanical Slayers attacks, the Dark Star elites who had focused on Shi Feng were not as lucky. Under the assault of the countless air blades, these elite players were as weak as tofu, crumbling with just a touch. In an instant, over a hundred elite players died. However, the battle was not over yet. Seeing that its attack had missed, the Mechanical Slayer sent another slash at Shi Feng. Shi Feng hurriedly activated the Aura of Wind in conjunction with Windwalk, his speed soaring. Shi Feng then jumped abruptly, barely dodging the second wave of air blades. Following which, the healers and mages of the various large Guilds suffered a tragedy. Crap, Black Flame is trying to use that Mechanical Slayers strength to deal with us! Everyone, move away from him! Everyone finally noticed that something was amiss. Although Shi Feng seemed to be evading the Mechanical Slayers attacks, in reality, he took advantage of the Mechanical Slayers wide range to deal with them. Within a few seconds, the various large Guilds had lost over eighty percent of the elites in the Teleportation Hall, while Dark Star had lost over half of the elites who had just arrived. If they continued to allow Shi Feng to have his way, they would face annihilation in just a moment. Black Flame! Looking at his subordinates that had died, Lone Tyrant clenched his jaw close to the point of shattering his teeth. Change of tactics. All ranged players restrict Black Flames movements. Lone Tyrant immediately issued new orders. You only now noticed? Shi Feng simply smiled. Unfortunately, youre too late. Let me help you host a grand blood fest! If Lone Tyrant and the others had prepared earlier and stolen the aggro of the Mechanical Slayer from Shi Feng before it appeared in front of him, Shi Feng would have been forced to flee. However, after the Mechanical Slayer had focused on him, it would be meaningless even if Lone Tyrant and the others managed to figure out his plan. Shi Feng had already seized control of the Mechanical Slayers initiative. So long as Shi Feng did not die, he would have control of the giants actions. Fortunately, nobody in White River City could surpass his survivability. 344 Unstoppable Although Shi Fengs survivability was impressive, when faced with a Level 50 Mutant High Lord, not even he could last long. After all, the gap between them was simply too wide. I have no choice; I have to use it. Shi Feng reluctantly took a Frost Grenade from his bag. Immediately, the Mechanical Slayer slid to a halt, its glowing red eyes glaring at the Frost Grenade in Shi Fengs hand. The Mechanical Slayer was very familiar with the Frost Grenades. Shi Feng had once used these Frost Grenades to freeze it for a long period of time, rendering it helpless. Hah, it seems that it remembers, Shi Feng laughed when he saw the Mechanical Slayers reaction. However, Shi Feng had no hope that the Frost Grenades would scare the Mechanical Slayer for too long. Taking advantage of the Mechanical Slayers hesitation, Shi Feng took a step forward and dashed towards Dark Stars mages. Damn! All mages, fire everything you have at him! Dont let him get close! Lone Tyrant shouted. One after another, spells flew towards Shi Feng in quick succession. Frost Arrows, Ice Spheres, Ice Walls, Spiritual Bondage, and other control skills aimed for Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Slayer behind Shi Feng had finally responded. Immediately, it threw the serrated greatsword in its hand at Shi Feng. The greatsword generated a sonic boom as it flew, punching a hole through the air. The sword was so fast that it was impossible for anyone to dodge it. On one side, there were the numerous spells players had cast, and on the other, there was the Mechanical Slayers greatsword. Shi Feng could not afford to be careless. Immediately, he used Phantom Kill, creating a doppelganger of himself 10 yards away from his main body. Just as the serrated greatsword was about to skewer him, by the skin of his teeth, he swapped positions with his doppelganger. Shi Fengs doppelganger was utterly powerless against the serrated greatsword, dying instantly. However, even after killing Shi Fengs doppelganger, the greatsword did not slow and soared towards the Dark Star mages. Before the members of Dark Star could react, the greatsword plunged itself into the crowd. An explosion blossomed as the weapon crashed into the ground, creating a massive hole in the Teleportation Halls floor. Following which, with the greatsword as the epicenter, shockwaves radiated throughout the surroundings. A single shockwave had decimated all players within a 30-yard radius. From this, Shi Feng once more witnessed just how terrifying a Mutant was. Meanwhile, Shadow Sword and Turtledove who now hid in a corner were dumbfounded by what they saw. Big Brother Shadow Sword, are all High Lords so powerful? Turtledove asked in shock. According to my knowledge, there is not a single High Lord as powerful as this Mechanical Slayer. It seems that Guild Leader Black Flames command to withdraw was not without reason, Shadow Sword watched Shi Feng in the distance, a hint of admiration appearing on his face. Although the Mechanical Slayers combat power was horrific, it did not possess the techniques to utilize it fully. Shi Feng, on the other hand, was different. Not only did he possess a firm grasp of his surroundings, but he also possessed meticulous dodging techniques. It was precisely what he, Shadow Sword, aimed to learn. If I join Zero Wing, in the future, wont I be able to learn many more techniques from him? An idea suddenly occurred to Shadow Sword, and his determination to attend Zero Wings next recruitment increased. He must join Zero Wing. While Shadow Sword and Turtledove admired Shi Feng, Lone Tyrants anger grew rampant. With a single attack, the Mechanical Slayer had slaughtered over a hundred Dark Star elites. Damn that Black Flame! Have the others not arrived yet?! Lone Tyrant bellowed. Guild Leader, the closest members number around 4,000, and they are rushing to join us. With some time, there should be no problems boosting that number to 10,000, one of Lone Tyrants subordinate reported. Lone Tyrant nodded, wearing a satisfied smile as he said, Good. Tell the team to buy us some time. Also, send someone to Zero Wings side to check for any movements. With so much commotion, they wont stand silently by. By the time everyone had gathered, whether it was Black Flame or the Mechanical Slayer, all would be his for the taking. At this moment, the members of Dark Star and the other Guilds began to dart around. Wherever Shi Feng appeared, these players would run in the opposite direction, playing the mouse to Shi Fengs cat. Just as Shi Feng used the Frost Grenades to pin the Mechanical Slayer down and manipulate the monsters strength to kill the members of Dark Star and the various Guilds, the Level 150 guards of White River City had finally arrived at the Teleportation Hall. Over a hundred guards stormed the Teleportation Hall. Among them, there was a Level 150 Tier 2 Guard General, as well as plenty of Tier 1 Guard Captains. These NPCs stood neatly in order, surrounding the Teleportation Hall. The guards are here! Were saved! The players present released a sigh of relief at the guards arrival. Borrowing the Mechanical Slayers strength, Shi Feng had killed countless of their allies. If they had not continuously avoided him, they would have long since died under Shi Fengs demonic claws. Good. Now that the guards are here, when they pin down this monster, they will attract its aggro. Well see how arrogant you are then. When my men arrive, well introduce you to Death, Lone Tyrant laughed coldly as he watched Shi Feng dodge the Mechanical Slayers attacks. At this moment, however, Shi Feng also revealed a smile. Immediately, he dashed out of the Teleportation Hall, holding nothing back while doing so. Meanwhile, under the Tier 2 Guard Generals command, the guards started their assault on the Mechanical Slayer. The NPCs were uniformly Level 150. The ordinary guards possessed 800,000 HP, the Tier 1 Guard Captains possessed 1,600,000 HP, and the Tier 2 Guard General possessed 2,400,000 HP. To players, these guards were invincible. These guards only needed a single strike to kill a Level 50 player instantly. Hence, in everyones eyes, a Level 50 monster stood no chance against these NPCs. The same went for the Mutant High Lord with 40,000,000 HP. Unfortunately, Mutants were different. When the Level 150 ordinary guards attacked the Mechanical Slayer, the highest damage they had dealt was only around -1,000 points. Even the Level 150 Tier 1 Guard Captains only managed to deal around -3,000 damage to the Mechanical Slayer. As for the most powerful Level 150 Tier 2 Guard General, he could only deal around -10,000 damage. Such damages were barely a scratch to the Mechanical Slayers 40,000,000 HP. Indeed, just like Lone Tyrant had predicted, the Mechanical Slayers attention immediately switched towards the Tier 2 Guard General. Following which, the Mechanical Slayer swung its serrated greatsword at the Guard General, while the Guard General responded quickly by raising his spear to defend against the attack. _Boom!_ The attack threw the Level 150 Guard General into a wall. The Mechanical Slayer then brandished its greatsword repeatedly, creating a storm that engulfed the entire Teleportation Hall. In retaliation, the other guards began a frenzied assault on the Mechanical Slayer. After a short moment, the entire Teleportation Hall had changed beyond recognition. Under the barrage of the countless sword auras, none of the Level 150 guards survived. Even the ten Tier 1 Guard Captains and the Tier 2 Guard General died under the Mechanical Slayers sword. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Slayer still had 91% of its HP remaining. Just what kind of monster is this? Lone Tyrant could not believe his own eyes. Before today, players had believed that these NPC guards were invulnerable, yet, they had all been annihilated, while the Mechanical Slayer remained healthy. There had been over a hundred Level 150 guards. A Tier 2 NPC had even led the attack, but, in the end, they all died. At this point, Lone Tyrant began to wonder if anyone could defeat the Mechanical Slayer. Seated on top of a roof, Shi Feng enjoyed a few refreshments while resting. Previously, to dodge the Mechanical Slayers attacks, Shi Feng had exhausted himself, both mentally and physically. Meanwhile, the arrival of the guards had been the perfect chance to break away from the battle and rest. Only, he had not imagined that his break would be so short-lived. A Mutant mutated from a High Lord is scary indeed. With this, I can safely proceed with the next part of the plan, Shi Feng smiled, shifting his gaze towards the tens of thousands of players in a distance who currently rushed towards the battle. 345 Storm Domain Look, theres a monster over there! Its massive! Wait; why does a Level 50 High Lord possess 40,000,000 HP?! This is the most powerful High Lord Ive ever seen. I wonder what items it will drop after it dies? At the very least, it should drop some Fine-Gold items, right? Are all of you blind? That Mutant High Lord is clearly stronger than ordinary High Lords. If a High Lord already drops Fine-Gold items, then a Mutant High Lord, which is a higher rank, should drop Dark-Gold items! Dark-Gold items?! There should only be a few items of such rank in Star-Moon Kingdom, right? At this moment, the many players in White River City had started to gather at the Teleportation Hall. A sea of players covered the nearby streets, all of them watching the Mechanical Slayer with hungry gazes. These players considered the Mechanical Slayer to be a Field Boss that could be easily killed. Meanwhile, among this sea of players, there was actually not a single Zero Wing member to be found. Shi Feng had long since informed his Guild that they were not allowed to participate in this battle. Shi Fengs reason was not due to lack of interest in the loot of the Mechanical Slayer. Instead, he understood that they would only throw away their lives by joining this battle. Guild Leader Tyrant, our men have arrived. Good. The Mechanical Slayer belongs to us. Tell everyone to spread out and take positions. None of the melees are allowed to approach the Mechanical Slayer. Ranged players should distance themselves from the Mechanical Slayer and attack from maximum range. Let the other players draw the aggro and die for us. As for the melee players, have them aim for Black Flame. We must not let him escape. Although Lone Tyrant was shocked by how powerful the Mechanical Slayer was, such a powerful monster also represented a ridiculous amount of valuable loot. Despite the fact that Dark Star only had several thousand members present, its main army was on its way. In addition to the other Guilds and independent players of White River City, the final number of players they could gather would exceed 200,000. Currently, if the players present attacked the Mechanical Slayer, most of their attacks would either deal -1 damage or Miss. Even so, this Mechanical Slayer with 40,000,000 HP would not survive for long under the continuous assault of 200,000 players. Moreover, there werent just a hundred or so guards in White River City. In time, the city would send more guards into the fray. In a way, the Mechanical Slayers death was a guarantee. It was only a matter of who would obtain the loot of the Mechanical Slayer after it died. At the same time Dark Star took action, the other Guilds also initiated their assault. After witnessing the power of the Mechanical Slayer, only ranged players dared to attack it. As for those remaining, they all swarmed after Shi Feng. Only those who had just arrived and were unclear of the situation dared approach the frightening Mechanical Slayer. That Lone Tyrant sure is concerned about me. Even now, he still sends so many after me. Standing on top of a roof, Shi Feng had obtained a clear view of the battle. Since they wish to come, lets increase the violence. Immediately, Shi Feng dashed towards Dark Stars army. Although countless spells and arrows barraged the Mechanical Slayer, a majority of these attacks were a Miss, and only a small number managed to deal a mandatory -1 damage. Hence, Shi Feng was still the Slayers main target. Due to the large number of players standing in between it and Shi Feng, the Mechanical Slayer wielded its sword, massacring everything in its path. Every time the Mechanical Slayer swung its serrated greatsword, swaths of players died. This scene caused the witnessing players to shiver in fear. However, it was precisely because of these players that the Mechanical Slayers speed was greatly reduced, allowing Shi Feng to have an easier time dodging. Meanwhile, when the members of Dark Star saw that Shi Feng quickly approached them, ridiculing sneers started appearing on their faces. This Black Flame must have damaged his head. Instead of running away from us, he actually dares to run in our direction. Is he that eager to die? Isnt that better? Hes saving us the time of chasing after him. However, just as the members of Dark Star mocked Shi Feng for his stupidity, Lone Tyrant angrily bellowed in the Guild channel. You bunch of trash, run! Get away from Black Flame! Dont let him come close to any of you! The command confused Lone Tyrants subordinates. Initially, Lone Tyrant had commanded them to surround Shi Feng, yet, now, he told them to run as soon as they saw Shi Feng. However, Lone Tyrants reminder was useless; Shi Feng had already arrived before the members of Dark Star. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Slayers greatsword descended towards Shi Feng. Using Silent Steps, Shi Feng reappeared beside a player 20 yards from his original position, deftly avoiding the Mutants fatal strike. After a series of dodges, almost ninety percent of the thousands of Dark Star members who had encircled Shi Feng died, and only a few with dazed expressions remained. Lone Tyrant trembled in anger. Thousands of members had died, just like that. Lone Tyrant was greatly confused. He could not understand why the Mechanical Slayer so vehemently chased Shi Feng. Just what had Shi Feng done to it before this? Right now, with Shi Fengs high-speed movements, it was simply impossible for any ranged players to land an attack on him. Yet, if the melee players approached Shi Feng, the shockwaves of the Slayers attacks would slaughter them. With the Mechanical Slayers aggro locked on to Shi Feng, he was practically a walking bomb. However, Lone Tyrant could not stop Shi Feng. Even with so many players, none of them could pin down Shi Feng. If someone could have pinned him down for just a moment, Shi Feng would have long since died. At this moment, Lone Tyrant finally realized the great importance of top-tier experts to a Guild. Even if he had an army of thousands, the role they could play in this sort of battle was far inferior to top-tier experts. Damn! Damn Black Flame! Lone Tyrant cursed loudly as he watched his Guild members die in waves. At this moment, Lone Tyrant no longer looked like the Guild Leader of a powerful Guild. Instead, he looked more like a shrew, shouting abuse on the street. Lone Tyrants performance left witnesses stupefied. It turned out that even the Guild Leader of Dark Star had such a side to him. One could just imagine how helpless and infuriated Lone Tyrant felt at this moment. As for the other Guild Leaders watching this, at this moment, rather than expressing ridicule, they all wore gloomy expressions. Their Guilds were in the same boat as Dark Star. After Shi Feng finished dealing with Dark Star, he would certainly turn his blade in their directions. So, how could they possibly feel happy over Lone Tyrants miserable fortune? Why dont we admit our mistakes and apologize to Guild Leader Black Flame? Are you kidding me? If all of our Guilds lower our heads to Zero Wing, how are we supposed to succeed in White River City in the future? But, if we dont apologize, what will we do if he retaliates against us? ... Wait, look over there! More guards have shown up! While the guards deal with the Mechanical Slayer, we can work together to get rid of Black Flame. With so many on our side, Black Flame cant survive regardless of how powerful he may be. As long as he dies, Zero Wing will lose its momentum in becoming the overlord of White River City. At that time, we might still be able to thrive. Watching the hundreds of guards who had already surrounded the Mechanical slayer, the Guild Leaders of the various large Guilds agreed with the logic. Black Flames death would be a huge blow to Zero Wings prestige. If unrated Guilds like them wished to thrive, they could not allow a single Guild to obtain an absolute advantage in White River City. Currently, Zero Wing was like the sun at noon. If they allowed the Guild to continue, sooner or later, they would stand no chance against Zero Wing at all. Hence, the various Guild Leaders instructed their members to focus all of their strength on killing Shi Feng. Shi Feng wrinkled his sharp brows when he saw the NPC guards charge at the Mechanical Slayer and the various Guilds who took action. Knowing that his situation had become unstable, Shi Feng spun around and started running towards the Mechanical Slayer, no longer charging towards the members of the various Guilds. Within a moment, everyone from the various Guilds had surrounded both Shi Feng and the Mechanical Slayer. However, these Guild players had finally wisened up. Instead of recklessly rushing forward to attack Shi Feng, they allowed the ranged players to attack him as they slowly tightened their circle around him, forcing Shi Feng into a constant retreat. Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the Mechanical Slayers attack range of 30 yards The Mechanical Slayers HP fell to 80%. Suddenly, its eyes shone a bright red, and clasping its greatsword with both hands, the Mutant slammed the weapon into the ground. Naturally, Shi Feng understood what the Mechanical Slayer intended to do. This was none other than the Mechanical Slayers ultimate move, Storm Domain. The skill had a radius of over 100 yards, and even his Level 50 Tier 1 guards had died from a single hit. Back then, if Shi Feng had not used Wind Rider, his speed skyrocketing, the consequences would have been unimaginable. At this moment, Shi Feng immediately switched to the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Illusion, activating Fantasy World. 346 Great Wizard As Shi Feng activated Fantasy World, a faint barrier of light formed around his body. [Fantasy World] Immunity to all Magic Damage and 10% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover players HP for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes At this moment, the players surrounding Shi Feng had not yet noticed the Mechanical Slayer preparing its attack. They still foolishly charged at Shi Feng. Before anyone could react Cracks started appearing on the stone-paved road as the land trembled. In the next moment, countless blades of air shot up from the cracks. Regardless of whether it was a player or an NPC, all those struck by the air blades died. After the turbulent storm ended, the street outside the Teleportation Hall was beyond recognition. At this moment, this small section of the city had become a ruin The players observing the battle from a distance fell silent. This was the first time they had ever seen such frightening, destructive power. With a single attack, the Mechanical Slayer killed thousands of players. A large empty patch suddenly appeared on the previously crowded street. Even the Level 150 guards had not survived the attack. How were they, players, supposed to deal with such a monster? Powerlessness bloomed in the hearts of the players who were originally intent on killing the Slayer. No! At this moment, the Guild Leaders of the various Guilds who had ordered their members to encircle Shi Feng no longer possessed the calm they had before. Only regret and anger filled them right now. The Mechanical Slayers Storm Domain had instantly obliterated thousands of their members. Moreover, a majority of these members were elite players. As unrated Guilds, they did not possess many elites. At most, each Guild would have 600 to 700 elite players. Hence, even the death of a few dozen elite players was a huge blow. Now, however, each of these unrated Guilds had lost over a hundred elites. That single attack had dealt a fatal blow. Guild Leader Black Flames tactic was awesome! Turtledove giggled as she observed the carnage from afar. Lets see if those Guilds dare to bully others in the future. Standing beside Turtledove, Shadow Sword nodded in agreement. Although this matter appeared simple, in reality, it was extremely difficult to carry out such a feat. While directing the Mechanical Slayers attacks, Shi Feng also had to dodge the attacks from other players constantly. Shi Feng also had to know where he could and could not run. If Shi Feng did not have a perfect grasp of his surroundings, even the slightest mistake would result in his death. Following the disappearance of the Storm Domain, the momentary calm also shattered. When the Mechanical Slayer discovered that some people were still alive, especially Shi Feng, it was humiliated. uddenly, the Mechanical Slayer jerked its serrated greatsword from the ground. The Mechanical Slayer then started spinning, transforming into a bladed tornado. This was one of the Mechanical Slayers skills, Bladestorm. The tornado possessed a powerful suction, easily pulling players into its attack. Moreover, the tornados Movement Speed was very fast. _It can affect my movement even when Im 30 yards away. If I stand closer, even I might get sucked in._ Shi Feng hurriedly took out a Speed Scroll from his bag and used it. He then charged towards the gathering of the various Guilds. Meanwhile, a Level 150 Tier 2 Guard General standing only half a dozen yards away from the tornado was immediately yanked into it, a series of damages over -10,000 points appearing above the Guard Generals head. In only a moment, the Guard General died under the Mechanical Slayers Bladestorm. The frightening damage caused everyone to break out in cold sweat. Now, all thoughts of killing this Mutant vanished from the minds of these witnesses. Currently, they only had a single thought. Run! Suddenly, many players who stood closest to the Mechanical Slayer began to flee in a panic. Naturally, the members of the various Guilds were no exception. When these Guild players saw Shi Feng running towards them, each and every one of them immediately turned and fled, having completely forgotten about attacking Shi Feng. There were no fools here. Nobody wanted to gift themselves to death. This chase scene occupied the streets of White River City. Many players who had just arrived were dumbfounded. They had often seen a group of players chasing another group of players. But now? Tens of thousands of players were actually running from a single player. Moreover, these players looked as if they had just seen a ghost. This was truly the first time they had seen such a miracle. Arent those guys members of the third-rate Guild, Angels Crown? Why are they running away? a Ranger who had just arrived asked in wonder. You think Angels Crown is the only Guild running away? Dont you see that there are members belonging to dozens of Guilds running with their tails between their legs? a Druid who knew more about the situation commented from the side. Now that youve mentioned it, that really does seem to be the case. Just what is going on here? The Ranger was confused further after he realized the scope of the situation. Normally, the members of these Guilds were extremely arrogant and overbearing. These Guilds dominated the densely populated monster areas, and if independent players like them had an opinion about it, these Guild players would kill them without hesitation. For a time now, many independent players harbored a great hatred for these Guild players, though none of them had actually dared to voice that hatred. Now, a miracle had actually occurred. It turned out that even the mighty and arrogant Guild players had times where they were afraid. In particular, the members of Dark Star could also be seen among the crowd of fleeing players. Dark Star was one of the top six Guilds of White River City. Why were its members running away as well? Dont you recognize the player chasing them? the Druid pointed towards Shi Feng who was at the far end of the sea of fleeing players. That person looks somewhat familiar. Wait, isnt that Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing?! Thats right. Black Flame is the one chasing these Guilds. I heard that Dark Star allied itself with many other Guilds and sent their members to blockade the Teleportation Hall in an attempt to prevent players of other cities from joining Zero Wing. After Black Flame discovered their plot... well, this is the result. Listening to the Druids explanation, shock filled the Rangers heart. A single player was actually capable of facing dozens of Guilds. Was Black Flame even still considered a player? The other players standing near the Druid and Ranger pair who had been clueless about the situation were also stupefied by this revelation. Although they had long since knew that Black Flame was strong, they had not known exactly how strong! He was actually capable of forcing tens of thousands of players to run for their lives frantically. Were they even playing the same VR game? Guild Leader Black Flame, why dont we talk out our differences peacefully? Dark Star forced us to join their scheme! We really have no intentions of becoming enemies with Zero Wing! Thats right, Guild Leader Black Flame! We have our own difficulties as well! If you stop chasing us, we are willing to offer you an apology and compensate you for all your losses! Please forgive us! We wont cause Zero Wing trouble ever again! The fleeing Guild Leaders started yelling their offers of reconciliation. At this moment, they were truly afraid. In order to deal with the Mechanical Slayer, they had ordered most of their Guild members to rush to the battle If they all died here, the damage it would cause their Guilds would be unimaginable. It was highly possible that they would never recover from this loss and would be forced to dissolve their Guilds. Since you all have spoken, Ill forgive you, Shi Feng smiled. However, all of you need to die once first. Black Flame! We are sincerely trying to apologize! Judgment Hand, the Guild Leader of Angels Crown, bellowed. Guild Leader Judgment Hand must be joking. I, too, am sincere; I want you to die once, Shi Feng smiled faintly as he increased his speed once more. ... Shi Fengs speed was much faster than the elite members of the various Guilds. In just a moment, he had caught up with the fleeing crowd. As Shi Feng dove into the crowd, the Mechanical Slayer was like a meat grinder as it pulled one player after another with its powerful suction force, instantly turning these players into scattered light particles. In a short moment, the various Guilds had already lost over a thousand players. With the passage of time, the number of deaths soared. Even though there was a constant stream of NPC guards arriving at the scene of the battle, none of them could hinder the Mechanical Slayer. Instead, they all became a delicious meal for the Mutant. Before a minute had passed since Shi Feng caught up with the fleeing crowd, the death count had exceeded 10,000. Among them, Dark Stars losses were the greatest, as Shi Fengs main target was the members of Dark Star. This horrifying scene caused all observers to grow cold. If these tens of thousands of players had not scattered and escaped from the very beginning, the number of deaths would be several times higher by now. However, after more than half of the Guild players and over a thousand NPC guards had died, a man in white robes suddenly appeared in the sky. This mans appearance immediately attracted the attention of many people, including Shi Fengs. This man was no ordinary NPC. He was the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman, a Tier 4 Great Wizard[1]. TL Notes: The person who yelled out the bid was actually not an NPC with a melee Job, but a Tier 4 female Wizard. This man was the Magistrate of White River City, Weissman. He was also a Tier 4 Wizard, and he was a Level 200 NPC. 347 Tier 4 Magic Many players sighed in relief at Weissmans arrival. The Mechanical Slayer was too strong. Even though so many guards had attempted to slow its assault, over 50,000 players had died. Moreover, turned several White River City streets into ruins. If given more time, the Slayer would have slaughtered every player in White River City. Meanwhile, the city itself would become nothing more than rubble. Despite being only a Level 50 Mutant High Lord, the Mechanical Slayer had caused so much damage. If dozens of such powerful monsters appeared, wouldnt they obliterate White River City? However, among all of the players present, only Shi Feng understood how powerful a Mutant was. An ordinary High Lord could never be so strong. Mutants were considered natural disasters. I wonder which is stronger: a Great Wizard or a Mutant. At this moment, Shi Feng stood far from the commotion, quietly observing Weissman and the Slayers every action. Great Wizard was a Tier 4 class. Even in Star-Moon Kingdom, Weissman was one of the heavyweights. Such a powerhouse would only offer protection to a major city like White River City. Smaller cities would only be guarded by Tier 3 NPCs at best. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Slayer was also unique. It was a Mutant that had transformed from a High Lord. If classified as a Tier, Shi Fengs initial judgment placed the Mechanical Slayer at Tier 3 Upper-rank. Otherwise, it could not have defeated a Tier 2 Guard General so effortlessly. At this moment, the Level 200 Weissman and the Level 50 Mechanical Slayer were only 30 yards apart, staring each other down. The level gap between the two was very wide. No matter how one looked at it, they were not equals. Yet, when Weissman and the Slayer stood together, nobody felt any sense of disharmony from looking at them. A Mutant? No wonder the guards could not defeat it. Weissman did not rush to attack the Mechanical Slayer. Instead, he carefully observed the Mutant. He then shifted his gaze towards his surroundings. The spacious streets around him no longer possessed the splendor they had in the past. There were collapsed buildings everywhere, and this caused Weissmans gentle gaze to chill with anger. Suddenly, Wiessman''s body exuded an intimidating authority. Even while standing hundreds of yards away, everyone could feel their bodies grow heavy, their breath quickening. As this authority grew increasingly powerful, some ordinary players who had withstood the pressure suddenly crouched, their faces filled with fear while their bodies trembled. Authority was intangible, and it could not physically influence substantial change. This was closer to spiritual pressure. It was an instinctual warning for when living creatures faced an enemy that was far superior, alerting them to the danger. Humans had long since detached themselves from the various threats of mother nature, so their instincts were extremely weak. However, due to Gods Domain, players began to recover these instincts gradually. Although players had recovered these senses, they still sorely lacked spiritual training. As a result, many were unable to withstand Weissmans authority and had crouched in fear. Aside from exuding his frightening authority, Weissman had also enveloped an area one hundred yards around him as his Magic Domain. As long as one were within this Domain, the magic would suppress their strength unless they possessed equal or stronger magic. Simultaneously, this Magic Domain also strengthened Weissman. This was a frightening aspect of Tier 4 classes. As soon as a Tier 4 class used their Domain, Tier 3 classes and below would be sheep for the slaughter. At this time, the Mechanical Slayer also began to move. Raising its serrated greatsword, it sent a powerful slash at Weissman. Just as countless air blades swept across the expanse, Weissman suddenly vanished. In the blink of an eye, he appeared on the other side of the Mechanical Slayer. Responding quickly, the Slayer swung its greatsword towards Weissmans new location. However, the result was the same; Weissman dodged the attack using Instantaneous Movement again. After over a dozen consecutive slashes, Weissman had yet to receive a single point of damage. Meanwhile, Weissmans consecutive usage of Instantaneous Movement stunned the watching players. It was common knowledge that the Instantaneous Movement that Elementalists possessed had a Cooldown of 25 seconds with a maximum moving distance of 20 yards. However, Weissmans Instantaneous Movement looked like it did not have a Cooldown. Moreover, every time Weissman used Instantaneous Movement, he moved over 40 yards from his original position. Its as expected of a Tier 4 class. Even Instantaneous Movement has become far more powerful. If a Tier 4 Assassin grasped this skill, the Slayer would have suffered over a hundred attacks by now. Shi Feng had fought his fair share of Tier 4 classes in the past, so he knew just how powerful they were. Among the many Tier 4 classes he had fought, quite a few were Great Wizards. So, Shi Feng had a general understanding of Great Wizards. From his knowledge, Shi Feng knew that there were differences between Tier 4 Great Wizards. As for Weissman, a Great Wizard capable of using Instantaneous Movement effortlessly over a dozen times in quick succession, at the very least, he should be an Upper-rank Great Wizard. After a frenzied assault, scars around four meters deep and forty meters long were visible throughout the street. However, no matter how the Mechanical Slayer attacked, it could not land a single hit on Weissman. The Slayer had also started to panic. Gripping its serrated greatsword with both hands tightly, it stabbed its weapon into the ground. It was obvious that the Mechanical Slayer intended to use Storm Domain once more. However, Weissman, who had continuously dodged the Slayers attacks, had begun his attack. One of his hands currently held up his White Jade Staff, gathering a horrifying amount of magic power around it, while his mouth chanted complex incantations and his other hand swiftly traced lines of runes. _Such quick writing and complex runes! The incantation for an ordinary Tier 3 spell normally only has around a dozen lines or so, yet Weissman has already written at least twenty! At the very least, he should be casting a Tier 4 spell!_ Shi Feng was shocked as he watched Weissmans casting. Ordinary, Great Wizards would need at least six to seven seconds to write over twenty lines of runes. Meanwhile, Weissman had only needed four seconds. _This is bad. This distance is still too dangerous._ Shi Feng knew how powerful a Tier 4 spell was. Such a spell possessed the destructive force of a missile. With his distance of 150 yards, he could easily be caught in the crossfire. Hence, Shi Feng turned and ran. As the ground started to fragment, blades of air shot up from the ground. Weissman suddenly flew upward and hovered in mid-air. The air blades exploded forth, shooting towards Weissman. At this moment, Weissman had also finished chanting his spell. He pointed the finger he had used to write the runes with towards the sky, and in the next instant, a gigantic blue magic array appeared above the city. Tier 4 magic, Sky Piercer! Weissman lightly waved his White Jade Staff, pointing it at the Mechanical Slayer. Blue-colored gas flowed out of the magic array, transforming into a sharp blue spear that came crashing down. When the air blades and blue spear collided, a violent shockwave swept through the area. Even houses over a hundred yards away were blown away. Players who stood within a 200-yard radius died instantly, while players who stood 200 yards to 300 yards away suffered varying degrees of damage. After the brief collision between the two skills, blue spear pierced through the air blades and struck the Mechanical Slayers body. The spear was like a meteorite crashing into the ground. In the wake of the impact, strong winds blew, and dust rolled. A shockwave far more powerful than the one before also spread from the site of impact. It was as if a huge earthquake had just occurred. After the dust settled, everyones gazes shifted towards where the Sky Piercer had fallen. Immediately, everyones jaws dropped in shock. The spears landing site had become a massive crater that was over 30 meters deep. 348 Stealing Food from the Tiger’s Mouth The Sky Piercers destructive power had far surpassed everyones imaginations. The entire street had been destroyed, and other than Weissman and the Mechanical Slayer, nothing remained. It was simply a spell, yet it carried the power to decimate the heaven and earth. Many of the players present even began to wonder whether they were still inside a game. The heavy air, the chilling wind, the pungent smell of blood, the vibrations from the ground, and the pain they felt were constant reminders of where they were. Suddenly, everyone realized that Gods Domain was completely different from the virtual reality games they had played in the past. In their opinion, a virtual reality game was merely an accumulation of numbers and data. Even if they grew powerful inside a game, at most, they would deal higher amounts of damage. It wouldnt be surprising for a player to deal damage in the millions or tens of millions. After all, it was just a bunch of data. No matter how realistic Gods Domain was, at the end of the day, it was still only a virtual reality game. Nothing inside the game was real. At this day and age, this belief was well rooted in players minds, and they never strayed from it. However, they suddenly realized that they were wrong. So strong! Is this the strength of a Tier 4 class? If we can become Tier 4 classes, will we be that strong as well? Everyone gazed at Weissman who was still hovering in midair. At this moment, excitement, fear, and longing filled their minds. There were no superheroes or espers in real life. No human was capable of flying freely in the sky. However, such feats could actually be achieved in this incomparably realistic world known as Gods Domain. It was as if everyone had arrived in a world of miracles. Considering the current situation, people no longer thought of Gods Domain as just another virtual reality game. Instead, Gods Domain was a world where they could start their second life! _I have underestimated Weissman to think he could actually cast Tier 4 magic with such ease._ Relying on his astonishing speed, Shi Feng had managed to escape the effective range of Weissmans Sky Piercer, so he had not received any damage from the resulting shockwave. Normally, high-tiered spells required a very long casting time. During this period, others could easily interrupt the caster and inflict significant amounts of damage. Normally, when one fought an opponent of the same tier, very rarely did they have the chance to cast high-tiered spells. Instead, they would use low-tiered spells with shorter cast times. It was extremely difficult to cast a Tier 4 spell in the midst of battle like Weissman had when faced with an equal opponent. Yet, even when facing a Mutant like the Mechanical Slayer, Weissman had still managed to cast a Tier 4 destructive spell effortlessly. It was apparent just how powerful Weissman was. While Shi Feng had focused on Weissman, the Mechanical Slayer had flown out from the crater the Sky Piercer had created. What? Its still alive, even after taking a hit from a Tier 4 spell? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the wounded Slayer. The effects of high-level magic werent limited to HP damage alone. It could also damage the enemys physical condition. In battles, HP only served as a reference. In certain cases, even when players only had 1 HP remaining, their combat power would not be affected in the slightest; they could still display 100% of their actual combat power. Yet, sometimes, despite losing only a thread of their HP, players combat power might be greatly affected, leaving them capable of displaying only 10%. High-tiered skills were so powerful because not only could they cause a frightening amount of damage, but they could also greatly affect the enemys combat power. At this moment, although the Mechanical Slayer looked like a mess with many wounds covering its body and less than 50% of its HP remaining, the spell had not significantly damaged its combat power. What an enviable physique. Shi Feng had been a Tier 3 Sword King in his past life, so he understood how important a strong physique was to a player. Although the Mechanical Slayer had less than 50% HP remaining right now, its remaining HP was not much different than the HP Weissman possessed. With its combat power unaffected, the Mechanical Slayer could still challenge Weissman. However, the Mechanical Slayers next action had completely surpassed Shi Fengs imagination. After flying into the air, instead of launching an attack at Weissman, the Mechanical Slayer turned tail and ran. This scene stupefied every player present. Nobody could have imagined that the Mechanical Slayer would actually flee after realizing that it could not win against Weissman. The Mechanical Slayers intelligence far surpassed any ordinary monster. Unfortunately for the Mechanical Slayer, Weissman had no intention of letting it escape. Using Instantaneous Movement, Weissman teleported to the Mechanical Slayers side and immediately used Snowy Explosion. Countless frost arrows pelted the Mechanical Slayers body. In the blink of an eye, the Mechanical Slayer had frozen into an ice sculpture. The Mechanical Slayers frozen body then plummeted towards the ground, the impact creating a massive hole in the ground. Following which, Weissman waved his staff. Suddenly, multiple aqua blue magic arrays appeared around his body. Water dragons emerged from these magic arrays and shot towards the Mutant. These water dragons wrapped around the Slayer and buried their vicious teeth in its flesh, restraining the Mechanical Slayer in a large ball of water. This was the Tier 2 spell, Water Binding. When used, it restricted the targets movements. Now unable to move, the Mechanical Slayer immediately used Bladestorm. Not only did the skill increase its Movement Speed, but it also made the Mechanical Slayer immune to all magical control effects. After breaking out of Weissmans Water Binding, the Mechanical Slayer spun towards the Great Wizard. Reacting quickly, Weissman immediately started chanting the incantation of another spell, his hand having already written three lines of runes. A moment later, an Ice Shield appeared, covering his body. The Ice Shield could absorb a massive amount of damage. At the same time, the shield would slow enemies who managed to land a hit. Even after the Mechanical Slayers greatsword repeatedly struck Weissmans Ice Shield for three full seconds, the Ice Shield remained in one piece. At this moment, however, multiple scars had appeared on the Ice Shield, and from the looks of it, the layer of ice would not hold on for long. At this moment, Weissman had also readied the Tier 3 spell, Earthen Spear. Suddenly, brownish-yellow spears protruded and shot out of the ground, bombarding the spinning Mechanical Slayer. Not only did these spears cause significant damage, but they had also forced the Mechanical Slayer into a constant retreat. After being struck by a total of 21 earthen spears, the Mechanical Slayer had been forced back over 30 yards. In a fit of rage, the Mechanical Slayer threw its serrated greatsword at Weissman. Unperturbed, Weissman used Instantaneous Movement to dodge the simple attack. Immediately after, Weissman bombarded the Mechanical Slayer with dozens of lightning snakes. While Weissman and the Mechanical Slayer clashed, Shi Feng quietly snuck closer to them. After the battle had reached this point, Shi Feng could tell that the Mechanical Slayer was no match for Weissman. Although the Mechanical Slayer was not weak, Mutants needed time to grow. Originally, the gap between the Mechanical Slayer and Weissman should not have been so wide. However, aside from having a severely lacking repertoire of skills, the Mechanical Slayer was also inexperienced with evading attacks and controlling its own body, resulting in such a wide gap between itself and its opponent. With the Mechanical Slayers current combat power, it would have no problems dealing with Tier 3 Upper-rank NPCs. If given more time to grow, even Weissman might not be a match for the Slayer. After all, a Mutant transformed from a High Lord ranked monster possessed extremely frightening potential. Meanwhile, if such a powerful Mutant were killed Whether it was the EXP or loot, the rewards would be astonishing. Now that everyone had witnessed how powerful both the Mechanical Slayer and Weissman were, unless they wished to die, nobody would be so stupid as to move closer as these powerhouses faced off. So, the players present quietly observed the battle from a distance. The moment Weissman killed the Mechanical Slayer, they would rush forward to fight for the Mutants loot. Hence, Shi Feng intended to make his move first. If he waited until after the battle ended to make his move, he would not stand a chance against tens of thousands of players. Moreover, Shi Feng was not interested in the Mechanical Slayers loot alone. He also desired the EXP the Mechanical Slayer would provide. Both the Seven Luminaries Ring and the skill Flame Burst were of great use to Shi Feng. However, if he wanted to upgrade and increase their might, he needed a large amount of EXP. If he could steal the last hit of the Mechanical Slayer, he could obtain 60% of the Slayers EXP for himself. This would not be a small number. 349 Skyrocketing Experience While Shi Feng slowly approached the battlefield, the other players stared intently at the Mechanical Slayers HP. As the battle grew more intense, the Mechanical Slayers HP fell at an increasing rate. If they were a step ahead of others, they would have a higher chance of obtaining some of the Slayers loot for themselves. Naturally, they all watched the Mutants HP intently, prepared to dash forward when it dropped to zero. At the same time, various Guild Leaders began issuing commands to surround the battlefield. Although Shi Feng had killed many of their members with the aid of the Mechanical Slayer, many were still alive. At this time, these Guilds no longer paid attention to Shi Feng. Including Lone Tyrant, who hated Shi Feng down to the bone, they all focused on the Mechanical Slayer. Guild Leader Tyrant, we have people stationed as close to the Mechanical Slayer as possible. Our men will charge forward as soon as the Slayer dies, an Assassin standing beside Lone Tyrant reported. Good. If someone steals the loot, kill them, Lone Tyrant ordered. According to his estimation, the loot of such a powerful monster like the Mechanical Slayer, at the very least, would be Dark-Gold items. It might even drop Epic items! As long as they could obtain these items, they could make up for some of the losses they had previously suffered. Right, have there been any movements from Zero Wing and Ouroboros? Lone Tyrant asked. None at the moment. I dont know what happened with Zero Wing, but none of their members have arrived. It seems theyre not interested in this situation. As for Ouroboros, they are still focused on raiding the Three Great Dungeons. They only sent a small contingent. On the other hand, Emperors Light and Assassins Alliance have sent quite a few members, the Assassin reported. He then added, If we had not lost so many members because of Black Flame, we could have contended with these Guilds evenly. Hahaha! Gentle Snow, in your eagerness to conquer the Three Great Dungeons, you have missed out on the chance to conquer the Three Great Dungeons! Pass down my command. Have everyone focus on grabbing the most valuable items. Dont let any Dark-Gold items or Epic items fall into other Guilds hands! Lone Tyrants excitement grew as he thought about the bountiful loot of the Mechanical Slayer. Before, Dark Star had lost many of their members and suffered massive losses due to Black Flame. It would take a long time for the Guild to recover. Lone Tyrant swore that he would personally avenge his Guild sooner or later. However, if they could obtain some Dark-Gold and possibly Epic items, it would massively assist the Guilds recovery. It was especially true for Dungeon-raiding. If they could use Dark-Gold and Epic ranked weapons and equipment to fight the Bosses in the Three Great Dungeons, they would have a much easier time conquering these Dungeons. By the time they obtained the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons, Dark Star would take its place in the public eye once more, restoring its past glory. \--- Time passed gradually. While everyone focused on the Mechanical Slayers HP, the number of players in White River City who had gathered continuously increased. After all, it was the first time a monster attack had occurred in Star-Moon Kingdom. Shortly after the White River City System Announcement appeared, a report appeared on the Gods Domain official forums. Even players from other cities rushed over to experience this rare event. However, the teleportation fee between cities was very expensive. So, there werent a lot of players from other cities. Meanwhile, the players from other cities were those who were well off in Gods Domain. A majority of these players were the elite members of Guilds. At one point, over 500,000 players had gathered around the battlefield between Weissman and the Mechanical Slayer. That was practically a third of the total population of White River City. Im relieved. To see such a powerful monster, we have not wasted the trip. Only a few of us teleported here, and we havent occupied any strategic locations. In a moment, if any of you manage to snatch some loot, escape immediately, understood? Dont stay behind to throw away your lives, a handsome man in black robes told the people standing around him. If Shi Feng could see this mans name, he would be shocked. This man was a famous expert in the virtual gaming world. His fame even surpassed Gentle Snows. The man was also an individual ranked within the top 1,000 on the Global Experts List. This man was Red Feather, and he was one of the elders of the first-rate Guild, Star Alliance. Boss Red Feather, rest assured. You should know our strengths the best. Not in another hundred years could these noobs of White River City compete with us, a Level 20 Assassin with tanned skin said disdainfully as he observed the various Guilds members of White River City. Big Brother Red, youre being overly cautious. We are the trump card of Star Alliance. Since weve arrived, how could we not walk away with all of the loot? Flourishing Willow, a female Ranger with an enchanting body, chuckled. You guys Red Feather helplessly shook his head his companions confident words. There are still plenty of experts in White River City. Although Gentle Snow is not participating, dont forget that there are still the Branch Leader of World Dominators, Blood Halberd, the Guild Leader of the Assassins Alliance, Cruel Sword, and the Branch Leader of Emperors Light, Thirteenth Swallow. There is also the expert that has recently appeared, Black Flame. In addition, experts from other cities have also come to take part in this event. No matter what, we have to act prudently. Unfortunately, Red Feathers reminder fell on deaf ears. None of his companions took his words to heart. After all, every one of them was above Level 20, and a majority of the equipment they wore was Secret-Silver rank. One of them even wore nothing but Secret-Silver Equipment. In addition, they were all veteran gamers who had fought in the virtual gaming industry for many years now. They were all top-tier experts. Their levels, techniques, and equipment were all first-rate. So, how could they possibly lose to any other Guild? Big Brother Red, that Mechanical Slayers HP is about to bottom out. Should we rush over there? Flourishing Willow asked. In a moment. The more powerful a monster is, the more powerful its counterattack will be before it dies. You have all personally witnessed how powerful the Mechanical Slayer is for yourselves. Anywhere within a 200-yards is a danger zone. If we dont have any invulnerability skills, the splash damage will kill us before we get close, Red Feather stopped his companions. However, we can approach the 200-yard range. Just as Red Feather finished speaking Suddenly, a black figure charged towards the Mechanical Slayer so fast that it left observers tongue-tied. Hahaha! What a fool! The Mechanical Slayer still has 2% of its HP left, yet he dares to rush ahead! Based on his speed, that person should be an expert. Unfortunately, his greed has overpowered his judgment. If he waited until the Mechanical Slayer died, with his speed, he could have snatch one or two items. Many onlookers ridiculed the figure that had boldly charged into the fray. Nobody believed that the figure would survive to reach the Slayer. However, there was also a small number of players who rushed after him. Meanwhile, the black figure leading the charge was none other than Shi Feng. At this moment, the Mechanical Slayer was already on the verge of death. Weissman only needed two or three more skills to finish it off. Naturally, Shi Feng would not wait any longer. However, when Shi Feng was 100 yards from the battlefield, the Mechanical Slayer erupted. The Mechanical Slayers body suddenly turned crimson, shrinking by half. The serrated greatsword also transformed into a blood-red scythe. A pitch-black aura of death surrounded the blade. Tightly gripping the scythe with both hands, the Slayer swung it at its surroundings. Suddenly, black streaks of light shot out in all directions. _This is! Why does it have the Tier 4 skill, Deaths Sigh?!_ Shi Feng panicked at the sight of this skill. Hurriedly, he activated Fantasy World. The instant the black lights collided with the barrier of light formed by the Fantasy World, although Shi Feng had not lost any HP, he felt as if he had been struck by a sledgehammer. Shi Feng had even wondered if Fantasy World could hold up against this Tier 4 skill. The black lights illuminated the surroundings for six full seconds, covering a range 200 yards in all directions. The area looked like it had been enclosed by a black dome. Everything within this dome was pitch-black, and nobody outside the dome could see anything within it. After Deaths Sigh ended, everything in the space was dead. Aside from Shi Feng who was safe inside his light barrier, every player who charged forward had died. Meanwhile, the Ice Guard Weissman had summoned also shattered. At this moment, Weissman had lost a significant amount of his HP. He even spat a mouthful of fresh blood. Evidently, the Slayers attack had severely injured him. However, this could not be helped. Nobody would have thought the Mechanical Slayer would use such a frightening skill as its dying counterattack. When caught unaware, even a Tier 4 Great Wizard would receive heavy damage from such an attack. However, after using Deaths Sigh, the Mechanical Slayer was like an oil lamp exhausted of fuel. It only had a final thread of HP remaining. Weissman then used Ice Descent, a Tier 3 spell. Suddenly, ice and snow fell from the sky, landing on the Mechanical Slayer. Wave after wave of Icy Air enveloped on the Slayer, devouring the last of its HP. Your head is mine. At this moment, seeing as the Mechanical Slayer was about to die, Shi Feng had grown anxious. Immediately, he activated Windwalk and dashed at the Mutant. The moment he was in range, he used Silent Steps to appear behind the Mechanical Slayer. As Weissmans spell was not yet over, Shi Feng had to endure Weissmans Ice Descends as well. Shi Feng then retrieved an Intermediate Frost Grenade from his bag. After accurately gauging the Slayers HP, Shi Feng threw the Intermediate Frost Grenade and dealt -500 damage to the Mutant. The Frost Grenade destroyed the Mechanical Slayers remaining 300 HP before the next wave of Icy Air could. Shi Feng had pushed himself to his very limit to grasp the Mechanical Slayers HP, and he very nearly lost the last hit to Weissman. After the Mechanical Slayer died, over a hundred items burst forth from the Mutant. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also received a series of system notifications. Before Shi Feng could check the notifications, his experience bar started to soar. In just a moment, Shi Fengs Level 24 experience bar fill before breaking through to Level 25. Even after reaching Level 25, Shi Fengs experience bar did not stop. Level 26 Level 27 Level 28 Level 29 Golden light continuously flashed over Shi Fengs body, only gradually fading after Shi Feng reached Level 34. In the end, Shi Feng rose to 74% of Level 34. Shi Feng had leveled up ten times consecutively. The EXP he had obtained had completely surpassed his imagination. Even in his previous life, never once had he managed to level up ten times in a row. It was clear how bountiful the EXP provided by the Mechanical Slayer was. If he had obtained 100% of it, he would have leveled up further. 350 Sword in the Stone Before Shi Feng could celebrate his success of stealing the last hit, he felt deep-seated malice directed at him from all directions. Although Shi Feng was wearing the Black Cloak, and nobody had yet recognized Shi Feng The system notification that appeared after the Mechanical Slayer died had betrayed Shi Feng. Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Black Flame for being the first player to kill a Mutant. Rewarding 50 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, 30 Free Mastery Points, and 30 Gold Coins. White River City System Announcement: Player Black Flame has killed the Mechanical Slayer that invaded White River City. Rewarding 50 Reputation Points in White River City, 10,000 Merit Points in Star-Moon Kingdom, and 20 Gold Coins. These two notifications popped up three times. After reading these notifications, even a fool could tell that the cloaked figure covered in a golden glow was none other than Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame. Now, not only Shi Feng had obtained a wealth of EXP by killing the Mechanical Slayer, but he also received a bountiful reward from the system. How could others not be envious? Sure enough, his reputation is well-deserved. He actually stole the last hit while Weissman and the Mechanical Slayer fought. After watching Shi Fengs previous performance, Red Feather could not help but compare himself to Shi Feng. Suddenly, Red Feather discovered that, regarding timing, he was inferior. Black Flame is quite good. However, at the end of the day, he still cant make it onto the Secret Pavilions Experts List. How powerful could he possibly be? On the other hand, Big Brother Red Feather is an expert ranked within the top 900 on the Experts List, Flourishing Willow giggled, smiling faintly. The Secret Pavilions Experts List contained the names of 1,008 great experts in Gods Domain, and it was extremely hard to place on that list. After all, there were too many players in Gods Domain. Moreover, that number continued to increase. Hence, even if it were the 1,008th ranked player on the Experts List, that expert would be a monster-like existence. In the virtual gaming world, players took pride in ranking on the Experts List. Not only was it a symbol of strength, but it was also a symbol of honor. Since Red Feather ranked in the top 900, it sufficed to say that he was very powerful. On the other hand, Black Flames absence from the Experts List showed that the Secret Pavilion judged him as inferior to Red Feather. However, Shi Feng did not care what others thought about him. Without hesitation, he started picking up the items the Mechanical Slayer had dropped. After the Mechanical Slayer died, over a hundred items had scattered around its body. Needless to say, everyone present knew that if one could take all of these items for themselves, it would massively assist Guilds development. eeing as the Mechanical Slayer had been such a powerful monster, even the worst items it dropped should be Fine-Gold rank. At this stage of the game, Fine-Gold ranked weapons and equipment were extremely rare. With over a hundred weapons and equipment of such quality, they could either fully arm a 20-man team, qualitative improve a 50-man team, or significantly upgrade a 100-man team. Damn! All of you, go! Those drops are mine! Lone Tyrant shouted in rage. Clenching his fists, Lone Tyrants eyes resembled a poisonous snakes as he glared at Shi Feng. The Dark Star members who had been on standby all this time charged forward. Naturally, the players from other Guilds did not lag behind. They all simultaneously dashed towards the dropped items. Of course, Shi Feng would not let anyone have any of the drops. However, due to time constraints, he could only take a limited number before the tide of players crashed down on him. One Two Five pieces The moment Shi Fengs hands reached an item, he would immediately throw the item into his bag, not even bothering to look at what he had picked up. No! Get rid of him! All mages, bombard him with AOE spells! Lone Tyrants heart bled as he watched Shi Feng claim items, one after another. This was his biggest chance to recuperate Dark Stars losses. At this moment, however, Shi Feng was destroying that chance right before his very eyes. As for the others, they, too, realized that they could not leave Shi Feng alone. They needed to kill him immediately. Otherwise, there wouldnt even be scraps left. They sure are fast. Shi Feng wrinkled his brows, his hands moving even faster than before. Unlike the items dropped by Dungeon Bosses, there was an additional rule for the loot from Field Bosses. Even if a player obtained an item from Field Boss, if someone killed them within two hours, that item would drop from their dead body with 100% certainty. It was the same for players who picked up the item later on. Only after two hours, would this item not fall from the players bag. Due to this reason, even if it was at the cost of their lives, the players charging forward wanted to destroy Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng had already picked up over 30 items. The Mechanical Slayer had dropped over a hundred items. Yet, Shi Feng had already claimed over a fifth of them for himself. How could anybody accept such a situation? Shi Fengs anxiety grew at the sight of the approaching crowd. Suddenly, however, he noticed an inconspicuous-looking item among the many drops. To be precise, this item was a sword fully encased in a crystal. Although this sword appeared ordinary, Shi Feng could not help his attention shifting towards this ordinary-looking sword. At the moment, Shi Feng was eight yards away from this sword. If he used the time to run there instead of picking up the items around him, he could still claim at least two or three items. Moreover, the approaching players were only 40 yards away right now. Some Rangers had even begun to aim and fire at Shi Feng. _Should I go for it or not?_ Shi Feng hesitated. If he went for the sword, he would definitely lose the other items. Moreover, before the item was firmly in his hands, he could not confirm the quality of the sword. If he darted for it only to find out that he had picked up a Common item, he would have missed out on obtaining items of better quality. As Shi Feng hesitated, an arrow flew towards his head. Shi Feng responded quickly. With the wave of the Abyssal Blade, he slashed this arrow in half. In the next moment, however, dozens more flew at him. After Shi Feng reached Level 34, his various Attributes had improved immensely. Taking a step forward, he brandished his two swords. While dodging the incoming arrows, Shi Feng sliced apart those that he could not dodge. _Im running out of time._ Shi Feng decided to make the gamble. Immediately, he charged towards the sword in the stone.[1] Even with so many items surrounding him, only this sword attracted his attention. There must definitely be a reason for this. Thus, Shi Feng decided to trust his instincts this time. After Shi Feng picked up the sword in the stone, the crowd arrived and surrounded him. Every one of them was like a hungry wolf as they glowered at Shi Feng, malice flashing in their eyes. They only wished they could swallow Shi Feng whole. Black Flame, dont even think about escaping this time! Know your place and hand over the drops and all of your equipment! Lone Tyrant laughed as he smirked at Shi Feng. The encirclement around Shi Feng was different this time. There was no forest for him to hide in. Moreover, players had him surrounded. Shi Feng had no hope of escape. At this moment, Red Feather, who swiftly approached the scene, sent a whisper to Shi Feng, Guild Leader Black Flame, you are a Red Name at the moment. You have killed so many players inside White River City. If you die, the penalty you will receive will be extremely heavy. Why dont you hand all the drops over to me, and Ill help you leave safely? Shi Feng sent a contemptuous gaze at Red Feather, looking at Red Feather as if he was a fool. Now that there were thousands of players simultaneously casting their skills at Shi Feng, only a fool would believe that Red Feather could help Shi Feng escape safely. Red Feather only made such an offer to convince Shi Feng to approach him before taking the opportunity to end his life, obtaining an easier time collecting the drops. This sort of trickery might deceive a child, but to deceive him? Maybe in another decade. TL Notes: [1]sword in the stone (ʯн): logically, this item should be referred to as crystal-encased sword. In this chapter, the author described that the sword Shi Feng noticed was encased in a crystal. Meanwhile, ˮʯ = crystal in Chinese. Heres the breakdown for the term: ˮʯ = crystal (direct/google translation: crystal stone) http://www.ichacha.net/%E6%B0%B4%E6%99%B6%E7%9F%B3.html ˮ = crystal ʯ = stone Meanwhile: ʯн = sword in stone ʯ = stone = in = sword (No, its not stone in the sword. Chinese works differently from English.) 351 Original Sin He didnt fall for the bait? Red Feather was slightly surprised when he saw Shi Fengs contemptuous gaze. Indeed, he had planned to trick Shi Feng all along. After Shi Feng approached him, he would kill Shi Feng, gaining easier access to the dropped items. When people were desperate, they would grasp at even the tiniest bit of hope. This was a basic human instinct, and Red Feather had sought to take advantage of this. For many, even if they knew they were being cheated, they would still choose the risk. However, what about Shi Feng? Currently, tens of thousands of players surrounded Shi Feng in all directions. Even a fly could not escape. Simply put, Shi Feng had zero hope of escaping alive. Faced with such overwhelming numbers, any normal person would have long since broken down from the pressure. Even Red Feather could not guarantee that he would not be affected. No ordinary person could endure the condemnation of thousands, not to mention the murderous gazes of tens of thousands. Yet, even in such a situation, Shi Feng seemed unaffected in the slightest. Shi Feng even had the spare time to send him a contemptuous gaze. Red Feather started to wonder whether or not Shi Feng was a human. Shi Feng could actually maintain such calm. However, even if you dont take my bait, you still wont escape. Although Red Feather felt somewhat disappointed, his intention to kill Shi Feng had not changed. Fire and arrows blotted out the sky above Shi Feng. Even though he was Level 34 now and possessed a severe level suppression over the other players, he still would not survive these attacks. Not a single person present believed that Shi Feng could leave this place alive. In the next moment, however, Shi Feng confused everyone. At this crucial moment, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade and continued to pick up drops. One after another, he placed the items in his bag, showing that he valued money more than his own life. Many players expressed their confusion. Does Black Flame really think he can escape? Does Black Flame believe that, as long as he claims the loot, those items will not drop after he dies? However, Shi Feng still smiled faintly. He paid no attention to the incoming attacks. Following which, wave after wave of spells and arrows landed within 20 yards around Shi Feng, transforming the area into an ocean of ice and fire. Meanwhile, all players within this 20-yard radius turned into ash; Shi Feng was no exception. Hahaha! Black Flame! Finally! Lone Tyrant laughed psychotically as he watched Shi Feng turn into particles of light. Although Lone Tyrant had not done the deed personally, when the news of Black Flames death spread, he would definitely become the laughingstock of Gods Domain. Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, had actually thrown his life away because of greed. What could be more ironic than this? Wait, none of the items Black Flame picked have dropped! a player with powerful eyesight suddenly shouted in surprise. Hearing this, a realization struck the crowd. Indeed, just as the player had said, although Black Flame had died, the number of items on the ground had not increased. Rather, there even seemed to be a few more pieces missing. What was happening? Did this mean that there was no two-hour wait to claim the loot from the Mechanical Slayer? At this moment, Lone Tyrant was stunned as well. His eyes were glued to the location where Shi Feng had died. However, no matter how hard he racked his mind, he could not figure out what had happened. Even if there really was no two-hour waiting time for the dropped items, as a Red Name, Black Flame should have at least dropped a few pieces of the equipment he wore upon death. Yet, he had not dropped a single item after he died. Big Brother Red, this is bad! If the items dont drop from a players inventory, it will be far more difficult to steal them! Flourishing Willow panicked. Since that is the case, well grab as many as we can. Lets go. Originally, they had prepared their path of retreat. However, he never would have expected that the drops from the Mechanical Slayer would play such a trick on them, destroying his plans. As for whether Shi Feng had actually died or not, Red Feather had no doubts. Thousand of attacks had bombarded the area, and any stealth effects would have been useless. Moreover, even in the very end, he had not seen Shi Feng activate any skills. Brothers, attack! Dont let the powerful Guilds take the drops! As long as we put the drops into our bags, the items will be ours! Originally, the independent players had only intended to observe. They had no plans to compete for the loot. After all, without a Guild protecting them, the moment they picked up an item would be the moment they lost their lives. At that time, not only would they lose the items they picked up, but they would also lose their own equipment and levels. Only a lunatic would try their luck. However, the situation had changed. Black Flame had picked up so many items as everyone watched, yet, after he died, not a single item that he had picked up had dropped. This showed that the Slayers loot would belong to whoever picked them up. Previously, none of the independent players saw any chances or hope of obtaining an item for themselves. Now that there was a glimmer of hope of obtaining a Fine-Gold or even Dark-Gold item, why wouldnt they be excited? Suddenly, the tens of thousands of players went into a frenzy. They frantically launched spells and attacks towards the dropped items, barring anyone from claiming the loot. Unknowingly, the largest war in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, no, in the entire Gods Domain, had begun in White River City. The battle was a complete mess. Even great experts could not play much of a role in a war involving tens of thousands of players. They might even find it difficult to survive. \--- Big Brother Shadow Sword, should we try for some of the drops as well? We might grab ourselves a Dark-Gold item! If were lucky, we might even get an Epic item! If we do, we wont have to worry about futures anymore, Turtledove said in excitement. Currently, she stood on a rooftop far from the battlefield. A war of this magnitude would shock anyone. They would find themselves wanting to join the battle and display their skills and obtain some treasures while theyre at it. Alright, well try out luck. As a person who pursued combat techniques, Shadow Sword would certainly not miss out on this golden opportunity. Although Shi Feng had warned them not to involve themselves, Shadow Sword had to agree with Turtledoves suggestion. If they could be like Shi Feng, grabbing thirty to forty items for themselves, even if they died, it would be an admirable death. After all, facing the attacks of tens of thousands of players, even the top ranking expert on the Secret Pavilions Experts List, the Undefeated God, could not possibly survive. For your own good, I advise you two not to go. Even if you snatch an item, you wont get anything after you die. At this moment, a calm and indifferent voice reached Turtledoves and Shadow Swords ears. When the two heard this voice and promptly turned their heads towards the source, shock immediately appearing on their faces. You How did you resurrect? Turtledove gaped at Shi Feng with disbelief. Currently, Shi Feng still wore his Black Cloak, a calm expression on his face. Resurrect? I never died, so why would I need to resurrect? Shi Feng chuckled. Making one-way trips was not brave, but stupid. Since he had charged into battle, naturally, he had long since prepared an escape. Before Shi Feng had charged towards the Mechanical Slayer, he had already activated Phantom Kill. He had then sent his doppelganger away from the battlefield while he forged ahead to steal both the last hit and the treasure. After he had his fill, he immediately swapped positions with his doppelganger, letting his doppelganger endure the rain of attacks while he departed from the battlefield. You didnt die? How is this possible? I saw countless spells hit before you turned into particles of light and disappeared. Turtledove walked up to Shi Feng, her bright eyes scanning his body. After an extensive examination, she revealed a look that said, You cant deceive me. Shi Feng laughed and said, Thats only a doppelganger. Doppelganger? Originally, Turtledove had not believed Shi Feng in the slightest. However, at the mention of the word doppelganger, she suddenly understood the gist of the situation, feeling slightly shocked. She never expected that Shi Feng would have planned an escape. However, Shadow Sword was far more shocked by this revelation. With only the use of a doppelganger, Shi Feng had managed to toy with the tens of thousands of players present, causing them to start a massacre. If Shadow Sword and Turtledove knew that Shi Feng had come to this tall building to look for an opportunity to re-enter the battlefield. At this moment, Shi Feng sat quietly before calling up the system interface for the Seven Luminaries Ring. Finally, I can level these skills. Shi Feng looked at the seven great skills displayed on the Seven Luminaries Ring interface, growing excited. Even at Level 1, these seven skills were immensely beneficial. If he could level these skills several times, his combat power would definitely reach the next level. It would also significantly assist with his class change quest. 352 Hit Asura 1 The battle on the streets of White River City was in full swing now, and a large number of players died with every passing moment. Surprisingly, however, even with such a massive war going on in the middle of White River City, none of the city guards had come forth to stop the players from killing each other. The guards had only sealed off the neighborhood around the Teleportation Hall where the battle took place. As long as a battle between players remained in this area, the guards would not pay it any mind. They would silently stand aside with spears in hand. Meanwhile, the players in question had already gone completely crazy over the loot of the Mechanical Slayer. None of them even noticed Shi Feng who currently sat on top of a building at a distance. All of their attention was directed towards the items scattered across the ground. However, when the female Guardian Knight, Turtledove, who stood beside Shi Feng, used an identification skill on him, she abruptly jumped in shock. _Level 34?! How is his level so high?!_ Currently, a majority of the players in Gods Domain had yet to reach Level 20, yet, Shi Feng was Level 34. The sight of Shi Fengs Level of 34 was enough to cause any player to despair. In Gods Domain, the suppression of 5 levels was detrimental, let alone a suppression of over 10 levels. However, Turtledove had quickly discovered Shi Fengs level falling by one. She was confused. Shi Feng had obviously not died, yet, his level had fallen. Turtledove did not know that, at this moment, Shi Feng had assigned a large amount of EXP to the seven great skills of the Seven Luminaries Ring. The amount of EXP that Shi Feng possessed at Level 34 was extremely abundant, and with the EXP of a single level, he had managed to upgrade all of the seven great skills of the Seven Luminaries Ring to Level 3. [Aura of Earth] Level 3 (Requires 6,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) Defense increased by 40%. Damage taken reduced by 25%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Defense: Provides immunity to 12 attacks. Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds [Aura of Water] Level 3 (Requires 6,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) Received healing increased by 40%. Cast Consumption reduced by 20%. Activatable Skill- Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 15% HP every second for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds [Aura of Wind] Level 3 (Requires 6,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) Movement Speed increased by 30%. Attack Speed increased by 30%. Agility increased by 20%. Activatable Skill- Wind Rider: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 120% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Aura of Fire] Level 3 (Requires 6,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) Damage increased by 35%. Targets Defense reduced by 30%. Activatable Skill- Firestorm: Inflicts 600% damage within a range of 15*15 yards for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes [Aura of Time] Level 3 (Requires 10,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 25%. Enemies within a 100-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 25%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 30%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Time: Prevents enemies within a radius of 60 yards from using any skills or tools for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes 30 seconds [Aura of Illusion] Level 3 (Requires 10,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) All Attributes increased by 25%. Enemies within a 100-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced by 30%. Activatable Skill- Fantasy World: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 15% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover players HP for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Space] Level 3 (Requires 10,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 4) Immunity to all control and restricting effects. Activatable Skill- Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of 360,000 yards. Cooldown: 8 minutes _As expected, the EXP required becomes increasingly abundant at the further levels. However, the skills have indeed significantly improved. I wonder how far I can upgrade them to if I dump in all the EXP I have?_ Once again, Shi Feng started assigning EXP to the Seven Luminaries Ring. This time, Shi Feng had upgraded all of the skills to Level 5, reducing his level to 26. [Aura of Earth] Level 5 (Requires 12,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Defense increased by 45%. Damage taken reduced by 35%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Defense: Provides immunity to 16 attacks. Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds [Aura of Water] Level 5 (Requires 12,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Received healing increased by 60%. Cast Consumption reduced by 30%. Activatable Skill- Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 20% HP every second for 40 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds [Aura of Wind] Level 5 (Requires 12,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Movement Speed increased by 40%. Attack Speed increased by 40%. Agility increased by 30%. Activatable Skill- Wind Rider: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 150% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Aura of Fire] Level 5 (Requires 12,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Damage increased by 40%. Targets Defense reduced by 40%. Activatable Skill- Firestorm: Inflicts 800% damage within a range of 25*25 yards for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes [Aura of Time] Level 5 (Requires 20,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 30%. Enemies within a 150-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 30%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 40%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Time: Prevents enemies within a radius of 75 yards from using any skills or tools for 24 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes 30 seconds [Aura of Illusion] Level 5 (Requires 20,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) All Attributes increased by 30%. Enemies within a 150-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced by 30%. Activatable Skill- Fantasy World: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 15% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover players HP for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Space] Level 5 (Requires 20,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Immunity to all control and restricting effects. Activatable Skill- Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of 400,000 yards. Cooldown: 6 minutes After Shi Feng examined the Attributes of the Level 5 Seven Luminaries Ring, his calm heart inadvertently grew excited. In the legends, the Seven Luminaries Ring was said to be a Godly Relic. Even if it were just an Epic ranked Replica of the item, its strength far surpassed any players imagination. Currently, the Seven Luminaries Ring Replica Shi Feng possessed was only Level 5. Looking at the Replicas current Attributes, Shi Feng had even wondered if this Seven Luminaries Ring Replica could rival the strength an actual Legendary item. However, if Shi Feng wanted to continue upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring, he would need a horrifying amount of EXP. In his current position, it was simply impossible to upgrade the ring to Level 6. _Next, I need to work on the sure-kill skill, Flame Burst._ Shi Feng called up the skill interface and began to upgrade Flame Burst. Back in the Flame Gods Cave, Shi Feng had upgraded the skill to Level 5. [Flame Burst] Level 5 (Requires 4,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 6) Channeling time: 2 seconds Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 420% damage to the target. Attack Count: 6 times Cooldown: 3 minutes 30 seconds In a single breath, Shi Feng upgraded Flame Burst four times, the skill reaching Level 9. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs level had fallen from 26 to 21. [Flame Burst] Level 9 (Requires 60,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 1 skill) Channeling time: 1 seconds Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 750% damage to the target. Attack Count: 12 times Cooldown: 3 minutes 353 Hit Asura 2 I never really have enough EXP. However, I can only leave it for now. Even if I fall back to Level 0, I wont have enough EXP to upgrade the skill, Shi Feng laughed bitterly as he looked at his own level. Level 21. His current level was even lower than before he had returned to White River City. However, his combat power was much higher than any ordinary Level 34 player. Meanwhile, Turtledove and Shadow Sword were completely stupefied right now. Within minutes, a Level 34 player had fallen to Level 21. Turtledove and Shadow Sword had even wondered if their eyes were playing tricks on them. How could a players level decrease by itself? Although they both eagerly wanted to ask Shi Feng the about his Level, they felt embarrassed to do so. After all, they had yet to join Zero Wing officially. As the leader of a Guild, how could they presume to ask for Shi Fengs secrets? Although Shi Feng could discern the doubts filling the minds of the two minds beside him, he did not bother to explain himself. This was his secret. If the matter of the Seven Luminaries Ring were revealed, a calamity would definitely befall him in the future. At this moment, Shi Feng received another system notification. System: Guild Crusade Quest completed. Zero Wings Popularity increased by 30,000 points. System: Congratulations player for completing a Guild Crusade Quest. Rewarding 70 White River City Reputation Points and 5,000,000 EXP. Suddenly, Shi Fengs level recovered to Level 22. Guild Leader, weve secured all of the treasure in Creek Town. Everyones Reputation had increased beyond 100 points, and weve become nobles. We wont suffer any consequences if we enter the city as Red Names now. Fire Dance and the others have returned to the city to accept their class change quests, Aqua Rose suddenly reported through the team chat. Good. The rest of you should return as well. While youre at it, summon all members of Zero Wing to the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng said, smiling faintly as he watched the current stalemate on the battlefield. Today was destined to be an extraordinary night. It was also the night when Zero Wing would fully emerge from the shadows. I understand. Well hurry over immediately, Aqua Rose answered without hesitation before disconnecting the call. At this point, Aqua Rose no longer doubted Shi Fengs decisions. After the call ended, Shi Feng remained sitting on the rooftop, quietly observing the intense battle below. After another hour had passed, the number of players still alive on the battlefield had dwindled down from the initial 500,000 to less than 100,000. The brutality of the war far exceeded everyones imaginations. Throughout this period, other players would slaughter anyone who dared approach the loot from the Mechanical Slayer regardless of who they were. Even when a Guild had sent hundreds of members charging forward, the result was the same. In the end, the situation had devolved into one where it became impossible for one side to steal any of the drops without annihilating everyone else. However, along with the decrease of players, Guilds advantages began to reveal themselves. Among the tens of thousands of players remaining, a large majority of them were Guild players. Meanwhile, the number of independent players decreased as some independent players had opted to give up and retreat from the battlefield. Without the interruption from independent players, the various Guilds had also started to make their moves. Gradually, one Guild after another charged towards the unclaimed loot. However, how could the other Guilds willingly sit by and watch as other Guilds obtained the drops of the Mechanical Slayer? Hence, the Guilds present split their members into two groups: one to hinder the other Guilds and one to seize the items. As a result, the various Guilds initiated another intense battle with each other. These items all belong to Dark Star! Do you think small Guilds like you are worthy of fighting us? Lone Tyrant swung his shield, slamming it into a Swordsman from a small Guild and sending him flying. He then bellowed, Assassins, go for the items! Everyone else, protect them! Immediately, dozens of Assassins from Dark Star sped forward, while the other members of Dark Star opened a path for these Assassins. You wish to take those items? Have you sought my permission to do so yet? Red Feather led his subordinates forward, gradually approaching the drops while hindering Dark Star. Simultaneously, Emperors Light, the Assassins Alliance, and World Dominators also began to fight their way forward. Although these powerful Guilds were very strong, the small Guilds were no fools. These powerful Guilds main target would be the highest concentration of loot. Hence, as unrated Guilds, rather than competing over these locations, it would be far wiser for them to compete over locations with fewer items. That way, they would have fewer challengers. Meanwhile, seeing the various Guilds picking up drops one after another, the independent players watching from the outskirts of the battlefield could not help but grow envious. At this moment, however, the Guilds that had managed to secure some drops for themselves also displayed grim expressions. Originally, they had been fighting vigorously while ignoring all costs in order to secure the loot. After all, as long as they put these items into their bag, even if they died, these items would not drop. However, now that they had gotten their hands on these items, the result was completely different from what they expected. Any players holding the dropped items had to stay alive and hold said items for two hours. If killed during this time, the dropped items would automatically fall from the players bag. What the hell is going on here? Lone Tyrant looked at the dropped item inside his bag, his brows wrinkled. To secure the dropped items, they had not held anything back while slaughtering their way forward, even at the expense of sacrificing their own companions. Meanwhile, the only reason Lone Tyrant willing made such a huge sacrifice was because he knew that they could take ownership of the dropped items the moment they got their hands on them. At this moment, out of the 10,000-plus Dark Star members who had arrived, less than 1,000 remained. Yet, Lone Tyrant had made all those sacrifices only to find out that the battle was not over yet. The dropped items they had obtained could switch ownership at any given moment. At this moment, all those who managed to obtain a dropped item felt their blood rush to their heads. Due to this sudden change, another change also swept through the battlefield. The various Guilds immediately started relocating their members who had managed to obtain a drop. Simultaneously, they had also sent more people to kill the members of other Guilds who held items. Suddenly, the battlefield became even more fierce than before. At this point, the more members a Guild possessed, the greater the advantage it had. Meanwhile, as the Guild with the most members remaining at this moment, Dark Star was also the Guild that had looted the most items. Very quickly, Dark Star looted another dozen or so items. In addition to the ones they had previously obtained, the number of dropped items now in Dark Stars possession totaled 24. At this moment, aside from Shi Feng, Dark Star had the largest harvest. Just as the escort Lone Tyrant personally led was about enter White River Citys safe zone Suddenly, a black figure appeared before Lone Tyrant. Black Flame, should I commend you for your bravery or stupidity? Despite managing to escape, rather than going into hiding with the items you obtained, you actually dare appear before me once again. Very well. Today, I will finish you off. As for the items in your possession, they will all belong to Dark Star. Lone Tyrant recognized Shi Feng almost instantly. With a sneer, he waved his hand. Over a hundred melee players surrounded Shi Feng, while the mages at the rear line started chanting their spells. The healers also began to back off. This time, however, they stood sparsely apart from each other. Obviously, they had done so to avoid getting caught by Shi Fengs large-scale AOE magic and that silencing field which prevented them from using any of their skills or tools. Black Flame, you must feel so helpless when you see this formation, no? You will definitely die this time. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for showing up in front of me, Lone Tyrant boasted. Shi Feng simply smiled at Dark Stars formation. If this had happened before he had upgraded the Seven Luminaries Ring, this formation would have caused him a headache. With several hundred people standing so sparsely, the effective range of Firestorm and Absolute Time would indeed be insufficient to deal with all of them. Without the silencing field, as the battle drew on, he would have no choice but to escape. However, circumstances had changed. Looking at the hundreds of Level 16 and Level 17 melee players charging at him from all directions, Shi Feng activated Absolute Time. At Level 5, Absolute Time had an effective radius of 75 yards, so it covered a large majority of the scattered players. As for those that were outside the range of Absolute Time, they were no threat to Shi Feng. Following which, Shi Feng switched out the Aura of Time for the Aura of Fire on the Seven Luminaries Ring, increasing his damage dealt by 40%, while reducing his targets Defense by 40%. However, Shi Feng was not done yet. Shi Feng then activated the additional skill of Purgatorys Shadow, Purgatory Power, increasing his Attack Speed by 100% and damage by 30% for 15 seconds. Immediately after, Shi Feng used Windwalk and advanced, abruptly charging towards the members of Dark Star. Shi Fengs first target was a Level 17 Shield Warrior. Raising the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng lightly slashed at the Shield Warrior. The silvery-gray Abyssal Blade transformed into a streak of silvery-gray light. Before the Shield Warrior could lift his shield against Shi Fengs attack, a deep slash appeared on his Mysterious-Iron ranked breastplate. A critical damage of -3,216 appeared above the Shield Warriors head. Following which, this Level 17 Shield Warrior, which possessed slightly more than 2,600 HP, died. Before this Shield Warriors body hit the ground, Shi Feng had already arrived in front of a Berserker. Similarly, Shi Feng struck once before leaving behind an afterimage and charging towards the next Swordsman. From an outsiders point of view, they could only see a dark shadow passing by the members of Dark Star. Then, for reasons unknown, those Dark Star members suddenly fell to the ground, their HP bars completely depleted. Meanwhile, this dark shadow was so fast that it only took around six seconds to move through every single member of Dark Star. By the time this shadow stopped moving, the several hundred Dark Star members had become corpses; only silence and hundreds of dropped items accompanied these corpses. The players watching this scene play out from afar were completely stupefied. This was too horrifying! Are you a ghost or a human? Lone Tyrant gaped at the hundreds of dead Dark Star elites in front of him in disbelief. Before he could make sense of what was happening, all of his companions had died. The word fear was no longer sufficient to describe what Lone Tyrant currently felt. What do you think? Shi Feng said, smiling faintly as he shifted his gaze to Lone Tyrant. Lone Tyrants heart jumped when he saw the ridiculing smile on Shi Fengs face. At this moment, he no longer thought of retaliating. He even doubted that the person before him was Black Flame, but an Evil Rakshasa of Gods Domain instead. Otherwise, how could he possibly explain the unbelievable sight before him? How was it even possible for a player to be so powerful? At this moment, escape was Lone Tyrants only hope. Even if he had ten lives, they wouldnt be enough against such an Evil Rakshasa. However, as soon as Lone Tyrant turned around, he discovered that Shi Feng had already appeared in front of him. Immediately after, he saw the Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand give off a dazzling light. He also felt himself melt at the immense temperature radiating from Shi Fengs sword. This skill was none other than Shi Fengs recently-upgraded Level 9 Flame Burst. Before Lone Tyrant could react, the scorching Abyssal Blade had run through his heart. The hell-like flames incinerated his body. At the same time, a massive damage of over -10,000 appeared above Lone Tyrants head. Following which, as if struck by a meteorite, Lone Tyrant was sent flying backward. However, before his body made contact with a solid surface, he had become nothing more than ash in the wind. 354 Hunter and Prey After killing Lone Tyrant, Shi Feng turned to face the remaining Dark Star members behind him. At this point, Shi Feng had thoroughly frightened these players. He only required one strike per person, a hundred strikes to bring about annihilation. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of players had died, just like that. Moreover, even their Guild Leader, Lone Tyrant, could not withstand a single hit before the Evil Rakshasa burned him to ash. The remaining Dark Star members felt a chill crawl down their spines when Shi Feng glanced at them. Their limbs felt like lead, incomparably heavy. At this moment, none of them had any courage to continue fighting. Meanwhile, many players watching from afar immediately uploaded the videos they had recorded to the official forums, creating a huge sensation. As a result, the name Black Flame became even more popular than before. Run! No one knew who had shouted this single word. However, all of the remaining Dark Star members expressed their unanimous agreement as they scattered and ran in all directions. With hundreds of players running away from him in all directions, even Shi Feng, as fast as he was, could not possibly kill all of them. Hence, Shi Feng decided to target the nine Assassins and Rangers who were being protected by a group of their companions. These players bore the dropped items from the Mechanical Slayer. Shi Feng might be able to ignore killing everyone else, but he could not ignore these nine. Damn! Why is my luck so rotten! one of the escaping Assassins paled with fright when he saw Shi Feng dart towards his group. Seeing as escape was no longer an option, the Assassin spun around and prepared for a desperate battle. Face me if you can! However, by the time this Assassin turned to face Shi Feng, the blazing Abyssal Blade had already penetrated his chest. The Assassins HP quickly bottomed out, and three items dropped from his lifeless body. Among them, two were items dropped by the Mechanical Slayer. Shi Feng immediately grabbed the loot from the Mechanical Slayer and tossed them into his bag. He then charged towards his next target. By the time everyone from Dark Star had run out of Absolute Times effective radius, Shi Feng had killed six people in quick succession, obtaining a total of 15 dropped items. As for the remaining three, they had escaped. Not a bad harvest, Shi Feng smiled satisfactorily as he looked at the new additions to his bag. Including these 15 items, he had obtained a total of 52 dropped items. That was practically half of the Mechanical Slayers drops. Just as Shi Feng prepared to leave, he suddenly discovered the players from other Guilds all barreling towards him. Meanwhile, every one of these players wore greedy expressions, and they all thought of Shi Feng as a fat sheep. If Shi Feng had only taken a handful of the loot, they would not have dared strike at Shi Feng even if someone put a gun to their heads. However, the number of dropped items Shi Feng obtained was simply too shocking. Hence, their greed had overtaken their fear. Although the strength Shi Feng displayed defied all reason, everyone had the courage to charge at Shi Feng because they knew that his explosive strength could only last for a short time. Moreover, large-scale silencing skills like the one Shi Feng used would definitely have a very long Cooldown. Knowing that the situation had become unfavorable, Shi Feng immediately turned and ran. He had only recently used Absolute Time, so the skill was still on Cooldown at that moment. Without the skill, he stood absolutely no chance against thousands of players. Boss Red Feather, Black Flame is trying to flee. It will be difficult to deal with him if we allow him to escape into White River Citys safe zone. Should we use that item now? a Cursemancer asked. At this moment, Red Feather carefully considered the situation. Standing by his side, Flourishing Willow said, Big Brother Red, are we really going to make a move against him? Flourishing Willows words surprised her teammates. Normally, Flourishing Willow was the most bloodthirsty out of any of them. How could her change of heart not surprise them? Willow, I thought you said that you wanted to teach Black Flame a lesson? Whats changed? Dont tell me youre afraid, an Assassin on the same team joked. Huh? Whos afraid? Are you itching for a beating? Why dont we have a private spar once we return? Flourishing Willow glared at the Assassin. Ah, No! I was just joking! Youre a great expert who ranks on the Experts List; why would you bully me? the Assassin hurriedly said, concerned for his safety. Aside from their Boss Red Feather, Flourishing Willow was the strongest powerhouse in their team, and nobody dared provoke her. Hmph, Flourishing Willow proudly snorted. She then shifted her gaze to Red Feather, whose expression appeared melancholic, wondering what his decision would be. Previously, Shi Feng had meant nothing to her. Even if Shi Fengs past performances were outstanding, at most, he would only shine in White River City. However, things were different now. Now that she had personally witnessed Shi Fengs skilled and rapid movements, Flourishing Willow was sure that his strength would carry him beyond the confines of just a city. It was especially true for that frighteningly accurate swordsmanship of his. In just a few seconds, Shi Feng had brandished his sword over a hundred times. He had even done so while moving at high speeds. It would have been reasonable if Shi Feng had simply killed the players of Dark Star. However, Shi Feng had actually managed to bury his sword in the heart of every player. Even Red Feather could not achieve such a feat. In addition to being so highly skilled, Black Flame was also the Guild Leader of Zero Wing; his status was not low. Even if they discarded all pretenses and killed Black Flame, it would not benefit the Star Alliance. Move out! In the end, Red Feather still made his decision. They had an opportunity of obtaining a large number of Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold items; so what if they had to offend Zero Wing? Moreover, the Star Alliance was a first-rate Guild. Even Ouroboros did not dare disrespect them, much less Zero Wing. OK, the several Assassins in the team replied excitedly, each of them promptly retrieving a purple-gold crystal ball from their bag. Activating Wind Steps and Stealth, these Assassins swiftly dashed towards Shi Feng. Shi Fengs Movement Speed was extremely fast, and ordinary players had no chance of catching up to him. Even Rangers, Assassins, and Swordsmen, who all boasted high Movement Speeds, could not catch up to Shi Feng. Surprisingly, however, the distance between Shi Feng and the players chasing him gradually shortened. Initially, there had been a span of 100 yards between them; now, there were only 30 yards. If the distance shortened by just another step, the Shield Warriors and Berserkers could use Charge to pin down Shi Feng. However, no matter how hard theWarriors tried, none of them could reduce this distance of 30 yards any further. It drove them all mad. That sure is a lot of people, Shi Feng turned to look at the crowd chasing him, his lips curling upwards. At this moment, none of the players pursuing Shi Feng had discovered that, instead of moving closer to White River Citys safe zone, they were actually moving farther from it. Soon, Shi Feng would reach the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. Crap! Hes trying to escape through the teleportation array! The crowd started growing anxious. If they allowed Shi Feng to teleport from White River City, it would be extremely difficult for them to catch him. Look, there seems to be a group of people coming out from the Teleportation Hall! Hey! Help us stop that person! That person has Dark-Gold ranked treasures on him! Those treasures will fall off his body as long as we kill him! Seeing that the group walking out of the Teleportation Hall consisted of over a hundred players, the crowds hopes rekindled. They tried thinking of how they could convince that group of players to hinder Shi Fengs escape. As long as those players could pin him down for a moment, they could surround him once more. When the players emerging from the Teleportation Hall heard these words, they immediately took action. Without hesitation, they blocked off the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. Seeing this, the crowd celebrated. Wait, why do those people look somewhat familiar? Eh? Arent the two great beauties standing at the front Zero Wings Fire Dance and Aqua Rose? Why would they be here? As the distance between them and the Teleportation Hall shortened, the crowd could gradually see more details of those hundreds of players. Suddenly, they realized that something was wrong. The gaze Aqua Rose and the others shot them was the same gazes that they had used to look at Shi Feng. It was neither a gaze of ridicule or laughter. Rather, it was the predatory gaze a hunter used while watching prey. 355 Biggest Winner Weve been had! This Black Flame is too cunning! He wasnt trying to run away at all! Instead, he was luring us over here! Everyone, be careful! Whats there to be afraid of? They only have over a hundred people. We have over ten thousand on our side. Do they think they can really turn the tide? Although the crowd had discovered the that something was wrong, they couldn''t care less. An arrow fitted on the bow-string couldnt avoid being fired. Shi Feng had simply obtained too many dropped items. They might not get another opportunity to find such a fat sheep in the future. Right now, the total number of drops all of their Guilds obtained was nowhere near what Shi Feng carried. Hence, they would not hesitate, even if they had to start a war with these hundreds of players from Zero Wing. Hahaha! Excellent! We could only play the role of side characters back in Creek Town. Now, I can finally exercise my hands! Blackie said joyfully as he watched the incoming crowd. Blackie, dont kill too many. Let the others get some practice as well. It isnt very often we get to participate in such a large-scale battle, Fire Dance smiled faintly as she unsheathed her daggers and entered stealth. Black and Fire Dances excitement left their teammates speechless. In Zero Wing, it was common knowledge that Blackie and Fire Dance were the two gods of slaughter in the Guild. In the previous war involving four of the top six Guilds of White River City, if Blackie had not wielded large-scale magic such as the Stars of Light, Fire Dances total number of kills would have definitely surpassed his. Everyone, be careful. Since these people have survived until now, they should have some strength. Aqua Rose simply ignored Blackies and Fire Dances actions. The Attack Power the two of them possessed was simply not something others could replicate. Big Sis Aqua, dont worry! Now that we have upgraded our equipment, this is a perfect chance to see how much we have improved. The others started laughing. After the death of the Mechanical Slayer, the magic barrier protecting the treasures of the Blood Hand Association also disappeared. The Blood Hand Associations treasures were a great eye-opener for everyone. In total, they claimed several hundred Mysterious-Iron items. There were also plenty of Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold ranked weapons and equipment. After distributing and equipping these items, everyones equipment standard had significantly improved. Now, although their opponents numbered over ten thousand, they possessed the advantage of levels and equipment. They also occupied a strategic location. After all, the Teleportation Hall could only hold so many people at a single time. It was not possible for all of the incoming players to squeeze into the hall simultaneously. In other words, despite the overwhelming odds, they were not without a chance for victory. At this moment, Shi Feng stopped right before the entrance of the Teleportation Hall. He then turned to face the various Guilds charging at him. On one side, there were over ten thousand players, while on the other, there were a hundred or so players. The difference in numbers was over 100 times. However, the various Guilds abruptly stopped when the distance between them and Shi Feng shortened to 50 yards. Black Flame, dont think that you are invincible just because you now have back up! If you hand over the loot, we will consider sparing your life! Otherwise, today will be the day that your legend comes to an end! Hand over the drops, and well spare you your life! Otherwise, you and your team will be finished! The Guild Leaders of the various Guilds glared at Shi Feng with crazed eyes. They wanted nothing more than to murder Shi Feng right now. Previously, the massacre the Mechanical Slayer carried out under Shi Fengs lead severely wounded their Guilds. Afterward, due to Shi Feng faking his own death, they even began to slaughter each other indiscriminately, decreasing their numbers once more. Now, so many reinforcements suddenly appeared. Who knew if Shi Feng had anything else prepared? Now that Shi Feng had suddenly turned to smile at them, how could they not feel worried? Hence, they all decided to halt their steps rather than continuing to charge forward. What if they recklessly rushed again, only to find themselves caught by another one of Shi Fengs traps? Thus, nobody dared to be the first to charge over. Whats the point of talking so much trash? Youve chased me for so long, so shouldnt it be my turn now? Shi Feng smirked at the army of players before him. Revealing a faint smile, he slowly unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. Shi Fengs calm reaction began to unnerve some of the Guilds present. Facing an army of over ten thousand, even a first-rate expert would react anxiously. However, even after observing Shi Feng for so long, they could not detect the slightest hint of panic on his face. Did Shi Feng truly possess another card that could allow his small team to defeat them? Big Brother Red, there is definitely something suspicious going on. Now that Black Flame has reached the Teleportation Hall, he can escape at any time. Yet, instead of doing so, he actually plans to take a stand, Flourishing Willow said, her brows tightening. Red Feather nodded in agreement, feeling that something was indeed wrong with this situation. Before, Shi Feng could have simply escaped into White River Citys safe zone. At that time, with the protection of the city guards, it would not be so easy to steal the Mechanical Slayers loot from him anymore. Yet, instead of doing so, Shi Feng had gradually lured everyone to the Teleportation Hall. Why would Shi Feng do such a thing? Crap! Weve been tricked! Black Flame is trying to buy time! Red Feather suddenly panicked. Hurriedly, he opened the team member display to check whether or not his team members inside the White River City safe zone were safe. Big Brother Red, whats going on? Flourishing Willow looked at Red Feather, confused. Black Flame is trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain. Zero Wing has over 5,000 members, yet, only a hundred or so are here. Since he could call over these hundred or so members, why didnt he send for even more reinforcements? Red Feather explained. The only reason he did not send for more reinforcements was that he had sent the rest to hunt the transport teams who are safeguarding the loot. Moreover, by blocking the Teleportation Hall, he can choose to attack or retreat any time he wants. As soon as the other members of Zero Wing obtain the drops, they can leave immediately. Red Feather had not used the team chat when he spoke. Moreover, he had not kept his voice down, so the other Guilds had heard his words very clearly. Suddenly, the Guild Leaders of the various Guilds turned pale. Immediately, they started contacting the players that were transporting the dropped items. However, none of their calls connected. The results were the same when they tried contacting the other team members of the transport team. Youve only realized it now? Unfortunately, its too late, Shi Feng laughed, shaking his head as he watched the various Guilds actions. Indeed, just as Red Feather had guessed, even before he had slaughtered the members of Dark Star, he had arranged for Zero Wings army to keep an eye on the transport teams of the other Guilds. When Shi Feng started his battle with Dark Star, Zero Wings army took action. As the various Guilds had lusted after the items on Shi Feng, they had not allocated many members to escort the transport team. Some Guilds only allocated a few dozen members, while some had only allocated a dozen or so. Meanwhile, each of Zero Wings groups consisted of at least more than a hundred. Some even possessed up to 400 members. There was no way they would fail. Moreover, in order to prevent these transport teams from reporting back to their respective Guilds about the ambush, Shi Feng had purchased a large number of Information Sealing Scrolls from the Magic Shop. The Information Sealing Scroll was extremely expensive, with each one costing 50 Silver Coins. This scroll could neither attack nor defend. It was also not a support item. In addition, the scroll could only target players. This scrolls only function was to prevent players from using the games communication system for a certain amount of time. During this period, players could not receive or send any messages. The only form of communication they could use was ordinary speech. Hence, all this time, the Information Sealing Scroll was an item that the player populace of Gods Domain had ignored. During the ambush, although these transport teams were just a short distance away from the battlefield, they could not contact their respective Guilds to request reinforcements. Faced with troops several times their number, these transport teams had no chance of protecting the loot they carried. Also, even though these transport teams were inside the citys safe zone, the city guards needed time to come to their rescue. During this time, unless the transport team of a Guild possessed only top-tier experts, their deaths were all but certain. Even if the city guards arrived later, the dropped items of the Mechanical Slayer could simply be passed on and claimed by the Zero Wing members who had not participated in the battle. At this moment, Red Feather was livid. Although he did not know how Shi Feng had sealed off their communication, when he saw the HP bars of his team members decreasing, he could guess what had happened. Without a doubt, his team members were definitely caught in an intense battle. At this moment, Red Feather finally realized that he had massively underestimated Shi Feng. He had been thoroughly fooled by Shi Fengs facade of a first-rate expert. Compared to Shi Fengs combat techniques, his cunning was far more terrifying. Despite the price so many players and Guilds had paid, in the end, Zero Wing became the biggest, no, the only winner of this war. Rather than calling Shi Feng a fledgling fox, it would be more appropriate to consider him an old demon fox that has lived for countless years. 356 One Man Holding Out against Ten Thousand Big Brother Red, their HPs arent declining that rapidly. They should have started fighting not that long ago. Also, theyre only a short distance away from us. If we run back there right now, we might still be able to save them, Flourishing Willow said hurriedly. However, the moment Flourishing Willow finished speaking, one of the members on their transport team suddenly died. What?! Flourishing Willow looked at one of the HP bars on the list of team members in disbelief. The dark HP bar proved that this player was already dead. She was very clear on the strength of the team transporting the dropped items. They were all elites of the Star Alliance. Yet, just shortly after the battle started, one of these elites had already died. How could she not be shocked by this situation? Its too late. At this point, we can only kill Black Flame to make up for our losses. Red Feather shook his head. He then looked at Shi Feng, rage burning in his eyes. In reality, Red Feather was not the only person present who was angry. The other Guilds were similarly enraged. Shi Feng had so easily taken away the dropped items they had paid such a large price to obtain. This also meant that, at this moment, Shi Feng had obtained all the drops of the Mechanical Slayer. So, how could they not feel angry? They had far underestimated Shi Fengs ambitions. From the moment the Mechanical Slayer attacked the city, Shi Feng never had any intention of letting anyone obtain a share of the loot. Now, they finally realized how naive they had been. They had lost the battle from the very beginning The battle between their transport teams and the members of Zero Wing had been going on for some time now. It would be too late even if they tried to rescue the transport teams. The only thing they could do now was to get rid of Shi Feng. In any case, the number of drops Shi Feng had on him was almost the same as the number of drops of the Guilds combined. Kill him! Kill him right this instant! Black Flame, today will be your funeral! None of the Guilds present could care less anymore. All of them started charging at Shi Feng one after another, not caring whether or not Shi Feng had set up any traps for them. However, when the various Guilds started charging at him, Shi Feng and the others of Zero Wing also retreated into the Teleportation Hall. Facing death with a smile, the various Guilds rushed into the building without a moments hesitation. Seeing the large number of players swarming into the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng said in the team chat, Start! Blackie, who had been eagerly waiting for this moment, immediately cast Stars of Light. The entrance and hallway of the Teleportation Hall was not very spacious, with a capacity of only around a hundred players or so. Meanwhile, the range of the Stars of Light just happened to completely cover this area. One after another, stars of sacred light shot down from the sky, rocking the entire Teleportation Hall. Even with the preparations the Guilds made, the might of the Stars of Light was simply too overwhelming. Despite the healers at the rear trying their best to save their companions, Blackies Stars of Light destroyed even the MTs, who possessed the highest HP and Defense, in just two to three rounds. After the duration of Stars of Light ended, many members of the various Guilds had died. Shi Feng estimated the death toll for Blackies skill at over 500. At this moment, Blackies name looked more black than red. If not for the guards of White River City temporarily halting their management over the vicinity of the Teleportation Hall, the guards would have killed Blackie dozens of times by now. Meanwhile, Blackies skill had thoroughly shocked the various Guilds. The scene before them brought home to the crowd once more the importance of large-scale destruction spells. Even before their frontline players had a chance to clash with the enemy, their side had already suffered so many deaths This was just like the battlefields of ancient times when archers would already fire their bows before the two sides could even clash. In this case, however, since their side did not possess any archers, they would naturally suffer a one-sided beating. The only thing they could do in this situation was to endure and hope they survived. Fortunately, large-scale destruction spells like this definitely had a very long Cooldown time. After all, if such powerful skills could be used constantly, would there even be a need for them to fight? They might as well stand still and await their deaths. Dont be afraid! Charge! They should have used up their skills already! Red Feather calmly shouted a reminder to everyone. Following which, the members of the various Guilds charged at Shi Feng once more. In addition, the number of players that charged into the Teleportation Hall this time was even greater than before. At this moment, the members of Zero Wing were also ready for battle. Just in time. Lets see how powerful my newly improved skill is, then. At this moment, Shi Feng finally utilized the Seven Luminaries Ring and activated Firestorm. The Level 5 Firestorm was even more powerful than Blackies Stars of Light. Towering flames brightly illuminated the entire Teleportation Hall. The temperature inside the building rose by tens of degrees as well. Numerous butterflies formed by flames fluttered gracefully around the Teleportation Hall, creating a beautiful scene to behold. However, all the players touched by these flame butterflies instantly combusted, their bodies turning into ash shortly after. Before the healers standing at the back could react, countless players had already died. The number of deaths caused by Shi Fengs Firestorm far surpassed Blackies Stars of Light. Why do they still possess large-scale destruction spells? The various Guilds present had long since known about Blackies Stars of Light. After all, the scene of Blackie using this skill had appeared on video recordings many times by now. Since they had been prepared for it, they had not sent their full force in the initial charge. For their second charge, however, they had held nothing back. Yet, now, Zero Wing had revealed a second, and even more powerful, large-scale destruction spell. This situation greatly confused everyone. Just where did Zero Wing manage to obtain so many large-scale destruction spells? Just having one of such spells was already a near-impossible feat. At this stage of the game, not even first-rate Guilds possessed a single one of such powerful spells. Yet, Zero Wing actually laid claim to two. After Firestorm ended, the members of the various Guilds turned silent. No longer did anybody dare to rush forward. After seeing this second large-scale destruction spell unleashed, the various Guilds present started hesitating. Instead of letting their blood rush to their heads, they started calmly observing the situation. Looking at Shi Fengs leisurely behavior as he stood inside the Teleportation Hall, they could not help but wonder whether Shi Feng still had another card hidden up his sleeves. From beginning to end, Shi Feng had never considered the army before him a threat. The expression Shi Feng had, in particular, made it seem as if everything was under his control. If there were still members among Zero Wing capable of using large-scale destruction spells, wouldnt they just be seeking their own deaths by recklessly charging ahead? Before arriving at the Teleportation Hall, the various Guilds present had already suffered immense losses. Now, the two spells they suffered were like fuel added to the fire. If they were to take another one or two of such blows, just how were they supposed to cope with the losses? Why arent you guys charging?! It is impossible for Zero Wing to possess any more of such large-scale destruction spells! Red Feather shouted anxiously as he looked at the various Guilds. Brother Red Feather, its not that we are unwilling to charge. However, our manpower is limited. What if they reveal another large-scale destruction spell? My Guild cant hope to endure another blow like that. Brother Red Feather, why dont you lead the charge for us? If Zero Wing has indeed run out of large-scale destruction spells, well then follow you in your charge. Red Feather nearly spat out a mouthful of blood at these Guild Leaders when he heard their words. He had brought only a small number of members with him on this expedition to White River City. After going through the two great wars earlier, he had lost over half the members he had brought. Just moments ago, Zero Wing had also killed his transport team. In the end, the only thing he gained from this trip was losses! If he were to send his few remaining members at Zero Wing right now, wouldnt he just be seeking his own death? At this time, the various Guild Leaders present were also unwilling to let their own subordinates act as cannon fodder. Every death was a loss of money to them. As of this moment, they had yet to gain a single thing, so how would they be willing to continue throwing lives away? Previously, they had gotten caught in Shi Fengs plots one after another. Now, Zero Wings performance had even surpassed their expectations. After suffering successive blows, they were truly afraid now. What? Not gonna charge at us anymore? If you guys arent coming, then well be leaving. Shi Feng stood at the stairs of the Teleportation Hall, looking at the various Guilds that did not dare to enter the building. The calm and easygoing smile Shi Feng wore made it impossible for anyone to guess at his thoughts. Looking at Shi Fengs relaxed and indifferent attitude, as well as the low-grade provocation he used, the various Guilds present became even more certain that Shi Feng still possessed a hidden trump card. As long as they dared to charge at him, what awaited them would be an even greater loss. At this moment, the independent players observing from afar were completely stupefied by this scene. An army of tens of thousand! Shi Feng actually intimidated such a force all by himself, such that they didnt dare to set even a single foot inside the Teleportation Hall. This scene was truly one man holding out against ten thousand. Before today, nobody present would have believed such a nonsensical feat was actually possible. Now, however, they believed it. After all, Shi Feng was the best proof. It would be an honor to die to such a player! After a stalemate of more than ten seconds, Red Feather suddenly stepped forward. Everyone, dont be fooled by Black Flame! Do you think large-scale destruction spells can be obtained so easily? He is simply buying time! As long as we charge at him once more, the drops Black Flame obtained will be ours! Red Feather did not believe that Shi Feng still possessed a third large-scale destruction spell. Shi Feng was definitely tricking them. Emphatically, Red Feather advised, If anyone doesnt believe me, then our Star Alliance will compensate you with five times the losses you will suffer! 357 star Extermination Magic Array Red Feathers offer of compensating five times the losses had they suffered was very tempting, and many Guild Leaders present hesitated at the offer. Unlike the powerful Guilds in White River City, as unrated Guilds, they did not have much financial support as unrated Guilds. Their sources for Gold Coins were also limited. If they signed an agreement with Red Feather, their subordinates deaths would only profit them in the future. If they took Red Feathers offer, however, they would sacrifice a lot of their Guilds strength. Moreover, they would also lose the faith of their Guild members. Seeing these Guilds hesitate, Red Feather started to panic. Although he was unsure of whether Zero Wing still possessed large-scale destruction spells or not, he had a guaranteed method to kill Black Flame. As long as he could approach the man, Black Flame would die even if he were an expert ranked on the Gods Domain Experts List. Once Black Flame died, the dropped items he carried would fall from his bag. Meanwhile, Red Feather would be the first person to grab those items. Afterward, he could simply use the teleportation array to leave White River City. Now that the dropped items his team had previously obtained were no more, if he could not snatch the items on Black Flames body, how could he walk away with satisfaction? Dont tell me that none of you want the loot from the Mechanical Slayer? That was a monster that even a Tier 4 Great Wizard struggled to kill. Not to mention Dark Gold items, it would not be odd to find Epic items among the drops. Dont you want the power of an Epic item? Red Feathers comments excited the various Guild players. None of them had even seen a Dark-Gold item before, let alone an Epic item. If a Guild obtained an Epic item, it would instantly become a hot topic throughout the entire Gods Domain. At that time, even an unknown Guild would become famous, attracting the attention of many guildless players. Although it would still be no match for a truly powerful Guild, it could still become an overlord of a city. The might of an Epic item was unimaginable. In Gods Domain, Dungeons were one of the main sources for players to obtain weapons and equipment. As only a limited number of players could enter a Dungeon, if one wanted an easier time raiding, they could only do so by upgrading the combat power of a limited number of players. Hence, not only were Epic items significant symbols to a Guild, but they also played a very large role in the Guild. At this stage of the game, if a Guild could obtain an Epic item, the strength of the Guild would instantly soar to the next level. The Mechanical Slayers loot needed to be appraised before anyone could discern quality and Attributes. Hence, nobody knew the exact quality of the Slayers loot. However, seeing as the Mechanical Slayer had been such a powerful monster, it would not be surprising even to find Epic items among its loot. As long as there was the slightest possibility, nobody among the crowd would easily give up on this chance. Charge! For the Epic items! Black Flame, hand over the Epic items, and well spare your life! The various Guilds charged at Shi Feng once more with passion. Setting aside Red Feathers offer, the lure of an Epic item alone was worth any price. At this moment, Aqua Rose walked up to Shi Fengs side, suggesting, Guild Leader, theyre charging at us once more. Weve bought enough time now. Should we depart? Although they had the absolute advantage of levels, equipment, and terrain, if they had to face so many players, death and injury would be inevitable. Since they have already achieved their goals, it was not necessary to continue fighting. Okay, lets withdraw, Shi Feng nodded. Pass me the Tier 3 Magic Scroll that you obtained from Creek Town. Ill stall for time and leave them with a memento. Take this chance to activate the teleportation array. Indeed, just as Red Feather had guessed, large-scale destruction spells were not so easy to come by. At this moment, only he and Blackie possessed such spells. Although they had plenty of small-scale AOE attack spells, the might and range of these spells were not enough. They would not play a significant role in this battle. Are we really going to use that Tier 3 Magic Scroll? Thats the only one we received from the crusade. Why dont we just have everyone hold those players off for a bit? In any case, we only need to stall for a moment. If we dont have to fight for that long, we should not incur any casualties. Aqua Roses heart ached when she heard Shi Fengs intentions. The value of a Tier 3 Magic Scroll far surpassed a single Dark-Gold item. It doesnt matter. Now is the best time to use it. Shi Feng waved his hand. Aqua Rose simply sighed in response to Shi Fengs decision. With a heavy heart, she handed the Tier 3 Magic Scroll over. She only had herself to blame for working under such a Guild Leader. Normally, Shi Feng spent his money lavishly, not bothering with a budget. However, it was also a fact that the results of his spendthrift actions would always pay off. Go. Leave this to me. The Tier 3 Magic Scroll Aqua Rose had handed Shi Feng was deep-blue with gold inlaid around its edges. Upon receiving the scroll, Shi Feng unrolled it and clicked Use. The Tier 3 Magic Scroll they had obtained from the Blood Hand Associations hidden warehouse was entitled Water Dragons Flurry. This Magic Scroll contained a very rare large-scale destruction spell with a 2-second cast time. As water-type mana began to gather around Shi Feng, a large-scale, deep-blue magic array formed beneath his feet. Crap! Its another large-scale destruction spell! The Tier 3 spells generated momentum was so immense that the incoming tide of players quickly discovered its appearance. The crowd immediately panicked and tried to withdraw. At this moment, Red Feathers face turned ashen. He would never have thought that Shi Feng still possessed another large-scale destruction spell. Although the crowd retreated quickly, it was too late as Shi Feng had already unleashed the magic of the Tier 3 Magic Scroll in his hands. Water gushed down from the sky like a massive waterfall, rolling into a tidal wave that was over a dozen meters high. The wave smashed across all of the Guild players within the Teleportation Hall, and in the blink of an eye, the violent tidal wave devoured hundreds of players. Following which, the turbulent water flooded from the buildings entrance. It was like a tsunami. The massive wave devoured many of the players outside the Hall, and every victim of the spell became nothing more than an icy corpse. As to how many players had died, even Shi Feng himself was not sure. However, what Shi Feng did know was that the Water Dragons Flurry had killed more players than both Stars of Light and Firestorm combined. Its about time for me to leave as well, Shi Feng examined his surroundings, satisfied. The Teleportation Hall was void of any members of the various Guilds. Oh? Thats not right. Someones still here. Shi Feng suddenly sensed danger. Shi Feng was very familiar with this feeling, so he knew to keep his guard up. Such a feeling only occurred when he encountered life-threatening danger. Hence, Shi Feng immediately activated Omniscient Eyes. Since he had not seen anyone inside the hall, the only possibility left was Assassins. Omniscient Eyes allowed Shi Feng to perceive any invisible or stealth units within 100 yards. After activating the skill, a golden glow enveloped both of his eyes. He then observed his surroundings. Like a god overlooking all lifeforms, nothing could hide from his vision. Six people, is it? Shi Feng quickly discovered six obscure figures slowly approaching him from 30 yards away. These six Assassins felt a chill down their backs the moment Shi Fengs gaze landed on them. Damn it. Weve been discovered. Forget about it. This distances should be enough. We cant disappoint Boss Red Feather. The six Assassins were all experts. Hence, they immediately decided to reveal themselves and take out the purple-gold crystal balls. _Thats the Six-star Extermination Magic Array! How could they have it?!_ Shi Feng was abruptly shocked when he saw the purple-gold crystal balls in the hands of the six Assassins. These items were no less rare than a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Though they were far more powerful than a Tier 3 Magic Scroll, the requirements and limitations were also far more troublesome than a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. 358 Cornered Beas Although Shi Feng knew that these Assassins intended to use the Six-star Extermination Magic Array, it was too late for him to stop them. In the next moment, the crystal balls released a dazzling purple glow. Purple flames then burst forth, enclosing Shi Feng and the six Assassins within a barrier of purple fire. This barrier only covered a small area of 30*30 yards. With their levels, it would only take a few steps to cross this distance. Guild Leader Black Flame, since you so arrogantly offended the Star Alliance, weve come to teach you some manners. Tiger, whats the point of talking to him? He is merely a frog at the bottom of a well. How could he possibly know how amazing our Star Alliance is? Lets finish him off immediately. Boss Red Feather is waiting for us. Im trying to give him some time to mourn his own loss! Now that the barrier has been activated, nobody can possibly interrupt us. We can take our time dealing with him since theres no way for him to escape anyway. Youre right. Wouldnt it be boring if we killed this insufferably haughty Guild Leader Black Flame in just two to three hits? Does Guild Leader Black Flame have any last words? Hahaha! The six Assassins chatted merrily among themselves. They looked at Shi Feng as if he were an ant. It was as if everything was within their control, and victory was already within their grasp. The Six-star Extermination Magic Array was a magic barrier that possessed several restrictions. Unlike a normal Magic Scroll, activation required six players. Moreover, once the barrier was cast in a specific location, excluding the six wielding the crystal balls, it would randomly choose one player within range and trap them within. As for everyone else who was within the magic barriers range at the time of activation, all would be sent out of the magic barrier including players, NPCs, and monsters. After erecting the magic barrier, not even an army of tens of thousands could penetrate it. The same went for those inside the magic barrier; they could not leave. The magic barrier would only dissolve itself when the targeted player died, or the six activators were annihilated. In addition, while the barrier did not impose restrictions on the six casters, the targeted player, on the other hand, was banned from using any skills. To any player in Gods Domain, losing ones skills was like a tiger losing its claws and fangs. It was similar to how Shi Feng could one-sidedly massacre hundreds of players after activating Absolute Time, a regional silencing skill. Although part of the reason Shi Feng could achieve such a feat was due to his frightening combat power, the regional silencing skill Absolute Time played a similarly large role. Currently, Shi Feng had to face six Level 20 Assassins who were capable of using all their skills. He was also trapped in this barrier until he defeated these six elite players. One could just imagine how dire the situation was. What a pity, Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the purple flames surrounding him before shifting his gaze towards the six Assassins. Normally, the Six-star Extermination Magic Array was used to deal with high-tiered mage-type Bosses. Compared to a high-tiered Magic Scroll, although Barrier Crystals possessed many restrictions, players could use it within a Dungeon. On the other hand, Tier 3 Magic Scrolls like the Water Dragons Flurry were useless inside a Dungeon. At this moment, however, these six Assassins had used such a precious Barrier Crystal to deal with a single Swordsman like Shi Feng. The word waste could not even begin to describe their actions. Guild Leader Black Flame, so even you know the word pity? It would indeed be a pity if we were the only ones to witness your death. However, you can rest assured that we will upload a video of your death to the forums, showing everyone the end of your undying legend. When that time comes, Guild Leader Black Flame, you should not blame us for your ruin. Instead, blame yourself for being too arrogant and greedy. You actually dared to oppose the Star Alliance. The six Assassins laughed maniacally, having already foreseen how Shi Feng would become the laughingstock of Gods Domain in the near future. As for the six of them, after killing Shi Feng, they, too, would instantly become the focus of Star-Moon Kingdom. Saying so, the six Assassins immediately activated Stealth and advanced on Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng was a step ahead. Without the slightest bit of panic or hesitation, Shi Feng dashed towards the six Assassins with frightening speed. The strength of Assassins lay in death from the shadows. If exposed, however, they were only half as dangerous. Knowing this, Shi Feng darted forward without hesitation and sliced up the six Assassins. _Dang! Dang! Dang!_ Six clangs of metal clashing resounded inside the magic barrier, and the Assassins who had just entered stealth were immediately exposed. Enraged, they glared at Shi Feng. Black Flame, no matter how much you struggle, the result will be the same! Since you want to die an early, let me fulfill your wish! a tanned and short Assassin named Grey Squirrel tightened his grip around one of his daggers and jabbed it at Shi Fengs abdomen. With even greater speed than before, Grey Squirrel drew a strange arc with his other dagger, sliding it smoothly towards Shi Fengs side. Under normal circumstances, players would instinctively try to defend against the first attack and neglect the dagger from the side. Even if they managed to discover the second dagger, their instincts would still focus on the first. This deliberate misdirection clearly displayed how skilled this Assassin named Grey Squirrel was. He was not an ordinary player but an expert. As long as the Assassins blade found its mark, Shi Feng would enter a Fainted state. At that time, he would be at the Assassins mercy. They could simply incapacitate him indefinitely until he died. Moreover, while Grey Squirrel attacked Shi Feng, the other two Assassins beside him had also aimed their daggers at the Swordsman. The three remaining Assassins standing at a distance, however, had not taken action. On the contrary, they simply stood there, watching with ridiculing smiles. In their opinion, Shi Feng was just a cornered beast struggling to stay alive. His initial charge was simply his last-ditch effort at survival. Just when the two daggers from Grey Squirrel were about to penetrate into Shi Fengs body, Shi Feng shifted his footsteps slightly and retreated half a step, effortlessly evading the two daggers. Immediately, he spun sideways, escaping the pincer attack of the two Assassins behind him. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water without any excess movement. The Assassins were inwardly startled. Shi Feng had actually evaded their perfect joint attack with such simple motions. Shi Fengs quick-witted response left the six Assassins shivering slightly. However, he couldnt care less about his enemies thoughts. Without a pause, Shi Feng brandished the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow, sending over a dozen afterimages slashing at the three Assassins. Shi Fengs swords moved with lightning speed, the three Assassins emitting ear-piercing screeches as the blades found their vital points. The three attacking Assassins were greatly shocked by this counterattack. In a panic, they hurriedly used their daggers to defend themselves, even going as far as using Block. Although all three of them managed to defend against the afterimages sent at them, Shi Fengs superhuman strength forced them into a retreat, the clash leaving their hands numb. Such speed and strength. At this moment, these three no longer dared to underestimate Shi Feng. During their brief exchange, they could tell how powerful Shi Feng was. Normally, when the three of them attacked together, even Red Feather would temporarily retreat rather than face them directly. However, Shi Feng had done the exact opposite and fought them head-on. Surprisingly, he even forced them into a retreat. If they had not combined their strengths to block Shi Fengs attacks just now, they might have joined the many souls who had died under Shi Fengs swords. All six of the Assassins instantly came to a conclusion. Although the Shi Feng before them had lost his fangs and claws, he was no tiger. He was a monstrous beast clad in human skin. He could easily suppress them by only relying on his strength. Faced with Shi Feng, only death awaited them. Suddenly, the Assassins realized that they had made a massive mistake. They had actually chosen to lock themselves up with such a monstrous beast. _As expected, it isnt possible to get rid of them quickly without the 100% speed boost from Purgatory Power._ Shi Fengs onslaught had failed to achieve its intended purpose, though it did allow him to gain a general understanding of his attackers strengths. In conclusion, these Assassins were definitely experts. The three Assassins had exposed many holes in their defenses after Shi Feng shook them off. Hence, he brandished his blades once more, intending to strike the iron while it was hot and finish them off before they could reunite with their other companions. At this time, however, the other three Assassins had already circled and arrived behind Shi Feng. They immediately launched a flurry of attacks, giving Shi Feng no choice but to stop his attacks and deal with the immediate threat first. Shi Feng abruptly spun around, swinging his swords with all his might at the three new arrivals. Like before, his attack sent all three Assassins flying. Shi Feng then charged at the Assassin in front of him, brandishing his swords multiple times. The Assassin receiving Shi Fengs attacks was greatly frightened. Immediately, the Assassin used Silent Steps, hoping to take advantage of the short period of invulnerability the skill provided to defend against all these sword flashes. By doing so, he could also gain some precious time to allow his companions to come to his rescue. Otherwise, only death awaited him. The Assassins decision to use Silent Steps had undeniably given his five other companions plenty of time to react. After regaining their composure, the five Assassins immediately dashed at Shi Feng, forcing him into a momentary retreat. We cant let this continue. We cant hold back any longer. All of you, use the Berserk Potion, Grey Squirrel commanded. The other five looked at one another and nodded silently. At the same time, they all took out blood-red potions. This potion was none other than the extremely precious Berserk Potion. Originally, this potion was a last resort. They never thought that they would have to use it so quickly. 359 Breaking Through the Limi First, they used the Six-star Extermination Magic Array. Now, there are even Berserk Potions. Red Feather really is wealthy. Shi Feng immediately recognized the blood-red potions in the six Assassins hands. At this stage of the game, there were no players capable producing a Berserk Potion. Moreover, the recipe was not easily obtainable. The only way to obtain these potions was through killing the Bosses of a Team Dungeon. However, the drop rate was very low. Statistically, it was only 0.2%. In other words, one could only obtain two bottles after killing 1,000 Team Dungeon Bosses. Hence, without sufficient strength, it was impossible for a Guild to obtain six Berserk Potions. When consumed, the Berserk Potion would stimulate a players physical potential, increasing their Strength and Agility. The players physique would also exceed its limits, allowing the player to carry out actions that they normally couldnt do. To put it simply, the Berserk Potion was a very overbearing potion. Black Flame, we admit that you are impressive. However, playtime is over. After the Assassin named Grey Squirrel drank the Berserk Potion, his skin began to turn red. The blood vessels all over his body bulged, and his body started emitting waves of heat. His aura had also completely changed. The moment Grey Squirrel finished speaking, his body flickered, and the ground under his feet cracked. Leaving behind an afterimage, Grey Squirrel instantly appeared behind Shi Feng. His bright snowy dagger transformed into a white flash that flew towards Shi Fengs back, his speed reaching far beyond that of his previous attacks. Startled, Shi Feng hurriedly spun and used the Abyssal Blade to meet Grey Squirrels dagger. _Peng!_ Sparks flew in all directions as metal clashed. The collision forced Shi Feng back by half a step. Grey Squirrel, on the other hand, was forced to take a full step backward. In terms of Strength, Shi Feng was still obviously superior. However, this single exchange forced Shi Feng to take things seriously. From this single exchange, Shi Feng could feel that the Assassins Attributes were not far below his own. Facing Gray Squirrel and his team, Shi Fengs small advantage of Attributes was almost nonexistent without the use of his skills. Even in a one-on-one battle, it would be very difficult to achieve victory, let alone a one-on-six battle. Compared to Shi Fengs astonishment, Grey Squirrel and the others were even more shocked by their brief confrontation. After drinking the Berserk Potion, they understood just how amazing the potions effects were. Yet, even with the effects of the Berserk Potion, their Attributes were still inferior to Shi Fengs. Shi Fengs strength completely surpassed their imaginations. This revelation was astonishing. Just how excellent is Black Flames equipment? Grey Squirrel kept focused on Shi Feng, his expression becoming serious. He then said to his five companions, Well attack him together! The other five nodded. If they only relied on Grey Squirrel to deal with Shi Feng, the final victor of the battle would most likely be Shi Feng. Seeing all six opponents approaching simultaneously, Shi Feng dared not underestimate them. Shi Feng took out a Basic Frost Grenade from his bag, tossing it at the Assassins. Although he could not use skills, there was no restriction on the items inside his bag. Compared to Absolute Time of the Seven Luminaries Ring, the Six-star Extermination Magic Array was inferior. When the Frost Grenade exploded, the six Assassins charging at Shi Feng failed to react in time and froze on the spot. The six of them knew the dangers of being restrained. Hence, they all used Vanish to dispel the freezing effect. Originally, they had intended to continue their charge. However, the six of them suddenly saw Shi Feng remove an extremely familiar item from his bag. Berserk Potion! How do you have one as well?! Grey Squirrels eyes widened, intense fear appearing on his face. What? Your Star Alliance can obtain this item, but our Zero Wing cant? Dont forget that I am also the leader of a Guild. There should be a limit to how much you look down on us. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he held the blood-red Berserk Potion before emptying the contents of the bottle. In the next moment, Shi Fengs skill turned blood-red. His entire body shown with a faint blue shimmer as well. Following which, his body emitted a violent heatwave, and even the six Assassins, who were over seven yards away, felt it. The effects displayed after Shi Feng drank the Berserk Potion were far stronger than theirs. Clearly, the increase Shi Feng received was much greater than theirs. The Berserk Potion would display strength corresponding to the potential of the consumers existing physique. Shi Feng was superior to the six Assassins in every aspect. Hence, after drinking the Berserk Potion, the resulting upgrade was far more impressive. Lets start the second round, shall we? Shi Feng cracked his knuckles. He could feel his entire body brimming with strength. Despite the fact that he stood still, cracks already began to form beneath his feet. His strength now far surpassed the strength he possessed after activating Purgatory Power. He then smiled at the six terrified Assassins. The Assassins stared at Shi Feng as if he were the Demon God, and they couldnt help but gulp. Taking a step forward, Shi Feng suddenly disappeared. Before the six could react, Shi Feng appeared before Grey Squirrel. The silvery-grey Abyssal Blade descended. Grey Squirrel tried to raise his daggers to block the attack. However, he suddenly discovered that his speed could not keep up with Shi Feng. As he had already used his lifesaving skill, Vanish, Grey Squirrel could only stare helplessly as the Abyssal Blade cleaved down into his body. A damage of -2,641 points appeared above his head, decimating his HP that was barely over 2,000. Moreover, the strike had not been a critical hit. The other five broke down at this sight. The speed of that strike was far too fast. Today, they had finally witnessed what the words In the world of martial arts, there are no impregnable defenses; only swiftness is invincible meant. Before Shi Feng drank the Berserk Potion, they could cope with his speed and Strength. After he drank the potion, however, they had no chance. If they had known, they would never have chosen to drink the Berserk Potions. However, it was already too late. \--- Meanwhile, while Shi Feng fought inside the Six-star Extermination Magic Array, the various Guilds outside the Teleportation Hall also recomposed themselves. Once more, they charged into the building. The moment they entered the building, however, they noticed a giant magic barrier of purple flame blocking the corridor, preventing them from advancing. The various Guilds grew anxious, having no idea what was happening. Red Feather, on the other hand, had an indifferent look on his face when he saw this purple flame barrier. The appearance of this barrier meant that Grey Squirrel and his group had succeeded. Shi Feng, who was trapped within the barrier, would definitely die. As soon as the barrier lifted, the drops Shi Feng had looted, as well as the equipment he wore, would belong to the Star Alliance. A moment later, the purple flame barrier began to vanish, holding everyones attention. _Good. The next thing we need to do is to get Grey Squirrel and the others out of here._ Red Featherfelt ecstatic in his heart. Although they had wasted the Six-star Extermination Magic Array, close to half of the Mechanical Slayers loot belonged to them now. Compared to such a gain, the loss of a Barrier Crystal was insignificant. After the purple flames completely dissipated, a figure appeared before the crowd. Red Feathers ecstatic mood instantly fell into an abyss. Following which, his face turned pale as he glared hatefully at the lone figure that had appeared. Gnashing his teeth, Red Feather bellowed, Black Flame! Red Feather could not believe that Shi Feng had actually defeated six expert Assassins. Moreover, Shi Feng had done so without the use of his skills. As a precaution, Red Feather had even given each of the six Assassins a Berserk Potion. Yet, the result was still a resounding defeat. Crap! Zero Wing has activated the teleportation array! Black Flame is going to escape! a player shouted, reacting quickly. However, by the time everyone heard this reminder, it was too late. Shi Fengs body flickered, easily throwing off the crowd as he drilled his way to the teleportation array. Aqua Rose promptly clicked Teleport. In the next moment, the members of Zero Wing disappeared from the Teleportation Hall, leaving behind a crowd of stupefied Guild players, as well as Red Feather, whose heart bled in pain. Not only had Red Feather lost the Six-star Extermination Magic Array and the Berserk Potions, but he was also required to compensate the losses of the various Guilds present. Meanwhile, he had gained absolutely nothing. As for pursuing Shi Feng and the others from Zero Wing, that was impossible. Ignoring the fact that he had no idea where they had teleported to, even if he knew, it was impossible to kill them while inside the citys safe zone without overwhelming force. As of this moment, the war inside White River City had finally reached its end. In this war, aside from Zero Wing obtaining the most astonishing harvest, the Assassins Alliance, Emperors Light, and Ouroboros had also gained a small harvest. These three Guilds had immediately fled the battlefield the moment they claimed some of the drops. They made no attempts to snatch the drops from Shi Feng like how the other Guilds had. As for the other Guilds, every single one of them had suffered immense losses. As for the members of Zero Wing that had escaped, after the restriction on the dropped items lifted, Shi Feng allowed everyone to get some well-deserved rest. After all, long battles were very taxing on ones spirit. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also rented a room at a hotel and promptly logged off. During this war in White River City, many spectating players had recorded videos of the battles and uploaded them to the official forums. The videos caused a huge sensation throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. It was especially true when everyone watched Black Flames battle. He only required one strike per person, a hundred strikes to bring about annihilation. Moreover, with his strength alone, he had managed to shake an army of tens of thousands. Everyone watching the video trembled with excitement. Suddenly, every player throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom knew the name Black Flame. Say, do you guys think that Black Flame will make it onto the Secret Pavilions Experts List this time? What are you talking about? Of course, he will! If he doesnt make it, then the Secret Pavilion is blind. Im just wondering what rank Black Flame will get. Wont we know once the Secret Pavilion publishes the new Experts List tomorrow? After the war in White River City ended, the Star-Moon Kingdom official forums exploded with activity. Many people discussed Black Flame and the Secret Pavilions Experts List. Meanwhile, Shi Feng simply chuckled as he read through these forum discussions. After drinking a bottle of Nutrient Fluids, he began his physical training. The Secret Pavilion was indeed a well-known existence in the virtual gaming world. Countless players dreamed of ranking on the Secret Pavilions Experts List. In the past, Shi Feng had dreamed of the same thing. However, there were simply too many players in Gods Domain. Star-Moon Kingdom was only one of the hundreds of countries within Gods Domain. If the positions on the Experts List were averagely allocated, each kingdom and empire in Gods Domain would only receive several spots. In other words, among the hundreds of millions of players residing in Star-Moon Kingdom, only a few would have the privilege of ranking on the Secret Pavilions Experts List. However, through the Experts List, Shi Feng had also discovered information relating to the experts of Gods Domain. For example, he had learned of the Cleric God Violet Cloud, the Mage God Aqua Rose, and many other god-ranked experts. Hm? Whats going on today? Why have I suddenly become stronger? Shi Feng, who was currently working out in his room, felt something amiss. In the past, after completing a set of exercises, he would lay paralyzed on the floor for quite some time. Today, however, he could stand and move with ease. He could feel that his body was still far from reaching its limit. Normally, physical improvement occurred gradually. It was impossible significantly improve within a short time. Yet, such a situation had actually occurred. So, how could Shi Feng not be surprised? It seems that Ill have to head to the Big Dipper Training Center to take a test. Unable to figure out the reason for his sudden improvement, Shi Feng had no choice but to have himself examined. He might even learn some secrets to improving his physical fitness. 360 Deviated Path When Shi Feng thought of his sudden change, he lost his enthusiasm to train. He then threw on a blue tracksuit and left his new apartment. He hailed for a cab and headed towards the Big Dipper Training Center. As the most famous training center in the city, the Big Dipper Training Center was located in the center of Jin Hai. The Training Center was about the size of three stadiums. The training facilities were all top class within the country. Moreover, they also employed many top class doctors and dietitians, as well as first-rate instructors. After arriving at the Big Dipper Training Center, Shi Feng immediately noticed multiple large luxurious buses parked in front of the building. Handsome young men and beautiful young women alighted from the buses, one after another. They were all high school students, and at this moment, they all had excited expressions plastered on their faces. These high school students then orderly entered the building under the lead of a Big Dipper receptionist. Is Big Dipper holding a tour for students? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. It was the first time he had seen such an occurrence. Even in the past, he had never heard of Big Dipper allowing students to tour its facilities. Ordinary people could not gain easy access to the Big Dipper Training Center. Only members were allowed entry into the building. If one were not a member they were not even allowed through the entrance of the training center itself. Meanwhile, becoming a member of Big Dipper was no easy task. Without having a certain status in society or obtaining a referral from someone influential, it was impossible to become a member. If Zhou Yuhu had not entered the top ten in Jin Hai Universitys fighting competition, he would not have obtained a Big Dipper membership card. Now that hundreds of high school students suddenly entered the training center, no matter how one looked at it, something must have changed. However, this was no concern to Shi Feng. He had only come here for a physical check-up. Fortunately, the Big Dipper Training Center possessed inspection equipment and other facilities that even the hospitals envied. Following which, Shi Feng had also followed the crowd into the building. Excuse me, sir, only members can enter, a robust security guard said as he blocked Shi Fengs path. Here is my membership card, Shi Feng swiped his Big Dipper member card at the electronic lock. The red display on the machine promptly changed to green, signifying that Shi Feng was allowed to pass. The tempered glass doors then parted. Seeing that there were no problems, the bodyguard promptly turned and left. The fifteenth floor of the Big Dipper Training Center contained equipment for testing punching power, grip strength, speed, reaction, and much more. At this moment, many people crowded around the equipment. hortly after arriving on the fifteenth floor, Shi Feng discovered a familiar figure currently testing her reaction time. Why is she here? Shi Feng was very surprised. It was none other than his female class monitor, Zhao Ruoxi. At this moment, Zhao Ruoxi had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a black sports vest and a pair of tight capris. Zhao Ruoxis perfect figure, which she normally hid, was vividly displayed at this moment, and she looked completely different from when she was at school. The reaction machine would fire varying amounts of special rubber bullets at the examinee. One could test their reaction time by dodging these special rubber bullets. Faced with the flying bullets, Zhao Ruoxi danced like an elegant butterfly and effortlessly dodged the rubber bullets, one after another. Many of the men present were mesmerized by her fluid movements, and they only wished they could approach and strike up a conversation with her. However, this wasnt unusual. Zhao Ruoxi was already an alluring beauty. In addition to her elegant and noble demeanor, ordinary girls were simply no match for her. When the test ended, and Zhao Ruoxi exited the reaction testing room, many were startled. The result displayed on the testing machine was actually Intermediate Perfection. Who is this beauty? She cant possibly be a professional fighter, right? Many people inside the hall started a discussion among themselves. At this moment, even the handsome men who had intended to talk to Zhao Ruoxi hesitated. As frequent customers of the Big Dipper Training Center, they had an acute understanding of that results significance. The reaction test was categorized into four ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Special. Meanwhile, every rank had the sub-categories of Unqualified, Qualified, Excellent, and Perfection. In the city, even professional fighters could only obtain Intermediate Qualified on the reaction test, while only well-known fighters could achieve Intermediate Perfection. Huh? Shi Feng, why are you here? Zhao Ruoxi immediately discovered Shi Feng a short distance away and walked over to him quickly. I just came here to test myself. What about you? Why are you here? If the others in the class to find out about this, they will be shocked to think that the normally gentle and elegant class monitor actually has such a side to her, Shi Feng said, a grin plastered across his face. When Zhao Ruoxi realized that Shi Feng has watched as she tested, not knowing why, her cheeks burned slightly and a small shred of happiness filled her heart. Immediately after, she waved her little fist at Shi Feng, softly saying, You are not allowed to tell anybody about this. If you do, Ill get very angry, and youll have to suffer dire consequences. Class Monitor, since you have ordered it, I will naturally keep my lips sealed, Shi Feng laughed, failing to detect the minor changes to Zhao Ruoxis expression. He only felt that Zhao Ruoxi was far more approachable than he previously thought. Thats more like it. At least you have some conscience left in you, Zhao Ruoxi nodded with satisfaction. The testing machines here are somewhat complicated to operate. Seeing as this is your first time coming to this place, as your reward for helping me keep my secret, Ill introduce to you how the machines work. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to tell her that he already knew how to operate these machines. After all, he had frequently visited the Big Dipper Training Center after becoming the Guild Leader of Shadow in his previous life. However, to avoid suspicion, Shi Feng had no choice but to nod in agreement. Following which, Zhao Ruoxi led Shi Feng, touring the facility and introducing to him the various testing machines. Many of the men in the hall looked at each other in confusion, their hearts filled with envy and hatred for Shi Feng. They could not understand why a frail and ordinary looking person like Shi Feng deserved such treatment from a great beauty like Zhao Ruoxi. At this moment, they wanted to pull Zhao Ruoxi over, telling her to ditch Shi Feng and let them escort her instead. However, despite having sensed the jealous stares directed towards Shi Feng, Zhao Ruoxi still gladly pulled him along, introducing to him the various testing apparatuses one. Just as Zhao Ruoxi was about to teach Shi Feng how he could operate these testing machines, a few Big Dipper staff members suddenly led a large group of high schoolers into the hall. This floor is Big Dippers testing hall. All of you are the elites that Big Dipper has selected. In a moment, all of you will be tested here, and we will record your results to help determine what kind of privileges you will have in the future. So, all of you must give it your best when testing, one of the staff members leading these high schoolers explained slowly. The high schoolers started rubbing their fists and palms together in excitement when they heard the staff members explanation. Many of them wished they could break Big Dippers previous records. Big Dipper actually chose these high school students as elites? What is happening, exactly? Shi Feng had overheard the staff members words. Watching this situation, it would seem that the Big Dipper Training Center intended to cultivate their own group of elite fighters. However, Shi Feng simply could not understand why. After all, Big Dipper was only a training center. Why would they suddenly wish to cultivate their own fighters? In the past, Shi Feng had never heard of such a thing. In this life, however, it was happening before his eyes. Shi Feng had a bad feeling about this. History was already gradually deviating from the path he recognized. 361 Tes Big Dipper certainly acted quickly. Its only been a few days now, and theyve already recruited so many students. Zhao Ruoxi was not surprised by the sudden arrival of the hundreds of students. She then looked at Shi Feng, who had stared at those students curiously all this time, explaining, These students are the elites that Big Dipper selected from the youths who will represent the city in the upcoming Provincial Youth Fighting Competition. They were brought here mainly to gain glory for our city in the upcoming provincial competition. To help them rank higher in the competition, Big Dipper had allowed these students to train here. After all, the environment and facilities here are valuable and would help these students improve. A realization struck Shi Feng after hearing Zhao Ruoxis explanation. Indeed, it was just about time for the Provincial Youth Fighting Competition to begin. Only, he had never expected Big Dipper to be so generous. In reality, Big Dipper doesnt really have a choice in this. The sudden appearance of Gods Domain has made a tremendous impact on various industries and professions. It is especially true for the fighting industry. Many people who have focused on fighting competitions have shifted their sights towards Gods Domain, causing a downturn in the fighting industry. The number of people willing to exercise at Big Dipper has decreased. In order to recover from this decline, Big Dipper has no choice but to do something like this in the hopes of recovering the fighting competitions popularity, Zhao Ruoxi explained. There are fewer people working out? Shi Feng suddenly thought of a good method to increase the strength of the Zero Wing members. In the past, due to many players shifting their focus towards Gods Domain, the fitness industry had indeed declined for a certain period of time. Simply put, this decline had not happened as quickly in the past, only starting three to four months after Gods Domain launched. However, as more people became aware of the secret of Gods Domain, physical training became popular again, even bypassing the previous peak in popularity. Business boomed for the fitness industry. At that time, many large Guilds would partner with training centers and gyms to allow the elite members of their Guilds to train and improve themselves at any time, which would, in turn, allow these elites to improve more quickly in Gods Domain. Many first-rate Guilds had even chosen to establish their own large-scale training centers specifically for their elite members. Zero Wing was still a small guild at the moment. However, as the Guild continued to grow, sooner or later, a physical fitness center would be required. Although Zero Wings Workshop was only a short distance away from the Big Dipper Training Center, it was not a long-term solution. Now that the fitness industry was going through a slump, it was the perfect time for him to take action. Considering the situation, Shi Feng did not dislike the idea of working with Big Dipper. If he established his own training center, he would need to spend an astronomical sum of money. He certainly did not possess that kind of money at the moment. By partnering with Big Dipper, not only could he encourage his Guild members to train ahead of everyone else, but he could also obtain the best training environment at a significantly lower cost. While Shi Feng pondered about how he could gain Big Dippers cooperation, a few more people had arrived at the testing hall. As soon as these people arrived, the staff members rushed to greet these newcomers, displaying respect. Manager Xiao, the students chosen are all here. Following your instructions, we have already begun testing, one of the Big Dipper staff members said respectfully as he looked at a middle-aged man wearing black robes. Good. Have them continue. Ive simply come to observe their conditions. This years Provincial Youth Fighting Competition will affect Big Dippers future development, so we must not be careless, the man surnamed Xiao instructed. Yes. The staff members promptly retreated and led the students to their tests. Due to the arrival of this Manager Xiao, the students fighting spirits soared. They were all eager to perform well and attract more of Manager Xiaos attention. That way, they could receive even more training resources in the future. As the tests began, many Big Dipper members who had had also come to test stopped what they were doing, quietly observing the students test instead. After all, they would not have an opportunity like this often. Most of the visitors of this testing hall were usually ordinary folk who only trained casually. Meanwhile, although these youths were only students, they possessed the ability to participate in the Provincial Youth Fighting Competition. They should be more powerful than the average person. Even Zhao Ruoxi seemed excited, and she demanded to go over and have a look as well. Helpless, Shi Feng had no choice but follow her. The first test the students went through was the punching power test. An ordinary persons punch usually carried around 100 to 150kg. Meanwhile, every one of these students managed to achieve a result of over 200kg. Among them, a student named Wang Cheng had even achieved a force of 356kg. He was at least twice as strong as an ordinary person. Many of the spectators gasped in shock when they saw Wang Chengs result. Even Manager Xiaos eyes glowed with delight, and he praised Wang Cheng as a talented youth. The punching power standard of the professional fighters in Jin Hai City was only 320kg. Meanwhile, Wang Cheng, a high school student, had effortlessly surpassed that standard. Wang Cheng obviously had a promising future ahead of him. After all, Wang Cheng was still a kid; he still had growth potential. He would have no issues achieving a force of 400kg in the future. Having a force of 400kg meant that he could reach the standard of the well-known fighters in Jin Hai City. These students are amazing. That Wang Cheng, in particular, has already surpassed Zhou Yuhu. Shi Feng, as our classs great hidden expert, do you think Wang Cheng can enter the top ten of the Provincial Youth Fighting Competition this year? Zhao Ruoxi asked as she shifted her gaze towards Shi Feng curiously. She had personally witnessed Shi Fengs strength. Even Chen Wu, the reigning champion of Jin Hai Citys fighting competition, had praised Shi Fengs power. Moreover, Shi Feng had even defeated Zhang Luowei, someone reputed as a fighting genius. Hence, she knew that her judgment was definitely incomparable to Shi Fengs. Its not that easy to tell. Victory and defeat arent solely decided by a persons punching force, Shi Feng laughed bitterly as he shook his head. He was not a god, so how could he make a judgment based solely on a persons punching power? Zhao Ruoxi nodded, feeling that Shi Feng had a point. Following the punching power test was the reaction test. Of the hundreds of students, they all achieved a result of Basic Perfection or above. Among them, there were a few who achieved Intermediate Excellent. A student named Wu Chuan even achieved Intermediate Perfection, shocking everyone. Although the tests had yet to end, Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan had immediately captured the crowds attention. Manager Xiao treated them both like treasures, doubling their training resources on the spot. Many students had cast envious gazes at the two. After the tests ended, Manager Xiao of Big Dipper had originally intended to take both Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan to meet the best instructor in Jin Hai City, someone whom the Big Dipper Training Center had gone through a lot of trouble to invite. However, after he noticed Zhao Ruoxi among the spectators, he halted his steps. Ruoxi! You little girl! Why didnt you tell Uncle Xiao that you were visiting Big Dipper? Manager Xiao said as he walked over to Zhao Ruoxi. I was afraid that Uncle Xiao would be busy, Zhao Ruoxi giggled sweetly. Meanwhile, Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan who stood behind Manager Xiao were immediately stupefied when their eyes fell upon Zhao Ruoxis sweet and beautiful smile. If not for Manager Xiaos presence, they might have dashed forward and promptly introduced themselves to this great beauty. At this moment, Manager Xiao discovered Shi Feng, who currently prepared to take his own test, standing beside Zhao Ruoxi, and he could not help but ask, Ruoxi, this person beside you is? This is my classmate, Shi Feng, Zhao Ruoxi introduced. He has come here today to test himself and check on his own physical condition. Uncle Xiao, havent you wanted to nurture those students to participate in the Provincial Youth Fighting Competition? I have a great way to help them obtain a good rank! Zhao Ruoxi said, giggling. Really? Manager Xiaos eyes suddenly glowed. The Provincial Competition was incredibly important to the Big Dipper Training Center. Zhao Ruoxi would have really helped him big time if she had a way to help the students to get a good rank in the competition. Of course, Zhao Ruoxi said with confidence. What kind of method is it? Manager Xiao asked concernedly. Seeing Zhao Ruoxis serious expression, Manager Xiao did not think she was lying. Zhao Ruoxi then pointed towards Shi Feng. With a slightly prideful tone, Its him. Him? Manager Xiao shifted his gaze to Shi Fengs body, unable to discover anything special about him. Zhao Ruoxi nodded, explaining, He is our classs great expert. With him teaching those students, they will definitely succeed. Hearing this, before Manager Xiao could speak, Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan started laughing. They were the elite seedlings chosen by the Big Dipper Training Center after undergoing a rigorous selection process. Let alone an ordinary university student, even some professional fighters had no right to instruct them. How powerful could the great expert of a class of university students possibly be? They could probably knock Shi Feng out with a single punch. 362 Rank Although Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan had not voiced their opinions, their expressions exposed the disdain they felt. If Manager Xiao had not been present, they might have even taught Shi Feng a lesson, teaching him what it meant to be wet behind the ears. As to why the two would not dare take action in front of Manager Xiao, it was not because of Manager Xiaos position in the Big Dipper Training Center. Rather, they feared Manager Xiaos personal strength. Because Manager Xiaos strength frightened Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan, they would not make any casual remarks in front of him. Why else would geniuses like them remain silent at such a ridiculous statement? Manager Xiaos full name was Xiao Yan, and he was well-known in Jin Hai City. He had also been a professional fighter during his youth. However, after winning a championship, he retired as a professional fighter. He then joined the Big Dipper Training Center and developed himself there. Even though Xiao Yan was over forty now, he would frequently spar with some of the top fighters in the city, thoroughly defeating them. Uncle Xiao, why do you look so surprised? Zhao Ruoxis lips curled up slightly when she saw Manager Yans face. Since you dont believe me, why dont we place a bet? Zhao Ruoxis mesmerizing smile left Manager Yan greatly confused. He could not figure out what the little girl before him was trying to accomplish. However, since Zhao Ruoxi wished to play, he certainly wouldnt mind humoring her for a while. When all was said and done, her father was a good brother of his, and he had pampered her like a little princess since she was a child. It seems that you have a lot of confidence in your classmate, Shi Feng, Ruoxi. In any case, since youve already made the offer, Im guessing that you wont let your uncle say no. What do you wish to bet, then? However, Ill tell you this in advance. Your Uncle Xiao cannot get you the Secret Pavilions information viewing rights, Manager Xiao laughed, having already prepared to lose. Hearing the words Secret Pavilion, both Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan behind Manager Xiao were shocked. What was the Secret Pavilion? Anyone who played virtual reality games definitely knew about the Secret Pavilion. The Secret Pavilion was the creator of the Experts List that recorded all the excellent individuals throughout the world. The Secret Pavilions information gathering was unmatched throughout virtual gaming world. It had also been titled as Omniscient. In the virtual gaming world, it was an exalted existence. Other than the Experts List, one could also search for various information relating to the virtual gaming world through the Secret Pavilions official website. However, depending on the type of information, the price varied. If one had a strong relationship with the Secret Pavilion, they could obtain different levels of information viewing rights. To those who played virtual reality games, that kind of access was a dream. Even Shi Feng who taken aback by Manager Xiaos words. He had not thought that the Big Dipper Training Center would have a relationship with the Secret Pavilion. I know. I never said I wanted to bet the viewing rights anyway. Although Zhao Ruoxi made that claim, inwardly, she was somewhat disappointed. She then smiled and said, Lets bet three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids! I know that you have recently received some! Manager Xiao laughed bitterly when he heard her offer. Little girl, you are always thinking about taking what little family fortune I have left. Ive only managed to obtain these few bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids after much difficulty, and I had planned to reward them to the most excellent students. When Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan heard these words, their hearts began to pound with excitement. They had even thought that they had heard wrong for a second there. Even C-rank Nutrient Fluids were considered a luxury, let alone S-rank Nutrient Fluids. S-rank Nutrient Fluids could not be purchased even if one had the money for it. When consumed, S-rank Nutrient Fluids provided notable physical recovery and enhancements. It even played a role in delaying the bodys aging process and was known as the Water of Life. Moreover, even if one found the opportunity to purchase these S-rank Nutrient Fluids, each bottle cost one million Credits. Ordinary people could not afford it even if they bankrupted themselves. Only a wealthy organization like Big Dipper could willingly award such an item. If Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan could each obtain a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluids before the Provincial Youth Fighting Competition, they would have more confidence in succeeding in the competition. Uncle Xiao, you arent going back on your word, right? If so, Im going to tell Big Sis Bing Yu that youre bullying me, Zhao Ruoxi giggled. Hah Youre the one who bullies your Uncle Xiao. Since Ive already agreed to your bet, I wont go back on my word. Say it, then. What are the terms? Manager Xiao agreed without hesitation upon hearing the name Bing Yu, his actions stupefying both Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan. Hm After giving it some thought, Zhao Ruoxi shifted her gaze towards Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan. She then smiled faintly as she pointed towards the two, saying, The two of them, then. What do you want the two of them to do? Dont tell me you want them to fight your classmate. Ruoxi, you should consider this carefully. Although Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan are not professional fighters, an ordinary university student is no match for them, Manager Xiao kindly explained. Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan both proudly raised their heads upon hearing Manager Xiaos words, expressing their agreement. After all, they were the most excellent candidates selected by Big Dipper. Of course not. It would be too unfair to them if we let them fight Shi Feng, Zhao Ruoxi said righteously. For a second there, even Manager Xiao almost believed her. So, lets compete using the punching power test and reaction test results. That way, they cant complain when they lose. Zhao Ruoxis words left both high schoolers utterly speechless. The two of them promptly shot a glare at Shi Feng, provocation filling their eyes as if saying, A brat like you thinks youre fit to compete with us? Youll pay for this! Hah Little girl, what goes through your mind all day long? You better not blame me when you lose, Manager Xiao sighed. He then looked at Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan, asking, What do you think? If you two lose, your S-rank Nutrient Fluid rewards will be gone. If you win, I will double the rewards. We dont have any problems. However, we wish to retake the test and use the new results. Will that be fine? Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan had long since discussed the bet among themselves. Hence, they quickly put forward their request. This surprised many of the silently spectating crowd. They could not understand why the two students would request for a retest. After all, their previous test results were the best out of three tries. If they retook the test, they might not get better numbers. Only Manager Xiao understood the two students intentions. Nodding his head, he said with a smile, Okay. I knew you two little brats were holding back just now. The realization struck the spectators upon hearing Manager Xiaos words. They managed to get such high test results even while holding back? Are those two really high school students? Those two are simply too frightening! Many among the crowd expressed their shocks at this revelation. However, Shi Feng was not the slightest bit surprised at this news. Only, he was very surprised by Zhao Ruoxis actions. He could not figure out just what she was trying to do. Ive earned you the chance to obtain three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. The rest is up to you now. Also, I prohibit you from losing! Zhao Ruoxi walked up to Shi Feng and smiled, not giving him a chance to say No. After Zhao Ruoxi issued her command, Shi Feng finally realized what she wanted to accomplish. It turned out that she had played this little game just to gain him three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Before Shi Feng could utter a word of gratitude, Zhao Ruoxi, with slightly red cheeks, cut him off, saying, Dont think too much about it. Arent we friends? I know that youve been secretly and desperately training to improve physically. Since were friends, it is only natural that we help each other out. As for thanks, it isnt necessary. If you really wish to thank me, then come to my birthday party next month. Even if youre a busy man, you must come. Youre also not allowed to be late, alright? Shi Fengs heart warmed when he heard Zhao Ruoxi speaking. Although he had many things he wished to say, after racking his mind on what he should say, a single, simple sentence left his lips, Ill be there. However, when Manager Xiao heard Zhao Ruoxis demand, his originally friendly smile suddenly froze. He then shifted a stiff gaze towards Shi Feng, looking at the youth with disbelieving eyes. _Just what sort of demonic power does this brat have?_ Manager Xiao could not help but pay more attention to Shi Feng. There must be a reason why the little swindling girl had such an optimistic opinion of him. Following which, Shi Feng, Wang Cheng, and Wu Chuan walked towards the punching power testing apparatus to begin their examination. 363 Breaking the Record Is this really happening? Theyre going to compete with each other? Both Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan are the most excellent among these students. Their results were so impressive despite their age. Calling them geniuses wouldnt be an exaggeration. That guy called Shi Feng is only going to humiliate himself. You dont know? Shi Feng didnt request this competition himself. Instead, it is the great beauty standing beside him who claimed that Shi Feng could defeat Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan in a fight easily. For fairness sake, they chose to compete using the test results. That beauty is blinded by love. Does she really believe whatever that Shi Feng says? What do you even know about it? This is called having skill. However, that Shi Feng is going to suffer for his bragging. Soon, the tests will reveal his true colors. The testing hall had originally been very lively. Now, because of the competition between Shi Feng and the two students, everyone immediately crowded around the trio. The spectators present had already witnessed Wang Chengs and Wu Chuans strengths, though none of them had ever seen Shi Feng before. However, nobody among the crowd felt optimistic about Shi Fengs chances. Shi Feng possessed neither a strong and sturdy frame, nor a giant muscular body. Shi Fengs appearance was simply too ordinary. Shi Feng was overestimating himself by challenging Wang Cheng and Wu Chuans punching force and reaction time. Lets start with the punching test first. Each one of you will have three tries. Wu Chuan, youll go first, Manager Xiao said from beside the testing apparatus. Although Wu Chuans test results before had not been as eye-catching as Wang Chengs, his strength was still over 320kg. He was already at the standard of a professional fighter. Wu Chuan nodded before stepping up to the testing apparatus. Holding up and clenching his fists, his arms abruptly burst with strength as he sent three accurate strikes towards the leather target. _Peng! Peng! Peng!_ Three deep, muffled noises resounded simultaneously. Wu Chuan was satisfied with his punches. He then turned and walked away from the testing apparatus, smirking arrogantly at Shi Feng. The numbers displayed on the testing apparatus continuously changed before finally displaying three scores. 341 kg, 346 kg, 342 kg. The crowd suddenly went into an uproar when these three scores appeared. Wu Chuans results were close to Wang Chengs previous results. Regarding pure strength, Wu Chuan definitely ranked second within the elites Big Dipper had recruited. Manager Xiao was elated when he saw these numbers. His heart was already set on placing more emphasis on Wu Chuans training in the future. After all, Wu Chuan was far more superior than Wang Cheng in reaction time and speed. Overall, Wu Chuan was more powerful than Wang Cheng. Next, Wang Cheng! Manager Xiao shouted. Wang Cheng walked up to the testing apparatus and took up his stance. Immediately, his muscles bulged, and the blood vessels across his arms also appeared. Wang Cheng sent three quick punches towards the leather target. _Peng! Peng! Peng!_ The punching power testing apparatus suddenly released three crisp sounds, and even the machine itself trembled slightly. Meanwhile, the score the machine displayed broke through the 300kg threshold and continued to rise. Within a moment, it shot the 360kg threshold. Wang Cheng had surpassed even his previous highest record. Finally, the punching power testing apparatus displayed the final results. 385 kg, 391 kg, 388 kg. Three scores. And each one surpassed Wang Chengs previous record. Impressive! I didnt realize how much you had held back! Manager Xiao laughed upon seeing the scores. His fondness of Wang Cheng grew the more he looked at the young man. The standard of a top fighter in Jin Hai City was 400kg. Meanwhile, Wang Cheng was only a thread away from reaching that standard. Based on the youths potential, after Big Dipper nurtured him, he should have no problems entering the top ten in the Provincial Youth Fighting Competition. Zhao Ruoxis confidence wavered when she saw the results. Wang Chengs punching force had surpassed even Zhang Luoweis. Although there was only a difference of around 30kg between Wang Chengs previous record and his current scores, it was exceedingly difficult to increase ones force by even 1kg after passing the 350kg threshold. Many years of effort were required to increase ones force by 30kg. It was impossible to achieve such a feat in a short amount of time. Although Shi Feng had defeated Zhang Luowei, Zhao Ruoxi guessed that the two of them were almost equal in terms of strength. Only, Shi Fengs combat techniques and experience far surpassed Zhang Luoweis. Thus, he had effortlessly defeated the renowned fighting genius. If she had known that Wang Cheng had held back so much of his strength, she would never have chosen to compete using the test results. Next, Shi Feng. Although Manager Xiao did not know why Zhao Ruoxi had such a favorable opinion of Shi Feng, he knew that it was impossible for Shi Feng to surpass Wang Chengs record of 391kg. Shi Feng walked up to the testing apparatus, smiling bitterly at the displayed 391 kg. Inwardly, Shi Feng thought, _He is just a high school student, yet, even before undergoing systematic training, he is already so strong. This should be the so-called genius._ Originally, Shi Feng had simply come to the Big Dipper Training Center intending on checking his progress. Yet, he had somehow gotten caught up in this farce. If he did not give it his all, he might really become a laughingstock. Although he did not mind being laughed at, the spectators behind him would ridicule Zhao Ruoxi for trusting the wrong person, and that was something he absolutely would not permit. _I wonder how much Ive improved._ Shi Feng then began to warm up, preparing a full-powered punch. The last time he tested himself, he only obtained 256 kg, placing him above the standard of ordinary people. Though he had improved since then, it was impossible for him to have improved overmuch. He would be impressed if he could achieve 290 kg. Damn, can you be any slower? Isnt it just a punch? Is all this build-up necessary? I think hes frightened. He is just trying to stall for time. In a moment, he might even say that he feels ill! Watching Shi Feng take his time warming up, many in the crowd began to grow impatient and taunt him. Shi Feng paid no attention to the noisy crowd behind him and continued with his warm-up. That should be enough. After feeling his entire body loosen up, he clenched his fist and sent a quick punch at the target. _Peng!_ The testing apparatus displayed a score of 302 kg. The heck? Here I thought he would be amazing, but he only managed to hit 302 kg! Many among the crowd laughed when they saw Shi Fengs first result. In the next moment, however, Shi Feng abruptly took half a step forward, firing a punch once more. This time, the crowd could faintly hear the joints all over Shi Fengs body crack. _Pa Pa Pa_ A series of eight pops resounded. In addition to the sounds, some of the spectators with sharp eyesight noticed that, while Shi Feng launched his second punch, the hairs all over his body had stood on end. Following which, Shi Fengs punch landed on the target. _Boom!_ This time, instead of a normal punch, Shi Feng had used the One-inch Punch. This move concentrated the power of his entire body into a single burst. It was an advanced technique that required a certain degree of control over their own body. The testing apparatus trembled slightly from Shi Fengs strike, and the score promptly changed to 437 kg. However, he was not done. In the next moment, Shi Feng whirled his body around and threw out a punch, his fist striking the target. Suddenly, the testing target bent inwards, and the entire apparatus rocked back slightly. Meanwhile, as if struck by a sledgehammer, web-like cracks appeared on the marble floor where Shi Fengs foot landed. At the same time, the testing apparatus complained loudly, the machines display revealing a frightening score of 576 kg. Shi Fengs punch had broken the punching power test record of the Big Dipper Training Center. What the Wang Chengs eyes nearly popped out of their sockets after seeing this score. What the hell?! Wu Chuan was greatly shocked as well. Shi Fengs final result stupefied every witness in the testing hall, every one of them falling silent. 364 Internal Force Exper Not only did Shi Feng knock the punching power testing apparatus back with a single punch, but he also cracked the marble floor with a single stomp. However, there was one point that confused everyone watching. Shi Fengs punch and stomp both looked very light, and no matter how one looked at the two actions, it was impossible for them to exert such immense power. Yet, the impossible had actually happened. Moreover, the burst of power was simply terrifying. Shi Fengs punch and stomp struck the testing apparatus and the marble floor, respectively. If they landed on someones body Wouldnt the hits be fatal? Both Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan inadvertently gulped when they saw the cracked marble floor. They no longer looked at Shi Feng with contempt. Instead, they gazed at him in awe. Only now did they understand why Zhao Ruoxis claim. If they fought Shi Feng, the result would not be pleasant. _What a hateful bastard! Despite being so powerful, he is constantly trying to hide it. For a second there, I was afraid he might lose_ _._ __ Zhao Ruoxi finally sighed in relief after watching Shi Fengs stunning performance. Standing beside the testing apparatus, Manager Xiao gaped at Shi Fengs flushed and sweating face with disbelieving eyes. He suddenly thought of a possibility for Shi Fengs shocking results, and he couldnt help but ask softly, Is this internal force? Manager Xiao was well-versed in physical techniques and combat. He knew only Grandmaster martial artists could utilize an advanced technique like internal force. Mhm. It is, Shi Feng nodded, not expecting Manager Xiao to recognize the technique. Internal force was an advanced combat technique. It was not a myth or a legend, and it was not a superpower. In the past, in order to learn this technique, Shi Feng had spent many years consulting several martial arts masters, constantly training and refining his skills in Gods Domain. Only after he finally achieved a certain level of control over his own body could he perform this technique. Although internal force granted vast destructive power, it was also extremely taxing on the body. A single strike fatigued him. Right now, he began to show signs of collapsing. If he launched another strike using internal force, he would most likely fall flat to the floor. Mister Shi I represent Big Dipper to thank you for breaking our all-time punching power record. According to Big Dippers rules, we will award you 300,000 Credits for this achievement. However, at my disposal, in addition to paying you 300,000 Credits, Mister Shi, in the future, you will be a Platinum Member of Big Dipper. You can enjoy a 60% discount on all expenses at Big Dipper. You will also receive a specially reserved Platinum Suite at the Big Dipper Training Center for your pleasure, Mister Shi. After receiving Shi Fengs nod of recognition, Manager Xiao was nearly speechless from excitement. He no longer looked down at Shi Feng as a member of the younger generation. Instead, he treated Shi Feng as his predecessor, even changing the way he addressed Shi Feng. ince his youth, Manager Xiao had been infatuated with martial arts. He had never stopped training his body. Even now, his dream was to achieve a higher level in martial arts and successfully practice internal force. However, despite his many years of effort, he had never been successful. So, now that an internal force expert stood before him, how could he contain his excitement? Martial arts did not judge by age. Only ones achievements were important. Although he was young, Shi Fengs capabilities with internal force signified him as Manager Xiaos predecessor in the mans eyes. Naturally, he would have to treat Shi Feng with respect. Uncle Xiao, since when were you so generous? For a second, Zhao Ruoxi even thought she had heard wrong. At this moment, her Uncle Xiao not only gazed at Shi Feng with respect and reverence, but he also addressed her classmate as Mister. He even upgraded Shi Feng from a Normal membership to being a Platinum Member. There were less than 100 Platinum Members in all of Jin Hai City. It was a symbol of status. Even she was only a Gold Member. Zhao Ruoxi could not understand what her uncle was thinking. Little girl, Mister Shi is a true martial arts expert! Why would you be surprised by this upgrade? On the other hand, why didnt you tell me that Mister Shi was a martial arts expert, little girl? Youve really caught me by surprise this time, Manager Xiao said sharply, shooting a glance at Zhao Ruoxi. Didnt you say that you wanted Mister Shi to teach these students? This isnt the proper place for such a discussion. Why dont we go to a meeting room and have a proper chat? Uncle Xiao, what about the results of the competition? Zhao Ruoxi pointed at the score on the testing apparatus. Of course, Mister Shi won this bet. Theres no need to employ the reaction test anymore. Ill have the three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids delivered to you later, Manager Xiao said. He then shifted his gaze to Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan, asking, Do you two have any concerns? Both Wang Cheng and Wu Chuan hurriedly shook their heads. Even a person as skilled as Manager Xiao treated Shi Feng with great respect. Shi Fengs strength and skill were obvious. If they continued to compete with him, they would only humiliate themselves. Mister Shi, now that this competition is over, lets go to a meeting room upstairs and talk. I have many things I would like to ask you, Manager Xiao said. Zhao Ruoxis heart fluttered with joy when she saw her Uncle Xiaos respectful attitude towards Shi Feng. She also felt a little prideful as if Shi Fengs success were her own. \--- After the crowd in the testing hall dispersed, Manager Xiao led Shi Feng and Zhao Ruoxi to a meeting room on the 21st floor. Mister Shi, would you be interested in becoming the Head Instructor of Big Dipper? Manager Xiao asked seriously. As long as Mister Shi is interested you can state any conditions you want. It was extremely rare to meet an internal force expert. After all, every one of these experts was a master of the martial arts world. Their statuses and positions were all extremely impressive. Manager Xiao could not meet such a master even if he wanted to. Employing such a master to Big Dipper was an even more impossible task. The Big Dipper Training Center was famous in Jin Hai City and possessed a certain amount of influence. Outside of Jin Hai City, however, it was unknown and insignificant. Big Dipper had no way to compete with the training or fitness centers commanded by martial arts masters. If Big Dipper had an internal force expert like Shi Feng in command, their long-time goal of becoming famous beyond Jin Hai City might soon become a reality. Uncle Xiao, are you joking? Zhao Ruoxi was stunned. The position of Big Dippers Head Instructor was no laughing matter. At that time, the rights Shi Feng would possess would surpass even Manager Xiaos. In her opinion, Shi Feng was only a university student slightly skilled in martial arts. In the beginning, she had pestered her Uncle Xiao with the intention to help Shi Feng get a good part-time job, as well as train the current batch of students. Now that the situation had evolved, even she was slightly caught off-guard. Since when has your Uncle Xiao joked around before? I am very serious. I am only afraid that Mister Shi Feng is unwilling to accept my offer. Manager Xiao did not know what to say to Zhao Ruoxi. Despite clearly having an internal force expert by her side, she had not realized the true value of an internal force expert. Manager Xiaos anxiety was overbearing. He was deeply afraid that Shi Feng would just stand up and leave, taking Big Dippers dream of growing out of Jin Hai City with him. Big Dippers Head Instructor? Shi Feng thought for a moment before saying, It isnt impossible, but I have two conditions. Mister Shi, please speak your mind, Manager Xiao hurriedly said. I want to become a member of Big Dippers Board of Directors and establish a specialized training area. Meanwhile, I want full responsibility over this training area, Shi Feng demanded earnestly. 365 Ranked Shi Fengs conditions were quite harsh. Manager Xiaos brows pinched upon hearing them. His expression turned somewhat grim, and he was at a loss on what to do. If Shi Feng had only wanted some of Big Dippers shares, Manager Xiao could easily approve by himself. The Chairman of Big Dipper would also happily agree with Manager Xiaos decision. However, it was a different story if Shi Feng wanted to become a member of the Board of Directors. Manager Xiao did not have the authority to make that decision. The Board of Directors controlled every aspect of Big Dipper. In other words, the Board of Directors held absolute authority. Why would the allow an outsider to have access to such power? Moreover, Shi Feng had also demanded permission to establish a training area that would be solely under his supervision. This request was equivalent to cutting off a portion of Big Dipper and giving it to Shi Feng. It was more incredulous than his first request. If Shi Feng were a famous martial arts master, the Directors might even agree to his requests. However, no one knew of Shi Feng. There was practically no chance that the company would accede to his demands. Sitting by the side, Zhao Ruoxi was similarly stunned by Shi Fengs conditions, and she began to look at Shi Feng in a different light. _Is this really_ _our classmate Shi Feng_ _?_ This question resounded in Zhao Ruoxis heart. Shi Fengs exorbitant demand surpassed even her greed. Head Instructor was only a title. In reality, it was a very relaxing position, and normally, Shi Feng would not have much to do. However, the Head Instructor of Big Dippers status was extremely high, and countless people coveted the position. Even the famous fighters of Jin Hai City yearned for this position. Unfortunately, Big Dipper had never found anyone worth consideration. On the other hand, despite being offered such a coveted position, Shi Feng still demanded such a high price. Zhao Ruoxi could not understand what Shi Feng was thinking. In Zhao Ruoxis opinion, Shi Fengs actions were somewhat excessive. However, Zhao Ruoxi felt they were justified. Shi Feng was not an unreasonable person. Indeed, just as Zhao Ruoxi had guessed, Shi Feng was completely reasonable with his demands. His price was actually quite low. If not for his consideration of Zhao Ruoxi, his demands would have been more exorbitant than a position on the Board of Directors and a training area under his supervision. Although Zero Wings strength was limited to White River City at the moment, after the looting war in White River City, Zero Wing had become famous throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, Zero Wing had long since established a strong and sturdy foundation. It already qualified to fight for the position of overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom. It was possible that only the higher-ups of first-rate Guilds knew what this signified. There were hundreds of millions of players. Moreover, this number increased which each passing day. Only a few million people lived in Jin Hai City. At most, it was as large as White River City. As for the authority Zero Wing commanded in White River City and the Big Dippers authority in Jin Hai City, it would not be an exaggeration to describe the difference between them as the difference between heaven and earth. Moreover, as Gods Domain grew increasingly popular, the number of people Zero Wing could influence would also grow. That influence could massively impact whichever training center it partnered with. What about the training center itself? To put it bluntly, it was simply a place for people to improve physically. What sort of influence could it possibly have? A casual remark made by a first-rate Guild could allow a training center to rise to prominence at any given minute. Hence, rather than sharing the profits with others, wouldnt it be better just to establish their own training centers? What is your opinion on this, Manager Xiao? Shi Feng looked at Manager Xiao and asked. Mister Shi, your conditions are a little harsh. How about 5% of Big Dippers shares? Manager Xiao could tell that Shi Feng was not some random knowledgeable person, and Shi Feng most definitely knew the value of an internal force expert. Hence, after giving it some thought, he offered the highest possible benefit that he could authorize by himself. Although 5% of the shares of a successful company like Big Dipper is generous, my conditions are firm. It would truly be a pity if you cannot agree to them, Shi Feng shook his head. This Mister Shi, I do not have the authority to agree to the demands youve stated. Can you give me some time? Ill report this to my superiors. After they have reached a decision, Ill give Mister Shi an answer. How about it? Shi Fengs unwavering attitude frightened even Manager Xiao. Originally, he had thought that a young man like Shi Feng would jump with joy when offered the position of Head Instructor and 5% of Big Dippers shares. However, he had never expected anything like Shi Feng. Manager Xiao refused to believe that Shi Feng was only a university student. Five percent of Big Dippers shares was a lot of money, enough to grant one a lifetime of luxury. However, Shi Feng had insisted on his original demands. If Shi Feng were not insane, then he was absolutely confident. Certainly. Im not in a hurry for this matter. Ill wait for your reply, Shi Feng smiled. He had not expected to deal with Zero Wings training issues in a short amount of time. He still had many things he needed to do in Gods Domain. Zero Wings Workshop had also just opened, and he needed time to allow all these changes to settle in. He had simply come here today to test his physical limits. However, Shi Feng also had Zhao Ruoxi to thank. If not for her, establishing a dialog with Big Dippers upper management would have been a struggle and taken some time. His current progress had already surpassed his expectations. Following which, Manager Xiao had consulted with Shi Feng on some matters relating to martial arts. Although Zhao Ruoxi was indifferent to such topics, when she saw how her Uncle Xiao looked up to Shi Feng, she could not help but find the scene funny. If she related this matter to her father, her father would definitely be shocked. After roughly three hours of lengthy conversation, Manager Xiaos admiration towards Shi Feng had grown by leaps and bounds. If not for the lack of time, Manager Xiao would have continued the conversation for three days and three nights. After Shi Feng left the Big Dipper Training Center, Zhao Ruoxi drove him back to his rented apartment. Meanwhile, Manager Xiao immediately contacted Big Dippers Chairman, his elder brother, Xiao Yu. Manager Xiao was prepared to discuss Shi Fengs demands in detail. \--- As the sun set, a bright red luxury sports car stopped in front of Shi Fengs apartment complex. Shi Feng, you must store these three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids properly. Unlike other Nutrient Fluids, S-ranks need to be kept below freezing. Otherwise, their effects will gradually weaken, and after two or three days, they will lose their effects completely. Also, you can only consume them once every five days. It would be detrimental to your body if you drink them more often. You must keep this in mind, alright? Zhao Ruoxi said, carefully handing over the metal briefcase containing the S-rank Nutrient Fluids. She reminded Shi Feng repeatedly, worried that he would carelessly waste the S-rank Nutrient Fluids as he had never consumed them before. Although one million Credits was only a small matter to her, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were impossible to obtain even if one had the money. Shi Feng could not easily get more. Big Dipper was only lucky enough procure a few bottles after much difficulty because of some of its connections. Mhm, I understand, Shi Feng said, a bitter smile on his face. In reality, this was not his first time consuming an S-rank Nutrient Fluid. However, Zhao Ruoxi did not know about that. Ill take off, then. Dont forget about my birthday party next month! I know where you live now, so if youre not there, I wont let you off lightly! Zhao Ruoxi brandished her little fist through the cars window. She then sped away in her hovering red sports car. At this moment, Shi Feng finally reacted. It turned out that Zhao Ruoxi had actually sent him home with such intentions. Although he was almost never on time, he shouldnt be that unreliable of a person, right? When Shi Feng turned around and was about to enter the apartment complex, he suddenly discovered someone squatting by the buildings entrance. That person stared at Shi Feng with a wretched smile on his face. It was none other than Blackie. Brother Feng, youre simply too amazing! I dont see you for a few days, and already, youve managed to hook up with Class Monitor Zhao! You need to teach me some of your skills! If you dont, Ill tell Sister Fire Dance! Blackie said, giving Shi Feng a meaningful smile. Scram! Dont think that I dont know how frequently you hook up with some of the beauties in the Guild! Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. Although Blackie had attempted to behave himself ever since he joined Zero Wing Workshop, a mans nature would not change easily. Currently, he was already growing closer with one of the female mages in the Guild. Speak. Why are you here? Okay, okay! I admit! I have important news that I needed to relay to you personally! After you hear it, dont get too excited, Blackie said excitedly. Clearing his throat, he happily announced, One hour ago, the Secret Pavilion published its latest Experts List. Meanwhile, Brother Feng, your ID has been included! Right now, the entire Star-Moon Kingdom is going crazy! 366 Virtual Gaming Cabin Listening to Blackies excited report, Shi Feng was speechless. Even if Blackie hadnt told him the news, he would have discovered it after he entered Gods Domain. There was not necessary for Blackie to hunt him down. Did you run all the way here just to tell me this? Shi Feng asked. Of course not! Sister Aqua said that using the advanced virtual gaming helmet constantly would affect your strength and growth in game. After all, the helmet only has a synchronization rate of 90%. The cabin, however, has a synchronization rate of 97%. So, some time ago, she tried to buy a few virtual gaming cabins, Blackie said. However, there arent many of them. Even with Sister Aquas influence, she could only purchase five cabins for us. I came to deliver your unit. The workers have already installed the cabin in your apartment; you can use it immediately. Virtual gaming cabin? Where did you guys get so much money? Shi Feng could not help his shock. Although there was quite a lot of money in the Workshops bank account, it was not enough to buy five virtual gaming cabins. A single unit cost three million Credits. Moreover, virtual gaming cabins were always scarce as they were extremely difficult to manufacture. Unlike the virtual gaming helmet, the materials the virtual gaming cabin required were very rare, so they only produced and sold a limited number each day. Wealthy tycoons usually snatched up the cabins the moment they came out of production. Many people usually wondered why these virtual gaming cabins were so popular. Despite the cabin being so expensive and only having a 7% sync rate increase over the helmets, it was still immensely popular. In the past, Shi Feng had thought similarly. Wasnt it just 7%? How much would a players strength in game possibly increase after using the cabin? Why bother wasting so much money for such a measly improvement? However, after Shi Feng obtained his own cabin and subsequently tested it, it instantly changed his mind. That 7% made a world of difference. In the past, an expert had been involved in an experiment using the two machines to test combat power. In the end, the expert exhibited 71% of his combat power while using the virtual gaming helmet. However, when using the virtual gaming cabin, the expert managed 75%. Furthermore, not only could the gaming cabins allow a player to raise their combat power, but they could also allow a player to improve their techniques at a quicker rate. The cabins could also develop the potential of a players brain, as well as restore and enhance their physical fitness. In the past, if Shi Feng had purchased a virtual gaming cabin earlier on, he would not have stagnated at the peak of Tier 3. He had poured his heart and soul into Gods Domain to build his own legacy. In the process of doing so, he had neglected his physical fitness, which deteriorated with each passing year. By the time he realized the problem, it was already too late. Sister Aqua paid for them with her own money. She said that, as the number one Workshop in Jin Hai City and the sensational Guild of White River City, if others discovered that the Guild Leader of Zero Wing still used a virtual gaming helmet, Zero Wing would become a laughingstock. Hence, we needed to buy the cabins no matter what, and you, Brother Feng, must use one. This concerns Zero Wings reputation, Blackie said eloquently, leaving Shi Feng with no room to refute. Alright, then. Ill accept the cabin. However, we must pay Aqua back for all of the money she spent. Theres still around two million leftover from the White River City Guidebook sales; send that to Aqua for now. Ill think of a way to gather the rest. Shi Feng agreed that he needed a virtual gaming cabin. However, he couldnt have purchased one before because he lacked the proper channels. Since Aqua Rose had already bought one for him, he would gladly accept this favor, but there was no room for negotiation regarding money money. However, he did not possess a lot of Credits right now. Although he had previously earned quite a bit and received the 50 million compensation from Twilight Echo, he had already spent most of it purchasing the real-estate and all of the necessary equipment for the Workshop. He now had very little Credits on hand. Coins, on the other hand, he had a lot of. If he converted the Coins into Credits, he would have more than enough to repay Aqua Rose. However, unless he had no other choice, he would never trade his Coins for Credits. There was not much time left to complete the Epic Quest Gospel Project. After his few recent large purchases, the Gold Coins he had on hand had grown further and further from his target of 30,000 Gold. He could no longer afford to trade Coins for Credits. He could only search for other avenues to earn Credits. Hahaha! Brother Feng, Sister Aqua truly understands you! She knew you would say such a thing. So, she told me to tell you that since she was paid 5% of Zero Wings shares for doing nothing, you can consider this as her investment in Zero Wing. Also, if you really wish to repay her, make Zero Wing a Guild that surpasses Twilight Echo. To her, this would be the greatest form of repayment, Blackie said. He laughed when he heard Shi Feng reply exactly how Aqua Rose said he would. The cabin has already been installed in your home. Since Ive finished my report, Ill return to the Workshop now. You have no idea how busy the Guild is right now. Finished speaking, Blackie quickly departed from the apartment complex. Surpass Twilight Echo, huh? Shi Feng muttered as he watched Blackie leave. His goal was not just to surpass Twilight Echo. However, there were still too many things he needed to deal with in White River City right now. It was especially true for Underworld. They had been too quiet during the looting war. This was out of character for them. After a short moment of silent contemplation, Shi Feng turned and walked into the apartment complex, returning to his apartment. Inside his home, as expected, Shi Feng discovered a white virtual gaming cabin that was 2.5 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and 1.5 meters tall quietly laying inside his bedroom. He would no longer have to rely on the virtual gaming helmet to play Gods Domain. There were Nutrient Fluids as well as various health monitoring devices implemented in the cabin. Players would not have to worry about hunger or physical discomfort for extended periods of time while inside. On the contrary, they would get plenty of rest and recovery. Moreover, with the 97% sync rate, players would find their five senses reaching new heights in the game. With the cabin, Shi Feng could finally display his true strength in Gods Domain. Shi Feng examined the cabin before shifting his gaze towards the furnishing around the room. His apartment suddenly felt empty. There was absolutely nothing in his home that was even close to rivaling the value of the virtual gaming cabin. Rather, the cost of a single cabin could pay for the whole apartment. It should be about time, Shi Feng looked at the time. It was currently 8 pm and about time for him to enter Gods Domain once more. Following which, Shi Feng went to the kitchen and stood before the fridge. He then removed the bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids from the metal briefcase. Shi Feng placed two bottles in the freezer, opening and drinking the last bottle. Compared to the lower grade Nutrient Fluids, the S-rank Nutrient Fluid was very special. Despite being stored in freezing temperatures, when he drank the liquid, it felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of liquid fire. Every organ the liquid passed, from his mouth to his stomach, felt as if they had been scorched. There was no pleasure when drinking the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, only piercing pain. Moreover, this pain quickly spread throughout his body. Even his skin started to redden. It felt as if hot air flowed through his body, cleaning away all the toxins and restoring the vitality of his cells. His previous efforts had paid off, increasing his punching power from 256kg to 302kg. Everything in life involved balance. It was the same with the human body. If there were gains, then there were bound to be losses as well. Such a huge and sudden improvement would definitely cause plenty of damage to his body. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to purchase an A-rank Nutrient Fluid to recover slowly. However, that was no longer necessary. A single bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid could completely heal all the damage to his body. Its been so long since Ive drunk this. I almost forgot about the burning sensation. Shi Feng smiled faintly. Although he was in pain, his body had never felt better. As for the remaining two bottles, he planned to leave them for his parents. That way, it could also help strengthen his parents and relieve some of the exhaustion they had piled up from work. Following which, Shi Feng lay down in the virtual gaming cabin and connected to Gods Domain. The drops from the Mechanical Slayer still waited for his appraisal. After all, aside from a two-hour waiting period, there was also a twelve-hour period before the drops of Field Bosses could be unsealed, appraised, or used. Fortunately, by the time Shi Feng logged in, that twelve-hour period should be almost over. The drops of a Mutant. Just thinking about them excited Shi Feng. In the past, the drops from a Common Mutant were enough for Guilds to drool over. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Slayer was a High Lord Mutant. Shi Feng couldnt even begin to guess just how amazing its drops would be. 367 Asura A series of notifications flooded Shi Feng the moment he logged into the game. There sure are a lot of people trying to contact me, Shi Feng slowly browsed through the notification list, discovering that a vast majority were friend requests or private messages. Among them, there were plenty of messages from high-ranking members of first-rate Guilds. Most of them wanted to acquire Zero Wing. There were also a few first-rate Guilds who had messaged Shi Feng with different intentions. These first-rate Guilds stated that, as long as Shi Feng willing joined their Guilds, they promised to promote him into an elder position in their Guild immediately and offered him a significant percentage of the Guilds shares. Shi Feng couldnt understand these offers. Since when had he become so valuable? Even Feng Xuanyang sent me a message? Interesting, Shi Feng read Feng Xuanyangs message, feeling slightly surprised. Although he had yet to discard all pretenses with Feng Xuanyang, they were already mortal enemies; neither would rest until one side was annihilated. Based on Feng Xuanyangs arrogance, it would be a miracle if he stopped trying to dispose of Shi Feng. So, why would Feng Xuanyang contact him? This wasnt his style at all. When Shi Feng opened and read Feng Xuanyangs message, he could not but laugh. Feng Xuanyang sure is quick to change his attitude. Its no wonder he was promoted to Underworlds management. In the message, Feng Xuanyang had expressed his agreement to the conditions Shi Feng had previously stated. He was willing to invest one billion Credits in Zero Wing in return for 10% of Zero Wings shares. As for the finer details, they could discuss that further once Shi Feng contacted him. What the hell happened while I was away? Everything had happened too suddenly, and Shi Feng was at a loss. The looting war in White River City should not have warranted such a change in Feng Xuanyang. There must be some other reason. Although Zero Wing had become a major force, in the end, it was limited to White River City. There over a hundred cities in the kingdom. To first-rate Guilds, the gain or loss of a single city was insignificant. As for Underworld, they surpassed even first-rate Guilds. Moreover, among some of the messages Shi Feng had received, a few of the major Guilds from the other countries in Gods Domain had invited Shi Feng to their Guilds. They even offered very enticing salaries. No matter how Shi Feng looked at it, there was definitely something wrong with this situation. However, even after a long moment of contemplation, he still couldnt figure it out. Hence, he logged onto the official forums to get a better understanding of the situation. The moment he logged in, however, he was stunned. Under the Star-Moon Kingdoms forum section, posts about Black Flame and the Gods Domain Experts List flooded the page. tar-Moon Kingdoms Top Player, Black Flame! Appearance of the Experts List Top 500 in Star-Moon Kingdom! God amongst men! One against ten thousand! Killing thousands and escaping alive! Experts analyze of the various Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom. Zero Wing overall strength ranked first. However, among the numerous posts, the most popular was titled One-hit Asura with a view-count of over ten million. _Gods Domain Experts List Rank 481: Black Flame_ _Class: Swordsman_ _Title: Asura_ _Black Flame had undergone numerous great battles in White River City. He once successfully killed Lone Tyrant, the Guild Leader of Dark Star, while surrounded by over a thousand Dark Star members. Afterward, he fought several hundred elite players in White River City, killing every player with a single hit. Nobody could stop his mighty sword as he effortlessly annihilated over a hundred players. Shortly after, tens of thousands of players from multiple Guilds hunted him down. Not only did he paralyze those players with shock, but he also killed thousands of players by himself before safely departing the battlefield._ _Secret Pavilions Evaluation: One hit per person, possessing strength like a demon._ _The Secret Pavilion hereby gives Black Flame the title of Asura._ Below the introduction, the post contained video highlights of Black Flames battles. Black Flame is simply too amazing! He is the role model of us Swordsmen! I must take him as my teacher! I heard that the Secret Pavilion doesnt give out titles casually. Its a pity that Black Flame has been in so few battles. Otherwise, he would definitely get a higher ranking on the Experts List. You dont say? One hit per person. Black Flame even killed a Level 19 Shield Warrior with a single hit, and he only took a few seconds to kill over a hundred players. With such godlike strength and techniques, no matter how you look at it, he should not rank at just 481. In my opinion, first place should be just about right. The Secret Pavilion is definitely pulling some strings, so theyre using the title of Asura to divert peoples attention. I had hesitated about joining Zero Wing before. Now, however, Ive decided to head straight for White River City. I must join Zero Wing no matter what! Hah! Ive long since arrived at White River City. I heard that the benefits Zero Wing offers to its members are superbly good. The weapons and equipment available for trade are also top-tier. In particular, the core members equipment is a feast for the eyes. Youll just be ashamed if you wear Secret-Silver Equipment in front of them. The lowest quality equipment is at least of Fine-Gold rank! Moreover, Zero Wing also has a Guild Residence. I hear that there are private rooms in the Guild Residence, and even normal members can rent these rooms. After I join Zero Wing, it will only be a matter of time before my equipment surpasses a major Guild Leaders. Many players had begun discussing Shi Fengs title of Asura and the revelation of the various benefits that Zero Wing offered its members. At this moment, Black Flame and Zero Wing had become the most popular existences in Star-Moon Kingdom, and their fame far exceeded first-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance and Ouroboros. As Zero Wing did not recruit players outside of the city, White River City had become Zero Wings recruitment center. Many players throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom began pouring into White River City, causing the population to rise suddenly. Unknowingly, Zero Wing had become the most dominant force in White River City. While the reputation of One-hit Asura spread, many players also cursed Shi Feng as a shameless villain. Shi Feng had lured the Mechanical Slayer to kill countless innocent players, dragging many players into the fray. These players claimed that Shi Feng should compensate them by handing over all the drops from the Mechanical Slayer. Meanwhile, these players cursing Shi Feng were all the subordinates of Lone Tyrant and the Guild Leaders of the various Guilds in White River City who had joined to take down Shi Feng. After the looting war, their hatred for Shi Feng was higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean. Any players who the Slayer had killed had lost two levels. They also had to wait one natural day before they could revive. Moreover, after reviving, they suffered a weakened state for two natural days. During this time, all of their Attributes had reduced by 30%, and their EXP gain reduced by 50%. Dark Star had already suffered severe losses during the looting war. However, Lone Tyrant had never imagined that it was only the start of his nightmare. With this penalty, how Dark Star ever catch up to the other Guilds in the future? The other Guilds were in a similar situation as well. At this moment, their eyes had turned bloody-red with rage. Just why had they so foolishly sent their members after Shi Feng? Thinking up to this point, their hearts crumbled. However, regardless of how much regret filled their hearts or how many curses they spewed at Shi Fengs despicable behavior, at this moment, nobody paid them any attention. Rather, they had set themselves up to become the joke that served to uplift Zero Wings fame even further. So thats why. Rank 481 and a title. Its no wonder why even first-rate Guilds from other kingdoms and empires have made such grand offers. Even Feng Xuanyang has swallowed his pride and agreed to invest in Zero Wing. Reading up to this point, Shi Feng finally understood the reason behind all those messages. There were countless experts in Gods Domain. However, there could only be 1,008 players on the Experts List at a single time. These players were the at the apex in Gods Domain. Players capable of placing on the Experts List were also symbols of strength and status for Guilds. The more Experts List players a Guild possessed, and the higher the rank of said players, the more potential and strength a Guild would have. As a result, players on the Gods Domain Experts List became targets for first-rate Guilds and various organizations. Take Red Feather for example. Despite ranking only within the top 900, the Star Alliance treated him like their precious baby. The Star Alliance had even given Red Feather a certain percentage of the Guilds shares. As for Shi Feng, not only did he rank within the top 500 on the Experts List and was the number one player in Star-Moon Kingdom, but he had also received a title from the Secret Pavilion. Naturally, he was quite valuable. Just as Shi Feng was about to contact Aqua Rose and have her appraise the drops from the Mechanical Slayer with him, he suddenly received a call request from Feng Xuanyang. Shi Feng had only logged into the game moments ago, and already, Feng Xuanyang had contacted him. Feng Xuanyangs speed left even Shi Feng speechless. 368 Lunatic against Lunatic Maple City was one of the major cities in Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region. Although its population was no match for White River City, it was not too far off. At this moment, over half of Maple City had fallen under Underworlds control, and it was only a matter of time before the organization controlled the city entirely. Young Master Feng, do you really plan to contact Black Flame? South Wolf asked curiously, watching Feng Xuanyang as he sat on the sofa enjoying delicacies. Currently, Black Flame had become one of the great experts ranked on the Gods Domain Experts List and had even received the title of Asura from the Secret Pavilion. He had now become an expert recruiting. However, Black Flame had once rejected their kind offer in the past, going as far as to toy with Feng Xuanyang. He had even ruined Underworlds plans. Based on Feng Xuanyangs personality, he would continue to plan Black Flames destruction. Now, however, Feng Xuanyang had actually taken the initiative to contact the Black Flame he hated so fiercely. There are some things you will never understand. Based on our previous investigations, that Mechanical Slayer was a very special monster, Feng Xuanyang said as he examined the compiled data in his hands, a playful smile appearing on his handsome face. A special monster? South Wolf was confused. Thats right. According to the information I have here, any player killed by the Mechanical Slayer had to wait one natural day before reviving. Even healers resurrection skills were ineffective on these players. Moreover, the penalty for death doubled. After these players revived, they also entered a weakened state for two natural days. During this period, all their Attributes have decreased by 30%, and the EXP they can receive has decreased by 50%, Feng Xuanyang reported pleasantly as he lightly shook his head. Do you understand what this means? South Wolf shook his head, growing more confused at Feng Xuanyangs words. Have you ever seen a monster with such strength? With Gods Domains basic settings, the stronger a monster is, the greater its loot will be. The Mechanical Slayers loot must be stunning. There might even be many Epic items among its drops. Meanwhile, Zero Wing is the largest beneficiary from the looting war. They claimed more drops than any other Guild in White River City. Obtaining these drops could skyrocket Underworlds future development. However, it is simply too difficult for us to obtain them. Moreover, we dont have any concrete information about the loot. Trying to steal it from Zero wing would not be easy. Hence, Ive decided to invest in Zero Wing. Although we would have to spend a large sum of money, when I become one of Zero Wings stockholders, I can easily obtain any information I want. Afterward, I can just set up a trap to steal those items and, slowly but surely, destroy Zero Wing from the inside. Isnt it just money? I have plenty of that. Feng Xuanyang was determined to join Zero Wing. Nobody could resist the enticement of one billion Credits. As long as he could get ahold of a small percentage of Zero Wings shares, he could obtain all information relevant to Zero Wing fair and square. Previously, not only had Shi Feng acted so arrogantly before him, but Shi Feng had also caused his plans to support Dark Star to fall short. So, why would he ever let Shi Feng escape his punishment? South Wolf trembled upon hearing Feng Xuanyangs plans. Suddenly, South Wolf realized that he was still naive. His understanding of Feng Xuanyang was still too shallow. Feng Xuanyangs plans were simply insane and terrifying. In South Wolfs opinion, Feng Xuanyangs plans werent related to the Mechanical Slayers loot at all. Feng Xuanyang just wanted his revenge on Shi Feng. The drops were an excuse to take action. To think that Feng Xuanyang was actually willing to spend one billion Credits just to destroy Zero Wing and get his revenge. He was a lunatic! Young Master Feng, Im not trying to overstep my boundaries, but we have gone looking for trouble with Black Flame many times before. We have hunted Zero Wings core team. Now that we are trying to become the Guilds shareholders, wont he just reject us outright? South Wolf said softly. Of course, I have already considered that. Although we were behind the attacks on Zero Wing, Dark Star stood in the forefront. I have never personally made an appearance. Although Black Flame knows the truth, on the surface, we maintain our pretenses with each other. Moreover, the reason Ive contacted Black Flame during his time of glory is that I want him to think that I noticed his potential and that I am willing to pay any price to obtain him. That way, I can smoothly become a shareholder of Zero Wing without arousing any suspicion, Feng Xuanyang smiled coldly as he gazed into the wine glass in his hand. After taking a sip, he added, Besides, is there anyone who would willingly refuse money? Ive investigated Zero Wings background. This Guild does not possess any sort of funding. If Black Flame wishes to develop his Guild further, he will inevitably need large sums of Credits. To Zero Wing, one billion Credits is like a heaven-sent fortune. If Black Flame is intelligent, he will set aside personal feelings and act logically. He has no reason not to accept my offer. South Wolfs heart suddenly pounded. He never expected that his guess would hit the mark. Feng Xuanyangs true goal had never been to obtain the drops of the Mechanical Slayer. Instead, he only ever cared about Zero Wings destruction. To put it another way, Feng Xuanyang planned to incidentally obtain the drops after he destroyed Zero Wing. As fear began to grip South Wolfs heart, Feng Xuanyang contacted Shi Feng. \--- Oh? Vice-Leader Feng, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call today? Shi Feng asked rhetorically the moment the call connected. Guild Leader Black Flame, regarding the matters we discussed during our last meeting, I have thought them through. Regarding a Guild with boundless prospects like Zero Wing, Underworld is willing to pay one billion Credits to become one of its shareholders. At that time, with the support of Underworld, Zero Wing will certainly grow to become the overlord of Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region. Guild Leader Black Flame, when will you have time to sign the contract with us? Feng Xuanyang asked, smiling. It looks like you have finally realized Zero Wings value. Although your previous conduct was slightly excessive, I will be magnanimous and forgive you this time. Lets first talk about the shares, then. If there are no problems after our discussion, we can discuss a time to sign the contract. After all, the shares of the utmost importance to Zero Wing, Shi Feng said, expressing his interest. However, the moment Feng Xuanyang heard Shi Fengs words, he very nearly erupted into a flurry of curses. The wine glass Feng Xuanyang had held, however, was less fortunate as it fell from his trembling hand and shattered on the floor. Shi Feng spoke as if he thought Feng Xuanyang was a child who had done something wrong, and that Feng Xuanyang was currently pleading for Shi Fengs forgiveness. Why wouldnt such blatant humiliation enrage the proud and arrogant Feng Xuanyang? _Black Flame! I will...endure...todays matters ! The moment I become a shareholder of Zero Wing, I will sign your death certificate!_ Feng Xuanyang inwardly swore as he suppressed his anger. As calmly as possible, he said, Of course. Underworld will willingly purchase 10% of Zero Wings shares for one billion Credits. We will also supply Zero Wing with 100 Gold Coins every week, as well as send a large number of experts and talents from various fields, allowing the Guild to become the overlord of White River City. One billion for 10% of the shares? Shi Feng shook his head. Revealing a cold smile, he said, I think we may have a misunderstanding. Vice-Leader Feng, do you know what times have changed means? Is Guild Leader Black Flame planning to reject my well-intentioned investment because of our previous issues? Feng Xuanyang hurriedly said. It was truly just a misunderstanding. I had no knowledge of the actions against Zero Wing. Lone Tyrant was responsible for those attacks. Despite my explicit command barring him from taking action against Zero Wing, Lone Tyrant insisted on doing so. Underworld never intended to strike Zero Wing. Vice-Leader Feng, you misunderstand me. Im not saying that I dont agree to Underworlds investment. However, one billion for 10% of Zero Wings shares? Vice-Leader Feng, dont you think youre being a little too greedy? Shi Feng shook his head slightly. He said seriously, Vice-Leader Feng, greed can ruin ones life. However, seeing Vice-Leader Fengs sincerity, I will sell you 0.1% of Zero Wings shares in exchange for one billion Credits. What do you think? At this moment, Shi Fengs tone implied that this was an incredibly generous offer There was no sense of disharmony in Shi Fengs words, and it sounded as if his every word was true. Black Flame! Feng Xuanyangs face immediately flushed red upon hearing Shi Fengs remarks, the hair all over his body standing on end and the blood vessels on his forehead surfacing. Feng Xuanyang was no longer capable of suppressing the rage within him. Word by word, he angrily bellowed, Have you gone insane?! Why dont you rob a bank instead?! Shi Fengs offer even frightened South Wolf. A 100 fold increase. Even if Zero Wing had grown. 369 King’s Return By demanding such a price, Shi Feng made it clear that he was still angry about Feng Xuanyangs previous actions. Misunderstanding was just another form of deceit. Everybody knew this. After all, if anything could be chalked up to a misunderstanding, why would anyone need the police? Vice-Leader Feng, Im really losing a lot with this transaction. If you arent interested, there are many others who will jump at the offer. Shi Feng chuckled. In fact, Shi Feng wasnt lying. Many Guilds and organizations outside of Star-Moon Kingdom had expressed interest in collaborating with Zero Wing. In addition, there were also major corporations who had offered high prices to purchase the Guild. At this moment, Feng Xuanyangs complexion darkened, and his eyes flashed with a fierce chill. Even South Wolf, who stood by Feng Xuanyangs side, silently lowered his head, his legs trembling. He was deeply afraid that Feng Xuanyang would erupt with rage and take it out on him. Whenever Feng Xuanyang was this angry, he would secure a painful ending for any who incurred his wrath. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had toyed with Feng Xuanyang many times now. No one knew what Feng Xuanyang would do next. After a long moment Guild Leader Black Flame, I am very sincere here. How about this? In exchange for one billion Credits, I will ask for 5% of Zero Wings shares. Feng Xuanyang suppressed his anger and expressed an extraordinary serenity. No negotiations. I will only do 0.1%. This is the very limit that I can offer. If Vice-Leader Feng is not interested, then forget it. I wont demand your acceptance. Shi Feng had only probed since he doubted Feng Xuanyangs intentions. He had not expected that Feng Xuanyang could actually endure his games so well. Feng Xuanyang had always possessed a dominant approach. He would immediately take action against anyone who disagreed with him. Now, however, he actually controlled his anger to negotiate with Shi Feng. Why wouldnt Shi Feng be suspicious? There must be a reason for Feng Xuanyangs attitude change. Feng Xuanyang gnashed his teeth to the point of almost cracking them when he heard Shi Fengs reply. One billion was not a small number. If he had to give away so much money, even his heart would ache. If it was in exchange for 10% of Zero Wings shares, he could barely accept it. However, he could never accept 0.1%. _Black Flame! You dare treat me like a fool! Sooner or later, I will make you pay this debt a hundredfold!_ Feng Xuanyang inwardly bellowed. As long as he became one of Zero Wings shareholders, he could investigate Zero Wing fair and square and insert his own men into Zero Wings core. When that time came, he could crush everyone in Zero Wing. Hence, suppressing his anger right now, he said in a low tone, I understand. I hope that Guild Leader Black Flame will not disappoint me. Lets sign the contract as soon as possible, then. Feng Xuanyangs agreement surprised and concerned Shi Feng. Originally, he thought he could anger Feng Xuanyang and send the young master flying into a rage. He had expected Feng Xuanyang to break off their relationship completely, spouting a few curses and making some vengeful statement such as not resting until one of them was annihilated and the like. However, Shi Feng had never expected this ending. Feng Xuanyang had actually endured such an insult to his reputation. Feng Xuanyang was actually willing to exchange one billion Credits for 0.1% of Zero Wings shares. Unless Feng Xuanyang had truly lost his mind, he was definitely plotting something. Considering the events up to this point, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile and said, Vice-Leader Feng, why are you in such a hurry? I still havent finished. Aside from the one billion Credits, I also want 50% of Underworlds shares. If you can promise that, I wont hesitate to sign. Black Flame! Youre courting death! Feng Xuanyang exploded. He was now fully aware that Shi Feng was not deliberately raising the price out of anger. Instead, Shi Feng was wholeheartedly toying with him right now. Not only did Shi Feng want to sell 0.1% of Zero Wings shares for one billion Credits, but he also wanted 50% of Underworlds shares. What was Underworld? It was a force that far surpassed a first-rate Guild. Not to mention 50%, Feng Xuanyang did not even possess 1% of the organizations shares. Yet, Shi Feng wanted 50%. Vice-Leader Feng, youre not going to keep up the act anymore? Shi Feng faintly smiled. I wanted to play around with you for a little longer. Black Flame, dont think that just because you are invincible in White River City that I cant do anything to you! You underestimate Underworld too much! Zero Wing is merely the overlord of White River City! Meanwhile, the several cities surrounding White River City have already fallen under our control! It wont be long before I personally finish you off and eradicate your Guild! Feng Xuanyang could no longer control his anger. Like a berserk beast, he let out a lung-piercing roar, causing everyone who heard it to shiver with fear. Black Flame, originally, you could have had a billion Credits as your retirement fund! Now, you no longer have that chance! I will force you into a corner, bit by bit, and make you regret all your actions today! At first, Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he heard Feng Xuanyangs fury. In the next moment, however, he smiled and said, I will be waiting. Afterward, Shi Feng disconnected the call. Although he had only said four words, his statement contained utter confidence and determination. Even Feng Xuanyang was slightly stunned, having no comeback. Feng Xuanyang fully understood the meaning behind Shi Fengs words. Zero Wing is not afraid to start a war. If you think youre strong enough, bring it on! However, Feng Xuanyang was confused. Just how had Shi Feng remained so calm even when facing a billion Credits? _It seems that I need to speed up my plans,_ Shi Feng thought after he disconnected the call. His surprise during the call had not been due to fear. Instead, it was because he had not expected Underworlds background to be so powerful. They had acted so quickly and had already conquered the cities surrounding White River City. If it were not for Feng Xuanyang losing his cool for a moment and revealing this information, Shi Feng would not have known how serious the situation was. However, Shi Feng could now release a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had not discovered this too late. He could still prepare if he started taking action right now. It wasnt Underworlds iron grip on those several cities; rather they were under the absolute control of the Guilds beneath Underworld. Otherwise, Feng Xuanyang would not have tried to spend one billion Credits to bury Zero Wing. Currently, the average players level was still low, so interaction between cities was limited. However, when players reached higher levels, they would have to head to higher-leveled areas. Meanwhile, these high-level areas were close to the common borders between cities. At that time, Underworld could trap Zero Wing. With enemies on all sides, Zero Wings members would not be able to level up safely as they would face the risk of an enemy ambush at any time. In the end, Zero Wing would slowly but surely be pushed into a corner. However, thanks to Feng Xuanyangs temper tantrum, Shi Feng could act early to prevent such a situation. Otherwise, by the time everyone had leveled up, Zero Wing would be declawed. Considering the situation, Shi Feng hurried back to White River City. Upon his return, Shi Feng discovered that the area outside the Teleportation Hall had already been fully repaired. Meanwhile, many players wandered the streets. A majority of these players were independent. Whenever these independent players saw someone wearing Zero Wings emblem, they would watch that person enviously, letting the Zero Wing member feel very proud. As for the members of Dark Star and other Guilds, whenever they saw a member of Zero Wing, they would consciously avoid contact. These Guild players were no longer as arrogant as before. Moreover, Shi Feng discovered that the independent players walking around on the streets possessed very high levels. These independent players were clearly above the standard of ordinary players. Currently, many of these independent players were trying to form parties to raid high-level Dungeons or grind in high-level areas. Before Shi Feng had even left the Teleportation Hall, the atmosphere on the street changed. Practically everyone turned to stare at him. Isnt he One-hit Asura, Black Flame? Guild Leader Black Flame has returned? Where?! Where?! Wah! Its real! Its the real deal! Hes just too handsome! Crap! Im going to faint at this rate! Shi Feng was not currently wearing his Black Cloak, so he was easily and quickly recognized. Suddenly, everyone on the street grew excited. Some female players looked as if they would pounce on Shi Feng as soon as he passed, and many of them squealed in excitement. However, before these female players even had the chance to pounce on Shi Feng, a group of players wearing dazzling equipment quickly swarmed over from a distance. The poorest-quality weapons and equipment these players had were Secret-Silver rank, and every one of these players was above Level 20. They all wore a six-winged emblem on their chests, and the appearance of this group immediately attracted everyones attention. This group of players was none other than Zero Wings core team. In addition to these core members, there were also over a thousand elite members behind them. These players moved in unison, and the extraordinary momentum they displayed caused the players to make way for them unconsciously. Meanwhile, all of these members of Zero Wing were here to receive Shi Feng. Guild Leader, welcome back! Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and everyone else walked over, smiling faintly as they looked at Shi Feng. This grand welcome left Shi Feng utterly speechless. He could only silently nod in reply. Afterward, Shi Feng walked back to the Starstreak Trading Firm with the crowd from Zero Wing. Throughout their journey, the players of White River City had all promptly moved aside. These players gazed at Shi Feng with wonder as if welcoming the kings return. 370 Legacy Stone Sword Starstreak Trading Firm, third-floor meeting room. At this moment, all of the core members of Zero Wing had gathered here. Compared to other Guilds, Zero Wing was more fortunate as it had a meeting place exclusively for its own members. Normally, other Guilds would have to use the temporary rooms available at the Adventurers Association. However, those temporary rooms could only hold a limited number of people at a time. Other than the Adventurers Association, Guilds could also pay a large sum to rent conference rooms at hotels or bars. However, only wealthy and powerful Guilds could afford such rentals. Guild Leader, we have completed all of the necessary preparations for tomorrows recruitment. We can start as soon as the Guild Residences construction has completed. In addition, here is the detailed list of tomorrows tasks. Everyone can take a look at what they need to do tomorrow, Aqua Rose presented a list of tasks on the meeting tables system screen and explained them one by one. Aqua Rose had long since prepared for Zero Wings recruitment. However, when she considered the large number of players coming from other cities as well, she had to revise her plan. Moreover, she had also made detailed adjustments to the Guilds benefit system. Now, they would not have to fear the sudden influx of members overloading Zero Wings capacity and harming the Guilds development. Aqua Roses list shocked everyone present. The information Aqua Rose had compiled so impressively organized. They felt as if they were reading a university textbook. The section relating to Zero Wings benefit system consisted of over a dozen pages. Moreover, Aqua Rose had carefully planned how they were going to counter the spies sent by other Guilds. To access more information about the Guild and its benefit system, members would need to be promoted to a higher rank within the Guild. However, the lowest-ranking members could still view the benefits that Zero Wing offered, and they were enough to impress many players. What? There are actually 150 private rooms available for rent in the Guild Residence? I thought there were only going to be seven or eight rooms available. Thats only what is available for the normal members. Look at the benefits for elite members. They can actually rent 2-star private rooms. Moreover, there are a total of fifty 2-star private rooms available. Just how huge is our Guild Residence? Many of the core members present were shocked by the information revealed. Their curiosity about their Guild Residence grew. Look at their surprise. If they knew that our Guild Residence is White River Citys largest and most valuable residence, the Purple Sun Mansion, I wonder what kind of expressions they would make? Blackie chuckled softly. Although Zero Wings core membership had grown past a hundred, only a few actually knew where their Guild Residence was located. After everyone had their assigned tasks, Aqua Rose suddenly stood. Clearing her throat, she said seriously, The next thing we are going to talk about is classified information regarding Zero Wing. It is also what that everyone present is most concerned about today: the loot from the Mechanical Slayer. Other than the people here, no one is allowed access to this information. Everyone nodded nervously in reply to Aqua Roses words. Every player who had been invited to this meeting today had a huge responsibility to the Guild. The Mechanical Slayer was extraordinarily powerful. So, the items it dropped were also extraordinary. The importance of the role these items could play went without saying. Whether it was competing for a Dungeons First Clear or fighting in a Guild War, these items would definitely be of immense help a Guilds development. If the information of these items went public, not only would their enemies have an edge against them, but it would also rouse the greed in others. At that time, their enemies would definitely plot to steal these items. Looking at the anticipation in everyones eyes, Shi Feng slowly reported, We have obtained a total of 102 items. Of them, there are 37 Fine-Gold items, 14 Dark-Gold items, 7 forging designs and recipes, 12 Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, 3 Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, 8 potions, 2 Epic items, and 19 rare materials. What?! There are actually Epic items?! Awesome! With Epic items, our Guild will flourish in Dungeons! We can claim all of the First Clears easily! Everyone grew incomparably excited after listening to Shi Fengs report. The large number of Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold items alone had greatly shocked the team. They could fully arm a 20-man team with so many items. Just the thought of having a 20-man team fully geared in Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked weapons and equipment was enough to give them the shivers. Not even first-rate Guilds could produce such a powerful team. Fully arming a team with Secret-Silver Equipment was already impressive. As for a 20-man team in Fine-Gold Equipment, that was simply impossible. Meanwhile, if Zero Wing could establish such a powerful team, they would be invincible in 20-man Team Dungeons. The Dungeon Bosses would become pushovers. At that time, they could continuously supply the Guild with loads of precious equipment. Most importantly, there were even two Epic items among the loot. Previously, Epic items only existed in their thoughts and dreams. After all, since the launch of Gods Domain, there had yet to be any mention of anyone obtaining an Epic item. Now, their Guild actually had two Epic items! Everyones breath began to grow heavy at this revelation. Dont get too excited. Although we obtained quite a few weapons and equipment, the lowest level requirement is 30. The same goes for the two Epic items. Shi Feng smiled in response to their enthusiasm. He could understand how his team felt at the moment. Epic items! In God''s Domain, they were symbols of extraordinary strength. In Shi Fengs previous life, he, too, had been elated when he first saw an Epic item. After all, it was an item every player dreamed of having. I know that all of you are eager to see how powerful the Epic items are, so today, Ill let all of you have a look at them. While were at it, Ill let all of you know that I do not plan to allocate these two Epic items to anyone in particular. Instead, Ill place both of them in the Guild Warehouse. However, only core members can see them. Once you have accumulated sufficient contribution points, you can trade your points for any of these two Epic items at any time, Shi Feng explained. He then presented the information of the two items on the screen of the meeting table. [Song of Beatrice] (Staff, Epic Rank) Level 30 - Level 90 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 200 Attributes will be adjusted according to users level. Magic Damage increased by 25%. Cooldown of all spells reduced by 20%. Casting speed increased by 20%. Spell critical rate increased by 15%. Cast range +3 All magic-type skills +2 Levels Ignore Levels +15 Durability 200/200 Additional Passive Skill: Song of Elements. All successful attacks have a chance to trigger this skill, increasing players magic damage by 20% for 15 seconds. Does not stack. Cooldown: 1 minute. Additional Skill 1: Forest Sprites. Summons three Forest Sprites to battle for you. Forest Sprites can also be sacrificed to recover players Mana. Each Forest Sprite sacrificed will recover 15% of players maximum Mana. Cooldown: 20 seconds Additional Skill 2: Elemental Domain. All allies within a radius of 50 yards will have their magic damage increased by 15%, cast speed increased by 15%, and Mana consumption decreased by 20% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Skill 3: Song of Sprites. Increases the effect of a specified spell by 300%. Cooldown: 5 minutes [Shadowcraft] (Leather Armor, Epic Rank) Level 30 - Level 90 Equipment Requirement: Agility 200, Strength 150 Attributes will be adjusted according to users level. Agility increased by 25%. Strength increased by 10% Evasion +20 All Magic Resistance +20 Defend +4 Levels Ignore Levels +10 Additional Passive Skill 1: Dark Shadow. Movement Speed increased by 20%. In dark places, Movement Speed increased by 30% and Agility increased by 10% Additional Passive Skill 2: Rapid Movement. Agility increased after receiving damage. Agility increases by 5% with every 10% decrease in HP. Additional Skill: Shadowless. Player can consecutively appear behind targets within a distance of 40 yards. Each use consumes one charge. Replenishes one charge per minute up to a maximum of three charges. Of the two Epic items, the Song of Beatrice required 600,000 Guild Points, whereas Shadowcraft required 400,000 Guild Points. One Guild Point was the current equivalent to around 30 Copper Coins. Even Aqua Rose and Fire Dance would require a relatively long time before they could accumulate so many points. When everyone saw the Attributes on the two Epic items, they were all stupefied. The equipment they wore was simply too inferior compared to these two items. Meanwhile, when everyone thought about how they could trade Guild Points for these items, a passionate flame lit up in all of their eyes. The absurdly high demand of Guild Points didnt deter their passion at all. At this moment, they wanted to rush out of the room and start earning Guild Points immediately. Youve seen the Attributes on these items for yourselves. As to whether or not you can trade for them, that will depend on the effort you put in. In addition, I also have some good news to tell all of you. I will reward Guild Points to the first 100 members in the Guild to get promoted into a Tier 1 class. First place will receive a reward of 50,000 points, so all of you, work hard. Seeing the high morale of the crowd, Shi Feng added more fuel to the fire. Currently, not a single player had become a Tier 1 class in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. The various Guilds around the kingdom were all focused on raiding the 50-man Team Dungeons in their respective cities. None of them knew the importance of Tier 1 players. Presently, only Shi Feng knew that Tier 1 players were the key requirement to raid a Level 20, 100-man Team Dungeon. In addition, Tier 1 players also played an important role in the competition between Guilds. The sooner a Guild possessed Tier 1 players, the more beneficial it would be to the Guilds future development. This was the reason why Shi Feng had ordered his Guild members to level up quickly rather than waste time competing over the First Clear for the Level 10, 50-man Team Dungeons. Everyones fighting spirit soared once more when they heard Shi Fengs announcement. At this moment, they all viewed their decision to join Zero Wing as the best decision they had ever made. No other Guild would offer Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold items to its members, much less Epic items. On the other hand, not only had Shi Feng made the items available for trade, but he also spent a large sum of money to encourage everyone to raise their strengths. Players would never find these opportunities in any other Guild. If they could earn the reward of 50,000 Guild Points, even if they didnt want the Epic items, they could still gain several Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold items, greatly increasing their prowess. After the meeting ended, the core members headed towards the Class Association to receive their Class Change Quest, afraid that the others would beat them to the top prize. It should be about time for me to upgrade my class as well. Shi Feng smiled faintly. Shi Feng had wanted to take on his Class Change Quest for a while now. However, he celebrated the fact that he had not already done so. He would have regretted that decision. Before the meeting started, Shi Feng had already appraised the drops from the Mechanical Slayer. In the looting war, Zero Wing had actually managed to obtain 103 items, not 102. There was one item Shi Feng had not revealed. The item Shi Feng hid was none other than the crystal-encased ancient sword. Shi Feng had kept it hidden because that item was simply too frightening. Even if he added together the value of the other 102 items, it would not reach even a hundredth of the Sword in the Stone. If others learned about this item, it would definitely cause a sensation to sweep throughout Gods Domain, which was why Shi Feng had decided to keep silent about it. The Sword in the Stone was neither a weapon nor armor. It was a Legacy Item. Moreover, the Legacy it contained was no ordinary Legacy. It was a Legacy Item even more powerful than the Magic Weapon Stars Reminiscence. 371 Peak Legacy A Legacy hinted at a hidden class. This was also one of the reasons why Legacy Items were extremely rare in Gods Domain. Previously, the fact that they had obtained the Astromancers Legacy from the Blood Hand Associations stronghold had already blown Shi Fengs mind. Now, however, he had an even more powerful Legacy. Moreover, only Berserkers and Swordsmen could use this Legacy. Shi Feng knew that the Legacy contained within the Sword in the Stone was more powerful than the Astromancers Legacy was because of its unsealing conditions. Violet Clouds Legacy Item, the Magic Weapon Stars Reminiscence, required a Tier 3 Great Mage to help unseal it. Based on these stringent requirements, the Astromancers Legacy should be superior among the many Legacies that existed in Gods Domain. However, Shi Fengs Sword in the Stone was far more amazing than the Stars Reminiscence. [Sword in the Stone] The sword inside the crystal faintly emits a power from the ancient era. It occurs naturally with no signs of being crafted. However, a frightening power had damaged this ancient sword severely in the past. If one wishes to awaken the power contained within and gain a better understanding of this sword, they need to gather the power of three Tier 4 classes and expend 21 Mana Stones. Class restriction: Berserker and Swordsman Not to mention the three Tier 4 NPCs, just the number of Mana Stones required was a huge headache for Shi Feng. Mana Stones were extremely precious in Gods Domain. Although they werent as valuable as Seven Luminaries Crystals, they were not far from them, either. Mana Stones were rare materials required to craft Epic ranked weapons and equipment. However, the most dreadful aspect of Mana Stones was that nobody sold them in Gods Domain. Only Bosses in 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons dropped Mana Stones. Moreover, the drop rate was a minuscule 2%. Currently, throughout all of Gods Domain, Shi Feng had yet even to hear news about anyone obtaining the First Clear of a Level 10, 50-man Team Dungeon, not to mention a Level 20 100-man Team Dungeon. Even Zero Wing, his own Guild, was only in the preparation stage of raiding a Level 20, 100-man Team Dungeon. Only players who had gathered 100 Tier 1 players had a chance of success in the Hard Mode versions of those Dungeons. In other words, it was simply impossible for Shi Feng to get his hands on a Mana Stone right now, let alone 21 of them. The difficulty of unsealing the Sword in the Stone far surpassed the Magic Weapon Stars Reminiscence. Hence, Shi Feng was certain that the Legacy contained within the Sword in the Stone was far superior to the Stars Reminiscence. At the very least, it should be one of the Peak Legacies of Gods Domain. I can only give it a try. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he gazed at the Sword in the Stone inside his bag. The awakening conditions of the Sword in the Stone were too high. Ever since Shi Feng had appraised the Legacy Item, he had constantly been thinking of a way to fulfill those conditions. He could not afford to wait until Zero Wing obtained the First Clear of a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon before gradually collecting 21 Mana Stones. If the Guild Leader of any other Guild stood in Shi Fengs place right now, activating the Class Change Quest of the Sword in the Stone would be nigh impossible. And ordinary players could never meet these conditions. Only after wracking his brain did Shi Feng think a way to awaken the Sword in the Stone early. Soon, Shi Feng left the meeting room as well and headed to one of the forging rooms on the fourth floor of the Starstreak Trading Firm. They had obtained a total of seven forging designs and recipes from the looting war. Of them, three were forging designs. All three forging designs produced different types of Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, which were respectively meant for plate armor, leather armor, and cloth armor. Although these Basic Strengthened Armor Kits were a lot weaker than the Basic Mana Armor Kit, their effects only half of the latter, they were still very valuable. After all, Shi Feng was not a dedicated Lifestyle player. He could not afford to spend a large amount of time producing the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Meanwhile, the supply of Basic Mana Armor Kits available on the market would not meet the demand. Hence, these three Basic Strengthened Armor Kit Forging Designs were extremely important. At this moment, a knocking came from the door of the forging room. Guild Leader, the ones you called for are here, Melancholic Smile said respectfully as she entered the room. While Shi Feng had been busy, Melancholic Smile had grown to have the aura of a strong and capable woman. The current Melancholic Smile was already an Advanced Forging Apprentice, and she was only a short distance from her promotion to a Basic Forger. Under Melancholic Smiles management, the Horizon Alliance, the Lifestyle Guild Shi Feng had secretly established, had grown to house over 3,000 members. These Lifestyle players had been recruited from various places. Currently, these members had crafted a majority of the products sold at the Starstreak Trading Firm. Not even Aqua Rose and Blackie knew about the Horizon Alliance. In the eyes of the public, the members of the Horizon Alliance were simply players that the Starstreak Trading Firm had hired. Ah, come on in, then, Shi Feng nodded. Following which, a man and a woman entered the forging room. The woman who followed Melancholic Smile was none other than the forging genius Cream Cocoa. She had already become an Advanced Forging Apprentice. Meanwhile, the man who entered with Cream Cocoa was a 40-year-old man called Roasted Ironheart. Because of his age, the Guilds Roasted Ironheart had joined in the past had looked down on him. However, after he passed the test set by Melancholic Smile and became a member of Horizon Alliance, he had poured his heart into forging items and displayed frightening talent. Regarding forging techniques, he was even more talented than Melancholic Smile. Currently, he had already become one of the Five Great Forgers of the Horizon Alliance. After the two entered, upon seeing Shi Feng, Roasted Ironheart immediately grew cautious. Normally, Melancholic Smile was responsible for dealing with all matters within the Horizon Alliance. So, no one had ever met the true owner of the Guild. The members of the Horizon Alliance only knew that their Guild Leader was extremely mysterious, and he had actually managed to form a relationship with the Starstreak Trading Firm. Not only did this great personage possess frightening wealth, but he also had great talents such as Melancholic Smile and Cream Cocoa working under him. The members of the Horizon Alliance all felt reverence and curiosity towards this mysterious boss of theirs. Today, as Roasted Ironheart finally met the mysterious boss behind the Horizon Alliance, his heart was filled with incomparable shock. Originally, Roasted Ironheart had believed that the force behind the Horizon Alliance was a wealthy tycoon. However, he would never have imagined that proprietor of this Lifestyle Guild was actually White River Citys, no, the entire Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert, the One-hit Asura, Black Flame. How could this revelation not shock him? Moreover, Black Flame was also Star-Moon Kingdoms publicly acknowledged number one forger. At this moment, Roasted Ironhearts mind was a complete mess. There is no need to panic; I dont eat people, Shi Feng could not help but console Roasted Ironheart when he noticed the mans trembling legs. Hearing Shi Fengs words, Roasted Ironheart nearly slumped to the ground. The number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. The Guild Leader of Zero Wing. The great character that dominated White River City. There was simply no chance that a small fry like Roasted Ironheart could meet such a great character like Shi Feng. Yet, not only had such a situation occurred, but Roasted Ironheart was also speaking directly with such a great character. How could Roasted Ironheart not panic? Uncle Ironheart, relax. Our Guild Leader is a very kind and friendly guy! Cream Cocoa said, smiling. Roasted Ironheart silently nodded. After taking a long moment to calm down, he said, Hello, Boss! Melancholic Smile and Cream Cocoa giggled at this sight. Shi Feng had grown speechless at Roasted Ironhearts actions as well. He was not a monster. Why was he so intimidated? Alright, I have some important matters to discuss with you. Ive called the three of you here today because of these. Saying so, Shi Feng took out the three Basic Strengthened Armor Kit Forging Designs. Each of you will take one. Your task for this is to produce these items; the more, the better. As forgers, Melancholic Smiles group was stunned when they saw the forging designs. They understood the value of the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. By producing these items, not only could they increase their promotion speed to Basic Forgers, but they could also use these items to dominate the forging market and create names for themselves. When the trio thought about how Shi Feng was actually willing to let them learn such precious forging designs, their hearts were moved. Ill leave these forging designs to you, so research them properly. If you can achieve a 20% success rate, then you can start mass-producing them, Shi Feng said. Although the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits were not as difficult to produce as the Basic Mana Armor Kits, Advanced Forging Apprentices still had a low success rate. Melancholic Smile and the others would be lucky if they could successfully produce one or two pieces out of ten tries. Guild Leader, rest assured; we will accomplish this task! We definitely wont disappoint you! all three of them guaranteed. Following which, the three returned to their respective forging rooms and began their research on the forging designs. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also departed from the Starstreak Trading Firm and hurried towards White River Citys Bank. He planned to start the first step of awakening the Sword in the Stone. 372 Five Big Cities Walking in the middle of the street in White River City, Shi Feng had used the Demon Mask to change his appearance back to Ye Feng. The color of his ID reverted to white as well. All this while, Shi Feng had used his artificial ID of Black Flame. It had been a long time since he used his actual ID. In a rapidly changing game like Gods Domain, not only were there tons of new players flooding into the game every day, but there were also many experts rising and falling with every passing moment. Meanwhile, the duration of Ye Feng disappearance from the public eye had been long enough for everyone in White River City completely forget about him. Throughout Shi Fengs whole journey to the bank, not a single player he passed by had recognized him. Although some players had glanced his way, they had not done so because of Shi Fengs identity. Instead, it was because of the equipment he wore. The Magic Weapon Abyssal Blade and the Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow hung from his waist. Even if Shi Feng had removed the two weapons glow effect, when one saw the intricate patterns carved onto the swords as well as the flowing lights flashing on the blades, no one believed they were ordinary weapons. _White River City sure has changed. Even the average level of ordinary players is almost the same as Star-Moon City._ Making a casual observation, Shi Feng discovered that a majority of the independent players wandering the streets were Level 15 or 16 and armed with a few pieces of Bronze Equipment. Shi Feng occasionally saw some independent players who were Level 17 or 18 and fully geared in Bronze Equipment with a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. In the past, this sight could not have been found in White River City. Suddenly, Shi Feng thought of an idea. What if he transformed White River City into the heart of Star-Moon Kingdom? Originally, Shi Feng had intended to develop a Branch Guild in Star-Moon City once Zero Wing was sufficiently powerful to compete for the resources available there. After all, Star-Moon City was the heart of Star-Moon Kingdom. It was a gem that incited fierce competition among the many first-rate Guilds. Star-Moon City was also the hub for elites. The player population there was simply immense, with no other city within Star-Moon Kingdom capable of being its rival. Meanwhile, controlling Star-Moon City meant obtaining the large number of elite players and resources there. A Guilds development in Star-Moon City would be much faster than in any other city in Star-Moon Kingdom. However, when Shi Feng saw the current state of White River City, a thought suddenly came to his mind. Why must he torture himself to compete over Star-Moon City with all those first-rate Guilds? Most players went to Star-Moon City was because it had far more opportunities for development. The city also contained many advantages that no other city possessed. But, what about now? Due to Zero Wings existence in White River City and the fact that the Guild did not recruit members in any other city, many players had now migrated to White River City. As for the reason behind this migration? Wasnt it because Zero Wing offered advantages that no other Guild possessed? As long as Zero Wing offered its members more benefits than other Guilds, players would continue to flood into White River City. Moreover, as players levels increased, their income would increase as well. Soon, the teleportation fee between cities would no longer be a problem. At that time, it was not entirely impossible for White River City to surpass even Star-Moon City. Hm? Is it about Underworlds inside information? Shi Feng suddenly heard the arrival of a message; Absolute Heaven had contacted him. Meanwhile, the Assassins message was perfectly timed. Underworld had already become the dominant force in the several cities surrounding White River City. As for how much control they possessed over those cities and exactly which cities they controlled, Shi Feng had no clue. Without that information, he could not take appropriate measures against Underworld. Shi Feng did not want to waste too much time searching for Underworld and subsequently ruining the organizations plans. If he could find access to detailed information about Underworld, he would have a much easier time preparing for the future. There sure is a lot of information here. Shi Feng was inwardly surprised when he opened up the file attached to Absolute Heavens message. The file was dozens of pages long, and its level of detail was above and beyond what Shi Feng had expected. An outer member like Absolute Heaven should not have had access to the kind of information contained in the file. Most likely, only those at Feng Xuanyangs level would possess the authority to know such information. Did Absolute Heaven kidnap and interrogate Feng Xuanyang? Im impressed that he could obtain such detailed information. Now that he had such detailed information about Underworld, without wasting any time, Shi Feng quickly found a quiet spot inside the bank and sat down. He then started carefully reading through the file Absolute Heaven had sent him. Two hours later, Shi Feng finished reading the final page. He could not help but exhale deeply. Although I already expected as much, I did not realize that Underworld is actually so terrifying. They control a total of 316 Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region. It is no wonder even Gentle Snow is wary of Underworld. Making a rough estimate, Shi Feng guessed that Underworld controlled over a million players in Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region alone. Zero Wings current member count was just over 5,000. To Underworld, Zero Wing was no more intimidating than an ant. Furthermore, there were also the Underworld Guards, a group of elites that the organization secretly nurtured. Although the Underworld Guards only had around 400 members, each one was an expert. If they formed a 100-man team, they could effortlessly annihilate hundreds of elite players out in the fields. In addition, Blue Frost City, Maple City, Gale City, Twin Lion City, and Coldstar City, the five big cities neighboring White River City, had all been dominated by the Guilds under Underworlds control. Moreover, these Guilds were not inferior to Underworld in the slightest. Without any powerful enemies, these Guilds had grown rapidly. Of these Guilds, Overwhelming Smile, the Guild holding dominance over Gale City, was currently even more powerful than Dark Star had been during its peak. Without any obstructions, it was a matter of time before these powerful Guilds became the overlords of their respective cities. Underworld really is a headache. This situation is much worse than what I had imagined. Shi Feng wrinkled his brows and scratched his head, considering the situation carefully. Based on Zero Wings current strength, moving out and dealing with just one of the five cities under Underworlds control would be a massive undertaking. As for dealing with all five, it was simply impossible. Setting aside the disadvantages of fighting in enemy territory, Zero Wing would first need sufficient strength. With the current number of members Zero Wing possessed, it wouldnt even be a threat for any of these Guilds. For such an endeavor, not only would Zero Wing need to pay a large number of teleportation fees, but it also had to waste a lot of manpower and material resources. As for Shi Feng himself, although he was strong as an individual, he wasnt strong enough to threaten an entire Guild with tens of thousands of members. I need to hurry and get my class change done, Shi Feng looked at the Sword in the Stone inside his bag, a sense of urgency overwhelming his thoughts of upgrading his class. No matter how Shi Feng wracked his mind, he could not think up of a proper solution. The only thing he could do now was to increase his own strength. There was a large gap in combat power between a Tier 1 player and a Tier 0 player, not to mention a hidden class. If Shi Feng could successfully upgrade his class and become a Tier 1 player, he could cause some trouble for the Guilds controlled by Underworld and buy Zero Wing more time to grow. Following which, Shi Feng walked towards the banks counter, retrieving the larger of the two Philosophers Stones from inside his personal warehouse. He then retrieved a large number of Magic Crystals from the Guild Warehouse. Guild members had come across these Magic Crystals while they had raided Dungeons. Originally, these Magic Crystals were intended for equipment crafting, but as of yet, nobody within the Guild could produce equipment that required Magic Crystals. Hence, a large stockpile had accumulated inside the Guild Warehouse. Now, however, Shi Feng emptied their stock. Following which, Shi Feng returned to his forging room inside the Starstreak Trading Firm. He then took out the Philosophers Stone and all of the Magic Crystals. Mana Stones were originally born from the minerals inside Magic Crystals. If Magic Crystals were refined, there was a chance to obtain a Mana Stone. Hence, Shi Feng intended to utilize the Philosophers Stone to refine Mana Crystals into Mana Stones. However, Mana Stones were extremely rare and precious. The chances of obtaining a Mana Stone from refining a Magic Crystal were extremely low, and even Shi Feng himself wasnt very confident in success. Hopefully, this works. Shi Feng then grabbed a transparent Magic Crystal with one hand and the Philosophers Stone in the other. Praying silently, he refined the Magic Crystal. 373 Alchemical Synthesis With his right hand, Shi Feng lightly tapped the Philosophers Stone on the Magic Crystal in his left hand. In the next moment, the Philosophers Stone released a faint blood-red glow. Following which, the Magic Crystal in Shi Fengs left hand transformed into dust and scattered across the floor, leaving nothing behind. A Magic Crystal, which cost 8 Silver Coins, was gone, just like that. In the Gods Domain, 8 Silver Coins were the current equivalent of a days income for an entire elite team. However, without even blinking, Shi Feng snatched a second Magic Crystal from the table and attempted the Elemental Refinement once more. Two seconds later, another pile of dust scattered to the floor After over a hundred consecutive attempts and failing every time, Shi Feng stopped and reevaluated his actions. Is it not possible with Elemental Refinement? Shi Feng frowned at the dust covered floor. There were not many members in Zero Wing, so the number of accumulated Magic Crystals was not high. There had been only around 600 in the Guild Warehouse. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had not obtained a single Mana Stone, even after refining over a hundred Magic Crystals. At this rate, he would never refine 21 Mana Stones. No, it is just because the success rate is so low. Do I need to raise my chances before itll work? Mana Stones are the product of polymerization of Magic Crystals. Logically, it should be possible to refine a Magic Crystal into a Mana Stone. Is it because the Magic Crystals quality is too poor? Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng took another Magic Crystal and tested his theory. This time, after clicking Refine, Shi Feng thoroughly focused on observing the changes that occurred during the refinement process of the Magic Crystal. After Gods Domain underwent its first evolution, both forging and alchemy had become far more realistic. Moreover, Shi Feng was currently playing the game using a virtual gaming cabin which possessed a synchronization rate of 97%. Hence, if he observed the refinement process of the Magic Crystal carefully, he might discern the cause for failure. However, the refinement process happened far too quickly. Even if Shi Feng had exceptional dynamic vision, everything still happened in a flash. It was too hard to see anything. System Recording, activate Full Simulation Mode, Shi Feng suddenly said. System: Please hold for system identification System: Interface used by player detected as the Virtual Gaming Cabin. Full Simulation Mode is supported. System: Full Simulation Mode has activated. After the system activated Full Simulation Mode, Shi Feng picked up a Magic Crystal and attempted Elemental Refining once more. As expected, the Magic Crystal still crumbled into dust that scattered all over the floor. Unperturbed, Shi Feng said, System, play the video recorded through Full Simulation Mode. In the next moment, a 3D holographic image appeared before Shi Fengs eyes, showing the exact scene when Shi Feng had attempted Elemental Refinement on the Magic Crystal. Aside from allowing players to experience a synchronization rate of 97%, the virtual gaming cabin also allowed players to activate Full Simulation Mode in the game. With this function, the videos players recorded in game could be viewed as a holographic projection rather than on a flat surface. This function was unavailable to those who used both the ordinary and advanced helmets. In the Gods Domain of the past, if one were a Master Lifestyle player, they would have definitely purchased a virtual gaming cabin for themselves. They did so for the sole purpose of this holographic recording function. Through this function, players could realistically reproduce the videos they recorded. Players could experience what they normally couldnt through a flat-screen video, and this included the refinement process of the Magic Crystal. However, the main purpose of the Full Simulation Mode lay in the analysis of enemies. Players could record their battles with enemies to study their enemys fighting habits, defenses, attacks, dodges, and other detailed actions. After analyzing their enemies habits and weaknesses, even if they were weaker than their opponents, players could take advantage of said habits and weaknesses to triumph against their enemies. In the past, this often happened in Gods Domain. It was especially true for fights between experts. At the same time, players could also utilize the holographic recording for self-reflection, improving weaknesses and discovering new techniques. This was one of the quickest ways for a player to improve themselves. This was also why players who used the virtual gaming cabins improved so quickly. In the past, Shi Feng had done countless self-evaluations through using the Full Simulation Mode, continuously improving his combat power. Back then, if he had used the virtual gaming cabin a few years earlier, he might have reached even greater heights. Unfortunately, Shadow had only a few million Credits. A single virtual gaming cabin cost three million. How could Shadow possibly afford a virtual gaming cabin? Moreover, even if they purchased one, Shi Feng would not have had access to it. Following which, Shi Feng adjusted the settings of the holographic recording and played the refinement process into slow motion. That way, he could fully observe and analyze the entire process in detail without needing to waste Magic Crystals and stress his eyesight over and over. After observing the process dozens of times, Shi Feng finally discovered the reason. As expected, the Mana density inside the Magic Crystals is too low. I wouldnt get a single complete Mana Stone even if I used the Elemental Refinement 10,000 times. Although Shi Feng had discovered the cause of his failures, he didnt have a solution. In Gods Domain, there was no difference in quality between Magic Crystals. In other words, it was simply impossible to obtain a Mana Stone through refining Mana Crystals. Shi Feng could not help his frustration. If refinement could not work, then he had to go at it from another angle. The only method he had left was to use Alchemical Synthesis, combining two Magic Crystals into one. Once the accumulated Mana inside the Magic Crystals reached a sufficient level, it would become a Mana Stone naturally. However, how could Alchemical Synthesis be easy? Even a Grandmaster Alchemist would struggle with Alchemical Synthesis. The price they had to pay would also exceed the value of the final product. Normally, nobody would willingly take on such a risk. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was merely a Forging Apprentice. He was not even an alchemist, to begin with. His chances of successful Alchemical Synthesis were abysmal. On the other hand, the Philosophers Stone, an alchemy treasure, had such an ability. However, the Philosophers Stone Shi Feng had right now was a defective product. He could only use Alchemical Conversion and Elemental Refinement, not Alchemical Synthesis. Thats right! If one Philosophers Stone wont do, what about two? Shi Feng suddenly recalled the fragmented piece of Philosophers Stone that he had obtained from the Gods Grave. The Philosophers Stone had been broken into five fragments, so its abilities had greatly weakened. However, the Philosophers Stone was inherently of one body. As long as Shi Feng could gather all five fragments, he could restore the Philosophers Stone. Although Shi Feng did not possess all five fragments at the moment, if he fused the two fragments he had, it should become much stronger than one fragment alone. I can only give it a try. Shi Feng had no other options. The Philosophers Stone was his only hope. The Philosophers Stone had broken into five fragments of different sizes, and the abilities each fragment possessed were different. The Philosophers Stone Shi Feng had obtained from the Gods Grave was slightly smaller than the first one he had found. As it only possessed Alchemical Conversion, Shi Feng had not intended to use it. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng rushed back to the bank and retrieved the other Philosophers Stone from his warehouse before hurrying back to his forging room. Inside the forging room, Shi Feng carefully combined the two Philosophers Stones. System: Do you wish to fuse the two Philosophers Stones? Shi Feng immediately clicked the Fuse button. Suddenly, the two Philosophers Stones transformed into a pool of blood-red liquid and fused. The liquid then solidified into a fist-sized blood-red pearl. It was no longer an uneven block of stone. After the fusion completed, Shi Feng picked up the newly-formed Philosophers Stone and checked its information. He wanted to know how powerful the Philosophers Stone had become. 374 Results Beyond Imagination Good, Shi Feng sighed in relief when he read the information displayed. [Philosophers Stone] (36% Completed) Epic Rank Special Item (Dropped upon death) A sacred item for Alchemy, the Philosophers Stone can be used to turn stone into gold, revive the dead, and more. However, the Sword Emperor, Knight, shattered the Philosophers Stone into five pieces. However, the Philosophers Stone possesses immense strength. As long as one gathers the five pieces, it will recover to its full strength. Active Effect: Due to being damaged, the Philosophers Stone possesses less than a seventh of its original strength. It can only be used for Alchemical Conversion, Elemental Refinement, Alchemical Synthesis, and Elemental Strengthening. Now that the Philosophers Stone was capable of Alchemical Synthesis, Shi Feng should be able to obtain Mana Stones easily. Just as he was about to begin the Alchemical Synthesis, a system notification alerted Shi Feng. Moreover, it repeated three times. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Overwhelming Smile for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode Bone Ruin. Rewarding 10,000 Guild Reputation and 10,000 Guild Popularity. All players within the team will be rewarded 100 Reputation Points in White River City and 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Overwhelming Smile for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode Bone Ruin. Rewarding 10,000 Guild Reputation and 10,000 Guild Popularity. All players within the team will be rewarded 100 Reputation Points in White River City and 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Overwhelming Smile for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode Bone Ruin. Rewarding 10,000 Guild Reputation and 10,000 Guild Popularity. All players within the team will be rewarded 100 Reputation Points in White River City and 10 Reputation Points in Star-Moon Kingdom. What? The Bone Ruin is a 50-man Team Dungeon. A Guild has already defeated it? Thinking that he had heard wrong, Shi Feng quickly opened the system message log to take a look. However, they had indeed cleared the Bone Ruin. Overwhelming Smile? Isnt that one of the Guilds controlled by Underworld, a second-rate Guild dominant in Maple City? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. He then carefully read the member list of the team that cleared Bone Ruin. How could they have cleared it first? There were over a hundred cities throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. There were simply too many Guilds and experts within the kingdom to count. There were also plenty of first-rate Guilds. Among the countless teams, the one with the greatest chance of being the first to clear a 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon belonged to Gentle Snow in White River City. On this, Shi Feng was certain. Immediately after Shi Feng had entered White River City, he produced the White River City Guidebook. Gentle Snow had even spent a large sum to purchase the most detailed version, gaining a huge advantage over the other Guilds right off the bat. Moreover, to secure the First Clear of the Three Great Dungeons, Gentle Snow had assembled many of Ouroboros experts in White River City. She even purchased multiple Fine-Gold ranked Arclight Shields and a large stock of Basic Mana Armor Kits from Shi Feng. Not even the core team of the most powerful first-rate Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom could compete with Gentle Snows team in terms of personnel or equipment. Yet, Gentle Snows team had actually lost to a second-rate Guild like Overwhelming Smile. Although Overwhelming Smile received plenty of support from Underworld in the form of money and experts, the First Clear of 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons was not easy to claim. If that were the case, Gentle Snow would have long since claimed the First Clear of the Land of Death. Moreover, in Shi Fengs memories, Overwhelming Smile had always been a very ordinary Guild. In the end, Assassins Alliance took them out, and they were swept away by the torrents of Gods Domain. Just what sort of secrets is Overwhelming Smile hiding? In the information Shi Feng received from Absolute Heaven, there was nothing special about Overwhelming Smile. Despite Underworld going all-out with its support, even sending 50 Underworld Guards to help the Guild, Shi Feng did not believe for a second that Overwhelming Smile could take the lead in claiming the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon. Yet, Overwhelming Smile had done exactly that. This showed that Overwhelming Smiles team had an advantage that not even Gentle Snows could compete with. If Overwhelming Smile continued to develop without rival Guilds, in addition to Underworlds hidden support, even Shi Feng could not guess how powerful the Guild would become. The appearance of the three system notifications had immediately caused a sensation throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Previously, everyone had their guesses as to which first-rate Guild would be the first to claim the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon. However, no one expected this result. A second-rate Guild had actually accomplished what first-rate Guilds couldnt For a time, Overwhelming Smile had become the focus in Star-Moon Kingdom. I need to hurry as well. Shi Feng clutched the Philosophers Stone and started the Alchemical Synthesis. No matter how powerful an enemy was, ones personal strength still mattered the most. Shi Feng stored one Magic Crystal after another in the Philosophers Stone. In the next moment, the synthesis bar began to slowly increase. The synthesis bar only reached 100% after Shi Feng stored 50 Magic Crystals. Although Shi Feng could now synthesize Mana Stones using Magic Crystals, the Philosophers Stone in his possession was still incomplete. Hence, the synthesis rate was only 50%. This item really is an alchemical treasure, the power of this stone awed Shi Feng. If Grandmaster Alchemists could see this synthesis rate and the number of required base materials, it would leave them speechless with shock. Grandmaster Alchemists synthesis rate only hovered around 20%, which was already quite high. Meanwhile, normally over 200 base materials were required. Hence, nobody would willingly sacrifice high-tiered materials through Alchemical Synthesis. However, Grandmaster Alchemists paled in comparison to the Philosophers Stone. It was as expected of a treasure of alchemy. Meanwhile, Alchemical Combination was only a small part of the Philosophers Stones abilities. It was no wonder so many kingdoms and empires had gone to war over the Philosophers Stone. Lets start, then. Shi Feng clicked the Synthesize button. Three seconds later, an additional fist-sized gray stone appeared in Shi Fengs hand. This was none other than the Mana Stone. Awesome! After successfully synthesizing a Mana Stone, Shi Feng quickly added more Magic Crystals into the Philosophers Stone, starting the second round of Alchemical Synthesis. At the same time, Shi Feng had also contacted Melancholic Smile and instructed her to purchase a large stock of Magic Crystals immediately. With the stockpile Zero Wing possessed, he wouldnt have enough to synthesize 21 Mana Stones. Even if the synthesis rate was 100%, he would need 1,050 Magic Crystals to for 21 Mana Stones. With only a 50% rate, he would need at least 2,100 Magic Crystals. Shi Feng had previously used quite a lot of Magic Crystals, and he only had 508 remaining. By Shi Fengs estimation, he would need at least 2,000 more Magic Crystals. Guild Leader, please tell me youre joking. You want to purchase 2,000 Magic Crystals? The current market value for them is 8 Silver Coins each; 160 Gold for 2,000 pieces. Moreover, this is the best and lowest cost. If we buy them in bulk, the prices in White River City will soar. When that happens, well need to pay at least double or triple the current price. Making a rough estimate, well need to spend at least 300 Gold to get 2,000 Magic Crystals. Although Melancholic Smile had always dealt with the purchasing of materials for the Horizon Alliance, this was her first time handling a transaction that involved over 300 Gold. She struggled against her sudden anxiety. If converted to Credits, 300 Gold Coins would be over four million Credits. All her life, she had never even seen so much money. It doesnt matter. Just get it done quickly. Shi Feng couldnt care less about the potential consequences. His Class Change Quest took priority. Even if he had to spend 1,000 Gold to purchase the 2,000 Magic Crystals, he would not hesitate. By the time Melancholic Smiles group of three could mass-produce the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, it would only be a short time before he earned the money back. After half an hour passed, Melancholic Smile delivered 2,000 Magic Crystals to Shi Feng. She had experienced the pleasure of being a wealthy tycoon. Meanwhile, during this period, Shi Feng had also kept himself busy. After using 500 Magic Crystals, he had an additional six Mana Stones. In addition, he had also produced some Basic Mana Armor Kits for his Guild, as well as slightly raising his own Forging Proficiency. Hopefully my luck wont be too bad. Shi Feng took the 2,000 Magic Crystals and started the Alchemical Synthesis once more. He used 100 pieces 200 pieces The new stock of Magic Crystals continuously diminished. After using 1,650 Magic Crystals, Shi Feng had finally managed to collect 21 Mana Stones. 375 Isd Like to Borrow Someone Now that Ive got 21 Mana Stones, I only need the three Tier 4 NPCs. Shi Feng thought about where he could find these NPCs as he collected the 21 Mana Stones and Philosophers Stone from the table. There were only three Tier 4 powerhouses currently residing in White River City. If Shi Feng wanted to gather all three of them Even if Shi Feng were ten times stronger than he was now and became a Count of White River City, he would not possess the authority to gather all three of these NPCs to help him. I guess I can only try my luck in the capital city. Star-Moon City possessed the most high-tiered NPCs in Star-Moon Kingdom, and it was where Shi Feng would most likely get the help of three Tier 4 NPCs. Following which, Shi Feng left the Starstreak Trading Firm and ran towards the bank. His personal warehouse in the bank was the safest location to store the Philosophers Stone. The Philosophers Stone dropped upon death, and Shi Feng did not want to lose the treasure under any circumstances. While walking down the middle of the street, Shi Feng could hear many players discussing Overwhelming Smile. Say, how do you think Overwhelming Smile became so powerful? They actually claimed the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon so quickly. I heard that their Guild didnt have many experts. Yeah, Im confused, too. Originally, I thought either Ouroboros or Zero Wing would be the first Guild to claim a First Clear. After all, the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, leads the team herself. Although Gentle Snow had neither accomplished any amazing feats nor is she a great expert ranked on the Gods Domain Experts List, everyone knows about her frightening battle records. Shes probably no weaker than Black Flame. Now, however, both of these amazing Guilds lost to a second-rate Guild like Overwhelming Smile. I heard that the equipment dropped in a 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon is amazing. The Attributes on the equipment are far superior than the equipment found in other Dungeons. Now that Overwhelming Smile has equipment from Bone Ruin, they will have a much easier time raiding Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons. I heard that Overwhelming Smile has already become the overlord of Maple City. Moreover, they are currently mass-recruiting players, and the benefits they offer are insanely good. There is also proof posted online showing that someone recently invested one billion Credits for the Guilds development. Just thinking about that much money makes me drool. I have never heard of any Guild receiving such a large investment. Im somewhat tempted to head over to Maple City to join them. Players on both sides of the street were talking about Overwhelming Smile. Overwhelming Smile had destroyed the previous momentum Zero Wing had garnered. Shi Feng could only smile bitterly at this sudden shift. He had to admit that Overwhelming Smiles timing of obtaining the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon was perfect. Not only had Overwhelming Smile managed to spread their name throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, but it had also suppressed Zero Wings fame. However, this was only natural. Compared to individual strength, players were more concerned about Dungeons. After all, Dungeons were the main source of equipment in Gods Domain. It was especially true for high-quality equipment. Just after Shi Feng returned the Philosophers Stone to his personal warehouse, the system notified him of a voice communication request. It was Gentle Snow. Miss Snow, how are you? Shi Feng greeted her warmly after answering the call. Although the situation of Overwhelming Smiles First Clear had impacted Zero Wing, the one most affected by this result should be Gentle Snow. In order to claim the First Clear of the Land of Death, she had paid a huge price. Other Guilds could not compete with the advantages she possessed. Yet, just as she was about to harvest the fruit of her efforts, Overwhelming Smile stole the glory. Guild Leader Black Flame, I wish to discuss something with you, Gentle Snows tone was indifferent; only she understood her current state of mind. Miss Snow, please, speak your mind, Shi Feng said, smiling. Id like to borrow someone, Gentle Snow said. Borrow someone? Shi Feng was confused. Ouroboros had many experts. They should not lack personnel. Thats right. I wish to borrow Ye Feng. Gentle Snow nodded, resolving Shi Fengs confusion. As for the price, I am willing to pay five million Credits. Borrow Ye Feng? Shi Feng nearly stumbled. Just what was going through Gentle Snows mind? Borrow Ye Feng? Didnt that mean she was trying to borrow him? Since when did he have such great charm to attract the attention of the Snow Goddess? Moreover, Gentle Snow even offered an astronomical price of five million to borrow him. That was the equivalent of a famous gaming experts annual salary. And she only wanted his help with a single matter? Wasnt Gentle Snows opinion of him a little too high? I know that this is somewhat abrupt. Honestly, I initially considered asking you, Guild Leader Black Flame. However, not only are you the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, but you are also very famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. The implications for obtaining your help are too grave to ignore. Hence, my only option is to ask for Ye Fengs help, as he is only a member of Zero Wing. However, I doubt he will help me without your explicit permission, Gentle Snow explained. If she had any other choice, she wouldnt be asking. However, now that Overwhelming Smile had claimed the first First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon, this was her only option. Listening to Gentle Snows request, Shi Feng could guess that Gentle Snow needed experts. However, these experts could not be too famous, and the more hidden they were from the public eye, the better. Thus, she thought of the now-forgotten Ye Feng. Although I wish I could agree to your request, Ye Feng is currently busy an extremely important task. Im afraid he cant help you right now, Miss Snow. How about the other experts in Zero Wing? Although Shi Feng wished to help Gentle Snow, his Class Change Quest took priority. Other experts? Gentle Snow fell silent for a moment, considering the idea. She then said, It is possible if they are as skilled as Ye Feng. Im afraid they have yet to reach that level, Shi Feng said definitely. Setting aside techniques, if speaking purely in terms of weapons, equipment, and skills, nobody within the Guild could even come close to being a match to him. In terms of techniques, though, Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and Cola might catch up to him in the future. It was especially true for Violet Cloud, who had improved leaps and bounds with each passing day. If Shi Feng hadnt had his decades worth of experience campaigning in Gods Domain, Violet Cloud would have left him in the dust by now. Im afraid they wont do if they are not as strong as Ye Feng, Gentle Snow said, disappointed. However, when she gave it more thought, how could great experts such as Ye Feng be easy to find? She then asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, how long will it take for Ye Feng to complete his task? Normally, an ordinary Class Change Quest required two to three days to complete. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs Class Change Quest should be a lot more difficult. At the very least, he would require three to five days. Around five days, Shi Feng said, giving a conservative estimate. Five days, huh? Gentle Snows brows wrinkled slightly. After thinking for some time, she slowly asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, will five days really be enough? Mhm. Shi Feng nodded. Shi Feng could tell that Gentle Snow was carefully considering a very important decision. Ill have to trouble Guild Leader Black Flame to pass on the message, then. Ill transfer five million Credits into your account immediately. Gentle Snow sighed in relief upon hearing Shi Fengs confident answer. She then disconnected the call after thanking him. 376 Great Divine Official Based on Gentle Snows tone, Shi Feng did not think that things were as simple as he had first imagined. After experiencing a decade of battles and socializing between various Guilds in Gods Domain, Shi Feng was no longer the young and immature student that he had been in the past. This was merely the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon. At most, Ouroboros would lose the chance to earn some fame. Such a loss would not greatly affect the strength of the Guild itself. In other words, Gentle Snow must have made some sort of personal bet regarding Overwhelming Smile being the first Guild to claim the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon. However, she had obviously lost. Five days, huh? It seems that I cant slack off. Now that Shi Feng had agreed to help, he would not go back on his word. Unfortunately, even Shi Feng was not completely confident that he could gain the help of three Tier 4 NPCs in Star-Moon Kingdom. He needed to waste a lot of time to earn their assistance. It was not easy to ask NPCs for help. It was especially true for high-tiered NPCs. Following which, Shi Feng took out the pass to Blackwing City, teleporting immediately. Being a neutral zone as well as a famous city in Gods Domain, Blackwing City was many times stronger than Star-Moon Kingdom. Naturally, a lot of high-tiered NPCs would reside there. If luck would have it, he might even meet a Tier 5 powerhouse. One could not meet such an NPC even in the capital city of Star-Moon Kingdom. It had been quite some time since the launch of Gods Domain. The population of the game had increased rapidly. The number of players who had obtained Blackwing City Passes had also increased. As Shi Feng walked down the wide streets of Blackwing City, he discovered far more players than before. Among these players, a majority were the upper echelons of Guilds. Like Shi Feng before, these upper echelons were here to trade with each other. They mainly traded Hard Stones, taking advantage of the price difference to make a huge profit. However, as more players began visiting Blackwing City, the potential profits would start to dwindle. This was also why Shi Feng had stopped Aqua Rose from sending her subordinates to cooperate with other Guilds. He planned to save the Blackwing City Passes, only using them to attend the Blackwing City Auction or purchase special tools such as the Frost Grenades. In reality, aside from being a trade hub, Blackwing City had one other fascinating feature: the citys beautiful scenery. In the past, when Gods Domain was in its middle-stages, many upper echelons of Guilds would frequently visit Blackwing City for leisure. Nothing could beat the Stargazing Tower of Blackwing City. The Stargazing Towers interior was like a dream world; it looked absolutely stunning. In the past, many players even longed to spend the rest of their lives living inside the Stargazing Tower. Its been a long time since I entered the Stargazing Tower, Shi Feng muttered as he gazed at the distant tower that pierced the sky. The Stargazing Tower was one of the architectural symbols of Blackwing City. Meanwhile, the reason Shi Feng had come to Blackwing City this time was none other than to visit the Stargazing Tower. Based on Shi Fengs understanding of Gods Domains history, the Stargazing Tower of Blackwing City was older than the city itself. Blackwing City was established here because of the Stargazing Tower. The Stargazing Tower was a monument that had existed in Gods Domain before the Great Destruction. As for exactly when it had been built, not even Shi Feng knew that. If there were anywhere in Blackwing City where one could find three Tier 4 NPCs at the same time, aside from the City Lords Mansion and Magic Tower, the Stargazing Tower would be it. The City Lords Mansion was self-explanatory. As for the Magic Tower, it was the residence of many mage NPCs of Gods Domain who single-mindedly pursued the limits of magic. Meanwhile, high-tiered NPCs had guarded the Stargazing Tower since ancient times. Hence, all three of these locations housed many high-tiered NPCs. However, players could not easily gain access to the City Lords Mansion and the Magic Tower. Only a sightseeing spot like the Stargazing Tower permitted players to enter and leave as they wished. The moment Shi Feng set foot inside the Stargazing Tower, he was met with cute little Elemental Sprites hovering and dancing around in the air. The center of the main floor contained a spiraling staircase leading to the top floor of the Tower. Despite the absence of sunlight inside the Stargazing Tower, a faint blue glow illuminated the interior. Moreover, the walls looked like the starry skies at night, glimmering starlight covering the pitch-black walls to create a mesmerizing sight. In addition, the Stargazing Tower also possessed another mysterious effect. Calming Heart! Any player that entered the Stargazing Tower, even those filled with burning rage, would find tranquility inside this place. At this moment, however, Shi Feng did not have the time to appreciate the view. Immediately, he ascended the spiral staircase until he arrived at the Weeping Moon Pavilion of the Stargazing Tower. Before Shi Feng could enter the Weeping Moon Pavilion, the two Level 180 Tier 2 Black Robe Knights guarding the entrance stopped him. Outsiders are not allowed entry into the Weeping Moon Pavilion. This humble one is called Ye Feng, a Demon Hunter. I wish to meet Lord Aslan Hartberu; can I trouble you to inform the lord? Shi Feng immediately flashed his identity as a Demon Hunter to the two Knights. As for his identity as the Viscount of White River City, it was utterly worthless here. Look, another fool is trying to enter the Weeping Moon Pavilion. I bet that hes a newcomer who has just arrived in Blackwing City. Everyone in Blackwing City knows that the Weeping Moon Pavilion is the most important place in the Stargazing Tower. Its where many power NPCs reside. I heard that there are many high-level quests available inside as well, and many experts have attempted to get in. But even after wasting a lot of time to become citizens of Blackwing City, the Knights guarding the entrance still chased those experts away. Does that newcomer think he can get in just by asking? The Stargazing Tower was well-known in Blackwing City. If a player visited the city often, they would know that the Weeping Moon Pavilion was off-limits to players. Hence, when the players inside the Stargazing Tower saw Shi Fengs presumptuous actions, they all started ridiculing him. Outsiders are forbidden from entering the Weeping Moon Pavilion, the Knights ignored Shi Fengs identity as a Demon Hunter; the gaze they directed at him was as cold as before. They then moved to chase Shi Feng away. However, before these Black Robe Knights could take action, a voice came from inside the Weeping Moon Pavilion. Let him in. I know him. The two Black Robe Knights immediately halted their assault. They then opened the doors to the Weeping Moon Pavilion, allowing Shi Feng to enter. What the hell!? Damn, that player actually got in! The players who had come to enjoy the show were all stupefied. Until now, not a single player had been allowed into the Weeping Moon Pavilion. Now, however, a newcomer actually got in The first floor of the Weeping Moon Pavilion was a large and spacious hall. The hall was filled with books and crystal tools. Meanwhile, the ceiling was made of a gigantic water mirror that reflected the starry skies of the outside world. Youre late. Youve kept me waiting for a long time. How are you going to pay me for my time? A crisp and melodious voice reached Shi Fengs ears. Turning around, Shi Feng noticed a female priest in white robes walking down the staircase at a distance. Meanwhile, this female priest who emitted a sacred aura was none other than the Divine Official Sharlyn. Listening to Sharlyns accusatory tone, Shi Feng suddenly recalled the scene back at the City Hall of White River City. Back then, Weissman had told him that Sharlyn would wait for him in the Stargazing Tower. However, as he had been preoccupied at the time and had completely forgotten about it. This Watching Sharlyns slowly approaching figure with a saintly smile plastered on her face, a sense of foreboding bloomed in Shi Fengs chest. Moreover, Sharlyn was no longer the Tier 3 Divine Official that Shi Feng had known. Now, she was a Tier 4 Great Divine Official! 377 Unknown Shi Feng stared at Sharlyns information, dumbfounded by what he saw. From a Level 8 NPC in Red Leaf Town, Sharlyn had first jumped to become a Level 20 Tier 3 Divine Official. Then she grew from a Level 20 Tier 3 Divine Official to a Level 180 Tier 3 Divine Official. Now, she had grown even further, becoming a Level 200 Tier 4 Great Divine Official. She was now on the same level as the Tier 4 Wizard, Weissman. Lady Sharlyn, I heard that you have been looking for me. May I know how I may be of service to you? Shi Feng reluctantly asked after calming down. Whenever Shi Feng encountered Sharlyn, he feared for his wallet. It was especially true when Sharlyn revealed that saintly smile of hers Shi Feng suddenly felt that he had come to the wrong place. If he had known that he would meet Sharlyn here, he would have definitely gone to Star-Moon City instead. I do have something I need you to help me with, but this matter can only be addressed inside the Weeping Moon Pavilion. Unfortunately, the Weeping Moon Pavilion does not permit entry to outsiders. You should know that I am taking a big risk by allowing you in. Seeing as we are acquaintances, I can help you pay half of the 1,000 Gold security deposit, but you will have to pay the remaining 500 Gold yourself. Otherwise, these Black Robe Knights will escort you out. Even I am helpless about this rule, Sharlyn sighed and shrugged, a helpless look on her face. Shi Feng immediately cast a scornful glare at Sharlyn. Again! She was trying to take his money again! This was the first time he had heard about a security deposit for entering the Weeping Moon Pavilion. He had only brought around 700 Gold with him this time. Yet, in just a moment, Sharlyn had relieved him of 500 Gold. However, even though Shi Fengs heart ached, he had no choice but to pay. Before Sharlyn, Shi Feng was like a helpless little boy. Sharlyns senses were simply too sharp, and she would sniff out his weaknesses every time they met. This time as well, in order to find three Tier 4 NPCs to help him, he had to enter the Weeping Moon Pavilion no matter what. Although he had other plans he could use to try to enter the Weeping Moon Pavilion, there was no guarantee that those plans would succeed. Moreover, those plans would demand a lot of his time. Reluctantly, Shi Feng took 500 Gold Coins from his bag and handed them over to Sharlyn. Why are you looking at me like that? This is only a security deposit. Its not like you wont get it back, Sharlyn said. At this moment, her eyes were completely glued to the glittering Gold Coins in Shi Fengs hands. With a slight wave of her delicate finger, the Gold Coins flew into her pocket. Inwardly, Shi Feng flipped her off. _Since this is a security deposit, why are you pocketing the money instead of the Administrator of the Stargazing Tower?_ As if having read Shi Fengs thoughts, Sharlyn smiled faintly as she took out a Silvermoon Emblem and pinned it to her chest. The words carved onto this Silvermoon Emblem were Stargazing Tower Administrator... _Damn! Just how many jobs does she have?!_ When Shi Feng saw the Silvermoon Emblem on Sharlyns chest, Shi Feng understood one thing. He would never see that 500 Gold again. There was not even a trace of hope of getting his money back. In which case, he had not just paid a security deposit, but an entrance fee. Moreover, it was an entrance fee of 500 Gold Hmph. Little dummy, did you really think that Id lie to you? Sharlyn tapped the Silvermoon Emblem on her chest, chuckling. Alright, lets go, then. Sighing helplessly, Shi Feng followed Sharlyn up the pavilion. As for the Sword in the Stone, it would not be too late to ask for Sharlyns help after accepting her quest. The second floor of the Weeping Moon Pavilion consisted of a single wide corridor with many tightly locked rooms; it looked like an apartment complex. Massive stone doors loomed at the end of the corridor. Numerous images were carved onto the stone doors, and each image carried its own meaning and story. Sharlyn pointed towards the distant stone doors, smiling as she said, Beyond those doors lie the deepest secret of the Stargazing Tower. Do you want to go in and have a look? Can I? Shi Feng had always been curious about the Stargazing Tower. In Gods Domain, any monument that survived the ancient era was a massive treasure, not to mention a monument that had survived the Great Destruction. If a player could explore the secrets hidden beyond those stone doors, their path towards godhood would definitely become much easier. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had not been strong enough in the past, and he simply had not qualified to explore the secrets beyond those doors. Of course not! I should remind you that, without sufficient strength, you are better off not knowing certain things. Just like how you opened the entrance to the Endless Abyss. Now, not only do you carry a Stigmata on your body, but you also plan to gather the Seven Treasures. You are looking to get yourself killed. Do you know how many years the War Gods Temple has spent trying to gather those treasures? Meanwhile, you havent even obtained your Tier 1 class. Do you think it is even possible for you to accomplish something the War Gods Temple cannot? They are only trying to Forget it. There are some things you are better off not knowing. Sharlyn sighed as she looked at Shi Feng, emotions such as pity and anger filling her eyes. Suddenly, Shi Feng realized that Sharlyn was a unique NPC. It was no longer a matter just high intelligence. Sharlyn was almost human. Following which, Sharlyn led Shi Feng to her own room. Sharlyns room was very simple. Other than a place to rest, bookshelves covered the remainder of her room. Rare, ancient books crowded the shelves, all of which would normally be impossible to find anywhere else. Sit. Sharlyn made a wave with her finger. In the next moment, a wooden chair appeared behind Shi Feng. Ive called you here because I have something I need you to do for me. People such as myself cannot complete this particular task; only heaven-blessed individuals like you can accomplish it. However, this task is extremely dangerous. Will you accept it? Of course, if you do, I can give you a chance to obtain an Advanced Legacy. This would help your growth immensely in the future. If you can complete this task, I can even make you the lord of a city. You will possess your very own fiefdom. Sharlyns words stunned Shi Feng into a silence. He could obtain an Advanced Legacy just by accepting the quest? Moreover, if he could complete the quest, he could even become the lord of a city. Just what rank was this quest? System: Do you wish to accept Sharlyns unknown quest? _It seems that I wont know anything about the quest if I dont accept it._ Shi Feng felt uncertain when he saw Sharlyns grave expression and the unknown quest. Shi Feng was very clear about the iron law of Gods Domain. Equivalent exchange. The greater the risk, the greater the reward would be. The Advanced Legacy alone was no trivial matter, let alone the reward of becoming the lord of a city. Although he could afford to ignore the Advanced Legacy, the reward was something he could not ignore. Opportunity seldom knocks twice. It was now or never. The term becoming the lord of a city did not mean that players would be allowed to take control of a city controlled by NPCs such as White River City. To begin with, these NPC cities would never accept the rule of players. When Sharlyn spoke of becoming the lord of a city, it meant that she would reward Shi Feng with his own fiefdom, qualifying him to establish his own city. Normally, when a Guild wished to establish their own city, it would first need to capture a town not governed by any kingdom or empire. The second option was starting it from scratch and establishing a town from nothing. However, that was much more difficult, and the resources needed would also be several times higher than if the Guild just captured a town. On the bright side, the Guild could determine the location and geographic advantages of the town. Meanwhile, once they obtained a town, a Guild would have to develop the town over a long period before it could become a city. Moreover, the conditions for a towns promotion to become a city were numerous and very demanding. However, Sharlyns reward would allow Shi Feng to establish a city directly, eliminating many of the challenges one would normally face. 378 Immortal Crown A city completely under his control! This was a dream for Zero Wing. Shi Feng had once led Shadow, a Guild that owned ten city-states, so he knew how valuable and how great the advantages were for owning his own city. Although Zero Wing was developing well at the moment, its lack of a stable source of income for Credits was a major flaw. Other first-rate and second-rate Guilds had support from wealthy corporations. These corporations would provide funding to their partnered Guilds, allowing these Guilds to develop steadily without worrying about a shortage of Credits. Although Shi Feng had many ways to earn Coins in Gods Domain, it was not easy to support a Guild with Coins alone. Moreover, along with the Guilds development and the influx of new members, its demand for Coins would increase as well. Converting large sums of Coins into Credits was not a suitable long-term plan to develop a Guild. However, it would be a different story if Shi Feng possessed a city of his own. Why were large corporations willing to invest so many Credits into a Guild? Wasnt it to earn money? However, how were they going to earn money? The answer was a player-established autonomous city. If a Guild possessed an autonomous city, it could start seeking investors to rent out shops and such in its city. Through these investors, the Guild could then earn a large amount of Credits and Coins, thereby solving the problems of the Guilds future development. Thus, Shi Feng was determined to obtain the rights to establish his own city. Even if he had to pay a huge price in the process, he would. After a moment of silence, Shi Feng answered, Lady Sharlyn, I accept your conditions. Good. I really did not choose the wrong person. Since youve agreed, the contract between us will be established from this moment onward. Sharlyn nodded and drew a silver rune in midair. She then imprinted the rune on the back of Shi Fengs hand and said, This is a Spirit Seal, and it can be used to absorb Immortal Souls. What I want you to do is to collect 10,000 Immortal Souls. Collect Immortal Souls? Shi Feng said, unable to suppress his shock. You want me to kill 10,000 heaven-blessed individuals? When NPCs spoke of heaven-blessed individuals, they were referring to players. Players were immortal existences in Gods Domain, and they could resurrect infinitely at the cost of some levels and EXP. This was all due to the souls of players being immortal. Meanwhile, Shi Feng could only obtain the Immortal Soul from the corpse of a player. Moreover, Shi Feng needed to meet a few requirements before he could absorb the Immortal Soul of another player. First, he could not be 5 levels higher or lower than the target player. Second, he needed to kill the target player personally. Lastly, upon the target players death, the distance between Shi Feng and the player could not exceed 10 yards. If he failed to meet any of these conditions, he would not absorb the players Immortal Soul. For the NPCs of Gods Domain, absorbing the Immortal Souls of heaven-blessed individuals was taboo. If Shi Feng were discovered doing so, no one, NPCs or players, would hold back from killing him. As to why players would try to kill Shi Feng as well, it was because any players who lost their Immortal Souls would be barred from logging into the game for a long time. It was a punishment more severe than the penalty for death. Hence, there was no leeway for Shi Feng if he were caught in the act. I never thought you would know about Immortal Souls. Thats right. I require you to kill heaven-blessed individuals and collect their Immortal Souls, Sharlyn stated, slightly surprised that Shi Feng actually knew about Immortal Souls. However, she had not planned to hide this fact, to begin with. I know that I am making things very difficult for you by requesting such a thing, but we cannot repair the Immortal Crown without Immortal Souls. The Immortal Crown was originally a Divine Artifact used to suppress all evil beings. However, the crown was damaged the last time it was used to suppress the Endless Abyss. Meanwhile, the Stargazing Tower has already collected the other materials required to repair the Immortal Crown, and right now, we are only missing Immortal Souls. Initially, I called you here to help me collect Immortal Souls gradually. However, I had not expected the Endless Abyss to escape its confinement so soon. The Endless Abyss is simply too powerful. Without the Immortal Crown, we have no chance of resisting the invasion of the Endless Abyss. Since you started this scourge, naturally, you will have to take responsibility for it. In order to repair the Immortal Crown quickly, we need a large number of Immortal Souls. However, I do not want others to know of this, so I have no choice but to ask you to complete this task by yourself. The magic array that keeps the Endless Abyss in place will not last long. By my estimation, it will hold out for another three months. In three months, we will have no choice but to face the Endless Abyss directly. Hence, you must collect 10,000 Immortal Souls within that time. However, it wont be easy, which is why I asked you to meet me here. There are many Legacies within the Stargazing Tower. As long as you can pass the test of one of those Legacies, you will have a much easier time collecting the Immortal Souls. System: You have accepted the Epic Hidden Quest Immortal Crown. Quest details: You are required to collect 10,000 Immortal Souls within three months. If you fail to do so, your soul will be cursed and barred from logging into Gods Domain for one month. In addition, your soul will enter a weakened state for three months, decreasing your Attributes by 90% during this period. Shi Fengs head started to ache after reading this quest notification. To put it simply, failure meant hell! Failing this quest would deal a heavy blow. If he could not log into Gods Domain for a month, just how far would he fall behind? Also, even after he could log back into Gods Domain, with all of his Attributes decreased by 90%, how was he even supposed to play the game? With your current level, you already qualify to accept an Advanced Legacy. Will you the Advanced Legacys trial right now, or do you wish to challenge it after taking some time to prepare? Sharlyn asked patiently as she watched Shi Feng. Oh, I should remind you that Advanced Legacies are extremely precious. Even with my status, I can only give you one chance. You must be careful. If you are not confident in succeeding, it is best to challenge it at another time. The trial of an Advanced Legacy is no less difficult than an Epic Quest. If you think that an Advanced Legacy will be too difficult for you, I can offer an Intermediate Legacy. Not only will the difficulty decrease, but you will also have three chances to complete it. Sharlyn explained the options patiently. Shi Feng understood her intentions. In Gods Domain, a class change was the equivalent of obtaining the Legacy of a higher tiered class. Meanwhile, a majority of the players in Gods Domain would normally receive their Class Change Quest from the Class Association in their respective city. By doing so, players would be challenging Basic Legacies. Intermediate Legacies were one rank above Basic Legacies. Intermediate Legacies were relatively rare in Gods Domain, and normally, these Legacies allowed players to obtain a common hidden class. Advanced Legacies were one rank higher. Advanced Legacies were extremely rare, and players could take on a rare, hidden class. Astromancer was one of these rare, hidden classes. Peak Legacies were one rank higher than Advanced Legacies. In Gods Domain, Peak Legacies were like phoenixs feathers. Even the Stargazing Tower should not possess such a Legacy. In Shi Fengs decade of playing Gods Domain, he had only seen a few people obtain Peak Legacies. After giving it some thought, Shi Feng said earnestly, Lady Sharlyn, can I pass this chance to another person? To Shi Feng, an Advanced Legacy held little significance. After all, he possessed the Sword in the Stone, a Legacy Item containing a Peak Legacy. How could he give up on a Peak Legacy to accept an Advanced Legacy? 379 Awaken Shi Fengs question stunned Sharlyn. She looked at Shi Feng, surprise flashing in her beautiful eyes. What were Advanced Legacies? A heaven-blessed individual could only come across an opportunity like this if they were lucky. Theyd never find an Advanced Legacy by searching alone. Even if one tried to trade ten Epic items, they could never afford it. Even she, the manager of the Stargazing Tower, had paid a massive price to obtain this one chance to challenge an Advanced Legacy. Yet, Shi Feng wanted to give this precious chance to someone else The Legacies of the Stargazing Tower cannot be passed to others. If you do not wish to accept the Legacy, I can give you an Epic item as compensation instead, Sharlyn said, shaking her head. The words Epic Item were tempting. However, Shi Feng was not satisfied. Lady Sharlyn, may I exchange the Advanced Legacy for a favor from you? Shi Feng asked once more. A favor? Sharlyn grinned. Chuckling, she said, Little dummy, do you know how valuable an Advanced Legacy is? And you want to trade it for a favor? Dont tell me you want Big Sister to. Looking at Sharlyns blushing cheeks, sweat streamed down Shi Fengs forehead. Hurriedly he said, Dont get the wrong idea. You mustnt misunderstand me. I only want you to awaken an item for me. Only Tier 4 classes can awaken it. Awaken an item? Sharlyn was suddenly interested. She then focused on Shi Feng, thoroughly scanning his body from top to bottom. Her eyes widened in surprise when her gaze landed on the bag hanging from Shi Fengs waist. With a teasing laugh, she said, I dont see anything on your body that needs to be awakened, though. You cant be asking me to wake that withered dragon hanging from your waist, right? Based on Sharlyns comment, Shi Feng had finally confirmed something. Sharlyn could see the contents of his bag. This was how Sharlyn could always squeeze him dry every time they met. _Hm? She hasnt discovered it_ _?_ Shi Feng felt that something amiss when he saw Sharlyns ridiculing smile. Since she could see the contents of his bag, why didnt she discover the extraordinary power within the Sword in the Stone? If a Tier 0 player like himself could see it, how could a Tier 4 Great Divine Official not? Thus, Shi Feng removed the Sword in the Stone from his bag. Sharlyn, who had still been chuckling, immediately became serious upon the appearance of the Sword in the Stone; she was no longer laughing. Indescribable emotions flashed in her eyes as she fixed her gaze on the crystal-encased sword in Shi Fengs hands. Sharlyn reacted as if the sword in Shi Fengs hands had suddenly appeared out of thin air. Just what is this? It actually escaped the detection of my Eyes of God. Sharlyn was momentarily surprised. Even as she looked directly at the sword, her Eyes of God could not discern any information. It was as if the sword before her did not exist. Eyes of God was a Tier 3 advanced detection spell, and even Legendary items could not escape its detection. Yet, the Sword in the Stone had actually. Can I have a closer look at it? Sharlyn asked, her curiosity reaching its peak. Shi Feng did not reject Sharlyns request, handing the Sword in the Stone over to her. The moment Sharlyn received the sword, she immediately cast over a dozen spells in quick succession. Every time one of her spells faded, Sharlyns expression would grow slightly more serious. Amazing. It seems that Ill have to use my true abilities. Sharlyn smiled. Suddenly, a terrifying amount of Mana burst forth from her body, and in the next instant, Sharlyns Holy Light Domain had devoured the room. Simultaneously, two golden magic arrays appeared on both the ceiling and the floor. Shi Feng immediately felt his body grow heavy, the Mana in the room rendering him immobile. Sharlyns Holy Light Domain was much stronger than the Tier 4 Sky Piercer Weissman had used against the Mechanical Slayer. At this moment, Shi Feng had finally realized just how powerful Sharlyn was. It was no wonder why she could casually offer him the qualifications to establish his own city. However, Sharlyn was not done after summoning the twofold magic array, as her hands continuously drew line after line of divine runes in the air. After a short moment, the twofold magic array became a fourfold magic array, before finally becoming a sixfold magic array. At this moment, magic arrays covered all six sides of Sharlyns room. The Tier 4 Sky Piercer Weissman had used only required a fourfold magic array to channel it. Yet, the spell Sharlyn channeled now required a sixfold magic array. At the very least, Sharlyns spell should be a Peak Tier 4 spell. Although Shi Feng did not know what Sharlyn was trying to do, he felt incredibly fortunate. It seemed that asking Sharlyn to help him was the right choice after all. If Sharlyn could summon such a powerful magic array, her position in the Stargazing Tower should be relatively high. She might even be able to invite three Tier 4 NPCs to help him awaken the Sword in the Stone. At this moment, the runes Sharlyn drew seeped into the Stone in the Sword, which floated in midair. After another few minutes had passed, the golden divine runes separated from the Stone in the Sword and flew into Sharlyns palm, forming a golden ball. Following which, the magic arrays disappeared from the room, and the Stone in the Sword landed in Sharlyns hand once more. However, Sharlyn paid no attention to the Sword in the Stone. Instead, she focused the ball of divine runes, seemingly studying it. How could this be? Sharlyn muttered in utter disbelief. Not even Divine Appraisal, a Peak Tier 4 spell, can analyze this sword? To think that you have such an item, I have really underestimated you. Even after exhausting every option I have, I still cant uncover a single thing about this item. How did you learn that this thing requires Tier 4 classes to awaken it? Sharlyn asked. By this time, she had completely given up on analyzing the Stone in the Sword. I Shi Feng wondered the same thing. I have simply used Omniscient Eyes. Sharlyn couldnt uncover even basic information about the Sword in the Stone? Just what kind of item was this? Omniscient Eyes? Impossible. I couldnt analyze the sword even when I tried using the Eyes of God. Sharlyn shook her head, slightly surprised by Shi Fengs answer. However, she suddenly thought of a possibility. Dont tell me you have a Golden Stigmata! Mhm. Shi Feng nodded. No wonder! Sharlyn revealed a faint smile. Why didnt you tell me earlier, little dummy? Throughout Gods Domain, the Omniscient Eyes of the Golden Stigmata is only inferior to the Eyes of Truth. I really did not expect the War Gods Temple to be so generous as to give you a Golden Stigmata. Tell me, then. What are the conditions to awaken this item? Sharlyn inquired as she pointed at the Sword in the Stone. Twenty-one Mana Stones and three Tier 4 classes are needed to awaken the power slumbering within this sword, Shi Feng recited the information he could see using the Omniscient Eyes. Little dummy, dont tell me you have 21 Mana Stones inside that bag of yours. Even Big Sister here doesnt have that many of them. Sharlyns eyes glowed as she looked at Shi Feng. Stretching out her jade-like hand, she said, Out with them, then. This I only have 21 pieces. Shi Feng instantly panicked. What kind of person do you take me for? Sharlyn rolled her eyes at the sight of Shi Fengs caution. She then said, Relax; I wont rob you. I just want to awaken the power inside this sword. It needs three Tier 4 classes to awaken this sword, Shi Feng reminded, unwilling to hand over the Mana Stones. I know. However, do you think Tier 4 powerhouses have the time and energy to help you? Sharlyn said, disgruntled. This sword is no trivial matter. Fortunately, you met me. Otherwise, even if you found three Tier 4 powerhouses, they wouldnt help you. Their answers wouldnt change even if you offer each of them a Fragmented Legendary item. 380 Destroyer of Immortality They wont help me even if I offer each of them a Fragmented Legendary item? Shi Feng was taken aback. He did not think Sharlyn was lying. He had personally witnessed how extraordinary the Sword in the Stone was. Even Sharlyn, a Tier 4 Great Divine Official, could not uncover its secrets. Meanwhile, he had only obtained the Golden Stigmata due to luck. Otherwise, he would have never known that the Sword in the Stone was a Legacy Item. _Fortunately, I made the trip here. Otherwise, I would have missed my chance._ Shi Feng inwardly celebrated his luck as he looked at the Sword in the Stone. Originally, Shi Feng had thought he only needed to hire three Tier 4 NPCs to help him. Now, it would seem that even if he found three Tier 4 NPC powerhouses, there was no price he could pay to gain their help. Based on Sharlyn had said, however, even if he could afford the price, he still couldnt awaken the power within the Sword in the Stone. Alright, lets begin. I, too, want to see just what sort of item this is. Little dummy, stand back. Sharlyn was greatly interested in the Sword in the Stone right now. After saying so, Sharlyn tossed the 21 Mana Stones into the air and started chanting an incantation. The 21 Mana Stones suddenly split up and flew in all directions. Fortunately, Sharlyns room was sufficiently large. After the Mana Stones flew 20 yards, they immediately stopped, hovering in the air. The Mana Stones then started to spin slowly. In the next moment, silvery-white light shone from under their feet. Shi Feng immediately distanced himself from the magic array that appeared, watching silently from afar. As the 21 floating Mana Stones rotated, the Sword in the Stone hovered in the center of the magic array. Sharlyn then shouted. Suffocatingly dense Mana filled the room, buzzing. As if unable to withstand this immense pressure, the 21 Mana Stones immediately shattered into dust, forming clouds of gray smoke that flowed into the Sword in the Stone. When the Sword in the Stone completely absorbed one of the Mana Stones, the Legacy Item emitted a thumping sound that resembled a heartbeat. Shi Feng even wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him at first. However, as more Mana Stones fused with the sword, the thumping became much louder and more powerful. It was as if the disintegrated Mana Stones were waking an ancient beast from its deep slumber. However, as Mana Stones continued to drift into the sword, Sharlyn, who currently stood inside the magic array, grew weaker. By the time the seventh Mana Stone fused with the sword, Shi Feng could clearly feel that only half of the terrifying Mana that filled the room remained. At this moment, Sharlyn had also greatly weakened. As the fourteenth Mana Stone melded with the sword, Sharlyn began to grow pale. When the twenty-first and last Mana Stone fused with the sword, Sharlyn wavered. A gentle breeze could send her tumbling to the floor. At this moment, Shi Feng finally realized that it was not easy to awaken the Sword in the Stone. Channeling a single magic array had weakened a Tier 4 powerhouse to such a degree. It was no wonder why Sharlyn had said that no Tier 4 powerhouse would agree to aid him, even if offered a Fragmented Legendary item. Sharlyns power stunned Shi Feng. She had managed to complete a task that required three Tier 4 classes. Her strength was simply too frightening. _Just who is she?_ Shi Feng grew curious about Sharlyns identity. It was impossible for an ordinary NPC to grow so quickly. Moreover, back in the Gods Grave, Shi Feng saw a woman who looked exactly like Sharlyn. Although Sharlyns strength could not compete with that slumbering womans, the aura the two gave off felt exactly the same; the intensity was the only difference. While Shi Feng pondered Sharlyns identity, the awakening ritual had come to an end. The silver magic array that covered the floor vanished. _Boom!_ The Sword in the Stone hovering in the air suddenly fell, half its blade sinking into the floor. Sharp! Sharlyn, who was currently unstable from the drain of Mana, could not hold back her shock when she saw the blade slide smoothly into the floor. Not even the Great Destruction had managed to destroy the Stargazing Tower. The strongest and highest quality materials had gone into this monuments construction. Magic arrays reinforced the building further. A full-powered blow from a Tier 4 Sword Emperor armed with a Legendary ranked sword could not even scratch the floor. Yet, the hovering Sword in the Stone sunk effortlessly into the wood. By now, the transparent crystal encasing the sword had completely disappeared. Only a sword with a golden hilt and guard remained, with a blade that was as pure and clear as a diamond. Impossible! This is actually the Destroyer of Immortality! Sharlyn was tongue-tied when she read the Sword in the Stones information, which was now fully visible. [Destroyer of Immortality] A creation born of nature, containing unrivaled power. Although it was greatly damaged during the war between the Ancient Gods, it had absorbed some of their powers. If one can master this blade, they will obtain a trace of the Ancient Gods powers. Class restriction: Berserker and Swordsman Destroyer of Immortality? Shi Feng was puzzled. He had never heard this name before. Reading the items introduction, apparently, its origin was quite amazing. The Ancient Gods had actually used this weapon. Shi Feng knew a little about the Ancient Gods. The Ancient Gods were born from nature, and they had the power to decimate the heaven and earth. Even the Tier 6 god-ranked classes of Gods Domain were no more than ants before an Ancient God. They were practically invincible. However, all of these Ancient Gods had perished in the Great Ancient War. You must have heaven-defying luck. It is no wonder you didnt want an Advanced Legacy. Sharlyn smiled. She then explained, The Destroyer of Immortality is one of the Ten Great Saint Legacy Items in ancient records. Moreover, the Legacy is unique; not even the Peak Legacy of the Stargazing Tower can compete with it. Ten Great Saint Legacies? Shi Feng was at a loss. The highest Legacies he had heard of in the past were Peak Legacies. This was the first time he had heard of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. I, too, have only read about the Ten Great Saint Legacies. Today is my first time actually seeing one in person. However, I dont know any details about them. Even so, I will remind you not to look down on these Saint Legacies. A Peak Legacy is already as difficult as a Legendary Quest. At the very least, the trial of Ten Great Saint Legacies should be just as difficult. If you are not confident in succeeding, you should not recklessly attempt to challenge it. You might lose your life, even if you are a heaven-blessed individual. Sharlyn was extraordinarily serious when she looked at Shi Feng, even more serious than when she gave the Immortal Crown quest to Shi Feng. When she spoke of death, she had even paused for a moment. Shi Feng could clearly discern the kindness in Sharlyns tone, and he, too, knew how dangerous and difficult the trial of a Saint Legacy would be. Gods Domains law of equivalent exchange held true everywhere. Naturally, there was danger in challenging the trial of a Legacy. Take Basic Legacies for example. If a player failed to clear the trial of a Basic Legacy, they would lose three levels, be weakened for three days, and be barred from accepting the trial again for ten days. Meanwhile, the penalty for failing an Intermediate Legacy was much harsher. Players would lose five levels, be weakened for seven days, be barred from accepting the trial for twenty days, and permanently lose a small portion of their Attributes. For Advanced Legacies and Peak Legacies. Shi Feng was 90% certain that he could complete an Advanced Legacy. As for a Peak Legacy, Shi Feng had around 50% to 60% certainty of success. However, the Legacy he had eagerly looked forward to turned out to be one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. Shi Feng had never even heard of a Saint Legacy, so he was not too sure how well he would fare. 381 Attacks from Above and Below Sharlyn was a Tier 4 Great Divine Official. The information she had access to would definitely surpass a player like Shi Feng. The fact that she knew about the Destroyer of Immortality proved this point. _Should I wait a little longer?_ Shi Feng pondered in silence as he looked at the translucent sword that penetrated the ground. Now that the Destroyer of Immortality had awakened, he could take on the Legacy Trial anytime he wanted to. He could slowly build his strength before challenging the trial. That way, he would have a higher chance of successfully clearing it. After all, as one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies, the consequences of failure would be severe. It might turn out just as Sharlyn had guessed. Death! Heaven-blessed individuals were immortal existences, being able to resurrect infinitely. Yet, despite knowing this, Sharlyn had still made such an ominous claim. This proved that the penalty of failure would be unbearable, and players would have no choice but to delete their accounts and start all over again. The wisest choice for Shi Feng right now was to first increase his strength before challenging the Saint Legacys trial. However, after campaigning in Gods Domain for a decade, Shi Feng understood one thing clearly. Life in Gods Domain was like a boat sailing against the current; either he kept going forward, or he would fall behind. Pursuing stability constantly was not enough. Sometimes, one needed to take risks to achieve a breakthrough. Moreover, Shi Feng did not have too much time to waste. Risks and opportunities coexisted. The sooner he obtained the Saint Legacy, the smoother his path towards godhood would be. Originally, Shi Feng had not been certain that he could become a Tier 5 class in this life. To do so, he had to plan and prepare carefully. As for becoming a Tier 6 god-ranked class, that was nigh impossible. That was the apex of Gods Domain. How could something like that be so easy to achieve? Shi Feng was aware of his own capabilities. His current performance right now was only amazing due to his decade of experience playing Gods Domain. It was not possible to walk the path toward godhood just by having a few additional years of experience. However, if he gained one of the Ten Great Saint Classes earlier on, coupling it with careful planning and preparation, he would have a better chance of becoming a god. Shi Feng stepped up to the Destroyer of Immortality. He then grabbed the golden hilt of the sword. When he tried to pull the translucent blade out of the ground, however, it did not budge. No matter how much strength Shi Feng exerted, the sword remained firmly stuck in the floor. Instead, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Do you wish to accept the Legacy Trial? (Remaining time: 23 hours 54 minutes) Well, shit. Shi Feng bitterly smiled. The Destroyer of Immortality never intended to give him a chance to raise his strength. Sighing, Shi Feng accepted the trial. Suddenly, the Destroyer of Immortality released a divine golden light, enveloping Shi Feng. In the next moment, both the Destroyer of Immortality and Shi Feng vanished from the room. Space Transfer? Sharlyns eyes flashed with surprise at both Shi Fengs and the Destroyer of Immortalitys sudden disappearance. A powerful barrier protected the Stargazing Tower, and all forms of teleportation magic were rendered ineffective here, regardless of whether said magic was used to enter or leave the Tower. Yet, the Destroyer of Immortality had effortlessly accomplished this feat. Hopefully, that little dummy can pass the trials. Sharlyn smiled faintly, gazing at the spot where Shi Feng had stood a moment ago. Awakening that sword drained me to such a degree. Ill have to rest for a long time. I let him off too lightly by taking only 500 Gold. The next time we meet, Ill collect this debt...with interest. \--- At this moment, Shi Feng was at a complete loss. In the blink of an eye, he arrived in a dimly illuminated field. Swords were everywhere, from the sky to the earth. This place was literally a world of swords. In the distance, Shi Feng could see a mountain piercing the sky. A faint, silver glow radiated from the mountains peak, and it was the only source of light in this dim world. System: You have discovered the Origin Sword Domain. System: You are in a unique realm. All forms of communications have been sealed. You are unable to make contact with the outside world. It would seem that this Origin Sword Domain is independent of Gods Domain. Shi Feng tried to call up the system map. However, the map was blank. Shi Feng then took a look at his surroundings. As far as the eye could see, other than the mountain in the distance, there was nothing but flatlands. Moreover, the further one traveled from the mountain, the darker it would become. It looks like the only exit is at the peak of that mountain. Shi Feng then examined the swords stabbed into the ground, all of which were immovable. Some even resembled buildings and plants. Unlike flowers and trees, however, Shi Feng would receive damage if he touched these blades. To put it simply, he needed to avoid these swords as he advanced. As for the swords suspended in the sky, so long as he did not fly, they werent a threat. However, this world only took a moment to correct that assumption. After Shi Feng took a few steps forward, several swords descended from the sky. One of them just happened to slice past his arm, causing -200 damage. Crap! Raining swords?! Shi Feng looked at the swords around him, realizing why so many swords pierced the ground. Moreover, the swords that descended from the sky dealt a lot more damage than the swords on the ground. Im guessing this trial requires players to avoid the swords on the ground while dodging the swords descending from the sky? Shi Feng remained still for the moment. He silently observed his surroundings, searching for the best path towards the mountain. He chose to stand still because the moment he moved, the swords in the sky would start to fall. Most likely, the swords in the sky were set to fall based on the players movements. Sure enough, this world is trying to kill me. After waiting for a moment, Shi Feng discovered that the swords in the sky had not fallen. However, before he could rejoice over this discovery, the swords in the ground started trembling, and one after another, these swords sunk into the ground, vanishing completely. Feeling that something was amiss, Shi Feng kept his gaze on the ground beneath his feet. Suddenly, tens of swords sprung up from the ground beneath him, soaring into the sky. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng performed a backflip, dodging these blades. However, due to his backflip, the swords above plunged towards him. This is a joke, right? Shi Feng immediately unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and Purgatorys Shadow, defending against the incoming flying swords. One after another, blades of light struck the flying swords, scattering them. After these attacks, Shi Feng finally realized that this world intended to toy with him until he died. If he rested, the swords on the ground would attack him after a short time. If he moved, the swords hovering in the sky would rain down on him. Such an attack pattern allowed him little to no time to rest or recover, keeping him on guard. Shi Feng also discovered something else. The swords that descended from the sky were growing more accurate and faster as he advanced. Is this place trying to exhaust me to death? Shi Fengs lips curled up slightly with amusement. Immediately, he switched out the Aura of Space on the Seven Luminaries Ring for the Aura of Wind, increasing both his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 40% and Agility by 30%. He then dashed towards the distant mountain. The moment Shi Feng moved, the countless blades in the sky began their assault. They all turned their blades towards Shi Feng and shot towards him. However, Shi Feng was like a gust of wind. Relying on his Movement Speed alone, he avoided most of the attacks. In addition, his increased Attack Speed allowed him to strike down the remaining swords effortlessly as he darted onward. However, after running for a few minutes, the ground in front of Shi Feng suddenly split apart. In the next moment, bone knights in silver armor crawled out of the fissure, every one of them emitting frightening killing intent as they rushed towards him. [Skeleton Warrior] (Undead Creature, Elite Rank) Level 25 HP 20,000/20,000 382 Legacy Chapter The silver suits of armor shone brilliantly under the dimly lit sky, creating an exceptionally conspicuous sight. The assault from all directions forced Shi Feng to an abrupt halt. Facing such intense attacks, Shi Feng had no choice but to stop. Even he was not confident of defending against so many attacks on the run. _This wont do. I wont last long at this rate. I need to move faster._ Looking at the swords decorating the sky, an idea, inspired by his years of experience, struck Shi Feng. Purgatory Power! Shi Fengs Attack Speed rose by 100%. He then brandished the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow, sending blades of light at the incoming swords and striking them down. After continuing this process for three seconds, Shi Feng successfully deflected all of the swords that attacked him, scattering them around him. Undead Creature? Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and examined the distant Skeleton Warriors. Shi Feng could not learn anything about these undead monsters. If he faced them one-on-one, Shi Feng was confident that he could defeat such a monster with ease. If he had to face a group of them, however, even he was not certain that he would win. Moreover, the swords in the sky still posed a huge threat. When the two combined, Shi Fengs very life was at risk. However, Shi Feng did not know if death meant failing the Legacy Trial. If it did, then he would truly be finished. As a precaution, Shi Feng did not immediately move after fending off the flying swords. Instead, he stopped to think of an appropriate countermeasure. _Changing_ _my path_ _isnt possible_ _. For now, lets_ _put these_ _Skeleton Warriors_ _to the test_ _._ The only exit was at the mountains peak. Naturally, Shi Feng could not retreat. However, charging forward rashly and accidentally losing his life was unwise. Hence, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill, sending his doppelganger charging towards the Skeleton Warriors to test their strength. By doing so, not only could he buy himself time to come up with a defense against these undead monsters, but he could also avoid falling into any traps. After all, this was the Trial of one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. He could not afford to be careless. The doppelganger possessed 70% of Shi Fengs Attributes. It was more than enough to deal with a single Skeleton Warrior. The doppelganger dodged the swords from above while approaching the Skeleton Warriors. However, when only a distance of 40 yards remained between them, the Skeleton Warriors still showed no signs of taking action. Instead, the monsters only focused on the doppelgangers every movement, killing intent oozing from their entire bodies. It looked as if they would explode at any moment. Disregarding the Skeleton Warriors lack of a reaction, the doppelganger threw the Blazing Meteor at the closest undead creature. The weapon struck the monsters thigh, causing -816 damage. It would seem that the Skeleton Warriors only possessed mediocre Defense. However, the instant the Skeleton Warrior was struck, it started moving and charged at Shi Fengs doppelganger. The Skeleton Warrior that had been hit was not the only one to move. The surrounding dozen or so undead creatures charged at the doppelganger as well. Although the Skeleton Warriors wore full sets of silver armor, their Movement Speed was extremely fast. It took them less than five seconds to close the 40-yard gap. However, Shi Fengs doppelganger did not stay idle as these undead creatures charged. Instead, it attacked with the Blazing Meteor again as it retreated swiftly. In terms of speed, the doppelganger clearly held the advantage. Despite needing to dodge the constant stream of attacks from the sky, it was still a thread faster than the Skeleton Warriors. As this game of cat and mouse continued, the HP of the Skeleton Warrior leading the charge gradually decreased. Everything proceeded smoothly, and Shi Feng, who stood in the distance, did not discover any other traps hidden in this field. Moreover, the Skeleton Warriors possessed low intelligence. Aside from carrying out some basic defensive maneuvers, the group of undead creatures single-mindedly chased the doppelganger. After a short moment, the doppelganger killed its first monster. Although a Skeleton Warrior had died, other than a tiny amount of Skill Proficiency, Shi Feng received nothing at all. He did not receive even a tiny amount of EXP. Even after the dozen or so Skeleton Warriors were wiped out, Shi Feng did not receive anything. Fortunately, he didnt really care. He was in a Legacy Trial right now. His only goal was to clear the Trial. As for whether or not he could earn EXP or items, that was not very important. With the doppelgangers probing, Shi Fengs advance became much easier. There were no other traps in the surrounding area. The Skeleton Warriors also did not possess high intelligence or troublesome skills. As long as he dealt with the attacks from the sky properly, he could deal with these Skeleton Warriors by kiting them. What the doppelganger could do, Shi Feng could do better. Shi Fengs Movement Speed was too fast. Unlike the doppelganger, not only could Shi Feng attack using the Blazing Meteor, but he could also cast AOE skills such as Thundering Flash and Earth Splitter to deplete the Skeleton Warriors HPs while maintaining the distance between them. When the arcs of lightning weaved across the Skeleton Warriors, they dealt damages of -1,242, -1,784, and -2,439 to the undead creatures. Some of the Skeleton Warriors who received critical hits lost over half their HP. In less than ten minutes, Shi Feng had reduced the hundreds of Skeleton Warriors into piles of pearly white bones scattered across the plains. Hm? Whats going on with these bones? Just as Shi Feng was about to depart from this field of bones, he noticed the bones begin to tremble. The bones then gathered. In the blink of an eye, these bones transformed into an entirely new monster. This monster was three times the size of the Skeleton Warriors from before. It wielded a Skeletal Giant Axe in one hand and a thick black chain in the other. Dark green flames burned in its empty eye sockets. Emitting an angry roar, it charged at Shi Feng with massive, thudding steps. With every step this monster took, the land beneath its feet would crack and shatter. One could see just how powerful this monster was. [Skeleton Giant] (Undead Creature, Chieftain Rank) Level 30 HP 250,000/250,000 Why is it a Level 30 Chieftain?! Shi Feng was stunned. He instantly activated Windwalk and escaped. There was no way he could face a Level 30 Chieftain head-on while dealing with the incoming attacks from the countless swords in the sky. Moreover, with the Skeleton Giants strength, a direct hit with its axe was all it needed to end Shi Fengs life. Even if Shi Feng dodged the monsters attack, the descending swords were no laughing matter. Each sword could deal -200 damage. Currently, Shi Fengs HP was only slightly over 3,000. If sixteen swords to hit him,he would lose his life all the same. Although the Skeleton Giant was colossal, it was frighteningly quick. Despite having activated Windwalk, Shi Feng still could not shake off the Skeleton Giant, the distance between them never increasing. However, Shi Feng also had to endure the rain of swords as he escaped. To avoid the blades, he was oftentimes forced to take action and strike back, affecting his speed as a result. Sometimes, in order to dodge a more densely packed attack, Shi Feng had no choice but to dodge sideways, making a 90-degree turn. However, after Shi Feng turned, the Skeleton Giant behind him would stumble. Its speed greatly fell when it changed directions, allowing Shi Feng to widen the gap between them. Moreover, due to the Skeleton Giants large frame, the sudden turn helped Shi Feng block a few of the flying swords. When the swords struck the Skeleton Giants body, the monster also received -200 damage from each attack. _How could I forget? Due to their joints, skeletal monsters have difficulty dodging and turning._ Shi Feng smiled faintly upon seeing the Skeleton Giants situation. Not only was the Skeleton Giant slow to react, but it would also receive damage from the swords above. Moreover, the Skeleton Giants huge frame made the perfect shield. Considering the situation, a plan formed in Shi Fengs mind. Following which, he made a 180-degree turn and charged directly at the Skeleton Giants back. To deal with Shi Feng, the Skeleton Giant had no choice but to turn around as well. Although its body spun relatively quickly, its feet could not keep up with its body. By the time the Skeleton Giant had stabilized itself and started swinging its giant axe, Shi Feng had arrived beside its feet. As the swords in the sky cascaded down towards Shi Feng, due to the Skeleton Giant being in the way, the monster suffered the full brunt of the rain of swords. Now, not only did the swords in the sky no longer pose a threat to Shi Feng, but they also benefited him. Seeing as his plans success, Shi Feng began to attack the Skeleton Giant. Meanwhile, no matter how many times the Skeleton Giant turned its body, Shi Feng would always appear behind it. Faced with the continuous assault from Shi Feng and the swords, the Skeleton Giants HP fell rapidly. Half an hour later, the Skeleton Giant crumbled. Even until its death, it had not landed a hit on Shi Feng. On the contrary, it had become his shield, blocking the falling blades. This fellow dropped an item? Shi Feng noticed a golden piece of paper with divine runes laying beside the Skeleton Giants remains. When Shi Feng picked it up and tried to check its information, he only received an Unknown in reply. Hence, Shi Feng used the Omniscient Eyes. Legacy Chapter (7th page): A scattered page that has fallen out of a Legacy Book written by the Ancient Gods. This Legacy Book holds records for one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. It has a total of 50 pages. After gathering all of the pages, the Saint Legacy contained within the Legacy Book will become available. Class Requirements: Berserker, Swordsman. 383 Blade Demon So, this is it, huh. Reading the items information, Shi Feng got a general understanding of the situation. Even if he ran to the mountain and reached its peak, that wouldnt mean he passed the trial. He needed to collect all 50 Legacy Chapters to pass. However, now that he knew what he needed to do, this trial would be much easier to defeat. He just had to search for Skeleton Warriors and kill Skeleton Giants to obtain Legacy Chapters. So, Shi Feng began hunting around the fields for Skeleton Warriors. Although the swords in the sky were a nuisance, Shi Feng gradually understood their attack patterns and could dodge them more efficiently. Soon, they were no longer much of an issue. Even when dealing with a large group of Skeleton Warriors, these swords would nick him a few times at most, dealing negligible damage. After killing 12 Skeleton Giants in a row, Shi Feng discovered a problem. Not every Skeleton Giant would drop a Legacy Chapter. In fact, the drop rate was very low. After killing 12 Skeleton Giants, he only obtained two Legacy Chapters. None of the monsters Shi Feng killed gave him any EXP, either. He also needed to dodge the swords from above constantly. Hunting these Skeleton Giants was truly exhausting, both physically and mentally. If not for the fact that one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies beckoned him, Shi Feng would never tolerate such a strenuous and unrewarding task. \--- While Shi Feng searched for Skeleton Warriors all around the mountain, an incident occurred in White River City. Dark Star, a Guild that White River City had already forgotten, suddenly declared its dissolution. This news came as a great shock to everyone. Some of the Guilds who had previously allied themselves with Dark Star simultaneously announced their dissolution as well. Originally, everyone had thought that White River City was on the path of becoming the overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom. However, no one could have expected the following development. Half a day after the dissolution of these Guilds, a Branch Guild of Overwhelming Smile suddenly appeared in White River City. More shockingly, Lone Tyrant, who was originally the Guild Leader of Dark Star, had become the Vice-Leader that led Overwhelming Smiles Branch Guild. Furthermore, the benefits that Overwhelming Smile offered were impressive, at least twice as valuable as what Dark Star had previously offered. It was a blatant display of wealth. The members of the dissolved Guilds promptly joined Overwhelming Smiles White River City Branch. Within half a day since Overwhelming Smiles Branch Guilds establishment, its member count had already reached 30,000. Moreover, that number was still increasing. It continuously recruited new members, thinking of ways to steal players from Zero Wing. Big Sis Aqua, Overwhelming Smile thinks too little of us. Instead of recruiting in their hometown of Maple City, they ran all the way here to fight us over members. The Guild Leader also suddenly disappeared and cannot be contacted. If we allow Overwhelming Smile to continue, by the time we start our recruitment tomorrow, they will have stolen all the good saplings. Big Sis Aqua, why dont we start recruiting right now? Snow Goose asked anxiously. It had been Zero Wings fame that had attracted players from other cities. Yet, now, Overwhelming Smile had come to steal the fruit of victory. It was truly despicable. Overwhelming Smile is truly ambitious. Theyve only obtained the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon, yet, already, theyre hungering after White River City. Aqua Roses eyes flashed with rage. Although she was not afraid of losing potential Guild Members, she could not stand Overwhelming Smiles arrogant attitude. They were clearly trying to provoke Zero Wing. Does Overwhelming Smile think it is so easy to weave a web in White River City? Lets start advertising our recruitment right now! I want to see how a second-rate Guild without a Guild Residence plans to compete with Zero Wing in terms of benefits! Once Zero Wing began to prepare for its recruitment fervently as well, White River City exploded with activity. On one side, there was Overwhelming Smile, a Guild that had claimed the First Clear of a large-scale Team Dungeon and annexed Dark Star, one of the top six Guilds of White River City. On the other side stood Zero Wing, a Guild that possessed a Guild Residence and was led by Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert. Many players on the forums were also discussing which Guild they should join. Big Brother Shadow Sword, White River City is truly interesting. Despite only being the fifth-ranking city of Star-Moon Kingdom, it is now contested over by the two most popular Guilds in the kingdom. Which Guild do you think these independent players will join? the female Guardian Knight, Turtledove, asked the Berserker beside her, Shadow Sword, with an amused smile on her face. I dont know what others will choose, but my goal from the very beginning has been to join Zero Wing, Shadow Sword wasnt interested in the competition between the two Guilds. His only thoughts right now were of passing Zero Wings assessment and polishing his strength by learning from the experts in Zero Wing. He also hoped to learn from Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame. He had no interest in anything beyond that. \--- Meanwhile, after spending an entire day at the Origin Sword Domain, Shi Feng had collected 21 Legacy Chapters. Oh? Whats that monster? At this moment, Shi Feng, who stood at the foot of Sword Peak Mountain, discovered a monster of steel slowly descended the mountain. This steel monster seemed to be patrolling its territory. Although this monster was not large, only twice as tall as Shi Feng, all four of its limbs were blades. The rest of its body was made of pitch-black steel, decorated with spikes. It looked like a machine of slaughter. Although Shi Feng wanted to know this monsters information, he only received an Unknown when he attempted to identify it. Even Observing Eyes failed to yield any results. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to use Omniscient Eyes. [Blade Demon] (Demonic Creature, Chieftain Rank) Level 30 HP 300,000/300,000 Shi Fengs interest suddenly grew upon discovering that the Blade Demon was a Chieftain ranked monster. Since the Chieftain ranked Skeleton Giant had a chance to drop Legacy Chapters, the Chieftain ranked Blade Demon before him might drop the item as well. Fortunately, dealing with a single Blade Demon was much easier than destroying hundreds of Skeleton Warriors in addition to a Skeleton Giant. Moreover, the Blade Demon only had 300,000 HP. At most, it would only be slightly stronger than the Skeleton Giants. If so, Shi Feng could defeat it easily. Of course, Shi Feng would not rashly charge to his death. The only reason he had defeated the Skeleton Giants so easily was due to the monsters dull reactions and the aid of the swords in the sky. On the other hand, not only was the Blade Demon a stronger monster, but it also wasnt that large. Shi Feng didnt expect its reaction time to be as slow. If Shi Feng confronted the Blade Demon directly, he would only seek his own death. Hence, he needed to identify the monsters weakness. _If its a Demonic Creature, then the Demon Hunter title will suppress its strength. Lets use the doppelganger to test things out first, then._ Thinking so, Shi Feng switched out his Might of a Thousand title for the Demon Hunter title. The Demon Hunter title reduced the Attributes of all darkness-type monsters within a 100-yard radius by 10% and increased Shi Fengs damage towards darkness-type monsters by 10%. Demonic Creatures were considered darkness-type monsters. Following which, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill and sent his doppelganger charging forward. When the doppelganger was 40 yards away from the Blade Demon, it threw the Blazing Meteor at the monster. A red glow instantly crossed the distance between the doppelganger and the Blade Demon. Just as the Blazing Meteor was about to hit the Blade Demons back a black streak of light flashed over, striking the Blazing Meteor out of its path. What? Is it that amazing? Does it not have any blind spots? Shi Feng muttered in shock. Shi Fengs doppelganger had clearly launched its attack, yet, as if the Blade Demon had eyes in the back of its head, it deflected the flying projectile. Moreover, the Blade Demons reaction was astonishingly quick; the Skeleton Giants paled in comparison. However, Shi Feng did not believe that the Blade Demon had no blind spots. The doppelganger activated Windwalk and circled to the other side of the Blade Demon. Once again, it threw the Blazing Meteor, launching a series of attacks in quick succession. The Blazing Meteor shot at the Blade Demon again and again. However, no matter which angle it approached, the Blade Demon easily deflected it. Moreover, the monster moved extremely fast, leaving afterimages wherever it passed. In just a moment, the Blade Demon stood in front of Shi Fengs doppelganger. _Shua! Shua! Shua!_ In the blink of an eye, the Blade Demon had launched dozens of attacks. Despite the doppelganger having already activated Defensive Blade, the Demon broke through the skill almost instantly. The doppelganger only managed to block a few attacks before losing its life Shi Fengs eyes widened as he watched his doppelgangers death. However, after a brief moment of shock, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that the Blade Demon had not returned to its wandering after killing the doppelganger. Instead, it turned around and charged directly at him. 384 Unique Set Equipmen Despite also being a Level 30 Chieftain, the Blade Demon was far more powerful than the Skeleton Giant. Realizing that he could not face the Blade Demon directly, Shi Feng immediately activated Windwalk and ran. He wanted to break away from the combat area as quickly as possible. However, after running for over a hundred yards, the Blade Demon was still on his tail. Although Shi Fengs Movement Speed was much higher than the Blade Demons, with the countless blades in the sky restraining him, Shi Feng was not actually much faster than the Blade Demon. The distance between the two hovered around 30 yards. The Blade Demon was determined to chase Shi Feng to the ends of the world. As long as the Blade Demon caught up to Shi Feng, he would have to deal with the attacks from both the Blade Demon and the swords descending from the sky. At that time, his fate would be sealed. _I need to find a way to deal with it. Ill be in trouble if it catches up._ Shi Feng examined the surrounding terrain. The area around him was the very definition of flatlands. The fields were endless, and there was nothing that he could use to his advantage. However, as Shi Feng moved further away from Sword Peak Mountain, the number of swords that descended from above increased. It was as if they were reminding Shi Feng that he was not allowed to move away from the mountain. However, Shi Feng couldnt care less right now. If he stopped, only death awaited him. Hence, he continued running at full speed while enduring the countless swords raining down on him. After running for a certain distance, Shi Feng suddenly noticed that, whenever the Blade Demon behind him touched the densely packed swords that had fallen to the ground, damages of -100 would appear above its head. Due to the hindrances in its path, the Blade Demons speed also slightly decreased. Shi Fengs troubled expression transformed into a wicked smile. Just before the effect of Windwalk was about to disappear, Shi Feng took out a Speed Scroll from his bag and used it. He then continued running away from Sword Peak Mountain. This time, however, Shi Feng purposefully zigzagged. This way, if the Blade Demon wished to approach him, it would definitely collide with the swords on the ground. As a result, not only would the Blade Demons speed decrease, but it would also receive a continuous stream of damage. The Blade Demon had a total of 300,000 HP. With its battle recovery, it could regain 3,000 HP every five seconds. Shi Feng could not kill the Blade Demon by relying only on the scattered swords. Hence, Shi Feng occasionally threw the Blazing Meteor at the monster. However, the Blade Demons defensive capabilities were simply too powerful. Out of all of Shi Fengs attacks, only 10% struck the Blade Demon. Shi Feng also used skills such as Thundering Flash and Earth Splitter, dealing over -1,000 damage with each hit. Overall, the damage the Blade Demon received barely surpassed its battle recovery. If Shi Feng wanted to kill the Blade Demon, he would need to spend a very long time to do so. _It seems that I can only drag things out._ Shi Feng had no other options. The only fortunate thing about this situation was that the Blade Demon could eventually die. \--- Time passed, bit by bit. While Shi Feng played his game of cat and mouse with the Blade Demon, White River City had become extraordinarily lively. Zero Wing had finally started its recruitment. The independent players who had waited eagerly for this moment were incomparably excited. As everyone arrived at Zero Wings recruitment location, anticipation overwhelmed them. The Purple Sun Mansion, the real estate that occupied the largest lot and best location in White River City, was actually Zero Wings Guild Residence. Im not seeing things, right? Isnt this the Purple Sun Mansion? Zero Wing isnt even giving the other Guilds a chance! Damn! Zero Wings Guild Hall is huge! It wont have any problems holding several thousand players at a single time! Thats nothing. I have a brother in Zero Wing. I hear that its even more amazing inside. Aside from having a high-class bar, many NPCs appear every day to issue Guild Quests. The number and variety of Guild Quests they get far surpass those available at the Adventurers Association. Not only can members of Zero Wing obtain a lot more EXP, but the item rewards they can get from the quests are also much more abundant. Some quests even reward Secret-Silver items. Also, if members rest inside the Guild Hall, they can accumulate a Double EXP buff. There are private rooms available for rent, too. For a time, everyone began forming a long queue outside Zero Wings Guild Residence, enthusiastically applying to Zero Wing. From a glance, the number of players in line had already exceeded 30,000. The many benefits such as high-level quests, Double EXP buff, private rooms and more had sent all the independent players into a frenzy. Meanwhile, when news of Zero Wings Guild Residence spread, the various Guilds throughout Star-Moon Kingdom tumbled into turmoil. Originally, these Guilds didnt think much of a Guild Residence. However, they never expected a Guild Residence to provide such significant benefits. All this time, they regarded a Guild Residence as only a symbol of a Guilds establishment, a place where Guild members could gather and chat. Now that they realized what a Guild Residence could do, the upper echelons of these Guilds felt a chill crawl down their spines. A Guild Residence was simply too terrifying. Not only could it increase the leveling speed of Guild members, but it could also provide a source of Coins for the Guild. Now that Zero Wing possessed its own Guild Residence, the Guild would no longer have to purchase Coins using Credits or form teams to specifically farm Coins. The Guild Residence also had other aspects that could allow a Guild to develop quickly. How could Guilds like theirs that did not possess a Guild Residence compete with Zero Wing now? At this time, the first-rate Guilds who were not originally concerned with Zero Wing had to reevaluate their opinions. Young Master Feng, now that Zero Wing has revealed their Guild Residence, everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom has shifted their attention back to them. Overwhelming Smiles achievement can no longer hamper Zero Wings recruitment. Should we focus on solidifying the Branch Guild in White River City? I have really underestimated Black Flame. However, dont think that I am out of options, Feng Xuanyang sneered. Since you dare challenge me, you will only have one ending. Tell Overwhelming Smile this: dont worry about spending money; just steal as many players from Zero Wing as possible. I want to see just how a Guild without many members can develop. Shortly after Feng Xuanyang gave his command, Overwhelming Smile took action. Overwhelming Smile shocked the various Guilds in White River City. Overwhelming Smile has gone insane! Snow Goose shouted when she read the latest information on Overwhelming Smile. In order to attract independent players, Overwhelming Smile had increased the benefits it offered once again. At this moment, it offered four times what Dark Star had in the past. Normal members alone would be treated far better than even elite players of other Guilds. The benefits offered to Overwhelming Smiles elite members was beyond comparison. Overwhelming Smile even began to publicly poach Zero Wings normal members, promising them threefold what the other Guild members received if they joined the Guild. Originally, Overwhelming Smiles increase in the benefits was already shocking. Now, that they took it a step further and offered another threefold raise, how could the members of Zero Wing not be tempted? In fact, some members already considered withdrawing from Zero Wing and defecting to Overwhelming Smile. Is Overwhelming Smile planning to destroy us with money? Aqua Rose smiled bitterly, her expression turning grim. This move was truly vicious. Zero Wing had only established recently. Its funding had never been abundant. They had no chance against the large funding Overwhelming Smile possessed. \--- While Overwhelming Smile was in the midst of waging a poaching war against Zero Wing, Shi Feng had finally reduced the Blade Demons HP to its last vestiges. Die! Abruptly spinning around, Shi Feng dashed towards the low HP Blade Demon. Abyssal Bind! Flame Burst! Abyssal Bind immediately tethered the Blade Demon in place. Following which, the scorching Abyssal Blade slashed at the demonic creatures body twelve times in a row. Every slash dealt over -2,000 damage to the Blade Demon, devouring the monsters remaining 20,000 HP. As the Blade Demon died, Shi Feng noticed a piece of paper falling beside the monsters body. He originally thought that it was a Legacy Chapter. However, upon picking it up, Shi Feng froze. At that moment, he even thought he might be hallucinating. [Broken Steel Forging Design Fragment] Epic Rank Unique Set Equipment. Set consists of a total of six pieces. Current fragment count (1/18) 385 Professional Level No way! Shi Feng struggled to calm himself even after staring at the forging design in his hand for a long time. Previously, when he obtained the Fine-Gold ranked Dragonscale Set Equipment back in the Gods Grave, he had believed it to be the top Set Equipment currently available, second to none. However, with Shi Fengs current forging standards, he could not forge the Dragonscale Set Equipment. He needed to become an Advanced Forger before he could attempt it. However, a lot of time was required to advance to an Advanced Forger, time that Shi Feng did not have. Yet, now, the forging design for an Epic Set Equipment had fallen into his hands. If he could equip an Epic Set Equipment, killing players would be as easy as slicing vegetables. He would truly be invincible among fellow players. Originally, Shi Fengs head had ached thinking about ways to deal with the five cities controlled by Underworld. Now, however, this fragment swept those concerns away. As long as he could don the complete Broken Steel Set Equipment, he alone could become enough of a nuisance to disturb those Guilds. Now that Shi Feng knew the Blade Demons dropped the forging design for the Broken Steel Set Equipment, even if he had to exhaust himself for a few days, he would obtain all the forging design fragments. Shi Feng was suddenly brimming with enthusiasm. Turning around, he charged towards Sword Peak Mountain in search of another Blade Demon. Unknowingly, another day had passed in Gods Domain. Before Shi Feng logged out of the game, he had killed several dozens more Skeleton Giants and Blade Demons. In the two days he had spent in the Origin Sword Domain, Shi Feng had obtained a total of 33 Legacy Chapters and 8 Broken Steel Forging Design Fragments. He was not far from completing both the Legacy Book and the Broken Steel Set Equipment Forging Design. Shi Feng had lingered in Gods Domain for two natural days without logging out to rest. As his body had been in the virtual gaming cabin all this time, the moment he stepped out of the cabin, his stomach growled a hungry complaint. However, his body did not feel any discomfort after laying motionless for two days. On the contrary, he felt extremely relaxed. _Its a_ _s expected of a virtual gaming cabin. It even assisted my bodys absorption of the S-rank Nutrient Fluids._ Shi Feng clenched his fists and stretched. Revealing a faint smile, he thought, _My punching power should be around 320 kg now._ Originally, Shi Feng had needed five days to absorb a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, allowing the liquid to restore his bodys vitality and repair broken cells. Now, however, only two days had passed, and Shi Feng had already absorbed the S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Shi Feng judged that, based on his bodys current condition, he should barely meet the standard of a professional fighter. His current body had already far surpassed his body in his previous life. At the very least, his physical fitness was no longer inferior to the apex experts of Gods Domain. _Being young really is great. If I started training my body only after I turned 25, it wouldnt really make a difference._ Shi Feng was satisfied with his current physical fitness. As long as he continued his training, his physical fitness would continue to improve. At that time, he could exert more of his brains potential, allowing him to break through the boundaries he had never been able to cross. Although Shi Feng was hungry, he did not immediately look for something to eat. Instead, after leaving the virtual gaming cabin, he walked towards his fridge and retrieved a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluids. He then filled his empty stomach with the cold liquid. After having not eaten for 48 hours, although he had the protection of the virtual gaming cabin during this period, filling his stomach with solid food would negatively impact his body. It was best to drink Nutrient Fluids first and let his stomach gradually adapt. After a few hours, he could have a proper meal. Looking at the bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluids in his hand, Shi Feng felt like he was dreaming. Over ten days ago, he had lamented spending ten Credits on a meal. Now, however, despite drinking a bottle of Nutrient Fluids that cost 10,000 Credits, he felt nothing at all. Although his reincarnation was part of the reason, it was more due to his change in mentality brought about by strength. Suddenly, his doorbell rang. Accessing the doorway monitor through his quantum watch, Shi Feng discovered Blackie standing outside his door. For some reason, Blackie looked panicked. It looked like he had some very urgent news. Shi Feng promptly disabled the lock to his front door using his quantum watch. Brother Feng, where have you been these past two days? I havent been able to contact you all this time. I even wondered if you were in some kind of accident! As Blackie burst into the apartment and saw that Shi Feng drinking a bottle of Nutrient Fluids, he unconsciously heaved a sigh of relief. What could possibly happen to me? Shi Feng chuckled. Did something happen while I was gone? Of course, something happened! Overwhelming Smile had been poaching our members. Although our Guilds member count has increased steadily, the benefits Overwhelming Smile is offering are too enticing, and many have started considering defecting to Overwhelming Smile. I initially thought of increasing the benefits Zero Wing provides as well. However, Sister Aqua said no. Although Sister Fire Dance only focuses on the Guilds core team, she, agreed with Aqua Roses opinion. However, at this rate, more members will leave the Guild. If we allow this situation to continue, it will negatively impact Zero Wing as a whole. We need to think of a solution for this quickly. I have been trying to contact you all this time, but you havent answered any of my calls or messages. I had no choice but to visit you personally. Blackie then explained the general situation to Shi Feng. Overwhelming Smile sure is intent on destroying us with money. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Brother Feng, you too? Sister Aqua said something similar. Blackie was somewhat astonished. I understand the situation. However, I am still tied up with my quest. Go back and tell Aqua to continue recruiting members. The benefits we offer will stay the same, but loosen the entry requirements a little. Shi Feng also showed his support for Aqua Roses decision. Lets see just how many players you can steal from us. How much money do you plan to burn? Taking Blackies advice and increasing the benefits that Zero Wing offered was not a long-term solution. Moreover, Overwhelming Smile could simply counter by increasing the benefits it offered again. If this trend continued, the situation would soon snowball out of control and grow into an all-out economic war. At that time, the side with the most funds would be the final victor. Meanwhile, Feng Xuanyang, who quietly supported Overwhelming Smile, aimed for just that. If he had to increase the benefits Overwhelming Smile offered dozens of times, he would. He was confident he could destroy Zero Wing this way. Meanwhile, although Zero Wing could cause Overwhelming Smile to suffer greater losses by raising the benefits it offered, they would still lose. Zero Wing did not have the support of a large corporation. It also did not have the funds to contend with Overwhelming Smile. If Zero Wing increased its offer, it would dig its own grave. Shi Feng had seen many of such situations in his past life, and he had considered his options long ago. The best thing was to bide their time and stay on course. However invincible the opponents might seem, he would forever remain true to himself. Moreover, when Shi Feng had established Zero Wing, he had intended to establish a Guild that was pure, rather than one where its members would leave because of a little enticement. Zero Wing did not need such shallow people. At this moment, instead of cursing, Shi Feng wanted to thank Overwhelming Smile for ridding the scum from his Guild. Shi Fengs reply left Blackie speechless. However, since Shi Feng had already decided, he would fully support his Guild Leader. In truth, Blackie knew that increasing the benefits the Guild provided would only increase the burden of Zero Wing. However, he still could not help his panic. Now that he had obtained Shi Fengs reply, his anxiety began to fade. 386 Tier 1 Skill After receiving Shi Fengs confirmation, Blackie gave his report regarding Zero Wings recent recruitment. Despite their plans, Overwhelming Smiles appearance did not negatively affect Zero Wings recruitment. Instead, Overwhelming Smile had made Zero Wing even more popular than before, driving more players to apply to Zero Wing. Some players from other Guilds even withdrew from their respective Guilds to join Zero Wing. As a result, the entrance of Zero Wings Guild Residence was crowded with a sea of players. Those who did not fully understand the situation even thought that Zero Wing had already become White River Citys overlord. Though, those who knew the situation silently ridiculed the players rushing to join Zero Wing. After two days of chaotic recruitment, Zero Wing had grown from around 5,000 members to having over 10,000. If not for Overwhelming Smiles interruption, Zero Wing would have no problems surpassing the 30,000 member threshold. Unfortunately, many of the players who had been accepted into Zero Wing then defected to Overwhelming Smile almost immediately. By doing so, they could enjoy triple the benefits of the ordinary members of Overwhelming Smile, which was 12 times the treatment normally offered by other Guilds. How could anyone resist such a tempting offer? _Zero Wing will only suffer if this continues. I need to think of a plan quickly._ Shi Feng frowned as he listened to Blackies report. If the situation continued to evolve like this, Overwhelming Smile would have to waste astronomical sums of money. However, Overwhelming Smiles poaching of Zero Wings members would also increase its prestige, increasing the Guilds strength in White River City. Others might not know that Overwhelming Smile had Underworld support from the shadows, but Shi Feng knew. In addition to Maple City, Underworld had also taken control of four more cities surrounding White River City. If Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile went to war in the future, Zero Wing would be surrounded by enemies. After Blackie finished his report, he hurried back to Zero Wings Workshop, whereas Shi Feng started working out. Now that Shi Fengs body had finished absorbing the S-rank Nutrient Fluids, it was the perfect time to improve his physical fitness further. However, instead of focusing on strength training like before, Shi Feng now focused more on control over his own body. When noon arrived, Shi Feng called for a take-out. After finishing his meal, he dove back into the world of Gods Domain. Shi Feng had not come up with any good ideas to counter Overwhelming Smiles suppression through wealth. The only thing he could think of right now was increasing his strength. After logging into the game, Shi Feng continued his hunting operation. Through his previous two-day search, Shi Feng had grasped the general respawn time for the monsters surrounding the Sword Peak Mountain. As for the location with the highest spawn rate, that would be on the Sword Peak Mountain itself. However, Shi Feng had not climbed the mountain throughout this period. He doubted that the Legacy Trial of one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies would be so easy to clear. Although the Skeleton Giants and Blade Demons were indeed challenging, a Legacy Trial that was supposed to be as difficult as a Legendary Quest should not be so simple. In Shi Fengs opinion, the true danger of the Origin Sword Domain waited for him on the Sword Peak Mountain. Hence, Shi Feng had yet to set foot on the mountain. Instead, he had searched for monsters around the foot of the mountain all this time, silently increasing his strength. In the Origin Sword Domain, Shi Feng did not obtain any EXP from the monsters he killed. The drops he obtained were also limited to the Legacy Chapters and Broken Steel Forging Design Fragments. However, there was one other immediate benefit to killing these monsters. Skill Proficiency! The monsters here were all Elites above Level 25. Shi Fengs main targets, the Skeleton Giants and Blade Demons, were even Level 30 Chieftains. These Chieftains exceeded Shi Feng by 8 Levels. Whenever Shi Feng used a skill on these two monsters, he would receive bonus Skill Proficiency points, receiving around five or six with each use. In the outside world, there was a limit to high-leveled Chieftains available for players to kill. Hence, Shi Feng was able to raise his skill levels quickly here. In the Origin Sword Domain, Shi Feng had upgraded the skills that he normally needed a lot of time to upgrade in just two days. At this point, all of his attack-type skills had risen to Level 10 or above, with some reaching Level 11. When he upgraded a skill beyond Level 12, it would become a Tier 1 skill. Although players had weapons and equipment that could increase their skill levels, that particular increase would not allow a skill to undergo a qualitative change; only the skills level would change. For a skill to reach Tier 1, players needed to raise the skill past Level 12 personally. Meanwhile, as long as Shi Feng could grasp a Tier 1 skill, his combat power would explode. This was why Shi Feng diligently killed the monsters outside the Sword Peak Mountain. With this goal in mind, Shi Feng continuously searched for monsters and used his skills repeatedly, allowing his Skill Proficiency to soar. However, as Shi Feng killed more monsters, he discovered something odd. The drop rate of Legacy Chapters and Design Fragments plummeted. In the beginning, Shi Feng could claim a drop in every four or five kills. Now, he would only get a single drop after killing over a dozen Chieftains. The more Legacy Chapters and Design Fragments Shi Feng obtained, the harder it became to collect them. If Shi Feng did not increase his killing speed, it would be impossible for him to gather the required items within five days. On the bright side, where players in the outside world normally needed over a week of effort, Shi Feng only needed a few hours to upgrade a skill from Level 11 to Level 12. His efficiency was staggering. After just half a days worth of effort in Gods Domain, Shi Feng had already promoted Chop to a Tier 1 skill. [Chop] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 1, Level 1 (Proficiency 0/30,000) Additional 600 base damage. Deals up to three consecutive hits in one second. If attacks land in the same location, damage increases by 50%. Attack range: 6 yards Cooldown: 3 seconds Compared to the Tier 0, Level 12 Chop, the base damage had not increased much. However, when using the Tier 1, Level 1 Chop, Shi Feng could swing his sword three times in one second. Moreover, if his attacks struck the same location, his damage would increase by 50%. Not only did Tier 1 skills increase a players power, but they also increased a players freedom of attack. In other words, the more skilled a player was, the more damage they could deal. This was why, despite being the same Level, Tier 1 players were far more powerful than Tier 0 players. Tier 1 players also possessed much higher Attributes and a larger variety of skills. Tier 0 players had no chance of contending with Tier 1 players of the same level. Its been awhile since Ive used the Tier 1 Chop. Lets use you as a warm-up. Shi Feng dashed towards the Skeleton Giants side before him and used the Tier 1 Chop. A sharp aura covered the Abyssal Blade. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng brandished the weapon three times, sending three sword auras slashing at the Skeleton Giant. The three sword auras combined, forming an even sharper and more powerful sword aura that slashed at the Skeleton Giants joint. -1,376, -2,048, -2,062. Aside from these three high damages, the Skeleton Giant, which had remained unperturbed by Shi Fengs attacks, had suddenly fallen to the ground. The power of the Tier 1 skill was clear. After the Skeleton Giant fell, Shi Feng had a much easier time attacking it. Following which, Shi Feng used one skill after another on the undead creature. If the Skeleton Giant stood up, Shi Feng would use Chop to attack its joints, knocking it to the ground once more. A short moment later, Shi Feng had slaughtered the Skeleton Giant effortlessly. Due to the Tier 1 Chop, Shi Fengs battles between the Skeleton Giants and Blade Demons had become much easier and took less time than before. Moreover, as Shi Feng efficiency grew, he used his skill more frequently. After spending another two days, Shi Feng finally upgraded Thunder Flame Explosion to Tier 1 as well. Now, Shi Fengs attack-type skills that required Skill Proficiency were all Tier 1 skills. Compared to when Shi Feng had just entered the Origin Sword Domain, his combat power was far more frightening. It should be about time to climb the Sword Peak Mountain. 387 Magic Knigh Shi Feng had already stayed in the Origin Sword Domain for three days now. After killing a large number of Chieftain ranked Skeleton Giants and Blade Demons, the number of Legacy Chapters and Broken Steel Forging Design Fragments he could obtain from these two monsters had also reached its limit. No matter how many of these monsters Shi Feng killed, they no longer dropped any items. If not for the fact that Shi Feng wanted to upgrade all his attack-type skills to Tier 1 skills and raise his current combat power to its utmost, he would have long since charged up Sword Peak Mountain. Although he could still continue trying to upgrade the tier of his skills, the amount of Skill Proficiency required to raise a skill from Tier 1 to Tier 2 was simply too much. This was a feat that could not be accomplished within a short amount of time. In addition, Shi Feng did not have much time left. Shi Feng had promised to help Gentle Snow in five days time. Hence, he had no choice but to proceed with the Legacy Trial. Moreover, during this period of time, another major incident had occurred in White River City. After taking the First Clear of the large-scale Team Dungeon in Maple City, Overwhelming Smile had gone on to claim the First Clear of the Land of Death, the large-scale Team Dungeon in White River City. Meanwhile, Ouroboross team, which was led by Gentle Snow, was a step behind, becoming only the second team to clear the Land of Death. Although Gentle Snow was only a step behind, it was a world of difference. The reason being, only the first team to clear a large-scale Team Dungeon would have its achievement announced. There was nothing waiting for second place. If Gentle Snow wished to have an announcement of her own, then she would have to clear the Hell Mode Land of Death. However, the Hell Mode of the Land of Death was much more difficult than Hard Mode. She would require a large amount of time to raid the Hell Mode Land of Death, making it not worth her effort at all. It was much better for Gentle Snow to place her focus on raiding Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons, especially 100-man Team Dungeons. Compared to going from Level 10 to 20, the timespan between Level 20 and 30 was much wider. Leveling in Gods Domain took much longer the further one went. After reaching Level 20, players would find themselves taking far longer to level up. Hence, Guilds would have much more time to challenge Dungeons than before. On Sword Peak Mountain, Shi Feng had not met with any danger throughout his entire journey. He also did not meet a single monster on the mountain. However, the closer he got to the light at the summit, the faster the swords in the sky descended. Moreover, the number of swords that shot at Shi Feng also greatly increased, raising the difficulty of the ascent. _Is the difficulty only this much?_ Shi Feng felt very surprised. Although these dropping swords were indeed giving him some trouble, he would have no problems reaching the top of the mountain through dodging and blocking. After spending four days in this place, Shi Feng had collected a total of 49 Legacy Chapters and 17 Design Fragments. He was only one piece away from completing both items. As the only exit of the Origin Sword Domain, the peak of the mountain definitely held the final Legacy Chapter and Design Fragment. Whats that? Shi Feng suddenly discovered a majestic-looking armored knight standing at the mountaintop, the knights hands gripping a greatsword. This armored knight was different from the Skeleton Giants and Blade Demons. The reason being, this greatsword-wielding knight was not a monster but an NPC, instead. [Doren Paley] (Tier 1 Magic Knight) Level 30 HP 300,000/300,000 Level 30 Tier 1 NPCs were much harder to deal with compared to Level 30 Chieftains. Meanwhile, the Tier 1 NPC in front of Shi Feng was clearly not an ordinary existence. Although Doren Paley only possessed 300,000 HPthe same amount as the Level 30 Chieftain ranked Blade Demonthe skills and intelligence he possessed would definitely be far stronger and higher than the Blade Demons. To players, Doren Paley was a nightmare. However, Shi Feng no longer had a path of retreat right now; he could only advance. After making his preparations to confront the Magic Knight, Shi Feng charged forward while dealing with the swords raining down on him. Yet, the moment Shi Feng stepped onto the stone platform Doren Paley stood on, the swords in the sky also stopped attacking him, as if declaring that Shi Feng had completed the game of cat-and-mouse. Challenger, since you have managed to arrive at this place, it shows that you indeed possess some strength and are qualified to fight me. As long as you can defeat me, you will be allowed to continue advancing. When Doren Paley noticed Shi Feng, instead of entering battle immediately, he revealed an excited expression and explained, Starting now, you have five minutes to prepare. Five minutes later, I will start attacking. Of course, you are also allowed to initiate an attack ahead of time. I hope that you do not disappoint me. A one-on-one duel? Shi Feng looked at his surroundings but failed to discover any other traps or monsters. However, after giving it some thought, Shi Feng found nothing strange about this situation. The NPC before him was a Tier 1 class. Doren Paley was definitely not an opponent ordinary players could contend against. Since Shi Feng was given five minutes to rest, he would certainly not waste it. He promptly sat down on the stage and took out a Delicious Steak to eat. Not only would he recover Stamina and HP this way, he would also receive some bonus Attributes. Although running and dodging for long periods of time did not greatly affect a players body, it was a massive drain on their mental power. Meanwhile, five minutes was plenty of time for Shi Feng to restore himself to peak condition. However, Shi Feng did not just spend his five-minute rest drinking and eating. He also carefully observed the surrounding environment, as well as studied the NPC named Doren Paley. Shi Feng had seen the class known as Magic Knight before in his previous life. It was considered a rare hidden class. An Advanced Legacy. Magic Knights and Astromancers were classes notorious for being unorthodox. Attacks of Astromancers were known for being strange. Attacks of Magic Knights were known for being violent. Compared to a Tier 1 Swordsman, a Tier 1 Magic Knight had more variety in their attacks. The reason being, they incorporated various sorts of magic. In other words, their attacks inflicted a combination of physical and magic damage. Not even Tier 1 Shield Warriors could endure the attacks of a Magic Knight. However, this hidden class also suffered from a very glaring weakness. In order to increase their Attack Power, Magic Knights had discarded their lifesaving skills. Hence, they were very poor in terms of survivability. The seconds and minutes quickly passed by. Of course, Shi Feng would not wait until the five minutes were up to attack Doren Paley. In this kind of battle, the first person to strike held the greatest advantage. Hence, Shi Feng took the initiative to start the battle. When Shi Feng was only 40 yards away from Doren Paley, he suddenly took out the Blazing Meteor and threw it at the Magic Knights vital point. Doren Paley simply scoffed at Shi Fengs attack. He retrieved the silver greatsword from his back and lightly swung it. Immediately, blades of flame shot out from Doren Paleys greatsword. These blades of flame collided with the Blazing Meteor, striking it down, before proceeding towards Shi Feng. However, when these blades of flame were only about halfway to their target, Shi Feng suddenly appeared behind Doren Paley and initiated a Tier 1 Chop at the Magic Knights back. Doren Paley suddenly smiled. He spun around abruptly, the flames covering his greatsword growing even more prominent. With a swing of his greatsword, he sent a Flame Tornado clashing against Shi Fengs Abyssal Blade. When the two swords collided, sparks splattered the surroundings. After clashing swords for dozens of times in a row, Shi Feng concluded that, in terms of Strength, he was no match for the Magic Knight. On the other hand, his speed was superior to Doren Paleys. Despite having to retreat before the Magic Knights every blow, Shi Feng managed to avoid receiving any fatal damage. However, under the circumstances, the battle would eventually end in his defeat. After all, Doren Paley possessed 300,000 HP, whereas Shi Feng had just slightly more than 3,000 HP. In a situation where both parties were equally skilled, the side with more HP would naturally emerge the victor. To begin with, Shi Fengs combat power was inferior to Doren Paleys. As a Tier 0, you indeed deserve praise for being able to fight against me. However, what do you think of this move? Doren Paley revealed a faint smile. Suddenly, the flames surrounding his greatsword disappeared. In the next moment, cold air wrapped around the silver greatsword. With a light swing The area 40 yards around Doren Paley turned into a land of extreme frost. Inside this domain of frost, both Shi Fengs Movement Speed and Attack Speed declined greatly. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng lost his speed advantage 388 Flame Dragon’s Dance Shi Feng hurriedly retreated upon seeing this scene, wanting to escape Doren Paleys Frost Domain. He had not expected Doren Paleys intelligence to be high enough to actually grasp a players weakness. This sort of NPC was an extremely rare sight in the current Gods Domain. Only in the later stages of Gods Domain would players be able to frequently see such NPCs. Moreover, these NPCs were usually Tier 3 NPCs and above. Meanwhile, Doren Paley was only a Tier 1 NPC. _Higher intelligence. I wont stand a chance with the status quo._ Shi Fengs expression turned solemn when he saw Doren Paleys figure charging at him. If Doren Paley were only an ordinary Tier 1 NPC, even if he had 300,000 HP, Shi Feng would have been confident of defeating him. Before leaving White River City, Shi Feng had armed himself with over a hundred Tier 2 Magic Scrolls from the Guild Warehouse. Meanwhile, most of these Tier 2 Magic Scrolls came from the Blood Hand Associations stronghold with the rest from the Dungeon raids carried out by Guild members. The Origin Sword Domain was different from the Twelve Trials Shi Feng had previously undergone. In the Twelve Trials, Shi Feng had not been allowed to use any tools to assist him. However, the Origin Sword Domain did not impose such a restriction. He could use as many Magic Scrolls as he liked here. If he had over a hundred Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, it would be an easy task to deal with an ordinary Level 30 Tier 1 NPC. Even if Doren Paley had 300,000 HP, he would still die under the might of so many Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. However, the situation was different now. In the past, Shi Feng had crossed swords with many high-tiered NPCs, so he knew very clearly that NPCs who possessed higher intelligence were extremely sensitive towards Magic Scrolls. Players required some casting time, however short, when using Magic Scrolls. Meanwhile, when higher-intelligence NPCs noticed this, they would either hurriedly withdraw to escape the effective range of the Magic Scroll, or they would decisively charge up to interrupt the casting process, not giving the player any chance to attack using the Magic Scroll. Seeing Doren Paley charging at him, Shi Feng immediately brandished the Abyssal Blade and cast Abyssal Bind at the Magic Knight. Nine pitch-black chains suddenly emerged from the stone floor. In response, Doren Paley simply snorted and stabbed his greatsword into the platform. In the next moment, a golden magic array rose up from underfoot and quickly enveloped his entire body. The magic array released a faint golden glow, and when the pitch-black chains touched this golden glow, they instantly turned into smoke and vanished. Shi Feng immediately recognized the golden glow covering Doren Paleys body. This skill was called Free Will. Upon activation, the skill made the user immune to all control effects, rendering a control skill like Abyssal Bind completely useless. hi Feng gritted his teeth and activated Wind Rider, increasing his Movement Speed by 150% as well as gaining the ability to fly temporarily. He escaped out of Doren Paleys Frost Domain right after. However, when the battle began, a magic barrier had formed around the combat platform, enclosing it completely. Hence, although Shi Feng could fly now, he could not get too far. When the 20-second duration of Wind Rider ended, Doren Paley would still catch up to him. At this rate, Shi Feng would still die sooner or later. The seconds passed by quickly, and from beginning to end, Doren Paley fervently chased Shi Feng. As a Magic Knight, Doren Paley might possess great destructive power and an absolute advantage in a direct confrontation, but he was sorely lacking in lifesaving skills and control skills. Hence, Doren Paley was utterly helpless against Shi Fengs extreme speed, and he grew furious at this situation. Within his Frost Domain, Doren Paley could clearly finish Shi Feng off with just a few hits. Yet, as if Shi Feng was a lively rabbit, not only was he very agile, his ability to escape was also first-rate. I want to see just how long you can stay in the air! The moment you descend will be the moment I end your life! Doren Paley lightly snorted, glaring at Shi Feng who was hovering in the sky. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was also silently observing Doren Paley from midair. When in a desperate situation, the most important thing to do was to remain calm. That was one of the basics of surviving in Gods Domain. No matter how one looked at the situation, a Tier 0 player simply had no chance to defeat a Level 30 Tier 1 higher-intelligence NPC. Not to mention, said NPC was even a Magic Knight that possessed 300,000 HP. If it were anyone else standing in Shi Fengs place right now, they would have long since lost their lives. Despite his dire situation, Shi Feng remained very calm. The reason being, he knew very clearly that Legacy Trials would not mercilessly toy around with players. Shi Feng firmly believed that the trial should have given him a lifeline. However, where was this lifeline? The entire stone platform was currently enveloped by a magic barrier. Moreover, the platform was completely flat, with a range of activity of only 100*100 yards available. The entire platform was paved with black stone slabs with strange patterns engraved all over them. Meanwhile, the patterns on these dozens of stone slabs came together to form magic patterns that Shi Feng had never seen before. Other than those, there was nothing else on the stone platform. _Is my lifeline these magic patterns?_ Shi Feng had a certain amount of understanding in regard to magic patterns. However, he only grew confused when he looked at the magic patterns engraved into the stone slabs. Just what function did these magic patterns have? Soon, Wind Riders duration ended and Shi Feng descended back to the stage. Doren Paley immediately charged at him. Shi Feng hurriedly activated Purgatory Power and abruptly jumped. As he raised the Abyssal Blade up high, raging flames and golden lightning emerged around the blade of the silvery-gray weapon. Shi Feng then swung the Abyssal Blade down at Doren Paleys head. Suddenly, as if the space surrounding Doren Paley solidified, the Magic Knights movements turned sluggish. Not only did the Tier 1 Thunder Flame Explosion possess a wider effective range, the duration of the Fainted effect had also increased to six seconds. In addition, upon activation of the skill, enemies within a 10-yard radius would also receive a slowness effect. Enemies affected by this effect would have their speed reduced to only a sixth of their original, only recovering one-sixth of their speed with each passing second. Doren Paley snorted and activated Free Will once more, immediately shaking off the slowness effect. He then sent a Flame Cross Slash to counter Shi Fengs Thunder Flame Explosion. When the two skills collided, countless sparks flew to the surroundings. Cracks also appeared on the stone platform. Meanwhile, the impact sent Shi Feng flying backward, his body slamming heavily onto the ground. Shi Fengs entire body went numb, and his HP started madly decreasing as well. In the blink of an eye, his HP had fallen below 1,000, and it still showed no signs of slowing down. Panicking, Shi Feng hurriedly retrieved an Intermediate Recovery Potion from his bag and emptied its contents. His HP soon stopped decreasing, barely staying above the 800-point threshold before slowly rising. In the end, his HP recovered to over 1,100. Thunder Flame Explosion was a skill that possessed frightening destructive power. Yet, despite both being Tier 1 skills, just the impact between Doren Paleys Flame Cross Slash and his Thunder Flame Explosion had caused him to lose over half of his HP. If he went through another clash like that, he would definitely die. Currently, Shi Feng felt numb all over; even moving his arm was a challenge. He would not be able to defend against Doren Paleys next volley of attacks for a short period of time. However, something strange happened. Instead of immediately initiating another offensive at Shi Feng, Doren Paley actually stood there motionless. Whats going on? Shi Feng was surprised. At this moment, Doren Paley was glaring at him with eyes filled with killing intent. It did not seem as if the Magic Knight wanted to give him a breather. Yet, Doren Paley just kept looking at him. _Wait. His armor. _ Shi Feng discovered cracks on Doren Paleys black armor. However, these cracks were in the midst of slowly mending themselves right now. _Is it because my attack has damaged his armor?_ Shi Fengs heart was filled with uncertainty, and he thought of trying it once again. Currently, Shi Feng had difficulty moving about. Seeing that Doren Paley gave no indication of taking action, Shi Feng took out a Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Flame Dragons Dance, from his bag. 389 Legacy Book Shi Feng needed some time to activate a Tier 2 Magic Scroll. If he were dealing with an ordinary player or Boss, this short time he needed wouldnt be an issue. However, against higher intelligence NPCs and expert players, this small amount of time was enough for the opponent to either dodge the Magic Scroll or take his life. As Shi Feng unrolled the Magic Scroll, Doren Paleys armor finished repairing itself. At this moment, the Magic Knight gazed at Shi Feng with mockery. Lifting his silver greatsword, Dorens legs abruptly pushed against the ground, launching himself at Shi Feng with frightening speed. However, Shi Feng, who was in the midst of activating the Magic Scroll that contained the Flame Dragons Dance, could not afford to move. Otherwise, his efforts would go to waste. Faster! Hurry up! At this moment, Shi Fengs heart pounded with anxiety as he watched the slow progression of the Flame Dragons Dances activation bar. When Doren was only a few yards from Shi Feng, he abruptly jumped into the air. Raising his greatsword above his head, he swung it down towards Shi Feng. As the weapon of mass destruction descended, deep-red flames resembling snakes emerged and coiled around the blade, the moisture in the air evaporating upon the emergence of these flames. At the moment of Shi Fengs imminent peril, the activation bar of the Flame Dragons Dance finally completed. Suddenly, raging flames emerged from the crimson Magic Scroll, transforming into a serpentine dragon that shot towards the sky. Doren Paley smiled disdainfully at the sight of the flame dragon baring its fangs at him. Surprisingly, the Magic Knight made no effort to dodge the incoming dragon. Instead, he tightened his grip on his greatsword and added more power into his slash. The snake and dragon collided. The Flame Dragons Dance was a Tier 2 spell, and in terms of power, it was far superior to Doren Paleys attack. In the next moment, the flame dragon devoured the fire snake. The dragon then threw Doren, a damage surpassing -10,000 points appearing above his head. However, 10,000 damage was merely a scratch to Doren, an NPC with 300,000 HP. After Doren Paley struck the ground, he stood and charged at Shi Feng once again without the slightest pause. His current performance had completely changed. Moreover, Dorens armor wasnt even scratched. What is going on? Shi Feng frowned at the Magic Knight, confused. The Flame Dragons Dance was clearly far more powerful than his Tier 1 Thunder Flame Explosion. The spell had even inflicted over 10,000 damage. Yet, not only was the NPCs armor intact, but Doren also brimmed with fighting spirit. Considering the situation, Shi Feng quickly came to a realization. The cracks in Doren Paleys armor had not been due to damage. Watching the Magic Knight charge at him once again, Shi Feng suddenly thought of a possibility. Lets hope this works. Shi Fengs body was still slightly numb. Even if Doren did not activate his Frost Domain, Shi Feng could never outrun him. Shi Feng had also exhausted his arsenal of escape skills. Shi Feng then raised the Abyssal Blade and activated Earth Splitter. When the skill had fully charged, Shi Feng swung down his viciously sharp blade. However, Shi Fengs target was not Doren Paley this time. It was the black stone slab beneath him. Upon witnessing this attack, Dorens eyes widened with shock, and his expression became extremely ugly. He suddenly increased his speed again. However, no matter how much faster Doren became, he was not fast enough to counter Shi Fengs attack on the stone slab. Like a hot knife through butter, the silvery-gray Abyssal Blade sliced apart the black stone slab beneath Shi Fengs feet. The slash also split several other stone slabs, creating a deep, long fissure. Following which, a crack also appeared on Doren Paleys armor. Bingo! Shi Feng inwardly rejoiced. If he attacked and damaged the black stone slabs under his feet, he could force Doren Paley to halt his assault momentarily. He could then activate Tier 2 Magic Scrolls without worry. Despicable challenger! Doren Paley was no longer as carefree as before. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at Shi Feng and bellowed, Your corpse will decorate this ground for eternity! Although larger cracks began to appear on Doren Paleys armor, the Magic Knight showed no signs of stopping. Instead, he charged up to Shi Feng and swung down his greatsword. Flame Cross Slash! Before Shi Feng could grasp the situation, he instinctively used Parry to defend himself. _Peng!_ Shi Feng retreated four steps before he managed to stabilize his body. Although Shi Feng had been forced back and had to use his lifesaving skill, Parry, he revealed a joyous smile on his face. Originally, even if he negated the damage from Dorens attack, the impact would have sent him flying back over a dozen yards. Now, although his hands were slightly numb, he had only been forced to take four steps backward. This showed that Doren Paleys strength had greatly weakened. Indeed, just as Shi Feng had guessed, damaging the black stone slabs would weaken his adversary. Previously, Doren had not immediately dashed forward and attacked Shi Feng because he was worried that Shi Feng would discover this secret. Hence, he decided to hold back and allow his armor to repair itself. However, the display of his armors recovery had been another facade. In reality, Doren had tried to hide the black stone slabs recovery. Previously, Dorens position had just so happened to block Shi Fengs vision, preventing Shi Feng from seeing the damaged stone slabs behind him. As to why Doren had launched himself up to attack Shi Feng the second time, it was to prevent the Flame Dragons Dance from damaging the black stone slabs once more. Unfortunately, Dorens attempt at repeatedly disguising this fact could not escape Shi Fengs beast-like insight. Naturally, after Doren Paley realized that his secret had been exposed, he no longer attempted to hide it. Instead, he began a vicious assault on Shi Feng, hoping to annihilate his opponent sooner. However, a known secret was no longer a secret. Now that Shi Feng knew Doren Paleys weakness, he activated Defensive Blade and used Thundering Flash on the stone beneath them. Streaks of blue lightning shot out from the Abyssal Blade. In the next moment, the lightning transformed into hungry wolves that dove into the black stone slabs, charring them. Die! Doren Paleys rage flared as he swung his greatsword at Shi Feng desperately. However, Defensive Blade deflected every slash. Most importantly, with each consecutive slash, Dorens attacks grew weaker. When Defensive Blade was almost exhausted, Shi Feng switched out the Aura of Wind on the Seven Luminaries Ring for the Aura of Water. [Aura of Water] Received healing increased by 60%. Cast Consumption reduced by 30%. Activatable Skill- Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 20% HP every second for 40 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds Currently, Shi Feng had less than 1,100 HP. Even if Doren Paley had grown weaker, Shi Feng would still not survive more than a few hits from the Magic Knight. Hence, he cast Life Bloom on himself. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng recovered more than 1,000 HP. For the next 40 seconds, he would also receive over 1,000 HP every second. Following which, Shi Feng began to confront Doren head-on. While defending against Doren Paleys attacks, Shi Feng also made sure to attack the black stone under his feet. Shi Feng could not help but admit that Doren Paley was indeed very powerful. Despite losing so much of his strength, the NPC could still inflict over -1,500 with Flame Cross Slash. Fortunately, Flame Cross Slash had a long Cooldown. By the time Doren could use the skill again, Shi Fengs HP would have long since fully recovered. During Life Blooms 40 second duration, Shi Feng had destroyed over half of the stone slabs of the platform. Meanwhile, not only had Doren Paleys Strength sharply decreased, but his speed had also fallen by quite a bit. Shi Feng now had a much easier time facing the NPC. Occasionally, Shi Feng also used Phantom Kill, allowing his doppelganger to pin down Doren while he used a Tier 2 Magic Scroll from the side to destroy the black stone slabs. Unfortunately, although this infuriated Doren Paley, he could do nothing to stop Shi Feng. As soon as Shi Feng had shattered all of the stone slabs on the combat platform and was about to focus his attacks on Doren Paley Suddenly, Doren Paleys armor shattered, the metal shards scattering across the ground. Doren Paley then gripped his head with both his hands and let out an agonized scream that echoed throughout the Sword Peak Mountain. In the next moment, Doren Paleys full HP bar emptied, his body transforming into particles of light and vanishing. Four items dropped to the ground in place of Dorens body. There was a pitch-black key with a faint blue glow, a silver stone tablet, and the final Legacy Chapter and Broken Steel Forging Design Fragment. Before Shi Feng could pick up the drops, all of the Legacy Chapters he possessed flew from his bag and combined with the Legacy Chapter Doren had dropped, forming a thick and heavy ancient book. Golden divine runes decorated its cover. If translated to the language of players, these divine runes would read as Legacy Book. 390 Secret Sword Technique Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the dazzling golden Book of Legacies. With this, the trial should be over, right? Shi Feng picked up the drops before walking towards the hovering golden book before him. He then clicked on the Book of Legacies, checking its information. System: Completion Rate 70%. Do you wish to open the Book of Legacies and accept the Legacy within? What? Only 70%? Shi Feng was surprised. Taking another look, he was sure his eyes were not playing tricks on him. After defeating a Tier 1 Magic Knight like Doren Paley, which was no easy feat, he had only completed 70% of the trial Legacies in Gods Domain were categorized into different ranks. Similarly, there were differences within each rank, and these differences were based on the Completion Rate of the Legacy Trial. Completion Rates between 51%~60% would be given a C-rank evaluation. At C-rank, players would obtain the basic skills of the Legacy. Completion Rates between 61%~70% would be given a B-rank evaluation. At B-rank, players would obtain the basic skills of the Legacy in addition to 1~3 Legacy Skill Points. Completion Rates between 71%~80% would be given an A-rank evaluation. At A-rank, players would obtain the basic skills of the Legacy in addition to 5~9 Legacy Skill Points. Completion Rates between 81%~90% would be given an S-rank evaluation. At S-rank, players would obtain the basic skills of the Legacy in addition to 10~18 Legacy Skill Points. Completion Rates between 91%~100% would be given an SS-rank evaluation. At SS-rank, players would obtain the basic skills of the Legacy in addition to 20~36 Legacy Skill Points. Legacy Skill Points would unlock the Class Skills in the Legacy Book. Moreover, the more powerful a Class Skill was, the more Legacy Skill Points would be required to unlock it. The number of powerful skills a player possessed was important in determining their combat power. It was especially true for powerful Class Skills. Hence, Legacy Skill Points were extremely important. However, it was not easy to obtain Legacy Skill Points. After obtaining the Legacy Book, aside from receiving 1 Legacy Skill Point every three levels, players could only obtain more points by completing special quests and challenges. In general, Legacy Skill Points were an extremely rare commodity. Right now, Shi Fengs Completion Rate would only give him a B-rank evaluation, and he would, at most, receive 3 Legacy Skill Points. This was unacceptable. He had only obtained one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies after much difficulty, so why would he be satisfied with just 3 Legacy Skill Points? Moreover, he only needed 1% more to boost his evaluation up to A-rank and receive a minimum of 5 Legacy Skill Points. He would need to level up six times to bridge this small gap. Is it because I killed Doren Paley by exploiting his weakness? Shi Feng silently pondered his situation as he rejected the offer to open the Legacy Book. Based on Shi Fengs recollection, one needed to complete certain tasks in order to increase the Legacy Trials Completion Rate. However, since arriving at the Origin Sword Domain four days ago, Shi Feng had constantly observed and searched for anything special in the realm. He had done so precisely because he wanted to avoid missing anything, resulting in a low Completion Rate. Yet, after four days of careful observation, Shi Feng had not discovered anything special. He had the same results after he explored the entire mountain. Just what did I miss? Shi Feng thought that he had performed perfectly in this Legacy Trial, and he should not have missed anything suspicious. He had even completed the Broken Steel Forging Design. As for the Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Giants, and Blade Demons below the mountain, they would respawn indefinitely. It was not possible to eradicate them. Does it have something to do with these items? Shi Feng stored the Legacy Book before retrieving the pitch-black, sword-shaped key and the silver tablet. [Dorens Key] This is a strange key. It exudes a faint trace of ancient magic. [Secret Sword Technique] The pattern engraved on this tablet is too vague and incomplete, and no information can be deciphered. However, some kind of divine power hides within this pattern. If one gathers all of the stone tablets, this vague and incomplete pattern can be restored. Current tablet count (1/6) This was the first time Shi Feng had seen or heard of an item like this Secret Sword Technique. However, judging from its description, it should not be related to the Legacy Trial. After all, six tablets were required to restore it, and no matter how he thought about it, there should not be any more enemies as strong as Doren Paley. Hence, Dorens Key was the only possibility. As the final Boss of Sword Peak Mountain, his key would have something to do with the Sword Peak Mountain itself. Since theres a key, there must be a lock here somewhere. Shi Feng put away the key and tablet and began to explore every inch of the mountain carefully. \--- While Shi Feng was in the Origin Sword Domain, Star-Moon Kingdom had undergone many changes. The large-scale Dungeons of the various cities in Star-Moon Kingdom had been conquered, one after another, generating one system announcement after another. Moreover, due to Zero Wings incitement, the various Guilds throughout Star-Moon Kingdom had also rushed to earn Reputation, hoping to obtain their own Guild Residence. When Zero Wing had publicized its Guild Residence, Overwhelming Smile spent an astronomical sum of money to poach Zero Wings members. However, despite this being a significant blow, Zero Wing had not stopped developing. On the contrary, they grew stronger with each passing day. Now, Zero Wings member count approached 20,000. Moreover, Zero Wings members sported high levels. Currently, most average players in White River City were only Level 18 or 19, while elite players of Guilds were around Level 21. Meanwhile, Zero Wings ordinary members were Level 20, while its elite members were all Level 22 or above. Although there was only a difference of one level between the elite members of Zero Wing and the other Guilds, the necessary EXP to surmount this gap was intimidating. The majority of the NPC-commissioned Guild Quests found inside the Guild Residence were high-level quests. Not only did these quests reward a ton of EXP, but the item rewards were also impressive. Most importantly, the monetary rewards of these Guild Quests were much higher than the Guild Quests available at the Adventurers Association. As a result, the income of Zero Wings members was at least twice as much as players of other Guilds. This was also why Overwhelming Smiles high-priced poaching could not defeat Zero Wing. Snow, are you really planning to do this? the Flame Witch, Zhao Yueru, asked worriedly. This isnt what I want, either. However, I have to take this risk. Otherwise, you, too, know how things will end, Gentle Snow said, frowning as she quietly read the report she had just received. But Zhao Yueru wanted to persuade her friend but soon shut her mouth, holding back her protests. She knew that, no matter what happened, there would be a battle in the end. Only, this final battle had arrived too early, catching them unprepared. Snow, youve read the latest report. With our strength, we are no match for them. Rest assured; I would not take such a risk if I were not certain. Gentle Snow smiled faintly as she recalled Ye Fengs figure. Zhao Yueru was surprised by Gentle Snows expression. Facing such a desperate situation, she never thought Gentle Snow could still smile with such confidence. \--- Meanwhile, back on Sword Peak Mountain, after spending most of the day searching, Shi Feng finally discovered a pool on the mountainside. _This place is somewhat suspicious._ Slowly, Shi Feng walked towards the pool of water. Dipping his hand into the pool, Shi Feng immediately realized that ice had formed over his hand, freezing it solid. The water inside this pool was icy. If he dove into this water, he would freeze to death. 391 Underwater Mysteries This pool of water seems interesting. Not only is the water so cold, but it is also light as air, weightless. Moreover, even with 60 points in Ice Resistance, it still freezes my hand, Shi Feng muttered, shocked as he examined his frozen hand. Just what is this water? With 60 points in Ice Resistance, players could withstand most cold environments in Gods Domain. However, Shi Fengs Resistance was useless against this water. It was astounding. Following which, Shi Feng took Dorens Key from his bag, hoping the key would trigger some sort of reaction. However, despite making a full circle around the pool while holding the key, nothing happened. He did not discover any kind of lock, either. Is it inside the pool? Shi Feng was fairly confident that was the case. According to the statistics collected on Gods Domain in the past, most chance encounters and treasures were normally found in treacherous lands. Only a few treasures and encounters occupied safe areas, and these normally required players to possess sufficient status or luck. As for the so-called treacherous lands, players also knew them as forbidden lands. Unless players had ways of dealing with the threats, their deaths were all but guaranteed upon entering these forbidden lands. Meanwhile, the small pool before Shi Feng was clearly one such forbidden land. If he entered the pool without a plan, he would freeze to death. If not for his 60 points of Ice Resistance, he would have received a large amount of frost damage the moment he came into contact with the water. He might have even frozen to death instantaneously. Furthermore, even though it was only his hand that had frozen, it still took over a dozen seconds before it thawed completely. If Shi Feng jumped into the water, although he might not receive any damage due to his Ice Resistance, the water would still freeze his body. With how light the water was, he would surely sink to the bottom of the pool once the ice encased him. In the end, he would still drown What should I do now? Shi Feng gazed at the cold water and meditated quietly. It would be great if I could increase my Magic Resistance. It had never been easy for players to raise their Magic Resistance. It was also impossible for players to come into possession of equipment that could raise Magic Resistance at this stage of the game. Even if they had such equipment, the effects would be minimal. Shi Feng only managed to accumulate 60 points in Ice Resistance due to the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and the Golden Stigmata. For ordinary players, theyd be lucky if they had 10 points of Ice Resistance at this stage of the game. Of course, the quickest way to raise ones Magic Resistance was to consume a Magic Resistance Potion. Even a Basic Magic Resistance Potion could raise ones Magic Resistance significantly. If Shi Feng could consume an Intermediate Magic Resistance Potion, adding that to his own Magic Resistance, he might be able to cope with the frosty water. However, Shi Feng did not have any Magic Resistance Potions on him at the moment. The recipe for Basic Magic Resistance Potions only dropped in Level 20 maps and above. Meanwhile, the recipe for Intermediate Magic Resistance Potions only dropped in Level 40 maps and above. Obviously, Shi Feng could not obtain any of these recipes right now, not to mention the recipe for the specialized Ice Resistance Potion. However, if he could not enter the pool, how was he supposed to obtain the remaining 30% Completion Rate? If he entered the pool, he would become an ice sculpture. Unless he could get his hands on an Ice Resistance Potion, he had no way to combat the powerful cold within the pool. This freezing effect is truly troublesome. I wonder if Fantasy Worlds magic damage immunity will work? Shi Feng touched the water and allowed his hand to freeze once again. He then tried the activatable skill of the Aura of Illusion, Fantasy World. However, even after activating Fantasy World, the Freezing effect had not dispelled. If Aura of Illusion wont do, what about Aura of Space? Unwilling to give up, Shi Feng waited for another minute before switching to the Aura of Space and submerging his hand into the pool water once again. This time, a miracle actually happened. Although Shi Feng could still feel an unbearable, biting cold, his hand did not turn into a solid block of ice. As expected, heaven will always leave a door open. As long as he dealt with the pools effect, which bound his movements, he would have an easier time dealing with the water. So what if he had to endure a little cold? Shi Feng was confident that he could tolerate it. Following which, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger remain by the poolside as insurance. Within 40 seconds, if his life were threatened, he could immediately swap positions with his doppelganger. Shi Feng then dove into the pool, creating a loud splash. As the water was extremely light, Shi Feng managed to sink quickly with little effort. Moreover, the deeper he sunk, the darker it became. Soon, darkness devoured Shi Fengs surroundings. It was as if he had fallen into a bottomless pit. Currently, Shi Feng felt as if he had suddenly been thrown into the arctic north, naked. The slightest movement stung painfully inside this chilling water. If any normal person were in his place, they would have definitely screamed in pain. However, from beginning to end, Shi Feng only gritted his teeth and remained silent. As Shi Feng sunk deeper into the pool, the stinging sensation became more intense. At this moment, even someone with a strong will, such as Shi Feng, could no longer cope with the pain. His complexion had paled, and his eyes were bloodshot. The pain was so unbearable that he could not even scream if he wanted to. _Why havent I reached the bottom yet?_ Shi Fengs anxiety grew as he looked at the time. Ten seconds had passed since he jumped into the water. Although he had not received any actual damage thus far, the pain took a huge toll on his mental strength. He had greatly underestimated this water. He did not think that the water below would become so cold. Shi Feng was already approaching his limit after spending ten seconds in this pool. He was also surrounded by darkness, so he could not see anything below or around him. Struggling, Shi Feng activated Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Even while underwater, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame burned brilliantly as it wrapped around Shi Fengs body, causing the temperature of the surrounding water to rise rapidly. The light from the flames also illuminated Shi Fengs surroundings. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief at the effects of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. The rise in temperature allowed him to recover from the cold and pain, and the chill was just barely tolerable. As Shi Feng observed his surroundings, he suddenly discovered that the pool of water was much larger than he had imagined. Previously, he could not see anything due to the darkness. Now that he had the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, he could see everything clearly. How was this a pool? There was actually a courtyard beneath him! Hence, Shi Feng started swimming downward, hastening his descent. The courtyard at the bottom of the pool looked ancient. Its architectural style was completely different from the buildings he had seen in the current Gods Domain. It looked like the Elysium spoken of in legends. It was fascinating. Although this place was very beautiful, Shi Feng could sense great danger. Moreover, whether it was in this life or his previous life, this was the strongest sense of danger he had ever felt. System: You have discovered the Eternal Courtyard. _That should be the place._ Shi Feng swam towards the spiral building with a shut gate that he had seen from the courtyard. Even the Stargazing Tower paled in comparison to this beautiful and mystical place. If not for the danger Shi Feng felt, he would have stopped and admired the scenery. The tightly shut gate was made of gold, and many drawings had been engraved on it. These drawings seemed related to the destruction of the Ancient Gods. Shi Feng had even discovered the image of an Ancient God that he knew of, the Twilight Goddess. Some sort of power protected the golden gate, and it was impossible to destroy it with external forces. Currently, Shi Feng was not of the mind to study the images as he had discovered a keyhole on the gate. Meanwhile, this keyhole was centered in an image of the sun. Shi Feng then took out Dorens Key and inserted it into the keyhole, twisting it gently. 392 God’s Will Sure enough, it works. Upon turning Dorens Key, Shi Feng noticed the blue glow surrounding the key flow into the golden gate. Suddenly, the gate released a brilliant golden radiance. As if it were the sun, the gate illuminated the Eternal Courtyard. The gate clanked as it slowly opened. Following which, a surge of cold air bubbles rushed out of the gate. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng immediately jumped backward. However, as Shi Feng was currently underwater, he could not move as fast as usual. As a result, the bubbles blasted him backwards. Shi Feng only felt a stinging pain before his HP instantly fell by 2,000 points. _The cold air here is so powerful._ Shi Feng looked at his HP bar in disbelief. Fortunately, his Ice Resistance was sufficiently high. Otherwise, that air bubbles would have killed him. Shi Feng then took out an Intermediate Recovery Potion from his bag and drank it, recovering some of his lost HP. Despite having 60 points in Ice Resistance, he had still lost 2,000 HP instantly. How cold was it beyond this gate? Fortunately, after the gate finally opened, the cold air scattered, and the spiraling tower was no longer as cold as before. After Shi Feng entered the temple, he was immediately greeted by a large hall containing golden statues of various Ancient Gods. Among the many statues, there was one particularly eye-catching statue that depicted a valiant man raising up his sword. That man stood in the very center of the hall, and high-grade swords littered the area around him. A simple glance told Shi Feng that there were over a thousand swords stabbed into the ground. Meanwhile, every sword seemed like it was submitting to the man. Shi Feng could even faintly feel the Abyssal Blade in his hand grow restless as if it, too, wanted to go forth and submit to that man. Shi Feng was astounded. That man in the center of the hall was simply a statue. Yet, the Abyssal Blade that Shi Feng feared even showed signs of submission to him. Just how powerful had he been when he was alive? Meanwhile, a dark blue crystal ball sat below the statue. This crystal ball emitted an intense cold. Upon seeing this crystal ball, Shi Feng came to a realization. The reason the pool of water containing the Eternal Courtyard was so cold was that of the crystal ball before him. Shi Fengs heart suddenly trembled at this discovery. If the crystal ball was capable of lowering the temperature of this large pool to such a degree, it was definitely a treasure. Following which, Shi Feng quickly swam towards the crystal ball, hoping to claim it. However, before Shi Feng could reach the crystal ball, a sharp pain shot through his fingers, a damage of -1,000 points appearing above his head. Shi Feng had no choice but to back off. Shi Feng silently lamented as he gazed at the dark blue crystal ball. Despite such a powerful treasure sitting right before him, he could not take it as his own. Just as Shi Feng was about to move on and look for other treasures, a system notification rang out. System: The Will of an Ancient God drifts around this Eternal Hall. Are you willing to surrender to this Will? Before Shi Feng could react, majestic voices suddenly assaulted his mind. Submit to me! I can give you unparalleled strength and make you the most powerful man in this world! Even Gods will tremble before your might! Submit to me! I can give you eternal life and make you into the eternal master of this world! Listening to the tempting voices in his mind, Shi Feng was suddenly dazed and decided to submit to this Will. However, just as Shi Feng was about to reply Memories from the past suddenly surfaced in Shi Fengs mind. In the past, because he chose not to submit to World Dominators, Shadow had forced him out of Gods Domain. Even so, he still refused to submit and had planned to start all over again. In this life, when he faced Martial Union, Dark Star, and Underworld, as long as he bowed down, he could live a better life. Yet, he still refused. He would no longer allow others to dictate his life, becoming someones puppet. How could he possibly give in now? Just as Shi Feng was about to refuse, the majestic voice spoke once again, Dont you wish to become the master of this world? If you submit, I will give you anything and everything you want! Since it is the case, I only want the ability to say no. Can you give me that? Shi Feng refused to submit. Foolish mortal! You will regret your decision today! Since you do not wish to become my servant, die! Seeing as it had failed to delude Shi Feng, the Will of the Ancient God grew furious, and the entire hall became stifling. Suddenly, the thousands of swords that had been thrust into the ground rose into the water. Aiming for Shi Feng, every one of these swords shot towards him. In response, Shi Feng hurriedly attempted to use Replace Doppelganger to swap positions with his doppelganger. However, he discovered that he had been Silenced, the debuff preventing him from using the skill. Now that he could not swap positions with his doppelganger, Shi Feng tried to raise his swords to defend against the incoming attack. However, he discovered that not only were his skills sealed, but he also couldnt move. At this moment, he could only watch the thousands of swords slice through the water towards him. However, just as the swords were about to pierce Shi Fengs body, the dark blue crystal ball suddenly released a silver radiance. The swords flying at Shi Feng immediately froze. At this moment, it looked as if time had come to a halt. A second later, the thousands of swords shattered like glass, the metal shards drifting to the floor. After which, a loud bang echoed throughout the space of the hall. Black cracks began to appear around the hall, and soon, the space inside the hall shattered as well. Along with the shattering of space, the stifling pressure Shi Feng felt before also vanished, his body regaining its freedom. Damn! Damn! You actually dare spoil my business! Although this heaven-blessed individual has rejected me, I can still look for others! You cannot stop me forever! Meanwhile, this despicable heaven-blessed individual will die here! The Will of the Ancient Gods rage grew, and even the hall trembled. The golden gate suddenly closed as the hall began to collapse. At this moment, as if having lost its power, the crystal ball darkened. It no longer released the astonishing cold as it had moments before. Although Shi Feng did not know what was going on, when he heard the Will claim that this heaven-blessed individual would die here, he knew what he needed to do. Escape! Shi Feng immediately grabbed the dark blue crystal ball and placed it into his bag before activating Replace Doppelganger. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared outside the pool. The doppelganger had only been one second away from disappearing when Shi Feng activated Replace Doppelganger. It had truly been a close call. _That was close. A second later and I would have been dead._ Shi Feng inwardly celebrated his escape as he watched the pool of water suddenly explode. Replace Doppelganger was truly a godlike escaping skill. Although Shi Feng had come very close to losing his life, he also managed to obtain a treasure from his excursion into the pool. At the very least, he had not returned empty-handed. When Shi Feng recalled the frightening might that the crystal ball had displayed, his heart pounded with excitement. The crystal ball could actually break the seal of the Will of an Ancient God. It was no ordinary treasure. With this thought, Shi Feng impatiently opened his bag, wanting to investigate the dark blue crystal ball. Not even Legendary items had such frightening abilities. However, when Shi Feng tried to check the crystal balls information, it revealed nothing. Shi Feng then used Omniscient Eyes. To Shi Fengs shock, however, the Omniscient Eyes, which could analyze even the Destroyer of Immortality, also revealed nothing. Moreover, Shi Feng could not even touch the crystal ball now, as he instantly lost 1,000 HP the moment he tried Shi Feng felt utterly helpless. He had no choice but to set aside this treasure for now. If he wanted to use this crystal ball, at the very least, he needed to raise his Ice Resistance to one or two hundred points. Although Shi Feng could not do anything about the dark blue crystal ball, the Legacy Book had a surprise for him. Indeed, just as Shi Feng had guessed, the Eternal Courtyard where he could raise the Legacy Trials Completion Rate. Now, instead of a 70% Completion Rate, the Legacy Book displayed a 92% Completion Rate. Shi Feng had obtained an SS-rank evaluation. 393 Blade Sain SS-rank was the highest evaluation achievable in a Legacy Trial. In the past, the Legacy Shi Feng had accepted was only a Basic one. Even so, Shi Feng had spent a lot of time and effort to achieve an A-rank evaluation and obtain 7 Legacy Skill Points. Now he that had an SS-rank evaluation, he could obtain between 20 and 36 Legacy Skill Points. The thought of so many Legacy Skill Points alone was enough to excite Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng had not achieved 100% Completion Rate, he was very satisfied with this result. Now that he thought about it, the condition to achieve a 100% Completion Rate might have been submission to the Gods Will. Since he chose not to submit, this was probably the highest Completion Rate he could achieve. System: Completion Rate 92%. Do you wish to open the Book of Legacies and accept the Legacy contained within? Without hesitation, Shi Feng clicked Accept. The Legacy Book suddenly released a golden flash. The book then flipped open, and a purple ray of light shot out of the book and pierced Shi Fengs forehead. The moment the purple light touched him, Shi Feng felt his mind clear as if no secret in the world could hide from him. As the Legacy Book faded out of existence, Shi Fengs body began to emit a faint and flickering purple glow. After the flickering continued for a few more seconds, the purple glow subsided, and Shi Feng returned to normal. After successfully receiving the Legacy, Shi Feng felt his entire body brim with power. His mind was clear and unburdened as well. Right now, Shi Feng was confident that he could face a Tier 1 Magic Knight without necessarily suffering defeat. Of course, that was if the Magic Knight did not possess so much HP. System: Congratulations on obtaining one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. Rewarding 20 Free Mastery Points. System: Congratulations on becoming a Tier 1 Blade Saint. Rewarding Blade Saint title. [Blade Saint] All Attributes +20 All Resistances +15 Attack Power increased by 15%. Attack Speed increased by 20%. All Attributes increased by 30%. Although Shi Feng was still Level 22, his strength had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. His Base Attack Power alone exceeded 1,200 points, and his HP had reached 4,650 points. His HP even surpassed Tier 1 MTs now. Moreover, after being promoted to a Tier 1 class, players could receive 8 Free Attribute Points with each level up, whereas Tier 0 classes would only receive 4 Free Attribute Points. Shi Feng also had the Abyssal Blade, which provided him with two additional Free Attribute Points every time he leveled. The Golden Stigmata also increased all of his Basic Attributes by 5 points and gave him 10 Free Attribute Points with every increase in 5 Levels. In other words, where other Tier 1 players would receive a total of 40 Attribute Points with each level up, Shi Feng would receive a total of 85 points. Ordinary players could not compete with Shi Feng. In addition, after completing his Class Change, Shi Feng also gained two Basic Skills and one Passive Skill. [Sword Dominator] (Passive Skill) Can freely swap out sword-type weapons in both combat and non-combat states. [Blade Dance] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 1, Level 1 (Proficiency 0/30,000) Allows simultaneous control of up to a maximum of five sword-type weapons for both attack and defense for 10 seconds. Each weapon has 80% users Strength and 50% users damage. Range: 40 yards Cooldown: 1 minute [Illusory Shadow] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 1, Level 1 (Proficiency 0/30,000) Upon activation, players next six attacks cannot be blocked, and each attack will deal 40% attack damage. Cooldown: 40 seconds Shi Feng was shocked upon reading these skills descriptions. The Basic Skills of the Blade Saint were already so powerful. Although Blade Dance was inferior to the Abyssal Blades Nine Dragons Slash in terms of the number of weapons and burst damage, Nine Dragons Slash could only attack, not defend. Moreover, as the weapons summoned by Nine Dragons Slash were phantoms, they did not possess any impact force. However, Blade Dance was different. The five controlled weapons were tangible and possessed 80% of Shi Fengs Strength. This feature was far more valuable than just high damage. Through the consecutive attacks of the five swords, Shi Feng could break his opponents balance and create a gap in his opponents defense. If Shi Feng could not defend against an attack by himself, he could also use the five swords to boost his defense. Meanwhile, Illusory Shadow was even more amazing. It was perfect for PvP. In PvP[2] battles in Gods Domain, when both sides were equally strong, the opponent would usually block over 90% of the attacks. However, if one side possessed an unblockable skill, it would upset the balance. It was especially true if Illusory Shadow were used when both sides were nearly dead. Such a trump card could determine the outcome of a battle. _The Blade Saint is indeed worthy to be called one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. If I use these skills in_ _PvP_ _, dealing with a Magic Knight with the same Attributes as myself will be easy._ After reading the descriptions of the Blade Saints Basic Skills, strategies for future battles began to surface in Shi Fengs mind. Originally, Swordsman was a balanced class. Although Swordsmen were not as durable as Shield Warriors or had the endurance of a Guardian Knights, the frightening power of Berserkers, the long-range capabilities of Rangers, or the burst damage and dexterity of Assassins, the class didnt have any shortcomings. The class was just as strong, or just as weak, against all other classes. Meanwhile, the Blade Saint was simply the enhanced version of the Swordsman. Every aspect of a Swordsman had increased. It was probably the most formidable class in Gods Domain. Following which, Shi Feng called up the system interface. There was now a new tab called Legacy Skills Menu in the system menu. Selecting this tab, the Legacy Skill Menu that appeared reported that Shi Feng had 31 Legacy Skill Points available, as well as plenty of skills that he could learn. There were over a hundred skills listed in the menu. However, there were only six Tier 1 skills Shi Feng could learn right now, and 2 Legacy Skill Points were required to unlock a Tier 1 Basic Legacy Skill. Meanwhile, among these six Tier 1 skills, there were two that made Shi Fengs eyes shine. One of them was Skywheel Sword; the other was Blade Liberation. [Skywheel Sword] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 1, Level 1 (Proficiency 0/30,000) Inflicts 1,000 base damage plus 200% weapon damage to all enemies within a radius of 20 yards. Also seals all enemies within range, preventing them from leaving the area for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds [Blade Liberation] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 1, Level 1 (Proficiency 0/30,000) Grants player unparalleled strength for 20 seconds. Effect obtained varies based on the weapons unlocked potential. After the duration, player is weakened. All Attributes decrease by 80% for three minutes. Cooldown: 10 hours Skywheel Sword was one of the extremely rare AOE control skills. Whether it was used in PvP or PvE[2], it was indispensable. Meanwhile, Blade Liberation belonged to the super-berserk skill category. It could be a trump card when Shi Feng was in a desperate situation. It was also indispensable. However, when Shi Feng saw the points required to unlock these two skills, he immediately sucked in a breath of cold air and very nearly cursed. Skywheel Sword required 10 points to unlock, while Blade Liberation required an astonishing 20 points. With the total points these two skills demanded, Shi Feng could learn 10 Basic Class Skills. However, these high requirements also made Shi Feng aware of just how extraordinary Blade Liberation was. For an AOE control skill such as the Skywheel Sword, the demand of 10 Legacy Skill Points was not odd. However, Blade Liberation needed twice that amount to unlock. With 20 Legacy Skill Points, Shi Feng could even learn a Tier 3 Class Skill. TL Notes: [1]PvP (Player-versus-Player): a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between two or more live participants. This is in contrast to when players compete against computer-controlled opponents and/or players, which is referred to as player versus environment (PvE). [2]PvE (Player versus environment, also known as player versus monster): refers to fighting computer-controlled enemies. 394 Times Have Changed The Legacy Trial had given him a total of 31 Legacy Skill Points. Anyone would hesitate over spending 30 points on only two skills. However, Shi Feng did not. With his mind made up, Shi Feng clicked to learn both Skywheel Sword and Blade Liberation. Suddenly, his stock of Legacy Skill Points plummeted to 1. To an expert in Gods Domain, nothing was more important than a powerful skill. A powerful Tier 1 skill had a lot of versatility, so it was not easy to master. However, if mastered, it would not be surprising if a players combat power increased by severalfold. As the saying went, a bird in the hand was worth two in the bush. Although Shi Feng could learn more skills if he spent the 30 Legacy Skill Points on less costly skills, the skills he learned would not contribute as much to his overall combat power. During dangerous moments, in particular, the super-berserk skill, Blade Liberation, would be far more useful than a dozen other ordinary Tier 1 skills. After learning the two Class Skills, Shi Feng used a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. \--- At this moment, White River City buzzed with activity. Overwhelming Smiles high-priced poaching had boosted White River Citys development. A flood of independent players had migrated to White River City with the intention of joining Overwhelming Smile. Based on the statistics offered by the official game developers, the player population in White River City had exceeded three million. White River City was now the most populated city in Star-Moon Kingdoms eastern region. It was also the third most populated city throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Looking at this situation, Shi Feng didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. Originally, he had intended to make White River City the most popular city in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, Zero Wings Guild Residence was in White River City, so it had the home-field advantage here. However, he never thought an enemy like Overwhelming Smile would actually help him achieve that plan. Fate truly knew how to toy with people. If Feng Xuanyang, the mastermind behind this situation, knew Shi Fengs thoughts right now, he would most likely pop a vein or two out of anger. However, Shi Feng also could not help but admit that Feng Xuanyangs plan of desperately throwing money away was very effective. Currently, Overwhelming Smile had become the undisputed number one Guild in White River City. The Branch Guild in White River City already had over 80,000 members. Among them, there were also quite a few elite players. Compared to the other Guilds in White River City, Overwhelming Smile was far superior. Moreover, during this period, Overwhelming Smile had continuously raided large-scale Dungeons around White River City. As if they were on steroids, Overwhelming Smiles raiding speed far surpassed Gentle Snows team; they were on completely different levels. In addition, Overwhelming Smile had also offered to purchase information regarding Reputation Quests at a high price, apparently intending to become the second Guild in White River City to own a Guild Residence. In contrast, Zero Wing showed no signs of movement at all. The Guilds member count held steady around 20,000. If not for the high-level quests and Double EXP buff available from the Guild Residence, most of Zero Wings members would have long since defected to Overwhelming Smile. Brother Feng, youre finally out. Have you completed your Class Change? Not long after Shi Feng returned to White River City, Blackie contacted him. Yeah. How has the Guild been recently? Shi Feng asked, not bothering to discuss his new class. What do you think? The entire Guild has been spiritless these past few days, and everyone is just focusing on quests. Many in the Guild have also started complaining and asking why the core team hasnt moved against Overwhelming Smile yet. Overwhelming Smiles suppression has them feeling resentful. Moreover, those Overwhelming Smile bastards have also started ridiculing Zero Wing publicly, claiming that were all bark and no bite, Blackie said, feeling slightly indignant. Brother Feng, since youve returned, why dont we start raiding a Level 20 large-scale Dungeon and show those punks from Overwhelming Smile Zero Wings strength? Currently, the Level 20 Dungeons in White River City were only 10- and 20-man Team Dungeons. However, in the 50-man large-scale Team Dungeon, Cerek Dungeon, Overwhelming Smile had not managed to even meet the first Boss of Normal Mode before suffering a team-wipe. Meanwhile, if Zero Wing could obtain the First Clear of Cerek Castle, it would rain on Overwhelming Smiles parade. Not only would it extinguish their arrogance, but it would also increase Zero Wings reputation. As for whether or not they could actually raid Cerek Castle, Blackie didnt doubt their success. Others might not realize how strong Zero Wings core team was, but Blackie was well aware Moreover, with Shi Feng around, it would be a simple task to clear the Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeon, Cerek Castle. How many people in the Guild have completed their Class Change? Shi Feng agreed with Blackies plan, but Cerek Castle was not easy to dominate. There are 39 members who have completed their Class Change. Among them, Sister Aqua was the first to obtain her Tier 1 class, while Sister Fire Dance was second, Blackie said, a hint of fear surfacing in his eyes as he said Class Change. He had never expected that the Class Change Quest would be so difficult. If not for the fact that he possessed the Epic ranked staff, Maviss Guard, he might not have completed the quest. Fortunately, he passed his Class Change and obtained an A-rank evaluation. While he waited for Shi Fengs return, he had familiarized himself with the combat style of a Tier 1 class. Precisely because the Class Change Quest was not simple, many core members of Zero Wing had failed it. As these members had to wait a few days before they could challenge the quest again. Moreover, as everyone had been busy with their respective Class Change Quests, the levels of Zero Wings core members had fallen behind. Now, Zero Wing no longer occupied all of the top 100 spots on the White River City Ranking List. Others had even claimed a few of the top 10 ranks. This had been a huge blow to Zero Wings morale and reputation. Thirty-nine? Not bad. Once we have more than 50, I guess we can make a trip to Cerek Castle, Shi Feng said with a faint smile. In truth, he was somewhat surprised by Blackies report. In the past, even when most players were around Level 24 to 25, most Guilds in White River City had not had more than 20 Tier 1 players. Currently, the average player in White River City was only around 18 to 19. Yet, Zero Wing already possessed 39 Tier 1 players. Although part of this reason was that Shi Feng had leaked some information about the strategy to challenge a few Basic Class Changes, the number of players that had succeeded was still astonishing. The difference in combat power between Tier 1 players and Tier 0 players was like the difference between heaven and earth. It was not something that could be measured by levels. Regarding the White River City Ranking List, ever since Zero Wings Guild Residence had been established, Shi Feng no longer troubled himself with it. After all, the future was the era of high-tiered players, not high-leveled players. Brother Feng, do you really mean it? Blackie suddenly grew excited. During this period, the oppression he had suffered from those bastards in Overwhelming Smile frustrated him. Look at how excited you are. Of course, I mean it. However, I still have something I need to attend to right now. For now, have everyone familiarize themselves with the combat style of their Tier 1 classes, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although everyone had already evolved to a Tier 1 class, the freedom a Tier 1 class possessed had also become much higher. If players could not properly adapt and display their strength, their combat power would not improve much. Okay! Leave it to me! Ill let everyone know! Blackie said excitedly before disconnecting the call. He then proceeded to contact those who had already changed classes. Meanwhile, Shi Feng took a look at the time, noticing that he still had quite some time before his appointment with Gentle Snow. He then retrieved Selioras Communication Crystal from his bag. The Grandmaster Forger had given him this item herself, and it allowed him to contact Seliora at any time. Previously, Shi Feng had helped Seliora become a Grandmaster Forger, resulting in Selioras Favorability towards him to increase greatly. Moreover, in order to search for materials to produce an Epic item, Seliora had gone on a journey. Shi Feng had obtained the Forging Design for the Epic ranked Broken Steel Set Equipment back in the Origin Sword Domain. However, if he had to forge an Epic item by himself, who knew how long it would be before he could achieve such a feat? Since he had a connection with a Grandmaster Forger, why not use it? 395 Broken Steel Legacy Set Equipmen Shi Feng then used the Communication Crystal to contact Seliora. Hello, Miss Seliora. I am Ye Feng. I have something I would like your help with. I wonder if you have any time to spare right now? Shi Feng carefully asked. Ultimately, his current status was far from comparable to Selioras. Although they had a good relationship, basic courtesy was still required, if he wished to ask her for a favor. Oh, its you. Im very busy right now, so make it quick. Although Seliora did not immediately reject him, she still did not show any sign of interest. To Seliora, nothing was more important than collecting Epic ranked forging materials right now. If not for the favor she owed Shi Feng, she would have directly rejected his request, instead of taking the time to listen to him. Shi Feng was aware of this point. After all, he was extremely familiar with Selioras personalitysomeone who was wholeheartedly focused on forging, without the slightest bit of interest in anything else. This was also why she had managed to become a Grandmaster Forger at such a young age. Shi Feng then chuckled and said, I have a forging design for an Epic Set Equipment. What? Epic Set Equipment!? Selioras eyes suddenly shone. She hurriedly demanded, Why didnt you say so earlier?! Meet me at my smithy right away! Shi Feng shook his head and laughed when he heard Selioras impatient tone. To NPCs, Epic ranked forging designs, much less a forging design for an Epic Set Equipment, were extremely rare. It was the dream of countless forgers to produce a set of Epic Equipment. Meanwhile, to players, Epic ranked forging designs were much more difficult to obtain. In the past, Shadow had only managed to get a few pieces. As for Epic Set Equipment Forging Designs, Shi Feng had only heard about them occasionally and had never personally seen one himself. In Gods Domain, Set Equipment were half a rank stronger than discrete equipment of the same rank. In other words, the quality of an Epic Set Equipment was above that of Epic Equipment, but below that of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. To players who could not get their hands on Fragmented Legendary Equipment, Epic Set Equipment was the best equipment available. In this life, Shi Feng was truly fortunate to have obtained the forging design for an Epic Set Equipment. Half an hour later, Shi Feng arrived at Selioras smithy in a horse carriage. At this moment, the door to her smithy was still shut tight, and it did not seem she planned to do business at all. Shi Feng walked over and knocked on the door. The thick wooden door then slowly opened, and a surge of scorching air rushed out of the house. In the next moment, Seliora walked out from within before quickly dragging Shi Feng into the house. Despite having not seen each other for some time, Seliora looked exactly the same, still fully garbed in black leather clothing. That large V-shaped collar revealed her snow-white skin. Her black leather pants tightly hugged her slender legs. Seliora currently exuded an enchanting charm. Hurry up and let me see it~~ Seliora pushed Shi Feng against a table, her body very nearly sticking to his. Her eyes shone with excitement as she spoke, failing to notice how lethal her impure actions were Although Shi Feng had long since gotten used to Selioras personality in his past life, his heart still raced involuntarily every time they met. Here it is. Shi Feng calmed down somewhat and retrieved the Broken Steel Forging Design from his bag. [Broken Steel Set Equipment] Epic Rank Unique Set Equipment Six-piece set consisting of: * Broken Steel Gauntlets * Broken Steel Breastplate * Broken Steel Helmet * Broken Steel Leg Guards * Broken Steel Boots * Broken Steel Bracers Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,000, Agility 1,200, Sword-related Mastery 350 Class Restriction: Blade Saint Originally, Shi Feng had thought he could equip this Broken Steel Set Equipment immediately. However, 1,000 points in Strength and 1,200 points in Agility were definitely not achievable by players below Level 30. At the very least, one needed to be above Level 50 to possess such Attributes. Meanwhile, the materials required to produce this Set Equipment were 12 pieces of Eternium, 300 Mana Stones, 1,000 pieces of Titan Ore, 12 Fire Source Crystals, 12 Water Source Crystals, 12 Wind Source Crystals, 12 Earth Source Crystals and one Nucleus of Life. The person who drew this design must be insane! Is he trying to make a Legendary item? Seliora gaped in shock after inspecting the forging design. Not to mention Selioras, even Shi Fengs heart was beating madly right now. He, too, was dumbfounded by the description. Shi Feng had previously been caught up in his joy over becoming a Blade Saint. Moreover, he knew it was impossible for him to produce the Broken Steel Set Equipment by himself and to gather the materials required to make the set. Hence, although Shi Feng had long since completed the Broken Steel Forging Design, he never actually bothered to take a look at it. As for the reason why Shi Feng had come looking for Seliora this time, he simply wished to know how confident she was in producing the Set Equipment. That way, he could make appropriate preparations for it. However, after seeing the forging materials required, Shi Feng immediately dismissed his previous thoughts of making preparations. Just collecting a single set of materials was nigh impossible, not to mention collecting a second set. Previously, Shi Feng had spent hundreds of Gold just to produce 21 Mana Stones. Now, the Set Equipment actually required 300 Mana Stones! That was a few thousand Gold, at least! However, even if he did manage to obtain the 300 Mana Stones, Eternium was something much rarer and more precious than even Mana Stones. Countless Master Forgers dreamt of obtaining even just one piece. Yet, the set actually needed 12 to produce! Titan Ore was also a considerably high-class rare ore. At this stage of the game, nobody was capable of mining such an ore yet. As for the Elemental Source Crystals, they were all materials highly sought after by Master Alchemists. Their preciousness and rarity were not one bit lower than Eternium! Meanwhile, the most inconceivable thing was that the Broken Steel Set Equipment actually required a Nucleus of Life. The value of that item far surpassed even the Water of Life, and it was something that could only be found with luck. Miss Seliora, if you have the materials, how confident are you in making it? Shi Feng asked. Originally, he had already planned on giving up on producing the Broken Steel Set Equipment. However, after giving it some thought, he still chose to inquire. You really have the materials? Selioras expression immediately changed upon hearing Shi Fengs words. Her gaze as she looked at Shi Feng was as if she were looking at a Seven Luminaries Crystal Mountain, and she beamed at him as if saying, Tycoon, lets be friends! I was only asking. Shi Feng smiled bitterly, shaking his head. Even if he sold everything in his possession right nowincluding himselfhe still wouldnt be able to gather all the required materials. Around 20%. If you give me more time to practice, I can raise it to 30%. Seliora rolled her eyes at Shi Feng, feeling slightly disappointed. However, her interest in producing the Broken Steel Set Equipment still burned brightly. Thirty percent? Shi Feng had also made his own estimations before. It would be extremely fortunate if Seliora could have a 20% success rate. Most likely, only a few NPC Grandmaster Forgers could actually achieve a 30% success rate. As for players, even if Shi Feng waited until someone became a Grandmaster Forger, these players would have around a 10% success rate, at most. Ill have to trouble Miss Seliora, then. I will try my best to collect the materials required. Since you have entrusted this task to me, I will continuously research this forging design, while you gather the materials. As for the cost of making it, I wont charge you anything if it is unsuccessful, Seliora said happily. In Gods Domain, one needed to pay an exorbitant labor fee when commissioning a forgerbe they players or NPCsof Master rank and above to produce an item, regardless of the final result. Now, however, Seliora offered not to charge him should she fail. It could be seen just how happy Seliora was right now. System: Selioras Favorability towards you has increased by 100 points. Currently, Shi Feng was in no hurry to produce the Broken Steel Set Equipment. After all, even if it was produced, he did not possess the Attributes needed to equip it. In order to do so, he needed to be above Level 50 at the very least. During this period, he could slowly gather the required materials. Following which, Shi Feng left the Broken Steel Forging Design at Selioras place to allow her to properly study it. He then hailed another carriage and hurried to the location he had agreed to meet Gentle Snow at. 396 Powerful Aid Inside Blue Mountain Restaurant, a high-class restaurant located in White River Citys Nobles District. As White River Citys upper-class area, the cost of living here was very high. It was a place that ordinary players rarely visited. At this moment, however, there were actually three players, two women and one man, sitting under one of the outdoor gazebos of Blue Mountain Restaurant. Of the two female players, one was a bright and seductive witch, while the other was an otherworldly fairy. Meanwhile, the man exuding a cold, murderous intent by their side also possessed a valiant look. With his combination of a handsome face and frosty personality, many young ladies would definitely fall prey to him. Snow, you can tell me who it is now, right? Just who is that mysterious person you called for? Zhao Yueru whispered as she shifted closer to Gentle Snows side, the expression on her face saying, I wont tell anyone else. Dont worry. You yourself have met that person before. In any case, hell be here in just a moment. Gentle Snow smiled faintly. I know them? Zhao Yueru immediately started searching her memories, trying to recall all the experts she had met. However, taking into consideration the severity of the matter this time, she dismissed the large majority of them. In the end, she still shook her head and gave up. She truly could not figure out just which amazing character her friend had invited. If Zhao Yueru had to point out an amazing character she had personally met before, then that would be Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert, One-hit Asura Black Flame. However, as the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Black Flame was obviously not suitable this time. If they really were to invite him, those people might even disagree to hold the match and make up even more excuses. There were countless players in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, Black Flame managed to obtain the rank of 481 on the Gods Domain Experts List, as well as being given the title of Asura by the Secret Pavilion. Let alone a single Star-Moon Kingdom, there were only a few players throughout the entire Gods Domain stronger than Black Flame. Looking at Zhao Yuerus defeated expression, Gentle Snow could not help but curl her lips up even higher. If not even Zhao Yueru, someone who was extremely familiar with her, could guess the identity of the person she invited, then it was even more impossible for those people. Most likely, even if she were to reveal that persons name, those people would not know anything about that person, either. Listening in on Gentle Snow and Zhao Yuerus conversation, the aloof-looking mans curiosity reluctantly grew as well. The operation this time needed to be kept a secret. It was something that should not be told to outsiders. At the same time, this operation was of utmost importance to Gentle Snow. Yet, Gentle Snow had done the unthinkable: she had actually requested the help of an outsider instead of choosing an expert subordinated to her. This decision had inspired both confusion and curiosity in him with regard to the expert who would arrive in a moment. Fierce, why didnt Nimble Snake come with you? Gentle Snow asked, shifting her gaze to the impassive youth beside her. The reason why Ouroboros was able to become a dominant force in the virtual gaming world was mainly due to a few reasons. Other than its Founding Members, Guild Leader, Branch Leaders, and Elders, it also had the Thirty-two Advocators and the Twelve Apostles. The last two groups of players were carefully chosen from the large number of experts within the God-Slaying Army, and they could be said to be the strongest combat power of Ouroboros. This was especially true for the Twelve Apostles. Each and every one of them possessed strength that not even Gentle Snow herself could casually dismiss. Meanwhile, the cold youth before her was one of the Twelve Apostles, Fierce Snake. The Nimble Snake she mentioned was also one of the Twelve Apostles. However, Nimbles strength was still a cut above Fierces. Among the Twelve Apostles, Nimble was also ranked close to the top, and he was one of the key figures for the operation this time around. Nimble said he had something to take care of, so he might come a little later. However, he is always punctual, so you can rest assured, Big Sis Snow. Not to mention, the operation this time is of such importance, Fierce Snake assured. Gentle Snow nodded in reply. Gentle Snow had nurtured quite a few confidants in Ouroboros. Apart from the Apostles, she had also nurtured a few among the Advocators. However, the operation to be carried out later required someone with top-notch combat power. Although the Advocators were also very strong, they were still not comparable to the Apostles. She could not afford to be careless in the operation this time. If she failed, the results would be irreversible, hence why she had called for Fierce Snake and Nimble Snake. In addition, out of worry that her plan might fail due to unforeseen circumstances, she had even invited Ye Feng. After Gentle Snows group of three chatted for a while, a man wearing a black cloak came walking over. Zhao Yueru, who had originally been idle and bored, immediately widened her eyes in shock upon seeing who was approaching. Unable to help herself, she said, Snow, dont tell me hes the person you invited? Of course. Who else do you think I would invite? Gentle Snow chuckled lightly as she stood up to welcome that ordinary-looking man. Meanwhile, the identity of this ordinary-looking man was none other than Shi Feng. Zhao Yueru possessed a certain understanding of Ye Fengs strength. Although she felt a little hatred for the man, she could not help but admit that Ye Feng was indeed very strong. If it were any other person, they would definitely be fooled by that ordinary appearance and aura of his. In fact, she, too, had suffered under a similar misconception. However, as someone who had personally witnessed Ye Fengs strength, Zhao Yueru knew that he was definitely not the slightest bit inferior to them. From the Dungeon raid, the previous few battles, as well as the fact that he was the first player to enter White River City, all of these clearly proved how strong Ye Feng was. However, because of Black Flames sudden celebrity, Ye Fengs existence had slowly disappeared from everyones minds. Even Zhao Yueru herself had nearly forgotten that there was still this hateful person Miss Snow, may I know why you have called me here this time? Shi Feng was somewhat curious about the reason for Gentle Snows latest invitation. Previously, Gentle Snow had always been tight-lipped on the matter, so Shi Feng had not asked about it. Now that the operation was set to begin, he needed to at least understand what they were to do. Of course, if Miss Snow feels it inconvenient to speak, you need only tell me what you can. Since youre already here, there is naturally no need to keep this matter a secret any longer. It is a competition. Five people, five matches, the first to win three wins the competition. I have invited you here to defeat one person on the opposition team. The remuneration is twenty million Credits, Gentle Snow said truthfully. Twenty million! Shi Feng was greatly shocked upon hearing this amount. Previously, Gentle Snow had already paid five million upfront just to have him show up. With this additional twenty million, the total would come to twenty-five million Credits. Wasnt it just a competition? Was there a need to be so extravagant? There were countless people in the world who could not earn a million Credits even after working for their entire lives. Yet, with just a few words, Gentle Snow had casually spent tens of millions. Comparisons were indeed odious. Originally, Shi Feng had thought he could be considered a relatively wealthy person. Now, in comparison to Gentle Snow, he was practically a pauper Of course, twenty million is just the basics. Depending on the opponents strength, I can further increase the remuneration. Gentle Snow nodded. Okay, I accept this condition. Shi Feng was naturally very satisfied with this deal. Currently, Zero Wing had just started its development, and Shi Feng needed money for all aspects. Yet, he also could not constantly convert his Coins into Credits. Hence, this twenty million could definitely be considered a timely injection of funds. Upon Shi Fengs agreement, Gentle Snow sighed in relief. With a great expert like him around, things should proceed much more smoothly later on. However, before she even had the time to feel joyous, she suddenly received a message. When she read this message, her expression immediately turned grim. At this moment, everyone beside Gentle Snow could feel a bone-chilling aura emanating from her. 397 A Different Outcome Snow, what happened? Zhao Yueru asked. She knew Gentle Snow well enough to notice the change immediately. Seeing Gentle Snows icy expression, Zhao Yueru knew that her friend was furious. Gentle Snow had always been a very calm person; she was not easily angered. Now, however, a single message had enraged her. Something big must have happened. Even Shi Feng, who was not particularly familiar with Gentle Snow, could tell that the woman was furious. However, as an outsider, it was not appropriate for him to ask. After reading the message, Gentle Snow first felt anger, but soon, she seemed to deflate. Seeing this, Shi Feng could tell that Gentle Snow wanted to say something but struggled with how to express her thoughts. There are many challenges throughout life, and for most, one must face them alone. In the end, Gentle Snow revealed a faint smile as she forwarded the message to Zhao Yueru. Nimble Snake! This inhuman, heartless animal! To think that we took care of him when he was at his lowest, provided him with resources, and even helped him become one of the Twelve Apostles of Ouroboros, yet he actually became someone elses lap dog! The next time I see him, I will break all three of his legs! Zhao Yueru bellowed the moment she finished reading the message. Big Sis Yueru, maybe this is a misunderstanding? Big Sis Snow taught and nurtured him personally; theyre nearly blood siblings. How could he possibly betray her? Fierce Snake said, astonished when he heard Zhao Yuerus words. Nimble Snake was normally very appealing when in Gentle Snows presence. Moreover, he had always been earnest and honest. He was also very loyal; he definitely was not someone who would betray his allies. If you dont believe me, then look at the evidence! Zhao Yueru made the message visible to everyone. This message was evidence that Nimble Snake had betrayed Gentle Snow before she even began to make plans. He had been reporting Gentle Snows movements to those people, allowing them to take appropriate measures against her. Just an hour ago, Nimble Snake had officially become one of the oppositions five duelists. This was indisputable proof of Nimble Snakes treachery. Fierce Snake was speechless after reading the message, his eyes becoming bloodshot. He tried desperately to contact Nimble Snake. However, no matter how many times he tried, his calls never connected. Right now, Fierce Snake wanted to hunt down Nimble Snake and question him. However, this revelation hurt Gentle Snow the most. She had treated Nimble Snake like her own younger brother. Yet, in her hour of need, that brother slid his blade between her shoulders, stabbing her in the back. For the five matches, based on Gentle Snows understanding of the oppositions strength, Nimble Snake, Ye Feng, and herself had the highest chances of victory among her team. As for Zhao Yueru and Fierce Snake, they didnt even have half a chance. Now that Nimble Snake had defected to their enemy, her side had become the underdog. Snow, dont worry. Even if Nimble Snake has become a turncoat, we still have the Advocators, Zhao Yueru hurriedly consoled her friend. Their strength has risen significantly recently, and theyre not completely without a chance of victory. Ill contact them and have them meet us. However, Gentle Snow simply waved off Zhao Yuerus suggestion. Since Nimble Snake had betrayed her, other than Ye Feng, her opponent most likely knew all about her other options. Even if she called for the Advocators under her wing, they probably would not heed her summons at all. As the situation had already devolved to this point, she could only look for a random person to fill the empty spot on her team and leave everything else to luck. Fortunately, she had yet to reach a dead end. If Zhao Yueru or Fierce Snake won their matches, they still might come out on top. At this moment, Gentle Snow was relieved that she had not revealed the matter regarding Ye Feng. Otherwise, their position might be unsalvageable. Witnessing this from the side, Shi Feng suddenly thought of Gentle Snows sudden departure from both Ouroboros and Gods Domain in the past. At that time, the Snow Goddess had suddenly disappeared from Gods Domain, creating a commotion throughout the virtual gaming world. Everyone knew of her disappearance in the past. However, nobody had known what exactly had happened to cause Gentle Snows sudden departure. Now that Shi Feng thought about it, Gentle Snows departure might very well have had something to do with strife within Ouroboros. Meanwhile, considering the situation, something that should not have happened for another two years had arrived ahead of time. _Just what is going on here?_ Originally, Shi Feng had avoided obtaining the First Clear of the Land of Death precisely because he was afraid of altering too much of history, making it more difficult for him to control the flow of events. However, the Butterfly Effect had still occurred. Moreover, history was even rapidly evolving in the worst possible way. If Gentle Snow left the virtual gaming world right now, Zero Wing would lose a reliable ally. Meanwhile, the other Guilds would begin to target Zero Wing. This was not a future Shi Feng wished to see. Since historys development was already out of his control, Shi Feng no longer intended to suppress himself. He might as well alter history further and open a better path for himself in the future. While Zhao Yueru attempted desperately to contact people and Gentle Snow planned to look for a random substitute, Shi Feng suddenly walked up to them. Miss Snow, if you need an expert, I can recommend one, Shi Feng said. Gentle Snows eyes immediately lit up upon hearing Shi Fengs words. Zhao Yueru, on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes at Shi Feng, saying, Ye Feng, stop messing around. What we need right now is not an ordinary expert, but a great expert. We need someone who can face an army of a hundred by themselves. However, they also cannot be too famous, and it would be the best if they were a hidden expert. Although Zero Wings Aqua Rose and Fire Dance indeed possess the strength, they are simply too well-known. The opposition definitely will not agree to such powerful reinforcements. The competition was an internal matter for Ouroboros. Hence, both parties had agreed to conduct the competition secretly. Although obtaining foreign aid was allowed, the precondition was that said reinforcements could not be well-known experts, allowing them to avoid unwanted attention. Of course, not attracting attention was simply an excuse. In reality, the opposition simply wanted to limit Gentle Snows options, preventing her from requesting the help of anyone too powerful. Gentle Snow had very little backing in Ouroboros. If both sides faced each other using only their available forces in Ouroboros, Gentle Snow would definitely be at a disadvantage. As for inviting Aqua Rose, someone who was just as famous as Gentle Snow, or Zero Wings number one Assassin expert, Fire Dance, her opponents would never agree to their participation. And Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame? Unless the opposition had lost their minds and wholeheartedly wanted to lose. Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Zhao Yueru. He then smiled and said, The public is definitely not familiar with the person I am recommending. As for how strong that person currently is, I do not know. However, just recently, their strength ranked close to Aqua Rose and Fire Dance in Zero Wings rankings. Listening to Shi Feng, Zhao Yueru wracked her mind trying to figure out who Shi Feng referred to. However, based on Shi Fengs expression, he did not seem to be lying, and this only served to frustrate her even more. Gentle Snows curiosity had also grown as she understood Zero Wing quite well. She had never expected that Zero Wing still hid such a powerful expert. The more she learned, the more she questioned her insight of Zero Wing. Ill have to trouble you, then. As for remuneration, I will similarly pay them twenty million. Will that be alright? Gentle Snow said as she gazed at Shi Feng gratefully. Since Miss Snow has no problems with it, Ill contact that person immediately. Shi Feng nodded and called up the system menu. 398 Underground Arena After Gentle Snow and the others had waited at Blue Mountain Restaurant for some time, a young girl in green robes finally appeared before them. Her hair had been pulled back into twintails[1], and she radiated a holy aura. Shi Feng walked up to the young girls side, turning to look at Gentle Snow and the others as he said, Let me introduce you. This is Violet Cloud, a healer of Zero Wings core team. Violet Cloud grew nervous as Gentle Snow and the others stared at her. Lowering her head, she softly muttered, Hello. Gentle Snows team was stunned. The great expert Shi Feng talked about was actually a young girl. Moreover, she was a Cleric. She was only Level 22, the same as Shi Feng. As a great expert, Violet Clouds level was somewhat low. After all, they were all Level 24. Although a two-level gap was not considerably large, when experts fought, this little gap might lead to a loss. Such incidents were common in Gods Domain. Moreover, it was common knowledge that, although Clerics had a certain amount of combat power, compared to other classes, they were, by far, inferior. Violet Cloud might possess excellent combat techniques, but that would only work against ordinary players. If she fought an equally skilled expert with a pure combat class, Violet Cloud had no chance of obtaining victory. Zhao Yueru immediately shot a hateful glare at Shi Feng. Originally, she had thought Shi Fengs behavior had changed for the better. However, she now discovered that she had been greatly mistaken. Shi Feng simply did not have a bottom line. Even during such a crucial time, he still had the audacity to make fools out of them. Did he really think they were going up against a bunch of noobs? However, just as Zhao Yueru was about to give Shi Feng a piece of her mind, Gentle Snow stopped her. Since everyones here, Ill lead the way, then, Gentle Snow said. She then went out to the street and hailed a carriage. In reality, Gentle Snow also thought of replacing Violet Cloud. However, since Shi Feng had guaranteed results and she had already arrived, rejecting Violet Cloud would only disrespect Shi Feng. In any case, the result would be the same even if she replaced the Cleric with a random player. Since it wouldnt really matter who took Violet Clouds place, she might as well humor Shi Feng a little. Shaking his head, Shi Feng could not help but laugh as he watched Gentle Snows figure board the carriage. He then said, Violet, I look forward to your performance today. Yes, sir! I definitely wont disappoint you! Violet Cloud nodded with determination. Following which, the two boarded the carriage as well. Shi Feng was very familiar with Violet Clouds combat techniques. She was a first class Cleric in Zero Wing. Only, due to the limitations of her initial class, she could not display her strength fully. Now that she had successfully become an Astromancer, however, things had changed. Moreover, until now, Gentle Snow and the others had failed to notice one thing. He and Violet Cloud were no longer Tier 0 players. They were now Tier 1 players. Of course, a players tier would not reveal itself to a basic identification skill. One required an advanced identification skill. It was also because of this that advanced identification skills became must-have skills later in the game. If one unknowingly provoked a high-tiered player, it would be too late for regrets. After all, the gap in tiers was much wider than the gap in levels. At this stage of the game, players rushed to level up and raid Dungeons. It was even more so for the members of the various Guilds. Nobody had the time for their Class Change Quests. After all, a Basic Class Change Quest required players to invest at least two to three days. Moreover, Class Change Quests were not easy to complete. On the off chance that they failed, they would have wasted a lot of their time. Hence, everyone chose to level up first and upgrade their equipment so that they would have a much easier time with their Class Change Quests in the future. Even a great expert like Gentle Snow was of the same mind. There was also another reason why nobody was in a hurry to challenge their Class Change Quest. Everyone still lacked a clear understanding of Tier 1 classes. They did not know just how much of an improvement a Tier 1 class could provide. Hence, none of the Guilds in Gods Domain were in a hurry to push their members to complete their Class Changes. They all focused on claiming the First Clear of Dungeons, setting aside their Class Changes for now. Two hours later, Gentle Snow led everyone to Star-Moon Citys Underground Arenas. The Underground Arena was a holy land for players who loved PvP. During the later stages of the game, it was also a place to make a lot of money. Countless players would come to watch the fights here, and many of these spectators would bet on their favorite players. Meanwhile, the winners could receive a commission from the bets. The Underground Arena was also separated into a few different areas. There was the Basic Area, Advanced Area, and Special Area. Meanwhile, the commission players could obtain and the conditions to enter each zone were different. In the Basic Area, any player could enter to watch or participate in the fights. The Advanced Area was slightly different. If players wished to watch the fights there, they needed to pay a small fee. Meanwhile, if one wished to participate in the Advanced Area, they needed to face a minimum of 20 opponents in the Basic Area and win 80% of their matches. Victors in the Advanced Area would receive a commission of 1%. In other words, they would receive 1% of the total bets placed on their match. If a lot of players gambled on the fight, it would serve as a hefty income. Lastly, the victor would also receive 10% of the entrance fees. The Special Area had an even higher entry requirement. First, the entrance fees were much higher for the Special Area. As for players who wished to join the fights, they needed to have a minimum of 20 matches in the Basic Area under their belts and have won 90% of their battles. However, there was another option for players to become participants in the Special Area: the Systems test. The System had to determine a player was an expert before they could fight in the Special Area. Meanwhile, victors would receive a 3% commission in addition to 30% of the entrance fees. In the Basic Area, Advanced Area, and Special Area, there was one more difference between them: the size of the arenas. Each of the arenas in the Basic Area could only house up to 300 people, while the Advanced Area could house up to 1,500 people, and the Special Area could house up to 10,000 people. As long as a player had sufficient strength, they could make a lot of money in the Underground Arenas. In the past, Shi Feng had earned quite a lot from this place. At this stage of the game, although the Underground Arenas were not particularly popular and many of the rooms were empty, one could already see signs of prosperity in this place. In a few months, this place would definitely become very lively. Basic Room 29. This should be it. Gentle Snow looked at the number plate hanging on the door before opening it. Inside the room, over 30 players had already gathered. These players all possessed very high levels. The lowest among them was Level 23, while the highest was Level 25. None of these players were ordinary. Nimble Snake, you traitor! You dare to show your face here! Have you forgotten who it was that helped you to achieve the wealth and status you possess today?! Zhao Yuerus temper exploded the moment she saw a simple-looking youth standing among the crowd. That simple-looking youth was none other than the person Gentle Snow had spared no effort in cultivating, Nimble Snake. He was a Level 24 Assassin, and currently, he was fully armed with the Level 20 Crimson Blood Set Equipment, a Secret-Silver Set Equipment meant for Assassins. In response to Zhao Yuerus curses, Nimble Snake remained calm as he swept a glance at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. He then laughed coldly and said, Zhao Yueru, I admit that Gentle Snow has treated me well these past few years. However, as the saying goes, man struggles upwards; water flows downward.[2] Since Brother Caos team is stronger, what is wrong with me joining them? With your strength, you wish to contest for the position of Guild Leader? Dont make me laugh. Zhao Yueru, you, on the other hand, you are someone that Brother Cao has always liked. Join us, and everyone will be on the same side in the future. Of course, you can also refuse. When you all lose, Brother Cao can only follow the appointed rules, and Gentle Snow can forget about the virtual gaming world in the future! TL Notes: [1]twintails: (a) Human: http://images.dannychoo.com/cgm/images/post/20130202/26833/165543/large/31737a7801b431a814073a0ccfa2f59c.jpg (b) Anime: http://i.imgur.com/3GMv5y8.jpg [2]man struggles upwards; water flows downwards: to pursue their own ideals, for the good life, this is very normal, it is understandable. 399 Death Mode Although Nimble Snakes voice was soft, his tone was sharp and unquestionable. Gentle Snow frowned upon hearing Nimble Snakes words, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. Cao Chenghua actually targeted Zhao Yueru for his own team. However, when Gentle Snow considered the matter, she could not find anything strange about Cao Chenghuas actions. Zhao Yuerus potential and strength were both very high. In the past, Zhao Yueru had been uninterested in virtual reality games and had only started gaming due to her unyielding insistence. Meanwhile, despite never training seriously, Zhao Yuerus strength had reached frightening levels. Zhao Yuerus talent was obvious to anyone who had seen her fight. If Zhao Yueru had bothered to put more effort into her training before this, very few in Ouroboros would have been a match for her. At this moment, a majestic-looking middle-aged man walked out from the crowd. Upon seeing this man, everyone among the crowd respectfully moved aside. This man was none other than Ouroboross Acting Guild Leader, Cao Chenghua. Even looking at him from afar, they could clearly feel the pressure Cao Chenghua emitted from his gaze alone. Cao Chenghua felt like a ferocious beast. Cao Chenghua was currently Level 24, and he was fully armed with the Level 20 Wind Roar Set Equipment, a Secret-Silver Set Equipment meant for Berserkers. On his back, he carried a greatsword that was as tall as he was. The greatsword was the Iron Cutter, and it was one of the few Dark-Gold Weapons in Star-Moon Kingdom. Enough! Nimble Snake, youve said too much! Cao Chenghua reprimanded as he shot a glance at the Assassin. Yes, Guild Leader, Nimble Snake self-consciously retreated behind Cao Chenghua and fell silent, gazing at his Guild Leader with reverence. Yueru, I hope that you will consider your options carefully. You will not have a future if you stay by Gentle Snows side. Only by joining my team will you have a bright future in Gods Domain, achieving your dreams, with a charming smile, Cao Chenghua tried to persuade Zhao Yueru. Forget it. I will never join you, Zhao Yueru snapped, hatred coloring her expression as she sneered at Cao Chenghua. The battle hasnt even begun yet. The winner and loser still havent been determined. If we lose, I will leave the virtual gaming world with Snow. Yueru. Gentle Snows heart was moved. Hmph. It seems you refuse to see things my way until you face reality. With just your two Level 22 aids, even I feel sorry for you. Nimble Snake snorted and laughed disdainfully. Originally, Zhao Yueru had wanted to refute Nimble Snakes words, but when she saw Cao Chenghuas team members and looked at her own team They truly were a pitiful sight. Cao Chenghuas team consisted of four Level 24 players. Other than Cao Chenghua and Nimble Snake, there was Ouroboross Third Branch Leader, Blackhearted Arrow, and the strongest member of the Twelve Apostles, Soaring Snake. As for Cao Chenghuas last team member, he was a Level 25 Shield Warrior who had hidden his identity behind a black cloak. Initially, Zhao Yueru still had some hope for victory. However, after seeing Cao Chenghuas team, other than Blackhearted Arrow, whom she had a 40% certainty of defeating, her chances of defeating the other four were less than 30%. Moreover, Cao Chenghuas team also had Soaring Snake. Even Gentle Snow only possessed slightly more than a 50% chance of victory against him. Since everyone has arrived, this competition will be overseen by us Elders. There are a total of five matches in this competition; the first to claim three victories will win. The victor will become Ouroboros Guild Leader, while the loser will leave Gods Domain forever. The Main God System has already accepted this condition. In addition, the arena has been set at Death Mode. A match will conclude only after one side has died. Before entering the arena, either side can choose to forfeit. That way, even if it is a loss, you wont have to suffer the penalty of Death Mode. If no one has any issues, you two can check the agreement. The Main God System will bear testimony to this agreement. After agreeing, you can start drawing the lots for the battle. Gentle Snow and Cao Chenghua nodded, confirming their agreement. Neither side really cared about the arena being set to Death Mode. Originally, players fighting in the Underground Arenas would not die even when defeated. Their HPs would stop decreasing after reaching 1. However, players could also enable Death Mode. This mode of battle was the equivalent of PvP out in the field, and players would suffer the same penalties for death, losing one level and dropping one random piece of their equipment. They would also randomly lose some Skill Proficiency points. The only difference about Death Mode was that a players Crime Value would not increase for killing their opponent. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who stood by the side side, finally understood what was going on after listening to Ouroboross Elders explanation. It turned out that Gentle Snows mysterious departure in the past had been because of this competition. It was also obvious that Gentle Snow had lost the competition in the past. As for why she had lost, Shi Feng could see that, as well. With a treacherous bastard like Nimble Snake stabbing her in the back at the most crucial of moments, how could Gentle Snow possibly walk away victorious? Seeing the predicament Gentle Snow was in, Shi Feng suddenly thought of himself. Gentle Snow had only fallen to her current predicament because of her bad judgment of people; Shi Feng had suffered a similar fate in the past. After campaigning for a decade in Gods Domain, instead of suffering defeat at the hands of his enemy, World Dominators, his own people got rid of him. It was truly laughable Just as Shi Feng recalled his past, the Level 25 Shield Warrior on Cao Chenghuas team finally removed his cloak and revealed his true appearance. Why is he here? Disbelief filled Shi Feng upon seeing this Shield Warriors identity. This Shield Warrior was War Wolf. Shi Feng had met him once in the past, and the man had left a very deep impression on Shi Feng. He was definitely a top-tier expert, and even Shi Feng had wanted to recruit him. However, War Wolf, at that time, had hated Guilds deeply, so Shi Feng had no choice but to give up on his endeavor. Hence, he was greatly surprised that War Wolf had actually shown up as foreign aid for Cao Chenghua. War Wolfs appearance also shocked Gentle Snow. She had previously tried to recruit War Wolf back in White River City. However, the middle-aged man had rejected her, and after that, they both went their separate ways. As for how strong War Wolf was, even Gentle Snow herself was unsure. However, seeing that even the usually arrogant Soaring Snake and tyrannical Cao Chenghua showed him respect, it clear that something was amiss. After observing War Wolf for some time, Gentle Snows gaze suddenly turned solemn. She could feel War Wolfs body radiating a sense of extreme danger. This was something that she had never felt before, even from Soaring Snake. Although Gentle Snow wished to oppose War Wolfs participation, until today, War Wolf had been utterly unknown in Gods Domain. Hence, arguing the matter wouldnt do any good. Compared to Gentle Snows grave expression, Cao Chenghua currently appeared carefree. What is with Gentle Snow? I thought she would have invited some powerful experts, yet, she actually invited two Level 22 players. One of them is even a Cleric. What a disappointment the Elementalist, Soaring Snake, commented. Before Gentle Snows team had arrived, he had planned to let loose, displaying his full might. Now that he was looking at them, however, it would seem that he would not get the chance today. Perhaps my departure had dealt too big of a blow to Gentle Snow, so she simply found a few people to fill the gaps. Otherwise, why would she even invite a Cleric? Nimble Snake laughed, mocking the other team. Right now, the only threats are Gentle Snow, Zhao Yueru, and Fierce Snake. Unfortunately, it is impossible for Zhao Yueru and Fierce Snake to win their matches. Just as Cao Chenghuas group laughed, confident of their victory, the system promptly announced the players who would fight in the first match. Immediately, everyones attention shifted towards the large screen above the arena. First Match: Zhao Yueru vs. Cao Chenghua. 400 A Strange Blow After the system revealed the first set of opponents, Zhao Yueru and Cao Chenghua promptly entered the arena. Zhao Yueru was an Elementalist, while Cao Chenghua was a Berserker. In terms of levels and equipment, both were evenly matched. Though Cao Chenghua was slightly superior to Zhao Yueru regarding techniques, Zhao Yueru had the class advantage in this matchup. Hence, the victor was not apparent at first glance. Yet, Nimble Snake and the others revealed playful smiles as if victory was already in their grasp. Seeing these reactions, Gentle Snow grew slightly confused. Gentle Snow had a fair grasp on Cao Chenghuas strength and ability. Although his techniques were slightly superior to Zhao Yuerus, there was a limit to how much of an advantage that could bring him. At most, it would help him bridge the gap between classes. Hence, it would not be easy for Cao Chenghua to obtain a victory. Yet, why were Nimble Snake and the others behaving so confidently? Yueru, be careful. Cao Chenghua seems odd today. Dont let him approach you, no matter what, Gentle Snow secretly sent a whisper to Zhao Yueru. Mhm, I understand. Dont worry. For the competition, I prepared and completed a high-level quest, obtaining a powerful skill. I will definitely make Cao Chenghua suffer, Zhao Yueru replied with a carefree smile. Although Zhao Yueru appeared relaxed at the moment, inwardly, she was on full alert. Although her match was only the first in this five-round competition, it was also a crucial fight. If she won, then their chances at winning this entire competition would increase beyond 50%. Big Brother Ye Feng, is that Cao Chenghua an amazing expert? Violet Cloud asked when she saw the confident Cao Chenghua. He is an expert. However, he doesnt have what it takes to defeat Zhao Yueru with a 100% certainty. After all, other than mentality, there are other factors that can contribute to the result of a battle. Shi Feng shook his head. In the past, Cao Chenghua had been the Guild Leader of Ouroboros. Meanwhile, Ouroboros had been a Guild that mainly focused its development in Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, as the Guild Leader of Shadow back then, Shi Feng had collected plenty of information on Cao Chenghua, and he had an acute understanding of Cao Chenghuas strength. While Shi Feng and Violet Cloud secretly conversed, the battle at the arena had begun. The moment the battle started, Cao Chenghua held nothing back and immediately activated Flame Charge, followed by a Violent Strike. Cao Chenghua was like a violent beast, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. Naturally, Zhao Yueru would not give Cao Chenghua a chance to close in on her. Chanting an incantation, one of her hands waved the staff it held while the other swiftly traced lines of divine runes in the air. When Cao Chenghua was only 20 yards away from Zhao Yueru, an Ice Sphere appeared, blocking his path. If the Ice Sphere struck him, the damage would only be a secondary problem. The main problem was the Movement Speed Reduction of the spell. After all, Berserkers were not exactly known for their mobility. Hence, when Elementalists fought Berserkers, kiting was their basic strategy. Responding quickly, Cao Chenghua turned sharply and circled the Ice Sphere from the right. However, immediately after he dodged the Ice Sphere, multiple Frost Arrows flew towards him. Cao Chenghua smiled disdainfully at this sight. Swinging the Dark-Gold ranked Iron Cutter, he smashed and shattered the Frost Arrows coming at him before renewing his charge once more. However, as if she had expected this outcome, Zhao Yueru waved her staff once more and cast Ice Dragon Blast, sending a large serpentine dragon at Cao Chenghua. She then cast Ice Wall to seal off the Berserkers surroundings. Shatter! Cao Chenghua gripped his sword with both hands and swung the weapon at the ice dragon, activating Horizontal Slash. However, the instant the ice dragon shattered, a layer of frost appeared on Cao Chenghuas body, reducing his Movement Speed sharply. Zhao Yueru immediately followed up with three Ice Spears. Although Cao Chenghua wanted to block the incoming attacks, the frost covering his body drastically slowed his movements. In the end, he only managed to block one of the spears, allowing the remaining to reach their mark. -215, -221. Two damages appeared above Cao Chenghuas head. However, at Level 24, Cao Chenghua possessed 3,320 HP, so these two attacks only managed to decrease his HP by slightly over 10%. At this moment, Cao Chenghua frowned. He had clearly shattered the ice dragon, yet, why had the Freezing effect still taken hold? It seems the effect of this new skill is quite powerful after all. Zhao Yueru was very satisfied with her previous attack. Ice Dragon Blast was the Advanced Skill Zhao Yueru had recently learned. Opponents could defend against ordinary spells. However, Ice Dragon Blast was slightly different. Even if her opponent blocked the attack it, although it would not deal any damage, it would still inflict a speed reduction effect lasting 5 seconds. When used against classes with low mobility like the Berserker, it was extremely useful. Now that Cao Chenghuas speed had fallen, Zhao Yueru would take advantage of it. First, she cast Frozen Circle, freezing the slowed Cao Chenghua. A magic array then appeared by Zhao Yuerus side, and five fireballs the size of washbasins circled the Elementalist. Go! Zhao Yueru cast Flame Barrage and bombarded Cao Chenghua with attacks. Ice Spear was a fast attack spell. It possessed speed, but not power. Hence, the two previous attacks had merely been a scratch to Cao Chenghua. However, Flame Barrage was different. If all five fireballs struck the Guild Leader, he would lose over half of his HP. At this moment, Cao Chenghua was still frozen in place, unable to move. He could not dodge the bombardment of the five incoming Great Fireballs. Good! Weve won! Fierce Snake shouted excitedly. Just before the five Great Fireballs struck Cao Chenghua, however, the Berserkers skin suddenly flushed red, and his body seemed to grow. The layer of frost binding his legs instantly shattered. Nobody would have thought that Cao Chenghua had learned a control removal skill. In the next moment, Cao Chenghua released a thundering roar. He then brandished his greatsword with both hands as he charged at the nearest Great Fireball. With a slash of his sword, Cao Chenghua split the spell in half. Meanwhile, the remaining four Great Fireballs merely rubbed past Cao Chenghuas body, each dealing slightly over -100 damage. After breaking through Zhao Yuerus Flame Barrage, the distance between Cao Chenghua and Zhao Yueru was only eight yards. Launching himself into the air, Cao Chenghua activated Death Leap and arrived by Zhao Yuerus side. He followed up with a Thunderclap before twisting his body and using Cleave. In a panic, Zhao Yueru hurriedly used Blink. However, she was too late. Not only had Thunderclap reduced her speed, but she also took the full brunt of Cao Chenghuas Cleave. Instantly, Zhao Yuerus HP of over 2,600 points fell to around 1,700 points. Fortunately, Zhao Yueru had kept Magic Shield active, absorbing a certain amount of damage. Otherwise, Cao Chenghuas Cleave would have destroyed at least half of her HP. However, just after Zhao Yueru used Blink to pull a distance of 15 yards between Cao Chenghua and herself, the Berserker used Charge for the second time, approaching the Elementalist at high speeds. Zhao Yueru waved her staff, sending out multiple Ice Spears. Facing these attacks, Cao Chenghua had no choice but to defend himself with his greatsword, slowing him down. Meanwhile, Zhao Yueru took this chance to widen the gap between them further, not forgetting to use control skills like Ice Wall and Ice Sphere while she made her escape. However, due to the debuff from Thunderclap, Zhao Yuerus Movement Speed had greatly reduced. Meanwhile, ever since Cao Chenghuas body had increased in size, he had been able to shrug off control effects. After fending off Zhao Yuerus attacks, he charged at the Elementalist and activated Trisecting Slash. Three crescent-shaped blades of light flew at Zhao Yueru. Zhao Yueru used Frost Shield to block the attacks, taking the chance to jump away and dodge Cao Chenghuas Trisecting Slash. However, as if he had predicted what Zhao Yueru would do, Cao Chenghua charged towards her new position, swinging his greatsword violently. Horizontal Slash! Zhao Yueru knew that she could not avoid this attack. Blink was still on Cooldown; she needed a little more time before she could use it again. With no other choice, she could only block the attack with her staff. Although mages had low Strength, they could still use their weapons to block attacks, reducing the damage received. Not to mention, she still had Magic Shield. As long as she endured a few hits, she could use Blink to escape. Normally, control skills like the one Cao Chenghua had used did not possess a very long duration. Moreover, Zhao Yueru had already seen through the trajectory of Cao Chenghuas attack. She could easily angle her staff to utilize the force of the impact to pull away from Cao Chenghua. However, after Cao Chenghuas Iron Cutter landed on her staff, Zhao Yueru did not feel any force transmitted to her hands. Instead, the greatsword appeared at Zhao Yuerus side. Cao Chenghuas attack shattered the Magic Shield and struck Zhao Yueru viciously. 401 Omnivision What happened? Gentle Snow, who watched the fight from the spectator stands, focused on Cao Chenghua, her mind replaying Cao Chenghuas last attack. No matter how she looked at it, Zhao Yueru had blocked the attack. Yet, somehow, Cao Chenghuas sword had appeared somewhere completely different. It was like a magical sword. Zhao Yueru was just as confused. She could not understand what had happened. However, she no longer had the time to think on it. Cao Chenghuas attack dealt -1,241 damage, reducing Zhao Yuerus originally low HP to 470 points. If she suffered another attack, she would die. Mages were especially weak in terms of Defense, Strength, and Agility. If a melee class like the Berserker close in on a mage, only tragedy awaited them. Zhao Yueru instinctively used Flame Circle, a type of instantaneous activation spell. Immediately, a ring of flame expanded outwards, forcing her enemies to retreat. Cao Chenghua remained unfazed by the incoming flames as he swung his greatsword down at them. _Boom!_ Cao Chenghuas greatsword sliced apart the ring of flame. However, he was still forced to take a step back due to the resulting impact, abruptly stopping his attack momentum. Taking this chance, Zhao Yueru retreated while pelting Cao Chenghua with Frost Arrows. Dont even think of escaping! Cao Chenghua roared. Enduring the attacks from the Frost Arrows, he sent a Horizontal Sweep at Zhao Yueru. Zhao Yueru used her staff to defend once more. This time, Zhao Yueru focused on the greatsword, devoting her full attention to determining the weapons trajectory. Just as Iron Cutter was about to land, Zhao Yueru quickly shifted her staff to block the attack. Cao Chenghua, however, simply revealed a mocking smile as he focused all his power into his slash. Once again, something strange occurred Cao Chenghuas Iron Cutter suddenly disappeared before reappearing and striking Zhao Yuerus blindspot. Before Zhao Yueru realized what had happened, her body was on the ground, her vision darkening. Zhao Yueru, do you understand now? Only by following me will you have a bright future ahead of you, Cao Chenghua said as he looked down at Zhao Yuerus fallen body. Zhao Yueru wanted to rise and retaliate. Unfortunately, her HP had already fallen to zero Victor in the first match: Cao Chenghua! Meanwhile, not only had Zhao Yueru lost a level after dying, but she had also dropped a piece of her equipment and lost a significant amount of Skill Proficiency. After resurrecting, Zhao Yueru walked up to Gentle Snow, her disappointment written all over her face. Feeling deeply ashamed, she said, Snow, Im sorry Her loss had undoubtedly increased the burden on the later fights. After all, out of the next four matches, they needed to win three to win this competition. Its not your fault. Cao Chenghua hid his strength too well. Not only did he learn a control removal skill, but he also learned a new, mysterious skill. There is nothing wrong with losing to him, Gentle Snow comforted. Leave the rest to me. Mhm. Zhao Yueru silently nodded, her eyes shining with unshed tears. Although Gentle Snow had consoled her, she could not forgive herself. What frustrated her the most was the fact that she didn''t even know how she had lost. Shi Feng, who had observed the fight from a distance, was similarly surprised. Since when had Cao Chenghua become so strong? Thinking back to Cao Chenghua and his teams expressions, Shi Feng finally understood why they had been so confident in Cao Chenghuas victory. Big Brother Ye Feng, do you know what sort of skill this Cao Chenghua used? Even after watching the match, I still failed to discern the attack pattern of that strike of his. Cao Chenghuas attack clearly wasnt that fast, yet, his blade had suddenly vanished and reappeared somewhere else. How can anybody block such an attack? Violet Cloud was curious about Cao Chenghuas previous attacks. If Cao Chenghua possessed such a strange skill, then one could only kite him and kill him from a distance. Did you think that was a skill? Shi Feng chuckled. Was it not a Berserkers skill? Violet Cloud asked, surprise filling her face. Shi Feng shook his head, explaining, That isnt an in-game skill. Rather, it is a martial arts technique. A martial arts technique? Violet Cloud gaped. If anyone else had said these words, she would suspect that they were boasting. However, if they came from Shi Feng, they must be true. Cao Chenghua used a technique similar to rock-paper-scissors, using scissors before he took action. Zhao Yueru, upon noticing Cao Chenghua was about to use scissors, naturally chose rock. However, before the two clashed, Cao Chenghua suddenly changed to paper.. So, Cao Chenghua won, while Zhao Yueru could not figure out how Cao Chenghua had used paper. Thats the general idea of this technique. Although it sounds easy theoretically, it is actually quite difficult to pull off. One needs to have learned Omnivision and carefully observe their opponent. However, Im not referring the ordinary observations we make. One needs to see the whole picture, looking at everything objectively without bias to gain insight into the enemys actions. When Cao Chenghua had attacked earlier, he had analyzed Zhao Yuerus actions, her bodys movements, defensive positions, everything. Hence, when Zhao Yueru was about to defend herself, Cao Chenghua changed the trajectory of his attack, striking Zhao Yuerus blindspot. By the time Zhao Yueru reacted, she had already taken damage. Of course, when Cao Chenghua swung his greatsword, he had also used a technique called Second Acceleration. When he swung his greatsword, he had not attacked with his full power, using only around 40%. Only when he changed his attacks trajectory did he use his full power. Such a sudden acceleration leaves an after-image, causing one to think that the greatsword still followed its original trajectory. So, when you saw Cao Chenghuas sword suddenly vanish, what you actually saw was a false image produced by your mind. Zhao Yueru does not possess such combat experience, and she has no martial arts training. It is only natural that she lost. A realization struck Violet Cloud as she listened to Shi Fengs explanation. After hearing Shi Feng, Violet Cloud felt as if a door had opened within her, and she had discovered a whole new world beyond that threshold. So, players could use such techniques in battle As Violet Cloud recovered from her shock, a new thought suddenly popped into her mind. _Since Big Brother Ye Feng can explain it in such detail, does that mean that Big Brother Ye Feng knows how to do it as well?_ The thought excited the young Cleric. As Shi Feng and Violet Cloud discussed the fight among themselves, the system revealed the next pair of combatants. Shi Feng then shifted his gaze to the electronic display above the arena. Second match: Gentle Snow vs. Blackhearted Arrow. Gentle Snow was a Berserker, while Blackhearted Arrow was a Ranger. Comparing classes, Berserkers were the more dominant of the two classes. Although Rangers had some close combat capabilities, their advantage lay in their ultra-long-range attacks. They were more suited for fighting in jungles or forests. In this arena with limited space and no obstacles to use as a cover, Rangers were at a disadvantage. Furthermore, Gentle Snows techniques were stronger than Blackhearted Arrows. Despite being in such a disadvantageous position, however, Blackhearted Arrow was still very calm. There was even a hint of scorn in his eyes, his gaze void of the respect he had shown Gentle Snow in the past. When both fighters entered the arena, the countdown for the battle began. 5 4 3 2 1 Start! Blackhearted Arrow immediately spun around and activated Wind Chaser, intending to increase the distance between him and his opponent. However, Gentle Snows first attack stunned everyone present. 402 The Terrifying War Goddess What is Gentle Snow trying to do? Everyone in the spectator stands was baffled. Even Zhao Yueru, who was very familiar with Gentle Snow, was dumbfounded by her friends actions. Gentle Snow had thrown her blue greatsword the moment the battle started. Any player who lost their main weapons was tantamount to a beast without its claws and fangs. Yet, Gentle Snow took the initiative to discard her main weapon in order to attack her enemy? Berserkers were not ranged fighters. Although the greatsword she threw possessed some power, its attack pattern was very straightforward. The greatsword was not very fast, so players could easily dodge it. Meanwhile, if Gentle Snow lost her main weapon, she could not attack or defend. If she relied solely on a Berserkers mobility and dodging capabilities, an expert Ranger like Blackhearted Arrow could defeat her effortlessly. Zhao Yuerus loss had already forced Gentle Snow to the edge of the cliff, and she could not afford carelessness in the second match. If Gentle Snow lost her match as well, their hopes of victory would be dashed. It seems that Zhao Yuerus loss was quite a blow to Gentle Snow. Why is she acting so impulsively? Many of the Elders who silently supported Gentle Snow lamented at this sight. Before this battle had even begun, the victor of both this match and this competition had been determined. If even Gentle Snow lost, the other members of her team didnt have a prayer. The only person who had a chance at victory was Fierce Snake. However, Cao Chenghua still had Nimble Snake and Soaring Snake fighting for him. As for War Wolf, even Cao Chenghua treated the Shield Warrior respectfully. The man must be astonishingly powerful. In the arena, Blackhearted Arrow discovered the blue greatsword soaring towards him. He grinned. _Gentle Snow, youre seeking death; dont blame me for being merciless._ Blackhearted Arrow immediately adjusted his footwork. Side-stepping, he twisted slightly. His movements were incredibly subtle, and his dodging techniques were reminiscent of a martial arts master. In the next moment, Gentle Snows Blue Sky flew past Blackhearted Arrow, missing his side by a few centimeters. At this moment, Blackhearted Arrow revealed a savage expression. Whenever he had fought Gentle Snow in the past, the latter would always beat him into a pulp. Even today, he was not absolutely confident that he could triumph over the Snow Goddess. However, she had foolishly thrown her greatsword, assuming that he couldnt dodge it. Now that she no longer had her main weapon, she could not deflect his rain of arrows. Blackhearted Arrow retrieved the deep-blue longbow from his back and retrieved the precious Wind Breaking Arrows from his bag. He then nocked the arrows, aimed at Gentle Snow, and drew his bow into a full moon. Wind Breaking Arrows. There was also an additional Knockback effect when the arrow hit its target. Furthermore, the bow Blackhearted Arrow used, Blue Wings, had an effect that increased an arrows speed by an additional 15%. Compiling both of these effects, even an agility-focused Assassin would struggle to dodge his attacks. At most, they could use their weapons to deflect the arrows. Previously, Blackhearted Arrow had tested the Wind Breaking Arrows with Nimble Snake. Within 20 yards, even with Nimble Snakes skills and extremely fast reaction speed, he could only use his daggers to defend himself against the arrows. Hence, there was no way a low-Agility and unarmed Berserker could protect herself from them. This was one of the reasons why Blackhearted Arrow was confident that he would defeat Gentle Snow. Just as Blackhearted Arrow was about to fire three Wind Breaking Arrows at Gentle Snow, the Snow Goddess suddenly revealed a faint smile. Watch how Ill get rid of Ah! Blackhearted Arrow suddenly felt a sharp pain in his back, and he plunged, face-first into the ground. A damage of -1,342 appeared above his head, his HP decreasing by almost half. Blackhearted Arrows mind was blank as his body fell to the ground. What happened? Hadnt he been the one attacking? How had he fallen? There was even an additional Heavily Injured debuff on him now; his Movement Speed and Attack Speed had decreased by 20% for six seconds. Moreover, by the time he looked up, the blue greatsword Gentle Snow had thrown had somehow returned to her, and the Berserker was charging at him. _Wasnt that_ _Death Throw? When did Gentle Snow learn it? Moreover, the skills level has actually reached Tier 1. Is it an_ _innate_ ___skill of her weapon?_ With his wealth of experience, Shi Feng had immediately discerned the skill Gentle Snow had used. Death Throw was not a skill unique to Berserkers. Rather, it was a Special Skill with a two-staged attack. Those unaware of this skill would simply think that Gentle Snow had thrown her weapon. However, Death Throw basically made her weapon boomerang. Normally, after players dodged the first attack, they would launch a counterattack, failing to notice the second attack from behind. Moreover, Death Throws second attack contained far more speed and destructive power than the first. At Tier 0, Death Throw would inflict a Heavily Injured debuff upon hitting the target. It was even more powerful at Tier 1. This two-staged attack fooled many players, and as a result, they would lose their lives. Blackhearted Arrow knew that he was in danger at the moment. However, Gentle Snow was still more than 10 yards from him. Hurriedly, he climbed up from the ground, intending to escape while firing the Wind Breaking Arrows at Gentle Snow, knocking her back. However, the moment Blackhearted Arrow stood, he suddenly discovered Gentle Snow slashing down her blue greatsword despite the distance between them. In the next moment, over a dozen blue wind blades flew towards him. With both his Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced, Blackhearted Arrow would have a difficult time blocking or dodging. The Ranger immediately released an angry bellow, intending to activate a lifesaving skill, Backward Jump. However Why cant I use any of my skills?! Blackhearted Arrow discovered that he could not use Backward Jump. He then looked at the blue wind blades that were suddenly before him, crying out in confusion. _Shua Shua Shua_ The dozen or so wind blades shredded Blackhearted Arrows body and damages over -300 appeared above his head, one after another. In the end, his HP fell to zero. As the Rangers body transformed into particles of light, a deep-blue longbow had been left behind in his place. Victor of the second match: Gentle Snow! Cao Chenghua, his teammates, as well as the Elders of Ouroboros standing at the spectator stands, were dumbfounded. Gentle Snow had only used two moves to defeat Blackhearted Arrow, Ouroboross Third Branch Leader. It was simply unbelievable. Is this her true strength? Cao Chenghua watched Gentle Snows figure as she departed from the arena with a grim expression. Fortunately, Gentle Snows opponent had been Blackhearted Arrow, the weakest of the five on Cao Chenghuas team. If she had fought anyone else this round, Gentle Snow might have had a chance of becoming the victor of this competition and the Guild Leader of Ouroboros. Big Brother Ye Feng, Big Sis Snow is so amazing! She took out an expert with just two moves! Violet Cloud exclaimed with awe. Indeed. Shi Feng nodded, smiling faintly. Blackhearted Arrow did not know that, if struck by the Tier 1 Death Throw, players would also suffer a Silence effect, which prevented them from using any skills for a short time. This was why the skill was known as the Death Throw. Gentle Snows brilliant victory had undeniably increased the morale of her team. They now only needed to win two of the three remaining matches. Moreover, Gentle Snows intense domination had given the opposition some pause. Just as Zhao Yueru and Fierce Snake celebrated Gentle Snows victory The next combatants were announced. 403 Boiling Fury Cao Chenghuas team, who had fallen silent due to Gentle Snows display, suddenly smiled upon seeing the names for the third match. Third match: Fierce Snake vs. War Wolf! Fierce Snake was a Berserker, while War Wolf was a Shield Warrior. Regarding combat power, Berserkers held the advantage over Shield Warriors. However, Shield Warriors possessed high HP and Defense, as well as plenty of lifesaving skills, making them far more difficult to deal with than other classes. In general, neither class had an edge over the other. Hence, the players techniques would determine the outcome of this third match. Gentle Snow looked at the Shield Warrior who had remained silent and calm throughout the competition. Despite doing nothing, War Wolf exuded a faint pressure that made one unconsciously distance themselves from him. No matter how Gentle Snow examined War Wolf, she could never mistake him for an ordinary expert. Even her core teams MT, Ghost Chop, had admitted that he had only started playing a Shield Warrior because of this man. Furthermore, Cao Chenghua and the rest of his team treated War Wolf with great respect. This showed that War Wolfs standards were top-tier, and he should not be any weaker than Nimble Snake. Of the Twelve Apostles, Soaring Snake ranked first, Nimble Snake ranked third, and Fierce Snake ranked ninth. If Fierce Snake fought Nimble Snake, his chances of victory only hovered between 30% and 40%. If War Wolf was stronger than Nimble Snake and was about equal to Soaring Snake, then Fierce Snakes chances of victory were only around 20% to 30%. However, War Wolf did not play a damage-dealing class; his attacks would not be very powerful. On the other hand, a Berserker also wore plate armor. Unlike leather and cloth armor classes, Berserkers would not die so easily. Knowing this, War Wolf was prepared to fight a battle of attrition and slowly exhaust Fierce Snake to death. After all, that was the Shield Warriors specialty. Fierce Snake, your opponent is not simple. Make sure you dont cross swords with him for too long and give him any openings, Gentle Snow whispered a reminder to Fierce Snake. She then took a gold-rimmed skill book from her bag, carefully handing it to Fierce Snake, saying, Learn this skill. If you use it at a crucial moment, you might defeat him. Fierce Snakes heart pounded the moment he read the introduction of this skill book. This skill book was an extremely rare burst skill for Berserkers, Boiling Fury. For a short time, the skill increased the players damage by 40%, Strength by 15%, and Attack Speed by 30%. Moreover, the less HP the player had, the faster their Attack Speed would become. To a Berserker, this skill books value far surpassed that of one or two Dark Gold Weapons. Big Sis Snow, Boiling Fury is too valuable. I cant learn it, Fierce Snake said, shaking his head. War Wolf will not be easy to deal with, and you know this. You dont want me to lose, right? Worried that a powerful enemy would appear, Gentle Snow had prepared for this competition. As the Underground Arena prohibited players from using any tools, the only way to raise a players combat power was to learn new and powerful skills. Boiling Fury was one such skill Gentle Snow had prepared. She also had another Advanced Skill for Nimble Snake. Unfortunately, that skill book would not come into play during these matches. Sitting a short distance away, Shi Feng was slightly surprised upon seeing the skill book Gentle Snow passed to Fierce Snake. Gentle Snow had actually obtained such a super-rare skill book. Boiling Fury would only drop from High Lords ranked Field Bosses, and its drop-rate was 2%. One needed immense luck in order to obtain it. I understand. I will not lose. Fierce Snake nodded and chose to learn Boiling Fury. He then watched the thin War Wolf walk into the arena, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit. Originally, he only had a 30% chance of defeating the Shield Warrior. Now that he had obtained Boiling Fury, he had a 70% certainty of coming out victorious. Following which, Fierce Snake also entered the arena. Snow, youre simply too amazing! I cant believe you had something so powerful hidden! Fierce Snake will win for sure! Zhao Yueru hugged Gentle Snow excitedly, her previous depressed mood scattering to the winds. In response, Gentle Snow lightly tapped Zhao Yuerus forehead and revealed a faint smile. Meanwhile, inside the arena, the battle between Fierce Snake and War Wolf had begun. Im interested to see just how powerful you are. The moment the battle started, Fierce Snake lifted his silvery-gray battle axe and charged at War Wolf. When his axe descended, even the air roared. However, without even retrieving the shield and saber from his back, War Wolf simply took a step back and allowed the battle axe to brush past his body, slamming into the ground. War Wolf immediately stomped down on the battle axe, the weapon becoming completely embedded into the ground. He then unsheathed the saber covered in golden magic runes from his back and slashed at the Berserkers neck, the weapon creating a beautiful arc. The entire process flowed like water, and everyone who witnessed it was amazed. Before Fierce Snake could respond, a damage of -536 points appeared above his head. Although War Wolfs attack had not dealt a significant amount of damage to Fierce Snake, who had over 3,200 HP, this strike had dealt a heavy blow to the Berserkers mentality. Before he could even react, War Wolfs attack struck him. In Fierce Snakes memories, this had never happened in any of the PvP battles he had participated in before. Seeing War Wolfs saber slashing at him again, Fierce Snake hurriedly used Whirlwind Slash. At this moment, War Wolf lifted his shield, blocking Fierce Snakes skill and taking a single step back. Fierce Snake took advantage of his small victory to follow up with a series of attacks, using skill after skill to force War Wolf into a continuous retreat. Yet, to everyones surprise, Fierce Snakes HP continued to decrease despite being on the offensive. Every time Fierce Snake attacked, War Wolf would effortlessly block it with his shield and counterattack with his saber. Fierce Snake had no idea what was happening. Although he had tried to dodge and block War Wolfs counterattacks, the Shield Warriors saber would always somehow land a hit. Even when War Wolf took the initiative to launch an attack, he couldnt dodge or defend himself. War Wolfs saber would always disappear in mid-swing before suddenly appearing elsewhere. By the time War Wolfs saber reappeared, it was too late for him to react. He could only watch as his HP fell, powerless to do anything about it. Damn. Seeing that he had less than 1,000 HP remaining, Fierce Snake gritted his teeth and activated Boiling Fury. At this point, if he hesitated to activate Boiling Fury, he would die in a few moments. However, even after activating Boiling Fury, Fierce Snake was no different than a baby swinging a large axe to War Wolf. This time, the Shield Warrior did not even bother to use his shield and relied on his reflexes to dodge every one of Fierce Snakes attacks. It looked as if Fierce Snakes axe actively avoided War Wolf as the weapon brushed past him, never hitting his body. Fierce Snake nearly crumbled. This scene dumbfounded both Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru. They were familiar with Fierce Snakes strength. Yet, War Wolf could toy with him so effortlessly. Even Gentle Snow admitted that she was not capable of such a feat. Just who is he? Gentle Snow could not believe her eyes. Cao Chenghua had actually found someone so impressive. Most likely, only Zero Wings Guild Leader, One-hit Asura Black Flame, could contend with such a powerful expert. Inside the arena, War Wolf walked up to Fierce Snake, utterly relaxed. After swinging his saber twice, Fierce Snakes body fell to the ground, reluctance and frustration filling his face. Their strengths were on different levels entirely. Gentle Snow has definitely lost. The difference between our external player and hers is like heaven and earth. However, this is fate. Not everyone has the chance to connect with such an expert. If Cao Chenghua becomes the Guild Leader, he might be able to invite more experts into our Guild. This would benefit the Guilds future development. The Elders seated in the spectator stands expressed their admiration of War Wolfs performance. They began to anticipate the future of the Guild. As for Gentle Snow, they no longer expected anything of her. 404 The Difference Between Outsiders Gentle Snow, you should now see the difference between us, right? Cao Chenghua said, laughing as he grinned at Gentle Snow. From the very beginning, you never had any chance of winning this competition. There is only one ending for you all todayCdefeat! Gentle Snow, stoic and beautiful, refused to respond to Cao Chenghuas taunts. It was true that she had never expected Cao Chenghua to invite such an expert. Suddenly, this competition was no longer within her control. Originally, she had hoped for Fierce Snakes victory. Then, as long as Ye Feng secured another win, she would dominate this competition. Yet Now, there were still two matches left. Even if Ye Feng won his match, they would end with a tie. However, they didnt have any experts for the final match. Big Brother Ye Feng, what is going on? Violet Clouds eyes widened in shock when she witnessed War Wolfs demonic attacks. Why does he know it, too? Seeing as War Wolf can use Omnivision and Second Acceleration to such a refined standard, Cao Chenghua must have learned those techniques from him, Shi Feng calmly explained. Realization immediately dawned on Violet Cloud. However, Shi Fengs words had undeniably given Gentle Snow and the others a shock, each one of them falling silent. If Nimble Snake and Soaring Snake had also learned such mystifying techniques Hahaha! Thats right! Both Nimble Snake and Soaring Snake have also learned those techniques! Moreover, they are more proficient than I am! Cao Chenghua could not help but laugh when he saw Gentle Snow and the others expressions. Gentle Snow, you understand now, right? You have no chance of winning this competition! On top of that, the two outsiders youve brought are merely two Level 22 players! How could they possibly compete with the empowered Nimble Snake and Soaring Snake? Gentle Snow, just admit your loss right now. If you do, you wont have to suffer a humiliating defeat! At this time, both Nimble Snake and Soaring Snake shifted their gaze to Shi Feng and Violet Cloud, disdain filling their eyes. How boring. They are the last opponents. With this, I cant test out my new techniques, Soaring Snake sighed with disappointment. If I fought Gentle Snow, I might have been able to display some of my strength. I heard that Ye Feng is quite strong. He was previously the first player to enter White River City and had even defeated hundreds of players by himself during the initial stages of Gods Domain. He should provide some challenge and serve as a warm-up for the both of you, Cao Chenghua casually explained as he smirked at Shi Feng. At this moment, War Wolf opened his mouth and said, Thats right. You should not underestimate Ye Feng. I have seen his battle videos. Even though everyones Levels were very low at the time, based on the way Ye Feng moved and took action, I guarantee that he possesses a significant foundation in martial arts. Although he has yet to grasp Omnivision, you two should still be careful when fighting him. After War Wolf had agreed to aid Cao Chenghua, other than speaking while he trained them, he was usually silent. War Wolfs sudden and casual comment drew everyones attention. Him? Nimble Snake looked at Shi Feng, unable to feel any power or pressure from the ordinary-looking man. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he laughed and said, Big Brother War Wolf, you worry too much. You taught both of us personally. Against such an amateur martial artist, I can easily take care of him alone. Before Nimble Snake had joined Cao Chenghua, he had never known that he could apply so many martial arts techniques to playing a game like Gods Domain. When Cao Chenghua had first approached him, Nimble Snake did not even humor the thought of defecting. At that time, he felt that Gentle Snows combat techniques were the epitome of what it meant to be an expert. However, after dueling War Wolf and suffering an overwhelming defeat, Nimble Snake realized that he had merely been a frog in the bottom of the well. It was like meeting Superman. Superman was the creation of mans imagination, a fictional character that could never exist. Yet, reality suddenly revealed that such fictional characters actually existed. This revelation had shaken Nimble Snakes beliefs. Hence, Nimble Snake had joined Cao Chenghuas side without hesitation and received special training from War Wolf. After spending a lot of time and effort, he finally grasped the technique called Omnivision. After grasping Omnivision, Nimble Snake finally realized how huge of a gap there was between him and War Wolf. If Gentle Snow was the peak of mortals, then after grasping Omnivision, Nimble Snake had exceeded mortal standards. The two were on entirely different levels. Top-tier experts? Great experts? They were just jokes in Nimble Snakes eyes. Nimble Snake, stop speaking nonsense. Brother War Wolf definitely has his reasons for what he said. No matter who faces Ye Feng, you must go all-out against him, understand? Cao Chenghua reproached Nimble Snake, glaring at the Assassin. Yes, I understand, Nimble Snake hurriedly lowered his head. At this moment, the fourth combatants had been revealed. Fourth match: Ye Feng vs. Soaring Snake. Hahaha! Perfect! Since Big Brother War Wolf said to be careful of Ye Feng, then Ill use him to test my new skills and see just how much I have improved! Soaring Snake walked into the arena excitedly. Soaring Snake was not a brawny man. On the contrary, he was very lean. However, although he was thin, his muscles were packed with explosive power like a cheetahs. Out of everyone in Cao Chenghuas team, War Wolf was the most optimistic about Soaring Snake. Not only did he possess the highest talent for combat, but the speed at which he learned also left everyone speechless. He had only taken half the time to learn Omnivision. Moreover, he was a natural-born fighting maniac. Under War Wolfs tutelage, Soaring Snake had developed with unimaginable speeds, and right now, he was definitely the number one powerhouse in all of Ouroboros. If not for Cao Chenghuas wish to hide Soaring Snakes strength, the latter would have long since made it on the Gods Domain Experts List. Ye Feng, how confident are you? Gentle Snow suddenly asked as Shi Feng was about to enter the arena. If you dont feel confident, just admit defeat. You are Zero Wings backbone. It would not be beneficial for you to lose a level here. This competition was a miscalculation on my part. I never expected that Cao Chenghua had such a monster on his team. Not only is he a powerful fighter himself, but he has also enhanced Soaring Snake and Nimble Snakes strength. As for the losses you have suffered by joining me, I will pay five million Credits. In Gentle Snows opinion, Ye Feng was undoubtedly stronger than Soaring Snake. However, after finding out that Soaring Snake had completely changed, even Gentle Snow didnt think that she had much of a chance against him. Meanwhile, how much stronger could Ye Feng possibly be? A promise is a promise. Since Miss Snow has already invited me here, and I have agreed to help, how could I possibly flee without a fight? Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he entered the arena. Ye Feng is such a fool! Zhao Yueru huffed angrily. Didnt he see how powerful War Wolf was? Since War Wolf guided and taught Soaring Snake, even if he is not on par with War Wolf, he is probably not too far behind! Ye Feng is just trying to die! Alright, Yueru, everyone has their own bottom lines and styles of conduct. It is my fault for telling Ye Feng to give up without a fight, Gentle Snow placated Zhao Yueru. She then shifted her gaze to Shi Feng inside the arena, a mix of feelings filling her heart. However, while Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru both worried, Violet Cloud suddenly giggled and said, Since Big Brother Ye Feng has given his promise, he will fulfill it. You can rest assured about this. Both Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru turned their heads to look at the little girl named Violet Cloud, confused. Just why was Violet Cloud so confident in Ye Feng? Violet Cloud simply smiled and remained silent. Only she realized that their opponents should be the ones worrying; Soaring Snake was about to fight none other than Star-Moon Kingdoms number one powerhouse, One-hit Asura. 405 Techniques are Useless Seeing Violet Clouds confident yet silent smile, Zhao Yueru grew anxious. However, she also could not do anything about this situation, so she could only return her focus to the arena. Gentle Snow, on the other hand, was very calm, observing Violet Cloud. Previously, due to her anger over Nimble Snakes treachery, she had only glanced at the Cleric, not paying her any mind. Now that Gentle Snow paid closer attention, she discovered that, although this little girl named Violet Cloud seemed like any ordinary spirited and harmless girl, she could feel a faint indescribable pressure from the girl. It felt completely different from the pressure War Wolf gave off. War Wolf felt more like a slumbering, feral wolf: cruel, domineering, and vicious. As for Violet Cloud, she didnt know how to describe the girl. This was the first time she had encountered such a feeling. Violet Cloud felt like the starry sky at night: silent, awe-inspiring, and profound. _Just who is this little girl that Ye Feng brought with him?_ Gentle Snow was quite confident in the accuracy of her sixth sense. After she started playing Gods Domain, that sixth sense had only grown keener. Naturally, Violet Cloud noticed Gentle Snow staring at her. In response, she only nodded her head lightly and beamed a playful smile at the Snow Goddess. Inside the arena, Shi Feng and Soaring Snake faced each other, both observing their respective opponent. Both were Swordsmen, and the only difference between them was their level. Shi Feng was only Level 22 while Soaring Snake was Level 24. With a difference of two levels and Soaring Snakes grasp of the combat technique Omnivision that granted him insight far beyond the average person, the battle was definitely tilted in Soaring Snakes favor. Yet, even though the starting signal for the battle had already occurred, Soaring Snake remained motionless. He stood there calmly, without any apparent intentions to rush at Shi Feng. Soaring Snake, what are you doing? Why arent you moving? Soaring Snakes hesitation puzzled his teammates. Usually, Soaring Snake was a battle maniac that would go into a frenzy the moment the battle began. He would never behave as calmly as he was now. Soaring Snake is certainly quite talented. War Wolf revealed a faint smile as he watched the motionless Soaring Snake. Big Brother War Wolf, what do you mean? Nimble Snake asked, confused. When in battle, one does not rely only on their physical prowess, but their mental strength as well. One must remain calm to obtain victory. Soaring Snake is currently adjusting his mentality, War Wolf explained. Indeed, just as War Wolf had said, Soaring Snake was not as excitable as he had once been. Instead, there was a hint of clarity in his eyes. Suddenly, Soaring Snake unsheathed his swords and, with a powerful stomp, dashed towards Shi Feng. As the First Apostle of Ouroboros, Soaring Snakes weapons and equipment spoke for themselves. Of the two swords he wielded, one was Dark-Gold ranked, while the other was Fine-Gold ranked. Meanwhile, a large majority of his equipment was Fine-Gold ranked. His gear was among the best currently available in Gods Domain. Soaring Snake crossed more than 20 yards and arrived before Shi Feng in an instant. Immediately, he launched a rapid attack at Shi Feng. Soaring Snake had no intention of fooling around with Shi Feng. However, faced with Soaring Snakes bombardment, Shi Feng leisurely unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow. Leaning forward, he lightly swung his two swords and readied his battle stance. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the arena changed. Everyone shivered, goosebumps covering their whole bodies. This What is going on? Gentle Snow could sense something from Shi Feng inside the arena. _Who is this Ye Feng?!_ __ Cao Chenghua watched Shi Feng with shock. Just by adjusting his stance, Shi Feng had managed to deter every one of his opponents, causing their hearts to beat madly. Suddenly, silence overtook the arena. Facing Shi Feng, Soaring Snake stumbled like a frightened bird, abruptly halting his steps. Not even Soaring Snake understood why he had suddenly stopped. After regaining his composure, he resumed his charge at Shi Feng. Your courage is commendable. Shi Feng smiled faintly and nodded. Although Shi Fengs voice was soft, Soaring Snake, with his acute five senses, could hear Shi Fengs words clearly. Rage instantly burned in his heart. Activating Wind Blade, his speed increased once more as he slashed at Shi Feng. However, the moment Soaring Snake was within range, Shi Feng struck his adversary with even greater speed. Shi Fengs sword was as fast as lightning, reaching Soaring Snake in no time at all. Just as the Abyssal Blade was about to slice open Soaring Snakes neck, something strange occurred. The sword, which should have originally cut Soaring Snake, struck only air. Meanwhile, Soaring Snakes upper body completely vanished from Shi Fengs sight. Taking a closer look, Soaring Snake had actually reclined his body to evade Shi Fengs fatal strike. A pity. Soaring Snake revealed a malevolent smile. Before Soaring Snake had even finished speaking, his two swords flew towards Shi Fengs sides. His angle of attack was extremely complex and prevented Shi Feng from dodging. With no better choice, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade to block the two attacks. He then took the chance to distance himself from Soaring Snake. What is going on here? Soaring Snake can dodge such a fast attack? Zhao Yueru considered herself an expert, and her dynamic vision was excellent. In her view, Shi Fengs previous strike had been perfect. His strike was so fast that the attack should have been impossible to avoid. Yet, that perfect strike had missed Soaring Snake. Instead, Shi Feng was the one who had been struck twice. It was simply too strange. Inside the arena, Shi Feng examined himself for wounds. He frowned at the amused smile plastered on Soaring Snakes face. Leisurely, he said, I never expected that you would have hidden your strength so well. Your reaction speed is impressive. I am both a Swordsman and the strongest member of the Twelve Apostles. How could I possibly be slow? Soaring Snake laughed. You, on the other hand, have truly surprised me. You were able to use Defensive Blade the moment I countered your attack. Your reactions are not slow, either. No. Im not talking about that, Shi Feng shook his head. To be precise, you dodged my sword because your neural reaction is fast, no? Oh? Youve discovered that? Soaring Snake asked, feeling slightly surprised. In the next moment, he smiled and said unconcernedly, So what? Do you think you can win despite it? Snow, what are they talking about? Zhao Yueru asked curiously. Many in the spectator stands had overheard the conversation in the arena. Zhao Yueru was thoroughly confused. You saw Ye Fengs attack for yourself. It was a perfect strike. Yet, Soaring Snake still dodged it. Do you know how? Gentle Snow inquired, wearing a grim expression. Isnt it because Soaring Snake detected Shi Fengs attack, so he managed to evade it? Zhao Yueru did not understand what Gentle Snow was trying to say. You could put it that way. However, detecting an attack is one thing; dodging it is an entirely different matter. With the speed of Shi Fengs strike, not even a top-tier Assassin could dodge the attack from so close. Yet, Soaring Snake had done just that. The reason lies in Soaring Snakes neural response rate. When ordinary people act, their brains go through three processes: cognition, understanding, and correspondence. Time is required to go through all three. Statistically, the average persons reaction time is 0.3 seconds. Top sprinters who have undergone arduous training can shorten it to around 0.15 seconds. However, no matter how hard a person trains, they can never lower the transmission speed of their neural signals below 0.1 seconds. Of course, this is only common knowledge. Based on Soaring Snakes reaction time, his was 0.07 seconds, possibly around 0.06 seconds. His reaction was a lot faster than the average person. In other words, where an ordinary person can carry out three to four actions in one second, Soaring Snake can act over a dozen times. Because of this, not only could Soaring Snake dodge Shi Fengs sword, but he also managed to stab at Shi Feng twice simultaneously. This is no longer a situation of technique or hard work, but talent One could say that Soaring Snake is a true combat genius! 406 Rapid Showdown Zhao Yueru was speechless upon hearing Gentle Snows explanation; she was dazed as she stared at Soaring Snake. Soaring Snake had never been so powerful in the past. They never knew he possessed such talent. He had actually hidden his true strength so well. With this, who else could be his match in close combat? While ordinary people could launch three to four attacks, Soaring Snake could launch fourteen or fifteen attacks. He was invincible. Chances were that the only way to defeat Soaring Snake was to pull away and attack from a distance. Melee classes had no chance of winning. Hahaha! Ye Feng is indeed commendable for discerning Soaring Snakes ability. However, there is no way Soaring Snake will lose this match! A huge smile appeared on Cao Chenghuas dignified face. As long as Soaring Snake won this match, this competition would come to an end. Meanwhile, he would officially take hold of the position of Guild Leader. Everything was going exactly as he had expected. I was just warming up. If I take this fight seriously, I will only become faster. You are pretty amazing for blocking my last two attacks. Lets see how many attacks you can block. Although Soaring Snake was slightly surprised by how quickly Shi Feng had discerned his talent, his opponent could never overcome it. There was not a single Swordsman who could beat him. Swordsmen mainly relied on their normal attacks in battle. It was a class that wore down their enemies by attrition. If faced with a ranged class, Soaring Snake might have had some difficulties. However, against another Swordsman, he was practically invincible with his reaction speed. Moreover, he had also grasped Omnivision. He could easily perceive his enemys every movement and strike their weak points. Combining this martial arts technique with his inhuman reaction speed, in a melee battle, he was invulnerable. As he said so, Soaring Snake abruptly stomped on the ground, and like a fierce gale, his body shot towards Shi Feng. Straight-line attacks could usually be easily seen and dealt with. Despite knowing this, however, Soaring Snake still chose to face Shi Feng head-on, as if saying, Come at me if you can. You want to compete with speed? Shi Fengs frown deepened. Facing Soaring Snake, someone with such a unique talent, would be disadvantageous for Shi Feng. Although Soaring Snakes assault had many flaws, the Swordsman was not afraid of exploitation. Even if Shi Feng attacked Soaring Snake, the latter could easily perceive the attack with his Omnivision. With Soaring Snakes reaction speed, before Shi Fengs sword could reach him, he would have already evaded it. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Wind of the Seven Luminaries Ring, increasing his Movement Speed by 40%, Attack Speed by 40%, and Agility by 30%. He then dashed forward to meet Soaring Snake in battle. With breakneck speed, Soaring Snake had sent out sixteen sword images, forcing Shi Feng to deal with sixteen attacks simultaneously. However, after activating the Aura of Wind, Shi Fengs speed allowed him to deflect all sixteen attacks easily. For the time being, both sides were equally matched. Despite Shi Feng having a huge advantage in terms of speed, Soaring Snakes reaction speed was unmatched. Even if Shi Fengs attacks were faster, Soaring Snake could respond instantaneously. The clash of metal resounded relentlessly throughout the arena, the noise reaching deafening levels. Every time Shi Fengs and Soaring Snakes swords met, dazzling sparks would scatter around them. The spectating crowds hearts pounded as they watched the two Swordsmen confront each other. Each attack was simply too fast. The threat of death dominated each second. The slightest mistake would determine victory or defeat. Ye Feng is this strong? No wonder he was so confident, Zhao Yueru said with shock, her eyes focused on Shi Feng inside the arena, who had yet to lose any HP. Fierce Snake, who had been resurrected not long ago, nodded in agreement. In such a furious showdown, he might not last even two seconds before suffering defeat. Of course! Big Brother Ye Feng is very strong! Violet Cloud giggled. What a joke. How could the publicly acknowledged number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom, One-hit Asura, lose just because the opponent possesses a special physique? Fine, fine, fine! Your Big Brother Ye Feng is the most amazing! Zhao Yueru was also relieved upon seeing Shi Fengs performance. If Shi Feng lost this match, todays competition would end. Meanwhile, Cao Chenghuas team was also greatly shocked by the battle happening before them. Soaring Snake was Ouroboross undisputed number one expert, yet, an unknown player like Ye Feng could match him evenly. That Ye Feng is amazing. He is actually able to cope with Soaring Snakes violent offensive. Even I cant last as long. Nimble Snake felt slightly surprised as he looked at the relaxed expression on Ye Fengs face. However, the result of this match will soon be determined, War Wolf suddenly said, smiling faintly. Big Brother War Wolf, what do you mean? Nimble Snake asked curiously. Soaring Snake still hasnt used everything he has. He is simply probing Ye Feng at the moment. Didnt you see that Soaring Snake hasnt used Second Acceleration yet? War Wolf had the keenest eyesight among everyone present, and with just a glance, he could tell that Soaring Snake conserved a considerable amount of his strength. No wonder Ye Feng is still standing! Nimble Snake laughed. As War Wolf and the others discussed the fight, inside the arena, Soaring Snake suddenly retreated a few steps, pulling a small distance away from Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng did not give chase. Instead, he silently observed the Swordsman facing him. You have really surprised me. Ever since I learned Omnivision, you have been the first person who has lasted this long against me. How about it? If you join us, Big Brother War Wolf can help you become even stronger than you are now. As for the remuneration Gentle Snow has offered, I believe that Brother Cao will not hesitate to double that amount now that he has seen what you are capable of, Soaring Snake said, smiling at Shi Feng confidently. Even with his inhuman reaction speed, Soaring Snake found it extremely difficult to counter Shi Fengs attacks. Shi Fengs strikes were simply too fast, so much so that, if he had not perceived the attacks trajectory beforehand, it would be impossible to dodge or block them. If the Assassin Nimble Snake stood in his place, the battle would have ended long ago. Only a talented person like himself could possibly avoid Shi Fengs attacks. Cao Chenghua cannot afford to give me what I want. So, just forget about it, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. What a pity. Die, then! Soaring Snakes smile instantly twisted into something sinister. In the blink of an eye, he launched eighteen sword images, blocking all of Shi Fengs paths of retreat. Although the eighteen sword images did not appear to be fast, Shi Feng knew that Soaring Snake was no longer holding back. Of these eighteen sword strikes, Soaring Snake had applied Second Acceleration to every one. When the eighteen sword images were about to reach their mark Shi Feng simultaneously activated Purgatory Power, Windwalk, Wind Blade, and Wind Rider, and rather than retreating, he dashed forward to meet the incoming attacks. Shi Feng was like a phantom. In the blink of an eye, he had weaved through the gaps between Soaring Snakes sword images. When Shi Feng and Soaring Snake collided, a silvery-gray flash appeared on the latters body. The time it took the two to cross swords was only an instant. For some reason, however, an impressive gout of blood sprayed from Soaring Snakes body, splashing across the floor. Following which, Soaring Snake released an agonized scream as he tumbled to the ground. What?! What happened?! The crowd fell silent at this sudden development; only the sound of Soaring Snakes scream echoed throughout the arena. 407 Final Battle This What What just happened?! Why did Soaring Snake fall even after using Second Acceleration?! When was Soaring Snake attacked? Cao Chenghua bellowed. Cao Chenghua simply could not believe what he had just seen. From his position, he could see the entire battle, yet, he was completely clueless as to what had just happened between the two Swordsmen. It was simply ridiculous. In fact, Cao Chenghua wasnt the only one confused. None of the spectators understood what had just happened. The crowd saw Shi Feng dive headfirst into the Soaring Snakes sword images before he suddenly vanished. Before they realized it, Shi Feng had already walked past Soaring Snakes body. Meanwhile, multiple sword wounds had appeared on Soaring Snake, blood gushing from those wounds In this match, no matter how one looked at it, Soaring Snake had already obtained his victory, yet, the true outcome of the battle was completely unexpected. For a moment, nobody could accept this reality. As Soaring Snakes instructor, War Wolf was most familiar with Soaring Snakes strength. War Wolf was also an expert with frightening combat power in his own right. However, after witnessing this scene, he, too, found it unbelievable, so much so that he was more shocked than everyone else present. The higher you were, the better view you would have. Others might not have realized what had happened, but War Wolf had seen some clues. However, his confusion was precisely because of what he had seen. Although Shi Fengs speed was indeed frightening, it was not at the level of becoming invisible. Yet, the instant Shi Feng closed in on Soaring Snake, he suddenly vanished. By the time War Wolf noticed Shi Feng again, the latter had arrived by Soaring Snakes side, their shoulders brushing past each other. In other words, when Shi Feng had charged at Soaring Snake, he had disappeared from view not because of speed, but because War Wolfs mind had failed to perceive Shi Feng. Even Soaring Snake, who used Omnivision and his inhuman reaction speed, had failed to perceive Shi Feng. This was what thoroughly confused War Wolf. How had Shi Feng achieved such a feat? Second Acceleration was a technique used to confuse the eye, utilizing acceleration to catch an enemy off-guard and attack their blindspot. With this technique, enemies would still have a small window to react. However, Shi Fengs technique did not allow his enemies even that brief time before his sword landed After Soaring Snake died, he dropped a Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked pauldron, which Shi Feng casually pocketed. Shi Feng also secretly collected an Immortal Soul. Now, he only needed 9,999 more. After Soaring Snake lost his Immortal Soul, not only did he lose a level, but he was also barred from logging into Gods Domain for a time. As for exactly how long he was barred from the game, even Shi Feng did not know. If it were short, it might only be one or two days. If it were a long wait, Soaring Snake might not be able to log in for three or four days. In short, Soaring Snake would have to stay put for some time. Ye Feng, how did you manage to defeat Soaring Snake? Zhao Yueru, unable to contain her curiosity, immediately went up to him and asked when she saw Shi Feng exit the arena. She had too many questions about the battle. Because of this match, Zhao Yueru suddenly felt like a noob that had only started playing games, completely clueless. Despite having witnessed everything with her own eyes, she had no idea of what had actually happened. Do you want to know? Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he looked at the excited woman rushing up to him. He never expected Zhao Yueru to be the first person to ask him. Mhm, Zhao Yueru nodded, her eyes revealing a hint of anticipation. Zhao Yueru was very curious about how Shi Feng had managed to not only dodge the eighteen sword images, but also neutralize Soaring Snakes inhuman reaction speed, killing him instantly. After thinking for a moment, Shi Feng said seriously, I just went up to him and slashed him three times; thats all. Everyone present was immediately rendered speechless. Zhao Yueru had been about to tackle Shi Feng and take a few bites out of him if it not for Gentle Snow holding her back. Alright, Yueru; everyone has their own secrets. You cant force him to tell you. Now that we have won the fourth match, each side has two wins and two losses. This result is all thanks to Ye Feng. The following match will determine the result of this competition. At this moment, Gentle Snow felt very fortunate that she had thought of inviting Ye Feng when she had prepared for this competition. Although she had felt that Ye Feng had a good chance of securing a victory for her, she had never expected him to surprise her like this. Despite facing the greatly enhanced First Apostle, Soaring Snake, Ye Feng had defeated him with overwhelming might. She could never have expected this result. Gentle Snow found it very hard to believe that such an expert had remained unknown all this time. Was it because they were too weak to encounter such experts? Or was it because these experts loved to play the role of a weakling? Even Gentle Snow was unsure. However, the few fights today had certainly widened her horizons. She really could not figure out what kind of Guild Zero Wing was. First, there was Black Flame. Now, the combat power Ye Feng displayed was not the slightest bit inferior, and might even be superior, to Black Flames. Of course, Black Flame had never displayed his true strength to the public, so Gentle Snow could not be certain of who was stronger. Regardless, though, the two of them were true monsters. Big Brother Ye Feng, whats wrong? Violet Cloud could feel that something was amiss. The moment Shi Feng left the arena, he immediately sat down in the first row of seats. Now, his forehead was covered with sweat. Shi Feng was obviously dispirited, and he seemed exhausted. Its nothing. The high-intensity battle simply exhausted my mental power. Ill be fine after a short rest. You should get ready for the next match, Shi Feng replied softly, not trying to hide his current weakness. Although he was exhausted right now, he brimmed with joy. Everyone had thought that he had defeated Soaring Snake effortlessly. In reality, however, it had not been easy to dodge the eighteen sword images while dealing a fatal blow. If he had not been promoted to a Tier 1 Blade Saint with his Attributes enhanced greatly and his physical strength increased substantially, he might not have been able to use Void Steps in the exchange. Although Shi Feng had other methods to deal with Soaring Snake, he had chosen to take the risk because he wanted to break through his personal barrier and improve himself further. Fortunately, his gamble succeeded. Under the immense pressure Soaring Snake had placed on him, Shi Feng had finally reached a breakthrough and used footwork that he had never been able to use in the past. Void Steps! Void Steps was advanced footwork that allowed one to remove their presence from the opponents mind. In the past, very few top-tier experts had successfully grasped such advanced footwork. As for Shi Feng, who had merely been a first-rate expert back then, he had only ever succeeded in his dreams. In order to learn this advanced footwork, Shi Feng had done countless research and trials. Yet, he had never succeeded. This footwork possessed an extremely high requirement of a persons movement and breathing. It was not a technique that ordinary people could easily learn. However, Shi Fengs physique had massively improved after he had undergone his Class Change. His control over his body had also improved. In addition, he was currently playing the game through a virtual gaming cabin. Hence, Shi Feng had always thought of giving the footwork a try. Only, he had never found the chance. Fortunately, Soaring Snake had created the perfect opportunity for him. With the threat of death looming, the pressure allowed Shi Feng to finally break through that unreachable barrier. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was still feeling joyous over his own breakthrough, the fifth match of the competition had begun. Fifth match: Violet Cloud vs. Nimble Snake! 408 Level vs Tier Shi Fengs overwhelming victory during the fourth match had undoubtedly formed dark clouds in Cao Chenghuas heart. As if something was stuck in his throat, Cao Chenghua felt extremely uncomfortable. Why hasnt Soaring Snake resurrected? Cao Chenghua was in a sour mood. If Shi Feng was so powerful, then the Cleric girl that came with him must be extraordinary as well. She might also know the same technique as his. Even now, Cao Chenghua had no clue as to what Shi Feng had done. Without that knowledge, he had no response to it. Most likely, only Soaring Snake might know what sort of technique it was. Since Soaring Snake was still absent, Caos anxiety began to take hold. Currently, the competition was tied, and Nimble Snake and Violet Cloud would face off in the final match. Nimble Snake was an Assassin. Although he had an absolute advantage against a Cleric and had learned Omnivision and Second Acceleration, they would be useless against Shi Fengs technique. Brother Cao, for some reason, Soaring Snake has logged off and is still offline. I cant contact him at all, Nimble Snake reported. At this moment, Nimble Snake was also panicking; afraid that his opponent would know the same technique that won the previous match. If he lost Cao Chenghua would be finished. His life wouldnt exactly be easy either. Cao Chenghua paled as he looked at Soaring Snakes status window. He wished he could log off and strangle Soaring Snake. Playing hooky at such a crucial moment, was he trying to toy with him?! Guild Leader Cao, you dont have to be so worried. Although Ye Feng is very powerful, that female Cleric is different from those like Ye Feng and me, War Wolf suddenly spoke. Brother War Wolf, are you sure? Cao hesitated. If Violet Cloud were not a martial artist like Ye Feng and War Wolf, then even if she had powerful techniques, Cao Chenghua would have nothing to worry about. A Cleric was still a Cleric after all. Yes. She does not have the unique aura that people like us possess. I guarantee it, War Wolf affirmed, nodding. Excellent! Cao Chenghuas face lit up with a relieved smile. He then shifted his gaze to the other team, muttering in a cold tone, Gentle Snow, oh, Gentle Snow. Although you invited an expert of such caliber, in the end, you are still a step behind. Nimble Snake, do not disappoint me. Brother Cao, rest assured. She is only a Level 22 Cleric. I could have defeated her effortlessly even before I underwent the special training. Nimble Snake revealed a sinister grin as he glanced at Violet Cloud who had already entered the arena. He was currently Level 24. To an expert, an advantage of two levels made quite a difference. Following which, Nimble Snake entered the arena as well. Meanwhile, seated in the spectator stands, War Wolf still appeared indifferent. There was not the slightest hint of a smile on his face. In truth, he had only finished half of his statement. Violet Cloud indeed did not possess the unique aura of a martial artist. However, with his acute senses, War Wolf could feel a faint sense of danger from her. This danger was slightly different from that of a ferocious beast. It felt almost like a divine pressure. _Just what secret is this female Cleric hiding?_ Although War Wolf was not trying to boast, in Gods Domain, he did not fear many people. Even if he encountered someone who could intimidate him, it definitely would not be the young little girl standing inside the arena. Yet, there was something about her that gave him pause. Meanwhile, the tension was similarly high on Gentle Snows side. Ye Feng, will Violet really be alright? Zhao Yueru asked as she took a seat beside Shi Feng. She wanted a straight answer from him. Although she did not know why, Zhao Yueru felt that Shi Feng knew something she did not. It should be alright, Shi Feng said, uncertain. Should? What do you mean should? If Violet loses, Snow will have to leave Gods Domain forever! Are you really willing to lose her? Zhao Yueru huffed. Listening to Zhao Yuerus words, Shi Feng was suddenly speechless. Yueru! Gentle Snow glared. To think that her friend could still joke at a time like this. Gentle Snow was somewhat familiar with Shi Fengs personality. Shi Feng would never speak without certainty. If he said it, then it was true. Otherwise, he would remain quiet. But Zhao Yueru knew that her questioning would not change anything. She only wanted Shi Fengs confirmation so that she could feel more at ease. I really do not know. Nimble Snakes current strength, especially after grasping combat techniques such as Omnivision and Second Acceleration, is a complete mystery to me. As for Violets current progress, I dont know that either. However, she should be quite powerful. At least, without Omnivision and Second Acceleration, Nimble Snake wouldnt even be a challenge for her. Now, however, I do not know. We can only wait and see, Shi Feng explained as he understood Zhao Yuerus anxiety. Before War Wolfs appearance, Shi Feng had been certain of Violet Clouds victory regardless of who she fought. Now, however, Nimble Snake had learned combat techniques that very few experts knew. Of course, although Nimble Snake had the advantages of levels and techniques, Violet Cloud possessed the advantage of tiers. Simply put, the results of this match were unknown. After listening to Shi Fengs explanation, Zhao Yueru grew even more nervous. Wasnt that the same as saying nothing at all?! Gentle Snow, on the other hand, was greatly surprised. From Shi Fengs words, Violet Cloud was actually superior to Nimble Snake. Nimble Snake had originally been one of the top combatants of Ouroboros, and even Gentle Snow could not obtain an easy victory if they fought. However, Shi Feng was confident when he spoke. Thus, Gentle Snow believed him. Violet Cloud was only a young girl around sixteen or seventeen years old. How could she possibly be so strong? If Shi Fengs statement was true, then there might still be hope. Moreover, Violet Cloud was a ranged class. She would have an easier time dealing with techniques such as Omnivision and Second Acceleration. Suddenly, the countdown timer above the arena had ended. Immediately, Nimble Snake activated Stealth and vanished. One had to admit that Nimble Snake was indeed one of the top combatants of Ouroboros. After entering Stealth, all of his movements were silent. He was even stealthier than Absolute Heaven, and not even Shi Feng, who watched from the spectator stands, could tell Nimble Snakes exact location. Time passed little by little. Other than Violet Cloud, there was nobody else visible inside the arena. However, Nimble Snake revealed no intentions of making a move. As a result, the atmosphere inside the arena grew tenser as more time went by. This was one of the methods often used by Assassins. By doing so, they could instill paranoia in their target, exhausting their targets mental fortitude. As soon as their target relaxed, they would launch a fatal assault. Hence, many players despised dealing with Assassins. After all, it was tiresome to remain on high alert for long periods of time. Hence, Assassins had a natural advantage when fighting against all classes. _Heh, thats quite some patience you have there, little girl. Well see how long you last. The moment you relax will be the moment you die._ At this moment, Nimble Snake stood only ten yards away from Violet Cloud. To an Agility-focused Assassin, an instant was all that was necessary to cross that distance. 409 The Difference of Tiers The seconds ticked past. The crowd seated in the spectator stands were on the edge of their seats. Although they were not the ones fighting, they were just as focused on the battle as the combatants in the arena. This was the final match. The result of this match would determine the fates of both sides. The winner would become the Guild Leader of Ouroboros, and their team members would obtain success and prestige. The loser, however, would have to leave Gods Domain forever and those who followed them would struggle in the future. As a result, the tension was practically tangible in the stands. Even the Elders observing the fight from the side felt heavy. Nimble Snake, show yourself if you dare! It has already been more than twenty minutes, yet, you still act like a coward! Even with the advantage of your class, you play such a dirty trick! Arent you ashamed of yourself?! Zhao Yueru shouted, her crescent brows tightened as she frowned at the quiet arena. From the beginning, Nimble Snake had shown no sign of attacking. Zhao Yueru was greatly tempted to charge into the arena and fight the Assassin with Violet Cloud. Nimble Snake was cunning. In order to gain victory, he would willingly act unscrupulously. To guard against her opponent, Violet Cloud had to stay on high alert, focusing her senses to detect any movements. At best, an ordinary person could only maintain their concentration for half an hour or so. If pushed any longer, not only would they greatly exhaust their mental fortitude, but they would also become susceptible to distractions. Soon, they would unconsciously reveal flaws in their defense. However, this was a type of defense mechanism, so it was unavoidable. Meanwhile, the match had stretched on for almost half an hour now. Even Zhao Yueru felt her concentration begin to reach its limit. If this stalemate dragged on any longer, she would definitely falter. When experts fought each other, even the slightest distraction could mean death Hahaha! We never set a time limit for the matches, so it is up to them to choose how they fight. If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for not thinking of this beforehand. Dont you think its a little too late to regret it now? Blackhearted Arrow laughed triumphantly. Zhao Yueru was suddenly speechless. The statement was not false. It was true that they had not set a time limit for this competition. However, nobody ever expected Nimble Snake to do something so underhanded. Originally, Zhao Yueru had thought that she knew how low Nimble Snake would go. However, it would seem that she still underestimated the treacherous bastard. It turned out that he did not have even the basic self-respect of an expert. He actually planned on dragging the match on for over half an hour. It was my mistake. I had forgotten to set a time limit despite knowing that we would face an Assassin, Gentle Snow said remorsefully as she watched Violet Cloud, who already began to show signs of mental exhaustion. he had blundered during such a crucial competition Without a doubt, her mistake had significantly decreased Violet Clouds chances of victory. Dont be too nervous. Just watch. I believe that Violet Cloud knows what to expect, Shi Feng advised, his gaze fixed on his guildmate as well. But Relax. Shi Feng was not the slightest bit worried at this moment. Although Nimble Snake was indeed skilled, he still had a long way to go if he wanted to defeat Violet Cloud. Finally, half an hour had passed since the match had begun. _It seems that this little girl is close to reaching her limit._ All this time, Nimble Snake had carefully observed Violet Cloud from a distance. In reality, he had plenty of chances to make his move during this half an hour. However, he resisted. To be 100% certain that he would kill the Cleric, he chose to wait until this very moment. Sweat had already appeared on Violet Clouds forehead. It was obvious that her concentration had reached its limit. Nimble Snake even slipped up deliberately and made a little noise when he was about ten yards from her. An expert with acute senses would detect the sound. However, Violet Cloud failed to sense it at all. _Sure enough, she has grown tired._ Nimble Snake was overjoyed. He then circled to Violet Clouds back, silently drawing closer. Ten yards Five yards Three yards Soon, Nimble Snake arrived behind Violet Cloud and unsheathed his gleaming dagger, before stabbing it between the girls shoulders. Ambush! Ambush placed the target in a Fainted state for four seconds. During the early stages of Gods Domain, control removal skills were extremely rare. As long as his attack landed, Nimble Snake could kill her quickly with a chain of skills. To ensure his victory, Nimble Snake had even used Second Acceleration. Even if Violet Cloud discovered his attack, it would still be impossible for her to block it. The moment before Nimble Snakes dagger sank into the Cleric, Violet Cloud released a mighty roar. Terrorizing Roar! Terrorizing Roar Feared all enemies within a radius of 8 yards. Feared players would lose all control over their bodies. Suddenly, Ambush struck Violet Cloud, and she entered a Fainted state, while Nimble Snake had been Feared by Terrorizing Rawr. Violet is amazing. She actually managed to use Terrorizing Roar at the very last second. Now, neither side can attack each other. Moreover, now that Nimble Snake has been exposed, he has also lost the initiative of this fight. Next, once Violet distances herself from Nimble Snake, she can wear him down and finish him, Zhao Yueru exclaimed after seeing Violet Clouds performance. However, Gentle Snow said, No. Snow, is there a problem? Zhao Yueru asked curiously. Nimble Snake is Level 24, but Violet is only Level 22. Though both of their control skills have a duration of 4 seconds, as Nimble Snake is two levels higher, the effect of Violets Terrorizing Roar will definitely be slightly weaker. It is highly possible that the skills effect will only last 3.5 seconds. However, Violet will remain incapacitated for a full 4 seconds. Nimble Snake can do a lot of things during that 0.5-second gap, Gentle Snow said with a grim expression. Although Violet Clouds counterattack was marvelous, there was a small level-gap between them. Does that mean weve lost? Zhao Yuerus expression suddenly became melancholic. Cao Chenghua had also revealed a victorious smile. As soon as the control effect on Nimble Snake ended, the result of this match would be set in stone. However, Shi Feng suddenly smiled and said, No, weve won. Won? Zhao Yueru turned to look at Shi Feng. Whispering, she said, But Violets Fainted duration is longer than Nimble Snakes. How is she going to win? Youll find out, Shi Feng laughed. What? Shi Feng confused every spectator. However, since an expert like Shi Feng had said such a thing, he had his own reasons. What nonsense, Blackhearted Arrow scoffed as he glanced at the distant Shi Feng. Ridiculing, he said, It is common sense that the level suppression in Gods Domain is severe. One will only suffer if there is a difference of three levels. Although Nimble Snake is only two levels higher, it is enough to weaken a skills effect significantly. What an ignorant foolC However, before Blackhearted Arrow could finish Inside the arena, Violet Cloud suddenly recovered ahead of Nimble Snake. No How is this possible! It hasnt even been three seconds! Blackhearted Arrows eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Shi Feng was the only player who was not surprised. None of them could understand how Violet Cloud recovered first. _What a pity. You might be two levels above me, but I am one tier above you._ Violet Cloud looked at Nimble Snake, who currently shivered uncontrollably on the spot, smiling faintly as she waved her staff. A black magic array then formed beneath Nimble Snakes feet. _Good. I still have a chance._ Nimble Snake, who had originally begun to despair, suddenly saw hope. Violet Cloud had foolishly chosen a spell with a long casting time. Although Nimble Snake still had no control over his body, he could see and hear without any issues. The magic array forming beneath him needed one second to complete. Meanwhile, he was less than one second from reaching the 3.5-second duration of his Feared state. At that time, he could simply use Vanish to avoid Violet Clouds spell. However, as if ignorant of this fact, Violet Cloud continued chanting her incantation. Just as the 3.5 seconds were almost up, and Nimble Snake was about to use Vanish _Whats going on?_ Nimble Snake suddenly noticed that he still had no control over his own body. Meanwhile, the magic array Violet Cloud summoned began to activate. Tier 1 Advanced Spell: Black Coffin! 410 Unpredictable Astromancer Whats going on with Nimble Snake? Cao Chenghua asked, having paid attention to the system clock all this time. Isnt he two levels higher than that Cleric girl? Nimble Snake had clearly been incapacitated for over 3.5 seconds now, yet, he was still Feared. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud had long since regained her freedom. This series of events had shattered Cao Chenghuas understanding of Gods Domain completely. Even Zhao Yueru, who had thought that they had lost, was dumbfounded by what she saw. Gentle Snows gaze also held doubt as she watched the battle inside the arena. The scene happening before her made no sense. Among the crowd, only Shi Feng knew that Nimble Snake had fallen into a trap. Compared to level suppression, tier suppression was far more powerful. It was like comparing the fist of an infant and a fist of an adult. The combatants were on completely different levels. As a Tier 1 player, even if Violet Cloud fought a Tier 0 player who was ten levels above her, her control skills would be 100% effective or more. On the other hand, when a Tier 0 player used a control skill against a Tier 1 player ten levels below them, the effect of their control skills would weaken by at least 30%. This was the harsh reality of gap in tiers. This was why high-tiered players were so valuable and so overwhelmingly strong. Before anyone in the spectator stands could properly analyze the situation, Violet Cloud sealed her opponent inside a dark and silent barrier. Nimble Snake felt as if he were locked inside a huge coffin. This barrier stunned the watching crowd. Except for Shi Feng, of course. Nobody knew how powerful this Black Coffin was, and they did not know what was special about it. However, every player present was an expert, and when the crowd looked at the pitch-black barrier, they felt their souls tremble with fear. The Black Coffin was like a giant beast, and only death awaited those who were devoured. After trapping Nimble Snake inside the Black Coffin, Violet Cloud immediately distanced herself from it. The Black Coffin would gradually dissipate after three seconds. By the time it vanished, Violet Cloud was already more than 20 yards away from Nimble Snake. Even if Nimble Snake wanted to launch a counterattack, he would find it extremely difficult to do so from such a distance. _Eh? Whats going on? Why didnt I receive any damage?_ Nimble Snake had originally thought he was dead for sure. After all, an advanced spell that took an entire second to cast must be frighteningly powerful. However, he was actually unharmed. _Is it because of my level that the spells damage was nullified? Or maybe this is only a control spell?_ Nimble Snake relaxed. He then focused his gaze on the distant Violet Cloud. Although this distance was slightly disadvantageous to him, he had many ways to resolve this minor problem. uddenly, Violet Cloud waved her staff, and Sacred Sanctions descended from the sky, falling towards the Assassin. In response, Nimble Snake sneered as he started moving. With little effort, he dodged the attack and charged at Violet Cloud. However, Nimble Snake quickly discovered that something was amiss. Somehow, his HP suddenly fell by 500 points, and a moment later, it had fallen by another 500 points. Nimble Snake only had slightly more than 3,100 HP. Now that he had suddenly lost 1,000 HP, he only had around 2,100 HP left. _But nothing hit me!_ Nimble Snake was 100% certain that he had dodged the several Sacred Sanctions. Before Nimble Snake could figure out what had happened, Violet Cloud sent another barrage of Sacred Sanctions towards him. Nimble Snake advanced once more to dodge the attacks. However, he lost another 500 HP the moment he moved. Violet Cloud sent an attack once more. Knowing that he could no longer afford to lose HP, Nimble Snake started using his daggers to fend off the Sacred Sanctions. This time, he did not receive any damage. I was found out? Violet Cloud giggled. Astromancers possessed very few spells that dealt high damages. A majority of their attacks were strange and unpredictable. This was what Violet Cloud had discovered after researching her new class. Even until now, Violet Cloud had yet to grasp the true essence of an Astromancer completely. Black Coffin was one such skill. Any players caught by the spell would lose HP when they moved. Meanwhile, the amount of HP they lost depended on the spell casters Intelligence. In addition, Black Coffin also had a Silence effect. This spell worked wonders on a melee classes. By now, Nimble Snake had grasped the general gist of the situation. However, when he thought about how he could neither move nor use any skills, only enduring a beating, he suddenly grew sullen. The crowd was also amazed upon seeing the effects of Violet Clouds skill. This skill is so powerful! So thats why Little Sister Violet used it! Nimble Snake is dead for sure. By the time he reaches Little Sister Violet, his HP will have fallen to nothing, Zhao Yueru exclaimed. Although it is powerful, this move has a glaring flaw, Shi Feng said, smiling. Flaw? Zhao Yueru wondered but quickly understood. In just a moment, her excited heart froze. Since Nimble Snake lost HP whenever he moved, he would be fine if he stood still. With Nimble Snakes capabilities, he could easily block the Clerics attacks. Unless Violet Cloud could suddenly become an Elementalist Moreover, since it was a spells effect, it had a duration. When the spells duration ended, Nimble Snake could move freely once again. Since Zhao Yueru could figure out this simple solution, Nimble Snake could certainly figure it out as well. Indeed, Nimble Snake had simply chosen to remain where he was for now as he waited for time to pass. Surprisingly, upon seeing Nimble Snakes actions, Shi Feng smiled. To do nothing and give a casting class so much time? Was that really a good idea? Delaying for time? Violet Cloud smiled faintly. She then increased the distance between them to almost 30 yards before she began chanting an incantation and waving her staff. Compared to when she had cast Black Coffin, the channeling time for her current spell was much shorter. It was clear that she was not using an advanced spell as she had before. Although Nimble Snake had revealed a throwing weapon, Violet Cloud had long since prepared for it as she cast a Sacred Shield on herself, the spell capable of absorbing a significant amount of damage. In addition, Violet Cloud could physically dodge the attacks sent at her. After all, an Assassin was not a specialized ranged class, so Violet Cloud effortlessly defended against all attacks thrown at her. As a result, Nimble Snake could only stare at Violet Cloud helplessly. When the Cleric finished channeling her spell, she pointed her jade-like finger at Nimble Snake, who stood 30 yards away from her. Suddenly, her opponent felt a powerful suction, pulling him towards Violet Cloud. Although he tried to resist, his efforts were futile as he moved closer to Violet Cloud. Moreover, the speed at which he approached her on increased as he grew nearer. The moment Nimble Snake arrived before Violet Cloud, multiple damages of -500 appeared above his head, and his HP decreased rapidly. Nimble Snake knew that he was finished. A distance of 30 yards was sufficient to deplete his remaining 2,100 HP. To hell with it! A hint of madness surfaced in Nimble Snakes eyes. Now that the two were in such proximity, his daggers could reach Violet Cloud easily. In a flash, Nimble Snake tightened his grip on his daggers and sent over half a dozen blades of silver light flying towards Violet Cloud. In response, Violet Cloud simply flicked her finger. All of a sudden, an incomparably strong pressure slammed down on Nimble Snake, holding him in place. Even the two daggers he brandished froze centimeters away from Violet Cloud. In the next moment, the Assassin abruptly shot backward. Flying over 20 yards away, his body smashed into the wall of the arena. Victor of the fifth match: Violet Cloud! 411 Victory and Defea Violet Clouds easy victory had rendered everyone speechless. Nimble Snake, one of the Twelve Apostles of Ouroboros, had been effortlessly manipulated, so much so that he failed to inflict even a single point of damage to a Cleric. If this matter reached the public, nobody would believe it. We won? Although Zhao Yueru had prayed that Violet Cloud could win, she had not expected that the girl could so easily. However, Violet Clouds skills were peculiar. It was especially true for her final skill. It had complemented Black Coffin perfectly, allowing the skill to display its full potential. Violet Clouds and Ye Fengs combat styles were clearly different. Violet Cloud had not used any stunning attacks like Shi Feng. Instead, she utilized her skills to their very limits. From beginning to end, Nimble Snake had no chance to employ his advantage of techniques. Violet Cloud practically had him in the palm of her hand this entire match. Regarding combat techniques, Zhao Yueru did not think that Violet Cloud was much stronger herself. Unlike Ye Feng and War Wolf, Violet Clouds techniques were not at an unreachable level. Only, the skills Violet Cloud possessed were simply too powerful. Despite Nimble Snakes techniques being far superior, he still lost in the end. Ye Feng, is she really a Cleric? Although Gentle Snow rejoiced, she was also incredibly curious. She refused to believe that a Cleric could possess such powerful skills. Moreover, from the looks of it, Violet Clouds Basic Attributes were significantly higher than Zhao Yuerus. Yes and no, Shi Feng said, smiling. He could guess what was going through Gentle Snows mind right now. What do you mean? Zhao Yueru piped in. Violet has already class-changed from a Tier 0 Cleric to the Tier 1 hidden class, Astromancer. Not only does she possess the inherent skills of a Cleric, but she also possesses the skills of an Astromancer, Shi Feng explained slowly. Meanwhile, she defeated Nimble Snake just now using the Tier 1 Legacy Skills of an Astromancer. As for the might of those skills, youve seen them for yourselves. Tier 1 class? Youre saying that Violet has already obtained her Tier 1 class? Zhao Yuerus little mouth gaped, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at the girl smiling happily beside Shi Feng. Tier 1 class! This was a completely unknown concept to Gods Domains current players. Though, as an expert, she knew that a Tier 1 class was stronger than a Tier 0 class. However, the Class Change Quest was cumbersome. Not only would it be time-consuming, but the quest also quite difficult. As a result, she had chosen to focus on her level first. However, she never imagined that there would be such a huge gap between a Tier 0 and a Tier 1 class. So this is the gap between a Tier 0 player and a Tier 1 player? When Zhao Yueru thought back to how effortlessly Violet Cloud had defeated Nimble Snake, her heart was suddenly eager to challenge her Class Change Quest. Meanwhile, after listening to Shi Fengs explanation, Gentle Snow had also come to a realization. It was no wonder the two of them were only Level 22. It turned out that they had taken the time to complete their Class Change Quest. _Zero Wing is indeed filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons._ Gentle Snow inwardly sighed as she looked at Violet Cloud. _It seems that Ouroboros needs to challenge the Class Change Quests as well._ A Tier 1 class was actually so powerful. If Zero Wing had a large number of Tier 1 players Could Zero Wing even find a Dungeon they could not raid? With such strength, leveling up would also be much easier. In comparison, they had only been wasting their time and efforts by leveling up and raiding Dungeons. At this time, the five matches of the competition had come to a close. Naturally, Gentle Snow was the overall winner. As for Cao Chenghua, the loser, at this moment, his eyes were bloodshot. He glared at Nimble Snake as thoughts of strangling the assassin filtered through his mind. Despite all of his calculations and machinations, he had never expected that the two outsiders Gentle Snow had invited would be so powerful. However, his thoughts were meaningless now because the Main God System had already begun enforcing the conditions of the contract. Cao Chenghuas body began to slowly fade out of existence as the Main God System expelled him from Gods Domain permanently. Just like that, the Acting Guild Leader of Ouroboros, a relatively influential character in the virtual gaming world, could not log into Gods Domain ever again. Without Cao Chenghua supporting them, Blackhearted Arrow and the recently resurrected Nimble Snake were at a loss. From now on, Gentle Snow would be the Guild Leader of Ouroboros. It would be a piece of cake for her to deal with them. Regret turned Nimble Snakes stomach. Originally, he thought his future would be set if he followed Cao Chenghua. Yet, now Just as Nimble Snake and Blackhearted Arrow began to panic, War Wolf, the outsider invited by Cao Chenghua, stood and walked up to Gentle Snow. Miss Snow, we meet again, War Wolf greeted, a faint smile on his face. Do you have any business with me? Gentle Snow asked, somewhat surprised. In the past, War Wolf had felt only disdain towards Guild players like her, refusing to even speak with her. Now, however, he had actually initiated a conversation. It was beyond unusual. Even Shi Feng was curious as to what War Wolf had to say. I only wish to congratulate Miss Snow for becoming the Guild Leader of Ouroboros, War Wolf spoke softly. Thank you, Gentle Snow answered politely. In regards to the man named War Wolf, Gentle Snow could not see through him in the least. Moreover, the Shield Warrior gave her a sense of extreme danger, and she was quite uncomfortable. Following which, War Wolf shifted his gaze to Shi Feng, saying, I truly did not expect to meet a fellow martial arts practitioner here. Although I wish to exchange a few moves with you, unfortunately, I am only a Tier 0 class right now. I can only seek you out once I receive my Tier 1 promotion. However, before I leave, I have something I need to say to Brother Ye Feng. It is best if you leave Zero Wing quickly and look for a better Guild to develop yourself. Brother War Wolf, what are you trying to say? Shi Feng did not think that War Wolf was someone who would speak nonsense. This It could be dangerous for me to go into detail, but recently, Zero Wing has attracted too much attention in Gods Domain. Some people can no longer sit by and have begun to take action. Are you referring to Underworld? No. Even I get a headache just thinking about dealing with those people. If you can hide from them, then hide. In the off chance that Zero Wing provokes them, the consequences would be unimaginable. War Wolf simply smiled and shook his head before departing from the room. Watching War Wolfs departing figure, Shi Feng grew confused. He could not figure out who else had targeted Zero Wing. Even an expert like War Wolf feared of them. Forget it. There is no point overthinking things. Lets just take things as they come. Since he could not figure it out, Shi Feng no longer bothered thinking about it. Why worry about trouble that might not even come? After War Wolfs departure, Gentle Snow had immediately expelled Nimble Snake and Blackhearted Arrow from Ouroboros. Although the two of them were experts, who knew what sort of schemes they would concoct in the future? It was especially true for a sly and treacherous bastard like Nimble Snake. Afterward, Gentle Snow gave both Shi Feng and Violet Cloud 30 million Credits each as remuneration for their help. Violet Cloud was stupefied upon seeing the numbers in her virtual bank account. This was her first time seeing such an astronomical sum of money. Shi Feng, on the other hand, was rather pleased after receiving the money. With this, he would not have to worry about the Guilds development funds for some time. As Gentle Snow had just become Ouroboross Guild Leader, she still had a ton of things she needed to handle. Shi Feng and Violet Cloud did not linger either, and they left the Underground Arena. Just as Shi Feng and Violet Cloud were about to return to White River City, the sound of his communicator ringing suddenly reached his ears. Brother Feng, I have bad news! Something big has happened! Blackie announced. 412 Great Lord Relax; slow down, Shi Feng said. Blackie wanted to calm down, but he couldnt contain his panic after surviving something so intense. Brother Feng, listen to me! A meteorite shower rained down on the White River City Region! Black said excitedly. Originally, everyone thought nothing of it. However, a system notification suddenly appeared in White River City, stating that the meteorite shower had destroyed the entire White Fog Canyon, a Level 20 to Level 30 grinding area! All the monsters within White Fog Canyon have gone berserk, and based on the information our Guild uncovered, these monsters have a surprisingly high drop-rates, and the EXP they give is also significant. On top of that, a Ruined Shrine has appeared inside the White Fog Canyon. We received information of powerful monsters guarding something inside the shrine. A few powerful Assassins even snuck in to have a look. They discovered that there was actually a Level 25 Great Lord ranked monster deep inside the Ruined Shrine. Currently, the various Guilds are organizing their personnel and preparing to raid the Level 25 Great Lord. A Great Lord was an existence that surpassed a High Lord. Such monsters did not even exist in Level 50 large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons. At most, the Final Boss of said Dungeon might be a High Lord. Yet, now, a Great Lord had actually appeared. Without a doubt, its appearance would draw Guilds to it. The ironclad rule of Gods Domain was that the stronger a monster was, the better its drops would be. For Great Lord ranked monsters, at the very least, they would drop Dark-Gold items. There might even be a chance for Epic items to drop. Brother Feng, how many people do you think we should send? Blackie asked. Youre saying a meteorite shower has destroyed the entire White Fog Canyon? Shi Fengs eyes suddenly shone. Excellent! Blackie, notify Aqua and have her organize some personnel. We dont need for too many; around 500 people will do. However, they must all be strong. Well meet up in White Fog Canyon later. The matter regarding White River Citys meteorite shower incident in the past was still deeply engraved in Shi Fengs mind. Because of this incident, players engaged each other in a long-standing war. Whether it was the independent players or the various Guilds, if one set foot into White Fog Canyon, they would become entangled in this war. However, what player could resist the temptation of the items inside White Fog Canyon? In the past, even Shi Feng died no less than a dozen times for that particular treasure. Thats right; he died half a dozen times. That was equivalent to losing half a dozen levels. Yet, Shi Feng had still thrown himself into the fray. Everything he had done was for equipment and money. Okay! Ill contact Sister Aqua immediately! Blackie disconnected the call and did as he promised. _Sure enough, history has changed significantly. The meteorite shower has happened so early. I must take full advantage of it this time._ When Shi Feng thought about how he could enter the White Fog Canyon so soon after the meteorite showers appearance in this life, excitement filled his heart. Shi Feng sorely lacked money right now. Currently, the Starstreak Trading Firm granted him a daily income of over 1,000 Gold. In addition, he received a dozen or so Gold when Guild members completed quests from the Guild Residence. Overall, it was a hefty income. However, the Starstreak Trading Firm did not belong to Shi Feng. Moreover, his quest still demanded 30,000 Gold. Right now, he had not even accumulated half that amount of money. On another note, there was not much time left before the Great Demons Curse that afflicted Shi Feng would take effect. If he failed to gather the 30,000 Gold and obtain the Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll, he could not locate the Bible of Darkness and remove the curse. If he failed, Shi Feng would only have one end waiting for him. Death! Originally, Shi Feng had planned to exploit the market and increase his income through the Strengthened Armor Kits Melancholic Smile and the others produced. Now, however, there was no need. His problems would be solved as long as he had the White Fog Canyon. Although the meteorite shower had caused the appearance of the Ruined Shrine and had driven the monsters in White Fog Canyon berserk, greatly increasing their drop-rate and EXP, neither aspect was really important. What mattered the most was the Starfire Ore! After White Fog Canyon was destroyed, Starfire Ore had been found all over the area. Starfire Ore was incredibly rare, and it could only be found around the crash sites of meteorites. Starfire Essence could be extracted from refined Starfire Ore and could increase the success rate of forging. The more Starfire Essence one used, the higher their success rate would be. Although Starfire Essence was ineffective when forging Dark-Gold ranked items and above, it could still allow forgers to produce various Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. Hence, Starfire Essence was very valuable. In the past, a piece of Starfire Ore could sell for 1 Silver Coin, whereas a piece of Starfire Essence could sell for 4 Silver Coins. Even the independent players of White River City had hungered for Starfire Ore. In this life, Shi Feng would not let this opportunity pass him by. For the moment, everyone was still focused on the Great Lord of the Ruined Shrine. Nobody had discovered Starfire Ore or realized that it littered the demolished White Fog Canyon, let alone its value. Hence, this was the perfect chance for Shi Feng. \--- Half an hour later, Shi Feng and Violet Cloud arrived in White Fog Canyon. The layer that previously hid the canyon had dissipated. Instead, craters and flames filled the area. A dilapidated shrine loomed in White Fog Canyons center. Plenty of monsters also patrolled the surroundings of said shrine. After Shi Feng arrived, he discovered that players crowded around the entrance to White Fog Canyon. There were tens of thousands of players. However, although all of the Guilds of White River City had come, the majority consisted of independent players. Guild Leader, from our investigations, we discovered that Overwhelming Smile has dispatched over 6,000 members to White Fog Canyon, Emperors Light has sent over 2,000, Assassins Alliance has sent over 2,000 players, and Ouroboros has also sent over 3,000 players. All of these players are elites who are Level 21 and above. Yet, weve only brought 500 members with us. Do we really have enough players? Aqua Rose asked worriedly. Its enough. Having too many people isnt necessarily a good thing. Moreover, our goal is different, Shi Feng stated. Before his arrival, Shi Feng had done his own calculations. White Fog Canyon was not particularly large. The crash sites were also limited in number. Five hundred people were just about right for the task he had in mind. Sending any more would just be a waste of manpower. Are we not going to the Ruined Shrine? Aqua Rose was greatly surprised. Had they not gathered the top combatants of the Guild to raid the Great Lord inside the Ruined Shrine? It would not benefit Zero Wing if Overwhelming Smile managed to raid the Great Lord successfully first. Currently, their Guild also had quite a number of Tier 1 players. Compared to Overwhelming Smile, they would have a much easier time raiding the Great Lord. Yet, that wasnt their goal? How could a Great Lord be defeated that easily? We are here simply to level up. Even if we want to defeat a Level 25 Great Lord, at the very least, everyone must be at 25 or above. Since they wish to raid it, just let them raid it, Shi Feng laughed. What was a Great Lord? A Great Lord was a monster would only appear as the Final Boss of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. With only a group of Tier 0 players, what could they possibly hope to achieve? Even if they drowned the Great Lord with corpses, the price they would pay would be unimaginable. In the past, many Guilds had attempted to raid the Level 25 Great Lord inside the Ruined Shrine. However, after the death of several thousand players, they submitted and gave up the hope of defeating the monster. Moreover, the various Guilds back then even had Tier 1 players in their midst. But what about now? The meteorite shower had appeared a lot earlier in this life. Currently, aside from Zero Wing, none of the Guilds had even a single Tier 1 player. How were they supposed to defeat the Great Lord? 413 White Fog Canyon As Shi Feng marked locations on the system map, more players continued to arrive at White Fog Canyon. When Shi Feng had arrived, he had changed his appearance to Black Flame. As a result, he received an extraordinary amount of attention. Wow! Isnt that Guild Leader Black Flame? Hes so powerful! Just looking at him makes my heart pound! It would be great if I could become friends with him! Why dont you look in the mirror first? Guild Leader Black Flame is the number one expert in Star-Moon Kingdom. Meeting him alone is a rare chance, much less becoming friends with him. Sure enough, One-hit Asura is here as well. Things in the White Fog Canyon will be more interesting now. No duh. Overwhelming Smiles influence in White River City continues to grow. If Zero Wing fails to achieve anything in the competition over White Fog Canyon, it will become the laughingstock of White River City. However, Overwhelming Smile has dispatched an impressive army of players. Look; even Overwhelming Smiles Branch Leader, Lone Tyrant, has shown up. A huge war is going to break out over the canyon. I hurried here specifically to watch this war unfold. Upon seeing Shi Feng, many players began to discuss Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile. Currently, the atmosphere surrounding White River City grew increasingly tense with each passing day. Despite Overwhelming Smiles clear attempts to suppress Zero Wing, it had not acted directly. Thus far, it had only employed various plots to poach the members of Zero Wing. It was as if Overwhelming Smile was dead set on stealing every single member from Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs Guild showed no signs of taking action. The Guild had only declared that all members who withdrew from Zero Wing were permanently barred from joining the Guild again in the future. At the same time, Zero Wing also lowered their recruitment criteria. Both sides appeared strangely calm as they maintained a delicate balance. No one knew what these Guilds were thinking. There was a faint feeling of a storm brewing behind the scenes. Now that these Guilds had gathered in the White Fog Canyon, they were both on high-alert for each other. When Lone Tyrant saw Shi Feng, his eyes turned bloodshot as killing intent radiated from his body. He glared at Shi Feng as if the man was his greatest enemy. Any expert could feel Lone Tyrants killing intent. Naturally, Shi Feng was no exception. Guild Leader, it seems that Lone Tyrants hatred for you is quite intense. Despite the fact that youve killed him several times, he refuses to learn his lesson, Aqua Rose giggled. He can only act this rampant because he has Overwhelming Smile backing him. Why dont we head over and kill him again? We can use this chance to massacre Overwhelming Smile and relieve some stress, Blackie snarled. Fire Dance stepped forward and said, I alone will be enough to kill him. Shi Feng, who had busied himself with the system map all this time, simply smiled and said, Ignore him. We have more important matters to tend to. Fire Dance, you, especially, have much to do. Shi Feng thought little of Lone Tyrant. The one Shi Feng was truly worried about was the Overwhelming Smile branch based in Maple City and the several surrounding cities controlled by Underworld. At this moment, a graceful and quiet woman standing beside Lone Tyrant softly reminded him, Brother Tyrant, we have not come here to wage war with Zero Wing. Dont forget our goal. Listening to this womans words, Lone Tyrant shot Shi Feng a glare before turning to enter the White Fog Canyon. The graceful woman then looked at Shi Feng and the others, sending them a faint smile before she followed after Lone Tyrant and led the army of over 6,000 players into the White Fog Canyon. _I remember seeing that woman the last time I killed South Wolf. I think she was called Youlan? For Lone Tyrant act so subserviently, it seems that her status is quite high._ Naturally, Shi Feng noticed the woman who had smiled at them, uncertainty filling his gaze. Shi Feng had only paid attention to Youlan because of his intuition. He could feel an indescribable sense of danger from the woman. Yet, after using Omniscient Eyes to inspect Youlan, Shi Feng discovered that the woman was merely a Level 24 Tier 0 Summoner. There was nothing special about her at all. Shi Feng began to doubt his intuition. After Overwhelming Smile entered the canyon, the other Guilds promptly followed. Only Shi Feng and the others lingered at the entrance. Guild Leader, Overwhelming Smile, Emperors Light, and Assassins Alliance have already entered. Are we not going in yet? Aqua Rose asked as she watched Guild after Guild enter the White Fog Canyon. In a moment. Ill be done soon, Shi Feng leisurely responded. White Fog Canyon was a Level 20 to Level 30 grinding area. Or rather, it had been originally. However, after the meteorite shower, the monsters inside had gone Berserk and had become far more difficult to deal with. At the very least, the White Fog Canyon was no longer suitable for ordinary players around Level 20. When in a Berserk state, monsters damage and Attack Speed would increase by a minimum of 30%. With this increase, a Common monster would possess the combat power of an Elite monster and so on. However, this was only the beginning. As time passed, the monsters within White Fog Canyon would also grow stronger and more numerous. Soon, even the weakest monsters inside the canyon would become Elites, while a majority of the monsters would be Special Elites. There would also be quite a number of Chieftains and Lords. Moreover, all these monsters would have also entered a Berserk state Just thinking about this gave one goosebumps. Based on how long it had been since the meteorite shower, Shi Feng could say with certainty that there were no longer any Common monsters inside White Fog Canyon. At the very minimum, the monsters inside the canyon would be Elites. Moreover, the monsters would move in groups and respawn very quickly. There would also be many danger spots inside the canyon. Meanwhile, the core area of the White Fog Canyon spoke for itself. The results of rushing in unprepared were obvious. Currently, the baseline for entering White Fog Canyon was Level 20 Tier 1 or around Level 30 Tier 0. Although players could improve their chances by going in with larger numbers, this canyon was still significantly dangerous. Therefore, Shi Feng had sketched out a new map of the White Fog Canyon based on his memories of the past. On the new map, he had made sure to indicate locations that they needed to avoid. He had also marked a few mining spots and danger spots. Although it was a time-consuming task, this new map would undeniably reduce the losses his Guild members suffered. The minutes crawled by. While Shi Feng was busy trying to recall the White Fog Canyon, over a dozen minutes had passed since the crowd of independent players and Guilds had entered White Fog Canyon. Suddenly, the members of Zero Wing, who had waited silently at the canyons entrance, noticed many players exiting the canyon. These players looked pitiful. They left in parties of twos and threes; not a single complete party passed the watching Zero Wing players. Unable to contain his curiosity, Blackie walked over and asked, What happened to you guys? Its only been around 10 minutes since you went in. How did you guys end up in such sorry states so quickly? These players had relatively powerful equipment. They were fully geared in Bronze Equipment at the very minimum. Logically, a party of such caliber should not have any issues dealing with a Level 22 or 23 Special Elite. Yet, all of these parties had lost at least half of their members What do you know? The monsters inside White Fog Canyon are all Berserk Elites. Even our Level 21 Shield Warrior could only take a dozen hits at most. Facing one was hard enough. Yet, for some reason, the monsters in there move in groups of three at least. They also have a massive aggro range, so they are easy to pull. Many had party-wiped, and we only managed to escape after much difficulty. Weve decided to level elsewhere until we hit Level 25 at least., a Level 21 veteran player replied, sighing. At this moment, his heart still trembled when he thought back to those groups of Elite monsters. 414 Beast War Every Zero Wing member laughed when they heard these independent players. In the end, independent players only amounted to so much. Even with a party of six, two or three Elites had been too much for them. They were truly weak. Guild Leader is being too cautious. How could an independent partys strength compare to ours? Now that Overwhelming Smile has taken the lead, wont those bastards claim the Great Lord kill? It shouldnt be possible. Its a Great Lord. Overwhelming Smile has dispatched over 6,000 members for this, and all of them are elites. Killing a Great Lord should be childs play to them. Indeed. Even though a Great Lord is very powerful, with 6,000 players, they could simply exhaust it to death. I really dont understand what the Guild Leader is thinking. Everyone has already arrived, yet, were just standing here. By the time we enter, who knows how many Elite monsters the other Guilds will have killed already. Why are we here anyway? While the members of Zero Wing grumbled about Shi Fengs approach, a team of several hundred players left the White Fog Canyon. These players equipment looked uniform, and they all wore the same Guild Emblem on their chests. They were clearly a Guild Team. Whats up with these people? The crowd from Zero Wing grew curious as they watched the members of this Guild Team, disgrace haunting these players expressions. Following which, another large wave of players came out of White Fog Canyon, these players also belonging to a Guild. However, the second Guild Team had far more members than the first. Moreover, instead of slowly walking out of the canyon, these players ran in a panic. This scene thoroughly confused the Zero Wing members waiting by the canyons entrance. Had these people gone insane? Wait! Theres something behind them! one of Zero Wings Level 22 Rangers with the Eagle Eyes skill said. Everyone from Zero Wing then shifted their gazes and were immediately dumbfounded by what they saw. Previously, they had not been able to get a clear view due to being too far away. Now that it had come to them, they could finally see it. Behind the frantically running players, thousands of Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys stormed after them. These bloodthirsty Monkeys released frenzied roars as they charged at the escaping players like a tsunami, devouring everything in their path. [Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys] (Elite Rank) Level 22 HP 16,000/16,000 Although these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys did not have a lot of HP, compared to players, their bodies were half a size larger. Not only were they nimble and powerful, but they also possessed naturally long arms. In addition, they wielded weapons and were also capable of using these weapons as proficient as players. Defeating this monsters would not be easy. Meanwhile, among these thousands of Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys, there were also a few larger Armored Battle Monkeys squeezed in. These Armored Battle Monkeys were covered in scars, a testament to the many battles they had fought. Compared to the Elite ranked Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys, the Armored Battle Monkeys were much stronger. It was not just because of their ranks as Special Elites, but more so because of their combat techniques, which were far superior than ordinary players. [Armored Battle Monkeys] (Special Elite) Level 24 HP 54,000/54,000 Moreover, whenever the tide of Battle Monkeys caught up to some of the escaping players, they would only tackle and hack said players to death in groups of three to five; not every Battle Monkey would stop to attack. Although frenzied, these Battle Monkeys fought with intelligence and organization. More players continued to die. Save me! Save me, please! I dont want to die! Many players screamed as the Battle Monkeys caught up to them. As for resisting. Most of them had forgotten how to do that. The players of Gods Domain had never experienced such horrific slaughter before, and their legs had long since gone limp with fear. At this moment, only those who possessed a strong heart managed to keep running, whereas the weaker-willed players had died under the monster tsunami. Although some of the escaping players were also attacking as they ran, there were simply too many Battle Monkeys. Retaliation was no different than pouring a cup of water into a raging inferno. After a short moment, over a hundred players had died. In the end, the players who escaped the White Fog Canyon numbered less than 500. These players had even implicated the Guild Team that had escaped before them, causing the latter to suffer another loss of over a hundred players. After watching the massacre, the idle members of Zero Wing were stupefied. These Battle Monkeys were terrifying! Are these really monsters? This question lingered in everyones hearts. The Battle Monkeys had behaved completely different from the monsters they had seen and fought before. Fighting these monsters was no longer grinding. Rather, it looked more like a full-blown war. At this moment, the Zero Wing members who had previously complained about Shi Fengs decision fell silent. Now, they only admired Shi Fengs forethought. If they had not witnessed this scene and had foolishly charged into White Fog Canyon, it was highly possible that they would have suffered a similar fate to those players. As for the other Guild members, they looked at Shi Feng with even greater reverence now. While the crowd from Zero Wing continued to linger around the entrance, one Guild Team after another fled the canyon. As for the independent parties, very few had managed to escape as practically all of them had died inside the canyon. Instead of calling the White Fog Canyon a precious grinding spot, it was more like a gigantic meat grinder. Alright, lets join the party, Shi Feng said after he finished organizing his map. He then said in the team chat, Youve seen for yourselves the various Guild Teams that have escaped. Most of those Guild Teams have more members than we do. However, as you can see, only half of them made it out alive. You can imagine for yourselves just how dangerous White Fog Canyon is, so I hope that everyone will obey the commands given to you. Do not take any arbitrary actions. If anyone violates their orders, I will deal with you personally! The crowd involuntarily trembled upon hearing Shi Fengs words, tensing unconsciously. Since no one has any issues, stand by the groups and formations previously arranged. Shi Feng nodded and said, Lets head in, then. After the meteorite shower, White Fog Canyon had ceased to be a grinding area. It was more like a super-large-scale Dungeon. Obtaining the Starfire Ore would not be an easy task. Instead of grinding monsters, they were about to wage war inside the canyon. Danger lurked around every corner of the map. Inside the canyon, they did not need to look for the Battle Monkeys, as the Battle Monkeys had long since been ready to ambush them. Hence, they needed to stay vigilant inside the canyon. The formation Shi Feng had organized scattered the MTs around the team, whereas healers and ranged classes were safer in the center of the group. As for the Assassins, they were sent to scout ahead, reporting back any activities they discovered so as to avoid an ambush. Under Shi Fengs lead, the Zero Wing team quickly arrived at the inner region of the White Fog Canyon. During this period, everyone had experienced several battles, and the Battle Monkeys they killed numbered over a thousand. Everyones experience bars rose significantly as a result. They had also obtained plenty of Level 20 and above Bronze Equipment and materials. Most importantly, the team had suffered zero casualties throughout the journey. This situation caused everyones reverence towards Shi Feng to soar once more. Previously, everyone had simply thought of Shi Feng as someone with impressive strength. They had never expected him to be a superior leader as well. Suddenly, Fire Dance, who was in Stealth in a nearby tree, reported in the team chat, Guild Leader, a group of nearly 300 Battle Monkeys currently approaches from the left side of the team. Contact in roughly 30 seconds. Guild Leader, a group of close to 400 Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys approaches from the rear. There are also a dozen or so Armored Battle Monkeys with them. They will reach the teams current location in roughly one minute, Flying Shadow, one of the Five Demon Generals, reported. Everyones hearts trembled upon receiving these two reports. The previous ambushes they had encountered had only come from a single direction. Now, these Battle Monkeys were initiating a pincer attack. Moreover, their numbers were far greater than before. The previous ambushes had only consisted of a hundred or so Battle Monkeys. Now, they had to face a total of nearly 700. They were outnumbered 415 Sword Practice Sure enough, what will come, has come. Shi Feng silently examined the system map of the White Fog Canyon. He was not the slightest bit surprised by the Battle Monkeys pincer attack, smiling brightly. The White Fog Canyon was like a Dungeon. There was a proper strategy to raid it. Shi Feng had been able to lead his party around the canyon freely with what knowledge he had in his previous life. With the experience he had accumulated, leading his current party would be a breeze. Compared to the past, the current White Fog Canyon was practically childs play. Back then, not only had Shi Fengs party been required to deal with the Battle Monkeys, but they also had to deal with the sneak attacks and plundering of other players. This was especially the case when they faced the high-handed interception of the major Guilds. These opponents were far more difficult to deal with than the Battle Monkeys. Currently, other than Shi Feng, nobody else in White River City knew that the Starfire Ore was the most valuable item in White Fog Canyon. Hence, this was the perfect chance for Shi Feng to make a fortune. Nobody would bother mining the Starfire Ore, so his chances of encounter competition were nil. All of the Starfire Ore throughout the White Fog Canyon was free for Shi Fengs taking. If this were in the past, he would only have encountered such an opportunity in his dreams. Everyone, run towards the narrow gorge ahead, Shi Feng commanded through the team chat. Cola, your MT group will be responsible for blocking the entrance of the gorge. The other MTs, get ready to replace them at any given moment. Shi Feng had already considered every situation they could possibly encounter on their way here. Shi Feng also knew the topography of the White Fog Canyon like the back of his hand. A moment later, Zero Wings team of 500 entered the gorge. Meanwhile, the Guardian Knight Cola, along with fourteen other MTs, walled off the entrance into White Fog Canyons inner region. Anyone or anything that wanted through would have to break through these fifteen MTs first. At first, the Zero Wing members still worried about the army of Battle Monkeys. However, after seeing Shi Feng maneuver his troops, they sighed with relief. They had never expected that this canyon would contain such strategic terrain. In such a narrow area, the Battle Monkeys could not take advantage of their numbers. Moreover, with this setup, they did not have to worry about a pincer attack; they only needed to focus on a single location. Shortly after everyone prepared their defenses, the first wave of close to 300 Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys slammed into their MT wall. Like the cavalry charge on ancient battlefields, the enemy stampede shook even the land. The sound of the Monkeys bloodthirsty roars that echoed throughout the gorge sent tremors through everyones hearts. Despite having already experienced over a dozen battles, Zero Wings elites still panicked. Compared to the previous battles, this was on an entirely different level. The Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys appeared to be more organized than the foes they had faced before. These Battle Monkeys also seemed much fiercer, resembling the Battle Monkeys they had seen back at the entrance of the White Fog Canyon. Guild Leader, these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys look strange. I feel that not only have they become more organized, but they are also stronger than before. Aqua Rose frowned slightly. Inwardly, she worried that Cola and the others might not be able to hold off this wave of monsters. Of course. The Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys we fought before were merely washouts. Meanwhile, the ones we are about to face right now are the victors, so, naturally, they are much stronger, Shi Feng explained as he nodded. Moreover, these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys have a warchief at their backs. Look over there. As he said so, Shi Feng pointed towards a large tree outside of the gorge. Standing in the large tree was a slightly smaller Battle Monkey covered in fine black leather armor. [Battle Monkey Warchief] (Chieftain Rank) Level 25 HP 140,000/140,000 The Battle Monkey Warchief possessed the Warchiefs Aura, increasing the Attributes of the surrounding Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys by 10%. An ordinary MT simply could not withstand the attacks from these Elite ranked Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. It was simply impossible for a Tier 0 MT around Level 21 to survive. Hence, the various Guilds had been massacred upon meeting such monster armies. Watching the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys charge towards them, Shi Feng hurriedly said, All Clerics, cast Sacred Shields on the MTs! Oracles, use Prayer Barrier! Cola, activate Guardian Aura! Immediately, the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors on the frontline each received a Sacred Shield from the Clerics, the shield being capable of absorbing a large amount of damage. In addition, there were also Prayer Barriers cast in front of them. These barriers could similarly absorb a certain amount of damage from the front. Finally, Colas Guardian Aura increased everyones Defense. Faced with the physical attacks of the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys, the Guardian Aura would be particularly beneficial. Zero Wings members levels were, on average, higher than those in other Guilds. For this operation, the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors dispatched were all Level 22 and above, and each one had at least 4,300 HP. Among them, Cola, who was a Level 23 Tier 1 Guardian Knight, possessed over 5,300 HP. There was also Ye Wumian, a Level 22 Tier 1 Shield Warrior with over 4,900 HP. Just as the wave of Battle Monkeys arrived before Cola and the others, Cola suddenly shouted, Aegis Protection! In the blink of an eye, a faint golden glow covered every MT. [Aegis Protection] Tier 1 Reduces damage taken for all allies within a 30-yard radius by 30% for 12 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds Simultaneously, everyone readied their shields to defend against the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys attacks. _Bang Bang Bang_ The instant both sides collided, the Prayer Barrier shattered. Only the Sacred Shields still barely supported the MTs. However, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys charge was overwhelming. Cola and the others were forced to retreat several steps before they could stabilize themselves. In the next moment, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys, which had stopped their charge, brandished their swords and sabers at the MTs. Their Attack Speeds were incredible, preventing the players from catching their breaths. Some of the MTs had been too late in defending against the oncoming attacks, their Sacred Shields shattering and receiving -200 damage. Without the protection of the Sacred Shields, the MTs received around -800 damage every time the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys struck them, and this was after the 30% damage reduction of Aegis Protection. Only Cola and Ye Wumian received damage below -500 points. If the MTs did not block the majority of the attacks with their shields, the healers would struggle to keep up with the incoming damage. Ill leave this to you all. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, you two cover my six while I deal with that Warchief, after issuing the command, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Wind of the Seven Luminaries Ring. He then activated Wind Rider and flew towards the Battle Monkey Warchief. When one met a Battle Monkey army in the White Fog Canyon, they first needed to exterminate the Battle Monkey Warchief. Not only could the Warchief increase his subordinates Attributes and raise their attack efficiency, but it could also call for infinite reinforcements. Hence, players needed to kill the Warchief as soon as possible. Players would simply be asking for trouble if they dragged the fight on for too long without killing the Warchief. However, taking it out would not be easy. This did not mean that the Battle Monkey Warchief was overly powerful. Rather, compared to the other Battle Monkeys, the Warchief was far more sensitive to danger. When its own life was at risk, it would flee. Moreover, the Warchief was also more agile than the other Battle Monkeys, as could be seen from its thin and lean body. Hence, players would find it difficult to kill. When the Battle Monkey Warchief saw Shi Feng flying towards it, it immediately fled in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, although the Battle Monkey Warchief was quick on its feet, it was far slower than Shi Feng when he had Wind Rider Active. Lets use you as practice for my newly-learned Void Steps, Shi Feng smiled faintly. Unsheathing the Abyssal Blade and Purgatorys Shadow, he shot forward, hurtling towards the Battle Monkey Warchief. 416 Dance of Blades While Shi Feng hunted the Battle Monkey Warchief, the ranged classes of Zero Wing within the gorge began to take action. Cola and the other MTs had successfully held off the first charge. The healers in the back had also stabilized the fifteen MTs HP. The only thing left to do was to clean up the assaulting Battle Monkeys. Standing in the rear, Blackie had begun to chant an incantation, waving his staff. After becoming a Tier 1 Cursemancer, Blackies damage had increased significantly. At the same time, he had also learned a new Tier 1 skill, Magic Synergy. [Magic Synergy] Tier 1 Increases the efficiency of the casters spells, improving spell effects by 30% and reducing cast time by 30% for 15 seconds. The density of elemental mana surrounding Blackie skyrocketed. Blackie then cast Stars of Light. Due to Magic Synergys enhancement, both the effective range and power of Stars of Light had increased by 30%. In the next moment, a dazzling ball of light descended from the sky. Noticing this, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys responded quickly and tried to evade the incoming attack. However, while inside the gorge, other than advancing, their only escape was to retreat backward. Natural rock walls surrounded the Battle Monkeys on both sides, and it was impossible for them to scale these walls. With Cola and the other MTs of Zero Wing creating a shield wall ahead, and their companions blocking their rear, these Battle Monkeys could only watch helplessly as the Stars of Light descended. They also had no way to block this incoming bombardment. AOE destruction spells attacked from all angles. Unless one had magic immunity, invincibility, or countered with an AOE destruction spell of their own, there was no other way to defend against the attack. _Boom!_ The instant the Stars of Light descended, a damage of over -5,000 points appeared above the heads of every Battle Monkey the spell struck. As for the monsters further away from the site of impact, they, too, received damages of over -3,000 points. Despite having increased Attributes due to the Warchiefs Aura, these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys still lost close to a third of their HP. However, this was only the beginning. Stars of Light had a duration of 15 seconds, and with each passing second, the spells damage would scale up by 10%. After only five seconds, all of the Battle Monkeys within range had turned to ash, leaving behind a plethora of loot. A large section of the gorge was suddenly empty. Making a rough estimate, over a hundred Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys had died. AOE destruction spells are awesome! Though it would be great if their Cooldown times were shorter. Although Cola had seen Blackie cast the spell many times, his heart still trembled with excitement whenever he witnessed this overwhelming destruction. The scattered loot on the ground and his soaring EXP bar also exhilarated him. The EXP from Level 22 Elites was originally quite significant. Meanwhile, after the meteorite shower, the EXP from the monsters inside the White Fog Canyon had increased by three to four times. In other words, killing a single monster here was the equivalent of killing three or four monsters of the same level and rank outside of White Fog Canyon. After Blackies Stars of Light ended, Ye Wumian rose from Level 22 to Level 23, his HP breaking past the 5,000 threshold. Everyone else also watched their experience bars increase by a huge chunk. Originally, it would have taken them several hours to gain so much EXP. Now, however, they had only taken around a dozen seconds or so. Stars of Light truly shone when used in a war. Not only was it massively destructive, but it could also shock enemies. Take the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys caught outside the range of Stars of Light for example. Despite having received no damage, they did not barrel forward after Stars of Light ended. They stood there with stunned expressions; their previous fierce momentum had completely vanished. Unfortunately, AOE destruction spells like Blackies Stars of Light were rare. Moreover, these spells possessed long Cooldowns, needing a full half an hour. In a battle, such spells could be used once at most. Stop daydreaming! All ranged classes, attack those dazed Battle Monkeys! Aqua Rose commanded. Suddenly, spells and arrows bombarded the dazed monsters. Momentarily, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys were at a loss of what to do. They had even forgotten to dodge or use their weapons to fend off the incoming attacks. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen more Battle Monkeys died. However, one would be sorely mistaken if they thought they could get rid of these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys so easily. As soon as these monsters regained themselves, they charged at Cola and the other MTs with even greater madness. Suddenly, the second battle of attrition had begun. Although the battle was vicious, compared to Shi Fengs battle, it paled in comparison. Shi Fengs current opponent was the Battle Monkey Warchief, a Level 25 Chieftain that had gone berserk. Inside a Dungeon, the Warchief was definitely worthy of the role of a Boss. Only, its HP was slightly lower than a typical Dungeon Boss. Shi Feng moved in front of the Battle Monkey Warchief with a flash, blocking its path. He then activated Chop and sent three silvery-gray blades of light slashing at the Warchiefs thin frame, completely sealing off its exit. Zhi! Zhi! Zhi! The Monkey Warchief suddenly squinted its blood-red eyes as it screeched, releasing an intimidating power. It then took a step back, its right fist punching towards the convergence point of the three blades of light. _Peng!_ The three blades of light shattered. The Monkey Warchief then took a step forward and swung its left fist, flames covering the fist as it flew towards Shi Fengs head. The whole process had happened in the blink of an eye, and the Battle Monkey Warchief had launched its attack was a lot more accurately and faster than many expert players. However, the instant the Monkey Warchiefs fist struck Shi Fengs head, it felt as if it had struck air. Taking a closer look, the Monkey Warchief discovered that had only hit Shi Fengs afterimage. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had used Silent Steps and arrived behind the Battle Monkey Warchief. He then used Thunder Flame Explosion. The Tier 1 Thunder Flame Explosion possessed a brief area suppression effect when cast, slowing all enemies movements within a 10*10 yard area. Moreover, Shi Feng was now a Tier 1 player. Despite being only Level 22, the effect of the attack-type skills he used would not have weakened in the slightest even against the Level 25 Battle Monkey Warchief. Furthermore, Shi Feng also possessed the Golden Stigmata, which allowed him to ignore up to 20 levels of suppression. Suddenly, the Battle Monkey Warchiefs speed had fallen, having only one-sixth of its original speed. It was no longer capable of blocking or dodging incoming attacks in time. _Boom!_ The power of lightning and fire assaulted the Monkey Warchief. However, it had a surprisingly high Defense for such a thin frame. Despite being a Tier 1 Blade Saint, Shi Feng only managed to deal over -3,600 damage to the Monkey Warchief. Fortunately, Thunder Flame Explosion forced the Monkey Warchief into a Fainted state for six seconds. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to follow up his victory with hot pursuit, taking the opportunity to damage the Monkey Warchief heavily while it was incapacitated for six seconds. In the end, however, the Battle Monkey Warchief activated Berserker Rage, becoming immune to all control effects and increasing its Strength and speed. It then unsheathed the war saber hanging on its back and brandished it at its adversary. Suddenly, nine blades of light wrapped around Shi Feng. This was one of the Battle Monkey Warchiefs skills, Dance of Blades. If struck, even an MT like Cola would die without question. However, Cola possessed a large shield that he could use to defend himself; he would have no problems blocking the majority of the blades of light. Shi Feng, however, did not possess a shield. He only had his two swords. Good timing! At this moment, Shi Feng could feel impending doom approaching. Yet, he neither defended with his swords, nor did he activate Defensive Blade to save his life. Instead, he activated Purgatory Power and charged at the Monkey Warchiefs Dance of Blades. Void Steps! Previously, Shi Feng would have never thought of confronting a berserk Level 25 Battle Monkey Warchief head-on. After all, the Monkey Warchief was terrifying after going berserk. Not only did its speed surpass Tier 1 players, but Tier 1 players also could not block its incredible attacks. After his match with Soaring Snake, Shi Feng had finally succeeded in learning the advanced footwork Void Steps. However, he had not found a chance to test his footwork again since that match. Meanwhile, the agile Battle Monkey Warchief was the perfect opponent for Shi Feng to practice Void Steps on. The usefulness of Void Steps wasnt limited to PvP. It was also effective against monsters. After the Battle Monkey Warchief swung its saber, it suddenly discovered that Shi Feng had disappeared. By the time the Monkey Warchief discovered his opponent again, the latter had already appeared beside it, casually walking past. Meanwhile, several bloody gashes appeared on its body. 417 Blade Liberation In a withered forest located at the outer area of White Fog Canyon. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, who had been standing watch around the team all this time, were currently dashing towards the gorge. Sister Fire Dance, Guild Leader is too amazing! He can actually fight the Battle Monkey Warchief, a berserk Level 25 Chieftain, all by himself! With eyes filled with anticipation, Flying Shadow added, I hope that Monkey Warchief can last until we get there. Flying Shadow, youre still in a mood to joke around? Although Guild Leader is amazing, a Chieftain that has gone berserk is no laughing matter. In a moment, well need to be careful when we go in and support Guild Leader. We will lose our lives if were hit by the Monkey Warchief, Fire Dance reminded him. Fire Dance felt that it was too risky for Shi Feng to fight a berserk Level 25 Chieftain all by himself. Such a battle did not permit even the slightest mistake. After Fire Dance succeeded in her Class Change Quest and became a Tier 1 Assassin, she had wanted to test her own standards. Hence, she had sent the members of the Guild out looking for monsters for her to test herself against. At the very beginning, she had required little effort to defeat a Level 15 Special Elite. She then challenged herself with a Level 16 Chieftain. However, twenty seconds into the battle, she was already in a miserable state. In the end, she had to use Vanish and flee. Hence, Fire Dance knew clearly just how powerful a Chieftain ranked monster was, let alone a Level 25 Chieftain that was constantly in a berserk state. Sister Fire Dance, I can hear sounds of battle coming from the front. They should be fighting over there, Flying Shadow said excitedly. Many people wished they could watch the battles of the One-hit Asura. Some players were even offering to purchase unpublished battle videos of the One-hit Asura at high prices, hoping to learn a thing or two from watching these videos. Flying Shadow himself had also watched Shi Fengs battle videos over a hundred times and received great benefits from doing so. However, at the end of the day, a video was still a video. It simply could not compare to seeing a battle live. However, Shi Fengs battles were simply too fast-paced. Even though Flying Shadow could witness them, there was a limit to how much his mind could absorb. Hence, Flying Shadow also wanted a recording of the battle to study it in detail after returning. To this end, Flying Shadow had specially asked Fire Dance to activate Holographic Simulation Mode to record Shi Fengs battle. Before Flying Shadow had experienced a virtual gaming cabin, he had only been dismissive of the machine. Wasnt it just a 97% sync-rate? The virtual gaming helmet also possessed a 90% sync-rate. How huge of a difference could there be? The makers of the virtual gaming cabin were simply trying to swindle peoples money. However, after Flying Shadow tried the cabin for himself, he instantly fell in love with it. Not only could the virtual gaming cabin allow him to display more of his actual combat power, but it was also of great help in regard to learning how to fight in Gods Domain. The holographic videos in particular were far superior to flat-screen videos. Unfortunately, there were only five virtual gaming cabins in Zero Wings Workshop, three of which were dedicated to the Guild Leader, Fire Dance, and Blackie. The remaining two had to be shared with other core members in rotation. Currently, Flying Shadow was not using the virtual gaming cabin, so he could not utilize the holographic recording. He could only request one from Fire Dance. That way, he could properly watch the video the next time it was his turn to use a virtual gaming cabin. In regard to Flying Shadows request, Fire Dance was not opposed to it. She, too, wished to learn from Shi Fengs battle. Then, she simply needed to give Flying Shadow a copy. When the two arrived at the scene of the battle, they suddenly saw Shi Feng disappear, before shortly reappearing beside the Battle Monkey Warchief and slowly walking by it. Meanwhile, a few additional gashes manifested on the Monkey Warchiefs body, fresh blood spurting out all over the place Whats going on? The sight suddenly set off an endless ripple in Fire Dances and Flying Shadows hearts. Each of Shi Fengs strikes only managed to deal around -900 damage; the three slashes amounted to just slightly over -2,700 damage. To the Battle Monkey Warchief, which had 140,000 HP, they were merely scratches. However, the Monkey Warchief appeared even more furious after it was struck. Suddenly, the Battle Monkey Warchief sent a barrage of attacks raining down on Shi Feng. The Monkey Warchief started using Dance of Blades with greater frequency, sealing Shi Fengs path of retreat every time it did so. However, Shi Feng also dashed directly at the Dance of Blades every time, disappearing before reappearing. Shi Feng was like the moons reflection in the water; although the Monkey Warchief could see him, it always failed to hit Shi Fengs physical body. Meanwhile, the Monkey Warchiefs HP also continuously decreased. For a moment, Shi Feng had completely suppressed the Battle Monkey Warchief Has the Guild Leader learned a new technique? Flying Shadow muttered with uncertainty. Though he wanted to call it a skill, that would be incorrect. Normally, powerful skills possessed very long Cooldowns. How could a skill that allowed one to disappear and reappear shortly after be frequently usable? It shouldnt be a skill. Fire Dance had been paying rapt attention to Shi Fengs battle, and with surprise filling her eyes, she said, If it were a skill similar to Instantaneous Movement, then the moment he disappears, he should simultaneously reappear at another location. However, after Guild Leader disappears, it takes a short moment for him to reappear in our sight. Moreover, there is always an awkward pause whenever we activate a skill. Yet, there is no pause when Guild Leader uses that move. Fire Dances observations were indeed on point. However, they only gave Flying Shadow an even greater shock. _Players can actually carry out such powerful moves without using a skill?_ This revelation completely shattered Flying Shadows understanding of virtual reality games. Guild Leader seems greatly exhausted. It seems that this move places an enormous burden on ones mental strength. Fire Dances observations were quite thorough, and very quickly, she noticed that Shi Fengs complexion seemed somewhat pale. His eyes seemed slightly dimmer as well. Prepare to take action! In fact, it was exactly as Fire Dance had said. Void Steps was advanced footwork, a technique that removed ones own presence from the other persons brain. In other words, despite others clearly being able to see and sense Shi Fengs presence, their brains would actively shunt this information to the subconscious mind and focus on other less-relevant informationwhich would result in failing to see or sense Shi Feng. However, such advanced footwork posed extremely high demands on its user, whether in terms of movement, breathing, and so on. Although Shi Feng had already succeeded in executing Void Steps, and his proficiency improved with each subsequent use, the technique still placed a significant burden on his mental strength. Flying Shadow silently nodded. At this moment, he had already focused all his concentration on Shi Feng, hero worship filling his eyes. Even though such a powerful move greatly exhausted ones mental strength, it was still very impressive. When the Battle Monkey Warchief had only half its HP remaining, Shi Feng was already beyond exhaustion. _I guess using Void Steps to deal with a berserk Chieftain is really pushing things too far._ Shi Feng smiled bitterly in his heart as he looked at the Battle Monkey Warchief that grew increasingly fearless the more it fought. If he were up against a player, he could definitely finish them off after using Void Steps twice. The battle would not drag on for such a long time. However, this battle against the Monkey Warchief was greatly beneficial to Shi Feng, as he honed his mastery of Void Steps with each subsequent use of the footwork. Meanwhile, when the Battle Monkey Warchief noticed that its opponent looked no different from a tired dog, it squinted its eyes as it revealed a cold smile. It then brandished its saber, using Dance of Blades once more. At this moment, Shi Feng was quickly reaching his limit. If he used Void Steps one more time, it was highly possible that he would faint on the spot. Faced with the nine saber images that completely sealed his movements, Shi Feng suddenly erupted with power. Blade Liberation! This was the Tier 1 super-berserk skill Shi Feng had spent 20 Legacy Skill Points to learn. The skills duration was only 20 seconds, and after that period, he would enter a weakened state, with all his Attributes decreased by 80% for three minutes. If he could not finish off his enemy in 20 seconds, then only death awaited him! Meanwhile, the weapon Shi Feng used Blade Liberation on was the Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow. Suddenly, the power of the Purgatorys Shadow flowed into Shi Feng; his body started glowing a faint red. Shi Feng then tightened his grip around the Abyssal Blade and slashed at the incoming blades of light. 418 Clean Break Faint red glowing dots began circulating around the blade of the silvery-gray sword, the dots closely resembling the twinkling stars in the night sky. Upon colliding with the sword images, a bang resounded. Strong winds then blew outwards into the surroundings, sweeping the leaves scattered across the ground into the air. The Battle Monkey Warchiefs Dance of Blades suddenly vanished. The Monkey Warchief was forced back by four steps, and a hint of fear suddenly appeared on its sneering face. The man who was at the brink of collapse a second before suddenly possessed Strength that could make others tremble in the next second. Even Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, who were observing the fight from a short distance away, were stupefied. Guild Leaders Strength is amazing! Flying Shadow exclaimed. Shi Feng had actually managed to force a berserk Level 25 Chieftain to retreat. Even Berserkers, who were known for their Strength, were far from capable of such a feat. If this Strength were used against players, even if Shi Feng did not use any skills, he could still finish them off with a single attack. It isnt just his Strength, even his speed has received a huge increase. Before, I could still manage to see the afterimages of his attacks. Now, I cant even see his sword images. I can only barely see his hand swinging his sword, Fire Dance said, shocked. An ordinary burst skill would increase its users Strength and speed by 50% at most. On the other hand, the burst skill Shi Feng used was simply too frightening. According to Fire Dances initial judgment, Shi Fengs Basic Attributes had, at the very least, doubled. Such an increase would improve his combat power severalfold. Looking at the Battle Monkey Warchief, Shi Feng slowly raised the corners of his lips as he said softly, Lets start the second round, then. The buff Shi Feng received after activating Blade Liberation had far exceeded his expectations. Not only had his Strength increased by 100%, but his Agility had also increased by 150%. Shi Feng could overwhelm the Battle Monkey Warchief even in a direct confrontation now. Zhi! Zhi! The Monkey Warchief screeched and bared its fangs at Shi Feng. Instead of acting wildly like before, it calmed down and carefully observed Shi Fengs every action. It even tightly gripped its war saber and took a fighting stance. It seems that youre finally getting serious. Shi Feng smiled faintly as he, too, shifted to a fighting stance, prepared to receive the Monkey Warchiefs next move. The Monkey Warchief possessed very high intelligence, and it was no worse than ordinary NPCs. Hence, it was capable of using skills based on the situation. Currently, Shi Feng possessed Strength that surpassed the Battle Monkey Warchiefs. Naturally, the Monkey Warchief knew not to try to suppress Shi Feng using its Strength. In Gods Domain, Chieftain ranked monsters were not only stronger than other monsters in terms of Attributes and techniques, but they also possessed unique traits. It was precisely these unique traits that made it very difficult for players to solo Chieftains. There was a large variety of these unique traits. Some monsters possessed extraordinary destruction skills, some possessed skills that enhanced their own bodies, some possessed very-long-range attack-type skills, and so on. As far as Shi Feng could recall, the Battle Monkey Warchief possessed an ultimate move called Clean Break. Clean Break was a skill with godlike speed. When activated, the Monkey Warchief would swing its saber with a speed that could not be tracked by the naked eye, instantly killing its opponent. In the past, many Tier 1 experts had died from this single move. Even a Level 30 Tier 1 Shield Warrior expert could not withstand it. As for Tier 1 Assassinsa class known for its speedthey would be killed before they could even use Block with their weapons. Even now when Shi Feng possessed speed superior to the Monkey Warchiefs, he still dared not take the risk and had directly activated Defensive Blade. Why did Guild Leader go on the defensive? He clearly possesses Strength and speed superior to the Monkey Warchiefs. He should be able to kill it with ease! Flying Shadow said, surprised. Standing beside him, Fire Dance was silent. She had challenged a Chieftain before, so she knew how powerful a monster of that rank was. She, too, could sense that the Battle Monkey Warchief was about to display its true power, which was why she silently focused her attention on Shi Feng. She wanted to see just how Shi Feng was going to deal with this situation. However, something surprising happened. Although Shi Feng had readied his stance and taken defensive measures, he did not wait for the Monkey Warchiefs attack to look for an opening to exploit. Instead, he took the initiative to attack first. Earth Splitter! A blade of light emerged from the fractured earth, slashing at the Battle Monkey Warchief. Just as the mighty blade of light was about to hit the Monkey Warchief, the blade of light suddenly shattered, as if something struck it. Meanwhile, by the time everyone noticed, the Monkey Warchiefs posture had changed. Its body had also moved two steps backward. It was obvious that the Monkey Warchief was the one that shattered the blade of light. However, Shi Fengs Strength was simply too overwhelming. As a result, the recoil had forced the Monkey Warchief to retreat by two steps. So fast! Flying Shadow said in disbelief, his eyes wide open. Flying Shadow had not even seen the Monkey Warchief draw its saber. This showed that the Monkey Warchief was even faster than Shi Feng. Six yards? Shi Feng roughly gauged the Battle Monkey Warchiefs attack range from its previous attack. Clean Break did not affect the Monkey Warchiefs Movement Speed. It only gave the monster a frightening drawing speed. However, its saber was only so long, so its attack range was very limited. Based on Shi Fengs estimates, the Monkey Warchiefs attack range should be six yards. The area within these six yards was the Monkey Warchiefs absolute domain. After identifying its attack range, as long as Shi Feng avoided moving too close, he would be absolutely safe. Shi Feng then brandished his sword dozens of times in quick succession. As Defensive Blade increased his attack range, Shi Feng could always maintain a distance of around ten yards every time he attacked. Meanwhile, the Battle Monkey Warchief also rushed at Shi Feng while defending against his attacks, trying to get within six yards of him. Unfortunately, the Monkey Warchiefs Strength was inferior to Shi Fengs. Every time it defended against Shi Fengs attack, it would be forced to take a few steps back. Moreover, Shi Fengs speed was originally faster than the Monkey Warchiefs, making it even more impossible for the Monkey Warchief to close the distance. However, Shi Fengs attacks were also unable to cause any damage to the Monkey Warchief; they were all blocked by Clean Break. Furthermore, the Battle Monkey Warchiefs HP was continuously increasing due to its battle recovery. Sure enough, Clean Break is indeed powerful. However, what do you think about this move? Smiling faintly, Shi Feng activated Nine Dragons Slash. Suddenly, 12 phantoms of the Abyssal Blade appeared around Shi Feng. Simultaneously, all twelve phantoms stabbed at the Monkey Warchief. The moment the 12 phantoms entered the Monkey Warchiefs attack range, it was as if they had stabbed into a protective barrier. The phantoms were instantly sent flying backward, unable to hit the Monkey Warchief at all. However, Shi Feng was far from done with his assault. In the next moment, scorching hot flames emerged around the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow. This was the effect of Shi Fengs sure-kill skill, the Level 9 Flame Burst. It concentrated the power of flames to a single point for 12 attacks. Suddenly, Shi Feng charged at the Battle Monkey Warchief once more. Just as Shi Feng was about to enter the attack range of Clean Break, he suddenly vanished. Although the Monkey Warchief was on high alert, it still could not detect Shi Fengs existence at all. Moreover, it also needed to face the simultaneous attacks of the 12 phantoms; it had no energy to spare for locating Shi Feng. When Shi Feng appeared again, he was already standing directly in front of the Battle Monkey Warchief. The Abyssal Blade was also only a short distance away from hitting the Monkey Warchief. Yet, the Monkey Warchief still managed to block the Magic Weapon with its godlike skill, Clean Break. What kind of Attack Speed is that?! Fire Dance had been wholeheartedly focused on the battle. Now, however, she, too, was stupefied. In her view, Shi Fengs sword simply could not be blocked at such a short distance. Yet, the Monkey Warchief had managed to do exactly that How was Shi Feng supposed to kill it? However, despite having succeeded in blocking Shi Fengs attack, the Battle Monkey Warchief had an extraordinarily grim expression on its face. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade cleaved the war saber in its path, like a hot knife through butter. Immediately after, the Purgatorys Shadow slashed the Monkey Warchiefs body with zero resistance. Following which, sword after sword landed on the Battle Monkey Warchiefs body. A series of eleven attacks struck the Monkey Warchief. Each attack dealt close to -10,000 damage. Some even achieved a critical hit, dealing close to -20,000 damage. The total damage caused by the eleven slashes completely surpassed the Battle Monkey Warchiefs 140,000 HP. The Battle Monkey Warchief was as dead as a doornail. Its my win. Shi Feng looked at the dead Battle Monkey Warchief, smiling faintly. At this moment, he was mentally exhausted. He sat down involuntarily, his body unable to even stand properly. Following which, the sound of an emergency notification from the system rang out by his ears. 419 Mysterious Guests Guild Leader? Fire Dance activated Wind Steps and rushed over to the fallen Shi Feng. Flying Shadow, on the other hand, was completely stunned by what he had seen. He was still in a complete daze. Guild Leader, whats wrong? Fire Dance asked, panicking as she looked at Shi Fengs pale complexion. Ultimately, Gods Domain was only a game. Even if a player entered a weakened state, only their Attributes would decrease. The debuff definitely would not weaken a players mental state. Its nothing. Im just tired; thats all, Shi Feng muttered a reply. Im going to enter System Sleep Mode to rest for now. You two take care of the loot and meet back up with Aqua. Remember, continue to grind in the gorge and do not go anywhere else. The Battle Monkey Commander was not an ordinary Chieftain. It was a Chieftain found inside the White Fog Canyon, far different than other Chieftains. Without Void Steps, even if Fire Dance and the others joined hands to fight it, they would inevitably have to flee. If Shi Feng had not used Void Steps during his battle, defeat would have been his only outcome. Shi Fengs mental capacity had long since reached its limit. Now that he had used Void Steps again, he had exceeded that limit. Nothing good would come from a player exceeding their own mental limit. Hence, the Main God System would automatically send an official warning, suggesting the player to enter Sleep Mode. Players could recover their mental capacity while in Sleep Mode. In reality, it was exactly the same as sleeping. Only, while resting in Sleep Mode, players could recover more thoroughly. After instructing Fire Dance, Shi Feng entered Sleep Mode and logged out of the game to rest. Sister Fire Dance, what happened? Flying Shadow asked curiously when he saw Shi Feng log off as soon as he arrived. Guild Leader is exhausted and has logged off to rest. Lets tidy up the drops here and return to the gorge, Fire Dance said, sighing relief. Logged off to rest? Flying Shadow was surprised, his mind riddled with questions. This was the first time he had heard of a player needing to log off to rest due to a battle. Flying Shadow had once tried to grind continuously for over ten hours. Although he was tired after his endeavor, he was fine after he ate some food and went to the hotel to rest. Now, Shi Feng actually needed to log off and rest. However, after giving it some thought, Flying Shadow found nothing strange about this situation. After all, despite the Battle Monkey Warchief being such a powerful monster, Shi Feng had soloed it with that mystifying move. It was unbelievable. Hence, it was not at all strange that it would take such a toll on his Guild Leader. On the contrary, it was perfectly reasonable. _It would be awesome if I could learn that move!_ Flying Shadow was still fascinated when he thought back to Shi Fengs battle. _But I think it will be very difficult to convince Guild Leader to teach me such a powerful move_ _No! I cannot give up! As long as I contribute more to Zero Wing, Guild Leader might agree to teach me if I ask!_ Flying Shadows loyalty towards Zero Wing soared once more. He inwardly vowed to contribute his all to Zero Wing. After swiftly collecting the loot of the Battle Monkey Warchief, Fire Dance noticed Flying Shadows dazed expression. At this sight, she could not help but chuckle, saying, Flying Shadow, stop daydreaming. Were going back to the gorge. Fire Dance could, more or less, understand Flying Shadows thoughts. A player soloing a berserk Level 25 Chieftain in Gods Domain was undeniably a miracle. Furthermore, the mysterious technique Shi Feng had used shattered the common ideas everyone had of battles in Gods Domain. Hence, how could she blame him for being mystified? Compared to Flying Shadow, Fire Dance had a far more profound experience of the battle. She was connecting to the game using a virtual gaming cabin, so she could see and feel the formidableness of Void Steps clearly. The benefits she obtained from watching this battle had exceeded what she had gained from watching over a hundred battles of other experts. Oh. Flying Shadow followed hurriedly after he recovered his wits. After Shi Feng logged off, the members of Zero Wing took up residence in the gorge. They did not go anywhere else, luring and killing monsters in the gorge. The monsters in White Fog Canyon were numerous. Moreover, their loot was similarly bountiful. With a strategic location like the gorge, Zero Wings players had nothing to worry about, even if they faced an army of Battle Monkeys. Their leveling speed here was several times faster than grinding elsewhere. Moreover, they also obtained plenty of equipment and various materials. However, while Zero Wing peacefully leveled, White River City had exploded with commotion. \--- After the discovery of a Great Lord in the White Fog Canyon, everyone eagerly awaited news of the various Guilds raiding it successfully. However, the results were completely unexpected. Despite having sent so many Level 20 and above elite players, before the various Guilds found the Great Lord, they had lost over half of their players. Suddenly, everyones view of the White Fog Canyon had changed. Many players who had originally intended to rush towards the canyon to grind and level up dismissed their plans at this revelation. However, although many had given up on the White Fog Canyon, it did not prevent them from discussing it. Although most of the Guilds in White River City had given up on the White Fog Canyon, Overwhelming Smile, Emperors Light, Assassins Alliance, Ouroboros, and Zero Wing, the top five Guilds of White River City, still pushed forward in the White Fog Canyon even now. Everyone had their guesses on which of these five Guilds would be the first to kill the Great Lord. At this moment, the teleportation array inside White River Citys Teleportation Hall started to flash, and six figures suddenly appeared. The instant these six appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of the players in White River City. These six people possessed stunning levels. Each one of them was at least Level 25. Among them, one had even reached Level 26; this player had actually surpassed White River Citys highest leveled player, Blackie. However, this was not the most shocking aspect. The equipment they wore was what truly left others in a daze. The equipment these players wore gave off the glow effect that only a Fine-Gold Equipment possessed. They also had a few pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment in the mix. The Level 26 Guardian Knight leading this party wore five pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, the quality of the Bone Shield on his back was indiscernible. Shockingly, this Guardian Knight possessed over 5,600 HP, an amount that not even the Chief MTs of first-rate Guilds had reached. Yet, none of these players wore a Guild Emblem on their chests. Clearly, they were independent players. It was astonishing that independent players had acquired such equipment. Boss, the people here are weird. Why are they all staring at us? Its giving me goosebumps. The country bumpkins here are just envious after seeing our equipment. This place isnt that bad after all. The average players here are around Level 18 or 19. Its just slightly lower than ours. Alright, enough. Were here on official business. First, ask around for information on that One-hit Asura. Having their objective, the party of six exited the Teleportation Hall. On the street, any players who encountered this party of six would unconsciously move aside and look away in fear. \--- Unexpectedly, Shi Feng had slept for more than a day inside the virtual gaming cabin. Whats going on? Why did I sleep for so long? Shi Feng was stunned when he exited the gaming cabin and saw the time. Shi Feng had several years of experience using the virtual gaming cabin, and this was not his first time exceeding his limit. In the past, he had only slept around half a dozen hours or so. Now, he had actually slept over 30 hours This was the first time Shi Feng had encountered such a situation. What? Even the Nutrient Solution thats supposed to last me half a month has bottomed out already? Before Shi Feng could make sense of the situation, he suddenly heard the virtual gaming cabin launch a warning, notifying him that the cabins supply of Nutrient Solution was quickly running out. 420 Conditions for Cooperation Although Shi Feng wasnt sure what had happened, he felt better than ever after leaving the virtual gaming cabin. Even his body felt relaxed. Shi Feng exercised lightly, throwing a few dozen punches at the empty air in front of him. Every time he punched, he could faintly feel his fists piercing the air. _My body has become a lot more flexible. Even the speed of my punches has improved significantly. It seems that_ _the best way to train is_ _with moderation._ Shi Feng could immediately tell his bodys current condition after his workout. __ Previously, Shi Feng had trained relentlessly, constantly maintaining physical tension. Over time, he would become exhausted. Even when he drank Nutrient Fluids, the effect was limited and would never fully relieve his exhaustion. After over thirty hours of rest, he was completely relaxed. As a result, he could now display his true power. Although his physique had not improved, he was now more flexible than before. This was something that Shi Feng had always wanted. _After sleeping for so long, I wonder if anything has happened in the White Fog Canyon. Hopefully, Aqua doesnt risk the team and delve further into the canyon._ After Shi Fengs brief moment of joy, his mind suddenly drifted to the dangers in the White Fog Canyon, and he began to worry. The White Fog Canyon consisted of two regions: the outer and inner region. The Battle Monkeys in the outer region were tolerable, and there were only a few traps and forbidden areas. However, after entering the inner region, not only were all the monsters there Level 25 and above, but the majority of the monsters were also Special Elites. The danger in the inner region was many times higher than the canyons edges. With only Zero Wings 500 members, even if they had a few dozen Tier 1 players in their midst, they would suffer terrible losses should they venture into the inner canyon. Most of Zero Wings experts were on the team of 500. If they died, Zero Wing would suffer for it. Worrying about the possibilities, Shi Feng hurriedly ordered takeout. At the same time, he also contacted the game store and purchased a large batch of Nutrient Solutions. He had nearly depleted the Nutrient Solution in his cabin, and although he could use the gaming cabin without it, the Nutrient Solution was meant to counter certain situations. If he did not replenish the Solution, should he exceed his mental limit again, his body would not recover to its peak condition like it had this time. After a short rest, Shi Feng was ready to enter Gods Domain once more. Suddenly, however, his quantum watch rang. Looking at the caller ID, Shi Feng discovered that it was Manager Xiao of Big Dipper Training Center. Why is he contacting me all of a sudden? Shi Feng recalled that, regarding the matter of cooperation with Big Dipper, Manager Xiao said he needed to discuss things further with his superiors before making a decision. In the end, four days had passed since they spoke, Manager Xiao had not contacted him. Assuming that negotiations had failed, Shi Feng gave up on the notion of cooperating with Big Dipper. Beyond that, Shi Feng had been busy with his Legacy Trial, so he had forgotten about the matter entirely. Only after seeing the caller ID did Shi Feng recall it. Originally, Shi Feng had already prepared to start his own training center. In any case, he had thirty million Credits from Gentle Snow, so he had the funds to start one on his own. After a moment, he answered the call. However, upon seeing Manager Xiaos appearance, he had to ask, Manager Xiao, whats wrong with you? In the image displayed by his quantum watch, Manager Xiao looked exhausted. It looked as if the man had not slept for days. There were even dark circles beneath his eyes. Manager Xiao was a martial artist, so his physique was far from that of an ordinary persons. He also had the benefit of the Nutrient Fluids. Even if Manager Xiao had stayed up for a few nights, he shouldnt look this miserable. Hahaha! Its nothing! Its nothing! Manager Xiao laughed. Master Shi Feng, regarding our previous discussion, Ive reported the situation to my elder brother. My elder brother held a Directors Meeting specifically for this purpose. In short, we agree to your conditions. However, we have a condition of our own. A condition? Shi Feng chuckled before continuing, What condition? Although Shi Feng was physically only 22 years old, he was mentally over 30. He had experienced many negotiations before, so he could instantly tell that Manager Xiao was hiding something. Currently, Gods Domains popularity had exploded. An increasing number of people had become addicted to the battles in Gods Domain, and many had lost interest in the fights in real life. Naturally, this would affect locations such as training centers and dojos. Based on Manager Xiaos appearance, Shi Feng was sure of it. Big Dipper Training Centers business was declining rapidly, so much so that it had caused even those in power in Big Dipper to tremble. Hence, they needed someone that could revitalize Big Dipper. Although fighting competitions were becoming less popular, there was still a market for them. Only, other than possessing first-class facilities, Big Dipper had nothing else to offer. Compared to the dojo commanded by Jin Hai Citys champion fighter, Chen Wu, Big Dipper Training Center was significantly inferior. If they had a martial arts master to lead the training center, helping them forge a name for themselves and acting as a combat instructor, they could save themselves from their current decline. After all, the combat techniques displayed in Gods Domain were mostly evolutions of the combat techniques found in real life. We require Master Shi Feng to compete against a well-known fighter. As long as Master Shi Feng wins, we have no issues agreeing with all of the conditions you have previously stated, Manager Xiao explained. May I know your thoughts on this? Even a fool could tell that the big shots of Big Dipper wished to test Shi Fengs strength and at the same time, increase Big Dippers reputation. Meanwhile, to garner fame for the training center, Shi Fengs intended opponent would certainly be powerful. Fine, but I have another condition, Shi Feng answered. Master Shi Feng, please dont hold back, Manager Xiao said excitedly upon hearing Shi Fengs reply. If I win, I want five virtual gaming cabins and fifteen S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Shi Feng coveted the S-rank Nutrient Fluids. It was something that he could not buy even if he had the money. The virtual gaming cabins were similarly in high demand. Currently, Zero Wings Workshop was still in its development phase. If he wanted to improve the Workshop quickly, he needed a large number of experts. However, ordinary experts of Gods Domain would not do. He needed top-tier experts. With the virtual gaming helmets 90% sync-rate, it was simply impossible to nurture a top-tier expert. However, until this day, Zero Wing only had a measly five virtual gaming cabins. Ignoring the ones dedicated to himself, Fire Dance, and Blackie, there were only two cabins available for the other core members of the Workshop. If he could obtain another five virtual gaming cabins, although not every core member could have their personal cabin, rotating use should suffice. This Manager Xiao felt cornered upon hearing Shi Fengs request. Fifteen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. With Big Dippers connections, they could barely obtain so many. As for the five virtual gaming cabins, there were no problems on that end, either. However, these items together were worth around thirty million Credits. Even to a successful corporation like Big Dipper, this was not a small sum of money. Normally, they could have afforded to agree to Shi Fengs request. Now, however, Big Dippers business was not doing too well No good? Shi Feng frowned slightly as he said, If you cant do it, I can only look elsewhere. His demands were not particularly extravagant. After all, as long as he won the match, Big Dipper would double their profits. Moreover, thirty million Credits was spare change to Big Dipper. If they were unwilling to pay such a small price, Shi Feng might as well start his own training center. 421 Did You Transmigrate? Live combat was not without danger. It was especially true in a fight between experts; injuries were commonplace. Although the current medical facilities were top-notch, capable of healing a large majority of injuries very quickly, there were still some injuries that one could not fully recover from. Not even S-rank Nutrient Fluid could cure them. Moreover, martial arts masters were extremely rare; finding one was like finding a needle in a haystack. Hence, it was incredibly costly to invite martial arts masters to face each other in the ring. Even a martial arts master who had recently become famous would charge an appearance fee of over one hundred million Credits. This was in the case of an exhibition match, let alone an official match. Moreover, martial arts masters normally fought using internal force. Internal force possessed great power. Even if an attack containing internal force did not strike a vital point, it could still cause significant damage to the opponent. Regardless of whether they would win or lose, martial arts masters would not agree to fight one another if there without sufficient potential gain. Shi Fengs grasp of internal force had already reached the standard of a martial arts master. Although he was not famous in any way, he would not undervalue himself. His price of thirty million Credits was quite reasonable. Shi Feng wouldnt have even considered the competition if it were not for his new flexibility. After all, injuries were no laughing matter. The higher-ups of Big Dipper must be dreaming if they thought they could get him to fight for free. This was why battles in Gods Domain were gradually replacing fighting competitions in the real world, becoming increasingly popular among the public masses. Not only were the battles in Gods Domain safe, but players also had no scruples when they fought each other. Furthermore, players in Gods Domain possessed physiques that far surpassed their bodies in the real world. They could easily perform actions and combat techniques that were impossible in the real world. Take Void Steps for example. This footwork had already far surpassed what ordinary humans could accomplish. It was simply impossible to perform in the real world. However, it was possible in Gods Domain. A fight between ordinary humans just couldnt compare to a fight between superhumans. If it were only a battle inside Gods Domain, Shi Feng might have agreed without an appearance fee. Manager Xiao frowned in the video, hesitation appearing in his eyes. Suddenly, however, a disembodied voice addressed Shi Feng. Mister Shi Feng, I agree to your demands. If you win, we will deliver five virtual gaming cabins and 15 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to your doorstep. Elder Brother! The other voice from the call was Xiao Yans elder brother, Xiao Yu, the true wielder of the power of Big Dipper. Xiao Yu then took over the call and spoke with Shi Feng directly. Although Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan had very similar appearances, after being the Chairman of Big Dipper for so long, Xiao Yu projected an aura of natural dignity and power with both his voice and demeanor. This aura made one unconsciously bow with respect before Xiao Yu. However, this aura of authority was useless against Shi Feng. He was not uncomfortable around this aura in the slightest. When is the battle? We still need to prepare for this, so the fight should be in roughly four days. As for the exact time, we will contact Mister Shi Feng with the details in the future. Alright. After Shi Feng and Xiao Yu set their appointment, the video call disconnected. Elder Brother, Big Dipper has already spent a huge sum of money on nurturing the student fighters. If we spend another thirty million, it will have a massive impact on Big Dippers future plans. Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yu skeptically. The premise of paying for those items is that Shi Feng can win. Before the battle has even begun, you are already so confident of his victory. It seems that this Shi Feng is not a simple man. Xiao Yu glanced at Xiao Yan. He then shifted his gaze as he examined the test record on his table, smiling. The data on the test record was precisely what Shi Feng had left behind at Big Dipper. Such a young man is actually capable of using internal force and achieving a punching power 576 kg. Although he cannot compare to those other martial arts masters, he is still impressive. This appearance fee is not expensive at all. If we deepen our relationship now, it will benefit future cooperation. I understand. Xiao Yan helplessly nodded. \--- Back in his apartment, Shi Feng logged into Gods Domain. What is going on here? Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw the scene before him. As far as the eye could see, corpses of players and Battle Monkeys littered the ground. Some of these players were Guild players, and others were independent. Overall, there were over 300 player corpses Furthermore, there were even more players currently engaged in combat, with five to six players dealing with a single Crimson-eyed Battle Monkey. The players fighting were all Level 20 and above, and they all possessed significant strength. Many parties here were far more powerful than the elite parties of Guilds. Originally, the White Fog Canyon had been a forbidden area for players. Now, however, it had become infested. Shi Feng was confused. He had only logged out of Gods Domain for slightly more than a day, yet, he was already so unfamiliar with the White Fog Canyon. Brother, are you alone? Seeing as you are Level 22, you should have some decent skill. Why dont you join our party? If equipment drops, well split it equally. How about it? Before Shi Feng could digest the information before him, a party of six approached him. Leading the party was a red-haired beauty geared with light-blue scale armor. The woman had a forthright appearance, and the body-fitting scale armor fully displayed her tall and slender figure. She was no less attractive than Zhao Yueru. This red-haired beauty was a Level 22 Shield Warrior, and the shield and one-handed saber hanging on her back were both Secret-Silver rank. The majority of her equipment was also Secret-Silver rank. Moreover, there was no sign of a Guild Emblem on her chest, so she was clearly an independent player. As for the others in the womans party, they were all at Level 21. Their equipment was also Mysterious-Iron rank and above. Overall, this independent party was stronger than even the elite parties from major Guilds. Are you referring to me? Shi Feng asked strangely. At this moment, he appeared as Black Flame. Although he kept his ID hidden, there was not a single soul in White River City who would not recognize him. However, this red-haired beauty had actually said to him you should have some decent skill and had even invited him to join them. Shi Feng was speechless Youre funny. Who else would we be speaking to? the red-haired beauty laughed as she pointed to the surroundings. She then continued, Are you worried that we will go back on our word once the loot drops? If youre worried, then we can sign a Main God Contract. You can relax with that, right? At this moment, capable-looking male Elementalist said, Cloud, whats the point of wasting your time with this little brat? If he doesnt want to join us, then so be it. We are more than enough to deal with these Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. Well just earn less if we invite another person. Shi Feng could not help but laugh bitterly as he shook his head. He had guessed that none of them recognized him. Or, to be precise, none of them recognized the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom, Black Flame. As for matters like swindling equipment, Shi Feng was not worried whatsoever. In White River City, even an organization like Underworld would not get away with stealing loot. You guys are not local players of White River City, right? Why have you come to White Fog Canyon? Shi Feng asked curiously. Youre right. We are not local players of White River City or Star-Moon Kingdom. We came from Beacon City of the Black Dragon Empire. However, thats really not surprising though, right? Many of the parties here have also come from different cities and countries. Didnt you know that? You couldnt have transmigrated, right? 422 Warfire Set Equipmen ... Shi Feng was rendered speechless by the red-haired beauty. If possible, he really wanted to say that he had not transmigrated, but had reincarnated instead. Are there players from other countries as well? Shi Feng looked at the surrounding players. Confused, he asked, The teleportation fees between countries are not cheap. With an elite players income, it is simply impossible to accumulate enough unless they sold a majority of their equipment. However, if they did so, why would they come to White Fog Canyon? Previously, Shi Feng had spent close to 300 Gold to teleport Aqua Rose and her hundred-plus subordinates to White River City. On average, each person had spent over 2 Gold. Of course, this was a little higher than average because the Storm Empire where Aqua Rose and the others had originally resided was very far away. However, even if a player came from the Black Dragon Empire, they would need to pay around 1 Gold 40 Silver to reach White River City. Only those powerful players might be able to afford such a fee. As for the party of independent players before him, even if they emptied their pockets, at most, they would have 20 to 30 Silvers. Accommodations, food, potions, repairs, and such things required a lot of money, so it was not possible for players to save too much. Yet, among the crowd of players in White Fog Canyon, many had traveled across countries to visit. This was simply madness. You came to White Fog Canyon without even knowing this? The red-haired beautys eyes widened, looking at Shi Feng as if he were a fool. Suddenly, Shi Feng was momentarily stunned as he thought of a possibility. _Dont tell me theyve already discovered the secret of the Starfire Ore?_ Shi Fengs chest tightened. He then shook his head, denying his thoughts. _No. Even if the secret of the Starfire Ore had been discovered, there had not been this many players traveling to White Fog Canyon from other countries in the past._ Although Starfire Ore was quite valuable, it was not that easy to obtain in White Fog Canyon. The risks outweighed the benefits by far. Even in the past, not many players had risked themselves for the ore. On top of that, the levels of the current player population were much lower than in the past. With far greater risks, the canyon should not have attracted so many people. Moreover, in the hands of others, Starfire Ore was not particularly valuable. Each ore was only worth 1 Silver. Only by collecting 100 ore could one earn 1 Gold. However, with the level and tier of the current players, the difficulty of collecting 100 Starfire Ore was more difficult than clearing a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. Shi Feng had considered Starfire Ore profitable because he had the Horizon Alliance, a Lifestyle Guild, working under him. There were even a large number of amazing forgers working for him. With the Starfire Ore, he could produce various high-level equipment and make a huge profit. Cloud, lets stop wasting time with this brat. If this continues, the others will steal all the remaining Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. How are we supposed to make a profit then? the Elementalist grumbled indignantly. Dont forget; we borrowed a lot of money to come here. If we waste any more time, our equipment will belong to someone else. You really do not know? the red-haired beauty asked again. However, seeing Shi Fengs confused gaze, she didnt think he was lying. Previously, she thought Shi Feng belonged to another party when she saw him. However, after observing him for a while, she discovered that Shi Feng was alone. A Level 22 Assassin would find it very difficult to venture so far into the White Fog Canyon, much less a Swordsman. For this reason, she was optimistic about Shi Fengs strength. If their party had another strong player, they could explore further into the canyon. At that time, they would have fewer competitors, and their opportunity to make a fortune would grow. I really do not know. I havent logged into the game for over a day now. What exactly happened while I was gone? Shi Feng spoke truthfully, a bitter smile on his face. So thats why. However, you really are amazing. Despite not logging into the game for over a day, you are still Level 22, the red-haired beauty laughed. Ill tell you, then. One day ago, one of the monsters in White Fog Canyon dropped an amazing item, so we hurried over. Well make a fortune if we obtain that item. An amazing item? Making a fortune? Shi Feng searched his memories. Soon, he laughed and said, Might you be talking about the Warfire Set Equipment? Thats right! Its the Warfire Set Equipment! The red-haired beauty nodded. Immediately, she rolled her eyes at Shi Feng, saying, So, you do know about it! I was just wondering if you had some other method to earn money, Shi Feng apologized. However, the drop-rate of the Warfire Set Equipment is extremely low. Also, even if one did drop, it would not be sufficient to cover your travel expenses. The Warfire Set Equipment was unique to White Fog Canyon, and any player could equip it. If a magical class wore it, the set would generate Attributes suitable to magical classes; if a physical damage-dealing class wore it, the set would generate Attributes suitable to physical damage-dealers. If a tank class wore it, the set would similarly generate Attributes suitable to tanks. Overall, the Warfire Set Equipment was very special. In addition, the Warfire Set Equipment was evolvable. It started out as Bronze rank, and if one was willing to sacrifice a sufficient amount of EXP, they could evolve the set to Fine-Gold rank. Meanwhile, the Warfire Set Equipments Level ranged from 20 to 30. Similar to Epic items, it would level up according to the players level. The Attributes of the equipment would similarly improve. A Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment... To the core team of any Guild, equipment of such quality was extremely precious. It was incredibly hard to obtain even from a Dungeon. Not to mention, Dungeons had a Cooldown time, making it far more difficult to obtain a complete set. Hence, in the past, the Warfire Set Equipment had been highly sought after by the various Guilds. As long as they sacrificed sufficient manpower, time, and EXP, they could obtain a Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The Warfire Set Equipment was the easiest Fine-Gold Set Equipment to obtain. What do you know? the Elementalist said disdainfully. Someone has already offered to purchase each set piece for 5 Gold Coins. If we collect all seven set pieces, that person is willing to pay 80 Gold. Moreover, this price was offered up ten hours ago. Now, its definitely higher than 80 Gold. Eighty Gold? Shi Feng could not help but laugh. If they could really farm the full Warfire Set Equipment, Shi Feng was willing to spend even 180 Gold. Not to mention a Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, even the Fine-Gold ranked Arclight Shields Shi Feng previously made had sold for over 30 Gold Coins. In the past, there were many players who had sought to make a fortune through grinding for the Warfire Set Equipment. However, the sets drop-rate was abysmally low. Only when Guild Teams had spent a long time grinding did they barely manage to obtain a few sets. Look at how excited you are. We need to get the full set in order to get 80 Gold, the red-haired beauty laughed. How about this; if you guys obtain any of the set pieces, Ill buy them for 10 Gold each. Shi Feng decided that the red-haired beautys party was relatively powerful. If given a few days, they might obtain one or two set pieces. It was not a bad idea to purchase the Warfire Set Equipment directly. Items such as a Fine-Gold Set Equipment were mainly used for raiding Dungeons. To an independent player, its usage was limited. If you gather all seven pieces, Ill buy the set for 180 Gold. Hearing Shi Fengs offer, the red-haired beautys party was stunned. Shi Feng had so casually offered 180 Gold. It was not easy to obtain so many Gold Coins, even if one had the Credits to afford them. Not even the tycoon players could come up with so many Gold Coins at a moments notice. However, they had actually met such a player. At this moment, all six had the same thought. Theyve met a godlike tycoon! 423 Final Cave Are you serious? The red-haired beauty could not help but reevaluate her opinion of Shi Feng, going as far as using an identification skill on him. However, other than the fact that Shi Feng was Level 22, she could not uncover any information about Shi Feng. The beautys companions had similarly focused on Shi Feng, hoping he would confirm their suspicions. Shi Fengs offer of 10 Gold Coins for each piece of the Warfire Set far surpassed any offer they had received thus far. Furthermore, if they could collect the entire set, they could sell it to this Swordsman for 180 Gold, making a fortune. Of course. We can add each other as friends. As long as you obtain the Warfire Set Equipment, you can contact me anytime, Shi Feng said, smiling. What a joke! That was the Warfire Set Equipment. If he bought it for 180 Gold, he would only profit. Fine-Gold Set Equipment dropped from Level 20, 50-man large-scale Team Dungeons. Moreover, only Hard Mode dropped them. Only 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons would drop Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Unfortunately, it was too difficult to collect a complete set. As for the Warfire Set Equipment, Shi Feng recalled a few valuable farming locations for it. It was not because those locations had higher drop-rates, but because the Battle Monkeys there were densely packed. The more Monkeys one killed, the higher chances they would have of the Set Equipment dropping. Although Shi Feng wished to grind for a few pieces himself, those locations required a sufficiently powerful team. With Zero Wings current 500-man team, farming in those areas would be suicidal. At the very least, they needed a team of 500 Tier 1 players. For now, the only thing Shi Feng could do was to enter the inner region of the White Fog Canyon and mine Starfire Ore. Excellent! My name is Virtuous Cloud. We will contact you if we obtain the Warfire Set Equipment! Virtuous Cloud sent a friend request to Shi Feng. Shi Feng then clicked Accept. Black Flame, is it? Okay, I will remember it, Virtuous Cloud nodded when she saw Shi Fengs alias appear on her Friends List. I will contact you once we obtain the equipment. At that time, make sure you do not reject my call! Shi Feng simply smiled in response before walking towards the gorge. At the same time, he contacted Aqua Rose. Guild Leader, youre finally online. I have some important news for you, Aqua Rose said, smiling. You must be talking about the large number of outsiders arriving in White Fog Canyon, right? Ive already learned about it. Where are you right now? Why dont I see any of you in the gorge? Whats the status of the team? By this time, Shi Feng had arrived at the gorge. However, the area was desolate, which worried him somewhat. We dont know where we are right now. We had kept to the gorge, grinding. However, somewhere along the way, over a dozen Flame Guards suddenly ran out of the inner region of the canyon. These Flame Guards were all Level 28 Lords. Their Flame Domain was simply too powerful. As the Battle Monkey army waited for us outside the gorge, we had no choice but to go further into the White Fog Canyon. Fortunately, we got lucky. We retreated to a place called the Final Cave. The Flame Guards were huge; they couldnt follow us into the cave. However, theyve been standing guard outside the entrance, so we cant leave Final Cave? Where is it? Shi Feng was surprised. He was very familiar with the White Fog Canyon. However, he had never once heard of the Final Cave. We dont know, either. The system map doesnt show our location. However, this cave is massive. There are also plenty of monsters here. Fortunately, there arent any Lord ranked monsters, so we have been able to cope. Aqua Rose did not know their current whereabouts. While Shi Feng had been offline, they had been busy escaping for their lives and had no time to worry about where they fled to. Add me to the team. And dont venture too far into the cave. Im on my way, Shi Feng hurriedly said, frowning. There were many dangerous areas in White Fog Canyon, and it was highly possible that Aqua Rose and the others had found one. In Gods Domain, dangerous areas were forbidden lands for players like the cold water pool Shi Feng had encountered in the Origin Sword Domain. If one did not possess the appropriate countermeasures, they would die with absolute certainty! After Aqua Rose sent a team invite to Shi Feng, she reminded, Guild Leader, you need to be careful. There are over a dozen Flame Guards outside the caves entrance. Ah, I understand. Shi Feng nodded. After Shi Feng joined the team, he activated Team Tracking. With this mechanic, Shi Feng could locate a specific team member and meet up with them. The stone forest to the south? After activating Tracking, Shi Feng could see faintly glowing footprints on the shattered rocks. These footprints belonged to Aqua Rose. The stone forest in White Fog Canyons inner region was complex and chaotic. Even with a map, it was incredibly easy to get lost there. However, the paths in the stone forest were narrow, so it was the perfect location to shake off enemy pursuit. Along the way, Shi Feng cautiously avoided the high-level monsters as he followed the footprints. However, after Tracking Aqua Rose for over ten minutes, the footprints suddenly vanished. It was as if Aqua Rose had disappeared. How could they disappear? Shi Fengs frown deepened as he examined the empty space before him. There was no sign of any caves nearby, much less the large forms of the dozen or so Flame Guards. Shi Feng decided to explore his surroundings. Even so, he still could not find any tracks. Aqua Roses footprints had just ceased to exist. Could there be a barrier? After giving it some thought, he could only think of one possibility. There were various kinds of barriers in Gods Domain. Some trapped people inside, some were lethal, and some even contained hidden areas. However, certain conditions must be met to enter a barrier. Aqua Rose and the others must have fulfilled those conditions, so they were able to enter the barrier. Shi Feng, however, had not. This was what had troubled Shi Feng With a team of 500 players, who knew what they had triggered in order to enter the barrier? Who would even know what the conditions were? I wonder if the Omniscient Eyes will work. Shi Feng walked to the location where the footprints had disappeared. He then activated Omniscient Eyes. Omniscient Eyes could uncover all information within a 100-yard radius; nothing could hide from it. After Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes, his heart skipped a beat. A light blue wall loomed before him. Beyond the wall, there were over a dozen Flame Guards roaming around the entrance of a cave. However, due to their massive bodies, they could not fit inside. However, they would certainly make it difficult for a player to enter. [Flame Guard] (Lord Rank) Level 28 HP 700,000/700,000 As these Flame Guards were in a berserk state at the moment, they were far more powerful than ordinary Lord ranked monsters. A single Flame Guard could easily exterminate a 100-man team. With over a dozen gathered, even an army of several thousand elite players would be nothing more than ants to them. Originally, Shi Feng had considered his options of breaking into the barrier. However, as if the Flame Guards outside the cave had detected him, they all suddenly turned to stare at Shi Feng. Emitting low growls, they issued blazing flames from their hands that transformed into a sizable flame war hammers. One hit from this war hammer could instantly flatten a player, burning them to ash. No way. Shi Feng gaped at the Flame Guards as they charged at him, stunned. Every one of them radiated malicious intent. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately turned and ran. Before Shi Feng could get too far, the faint blue barrier wall instantly shattered as the Flame Guards hammers struck it. The Lords then stormed towards Shi Feng. 424 Gold Treasure Ches The instant the Flame Guards broke out of the barrier, Shi Feng felt a wave of heat wash over him, the surrounding temperature rising rapidly. This was the Flame Guards Flame Domain. Any enemy within a 50-yard radius would receive a Burning DoT and lose 400 HP every three seconds. Currently, Level 20 players only had around 2,600 to 2,700 HP on average, while plate armor classes only had around 3,000. On top of that, most players didnt have any Fire Resistance. Under the effects of the Flame Domain, most players would not last very long. Hence, compared to other Lords, the Flame Guards were far deadlier to the current players of Gods Domain. Moreover, the Flame Guards had instantly shattered the powerful barrier that had hidden the cave. One could just imagine how powerful they were. Even if Shi Feng activated Blade Liberation, he would not be a match for these Guards. Faced with over a dozen Level 28 Berserk Lords, even as a Tier 1 Blade Saint, Shi Fengs only option was to flee for his life. Fortunately, the Flame Guards were not very fast, and with the dense stone forest hindering their movements, they were even slower. Moreover, the most frightening aspect of the Flame Guards, the Flame Domain, was ineffective against Shi Feng. With 60 points of Fire Resistance, Shi Feng was not even slightly uncomfortable inside the Flame Domain. On the contrary, he felt warm and cozy. Considering that the barrier had shattered, Shi Feng had an idea. Suddenly, he spun around. He then activated Defensive Blade and dashed towards the Flame Guards. Aooo! The dozen or so berserk Flame Guards roared as they watched the ant charge at them. They raised their war hammers, ready to slam their weapons down on Shi Feng. Shi Feng smiled faintly as he used Void Steps. After having rested fully, Shi Feng suddenly felt that the burden on his spirit was much lighter when he used Void Steps than it had been. Moreover, Shi Feng had a sense of familiarity that he never felt before when using Void Steps; every movement felt natural. Before the gigantic flame hammers could strike him, Shi Feng''s figure suddenly vanished from sight. When the Flame Guards lost their target, their flame hammers paused in midair as they scanned the area for Shi Feng. After the dozen or so Lords searched for a moment, they still could not find any traces of their quarry. It was as if Shi Feng had never existed. Suddenly, the Flame Guards were at a loss. By the time Shi Feng reappeared, he had already passed the Flame Guards blockade and was about ten yards from the Lords. _Such a long distance!_ Shi Feng was shocked when he discovered that he could actually move more than ten yards while using Void Steps. Previously, he had only been able to move around a distance of five to six yards before reappearing. Now, he could cross over ten yards before he was discovered. Right now, he had almost caught up with the top-tier experts who had reached minor completion of Void Steps in the past. Before Shi Feng could rejoice about his improvement, the Flame Guards spat scorching flames from their mouths. Like a tsunami, the fire blanketed the ground, devouring everything in its path as it swept towards Shi Feng. However, although the flames moved swiftly, Shi Feng was not any slower. With the 150% Movement Speed increase Wind Rider provided, Shi Feng had easily shaken off the inferno chasing him as he dove into the Final Cave. Immediately after Shi Feng entered the cave, a notification sounded out from the system. System: You have discovered the Final Cave. The Final Caves interior was dark. However, the cave walls looked like the starry skies, softly illuminating the gloom. With the weak starlight, Shi Feng could see up to fifty yards around him. If he encountered a monster, he could respond in time. Meanwhile, inside the cave, the footprints that Shi Feng had previously lost track of had appeared once more. Shi Feng then gradually advanced while following Aqua Roses footprints. Along the way, the more Shi Feng observed the Final Cave, the more he realized that this cave was not as simple as it appeared. Many mysterious runes and pictures were engraved onto the cave walls, and they gave off a similar feeling to the runes found in the Eternal Courtyard. They felt ancient and full of divine power. Other than these runes, there were also many Earthen Puppets roaming inside the Final Cave. These Puppets were around the same size as a player. Though they were somewhat slow, their flesh consisted of stone; their bodies were extremely tough. Ordinary weapons would only dull, and Durability would decrease if they struck these Earthen Puppets. [Earthen Puppet] (Special Elite) Level 27 HP 100,000/100,000 Although there were many Earthen Puppets, Shi Feng could easily outdistance them after activating Windwalk. Once he was a certain distance away, he would simply use Void Steps. As these Earthen Puppets lost their target, they discontinued their pursuit. After Shi Feng had followed the tracks for over half an hour, he finally discovered his Guild members who were currently resting. After not seeing each other for more than a day, everyone had leveled by at least one. The lowest leveled player in the team was Level 23. Blackie had even reached Level 26. Their leveling speed was something to behold. On the contrary, Shi Feng had become the lowest leveled player on his team. When everyone noticed Shi Fengs arrival, their eyes widened in shock. It was as if they had seen a ghost. Guild Leader, how did you manage to get in here? the Guardian Knight Cola asked, concerned. They knew full well just how powerful those Earthen Puppets were. Not only did they have high Magic Resistance, but their Defense was also powerful. Their attacks were just as frightening. To kill just one, they had to spend a long time wearing it out. However, those Earthen Puppets respawned indefinitely. Sometimes, if they took too long to kill one another would respawn the moment it died. Meanwhile, when those Earthen Puppets discovered an enemy, they would not rest until their target was dead. If they did not kill them, these puppets would overwhelm them. They had spent over half a day to reach their current location, yet, Shi Feng had arrived so casually. Moreover, only two hours had passed since he had started to search for them I ran here, of course, Shi Feng laughed. Guild Leader, did you not encounter any Earthen Puppets? Aqua Rose asked curiously as she stared at Shi Feng who did not appear exhausted in the slightest. I met them, but I managed to throw them off. Shi Feng smiled. Alright, lets not worry about that. Lets leave. Guild Leader, we cant leave, Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. Previously, when Fire Dance scouted ahead, she discovered a locked Dark-Gold Treasure Chest not far from here. She is currently trying to unlock it, while were helping her fend off the patrolling puppets. A locked Dark-Gold Treasure Chest? Shi Feng could not help his excitement upon hearing those words. Shi Feng could count on one hand the number of Dark-Gold Treasure Chests he had encountered in the past. Countless Guilds would drool over a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest because there was a certain chance to obtain an Epic item. Dark-Gold items were extremely rare in Gods Domain at the moment. As for Epic items, most players dared not even dream of owning one. Shi Feng had only obtained a few due to good luck. No other Guild had one. Let me have a look at it, Shi Feng said as he walked over. The Seven Luminaries Key Shi Feng had obtained from the Gods Grave allowed him to unlock up to three Dark-Gold Treasure Chests. He still had two uses left. When he arrived at the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest, he noticed Fire Dance trying to unlock it. However, the difficulty of opening a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was too high. Fire Dances Unlock skill level was not insignificant, and she had a very small chance of unlocking a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. However, after trying over a hundred times, she had not succeeded. Let me try. Shi Feng walked over and took out the Seven Luminaries Key, inserting it into the ancient magic lock. In the next moment, a faint blue glow emerged from the Seven Luminaries Key and flowed into the lock. With a click, the chest unlocked. 425 Jack of All Trades After the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest unlocked, Shi Feng immediately tried to open it. The instant Shi Feng touched the treasure chest, however, a sudden sense of danger flooded his mind. He felt as if some poisonous snake stared at him, his body trembling involuntarily. Guild Leader, whats wrong? Fire Dance, who stood to one side, asked curiously when she saw Shi Feng freeze. Shi Feng did not answer Fire Dances question immediately. Instead, he frowned at the golden treasure chest in front of him, before examining his surroundings. Suddenly, he discovered that the terrain here was somewhat unique. The ground 30 yards around the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was slightly indented. Although the ground around the treasure chest was 15 centimeters lower, the difference was indistinguishable due to the large area and the dim lighting in the cave. To Shi Feng, whose five senses were extremely acute, he could even discover traces of spiderwebs. While adventuring in the fields of Gods Domain, one would frequently stumble across traps. These traps were very powerful, and in the past, many players had given their lives to these traps. High-tiered players were no exception. In the past, while Shi Feng was a Tier 3 Sword King, he had fallen into a trap, losing his life. Hence, no one could afford to be careless while adventuring in the wild. With the strange terrain before him, how could Shi Feng not grow suspicious? Fire Dance, stay 40 yards away from this place. Although Shi Feng did not know what was special about the area, he would not give up this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Even the most inferior quality item in a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest was Dark-Gold rank. There was even a small chance to obtain an Epic item. Mhm. Although Fire Dance had no idea what was happening, she listened to Shi Fengs command and distanced herself over 40 yards from the treasure chest. As a safety precaution, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade from his waist. Phantom Kill! A doppelganger suddenly appeared beside Shi Feng. For 40 seconds, Shi Feng could swap positions with his doppelganger instantly. Shi Feng had his doppelganger move 40 yards away from the treasure chest as well. Alright, everything seems in place. After Shi Feng prepared for the potential trap, he slowly opened the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. The instant he opened it, a blinding light escaped from the treasure chest, illuminating the cave. After the light dispersed, Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the contents of the treasure chest. A lone dark-blue crystal pendant sat inside the chest. Previously, Shi Feng had gained multiple items from the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest he had opened in the Gods Grave. Among those items, the most valuable was the Forging Manual for the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Now, however, there was a single pendant inside this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. I wonder whats so special about this pendant. Although Shi Feng was slightly disappointed, pendants were extremely rare in Gods Domain. Dark-Gold ranked pendants were more scarce. Although it could not compete with the value of the Dragonscale Set Equipment Forging Manual, it was still a considerable harvest. The moment Shi Feng picked up the pendant, a light-blue magic barrier appeared 30 yards around the treasure chest, trapping Shi Feng within. A trap that imprisons people? Shi Feng carefully observed his surroundings, noticing that the light-blue barrier had sealed him in completely. Guild Leader! Fire Dance immediately grew anxious. Dashing up to the barrier, she used Instant Kill, a Tier 1 Assassination Skill. The skill allowed her to attack her enemy with astonishing speed while inflicting massive amounts of damage. It was one of the fastest and most powerful skills among the Tier 1 skills of Assassins. However, when Fire Dances swift and violent attack struck the light-blue barrier, her attack was ineffective. The collision did not even generate a small spark. After Fire Dance attacked the barrier, the earth began to tremble. An Earthen Guard suddenly clawed its way out of the ground within the barrier. Similar to the Flame Guards, the Earthen Guard was a Lord ranked monster. [Earthen Guard] (Lord Rank) Level 28 HP 1,000,000/1,000,000 Compared to the Flame Guards, however, the Earthen Guards Attack Power and Defense were far stronger. Although the Earthen Guard was inferior to the Flame Guards against a group of players, against a solo or a handful of players, it was significantly more devastating than the Flame Guards. So its a twofold killing-type trap. Shi Feng suddenly understood his situation. If any other player were trapped in this place, the Earthen Guard might annihilate them. Fortunately, Shi Feng was no ordinary player. When the Earthen Guard swung its iron fist down on Shi Feng, the air felt as if it had been blasted apart. Not daring to tarry a second longer, Shi Feng immediately swapped places with his doppelganger. In the blink of an eye, Shi Fengs doppelganger arrived inside the barrier and sent a Chop at the Earthen Guards fist. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had arrived outside the barrier, standing safely where his doppelganger had been. However, the difference of strength between the doppelganger and the Earthen Guard was massive. Not only did the Earthen Guard toss the doppelganger, smashing it into the barrier, but it also dealt a damage of over -1,200 points; the doppelganger lost close to one-third of its HP after a single hit. If it had not attacked with its sword, its HP would have fallen to critical levels. The Earthen Guards second punch would have then finished it. Against the Earthen Guard, even Shi Feng would last a few hits at best. Lets go, Shi Feng said to Fire Dance, who stood by his side. He could not be bothered to manipulate his doppelganger. What about the Earthen Guard? Fire Dance asked worriedly as she watched the Lord inside the Barrier. Fire Dance knew about Shi Fengs Phantom Kill skill. Although Shi Fengs doppelganger only had 70% of his Attributes, it could still overshadow anyone else in the Guild. Yet, Shi Fengs doppelganger had barely survived a punch from the Earthen Guard. Its frightening Strength definitely surpassed the Flame Guards by severalfold. If such a powerful Lord ranked monster attacked the team, Cola and the others stood no chance against it. Relax. It cant get out of there. Shi Feng understood Fire Dances concern. Smiling faintly, he said, The Earthen Guard should be the barriers core. If one wishes to break the barrier, they would first need to kill the Earthen Guard. If the Earthen Guard doesnt die, the barrier will remain in place. Hence, even if the Earthen Guard were more powerful, it would never escape. With Shi Fengs assurance, Fire Dance relaxed. Unable to help her curiosity, she then asked, Guild Leader, what did you get from the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest? Not only was it locked, but it was also trapped. The item should be quite valuable, right? Right, I had almost forgotten about it. There was only a single pendant inside the chest. Im not sure what its quality is, either. However, at the very least, it should be Dark-Gold rank. We will have truly lucked out if it is an Epic item. Shi Feng then took the deep-blue crystal pendant from his bag. As it was Unknown, it could neither be identified nor equipped. What a high-end item, Shi Feng laughed as he shook his head. He then activated Omniscient Eyes and began his appraisal. Compared to other advanced identification skills, Omniscient Eyes was a jack of all trades. It could ascertain, perceive, and appraise. It was very convenient. During the later stages of Gods Domain, most items players found would be Unknown, and such items needed to be appraised before use. As a result, players had another thing they had to spend money onappraisal fees. The more valuable an item was, the higher its appraisal fee would be. As a result, many players had chosen to take on Appraiser as a subclass. That way, they could earn an impressive income. Only, it was not easy to raise an Appraisers Proficiency. Hence, if one wished to have an advanced item appraised, they needed to look for NPC Appraisers. If a player managed to learn Omniscient Eyes, they could simply set up their own shop and work full-time as an Appraiser. Their fees alone could grant them a life of luxury. 426 A Godly Tool When Shi Feng appraised the pendant with Omniscient Eyes, the process actually required ten full seconds to complete. Shi Feng had used Omniscient Eyes to appraise many Unknown items before. However, those normally took one or two seconds, with high-end items requiring two or three seconds. Even Dark-Gold items only needed four or five seconds. However, the pendant required ten! Jackpot! Shi Feng could not help but smile. Ornaments were much more difficult to obtain than weapons and equipment. Even after reaching Level 40, a majority of the players in Gods Domain would still have around Level 20 ornaments. Moreover, these ornaments would be low quality, with Mysterious-Iron rank as the average, and Secret-Silver rank as the more powerful ones. Guild Leader, look at how happy you are. What sort of treasure is this? Fire Dance asked curiously upon seeing Shi Fengs grin. I dont know. Shi Feng shook his head. Its still being appraised. After ten seconds, a notification from the system sounded out, signifying appraisals completion. Shi Feng then clicked on the dark-blue crystal pendant, checking its Attributes. What?! Shi Fengs eyes shone upon seeing the Attributes of the pendant. [Icaruss Heart] (Necklace, Bronze Rank [Can be evolved]) Equipment Requirement: All Attributes 90 Level 20 - Level 50 (Currently Level 20) All Attributes +8 Luck +5 Additional Skill - Divine Providence: Temporarily increases players Luck by 20 points for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour Evolution Condition: Absorb the souls of 100 Lord ranked monsters to evolve to Mysterious-Iron rank. (0/100) Although the Icaruss Heart was only Bronze rank right now with low Attributes, the 5 points of Luck were extremely valuable. More importantly, it had Divine Providence, instantly increasing a players Luck by 20 points. This offered a player 25 points of Luck. The Luck Attribute was the most precious Attribute in Gods Domain. Not only could it increase the equipment drop-rate when killing monsters, but it could also increase the success rate when producing items. It was an extremely valuable Attribute for Lifestyle players, and it was an Attribute that would never become outdated. With just 1 point of Luck and players current levels, their drop-rate would almost double. Although increased values of Luck offered diminished returns, 25 points of Luck could still increase the drop-rate by six or seven folds. If Shi Feng activated Divine Providence when killing a Boss, skyrocketing his Luck, his chances of obtaining a high-quality item would improve significantly. Previously, Shi Feng had reaped massive harvests with only the 3 points of Luck that Shadows Blessing provided. Normally, Lord ranked Bosses would only drop Secret-Silver items; Fine-Gold items if one were lucky. With 25 Luck, however, Shi Feng could almost certainly obtain a Fine-Gold item when he killed a Lord. If he killed a High Lord, it might drop a Dark-Gold item. Icaruss Heart was most likely even more valuable than an Epic item. Unfortunately, the Equipment Requirements for Icaruss Heart were quite high, requiring 90 points in All Attributes. Throughout Zero Wing, only Shi Feng could equip it. _I need to kill 100 Lords to evolve it? Its demand is quite high._ After reading the Attributes of Icaruss Heart, many ideas flooded Shi Fengs mind. The Warfire Set Equipment unique to White Fog Canyon, in particular, was the Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment that countless Guilds dreamed of obtaining. Currently, Icaruss Heart was only Bronze rank. If he evolved it to Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold rank, it would offer far more Luck points. At that time, it would be a godly tool when raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. Zero Wing was already the center of attention right now. If other Guilds knew that Zero Wing possessed an item like Icaruss Heart, they would lose their patience with Shi Fengs Guild. It was highly possible that they would unite to attack Zero Wing. Hence, Shi Feng had no intentions of letting others discover Icaruss Heart. Moreover, he would only make a fortune if he kept quiet about it. He would be a fool to reveal his hidden cards. Fire Dance, were returning. Shi Feng smiled faintly as he switched out the Shadows Blessing around his neck for the Icaruss Heart. He then said, Lets go make a fortune. Guild Leader, there might be more treasures deeper in the cave. Are we not going to search for them? The Final Cave intrigued Fire Dance. She had discovered a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest just by exploring this far. If they searched the cave, they might stumble upon something greater. Shi Feng shook his head, laughing bitterly, he said, Our strength is still lacking. We will only find our deaths if we delve further. If you dont believe me, go down this passageway, and youll reach a large, empty hall. Take a peek outside the hole, and youll know. Previously, while Shi Feng still had Omniscient Eyes activated, he had perceived everything within 100 yards of him. Roughly 70 yards away, there was a hole that led to a large hall. Inside the hall, there were two Level 30 Great Lords guarding a tightly sealed stone door. However, as the path was dimly lit, players could only see around forty to fifty yards ahead of them, so neither of them had noticed the hall before. Two Level 30 Great Lords! One of such monsters could easily annihilate a team of several thousand Level 30 elite players. With their team of 500, they would only die if they forged ahead. They wouldnt even be enough to fill in the gaps of the teeth of those two Great Lords. Initially, Fire Dance had not believed Shi Feng and had chosen to advance. After walking for some distance, she suddenly froze. She had not stopped because she did not wish to continue forward. Rather, it was because she could faintly see the hole. However, Fire Dance could feel power and killing intent that gave her goosebumps radiating from the hole. She felt as if she would plunge into an abyss if she took another step. Fire Dances intuition was undoubtedly correct. If she dared to enter the hall, the Great Lords inside would slaughter her mercilessly; thus, Shi Feng had told her only to take a peek from outside the hole. Alright, lets head back. We shouldnt make Aqua and the others wait for us too long, Shi Feng laughed as he saw the hesitant look on Fire Dances face. Fire Dance obediently nodded. She then pouted at Shi Feng, complaining, Guild Leader, youre too evil! If Shi Feng had told her there were such powerful monsters ahead, she would not have approached them. Fortunately, she had sensed them and stopped. Had she not, the consequences would have been dire. Relax. Those monsters are only guarding the door. As long as we dont go through the hole, they wont attack us, Shi Feng said, laughing. However, after not seeing you for some time, it seems that your senses have grown sharper. You sensed the danger when you were halfway there. Upon hearing Shi Fengs praise, a tinge of red appeared on Fire Dances cheeks. Even so, she was still somewhat frustrated. Shi Feng could sense danger from so far away, yet, she had to be so close After rejoining the team, Shi Feng led everyone to the path they had come from. Along the way, they continuously killed the patrolling Level 28 Earthen Puppets. After Shi Feng joined the team, the journey that would have originally taken the team the majority of the day was shortened to only a few hours. Everyones experience bars had soared as they traveled. Shi Feng had also risen to Level 23 as a result. However, everyone was more shocked by the loot that dropped than they were by their EXP gain. Before Shi Fengs return, the majority of the loot they had obtained after killing the Earthen Puppets consisted of Level 25 Bronze Equipment; very rarely did they obtain Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Now, however, more than half of the drops were Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Guild Leader, weve tried fighting the Flame Guards outside. Unfortunately, we dont have any defense against their Flame Domain, Aqua Rose said, feeling a slight headache coming over her as she watched the Flame Guards outside the cave entrance. The Flame Domain is indeed a problem. However, we are not without solutions, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at the surrounding environment. Originally, he had planned to lure the Flame Guards away from the cave. However, upon recalling that the Icaruss Heart required him to kill 100 Lords to evolve it, he was sorely tempted to take on the Flame Guards. 427 Raiding the Flame Guards Theres a way to deal with them? Although she did not voice it, Aqua Rose doubted her Guild Leaders declaration when she saw his confident smile. With Shi Fengs frightening damage and support, it would be a breeze to deal with an ordinary Lord ranked monster. Aqua Rose had also witnessed this before personally. However, the Level 28 Flame Guards were somewhat different. Due to White Fog Canyons unique environment, they were constantly in a berserk state. Their Attack Power and Attack Speed were far superior to Lord ranked monsters of the same level elsewhere. Their combat power could rival High Lords of the same level outside the canyon. If they only had to kill one Flame Guard, they had a chance. However, there was a total of sixteen Flame Guards waiting outside the entrance. In other words, they had to face sixteen High Lords simultaneously. On average, they could only send 31 players to deal with each Level 28 High Lord. In Gods Domain, an ordinary High Lord in the fields required a team of over a hundred players to defeat. If it were a powerful High Lord, then a team of over 500 players might be necessary. Furthermore, the Flame Guards outside the cave possessed a Flame Domain that covered a radius of 50 yards; players who entered the Flame Domain would lose 400 HP every three seconds. Even with the healers going all-out, it was impossible to keep everyones HP from plummeting. If a team did not have high Fire Resistance, they would not survive in the Flame Domain. Aqua Rose really could not think of any solutions to their predicament. Without hesitation, Shi Feng ventured roughly 30 yards from the cave entrance. He then wandered around, adjusting his position. However, the Flame Guards standing outside the entrance had long since discovered Shi Feng. They all had squeezed against the cave opening, attempting to charge in and tear Shi Feng apart. Fortunately, the hole was just too narrow, and none of the Flame Guards could fit through. Although these Flame Guards were unable to enter, the Lords were no fools. Immediately, they materialized Flame Spears and threw them at Shi Feng. The scorching spears released a blazing white glow, causing even the air to tremble. _Xiu Xiu Xiu_ A series of six Flame Spears flew in from the cave entrance, heading straight for Shi Feng. The spears were so fast that their flight sounded like explosions. The ground that the spears passed over also erupted in flames. However, although the Flame Spears were fast, Shi Feng wasnt slow, either. As the Flame Spears entered the cave, Shi Feng moved. By the time the spears arrived at Shi Fengs position, the man had long since moved two yards away. As a result, all six Flame Spears struck empty air. This spot should be good. Shi Feng ignored the Flame Guards attacks. He focused on calculating the Lords attack range and angle, leisurely appearing as if the Flame Guards had never attacked him Guild Leaders dodge is so fast. He even avoided those supersonic attacks. If it were me, I would have no choice but to endure the attacks, Cola sighed with admiration as he watched Shi Feng effortlessly dodge the Flame Guards spears. It would be awesome if I had just half of Guild Leaders dodging speed. If he had such a dodging speed, he might even become the number one tank in Star-Moon Kingdom or at least in the top ten. Cola, you have many things you need to learn, then, Fire Dance chuckled. Guild Leader didnt just rely on his speed when he dodged the Flame Spears, but many other techniques such as his insight and judgment. Even if Guild Leader was just as fast as you are, he could still dodge those attacks easily. Linear attacks are monotonous. As long as one possesses sufficient insight, they can counter them easily. However, the Flame Guards attacks are too fast, and we are definitely not fast enough. Hence, we will also need to rely on accurate judgment to defend ourselves. The moment the Flame Guards launch their attacks, we need to make the most appropriate decision immediately and use the smallest of movements to achieve the best results. But that is still not enough. Look at Guild Leaders position. As a precaution, he is standing precisely 40 yards away from the Flame Guards, a players maximum range. With this distance, even if the Flame Spears were 20 times faster than our Guild Leader, the spears would still have to cover a distance of 40 yards to reach him. As they do, Guild Leader has enough time to move two yards away. However, one must also have an accurate grasp of the Flame Guards attack timing. If one dodges too early, the Flame Spears will hit them. Although it looked like a simple dodging maneuver, it turned out that there were so many other techniques involved. The top seven ranged damage dealers come to my position and give it a try; see if you can dodge the Flame Spears. Healers, focus on healing them. Guardian Knights, activate your Fire Resistance Auras and give the seven of them Protection Blessings. Dont let them die, Shi Feng said in the team chat after confirming the positions. The Flame Domain of the Flame Guards was indeed a powerful team-wipe skill. However, they were not without a fighting chance. Shi Feng had already experimented with the caves size and distance. With a distance of 40 yards, they could fit eight players with each having three to four yards to dodge, allowing them to attack Flame Guards outside the entrance. The Flame Guard was a Lord ranked monster that focused mainly on melee attacks, so its ranged attacks were limited and simple; it was certainly possible to avoid them. However, such a feat had a high requirement of a players insight and judgment. As for speed, even if the Fire Spears were faster, they were not 20 times faster than Zero Wings core members. This was even the case for the magical classes. Shi Feng had even purposefully slowed down when dodging the Flame Spears. Yet, he still dodged the attacks effortlessly. Also, as the effects of the Flame Domain did not stack, with the protection of the Fire Resistance Aura, each of the seven ranged players would only lose 300 HP every three seconds. There were over 60 healers in the team, more than enough to keep the seven of them alive. The healers could also take turns healing. They could afford to fight a battle of attrition. Following which, the top seven ranged damage dealers took turns attempting to dodge the spears. The seven included Aqua Rose, Blackie, one of the Five Demon Generals, the Ice Queen Su Qianliu, another Five Demon General, the Ranger Minor Wind, Violet Cloud, and two others. Although they struggled in the beginning, none of these seven were ordinary players; they were all experts of Zero Wing. They quickly adapted to the Flame Guards attacks, and soon, they could dodge the attacks effortlessly. After finishing with his experiments, Shi Feng reformed the team once again. After repeating the process, they started raiding the Level 28 Flame Guards. The moment the battle began, ice spells and arrows flew across the cave and bombarded one of the Flame Guards outside the entrance. However, the Flame Guards magma armor possessed a frightening Defense, and a majority of the teams attacks only dealt around -300 damage. Among them, Aqua Rose managed to deal over -500 damage, whereas Blackie dealt over -600 damage with his Dark Arrow. As for Violet Cloud, although she had already become an Astromancer, her instantaneous explosive power was still less than Aqua Roses, a Tier 1 Elementalist, and Blackies, who possessed an Epic staff and was a Tier 1 Cursemancer. However, even though she only dealt slightly more than -400 damage, it was still impressive. The Flame Guard they struck bellowed with rage, growing more violent as it threw Flame Spears madly. Fortunately, they evaded each attack. The Flame Guard was different from the Bosses in Dungeons. It only possessed 700,000 HP, and its battle recovery only replenished 7,000 HP every five seconds. The total damage dealt by the seven players far surpassed that, and they could gradually exhaust it to death. At this moment, standing in the furthest corner, Shi Feng tossed the Blazing Meteor, striking the Flame Guard. Suddenly, a damage of over -1,000 points appeared above the Flame Guards head. Immediately, the Blazing Meteors Quadruple Phantom effect triggered, causing four consecutive damages of over -200 points. In an instant, Shi Feng became the highest damage dealer among the eight attackers. Everyone was stupefied. Shi Feng was a Swordsman, not a ranged class. Yet, his damage thoroughly overshadowed that of an Elementalist, a class known as a glass cannon. Moreover, this Elementalist was Aqua Rose. If Shi Feng were not their Guild Leader, every team member would have cursed at him. How were ranged players like them even supposed to make a living now?! Guild Leader, youre shameless! Speak! What did you eat? Why is your damage so much higher than ours? Aqua Rose was speechless upon seeing the damages above the Flame Guards head. Originally, she had intended to surpass Shi Feng in terms of damage output, satisfying her own little vanity. Now, however, even that dream had shattered 428 Divine Providence Shi Feng simply smiled at everyones surprise, not bothering to explain. His high damage was not only due to the Blazing Meteor being a Pseudo-extraordinary item. He also had the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Fire effect, which increased his damage by 40% and reduced his targets Defense by 40%. However, the Seven Luminaries Ring needed to remain a secret. Moreover, Shi Feng was also a Tier 1 Blade Saint. His Attack Power had originally been high, so there was nothing odd about him dealing over -1,000 damage with one attack. Because of Shi Fengs attack, the groups total damage overwhelmed the Flame Guards battle recovery. It was utterly helpless. It could only roar furiously as it used its flame war hammer to defend itself against the eights attacks while attacking with its Flame Spears. For a time, both sides were at a stalemate. However, none of the Flame Guards attacks could land on any of its eight targets. Only its Flame Domain could inflict any damage. However, with each player losing only 300 HP every three seconds, they only needed one healer per player to keep them at full health. As for Shi Feng, he did not even need a healer. With more than 60 points in Fire Resistance, he could ignore the Flame Domain. On the other hand, Shi Fengs team launched a rapid assault against the Flame Guard. Although the Lord had fended off many of the attacks with its flame war hammer, it had still received a significant amount of damage, its HP constantly decreasing. 95%... 94%... 93%... Time passed slowly. As the Flame Guards HP fell, its attacks became frantic. The team began to feel the strain of dodging so many Flame Spears. Everyones attack rate also started decreasing, slowing their enemys HP descent. In the end, the fight that should have concluded after a dozen minutes or so had lasted over half an hour. Although everyone was bored from repeatedly dodging the Flame Spears, when they thought about how they could kill a Flame Guard just by repeating these actions, they began to feel reinvigorated. Moreover, they could also train their evasive techniques, killing two birds with one stone. The members watching from 50 yards away were envious. After more than half an hour, the Flame Guards HP finally fell to 15%. Suddenly, the Flame Guards eyes glowed a brilliant red. The flames covering its body writhed and expanded as the monster grew several times its original size. The scorching flames vaporized the moisture in the air, causing a shimmering heat haze. Inside the Final Cave, aside from Shi Feng, everyone was stunned by the Flame Guards intimidating aura. In the next moment, the Flame Guard opened its mouth, gathering berserk fire-type mana inside it. Shi Feng exploded into motion, dashing between his teammates and his enemy. All of you, stand behind me. Healers, increase your healing! hi Feng hurriedly shouted. He then switched the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Fire to Aura of Illusion. Suddenly, all of his Attributes increased by 30%. Simultaneously, Shi Feng also activated Fantasy World, gaining immunity to all magic damage for 20 seconds. As a Lord ranked monster, the Flame Guard was far more powerful than other monsters, and this was its sure-kill skill, Ragefire Roar. When activated, the skill would deal a devastating blow to all enemies in a cone in front of it, burning everything to cinders. Even if Cola, a Tier 1 Guardian Knight, activated Protection Blessing, he still would not survive the attack. After Aqua Rose and the others received Shi Fengs command, they all promptly moved behind him. Shortly after the seven rushed behind their Guild Leaders guard, the Flame Guard roared and fired a blazing white cone. In the blink of an eye, the attack devoured everything 50 yards in front of Flame Guard. White light filled the once dimly lit cave, and the temperature inside the cave skyrocketed. Everyones hearts pounded as they watched the attack. This was practically Armageddon. Even the healers who stood 70 yards from the Flame Guard watched their HPs rapidly decrease. They lost over 400 HP every second, needing the assistance of their fellow healers, who stood further back, to keep them alive. One could just imagine what kind of damage those within 50 yards had received. They might have been instantly obliterated. The Ragefire Roar lasted a full six seconds, transforming the cone before the Lord into a blistering hell. After the Flame Guards attack ended, the blast area in front of it had scorched black. Only the area behind Shi Feng remained intact. Among those present, Aqua Rose and the others HP had fallen to critical levels; only Shi Feng was unharmed. If Shi Feng had not blocked the magic damage of the Ragefire Roar for them, they would have lost their lives instantly. Fortunately, Aqua Rose and the others had only received some DoT damage from the high temperatures. Even after the attack, they still received over -500 damage every second. If not for the healers working frantically to restore their HP, they would have fallen, their roasted husks decorating the ground. The Flame Guard has entered a weakened state! Hit it with everything youve got! Shi Feng shouted as he glared at the shrunken Flame Guard. Immediately, everyone scattered and returned to their respective positions, resuming their bombardment on their target once again. When the Flame Guard only had 30,000 HP remaining and was about to use Ragefire Roar again, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence, increasing his Luck by 20 points for 30 seconds. Shi Feng also gave off a faint golden glow, becoming a dazzling sight to behold. Shi Feng then used Flame Burst, gathering power into the Blazing Meteor. He aimed at the Flame Guard and launched a series of rapid attacks. One hit after another struck the Flame Guard, each attack dealing over -4,000 damage. After 12 consecutive attacks, the Flame Guards 30,000 HP had vanished. The Flame Guard did not even have the chance to use its Ragefire Roar again. The moment the Flame Guard died, a large number of items scattered around its body. Ordinarily, a Lord ranked monster would only drop around half a dozen items or so when it died. However, due to the White Fog Canyons unique environment, the drop-rates of the monsters inside the canyon had increased significantly. Coupled with Shi Fengs 25 points of Luck, the Flame Guard dropped a mother lode. With a simple glance, one could count over a dozen items scattered across the ground outside the cave entrance. At the same time, everyones experience bars soared. The Flame Guard was a Level 28 Lord. The amount of EXP gained from killing monsters inside White Fog Canyon was already high, three to four times that in the outside world. As the Flame Guard was Level 28, there was also the bonus EXP from the level difference. Hence, everyone received an abundance of EXP. As a Blade Saint, Shi Feng required double the EXP needed by other classes to level up. Yet, even so, his experience bar still rose by 7%. As long as they killed the remaining 15 Flame Guards outside the cave, Shi Feng would definitely reach Level 24. Lets take a break. Well start another round after we rest. Shi Feng examined everyones statuses. Whether it was the magic damage dealers or healers, their Mana was nearly exhausted. Hence, Shi Feng decided it was best if they rested before challenging the other Flame Guards. Moreover, they had spent the past hour dodging and attacking frantically. This had definitely strained everyone mentally. Hence, it would be beneficial to rest and prepare themselves for the next assault. There was also another important reason why Shi Feng chose to take a break. Divine Providence had a Cooldown of one hour. Now that they had such an amazing opportunity that allowed them to slaughter the Flame Guards, how could they waste it? Shi Feng had to wait until Divine Providence was ready before taking down the next Flame Guard. Guild Leader, what should we do about the drops at the entrance? Aqua Rose asked as she gazed at the pile of loot outside the cave covetously. There were still 15 Flame Guards guarding their exit, so it was impossible to collect the loot right now. Relax. No one else can enter this place. Also, loot dropped by monsters wont disappear for 48 hours. We have plenty of time to take care of the rest of the Flame Guards. Although Shi Feng also wanted to dash over and pick up the loot, the 15 Flame Guards were not there just for show. After taking a short break, everyone resumed another round of attrition. Now that everyone had experienced fighting a Flame Guard, it was much easier to deal with the rest. Time passed quickly, and one Flame Guard after another fell. Unknowingly, nearly 18 hours had passed in game. At this moment, the final Flame Guard died under Shi Fengs hands. It, too, fell to the ground and scattered a ton of loot. Outside the cave, the loot of the 16 Flame Guards had grown into a small mountain, and the team struggled to contain their drool over the sight. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had finally reached Level 24. After allotting all of his Free Attribute Points into Intelligence, he was only 9 points away from reaching the Heavenly Dragons Breaths requirement of 120 Intelligence. 429 Overflowing Luck Im only 9 points away now. Shi Feng smiled at his Attribute Panel. Knowing that he was only one level away from equipping the Heavenly Dragons Breath, his anticipation grew. When he could equip the Fragmented Legendary item, his combat power would soar once again. In Gods Domain, Fragmented Legendary items were as rare as a phoenixs feather. It was an item that countless players dreamed of obtaining. Even during his previous ten years of professional gaming experience, Shi Feng had never owned one. Legendary items allowed players to overcome the gap between tiers. Although Fragmented Legendary items were not as powerful as Legendary items, they were still far more powerful than Epic items. If Shi Feng could equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath, his combat power could reach the same playing field as a Tier 2 class. A Tier 2 class was in a whole different league compared to Tier 1. It was like the difference between a Chieftain and a Lord. Against a Chieftain of the same level, a direct confrontation required at least a party of elite players. Against a Lord, however, a direct confrontation required a team. Shi Feng, as a Tier 1 Blade Saint, could solo a Chieftain of the same level. However, he stood no chance against a Lord of the same level unless he used some particular technique or advantage. After equipping the Heavenly Dragons Breath, however, Shi Feng could contend with the five Guilds controlled by Underworld by himself. He would not need to involve Zero Wing, allowing his core team to develop safely. After killing the 16 Flame Guards, everyones levels had similarly risen. At this moment, the lowest leveled player among the 500 team members was Level 24. They had far surpassed the average level of elite players in White River City and were on par with most of the expert players. Among the members of Zero Wing, Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, Cola and the others had reached Level 26. Their levels were already on par with the top-tier experts of White River City. Hence, instead of wasting time and fighting a war of attrition with Overwhelming Smile, they should take the opportunity to widen the gap between Zero Wing and the other Guilds further. After all, if a newly-established Guild like Zero Wing wished to become the overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom, they first needed sufficient combat power to strike fear into the other Guilds hearts. However, the loot the Flame Guards had dropped was the most valuable gain from the slaughter. While the crowd was taking a break, Shi Feng tidied up all of the loot. He also appraised every single drop. Although Shi Feng had expected the drops to be impressive, after he finished appraising the items, he could not contain his shock. Icaruss Heart was truly a godly tool. With Divine Providence, they had obtained a total of 286 items from the 16 Flame Guards. Among the items, 105 were rare materials, 9 were individual pieces of the Warfire Set Equipment, 41 were Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, 53 were Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment, 29 were Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, 18 consisted of various recipes and forging designs, 15 were Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, 4 were Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, and 12 were Treasure Hunting Scrolls. Currently, in Gods Domain, the average players were around Level 20, whereas Guild elites were around Level 22. The Dungeons they could raid were all Level 20 Dungeons. Hence, the equipment they could obtain was limited to Level 20. It was extremely rare to come across Level 25 weapons and equipment. In Gods Domain, weapons and equipment would significantly impact a players performance every five levels. The Attributes of a Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment were slightly inferior to a Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. In other words, a player wearing Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment was stronger than a player wearing Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment. How rare was Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment? There were only very few items throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Yet, now, they had actually obtained 29 pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, which was the equivalent of obtaining 29 Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment. Furthermore, they had obtained the Warfire Set Equipment and Treasure Hunting Scrolls, two of the rarest items available in White Fog Canyon. Currently, although players were familiar with the Warfire Set Equipment, almost nobody knew about the Treasure Hunting Scroll. Although the scroll was not as valuable as a Tier 2 Magic Scroll, it was extremely useful inside the White Fog Canyon. The scrolls greatest function was searching for Starfire Ore. It was extremely difficult to locate Starfire Ore in White Fog Canyon. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to rely on his memories. With the Treasure Hunting Scroll, however, he could locate the ore with the system map. The scroll had a search radius of 1,000 yards and lasted for 30 minutes. When searching for valuable ores, it was the best tool one could have. Luckily, even this dropped. Shi Feng chuckled lightly upon seeing the Treasure Hunting Scrolls in his bag. However, when he swept a gaze over the individual pieces of the Warfire Set Equipment, he lamented as he muttered, It would be awesome if I could complete the Warfire Set Equipment. [Warfire Set Equipment] (Bronze Rank [Can be evolved]) Level 20 - Level 30 Can be equipped by any classes. Set consists of seven parts: head, chest, belt, hands, wrists, legs, and feet. Set Effect (Bronze Rank) Two-piece effect: All Attributes +10 Four-piece effect: Ignore Levels +10. Obtain Free Will skill. Able to remove all control effects for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Seven-piece effect: Main Attribute increased by 10%. Skill Cooldown decreased by 30%. Obtain Warfire Berserk skill. Damage increased by 50%, Attack Speed increased by 50%, and Movement Speed increased by 30% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. The Basic Attributes of the Warfire Set Equipment were average at best. It was referred to as a Level 30 Peak Fine-Gold Set Equipment was because of its Set Effects. In particular, the Free Will skill and Warfire Berserk skill were the main reason it ranked as Peak Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Although Shi Feng now had nine individual pieces, there were duplicates for the head, hands, and legs slots. He was only missing the wrist pieces. The Warfire Set Equipment only reached its true value when it was complete. Following which, Shi Feng distributed the Level 25 Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment to Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Cola, and the other core members who had reached Level 25. As for everyone else, they had yet to meet the level requirements and could not use any of the Level 25 equipment. However, they had obtained the corresponding Guild Points. When they returned, they could exchange these Guild Points items in the Guilds Warehouse. Nobody argued Shi Fengs arrangements. After all, those who had contributed the most to the Flame Guards deaths were Aqua Rose, the core members, and the healers. Everyone else had simply watched from the side, doing nothing at all. They were satisfied with receiving Guild Points. Moreover, even if Shi Feng had given some of the equipment to them, they could not equip it. Guild Points were far more practical. Guild Leader, where are we heading next? Aqua Rose had just replaced a few pieces of her equipment with the Level 25 Fine-Gold ranked cloth armor they had obtained, increasing her Attributes significantly. Right now, she was itching to test her newfound strength. Are we going to look for more Lords? No, were going to the inner region to mine ores. Shi Feng smiled faintly as he took out a Treasure Hunting Scroll. He then unfurled the gray scroll and chanted an incantation. Suddenly, several red dots appeared on Shi Fengs system map. Mine ores? Aqua Rose could not help but ask. Their team consisted of 500 elite players. Yet, they had not come here to grind and level up, but to mine ores? She was utterly speechless. Youll understand when the time comes, Shi Feng laughed. He then sent parties to the highlighted locations on the map. If he had a large stock of Starfire Ore, he could mass-produce the Fine-Gold ranked Dragonscale Set Equipment for the Guild. At that time, how could Overwhelming Smile compete with them? 430 Frantic Beginning The inner region of White Fog Canyon was complex and densely covered by stone forests. After the meteorite shower, the fog inside the canyon had also grown thicker, lowering visibility to less than 30 yards. In addition, Elite and Special Elite monsters would show up every now and then. If players entered the canyon without sufficient strength, they would easily lose their lives. However, danger and opportunity coexisted with each other, such as the precious Starfire Ore could be found within the white fog. Shi Feng separated the team of 500 into multiple smaller teams, with each team consisting of two parties. That way, even if a team encountered a Special Elite, they could safely deal with it themselves. As the Assassins possessed high survivability, Shi Feng allowed them to take independent action. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself ran around the map, quickly recording the red dots that appeared in his system map and sending the coordinates to the various teams, having those closest mine the ore there. Within the inner region of White Fog Canyon, not all red dots represented the Starfire Ore. There were actually many different types of ore. Hence, if Shi Feng wanted to harvest a large amount of Starfire Ore, he needed a large amount of manpower. As expected of the undeveloped White Fog Canyon, there really are a lot of ore deposits. Shi Feng looked at the many red dots on his system map, joy blossoming in his heart. In the past, he had to spend over half an hour just to locate a single ore deposit. Even if he had discovered one, he would still have had to contest over it with other players. As for discovering a hidden ore deposit, one needed to be significantly lucky. He would have been fortunate if he had located eight or nine Starfire Ore deposits in a day. Now, he was able to locate over a hundred Starfire Ore deposits in just half an hour. Players could excavate Starfire Ore from Starfire Ore deposits. As for how many pieces of ore one could acquire, it relied on the players own Luck and Mining level: one or two pieces if the number was low, and three or four pieces if it was high. After several hours of hard work, Shi Fengs team of 500 managed to secure over a thousand Starfire Ore deposits and had amassed over 3,000 pieces of Starfire Ore, which was equivalent to over 30 Gold. To Shi Feng, however, the value of these 3,000-plus pieces of Starfire Ore far exceeded 30 Gold. After using up the 12 Treasure Hunting Scrolls, the teams speed at locating the Starfire Ore deposits gradually slowed. Even with 500 players continuously searching for the deposits, after an hours worth of effort, they had only managed to harvest around 200 pieces of Starfire Ore. However, Shi Feng was still satisfied. The Philosophers Stone he possessed allowed him to refine the Starfire Ore into Starfire Essence, free of charge. At that time, with so many Starfire Essences, his certainty of producing the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment would greatly increase. Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was precisely what the current players of Gods Domain needed and lacked the most. Currently, the majority of the player population were around Level 20. If it were a Level 25 Set Equipment, very few people would be able to equip it. Hence, the demand for it would also be low. If Shi Feng produced a Dragonscale Set Equipment, he could sell it for over 100 Gold right now at the very least. People were only offering 80 Gold to purchase the complete Warfire Set because, currently, no one knew its true value. Moreover, even if someone managed to gather the full Warfire Set Equipment, it would initially start at Bronze rank. They would have to sacrifice a lot of their EXP in order to raise it up to Fine-Gold rank, hence why it was so cheap. In the past, the price of the Warfire Set Equipment had once soared up to 500 Gold. Yet, even with such an astronomical price, supply failed to meet demand. Time passed quickly. Unknowingly, the members of Zero Wing had mined ore deposits in White Fog Canyon for two whole days, obtaining an abundant cache of ores. They had practically dug up every deposit in White Fog Canyon at least once, and the amount of Starfire Ore they gathered had exceeded 15,000 pieces. In addition, they had also obtained over 7,000 pieces of various other kinds of ore. During these two days, aside from mining ore deposits, everyone from Zero Wing had also killed plenty of Lord ranked monsters. As long as one of the search parties encountered a solitary Lord, they would immediately notify Shi Feng of it and then kill it together. After two days, Zero Wings team had managed to kill 22 Lords. With Shi Fengs Divine Providence, they managed to obtain a large number of Level 25 equipment. Among them, most were Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. They had also obtained many Warfire set pieces. By now, they had enough to complete close to three sets. Unfortunately, none of the set pieces they obtained were meant for the wrists slot, which greatly depressed Shi Feng. Shi Feng had placed all the weapons and equipment they were unable to use in the Guilds Warehouse, instantly enriching its stores. When the other members of Zero Wing saw the large stock of Level 25 equipment, they all grew excited. Enthusiasm filled every one of them as they actively completed Guild Quests and made contributions to the Guild. Level 25 equipment was currently the pinnacle of equipment to Gods Domain players. Even before everyone had reached Level 25, the Guild had already prepared a large number of high-end Level 25 equipment for themselves. This had extinguished the Guild members worries about obtaining Level 25 equipment. Now, the only thing they needed to do was frantically accumulate Guild Points. By the time they reached Level 25, they could simply exchange for the Level 25 equipment. This point alone made Zero Wing superior to every other Guild. The appearance of Level 25 equipment in Zero Wings Warehouse had undoubtedly punched a big hole into Overwhelming Smiles poaching plan. Now, those who originally planned to defect from Zero Wing started hesitating. Although the benefits offered by Overwhelming Smile were very high, the equipment it possessed was unable to keep up with the times. Meanwhile, if their equipment fell behind, how would they hunt for even better equipment? How were they supposed to grind and level up quickly? Once behind, always behind. At this moment, many players who had previously defected from Zero Wing to Overwhelming Smile began regretting their decision. \--- Just how did Zero Wing manage to get so many Level 25 high-end equipment? I hear that a guy who was a lot weaker than me has already obtained a Level 25 Mysterious-Iron chest piece. As soon as he reaches Level 25, he can replace the Level 20 Mysterious-Iron chest piece he is wearing. If I had known something like this would happen earlier, I would never have left Zero Wing. I might already have enough points to exchange for a Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment by now I couldnt agree more! A guy I know who was previously about equal in strength with me is now very well off. When I chatted with him six hours ago, he told me that he had managed to accumulate enough points to exchange for a Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. He is only Level 22 right now. By the time he reaches Level 25, he might accumulate enough points to exchange for five or six pieces of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. In White River City, many of Overwhelming Smiles members started having heated discussions in the bars, sighing enviously. Why are all of you lauding the spirit of the enemy and belittling that of our own? The higher-ups of Overwhelming Smile have already sent people to investigate the source of Zero Wings equipment. Soon, with our Guilds strength, we can definitely obtain a large number of Level 25 high-end equipment much more easily than Zero Wing. Zero Wing can only remain arrogant for now because all of our Guilds core members are focused on raiding the Great Lord inside the Ruined Shrine. After they finish with it, not to mention Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, we might even get Dark-Gold or Epic Equipment. Many Overwhelming Smile members had expressed their disdain regarding Zero Wings recent performances. They firmly believed that Overwhelming Smile was a lot stronger than Zero Wing. \--- Meanwhile, inside White Fog Canyon During their two days of grinding and mining, everyone from Zero Wing had leveled up quickly, with many having already reached Level 25. Blackie had even broken through to Level 27, whereas Aqua Rose and the other core members had risen to Level 26. Violet Cloud had also reached Level 25, replacing her Level 20 equipment with Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. Only Shi Feng remained at Level 24. He was still a short distance away from reaching Level 25. However, this could not be helped. Shi Feng and Violet Cloud were both owners of hidden classes, so the EXP they required to level up was much higher than the others. Shi Feng required twice as much EXP as ordinary classes, whereas Violet Cloud required 1.6 times. Guild Leader, we discovered a Starfire Ore vein. However, we were suddenly ambushed by some Assassins from Overwhelming Smile. Although our party managed to get rid of the eight of them, two of our brothers were killed. Seeing that we are interested in the Starfire Ore, those bastards from Overwhelming Smile have sent three teams to guard the Starfire Ore vein. They are currently clearing out the surrounding monsters and are planning to mine the deposit, Flying Shadow reported, wrathful flames burning in his eyes. If not for the bastards from Overwhelming Smile outnumbering them, he really wished he could go over and massacre them right this instant. 431 Denounce Beside one of the streams inside the White Fog Canyon, a team of over a hundred players currently guarded the entrance of a mine. Each of these players wore a Guild Emblem in the shape of a purple moon on their chests. This was none other than Overwhelming Smiles Guild Emblem. At this moment, these players faced off against the eight Level 27 Special Elite ranked Flame Furbolgs that had emerged from within the mine. [Flame Furbolg] (Special Elite) Level 27 HP 70,000/70,000 Although the massive Flame Furbolgs were very powerful, the members of Overwhelming Smile fought with organization, continuously draining their enemies HP. Boss Oriental, Zero Wings party killed Monkey and the others, a Level 23 gray-clothed Ranger reported as he walked up to the Level 24 Swordsman who currently commanded the team. This Level 24 Swordsman was fully geared with Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment. The Snakebone Sword that hung on his back was even a Level 20 Fine-Gold Weapon. Currently, in Gods Domain, his items were definitely top-tier. That was two parties of elite Assassins. A single party from Zero Wing actually wiped them out? Did Zero Wing receive help from someone else? the Level 24 Swordsman, Oriental Sword, asked. Although the Assassin named Monkey was not an expert, he was a PvP veteran. He sported a promising battle record, and even experts would find him difficult to take down in a short amount of time. If he focused solely on his escape, it would be even more difficult to kill him. Oriental Sword had not expected that not even one Assassin would return. The only possibility he could think of was that Monkey and the others had been outnumbered and surrounded. No. There was only a single party from Zero Wing. However, the Assassin leading the team was a Level 26 expert, the Ranger said, shaking his head. Was it that Fire Dance from Zero Wing? Oriental Sword grinned. Before I reached White River City, I had heard rumors of Fire Dances prowess. Some are even calling her the Flaming Rose. Originally, I thought she was merely one of Black Flames decorations. I expected as much from the team leader of Zero Wings core team. Not bad. She isnt the one who killed Monkey. That Assassin was a man called Flying Shadow. Monkey had only lasted five moves against him. Of the twelve players in the two parties, eight had died at that mans hands. There was no mention of a person named Flying Shadow in any of the reports we had received. The Ranger was very familiar with Oriental Swords personality. Oriental Sword was absolutely confident of his own strength, and he would never consider anyone a worthy opponent. He loved PvPing more than anything, especially against experts. He was a complete battle maniac. However, he was also one of Overwhelming Smiles top experts, which was why he had been sent to White River City. If not for the higher-ups prohibiting anyone from challenging Zero Wing, Oriental Sword might have been the first to launch an assault against the Guild. Flying Shadow? This seems intriguing, Oriental Swords interest grew. Ignore Zero Wings party. Since Monkey and the others had failed to kill them, they would definitely report back to their superiors. There is only one thing we need to focus on, and that is mining the ores inside this cave. Boss Oriental, will our skirmish with Zero Wing cause an all-out war between our Guilds? Havent the higher-ups warned us not to create any friction with them? the Ranger asked strangely. Recently, Zero Wing has been mining ores in White Fog Canyon. Their movements are unusual. In addition, they have somehow managed to obtain a lot of Level 25 equipment. There might be a relation between these incidents. Our superiors agree; it doesnt matter if a small conflict occurs. So what if we ambush those cowards from Zero Wing? What will they do to us? Do you think they will start a war? Dont be a fool. Since Zero Wing had not declared war on us when Overwhelming Smile started investing in White River City, they missed their best chance. If they start a war now, they will only gamble their lives. However, I, on the other hand, hope that Zero Wing takes action. Unfortunately, they dont have the guts. Oriental Sword laughed as he resumed commanding his team, wiping out the Flame Furbolgs inside the mine. Before anyone noticed, however, a party of six had appeared in the misty forest a short distance from the mine. This party disregarded the team of over a hundred elite players under Oriental Swords leadership, walking leisurely towards the mine. Guild Leader, Ive discovered the mine after using a Treasure Hunting Scroll. Ive even used Stealth and scouted its interior. It is full of Starfire Ore deposits. If we excavate them all, we can get at least 300 to 400 Starfire Ore, Flying Shadow said as he pointed towards the cave that Oriental Sword and his men guarded. However, after I left, we were ambushed by Assassins from Overwhelming Smile. Although I tried to rescue them, I was too late, resulting in two of my party members dying. Overwhelming Smile has since occupied the cave. Shi Feng nodded before commanding, Violet, go and revive the two who died. Everyone else, lets take a look. Following which, Violet Cloud ran over to where the two players had died as Shi Feng led Aqua Rose, Blackie, Fire Dance, and Flying Shadow towards Oriental Sword. Shi Fengs movements had undoubtedly attracted the attention of Overwhelming Smiles team. The fellows from Zero Wing are kind of interesting. Oriental Sword grinned upon seeing Shi Feng and the others. Boss Oriental, that Level 24 Swordsman is Black Flame. The two beauties by his side are the Elementalist Aqua Rose and the Assassin Fire Dance. The Cursemancer is Zero Wings famous expert, Blackie, and that male Assassin is the person who killed Monkey and the others, Flying Shadow, the Ranger beside Oriental Sword briefly introduced the members of Shi Fengs group. Black Flames arrival surprised every member of Overwhelming Smile. Black Flames fame was truly too immense. He was the publicly acknowledged number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. There was nobody in White River City who had not witnessed Black Flames battle videos. Killing every player with a single hit, he had massacred over a hundred Dark Star members. He suppressed more than ten thousand players with his aura alone, causing all of them to freeze. In the end, he even escaped unharmed. Guild Leader Black Flame, what brings you here today, I wonder? Oriental Sword asked playfully as he smirked at Shi Feng. A straightforward person does not resort to insinuations. Today, you sent your men to ambush members of our Guild. Now, youve occupied the mine that we found after much difficulty. Dont you think that youve gone a little overboard? Shi Feng asked calmly. Although Shi Fengs voice had been soft, his overbearing tone intimidated the crowd from Overwhelming Smile. Overboard? Oriental Sword laughed madly. Twelve of my men died. I have not even asked for compensation, yet you come here to denounce me? Since youre here, we can use this opportunity to discuss compensation. I dont want much. Just pay me 100 Gold per person for a total of 1,200 Gold. How about it? Mockery filled Oriental Swords expression. He believed that Shi Feng was a complete fool. With just five players, Shi Feng had dared come into his territory looking for trouble. At this stage of the game, players levels were no longer insignificantly low. Their equipment was decent quality, and they had learned many skills. It was not possible to kill a player with a single hit anymore. Currently, he had close to 150 players on his side, and they were all elite members of the Guild. They were also Level 22 or higher, and they possessed impressive combat power. They could easily take out fifty players, much less five. 432 hit Extermination?? Upon listening to Oriental Swords words, a cold glint flashed across Shi Fengs eyes. Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere froze. What? Want to fight? Although Oriental Sword could feel a heavy pressure enveloping him, his confidence did not waver. He then unsheathed the longsword hung on his back, provocatively saying, Come if you can, then. Seeing as everyone out there is calling you a god, I really wish to see just what kind of ability you possess. When Oriental Sword spoke in such a way, everyone from Overwhelming Smile sneered, secretly making preparations for battle. With 150 players on their side, it would be a piece of cake for them to take care of just five players. They were different from those noobs Black Flame had massacred before. They would not easily be defeated just because their skills were Silenced. After learning and training in Gods Domain for such a long time, they had long since familiarized themselves with the combat styles of the game. Right now, they had no problems fighting solo with an Elite monster. Although a handful of them might not be a match for Black Flame, if all one hundred and fifty of them stood sparsely apart from each other and attacked together, they did not believe that Black Flame could walk out of this place alive! However, before the crowd from Overwhelming Smile could react, Shi Feng, who stood ten yards away, suddenly disappeared. Where is he? Oriental Swords eyes were filled with disbelief when he suddenly lost sight of Shi Feng. A Swordsman could actually suddenly vanish from thin air? Even Assassins required some time to enter Stealth. Not to mention Oriental Sword, even Aqua Rose and the others were stunned. Shi Feng had just suddenly disappeared. Did he log off? The only reasoning Aqua Rose could come up with was that Shi Feng had logged out of the game. However, when she checked the list of party members, Shi Fengs status showed that he was still online; his name did not turn gray. However, before one second had passed, Shi Feng suddenly reappeared beside Oriental Sword. Following which, blades of light slashed apart the air, silently cutting up Oriental Swords body. Before Oriental Sword knew what was going on, he suddenly felt pain bloom in his body. In the next moment, he saw blood gushing out like a waterfall in front of him. Whats going on? Oriental Sword touched the wounds covering his body, confused. Suddenly, his body lost all strength as it slumped down onto the ground. Laying on the ground, Oriental Sword saw Shi Feng through his grayed vision. He also saw the Abyssal Blade grasped in Shi Fengs hand, fresh blood slowly dripping off the weapon. The blood dripped to the ground as if it were a countdown to death. How? Even at his moment of death, Oriental Sword still could not believe what had just happened. He, a top-tier expert of Overwhelming Smile, had actually died without a chance to respond After Oriental Sword died, everyone from Overwhelming Smile who was originally feeling confident halted. They simply could not comprehend what had just happened. Shi Feng had just suddenly disappeared, before reappearing once again beside Oriental Sword. Immediately after, blood gushed out from Oriental Swords body. Simultaneously, a damage of -4,368 points appeared above the mans head, the damage completely exceeding the Swordsmans total HP. Oriental Swords sudden death had struck fear into the crowd from Overwhelming Smile. The gaze they used to look at Shi Feng was as if looking at a ferocious beast. When Shi Fengs eyes landed on them, they felt as if they had lost control of their own bodies. Bug! This must be a bug! a player from Overwhelming Smile suddenly shouted in fright. He must have grasped a loophole in the system! Lets send feedback to the Main God System right now! Well see what he can do then! Everyone present felt that those words sounded logical. Otherwise, how were they supposed to explain this unbelievable incident? Hence, everyone started sending reports to the Main God System. Only by doing so would they possess a chance for survival. Guild Leader couldnt have abused a bug, right? Aqua Rose could not make sense of the situation, either. She was similarly shocked by the scene she had just witnessed. The Main God System controlled Gods Domain. It was simply impossible for such a glaring loophole to exist in the game. Yet, if it was not a loophole, how could they explain the situation before them? Of course it is not a loophole in the system. Guild Leader is the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. Previously, he had simply used an advanced combat technique. These people are simply too ignorant, Fire Dance said proudly, a faint smile on her face. She spoke as if she were the one who had personally finished off Oriental Sword. \--- Within the Ruined Shrine in the inner region of White Fog Canyon, a large number of Guild players had gathered. Among them, members of Overwhelming Smile numbered the most, with over 5,000 members present. There were a large number of monsters inside the Ruined Shrine. Moreover, a majority of these monsters were Special Elites. Among them were plenty of Chieftains. The monsters here ranged from Level 24 to Level 27. To the current elite members of Guilds, it was a level that they could barely handle. If not for the fact that they had the advantage in numbers, they would have long since been wiped out by the monsters inside the Ruined Shrine. Damn! The monsters here are endless! Theyre even more troublesome than the Battle Monkeys before! Lone Tyrant said, somewhat exhausted. Currently, he was going up against a Level 27 Chieftain, a Goblin Warrior. Despite the Goblin Warrior being twice as large as an ordinary player, it was quite agile. In addition, the hammer it wielded contained frightening, destructive power. Even a Tier 1 MT of the same level would find it difficult to endure its series of violent assaults, much less Lone Tyrant, who was only a Level 25 Tier 0 Guardian Knight. Although Lone Tyrant possessed impressive techniques, his dodging capabilities being first-rate, the Goblin Warrior also possessed powerful combat techniques. Whenever the Goblin Warrior attacked Lone Tyrant, it would always predict where Lone Tyrant would dodge and take that into account in its attack, forcing Lone Tyrant to accept the damage. Moreover, every time he received an attack from the Goblin Warriors hammer, his defensive posture would always fail. This resulted in him being unable to use his shield to block the next attack, and instead, he received the attack with his body. From just a single strike of its hammer, Lone Tyrant received close to -1,300 damage. Lone Tyrant only possessed 4,520 HP; he could endure four hits, at most. If he were only dealing with a single Goblin Warrior, Lone Tyrant would not end up in such a miserable state. However, aside from the Goblin Warrior, there were also many Goblin Mages at the sides. These Goblin Mages were all Level 26 Special Elites. They bombarded players with ice and fire, and any players struck by their spells would instantly lose around 1,700 HP. Other than MTs, nobody else could survive two hits. Within the Ruined Shrine, aside from the members of Overwhelming Smile having a hard time, the other Guilds were similarly facing great difficulties. The monsters inside the Ruined Shrine were simply endless. No matter how many they killed, the monsters just kept coming. Without sufficient strength, they simply had no way of reaching the Level 25 Great Lord in a short amount of time, let alone raiding it. Before Overwhelming Smile had finished off the monsters at hand, another wave of Goblins charged over. Suddenly, everyone from Overwhelming Smile felt a headache overcome them. Cursemancers, Cripple them. Elementalists, use Ice Walls and separate the incoming monsters. Rangers, lure some away and kite them; do not let the pressure on the MTs increase! Youlan immediately shouted in the team chat. Immediately, the elites of Overwhelming Smile started taking action, luring the Goblins away and letting the MTs take a breather. Lone Tyrant could not help but send a glance at the charming and graceful Youlan. Inwardly, he felt displeasure towards the woman. He was actually required to listen to her commands. However, he also had no choice but to admit that Youlan was indeed amazing. They were only able to reach their current location thanks to Youlan. Otherwise, they would not have been able to pass through the Battle Monkeys. Even if they could, they would have had to suffer immense losses. Take Emperors Light and the Assassins Alliance for example: since entering White Fog Canyon, their total numbers had already decreased by a quarter. Meanwhile, under Youlans command, Overwhelming Smile was able to advance through White Fog Canyon easily. Along their way to the Ruined Shrine, they had only lost a small number of players. Shortly after Overwhelming Smile cleared out all the Goblins, Youlan received a message. After reading the message, her expression turned grim. Lone Tyrant could feel Youlans mood suddenly changing, and he could not help but ask, What happened? After spending some time together, Lone Tyrant had a general grasp on this woman. She was always calm and collected. Even in the face of several Lord ranked monsters, she would remain unfazed. Yet, now, after seeing a single message, her expression had turned solemn How could Lone Tyrant not grow curious at this situation? 433 Evil Rakshasa Hearing Lone Tyrants question, Youlan, who had originally planned to explain, suddenly received another message notification. When she read the contents of the message, her frown deepened. Oriental Sword, that fool! I told him to investigate the secret Zero Wing had used to obtain their stock of Level 25 high-end equipment, yet, he brazenly killed Zero Wings members! He has even provoked Black Flame! Youlan was furious after reading the message. Youlan had previously investigated Black Flame. However, the more she looked into the man, the more creeped out she felt. Black Flame had appeared silently, and like a rising comet, he shocked everyone with every action. In White River City, not only had he massacred so many players, but he had also been able to move about freely. This strength alone was sufficient to strike fear into others. After all, if such a powerful person ambushed someone out in the field, and the victim was not strong enough to survive, they would still meet tragedy. If they were dealing with an ordinary expert, they could simply form larger teams when leaving the city. That way, those experts would not dare attack them. However, Black Flame was different. He was too powerful. Even if they formed teams, Black Flame could still slaughter them with little effort, and they could only helplessly watch as he did so. The only real solution was to form a team of several hundred players. However, they could not do that every time they left the city. Not only would this be detrimental to the Guilds development, but it would also make them the laughingstock of Gods Domain. However, if Black Flame constantly hunted and ambushed their members, his growth would stagnate. Moreover, such ambushes would not significantly impact the Guild if they only occurred one or two days. Black Flame needed to ambush them over a long period of time to wound Overwhelming Smile. Meanwhile, it would be detrimental if Black Flame neither leveled up nor upgraded his equipment for a long time. There were countless experts in Gods Domain. If one did not continuously improve their strength, others would quickly surpass them. Zero Wings success today was largely due to Black Flames strength. If Black Flame let himself go, it would damage Zero Wing. Hence, Youlan had prohibited the members of Overwhelming Smile from crossing any lines, maintaining the balance between both parties. She was worried that, if angered, Black Flame would disregard all consequences and act so roguishly. Now, however, Oriental Sword had broken the balance that they had maintained! At this point, Youlan wanted to hunt Oriental Sword down personally and strangle him. \--- After Youlan received the message, Shi Feng began to annihilate Overwhelming Smiles members with Aqua Rose and the others by his side. Shi Fengs Void Steps had long since petrified his opponents. Later, they even reported to the Main God System, stating that Shi Feng had abused a loophole in the system to kill players. They all hoped that the Main God System would bring them justice, giving Shi Feng his deserved punishment! Yet, the reply they had received stated that there were no issues. Shi Fengs every action had been within the rules of the system. Overwhelming Smiles members had been even more shocked upon receiving this reply. That ghost-like method Shi Feng had used to kill Oriental Sword wasnt actually a bug For a time, the crowd from Overwhelming Smile despaired. In the face of Shi Fengs merciless slaughter, their previous confidence was nothing but a joke. The only thing they could do was escape. As for battling Shi Feng? That was a fools errand! Just how were they supposed to fight an enemy that they could not see? Moreover, said enemy could kill them instantly upon reappearing. You guys wish to escape? Try it. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Skywheel Sword. Previously, to kill Oriental Sword in one hit, Shi Feng had specially activated Aura of Fire and Purgatory Power, holding nothing back. Now, after activating Skywheel Sword, countless swords of light appeared in the sky above the mines entrance. When the swords descended, not only did they deal over -2,400 damage to all enemies within an area of 20*20 yards, but it also sealed all enemies within range, preventing them from leaving the region for 4 seconds. Instantly, the members of Overwhelming Smile were trapped within the mine. When everyone from Overwhelming Smile saw that there was no longer hope for escape, they tried to resist. Unfortunately, Shi Feng did not give them a chance. Shi Feng then used the skill of the Aura of Fire, Firestorm. Suddenly, flames filled the interior of the mine. A damage of close to -10,000 points appeared above every player and monster within. After Firestorms duration of five seconds, only ash remained. Since Shi Feng began his assault, the whole process only lasted a few seconds. Just like that, over a hundred elites from Overwhelming Smile had been exterminated. Moreover, Shi Feng had collected the Immortal Souls of every player that he killed. Within a short time, all of these players had been locked out of Gods Domain If Shi Feng had been a wild beast that gave other Guilds massive headaches before he had become a Blade Saint, now, he was an Evil Rakshasa that others would avoid at all costs. \--- Meanwhile, inside the Ruined Shrine So what if its Black Flame? We have the advantage of numbers. We can easily get rid of him. A wrathful flame immediately blossom within Lone Tyrants eyes when he heard Black Flames name. Hurriedly, he said, Why dont I take some men to assist Oriental Sword and kill Black Flame? Ever since dying by Shi Fengs hands, Lone Tyrant had toughened his heart and trained arduously every night and day. He had done so to exact his revenge. He was no longer the same as he had been in the past. If not for Youlan restraining him, he would have long since avenged his deaths. Now that Oriental Sword had provoked Black Flame, it was only natural that he go and help out. Youlan could not possibly sit by and watch as more than a hundred elite members fell under Black Flames swords, right? Ultimately, these elite members were the backbone of the Guild. If the Guild did nothing as over a hundred of these elites were slaughtered, not only would it damage the Guilds reputation, but it would also affect the hearts of those within the Guild. No need. Black Flame killed Oriental Sword with a single hit. As for the others, theyre most likely dead by now, Youlan said, revealing a bitter smile. Youlan had a clear understanding of Black Flames strength. None of the titled experts on the Gods Domain Experts List were for show. Furthermore, Black Flame currently had several experts by his side. Those hundred-plus elite members had zero chance of surviving. Only a top-tier expert might have a chance of walking away. Upon hearing Youlans statement, Lone Tyrant was stunned. He said, I am very familiar with Oriental Swords strength. Moreover, he has so many people with him. How could Black Flame kill him with one hit? I do not know how exactly he died, but according to the reports sent from above, Oriental Sword had not managed to respond before dying, Youlan said. It seems that after not encountering Black Flame for a while, he has grown even stronger. We need to hurry and take down this Great Lord. Are we just going to let this go? Lone Tyrant had yet to give up on the idea of killing Black Flame. Staring at Youlan, he asked, If others find out that, despite Black Flame having killed so many Overwhelming Smiles elites, we are indifferent, we will become a laughingstock. What will we do if our inaction angers those above us? Youlan frowned. Just as Lone Tyrant had said, if they did not take any sort of action now, they would become a joke to the public. Youlan, whats going on with you? You shouldnt wear such an ugly expression. Do you need big brothers help? Just as Youlan struggled with her indecision, a lean man walked over, smiling. This man was a Level 26 Assassin, his level surpassing everyone in Overwhelming Smile. Yet, despite there being no Guild Emblem on his person, everyone from Overwhelming Smile treated him with respect and reverence. Even Lone Tyrant was no exception; he was deeply afraid of provoking this young master. The reason they were behaving in such a way was not only this young mans high level. More importantly, this man was the key to their operation of killing the Great Lord. Back then, Young Master Feng had repeatedly instructed them to treat this youth before them with respect. If they provoked this youth They would be responsible for their own actions! 434 Free Combat System Big Brother Summer, its great that you are willing to help, but the opponent is very hard to take down. We might even miss out on our chance to kill the Great Lord. Im worried that it will affect Big Brother Summers task. Youlan was familiar with the lean mans strength, and she appreciated his assistance. The lean man was Summer Sunshine. Not only was he unrelated to Underworld, but he was also an independent player. However, due to his backing and his overwhelming strength, even Feng Xuanyang attempted to build a strong relationship with him. Youlan had once witnessed a fraction of Summer Sunshines strength. Before entering White Fog Canyon, Summer Sunshine had fought Underworlds pride, the leader of the Underworld Guards, Ming Sha, in a PvP. In the end, however, Ming Sha lasted only five moves against Summer Sunshine. Moreover, Summer Sunshine had not used any skills, relying on basic attacks to defeat his opponent. The results of that fight had surprised everyone. As a member of Underworld, Youlan knew full well how strong Ming Sha was. He was one of the few great experts in Underworld. Gentle Snow of Ouroboros was only slightly stronger than him. However, such an expert was nothing more than a child to Summer Sunshine. One could just imagine how powerful the Assassin was. If Summer Sunshine was willing to lend a hand, they had a fairly good chance of defeating One-hit Asura Black Flame. It wont take long to deal with the Great Lord. I dont mind delaying our attack for a little bit. In any case, I am bored. If you need help with something, just ask, Summer Sunshine laughed. Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, has killed many of our elite members. We want to return the favor and kill him. Would you be interested in helping us with this, I wonder? Youlan asked softly as she stared at Summer Sunshine. Black Flame? Summer Sunshine nodded, saying, Alright. Ive heard many rumors about him when I was in White River City. I hear that hes pretty amazing and has the title of One-hit Asura. He is even Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert. Id love to exchange a few moves with him. If I kill him, wont I become Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert? Of course! If you kill Black Flame, you will officially become Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert. However, dont underestimate him. He once killed Ming Sha with one hit. We need to plan carefully to avoid Black Flame escaping. When Youlan received Summer Sunshines answer, the tension between her brows loosened, a few ideas of how to deal with Black Flame already brewing. He killed Ming Sha with one hit? Not bad. My last fight with Ming Sha wasnt even a warm-up. I wonder if Black Flame is strong enough to take seriously? Summer Sunshine licked his lips, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. As for your plans, forget about them. As long as we find him, I have my own ways to prevent him from escaping. Big Brother Summer, Black Flame has a large-scale silencing skill. If he discovers us and activates the skill, trapping him will be very difficult. It is best if we have a plan to silence Black Flame, Youlan reminded. Dont worry. I have something better than that. When I see him, Ill trap him like a bug in a jar, Summer Sunshine laughed. Confidently, he said, Lets hunt down Black Flame. Since he has provoked and angered you, you can watch as I take care of him. Following which, Youlan immediately sent a large number of players to search for Black Flame. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smiles army also slowly withdrew from the Ruined Shrine. \--- At the entrance of the Starfire Mine, Shi Feng and the others tidied up the loot scattered across the ground. When Shi Feng had activated Firestorm, not only had he wiped out the players, but he had also dealt with all of the Level 27 Special Elite ranked Flame Furbolgs that had emerged from the mine. With the Flame Furbolgs drops accompanying the items from players, weapons, equipment, and materials littered the area in front of the mine. The elite members of Overwhelming Smile sure are poor. The majority of their weapons and equipment are Level 20 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron ranked. There are only two pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. The Flame Furbolgs dropped more Secret-Silver Equipment than those elites, Blackie commented after they had finished collecting the items. He could not help but sympathize with the elites of Overwhelming Smile. The loot from the players versus the Flame Furbolgs was easy to differentiate, as one group had only dropped Level 20 items, while the other had only dropped Level 25 items. The Flame Furbolgs had dropped four pieces of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment alone, which was the equivalent of four pieces of Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment. To Gods Domains players currently, Fine-Gold Equipment was top-tier equipment, whereas Dark-Gold Equipment was the cream of the crop. As for Epic items, they were the stuff of legends. Meanwhile, if an ordinary player joined Zero Wing around Level 10 and completed their Guild Quests each day, they could trade their Guild Points in for a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment by the time they reached Level 20. If they were lucky and managed to join a party to complete advanced Guild Quests, they might even have enough points for three or four pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. More than half an elites equipment would be Secret-Silver rank at the very least. On the other hand, the equipment Overwhelming Smiles elite members wore was mostly a mix of Bronze and Mysterious-Iron rank. Practically none of them had any Secret-Silver Equipment. They could not compare with Zero Wings members. Furthermore, Level 25 weapons and equipment were now available for Zero Wing members. This was unheard of in any other Guild. Any Level 25 equipment obtained by the other Guilds would be prioritized to their core members. These items would never be available for their ordinary members. Compared to Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment, the benefits that Overwhelming Smile offered were a joke. After organizing the loot, Shi Feng had the two recently-resurrected members take the dropped weapons and equipment back to the Guild. As for Aqua Rose and the others, they all entered the Starfire Mine and started mining. The Starfire Mine was a naturally occurring maze. Moreover, when wandering inside the mine, the players were often ambushed by groups of three to five Flame Furbolgs. As a result, Shi Fengs team progressed slowly. The Flame Furbolgs were Level 27 Special Elites. Their Strength was frighteningly high, and they could send a Berserker of the same level flying with a single hit. Although they were somewhat slow, the Flame Furbolgs also had an AOE control skill called War Stomp. When activated, all enemies within a radius of 8 yards would be placed in a Fainted state for four seconds. In this narrow cave, avoiding this skill was not easy. Normally, a party had no chance against these Flame Furbolgs. At the very least, they needed a larger team and the willingness to make sacrifices to get rid of these Special Elites. Unfortunately for the Flame Furbolgs, the opponent was Shi Feng. Moreover, there were also the Tier 1 Assassins, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, and the unpredictable Astromancer, Violet Cloud. Before Shi Feng and the others, the Flame Furbolgs 70,000 HP was only decoration. Shi Feng and the others were Tier 1 classes. They were only slightly inferior to the Special Elites. After activating the Aura of Fire, Shi Feng could easily deal over -1,000 damage with every attack. When he used the Tier 1 Chop, he could deal over -6,000 damage, over -10,000 damage if he achieved a critical hit. As for the Flame Furbolgs War Stomp, the skill was childs play to an expert. Faced with groups of three to five Flame Furbolgs, Shi Fengs party of six could either incapacitate the monsters throughout the altercation or kill them swiftly with brute force, preventing them from activating War Stomp either way. Shi Fengs group continued to delve into the mine, their experience bars rising quickly. The EXP earned from killing a Level 27 Special Elite was already abundant. There was also the bonus EXP due to the level difference and the fact that there were only six players in the party to share the EXP. Most importantly, there were a lot of Flame Furbolgs, and no matter how many the party killed, more awaited them further in the mine. They leveled faster here than when they had killed Lord ranked monsters in a team of 500 players. On top of everything else, they also obtained plenty of Level 25 equipment. After Shi Feng and the others had killed Flame Furbolgs in the Starfire Mine for over three hours, the group arrived at a wide and beautiful crystal cavern. A gigantic flaming star took up the center of this cavern. The moment Shi Feng set foot in the crystal cavern, a system notification suddenly rang out. System: You have entered the Land of the Fallen Star. Activating Free Combat System. 435 Land of the Fallen Star After entering the crystal cavern, Shi Feng had not been the only one to receive a system notification. His party members also received one. Activating Free Combat System? Shi Feng was stunned. The Free Combat System was an unfamiliar term to the current players of Gods Domain. Shi Feng, however, could not be more familiar with it. This was a mechanic that would only exist after the second evolution of Gods Domain. In order to make combat in Gods Domain more realistic, friendly fire was now active. Originally, if two players were in a party together, their attacks would not damage each other. However, after activating the Free Combat System, if one were not careful and struck a party member, said party member would receive damage from the attack. Players could also damage themselves with their own skills. For example, if a player used an AOE skill and they were within the skills effective range, they would receive damage. In the past, after the Free Combat System had activated, many players had ended up in the graveyard because of either themselves or each other. As a result, when attacking, players needed sufficient control of their attacks. Otherwise, no one would be willing to join their party regardless of the benefits. Guild Leader, what just happened? Aqua Rose could not contain her curiosity when she saw Shi Fengs surprise. We have activated the Free Combat System. From now on, our attacks will not differentiate from friend and foe, so we need to be careful in the battle. Dont mistakenly injure yourselves or your teammates, Shi Feng explained. However, before the others could respond, a deep purple barrier sealed off the caverns entrance. When Blackie accidentally touched the barrier, he suddenly lost 1,000 HP. Frightened, Blackie hurriedly backed away from the barrier. Weve fallen into a trap. Be careful of your surroundings and dont take action casually. Shi Feng considered the purple barrier at the caverns entrance before observing his surroundings. Suddenly, a large group of Wolfman Warriors appeared in the Land of the Fallen Star, which had originally been void of any monsters. The Wolfman Warriors each carried a shield and a weapon, and they stared at Shi Fengs group with fangs bared and smelly drool leaking from their mouths. They treated Shi Feng and the others like a meal. [Wolfman Warrior] (Elite Rank) Level 27 HP 42,000/42,000 Although the Wolfman Warriors were much weaker than the Flame Furbolgs, there were many of them. They moved in groups of a dozen or so, making them far more difficult to deal than the groups of three to five Furbolgs. Guild Leader, what should we do now? Blackie said, his heart wavering as he watched the hundreds of Wolfman Warriors slowly walk towards them. Fight as we look for an exit. Shi Feng could not think of any better ideas. With the entrance sealed off and the sudden appearance of so many Wolfman Warriors, the only plan he had was to fight as they ran. Ill open a path. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, cover me. Aqua, focus on controlling those Wolfman Warriors. Based on Shi Fengs experience, all traps in Gods Domain gave players a chance of survival. As long as they found the trick to unlock the trap, they could escape with their lives. Meanwhile, the trap before them was clearly directed towards those who were unfamiliar with the Free Combat System. If everyone randomly used their skills, they would kill themselves before laying a scratch on the monsters before them. Hence, it was safer if only he took action. Following which, Shi Feng led the party and charged towards the area with the least number of Wolfman Warriors. Even so, there were still over a dozen Elites ahead of him. Seeing Shi Fengs group barreling towards them, these Wolfman Warriors opened their mouths and howled. They raised their weapons and charged at Shi Feng. At this moment, the other Wolfman Warriors had similarly started to surround Shi Feng and the others. Dont fight. Just lure them to a single location and then kill them. With that order, Shi Feng took the fight to these Wolfman Warriors, leading his own band of elites. He then unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow, brandishing his swords and sending over a dozen swords of light to strike the Wolfman Warriors vital points. Shi Fengs Attack Speed was extremely fast. Although the Wolfman Warriors tried to defend themselves, Shi Fengs swords of light reached the monsters first. A single sword strike sent a Wolfman Warrior that was over two meters tall flying backward, a damage of over -1,000 points appearing above its head. Shi Feng had no desire to continue fighting. After having sent the dozen or so Wolfman Warriors flying, he led the party and moved past the Wolfman Warriors. If possible, Shi Feng wanted to finish off these Wolfmen. If he did, however, they would end up surrounded by more of these Elite monsters. If that happened, they wouldnt escape despite their efforts. In such a way, Shi Feng, Fire Dance, and Flying Shadow opened a path for the party, the six continuously advancing. Regarding the Wolfman Warriors chasing them relentlessly, Aqua Rose continuously cast Ice Walls and Ice Spheres behind her, using the spells to reduce the monsters speed. Although the Wolfman Warriors could not catch up, the number of monsters chasing after Shi Fengs party had increased past a thousand. If Shi Feng and the others made a single mistake, they would most likely lose their lives. We can use the terrain ahead. Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, and I will block the Wolfman Warriors behind us. Blackie, use Stars of Light. It doesnt matter even how far you cast it; just remember not to include us in the spells effective area. Shi Feng had constantly observed the surrounding terrain as he ran, and he caught sight of an elevated area. The path there was also very narrow; two or three people would be sufficient to block it completely. Hence, he hastened towards that elevated ground. Leave it to me! Watch me get rid of these wolf pups! Blackie nodded. When the party entered the narrow path, Shi Feng and the two Assassins spun around, facing the oncoming Wolfman Warriors. Twenty yards Fifteen yards Ten yards Watching the Wolfman Warriors come closer and closer Release! Shi Feng shouted. Having prepared, Blackie waved his staff, and in the next moment, a Star of Light descended from the sky. One after another, the Stars of Light bombarded the thousand-plus of Wolfman Warriors. Those near the epicenter of the crash received over -7,000 damage, while the others in the spells vicinity received over -3,000 damage. The Wolfman Warriors had 42,000 HP. They could only endure a few waves of Stars of Light before dying. However, the Wolfman Warriors outside of Blackies spell were intelligent. They had not foolishly charged into the range of the Stars of Light. Instead, they stood in place, waiting for the spell to end. Although the effect of Stars of Light was frightening, the spell only took the lives of slightly over 200 Wolfman Warriors. To an army of over a thousand, that was nothing. However, after Stars of Light ended, the experience bars of Shi Fengs party skyrocketed. If they could repeat this process, they could easily reach Level 30 in a few hours. Before anyone could catch a breather, dozens of Wolfman Warriors charged into the small path, howling as they brandished their weapons. Due to the Free Combat System, Blackie had not had a perfect grasp of his skills coverage area. As a result, the Wolfman Warriors that had been at the very forefront of the charge had not been caught in the effective area of Stars of Light. Fortunately, the small path only allowed for five or six Wolfman Warriors. Without hesitation, Shi Feng sent a Tier 1 Thundering Flash at the incoming Elite monsters. Compared to the Tier 0 Thundering Flash, the Tier 1 skill was far more agile. Whether it was in terms of speed, power, distance, or number of attacks, all had massively improved. Most importantly, Shi Feng could now use it to attack horizontally, increasing its attack area. A blue arc of lightning tore through the path in the blink of an eye, splitting the path in two. Following which, another arc of blue lightning streaked towards its target. After five consecutive arcs of lightning, astonishing damages appeared above the dozens of Wolfman Warriors. -1,624, -2,240, -3,136, -4,394, -6,152 Thundering Flashs effect stacked, and each consecutive hit would have its damage increased by 40%. If a target were struck by all five lightning strikes, the total damage would be terrifying. However, the might of Thundering Flash could not deter these crazed Wolfman Warriors. They still threw themselves forward with little regard for their lives. Aqua Rose waved her staff, and suddenly, three Ice Walls appearing on the small path, reducing the Wolfman Warriors speed. Blackie also cast Hell Flame, dark green flames emerging from the ground. Immediately after, Shi Feng used the Tier 1 Earth Splitter. Before these Wolfman Warriors could reach Shi Feng, they all died. With the perfect combination of the six and the advantageous terrain, they had only spent a short amount of time finishing off the thousand-plus Wolfman Warriors. After decimating the last wave of Warriors, a golden glow illuminated Shi Fengs body. He was finally Level 25! 436 Combat Power Soars Guild Leader, youre finally Level 25, Blackie sighed with relief when he saw the golden brilliance illuminate Shi Fengs body. Thats right, Shi Feng laughed bitterly. After choosing this Blade Saint class, Im doomed to level up slowly. Guild Leader, heres the Level 25 Swordsman Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment we saved for you, Fire Dance said, retrieving a few pieces of equipment from her bag. She had deliberately held on to these items for Shi Feng. As for the other Level 25 equipment, she had sent them to the Guilds Warehouse. Shi Fengs hidden class was no secret among the core members of Zero Wing. This included Violet Clouds Astromancer class as well. Originally, everyone had envied and admired hidden classes, searching desperately for a Legacy that would give them the chance to obtain a hidden class. However, they could now see both Shi Fengs and Violet Clouds leveling speed for themselves; their progression could only be described with one wordslow. Some of the team members who were originally a lower level than Shi Feng and Violet Cloud had even surpassed the two over these past few days in White Fog Canyon. More importantly, their levels were currently in the 20s. When they reached the 30s, 50s, or even 100s, the twos leveling speed would most likely slow to a crawl. When the others thought about how they would level far slower than other players, they promptly dismissed their intentions of searching for a hidden class. If they encountered an Advanced Legacy in the future, they would change classes then. If not, so be it. Levels were very important in Gods Domain. Moreover, everyone paled at the thought of dying just once as a hidden class. Thanks. Shi Feng accepted Fire Dances offer. His current equipment mostly consisted of random Level 20 pieces. If he switched them out for Level 25 Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment, his Attributes would increase significantly. Shi Feng also retrieved a fiery-red pair of boots from his bag. The delicate boots each had three beautiful Flame Crystals embedded in them, and a bright red glow circled the footwear. These were super-top-tier boots that Shi Feng had obtained after killing the Scorching Lamia. [Flame Boots] (Plate Boots, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 25 Defense +175 Strength +21, Agility +30, Endurance +15 Movement Speed +8 Fire Resistance +5 Additional Skill- Flame Rush: Increases Movement Speed by 100% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes The boots were worth at least 30 Gold. As Shi Feng had not met the level requirement for the boots when he had first obtained them, he had kept them in his bag until now. After equipping the Flame Boots, Shi Fengs Attributes soared once more. He had even obtained a new skill, Flame Rush. This was a must-have skill for both escape and pursuit. Undoubtedly, the Flame Boots had significantly increased Shi Fengs mobility. Guild Leader, what kind of boots are those? Theyre so beautiful! Aqua Rose asked excitedly upon seeing the Flame Boots on Shi Fengs feet. Aqua Rose wasnt the only person with this opinion as both Fire Dance and Violet Cloud similarly eyed the Flame Boots. Women always loved beautiful things. I got these boots from killing a High Lord in the Flame Gods Cave. However, you guys are mages, so you cant equip them. If you could, wed go back and farm more High Lords. Even with his experience in countless battles, Shi Feng squirmed under the intense stares of the three beauties. In the end, he had no choice but to display the Flame Boots data. When everyone saw the boots Attributes, they were stunned. Guild Leader, is this a Level 25 Dark-Gold item? Flying Shadows eyes nearly popped out of his sockets in shock. Originally, he had thought the Flame Boots were Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. After all, ever since they started killing Level 25 and above Lord ranked monsters, the best equipment they had obtained was Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. These Attributes are amazing! Blackie said enviously. He was not particularly surprised that the Flame Boots were Dark-Gold ranked. Guild Leader, when did you kill a Level 25 or above High Lord? Aqua Rose asked with disbelief. When Fire Dance and the others heard Aqua Roses question, they suddenly realized the weight of Shi Fengs words. Zero Wing had only recently entered White Fog Canyon. Based on Shi Fengs behavior, he had obtained the Flame Boots long before entering the canyon. However, only High Lords had a chance of dropping Dark-Gold Equipment. Moreover, as the Flame Boots had a Level 25 requirement, Shi Feng would have had to kill a Level 25 High Lord at the very minimum. Meanwhile, since Shi Feng always acted independently, it meant that he had most likely killed a Level 25 High Lord by himself. Was something like that really possible in Gods Domain? If I remember correctly, I think it was around the time when I was Level 15, Shi Feng said after giving it some thought. However, I used some special methods to defeat that Scorching Lamia. If it were a direct confrontation, she would have killed me instantly. Amazing! Inhuman! Guild Leader, youre too insincere! We are all in the same boat, yet you still keep so many secrets to yourself! Due to their shock and surprise, Aqua Rose and the others were utterly speechless. They all knew full well how powerful a High Lord was. They also knew how inconceivable it was to kill a High Lord. A team of 50 players stood no chance against one, much less a solo player. Even if Shi Feng had used some particular method to kill one, it was still an amazing feat. _It turns out that Guild Leader has hidden his strength all along. It seems that Ill need to work harder from now on._ Aside from her shock, Fire Dance was also disappointed. She inwardly lamented over her lack of strength. Originally, she had thought that she was only a short distance from catching up with Shi Feng. She now realized that not only had the gap not shortened in the slightest, but it had even grown wider. However, this revelation had not discouraged Fire Dance. At the very least, she could see how wide the gap was now. Shortly after Aqua Rose and the others had renewed their opinion of Shi Fengs strength, a terrifying roar echoed throughout the Land of the Fallen Star. This is a wolfs howl. The sound seems to be moving closer. Is the boss coming for revenge because we killed the wolf pups? Aqua Rose and the others were no ordinary players; their five senses were very acute. By sound alone, they could feel danger approaching. Meanwhile, anything that could instill that kind of feeling was not a typical monster. Immediately, everyone went on high-alert, searching for any movement. The monster heading for us is at least Lord ranked. All of you, stand back. Shi Feng could feel the threat of death. When one had reached his standards, they could determine an enemys strength through the degree of danger they instinctively felt without even seeing their enemy. If it were a Chieftain, although Shi Feng would feel danger, he would not sense the threat of death. For him to feel such a threat meant that the approaching monster was at least a Lord. While everyone waited quietly for the enemys arrival, Shi Feng retrieved the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragons Breath from his bag. Previously, Shi Fengs Intelligence had been below the required 120 points, so he had not been able to equip the Fragmented Legendary item. Now, however, he finally possessed enough points in his Intelligence. As he had a Tier 1 class, he received 8 Free Attribute Points each time he leveled up. In addition, the Abyssal Blade also gave him two points for each level. The Golden Stigmata also gave him 10 Free Attribute Points and raised all Attributes by 5 points every 5 Levels. When Shi Feng reached Level 25, he had received a total of 20 Free Attribute Points. After increasing his Intelligence to 120 points, he added the remaining points into Strength. The Equipment Requirement of the Heavenly Dragons Breath was 200 Strength, 200 Agility, and 120 Intelligence. Both Shi Fengs Strength and Agility had long since exceeded 200 points; they had even exceeded 300. Now that his Intelligence had reached the minimum requirement, he could equip the Heavenly Dragons Breath. Such power. After equipping the Heavenly Dragons Breath, Shi Feng could feel an immeasurable strength flow into him from the Fragmented Legendary ring. Although this was not his first time equipping the item, the ring still gave his mind a clarity that he had never had before. He also felt warm and fuzzy, power leaking from his body. It felt as if he was capable of destroying anything and everything in his path. 437 Tier 2 Combat Power As the howls approached, everyone became more focused. They kept their eyes glued on the numerous stone pillars in front of the small path. None of them spared even a glance for the loot that the thousand-plus Wolfman Warriors had dropped. It was not because Shi Feng and the others did not want to, but because they couldnt afford to. They had all experienced just how powerful and cunning a Lord ranked monster was. Even Elites knew how to ambush players, much less Lords. The frightening aspect of Lords was that they knew how to strike a players blind spots, landing a fatal blow. Previously, Zero Wings Chief MT, Cola, had very nearly died several times in a Lords ambush. If not for the Arclight Guards heaven-defying skill, Time Arc, Cola would have died at least half a dozen times. Currently, none of Shi Fengs party had such an overpowered skill. They would only taunt death if they moved forward to pick up the loot. After a short moment, the howling stopped. Instantly, an aura of death washed over the party, and the air surrounding them seemed to freeze. Wheres the monster? Blackie asked, confused when nothing appeared. It has probably hidden itself. The stone pillars ahead are perfect cover, and it is highly likely that the monster is looking for a chance to strike, Flying Shadow, who was in Stealth, answered. Guild Leader, should I scout ahead and investigate? No, its already heading towards us, Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow. With a grim expression, he said, Everyone, prepare for battle. Flying Shadow and Fire Dance, cover me. Violet, you focus on healing. Aqua and Blackie, use your control skills but dont pull too much aggro. This monster is far more powerful than any of you can imagine. Its coming? But I dont see it. Aqua Rose scanned the area ahead of her, failing to detect any traces of a monster. Its normal that you cant see it. Its in Stealth right now; even I can barely see its blurred figure. Due to the Heavenly Dragons Breath, Shi Feng had massively improved in all areas. Even so, he had almost missed his opponents presence. Stealth?! It cant be possible, right? When the others heard Shi Fengs words and saw his solemn expression, they immediately grew anxious as they examined their surroundings. A Lord that could use Stealth It was a players worst nightmare. A single careless moment could result in their deaths. Not daring to take any risks, Shi Feng immediately activated Omniscient Eyes. He immediately discovered a small-sized, red-furred Wolfman. This red Wolfman wielded two pitch-black sawtooth daggers in each hand. The Lord had already reached the small path and was less than 30 yards away, slowly approaching the party. [Crimson Shadow Wolf] (Rare Lord) Level 28 HP 1,000,000/1,000,000 Rare Lords were not as powerful as High Lords, and in terms of Attributes, they were the same as ordinary Lords. However, Rare Lords possessed an additional innate skill. It was just like how a player with a hidden class possessed Legacy Skills unique to their class. Hence, Rare Lords were significantly more powerful than ordinary Lords, and to certain players, that difference might even be fatal. If Shi Feng had a team of 500 players, he could kill the Crimson Shadow Wolf with absolute certainty. However, not only did his party only consist of six players, but they also did not have an MT. Facing this Rare Lord would prove quite difficult. When Shi Feng saw the red Wolfmans information, distress filled his heart. Fortunately, after equipping the Heavenly Dragons Breath, his mind could remain extraordinarily calm. His Attributes had also significantly increased. Strength increased by 40%. Agility increased by 40%. Intelligence increased by 30%. Endurance increased by 50%[1]. Movement Speed increased by 20%. Attack Speed increased by 30%. The improvement that the Fragmented Legendary item had provided to his Attributes was much higher than the growth he had received when he became a Tier 1 Blade Saint. Furthermore, he also had three new skills: Dragons Authority, Dragons Breath, and Heavenly Dragons Power. With these new skills, he could easily contend with a Lord of the same level. If Shi Feng had not equipped the Heavenly Dragons Breath, he would most likely have given a single command. Escape! In Gods Domain, a Tier 1 class could compete with a Special Elite, whereas a Tier 2 class was on the same level as a Lord. This was why Shi Feng could not face a Lord in direct combat. However, now that he had the Heavenly Dragons Breath, although it was not as impressive as a Legendary item, it could still allow a player to transcend tiers, granting Shi Feng the combat power of a Tier 2 player. It was the equivalent of crossing the threshold to a Tier 2 class. Right now, Shi Fengs Attributes approached that of a Tier 2 class. He only lacked Tier 2 skills. Simply put, Shi Feng was fully capable of contending with a Lord of the same level. He also had the skill, Heavenly Dragons Power. This skill was even more powerful than the Tier 1 skill, Blade Liberation. Previously, when Shi Feng had activated Heavenly Dragons Power, he had been able to suppress the final Boss in the Demons Castle. When Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes, the Crimson Shadow Wolf knew that it had been discovered. It dashed towards Shi Feng with astonishing speed. Before Shi Feng could react, the Crimson Shadow Wolf had closed the distance by more than 20 yards and stood before him. Without hesitation, it slashed its sawtooth daggers towards Shi Fengs neck. Startled, Shi Feng hurriedly activated Defensive Blade. The two sawtooth daggers froze just before they struck him, unable to proceed by even an inch. _So fast!_ Shi Feng was shocked. If anyone else stood in his place right now, they would have been a dead man. Shi Feng had activated Defensive Blade the instant he discovered the Crimson Shadow Wolf, yet he had nearly been Decapitated Not only could Decapitate Silence players, but it could also inflict a massive Bleeding DoT and significant damage. If players were Silenced, they would only be able to defend themselves by relying on their Basic Attributes. However, not even an MT of the same level could fend off a Lord for more ten seconds. Realizing that its first attack had been unsuccessful, the Crimson Shadow Wolf spun backward and vanished right before Shi Fengs eyes. In an instant, it appeared behind Shi Feng and used Backstab. Fortunately, Defensive Blade deflected that attack as well. Standing in the back, Aqua Rose and the others were stupefied by this scene. They had only seen the Crimson Shadow Wolf when it first launched its attack. Then, in the blink of an eye, it had appeared behind Shi Feng and launched another attack. However, the Rare Lord was far from done. Within one second, it had launched no less than six attacks. Just as Defensive Blade was about to run out, the Crimson Shadow Wolf sent a Flying Knee-kick towards Shi Fengs abdomen. A Flying Knee-kick could easily break an enemys combat stance and send them flying through the air, making it difficult for them to dodge or attack. Just before the Crimson Shadow Wolfs Flying Knee-kick struck Shi Feng, the Rare Lord revealed a human-like sneer. Suddenly, it reversed its grip on one of its daggers and sent an Eviscerate at Shi Fengs chest, intending to end Shi Fengs life with one strike. Guild Leader! Everyone watched anxiously. However, they were helpless. The Crimson Shadow Wolf was simply too fast. This was the first time they had witnessed such speed since they started playing Gods Domain. However, just as the sawtooth daggers were about to slide into Shi Fengs heart, the screech of metal against metal reached the teams ears. The Crimson Shadow Wolf was confused when it heard this sound. Looking at his adversary carefully, the Wolfmans cold smile suddenly vanished. Now, it wore a grim expression as it bared its fangs and growled. TL Notes: 438 Twofold Liberation Aqua Rose and the others noticed the Crimson Shadow Wolfs sudden change immediately. However, the Zero Wing team was more focused on Shi Feng than they were on the Rare Lords reaction. Despite having been struck by the Crimson Shadow Wolfs Flying Knee-kick, not only had the Wolf failed to throw his prey into the air, but Shi Feng also managed to block the Rare Lord. How did Guild Leader manage to do that? Flying Shadow was thoroughly confused when he saw the gray Abyssal Blade block the sawtooth dagger, halting its advance. Was there really a person capable of defending against that kind of speed? The rest of the team was similarly tongue-tied. He should have used some sort of special skill, I think, Fire Dance said with uncertainty. Fire Dance had barely seen the Crimson Shadow Wolfs attack. Although she knew that Shi Feng was astonishingly fast, he was still much slower than the Rare Lord. The Crimson Shadow Wolfs attack was just like Shi Fengs Void Steps: extremely elusive. However, in the Crimson Shadow Wolfs case, it had not incorporated any techniques into its attack; it had relied solely on its speed. Compared to Void Steps, where its user would momentarily disappear and reappear shortly after, the Crimson Shadow Wolfs disappearance and reappearance occurred simultaneously. There had been no time between the two occurrences at all. It was like a mages Instantaneous Movement skill. However, no mage could use the skill frequently. Moreover, the Crimson Shadow Wolfs Attack Speed was much faster than its Movement Speed. In martial arts, only speed was unbreakable! This saying was not baseless. If players could not even see or sense an attack, how were they supposed to block it? Yet, Shi Feng had detected such the strike and promptly blocked it Fire Dance considered herself to be an expert among Assassins, and she was slightly more insightful than others. However, she did not understand how Shi Feng had managed to block the Crimson Shadow Wolfs attack. However, before anyone could figure it out, the Crimson Shadow Wolf continued its assault. Shadow Strike! Suddenly, the Rare Lord transformed into a streak of black light that pierced through Shi Fengs body. Look out! Fire Dance shouted a warning, but she was too late. Shadow Strike was one of most lethal moves an Assassin possessed. It could devour almost half the HP of an MT of the same level with a single hit. The attack could even drop a Berserkers HP to a critical level. Shadow Strike was also the fastest skill in an Assassins repertoire. One could only defend themselves against this skill with a skill. Fire Dance had never expected that the Crimson Shadow Wolf would know it as well. However, even after the Rare Lord struck Shi Feng, its intense expression had not relaxed in the slightest. On the contrary, it had grown even more solemn as it glowered at Shi Feng, emitting a low, angry growl. It turned out that the skill had not struck Shi Feng, but his afterimage. Aooo! The Crimson Shadow Wolf was furious. Suddenly, it launched a series of violent attacks at Shi Feng, disappearing in one moment and appearing in the next. The pitch-black daggers transformed into countless streaks of light that bombarded the formidable Blade Saint. However, Shi Feng also vanished and reappeared repeatedly, and the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow responded with their own streaks of light, blocking every attack sent at their owner. The one-sided situation had suddenly become a stalemate. As both sides clashed, sparks flew into the air around them. The storm that rolled in with every collision frightened Aqua Rose and the other spectators. Just what is this Fire Dances eyes widened, her mind unable to keep up with the battle before her. Since when had Shi Feng become so fast?! Blackie, you know our Guild Leader better than any of us! Speak! Just how much of his strength is he hiding?! Aqua Rose demanded, frustration filling the gaze that pinned Blackie. Originally, when Shi Feng had said he had used special methods to solo a High Lord, Aqua Rose could still understand. Even so, she already considered Shi Feng inhuman for being capable of achieving such a feat. Now, however, they watched as he contended with a terrifyingly fast Lord. By this point, she had even begun to suspect that Shi Feng was not a player at all, but the Main God Systems son or the System itself. How else could they explain his speed? Not even a High Lord could compete with the Crimson Shadow Wolfs speed, yet, Shi Feng matched it. Moreover, the player and monster were also matched in terms of Strength. Even after exchanging so many attacks, Shi Feng had not lost any HP. How was it possible for a player to become so powerful? Even if it were possible, it could not happen at this stage of the game. Me? Very innocently, Blackie said, I really dont know. If he had not known Shi Feng, as a brother no less, he might not believe that Shi Feng was human at all, but a monster wearing Shi Fengs skin. As both parties fought on, Shi Fengs HP began to decrease rapidly. Even though Shi Feng currently had 8,460 HP, far surpassing Zero Wings number one MT, Cola, he could not outlast the Crimson Shadow Wolf. Against the Rare Lords 1,000,000 HP, Shi Feng would grossly overestimate himself if he tried to do so. After roughly 20 seconds, Shi Fengs HP fell to around 3,000. Violet, why arent you healing me yet? Shi Feng asked, concerned, through the team chat. Ah! Violet Cloud was so mesmerized by Shi Feng and the Crimson Shadow Wolfs battle that she had forgotten her responsibilities. She immediately began to wave her staff, sending one heal after another at Shi Feng. She also cast a Sacred Shield on him, granting him some damage mitigation. Violet Clouds heals were very powerful. Her Recover healed close to 600 HP every two seconds, whereas her Rapid Healing recovered over 1,600 HP every second. Her Greater Healing replenished close to 3,000 HP instantly. In a short moment, Shi Fengs 8,460 HP was back to full. However, Violet Clouds heals paled in comparison to the Crimson Shadow Wolfs. With 1,000,000 HP, the Rare Lords battle recovery restored 10,000 HP every five seconds. However, Shi Feng could not deplete its HP by that much in that short time. Aqua, attack. Focus on using ice-type spells. Blackie, restrict the Shadow Wolf with your curses. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, stand at a distance and use your flying daggers, Shi Feng commanded as he fought. There was a limit to Violet Clouds Mana. If they dragged this battle on the Crimson Shadow Wolf would slaughter them all. Hence, they needed to increase their damage output. However, the Rare Lord was simply too fast. With Fire Dance and Flying Shadows melee attacks, they would only be easy targets for the Crimson Shadow Wolf. The team leaped into action as they received their orders, casting one skill after another at the Rare Lord and continuously depleting its HP. Compared to Lords like the Flame Guards, the Crimson Shadow Wolf had a weaker Defense. Hence, although the Crimson Shadow Wolf dodged most of the attacks effortlessly, those that landed still inflicted significant bursts of damage. Aqua Roses Frost Arrow dealt over -1,000 damage, and her Flame Barrage dealt around -3,000 damage. As for Blackie, his Dark Arrow achieved over -1,300 damage; over -2,000 damage if it was a critical hit. His Unstable Affliction also dealt close to -1,000 damage every two seconds. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow could deal around -300 damage with each of their throwing attacks. In addition, Shi Feng would occasionally deal over -2,000 damage with his attacks. As a result, everyones total damage within five seconds easily exceeded 10,000 points. After an hour or so, the Crimson Shadow Wolf only had 43% of its HP remaining. As long as they continued to wear it down for another few hours, they would kill the Rare Lord. With the hope of killing the Crimson War Wolf in sight, everyone sighed relief. Previously, the Rare Lord had been terrifying, causing everyone to despair. They had been certain that they would die. Guild Leader, why are you so good at hiding yourself? You must have been lying when you said you defeated the Level 25 High Lord using special methods before, right? In reality, you must have relied on your own strength to kill it, Aqua Rose grumbled. You guys misunderstand me, Shi Feng suddenly said while he continued to face-off against the Rare Lord. Misunderstand? Everyone was confused. I dont have the ability to defend against such a astonishing speed. Shi Feng explained, Previously, I, too, was afraid of the Shadow Wolf. Against its speed, Im not a match for it even if I go all-out. However, while the Shadow Wolf was attacking me, I took a look at the system time. Afterward, I realized why the Shadow Wolf was so fast. Its not because the Shadow Wolf is fast. Its because the Shadow Wolfs innate skill slows our reaction time, altering our perception to think that its fast and unstoppable. Upon hearing Shi Fengs explanation, everyone did what Shi Feng had said. Sure enough, they understood. At the beginning of the fight, Shi Feng was similarly frightened. However, when he had glanced at the time displayed by the system, he realized that something was off. Originally, Shi Feng believed that the Crimson Shadow Wolfs attack had happened instantaneously. Yet, the system had indicated that a short moment had passed. In particular, when the Crimson Shadow Wolf had charged at him, Shi Feng saw the Rare Lord cross the 20-yard distance in an instant, but according to the system clock, two seconds had passed. As Crimson Shadow Wolf was about to land the finishing blow, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Space, becoming immune to all control effects. Since the Crimson Shadow Wolfs innate skill no longer had an impact, he had no problems defending against the Rare Lords normal Attack Speed. After all, he, too, possessed the combat power of a Tier 2 class. If anyone else had stood in his place, they would have fallen to the Crimson Shadow Wolfs innate skill. However, after engaging in the battle for such a long time, Violet Clouds Mana was almost depleted. Although she used Mana Recovery Potions constantly, with her current consumption rate, she would last another ten minutes or so at most. Unfortunately, the Crimson Shadow Wolf still had 43% of its HP remaining I can only give it a shot! Shi Feng gritted his teeth as he glared at the Crimson Shadow Wolfs HP. Purgatory Power, activate! Heavenly Dragons Power, activate! Suddenly, Shi Fengs body released a dazzling golden glow. The glow this time was far more impressive than it had been in the Demons Castle. His aura was more intense, forming the faint figure of a gigantic dragon. In the next moment, the dragon released a roar that made ones eardrums tremble. Simultaneously, Shi Fengs Attributes underwent a massive transformation. Shi Fengs HP instantly rose to 25,380, and his Strength slammed past the 800-point threshold. His Defense had also improved. With a wave of his sword, Shi Feng forced the Rare Lord back, dealing over -400 damage with the strike. He then took a step forward and used a Tier 1 Chop. Due to the Attack Speed and damage buffs of Purgatory Power, critical double damages of -4,920, -7,312, and -7,324 appeared above the Wolfs head before it could react. The Crimson Shadow Wolf was sent crashing into a stone pillar by the side of the small path. The Rare Lord and Swordsmans Strengths were no longer on the same level. Suddenly, Shi Fengs furious roar echoed throughout the cavern. Dragons Authority! [Dragons Authority] Suppress all enemies in the surroundings with the might of the Heavenly Dragon, inflicting the Fear status onto enemies within a 30-yard distance, reducing their Attack Power by 20%, Attack Speed by 20%, and Movement Speed by 20% for 1 minute. After the Crimson Shadow Wolfs speed fell, the Rare Lord was even less of a match for Shi Feng. Within seconds, the Crimson Shadow Wolfs HP plummeted to 30%. As it reached this threshold, the Crimson Shadow Wolf began to change, growing larger. It also tossed its daggers to the side. It was now four times larger than it had been, as tall as a two-story building. The ground trembled as it took a step. By appearances alone, the Zero Wing team understood how terrifying this monster had just become. However, Shi Feng couldnt care less. Gritting his teeth, he activated Blade Liberation. Suddenly, the Abyssal Blade released a dazzling silver light, its power flowing into Shi Feng. 439 Overpowered Strength The angry roar of the berserk Crimson Shadow Wolf shook the very space around them. The pressure it emitted was far heavier and more powerful than before. With a light step, cracks formed on the solid ground beneath its feet, and its claws gouged deep furrows into the solid ground. The strength and sharpness of its claws shocked all who saw them. Without a doubt, an attack from the Wolfs claws could even destroy a Secret-Silver Weapon. Even a Fine-Gold Weapon would only last a few hits. Only Dark-Gold Weapons might endure a long beating. The Crimson Shadow Wolf abruptly leaped forward and brandished its sharp claws at Shi Feng. Guild Leader! Everyone worried for Shi Feng upon seeing the ferocious Crimson Shadow Wolf. The Rare Lords Strength had more than doubled. If a Tier 1 MT of the same level did not activate a lifesaving skill, they would most likely die from one hit. Although Shi Feng had over 25,000 HP after activating Heavenly Dragons Power, and his Defense had significantly improved, he most likely would not last more than a few hits. To the gigantic Crimson Shadow Wolf, attacking Shi Feng with its claws was no different than slapping an ant. _Boom!_ The ground shattered and fist-sized gravel erupted into the surroundings. Initially, everyone had believed that it was game over. However, the Crimson Shadow Wolfs claws had actually stopped a few centimeters above Shi Fengs head, and no matter how hard the Rare Lord tried, it could not move its claws any further. Instead, the ground beneath Shi Fengs feet had begun to fracture. Ao At this moment, doubt began to seep into the Crimson Shadow Wolfs eyes. Despite its increased strength, it was still useless. Standing at a distance, Aqua Rose and the others were similarly slack-jawed, overcome with shock. By the time they noticed it, waves of red gas had surrounded Shi Fengs body. Meanwhile, the silvery-gray Abyssal Blade in his hand had actually stopped the claws that had contained frightening power. Moreover, Shi Feng had not lost even a single HP from the collision. Aooo! The Crimson Shadow Wolf bellowed angrily and began a brutal assault. One swipe Three swipes Six swipes However, each successive attack only caused the ground beneath Shi Feng to fracture further, filling the air with dust and debris. Seeing this, the Crimson Shadow Wolfs eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Just as the Rare Lord sent another subsequent attack, Shi Feng finally swung his arm, slashing his sword at the incoming paw. _Peng!_ The Crimson Shadow Wolfs body was suddenly pinned flat against a stone pillar like a picture on a wall. In addition, a damage of over -1,000 points appeared above the Rare Lords head. Crap! Blackie shouted in surprise. A monster as tall as a two-story building had been thrown into the stone pillar with just one hit. The watching team was stupefied. However, Shi Feng was not done. Moving his feet, he instantly appeared before the Crimson Shadow Wolf. Although the Rare Lord tried to retaliate, Shi Feng immediately launched a series of attacks striking at its four limbs, breaking them. Unsatisfied, Shi Feng continued to wield his two swords, sending a storm of blades at the Crimson Shadow Wolf. Shi Fengs every attack inflicted over -2,800 damage on the Crimson Shadow Wolf, whereas a double critical hit dealt over -5,700 damage, and a triple critical hit dealt over -8,500 damage, rapidly obliterating the Rare Lords HP. Shi Fengs Strength had suppressed the Crimson Shadow Wolf, rendering it helpless. From beginning to end, the Rare Lord remained pinned to the stone pillar, never falling from its high position. However, this was only the beginning. Shi Feng then began to use his skills. Chop! Three swords of light converged at a single point, striking the Crimson Shadow Wolf. -4,310, -6,440, -6,460. Although Shi Fengs damage was lower than his previous use of Chop, this attack had not achieved a critical hit. After Chop, Shi Feng followed up with Phantom Kill. Shi Fengs doppelganger possessed 70% of his Attributes. Even so, it was still extremely powerful, and each of his attacks dealt close to -2,000 damage. Following which, Shi Feng activated Nine Dragons Slash. Twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms devoured the Crimson Shadow Wolf, each phantom dealing over -1,000 damage. However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied. Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger then used Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter, Wind Blade, Thunder Flame Explosion, and every other damaging skill they possessed Watching the battle unfold from a distance, Aqua Rose and the others were dumbfounded. They had even forgotten to help Shi Feng attack. How was this still a battle against a Level 28 Rare Lord? Shi Feng was practically bullying a weak, little monster. The pitiful Crimson Shadow Wolf could do nothing but howl with pain. It could not even move its four limbs, as Shi Feng would immediately follow up with a slash the moment it tried. The Crimson Shadow Wolfs remaining 300,000 HP could not withstand Shi Fengs brutal assault. Shi Feng only needed 10 seconds to eliminate the Rare Lords remaining 300,000 HP. Soon, Shi Feng abruptly stopped his frenzied assault. The Crimson Shadow Wolf also stopped its tragic howling. At this moment, its blood-red eyes revealed its fear and shock as it stared at Shi Feng. As the Crimson Shadow Wolf slowly tumbled from the cracked stone pillar Shi Feng revealed a calm smile as he activated Divine Providence, his Luck instantly increasing by 20 points. Die! Shi Feng then used his sure-kill skill, Flame Burst. Both the Abyssal Blade and Purgatorys Shadow suddenly released a blazing, white glow, transforming into streaks of light that struck the Crimson Shadow Wolfs body. -21,415, -43,024, -21,389, -21,425 Instantly, the Crimson Shadow Wolfs remaining HP fell to zero. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs attacks had left multiple scorch marks on the stone pillar behind the Rare Lord. When the Crimson Shadow Wolf died, perhaps due to Shi Fengs 25 points in Luck, the Rare Lord dropped close to 20 items, scattering them across the ground. Rare Lords dropped the same quality of items as a High Lord, maybe better, which was why players in Gods Domain loved to hunt them. However, as the name suggested, Rare Lords were extremely difficult to find. Upon seeing the dropped items of the Crimson Shadow Wolf, Shi Feng heaved a deep sigh of relief as he sheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow. Originally, Shi Feng had not intended to use Blade Liberation. The first reason was that the skill possessed a detrimental side-effect and a long Cooldown. The second reason was that the skill duration was too short, lasting only 20 seconds. If Shi Feng could not finish off his enemy within that time, it would be game over. The third reason was that, after killing the Crimson Shadow Wolf, he did not know if another enemy would appear. If he saved Blade Liberation, he could still use the skill should the need arise. However, after seeing the Crimson Shadow Wolfs transformation, Shi Feng knew that he had no chance against it if he relied on Heavenly Dragons Power. If he could not defeat the Crimson Shadow Wolf, he wouldnt have to worry about monsters appearing after it. When Shi Feng looked down at the Crimson Shadow Wolfs corpse on the ground, he was overcome with emotion. A twofold berserk was simply too powerful! If it had lasted slightly longer, he could definitely solo a Lord. He might even be able to challenge a High Lord. Guild Leader, just what is that berserk skill of yours? It was amazing! You killed berserk Lord by yourself! How are people like us even supposed to play the game with any dignity now? Blackie joked as he walked up to Shi Feng. If we release the video of this battle, no one will believe it is real. Of course. Slamming a berserk Lord into the wall with a single hit...who would believe that something like that is possible? Everyone nodded in agreement. They were immensely excited. It was obvious that Shi Feng had used a berserk skill. Only, this berserk skill was too frightening, and not even a berserk Rare Lord stood a chance against him. Originally, no one had paid any attention to berserk skills. However, they had never expected that such a skill could play such a significant role during a crucial moment. At this moment, a yearning for berserk skills grew in everyones hearts. They all swore to gain one for themselves after returning. Alright, lets hurry up and collect the loot. We dont know what kind of danger awaits us, Shi Feng laughed. While everyone collected the loot, Blade Liberations duration ended. Suddenly, like a deflated balloon, Shi Fengs body shrunk. His Attributes fell by 80% as well. Whats going on? Shi Feng was surprised when he saw the duration of the Weakened debuff. Originally, the Weakened state imposed by Blade Liberation only lasted for three minutes. Now, however, the debuff would last for three whole hours 440 Truefire Blade Shi Fengs sudden change immediately attracted everyones attention. Guild Leader, why do you seem smaller? Even your aura has diminished significantly. With her refined observation skills, Fire Dance instantly noticed Shi Fengs transformation. The rest of the team was also curious. When they took a look at Shi Fengs HP bar, they were suddenly very afraid. Shi Feng, who had originally possessed over 8,400 HP, now had a maximum HP of 1,700. He could not even compare to a Level 20 ordinary player right now. Its nothing, just the Weakened debuff I got after going berserk. Many Lord ranked monsters deal with the same thing. Ill be fine after some time has passed, Shi Feng laughed. Giving it some thought, everyone understood the logic behind the mechanics. A skill that could render a Rare Lord helpless If there were no side effects to it, it would be far too overpowered. Following which, everyone finished collecting the loot scattered across the ground. The thousand-plus Wolfman Warriors before had dropped a ton of items. Although it was only the loot of Elite monsters, the quantity was more valuable than even the loot from a Lord. Meanwhile, Shi Feng stored the loot the Crimson Shadow Wolf had dropped. As for Weakened states extension to three hours, Shi Feng had some idea of why this had occurred. Dragons Power significantly increased ones Attributes. Coupled with Blade Liberations Swords Power, his body could not bear the fusion of the two buffs, which resulted in his extended Weakened state. It seems that twofold berserk should only be used as a last resort in the future. Shi Feng could only smile bitterly at his three-hour Weakened state. If nothing special happened during these three hours, all would be fine. However, he did not know what sort of trouble they would encounter as they moved on. With his Attributes reduced by 80%, even if his original Attributes were overwhelming, he would not be a match for an ordinary player. If they encountered danger, he could only helplessly watch from the sidelines. Fortunately, they were safe for now. Guild Leader, the monsters here are stingier than the monsters outside. The Wolfman Warriors rarely drop weapons or equipment. Moreover, the majority of the items are Common rank with a small amount of Bronze Equipment. Blackie was already used to grinding Lord ranked monsters. Now, he could only feel contempt when he saw the loot of Elite monsters. Its actually quite good. Previously, I had never carried more than one Gold Coin. Now, I pick up more than two Gold. There are also 37 pieces of Level 25 Bronze Equipment and over a hundred Common items. If we sell them, each item could fetch at least six or seven Silver Coins; 100 pieces is worth six or seven Gold Coins. This was the first time Flying Shadow had joined Shi Fengs party on an excursion. When he saw that the money inside his bag had exceeded three Gold, he was elated. If he grinded monsters outside of White Fog Canyon, at most he would obtain a little EXP. Very rarely would the monsters drop weapons or equipment. Even if they did, 95% of the time the items would be Common ranked. Guild Leader, what did that Crimson Shadow Wolf drop? Let us have a look! Aqua Rose held little interest in the loot of the Wolfman Warriors. At this point, she was only interested in the loot from Lords. Not bad. We have a total of twelve weapons and pieces of equipment, one Intermediate Strength Potion Recipe, and the rest are materials. Shi Feng had just finished appraising the drops. Smiling, he said, Among the twelve weapons and equipment, five are Dark-Gold rank, three of which are weapons, one is cloth armor, and one is leather armor. The remaining seven items are all Fine-Gold rank. Have a look for yourselves. Saying so, Shi Feng displayed the data of all the dropped weapons and equipment. Damn! This Rare Lord is awesome! It even dropped such top-tier weapons! Blackie immediately grew excited upon seeing dropped items information. Guild Leader, are you blessed by god? Even such weapons managed to drop! Flying Shadows eyes bulged upon seeing the weapons. Of the three Dark-Gold Weapons, one was a two-handed battle axe, and two were short swords. Unlike the battle axe, which had a silvery-gray color, the two short swords were blood-red. There was even a spark circulating the blades of each sword, the spark resembling a fairy of fire. [Truefire Blade] (Short Sword [Main-hand], Dark-Gold Rank) Level 25 - Level 30 Attack Power +376 (Level 25) Strength +29, Agility +36, Endurance +20 Attack Speed +3 Ignore Levels +5 25% chance to deal double damage. 15% chance to awaken Flame state, ignoring all defensive and block skills, causing 220% damage. Set effect: When both main and sub Truefire Blades are equipped, damage increased by 15%. Obtain Truefire Dance skill. Strength increased by 30%, Agility increased by 40%, Attack Speed increased by 60%, and damage received increased by 20% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. [Truefire Blade] (Short Sword [Sub-hand], Dark-Gold Rank) Level 25 - Level 30 Attack Power +352 (Level 25) Strength +25, Agility +40, Endurance +21 Attack Speed +3 Ignore Levels +5 When attacking, 20% chance to activate Swift state, increasing users Attack Speed by 30% for 6 seconds. 10% chance to activate Flame Guard, absorbing 1,000 damage. Set effect: When both main and sub Truefire Blades are equipped, damage increased by 15%. Obtain Truefire Dance skill. Strength increased by 30%, Agility increased by 40%, Attack Speed increased by 60%, and damage received increased by 20% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Level 25 weapons were extremely rare in Gods Domain currently. Equipping a Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon was already incredibly impressive. Meanwhile, the Truefire Blades were both Dark-Gold rank, and they were a set. In Gods Domain, sets of weapons or equipment were usually half a rank higher than their stated rank. As a Dark-Gold Set Weapon, the Truefire Blades were the best quality weapons below Epic rank. Moreover, the set effect of the Truefire Blades was intensely powerful; they did not seem the slightest bit inferior to Epic Weapons. The short swords only had somewhat weaker Basic Attributes. Although Swordsmen, Rangers, and Assassins can use the Truefire Blades, these short swords are most suited for Assassins. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, the two of you will Roll for them, then. In truth, even Shi Feng was surprised that the Crimson Shadow Wolf had dropped such top-tier short swords. One was lucky if even one Truefire Blade dropped. Now, the Rare Lord had dropped both of the set weapons Sure enough, the 25 points of Luck was incredible! After Shi Feng said so, Flying Shadow shook his head, saying, Guild Leader, forget about me. Let Sister Fire Dance have the Truefire Blades. Although the Truefire Blades were very attractive, he knew that he was not worthy of them. Moreover, he had done almost nothing during the battle with the Crimson Shadow Wolf. Such weapons were only suited to the number one Assassin of Zero Wing. Only in Fire Dance could wield these weapons to their full potential. The party had killed the Crimson Shadow Wolf, resulting in these items dropping. If more than one player can use them, we will Roll. Dont be shy. Theyre just Dark-Gold Weapons, Shi Feng laughed, having long since understood Flying Shadows personality. There is also a leather armor shirt among the Dark-Gold Equipment. The winner gets the weapons, while the loser gets the shirt. Guild Leader has already told us to Roll. Lets just do it, Fire Dance said as she chose to Roll. After a moment of hesitation, Flying Shadow decided to Roll as well. In the end, Fire Dance rolled a 91, while Flying Shadow rolled an 86. The system automatically distributed the Truefire Blades to Fire Dance, whereas the Level 25 Dark-Gold ranked leather shirt went to Flying Shadow. After equipping the Truefire Blades, Fire Dances combat power abruptly soared. Moreover, the streams of light on the Truefire Blades further enhanced her beauty. At this moment, Fire Dance looked like an elf standing in fire. Blackie successfully Rolled for the Level 25 Dark-Gold cloth armor, while Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud both obtained a piece of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. Shi Feng gained two pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold plate armor. One was a pair of gauntlets, while the other was a set of leg guards. Now, the majority of his equipment consisted of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. After happily distributing the equipment, everyone returned to their search for the exit. Time passed quickly, and unknowingly, Shi Fengs party had made a full circle around the Land of the Fallen Star. Although they had not encountered a single monster, they had mined plenty of Starfire Ore, over a thousand pieces in total. Just as Shi Feng began to grumble about the exits mysterious location, the system suddenly announced an emergency notification. Before Shi Feng could react, he was thrown out of Gods Domain. Moreover, Shi Feng had not been the only one; Aqua Rose and the others had also been expelled from the game. 441 Second Evolution When the system had expelled the Zero Wing party from Gods Domain, Shi Feng had been automatically sent into his Sleep Space. He had not completely logged out and could still browse the internet. He could also communicate with his friends. Calling out his system friends list, Shi Feng discovered that every one of his friends was in a Leave state, not in Gods Domain. They were all in their respective Sleep Spaces. Nobodys on Gods Domain? Whats going on here? Shi Feng was puzzled, as this was the first time he had encountered something like this. He had been kicked out of the game before he had a chance to read the emergency notification. Now, he couldnt log into Gods Domain and could not contact anyone to ask about the previous notification. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and the others, hoping to gather some information. Unfortunately, Aqua Rose and the others were in a similar situation; the system had logged them out of the game upon receiving the notification as well. I guess I can only check the official forums, Shi Feng sighed. Normally, crucial information was not available on the official forums. However, something big must have happened in Gods Domain if they had been forcefully expelled from the game. Sure enough, after logging into the official forums, he discovered that everyone was having a heated discussion over their expulsion. For some reason, however, everyone else had received their notification two hours ago, whereas Shi Fengs party had only received theirs a few seconds before the Main God System started logging players out of the game. Two hours ago? Wasnt that around the time I killed the Crimson Shadow Wolf? Shi Feng calculated the time, and it matched almost perfectly. Did killing the Shadow Wolf cause the Main God System to start the second evolution of Gods Domain? Giving it some thought, Shi Feng felt that it was highly possible. Previously, when his party had entered into the Land of the Fallen Star, they just happened to activate the Free Combat System. It was likely that the Main God System had used their party as an experiment. After seeing that they had easily defeated the Rare Lord ranked Crimson Shadow Wolf, the Main God System must have decided to initiate the second evolution of Gods Domain. Considering the situation, Shi Feng really did not know how to express the emotions running through his heart. Now that Gods Domain began the process of the second system upgrade, players would have to wait until the next day to log in. Many players on the forums had expressed their frustration with the new system upgrade. After the system underwent its first upgrade, the system gave its players a true taste of combat. The overall difficulty of the game had made a massive leap, affecting adventuring, grinding, and leveling for those in Gods Domain. Yet, just a short time after the first upgrade, the second system upgrade had already begun. After this upgrade, the difficulty of the game might shock most players. This upgrade also gave Shi Feng a headache. The second evolution of Gods Domain had occurred too quickly. Based on the original timeline, it shouldnt have happened for another several months. He was not prepared for it right now. Indeed, just as he had guessed, after the second system upgrade, the Free Combat System would be introduced into the game. In future battles, the requirement of a players control over their skills would become extremely demanding, and mistakes might very well lead to friendly fire. It was especially true for AOE skills. After the second evolution of Gods Domain, rather than dying at the hands of monsters, many players would send themselves to the graveyards with their own abilities. Due to this, many players would act conservatively when fighting in groups long after the upgrade. In addition, after the second evolution, the difficulty of Dungeons had also significantly increased. However, although the second evolution had made the game more challenging and realistic, the system upgrade had also added a benefit for players. And that was the improvement to Skill Proficiency. After the second evolution, the combat style of players also undergone a major transformation. Players no longer needed to chant incantations or shout the name of their skills to use them. No, players would activate their skills with movement. Every skill possessed a standard set of movements. As long as players performed the corresponding movements, they could activate their desired skills. After the second evolution, players were no longer required to damage a monster with their skills to raise Skill Proficiency. Now, when players achieved a 50% Completion Rate with skills, they would gain 1 point to their Skill Proficiency. In addition, the awarded Skill Proficiency would increase with the percentage of their Completion Rate. That way, even if players fought monsters of the same level or two or three levels lower, they could still improve their Skill Proficiency. As players gained Skill Proficiency, their skill Levels would also grow. With high-leveled skills, players would have a much easier time killing monsters. Players would undoubtedly find it challenging to adapt to such a combat style in the beginning. After adapting to the Free Combat System, however, players would discover that the new style allowed them to display more of their combat power. However, it would not be easy for players to adapt to this realistic combat style. Normally, one had to undergo a long period of special training to familiarize themselves with their skills. If one were not up to snuff, the skills power would suffer. I need to hurry with the training center, Shi Feng sighed softly. Shortly after the second evolution of Gods Domain, the training centers and martial arts dojos, which were currently declining, would become instantly popular. Having some time, Shi Feng browsed the Gods Domain News. Other than news regarding Star-Moon Kingdom, Shi Feng also looked up information on the several surrounding kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire. None of the empires in Gods Domain were to be underestimated. The competition within an empire was far more intense than the competition in a kingdom. A kingdom such as Star-Moon only had around four or five competing first-rate Guilds at the moment. Some smaller kingdoms might only have one or two first-rate Guilds. However, empires were different. Not only did they govern massive areas, but there were also far more resident players. They also had an abundance of resources. The number of first-rate Guilds residing in an empire was not something a single kingdom could compare with. Statistically, there were at least seven first-rate Guilds in an empire. There were also many second-rate Guilds that rose to become first-rate Guilds due to the investments of major corporations. In the past, there had been a total of nine first-rate Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire. The empire was many times stronger than the neighboring Star-Moon Kingdom. In the future, if Shi Feng wanted to carve a place for himself in Gods Domain, dominating Star-Moon Kingdom would not be nearly good enough. After a casual glance at todays Gods Domain News, Shi Feng felt an immense weight on his shoulders. Zero Wing had only obtained its Guild Residence after much difficulty, yet, several first-rate Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire had already established their own Guild Residences. In terms of development speed, these Guilds were not far behind Zero Wing. Aside from these Guilds establishing their own Guild Residences, the various large Guilds had also begun purchasing prime real-estate in multiple cities. These purchases included Auction Houses, Virtual Trading Centers, Banks, High-class Restaurants, and the like. In the future, they would become a Guilds main source of income. After Gods Domain had spent a few years developing, the world had considered it a second home for mankind. Most people around the world spent close to half their days in Gods Domain. Moreover, time passed slower inside Gods Domain than in the real world. One hour in reality equaled two hours in Gods Domain. Based on the amount of time one experienced, peoples lives in Gods Domain might be even longer than their lives in the real world. In the setting of Gods Domain, NPC cities and player-established cities were different. If players lived in NPC cities, they would never have to fear becoming embroiled in the struggles between major powers. Player-established cities, on the other hand, could be destroyed. Hence, this had resulted in the real-estate in NPC cities becoming extremely valuable. Nothing was more valuable than the real-estate in NPC cities. The more Shi Feng read this information, the more he realized the necessity of earning a large number of Gold Coins. Otherwise, how could he compete with these well-funded first-rate Guilds? Inadvertently, Shi Feng had spent over half a day researching the various large Guilds in Gods Domain. Suddenly, as he exited the virtual gaming cabin, his doorbell rang. 442 New Style of Comba Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he heard his doorbell ring. He had only recently moved into this new apartment, so not many people knew where he lived. Normally, Blackie and the others would only contact him by calling, not hunting him down so early in the morning. _Who is it?_ Shi Feng wondered as he tapped his quantum watch to display the view outside his door. Taking a close look, Shi Feng jumped with fright when he saw who it was. The person currently standing outside his door was none other than the female Class Monitor, Zhao Ruoxi. She currently wore sportswear, and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She radiated a youthful aura and looked absolutely mesmerizing. Why is she here? Shi Feng recalled that Zhao Ruoxis birthday was next month. Even if she had come to deliver an invitation, wasnt it a little too early? However, since she had already arrived, Shi Feng could not pretend he wasnt home. Helpless, he quickly tidied himself up and went to the door. As soon as Shi Feng opened the door, Zhao Ruoxis almond eyes widened. With a concerned gaze, she asked, Shi Feng, did you really agree with Uncle Xiao to participate in a match? Hearing Zhao Ruoxis question, Shi Feng understood the gist of the situation. Xiao Yan and Xiao Yu were strongly connected to the Zhao family. How could the Zhaos not have heard of such a dramatic incident at the Big Dipper Training Center? Yeah, I agreed to an exhibition match. Shi Feng nodded. You really are laid back. Do you even know who your opponent is? Zhao Ruoxi sighed helplessly as she examined Shi Fengs leisurely appearance. No, I dont. However, Big Dipper will contact me about it ahead of time, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Do you even know how to be nervous? Zhao Ruoxi grumbled. Shi Fengs behavior left her speechless. A fighting competition was not a small matter. It was especially true for this match. To recover from its decline, Big Dipper has attempted to invite many well-known fighters to participate in this match. There are even martial arts masters among them. Even though Big Dipper has offered an impressive appearance fee, they all have their own itinerary; none of them have the time. Thats especially the case for the high-ranked martial arts experts. Originally, your opponent was supposed to be last years champion of Jin Hai Citys fighting competition, but Whats wrong? Shi Feng asked, suddenly curious. Shi Feng had some memory of Fang Qinghua, last years champion of Jin Hai Citys fighting tournament. The man had participated in a provincial-level competition and earned a relatively impressive rank. He had become famous throughout Jin Hai City. However, Shi Feng doubted that he would lose to Fang Qinghua. After all, there was a fundamental difference between those who knew internal force and those who did not. Furthermore, Shi Fengs current physique was better than ever. But your opponent was suddenly changed because someone had defeated Fang Qinghua. That someone is now your opponent. I heard that when he fought Fang Qinghua, Fang Qinghua was defeated with a single punch. If it had been a normal defeat, that would not have mattered. However, when that person sent out his final punch, he had used internal force. He has even expressed great interest in becoming the Head Instructor at the Big Dipper Training Center, hence why he wanted to replace Fang Qinghua in this match with you. Although Zhao Ruoxi knew Shi Feng was proficient with internal force, the opponent was similarly an internal force expert. Moreover, the other party was very powerful. If the two really fought each other, no one knew what kind of result to expect. An internal force expert, huh? Interest suddenly sparked within Shi Feng. Internal force experts were not cabbages easily found in the streets. Even after a decade, such experts were extremely hard to find. Shi Feng had only mastered internal force due to luck, and he had never fought another internal force expert in the real world. However, before this, Shi Feng had never heard of there being an internal force expert in Jin Hai City, let alone an internal force expert at the Big Dipper Training Center. In the past, there was no Head Instructor at Big Dipper. However, such a person had suddenly appeared. It was truly unexpected. _Is history changing because of my reincarnation?_ Shi Feng pondered slightly. When he thought about the changes in Gods Domain, his certainty grew. After Zhao Ruoxi lectured Shi Feng for some time, she had noticed that her classmate did not seem particularly concerned about his opponent. Hence, she intensified her lecturing, hoping to dissuade Shi Feng from participating in the competition. A match between internal force experts was no laughing matter. One mistake could lead to serious injuries and could possibly have future repercussions. Shi Feng was an internal force expert; his future prospects were boundless. There was no need to risk his life for the position of Big Dippers Head Instructor. In the end, however, Shi Feng refused Zhao Ruoxis kind suggestions. He wasnt just doing it to become Big Dippers Head Instructor. For the most part, he was doing this for Zero Wings future development. The five virtual gaming cabins and the 15 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids were too important to Zero Wing. If Zero Wing could nurture more experts, Shi Feng would not have to exhaust himself running left and right for the Guild. He could focus on his own desires. Following which, Shi Feng chatted with Zhao Ruoxi for some time. After Zhao Ruoxi left, Shi Feng started his daily training. Ever since he came into possession of a virtual gaming cabin, Shi Fengs training yielded far better results. Moreover, for reasons unknown, his mind had also become more active. If he could pair these effects with S-rank Nutrient Fluids, he might improve further in these areas. Without him realizing it, a day had passed. At 8 pm, the system upgrade of Gods Domain was completed. When Shi Feng entered Gods Domain, his virtual body felt particularly loose. His five senses had also grown sharper. Guild Leader, I cant use any of my skills, Flying Shadow exclaimed. Initially, he had intended to rush off to investigate what had changed with the system upgrade. However, he suddenly discovered that he could not use any of his skills Nothing wrong here, Blackie said as he shot a Dark Arrow at a distant stone pillar, but after his spell struck the stone pillar, Blackie frowned. Thats weird. That wasnt where I had aimed for. Everyone became flustered shortly after logging back into the game. Melee classes could not use any of their skills, whereas mages skills had weakened and become less accurate. Shi Feng did not immediately reveal the reason for this situation. Instead, he conducted a few experiments. Unsheathing the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng swung the sword, his actions resembling the movements one would use when activating Chop. Following which, a blade of light shot forward, slicing apart the stone pillar ahead of him. Just as I thought. Shi Feng was quite satisfied with his attack. He could feel his improved control over his body. As for using only movement to activate skills, he was not the slightest bit surprised by it. On the contrary, he adapted to the change smoothly. Following which, he used Earth Splitter, Thundering Flash, Thunder Flame Explosion, and most of his other skills, stupefying Aqua Rose and the other observers. Guild Leader, how did you do that? Fire Dance had already tried to use her skills many times. However, regardless of whether she shouted or chanted the name of her skills silently, nothing worked. How was an Assassin without skills supposed to kill monsters? Yeah, let us in on the secret, Guild Leader! Flying Shadow was equally anxious. Its very simple. After this evolution of Gods Domain, you no longer activate skills with speech or incantation. Now, you have to perform the proper movements to use your skills. Go ahead and give it a try. In the Skill Menu, there are clips of the movements relating to the skills. Shi Feng could not help but smile when he saw anticipation filling everyones eyes. In reality, even if he had not revealed the change, everyone would have discovered it for themselves after some time. It was especially true for the players who had frequently changed their Skill Menus. There had not originally been video tutorials to explain how to use a skill in the Skill Menu. Now, however, there were. The videos were specifically meant to serve as a standard for players, teaching them how to use their skills more efficiently. After listening to Shi Fengs explanation, everyone began their own experiments. In such a way, Shi Fengs party of six tested the new mechanics as they searched for an exit in the Land of the Fallen Star. While Shi Fengs group explored, they were unaware that players throughout Gods Domain had descended into madness. 443 Completion Rate After Gods Domains second evolution, skill use demanded far more of players. Even experts needed a relatively long period to adapt to this new system. As Shi Fengs party searched for the exit in the Land of the Fallen Star, battles against the caverns inhabitants were unavoidable. Fortunately, Shi Feng did not have to endure this adaptation process like everyone else. Activating most of his skills was second nature to him. He had no problems dealing with a few Elites and Special Elites. As for Aqua Rose and the others, they used these monsters to practice. It was especially true for melee classes like Fire Dance and Flying Shadow. Currently, they each faced a Level 27 Elite ranked Wolfman Warrior, both of them activating their skills continuously as they fought. Fire Dance brandished the Truefire Blades, drawing a red arc that cut across the Wolfman Warriors body. A flower of blood bloomed, and immediately, a damage of -2,749 appeared above the Elite monsters head. However, to the Wolfman Warrior, which possessed 42,000 HP, this damage was nothing. System: Eviscerate Completion Rate 56%, resulting in 69% of skills effect. Skill Proficiency +1. Glancing at the Combat Notification Window, Fire Dance frowned, feeling unsatisfied with her Completion Rate. The Wolfman Warrior bellowed angrily. Lifting its war hammer, it slammed the weapon down on the Assassin before it. Turning her feet slightly, Fire Dance easily evaded the war hammer. Reversing the grip on one of the Truefire Blades, she spun around and shoved the blade into the Wolfman Warriors back, her movements as smooth as flowing water. Backstab! -2,523 Ao! the Wolfman Warrior howled with pain. System: Backstab Completion Rate 69%, resulting in 83% of skills effect. Skill Proficiency +2. Fire Dance was far more proficient with Backstabs movements than she was with Eviscerates, the Completion Rate of the skill reaching a whole new level. However, Fire Dance was still unsatisfied. If this were the past, even without weapons such as the Truefire Blades, she could easily dish out such high damage. After practicing a few times on the Wolfman Warriors, Fire Dance understood how difficult it would be to adapt to the new combat system. There were simply too many variables. The might of a players skill depended on the players Completion Rate. It was nothing like the previous system, where players could display 100% of the skills effect with every use. Now, however, that was not possible If one did not perform the skills movements appropriately, the damage would be negligible. Moreover, it was even more difficult to move successfully during battle. Overall, combat was now three times as difficult as it had been. Fire Dance had previously been able to solo one or two Special Elites, and she even considered challenging a Chieftain. Now, however, a Special Elite was too strong for her, much less a Chieftain. Elsewhere, Flying Shadow was also sporting a serious frown. The more he fought, the more frustrated he became. After some effort, Fire Dance had managed to raise her Completion Rate past 50%. Her Backstab had even reached a 70% Completion Rate. Flying Shadow, on the other hand, could only achieve 50% with Backstab, one of the simplest skills he possessed, and he had just barely earned the one Skill Proficiency point for the skill. As for his other skills, their Completion Rates were all below 50%. Compared to Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, after spending some time practicing, the mages of the party could achieve relatively high Completion Rates. They had all reached 60% or higher with their skills. However, this was because the two had different methods of activation. When mages used a skill, they chanted incantations and traced runes. Some skills only needed a few hand gestures and simple incantations, so they were relatively easy to cast. Only, their current casting time was much longer than it had been. It was especially true for advanced spells. While everyone practiced their skills, Shi Feng, who stood ahead of the party, conducted a massacre. Faced with dozens of Wolfman Warriors, Shi Feng dashed forward and activated Thundering Flash. One arc Two arcs Three arcs A total of five arcs of blue lightning tore through the Elite monsters, a series of frightening damages appearing above their heads. -2,060, -2,706, -3,521, -4,543, -6,020 Instantly, the dozens of Wolfman Warriors lost close to half their HP. Some that had received critical hits fell to critical lows. In addition, due to the Damage Amplification debuff of Thundering Flash, they would receive an additional 30% damage from future attacks. And yet, the damages were nothing compared to Thundering Flashs Completion Rate. System: Thundering Flash Completion Rate 83%, resulting in 97% of skills effect. Skill Proficiency +3. Immediately after his attack, Shi Feng leaped into the air. As he raised the Abyssal Blade high, the power of lightning and fire emerged from the sword. He then slammed the weapon down towards the gathering of Wolfman Warriors. _Boom!_ All of the Warriors within an area of 10*10 yards fell into a Fainted state instantly and received over -7,000 damage. Those that had received a critical hit suffered over -14,000 damage. The Wolfman Warriors with low HPs crumbled. System: Thunder Flame Explosion Completion Rate 74%, resulting in 89% of skills effect. Skill Proficiency +2. The moment Shi Feng landed, he followed up with Chop, striking three Wolfman Warriors and dealing over -2,800 damage to each. System: Chop Completion Rate 85%, resulting in 100% of skills effect. Skill Proficiency +3. In just a moment, Shi Feng had exterminated dozens of Wolfmen. Standing at a distance, Aqua Rose and the others were tongue-tied after watching Shi Fengs battle. Every member of the party had personally experienced how difficult it was to achieve a high Skill Completion Rate. However, when they saw Shi Fengs success, they felt nothing but shock. As for Shi Fengs feat of killing dozens of Wolfman Warriors, none of them really had anything to say about it. The Wolfman Warriors were merely Elite monsters. Everyone present could easily destroy them. Although they had trouble using their skills, their basic attacks were still very powerful thanks to their equipment. Dealing with these Elites was only a matter of time. The reason for their shock was Shi Fengs ability to reach a Completion Rate above 80%, yet after training arduously for the past four hours or so, they had only achieved above 50%. Moreover, even when using Thunder Flame Explosion, the skill Shi Feng was least proficient with, he could perform a Completion Rate above 70% However, this was still not the most noteworthy aspect. Shi Fengs casual use and chaining of his skills were what impressed them the most. How could they not be shocked? Guild Leader, cant you just teach us how we can improve our Skill Completion Rates? Aqua Rose envied and admired Shi Fengs super-high Completion Rate. Thats right! Its not like were demanding much! I will be satisfied if I can reach a 70% Completion Rate! Blackies Completion Rate had given him a headache. In the beginning, their Completion Rates had improved relatively quickly. Within half an hour, they had managed to achieve 50%. However, it had taken them over three hours to rise from 50% to 60%. Moreover, it only became more challenging to raise their Completion Rates the higher they went. By now, their Completion Rates had basically plateaued At around 60%, they could only display roughly 60% to 70% of their skills potential. If they could stabilize their Completion Rates at 70%, they could almost display their previous strength. Only when a skill achieved an 85% Completion Rate could it manifest 100% of its effects. If the Completion Rate could rise past 85%, then the skills effect would exceed 100%. If they could raise the Completion Rate of all of their skills past 85%, the combat power would surpass their previous selves. Everyone eagerly looked forward to such a day. Unfortunately, they had no idea how to overcome the challenge of the new system. Do you guys really wish to know how to improve your Completion Rates quickly? Shi Feng asked after tidying up the loot. He could not help but laugh as he looked towards his party members. 444 Path of an Exper Aqua Rose and the rest of the Zero Wing party nodded passionately in response to Shi Fengs question. If they could quickly raise their Skill Completion Rates, their strength would also rise to the next level. Naturally, this was the goal. Its really simple, actually. Think more; train more, Shi Feng said frankly. Think more; train more? The team rolled their eyes at their Guild Leader. They had been doing exactly that all this time. However, they had almost reached their limit. Thats right. Think more; train more. Theres no other way. In Gods Domain, every skill movement has its own purpose. First, figure out why such movements are required, then carry them out. You guys have been trying to draw a tiger by looking at a cat. You cannot improve if all youre doing is mimicking the tutorial videos. Shi Feng was aware of the enthusiasm filling his companions hearts. However, one could not become more proficient overnight. After the second evolution of Gods Domain, players would experience a slump for a relatively long period. Experts were no exception. Many players struggled with the sudden weakness, falling from glory. However, it was precisely because of Gods Domains second evolution that the difference between ordinary players and experts had become more distinct. Previously, a players strength relied on their equipment and techniques. After the second evolution, however, a players strength mainly relied on their Skill Completion Rates. With this new system, one could immediately tell whether a player was a dragon or a worm. Ordinary players Skill Completion Rates usually ranged between 50% and 60%, and players at this standard were considered beginners. Players with 61% to 70% Completion Rates were elites. Meanwhile, those who achieved 71% to 80% were experts, and 80% to 90% was the domain of top-tier experts. Players who could reach Completion Rates above 90% were as rare as a phoenixs feather. In the past, Shi Fengs best record had been 87%. Although he was only 3% away from surpassing a top-tier expert, it was the difference between heaven and earth. The fact that Fire Dance and the others could achieve such results with just a few hours of practice was already impressive. After the second evolution of Gods Domain, many players had not dared to solo monsters. Many players had spent several days practicing their skills just to reach a 50% Completion Rate. Only players who had achieved a 50% Skill Completion Rate were strong enough to solo. Otherwise, with inadequate Completion Rates, their damage was negligible. In addition, a majority of the players in Gods Domain relied on their skills to kill monsters. Hence, without sufficient Completion Rates, players would only find death if they grinded alone. Contemplate the importance of the required movements? Fire Dance pondered. Must I do that to manifest the techniques of the skill? Fire Dance recalled her previous uses of Backstab in battle. In the past, she would always think of ways to strike her opponent from behind, never considering how she could use Backstab more efficiently. However, in the tutorial video of Backstab, the player would first dodge the opponents attack, reverse the grip on his weapon, then circle behind the opponent with a spin and stab his weapon into his opponents back. The entire process was smooth and efficient, and was much faster, more vicious, and more difficult to dodge than her previous attack method. Thinking up to this point, Fire Dance searched impatiently for another Wolfman Warrior to experiment on. This time, however, Fire Dance did not enter Stealth. Instead, she waltzed up to the Elite monster. When the Wolfman Warrior noticed Fire Dance, it howled and slashed its greatsword at the Assassin. Fire Dance did not immediately try to dodge the oncoming attack. Instead, she waited until the Wolfman Warriors greatsword reached its maximum speed before moving. Fire Dance took a step forward before sidestepping, dodging the greatsword at the last possible moment. Reversing her grip on the Truefire Blade, she then spun and shoved the blade into the Wolfman Warriors back. Due to her bodys rotational power, the radiant swords speed had increased. Even Shi Feng could not avoid such a fast attack, much less the Wolfman Warrior. _Hua!_ The Truefire Blade pierced the Wolfman Warriors back, a damage of -2,736 appearing above its head. System: Backstab Completion Rate 76%, resulting in 90% of skills effect. Skill Proficiency +2. Fire Dances eyes shone upon seeing this system notification. As if she had found a path through the darkness, her confidence suddenly skyrocketed. Hence, she continued practicing Backstab on the Wolfman Warrior. When the skills Cooldown finished, she would begin again. In the end, the poor Wolfman Warrior died after Fire Dance toyed with it for five minutes Sister Fire Dance is amazing! That last one even reached 78%! Flying Shadows admiration intensified when he saw the final Backstab Fire Dance had used on the Wolfman Warrior. After watching Fire Dances performance, as if realization had dawned upon them, everyone hunted down their own targets to practice with. Meanwhile, Shi Feng continued to search for the exit in silence, not bothering to comment. Excessive guidance would lead to Fire Dance and the others to believe that his way was the only way. However, everyone had their own paths and unique fighting habits. Different habits and body types would lead to different skill techniques. If they followed him blindly, although they could improve massively in a short time, it would be detrimental to their future development. Thus, he wanted them to figure things out for themselves. In the past, Shi Feng had tried mimicking other experts, copying their every move in the hopes of improving his technique. Unfortunately, nobody had warned him about his actions downsides. Although his strength had soared in a short time, in the end, he had been stuck as a top-tier expert. No matter what he did, he could not overcome that final hurdle. In the past, he had never been able to use Void Steps. However, after reincarnating, Shi Feng discovered that only the path that suited him most was the best path. He was not other people, so how could he achieve any results if he followed a path meant for someone else? In the end, this revelation had allowed him to master Void Steps in this life, becoming significantly stronger. However, learning Void Steps was nothing more than the first step away from mimicry. He still had a long way to go and many aspects to explore before he could forge his own way. For a time, the Land of the Fallen Star became a testing ground for Shi Feng and his party members. Without realizing it, they had spent over seven hours in the Land of the Fallen Star, and during this period, they had killed numerous Level 27 Elite ranked Wolfman Warriors. Everyones Skill Completion Rates had constantly improved during this time. Although they could not consistently achieve 70%, they could still manage above 60%. The party had also mined over 1,300 pieces of Starfire Ore, their mining far more efficient than when they were outside this crystal cavern. Now, they had accumulated over 20,000 pieces of Starfire Ore. Such a large stock of Starfire Ore was worth over 200 Gold. Once Shi Feng refined the ore into Starfire Essence using the Philosophers Stone, the total value would be over 800 Gold. Even for first-rate Guilds, 800 Gold was a massive sum of money. If they obtained several hundred more Gold, they could purchase relatively valuable real-estate. If used for forging, the value of the Starfire Essences would rise by several folds. The thought alone excited Shi Feng. Guild Leader, Ive discovered a hidden door, Fire Dance suddenly reported. 445 Golden Stone Table Silver flames engulfed a stone pillar. Everything within 10 yards of this flame had been incinerated, transformed into a field of white ash. Guild Leader, the hidden door is inside this flame, Fire Dance said as she pointed towards the silver fire. Just before Shi Feng moved closer to have a better look, Fire Dance held him back, saying, Guild Leader, be careful. The silver fire is extremely hot. When I stepped into that scorched region, I immediately lost 2,000 HP. Such high flame damage? Although Shi Feng could tell that the silver flame was something extraordinary, he had not expected it to be so powerful. If it could deal -2,000 damage to players every second, he would take significant damage even with his 70 points in Fire Resistance. Even he would die if he occupied the region too long. Violet, heal me. Ill go in and take a closer look. After giving the order, Shi Feng entered the silver flames effective area. Suddenly, a damage close to -500 points appeared above Shi Fengs head. _Hot._ Shi Feng felt as if he had dipped his feet into a hot spring the moment his boots touched the gray-white land. He was even wearing the Flame Boots, which lowered the temperature his feet felt. If he had equipped some other shoes, he would probably have had to skip and hop constantly while inside this scorched region. Following which, Shi Feng approached the burning stone pillar. The closer he got to the stone pillar, the higher the temperature became. Similarly, the damage he received also increased. When Shi Feng was roughly two yards from the pillar, he lost over 1,000 HP every second. Even though Shi Feng had long since recovered from his Weakened state, his HP returning to over 8,400, he would only last 9 seconds at most. Fortunately, he had a powerful healer, Violet Cloud, supporting him. After Violet Cloud cast a Sacred Shield on him, he could just barely cope with the high DoT. _Sure enough, theres a hidden door here._ Shi Feng noticed that there was a tightly shut door on the burning stone pillar. There was also a blue chain not far from the door. Shi Feng grabbed the blue chain, searching for a connection with the door. However, the instant he touched the chain, Shi Feng suddenly felt a chill wash over him. The fire damage he received suddenly reduced from over -1,000 damage to just around -600 damage. _This chain really is special. I wonder what it is made of? It could be useful if I could find a way to take it._ Shi Feng examined the blue chain, sorely tempted. If he could claim this chain, raiding flame-type Dungeons or facing fire-type Bosses would become much easier. Just holding the chain increased his Fire Resistance by at least 40 to 50 points. It was even more impressive than an Intermediate Fire Resistance Potion. Moreover, the latter only had a duration of 1 hour, whereas one only needed to hold the former to gain the buff. Just how much money could he save on Fire Resistance Potions? As Shi Feng pulled the blue chain, the stone door in the middle of the massive pillar opened slowly. A dark passage with zero visibility lay beyond the threshold. After the stone door opened, the silver flames diminished gradually until they had been extinguished. Shortly after, the scorched earth also began to cool, allowing players to transverse through the region freely. Guild Leader, youre amazing! Your Fire Resistance is so high! No one else could reach and open the door, even if they knew about it, Blackie laughed. Although they had obtained a bounty from this Land of the Fallen Star, it would mean nothing if they could not find their way out. Lets go. Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow as he crossed the threshold cautiously. The passage beyond the stone door was cramped, and engravings of ancient texts and drawings decorated the walls on either side. From the looks of them, these texts and drawings seem to originate from an ancient era, and not even Shi Feng, someone who was very familiar with Gods Domain, recognized them. The passage allowed, at most, three people to walk abreast, so it would be extremely challenging to coordinate their attacks. Fortunately, the party did not encounter a single monster along their entire journey. After wandering down the passage for over half an hour, the party arrived at a towering altar. Massive statues of wolf-headed men guarded each side of the altar, and the silver flame dancing on the altar was the same flame Shi Feng and the others had seen outside the stone door. A short distance to the right of the altar, there was a teleportation magic array. A stone tablet emitting a golden glow sat to the left of the altar. Divine runes and drawings covered the tablet, and one could tell with a glance that the tablet was something extraordinary. As the team walked up to the altar, they suddenly felt an extraordinary pressure weighing down on them. It felt as if someone pummeled them repeatedly with a sledgehammer. Guild Leader, look over there Blackie said as he pointed at the space above the altar, goosebumps covering his skin. Everyone shifted their gaze to where Blackie pointed. A figure hovered above the altar, but due to the poor lighting around the altar, they could not see it clearly. However, they could feel an intense threat of death emanating from this figure. Shi Feng could not get a clear view of that figure, either. However, he could feel this figure looking down at them. Shi Feng then activated Omniscient Eyes and observed the figure. The results were shocking. [Anubiss Gatekeeper] (Great Lord) Level 30 HP 10,000,000/10,000,000 Great Lord? Shi Feng muttered. Others might not realize how powerful a Great Lord was in Gods Domain, but Shi Feng knew full well what one was capable of. Their party of six would not even be enough to fill the gaps between this Gatekeepers teeth. It was especially true for such Field Great Lords. Although their HPs were far lower than Great Lords in Dungeons, Field Great Lords were more powerful. Even a team of several thousand Level 30 players would be no more than cannon fodder before this Gatekeeper. He wont attack us, right? Aqua Rose asked, feeling somewhat nervous as she watched Anubiss Gatekeeper. Aqua Rose wasnt the only one nervous. Even Shi Feng struggled to keep his cool. Hopefully not, Shi Feng said uncertainty. However, since he hasnt moved since weve arrived, lets not take any risks. If Anubiss Gatekeeper took the initiative to attack, even Shi Feng would be helpless against it. They could only try to escape. They would only throw away their lives if they tried to confront it. Attempting to find some trick against it would also be suicidal. Powerhouses such as Great Lords wouldnt afford players such a chance. According to the tiers of Gods Domain, a Great Lord was the equivalent of a Tier 3 class. A Tier 3 class was as powerful as the city lord of an ordinary city. After Shi Feng and the others silently examined the area, they faintly understood their situation. That Gatekeeper should be a monster tasked with guarding the golden stone tablet. So long as we dont touch that thing, the Gatekeeper wont attack us. Shi Feng had experimented with the Gatekeeper. When he approached the golden stone tablet, the Gatekeepers killing intent would intensify. As for the teleportation array on the other side, the Gatekeeper had not reacted when he had approached it. Aqua, you guys activate the teleportation array. After some thought, Shi Feng said, Ill grab that tablet. Guild Leader, thats a Great Lord! Fire Dance said, horrified. Although none of them had ever seen a Great Lord in action, they could tell that, compared to this Great Lord, the Crimson Shadow Wolf they had previously faced was a joke. If Shi Feng really tried to steal the golden stone tablet, he might die in an instant. 446 Silver Flame Everyone promptly agreed with Fire Dances opposition. They acknowledged that Shi Feng possessed frightening combat power. He was so powerful that he even suppressed the Rare Lord ranked Crimson Shadow Wolf in a direct confrontation. They, too, had previously thought Shi Feng might be able to oppress even a Great Lord by force, and that by the time they arrived at the Ruined Shrine in White Fog Canyons core, they would have a chance of defeating the Level 25 Great Lord there. After all, a Great Lords loot was simply too tempting. It was especially true for a Level 25 Great Lord, as the Level 25 equipment it dropped was precisely what the core strength of the various Guilds needed right now. If they could obtain an Epic item, both the Guilds strength and morale would improve significantly. However, now that they stood before Anubiss Gatekeeper, they suddenly felt very tiny. A Great Lord and a High Lord were from different worlds entirely. Escaping a Great Lords wrath would be a miracle, much less defeating it. Admittedly, a treasure hidden behind a Great Lord would be precious. However, if Shi Feng tried to snatch the golden stone tablet, there was more than a 99% chance that he would be throwing his life away. This was simply not a worthwhile tradeoff. Moreover, heavens knew if the teleportation array would still work after Shi Feng stole the stone tablet. On the off chance that it didnt work, they would all die here Guild Leader, why dont we come back after weve grown stronger. Its not worth risking your life for an unknown treasure, Aqua Rose advised. You guys leave first. Ill try it by myself. If it really isnt possible, then well come back in the future, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Although what Aqua Rose had said was logical, none of them knew the significance of the golden stone tablet under a Great Lords protection. In his decade of adventuring in Gods Domain, the treasures he encountered that had been guarded by Great Lords were at least Epic rank. Obtaining an Epic item was definitely worth dying once. If he came back for it in the future, there was a possibility of someone else claiming the golden stone tablet. After all, the Land of the Fallen Star was not particularly hidden. When everyone heard Shi Fengs determination, they had no choice but to obediently head towards the teleportation array and prepare to leave the Land of the Fallen Star. However, just as Aqua Rose was about to activate the teleportation array, her hands suddenly froze as cold sweat began to drip down her forehead. Even the others at the teleportation array with her wore grim expressions. It was as if they were preparing to welcome a great enemy. That cold and intense killing intent felt like they had been dunked in ice-cold water, and they suddenly struggled to breathe. Guild Leader, if we activate the teleportation array, the Gatekeeper will attack, Fire Dance whispered as she glanced at Anubiss Gatekeeper hovering in the air. We really have no options, Shi Feng laughed bitterly. He currently had Omniscient Eyes active, so he felt the Gatekeepers chilling gaze as well. As soon as Aqua Rose activated the teleportation array, Anubiss Gatekeeper would strike. It usually took close to 20 seconds to activate a teleportation array. If the person activating the array moved during this period, it would automatically shut down. Twenty seconds. That was enough time for a Level 30 Great Lord to kill hundreds of players, much less a measly party of six. As this place was unique, they could not use Return Scrolls to leave, either. In other words, if they wanted to leave, they needed to survive the Gatekeeper for 20 seconds. Either that, or they could level here until they died or simply die now and lose some EXP, Skill Proficiency, and a piece of equipment. If they did not wish to lose any equipment, they could remove everything they currently wore. That way, none of their equipment would drop. At worst, there was an extremely small chance of an item dropping from their bags. It looks like I can only give it a try! No matter how Shi Feng considered the situation, he could not think of a decent solution. He was also unable to utilize the terrain to his advantage. Although the passage they came from was narrow, Anubiss Gatekeeper wasnt so large that it could not follow him. Now, the only way the team could leave safely was if he lured the Gatekeeper away. Otherwise, with the strength of a Great Lord and his extremely wide splash range, no one would survive. Fire Dance, get ready to activate the teleportation array. If the Great Lords splash damage affects you, use Vanish or Wind Steps to block it. As long as you do not move, the teleportation array will not shut down. Ill kite the Gatekeeper first. Focus on your timing, you guys. With that, Shi Feng activated Windwalk and dashed towards the golden stone tablet. Anubiss Gatekeeper immediately shifted his sight to Shi Feng. When Shi Feng was only 10 yards away from the stone tablet, the Gatekeeper suddenly vanished from above the altar before immediately reappearing in front of the golden stone tablet. Instantaneous Movement! Aqua Rose gaped at the Gatekeeper, disbelief filling her gaze. A Great Lord that knew Instantaneous Movement...could any player escape its slaughter? Such a powerful aura. Fire Dances expression turned grim. Anubiss Gatekeeper had initially been 90 yards from the party. Now that the Gatekeeper was less than 40 yards away from everyone, its ferocity was on full display. Trespassers of the Holy Land, die! the Gatekeeper revealed his fury as he glared at Shi Feng. Suddenly, the Gatekeeper raised his right hand. In the next moment, a pitch-black spear as tall as Shi Feng appeared in the Gatekeepers hand. The Great Lord then swung the spear towards Shi Feng. _Xiu!_ A spear of light sliced through the air and arrived before Shi Feng. Not taking any risks, Shi Feng crossed his swords and used Parry to block the attack. The instant the spear of light collided with the two swords, the impact forced Shi Fengs hands apart and sent him flying over 20 yards away. The group standing at the teleportation array was stunned. Every Zero Wing member present was familiar with Shi Fengs Strength. Even in his normal state, he could contend with a Lord of the same level. Yet, now, just a touch from the spear of light, which was far weaker than the Gatekeepers black spear, had thrown Shi Feng so far. Just how frightening was the Gatekeeper?! As expected of a Great Lord. Even though I have the combat power of a Tier 2 class, it is not nearly enough. Shi Feng smirked as he looked at his thoroughly numb hands. If not for the fact that Parry could negate the Gatekeepers damage, he would have lost at least three to four thousand HP. However, Shi Feng had only received the Gatekeepers attack because he wished to test its Strength and evaluate the Great Lords combat power. Now, Shi Feng had a general grasp of the Anubiss Gatekeepers combat power. Tier 3 intermediate combat power! The Great Lord would be able to beat a Tier 3 player like a dog. However, even after striking Shi Feng, the Gatekeeper showed no signs of stopping as it turned towards Fire Dance and the others. Trespassers of the Holy Land, die! Emitting a low growl, the Gatekeeper stretched out its left hand. Suddenly, a silver flame condensed in his palm. In the blink of an eye, the originally fist-sized flame grew into a large fire the size of a house, and even Shi Feng, who stood over 20 yards away, felt a stinging pain from the temperature. 447 Contest of Strength Just as Anubiss Gatekeeper was about to unleash its silver fire on Fire Dance and the others Suddenly, a black barrier appeared around the Gatekeeper, containing the Great Lord. Following which, the flames gradually dispersed. Close one! Violet Cloud released a sigh of relief as she wiped the cold sweat from her forehead. Every Zero Wing party member shifted their gaze to Violet Cloud. Fortunately for them, Violet Cloud had managed to interrupt the Gatekeepers attack. However, before everyone could calm their pounding hearts, the Tier 1 spell, Black Coffin, burst like a popped balloon. Impossible! Violet Cloud said, her voice filled with disbelief. Black Coffin was an Advanced Tier 1 spell. Moreover, she was a Tier 1 Astromancer. Black Coffin should be able to trap even a High Lord for a few seconds, yet the spell had not lasted half a second against Anubiss Gatekeeper. Trespassers of the Holy Land, die! The Gatekeeper waved his hand once more, collecting a larger and more intense silver flame than before. The silver fire also appeared faster this time. As the Gatekeeper was about to bombard Aqua Rose and the others with his fire, a blood-red glow struck the Great Lord, dealing -5,021 damage. Although the damage was negligible to the monster, the Gatekeeper froze and turned towards the attacks origin. Immediately, he discovered Shi Feng, the ant that he had sent flying earlier. _The tier suppression is too powerful._ Shi Feng grimaced. The move he had just used was the additional skill of the Blazing Meteor, Flame Gods Fury. The skill allowed him to deal 900% damage to the first target the Blazing Meteor struck. Yet, even with such power, his attack had only dealt around -5,000 damage to the Great Lord. It was not even one-third of the damage the skill was usually capable of dealing. Although Shi Feng possessed the combat power of a Tier 2 class, his character was still a Tier 1 class. A Great Lord was the equivalent of a Tier 3 class. With a difference of two tiers, the damage he could deal to the Gatekeeper was significantly reduced. This was also one of the reasons why Shi Feng had not attempted to raid the Level 25 Great Lord in the Ruined Shrine. Not only would tier suppression significantly reduce a skills effect, but it would also significantly reduce ones potential damage. Moreover, this was in the event that the difference was only a matter of two tiers. Currently, Overwhelming Smile didnt have any Tier 1 players. Fire Dance, activate the teleportation array now! Shi Feng urgently shouted in the party chat as he returned the Gatekeepers chilling gaze. Knowing that time was of the essence, Fire Dance did as she was told. Immediately, the teleportation array Fire Dance and the others stood on shone with a dark blue glow as it started gathering mana from its surroundings. At this moment, Anubiss Gatekeeper paid no attention to Fire Dance and the others. Instead, he suddenly disappeared, reappearing in front of Shi Feng. Raising his spear high, he swung the weapon down on Shi Feng. The Gatekeepers attack was different from the spears of light he had casually sent out before. Just the pressure preceding the attack turned Shi Fengs movements sluggish. Shi Feng hurriedly activated Defensive Blade to defend himself. However, Anubiss Gatekeeper showed no intention of ending his assault after one strike. In quick succession, his spear darted towards Shi Feng again and again, searching for an opening. _Peng Peng Peng_ In two short seconds, Defensive Blade had been exhausted. Although Shi Feng had tried to counter the Gatekeepers attacks during this period, the pressure from the spear was simply too immense. His sluggish body could not keep up with the black spears speed. Aqua Rose and the others were similarly shocked as they watched Shi Feng fight for his life. Although they had realized that there was a difference between a Lord and a Great Lord, they had not realized the gap between the two was this massive. Shi Feng was not nearly strong enough to resist the Gatekeeper. Thinking back on how the various Guilds of White River City had boasted their plans to raid a Great Lord, the very idea was a joke! Guild Leader! Anxiety filled Fire Dances heart. She struggled with her desire to charge forward to help her Guild Leader, but the teleportation array was their only hope of leaving this place. If she moved, she would waste all their efforts. The others were similarly anxious. Although they wished to help, they could not. It was highly possible that their aid would lure Anubiss Gatekeeper to the array. If that happened, they would all die. Moreover, even if they lent their assistance, it would not change the battle. Seeing as the black spear was about to strike at him once again, Shi Feng decided that he was done holding back. Purgatory Power! Heavenly Dragons Power! Blade Liberation! In the blink of an eye, Shi Fengs Strength reached an entirely different realm. Purgatory Power increased his Attack Speed by 100% and damage by 30%. Heavenly Dragons Power increased his Defense by 300%, HP by 300%, and Strength Attribute by 100%. Instantly, Shi Fengs strength broke past the 800-point threshold. Blade Liberation increased Shi Fengs Strength by 80% and Agility by 120%, allowing his Strength to reach close to 1,500 points. With close to 1,500 Strength, even a Rare Lord of the same level would be beaten mercilessly. At this moment, Shi Fengs body released a faint, bloody glow. Now, the black spears pressure was ineffective against Shi Feng. Immediately, Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade upward, meeting the Gatekeepers attack head-on. _Boom!_ The collision instantly created a storm in front of the altar. Shi Fengs teammates nearly lost their balance due to the resulting shockwave. This shockwave is so powerful! Blackie exclaimed. Nothing will happen to Guild Leader, right? Flying Shadow was thoroughly shocked. Despite standing over 30 yards from the battle, the intense shockwave still reached them, rocking them back. One could just imagine how horrific the combatants Strength was. Guild Leader had overpowered a Rare Lord easily with the Strength hes using now. He should be able to hold the Gatekeeper off for some time, Fire Dance said, uncertainty coloring her voice. The others also nodded in agreement. With Strength capable of suppressing a Rare Lord, Shi Feng should have a fighting chance even against a Great Lord. If not, then a Great Lord was truly a heaven-defying existence. When the dust settled, everyone could finally see the conclusion of the exchange. They were all stupefied. Cracks spreading out as far as 10 yards away covered the ground beneath Shi Fengs feet. A damage close to -600 points had also appeared above Shi Fengs head. On the other hand, the Gatekeeper of Anubis was completely unharmed; the Great Lord had not received a single point of damage. Its over The gap between them is just too wide Fire Dance muttered in despair. Flying Shadow silently agreed with Fire Dance. Shi Feng had received nearly -600 damage doing nothing more than defending himself with his own weapon. Mages might not understand what this meant, but as melee classes, they knew full well the significance of the gap between Shi Feng and Anubiss Gatekeeper. Trespassers of the Holy Land, die! The Gatekeeper growled once more as it continued brandishing its black spear. The Great Lord thrust his spear towards Shi Feng in an unending barrage. Although Shi Feng tried to avoid the oncoming attacks, both the spears speed and angle of attack were extremely precise; he could not dodge the attacks. He could only counter with his swords. However, every time he blocked an attack, the impact would force him backward. The Gatekeeper sent over a dozen strikes at Shi Feng in quick succession, forcing Shi Feng into a constant retreat and disrupting his balance. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had lost close to 10,000 HP during this brief assault. Fortunately, Dragons Power increased his HP by 300%, granting him a total of over 25,000 HP. The 300% increase in Defense also allowed him to survive the brutal onslaught. If any other player stood in his place right now, they would have died long ago. Meanwhile, when Anubiss Gatekeeper saw that his opponent had yet to fall despite receiving so many attacks, he suddenly flew into a rage. In the next moment, silver flames emerged around the Gatekeepers spear, instantly causing the surrounding temperature to soar. The Gatekeeper then jumped into the air, and gripping his spear with both hands, he slammed the weapon down at Shi Feng. The black spear was like a giant flame serpent as it spread its jaws, intending to swallow Shi Feng with a single bite. 448 Close Call As the giant flame serpent was about to devour Shi Feng Suddenly, Shi Feng raised his head and glared at the serpent before opening his mouth and activating Dragons Breath. A dragons roar resounded throughout the surroundings, and a shockwave slammed into the flame serpent. When the two collided, both attacks dispersed. However, the Gatekeeper was not done. Tightening his grip on the black spear, the Gatekeeper thrust it towards Shi Fengs heart. Shi Feng immediately activated Flame Rush, his Movement Speed increasing by 100% for ten seconds. As his speed soared, Shi Feng launched himself backward, barely avoiding the spear. _As expected, it really is pushing it too much to challenge a Great Lord with the combat power of a Tier 2 class._ After Shi Feng landed, he focused on Anubiss Gatekeeper, having no intention of initiating an attack. Survival was his main priority. He would delay as long as possible. Despite using his twofold berserk technique and pushing his combat power to the max, he had still lost close to half of his HP after a few seconds. If not for the fact that he was a Blade Saint and that he owned a Fragmented Legendary item, the Gatekeepers spear would have long since claimed his life. However, Anubiss Gatekeeper clearly had no intention of letting Shi Feng delay for time as he raised his spear and slammed it into the ground. Suddenly, the Great Lord split into three copies of himself, each copy having a maximum HP of 6,000,000. Crap! Shi Feng could not help but curse. Although the Gatekeeper had split his strength by three, with each copy significantly weaker than the original, they still possessed the combat power of a Tier 3 class. Even if Shi Feng faced one of the copies one-on-one, he would not find his opponent any easier to deal with. On the other hand, Shi Feng now had to deal with three Gatekeepers simultaneously. The danger he currently faced was far from just three times greater. Having no other option, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill, his doppelganger appearing by his side. Although his doppelganger only possessed 70% of his Attributes, it could still relieve some of the pressure. Trespassers of the Holy Land, die! The three Gatekeepers charged at Shi Feng, launching a barrage of attacks. Without hesitation, Shi Feng used Nine Dragons Slash to pin down the middle copy. Both he and his doppelganger then turned and fled in opposite directions. Even if he were a Tier 3 class, he still could not take on three Great Lords at once. When the two unrestricted Gatekeepers saw the identical Shi Fengs running off in different directions, they split up from each other to chase both the original and the doppelganger. As for the Gatekeeper pinned down by Nine Dragons Slash, he remained where he was. For a time, a game of cat and mouse transpired. Although the Gatekeepers ability to split himself into three copies had greatly increased the danger Shi Feng faced, the situation had also given Shi Feng a lifeline. The three Gatekeepers Attributes could not compare with the original Great Lords. Initially, Shi Feng had been far slower than his adversary. Now, however, their speeds were almost equal. Moreover, after Anubiss Gatekeeper split himself, his copies could no longer use Instantaneous Movement. His copies were only capable of chasing Shi Feng on foot, and this allowed Shi Feng to catch a breather. The seconds ticked by slowly. To Shi Feng, the seconds felt like hours. Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger lost HP rapidly as time passed. As for Violet Cloud at the teleportation array, she refrained from healing her Guild Leader even once. It was not because she did not want to or that she couldnt, but because it was likely that she would pull the aggro of one of the Gatekeepers if she did. If that happened, none of them would leave this place alive. Hence, Shi Feng had to rely on Regeneration Potions to recover his HP. Fifteen seconds into channeling the teleportation array, Shi Fengs doppelganger died. Now, Shi Feng had to deal with two Gatekeepers alone. Realizing that the situation had become unfavorable, Shi Feng immediately retrieved a Speed Scroll from his bag. After using the scroll, he dashed into the narrow passage their party had come from. All three Gatekeepers instantly took up the chase. In less than three seconds, the Gatekeepers had caught with to Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng suddenly turned to smirk at the three Great Lords. Goodbye! Shi Feng smiled faintly as he activated Space Movement. He then jumped into the black hole that appeared before him and disappeared from the narrow passage, leaving behind three dumbfounded Gatekeepers. Although the Land of the Fallen Star prohibited the use of Return Scrolls, he could still use Space Movement. Only, the skills range was limited to the area within the Land of the Fallen Star; he could not use the skill to leave. When Shi Feng had approached the golden stone tablet for the first time, he had marked its coordinates. Now that he had lured the Gatekeepers away, he used Space Movement to arrive before the golden stone tablet. Shi Feng dashed up to the golden stone tablet and stored it in his bag space. Meanwhile, Fire Dance had channeled the teleportation array for 18 seconds. Shi Feng was currently close to 30 yards from the array. Just as he was about to rush over to his party Anubiss Gatekeeper suddenly appeared in front of Shi Feng, an extraordinarily grim expression on the Great Lords face. At this moment, silver flames surrounded the Gatekeepers entire body. They even encased the black spear he carried. The instant he appeared, the Gatekeeper used Thousand Sweep against Shi Feng. _Shua!_ In the face of the Gatekeepers spear, even space tore. The black spear was so fast that it could not be seen by the naked eye. The weapon slammed into Shi Feng. _Boom!_ An explosion shook the altar. Trespassers of the Holy Land, die! Although the Gatekeeper of Anubis had struck Shi Feng with his spear, the rage in his heart had only grown, not lessened. The Gatekeeper had struck only Shi Fengs afterimage. Guild Leader! Fire Dance called out with surprise when she saw Shi Feng appear beside her. Everyone had lost hope the moment they saw the Great Lords attack. That final strike had simply been too fast. Blocking the attack would have been impossible, much less dodging it. Yet, Shi Feng had successfully avoided the attack. Moreover, he even appeared right beside them. It was astonishing. However, only Shi Feng had known how much danger he had been in just now. The instant the Gatekeeper appeared before him, he had immediately used Silent Steps on Fire Dance. Had he hesitated in the slightest, he would have definitely lost his life All of you shall die! Anubiss Gatekeeper bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng. He then threw his black spear towards Shi Fengs group. The weapon was extremely fast; none of them had time to respond to the oncoming attack. Meanwhile, there was still slightly over one second before the teleportation array would activate. That one second was more than enough time for the spear to annihilate them all. Suddenly, Shi Feng moved and stood in front of everyone, prepared to receive the attack. Just as the black spear covered in silver flames was about to reach its target, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Space for the Aura of Illusion, instantly increasing all of his Attributes by 30%. He also activated Fantasy World. [Fantasy World] Immunity to all Magic Damage and 15% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover players HP for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes The instant the black spear collided with its target, Shi Feng instantly recovered close to 5,000 HP. However, before Shi Feng could celebrate, the immense impact from the collision between the black spear and his two swords eliminated 7,000 HP. As a result, he had still lost 2,000 HP. _What a powerful skill._ Although Shi Feng had blocked the black spear, both of his hands were completely numb; he couldnt move them at all now. If he had not activated Fantasy World, the flames surrounding the black spear would have extinguished his life in an instant. The might of the spear itself was even more frightening. After switching to the Aura of Illusion, all his Attributes had increased by 30%. His Strength had exceeded the 1,900-point threshold. Yet, when defending against the black spears physical attack, Shi Feng had received -7,000 damage. Despicable trespassers! I will not let you off! You will receive the punishment you deserve! the Gatekeeper bellowed as he snarled at Shi Feng. However, no matter how angry the Gatekeeper was, he could not change the fact that the teleportation array had activated. The Great Lord did not have enough time to launch another attack, and it could only watch helplessly as Shi Feng and the others transformed into a streak of flowing light, vanishing from the Land of the Fallen Star. 449 Changes in White Fog Canyon After its discovery, only a few elite players had willingly explored White Fog Canyons outer region. At this moment, however, players had flooded the area. The Warfire Set Equipments appearance had even attracted players from other countries, and they all had rushed to the canyon to grind for the set, causing a sharp decrease in Battle Monkeys numbers in the outer region. As a result, the danger had also greatly decreased. Moreover, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys in the outer area were only Level 22. By now, many players in White River City had already reached Level 20, while elite players had reached Level 22 or higher. Hence, White River Citys players had also come to the canyon to grind for the Warfire Set Equipment. Although the Warfire Set Equipment had an extremely low drop-rate, to the degree that only a few pieces had dropped thus far, everyone was still determined to grind in White Fog Canyon. Their first reason was that of the high EXP from the canyons monsters. As a result, they leveled much faster in the canyon than if they grinded monsters elsewhere. The second reason was that all monsters within the canyon possessed a fixed chance to drop the Warfire Set Equipment. Both the high EXP and the top-tier Set Equipment were sorely tempting to players. Even though the risk of grinding in White Fog Canyon was very high, players still rushed to the canyon in droves. Cloud, you really have a lucky touch. Other parties have not obtained anything over these past few days, yet, we have two Warfire set pieces, a thinly-built male Ranger said as he looked at the red-haired beauty beside him. Laughing, he continued, I heard that the sets price has increased again. Now, someones offering to buy individual pieces for 8 Gold per piece. We can get 16 Gold with the two we have. If we trade that for Credits, thatll be 170,000 to 180,000! If we sell the set pieces for 180,000, we could get 30,000 each. Thats more than six months of my salary! Gods Domain really is the best place to make money! another middle-aged Cleric wearing mage robes exclaimed. You guys All you can think of is Credits. Gods Domain only launched recently. Things will get even more intense later on. If we convert the Gold Coins into Credits, we will suffer a huge loss. Even if we plan to convert them into Credits, havent you guys seen the messages on the forums? There are people who are willing to buy each Warfire set piece for 100,000 Credits; two pieces mean 200,000, the Shield Warrior, Virtuous Cloud, laughed faintly. At this moment, she, too, was excited. During this period, many parties spent their time grinding monsters in White Fog Canyon. Even so, the Warfire Set Equipment rarely dropped. From the news they had heard, only one or two pieces dropped each day. Originally, their party was on the brink of despair. However, after killing a Level 24 Special Elite ranked Armored Battle Monkey, a Warfire set piece dropped. The following day, after killing a group of Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys, another piece dropped. Instantly, they rose from the pits of hell to heaven. One piece was sufficient to recover their initial costs. With two pieces, they could make a fortune. With the Gold Coins they could earn, they could upgrade equipment. They could replace what they currently wore with some Secret-Silver Equipment. At that time, they could grind for the Warfire Set Equipment more efficiently. The new system upgrade is really a bastard. If the new combat system had not reduced our strength, we might have had a chance of claiming another set piece given a little time, the middle-aged Cleric said. The other party members nodded, agreeing with the mans words. It was extremely difficult to use combat skills at the moment. Moreover, the newly-implemented Skill Completion Rate had left them speechless. Other than one or two, their skills were all below 50%. They could only display less than 60% of their previous strength. Fortunately, White Fog Canyon was not as dangerous as it had been. Otherwise, they would have been in a lot of trouble. We cant do anything about the games system upgrade. Moreover, everyone else is in a similar situation, Virtuous Cloud consoled. Now that we have obtained two Warfire set pieces, as long as we sell them, we can replace our equipment with a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. Everything will be fine, once we upgrade our combat power. Thats right. White River City is a good place to do that. Compared to our city, there is more high-quality equipment available here. I heard that the Starstreak Trading Firm is even selling Secret-Silver Equipment. There are also the Mana Armor Kits that can raise ones Attributes significantly. While Virtuous Clouds party chatted with each other, a team of roughly 20 to 30 players appeared on the small path leading to White Fog Canyons entrance. These players all wore sneers, and the IDs they displayed were crimson, proof they had already killed many players. Seeing your joy, you guys must have had a bountiful harvest, right? Why not share it with us? the Level 24 Berserker leading this team of Red Names asked mockingly. The man was Cold Laughter, and he sported a wide grin as he focused on Virtuous Clouds party. Virtuous Cloud and her party members immediately readied their weapons, their expressions turning grave. Due to their previous excitement, they had forgotten about the horrors in White Fog Canyon. Although the danger of monsters had decreased, the danger from other players had skyrocketed. Monsters drop-rates in White Fog Canyon were a lot higher than the outside world. Even if players did not obtain the Warfire Set Equipment, they could still make a hefty profit from selling the other equipment that dropped. Hence, many elite players had come to grind. As elite players, their equipment was definitely high quality. Compared to grinding monsters, it was far more profitable to kill elite players. If one were lucky, high-quality equipment might even drop from the dead players bag. As a result, the number of players dying in White Fog Canyon was terrifying. Just as Virtuous Clouds party thought about turning to escape, another several dozen players emerged from behind them. Virtuous Clouds team was immediately flustered. If the other side only had a dozen or so players, they could attempt to take them on. After all, they, too, were elite players. However, their enemies had over 50 players on their side. With just the six of them, they were outmatched. It isnt easy for us to guard this road. I wont mince words. I will let you guys pass if each of you hand over the best piece of equipment you have and 20 Silver Coins. If not, you will all die here, Cold Laughter grinned as he fiddled with the greatsword in his hand. After Cold Laughter spoke, the Red Names blocking the road promptly unsheathed their weapons. If Virtuous Clouds party refused, they would burst into action. Currently, most players were around Level 20. Elite players, in particular, had higher levels. If they died, not only would they lose a piece of equipment, but they would also have to spend several days recovering their losses. Nobody wanted to deal with that. Hence, Cold Laughter had proposed a suitable condition. Although you outnumber us, dont forget that you are all Red Names. Even if you wipe us out, with our strength, we will take one or two down with us, Virtuous Cloud said, unfazed. At most, we will lose one level and one piece of equipment. However, if a Red Name dies, they will lose two or three levels, maybe even three or four, and a majority of the equipment they are wearing. Virtuous Clouds words had undoubtedly generated some hesitation among the Red Names. After all, nobody could guarantee that they wouldnt be the pitiful player who Virtuous Clouds party killed. However, none of the Red Names were shaken. On the contrary, they smirked arrogantly at the smaller party. Their expressions somewhat surprised Virtuous Cloud. Before Virtuous Cloud could figure out what was going on, Cold Laughter sneered and said, Stop trying to play tricks. Ill count to five. If you dont hand over the equipment and money, well take it ourselves. Everyone, be careful. In a moment, Ill clear a path towards the forest to our left. If we can reach the forest, we should be able to shake them off once inside, Virtuous Cloud hurriedly said. Just as both sides prepared to take action A black hole suddenly appeared in the air. In the next moment, six people fell from the black hole, landing between Virtuous Clouds and Cold Laughters groups. 450 Don’t Figh Virtuous Clouds and Cold Laughters groups were both stunned by the six who suddenly fell out of thin air. Boss Cold, check out their levels. The lowest among them is Level 25. It doesnt seem like a good idea to provoke them, a Level 23 Ranger said, slightly breathless. Elite players at this stage of the game were mostly around Level 22, while experts were around Level 24. In Virtuous Clouds party, only she was Level 23, while the others were Level 22. As for the Red Names, the highest leveled player was Cold Laughter, who was currently Level 24, while everyone else ranged between Level 21 and Level 23. On the other hand, the six players that had suddenly appeared ranged between 25 and 27 It was common knowledge that each level demanded more EXP than the last. Disregarding their equipment, just the fact that some of them were Level 27 was terrifying enough. Why do these people seem somewhat familiar? Cold Laughter was no fool. After taking a careful look at the newcomers, he used an identification skill. Suddenly, his lips curled into a smile. Sure enough, its him! Boss Cold, who is it? the Ranger asked. Dont you remember the bounty Overwhelming Smile has offered? Cold Laughter said excitedly as he grinned at the Level 25 Swordsman wearing a black cloak. The Ranger then followed Cold Laughters gaze and used an identification skill on that Level 25 Swordsman as well. Immediately, he discovered that the Swordsmans name was Black Flame. Black Flame? Thats right. Hes the same Black Flame who has the title of Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert. A few days ago, Overwhelming Smile posted a bounty on his head. If we report his location, they will reward us with 10,000 Credits. If hes still here when they arrive, they will give us another 300,000 Credits. If we kill Black Flame, Overwhelming Smile is willing to pay 2,000,000 Credits. Many experts have found the offer tempting, and everyones been looking for him. I never thought that I would find him here. But, Boss Cold, I heard that Black Flame is ridiculously powerful. With our numbers, Im afraid Whats there to be afraid of? Now that Gods Domain has undergone its second system upgrade, everyones strength has decreased significantly. Even if Black Flame is the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom, he is a tiger that has lost its claws and fangs. Does he think he can do whatever he wants in my turf? Contact Overwhelming Smile immediately. Tell them that we have found Black Flame and to prepare the money for his corpse. Saying so, Cold Laughter waved his hand. Suddenly, all 50 Red Names closed in on both Virtuous Clouds and Black Flames parties, leaving no opportunities for escape. Why are you here? Virtuous Cloud asked Shi Feng, surprised to see him. Shi Feng was a godlike tycoon. She had initially prepared to sell the two Warfire set pieces to Shi Feng after they returned to White River City. She never expected to meet Shi Feng here and in such a predicament. You are...? Shi Feng looked at Virtuous Cloud. Suddenly, the figure of the red-haired beauty he met a few days ago popped into his mind. Unable to help his laughter, he said, How has your luck been these last few days? Not bad. We were just about to head back to the city and look for you. Laughing bitterly, Virtuous Cloud continued, However, now that we have encountered them, Im not sure whether we will profit or suffer from our trip to White Fog Canyon. Enemies? Shi Feng asked as he examined his surroundings. These Red Names all had relatively high levels and good equipmentespecially the Level 24 Berserker standing in the lead. They were all independent players. Anyone who could reach Level 24 at this stage of the game was definitely an expert. Virtuous Cloud was left speechless by Shi Fengs leisurely behavior. However, when she looked at the other five players beside Shi Feng, they, too, did not seem particularly concerned about the 50 Red Names surrounding them. This situation only served to surprise Virtuous Cloud further. Were all of these players godlike tycoons as well? Have none of them ever encountered a player interception before? They were actually able to remain calm in such a situation Sighing, Virtuous Cloud chose to explain patiently, saying, No. Theyre Red Names who are blocking the road and are trying to rob us. Judging by their expressions, it doesnt seem that they intend to let you guys go, either. I suggest we join hands. If we face their 50 with our 12, some of us might get out of here alive. So, its a robbery. Seems that quite a lot of players have come to White Fog Canyon recently. Although Shi Feng had l anticipated such a situation, he had not expected PvP to begin so soon. In the past, White Fog Canyon had become a gruesome war zone because everyone had discovered the value of Starfire Ore. Teams of several hundred players, even some with over a thousand, would gang up on innocent players to steal what they could. Fifty? Blackie looked at the 50 Red Names surrounding them before excitedly saying, I claim half of them! You guys can share the rest. Oh, that Level 24 Berserker looks like fun; I want him as well. Dont even think about it. I still need to practice skills on someone, Fire Dance said, shaking her head. Brother Black, how can you claim half for yourself? If Sister Fire Dance and Sister Aqua split the remainder, there wont be anyone left for me, Flying Shadow complained. I also disagree. Aqua Rose nodded. Since the update, they had only practiced their skills on monsters. At the end of the day, monsters were only AI. They were far inferior to players. It was especially true for experts. However, as the Land of the Fallen Star was such a dangerous location, they didnt dare duel each other. Now, a perfect opportunity for them to test their skills against players had arrived. Moreover, these 50 Red Names were elite players. Watching Fire Dance and the others argue, Shi Feng stepped forward and said, Dont fight. Use your strength to compete. You will only have yourself to blame if youre not strong enough. Contempt filled Virtuous Clouds heart as she watched the team bicker. What did these people consider the surrounding Red Names? Monsters to be easily slaughtered? In such a crucial moment, they still had the gall to joke around. As for the party members standing beside Virtuous Cloud, they became increasingly nervous under the Red Names gazes, which grew colder with each passing second. Previously, these Red Names had expressed their ridicule. Now, however, there was only rage. Before Shi Fengs party had arrived, these Red Names would have held back. After all, nobody wanted to die. It was especially true for Red Names. Now, however This situation was all thanks to Shi Feng and his party successfully angering these Red Names. How were they supposed to deal with these enraged Red Names now? You guys sure have guts. Even in the face of death, you still have the heart to joke around. Cold Laughters expression turned grim as his eyebrows twitched. Throughout the many days he had hunted players in White Fog Canyon, this was the first time he had met anyone who dared to look down on them. Brothers, get rid of them! 451 Massacre At Cold Laughters command, the other Red Names exploded into action. Elementalists and Cursemancers started chanting; Rangers nocked their arrows; and Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, and the other melee classes prepared to intercept any escape attempts. Black Flame, both our parties will open a path to our left. Theres a forest in that direction, so it will be easy to lose them once were inside, Virtuous Cloud hurriedly said as she raised her shield in preparation to take damage. Seeing that Black Flames party members had such high levels, it was very unlikely that they would be weak. Although they were still outnumbered, 12-on-50 was still a lot better than 6-on-50. Not to mention, Black Flames party was clearly stronger than her party. There was still a chance for them to break through the encirclement. However, before Virtuous Cloud had finished speaking, Fire Dance had already taken action. Using Shadow Steps, Fire Dance immediately appeared behind Cold Laughter. In an instant, her blood-red short sword slashed across the back of Cold Laughters head. Cold Laughter had no hope against Fire Dances speed. Before he knew it, a damage of -1,106 points appeared above his head, his HP instantly falling by one-third. When Cold Laughter saw the other Truefire Blade coming in for another attack, he was instantly afraid. Scram! Cold Laughter urgently used Whirlwind Slash, slashing his greatsword horizontally towards Fire Dance. Berserkers were known for their Strength. In addition, Whirlwind Slash greatly increased the might of an attack by utilizing momentum. Even if Fire Dance had a higher Strength, she couldnt defend against his attack. _Dang!_ However, as if his greatsword had struck an immovable wall, the weapon stopped right beside Fire Dance, unable to advance. For a moment, Cold Laughter even felt his hands go numb. How? When Cold Laughter saw the blood-red short sword in Fire Dances hand block his greatsword effortlessly, he could no longer hide his fear. Was this an Assassin? This question echoed through Cold Laughters mind. During Cold Laughters brief moment of shock, Fire Dance twisted the Truefire Blade in her hand, disengaging from Cold Laughters greatsword and forcing the Berserker to retreat by a few steps. Fire Dance then swung her other arm, sliding the other Truefire Blade smoothly into Cold Laughters chest. Although Berserkers focused on Strength, with the difference in equipment, Fire Dances strength left Cold Laughters in the dust, despite her Agility-focused class. This was the cruel reality of Gods Domain. Equipment spoke volumes. Class advantage was meaningless in the face of powerful equipment. Cold Laughter hurriedly tried to defend against Fire Dances sword. However, the latter gave him no opportunity to do so. hadow Strike! Suddenly, Fire Dance disappeared, her entire person passing through Cold Laughter and appearing behind the Berserker. Although Cold Laughter tried to turn towards the Assassin, the damage of -3,426 points that appeared above his head had emptied his remaining HP. Immediately, Cold Laughters vision began to gray. The battle had ended before it had even started. From beginning to end, Cold Laughter had not known what was happening. Wasnt she just an Assassin who was two levels higher than him? Yet, he couldnt even put up a fight. _Is the gap between players really that intense?_ Cold Laughter didnt understand. Fire Dances appearance had shattered his past preconceptions. However, even if doubt filled the Berserkers mind, his body still fell to the ground. Only an instant had passed from the moment Fire Dance had taken action. The surrounding Red Names had only noticed Fire Dances disappearance before she suddenly reappeared in front of Cold Laughter. In the next moment, Cold Laughters body hit the ground. Their boss and the only expert in their team had died, just like that The consequences of death for a Red Name spoke for themselves. Not only had Cold Laughter dropped a majority of his equipment, but he would also lose at least three Levels. Seeing this, the surrounding Red Names were scared stiff. So fast! Admiration filled Virtuous Clouds gaze as she watched Fire Dance. No matter how one viewed Cold Laughter, he was not an ordinary player. The fact that he was Level 24 and the leader of these elite players proved it. His dark red name also spoke of his countless player kills. He could not be underestimated, and she wasnt even confident of defeating the Berserker. Yet, Fire Dance had killed the Red Name in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, after killing Cold Laughter, Fire Dance had not stopped. Spinning around, she dashed towards the enemy magical classes. Currently, the stunned crowd was like a herd of frightened sheep. Fire Dance reached the magical classes easily, and killing each with a single hit, she instantly eliminated another three players. Unwilling to fall behind, Blackie also began to wave his staff and cast Hell Flame. Green pillars of fire suddenly rose among the crowd, and any players the flames touched received multiple damages of over -2,000 points. Before these players could escape Hell Flames range, they died. In an instant, another dozen or so players had lost their lives. Aqua Rose joined the fray, casting Flame Barrage and downing another six players. Flying Shadow had long since charged into the crowd as well, massacring the Red Names. Even though many tried to resist, Flying Shadow dealt with all of them easily. The male Assassin was like a ghost, his movements erratic. None of the Red Names could even catch sight of the man, let alone damage him. On the contrary, due to friendly fire, they even killed some of their own By the time the Red Names realized the situation, they had lost over half of their numbers. Run! With less than half of their original army remaining, these Red Names no longer had the confidence to face Fire Dance and the others. Dont you think that it is a little too late to escape now? Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he watched the scattering Red Names. Even if Shi Fengs party and these Red Names were on the same level regarding Attributes, which they certainly were not, Fire Dance and the others would still have annihilated them easily. In a moments time, Fire Dances group of five had devastated the 50 Red Names. Equipment and corpses littered the ground. With a rough estimate, the Red Names dropped close to 300 pieces of equipment. Furthermore, the lowest quality was Bronze ranked. If sold, they could make a fortune from the loot. Virtuous Cloud, who stood beside Shi Feng all this time, was utterly shocked. Only now did she realize why Black Flames party members had been so calm. _So they werent putting on an act at all._ Virtuous Cloud glanced at Shi Feng, a hint of shame surfacing on her face. Originally, she thought that Shi Fengs group was simply a bunch of rich tycoons who were ignorant about worldly affairs. Now, however, it would seem that she had been greatly mistaken. With such frightening strength, it was no wonder they paid no attention to these Red Names. Thank you for saving our lives, Virtuous Cloud said as she took out a Warfire set piece from her bag, intending to give it to Shi Feng. I dont have anything else on me that I can offer, so please accept these Warfire Bracers. When Virtuous Clouds party members saw her use a Warfire set piece as payment for their rescue, although their hearts ached at the sight, none of them tried to hinder their party leaders actions. It had not been easy to reach their current Levels. If they died, not only would they lose a level, but every one of them would also have to lose a piece of equipment. Losing the Warfire Bracers was more affordable. Moreover, Virtuous Clouds decision could also allow them to forge a connection with an expert. This was a welcomed opportunity for all of them. Warfire Bracers? Shi Feng had plenty of Warfire set pieces in his bag, enough to form three sets and more. He only lacked the Warfire Bracers. Thanks, but you dont have to. Why not sell it to me instead? As we had previously agreed, Ill buy it for 10 Gold Coins. Saying so, Shi Feng traded 10 Gold Coins to Virtuous Cloud. He then added the Warfire Bracers to his bag. Finally, a complete Warfire Set Equipment. When Shi Feng looked at the completed Warfire Set Equipment in his bag, an indescribable sense of joy filling his heart. 452 Warfire In White Fog Canyons inner region, a large group of players currently faced a Level 27 Lord. Although these players only inflicted around -100 damage with each attack, there were over 2,000 players attacking simultaneously. In the end, the Lord died, unable to withstand the barrage of attacks. Haha! What good luck! A Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon dropped! Lone Tyrant laughed after he finished organizing the loot. During this period, aside from searching for Black Flames whereabouts, they had also searched for and killed Lord ranked monsters. After such a long time, they had managed to kill over a dozen Lords. However, the drop-rate of Level 25 Fine-Gold ranked weapons and equipment was very low. They had only obtained two pieces; one was a cloth armor, while the other was the weapon that had just dropped. Everything else they obtained was mainly Secret-Silver ranked. When the Overwhelming Smile elites saw the Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon in Lone Tyrants hand, they nearly failed to contain their drool. A Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon was the equivalent of a Level 20 Dark-Gold Weapon. The formers Attributes were even slightly better than the latter. One could even say that Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapons were the best weapons currently available in Gods Domain. Aside from Zero Wing, there was no news of other Guilds in White River City possessing Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapons. Now, however, Overwhelming Smile had finally obtained one of their very own. Although they possessed far fewer Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapons than Zero Wing, it was still proof of Overwhelming Smiles strength. Unfortunately, the elite members of Overwhelming Smile could only look at the Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon. They would have to wait a long time before they could obtain one for themselves. In order to kill the dozen or so Lords, Overwhelming Smile had sacrificed many members. The price they had paid was simply unimaginable. At this moment, however, Lone Tyrant handed the Level 25 Fine-Gold dagger to Summer Sunshine. Everyones hearts ached when they saw the exchange. They had only obtained this Level 25 Fine-Gold dagger after killing over a dozen Lords with great difficulty, yet they actually gave it to an outsider without batting an eye. Oh, this dagger is quite good. Its slightly better than my Level 20 Dark-Gold dagger, Summer Sunshine said after he gave the Level 25 Fine-Gold dagger a few swings. Nodding with satisfaction, he said, Alright, lets search for another Lord, then. Wait a minute, Youlan suddenly said. Is there a problem? Summer Sunshine asked as he turned to Youlan. Big Brother Summer, Ive just received information that someone has spotted Black Flame. He is currently in the outer region of White Fog Canyon. If we hurry, we can still catch him, Youlan said. After Black Flame had killed Overwhelming Smiles expert, Oriental Sword, all traces of the man had vanished. To avoid letting Black Flame escape, Youlan had prohibited Overwhelming Smiles members from acting rashly and alerting the enemy, giving Black Flame the chance to take preventive measures. All this time, they had searched for Black Flame in secret and had posted a bounty for the man. Unfortunately, even after so much time, nobody had seen the Swordsman. Now that they had received news of Black Flame, they could not let him go. Black Flame was too famous. At this rate, Zero Wing would become increasingly difficult to deal with, and it would become very difficult for Overwhelming Smile to take control of White River City. He has finally shown himself. Good. Lets head over there immediately. I want to see just how strong the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom is, Summer Sunshine said as he sheathed the dagger he had just received, anticipation filling his eyes. Ill have to trouble Big Brother Summer, then. Youlan smiled faintly. Although she had constantly searched for ways to deal with Black Flame, she was still not confident of killing him. Now, however, they had an expert like Summer Sunshine on their side. Moreover, Summer Sunshine had just received a new weapon. Combined with the plans she had prepared, she was 90% certain that they could take Black Flames life this time. Even if Black Flame were as strong as a Lord, he would still die at her hands. \--- Elsewhere, after Shi Feng had obtained the Warfire Bracers and completed the Warfire Set Equipment, he had not equipped the set himself. Instead, he passed it to Fire Dance. From the side, Virtuous Cloud and the others widened their eyes in shock when they saw Shi Feng reveal the completed Warfire Set Equipment. Cloud, is that the Warfire Set Equipment? one of Virtuous Clouds party members secretly asked through the party chat. For a moment, he had even doubted his own eyes. Mhm. It should be possible I think Even when Virtuous Cloud saw the flowing purple light unique to the Warfire Set Equipment, she still found it hard to believe what she saw. Someone had actually completed the Warfire Set Equipment. Just how difficult was it to collect each piece of the set? Since the discovery of the Warfire Set Equipment in White Fog Canyon, less than ten pieces of the Warfire set had dropped. Various Guilds and tycoons had purchased these pieces. Moreover, based the information she had obtained, many of the pieces obtained were duplicates. Even with all ten pieces, a full set had still not dropped. However, Shi Feng had retrieved seven Warfire set pieces from his back without a single duplicate Virtuous Cloud could not fathom how Shi Feng had accomplished such a feat. She had grinded for the set pieces for several days now, so she knew full well just how difficult it was to obtain even one. Just how powerful was Shi Fengs backing for him to gather a complete set? Guild Leader? Fire Dance was astonished when she looked at the Warfire Set Equipment inside her bag. She had personally seen the Warfire Set Equipments Attributes before. It was definitely top-tier equipment. Only, the set required a lot of EXP to upgrade. However, if someone upgraded the Warfire Set Equipment to Fine-Gold rank, below Level 30, it was one of the best sets available in the game. Yet, instead of using it himself, Shi Feng had actually given her the first set? Shi Fengs actions confused her. Black Flame was famous throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom. If Zero Wing wished to continue flourishing, Black Flame needed to continue improving. Hence, all equipment should naturally be prioritized for Black Flame. However Leveling up is my priority right now. Even if I equip the set, the Bronze rank set effects are not particularly useful. If I sacrifice my EXP to raise the sets quality, it will do me more harm than good. Moreover, with Zero Wings current situation, what the Guild lacks isnt top-tier experts but experts with overwhelming might. Dont reject it. I still have Warfire set pieces, so dont worry about it, Shi Feng laughed. Mhm. Fire Dance understood Shi Fengs intentions. Zero Wing had no lack of top-tier experts. Facing so many powerful Guilds, what Zero Wing needed most was an expert capable of turning the tides of battle by themselves. Following which, Fire Dance replaced her equipment with the Warfire Set Equipment. Immediately, Fire Dance started upgrading the sets quality. After her level fell from Level 26 to Level 25, the Warfire Set Equipment had reached Mysterious-Iron rank. The Basic Attributes of the set had increased significantly. [Warfire Set Equipment] (Mysterious-Iron Rank [Can be evolved]) Level 20 - Level 30 Can be equipped by any classes. Set consists of seven parts: head, chest, belt, hands, wrist, legs, and feet. Set effect (Mysterious-Iron Rank) Two-piece effect: All Attributes +15 Four-piece effect: Ignore Levels +10. Obtain Free Will skill: able to remove all control effects for 7 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute. Seven-piece effect: Main Attribute increased by 12%. Skill Cooldown decreased by 35%. Obtain Warfire Berserk skill: Damage increased by 50%, Attack Speed increased by 50%, and Movement Speed increased by 30% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 4 minutes. 453 Favor Sister Fire Dance, you look so beautiful in that set! Violet Cloud said enviously. The rest of the party promptly nodded in agreement. One had to admit that the Warfire Set Equipment was indeed exquisite. The set Fire Dance wore a mix of red and black leather, coupled with the two dazzling Truefire Blades hanging from her waist. Without a doubt, the set had enhanced the Assassins allure. A hint of awe moved her teammates hearts. After Fire Dance had equipped the Warfire Set, although her Attributes had fallen slightly, no one present viewed her as any weaker. It had been some time since Gods Domain had launched. Even if one were only an ordinary player, their natural instincts had sharpened. Previously, no one had felt any particular way when they saw Fire Dance. Now, however, she gave off the same sense as a thorned rose, beautiful and deadly, and any who approached her would very likely pay with their lives. Previously, Fire Dance had a total of 4,960 HP. After equipping the Warfire Set Equipment, however, her maximum HP had fallen to 4,380. Her other Attributes had similarly decreased. One of the main reasons was that the Warfire Set was still Mysterious-Iron rank right now. The sets Basic Attributes could not compare to the Level 25 Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment she had worn before, though it did possess set effects that the individual pieces of equipment had not. Among the set effects, the skill, Free Will, was extremely useful. When used against an enemy with powerful control skills, Free Will could instantly turn the tide of battle. Moreover, unlike her other Attributes that had decreased, her Agility had increased. As a result, she was now far more nimble. The 35% Cooldown Reduction she received for all her skills also increased the variety of skill combinations she could implement. Most importantly was the Warfire Berserk, a berserk skill. Although Warfire Berserk was not as powerful as the berserk skills Shi Feng possessed, a player with a berserk skill was still superior to a player without one. Because of this, envy blossomed in Fire Dances friends when they saw her in her new armor. After Virtuous Cloud recovered from her daze, she pulled her gaze from Fire Dance and turned to Shi Feng. She was no longer as relaxed as she had been, growing far more cautious. Originally, she had intended to sell the remaining Warfire set piece to Shi Feng as well. However, she now dismissed this idea. Even a fool could tell that Shi Feng was a powerful character. Moreover, Fire Dance and the others had referred to Black Flame as their Guild Leader. Compared to minor existences like themselves, he was in an entirely different world. Not only had Shi Feng saved their lives, but he had also purchased the Warfire Bracers they had for more than the market price. They already owed Shi Feng a huge favor. If she tried to sell the second Warfire set piece to Shi Feng at a high price, she would be ashamed herself. Virtuous Cloud disliked owing other people favors. She was not comfortable until she repaid what she owed. Hence, she looked towards Shi Feng and asked softly, Guild Leader Black Flame I have something I wish to seek your help with. Sure, Shi Feng replied in a carefree manner. It was thanks to Virtuous Cloud that he had been able to complete the Warfire Set Equipment. He had no issues with helping her with a small request. Our party consists of only independent players, so it isnt easy for us to obtain equipment for ourselves. I still have another Warfire set piece with me. Would it be possible to trade it for six pieces of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment? Virtuous Cloud asked, slightly embarrassed. The market price for the Warfire set was eight Gold per piece. As for Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment, a few days ago, each was worth roughly one or two Gold. However, as players levels increased and teams successfully raided more Level 20 Team Dungeons, the value of Secret-Silver Equipment fell sharply. Currently, one piece of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment was only worth around 90 Silver; six pieces would cost around five Gold at most. Listening to Virtuous Clouds request, Shi Feng immediately understood her intentions. She obviously did not wish to owe him a favor. No problem. However, I dont have that many Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment on me, though there are plenty back in our Warehouse. Im just about to head back to the city anyway. Will one of you follow me to pick out the equipment? Shi Feng tried not to be a hypocrite. Since Virtuous Cloud wanted to avoid owing him a favor, he would not try to force her to accept his goodwill. Ill pass you the Warfire set piece first, then, Virtuous Cloud said as she happily traded a pair of Warfire Boots to Shi Feng. When Shi Feng agreed to her request, she felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. When Shi Feng saw that it was a pair of boots, he was somewhat disappointed, but in the end, it was still another piece of the Warfire set. Hed rather have duplicates than none at all. After they had concluded their trade, Shi Feng and the others wandered down the main road, heading towards the exit of White Fog Canyon. Players could not use Return Scrolls inside White Fog Canyon. Hence, Shi Feng and the others needed to leave the canyon on foot before they could teleport back to the city. Shi Feng had reaped a massive harvest from his trip to White Fog Canyon this time. Not only had he obtained a large stock of Starfire Ore, but he had also gained many Warfire set pieces. Most importantly, he had managed to snatch the golden stone tablet. Seeing as the golden stone tablet warranted even a Great Lords protection, it had to be incredibly precious. Shi Feng suspected it was just as valuable as an Epic item, if not more. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to begin researching the golden stone tablet as soon as possible. However, when he thought about how he was still in White Fog Canyon and that Anubiss Gatekeeper was still alive, he immediately suppressed his excitement. After all, there was no guarantee that the Great Lord would not follow him. Hence, Shi Feng intended to return to White River City before studying the stone tablet. Even if the Gatekeeper showed up in White River City, it would not be a threat. Shi Feng might even take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of the Gatekeeper. After all, White River City was under Weissmans protection, a Tier 4 Great Wizard. With just the strength of a Tier 3 class, the Anubiss Gatekeeper could not run rampant in the city. Just as Shi Feng and the others were about to reach White Fog Canyons exit, a group suddenly blocked their way. Virtuous Cloud and her team turned grim at the sight. There sure are a lot of people. Shi Feng could not help but laugh as he surveyed the surrounding forests. Several thousand players had hidden in the forest on either side of the road. Even with dulled senses, Shi Feng could still detect them. Guild Leader Black Flame, Youlan greeted as she slowly walked out of the forest, smiling faintly at Shi Feng. Since youve discovered us, I guess we dont need to hide anymore. Everyone, come out. Following which, swarms of players emerged from the surrounding cover, their numbers exceeding 2,000. Every player was an elite of Overwhelming Smile. These 2,000 elite players had blocked off the road leading out of White Fog Canyon, and they all emitted a cold killing intent as they glowered at Shi Fengs group. Compared to the Red Names who had assaulted them previously, these elite players had far better equipment. I wonder what business Overwhelming Smile has with me today? Shi Feng pondered aloud as he observed his surroundings, searching for a gap that he could take advantage of. In his current Weakened state, it would be somewhat difficult to escape the encirclement of 2,000 elite players. Furthermore, he had his team to consider. Guild Leader Black Flame must be joking, Youlan said as she watched her target carefully, finding the man truly interesting. Even against 2,000 Overwhelming Smile elites, his expression had not changed in the slightest. Previously, you killed over a hundred of our Guild members. If word of that gets out, well be a laughingstock. Ive specifically sought out Guild Leader Black Flame today to seek reparations. 454 Bloody Battle Listening to Youlans words, even a fool could tell that Overwhelming Smile had come to redeem their reputation. Miss Youlan, are you suggesting that we start an all-out war? Shi Feng blatantly asked. Regarding the matter with Oriental Sword, if Overwhelming Smile had not been the one to take action first, Shi Feng would not have bothered with killing him. After all, Zero Wing currently wielded a relatively significant advantage in White River City. Although Overwhelming Smiles financial attack had been considerably powerful, it would not last too long. Even if Shi Feng ignored it, Overwhelming Smile would soon self-destruct. The opposing Guild understood the situation quite well. Their current goal was only to delay Zero Wings development and cause some trouble. Their true aim was to consolidate the strength of the five cities surrounding White River City. After Underworld secured full control of those five cities, taking Zero Wing out would be effortless. Guild Leader, Black Flame, why must you put it like that? I have only come to demand justice for our Guilds brethren. Why would I start an all-out war between our two Guilds? Youlan said, chuckling. Demand justice? Shi Feng could not help but laugh. You must think highly of me. Youve actually brought 2,000 people to deal with me. Am I really that scary? I dont know about others, but I know full well what you are capable of. If I dont have this many allies around me, how could I possibly stand before you, the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom? Youlan said as she shook her head. If Shi Feng had been alone, Youlan would have been certain that Shi Feng could escape. He might even kill her before he fled. After all, he had done just that with Lone Tyrant. Now that so much time had passed, Youlan refused to believe that Shi Feng had not grown stronger. Since Zero Wing was capable of offering top-tier equipment to even its ordinary members, as the Leader of the Guild, how could Shi Fengs equipment be inferior? What are your intentions, then? Shi Feng asked. As long as you let us kill you once, we will forget about this matter altogether. How about it? Youlan said. Neither of our Guilds stand to benefit from an all-out war. In fact, such a situation will only allow other Guilds to take advantage of us. I hope that you will consider your options carefully. Bah! Dont even think about it! Even if we die, we will not let our Guild Leader suffer such humiliation! Blackie and the others stepped forward in retaliation. Facing their current predicament, they had already prepared to fight to the death. If news about Zero Wings Guild Leader becoming a martyr spread, Zero Wing would become the laughingstock of Gods Domain. How was Zero Wing supposed to continue developing in Gods Domain then? Ill open a path in a moment. Escape if you can, Shi Feng ordered his party as he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He then turned to Virtuous Cloud. Apologizing, he said, I really am sorry for dragging you into our Guilds struggles. However, if you are to clarify things with Overwhelming Smile, they should not touch you. After all, this is a matter between Guilds; independent players are innocent. Currently, Shi Feng was still in a Weakened state with all of his Attributes reduced by 80%. Although he did not know what the outcome of todays battle would be, he swore that he would repay this debt of blood tenfold in the future. Guild Leader, Black Flame, dont worry about it. Those Red Names should have killed us. How can we sit by and do nothing when youve been cornered? Virtuous Cloud stated as she raised her Secret-Silver shield and walked to the forefront of the team. Virtuous Clouds party members nodded in agreement as they readied their weapons. They were prepared to face the 2,000 elite players alongside Shi Feng. An army of 2,000 elite players their silent stance in the distance was enough to frighten any ordinary player, much less the killing intent they emitted. When Virtuous Cloud and her party members saw Overwhelming Smiles battle formations, they paled. The pressure they felt from this army was far greater than any they had felt from Red Names in the past. Virtuous Cloud suddenly thought of the Red Names they had faced as nothing more than cute dolls. Against 50 players, they still had a chance to flee. However, against 2,000 players, only death awaited them. Since you insist on being stubborn, dont blame us for being rude! Youlans lips unconsciously curled into a smile when she saw the stern expressions of Shi Fengs team. Immediately, she made a wave with her hand. Kill them! Suddenly, the 2,000 elite players approached Shi Feng and his allies slowly and orderly. Simultaneously, a gigantic black magic array emerged in the sky. Suddenly, the magic array released a black light that covered the sky before enveloping every player on the battlefield. Everyones vision suddenly turned black, unable to see anything at all. After a brief moment of darkness, however, the players regained their sight and felt no discomfort whatsoever. Shi Feng was suddenly shocked. This is the effect of the Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Dead Zone. Any lifeforms exposed to the black light are Silenced for five minutes. The scrolls effects also prohibit the usage of any tools. The players tensed when they heard the word Silenced. Although it seemed as if Overwhelming Smile would suffer more from the Silenced state than Shi Feng, his team still had skills such as Blackies Stars of Light and Shi Fengs Firestorm. With these two skills, they could obliterate waves of enemies. Not to mention, Shi Fengs group also had many AOE attack Magic Scrolls. Now, however, they couldnt use any of them Hahaha! Black Flame is dead for sure this time! Lets see if he can escape without skills or Scrolls! Lone Tyrant rejoiced as he watched his Guildmates slowly surround Shi Feng. What a pity. I had originally thought I would get a chance to solo that Black Flame. However, I never expected that you still had such a trump card hidden, Youlan. No wonder you are known as the female Zhuge[1]. It seems that I wont have a chance to take him on, Summer Sunshine sighed as he shook his head. Big Brother Summer, Black Flame is not so simple. In a moment, we will still have to rely on you to get rid of him, Youlan said. She was not rash like Lone Tyrant. Before dealing with an enemy, she would always investigate them thoroughly and prepare for the worst possible scenarios. Although the situation seemed in Overwhelming Smiles favor, melee combat experts such as Shi Feng excelled in situations in which both sides were Silenced. If not for the fact that Youlan had her own melee genius, Summer Sunshine, she wouldnt have been as certain of Shi Fengs defeat. In that case, let me have a go at him. Hearing Youlans words, passion and excitement filled Summer Sunshines gaze as he watched his opponent. Finished speaking, he took a step forward before dashing towards the battlefield. TL Notes: [1] Zhuge: a Chinese politician, military strategist, writer, engineer and inventor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhuge_Liang 455 There Isn’t Only One Exper After everyone had been Silenced, only the physical classes could display any considerable combat power. The magical classes could only watch from the sidelines. Youlan had long since prepared for this. Among the 2,000 players from Overwhelming Smile, close to two-thirds were physical classes. Moreover, Overwhelming Smiles attack formation was well organized. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights led the attack, closely followed by the Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins. Rangers stood the furthest behind, launching a ranged attack. The road leading out of White Fog Canyon had suddenly transformed into an ancient battlefield. Advance towards the left, Shi Feng took the lead and charged towards thinnest concentration of enemies. His and Virtuous Clouds teams promptly followed. However, before Shi Feng and the others had taken even a few steps, hundreds of arrows suddenly blotted out the sky. Virtuous Clouds three magical class members were simply too weak in terms of Agility and Strength. Moreover, magical classes were usually not adept at dodging attacks as they usually dealt damage from a safe distance. Hence, when the first wave of arrows rained down on them, the three party members immediately died and dropped a piece of their equipment. Stranger! Mouse! Roach! Virtuous Clouds vision turned red after she watched her party members die. Glaring at the Overwhelming Smile members in front of her, she gripped her shield and charged forward, Die! Unfortunately, although Virtuous Clouds equipment and level were considerably good, she could not hold her own against five Shield Warriors and Guardians knights of the same caliber. The Overwhelming Smile elites forced Virtuous Cloud back, preventing her from reaching the rear Rangers. Virtuous Clouds other two party members faced a similar situation. No matter how hard they tried to attack, the enemy held them off. In the end, Virtuous Clouds party was forced into a constant retreat. In the next moment, however, two figures suddenly brushed past Virtuous Clouds party, slamming into Overwhelming Smiles MTs. Among the two figures, the most dazzling was Fire Dance. Brandishing her Truefire Blades, she sent a blazing arc smashing into a Level 23 MTs shield. In the next moment, the Assassin forced the MT back by over a dozen steps, and even the players behind said MT had to back up. Immediately after, Fire Dance swung one of her swords at a Guardian Knight beside her. She flung that Guardian Knight back by half a dozen yards as well, his body slamming into his fellow Guild members. Her Strength was astonishing! With a single attack, Fire Dance had shattered Overwhelming Smiles formation. Her strength was overwhelming. She fought like a war goddess. Everyone from Overwhelming Smile was left utterly speechless. While the crowd from Overwhelming Smile was dazed, Fire Dance continued to brandish her short swords as she weaved her way across the enemy frontlines. Every time she swung the Truefire Blades, red streaks of light would follow. And wherever those red streaks of light passed, the members of Overwhelming Smile would be blown off their feet. No one could block Fire Dances swords. In a short moment, the Assassin had shattered Overwhelming Smiles interception. Although Overwhelming Smiles members had tried to attack Fire Dance, the woman was too fast. Before they even swung their weapons, Fire Dance had already run off. She never focused on a single location, giving Overwhelming Smile no opportunities to surround her. On the other hand, although Overwhelming Smiles members could not attack Fire Dance, she could bombard them easily. Against Level 23 MTs, her casual strike could deal close to -1,000 damage. If she was lucky and triggered a critical hit or Flame state, one attack could deal over -2,000 damage. The elite MTs of Overwhelming Smile usually had around 4,300 HP, whereas those with better equipment had around 4,500 HP. Fire Dance only needed around four or five attacks to kill one of them. Flying Shadow also fared quite well. Although his attacks were not as frightening as Fire Dances, against MTs, he could still deal around -700 damage with each hit. As if they were in a world of their own, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow started a bloodied massacre within Overwhelming Smiles frontlines. On the other hand, Overwhelming Smiles players found it difficult to catch either of them, much less deal damage. A Tier 1 class was significantly stronger than a Tier 0 class. Even without skills, a Tier 1 class could still overwhelm and suppress a Tier 0 class with their Attributes. Furthermore, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow both possessed equipment that was far superior to the enemy elites. By this time, Shi Feng had also activated the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Time. Although Silence prevented the usage of skills and spells, it did not impact passive effects. Immediately, enemies within a 150-yard radius of Shi Feng had their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 30%. This debuff weakened Overwhelming Smile further in close quarters combat. In the meantime, Shi Feng was responsible for protecting Aqua Rose and the other magical classes as they slowly advanced. Realistically, this task should have fallen to Flying Shadow. However, Shi Fengs Attributes were currently reduced by 80%; he was about on par with a Level 20 ordinary player right now. On top of that, he couldnt use any skills. Melee combat was a competition of Attributes and techniques. Compared to Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, the power he could display was significantly inferior. Hence, it was better if he focused on deflecting arrows for the others. In a few moments, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow had carved out a path of blood, allowing Shi Feng and the others to pass safely. How did that Fire Dance become so strong? Lone Tyrant, who observed the battle from afar, was dumbfounded as he watched the unstoppable Assassin, his fists clenching. He refused to believe this scene was real. He had personally witnessed Fire Dances strength before. Although she was certainly a top-tier expert, she had not been unstoppable. Moreover, Fire Dance was an Assassin, not a Strength-based class. Yet, her attacks could even overwhelm Berserkers. Against MTs, Fire Dance still required four or five hits to finish them off. Against other Assassins, however, one of her attacks devoured their HP. If she achieved a critical hit, they would die instantly. This scene had frightened Overwhelming Smiles Assassins to a standstill. Sure enough, Zero Wing is trouble. Youlan frowned as she watched Fire Dances performance. When she had planned this assault, she had not considered Fire Dance and the others as forces to be reckoned with. Facing 2,000 players in a melee battle, a top-tier expert was limited in what they could accomplish. However, Youlan never expected such a performance from both Fire Dance and Flying Shadow. Kill them! Those in the back, keep up! Do not let them escape! Youlan shouted anxiously. Originally, one Black Flame was enough trouble. Now, however, there were Fire Dance and the slightly weaker Flying Shadow. If Overwhelming Smile did not kill these three people today and hinder their growth, they would only become more dangerous in the future. The longer Youlan watched Fire Dance and Flying Shadow slaughter her people, the more she felt that Gods Domain was completely different from past virtual reality games. It was far more beneficial to have individuals with overwhelming combat power than it was to rely on the strength of numbers. Overwhelming Smile members began to converge on Shi Fengs group faster. However, due to the Aura of Times effect, the army could not keep up with Shi Feng and his teams Movement Speed. As a result, the distance between them only increased as time passed. Meanwhile, the number of enemies between Shi Fengs group and freedom continued to decrease. Just as the Zero Wing members and their surviving allies were about to break free from the encirclement, a dark figure emerged from the crowd and dashed towards Shi Feng. This was none other than the Level 26 Assassin, Summer Sunshine. Even with the Movement Speed Reduction effect of the Aura of Time, Summer Sunshine was still frighteningly fast. He quickly caught up with Shi Feng, who covered Aqua Rose and the others retreat. You should just stay behind! Summer Sunshine chuckled as he stood in front of Shi Feng, blocking his path. 456 Death God And just who are you, brat?! What a big mouth you have! Believe it or not, if I wasnt Silenced right now, I could wipe the floor with you at any given second! Due to having been Silenced, Blackie had been disappointed that he could not display his strength. With Summer Sunshines sudden appearance and his arrogant tone when he spoke to Shi Feng, Blackie was instantly enraged. So fast! Looking at the youth in front of them, Aqua Rose discovered that he was actually Level 26, the same level as her. She also felt an intensity radiate from this Assassin. This intensity was heavier and more chilling than that from a Lord ranked monster. In particular, with confidence and arrogance, he looked at them as if they werent even the same species, but some lower life forms. He looked down on them like a god over mortals. _Just who is this person?_ Aqua Rose was stunned and confused. Currently, her intuition warned her to flee from this man. This was the first time since she had begun playing Gods Domain that she had ever experienced such a feeling. Standing beside Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud was similarly on high-alert. After participating in Ouroboross internal competition with Shi Feng, she had some understanding of monster-like experts. Compared to Aqua Rose, she knew how frightening these kind of people could be. Immediately, she pulled Blackie, who was prepared to throw himself to Shi Fengs defense, back, warning him, Brother Blackie, be careful. That man isnt as simple as he looks. Hes on an entirely different level than we are. Violet Clouds caution calmed Blackie immediately. When he examined Summer Sunshine again, cold sweat suddenly dripped down his forehead. Previously, the frustration of being Silenced had clouded his mind, so he had failed to detect the powerful aura or the boundless killing intent that emanated from the cocky Assassin. Oh? You guys arent too shabby after all. Youre only the second group of players that Ive met since I arrived in Star-Moon Kingdom to possess such sharp senses. White River City really is an interesting place. Summer Sunshine could not help his surprise when he saw Aqua Rose and the others reactions. Not even Underworlds so-called great expert, Ming Sha, had sensed how powerful he was. Yet, Aqua Rose and the others had managed to do so. At least, this showed that they were slightly stronger than Ming Sha. Unfortunately, they were only _slightly_ stronger. Summer Sunshine then pointed towards Shi Feng, saying, Im not interested in you guys, so you can leave. He, however, has to stay. You! Though Blackie wanted to sling a flurry of curses, Shi Feng quickly stopped him. You guys can take off, Shi Feng said. But Blackie understood Shi Fengs current situation. To face the Great Lord ranked Anubiss Gatekeeper, Shi Feng had used a berserk skill. He was still in a Weakened state at the moment, and his strength had been significantly reduced. Nothing good would come from soloing Summer Sunshine right now. Can we not defeat him even though we outnumber him? Virtuous Cloud asked with astonishment. She could not understand the Shi Fengs partys current performance. They were experts who were capable of defeating 50 Red Names single-handedly. Yet, now, a single Assassin had stopped them in their tracks. Even if the magical classes could not join the fray, the three of them were still elite players. They could defeat a Level 26 Assassin easily if they worked with Black Flame. You guys need to get going. If you waste any more time, the enemy will catch up. Shi Feng waved his hand, rejecting Virtuous Clouds proposal. Virtuous Cloud and the others had yet to reach _that_ level, so they did not understand how frightening the youth before them was. Aqua Rose was also helpless. If they had not been Silenced, they could have helped in this fight. In their current condition, however, they would be nothing more than cannon fodder to the Assassin. Hence, taking the initiative, Aqua Rose said, Lets go. Following which, Aqua Rose led her party members away. Guild Leader, Ill help you, Fire Dance said through the party chat when she noticed Summer Sunshine. No need. Lead Aqua Rose and the others away from here quickly. If anyone catches up, it will be very difficult to escape, Shi Feng immediately rejected the offer. It was not because Shi Feng did not believe in Fire Dances strength. However, the youth named Summer Sunshine was not an ordinary expert. Rather, he was someone who stood at the peak of all Assassins in Gods Domain, Death God Summer Sunshine. The reason he had the title of Death God was that Summer Sunshine had successfully become a Tier 6 class in the past. He was an existence that stood at the peak of Gods Domain. Summer Sunshine and Violet Cloud were different. Unlike the former, Violet Cloud had only begun to shine during the later stages of Gods Domain, eventually becoming a god and standing at the peak of Gods Domain. However, Summer Sunshine had stood at that apex since Gods Domain had launched. He was one the few OP players. Initially, Shi Feng had not believed the rumor about Summer Sunshine. Now that he saw the man in person, however, he believed it. _Why is he participating in a battle between Guilds?_ Based on the information Shi Feng had obtained about Summer Sunshine in the past, the man had always been an independent player; he had never joined any powers and had never participated in struggles between powers. Now, however, he was actually helping Underworld. However, there was no point wasting his thoughts. The thing he needed to do right now was to escape. _My Attributes have been reduced by too much. Even though he is affected by the Movement Speed Reduction of the Aura of Time, my speed should still be inferior to his. I need to figure out a way to shake him off._ Shi Feng had no intentions of fighting it out with Summer Sunshine right now. He was simply at too much of a disadvantage. If the fight dragged on for too long, the crowd of players from Overwhelming Smile would catch up. He definitely wouldnt be able to hold back the attacks of Summer Sunshine and the elite players. While Shi Feng was thinking up of a plan to escape, Summer Sunshine suddenly asked, What? Trying to think of a way to avoid me in battle? I advise you to give up that idea and focus on our fight. I can tell that you are an expert who has also broken through _that_ level. However, it will not be possible for you to throw me off. Saying so, Summer Sunshine took a step forward before abruptly vanishing. In the blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of Shi Feng, and before anyone knew it, his snow-bright dagger was just several centimeters away from reaching Shi Fengs chest. The entire process was simply too fast. How can he be so fast?! Although Fire Dance was currently massacring the members of Overwhelming Smile, she had placed most of her attention on Shi Fengs battle. When she saw Summer Sunshines attack, her heart was filled with an indescribable sense of shock. Summer Sunshines swiftness was different from ordinary swiftness. He used an attack method that allowed his speed to become extremely fast by abandoning all unnecessary actions. However, when Summer Sunshines dagger was about to pierce Shi Fengs chest, the latter suddenly vanished from everyones sight. Where is he? Lone Tyrant, who was watching the battle from afar, asked in astonishment when he saw Shi Feng suddenly disappear. Shi Feng was definitely Silenced. Thus, he was unable to use any skills or tools. Yet, he had still vanished from Lone Tyrants eyes. This was simply inconceivable. Whats going on? Youlan similarly widened her eyes, her complexion turning extremely gloomy. Did he get away, just like that? In reality, it wasnt just Youlan and Lone Tyrant who were shocked. Everyone on the battlefield was also shocked. While stuck in a situation where neither skills nor tools could be used, a living, breathing human being had actually vanished. No matter how one looked at it, this scene defied all common sense. 457 Fighting against an Apex Exper This Aqua Rose also could not help her surprise when she saw Shi Feng disappear. It wasnt just Aqua Rose who was confused. Even Blackie, who was standing beside her, was stupefied, not to mention Virtuous Cloud and her party, who had little knowledge regarding Shi Feng. Everyone present couldnt use any of their skills, and the same went for their tools as well. Just what sort of method did Shi Feng use to disappear from everyones eyes? Moreover, unlike Assassins who had to go through a short process before vanishing, Shi Feng had taken only an instant to disappear completely. How could I forget that Guild Leader has this move? At this moment, Fire Dance suddenly recalled that Shi Feng knew Void Steps. Aqua Rose and the others had never seen Shi Feng use Void Steps before, so they did not know that Shi Feng possessed such a card. As for Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, and Violet Cloud, they had personally seen Shi Feng use Void Steps before, so they knew how powerful this technique was. Even if Summer Sunshine was incredible, he would be rendered helpless in the face of this move. After all, an enemy that one could not see was quite frightening; moreover, the attack method gave one no time to react at all. Even if Summer Sunshine removed all excess movements and increased his bodys speed to the maximum, he still could not block Shi Fengs sword. Meanwhile, traces of shock appeared on Summer Sunshines face as he failed to locate Shi Fengs figure even after he searched his surroundings. Suddenly, Shi Feng appeared beside Summer Sunshine. The silvery-gray Abyssal Blade also abruptly appeared at the Assassins waist, cutting across it. You! Although Summer Sunshine used everything he had to dodge and block Shi Fengs attack, the time the Abyssal Blade had taken to cut him was simply too short. The Abyssal Blade had already struck him before he could even dodge or block, and damage of over -400 points subsequently appeared above his head. In just an instant, Summer Sunshine had lost close to one-tenth of his HP. However, Summer Sunshine had quick reactions. After being attacked, he counterattacked, his dagger suddenly striking at Shi Fengs back with even greater speed. With the distance between them so close, there was simply not enough time for Shi Feng to withdraw his sword and defend himself. In addition, Summer Sunshines attack had no unnecessary actions, so his dagger moved at an extremely fast speed. Let alone now, even if Shi Feng was not in a Weakened state, he would still have great difficulty defending against this strike. In Shi Fengs desperate attempt at dodging, the dagger missed its mark and only managed to scrape Shi Fengs shoulder. Still, this single attack dealt over -800 damage to Shi Feng, taking close to half his HP away. Youre quite good. Youve actually managed to damage me. However, it seems that your Attributes have been greatly weakened. I just attacked you once, and you already lost close to half of your HP, Summer Sunshine stated in a carefree manner as he looked at his injured waist. That footwork of yours is amazing. However, you are bound to reveal yourself when you attack. Your one strike took away only around a tenth of my HP. Even if I just exchange damage for damage, it will still be your loss three moves later. But since you were able to harm me, as a reward, I wont suppress you using my Attributes. Ill let you see what real strength is. Summer Sunshine spoke in a very casual and overbearing tone. However, Shi Feng did not think that Summer Sunshine was bluffing, because the moment the Assassin finished speaking, the aura surrounding him underwent a complete change. Previously, he had still leaked out a little killing intent. Now, however, he completely sheathed it. The gaze in his eyes no longer focused on a single point. Instead, it was a gaze that took in everything in the surroundings, looking at everything objectively. This move was none other than Omnivision. However, compared to when Soaring Snake and the other amateurs used it, Summer Sunshine had mastered it to the realm of perfection. _As expected of the Death God of Gods Domain. It seems he wont be that easy to deal with._ Shi Feng had never fought against such a powerful character in the past. To be precise, he had not had the qualifications to do so. Although a Tier 3 Sword King was similarly very amazing in the eyes of ordinary players, in front of god-tier players, he was no different from an ant. In the past, there was a saying that went around in Gods Domain: everyone beneath god-tier was an ant. Without becoming a Tier 6 class, one would never know how frightening Tier 6 players truly were. The Assassin standing before him was an expert that had always stood at the very peak of Gods Domain. Shi Feng had never expected to fight such an expert. However, the past and the present were different. First and foremost, the Summer Sunshine before him right now had yet to become a god-tier expert. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself knew Void Steps, an advanced footwork. Defeating Summer Sunshine and escaping was not necessarily impossible. As for escaping? Looking at Summer Sunshines speed, Shi Feng knew escaping was not an option unless he defeated the Assassin. In reality, there was another method he could use, and that was to execute Void Steps continuously. However, due to his Attributes being reduced, the distance he could move each time was also greatly reduced. Moreover, using Void Steps multiple times in quick succession was mentally taxing. He would most likely lose consciousness before he could even run one or two hundred yards away. _It seems that I can only try to take care of him by continuously using Void Steps._ Shi Feng really could not think of a better idea right now. Melee combat relied on Attributes and techniques. In terms of Attributes, Shi Feng was no match for Summer Sunshine at all. Hence, he could only try to gain victory through techniques. Since using Void Steps only once was not enough, then he would use Void Steps twice in a row: once for attacking, and once for dodging. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately used Void Steps and dashed towards Summer Sunshine. Suddenly, Shi Feng disappeared from everyones eyes once more. A short moment later, Shi Feng appeared beside Summer Sunshine once more, and the Abyssal Blade was also sweeping towards the Assassins abdomen. _Dang!_ Suddenly, the sound of metal clashing rang out, a dazzling spark appearing around Summer Sunshines abdomen. Instead of landing on the Assassins abdomen, the Abyssal Blade was actually blocked by his dagger. Immediately after, Summer Sunshine used his other dagger to strike at Shi Fengs blind spot. Shi Feng was shocked. However, with equally fast speed, he promptly used Void Steps and just barely dodged the daggers attack. Everyones hearts trembled when they saw Shi Feng and Summer Sunshine exchanging moves. He couldnt have possibly seen through Guild Leaders footwork, right? Fire Dance could not help but be shocked. Void Steps was an advanced technique that allowed Shi Feng to easily defeat a Chieftain. Yet, Summer Sunshine had seen through it after just two uses Your footwork really is mysterious, Summer Sunshine chuckled lightly as he looked indifferently at Shi Feng standing four yards away from him. Originally, when I first saw that footwork, I really did think that you had disappeared. However, when you used it the second time, I can say with certainty that you did not disappear. Only, that footwork of yours forces my eyes to automatically ignore all information relating to your existence, which is why you seem to suddenly disappear from my eyes. Unfortunately, youve met me. If it were anyone else, they would really be rendered utterly helpless against you, without undergoing special training. Thats right. Shi Feng nodded, having no intention of hiding the mechanics of Void Steps. Although Void Steps was an advanced footwork, it was not invincible. In the face of a god-tier expert, it was nothing but a joke. Only, Shi Feng had not thought that Summer Sunshine would see through it so quickly. Sure enough, Summer Sunshines title of Death God was not undeserved. He really was as strong as a monster. Just as Shi Feng was thinking of how he should deal with Summer Sunshine, the latter took a step forward, then abruptly dashed towards Shi Feng. 458 Fleeting Sword Straight-line attacks were very easily seen through, yet Summer Sunshine did not seem to care about using them at all. With Omnivision, Shi Fengs every action was being scrutinized by Summer Sunshine. Even if Shi Feng thought about his next move, Summer Sunshine could immediately see through it and react appropriately. He was not afraid of his attack being seen through at all. Moreover, unlike Summer Sunshines previous assault, this time, whether it was his movements or the dagger he was swinging at Shi Feng, neither made any noise. His attack was both quick and silent, and it simply gave one no time to react at all. When an ordinary person was moving or attacking, they would always produce some form of sound. A sound would be produced because vibrations would form when an object moved through the air. These vibrations were caused due to energy dispersing from unnecessary actions, and the larger the vibrations, the louder the sound. Although attacks that generated thundering sounds looked very imposing, a lot of energy was wasted. In contrast, the less vibrations one produced when they attacked, the more concentrated the energy behind the attack would be. Naturally, the might of ones attack would also become greater. During a battle, other than sense of sight, a player also heavily relied on their sense of hearing and touch. Through listening to the noise produced by an attack, players could predict the general trajectory of the attack. The vibrations generated when an attack collided with air would also produce an impact, and by feeling this impact with their bodies, players could then take appropriate measures. However, Summer Sunshines soundless attack was extremely hard to defend against. Originally, launching a soundless attack was already beyond the capabilities of ordinary men. However, Summer Sunshines every single action was actually soundless. His movements dispersed practically no energy at all. This was already a realm that could not be reached by humans. Just who is he? At a distance, Fire Dance, who was battling while watching Shi Fengs battle at the same time, was inwardly shocked when she saw Summer Sunshines attack. She felt that it was simply inconceivable. Summer Sunshine fully embodied the class known as Assassin, and this was exactly what Fire Dance had been pursuing all along. Originally, Fire Dance had thought Shi Feng was belittling her strength too much, which was why he had barred her from fighting against Summer Sunshine. Now, however, it would seem that Shi Fengs decision was indeed correct. The gap between Fire Dance and Summer Sunshine was simply unimaginable. If they fought, she did not possess even the slightest chance at securing victory. _Sure enough, he really is a monster._ Shi Feng inwardly sighed when he saw Summer Sunshine charging at him. He finally understood why Summer Sunshine was capable of standing at the peak of Gods Domain. After experiencing a decade of battles, Shi Feng had only managed to achieve a soundless attack after much difficulty. Even so, not every move of his could achieve such a state of soundlessness. Yet, every single action of the Assassin before him was actually soundless. The gap between them was simply unfathomable. Shi Feng knew that he was currently not a match for Summer Sunshine at all. If he was not Silenced nor in a Weakened state, he might possess a chance of contending against Summer Sunshine. If he had to rely on pure techniques, however, there was simply no chance for him to win. If this fight took place in reality, it was highly possible that Shi Feng would have been defeated by Summer Sunshine in just a single move. Although Shi Feng knew that he was not a match for Summer Sunshine, for reasons unknown, there was a sense of joy filling Shi Fengs heart right now. Come! Shi Feng no longer held back. He used Void Steps again and charged at Summer Sunshine. Void Steps placed a severe burden on its users mental power. At this moment, however, Shi Feng couldnt care less. If he did not use Void Steps, then he would only last a few moves against Summer Sunshine. Since he was going to lose either way, he might as well take the final plunge. After Shi Feng disappeared, even though Summer Sunshine hesitated for a slight moment, he still responded very quickly. With a twist of his feet, he suddenly swept the dagger in his hand to his side. Everyone was greatly surprised, confused at just what the Assassin was trying to do. However, when the dagger was halfway through its course, sparks were generated as the weapon was abruptly stopped in its path. Immediately after, Shi Fengs figure was revealed. Before anyone could react, Shi Feng used Void Steps and disappeared from everyones sight once more. For a time, everyone watched as Summer Sunshine continuously brandished his daggers, creating dazzling sparks with every swing he made. Those who were ill-informed would think that Summer Sunshine had gone insane. However, everyone present knew that the Assassin was currently fighting Shi Feng. Moreover, it was obvious that the Summer Sunshine currently held the upper hand in this fight. A battle of such level thoroughly stunned everyone present. Compared to this battle happening right before them, the videos spread on the forums showing the battles of experts were just complete and utter garbage. Presently, everyone had even forgotten about their own battles. All their attention was focused on the battle between Summer Sunshine and Shi Feng. This is bad. Fire Dance grew anxious when she looked at Shi Feng, who was currently in battle. The strain Void Steps put on its users mental power was no laughing matter. Previously, when Shi Feng had used Void Steps multiple times against a Chieftain ranked monster, his spirit ended up in an exhausted state. Despite his HP still being full back then, he did not have the energy to even move his body. As the battle continued to drag on, Shi Feng could feel himself almost reaching his limit. Suddenly, he pulled a distance away from Summer Sunshine. Youre really good. You are the first person capable of fighting against me for such a long amount of time. However, that move of yours should be placing a huge burden on your mental power, right? I wonder just how many more moves you can handle? Despite having gone through such an intense battle, Summer Sunshine still displayed a calm and indifferent expression on his face. Shi Feng did not give a reply. At this moment, his complexion was deathly pale, and even speaking had become an extremely exhausting task. It seems that you dont have much energy left. Lets finish things then. Ever since entering Gods Domain, nobody has ever seen this move of mine, and you will be the first one to do so, saying so, Summer Sunshines expression turned serious. The killing intent he had kept hidden all this time suddenly exploded like a volcano, suffocating all those who felt it. Summer Sunshine was like a ferocious beast that had escaped its cage. In the next moment, his figure dashed towards Shi Feng. However, when Summer Sunshine was halfway to reaching Shi Feng, his body suddenly vanished. Immediately after, he reappeared behind Shi Feng, his dagger tightly held in a reverse grip as he swung it down towards Shi Fengs back. Suddenly, the spectators of the battle were stunned. Does he know Void Steps as well? Fire Dance said in shock. No, Violet Cloud said. Thats Second Acceleration. Violet Cloud had previously witnessed War Wolf using Second Acceleration to attack many times before. Void Steps was a footwork that caused the opponent to ignore the users very existence. Even if the opponent was able to see the user, their brains would still categorize this information as useless and promptly ignore it. However, Second Acceleration was a trick used to fool a persons eyes. Overall, it was a technique inferior to Void Steps. However, War Wolf had used Second Acceleration on his attack, whereas Summer Sunshine had used Second Acceleration on his movements. It was clear that Summer Sunshines technique was several levels above War Wolf. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was feeling extremely weak. He was simply unable to block or dodge Summer Sunshines soundless attack. At this moment, although Shi Feng had discovered Summer Sunshines attack, he was already close to exceeding his mental limit. His bodyfelt extraordinarily heavy. Even if he tried to defend using the Abyssal Blade right now, it was simply impossible for him to keep up with Summer Sunshines speed. _Is this the end?_ The moment before the attack was about to hit him, Shi Feng could not help but have such a thought. _No!_ He definitely could not let it end here! He still needed to reach even greater heights! He definitely could not be defeated here! _I need to block it!_ _I must block it!_ _My movements need to be faster! Much faster!_ At this moment, Shi Feng was wholeheartedly trying to make his movements much faster and more precise. However, he no longer possessed the energy to control the other parts of his body. He could only use the most conservative way he could think of to block Summer Sunshines attack. At this moment, Shi Fengs mind had already forgotten to think, his body forgetting to breathe. When there were only a few centimeters left between Summer Sunshines dagger and Shi Fengs body, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Fengs hand suddenly slid into the snow-bright dagger. _Dang!_ The impact of the two weapons caused the snow-bright daggers trajectory to shift, and as a result, the dagger only brushed past Shi Fengs body 459 Catastrophic An astonished expression appeared on Summer Sunshines face when he saw his attack miss its mark. _How did he manage to block it?_ Summer Sunshine turned to look at Shi Feng. At this moment, he had yet to figure out just how Shi Feng had blocked his full-powered blow. His attack just now used footwork he had created after entering Gods Domain. Not to mention Shi Fengs current weakened state, even if Shi Feng were in peak condition, it still should have been impossible for him to block it. At this moment, the spectating crowd was similarly shocked by the outcome of the exchange. The battle between Shi Feng and Summer Sunshine had already exceeded everyones understanding of the battles in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the last scene only served to add to the confusion in everyones minds. No matter how one looked at it, Shi Feng was not in a good condition. Originally, Summer Sunshine was suppressing him. Yet, despite being clearly on his last breath, Shi Feng actually managed to repel Summer Sunshines mysterious attack. Is that Black Flame a monster? Hes not dead even after this Looking at Shi Fengs fragile state, Lone Tyrant sucked in a cold breath in order to suppress the trembling of his body. It seems that Summer Sunshine wont be able to deal with Black Flame by himself. Everyone else, surround Black Flame! Dont bother about the other members of Zero Wing! No matter what, we cannot let Black Flame leave this place alive today! Youlan commanded as she squinted her beautiful eyes. Although she had long since considered the possibility that Summer Sunshine might fail, that had only been a scenario of hers. Now that such a situation had actually happened, she still found it somewhat hard to accept. However, since the problem had already occurred, they needed to solve it immediately. After seeing how powerful Black Flame was, they had even more reason not to let him go. Under Youlans command, the dazed elite members of Overwhelming Smile immediately started taking action, slowly moving to surround Shi Feng. Even the members pinning down Fire Dance and the others promptly retreated to join the encirclement. Just as Overwhelming Smiles members took action, Summer Sunshine resumed his attack on Shi Feng. One stab Two stabs Three stabs Five stabs Ten stabs Instantly, Summer Sunshine stabbed at ten different locations on Shi Fengs body. It looked as if the Assassin had released ten blades of light piercing directly at Shi Feng. All ten attacks were aimed at Shi Fengs vital pointsif Shi Feng failed to block even one of them, his little remaining HP would instantly zero out. _Dang Dang Dang_ When Summer Sunshines daggers approached Shi Fengs body, a silvery-gray glow suddenly flashed across them, deflecting all ten attacks. However, due to the difference in Strength, although Summer Sunshines attacks were all deflected, they still forced Shi Feng to retreat several steps. Fortunately, the difference between him and Summer Sunshine was not too great, so Shi Feng did not take any damage from the impact. You How do you knowthat swordsmanship? When Summer Sunshine saw Shi Feng take action once again, he suddenly recalled a swordsmanship he had seen before. Although Shi Fengs mastery of it was still incomplete, having only a few points of semblance, his performance was already very horrifying. Summer Sunshines question did not receive a reply from Shi Feng. At this moment, Shi Fengs eyes appeared vacant. He had not heard Summer Sunshines question at all. Hes doing it unconsciously? Summer Sunshine was left slightly speechless when he noticed Shi Fengs fragile state. A strong wind was all that would be needed to send Shi Feng crumbling to the ground right now. However, Summer Sunshine couldnt care less at the moment. Since he had been entrusted with the task of getting rid of Shi Feng, he still needed to complete it, even with Shi Fengs mental state already at its limit. On the other hand, even if he did not take action, the approaching members of Overwhelming Smile could still finish off Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng was now on his last legs. Just as Summer Sunshine was about to charge at Shi Feng, a large black hole appeared in the deep blue sky all at once. A wolf-headed, human-bodied monster suddenly emerged from within the black hole, exuding a frightening aura that constricted the hearts of everyone present. Why is he here? Fire Dances complexion paled as she raised her head to look at the monster in the air. That wolf-headed monster was none other than the Anubiss Gatekeeper. Only, at this moment, the Gatekeeper was no longer Level 30 but a Level 35 Great Lord, instead. His HP had also risen from 10,000,000 to 15,000,000. When everyone present looked at the Anubiss Gatekeeper, all of them were confused as to why a Level 35 Great Lord would suddenly appear at this place. However, Shi Fengs party members understood just why the Gatekeeper would show up here. The golden stone tablet! The Anubiss Gatekeeper had been guarding the golden stone tablet all this time. Now that Shi Feng had stolen it, the Great Lord was naturally here for payback. Its over Were truly finished this time As if dealing with Overwhelming Smile was not enough, now, one more Great Lord is added into the fray Blackie had seen for himself how powerful a Great Lord was. Even after Shi Feng went full Berserk, the Gatekeeper could still toy around with him as if he were a little boy. Not to mention, the Gatekeepers level had even received an upgrade now. Who knew how much stronger the Great Lord was? Although Blackie and the others sank into despair, the crowd from Overwhelming Smile was on cloud nine. Overwhelming Smiles main goal had been to raid the Great Lord of White Fog Canyon, only it was simply too difficult to approach the Great Lord inside the Ruined Shrine. The endless waves of Goblins gave them no chance to raid the Great Lord at all. A Great Lord? Lone Tyrants eyes blazed. A Field Great Lord was a fantastic opportunity for them to obtain an Epic item. Everyone, retreat for now. Scouting parties, keep an eye on the Great Lord. Have all Overwhelming Smile members inside White Fog Canyon gather at my location. We cannot let anyone else have this Great Lord. Youlan was similarly feeling very excited. Although the Great Lords level was somewhat high, Gods Domains second system upgrade had significantly weakened the effects of level suppression. It was not like they didnt have a chance at successfully raiding the Great Lord. Other than assembling the elite members of Overwhelming Smile inside White Fog Canyon, Youlan had also sent for the elite members present at other locations. Aoo! the Anubiss Gatekeeper suddenly howled. All at once, a wolfs howl echoed throughout the entire White Fog Canyon, making all who heard it shiver in fear. Even the trees were trembling in the face of this howl. After the Gatekeeper released his angry bellow, he turned to look at the crowd from Overwhelming Smile below him. Suddenly, the Gatekeeper squinted his eyes, a bone-chilling light flashing in them. In the next moment, a black spear appeared in the Gatekeepers hand. Silver flames abruptly emerged from the spear as the Gatekeeper aimed the weapon at the crowd from Overwhelming Smile and threw it. _Xiu!_ The black spear easily rent the obstructing air and landed in the center of the crowd. In the next moment, a fiery inferno erupted into the air high enough to be clearly visible to every player in the outer area of White Fog Canyon. When the spear landed, all players within a radius of 40 yards died. Not a single one survived. Since the Overwhelming Smile members stood very close together, just this single attack resulted in the loss of several hundred elite members This Lone Tyrants eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. How was this a monster? Even a casual attack possessed such catastrophic power. This was practically a god! Players like them could barely even be considered cannon fodder. Before Lone Tyrant could finish his words, another black spear appeared in the Gatekeepers hands. Once more, the Gatekeeper threw his weapon into the crowd below, killing hundreds with his attack yet again. Everyone, retreat. Retreat into the forests. Youlans expression turned extremely ugly upon seeing these catastrophic attacks. She had never imagined that a Great Lord was actually this powerful. Not to mention five or six thousand elite players, even tens of thousands of elite players would not be enough as warm-up for this monster. If everyone were to continue idling around without taking cover, they would be completely wiped out in only a moment. As for Black Flame, they could only set him aside for now. Upon hearing Youlans command, everyone promptly charged towards the forests without hesitation. Nobody was foolish enough to stand around and serve as live target practice for the Anubiss Gatekeeper. Summer Sunshine looked at Shi Feng, then at the Gatekeeper in the sky. Heaving a sigh, he turned around and departed. Fire Dance immediately charged up to the nearly unconscious Shi Feng and dragged him into the nearby forest to hide. After hiding themselves among the trees, Shi Feng and the others were freed from their combative state. At this moment, Shi Feng was forcibly logged out of Gods Domain and put into his Sleep Space. 460 out War During the time Shi Feng was in deep slumber, White Fog Canyon had become a forbidden land for players. White Fog Canyon was a special region where Return Scrolls were unusable. After the Anubiss Gatekeeper came out from the Land of the Fallen Star, he would kill any player he met. As a result, countless players grinding for the Warfire Set Equipment were massacred. Although the various Guilds in White River City tried to overwhelm the Gatekeeper through sheer numbers, how could a Level 35 Great Lord possibly be that easy to deal with? After receiving a few Annihilation Spears from the Gatekeeper, the various Guilds in White River City acknowledged their mistake and promptly withdrew from White Fog Canyon, no longer daring to take even half a step inside. At this moment, everyone realized that, compared to the High Lords they had raided before, a Great Lord was on an entirely different level. Although High Lords possessed many AOE skills and could cause players a significant amount of trouble, their usage of such skills was infrequent. They would still give players a little breather. As for a Great Lord? Without hesitation, a Great Lord would immediately use spells of mass destruction. Moreover, it would use them repeatedly in quick succession. Even several tens of thousands of players would not suffice to raid a Great Lord. Fortunately, the Anubiss Gatekeeper would not leave White Fog Canyon and only roamed inside the canyon itself. As a result, White Fog Canyon was no longer a gold mine for players but a forbidden land, instead. As for the players grinding for the Warfire Set Equipment, they all gave up on the enterprise. White Fog Canyon was originally a very dangerous place. Now, there was even a roaming Anubiss Gatekeeper inside the canyon. Any who met the Gatekeeper only had death awaiting them. Moreover, the Warfire Set Equipments drop rate was simply too abysmal. Many who were already entertaining thoughts of giving up had their resolves hardened with the appearance of the Gatekeeper. However, the matter regarding White Fog Canyon was still insignificant because after the second system upgrade, it became somewhat easier to increase ones Reputation in cities. Hence, the various Guilds promptly started grinding for Reputation. At the same time, they also began to secretly amass Coins. As soon as they possessed sufficient Reputation, they could go into high gear, purchasing real estate in the city and paving a path for their own development in the future. The various Guilds throughout Gods Domain started waging a covert war as they all tried to earn Coins. There was only a limited number of ways to earn Coins in Gods Domain: obtaining it from the drops of monsters; quest rewards; trading with players; and selling junk to NPCs. A Guilds main method of earning Coins would be through monster drops and quest rewards. However, for Guilds without their own Guild Residences, the amount of Coins they could earn through quest rewards was minimal, so monster drops became the fastest source of income for such Guilds. As a result, areas with abundant resources became the competition grounds of Guilds, leaving independent players with no opportunity to grind for Coins at those locations. However, at this critical juncture, a jaw-dropping incident occurred in White River City. Two of the major Guilds in White River City, Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile, actually started an all-out war with each other. They even declared each other as Hostile Guilds through the system. As long as their members met out in the fields, a battle was bound to occur. Since the two Guilds were Hostile Guilds, members of both Guilds would not become Red Names when killing each other. Hence, the members of both Guilds had zero hesitation over starting a battle with members of the opposing Guild. While other Guilds were silently developing themselves and grinding for Coins, Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile had suddenly launched an all-or-nothing war against each other. Of course, the other Guilds in White River City could not be more joyful over this development. They all simply chose to sit back and watch from the sidelines, taking advantage of the situation at appropriate times. They could not help but hope that these two Guilds would suffer a mutual demise. After all, an all-out war like this would greatly affect both Guilds involved. In just the first day since Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile declared war on each other, thousands of members of both Guilds had already died to each other out in the fields. Since these players were fighting for their respective Guilds, both Guilds had established a reward system. As long as their members killed a player from the opposing Guild, the system would automatically record the achievement. Through these kills, members could receive Contribution Points. Moreover, the number of Contribution Points awarded would vary, depending on the position of the Hostile Guilds member killed; the higher the enemys position was, the more Contribution Points awarded. Killing an enemy player who had killed many fellow members would also reward more Contribution Points. Contribution Points could then be exchanged for Guild Points, and these Guild Points could be exchanged for items available inside the Guilds Warehouse. This was undeniably a competition between both Guilds background and financial prowess. \--- Inside a bar in White River City, close to a hundred players were drinking and chatting merrily. They discussed their personal harvests, matters regarding the Secret Pavilions Gods Domain Experts List, and such topics. At this stage of the game, the bars throughout Gods Domain had long since become the place for independent players to exchange information. Do you guys want to know why Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile, two of the most powerful Guilds in White River City, suddenly started an all-out war with each other? a Level 20 Ranger asked the female Cleric seated beside him while drinking his beer. Do you know the reason? The Cleric girl blinked her eyes, slightly skeptical about the Rangers words. Of course! I have a brother who is an elite member of Overwhelming Smile. He even personally witnessed the reason why both Guilds started the war, the Ranger youth said proudly. I got a shock when I first heard about this incident from that brother of mine. Can you tell me about it? the female Cleric asked with great curiosity. The Rangers voice was quite loud when he spoke, so the players inside the bar heard his words very clearly. At this moment, all of them perked up their ears as well. Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile were the tyrants of White River City. With the two Guilds warring with each other, the hostilities would greatly affect White River City as a whole. As inhabitants of White River City, the players were naturally curious about why these two major Guilds would wage an all-out war against each other. Proudly, that Ranger youth said, In reality, it was because Overwhelming Smiles members had come into conflict with Zero Wings members. In the end, Black Flame had slaughtered Overwhelming Smiles hundred-man team. In a fit of rage, the higher-ups of Overwhelming Smile secretly set out to kill the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Black Flame. Back then, Overwhelming Smile had sent a total of 2,000 elite members. Overwhelming Smile had even invited the help of an extremely powerful expert. If not for the Anubiss Gatekeeper showing up, Black Flame might have been killed back then. Having their Guild Leader encircled was a great humiliation for Zero Wing. Naturally, they would not let matters rest. In the end, they declared an all-out war with Overwhelming Smile. The players inside the bar felt that the Rangers words sounded logical. This was a matter of the Guilds reputation. How could Zero Wing possibly concede this matter? Moreover, the hostility present between the two Guilds was something long-standing. Obviously, after the encirclement this time, Zero Wing could finally endure Overwhelming Smiles antics no longer. I wonder which Guild will come out victorious in this all-our war? I think that it should be Overwhelming Smile. The Guilds main headquarters is based in Maple City. It also possesses massive financial support. Havent you seen how excellent the benefits offered by Overwhelming Smile are? Just the monthly salary of the elite members is enough to make one drool. How could Zero Wing possibly compare? It should be Zero Wing. After all, this place is White River City. Zero Wing possesses a Guild Residence here. Moreover, there are plenty of experts in the Guild. You cant imagine just how excellent the benefits provided by their Guild Hall are. Among them, the most welcomed is the private rooms. One can accumulate Double EXP buffs by resting inside these private rooms. Moreover, Zero Wings Guild Warehouse is the envy of every Guild in White River City. There are plenty of Level 25 equipment stored inside. Right now, many of the players who had defected to Overwhelming Smile regret leaving in the first place. For a time, everyone in the bar discussed the war between the two major Guilds. However, a party of six, seated at a corner of the bar, smiled contemptuously over this matter. It seems that Black Flame only amounts to this much. Leader, must we really go searching for him? a Level 26 Swordsman murmured. Search. Only after testing him would we know whether or not he qualifies. 461 Exceeding Potential When the sun set, Shi Feng had already been in deep slumber for over a dozen hours. _Di! Di! Di!_ The virtual gaming cabin inside the bedroom continuously let out a warning sound. At this moment, the Nutrient Solution inside the virtual gaming cabin was already depleted. After the alarm of the gaming cabin rang for some time, the cover of the cabin suddenly opened. So tired. Shi Feng opened his eyes and unwillingly climbed out of the virtual gaming cabin. He then took a look at the time. What? Ive actually slept for 18 hours! Although he had exceeded his mental limit once again, it was not as severe as the first time. Even so, he had still slept for such a long time Just what is going on here? After Shi Feng woke up, his entire body felt drained. Even the Nutrient Solution he had refilled just a few days ago was completely exhausted. Normally, a full tank of Nutrient Solution could last a player 15 days. The previous time Shi Feng had exceeded his limit, some Solution still remained. Now, however, the tank was completely emptied However, compared to the matter of the Nutrient Solutions depletion, his bodys current condition was much more inconceivable for Shi Feng. Not only was his body extremely weak, but he also felt a piercing hunger that he had never felt before. He was so hungry that he could eat an entire cow right now. Although Shi Feng did not understand what was going on, he did know that, if he did not replenish his bodys nutrients at once, he could very well faint from hunger. He immediately retrieved the two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid he had set aside for his parents. At this moment, Shi Feng could clearly tell that the hunger he was feeling did not come from his stomach. Instead, it was his body that starved of energy. Even eating a meal would not sate this hunger. What he needed to do right now was replenish the energy of the cells inside his body. Meanwhile, the S-rank Nutrient Fluids were the best solution for this problem. After removing the cap, Shi Feng directly gulped down a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. When the S-rank Nutrient Fluid reached Shi Fengs intestinal tract, the originally cooling liquid suddenly transformed into a warm current that moved through his blood, re-energizing his entire body. Five minutes after drinking the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, Shi Feng felt much more comfortable than before. His spirit had also recovered significantly, and his body was no longer trembling as it had before. The value of one million Credits was really not overstated. However, this feeling only lasted for a short while before the feeling of hunger flooded his mind once more. He felt as if he was a wolf that had been starving for three consecutive days; a bite of meat was simply not enough to sate him. The hunger he was feeling right now was even more intense than earlier. _Is one bottle not enough?_ Shi Feng was speechless. A single battle actually required him to sacrifice two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. _No choice._ Shi Feng could only remove the cap on the last bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and empty its contents. Originally, one had to wait an interval of three to five days before consuming another bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid as the energy contained within the liquid was extremely concentrated. A persons body was simply incapable of completely absorbing all that energy. Instead, drinking two bottles consecutively would only damage ones body due to overnutrition. When Shi Feng drank the second bottle, he felt a little heartache. Each bottle cost one million Credits. Moreover, one could not simply purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids even if they could afford it. In the past, even though he had been the Guild Leader of Shadow, he only got to drink one bottle a month. Now, he had actually drunk two bottles in a single day. If others were to find out about this, they would definitely look down on him as a wastrel. However, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were indeed amazing. After drinking two bottles and resting for a few minutes, Shi Feng was already completely rid of his fatigue. His body had also recovered to normal. Following which, Shi Feng drank another dozen or so bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluid before recovering to his peak condition Is it my imagination? After recovering completely, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that his five senses were much more acute than before. Originally, he could never hear the chirping of birds when inside his bedroom. Now, however, he could actually hear it. Besides being able to hear the chirping of birds, when Shi Feng looked at his own room, he was also able to see with much greater clarity than before. His mind had also become much faster. Did breaking through my mental limit multiple times allow my brain to become more active? Shi Fengs heart was filled with ecstasy. He had tried fortifying his body many times before to increase the flow of blood into his brain, in addition to providing his body with various nutrients. He had done so to develop his brains potential and boost its activity level, so that he could create his legacy in Gods Domain. Now, he had actually achieved a breakthrough! The human brain had always been a domain filled with mystery. In the past, even the most amazing human could only exhibit 10% of their brains potential. Advancements in technology had made developing the brains potential possible, but it was extremely difficult to do so. It was not something one could succeed at just by trying. In Shi Fengs previous life, countless people had tried their best and had spent large sums of money just to raise their brains potential by a tiny fraction. Yet, even so, these people had felt that slight improvement worth their sacrifice. As the activity of the brain increased, a persons control over their body would also improve significantly. In Gods Domain, there were many genius players who possessed extraordinary talents. However, why were these geniuses better than ordinary players? It was because their brains activity was out of the ordinary. As a result, their control over their game avatar surpassed ordinary players, allowing them to carry out actions that no ordinary player was capable of. Just like Soaring Snake whom Shi Feng had met some time ago. Soaring Snake was a gifted genius who possessed unmatched reflexes. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had broken through that limit by chance, so how could he not grow excited? Although he had only received a slight improvement, Shi Feng could now see a new path opening up for him. Moreover, this was a path that led directly to the peak of Gods Domain. It seems that I need to prepare many more bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid in the future. Shi Feng felt uneasy when he recalled the piercing hunger that was transmitted to his brain earlier. After breaking past the limit of his mental power, his brain naturally needed a massive amount of energy to recover. This time, he was only fortunate that he had sufficient bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid to allow him to achieve a breakthrough. Otherwise, he would have had to be admitted into the hospital to rest for some time. Moreover, resting at the hospital would not necessarily increase his brains activity and develop its potential. When Shi Feng thought about improving his brains activity, his thirst for S-rank Nutrient Fluids grew even more intense. Only now did Shi Feng understand why the first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in the past were purchasing S-rank Nutrient Fluids in bulk. There was an 80% chance that they had done so in order to nurture apex experts. On the other hand, he had been under the misconception all this time that S-rank Nutrient Fluids were only used to strengthen a persons physique. _Ding! Ding! Ding!_ Suddenly, Shi Fengs quantum watch started ringing. Meanwhile, the person calling him was none other than Big Dipper Training Centers Chairman, Xiao Yu. Master Shi Feng, our side has already completed the preparations for the fighting competition. As for the exact time of the event, it will be set at two days from now, at 10 oclock in the morning. May I know your opinion on this? If you are not free, I can still delay the event by two or three days, Xiao Yu said. Lets go with two days from now, then. Shi Feng was in a very good mood at the moment. Hearing Xiao Yus words, he became even more elated. As long as he won the competition, he would obtain not only five virtual gaming cabins but also 15 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. I have already sent the information regarding your opponent to your quantum space. However, that person is very mysterious, and the information we have collected on him is very limited. We only have the records for a few of his matches. He had ended a majority of his matches in just a single move. Xiao Yu had not expected Shi Feng to remain so calm. He knew that Zhao Ruoxi had long since told Shi Feng every little detail about his opponents strength, so Shi Feng should know how amazing his opponent was. Yet, now, not only was Shi Feng not anxious, but he was even showing a hint of anticipation. I understand. Ill research it a little. Shi Feng nodded. I still have other matters to attend to, so Ill be hanging up first. After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call. Following a period of rest, Shi Feng was already fully recovered. He still had many matters he needed to deal with in Gods Domain. Since he had slept for so long just now, he naturally could not delay any longer, which was why he had ended the call in such a hurry. After refilling the Nutrient Solution inside the virtual gaming cabin, he lay down inside the cabin and entered Gods Domain once more. 462 War of Attrition When Shi Feng logged into the game, the location he appeared at was still within White Fog Canyon. At this moment, the sky in Gods Domain was dusky. There was still over an hour until dawn. It sure is quiet. Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, failing to notice any players or monsters. There was only the sound of leaves rustling in the cold wind. This was a very abnormal situation in White Fog Canyon. However, Shi Feng did not stay in this spot for too long. He dashed towards the exit of the canyon. At this moment, Shi Fengs Weakened state had already ended, having recovered his peak condition. If one were to look at Shi Fengs running figure right now, they would not be able to see him clearly at all. They would only see a black figure darting across the map. Shi Feng was like a healthy and elegant leopard. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave White Fog Canyon, a group of over one hundred Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys leaped out of the forest and blocked his path. The monsters in White Fog Canyon were very dangerous due to being in a constant berserk state. Now that was night time,players would have their vision reduced while monsters would not be affected in the slightest. As a result, players would find it much more difficult to fight at night. Facing against over a hundred Elite monsters, even an elite party would die unavenged. Only a large team of over a hundred players could possibly endure the assault of so many Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. However, as if he had not seen the monsters in his way, Shi Feng dashed into the group of Battle Monkeys. The Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys had similarly charged at Shi Feng like a group of mad cows. However, just when the sabers held by the Battle Monkeys were about to land on Shi Feng, the weapons struck air and simply brushed past Shi Fengs body. It was as if the Battle Monkeys target was not Shi Feng at all. They allowed Shi Feng to easily shuttle through them. After their first attack failed, the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys turned around and attacked Shi Feng once more. This time, seven Battle Monkeys surrounded Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng was just like flowing water. Just like before, when the Battle Monkeys sabers were about to reach Shi Feng, the weapons simply brushed past his body. In just a moment, Shi Feng had weaved his way through the group of Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. Although the Battle Monkeys felt enraged by this situation, they could not do anything about it. They could only watch unwillingly as Shi Feng exited the canyon. _The improvements brought about by an increase in brain activity sure are significant._ Shi Feng was full of smiles as he turned back to look at the Crimson-eyed Battle Monkeys. Although he could defeat such a number of Battle Monkeys by himself, he definitely would not have been able to effortlessly dodge such an encirclement. This achievement was all thanks to his increase in brain activity. Not only did this change improve his brains perception of danger, but it had also advanced his control over his own body. Whether it was in regard to an enemys attack or his own ability to dodge, the ability to control his movements had become very precise and refined. He had already entered the Refinement Realm. Before, Shi Feng could only barely achieve Refinement with his actions, and he could not maintain that achievement for long; he could only be considered to have taken half a step into the Refinement Realm. Even so, half a step was already an amazing feat. Meanwhile, he had now completely entered this realm, becoming much stronger than he had been before. Even if he had to face Summer Sunshines assault right now, he believed that he would not end up in such a miserable state where he would be required to use Void Steps to dodge. After leaving White Fog Canyon, Shi Feng immediately unfurled a Return Scroll and activated it. Shortly after returning to White River City, Shi Feng discovered that the number of players here were much more numerous than before. The players were all recruiting team members. Money-farming team, 17 waiting for 3! DDs are welcomed! Must be Level 20 or above! Frozen Waterfall independent party recruiting, 12 waiting for 8! We welcome all sorts of pros! Must be Level 21 or above! Equipment must be at least Bronze rank! Twilight Lighthouse independent party recruiting! Party is being carried by an expert! Noobs, do not disturb! Equipment must be at least Bronze rank! Drops will be auctioned among team members! Many players were recruiting for Level 20 Team Dungeons out in the streets. This situation really surprised Shi Feng. Whether it was Frozen Waterfall or Twilight Lighthouse, both were challenging 20-man Team Dungeons; their difficulty was considered intermediate among Level 20 Team Dungeons. Currently, even a normal Guild Team would not necessarily succeed when clearing one. Yet, there were actually so many independent teams recruiting for these Dungeons. This situation truly confused Shi Feng. He had gone offline for just one day. Just when did the independent players of White River City become so powerful?! Aside from the shouts of recruitment by independent players, Shi Feng also heard news regarding the all-out war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile. Up to now, the losses suffered by both Guilds had already exceeded 2,000 players. Moreover, the battles between both Guilds were growing intenser as time passed. In the beginning, the skirmishes that occurred only involved dozens of players, before slowly growing into the hundreds. At this point in time, both Guilds were already waging wars involving over a thousand players. Zero Wing really is amazing. Their total kill count right now has already exceeded 5,000 players. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile has only managed to kill around 2,000 Zero Wing members. I know, right? I heard that Zero Wings Assassin Fire Dance alone has killed more than 300 Overwhelming Smile members. Many players were done in by her, and she has even managed to kill Lone Tyrant, giving Overwhelming Smile a huge headache. Right now, her fame is no longer beneath Black Flame. Other than Fire Dance, there is also Flying Shadow, another Assassin of Zero Wing. His kill count is just slightly below Fire Dances. Right now, he has already killed more than 200 members of Overwhelming Smile. In addition, there are also Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Cola, Blackie, and so on. Every one of them has killed over 100 players already. Other than the core members of Zero Wing, there are also many rising experts in Zero Wing. Among them is a Berserker called Shadow Sword; his kill count is over 50. I hear that he has even managed to exchange for a Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment with the Contribution Points he obtained. Say, even though Overwhelming Smile also has a large number of experts, why arent they able to fight against multiple enemies by themselves like Zero Wings experts? Just why are Zero Wings experts so strong? You dont know? I hear that Zero Wings core members have completed their Class Change and have become Tier 1 classes already. In terms of Attributes and Skills, they are much more powerful than us players who have yet to complete our Class Change. Even when facing a player with the same Attributes and equipment, a Tier 1 player can still easily defeat half a dozen Tier 0 players. Moreover, I hear that Zero Wing has over 50 Tier 1 players. Overwhelming Smile is naturally unable to contend against Zero Wing. It cant be, right?! I hear that the Class Change Quest is absurdly difficult. It is practically impossible to complete it without reaching Level 27 or 28. Many have tried before, but all of them had failed. Moreover, if one fails their Class Change Quest, they will have to wait a very long time before they can challenge the quest again. Just how have so many players from Zero Wing completed their Class Change?! The players holding discussions on the street marveled at Zero Wings strength. At the same time, they had also received a glimpse of how powerful a Tier 1 class was. It was not something a Tier 0 class could compare to at all. When Shi Feng heard these conversations, a faint smile appeared on his face. After so many days of effort, there were finally some results. Over 50 Tier 1 players could indeed play a huge role in a battle involving thousands of players. Unfortunately, with just two Guilds battling against each other, wars involving thousands of players rarely occurred. A majority of the battles fought between the two Guilds were merely small skirmishes that involved several dozen players. As a result, the potential of these 50-plus Tier 1 players was less than it could be. Moreover, when comparing the backgrounds and fundings of the two Guilds, Overwhelming Smile was leaps and bounds above Zero Wing. Although Overwhelming Smiles death count was more than double Zero Wings death count, Overwhelming Smile was supported by Underworld from behind. Their financial prowess was definitely more than a dozen times greater than Zero Wings. Even if the compensation and rewards they gave was triple or quadruple of what Zero Wing gave, they could still afford to grind Zero Wing into dust. This was the reason why Shi Feng had been unwilling to start an all-out war all this time, as doing so would be very detrimental to Zero Wing. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose to get a more detailed understanding of the present situation. He then increased the Contribution Points awarded for killing enemy players as well as increased the compensation of the Guild members who died battling against the enemy. At the same time, he also made preparations to start raiding 50-man Team Dungeons and 100-man Team Dungeons. Guild Leader, now that we have started an all-out war with Overwhelming Smile, if we increase the compensation and rewards, the expenses of the Guild will increase by several times. If the war is extended, this amount will become astronomical. Moreover, the compensation and rewards we are currently giving out are already quite high. Even the Guild members feel that they are good. There is simply no need for this extra spending. Aqua Rose knew that Shi Feng was rich, but even so, money should not be wasted in such a way. It was especially true for the rewards given out. If the Guild members managed to kill 10,000 enemies, even if the Guild only gave one additional Contribution Point for each kill, the Guild would still have to pay for the cost of an additional 10,000 Contribution Points. Not to mention, as the fighting continued, large wars would occur more frequently. At that time, the Contribution Points the Guild would have to pay out would increase by several times. No problem. Ill figure out a way to deal with the matters regarding money, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The reason why he was increasing the amount of Contribution Points awarded was not for the purpose of exciting the Guild members. Instead, he was doing so in order to hasten up the consumption speed of both sides. If it had been in the past, Shi Feng definitely would not fight a war of attrition with Overwhelming Smile. Now, however, things were different. He now had a large amount of Starfire Ore in his hands. He would let Overwhelming Smile know what it truly felt like to crumble apart. 463 Imperial Heirloom Ill make the adjustments now, then. Aqua Rose could only nod her head in reply upon hearing Shi Fengs confident answer. Right, have you compensated Virtuous Cloud and the others? Shi Feng suddenly asked. After all was said and done, Overwhelming Smile had ambushed them because of him. He also still owed Virtuous Cloud six pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. However, due to his short hibernation this time, he had not been able to bring them to make their selection. Ive already brought them to the Guilds Warehouse to exchange for ten pieces of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment. However, there is one matter that you definitely wont be able to guess, Aqua Rose said, revealing a mysterious smile. What happened? Shi Feng asked curiously. After Virtuous Cloud and her party saw our Guild Warehouse, they were downright stupefied. Originally, they were planning to return to the Black Dragon Empire to continue their development there. Now, however, the party has joined Zero Wing and should be carrying out some high-level Guild Quests at the moment, Aqua Rose replied. Aqua Rose was very optimistic about Virtuous Clouds crew. An independent party attaining such high levels and good equipment was quite an amazing feat. Now that they had entered Zero Wing, it wouldnt be long before they became experts. In Gods Domain, though elite players were easy to find, experts were not. Now that Zero Wing was in an all-out war with Overwhelming Smile, it would be a long time before things settled down. After all, it was not possible for either side to defeat the other in one fell swoop. Moreover, battles between two warring Guilds consisted mostly of small-scale skirmishes; large-scale engagements occurred very infrequently. As a result, the importance of players with top-tier combat power grew even greater. If a large group of players took action together, they could easily be discovered, as well as easily countered. However, if a party or an individual took action, they would be highly mobile; hence, they would not be discovered so easily. If Zero Wing could form a party of experts and give a huge blow to Overwhelming Smile from time to time, they could easily force Overwhelming Smile into a passive state. Guild Leader, why dont we start raiding 50-man Team Dungeons now? Although the benefits we offer could attract quite a number of players to the Guild, it is still not enough of an attraction for many independent experts. The things these experts seek are top-tier equipment and room for growth. Meanwhile, we can use the top-tier equipment we obtain from large-scale Dungeons to attract these experts, Aqua Rose suggested. After seeing the reactions of Virtuous Clouds crew yesterday, Aqua Rose came up with this idea. Previously, she had also tried inviting Virtuous Cloud and her party to join Zero Wing, but they had been reticent. However, after seeing the large number of Level 25 Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver Equipment, as well as plenty of Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment, they made up their minds right away. At that time, Aqua Rose had even considered displaying the two Epic items inside their Guilds Warehouse. However, the Epic items were Zero Wings trump cards. It would be best if other Guilds did not know about the existence of these items, so she had promptly dismissed this idea of hers. If she were to really put the Epic items on display, then many Guilds would definitely scheme against Zero Wing. Her action would no doubt create many more enemies for Zero Wing. The Guilds that were maintaining neutrality might even side with Overwhelming Smile. At that time, Zero Wings position would become very tenuous. Hence, only core members, who had signed a confidentiality agreement, could know about the existence of the Epic items. We still have to wait for some time regarding the matter of the large-scale Team Dungeons. However, we can begin raiding 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of Shadow for many years, so he naturally knew what attracted experts. Although he fully agreed with Aqua Roses suggestion, large-scale Team Dungeons were no walk in the park. They needed to accumulate even more strength if they wished to raid one. On the other hand, they could give 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons a try. Players had a fixed probability for obtaining Dark-Gold items from 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons, though the majority of the items were Fine-Gold rank. In addition, there were plenty of production materials that were available only in Hell Mode Dungeons. The Guild could also obtain Guild Popularity by clearing Hell Mode Dungeons. As the Guilds Popularity increased, the Guild Quests commissioned by NPCs would also improve in quality, and this was what Zero Wing needed the most at the moment. Ill get everyone prepared right now, then! Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Aqua Rose immediately went into action with great excitement. As for Shi Feng himself, he made a trip to the Bank. Although there were many things demanding his attention right nowthe all-out war with Overwhelming Smile, in particularat the end of the day, there was only one task that he needed to complete, which was to earn money. Shi Feng had experienced countless all-out wars between Guilds in the past, so he had long since known what took priority. Although he himself possessed frightening combat power, allowing him to easily hunt and kill Overwhelming Smile members out in the fields, just how many members were there in Overwhelming Smile? Even if he ran around all day, hunting players, how many could he possibly kill by himself? Doing so would allow him to collect the Immortal Souls of players he killed, but it was still not worth the effort. Moreover, even if he did nothing but hunt players from Overwhelming Smile all day long, completing his quest would take many days. During this time, Overwhelming Smile with its huge funding could easily recruit a large number of additional players. Even if Shi Feng worked himself to death, he still wouldnt be able to win the war by himself. After all, this was currently the early stages of Gods Domain. The various Guilds had yet to possess their very own towns and cities. Killing Overwhelming Smiles members would only cause the Guild a little trouble and slightly affect its development speed. Most importantly, Shi Feng simply did not have the time to do something like this. He only had a little time left to complete the Epic Quest Darkness Descends, and he was still far from his goal of earning 30,000 Gold. If he failed to complete the quest, at that time, he would have to face the wrath of a Tier 4 Demon. With his current strength, he would certainly die. Hence, earning money was his top priority right now. The war between the two Guilds would definitely grow more intense as time passed, and the same was true for the expenditure of both Guilds. It was especially true for the expenditure on equipment. Aside from losing equipment as a result of dying, fights between players would also cause the Durability of weapons and equipment to fall at a faster rate than when fighting monsters. Naturally, repairing these weapons and equipment would also require a large sum of Coins. Presently, Guilds had a limited source of income for Coins. Guilds would only begin raking in large sums of Coins once they possessed their own towns and cities during the middle stage of the game. Although Overwhelming Smile had large funding, having a large funding did not necessarily equate to having a large number of Coins. This was where Shi Fengs confidence came from. Half an hour later, Shi Feng arrived at the Bank. He then retrieved all the Starfire Ore as well as the Philosophers Stone from his Warehouse. He also retrieved the Dragonscale Set Equipment Forging Design he had stored away all this time. At present, aside from the Warfire Set Equipment, the Level 20 Fine-Gold ranked Dragonscale Set Equipment was definitely the best Set Equipment available. It was naturally an item that all Guilds would fight desperately to obtain. After Shi Feng organized the items inside his bag, he suddenly noticed the golden stone tablet inside it. How could I have forgotten about this thing? Shi Fengs mind had been occupied with too many things during this period of time, and he had completely forgotten about the golden stone tablet he had snatched away from the Anubiss Gatekeeper. An item guarded by a Great Lord was definitely not an ordinary item. However, Shi Feng had also never heard about a golden stone tablet, so he did not know exactly what function this item possessed. Glancing at it, he was unable to read its information; all that was displayed about the golden stone tablet was that it was an Unknown item. Shi Feng then used Omniscient Eyes and started appraising it. The seconds ticked by slowly as countless data flickered in front of his eye. After a total of 22 seconds passed, the appraisal process was finally completed. An Imperial Heirloom? Shi Feng muttered in disbelief when he read the information displayed about the golden stone tablet. 464 Shocking Treasure Shi Feng could not help but tremble when he looked at the golden stone tablet inside his bag. Gods Domain was very large, and there were many kingdoms and empires within it. Naturally, these realms would go through growth and decline. Countless kingdoms and empires had disappeared into the long river of history by now. Although they had already been forgotten by people, some of these kingdoms and empires had left behind shocking treasures that were unknown to others. In Gods Domain, these shocking treasures were called Heirlooms. Heirlooms could be categorized into four different ranks. The first would be Kingdom Heirlooms. Just as its name implied, it was a treasure once owned by a kingdom of Gods Domain. First-rate Guilds would fight tooth and nail for just one Kingdom Heirloom. In the past, there was even a Super Guild that had offered up a city with a population of over a million players in exchange for a Kingdom Heirloom. From this, one could just imagine the value of a Kingdom Heirloom. Back then, although Shadow had become a second-rate Guild and controlled ten city states, it did not even possess the qualifications to compete over a Kingdom Heirloom. Meanwhile, one rank above Kingdom Heirlooms were Imperial Heirlooms. An Imperial Heirloom was an Heirloom left behind by a fallen empire of Gods Domain. Normally, the wealth of an empire was at least three to five times greater than that of a kingdom. The value of an Imperial Heirloom, naturally, was proportional. In the past, a small unrated Guild called Thunder Family had taken less than a year to develop into a first-rate Guild. Back then, Thunder Family had shocked the entire Gods Domain. In terms of experts or financial power, Thunder Family had possessed neither. Yet, it had still managed to develop into a first-rate Guild in such a short amount of time. How could such a feat not shock others? Only after many different parties investigated the Guild did they find out the secret behind Thunder Familys success. It turned out that Thunder Family had accidentally encountered an item called an Imperial Heirloom, and the Guild had secretly developed itself at a rapid pace through this Imperial Heirloom. Thus, Thunder Family had managed to become one of the overlords of Gods Domain in less than just a year. From then on, everyone started searching for Heirlooms out in the fields. Many wars were waged in Gods Domain because of Heirlooms, and many Guilds were completely annihilated because of Heirlooms In addition to Imperial Heirlooms, there were Continental Heirlooms, which were one rank higher, as well as World Heirlooms, which were the highest-ranking Heirlooms in Gods Domain. However, the last two Heirlooms were only mentioned in the libraries of Gods Domain. As far as Shi Feng knew, nobody had come upon either one in his previous life. Now that there was an Imperial Heirloom in his bag, how could Shi Feng not be excited? Even as a reincarnator, Shi Feng had to carefully plan, make countless preparations, encounter many miracles, and nurture a large number of experts in order to establish his very own virtual empire. Meanwhile, just a single Imperial Heirloom had allowed a small Guild to grow into a first-rate Guild in less than a year, becoming the owner of a real empire. As for what treasures were hidden within an Imperial Heirloom, Shi Feng was completely ignorant. After things got out of hand in the past, any who obtained an Imperial Heirloom would put a tight lid on it, keeping all information about it a secret. In this life, Shi Feng would naturally also keep quiet about his possession of an Imperial Heirloom. Hence, he immediately suppressed his excited heart as he considered where to carefully research the Imperial Heirloom. After he was done organizing his bag, he made his way stealthily to the Starstreak Trading Firm and entered one of the forging rooms on the fourth floor. At this moment, the Starstreak Trading Firm had already become the number one trading firm in White River City. The variety of items sold at its shop was matchless. As long as it was something the current players of Gods Domain needed, the trading firm would sell it. Therefore, players who visited the Starstreak Trading Firm would have no need to visit any other shop. The trading firms business was thriving, raking in large sums of money daily. Although many Guilds had sought cooperation with the trading firm, all were promptly rejected by the firms manager, Anna. Shi Feng had picked an unoccupied forging room at random and entered it. Im interested to see just what sort of secret is contained within an Imperial Heirloom, Shi Feng muttered as he retrieved the golden stone tablet from his bag and carefully placed it on the stone platform. Other than being named an Imperial Heirloom, the golden stone tablet revealed no other information. Shi Feng was also clueless as to how he should operate an Imperial Heirloom, so he had no choice but to slowly experiment with it. There were many drawings and runes engraved on the stone tablet. However, Shi Feng could not understand a single one of them. He quickly spent over half an hour researching the Imperial Heirloom. But no matter what sort of methods he used, he failed to find even a clue to how to activate it. Despite the mountain of gold placed right in front of him, without the activation key, he could only stare helplessly at the Imperial Heirloom. Thunder Family from back then was able to discover the secret of the Imperial Treasure, so why cant I? Frustrated, Shi Feng played around with the golden stone tablet in his hands. Is there still some other secret to the Imperial Heirloom? It sounded logical when he thought about it. How could a great treasure capable of allowing an empire to thrive be so easily obtainable by players? If the activation of the Imperial Heirloom were a quest, then the difficulty of this quest should be Legendary rank. A Legendary Quest was definitely not something players could easily complete. Let alone a Legendary Quest, right now, Shi Feng already had a huge headache over just an Epic Quest. _I can only set it aside for now. I might encounter some clues in the future,_ Shi Feng thought optimistically. Everything was bound to be difficult at the beginning. With the Imperial Heirloom now in his hands, what he needed to do next was to inquire around about it. There was bound to be a solution. Shi Feng then stored the Imperial Heirloom and piled up the large amount of Starfire Ore he had on the floor. During this period of time, Zero Wing had harvested over 20,000 pieces of Starfire Ore. If sold at a price of 1 Silver per piece, the total value of all this Starfire Ore would be over 200 Gold Coins. However, Shi Feng was going to convert them all into Starfire Essence right now. Originally, if players wished to refine Starfire Ore, they needed to hire an Alchemist to refine the ore for them. Just a single refinement cost 1 Silver Coin. Moreover, the production of Starfire Essence was not guaranteed. However, there was a large possibility of obtaining one piece of Starfire Essence out of two pieces of ore. As a result, the market value of Starfire Essence was usually set at 4 Silver Coins per piece. Shi Feng, however, did not seek the services of an Alchemist. After all, the Philosophers Stone he possessed was much more powerful than any Alchemist. In addition, not only did he not need to spend a single Coin when using the Philosophers Stone to refine Starfire Ore, but his odds of producing Starfire Essence were also much higher than those of NPC Master Alchemists. Following which, Shi Feng started refining the Starfire Ore. One piece Two pieces The refining speed of the Philosophers Stone was very fast. In just a moment, Shi Feng had already refined 100 pieces of Starfire Ore and obtained 83 pieces of Starfire Essence. [Starfire Essence] (Consumable) Increases success rate of forging if added during forging process. In addition, the more Starfire Essence added, the higher the success rate. The refinement rate is good as expected. When Shi Feng looked at the sparkling red gems scattered across the stone platform, an indescribable sense of joy filled his heart. The Philosophers Stone was definitely worthy of being called a treasure of alchemy. By using it to refine all the Starfire Ore he had, he could save over 200 Gold Coins. Time passed little by little. Before he knew it, Shi Feng had spent more than seven hours refining all the Starfire Ore he had. In total, he had obtained 18,000-odd pieces of Starfire Essence. If converted to Coins, the value of these Starfire Essences would be worth over 720 Gold. In just seven hours, Shi Feng had more than tripled the original value of the Starfire Ore I can finally start forging now. Although Shi Feng had spent in excess of seven hours repeating the same task over and over, he did not feel bored or tired. On the contrary, he was filled with excitement right now. Just the thought of being able to mass-produce the Dragonscale Set Equipment thrilled him greatly. If he let the members of the Guild equip the set and take a stroll out in the city, the uniform equipment would definitely earn the envy and admiration of players all over White River City. 465 Rapid Promotion Blue Moon Restaurant, a high-class restaurant located in White River City. At this moment, the entire restaurant was completely reserved by Overwhelming Smile, and tens of elite members stood guard outside the building. Each and every one of these elite members of Overwhelming Smile was in a very bad mood, which showed in the fierce expressions on their faces. Any unrelated players passing by Blue Moon Restaurant would no doubt distance themselves from the building, as far away as possible, in fear of meeting with bad luck and getting into trouble. Currently, Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile were waging an all-out war with each other. While there was nothing bad to speak of about Zero Wing, the members of Overwhelming Smile were infamous for their tyranny. As long as Overwhelming Smile members felt even the slightest displeasure, they would try to make trouble for someone else. What Overwhelming Smile members did most frequently was field hogging. They would lay claim to an entire area and chase away all non-Guild members. However, although many independent players of White River City were furious over Overwhelming Smiles actions, nobody dared to actually voice their opinion. No doubt many independent players were cheering and clapping secretly over the war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile. It was especially true when news spread mentioning that Overwhelming Smiles death count had increased significantly lately, and was now past the 8,000 threshold. At this moment, two people, a man and a woman, were seated inside one of the booths on the second floor of Blue Moon Restaurant. The man was Feng Xuanyang, and the woman sat opposite of him was the quiet and elegant beauty Youlan. Ive already looked through the information you sent me. Its very well written; Im quite satisfied with it. I also forwarded your analysis to the higher-ups, and they have already determined that Zero Wing is indeed a thorn in Underworlds side. Theyve also said that if we cannot obtain Zero Wing, then were to destroy it to save us from future troubles. In addition, they have a very optimistic view on White River City right now. The current population of White River City has already exceeded two million. Many players from other cities, and even other kingdoms and empires, are constantly migrating here. At present, White River City has already become the second most populous city in Star-Moon Kingdom, so we must obtain control over White River City. This time, not only have the higher-ups sent a great load of manpower, but they have also increased our funding and are prepared to focus on the nurturing of Overwhelming Smile. I heard that after Zero Wing increased the compensations and rewards it is giving out, you increased Overwhelming Smiles as well. I believe it should have increased the burden on your side significantly, right? However, you can rest easy and feel free to continue contending with Zero Wing. The higher-ups have already gathered 500 Gold as well as 300 million Credits for you. The Credits should have been sent to you by now. As for the Gold Coins, that will arrive in another hour or two at most. Afterwards, theyll be sending even more Gold Coins and Credits. I hear that the higher-ups are very serious this time. Just the total amount of Coins they are planning to invest into Overwhelming Smile may be over 5,000 Gold, not to mention the Credits. aying so, Feng Xuanyang snapped his fingers. In the next moment, another twenty people entered the private booth. Every one of these twenty people was shrouded in a thick layer of killing intent. Their bodies were as robust as a grizzly bears. Instead of looking like ordinary players, they looked more like a group of well-trained soldiers. These men are the Underworld Guards the higher-ups have dispatched. All twenty of them are party leaders, and every one of them leads a party of six members. In total, you will have 120 Underworld Guards to command as you see fit, Feng Xuanyang said, smiling. They are different from the other Underworld Guards. Im sure you can tell, but they have all worked as mercenaries in the past. They are people who have walked on real battlefields. Isnt Overwhelming Smile waging an all-out war with Zero Wing right now? As long as you have these Underworld Guards to assist you, those players who have never seen fresh blood will be easy pickings. Even if Zero Wing has more than 50 Tier 1 players, they will still be finished. Ive already handed the men over to you. What they do next is up to you. Young Master Feng, rest assured, I definitely will not disappoint you. Originally, Youlan had already been confident of slowly exhausting Zero Wing to death. Now that she was looking at the two rows of neatly lined-up Underworld Guard party leaders, a sense of indescribable joy filled her heart. Zero Wings 50-plus Tier 1 players had been giving Overwhelming Smile a huge headache recently, forcing the members of Overwhelming Smile into a state of passiveness. At this moment, they needed to similarly send out experts or Tier 1 players. Otherwise, they would simply be helpless against Zero Wings Tier 1 players. However, Youlan had suddenly come to a realization. Overwhelming Smile had plenty of elite members, but they were sorely lacking in experts and Tier 1 players. Although not all twenty of the Underworld Guards standing before her were necessarily experts, and their levels only ranged between 23 to 24, they were all veterans of the battlefield. Meanwhile, now that the battles in Gods Domain were growing increasingly realistic, these people would have an undeniable advantage. They were much more powerful compared to ordinary elite players. If they worked together, they should have a very frightening effect on field battles. Youlan could tell that the upper management of Underworld was taking things seriously this time. Currently, the various Guilds in Gods Domain were desperately purchasing Coins. They had even secretly established many money-farming teams. It was very difficult to accumulate 500 Gold. Not to mention, they were also planning to invest an additional 5,000-plus Gold Coins in the future. With such a sum of money, dealing with Zero Wing would be a piece of cake. With the subsequent funding from Underworld, Youlan no longer had to worry about equipment. Currently, there were three main sources of equipment: Dungeons; the Auction House; and the virtual trade center. Unlike the Auction House, one used Credits instead of Coins when purchasing equipment from the virtual trade center. As a result, the prices of equipment sold there were very expensive. Even so, the wealthy did not mind doing their purchases through the virtual trade center. The first reason was due to the supply of weapons and equipment there being much more abundant. This was because, in order to earn Credits, many Workshops and players would post their items up for sale at the virtual trade center. The second reason was due to convenience. The currency of Gods Domain was not easily obtainable. Moreover, the trading procedures involved were very onerous. With such a large sum of Credits, she could immediately fill up Overwhelming Smiles Guild Warehouse and rebuild the confidence of the Guild members. At the same time, it would give Zero Wing immense pressure. Hence, on the same day Youlan received the funds from Underworld, she purchased weapons and equipment ranging between Level 15 and Level 20 from the virtual trade center in bulk. The quality of the items ranged from Bronze rank to Fine-Gold rank. In total, she bought over 5,000 weapons and equipment, greatly boosting Overwhelming Smiles morale. At the same time, she also raised the death compensation and kill rewards. Seeing this change, many more members of Overwhelming Smile were tempted to join in the field battles. For a time, Overwhelming Smiles momentum in White River City surpassed Zero Wings. However, as the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Shi Feng was completely ignorant about this occurrence. At the moment, he was focused on producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment and frantically raising his Forging Proficiency. Recently, Shi Feng had been constantly busying himself with other matters. As a result, his Forging Proficiency had stagnated. Despite being the first person to become an Advanced Forging Apprentice, he had long since fallen behind Cream Cocoa and the others. These future Master Forgers had already become true Forgers. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself still needed a lot of Forging Proficiency before he could become a Forger as well. It should be known that only 3,000 Proficiency Points were required to get promoted from an Intermediate Forging Apprentice to an Advanced Forging Apprentice. Yet, in order to advance from an Advanced Forging Apprentice to a Basic Forger, 10,000 Proficiency Points were required; the amount required to rise a rank had more than tripled. Moreover, Advanced Forging Apprentices did not receive Proficiency Points from producing Common ranked items, resulting in a drastic reduction in promotion speed. Melancholic Smile and the other two had only managed to become Basic Forgers so quickly because of the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit Forging Designs Shi Feng had provided them. In the future, however, even the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits would not be able to help them with their promotions. Fortunately, the Dragonscale Set Equipment Shi Feng possessed was different. Not only was it of a very high rank, but it could also provide him with bonus Proficiency every time he succeeded in producing the Set Equipment. He also had the Forging Talent, Forging Genius, which had a fixed chance of giving him additional Proficiency Points whenever he succeeded in forging an item. Moreover, as the Dragonscale was a Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the EXP rewarded from its successful production was also very generous. However, when producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, Shi Feng had to spend ten Starfire Essences for each individual set piece. Moreover, even with the help of the various support tools he possessed, his success rate was less than 25%. Even so, Shi Feng was already very satisfied with this result. If it were anyone else producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment, let alone 25%, it would be a miracle if they even managed a 10% success rate. Furthermore, the materials needed to produce the Dragonscale Set Equipment were not particularly precious, and he also had plenty of Starfire Essences. Hence, Shi Feng madly produced the Dragonscale Set Equipment unmindful of cost. The more sets he produced, the more proficient he became. In addition, his increased brain activity also gave him an accurate grasp of the production process, allowing him to become increasingly faster and better at producing the Dragonscale Set Equipment as time went by. Shi Feng never imagined that he would also have such a fortunate development. Finally, after investing more than a days time, Shi Feng managed to completely use up all his materials and had succeeded at producing over a hundred sets. He was also promoted to a Basic Forger during this period of time, his promotion speed leaving one simply speechless. Furthermore, he had also leveled up to Level 26, his leveling speed even faster than when he was grinding monsters at White Fog Canyon. 466 Dragonclaw Set Equipmen That should be about enough. Shi Feng looked at his bag containing Dragonscale Set Equipment with satisfaction. Currently, Gods Domain players did not have very high levels, with a majority being around Level 20. Hence, Level 20 equipment had already become more common. This was apparent from the large number of independent teams raiding Level 20, 20-man Team Dungeons. Even raiding Normal Mode, 20-man Team Dungeons would drop plenty of Mysterious-Iron Equipment at the very minimum. There was even a certain probability that a Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment would drop. Even ordinary players wore a few pieces of Level 20 Bronze Equipment, not to mention veteran and elite players. It was no surprise if one ran into a player with a full set of Bronze Equipment. The equipment that Guilds elite members wore was even more impressive. Unlike independent players, Guilds would very frequently form teams to raid Dungeons. Hence, the equipment available to Guilds elites was far superior to what independent players had access to, and a majority of such elite members possessed at least a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. The lowest quality equipment Guilds core teams would wear at this point was Level 20 Mysterious-Iron rank. Normally, core members wore Secret-Silver Equipment. Only the top experts in a Guild had the chance to equip Level 20 Secret-Silver Set Equipment with a few pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment. To ordinary players, Fine-Gold Equipment was something they could only obtain in their dreams. Such items were out of their reach, and they could only fantasize about owning one. As for Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, not even the upper-management of Guilds possessed a single piece. Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment would only drop from Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons. Not a single Guild was ready to set foot in a Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeon at this stage of the game. This was why everyone had shifted their focus to the Warfire Set Equipment, which dropped in the White Fog Canyon. Meanwhile, the Level 20 Dragonscale Set Equipment was definitely one of the best Level 20 sets available. Although it could not compare to a Warfire Set Equipment that had been upgraded to Fine-Gold rank, if one equipped the entire set, they would still surpass the requirements to raid a Level 20, 100-man Team Dungeon. The set would be of immense help to raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. [Dragonscale Set Equipment] (Fine-Gold Rank) Level 20 Can be equipped by plate armor classes. Set consists of six parts: head, chest, hands, wrist, legs, and feet. Set effect Two-piece effect: Ignore Levels +10. Has a chance to trigger Fury effect when attacking, increasing damage by 20% for 6 seconds. Four-piece effect: Strength and Endurance Attribute increased by 10%. Defense increased by 20%. Six-piece effect: All Skill Cooldowns decreased by 20%. When attacking with a Skill, there is a chance to trigger Effect Multiplier, increasing the Skills effects by 50%. Although the set effects of the Dragonscale Set Equipment could not compare to those of the Warfire Set Equipment, they were still enough to tempt both Guilds and players. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to equip the Dragonscale Set Equipment himself. However, a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was only as strong as a Level 25 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. Currently, he had several pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment and Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. Combined, they were far superior to the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Hence, Shi Feng gave up on the idea. However, after Shi Feng had spent over a day forging and produced the 105th set of Dragonscale Set Equipment, by some stroke of luck, he had triggered the Blacksteel Insignias Attribute increasing effect. As a result, the Dragonscale Set Equipment had upgraded by an entire rank, becoming a Level 20 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Now, it was equivalent to a Level 25 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Shi Feng was overjoyed. After the Dragonscale Set Equipment had upgraded, it was no longer called Dragonscale; he had now created a Dragonclaw Set Equipment. This was also the only Dark-Gold Set Equipment Shi Feng had ever produced. [Dragonclaw Set Equipment] (Dark-Gold Rank) Level 20 Can be equipped by plate armor classes. Set consists of six parts: head, chest, hands, wrist, legs, and feet. Set effect Two-piece effect: Ignore Levels +15. Has a chance to trigger Fury effect when attacking, increasing damage by 40% for 6 seconds. Four-piece effect: Strength and Endurance Attribute increased by 15%. Defense increased by 30%. Seven-piece effect: All Skill Cooldowns decreased by 30%. When attacking with a Skill, there is a chance to trigger Effect Multiplier, increasing the Skills effects by 100%. Aside from the fact that the Dragonclaw Set Equipments Basic Attributes could overshadow even Level 25 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the set effects had massively improved. The Dragonclaws set effects were only slightly inferior to the Fine-Gold ranked Warfire Set Equipment. Only, the Warfire Set was more suited for PvP, whereas the Dragonclaw Set was more suited for raiding Dungeons. In Gods Domain, experts would normally prepare multiple sets of equipment for themselves, and every set had different purposes. At the very minimum, experts would prepare a set for PvP and a set for Dungeons. There were also sets that focused on flexibility, damage, and so on. In the past, Shi Feng had owned several sets of equipment at a time, which he used when he fought Dungeon Bosses, during Field PvP, and various other situations. In this life, however, he still did not have the capital to afford multiple sets of equipment. In the early stages of Gods Domain, top-tier weapons and equipment were very rare. Having a full set of top-tier equipment was already impressive, let alone multiple sets. Now that Shi Feng had the Dragonclaw Set Equipment, he immediately replaced the equipment he currently wore. As for the unused Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, he would store them in the Guilds Warehouse, leaving them for other members. As for the Level 25 Flame Boots, however, Shi Feng kept them for himself. If he encountered an extremely fast enemy, he could use them to replace the Dragonclaw Boots temporarily. After equipping the Dragonclaw Set, Shi Fengs Basic Attributes increased significantly. His Strength was close to exceeding the 500-point threshold. His HP had also exceeded 10,000, granting him more HP than the Tier 1 Guardian Knight, Cola. _If I activate the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Earth, I could easily become the number one tank in Zero Wing._ Shi Feng smiled as he looked at his own Defense. Due to the Dragonclaws set effects, he already possessed the Defense of an MT. In addition, the Aura of Earths effects would increase his Defense by 45% and reduce the damage he received by 35%. Just as Shi Feng was about to begin producing Basic Mana Armor Kits to serve as Guild benefits, Aqua Rose suddenly contacted him. Guild Leader, Ive just received news that someone from Overwhelming Smile has become a Baron. They have purchased a plot relatively valuable private land in White River City and are currently establishing their own Guild Residence. Overwhelming Smile? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. Shi Feng was not surprised that someone from Overwhelming Smile had obtained the rank of a Baron in White River City. After all, after the second evolution of Gods Domain, it became much easier to earn Reputation in cities. Moreover, due to the appearance of Zero Wings Guild Residence, the various Guilds had long since turned their focus to grinding for Reputation. It was natural that someone would have become a Baron by now. However, purchasing a plot of private land and establishing a Guild Hall required a lot of money. Private land, in particular, was a huge headache. Shi Feng had only managed to obtain the Purple Sun Mansion due to a quest reward, saving him a ridiculous amount of Gold Coins. However, Overwhelming Smile could afford to purchase private land, and even had the money to proceed with building a Guild Hall immediately. Even the cheapest plot of land in White River City cost over 1,000 Gold. Adding in the cost of the cheapest Guild Hall, Overwhelming Smile would need to spend at least 1,500 Gold. Although it had become much easier to earn Coins, even a first-rate Guild would need over a week to accumulate so much money. Moreover, purchasing Coins in bulk through the virtual trade center would cause the price of Coins to soar. How many Credits would one need to purchase so many Gold Coins? Since when had Overwhelming Smile become so wealthy?! 467 Sweeping God’s Domain Aside from establishing a Guild Residence, Overwhelming Smile has also recruited a team of experts. These experts have been ambushing our teams and killing many of our members. Some of our Tier 1 members have encountered them before, and although they were no match for our members in a one-on-one battle, those experts are well-trained and coordinate with each other flawlessly. With three people working together, they can finish off one of our Tier 1 members quickly. We estimate that Overwhelming Smile has over a hundred of these experts and has scattered them across various leveling areas. They randomly appear and kill our members who are questing or leveling, causing us tremendous losses. Although we have invested a lot of time and manpower into hunting these experts down, we have come up with nothing Aqua Rose ground her teeth with frustration as she spoke about Overwhelming Smiles mysterious experts, and she wanted to hunt them down and end them personally. Thanks to these experts, Zero Wing had lost an additional 2,000 or so members in just one day. Ever since Zero Wing had declared war on Overwhelming Smile, the Guild had only suffered around 6,000 deaths. This little group of experts had caused over 2,000 of those deaths. Moreover, they had caused so much damage in one day. Aside from the lost equipment and levels, the compensation costs wounded the Guilds finances. If this situation repeated itself everyday, the several hundred Gold the Guild had accumulated through Guild Quests would only last a few more days before it dwindled to nothing. This means that Overwhelming Smile is finally getting serious. Frowning, Shi Feng said, Since they wish to send experts to ambush us, we have no need to hold back. Have Fire Dance and the others eliminate them. However, scatter the group to separate locations. Well hold off on the Team Dungeon for now. As for our regular Guild members, have them form teams to grind in the fields from now on. Okay, Ill notify Fire Dance and the others immediately, saying so, Aqua Rose disconnected the call. She then contacted Fire Dance and Zero Wings other top combatants. Meanwhile, Shi Feng halted his work in the forge. After tidying up, he left the forging room and hurried to the Bank. Shi Feng had never expected Overwhelming Smile to possess such a card. This situation certainly surpassed Shi Fengs initial estimation of his enemy. Fortunately, Zero Wing had far more experts than Overwhelming Smile. In particular, Zero Wing possessed an absolute advantage when it came to Tier 1 players, as Overwhelming Smile still did not have a single Tier 1 player. All this time, Zero Wings experts had split into two batches and took turns slaughtering Overwhelming Smiles members. This way, not only could they make Overwhelming Smile suffer, but they also wouldnt significantly hinder their own development. Now that over a hundred experts had suddenly appeared in Overwhelming Smile, Shi Feng would not let them run free. Moreover, the fact that Overwhelming Smile now possessed their own Guild Residence was bad news for Zero Wing. Originally, Zero Wing had only attracted so many new players to the Guild due to their Guild Residence. The benefits a Guild Residence offered persuaded the Guild members to ignore Overwhelming Smiles high offers and continue their development with Zero Wing. Now, however, Zero Wings members would be tempted to join Overwhelming Smile as the benefits they could obtain there were not inferior in the slightest. However, Gold Coins were still what was most important! Originally, Overwhelming Smile was only wealthy in terms of Credits. To Shi Feng, the Guild was no threat at all. After all, many of the items in Gods Domain could only be purchased with Coins. Even if one had an endless supply of Credits, the number of Coins they could buy was limited. Furthermore, Overwhelming Smile was not the only Guild in Gods Domain purchasing Coins in bulk, further limiting what was available. In an all-out war between Guilds, Coins were the most consumed resource. There was the cost of purchasing and repairing equipment to consider, in addition to compensating Guild members. Battles between players placed a massive burden on equipment Durability. Take Shi Fengs battles for example: a single strike from his sword could scrap Bronze Equipment. Only Mysterious-Iron Equipment could withstand his attack, and even then, it would only last a few extra hits. Even if the equipment was not destroyed, even elite players would cough blood with shock at the repair fee to recover the item. Although equipment could be purchased from the virtual trade center and compensation could be paid out using Credits, the system controlled equipment repair fees, and it did not acknowledge Credits. A single players repair fee was not much, costing around 2 Silver Coins. The repair fee for 10,000 players, however, would be at least 200 Gold Coins, a very frightening amount. Not to mention, the higher quality equipment a player wore, the higher their repair fee would be. Although the repair fees were not the Guilds responsibility, but the players,, how many times could a player afford to repair their equipment in a long war? Once players ran out of money, how could they continue to involve themselves in the war if their equipment was close to breaking? Unless they decided to risk themselves without weapons and armor In the early stages of the war, the Guild members would accept Credits as compensation and reward. However, after some time, they would need to purchase Coins with the Credits they received. Hence, Coins were the true foundation of wars in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, a Guild Residence was a Guilds main source of income for Coins during the early stages of Gods Domain. If Overwhelming Smile included Coins in their frightening financial power it would create a terrifying combination. Shi Feng could not afford to continue focusing on plots to earn money. He needed to take action. After returning the Philosophers Stone to his Warehouse, Shi Feng used the Seven Luminaries Gemstone and teleported to Blackwing City, taking the Dragonscale Sets with him. At present, Blackwing City had become a gathering place for players from kingdoms and empires all over Gods Domain. Compared to Shi Fengs previous visits to the city, the player population had grown significantly. Moreover, there was an important difference between the players in Blackwing City and the players in other cities. Wealth! The players in Blackwing City were extremely wealthy. Moreover, the money these players possessed did not only involve Credits, but also included Gold Coins. A majority of the players in Blackwing City were the upper-management personnel of various large Guilds, and they had come to Blackwing City specifically to do business. Hence, the amount of Credits and Coins they had on hand far surpassed anything that an ordinary player possessed. Blackwing City was truly the gathering place for tycoons. This was also why Shi Feng had come to this place today. Shi Feng had no intentions of selling the Dragonscale Set Equipment for Credits. His goal was to earn Gold Coins. If he sold the Dragonscale Set Equipment in Star-Moon Kingdoms Auction Houses or at the Starstreak Trading Firm, he would not get a good price. In addition, unlike the players in Blackwing City who would spend several Gold Coins without even blinking, players who could afford such large expenditures were few and far between in Star-Moon Kingdom. After arriving at Blackwing City, Shi Feng searched for a secluded location. He then used the Demon Mask to don a false identity. Unlike his previous visit when he tried to keep a low-profile, Shi Feng changed his appearance to that of a very handsome youth. He had even slightly altered the appearance of the Dragonclaw Set Equipment he wore, making it look more imposing. He also chose not to hide the special glowing effect of the Dragonclaw Set Equipment, revealing the telltale light of Dark-Gold Equipment. When he reached the streets, the Dark-Gold rank glowing effect that enveloped his body nearly blinded other players. Damn! My eyes arent playing tricks on me, right? Thats a Dark-Gold Set Equipment! Impossible! It looks awesome! Our Guild doesnt even possess a set of Fine-Gold Set Equipment! Just who is he? Shi Feng dominated the attention of the players wandering the streets, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as they stared at him in a daze. They were all upper-managers of various large Guilds, so their knowledge of the game was extensive. Even if they saw a player wearing Fine-Gold Set Equipment, they would not reveal such exaggerated reactions. At most, they would briefly admire that players equipment. A Dark-Gold Set Equipment, however, shattered their understanding of the game. 468 Ninth Heaven Pavilion In just a short moment, news about Shi Fengs sudden appearance had spread throughout Blackwing City. Have you heard? Theres a player wearing a full Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Heard about it? I saw that player with my own eyes! You dont know just how imposing he looked! He was like a ferocious tiger! He had only glanced at me, and my entire body trembled! Ah, a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. It would be awesome to wear one. Dont even think about it. The various Guilds throughout Gods Domain cant even obtain a Fine-Gold Set Equipment, let alone Dark-Gold. With a Dark-Gold Set Equipment, PvP and Dungeon raiding would be childs play. If an expert wears the set, they will become practically invincible. Do you think that person will sell his Dark-Gold Set Equipment? Sell? Are you insane? Do you even know the significance of a Dark-Gold Set Equipment? A Dark-Gold Set Equipment is the best equipment currently available in Gods Domain by far. This set could even become the symbol of a Guild, attracting countless players to join. On top of that, the rise in combat power the set provides would make grinding and Dungeon raiding far easier. It would play a huge role in ones future development. If it were up to me, I would rather sell my house than sell my Dark-Gold Set Equipment. I guess youre right. If purchased with Credits, a Dark-Gold Set Equipment should be worth at least two million. Including its ability to increase a Guilds influence, it is worth more than a single house located in the city center. The players occupying the streets and alleys of Blackwing City discussed Shi Feng. They envied and admired his Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Before, many of them had dreamed of equipping a Fine-Gold Set Equipment themselves. Yet, now, someone actually wore a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. No, to be precise, someone ran around Blackwing City while wearing a house While players talked about Shi Feng, the various Guild representatives in Blackwing City overworked themselves as they followed Shi Feng while reporting back to their respective Guilds. Currently, they no longer had the serenity befitting an upper-manager of a Guild as their anxiety was on full display. _This has worked out quite well._ Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he glanced at the various Guild representatives behind him. Although he was in Blackwing City, it would not be so easy to sell out of the Dragonscale Set Equipment quickly. Soon, Shi Feng found a high-class restaurant and rested for a moment. Before Shi Feng could get comfortable, a few players abruptly sat across from him. These players were all Level 25 and above, and their equipment was at least Secret-Silver rank. One could easily tell that these were not ordinary players. They would be the center of attention on the streets of any other city. However, they could not compete with Shi Feng. Shi Fengs Dark-Gold Set Equipment was as dazzling as the sun, and one would find it difficult not to notice. What business do you have with me? Shi Feng spoke softly as glanced up at these players. These players felt their chests tighten under Shi Fengs pinning gaze, and their opinions of the player before them rose. Friend, please dont misunderstand us. This humble one is called Swallow Nine. We noticed your extraordinary bearing, and that you wear a full Dark-Gold Set Equipment, so there is certainly no need to discuss your strength. We have also noticed that you are an independent player. We few are the representatives of major Guilds, and we want to extend invitations to our Guilds. The one who spoke was an elegant middle-aged man with a thin figure. On his chest, the man wore the Guild Emblem of a Super Guild, the Ninth Heaven Pavilion. Compared to the other representatives before Shi Feng, it was obvious that the power supporting Swallow Nine was far more extensive. If first-rate Guilds were the princes and princesses of the virtual gaming world, then Super Guilds were emperors and empresses. Whether regarding financial powers, influence, or history of Super Guilds, first-rate Guilds could not compare to any of them. In Gods Domain, a first-rate Guild was capable of controlling the majority of a kingdoms territory. A Super Guild, however, possessed the capacity to control one or two empires territories. One could just imagine how massive the gap was between the two. Meanwhile, Ninth Heaven Pavilion was a rather ancient Super Guild. Before the appearance of Gods Domain, they had been the overlords of several dozen large-scale virtual reality games. They had long since created a gigantic virtual empire for themselves. However, due to the appearance of Gods Domain, many virtual reality games had lost their markets. Thus, the Ninth Heaven Pavilion focused their investments on Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the fact that the middle-aged man before Shi Feng was the Guild representative of the Ninth Heaven Pavilion spoke volumes of his abilities. Im waiting for someone. I also have no interest in joining any Guild, so please leave! Shi Feng expressed his impatience, going so far as to reveal a trace of killing intent. Shi Fengs strength allowed him to face a Lord as an equal. After going berserk, he could even overwhelm a Lord ranked monster. After living in Gods Domain for a time, players intuitions had improved somewhat. Even ordinary players could vaguely sense things such as killing intent, let alone elites and expert players. If Shi Feng casually released a little killing intent, he could inflict a suffocating fear onto an ordinary player; the feeling was more intense for elites and experts who could sense killing intent with more clarity. _So strong!_ Swallow Nine was inwardly shocked. Although Shi Feng had not taken any action, he could feel how powerful Shi Feng was. The Swordsman before him was definitely not an ordinary expert, and he was someone who could rival even the top powerhouses in the Ninth Heaven Pavilion. If factoring in his equipment, the top powerhouses of the Ninth Heaven Pavilion might not even be a match for Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight. However, this revelation had only served to excite Swallow Nine further. Friend, if you are not willing to join, why dont we become friends? Swallow Nine did not mind Shi Fengs killing intent at all. Smiling, he said, With such strength, I believe that you must have a lot of weapons and equipment that you do not need. I am willing to purchase your items 20% higher than market value. How about it? The other representatives had nodded in agreement, though they were not as calm and carefree as Swallow Nine. They had never thought, even for a second, that Shi Feng would join their Guilds. Experts of this level normally had quirky personalities and would never submit. Meanwhile, joining a Guild meant accepting someone elses control. Shi Feng would not agree to such an invitation. However, seeing that Shi Feng was an expert capable of possessing a Dark-Gold Set Equipment, he should have many other top-tier weapons and equipment. Even if Shi Feng did not possess an extra Dark-Gold Set Equipment, at the very least, he should have a stock of Dark-Gold or Fine-Gold ranked items. Such items were extremely difficult to purchase. It was common knowledge that top-tier equipment could not be bought from the market. Even top-tier Workshops would keep such equipment for themselves; they definitely would not sell it. If one wished to obtain such equipment, they could only rely on themselves. However, it was easier said than done. Now that they had encountered such a rare opportunity, naturally, they could not let it get away. You wish to buy my items? Shi Feng laughed. With disdain, he then said, Do you think you can afford them? If you have something to sell, regardless of how many items there are, I, Swallow Nine, guarantee that I will purchase all of them at 20% above market value. If you have top-tier equipment, I will purchase it at 50% above market value, Swallow Nine confidently declared. Right! Our Guilds have no issues doing the same, the other representatives promptly voiced their agreement. Although their Guilds could not compare to the Ninth Heaven Pavilion, they were still major Guilds. They had more than enough money to purchase a single experts extra equipment. Hahaha! Interesting! Interesting! Shi Feng suddenly laughed. However, Shi Fengs actions only made Swallow Nine and the others turn to look at each other. One thousand Gold. If you have 1,000 Gold on your persons right now, I will consider letting you look at the equipment I no longer need. Otherwise, scram! Find someone else to disturb! 469 Gathering of the Powerful Shi Feng was very loud, and every player on the second floor of the restaurant had heard his words loud and clear. One thousand Gold! Many of the Guild representatives in the restaurant with similar ideas as Swallow Nine immediately sucked in a cold breath. To any Guild in Gods Domain, 1,000 Gold was not a small sum. Super Guilds were no exception. Guilds supported a majority of the layers in Blackwing City. Although they were all very rich, their maximum trade volumes would not exceed 100 Gold. Meanwhile, Shi Feng casually demanded a price of 1,000 Gold. Moreover, this was only the bottom line. If they did not have 1,000 Gold in their bags, he wouldnt even consider a trade. How arrogant! He was simply too arrogant! However, despite Shi Fengs arrogance, not a single person present had chosen to turn around and leave. On the contrary, they promptly contacted their respective Guilds, ordering the preparation of 1,000 Gold. One thousand Gold? Youre insane! Do you know the significance of 1,000 Gold at this stage of the game? What? That expert in the Dark-Gold Set Equipment stated that he would only consider a trade with someone possessing 1,000 Gold? The various Guilds were shocked upon receiving this news. However, that shock soon turned into rage, as these Guilds felt that Shi Feng was only toying with them. One thousand Gold! Currently, Gold Coins were still scarce. Although the prices of Coins had decreased significantly, even 10 million Credits was not enough to purchase 1,000 Gold. Moreover, not even a Dark-Gold Set Equipment was worth 1,000 Gold. What? Dont have it? Shi Feng smirked at Swallow Nine and the others. Impatiently, he said, Since you dont have it, please leave. Stop disturbing my peace. No, please wait a moment. It is true that I do not have that much money on me right now. However, someone will send the money over quickly, Swallow Nine said as he calmed his pounding heart. He had to admit that Shi Feng had given him a fright. However, the more arrogantly Shi Feng behaved, the more Swallow Nine believed that Shi Feng had something valuable to offer. Experts of this level had very high self-esteem, and an arrogant attitude was normal. However, one thing was certain: such experts would not fabricate false rumors. If Shi Feng dared to make such ridiculous statements, then he definitely had the capital to do so. Although Swallow Nine did not know what that capital was, he knew that it would not be insignificant. Tch, truly annoying. Shi Feng frowned at Swallow Nines words. Paying no more attention to the middle-aged man, Shi Feng called up the official forums and began to browse. Everything was going according to plan. Moreover, shortly after he had stated his price of 1,000 Gold, a post about him had set the official forums of Gods Domain on fire. There was even a post mentioning the 1,000 Gold trade qualification he had demanded. Many people had begun to discuss the situation. They all felt that Shi Feng was a lunatic and was too arrogant. Some had even begun to doubt his equipment. Quickly, this news had attracted the attention of even more Guilds. After a dozen minutes or so, the restaurant Shi Feng occupied exploded with activity. Players filled the restaurant, and every one of them represented a Guild. The majority of the Guilds present were first-rate Guilds, with the lowest being second-rate Guilds. Two additional Super Guilds had even arrived. One of the new Super Guilds to arrive was Sanctuary, while the other was Kings Return. These two Super Guilds were powerhouses similar to the Ninth Heaven Pavilion. Currently, the representatives of so many famous Guilds, including three Super Guilds, had gathered in this one high-class restaurant. This was something that had never happened in the past. And all of this was due to the sudden appearance of a mysterious expert Of the three Super Guild representatives, two were men, and the last was a woman. Among them, Swallow Nine represented the Ninth Heaven Pavilion, a polished woman named Flourishing Colors represented Sanctuary, and Kings Return was represented by a crude and brawny-looking man named Thunder Tiger. Flourishing Colors was a Level 26 Summoner, whereas Thunder Tiger was a Level 26 Berserker. It was clear that the three Super Guild representatives knew each other, as the moment the three met, they began to chat as if they were old friends. Shi Feng glanced at the second floor, discovering that the high-class restaurant seemed to represent Gods Domains current power. As Swallow Nine, Flourishing Colors, and Thunder Tiger were representatives of Super Guilds, the three sat opposite of Shi Feng. As for the representatives of first-rate Guilds, they hovered nearby. As for the few second-rate Guilds, they sat near the staircase. The hierarchy had been clearly established. The three belonging to Super Guilds paid no attention to those belonging to first-rate Guilds, and those belonging to first-rate Guilds paid no attention to the second-rate Guilds. The representatives present only spoke to those on the same level as themselves. If Zero Wing attended this gathering, its representative would most likely have to stand at the restaurants entrance. After half an hour, Swallow Nine finally spoke. Ive put together my 1,000 Gold. Please take a look, Swallow Nine said as he smiled at Shi Feng. He then placed his coin pouch on the table. Although the coin pouch was only the size of a fist, this was only an illusion. Regardless of how much money it contained, the coin pouch would retain the same size. Moreover, a players coin pouch was bound to them, and nobody could steal it. However, others could still check the amount inside with the owners permission. Brother Expert said that one would qualify to trade with you so long as they have 1,000 Gold. I happen to have 1,000 Gold with me. Please check it for yourself, Brother Expert. Thunder Tiger similarly placed a coin pouch on the table. I have the same. Flourishing Colors smiled faintly as she, too, revealed her coin pouch. For a time, the various Guild representatives on the second floor promptly presented their coin pouches to Shi Feng, allowing him to inspect them. As the crowd waited for Shi Fengs inspection, instead of actually doing so, Shi Feng smiled and said, That wont be necessary. I believe that the Guilds present should not be so poor as to not even possess 1,000 Gold. Since all of you have 1,000 Gold on your persons now, you all qualify to trade with me. However, the items I wish to sell are limited. Since there are so many people here, Im sure none of you will oppose an auction, right? Suddenly, the crowd understood Shi Fengs intentions. This was a public auction. If so, the items would definitely be sold far above market value. Realizing the truth of the matter, everyones expressions darkened. Of course, you can also choose not to buy my items. I wont force those who are unwilling. Shi Feng yawned. Slowly, he said, If anyone is not interested, you are welcome to leave. Yet, even after Shi Fengs declaration, not a single representative turned to leave. They all wanted to see the reason behind Shi Fengs confidence. Since everyone agrees, Ill begin with the first item, then, Shi Feng said as he swept a glance over the crowd in the hall, nodding with satisfaction. Everything was going according to plan. What happened next would depend on how these people would compete. Hearing Shi Feng begin the auction, the crowd grew tense. Even Swallow Nine, Thunder Tiger, and Flourishing Colors, the representatives of three Super Guilds, focused on Shi Fengs every move. In the next moment, Shi Feng took out a piece of equipment from his bag. Looking at the glow of the equipment, it seemed to be Fine-Gold rank, not Dark-Gold rank as everyone had expected. Even so, Fine-Gold Equipment was quite valuable. Currently, Fine-Gold Equipment was very rare. Although some were available on the virtual trade center, most of those items had inferior Attributes. Initially, everyone had thought Shi Feng would state the starting bid for the equipment, signaling the representatives to begin. However, Shi Feng proceeded by revealing another piece of equipment. Moreover, this item was also Fine-Gold ranked. One piece Two pieces Three pieces Shi Feng displayed a total of six pieces of equipment. Moreover, although these six pieces were all different, they possessed a single style. That is a Fine-Gold Set Equipment! The crowd was stupefied when they saw the Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table. They even wondered if their eyes played tricks on them. Though large Guilds had several pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment, not even the Super Guilds possessed a Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Yet, an unknown expert like Shi Feng had one 470 Strong Appearance Both the appearance and Attributes of the Dragonscale Set Equipment were far more powerful than ordinary Fine-Gold Equipment. Furthermore, one had to consider the set effects. When Shi Feng placed the Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table, he did not hide the sets Attributes, allowing everyone to examine the set. These are the set effects of a Fine-Gold Set Equipment? The effects of this Dragonscale Set are insane! It could rival the effects of that rumored Warfire Set! Ive seen the effects of the Warfire Set before. Warfire is more suited for PvP, while this Dragonscale is suited for Dungeon raiding. It is what Guilds need most right now. The crowd was dumbfounded after reading the Dragonscale Set Equipments information. Aside from how important the Ignore Levels effect was to players right now, the Fury effect alone could raise their damage to a whole new level. There were also the Strength and Agility Attribute increases, both of which were the most important Attributes to any physical class. Overall, every set effect of the Dragonscale Set was very useful to a physical class. If equipped, a players combat power would instantly rise by two or three levels. It was frightening Youve seen the equipment for yourselves. The bidding will start at 100 Gold, with a minimum bid increment of 1 Gold. Shi Feng chuckled. He then announced, You may begin! Before the crowd could recover from their shock, Shi Fengs opening price stunned them once more. The market offer for the Warfire Set Equipment was also 100 Gold, and the set could be upgraded to Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, the sets level would increase with the players, and it could become a Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The Dragonscale Set Equipment was only a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The opening bid was simply too expensive. If the set were a Level 25 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, it might be worth 100 Gold. What? Nobodys bidding? Shi Feng watched the silent crowd. Leisurely, he said, Since nobody wants to buy it, then our trade comes to an end. We dont have anything to talk about, so lets dismiss this issue. Even after Shi Feng said this, the various Guild representatives stood as still as stone, showing no intentions of leaving. Right now, they were like a pack of hungry wolves that had meat placed before them. How could they leave without a bite? Brother Expert, your price is somewhat high. If it were the set you wear right now, I would pay double. Thats right! Im willing to buy the Dragonscale Set Equipment at 60 Gold! The Guild representatives voiced their opinions, expressing their refusal of the high price of the Dragonscale Set Equipment and imploring Shi Feng to lower the price. After all, Gold Coins were not easy to come by. Now that every Guild purchased Coins in bulk, it had resulted in an abnormal shortage of Coins. Currently, most of the Guilds in Gods Domain relied on their money-farming teams to supply them with Coins. Dont buy it if you think it is too expensive. I dont need to sell my equipment to you specifically, Shi Feng said disdainfully. Shi Feng knew exactly what these representatives were trying to do. At this moment, however, a crisp voice echoed throughout the restaurants second floor. One hundred Gold. I want it. Immediately, everyones attention shifted towards the person who placed the bid, discovering a bright and attractive beauty. Moreover, the majority of the equipment this beauty wore was Fine-Gold rank, and the staff strapped to her back even emitted the glow unique to Dark-Gold items. Isnt she Aqua Rose of Twilight Echo? I seem to recall Aqua Rose having left Twilight Echo. I believe she joined a small unknown Guild. Her actions had caused quite the commotion. Thats right; I remember it as well. Many Guilds had tried to recruit her. Unfortunately, she rejected all of the offers, insisting on joining a small Guild instead. At that time, many had sighed at her choice. How could she possibly achieve anything in a small Guild? Twilight Echo even expressed that, as long as Aqua Rose acknowledged her mistakes, they would gladly welcome her back. Unfortunately, she refused. After not hearing anything about her for so long, I thought she had quit Gods Domain. It is somewhat unfortunate. However, based on her current appearance, it seems that she is getting by quite well. She even wields a Dark-Gold Weapon. No matter what was said or done, Aqua Rose is very talented and powerful. With the nurturing of a small Guild and some luck, it isnt exactly impossible to obtain Level 20 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. However, she probably wont grow beyond that. After all, a small Guild is still a small Guild. The crowd instantly fell into a discussion about Aqua Rose. She was quite famous in the virtual gaming world, and like the Snow Goddess, she had been nicknamed the Rose Goddess. Naturally, the Guild representatives recognized her. The crowds attention turned from Aqua Rose, shifting towards Twilight Echos representative. Twilight Echos representative, Brilliant Wargod, had also noticed Aqua Roses appearance. He was visibly delighted. It was especially true when he heard everyones evaluation of the woman. Ever since he had suffered defeat at Shi Fengs hands, due to the punishment from the system, his leveling speed had slowed to a crawl. Even when he accompanied others, he could not level any faster. Having no other choice, he chose to act as the Guilds representative and mingled in Blackwing City. He hated Shi Feng fiercely for placing him in his current situation. Previously, he had allowed Aqua Rose to leave Twilight Echo with ulterior motives. He wanted to teach Aqua Rose that she was nothing without Twilight Echo, and in the end, she would beg to return to the Guild. However, upon seeing Aqua Roses equipment and level, Brilliant Wargods expression sank, disappointed. _Keep up your pretenses! I want to see just how long you can keep up the act!_ Brilliant Wargod had paid close attention to Zero Wing, so he knew that Zero Wing was currently engaged in an all-out war against Overwhelming Smile. Others might not know Overwhelming Smiles backer, but he did. A tiny Guild like Zero Wing would only last a few more days. Alright, 100 Gold going once! 100 Gold going twice! Shi Feng did not care whether the crowd paid attention to Twilight Echos representative or not. He just smiled faintly as he confirmed the bid. Immediately, his words shook everyone back to their senses, and the representatives promptly started shouting their own bids. 101 Gold! 103 Gold! 108 Gold! The Dragonscale Set Equipment that nobody wanted had suddenly risen to a price of 132 Gold. What had happened to 100 Gold is too expensive? Their complaints had been nothing more than nonsense. After all, this was a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment that none of the Guilds in Gods Domain possessed. Although the set was not particularly suitable for MTs, it still had better effects than the individual equipment pieces that their MTs currently wore. How could they possibly give up on it? When Thunder Tiger placed a bid of 132 Gold, the crowd began to hesitate. 150 Gold! Aqua Rose calmly rose the bid. The crowd turned to look at each other, shocked. Even to a large Guild, 150 Gold was not cheap. To a small Guild, that should practically be all they had. Yet, Aqua Rose seemed not to care about the price at all. The representatives began to wonder what kind of Guild supported Aqua Rose. 155 Gold! Swallow Nine stated. 158 Gold! Flourishing Colors began to bid as well. One hundred and fifty Gold was almost the limit a first-rate Guild would willingly bid; any more would be too expensive. However, the three Super Guilds did not care about this price. Just as the three Super Guilds began to compete with each other... 200 Gold! Although Aqua Roses voice was not particularly loud, her bid swept through the crowd like a chilling wave 471 It is Difficult to Breed True Dragons in Shallow Waters Two hundred Gold Coins! The crowd immediately fell silent. Everyone turned to Aqua Rose, the Rose Goddess who had left the first-rate Guild Twilight Echo. Shes insane! Spending 200 Gold Coins just to garner some fame is foolish! Does the Guild behind her really possess so much money that they can disregard 200 Gold? Every representative had their own speculation. Some believed that Aqua Rose was trying to use the money to buy fame, while some believed that the Guild supporting her possessed an extraordinary background. However, regardless of the reasons behind her actions, everyones admiration for Aqua Rose grew. Every Guild here could afford to spend 200 Gold. After all, before Shi Feng had started his auction, he had required that anyone who wanted to trade with him must first carry 1,000 Gold on them. If not for the 1,000 Gold in their bags, they would not be so shameless as to participate in the auction. Every Guild in this restaurant was a reputable major power. If others discovered that they did not have 1,000 Gold in their bags, it would tarnish their Guilds reputation. However, although they had the money, they would not spend it on useless items. They would only buy that which had value to their Guilds. After all, their members had struggled to earn every Gold Coin. Nobody wanted to be played for a fool. The three Super Guild representatives were also silent. They looked at Aqua Rose with curiosity, confused as to what the Rose Goddess was attempting to do. Two hundred Gold going once! Shi Feng watched the calm and composed Aqua Rose, silently praising her performance. He had to admit that Aqua Roses confident smile even led him to believe that 200 Gold was no different from spare change to her. Two hundred Gold going twice! Just as Shi Feng shouted the second time, Brilliant Wargod suddenly shouted, 201 Gold. This young master wants it. Two hundred ten Gold, Aqua Rose said as she glared at Brilliant Wargod, disgust and hatred filling her eyes. Two hundred eleven Gold, Brilliant Wargod sneered. Although he was not particularly interested in the Dragonscale Set Equipment, he could not stomach letting Aqua Rose garner fame in front of this crowd. If that happened, it would wound his reputation. Hence, he could not allow Aqua Rose to have the Dragonscale Set Equipment, allowing her to enjoy the limelight. Three hundred Gold. Done wasting time, Aqua Rose significantly raised the bid. The other Guild representatives were stunned. The three Super Guild representatives shook their heads helplessly. The price was simply too high. Previously, everyone had believed that Aqua Rose would never rise without the help of Twilight Echo. Yet, Aqua Roses current performance was more domineering than during her time in Twilight Echo. She was no less imposing than Ouroboross Guild Leader, the Snow Goddess Gentle Snow. They could not understand why Twilight Echo had discarded Aqua Rose. Brilliant Wargods heart trembled upon hearing this bid. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, 301 Gold. It had not been easy for the Guild to raise the 1,000 Gold he had on him right now, and part of the money had been taken from the funds set aside for Twilight Echos Guild Residence. If he spent 300 Gold here, it would undoubtedly delay the purchase of the Guild Residence by one or two days. Four hundred Gold! Aqua Rose shouted without flinching. She then shot Brilliant Wargod a disdainful look. None of these representatives were fools. They could tell that, rather than purchasing an item, Brilliant Wargod and Aqua Rose currently competed via wealth. However, when they saw Aqua Roses resolve as she called out a bid of 400 Gold, they could not help but admire the Rose Goddess. Just what kind of financial power did she possess to ignore 400 Gold? You! Seeing Aqua Roses contemptuous glance, Brilliant Wargod had never felt such humiliation. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth and shouted, Aqua Rose! Dont even think of taking whats mine! So what if youve bid 400 Gold? I bid 500 Gold! Five hundred Gold going once! Five hundred Gold going twice! As Shi Feng announced the price, Brilliant Wargods anxiety grew. He was deeply afraid that Aqua Rose would place an even higher bid. At that time, he would have to raise his bid even further. Only when Shi Feng shouted the third time did Brilliant Wargod reveal a victorious smile. He then shifted his gaze towards Aqua Rose, smirking at the woman with pride. Five hundred Gold, Shi Feng said as he walked up to Brilliant Wargod, placing the Dragonscale Set Equipment in front of the man. He did not care about whatever thoughts occupied Brilliant Wargods mind. When the crowd watched Brilliant Wargod hand over 500 Gold in exchange for the Dragonscale Set Equipment, envy, admiration, and disdain filled their hearts. However, they admitted that the Dragonscale Set Equipment was currently the only Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment available in Gods Domain. Although it was somewhat foolish to spend 500 Gold, once they had the Dragonscale Set Equipment, the profits they could reap with it might exceed 500 Gold. Thinking up to this point, the various Guild representatives felt somewhat regretful. Why had they not competed over the set? What if they could gain far more than 500 Gold with the use of this set? After obtaining the Dragonscale Set Equipment, a sense of indescribable joy filled Brilliant Wargods heart as he watched the silent Aqua Rose. However, before he could ridicule the woman, Shi Feng suddenly spoke again. Lets begin the auction for the second item, then. The auctioned item is another Dragonscale Set Equipment. Like before, the starting bid is 100 Gold with minimum increments of 1 Gold. Saying so, Shi Feng placed another Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table. You How Why do you have a second!? Brilliant Wargod felt his heart shatter when he saw an exact copy of the Dragonscale Set Equipment he had just purchased. Who said I only had one set? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Brilliant Wargod before proceeding with the auction. Brilliant Wargods elation deflated. When he saw Aqua Roses laughing expression, he even had the thought of killing himself[1] When the crowd saw the second Dragonscale Set Equipment on the table, they all glanced at their fellow representatives. Nobody had expected Shi Feng to have a second set. The regret that they had felt immediately vanished. They had somewhat admired Brilliant Wargod for spending 500 Gold to purchase the first Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment in Gods Domain. Now, however, that admiration turned into ridicule. 150 Gold! I bid 155 Gold! Previously, everyone had felt that 100 Gold was too expensive. Now, however, multiple Guilds simultaneously began the bid with 150 Gold. However, just like before, Aqua Rose immediately dashed everyones hopes by bidding 200 Gold. This time, the three Super Guild representatives did not hesitate as they shouted higher bids. Items of rarity were expensive. It was especially true during the early stages of Gods Domain. Just a single piece of equipment could significantly affect the future development of a Guild, not to mention a Fine-Gold Set Equipment. In the end, Aqua Rose purchased the second Dragonscale Set Equipment at 280 Gold. The many Guild representatives envied and admired her. Simultaneously, they also could not help but acknowledge that Aqua Rose was really amazing. Even after leaving Twilight Echo, she was still so well-off. One could just imagine how capable she was. On the other hand, Twilight Echo had been so blind as to chase Aqua Rose out of the Guild. As everyone admired Aqua Rose, interest in her Guild also began to grow. It was difficult to breed a true dragon in shallow waters. Aqua Rose was undoubtedly a true dragon. No ordinary Guild would be good enough to catch her eye. Soon, Shi Feng took out the third Dragonscale Set Equipment, rendering the crowd utterly speechless. They had even started to suspect that the Dragonscale Set Equipment was some kind of common good that could be purchased anywhere. However, nobody complained. On the contrary, they all were elated because they had another chance to compete. Shi Feng had never mentioned how many sets he had on hand. What if this one was the last? Hence, everyone gritted their teeth and placed their bids. In the end, Swallow Nine won the third set for 291 Gold. Following which, Shi Feng revealed the fourth set, which Sanctuarys Flourishing Colors won for 303 Gold. Thunder Tiger of Kings Return won the fifth set for 322 Gold, whereas a first-rate Guild purchased the sixth set for 337 Gold. Initially, everyone had believed that Shi Feng would reveal the seventh set. In the end, however, Shi Feng announced that the sixth was the last he had on him. This revelation had caused the crowd to regret not bidding higher. None of the Guilds had cared much for obtaining a Fine-Gold Set Equipment when no one else had owned one. However, now that some Guilds had obtained one, things had changed. It was highly possible that due to the Dragonscale Set Equipment, these Guilds would take the lead in conquering Level 20 large-scale Team Dungeons. At that time, these Guilds would gain a massive advantage over the others. TL Notes: [1] Note that we, in no way, are supporting/encouraging suicide nor are we taking such a sensitive topic lightly. 472 Massive Profits Rare items were expensive. Although Shi Feng had over a hundred copies of the Dragonscale Set Equipment, if he wished to sell them at a good price, he could not sell too many at once; he needed to regulate the number of sets he sold. Currently, the six sets he had actioned would not sate these Guilds thirst. Even if he tripled or quadrupled that number, the price they were willing to pay would not decrease. However, Shi Feng would not do so. Six sets were the limit. If he sold any more, it would lead to everyone to believe that the Dragonscale Set Equipment was easily obtainable. If he tried to sell it later, it would become impossible to get a good price. Although Shi Feng had produced over a hundred sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment, they were not cheap to forge. Aside from the basic materials, each set piece required 10 Starfire Essences. One Dragonscale Set Equipment cost more than 10 Gold to produce. After factoring in the forging success rate, a single Dragonscale Set Equipment cost 30 Gold. If anyone else forged the set, it would cost them over 100 Gold. Naturally, Shi Feng could not sell the Dragonscale Set Equipment for a low price. Despite Shi Feng stating that he did not have another Dragonscale Set Equipment on him, none of the various Guild representatives believed him. Shi Feng had been able to reveal six sets in a row. No matter how one looked at it, Shi Feng must have found a special channel to obtain the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Unfortunately, only he knew his source. However, they could do nothing if Shi Feng insisted that he had run out of stock. Many of the representatives who had failed to purchase a set for themselves struggled with their reluctance to accept the situation. On the other hand, Aqua Roses appearance had incited a heated discussion. The crowd was quite curious about the Guild behind Aqua Rose. Even first-rate Guilds like theirs had to hesitate before finally deciding to bid for the Dragonscale Set Equipment, their hearts aching at the expense. The Guild behind Aqua Rose, on the other hand, was actually willing to spend so much Gold just to purchase a Dragonscale Set Equipment. It was really surprising. After the auction concluded, Shi Feng did not linger in the restaurant. Instead, he left and searched for a hotel to rest and change his appearance using the Demon Mask once again. _Sure enough, there are quite a number of people following me._ Shi Feng glanced at the players inside the hotels lobby. The moment he came downstairs, these players had promptly turned to look at him. No matter what was said or done, the Dragonscale Set Equipment was a Level 20 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The various Guilds desire for the Dragonscale Set Equipment was self-evident. Even if he did not sell the set in bulk, it difficult to avoid attracting attention. These Guilds would naturally try to discover the origin of the Dragonscale Set Equipment. If these Guilds learned that the Dragonscale Set Equipment originated from Zero Wing, Zero Wing would become a target. It was already troublesome enough dealing with one Overwhelming Smile. If other first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds joined the fray, Zero Wing would be cut off from its path of survival. Currently, unlike other Guilds that branched out to various cities and kingdoms, Zero Wing developed itself solely in White River City. In general, the Guild was only famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. Outside of Star-Moon Kingdom, it was simply another unknown Guild. To these first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in Blackwing City, Zero Wing was not even a speck of dust; it was not worthy of their attention in the least. No lion recognized the ants beneath its feet. Shi Feng could cope in White River City while facing one Overwhelming Smile. However, Zero Wing would end up in an extremely precarious situation should the many large Guilds present move against it. This was also why Shi Feng had called Aqua Rose. The first reason was to hike up the price of the Dragonscale Set Equipment. The second was to avoid attracting these large Guilds suspicion when the set appeared in Zero Wing. _You guys have fun waiting here, then._ Shi Feng smiled faintly as he left the hotel. From the moment he entered the lobby to the moment he left, none of the trackers paid him any mind. After leaving the hotel, Shi Feng immediately hailed a horse carriage and rode it to the Blackwing Auction House. Other than holding the weekly large-scale auctions, the Blackwing Auction House was also a hub for players to sell their items. However, the items sold here were only available through the Blackwing Auction House; these items would not be available elsewhere. Although the sales scope was very narrow, Blackwing Citys main role was to act as a trade hub. Guilds and players from various kingdoms and empires preferred to sell their items in the Blackwing Auction House, as it was far more lucrative to sell them here than it was to use their respective Auction Houses. Upon his arrival at the Blackwing Auction House, Shi Feng placed 80 sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment up for sale without hesitation. He sold the sets in batches, selling only two or three sets at a time at intervals of around one hour. Meanwhile, the starting bid he set was 200 Gold. After Shi Feng finished his tasks, he left Blackwing City. However, shortly after Shi Fengs departure The Blackwing Auction House exploded. Its actually the Dragonscale Set Equipment! It cant be, right? Someone is actually selling the Dragonscale Set Equipment on the Auction House! The price is high! That person set the starting price at 200 Gold! Players who frequented the Blackwing Auction House drooled when they saw the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Who knew how many items they had to sell to afford the price-tag of this set equipment. News of the situation swiftly spread throughout Blackwing City. Previously, due to Shi Feng auctioning the Dragonscale Set Equipment, information regarding the set had long since flowed between the various large Guilds. Moreover, the fact that the three Super Guilds had each purchased a Dragonscale Set Equipment had placed a significant amount of pressure on the first-rate Guilds, increasing their desire to own one for themselves. However, since Shi Feng no longer sold the sets, they could only dream of owning one. Now that they had received news of more sets being available, they had to compete for them. For a time, the Dragonscale Set Equipments price increased rapidly. In a short moment, the bids had risen from 200 Gold to 280 Gold. In the end, the first three sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment in the Blackwing Auction House had sold for 316 Gold, 324 Gold, and 328 Gold. In an instant, Shi Feng had made a massive profit. However, Shi Feng knew that this was only the beginning. The competition between the various large Guilds was intense. It was of utmost importance to have a strong MT. Although the Dragonscale Set Equipment was not particularly suitable for MTs, the set effects could increase an MTs strength significantly. This alone was enough to drive the large Guilds crazy over the set. Hence, the price of the Dragonscale Set Equipment would only increase from this point forward. Meanwhile, all of these Gold Coins secretly flowed into Shi Fengs pockets with none the wiser. The speed at which he currently earned money far surpassed the Starstreak Trading Firm. However, this could not be helped. The Starstreak Trading Firms scope of operations was limited to White River City and the few surrounding cities. Meanwhile, Blackwing City catered to players across all of Gods Domain. Even a dozen Starstreak Trading Firms could not compare to the Blackwing Auction House. \--- During Shi Fengs visit to Blackwing City, Overwhelming Smile had not sat idle. The slightly over 100 mysterious experts had suddenly increased to more than 200. Although these mysterious experts had slaughtered Zero Wings members, Zero Wing was no pushover, either. The Guilds 50-plus Tier 1 experts had similarly caused a significant amount of trouble for Overwhelming Smile. The experts of both sides had suffered some losses. However, as Zero Wing had fewer members on their side, it began to fall behind. For a time, the Level 20 maps around White River City had become the battlefield for the two Guilds. This had frightened other players, and nobody dared go anywhere near these battlefields. In just a few hours, both sides had suffered over a thousand deaths. The Gold Coins each Guild had to spend was also shocking. Each Guild would, most likely, have to spend over 500 Gold a day. Is Overwhelming Smile aiming for a swift conclusion? Shi Feng was confused, and he frowned deeply when he saw the death count of both Guilds. 473 Black Dragon Phantom Shi Feng could not help but admire Overwhelming Smiles decisiveness. They had actually increased the number of well-trained open-warfare experts they had to over 200. Even first-rate Guilds would not dare station over 200 experts in a single city. Not even Star-Moon City would receive such treatment. After all, there were over a hundred cities in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. It was not wise to put all of ones eggs in one basket. Guild Leader, should I have our members go to areas with fewer resources to level? If we continue this exchange with Overwhelming Smile, it will severely affect our Guilds development rate, Aqua Rose inquired, worried. Originally, Aqua Rose had been very confident of defeating Overwhelming Smile. After all, Shi Feng had earned quite a lot of money through the sales of the Dragonscale Set Equipment. He had earned over 1,700 Gold just from the auction in the restaurant. With so much Gold on hand and the follow-up income, they could easily drown Overwhelming Smile in Gold Coins if they wanted to. However, Overwhelming Smiles current performance was too effective. How, exactly, had Overwhelming Smile managed to recruit so many experts? Overwhelming Smile gave them no room to breathe as its attacks became stronger with each consecutive wave. Although the experts on their side were more powerful, their opponents would flee whenever they encountered Zero Wings Tier 1 players. Moreover, Overwhelming Smile had more experts on their side than Zero Wing. When comparing the number of players each side could kill, Zero Wing was outmatched. Sure enough, these mysterious experts are a big problem, Shi Feng scowled. If he did not deal with this matter properly, Zero Wing would fall. At that point, money would be useless. However, experts that used hit-and-run tactics were also the most difficult opponents to face. This was why so many powerful solo players and independent teams had caused the various large Guilds massive headaches in the past, to the point where the latter did not dare provoke the former. After all, when these powerful independent players were forced into a corner, they could simply turn to guerrilla warfare and ambush the Guilds members. By the time the Guilds experts arrived, these independent players would be long gone. Unless the Guilds experts arrived at the scene as soon as the independent players took action, catching them in the fields was only a dream. Currently, although both Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile employed these hit-and-run tactics, Overwhelming Smiles experts outnumbered Zero Wings by four-to-one. In the long term, Zero Wing would definitely burn out first. Appear immediately? Thats right! Appear immediately! Shi Feng suddenly received a flash of inspiration. Smiling faintly, he said, Aqua, notify the members out in the field to report their coordinates through the Guild channel should they meet Overwhelming Smiles experts. Ive already tried that; its useless. Our men cannot arrive in time. Moreover, those experts are very sly. Even if we encounter them, they run the moment they see our reinforcements, Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. Give the order and leave the rest to me, Shi Feng chuckled. Anyone else might be helpless in this situation. At most, he could join the hunting parties and slaughter Overwhelming Smiles members. How could he possibly be more efficient alone than Overwhelming Smiles large number of experts? However, he had the Seven Luminaries Ring. As long as his target was within 40,000 yards, he could easily arrive at the first sign of trouble. I understand. Although Aqua Rose was confused about Shi Fengs intentions, since he had given the order, he must have his own countermeasures. Before, when she had worried over the lack of Guild Funds, Shi Feng had suddenly revealed so many sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment. He had even converted them into a large amount of Gold, utterly surprising her. Moreover, after her act of purchasing the Dragonscale Set Equipment and the display of her frightening wealth, several representatives of first-rate Guilds had sought her out for cooperation and resource trading. Unknowingly, Zero Wing had obtained another channel for earning Gold Coins. Shi Fengs single move had taken care of her worries in one fell swoop. He was godlike. Aqua Rose struggled to believe that someone like Shi Feng had actually remained unknown all this time. Its about time I make Overwhelming Smile pay back some of its debt. Following which, Shi Feng placed the remaining sets of the Dragonscale Set Equipment in the Guilds Warehouse. Of them, two were available for Guild members. He then took out one Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon and ten Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapons. Although his current combat power was already quite high, like a lion pouncing on a hare, it was necessary to go all out even when fighting a small enemy or tackling a minor problem. Hence, Shi Feng intended to upgrade the Abyssal Blades level. He was currently Level 26; he could upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Level 25. However, every time he upgraded the Abyssal Blade, the weapon would create quite a commotion. Hence, Shi Feng left White River City, teleporting to the Watch Cemetery. Due to war, the Watch Cemetery had become a land of death. Even the sky here remained dusky, and tombs crowded the cemetery. The majority of the monsters that appeared here were Undead-type, and although there were a lot of them, their HPs were relatively low. As it was a Level 22 to Level 28 map with an extremely abundant amount of resources, over a quarter of White River Citys Level 20-plus players had come here to level up. The Watch Cemetery contained many treasure chests and Hidden Quests. However, the Cemetery was most famous for its treasure chests. In the past, countless lucky independent players had encountered Mysterious-Iron and even Secret-Silver Treasure Chests here, obtaining plenty of top-tier equipment and items. Because of this, battles between players had frequently happened in the Watch Cemetery. Similarly, over half of the battles between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile occurred here. There sure are a lot of players who have died here The moment Shi Feng teleported to the Watch Cemetery, he was greeted by the sight of corpses littering the ground. The tragic scene could easily match the one in White Fog Canyon; this scene may have even been more tragic. After all, usually only elite players visited the White Fog Canyon, whereas ordinary players had come to the Watch Cemetery. One could just imagine how intense the battle here had been. Nobody should be able to discover me here. Shi Feng found a hidden underground tomb. After investigating his surroundings and failing to discover any nearby players, he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. Devour! Shi Feng lightly tapped the Abyssal Blades Level Up button. After Shi Feng selected a Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapon and ten Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapons, the silvery-gray Abyssal Blade suddenly released a black fog. Compared to the previous level-ups, the black fog was denser this time. The eleven sacrificial weapons instantly transformed into ash when they came into contact with this black fog. In the next moment, the power within these weapons flowed into the Abyssal Blade. Immediately, Shi Feng felt the Abyssal Blade release a massive pulse. Rather than a pulse, it was more like a heartbeat. _Thump Thump_ Each consecutive heartbeat grew clearer and more intense. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade struggled free from Shi Fengs hands, sending Shi Feng flying into one of the walls of the tomb. Whats happening? Shi Feng watched the hovering Abyssal Blade, surprised. This was the first time he had encountered such a rejection. As the pulses grew more intense, the tomb began to tremble. Suddenly, a large boom resounded as the entire underground tomb collapsed and vanished, revealing the dark gray sky above. Soon after, the Abyssal Blade fragmented and transformed into a massive pitch-black heart. Along with the heartbeat, the phantom of a massive black dragon emerged. The black dragon was over a dozen meters tall, and its bone-chilling eyes focused on Shi Feng. Suddenly, it spread its maw and released a thundering roar! 474 Abyssal Upgrade The black dragons roar shook the sky, loud enough that anyone nearby would notice it. What a powerful roar; a high-level monster mustve spawned somewhere nearby. Well be rich if its a Chieftain! Lets go and take a look! We cant let others snatch it from us! When a team of over 20 players a short distance from the tomb noticed the black dragons roar, they finished off the monsters they currently faced and rushed over to the tomb. The Watch Cemetery was a land of treasures, and one could even discover a treasure chest by accidentally falling into a hole. However, powerful monsters were rare in the Watch Cemetery, and normally, these monsters lingered near treasures. This had already become a publicly acknowledged trend. This monsters roar alone was already so powerful. No one who heard it would risk missing this opportunity. At the same time, many other teams who had heard this frightening roar also ran towards the tomb and Shi Feng. At the epicenter of the roar, however, one man and one dragon stared each other down. The dragon released a frightening aura, and the surrounding air had started begun to stagnate. Is this the Backlash? At this moment, Shi Feng had heightened his five senses to their very limits, wearing a grim expression. All of his concentration was on the black dragon phantom before him. Although the black dragon was not the real thing, only a phantom, Shi Feng proceeded with caution. Moreover, Shi Feng had not reacted in such a way intentionally. His response had been an unconscious decision. The chilling killing intent in the phantoms gaze was so intense that Shi Feng was breathless. He had never felt anything like this before, even against a Great Lord. Shi Feng had never encountered the Backlash of a Magic Weapon before. He had also never heard about what exactly occurred during a Backlash. However, seeing that so many top-tier experts had fallen to it in the past, a Magic Weapons Backlash was no trivial matter. A single mistake and Shi Feng might end up with a crippled character. This was also why every player had to consider their options carefully when they obtained a Magic Weapon. While Shi Feng prepared to face a powerful enemy, the black dragons phantom only pinned Shi Feng with its crimson eyes. It had not attacked. Youre not going to strike? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Although Shi Feng had not taken any measures to deal with the Abyssal Blades Backlash, his brain activitys improvement had allowed him to reach the Refinement Realm. With the techniques he had learned, he was already more powerful than he had been in the past, so he was confident that he could deal with the Backlash. The black dragons phantom suddenly revealed a human-like sneer, deep disdain filling its eyes as it glared at Shi Feng. Following which, the phantom vanished, leaving behind only a pile of ruins and the Abyssal Blade, which buried its blade in the ground. At this moment, the Abyssal Blade had recovered its original black color and was now thoroughly pitch-black. There was a faint layer of black smoke surrounding it, and no one could see the weapon during the dead of night. Is this not the Backlash? Shi Feng examined the Abyssal Blade, disbelief coloring his expression. Sure enough, the more I level up the Abyssal Blade, the more powerful the black dragon becomes, and the weaker the suppression becomes. Shi Feng walked over and pulled the Abyssal Blade from the ground. He then checked the Attributes of the Magic Weapon. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +423 All Attributes +36 Attack Speed +12 Ignore Levels +12 Attacks have: 45% chance to cause 200% damage. 20% chance to cause 300% damage. 20% chance to induce Doom Curse, reducing all Attributes by 40% for 35 seconds. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +3. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 25. Can be upgraded. (Devour ten Level 30 Fine-Gold Weapons and one Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon to upgrade to Level 30). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 70% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration: 45 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for the wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 45% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 4: Dark Violent Dance. 50% of the total damage dealt to the target spreads in a cone-shaped area towards targets within a distance of 12 yards. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor. When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack of death aura can be used to increase all Attributes of wielder by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds, or be used to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 30 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 16 hours The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from providing the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period of time. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. The Basic Attributes and the skills of the Abyssal Blade had not undergone any significant changes. However, the Magic Weapons Attack Power had massively improved. Previously, its Attack Power was only slightly over 300. After this evolution, its Attack Power had soared past 400. It was nearly 50 points higher than Fire Dances Level 25 Dark-Gold ranked Truefire Blade. After retrieving the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng swung it a few times. He swung the weapon at a damaged stone pillar nearby. Ceng! Shi Feng had not encountered any resistance as he cut into the stone. The sturdy pillar felt like air as the Abyssal Blade sliced through it, splitting it in two as it fell to the ground. So sharp! Shi Feng stared at the remains of the stone pillar with shock. He then glanced back at the Magic Weapon in his hand. The Abyssal Blade was practically a weapon of gods. With such sharpness, not even Secret-Silver Equipment could defend against it. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the tomb, over a hundred players suddenly emerged from the dark forest. With a quick glance, it was obvious that these players were not all members of the same team. These new arrivals were also independent players. This What happened here? These players were stupefied upon arriving at the thoroughly ruined underground tomb. Currently, the underground tomb looked more like a crater. Someones there! A Ranger with sharp eyesight pointed at Shi Feng who was preparing to leave the area. Suddenly, everyone shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng. At this moment, Shi Feng wore a black cloak that obscured his appearance. He had also hidden the glow effects of his equipment. However, judging by the fine workmanship of his equipment, it should be of high quality. At the very least, his equipment should be Mysterious-Iron rank or above. Shi Feng was also Level 26, so one could easily tell that he was not someone to provoke. Just as these independent teams hesitated over whether to take action against Shi Feng or not, another party emerged from the forest. Every member of this party was Level 25 and above, and all of them were as robust as a bear. The other payers avoided eye contact with these newcomers, intimidated by their cold gazes. Most importantly, all of their names were crimson. Brother Deep, we seem to have good luck today. With such a large commotion, a treasure must have spawned here. That brat definitely has the treasure. Yeah. His level is quite high as well. If we kill him, we will not have wasted a trip even if there is no treasure. This six-man party paid no attention to the hundred-plus independent players standing in the distance. Instead, their eyes were glued onto Shi Feng, looking at him as if he belonged only to them. Just who are these people? They actually dare act so arrogantly! a male player from one of the independent teams grumbled. The leader of said party glanced the party of six Red Names. Immediately, cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he hurriedly said, Enough, were leaving. But what about the treasure? Why should we let a single party have it? We outnumber them, the male player asked, confused. Enough! You stop talking! If you want to die, go ahead, but dont drag everyone else down with you! Youve just arrived at Watch Cemetery, so you dont know about the unspoken rules here; there are two types of people you can never provoke! The first are the Tier 1 experts of Zero Wing; they are the secondOverwhelming Smiles parties! If we anger them, not a single one of us will get out of here alive! the team leader scolded as he glared at the male player. Upon hearing his team leaders words, the male player immediately shut his mouth. Before he had arrived at Watch Cemetery, he had heard of the two types of people his leader referred to. Nothing much would happen if one encountered the experts of Zero Wing. However, if one encountered the killing gods from Overwhelming Smile, they better pray that the other side was in a good mood. Otherwise Following which, the other independent teams promptly departed from the area; not a single one of them dared to stay for the show. 475 Silent Massacre As the independent teams departed, many had sent pitying gazes to Shi Feng. That fellow sure is unlucky. If we had gotten ahold of him, we would have let him live so long as he handed over the treasure. Now that those people have arrived, he wont survive. I heard that those Red Names seem to have some sort of special treasure that causes the players they kill to drop more items than normal. Its not seem to, but must have. One of Overwhelming Smiles expert parties killed a friend of mine, and he lost three pieces of equipment when he died. He had even dropped some of the items from inside his bag. Because of that, my friend was so frightened that he refuses to return to the Watch Cemetery. Shut up. We need to hurry up and leave this area. We wont be so lucky if we encounter those killing gods a second time. Thats right. Lets get out of here. Although these independent teams possessed the numerical advantage, the expert parties of Overwhelming Smile were like fearsome tigers. They picked up the pace, leaving as quickly as possible. Shortly after the independent teams left, the expert party from Overwhelming Smile approached the motionless Shi Feng. Brother Deep, that fellow must be scared stupid; he isnt even trying to escape. How boring, a simple and honest-looking Berserker laughed as he watched Shi Feng. And here I thought that we had encountered a somewhat powerful player that can use for exercise. Killing noobs has become really boring. Enough, Little Whistle. Dont think that I dont know whats going through your mind. You just want to test out your new battle axe. Since this player has a fairly high level and is traveling alone, he should be relatively skilled. You can take care of him. The Level 26 Assassin referred to as Brother Deep laughed as he glanced at the simple-looking Berserker. Right, his items seem quite good. Dont forget to use _that_ thing; we might get some good stuff from him. Leave it to me! the Berserker, Little Whistle, squinted as he smiled at Shi Feng, excitement flashing in his eyes. Step by step, he approached Shi Feng slowly. He also retrieved a black potion from his bag and emptied the contents into his mouth. This thing seriously tastes horrible. If you didnt seem to have some valuable stuff on you, I wouldnt have to suffer such a nasty fate. Brat, stand still. Ill be done in just a second. Saying so, Little Whistle raised his blood-red battle axe and swung it down towards Shi Feng. Although this swing seemed casual at first glance, it contained speed, accuracy, and ferocity that far surpassed any ordinary players attack. Moreover, the battle axe flew towards Shi Fengs neck, making the attack difficult to dodge. Little Whistles casual, yet well-calculated, attack was clearly a habit developed after many years of training. He was unlike other players whose attacks would contain many unnecessary actions and were easy to dodge. _Boom!_ The battle axe struck the ground heavily. Huh? I missed? Little Whistle looked at his battle axe, which landed next to Shi Fengs feet. He had aimed properly. Did I have too much to drink earlier? However, just as he was about to lift his blood-red battle axe once more, he suddenly saw a streak of black light flash across his eyes. Before he could react, his field of vision began to flip. In the next moment, he felt a slight pain, and his vision began to gray as his body fell to the ground. As Little Whistle was a Red Name, over half of his equipment dropped upon his death. Immediately after, his Immortal Soul flowed into Shi Fengs hand. _Although he cant be considered an expert, he is still a skilled veteran. He is significantly stronger than an elite player. Its no wonder a single party has been able to wipe out teams easily._ Shi Feng thought as he frowned at the Berserker lying at his feet. He then shifted his gaze to the five other party members a short distance away, paying no attention to the large amount of equipment scattered before him. This When the five experts from Overwhelming Smile saw their teammate suddenly fall to the ground, disbelief colored their faces. Just what had happened here? Why was Little Whistle suddenly dead? From the beginning, they had focused on Shi Feng. However, they could say with certainty that Shi Feng had not moved. They only saw a streak of black light flash across Little Whistles body. Black light. Right, its that black light. Everyone, be careful. That brat has some sort of special item, the Assassin named Brother Deep cautioned his team. He immediately activated Stealth and melded with the darkness. The other four party members responded by unsheathing their weapons, watching Shi Fengs every action. They had finally understood that they had encountered a slightly more difficult foe. If they did not respond properly, they might lose their lives without even knowing how they died. However, while they watched Shi Feng, they discovered that the Swordsman had suddenly disappeared. Where is he? The five of them examined their surroundings, failing to discover any signs of movement. A player had disappeared so simply right before their eyes Was he an Assassin? This thought suddenly popped into their minds. However, they had previously checked and could say with certainty that Shi Feng was definitely a Swordsman. Otherwise, they would not have been so carefree. After all, it would be extremely difficult to catch an Assassin in Stealth. While the five experts from Overwhelming Smile searched for Shi Feng, he suddenly appeared behind the five players. Crap! Behind us! All five players were war veterans, so their sensitivity towards danger was extraordinary. They instantly discovered Shi Feng, turning to attack him. At this moment, however, several streaks of black light emerged from Shi Fengs hand. The black lights gave the five experts no time to react at all, even with their acute sensitivity. Damn! the Assassin named Brother Deep hurriedly used Vanish, utilizing the moment of invincibility to block this mysterious strike. However, the Assassins four party members were not as fortunate as the Abyssal Blade bit into them; their HPs, ranging from 3,000 to 4,000, instantly fell to zero. When the five experts saw this horrific damage, they looked as if they had seen a ghost. _This is bad; Ill definitely die if I stay here!_ When Brother Deep, the only survivor remaining, saw Shi Feng look directly at him with a smile, his heart pounded as goosebumps covered his body. He was clearly in Stealth; other players should not be able to see him at all. Yet, pinned by Shi Fengs gaze, it was obvious that the Swordsman saw him as clear as day. However, Brother Deep did not know that, as a Tier 1 class, Shi Fengs perception was very high. Moreover, he also had Omniscient Eyes. An Assassins Stealth was practically useless. Due to his momentary shock, Brother Deep failed to avoid the streak of black light. Immediately, his HP depleted, and he was forced out of Stealth. Before he knew it, his body had fallen to the ground. _Such a quick sword!_ Even in death, the Assassin could not figure out when Shi Feng had attacked. Their party had consisted of people who had experienced life-or-death situations many times, so their awareness of danger was particularly sensitive. However, none of them had detected the slightest precursor to Shi Fengs attacks. They had not been able to detect Shi Fengs sword when it was a few inches from their faces, much less been able to defend themselves. Youll be the sixth! Shi Feng spoke softly as he looked down at the shocked Assassin. Relax; youll have more companions soon. Just who are you? Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Brother Deep craved the answer to this question. However, as his HP had reached zero, he could no longer open his mouth. When Brother Deep thought about such a person slaughtering his companions, goosebumps rose all over his body. If such an expert suddenly decided to take action against them, none of them would have any hope of survival. 476 Haunted Only after finishing off Overwhelming Smiles expert party did Shi Feng begin to loot the items they had dropped. Since Overwhelming Smile and Zero Wing had labeled each other Hostile Guilds, none of the members of either Guild would receive any Crime Value when killing each other. However, aside from slaughtering the members of Zero Wing, the expert parties of Overwhelming Smile also frequently killed players who possessed high quality equipment, resulting in them becoming Red Names. As Red Names, the penalty they received for dying multiplied, resulting in them dropping an abundance of items when they died. The six Overwhelming Smile experts had dropped a total of 54 items. Of them, 45 pieces were equipment, with a majority of the equipment being Secret-Silver rank, and only eight being Fine-Gold rank. However, this was a significant harvest. In addition, there were nine items had dropped from the experts bags. Of the nine items, seven had dropped from the first Berserker Shi Feng had killed. In Gods Domain, the chance of players dropping items from their bags upon death was minuscule. However, as the Overwhelming Smile experts were Red Names, this chance had been multiplied by several times. Even so, it was still a very small chance. The fact that Shi Feng had obtained seven items from a single players bag, in addition to the 45 pieces of equipment from killing a six-man party, was mainly due to this Berserker dropping all of his equipment. He had nothing left. It was unbelievable Just how abysmal is this fellows luck? Did he do something to anger the heavens? Not even someone who had killed thousands would have such a fate! Shi Feng could not help but pity the Berserker lying at his feet. Regardless of how Shi Feng felt, he still pocketed the Berserkers items. However, when he looked through the items, he discovered a dozen bottles of a black potion. Isnt this the potion that Berserker drank before the battle? Shi Feng examined the black potion and suddenly recalled the Berserkers comment. He had not given the mans words much thought at the time, but as he looked at the potion now, he realized that it was something special. The black potion would actually increase the drop-rate when killing players. However, the potions effects similarly affected its user, and if the user died, their drop-rate would multiply as well. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen or heard of such a potion. There were over ten thousand types of potions in Gods Domain. Although he had played the game for over a decade, he was still ignorant of many of the items in the game. It was especially true for original creations of Master Alchemists, Master Forgers, and other lifestyle Masters. Shi Feng then read the black potions data. Sure enough, this potion was crafted by a player. Shi Feng could not help his shock upon reading the information of the black potion. This potion is called Haunted. Once consumed, the PVP drop-rate increases from 100% to 300%. Meanwhile, if the user is killed by another player, their drop-rate increases from 200% to 600%. Haunted has a duration of five minutes and a Cooldown of half an hour. Whoever made this potion is amazing. Shi Feng wanted to meet Haunteds creator. Unfortunately, the creator was displayed as Unknown. It was clear that Haunteds creator wanted their identity to remain hidden. Shi Feng had a significant understanding of Gods Domain. There were indeed tools that could increase a players drop-rate when killing other players, and every one of these tools were precious. However, Shi Feng had never heard of a potion with such a function. It was inconceivable that such a potion had appeared. The current players of Gods Domain were still very low-level, and the materials they could obtain were limited. To create such a powerful potion with such limited materials, this Alchemist must be a genius. No wonder Overwhelming Smile is so zealously slaughtering other players. With Haunted, they can easily obtain plenty of valuable equipment. Shi Feng suddenly understood the reason behind Overwhelming Smiles abnormal actions. Currently, as both Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile fought in an all-out war against each other, both sides had suffered significant losses in terms of equipment. With Haunted, however, Overwhelming Smile could fund their battles with battles. The more well-equipped the player they killed was, the higher the quantity and quality equipment they could obtained. Normally, players would only drop one piece of equipment upon death. A single player had over a ten pieces equipped. If only one out of those many pieces dropped, the chances of obtaining a good equipment was relatively low. After consuming Haunted, however, the members of Overwhelming Smile could obtain up to three pieces of equipment from the players they killed, significantly increasing their chances of obtaining good equipment. Since this is the case, I wont have to be polite with them, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he stored the 12 bottles of Haunted in his bag. In reality, the PVP drop-rate relied heavily on the Luck Attribute. Shi Fengs current Luck was relatively high. If he activated Divine Providence, he could raise his Luck to 25 points. If Shi Feng killed an ordinary player, even without consuming Haunted, it was almost certain that player would drop two or three pieces of equipment. Moreover, there was a relatively high chance for those two or three pieces to be the best pieces said player wore. If he included the effects of Haunted Considering the situation, Shi Feng began to search through the Guild channel, looking for any Guild members in Watch Cemetery who had encountered an ambush. Perfect. Youll do. After a moment, sure enough, some members had reported through the Guild channel that Overwhelming Smiles experts had ambushed them. They were in the Watch Cemetery. Immediately, Shi Feng input the coordinates into the Seven Luminaries Ring and activated Space Movement. He then jumped into the spatial crack that appeared before him. \--- In one of the gravel-filled prairies of the Watch Cemetery, a team of over a dozen players ran desperately for their lives. As they ran, the ranged classes on this team attacked the six robust-looking players pursuing them. If this happened anywhere else, it would confuse any onlookers. The side with more players actually fled from the side with less players. In the Watch Cemetery, however, nobody would find this scene surprising because the side with less players consisted of bloodthirsty lunatics with astonishing strength. Moreover, this party of lunatics consisted of only melee classes; there was not a single ranged class in their party. Damn, why arent any of my attacks hitting them? one of the escaping male Elementalists grumbled, dismayed as he watched the distance between his team and their six pursuers decrease. Hold on for a little longer. The Tier 1 experts of our Guild are heading towards us right now. A Level 24 Ranger, the leader of the team, tried to encourage his team members as he attacked with a Frostbolt. Everyone on the team nodded to their team leaders words, newfound hope blooming in their hearts. The group of Overwhelming Smile experts behind them was simply too powerful. Before they had realized they were being ambushed, four of their team members had died. Although they tried to retaliate, the experts dodged or blocked most of their attacks; only a small number of control skills had any effect. Unfortunately, none of those skills were fatal. As soon as the battle had begun, they had sent out distress messages through the Guild channel, reporting their current location. Fortunately for them, one of their Guilds Tier 1 expert parties was only a short distance away from them. They would be safe as long as they could reach that Tier 1 expert party. Everyone, stop! the Ranger shouted when he saw a cloud of cold air rising from the ground in front of them. Before any of them had noticed, another party had appeared. Moreover, the Shield Warrior standing in the lead was currently using a Magic Scroll. Unfortunately, the Rangers command was too late as a gigantic icicle suddenly emerged from the ground. The icicle struck the players at the forefront of their team, a damage of over -1,000 points appearing above their heads. Simultaneously, frost shrouded their bodies, massively reducing their Movement Speed. Were finished Despair filled the Rangers eyes as he stared at the massive icicle in front of them. They had barely survived the pursuit of a single party of experts. Now that another party had appeared, blocking their path, they no longer had any hope of escape Hahaha! Come on! Keep running! I want to see how far you can get! one of Overwhelming Smiles experts sneered upon seeing the Zero Wing teams predicament. At this moment, however, a spatial crack appeared in the air, and a human figure suddenly emerged. Oh? It seems that I am quite lucky today. After Shi Feng landed, he swept a glance over the two expert parties from Overwhelming Smile, a faint smile appearing on his face. 477 Youlan’s Worries In White River City, shortly after Overwhelming Smile had established its Guild Residence, the street outside the Guild Residence was already packed with players hoping to join the Guild. Over ten thousand players waited for their evaluation, far surpassing Zero Wings Guild recruitment. Currently, Overwhelming Smile offered three to four times more benefits than their rival. In addition, Overwhelming Smile had already become the unshakable overlord of Maple City. Now that Overwhelming Smile had its own Guild Residence, its momentum was unstoppable. As a result, many independent players who had observed the situation from the sidelines had decided to take action. In White River City, Zero Wing only had three advantages. The first was the presence of Black Flame, the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. There were also plenty of experts in Zero Wing, making the Guild a good place to seek guidance and improve oneself. The second was the Guild Residence. Members of Zero Wing could receive a large number of high-level Guild Quests, allowing them to level up and earn money easily. The fact that members could accumulate a Double EXP buff while resting in the Guild Residence was also quite attractive. The third was Zero Wings Guild Warehouse. A lot of top-tier equipment was constantly available for Guild members to earn; these items were not available outside of Zero Wing. However, to the majority of the players in White River City, Zero Wings most attractive benefit was its Guild Residence. It was the reason that many had hesitated when choosing between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile. However, that issue had been resolved. Now that the well-funded Overwhelming Smile had its own Guild Residence as well, Zero Wing had lost its advantage. Currently, compared to Overwhelming Smile, the overlord of a city, Zero Wing was inferior. It was obvious which Guild they should join. Ah We are too late a Level 23 female Cleric sighed helplessly when she saw the long line of players outside Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence. The Cleric then turned to the Level 25 female Elementalist beside her, grumbling to the innocent-looking girl in silver clothing, Rain, this is your fault! I told you that, as long as Overwhelming Smile establishes its Guild Residence, a ton of players are going to try to join. Now weve gotta wait so long if we want to join. Blue Bamboo, Ive said it before; Im only playing Gods Domain because I am curious about this world. I want to understand more about this realistic fantasy world, and I dont really mind not joining a Guild. Thoughtful Rain shook her head in response to her friends words. She was not particularly interested in joining any Guild. Rain, youre wrong about this. Gods Domain is such a vast world, and there are plenty of dangerous places. If were not strong enough, how can we explore those places? Meanwhile, joining a Guild is undoubtedly the fastest way to grow stronger, the female Cleric named Blue Bamboo countered. Just look at how poorly we are faring right now. We bought a majority of our equipment. To make things worse, our equipment is crappier than what Guild members have. In that case, shouldnt we join Zero Wing? Thoughtful Rain asked, confused. I hear that Zero Wings Warehouse contains plenty of top-tier equipment that no other Guild can match. Speaking of Zero Wing, Thoughtful Rain suddenly recalled the man named Ye Feng who had helped her before. She remembered that he was one of Zero Wings members. The Library Emblem he had given her had helped her greatly, and she wondered how that man was faring. Dont you know? A war has recently broken out between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile, and each report is more amazing than the last. As a result, the independent players who had originally hesitated are now desperately trying to join Overwhelming Smile. Do you know why? Blue Bamboo asked mysteriously. Thats because Zero Wing no longer has an advantage over Overwhelming Smile! Previously, Zero Wing slaughtered Overwhelming Smiles members, driving the Guild into a corner. Now, however, the situation has completely changed. Overwhelming Smile has somehow managed to recruit a large number of experts, and these experts have slaughtered Zero Wings members, scaring them from leaving the city. It probably wont be long before Zero Wing is destroyed, which is why so many players are rushing to join Overwhelming Smile. Moreover, Overwhelming Smile no longer targets Maple City. It has shifted its focus to White River City. The fact that the Guild has established its first Guild Residence in White River City rather than Maple City had made that obvious. If we dont join Overwhelming Smile now, it will only be harder to do so in the future. Thoughtful Rain nodded, seeing the logic in Blue Bamboos words. However, she looked at Blue Bamboo and said softly, You are correct. However, I still dont want to join Overwhelming Smile. Saying so, Thoughtful Rain immediately turned and left. Fine, then! Ill listen to you, but you better not regret your decision later! Blue Bamboo took one last glance at Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence before following Thoughtful Rain. \--- Meanwhile, inside Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence, all of the Guild members were currently in a celebratory mood. Initially, Zero Wing had been a thorn in their side. Now, however, their problems had been solved. With over 200 experts from their Guild ambushing the members of Zero Wing, the war had turned to their favor. Many of Zero Wings members were too afraid to leave the city. This greatly boosted the pride of everyone from Overwhelming Smile. At this moment, however, the atmosphere in the Guild Residences meeting room was extraordinarily tense. What? Youre saying that Little Deeps party was completely wiped out? How is that possible? Feng Xuanyang was unable to stomach the news he had just received. The new batch of Underworld Guards that had been sent consisted of live combat veterans. Although not all of them were experts in Gods Domain, they were only slightly inferior. Even if these Underworld Guards encountered one of Zero Wings Tier 1 expert parties, they could still drag one or two of their opponents to the grave with them if they went all-out. However, a single player had annihilated one of these parties. They could not even escape. How could Feng Xuanyang possibly believe this? Young Master Feng, there are countless experts in Gods Domain. The Underworld Guards arent invincible, either. There is nothing strange about the slaughter. However, based on Little Deeps report of their assailant, it is likely that they ran into Black Flame. We already know the majority of the experts in White River City. Aside from Summer Sunshine, Black Flame is most likely the only player capable of this massacre, Youlan explained. Feng Xuanyang had never watched a battle between true experts of Gods Domain. However, Youlan had personally witnessed Black Flame and Summer Sunshines frightening encounter. Hence, she was not the slightest bit surprised about the appearance an expert capable of destroying an Underworld Guard party single-handedly. Youre saying that Black Flame is responsible? Is Black Flame really that strong? Feng Xuanyang asked skeptically. In his opinion, Black Flame was just a frog in a well. How could he possibly defeat a party of Underworld Guards by himself? Young Master Feng, I guarantee that Black Flame is more than capable of performing such a feat. However, this is not the most important information we have received. Based on what Little Deep said, after they died, they could not log into Gods Domain for some time. Moreover, every Underworld Guard is currently a Red Name. If they die, they will lose at least half of their equipment. We will suffer a massive loss. Now that Black Flame has involved himself and is using such methods, if he focuses on hunting down the Underworld Guards, it will be a disaster for us. I suggest that we have the Underworld Guards stop their ambushes, retreat from the Watch Cemetery, and go elsewhere to level up, Youlan suggested. From the moment she met him, she had never been able to see through the man known as Black Flame. Now, Black Flame had suddenly begun to act and killed a party of Underworld Guards. This was not a good sign, and Youlan began to worry. Hence, she thought it best to quit while they were ahead. Youlan, you worry too much. Even if Black Flame is powerful, the Watch Cemetery is a massive area. Do you really believe that he can scour the entire map by himself? Feng Xuanyang said disdainfully. Little Deep was simply unlucky and coincidentally encountered Black Flame. Losing one party isnt significantly damaging. On the other hand, our rampant ambushes on Zero Wing are severely wounding the Guild. Moreover, there are so many treasures in the Watch Cemetery. If we give the area up, not only will it greatly reduce our Guilds morale, but we will also lose a huge source of income. Besides, while Zero Wing has Black Flame, do you think that Underworld does not possess experts aside from the Underworld Guards? Feng Xuanyang laughed. 478 Seven Ghosts Have they arrived as well? Youlans beautiful eyes widened upon hearing Feng Xuanyangs words, shock coloring her features. Although the Underworld Guards were the core combatants of Underworld, they were not the peak combatants. Even so, the Underworld Guards were only slightly inferior to the peak combatants of other first-rate Guilds; they were more than enough to deal with second-rate Guilds. Since Feng Xuanyang had said as much, the new arrivals were not members of the Underworld Guards. Instead, they should be the peak combatants of Underworld, the Seven Ghosts. Thats right. To eliminate Zero Wing quickly and ensure that we obtain White River City, upper management has sent us two Ghosts. With the two of them, Black Flames good fortune will come to an end, Feng Xuanyang laughed. Since two of the Seven Ghosts have arrived, Black Flames hunting spree will no longer be an issue. On the contrary, this is our chance. Youlan nodded as she revealed a smile. Underworld was a massive organization, and those who joined the Underworld Guards were already considered experts. Meanwhile, The Seven Ghosts stood out among the Underworld Guards and stood at the peak of the organization. The Seven Ghosts held very high positions in Underworld, and even Feng Xuanyang had to treat them with respect. Every one of the Seven Ghosts was an extraordinarily talented expert carefully selected by Underworld. Moreover, they had received Underworlds unreserved nurturing and hell-like training. Their strength had long since surpassed the realm of ordinary humans. If several Ghosts worked together, even an expert like Summer Sunshine would be helpless. Now that Black Flame was going all-out in his hunt of the Underworld Guards, this was very good news for Overwhelming Smile. If the two Ghosts found Black Flame while he was on his hunting spree, perhaps they could kill Black Flame and utterly destroy Zero Wing. \--- Just as Feng Xuanyang and Youlan discussed Shi Feng, the man currently faced off against two Underworld Guard parties in the Watch Cemetery. Good luck? What an arrogant little brat! The two Underworld Guard parties glared at Shi Feng, before turning to each other, smiling. The members of Zero Wing also watched Shi Feng, who currently hid his appearance under his black cloak, astonishment filling their eyes. Shi Feng had accidentally appeared and claimed to have good luck. Did he not know that the two parties surrounding them were the famous killing gods? Every one of these players was a demon who could slaughter people without batting an eye. Those who encountered these killing gods had only one endingdeath! We have to hold our ground. Our Guilds Tier 1 experts are almost here. Well be saved as long as we hold on for a little longer, the leader of Zero Wings team said, gritting his teeth. A thread of hope appeared in the eyes of Zero Wings members. When they looked at the two Underworld Guard parties surrounding them, their gazes burned with fighting spirit. Oh? You guys must have a death wish. Old Six, you deal with these guys. Ill deal with the new brat, a youthful-looking Level 26 Swordsman named Fifth Ghost ordered with a deep voice. The youth was tall and robust, and he was currently garbed in golden battle armor. Brother Five, youre too cunning! This is the first expert weve found after such a long hunt, yet youre sending me to deal with the trash while you steal the expert for yourself! the Level 26 Berserker named Sixth Ghost complained. That brat is a Swordsman. Im also a Swordsman, while youre just a Berserker. Naturally, I should deal with him. If we meet a Berserker, youll deal with them. Deal? Fifth Ghost laughed. The Berserker named Sixth Ghost could only nod in response. He then looked towards the Underworld Guards, saying, Leave these people to me. You guys only need to prevent them from escaping. Yes! the Underworld Guards immediately took up their formation. However, when Zero Wings members heard that the man named Sixth Ghost intended to deal with them alone, they rejoiced. Each side had about the same number of players. If the enemy faced them as a team, they stood no chance. If only one person attacked, however, they could probably kill that player and escape. Well charge together. After we get rid of him, we can take the opportunity to break through the encirclement, the Ranger team leader whispered. At this moment, when Shi Feng saw Sixth Ghost approach the group, he suddenly said, No, you guys arent his match. In a moment, run in the opposite direction. Elementalists, use Ice Walls and Frozen Circles while I hold them back. Zero Wings elite team was strong enough that they had a good chance of defeating any ordinary expert. However, the Berserker before them was not an ordinary player. The killing intent and pressure he radiated did not belong to an ordinary expert, so much so that even Shi Feng sensed danger from the Berserker. Moreover, when Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to inspect everyones data, Sixth Ghosts data surprised him. The Berserker named Sixth Ghost was actually a Tier 1 class. This was the first time Shi Feng had encountered a Tier 1 class belonging to another Guild. The Swordsman named Fifth Ghost was also a Tier 1 class. Judging from the respectful attitudes the Underworld Guard parties showed these two players, Shi Feng guessed that the two were not ordinary characters. They were definitely high up in Underworld. Originally, Shi Feng intended to hunt down Underworld Guards. Now, however, rather of hunting a cat, he had found a tiger. Thank you for the warning. However, we are the elites of Zero Wing. Even if he is powerful, he cant take us down easily if we work together, the Ranger team leader said confidently. However, before the Ranger could finish his words, Sixth Ghost had used Charge, leaving only an afterimage behind him. In the blink of an eye, Sixth Ghost arrived before Zero Wings battle-ready Shield Warrior. He then activated Cleave and slashed his saber down on the Shield Warrior. Just as this Shield Warrior was about to block the attack with his shield, Sixth Ghosts saber suddenly vanished. The saber instantly reappeared in the Shield Warriors blind spot and struck its target, sending the Shield Warrior flying backward. A damage of over -2,600 points appeared above the Shield Warriors head, reducing his HP by more than half. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water. None of the surrounding Zero Wing members had reacted to Sixth Ghosts attack. They could only watch as their MT was sent flying. Six Ghosts damage shocked Zero Wings elites. None of them could believe that a Berserker could actually deal over -2,600 damage to a Shield Warrior. However, Sixth Ghost was not done with the Shield Warrior. Twisting his feet slightly, Sixth Ghost transformed into an afterimage as he weaved through the crowd of players. He arrived behind the still-airborne Shield Warrior and sent out another slash. Nobody had ever expected a Berserker to be so agile. Although the entire process seemed slow, in reality, everything had happened in an instant. Just as Sixth Ghosts saber was about to strike the Shield Warriors back and end his life, Sixth Ghost suddenly spun and used Whirlwind Slash. Peng! Dazzling sparks scattered around him. Sixth Ghosts battle saber collided with a pitch-black sword. Meanwhile, the owner of this sword was none other than the mysterious newcomerCShi Feng. Brat, you sure are in a hurry to die. Six Ghost licked his lips, a hint of excitement appearing in his eyes as he smiled at Shi Feng. Since you can attack soundlessly, you should have also reached that realm. If not for his many years of combat experience and his senses picking up on Shi Fengs faint killing intent, he would not have detected Shi Fengs attack. Fortunately, he sensed the attack at the very last moment and instinctively used Whirlwind Slash. Otherwise, Shi Fengs attack would have been successful. Other than his sparring sessions with the other Ghosts, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. 479 Triple Cu Saber and sword intersected, scattering sparks. Following which, Sixth Ghost and Shi Feng exchanged moves continuously. Both Shi Feng and Sixth Ghost possessed frightening Strength, the ground beneath them cracking under the pressure. Surprisingly, neither expert had actually taken a single step back. However, it was a different story for the players watch from the sidelines. Due to the resulting impact from the weapons collision, the spectators were forced to retreat. They are so powerful. Even from this distance, I can feel how intense the impact is. No wonder Little Horse was sent flying, the Ranger team leader muttered as he watched the scene before him. Fear filled his gaze as he watched Sixth Ghost. Since he had started playing Gods Domain, this was the first time he had seen a player with such ferocious Strength. It was simply terrifying! However, the fact that Shi Feng could contend with such a monster was just as astounding. At this moment, the Tier 1 Swordsman, Fifth Ghost, gaped at the two combatants with utter disbelief. Just who is that? He can compete with Old Sixs Strength. Fifth Ghosts gaze sharpened as he began to watch Shi Feng carefully. In terms of Strength, a Tier 1 Berserker was definitely the strongest of all the classes. Moreover, Fifth Ghost knew how Sixth Ghost had allocated his Free Attribute Points; they had all gone into his Strength. Every piece of Sixth Ghosts equipment was also Strength-based. Yet, a Swordsman like Shi Feng was on equal footing with Sixth Ghost. It was inconceivable. Among the Seven Ghosts, Sixth Ghosts Strength ranked third. Even a Swordsman like himself refused to confront Sixth Ghost directly, relying on techniques to achieve victory instead. Now that an expert, capable of matching Sixth Ghosts Strength, had appeared, Fifth Ghost could not help but focus on the fight. Brat, it seems that youre a Tier 1 class as well. I wont continue playing games, then. Sixth Ghost roared, and suddenly, the skin covering his entire body turned red. His momentum had also changed as a violent aura surged forth from his body. This move was a Tier 1 skill belonging to Tier 1 Berserkers, Bulls Rage, which increased the players Strength by 20% for 15 seconds. Sixth Ghosts Strength had already been quite high. Now that it had increased by another 20%, simple gestures were enough to crack the land beneath his feet. You are ten years too early if you think you can compete with my Strength! Sixth Ghost swung his battle saber, which was as tall as he was, slashing the blade down on Shi Feng. Both his speed and power far surpassed his previous attacks. Yet, Shi Feng did not try to dodge this attack. Instead, he swung the Abyssal Blade in his hand towards Sixth Ghosts saber. Everyone was confused. Even Fifth Ghost, who watched from a distance, revealed a disdainful sneer at this sight. ixth Ghosts Bulls Rage was not the average Skill. Rather, it was an Enhanced Skill. Unlike the normal version, the enhanced version of Bulls Rage increased a players Strength Attribute by 30%. Although it was just a measly 10%, to Sixth Ghost, that 10% was the equivalent of more than 30 points in Strength. Having an additional 30 points in Strength was like wearing an additional piece of top-tier equipment that added Strength. In terms of a Tier 1 players levels, this increase equated four or five additional levels. After activating Bulls Rage, Sixth Ghost was the strongest among the Seven Ghosts. A Tier 1 Swordsman stood no chance against Sixth Ghosts Strength. Shi Feng overestimated himself if he thought he could challenge Sixth Ghosts attack head-on. The only way to deal with Sixth Ghosts attack was to dodge. However, even dodging was impossible. After all, even experts like them, who had reached that realm, found it extremely difficult to dodge Sixth Ghosts saber techniques. Everyone pictured Shi Fengs figure flying backward the instant the saber and sword collided. Boom! The ground beneath both combatants feet cracked, the impact of the collision creating a dust storm that enveloped the battle. You! Sixth Ghosts eyes widened with shock upon seeing Shi Feng block his attack with just one hand. He had already activated Bulls Rage, yet, Shi Feng still blocked his attack. The Skill had increased his Strength Attribute by over 100 points. This increase alone was already as much as what an ordinary player possessed. Yet yet Shi Feng had blocked it! The onlooking crowd gaped when they saw the small crater below the fighters feet. Are they NPCs? None of them could believe what they saw. Was this really a battle between players? If not for the player-specific diamond-shaped markers hovering above both sides heads, they would have suspected that the two were monsters of Gods Domain fighting over territory. So he really was telling the truth. Only now did Zero Wings members realize why Shi Feng had warned them before the battle had begun. With such frightening Strength, even if Sixth Ghost had not utilized any skills and relied solely on his techniques and Attributes, he would not have needed long to annihilate their team. Just who are you? After this single exchange, Sixth Ghost hurriedly retreated from Shi Feng. He was on high-alert as he watched his opponent, no longer as calm as before. Even a fool could tell that Shi Fengs Basic Attributes were far superior to Sixth Ghosts. From their previous exchange, Sixth Ghost realized that Shi Feng had only been testing his strength. With this realization, an indescribable anger overtook Sixth Ghosts heart. All this time, he had been the one to test others strength, never the other way around. Now that someone had done the same to him, Sixth Ghosts pride as one of the Seven Ghosts had been wounded. You attacked first. Why are you the one asking this question? Shi Feng chuckled. Brat, youre courting death! As Sixth Ghost bellowed, the battle saber in his hands transformed into three saber images. These saber images sealed off Shi Fengs path of retreat as they bombarded their target. At this moment, it looked as if Sixth Ghost held not one, but three battle sabers in his hand. Soundlessly, Sixth Ghost appeared right in front of Shi Feng. Hand-to-hand combat relied on two things: Attributes and techniques. Currently, Shi Fengs Attributes were far superior, so Sixth Ghost chose to contend with Shi Feng using techniques. Triple Cut? Shi Fengs expression immediately turned grave. Immediately, he brandished the Abyssal Blade, meeting the oncoming attacks. Triple Cut was a more advanced technique compared to Second Acceleration. Second Acceleration was a technique used to fool the enemys eyes and attack the blindspot. However, Triple Cut was an advanced attack technique that relied on the bodys center of gravity to focus all power into a single point. The attack was extremely fast, to the point that others would see three weapons instead of one. In reality, these were only afterimages. Dang Dang Dang The sound of metal clashing echoed through the air. For a time, the area between Sixth Ghost and Shi Feng had become a whirlwind of blades. The constant and deafening clangs of metal on metal made everyones ears ring. However, when they looked at the battlefield, they failed to see any collision between weapons. Such a powerful Triple Cut! Although Shi Feng had not received any damage, he struggled to defend against Sixth Ghosts attacks with the Abyssal Blade. Even though he was significantly faster than Sixth Ghost, he could do nothing but defend himself. This was the first time Shi Feng was at a disadvantage against a Berserker in a contest of speed. Shi Feng had to admit that an advanced attack technique could increase a players combat power significantly. Fortunately, he was quite a bit faster than Sixth Ghost. He had also already entered the Refinement Realm. He could perceive both attacks and dodging maneuvers meticulously. Otherwise, he would have already died under Sixth Ghosts Triple Cut. However, although Shi Feng struggled to cope with the attacks, Sixth Ghost was not having an easy time, either. Even after using Bulls Rage, every time he crossed blades with Shi Feng, he could feel his hands tremble from the resulting impact. His HP had even begun to fall slowly with each consecutive impact. Although it was only a very tiny amount, after a long period, his HP would eventually vanish. Old Six, Ill help you! Suddenly, Fifth Ghosts figure appeared behind Shi Feng. Immediately, he used Triple Cut with his two swords, aiming for Shi Fengs back. 480 Stepping into the Second Phase Fifth Ghost was a Tier 1 Swordsman. Although he did not possess Sixth Ghosts frightening Strength, in terms of speed, he was significantly superior to the Berserker. In particular, Fifth Ghosts control over his center of gravity when using the advance attack technique Triple Cut surpassed Sixth Ghosts. In addition, Fifth Ghost had used Wind Blade, increasing his speed significantly. At this moment, one could even vaguely see a fourth afterimage of his sword. Presently, Shi Feng had already focused all his power into defending against Sixth Ghosts attack. He simply had no time to consider Fifth Ghost. When Fifth Ghost saw his sword piercing Shi Fengs chest, a sinister smile appeared on his face. Brat, although your strength is quite good, you are still ten years too early if you think you can fight against us Seven Ghosts. Brother Five, be careful! Sixth Ghost suddenly shouted in panic when he saw Fifth Ghosts delighted appearance. Huh? Fifth Ghost immediately sensed that something was wrong because his instincts were telling him right here and now that he had already arrived at deaths door. He then realized the sensation he felt with his handwhen his sword stabbed into Shi Fengwas as if he had just pierced through air. Suddenly, he felt goosebumps rising all over his body. He immediately activated his lifesaving skill, Defensive Blade, and abruptly leaped forward. However, he was still a step too slow. Hua Hua Hua At the same time as he activated Defensive Blade, Fifth Ghost felt chilling sword auras striking at his back. These piercing sword auras were the attacks Shi Feng had launched at Fifth Ghost upon arriving behind the latter using Silent Steps. If Fifth Ghost had not activated Defensive Blade at the first sign of danger, allowing him to negate several instances of damage, he would have become a corpse by now. Just who are these people? Shi Feng knitted his brows slightly. Shi Feng found it truly hard to believe that such experts would actually appear in Underworld. He had also never heard of such experts in his previous life. After using Silent Steps, he had swung the Abyssal Blade immediately. At such a short distance, as well as with the element of surprise, experts of the same level definitely would not be able to react in time. Yet, Fifth Ghost actually managed to activate Defensive Blade and leap forward before the Abyssal Blade landed on his body. Furthermore, from the attack Fifth Ghost had sent out before, Shi Feng could clearly perceive just how powerful Fifth Ghost was. When Sixth Ghost used Triple Cut, he was able to apply the technique only to a normal attack; he could not use the technique with a skill. On the other hand, Fifth Ghost was able to integrate Triple Cut together with a skill. In fast-paced close combat like this, other than some special skills like Silent Steps and Instantaneous Movement, the difficulty of using attack skills in battle was extremely high. Such attack skills simply had too long a cast time and required one to go through fixed motions before the skill could be activated. The speed of using an attack skill was simply incomparable to the speed of a normal attack. Moreover, even if one was highly proficient with a skill and could activate it very quickly, excessive speed could easily result in distortions in the motions and, consequently, a drop in Completion Rate, rendering the skill practically useless. Hence, the fact that Fifth Ghost was able to integrate an attack skill into the battle was something extremely difficult to achieve. Performing such a feat was no longer something feasible for ordinary men. Even Shi Fengs current self would not be able to do so. Moreover, Shi Feng had clearly been the one to attack first, yet he was still a step behind Fifth Ghost. This situation reminded Shi Feng of Soaring Snakes godlike reaction speed. Fifth Ghost might be similar to Soaring Snakeboth of them possessing a reaction speed of less than 0.1 second. Shi Feng estimated Fifth Ghosts reaction speed at around 0.07 second. However, it was obvious that Fifth Ghost was more proficient at utilizing his reaction speed to his advantage. Originally, Shi Feng had thought of following up his victory with a hot pursuit. However, upon noticing Sixth Ghost charging at him, he had no choice but to shift his focus. Brat, not bad. Not only are your Attributes so overpowered, you actually possess that sort of skill as well. You very nearly did me in just now. However, you will no longer get another chance like that. After regaining his composure, Fifth Ghost turned around to look at Shi Feng, a hint of greed flashing across his eyes. He then took out a bottle of Haunted and drank it. Every piece of equipment they had on them was top-tier. Yet, Shi Feng had still managed to overwhelm them with his Attributes. This showed that Shi Fengs equipment was a cut above theirs. If they could kill Shi Feng and obtain his equipment, it would definitely allow their combat power to rise to the next level. In a two-on-one situation, Shi Feng no longer held back as he used Purgatory Power, increasing his Attack Speed by 100%. He then used Void Steps, vanishing from everyones eyes. He disappeared? Sixth Ghost was stunned. Before he could figure out what was going on, he suddenly discovered that Shi Feng had already appeared directly beside him, the Abyssal Blade mere centimeters from his neck. Sixth Ghost hastily bent his body away with all his might. However, he was still too late as a fountain of blood sprayed out from his neck, a critical damage of over -3,000 points appearing above his head. From this attack alone, Sixth Ghost had lost more than half of his HP. Immediately after, Shi Feng followed up with another strike. One more hit was all he needed to finish off Sixth Ghost. However, Fifth Ghosts sword was already curving towards Shi Feng. Moreover, Sixth Ghost was now aware of the danger, his saber moving to greet Shi Fengs sword. In this situation, Shi Feng had no choice but to break off his attack. He then used Void Steps once more and disappeared from everyones sight. So youre Black Flame. However, if you think you can rely on this footwork to defeat us, think again. Before coming to the Watch Cemetery, Fifth Ghost had already received information on Black Flame from Youlan. He had also watched the battle between Black Flame and Summer Sunshine, so Shi Fengs Void Steps was still fresh in his mind. Now that he was seeing the footwork in action, he determined Shi Fengs identity right away. Then, Fifth Ghost abruptly changed his swords trajectory, swinging the weapon at the empty air beside him. Fifth Ghosts action confused the spectators; they could not understand what the Swordsman was trying to achieve with this action. In the next instant, however, everyone immediately received an answer to their questions when Shi Feng suddenly appeared in the path of Fifth Ghosts sword. At this moment, Shi Feng was using the Abyssal Blade to defend against Fifth Ghosts attack. Hes adapted to Void Steps already? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Shi Feng knew full well that Void Steps was not an invincible technique. Although the footwork could force others to ignore his own presence, making it seem as if he had vanished from thin air, someone who had undergone special training could still catch him once they let their eyes adapt to the technique. There was nothing strange in people like Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost being able to perform such a feat. However, the speed with which Fifth Ghost managed to adapt to the technique still exceeded Shi Fengs expectations. During Shi Fengs moment of surprise, Sixth Ghost had also slashed his saber at Shi Fengs back, forming a pincer attack around Shi Feng. Left with no other choice, Shi Feng activated Windwalk as well as Void Steps to retreat. Although the two Ghosts had adapted themselves to Void Steps, there was still a brief moment of delay before their eyes could locate Shi Feng. Hence, Shi Feng still persisted in using Void Steps to retreat. For a time, both sides entered a stalemate. The exchange between saber and swords created a storm that engulfed the audience. The surrounding spectators were shocked by this scene, and not even their eyes could keep up with the three combatants actions. Looking at the high-speed battle between the three, even breathing seemed superfluous. Despite Shi Fengs Attack Speed receiving a huge boost and the significant effect of Void Steps, Shi Feng was still forced into passivity. The two Ghosts attacks were extremely tricky to deal with. In particular, Fifth Ghosts attacks would always strike from various different blind spots and never once would the Swordsman face Shi Feng in a direct confrontation. If not for the fact that Shi Feng had already entered the Refinement Realm, his grasp over attacks and movements becoming extremely precise, he would have long since lost his life to the two Ghosts. Although Shi Feng was currently locked in a passive state, he was enjoying every moment of this high-speed battle. Ever since the increase in his brain activity, he had not had a chance to familiarize himself with the sudden boost to his perception as well as the sudden enhancement in his control over his own body. This battle was the perfect opportunity to get used to his new improvements. Chances to fight against experts were extremely rare, let alone against experts who were capable of forcing him into such dire straits, where even the slightest mistake could cost him his life. Moreover, Shi Feng could not help but admit that the coordination between Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost was indeed very amazing. Regardless of how he tried to attack or dodge, he could never fully defend against the attacks of the two Ghosts. As a result, he had lost close to half his HP already. However, under the steady onslaught, the accuracy of Shi Fengs actions was also gradually increasing; the damage the Ghosts inflicted was also gradually decreasing. Their attacks really are precise. At this moment, even Shi Feng could feel himself growing mentally tired. Die! Fifth Ghost took advantage of the moment Shi Feng used Void Steps and vanished to slash at the latters back, giving Shi Feng no chance to dodge or block at all. At the moment of life and death, a slight change came over Shi Feng. Suddenly, Shi Fengs movement stopped. In the next moment, Fifth Ghosts sword actually brushed past Shi Fengs body. However, Fifth Ghost did not stop his attacks as he continued brandishing his two swords. Sixth Ghost kept hacking at Shi Feng with his saber as well, not giving him any chance to dodge or block. Yet, no matter how hard they tried to hit Shi Feng, he always managed to avoid their attacks ahead of time; it was as if Shi Feng had long since known the trajectory of their attacks. So this is the second stage of the Refinement Realm, the Flowing Water Realm. Its no wonder I wasnt a match for those people in the past. Shi Feng could not help but smile while dodging the two Ghosts attacks. 481 Flowing Water Acceleration Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost immediately detected the sudden change in Shi Feng, and the two Ghosts promptly distanced themselves from their target. As experts of Gods Domain, their perception of danger was far superior to ordinary players. On the other hand, the dazed players watching Shi Fengs battle were confused by the two Ghosts actions. There were no visible changes to Shi Fengs outer appearance, and neither were there any changes to his Attributes. So, why did Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost suddenly choose to back away from him? Was it just my imagination? Fifth Ghost somewhat doubted his own senses. He could not understand why Shi Feng would suddenly undergo such a drastic change. Originally, the pressure Fifth Ghost felt from Shi Feng was that of a tiger. However, in the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had transformed into a violent dragon. Moreover, it was a violent dragon with extremely sharp fangs and claws. Let alone them, even ordinary people would know to distance themselves from Shi Feng upon sensing such a radical difference. Since you guys arent going to take action, then dont mind if I do, Shi Feng said as he revealed a meaningful smile. He then raised his sword and slowly approached his two opponents. The Refinement Realm could be said to be what differentiated a true top-tier expert from an ordinary expert. As for players who set foot into the Refinement Realm, not one of them was not an expert who could single-handedly turn the tides of a battle. Once players entered the Refinement Realm, they would be able to exert the minimum amount of strength to achieve the maximum effect. This was especially notable when players were attacking or dodging. Despite the opponents speed greatly surpassing their own, players in the Refinement Realm could easily dodge their opponents attack using the simplest of movements. Not only could they dodge with greater efficiency, but they could also take the opportunity to better detect their enemys weaknesses, to give their enemy a fatal blow. Due to this reason, the Refinement Realm became the dividing line for true experts. Meanwhile, there was an even higher realm above Refinement, and that was the Flowing Water Realm. Through detailed observation of the opponent, players could place themselves in their opponents position in order to understand their opponents every action. They could then anticipate their opponents next action, or even multiple subsequent actions, and make the most appropriate response. In other words, before their opponent had even taken action, players in the Flowing Water Realm could have already known what their opponents were going to do next and carried out appropriate countermeasures. Compared to responding only after the opponent had begun taking action, players would have a lot more time to react and perform swifter and more precise actions. Hence, for Shi Feng, who had already seen through the coordinated attacks of Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, it was very easy for him to dodge and react to his two opponents attacks. When Shi Feng slowly approached Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, the two Ghosts unconsciously began backing away as well. Looking at this scene where one side was advancing while the other was retreating, the surrounding spectators were stupefied. In particular, the Underworld Guards jaws nearly fell to the ground upon witnessing this scene. The Seven Ghosts were Underworlds most formidable weapons. Yet, the two Ghosts before them were actually displaying cowardice right now. How could this be any more inconceivable? Meanwhile, Shi Feng also wore a helpless expression on his face as he took in this situation. He promptly fished a bottle of Haunted from his bag and drank it. He then used Wind Blade on Fifth Ghost, his body transforming into an afterimage. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared in front of Fifth Ghost and swung the Abyssal Blade at the other Swordsman. Shi Fengs slash was unimaginably fast. The spectating crowd only saw a flash of black light; they could not make out Shi Fengs sword at all. So fast! Fifth Ghost was greatly alarmed. It was definitely impossible for him to dodge Shi Fengs attack. However, with his godlike reaction speed, Fifth Ghost still managed to react before Shi Fengs sword landed on his body, instinctively using Triple Cut to block this fleeting sword. Dang! Sparks scattered into the surroundings. At the moment of imminent peril, Fifth Ghost succeeded in blocking Shi Fengs attack with the sword in his hand. As a result of the impact, however, Fifth Ghost was forced to retreat numerous steps before he could stabilize his body. His entire hand also numbed from the impact. How could this be? This is Triple Cut? Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost both looked at Shi Feng with horror-filled expressions, as they were extremely familiar with Shi Fengs previous attack. Triple Cut was an advanced technique that they had trained in bitterly in order to grasp. At this moment, however, Shi Feng had actually effortlessly used that technique against them. How could they not be shocked? So theres such an effect as well. Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Blade in his hand, similarly surprised. Just now, he had taken advantage of the pressure Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost had placed on him to enter the Flowing Water Realm. However, he had not expected that, after he entered the Flowing Water Realm, his attack would also receive such a boost. Originally, he had relied on eliminating excess actions in order to increase the speed of his attacks. At this moment, however, maybe because his control over his body had received a huge improvement, the instant he attacked, he was able to apply all his physical power into that single slash. As a result, not only were there no excess movements in his attack, but his attack had also received a huge acceleration, which allowed his sword to reach its maximum speed in the shortest amount of time possible. Taking Fifth Ghost as example, if the initial acceleration of Fifth Ghosts sword was counted as 100 and his swords maximum speed as 20, then from the moment he started swinging his sword, he would need 0.2 second for his sword reach its maximum speed. As for Shi Feng, his current initial acceleration would be 200. If his maximum speed was similarly 20, then he required only 0.1 second to reach his maximum speed. Hence, his sword could reach his target much faster than Fifth Ghosts. However, this was assuming both sides possessed the same maximum speed. In reality, as Shi Fengs Attributes were much higher, his maximum speed was a lot higher than Fifth Ghosts and Sixth Ghosts. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng could not help but grow excited. Hoping to find the feeling from before, Shi Feng stepped forward and launched a fierce assault on Fifth Ghost once more. Streaks of black light suddenly appeared before promptly disappearing. Fifth Ghost was forced to go all out to defend against the attacks. However, no matter how hard he tried to defend himself, the attacks were simply too overwhelming, forcing him into a constant retreat. Seeing this situation, Sixth Ghost hurriedly charged forward to aid his companion. Immediately, he used Triple Cut, slashing his saber at Shi Fengs back. Originally, with Shi Fengs speed, it had simply been impossible for him to block the attack. However, Sixth Ghost suddenly saw a streak of black light emerge behind Shi Feng, the black light deflecting his attack completely. Just what is going on here? Sixth Ghost looked at Shi Fengs calm expression in abject horror. At the beginning of the fight, Shi Feng had been desperately trying to defend against his saber. Now, however, Shi Feng could effortlessly block his attacks without even turning his head around During the brief moment Sixth Ghost was in a daze, a streak of black light penetrated Fifth Ghosts defenses, piercing right through the Swordsmans heart. A critical damage of over -3,000 points promptly appeared above his head as the massive impact sent his body flying backwards. Because of the impact, Fifth Ghosts defense crumbled, allowing several more streaks of black light to land on his body. In the blink of an eye, Fifth Ghosts HP reached zero. At Fifth Ghosts death, the equipment on his body and the items in his bag dropped and scattered across the ground around him. This scene stupefied everyone present. How was the thing in Shi Fengs hand a sword? That was practically a laser gun! With just a few shots, Fifth Ghost died without even being able to resist. Only now did Sixth Ghost finally react. Although he wished to help, he was already too late. Right then, Shi Feng used Void Steps and disappeared once more. Dont think that you can easily do me in! Sixth Ghost bellowed as he used Whirlwind Slash, sweeping his battle saber around himself. In the next moment, however, a streak of black light shot at Sixth Ghosts weapon. Boom! Sixth Ghosts battle saber was abruptly stopped cold. Immediately after, another streak of black light pierced Sixth Ghosts body, instantly ending the Berserkers life. Once more, equipment and items were scattered across the ground. The members of the Underworld Guards shivered and paled at the sight of Fifth Ghosts and Sixth Ghosts bodies lying on the ground. They promptly turned around and fled. As Underworld Guards, they knew full well just how powerful the two Ghosts were. Working together, the two of them could easily annihilate four or five Underworld Guard parties. Meanwhile, the fact that Shi Feng succeeded in defeating the two Ghosts all by himself showed that he was also fully capable of annihilating their two parties. If they did not escape, only death awaited them. Want to escape? Too late! Shi Feng immediately changed the Aura of Space to the Aura of Wind, increasing his Movement Speed greatly. He caught up with the fleeing Underworld Guards in no time, and just like a whirlwind sweeping away the clouds, he practically killed each Underworld Guard with just one hit. In the blink of an eye, the ten remaining Underworld Guards were turned into a pile of corpses, their equipment and the items inside their bags scattering all over the ground around their corpses. 482 The Strength of a Single Man This Haunted really is frightening. It is actually able to force a Red Name to drop every single piece of equipment they are wearing. Underworld should be shedding tears right about now. Shi Fengs heart was filled with joy when he looked at the ground littered with items. Killing the elite members of a Guild would not cause any significant damages to said Guild as these elite members only had advanced equipment. Such equipment could be easily replaced. The equipment of experts, on the other hand, was different. Every single expert was an accumulation of a Guilds top-tier equipment. Meanwhile, behind every piece of top-tier equipment was the sacrifice of a large number of players. Being able to steal a piece of top-tier equipment from a Guild was the equivalent of slicing a piece of flesh off said Guild. The Underworld Guard parties had a total of twelve members. Of them, ten were mostly geared in Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment mixed with a few pieces of Level 20 Fine-Gold and even Dark-Gold Equipment. As for Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, their equipment was only slightly inferior to that of core members of Zero Wing. The majority of their equipment consisted of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, and even the most inferior pieces were Level 20 Dark-Gold Equipment. Now, however, these twelve players were left with not a single piece of equipment on their bodies, thanks to Shi Feng In addition, the twelve had also dropped plenty of items from their bags. Among them were plenty of Haunted potions, as well as the good quality equipment such as Level 20 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment they had harvested from other players. Making a rough estimate, Shi Feng had earned more than 100 Gold just from killing these twelve players. Split this advanced equipment among yourselves. Dont forget to leave some for your dead companions. Shi Feng only collected the top-tier equipment and Haunted potions for himself, leaving the remainder for the team. He then disappeared into the dense forest in search of other Underworld Guard parties. So cool! Is that person really our Guild Leader? a female Summoner asked as she watched Shi Fengs departing figure, her gaze carrying a seductive charm. It should be. Before, when that person named him Black Flame, he did not deny it. Moreover, he has even willingly left behind so much good equipment for us. Other than our Guild Leader, I doubt there would be anybody who would do such a thing. The Ranger team leader nodded in reply, his heart filled with an indescribable sense of excitement. It really is great to be a member of Zero Wing, the others could not help but exclaim. Despite the ongoing war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile, as the leader of a Guild, Shi Feng had actually taken the initiative to enter such a dangerous location all by himself. He had even rushed to their rescue at the first sign of trouble. With such a Guild Leader, even if they fell back to Level 0 as a result of battling Overwhelming Smile, they would still do so willingly. Although Guild Leader has left all this good equipment to us, I suggest that after we set aside several pieces for those who died, we should place the remainder in the Guilds Warehouse. Now that we are waging a war against Overwhelming Smile, the Guilds expenditure is very large. We cant take advantage of the Guild at such a crucial period, the Ranger said. The others promptly nodded in agreement. \--- Currently, Shi Feng was searching for treasure chests in the Watch Cemetery while waiting for Space Movements Cooldown to end and news to appear in the Guild channel. Space Movement had a five-minute Cooldown. As he did not wish to waste time during this period, he had started hunting for treasure. Shi Feng could not be more familiar with the Watch Cemetery. He had visited this place many times in search of treasure in his previous life. Moreover, in the past, many treasure chest locations had been published on the official forums. Back then, as treasure chests that had already been found would not reappear at the same location, nobody actually cared about keeping these locations a secret. Instead, they actively publicized and showed off their discoveries. As a result, their actions would now benefit Shi Feng. There were plenty of secrets in Gods Domain. In reality, Shi Feng had just taken a casual glance at these treasure chest locations back then; he had not paid any particular attention to them. Even if his memory was very good, he could only vaguely remember these locations now. After all, nobody knew that they would reincarnate into their past lives. However, due to the improvement of Shi Fengs brain activity, even his memory had received a huge boost. The things he could only vaguely remember before were now as clear as the sun at noon to him. Hence, his search for treasure chests became a very easy task. It was as if he was looking at a treasure map while treasure hunting. After just a brief search, Shi Feng had already discovered a Bronze Treasure Chest, obtaining more than three Silver Coins and a Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Weapon from it. The number of treasure chests in this area is too little while the number of players is too high. Many of the treasure chests should have already been discovered by someone else. It seems that I can only try my luck somewhere else, Shi Feng muttered as he collected the items inside the Bronze Treasure Chest. Currently, Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Weapons were still in high demand. He then took a look at the system map. As I recall, there should be plenty of high-quality treasure chests located in the inner regions of the Watch Cemetery. Following which, Shi Feng dashed directly towards the inner region of the Watch Cemetery. For a couple of hours, Shi Feng searched for treasure while killing any Underworld Guard parties that dared show themselves. During this period, Shi Feng had opened more than thirty treasure chests. Among them, fourteen were Bronze Treasure Chests, sixteen were Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests, and six were Secret-Silver Treasure Chests. He had also killed eleven Underworld Guard parties. Overall, he had gained a frightening harvest. Although these Underworld Guard parties did not have experts like Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, they still contributed plenty of top-tier equipment to Shi Fengs harvest. After all, these Underworld Guards normally killed many players, so they had accumulated quite a lot of good stuff, both on their bodies and in their bags. Now, however, all these items belonged to Shi Feng. In other words, these Underworld Guards had just carried out free labor for Shi Feng. Just the number of top-tier equipment Shi Feng obtained exceeded a hundred pieces, not to mention advanced equipment. Shi Fengs harvest had instantly made up for much of the losses Zero Wing suffered before. \--- Inside the Guild Residence of Overwhelming Smile. Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost died?! How is this possible?! Feng Xuanyangs eyes widened in shock upon reading the report he just received. He could not at all accept this matter as real. Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost were Underworlds most formidable weapons. Now, not only had both of them lost all their equipment, but they could not even log back into the game right now. Just how was he supposed to report this incident to the higher-ups? This Black Flame is simply too vicious. Seated to the side, Youlan, who was garbed in a set of alluring purple robes that placed her exquisite figure on full display, knitted her brows tightly, a gloomy expression currently on her face. Contrary to expectations, Youlan was not particularly concerned about this piece of news. Compared to Fifth Ghosts and Sixth Ghosts deaths, she was more concerned about the number of deaths in the Underworld Guard parties. Currently, statistics showed that more than eighty Underworld Guards had already died. As of this time, Underworld had sent over 200 Underworld Guards to Overwhelming Smileand close to half had died. Practically all the Underworld Guard parties posted at the Watch Cemetery were dead by now. This loss was already well over the limit they could endure. Even if they emptied Overwhelming Smiles entire Guild Warehouse, they would not be able to make up for the loss in top-tier and advanced equipment. Aside from that, there was also the loss of levels, as well as the fact that all those killed by Shi Feng were unable to log back into Gods Domain for a long period of time. Just how did he manage such a feat? Youlan muttered in confusion. The Underworld Guard parties were clearly scattered far apart from each other, making it extremely difficult to catch them all. Yet, Shi Feng had only used a few short hours to wipe out nearly every Underworld Guard party within the Watch Cemetery \--- While Feng Xuanyang and Youlan were feeling depressed, information regarding Shi Fengs feat spread like wildfire throughout White River City. Players who received this piece of news were thoroughly amazed. One hit per person. Shi Feng had actually managed to suppress a powerful Guild all by himself, slaughtering Overwhelming Smile to the point where it had no choice but to recall all its members from the treasured land known as the Watch Cemetery. This was simply too frightening For a time, Zero Wing was once more the topic of conversation in the entire White River City. 483 Everlasting War Although the fight in Watch Cemetery had not been on a large scale, it had dealt a massive blow to Overwhelming Smile. This was not a matter of winning or losing. Instead, it was because Overwhelming Smile had conceded. This one point proved that Overwhelming Smile was inferior to Zero Wing. In addition, Shi Fengs stunning performance had calmed the rush to join Overwhelming Smile. Previously, they all had an optimistic view on Overwhelming Smile, believing that the Guild was about to overtake the position of White River Citys overlord. Now, however, the situation had taken a 180-degree turn. Needing only one hit per person, Shi Feng had wiped out all of Overwhelming Smiles experts within the Watch Cemetery. Without that hindrance, Zero Wings Tier 1 experts were able to display their strength as they swiftly wiped out the normal members from Overwhelming Smile, forcing the Guild to pull back from the treasured land known as the Watch Cemetery. The Watch Cemetery was White River Citys most resource-rich Level 20 to 30 map. Losing it would undoubtedly be detrimental to Overwhelming Smiles future development. Although Overwhelming Smile was wealthy, that wealth would be meaningless if they could not convert it into leveling resources. \--- The sky slowly darkened as the setting sun gradually disappeared past the horizon. After a days struggle, many players had begun to return to the city to rest and celebrate their days harvest. Bars, restaurants, clubs, and many such establishments were already crowded. At this moment, in the rooftop dining room of a high-class restaurant, two female players feasted on delicacies as they enjoyed the view of White River City. Many male players present snuck glances at these two women. Of the two female players, one was petite and lovely, while still sporting stunning curves. The other was even more beautiful. Her face was so pure that it put flowers to shame and outshone the moon. Her snow-white skin looked so delicate that it seemed as if it might break from the gentlest touch. Currently, although she wore a long, aqua-blue mage robe, trimmed in gold, the clothing failed to conceal her graceful body. These two were none other than Blue Bamboo and Thoughtful Rain, the pair that had originally planned to join Overwhelming Smile. Blue, what did I tell you? Look how quickly Zero Wing suppressed Overwhelming Smile, Thoughtful Rain said as she glanced at Blue Bamboo, the gentle smile in her ink-black eyes intensifying. Previously, due to her refusal to join Overwhelming Smile, Blue Bamboo had pestered her ceaselessly, giving her a huge headache. Only now that Zero Wing had forced Overwhelming Smile to submit did the girl finally relent. Overwhelming Smile is truly disappointing! To think that I thought so highly of it, it actually dared to let me down! I dont want to join Overwhelming Smile anymore, either! Blue Bamboo pouted, disappointed. I already told you that Zero Wing is far superior to Overwhelming Smile. After all, it was the first Guild to own a Guild Residence in White River City. Not only that, it claimed the best residence available in White River City. It also has plenty of experts. Currently, the various Guilds in White River City barely have any Tier 1 experts in their Guilds. Yet, I hear that Zero Wing already has over 50. Zero Wing has long since taken the lead. Furthermore, its Guild Leader, Black Flame, is a titled expert. Thoughtful Rains thin lips shifted slightly as she explained, smiling tenderly. Since thats the case, why dont we join Zero Wing? Blue Bamboo could not help but have expectations. Zero Wings exam is very strict. I might be able to pass it, but Im afraid that you Thoughtful Rain shook her head after evaluating Blue Bamboo. Humph. Who says my techniques are bad? Ive only recently begun playing virtual reality games. After some time, Ill be more amazing than even Black Flame. Besides Blue Bamboos ink-black eyes suddenly shone as she revealed a meaningful smile, saying, Rain, I know that youve encountered one of the higher-ups of Zero Wing before. His name was Ye Feng, I think? He gave you a permanent pass to the library. All of my classmates turned green with envy when I told them about that item. Since he gave you such a precious pass, he should be able to admit us into the Guild without any issues with his position. I am only acquaintances with him. Blue, stop overthinking things, Thoughtful Rain hurriedly explained. Besides, if he invites you into Zero Wing, and you perform badly, what then? Others will question his ability to manage the Guild. Are you my best friend or his? Youre actually defending him, yet, you claim that there is nothing going on between you two? I dont care. In any case, I want to join Zero Wing! I have always wanted a piece of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. With your felonious body, you just have to say the word, and hell let me into the Guild and smother us with Fine-Gold Equipment! Blue Bamboo stated as she swept a glance at Thoughtful Rains graceful body, her lips hooked up into a deep, suggestive smile. Thoughtful Rain was suddenly speechless. At this moment, a party of six suddenly appeared before the female duo. The leader of this party was a middle-aged man with a burly body, examining the two with world-weary eyes. None of the party could be underestimated as the other five also gave off an air of danger. The partys stance alone left the surrounding witnesses breathless. Their Levels were even more astonishing. Of these six, the lowest leveled player was Level 26, while the leading middle-aged man was a Level 27 Guardian Knight. Excuse me, ladies, I couldnt help but overhear that the both of you are familiar with the higher-ups of Zero Wing. I wonder if you can introduce us to them? If you do, this Level 25 Morning Dew Staff will be yours, the leading middle-aged man said, smiling warmly. He then retrieved a two-handed staff made of pure white jade from his bag, placing the weapon on the table. Red gemstones were inlaid in the staff, and with a glance, it was obvious that the staff was no ordinary weapon. Wah! This is a Secret-Silver staff! Its Attributes are awesome! Blue Bamboo was immediately mesmerized by the Morning Dew Staff. She then turned to Thoughtful Rain, saying, Rain, were heading over to Zero Wing anyway, so why dont we take them with us? I dont know. Why do you want to meet Zero Wings higher-ups? Thoughtful Rain only swept a glance over the Morning Dew Staff before shifting her gaze back to the middle-aged man. She was no fool. Since they had offered a Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapon as a token of appreciation, then they were definitely plotting something. She would not be a proper friend if she abruptly contacted Ye Feng without knowing their intentions. Miss, please dont misunderstand. My name is Everlasting War. We seek the higher-ups of Zero Wing purely with the intention of conducting trade. This trade will only benefit, not harm, Zero Wing, so you can rest assured. If we really wanted to cause trouble for Zero Wing, we would have already done so. We wouldnt have to go through this much trouble, the middle-aged man explained. Alright, then. Ill contact him for you, but it will be up to him whether or not he meets with you, Thoughtful Rain nodded in agreement, feeling that Everlasting Wars words sounded reasonable. Following which, Thoughtful Rain called up her friends list and contacted Ye Feng. 484 King Currently, Shi Feng carefully scoured one of the dark, quiet tombs in Watch Cemeterys core region. While he explored, Shi Feng had received news from Aqua Rose about Overwhelming Smile withdrawing from the competition over the Watch Cemetery and shifting its focus to several other Level 20 maps with fewer resources. The members of Overwhelming Smile had also begun to keep a low profile. With the threat of Overwhelming Smile gone, Shi Feng decided to transverse deep into Watch Cemeterys core. The tomb he currently explored was unique. It was a resting place for royalty. It was also known as a Kings Tomb. Locating this particular tomb had not been easy. As it had been built to prevent grave robbers from plundering the valuables buried with the dead, this place had been carefully hidden; it had been built inside a cave under a steep cliff. After its construction, the original path used to travel to this place had been destroyed. After several hundred years, vines had covered the cliff, making it even more difficult to notice the cave. In the past, a skilled Assassin had accidentally discovered this location. Afterward, that Assassin had led a powerful team to the Kings Tomb and successfully plundered the treasure inside. After claiming the treasure, he sold the item for over 1,000 Gold, earning everyones envy Even so, in the Gods Domain of that time, the Assassin had still taken a loss when he sold the item. Why had it been a loss? Although the item was utterly worthless to an independent player, to Guilds, it was priceless. Various large Guilds would willingly spend 2,000 or 3,000 Gold, much less 1,000. The treasure the Assassin had found was a Guild Residence Promotion Order. All Guild Residences started out as a 1-star Residence when established. If a Guild wished to upgrade it to a 2-star Residence, they needed to meet two requirements. First, a Guild needed a sufficient amount of Guild Popularity; the second thing they needed was a 2-star Guild Residence Promotion Order. If a Guild Residence reached 2-star status, the Guild could establish certain facilities that were unavailable to a 1-star Residence. More importantly, a Guild Residences Private Rooms would change. Guilds could only establish 1-star Private Rooms in a 1-star Residence, whereas 2-star Private Rooms could be established in a 2-star Residence. By resting for 24 hours in a 1-star Private Room, players could store up to 20% of the Double EXP buff. In a 2-star Private Room, however, players could store up to 25% after 24 hours. In addition, a Guild could establish a Smithy inside a 2-star Residence, allowing members to have their weapons and equipment repaired. Moreover, the repair fees as the Guilds smithy were 10% cheaper than elsewhere. Repair fees were always expensive. Although there was only a 10% difference, players could still save a significant amount of money. Currently, Zero Wings Popularity had exceeded 5,000 points; it had met that requirement for the upgrade. Hence, now was the perfect time for Shi Feng to collect the Promotion Order. Danger awaited any player inside the Kings Tomb as traps had been built throughout the crypt. Unfortunately, none of these traps proved to be useful against Shi Feng. He destroyed every trap he encountered with a single slash. This should be it, Shi Feng muttered as he entered a majestic stone room, focusing on the tightly sealed white jade sarcophagus lined with gold that occupied the center of the room. Wetting his lips, he advanced towards the sarcophagus. When Shi Feng was only 20 yards away, the sarcophagus suddenly opened. Black smoke slithered out of the sarcophagus. Soon, the black smoke coalesced into a youth in golden armor. The youth had a white cape draped over his shoulders and a golden crown adorning his head. More importantly, the youth carried the air of a king; anyone who basked in his aura would tremble and submit body and soul. However, this youths body was currently in a half-transparent, ethereal state. He was not a physical entity, but a ghost. To be precise, this youth was the ghost of a king. As expected of the king of a generation. Even in death, his still possesses such a powerful aura. If he were still alive, Id have no hope of escaping with my life, Shi Feng muttered after observing this ghost king with Omniscient Eyes. [King of Ghosts, Monroe Bell] (High Lord) Level 30 HP 4,000,000/4,000,000 Being capable of receiving the title of King proved that Monroe Bell had been a Tier 3 class before he died. The pair of swords in Monroes hands indicated that he had been a Tier 3 Sword King, the equivalent of a Great Lord, during his lifetime. However, after Monroe Bell died, he had weakened significantly. Now, he was only as strong as a High Lord. Even so, he would not be an easy challenge for Shi Feng. Immediately, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragons Power, increasing his Strength by 100%, HP by 300%, and Defense by 300%. Suddenly, Shi Fengs HP rose past 27,000. However, his HP could not compete with the King of Ghosts, which possessed 4,000,000 HP. Shi Feng then used the activatable skill of the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Water, Life Bloom, recovering 20% of his HP every second for 40 seconds. During this period, it would be the equivalent of having a powerful healer healing him indefinitely. Graverobber, receive the Sword of Justices retribution! Monroe Bells pitch-black eyes locked onto Shi Feng. Taking a step forward, the King of Ghosts dashed towards Shi Feng as he sent a flurry of sword thrusts at the intruder with his Kings Sword. The King of Ghosts sword carried with it a majestic aura. The aura alone was enough to scare an ordinary player, much less the flurry of thrusts. Monroe Bells attack was like a tsunami; he gave Shi Feng no opportunity to evade the strikes. Shi Feng immediately activated Purgatory Power, allowing his Attack Speed to soar. He then used Wind Blade and charged forward. Facing the countless oncoming sword thrusts, Shi Feng chose to face brutality with grace, and rather than confronting the attack head-on, he deflected the strikes to the side. However, despite the extreme speed of his swords and the fact that he was already in the Flowing Water Realm, he could not keep up with the dozens of sword thrusts. As a result, he received multiple hits. Shi Feng was not courageous enough to face Monroe Bell directly. A High Lord far surpassed an ordinary Lord. Monroe Bell suppressed Shi Feng completely in terms of Strength and speed. Even if Shi Feng activated twofold berserk, the result would be the same. Furthermore, Monroe Bell was not an ordinary High Lord. The King of Ghosts had been a bona fide Sword King before he died. In terms of combat technique utilization, he was even stronger than ordinary experts. Hence, challenging the High Lord in a direct confrontation would only be detrimental to Shi Feng. If Shi Feng had not reached the Flowing Water Realm, gaining insight into an opponents actions, he would never have come here, only to die. After all, Level 30 was a dividing line in Gods Domain. Monroe Bells Attack Power was also terrifying. Shi Feng had received close to -2,000 damage from a casual slash and more than -4,000 damage if the King of Ghosts struck him with a skill. If Shi Feng had not activated Heavenly Dragons Power, increasing his Defense significantly, Monroe Bells normal attack could have dealt over -4,000 damage, whereas a skill would deal over -10,000. As Shi Feng received damage, Life Bloom displayed its impressive effects. After factoring in the passive effects of the Aura of Water, Life Bloom regenerated more than 8,000 HP every second; the amount of healing Shi Feng received surpassing the damage he received. While Shi Feng and the King of Ghosts fought an intense battle against each other, a figure had stealthily appeared beside the sarcophagus and proceeded to open the treasure chest within. This treasure chest did not have a level restriction, so anybody could open it. However, opening it required 20 seconds. During this period, the person opening the treasure chest must not receive any damage. Otherwise, they would have to start the opening process all over again. Meanwhile, the person currently opening the treasure chest was none other than Shi Fengs doppelganger. Although the doppelganger could not pick up any items, it could open the treasure chest. In the past, the 50-man team the Assassin had led had similarly made various sacrifices to open the treasure chest before fleeing for their lives. Although Shi Feng was alone, he still chose to give the Kings Tomb a try. After all, not only did he possess the strength to resist a High Lord for a short time, but he also had his doppelganger. No one else would have a chance of completing the task by themselves. The moment the doppelganger opened the treasure chest, Shi Feng instantly swapped positions with it, having his doppelganger delay Monroe Bell while he looted the contents of the treasure chest. Monroe Bell was simply too powerful. Shi Fengs doppelganger barely lasted three seconds before it died. However, during those three seconds, Shi Feng had emptied the treasure chest. Seeing Monroe Bell charge towards him, Shi Feng hurriedly switched the Aura of Water to the Aura of Space before activating Space Movement and leaving the Kings Tomb. 485 Number One Guild Near one of the mass graves in Watch Cemeterys outer region A tear in space suddenly appeared in mid-air. In the next moment, Shi Feng emerged. I finally escaped. Even after Shi Feng landed, he could still hear the King of Ghosts angry roars. However, the tear in space had already closed. Even if Monroe Bell recovered his strength as a Tier 3 Sword King, he could not reach Shi Feng now. Now that I have the Promotion Order, it should be about time to make a trip back to White River City. Shi Fengs lips curled up slightly when he saw the glittering silver token in his bag. Originally, he had only intended to retrieve this Guild Residence Promotion Order after he reached Level 30. However, he had not expected to set foot in the Flowing Water Realm. Even though he was only Level 26, he was already capable of delaying Monroe Bell. Other than the Promotion Order, Shi Feng had obtained three items from the Kings Tomb. Of these three items, one was a fiery-red two-handed staff, one was an azure two-handed greatsword, and the last was a silver stone tablet. Appraising these items with Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng discovered that both the two-handed staff and two-handed sword were actually Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapons. However, the silver tablet surprised Shi Feng far more than the two weapons. Shi Feng was very familiar with this silver tablet. [Secret Sword Technique] The pattern engraved on this tablet is too vague and incomplete, and no information can be deciphered. However, some kind of divine power hides within this pattern. If one gathers all of the stone tablets, this vague and incomplete pattern can be restored. Current tablet count (1/6) The tablet for the Secret Sword Technique... Shi Feng had accidentally obtained a part of it while he had completed the Blade Saints Legacy Trial. Back then, he had suspected that the silver tablet was something extraordinary, so he had stored it in his Warehouse. He never expected to obtain another piece so soon. Just what is this Secret Sword Technique? Despite examining the tablet, Shi Feng could not find any differences between the tablet he had just obtained and the one he had found in the Origin Sword Domain. The two pieces looked identical. Shi Feng even suspected that the piece he stored inside his Warehouse had somehow grown legs and run to the Kings Tomb by itself. Forget it. Lets head back for now. Following which, Shi Feng retrieved a Return Scroll. However, just as he was about to start channeling Di Di Di Suddenly, Shi Fengs communicator rang. Thoughtful Rain, a girl he had only met once before, was contacting him. Is she looking to buy equipment? Shi Feng looked at Thoughtful Rains name, feeling slightly surprised. Previously, when he had met Thoughtful Rain at White River Citys Library, the latter had expressed her interest in purchasing weapons and equipment from him. hi Feng felt a sense of familiarity from Thoughtful Rain. Now that his brain activity had increased, he could recall even the smallest fragment of the past. Yet, even after his memories had refreshed, he still could not recall the girl. He only felt that she was familiar, but he did not know why. Miss Rain, since you have contacted me, are you interested in purchasing some equipment? Shi Feng asked pleasantly, smiling. Id like to, but today, Im contacting you because I have found a big business opportunity for you, Thoughtful Rain said, smiling sweetly. A group of people just happen to overhear me when I spoke about our acquaintance. In the end, these people asked me to contact you for them. They hope to meet with you now. Do you have the time? Who are these people? Shi Feng asked. He says his name is Everlasting War. Hes a Level 27 Guardian Knight, and his companions are all Level 26. From the looks of it, they seem quite powerful, and they have excellent equipment. Im assuming that someone with significant financial power backs them, Thoughtful Rain said. Alright, then lets meet at Zero Wings Guild Residence, Shi Feng nodded before disconnecting the call. He then activated the Return Scroll. Shi Feng had heard of Everlasting War before. That person had been a famous character in Gods Domain, having the title of Everlasting War God. He was also an apex expert, and his fame was not the slightest bit inferior to Summer Sunshines. In a direct confrontation, even Summer Sunshine would not be a match for Everlasting War. Twenty seconds later, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light as he teleported back to White River City. \--- The sky gradually darkened. A large number of players had returned to the city, and people crowded the streets. Passing through the lively streets, Shi Feng soon arrived at the Bank. He then stored all of the top-tier and advanced equipment he had obtained in the Guilds Warehouse. He also placed the Level 30 Dark-Gold staff, the Roaring Blaze Staff, and the Level 30 Dark-Gold greatsword, the Azure Heart, on full display in the Guilds Warehouse. For a time, the members of Zero Wing went into an uproar. The war between Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile had significantly depleted the stock of equipment inside the Guilds Warehouse. Now, however, over 1,000 pieces of equipment had suddenly appeared. Aside from the large amount of advanced equipment, the stock of top-tier equipment had already exceeded 100 pieces. Beyond that, there were actually Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapons inside the Guilds Warehouse! Currently, the players of various large Guilds still struggled to obtain Level 25 equipment. Bronze Equipment was a challenge to obtain, much less Mysterious-Iron. On the other hand, their Guild had Level 30 weapons; they were Dark-Gold Weapons to boot! They were definitely the best weapons in all of Gods Domain right now. However, shortly after everyone in the Guild started spreading the news, Shi Feng had arrived at the Adventurers Association. He handed over the Guild Residence Promotion Order, officially promoting Zero Wings Residence to a 2-star Residence. Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to own a 2-star Guild Residence! Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity, 500 Gold Coins to the Guild, and one Guild Smithy Promotion Order. White River City System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in White River City to own a 2-star Guild Residence! Rewarding 10,000 Guild Popularity and 200 Gold Coins. ... The system announcement repeated three times, and every player in White River City heard it loud and clear. Damn! What is this crap? Our Guild hasnt even obtained a Guild Residence, yet, already, Zero Wing has a 2-star Guild Residence? Whats this 2-star Residence thingy? Lots and lots of money! Suddenly, Star-Moon Kingdoms official forums exploded with activity. Everyone discussed Zero Wing, and the various large Guilds had also begun asking around about the benefits of a 2-star Guild Residence. Also, what was a Guild Smithy Promotion Order? However, the activity on Star-Moon Kingdoms forums paled in comparison to White River Citys. Zero Wing is simply too amazing! Overwhelming Smile has only managed to establish its Guild Residence after much difficulty, yet, Zero Wing has already obtained a 2-star Guild Residence! Ive just received news that Zero Wings Warehouse has received an influx of top-tier equipment! There are even Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapons in there! Now, Zero Wings Guild Residence has been promoted to 2-stars! Zero Wing is simply overpowered! It seems that Zero Wing is still the true overlord of White River City. Although Overwhelming Smile is rich, it still cannot compete with Zero Wing. Now, even Overwhelming Smiles financial power in the game is no match for Zero Wing. We will have a better future if we join Zero Wing. Thats not all. Ive just made some inquiries and found out that Guilds can establish a Guild Smithy inside a 2-star Guild Residence. The repair fees there are 10% cheaper than elsewhere. Meanwhile, that Guild Smithy Promotion Order can be used to promote a 1-star Guild Smithy into a 2-star Guild Smithy. The repair fees of a 2-star are even lower, 15% cheaper. You can save so much on repair fees alone. Other Guilds have no chance against Zero Wing. All hail Zero Wing! I want to join Zero Wing! For a time, Zero Wing became the number one Guild in the hearts of White River Citys players of White River City. Suddenly, White River City went into a frenzy as players tried to join Zero Wing. 486 Generous Benefits Inside the Adventurers Association, Shi Feng was currently applying to establish a Forge inside Zero Wings Guild Residence. Sir, this is the model list for Smithies. In addition, there is also a list of Blacksmiths; you may choose any of the names listed there, the NPC at the counter smiled as she passed two lists to Shi Feng. In Gods Domain, buildings were not limited to a single model; there was a large variety of models available for players to choose from. Players could even design their own buildings, though designing one from scratch required a lot of time. If not for highlighting the uniqueness of ones own Guild, most players would choose one of the hundreds of models that were already available. Promotion of buildings only required a Promotion Order; there was no need to spend any money. However, constructing a new building or reconstruction required a large sum. Depending on the size of the building, the materials required, and the buildings function, the price of construction would vary. A Guilds Smithy was extremely important. Hence, Shi Feng needed to decide carefully. Smithies were differentiated by three grades: Ordinary, Refined, and Luxury. Though the price of each Smithy was higher than the last, each grade was also more efficient. Ordinary Smithies cost between 100 Gold and 200 Gold. Aside from repairing weapons and equipment, Guild members could also sell their unwanted items to the NPCs at the Smithy. Refined Smithies cost between 300 Gold to 500 Gold. Aside from having all the functions of an Ordinary Smithy, Refined Smithies had a more refined and luxurious appearance. Refined Smithies also had a Weapon Maintenance function. If a player left their weapon in the Smithys care, its Durability consumption rate would drastically reduce for a period. At the same time, one could also hire Intermediate Blacksmiths if they had a Refined Smithy. One should not underestimate the function of Blacksmiths. These Blacksmith NPCs all possess different capabilities. For example, some Blacksmiths might take less time than others to repair weapons and equipment; other Blacksmiths might produce stronger maintenance effects. Hence, hiring a powerful Blacksmith was of utmost importance. Lastly, Luxury Smithies cost between 800 Gold and 1,000 Gold. Aside from having all the functions of a Refined Smithy, Luxury Smithies had a Rest Area that allowed Guild members to accumulate the Double EXP buff. However, 48 hours of rest was required to accumulate 20% of the buff. In addition, Luxury Smithies contained Forging Rooms. Moreover, these were Advanced Forging Rooms, which were far more effective than those at the Starstreak Trading Firm. One could also hire Advanced Blacksmiths. For the Guilds future development, well get the most benefits from the best option. Lets choose this 1,000 Gold model, then. After looking through the model list, Shi Feng chose one of the largest Luxury Smithies available that allowed him to invite up to 10 Blacksmiths. After deciding on the model, he began to choose his Blacksmiths. hi Feng had received 700 Gold from the system reward alone. In addition, he also received over 300 Gold for each Dragonscale Set Equipment that sold at the Blackwing Auction House. At this point, he had already sold more than 20 sets. Currently, Shi Feng had more than 8,000 Gold on his person, making him wealthier than any single Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, Gold would continue to fill his bags as more sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment sold. So, he did not mind constructing the best Smithy available. Following which, Shi Feng chose to hire ten Advanced Blacksmiths. These ten NPCs were the most skilled Blacksmiths one could currently find. Their monthly wages ranged between 3 and 5 Gold. After Shi Feng finished dealing with the Smithy, he searched for a secluded location to adjust his appearance back to Ye Feng. He then hailed a horse carriage and returned to Zero Wings Guild Residence. When Shi Feng arrived at the Residence, he discovered a sea of players crowding the entrance, creating an extraordinarily lively atmosphere. There were currently two Berserkers in Dragonscale Set Equipment standing guard and maintaining order at the Residences entrance. The Fine-Gold rank glow from the sets thoroughly awed the players who had come to sign up for the Guild. Is that a Fine-Gold Set Equipment? Ive seen it on the forums before. I think its the Dragonscale Set Equipment. Currently, a single set costs more than 300 Gold. Zero Wing is just too rich; they actually bought two sets! Not just two. I hear that Zero Wings Warehouse also has one set available for trade. As the crowd discussed Zero Wings wealth with astonishment, the newly-constructed Smithy also attracted their attention. The Smithys construction was not as tedious as the Guild Halls. The Smithy required much less time as it had fewer functions. As long as the Guild paid the construction fees, the Smithy could be completed in less than ten minutes. Zero Wings Smithy was three stories tall. The Smithys Luxury-grade appearance dazzled the onlookers, and many among the crowd even believed that they had arrived at the capital citys Advanced Smithy. The Smithy was large enough to accommodate several hundred players, and it was even larger than an Ordinary Guild Hall. This is my first time seeing such an extravagant Smithy! Zero Wing isnt giving Overwhelming Smile any chance of survival! Zero Wings Smithy is almost the same size as Overwhelming Smiles Guild Hall! Its so much fancier than their Guild Hall, too! From what I heard from Zero Wings Guild members, this Smithy even has a Weapon Maintenance function that reduces the Durability consumption rate of a weapon for a certain amount of time. With this, who knows how much money we can save when grinding monsters and raiding Dungeons? For this Guild Smithy alone, Ill do anything it takes to join Zero Wing. The independent players who had come to participate in Zero Wings test watched the Guilds transformation with reverence, their desire to join Zero Wing intensifying. Morale among Zero Wings members soared when they saw the growing flood of players coming to join their Guild. Now, whenever they strode down the streets with their six-winged Emblem revealed, they would receive countless envious stares. Standing a short distance away from the Residences entrance, Thoughtful Rain quickly noticed Shi Fengs arrival. Waving her hand, she shouted, Ye Feng, were over here. Shi Feng promptly walked over. Standing beside Thoughtful Rain was the expert who Shi Feng was extremely familiar with, Everlasting War. However, though Shi Feng knew about Everlasting War in the past, the reverse was not true. The five companions by his side were also outstanding experts. In the past, Shi Feng had lived in an entirely different world from them. He had failed to reach even the upper ranks of Gods Domain, much less the pyramids peak. Ye Feng, let me introduce you. This man is Everlasting War; he wishes to discuss business with you, Thoughtful Rain slowly introduced Everlasting Wars party to Shi Feng. At this moment, Everlasting War was shocked after evaluating Shi Feng. The pressure he felt from Shi Feng was intense! He had not expected Zero Wing to possess another unfathomable expert besides Black Flame. Hello, I am Ye Feng, Shi Feng said, smiling faintly at Everlasting War. This place isnt suitable for a discussion. Why dont we head inside to chat? Saying so, Shi Feng led the group into the Rest Area in the Guild Residences Smithy. The Rest Area was very elegant. Even having beverages available for Guild members, this Rest Area was no less impressive than the citys restaurants. Wah! Is this really a Smithy? Trailing after Thoughtful Rain, Blue Bamboos eyes shone brightly as she entered Zero Wings Residence. It was as if she had just stepped into an entirely different realm. Secretly, she said, Rain, look! Thats the Weapon Maintenance Room! There are such high-quality weapons inside! Even the Blacksmiths are the rarely-seen Advanced Blacksmiths! Rain, make sure you say something to Ye Feng later! With such awesome Guild benefits, it would be a huge shame if we didnt join! 487 Dark Arena Thoughtful Rain glanced at Blue Bamboos pleading look before examining her elegant surroundings. Indeed, no other Guild could compete with Zero Wing, so it would not be a bad choice for them to join this Guild. Hah I only met Ye Feng by chance; our relationship isnt what you imagine. I can only try my best; dont expect too much, Thoughtful Rain replied softly through their private chat. Mhm. Blue Bamboo nodded vigorously. Compared to Blue Bamboos fascination, Everlasting War and his companions only considered Zero Wings benefits and environment decent. However, compared to a small, unknown Guild, the sudden emergence of a great expert like Shi Feng was what truly shocked them. Carefully observing his surroundings, Everlasting War suddenly realized that Zero Wings members were actually quite powerful. They were much stronger than the members of other Guilds. As the rumors had said, Zero Wing was the true overlord of White River City. A moment later, Shi Feng had led the group to one of the small rooms located in the Rest Area. The environment inside the room was excellent, and the pleasant aroma filling the air soothed everyones tense spirits. Shi Feng had to admit that the Luxury version of the Smithy was worthy of the price. He had not spent 1,000 Gold for nothing. What would you like to talk about? Shi Feng asked casually as he looked at Everlasting War. Originally, I had hoped to ask Brother Ye Feng to introduce us to your Guild Leader, Black Flame. However, seeing as Brother Ye Feng possesses such strength and is one of the upper-managers of Zero Wing, discussing this matter with you should have the same effect, Everlasting War said leisurely. Truth be told, we are not players from Star-Moon Kingdom. Rather, we are from the Beast Empire, the eighth strongest country in Gods Domain. As you can see, although we are independent players, our weapons and equipment are not the possessions of ordinary independent players. Indeed. The majority of your partys equipment consists of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. The Level 25 shield and weapon in your hands are even Dark-Gold rank, something extremely rare throughout Gods Domain. There are not many Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom capable of obtaining those items. Shi Feng nodded in agreement. He could not help but admit that there was a massive difference regarding resources between the empires and kingdoms of Gods Domain, not to mention the difference between Star-Moon Kingdom and the current eighth strongest country in Gods Domain, the Beast Empire. Their weapons and equipment are all Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold rank? How is this possible? Blue Bamboo looked at Everlasting Wars party, her eyes widening with surprise. Blue Bamboo knew that Everlasting War was very powerful. She could tell that just by looking at his Level. All this time, however, Blue Bamboo had thought that the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold rank glow effect surrounding Everlasting Wars body originated from Level 20 weapons and equipment. She never considered that he had Level 25 weapons and equipment. Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment was a luxury to any Guild, much less Dark-Gold rank. By the side, Thoughtful Rain was also shocked. Only now did she understand why this party did not mind giving them a Level 25 Secret-Silver staff. It turned out that these players were all using Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked weapons and equipment. Is this the gap between a kingdom and empire? Thoughtful Rain was greatly confused. Upon seeing the shock on Blue Bamboos and Thoughtful Rains faces, Everlasting Wars companions felt proud even though they had long since gotten used to the shocked expressions of White River Citys players. Youre mistaken. Although there is indeed a gap, it is not as large as you imagine. Moreover, they are no ordinary independent players. Someone has sponsored them, Shi Feng explained. In Gods Domain, both players in kingdoms and in empires face similar difficulties when leveling up. However, since empires mirrored the major cities in the real world, claiming the players who lived in said cities upon character creation, empires had far more players within their borders. As a result of the astounding player population of an empire, the competition in an empire was far more intense than in a kingdom. The intense competition, in turn, gave birth to greater motivation, which resulted in empire players improving their techniques faster. Naturally, the levels and equipment of empire players were slightly better than kingdom players. As for Everlasting Wars party, even in empires, they were far above ordinary players. So, how could the ordinary players of White River City possibly hope to compete with them? Shi Fengs declaration stunned Everlasting Wars companions, shock coloring their expressions as they stared at Shi Fengs calm smile. Shi Fengs words were not incorrect in the least. It was as if he had seen through every detail about them. Brother Ye Feng is as amazing as expected. Someone has indeed sponsored our weapons and equipment. This is also why we have come in search of Guild Leader Black Flame. Everlasting War did not deny Shi Fengs statement. Slowly, he said, You might not know this, but a few days after Gods Domain launched, the various major corporations around the world began to invest in the game. In order to prevent an overly intense struggle, these corporations began hidden competitions with each other. These competitions take place in the Dark Arena. The various major corporations send their experts to face each other, taking the chance to probe the opponents strength. The victors earn large amounts of Gold, Credits, rare materials, and other benefits that you cannot even begin to imagine. I have come here today with the purpose of inviting Guild Leader Black Flame to join our battle team. If our battle team wins, it will benefit a Guild such as Zero Wing that lacks funding. Not only can you obtain a large sum of Credits, but you can also obtain a large sum of Gold Coins and top-tier equipment that you cannot even imagine exists. Now, however, I want to invite Brother Ye Feng to join us, instead. What are your thoughts on this? Although Everlasting Wars voice was soft, it was sufficient to shock everyone present. This was a competition between the top 500 corporations around the world. This competition was several times more intense than the competition between first-rate Guilds. The experts that were invited to participate were on an entirely different level. I understand. I can agree to your invite, but I have a request, Shi Feng calmly said. He had long since known about this Dark Arena. It was a gathering place for experts. However, the experts there were far more powerful than the experts one usually saw in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the financial power these people possess was several times greater than a first-rate Guilds. If one could obtain consecutive victories in the Dark Arena, it was even possible to obtain more Credits than what Underworld possessed. Take Everlasting War for example. Originally, he had not been a professional virtual reality gamer. Before Gods Domain came into existence, he had been a top-class professional bodyguard tasked with protecting world-class characters. He had undergone both specialized mental and physical training. Ordinary people could never hope to be a match for him. Only, the price the Dark Arena had offered was very high. It was enough to tempt even Everlasting War to play Gods Domain. In the end, Everlasting War had become the Everlasting War God of the Dark Arena, one of the apex existences of Gods Domain. In the past, Shi Feng had been fortunate enough to witness some of the matches in the Dark Arena. However, he had never even come near to qualifying to participate. As this was a competition between major corporations, only those who were invited were allowed to participate in the Dark Arena. Request? Everlasting War could not help his surprise. He had not expected Shi Feng to maintain his composure. However, he decided to ask, May I know what this request is? 488 Young Genius Although Everlasting War had already spoken, his companions had frowned in response to Shi Fengs reply. They had never expected that Shi Feng would try to negotiate. Countless people yearn to join a competition of such level. Yet, even many of the experts on the Gods Domain Experts List had been rejected. They were already stooping pretty low by willingly inviting an unknown expert such as Shi Feng. Even world-renowned players fought to join the Dark Arena. Participating in the Dark Arena was already a supreme honor in and of itself. Not only could one win endless riches, but they could also receive the admiration of millions. It was even possible for one to become an international celebrity with a single battle. Not even the ruler of Star-Moon Kingdom was a match for the Dark Arenas participants in terms of status. After all, that was a stage at the international level. Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboos little jaws hung in shock, their eyes filled with disbelief as they watched Shi Feng. The competition between Guilds in Gods Domain was intense. Almost every Guild was supported by many corporations. However, not even the backer of a first-rate Guild could compare with international corporations; it was merely an ant in the eyes of such giants. Although the virtual gaming industrys total value rose with each passing year, it was still significantly inferior to other top industries. If a Guild could obtain the financial support from such a corporation, they could instantly become a Super Guild, surpassing any first-rate Guild in Gods Domain. With such a good opportunity at hand, Shi Feng actually had a condition However, Shi Feng did not care about what others thought about him. Taking a sip of tea, he returned his gaze to Everlasting War, saying slowly, My request is very simple. I hear that each battle team participating in the Dark Arena consists of ten members. Seeing as you only have six members at the moment, I wish to invite three of my people to join. That way, we will have a full battle team. What do you think? You must be insane! Just inviting you is already Leaders limit, yet, you still want to invite three others to join the team? Who do you think started this battle team? a youth of in black armor shot up from his seat in anger. The other members of Everlasting Wars party were also clearly angry. Everlasting War, on the other hand, watched Shi Feng seriously. The member limit for each battle team had only been recently confirmed, so only an extremely small group of people know this information. How did Shi Feng, an upper-manager of a small Guild, find out about this? Suddenly, Everlasting War realized that the young man before him was shrouded in mystery. The only goal of the corporation sponsoring your battle team is to secure victory. Naturally, the stronger the chosen team members are, the better. I can guarantee that the players I want to include are all very formidable, Shi Feng explained. Although Shi Feng had not personally participated in the Dark Arena, he had a certain understanding of it. After all, it was the future battlefield for the apex experts of Gods Domain. He had learned plenty of techniques from the matches held in the Dark Arena. For example, he had learned Void Steps from watching the Dark Arenas battle videos. If he could allow the experts of the Guild to participate in the Dark Arena and experience those battles, it will enable them to improve their techniques further. Brother Ye Feng, I am afraid that I am really powerless on this matter. There are a limited number of slots for the battle team. Although I am the team leader, I only have one invitation for the test, not the member slot for the battle team. Originally, I intended to test Guild Leader Black Flames qualifications. However, even if he is qualified, I believe that, as the leader of a Guild, he should be very busy with its management. Even if he has the strength, he should not have that much time to spare. Thats why I wanted to invite Brother Ye Feng, Everlasting War said, smiling bitterly. The competition between these international corporations was extremely intense. Every position on the battle team was unimaginably precious, so how could they give them away to Shi Feng so easily? I expected as much. Alright, I accept your invitation. When will the test be held? Shi Feng nodded. He knew how valuable the slot was. The invitation alone had already greatly surprised him. However, he still wanted to know how much power Everlasting War, this battle teams leader, wielded. If he could obtain another slot, he would have truly profited. The unified testing time has yet to be determined. Lets add each other as friends for now. Once those in charge have decided on a time, I will contact Brother Ye Feng immediately. Everlasting War promptly sent a friend request to the Swordsman before him. After Shi Feng added Everlasting War as a friend, they chatted about matters relating to the Dark Arena. Seated by the side, Blue Bamboo was utterly stunned by the twos conversation. She had never imagined that Zero Wing was so amazing. It had actually received an invitation from an international corporation. If the Guild received support from such a corporation, its potential would be unimaginable. Blue Bamboos decision to join Zero Wing solidified. After both sides chatted for another half an hour or so, Everlasting Wars group departed. \--- Big Brother Everlasting, there are countless experts in Gods Domain. Aside from Black Flame, how could you invite Ye Feng so casually? What if he fails to pass the test when the time comes? It wont look good to our superiors. Why dont we head over to Star-Moon City and take a look? There might be some other amazing experts there, a beautiful female Elementalist wearing crimson robes suggested. I know. Our superiors gave me an invitation slot precisely because they wish to test my judgment and to see whether or not I am suited to lead this team. They will definitely replace me if I fail. Knowing this, I wont act recklessly. However, this Ye Feng is indeed amazing. Based on his appearance, Im guessing he is only around 20 years old. Yet, when he moves, not a single action reveals a weak point. There were not even any excess actions in his movement. I have already been in the Refinement Realm for close to 27 years already, so I can tell that he has clearly already set foot into the Refinement Realm. Moreover, his progression into the realm is also not shallow. This Ye Feng is simply unbelievable. He is truly a young genius. As for Black Flame, I have already watched his battle videos. Although Black Flame is indeed amazing, his performance shows that he has only taken half a step into the Refinement Realm. He only displays such overwhelming might due to his equipment and Skills. With the power backing me, I can easily obtain things such as top-tier equipment. Otherwise, I would not have chosen Ye Feng. Refinement Realm experts are as rare as phoenix feathers in Gods Domain. We are already very lucky to have encountered one. Even if we went to Star-Moon City, it is unlikely that we will find another such expert. Alright, lets return to leveling up for now. His teammates could not help their surprise after listening to Everlasting Wars reasoning. They had not realized that Everlasting War had such a high opinion of Shi Feng. However, they also had to admit the scarcity of Refinement Realm experts. Even the five of them had only taken half a step into that realm. \--- After Everlasting War and his party left, Shi Feng turned to Thoughtful Rain, thanking her, I am truly grateful for Miss Rains help today. If not for your introduction, I would not have such a fortuitous opportunity. If Miss Rain wishes to purchase equipment for yourself, I can offer a 50% discount. Really? Thoughtful Rain knew how expensive top-tier equipment was on the market. Moreover, top-tier equipment was not necessarily available. If she could purchase top-tier equipment at a 50% discount, she could save tens of thousands of Credits with each item. She could save over a million Credits if she bought an entire set. In addition, the equipment available on the market was nowhere near as good as Zero Wings equipment. Of course, Shi Feng laughed. Great! I want to buy a set, then. Also, my best friend here, Blue Bamboo, has always been very interested in joining Zero Wing. However, as she has only recently started playing virtual reality games, shes not very strong. Can you perhaps allow her to join? Thoughtful Rain asked meekly. Im afraid I really cannot help you with that. Not even an upper-manager like myself is allowed to bend the Guilds rules, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. However, I can allow your friend to join and train herself with our Guilds elite parties, having her learn the combat techniques of Gods Domain. Once shes sufficiently strong, she can then become an official member of Zero Wing. What do you think? Ill do it! Ill go! Originally, Blue Bamboo had been extremely disappointed when she heard Shi Fengs initial refusal. However, being able to improve herself with the elites of Zero Wing was not a bad alternative. 489 Shop Upon hearing Blue Bamboos agreement, Shi Feng immediately contacted Aqua Rose and had her organize an elite Dungeon raiding party. A Dungeon was a very good place for players to improve their techniques. Independent parties normally only raided Normal Mode Dungeons. Even ordinary Guild parties would only occasionally raid Hard Mode Dungeons. As for elite parties, they raided Hard Mode Dungeons slightly more often. Zero Wings elite parties, however, were different. When they raided Dungeons, Hard Mode was the lowest difficulty they would choose, though they would often challenge Hell Mode. To raid a Hard Mode Dungeon, players only needed to meet the minimum requirement for equipment; the requirement for techniques was not very high. However, it was a different story for Hell Mode. Hell Mode had a very high technique requirement. Even if players equipment was good enough to overwhelm the monsters that waited inside the Dungeon, that did not guarantee that they could clear it. Their techniques needed to reach a certain standard before they could raid the Dungeon successfully, so it was a very good place to train ones techniques. Zero Wing also had a requirement set for its elite members. Every week, elite members needed to raid Hell Mode Dungeons a certain number of times. Although this was a stringent quota, members who fulfilled it would earn plenty of Guild Points as compensation for the deaths they suffered inside the Hell Mode Dungeon. This was also why Zero Wings elite members were so much more powerful than the elite members of other Guilds. As long as Blue Bamboo trained diligently and polished herself in Hell Mode Dungeons for a time, she should not have any issues passing Zero Wings evaluation. Following which, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo each purchased a set consisting of Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment for Elementalists and Clerics, spending over a million Credits in total. Despite such a large expenditure, however, both girls were extremely satisfied with their purchases. They even felt that they had profited significantly. They knew very well that, should they purchase Level 25 top-tier equipment from the virtual trade center, they would have to spend over two million Credits at the very minimum. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the equipment would be available. After all, every Guild was in dire need of top-tier equipment. Naturally, they would not sell such equipment easily. After Shi Feng finished dealing with these matters, he immediately departed from the Residence and headed towards the Starstreak Trading Firm. Rain, youre the best! I cant believe you actually know someone like Big Brother Ye Feng! Previously, one of my classmates boasted in front of me about how her boyfriend wore several pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. If she finds out that I now have several pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, she will definitely turn green with envy! Blue Bamboo laughed as she fiddled with the Fine-Gold Equipment in her hands. Honestly though, Big Brother Ye Feng really treats you nicely. On the way here, Ive researched the forums and found out plenty about Zero Wings elite members. These elite members normally raid Hell Mode Dungeons, and they never offer to carry anyone, not even their own ordinary members. Ive always wondered what it feels like to clear a Hell Mode Dungeon. Now that Big Brother Ye Feng has arranged for us to accompany Zero Wings elite parties to improve our strengths, it wont be long before we become experts, too. Say, seeing as how Big Brother Ye Feng is such a young and handsome man, do you think he has a girlfriend? If he doesnt Hehe Rain, this could be a good opportunity for you. Even an international corporation is trying to recruit him to their battle team. Once he becomes famous, who knows how many people will be gunning for him. Your chances with him will decrease significantly if you wait. You little girl! Thoughtful Rain blushed slightly. Snapping, she said, Im going to ignore you now! Seeing that Thoughtful Rain had turned around and was about to leave, Blue Bamboo hurriedly pulled her friend back, panicking, Nooo! \--- White River City, Starstreak Trading Firm. Smile, how many Strengthened Armor Kits have you guys produced? Shi Feng asked. Guild Leader, the three of us have forged over 10,000 pieces. Are we going to put them up for sale now? Melancholic Smile asked. Mhm. Bring all of the Strengthened Armor Kits and follow me. Right, also bring the Gold weve earned so far, Shi Feng said. Although the Strengthened Armor Kits were inferior to the Mana Armor Kits, with three people producing them, Shi Feng did not have to forge the Armor Kits himself. Naturally, the stock they had created was astounding. With the burden of 30,000 Gold on his shoulders, Shi Feng felt that it would be best if he dealt with the problem as soon as possible. After all, there was not much time remaining. The looming penalty for failing the Epic Quest was also quite stressful. Moreover, Horizon Alliance had already nurtured quite a number of Lifestyle players, forgers in particular. They had also recruited close to half the Advanced Forging Apprentices from White River Citys seven neighboring cities. The Horizon Alliance even employed Basic Forgers, which no other city possessed. Once Shi Feng accumulated the 30,000 Gold, he would no longer have a connection to the Starstreak Trading Firm. Hence, Shi Feng had been planning and accumulating his wealth, preparing to open his own market. And now was the perfect time to do so. Fortunately, he had accumulated a sufficient number of Gold Coins. It was time to display his strength. Guild Leader, I have everything with me. Aside from Strengthening Scrolls, we also have the 13,000-plus Gold that weve accumulated, Melancholic Smile said as she placed the money and the items on the table. This was the first time she had ever seen so much money. There were more than 13,000 Gold Coins stacked on the table. This was the accumulation of all the money Starstreak Trading Firm had earned from the eight cities it occupied, including White River City. There was not a single Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom that could compete with the Horizon Alliances wealth; a Guild would be quite well off with only one-tenth of the Alliances fortune. If converted to Credits, 13,000 Gold was worth hundreds of millions. One had to admit that Gods Domains money-making potential was formidable. Moreover, the game had only launched less than a month ago However, no fool would exchange so much Gold for Credits, yet Melancholic Smile had no idea what Shi Feng intended to do with so much Gold. After giving the items on the table a casual glance, Shi Feng quickly stored them in his bag. Follow me, Shi Feng said as he exited the forging room. Melancholic Smile promptly followed. After leaving the Starstreak Trading Firm, Shi Feng led Melancholic Smile to White River Citys City Hall. Lord Viscount, how may I be of service today? a female manager asked politely, smiling when she noticed Shi Feng enter the building. I wish to purchase some Land, Shi Feng said. Please follow me. Saying so, the female manager led Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile to a VIP meeting room. After a short wait, a tall, middle-aged man entered the room. Lord Viscount, I have prepared a list of all available Commercial Land. My lord may choose any plot of land on this list, and because of your esteemed status, you will receive a 10% discount on all land. Okay. Shi Feng only glanced through the pages, not bothering to read them in detail. He then said, I want these two plots next to the Bank and the Auction House. If one pointed out the most valuable plots of Land in White River City, the first would be the plot directly beside the Auction House, the second was next to the Bank, the third was near the two aforementioned establishments, and the fourth was next to the Virtual Trade Center and the Adventurers Association. This held true for every city in Gods Domain. In the past, these plots of Land had been highly sought after. Renting one of these plots for just a month could be astronomically expensive. Moreover, as Gods Domain developed, the money one could earn would grow. Naturally, it also cost a significant sum to purchase these plots of Land. Moreover, one must also possess certain status if they wanted to purchase Land; money alone was not enough. As a Viscount, Shi Feng could only purchase a limited number of plots. Thus, he chose only one plot per location to begin his Shops operation. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 490 Candlelight Trading Firm Without hesitation, Shi Feng requested the two most popular plots of Land in White River City. When Melancholic Smile saw the prices, her little mouth fell wide open. These prices were outrageous! An ordinary plot of Land in White River City cost over 1,000 Gold. If the Land were in the densely populated central district, it would cost more than 3,000 Gold. As for the two plots Shi Feng had set his sight on, each cost over 8,000 Gold. If they converted 8,000 Gold to Credits, they could establish a relatively large company in the city in reality However, Shi Feng did not consider his choices to be expensive. In the future, these two plots would become extremely valuable. In the past, he could not have obtained them even if he wanted to. Players frequented both the Auction House and the Bank. Hence, the traffic was guaranteed. If not for his need for money right now, Shi Feng would have preferred to purchase several more plots of Land. By the time White River City became the number one city in Star-Moon Kingdom, the value of the citys Land would soar by more than a hundredfold. Lord Viscount, for the two plots of Commercial Land you have chosen, one costs 9,200 Gold, while the other costs 8,800 Gold, coming to a total of 18,000 Gold. After including the 10% discount, your total is 16,200 Gold, the male manager said with great excitement. In addition, after purchasing these two plots of land, there will be a 15% property tax each month. If taxes arent paid for in three months, these plots will be locked. If the taxes arent paid for in half a year, the city will reclaim the Land. This is a scam! Melancholic Smile nearly shouted when she heard the male managers explanation, flushing with anger. They had already spent so much money to purchase these two areas, yet, they were still required to pay a 15% property tax every month. In total, they were required to pay 2,700 Gold in property taxes for the two plots of Land. Not even first-rate Guilds had that much Gold. Most importantly, they had to pay this tax every month! Here is 16,200 Gold. Shi Feng handed over the money without hesitation. Shi Feng was very familiar with Gods Domains rules, so he had expected this. Moreover, the Main God System had implemented this property tax with the purpose of avoiding someone powerful from monopolizing a citys Land. Although the property tax seemed absurdly expensive, Gold Coins would become easier to earn as players leveled, resulting in their depreciation. Gold Coins would not remain as valuable as they were now. Hence, paying 2,700 Gold each month was no big deal. A short moment later, the manager passed the Deed for the two plots of Land to Shi Feng. With this, Shi Feng could now establish Shops on these two tracts anytime he wanted to. Moreover, these two areas were relatively large; they were in no way inferior to the Starstreak Trading Firm. At the end of the day, the Starstreak Trading Firm did not belong to Shi Feng. Even if he managed it well, the Firm still belonged to NPCs. However, if he established Shops on the plots he had purchased, he could do whatever he wanted to them; it was a lot more convenient. Soon after, Shi Feng chose two relatively good building models in the City Hall, with both being three-story buildings. He could use the first floor to sell products and use the second to establish a warehouse, Forging Rooms, and other necessities. Finally, the third floor could be an office area. However, to construct these two Shops, Shi Feng had spent another 2,000 Gold. After which, he hired over 20 Advanced NPCs to conduct daily management and sales in each Shop. After spending all this money, little remained of Shi Fengs funds. Fortunately, the Dragonscale Set Equipment sold consistently in the Blackwing Auction House, and a large sum of Gold Coins would fill Shi Fengs pockets every now and then. Smile, Ill leave the management of these two plots of Land to you for now; Ive already given you the authority you need. Begin transferring our members from Starstreak little by little. As for our products, well set the Strengthened Armor Kits as our main focus; there is no need to sell them over at Starstreak, Shi Feng said. Guild Leader, if we only sell the Strengthened Armor Kits at these two locations, it will divert traffic from Starstreak, impacting our business there, Melancholic Smile said, concern filling her voice. That is precisely my intention. I want to lure all of the old customers of Starstreak to the new Shops. Just do as I say. As for the price for these Strengthened Armor Kits, set them at 7 Silver Coins minimum; we cant afford a loss from selling them, Shi Feng laughed. Although the Starstreak Trading Firm was still somewhat useful to him, its greatest purpose to Shi Feng lay in the initial business. Now that he had accumulated sufficient capital, he had to abandon it, little by little. After all, the moment he earned the 30,000 Gold and completed his quest, the Starstreak Trading Firm would sever all ties with him. If he did not prepare for it now, it would be too late in the future. Guild Leader, rest assured; I will make sure the prices of the Strengthened Armor Kits stay above 7 Silver Coins, Melancholic Smile said. She was very confident about the Strengthened Armor Kits they had produced. Even as Basic Forgers, their success rates at producing the Strengthened Armor Kits were below 30%. Meanwhile, the material cost for producing each Strengthened Armor Kit was over 1 Silver. In other words, the actual cost for producing a complete Strengthened Armor Kit was more than 3 Silver. In reality, selling them for only 7 Silver Coins was simply too cheap. Even if Shi Feng had not given the order, she had intended to set the initial price of the Strengthened Armor Kits at 10 Silver. After all, with the current average level of players, a price of 10 Silver Coins was definitely affordable. Guild Leader, you havent named the Shops for these two locations yet. What will you call them? Melancholic Smile asked as she looked at Shi Feng. A small spark may kindle a raging fire. Lets call it the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the Deeds to the two golden real-estates in his hand. At this moment, he finally had his own capital. With these two plots, he had taken a large step ahead of the other Guilds. His Guild would have a relatively stable source of income in the future, and he wouldnt have to fear becoming any Guilds target. Shortly after, both Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile visited to the two plots of Land they had just purchased. At this moment, however, the buildings were still under reconstruction, so they could not view the Shops full elegance. It would take several more hours before the reconstruction work would be completed. At that time, they could open for business. There sure are a lot of players in White River City right now. Shi Feng examined his surroundings, discovering a sea of players near the Auction House. The area was even more crowded than it had been in his previous life. Guild Leader, this is a given. Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile are constantly competing over White River City. Zero Wing is also the first Guild to own a Guild Residence in Star-Moon Kingdom. In addition, there are Overwhelming Smiles impressive offers to consider. As a result, many players from other cities were tempted to migrate and develop themselves in White River City. Based on the statistics published the day before yesterday, White River City is currently the second most populous city in Star-Moon Kingdom; it is only slightly behind Star-Moon City. An ordinary city could not compare with a capital. Even if White River City offered a massive advantage, many players still preferred to mingle in the capital city. Star-Moon City? Upon hearing Melancholic Smiles words, Shi Feng suddenly remembered something. He had befriended someone in Star-Moon City before and had intended to purchase Land through him. Originally, he had planned to direct Zero Wings development towards Star-Moon City. In the end, he had dismissed this notion and focused on making White River City the number one city in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, unlike in Star-Moon City, Zero Wing had an extraordinary background in White River City. Currently, although he no longer intended to develop Zero Wing in Star-Moon City, the capital citys population was still very attractive. After all, in Gods Domain, players were a citys resource. The more powerful a city was, the more powerful the Guild controlling said city could become. It seems I need to make a trip to Star-Moon City. Shi Feng suddenly thought of a plan that could advance White River Citys development further. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 491 Holy Land for Experts Just as Shi Feng was about to head towards White River Citys Teleportation Hall, the clear ring of his communicator reached his ears. Aqua, whats wrong? Shi Feng asked after accepting the call. Guild Leader, good news! Previously, your feat of killing so many of Overwhelming Smiles experts boosted our Guilds morale. Currently, our members are flooding the fields to participate in the war. As Overwhelming Smiles expert parties are no longer appearing on the battlefield, weve gained significant advantages. We have already taken out over 20,000 Overwhelming Smile members. Probably because were the first Guild to kill over 20,000 players in an all-out war, an Advanced NPC from the Adventurer''s Association just visited, issuing an Epic Guild Quest. The quest is called Ancient Battlefield, and only the Guild Leader of the Guild is allowed to accept the quest. Moreover, only ten Guild members can participate in the quest. Unfortunately, we cant learn anymore until we accept the quest. Im worried that this Epic Guild Quest might disappear if we don''t accept it soon, so I contacted you immediately after learning about it. Aqua Rose was extremely excited when she spoke. This was her first time encountering an Epic Quest. She had only ever heard rumors of them on the forums. Every Epic Quest represented a massive opportunity. If one could complete it, they could receive extremely bountiful rewards. Based on the information she had gathered, Epic Quests would reward players with an Epic item at the very minimum. If it were a high-difficulty Epic Quest, one could even obtain two or three Epic items. Meanwhile, the quest the Guild had just received was an Epic Guild Quest; it was a lot more difficult than an Epic Quest meant for individual players. If they could complete it, they would reap a frightening harvest. Ancient Battlefield?! Shi Feng was stunned upon hearing Aqua Roses words, indescribable thrill growing in his heart. Hurriedly, he asked, Aqua, are you sure you read that correctly? The information on the Guilds Quest Board is clear, and I made sure to read it very carefully. I can say with certainty that it is an Epic Quest. Even I didnt believe it at first when I was told. After verifying it multiple times, I am sure that it is the Epic Quest Ancient Battlefield, Aqua Rose said, practically glowing with excitement. If they could complete this Epic Quest and obtain several Epic items, it could help them immensely when they raided large-scale Team Dungeons in the future. Now that Zero Wing waged war against Overwhelming Smile, morale was very important. The news about Shi Feng taking out the Underworld Guards with one hit had caused Zero Wing to instantly become the publicly acknowledged number one Guild of White River City. This incident had also placed significant psychological pressure on Overwhelming Smiles members. If Zero Wing could take the lead by conquering a large-scale Team Dungeon, gaining even more top-tier equipment and prestige, Overwhelming Smile would have no hope of competing with Zero Wing in the future. However, Aqua Rose did not know that, in reality, what had shocked Shi Feng was not the difficulty of the quest, but the Ancient Battlefield itself. In the past, the Ancient Battlefield had been immensely famous in Gods Domain. It had become so famous because of its alternative name. The Holy Land for Experts! The Ancient Battlefield was known as the Holy Land for Experts because the map was a training ground specifically designed by the Main God System for players. This training grounds purpose was to allow players to gain a better understanding of the combat style of Gods Domain. In the past, countless noobs and new players had instantly soared to become experts precisely because of the Ancient Battlefield. Moreover, it wasnt limited to ordinary experts; the Ancient Battlefield had even given birth to many apex experts. As a result, players called the Ancient Battlefield the Holy Land for Experts. Countless players had dreamed of visiting and experiencing the wonders it had to offer. Unfortunately, this opportunity was too difficult to encounter. In the past, despite countless Guilds and corporations offering astronomical prices for the slots to enter the Ancient Battlefield, nobody willingly sold the slots they had. Now that Shi Feng had suddenly been notified that he had obtained the Ancient Battlefield quest, how could he contain his excitement? He had always dreamed of visiting the Ancient Battlefield in the past. Unfortunately, he had never been lucky enough to receive an invitation. Now, however, he had. I understand. The difficulty of an Epic Quest is not to be taken lightly, so set it aside for now. Dont worry about it disappearing. After a Guild Quest is issued, it will be available for three months or until someone accepts it. Since it has just been issued, leave it there for now, Shi Feng said after calming down. However, although we are setting aside the quest, I have a few tasks that Ill need you to do for me. Tasks? Aqua Rose was confused. She could not understand why Shi Feng did not intend to accept this Epic Quest. Although she knew that the difficulty of an Epic Quest was unmatched, without accepting the quest, how could they possibly know whether or not they could complete it? It was a pity to leave the quest there like that. Most importantly, it was so tempting Thats right. In order to complete this Epic Quest, we will need sufficient combat power. I need you to contact Fire Dance and the others and tell them to stop trying to level up to deal with Overwhelming Smile; the same goes for you. All of you should focus on improving your combat techniques. I will also frequently give you pointers. In a few days, I will test you all to see how much your combat techniques have improved. At that time, I will select the top nine players to participate in this Epic Quest, Shi Feng laughed. What should we do about the Team Dungeons? I hear that Overwhelming Smile has already allocated their experts for raiding Level 20 Hard Mode Dungeons. If we lose the race to raid the Team Dungeons, it will deal a significant blow to our Guilds prestige and empower the enemy. Aqua Rose simply could not understand Shi Fengs decision. Previously, Shi Feng had strongly advocated raiding Dungeons first. Wasnt this change of plans a little too sudden? She wasnt even sure how to react. The most surprising thing was the fact that a busy man like Shi Feng had actually offered to instruct them personally. This had never happened before. Having the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom tutor them would yield effects hundreds of times better than learning from Shi Fengs battle videos in secret. Countless players dreamed of such an opportunity. There were even some who had offered one million Credits on the official forums, hoping to hire Shi Feng as their personal trainer. It would be a lie if Aqua Rose said she was not excited. This was just as thrilling as the Epic Quest. Sharpening your axe will not delay your job of cutting wood. Do you think that conquering a large-scale Team Dungeon will be so easy without a certain degree of strength? Beyond that, the quest only requires ten people. We can just have the others continue with raiding the Dungeons, Shi Feng did not bother to explain further; he could not reveal too much information. Aqua Rose had no idea just how important this Ancient Battlefield quest was. Raising an army was easy; nurturing a general was not. In the past, no one had been willing to trade their spot on the Ancient Battlefield even when offered a Legendary item; the competition over a measly Dungeon had meant nothing. If possible, Shi Feng would have accepted the quest immediately. However, doing so would be a massive waste; besides, leaving the quest for players to see would provide a powerful incentive. Shi Feng did not have any concrete information about the situation inside the Ancient Battlefield. He only knew that the better the combat techniques a player possessed, the greater their harvest would be. Hence, Shi Feng had specifically instructed Aqua Rose and the others to spare some time to improve their techniques. By doing so, they would also increase their potential gain. I understand. Ill contact Fire Dance and the others immediately. They will be thrilled when they hear about this. Aqua Rose giggled as she disconnected the call. She then began to contact the other core members of Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had arrived at Star-Moon City, Star-Moon Kingdoms number one city, through a teleportation array. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 492 Plundering Resources With a clear moon and few stars, it was already night time in Gods Domain. As the number one city of Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City had brilliantly lit streets at this time. Magic lights illuminated the streets all around, making the entire Star-Moon City seem as bright as day. As expected of Star-Moon City, the population here is not something a regional capital like White River City could ever hope to match up to. Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he waded through the sea of players crowding the streets. Now that players were higher leveled, many could afford the teleportation fee to travel to Star-Moon City. At this moment, Star-Moon Citys player population was nearly five milliontwo million more than White River Citys. If one could take control of Star-Moon City, it would significantly improve a Guilds development speed; the impact on a Guild would be even better than having control of four or five smaller cities. In addition, the available resources in the vicinity of Star-Moon City were very abundant. Hence, all powers staying within the capital city were a mix of both strong and weak. Other than the three first-rate Guilds that had set Star-Moon Kingdom as their main base of operations, first-rate Guilds of other kingdoms and empires also had a presence in Star-Moon City. Plenty of second-rate Guilds were also taking root and developing themselves here. As a result, the competition at Star-Moon City was extremely intense, and in this aspect, White River City was far from comparable. Even the average level of ordinary players here was much higher than at White River City. Before long, Shi Feng arrived at Star-Moon Citys City Hall via horse carriage. When Shi Feng got there, a majestic and powerful-looking man was standing outside the entrance of the building. This man was none other than the Ghost Raider, Lifeless Blade. At this moment, Lifeless Blade was already Level 26, not one bit inferior to Shi Feng. Initially, Lifeless Blade was stunned upon seeing Shi Feng, but he soon revealed a bitter smile. Although Shi Fengs outward appearance had not changed by much since the last time they met, inwardly, however, the gap was like the distance between heaven and earth. The last time he met Shi Feng, the latter gave the impression of being very ordinary, that there was nothing special about him at all. On the other hand, Shi Fengs every action right now had an indescribable sense of naturalness. The pressure Shi Feng radiated made Lifeless Blade feel as if he was facing a Lord ranked monster right now. The last time Lifeless Blade met Shi Feng, he had learned a lot from the discussion he had with Shi Feng on combat techniques. Moreover, the latter had even provided him with plenty of quests that raised ones Reputation, allowing his Reputation to swiftly reach the status of a Noble, which afforded many conveniences for his teams development. Lifeless Blade was only where he was right now due to Shi Fengs help. Hence, he felt immense gratitude towards Shi Feng. During this period, Lifeless Blade had raided plenty of Team Dungeons. He had even raided Hell Mode Team Dungeons. There were also countless instances where he participated in Field PvPs. If he were to speak for himself, he would say that his strength had improved plenty since his last meeting with Shi Feng. However, compared to Shi Feng, his improvements paled significantly. Brother Ye Feng, Ive already completed the task you requested, Lifeless Blade stated when he saw Shi Feng approaching. In a somewhat worried tone, he continued, But, Brother Ye Feng, that plot of Land you want is simply too far away from the high-traffic areas of the city. You will only make a loss by purchasing the Land there. With the same amount of money, you can easily purchase a plot of Land in the high-traffic areas of the city. This is really not a profitable purchase. No worries, I prefer a place that is somewhat peaceful, Shi Feng laughed. Star-Moon City was extremely large. There was also quite a lot of Land available inside the city. However, the prices of the Land here were not one bit cheaper than in White River City at all. Even an ordinary plot of Land had a minimum price of 2,000 Gold. With this sum of money, one could purchase a relatively good plot of Land in White River City already. Meanwhile, the Land situated around the central district of Star-Moon City had a price tag of at least 6,000 Gold, whereas Land in the golden areas of the city cost 14,000 Gold at a minimum; the prices here were more than double those of White River City. However, precisely because of this reason, the Guilds based in Star-Moon City had a constant headache. There was no meaning in purchasing a useless plot of Land for more than 2,000 Gold. However, not to mention the Land in the golden areas, even accumulating 6,000 Gold required a lot of time and effort. Hence, practically nobody was paying attention to the Land within the capital right now. However, the many Guilds in Star-Moon City had neglected a point. Since the Land of the capital city was so expensive, wouldnt the Guilds developing at the capital city at the initial stages of the game suffer immensely? Not to mention the expensive Land, but there was also the high difficulty of earning Reputation in Star-Moon City. No matter how one looked at the situation, Guilds that were developing themselves in the capital city would be at a disadvantage during the early stages of the game. In reality, however, that was not the case. It was only because everyone had yet to deepen their understanding of the Commercial Lands of Star-Moon City. Only after some time had passed would everyone come to realize that some ordinary plots of Land in Star-Moon City were actually much better than Land in the central district, and these were the Lands surrounding certain special buildings. Star-Moon City was the core of Star-Moon Kingdom, and many powerful high-tiered NPCs were gathered here. There were even many establishments here that were unavailable in other cities. Although these establishments were not as popular as the Auction House, Bank, and such locations, the player traffic at these locations still greatly surpassed that of many of the Lands located in the central district. In the past, many Guilds and players who were lucky enough to purchase these plots of Land had made themselves a fortune through them. Meanwhile, the plot of Land Shi Feng was planning to purchase right now was precisely located beside one of these unique establishmentsthe Underground Arena. Although only a small number of players frequented the Underground Arena at the moment, that traffic would increase, along with the growth in popularity of arena matches. In particular, players from other cities and countries would often visit Star-Moon City, boosting the player traffic here to an even more frightening level. Shi Feng truly wished he could purchase every plot of Land surrounding the Underground Arena. Unfortunately, he no longer had that much money on him right now Forget it. Its your money anyway. Lifeless Blade shook his head and sighed. Including the ownership transfer fees, the plot of Land Shi Feng had set his eyes on cost nearly 3,000 Gold. That was enough money to purchase a relatively good plot of Land close to the central district. Following which, Lifeless Blade led Shi Feng into the City Hall and carried out the purchase and transfer procedures. After ten minutes or so, Shi Feng had obtained the best plot of Land close to the Underground Arena. Moreover, he had also spent over 1,000 Gold to construct the best available Shop there, and had even hired fifteen Advanced NPCs to manage the daily affairs of the Shop. Witnessing how Shi Feng had spent close to 4,000 Gold Coins so casually nearly shut down Lifeless Blades brain. This was his first time seeing a spendthrift like Shi Feng. Not only had Shi Feng wasted his money on an ordinary plot of Land, but he had even spent over 1,000 Gold to construct the best available Shop. In Star-Moon City, Lifeless Blades team could be considered extremely wealthy. Yet, even so, their liquid assets only amounted to dozens of Gold. Even a first-rate Guild could not easily take out 1,000 Gold. Yet, Shi Feng had spent it casually, as if he was buying vegetables at a market At this point, Lifeless Blade had even begun to wonder whether Zero Wing, the guild behind Shi Feng, was manufacturing Gold Coins. In the face of Lifeless Blades stunned reaction, Shi Feng simply gave the man a smile. He did not bother giving any explanations. Now that he had established a branch of Candlelight Trading Firm on this plot of Land, he had the foundation to begin plundering the resources of Star-Moon City. As long as he sold the Strengthened Armor Kits here in limited quantities, the players here who needed these items would end up heading over to White River Citys Candlelight Trading Firm to purchase them when the local supply ran out. With this, Shi Feng could secretly steal the player population of Star-Moon City. Over time, the players of Star-Moon City would become White River Citys. By the time the Guilds competing over Star-Moon City realize their situation, everything would be too late. Afterward, Shi Feng discussed matters relating to Star-Moon Citys situation with Lifeless Blade. He then logged out of the game to rest as he patiently awaited the completion of Candlelight Trading Firms construction. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 493 Big Dipper Competition After logging out of the game, Shi Feng exited his virtual gaming cabin and began todays training plan. Ever since his brain activity increased, it was as if Shi Feng had entered a whole new world in regard to his control over his own body. During this period, he had continuously been adapting to the new changes. A humans body was subject to the brains control. The brain controlled processes such as hormone production, cellular immunity, and physical power control. As these processes involved a lot of information, the brain carried out these processes automatically. Just like a computer, which ran its system programs in the background, the human brain had long since been set to deal with these processes automatically without requiring conscious effort from the brain. This was a sort of self-protective mechanism for the human brain. However, with the increase in brain activity and, simultaneously, brain usage rates, humans could actively control these processes instead of leaving the brain to passively control them. If brain activity increased to a sufficient level, humans could even control their own bodys hormone production, fine-tuning their own bodies to increase their own lifespans, maintain a youthful appearance, and so on. In particular, with a high enough brain activity, one could even control their brains subconscious inhibition of their bodys physical power. If an ordinary person, who might originally have had a punching power of 100kg, was able to remove the inhibition their brain placed on their physical strength, then they could instantly multiply that power by over a dozenor even several dozens oftimes. Like in the news, during times of emergency or danger, many people would suddenly display explosive power that they never possessed. As for the reason why these people could display such power, it was because their brains had removed the limiter placed on their physical bodies. However, it was exceptionally difficult to remove this limiter. There were also many people who failed to remove it, despite encountering a dangerous situation. Or even if they did manage to do so, it would be for only a very brief period of time. Nevertheless, with the increase in brain activity, one could consciously remove the limiter placed on their physical power. This was the case with Shi Feng right now. The increase in his brain activity had boosted his brain usage rate. Originally, Shi Feng was unable to control the limiter placed on his physical power. Now, however, he could adjust it slightly. As far as Shi Feng knew, many martial arts grandmasters in the past had undergone long periods of training, in addition to consistently increasing their brain activity, in order to grasp this technique. Moreover, due to the popularity of Gods Domain, as well as the fact that the game played a significant role in developing a players brain, many people in the past had also been able to reach this step. At this moment, Shi Fengs goal was to reach this step. During this period of training and learning, Shi Feng could sense that he had already touched the gateway. If he could grasp this technique, then his combat power in Gods Domain would definitely improve by leaps and bounds. However, if he wished to grasp ahold of this power, he needed to increase his brain activity once more. It was just that breaking through his own mental limit placed a heavy demand on his brain cells and required a large amount of energy. Meanwhile, only with S-rank Nutrient Fluids could he solve these problems. Although Shi Feng had the money, he could not purchase any S-rank Nutrient Fluids by himself. Shi Feng really wished to have a sufficient number of virtual gaming cabins and S-rank Nutrient Fluids in order to immediately nurture Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Cola, and Violet Cloud into true top-tier experts and have them set foot into the Refinement Realm. At that time, Zero Wings strength would definitely soar, and it would no longer be an impossible task to capture the several cities surrounding White River City. Just when Shi Feng had completed his morning training and was about to have his lunch, the quantum watch on his wrist rang. Mister Shi Feng, I am Mister Xiao Yus assistant. Your competition today is scheduled at 5pm. I have come to pick you up in advance; the car is already waiting downstairs, the young and beautiful woman who appeared in the video call said, smiling. Alright, Ill be there in a moment, Shi Feng replied before disconnecting the call. \--- Meanwhile, on the ground floor of Shi Fengs apartment, a maglev limousine was currently parked outside the building. A man and a woman stood quietly beside the car, waiting. The woman wore a black dress. She had fine black eyelashes and a glamorous face with skin as white as snow. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders. Overall, she had a bright and beautiful appearance. As for the man, he was tall and ferocious. Wearing a black suit and a pair of sunglasses, he was like a ferocious beast, his entire body radiating a hostile aura that made others consciously distance themselves from him out of fear. When the residents of the community saw this scene, they thought that a big shot had come visiting. This guy sure knows how to take his time. The female assistant, Liang Jing, looked at her quantum watch. In an impatient tone, she grumbled, Just what does Chairman Xiao see in him to actually have us come fetch him? She was the Head Assistant for Big Dipper Training Centers Chairman. Yet, now, she was actually sent to escort a youth. The man standing beside her right now was also no ordinary character. He was called Lu Zhihong, and he was the personal bodyguard of Chairman Xiao. Lu Zhihongs strength was simply amazing; he could easily deal with seven or eight ordinary people simultaneously. Even if he participated in the citys fighting competition, he would have no problem obtaining a good ranking. At the moment, the company lacks the support of a martial arts master. Chairman Xiao is naturally trying to create a grander scene, Lu Zhihong replied indifferently. Hes just slightly over 20. How could he possibly be a martial arts master? Liang Jing had noted Shi Fengs appearance through the video call just now. No matter how she looked at it, she could not relate Shi Feng to those 30- to 40-year-old masters. I hear that his opponent this time is quite amazing. Even Master Chen Wu has referred to that person as a fighting genius. That person has even defeated several martial arts masters before. I really cannot understand why Chairman Xiao still insisted on holding the competition this time around. The result of this competition is so obvious; he could clearly just choose that person, instead. She had personally seen martial arts masters before. Even from afar, every one of these masters gave off an imposing air that made others feel reverence for them. However, Shi Feng did not possess such a feeling. If not for Chairman Xiao personally confirming that Shi Feng was indeed a martial arts master, she really dared not believe that such a youthful master actually existed. While Liang Jing and Lu Zhihong were conversing with each other, Shi Feng came downstairs. When Liang Jing saw Shi Fengs blue sports attire, however, she was immediately stupefied. How was this a master? Whether in terms of temperament or power, he was clearly just an athletic youth! At this rate, he would simply be seeking his own death by challenging a martial arts master! Contrary to Liang Jings reaction, however, the bodyguard standing beside her revealed a completely different expression. Despite the faint smile Shi Feng had on his face, Lu Zhihong felt as if he was staring at a dormant beast. Lu Zhihong could not sense anything from Shi Fengs every action. That was right. He could not sense anything at all. For a seasoned bodyguard like himself, there was nothing more dangerous than being unable to pick up anything from someones action. It was as if someone were pointing a gun at his head, and he still thought the other person was joking. If Shi Feng were to take action, Lu Zhihong felt that Shi Feng could easily defeat him in just a few moves. Before the female assistant could even speak, the previously silent Lu Zhihong hurriedly opened the car door, respectfully saying, Master Shi Feng, please, get in. We will take you to the venue immediately. Thanks. Shi Feng smiled as he entered the car. However, the female assistant, Liang Jing, was stupefied. What was this situation? She had never seen Lu Zhihong act so respectfully to anyone before. Not even Chairman Xiao received such a treatment. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 494 Gathered Big Dippers central assembly hall. Although the sun was blazing, an endless stream of guests entered the hall. At the bright red carpet, well-known upper-class personages descended from luxury cars, one after another, and slowly walked into the assembly hall. Big Dippers assembly hall was very lively today; it was even livelier than when the citys fighting competition was held. Quite a small number of people. Seated inside the limousine, Shi Feng swept a glance at the assembly halls surroundings, noticing that the people who came to watch the competition were all well-known characters in Jin Hai City; there was not a single commoner present at all. Logically speaking, by holding the competition this time, Big Dipper should be promoting itself to increase its popularity. In order to recover from its downward spiral, it would definitely want to widely publicize the competition this time around. Internal force experts were rare, and exchanges between internal force experts were even rarer. Countless people wished to feast their eyes on such a fight. However, when Shi Feng looked at the scene before him, it did not seem as if Big Dipper had done any promotion at all. Otherwise, the venue wouldve been completely swamped with people. Mister Shi Feng, it is like this: the other master wishes to hold this competition in private; he does not wish it to be known by everyone in the world. Hence, the company has not made any attempt to promote the competition, and has only invited a few well-known figures. But even so, that master was not happy about it. If Chairman Xiao had not offered sufficient compensation, the number of people attending this match might be less than half the current head count, Liang Jing said as she looked at Shi Feng, her lips curled up in a mesmerizing smile. Charmingly, she continued, If Mister Shi Feng thinks that this event is too small, after this competition is over, we can definitely arrange for your name to be known by all in Jin Hai City. As the Head Assistant of Big Dippers Chairman, observing another persons every mood was Liang Jings specialty. After seeing Lu Zhihongs respectful performance before, even if she was a fool, she would have realized that Shi Feng was not as simple as he appeared to be. With such a great achievement at such a young age, Shi Feng would definitely become a dragon among men. If she could narrow the distance in their relationship slightly, the familiarity would be of tremendous help to her future. Naturally, she could not pass up this opportunity sitting before her right now. That person sure likes to keep a low profile, but its fine. I dont like being watched by too many people, either, Shi Feng laughed. Originally, Shi Feng had no intention of making himself famous; he wanted to develop himself while maintaining a low profile. If not for the fifteen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and five virtual gaming cabins, he really would not participate in this competition. oon, Shi Feng followed Liang Jing to the backstage of the assembly hall to rest there as he quietly awaited the start of the competition. \--- At this moment, the competition hall inside Big Dippers assembly hall was already packed with people. Every one of these attendees held considerable status in Jin Hai City. Plenty of well-known figures from other cities had also turned up this time around. Meanwhile, seated inside the VIP room on the second floor were the few titans of Jin Hai City. At this moment, Xiao Yu was entertaining these VIPs. If Shi Feng were present in this room, he would definitely discover a lot of people he was familiar with here. Seated in the center of the room was none other than Jin Hai Universitys Headmaster and Chairman, Xu Wenqing. Seated beside him were Zhao Jianhua of the Zhao Group, Master Chen Wu of Jin Hai Citys number one dojo, and many more high-profile characters of Jin Hai City. Little Xiao, youve surely given me a big surprise this time. You were actually able to invite two martial arts masters to conduct a competition with each other. This is a first for our Jin Hai City, Xu Wenqing said as he stroked his white beard. A little excited, he said, I wonder if you can introduce me to the two masters youve invited this time around? The other VIPs promptly nodded their heads at Xu Wenqings words. In this day and age, fighting competitions were the most popular event in the world. The status of martial arts masters was naturally extraordinary, more so that of internal force experts. Normally, one could not see such experts in an ordinary city like Jin Hai City. Even high-profile characters like the VIPs present would not be able to easily meet such experts. Old Man Xu, you must be joking. How could I possibly be able to invite two masters to conduct a competition with each other? The two of them just happened to want to compare notes with each other, so they allowed me to arrange this competition, Xiao Yu said, laughing. Currently, his heart was filled with an indescribable sense of joy. The two masters are currently resting and preparing for the competition later. It would not be convenient to invite them over right now, but Ill definitely arrange for a meeting afterwards. I hear that the two masters competing this time are very young. Is that true? Xu Wenqing asked curiously. Yes, the two of them are indeed very young. Both havent even reached the age of thirty yet. Xiao Yu nodded, then added proudly, In particular, Master Chen Wu has also met the master that weve specially invited this time. Although he is only twenty-seven years old, his strength is very frightening. He has already defeated several well-known masters. During this period, I heard that he is planning to join the qualifiers for an international fighting competition, and that he has a high chance of obtaining a good result. Indeed, that Master Lei Bao is really a prodigy. Ive compared notes with him before. Unfortunately, I was easily subdued in just a few moves. Now that Master Lei Bao has undergone over a year of intense training, his current strength should be even more frightening. When I met him before, I even felt chills running through my body. Chen Wu nodded as he sighed in admiration. Lei Bao was definitely the most powerful internal force expert he had met. A martial arts prodigy. In the future, it was highly possible that Lei Bao would become a martial arts grandmaster. At that time, Lei Bao would probably be able to defeat him easily even without using internal force. If Lei Bao used internal force, instead of just losing the match, he might even lose his life in a single move. Everyone found it inconceivable when they heard that Jin Hai Citys famous fighting champion, Chen Wu, had been easily defeated, and that this had happened over a year ago. Not a single person present did not know who Chen Wu was. He was a character known by all in Jin Hai City. In his early days, Chen Wu had fought many martial arts masters. Although he was defeated in those exchanges, the martial arts masters that fought him also did not have easy victories. One could say that Chen Wu was a martial arts expert who was very close to becoming a master. Hence, everyone in Jin Hai City referred to Chen Wu as Master Chen. Currently, Chen Wu was still of a relatively young age, and he maintained his strength at its peak. Logically speaking, he should have already taken half a step into the ranks of masters. Yet, he only managed to last several moves against the martial arts master named Lei Bao. One could just imagine how powerful Lei Bao was. Oh? Theres actually such a talented character. Little Xiao, you must introduce him to me after the competition. Although this decrepit old man has spectated international fighting competitions before, never once have I had the opportunity to chat with such a master. Xu Wenqings eyes glowed with anticipation upon hearing Chen Wus words. Seated at the back of the room, Zhao Ruoxi, who had come along with Zhao Jianhua, revealed an expression of worry as she listened to the conversation. What to do? Zhao Ruoxis heart was in distress. Although she believed that Shi Feng was very amazing as well, compared to the martial arts prodigy Lei Bao that everyone was talking about, whether it was in terms of strength or experience, Shi Feng should be quite inferior to Lei Bao. If Lei Bao did not hold back during the competition, it would definitely end in tragedy Time passed little by little. Very quickly, the arranged time for the competition arrived, and the excitement inside the assembly hall reached the boiling point. This was the first time a competition between martial arts masters would be held in Jin Hai City. Usually, such competitions could only be seen on the international stage. Meanwhile, the majority of the people present here today had only ever watched an international competition through TV broadcasts; they never had the chance to personally witness such competitions. Just as the crowd was wondering what kind of people the two masters were, white smoke started emerging from the two passages leading to the arena. Meanwhile, the two people who had walked out from the white smoke were none other than the two protagonists of todays event. Lei Bao and Shi Feng. When the audience personally saw the true appearance of the two masters, every single one of them was rendered speechless. They never expected the two masters to be so young. In particular, when the spectators inside the VIP room saw Shi Feng, they were all shocked. Shi Feng? Why is he here? Xu Wenqing rubbed his eyes. For a second there, he even thought his eyes had gone blurry. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 495 Strength of a Thousand Kilos Xu Wenqings memory of Shi Feng was still fresh in his mind. Previously, not only had Shi Feng defeated the universitys number one fighter, Zhang Luowei, but he had also earned high praise from Chen Wu. Xu Wenqing had not expected Shi Feng to actually appear at this place right now. It cant be, right? Chen Wu was similarly stunned upon seeing Shi Feng. As he recalled, Shi Feng was very amazing but had yet to reach the level of using internal force. At this moment, however, Shi Feng was actually participating in this competition. It was truly shocking. When both sides stood in the arena, Lei Bao and Shi Feng contrasted sharply. Lei Bao wore a black vest that placed his bronze muscles on full display. His muscles were not bloated, but instead were sleek like a cheetahs, giving others the feeling that his muscles were packed full of power. His disheveled hair coupled with his bestial aura and aquiline gaze made him seem exactly like a wild, ferocious beast. People would not dare to get even half a step closer to him. On the other hand, Shi Feng looked just like your average university student. He possessed neither a sharp, swordlike aura nor a tall, robust body. He gave others the impression that he was completely harmless to both humans and animals, that there was no need for even the slightest bit of vigilance towards him. The battle between the two was a competition without any suspense. It was just like a fight between a ferocious lion and a cute little rabbit. There was absolutely no point to this battle at all. Suddenly, it was as if cold water was poured over the hot passion of the audience members. Wasnt this a match between two masters? Why is there an ordinary university student here? Thats right, even if Big Dipper is trying to promote Master Lei Bao, cant they at least invite a slightly decent expert? Whats the point of inviting a youth that hasnt even grown all his hair yet? Even I can take care of that little brat with ease. The audience promptly burst into a heated discussion; they all felt that Big Dippers Chairman, Xiao Yu, was lacking sincerity. However, seated at a corner of the spectator stands, Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong were both stunned when they saw this scene. How could he be a martial arts master? Zhang Luowei looked with eyes full of disbelief at Shi Feng standing in the arena. Even until now, he still took to heart the defeat Shi Feng had dealt him. During this period, he had trained constantly and had even sought meticulous guidance from Chen Wu, all in order to have his revenge on Shi Feng. Yet, now that Shi Feng had appeared before him once again, the man had actually become a martial arts master already. However, when Zhang Luowei looked at Shi Fengs opponent, Lei Bao, a smile appeared on his face. He had heard plenty about Lei Baos deeds from Chen Wu. Lei Bao was a fierce man who did not know how to show mercy. All those who had met with him in official matches had suffered heavy injuries at the very minimum, and some were even crippled. Hence, nobody was willing to compete with Lei Bao. When those in the world of martial arts heard the name of Lei Bao, even top-tier masters would try to avoid him as much as possible; nobody wished to destroy their own future by competing with Lei Bao. Originally, Zhang Luowei had thought it was some daring expert who had come to compete with Lei Bao this time around. Now, however, it would seem that Shi Feng was just a hotheaded youth after all. Yet, before the anyone could voice out their complaints, the host of the competition immediately hyped up the audience. Ladies and gentlemen, before the start of this competition, the two masters will do a small warm-up, allowing everyone to clearly see just how powerful the two masters are. Now, lets welcome our two masters to showcase their strengths. As the host was saying so, some staff members pushed out a punching power testing machine into the arena. The punching machine was the latest model, and it was intended to test Lei Baos and Shi Fengs punching power. The first to take the test was Shi Feng. Shi Feng was very interested in regard to this test. He wanted to know just how much he had improved during this period of time. Standing before the punching machine, Shi Feng took a proper stance before abruptly sending a punch forward. After piercing through the air, his fist made a loud boom when it landed on the target. The punching machine shook from the impact. Immediately, the numbers on the punching machine began rising madly. In just a moment, the numbers had broken past the 200kg mark. A short moment later, the numbers rose to 320kg; this value was already within the standard of professional fighters. In the end, the punching machine displayed a value of 401kg. This result was almost comparable to those of well-known fighters of Jin Hai City. However, it was still significantly lower than that of the citys top professional fighter, Chen Wu. This Shi Feng is amazing. With this kind of punching power, it is no wonder Zhang Luowei was not his match. Xu Wenqing laughed with satisfaction as he stroked his white beard. If he already possesses such strength at such a young age, he might be able to catch up to you, Master Chen Wu, in just a few more years. Chen Wus punching power record could be said to be the record for the entire Jin Hai City. Chen Wus punching power was 453kg, a value that made ordinary people stare in admiration. With just a single punch, Chen Wu could bend even a thick metal board. Let alone the fleshy human body, Chen Wu could even turn a durable maglev car into a pile of scrap metal in a short amount of time. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was just in his early twenties, so he still had great potential for growth. He would have no problems surpassing Chen Wus punching power record. Old Man Xu, you jest. This is but the result Little Brother Shi Feng has achieved using only his physical strength. If he used internal force, he would have surpassed my record. Moreover, I have also heard that Little Brother Shi Feng has long since beaten my record. It seems the newest record right now is 576kg. Chen Wu laughed bitterly. Yes, thats right. This record was indeed set by Master Shi Feng. Xiao Yu nodded. It seems that Master Shi Feng did not use his full power because he wishes to conserve his strength. Internal force places a heavy burden on the body. Since he needs to face off against Master Lei Bao in a moment, he naturally has to conserve his physical strength, Chen Wu explained. Nobody present knew just how demanding internal force was on a persons body. Even internal force experts would not casually use it. Otherwise, they would be lying on the floor, unconscious, in just a few moves. Hence, only a fool would use internal force in this test right now. Seated in the back row of the VIP room, Zhao Ruoxi was very elated upon seeing Shi Fengs test result. Only she knew how much Shi Feng had improved. Previously, Shi Fengs test results without using internal force were less than 300kg. After not seeing him for a period of time, Shi Fengs punching power had actually exceeded the 400kg threshold. If Chen Wu were to find out about this improvement, he would definitely jump up in shock. However, as the occupants of the VIP room were conversing with each other, Lei Bao started his test. Ha! Letting out a shout, Lei Bao transformed his palm into a fist, a boom resounding as he struck towards the punching machine. The instant Lei Baos fist landed on the target, the spiraling force borne by the fist pierced the target. Lei Baos fist ended up landing directly on the steel plate behind the target. Peng! The durable steel plate was dented right away, and even the entire punching machine itself was knocked backwards. Meanwhile, cracks also started appearing on the marble floor beneath Lei Baos feet, as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer. Ding Ding Ding The punching machine rang continuously. Most people in the spectator stands might be unfamiliar with this sound. However, for those who frequently trained and tested themselves, this was a sound that garnered their reverence. Because this sound was none other than the prompt for a record being broken. At this moment, however, nobody in the spectator stands was reacting to the sounds produced by the punching machine, because everyone was completely stunned by Lei Baos destructive punch. Is he even human?! Zhao Ruoxis alluring eyes widened, her attention fully focused on the value displayed by the punching power testing machine. Six hundred fifty-six kilograms! This record was far above the one Shi Feng had set. Sure enough, Lei Bao really is a martial arts prodigy. Even the strength he has achieved through training is incomparable to that of ordinary people, Chen Wu said, shocked. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 496 Tiger Roaring Lei Baos punch had stunned the entire assembly hall. A moment later, a loud round of applause, as well as gasps of admiration, filled the room. When this punch landed, it was as if a small car had struck the punching machine. In particular, if the steel plate were swapped with a human being, the end result would be horrifying. Master Chen Wu, is this the power of internal force? Zhao Jianhua could not help but ask. This was his first time seeing such destructive force from another human being. No. Chen Wu shook his head. He then explained, Ive previously said that using internal force places a heavy burden on the body, and internal force experts would not casually use it. The same holds true even in a battle. Master Lei Bao achieved this result before us right now without using internal force; this is just his normal strength. This is also the reason why I am so shocked. Despite being called the fighting genius of Jin Hai City, Chen Wus maximum punching strength was only 453kg. In comparison, a martial arts prodigy like Lei Bao had managed to achieve a punching power of 656kg without even using internal force. He truly possessed a strength of a thousand kilos. The gap between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. Little Brother Shi Feng will not have an easy time in this match. Chen Wu grew more alert as he looked at Lei Bao. Master Lei Bao is famous for not knowing how to hold back. Even when I sought him out to exchange pointers back then, he ended up breaking three of my ribs. I had to stay in the hospital for over a month for a full recovery. Now, he has even surpassed his strength from back then. If Little Brother Shi Feng is not careful, it is quite possible that he will be hospitalized for over half a year, and there might even be residual damage. Upon hearing Chen Wus words, Zhao Ruoxi, who was seated at the back of the VIP room, grew even more anxious. Though she wished to stop this competition right now, she was powerless to do so. Both parties were martial arts masters. Since both sides had long since agreed to this match, and even the invited audience had already arrived, things had passed the point of no return by now. Shi Fengs normal punching power was just slightly over 400kg. Even if he used internal force, he would at most reach the level of Lei Bao when the latter was not using internal force. However, just how taxing was internal force? On the other hand, Lei Baos every action carried the strength of a thousand kilos; he could send an endless stream of these powerful blows. It was highly unlikely that Shi Feng would emerge victorious in this competition. In truth, not even Xiao Yu had expected the gap between the two to be so wide. If he had known about this earlier, this competition would be absolutely unnecessary. It seems that I can only make amends with Shi Feng after this event is over. Xiao Yu had never expected Lei Bao to be so strong. With the addition of Lei Bao, Big Dipper Training Center could definitely become one of the top training centers in the country. As for Shi Feng, although he was a young genius, he was still significantly inferior to a current powerhouse. However, it remained necessary to maintain a good relationship with such a talent. In the arena, Lei Bao looked at the destroyed punching machine, feeling very satisfied with his own masterpiece. He then shifted his chilling gaze to Shi Feng. Youre very good. Despite being so young, not only have you mastered internal force, but you are also able to behave so fearlessly while standing before me. You will certainly have a promising future. If not for my need to become Big Dippers Head Instructor, I would not mind letting you have this competition. Although Lei Baos voice was not particularly loud, everyone present in the assembly hall could hear his every word clearly. The arrogance in his tone was also unwavering, and one could not help but want to submit to him, heart and soul. I have always looked fondly upon martial arts geniuses. I wont try to bully you in this match. If you can last ten moves against me, this match will be considered your victory. Listening to Lei Baos words, everyone present found themselves admiring the mans magnanimity. Sure enough, a martial arts master would not bully those weaker than themself. The audience members became even more reverent towards Lei Bao now. What if I lose? Shi Feng calmly asked, completely unmoved by Lei Baos words. You really are smart, Lei Bao laughed. If you lose, take me as your teacher; I will pass on all my skills to you. I assure you that you can definitely surpass me in the future. This should be a worthwhile trade, right? Before this fight was arranged, Lei Bao had already heard about Shi Feng. He knew that Shi Feng did not have a master, so Shi Feng should be a self-taught martial arts master. In other words, Shi Feng was a true genius. Martial artists were very picky when it came to accepting disciples. After all, they would only be humiliating themselves if they chose a weakling as a recipient of their legacies. Hence, martial artists would always carefully choose their disciples. Meanwhile, a youth like Shi Feng who had already learned how to use internal force at such a young age was naturally a prime candidate for a disciple. Just before, even Chen Wu had been tempted to take on Shi Feng as his disciple. Unfortunately, Shi Fengs current strength was no longer beneath him, so he had to dismiss this idea altogether. Lei Bao, however, was different. He was significantly more powerful than Shi Feng, so he naturally had the qualifications to become Shi Fengs master. Everyone was stunned upon hearing Lei Baos words. Master Lei Bao was trying to solicit a personal disciple! Many in the spectator stands immediately turned to look at Shi Feng in envy. A single glance was all it took to tell that Lei Bao was a top-tier martial arts master. It even was highly possible for him to become a martial arts grandmaster in the future. Countless people out there wished they could become the personal disciple of a generations grandmaster. Yet, such an opportunity had actually landed in Shi Fengs lap right now. Why is it him?! At this moment, Zhang Luoweis eyes became bloodshot. Originally, he had been taking delight in Shi Fengs misfortune. Now, however, his heart was filled with an indescribable sense of jealousy. With a generations grandmaster carefully tutoring and nurturing him, Shi Feng would definitely soar to become a dragon among men. In the future, he might even be able to vie for the championship of an international fighting competition. At that time, Shi Feng would definitely become the focal point of the entire world. What did the Guild Leader of some random Guild in Gods Domain amount to? Even if it was the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, they would be far from comparable to a world-class fighter. These people were all monsters who had surpassed the limits of the human body. Countless corporations would be willing to sponsor them. The money and status they could obtain were beyond the reach of a Guild Leader inside a virtual reality game. Hahaha! So this was your intention all along? Shi Feng could not help but laugh. He could tell that Lei Bao was wholeheartedly trying to take him in as his disciple. Okay, Ill agree to your conditions. However, if I defeat you in twenty moves, you have to promise to do one thing for me as well. How about it? Suddenly, the entire assembly hall went silent. Has he gone mad? Hes actually provoking a top-tier master! Hes literally insane! Not to mention the guests sitting in the spectator stands, even the crowd inside the VIP room was stunned. They had not thought that Shi Feng was actually so daring. Hahaha! As expected of the person I have set my sights on! You certainly have a domineering spirit! Lei Bao had started laughing loudly as well. The more he looked at Shi Feng, the more he liked the young man. Ever since his debut into the world of martial arts, nobody had dared speak to him so arrogantly. Now that he was twenty-eight years old, he was only a hair away from reaching the rank of grandmaster. Unfortunately, even until now, he had yet to find a person to pass his legacy to. Meanwhile, he had only come to this place after hearing news about Shi Feng. Otherwise, how could a small-time training center like Big Dipper invite a true god like him? Saying so, both parties stepped into the ring. Upon the referees order, the match officially began. Watch this! The instant the match started, Lei Bao strode forward, rushing up to Shi Feng like a furious gale. Immediately after, his fist made a turn as he did a Half-step Collapsing Punch. There were no fanciful movements in Lei Baos technique. His punch was simple and straightforward, yet fast and fierce. When sending out his punch, Lei Baos body had also released the thundering roars of tigers. Peals of thunder echoed throughout the assembly hall; the sounds were absolutely breathtaking. Tiger Roaring, Muscle and Bones Singing! Shi Feng was stunned. Lei Bao had actually trained both the inside and outside of his body to the peak * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 497 Initial Mastery The instant Lei Bao sent out his fearsome punch, Shi Feng hurriedly leaned back like an agile monkey; he did not attempt to block Lei Baos fist at all. When Lei Baos fist was only centimeters away from its target, Shi Feng abruptly contracted his abdomen, narrowly avoiding the attack. Lei Baos punch carried with it a fearsome shockwave. Even through a layer of clothing, Shi Feng could feel his abdomen receiving part of the shockwave. If that violent force landed directly on his body, the consequences would be unimaginable The members of the audience were stupefied once again. Tiger Roaring? How is this possible? Seated in the VIP room on the second floor, Chen Wu saw Lei Baos punch, and his eyes glowed brightly and his heart thumped madly. The ecstatic expression on his face made it seem as if he had just seen a peerless beauty. Tiger Roaring? The spectators beside Chen Wu echoed his words in confusion. However, seeing Chen Wus excited look, they could guess that it was a very powerful technique. Chen Wu nodded. With great excitement, he explained, Only when a person has managed to merge both their internal and external power can they produce that kind of sound. One could say that it is the proof that one has trained their body to its limits. Normally, only experts at the grandmaster level are capable of such a feat. I never imagined that Master Lei Bao had actually managed to achieve it so soon. With this, it wont be long before Master Lei Bao breaks through his limits and becomes a generations grandmaster! Countless martial arts masters had trained themselves desperately, yet still failed at combining their internal and external forces. On the other hand, before even reaching the age of thirty, Lei Bao had already succeeded in pushing his body to its limits. Now, he could utilize internal force freely, applying it to his every action. He fit the term martial arts prodigy to a T. Even if Shi Feng knew how to use internal force, when faced with Lei Bao, someone who had pushed his body to its limits, he had zero chance of victory. While Chen Wu explained, the roars of tigers filled the arena. Lei Baos every move was incomparably fierce, alternating between Collapsing Punch and Cannon Punch one after another. Speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness, he made full use of all three of these aspects. Afterimages of Lei Baos fists filled the ring. Step by step, his violent attacks pressed Shi Feng harder and harder. If Shi Feng stopped evading these attacks, only a tragic end awaited him. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to keep retreating. Although Lei Bao held an absolute advantage in this fight, Shi Feng had yet to receive a single blow even until now. So strong! With each step Shi Feng retreated, he could clearly feel the power behind Lei Baos punches growing ever so slightly; likewise, his fists were also speeding up. If not for Shi Fengs brain activity increasing, significantly improving his five senses and his control over his own body, Lei Bao would have defeated him in just a few moves. Even so, Shi Feng could only last a few more moves right now. He would still end up defeated soon. It was no wonder Lei Bao was so confident that he could defeat him in ten moves. In the next moment, Lei Baos body tilted forward slightly as he sent a Half-step Punch at Shi Fengs face. At this point, he had already cornered Shi Feng; there were no more paths of retreat available to him. Suddenly, Shi Fengs body swayed as he took the initiative to welcome this punch. Is he trying to get himself killed?! Lei Bao was dumbfounded. Meanwhile, outside the ring, everyone in the spectator stands thought they could foresee the ending scene of this competition. Many already envisioned the instant Shi Fengs head exploded into tiny little pieces. Some of the more timid women, who could not bear to watch this gruesome scene, had immediately shut their eyes. Its over! Chen Wu could not help but exclaim. Lei Baos punch could dent even a sturdy steel plate. Yet, Shi Feng was actually using his head to meet Lei Baos fist The instant Shi Fengs head was about to collide with Lei Baos iron fist Whether it was Shi Fengs breathing or heartbeat, both seemed to have stopped completely. Before Lei Bao could react, he discovered that his fist had actually brushed past Shi Fengs face, only scratching the young mans cheek and leaving behind a small bloodstain. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs fist had somehow landed on Lei Baos abdomen already. Lei Bao only felt a huge thrust on and pain in his abdomen. Although he wanted to use the power in his muscles to dispel this force, he suddenly discovered that he actually could not, even in the slightest. Like a steel needle, this force penetrated directly into his body. In the next moment, his entire person went flying across the ring. When his body landed heavily on the floor, he immediately coughed out a mouthful of blood. At this point, he could no longer continue fighting. For a time, everyone in the assembly hall was completely flabbergasted. Originally, this competitions outcome should have been Lei Baos victory. Yet, such a sudden reversal had actually happened. Nobody in the audience had even managed to get a clear view of what had happened. They had only seen Lei Baos fist penetrating Shi Fengs head. In the next moment, Shi Fengs fist was already on Lei Baos abdomen, and in the end, Shi Feng was the victor of this competition. Master Chen Wu, you are an expert yourself. Can you tell us what exactly happened just now? Xu Wenqing was extremely curious about this situation. Everyone else seated near Chen Wu promptly turned to look at the martial arts master as well, hoping to obtain an answer from him. After some time passed I have no idea, either, Chen Wu said as he shook his head. The twos exchange had simply been too fast. Their speeds were already beyond what he could respond to. Hence, not even he knew what Shi Feng had done exactly. He only knew that Lei Baos lethal punch had not landed on Shi Feng. However, who was Lei Bao? Back then, the situation had already reached the point of no return. Even if Lei Bao did not wish to kill Shi Feng, he could do nothing to change the sudden development. Yet, Shi Feng had actually managed to evade Lei Baos punch. Even more inconceivably, Chen Wu had not even seen when Shi Feng punched. Even Lei Bao had failed to react to the attack in time. You At this moment, Lei Bao managed to pull himself back to his feet, and his eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Shi Feng who was currently standing proudly and calmly in the ring. Others might not have seen what had happened before, but when Lei Bao carefully tried recalling it, he immediately came to a realization. However, Lei Bao simply could not bring himself to believe that A student barely in his twenties had actually broken past his bodys limits and taken that first step ahead of him. Although it was only for an instant, Lei Bao had seen it very clearly. Midway through Shi Fengs charge, Shi Fengs body had actually accelerated once more. At the moment of life and death, Shi Feng had actually managed to evade his fist and, in turn, landed a punch on him. While the audience had their heads in the clouds, trying to recall the scene where Shi Feng defeated Lei Bao, Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong, seated in the spectator stands, were both frozen with fear. Their hearts were also filled with immense regret. For a moment, they looked like they had aged more than a dozen years. After this battle, everybody would know about Shi Feng. His future would also be limitless. As of this moment, he was already a big shot of Jin Hai City. Meanwhile, Zhang Luowei, as Shi Fengs fellow student, had actually tried to take action against Shi Feng. Looking back at his past actions, he had simply been seeking his own death. As for Lan Hailong, if he had known before that Shi Feng was actually so powerful, he would have long since given his all to recruit Shi Feng. He definitely would not have feuded with Shi Feng over a measly Ling Feilong. At this point, both Zhang Luowei and Lan Hailong entertained thoughts of getting rid of Ling Feilong. If not for that damnable Ling Feilongs little tricks, they would have long since climbed onto Shi Fengs massive boat and ridden along his waves of success, instead of being enemies with Shi Feng as they were right now. Luowei, tomorrow, you and I will both go and meet with Shi Feng. If we do not dispel the rage in his heart, our future will be grim, Lan Hailong whispered helplessly. Indeed. Fortunately, we only have a minor dispute with Shi Feng. The main problem is Ling Feilong. After we return, we must make a clean break with him. It would be best if we taught Ling Feilong a lesson as well. Perhaps this might even make Shi Feng forget about all the earlier unpleasantries. Although Zhang Luowei was extremely reluctant, he still nodded his head heavily in reply to Lan Hailongs words. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 498 Overnight Fame Although the competition only lasted a moment, none of the spectators had been disappointed by the show. On the contrary, the stands exploded with excitement. He defeated Master Lei Bao at such a young age; his future will definitely be limitless! We really didnt waste the trip! Get Master Shi Fengs address. Rearrange my schedule as well. We must pay Master Shi Feng a visit! The audience was not comprised of your average citizens. Every one of them was a reputable member of society. Now that Shi Feng had defeated a top-tier master like Lei Bao, his future was limitless. A small stage like Jin Hai City would not hold Shi Feng. He could only shine brightest on the world stage. If they did not try to befriend Shi Feng now, they would never qualify to do so in the future. However, compared to these guests, the Chairman of Big Dipper, Xiao Yu, was so happy that he had nearly failed to contain his grin. He had originally thought that Lei Baos willingness to become the training centers Head Instructor had been Big Dippers greatest fortune. Xiao Yu had never expected Shi Feng to be so powerful, even capable of defeating a top-tier master like Lei Bao. This was a top-tier master! Even throughout the whole country, such mighty individuals were as rare as phoenix feathers. If Big Dipper Training Center employed such a martial arts master, its popularity and business would undoubtedly skyrocket. Uncle Xiao, how do you plan to thank me? After all, it was I who introduced Shi Feng to Big Dipper! Zhao Ruoxi grinned, her eyes flashing with pride and excitement. She felt as if Shi Fengs victory were her own, and she basked in the success. Of course, we cant forget about you! In a moment, Ill have a Diamond Member Card prepared for you. Big Dipper has only ever given out five of these Member Cards, so youll be the sixth, Xiao Yu laughed. Zhao Jianhua could not help his shock when he heard Xiao Yus words. Big Dippers Diamond Member Card was extraordinary. As a Diamond Member, one would receive a 50% discount, and all monthly expenses under a certain amount would be waived. Throughout Jin Hai City, only five people had received such privileges, and neither Zhao Jianhua nor Zhao Ruoxis father were of those five. Yet, his niece had actually become the sixth person to become one of Big Dippers Diamond Members. Indescribable feelings colored Zhao Jianhuas stern expression. Before they, the older generation, could even reach this far, the younger generation surpassed them. Of course, this was all accredited to Shi Fengs achievement. Now that Shi Feng had defeated Master Lei Bao, becoming famous overnight, even the giants in flourishing, first-rate cities would scramble to recruit Shi Feng, much less those in Jin Hai City. At this moment, Xiao Yu was deeply afraid he could not hold back a true dragon like Shi Feng. Now that he had a chance to solidify Big Dippers relationship with Shi Feng, he would maximize their generosity. After the competition ended, although Lei Bao had suffered relatively severe injuries, with the aid of modern technology and S-rank Nutrient Fluids, he would quickly recover to his peak condition. Master Shi Feng, I am convinced of my loss in this competition. Please dont hold back and state your conditions. Since I have made the promise, I will not go back on my word, Lei Bao said weakly as he joined Shi Feng in the lounge. At this moment, Lei Bao was still slightly pale. Lei Bao did not think that it was a coincidence that Shi Feng just so happened to have broken past his limits, obtaining power and physical reactions beyond his bodys capabilities, in the moment between life and death. At the very least, Shi Feng should have already touched the boundaries of that realm. Shi Feng was just a young man in his early twenties, yet, he had already reached such mastery. Shi Feng was easily stronger than Lei Bao himself. Lei Bao could not wrap his mind around it. Even if Shi Feng began training while still inside his mothers womb and had received all sorts of resources, he should not be able to obtain the power to surpass his physical limitations at such a young age If Lei Bao was a martial arts prodigy, then the man before him was a demon. Even if he were not convinced of his defeat, he had to accept it. Since Master Lei Bao has agreed, then I want you to join my Workshop, Shi Feng laughed. Lei Bao was a top-tier master who had trained both his inner and outer body to their limits. Shi Feng had only been able to defeat Lei Bao due to luck. Fortunately, Shi Fengs brain activity had improved before participating in this competition. He had even grasped the beginnings of the technique to unlock his brains physical limiter. Although he had only overcome the limiter for an instant, it had been enough for him to reach a new level of strength, allowing him to defeat his opponent. In addition, Lei Bao had also been caught unprepared. Otherwise, there was more than a 90% chance that Shi Feng would have suffered defeat in this competition. To Shi Fengs current self, it was still somewhat early for him to overcome his brains limiter. The brain limited a persons strength to protect the body. Before the physical body reached sufficient durability, actively trying to remove this limiter would only do more harm than good. Not to mention, Shi Feng had yet to grasp this power fully. It might seem that Shi Feng had only received a small scratch during the competition, but in reality, his body had been significantly damaged due to the explosive force he had displayed. Even without moving, Shi Feng felt like needles pricked his entire body. Hence, the moment Shi Feng returned to the lounge, he had madly consumed A-rank Nutrient Fluids to alleviate his pain. After this competition, he would not be able to train for quite some time. Join your Workshop? Lei Bao frowned. Every martial artist wished to remain free and unfettered. He barely had enough time to train and improve himself; how would he find the time to work? Master Lei Bao, please relax. My Workshop is a Virtual Gaming Workshop that focuses on the most popular game currently, Gods Domain. You only need to work at night while you rest. The Workshop will not interfere with your life during the day; you can do whatever you want during that time, Shi Feng slowly explained. He knew very well what Lei Bao worried about. Although Lei Bao had never come into contact with virtual reality games, especially Gods Domain, Lei Bao was still a top-tier martial arts master. Currently, although Aqua Rose and the others had the potential, their foundations were lacking. They still needed to improve before they could become top-tier experts. However, Lei Bao was different. His combat foundation was extremely sturdy. If he familiarized himself with his body in Gods Domain and integrated the techniques he had learned in real life, he could very quickly become one of Zero Wings top combatants. Okay, Im relieved to hear that. Lei Bao nodded. He then left the lounge. Lei Baos addition to Zero Wing would undoubtedly give the Guild another fierce general. While Shi Feng rested, three others entered the lounge. Lifting his head, Shi Feng noticed that one of the new arrivals was none other than Big Dippers Chairman, Xiao Yu with Liang Jing and Zhao Ruoxi following closely behind. At this moment, Zhao Ruoxi wore a blue one-piece that looked both light and elegant. Her inky hair scattered around her waist like a waterfall, adding a few hints of elegance to her originally innocent temperament. Upon entering the room, Zhao Ruoxi beamed at Shi Feng, both worry and joy filling her eyes. Now that Shi Feng had become famous overnight, the originally silent and unknown boy from school was no more. Now, he had become Jin Hai Citys focal point. Even Old Man Xu wished to have a proper chat with Shi Feng. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 499 Rising of Candleligh In the lounge, both Liang Jing and Xiao Yu approached Shi Feng with far more caution and respect than in the previous meetings. Only Zhao Ruoxi behaved as usual, smiling and laughing as she conversed with Shi Feng. There did not seem to be any signs of a barrier between them. Master Shi Feng, based on our previous arrangements, from today onwards, you will be Big Dippers Head Instructor. At the same time, you will also become one of Big Dippers Directors, and as you requested, Big Dipper will also come up with an area that will be under your sole management. Saying so, Xiao Yu took out a half-transparent card from his suits pocket, handing it to Shi Feng, This is Big Dippers Diamond Member Card. The cards information has already been updated. In the future, all of your expenses at Big Dipper will be free of charge. Moreover, Big Dipper will also specially reserve a Special Training Room for your use at any given time. When Zhao Ruoxi heard Xiao Yus words, even she could not help her shock. The usual training rooms only contained some fitness and testing equipment. However, Big Dippers Special Training Rooms were different. Big Dipper spared no expense when they had constructed these training rooms. Every item inside was state of the art. The entire room was also controlled by a quantum computer. These rooms were usually only provided to professional fighters. Normally, these rooms contained a dedicated combat robot. Special Training Rooms also came with full virtual combat videos and combat systems that stored beneficial data, which users could reference and learn from. There was even a gravity control device that allowed one to adjust the gravity in the room in order to produce better results. Furthermore, each room had a Health Cabin that could help its users alleviate physical fatigue, accelerate physical recovery, and maintain the best quality of sleep each day. Hence, many of Jin Hai Citys professional fighters loved come to Big Dipper. The training rooms in Big Dipper were categorized into four different ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Special. While the cost of each room increased with rank, the benefits also increased. It was especially true for the gravity settings. In the Basic Training Room, one could adjust the rooms gravity by 2g. The Intermediate Training Rooms gravity could be adjusted by 3g. In Advanced Training Rooms, one could change the gravity by 4g. In Special Training Rooms, one could increase or decrease the gravity by 6g. It was impossible for ordinary people to train in such an environment. Even moving ones fingers would be difficult. As for the rental fees, ordinary people could not even afford a Basic Training Room. It cost 3,000 Credits to rent a Basic Training Room for a day; that was almost a typical persons monthly salary; of course, your average citizen didnt even qualify to become a member of Big Dipper, to begin with. To professional fighters, however, this was easily affordable. The Intermediate Training Rooms cost 5,000 Credits per day. A majority of the citys professional fighters usually preferred to rent Intermediate Training Rooms. Unfortunately, there was not many available. Big Dipper only had 20 Advanced Training Rooms, and they cost 10,000 Credits to rent per day. This was practically the average price of renting a room at a 7-star hotel. As for Special Training Rooms, there were only five in the Big Dipper Training Center, or better yet, in all of Jin Hai City. The rental for these rooms was 30,000 Credits per day. However, one would be lucky if they even had the chance to rent one of these rooms. Yet, now, Big Dipper had specifically reserved one of these rooms for Shi Feng. Countless people would definitely turn green with envy if they found out. Ill have to trouble Chairman Xiao, then. Shi Feng did not hold back as he accepted the Diamond Member Card. With the Special Training Rooms gravity enhancement, his future training would yield far better results. Master Shi Feng, there is also the matter of the fifteen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and five virtual gaming cabins that we previously agreed to. Our Board of Directors has unanimously agreed to increase the count to thirty bottles and ten virtual gaming cabins. We will have the items delivered to you in a few days, Xiao Yu said with a smile. Also, I will have my Head Assistant, Liang Jing, follow you. She is always very efficient. If you have any matters in Big Dipper you need to deal with, please let her take care of them for you. Alright. Shi Feng did not refuse Xiao Yus offer. He had no reason to refuse to begin with. Aside from how important S-rank Nutrient Fluids were to him, just the ten virtual gaming cabins could raise Zero Wings Workshop to a whole new level. It would no longer be just your average Workshop. As for the assistant named Liang Jing, Shi Feng did not know much about Big Dipper. If he wanted Big Dipper to take care of some matters for him, such as training the members of his Workshop, an assistant like Liang Jing would definitely come in handy; she could save him a lot of trouble. Regardless of the others optimistic view of his development in the fighting world, Shi Feng had no intention of changing career paths. He only had one goal in his heartGods Domain. After all, Gods Domain held the worlds future. After Shi Feng chatted with Xiao Yu and the others for a while, he returned to his apartment. Before he left, Xiao Yu had Liang Jing prepare five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids for him, which would help him quickly recover from the injuries he had suffered during the match with Lei Bao. After returning home, Shi Feng immediately drank a bottle before resting in the virtual gaming cabin and logging into Gods Domain. A virtual gaming cabin also functioned as a Health Cabin. Only, it had an additional function of allowing its user to log into Gods Domain. Hence, when recovering from an injury, it would be best to lie inside a virtual gaming cabin. The time was currently 7 pm. Although it was still dark in Gods Domain, the sound of three system notifications rang in Shi Fengs ears the moment he logged in. These three notifications informed him of the two Candlelight Trading Firms completion in White River City and one in Star-Moon City. The construction of all three Firms had finished during the day outside of Gods Domain. Moreover, all three Shops had attracted quite a bit of attention, the two Candlelight Trading Firms in White River City in particular. Both Shops were exquisite three-story-tall buildings. Moreover, as both buildings had suddenly appeared beside White River Citys Auction House and Bank, they had no difficulty attracting notice. In the end, many players had entered the buildings out of curiosity. Before they had investigated these new buildings, they had been ignorant. The moment they did, however, they were immediately startled. Not only were the Shops equipped with a full range of items that players required, but the furnishing inside was also luxurious and magnificent. Both Candlelight Trading Firms were far more glamorous than the Starstreak Trading Firm. There were even lounges available in the two Shops that allowed visiting players to enjoy beverages while they shopped. Most importantly was the appearance of an item that everyone in White River City thirsted for. That item was the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit. Although the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits were inferior to the Basic Mana Armor Kits, the latter was simply too scarce. Despite many people having heard of the item before, they had never personally seen it. Now that the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits had appeared in the two Candlelight Trading Firms, the first batch of players to enter the Shops fought desperately to purchase them, afraid that the Armor Kits would sell out in a heartbeat. Shi Feng had given Melancholic Smile the authority to determine the goods prices in the Shops, so it was up to her to decide at what price she wanted to sell the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits for. Yet, despite having set the initial price of the Armor Kits at 11 Silver Coins, it had taken only an instant for more than a hundred to sell. As a result, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to raise the price once more. In the end, the price of the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit rose gradually from the initial 11 Silver to its current price of 16 Silver per kit. This price had far surpassed Shi Fengs initial expectation. Even so, in a short dozen or so hours, the three Shops in White River City and Star-Moon City sold more than 6,000 kits. Moreover, due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, every player in White River City now knew about the newly established Candlelight Trading Firms. As a result, more players began to visit the Trading Firms, allowing business at the two Shops to flourish. By the time Shi Feng logged into the game, the two Candlelight Trading Firms in White River City were already packed full of people. Everyone rushed to purchase the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. In addition to the several dozen sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment that had sold at the Blackwing Auction House, Shi Feng had suddenly become a wealthy man again, with more than 10,000 Gold in his pockets. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 500 Exclusive Control White River City, Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence: Vice-Leader Youlan, Ive finished my investigation of the Candlelight Trading Firm, a Level 23 male Assassin reported upon entering Overwhelming Smiles meeting room. Who started it? Youlan asked in a hurry. Currently, Overwhelming Smile suffered in the field battles against Zero wing. Their daily Coin expenditures were also quite significant. Although Underworld had increased their investment in Overwhelming Smile, funds in particular, it was truly not easy to convert Credits into Coins. Despite spending a massive amount to purchase Coins, the Guilds supply barely maintained balance with its consumption. In the beginning, Youlan had not expected that repairing equipment would cost so much. However, her thoughts changed as the Guilds death toll continued to increase. Dying once might not cost much, but after two or three deaths, the Guild members had spent practically all of their remaining Coins. Afterward, in order to repair their equipment, these Guild members had no choice but to choose Coins as compensation. This situation had immediately given Youlan, who had initially been quite confident, a huge headache. She wished she could choke Black Flame to death. They had already paid out more than 1,000 Gold as compensation, not to mention the amount of Credits they had compensated. Moreover, it wouldnt be long before the Guild had to pay compensation solely in Coins. After all, if players did not repair their equipment, they could not go out and level up. If their equipment became scrap, they would have to purchase new equipment to serve as a replacement. However, good equipment was not easy to obtain. Every piece of a players equipment had been earned through blood and sweat; losing even a single piece was a painful loss. If they lost every piece of equipment they had on them Hence, before the Durability of their equipment reached a critical point, even if players had to purchase Coins with Credits, spending their entire fortune, they had to repair their equipment. However, there was one point that confused Youlan greatly. Though Overwhelming Smiles losses were very heavy, Zero Wings losses should not be any less. Not to mention, Zero Wing was not using Credits as a form of compensation at all. Its consumption of Gold should be significantly higher than theirs. Yet, even until now, not only had Zero Wing showed no signs of lacking money, but it was also spending more money than before. It was inconceivable! From the information Youlan had overheard, she knew that, aside from constructing the best Smithy available, Zero Wing had also purchased several sets of Dragonscale Set Equipment. At the very least, they would have to spend more than 2,000 Gold on these purchases. Not to mention, there was also the Gold they had to give out as compensation for the war of attrition. Even Underworld would find it difficult to spend so much in such a short time. Youlan could only see one end, Overwhelming Smile withdrawing from White River City, if things continued like this in their war of attrition. Hence, they needed to make a major change now. They must find a way to earn a large sum of Gold. If one wanted to earn a large sum of Coins in Gods Domain, the only way to do so was through trade. Although the Guild Quests published in the Guild Residence were a large source of income, that potential was nothing compared to the money one could earn through trade. Although the various large Guilds of Gods Domain possessed a lot of Gold, compared to the countless players in Gods Domain, this sum was insignificant. Even if Overwhelming Smile only earned 1 Silver from each of the millions of players in White River City, the total would be several tens of thousands of Gold. At that time, they could easily afford a war with several other large Guilds simultaneously, much less afford to deal with a single Zero Wing. In White River City, the most powerful trading firm was currently the Starstreak Trading Firm. Not only did the Firm occupy a strategic location, but it also possessed Land in the seven cities surrounding White River City, allowing it to sell items to players in eight cities and earn tons of Gold daily. The amount the Firm earned each day was enough to make one drool. Unfortunately, the Starstreak Trading Firm was an NPCs property, not a players. Despite exhausting all of their means, the various large Guilds in White River City were unable to form a cooperative relationship with the Starstreak Trading Firm. In the end, they could only give up on their endeavors and try to open up their own Shops. However, White River Citys ordinary Lands were not particularly valuable. Currently, the various Guilds had all set their sights on the golden Lands of the city and were consistently accumulating money and raising their Reputation to achieve that goal. Now, however, the Candlelight Trading Firm had appeared and purchased two golden Lands ahead of the other Guilds. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm was not a match for the Starstreak Trading Firm, with the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits and the full range of products, it, too, stood among White River Citys top trading firms. Over time, if the Candlelight Trading Firm introduced several other items that players direly needed, it would definitely surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm and become the number one trading firm in White River City. Moreover, unlike the Starstreak Trading Firm, a player had established and owned the Candlelight Trading Firm. That signified the possibility of cooperation. Thus, Youlan had sent her subordinate to investigate the firm. I heard that the manager there is a young woman named Melancholic Smile. Moreover, she is a forger, and was once a forger employed by the Starstreak Trading Firm, the male Assassin said slowly. In addition, aside from that woman, two other Starstreak forgers seemed to have defected to Candlelight as well. The three of them produced the Basic Strengthening Armor Kits. Good, youve done well. Youlan smiled. Melancholic Smile. This is my first time hearing this name. There really are a lot of capable people in White River City. It seems that Ill need to make a personal visit to the Candlelight Trading Firm to have a chat. Overwhelming Smile wasnt the only Guild with such thoughts. Several other large Guilds also began to eye the Candlelight Trading Firm. Such a thriving trading firm was no different from a large gold mine that could provide their Guilds with various resources. If they could obtain the trading firm, they could instantly raise their Guilds strength by leaps and bounds. \--- Meanwhile, Shi Feng once again had over 10,000 Gold in his pockets, and he began to reconsider the plots of Land in Star-Moon City again. Currently, as the Underground Arena was not particularly popular, the Candlelight Trading Firms business there was only passable. Attracting the attention of Star-Moon Citys players would be far easier if he set up a Shop in the citys central district. Unfortunately, as Lifeless Blade was only an ordinary noble in Star-Moon City, he could only purchase ordinary Land; he did not qualify to purchase the Lands in the central district and golden areas of Star-Moon City. I need to think of a better way to raise my Reputation! Shi Feng tried to recall information relating to Star-Moon Citys resources. After he pondered for some time, Shi Fengs eyes suddenly shone. Immediately, he hailed a horse carriage and hurried to the Palace. Star-Moon City was Star-Moon Kingdoms core, so it was not easy to raise ones Reputation here. If players relied on Reputation Quests, it would take them ages before they could become a Baron of Star-Moon City. For this reason, many players had given up on the notion of doing business in Star-Moon City and had shifted their aim towards other cities instead. However, there were many players in Star-Moon City. There was bound to be a few amazing characters amongst the millions of players. In the past, there were several independent players who had taken the lead and managed to become Barons, even Viscounts, before the various large Guilds. In the end, these independent players had claimed a few good Lands for themselves, taking the opportunity to make a fortune. The monthly rental they received was enough to allow them to live in luxury for the rest of their days. Despite being independent players, these few individuals were not ordinary characters; they were not penniless individuals. Instead, they were relatively wealthy individuals. They had been relatively famous in several other virtual reality games and had earned large sums of money during their time playing those games. Meanwhile, through a special method, these people had managed to grind large amounts of Reputation Points in a relatively short amount of time, quickly becoming Barons. After this incident was revealed, these players had become the envy of every player in Star-Moon City. That method was very simple. Players needed to purchase some supplies with Coins, then contribute these supplies to a certain Grand Duke to receive Reputation Points for Star-Moon City. Unfortunately, the conversion ratio of Coins to Reputation Points would make any ordinary player curse the system. However, Shi Feng did not lack money right now; he only lacked time. Even if it were a more expensive method, he would still employ it. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 501 Grand Duke Hartfield The lights shone brightly outside of Star-Moon Citys Palace. At this moment, the street adjacent to the Palace looked as if it held a large-scale celebration; a crowd of players exploded with excitement. Players filled both sides of the street, shouting and selling their wares. Star-Moon City was different from the other ordinary cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. The traffic here was constant, with players coming and going from other kingdoms and empires. Hence, unlike in other cities where players could only set up their Stalls once every three or four days in specified areas, players could set up their Stalls in Star-Moon City every day. Only, a fee was required to set up a Stall; it was not free. Even with the fee, a large number of players were still willing to set up their Stalls to sell items rather than using the Auction House and paying a heavier fee. Even if they sold their items at a lower price here, they could still make a higher profit. Normally, players would only choose to sell their items through the Auction House if they were in a hurry for money or they wished to obtain a better price for rare and precious items. As the items sold at Stalls were much cheaper, many independent players and large Guilds would come here to purchase the materials and items they needed. Shi Feng had come to this place precisely to purchase some supplies. The method of exchanging Coins for Reputation Points was, in reality, a Special Quest found in Star-Moon City. To players who focused on raiding Dungeons and grinding monsters to level up, they might never discover this Special Quest. However, to players who leveled up slowly and focused more on enjoying the game itself, it was not particularly difficult to find the quest. As long as they listened for information in the capital city, they could obtain some clues leading to the quest. Meanwhile, this clue was that Grand Duke Hartfields daughter had fallen ill and was in urgent need of a large amount of Herbs. The quest only required one stack of Ordinary Herbs. Upon completing this quest, players would receive a certain amount of money and EXP. Meanwhile, players could accept this quest indefinitely. Unfortunately, the amount of money and EXP wasnt quite worth the value of the Herbs. In the past, wealthy players who wished to level up quickly had spent money to increase their EXP through such quests. Even so, they did not invest a lot of money in this method of leveling. After all, Coins were very valuable during the initial stages of the game. Nobody would spend them foolishly. In the past, as everyone had been convinced that this Special Quest was merely a method that allowed one to exchange money for EXP, a few insane individuals, who had not wanted to level up in the fields, began to purchase Herbs in bulk, turning them in to complete the Special Quest. In such a way, these individuals each traded in 1,500 stacks of Herbs, reaching a critical point of this quest. When a player traded in 1,500 stacks of Herbs, Grand Duke Hartfield would no longer reward said player with money and EXP. Instead, the Grand Duke rewarded the player with a Thank You Gift. One could obtain a variety of items from this Gift. Among them, there was a 10% chance to obtain a Reputation Book. When used, the Reputation Book would give the user a certain amount of Star-Moon City Reputation Points. This was why Shi Feng had come to this bazaar to purchase Herbs in bulk, either Ordinary Herbs or Rare Herbs. After making a round through the bazaar and investigating the general prices of Herbs, Shi Feng began shouting through the trade channel, Buying Ordinary Herbs, 40 Copper per stack; Rare Herbs, three Silver per stack! Will buy as many as you have! The trade channel was a unique channel only available in bazaars. Any players in the bazaar could receive the messages sent through this channel. However, players who wished to shout their messages needed to pay a fee of 1 Silver per message. Though the length of each message was limited to 100 words, it was a valuable promotion tool. With this, Shi Feng could save himself a lot of trouble. The amount and prices of Herbs at each Stall varied greatly. If Shi Feng had to visit every Stall in the bazaar, even if he exhausted himself to death, he would only acquire a small amount. Hence, rather than haggling with every Stall owner, he might as well offer to purchase Herbs at an average price. Naturally, interested players would hunt him down to sell their goods. Shortly after Shi Fengs announcement, a large number of players rushed towards him. Boss, how many Herbs do you want to buy? Big Brother Swordsman, look! I have excellent quality Herbs! I can even lower the price if you buy them in bulk! The players that had hurried over all looked at Shi Feng like hungry wolves. They crowded around him, rushing to sell their Herbs. Their intensity far exceeded Shi Fengs initial expectations. Alright, alright, no need to rush. All of you, line up and trade with me. Shi Feng smiled as he motioned for the crowd to calm down. Sure enough, players enthusiasm in the capital city is a lot more intense. However, after giving it some thought, their enthusiasm was only natural. Players were currently busy with leveling and were not particularly enthusiastic about Lifestyle classes. Although Guilds nurtured their own alchemists, the Guilds could easily supply the amount of Herbs their alchemists needed. They didnt need to purchase any. More importantly, the crowd was so excited because the demand for Herbs was usually quite low. As useful potion recipes were extremely rare, demand for Herbs had dropped even further. In addition, Star-Moon Kingdom was not a Herb-poor kingdom, resulting in the prices of Herbs remaining relatively low. Despite there being 20 Herbs in each stack, Ordinary Herbs only sold for 40 Copper per stack. Even Rare Herbs only sold for three Silver per stack. One could imagine just how worthless Herbs were. Yet, even with such low prices, few people were willing to purchase Herbs, which explained why everyone was so excited to see Shi Feng. Players would frequently encounter Herbs while adventuring, and they would usually collect these Herbs to sell in bulk at a later time. Now, these players actions benefited Shi Feng. In a short moment, Shi Feng had purchased 2,000 stacks of Ordinary Herbs and 200 stacks of Rare Herbs, spending 14 Gold in total. To other players, this might be an astronomical sum, but to Shi Feng, this was only a drop in the bucket. Sorry, but my bags full. Everyone, please wait here for a while. Ill come back to purchase more in just a moment. Shi Feng hurriedly turned and ran towards the Grand Dukes mansion. Reluctance filled the crowds eyes as they watched Shi Fengs departing figure. However, when they heard that he would return to purchase more later, they all chose to remain there, quietly awaiting his return. At this time of year, there were simply too few players willing to purchase Herbs. Now that one such player had emerged, how could they easily give up on this opportunity? They would wait a few hours if they had to, not to mention a few minutes. The Grand Dukes mansion was only a short distance from the Palace; the journey there only took Shi Feng a dozen minutes or so. After entering the Grand Dukes mansion, after the Level 150 Great Stewards introduction, Shi Feng arrived before the Level 200 Grand Duke Hartfield. After a brief conversation, Grand Duke Hartfield began telling Shi Feng the problem burdening his daughter. After which, Shi Feng received the Special Quest to acquire Herbs. He then retrieved the Herbs from his bag, one stack after another. For every stack of Herbs Shi Feng turned in, he received 20 Copper and 2,000 EXP in return. Though Shi Feng took a loss of 20 Copper with each exchange, he did not pay it any mind. Compared to forging, his leveling speed from handing in the Herbs was several times faster. As soon as he gave the Grand Duke the Herbs, he immediately received EXP. The process was very fast and convenient. In mere moments, Shi Feng had turned in 1,500 stacks of Ordinary Herbs, earning a total of 3 Gold Coins and 3,000,000 EXP. In less than half an hour, Shi Fengs experience bar rose significantly. Earning 3,000,000 EXP in half an hour was an incredibly efficient way to level up. Unfortunately, after turning in the 1,500th stack of Herbs, he only received a Thank You Gift for every subsequent stack of Herbs he turned in. As there were still a large number of players waiting for him to purchase their goods, Shi Feng wasted no time as he turned in all of the Herbs in his possession. Unlike Ordinary Herbs, he would receive ten Thank You Gifts for each stack of Rare Herbs. In terms of money, it was much more worthwhile to trade Rare herbs for the Gifts instead. Unfortunately, Rare Herbs were too scarce. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 502 Twilight Treasure Ches Shi Feng traded all of his Ordinary Herbs and Rare Herbs for Thank You Gifts in one fell swoop. Suddenly, Shi Feng noticed that Grand Duke Hartfields gaze had changed slightly. The Grand Dukes originally stern expression seemed to have softened significantly. Was I just imagining things? After Shi Fengs brain activity had improved, his five senses and intuition had become extraordinarily sharp. Advanced NPCs of Gods Domain possessed very high intelligence; it was even higher than ordinary players. It was especially true for a Level 200, Tier 3 NPC like Grand Duke Hartfield. Although Hartfield might not be as strong as Magistrate Weissman, not even Weissman dared to offend the Grand Duke. Hartfield was the only Grand Duke throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, while the others were just Dukes. In Star-Moon Kingdom, his position was only below that of the King and equal to that of the kingdoms Grand Marshall, Adolf Cerret. Working with the Grand Marshall, they protected the kingdom from both inside and outside threats. If Shi Feng could form a relationship with Grand Duke Hartfield, it would greatly benefit his future development in Star-Moon Kingdom. Forget it. Its best to just focus on raising my Reputation. Shi Feng shook his head to clear his mind. He then departed from the Grand Dukes mansion and returned to purchasing Herbs. The Thank You Gifts did not take up a lot of space, with each stack holding up to 1,000 Gifts. Shi Feng had received a total of 2,500 Gifts, which took up only three bag slots. Upon arriving at the bazaar in front of the Palace Sure enough, the Herb-selling players had not moved. The moment these players noticed Shi Fengs return, they immediately rushed over to welcome him. In moments, Shi Fengs bag was filled to the brim once more. He then returned to the Grand Dukes mansion and began to trade the Herbs for more Thank You Gifts. After spending several hours ferrying Herbs from the bazaar to the Grand Dukes mansion, Shi Feng had purchased close to half of all the available Herbs in Star-Moon Kingdom, his total expenditure exceeding 400 Gold. Originally, Shi Feng had hoped to continue purchasing Herbs. However, his high-profile actions had attracted a lot of attention, and many people had begun secretly investigating the reason behind Shi Fengs purchases. After all, no Guild lacked Herbs. Even if a Guild were trying to nurture a large number of alchemists, there should be no need for such a massive supply. It should be about time to call it quits. Shi Feng glanced at the several Assassins spying on him from a distance. He would not give any of these people the slightest of opportunities to discover his intentions. Every time he visited the Grand Dukes mansion, he would look for a secluded location before disguising himself. Even if his trackers were quite capable, without a particularly high-ranking Identification Skill such as Omniscient Eyes, it would be impossible for them to see through his disguise. In reality, Shi Feng did not have to pay these people any heed. Even if they discovered this Special Quest, no Guild would willingly spend so much money to earn some EXP. To be safe, however, Shi Feng still disguised himself to avoid these players discovering the method of using money to earn Reputation Points just yet. After he finished purchasing his last batch of Herbs, Shi Feng departed from the bazaar and randomly picked a restaurant to enter. After using the Demon Mask to disguise his appearance, he boldly strode out of the restaurant and headed towards Grand Duke Hartfields mansion. Inside the Grand Dukes abode, Shi Feng habitually walked up to the Grand Duke and took out the final 1,000 stacks of Ordinary Herbs and 1,000 stacks of Rare Herbs from his bag, trading them all for Thank You Gifts. Suddenly, the familiar sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Grand Duke Hartfields Favorability increased by 30 points. Sure enough, this Special Quest is not as simple as it seems. Shi Feng grew slightly excited upon seeing this system notification. The higher ranked an NPC was, the more difficult it was to raise their Favorability. The fact that he had increased the Grand Dukes Favorability just by spending around 400 Gold was completely worth it. However, giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng felt that this result was quite reasonable. After all, he had already earned close to 120,000 Thank You Gifts. If each stack could hold 1,000 Gifts, that was close to 120 stacks. Currently, the prices of Herbs were only this cheap due to the fact that players of Gods Domain were still low-leveled and did not have much use for them. If Shi Feng waited two more weeks or so, the money he would have to spend to earn 120,000 Thank You Gifts would most likely increase by several folds If the Grand Duke had nothing to say even after such a huge contribution, his heart was definitely made of stone. Young Adventurer, thank you for your enthusiastic contributions. With this many Herbs, I can extract a sufficient amount of Herbal Essence to cure my daughter. To show my gratitude, you may use those Thank You Gifts to trade for the treasures I usually store inside my treasury, Grand Duke Hartfield said happily. Your Highness Hartfield, it will be my honor, Shi Feng replied, immense joy filling his heart. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to open the Thank You Gifts he had amassed in one sitting. He had never expected the Gifts to have such a purpose. Most likely, not even those several wealthy players in the past had exchanged as many Herbs as he had. Steward, take this adventurer to have a look, Grand Duke Hartfield said. Yes, the Grand Steward answered before leading Shi Feng to the treasury on the third floor. The Grand Dukes treasury was heavily guarded. The six white-robed knights guarding the entrance were Level 200 Tier 3 Judgement Knights. Not to mention, there was even a Tier 5 magic array protecting the vault. Even a Tier 4 class would require a significant amount of time to break through such a powerful magic array. Upon entering the treasury, Shi Feng discovered that the place looked very much like a museum, with many treasures on display. This is the list of treasures. You are allowed to redeem the Gifts for any of the items inside. The Grand Steward passed a list to Shi Feng. There were not many items available for exchange on the list. However, Shi Feng was not surprised. Grand Duke Hartfields Favorability towards him was only 30 points. The fact that the Grand Duke was willing to let him trade his Thank You Gifts for treasures was already a considerable outcome. If he wished to trade for every item in this treasury, he would need to raise the Grand Dukes Favorability towards him to at least 300 points. Shi Feng then examined the list of items. Sure enough, every item was very basic. The majority consisted of weapons and equipment that were close to his current Level, whereas the quality of the items ranged between Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, their prices were not cheap. Even the most basic piece of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment required 1,000 Thank You Gifts. If converted to Coins, it would cost 4 Gold. If not for the Herbs he bought being cheap, 1,000 Gifts would cost eight Gold or more. Moreover, these Level 25 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment were all individual pieces and not Set Equipment. To Shi Feng, these items did not serve much purpose. Just as Shi Feng felt that he had nothing to gain here, he suddenly discovered the name of a very familiar item at the bottom of the list. Isnt this the Twilight Treasure Chest? The Twilight Treasure Chest had been very famous in Gods Domain. It was also referred to as both the Treasure Chest of Luck and the Indiscriminate Treasure Chest. Only Elite monsters that were Level 30 and above had a very low chance to drop the Twilight Treasure Chest. As for why it was called the Indiscriminate Treasure Chest, the items one could obtain from it were extremely random. One might only receive two or three Copper and some trash items. One might also receive Epic or even Fragmented Legendary items. In general, the items one could get from the Twilight Treasure Chest relied heavily on luck. In the past, the majority of the players who had obtained this item would promptly toss it onto the Auction House, selling it for around one Gold rather than opening it themselves. On the other hand, each Twilight Treasure Chest only required 100 Thank You Gifts to redeem. In other words, each Twilight Treasure Chest would cost Shi Feng 40 Silver, which was significantly cheaper than its price in his past life. Luck? When Shi Feng looked at the Twilight Treasure Chest, he suddenly recalled the Icaruss Heart around his neck. This was a godly tool that could instantly raise his Luck by 25 points. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 503 Yang Walker Shi Feng looked at the Twilight Treasure Chest and pondered his situation carefully. Currently, he had nearly 120,000 Thank You Gifts on him; they were definitely enough to raise his Reputation to a sufficient level. The Luck Attribute could be applied in various aspects. Aside from monster drops, Luck also played a significant role in opening treasure chests and gift boxes, though the effects were not as prominent as they were with drops. However, Icaruss Heart only gave Shi Feng 5 points of Luck under normal circumstances; that amount was too little to make a significant difference when opening treasure chests. Based on Shi Fengs understanding of the Luck statistic, 5 points would not even double his drop-rate when opening a treasure chest. Meanwhile, the Twilight Treasure Chest was famed for being a miser of good items. Only by activating Divine Providence and boosting his Luck to 25 points would his chances significantly improve when opening a treasure chest. However, Divine Providence only had a duration of 30 seconds, whereas its Cooldown lasted one hour. Lets decide after I raise my Reputation, saying so, Shi Feng began opening the Thank You Gifts. Each Thank You Gift only required one second to open. Shi Feng opened ten Gifts in a row. Aside from obtaining some Copper Coins, he also obtained two Reputation Books, the Gifts yielding far more than he had expected. Each Reputation Book could raise the users Star-Moon City Reputation by 1 point. Unfortunately, the book could not be traded. Otherwise, Shi Feng really would sell them to the public. However, these Reputation Books effects weakened as a players Reputation grew. Below 100 points, the book would raise a players Reputation by 1 point with a 100% success rate. After reaching 100 points, there was only a 60% chance. At 200 points, that success rate fell further to 30%, 20% at 300 points, and 10% at 400 points. When a players Reputation reached 500 points, there was only a 3% chance to increase their Reputation by 1 point when using the Reputation Book. To become a Baron, players required 500 Reputation Points. To become a Viscount, players required 1,000 Reputation Points. If Shi Feng hoped to become a Viscount by relying on the Reputation Books, he would have to expend a staggering number. As for becoming a Count, which was one rank above a Viscount, that was practically impossible. That was because a player needed 3,000 Reputation Points to become a Count. The effects of just having 5 points of Luck is really quite good. I wonder if it will be possible to obtain the Mastery Book? Shi Feng grinned. With 5 points of Luck, his chance of obtaining Reputation Books from the Thank You Gifts was indeed higher than other players. However, other than Copper Coins and Reputation Books, there was also an extremely small chance for players to obtain Mastery Books. Mastery was something very important to any player in Gods Domain. Taking Shi Feng for example, as his Mastery was very high, his basic attacks dealt more damage compared to other players. If he could raise his One-handed Sword Masterys rank to a Basic Sword Master, he could increase his basic sword attack damage by 30%; that was 10% more than an Advanced Swordsman. With a 10% difference in basic attacks, the skill damage difference was even higher. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was only dozens of points away from becoming a Basic Sword Master. If he could obtain Mastery Books, he could advance his combat power further. By the time he went to the Ancient Battlefield to sharpen his techniques, he would also obtain better effects. Shi Feng then began to open the Thank You Gifts frantically. One hundred Three hundred Five hundred One thousand After spending several hours, Shi Feng opened more than 10,000 Thank You Gifts and obtained a total of 2,000 Reputation Books. In addition, he had also luckily obtained eight Mastery Books. Each Mastery Book could give him 1 Mastery Point with 100% certainty. Will Divine Providence have an effect on the increase in Reputation? When Shi Feng thought about how, after his Reputation reached 100 points, the Reputation Books no longer gave him 1 Reputation Point with 100% certainty, then meant that luck was involved. Since luck was involved, then it was definitely related to the Luck Attribute. Shi Feng grinned slightly as he activated Divine Providence. Suddenly, a faint golden glow covered Shi Fengs body as if he had received a blessing from heaven as he became the absolute focal point inside the entire treasury. Immediately, Shi Feng began to activate the 2,000 Reputation Books. The activation process of a Reputation Book was very fast. The book would activate with a single click. Shi Feng could gain many Reputation Books in just 30 seconds. In the next moment, Shi Fengs finger transformed into an afterimage. With Shi Fengs speed, he could click dozens of times every second. Following which, Shi Feng heard the ringing of a continuous stream of system notifications. System: Congratulations! You have gained 1 Star-Moon City Reputation Point! System: Congratulations! You have gained 1 Star-Moon City Reputation Point! System: Congratulations! You have gained 1 Star-Moon City Reputation Point! Thirty seconds later, of the 2,000 Reputation Books Shi Feng obtained, only a little more than 700 remained. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs Reputation in Star-Moon City had also risen to 436 points; he was only 64 points away from becoming a Baron. The Divine Providences effects were remarkable. Sure enough, it is effective, Shi Feng immediately grew excited. Using this method, he could save a large number of Thank You Gifts. At this rate, not to mention becoming a Viscount, he could even give becoming a Count. Hence, Shi Feng frantically opened Thank You Gifts once more. It just so happened that Divine Providence was on Cooldown during this period. An hour later, Shi Feng began another round of clicking Reputation Books. Thirty seconds later, Shi Fengs Reputation rose from 416 points to 578 points. Following which, Shi Feng continued opening the Thank You Gifts. After opening more than 30,000 Gifts, Shi Fengs Reputation had finally reached 1,000 points, becoming a Viscount of Star-Moon City. In addition, he had also obtained a total of 21 Mastery Books. Originally, Shi Feng still intended to continue raising his Reputation. However, seeing as there were less than 90,000 Thank You Gifts remaining, even if he used Divine Providence, it would not be enough for him to become a Count. Hence, Shi Feng gave up on the notion. However, this result had already surpassed Shi Fengs initial expectations. Normally, 120,000 Thank You Gifts might not even be enough for him to become a Viscount. In this aspect, Divine Providence had truly played a significant role. However, now that Shi Feng had 21 Mastery Books, as long as he strived, he could raise his One-handed Sword Mastery to 150 points, reaching the standard of a Basic Sword Master. Hence, Shi Feng continued the process of opening the Thank You Gifts and had even used Divine Providence to aid him in his endeavor. After opening another 10,000 or so Thank You Gifts, Shi Feng accumulated a total of 48 Mastery Books. Immediately, he upgraded his One-handed Sword Mastery to the standard of a Basic Sword Master, his basic damage increasing by 30%. At this moment, Shi Feng had less than 80,000 Thank You Gifts remaining. At once, Shi Feng exchanged all of them for Twilight Treasure Chests. Each Twilight Treasure Chest cost 100 Thank You Gifts. In the end, Shi Feng had gained close to 800 Twilight Treasure Chests. He would have to spend close to 800 Gold if he bought so many anywhere else. After Divine Providences Cooldown completed Twilight Treasure Chest, you better not disappoint me! Shi Feng took out nine Twilight Treasure Chests and set them on the ground. Taking a deep breath, he immediately activated Divine Providence and swiftly began activating the treasure chests before him. As time passed, the silver colored treasure chests inlaid with purple crystals were swiftly opened. One chest Two chests Three chests Finally, Shi Feng managed to open the nine Twilight Treasure Chests within 30 seconds. The nine Twilight Treasure Chests released a colorful brilliance as their lids were removed, making the entire treasury shine beautifully. Shi Feng then began collecting the items inside the treasure chests. As Shi Feng collected the items inside the sixth Twilight Treasure Chest, he suddenly froze. With disbelief, he retrieved a beautiful chestplate that gave off both a black and white glow. Yin-Yang Walker! * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 504 Tier 1 Set Equipmen In Gods Domain, one could obtain a wide variety of items from the Twilight Treasure Chest. However, the chance of obtaining good equipment was incredibly small. As for set equipment, dont even think about it. Yet, the armor called Yin-Yang Walker before Shi Feng was indeed a part of a set equipment. For a moment, Shi Feng even questioned his own vision. If it were any other set equipment, at most, Shi Fengs good luck would have surprised him. However, the Yin-Yang Walker was different. It was a special set equipment just like the Warfire Set Equipment. However, if Shi Feng had to decide which set was better, without a doubt, it would be the Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment before him. Although the Warfire Set Equipment could be upgraded to Fine-Gold Rank, the Yin-Yang Walker was a Tier 1 Set Equipment. A Tier 1 Set Equipment was an exclusive set for Tier 1 classes. Although it had no grade, its boost to a Tier 1 players combat power even surpassed Dark-Gold Set Equipment. However, a Tier 1 Set Equipment also possessed heavy restrictions as only designated classes could use it. Moreover, the set would bind to a player when equipped, and it could neither be dropped nor traded. However, it could be destroyed if its Durability reached zero. Moreover, the repair fees for a Tier 1 Set Equipment could rival those of Epic ranked weapons and equipment. Despite having so many restrictions, a majority of the experts in Gods Domain loved these sets. However, it was extremely difficult to obtain a Tier 1 Set Equipment, as only Level 20 or higher Great Lords had a chance to drop them. Both Great Lords in the fields and in Dungeons had the same drop-rate. Tier 1 Set Equipment was also known as the best set equipment, other than Epic Set Equipment, available for Tier 1 players. It truly lived up to its name. The minimum level of a Tier 1 Set Equipment was Level 20, and its Attributes would increase alongside the players level to Level 50, which was when players could Class Change from a Tier 1 class to a Tier 2 class. If a player had a Tier 1 Set Equipment when they carried out their Tier 2 Class Change Quest, the quest would undoubtedly be easier to complete. Shi Feng then appraised the Yin-Yang Walkers chestplate. [Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment] Level 20 - Level 50 Equipment Requirement: Tier 1 Guardian Knight Set consists of five parts: head, chest, hands, legs, and feet. Binds when equipped. Set effect Two-piece effect: Defend skill increased by 3 Levels, Defense increased by 10%, damage received reduced by 15%, and healing received increased by 15%. Four-piece effect: Endurance increased by 15%, and Strength increased by 10%. Obtain Yin-Yang Shield skill: Cast a magic shield on yourself, reducing all magic damage received by 60% and gaining immunity to all control effects for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes. Five-piece effect: Receive one stack of Yin-Yang Energy every time damage is received. After 30 stacks, Yin-Yang Power skill can be activated: Hatred increased by 100%, all attacks deal holy damage, all Guardian Knight skill effects increased by 50%, and all Attributes increased by 15% for 24 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes. If I can gather the complete set and give it to a Tier 1 Guardian Knight, tanking Bosses in large-scale Team Dungeons will be a breeze. Shi Feng inwardly sighed as he read the Yin-Yang Walkers set effects. Obtaining even a single piece from the Twilight Treasure Chest was already nearly impossible. Trying to obtain the complete set would be a miracle. The effect of having 25 Luck is better than I expected. Shi Feng was utterly satisfied. He then looked at the large number of Twilight Treasure Chests in his bag, chuckling, With so many Twilight Treasure Chests, I refuse to believe that Divine Providence wont net me any other good items. Shi Feng had already decided. As soon as the Cooldown of Divine Providence completed, he would use it to open the treasure chests. With more than 700 Twilight Treasure Chests, even if he could not earn back the cost of all the Herbs he had bought, he would not suffer too huge of a loss, either. Soon, Shi Feng collected the remaining items from the treasure chests and stored them in his bag. Other than the Yin-Yang Walker, the nine Twilight Treasure Chests only yielded ordinary items. Shi Feng had only obtained a few Silver Coins and some rare materials, as well as a forging design to create the Light Stone. Although it was a forging design, it wasnt very valuable; it was not worth even 30 Silver. This was because the Light Stone Forging Design was quite common. It had a chance to drop from any Level 40 or above Maps. However, Gods Domains current players were very much in need of Light Stones. The Light Stone was a consumable item that could illuminate a certain area as if it were daytime. In the darkness of night, any monsters caught within the Light Stones radius would lose their night-time advantages. The item allowed players to grind monsters freely and level up during the night. To players who wished to level up quickly, even the darkest night was a time to level up. Light Stones were practically necessary for players out in the fields, hence why the drop-rate for the items forging design was relatively high. Only, players would find it very difficult to obtain the forging design at their current levels. Light Stone? A light flashed in Shi Fengs eyes. He felt that this was a good opportunity to make a fortune. As long as he sold them, the Light Stones would be well-received. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm relied on the Strengthened Armor Kits to draw customers from the Starstreak Trading Firm. If he added Light Stones to the Firms available products, it would definitely boost the Firms competitive edge. Light Stones were easy to produce. Moreover, the materials it required consisted of cheap and common items such as Advanced Stones and Magic Essences. Hence, Light Stones were easily affordable by the majority of the players, unlike the expensive Strengthened Armor Kits that only a small number of players could afford. In addition, there were only three people producing the Strengthened Armor Kits right now, and their success rates were only at 30%. It was not enough to satisfy the demand of so many players. As for Light Stones, even an Advanced Forging Apprentices success rate would be higher than 30%. Only, the Light Stone Forging Design was not something players below Level 30 could obtain. If Shi Feng could acquire a large number of Light Stone Forging Designs, the Candlelight Trading Firm could take Star-Moon Kingdoms entire market by storm. The Candlelight Trading Firm had plenty of Advanced Forging Apprentices. As long as they had a sufficient number of forging designs, they could mass-produce the Light Stones. Not only could they supply the players from White River City and Star-Moon City, but they could also provide an endless supply to other cities as well. At that time, even counting their money would become a laborious task. In any case, I have nothing better to do right now. I might as well grind for some Light Stone Forging Designs. Shi Feng grinned. Immediately, he recalled several maps suitable for grinding Light Stone Forging Designs. Although those maps were all Level 40 and above, Shi Feng had the Ignore Level effects provided by the Magic Weapon Abyssal Blade, the Dragonclaw Set Equipment, and the Golden Stigmata. Combined, he could ignore up to 45 Levels. In addition to Shi Fengs own Level, he could take on a Level 70 monster should he choose to do so. Only, the Attributes of a Level 70 monster were a bit too powerful. Even if Shi Feng could damage these monsters, they could kill him with a single slap. However, against monsters below Level 50, he could definitely make an attempt as long as they were not Chieftains or Lords. Shi Feng then headed to Star-Moon Citys City Hall to purchase a valuable golden Land. While Shi Feng had focused on raising his Reputation, the Dragonscale Set Equipment he had placed in the Blackwing Auction House had finally sold out. In addition to the money Shi Feng had earned through the Candlelight Trading Firms, he now had over 20,000 Gold in his pockets. Thus, Shi Feng decided to buy one of the plots of Land beside the Star-Moon Bank for 16,000 gold. However, as Shi Feng was a Viscount, he received a 10% discount on his purchase. Even after constructing a new branch of the Candlelight Trading Firm, he had not even spent a total of 16,000 Gold. After he had finished his business in the City Hall, Shi Feng took a horse carriage to the Teleportation Hall and teleported to the Twin Tower Highlands, a Level 45 map with the highest drop-rate for Light Stone Forging Designs. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 505 Domineering Melancholic White River City, inside one of Candlelight Trading Firms forging rooms: Melancholic Smile was currently busy forging Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. There were simply too many players in White River City. With just the three of them producing the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, it was impossible to satisfy the demand of so many players. Had they not produced a large number of the kits early on, their supply would have long since depleted. Sister Smile, there are two people on the first floor looking to discuss business with you. I understand. Like the others, have them wait in the reception room for now. Ill head over once I finish my work. But, one of them is claiming to be Overwhelming Smiles Guild Leader. Overwhelming Smiles Guild Leader? Melancholic Smile could not help but pause. As one of the tyrannical Guilds in White River City, it was far ahead of other Guilds. Their funds and member count were also plain for all to see. A Lifestyle Guilds direction of development was completely different than Combat Guilds. In other words, there should not be any conflicts of interest between the two. However, a Lifestyle Guild did not possess any combat capabilities. When producing certain items, plenty of rare materials were required. Meanwhile, many of these materials dropped from Dungeons. Hence, Lifestyle Guilds would usually cooperate with some Combat Guilds. In such a relationship, the Combat Guild in question would be responsible for supplying the rare materials, while the Lifestyle Guild would offer some discounts and give priority on sales of certain items to said Combat Guild. Hahaha! Just in time, Melancholic Smile said. Ill head over there now. Saying so, Melancholic Smile tidied up the materials on the table and headed downstairs. \--- In the reception room on the first floor, many of White River Citys Guilds had sent representatives to the Candlelight Trading Firm to discuss potential cooperation. However, when a man and a woman entered, the entire reception rooms atmosphere sank. Everyone in the room immediately focused their attention on this pair of new arrivals, the woman in particular. Practically every Guild in White River City knew who she was. This woman was none other than the Guild Leader of Overwhelming Smiles White River City branch, Youlan. The Candlelight Trading Firm sure knows how to treat its guests, to actually make us wait here with other Guilds. Feng Xuanyang swept a glance at the reception room, frowning slightly with discontent at the Firms arrangements. Youlan did not comment on Feng Xuanyangs statement. Instead, she only sat down and waited quietly. Although Overwhelming Smile was a powerful Guild with ample funds, the Candlelight Trading Firm was no ordinary existence, either. The fact that it had been able to purchase two of White River Citys golden Lands in such a short time displayed the Firms powerful backing. A short moment later, Melancholic Smile entered the reception room. Immediately, the atmosphere in the room relaxed significantly as the occupants promptly stood to welcome her, smiling. Everyone, please sit, Melancholic Smile said after glancing around the room. Every player in this room was a big shot at the peak of White River City. Melancholic Smile never thought that the day would come where she would become one of these supreme characters as well. Before this, she was merely a Forging Apprentice who Guilds would casually chase away, someone who relied on forging to earn some meager living expenses. Regarding these high-ranked managers from various large Guilds, they were all existences that she would have only admired from a distance. Yet, now, every one of these powerful characters greeted her with fawning smiles. Compared to her previous life, it was as if she was in an entirely different world. When Melancholic Smile considered this, her thoughts immediately switched to the man who had helped her rise to this position. If Shi Feng had not been willing to accept her back then, she would most likely have still worried over her day-to-day life. She would still be one of the Lifestyle players at the bottom-layer of White River City, rejoicing over earning one or two Silver a day. In contrast, when dealing with hundreds, or even thousands, of Gold, her current self could maintain indifference. Before her were the upper managers of the various large Guilds in White River City. Among them, there was even the Guild Leader of Overwhelming Smile. One could just imagine how much pressure one would feel from having to discuss business with these people. Yet, Melancholic Smile, who had never encountered such a scene spoke as naturally as if she were sipping tea while enjoying light conversation. Seeing as everyone present wishes to cooperate with us, I will make things simple. We at Candlelight Trading Firm only have one requirement, Melancholic Smile calmly said. You must sell all of the materials your Guilds have collected to us. Everything. We will purchase these materials at 60% market value. In return, the Candlelight Trading Firm will give your Guilds a discount on your purchases here. The discounts available range from 5% up to, but not limited to, 15%. In addition, we will reserve some of the rarer items for you, giving you priority to purchase them. If you accept these terms, you may sign the agreement that has just been given out. If not, then you may leave. Melancholic Smiles statement was firm and confident. The managers of the various Guilds immediately sucked in a breath of cold air, every one of them falling silent upon hearing the womans conditions. This was fraud! If they sold all of the materials they had obtained to the Candlelight Trading Firm, what would be left for their own Guilds? Moreover, the purchase price was only 60% of market value. Wouldnt they be better off selling their excess materials to the public? Most importantly, they could only receive meager discounts of 5% to 15%. Their Guilds wouldnt gain much benefit from such a small discount. In the end, wasnt the Candlelight Trading Firm getting the better end of this deal? Ive already said my piece. You can take your time to think it over. However, note that I will take back the contracts in thirty minutes. Although Melancholic Smile could feel everyones murderous gazes, she paid them no heed. Instead, she simply turned to leave. It was as if her actions had said, If you want to sign, go ahead. If not, get lost. Suddenly, the various representatives, who had been so confident, fell mute. Wait a minute! Feng Xuanyang suddenly stood with a cold expression on his face. He glared at Melancholic Smile, sneering, Dont you think you are going too far with your demands? You should know that there are many materials that only Guilds like ours can obtain;, independent teams are simply not strong enough to provide a supply. If our Guilds join hands to cut off Candlelights supply, do you really think you can continue doing business? Shocked, Youlan rushed to her feet, advising, Young Master Feng has gone a little too far with his words; I ask for Miss Melancholics understanding. However, we have all come here with the intent to do business; there should be a process of negotiation at the very least. The way you cut us off will not benefit either side. Why dont we sit down and discuss things properly? Everyone in the reception room nodded in agreement. If every Guild refused to sell their materials, how could Candlelight Trading Firm hope to continue its success in White River City? At the end of the day, a Lifestyle Guild was still a Lifestyle Guild; they were born to lower their heads to Combat Guilds. Hahaha! Your statement is indeed reasonable! After thinking it over for a moment, Melancholic Smile nodded as she looked towards Feng Xuanyang and Youlan. Smiling sweetly, she said, Although what youve said is logical, I stand by my decision! Moreover, from this point onward, I retract Overwhelming Smiles contract! You two may leave now! You?! Feng Xuanyangs eyes immediately became bloodshot as he nearly spat blood in rage. If not for the fact that they were still in the Candlelight Trading Firm, with the owner of the Firm having absolute control over and being an invincible existence inside this place, he definitely would have killed Melancholic Smile by now. Youlan was similarly stunned by Melancholic Smiles words. Meanwhile, the upper managers of the various large Guilds were also stupefied by this situation In White River City, Overwhelming Smile was only second to Zero Wing. Yet, Melancholic Smile had dismissed them with just a few words, showing no pretenses at all. This was simply too domineering! * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 506 Towers of Death After Melancholic Smile finished speaking After a few moments, everyone in the reception room came back to their senses. However, they still stared at Melancholic Smile with surprise. Youlan had never expected things to develop in such a way. Melancholic Smiles performance had completely surpassed Youlans expectations. Her firm rejection was even more unusual. Miss Melancholic, I believe we have a misunderstanding, Youlan said after calming down. Overwhelming Smile is not here to seek cooperation, but to invest. I believe that Miss Melancholic knows about Overwhelming Smiles financial prowess. With our help, the Candlelight Trading Firm will have no issues obtaining materials or funding. At the end of the day, Candlelight is not a Combat Guild, so its development is limited; it is restricted by the city. Candlelight might become White River Citys number one trading firm, but you cant just remain in one city and not branch out to others, right? After all, White River Citys player population is not infinite, and you can only earn so much. I admit that Candlelight is very wealthy. However, purchasing golden Lands in other cities requires sufficient Reputation Points there. Meanwhile, how can Candlelight hope to compete with the Guilds that have been developing in said cities since the very beginning? By the time Candlelights personnel gains sufficient Reputation in other cities, other Guilds will have long since purchased the best plots of Land available. However, after we invest in Candlelight, the trading firm will not face such a restriction. Overwhelming Smile has plenty of personnel in other major cities, including the several cities neighboring White River City. As long as we have enough Gold, we can purchase the most valuable Land in every city throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and establish the Candlelight Trading Firm all over the kingdom, saving you a lot of time and manpower. Is Miss Melancholic really not interested in such an opportunity? Youlan spoke confidently as she offered the attractive conditions. She had also hit the nail on the head by pointing out the Candlelight Trading Firms weakness. Meanwhile, the fact that Youlan was able to make such a statement so confidently was all because of Overwhelming Smiles backer, Underworld. This was a feat that no other Guild could ever accomplish, even first-rate Guilds. Youlans offer sorely tempted the other managers of the Guilds in the reception room. Only, they were somewhat disappointed that the Candlelight Trading Firm would no longer be theirs. They could already imagine the Candlelight Trading Firms flourishing future. One side had the advantage of manpower and resources, while the other had Coins and popular Shops. The cooperation between the two was practically a match made in heaven. Youlan really is amazing. Its as expected of someone fancied by Underworlds elders. Feng Xuanyang, who had initially been overwhelmed by his rage, silently praised Youlan as he listened to the woman. He snuck a peek at Melancholic Smile from the corner of his eyes, his heart filled with joy when he saw her silence. To a trading firm, particularly a trading firm with hot-selling commodities, what they needed the most was not materials, but a market to sell those commodities. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile just so happened to be capable of providing that market. This method of persuasion was far more effective than any threat. At this moment, Melancholic Smile opened her mouth and spoke, Your conditions are tempting, but you may leave now. Everyone else, you have thirty minutes left to consider our offer. If you do not wish to cooperate, you may leave. I have other matters to attend to, so I wont accompany you any longer. Saying so, Melancholic Smile left the reception room, never once turning back. From the moment she had entered the room, she had acted as if she did not care about any of the representatives. Is she really not tempted? Youlan was stunned. With such huge potential profits, no sane trading firm would reject their offer. Even if Melancholic Smile rejected them eventually, it should be based on too harsh conditions. Yet, before they could even state their conditions, she had turned them away Just what sort of situation was this? Before Youlan could make sense of the situation, the upper managers of the other Guilds began signing their contracts, having already thrown their cooperation conditions out the window. Watching this, Youlan suddenly came to a realization. Melancholic Smile had displayed her might, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys[1]. They just so happened to be that chicken. Feng Xuanyang had also realized their situation. This had all been due to him voicing his rejection, becoming Melancholic Smiles target as a result. Despite this revelation angering him greatly, regret filled his heart. Just why had he been so eager to shoot off his mouth? As for encouraging Overwhelming Smile to face off against the Candlelight Trading Firm, that was simply impossible. Lifestyle players did not leave the city at all. If they remained in the city, who could do anything to them? Lifestyle players were unlike Combat players, who relied heavily on their Levels and equipment. Even if Lifestyle players were killed until they fell back to Level 0, so long as their Lifestyle Skills remained, they would feel no effect whatsoever. It seems that we can only hasten our own firms establishment, Youlan sighed. Things were becoming much more troublesome than she had initially expected. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm had also given her a reminder. I have heard that Maple Citys branch almost has enough Reputation. We might as well develop our trade in Maple City. Moreover, the Lands there are much cheaper. If we form an alliance with the other cities to target the Candlelight Trading Firm, sooner or later, we can defeat it as well. Okay, leave that to me. At this moment, murderous intent filled Feng Xuanyangs eyes. Watching Melancholic Smiles departing figure, he revealed a sinister smile as he said, Though the trading firm itself is unwilling to cooperate, I refuse to believe that every worker is of the same opinion. Ill poach every single one of Candlelights forgers. Well see how long Candlelight lasts, then. If a trading firm did not have a supply of goods, customers naturally would not visit it. It would be useless even if the trading firm occupied one of the citys golden Lands. The fact that the Candlelight Trading Firm had become White River Citys number one trading firm so quickly was completely due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Otherwise, how could it possibly surpass the Starstreak Trading Firm? \--- While Feng Xuanyang plotted ways to poach Lifestyle players from the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng had arrived at the Twin Tower Highlands. The Twin Tower Highlands was a Level 45 to Level 50 map. It could be considered a country within a country. Unlike the monsters in low-level maps, the monsters here were mostly intelligent Orcs that fought and lived in tribes. If players were not careful, rather than hunting their prey, they very well might become prey themselves. To Gods Domains current players, the Twin Tower Highlands was definitely a forbidden land. Aside from the level suppression, the difference in Attributes was already quite vast. However, Shi Feng did not care about any of that. His own Attributes had long since surpassed the standards of the current players. It was especially true after he had equipped the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragons Breath. In terms of Attributes, he could easily match Level 40 ordinary players. Without level suppression, a 5 Level difference in Attributes was nothing to Shi Feng. Fortunately, Shi Feng was very familiar with the Twin Tower Highlands. He had arrived at the core area of the Twin Tower Highlands, the Towers of Death, without so much as encountering a single monster. Dark clouds hid the tops of the two tall towers, preventing one from seeing them with a single glance. A thick layer of death also surrounded the towers as cold wind billowed around them. Tall ramparts surrounded the massive Towers of Death. An army of Orcs patrolled the walls. Overall, the Towers of Death look like an impregnable fortress. This was the best location for Shi Feng to grind for the Light Stone Forging Designs. This should be it. Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and the Ring of Nothingness and flew up to the tall walls. Sweeping a glance over the numerous Level 47 Orcs below the ramparts, a grin appeared on his face. TL Notes: [1] killing the chicken to scare the monkeys: Chinese idiom that gives the meaning of - to punish an individual as an example to others. 507 Explosive Power Not only did the Towers of Death resemble a fortress, but there were also tens of thousands of monsters wandering inside their walls. It was simply impossible to infiltrate without a large team of more than a hundred players. However, it was also why the Towers of Death were a good grinding spot. Although the Common Monsters, the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors, behind the wall seemed to be covered in steel-like muscles, in reality, their strength was only an illusion; they were actually quite weak. Moreover, they were all melee monsters. As long as a team had several powerful AOE classes, the Towers of Death would become a leveling heaven. [Hot-blooded Orc Warrior] (Orc, Common Monster) Level 47 HP 30,000/30,000 To players of a similar Level, these Orc Warriors were very easy to deal with. To Shi Feng, who was only Level 26 right now, they were just as easy to defeat. The only challenge was the fact that these Hot-blooded Warriors normally moved in groups of 100 or more, with an Elite-ranked Hot-blooded Orc Captain leading each company. The Orc Captains were much larger than their Common counterparts. They were fully protected by a suit of plate armor and wielded a war saber and large shield in each hand. Most importantly, these Orc Captains had an aura effect that could increase the Attack Speed and damage of nearby Hot-blooded Orc Warriors by 30%. [Hot-blooded Orc Captain] (Orc, Elite Rank) Level 48 HP 200,000/200,000 Even a 50-man team would struggle against such a company of Orcs. As for 20-man teams, they could only escape for their lives. Teams that came to grind here would usually eliminate the Orc Captain first, sending several Assassins with high burst damage and a bombardment from the ranged attackers, getting rid of the Orc Captain in the shortest amount of time possible. That way, the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors would be fish in a barrel, easy to annihilate. However, Shi Fengs level was too low right now. It would be very difficult for him to charge into the group of Orcs and kill the Orc Captain swiftly, hence why Shi Feng had flown up to the ramparts. The ramparts were very tall, and it would not be easy for one to reach the top quickly, especially Common Monsters like the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors. Monsters like them could only use the only staircase. Moreover, it was a long way from the bottom to the top of the stairs, and it would take the Orc Warriors quite some time to reach the top of the walls. The Orc Captain, however, was different. The Captains strength was impressive, and he could easily reach the top of the walls with just a few jumps. In the past, many people had used this method to grind Orcs and level up. After Shi Feng positioned himself on the rampart, he switched the Seven Luminaries Rings Aura of Wind to the Aura of Fire. Simultaneously, he activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, pale blue flames suddenly covering his entire body. With the effects of the Aura of Fire and the Ice-Blue Devil Flame combined, his damage instantly increased by 60%. The combined effects were no weaker than when he activated a berserk skill. Moreover, these effects lasted indefinitely and had no side effects whatsoever. He then took out the Blazing Meteor and threw it at a Hot-blooded Orc Warrior. Xiu! The Blazing Meteor streaked across the air like a shooting star, instantly striking at a Hot-blooded Orc Warrior who patrolled below the fortress walls. -904. Although there was no level suppression, a Level 47 monster was far superior to a Level 20-plus monster regarding both Defence and Attack Power. Shi Feng only had the Attributes of a Level 40 or so ordinary player; his damage was very limited. Intruder! the Orc Warrior bellowed angrily as he turned towards Shi Feng on top of the wall. Immediately, the entire company of Hot-blooded Orcs also discovered Shi Feng. However, as the wall was too large, they could only frantically dash towards one of the distant staircases. The armored Hot-blooded Orc Captain, unlike his allies, simply bent his legs and jumped. In just a moment, the Orc Captain had jumped up to half the height of the wall. The Captain stabbed his saber into the sturdy wall. Using his saber as a foothold, the Captain jumped once again, reaching the top of the ramparts. His robust and powerful hand grabbed and tugged on the chain wrapped around his wrist. In the blink of an eye, the saber, which was connected to the chain, returned to the Orc Captains hand. The entire process was smooth and only took an instant. The Orc Captain was like a martial arts expert who could walk on walls and fly through the eaves of buildings. However, Shi Feng was not the slightest bit surprised by the Orc Captains actions. Elite monsters intelligence and combat techniques at this Level were not the slightest bit inferior to the professional fighters in real life. In some aspects, these Elite monsters were even more amazing than professional fighters. The Hot-blooded Orc Captain looked at Shi Feng, who was 10 yards away, with a bloodthirsty fury in his crimson eyes. Raising his shield, he used Charge and dashed towards Shi Feng. The Orc Captain was over two meters tall. With his mass and speed, he was like a small car rushing towards Shi Feng. One could just imagine the consequences of such a collision. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Purgatory Power, raising his damage by another 30% and Attack Speed by 100%. He then dashed forward to meet the Orc Captains charge head-on. Just as the Orc Captain was about to send Shi Feng into a Fainted state, at the moment between life and death, Shi Feng used Silent Steps. Not only had Shi Feng avoided the Fainted effect of the Orc Captains Charge, but he also managed to appear behind the Orc Captain. Die! Shi Feng shouted. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade and the Purgatorys Shadow in Shi Fengs hands released a powerful blinding light. The crimson flames that covered both swords caused the surrounding temperatures to soar. Flame Burst! Dazzling streaks of light shot out from Shi Fengs hands, piercing the Hot-blooded Orc Captains armor. The Orc Captains armor could stop neither the scorching heat of the flames nor the sharp edges of the swords. The blazing Abyssal Blade easily penetrated the sturdy armor, stabbing the Orc Captains vital point. -9,120, -18,160, -9,234, -27,548 Frightening damages appeared above the Hot-blooded Orc Captains head, one after another. In the blink of an eye, the Orc Captain had lost close to half of his HP. The Orc Captain bellowed at the damage he received. Responding quickly, the Orc Captain used War Stomp, causing all enemies within a range of six yards to enter a Fainted state for three seconds. However, Shi Feng, who had already grasped the Flowing Water Realm, had long since seen the Orc Captains intentions. The instant the Orc Captain lifted his leg, Shi Feng swung his sword. Abyssal Bind! When the Orc Captains feet were only several centimeters from the ground, nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground and bound the Captain, restricting all of his movements. Taking this opportunity, Shi Feng launched a barrage of attacks towards the Orc Captain. Due to Abyssal Bind reducing the Orc Captains Defense by 100%, Shi Fengs Flame Burst skill became even more powerful. Now, each attack dealt around -20,000 damage, while double critical hits dealt around -40,000 damage. Before Shi Feng could exhaust the twelve instances of Flame Burst, the Hot-blooded Orc Captain was already dead, dropping a few Silver Coins and a piece of equipment. From beginning to end, Shi Feng took less than 4 seconds to kill the Hot-blooded Orc Captain. Meanwhile, only now did the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors finish climbing the stairs, reaching the top of the rampart. However, there were still more than 60 yards between them. After collecting the drops, Shi Feng used Skywheel Sword on the Orc Warriors who were 40 yards away from him. Golden divine swords descended from the sky, sealing the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors in a radius of 20 yards for four seconds. At the same time, the Orc Warriors each received over -4,000 damage, while some received close to -10,000 critical damage. With a single attack, the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors lost close to half of their 20,000 HP. While the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors ceaselessly bellowed with anger, Shi Feng followed up his attack with Firestorm. Suddenly, heavenly fire descended from the skies, annihilating the company of Orc Warriors. Items scattered across the ground around the Orc Warriors corpses. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs experience bar rose at a rate visible to the naked eye. Shi Feng marveled at the dropped items on the ground. Fragmented Legendary items and Epic items really are frightening. Originally, Shi Feng thought he would have some troubles dealing with these Hot-blooded Orc Warriors. Now, it would seem that he had worried for nothing. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 508 Successive Promotion After defeating the first batch of Hot-blooded Orc Warriors, Shi Feng had a preliminary understanding of his current strength. He was now confident about what he should do and how far he should go. Previously, he had chosen to lure the group with the least number of Orcs as a precaution. Later, so long as he did not lure two groups at once, he should be able to defeat an army of two or three hundred Orcs. With this, his chances of obtaining the Light Stone Forging Design should be significantly higher. There sure are a lot of dropped items, Shi Feng muttered as he arranged the loot from the Orc Warriors. He had picked up a total of 6 Silver. That was more than half a days earnings for an elite player. The Orc Warriors had also dropped plenty of scrap items and materials. In total, he had earned nearly 12 Silver from killing a single batch. If a piece of Level 40 Bronze Equipment dropped, he could instantly earn another 80 Silver or more. However, this result was only due to Shi Fengs 5 points of Luck. Otherwise, it was impossible for a group of Orc Warriors to drop so much money and so many items. Following which, Shi Feng continued searching for patrol teams that he could take on while he waited for his Skills to Cooldown. Firestorm, in particular, had a long Cooldown of five minutes. As soon as the five minutes were up, Shi Feng would immediately lure another wave of monsters. Shi Feng required less than thirty seconds to take care of a wave of Hot-blooded Orc Warriors. In other words, he could clear one wave every six minutes, and ten waves in an hour. As the Orcs were Level 47 monsters, they already gave abundant EXP. In addition, as Shi Feng was challenging monsters of a higher level, he could obtain bonus EXP of up to 20 times. Despite Shi Fengs class doubling the amount of EXP he required to level up, in little more than an hour, he reached Level 27. To reach Level 28, he just needed to continue grinding for another hour or so. Although the amount of EXP he received was indeed frightening, Shi Feng was more excited over the fact that he had obtained two Light Stone Forging Designs. With two forging designs, he could nurture two gold mines. Also, when Divine Providences Cooldown completed, Shi Feng stopped to open Twilight Treasure Chests, acquiring plenty of good items. Among them were some recipes for potions such as the Intermediate Strength Potion, Basic Protection Potion, and Basic Magic Damage Potion. These were all potions that players around Level 40 would commonly use. Only, the recipes for these potions were impossible for current players to obtain. In addition, Shi Feng had also obtained some Level 30 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment, which he intended to use to replenish the Guilds Warehouse. While Shi Feng enjoyed his grind, Melancholic Smile suddenly contacted him. Through the screen, Shi Feng could tell that, though Melancholic Smile seemed somewhat tensed, there was a hint of pride and excitement in her eyes. Guild Leader, just as you predicted, Overwhelming Smile paid us a visit, though Ive already chased them away. The other Guilds have also agreed to cooperate with us, Melancholic Smile said slowly. Also, just as you expected, after we chased them away, they immediately began contacting our Guilds Forgers and Forging Apprentices. Although Uncle Ironheart and Cocoa rejected their offers, many of the Forging Apprentices in the Guild were unable to resist the tempting offers and have already applied to dissolve their contract with us to join Overwhelming Smile. From what I learned from those Forging Apprentices, it seems that they are heading to Maple City to develop themselves. Although Melancholic Smile had tried to dissuade those who intended to leave, there were bound to be some who could not resist Overwhelming Smiles astronomical offer. Melancholic Smile could not force these people to stay. Fortunately, Shi Feng had long since prepared for such a situation. All Lifestyle players who joined the Horizon Alliance were required to sign a contract. Under this contract, the Horizon Alliance would provide all materials, forging designs, forging rooms, and other necessities for the Lifestyle player. The Lifestyle player could also obtain a certain amount of commission from the items they made. This commission would be determined according to the Lifestyle players skill level. The more skilled they were, the higher their commission would be, with the highest possible being 20% of profit. However, these generous benefits came with a condition. Any Lifestyle player wishing to dissolve their contracts was required to erase all the Lifestyle classes they had taken on. In other words, upon leaving the Horizon Alliance, these Lifestyle players would have to start all over again. That way, it would be impossible for these poached players to benefit other Guilds in a short amount of time. Only, due to their past experiences, it would cost less for other Guilds to nurture these players. It was not easy for a Lifestyle Guild to nurture a Lifestyle player. The initial investment included materials and forging designs, particularly those rare forging designs. These items required immense effort to obtain. So, how could they possibly let others take advantage of them? Any Lifestyle player who had learned rare forging designs was also required to compensate the Horizon Alliance for this loss. Normally, few Lifestyle players would willingly choose to develop themselves elsewhere. However, with Overwhelming Smiles reckless poaching, there were bound to be some who could not resist the temptation. Heading to Maple City, huh? Shi Feng pondered for a moment before saying, It seems that they plan to develop trade in Maple City before joining the competition in White River City. Although Overwhelming Smile had been nurturing their own Lifestyle players all this time as well, without their own Shop, it was not only very inconvenient to sell their products, but the cost of the items would also increase. In particular, by selling their items through the Auction House, they would incur a massive processing fee. For small items, they might not even recover the cost, let alone make a profit. Maple City was Overwhelming Smiles domain. It was very easy for the Guild to develop its trade there, and the same went for acquiring Land and Reputation. By the time Overwhelming Smile possessed sufficient capital, it would be a lot easier for it to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm. At the very least, both sides would be on equal footing. Afterward, Overwhelming Smile could just use the simplest way to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm: wage a price war. They want another war of attrition? Shi Feng could not help but laugh. Unfortunately, Overwhelming Smile no longer possessed such an opportunity. Shi Feng then said, Smile, instruct someone to begin purchasing Advanced Stones and Magic Essences in bulk, and dont just buy from White River City; buy from other cities as well. Buy as many as you can. However, this must be done secretly; do not let other Guilds discover our actions. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm held a significant advantage due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, the production volume for the kits was simply too low; it lacked competitiveness. However, it was a different story for Light Stones. Okay, Ill head out and buy them myself right now, Melancholic Smile said. After Shi Feng gave his instructions, he resumed grinding for more forging designs. For the next several dozen hours, Shi Feng grinded the Hot-blooded Orc Warriors like a madman. During this time, his experience bar rose rapidly, his level increasing from Level 27 to Level 30. His leveling speed was simply unmatched. However, compared to the EXP spent on increasing his own level, Shi Feng had expended even more EXP on the Seven Luminaries Ring. He had leveled up the Seven Luminaries Ring twice, upgrading it to Level 7. Just as Shi Feng was about to investigate the Level 7 Luminaries Rings new power Suddenly, the gates of the Towers of Death opened. In the next moment, a roar that shook even the heavens emerged from behind the gates. As the roar grew louder, Shi Feng saw a massive Orc walk out. This Orc wore exquisite armor and had a black cape draped over his back. Upon the appearance of this massive Orc, the Orcs outside the Towers of Death went into a frenzy. It was as if they were welcoming the arrival of their king. Why has the Orc King appeared here? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. 509 Mythic The valiant and extraordinary Orc King slowly walked up to an altar before the Towers of Death, constantly muttering incantations as he approached the pitch-black altar. Suddenly, countless blood-red runes emerged from the altar. The sky also dimmed as strong winds blew. Countless Hot-blooded Orcs gathered beneath the altar. If one looked down from the ramparts, they would discover a black mass of tens of thousands of Orcs within the fortress walls After these Orcs gathered around the black altar, they fell to their knees and prayed. This spectacular scene amazed even Shi Feng. Just what are they trying to do? Shi Feng was utterly confused. The Towers of Death of the Twin Tower Highlands were, in reality, a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon. In the past, Shi Feng had raided this Dungeon many times, so he had a relatively good understanding of the Towers of Death. However, today was the first time Shi Feng had seen something this odd. In particular, the Orc King who had emerged from the Towers of Death was the Final Boss of the Dungeon, Orc King Tresik. When challenging the Hell Mode difficulty of the Dungeon, Orc King Tresik was a Level 54 Grand Lord. Meanwhile, the Orc King Tresik standing on the altar right now was a Level 60 Mythic Monster. Monsters in Gods Domain occupied multiple ranks. From weakest to strongest, these ranks were: Common, Elite, Special Elite, Chieftain, Lord, High Lord, Great Lord, Grand Lord. Standing above Grand Lord was Mythic. [Orc King Tresik] (Mythic Monster) Level 60 HP 90,000,000/90,000,000 Upon seeing the Orc Kings information, even Shi Feng could not believe his own eyes. A Mythic Monster! A Mythic Monster was slightly stronger than even a Tier 4 class. Moreover, with that ridiculous amount of HP, any Tier 4 party of the same level that attempted to raid Orc King Tresik would be beaten senseless. At the very least, a 50-man team of Tier 4 players was necessary to raid the Orc King. Tier 4 classes already stood at the top of Gods Domain. It was extremely difficult to reach this tier, so how could it possibly be easy to gather fifty Tier 4 players? Not to mention, players could only begin challenging their Tier 2 Class Change Quests at Level 50; they were still far from reaching Tier 4. To players below Level 60, Orc King Tresik was practically invincible. However, it was because of this that Shi Fengs interest grew. The Final Boss of the Towers of Death had actually left the Dungeon to pray. Moreover, the Bosss rank had risen to Mythic. There was no way Shi Feng could grind the Hot-blooded Orcs at the moment. The area beneath the ramparts was packed with Warriors and Captains right now. If he attacked any one of them, he might attract every monster beneath the walls, including the Orc King Tresik. They would annihilate him, leaving no room for escape. Im interested to see just what this is about. In any case, Shi Feng was not in a hurry. He took a seat in the corner of the wall and observed the situation at the altar. However, the Orcs prayer was relatively long. Even after over half an hour, these Orcs continued to pray. Out of frustration, Shi Feng began arranging the contents of his bag. After grinding for dozens of hours, Shi Feng had lost count of how many Hot-blooded Orc Warriors he had killed. The items they had dropped had nearly filled his bag. Had he not thrown away some of the worthless scrap items, not even his Super Large Bag would be able to hold all of the loot. Shi Feng had to admit that the Towers of Death were indeed an efficient place to farm Light Stone Forging Designs. With the addition of his 5 points of Luck, his harvest was even more frightening. In total, Shi Feng had obtained 141 Light Stone Forging Designs. He had also collected close to 30 Gold and some random scrap items and materials. If ordinary players came here to grind, they could definitely make a fortune overnight. Thirty Gold Coins! Although the value of Gold Coins continuously depreciated, each Gold Coin was still worth more than 7,000 Credits. In other words, Shi Feng had earned nearly 210,000 Credits in a single day! However, none of these were Shi Fengs greatest prizes. His most valuable gain was the promotion of the Seven Luminaries Ring and the equipment he had obtained from opening treasure chests. After upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring to Level 7, its skills all received massive transformations. If not for the rings information labeling it as an Epic item, Shi Feng would have thought it was a Fragmented Legendary item. [Seven Luminaries Ring (Replica)] (Ring, Epic Rank) Level 20 - Level 80 (Current Level: 30) Equipment Requirement: Strength 200 Attributes will be adjusted according to users level. Strength +64, Agility +60, Intelligence +52, Endurance +60, Vitality +55 Damage +10% Maximum HP +15% Ignore Levels +10 All skills +2 Levels. All items level requirement reduced by 5 Levels. Additional Skill- Seven Luminaries Aura: There are seven different Auras: earth, water, wind, fire, time, illusion, and space. Only one Aura can be used each time, and there will be a Cooldown of one minute when changing between Auras. [Aura of Earth] Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) Defense increased by 60%. Damage taken reduced by 55%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Defense: Become immune to all damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 20 seconds [Aura of Water] Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) Healing effects increased by 100%. Cast Consumption reduced by 50%. Activatable Skill- Life Bloom: Heals selected target for 30% HP every second for 40 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds [Aura of Wind] Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) Movement Speed increased by 60%. Attack Speed increased by 60%. Agility increased by 50%. Activatable Skill- Wind Rider: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 220% for 24 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Aura of Fire] Level 7 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) Damage increased by 50%. Targets Defense reduced by 60%. Activatable Skill- Firestorm: Inflicts 1,000% damage within a range of 30*30 yards for 6 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes [Aura of Time] Level 7 (Requires 500,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 40%. Enemies within a 150-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 40%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 50%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Time: Prevents enemies within a radius of 100 yards from using any skills or tools for 24 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes 30 seconds [Aura of Illusion] Level 7 (Requires 500,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) All Attributes increased by 40%. Enemies within a 200-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced by 40%. Activatable Skill- Fantasy World: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 20% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover players HP for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Space] Level 7 (Requires 500,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Level 8) Immunity to all control and restricting effects. Activatable Skill- Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of 600,000 yards. Cooldown: 4 minutes After the Seven Luminaries Rings promotion, just one of its Auras could rival the Attributes of a Fragmented Legendary item. Meanwhile, the Seven Luminaries Ring had seven interchangeable Auras. Calling it a Fragmented Legendary item was by no means an exaggeration. Aside from the Seven Luminaries Ring, Shi Feng valued the Tier 1 Set Equipment he had gained from the Twilight Treasure Chests. First, Shi Feng obtained another two set pieces of the Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment for Tier 1 Guardian Knights, putting him at a total of three set pieces. In addition, he had also obtained the Mana Storm Set Equipment for Tier 1 Elementalists. Unfortunately, he only had two set pieces. He had also fortunately obtained three set pieces of the Dark Melody Set Equipment for Tier 1 Assassins. He had one set piece of the Forest Guard Set Equipment for Tier 1 Rangers. He had also gained two set pieces of the Hurricane Set Equipment for Tier 1 Swordsmen. Finally, he obtained one set piece of the Brave Heart Set Equipment for Tier 1 Shield Warriors. Shi Feng had only gone through a small portion of the Twilight Treasure Chests in his possession. It was fully possible for him to collect a Tier 1 Set Equipment for every class. Suddenly. Why has the sky darkened? While Shi Feng had been busy organizing his bag, he suddenly realized the light had dimmed, visibility becoming even poorer than during night-time. Taking a look below the ramparts, he noticed that a change had finally occurred at the black altar. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 510 God Descends At this moment, the black altar radiated a blood-red glow. In the darkness, it was an extraordinarily eye-catching. The ground surrounding the altar also began emitting plumes of bright red mist. A small cyclone that had appeared above the alter tugged the mist towards its core. Gradually, the space in the storms center gradually began to crack. A moment later, this spatial crack formed a portal. The instant the spatial portal was complete, the area around the Towers of Death froze. It was as if a separate, miniature world had formed around the Towers of Death, and no object from the outside world could affect anything that occurred inside this place. All of Shi Fengs communication with the outside world was blocked as well, every name on his friends list having turned a dull gray; he was unable to contact anybody. The surrounding air felt as heavy as mercury, and Shi Feng felt as if his every action was heavily restrained. Inside this region, Shi Feng felt like a candle flickering in the wind; his life could be extinguished at any moment. Meanwhile, this was all due to the horrific pressure from the spatial portal. Just what is inside that spatial portal? Shi Feng widened his eyes in shock. He tried to glimpse at what was inside the spatial portal, yet, as if a strange power shrouded the portal, not even Shi Feng, with his extraordinary dynamic vision, could see anything inside it. However, there was one thing that his brain urged him to do right now. Escape! The pressure leaking from the spatial portal was sufficient to freeze the entire space surrounding the Towers of Death and create a separate world. This was the first time Shi Feng had ever encountered such a situation. While Shi Feng struggled to recover from his shock, the hundreds of thousands of Orcs surrounding the pitch-black altar suddenly turned into blood mist. Moreover, the transformation had been completely silent. The originally crowded fortress around the Towers of Death had suddenly become a ghost town. The abrupt change was enough to instill utter terror. For a time, the blood-red runes around the alter forcefully sucked in the blood mist, intensifying the runes glow. Simultaneously, the portal above the altar grew, the pressure it emitted increasing as well. The air that had previously felt as heavy as mercury now felt as dense as fine steel. Now, Shi Feng could not move in the slightest. Is this Divine Might? A possibility suddenly flashed in Shi Fengs mind. Divine Might... It was something that Shi Feng had felt more than a few times before. As long as Divine Might was activated, any players within the affected area would receive various sorts of suppression. Moreover, the wider the gap in tiers, the greater the suppression would be. Only players of the same tier would be unaffected by Divine Might. However, of all the Divine Might Shi Feng had experienced before, not one had rendered him completely incapable of movement. Before Shi Feng could reflect more on the situation, the Orc King Tresik finally finished chanting his incantation. Suddenly, the area around the Towers of Death fell eerily silent. Shi Feng noticed hints of excitement and longing on Tresiks ferocious face. At this moment, the spatial portal blotted out the area above the black altar. If the portal descended now, Shi Feng did not doubt that it would devour the massive black altar whole. However, the black portal did not descend. Instead, the portal released a loud sound resembling the cracking of glass. It was as if something inside the portal were trying to smash its way through the mysterious power surrounding it. Shi Feng began to have a bad feeling about this. If a God truly descended, then he would die with 100% certainty. A God possessed extremely acute senses. Even over a thousand-yard-distance, a God could discover a player long before that player discovered said God. In the past, plenty of players had been very interested in Gods. Unfortunately, many Tier 4 players had not been able to get even 3,000 yards close to the Gods before the divine beings swatted them like flies. Meanwhile, Tier 5 players had survived the wrath of Gods, but only Tier 6 players qualified to challenge them. Even then, they only qualified. At this moment, Shi Feng was less than 2,000 yards away from the altar. If a God descended, it would discover him immediately and send him to his death with a single slap. It shouldnt be able to descend, right? Shi Feng could feel that the mysterious power surrounding the spatial portal was already at its limits. In the blink of an eye, a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky suddenly emerged from the portal. In the face of this hand, even the massive altar seemed like a small toy. Fortunately, the instant this hand descended, countless golden chains suddenly emerged from the sky. These golden chains immediately bound the hand, preventing it from moving. The Chains of Order! Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief at the sudden appearance of these fine chains. Sure enough, it is impossible for a God to appear here. Although the golden chains were thin, they contained an immeasurable amount of power. Even Gods could not fight these chains. Yet, this massive hand abruptly twitched, and a single item fell from its palm. This item released a dazzling golden glow that illuminated the entire fortress around the Towers of Death. The moment this item landed in front of the Orc King, the gigantic hand in the sky retreated through the spatial portal. Peace returned to the Towers of Death. Did that God break open the spatial portal just to give the Orc King an item? Shi Feng was utterly stunned. An item that was obtained from a God through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Orcs Even if Shi Feng could not clearly see what that item was, but judging from how the Orc King had willingly made such an immense sacrifice, it was definitely an extraordinary treasure. If he could steal it However, Shi Feng promptly shook his head, removing the thought from his mind. Only those who wanted to give up on life would attempt to steal an item from a Mythic Monster. It would be no different than trying to steal from White River Citys Magistrate, the Tier 4 Great Wizard Weissman. Just as Shi Feng was about to turn and leave A figure suddenly came flying towards the Towers of Death from a distance. The figure flew at a tremendous speed, several times faster than even Shi Feng when he had Wind Rider activated. In just a few seconds, the originally seed-sized figure grew to the size of an ordinary human. Sky Knight? Shi Feng could not help his shock. The new arrival was actually a human NPC. Moreover, it was the Tier 4 hidden class, Sky Knight. His body exuding a multicolored brilliance, the Sky Knight immediately charged towards the Orc King. Meanwhile, as if receiving the arrival of a great enemy, the Orc King Tresik immediately tried to collect the flashing golden treasure. However, the Sky Knight had obviously prepared for this situation. With a shout, he pointed his sword towards the heavens. Suddenly, a titanic golden sword appeared above the Orc King. This golden sword then transformed into a streak of light as it descended towards the Mythic Tresik. Shi Fengs jaw dropped. This Sky Knight actually knew the Tier 4 forbidden move, Firmament Flash. Forbidden moves were Taboo Skills in Gods Domain. Firmament Flash was labeled Taboo because the skill possessed overly destructive power. In addition, the skill was extremely difficult to learn. Classes of the same tier had no way of learning it. The Tier 4 Firmament Flash could rival even a Tier 5 skill. Even though the Orc King Tresik was a Mythic Monster, an existence slightly above Tier 4 classes, when facing an attack with the might of a Tier 5 skill, it had no choice but to protect its life first. The Orc King Tresik immediately unsheathed his blood-red greatsword. Releasing an angry roar, a frightening aura suddenly surged forth from his body. It seemed as if the Orc King had activated a berserk skill that boosted his strength to an astonishing degree. He swung his greatsword, sending a streak of blood-red light slashing at the descending holy sword. Boom! Boom! Boom! Suddenly, the land around the Towers of Death shook. It was as if the end of the world had arrived. What!? Shi Feng was stunned. The Orc King Tresik had actually defended against the Sky Knights Firmament Flash. At this moment, however, the Sky Knight already stood before the golden treasure, his hand stretching out to snatch the item. Just as the Sky Knight was about to grasp the golden treasure, Shi Feng suddenly noticed a mocking grin on the Orc Kings face. Ah! The instant the Sky Knight touched the golden treasure, he suddenly released a tragic scream. Suddenly, his body transformed into countless particles of light * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 511 God Crystal A Tier 4 Sky Knight had been a tyrant qualified to rule over a large city, yet such a dominant existence had died without offering even the slightest of resistance. Shi Feng even wondered if he were hallucinating. Is it a trap specifically targeting the Sky Knight? Shi Feng watched the dispersing particles of light, inwardly relieved. Prior to this, he had even considered stealing the treasure from the Orc King Tresik. Fortunately, he had given up on that idea. Otherwise, he would have lost his life just like the Sky Knight. The trap could instantly kill a Tier 4 Sky Knight, not even leaving behind a body. It was clear that this traps damage was not ordinary. Although players would not face true death, the consequences of such an attack definitely would not end with just the loss of EXP and equipment. It was highly possible that the players would be affected as well. At the very minimum, players immortal souls would receive damage, preventing them from logging into Gods Domain for a time. However, this was still not the most severe possibility. In some circumstances, players who died might even have to delete their accounts after reviving. It was possible that the Sky Knights death fit into this category. After the Sky Knight died, Tresik kept his blood-red greatsword and slowly walked towards the treasure. Looking at the treasure with its golden divine glow, a grin on the Orc Kings ferocious face. Tresik then began chanting his incantation once again. Suddenly, golden runes formed around the treasure, wrapping around the item, as if sealing it. Is it not a trap? As Shi Feng watched the Orc Kings actions, it was clear that the trap was not meant for the Mythic Monster. Instead, there should be something special about the treasure that prevented others from touching it. However, as the Sky Knight had not known this, he had been erased out of existence. Since the Orc King knew that he could not touch the treasure, he knew exactly what kind of item that treasure was, hence why he sealed it. Should I take this risk? Shi Feng hesitated. Before, as the Orc King and the treasure were too close, by the time Shi Feng made it to the treasure, the Orc King would have already claimed it. However, now that the Orc King sealed the treasure, he had a chance to steal it. Shi Feng could take the opportunity while the Orc King was busy to sneak over. And as the treasure was sealed, he could steal it. However, Shi Feng had also witnessed the Orc Kings power. Tresik had managed to block even the Firmament Flash, which had the power of a Tier 5 Skill. Dealing with a Tier 1 player like him would be childs play for the Orc King. It was possible that, before he could even arrive before the treasure, the Orc Kings greatsword would have already devoured his life. Moreover, escaping after he collected the treasure was also a problem. With the Orc King Tresiks Attributes, even if Shi Fengs speed were several times faster, he would not escape from the Orc Kings clutches. Seeing as the number of golden runes surrounding the treasure had gradually increased, it was clear that the time remaining for the completion of the treasures seal grew shorter and shorter. Shi Feng looked at the Seven Luminaries Ring wrapped around his finger. Suddenly, he activated Gravity Liberation and jumped down from the wall. He then made a dash for the black altar. It would be a pity if he did not at least try to steal a treasure that could tempt even a Tier 4 NPC. Moreover, after the Seven Luminaries Ring had upgraded to Level 7, the Rings Skills had undergone massive improvements. Shi Feng could totally give stealing the treasure a try. Above the black altar, Orc King Tresik focused on chanting his incantation. Meanwhile, Shi Feng slowly approached the altar. A Mythic Monsters perception range was not as wide as a Gods. Normally, that range was around 100 yards. Hence, Shi Feng still had a chance. If the Orc Kings perception range were any wider, Shi Feng would have no choice but to flee. When Shi Feng was about 100 yards from the Orc King, he halted his steps. Sure enough, the Orc King had yet to notice his presence. Shi Feng then walked along the distance of 100 yards, searching for the location closest to the treasure before settling down and waiting for the moment the treasures seal finished. Line after line of golden runes hovered around the treasure. This was the first time Shi Feng had ever witnessed such a complicated sealing ritual. Just as the sealing process was about to end, Shi Feng immediately used Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger secretly run over to and wait at the other side. Time slowly passed. Shi Fengs heart began to beat furiously. He was but a lowly Tier 1 class. Moreover, this was his first time trying to steal an item right from under the nose of a Mythic Monster. One mistake would definitely end with his death. Though Shi Feng did not mind losing a little EXP, he was deeply afraid of losing his equipment, particularly the Seven Luminaries Ring and the Heavenly Dragons Breath. Neither of these items were bound to his character. After he died, there was a very high possibility of either of these two items dropping. However, if he unequipped these two items, he would lose his edge to steal the treasure. It was a gamble. While Shi Feng waited quietly After the Orc King chanted the final verse of his incantation Suddenly, the countless runes wrapped around this treasure. In the next instant, the golden divine glow that had originally surrounded this treasure disappeared, revealing a simple and unadorned crystal ball. When Orc King Tresiks eyes landed on this crystal ball, the excited smile on his face became even more prominent. However, just as the Orc King was about to step towards the crystal ball, Shi Fengs doppelganger abruptly dashed towards it. The doppelganger was extremely fast. It had taken only an instant to cross the distance of 100 yards. A little Tier 1 ant dares to try for my God Crystal? Die! Orc King Tresik revealed a disdainful sneer as he unsheathed the blood-red greatsword from his back. Transforming into a flash, Tresik suddenly appeared before Shi Fengs doppelganger. Even though the doppelganger had already activated Windwalk, it was still as slow as a turtle compared to the Orc King. Tresik felt nothing but disdain for a Tier 1 ant like Shi Feng. Hence, the Orc King decided to annihilate this little rat to avoid any taint to his God Crystal. Without waiting for Tresik to take action, the doppelganger activated Defensive Blade. Shi Fengs deductions had indeed been accurate. The difference in Attributes between them was simply too massive. Before the doppelganger could even raise its sword to defend itself, Tresiks greatsword struck the doppelganger. Although Shi Feng had grasped the Flowing Water Realm and had even learned Flowing Water Acceleration, there was a qualitative difference between himself and the Orc King Tresik. In front of absolute power, all tricks were useless. The Orc Kings Attributes were dozens of times higher than Shi Fengs. Even if Shi Fengs techniques were more impressive, their effects were limited. In the blink of an eye, Defensive Blades block charges had been exhausted. Immediately after, a streak of red light cut across the doppelganger. Truly, without being able to resist, Shi Fengs doppelganger had been defeated. However, while Tresik dealt with the doppelganger, Shi Feng had already activated Windwalk and used a Speed Scroll. He had even activated Blade Liberation, increasing his Agility by 80%, and activated the Additional Skill of the Flame Boots, Flame Rush, increasing his Movement Speed by an additional 100%. At this moment, Shi Feng was faster than even wind itself. By the time the Orc King killed the doppelganger, less than 20 yards remained between Shi Feng and the treasure. Despicable! Tresik immediately discovered Shi Feng. Spinning around, he dashed towards Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng was very fast, two to three times faster than his doppelganger, compared to the Orc King, however, he was still as slow as a snail. Sure enough Just as Shi Feng was around three yards away from the treasure, Tresik suddenly appeared behind him, his greatsword swinging down at the little rat. However, Shi Feng had long since prepared for this moment. Before this, he had activated the Aura of Earth. At the instant he was discovered, he used Absolute Defense, becoming invulnerable for five seconds. Now that Shi Feng was invincible, he did not have to worry about any attacks towards him. While shouldering the Orc Kings attacks, he grabbed the crystal ball and stuffed it into his bag. Tresik grew indignant at this sight; the violent aura that surged forth from his body caused even Shi Feng to grow breathless. If he were not in an invulnerable state right now, he would have long since died. With the God Crystal in hand, Shi Feng immediately swapped the Aura of Earth to the Aura of Space and activated Space Movement. He then jumped into the spatial crack that appeared and left the Towers of Death. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 512 Killing Two Birds with One Stone Darkness arrived in Gods Domain once more. The lights in White River City shone brilliantly. After the night had arrived, aside from a small number of experts and elite parties grinding in the fields, the majority of players could only head back to the city to rest. While it was lively in White River City, the liveliest area, without a doubt, was the Candlelight Trading Firm. As for the reason behind the Candlelight Trading Firms popularity, that was due to the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Although the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits were not as powerful as the Basic Mana Armor Kits, the latter was simply too scarce. It could not compete with the large number of Basic Strengthened Armor Kits available at the Candlelight Trading Firm every day. Inside a high-class bar a short distance from the Candlelight Trading Firm Feng Xuanyang sat on the second floor open-air terrace, gazing at the Candlelight Trading Firm with a smile on his face. I want to see just how long you can hold out, Feng Xuanyang laughed, his expression clearly displaying his arrogance. Initially, Feng Xuanyang had been slightly worried that the Candlelight Trading Firms flourishing business would show no signs of ending. If that were so, it would not be easy to deal with the Firm in the future. However, during the process of poaching the Firms workers, Feng Xuanyang had discovered a secret, a fatal weakness of the Trading Firm. And that secret was that only three people in the Trading Firm knew how to produce the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit. With just three people, it was simply impossible to satisfy the demands of the large number of players in White River City. Even if it were possible, a long time would be required to do so. By then, players would have outgrown their need for the kits. Knowing this fatal secret, Feng Xuanyang began to spend large sums of money to purchase the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, buying as many as he could. First, he wanted to deplete the Candlelight Trading Firms stockpile. As long as the Firm no longer had any Basic Strengthened Armor Kits remaining, the Firms popularity would fall and limit its business. Although he had to invest a massive sum of Coins, the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits he bought were not completely useless. On the contrary, they were particularly helpful when raiding Team Dungeons. Secondly, aside from striving to establish their own Guild Residences, the various Guilds in Star-Moon City also strived to accumulate sufficient money to purchase the citys golden Lands. Other than that, these Guilds were also continuously raiding large-scale Dungeons, improving their Guilds Popularity and equipment. Meanwhile, other than giving the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits to his own teams, Feng Xuanyang also set aside a portion, selling them to other cities. There was no Candlelight Trading Firm branch in other cities, so there were no Basic Strengthened Armor Kits available there. With Underworlds channels, Feng Xuanyang had sold these kits to the various Guilds of other cities. When these Guilds saw the kits, they fought tooth and nail to purchase them. As a result, he made a huge profit by reselling the kits. It was truly killing two birds with one stone. Not only could he deplete the Candlelight Trading Firms stockpile of armor kits, but he could also profit from reselling them. How could this possibly go wrong? However, as he celebrated his plan, he had also gained a deep understanding of how fearsome the Candlelight Trading Firm was. Fortunately, the Candlelight Trading Firm was only in White River City, and there were only three forgers capable of producing the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Should the Trading Firm ever resolve these two problems, it could definitely dominate Star-Moon Kingdoms market. At that time, who could possibly compete with the Candlelight Trading Firm? Feng Xuanyang could not hold back his envy. Why isnt the Candlelight Trading Firm mine? Feng Xuanyang held a deep hatred towards Melancholic Smile. If the Candlelight Trading Firm had agreed to cooperate, it would have been his possession by now. With the money he could earn through the Trading Firm, his position within Underworld would also soar. At that time, those currently above him would be at his beck and call. Hmph. Did you think that, just because you refuse to sell the Trading Firm to me, I would be helpless against you? The Firm will fall into my hands! Feng Xuanyang could already picture the moment he grasped the rights to the Candlelight Trading Firm, and it would only be a matter of time before all of Underworlds power in Star-Moon Kingdom would fall under his control. At that time, it would be childs play to deal with a Combat Guild like Zero Wing. Just as Feng Xuanyang enjoyed the wine of victory, a slightly chubby middle-aged man in pompous clothing sat down beside him. Young Master Feng, may I know why you have called me here today? Although the middle-aged man was only Level 10, barely reaching the minimum requirement to enter a city, his body radiated a distinct shrewdness. In particular, those beady little eyes of his greatly resembled that of a wily old fox. How is the progress of the task I assigned you? Feng Xuanyang asked softly. Young Master Feng, rest assured, I have already discussed things with many members of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Although only over a dozen or so Advanced Forging Apprentices have officially defected to our side, many have expressed their intentions of doing so. I believe that in the near future, many more Advanced Forging Apprentices will willingly defect to our side. At that time, the Candlelight Trading Firm will show signs of supply shortages. When the Firms popularity falls, it will become even easier for us to poach its members. If they run out of workers, even with a good Shop and the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, expansion will be impossible. The middle-aged man chuckled. Good, youve done well. As long as you succeed, you will receive your fair share of benefits. Feng Xuanyang nodded with satisfaction. \--- Meanwhile, inside one of the forging rooms of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Melancholic Smile frowned, obviously worried. Just moments ago, several more Advanced Forging Apprentices had requested to dissolve their contracts. Moreover, these few Advanced Forging Apprentices all held rare forging designs. Although these people had to pay a compensation fee that was over a dozen times the value of the forging designs they had learned, it was still a massive loss for the Candlelight Trading Firm. It had not been easy for the Firm to get its hands on these forging designs. Without these commodities, how was the Firm supposed to retain its customers? Truly despicable. I didnt expect to have nurtured so many traitorous bastards. I should never have let these people learn those forging designs. Melancholic Smile gnashed her teeth. She deeply regretted focusing on these people, supplying them with rare forging designs and allowing them to become Advanced Forging Apprentices so quickly. Suddenly, Shi Feng opened the door to the forging room and entered. However, due to his silence, by the time Melancholic Smile had noticed him, he already stood right in front of her. Guild Leader! Melancholic Smile called out in surprise. Why are you here? Look at how distracted you are. Did you encounter some trouble? Shi Feng asked, laughing. Shi Feng was in an extremely good mood. After stealing the God Crystal from the Mythic Monster Orc King Tresik and escaping with his life, he had made a beeline for White River City, afraid that the Orc King would catch up to him and finish him off. Now that he had returned to White River City, even if the Orc King did catch up to him, it was impossible for him to invade the city. Guild Leader, Im useless I failed to live up to your expectations To think that I have been nurturing so many ungrateful bastards. Regret filled Melancholic Smiles eyes. Shi Feng had entrusted so many rare forging designs to her and had even repeatedly stressed that she should only let those who were trustworthy to learn them, yet, in the end Listening to Melancholic Smiles mumbling, Shi Feng could not help but laugh. So, thats whats going on! No problem. Although we lost some rare forging designs, havent we earned several million Credits in return? Shi Feng smiled calmly. He then took out a wad of forging designs, tossing them onto the stone platform. Since Overwhelming Smile wishes to poach our Advanced Forging Apprentices who have learned rare forging designs, let them have at it. If they can afford it, let them poach as many members as they want. I welcome them to do so. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 513 Mysterious Crystal Ball Melancholic Smile had never before seen any of the numerous forging designs scattered across the stone platform. This Melancholic Smile was stupefied. No words could describe her shock. Guild Leader, Im not dreaming, right? She was a forger in her own right, so she knew how valuable these forging designs were. While the forging designs that could be purchased from the Forging Association were not particularly valuable, forging designs obtained elsewhere were. This was due to the designs low drop-rates. However, ordinary forging designs were not enough to nurture a forger; hence the forging designs were so expensive. It was especially true for the forging designs that had very low drop-rates and were meant for producing highly useful items; the prices of such forging designs were astronomical. Aside from that, there was one more type of forging design that was even more valuable such as the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit Forging Design. Currently, aside from the Horizon Alliances three copies, no one had them. Moreover, nobody knew where to obtain these forging designs. As a result, they were even more valuable than Epic Equipment. Regarding the currently available forging designs, Melancholic Smile had practically learned all of the designs that were available. Even if she hadnt, she at least knew about them. However, she had neither seen or heard of any of the forging designs that Shi Feng had scattered all over the table before. Taking a casual glance at the forging designs, Melancholic Smiles eyes shone brilliantly. Every item these designs produced was an item that players needed desperately at this stage of the game. A majority of these forging designs detain instructions for the Light Stone. There are also some meant for Level 25 to Level 30 Mysterious-Iron and Secret Silver Equipment. You can let any Advanced Forging Apprentice learn the Light Stone Forging Designs. Shi Feng chuckled. Slowly, he said, However, only the three of you can learn these equipment forging designs. You can also leave some to serve as a reward for the members who become Basic Forgers, but all those who wish to learn them must renew their contracts. If they want to leave the Horizon Alliance, fine. But they must first compensate the Guild twenty times the value of the forging designs. If Overwhelming Smile wants to poach our members, let them have at it. Shi Feng had long since guessed that Overwhelming Smile would try to poach their Lifestyle players. These Forging Apprentices had initially joined with the intent of making a living for themselves. Since Overwhelming Smile was willing to offer an absurd salary in addition to shouldering the compensation, many would naturally be tempted. Before this, Shi Feng had repeatedly told Melancholic Smile to be careful when recruiting members precisely because he wished to avoid this situation. He had also done so with the intention of informing Melancholic Smile of the severity of the matter. Not even the gods could see through the human heart, let alone mankind. Only through experiencing hardships could one grow. There were many things that one could not learn from the experience of others. Only through experience could wisdom be earned. Now that Melancholic Smile had personally experienced such a situation, in the future, she would definitely be more thorough when selecting talented players. Currently, he had a large number of Light Stone Forging Designs on hand. If Overwhelming Smile would willingly pay the price to poach the Alliances members, Shi Feng welcomed them to do so. The Light Stone Forging Designs were very common. In the past, each forging design only sold for several Gold. Moreover, that was when most players had reached Level 45; these forging designs were not particularly valuable. Only, current players levels were not high enough yet to obtain them, resulting in their value increasing significantly. Based on Shi Fengs initial estimates, each Light Stone Forging Design should be worth around several dozen Gold. If he wished to acquire more Light Stone Forging Designs, he could obtain a ton of them any time he wanted. This way, he would not have to wait for the profits of the Light Stones to slowly roll in. Just the 20-times compensation Overwhelming Smile had to pay for poaching each member could make a ridiculous amount of Credits. He could make a fortune just by selling Advanced Forging Apprentices. Guild Leader, I will definitely be more careful when selecting who I allow to learn these forging designs. Melancholic Smile was immensely excited when she looked at the Light Stone Forging Designs scattered across the stone platform. However, her greatest joy was due to Shi Fengs forgiveness and encouragement. Its fine; just pick them at random. Even better, choose those who already have the heart to defect to Overwhelming Smile. Let Overwhelming Smile poach as many as they can. Otherwise, how will I make money? Shi Feng laughed. But For a moment, Melancholic Smile wanted to dissuade Shi Feng. However, when she looked at the forging designs on the table, she suddenly came to a realization. Ill carry out your orders, then, Guild Leader. To others, the Light Stone Forging Design might be a treasure. However, judging from Shi Fengs behavior, it seemed that they were not valuable in the slightest. Only, others did not know this yet. They would be senseless fools if they did not profit off of Overwhelming Smiles greed while they had the chance. A moment later, Melancholic Smile had picked out three Advanced Forging Apprentices. Of them, two seriously considered defecting to Overwhelming Smile. They only held out for the right price. Hence, Melancholic Smile decided to give them this opportunity. In reality, there were many others with the same intentions within the Horizon Alliance. However, to convince others of the Light Stone Forging Designs rarity, she could not allow too many people to learn it at once. An item was as valuable as it was rare. If she did so, the Light Stone Forging Designs would lose their value. As long as these two Advanced Forging Apprentices learned how to produce the Light Stones, their personal value would immediately skyrocket. In addition to the twos willingness to defect, Overwhelming Smile would try to poach them at all costs. After all, not only would they deal the Candlelight Trading Firm a blow, they could also steal two of the Trading Firms highly valued talents. As Melancholic Smile took care of the Light Stone Forging Design situation, Shi Feng had arrived at his own exclusive forging room. He had set up a private forging room for himself in every Candlelight Trading Firm. Other than himself, no one was allowed into these rooms. He wanted to ensure that he would have access to a forging room at all times. Inside the quiet forging room, Shi Feng carefully retrieved the God Crystal from his bag. The translucent crystal ball on the stone table looked simple and ordinary. No matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary crystal ball. However, Orc King Tresik had sacrificed hundreds of thousands of his subordinates to obtain this treasure. Moreover, this treasure had even managed to kill a Tier 4 Sky Knight, who had learned a forbidden move, instantly. The crystal balls worth was clear. Just what is this thing used for? Shi Feng could not see anything special about the orb despite observing it carefully for a long time. Moreover, the God Crystals information stated that it was only a Common item. Aside from that, no other information was displayed. It was also not in an Unknown or Unappraised state. Is there some hidden information about it? The more Shi Feng thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. There were many amazing items in Gods Domain that might look ordinary, but in reality, contained power that could even shake the heavens. In the past, there had been a player who had purchased a piece of dilapidated armor at a bazaar, only to discover that the armor was actually an Epic ranked armor. Such situations often occurred in Gods Domain. Only after triggering special conditions could one reveal the true value of a treasure. Shi Feng then used Omniscient Eyes. After more than half a minute had passed, however, there was still no reaction. He could not glean anything more about the crystal ball. Is the level of my Identification Skill insufficient? Shi Feng muttered in surprise. It cant be. I recall Sharlyn saying that the Omniscient Eyes activated using the Golden Stigmata is the second most powerful Identification Skill in Gods Domain. Do I need other items to activate the God Crystals true function? Shi Feng suddenly had the urge to puke blood. After wasting so much effort to steal this item, he could not actually use it; he still needed to fulfill some special requirements. Yet, he had no clue as to what those requirements were. It was utterly frustrating. Hm? Doesnt it look a bit like the dark blue crystal ball I got from the Eternal Courtyard? After the improvement to his brains activity, Shi Fengs memory had become extraordinary. Thus far, he had not been able to do anything about the dark-blue crystal ball. At this moment, seeing as both items were crystal balls and were related to Gods, if someone told him that the two items were unrelated, Shi Feng would not believe them. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng left the forging room immediately and rushed towards the Bank. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 514 Divine Migh Inside Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence in White River City What did you say? Feng Xuanyang abruptly slammed his fist down on the table. Furious, he said, Those bastards suddenly raised their price? Do they take us for fools? Young Master, please calm down, the slightly chubby, middle-aged man advised. They have not raised their prices without reason, but because they have the capital to do so. Capital? Advanced Forging Apprentices like them? Overwhelming Smile has no shortage of individuals of their caliber! Feng Xuanyangs brows furrowed, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes. Although his family was successful, he wasnt the only one competing to become the successor. He had joined Underworld precisely because he needed the organizations help to achieve his goal. Meanwhile, upon discovering Gods Domains unique standing through Underworlds inside information, he had immediately snatched the chance and invested in the virtual reality game. As long as he could create a legacy for himself, the matter of becoming his familys successor would be set in stone. He had spent such a large sum of money to poach these people only because he wished to wound the Candlelight Trading Firm. Due to the ongoing war with Zero Wing, Overwhelming Smiles daily gold expenditure was massive. Hence, all of the money spent on dealing with the Candlelight Trading Firm right now was his. His liquid funds only amounted to several hundred millions of Credits, so he could not squander it. Although Advanced Forging Apprentices were indeed rare, with the money he possessed, he could easily hire dozens of Advanced Forging Apprentice NPCs from the Forging Association. It was much easier and cheaper than poaching Advanced Forging Apprentices from the Candlelight Trading Firm. Not only did he have to offer these people high benefits, but he also had to pay an astronomical compensation fee. Moreover, even when these forgers joined him, they were useless with their Lifestyle Skills reset to zero. Young Master Feng, the two I mention are somewhat special. Special?! Just because they are special, they dared to raise the price we have agreed upon by three times?! Do they really consider themselves true Forgers?! Young Master Feng, although they are not forgers, they have recently learned a rare forging design; they can now produce Light Stones. A Light Stone is an item that enables players to grind and level even throughout the night. With it, players will not be limited by time. Moreover, its quite cheap to produce Light Stones, so it is a very lucrative product. Meanwhile, among the Advanced Forging Apprentices of the Candlelight Trading Firm, only three have learned it. So, naturally, they raised their prices. Light Stone? There is actually such a thing? Have you confirmed how they managed to obtain its forging design? When he heard about the Light Stones function, Feng Xuanyang immediately realized how massive its value was. If he could obtain the forging designs for them, he would not need to spend money to poach the Candlelight Trading Firms members. He could simply rely on the Light Stones to defeat the Candlelight Trading Firm and dominate Star-Moon Kingdoms market. The Candlelight Trading Firm is keeping that a secret, so low-ranking members like them have no access to that information. However, I have sent someone to investigate the Light Stones. Though, it would seem that the Candlelight Trading Firm only has a limited number of Light Stone Forging Designs. Otherwise, they would not only allow three Advanced Forging Apprentices to learn them. Moreover, I have also heard that the three Forgers of Candlelight are not producing the Light Stones, focusing on producing the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. It is quite possible that the Trading Firm is too busy and has decided to allow its Advanced Forging Apprentices to produce the Light Stones instead. In other words, it is possible that Candlelight only has three Light Stone Forging Designs. If we can poach two of them, it would be a massive blow to the Trading Firm. Youre right. If Candlelight is allowed to produce a large amount of Light Stones, they will become more difficult to deal with. Unfortunately, mans schemes are inferior to those made in heaven! Melancholic Smile, that damnable woman! She actually dared toy with this young master! Now, Ill show her what pain means! I dont care what it takes, poach those two! Well be even better off if you can lure the last one as well! When Feng Xuanyang recalled Melancholic Smiles arrogance, he could not help but laugh. Young Master Feng, rest assured, we already have those two in the bag. Only, the last one is rather obstinate. His price might be a lot higher than the others. In addition to Candlelights latest contract, our expenditure this time might exceed 50 million, the middle-aged man said cautiously. After all, this was not a small sum of money. They had to spend 50 million Credits just to poach three people, with a majority consisting of the compensation fee. Based on his initial estimates, the Light Stone Forging Design should be worth nearly 100 Gold. If they poached all three forgers, they had to pay a compensation fee of 6,000 Gold. Just do it. It will be worth it if we can drag all three of those forgers to our side, Feng Xuanyang said as he gnashed his teeth. If he could steal both man and forging design, he would have done so in a heartbeat. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm wouldnt be so stupid. Even fools knew how precious one-of-a-kind products were. Such items could significantly increase a Shops competitive edge. Following which, the middle-aged man left the meeting room to negotiate with the Advanced Forging Apprentices. \--- Meanwhile, at White River Citys Bank, Shi Feng had already rented a Private Warehouse for himself. If a player wished to store a truly precious item in Gods Domains Banks and wanted no one else to know of it, they had the option of renting a Private Warehouse and private room. Without the owners permission, nobody was allowed inside the Private Warehouse. However, unlike the Public Warehouse where the daily fee was only several Copper Coins, renting a Private Warehouse was not cheap. Inside a Small Private Warehouse, players had 30,000 item slots. Each days rent was 30 Silver, and there was a minimum rental period of one month, which would be a total of 9 Gold. There was a discount if players rented the Warehouse for three months, but even then, they would still have to spend 25 Gold. A Medium Private Warehouse had to 100,000 item slots, and the daily fee was 1 Gold Coin. Renting for one month cost 30 Gold while renting for three months cost 85 Gold. A Large Private Warehouse held up to 500,000 item slots, and the daily fee was 4 Gold Coins. Renting for one month cost 120 Gold while renting for three months cost 350 Gold. Normally, ordinary players would not rent a Private Warehouse at all. However, as players reached higher levels, it would become much easier to earn Coins. Many players who conducted business would usually rent a Private Warehouse. Shi Feng had rented two Large Private Warehouses without hesitation. Moreover, he had rented both for three months. One was for himself, while the other was for the Guild. This way, Aqua Rose and the others would not have to worry about spies from other Guilds while retrieving items of great importance. Such incidents had not been uncommon in Gods Domain in the past. There were many Guilds that had not rented a Private Warehouse, and as a result, other Guilds had learned some of their secrets. As a precaution, Shi Feng had to rent one for the Guild, no matter what. Shi Feng then entered his Private Warehouse. Rows of cabinets lined the warehouses interior neat and orderly. Shi Feng immediately moved all of the items from his Public Warehouse to his Private Warehouse. The Private Warehouse was very human-like, and immediately, it intelligently categorized all of the items, saving Shi Feng the trouble of arranging them himself. Shi Feng then opened a cabinet. Inside the cabinet, there was a single dark blue crystal ball. This crystal ball was none other than the one Shi Feng had obtained from the Eternal Courtyard. However, this crystal ball was too powerful. Even with Shi Fengs extremely high resistance, he lost 1,000 HP every second just by coming into contact with it. If ordinary players touched it, they would most likely die on the spot. Death upon touching? Shi Feng recalled the situation when he had obtained the deep-blue crystal ball. Suddenly, he came to a realization. Wasnt it the same situation when he had stolen the God Crystal from the Orc King? Only, as the God Crystal had not been sealed yet, the Tier 4 Sky Knight had died instantly when he touched it. I wonder if it is possible? Shi Feng was slightly nervous as he took out the God Crystal from his bag. Carefully, he placed it inside the cabinet, beside the dark-blue crystal ball. He wanted to see just how these two crystal balls would react when placed together. The instant Shi Feng placed the God Crystal inside the cabinet, the two crystal balls suddenly released a blinding glow, illuminating the Private Warehouse. The powerful pressure the two orbs gave off had caused Shi Fengs body to feel heavy. Divine Might! Shi Feng could not help his shock. Right at this moment, the sound of a system notification rang out by his ears. System: Do you wish to remove the seal and merge the two Crystal Balls? * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 515 Legendary Item After hearing the system notification, Shi Feng felt both stunned and hesitant. Both the dark-blue crystal ball he had obtained from the Eternal Courtyard and the God Crystal he had stolen from the Orc King were extraordinarily precious items. They were even more valuable than an Epic item. Yet, he was required to merge them If he agreed, he would lose one of the two items. To a reincarnated soul like Shi Feng, Epic items were not particularly precious. As long as his team was sufficiently strong, he had plenty of ways to obtain more Epic items. However, one could not obtain items above Epic rank with strength alone. A certain amount of luck and opportunity were required as well. If he disagreed, he would have to look for some other way to activate the two items. Forget it; lets just go for it. Shi Feng gnashed his teeth as he agreed to the merger. Suddenly, the two crystal balls transformed into two bubbles of liquid. The crystal ball Shi Feng had obtained from the Eternal Courtyard transformed into a blue liquid, whereas the transparent crystal ball Shi Feng had stolen from the Orc King transformed into golden liquid. The two liquids then merged, and as if they tried to devour one another, the newly formed liquid turned blue in one moment and gold in the next. Meanwhile, the Divine Might exuded by the both grew stronger as more time passed. Is this really a merger? Immersed in the Divine Might from the two liquids, Shi Fengs discomfort was unbearable. After several minutes of resisting each other, the two liquids finally became one. The dark-blue crystal ball from the Eternal Courtyard had emerged victorious. After merging, the shape of the crystal ball had also changed. Instead of a crystal ball, it was now a dark-blue metallic cup. Countless tiny blue runes were engraved around the cups exterior. There was also a faint purple ring of light flowing around the cup. At this moment, the cups Divine Might was far stronger than the one Shi Feng had felt before. So powerful! Shi Feng exclaimed. He even dared to guarantee that this was the most powerful item he had ever seen. Even the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragons Breath was far from matching this blue metallic cup. If not for this place being a Private Warehouse, he would have definitely caused a commotion inside the Banks hall. Meanwhile, any players caught within the blue cups Divine Might would find it impossible to move. After all, if even a Tier 1 Blade Saint like himself struggled, Tier 0 players didnt have a prayer. If he could control this blue cup, he would have no problems dealing with even an army of thousands of elite players. Immediately, Shi Feng checked the cups information. However, just after Shi Feng clicked to check the cups Attributes, he received -5,000 frost damage, even with his finger still a distance away, instantly losing half of his HP. Damn, isnt this a little too intense? Shi Feng looked at his completely frozen hand, a layer of purple frost covering his entire arm. If his finger had moved even a little closer to the cup, he would most likely have lost his life on the spot Shi Feng then took a look at the cups Attributes. [Holy Grail] (Legendary Item) Legend has it that the Holy Grail belongs to the Goddess of Life and that it holds the power to bestow eternal life. However, after Ragnarok, the God of War had destroyed the Holy Grail and placed it in the Eternal Courtyard. The Holy Grails restoration requires sufficient Gods Power. Only with an Eternal Heart can one truly hold the Holy Grail. Activatable Skill- Power of Evolution: Sacrifice ones own Life Force to evolve an item of the players choice. However, there is a small possibility that the evolution process will fail. An evolved items quality cannot exceed the Fragmented Legendary rank. Cooldown: 10 days By the time Shi Feng finished reading the cups Attributes, his jaw hung to the floor. Legendary Item! This was the first time he had ever actually seen one. Although the Holy Grail was neither a weapon nor a piece of equipment, among the various types of items found in Gods Domain, tools such as the Holy Grail were the most difficult to obtain; they were far rarer and more precious than weapons or equipment. Moreover, looking at the Holy Grails description, it was obvious its rank could still be increased. However, he needed Power of God to do so; items such as the God Crystal should be able to supply it. However, looking at the streams of light overflowing from the Holy Grail, Shi Feng could not help but laugh bitterly. Although he had completely unsealed such an amazing item, he could not touch or control it. Shi Feng had also never heard of an item called the Eternal Heart before. Just how and where was he supposed to obtain one? Fortunately, he could still use the Power of Evolution. After all, he didnt have to control the Holy Grail to use the Skill. He only needed to sacrifice some of his Life Force. The term Life Force referred to a players HP. For all Shi Feng cared, the Holy Grail could have as much of his HP as it wanted. Hm? Thats not right. Shi Feng thought it over for a moment, feeling that something was amiss. A Skill capable of evolving an itemsuch an OP Skill should not only require a sacrifice of HP. Even the Skills 10-day Cooldown was insignificant. Gods Domain always followed the rule of equivalent exchange. However, this was obviously not an equivalent exchange. Otherwise, even if the success chance wasnt 100%, having an opportunity to obtain a Fragmented Legendary item once every ten days was still astounding. Obviously, Shi Feng wanted to try it. The Holy Grail had a Cooldown of ten days. If he did not activate it now, wouldnt it be a waste? Which item should I evolve? Shi Feng looked through his warehouse and bag, feeling very indecisive. He only had one chance to evolve an item every ten days. If the item he evolved now had little use to him, he would suffer a huge loss. Should I evolve the Seven Luminaries Ring? Shi Feng could not help but stare at the Seven Luminaries Ring around his finger. As the Replica of a Godly Relic, it was already frighteningly powerful, even at only Epic rank. If the ring were upgraded to Fragmented Legendary rank, it would be godlike. No. Shi Feng immediately shook his head. If he upgraded the ring to Fragmented Legendary rank, the Equipment Requirement would definitely soar. He wouldnt be able to equip the ring. The impact on his current strength would be painful. Moreover, Shi Feng did not doubt that the success rate of evolving an item to Fragmented Legendary rank would be abysmally low. It would be a huge pity to waste an opportunity to evolve an item. The best choice he could make right now was to evolve a Dark-Gold item to an Epic item. With this idea, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the Purgatorys Shadow. As a Dark-Gold Weapon, if he could promote it to an Epic Weapon, then it would increase his overall combat power significantly. At that time, even Summer Sunshine would easily suffer defeat at his hands. As the leader of a Guild, however, his first and foremost priority was to increase his Guilds strength. Currently, his personal strength was sufficient. Even if he became slightly stronger, it would not impact the Guild. Suddenly, a streak of light flashed past Shi Fengs eyes. Thats right! How could I forget! Theres still the Icaruss Heart! Shi Feng laughed. If he evolved Icaruss Heart, it would help the Guild tremendously. Just the meager five points of Luck it provided had allowed him to obtain so many Tier 1 Set Equipment. If he could evolve Icaruss Heart further, raising the Luck it provided even a little, couldnt he obtain even better items? Although Icaruss Heart was already capable of evolving, he needed the souls of Lord ranked monsters to do so. Even so, based on Shi Fengs estimates, he should only be able to evolve Icaruss Heart to Dark-Gold rank at maximum. After all, it was an item he got from a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest; it was utterly impossible for him to obtain an Epic ranked necklace. Ill choose you. Shi Feng smiled as he removed Icaruss Heart from his neck. He then adjusted the Seven Luminaries Ring to the Aura of Water and activated Life Bloom, healing himself. Previously, he had received a significant amount of damage just by approaching the Holy Grail. He would have to touch it again, so he had to heal himself back to full HP; he could not afford to miss any. In a moment, Shi Fengs 10,000-plus HP recovered to full. Shi Feng then tapped on the touchscreen that was very close to the Holy Grail, choosing to use Power of Evolution. The instant his finger collided with the touch screen, Shi Feng lost 7,000 HP. However, Life Bloom quickly regenerated a significant amount of the missing HP. Only when he recovered to full HP did Shi Feng proceed to select Icaruss Heart as the target of evolution. System: Are you willing to permanently lose 400 HP to evolve the Icaruss Heart? Crap, thats the requirement?! Shi Feng could not help but curse. It was actually a permanent loss?! No wonder it could allow an item evolve to a maximum of Fragmented Legendary rank! * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 516 Successful Evolution In Gods Domain, aside from leveling up, it was extremely difficult for players to obtain permanent Attributes. Losing 400 HP, or the equivalent of 20 Endurance points, would significantly weaken a player. Even Shi Feng would mourn the Attribute loss, let alone other players. However, despite having seen the true side of the Power of Evolution, Shi Feng still chose to sacrifice 400 HP, albeit begrudgingly. Although 400 HP was precious, it could not beat being able to upgrade the Icaruss Heart to Epic rank. Moreover, Shi Feng knew of several methods to increase his Endurance permanently; he could easily make up for the loss he suffered now. Shi Feng then clicked Agree, and suddenly, the strength of the Holy Grails Divine Might soared. In the next moment, strands of green light flowed from Shi Fengs body and into the Holy Grail. After the Holy Grail absorbed 400 HP from Shi Feng, it fired a purple ray at the Icaruss Heart. Immediately, the Icaruss Heart released a brilliant golden glow, forcing Shi Feng to shut his eyes. After the golden radiance faded, Shi Feng opened his eyes and looked at the Icaruss Heart, discovering that the necklace now emitted a faint purple glow. Was it a success? Shi Feng was somewhat nervous as he examined the necklaces Attributes. If it had failed, then he had permanently lost 400 HP for nothing. Moreover, he would also have to wait for ten days before the next sacrifice. However, after investigating the Icaruss Hearts Attributes, Shi Fengs tightened fists relaxed as excitement quickly overtook him. Thats right; it was a success! [Icaruss Heart] (Necklace, Mysterious-Iron Rank [Can be evolved]) Equipment Requirement: All Attributes 120 Level 20 - Level 80 (Currently Level 30) All Attributes +18 Luck +7 Additional Skill - Divine Providence: Temporarily increases players Luck by 25 points for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 45 minutes Evolution Condition: Absorb the Life Force of 300 players to evolve to Secret-Silver Rank. (0/300) After evolving, Icaruss Hearts rank had upgraded from Bronze to Mysterious-Iron. The Luck it provided had increased from 5 points to 7 points. Aside from that, Divine Providences Cooldown had decreased from one hour to 45 minutes. This would save Shi Feng a lot of time. However, the best improvement by far was the change to the Evolution Conditions. Originally, the Icaruss Heart required Shi Feng to kill Lord ranked monsters. Moreover, it required 100 kills. Lords were extremely rare, and Shi Feng would have to waste a lot of time to kill 100. Now that the conditions had been adjusted, Shi Feng only needed to kill 300 players and absorb their Life Force instead. A Lord was very difficult to find, but players crowded the streets. As long as Shi Feng worked hard, he could upgrade Icaruss Heart to Epic rank very quickly. At that time, he would gain massive profits from opening the Twilight Treasure Chests. At the thought, Shi Feng could not help but grow restless. If not for the ongoing war with Overwhelming Smile, he would have struggled to find opponents. Now, however, his target was clear. He would use Overwhelming Smiles players as sacrifices for the Icaruss Heart. Now that Overwhelming Smiles White River City branch has been defeated, it wont be easy to find large groups of players. I might as well make a trip to Maple City and have a look at the situation there. After some consideration, Shi Feng felt that Maple City was the best location to take action. Overwhelming Smile had already become Maple Citys overlord. The Overwhelming Smile members there had nothing to fear within the region of Maple City. It would be far easier for Shi Feng to find targets there than in White River City. Shi Feng then slipped the Icaruss Heart over his head and headed for White River Citys Teleportation Hall. Shi Feng very much looked forward to upgrading the Icaruss Heart to Epic rank. Not even the night in Gods Domain could hinder Shi Fengs yearning. The sooner he upgraded the necklace to Epic rank, the sooner he could obtain better items from the Twilight Treasure Chests. One could obtain even Epic items from the Twilight Treasure Chests. If he could get his hands on several Epic items, he could help the guild tremendously. Naturally, he would upgrade it sooner rather than later. As for the matter regarding the Light Stones, he fully trusted Melancholic Smiles capabilities. Shi Feng believed that it wouldnt be long before the Light Stones raked in a massive income. Just as Shi Feng arrived before the Teleportation Hall, the sound of his communicator rang near his ears. The caller this time was none other than Gentle Snow, who had been busy consolidating her power as the new Guild Leader of Ouroboros. Although Gentle Snow had chased away her biggest competitor, Cao Chenghua, the resulting internal struggles within Ouroboros had resulted in the first-rate Guild falling apart. If Gentle Snow wished to consolidate her power, she would need to spend a lot of time and effort to do so. In addition, a more powerful opponent, the first-rate Guild Star Alliance, lurked, waiting to strike. Shi Feng had never thought that Gentle Snow would have the spare time to contact him with the burdens she currently shouldered. Guild Leader Black Flame, may I ask if you have the time to speak right now? In the video call, Gentle Snow still wore the calm and elegant smile she usually displayed. She looked like a goddess that was high above mortals. It felt as if she were in control of everything. However, though she appeared completely fine on the surface, her act did not deceive Shi Feng. He could feel that Gentle Snow had grown frailer than before. Seeing a superwoman like Gentle Snow so exhausted, one could just imagine how terrible Ouroboross current situation was. However, giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng felt that such an outcome was expected. Gentle Snow had just taken control of Ouroboros. The number of people she could trust was limited. Meanwhile, after ruling Ouroboros for so many years, Cao Chenghua would not give up so easily after being kicked out of his position. In addition to a great enemy like the Star Alliance threatening the Guild, it would be very difficult for Gentle Snow to cope. Miss Snow, there is no need to mince words. Our Guilds are allies, so feel free to speak your mind, Shi Feng spoke candidly. Gentle Snow revealed a bitter smile on her pure and delicate face upon hearing Shi Fengs words. Guild Leader Black Flames senses are as sharp as always. Ill speak openly, then. Im calling about the Candlelight Trading Firm that suddenly appeared on one of Star-Moon Citys golden Lands and the Candlelight Trading Firms in White River City. I cant think of anyone in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom other than you who is capable of launching such firms. Thats right; I am indeed the founder. Shi Feng did not try to hide it. To begin with, he had no need to do so. He had spoken with Gentle Snow about his plans to establish a Lifestyle Guild long ago. Back then, he had hoped to utilize Ouroboross fame to promote his Trading Firm. Even without Gentle Snows call today, he had prepared to seek her help to promote the Candlelight Trading Firm at an appropriate time. As a first-rate Guild, Ouroboros had a large number of members scattered across Star-Moon Kingdom. Practically every major city in Star-Moon Kingdom housed the Guilds members. There were even branches in other kingdoms. If the Guild helped with promotion, the Candlelight Trading Firms business would flourish. However, the supply of Basic Strengthened Armor Kits simply could not meet the demand. Even if Ouroboros promoted the Firm right now, it would not significantly increase the Firms income; hence Shi Feng had decided to hold off on seeking Gentle Snows help for the moment. Excellent; this will make things easy. I want to invest into the Candlelight Trading Firm. I dont want a lot of shares; 20% will do. Naturally, I will compensate you appropriately. The compensation will include 30% of Ouroboross shares, as well as funds, channels, and materials, which will allow the Trading Firm to develop quickly. What do you think of my offer? * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 517 Fate Makes Fools of the People One had to admit that Gentle Snows proposal was tempting. Even Zhao Yueru and the Elders of Ouroboros standing beside Gentle Snow were shocked by her offer. After all was said and done, Ouroboros was a bona fide first-rate Guild and possessed a massive fortune. The Guild had only achieved its current status after striving for many years. Although the Guilds internal struggles were serious, the Guild itself was still frighteningly strong; second-rate Guilds were still no match for it. Yet, just for 20% of the shares of a Trading Firm, Gentle Snow actually intended to trade 30% of Ouroboross shares for 20% of the Trading Firm, in addition to providing various funds and channels. This decision was simply insane. Snow, have you gone mad? You only hold 50% of Ouroboross shares right now, yet, youre actually going to give Black Flame 30%? What will you do if Black Flame joins hands with Cao Chenghua? Zhao Yueru persuaded her friend softly. Although Zhao Yueru trusted Black Flame, 30% of Ouroboross shares was simply too important. If utilized properly, Gentle Snow could easily persuade more of the Guilds Elders to her side. That way, Cao Chenghua would not be able to impact the Guild so easily. Utilizing the Guilds shares to boost Gentle Snows strength and solidify the Guild was far more valuable than obtaining 20% of the Candlelight Trading Firms shares. Thats right, Young Madam Snow; you have to consider this carefully. Those shares are the last resort left by Young Master for you to keep Cao Chenghua in check. Although Cao Chenghua can no longer play Gods Domain, in the real world, his authority in the company has not been affected in the slightest. If you give those shares to someone else and lose this protective talisman, he can easily join hands with the other shareholders of the company to oppose you, a man nearing his fifties in butler clothing similarly attempted to persuade Gentle Snow. You dont have to say anymore. I know what I am doing. Gentle Snow shook her head, waiting for Shi Fengs reply. She was no fool. She knew this was not a worthwhile transaction. Even so, she insisted on conducting such a trade to deepen the relationship between their two Guilds. Although she was the Guild Leader of Ouroboros and one of the major shareholders of the company, neither her authority nor her words were of any use. Unfortunately, although she had tried to nurture plenty of people herself, there were too few capable personnel under her command. It was especially true for experts in Gods Domain. Cao Chenghua had managed Ouroboros for many years now, so he had previously had the time and resources to nurture plenty of experts. Due to her premature victory over Cao Chenghua in Gods Domain, he had decisively ordered all of the experts under him to abandon the Guild. In addition, Cao Chenghua had also roped in many of the Guilds Elders and had secretly been transferring personnel out of the Guild, gradually splitting Ouroboros in half. If Ouroboros split in half, then the shares she had on hand would be meaningless. Hence, she might as well use it to pull Zero Wing to her side. Although Zero Wing seemed only to occupy a single city right now and looked to be inferior to many second-rate Guilds, Zero Wings city had the second highest population in Star-Moon Kingdom. That was far better than occupying three to five minor cities with a population of only several hundred thousand players. In particular, after seeing Ye Fengs and Violet Clouds performance Although Zero Wing was still a fledgling Guild right now, Gentle Snow had seen Zero Wings small, but sharp, fangs. When the time was right, Zero Wing would rip apart all enemies in its way and become Star-Moon Kingdoms overlord. At this moment, just the fact that Black Flame had managed to establish a Candlelight Trading Firm on one of Star-Moon Citys golden Lands displayed the mans capabilities and power. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was similarly stunned by Gentle Snows proposal. He had never expected Gentle Snow to make such a tempting offer. However, Shi Feng still shook his head and said, Miss Snow, your offer is indeed very tempting. However, please allow me to refuse. Refuse? Why? Gentle Snow asked in disbelief, her beautiful eyes widening with shock. Her proposal was no different than shoving money at Shi Fengs face. If Zero Wing and Ouroboros joined forces, not only could they make up for each others deficiencies, but it would also become more convenient for their two Guilds on their paths to becoming the overlords of Star-Moon Kingdom. She could not fathom why Shi Feng would reject such a proposal. As I understand it, I know that you hope to deal with Ouroboross internal problems quickly, but I do not want Zero Wing to get mixed up in the internal struggles of other Guilds, Shi Feng explained. However, I have another proposal that Miss Snow might be interested in. Another proposal? Gentle Snow could not help but ask curiously. Its very simple. Miss Snow simply needs to bring Ouroboross members into Zero Wing. I can give Miss Snow 15% of Zero Wings shares. Although Shi Fengs voice was utterly calm, his words were astoundingly shocking. Are you trying to annex Ouroboros? Gentle Snow said, slightly indignant. Ouroboros did not belong to her entirely. Originally, it should have been her brothers. Only, due to her brother having an accident, Cao Chenghua had taken the opportunity to weasel his way to the top. And all this time, she had been thinking of a way to help Ouroboros recover its past glory, so how could she possibly agree to merge Ouroboros and Zero Wing right now? Is there a difference? Shi Feng countered. Ouroboros exists only in name now. Although you have acquired the position of Ouroboross Guild Leader, you do not possess the corresponding authority. Sooner or later, Ouroboros will split in half, so why not join Zero Wing instead? Shi Feng had his own considerations regarding Ouroboros. In reality, Ouroboros was not all that important to him. The only reason he had decided to offer 15% of Zero Wings shares was solely due to the war goddess herself, Gentle Snow. Everything else meant little to him. In the past, Cao Chenghua had defeated Gentle Snow. With the entire Guild pitted against her, it was only natural that she had lost. Aside from Gentle Snows most trusted followers, not a single person had stood with Gentle Snow. How could she have won? Even if her own abilities were amazing and her strength famed throughout Gods Domain, the peoples aspirations could not be easily swayed just by strength alone. Although Shi Feng had helped Gentle Snow win the competition this time, her fate had not changed much. In this life, she was simply the one standing on the righteousness rather than Cao Chenghua. Even so, the majority of Ouroboross members were still Cao Chenghuas subordinates. He could just withdraw his men and form his own Guild. Only, the price he would have to pay would not be small. However, Cao Chenghua had no other choice. In the end, Ouroboros would disband. What point was there for Gentle Snow to strive so hard? It would be much better for her to take the opportunity, while a small portion of the Guild still supported her, to join Zero Wing. Time crawled by. Both sides silently looked at each other. At this moment, complex emotions filled Gentle Snows heart. She had won the competition, but lost the Guild. This sentence fit her situation perfectly. Despite her desperate efforts to preserve the Guild, at the end of the day, she could not escape her fate. Fate makes fools of the people! Gentle Snow quietly exclaimed. She then looked at Zhao Yueru and the several Guild Elders beside her. They were all people whom she trusted the most. By the time Cao Chenghua extracted all of his underlings from Ouroboros, the Guild would only exist in name. At that time, it would be very difficult for the Guild to continue in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, Ouroboros and the Star Alliance were sworn enemies. Even if Ouroboros only existed in name, the Star Alliance would not let it off the hook. Only when the Guild had thoroughly erased Ouroboros from Gods Domain would it rest. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 518 Breaking the Balance After some time, Gentle Snow released a small sigh. Shi Feng could see the helplessness Gentle Snow struggled with through the screen. However, her reaction was only natural. After all, who would willingly merge the Guild they had spent an endless amount of effort to establish with another Guild? However, Shi Feng had his own considerations as well. Even if Zero Wing and Ouroboros were allies, the Guilds resided in two different cities. And as no one could predict the future, both Zero Wings upper management and its Guild members had to keep up their guard constantly. In order to avoid adding to Zero Wings worries, the best result would be to annex Ouroboros. It was truly hilarious. A little Guild like Zero Wing actually dared to annex a first-rate guild? However, Shi Feng possessed the strength and confidence to succeed. Zero Wing currently possessed many experts. There was also a continuous supply of funds from the Candlelight Trading Firm, so Zero Wing could afford to annex a gigantic existence like Ouroboros. Moreover, after receiving Ouroboross trade channels, the Candlelight Trading Firm could profit further. In addition, after operating in the virtual gaming world for so many years, Ouroboros must have accumulated plenty of old customers, who were very rich and willing to spend lots of money in virtual reality games, as well as corporate sponsors. Otherwise, the Guild would not have such an impressive income. Zero Wing Workshop was currently still developing their customer base. If the Workshop could claim Ouroboross old customers, it could very quickly earn large sums of Credits, unlike the Workshops current state where it was without a stable income and required Shi Feng to look for a source himself. Guild Leader Black Flame, I need some time to consider this matter, Gentle Snow said after calming down. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has no intentions of selling the Candlelight Trading Firms shares, may I purchase some Coins from you? Although there were plenty of people selling their Coins on the virtual trade center, the available volume was very small. Moreover, every other Guild in the game was also attempting to purchase Coins in bulk, making it practically impossible to purchase large sums. Thus, Ouroboros could only rely on its own money-farming teams to cover the Guilds daily expenses. Miss Snow, you should know how tight the various Guilds are for Coins right now. However, if youre only interested in purchasing a small sum, there should be no issues. May I know how much you are looking to buy? Shi Feng asked. Although he had spent quite a lot of money already, both the Starstreak Trading Firm and the Candlelight Trading Firm provided him with a significant daily income. He could easily sell one or two thousand Gold. I dont want much; 5,000 Gold will do, Gentle Snow stated after giving the matter some thought. I can transfer 50 million Credits for them immediately. With 5,000 Gold, she should barely be able to stabilize Ouroboross current situation. If she established a Guild Residence and gave the Guild members some hope, it would make it more difficult for Cao Chenghua to lure players away. Five thousand? Miss Snow, you think too highly of me. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. How about this; I can sell you 2,000 Gold at market price. However, I will require Ouroboross help to purchase a few plots of Land in Star-Moon Kingdoms top ten cities and to promote the Candlelight Trading Firm. Coins market value constantly depreciated. Currently, 1 Gold Coin was worth about 6,000 Credits. One could roughly purchase a piece of Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment or Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment with that kind of money. Gentle Snows offer to purchase 5,000 Gold at 50 million Credits was far above market value. However, even if she had 50 million Credits, she couldnt even purchase 4,000 Gold, much less 5,000. Otherwise, those corporate giants would have long since bought up all the available Lands in major cities. One could say that Coins were at their peak value right now. If one could purchase a good plot of Land now, they could earn back the money spent by ten, or even dozens, of times. These massive corporations naturally would not hold back from spending their Credits. Unfortunately, such a thing was simply not possible. Two thousand Gold? Gentle Snow was immediately stunned. Before, she had only mentioned 5,000 Gold with the intention of probing Zero Wings bottom line. Throughout Gods Domain, there was not a single Guild that was capable of revealing 5,000 Gold, yet Shi Feng had just casually mentioned that he would sell her 2,000 Gold. Two thousand Gold! In order to acquire so much money, she would have to spend several days relentlessly trying to purchase Coins and draft the Guilds money-farming teams and her confidants. On the other hand, even after purchasing so many golden Lands, Shi Feng could still afford to sell 2,000 Gold. His financial prowess was unmatched Is it not enough? Shi Feng pondered for a moment before saying, I can offer you 3,000 Gold at most. If it is still not enough, you will have to look for other avenues yourself. Gentle Snow had helped him plenty of times, so he would not kick her while she was down. He would help her to the best of his abilities so long as it was within his capability. Although he had a lot of money, he needed that money to purchase Lands and set up Shops in other cities. Besides that, he also needed to leave some for the Guild in case of emergencies. Thanks, Ill transfer the money to you right away, Gentle Snow said, inwardly feeling overjoyed. With 3,000 Gold in addition to the 2,000 Gold she currently had on hand, she would have enough to purchase a plot of Land and establish Ouroboross Guild Residence, as well as maintain the Guilds daily expenses. This way, Cao Chenghua would find it far more difficult to tear the Guild. \--- After Shi Feng sold 3,000 Gold to Gentle Snow through the virtual trade center, he then teleported to Maple City. Maple City was also considered a major city in Star-Moon Kingdoms Eastern Region. The city had nearly one million players. This was also one of the reasons that many people had an optimistic opinion of Overwhelming Smile. Aside from a few small Guilds, Overwhelming Smile was the only large Guild residing in the city. It had already chased any major competition out of Maple City. One could say that Overwhelming Smile had fortified itself in Maple City. It would be very difficult for other Guilds to cause even the slightest bit of trouble here. At this moment, as Shi Feng wandered through Maple Citys; streets the majority of the players he saw on his walk consisted of Overwhelming Smiles members. Every one of these Overwhelming Smile members flaunted their arrogance, and players of other Guilds could only do their best to avoid standing in the way. Overwhelming Smile has set up a Trading Firm in Maple City! The Shops name is Overwhelming Trading Firm, and its in the central district! The items there are much cheaper than the ones in NPC Shops! They also offer plenty of items that are not available in NPC Shops! If everyone is interested, please go take a look! Many Overwhelming Smile members loudly promoted the Overwhelming Trading Firm, attracting many players attention. After all, player-owned Shops were far better than NPCs. In particular, none of the NPCs Shops sold Whetstones. Normally, they could only purchase such items from Forging Apprentices. Unlike White River City, Maple City did not possess a Starstreak Trading Firm that allowed players to purchase many items not normally found in NPC Shops. Overwhelming really is the dominant force here. Unfortunately, that will only hold true for now. Shi Feng currently sat under a small outdoor pavilion, sipping wine as he observed the lively streets of Maple City. In a moment, a middle-aged man close to his forties arrived before Shi Feng. Respectfully, he said, Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. My name is Liang Chen. Guild Leader snow has sent me to you. Here is the agreement stating that I will purchase Land on your behalf. Please look through it. Thank you for your efforts. Shi Feng received the agreement and gave it a quick glance. After making sure that everything was in order, he signed his name and said, Lets head to the City Hall and proceed, then. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 519 Silent Massacre Inside Maple Citys City Hall At this moment, Liang Chen, the person whom Gentle Snow had delegated to assist Shi Feng in purchasing Land, was utterly stupefied. Without hesitation, Shi Feng had purchased a plot of Land located in the central district of the city that cost over 2,000 Gold. Immediately after, he established a Luxury Shop for 1,000 Gold. In total, Shi Feng had spent over 3,000 Gold in a span of just a few breaths. Liang Chen was someone whom Gentle Snow trusted absolutely, so she had already shared her knowledge regarding Shi Feng. Hence, Liang Chen knew that Shi Feng had sold Gentle Snow 3,000 Gold not long ago. Otherwise, he would not have exposed the fact that he already had enough Reputation in Maple City to become a Baron. Although Maple City was not as good as White River City, the number of players who had reached the Reputation of a Baron was still extremely low. There should only be two or three such players throughout Maple City right now. Previously, Shi Feng had spent 3,000 Gold. Now, he had spent over 3,000 Gold once again. This level of wealth far surpassed Ouroboros. With such financial prowess, who could possibly challenge Zero Wing in a war of attrition? Only now did Liang Chen finally realize why Overwhelming Smile, a Guild that had managed to dominate Maple City, had failed to defeat Zero Wing, and why Zero Wing was publicly acknowledged as White River Citys number one Guild. The other first-rate Guilds upper managers believed in their hearts that, although it was no match for Zero Wing in White River City, particularly in terms of the number of experts each Guild possessed, Overwhelming Smile would still emerge victorious. After all, Overwhelming Smile possessed ample funds, whereas Zero Wing was a Guild with no background or capital at all. At most, Zero Wing could only hold out for a bit longer. However, now that Liang Chen reexamined the situation Even three Overwhelming Smiles would not be enough to defeat Zero Wing. It seems the sky in Maple City will change soon, Liang Chen inwardly sighed. After learning more about Gods Domain, the various Guilds had obtained a general understanding of its rules. If a Guild wanted to become an overlord in the game, they required three things; experts, financial prowess consisting mainly of Coins, and member count. Among these three points, member count was the least important as it was very easy to increase a Guilds population. As long as a Guild possessed sufficient financial prowess, they could increase their member count indefinitely. Gods Domain was different from past virtual reality games where member count was a Guilds top priority. In past virtual reality games, the differences between each individual player were simply too small. In these games, numbers equaled power. If one person was not enough, then they could just send a group. If a group was not enough, then they could send a hundred players. Sooner or later, they were bound to exhaust their enemies to death. Unfortunately, Gods Domain was different; a single top-tier expert could single-handedly dominate an entire region. Moreover, unlike in past virtual reality games, the top-tier experts of Gods Domain were not easily produced. In the past, one could easily become a top-tier expert if they had sufficiently powerful equipment. Now, however, players needed sufficiently powerful combat techniques to qualify as a top-tier expert. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile was far behind Zero Wing regarding both experts and financial prowess. The result of the confrontation between the two Guilds was already self-evident. In reality, so long as Overwhelming Smile hurriedly established their trade and earned large sums of money through it, they would have a fighting chance. Only, now that Shi Feng had arrived, how could Overwhelming Smile contend with Star-Moon Kingdoms Chief Forger with its few Lifestyle players? Moreover, the Candlelight Trading Firm possessed three bona fide Forgers; they were several times more powerful than Advanced Forging Apprentices. The Candlelight Trading Firm also possessed the tactical weapon known as the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Simply put, Overwhelming Smile stood no chance of victory whatsoever. After Shi Feng obtained some information regarding Maple City from Liang Chen, he hurried towards the citys Teleportation Hall. From the information Liang Chen had given him, Shi Feng basically knew all of Overwhelming Smiles elite members preferred grinding locations. He could use this chance to sacrifice these players to the Icaruss Heart. Guilds elite members were different from ordinary players. When night arrived, ordinary players would usually return to their respective cities to rest or log out of the game, whereas elite players would continue leveling out in the fields. Because of their equipment or combat techniques, elite players had no reason to fear the monsters at night. Only, their leveling speed would slow somewhat this time of day. Even so, it was much better than others who could not level up at all. Even if their leveling speed were slower at night, they would gradually widen the gap between themselves and other players. As a result, the levels of Guild elite members were usually a lot higher than ordinary players. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smiles main grinding location was the Dragon Ridge. Dragon Ridge was a Level 25 to 30 leveling area. The monsters inside consisted of Dragonmen. Dragonmen were born with thick scales and had inherited the unparalleled Strength of Dragons; they were natural-born warriors. Moreover, as they were a small branch of the Dragon race, Dragonmen also had an innate love for collecting treasures. Hence, Dragonmen had significantly higher drop-rates. There were also many quests available in Dragon Ridge that required players to deal with the Dragonmen, so many players loved to level here. However, Overwhelming Smile monopolized the high-resource areas within Dragon Ridge. So, other players could only complete some Kill Quests for Dragonmen in areas with low monster populations. Shortly after Shi Feng teleported to Dragon Ridge and was in the midst of searching for Overwhelming Smile members, Melancholic Smile suddenly contacted him. Guild Leader, Ive completed the task you gave me. Sure enough, they tried to steal all three Advanced Forging Apprentices who have learned the Light Stone Forging Design, regardless of cost. In the end, all three defected, Melancholic Smile said excitedly. With all three Advanced Forging Apprentices poached, that meant the Firm had received the compensation for three Light Stone Forging Designs. They had earned nearly 50 million Credits, just like that. As for the loss of the three Advanced Forging Apprentices, Melancholic Smile was utterly unaffected. After the Candlelight Trading Firm had developed itself, the benefits it provided its members were extremely good. The Firms Forgers also received an unlimited supply of materials. As long as they worked hard, they could earn a lot of money. Hence, many Forging Apprentices had arrived to apply to the Firm. Among them, there was no lack of Intermediate Forging Apprentices. As long as the Firm nurtured them a little, it would have another batch of Advanced Forging Apprentices in no time. Although Overwhelming Smile had successfully stolen many players from the Candlelight Trading Firm, the Firms Advanced Forging Apprentice count had not decreased since its establishment. On the contrary, they had accumulated more forgers Good. Shi Feng similarly smiled. With this sum and what he received from Gentle Snow, he could soon carry out his expert training plan. Right, how many Light Stones have been produced so far? I have secretly recruited dozens of Advanced Forging Apprentices in other cities, and they are frantically producing Light Stones in their respective citys Forging Associations. They are still unfamiliar with the production process at the moment, so their production is somewhat slow. Even so, we already have several hundred Stones. In one or two days, we should accumulate up to 20,000 pieces, Melancholic Smile said confidently. At that time, Candlelight will become a household name. I guarantee that Candlelight will become Star-Moon Kingdoms number one trading firm. Melancholic Smile had spoken these words not out of arrogance, but because the Light Stones value was simply immeasurable. Both elite players and ordinary players could afford them. Considering the number of players producing the Light Stones right now, they could supply several cities worth of players. After Melancholic Smile finished her report, Shi Feng had stealthily arrived at the inner region of Dragon Ridge. At this moment, one could see lights flickering occasionally through the dark and quiet forest, coupled with the sounds of explosions. The cause of these phenomena was none other than Overwhelming Smiles elite players grinding Dragonmen. These Overwhelming Smile elites were very organized. Forming groups of twenty, the team of one hundred took turns battling the Dragonmen army. They fought with great efficiency. While one group fought, the others would rest and remain vigilant of their surroundings, preventing other monsters from ambushing them. You guys will be it. Shi Feng smiled. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 520 Expert Hidden in the Dark Overwhelming Smiles 100-man team currently grinded a Dragonmen Nest in shifts. In the Dragon Ridge, Dragonmen Nests were considered treasure lands. One could find various treasure chests inside these Nests. Moreover, at least one Boss guarded every Nest. These Bosses were usually Chieftain and Lord rank, but rarely the latter. Nests were also high-resource areas, and they were suitable locations for elite teams to level up and upgrade their equipment. This 100-man team from Overwhelming Smile had not noticed Shi Fengs slow approach at all. However, when Shi Feng was roughly 100 yards away from the team, he suddenly stopped. Why is he here? Shi Feng was confused when he saw the thinly-built man standing at the forefront of Overwhelming Smiles team. Shi Fengs equipment and Attributes far surpassed current players of Gods Domain. Moreover, with a powerful identification skill like the Omniscient Eyes, his vision was naturally superior to ordinary players. Even during at night, his vision was not significantly affected. Meanwhile, the thinly-built man he saw was none other than War Wolf, a true top-tier expert he had met several times before. At this moment, War Wolf was already a Level 27 Tier 1 Shield Warrior. His equipment had also undergone major changes. Currently, he wore nothing but Level 25 Dark-Gold ranked items, and his HP was close to 7,000. Compared to Zero Wings Chief MT, Cola, War Wolf was only slightly inferior. However, the most significant change about the man would have to be the Guild Emblem on his chest. Shi Feng had once attempted to recruit War Wolf to Zero Wing. However, the latter had expressed his dislike of being bound by a Guild, so Shi Feng had given up. Yet, now, not only had War Wolf joined a Guild, but the Guild he had joined was also Overwhelming Smile How could this not shock Shi Feng? No wonder Overwhelming Smiles Dungeon raiding progress in Maple City is so fast. It turns out that they have his help. Shi Feng came to a realization. He had personally witnessed how skilled War Wolf was. With the help of the Tier 1 Shield Warrior, Overwhelming Smile would not need long to clear a Team Dungeon. However, Shi Feng could not figure out just how Overwhelming Smile had managed to persuade War Wolf. On this 100-man elite team, aside from War Wolf, Shi Feng could also see several more experts. These people were clearly different from the elite members of Overwhelming Smile. A decisive aura surrounded their bodies, and in terms of attacking and dodging, they were obviously a cut above Overwhelming Smiles elite members. Several of these experts had even reached the level of a true expert. No matter which Guild they joined, they would be their Guilds top combatants. Regarding combat techniques and experience, none of these people were less than Ouroboross Soaring Snake. Overwhelming Smile really knows how to hide its secrets. Fortunately, I discovered this ahead of time. If these people gradually accumulate their power in the dark, they will become a vicious threat to Zero Wing in the future. After watching for some time, Shi Feng discovered that there were seven true experts in this 100-man team; including War Wolf, there were eight. Not even Zero Wing possessed so many true experts. Although the seven others were inferior to War Wolf, they were most likely stronger than; Cola and the Five Demon Generals only Flying Shadow of the Five Demon Generals was close to being a match for these seven experts. If it really came down to a battle, if Flying Shadow did not possess the advantage in Attributes, he would not last against any of these experts. The only ones who could contend with these seven people were Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, and Violet Cloud Of course, regarding growth potential, Cola alone was already far above these seven people, not to mention Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud who had the potential to reach God-tier. In Gods Domain, every peerless expert capable of reaching God-tier was an extraordinary existence. Experts who had only touched on the Refinement Realm stood no chance against them. Furthermore, these experts combat techniques resembled War Wolfs. It was clear that they had only achieved the skill they had today after training with War Wolf for many years. Meanwhile, Cola, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, and the others were only ordinary people. In the past, they had to rely on themselves and undergo countless trials and errors to attain what they had. The number of experts in Gods Domain is limitless. I really cant afford to take things lightly. After seeing these experts, Shi Feng suddenly felt that he was too negligent. The worlds population was massive. Adding to the fact that this was an era of technology and humanity as a whole focused on physical fitness, there were countless capable people throughout the world. Even though he had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in the past, he had only seen a small fraction of Gods Domain. He was just a frog at the bottom of a well. There were still plenty of secrets about Gods Domain that a minor character like him was not qualified to see. Take War Wolf for example. In the past, Shi Feng had never once heard of the man before, yet the strength War Wolf displayed was already so powerful. He definitely had a high chance of becoming a Tier 6 god-ranked expert in the future. Meanwhile, this was only Star-Moon Kingdom. There were hundreds of kingdoms and empires in Gods Domain, and kingdoms held the fewest experts. One could just imagine how many experts and secrets there were in Gods Domain that he was still unaware of. It seems that Ill have to proceed with the experts training plan quickly. Although Shi Feng had wanted to train Fire Dance and the others, pushing them into the Refinement Realm to become true top-tier experts as soon as possible, he was simply too busy to do so. He also did not have the appropriate facilities or supplies. Hence, he had told Fire Dance and the others to train by themselves for now. Seeing that War Wolf and his team ventured deeper into the Dragonmens Nest, Shi Feng did not rush to take action. Instead, he followed after the team secretly, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. It was not because Shi Feng was incapable of killing these players. Rather, he hoped to take care of these experts in one go. It was especially true for War Wolf. Before, although War Wolf was not his friend, they had not been enemies, either. Now that War Wolf had joined Overwhelming Smile, however, that meant that War Wolf stood against Zero Wing. Naturally, Shi Feng could not let him go. However, Shi Feng was only one man. Facing a team of a hundred players, if these elites focused on escaping with their lives, how could Shi Feng possibly kill every one of them? Not to mention, there were eight top-tier experts in their midst. Among them, there was also a thorny existence like War Wolf. If War Wolf and the seven other experts cooperated to deal with him, even Shi Feng would face the threat of death. Hence, Shi Feng was not in a hurry to attack. First and foremost, a good hunter required patience. A hunter also needed to have a firm grasp of timing. The first ambush was particularly important. Shi Feng had long since become familiar with ambushing his enemies. Unfortunately, the terrain was simply too spacious. Forests also covered the surrounding environment, making it easy for players to escape and hide their trails. Naturally, Shi Feng could not act rashly and prematurely expose himself. Moreover, time was on his side at the moment. It was already night-time in Gods Domain, and players vision significantly weakened during this time of day. If Shi Feng hid under the cover of darkness, it would be even more difficult to discover him. In addition, Shi Feng was currently Level 30. He was much higher-leveled than the monsters inside the Dragonmens Nest, so it would not be easy for monsters to detect him. Time passed slowly, and Shi Feng followed War Wolfs team as they pushed deeper into the Nest. With nothing better to do, Shi Feng opened Twilight Treasure Chests whenever Divine Providence was ready. After the Icaruss Heart had evolved, the Luck Attribute it provided had significantly increased. Upon activating Divine Providence, Shi Fengs Luck could reach a maximum of 32 points; that was 7 points higher than before. With each use of Divine Providence, Shi Feng could open up to nine treasure chests, and among these nine treasure chests, there was a very high probability of Shi Feng obtaining one or two pieces of Tier 1 Set Equipment. After Shi Feng had tailed War Wolfs team for close to four hours, he had completed the Hurricane Set Equipment, the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Swordsman. As expected of a godly tool. Ive only gone through half of the treasure chests, and already, Ive completed a set of Tier 1 Set Equipment. If I can upgrade the Icaruss Heart to Epic rank and open up the remaining Twilight Treasure Chests, I might complete the Tier 1 Set Equipment for all classes. Shi Feng grew excited as he smiled at the brand-new Hurricane Set Equipment inside his bag. As a Tier 1 Set Equipment for Swordsmen, the Hurricane Set was only inferior to an Epic Set Equipment. It was far superior to the Level 20 Dark-Gold ranked Dragonclaw Set Equipment he currently wore. Moreover, unlike the Dragonclaw Set, the Hurricane Set specifically catered to Swordsmen. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 521 A Monster That Evolves As the closest thing to an Epic Set Equipment below Level 50, a Tier 1 Set Equipment was naturally extraordinary. Initially, Shi Feng had not been very confident of wiping out War Wolf and the others. However, now that he had completed the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Swordsmen, his combat power would soar once he equipped it. His chances of defeating War Wolfs group of eight top-tier experts would also significantly increase. Shi Feng then replaced the Dragonclaw Set Equipment with the Hurricane Set Equipment. Unlike the Dragonclaw Set, the Hurricane Set was specifically designed for Swordsmen. The silvery-blue streamlined armor did not hinder its users body at all. Shi Feng now felt much lighter in the Hurricane Set Equipment. As expected of a set exclusively for Swordsmen. Not only does it have strong Defense, but it also increases the players dexterity. Ordinary equipment cannot compare. After testing his range of movement, Shi Fengs lips curled into a smile. [Hurricane Set Equipment] Level 20 - Level 50 Equipment Requirement: Tier 1 Swordsman Set consists of five parts: head, chest, hands, legs, and feet. Binds when equipped. Set effect Two-piece effect: Damage increased by 10%, Attack Speed increased by 20%, and all Swordsman Skill effects increased by 20%. Four-piece effect: Strength increased by 15%, and Agility increased by 15%. Obtain Sword Aura Release Skill: Deals 300% weapon damage to all enemies within a radius of 5 yards, knocking back all enemies by 12 yards and stunning them for 1 second. Cooldown: 1 minute. Five-piece effect: All Swordsman Skill Cooldowns reduced by 20%. Receive one stack of Hurricane Energy every time you deal damage to the target. Each stack increases Attack Speed by 2% and attack range by 1 yard for 20 seconds. Maximum of 10 stacks. Obtain Hurricane Skill: Deals 200% + (30%* Number of Hurricane Energy stacks) weapon damage in a cone to enemies within a range of 20 yards and lifts all targets struck into the air, preventing movement for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. With the sets Basic Attributes, Shi Fengs Strength finally broke past the 500-point threshold even without entering a Berserk state. His Agility also passed 600 points. Regarding Movement Speed and Attack Speed, Shi Feng was confident he would not lose to any player unless said player wore an Epic Set Equipment. Moreover, even if they wore an Epic Set Equipment, it was not necessarily better than the Hurricane Set Equipment. Once equipment reached Dark-Gold rank or above, it would undergo a unique transformation. This transformation was not reflected in the equipments information. Rather, the set provided a hidden advantage. This advantage came in the form of the equipments compatibility with a players movements. It was similar to how a person would find it uncomfortable wearing shoes and clothing that did not fit. Every class and player had different movement habits. Ordinary equipment was standardized, not adapting to a players movement habits, and was somewhat inconvenient for a player. Although the inconvenience might seem negligible to ordinary players, to experts, this inconvenience was like having a nail in their shoe. It would cause their movements to become awkward and significantly affect their performances. A Tier 1 Set Equipments quality was higher than Dark-Gold. Hence, in the systems settings, the set equipment would adjust to fit the players class movement habits. Currently, Shi Feng felt as if the nail that had been inside his shoe was finally gone. He could now move unhindered. Following which, Shi Feng resumed his wait in the shadows. War Wolf and the others were already close to the heart of the Dragonmens Nest. The terrain was narrow with mountains looming on each side. The team could only advance or retreat; there was no third option. This place was the best location to set up an ambush. Boss Wolf, Ive already scouted ahead. Aside from some Elite Dragonmen, there arent any traps or mechanisms throughout the path towards the heart of the Nest. However, the Boss guarding the treasure is a Level 30 Lord. Moreover, it leans towards magical-type, so it will be somewhat difficult to deal with, a Tier 1 Assassin in black named Shadowless Rat reported. A magical-type? War Wolf, who had a sickly complexion, frowned slightly. Magical-type Bosses usually possessed many AOE Skills and had a variety of attack patterns. However, the most frightening aspect of such Bosses was their ability to instant-kill players. They were different from physical-type Bosses that could be contained using a variety of methods. The biggest difference between physical-type attacks and magical-type attacks was that physical-type attacks were normally very straightforward; they did not have any compound attack patterns. Although physical attacks were a lot faster, it would not be a problem if one reacted quickly and defended against the attack. On the other hand, magical attacks were usually compounded. Because of this, these attacks could easily instant-kill players. In the past virtual reality games, monsters attack patterns were monotonous, unlike the monsters in Gods Domain whose attack patterns were very realistic. Moreover, with the increase in level, monsters attack patterns would also evolve, transforming from the initial monotonous attack patterns to the current compound attack patterns. In other words, players had to guard more than one area, possibly up to five or six. Most ordinary players already struggled to defend against single fold attacks, much less twofold attacks. The simplest example of a twofold attack was an attack that came in tandem. In a panic, there was a high chance that both attacks would strike ordinary players. They would have to train rigorously to avoid such tandem attacks. Meanwhile, although the members of the various large Guilds had killed plenty of monsters, monsters with compound attack patterns only began appearing after Level 25. Hence, a majority of players would usually suffer the first time they encountered such monsters. Against a Boss, even team-wipes were common. Lets take a look at it first before coming up with a strategy, War Wolf said. War Wolf then led his team and advanced towards the Lord ranked Boss quickly, killing everything in their path. [Magic Eye Dragonman] (Lord Rank) Level 30 HP 1,600,000/1,600,000 As an Area Boss, the Magic Eye Dragonmans HP changed according to the number of players in its area of influence. The minimum limit was 20 players, and if there were more than 20 players within range, its HP would increase accordingly. In other words, having more players wasnt necessarily an advantage. The moment War Wolfs team of one hundred stepped into the Magic Eye Dragonmans area of influence, the Magic Eye Dragonmans HP instantly increased to 8,000,000. Shadowless Rat, the nineteen of you will stay with me. Everyone else, leave the Magic Eye Dragonmans area of influence, War Wolf immediately commanded upon seeing the Bosss HP increase. Facing such a Boss, having more people would only increase the teams burden. Their team had eight experts who could easily deal with compound attacks, while the other twelve were veteran gamers who could deal with compound attacks relatively well. By forming a team of 20 players like this, they could deal with the Magic Eye Dragonman as easily as dealing with an ordinary Lord. Very quickly, the others left the Magic Eye Dragonmans area of influence, hiding in a corner and watching quietly. Once the 80 players left the area, the Magic Eye Dragonmans HP returned to 1,600,000. Okay, Ill go first. Everyone else, be careful of its aggro. Saying so, War Wolf dashed forward, charging at the Magic Eye Dragonman who had a pitch-black tail and was covered in scales. When the Magic Eye Dragonman caught sight of the Shield Warrior charging at it, it activated Rapid Charge and arrived before War Wolf, swinging its hammer fiercely down on the intruder. As it swung down its war hammer, a massive black eyeball appeared above the Magic Eye Dragonmans head, silently firing multiple black rays at War Wolf. Boom! When the massive hammer the size of a small car landed, even the ground shook. However, after the dust settled, it appeared that the war hammer had not actually struck War Wolf. Instead, the weapon had landed right before the Shield Warrior, missing its target by a fraction. As for the black rays, they had also failed to damage War Wolf as they only brushed past his body. Immediately after, War Wolf swung his sword. Second Acceleration! Although War Wolfs sword seemed slow, while the weapon was in mid-swing, it suddenly vanished. Unknown as to when it happened, War Wolfs sword had struck the Magic Eye Dragonman, causing over -400 damage to the Lord. Following which, War Wolf and the others began to bombard the Lord with attacks. For a time, attacks flew back and forth, the extraordinarily intense battle shocking the Overwhelming Smile members who watched from a distance. If they recorded this battle, they could enjoy it like watching a sci-fi movie. Its time. Shi Feng, who had waited for a long time, revealed a faint smile. At this moment, Shi Feng downed a bottle of Haunted and activated the Ring of Nothingness. Upon entering a state of nothingness, he charged forward. * * * If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn''s (and sometimes Mind''s and Vampirecat''s) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG! Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well! If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG''s first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book! We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon! * * * Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week 522 One Hi While War Wolfs team of twenty cautiously faced-off against the Magic Eye Dragonman, the other Overwhelming Smile members watched excitedly, hoping to learn War Wolf and his teams techniques. They yearned to become one of those twenty players on the team and were enchanted by the battle; they paid no attention whatsoever to their surroundings. It was not because they were foolish, but because Overwhelming Smiles prestige in Maple City made them untouchable. No one would dare to provoke them. Furthermore, it was currently night-time, and there were fewer players out in the field grinding and leveling up. Even if someone were plotting against them, they had so many players on their team. There were even top-tier experts in their midst. They had no reason to fear anyone. Boss Wolf is really amazing. Despite facing so many magical attacks, he has not once received any magical damage from the Boss. I know, right? If I had just half of Boss Wolfs abilities, I could easily become the Chief MT of other first-rate Guilds. Half? In my opinion, one-third would be enough to become the Chief MT of Star-Moon Kingdom. Didnt you see how Boss War Wolf tanked the Final Boss of a 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon all by himself? Even when the previous two MTs had all of the healers on them, the Final Boss still took them out easily. Meanwhile, after Boss War Wolf arrived, he tanked the Boss all by himself and only required one healer to keep him alive. My jaw nearly hit the ground. When the spectating crowd spoke about War Wolf, admiration for the Shield Warrior filled their hearts. Due to War Wolfs appearance, the 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons that had previously given Overwhelming Smile a headache had become very easy to raid. If not for the 50-man large scale Team Dungeons having too high of a requirement, Overwhelming Smile would have long since obtained the First Clear. Huh? Why does it suddenly feel hot? Hot? Now that you mention it, youre right. Isnt it night-time right now? Several players began to glance around, searching for the source of the sudden heat. However, they had not noticed anything in particular. Wait, above us! a vigilant Assassin shouted as he pointed towards the sky. Immediately, everyone shifted their gazes upward, only to find an endless stream of fire-type mana gathering above their heads, condensing into a fire that rained down on them. Meanwhile, a spinning wall of flames had appeared around them. The ground beneath their feet also began to boil. This phenomenon was none other than Shi Fengs Firestorm. After Shi Feng had upgraded the Seven Luminaries Ring, the Level 7 Firestorm now had an effective radius of 30 yards, and the Skill shrouded all 80 spectating players. Before Overwhelming Smiles elites could react, a damage of over -10,000 points appeared above each of their heads War Wolf had the highest HP in Overwhelming Smile, yet, even he only had close to 7,000 HP. After a storm of flames swept through the crowd, silence permeated the area. All 80 members of Overwhelming Smile had been reduced to ash. Due to Haunteds effect, the drop-rate of all of the players Shi Feng had killed had multiplied. Moreover, due to Shi Feng absorbing their Immortal Souls Not only had these players lost their levels and equipment, but they were also barred from logging into Gods Domain for a long period. Good. Only you guys are left. Hiding a short distance away, Shi Feng revealed a satisfied smile. This was the fearsome aspect of large-scale destruction spells. In the past, there had been a saying in Gods Domain: one would rather incur the ire of a God-tier Assassin rather than provoke a player with large-scale destruction spells. God-tier Assassins were only powerful against individual players. However, a player who knew large-scale destruction spells could annihilate an entire army by themselves. If a God-tier Assassin was likened to a sniper rifle, then a player with large-scale destruction spells was like a strategic missile; they were a Guilds worst nightmare. In the past, the Midnight Tea Party had stood on equal footing with Super Guilds because they had a Mage God and Curse God on their team. These two players had possessed an arsenal of large-scale destruction spells. To them, an army of thousands was no different than floating clouds. A single Tier 6 large-scale destruction spell could easily wipe out the entire army. After killing the 80 Overwhelming Smile members, Shi Feng did not bother picking up the loot scattered across the ground. Instead, he charged towards War Wolf, who currently raged against the Magic Eye Dragonman. Firestorms commotion would not have escaped the notice of War Wolfs team. While both sides were engaged in an intense battle, Shi Feng could not waste this opportunity by picking up loot. Boss Wolf, the members on standby have been wiped out. What are we supposed to do now? Shadowless Rat asked, a lingering fear in his eyes as he watched the raging inferno that faded gradually. At this moment, the names of their team members on stand-by had turned gray. Retreat for now. Otherwise, our chances of victory will be too low if we have to fight the Boss while dealing with this new enemy, War Wolf immediately shouted in the team chat. Ill cover for you guys. Everyone, retreat! One had to admit that War Wolfs team was very skilled. Despite realizing that a new enemy had arrived, they still retreated in an orderly manner. War Wolf also retreated slowly as he held off the Boss. Only one person? While Shadowless Rat pulled away from the Boss battle, he suddenly noticed a black figure dashing towards them. He sighed with relief at the sight. Licking the corner of his lips, he sneered and said, Boss Wolf, leave this bastard to me. He actually thinks he can provoke us and plunder our treasures? Ill teach him a lesson. Saying so, Shadowless Rat activated Wind Steps and dashed to meet the cloaked figure. Initially, War Wolf had intended to stop the Assassin. However, after giving it some thought, he changed his mind. Seeing the enemys Movement Speed, War Wolf had already managed to judge the enemys strength. Although the enemy was an expert and possessed good Attributes, he was still far from being a match for Shadowless Rat. War Wolf was very familiar with Shadowless Rats strength. Among the eight top-tier experts, the Assassin ranked third in one-on-one combat. He was more than enough to deal with an ordinary expert. Moreover, they had already destroyed 50% of the Bosss HP. It would be a huge waste if they had to start all over again. Before, he had worried that the enemy was very powerful due to the fact that the latter possessed a large-scale destruction spell. Ordinary players could never possess such Skills. At the very least, the enemy should be an extremely powerful expert or someone with the backing of a large Guild. If it were someone targeting Overwhelming Smile as a whole, they would have no choice but to retreat. After all, with Overwhelming Smiles high prestige in Maple City, the enemy would have sent a team of several hundred players to deal with their 100-man team. However, since there was only one attacker, it should only be an expert trying to plunder their items. Shadowless Rat was more than enough to deal with such an expert. If Shadowless Rat was not enough, they could just send someone to help the Assassin. With their combat techniques, it was very dangerous for them to fight against the Boss while fending off several hundred players. However, since the enemy was alone, one person should be enough to deal with the problem. The rest could focus on the Boss. When Shadowless Rat was only 30 yards away from Shi Feng, he activated Stealth. He intended to finish off Shi Feng with a chain of attacks. However, who was Shi Feng? Under the gaze of Omniscient Eyes, no enemies could hide from Shi Feng. Up till now, Shi Feng had intentionally lowered his speed; he had not used his maximum. Suddenly, Shi Fengs speed increased. Xiu! Only an afterimage remained in Shi Fengs original location. So fast! Shadowless Rat immediately panicked. He knew that he had encountered a tough opponent this time. However, it was too late to retreat. The distance between him and Shi Feng was less than 20 yards. Activating Wind Blade, Shi Fengs speed soared, and in the blink of an eye, he had arrived before Shadowless Rate. He immediately swung his sword down towards the Assassin. Shadowless Rat was greatly surprised. However, his instincts as an expert allowed him to react to the attack. After grasping the trajectory of Shi Fengs sword, he quickly moved his daggers to receive the attack. In the next moment, however, a black streak of light cut across Shadowless Rat. The Assassin was then forced out of Stealth, a shocked expression on his face as he looked at the black hooded figure before him. How could any attack possibly be so fast?! Shadowless Rat looked at his bloodied chest, his heart palpitating as his HP quickly bottomed out. He then crumbled to the ground, motionless. 523 Cooperation Shadowless Rats instant death stunned War Wolf and the others, who watched the entire encounter. As his teammates, they were very familiar with Shadowless Rats strength and skill. Moreover, Shadowless Rat was a Tier 1 Assassin who had grasped Omnivision. He could easily perceive his enemys attack trajectory and respond appropriately. In addition, the majority of his equipment consisted of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, his total HP being over 4,400. Even War Wolf would have to expend a significant amount of effort to defeat Shadowless Rat. If the Assassin focused on escaping, War Wolf would be helpless against him. Yet, now, he had actually been killed with a single hit Meanwhile, they didnt even know what had happened exactly. They only saw the pitch-black sword in the enemy Swordsmans hand transform into a streak of light, and in the next moment, Shadowless Rat was dead. How could they not be shocked? After killing Shadowless Rat, Shi Feng did not stop. Turning, he dashed for War Wolf and the others. This time, however, he did not hold back as he sprinted at full speed. In the dead of night, his cloaked figure looked like a ghost; he was extremely difficult to locate. He hid his strength! All those who arent Tier 1 classes, fall back! Ill hold off the Boss. The rest of you, delay him. Maintain your distance! His sword his extremely fast, so do not approach him no matter what! War Wolf shouted his orders in the team chat. Although War Wolfs instructions had been appropriate, he still felt as if something were off about this situation. Why had such an expert ambushed them? Moreover, based on the enemys behavior, it was clear that he had aimed for them from the very beginning. This situation greatly confused War Wolf. Among the various teams in Overwhelming Smile, their team had always strived to maintain a low-profile; they have never provoked anybody. They were an elite team that Overwhelming Smile had formed in secrecy to serve as the Guilds trump card, and even the normal members of the Guild did not know they existed. However, the enemy had clearly chosen the best possible moment to launch his attack. The ambushers strength was the most usual aspect. He was definitely one of the rarely-seen top-tier experts. Although the enemy had only attacked once, War Wolf could tell how powerful he was. Comparing Basic Attributes alone, this enemy was far superior to Shadowless Rat. Even if both sides fought without any combat techniques, Shadowless Rat would not have an easy time blocking that persons sword. Not to mention, there was also the attack that contained no excess movement. Being caught unaware, it was only natural that Shadowless Rat had been defeated. In fact, there was not the slightest bit of error with War Wolfs judgment. In front of absolute power, all tricks were futile. hi Feng currently wore the Tier 1 Hurricane Set Equipment. He also possessed the Epic ranked Seven Luminaries Ring and the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragons Breath. With one hand, he wielded the top-tier Dark-Gold ranked Purgatorys Shadow, and with the other, he wielded the Magic Weapon, Abyssal Blade. He was a Tier 1 Blade Saint, and his One-handed Sword Mastery had reached the level of a Sword Master. In terms of Basic Attributes, he was leaps and bounds above Shadowless Rat. Even though Shadowless Rat had already reached the threshold of the Refinement Realm, in the face of absolute power, all combat techniques were useless. Not to mention, as an assurance, Shi Feng had even used Flowing Water Acceleration in his attack. How could Shadowless Rat possibly block an attack with that kind of speed? However, Shadowless Rats bad luck was partially to blame for Shi Fengs ability to kill him with one hit. Even with Shi Fengs powerful Basic Attributes, it was still impossible for him to eliminate over 4,400 HP, killing the Assassin, with a single hit. At the very least, he needed two hits to finish off the Assassin. However, the attack that struck Shadowless Rat had triggered a triple critical hit. Even death would find it difficult to avoid the Assassin at that point In the span of a few breaths, the remaining six experts in War Wolfs team had already managed to block Shi Fengs advance. Among these six players, three were melee classes, with one being a Swordsman and two being Berserkers. The remaining three consisted of a Cleric, an Elementalist, and a Ranger. All six players were Tier 1 classes. A party of ordinary Tier 1 players would be more than enough to deal with a 20-man elite team, not to mention that these six Tier 1 players were true experts. Their coordination was certainly something to behold. I refuse to believe that the six of us cannot defeat one of you, a Level 27 male Berserker in silver armor said irritably as he watched Shi Feng dash towards his team. Its better to be careful. This persons Attack Power is very high. Even plate armor classes like you will not survive more than a few hits. Focus on pinning him down. Leave the attacking to us ranged classes, the tall and slender Level 26 female Elementalist suggested. We know; relax. another Level 26 male Berserker in black armor laughed. They were very confident that they could deal with Shi Feng. Normally, they often held practice PvP matches against each other. As long as they, the three melee classes, worked together, even their Boss War Wolf would suffer defeat. They also had three ranged classes on their side. They refused to believe that the black-cloaked Swordsman before them could turn the tide of the battle by himself. The Tier 1 Ranger then fired a series of Frost Arrows, sealing off Shi Fengs movements. Meanwhile, the Tier 1 Elementalist used a combination of Ice Spear and Ice Wall. Both the Ranger and the Elementalist had grasped Omnivision, so they could see through Shi Fengs actions and send their attacks ahead of time. Under the combination attack, Shi Feng was forced to stop his advance temporarily and evade the incoming attacks. Take this! Seizing the opportunity, the silver-armor Berserker tightened his grip on his greatsword and used Flame Charge on Shi Feng. Flame Charge could force the target into a Fainted state for a slightly more than one second. As long as they incapacitated Shi Feng for one second, under everyones focused fire, even his 10,000-plus HP would not last. The black-armored Berserker had also used Charge on Shi Feng, though he purposely timed his Skills activation so that he would reach Shi Feng a moment after the silver-armored Berserker. Even if Shi Feng activated a Skill to defend against the silver-armored Berserkers Charge, he could only defend against the first Charge and not the second one. Most importantly, both Berserkers attacked Shi Fengs sides, making it even more difficult for Shi Feng to force his way through the attacks. There were also the three ranged classes blocking off Shi Fengs paths of retreats. If Shi Feng tried to evade, the attacks would strike him Die! The black-armored Berserker readied his battle axe as the silver-armored Berserker attacked Shi Feng, waiting for the moment when Shi Feng used a Skill to defend against the silver-armored Berserkers Charge. When that time arrived, it would then be his turn to finish Shi Feng off. Shi Fengs only choice was to evade the Charge and in turn, sacrifice some of his HP by enduring the ranged classes attacks. That way, he would at least keep his life. In the long run, however, he would only find death here. It was only a matter of time. Why isnt he dodging? the Tier 1 female Elementalist muttered, confused, as she watched from afar. Even when the silver-armored Berserker arrived before Shi Feng, the latter had not moved in the slightest. In the next moment, the silver-armored Berserker swung down his greatsword with all his might. Dang! Dazzling sparks scattered to the surroundings as Shi Feng blocked the silver-armored Berserkers full-powered slash with one of his swords. Youre dead! On the other side, the black-armored Berserker sneered. Shi Feng had actually decided not to evade the attack. He had not even used a Skill to defend himself. He was simply insane. After being incapacitated by two Charges, not even a miracle could save him from death. When the black-armored Berserker arrived before Shi Feng and swung his axe Everyone heard the sound of clashing metal once again. How? The black armored Berserker was shocked as he stared at Shi Feng blocking his axe with the Purgatorys Shadow. Does he possess a Skill that makes him immune to control effects for a short time? The two robust Berserkers standing beside Shi Feng had failed to inflict any damage. Even an Immunity Skill wont save you! Shouting angrily, the silver-armored Berserkers body increased slightly in size. It was obvious that he had used a Berserk Skill, allowing his Strength to grow. He then used Cross Slash. The other black-armored Berserker used Whirlwind Slash. It should be my turn now, right? Shi Feng asked softly. 524 Ganging Up Before the fight with War Wolfs team had even begun, Shi Feng had activated the Aura of Space on the Seven Luminaries Ring, becoming immune to all control effects. Whether it was the Tier 1 Elementalists Ice Wall or the Tier 1 Rangers Frost Arrows, Shi Feng had intentionally dodged both the Tier 1 Elementalists Ice Wall and the Tier 1 Rangers Frost Arrows with the goal of tricking the two Tier 1 Berserkers into approaching him on their own accord, saving him the time of going after them himself. Releasing a low shout, Shi Feng used the Skill unique to the Hurricane Set Equipment, Sword Aura Release, dealing 300% weapon damage to all enemies within a radius of five yards and knocking all enemies back by twelve yards, stunning them for one second. Crap! The silver- and black-armored Berserkers immediately realized something was amiss and hurriedly activated Block to defend themselves, swinging the greatsword and battle axe. Boom! Both Berserkers felt as if they had just been hit by a truck, their bodies flying backward and slamming heavily into the ground. Before either of them could react, Shi Feng advanced. He could easily cross a distance of twelve yards with a single step. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared before the silver-armored Berserker and sent a Chop down on the man. Currently, both Berserkers were in a Fainted state. They could not defend against Shi Fengs attacks at all. However, the instant Shi Fengs sword descended, he immediately changed his weapons trajectory, directing the Chop behind him. Peng! Peng! Peng! Before anyone noticed, a Tier 1 Swordsman had appeared behind Shi Feng and similarly used Chop. Hence, Shi Feng had abruptly changed his target. When the swords of light collided, the impact sent the Tier 1 Swordsman flying, three damages of over -400 points appearing above his head. How can someone possess such horrific Strength? Is he a human-shaped Lord? The Tier 1 Swordsman stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. He had flown over six yards and had only managed to stabilize himself after much difficulty. Even so, the hand he used to grip the sword that collided with Shi Fengs blade was completely numb. During this brief exchange between Shi Feng and the Tier 1 Swordsman, the silver-armored Berserker recovered from his Fainted state. Shock filled his heart when he saw a single hit send his Swordsman companion flying. Immediately, he used Whirlwind Slash in an attempt to scare Shi Feng away. When the silver-armored Berserker used Whirlwind Slash, the Elementalist and Ranger at a distance promptly begun to launch cover fire. What a joke! Shi Feng was capable of sending a Level 26 Tier 1 Swordsman flying with just one hit. If such an attack struck them directly, they would die instantly. Facing the barrage of attacks, Shi Feng had no choice but to evade, opting to chase after the black-armored Berserker. After all, not only were these attacks overwhelming, but they were also experts attacks. If he really tried to take the silver-armored Berserkers life, it was highly possible he would have to sacrifice his own. eeing Shi Feng retreat, the Level 27 silver-armored Berserker unconsciously released a sigh of relief. That was close I nearly lost my life there. If he had not instinctively used Block, allowing him to negate one instance of damage coming from his front, he would have lost his life during Shi Fengs first attack. Not to mention that alarmingly dangerous second attack Despite being in a Fainted state, he could clearly feel the killing intent, which was intimidating enough to cause one to freeze during battle, contained within Shi Fengs attack. Even if he were not in a Fainted state, he was not confident he could block that lightning-quick attack. Although he possessed high HP and Defense as a Berserker, his HP was just slightly more than 5,300. With Shi Fengs frightening Attack Power, even a plate armor class would die from a single hit. Only a brief second had passed since they had begun fighting Shi Feng. However, this was the first time in his life the silver-armored Berserker had experienced such a long second. His life very nearly flashed before his eyes When the black-armored Berserker saw Shi Feng come for him, without hesitation, he turned and fled. He had also experienced Shi Fengs power. Not only were Shi Fengs Basic Attributes leaps and bounds above theirs, but his combat techniques were also far beyond them. Facing such a person head-on was nothing short of suicide! While the black-armored Berserker fled, the distant female Elementalist cast Ice Wall and Ice Spheres to hinder Shi Fengs movements. Although the spells could not reduce Shi Fengs Movement Speed, they still dealt damage. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to dodge the attacks. Besides that, the Ranger consistently fired accurate attacks at Shi Fengs movement trajectory, hindering the Blade Saints chase of the black-armored Berserker. The Tier 1 Swordsman also trailed behind him, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. This is really annoying. Although Shi Feng had expected such a situation, he could not help his slight irritation. Top-tier experts were top-tier experts for a reason. They were not as easy to deal with as other players. Although he was very fast, he was not fast enough that his enemies could not react. With the six of them cooperating perfectly, attacking and retreating simultaneously, Shi Feng simply could not find any gaps to attack. As for using long-distance attacks such as Thundering Flash, Earth Splitter, and so on, these Skills casting times were too long. With these peoples skills, they could easily dodge Shi Fengs long-range attacks. Moreover, using such Skills would also slow his movement, allowing these people to widen the gap between them, placing him at a disadvantage. However, these peoples ranged attacks were also useless as Shi Feng dodged them easily. As for confronting him in melee combat, they did not have the courage. They would be gambling with their lives if they tried to take on Shi Fengs attacks. For a time, both sides were locked in a stalemate. At this moment, War Wolf had shaken off the Boss and dashed towards Shi Feng with astonishing speed. Hahaha! Brat, youre finished! the silver-armored Berserker could not help but laugh when he saw War Wolf running over to help them. War Wolf was a Shield Warrior. Not only did he possess a frightening Defense, but he also had a shield. Adding in War Wolfs techniques, if he coordinated with them in melee combat, they could easily finish off Shi Feng. Most importantly, while they had a healer, Shi Feng did not. This battles result was clear for all to see. Encircle him; do not let him escape, War Wolf hurriedly shouted in the team chat. Boss, you can count on us! Overwhelming Smiles twelve other elites suddenly emerged from their hiding spots, each of them holding a crimson bead. Once they circled Shi Feng, they immediately began chanting an incantation. Suddenly, a massive flame barrier rose from the ground, creating a dome that trapped Shi Feng and the others inside. Brat, youre really not simple. We even have to use the Sealing Beads that we obtained from Hell Mode Team Dungeons after going through much difficulty to deal with you. Dont even dream of escaping now, the silver-armored Berserker laughed. No one was allowed to leave the sealing barrier. Unless Shi Feng possessed a Skill with tremendous destructive power, he would have to wait until the barrier exhausted its power. Meanwhile, the barrier had a duration of 15 minutes. It was more than enough to deal with Shi Feng. Isnt he just one extra person? Do you guys really think you can handle me? Shi Feng retorted with a laugh. You underestimate the effect one extra person can have. Even before this, you couldnt do anything to us. With Boss Wolfs help, we will break the balance and kill you. Dont blame us for ganging up on you. Youre the one who ambushed us. Next time, make sure you think twice about who you attack, the silver-armored Berserker sneered confidently. If six of you are just barely a match for me, I wonder how the seven will cope with two? Shi Feng could not help but ask. Although Shi Fengs voice was soft, everyones chests tightened. Even with War Wolfs powerful aid, they felt that they would only have a 60% chance of taking down Shi Feng. If another expert popped up, then Two? Do you think Im a fool? Once this barrier is up, nobody is allowed to enter or leave! the silver-armored Berserker refused to believe Shi Fengs claim. However, the moment he finished speaking, another person suddenly appeared by Shi Fengs side. Moreover, this person was a twin of their enemy. The killing intent this person radiated could similarly make ones heart skip a beat. 525 Instant Kill Every member of War Wolfs elite team was stunned when they saw two Shi Fengs in front of them. Whats going on here? One Shi Feng had already given them plenty of trouble, and they even required War Wolfs help if they wanted any hope of defeating him. Now that there were two, what were they supposed to do? A doppelganger, huh? War Wolf remained calm despite the sudden appearance of another Shi Feng, and he immediately thought of a possibility. In Gods Domain, aside from the Skills of the various classes, there was also a large variety of General Skills. A Skill capable of producing a doppelganger was not entirely impossible. It was just like how Summoners could summon powerful monsters. When the others on the team heard War Wolfs statement, they realized that this was actually quite possible. Otherwise, how would they explain the situation before them? Everyone instantly released a sigh of relief. Although a doppelganger possessed some lethality, at the end of the day, a doppelganger was still a doppelganger. However, they quickly realized that they were sorely mistaken. They were outrageously wrong. The instant Shi Fengs doppelganger showed itself, it dashed towards the Tier 1 Swordsman. Although the speed of the doppelgangers sword was not as frightening as the real Shi Fengs, every one of the doppelgangers attacks forced the Tier 1 Swordsman to take three to five steps back before he could stabilize himself. The Tier 1 Swordsman was even forced to activate Defensive Blade to hold off the doppelgangers assault. Ill help you! the black-armored Berserker rushed towards Shi Fengs doppelganger, brandishing his battle axe. However, even with the aid of a top-tier Berserker, the Tier 1 Swordsmans HP rapidly decreased. The teams Tier 1 Cleric had no choice but to heal the Tier 1 Swordsman constantly to stabilize the latters HP. The doppelgangers combat power flustered every one of its enemies. Leave the doppelganger to me. Since it is a Skill, there is definitely a duration. Once the duration ends, we will deal with the person himself, War Wolf snarled. He then used Charge and arrived before the doppelganger. Shi Feng had to admit that War Wolf was indeed an expert who had already set foot into the Refinement Realm. Both his attacks and evasion were extremely accurate and meticulous. He always achieved the greatest of effects using the smallest of actions. In addition, that massive shield of his allowed him to guard the majority of his body from the doppelgangers attacks easily. Despite being forced into a constant retreat by the doppelgangers every move, his body remained as steady as a mountain. Amazing. If Cola was as skilled as War Wolf right now, we could definitely try to raid a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Shi Feng pitied his situation while he watched War Wolf. With War Wolf pinning down the doppelganger, the remaining six experts kept Shi Feng in check while they bided their time. However, before anyone could catch a breather, twelve swords suddenly appeared hovering around Shi Feng. Just looking at the gleaming edges of the blades made ones scalp tingle. Since you guys see nothing wrong with ganging up on others, there''s nothing wrong with me using my doppelganger and these twelve swords to deal with the seven of you, right? Dont call me a bully, alright? Shi Feng smiled faintly. He then controlled the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms to attack the six experts. Suddenly, the silver-armored Berserker and the other experts paled, their words sticking in their throats. Although the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms did not contain much power, their damage was still significant; they could cause up to 45% of Shi Fengs damage. In addition, the phantoms were small, fast, and nimble, making it extremely difficult to avoid their strikes. While the melee classes could cope, but barely, with the phantoms, the same did not hold true for the ranged classes. It was especially true for the Cleric. Preserving his own life had become an arduous task, much less doing so and healing his team. After fighting for only a short moment, War Wolf and the other top-tier experts were miserable. The Overwhelming Smile members watching from outside the barrier were utterly dumbfounded. Even if everyone present was a fool, they could tell just how powerful Shi Feng was. By now, it was obvious that Shi Feng had merely been toying with the six experts during their previous exchange. At this moment, Shi Feng stood on the sidelines and watched the battle. By relying on the doppelganger and twelve swords, he had already beaten Overwhelming Smiles prided peak combat force into submission. If he joined the battle, couldnt he wipe them out anytime he wanted? Just who are you? War Wolf demanded, his confusion evident on his face. Such a powerful expert would not just coincidentally ambush them. He must have a purpose for doing so. However, instead of replying to War Wolfs question, Shi Feng silently pointed the Abyssal Blade towards the sky. Suddenly, countless swords of light appeared above the silver-armored Berserker and the others, completely enveloping the seven people. Then, like raindrops, the swords of light descended. This Skill was none other than the Tier 1 Skill Shi Feng had learned when he became a Blade SaintSkywheel Sword. [Skywheel Sword] Inflicts 1,000 base damage plus 200% weapon damage to all enemies within a radius of 20 yards. Also seals all enemies within range, preventing them from leaving the area for 4 seconds. Previously, Nine Dragons Slash had forced everyone to use up almost all of their Lifesaving Skills. Among the experts, the Elementalist and Cleric had both exhausted theirs. Faced with the rain of swords, the two ranged players could only quietly go to their deaths Meanwhile, the remaining two Tier 1 Berserkers, the Tier 1 Swordsman, and the Tier 1 Ranger had less than a third of their HPs remaining after the Skywheel Swords descent. They were also trapped in a 20-yard radius area. Using Silent Steps, Shi Feng appeared behind the Tier 1 Ranger. Although Rangers possessed melee combat capabilities, Shi Feng had caught him completely off-guard. A sword of light flashed across the Rangers body, and without offering the slightest resistance, the Ranger, too, fell lifelessly to the ground, his equipment scattering around his body. Damn it! War Wolfs eyes turned bloodshot with rage. Although he wanted to save his companions, he already had his hands full dealing with the doppelganger before him. At this moment, he was overwhelmed with regret. Just why had he used a barrier to trap his own men with this kind of monster? Moreover, the barrier lasted 15 long minutes Everyone outside, hurry up and escape! War Wolf was helpless as he shouted this command. Boss Wolf! The Overwhelming Smile team members outside the barrier nodded and scattered. As they ran, they began to contact the other members of Overwhelming Smile, asking for reinforcements. However, they knew that no one could save War Wolf and the others; there was not enough time. Inside the barrier, though the silver-armored Berserker and the other two experts tried to attack Shi Feng as a group, the gap between their Strength and speed and their enemys was simply too massive. Without needing any Skills, Shi Feng easily finished off the three of players after brandishing his swords a dozen times or so. As for War Wolf Shi Feng was done playing around. He immediately instructed his doppelganger to activate Blade Liberation. Blade Liberation was a Skill that he had learned himself, not a Skill that he acquired with his equipment. Since the doppelganger could utilize all of the Skills he had learned, it was naturally capable of using the Tier 1 Berserker Skill, Blade Liberation, as well. Instantly, both the doppelgangers Strength and Agility increased by 80%. At this moment, the doppelgangers Strength and Agility had even surpassed Shi Feng himself. In the next moment, countless swords of light clashed with War Wolfs massive red shield, producing a continuous stream of rings. The barrage of powerful attacks sent War Wolf flying. As he tried to stabilize his body in midair, he suddenly discovered Shi Fengs doppelganger before him. Hurriedly, War Wolf raised his shield in an attempt to protect his body. Shockingly, however, the doppelgangers sword passed through his shield and struck his body, dealing over -1,000 damage. This move was none other than the Skill specifically meant for targeting MTs, Illusory Shadow. Once this Skill was used, the doppelgangers attacks could only be dodged, and not blocked. At this moment, War Wolfs towering shield was practically non-existent. Moreover, he could not control his body while he flew through the air, making it impossible to dodge the doppelgangers attacks. Attack after attack assaulted War Wolf. The doppelganger attacked the Shield Warrior six times in a row, and of them, three had triggered a critical hit, dealing close to -3,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, War Wolfs body fell to the ground, his nearly 7,000 HP reaching zero. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had activated Space Movement and instantly appeared before the twelve escaping Overwhelming Smile members. He then finished off each player with a single hit, letting none escape the Dragonmens Nest. 526 Deterring Force After annihilating everyone at the Dragonmens Nest, Shi Feng began to collect the items his victims had dropped. Due to Haunteds effect, War Wolf and the others drop-rates had multiplied. Moreover, due to Shi Fengs Luck Attribute, some of Overwhelming Smiles elites had even dropped up to three pieces of equipment. Shi Feng had obtained more than 200 pieces of equipment, with the most inferior being Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment, just by killing this team of 100 players. In total, Shi Feng had earned more than 1,000 Gold in equipment. No wonder so many players join the forces of darkness. An indescribable joy filled Shi Fengs heart when he looked at the assortment of advanced equipment in his bag. If Zero Wing had only itself to rely on to obtain all this equipment, a lot of time would be required. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had only needed five minutes. However, equipment was not his greatest concern this time. The key point had been killing War Wolf and the others. After absorbing their Immortal Souls, War Wolf and the others could forget about logging into the game for at least two or three days. In addition to their lost equipment, they would have to waste at least four or five days to recover from this serious setback. With this one fight, Shi Feng had stomped Overwhelming Smiles trump card to the ground, severely slowing the Guilds development progress. If I put my back into it, I should be able to collect the 300 points of Life Force required before logging off. Shi Feng took a look at the Icaruss Hearts Attributes, licking his lips. He then departed from the Dragonmens Nest in search of other Overwhelming Smile members. Previously, when he had attacked War Wolf and the others, the latter had contacted the other nearby Overwhelming Smile members, hoping to attract a crowd. After all, Overwhelming Smile was the overlord of Maple City. Now that someone had dared to provoke the Guild, they wanted to openly display what the consequences were for such actions. As this concerned the Guilds reputation, Overwhelming Smile would take action to serve as a deterrence for others. Hence, this was the perfect time for Shi Feng to hunt Overwhelming Smile members. Time gradually passed. Just as Shi Feng had predicted, while he had killed War Wolfs team, the Overwhelming Smile members in Dragon Ridge began to rush towards his location. There was actually someone who dared kill their allies while in their territory. Before this, nobody had dared to kill any members of Overwhelming Smile. Now that someone had emerged, naturally, they needed to retaliate. Filled with rage, the members of Overwhelming Smile rushed over to the Dragonmens Nest where War Wolfs team had fought, hoping to teach Shi Feng a lesson. Unfortunately, only an endless abyss awaited them. The majority of the reinforcements that arrived consisted of 20-man teams, and very rarely would a 100-man team appear. Although all of these teams consisted of elite players, compared to War Wolfs team, they were significantly inferior. Whenever Shi Feng discovered one of these teams, he would immediately use Firestorm. As for those that were fortunate enough to be outside the Skills effective radius, Shi Feng would rush over and finish them off quickly. Each battle usually lasted around five or six seconds. These Overwhelming Smile members did not even have the time to contact the other teams. They could only watch as Shi Feng devoured them, one after another, becoming Life Force for the Icaruss Heart. After slightly over half an hour, Shi Feng had collected a total of 300 points of Life Force, evolving the Icaruss Heart to Secret-Silver rank. The Luck Attribute the necklace provided increased from the original 7 points to 9 points. Although it was a minor increase, it had significantly increased items drop-rates. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng wanted to upgrade the Icaruss Heart to Fine-Gold rank, he needed double the previous requirement, 600 points of Life Force. Originally, Shi Feng had wanted to log out of the game to rest. However, thinking that this was a rare opportunity, he continued to massacre the endless stream of Overwhelming Smile members that stormed over to help their companions. Currently, Overwhelming Smiles members still had no idea of what was occurring at the Dragonmens Nest. They also did not know that many of their companions had already died. After all, players who had lost their Immortal Souls could not log into the game even if they wanted to, so it was not possible for them to notify their allies. Even if there were a way to make contact, that would only happen after the upper managers of Overwhelming Smile discovered that the dead could not log back into the game. Who knew how long that would take? If Shi Feng waited until everyone from Overwhelming Smile reacted to the situation, searching for Overwhelming Smile members would become far more difficult. Since news of his slaughter would get out sooner or later, Shi Feng intended to go all-out and kill as many as he could. Ignorantly, the members of Overwhelming Smile who wanted to teach Shi Feng a lesson continued to run to their deaths. Every team that came to the Dragonmens Nest died; the 100-man teams were no exception. \--- Meanwhile, inside Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence in Maple City Miss Youlan, whats going on with you? Why are you in such a hurry to see me? a handsome middle-aged man seated on the Guild Leaders throne asked, laughing. This middle-aged man was none other than Overwhelming Smiles true Guild Leader, Laughing Heaven. Laughing Heaven had tanned skin and a pair of deep black eyes. His entire person radiated a sense of majesty and gave others the impression that he was one who had experienced the vicissitudes of life. Although Overwhelming Smile was only a second-rate Guild, it had only been established a short time ago. Meanwhile, Laughing Heaven was the person responsible for nurturing Overwhelming Smile from the ground up. During the initial stages of Gods Domain, he had accurately chosen to develop Overwhelming Smile in Maple City, leading the Guild to become the citys overlord. Soon after, Underworld came with the offer of acquisition. Not only had Underworld supplied the Guild with significant funds, but it also supplied many experts, allowing Overwhelming Smile to become a Guild capable of rivaling first-rate Guilds. However, what shocked Laughing Heaven the most were the experts Underworld had sent. Because of those few experts, Overwhelming Smile had managed to raid Team Dungeons smoothly and unimpeded, shocking Maple City. Overwhelming Smile had become a well-known Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, and even showed signs of becoming the kingdoms number one Guild. Guild Leader Laughing Heaven, now is not the time for jokes. Recall all of our members from Dragon Ridge immediately. If they cant return, instruct them to keep their Guild Emblems hidden, Youlan said with a stern expression, her tone sounding like an absolute command rather than a request. Miss Youlan, did something big happen in Dragon Ridge? Laughing Heaven was no fool. Hearing the sudden change in Youlans tone, he could tell that the situation was not as simple as it seemed. However, he could not casually withdraw all those players who were out grinding without a good reason. Such an action would negatively impact the Guilds development. Are you really clueless about what is happening in Dragon Ridge? Youlan asked quietly. Are you talking about the person who is attacking our teams? When Laughing Heaven realized the reason for Youlans distress, he could not help but laugh and said, Miss Youlan, arent you making a big fuss over nothing? Isnt it just someone ambushing us? Is there really a need to withdraw our members from Dragon Ridge? Many Guild members have already gone to deal with that arrogant bastard. I doubt it will be long before that player is found and killed. Making a big fuss over nothing? Found and killed? Youlan could not help but laugh upon hearing Laughing Heavens words, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes. To actually speak such ridiculous words, do you even know what exactly is happening in Dragon Ridge right now? Miss Youlan, there is one thing that you have to understand. While you might be Overwhelming Smiles Guild Leader in White River City, in Maple City, I, Laughing Heaven, am the true Guild Leader. Laughing Heaven was not impressed by Youlans behavior. If not for the woman having the support of Underworld, he couldnt care less what the woman said. Since you dont know, Ill tell you! Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, is currently in Dragon Ridge! The majority of the subordinates youve sent there to level up are most likely dead already! If you dont recall them right this instant, it wont be long before he wipes out every member we have there! Youlan said sternly. That is all I have to say. Guild Leader Laughing Heaven, whether you wish to act upon my advice or not is up to you. Finished, Youlan turned and left the Guild Leaders Office. Her task in Maple City was only to develop Overwhelming Smiles trade. She was not allowed to intervene on any other matters relating to the Guild, not could she. Otherwise, she would not have run all the way here to meet with Laughing Heaven. Meanwhile, Laughing Heaven was stunned into silence when he heard the name Black Flame... 527 Commotion at Maple City Inside Overwhelming Smiles Guild Leaders Office Some time after Youlans departure, Laughing Heaven still struggled with accepting the situation. He could not understand why Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, would go all the way to Dragon Ridge to ambush Overwhelming Smiles members. Who was Black Flame? He was Star-Moon Kingdoms publicly acknowledged number one expert. He was someone capable of coming and going as he wished even when surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies. Laughing Heaven had even heard tell that two of Underworlds prided Seven Ghosts had died at the hands of Black Flame, leaving Underworld helpless against Zero Wing. In the end, even Underworld could do nothing but forbear from dealing with Zero Wing. This alone spoke of Black Flames power. Shit! Laughing Heaven suddenly recalled a situation. There was a rumor going around saying that Black Flame was capable of preventing the players he killed from logging into Gods Domain for a long period. However, Laughing Heaven knew that this rumor was true, as after Black Flame killed Underworlds Fifth Ghost and Sixth Ghost, the two were unable to log into the game for two full days. Laughing Heaven also knew that, back in the Watch Cemetery in the White River City Region, Black Flame had single-handedly forced Underworld to withdraw from that land of treasures. If what Youlan said was true, then the Overwhelming Smile members in Dragon Ridge vying for revenge were no different than sheep to the slaughter. Moreover, it was currently night in Gods Domain. Every Guild member capable of leveling up at night was an elite player. If these people were annihilated and barred from entering the game for two days Laughing Heaven immediately tried to contact War Wolf, hoping his team of experts could pin down Black Flame. With their strength, they should be able to deal with this matter without much difficulty. Afterward, he only needed to withdraw his Guild members from Dragon Ridge. Did he log off? When Laughing Heaven opened his friends list, he suddenly discovered that War Wolf and the other experts were offline. That shouldnt be right. I heard that War Wolf was planning to raid a Dragonmens Nest today; why would they log off so soon? It cant be?! Laughing Heaven abruptly thought of an extremely unlikely possibility. How could this be? Did Black Flame kill all eight of those top-tier experts?! However, when he recalled Youlans sudden appearance in his office, it was highly possible that War Wolf had contacted Youlan after he died. This wont do. I need to call back everyone immediately! When Laughing Heaven thought about the massacre of Overwhelming Smiles members, rage and frustration filled his heart. However, who else could possibly win against this one-man army? Shortly after, Laughing Heaven sent a command to all Overwhelming Smile members in Dragon Ridge, ordering them to either head to other locations to level up or return to the city to rest. In any case, the monsters at night were not easy to deal with. They could also accumulate Double EXP buff if they rested in the Guild Residence. Whats going on? Why are we being told to leave Dragon Ridge? Im only a short distance from the treasure chest! Thats right! Our team is still looking for that little thief that dared ambush us! If we withdraw like this, wont we let that bastard get away? Who knows? However, this is a command from the Guild Leader, so we have no choice. The members of Overwhelming Smile were somewhat dissatisfied with Laughing Heavens command. However, as it was a command from the Guild Leader himself, they could not disobey. \--- While Overwhelming Smile gradually withdrew from Dragon Ridge, a commotion occurred in Maple City. Many players resting in the city passionately discussed these ambushes and Overwhelming Smiles withdraw. Bars were particularly lively with such conversations. After all, Overwhelming Smile was Maple Citys overlord, and it constantly received attention from the citys players. Now that such a huge incident had occurred, how could it not attract attention? Did you hear? Overwhelming Smile suddenly withdrew all of its members from Dragon Ridge. Of course, I heard about it! It really makes you wonder what is going through their leaders minds. Hehe! I have some insider information! I heard that someone is killing Overwhelming Smile players in Dragon Ridge. With no way to deal with this assailant, Overwhelming Smile was forced to withdraw from Dragon Ridge. Oh, blow it out your ass! Overwhelming Smile is our Maple Citys absolute overlord! Whoever dares attack them is just looking to die! Hey, dont deny it so quickly. That player that ambushed Overwhelming Smile is no simple character. Suddenly, the players in the bar grew curious. Aside from the fact that Overwhelming Smile was the citys overlord, the Guild also had more than its fair share of experts. Otherwise, they would not have successfully raided Level 20, 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons one after another. Even until now, aside from Overwhelming Smile, no other Guild in Maple City had accomplished such a feat. With these experts, what player had even a chance of challenging the Guild? I dont believe it. Who could possibly be so powerful? Thats right! Unless a first-rate Guild is trying to wage an all-out war against Overwhelming Smile in Maple City, who else would possess such strength? The bars crowd expressed their doubts. They did not believe this any of this information. Moreover, they always had a sense of pride regarding the Guild known as Overwhelming Smile. After all, they were all players of the same city. Moreover, Overwhelming Smile was indeed very powerful. Throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, only a few Guilds could raid Level 20 Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Even if a first-rate Guild wished to take strike out at Overwhelming Smile, they would be beaten to death if they set foot in Maple City. Hehe! I knew none of you would believe me. However, once I say this name, you will definitely believe me! the male Druid giggled. Continue boasting! Who doesnt know how to boast? Suddenly, everyone inside the bar sent contemptuous looks at the independent player. Hahaha! Let me tell you guys, then! The player attacking Overwhelming Smile is Black Flame, Zero Wings Guild Leader and Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert! the male Druid said very confidently. When the Druid finished speaking, the entire bar fell silent. Everyone felt that Black Flame was the only person capable of such a feat. This was because such an incident had once occurred in White River City. Back then, hadnt Overwhelming Smiles many experts been forced to withdraw from the Watch Cemetery precisely because of Black Flame? It could be said that practically everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom knew about Black Flame. One hit to deter the Guilds in White River City, one battle to be crowned as God... Many players had tried to learn from Black Flame. If they could learn even a fraction of his skills, they could become experts. Meanwhile, Black Flames title as the One-hit Asura was something that excited countless players. Hes the Leader of a Guild. Moreover, he is the overlord of White River City. Why would he come all the way to Maple City to cause trouble for Overwhelming Smile? someone suddenly asked. How should I know? Maybe Black Flame plans to lay his hands on Maple City as well? the male Druid joked. Silence overtook the entire bar once more. When they thought about it, there was indeed a small possibility of such a situation. After all, Zero Wing was already White River Citys overlord. Why would such a powerful Guild be satisfied with ruling just a single city? It had to expand sooner or later. Thinking up to this point, everyone could not help but grow excited. Meanwhile, seated in a corner of the bar, a middle-aged man in his late thirties was greatly shocked when he heard this news. This man was none other than Liang Chen, the person who bought Land on behalf of Shi Feng. Sure enough, the winds of Maple City are going to change. Liang Chen sighed. In all of Star-Moon Kingdom, most likely, only an expert like Black Flame was capable of deterring the overlord of an entire city by himself. 528 Characteristic Skill The news regarding Black Flame quickly spread throughout Maple City. Overwhelming Smile and Zero Wing had been waging an all-out war against each other. No one was surprised that Black Flame had taken his killing all the way to Maple City, considering it perfectly reasonable. Regarding this situation, everyones opinion of Zero Wing was still quite optimistic. Normally, Overwhelming Smile occupied all the high-resource areas located within the Maple City Region, and many players were not happy about that. However, these players would not dare voice their anger as Overwhelming Smile was Maple Citys overlord. Now that someone capable of taking out Overwhelming Smile members had emerged, these players would cheer and support them. However, as news of Shi Fengs hunt spread, another event had occurred that excited players in Maple City. Another player-owned Shop had emerged in their city, and this Shop was the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Candlelight Trading Firm sold a wide variety of goods, with the most precious item being the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit. Many players had never even seen the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits before. Hence, the moment Maple Citys players laid their eyes on the kits, they rushed to purchase their own. As a result, business at the Candlelight Trading Firm was far better than what the Overwhelming Trading Firm enjoyed. Naturally, while there were some who celebrated the Candlelight Trading Firms new establishment in Maple City, there were others who grew worried. Although the citys players were overjoyed by this situation, Youlan, who was currently inside the Overwhelming Trading Firm, was incensed. Candlelight Trading Firm! Youlan ground her teeth. She had truly not expected that the Candlelight Trading Firm had been preparing to set up a Shop in Maple City. Furthermore, Candlelight had managed to obtain a plot of Land in the central district of the city. However, this was still not the most infuriating aspect. The most detestable thing was that the Candlelight Trading Firm had actually set up its Shop relatively close to the Overwhelming Trading Firm. Due to the Candlelight Trading Firm having the advantage regarding available products, many of the Overwhelming Trading Firms original customers had shifted their attention towards the Candlelight Trading Firm. Boss, what are we supposed to do now? If this continues, Candlelight will snatch all of our remaining customers, a Shop manager asked, concern filling his voice. We dont have a choice. Our only option is to start a price war. Reduce the prices of all goods, Youlan said, sighing helplessly. She did not have any good ideas about how to deal with this situation. Unless they could get their hands on some exclusive items, there was simply no way to compete with the Candlelight Trading Firm. Fortunately, unlike in White River City, the Overwhelming Trading Firm possessed some capital in Maple City, and their two Trading Firms had started with the same benefits around the same time. In addition, Maple City was their home ground. The cost of harvesting materials was significantly lower here, resulting in a lower production cost. They definitely had a fighting chance against the Candlelight Trading Firm. In Gods Domain, Shops in different cities, but owned by the same player, shared products. However, while there was no city tax for consigning products to Shops in the players home city, there was a small 8% city tax charged for items consigned to sell at Shops in other cities. This was a protection mechanism of sorts implemented to protect the player-owned Shops of each respective city. In other words, since the Candlelight Trading Firms main headquarters was in White River City, there was an invisible cost added to the items they sold in Maple City. To the Overwhelming Trading Firm, this was an advantage. Sure enough, after the Overwhelming Trading Firm reduced its prices, other than players wanting to purchase products unique to the Candlelight Trading Firm, players quickly returned to shopping at the Overwhelming Trading Firm. \--- Meanwhile, in the Dragon Ridge, Shi Feng was currently having the time of his life. With wave after wave of Overwhelming Smile players marching towards their deaths, Shi Feng had finally managed to upgrade the Icaruss Heart to Dark-Gold rank. He was only a short distance away from upgrading the necklace to Epic rank now. [Icaruss Heart] (Necklace, Dark-Gold Rank [Can be evolved]) Equipment Requirement: All Attributes 120 Level 20 - Level 80 (Currently Level 30) All Attributes +27 Luck +14 Additional Characteristic Skill - Divine Providence: Temporarily increases players Luck by 32 points for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 40 minutes Luck, Duration, and Cooldown can be increased, prolonged, and reduced by sacrificing Life Force. Maximum of 100 points of Life Force per sacrifice. Evolution Condition: Absorb the Life Force of 5,000 players to evolve to Epic Rank. (748/5,000) The base Luck alone provided 14 points. That was significantly higher than the initial 5 points. However, that was not the improvement that excited Shi Feng the most. Rather, it was the change that had occurred to the Divine Providence Skill. Divine Providence had evolved from an ordinary Skill to a Characteristic Skill. Characteristic Skills were different from normal Skills in which the Skills effects would undergo a transformation when certain conditions were met. The Skill now allowed the sacrifice of Life Force to enhance its effects. Meanwhile, depending on the number of Life Force points sacrificed, the effects would also vary, with a maximum sacrifice of 100 Life Force points. Currently, Shi Feng had 748 Life Force points stored in the Icaruss Heart. In other words, Shi Feng could enhance the Icaruss Hearts effects to its maximum seven times. Since the Cooldown has already completed, this is a good chance to test its effects. Shi Feng could not contain his excitement when he looked at the bright gemstone around his neck. He could receive 46 points of Luck before he had even sacrificed any Life Force points. This was the highest amount of Luck Shi Feng had ever seen in either life. If he sacrificed Life Force points as well, his Luck would reach frightening heights. Soon, Shi Feng retrieved over a dozen Twilight Treasure Chests from his bag, laying the chests out neatly in front of him. He then activated Divine Providence and chose to sacrifice 100 Life Force points. Instantly, his Luck rose to 66 points, with the duration of Divine Providence increasing to 40 seconds and Cooldown decreasing to 30 minutes. Hurriedly, Shi Feng began opening the Twilight Treasure Chests. With each chest requiring three seconds to open, Shi Feng just barely managed to open twelve treasure chests in 40 seconds. Losing a few seconds when switching to the next treasure chest was inevitable. Although Shi Feng felt slightly disappointed about the time he had lost, when he thought about the additional effects gained from sacrificing Life Force, his mood instantly brightened again. If he applied that 66 points of Luck when killing monsters, the drop-rate would be astounding. The rarely seen Jackpot might even occur, multiplying the number as well as increasing the quality of the items dropped. Unfortunately, such a powerful effect came at the cost of 100 Life Force points. He had only managed to kill so many players today due to catching Overwhelming Smile unprepared. However, after they set up certain precautions, it would not be as easy to harvest 100 Life Force points anymore. Of course, Shi Feng absolutely refused to commit random murder. Although there were many people in this world who did not have a bottom line, and even more so inside a game, Shi Feng was not one of them. This was a fundamental principle of being a human being. If he crossed this line, he would be no different than an animal. Shi Feng then began collecting the items inside the Twilight Treasure Chests. Awesome! Shi Feng could not help but laugh. Sure enough, the effects of 66 points of Luck are truly amazing! Among the twelve Twilight Treasure Chests, he had obtained four pieces of Tier 1 Set Equipment, one for Shield Warrior, Guardian Knight, Assassin, and Cleric. Among them, the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights were the most difficult to obtain, yet, Shi Feng had actually obtained one piece for both classes. Up until now, Shi Feng had collected four of the five set pieces of the Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment for Guardian Knights; he only lacked the boots now. Currently, he had three pieces of the Mana Storm Set Equipment for Tier 1 Elementalists. As for the Dark Melody Set Equipment for Tier 1 Assassins, like the Yin-Yang Walker, Shi Feng now had four pieces; he was only missing the head slot. He had three set pieces of the Forest Guard Set Equipment for Tier 1 Rangers. He now had three set pieces of the Brave Heart Set Equipment for Tier 1 Shield Warriors. He had two set pieces of the Ghost Set Equipment for Tier 1 Cursemancers. He also had three set pieces of the Angel Wings Set Equipment for Tier 1 Clerics. By now, Shi Feng was close to completing the Tier 1 Set Equipment for the majority of the available classes. It would not be long before he completed them. At that time, if he led a team of players geared in Tier 1 Set Equipment into a large-scale Team Dungeon, who could possibly compete with Zero Wing to obtain First Clears? Just the thought excited Shi Feng. With such equipment, they could steamroll through even a 100-man Team Dungeon, let alone a 50-man Team Dungeon. Just as Shi Feng was arranging his new items, he suddenly discovered a glowing purple tablet inside his bag, his chest constricting upon this discovery. 529 Shop Promotion Shi Feng quickly took the purple tablet from his bag. The tablet displayed a single word: Promotion! However, this Promotion Order was not a Guild Residence Promotion Order. In Gods Domain, all Promotion Orders were extraordinarily valuable, and among them were Guild Residence Promotion Orders and Promotion Orders for other specific establishments. However, of these Promotion Orders, the rarest was the Shop Promotion Order. The tablet in Shi Fengs hands right now was none other than the Shop Promotion Order. All Shops set up by players in NPC cities began as 1-star Shops without exception, regardless of whether it was a 300 Gold Shop or a 1,000 Gold Shop. Only, a 1,000-Gold Shop was far more luxurious, and it had a few more available functions. However, after a Shop was promoted to 2-star status, it would undergo a qualitative change. In particular, the benefits a Lifestyle player received would be significantly enhanced. It was extremely difficult to obtain a Shop Promotion Order. Unlike a Guild Residence Promotion Order that could be obtained from Dungeons, a Shop Promotion Order could only be obtained through certain special quests. The only other option was to gain one from treasure chests. However, not just any ordinary treasure chest would drop the Promotion Order. The treasure chest could not be below Level 40, and it must be Fine-Gold rank or above. There was also a certain probability to obtain one from rank-less treasure chests such as the Twilight Treasure Chest. However, the chances of obtaining a Shop Promotion Order were simply too minuscule. Normally, players would obtain it through a Challenge Quest. However, since it was a Challenge Quest relating to a Shops promotion, it was not so easy to receive or complete it. Such Challenge Quests were no less difficult than Epic Quests. Hence, there were extremely few Shops capable of completing them. Because of this, the Promotion Orders obtained through treasure chests were extremely valuable, and countless businessmen would offer astronomical prices for one. Shi Feng had only obtained this item due to a stroke of luck. With this item, I can finally monopolize White River Citys trade with the Candlelight Trading Firm. Shi Feng returned the Shop Promotion Order to his bag and took out a Return Scroll. Since it was no longer easy to locate Overwhelming Smile players, he had no reason to remain here. Meanwhile, now that he had obtained a Shop Promotion Order, he needed to go and promote his Shop. In Gods Domains settings, unlike in other virtual reality games where using one Shop Promotion Order would promote every Shop that player owned, players in Gods Domain required one Promotion Order for every Shop they owned should they wish to upgrade them all. However, Shi Feng had long since made up his mind. Zero Wings roots lay in White River City, so the Shop Promotion Order must be used on one of the Shops there. As for the Shops in Star-Moon City and Maple City, unless he had excess, he would not waste any Promotion Orders on these two cities. After using the Return Scroll, Shi Feng returned to Maple City. However, Shi Feng was in no hurry to return to White River City. Instead, he first went to investigate the Overwhelming Trading Firm. Now, he had already heavily damaged Overwhelming Smiles hidden trump card, which would severely impact its Dungeon-raiding process. He had also killed plenty of Overwhelming Smiles elite members, causing significant damages to the Guild. Not to mention, due to a lack of resources, the development of Overwhelming Smiles branch in White River City had also been wounded. If this situation continued, the gap between Overwhelming Smile and Zero Wing would only grow as more time went by. The only fighting chance Overwhelming Smile had right now was the Overwhelming Trading Firm. If the Overwhelming Trading Firm developed successfully, Overwhelming Smile would have the Coins required to fight a war of attrition against Zero Wing. In addition to its ample funds and enormous background, the Guilds development speed would soar. After all, a massive organization such as Underworld possessed the mechanisms required to nurture experts. Only, everyone had yet to adapt to Gods Domain fully. Once they did, however, with sufficient Coins and funds, in addition to experts giving out pointers, it would be very easy for Overwhelming Smile to nurture a large number of experts. Although Zero Wing seemed to prosper right now, in reality, it was still significantly inferior to other major Guilds, particularly in terms of training mechanics for experts. Gods Domain was mankinds second world. It was not a game with a short lifespan. A Guilds strength was not determined by wins and losses. Instead, it was determined by how long the Guild in question could remain in power. In the past, there had been many Guilds that had prospered greatly for a period. However, after some time had passed, they still crumbled and eventually faded out of existence entirely. Based on this, one could easily tell the gap between Guilds. This was why Shadow had remained a second-rate Guild in the past. It was because the Guild had only been recently established and did not possess the necessary mechanisms to nurture experts. Although the Guild had succeeded in establishing such mechanisms during the middle stages of Gods Domain, said mechanisms were far inferior to that of first-rate Guilds. In the end, the gap between Shadow and the first-rate Guilds of Gods Domain only grew wider as time went on. Hence, Shi Feng wanted to establish such training mechanisms as soon as possible and produce an endless stream of experts for Zero Wing. Only then could Zero Wing become a true powerhouse. This was also one of the reasons why first-rate Guilds looked down on Zero Wing. They all shared the same thought: You are only strong right now. What about in a few months? Lets see how you fare in one or two years. All Guilds that had achieved the status of a first-rate Guild possessed a history over a decade long; some had even survived several decades. When Shi Feng arrived before the Overwhelming Trading Firm, he could see a constant stream of players enter and exit the Shop. As for the Candlelight Trading Firm, which was only a short distance away, although the Shop also had plenty of customers, there were significantly less than the Overwhelming Trading Firm. Overwhelming Trading Firms items sure are cheap. I can buy another stack of Advanced Whetstones with the money I saved! Thats right. Not only are the items cheap, but I never expected that it would also push out a new product. Unfortunately, the Shop didnt have many for sale, and I didnt have the chance to buy one. Are you talking about the Magic Damage Potion? Yeah, thats right; its that item. Im an Elementalist. If I drink that potion, it can increase my magic damage by 5% for half an hour. It would help significantly when Im grinding monsters or raiding Dungeons. Shi Feng had initially planned to enter the Shop to investigate. However, upon hearing the conversation of a few players who had just left the Overwhelming Trading Firm, he could not help but stop and listen. Magic Damage Potion? Shi Feng was not a stranger to this item. The recipe for the potion only had a chance of dropping from Level 20 Hell Mode Team Dungeons. However, its production difficulty was very high. At the very least, one needed to be a Basic Alchemist. Even then, the success rate of crafting one hovered around 20% to 30%. Sure enough, I cannot underestimate Underworld. I just established a Shop at Maple City, and already, there is someone capable of producing such a potion. Shi Feng was not particularly surprised at discovering this information. Overwhelming Smile was a massive Guild. Its members didnt consist of purely Combat players. The Guild nurtured a large number of Lifestyle players as well, so it was only natural for someone to be capable of producing the Magic Damage Potion. However, this was not good news for the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Magic Damage Potion was not unique to the Overwhelming Trading Firm. Zero Wing had also obtained a few Magic Damage Potion Recipes. However, even now, the Candlelight Trading Firm had yet to successfully nurture a single Basic Alchemist, so they could not produce it. Shi Feng decided not to linger. Immediately, he headed to the Teleportation Hall and returned to White River City. Upon arriving at White River City, the first thing Shi Feng did was head towards the City Hall and upgrade the Candlelight Trading Firm next to the Auction House to a 2-star Shop. When a Shop was promoted to 2-star status, the building itself could also undergo an upgrade. However, a significant sum was required for the reconstruction. Without hesitation, Shi Feng spent 1,000 Gold to reconstruct the Shop. The reconstruction did not take much time at all; it was done in just a dozen minutes or so. Suddenly, the three-story-tall Candlelight Trading Firm rose to five-stories. It became an extraordinarily eye-catching display beside the Auction House, attracting the attention and discussion of many players. It was common knowledge that Shops could only possess a maximum of three floors. Throughout the entire Gods Domain, there had yet to be a single player-owned Shop that had more than that. Yet, now, the Candlelight Trading Firms Shop had five. Guild Leader, what did you do? Why has the Shop suddenly gone from being three-stories to five-stories tall? After the reconstruction of the Shop completed, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng immediately, unable to help her curiosity. 530 Special Space The Candlelight Trading Firm developed very quickly, and it constantly recruited Lifestyle players. Despite the Candlelight Trading Firm having two high-end Shops in White River City, they simply did not have enough space to house over a thousand Lifestyle players. For each of the three-story-tall Shops, the first floors were used exclusively for selling products, the second floor housed the various workshops, and the third floor housed the warehouse, offices, and lounges. Hence, not many workshops in each Shop were available for the Firms Lifestyle players use. As a result, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to send the Lifestyle players to the various Lifestyle Associations to produce items. Although the matter of space could be resolved this way, it significantly increased the Firms expenditures. Renting the workshops in the Lifestyle Associations required money. A Basic Workshops impact on a players success rate was insignificant, so, Melancholic Smile mostly rented Intermediate Workshops for the Firms Lifestyle players. Meanwhile, renting an Intermediate Workshop cost 1 Silver per hour. If she rented workshops for 100 people, that was 1 Gold per hour. If she rented enough workshops for 1,000 people, that was 10 Gold per hour. Ten Gold Coins...that was almost a small Guilds total liquid funds. Melancholic Smile even considered suggesting that Shi Feng purchase a few more plots of Land and establish more Shops. Unfortunately, in order to satisfy the current number of Lifestyle players they had in the Firm, they would require two or three plots of Land. However, the situation had changed. Now, the Candlelight Trading Firm next to the Auction House had been promoted to a five-story building. Although it seemed that it had only gained two more floors, it was equivalent to having two more Shops worth of workshops. In fact, the space inside the Shop had also grown; it was now roughly a little more than twice the original size. With so much space, the Candlelight Trading Firm could save a lot on rental fees. Melancholic Smile only wished that Shi Feng would upgrade all of the Candlelight Trading Firms Shops. That way, the Firm would not have to spend any money on renting workshops. Shi Feng could not help but laugh at Melancholic Smiles reaction. In the past, even after Gods Domain had operated for over a year, countless players were unable to promote their 1-star Shops to 2-stars. It was purely due to luck that the Candlelight Trading Firm had obtained the Promotion Order so quickly. It was practically impossible to obtain another Shop Promotion Order from the Twilight Treasure Chests. Though, if he could upgrade the Icaruss Heart to Epic rank, there might be a small chance for Shi Feng to obtain a second one. Shi Feng then had Melancholic Smile meet him in the meeting room on the fifth floor of the Firm with Cream Cocoa and Roasted Ironheart. The benefits a 2-star Shop offered were not limited to an increase in space. Otherwise, there wouldnt have been so many players desperately trying to upgrade their 1-star Shops to 2-star Shops in the past, willingly spending tens of thousands of Gold to obtain a Shop Promotion Order. \--- Meanwhile, the news of the Candlelight Trading Firm owning a 2-star Shop spread quickly. After all, all of White River City knew of the Candlelight Trading Firm. A majority of the players residing in the city had shopped at the Trading Firm at least once before. Now that one of the Shops had mysteriously grown, it would definitely attract a lot of attention. Young Master Feng, there is some movement over at the Candlelight Trading Firm. They have actually managed to establish a five-story Shop. When I went over to investigate, I found that the first floor has doubled in size. The number of items they can put on display has also significantly increased, a player specifically tasked to investigate the Candlelight Trading Firm reported. Five-stories? Larger than before? Feng Xuanyang could not help but sneer. The Candlelight Trading Firm is certainly ambitious. While producing Light Stones, they also expanded their Shop to prepare for the new sales. What a pity. Truly a pity. So what if they have a larger space? Now that I have stolen the three of the Advanced Forging Apprentices capable of producing the Light Stones, that Shop will only have empty shelves to show off. He still felt the sting from the large amount of money he had spent to poach those three Advanced Forging Apprentices. However, the thought of how the Candlelight Trading Firm could no longer produce the Light Stones soothed the pain in his heart. Right, how are we developing in Maple City? Feng Xuanyang asked the somewhat chubby man beside him. I heard that the Candlelight Trading Firm has set up a Shop close to the Overwhelming Trading Firm. This should have significantly impacted the Overwhelming Trading Firms business. Young Master Feng, please rest assured. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm is impressive, Maple City is our home ground. Moreover, Miss Youlan has succeeded in inviting that great personage to help us. The Magic Damage Potions they have produced have singlehandedly driven the Overwhelming Trading Firms business. Candlelight has no chance against us. It wont be long before the Overwhelming Trading Firm stabilizes its status as Maple Citys number one Trading Firm. Also, when that great personages Alchemy Proficiency advances or when we obtain an item that increases success rate, he will be able to produce that item. At that time, not even the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City will be a challenge, the chubby man said, giggling. Good. Its as expected of the woman who the higher-ups favor. As long as the Overwhelming Trading Firm conquers White River City, my status will rise along the tides. At that time, my succession of the household will be set in stone. Feng Xuanyangs eyes suddenly glowed. He truly never expected that Youlan would successfully recruit that great personage from Underworld. That great personage was only a Lifestyle player. However, by relying on his superb talents, he had profited Underworld in many virtual reality games, and gradually throughout the years, he had become a force to be reckoned with in the organization. Even Underworlds upper managers tread carefully when around him. Although Feng Xuanyang had thought of trying to invite that great personage before, he simply did not qualify to do so. Meanwhile, the fact that Youlan had recruited that great personages help showed just how capable she was. It seems that Ill have to rope that woman in in the future. Feng Xuanyang licked his lips as he pondered. Although he had only been interested in Gentle Snow in the past, Youlans temperament, figure, and appearance were not one bit inferior to Gentle Snows. In certain aspects, Youlan was even superior to the Snow Goddess. If he could make Youlan his woman, it would benefit him greatly in the future. His chances of becoming the master of his household would increase. \--- In the meeting room on the fifth floor of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng noticed Melancholic Smile and the others stand to greet him the moment he entered. Guild Leader, seeing as you were in such a hurry to look for us, do you have some sort of surprise for us? Cream Cocoa revealed her anticipation as she gazed at Shi Feng with her large eyes. She knew that Shi Feng would never call for a meeting with them for no reason, and in every meeting, Shi Feng always had something prepared for the three of them. Hence, she very much loved meetings. You really are perceptive, Shi Feng laughed faintly. He then said, Follow me, then. Ill show you guys something. Shi Feng then led the three forgers out of the meeting room, arriving before a room a short distance away. The Candlelight Trading Firms reconstruction had only completed a short while ago. There were still many areas inside the Shop that Melancholic Smile and the others were unfamiliar with. In particular, there were some rooms that Shi Feng had locked; not even Melancholic Smile was allowed to enter. The room he led the forgers to was one such location. Guild Leader, isnt this a workshop? Cream Cocoa asked curiously. Youll understand once you enter, Shi Feng laughed as he slowly opened the door. Once the door opened, the trio behind Shi Feng was stunned by what they saw. A completely different world awaited them beyond the door. When the door opened, a fragrant smell and beautiful scenery greeted each of them. The room even contained a small creek. The most incredible part of the room was the ball of water floating in the middle of the room. Thats a Simulation Device! Melancholic Smile was immediately surprised when she saw that floating ball of water. Originally, Simulation Devices could only be found in the Library of White River City. It was a tool that allowed players to learn or craft their own spells. Melancholic Smile had never imagined that this workshop would also contain one. Simulation Device? Cream Cocoa asked, confused. White River Citys Library also has a waterball. The Simulation Device there allows players to learn or create spells. However, the Simulation Device here is slightly different. It is meant to assist Lifestyle players with producing items. Through the simulation, you guys can discover the flaws you have when producing an item. At the same time, it can also aid you in creating a completely new item. With this, you wont have to waste a lot of materials and can freely try producing as many items as you want. This is a function that only Special Workshops possess, Shi Feng explained. 531 Frightening Talen Ive already set this place as a Special Forging Room. You will have a higher success rate than even in the Advanced Forging Rooms with any items you forge in here. The effects are especially obvious when you forge complicated and high-quality items. Hearing Shi Fengs explanation, Melancholic Smile and the others were so excited that they were speechless. This surprise was simply too huge. Players who had never produced a high-quality item before had no idea how difficult it was to produce one. It was an extremely delicate job. Not only was the success rate very low, but the slightest mistake would also result in the items destruction. Naturally, practicing the forging process for a long time would help significantly. However, high-quality materials were extremely rare. They had no opportunity to experiment and familiarize themselves with the forging procedures. They could rely on their experience and hope that, after repeatedly producing the item, they would become proficient with the design and reduce the amount of wasted materials. With this Simulation Device, however, they could practice as much as they wanted to, constantly modifying and upgrading their techniques. This would be of immeasurable help to them. Moreover, after players became Forgers in Gods Domain, if they wished to become a Master Forger, they had to create their own items. Otherwise, it would not be possible for one to become a Master Forger at all. Hence, players normally began to accumulate experience of creating items when they became Basic Forgers. By the time they became Advanced Forgers, they would attempt to create new items constantly. However, with this Simulation Device, they could save a significant amount of time and effort. Of course, this did not come without a price. The Simulation Device needed energy to run, and Magic Crystals supplied that energy. Fortunately, it was relatively easy to obtain Magic Crystals. After all, they had a certain drop-rate from Dungeons. Guild Leader, youre too awesome! Indescribable joy filled Cream Cocoa when she stepped into the room. Although Melancholic Smile and Roasted Ironheart were not as simple-minded and pure as Cream Cocoa, not revealing their thoughts so easily, they still could not help but approach the magic waterball when they entered the room. They loved all of the tools in this room so much that they simply could not bear to part with them. They would not trade this forging room away even if someone offered them a luxury car. The value of this Special Forging Room far surpassed those luxury cars. Moreover, one could not buy a Special Forging Room so easily. In the Forging Association, the Advanced Forging Room was the best one could rent. Special Forging Rooms were only available in 2-star Shops or above. This was also why so many players in the past had dreamed of upgrading their Shops to 2-star status. The fragrant aroma inside the Special Forging Room relaxed anyone who came into contact with it. The environment inside the room could also be adjusted to suit the user. Just the impact the forging room provided to ones mental state was significant. Using this room was practically a luxury. Not to mention, the Flame and tools in an Advanced Forging Room could not compare to those in this room. Although the Flame in the Special Forging Room could not match a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame, it was very close. However, Shi Feng had already switched the Flame here to the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, further increasing the forging success rate. The Special Forging Rooms are extremely limited in number. A 2-star Shop only has five rooms. Among them, I have reserved three for you guys. Ive already given you the authority over these rooms, so you will only be able to enter your respective Special Forging Room. As for the remaining two, Ive set one as an Alchemy Room and the other as a Forging Room. Melancholic, if you find anyone talented in alchemy or forging, you can let them use these two rooms. However, you must first have them sign another contract. The effects that Special Workshops provide are extraordinary. It improves a players techniques; it is far more valuable than any mere forging design, Shi Feng said sternly. Guild Leader, you can rest assured; I wont allow any of those traitorous bastards near these Special Forging Rooms, Melancholic Smile assured. While it was difficult to obtain forging designs in Gods Domain, it was many times more difficult to train a highly skilled Lifestyle player. This was precisely the function of these Special Training Rooms, so they would not use them to nurture traitors. Afterward, Shi Feng let Melancholic Smile handle the remaining matters regarding the Candlelight Trading Firm and logged out of the game. \--- It was already daytime in the real world, with the sun shining brightly in the sky. I played for so long and never noticed. Shi Feng smiled bitterly when he looked at the time, discovering that it was already nearing 1 pm. However, there was nothing Shi Feng could do about that. Not only had he come across such a priceless opportunity to evolve the Icaruss Heart, but he had also obtained a Shop Promotion Order. He could not log out of the game even if he wanted to. After Shi Feng ate and was about to rest, his quantum watch rang. Hello, Master Shi Feng. I have completed the task you requested yesterday. You can have people visit the training area at any time, the female assistant, Liang Jing, reported respectfully through the video call. Ever since the fight at Big Dipper, he had become popular in Jin Hai City. Many of Jin Hai Citys powerful figures hoped to meet with Shi Feng. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had rejected all of these requests. He had not been trying to be arrogant by doing so; he just did not have the time to spare. His future development was not aimed towards the world of fighting, but towards Gods Domain. Naturally, he could not waste too much time and effort on physical competition. Besides, these interpersonal relationships mattered little to Shi Feng. If not for his victory over a top-tier master like Lei Bao, these people would not attempt to befriend him. If he had not defeated Lei Bao, these people would not even care if he existed. In other words, a persons strength was the key to success. As long as he continued to grow stronger, many more high-profile figures would seek his company. Hence, Shi Feng had instructed Liang Jing to handle these affairs for him, and he had to admit that this female assistant was quite capable. Not only had she managed to dismiss all those who wanted to meet him, but she had also done it in a way that satisfied everyone. However, all these were only small matters. What truly amazed Shi Feng was her integration of Big Dippers inner training area and the training systems improvement. Even Shi Feng admired Liang Jings capabilities. She had actually accomplished all of this in such a short time. No wonder Chairman Xiao had her as his Head Assistant. Shi Feng read through the information Liang Jing had sent, shocked by what he saw. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen such management abilities. She was leaps and bounds above a manager like Blackie. Management talent? Shi Feng suddenly thought of another matter. The Guilds daily affairs have hampered Aquas progress of her combat techniques lately. Moreover, I will also need someone to help integrate the Candlelight Trading Firm and Zero Wing. Melancholic Smile has been busy dealing with this so far, not giving her much time to improve her own forging techniques either. At this rate, the two of them will soon be buried in management work. What if I have Liang Jing handle these affairs? Shi Feng pondered as he gazed at Liang Jings image on the screen. If he had someone who could liberate Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile from their management duties, allowing them to display their original talent fully, it would benefit both Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firms development. Liang Jing was a very good option for this position. However, Liang Jing was Xiao Yus subordinate. Meanwhile, both Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm possessed many secrets. It was an extreme risk to hand their management over to an outsider. There was also the fact that Shi Feng had little to no knowledge of this female assistant. While Shi Feng focused on Liang Jing, the latter also noticed Shi Fengs odd gaze, and she could not help her discomfort. He couldnt be 532 The Most Powerful Newbie Shi Fengs current status in society was worlds apart from what it had been. Although he did not exude any sort of aura, from Liang Jings point of view, this silence weighed down on her. Previously, she had belittled Shi Feng. Although she had not said anything, she had struggled to accept Xiao Yus instruction to escort a youthful little brat like Shi Feng to the assembly hall. Hence, she had purposefully treated Shi Feng with a little disrespect. Now, however, Liang Jing regretted her actions. She really shouldnt have treated Shi Feng impertinently back then. After all, someone who could earn Chairman Xiaos respect wouldnt be an ordinary character, even if it were only a young man in his early twenties. He cant be thinking of replacing me, right? Liang Jing worried. There were countless people out there who dreamed of becoming the assistant to a character like Shi Feng. In the VIP room that day, many of Jin Hai Citys influential figures had hoped to send Shi Feng assistants, taking the chance to deepen their relationship with the popular young man. Meanwhile, she had only received this job due to her advantage of being Xiao Yus most valued assistant. If Shi Feng dismissed her, only tragedy would await her She had seen countless wealthy and well-stated princelings who were immeasurably arrogant. These people got rid of anything or anyone that irked them. Meanwhile, a successful young man such as Shi Feng, whose status in society was far superior to even Xiao Yus, was even more likely to behave in such a way. Watching Shi Fengs solemn gaze, Liang Jings heartbeat accelerated. Am I going to be fired, just like that? Liang Jing inwardly despaired. Suddenly, Shi Feng spoke, Miss Liang Jing, thank you for your trouble. Ill leave to inspect the training grounds youve arranged in a moment. Although Shi Feng might appear to gaze at Liang Jing solemnly, in reality, he was simply pondering how he should go about making Liang Jing one of his people, liberating both Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smiles potentials. He had not paid any attention to Liang Jing herself. However, after considering the matter for some time, he had not come up with a proper solution. Hence, he could only set the matter aside for now. After all, Liang Jing was someone Xiao Yu had sent. If Liang Jing became the manager of Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm, she would wield the core secrets of both organizations. Hence, Shi Feng needed to be careful with his decision. Although Liang Jings management capabilities were extraordinary, he first needed to familiarize himself with her personality. He had time to make the decision after he got to know her a bit. Ah? Liang Jing was surprised. Inadvertently, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had fully expected Shi Feng to dismiss her when he opened his mouth to speak. Hurriedly, she said, Master Shi Feng, Ill have a car sent to receive you immediately. \--- Meanwhile, at the Big Dipper Training Center, the situation had undergone a massive transformation. The training centers employees were all in an extraordinarily good mood. Even the guests who frequented the training center were in a fiery mood. The training center had regained its past popularity. By now, everyone had heard the news that the Big Dipper Training Center had finally recruited a top-tier master to serve as an instructor. In this age, where mankind focused on personal fitness, everyone placed great importance on their own physical condition. Only through proper training and the assistance of medicine could one significantly improve their lifespan. In the past, people who had survived past the age of 100 were extremely rare. In todays society, however, many were easily capable of living past 120 years old. In addition, they could retain their youth for a long period. In the past, one would practically lose all semblance of youth past the age of 50. Now, however, even after reaching 70 years old, some still possessed their youthful vigor and appearances as if they were in their forties. However, they were mostly martial arts masters. Ordinary people had yet to reach that level of health. In the past, Taichi Grandmasters had lifespans surpassing 150 years. In the ancient world, that had practically been a miracle. Nowadays, with the support of technology, it was not impossible for humans to live that long. Hence, many people wished to strengthen their own bodies. Master Shi Feng, this is the training ground the company has prepared for you. What do you think? Liang Jing pointed towards an exotic and elegant three-story villa. Originally, the company had planned to turn this into a resort Gold status members or above. However, when Shi Feng requested a training ground that was free of disturbances, the only place they could think of that fit Shi Fengs requirements was this villa. This villa was equipped with state-of-the-art training equipment, and the buildings surroundings were the best Big Dipper Training Center had to offer. There was even a gravity training room in the villa that could fit up to several hundred people at a single time. When Liang Jing heard that the company had assigned this area to Shi Feng, she was greatly shocked. This Greenwater Villa was Big Dippers treasure. Now, the company had actually given Shi Feng full authority over this place. Liang Jing had only realized how important Shi Feng was to the company after this decision had been made. Not bad. This is an impressive location. Shi Feng nodded his head with satisfaction. In reality, he had both visited and lived in the Greenwater Villa before. It was certainly a valuable area. Shi Feng had even considered moving the Guilds core members here, particularly the upper managers of the Workshop. Although the Workshop he had bought was quite good, the facilities available there were nothing compared to the Greenwater Villa. Miss Liang Jing, can I trouble you to ask Chairman Xiao to move all ten virtual gaming cabins we previously agreed upon here? Shi Feng asked after giving it some thought. Nurturing experts was easier said than done. Naturally, the more advanced the training and recovery facilities were, the more progress those experts could make. In particular, the gravity training room was immensely helpful to players. Hence, Shi Feng planned to move a portion of Zero Wings core members to the Greenwater Villa. He also intended to move here. By doing so, he could give pointers to others at any time. He could also scour for talents at the Big Dipper Training Center. Gods Domain was unlike any other virtual reality game as it placed heavy emphasis on actual combat. The further one progressed in the game, the more realistic and difficult the battles would become. Producing experts would become much easier if he chose to nurture players who were already somewhat skilled in combat. Master Shi Feng, please rest assured. I will have the ten virtual gaming cabins installed in the Greenwater Villa by today. I will have the S-rank Nutrient Fluids sent over as well, Liang Jing said slowly. The Big Dipper Training Center had already gone all out this time. Both the virtual gaming cabins and the S-rank Nutrient Fluids were extremely difficult to obtain. However, in order to rope in Shi Feng, they spared no expense or effort. Following which, Shi Feng notified Blackie and the other upper managers, having them come to Big Dippers Greenwater Villa. Brother Feng, am I dreaming? We can really live here? Blackie asked with disbelief when he arrived before the Greenwater Villa. For commoners like himself, the Big Dipper Training Center was a place he could not visit even if he wanted to. Only members were allowed here. As for the villa before him, normal members were probably not even allowed here. Yet, now, people like them had the chance to live in this villa. They were merely professional gamers. To a massive existence like the Big Dipper Training Center, they were negligible. Even Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and the Five Demon Generals standing beside Blackie were stunned into silence. They were just commoners in real life. They did not dare consider entering such a high-class location. Even the Zero Wing Workshop Shi Feng had established had surprised them. They had never known that a gaming workshop could be so luxurious. Now, they were even more surprised. They were actually going to live in such a high-class villa. Everyone had yet to learn about Shi Feng being a martial arts master, much less about the fight that made him famous overnight. Big Brother Shi Feng, I heard that the daily rental here is very expensive, Violet Cloud worriedly commented. Thats right. Normally, each person has to pay several thousand Credits per day to stay here. However, from today onwards, this will be Zero Wings training base! Shi Feng nodded. It is not as easy to mingle in Gods Domain as you think it is. Hence, from today onwards, I will work with all of you frequently. However, I will only instruct you on your combat techniques in Gods Domain. Ill leave your training in the real world to someone else. Someone else? everyone was surprised. Thats right. This is Master Lei Bao. He has only recently joined Zero Wing, and from today onwards, he will handle your daily training. This is a rare opportunity that many will never have no matter how much they wish for it, so you must cherish it, Shi Feng introduced the martial arts master. Although he was skilled in Gods Domain combat, he did not know how to train people in the real world. On the other hand, Lei Bao was a bona fide top-tier master, someone who was only a short distance away from reaching the realm of grandmaster. When it came to training people in the real world, Lei Bao was far more qualified than he was. 533 Overwhelming Force When the group heard Shi Fengs introduction, they were dumbfounded. Everyone present knew just how precious a martial arts master was. Many professional fighters would do anything just to receive advice from a martial arts master, let alone personal tutorage. Moreover, their instructor was a top-tier master. Never in their dreams would something like this happen. For a second, Blackie and the others even thought that they had heard wrong. However, after spending time in Gods Domain, everyones senses had improved considerably. By now, they were already capable of making a rough estimate of another persons strength. Lei Bao also made no attempt to hide his beastlike aura in the slightest. Just basking in his aura made their bodies feel heavier. If not for Shi Feng standing beside Lei Bao, they wouldve fled immediately as this oppressive feeling was truly unbearable. Although none of them knew Lei Baos exact strength, none of them doubted that Lei Bao could wipe the floor with all of them in less than ten seconds. Master Lei Bao, Ill have to trouble you, then. Shi Feng could see everyones surprise and knew how incredulous of a situation was. However, this was all definitely real. Not even famous professional fighters would have access to these benefits. If Blackie and the others could not improve with Lei Baos help, then he really had no other means of helping them. In the past, under Shadows arrangement, Shi Feng had sought out many masters to learn from. He had not been as lucky as Blackie and the others. Being stood up by a martial arts master after several weeks of waiting was a normal occurrence to Shi Feng. As for personal tutorage? That was just a dream. No problem. Since we agreed upon this beforehand, I will hold up my end of our bargain. Lei Bao nodded. He then shifted his gaze to Blackie and the others, faintly smiling, he said, All of you, follow me. Ill have a look at your foundations before planning your training. Under Lei Baos watchful gaze, everyone felt their hair stand on end. They all had a bad premonition about what was to come. Unfortunately, with Lei Baos personality, even if they did not want the training, he would not show any mercy. Guild Leader The group sent pitiful looks towards Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng only waved them off. With Lei Baos training, Shi Feng hoped that they could learn how to control their bodies more efficiently. Once they learned that control, they could display frightening combat power in Gods Domain. When it came to control over ones body, Lei Bao had reached perfection. That he had reached the standard of Tiger Roaring showed that Lei Bao knew a unique method to train his physical control. Otherwise, he could never train his body to the degree of merging his internal and external power. Compared to a half-baked martial arts master like Shi Feng, Lei Bao was a powerhouse. While Lei Bao trained Blackie and the others, Shi Feng did not remain idle as he headed towards the Greenwater Villas gravity training room. Now that Shi Fengs brain activity had significantly improved, if he wished to control the lock on his physical power completely, he needed to possess sufficient strength. Otherwise, his body would crumble, unable to withstand the sudden release in power. Lei Bao, on the other hand, was different. He was a true martial artist, someone who had trained in the arts since he was young. Even if he released the limiter his brain had placed on his body, his body could easily handle the additional power. The gravity training room would help enhance physical toughness immensely. There were also various medicine and healing cabins available for one to recuperate as they needed. Since Shi Feng had access to these facilities, he had to train as much as he could. After Shi Feng had spent half the day training, Liang Jing had finished with her tasks at the Greenwater Villa. Currently, every Zero Wing member had a virtual gaming cabin in their room, coupled with an unlimited supply of A-rank Nutrient Fluids. However, the most valuable item was still the S-rank Nutrient Fluids; each person had received one bottle. With it, everyone could fully replenish their brains energy. Such expenditure had left even Liang Jing, someone who had seen various aspects of high society before, stunned. Not only was there a top-tier martial arts master serving as an instructor, but everyone had also been provided with a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. How was this supposed to be training for professional gamers? Those who did not know better might even think that these youths trained to participate in the national fighting competition Was such extravagance necessary just to play a game? Shi Feng could very much relate to Liang Jing. The chances of a single Guild currently spending so much to nurture their experts were nil. The same could be said even for Super Guilds. However, that was simply because no one had realized the importance of a top-tier expert yet. Moreover, Gods Domain had only recently become popular, so its influence over the real world was still very faint. However, with the passing of time, Gods Domains popularity would grow, and soon, it would become a part of everyones daily life, becoming a true second world of mankind. People had the chance to live a different life in Gods Domain. They could explore all the mysteries this new world had to offer and perform feats that were normally impossible. The wealth one could earn in the game was immeasurable, and various fighting competitions would come to Gods Domain. These competitions were even more exciting than the fights in the real world. After Shi Feng instructed everyone on their combat techniques in game, he retired to his room and logged in, beginning a new day in Gods Domain. The moment Shi Feng logged in, he began to open Twilight Treasure Chests. Without hesitation, he activated Divine Providence and sacrificed 100 Life Force points. Inside the quiet forging room, the twelve Twilight Treasure Chests on the floor released a dazzling aurora that filled the room. Huh? It cant be, right? Its possible to obtain this, too? Shi Feng looked at the golden book in his hand. Shi Feng was already relatively happy about being able to obtain several more pieces of Tier 1 Set Equipment from the twelve treasure chests. However, upon seeing this glowing golden book, his joy became utter shock. The Book of Gold! This was the best possible item a Lifestyle Guild could obtain from the Twilight Treasure Chest. This book was not any ordinary item. It was a Consumable item that would vanish after use. To an individual Lifestyle player, this books effects were not particularly significant. To a Lifestyle Guild, however, it surpassed even that of an Epic item. [Book of Gold] (Consumable) Permanently increases the proficiency of a single players Lifestyle Skill by one rank to a maximum of Master rank. Can also be used to increase the proficiency of 100 players Lifestyle Skills by one rank to a maximum of Advanced Forger, for two days. With this item, I can temporarily promote those Advanced Forging Apprentices to Basic Forgers and promote Cream Cocoa and the others to Intermediate Forgers, significantly increasing their production speed and success rate. Shi Feng could already imagine just how frightening the Candlelight Trading Firm would become with a sudden influx of so many Basic Forgers. Although there was only a gap of one rank between a Basic Forger and an Advanced Forging Apprentice, it was a massive gap. Using the Light Stones as an example, while Advanced Forging Apprentices only had a success rate of 20% to 30%, Basic Forgers had a success rate of 60% or higher. Not to mention, many items required one to be at least a Basic Forger to craft them. Until now, there were only three Basic Forgers in all of White River City: Melancholic Smile and the other two. Other cities might not even have one Basic Forger, let alone three. If the Candlelight Trading Firm had 100 Forgers, its impact on the market would be astronomical. Most likely, even if one added together all the Forgers throughout Star-Moon Kingdom right now, that number would not even reach half of the Candlelight Trading Firms. Melancholic, contact all trustworthy Advanced Forging Apprentices immediately and have them gather in the fifth-floor meeting room. Shi Feng did not wish to leave the Book of Gold unused. 534 Fire Dragon Potion Maple City, Overwhelming Trading Firm: Master Aspiration, may I know if you are satisfied with the Overwhelming Trading Firms Advanced Alchemy Room? Youlan asked softly as she watched the white-haired old man standing beside the workbench. Currently, this old man held a purple glass bottle and gently swirled it around. Youlan was extra careful when dealing with this old man, Master Silent Aspiration, treating him with more respect than even Feng Xuanyang. Although this white-haired old man was already past 70-years-old, even Underworlds upper management had to show this man great respect, much less a young woman like herself. Before Youlan had even been born, this old man had explored virtual reality games for many years. And throughout all these years, he had focused fully on the art of alchemy. In this day and age, nobody in the virtual gaming worlds alchemy industry did not know the name Silent Aspiration. Old Man Silent Aspiration was already a Basic Alchemist. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng could see the potion this old man was concocting right now, he would find it both shocking and familiar. The potion in the glass bottle was a Fire Resistance Potion. However, it was not just any Fire Resistance Potion. It was a modified variation. In the past, this potion had been known as the Fire Dragon Potion, and it had been extremely famous throughout Gods Domain. Not only did it provide more Fire Resistance than a Basic Fire Resistance Potion, but its duration was also much longer. Most importantly, the Fire Dragon Potion increased a players Strength by 10 points during its duration. The Fire Dragon Potions effects could also stack to a maximum of 50 Strength and 100 Fire Resistance. To an ordinary player, 50 Strength was a significant increase, not to mention experts. Not bad. I never expected that you, little girl, could actually obtain such a good bottle. This has finally allowed me to complete my newly-developed potion, Silent Aspiration smiled at the red liquid inside the purple bottle. Satisfied, he said, Sure enough, it is as I surmised. Not only will the Fire Resistance stack, but the Strength bonus will also stack. Seeing as the Basic version of the potion already possesses such wonderful effects, lets call this the Fire Dragon Potion. Little girl, consider yourself lucky. Master Aspiration, you truly are amazing. You are actually capable of producing such a powerful potion. May I know the success rate for this Fire Dragon Potion? Youlans eyes lit up with joy when she saw the Fire Dragon Potions effects. In order to convince Master Silent Aspiration to come to Maple City and help Overwhelming Smile, she had to go through much difficulty to obtain this set of Mysterious-Iron Alchemy Equipment. However, compared to the value of this Fire Dragon Potion, a set of Mysterious-Iron Alchemy Equipment was nothing considerable. Relax. If this old man crafts the potions personally, my success rate is 50%, and though the success rate of other Alchemists might be below 30%, the materials Ive used to concoct this potion are all common. It wont do much harm to waste some, Silent Aspiration laughed. To develop the Fire Dragon Potion, he had invested a lot of time. Otherwise, he would have long since become an Intermediate Alchemist by now. Many thanks for Master Aspirations help. Now that we have the Fire Dragon Potion, as long as we nurture a large number of Alchemists, the Candlelight Trading Firm will no longer be a problem, Youlan said confidently. As the creator of the Fire Dragon Potion, Silent Aspiration could distribute its recipe to as many people as he wanted. It would be extremely easy for the Overwhelming Trading Firm to develop a small army of Alchemists. Moreover, the Overwhelming Trading Firm would have exclusive rights to sell the Fire Dragon Potion. It was far more precious than any rare forging design or recipe. It was impossible for anyone outside the Trading Firm to produce it. With this potion, who could possibly challenge the Overwhelming Trading Firm? Ive already produced what you requested. Little girl, if you wish to keep me here, you need to remember the Secret-Silver Equipment you promised me, Silent Aspiration reminded her. To this old man, nothing was more valuable than refining his alchemy. In particular, the alchemy in Gods Domain was unbelievable. If possible, he wouldve immersed himself in research every day. Unfortunately, his equipment was not good enough. Otherwise, he would not have bothered helping Youlan. Master Aspiration, please rest assured. I have already found some clues leading to the set. I believe that it wont be long before we obtain a set of Secret-Silver Alchemy Equipment for you, Youlan guaranteed. In the meantime, however, I will have to trouble Master Aspiration to produce a few more Fire Dragon Potion Recipes. That way, I can earn the money required to buy the Alchemy Equipment quickly. This is a simple task, Silent Aspiration laughed. \--- As time passed by, the various Guilds throughout Gods Domain no longer competed over Dungeons. Instead, they had shifted their focus to competing in trade. This competition only grew fiercer as more time passed. This shift had occurred because everyone had seen just how profitable the Candlelight Trading Firm was. After just two short days, many Guilds had opened their own Shops. Even Ouroboros had opened a Shop in Star-Moon City, though the Shop was nowhere near the central district. However, Gentle Snow had not had much choice. She had seen just how much money the Candlelight Trading Firm raked in every day. By the time Ouroboros collected enough Reputation points and Coins to purchase a golden Land, the Candlelight Trading Firm would have monopolized Star-Moon Citys trade. So, she made the decision to set up a Shop in the citys outer district first. At the very least, the Guild could gain a small income of Coins this way. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile was even more amazing. Not only had the Guild set up a Shop in Maple City, but it had also opened another Shop in White River City, challenging the Candlelight Trading Firm. Young Master Feng, everything has been prepared. At noon, we should have a sufficient stockpile of the Fire Dragon Potion. At that time, our men will announce the sales of the potion throughout White River City. Even if the Overwhelming Trading Firm is not situated in the golden areas, everyone will still swarm the Shop. Moreover, the Candlelight Trading Firm only has three people capable of producing the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. When the time comes, it will fall to the Overwhelming Trading Firm. Excellent! Youlan, youve done splendidly this time! You were actually able to obtain something as valuable as the Fire Dragon Potion. With this potion, the Overwhelming Trading Firm will lure a large number of players. Well reduce the prices for the other products as well. I want to see just how the Candlelight Trading Firm plans to compete! Feng Xuanyang said gleefully. Underworld had money and manpower. They could easily obtain a large stock of materials. In addition to Silent Aspirations unlimited supply of Fire Dragon Potion Recipes, each additional Basic Alchemist they nurtured would be one more capable of producing the Fire Dragon Potion. Currently, the Overwhelming Trading Firm already possessed six Basic Alchemists. As more time passed, that number would only increase. On the other hand, the Candlelight Trading Firm had no way to increase the number of Forgers who could craft Basic Strengthening Armor Kits, no matter how many Basic Forgers they hired. Meanwhile, Candlelights unsatisfied customers would naturally run to the Overwhelming Trading Firm. After all, many Level 25 Dungeons required players to have Fire Resistance. One could say that the Fire Dragon Potion was more valuable to players than the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Moreover, every player only possessed limited funds. As the Fire Dragon Potion was cheaper than the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, when comparing the benefits one could gain from the two, players would prioritize the Fire Dragon Potion. \--- While Feng Xuanyang fantasized about monopolizing White River Citys trade with the Overwhelming Trading Firm, Shi Fengs work was in full swing. To maximize the benefits of the Book of Gold, Shi Feng allowed all trustworthy Advanced Forging Apprentices to become Basic Forgers and had them produce Light Stones ceaselessly for two days. As for Shi Feng himself, after becoming a Forger, he had unlocked the forging design for the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit. Hence, throughout the duration of the Book of Gold, he focused on forging Intermediate Armor Kits without rest. In addition, during this time, Shi Feng had secretly recruited Gentle Snows help to establish a few Candlelight Trading Firms in several other major cities, particularly the major cities in Star-Moon Kingdoms Eastern Region. However, as Shi Fengs money was limited, he had only established Basic Shops in these cities outer districts. To establish these Shops, Shi Feng had invested all of the money he had earned during this time. He even spent the money the Guild had earned through Guild Quests. Guild Leader, we have met out intended goal. We can begin operations at any time, Melancholic Smile reported. Although she was somewhat tired, excitement filled her eyes. 535 Difference in Background Begin selling them in the Shops, then. Shi Feng nodded. During the past two days, Shi Feng had nearly a hundred Basic Forgers produce Light Stones constantly. Their stock of Light Stones was enough to supply multiple cities. In addition, the Proficiency gained during this period had allowed many Advanced Forging Apprentices to earn the promotion to Basic Forgers. With this, they could meet the publics demand even after their current stockpile ran out. Guild Leader, how much should we sell them for? Melancholic Smile ask. Previously, she had focused on her work fully, giving no thought as to how much they should sell the Light Stones for. The materials used to produce the Light Stones were very common. A 20-piece stack of Light Stones cost less than 3 Silver to craft. Factoring in a Basic Forgers success rate, which was just slightly above 50%, the total cost would be around 6 Silver per stack. Simple. Sell each piece for 1 Silver and each stack for 19 Silver, Shi Feng stated directly. Unlike the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits, which were considered luxury items to most ordinary players, Light Stones were commonly-used items. So, its price was also very low. In the past, the starting price for Light Stones had also been roughly 1 Silver per piece. Any higher and players would begin to feel cheated. However, as the number of players who could produce the item increased, the Light Stones price would eventually fall to 50 Copper per piece and 10 Silver per stack. What about the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Melancholic Smile asked. In reality, Melancholic Smile didnt believe that the Light Stones were Candlelight Trading Firms trump card; rather, she believed that their success lay in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Only Shi Feng could produce the Intermediate Armor Kit as nobody else had the design. This was the Candlelight Trading Firms greatest advantage. Others might not realize this, but the reason behind Starstreak Trading Firms fierce competitive edge was the Basic Mana Armor Kit. Even now, the Basic Mana Armor Kits were still highly sought after by elite players. [Intermediate Mana Armor Kit] Can be made into either Physical or Magical Intermediate Armor Kit. Bound to character after equipping. [Intermediate Physical Armor Kit] Defense +200 Strength +10, Endurance +12, Agility +10 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 25 equipment or above. [Intermediate Magical Armor Kit] Defense +60 Intelligence +10, Endurance +12, Vitality +10 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 25 equipment or above. If a player equipped three Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, the total Attributes they received would be the equivalent of wearing an additional piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. One could not buy Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment through the market even if they had the money. Many people offered prices of 20 Gold or more for non-MT Dark-Gold Equipment, not to mention Dark-Gold Weapons and equipment for MTs. Currently, Gods Domains elite players were around Level 25, so they could conveniently use the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Hence, now was the best time to sell them. However, it was also this reason that made it difficult for Shi Feng to set the price for the kits. He could neither sell it too cheap nor too expensive. Moreover, there was also the fact that he wouldnt have a lot of free time to produce the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Lets set them a 5 Gold for now, Shi Feng said after pondering for a long moment. Although the various Guilds currently busied themselves with commerce and had already spent a significant sum of money, they should still possess a small amount of Gold. To claim the First Clears of large-scale Team Dungeons, they would have no qualms about spending several hundred Gold to equip a team fully with Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Following which, Melancholic Smile began to prepare. Meanwhile, the Overwhelming Trading Firm had also begun selling the Fire Dragon Potions. This Fire Dragon Potion is awesome! It can stack Attributes and Fire Resistance! With this potion, raiding Level 25 Team Dungeons will be a breeze! The only downside is the price. Each bottle actually costs 10 Silver. The MT alone will require five bottles per run. Everyone else in the team will have to drink at least one bottle as well. What can you do about it? The Overwhelming Trading Firm is the only place that sells this potion. However, if we can successfully raid 10- and 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons, we will more than earn back the cost. Overwhelming Smiles advertising had been very well-timed. As the Fire Dragon Potions went on sale, people began to promote the potion at the various lively locations throughout White River City. As a result, many teams, who had struggled with the Level 25 Dungeons that required high Fire Resistance, grew interested, and they had promptly run towards the Overwhelming Trading Firm to purchase the Fire Dragon Potion. \--- Shortly after the Fire Dragon Promotion went up for sale, some of the players visiting the Candlelight Trading Firm to purchase daily necessities discovered that something had changed. There were several new counters in the hall on the first floor. Initially, due to the recent increase to Candlelights space, the first floor had felt relatively empty. Now, however, it was just right. What is this? curious players quickly flocked around the new counters. Hello, sir, this is our Candlelight Trading Firms newest product, the Light Stone. With this item, you wont have to worry about not being able to grind at night the NPC beauty slowly explained. To ordinary players, nothing was more of a headache than grinding at night. At night, not only was monsters vision unaffected, but there was also a certain increase to monsters combat power. On the other hand, players vision was considerably limited during night-time, significantly affecting their combat power. However, this was still not the biggest problem. At night, because of the vision problem, it was much easier for monsters to ambush parties. Hence, ordinary players were normally afraid of grinding monsters in the dark. Meanwhile, the Light Stone just happened to brightly illuminate a large area, allowing players to see as if it were daylight. With this item, not only would monsters strength remain unchanged, but it was also easier for players to avoid ambushes. Since players would be able to see as normal, they could also fight with their usual combat power, so grinding monsters would be as easy as it was during the day. Crap, theres actually such a good item available? How much is it? a player asked. As this is a new product, we are selling each Light Stone at the low price of 1 Silver Coin. You can also buy a stack of 20 at a discounted price of 19 Silver Coins, the NPC beauty smiled brightly as she spoke. Its so cheap! I want one stack! Wait, I want two stacks! Suddenly, the players inside the hall began to purchase Light Stones madly. Although ordinary players did not make a lot of money, they normally formed parties when grinding in the fields. If they split the cost of 19 Silver between each party member, they could easily afford the Light Stones. Moreover, each stack of Light Stones could last a party up to two nights. As long as one casually tallied up the accounts, the majority of the independent players would not miss out on this opportunity. An ordinary party could definitely earn more than 19 Silver Coins from two nights of grinding, not to mention an elite party. Very quickly, news of the Light Stones spread. Players who received the news immediately disregarded whatever they were currently doing and hurried to the Candlelight Trading Firm. For a time, the Light Stones became far more popular than the Fire Dragon Potion. What? Youre saying that the Candlelight Trading Firm is selling Light Stones in large quantities? Feng Xuanyang was baffled when he heard this latest report from his subordinate. How is that possible?! We even have to limit the number of Fire Dragon Potions we sell each day! How could they possibly afford to sell Light Stones in large quantities?! Where are they finding so many people to produce them?! He had spent more than 50 million Credits just to poach the three people capable of producing the Light Stones from the Candlelight Trading Firm, yet, now, the Trading Firm was still able to offer so many Light Stones. How could he possibly believe such a ludicrous report? Wasnt that item extremely rare and precious? How could there be so many Light Stones suddenly popping up? Even if the three Forgers of Candlelight focused on producing Light Stones without rest, it would not be possible to produce so many! Young Master Feng, this information has been verified. It is real. Based on our initial estimates, more than 1,500 stacks of Light Stones have already sold. Even so, the Candlelight Trading Firm continues to sell them without limit. Now, many of the Overwhelming Trading Firms customers have already run to the Candlelight Trading Firm to shop. Shit! Shit! They scammed me of more than 50 million Credits! They will pay for this! At this moment, Feng Xuanyang finally came to a realization. The previous three Advanced Forging Apprentices had been a trap set by the Candlelight Trading Firm. He had lost over 50 million Credits, just like that. Moreover, it had all been his own money. Instruct someone purchase Light Stones immediately! Buy as many as you can! I dont believe that they have an unlimited supply! Feng Xuanyang commanded furiously. 536 Unshakable Under Feng Xuanyangs command, Youlan, who was currently in Maple City, gave a new command. Reduce their prices further! Miss Youlan, we wont earn much money if we reduce our prices any more than this, a female assistant cautioned. I dont want this, either. Youlan shook her head helplessly. The Candlelight Trading Firms new move is simply too effective. It actually obtained such a valuable product. Both ordinary players and elites require this Light Stone. Although our Fire Dragon Potions are also very useful, only elite teams and various Guilds can afford to buy them. Meanwhile, our stock of Fire Dragon Potions is very limited. As a competitive edge, it stands no chance against the Light Stone at all. If they wanted to lure players to the Overwhelming Trading Firm, their only option was to do so with their common products. Right, from this moment onwards, halt all sales of the Fire Dragon Potion in White River City, Youlan said after giving it some more thought. Their supply of Fire Dragon Potions had already been insufficient to meet the demands of Maple City. Now that they had opened a Shop in White River City as well, their stock had stretched even thinner, further reducing the Overwhelming Trading Firms competitive edge. Moreover, there was a city tax imposed for selling the Fire Dragon Potions in White River City. This was also a considerable expenditure. So, now, their best option was to maintain the Overwhelming Trading Firms competition in Maple City above all else. Understood, the female assistant then left the meeting room. Overwhelming Trading Firms price reduction on its common goods had indeed attracted more ordinary players. Common items such as Whetstones and Advanced Whetstones, various food and beverages, Regeneration Potions and Mana Recovery Potions, basic scrolls and more were must-have items when grinding in the fields. Now that the Overwhelming Trading Firm offered a 40% discount on these items, many ordinary players ran to its Shops to purchase these items. For a time, the weakened Overwhelming Trading Firm in Maple City suddenly stood on equal footing with the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Candlelight Trading Firm had the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits and the Light Stones. The Overwhelming Trading Firm possessed the Fire Dragon Potion and discounts on common goods. This situation overjoyed Maple Citys players. While the Candlelight Trading Firm did not possess too large of an advantage in Maple City, in other cities, however, it was an entirely different story. The Trading Firm was like the sun at high noon in these cities. Because of the Light Stones, a large number of players swarmed the Candlelight Trading Firms Shops. Most of these players might have initially arrived with the intention of only purchasing the Light Stones. However, upon seeing the wide array of products the Trading Firm offered, they fell prey to temptation and bought other items as well. uddenly, the Candlelight Trading Firms income exploded. Meanwhile, the Trading Firms most exaggerated sources of income were still Star-Moon City and White River City. As the Candlelight Trading Firm had set up its Shops on these two cities golden Lands, it had instantly become an unshakable player-owned trading firm there. The traffic other player-owned trading firms enjoyed was nothing compared to what the Candlelight Trading Firm saw. Star-Moon City and White River City were Star-Moon Kingdoms first and second most populated cities, respectively. Naturally, the income they could offer was astonishing. In a short few hours, the Candlelight Trading Firm had earned over a thousand Gold. Guild Leader, why dont we set up a few more Shops in other cities? Melancholic Smile suggested when she saw the Trading Firms profits. This was only the income from seven cities. If they set up a Shop in every city throughout Star-Moon Kingdom There is no rush. Right now, we are relying on the Light Stones produced by almost a hundred Basic Forgers to barely meet the demands of these seven cities. If we expand any further, it will do more harm than good. We should focus on nurturing a large number of Forgers and Alchemists, Shi Feng said with utter calm. As for the income of over a thousand Gold in just a few hours, Shi Feng did not consider it odd in the least. However, players only purchased the Light Stones in large quantities at the moment due to their lack of the item. Once they had their own stock, they would only need to purchase them to resupply. Hence, the Candlelight Trading Firms income would decrease gradually as more time went by. Regardless, it would still be a frightening amount of money. Guild Leader, what about the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Melancholic Smile asked. Previously, Shi Feng had told her to hold off on offering the kits for sale, confusing her. Have you not noticed that someone in White River City is buying Light Stones in absurd quantities? Shi Feng laughed. There seems to be someone like that. When I examined the statistics, I discovered that someone had purchased 500 stacks in one go for a total of 95 Gold. Afterward, two others had purchased 300 stacks and 400 stacks, respectively. Even if these people bought the Light Stones for their own Guilds, they should not need to buy so many. Melancholic Smile nodded. Someone is intentionally trying to clean out our stock of Light Stones. If we push out the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits right now, what would we do if that person stops buying our Light Stones? Since someone is willingly purchasing our Light Stones in large quantities, who are we to stop them from giving us their money? Shi Feng laughed. The production of Light Stones was very fast. If a Basic Forger crafted them, the process for each Stone would typically take around six to eight seconds. After all, the materials only needed a little processing, and the finished product just needed a coating of magic runes. Though the process of adding the magic runes was somewhat troublesome initially, that would not be a problem once the Forgers were accustomed to it. After that, the only problem remaining was the success rate. Basic Forgers had a 60% success rate for forging the Light Stones. If they had good equipment and tools, their success rate could be increased to around 70% or so. In other words, as there were 48 hours in each day in Gods Domain, a single Basic Forger could produce roughly 20,000 Light Stones per day. If 100 people worked for two days continuously, they would have 4,000,000 Light Stones. Moreover, this was only with the condition that Basic Forgers produced the Light Stones. This time, Shi Feng had distributed all of the Light Stone Forging Designs, allowing many other Advanced Forging Apprentices to learn it as well. Only, their production speed was slightly slower. Four million stones were the equivalent of 200,000 stacks. If they sold each stone at 1 Silver and each stack at 19 Silver, one would have to spend 38,000 Gold to purchase them all. In all of God''s Domain, Shi Feng did not believe that anyone possessed 38,000 Gold. And even if someone did, nobody would be so stupid as to spend it all on Light Stones. They would have long since invested it into buying Lands. \--- Currently, Feng Xuanyang sat at one of the open-air tables in a high-class restaurant. He held a Light Stone in his hand, admiring it. This items effects are truly impressive. If we buy out all the Candlelight Trading Firms stockpile, they will have no choice but to limit the amount they sell. At that time, it will be the Overwhelming Trading Firms time to shine, Feng Xuanyang laughed coldly. It would be just like the Basic Mana Armor Kits. Back then, the supply of the Basic Mana Armor Kits had been too limited. As a result, the kits price had risen from 20 Silver to 40 Silver when other players resold it. Even then, plenty of people still purchased them. As soon as the Candlelight Trading Firm began limiting the amount of Light Stones it sold, he could turn around and sell the Light Stones he bought at an increased price. At that time, even if he sold them at 1.5 times the original price, a large number of players would still buy them. He would not have to fear a lack of customers. Young Master Feng, after using all the Coins we bought with Credits, as well as the Coins earned through the Overwhelming Trading Firm, weve purchased over 4,000 stacks of Light Stones. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm shows no signs of limiting its sales, the slightly chubby middle-aged man reported worriedly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. What are you worried about? Now that weve purchased so many, they cant possibly have much left in their inventory. It wont be long before it is our time to shine, Feng Xuanyang comforted the man, utter confidence filling each word. He had already asked the three Advanced Forging Apprentices he had previously poached, so he knew that Advanced Forging Apprentices had less than a 30% success rate for producing the Light Stones. Moreover, each stone required more than a dozen seconds to craft. Even if the Candlelight Trading Firm had over a dozen people forging Light Stones constantly, it could not accumulate a large stock over a few days. After they had purchased so many stacks, even if the Candlelight Trading Firm was not currently at its limit, it soon would be. Now, all he had to do was wait. 537 Legend Resurfaces Inside the Candlelight Trading Firms serene and quiet Special Forging Room, after spending a long time planning for the Trading Firms future, the sound of his communicator ringing suddenly entered Shi Fengs ears. He sure is fast. Shi Fengs lips curled up when he looked at the name of the caller. The person contacting him this time was none other than Everlasting War, the person who had invited him to participate in the Dark Arena before. Shi Feng promptly removed the Demon Masks disguise, returning to his appearance as Ye Feng. He then accepted the call and said, Brother Everlasting, long time no see! It seems that your strength has risen significantly once again! He could not see Everlasting Wars current Level through the screen, but judging from the change in the other partys equipment, he could tell at a glance that Everlasting War had undergone quite an improvement. The last time Shi Feng saw the Guardian Knight, Everlasting War was geared in a mix of Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, with the latter numbering only three or four pieces. Now, however, the majority of his equipment was giving off the glow effect of Dark-Gold Equipment. One could easily imagine how much his combat power had increased. Everything I am wearing right now came from the corporation. As long as Brother Ye Feng officially joins the battle team, the corporation will naturally give you their full support as well, Everlasting War laughed. He was delighted with the equipment he was wearing right now. Otherwise, he would not have purposefully revealed their special effects. In reality, his objective in showing off his equipment was to display to Shi Feng the strength of the corporation sponsoring their battle team. Such strength was indeed not something the Guilds that one could find in the game could compare with. Take Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment for example. In the current Gods Domain, such an item was scarce, and every piece could sell for an astronomical amount. Moreover, even if one could afford it, there was no guarantee that they would have a chance to buy one. Even first-rate Guilds only possessed several pieces. On the other hand, the majority of Everlasting Wars equipment was Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. The force backing him was evidently powerful. The time and venue for the test have already been set. It will be held four days from now in the Beast Empires Capital City, Beast City. At that time, you only need to come to the Underground Arena of Beast City. I will be waiting for you there, Everlasting War said, his expression suddenly turning serious. I hope that Brother Ye Feng treats this matter seriously. During these four days, try to improve your equipments quality as much as possible. Ive heard that the higher-ups of the corporation have also found quite a few experts to participate in the test this time around. Among them, a few even possess powerful backers themselves, and they are mostly apex experts of the virtual gaming world. The competition this time is sure to be very intense. However, as long as you manage to pass it, the treatment you will receive will surely exceed your imagination. Thank you for your reminder. I will make sure to arrive on time, Shi Feng laughed, not bothering to add anything else. As for Everlasting Wars advice for him to upgrade his equipment, Shi Feng had previously thought about doing so before. However, how could Epic Equipment possibly be that easy to obtain? Epic Equipment? Shi Feng could not help but ponder. At this point, he had already used up all the excess Life Force points he had saved up in the Icaruss Heart. If he wished to upgrade the necklace to Epic rank, he would have to collect the full 5,000 Life Force points required. However, after using that many Life Force points to open Twilight Treasure Chests, he had also obtained quite a harvest. Currently, he had also completed the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. There were even a few extra set pieces for a second set. He had also completed the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Assassins, Elementalists, and Clerics. As for Berserkers, Rangers, and Druids, he was still missing one set piece for each class. He also obtained two extra set pieces for Swordsmen. Other than these Tier 1 Set Equipment, he had also obtained plenty of Level 30 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Overall, his harvest was quite bountiful. Its been some time since I last targeted Overwhelming Smiles members. If I go for them again right now, they should not be too on guard against me. Shi Feng licked his lips. There werent many Twilight Treasure Chests remaining. If he could upgrade the Icaruss Heart to Epic rank and obtain another Shop Promotion Order, at that time, the Candlelight Trading Firm would truly become unstoppable. Saying so, Shi Feng immediately went into action. After leaving the Special Forging Room, he immediately headed towards the Teleportation Hall. Although it was somewhat inconvenient to take action during daytime, with his standards, he would have no problems ambushing a bunch of elite players. Just as Shi Feng arrived at Maple City, Melancholic Smile called him. Guild Leader, that group of people has finally stopped buying Light Stones in bulk. Do we begin now? Melancholic Smile asked with anticipation. It had been quite some time since the Light Stones first went on sale. Now, the Candlelight Trading Firms income was gradually decreasing as the enthusiasm of players began to cool down. If they added more fuel to the fire at this moment, they were bound to deal the other player-owned trading firms a significant blow, as well as solidify the Candlelight Trading Firms position further. Okay. Since weve wrung them dry already, begin selling, then. Shi Feng nodded. The reason why he chose not to sell the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits until now was his concern that some people would intentionally purchase them in bulk. Then, when the Candlelight Trading Firms supply of the kits ran out, these people could take advantage of the situation to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm, as well as earn a fortune while they were at it. Hence, Shi Feng planned to utilize the Light Stones first, to deplete the funds of these people. Soon, another new counter appeared simultaneously in the first-floor halls of the various Candlelight Trading Firms. Why was another counter added to the Candlelight Trading Firm? a Berserker, who had come to purchase Light Stones, asked curiously. Hello, sir, this here is our Candlelight Trading Firms latest product, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit. This item will greatly increase your Attributes. Moreover, you can equip up to three kits at a time, the beautiful NPC saleswoman explained. What? This is the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit?! The Berserker was stunned. The Basic Mana Armor Kits had long since become a legend in the city. Currently, each kit sold for 50 Silver. Even so, many still wished to buy it. Unfortunately, there just was no supply for the item. Now that the Intermediate version of the kits had suddenly appeared, how could this not be surprising? After the Berserker read the item description of the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit multiple times, he was finally sure that he was not hallucinating. Such powerful Attributes! Just a single Intermediate Mana Armor Kit is equal to three pieces of the Basic version! The Berserkers eyes shone dazzlingly, his drool nearly leaking out of his mouth. The Attributes of the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit were simply too shocking. As long as one could equip three of these kits, it would be equivalent to wearing an additional piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment! Currently, despite the high demand for Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment, supply for it was practically nonexistent. Countless people could not buy one even if they wanted to. If he could equip three Intermediate Mana Armor Kits right now, it would be equivalent to having an additional piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. Just imagining it exhilarated the Berserker. Battles in Gods Domain relied on two things: the players techniques and the players Attributes. At this stage of the game, even if one had passable techniques, they would still have to consider the Attributes of their equipment before they could try raiding a Dungeon. To an ordinary player, even being fully geared in Mysterious-Iron Equipment was a dream, not to mention owning a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. The Attributes of a single piece of Dark-Gold Equipment could easily rival that of multiple pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. If an ordinary player could equip three Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, it would no doubt result in a massive increase in strength. Crap! I was only missing just that bit of Attribute to qualify for that 20-man Team Dungeon last time. If I can equip three of these Intermediate Mana Armor Kits right now, the team leader will definitely beg me to join them! The Berserker could not help but fantasize. However, when he laid his eyes on the price of the kits Each Intermediate Mana Armor Kit actually cost 5 Gold. Suddenly, the Berserker was dumbfounded Although ordinary players could not afford to buy the kit, news about it still spread like lightning. The kits became the headline news on the official forums right away. Shocking Emergence of the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits! 538 Moon Kingdom The appearance of the Intermediate Armor Kits immediately caused a commotion. News about the Candlelight Trading Firm spread like a pandemic throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. In just a dozen minutes or so, the initially fading hype over the Candlelight Trading Firm surged once more. Players throughout the kingdom were behaving even more wildly than before. The Light Stone was merely common goods. Although it was of significant help to players, it did not provide any direct improvements towards a players strength. It belonged to the category of support items. However, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit was different; this was an item whose sole purpose was to increase a players Attributes. Moreover, it provided a considerable increase. Upon receiving news regarding this matter, many elite parties and teams that were out in the field immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed back to their respective cities. They made a straight dash to the Candlelight Trading Firm to purchase the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. If they were even a little too slow, other players would no doubt buy out the kits. It would be just like the Basic Mana Armor Kit, which had already passed into legend. According to the legend, many players who had managed to purchase the Basic Mana Armor Kits when they were initially released had already become experts by now. Some ordinary teams had also become top-tier teams capable of challenging Hard Mode, and even Hell Mode, Team Dungeons. However, Hell Mode was only limited to 10-man Dungeons. To the majority of independent players, 20-man Team Dungeons were simply too difficult a challenge. The requirement of such Dungeons on a players equipment foundation was just too high. The requisite level in combat techniques was also extremely high. Only a small number of Guild elite teams could clear such Dungeons. Team Leader, Ive just received news that the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits are selling for a fraudulent price of 5 Gold per kit! We cant afford them even if we want to buy them! They are indeed expensive. Even so, we still have to buy them. We must obtain them even if we have to borrow money to do so. I have deeply regretted not getting the Basic Mana Armor Kits. You should know our performance inside Team Dungeons as well. We are always short of just that small amount of damage and Defense. Unfortunately, no matter what we do, we arent able to upgrade our equipment any further. In the end, those teams that had the luck to buy three Basic Mana Armor Kits managed to brute-force their way through the Bosses. Right now, a single Intermediate Mana Armor Kit could match up to three Basic Mana Armor Kits. As long as we get our teams MT three of these kits, we will be able to defeat the Bosses of the Team Dungeon. At that time, wont it be easy to earn back the money we spent? Many independent teams out in the field maps began taking action, using all means to collect money. To elite teams, collecting 5 Gold was still relatively easy. However, it would be very difficult if they wished to obtain 15 Gold. Even so, they still endured the hardship as they tried to amass 15 Gold. After all, the effects of having an additional piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment on an MT was quite significant. Normally, 20-man Normal Mode Team Dungeons dropped Mysterious-Iron rank; Secret-Silver Equipment only dropped if one possessed heaven-defying luck. Meanwhile, there were only three or four Bosses inside a Team Dungeon, and each Boss dropped just two or three pieces of equipment. On average, one could get roughly ten Mysterious-Iron Equipment with each Dungeon run. After factoring in the money and items obtained from the Dungeon monsters, a team earned around 4 Gold to 5 Gold each time they raided a 20-man Normal Mode Team Dungeon. There was also the need to factor in the teams various expenses, loss of EXP, and such, which further reduced the teams profits. Not to mention, the teams twenty members would split this profit. In the end, each member of the team would receive only a meager amount of money. However, the income one could obtain from a Hard Mode Team Dungeon was significantly higher. The Bosses inside such a Dungeon would drop at least one Secret-Silver Equipment with nearly a 100% certainty. There was even the possibility of Bosses dropping two or three pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment at the same time. Even the monsters of the Dungeon had a fixed chance of dropping Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Another point was that only Hard Mode Team Dungeons dropped certain necessary raw materials. After adding up the various types of income, a team would typically earn at least 10 Gold from every Dungeon runmore than double that of Normal Mode Team Dungeons. If a team managed to clear a Normal Mode Team Dungeon, they would be able to sate their hunger at most. However, if they succeeded in raiding a Hard Mode Team Dungeon, they would be able to dine like kings. Every time inside bars, there was bound to be some amazing teams celebrating their successful raid over a Hard Mode Team Dungeon, earning the envy of the surrounding players. Now that everyone received such an opportunity again, the players naturally had to make a desperate effort for it. For a time, players swarmed the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, a majority of the players who came were only here to act as a placeholder for now. That was righta placeholder. The teams backing these players were currently still in the midst of collecting money. As soon as they gathered enough, they would immediately purchase the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits from the Trading Firm, afraid that the kits would sell out. Although few independent players could afford the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, it was an entirely different story for Guilds. Guilds were already willing to invest thousands of Gold in a single Shop, not to mention spending several hundred Gold to equip their core teams with Intermediate Armor Kits. If Guilds could fully outfit their core teams with Intermediate Armor Kits, the combat power of these teams would rise to a whole new level. There was no question that it was a worthwhile investment. All the Guilds that had received news regarding the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits immediately hurried over to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, these Guilds were incredibly ambitious, each and every one of them asking to buy 100 or more kits without hesitation. What did you say? Why arent you selling it to me? a Guild representative shouted angrily. Have a good look! I dont lack the money to pay for them! Sir, my apologies, but since the supply for the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits is too limited, we are only selling it in limited quantities. Ordinary players are allowed to buy at most one kit each time. As you are representing a Guild, you will only be allowed to buy a maximum of nine kits. If you are from one of the Guilds partnered with the Candlelight Trading Firm, you will be allowed to purchase up to 21 kits at a single time. The beautiful NPC saleswoman smiled faintly, paying no heed to the actions of the angry player before her. Damn! Give me nine for now, then! The Guild representative was helpless about the situation as the Guild he belonged to was not a partner of the Candlelight Trading Firm. He had no choice but to buy nine kits for now and have the Guild send more members to make additional purchases. Only, they would have to waste a lot of time using this method. There were just too many players coming to buy the kits, and even lining up was extremely troublesome and time-consuming. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm had only set up Shops in a few cities, when players and Guilds of other cities heard of the news regarding the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, they had promptly made their way over to cities that housed the Candlelight Trading Firm. Among them, the number of players running over to White River City was the highest. The Candlelight Trading Firms based in White River City had the largest allocation of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. That number was practically the total of all of the branch Shops. Hence, many players from the various major cities and Guild representatives all came over to White River City. Moreover, this allocation was something Shi Feng had deliberately instructed Melancholic Smile to do. He had done so with the intention of increasing White River Citys population. Once everyone realized the uniqueness of White River City, some players would surely consider developing themselves here instead, out of convenience. Meanwhile, this would indirectly increase Zero Wings strength. At this moment, the Guilds that had previously chosen to partner themselves with the Candlelight Trading Firm were celebrating in joy. Previously, most, if not all, of them felt that they had taken a huge loss by partnering with Candlelight. Now, however, they had become the envy of all the other Guilds. Being able to purchase 21 kits at a single time had saved them plenty of trouble. Right now, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits were priceless. Currently, people were offering to buy the kits for 8 Gold Coins, and this price was still rising. Even so, nobody was willing to sell their kits. Moreover, under the oversight of the system, independent players could purchase only one Intermediate Mana Armor Kit. Nobody wished to waste this precious opportunity, so they would not readily sell the kits they had obtained. \--- Just as many Guilds were fighting to purchase the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, silence filled Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence in White River City. Inside the Guild Residences meeting room, several veins were bulging on Feng Xuanyangs forehead. He was very nearly at the point of erupting. Boom! Boom! Boom! Feng Xuanyang violently slammed his fists down on the wooden table, and after a few consecutive blows, even the wooden table shattered. Young Master Feng, you must calm down! Calm down?! How do you want me to calm down?! Feng Xuanyangs eyes had already turned blood-red by now. If possible, he wished he could devour the Candlelight Trading Firm whole, right this instant. In order to purchase the Light Stones in large quantities, he had invested another 100 million of his own money. Meanwhile, he had done so with the intention of earning back the 50 million he had previously lost. He had even thrown in all the earnings of the Overwhelming Trading Firm into the mix. But all he had accomplished was purchasing a bunch of goods that had a seemingly endless supply. The most infuriating part was that, upon receiving news regarding the Candlelight Trading Firm, his superiors had immediately ordered him to buy 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. However, where was he supposed to get so many Coins? Three hundred kits would cost 1,500 Gold. Previously, he had indeed possessed this amount of money. Now, however, it was already gone. 539 Dominant Force Young Master Feng, if there really is no other way, then lets sell the Light Stones we bought cheaply. This way, we can get back most of the money we lost. Sell them cheaply? Feng Xuanyang pondered. He had indeed thought about this method before. However Who would want to buy them? Currently, everyone had their eyes on the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, throwing everything they had into accumulating money. Since the appearance of the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, even the exchange rate for Coins had risen significantly. How could anyone possibly bother to buy Light Stones? Even if someone were to buy his Light Stones, just how many could he possibly sell? He had a full 10,000 stacks piled up in his hands right now! Forget it. If I have to make a loss, so be it. I have to complete the task the higher-ups gave me. Sell the Light Stones at a 20% discount, then. Sell as many as you can. Even if we cant sell them all, we can at least make some trouble for the Candlelight Trading Firm, Feng Xuanyang sighed. The management of Underworld was extremely strict. If he did not complete his assignment, the consequences would be very severe. He had only managed to reach this position in the organization after many difficulties. Naturally, he could not fall short after coming this far. These 10,000 stacks of Light Stones had cost him 1,900 Gold, more than half of which came from Underworld and the Overwhelming Trading Firm. Although he would lose a significant sum of money by selling the Light Stones at a 20% discount, at least he could earn back Underworlds and Overwhelming Smiles shares of the money. He would also have the 1,500 Gold required to purchase the 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Sometime later, the Overwhelming Trading Firm also began selling Light Stones. Moreover, due to Underworlds connections, Feng Xuanyang managed to quickly get in touch with the various Guilds around Star-Moon Kingdom. Light Stones were still not available in many cities around the kingdom, which left the demands of many players unsated. So, selling the Light Stones at a 20% discount prompted many players to fight to purchase them. Only, for every stack of Light Stones sold, Feng Xuanyang would feel a painful sting in his heart. \--- Just as the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits were selling hotly in White River City, Star-Moon City had also gone into a frenzy. Currently, upper managers of the various large Guilds based in the capital stood in front of the counter inside the Candlelight Trading Firm, their eyes bloodshot. I am the Vice Leader of the Wind God Guild. Call out your boss for me. I have a big business proposal that I wish to discuss with him. I am an Elder of the Rainbow Guild. Why arent you calling your upper management to come to greet me yet? Various Guilds in Star-Moon City were thinking of ways to contact the upper management of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Unfortunately, no matter what words they used, the NPCs hired by the Candlelight Trading Firm completely ignored them, leaving them restless. Initially, the various large Guilds in Star-Moon City were only somewhat surprised when the Candlelight Trading Firm had set up a Shop in the city. They never expected that someone could actually afford to buy a plot of Land in the golden area of the city and even set up a Shop there. Now, however, they could not help but wish they could purchase the entire Candlelight Trading Firm. Using Credits, of course. If they had to buy using Coins, even if they added up the funds of every Guild in the city, they would not be able to afford to buy the Trading Firm. \--- Guild Leader, Ive received information stating that the Candlelight Trading Firms main branch is in White River City. Although the Firm has set up a Shop in the capital, its management seems to be based at White River City, a graceful and elegant female Elementalist reported to the strong and dignified-looking man beside her. Meanwhile, inside a coffee shop a short distance away from the Candlelight Trading Firm, many male players had promptly shifted their gaze to this tall beauty upon noticing her. In this day and age, with the popularity of nutrition and fitness, one could easily find handsome men and beautiful women. However, it was still extremely difficult if one wished to have a top-tier beauty accompany them inside the game. Not to mention, that beauty appeared to be that mans young secretary. Bro, when do you think we can live like that guy? a Level 24 Guardian Knight muttered enviously. What nonsense are you spouting? the Level 25 Ranger beside the Guardian Knight scoffed. Do you know who that man is? Isnt he just a little rich? Whats there to be proud of? If I had that kind of money, beauties would surely throw themselves at me. I could also look for a group of little secretaries to play Gods Domain with me, the Guardian Knight replied with disdain. Look at yourself. Its no wonder youve been in this pitiful state all your life. The Level 25 Ranger slowly explained, Let me tell you, that man is not just some useless Prince Charming. He is someone who has achieved success due to his own efforts. Moreover, hes only 34 years old. I am also certain that you have heard of his name before. Whats he called? the Guardian Knight asked curiously. Hes the Star Alliances Guild Leader, Galaxy Past! the Ranger laughed. He then looked towards the woman standing beside Galaxy Past, adding, That beauty is also no ordinary person. She is Purple Eye. She was ranked 931st in the latest Gods Domain Ranking List. Although her rank is lower than Red Feathers, her strength is even superior to his. Do you think you can hire such a beautiful expert as your secretary just because you have money? The Guardian Knight fell silent, no longer daring to speak another word. Star Alliance was currently one of the two top Guilds in Star-Moon City. However, as Ouroboros recently had a change in leadership and was facing problems with internal strife, Star Alliance had more or less become Star-Moon Citys number one Guild. He would simply be seeking his own death if he dared to fool around with Galaxy Pasts little secretary inside Star-Moon City. He might even end up returning to Level 0 in the very next day. Guild Leader, do you think they are talking about you? Purple Eye laughed. How could it possibly be me? They are clearly talking about the great beauty at my side, Galaxy Past laughed. Alright, ignore them. We have more important matters to address. Now that the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit has appeared, nobody in Star-Moon Kingdom can afford to sit still and do nothing. It seems that well have to make a trip to White River City. Star-Moon Kingdoms Eastern Region has always been secretly controlled by that mysterious organization named Underworld. We have always minded our own business. If we head over to their territory right now, Im afraid that it would bring about negative effects, Purple Eye warned. I dont care. If we let Underworld monopolize the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, what will we do about our development, then? A cold glint flashed across Galaxy Pasts eyes as he said, In reality, Underworld has long since been an eyesore. Unfortunately, the organizations strength is altogether too massive and extensive. It has spread its influence across multiple kingdoms, and even into the Black Dragon Empire. So, before this, I would only avoid looking for trouble with Underworld if possible. However, if Underworld thinks it can monopolize the Intermediate Mana Armor kits, they can think again! The impact of the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits was too massive. Just being able to have every member of their core team receive the Attributes of an extra piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment was already very frightening. Moreover, these kits would not drop upon death. If they could equip even their Guilds elite members with these kits, their Guild would practically be invincible. \--- Meanwhile, inside Ouroboross Guild Residence Snow, are you really going to go? Zhao Yueru asked, her brows knitted together. Weve just managed to stabilize the situation over here recently. If you head over to White River City, it would be troublesome if someone tries something in Star-Moon City while you are away. Yueru, you should know that I dont wish to leave at such a time, either. However, I must make a trip there personally for this matter. Gentle Snow shook her head. Ill leave this place to you for now. Ill try to return as quickly as possible. At the same time, the upper managers of the various large Guilds in Star-Moon City had also begun bringing along their men to White River City. 540 Grand Gathering While Shi Feng hunted and harvested members of Overwhelming Smile White River City had become the focal point of Star-Moon Kingdom. Many upper managers from first-rate and second-rate Guilds had arrived in White River City. Whats going on? Why are so many Guilds in White River City? Ive never seen many of them before. I heard that theyve come to partner with the Candlelight Trading Firm. There are even Guilds from the surrounding kingdoms, including the Black Dragon Empire who have shown up, let alone Star-Moon Kingdoms Guilds. Werent others saying how empire players were much stronger than kingdom players? That doesnt seem to be the case to me. In the end, havent they still come over to our White River City for some advantage? Theyve only come here because of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Look at the other kingdoms. Which one of them possesses a Shop that sells Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Right now, nobody has any Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment for sale at all. Meanwhile, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits are even more powerful than Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment, and the Candlelight Trading Firm can produce it in large quantities. Having it and not can make a huge difference to Dungeon-raiding progress and PvP fights. Naturally, these Guilds realize how important such an item is. The players filling White River Citys streets and alleyways discussed the large number of Guilds gathering in White River City, and a sense of pride bloomed in their hearts. No one would have thought that a Lifestyle Guild could possess so much influence. Damn! Why have so many people come here?! At this moment, Feng Xuanyang watched the growing number of Guild representatives enter the Candlelight Trading Firm, wrathful flames burning in his eyes. To collect the required 1,500 Gold, he had gone through a lot of trouble to sell the Light Stones; he also had to add in a large sum of his own Credits. Meanwhile, it was obvious that the reason many Guilds had come here today was none other than to purchase the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. The Candlelight Trading Firm did not offer a large supply of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. It had been a huge challenge for him to buy 300 kits for himself. Now that more competitors had appeared, his chances of fulfilling that quota had shrunk further. Among the Guilds that had arrived, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion from the Black Dragon Empire was the most powerful. It was the first-rate Guild that was the closest to becoming a Super Guild. Unfortunately, the Pavilion was younger than those true Super Guilds, having been established later. Otherwise, it would have joined the Super Guilds ranks by now. Meanwhile, the force and financial prowess backing the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was no less than that of an organization like Underworld. Currently, the Pavilion was the Black Dragon Empires number one Guild. Other first-rate Guilds stood no chance against it. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had sent one of its two Pavilion Masters, the Dragon Pavilion Master, as its representative. In the Guild, the Dragon Pavilion Masters status was only below that of the Great Pavilion Master. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions management style was different from other Guilds. Normally, a Guilds management personnel consisted of the Guild Leader, Vice Leaders, Elders, and so on. On the other hand, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could be split into two Pavilions: the Dragon Pavilion and the Phoenix Pavilion. Each Pavilion was the equivalent of a single Guild, and both Pavilions developed themselves independent of each other. Meanwhile, a Pavilion Master governed each Pavilion. One could say that the Pavilion Masters were the equivalents of the Guild Leader of a Guild. Moreover, the influence each Pavilion wielded equaled that of a top-tier first-rate Guild. With both Pavilions merged, one could just imagine how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was. The Great Pavilion Master managed the coordination between the two Pavilions. This Great Pavilion Master was extremely mysterious and secretive. Even until now, there had yet to be anyone who knew the Great Pavilion Masters identity. However, the fact that this person was capable of managing two first-rate Guilds at the same time showed how capable they were. Young Master Feng, we should be celebrating! the slightly chubby man beside Feng Xuanyang said, smiling. Celebratory Alcohol, what are you trying to say? Feng Xuanyang frowned, saying, With so many competitors here right now, how will I possibly be able to buy 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Young Master Feng, hasnt our initial goal been to defeat the Candlelight Trading Firm and establish our own trade empire in White River City? Celebratory Alcohol slowly explained, If only little fish and shrimp visit the firm, it would indeed be a good thing for the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, those who have arrived are all tigers and leopards; this is not good news for the Trading Firm. Think about it; the people that have shown up are either here to purchase the Candlelight Trading Firm or seek a partnership. However, who doesnt want to monopolize the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits for themselves? It is especially true for the people from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. In order to become a true Super Guild, the Pavilion has ignored all costs and recruited a large number of experts. They even managed to recruit five of last years top ten newcomers to the virtual gaming world, not to mention experts who have already been famous for many years. Currently, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit is the perfect item for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to advance itself. Naturally, the Guild will not let go of this chance to obtain the kit for itself. The other Guilds should feel the same. However, Young Master Feng, you have personally seen the personality of the Candlelight Trading Firms manager. Even Miss Youlan was helpless against her. One can just imagine what kind of response these newly arrived Guilds will receive. At that time, things will definitely end on a sour note, and the Candlelight Trading Firm will make enemies of the various Guilds. At that time, not only will we have the opportunity to complete the task given by the higher-ups, but we can also take the opportunity to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firm. When Celebratory Alcohol finished speaking, realization dawned upon Feng Xuanyang. Youre right! Well have a good show to watch this time! Feng Xuanyang began laughing madly. On the surface, although this seemed like a grand gathering, in reality, it was a festival of murder. If the Candlelight Trading Firm offended the Guilds that had arrived, these Guilds would hold nothing back to suppress the Candlelight Trading Firm. If Underworld added fuel to the fire, who would dare to supply the Candlelight Trading Firm? Who would dare sell their materials to the Candlelight Trading Firm? Any Guild or Workshop that did would lose any hope of succeeding in Gods Domain. Even if the Candlelight Trading Firm were only a Lifestyle Guild and could not be dealt with like a Combat Guild, it could not survive without materials, forging designs, recipes, and other such items. Sooner or later, the items that were highly sought after now would become obsolete. At that time, the Candlelight Trading Firm would be finished. \--- Big Sis Melancholic, there are so many Guilds in the first floors hall today that I nearly lost count. There are over a hundred Guilds who registered to meet with us to discuss business. Among them, there are over a dozen first-rate Guilds. It also seems that they have come with bad intentions. What should we do? one of Melancholic Smiles female assistants asked nervously. No ordinary player would ever have dreamed such a scene. Star-Moon Kingdom only had several first-rate Guilds. Now, not only had every one of these first-rate Guilds arrived, but there were even first-rate and second-rate Guilds from other kingdoms and empires as well. I understand. Have the NPCs welcome them for now. Ill try to think of a solution in the meantime. Melancholic Smile also struggled with the situation. She had never expected that the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits would have such a huge influence. They had attracted a pack of hungry wolves and beasts to their doorstep. If she had known something like this would happen, she never would have suggested that Shi Feng sell the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Even if they wanted to sell them, they should have only done so after the Candlelight Trading Firm had secured its position in Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, however, they were surrounded by enemies on all sides. Although Melancholic Smile really wished to solve this problem by herself, she could not come up with any ideas. This situation was different than the previous one she had handled with the Guilds. If she approached this forcefully, she would offend the major powers of several kingdoms and an empire. To put it simply, she would be seeking her own death. Helpless, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to contact Shi Feng. She was truly out of options, and she could only hope that Shi Feng had something up his sleeve 541 Terrifying Great Demon King The Barren Ridge was a wasteland located in the Maple City Region. The land was parched and cracked; not even a blade of grass could grow here. Yellow sand choked the wind as it was lifted into the air all year long. Yet, at this moment, many players could be seen grinding and leveling in this desolate area. The Barren Ridge was a Level 25 to Level 32 leveling map. Although it was a wasteland, various kinds of Stone Beasts lived there. Stone Beasts were Elemental Creatures made of excellent stone materials. There was a 20% chance to obtain Advanced Stones when killing these monsters, and they even had a small chance of dropping rare ores. Nowadays, the forging industry was very popular, and many Lifestyle players who disliked combat would learn forging. Hence, all sorts of forging materials were in high demand right now. Even if the Barren Ridge did not contain treasure chests or advanced quests, many players still preferred to grind for Stones and ores here while leveling up. The various large Guilds had monopolized the high-resource maps surrounding every city, leaving no room or access to ordinary players. If an ordinary player were discovered trespassing into a Guild-run zone, the Guild members would either chase them away or kill them on the spot. Knowing this, ordinary players naturally avoided these high-resource maps. Instead, they could only explore ordinary maps such as the Barren Ridge. However, after Shi Fengs last visit to the Dragon Ridge, Overwhelming Smiles members avoided the zone at all costs. Instead, they had come to the Barren Ridge to grind and level up. This resulted in ordinary players flooding the Dragon Ridge, and Maple Citys ordinary players came to admire the name Black Flame. One man was capable of forcing an entire Guild to concede. Black Flames strength was inconceivable! Laughing Heaven, Overwhelming Smiles Guild Leader, wanted nothing more than to hack Shi Feng into thousands of tiny pieces. Unfortunately, even Laughing Heavens hands were tied. Based on War Wolfs report, Shi Fengs Base Attributes were simply too high. He was far beyond experts like them. If they wanted a fighting chance against him, they needed to upgrade their equipment and Base Attributes first. Before that happened, however, they could only try their best to keep hidden. Of course, there were other methods they could use such as hunting Shi Feng in large teams. However, a team of several hundred players would not be enough. A single large-scale destruction spell would be more than enough to annihilate most of the team. At the very least, they needed to mobilize armies of over a thousand players. Unfortunately, Shi Fengs whereabouts were unknown. It was practically impossible to trap him with thousands of players. So, they had no choice but to endure until they possessed a strategic-level expert capable of rivaling Black Flame. Damn, just how long do we have to grind here? a Level 24 Summoner from Overwhelming Smile grumbled. Since when have Overwhelming Smile members ever suffered such a loss before? We are actually forced to this godforsaken place. Isnt he just one expert? I dont believe that we cant take him out if several hundred of us gang up on him. Shh! Be quiet! What if your big mouth really summons that person? the Level 25 Elementalist serving as the teams leader warned the Summoner softly, frowning as he carefully observed his surroundings. You were lucky that you werent out that night. If you experienced that volcanic power, you would know that even a team of hundreds of players would be no different than ants. Moreover, not even the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights with high HP and Defense survived a single hit from that expert. Many among the team nodded their agreement to the Elementalists words. Although it was currently daytime, they could still recall the madness of that night as if it had happened yesterday. Team Leader, arent you overexaggerating? Although our current equipment isnt top-tier, even someone fully geared with Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment should not be able to kill our teams Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors in one hit, right? the Summoner replied, refusing to believe his team leaders claim. Moments after this Summoner finished speaking, a black figure suddenly descended from the sky. Dont believe it? Why dont you experience it yourself, then? The person who had flown down from the sky was none other than Shi Feng himself. The Barren Ridge was ridiculously large, and Overwhelming Smiles members had scattered across the map. For efficiencys sake, Shi Feng had no choice but to activate Wind Rider to hunt these people. When Shi Feng noticed this 100-man team from Overwhelming Smile, he had immediately flown towards them. The instant Shi Feng descended, he switched the Aura of Wind to the Aura of Fire and launched a Firestorm from above, covering a radius of 30 yards. Flames filled the sky, burning everything in its vicinity to ash and dust. Even the Level 27 Stone Beasts, which possessed high Magic Resistance and 5,000 HP, died with the first wave of damage, not to mention players whose HPs were below 5,000 and had zero Magic Resistance. In the blink of an eye, less than 30 players remained of Overwhelming Smiles 100-man team. Theyre too spread out. After landing, Shi Feng frowned slightly when he noticed that many had escaped his Firestorm. However, the massive AOE had dumbfounded Overwhelming Smiles members. Crap! Its the Great Demon King! Split up and run! Contact the Guild Leader and notify everyone else immediately! the Elementalist team leader responded quickly as he shouted in the team chat. Team Leader, what should we be afraid of? Hes just one person. Watch me take care of him! Although the Summoner was also stunned by Shi Fengs Firestorm, he quickly began chanting an incantation and summoned a Flame Beast, ordering it to attack the newcomer. The Flame Beast was a Fire-type Elemental Creature possessing extremely high flame damage. Moreover, it also had a very powerful Skill. Self-detonate! When activated, the Flame Beast would self-destruct and cause 300% damage to all enemies within a radius of 10 yards. It was a considerably powerful AOE Skill. However, upon activating Self-detonate, the Flame Beast could not be summoned again for another four hours. So, Self-detonate was not a Skill that could be used to grind monsters. Die! The Summoner controlled the Flame Beast to dash towards Shi Feng. However, when the Flame Beast was only ten yards away from Shi Feng, a streak of black light penetrated the Elementals body. The Flame Beast began to dissipate instantly. Impossible! Terror gripped the Summon upon losing control over his Flame Beast. The Flame Beast was the strongest Summoned Creature he could currently call forth, and it had an HP of 10,000. Yet, before it could even get close to Shi Feng, it was already killed. Even the Summoner had not seen how his Flame Beast had died To end the battle quickly, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade and Purgatorys Power, increasing his attack range and damage. To Shi Feng, the Flame Beasts 10,000 HP and attack range of ten yards was nothing. By the time the Summoner had reacted, he had discovered that he could not move his body. Someone stood right in front of him, and although this person hid his appearance behind a black cloak, his imposing aura and horrifically cold killing intent shattered any thoughts of resistance the Summoner had. The Summoner was truly and thoroughly terrified. Is this even a human? He finally understood why his team leader had sounded so unsettled. Just mentioning the name Black Flame was a huge taboo. In the blink of an eye, Shi Fengs figure disappeared. Am I hallucinating? Before the Summoner could say anything, his vision began to gray. Suddenly, his body fell to the ground. When did he even attack me? In a short moment, Overwhelming Smiles 100-man team had been annihilated. Ive wasted too much time. They should have already contacted their Guildmates by now. It will probably be more difficult to find other members now. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the loot scattered across the ground. He still had a long way to go to collect 5,000 Life Force points. Just as Shi Feng finished gathering the drops and was about to search for the next batch of Life Force points, he received a call from Melancholic Smile. 542 Manager White River City, inside the Candlelight Trading Firms first-floor reception hall Currently, the upper managers from various Guilds occupied the large reception hall. Among the Guilds present, the weakest were second-rate Guilds, while the strongest Guild was close to becoming a Super Guild. Some of these Guilds were allies, while others were enemies. Hence, the reception halls atmosphere was extraordinarily intense. Even the NPC beauty receiving these people felt uncomfortable. I didnt think Guild Leader Snow would show up as well. It is indeed a rare sight, Galaxy Past said, laughing as he glanced at Gentle Snow sitting a short distance away. I heard that you have a mountain of work to do back at Ouroboros and that Cao Chenghua is trying to split up the Guild. Cao Chenghua has many of his supporters stationed in Star-Moon City. Guild Leader Snow, is it really a good idea for you to be here right now? There is no reason for Guild Leader Galaxy to worry. Ouroboros is getting by quite well right now. Otherwise, why would I come here? Gentle Snow did not reveal a trace of weakness as she replied. On the contrary, arent you, Guild Leader Galaxy, having a bad time right now? Ive heard that Star Alliances branch in the Lion Kingdom has suffered a major loss, losing over 10,000 people in a single Guild War. In the end, you even allowed others to profit. First-rate Guilds would usually develop themselves in several major regions. Naturally, the Star Alliance was no exception. The Lion Kingdom was west of the Star-Moon Kingdom. Though the kingdom only occupied half as much area as the Star-Moon Kingdom, the kingdoms player population was still significant. Two first-rate Guilds and multiple second-rate Guilds constantly fought over the Lion Kingdom. The Star Alliance was one of the two first-rate Guilds. However, in order to fight over a treasure, many of the Guilds in the Lion Kingdom had gone all-out. In the end, the Star Alliance had suffered heavy losses. To make matters worse, the other first-rate Guild had snatched the treasure. Despite Gentle Snow striking a sore spot, Galaxy Past did not grow angry. Instead, he laughed and said, As expected of Guild Leader Snow; you really are well-informed. You truly do possess some of your brothers aura from when he controlled Ouroboros. Unfortunately, the Ouroboros of today is not the Ouroboros of the past. Purple Eye, the beautiful female Elementalist sitting beside Galaxy Past, on the other hand, radiated an intense killing intent as she glared at Gentle Snow. You want to make a move? Gentle Snow laughed. Suddenly, a frightening aura surged forth. Smiling at Purple Eye, she said, I heard that the Star Alliance possesses five great experts, and they are Galaxy Past, Red Feather, Flourishing Willow, Flying Jade, and Purple Eye. Among them, Flying Jade is the most mysterious, and Purple Eye is the strongest. I really want to know if this rumor is true. Lets put it to the test, then! Purple Eye provoked, showing no intention of backing off. For a time, it felt as if the temperature in the reception hall had fallen by a few degrees. Ouroboros and the Star Alliance were known enemies. Both Guilds had competed against each other for over a dozen years, and at this point, their rivalry would not stop until one of them was wiped out of existence. Hence, the stand-off between the two Guilds did not seem out of place to anyone watching. The many Guild representatives promptly moved to the side, hoping to watch the fight between the two beauties. Meanwhile, sitting at the forefront of the reception hall, a robust man resembling Zhang Fei[1] suddenly turned to the handsome and dashing youth seated beside him, respectfully saying, Pavilion Master, this subordinate will go and remind them of where they are lest they ruin Pavilion Masters good mood. Saying so, this robust man strode towards Gentle Snow and Purple Eye. Suddenly, however, a single hand halted his advance. Forget it. Doing nothing but waiting here is quite boring. Watching them fight will be a nice change of pace, the dashing youth said, smiling faintly. Understood. The robust man returned to his seat. Everyone present had seen the handsome youths actions. And though that high and mighty attitude of his displeased the other Guild representatives, nobody felt that the youths attitude was inappropriate. This handsome youth was one of the two Pavilion Masters of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The Pavilion had possessed the strength of a Super Guild for a long time now. It lacked a stage to display its might. Meanwhile, in the eyes of Super Guilds, first-rate Guilds were nothing but children. It was only natural that the handsome youth thought little of the others. Just as Gentle Snow and Purple Eye were about to face-off, a loud shout suddenly echoed through the hall. Everyone, stay your hands! A clear, crisp voice swept through the crowd. When everyone turned to look at the owner of this voice, they discovered another great beauty. Unlike Gentle Snow and Purple Eye, this beauty did not possess a frightening aura. However, although she seemed somewhat ordinary, every Guild representative took her seriously. This beauty was the Candlelight Trading Firms manager, Melancholic Smile. This is the Candlelight Trading Firm, not the arena! All forms of fighting are prohibited here. If someone wishes to challenge the rules of the Candlelight Trading Firm, then I will have no choice but to send you on your way! Melancholic Smile scolded. Nobody doubted Melancholic Smiles power. Inside a private Shop, the manager was invincible. The manager of the Shop could teleport someone out with a single thought and bar that person from entering the building ever again. Sure enough, she is indeed formidable! It is no wonder why she can ignore even Underworld! Galaxy Past could not help but focus on Melancholic Smile. The upper managers of the other Guilds were similarly surprised. They had not expected Melancholic Smile to be so fearless. Every player here was an overlord in their own right; their status and identities were extraordinary. It was especially true for the first-rate Guilds present. Yet, Melancholic Smile had not left any room for argument. Her mighty attitude was exactly as the information they received stated, so much so that she appeared even more overwhelming than before. At Melancholic Smiles appearance, Gentle Snow and Purple Eye glanced at each other before turning away. Everyone had come here today to do business. Nothing good would come from provoking the Candlelight Trading Firm. Peace returned to the reception hall, and everyone began to observe Melancholic Smile. Although she did not emit any sort of aura, there were not many people who had the courage to reproach two first-rate Guilds. After all, the Candlelight Trading Firm was but a single Lifestyle Guild. Without any combat power of its own, it would have no choice but to purchase its materials from Combat Guilds. One could say that the Trading Firms survival relied on Combat Guilds. Moreover, as the game progressed, the Trading Firm would require more precious materials. At that time, the Firms reliance on Combat Guilds would grow stronger. Hence, it was not a good idea for the Firm to offend powerful Combat Guilds. At this moment, the Dragon Pavilion Master seated at the forefront of the hall opened his mouth and said, Miss Melancholic, since you have arrived, shouldnt it be about time to begin our discussion? Everyone nodded their agreement to the Dragon Pavilion Masters words. They had waited for quite some time now, and they had only waited for so long out of respect for the Candlelight Trading Firms prestige. Now that its manager had arrived, it was only natural that they began discussing business. Certainly. However, a manager like myself does not have the power to make the decisions you are all looking for. Melancholic Smile shook her head. What are you trying to say? various representatives asked, curious. Are you saying that youre not going to do business with us? What a joke! They had come from so far and had spent a significant sum on teleportation fees. Now that they were told that there was nothing to discuss. Was the Candlelight Trading Firm just toying with them? Suddenly, the temperature in the reception hall dropped sharply. Not a single person present was someone that should be easily offended. Not only were they powerful experts, but the influence they commanded was also frightening. Standing by the side, Melancholic Smiles assistant felt her legs grow weak, her complexion paling. To an ordinary player like herself, this pressure was immense. Fortunately for the female assistant, everyone focused not on her, but on Melancholic Smile instead. However, even Melancholic Smile did not feel too well right now. This was her first time experiencing such an immense pressure, so much so that even her hand trembled slightly. She found it astonishing. This was merely a virtual reality game, yet, she could still feel such intensity. She nearly lost her breath. I am only the manager of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Only my boss can make decisions regarding the business you wish to discuss. If you are really interested in working with us, then youll be able to meet my boss if you wait for a little while longer. After Melancholic Smile finished speaking, she turned and left the reception hall. For a time, silence overtook the reception hall. Although they had long since guessed that Melancholic Smile was not the Candlelight Trading Firms proprietor, hearing her statement had surprised them. Since Melancholic Smile had been able to establish such a powerful trading firm, the force backing her would naturally be extraordinary. Moreover, nobody present had yet to uncover the tiniest bit of information about this hidden backer. One could just imagine this mysterious backers power. TL Notes: [1]Zhang Fei (ŷ): a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Picture: http://www.sgcha.cn/sanguochaphoto/image762.jpg Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Fei 543 The Boss Behind the Scenes Just as everyone inside the reception hall pondered the identity of the Candlelight Trading Firms true boss, Shi Feng finally arrived in White River City. Overwhelming Smiles reaction this time was really fast. I just ambushed one group, and it immediately became difficult to find any players. Shi Feng had originally intended to collect more Life Force points after Melancholic Smile had contacted him. However, he never expected Overwhelming Smile to have such decisive precautions. In the end, he had to give up on his endeavor. It was indeed possible for a single top-tier expert to delay the development of an entire Guild. However, it was not possible for a person to single-handedly annihilate a large Guild, particularly a cautious Guild. Otherwise, many Guilds would have long since fallen into ruin. After returning to White River City, Shi Feng noticed that both the number and quality of players had increased significantly. I wonder what has happened to Zero Wings recruitment? Shi Feng then called up the Guild System. Shi Feng had busied himself with the Candlelight Trading Firm; he had paid no attention to Zero Wing. He had left the Guilds management to Aqua Rose and Blackie. If the two of them had not encountered any major issues, they normally would not contact him. So, Shi Feng was not all that worried that anything had happened to the Guild while he had been away. Currently, Zero Wing was White River Citys publicly acknowledged number one Guild. It stood at the very forefront in every aspect. Although Zero Wing continued to wage war on Overwhelming Smile, and plenty of battles still occurred between both Guilds every day, with the Candlelight Trading Firms financial support, this kind of expenditure was practically negligible. On the contrary, the ongoing war had stimulated Guild members motivation, allowing them to improve their combat techniques continuously. They had even made a huge profit through killing their enemies, killing two birds with one stone. Upon opening the Guilds System Panel, Shi Feng suddenly noticed that the Guilds population had greatly increased. Previously, the member count had balanced around 40,000. Now, however, there were already more than 50,000 players in Zero Wing. Moreover, this number continued to rise. Throughout this time, Zero Wing had never changed its recruitment standards. On the contrary, the minimum requirements had been raised further in order to increase the quality of the new players. However, instead of seeing a decline in the number of players joining the Guild, the opposite had happened. Fifty thousand people? Shi Feng pondered the situation. During the initial stages of Gods Domain, a Guild with 50,000 members could definitely be considered a large Guild. Normally, such Guilds would split its members and develop themselves in multiple cities. Even for a major city like White River City, having 50,000 members at a time was about the limit. As for why there was a limit? It was because there was a limit to the number of high-resource areas available. Once the player population reached a certain level, the high-resource areas would reach full capacity. Any increase in the player population would result in the decrease in their development speed. Hence, large Guilds would usually assign their members to various cities, allowing their members to develop quickly. Zero Wing already had 50,000 members. Moreover, the players Zero Wing recruited all had strong techniques. Even if they had not reached the standards of an elite player, they were not too far. Overall, Zero Wing was stronger than second-rate Guilds and only slightly inferior to first-rate Guilds. Not even first-rate Guilds could match Zero Wings top combatants. Naturally, Zero Wing required more resources to strengthen itself. It seems that I have to begin development in other cities earlier than expected. Shi Feng had never expected for Zero Wing to develop so quickly. His initial plan to expand Zero Wing to other cities would not have begun for another month. He had also expected for Zero Wings member count to reach 50,000 only two or three weeks after that. Now, however, he had to initiate his plan ahead of time. For now, however, I need to deal with the Candlelight Trading Firms problem. Shi Feng then contacted Aqua Rose. Guild Leader, do you need something? Im quite busy at the moment, Aqua Rose asked pleasantly, smiling. She had been extremely busy while Shi Feng had been away. Fire Dance and the others had focused on their special training, so all important matters regarding the Guild had been left to her to handle. However, thanks to Shi Fengs massive daily shipments of top-tier equipment, particularly Level 30 Fine Gold and Dark Gold Equipment, and the flood of enthusiastic players who wanted to join Zero Wing, she was quite happy with her work. Currently, Aqua Rose dared to pat her chest and guarantee that no elite members of other Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom were better equipped than Zero Wings members. As for Zero Wings core members, the equipment they wore consisted of a mix of Level 25 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, with Dark-Gold Equipment being the majority. If other Guilds discovered this, their eyes would pop out of their sockets. Someones here to make trouble. What do you think we should do? Shi Feng laughed. Whos the blind fool? They actually dare to cause trouble in White River City? Aqua Rose was initially surprised. However, very quickly, she laughed and said, Where are they? This lady will annihilate them this instant! Although Aqua Rose was very busy, her Level had not lagged behind the other core members whatsoever. It was the same for her equipment. Currently, she was Level 27 and fully equipped with Dark-Gold Equipment. The staff she wielded was also a staff exclusive to Elementalists that Shi Feng had obtained from the Twilight Treasure Chests. Although the staffs Attributes were inferior to Blackies Epic ranked staff, her weapons Attributes were very well-suited for Elementalists. In PvP battles, it was in no way inferior to an Epic ranked staff. The Candlelight Trading Firm. When Shi Feng uttered those four words, a realization instantly struck Aqua Rose. Guild Leader, are we really going to do this? Aqua Rose could not help but ask. Currently, all players in White River City knew of the gathering of the many upper managers of first-rate and second-rate Guilds at the Candlelight Trading Firm. Presently, however, no one had discovered just who stood behind the Candlelight Trading Firm. Only a few core members of Zero Wing knew. After all, it wasnt just Guilds that were capable of setting up a Shop; individuals could do so as well. Many of the Shops set up in minor cities were mostly set up by Workshops that focused on Lifestyle classes. Not to mention, Shi Feng had also set up the Candlelight Trading Firm under the name of the Horizon Alliance, making it nearly impossible to trace back to Zero Wing. Everybody will learn the truth sooner or later. This is just a little sooner than we had planned. Shi Feng had never bothered hiding the fact that he had established the Horizon Alliance. It was far more convenient to manage a Shop through a Lifestyle Guild. After all, Combat Guilds and Lifestyle Guilds had completely different specializations, and the specialization of Lifestyle Guilds made them more suitable to develop Shops. In the past, after discovering this matter, many large Guilds had promptly established a Lifestyle Guild to manage their Shops. Shi Feng had only established a Lifestyle Guild ahead of time. Guild Leader, leave it to me. Aqua Rose also grew excited. \--- Inside the Candlelight Trading Firms reception hall Due to Melancholic Smiles statement, everyone inside the hall had begun to make their guesses of who might be the Candlelight Trading Firms owner. However, even if the boss behind the scenes was impressive, what could he possibly do against so many large Guilds? As everyone occupied themselves with their discussions, time slowly ticked by. This Candlelight Trading Firm sure knows how to treat its guests. Theyve already made us wait for such a long time. Do they really think we are easily bullied? a representative of a second-rate Guild complained. Everyone was greatly displeased with the situation. Who were they? They were the overlords of Gods Domain. Moreover, they had brought both money and sincerity with them. Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm actually dared make emperors like them wait so long. Whoever was behind the Firm must truly be tired of living. Meanwhile, seated in a corner of the hall, Feng Xuanyang watched the souring situation with a smile. The Candlelight Trading Firm might have been able to get away with angering the various small Guilds of White River City, but if it angered all of these large Guilds, who would dare supply the Firm? Without materials, the Candlelight Trading Firm would not produce a single product. However, Feng Xuanyangs smile had not lasted long as the doors to the reception hall suddenly slammed open. In the next moment, a large group of players, roughly one hundred, marched into the hall. These players all radiated imposing auras. Not a single one looked ordinary, and they were all Level 26 or above. Judging from the dazzling glow effect on their equipment, the most inferior equipment they had was Fine-Gold ranked, with the majority of their equipment consisting of Dark-Gold rank. On their chests, every player wore a six-winged silver emblem. This was none other than Zero Wings Guild Emblem. Sorry I made you all wait for me. Shi Feng suddenly crossed the reception halls threshold, smiling. Sweeping a glance over everyone present, he laughed and said, Im the owner of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Black Flame. 544 Devour Everything Zero Wings arrival had silenced the reception hall. At this moment, practically every Guild representative in the hall focused on Shi Feng. Why does it have to be him? So thats the case. It is no wonder the Candlelight Trading Firm set up its headquarters in White River City. Everyone suddenly came to a realization. However, at the same time, the upper managers of the various large Guilds reevaluated their impression of Zero Wing. The majority of the people present had not understood Zero Wings true strength. They had only read some reports about the Guild. Before arriving in White River City, each Guild had investigated the various Guilds residing in White River City. The reports had contained a lot of information about Zero Wing. Moreover, after the Guilds intelligence agents detailed investigation of the number one Guild in White River City, they had quite the high evaluation of Zero Wing. Practically every agent had evaluated Zero Wing as a Guild that was above a second-rate Guild, but below a first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, was even Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert. Up till today, Black Flame had yet to suffer a single defeat. Even Overwhelming Smile, the Guild secretly supported by Underworld, could only hold the position of number two in White River City. When everyone had received these reports, they had simply laughed it off and placed no particular importance on Zero Wing. Now, however, the upper managers of the various large Guilds even considered firing those intelligence agents of theirs. Just what had they investigated? How can Zero Wing be so powerful? Galaxy Pasts expression became grim when he saw the members of Zero Wing. Guild Leader, the woman standing beside Black Flame, isnt she Aqua Rose? An indescribable bitterness welled up in Purple Eyes heart when she saw Aqua Rose. They were old acquaintances. In the past, Aqua Rose had once invited her to join Twilight Echo. However, she had rejected the offer. She had been greatly shocked to find out that Aqua Rose had left Twilight Echo. Twilight Echo was an even stronger Guild than the Star Alliance. However, Aqua Rose had left it without hesitation. Moreover, she had even joined a newly-established and unknown Guild after the fact. When Purple Eye had received this news, she even thought she had heard wrong. She had also felt it was somewhat unfortunate. A capable gamer such as Aqua Rose had taken such a foolish route. Now, however, it would seem that Aqua Roses decision had not been the wrong one at all. A Guild with a single expert was not particularly frightening. However, it was a different story if said Guild possessed a large group of experts. Moreover, looking at the nearly one hundred people who had entered the hall, each one of them wore equipment that could rival the best equipment the Star Alliance had to offer, so much so that the best-geared members of the Star Alliance were even inferior to some of Zero Wings core members. Furthermore, the Star Alliance could only scrape together, at most, enough equipment to gear a team of 20 players. It was absolutely impossible for them to equip a 100-man team. One could just imagine how powerful Zero Wings background was. Moreover, Aqua Roses current equipment actually consisted of only Dark-Gold Equipment. As for the dark-red staff in her hand, Purple Eye could not even begin to imagine its rank. However, judging from the amount of pressure it emitted, it was most likely above Dark-Gold rank. Now that Zero Wing had displayed its strength, even Gentle Snow, who was very familiar with Zero Wing, was surprised, not to mention the Star Alliance, which was also a Star-Moon Kingdom Guild. Regarding this revelation, Gentle Snow could only reveal a bitter smile. She did not know whether she should rejoice or lament right now. Previously, when Shi Feng had offered to annex Ouroboros, she had thought that he was being wildly arrogant. However, looking at this dazzling and imposing 100-man team, there might not be a second Guild in all of Star-Moon Kingdom capable of building up such a team. With the two first-rate Guilds of Star-Moon Kingdom reacting in such a way, there was no need to mention the Guilds that had come from a foreign country. Pavilion Master, this Zero Wing seems quite amazing! It has actually obtained so much Dark-Gold Equipment. Every one of these players also seem extraordinary, with a few even radiating dangerous auras! a blue-haired girl with bright eyes and slender eyebrows sitting beside the Dragon Pavilion Master exclaimed, giggling. Contrary to her words, her actions made it seem as if she did not take Zero Wing seriously at all. As expected of the number one Guild of White River City. It really does possess an impressive number of experts. The equipment it possesses is even more surprising. Only, it is a pity that such good equipment is actually being wasted on these people, the handsome youth stated, his gaze revealing a hint of greed. He could not help but admit that the equipment worn by Zero Wings members was indeed amazing. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion did not have so much top-tier equipment, much less first-rate Guilds. If he could snatch all of it away At that time, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would definitely become a bona fide Super Guild. It might even become even more powerful than a few current Super Guilds. Pavilion Master, should I secretly rob them all? the robust man named Blood Dragon asked softly. Lets discuss it first. The handsome youth waved his hand. Faintly smiling, he said, Whether it is the Candlelight Trading Firms Intermediate Mana Armor Kits or Zero Wings equipment, it seems that my trip to White River City has not been wasted. If I deal with this matter properly, the Great Pavilion Master will definitely be pleased. Pavilion Master is truly wise. At that time, I want to see just how the Phoenix Pavilion plans to contend with our Dragon Pavilion, Blood Dragon laughed. Even after silence had gripped the reception hall for some time, Shi Feng had not hurried to dive straight into business. Instead, he waved his hand and signaled Melancholic Smile. At this moment, Melancholic Smile opened her mouth and said, Ladies and gentlemen, if you are here to purchase Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, please follow me. As our stock is limited, the Candlelight Trading Firm intends to hold a small-scale auction exclusively for you. Saying so, Melancholic Smile led the way out of the reception hall. In response, however, the Guild representatives only turned to look at each other, showing no signs of leaving their seats. Who among them was not here to purchase the Candlelight Trading Firm, hoping to earn a massive profit through the transaction? How could they possibly come all the way here just to purchase a few measly Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Particularly, the Dragon Pavilion Master from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion looked utterly uninterested in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. With the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion taking the lead, everyone would naturally follow. However, among these people, one person stood up from their seat and followed Melancholic Smile. Has Gentle Snow gone insane? Galaxy Past watched Gentle Snows departing figure. There were so many Guilds putting pressure on Zero Wing right now. Even if Zero Wing were strong, it would have no choice but to tread carefully when faced with so many large Guilds. Offending so many large Guilds at once would be tantamount to suicide. Anyone who had a brain would definitely choose to stay. After all, they could take advantage of the situation to rake in even more profit for themselves, and that was not something a few measly Intermediate Mana Armor Kits could hope to compare with. Yet, Gentle Snow had actually chosen to leave Dont tell me that no one else here is interested in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits? Shi Feng asked as he glanced at the seated guests. At this moment, Feng Xuanyang stood. Righteously, he said, Guild Leader Black Flame, many of us here have journeyed from far away. We have already shown the Candlelight Trading Firm sufficient respect. If you turn us away empty-handed, our reputations will suffer. Thats right, Guild Leader Black Flame! Lets prosper together! Wouldnt it be better if we invest into and develop the Candlelight Trading Firm together? That way, everybody can profit! Many among the crowd began advising Shi Feng as they laughed merrily. Among those present, aside from the upper managers of a few first-rate Guilds, everyone promptly voiced their agreement. Are all of you of the same opinion? Shi Feng calmly asked. You could say that, the Dragon Pavilion Master, Nine Dragons Emperor, suddenly said. However, aside from my interest in the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, I am also very interested in the equipment you all wear. Why dont you state a price? Ill buy all of it. Although Nine Dragons Emperor wore a lukewarm smile, his tone indicated that he would not take no for an answer. Suddenly, the entire venue fell silent. Many of the Guild representatives sucked in a breath of cold air. Initially, they had thought that the conditions they had proposed were sufficient. They had never expected that this Dragon Pavilion Master would be even greedier than they were. He actually wanted to devour both the Candlelight Trading Firm and Zero Wing. 545 Super Guild Although Nine Dragons Emperors words were quite arrogant, all of the various Guild representatives present knew that this handsome youth before them had certainly earned his arrogance. The fact that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was hailed as a super-first-rate Guild, which was the closest existence to a Super Guild, was not without reason. Great strength had built that reputation. In todays era, virtual reality had long since integrated into everyones life. Practically everyone would come into contact with virtual reality games in some form. Meanwhile, there were countless virtual gaming Guilds. Any Guild that the public officially recognized became a third-rate Guild. Even though third-rate Guilds were nowhere near the top of the gaming industry, they still stood out among the countless Guilds in the virtual gaming world. Not only did a third-rate Guild possess a certain degree of financial support, but it also possessed a large number of members. Normally, third-rate Guilds had also earned some form of achievement in some virtual reality games. Standing above third-rate Guilds were second-rate Guilds. Not only did second-rate Guilds possess abundant capital, but they also possessed quite a number of experts. These experts were normally those who held some fame in the virtual gaming world. As for a second-rate Guilds member count, there was no need to even mention that. Normally, a second-rate Guild would develop itself in multiple cities simultaneously. As for first-rate Guilds, they were normally Guilds that had been crowned as overlords in at least a dozen large-scale virtual reality games. Such Guilds generally had over a decade of history, having overcome countless, painstaking trials. First-rate Guilds had perfected expert training programs and a large network of contacts. Most importantly, these Guilds had recruited a large number of experts over the years. Practically all up and coming experts of the virtual gaming world would be split between these first-rate Guilds. With more experts joining the Guild every passing year, there would always be a large number of experts present to support, to battle for, and to bring endless glory to the Guild. They were existences far above second-rate Guilds. As for Super Guilds? They were the titans of the virtual gaming world. There were even many virtual reality games that these Super Guilds had produced personally. They also had their own research teams that were set up to study and improve a persons gaming skills. Super Guilds had no shortage of ordinary experts. Aside from recruiting some experts who possessed extraordinary talents, they would usually nurture their own army of experts. As for the various major competitions held in the virtual gaming world, these Super Guilds organized practically all of them. Meanwhile, the majority of the top-tier experts that had emerged from these competitions every year were usually experts that these Super Guilds had nurtured. Take Purple Eye and Aqua Rose for example. Both had been nurtured by the same Super Guild. After undergoing the sharpening of various major competitions and emerging victorious, both had become rookies of the year. They had then separated from the Super Guild they had belonged to to develop themselves separately. In fact, this wasnt just limited to the two of them. Many well-known experts in the virtual gaming world had originated from Super Guilds. This was the amazing part about Super Guilds. With this aspect alone, Super Guilds were already leaps and bounds above first-rate Guilds. Take the financial prowess backing Super Guilds for example. All Super Guilds already stood at the peak of the virtual gaming industry. In a society where virtual reality was so well-developed, the economic value of the virtual industry constantly rose. Whether it regarded financial prowess or influence, Super Guilds were not one bit inferior to international corporations. There were some Super Guilds that were even stronger. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was not a Super Guild, in reality, it was not far from becoming one. Only, the Pavilion was somewhat young. However, that was only true when compared to actual Super Guilds. When compared to other first-rate Guilds, the Pavilions history was a lot longer than many first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world. This should be fun, Galaxy Past said as he looked at Shi Feng standing near the door, a meaningful grin appearing on his face. Guild Leader, you still have the heart to make jokes? If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really buys out the Candlelight Trading Firm, wouldnt we have come here for nothing? Purple Eye asked as she frowned at Galaxy Past. She had come from a Super Guild, so she knew full well just how powerful a Super Guilds background could be. Although Black Flame was very strong, his strength only mattered in Star-Moon Kingdom. If he were in a Super Guild, he would be considered average. As for the other experts of Zero Wing, a Super Guild had armies of such individuals. Not to mention, Super Guilds also possessed plenty of old monsters. Those players were no longer considered human. Only, these old monsters would not normally appear in the public eye, so not many people knew of them. A single flick from a Super Guild could easily annihilate Zero Wing. If it came down to a fight, Zero Wing wouldnt even be powerful enough to resist. In reality, even an amazing first-rate Guild would stand no chance against a Super Guild, much less Zero Wing. At most, it could only provide a momentary struggle. This was also one of the reasons why there was only a small number of Super Guilds, despite there being a large number of first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world. The only reason why Super Guilds did not go out of their way to compete with first-rate Guilds, only contending with opponents of the same level, was because they did not like bullying the weak. It was the same concept as for how an adult would not participate in a fight between children. Doing so would only harm to their reputation. It seems that Gentle Snows decision was correct. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have gone along to purchase some Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, Galaxy Past sighed ruefully. Once the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion purchased the Candlelight Trading Firm, it definitely would not sell the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Rather, it would use those kits to strengthen itself and challenge those Super Guilds. If he wanted to buy the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, now was his only chance to do so. Meanwhile, sitting in the corner of the reception hall, Feng Xuanyang was thoroughly dumbfounded. The situation left him utterly speechless. The higher-ups of Underworld had instructed him to purchase 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion bought the Candlelight Trading Firm, how was he supposed to buy the kits? \--- Melancholic Smile entered the reception hall on the second floor with Gentle Snow behind her. The location Melancholic Smile had led Gentle Snow to was still inside the reception hall. Only, it was situated on the buildings second floor. It could be considered a VIP room of sorts. And while the occupants of the first floor could not see the occupants on the second floor, the reverse did not hold true. Not only could one see everything that went on inside the reception hall on the first floor, but one could also hear the first floors ongoings clearly. Why have you brought me here? Gentle Snow asked, surprised. Miss Snow, please wait a moment, Melancholic Smile said. Guild Leader knows that you want a large number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. However, the supply for the kits is truly too scarce. As the demand for it is very high, he plans to hold an auction for the kits. Meanwhile, the auction will be held right here. As soon as he sends away the Guild representatives below, the auction will begin. Send them away? Gentle Snow could not help but glance at the Nine Dragons Emperor. She had seen the Nine Dragons Emperor many times before, so she knew this mans temper. He was the very definition of the word hypocrite. If both sides were on equal footing, then there wouldnt be a problem with discussing business. However, if the other sides strength were inferior to his, only a painful slaughter awaited them. Nine Dragons Emperor was also willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, and that included unscrupulous means. Hence, very few people were willing to deal with him. However, it was also this personality that had allowed him to reach the position of Pavilion Master. In a super-first-rate Guild, it was not easy for one to reach the position of Pavilion Master. Knowing a few tricks was far from enough. One also needed strength and ability. Otherwise, one would not be able to secure their position even if they did manage to obtain it. The fact that Nine Dragons Emperor had held his position firmly for so many years spoke volumes about his strength. Hopefully, he wouldnt do anything stupid, Gentle Snow said somewhat worriedly as she glanced at Shi Feng. \--- Inside the reception hall on the first floor, silence filled the venue. Everyone had focused on Shi Feng, waiting for his reply despite having already guessed what the outcome would be. You want to buy the Candlelight Trading Firm and Zero Wing? Shi Feng laughed. Smiling at the Nine Dragons Emperor calmly, he said, Sure, but I want 60% of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions shares. 546 Even Dragons Have to Bow Immediately after Shi Feng finished speaking, silence overtook the venue. Every Guild representative in the hall was stupefied. Black Flame has gone insane! They all stared at Shi Feng with dropped jaws. Who was the Nine Dragons Emperor? He was the Pavilion Master of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. He stood at the very top of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. With a single word, he could easily bring an end to the existence of any second-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the Nine Dragons Emperor was famed for being vicious and merciless. There was once a Vice Leader of an ordinary first-rate Guild who had competed against the Nine Dragons Emperor in an auction for an item. Enraged, Nine Dragons had sent a notice to the first-rate Guild and demanded that the Vice Leader in question grovel and apologize to him, as well as return the item in question. Otherwise, he would take action against this first-rate Guild. How could an ordinary first-rate Guild possibly hope to contend with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion? Furthermore, the first-rate Guild in question had many competitors. Nine Dragons had only needed to give the word, and many other first-rate Guilds would have joined hands to take out the offending Guild. Having no other option, the first-rate Guild sent for the Vice Leader in question to apologize and offer the item. In the end, however, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion still annihilated the first-rate Guild, forcing the Guild to migrate to a different virtual reality game. Currently, although Shi Feng had not outright stated that he refused to sell, the price he demanded was the same as slapping the Nine Dragons Emperor in the face. Although Nine Dragons was one of the two Pavilion Masters of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, he only possessed less than 10%. The majority of the Pavilions shares remained in the Great Pavilion Masters hands. Shi Fengs demand of 60% of the Pavilions shares was no different than demanding ownership of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and a position above even his, the Nine Dragons Emperors. This Black Flame is exactly as the rumors made him out to be! He is simply fearless! Galaxy Past could not help but voice his admiration. Throughout Gods Domain, other than those Super Guilds and a few Guilds with extremely powerful corporations backing them, there were no Guilds that dared provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even the upper echelons of Super Guilds would consider their options carefully before humiliating this Pavilion Master. Although a virtual reality game was only a game, where there were people, there was bound to be conflict. The Nine Dragons Emperor was the face of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even if Shi Feng refused to give in to Nine Dragons coercion, he should have handled the situation with a more delicate hand. Yet, Shi Feng had thrown all pretenses out the window and made a mockery of the Nine Dragons Emperor. Even if it were just for his reputations sake, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would now go all-out to destroy him. Hence, Galaxy Past truly admired Shi Fengs courage. He should have shown some restraint and refrained from such an impulsive comeback. If he could have endured the humiliation he has suffered today in order to retaliate another day, he would have gained more of my respect. However, with him acting like a boorish fellow, Zero Wing is truly finished this time, Purple Eye said as she glanced at Shi Feng. She then turned to look at Aqua Rose, silently lamenting as she said, It seems that Aqua Rose has still made the wrong decision. In the end, a small Guild will only ever be a small Guild. Though it might triumph temporarily, it could not make it last. \--- Meanwhile, in the second-floor reception room Your Guild Leader has gone insane! Thats the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion! Moreover, thats the Nine Dragons Emperor he is provoking! Just what is going through your Guild Leaders head? Even if Nine Dragons doesnt take offense, if word spreads, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will definitely try to annihilate Zero Wing with everything it has to restore its reputation! Gentle Snow exclaimed as she stared at Melancholic Smile. Based on what she understood of Shi Feng, the man was not ignorant. On the contrary, he was quite shrewd with great foresight. Yet, now, he had actually offended the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. She had no idea why Shi Feng had done such a thing. This Even I dont know what he is trying to do. Melancholic Smile shook her head. She then said, However, after hearing the Guild Leaders words, I cant help but feel proud. Why are they allowed to bully us, while we are not allowed to resist? Gentle Snow failed to think of a response. Although he was not in the wrong, there was a price to pay for those words. Similarly, the precondition for resisting was to have sufficient strength. Although Zero Wing was relatively powerful, it was still far from a titanic existence like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Challenging the Pavilion at this point was simply suicide. \--- Meanwhile, back in the first-floor reception hall, even the Nine Dragons Emperor himself was stunned. He had never expected Shi Feng to be so foolish. Even the heavens would laugh at such folly. However, Nine Dragons could not find it in himself to laugh. Instead, his expression shifted slightly as a cold, killing intent flashed in his eyes. However, this killing intent quickly disappeared. In the next moment, a bright, dazzling smile appeared on the Nine Dragons Emperors face. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has no intentions of selling, I wont overstay my welcome. Goodbye. The Nine Dragons Emperor smiled. He then left the reception hall with his subordinates. Everyone else in the reception hall turned to look at each other. What had just happened? Thats it? Wasnt he supposed to warn Zero Wing and teach them a lesson? Purple, lets leave as well, then. At this moment, Galaxy Past smiled faintly as he prepared to leave the building. Guild Leader, are we not going to negotiate with Zero Wing? Are we just leaving? Purple Eye asked curiously. It had taken quite some effort to embark on this trip. After all, Galaxy Past was the Guild Leader of the Star Alliance. If he left White River City without obtaining even the tiniest harvest, he would become a laughingstock. It will be meaningless. If even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has been treated in such a way, do you think Black Flame will agree to sell the Candlelight Trading Firm to us? Galaxy Past shook his head. He then explained, Also, a war is going to begin in White River City, so dont you think we should return quickly? War? Purple Eye suddenly came to a realization. Although Nine Dragons Emperor had left the building peacefully and had not made any vicious remarks, in reality, killing intent filled his heart. It would have been foolish of him to reveal his thoughts inside the Candlelight Trading Firm. Inside this Shop, Black Flames words were law. Anyone who dared spout profanities inside the building would only be sentenced to death. Only a brain-dead fool would risk that just to sate his pride. Most likely, the Nine Dragons Emperor would notify his subordinates, instructing them to annihilate Zero Wing the moment he returned to the Black Dragon Empire. He would not give Black Flame the chance to react. Hahaha! Black Flame, so even you will have such a day! Feng Xuanyang grinned like a drunk fool. At this point, there was no doubt that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would obliterate Zero Wing. However, based on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions prestige, it would abhor remaining in a small location like White River City. Once Zero Wing was annihilated, Overwhelming Smile would automatically become the number one Guild of White River City without even needing him to expend any effort. Afterward, the various Guild representatives promptly left the Candlelight Trading Firm. Not a single Guild chose to stay behind. At this moment, Aqua Rose turned to Shi Feng, wearing a grim expression as she said, Guild Leader, now that you have provoked the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the Pavilion will not let us off the hook. The Pavilions background is also not something first-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance and Ouroboros could hope to compare with. They have countless experts in their midst. They also have plenty of great experts who are famous in the virtual gaming world. If they dispatch a large number of experts to ambush our Guildmates, the resulting death count will far surpass that of our war with Overwhelming Smile. Even Underworld was already capable of dispatching over 200 battle-experienced experts, not to mention the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The Pavilion most likely had plenty of top-tier experts as well. It was simply not an existence that Zero Wing could contend with. Within the region of White River City, even a dragon has to bow before Zero Wing. You should prepare. There will be fun to be had soon, Shi Feng laughed. He then left the first-floor reception hall and headed to the VIP room on the second floor. Naturally, Shi Feng had his own reasons for slapping the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions face. The first reason: it had felt awesome! He was an expert who had set foot into the Flowing Water Realm. He was even geared with a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment and Fragmented Legendary and Epic ranked rings. He even wielded a Magic Weapon. So, how could he possibly concede to a Pavilion Master of a super-first-rate Guild? In the past, even a real Super Guild had to cower in fear when facing the Midnight Tea Party, a 20-man independent team. Currently, he was in possession of weapons and equipment that were far superior to anyone elses. He also had several large-scale destruction spells. Not to mention, White River City was his home ground. Why wouldnt he challenge a super-first-rate Guild? As for the second reason, it was to forge the Guild. If one wanted to improve on their skills, they only needed to do one thing. Fight! Experts were not nurtured through Dungeon raids, but through live battles against other players. Overwhelming Smile was no longer a challenge, so they had to choose a stronger opponent to pit themselves against. In any case, Zero Wing did not lack money. They could afford to fight the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. 547 Shocking Gods Domain Aqua Rose revealed a bitter smile as she watched Shi Fengs departing figure. However, when she considered the situation from a different perspective, Shi Fengs decision was not necessarily a bad thing. In the past, other than Super Guilds, there really werent any Guilds that had dared provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Now that Zero Wing had made a fuss, even if they were defeated, it would be a glorious defeat. Moreover, suffering defeat in Gods Domain did not equal annihilation. Gods Domain was not as simple as other virtual reality games. Thoroughly annihilating a Guild was easier said than done. It was similar to Zero Wings efforts to chase Overwhelming Smile out of White River City. Despite having massacred Overwhelming Smiles members, not only did the Guild still reside in White River City, but it was also getting by quite well. Only, the Guild was forced to maintain a low profile, and its development had slowed significantly. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had a lot of experts, and its financial prowess was enormous, it would not be able to extinguish Zero Wing in White River City easily. Not to mention, Zero Wing also had the Candlelight Trading Firm supplying it with Coins. Alright, lets head back and prepare. White River City wont be so peaceful from now on. Saying so, Aqua Rose left the Candlelight Trading Firm with Zero Wings core members. \--- Meanwhile, inside the VIP room on the second floor, Shi Feng had already begun to discuss business with Gentle Snow. Guild Leader Black Flame, this move of yours is truly incomprehensible, Gentle Snow said, confusion plastered on her snow-white face. She could not help but ask, Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that there are a total of seven first-rate Guilds competing over the Black Dragon Empire. Although two of them are not based in the empire, they have invested a significant sum into the branchs development. Yet, despite there being so many first-rate Guilds in the empire, only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has a Branch Guild set up in the imperial capital. None of the other first-rate Guilds have set up their Branch Guilds there yet. Do you know why? The imperial capital isnt a nice place to live. Shi Feng laughed. Gentle Snow rolled her eyes. He was clearly pretending to be stupid. Helpless, she explained, That is because the Branch Leader there is Blood Dragon, one of Nine Dragons Emperors most formidable generals. Blood Dragon is a violent man, and he loves battles more than anything. He also has a group of experts under him called the Blood Legion. If any Guilds refuse to submit to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and dare to reside in the imperial capital, then this Blood Legion will come forward. The Blood Legion will secretly target these Guilds, going as far as to ambush the upper echelons even while still within the city limits. None of these first-rate Guilds wish to drop all pretense of cordiality with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and allow others to take advantage of the situation. Hence, they had no better option but to withdraw from the imperial capital and develop in other cities. If the Pavilion sends the Blood Legion to White River City, it wont be a good thing for Zero Wing. Shi Feng simply revealed a faint smile in response to Gentle Snows words. Naturally, he knew all of this information. Moreover, his understanding of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was even more thorough than Gentle Snows. The Blood Legions fame was not one bit exaggerated. The Blood Legion was also known as the Assassination Legion, comprised of a group of Assassins that the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion had carefully nurtured. Anyone who opposed the Heavenly Dragon Legion would oftentimes find themselves killed back to Level 0 the following day. The result would not change even if one hid inside a city. It was not an easy feat to kill players inside a city. It was especially so for a major city. Even if one managed to kill a player, the city guards would still kill them and deliver a severe punishment. In mild cases, this punishment would be a jail sentence of several days. In severe cases, it was highly possible that the guards would first execute the player multiple times, then jail them for a dozen days or so, and finally, chase them out of and bar entry to the city. If this player dared show their face in the city, the guards would execute them on the spot. Unless that player did not mind losing a few Levels and being locked up for a few weeks, or they no longer wished to reside in the city any longer, they normally would not take action inside an NPC city. During the initial stages of Gods Domain, the various large Guilds already wished they could split in two to hasten their development. One could just imagine how much of a loss it would be for a Guild to have its experts locked up for days or weeks. Every Guild treated its experts like treasures. Losing an expert for a single day could cause immense damage to a Guild, not to mention a jail sentence of a few days. However, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion paid these consequences no mind. They had plenty of experts to go around. This was the Pavilions strength. Forget it. Ive already told you about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Since you made me wait so long, may I know how many Intermediate Mana Armor Kits Guild Leader Black Flame intends to sell to me? Shi Fengs unperturbed attitude left Gentle Snow utterly speechless. At this moment, however, her own situation did not look too well, either, so she could not be of any help even if she wanted to. Miss Snow, how many do you want? Shi Feng simply laughed off Gentle Snows worries, not bothering to offer her any explanation. However, he knew that Gentle Snow sincerely wanted to help him. He also understood that she was currently powerless to help him. Hearing Shi Fengs question, Gentle Snow pondered for a moment before asking softly, Do you have enough to gear a 50-man team? Everybody knew how precious the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits were. Even partnered Guilds were only allowed to purchase 21 kits at a time. That amount was only sufficient to gear nine players at most. Beyond that, it was extremely difficult to obtain any more kits, as all those who had managed to purchase them refused to part with them. It was impossible for any Guild, other than Zero Wing, to obtain a sufficient number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to gear a 50-man team fully. Okay, but the Candlelight Trading Firm requires a large amount of rare materials. In the future, I will require Ouroboros to sell the majority of the materials it obtains to the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng said. Currently, Zero Wing was still capable of meeting the Candlelight Trading Firms demand. However, as the Firm developed, the materials it required would increase. At that time, Zero Wing alone would not be enough to satisfy the demand of the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, if a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros supplied the Firm, there would no longer be any problems. Once I return, Ill instruct my subordinates to send you the materials. Gentle Snow nodded in agreement. In any case, she was tight on money right now. If she could convert some of the Guilds materials into Coins, it would help her greatly. \--- After Shi Feng and Gentle Snow concluded their trade, the matter of Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, provoking the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had already spread throughout Gods Domain. As a super-first-rate Guild, any minor matter relating to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would receive the attention of the various large Guilds in the virtual gaming world, not to mention a major incident such as a Guild openly insulting them. For a time, everyone began to pay attention to the Star-Moon Kingdom, to Zero Wing, and to Black Flame. Crap, Black Flame mustve gone insane! He actually dared to slap the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the face! Does he not want to play Gods Domain anymore? What do you know? Black Flame is super amazing! He is a titled expert on the Gods Domain Ranking List! He has his own pride, naturally, so how could he possibly hand over the Candlelight Trading Firm he had built by himself? I wonder what the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will do? Isnt it obvious? If Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion does not flatten a Guild like Zero Wing, will it still qualify to be called a super-first-rate Guild? News and talk of the conflict between the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing filled Gods Domains forums. As for Super Guilds, they, too, had fun watching from the sidelines. \--- Currently, while all of Gods Domain was in an uproar, the atmosphere inside one of White River Citys high-class restaurants was extremely awkward. Pavilion Master, leave this matter to this subordinate. I will give Black Flame more than what he bargained for, the robust Blood Dragon requested respectfully. I never expected to encounter such a blind fool in this far-off city. Now, every player in Gods Domain knows of this incident. The Great Pavilion Master has even sent me a message personally, telling me to deal with this matter as visibly as possible and show those Super Guilds that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no longer just a super-first-rate Guild. Rather, it is a Super Guild that stands on equal footing, Nine Dragons Emperor said, a bone-chilling glint flashing in his eyes. Curling up his lips, he said, Since the Great Pavilion Master has issued the command, we cannot take this matter lightly. Notify the War Dragon Legion and have them meet us here immediately. I want to destroy Zero Wings Guild Residence personally! 548 War Dragon Legion The War Dragon Legion? Blood Dragon could not help but suck in a breath of cold air when he heard this name. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was divided into two Pavilions: the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion and the Phoenix Pavilion. Both Pavilions had their own strongest legions. The Heavenly Dragon Pavilions strongest force was the War Dragon Legion. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion nurtured its own experts internally. Among these experts, only the best of the best were allowed into the War Dragon Legion. One could say that the War Dragon Legion was the strongest legion specially established to contend with Super Guilds. Blood Dragon had also come from the War Dragon Legion. Who wouldnt be shocked by the Nine Dragons Emperor summoning the War Dragon Legion? Pavilion Master, arent we just dealing with a small Guild? Is there really a need for such a commotion? Chaos Dancer, the beautiful woman seated beside Nine Dragons Emperor, advised, In fact, we can rely on the Blood Legion to get rid of Zero Wing. If we expose the strength of the War Dragon Legion right now, wont we waste a trump card that we could use against those Super Guilds in the future? It doesnt matter. Since joining Gods Domain, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has yet to achieve anything significant. Now that everyone is watching the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it is a good opportunity for an excellent performance, Nine Dragons Emperor said, smiling playfully. Moreover, Zero Wings reputation is not insignificant. If we can finish off Zero Wing swiftly, it will serve as a shock to some of those weaklings and let everyone know that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no longer a super-first-rate Guild, but a true Super Guild. Understood. This subordinate will notify the War Dragon Legion immediately. Chaos Dance then began contacting the War Dragon Legion. \--- Time passed little by little. While the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion prepared to deal with Zero Wing, other Guilds did not idle and do nothing. Every one of them gathered their members in White River City. For a time, experts swarmed White River City. Despite it obviously being daytime, the number of players filling the streets surpassed even night-time. Among all these players, aside from those that large Guilds had sent, there were plenty of ordinary players who had hurried over from other cities. Players throughout Gods Domain knew about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions intentions to take out Zero Wing. Although this was clearly a one-sided battle, many players still wanted to witness the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions strength. Hence, many ordinary players had hurried to White River City to watch the show. However, it was also this reason that boosted the Candlelight Trading Firms business. Among the items sold by the Firm, Light Stones were the most popular. The Candlelight Trading Firms income had practically recovered to its peak, earning nearly a thousand Gold in one hour. As a result, Melancholic Smile and the others at the Candlelight Trading Firm focused fully on their work. Old Five, I heard that Black Flame defeated you and Old Six even after you two cooperated. This incident has not impressed the higher-ups, and theyve started to look down on our Seven Ghosts. When the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion deals with Zero Wing, we need to deal with this matter properly, a thin, middle-aged man with bronze skin said seriously. Brother Three, rest assured; I will not damage our reputation, Fifth Ghost said, killing intent flashing in his eyes. Previously, even though he had worked with Sixth Ghost, Black Flame still defeated them. Moreover, they had even lost all of their equipment they upon dying and had been barred from entering the game for two whole days. By now, they had both become laughingstocks in Underworld. This time, in order to restore the Seven Ghosts reputation, they needed to avenge themselves properly and complete the tasks the higher-ups had given them. All is well as long as you know it. Our task is very simple this time: assist Young Master Feng in obtaining 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. It will be even better if we can obtain even more equipment and kits. However, since the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is spearheading this matter, it is best if we keep a low-profile. So, first, lets focus on getting the 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, the thin man, Third Ghost, said. This time, to ensure we complete our task, I have even called Old Four and Old Seven to help us. With the five of us, we should be able to take down Black Flame easily. The only thing we have to worry about is the Pavilion itself. It is best if we form a proper plan. On this point, Brother Third Ghost, please rest assured. Based on my investigations, the Blood Dragons subordinates, the Blood Legion, will not be involved this time; the Nine Dragons Emperor has called in the War Dragon Legion instead. Every member of the War Dragon Legion is proud and arrogant, and they usually look down on everyone else. They should not pay any attention to us should we move against Zero Wing, Feng Xuanyang explained, smiling faintly. As insurance, I have even had a large group of elites come over from Maple City. With such a powerful force, Black Flame will have no hope of survival. Having the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion deal with Zero Wing is already overkill. Adding us into the mix, Black Flame will die with a 100% certainty. Even if he is even more powerful than we suspect, he will have to consider his options carefully. At that time, he will willingly hand over the 300 Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, Fifth Ghost laughed coldly. If he refuses, then Ill give him a taste of what it feels like to wish for death. All of White River Citys various large Guilds, including Overwhelming Smile, considered and prepared to strike against Zero Wing while it was down, taking the opportunity to benefit from the Guilds downfall. \--- Meanwhile, in a high-class bar a short distance from Zero Wings Guild Residence, many upper managers of Guilds had gathered. The entire three-story building was packed full of players. Among them, first-rate Guilds fully occupied all of the private rooms on the third floor. From these rooms, one could clearly see every movement around Zero Wings Guild Residence. Guild Leader, dont you think that Zero Wing is acting strangely? Even now, they are still so carefree. They have not taken any precautionary measures at all. Is this Black Flame pretending to be a fool, or is he actually one? Purple Eye frowned as she watched Zero Wings Guild Residence through the window. Theres nothing surprising about this. Black Flame simply does not understand the Nine Dragons Emperors character. Look at the people inside the bar for example. Arent most of them members of first-rate Guilds? Meanwhile, a newly-established Guild like Zero Wing and a newcomer to the virtual gaming world like Black Flame dont know Nine Dragons style of conduct. Thus, he continues with his carefree manner, Galaxy Past said, laughing. Downing a mouthful of Flame Beer, he continued, The Nine Dragons Emperor is someone who conducts himself with a lofty tone and does not play his cards according to common sense. This time, he has even secretly mobilized the War Dragon Legion to deal with Zero Wing, making a fuss over a minor incident. Naturally, the only reason why he would mobilize such a powerful legion is to destroy Zero Wings Guild Residence. A Guild Residence is different from a private Shop. While inside the Shop, the manager is invincible. However, it is a different story for a Guild Residence. It is slightly troublesome to deal with the Residences hired guards, and there are also the city guards who patrol the streets. With current players Levels and equipment, it is still impossible to resist the patrolling guards. Hence, no sane Guild would attempt to attack another Guilds Residence. However, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is no trivial existence. One cannot measure by the strength of an ordinary Guild. Moreover, the Nine Dragons Emperor is no fool. I keep getting the feeling that he has some sort of trick up his sleeve. Otherwise, he would not have sent the War Dragon Legion, a trump card that he had prepared for facing Super Guilds! What we need to do now is wait for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to make its move. Once they take action and Zero Wing falls, we can begin our operation as well. Purple Eye nodded silently. This time, the Star Alliance had sent quite a number of elites and experts. They were not afraid that Zero Wing would not fall today. Instead, it was only a matter of how much profit they could gain. However, the various large Guilds, including the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was ignorant of one point. Shi Feng was a reincarnator. Moreover, he had also been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in the past. In order to survive in Gods Domains harsh conditions, he had endured relentless pain and suffering. As far as understanding massive existences like the Nine Dragons Emperor The Nine Dragons Emperor, most likely, did not have a better understanding than Shi Feng. 549 Leave None Alive Inside the meeting room in Zero Wings Guild Residence Zero Wings core members filled the large meeting room; everyone could feel the tension in the air. War was imminent. Although Zero Wing had succeeded in suppressing Overwhelming Smile in White River City, their current enemy, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was a lot stronger than Overwhelming Smile. The two Guilds were on entirely different levels. Every player present fully understood how severe of a situation they were in. They also knew that it was highly unlikely that they would overcome this hurdle. Seated on the Guild Leaders throne, Shi Feng suddenly asked, You must think that I am a fool, right? However, the only answer he received was silence. Not a single person answered his question. Everyone only stared at their Guild Leader, who was shrouded in mystery, quietly. I know the answer even without you saying a word, Shi Feng laughed. Casual and relaxed, he said, Everyone must think that I have gone insane, that I overestimate myself by challenging a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Until now, aside from Super Guilds, not a single Guild dares to make an enemy of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Do you know why? The reason is very simple: they are simply too strong. They are strong enough that other Guilds despair at the thought of them as an enemy! I believe that you should know all that, at this time, many Guilds have already begun to prepare to take advantage of our misfortune. Every one of them is closely eyeing us like prey. There is not a single Guild out there that thinks we might come out of this on top. They all believe that we will lose without a doubt and that our names will soon be wiped from Gods Domain. Do you know why? Ill tell you why! Since the very beginning, whether it is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion or the various other first-rate Guilds, none of these people have seen us as equals. Since the very beginning, they have thought of us as weak. So, they have come to bully us, to drink our blood and eat our flesh, to destroy us! However, I will warn them now. They will be disappointed. Since there has never been a Guild courageous enough to challenge the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, then, today, we will be the first to make history! We will show everyone that Zero Wing is not a Guild they can afford to provoke! If they wish to plunder our corpses, theyll have to seek permission from the swords in our hands first! The battle is to the strong! Today, let us teach the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion a lesson! The moment Shi Feng finished his speech, everyone suddenly felt their blood boil. None of them had ever thought that such a day would come. Throughout the virtual gaming world, other than Super Guilds, there had never been a Guild daring enough to provoke and challenge the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, Zero Wing dared. Moreover, Zero Wings Guild Leader himself led this challenge. Isnt it just a super-first-rate Guild? Ive long since grown tired of looking at their faces. Today, Ill use them to release some stress! Cola laughed excitedly. Hahaha! Guild Leader, Ive been waiting for you to say that! Im bored of battling Overwhelming Smile constantly. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has arrived at just the right time. It just so happens that I can use them to test my recent improvement! Blackie licked his lips, revealing an eager grin. Guild Leader, tell us how we should deal with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion! I want to be the first one to have a go at them! Flying Shadow said excitedly. This is seriously insane. Aqua Rose shook her head helplessly. In the next moment, however, she smiled and said, But I like it! For a time, every Zero Wing member in the meeting room talked and laughed with one another, the heavy atmosphere from before vanishing. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was indeed strong. However, they were not a bunch of weak and powerless noobs, either. Since the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion dared to oppress them using force, they would show the Pavilion that it had chosen a wrong opponent. They would let the Pavilion know that the opponent it was about to face was not a weak, little cub, but rather, it was a ferocious beast with sharp fangs and claws. If I am not mistaken, it is highly possible that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will strike once the sun sets. Fire Dance, how are the preparations going on your side? Shi Feng asked as he turned to the sharp and mesmerizing Fire Dance. Based on Shi Fengs understanding of Nine Dragons Emperor, there was an 80% chance that he intended to destroy Zero Wings Guild Residence. If a Guild Residence were destroyed, it could not be repaired within ten days time. Moreover, if a Guild Residence were destroyed, all members of the corresponding Guild within the city would receive a penalty. Not only would all members lose a Level, but their EXP gain would also be halved for the following ten days. The Guilds Popularity would drop by 50,000 points as well. Moreover, after the destroyed Guild Residence was reconstructed, the quality of the Guild Quests the Guild would receive would be significantly affected. The best time to destroy a Guild Residence was at night. Players greatest foe when trying to destroy an enemy Guild Residence was not other players, but the patrolling NPC city guards. These city guards were no trivial matter; they were all Level 150 NPCs. To players, they were nightmares. These NPCs only needed one hit to finish off the current players of Gods Domain. However, the number of patrolling city guards would change depending on the time of day. During the day, these NPCs always patrolled in groups of twenty. By the time night arrived, however, that number would decrease to ten. If a Guild attacked an enemy Guild Residence at night, it could notably lessen its losses. That way, the Guild would have more combat power to spare for destroying the enemy Guild Residence. Meanwhile, since Shi Feng dared to provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, he had naturally prepared. If one wished to destroy a Guild Residence, aside from the city guards, there were also the hired guards inside the Guild Residence to contend with. Although the hired guards were not as powerful as the Level 150 city guards, they were still genuine Level 50 NPCs. Meanwhile, depending on the employed NPCs strength, the asking price of said NPC would vary. Tier 0 guards cost 5 Silver per day, whereas Tier 1 guards cost 30 Silver per day. When hiring these guards, one had to prepay ten days of their services. Shi Feng was a Viscount, and all this time, he had been hiring a mix of 50 Tier 1 and Tier 0 guards to defend Zero Wings Guild Residence. However, seeing as the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion led this assault, he had not hesitated to replace all of his guards with Tier 1 NPCs. In any case, what he had was money. In addition, since early on, Shi Feng had told everyone in the Guild to focus on raising their Reputation. Hence, at this moment in time, there were also many people within the Guild who had high Reputation. For example, Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Blackie, and several other core members of Zero Wing did not lack Reputation Points Although they had yet to become Viscounts like Shi Feng, they were Barons, and every one of them was capable of hiring ten Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs. In total, they had over 200 Tier 1 NPCs employed right now. This was a very powerful force. Its done. They all are hiding and lying in wait. Fire Dance nodded, a playful smile appearing on her face. \--- Time slowly ticked by. While everyone waited for the start of the battle, night arrived in Gods Domain. Currently, players clogged the streets neighboring Zero Wings Guild Residence. Pavilion Master, all 1,000 men from the War Dragon Legion are in position, a valiant and extraordinary-looking youth reported to Nine Dragons Emperor. The War Dragon Legion was the strongest force in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilions arsenal. As of today, it had never been used to deal with any Guild less than a Super Guild. The legion consisted of 1,000 players, and every one of these players wore Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment. A few even had Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. These legionnaires Levels also ranged from Level 27 to Level 28. These players were definitely at the peak of Gods Domain in terms of levels. Every member also radiated a sharp and penetrating aura. Although the War Dragon Legion consisted of 1,000 members, they felt like an army of tens of thousands that was capable of mass destruction. Meanwhile, among these players, the man reporting to Nine Dragons Emperor was even more extraordinary. He was the War Dragon Legions Commander, Martial Dragon. He was a Level 28 Berserker, and the majority of his equipment consisted of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. The greatsword he wielded was also of indiscernible quality. However, judging by the blades capability of even tearing apart air, one could tell that it was an exceptional item with a single glance. Aside from the War Dragon Legions 1,000 players, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had also dispatched close to 10,000 elite players. These elite players were all Level 25 and above. It was a truly shocking sight. Only a first-rate Guild would be capable of dispatching so many elite players. Were it not for the transportation fees, this number would have most likely been several times higher. Many players involuntarily trembled when they saw the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions war formation from afar. This was the power of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Regarding both financial prowess and manpower, ordinary first-rate Guilds simply could not compare to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Hahaha! Zero Wing is truly finished this time! Sitting in a third-floor private room of a high-class bar, Feng Xuanyang felt indescribable joy well up in his heart when he saw the Pavilions army. Its as expected of Martial Dragon, the Commander of the War Dragon Legion. I can feel that terrifying aura of his even from such a distance. Fear filled Fifth Ghosts heart when he looked at the valiant Martial Dragon. Martial Dragon is a true mutant. He is not human at all. Even our Boss has said so. Otherwise, he would not be capable of becoming the War Dragon Legions Commander. If we encounter him, it is best that we avoid provoking him, Third Ghost reminded his brothers in arms. Meanwhile, standing on the street, Nine Dragons Emperor swept a glance over the army before him. In the next moment, he waved his hand and pointed at Zero Wings Guild Residence. Very calmly, he said, Go! Leave none alive! 550 Exceeding Expectations Under Nine Dragons Emperors command, the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion charged towards Zero Wings Guild Residence. The Pavilions armys attack was organized. A majority of the Pavilions elite players were positioned in the front of the army, whereas the War Dragon Legion occupied the middle, and the remaining elite players took up the rear. These players were further separated into groups. However, unlike Guild wars that usually involved thousands of players, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had grouped its members into parties of six. Each party consisted of MTs, healers, and ranged and melee damage dealers: the standard compositions of a Dungeon party. Although this militaristic configuration was not suited for a large battlefield, it was perfect for battles in narrow terrains such as a city. The army could react to all sorts of problems in a timely manner. It has finally begun. Purple, did you order those Assassins under you to record this battle? Galaxy Past, who sat comfortably in a third-floor private room of the high-class bar, asked. Smiling, he stated, This is a good opportunity to collect data on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, particularly the experts from the War Dragon Legion. Every member of the legion is worth noting. It might come in handy in the future. This high-class bar offered an excellent vantage point. He could see practically everything that occurred around Zero Wings Residence. However, Galaxy Past was still not satisfied with this. He had positioned Assassins under his command in several other buildings in order to record the battle from the closest distance possible. Just how strong was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion? Particularly, how was the Pavilions strength after joining Gods Domain? Other than a few upper managers of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, nobody knew the answer to these questions. Now that the Pavilion launched an assault on Zero Wings Residence, it was clear to see that their strength was nothing to scoff at. Otherwise, every large Guild would have already attacked Guild Residences that they found to be an eyesore instead of letting those Guilds with little strength live this long. Just the patrolling guards were enough trouble. The hired guards were no trivial matter either; they all were Level 50 NPCs. To current players, these Level 50 NPCs were still too powerful to handle. However, the truly troublesome issue was the players of the Guild itself. Zero Wing had definitely taken some precautionary measures. It was normal for around twenty to thirty thousand players to defend the Guild Residence at all times. Even if the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had deployed the War Dragon Legion, Zero Wings Guild Residence would not be so easily destroyed. The Pavilion would have to reveal some of its true capabilities, and this was precisely what Galaxy Past, and all of the other large Guilds watching, wanted to witness. As Gods Domain was still in its early stages, there had yet to be any major conflicts between the various first-rate Guilds, Super Guilds, and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, that would not necessarily remain the case in the future. It was better to prepare ahead of time. Hence, the Star Alliance wasnt the only Guild to send a large group of Assassins to record the battle. Many other Guilds had also dispatched their Assassins, all of them hoping to uncover even the smallest detail about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions background. \--- Meanwhile, inside Zero Wings Residence, the Guilds members had long since prepared for the upcoming war. Every one of them stood, waiting, inside the Guild Residence. Guild Leader, theyve arrived. Initial estimates put their number somewhere over 10,000, with the weakest among them being elite players. Their equipment is also a match for our elite members, Aqua Rose reported. Everyones heart skipped a beat upon hearing Aqua Roses report. Although Zero Wing had 50,000 members, they only had around 14,500 elites. Yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had casually mustered a force of 10,000 elite players. This was simply too frightening Sure enough, the Pavilion is both rich and powerful, Shi Feng laughed. This situation did not surprise him. After all, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. Even though White River City was not the Pavilions home ground, it would still be childs play for it to obliterate a second-rate Guild. Move out, then. Coordinate your attacks with the NPCs. Core members, your main goal is to fend off the Pavilions War Dragon Legion. As for the enemy elites, they are just cannon fodder. Dont worry about them. Yes, sir! Everyone from Zero Wing unsheathed their weapons as a single unit, preparing to meet the oncoming threat. This time, Shi Feng did not bother to send for many members to defend the Guild Residence. The defending players consisted only of Zero Wings elite and core members with a total just over 14,000 players. It was not because Shi Feng did not want more people defending the Residence. Only, having more people was not necessarily a good thing. A normal member of the Guild would only find their death by joining this battle. Moreover, the battlefield was very cramped. There was simply no way to display the advantage of numbers here. On the contrary, having too many members in the battle would only obstruct the elite members. As the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions army was about to charge through the Residences entrance, the ranged classes of Zero Wing got ready to launch their spells and arrows. If an outsider barged into the Residence without explicit permission, Guild members were allowed to kill said outsider without needing to fear any repercussions. The city guards would not take action against the Guild members. On the contrary, if an outsider attacked people inside the Residence, the city guards would rush towards the Residence to apprehend them. As elemental mana began to gather above Zero Wings Residence and patrolling city guards began to charge over Nine Dragons Emperor suddenly shouted, Activate the scrolls! Suddenly, several MTs at the forefront of the army revealed black magic scrolls that they had kept hidden for quite some time now. The MTs immediately unfurled the scrolls and activated them. In the next moment, the elemental mana filing the space above Zero Wings Residence started going berserk. Curse Scroll? Shi Feng was genuinely surprised when he saw the magic scrolls in his enemies hands. Magic scrolls fit into various categories. However, the rarest had to be ones that carried Curses. This was a type of forbidden spell. All Curses possessed an astonishing might, and it was not easy to turn it into a magic scroll. Hence, it was extremely difficult to obtain even one Curse Scroll. Yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had actually managed to reveal four such scrolls. It was simply inconceivable. At this moment, however, even Nine Dragons Emperors face twitched slightly. Four Curse Scrolls... He had only managed to obtain these four scrolls after gathering the entirety of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilions power. Now that he was using all of them in one go, and on a small, nameless Guild no less, even he felt the sting of the loss. Four Curse Scrolls. Consider this your burial, Zero Wing, Nine Dragons Emperor smiled faintly at the dark clouds gathering in the sky. Suddenly, black rain began to fall. As if these black raindrops had lives of their own, they attached themselves to all players caught within the spells vicinity. Dark Gods Descent! Shi Feng paled instantly. Although he wanted to defend against this spell, Dark Gods Descent was unblockable. Even if he had magic immunity, it wouldnt change a thing. Dark Gods Descent was a Silencing Curse. With four of these Curse Scrolls being used simultaneously, the forbidden spells effective radius and duration increased significantly. It was definitely an efficient weapon for team battles. At this moment, a Dark God status imperceptibly appeared in everyones status window, the duration lasting for one full hour. In other words, within the next hour, any players within the Curses effective radius were unable to use any of their spells. They could not even use the tools they had inside their bags. To put it simply, players could only participate in melee combat. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had obviously prepared these Curses as a countermeasure for large-scale destruction spells and NPCs. Blood Dragon, lead some elites to pin down the patrolling guards and let Martial Dragon handle the rest, Nine Dragons Emperor ordered. He then turned to look at Chaos Dancer, saying, Lets go; well watch the show from upstairs. After receiving the command, Blood Dragon led the elite players, who were positioned at the rear line and remained unaffected by the Dark God, and charged towards the ten Level 150 patrolling guards. At the same time, Martial Dragon shouted, Kill! Annihilate Zero Wing! Leave not a single player alive! The War Dragon Legion suddenly charged into Zero Wings Residence. As for the other elite players, they were tasked to delay the Residences NPC guards. When Silenced, an experts strength stepped into the spotlight. When the War Dragon Legions 1,000 members charged into Zero Wings 10,000-plus elite members, they were like wolves among a flock of sheep. Immediately, the members of the War Dragon Legion started a slaughter. At this point, Zero Wing possessed more than 400 Tier 1 players. It had more Tier 1 players than every Guild in White River City combined. Naturally, all those capable of becoming Tier 1 classes at this stage of the game employed powerful techniques. Even if they were not yet experts, they were not far from that hurdle. Zero Wings members were also famed for having amazing equipment. Even if their techniques were lacking, they could make up the gap with their equipment. In front of absolute strength, all manner of tricks were useless. Even so, Zero Wing possessed far fewer experts than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Not to mention, the members of the War Dragon Legion were experts who had undergone careful screening. Do you think were that easily bullied? All guards, to the lines! Shi Feng commanded. Suddenly, an additional two hundred Tier 1 NPCs emerged from the Guild Hall. Moreover, these Tier 1 NPCs were all melee classes. 551 Fleeting Scene The originally imposing Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members were immediately shocked by the appearance of the two hundred Level 50 Tier 1 NPCs. Nine Dragons Emperor, who watched the battle from afar, also wore a grim expression. Didnt the reports say that they only had around 50-plus NPCs? Nine Dragons Emperor turned to the intelligence agent beside him. Snapping, he yelled, Just what have you all been doing?! You failed to report on two hundred Tier 1 NPCs! Tell me! What is going on here?! A single Level 50 Tier 1 NPC was very difficult to deal with. Each one required a team of elite members to pin down. Now that there was an additional two hundred, this would greatly affect his plans. Suddenly, cold sweat appeared on the forehead of the reconnaissance units leader. He was so frightened he could not utter a single word. Originally, he had tried to think of an excuse to save himself. However, he knew full well what kind of personality the Nine Dragons Emperor had. The more he tried to justify himself, the graver the consequences would be. Forget it. You wont have to do your job anymore. Someone will replace you in the future. Nine Dragons Emperor waved his hand, having his subordinates escort the recon leader out of the building and dismissing him from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Chaos, instruct the Blood Legion to send help. With the Blood Legions strength, they should be able to hold back two hundred NPCs. At this moment, Nine Dragons couldnt care less about how Zero Wing had managed to obtain all of these NPCs. He had no choice but to involve the originally inactive Blood Legion in the battle. Understood. This subordinate will lead them over now, Chaos Dancer nodded and smiled. A short moment later, the thousand-strong Blood Legion, which had been on standby, charged into Zero Wings Guild Residence. \--- Meanwhile, the various large Guilds watching the battle from afar were also shocked by the sudden change. Sure enough, Zero Wing is quite capable. With so many Tier 1 NPCs, even the Blood Legion will not be able to hold them off for long. After all, each Level 50 Tier 1 NPC is the equivalent of a Level 50 Special Elite! Galaxy Past sighed. If any other first-rate Guild stood in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions place right now, they would have no chance against Zero Wing. Particularly, that large-scale Silencing spell the Pavilion had used before the battle began significantly restricted the NPCs combat power and had even sealed Zero Wings large-scale destruction spells. Zero Wing had lost all their advantages with just this single move. \--- Meanwhile, inside Zero Wings Residence, a melee battle had broken out. The scene in the Residence looked just like a battlefield from ancient times. Currently, the magical classes, who boasted the highest power, could only fight using their staffs The magical classes in Gods Domain were different from other virtual reality games. They were not completely incapable of participating in melee combat, but they were not specialized in it. They possessed very few skills that could be used in a melee battle. In addition, their classes mainly focused on Intelligence and Vitality, making them even more inferior in melee combat. At this moment, however, nobody could care less. Even the healers of either side fought each other, not to mention the other magical classes. Compared to the one-on-one fights between the magical classes, the battles between the physical classes were intense. Currently, none of them could use any skills or tools and had to rely solely on their combat techniques. It was especially true for the War Dragon Legion. A majority of the War Dragon Legion members consisted of physical classes, and every one was an expert among experts. Normally, they were capable of soloing a Special Elite of the same level, and some were even capable of putting up a good fight against a Chieftain of the same level. Elite players could become elites in the first place not solely because of their Levels being above average; it was more due to the fact that they could solo an Elite monster of the same level. Hence, they were called elite players. Meanwhile, in the eyes of Gods Domains ordinary players, experts were individuals capable of soloing a Special Elite of the same level. As for top-tier experts, in the eyes of ordinary players, they were individuals who could contend with a Chieftain of the same level. Chieftains were normally Bosses in Party Dungeons. Every member of the War Dragon Legion, at the barest minimum, was capable of confronting a Chieftain of the same level by themselves. Some were even capable of killing a Chieftain of the same level. Having these experts deal with four or five elite players simultaneously was a trivial matter. They might even be able to defeat four or five elite players without losing a single HP. It was just like how a Chieftain could easily defeat four or five Elite monsters. In the blink of an eye, the 1,000 members of the War Dragon Legion had already killed close to 3,000 Zero Wing members without suffering even a single fatality. If not for many of the War Dragon Legions members and the Blood Legion holding back the Tier 1 NPC guards, Zero Wings death count would have been much higher by now. However, compared to the War Dragon Legions captain, Martial Dragon, these ordinary members of the War Dragon Legion were nothing. Martial Dragon was like a silver storm. Everywhere he passed, a rain of blood would follow. When half a dozen elite members of Zero Wing dashed up to Martial Dragon, they were instantly struck by Martial Dragons bone-chilling and immeasurably heavy aura, their complexions turning pale and movements becoming extraordinarily sluggish. Immediately after, multiple red streaks of light weaved across their bodies, sending them flying into the air. In the next moment, blood poured out like a fountain from multiple wounds. When these elites returned to the ground, a piece of equipment dropped beside them. Their bodies were no longer capable of movement. The War Dragon Legion is truly frightening. There are many among them who are even stronger than I am. That Martial Dragon is especially impressive! If I fought him, Im not confident that I could even block a handful of moves before he defeated me. It is no wonder why people are saying that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions strength is the closest to a Super Guild. This Martial Dragon can indeed put up a fight against those old fellows, Galaxy Past stated incredulously. Super Guilds had not become such because of their massive financial prowess or their large army of experts. The true reason was those inhuman experts that stood at the very top of the virtual gaming world. Martial Dragon had precisely the potential to become such an expert. I heard that Martial Dragon is a talent that only appears once every ten years in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. It seems that this was not an exaggeration. Purple Eye watched Martial Dragons figure that resembled a god of war, awe and anticipation, as well as some hints of jealousy, filling her eyes. To experts like herself, it was an instinct to revere the strong. At the same time, she also wished to challenge those powerhouses who stood at the summit. Martial Dragon was someone who had already obtained the right to challenge such individuals, so how could she not be jealous? Purple Eye even considered exchanging a few moves with Martial Dragon right this instant. Even though she knew she was no match for the man, the exchange would still benefit her immensely. If an expert wished to improve themselves quickly, they could not just rely on self-research and experimenting. They needed to fight various other experts, using the experience to learn and improve their own shortcomings. Only then could they improve quickly. While Purple Eye focused on Martial Dragons every move, hoping to learn something through his actions, she suddenly noticed Martial Dragons gaze shift to another location, his eyes revealing both traces of shock and excitement. Turning to look where Martial Dragon had shifted his attention to, Purple Eye similarly found herself shocked. Who is that person? Purple Eyes small mouth widened as if she had just seen a ghost. She had just watched three War Dragon Legion members die instantly!. Thats right. All three of them were killed in the blink of an eye. Moreover, they were the experts of the War Dragon Legion, not some noobs that could be found on the streets. Against multiple of such experts, not even Purple Eye was confident that she could emerge victorious. Yet, that person had succeeded. Moreover, she had done so with ease. After a moment of shock, Purple Eye was finally able to get a clear view of that player. Possessing an alluring appearance, she wore form-fitting black leather armor that fully displayed the graceful and mesmerizing curves of her body. She also wielded two blood-red short swords that emitted dazzling flames. At this moment, it was as if she stood at the center of Zero Wings Residence. That is Fire Dance? Purple Eye dared not even believe her own eyes right now. 552 Enviable Zero Wing Purple Eye repeatedly rubbed her eyes and did a double take at the alluring figure. In the end, she was 100% sure she had not seen wrong. Why is this so different from what was reported? Purple Eye had read many reports on Zero Wing. The Star Alliance had gathered on every noteworthy expert in Zero Wing. There were also videos of every one of these noteworthy experts. Fire Dance was one of the few most noteworthy experts in Zero Wing. Hence, Purple Eye had a very good understanding of Fire Dances strength. However, the data on Fire Dance had only noted her as a top-tier expert and that she was only barely able to contend with a Chieftain of the same level. Hence, Purple Eye had not placed any importance on Fire Dance at all. Only Aqua Rose could be considered a worthy foe for her; Fire Dance had not even ranked on her list. Now, however Fire Dance had easily defeated three top-tier experts. How could this strength not shock Purple Eye? It was especially true for that blade-like aura surrounding Fire Dance. Even while watching from such a distance, she could feel a sense of great danger with that aura. It felt as if Fire Dance could appear right before her at any time and launch an attack. With such a dazzling and dangerous aura, it was difficult for Fire Dance not to attract attention. Not to mention, there were many experts present on the battlefield, and every one of them possessed the sensitivity of a mouse. These experts detected the source of the danger instantly. Four of the War Dragon Legion members closest to Fire Dance charged towards Fire Dance simultaneously. As if they had planned this, they coordinated their actions perfectly, launching an attack from all sides. Facing the encirclement of the four legionnaires, Fire Dances figure swayed slightly. In the next moment, only an afterimage remained in her place, denying the legionnaires their chance to strike. Immediately, she dashed towards the closest Level 27 Assassin, the two flame-red short swords in her hands transforming into multiple blades of light that struck like vipers. As a member of the War Dragon Legion, the Assassin was no ordinary player. When faced with this sudden attack, instead of retreating, he advanced. The Assassin quickly saw through the trajectory of Fire Dances short swords; brandishing his own daggers, he deflected her attacks, one after another After deflecting the swords of light, the Assassin kicked at Fire Dance. Youre still too green! the Assassin sneered. Attacks were not limited to the players weapons. A player could use their body to attack as well. However, most players had adopted the mindset that one could only launch melee attacks with their weapons, nothing else. Hence, they would normally focus their attention on an enemys weapons and hands. This unexpected kick right now would cost Fire Dance her life. At this moment, however, a Berserker, who was a short distance away from the Assassin, shouted, Little Six, behind you! Thanks to the warning, the Assassin called Little Six suddenly noticed that he had only kicked an afterimage. Behind? Little Six suddenly felt his back grow cold. His many years of combat experience and acute senses alerted him that someone was behind him. Immediately, he tried to bend his body forward in an attempt to dodge the incoming attack. However, Fire Dance did not use her short swords to attack at all. Instead, the instant she circled to the Assassins back, her slender leg kicked the Assassins thigh. Caught unprepared, the strike sent the Assassin spinning into the air. Immediately after, Fire Dance swiped her blade across the Assassins throat. Overall, her actions were simple and direct with no wasted movement whatsoever. At this moment, she looked just like a veteran killer. By the time the three other War Dragon Legion members caught up to Fire Dance, this Assassin had become a disembodied soul under Fire Dances swords. Although the entire process seemed slow, in reality, everything had happened in the blink of an eye. In the time it took Fire Dance to steal the Assassins life, the legionnaires had only crossed a distance of ten yards. When the three legionnaires arrived before the female player, they slid to a halt, their eyes locked onto Fire Dances seductive body. At this moment, they no longer dared to approach this charming, yet deadly Assassin casually. \--- Purple, why havent I heard anything about this Fire Dance? She can actually slaughter three War Dragon Legion members so easily. Even now, facing four legionnaires simultaneously, she dealt with one of them swiftly. Could she be a new talent that some Super Guild has recently nurtured? Galaxy Past asked, unable to help his shock. As the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, he was very well-informed regarding the virtual gaming world. Even so, from the information he had received, there was no news about a character named Fire Dance. However, his knowledge of Super Guilds activities was limited. As Purple Eye was someone who had come from a Super Guild, she should have a better understanding of Super Guilds. Moreover, judging from how Fire Dance had defeated the members of the War Dragon Legion so efficiently, she definitely wasnt someone new to gaming. Normally, only experts nurtured by Super Guilds possessed such outstanding skills. Guild Leader, although I, too, think that she might be a new talent from some Super Guild, from what I have seen of her techniques, I can say with certainty that no Super Guild has nurtured her. Her every move looks more like she is fighting a real battle. Her attacks do not resemble combat techniques used in a virtual reality game, Purple Eye said, a bitter smile on her face. That makes sense. Galaxy Past nodded, a hint of jealousy surfacing in his heart. Why was he jealous? It was because Fire Dance wasnt the only person performing exceptionally on this battlefield. There was also the Guardian Knight Cola, the Assassin Flying Shadow, and many other members of Zero Wing. The combat power each of them displayed was extraordinary. Only, Fire Dance shone brightest of them all. Zero Wing could not even be considered a second-rate Guild, yet it possessed so many experts. Hence, how could he not grow jealous? \--- So what if Zero Wing has a lot of experts? So what if you can pick a fight with first-rate Guilds? Now that youve offended the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, today will be your last! Watching the battle from afar, while Feng Xuanyang was envious, he also celebrated Zero Wings misfortune. \--- Inside Zero Wings Residence, although Fire Dance and the other core members of Zero Wing were wantonly slaughtering the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, at the end of the day, its enemy was still the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. As the strongest legion in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion, the War Dragon Legion would not be taken down by just a few experts. Immediately, a large number of experts began to circle Zero Wings few top-tier experts. However, Fire Dances situation was slightly unique from the others. Only one person came forth to deal with her. This persons appearance immediately attracted many peoples attention. He was none other than the War Dragon Legions Commander, Martial Dragon, the man that stood at the apex of the War Dragon Legion. Youre very skilled. Join the War Dragon Legion. I guarantee that you will immediately become one of its party leaders. After some training, you can even become the Vice-Commander, Martial Dragon proposed as his gaze took in Fire Dances figure. The members of the War Dragon Legion were stunned. They had never thought that Martial Dragons evaluation of Fire Dance would be so high as to offer her the position of Vice-Commander. The highest position in the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion belonged to the Pavilion Master, and following that was the Commander of the War Dragon Legion. As for the Vice-Commander, that person would definitely be the third most influential person within the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. There were countless experts within the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion hoping to climb the ladder to become the Vice-Commander. And now, that position was already at Fire Dances fingertips. You sure are insincere. I am the Commander of Zero Wings core team. Why should I head over to your side to become a measly little Vice-Commander? Fire Dance revealed a playful smile. She was not interested in the position of Vice-Commander in the slightest. It seems you still do not know what significance the position of Vice-Commander holds, nor do you know the significance of the position of Commander. Then, Ill show you just what the Commander of the War Dragon Legion is! Martial Dragon was not at all angered by Fire Dances refusal. Unsheathing his blood-red greatsword, step after step, he slowly walked towards Fire Dance. With every step that Martial Dragon took, the aura surrounding his body grew stronger. The instant Martial Dragon reached ten yards away from Fire Dance, the latter almost retreated several steps instinctually, increasing the distance between them. At this moment, Fire Dances expression had become extraordinarily grim, as if she were greeting a great enemy. Oh? Sure enough, I wasnt mistaken. You are able to see it, Martial Dragon laughed, becoming more satisfied with Fire Dance. 553 tier Equipmen How about it? This should be sufficient to convince you to join the War Dragon Legion, right? Martial Dragon asked once again. This time, instead of replying, Fire Dance quietly stared Martial Dragon. Just what kind of monster is this person? Why did I feel that death was right before me when he was still ten yards away? After undergoing special training for a time, Fire Dances strength had undergone a qualitative improvement. Lei Baos training had especially helped her improve her control over her own body. Her senses had become far more sensitive as well. Meanwhile, as Fire Dance stared Martial Dragon, she felt as if she stood before a towering mountain. Particularly, when Martial Dragon was only ten yards away from her, it felt like that towering mountain had instantly appeared above her and physically pressed down on her. At that very instant, she felt as if her life was no longer under her control. This feeling was different from the pressure she normally felt when facing a powerful enemy. It felt as if everything within a 10-yard radius of Martial Dragon was completely under the Berserkers control. Fire Dance could not believe it. She could not figure out just how Martial Dragon had achieved such a feat. Martial Dragon was clearly a Berserker. Aside from a few specific Skills, a Berserkers normal attack range was limited to five or six yards. Moreover, the Dark Gods Descent had silenced everyone, and none of them could use any Skills. Yet, Martial Dragon had an attack range of ten yards and could even inflict a feeling of impending doom. Even Fire Dance began to wonder if she was hallucinating due to her fatigue from her recent training. However, ever since she had started playing Gods Domain, her senses had not led her astray, so how could she possibly be mistaken now? Hence, Fire Dance immediately retreated from Martial Dragon. However, dragging on this fight was not a solution. After giving it some thought, Fire Dance gritted her teeth as she prepared to test herself against Martial Dragon. In the next moment, Fire Dance transformed into a black shadow as she dashed towards Martial Dragon. In terms of Attributes, Fire Dance was confident that she was superior to Martial Dragon for no reason other than the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Assassins, the Dark Melody Set Equipment, that Shi Feng had given her. After equipping this set, not only had her Attributes received a massive boost, but she was also able to display her combat power more efficiently. In front of absolute strength, all manner of trickery was useless. Regarding techniques, Fire Dance and the others had already improved significantly due to Lei Bao and Shi Fengs training. They could be considered super-first-rate experts. In actual combat, they were definitely superior to the ordinary members of the War Dragon Legion. They might not be able to solo a Chieftain of the same level, but they could hold their ground against one for a relatively long time. After factoring in the Tier 1 Set Equipment and their top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons, they could easily solo a Chieftain of the same level. They could even challenge a Lord. After all, a Tier 1 Set Equipment was only inferior to an Epic Set Equipment. The Attribute increase it provided was no small matter. Furthermore, every one of them had equipped three Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. In terms of Attributes, they completely overwhelmed the War Dragon Legions ordinary members. Even against the Commander of the War Dragon Legion, Martial Dragon, this was the case. The instant Fire Dance reached the 10-yard range, she turned her feet slightly, and suddenly, she split into two identical figures. It was practically impossible to tell which woman was real. The two figures then proceeded to attack Martial Dragon separately. Any ordinary player would be caught off guard and fail to react if their enemy suddenly doubled. Even an expert would hesitate. In addition, Fire Dance was very skilled. There were almost no excess movements in her attack. With lightning speed, the two Truefire Blades in Fire Dances hands flew towards Martial Dragons vital point and blindspot. The various large Guilds watching the fight from afar were momentarily stupefied. Fire Dances speed and ferocity were unstoppable. Their eyes could not even keep up with her. Even an expert would be finished! However, the instant before the Truefire Blades struck Martial Dragon, a red streak flashed, deflecting both of Fire Dances attacks. At the same time, the resulting impact forced Fire Dance into a retreat. Is he even a Berserker? How can he draw his sword so fast? Fire Dance was forced to retreat three steps before she stabilized her body. At this moment, however, both of her hands were numb. Berserkers were famed for their Strength, so Fire Dance did not find it surprising that Martial Dragons counterattack had repulsed her. However, she was an Assassin, a class that was famed for its speed. She had clearly struck first, yet Martial Dragon still managed to block her attacks. This Fire Dance is not bad at all. Unfortunately, the gap between her and Martial Dragon is immense. It is so wide that even she hasnt realized its extent. Watching the fight from afar, Nine Dragons Emperor revealed a faint smile. Pavilion Master, how could you possibly compare that little girl to Martial Dragon? It is impressive that this little girl possesses such skill at such a young age. If she joins the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, her future will be limitless. In a few years, she might even become a second Martial Dragon. The old man serving Nine Dragons Emperor similarly smiled. Martial Dragon was one of the strongest combatants that the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion had to offer. He was also a rare talent that only appeared once a decade. The virtual gaming world changed by the day, and every year, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would recruit a large number of players with potential. Meanwhile, the fact that Martial Dragon was known as a genius that only appeared once every ten years in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion showed just how much talent he possessed. How could a little girl, who had never been nurtured by a Super Guild, possibly compete with such an individual? Before, although it seemed as though Martial Dragons block had been extremely fast, in reality, that was not the case. It was only because Fire Dance had failed to notice Martial Dragon taking half a step backward. And it was precisely this distance that had given Martial Dragons greatsword sufficient time to catch up to Fire Dances short swords. The subtlety this half-step contained was the difference between Fire Dance and Martial Dragon. Before Fire Dance could recall how Martial Dragon had managed to counterattack Martial Dragon suddenly moved. The instant he moved, Fire Dance focused all of her attention on the Berserkers body. Martial Dragons movements were very fast and polished. However, this speed was slower than Fire Dances reactions. In an instant, Fire Dance predicted the Berserkers attack route and prepared to counterattack. Since my Strength is not a match for him, Ill use speed to face him. Through the previous exchange, Fire Dance had discovered her advantages and disadvantages against this opponent. Assassins possessed extremely high Agility. Hence, regarding Movement Speed, they were leaps and bounds above Berserkers. With that in mind, Fire Dance planned to fight a moving battle with Martial Dragon. Fire Dance instantly dodged the attack from Martial Dragons greatsword. She then side-stepped and sent an strike at the Berserkers neck. Evade. Counterattack. It was a simple attack pattern. However, Fire Dance had completed both steps almost simultaneously. Just as Fire Dance considered following up her counterattack with another attack, her complexion suddenly paled as she felt that something was off. When her counterattack landed, she had not felt her blade slice flesh. Unfortunately, it was too late to react. Martial Dragon, who stood proudly before Fire Dance, had raised his blood-red greatsword and swung it down. A red blade of light flashed towards Fire Dance. The immense wind pressure generated by Martial Dragons greatsword rolled up a cloud of dust along with a splatter of fresh blood. In the next moment, Fire Dance flew back, her HP rapidly falling. Fortunately, Fire Dance had a Tier 1 Set Equipment and three Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. In total, she had over 6,000 HP, even with her high Defense. Although Martial Dragon possessed frightening Strength, he could not kill Fire Dance with one hit; he could only reduce her HP by half. Such powerful equipment! Martial Dragon was somewhat surprised when he saw Fire Dance still standing. However, he quickly discerned the reason why he was unable to kill the Assassin with a single hit. Equipment capable of allowing an Assassin to survive one of his strikes definitely possessed powerful Attributes. At this moment, even Martial Dragon envied Fire Dance. Even Nine Dragons Emperor, who watched the battle from afar, glared at Fire Dance enviously. It really is a wonder how you people from Zero Wing managed to obtain such exaggerated equipment. However, although your equipment is excellent, it will only prolong your suffering! Saying so, Martial Dragon advanced once more, swinging his greatsword towards Fire Dance, who had only barely recovered from her fall. Just as the red blade of light was about to strike the Assassin Who? Martial Dragons hands suddenly froze as his gaze quickly swept through his surroundings. An expert who has awakened a Domain is actually bullying a young woman who has yet to even enter the Refinement Realm. Arent you ashamed? 554 Overwhelming Attributes Although this new voice was not loud, Martial Dragons sharp gaze immediately locked onto its origin. In the direction Martial Dragon was looking at, a plain-looking man in armor slowly emerged the warring crowd. Despite so many players focusing on killing each other, nobody had bothered to attack this man. It was as if none of these people had noticed him. Everyone was still focused on dealing with their own opponents. Only when this mans black sword pierced through the backs of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions elites, did these elites notice the mans existence. By then, however, it was too late. Since the war had begun, nobody had noticed that this ordinary-looking man had killed many War Dragon legionnaires and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion elites. He was practically a god of silent death. One-hit Asura! Surprise and excitement filled Martial Dragons eyes as they landed on Shi Feng. Sure enough, your reputation is well deserved. You really do possess some ability. A technique that could allow one to move unnoticed was no trivial matter. The concept might sound very simple, but when it came to its realization, not many could achieve it. This required a combination of special breathing techniques and footwork. Not to mention, Shi Feng even wielded this technique with such ease. Despite having met many experts in the past, Martial Dragon had never encountered one capable of such a technique. One could say that such a technique was extremely convenient in a group battle. Since this technique could allow a player to avoid attention, then it could naturally be used in reverse as well, forcing others to focus on oneself. Martial Dragon had originally intended to finish off Fire Dance with his last attack. However, due to that sudden surge of killing intent from Shi Feng, Martial Dragon felt as if someone had suddenly appeared behind him. Martial Dragon had no choice but to halt his attack in order to respond to the new enemy, allowing Fire Dance to escape with her life as a result. Fire Dance, go deal with someone else. Leave him to me. Shi Feng sent Fire Dance a private message. Guild Leader, be careful. Fire Dance nodded. Although Fire Dance was reluctant, she turned and moved to deal with other enemies. Martial Dragon glanced at Fire Dances departing figure, not bothering to chase after the Assassin. Instead, he focused his attention on the slowly approaching Shi Feng. \--- Whats going on with Martial Dragon?! Fire Dance was within his grasp; why didnt he finish her off before moving on to deal with Black Flame?! Feng Xuanyang, who watched the fight from afar, shouted with frustration and confusion. His hatred for Zero Wing ran deep, and he wanted nothing more than to kill Zero Wings upper managers hundreds of times. If not for Zero Wing, he would not have encountered so many problems. He would have long since become the hidden overlord of Star-Moon Kingdoms Eastern Region rather than ending up in his current dire state. He even had to obey the Seven Ghosts. Young Master Feng, Martial Dragon is not at fault here. It isnt because Martial Dragon didnt wish to finish her off, but because he couldnt, Third Ghost said, laughing bitterly. He then explained, Fire Dance is much faster than Martial Dragon. If she focuses on running away, even Martial Dragon cannot catch her. Not to mention, Black Flame has currently locked onto Martial Dragon. If he attempts to chase after Fire Dance, he will reveal a gap in his defense, giving Black Flame an opportunity to attack. Black Flames combat power is astounding. He is far above Fire Dance. Moreover, that technique that makes others ignore his presence is also the perfect technique for assassinations. If Martial Dragon focused on Fire Dance, it is very likely that he would feel the bite of Black Flames sword. How could Martial Dragon possibly dare to focus on Fire Dance? Then, are you saying that there is a possibility that Black Flame will defeat Martial Dragon? Resentment boiled up in Feng Xuanyang as he listened to Third Ghosts words. In the beginning, Black Flame had been a nobody, insignificant, while he was a member of Underworld. Black Flame had spoiled his good fortune many times, yet, the more he fought Black Flame, the more he discovered how helpless he was against the man. At this point, he could do practically nothing against Black Flame. Chuckling, Third Ghost confidently said, Martial Dragon is very powerful. I only said that Black Flame had a chance against Martial Dragon while he was distracted. However, if Martial Dragon focuses on his opponent, Black Flame has almost no chance of emerging victorious. What do you mean? Feng Xuanyang asked curiously. This is something I heard from Boss First Ghost, but it seems that Martial Dragon has already awakened his Domain. In a direct confrontation, it is simply impossible to defeat Martial Dragon. Even if we, the Seven Ghosts, worked together, it is unlikely that we could defeat Martial Dragon in a head-on clash. When Third Ghost uttered the word Domain, reverence appeared on his face. Domain... Within a certain range, the wielder of the Domain could achieve absolute control. One could even count the number of raindrops that fell in their Domain. Only by training ones five senses to their extreme limits could one reach such a realm of control. Domains were practically a myth. Normally, only the geniuses among geniuses had the possibility of grasping such a technique. One could say that Domains were the dreams that countless experts sought. \--- While Third Ghost explained the situation, Martial Dragon and Shi Feng gradually approached each other. Thirty yards Twenty yards Fifteen yards One after another, the upper managers of the various large Guilds witnessing this war shifted their gaze towards these two players. One was Star-Moon Kingdoms number one expert, Black Flame, while the other was the Heavenly Dragon Pavilions top fighter, Martial Dragon. Both were peerless experts that could deter an army by themselves, so how could they possibly miss out on a battle between the two? Guild Leader, who do you think will win? Purple Eye asked. Although she was a top-tier expert herself, she had no idea what the outcome of this battle would be as she had never witnessed either of the two fight with their full power. I suspect Martial Dragon will win. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is a super-first-rate Guild. Moreover, you should have seen the strength Martial Dragon displayed a moment ago. Thats a Domain! Envy and admiration filled Galaxy Pasts gaze as he looked at Martial Dragon. Rumor has it that Martial Dragon qualifies to compete with those old monsters, and it would seem that those rumors are true. I wonder when I will be able to set foot on that stage as well. Purple Eye nodded in agreement. In reality, she really hoped that Black Flame would emerge victorious. After all, there had yet to be a single first-rate Guild daring enough to provoke the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, yet, Black Flame had done just that. One could not help but admire the man. Now, he even faced off against a combat genius like Martial Dragon. Unfortunately, Black Flame had yet to reach that stage. Moreover, the difference in the number of experts between Zero Wing and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was simply too huge. There was no room for Zero Wing to resist. \--- When there was only a distance of ten yards, Shi Feng suddenly stopped. Why arent you advancing? Martial Dragon stood proudly, his gaze fixed on Shi Feng. With a disdainful look, he asked, Or do you intend to run away? Shi Feng remained silent, paying no heed to Martial Dragons provocation. Since you arent going to come to me, Ill go to you! Martial Dragon brandished his greatsword and dashed towards Shi Feng like a fierce tiger, his body carrying an overwhelming momentum that pressed down on Shi Feng. Yet, Shi Feng remained motionless as he welcomed Martial Dragons attack. Martial Dragon took no time at all to cross the distance of ten yards. Arriving before Shi Feng, Martial Dragon swung his blood-red greatsword, the weapon transforming into a streak of red light as it slashed towards its target. Martial Dragons attack was both simple and crude. At this time, Shi Feng, who had made no effort whatsoever to dodge the oncoming attack, finally moved, the Abyssal Blade in his hand transforming into a streak of light as it met Martial Dragons greatsword. Boom! When the two swords clashed, a crisp low-pitched sound echoed throughout the Zero Wing Residence. The pure exchange of blows between the two powerhouses caused even the pavement to crack and shatter beneath their feet. Martial Dragon was abruptly forced to retreat by five steps, the numbness in his arms spreading to his scalp. Martial Dragon then shifted his gaze to Shi Feng, and what he saw left him stupefied. Shi Feng stood steady in his original position like an immovable mountain. The difference in their Strengths was obvious. 555 Winner and Loser Black Flame pushed Martial Dragon back! Silence! Every Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion member within Zero Wings Residence was dumbfounded! Meanwhile, the players watching from afar were similarly rendered speechless, their minds repeatedly playing that scene from before. Although neither side had used any profound techniques and had only exchanged a straightforward blow, it was precisely this simplicity that allowed everyone to see the difference between the two very clearly. Shi Fengs Attributes were absolutely mind-blowing. Shit! Just what kind of equipment is Black Flame wearing?! Feng Xuanyangs eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at this scene. Martial Dragon was a Level 28 Berserker. Moreover, the majority of his equipment was Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. The weapon he wielded was even one of indiscernible quality, but judging from its appearance, it should certainly be above Dark-Gold rank. This equipment composition could definitely be among the very best in Gods Domain. Even if Black Flame were fully geared in Dark-Gold Equipment, he would not be that much stronger than Martial Dragon. Moreover, Black Flame was only a Swordsman, a very well-balanced class in terms of Attributes. Normally, a Swordsmans Strength would be inferior to a Berserkers, and his Agility would be inferior to an Assassins. Yet, now, Black Flame had actually managed to force back an apex Berserker like Martial Dragon with a single hit Just how outstanding was Black Flames equipment to pull off such a feat? At this moment, Nine Dragons Emperor, who was leisurely watching the battle from afar, had an expression of immense joy on his face, his eyes fully focused on Shi Fengas if he had just seen a peerless beauty. Although Nine Dragons Emperor was indeed surprised at seeing Martial Dragon forced into a retreat, he was much more delighted at discovering the peerless equipment that made such a feat possible. Uncle Chen, order the ones below to obtain Black Flames equipment! Nine Dragons Emperor instructed the old man beside him, his eyes shining brightly. Understood! The old man addressed as Uncle Chen immediately made a bow and left his position. A short moment later, the old man arrived with quick steps at the balcony of the private room, then abruptly shouted, War Dragon Legion, listen up! Plunder every piece of equipment on Black Flames body and leave nothing behind! Although the old man was quite aged, his voice was extraordinarily loud when he shouted. Practically everyone in the neighborhood had heard him. Is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion stupid? Didnt they see how Black Flame repulsed Martial Dragon in a single hit? Who could possibly kill him and plunder his equipment? Also, even if they plan on plundering someones equipment, there shouldnt be a need to announce it publicly like that, right? some ordinary players spectating from the sidelines ridiculed. When the members of Zero Wing heard the old mans words, they nearly spat out blood in anger. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was completely looking down on them. For a time, Zero Wings members fought with even greater ferocity. Although the spectating ordinary players made fun of Nine Dragons Emperors foolishness, none of the upper managers of other first-rate Guilds were laughing. They knew full well just how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was. Despite the currently brief duration of the battle, the death toll was already extremely frightening. The battlefield, which initially had nearly 30,000 players, now had less than 20,000 players remaining. The majority of the survivors also belonged to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Even the War Dragon Legion had over 800 members still alive. Overall, the Pavilions losses were light. In contrast, Zero Wings side Things were just terrible on this side. Many elite members had died, and only two hundred or so Tier 1 players remained; Zero Wing had lost nearly half of its main combat power. If not for the Tier 1 NPCs, Zero Wings situation would be much uglier. The gap between the two Guilds was evident at a single glance. They simply could not be compared to each other. Black Flame repulsing Martial Dragon? What was there to celebrate? These people really think Black Flame has a chance of winning! Third Ghost sneered as he looked at the distant spectating ordinary players. That was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion Zero Wing was going up against, a super-first-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the Pavilion had even sent out its War Dragon Legion this time around. Zero Wing had no chance of victory at all. Moreover, Martial Dragon was a peerless expert who had grasped a Domain. Although Black Flame had the advantage in Attributes, the gap was not so great that it was impassable. Any expert would be able to discern this point very clearly. Hence, Nine Dragons Emperor did not take Black Flame seriously at all and was fully intent on obtaining the Swordsmans equipment. \--- Inside Zero Wings Residence, Martial Dragon and Shi Feng had already exchanged moves dozens of times. Every time Shi Feng attacked, he forced Martial Dragon into a retreat, chipping at Martial Dragons HP with each exchange. At this moment, Martial Dragons HP was down to around 90%. However, Shi Feng was not particularly happy about this situation, neither was he angry about Nine Dragons Emperors plan to plunder all his equipment. He only felt helpless. Although Shi Feng succeeded in suppressing Martial Dragon with his Attributes, the Berserker was, after all, an expert who had grasped a Domain. Since Martial Dragon knew that he could not win using brute force, he had gone with a softer approach to neutralize Shi Fengs attacks. Negating Shi Fengs power was practically impossible for ordinary experts. After all, Shi Feng was an expert who had already set foot in the Flowing Water Realm. If one wanted to negate Shi Fengs power, they required inhuman levels of precision and confidence. The fact that Martial Dragon could achieve such a feat was all due to his Domain. Of course, while Shi Feng was helpless against Martial Dragon right now, the same could be said for the Berserker. After all, Shi Feng could see through his attack trajectories; whenever Martial Dragon tried attacking Shi Feng, the latter would always take the appropriate defensive measures and force the exchange into a frontal clash between weapons. In a frontal clash, the side with lower Strength would naturally receive damage and lose HP. Hence, Martial Dragon could only buy time. However, Martial Dragon was in no rush. Zero Wing was vulnerable. Fire Dance alone could not turn the situation around. This was not an arena. There was no need for players to fight one-on-one. If three to five legionnaires were insufficient, they could simply increase that number. Even if Fire Dance had powerful Attributes, the War Dragon Legion could just treat her as a powerful Boss and slowly grind her to death. You are the first person who has lasted this long against me. Unfortunately, this match wont go on for much longer, Martial Dragon said ruefully as he glanced at his surroundings. The number of Zero Wing members still alive was rapidly decreasing. After another ten minutes or so, this war would come to an end. This outcome was all due to the difference in the number and quality of experts. Even with so many NPCs filling the gap, they were still far from enough. Indeed, this battle will not last much longer. Shi Fengs heart ached over this situation as well. The losses Zero Wing had suffered in this war was simply too massive. Yet, instead of revealing a dispirited expression, Shi Feng smiled, saying, However, the victor in this war will still be us, Zero Wing! Do you not see the situation your Guild is in right now? Martial Dragon could not help but laugh when he heard Shi Fengs words. However, shortly after Martial Dragon had spoken, the Berserkers expression suddenly turned grave. An ambush? Martial Dragon suddenly felt a killing intent that was even more intense than when Shi Feng had revealed himself. Martial Dragon promptly tried to put some distance between Shi Feng and himself. However, Shi Feng did not allow Martial Dragon to do so, sticking closely to the Berserker at all times. In terms of speed, Martial Dragon was simply no match for Shi Feng. Just as Martial Dragon faced Shi Fengs barrage of attacks, the shadow of a figure suddenly appeared behind Martial Dragon. Scram! Martial Dragon had already been on his guard against this figure. Tightening his grip on his greatsword, he swung the weapon towards his back with all his might, the weapon itself transforming into a streak of red light. Under normal circumstances, this sudden attack definitely would have caught the player, who had appeared behind Martial Dragon, by surprise. Dang! However, this red blade of light was easily blocked. You are Martial Dragon finally managed to get a clear look at the ambusher and was stunned. This man had gray hair and a tall, robust body that was significantly larger than an ordinary persons. Also, this man was not a player but an NPC. Although this NPC was only Level 40lower than those Level 50 Tier 1 guardsthe pressure Martial Dragon felt from him was even stronger than what hed felt from a High Lord. However, Martial Dragon had no time to ponder the identity of this NPC, because the moment this NPC swung his sword, over a dozen wind blades flew at Martial Dragon from all sides. Only Shi Feng knew what this Skill was. Tier 2 Sword Skill, Wind Roar! This Skill could not be blocked and could only be dodged. But Martial Dragon no longer had time to dodge right now. In the blink of an eye, multiple wind blades devoured Martial Dragon, his 6,000-plus HP instantly bottoming out with not a single point remaining. The ambusher was none other than Shi Fengs Personal Guard, Kite. Only, at this moment, Kite had already recovered his original strength. No longer was he a Tier 1 Swordsman but a Tier 2 Sword Master, instead. 556 Might of a Sword Master He actually died, just like that Thats Martial Dragon! How could someone possibly kill him with one hit?! When did that frightening NPC appear?! For a time, the upper managers of the various Guilds spectating the battle were stupefied. Commander! Martial Dragons abrupt death stopped the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members rising momentum cold. As the Commander of the War Dragon Legion, Martial Dragon had never died, not even once, ever since he entered Gods Domain. Not even Hell Mode Team Dungeons could end his life. The elites of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and the members of the War Dragon Legion all admired Martial Dragon greatly, using him as their role model. One could say that Martial Dragon was the symbol of the War Dragon Legion, as well as the legions backbone. Now that their backbone suddenly disappeared, even the members of the War Dragon Legion were dumbfounded. They had never once thought that Martial Dragon would die. As if adding insult to injury, he was a casualty in a war of annihilation against a small Guild. That damnable Black Flame! He actually has another hidden trump card! A chilling light flashed across Nine Dragons Emperors eyes as he glared at Shi Feng. However, even if you have the help of a Level 40 Tier 2 NPC, you will all still perish today! Uncle Chen, head into the battlefield with Blood Dragon! Do not let Black Flame get away at all costs! The same goes for that Tier 2 NPC! Martial Dragon was renowned throughout the entire virtual gaming world. He was practically synonymous with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and was also the proof of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilions strength. Yet, now, Martial Dragon had actually been killed in a war with a minor Guild like Zero Wing. If news of this matter were to spread, the damage to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions reputation would be severe. At this moment, the only way to redeem the Pavilions reputation was to thoroughly consign Zero Wing to history and have everyone know what the consequences were for angering the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Presently, Zero Wing had only a small number of members left alive. On the other hand, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion suffered only minimal losses among its main experts. Although a Tier 2 NPC was mighty, fortunately, it was just a Level 40 NPCroughly equivalent to a Level 40 Lord. With the number of experts in the War Dragon Legion, they could easily defeat a Level 40 Lord. Understood! The old man addressed as Uncle Chen bowed and departed. From an outsiders point of view, this Uncle Chen was only a butler of Nine Dragons Emperor. However, every upper manager in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion knew that this old man with a head full of white hair was not just Nine Dragons Emperors butler. He was the third person to command the War Dragon Legion, Dust Dragon. However, this detail was something in the annals of history. Currently, most people had long since forgotten that this elderly man named Uncle Chen was the almighty Dust Dragon of the past. When the War Dragon Legion received the command, they immediately went into a frenzy. They no longer bothered targeting the elites of Zero Wing. Instead, hundreds of them encircled Shi Feng and Kite. Every one of these hundreds of experts was Level 27 or above, and they all wore top-tier equipment. Moreover, at this Level, most players had at least some equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute. In other words, members of the War Dragon Legion would not have to worry about level suppression when fighting Kite, a Level 40 NPC. Normally, the War Dragon Legion members could trounce a Level 40 Field Lord with just a single 20-man team. Meanwhile, hundreds of them were present right now. Blood Dragon, a Branch Leader of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and Dust Dragon, a former Commander of the War Dragon Legion, were even leading the legionnaires personally. Even if the enemy was a Level 40 High Lord, they could still defeat it. Hahaha! Black Flame is doomed for sure this time! Rather than dealing a blow to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions momentum, he has instead angered the Pavilion even more! Feng Xuanyang could not help but chortle when he saw this scene. Not only is he surrounded by so many top-tier experts, but he also cant use any of his Skills. If we Seven Ghosts were in such a situation, we would still face annihilation even if all of us worked together, Third Ghost commented. Everyone had originally been fearful of Martial Dragon already. Now that they saw this scene They finally realized just how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions true strength is simply too powerful. It really isnt something we first-rate Guilds can hope to contend with. It seems that Ill have to make some changes to our future development plans. Galaxy Past felt helpless as he looked at the tightly packed members of the War Dragon Legion. Top-tier experts were individuals that large Guilds would only rarely encounter. Yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion actually managed to dispatch a thousand of them. With such power, who could possibly oppose the Pavilion? Galaxy Past had even visualized the Star Alliance being in Zero Wings place right now. In the end, he concluded that the Star Alliance would not fare any better than Zero Wing. In other words, not to mention the Phoenix Pavilion of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, just the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion alone was enough to annihilate the Star Alliance. The gap between a first-rate Guild and a super-first-rate Guild was simply hopeless Guild Leader, look! Black Flame has begun taking action! Purple Eye, who was standing beside Galaxy Past, recalled him to the battle at hand. Zero Wings destruction was inevitable. The only thing worth watching now was seeing how many experts of the War Dragon Legion Black Flame would manage to kill. As for escaping? That was practically impossible. As the Guild Leader, if Black Flame abandoned his own Guild Residence to escape, he would only turn himself into a laughingstock. His only option now was to fight till the bitter end. Either he survived by forcing his enemies to retreat, or he perished along with his Guild Residence. There was no third option. Without hesitation, Shi Feng, along with Kite, dashed directly towards the oncoming army of experts. They did not bother taking a roundabout route to conduct guerrilla warfare. Has this Black Flame lost his mind? Galaxy Past watched Shi Fengs movement patterns with utter bewilderment. When the enemy had the advantage in numbers, one would normally apply hit-and-run tactics to avoid letting their enemies completely surround them. Applying such guerrilla tactics would yield tremendous results especially when ones combat power was significantly superior to the enemies. However, Shi Feng had actually taken the initiative to charge into the enemys encirclement. He was simply trying to get himself killed! Since you wish to die, let me grant you that wish! Blood Dragon revealed a sinister sneer. Back when the Curse Scrolls were used, he had been outside the effective radius of Dark Gods Descent. Hence, when Blood Dragon was only thirty yards away from Shi Feng, he immediately activated Charge. He then raised his sword, activating Heavy Chop as he swung the weapon at Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Dust Dragon, who was a short distance away, had similarly used Charge. He had timed his Skill perfectly so that he would arrive just a moment later than Blood Dragon, preventing Shi Feng from blocking both of their attacks. In Gods Domain, although a person might seem old, their bodies in the game remained strong. Hence, there was not much of a difference between Dust Dragons current combat power and his combat power back when he was still in his prime. On the contrary, his combat experience far surpassed the ordinary persons. He was like a living fossil of the virtual gaming world. He had long since reached the realm of perfection in the control and usage of techniques. Looking to die? Shi Feng could not help but smile when he looked at the two people swiftly approaching him. Kite was no ordinary NPC. He was a Dark-Gold ranked Personal Guard, and he could easily beat up a player of the same Level and Tier. When Kite was still a Tier 1 Swordsman, he was already capable of contending against a High Lord of the same Level. Contending against higher Levels might be a different story, but with his strength back to that of a Tier 2 Sword Master, he could even go toe-to-toe with a Level 40 Great Lord now. What did a Level 40 Great Lord hint at? The Final Boss of a Level 20, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon was only a Level 20 Great Lord. But there had yet to be a single person daring enough to go challenge such a monster even until now. Out in the fields, a Level 40 Great Lord would annihilate a 1,000-man team of Level 40 players, not to mention a 100-man team. Meanwhile, the War Dragon Legion consisted of only several hundred players. Moreover, none of them was even close to reaching Level 40 yet. They also did not possess any Level 40 top-tier equipment. Yet, they still dared to come charging over Their recklessness left Shi Feng speechless. If he truly had to describe them, he would say that they were remarkably courageous! The moment Blood Dragon and Dust Dragon came rushing over, Kite moved in front of Shi Feng. The Sword Master then swung his sword down at the two aggressors. Instantly, dozens of wind blades struck both Blood Dragon and Dust Dragon from all sides. In the blink of an eye, both Berserkers were lying on the ground, already dead. 557 Qualifications to Become an Overlord What kind of NPC is this? Nine Dragons Emperor shot up from his seat the instant he saw Blood Dragon and Dust Dragon instant-killed, an expression of shock plastered over his face. Nobody had a better understanding than he did of Blood Dragons and Dust Dragons strengths. Although the two of them were not a match for Martial Dragon, no one was likely to be a match for them when the two of them were working together. Even a Level 40 High Lord would not be able to kill both of them in a single strike. The only possibility was that this NPC was too powerfulso powerful that players simply had no way of resisting him. Kite, kill them all! Leave none alive! Shi Feng no longer held back. He immediately commanded Kite to begin his slaughter. In the past, Kite was titled the Windbreaker. In the entire Gods Domain, very few Personal Guards possessed a title. The title itself, though, was only a title; it did not provide any bonus Attributes or contribute to the improvement of the Personal Guards combat power. However, having a title signified that an NPC was not an ordinary class but a hidden class. Some hidden classes were weak, while some were strong. Windbreaker definitely ranked within the Peak Classes. In addition, as a Personal Guard, Kite himself also possessed frightening Growth Potential. Hence, Kite had become practically invincible when going up against an enemy of the same Level and Tier in the past. Back in the days, the Lifestyle player that owned Kite had relied on this Personal Guard to become an existence that nobody in Gods Domain could ignore. Even Super Guilds did not wish to offend this Lifestyle player casually. What about now? Back then, even a Lifestyle player had managed to nurture Kite into a Tier 5 Sword Saint capable of overwhelming any Tier 5 player or NPC. Meanwhile, in this life, Shi Feng was the one nurturing Kite. Not only could Shi Feng provide greater financial support, but Kites current Growth Potential was also higher than what he had in the past. Now, dealing with players of a lower Level and Tier was practically childs play to Kite. After Kite received Shi Fengs command, he transformed into a fierce gale that swept across the members of the War Dragon Legion. The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights of the War Dragon Legion hurriedly dashed to the forefront, attempting to block Kites assault. Unfortunately for them, Kite was just too fast. With a simple leap, he arrived behind the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. He then used a Tier 2 Skill, Wind Ferret, sending all players within thirty yards flying up into the air. In the next moment, Kite began brandishing his swords, shooting hundreds of wind blades outwards like a lotus flower that pierced the bodies of the players suspended in midair. Even though these players were Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, their HPs still fell by the thousands. In the blink of an eye, their 6,000 or 7,000 HPs bottomed out, though a fortunate few managed to survive Kites barrage of attacks. However, as they were too high up in the air, when they landed on the ground, the fall took away their last strand of HP In just a moment, the War Dragon Legion had lost dozens of members. Seeing this scene where players fell to the ground like dumplings, one after another, everyone was utterly stupefied. Nobody had imagined that a Tier 2 NPC could actually be this mighty. Moreover, aside from him being strong, even Kites combat techniques were more powerful than those of many experts. The Windbreaker is indeed amazing. It is no wonder he was able to deal with so many Tier 5 players as if they were little children in the past. Only Tier 6 God-ranked players were able to suppress him. Shi Feng was delighted with Kites performance. When it came to techniques, there were indeed players that could surpass Kite. Unfortunately, the precondition for this victory was that said player was similar to Martial Dragon, a peerless expert who had achieved 100% control over his own body. However, even in the entire Gods Domain, such experts were as rare as a phoenixs feather. Moreover, even if a player was superior to Kite in terms of combat techniques, as an NPC, Kite could completely overwhelm any player when it came to Attributes. In front of absolute strength, all manner of trickery was useless. In the end, the amount of strength a player could display through their techniques was limited. It was just like how Shi Feng, despite his techniques being inferior to Martial Dragons, was able to suppress the Berserker by relying on his Attributes. Only, in Kites case, the NPC could trounce Martial Dragon, because Kites Attributes were leaps and bounds above even Shi Fengs. Such great Strength was already beyond Martial Dragons ability to withstand. Hence, Kite was able to kill Martial Dragon easily while Shi Feng could not. In just a moment, Zero Wing had made a complete comeback from their previously disadvantaged situation. To the War Dragon Legion, which had a member count of only 1,000, having more than a hundred of its experts killed was a significant loss. Most importantly, its casualties continued to increase. Despite Nine Dragons Emperors attempts to pin down Kite by sending more elite players and experts, all his efforts were in vain. With Kites speed, Strength, and techniques, any player that had yet to attain their Tier 2 class would not even have the qualifications to delay him. Otherwise, the many first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in the past would not have feared him so much. \--- Seeing how Kite was casually slaughtering the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the spectating upper managers of the various large Guilds were dumbfounded. With such an NPC guarding their Guild Residence, no Guild is capable of threatening Zero Wing! Galaxy Past muttered as he looked at Kite. He then shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng, who was leisurely observing the battle from the sidelines, his eyes filled with both admiration and envy. Although the status of a first-rate Guild might seem preeminent, in reality, there was a massive gap between a first-rate Guild and a Super Guild. If the Star Alliance managed to anger a Super Guild in the future, a repeat of todays scene was highly likely. However, if the Star Alliance had an NPC like Kite guarding its Guild Residence, at that time, it would possess the qualifications to pick a fight with a Super Guild. Although they still could not afford to provoke a Super Guild, they would no longer have to live in fear like they currently did. As long as a Guilds Residence remained, and as long as the Guild still possessed a large sum of funds and Coins, then it would be a cockroach that would not die. In the virtual gaming world, it was not the powerful who were considered strong. Instead, it was those who managed to survive and was not afraid of any enemy that were deemed to be strong. After all, only by surviving would there be hope. It was just like how those Super Guilds had managed to survive until now. In the past, there were far more powerful existences than these Super Guilds. Yet, in the end, didnt they end up failing as well? Meanwhile, although Zero Wing was still weak right now, it already possessed the qualifications to become an overlord in Gods Domain. Hence, how could Galaxy Past not admire Shi Feng? Purple, once we return, immediately mobilize the entire Guild! Our Star Alliance needs an NPC like that as well! Galaxy Pasts eyes were filled with desire as he looked at Kite. Mhm! Purple Eye silently nodded in agreement. However, instead of looking at Kite, she was currently focused on Aqua Rose. At this moment, her eyes were filled with mixed feelings. \--- Time slowly passed by. The battlefield grew more intense with each passing moment. Currently, only a small number of players from Zero Wing remained alive. As for the Guilds most precious Tier 1 players, less than a hundred remained alive. This time, however, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was not having a good time, either. Due to Kites appearance, coupled with Shi Feng silently helping out his Guildmates, the War Dragon Legions numbers fell sharply. Currently, less than 400 legionnaires remained alive Retreat! All of you, retreat! Nine Dragons Emperor sent a command to the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, no longer able to stomach this battle. Pavilion Master, Zero Wing is about to be destroyed. Are we really going to retreat right now? Rage had long since overwhelmed many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions upper managers fighting in the battlefield. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions prestige and reputation were also at stake here. How could they possibly be willing to retreat at a time like this? I said retreat! Are you unable to understand that?! Nine Dragons Emperor suddenly said in a low tone, his gloomy voice chilling even his surroundings. Nine Dragons Emperor wanted to continue fighting this war as well. He even wished he could personally step onto the battlefield. However, he was a Guild Leader. He needed to consider the bigger picture. Although their side still seemed to possess the numerical advantage, in reality, they were already at a disadvantage. If this situation continued, instead of Zero Wing being destroyed, they would be the ones facing complete annihilation. In order to cut their losses, they had no choice but to retreat right now. Understood! Retreat! All members, retreat! The members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could only sigh in dejection. Under the command of the upper managers, they swiftly withdrew from Zero Wings Guild Residence. 558 After the War Won! We won! Everyone from Zero Wing was incomparably excited, and they all began cheering loudly one after another. Throughout this entire war, nobody had expected them to win. Even the large Guilds watching from afar had long since made preparations to take advantage of Zero Wings misfortune. Originally, other than Super Guilds, nobody else dared to oppose the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, they had dared. Moreover, they had even defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. They had achieved a feat that no Guild had ever imagined was possible. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was actually defeated, just like that The various large Guilds spectating this battle fell silent. Other than shock, everyone felt amazement. Despite the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions overwhelming power, in the end, all those elite players and frightening top-tier experts suffered defeat at the hands of a single NPC guard. After we return, we must focus on developing our Guilds guards. Galaxy Past had an excited expression on his face as he watched the retreating members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The true strength of a Super Guild was something no ordinary Guild could ever hope to comprehend. Only first-rate Guilds like them would know some secrets about Super Guilds. Although the opponent Zero Wing had defeated this time was not a Super Guild, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions strength was already on a par with those Super Guilds. Since Zero Wing could repel the attack of the Pavilion, it could naturally repel the attacks of Super Guilds as well. Most likely, nobody in the entire Gods Domain had thought that The first Guild capable of going toe-to-toe with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would not be a first-rate Guild but a recently established Guild like Zero Wing, instead. However, this was still not the most exciting part. The most exciting part was that Zero Wing had shown everyone present the hope of contending against a Super Guild. In virtual reality games, the result of a war between Guilds usually depended on players. However, Gods Domain was different. Here, NPC guards could also determine the outcome of a Guild War. In other words, the advantage a Super Guild possessed was no longer an insurmountable hurdle. If a Guilds players could not repel an attack, they could just fill the gap using NPCs. At this moment, Galaxy Past wasnt the only one planning to focus on nurturing his Guilds NPC guards. The upper managers of the various large Guilds had also grasped this point. They all had the notion of developing their NPCs once they returned. As long as their Guild Residences had an NPC like Kite protecting it, then their Guild Residences would be impregnable. That way, they could disregard those powerful Super Guilds. They could develop their Guilds however they pleased. \--- Although the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion were swiftly withdrawing, Shi Feng had no intention of letting them off the hook. Instead, he immediately expanded on his victory, killing as many as Pavilion members as he could. Every player present was an elite or above. The quality of the equipment they wore on their bodies went without saying. Each additional death was equivalent to obtaining another piece of good equipment. During the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions withdrawal, Shi Feng and Kite managed to kill several hundred more players, obtaining a bountiful harvestparticularly of the Life Force points Shi Feng collected. Damn it! Nine Dragons Emperors heart bled when he saw his Guilds elites and the experts of the War Dragon Legion dying one after another. Black Flame, just you wait! Sooner or later, I will definitely claim this debt! You wont be as lucky the next time we meet! After the war ended, Zero Wings members also began collecting their spoils of war. Both Guilds had suffered an immense death toll in this war. However, during the intense battle, nobody had the time to pick up loot. Hence, plenty of equipment littered the ground right now. This sight stirred greed and jealousy in many of the spectating Guilds. However, not a single Guild player dared to steal some equipment for themselves. The same held true even for the Assassins who were in Stealth. A large number of NPCs still stood guard near these drops, and everyone had already witnessed just how powerful these NPCs were. Naturally, nobody wanted to donate their own equipment to Zero Wing. \--- At the same time, word of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions defeat spread at the speed of light. Practically all the discussions on the official forums mentioned this incident. It cant be, right? The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion actually lost? You must be joking! The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really lost. I have firsthand video documentation here, and you can have it for just 50 Credits! A majority of the players in Gods Domain was incredulous of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions defeat. The Pavilion, which had remained unshakable all this time, had actually been defeated. It was a rout. Even the Pavilions most powerful War Dragon Legion had lost over half of its members. The damage the Pavilion had suffered this time was simply incalculable. \--- Star-Moon City, inside Ouroboross Guild Residence: Snow, Zero Wing actually won against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, just like you guessed it would. Zhao Yuerus unblemished face was full of surprise when she received the latest news regarding the war between Zero Wing and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Theres nothing surprising about this, Gentle Snow said, a bright smile appearing on her face. Black Flame is no fool. Moreover, he has never done anything he was not confident about. Since he dared to pick a fight with the Pavilion, he naturally had basis for his confidence. Only, I never imagined that the source of his confidence would be so powerful. Were in luck this time. Since were allies with Zero Wing, those Elders whom Cao Chenghua is planning to pull to his side will have to carefully reconsider their actions, Zhao Yueru laughed. Moments after Zhao Yueru said these words, the doors to the meeting room opened, and a few gorgeously dressed middle-aged men and women entered. Seeing the arrival of these few people, Gentle Snow could not help but smile bitterly as she shook her head. Fate truly knows how to toy with people. These men and women were none other than Ouroboross few highly skilled and influential Elders. Normally, these Elders paid little heed to the matters of the Guild, focusing only on grinding, leveling up, and raiding Dungeons. Even Cao Chenghua dared not offend these Elders casually. Previously, Gentle Snow had tried inviting these Elders for a discussion on some matters. However, they had simply ignored her overtures. Now, without even requiring her invitation, these people had taken the initiative to come looking for her. This situation left Gentle Snow speechless. Back then, she had only decided to become Zero Wings ally to repay her debt to Black Flame. Now, however, it would seem that she was growing even more beholden to him, instead. Guild Leader Snow, we truly apologize for before. The few of us have been busy raiding Dungeons all this time, so we failed to meet up with you. Now, however, we are already clear on the Guilds situation. The few of us here have unanimously decided to support you fully. If Cao Chenghua dares to try to split up Ouroboros, he will have to go through us first before he can do so, the leading Shield Warrior declared, chuckling. Now that Zero Wing had defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, a super-first-rate Guild, its fame and status in Gods Domain were naturally far different from before. Prior to Zero Wings appearance, the upper managers of various large Guilds were secretly doing their best to forge connections with Super Guilds to increase their authority inside their own Guilds. Many large Guilds had even taken the initiative to curry favor with Super Guilds to obtain the protection of these Super Guilds. That way, if other Guilds wanted to make a move on them, these Guilds would have to think twice before taking action against them. After all, nobody wished to incur the anger of a Super Guild. Meanwhile, now that Zero Wing had defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the consequences were obvious. In the future, Zero Wing might very well become another super-first-rate Guild. When a man became powerful, those near him could ride on his coattails to success as well. Since Gentle Snow was an ally of Zero Wing, that meant that Gentle Snow had the support of what amounted to a super-first-rate Guild. As long as one was not a fool, they would know which side they should choose. \--- White River City, Zero Wings Residence: Guild Leader, Ive already tallied up the results of the war. Here are the statistics, Aqua Rose said, a smile on her face as she handed over a list of data to Shi Feng. How could there be so many?! Weve really made a fortune this time! The corners of Shi Fengs lips twitched slightly when he looked at the list. 559 Growing Stronger The number of equipment on the statistical list exceeded 20,000. Most of the equipment originally belonged to the Zero Wing members who had participated in the war, so those had to be returned. In addition, they had to take into account the reward for killing enemy players as well as death subsidies. However, even after deducting all the necessary expenses, they still had over 5,000 pieces of equipment remaining. Initially, Shi Feng thought Zero Wing would only gain a slight profit from this war. After all, Zero Wings army of over 10,000 elites had practically suffered complete annihilation; only a few hundred elites remained alive at the end of the war. As for the Tier 1 core members, only several dozens survived. The compensation for the losses of over 10,000 elite members and hundreds of core members was astronomical. Having a surplus of more than 5,000 pieces of equipment surpassed Shi Fengs expectations entirely. We are fortunate that the Pavilion members equipment is of excellent quality, unlike the previous battles we fought before when there were barely enough spoils of war to go around, even though our losses were not significant back then. At this moment, Aqua Rose was overjoyed. The Guilds they had fought in the past were much poorer compared to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The enemy Guilds back then consisted mostly of ordinary players, with only a small number of elite players; the equipment they could drop was naturally of low quality. Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment was considered top-tier goods for those Guilds. Now, however, the enemies they had killed were the elites and experts of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Naturally, the items they dropped were on an entirely different level in terms of quality. The majority of the equipment worn by the Pavilions elite members was Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment, with the weakest being Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and the strongest being Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment. As for the members of the War Dragon Legion, all the equipment they wore was Level 25, with the majority being Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, and the weakest being Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. A few legionnaires even had Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. Naturally, the items they dropped were astounding. Currently, Level 20 Bronze Equipment was being sold for around 20 Silver. Even Mysterious-Iron Equipment sold for around 40 Silver only. However, the prices for Secret-Silver Equipment was a different story altogether. With the difference of just one rank, the price increased from around 40 Silver straight up to around 90 Silver. If it were Secret-Silver Equipment meant for MTs, the price would go further, up to 1 Gold 20 Silver. This disparity was mainly due to the sheer difficulty in obtaining Secret-Silver Equipment. In Level 20, six-man Party Dungeons, even at Hell Mode, there was only a fixed chance for Secret-Silver Equipment to drop. Only ten-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons would drop Secret-Silver Equipment with 100% certainty, with a small chance of dropping Fine-Gold Equipment. Most players in Gods Domain were just beginning to raid Level 20, ten-man Team Dungeons, and the number of teams that could raid Hell Mode was very low. With the tight supply of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment, it was only natural for prices to be a lot higher. As for Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment, its prices were even more inflated. Each piece of such equipment sold for at least four Gold. Normally, only 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons would drop Fine-Gold Equipment with 100% certainty. Meanwhile, there was only a fixed chance for one to drop in Hard Mode. Hence, Fine-Gold Equipment was much rarer, and its price much higher. If Level 20 equipment was already like this, there was no need to mention Level 25 equipment. For equipment, although an increase in one rank was equivalent to an increase in five Levels, Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment was much more expensive than Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment. At present, each piece sold for five Gold or more. Moreover, the supply of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment on the market was extremely limited. People usually circulated such equipment within their own inner circles, and players would have to rely on their connections to purchase one. As for Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, they were considered the best equipment currently available in Gods Domain. Setting aside the fact that nobody would sell such equipment in the first place, if there were some available for sale, the price would be at least fifteen Gold. Currently, among the 5,000-plus pieces of equipment in Shi Fengs hands, there were over 2,000 pieces of Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and over 2,000 pieces of Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment. As for the remainder, over 600 pieces were Level 20 Fine-Gold Equipment, over 400 were Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment, over 150 were Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, and a total of twelve pieces were Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. If converted to Coins, all this equipment would be worth more than 10,000 Gold. After fighting a single war, Zero Wing had made a pure profit of over 10,000 Gold. Any Guild would be celebrating after such a harvest. Not to mention, even if a Guild had 10,000 Gold, it would not be able to obtain so many pieces of equipment. If a Guild wished to develop quickly, other than having experts leading its members, it was also essential to have equipment in the Guilds Warehouse. The amount of equipment a Guild possessed determined the number of members it could sustain. Now that Shi Feng had received such a huge influx of equipment, he could definitely advance Zero Wing further, absorbing even more members into the Guild. Guild Leader, should I place the equipment into the Guilds Warehouse? Aqua Rose asked. Organize them and place the ones with good Attributes into the Guilds Warehouse. Hand over the remainder to Melancholic for sale, Shi Feng instructed after giving her question some thought. A majority of the current players had already reached Level 20 or above. Those who hadnt reached Level 20 were either new to Gods Domain, or just ordinary Lifestyle players. Meanwhile, all the elite members in Zero Wing were Level 25 or above, whereas ordinary members were either Level 23 or Level 24. Hence, their demand for Level 20 equipment was not particularly high. Level 20 equipment was currently considered mainstream equipment in Gods Domain. Its popularity just happened to be at its peak. After more time passed, Level 20 equipment would grow obsolete and lose its value. Hence, now was the best time to sell their excess equipment and maximize their profit. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm continued to expand every day. However, the variety of goods the Firm sold was still insufficient. There was a limit to the number of players the Firm could attract just by relying on the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits and Light Stones. Only when the Firm could sell good equipment in large quantities would it truly be able to hold its ground in Star-Moon Kingdom. In Shi Fengs previous life, many trading firms would sell the Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold and even Dark-Gold Equipment produced by its forgers. Only by following that example could the Candlelight Trading Firm maintain its Shops competitiveness. Soon after, Shi Feng logged out of the game to rest. \--- Time passed slowly. On the day after the great battle The atmosphere surrounding White River City was no longer oppressive like before, and many players on the streets had begun talking about yesterdays war. Damn! I cant believe that, while I was at work during the day[1], the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was actually defeated! I know right? Zero Wing is OP now. If even a super-first-rate Guild is helpless against it, it would be even more impossible for other Guilds. It is a huge pity that you did not get to watch that battle. That Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion really deserves its title as a super-first-rate Guild. The number of experts they sent over yesterday could easily overwhelm any first-rate Guild! However, Zero Wing still came out on top! Nobody could have imagined that they actually had such a powerful NPC guard; that one NPC killed hundreds of top-tier experts all by himself! My eyes nearly fell out when I saw that scene back then! Now that Zero Wing has defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it will definitely become even more powerful in the future. I heard that Zero Wing has begun mass recruitment again. I failed their test the last time. I wonder if I can pass it this time? Previously, I thought about trying to join a Super Guild. Now, however, it seems that there wont be a need to do so. Ill go with you to apply for the test. The independent players filling the streets and alleyways of White River City talked fervently about Zero Wing, a fire of anticipation burning in their eyes. These players felt proud just thinking about residing in the same city as Zero Wing, a Guild capable of contending against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Compared to those flamboyant first-rate Guilds, Zero Wing was far more powerful. In reality, such a reaction wasnt limited to just the players of White River City. The independent players of many other cities, other kingdoms even, began migrating to White River City one after another, every one of them hoping to join Zero Wing. In just half a days time, Zero Wing completely recovered to its original strength. The number of elite players Zero Wing had right now was even higher than before the war with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. TL Notes: [1] Reminder: daytime in reality is nighttime in Gods Domain. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion attacked during the night. 560 Times Have Changed Normally, the Guilds involved in a Guild War would have to undergo a protracted recovery before they could regain their peak. However, after Zero Wings miraculous victory over the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, its prestige throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom soared. At this moment, not even the few first-rate Guilds based in Star-Moon Kingdom were a match for it. As a result, a large number of independent players swarmed to White River City in order to join Zero Wing. In no time at all, Zero Wing went from being an ordinary Guild with 50,000 members to a large Guild with over 80,000 members. Moreover, this was after Zero Wing increased the difficulty of its recruitment test. Most importantly, this number was still rising rapidly, with no signs of slowing down at all. Zero Wings development speed rendered the various large Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom speechless. Currently, Zero Wing could already be described using the term overcrowded. All of this was a result of Zero Wings future becoming limitless. Previously, although Zero Wing had attracted quite a lot of attention due to its various feats, at the end of the day, it was merely another small Guild that was a dime a dozen in Gods Domain. It was an existence that would disappear in an instant should it accidentally anger a large Guild. Hence, when independent players were choosing a Guild to join, the first ones they would consider were definitely those large Guilds instead of Zero Wing. Now, however, the situation had changed. Firstly, Zero Wing was already an existence that did not need to fear any other Guild. Secondly, the treatment and benefits Zero Wing provided surpassed even those of first-rate Guilds. Thirdly, there were all sorts of top-tier equipment available in the Guilds Warehouse. Just looking at the wide array of equipment would make one drool. Not to mention, the Guild Residence also had a large number of Private Rooms available for rent. Whether it was in terms of leveling speed or equipment upgrading speed, Zero Wing was much faster than every other Guild. With so many advantages, everyone would naturally hope to join Zero Wing. Arent you guys being too arrogant?! You defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions raid only once! Among the large number of independent teams out there, the combat power of our Flying Eagles team is definitely ranked above average! We will be highly valued even if we join a first-rate Guild! Yet, now that we are trying to join Zero Wing, only two of the ten of us managed to pass your test! Arent you looking down on us a little too much?! a Level 24 Guardian Knight demanded angrily. Thats right! We hurried over to this place from far away and have spent a lot of money on teleportation fees, all because we want to join Zero Wing! Cant you lower the difficulty of the test by just a little bit? a Level 23 Ranger complained. At the recruitment hall inside Zero Wings Residence, many players were voicing their discontent over Zero Wings recruitment test. This situation was giving Aqua Rose a huge headache as well. She could not understand why Shi Feng suddenly decided to raise the requirements despite these already being very high beforeeven higher than those of first-rate Guilds. Yet, now, Shi Feng raised that bar even further. He was practically trying to drive players away from the Guild Guild Leader, there are countless Guilds in Gods Domain, and all of them are frantically trying to recruit members. Now that we have defeated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, we have the perfect opportunity to develop quickly. If we dont take this chance to recruit a large number of players while we are still popular, it wont be as easy to do so in the future. Cant you lower the conditions a little? Aqua Rose asked. Most of the players who had come from other cities were relatively skilled players back in their own cities. However, in order to better develop themselves, they had come all the way to White River City specifically to join Zero Wing. One could say that these players were the cream of the crop of other cities, and rejecting them right now would be such a pity. I wont change this condition no matter what. Besides, I didnt invite them over; they came of their own free will. In any case, the condition is there. Once they pass it, they can naturally join the Guild. If they fail, there is nothing we can do about it. Zero Wings resources are limited. Our Guild isnt a garbage collection station. Moreover, Zero Wing is taking the path of the elite. There is no meaning in recruiting in bulk. Shi Feng showed no signs of regret at all. Slowly, he explained, You have seen it for yourself. During the war with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the War Dragon Legion nearly annihilated all our elites. If we did not have a large number of NPC guards to assist us, the War Dragon Legion might have wiped us out. Hence, what we need to do now is not to increase the number of members we have but to improve the quality of our members. Aqua Rose fell silent upon hearing Shi Fengs words. The gap between the two sides in that war was simply too vast. Not to mention the War Dragon Legion, even the standard of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions elite members was significantly higher than Zero Wings. Had the gap been smaller, Zero Wing would not have suffered such massive losses. Indeed, my mind mustve been clouded before. Ill carry out your orders immediately, then. After Shi Fengs lecture, Aqua Rose finally realized that shed had her head in the clouds out of joy from their victory. Zero Wing had always been taking the path of the elite. It was precisely because of this that the Guilds members managed to improve their strength so quickly. Despite having only 50,000 members, there were over 13,000 elite members in the Guild. This was a very frightening ratio. Moreover, Zero Wings success in developing from a small Guild with only several thousand members to a Guild with more elite members than even a second-rate Guild was all because every Guild member received a significant share of the Guilds resources. Following which, Shi Feng handed over all Zero Wing-related matters to Aqua Rose while he went to his forging room in the Candlelight Trading Firm. The demand for Intermediate Mana Armor Kits was just too high. The kits he had made several days ago were nearly sold out now, so he had to replenish the inventory immediately. During this period of time, Shi Feng had been constantly busy developing the Candlelight Trading Firm, so he did not have time to do anything else. Notably, the time limit for his Epic Quest, Darkness Descends, was nearly up. Fortunately, the Candlelight Trading Firm was already well-developed, and its fame had already spread throughout the entire kingdom. It would not take long to accumulate 30,000 Gold. \--- While a sea of players was applying to join Zero Wing, the situation on the Candlelight Trading Firms side was also getting out of hand. Currently, White River City was flourishing. It was no longer inferior to Star-Moon City. Moreover, during this period of time, the Candlelight Trading Firm had begun selling equipment in large quantities, enjoying great popularity from the public. As for the Overwhelming Trading Firm, it had already been left in the dust by now. Inside the lively Candlelight Trading Firm, the various large Guilds that had originally been planning to take advantage of Zero Wings misfortune had all gathered here once again. This time, however, no one displayed the arrogance they had before, and they were all following the rules of the Trading Firm to the letter. Guild Leader, do you really think Black Flame will be willing to meet us this time? Purple Eye asked as she looked at Galaxy Past. Since he has opened a trading firm, he will naturally want to do business. However, I am also not sure of Black Flames personality. Previously, he challenged the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion without hesitation. This time, he might really ignore us outright, Galaxy Past laughed bitterly. If I had known things would end up like this, I would have followed in Gentle Snows footsteps before. I heard that Gentle Snow managed to purchase quite a number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, and they have long since made preparations to raid 50-man large-scale Team Dungeons. Not only had the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion suffered a crushing defeat, but Nine Dragons Emperor was also forced to bring the War Dragon Legion back to the Pavilions main headquarters to recuperate. If even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion ended up in such a state, ordinary first-rate Guilds like them stood no chance against Zero Wing at all. Now, the only thing they could do was wait. \--- Shortly after Shi Feng began forging Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, Melancholic Smile entered his forging room. Guild Leader, many upper managers from first-rate Guilds have come to the Candlelight Trading Firm. This time, they wish to meet and have a proper discussion with you. When you will have the time to do so? Melancholic Smile asked softly. Theyre finally here? Shi Feng stopped what he was doing. Revealing a faint smile, he said, Lets head over there and take a look, then. 561 Business Overwhelming Smiles Guild Residence: Overwhelming Smiles upper echelons currently filled the magnificent meeting room. Every one of them wore depressed expressions. Sitting at the head of the table, Feng Xuanyang appeared utterly defeated. Zero Wings victory over the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had dealt a psychological blow to every member of Overwhelming Smile. Originally, nobody had believed that Zero Wing could survive the great war against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Now, however, Zero Wing was like the sun at high noon, and many Overwhelming Smile members in White River City had already considered withdrawing from the Guild. Ever since Overwhelming Smile began warring with Zero Wing, massive battles would ensue whenever the Guilds met outside the city. Previously, they had maintained a balance against Zero Wing, fighting on equal footing. Now, Zero Wing suppressed them completely. Their morale wasnt the only thing that fell with each consecutive fight; their Levels were decreasing rapidly as well. On the other hand, Zero Wing grew more valiant and stronger with every passing fight. Right now, Overwhelming Smiles members no longer dared don their Guilds Emblem when they left the city, deeply afraid that Zero Wings members would recognize them. As a result of this depressing situation, many players had begun withdrawing from Overwhelming Smile. \--- Why do I have such bad luck? Back in the day, I had been adamant about joining Overwhelming Smile. If I had known something like this would happen, I wouldve remained in Zero Wing. At the very least, I would have been a party leader there by now. I know, right? Even being a normal member would be fine, not to mention being a party leader! Many of Overwhelming Smiles members resting in the Guild Residence chatted among themselves. At this moment, the players that had defected from Zero Wing regretted their decision. It was especially true when they saw the Zero Wing members who had been less-skilled when they left that could now defeat them easily. After only half a day, more than 3,000 Overwhelming Smile members in White River City had withdrawn from the Guild due to Zero Wings recruitment. One could just imagine how huge of a blow this was to Overwhelming Smile. However, the most damaging aspect was that more players considered defecting as time passed; even some of Overwhelming Smiles middle managers began to express such inclinations. \--- Do any of you have any ideas of what we can do about this? Feng Xuanyang asked as he swept his gaze around the meeting room. However, none of the upper managers in the room answered Feng Xuanyangs question. They remained silent. It was not because they did not wish to answer Feng Xuanyang. Rather, they simply did not know what to say. Before this, their Guild had recruited players in bulk and had even poached plenty of elite players from Zero Wing. Even now, their Guilds member count greatly surpassed Zero Wing. However, when it came to an actual fight, they realized that having the advantage of numbers was of little to no use. Currently, whether it was in terms of Levels or equipment, Overwhelming Smile was no match for Zero Wing at all. Even its momentum was significantly slower than Zero Wings. What could they do in such a situation? Moreover, the war between their Guild and Zero Wing was like a bottomless pit. No matter how much money they tossed into that hole each day, they could not fill it. If they continued this fight, they would eventually have to disband the Guild altogether. A bunch of rubbish! Why do I even need you here?! Feng Xuanyang bellowed as he abruptly slammed his hand onto the table. Everyone in the room involuntarily lowered their heads, not daring to utter a single word. This wont do! I cant let things end just like this! Since the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has suffered defeat, it will definitely try to restore its reputation. Think of a way to make contact with the Pavilion! Feng Xuanyang said, a bloody glow flashing in his eyes. Angrily, he declared, If Underworld and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion join hands, I refuse to believe that we cant annihilate Zero Wing! \--- Meanwhile, in the Candlelight Trading Firms first-floor reception hall: The upper managers of various large Guilds had waited, unattended, for a long time now. This time, however, none of them dared to complain. Suddenly, the doors to the reception hall opened. Everyone inside the room turned their gazes towards the entrance, discovering Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile entering the hall leisurely. Immediately, the upper managers of the various large Guilds went up to Shi Feng and greeted him with friendly expressions on their faces. Their current attitude was completely different from what it had been in the past. I already know what your goal is by coming here. I can indeed sell you some Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. However, I have a condition. If you arent interested in my proposal, then you may just leave, Shi Feng said straightforwardly, showing no signs of appreciation everyones compliments. Hahaha! Guild Leader Black Flame, please, dont hold back! No one will complain even if you have ten conditions, much less one! Galaxy Past said, laughing. Right, right! Guild Leader Black Flame, tell us what your condition is! As long as it is within our capabilities, we will do it! the Branch Leader of Emperors Light followed up. The importance of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to Dungeon raids was extraordinary. Currently, although the various large Guilds present no longer had many problems raiding 20-man Team Dungeons, 50-man Team Dungeons were still forbidden lands for them. Meanwhile, it was precisely because Gentle Snow had managed to obtain a large number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits beforehand that she had gained the confidence to begin raiding a 50-man Team Dungeon. Ignoring all else, just the Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment and Set Equipment one could obtain already made a 50-man Team Dungeons quite attractive to Guilds. Not to mention, there were also various rare materials, forging designs, and other items. In Gods Domain, if a Guild wished to surpass others, what did they need? Wasnt it equipment? If one likened a 20-man Dungeon to a treasure chest, then a 50-man Team Dungeon was a mountain of treasure. Meanwhile, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit was the key to reaching this treasure mountain. Naturally, the various large Guilds present wished to obtain this key. Even if they had to pay a price, they could easily earn it all back from the Dungeons. Hence, the various large Guilds were very eager to obtain the kits. My condition is very simple. You will purchase each Intermediate Mana Armor Kit for 7 Gold and 100 Magic Crystals. This is a reasonable price, right? Shi Feng laughed. Players could easily obtain Magic Crystals from any Dungeon. Only, the amount one could obtain varied with each Dungeon. A Party Dungeon would drop very few pieces, while Team Dungeons would drop a little more. Currently, each Magic Crystal sold for around two or three Silver. The reason for such a low price was mainly due to the fact that Magic Crystals had few uses. They were normally only used in alchemy processes. However, as Guilds usually kept the Magic Crystals they obtained in their Warehouses, it was not easy to purchase them on the market. Hence, Shi Feng intended to trade for them. With a rough calculation, each Intermediate Mana Armor Kit would come to a total cost of 10 Gold. This price was twice as high as the Candlelight Trading Firm sold them for. Okay! No problem! Hahaha! Guild Leader Black Flame, I have no issues with this condition! I wonder how many kits Guild Leader Black Flame is willing to sell? The various Guild representatives immediately revealed joyous smiles. None of them had expected for Shi Feng to put forward such a cheap request. Currently, although the Candlelight Trading Firm sold the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit for 5 Gold per kit, on the black market, however, they cost more than 10 Gold each. Even then, the demand for the kits still outstripped the supply. Now, they could buy the kits directly for 10 Gold each. Immediately, the upper managers of the various large Guilds began voicing their requested volume. I want 120 kits! I want 300 kits! I want 150! Every one of these upper managers could not help but wish they could empty the Candlelight Trading Firms stock of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Among them, the Star Alliance was the richest, with Galaxy Past purchasing 500 kits in one go. However, Shi Feng did not possess that many kits on hand at all. Hence, he had everyone sign a contract with him, requiring the pay upfront. With the system bearing witness to the contract, no one worried about any potential issues. Over a hundred Guilds willingly handed over the money they owed. As for the Magic Crystals, they had already sent their subordinates to ship the crystals over. In just a short moment, Shi Feng had earned over 30,000 Gold. Of course, this profit did not come without a price. Shi Feng was required to deliver the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits he owed within five days. 562 Divine Colosseum After the upper managers of the various large Guilds left the reception hall in high spirits, Melancholic Smile could no longer hold back as she asked, "Guild Leader, will it really be alright to sell so many Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to these Guilds? It would have been fine if it were the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. After all, the forging design for this item could be obtained through various means, so other forgers could produce them as well. However, the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit was different. Shi Feng was the only person who could forge them, so the items production was extremely limited. Moreover, they had only initially sold the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits with the intention of attracting business to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Now that the Candlelight Trading Firms business has begun to take shape, there was no need to use the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to attract more customers. By selling so many Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to other Guilds, it would only serve to strengthen these Guilds. This would just cause Zero Wing more trouble! Since we are a trading firm, why shouldnt we do business when the opportunity presents itself? Shi Feng laughed. Not to mention, Ive already made a huge profit. I should at least allow others to pick up some scraps, right? Huge profit? Melancholic Smile was confused. If we sell the same amount of kits through the black market secretly, we will make more than what we just did. However, my goal isnt just to earn Coins, but also Magic Crystals. Shi Feng explained, Currently, there are few uses for Magic Crystals. Moreover, they can only be obtained from Dungeons. However, the various large Guilds normally keep the Magic Crystals they obtained for themselves. So, if we had to point out who possesses the most Magic Crystals, it would have to be these large Guilds. But the Candlelight Trading Firm also has plenty of Magic Crystals. We even have an entire warehouse full of them right now. We have more than what we can use. Melancholic Smile grew even more confused. Have you forgotten the Simulation Device in the Special Forging Rooms? Shi Feng laughed. Immediately, Melancholic Smiles eyes glowed as she came to a realization. If one wished to use the Simulation Device, they needed to expend Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, the amount of Magic Crystals required varied depending on the materials simulated. The more precious a material was, the more Mana Crystals were required. A Simulation Device could allow a Lifestyle player to familiarize themselves with the production flow of an item swiftly, significantly increasing their success rate and production speed when it came to the real deal. Compared to experimenting and wasting actual materials, it was much cheaper to spend Magic Crystals. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm was developing in multiple cities. However, it severely lacked manpower, particularly Advanced Forging Apprentices and Basic Forgers who were capable of producing advanced products. Despite the Firms efforts in recruiting Lifestyle players from cities outside its sphere of influence, the number of players they had recruited was utterly insufficient. Currently, player demand for advanced products was growing exponentially. However, only Basic Forgers had a slightly higher success rate of producing items such as Level 20 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Advanced Forging Apprentices could not produce such items at all. As a result, the other trading firms throughout the entire Gods Domain were also desperately recruiting and poaching Basic Forgers. Unfortunately, becoming a true Forger was easier said than done. If one wanted to nurture a group of Basic Forgers, the money required to do so could bankrupt an ordinary small Guild. If the Candlelight Trading Firm wished to quickly nurture a batch of Advanced Forging Apprentices and Basic Forgers, utilizing the Simulation Device in the Special Forging Rooms would be the cheapest way to do so. Only, the amount of Magic Crystals required to sustain the Simulation Device for so many people would be astounding. Considering the situation again, Melancholic Smile found that the amount of Magic Crystals the Firm had stored away was indeed insufficient. Alright, in a moment, go and receive the Magic Crystals that those Guilds have sent. Ive also removed the restriction on the previously reserved Special Forging Room. You can allow players with strong potential to train there. Saying so, Shi Feng removed the restriction on the Special Forging Room. Right, you should also purchase some Magic Crystals from time to time. However, make sure not to attract too much attention when doing so lest people start hiking up the prices. Guild Leader, rest assured, I will send people to purchase them from other cities discreetly. I wont let others find out about this! Melancholic Smile nodded, smiling brightly. This was not the first time she had to do such a thing. Melancholic Smile then departed from the reception hall. I can only lie to her like this for now. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief as he watched Melancholic Smiles departing figure. In reality, he had an even greater purpose for collecting Magic Crystals in bulk. The Divine Colosseum! That was where Magic Crystals were truly valuable. In the past, everyone had treated Magic Crystals as garbage as, at the time, only certain items required Magic Crystals to produce. Moreover, these items required very few to produce. Hence, players would normally celebrate if they managed to sell the Magic Crystals they had obtained. However, nobody could have imagined that, the moment the Divine Colosseum opened, the prices of Magic Crystals would instantly soar by over six times. The Divine Colosseum allowed players to examine their strength, and it allowed players to undergo training provided by the system to improve their weaknesses. Moreover, one could also obtain rewards from battles in the Divine Colosseum. The Divine Colosseum also had many other functions. Due to the emergence of the Divine Colosseum, the players of Gods Domain had obtained a systematic promotion ladder that allowed them to become experts quickly. Hence, the Divine Colosseum had been very popular among players. Players were required to pay a fee in order to use the Divine Colosseum. However, one could not use Coins to make payments at the Colosseum, but Magic Crystals instead. Hence, prices of Magic Crystals skyrocketed upon the emergence of the Divine Colosseum. Even after a decade, Magic Crystals were still a powerful currency. They were worth as much as gold in reality. Otherwise, Shi Feng would not have foolishly use Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to trade for Magic Crystals. If possible, Shi Feng wished to turn all the Coins in his possession into Magic Crystals. By the time the Divine Colosseum activated, the 30,000 Gold in his hands would immediately become more than 100,000, or even 200,000, Gold. However, in order to avoid attracting suspicion, he could only purchase them slowly and secretly. Over the following two days, Shi Feng did not rest or log out of the game at all as he ceaselessly forged the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. By the time he had cleared his debt, he had risen from Level 30 to Level 32. He had actually managed to level up twice in two days. Moreover, this was after he had reached Level 30. If it were anyone else, they would not be able to rise by two Levels even after grinding for a whole week. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs Forging Proficiency had also risen to Intermediate Forger. During this period, both Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm developed rapidly. It was especially true for Zero Wing. The Guilds member count had finally broken past the 100,000 threshold, and it could finally be considered a large Guild in the truest sense. On the Candlelight Trading Firms side, thanks to the Simulation Device, the Firm had successfully nurtured several additional Basic Forgers during these past two days. As for the other Guilds, they had also begun their competition over 50-man Team Dungeons. However, the thing that surprised everyone was that Overwhelming Smile had taken the lead, becoming the first Guild to defeat the First Boss in a 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. As for Zero Wing, Aqua Roses team had only been the second to defeat the First Boss after relying on their superior equipment. The perceived failure had disheartened Aqua Rose. Shi Feng was not surprised at all. Overwhelming Smile had the aid of War Wolf, as well as several other true experts. In terms of the number of top-tier experts, Overwhelming Smile was far above Zero Wing. Moreover, 50-man Team Dungeons relied more on a players combat techniques than equipment. It was only natural for Aqua Roses team to lose. It should be about time to turn in the quest. Shi Feng looked at the Coins that filled his pockets. He could not help but look forward to the quest reward given by the Starstreak Trading Firm. As one part of an Epic Quest, it had been extremely difficult. If he had not possessed the Advanced Book of Magic, it would have been impossible for him to complete this phase of the quest. 563 Epic Treasure Ches Just as Shi Feng finished tidying up the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits he had forged and was about to head towards the Starstreak Trading Firm to complete his quest, Melancholic Smile suddenly rushed into the room, obviously agitated. Why the hurry? Did something big happened? Shi Feng could not help but ask. People from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion are here. Melancholic Smile hurriedly said, They say they must meet with you. Moreover, they wish to hand you an item personally. They say that this item will be a huge help to you, and if you do not take a look at it, you will regret it in the future. Regret it, huh? Shi Feng laughed. This Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion truly is interesting. Ive just defeated them, and already, theyre sending gifts? Lets go see what theyre up to, then. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. Although it had suffered massive losses in its war against Zero Wing, with the Pavilions background, it should have already recovered most of its losses. As for the possibility of the Pavilion starting another war with Zero Wing, that was highly unlikely. Hence, the fact that someone from the Pavilion had come looking for him confused Shi Feng. He had no idea of what the Pavilion was up to. After entering the reception room, Shi Feng noticed that the Pavilion had only sent one person to meet with him this time. However, the moment Shi Feng saw this person, he was immediately shocked. Why is she here? Shi Feng looked at the girl, who approached him slowly, the scene of many legendary wars that occurred in his previous life surfacing in his mind. This woman was none other than the protagonist of those legendary wars, Phoenix Rain. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was split into two Pavilions. One was the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion, while the other was the Phoenix Pavilion. Of the two, Nine Dragons Emperor controlled the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion, while Phoenix Rain managed the Phoenix Pavilion. Although Nine Dragons Emperor looked quite young, he had merely managed to retain his youth due to the technology of this era and exercise. In reality, Nine Dragons Emperors real age had long since passed 35. Even so, the fact that Nine Dragons Emperor had been able to become the Pavilion Master of a super-first-rate Guild at the age of 35 showed that he was a promising talent. However, Phoenix Rain was even more amazing. Despite still being in her early twenties, she had already become the Pavilion Master of the Phoenix Pavilion. In the past, her deeds in the virtual gaming world had been legendary. As a result, the time when Phoenix Rain had reigned over the Phoenix Pavilion had been hailed as the Pavilions golden age. During that time, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had rapidly grown stronger. At present, Phoenix Rain was the reason that everyone considered the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion as a Guild that was closest to becoming a Super Guild. Even the extraordinarily mysterious Great Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was willing to allow Phoenix Rain to succeed him, becoming the Great Pavilion Master. Currently, Phoenix Rain wore a bright red mages robe, the robe showcasing her exquisite figure. Every one of her actions carried an air of bewitchment, causing others to submit voluntarily. Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. This young woman is known as Phoenix Rain, the Phoenix Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Phoenix Rain beamed a flourishing smile at Shi Feng. This smile alone had captivated Melancholic Smile, who stood beside Shi Feng. As for Shi Feng himself, however, other than his initial surprise at seeing Phoenix Rain, he did not react even in the slightest to the womans mesmerizing smile. Seeing Shi Fengs reaction, Phoenix Rains smile became more pleasant as she said, Guild Leader Black Flame, lets have a seat and chat properly, shall we? Shi Feng nodded, his mind very calm. He did not treat Phoenix Rain as if she were some unreachable existence. Shi Fengs dull reaction was not because he had mental issues. Instead, his mind was far from ordinary. It was merely a smile. It was still not enough to make him blush or cause his heartbeat to quicken. Phoenix Pavilion Master, you previously mentioned a gift for me and that I will regret it if I dont take a look. May I know just what kind of item Phoenix Pavilion Master offers me? Shi Feng smiled calmly. Guild Leader Black Flame really is impatient. Weve only just met, yet, youre already so straightforward. I dont even know from where I should begin, Phoenix Rain complained as she sent Shi Feng a resentful gaze. Sighing, she said, However, since youve already asked, it would not be right to refuse. Phoenix Rain then took out a treasure chest that flashed with a purple glow, carefully placing it on the table. Behold! The moment Phoenix Rain said so, Melancholic Smile, who sat beside Shi Feng, was stupefied. This is an Epic Treasure Chest! Melancholic Smile dared not believe her own eyes. There were plenty of treasure chests in Gods Domain. However, the majority of them were Common Treasure Chests. One would be lucky if they encountered a Bronze Treasure Chest, whereas obtaining a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest would make them rich. If one encountered a Secret-Silver Chest, they would become the envy of many. As for Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Treasure Chests, Melancholic Smile had yet to see what they even looked like. Meanwhile, an Epic Treasure Chest was a legend. The purple glow surrounding the treasure chest before her was indeed the glow effect unique to an Epic ranked item. Hence, Melancholic Smile recognized it immediately. Correct; this is indeed an Epic Treasure Chest, Phoenix Rain said, her lips curled up into an enchanting smile. Unhurriedly, she said, Our Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion encountered this item accidentally. In order to obtain this chest, we sacrificed tens of thousands of lives. I wonder if Guild Leader Black Flame is satisfied with this gift? Phoenix Pavilion Master sure loves to joke. Im certain there is nobody in the entire Gods Domain who would not be tempted by an Epic Treasure Chest. Naturally, I am no exception. Shi Feng had also used Omniscient Eyes to appraise the treasure chest. There were no signs of forgery. This treasure chest before him was a bona fide Epic Treasure Chest. Shi Feng had only encountered Dark-Gold Treasure Chests several times by chance. As for an Epic Treasure Chest, this was also Shi Fengs first time encountering one in this life and his past. In the past, Shi Feng had never even heard of any news of Epic Treasure Chests. Thats right. He had not received even the slightest bit of information regarding Epic Treasure Chests. Shi Feng had even doubted that Epic Treasure Chests existed in Gods Domain. Now that Phoenix Rain had brought an Epic Treasure Chest as a gift for him, he wondered if he were dreaming. Dark Gold Treasure Chests had a fixed chance of containing an Epic item. What about an Epic Treasure Chest, then? Shi Feng did not even dare to think about it. At the very least, an Epic item would drop. There might even be an extremely tiny chance that it might contain a complete Legendary item. Legendary item... They were very limited in Gods Domain. In the past, every player who owned a Legendary item was an existence ranked at the games apex. Just owning the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragons Breath had allowed Shi Feng to have an unmatched advantage in terms of Attributes. Even a monstrous existence like Martial Dragon was forced into a stalemate against him. Moreover, he had been unable to use any of his Skills during that fight. If his Skills werent sealed, he could definitely beat the living daylights out of Martial Dragon if he activated Dragons Power. On the other hand, had Martial Dragon possessed a Legendary item, Zero Wing would have definitely perished in the war before. Im glad that it has attracted your attention. Initially, I was worried that Guild Leader Black Flame will not be satisfied with this. Phoenix Rain revealed an expression of relief. She looked nothing like a legend. Phoenix Pavilion Master, just tell me what you want. I dont believe that anyone would gift me an Epic Treasure Chest for no good reason, Shi Feng asked after calming down. Hahaha! Guild Leader Black Flame is indeed smart! There are no free lunches in this world. What I need Guild Leader Black Flames help with is simple. I would not ask you to do something that will displease you. Moreover, this matter offers no harm, only benefits, Phoenix Rain laughed. However, I will require you to sign a contract before I can tell you. Otherwise, we will have to forget about this altogether. Only, it would be a pity for this Epic Treasure Chest Shi Feng fell silent. He could not understand just what Phoenix Rain was trying to do. 564 Demon Queen Phoenix Rain did not grow anxious at the lack of response from Shi Feng. She simply sipped her black tea as she waited quietly for Shi Fengs answer. It was as if she were not afraid of Shi Feng rejecting her offer whatsoever. An Epic Treasure Chest was incredibly precious. One could say that it was far rarer than an Epic item. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had been lucky to stumble upon it by chance. To secure it, they had even paid a colossal price. As for what one could obtain from an Epic Treasure Chest? Even if an Epic item with bad Attributes dropped, its value would still be significant. There was no need to mention how much the chest would benefit a guild if it contained something even better than an Epic item. Just using it as a gimmick would allow a Guilds reputation to soar, not to mention letting an expert equip it and enter a Dungeon. As there was a limited number of players allowed to enter a Dungeon at a single time, the quality of players entering a Dungeon would significantly impact the raiding progression. If a Guild allowed one of its experts to equip an Epic item, the total damage of any team said expert joined would instantly rise to a whole new level. Naturally, the teams raid progression would be much faster than other Guilds, having a significantly higher chance of obtaining the First Clear of a Dungeon. The team could also challenge Dungeons that other Guilds found impossible to raid. The amount of money one could save from the losses the team suffered while raiding the Dungeon would be massive. No Guild with any ambition would let this golden opportunity slip through their fingers, much less the extraordinarily ambitious Zero Wing. Can Phoenix Pavilion Master tell me the method to open this Epic Treasure Chest? Shi Feng asked after pondering for some time. Although it was his first time seeing an Epic Treasure Chest, he had not forgotten the treasure chests traits due to his excitement. In Gods Domain, the higher ranked a treasure chest was, the more difficult it would be to open. Although Shi Feng had no idea how stringent the conditions were to open an Epic Treasure Chest, he knew that even a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest required a key. It was impossible that an Epic Treasure Chest would have no requirements. The moment Shi Feng asked this question, Phoenix Rain could not help but carefully reevaluate her opinion of Shi Feng. I did not expect Guild Leader Black Flame to remain so calm despite seeing an Epic Treasure Chest. It would seem that Nine Dragons Emperor did not lose without reason, Phoenix Rain praised. Any ordinary persons first reaction when seeing a treasure chest would be to claim it for themselves. Even the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, someone who had undergone the tempering of many storms, would grow excited should they encounter an Epic Treasure Chest. It was simply impossible to stay calm. After all, the potential benefits one could gain from an Epic Treasure Chest were almost limitless, so much so that it could be the turning point of a Guild. Hence, how could anyone possibly stay calm when an Epic Treasure Chest was within their reach? Yet, Shi Feng had not forgotten the fact that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Indeed, just as Guild Leader Black Flame has surmised, there is a condition to open this Epic Treasure Chest. However, this condition should not be difficult for a Guild like Zero Wing to meet. Even if it isnt possible now, it will be in the future. It is only a matter of time. Phoenix Rain came clean without trying to hide anything. May I know what the condition is for opening this treasure chest? Shi Feng smiled bitterly. How could he not tell that Phoenix Rain was trying to hide something? This was an Epic Treasure Chest! Just a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest already required a Dark-Gold ranked key to open it. However, a Dark-Gold Key was even rarer than the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest itself. If an Epic Treasure Chest required an Epic Key to open, Shi Feng could do without it. Phoenix Rain frowned slightly. She did not think Shi Feng would be so adamant for an answer. Although an Epic Treasure Chest was indeed tempting, she had held the chest for a long time now. Unfortunately, she had no way to open it and could only stare blankly at the glowing chest. Otherwise, who would possibly use such a priceless item as a bargaining chip? However, she never expected that Shi Feng would not take her bait Hah Forget it. I believe that, if I dont tell you, you will most likely refuse to negotiate, Phoenix Rain sighed. Truth be told, the condition for opening this treasure chest is relatively simple. One only needs to gather eighty-eight Mana Stones. I have investigated the Mana Stones somewhat. They only drop from 100-man Dungeons with a certain probability. Of course, it will not be possible to gather eighty-eight pieces within a short time. However, with Zero Wings strength, collecting them will only be a matter of time, right? Mana Stones? Shi Feng hurriedly suppressed the excitement in his heart, not daring to reveal it. I have also heard of this item before. However, I heard that they are extremely rare. Obtaining just one would require a tremendous amount of effort, let alone eighty-eight. At the very least, it would take several months to collect that many. Previously, in order to remove the seal on the Destroyer of Immortality, he had discovered a method to obtain Mana Stones that did not require raiding 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Although eighty-eight Mana Stones was not a small amount, and he would be required to spend a lot of money, it was still much easier than trying to obtain them from 100-man Dungeons, betting on that meager 2% drop rate. Guild Leader Black Flame, although you will only be able to open the treasure chest after one or two months, an Epic item will still be extremely rare after that much time has passed. Not to mention, Epic items arent the only thing you can obtain from an Epic Treasure Chest. If Guild Leader Black Flame obtains a Legendary item, at that time, you will have truly made a fortune, Phoenix Raid hurriedly explained when she saw Shi Fengs disappointed expression. You are correct. However Shi Feng muttered, revealing a troubled expression. However, when he saw Phoenix Rain trying her best to push the treasure chest onto him, he was inwardly exhilarated. Indeed, just as Phoenix Rain had said, in the past, even after three months since Gods Domain launched, Dark-Gold items were still as rare as a phoenixs feather, not to mention Epic items. Back then, only Super Guilds and a few extremely lucky Guilds possessed Epic items. As for Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items, there had been no news whatsoever about these items. If Shi Feng could obtain an Epic item in three months time, he would make a huge fortune. After all, one could continue to use an Epic item to a very high Level. There was no need to worry about it becoming obsolete during the initial stages of the game. Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that my request of you will not be difficult to complete. Moreover, it is something that will benefit you as well. I even offer you this Epic Treasure Chest as a gift. Yet, you still try to make excuses to put me off. Are you really that afraid that I will eat you up? Phoenix Rain smiled brightly, revealing a charming expression. Watching Phoenix Rain act in such a way, even Shi Feng felt his willpower faltering. She really is deserving her title as the Demon Queen, Shi Feng inwardly sighed. If anyone else stood in his place right now, Phoenix Rain might have conquered them already. Although Phoenix Rain appeared charming and gentle on the surface, her beauty and melodic voice capable of even toppling cities and countries, Shi Feng knew just how terrifying the woman was. If anyone dared write her off as a pinup, they must suffer some sort of brain damage. Even the insufferably arrogant Nine Dragons Emperor feared Phoenix Rain. After pretending to hesitate repeatedly, Shi Feng finally slapped his thigh and said, Alright, then. I agree to your proposal. However, if the conditions you state are, in any way, unfavorable to Zero Wing or the Candlelight Trading Firm, I can only apologize to you in advance. I knew Guild Leader Black Flame would be a pleasant person to work with! Phoenix Rain hurriedly said. However, I dont want others to know about this matter; only you and I are allowed to know. May we move to a more private location? Okay, follow me, then. Saying so, Shi Feng led Phoenix Rain to a VIP reception room. The room offered luxury and comfort. Moreover, it was also not possible for others to listen in on their conversation. 565 The Offer The VIP reception room on the second floor was like an entirely different world. The rich fragrance of flowers and the chirping of birds filled the room. One could also see green mountains and blue creeks in the distance. The space inside this room looked just like the garden in paradise. As expected of a 2-star Shop. It actually offers such an impressive location, Phoenix Rain expressed her admiration as she surveyed her surroundings. If Phoenix Pavilion Master likes it, you can easily obtain one for yourself. Although a 1-star Shop has less space and available environments to choose from, this garden environment is also available in a 1-star Shop, Shi Feng laughed. Gods Domain was not considered a different world without reason. While nearly everything that could be found in the real world existed in Gods Domain, things that did not exist in the real world could also be found here. In Gods Domain, the available activities were not limited to just killing monsters and leveling up. They could also enjoy a leisurely life here. However, the extremely realistic sensations that Gods Domain offered was not its most attractive aspect. Instead, it was the time dilation. This was the greatest scientific creation of mankind in this century, and only Gods Domain had managed to implement this function. No other virtual reality game had achieved this feat. This was also the main reason for Gods Domains popularity. The flow of time in Gods Domain was twice as slow as that in the real world. In other words, Gods Domains players could theoretically live twice as long as ordinary people in the real world. Moreover, activities such as learning, relaxation, and resting could all be done in Gods Domain. People could have more time to do what they wished inside the game world. In the real world, there were only 24 hours in a single day. An ordinary student like Shi Feng would normally commit five or six hours of their day to study. Sleep also occupied roughly nine hours. After deducting the time spent eating and other necessary activities to sustain ones life, a student like Shi Feng would only have around five or six hours of free time. Meanwhile, each day in Gods Domain had 48 hours! In other words, a student in Gods Domain could possibly have up to 30 hours of free time, five times that of ordinary people. Who wouldnt want to live such a life? Not to mention, the Main God System was constantly expanding the world of Gods Domain, allowing this virtual world to become more realistic, interesting, and mysterious. Who wouldnt be tempted by something like this? Guild Leader Black Flame must be joking. Although I really wish to obtain a house like this for myself, unfortunately, Ordinary Shops are no good. Such an environment is only available in Luxury Shops. Meanwhile, constructing a Luxury Shop requires 1,000 Gold. I already wish I could spend 1,000 Gold as if it were 2,000, so where would I possibly find so much money laying around to construct a Luxury Shop? Phoenix Rain shook her head, a hint of disappointment flashing in her eyes as she surveyed the rooms elegance. Even large Guilds had their own troubles to face. A small Guild had few members, so it was relatively easy to manage. Thus, the Guild required less money to sustain it. On the other hand, it was extremely complex to manage a large Guild that had a large number of members. A super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was even more frightening. There were many aspects that required money. It was especially true during the initial stages of the game. It was like investing into a bottomless pit. Fortunately, Guild Residences allowed the Pavilion to earn some money through Guild Quests. In addition, the trading firms and the raiding teams that had already taken shape had also begun to profit the Pavilion, allowing them to invest less as a result. However, in terms of extravagance, no one throughout all of Gods Domain could compete with the Candlelight Trading Firm. Phoenix Pavilion Master, nobody will be able to listen in on our conversation here. You should be able to state your condition now, right? Although Phoenix Rain had presented herself weak all this time, Shi Feng refused to believe that the woman was as simple as she made herself out to be. For just one simple condition, she had personally run all the way from the Black Dragon Empire to White River City and had even gifted him an Epic Treasure Chest. Before I reveal it, I hope that you will first sign this confidentiality contract, Phoenix Rain said. She then revealed a contract that she had prepared, placing it on the table. Quite seriously, she said, It is not that I do not believe Guild Leader Black Flame, but this matter is simply too important to take risks. If a third party discovered this situation, it would not benefit either of us. Shi Feng picked up the contract and gave it a careful read. Indeed, it was a very common confidentiality contract. Under the surveillance of the Main God System, it was impossible to reveal any secrets covered by a confidentiality contract in the game. Of course, the Main God System could not control any leaks in the real world. Arent you afraid that I will reveal it outside of Gods Domain? Shi Feng asked. I believe that Guild Leader Black Flame is an intelligent person, so please dont ask such a foolish question, Phoenix Rain said, her hand covering her mouth as she chuckled softly. It was just a joke. Shi Feng then signed the contract. The moment Shi Feng finished his signature, the notification sound of the system immediately rang by his ears. System: Contract established. If either party violates the contract, the violator will be banished from Gods Domain. Although the systems female voice sounded crisp and pleasing, its words would give anyone goosebumps. Banished from Gods Domain. Moreover, there was only one condition. Any player who wished to live in Gods Domain would not dare violate this condition. After hearing the system notification, Phoenix Rain smiled at Shi Feng as she said, In reality, my condition is very simple. I just wish to obtain a portion of the Candlelight Trading Firms shares, but in my own name, not the Phoenix Pavilions and, even more so, not the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions. Of course, I will provide even more benefits. The simplest would be Land for Shops. You should know that Reputation is required to purchase a good plot of Land in every city. Although one can obtain it through sub-sales, the strategic plots of Land in every city are not something an ordinary Guild can obtain easily. Currently, Zero Wing might have secured the best plots of Land available in Star-Moon Kingdoms two largest cities, what about the important cities in other countries? If the Candlelight Trading Firm is to grow, it will require a larger market. I am sure that you will not be satisfied with just ruling over these two cities, right? I can provide this convenience. I can allow the Candlelight Trading Firm to obtain the valuable plots of Land available in the main cities of many kingdoms and empires. In addition, I also have plenty of connections that can enable you to obtain raw materials cheaply, as well as provide you with the forging designs and recipes obtainable from Dungeons. You wont have to worry about collecting and purchasing these things yourself. Of course, this matter will be carried out discreetly. I will not reveal my involvement. More importantly, I am not your enemy. Nine Dragons Emperor might have a grudge against you, but I do not stand with him. To be more precise, I stand with you. May I know what Guild Leader Black Flame thinks of my proposal? At this moment, Shi Feng was silent. Phoenix Rains proposal was indeed generous. A super-first-rate Guilds background was extraordinary. Compared to him, Phoenix Rain would have a much easier time obtaining the golden Lands of the major cities in the various kingdoms and empires. Moreover, it was also impossible for him to get players of other kingdoms to resell their Lands. Nobody would be so foolish as to give away their benefits to someone else, particularly to the Candlelight Trading Firm, a trading firm with massive advantages. Moreover, just as Phoenix Rain had said, she was not his enemy. On the surface, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion might seem like a single Guild, but in reality, the Pavilion was two Guilds joined as one. If not for that mysterious Great Pavilion Master maintaining the balance, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion might immediately break into two separate Guilds. How many shares do you want? Shi Feng asked. Since it is I who have come in search of Guild Leader Black Flame for cooperation, I will leave that decision up to you! Phoenix Rain giggled. I believe that, after seeing my sincerity, based on Guild Leader Black Flames personality and reputation, you will not take advantage of this young lady, right? 566 Epic Treasure Chest Secured Shi Feng fell silent upon hearing Phoenix Rains words. Negotiations were normal when one sought cooperation, and people would normally strive to obtain the greatest benefits for themselves. This might seem like a smart move, but contrary to popular belief, it placed one at a disadvantage. As neither side knew the other partys bottom line, the one to make the first offer would reveal their bottom line to their opponent. Moreover, after Phoenix Rain had said as much, how could he possibly take advantage of her? Even after a long moment, Shi Feng did not answer. However, Phoenix Rain was not anxious in the slightest. On the contrary, she leisurely admired the scenery. Twenty percent. What do think? Shi Feng finally said after pondering for some time. Twenty percent? Phoenix Rain was stunned, looking at Shi Feng as if saying, Are you kidding me? The connections the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion possessed were exactly what the trading firm needed most, as having a wide range of connections meant that more people would purchase the trading firms products. Not to mention, the Candlelight Trading Firm would also get its hands on a large supply of raw materials, recipes, and forging designs. These were items that a trading firm lacked the most. Currently, although the Candlelight Trading Firms range of influence had grown quite wide, it only had control over two truly useful cities. One was White River City, while the other was Star-Moon City. If the Candlelight Trading Firm worked with her, it could spread its influence to dozens of major cities. The profit it could rake in at that time would surpass its current income dozens of times. Meanwhile, the only things the Candlelight Trading Firm could offer in this cooperation was Coins and products such as the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, Light Stones, and Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Aside from that, there was nothing special about the Candlelight Trading Firm. Yet, Shi Feng had only offered her 20% of the Firms shares. Normally, anyone else would willingly offer 50%, or even 60%, of the Firms shares. Thats right, 20%. This is the most that I can offer. If you cannot accept this amount, we can let it go at that, Shi Feng said earnestly. Phoenix Rain did not know that, before this, Shi Fengs offer to Gentle Snow was only 15% of Zero Wings shares. Moreover, this included the annexation of Ouroboros. Although Phoenix Rain could provide far more connections than Ouroboros, currently, such things were unnecessary to Shi Feng. Cooperating with Phoenix Rain would provide him with a massive advantage during the early stages of the game. However, at its core, a trading firm relied not on connections, but on the products it sold. To become iron, the metal itself must be strong. Take the Overwhelming Trading Firm for example. Even though it possessed more connections than the Candlelight Trading Firm, so what? If not for the Flame Dragon Potion, the Overwhelming Trading Firm would have long since lost its competitive edge. As long as a trading firm possessed a product unique to itself, there was no need to fear a lack of customers. For example, if the Candlelight Trading Firm sold an Epic item, even players from other kingdoms and empires would willingly foot the exorbitant teleportation fee to visit the Trading Firm. Most importantly, the Candlelight Trading Firm possessed an advantage that no other trading firm possessed, and that was the Special Workshops available only in 2-star Shops or above. With these Workshops, the Candlelight Trading Firm could nurture a large number of Forgers and other Lifestyle players. Not only was this method efficient, but it was also cost-efficient. Although it was a good thing to have many connections, it would be meaningless if the trading firm could not keep up with production. It was like looking at a treasure chest that one could not obtain. Both the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits and the Fire Dragon Potions had very low production volumes. The number of people that could actually purchase them was very low. The main reason behind the Candlelight Trading Firms triumph over the Overwhelming Trading Firm was mainly the common product known as Light Stones. Phoenix Rains offer was only icing on the cake. The fact that Shi Feng was willing to offer her 20% of the Candlelight Trading Firms shares was entirely because of the future development potential between them, not because of the immediate profits. Guild Leader Black Flame really is confident in the Candlelight Trading Firm. If so, I am relieved. Phoenix Rain smiled as she said, Alright, then. Since I was the one who told Guild Leader Black Flame to make the offer, I wont go back on my word. If its only 20%, so be it. When the time comes, I will send someone discreet to contact you. In addition, I will also send you reports on the cities of other kingdoms and empires. If Guild Leader Black Flame wishes to develop further in whichever city or require certain items, you can notify that person. That person will handle everything for you. Following which, the two signed a contract to seal the deal. Phoenix Rains decisiveness had surprised Shi Feng slightly. Phoenix Pavilion Master, dont you feel that you are suffering a loss here? Shi Feng asked, laughing. Any normal person would undoubtedly refuse such a seemingly harsh offer. They would choose to develop their own trading firm instead. At the very least, they would be in control of said trading firm. However, even after his firm statement, Phoenix Rain had accepted the offer without hesitation. A loss? Phoenix Rain shook her head. With an innocent gaze, she said, I dont feel that way at all because I can tell that you, Guild Leader Black Flame, feel yourself suffering an even greater loss. To put it bluntly, even though I have clearly offered you such benefits, you still dont seem to care all that much and have offered me such a low price. The only reason I can think of for such a reaction is that the Candlelight Trading Firm is still hiding some secret that I do not know of, and that its true value is much higher than what I have offered you today. In that case, shouldnt I be even more accepting of your offer? Phoenix Rains words left Shi Feng completely speechless. She was truly deserving her title as the Demon Queen. With her existence, it was no wonder why even Super Guilds had acknowledged the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions status. After Phoenix Rain quietly left Shi Feng looked at the Epic Treasure Chest left behind by Phoenix Rain, a grin appearing on his face. He was fully capable of opening the Epic Treasure Chest. Throughout this transaction, no matter how one looked at it, he was the one who had come out on top. If Phoenix Rain discovered this, she would certainly be disappointed. I wonder what kind of item I can get from an Epic Treasure Chest? Shi Feng muttered, anticipation growing in his heart. In his memories, he had never even heard of an Epic Treasure Chests. As for what he could obtain from one, he could only guess. Regardless of what item it was, it would be Epic ranked at the very least. However, how could a single Epic item satisfy him? In order to reap the greatest benefit from this Epic Treasure Chest, Shi Feng decided not to open it immediately, but to wait. The involvement of Luck when opening a treasure chest was too significant to ignore. Currently, Icaruss Heart was only Dark-Gold rank; it had yet to reach its evolution limit. Moreover, he was only a short distance from upgrading the necklace to Epic rank. With a little more time, he was confident that he could collect the remaining Life Force points required and upgrade the Icaruss Heart once more. After all, Dark-Gold rank was only the standards of mortals. Meanwhile, Epic rank belonged to the extraordinary. There was a qualitative difference between the two. When the Icaruss Heart reached Epic rank, it would provide far more Luck. His wisest option was to open the Epic Treasure Chest at that time. The first thing he needed to do was collect plenty of Magic Crystals. The Magic Crystals required to produce eighty-eight Mana Stones was no small number. Not to mention, there was also the Divine Colosseum, which would reveal itself in the future; that place was a bottomless pit meant for devouring Magic Crystals. Following which, Shi Feng stored away the Epic Treasure Chest and left the VIP reception room. He then headed towards the Starstreak Trading Firm. Originally, the Starstreak Trading Firm had been the most flourishing trading firm in White River City. However, with the rise of the Candlelight Trading Firm, the Starstreak Trading Firms popularity had begun to roll downhill. Currently, the only reason that players still visited this place was to purchase some common products that only NPCs sold. Even so, the Starstreak Trading Firm still offered Shi Feng a lot of benefits. An NPC had established the Starstreak Trading Firm. Including White River City, it had Shops in a total of eight cities. Moreover, unlike player-owned Shops, there was no city tax on the goods available in its Shops. Hence, Shi Feng still sold some advanced goods at the Starstreak Trading Firm, though that was only limited to the Shops located in cities without the Candlelight Trading Firm. Your Excellency Ye Feng, youve arrived, Anna, who was currently busy with work, hurriedly greeted Shi Feng when she saw him enter the Presidents Office. Yes, please notify President Henry and tell him that I have completed the task he entrusted me with. Shi Feng nodded in reply. He then said, However, I want to change my remuneration. 567 Give or Take As soon as Anna heard these words, she left the Presidents Office to invite President Henry over. After watching Anna leave, Shi Feng examined the documents on the table. These documents were the business listings of the Starstreak Trading Firms purchases, shipments, and other such dealings. However, all of these dealings had been organized by Anna herself. Anna was an NPC who possessed 91 Intelligence. Such NPCs were extremely rare in Gods Domain. If she became a guard, her potential would be nearly limitless. Hence, Shi Feng wished to negotiate with Henry. The quests that NPCs commissioned were not without room for change. It only depended on whether or not the player involved possessed the strength to make such changes. Previously, the reward they had agreed upon was a Tier 4 magic scroll that would allow him to reach the Dark Den easily and obtain the Bible of Darkness. However, Shi Feng felt that something was amiss. No matter how one looked at it, the task of managing the Starstreak Trading Firm was one part of an Epic Quest. The reward for completing it should not be limited to just the tool required to proceed to the next phase. If it were so, whats the difference between obtaining a reward and not obtaining one? Thus, Shi Feng felt that he could fight for more as there might be some mysteries hidden within. It was especially true for the assistant, Anna. After the battle with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the various large Guilds in Gods Domain had begun thinking of ways to obtain powerful NPC guards. However, how could powerful guards possibly be that easy to find? Take Anna for example. She was an extremely powerful guard. However, who would possibly believe that a weak and delicate young lady like her could become a guard with vast potential? If Shi Feng had not accidentally looked at Annas Attributes, he, too, would not have realized that she was so capable. If he allowed Anna to become an Adventurer, with her Intelligence, she could reach astonishing heights. Although she would not be as powerful as Kite, she might still become a Fine-Gold ranked guard. Dark-Gold ranked guards were legends in Gods Domain. Based on Shi Fengs understanding, only a few people had managed to recruit Dark-Gold ranked guards in the past. The guards owned by the majority of the players in the game were Bronze or Mysterious-Iron rank. Even finding a Secret-Silver ranked guard was considered lucky, not to mention Fine-Gold rank. Although a Fine-Gold ranked guard was not invincible against enemies of the same Tier and Level, it was still significantly stronger than monsters of the same Tier. Fighting players of the same Tier and Level would be even easier. Furthermore, Anna was a magical class. The majority of the NPCs in Gods Domain were physical classes; magical classes were very rare. Magical classes were different from physical classes. They could not be used against Bosses and could only attack from the rear line. To a Guild, however, a magical classs value far surpassed a physical class. Magical class NPCs knew plenty of AOE spells and possessed strategic-level large-scale destruction spells. In a Guild War or against Field Bosses, these NPCs were frightening existences. Hence, the various large Guilds would usually prioritize magical class NPCs as their Personal Guards. Because of this, on the market, the value of a Bronze ranked magical guard could rival even that of a Mysterious-Iron ranked physical guard. If Anna were a Fine-Gold ranked magical guard, she would be no less valuable than Kite. No matter what, I must obtain Anna. Shi Feng grew excited just thinking about it. As a Viscount, he only had two slots for Personal Guards. If he could fill those slots with a Dark-Gold ranked physical guard and a Fine-Gold ranked magical guard A combination like that would have scared people to death in his past life. With the presence of these two Personal Guards, defeating a Field Boss of the same Tier would be an effortless task. After Shi Feng had waited in the magnificent and grand Presidents Office for some time, the dignified and elegant President Henry entered the room. However, behind President Henry was a Level 180 Tier 3 Berserker. Shi Feng could not help but frown slightly. Whether it was among players or NPCs, a Tier 3 class was considered a big shot. In White River City, such an NPC would be at the same level as an overlord. Although the Starstreak Trading Firm was one of White River Citys top trading firms, it definitely could not afford to hire a Level 180 Berserker King as a guard. Your Excellency Ye Feng, you have truly surprised me. I did not expect that you would actually complete this quest so quickly! Henry chuckled. Here, allow me to introduce you. This man beside me is the Berserker King Schneider. He is an expert our trading firm has invited from Star-Moon City to annihilate the Black Scorpion Corps. Greetings, Your Majesty Schneider, I am Ye Feng, an Adventurer, Shi Feng introduced himself. In response, however, Schneider only glanced at Shi Feng without saying a word. He showed no signs of being interested in Shi Fengs acquaintance. However, Shi Feng was not bothered by Schneiders reaction. In truth, NPCs in Gods Domain were largely similar to real humans. A Tier 3 Berserker King NPC like Schneider was considered a powerful force in a city like White River City. On the other hand, Shi Feng was only a Tier 1 player. In Schneiders eyes, he was no different than an ant. Humans would not speak to ants. Schneiders attitude towards Shi Feng was normal. In the past, while Shi Feng had been working on a quest, even though he was a Tier 3 Sword King, a Tier 4 NPC had robbed him. One could say that Shi Feng had long since grown accustomed to such behavior. Of course, if Shi Feng were currently a Tier 3 player, Schneider would not be treating him so coldly. In the past virtual reality games, NPCs had always felt distant, detached. It felt as if NPCs and players lived in two different worlds. However, the NPCs of Gods Domain were different; they were extremely lifelike. If a player treated these NPCs as stupid and useless objects, then these NPCs would grant said player the full experience of passing through hell. May I know what Your Excellency wishes to discuss with me? Henry asked, not paying any heed to Shi Feng and Schneiders exchange. I want to make a deal with you, Shi Feng stated. Laughing, he continued, While I have been responsible for managing the Starstreak Trading Firm, Anna has helped me significantly. It was only because of her that I have lived up to your expectations and reached the goal of earning 30,000 Gold. Hence, I now wish to recruit Miss Anna as my personal assistant. Naturally, I am willing to pay the appropriate price. Aside from the 30,000 Gold you have requested, I am willing to offer an additional 3,000 Gold. May I know what you think of this offer? Anna, who stood beside Shi Feng, was stunned, her delicate mouth parting as she stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. The advanced NPCs working at the trading firm only made a monthly salary of several Gold. Yet, Shi Feng had offered 3,000 Gold to poach her. Anna wasnt the only person who was shocked. Even Schneider, who had paid Shi Feng no mind, was awestruck. As a Tier 3 Berserker King, he had only been offered 1,000 Gold to deal with the Black Scorpion Corps. That was enough to allow him to purchase an Epic item to increase his strength. Naturally, if he could recover the Starstreak Trading Firms stolen merchandise, he could earn a bonus. Even then, however, he would not earn as much as 3,000 Gold. At this moment, Schneider no longer looked at Shi Feng as if he were an ant; his gaze towards the layer had softened. Henry squinted his eyes as he evaluated Shi Feng carefully. After a short moment, he sighed, smiling as he said, Your Excellency Ye Feng, it is not that I do not wish to let Anna go, but our Starstreak Trading Firm simply cannot do without Anna. Just like how Your Excellency has taken a liking to Annas talent, it is only because of her that the Starstreak Trading Firm has its position today. Please forgive me for refusing your offer. Five thousand Gold! Shi Feng made a new offer without hesitation. To NPCs, this was an astronomical price. Such an amount of money was sufficient for the Starstreak Trading Firm to hire several hundred advanced NPCs. This wont do. As you can see, Anna is responsible for so much daily profit. For the sake of the trading firm, I am afraid I cannot accept your offer, Henry said, his expression revealing his struggle. Merchants were all about profits! This held true in both the real world and the virtual world. Six thousand Gold. I wont go any higher. If you still refuse my offer, I can only choose to hire Mister Schneider beside you and have him take Annas contract for me by force, Shi Feng said as he looked at Schneider, grinning. 568 Epic Ranked Tool The moment Shi Feng said these words, Schneiders eyes suddenly glowed. It was obvious that the Berserker King was tempted. The Starstreak Trading Firm had only offered him 1,000 Gold as remuneration for getting rid of the Black Scorpion Corps. However, the Captain of the Black Scorpion Corps was a Tier 3 expert. It would not be easy for him to secure a victory. Not to mention, the Captain of the Black Scorpion Corps also had plenty of underlings. On the other hand, taking a single contract from the President of the Starstreak Trading Firm would be childs play, and the remuneration he would obtain was six times what the Starstreak Trading Firm had offered him. Sure enough, there is room for negotiation in this quest. Seeing Schneiders tempted gaze, Shi Feng knew that he was in for a show. As one part of an Epic Quest, how could the final reward possibly be limited to a ticket leading to the next phase of the quest? Moreover, a Tier 3 NPC would be considered a big shot in whichever city they visited. Such a character would not appear in a small place like the Starstreak Trading Firm for no good reason. At this moment, Henry could no longer remain calm. Hurriedly, he said, Your Excellency Ye Feng must be joking. Since you are so sincere, I believe that Anna will have a better future if she follows Your Excellency. After Henry agreed, he immediately took out Annas contract. Shi Feng also handed over 36,000 Gold without hesitation. This was all of the capital currently in his possession. If not for the Candlelight Trading Firm and Guild Residence earning him quite a lot of money these past few days, he would not have had so many Coins. After this transaction, he was a pauper once more. However, Shi Feng did not mind. Coins were meant to be spent. Otherwise, by the time players reached higher levels, the value of Gold would depreciate. Moreover, this exchange had been a bargain. After all, he had only spent 6,000 Gold to obtain a possible Fine-Gold ranked guard. In the past, even Mysterious-Iron ranked physical guards went for over a thousand Gold; the price was equivalent to an Epic item of average quality. If it were a Secret-Silver physical guard, that price would multiply by tenfold, reaching over 10,000 Gold. Meanwhile, the cost for a Secret-Silver magical guard would multiply by another ten. In other words, the value of a Secret-Silver ranked magical guard was at least 100,000 Gold. Even so, the supply of Secret-Silver magical guards was practically nonexistent. Anyone who discovered such guards would keep them for their own. Nobody would be so foolish as to give a Secret-Silver magical guard away, to say nothing of Fine-Gold ranked guards. After Shi Feng obtained Annas contract, the sound of a system notification rang out by his ears. System: Annas Favorability towards you has increased by 30 points. Your Excellency Ye Feng, this is the Tier 4 magic scroll that President Henry promised you, Anna said as she revealed a tattered scroll surrounded by a flashing purple glow. Although the scroll looked worn, the magic power contained within caused even Schneider, a Tier 3 Berserker King, to palpitate with fear. There was even less of a need to mention Shi Feng, who was only a Tier 1 Blade Saint. The power within a Tier 4 magic scroll was the equivalent of a full-powered blow from a Tier 4 class. It could easily and heavily injure a Tier 4 class. It could even wound a Tier 5 class, not to mention Tier 3 classes or ant-like Tier 1 classes. A magic scroll that has survived through the ancient times is extraordinary. It can practically rival the strength of an Epic item. After receiving the scroll, Shi Feng examined the item. Immediately, he discovered just how powerful this Tier 4 magic scroll was. Shi Feng had seen plenty of Tier 3 magic scrolls and had also used many before. However, this was his first time seeing a Tier 4 magic scroll. Normally, magic scrolls were Consumable items; they would become useless after one use. However, this magic scroll that had been passed down from ancient times could be used multiple times. But there was a limit to how many times it could be used and conditions for each use. [Position Teleportation Scroll] (Tier 4 Magic Scroll) Allows player to move to any desired location (Unable to teleport to certain special locations). Can be used a maximum of ten times. After each usage, requires five Mana Stones to replenish the scrolls magic power. Cooldown: 3 days (Current uses 0/10) Ten uses In order words, it was the equivalent of having ten Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scrolls. This magic scroll was even more valuable than an ordinary Epic item. With this scroll, I can access areas that cant be reached with my current Level. Shi Feng stored the Position Teleportation Scroll with a satisfied expression, overjoyed. As a reincarnator, he knew many secret locations throughout Gods Domain. Only, he could not reach those locations due to the limitations of his current Level. However, with this Position Teleportation Scroll, he could easily travel to those secret areas that hid boundless treasures. Gods Domain was massive. The higher level a map was, the fewer teleportation magic arrays it would have. As for locations with bountiful opportunities and treasures, there were practically no teleportation arrays there. Players had to rely on their own two feet to reach these maps. Gods Domains Hidden Maps were an example. The system map would not display these areas, and players had to uncover these secrets on their own. Every secret location was a huge treasure trove. It was the equivalent of a large Field Dungeon. A Guild could raise its strength swiftly in these maps. Hence, scrambles over such secret locations had frequently happened in Shi Fengs previous life. There were also many Guilds that had risen to prominence due to these secret locations. However, it was not easy to travel to a secret location as one would encounter many dangers on their journey. Even an elite team had a high chance of facing complete annihilation, not to mention ordinary players. Only when players exceeded the Level of these maps could they adventure to some low-level treasured lands. Meanwhile, with the Position Teleportation Scroll, Shi Feng could teleport directly to his target. Although he would still face plenty of danger after arriving, he would face significantly less than he would by traveling there on foot. After completing the quest, Shi Feng did not hurry to complete the final phase of the Epic Quest Darkness Descends. Instead, he led Anna to the Adventurers Association. If players wished to recruit an NPC to serve as their guard, the NPC first needed an Adventurer class. However, most of the NPCs in Gods Domain were ordinary people. They did not possess an Adventurer class at all. Hence, if players wished to recruit such NPCs as their guards, they needed these NPCs to register at the Adventurers Association. At the same time, they were also required to select a specific class for these NPCs, allowing them to learn and train to become an Adventurer. Only then could these NPCs become a players guards. At this time, Shi Feng entered the Adventurers Associations main hall. Despite it being daytime right now, there was still a large number of players present. A simple glance told Shi Feng that there were several hundred players here. Of course, these players had not come to the Adventurers Association because they had too much time on their hands. They had all come here specifically for their NPC guards. Due to Zero Wings famous battle, many players had discovered a never-before-seen road to success. Even if their personal strength was lacking, they could nurture a guard to improve their own strength. If a player wanted to recruit a Personal Guard, they had to become a Baron in their city first. They would then obtain one slot to recruit a Personal Guard. However, a lot of time was required to become a Baron, and many players could not wait that long. Hence, they would first look for some NPCs they thought highly of and try to deepen their relationship with these NPCs. That way, by the time their Reputation reached a sufficient amount, they could immediately reach out to these NPCs and recruit them as their guards. In Gods Domain, the higher tiered an NPC was, the more difficult it would be for a player to deepen their relationship with said NPC. Of all the NPCs in Gods Domain, ordinary civilians were the easiest to form a relationship with. However, it was not easy for the inhabitants of Gods Domain to become Adventurers. If a player could help an ordinary civilian become an Adventurer, their relationship with said NPC would deepen significantly. Fortunately, players had that ability. Only, whether an NPC was actually capable of becoming an Adventurer depended on their own potential and Attributes, and this was information that players had no access to. In addition, players had a limited number of recommendations per week. After using up their recommendations, they had to wait another week before their chances refreshed. Therefore, when choosing ordinary NPCs, a players foresight was extremely important. If a player was unlucky, they could only search for other NPCs. If they were lucky, then they could begin deepening their relationship with said NPC earlier. There sure are a lot of people here. Shi Feng could not help but laugh bitterly when he saw the long line of over a hundred players. This could be considered a form of digging his own grave, right? 569 SSS Rank The Adventurers Associations review of an NPCs ability to become an Adventurer was a tedious one. The first evaluation was of the NPC-in-questions various Attributes, followed by a test for the NPCs suitability of the various classes. Only after these two tests were complete could the Adventurers Association determine whether an NPC was suited to become an Adventurer or not. In total, each NPCs review lasted roughly two minutes. Watching players happily enter the testing room with their chosen NPCs and leave in tears made many of the players in line grow anxious. Isnt the success rate a little too low? Out of the twenty people I have seen enter the testing room, only one came out with a successful result. And even then, the strength of that persons NPC was only mediocre. It really makes you wonder how Zero Wing managed to obtain such a powerful NPC, a male Cleric with a pointed nose said, sighing. It is possible that Zero Wing recruited an NPC who was already an Adventurer, to begin with. My teammates had already come here to recommend their own NPCs. However, only three of the chosen NPCs became Adventurers, though they received low ratings. They dont really have any significant potential, a burly male Berserker complained. Unfortunately, nobody on my team is even a Baron, so we cant recruit any guards or see the NPCs exact data. We can only confirm their standards based on the evaluation. I heard that the best guard Overwhelming Smile has managed to recruit is only Mysterious-Iron rank. I wonder if the NPC I that spent more than half a day searching for will become an Adventurer? If its a success, Ill make a fortune. The players queuing up to have their chosen NPCs tested discussed Zero Wings guard, Kite. They all hoped that they could luck out and encounter an NPC like him as well. At that time, luxury cars and beautiful ladies would be within their grasp. This was not an exaggeration. The various large Guilds purchased powerful guards through the virtual trade center at astronomical prices. Even Bronze guards sold for 100 Gold or so, whereas Mysterious-Iron guards sold for 500 Gold. As for Secret-Silver rank, the price would multiply by tenfold. If those Coins were converted to Credits, it was enough to allow an ordinary person to live the rest of their lives without working. However, even now, no one had offered any Mysterious-Iron guards for sale, much less Secret-Silver. A moment later, a Ranger left the testing room with an excited expression. Loudly flaunting to his own party members, he said, Hahaha! Lets head to the Rose Bar! Ill treat everyone to a cup of Icefire Wine! Rose Bar was one of White River Citys high-class bars. Meanwhile, the Icefire Wine was a must-try drink, and it was extremely popular among players. However, the drink was not cheap, with each cup costing 10 Silver. Even elite players only occasionally ordered a cup to sate their addiction. If they drank a cup every day, they would become a pauper very quickly. Sure, but what was your test result? one of the Rangers teammates asked curiously. My NPC can become an Adventurer. Moreover, he even obtained a B-rank rating for the Shield Warriors evaluation! They say hell become a powerful Shield Warrior in the future! the Ranger boasted. Lucky! This is by far the highest rating Ive heard of! Our partys success will rely on you in the future! an Elementalist said excitedly. The watching crowd looked at the Ranger enviously when they heard about his NPCs B-rank. They could not help but wish they could snatch the Rangers chosen NPC for themselves. Unfortunately, the Main God System had long since set it so that the NPCs that had been recommended by a player would receive protection. Within ten days, no other player could increase their Favorability with the NPC in question. Hence, it was not possible to steal an NPC from another player. A period of ten days was enough to allow a player to deepen their relationship with an NPC significantly. If one worked hard, they could even accumulate sufficient Reputation and become a Baron. Normally, in order for an NPC to become an Adventurer, they needed to receive a D-rank rating or higher on a particular class. B-rank rating? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. In truth, the evaluation given by the Adventurers Associations test could not completely determine an NPCs potential. It was only a rough estimation. It was just like how one would receive a Pass on a test, but in reality, the passing mark for the test ranged between 60 and 100 marks. The same principle applied to the Adventurers Associations test. The test was very general, so the final results would not always be accurate. It could only determine the upper limit of an NPCs potential, not their actual potential. Normally, NPCs that received a D-rank would end up a Common guard with limited Growth Potential. These NPCs were not worth the time it took to nurture them as Personal Guards. Only D-rank NPCs who were specialized in certain Attributes could become Bronze guards. However, the chances of finding those NPCs were very low. In other words, a D-rank NPCs potential ranged between Common and Bronze rank. However, only after these NPCs became guards would one know their exact Growth Potential. Meanwhile, C-rank NPCs could become Mysterious-Iron guards. As for B-rank NPCs, they had a strong chance of becoming Bronze guards and a certain probability to become Mysterious-Iron guards. There was also a relatively good chance for B-rank NPCs to become Secret-Silver guards. Unless one had somehow offended the Main God System in their previous lives, there was almost no chance for a B-rank NPC to end up a Common guard. Of course, A-rank stood above B-rank. Extremely few NPCs would receive this rating. Even in his previous life, Shi Feng had never personally encountered an NPC who had received an A-rank. An NPC with an A-rank was a dragon or phoenix among men. As for an A-rank NPCs potential range, it was between Bronze and Fine-Gold rank. In the past, out of all the NPCs he had recommended, the highest rating he had obtained was B-rank. After recruiting said NPC as his guard, he, fortunately, had ended up with a Secret-Silver guard. This time, however, Shi Feng already knew Annas Base Attributes. Based on his guards Attributes in his previous life, Shi Feng was sure that Anna would receive a very high rating. Lord Viscount, I apologize for the long wait. Please, follow me, the test officer said respectfully after glancing at Shi Feng. A Viscount was already a Grand Noble in White River City. They were far more powerful than ordinary nobles. Not only could they recruit 50 ordinary guards, but they also had two slots for Personal Guards. Shi Feng nodded and followed the test officer into the testing room. Lord Viscount, based on the Adventurers Associations rules, each test will cost you 10 Silver. As my lord is a Viscount of White River City, you can enjoy a 20% discount, so my lord only needs to pay 8 Silver per test, the test officer explained uneasily as he arrived before the test apparatus. Here. Shi Feng readily handed over 8 Silver Coins, inwardly cursing the Adventurers Association. Magic Crystals powered the test apparatus. How much was a Magic Crystal worth on the market? Moreover, each Magic Crystal could be used dozens of times. Yet, the Adventurers Association charged 10 Silver for every test. In other words, the Adventurers Association earned a profit of dozens of times the actual cost. It was far more profitable than any other industry. However, it was due to the fact players were required to spend money on many aspects of the game that allowed the Coins of Gods Domain to remain extremely rare and valuable. Following which, Anna walked up to the test apparatus and began her potential evaluation. Time seemed to crawl by. However, even after two full minutes had passed, the test apparatus had yet to produce a conclusion. On the contrary, due to the test apparatus consuming too much power, the test officer had no choice but to replace the Magic Crystal powering it. One crystal Two crystals In the end, Annas test used a total of five Magic Crystals. At this moment, the test officer had also turned pale. Meanwhile, the result displayed showed that Anna was suited to become a Summoner, and her rating for the class was SSS-rank! 570 Black Wizard Although the cost of five Magic Crystals had turned the test officers complexion a sickly shade of green, the lost Magic Crystals were of little importance compared to the final results of the evaluation. Is the test apparatus broken? The test officer hurriedly began checking the test apparatus. SSS-rank rating This was a rating never before seen in the history of White River City. Not even in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom had there ever been someone with an SSS-rank. Isnt the apparatus exaggerating the result a little too much?! Shi Feng was similarly skeptical. Based on what he remembered of his past life, even a decade after Gods Domains launch, there had never been an NPC who had received an SSS-rank. The maximum rating known to players was S-rank, and one could count such occurrences with their fingers. After an A-rank NPC officially became a guard, there was a possibility for them to become a Dark-Gold guard. However, the probability of this happening was so low that it was negligible. Only NPCs with S-rank ratings had a decent chance of becoming a Dark-Gold guard. Back when the first S-rank rating NPC appeared, the news had shaken Gods Domain, and many apex characters had fought fiercely to obtain said NPC. There was a 100% probability to nurture a Dark-Gold guard into a Tier 5 class. If one were willing to pay the price, there was even a possibility to nurture said NPC into a Tier 6 God-ranked guard. Back then, Tier 5 players were as rare as a phoenixs feather, not to mention Tier 6 God-ranked players. If a Tier 5 player emerged in a Guild, it would not be strange to see the Guild to celebrate for three days and three nights, not to mention obtaining a Tier 5 Personal Guard. A Tier 5 NPC was much stronger than a normal Tier 5 player. First of all, there was the difference in Attributes. In the absence of any equipment, the Base Attributes of an NPC were significantly higher than a players. The second reason was equipment. In Gods Domain, the equipment guards wore and that of players was different. Top-tier equipment for guards could be purchased from an NPC Shop, which included Epic Equipment and Set Equipment. If one were lucky, they could even purchase a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. In other words, one could purchase top-tier equipment for a guard as long as one could afford it. As for players? Players had to expend a ton of effort just to obtain Dark-Gold Equipment, not to mention Epic or Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Hence, as long as a Personal Guard became a Tier 5 class, their strength could immediately reach the peak of Tier 5. On the other hand, players had to obtain weapons, equipment, and other items that were suited to their Tier 5 classes, one piece at a time, slowly and gradually increase their strength. If the public knew of Annas SSS-rank, it would cause a sensation to sweep throughout the entire Gods Domain. It seems that I have truly hit the jackpot this time, Shi Feng said as he looked at Anna, who currently wore a blank expression, laughing. He only knew about the ratings reaching a maximum of S-rank. He had never heard anything about an SSS-rank. Such NPCs might have appeared in the past, but if the player involved did not reveal the information, who would know about it? Moreover, a majority of the powerful guards in the past had not been ordinary NPCs. Instead, these guards were directly recruited from NPCs who already possessed a class or high-tiered NPCs. After all, NPCs capable of reaching a high Tier were extraordinary in their own right; they would have vast Growth Potential, naturally. However, the higher tiered an NPC was, the more difficult it would be to recruit them. It would require a lot more time and effort. Although Shi Feng did not know how high Annas Growth Potential could reach, with an SSS-rank rating, at the very minimum, she should be a Fine-Gold guard. After some time passed, the test officer was finally certain that nothing was wrong with the test apparatus, and he could not help but turn to look at Anna in shock. There were also hints of reverence in the test officers gaze. Miss Anna, you are the first person in our White River Citys history to obtain an SSS-rank. According to the rules of the Adventurers Association, you are now an Honorary Elder of the association. We will prepare a suitable Epic Set Equipment as well as a Tier 1 Class Emblem for you. We will also dispatch a special instructor from the association to guide you. Please wait here for a moment. At this moment, the test officer addressed Anna with immense respect. He displayed even more humility in front of Shi Feng. To NPCs, Shi Feng was merely a Grand Noble. However, as someone with an SSS-rank, Anna was destined to become a peerless powerhouse in the future, the overlord of an area. She even possessed the status of an Honorary Elder in the Adventurers Association. No matter how one looked at it, Annas status far surpassed Shi Fengs. Lord Viscount, as the referrer, the Adventurers Association will also gift you a special reward. Please wait here for a moment as well. After saying so, the test officer rushed out of the testing room to contact the upper echelons of the Adventurers Association. Shi Feng then went to the VIP reception room next to the testing room. Time passed little by little. Players continued to enter and leave the testing room, one after another. Yet, despite very few players leaving with a smile, the stream of players arriving to recommend the NPC of their choice was endless. It would be great if I could obtain a test apparatus for myself. Shi Feng watched the line of players enviously. Compared to the money the Adventurers Association earned from conducting tests, the Candlelight Trading Firm only earned spare change. However, the precondition to earn money via tests was to set up an Adventurers Association of his own. Meanwhile, each city could only have one Adventurers Association. If players wished to construct an Adventurers Association of their own, they first needed to establish a town or city. After completing this quest, it should be about time to prepare. Shi Feng began to consider establishing his own city. If a large Guild wished to earn enough money to become self-sustaining, it needed its own territory. A Guild Residence was not enough; the Guild would need a town. This was also why, in the past, so many Guilds had fought each other to the bitter end. The profits a player-established city offered far exceeded anyones imagination. Compared to the money one could earn from constructing their own city, the money one could earn from setting up a trading firm was nothing. Only, it was extremely difficult for players to construct their own cities. Even if players succeeded, its defense was another big problem. Although Shi Feng could not yet construct his own city, he could prepare to do so. That way, by the time his Guild possessed sufficient strength, he could establish a small city of his own swiftly. Meanwhile, the biggest problem one would face when constructing a city was the various resources required. The manpower and material resources required could instantly bankrupt a first-rate Guild. This would be the case even for the current Zero Wing. Among the most important resources required were the forging designs for various buildings, magic array matrices, and so on. Without these key items, even if Shi Feng managed to gather the required wood, stones, and other raw materials, he could only stare at them. If he wanted to obtain these forging designs and magic array matrices, he would have to raid the dark forces and large-scale Team Dungeons throughout the continent of Gods Domain. Just as Shi Feng pondered about how he should go about procuring those forging designs, the heavy wooden doors of the reception room parted, and three NPCs walked in. Of the three NPCs, one was the test officer, one was a black-clothed old man wearing a black felt hat, and the other was a proud and pretty lady dressed in luxurious robes. The old man in black was a Level 200 Tier 4 Black Wizard with practically the same strength as White River Citys Magistrate, Weissman. He was also one of the NPCs protecting White River City. Meanwhile, the lady was a Level 180 Illusionist, a Tier 3 class of a Summoner. 571 Taboo Both the Tier 3 Illusionist and the Tier 4 Black Wizard were NPCs at the very top of White River City. With both of these great characters going out of their way to come here, one could see just how much importance the Adventurers Association was placing on Anna. Whos the one who achieved an SSS-rank? the Black Wizard Glynne asked. Association Master, Miss Anna has earned that rank, the test officer hurriedly said. Glynnes glowing green eyes immediately began to size up Anna, who stood behind Shi Feng. Although Glynnes actions held no ill intent, Shi Feng could still feel an immense pressure from his gaze, his movements growing sluggish as a result. If Shi Feng, a Tier 1 player, reacted in such a way, the pressure that an NPC, who had yet to become an Adventurer, felt would be even greater. Yet, Anna showed no reaction as if she had not felt the pressure from Glynne at all. Sure enough, your concentration is extraordinary, the Black Wizard Glynne laughed, satisfied. We havent had a talent in White River City for many years now. I didnt think that the next one would be so extraordinary. Irene, Ill leave this little lady in your care. You are the strongest Summoner in our White River Citys Adventurers Association. If you fail to guide her properly, I will find you. Association Master, please rest assured. I will nurture Anna with every resource I have, the Tier 3 Illusionist Irene said, chuckling. Alright, show this little lady around the association and familiarize her with the place for now. Glynne nodded as he caressed his white beard. He then looked at Shi Feng, saying, You must be the brat who recommended the little lady, right? Shi Feng nodded silently. The high-tiered NPCs of Gods Domain all possessed extremely high intelligence. As for Glynne, the Association Master of an Adventurers Association, he possessed intelligence that far surpassed even ordinary humans. Moreover, he also wielded immense authority in White River City. A single word for him could end Shi Fengs career here. Hence, before such an NPC, Shi Feng had to maintain a certain degree of humility. If he dared to act conceited in front of an NPC like Glynne, he would suffer for it. In the past, only after countless players had gone down that route had they understood the importance of propriety. Since you have introduced such a genius to White River City, as the Association Master of White River Citys Adventurers Association, I will not be stingy with you. Since you are a Tier 1 Swordsman, this item should suit you. If you can master it, you will face fewer hardships on the road ahead, Glynne said as he took out a gray book surrounded by an ancient aura. The word Taboo graced the bottom-right corner of this old, gray book. Taboo Skill! Shi Feng was stunned. There were many Skills in Gods Domain. However, a majority of them were ordinary Skills; their might was only subpar, and they could not increase a players combat power significantly. Only those rare Skills could impact a players combat power. For example, the Skills Shi Feng had learned such as Thundering Flash and Thunder Flame Explosion were rare Skills. These Skills allowed a player to fight an enemy that was slightly stronger than they were. Meanwhile, sure-kill Skills were stronger than rare Skills. These Skills had the ability to instant-kill players of the same Level, changing the tide of battle. One such Skill was Shi Fengs Flame Burst. However, there was an even more powerful type of Skill that could allow players to threaten enemies that were stronger than themselves. This type of Skill was known as a Taboo Skill. The gray book Glynne had just revealed was a Skill Book for a Taboo Skill. A Taboo Skill even allowed players to challenge enemies of a higher tier. The instant Shi Feng received the gray book, he inspected it. [Instant Strike] (Tier 2 Taboo Skill) Utilizing the power of thunder, instantly move in front of the target. For the next 3 seconds, Attack Speed increased by 500%, and each attack will deal 400% damage to the target and inflict the Serious Numbness effect. Instantly kill targets below 20% HP. Cooldown: 1 hour Class Restriction: Swordsman Isnt he a little too generous? He actually gave me a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Shi Feng was slightly surprised after reading the item description. Taboo Skills were different from other Skills. They did not require Proficiency to upgrade, and players of any Level could learn them. Only, one needed to fulfill certain conditions before they could learn them. Taboo Skills were also categorized into different Tiers. Tier 1 Taboo Skills were the most common, and only players who were Tier 1 or higher could display their maximum potential. The effects of a Tier 1 Taboo Skill could rival even an ordinary Tier 2 Skill. Tier 2 Taboo Skills were slightly rarer, and only when players obtained their Tier 2 classes could they fully display the Skills might. Their effects could rival a Tier 3 Skill. Tier 3 Taboo Skills were extremely rare, and only a few players would actually get the chance to learn such a Skill. However, any Tier 3 players who learned such a Skill would struggle to find a worthy opponent among players of the same Tier because a Tier 3 Taboo Skill was just as strong as a Tier 4 Skill. Even a Tier 4 player would lose over half of their HP, not to mention Tier 3 players. As for Tier 4 Taboo Skills, their rarity could rival even Legendary items. Tier 5 Taboo Skills were little more than legend. If a Tier 5 player grasped such a Skill, they could even pose some threat to a Tier 6 God-ranked player. Hence, one could just imagine the rarity of a Tier 5 Taboo Skill. Based on Shi Fengs knowledge, there had only been a single person who had learned a Tier 5 Taboo Skill throughout the entire Gods Domain in the past. Back then, that person had become the most powerful player below Tier 6 God-ranked players as there was no Tier 5 player capable of defending against that persons Tier 5 Taboo Skill. In addition, that persons skills and equipment were top notch in Gods Domain. Hence, he had been publicly acknowledged as the number one player beneath Tier 6. Currently, players average Level was only slightly over Level 20. The majority of players in Gods Domain had not even obtained their Tier 1 classes yet. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had obtained a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Even if he did not possess any Level or equipment advantages, with this Tier 2 Taboo Skill, it was still possible for him to instant-kill any enemies that were Tier 2 or below. Even if he couldnt kill them instantly, he could still inflict heavy damage. If he factored in his Level and equipment advantages, as long as he managed to grasp this Taboo Skill, he would stand at the very peak of all Tier 2 classes. It was the same even if he stood against an NPC. Of course, Gods Domain was fair. If one wished to obtain great power, they first needed to pay the appropriate price. Although Taboo Skills could increase a players strength, the learning processes of Taboo Skills and ordinary Skills were different. Taboo Skills could not be learned by the click of a button. One needed to train with a Taboo Skill. Thats right; they needed to train. Players were required to learn the movements recorded in the Skill Book, and at the same time, fulfill the books learning requirements. Most importantly, one needed to achieve a Completion Rate of 90% or above to learn the Taboo Skill. Moreover, the higher a Taboo Skills Tier was, the more difficult it would be to learn it. Some Taboo Skills were so difficult that even expert players could not learn them. Hence, many players who had obtained Taboo Skills had complained about this in the past. However, there were even more players who gloated over their misfortune. So what if you were lucky? Even if you obtained a Tier 6 Taboo Skill, what would it matter if you couldnt learn it? Due to this, Taboo Skills had become many players heartache. In the past, many players had no choice but to trade with others for a lower tiered Taboo Skill after obtaining a high-tiered Taboo Skill. After all, there was no point to owning a high-tiered Taboo Skill if one could not learn it. Fortunately, it is only a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. If it were a Tier 3 Taboo Skill, I would have no choice but to treat this thing as a decoration. Shi Feng was very satisfied with the Taboo Skill Instant Strike. As long as I learn this, I will have a much easier time when I go to the Dark Den. In the past, the most powerful Taboo Skill Shi Feng had learned was a Tier 3 Taboo Skill. However, the price and time required for learning one were simply too high. The conditions were not something players at his current Level could meet. However, even a Tier 2 Taboo Skill was extremely difficult for current players to learn. Other than the fact that only Tier 2 classes or above were capable of displaying the full potential of a Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Tier 2 Taboo Skills were labeled as Tier 2 because Tier 2 or higher players had a much easier time learning them. In the past, many Tier 3 players had only managed to learn a Tier 2 Taboo Skill after a lot of struggle. One could just imagine how difficult it was to grasp a Taboo Skill. Soon, Shi Feng left the Adventurers Association. Currently, Anna was still a classless NPC. She would have to spend the next week building her foundations to become an Adventurer. Naturally, Shi Feng would not wait inside the Adventurers Association for an entire week. First and foremost, he needed to learn the Taboo Skill Instant Strike. After Shi Feng returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm, without hesitation, he entered a private lounge and began studying the Skill Book. I wonder what the conditions are? Hopefully, they wont be too harsh. 572 100% Completion Rate Inside the quiet private lounge, Shi Feng impatiently opened the thick and heavy Skill Book. The moment Shi Feng flipped to the first page of the book, the sound of a system notification rang out by his ears. System: Do you wish to bind and learn this Skill Book? Reminder: Skill Book cannot be traded once bound. Shi Feng immediately chose to bind the Skill Book to himself. In the past, many players had bound a Taboo Skill to themselves without knowing the difficulty of the Taboo Skill they were about to learn, afraid that the Taboo Skill would suddenly grow legs and run away. However, such a rash decision had filled many players, who had obtained high-tiered Taboo Skills, with deep regret. However, the Taboo Skill Shi Feng had right now was only Tier 2. Even if he failed to learn it now, he could try again once he became a Tier 2 class. He would not waste this valuable Taboo Skill. After binding the Skill Book, the contents of the book finally appeared. Shi Feng promptly began studying one word at a time. Inside the Skill Book, other than some texts and pictorial introduction, there was a holographic video depicting the use of Instant Strike, which allowed players to grasp the techniques required to activate the Skill quickly. Taboo Skills in Gods Domain were similar to the spells used by magical classes in which they were very strict about their use. When magical classes cast a spell, incantations and hand gestures were of the utmost importance, particularly when tracing runes. Only when these actions reached a certain Completion Rate could magical classes display great power. Taboo Skills were the same. These Skills relied heavily on the accuracy and fluency of the players footwork, body movements, and attack patterns. Even the slightest mistake could result in a failure to activate the Taboo Skill. Compared to casting spells, players were required to have far more delicate control over their own bodies. They needed a clear understanding of each and every motion that was involved. Without realizing it, more than an hour had passed. Currently, Shi Feng was only halfway through the Skill Book. Any ordinary person would have long since begun to practice the Taboo Skil. However, Shi Feng was not in a hurry as he examined each page carefully. After more than three hours, Shi Fengs heart suddenly sunk, and he frowned at the gray book. Skill Completion Rate must reach 95%... Moreover, Ill also need to absorb 100 Thunder Crystals from Thunder Beast Kings. Isnt this joke going a little too far? A bitter laugh escaped Shi Fengs lips as he gazed at the Instant Strike Skill Book on the table. Although he had known that a Tier 1 class could not easily learn a Tier 2 Taboo Skill, he had not expected the difficulty to be so high. Shi Feng had learned a few Taboo Skills in the past, so he was quite knowledgeable on the topic. Tier 1 Taboo Skills normally required players to achieve a 90% Completion Rate. To ordinary players, this alone would prevent them from ever learning a Tier 1 Taboo Skill. Even experts would require long periods of bitter training to achieve such a high Completion Rate. Not to mention, there were usually other conditions that needed to be fulfilled as well. Tier 2 Taboo Skills normally required a Completion Rate of 93%. Only at Tier 3 would a Taboo Skill require a 95% Completion Rate. Yet, Instant Strike, as a Tier 2 Taboo Skill, required Shi Feng to achieve a 95% Completion Rate. However, this was still not the largest challenge. The point that had left Shi Feng truly speechless was the 100 Thunder Crystals that he needed to obtain through killing Thunder Beast Kings. Shi Feng was very familiar with Thunder Beast Kings. These monsters inhabited a location not far from a Level 50, 100-man large-scale Team Dungeon. Thunder Beast Kings fur was extremely valuable; it was a rare material that was required to produce equipment with the Lightning Resistance Attribute. The monsters meat was also a must-try delicacy. If cooked properly, it could become a gourmet meal that nobody could resist after a single taste. Just a single piece of the Thunder Beast Kings meat could sell for 3 Gold. Hence, in the past, many players had tried to grind the Thunder Beast Kings to earn money. However, a player had to be strong enough as Thunder Beast Kings could rival Tier 3 classes of the same Level. Even the weakest Thunder Beast King was a High Lord, while the majority of them were Great Lords. Even a large Guild had to pay an unimaginable price if they wanted to kill a Field Great Lord, not to mention independent players. Meanwhile, Thunder Crystals were treasures that the Thunder Beast Kings hid within their bodies. However, the drop-rate was not 100%. Instant Strike required 100 Thunder Crystals. Even if Shi Feng sold off Zero Wing, he could not purchase so many Thunder Crystals. Shi Feng was also only Level 32 at the moment. He was still a fair distance from reaching Level 50. The difficulty of learning Instant Strike could already rival a Tier 3 Taboo Skill. The Skill was definitely at the peak of Tier 2 Taboo Skills. Am I going to give up like this and complete my quest first? Shi Feng muttered, feeling somewhat disappointed. The Epic Quest Darkness Descends was not easy. It was especially true for the Dark Den. It was a Demons nest. There would definitely be plenty of extremely powerful monsters waiting for him. If he could learn a Taboo Skill, it would undeniably increase his chances of completing the Epic Quest. If he failed the quest, he would have to face the wrath of a Tier 4 Great Demon. With his current combat power, even a Tier 3 Demon could kill him easily and take over his body, much less a Tier 4 Great Demon. That need only flick its wrist to turn him into ash and dust. When Shi Feng reached the final page of the Skill Book, he discovered that there was another a paragraph of text. If Skill Completion Rate reaches 100%, one can call forth Heavenly Thunder into ones own body 100 times, stimulating the power of the Taboo Skill without needing the aid of the Thunder Crystals power. Shit! Skill Completion Rate of 100%? Are you kidding me? Originally, Shi Feng had thought that he still had a trace of hope. After reading the Completion Rate requirement, however, he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. Even his past self had never achieved a 100% Completion Rate on any Skill. Rumor had it that only Tier 5 Taboo Skills required a 100% Completion Rate. However, how many people in Gods Domain were actually capable of learning a Tier 5 Taboo Skill? Forget it. I should just head to the Dark Den for now. For the moment, Shi Feng gave up on learning Instant Strike. This Tier 2 Taboo Skill was most definitely a prank from the Black Wizard Glynne. Shi Feng then stored the Instant Strike Skill Book in his bag. He traveled to the Bank and retrieved some tools and magic scrolls before activating the Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll, teleporting to the Dark Den. Suddenly, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light that pierced the spatial crack that had appeared. As a Demons nest, the Dark Den was a carefully hidden location. Even if the armies of various kingdoms and empires tried to annihilate the Demons, they would only find minions. The true Great Demons nurtured their underlings in their nests in secret. Hence, the various kingdoms and empires throughout the continent of Gods Domain had been helpless against Demons all this time. At this moment, inside a dark cave, a spatial crack suddenly appeared near the caves ceiling. In the next moment, a streak of light fell through the portal and landed heavily, creating a deep crater. This Position Teleportation Scroll is a huge scam. Shi Feng frowned as he surveyed his surroundings. Shi Feng suddenly realized that he was surrounded by Demonkins. The Position Teleportation Scroll had dropped him right in the middle of a Demonkin army. [Demonkin] (Common Monster) Level 40 HP 10,000/10,000 Shi Fengs sudden appearance immediately attracted the attention of many Demonkins. The Demonkins turned to Shi Feng, one after another, their pitch-black eyes containing endless malice. Their gazes alone were enough to instill terror Not to mention, their violent killing intent also took form, developing into a faint blood mist. Shi Feng had seen this blood mist before. If players were caught within its range, it would significantly dull their five senses. In Gods Domain, aside from having keen skills, one required powerful five senses to be considered an expert. However, now that Shi Feng was trapped deep within the blood mist, he could no longer rely on his keen senses. 573 Another World Such a powerful killing intent! Shi Fengs five senses already felt greatly weakened. Whether it was his vision or intuition, it felt as if a layer of mist shrouded his entire body. He could not see clearly at all. However, compared to the Demonkin army before him, what shocked Shi Feng more was the sound of the system notifications reaching his ears. System: Player has discovered the Dark Den. System: All communications with the outside world will be temporarily severed. System: Player has been affected by the power of darkness. All Attributes decreased by 30%. Line after line of system notifications rang out, leaving Shi Feng utterly speechless. He could still accept his communications being severed, but reducing his Attributes by 30% as well? Wasnt this a little too harsh? Originally, the monsters here were of a higher Level than him. Moreover, their numbers were also very frightening. Now that he was significantly weakened as well, the difficulty of collecting the Bible of Darkness was undoubtedly considerably higher. Looking at the group of Level 40 black-skinned Demonkins charging at him like a tidal wave, Shi Feng felt his scalp tingling. Currently, he was only Level 32. Although the Demonkins did not have a level suppression effect on him, with this many of them, even if he possessed large-scale destruction spells, they would not be enough to get him out of this predicament. Having no better option, he turned around and fled to a narrow pathway. Although Shi Fengs Attributes had been reduced by 30%his HP falling from over 10,000 to just over 8,000, and his Strength and Agility likewise seriously compromisedShi Fengs equipment was simply too good. Despite his 30% Attribute reduction, his speed still greatly surpassed that of the Demonkins chasing after him. Very quickly, the Demonkins on his tail were eating his dust. Seeing a horde of Demonkins blocking the entrance to the narrow pathway he was heading for, Shi Feng immediately took out an Intermediate Frost Grenade. [Intermediate Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 70. Deals 800 frost damage to a radius of 12 yards, freezing targets for 5 seconds, then reducing Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Each grenade cost 10 Silverenough money to sustain an ordinary player in Gods Domain for quite some time. To ensure he could complete this Epic Quest of his and obtain the Bible of Darkness, Shi Feng had been provisioning all this time. Meanwhile, the Frost Grenades were one of these provisions of his. He had even amassed plenty of Advanced Frost Grenades, which cost 70 Silver each. The number of Demonkins before him was simply too frightening. This was no longer a problem he could solve by relying on technique. He could only use absolute power to break through. Hence, this was the best time to employ the Frost Grenades. Tossing out one Intermediate Frost Grenade A large patch of Demonkins was instantly frozen solid, damage of -800 emerging above their heads. A large ice flower suddenly bloomed within the originally pitch-black area. Inside this dark cave, this ice flower looked extraordinarily beautiful and holy. Another dozen or so Intermediate Frost Grenades followed in rapid succession. Flowers of ice bloomed one after another, and in the blink of an eye, practically all the Demonkins in Shi Fengs way were frozen. As for the few Demonkins that remained unscathed, they were no threat to Shi Feng whatsoever. After a few evasive maneuvers, he was already past the Demonkins blockade. He then leaped into the narrow pathway. However, the instant Shi Feng set foot in the narrow pathway, he suddenly felt death looming over him. He hurriedly activated the Aura of Earths Activatable Skill, Absolute Defense, becoming immune to all damage for five seconds. This could be considered Shi Fengs most powerful Lifesaving Skill. The instant the divine golden aura wrapped around Shi Fengs body, a clangor resounded throughout the cave. Countless black threads had struck at Shi Fengs body. These black threads were extremely thin. In the darkness of the cave, they were practically invisible to the naked eye. If Shi Fengs intuition had not warned him of imminent death, these countless black threads might have devoured him already. Its actually a trap! This Dark Den really isnt giving me any chances! Shi Feng felt his heart tremble momentarily when he turned back to glance at the tide of Demonkins that had been chasing him just now. Any Demonkin struck by the black threads immediately exploded into a cloud of black mist, becoming deader than dead. If he had been slower by even a heartbeat back then, he might very well have become one of those clouds of black mist right about now. With the black threads having passed him already, Shi Feng quickly continued running forward. At this moment, he had Absolute Defense activated. Nothing was capable of inflicting damage on him. In other words, he had no need to fear any traps right now. Naturally, he had to put Absolute Defenses duration to good use. Moreover, in Gods Domain, the more dangerous a location was, the more profitable it was. Any place filled with plenty of traps definitely hid treasures. The presence of traps in this pathway meant that this path was not a dead end, which gave Shi Feng even more reason to advance through it. During Absolute Defenses duration of five seconds, with even Wind Walker activated, Shi Feng triggered a total of four traps. However, Absolute Defense blocked them all. That was close. Fortunately, I have the Seven Luminaries Ring. Otherwise, I wouldnt even make it past the front door. Shi Feng halted his steps, breathing out a sigh of relief as he looked at the Demonkins chasing after him. After receiving the attacks of multiple traps, the number of Demonkins still alive numbered less than 100. Moreover, now that Absolute Defenses duration had run out, only death awaited him if he advanced rashly. Hence, he might as well deal with these Demonkins in the meantime. Swinging the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng activated Skywheel Sword. Countless divine swords descended from above, immediately trapping these Demonkins within the cramped space. Meanwhile, damages of over -3,000 and -6,000 points appeared over every Demonkins head. Right after that, Shi Feng switched out the Aura of Earth for the Aura of Fire, then promptly cast Firestorm on these Demonkins. A moment later, silence filled the poorly illuminated cave. Simultaneously, Shi Fengs EXP soared. There was a difference of eight Levels between Shi Feng and the Demonkins. Even if the Demonkins were just Common Monsters, the total EXP they gave was still plenty. However, at the end of the day, Common Monsters were still Common Monsters. They had dropped practically nothing at all. Following which, Shi Feng patiently waited for Absolute Defenses Cooldown to end before advancing down the pathway once more. By repeatedly running and stopping, Shi Feng triggered an unknown number of traps before finally arriving at the exit of the narrow pathway. The instant he stepped out of the pathway, his eyes suddenly flinched. Why is there sunlight here? Shi Feng wondered, unable to contain his surprise. His eyes had already adapted to the darkness of the cave. Now that he suddenly emerged into bright light, his eyes failed to adjust to the abrupt change, causing his vision to go bleary. Only after Shi Feng had fully recovered did he begin surveying his surroundings. Tall mountains and flowing water. White clouds dotting the sky. Lush green forests that covered everything. How was this place a Demons abode? Even paradise paled in comparison to this place. What sort of situation is this? Shi Feng turned around to look at the cave behind him. A layer of black film covered the cave entrance, and he could not see anything inside the cave at all, similar to how he had been unable to see anything outside the cave before. Did I exit from the Dark Den? No, thats not right. The system has not notified me that I have left the Dark Den. Moreover, my communication system hasnt recovered yet, proving that I have not left the Dark Den, and am in fact still inside the Dark Den. Shi Feng shook his head. He had little to no understanding of the Dark Den. All he knew was that Fantasy Extinguisher had completed this quest in the past and had brought immeasurable improvements to his Guild. Fantasy Extinguisher had never mentioned anything about the Dark Den itself to outsiders, so Shi Feng naturally remained ignorant. Just as Shi Feng was sitting quietly by the cliff outside the cave, the sound of an explosion came from below the cliff. This should be an Elementalists flame spell, Flame Dragons Roar, right? Shi Feng looked at the massive flame dragon soaring up from below the cliff. Unable to help his surprise, he muttered, Is there an Elementalist battling down below? 574 Curse The battle below the cliff grew in intensity as more time passed. Aside from the booming of violent elemental mana, there were also thundering roars and the constant clash of metal reverberating in the canyon. Thats one intense battle. Seeing the trees being shattered and felled one after another, Shi Feng could not help but take a closer look at the ongoing battle. In the forested canyon, Shi Feng could see a massive shadow moving through the trees. This shadow left a trail of destruction everywhere it passed. Such a powerful monster. Judging from its Strength, which allows it to sweep away all obstacles in its path, it should not be any weaker than a Chieftain. Shi Feng then jumped off the cliff to take a closer look at the situation below. He had come to the Dark Den to complete his Epic Quest. This sudden battle before him might very well have some relation to the quest. Naturally, he had to go check it out. If an ordinary player were to jump down from a cliff that was over a hundred meters tall, they would die the instant they landed. However, Shi Feng did not mind. When he was about 20 meters above the ground, he activated Gravity Liberation, his body suddenly becoming as light as a feather. Due to the immense air resistance, Shi Fengs descent decelerated sharply, so he landed safely. The instant Shi Fengs feet touched the green grass, he activated Omniscient Eyes, allowing him to perceive every movement within a radius of 100 yards. With this, he would be able to react immediately at the first sign of danger. This was a habit he had picked up from his many years of adventuring. When dealing with the unknown, caution had the top priority. Moreover, he was currently in the Dark Den, a nest of Demons. He needed to be even more cautious. Meanwhile, the battle happening a distance away continued to intensify, so much so that even the ground was shaking right now. When Shi Feng arrived at the battlefield, he discovered a giant black serpent over 50 meters in length swinging its tail around. With a single sweep, the serpent easily sliced apart a tree over one meter in diameter, leaving the surface of the cut as smooth as a mirror. With another casual swipe of its tail, the serpent split the ground, opening a deep gorge. Every one of the serpents actions was capable of causing massive changes to its surroundings. [Dark Magic Serpent] (Dark Creature, Chieftain Rank) Level 42 HP 800,000/800,000 Meanwhile, fighting against the Dark Magic Serpent was a party of six players. Moreover, the players in this party were extremely powerful, with the average level of the party being Level 29. Even in Zero Wing, only Blackie had reached this level. A Level 29 Shield Warrior currently stood at the forefront, fending off the Serpents attacks, while two mages and a Ranger bombarded the Chieftain with a relentless stream of attacks. A Druid and a Cleric standing at the rear line were also continuously healing the Shield Warrior. For a time, the battle remained at a stalemate. Ironwrist, be careful! Its using Vicious Venom! hurriedly reminded the Ranger standing at the rear line when he saw the Serpents belly expanding. Relax. The Shield Warrior named Ironwrist laughed, and instead of preparing to dodge, he took the initiative to charge at the Dark Magic Serpent. The Dark Magic Serpent opened its mouth and began spewing black mist into its surroundings. All vegetation that came into contact with this black mist immediately withered and turned into ash. In the next moment, the Shield Warrior rushing forward used Shield Bash on the Serpents abdomen, interrupting its Skill and putting an end to the stream of black mist coming out of the monsters mouth. The black mist surrounding the Chieftain began thinning out right away. However, the Shield Warrior was also poisoned as a result of his frontal assault, the skin all over his body turning pitch-black. His HP started decreasing rapidly, losing 3,000 HP with each passing second. In the blink of an eye, the Shield Warriors HP hit a critical level. Fortunately, the Cleric of the party had long since been prepared for this situation. He quickly cast Detoxify on his companion, cleansing the Serpents venom just as it was about to deal damage for the third time. Meanwhile, the Druid beside the Cleric had also promptly cast Life Restoration, healing the Shield Warrior for over 2,000 HP, followed by a HoT effect that recovered more than 300 HP every second, pulling the Shield Warrior out of deaths grip. Meanwhile, angered at the interruption of its Skill, the Dark Magic Serpent swept its tail at the Shield Warrior. At this time, a golden arrow shot towards the Serpents tail. The instant the golden arrow collided with the Serpents tail, it transformed into numerous chains that tied the Serpent to the ground. However, the Dark Magic Serpents Strength was too powerful. In the blink of an eye, it shattered the chains binding it and resumed its attack on the Shield Warrior. At this moment, the Elementalist of the party used Ice Wall, creating a wall of ice between the Serpents tail and the Shield Warrior. When the Serpents tail collided with the Ice Wall, its speed fell drastically. As a result, the Shield Warrior managed to dodge the Chieftains attack effortlessly. The entire process was like flowing water. The members of the party were perfectly attuned to one another. Despite the Dark Magic Serpent having the advantage in Levels, this party of six was toying with it. Such amazing coordination, Shi Feng could not help but praise. Just who are these people? The Dark Magic Serpent was a Level 42 Chieftain. Even a Guilds elite team would do their best to avoid such a monster. Yet, right now, a party of independent players was fighting it handily. However, the thing that shocked Shi Feng the most right now was the fact that there were actually other players in the Dark Den as well. The Dark Den was very mysterious and well-hidden. He had arrived in this place only after using a Tier 4 magic scroll. Meanwhile, these players before him had actually managed to find their way here. It was simply inconceivable. At this moment, Shi Feng could not help but wish he could rush forward and question these people right away. If they truly had some other method to get to this place, he could then bring some helpers to help him complete his Epic Quest. That way, his chances of success would be even higher. However, he suppressed this urge of his. Instead, he remained hidden in the forest as he quietly observed this party of players. There were many incidents of players plundering other players in Gods Domain. Currently, this party was still in the thick of battle against the Dark Magic Serpent. His making an appearance right now without any warning was highly likely to lead to misunderstandings. At that time, how was he supposed to get the secret of coming to this place out of them? Time passed little by little. The Dark Magic Serpents HP continuously decreased, and soon enough, its HP fell to 30%. Sssss! The Dark Magic Serpent suddenly hissed loudly, its entire body exuding black mist. Very quickly, this mist then wrapped around the Chieftains body and transformed into pitch-black scales. Under the bright sunshine, the scales released a blinding black light. Chieftain ranked monsters normally entered a Berserk state when their HP fell below a certain level. Currently, the Dark Magic Serpents HP had dropped to 30%, which just so happened to trigger the condition for going Berserk. After the pitch-black scales were fully formed, the Dark Magic Serpent was like an Iron Serpent. Not only had its Defense and Magic Resistance improved significantly, but even its Strength had also increased by at least 30%. Right now, its every attack shook the earth. However, the party of six had long since been prepared for this situation. The Cursemancer of the party immediately began tracing a large number of runes in the air, while chanting verse after verse of incantations. The density of the surrounding elemental mana had also started rising sharply. Amazing. That Cursemancer has actually learned the Tier 1 Curse Skill, Dark Storm. Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw the runes drawn out by that Cursemancer. Its no wonder they dare to challenge a Level 42 Chieftain. In Gods Domain, physical Taboo Skills and magical Curses were both Skills that allowed players to combat enemies of a higher Tier. However, Curses were much harder to learn compared to Taboo Skills, since Curses were much more powerful. The instant the Cursemancer was done chanting the final verse of his incantation, the space surrounding the battlefield suddenly went silent as countless black blades of wind appeared surrounding the Dark Magic Serpent. These wind blades easily pierced through the sturdy scales of the Dark Magic Serpent. A continuous stream of black wind blades assaulted the Chieftain for three full seconds. The Dark Magic Serpent lost over 8,000 HP every second, losing over 20,000 HP after three seconds passed. Moreover, aside from these damages, the scales covering the Chieftains body had also disappeared completely, returning it to its original form. Okay, lets finish it off! The Shield Warrior, Ironwrist, immediately sent a slash at the Serpent. However, before this party could celebrate, a loud hiss suddenly came from the woods. Sssss! At this moment, another Dark Magic Serpent emerged from the dense forest. 575 four Consecutive Strikes Damn, it actually called a companion! Ironwrist frowned. The other party members also grew anxious at the arrival of another Dark Magic Serpent. Facing one was already their limit. Moreover, their only Curse was on Cooldown, and it would be quite some time before they could use it again. Ironwrist, what are we going to do now? the Cleric at the rear line asked hurriedly. Ironwrist looked at the Dark Magic Serpent that they had injured heavily, before turning to look at the newly arrived Chieftain that was rapidly slithering towards them. Gritting his teeth, he said, Lets retreat! Although the heavily injured Dark Magic Serpent only had 30% of its HP remaining, they would still need quite some time to kill it. Meanwhile, the Dark Magic Serpent was unlike other Chieftains. It was a Chieftain that possessed a potent venom. When fighting against a Dark Magic Serpent, if one failed to interrupt the Chieftains Vicious Venom Skill in time, even a team of 100 players would die. If their party was fighting just one of these Serpents, they could still manage to interrupt its Skill. However, going up against two at the same time was impossible since their party did not have a second person capable of interrupting the other Dark Magic Serpents Vicious Venom. As long as the venomous mist of the Skill spreads, only death awaited them. Hence, their only option right now was to retreat. When the others heard Ironwrists command, they immediately withdrew without hesitation. Unfortunately, although Ironwrist and the others had made the correct decision in this situation, the heavily injured Dark Magic Serpent had no intentions of letting them go. Widening its mouth, it shot jets of venom at Ironwrist and his team. A short moment later, the other Dark Magic Serpent caught up with the party, circled around to their rear, and used its Tail Swipe Skill at the partys Cleric and Druid. Damn! Ironwrists complexion sank. Although he wanted to go save the two healers, the distance to them prevented him from doing so. Moreover, the Dark Magic Serpent in front of him was also bombarding him with venom attacks. Not to mention saving others, he was having a tough time just trying to avoid being hit himself. Leave us! the Cleric named Off Fire shouted. He could not help squeezing his eyes shut when he saw the Serpents tail swiping at him. Against a Level 42 Chieftain like the Dark Magic Serpent, even their partys Shield Warrior, Ironwrist, could only survive two direct hits. As for cloth armor classes like them, the Chieftain would need only one hit to end their lives. Boom! The earth shattered. Huh? Why am I still alive? Despite waiting for a long time, Off Fire did not feel any pain from the impact of the Serpents tail. He then cracked open his eyes, taking a peek at the Dark Magic Serpent. Immediately, a dumbfounded expression appeared on his face. How is this possible? At this moment, whether it was Off Fire or his fellow party members, all of them had their mouths hanging wide open. Standing before Off Fire right now was a person. Meanwhile, this person had actually blocked the Dark Magic Serpents attack using just one hand without so much as taking half a step back. Only, due to the immense force contained within the Serpents tail, the ground beneath this persons feet had shattered. A player had actually managed to overwhelm a Level 42 Chieftain. This scene was as if someone had stopped a moving truck using a single hand. How could it not be shocking? However, what the party of six did not know was that the reason Shi Feng was able to block a Level 42 Chieftains attack with just a single hand was entirely due to his activation of Heavenly Dragons Power, which doubled his Strength. Otherwise, even Shi Feng, with his exaggerated Attributes, would not be able to receive the Dark Magic Serpents attack safely. You guys deal with the injured Dark Magic Serpent. Leave this one to me, Shi Feng said directly. In response, Off Fire and the others absentmindedly nodded their heads. It was as if Shi Feng was currently their partys leader. After saying so, Shi Feng immediately jumped up to the space above the Serpents head. Raising the Abyssal Blade, he activated Thunder Flame Explosion. The power of lightning wrapped around the Abyssal Blade as the Magic Weapon landed on the Dark Magic Serpents head. Boom! Lightning and flames instantly washed over the Dark Magic Serpent. Even though the Chieftain possessed very high Defense and Magic Resistance, it still suffered over -6,000 damage from the attack. Who is this person? Is it really possible for a player to be that strong? Off Fires jaw fell when he saw the damage Shi Feng had dealt. Their party could be considered a top-tier party already. Yet, the highest damage their party could deal a Dark Magic Serpent in a single instance was just slightly over -1,000. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had managed to deal over -6,000 damage in just a single attack. His damage output alone was already more than double that of their entire party. The Dark Magic Serpent constantly let out anguished cries as it was bathed in the power of lightning and fire. It glared at Shi Feng with its chilling eyes. However, although it wished to devour Shi Feng, it was powerless to do so. Other than dealing massive amounts of damage, the Tier 1 Thunder Flame Explosion also had a Fainted and Speed Reduction effect. Although the Fainted effect was not particularly effective against the Dark Magic Serpent, the Speed Reduction effect was highly effective. The Serpents Movement Speed and Attack Speed instantly fell to only one-sixth of its original, its movements becoming extremely sluggish. Only when Shi Feng had already landed back on the ground, did the Dark Magic Serpents jaw, that was capable of swallowing a small car whole, begin descending towards Shi Feng. Smiling, Shi Feng shifted his footwork slightly, easily dodging the Dark Magic Serpents attempt to devour him. Turning his body, he followed up with a slash to the Chieftains mouth. The instant he struck the Serpent, it went flying, and its head smashed heavily into a tree. As the tree swayed wildly, damage of over -2,000 points appeared above the Serpents head. Such a high Defense. Its even higher than an ordinary Lords. Just what kind of monster is this? Shi Feng clicked his tongue slightly. He had activated not only Dragons Power but also the Aura of Fire, which increased his damage by 40%. With his current equipment and Attributes, his normal attacks should still be able to deal over -3,000 damage, even if he was up against a Level 40 Lord. However, when it came to the Dark Magic Serpent, his attack only dealt more than -2,000 damage. To the Level 42 Chieftain, which possessed 800,000 HP, that amount of damage was practically negligible. Just its battle recovery alone could regenerate 1% of its HP every five seconds. That was 8,000 HP every five seconds. Should he encounter this Dark Magic Serpent without Dragons Power, he would most likely have no choice but to flee. On the other side, Ironwrist and the others had begun luring the heavily injured Dark Magic Serpent away from Shi Feng. If the two Dark Magic Serpents used Vicious Venom simultaneously, even a thousand-strong army would have to say their prayers. Seeing that Ironwrist and the others had distanced themselves from him, Shi Feng now activated Nine Dragons Slash and Phantom Kill. At the same time, he had also had his doppelganger activate its ultimate move, Blade Liberation, increasing its Strength and Agility by 80%. With two of them attacking the Chieftain together, the battle became much more efficient. Although the doppelgangers Strength was not comparable to the original, it surpassed Shi Feng in terms of speed. Taking hold of the Dark Magic Serpents aggro, the doppelganger kited the Chieftain effortlessly. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself attacked the Chieftain madly from behind. Chop! Thundering Flash! Earth Splitter! Finally, both original and doppelganger used Flame Burst simultaneously. Every single one of their attacks dealt over -10,000 damage and over -20,000 damage if their attacks triggered a critical hit. Out of the twenty-four consecutive hits, over half achieved a critical hit. In the blink of an eye, the Dark Magic Serpents remaining 50% HP zeroed out. The Chieftain did not even get the chance to use Berserk. The Dark Magic Serpents death also allowed Shi Fengs EXP to soar. In addition to the difference of ten Levels, the EXP a Field Chieftain provided was also very generous. Aside from contributing a huge sum of EXP, the Dark Magic Serpent dropped seven items. Only seven items dropped even after I activated Divine Providence? Isnt this Dark Magic Serpent a little too miserly? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw only seven items scattered on the ground. 576 Maverick In Gods Domain, a Chieftain ranked monster normally dropped around four or five items since a 20-man team could easily deal with a Chieftain of the same level. As for Lords, these monsters usually required 50-man or 100-man teams of the same level to defeat, and the number of items they usually dropped was above ten pieces. At Dark-Gold rank, Icaruss Heart possessed 14 Luck. Moreover, Divine Providence gave an additional 32 Luck when activated. In total, Shi Feng could raise his Luck up to 46 points. With so much Luck, Shi Feng had a high chance of triggering a jackpot even if he were to kill a Lord, not to mention a Chieftain. Yet, the Dark Magic Serpent had only dropped seven items Moreover, all seven of these items were very ordinary. Usually, players would have a tiny chance of obtaining Fine-Gold Equipment from Field Chieftains. However, among the seven items Shi Feng obtained, there was no Fine-Gold Equipment at all. There were only two pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment and two pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. All four were Level 40 equipment. As for the remaining drops, they were three gray crystals. Taking a look at the crystals information showed that all three were Common items. What is going on here? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the items the Dark Magic Serpent dropped. Despite his having such high Luck, the Chieftain dropped only such low-quality items. It was practically the lowest possible drop one could get from a Chieftain. Shi Feng then shook his head, dispelling his thoughts as he quickly stored the drops. Whatever. Best to take a look at the situation on other side for now. Although the drops he obtained were unsightly, Shi Feng felt that it was somewhat reasonable after giving the matter some thought. The higher the level one reached in Gods Domain, the more difficult it was to obtain good equipment. When players reached Level 40, the difficulty of obtaining Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment was no less than the difficulty of obtaining Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment at Level 30. While Shi Feng was hurrying over to Ironwrists side of the battlefield, the fight there had yet to end. Currently, the Dark Magic Serpent still had 10% of its HP remaining. However, Ironwrist and the others were not doing too well right now. Due to the unexpected ambush earlier, the partys mages and healers had depleted themselves considerably. Now that they resumed their conquest of the heavily injured Dark Magic Serpent, they found the battle extremely taxing. Hence, even after fighting for so long, they had managed to take away only 20% of the Dark Magic Serpents HP. Everyone, keep it up! It has only 10% of its HP left! We should hurry up and finish off this Dark Magic Serpent, so that we can go help on the other side! Ironwrist said as he blocked the Chieftains Tail Swipe using his shield. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they began using everything they had. The two mages each took out a Tier 1 magic scroll and started chanting. Tier 1 magic scrolls were lifesaving items. Although the scrolls only contained Tier 1 Skills, the might of the Skills was much more than that of any ordinary Tier 1 Skill. Most importantly, these Tier 1 magic scrolls did not require any Mana to use. The Ranger had also taken out 20 Special Arrows. These Special Arrows were Consumable items. Although they were not as expensive as a Tier 1 magic scroll, the combined value of 20 Special Arrows was no less than that of three Tier 1 magic scrolls. The spells contained in the Tier 1 magic scrolls bombarded the Dark Magic Serpent one after another, each dealing over -3,000 or -4,000 damagethree or four times more damage than what the mages own Tier 1 spells were capable of. The two mages bombardment instantly reaped over 20,000 HP from the Chieftain. Meanwhile, every one of the Special Arrows the Ranger shot dealt around -1,500 damage to the Serpent. After firing all 20 arrows, the Ranger inflicted a total of -30,000-plus damage to the Chieftain. In the blink of an eye, the Dark Magic Serpents HP fell to a critical level. The Chieftain constantly let out anguished shrieks as the spells and arrows visited numerous terrible wounds on its body. Die! Ironwrist shouted as he used Beheaded. The Tier 1 Beheaded could instantly kill a monster with less than 5% HP remaining at a certain probability. Ironwrist immediately slashed his saber down on the Serpents head, dealing nearly -30,000 damage to the Chieftain and instantly killing it. Sss! The Dark Magic Serpent hissed one last time before its body fell to the ground. Whew, our win this time sure didnt come easy. I wonder if it dropped? the Cleric, Off Fire, said as he breathed out a sigh of relief, his hand wiping away the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. We dont have time to care about these things. Dustwind, you stay behind and pick up the loot, Ironwrist instructed the Elementalist beside him. Everyone else, follow me. Dont forget, we still have another full HP Dark Magic Serpent we need to take care of. Without anybody to Detoxify him, that person wont be able to last too long. Although they had seen how powerful Shi Feng was, the Dark Magic Serpent was no ordinary monster. Particularly, without a Cleric to deal with the Chieftains Vicious Venom, it was simply impossible for someone to defeat a Dark Magic Chieftain all alone. When everyone heard Ironwrists words, they immediately readjusted their moods and promptly broke out into a run towards Shi Fengs side of the battlefield. However, before they managed to take two steps, they stopped cold. Everyone was stupefied. A person had suddenly walked out of the forest in front of them, and this person was none other than Shi Feng, the person they were just about to go save. Moreover, Shi Feng appeared completely unscathed. He had not lost even a single HP. There was also no sign of a Dark Magic Serpent behind him, proving that he had not escaped his battle but had instead finished it already. The Dark Magic Serpent had an extensive hunting range. As long as one remained within this region, the Dark Magic Serpent would not give up on its pursuit. In other words, Shi Feng had single-handedly defeated a full HP Dark Magic Serpent. Moreover, he had killed it much, much faster than they had. The difference in strength between them was simply unimaginable. Is he a monster? Off Fires eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Shi Feng walking over slowly. Even our District Fives number one expert, Punishment Day, isnt capable of such a feat, right? That person is definitely a Maverick, a solo expert standing at the peak of all great experts! Once we return, we can go boast to those in the Sixth Party! Dustwind, the Level 28 Elementalist, exclaimed, his gaze filled with reverence as he looked at Shi Feng. Alright, enough fooling around. Stay serious. That person is our Seventh Partys savior, Ironwrist said. In fact, just like his companions, Ironwrist, too, was inwardly shocked by Shi Feng. It was definitely an honor to be able to become acquainted with such a solo expert out in the fields. While Ironwrist and the others were happily chatting together, Shi Feng, who had overheard their conversation, grew confused. District Five? This was the first time Shi Feng had heard this term. In addition, Maverick? Did these people not see the Guild Emblem on his chest? Moreover, looking at the reverence in their eyes, it seemed that what they revered was not his strength, but more of the fact that he was a Maverick, instead. Thats right, were the Seventh Party of District Five, and I am the party leader of the Seventh Party, Ironwrist. We are truly grateful for your help before, sir expert. Otherwise, our party would have truly been finished, Ironwrist said gratefully. Hearing Ironwrists words, Shi Feng grew even more confused. May I ask if this place is the Dark Den? Shi Feng asked. Dark Den? Ive never heard of such a place. Our party only operates in areas close to District Five. Weve never ventured anywhere too far. I sincerely apologize for not being able to offer any help, Ironwrist replied after giving Shi Fengs question some thought. However, the other parties in District Five might know something about it. After all, the area our Seventh Party has explored is somewhat smaller than what the others have. Why dont you follow us back to District Five? I can help you ask around the other parties. Alright, Ill have to trouble you, then, Shi Feng agreed after thinking it over. Shi Feng could tell that Ironwrist had not lied. However, the Shield Warriors words left him thoroughly muddle-headed. He might as well go to this District Five and take a look around. Meanwhile, when Ironwrists party heard Shi Feng agree to accompany them back to District Five, they all showed excited expressions. 577 Chapter of Darkness While Shi Feng was patiently waiting for Ironwrists party to collect their loot, he suddenly discovered an astonishing matter. The loot of the Dark Magic Serpent had exceeded his expectations entirely. The Serpent Ironwrist and his party killed had dropped only three items, with two of them being Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. The third item was a piece of gray crystal. Aside from those, there was nothing else. Their loot was miles short of the seven items he had gotten. It seems that the loot of the Dark Magic Serpent really is terrible. When Shi Feng looked at the drops Ironwrists party obtained, he realized that his luck before hadnt been bad at all. Just as Shi Feng was about to lament the paucity of the Dark Magic Serpents loot, Dustwind, the Elementalist of the party, suddenly jumped up in joy. Weve lucked out! It actually dropped! Dustwind laughed. Really?! Let me see! Off Fire rushed to the Elementalist, the expression on his face right now as if he had just won the lottery. Weve only been hunting Dark Magic Serpents for four days, yet weve already managed to obtain it? That cant be, right? Likewise, everyone else in the party ran over to the Elementalist, one after another, excited expressions on their faces. Shi Feng could not help but be stunned at this sight. He had long since peeked at the partys loot using Omniscient Eyes. Although Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Equipment was indeed a rare item right now, it was still useless to current players. Moreover, its Basic Attributes were only slightly better than Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. With the strength of Ironwrists party, would Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Equipment be able to even enter their eyes by the time they reached Level 40? Was there a need to get this excited? Wah! Leader, it really dropped! Weve hit the jackpot this time! Off Fire said as he showed off the gray crystal in his hand to Ironwrist. After Ironwrist accepted the gray crystal, he took a look at it before gritting his teeth and passing it to Shi Feng, saying, Brother Expert, you saved our Seventh Party. We dont really have anything we can offer to you in gratitude, so please accept this Soul Crystal on our behalf. This Shi Feng was stunned momentarily. He then said, Instead of giving me this item, I hope that Brother Ironwrist can help me ask around on some matters. You can take this item as remuneration for your efforts. This wont do. The value of a single Soul Crystal far surpasses the price required for us to ask around for information, Ironwrist refused. He then pondered slightly before continuing, Why dont I use Gemstones of equal value to trade for it? Gemstones were not foreign to players of Gods Domain. One could say that they were one of the hard currencies of Gods Domain. They could be inlaid into equipment to improve said equipments Attributes. However, during the initial stages of Gods Domain, Gemstones were extremely rare. Hence, the prices for these items were also very high. Currently, a single Tier 1 Gemstone, which was capable of increasing a single Attribute by three points, cost around ten Silver. As for Tier 2 Gemstones, capable of increasing a single Attribute by six points, they cost around 90 Silver. Among the variety of Tier 2 Gemstones, the ones that increased Strength, Agility, or Intelligence could sell for up to one Gold. To current players, the best Gemstones obtainable right now were Tier 2 Gemstones. Sure, Shi Feng agreed. Great! Our party has a total of 23 Tier 2 Gemstones and 89 Tier 1 Gemstones. However, we dont have too many on hand right now; most of them are in our Warehouses. Can I pass you the remaining ones after we return to the district? Ironwrist asked, somewhat embarrassed. Shi Feng was greatly shocked by the Shield Warriors offer. If he sold all these Gemstones, he could get roughly 30 Gold in total. Moreover, that 30 Gold was only part of the Soul Crystals actual value. Since Shi Feng had already promised to exchange it, he naturally would not regret his decision. Hence, he promptly accepted all the Gemstones Ironwrist currently had on him. Shi Feng could tell how desperate Ironwrist and his party members were for the gray crystal. Moreover, it seemed that they had come here solely to farm for this Soul Crystal. In any case, Shi Feng had no use for this item right now. He also had another three crystals sitting inside his bag. If he really needed more in the future, he could simply come and kill more Dark Magic Serpents. With Divine Providence, he could easily obtain plenty of Soul Crystals. Following which, Shi Feng accompanied Ironwrist and the others back to District Five. To put it simply, District Five was an area enclosed within a gigantic magic array. There was a small town inside this area, and the number of players residing within this town was relatively low. Although there were not many players here, the players had very high Levels. Every one of them was Level 26 or above. They were higher-leveled than even the elite players of Guilds. Moreover, the equipment these players wore were of very high quality, with the weakest being Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and the majority being Secret-Silver Equipment. Only the elite members of Zero Wing could possibly compare to these ordinary players. Why arent there any NPCs guards here? Shi Feng could not help but ask. After surveying the streets for a while, he had not seen any NPC guards whatsoever. NPC guards were normally used to maintain town security and to prevent fights between players. Not having any NPC guards was not good news to ordinary players. NPC guards? Whats that? Ironwrist asked curiously. Theyre NPCs meant to maintain the security of the town and prevent players from trying to kill each other, Shi Feng replied, surprised. District Five doesnt have such NPCs, as were inside a Safe Zone. Within the Safe Zone, no player can attack anyone. Hence, town security is very high. Moreover, our District Five is very powerful. Weve accumulated enough Soul Crystals to even establish a new Training Facility already. On the other hand, Districts Six and Seven are only able to defend themselves against monster assaults, Ironwrist proudly explained. I see. Shi Feng nodded. He more or less understood what was going on now. Gods Domain was an extremely mysterious game. The Main God System was also constantly expanding Gods Domain itself. Depending on the region a player resided in, the gameplay they experienced would indeed be somewhat different. Shi Feng had encountered such situations a few times in the past. Only, he had not expected the gameplay here to be this different from where he came from. It felt as if the players here were playing a city-building game, protecting and developing the cities they belonged to. This was just like how a Guild would establish their own town or city. However, there was yet to be a single Guild capable of constructing their own city. Soon, Ironwrist and his party set out to help Shi Feng gather information related to the Dark Den. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself went to a bar to collect information about this place. Did you hear? Our few Districts have recently joined forces and are preparing to go on a crusade against Gloomy Valley. The crusading army is currently recruiting members as well. As long as we can get rid of the Great Lord Noya inside Gloomy Valley, we will be able to open up new maps, a Guardian Knight inside the bar said to his companions after taking a sip of red wine. I heard that the top ten parties of our District Five can join the crusading army directly. Unfortunately, my party is ranked more than fifty, and well have to pass a test if we want to join the coalition, an Assassin said with disappointment. Thats right! As long as we can defeat the Great Lord, we will be able to obtain the Chapter of Darkness. At which point, the monster assaults will become much easier to handle. For a time, everyone inside the bar discussed matters related to Gloomy Valley. Chapter of Darkness? Shi Feng suddenly thought about the Bible of Darkness when he heard about the Chapter of Darkness. Is there some sort of connection between the two? His quest required him to obtain the Bible of Darkness. However, he had no clue as to how he should go about doing so. Meanwhile, the Chapter of Darkness could possibly be an important clue. It seems that Ill have to make a trip to Gloomy Valley myself, Shi Feng quietly muttered. 578 District Five Time passed little by little. Before he knew it, Shi Feng had spent over an hour inside the bar already. Although he had not done anything in particular, he had gained an enormous harvest. The bar was somewhere players often conversed and exchanged information with each other, so collecting information was effortless, particularly information regarding District Five. After going through the information he had, Shi Feng finally understood what kind of place District Five was. He could not help but admit that it was similar to the real world. To put it simply, District Five was a simple Shelter that allowed players to stay at a close distance to high-leveled monsters, removing the need to waste large amounts of time on travel. As there were no teleportation arrays here, players had to rely on their own two feet to get anywhere. Due to the large number of ferocious monsters in the area, players would generally form parties when venturing into the fields, not daring to go solo. Any player capable of moving solo in the fields was an expert among experts. These solo players were known as Mavericks, and they were the definition of strength. Hence, they were admired by many players. Besides that, Shelters also served as a defensive measure against monster assaults because the nights in this place was extremely terrifying. How terrifying were they? At nighttime, monsters would group up and actively assault players. Even a 100-man team would not survive without the protection of the Shelter. Moreover, even if players were inside the Shelter, they still needed to face the tsunami of monsters. Hence, the players here had no choice but to work together to fend off these monsters. If the Shelter were compromised, then the activity range of players would be similarly affected. They would have no choice but to move their base of operations to a lower-level region. In the future, if they wished to grind high-level monsters, they would have to waste a lot of time traveling from a low-level region to a high-level region. Meanwhile, the nights here were longer than days. Out of the 48 hours in each day, 30 hours consisted of nighttime with only 18 hours of daytime. The time available for players to level up and improve themselves was much more limited. This situation further emphasized the importance of Shelters. After all, if players were to waste eight to nine hours on travel every day, how were they supposed to level up? Nevertheless, it was this dire situation that allowed the players here to have very high levels. District Five was one of the Shelters located in a high-level region. The players here did not have to waste a large amount of time on travel to encounter high-level monsters, go to high-level Dungeons, or take on high-level quests. As the players here had to face the assault of a monster army every night, not only could they gain a considerable amount of EXP from killing these monsters, but they could also take the opportunity to complete high-level quests, obtaining significant sums of money and equipment. Meanwhile, the most precious resource for a Shelter was the Soul Crystal. This item could be used to strengthen the magic array enveloping the Shelter, significantly weakening the monsters within the magic arrays range and giving players an easier time pushing back the monster armies. If players donated Soul Crystals to the Shelter, they could receive large amounts of Contribution Shares in return. Contribution Shares were equivalent to money in Shelters, and players could use these points to purchase some specific items to strengthen themselves. For example, the Tier 1 Curse that Ironwrists party wielded was one of the good items acquired using Contribution Shares. Hence, the players here had a great desire for Soul Crystals. Only, this item was truly useless to Shi Feng. He would not be living in this place. He was only going to stay here as a guest until he completed his quest. Although the Soul Crystals are useless to me, it wont be a bad idea to exchange them for some Gemstones. Shi Feng suddenly thought of a good idea to make money as he looked at the three Soul Crystals inside his bag. Compared to the outside world, Gemstones were much more easily obtained in this place. During the monster attacks at night, there was no lack of Chieftain and Lord ranked monsters. Chieftains had a high chance of dropping Tier 1 Gemstones, while Lords might even drop Tier 2 Gemstones. Hence, the supply of Gemstones here was much higher. In the outside world, players very rarely had the chance to inlay Gemstones into their equipment. In here, however, it was very normal for players to have all the equipment on their bodies inlaid with Gemstones. As a result, the Basic Attributes of the players here were much higher than those of players in the outside world. Meanwhile, the prices of Gemstones here were also much cheaper. Outside, each Tier 1 Gemstone sold for 10 Silver, whereas Tier 2 Gemstones sold for 90 Silver to one Gold per piece. In here, however, five Silver could buy a Tier 1 Gemstone, whereas Tier 2 Gemstones only cost around 40 Silver. As for Soul Crystals, each piece could sell for up to 40 Gold. Even then, players would still fight to buy it. The drop rate of Soul Crystals was abysmally low, and only Chieftains that were Level 40 or above had a slightly higher drop rate. This was also the reason why Ironwrists party had gone hunting for Chieftains over Level 40. By the time Shi Feng was done compiling the information he had gathered, Ironwrist had also entered the bar together with a silver-armored Guardian Knight. The instant this bearded man with thick eyelashes entered, the bar fell silent. Every player inside the bar immediately turned to look at this Guardian Knight one after another. Whats the party leader of the Third Party, Discipline Paradise, doing here? Is Discipline Paradise here to recruit members? How could it be? Thats the Third Party of our District Five. Even if he were recruiting more members, he would choose from their list of available candidates first. Why would he come to a bar looking for members? I heard that the six official members of the Third Party have all learned Tier 1 Curses and Taboo Skills. They can go out to grind without fear even during the night. Thats right. The Third Partys strength is currently the closest to the First Party. It is highly possible that, after the next ranking battle, Discipline Paradise will become the leader of the Second Party. Everyone inside the bar looked at the silver-armored Knight with gazes of admiration and reverence. In a Shelter, the higher ranked a party was, the more resources they could obtain. In addition, they would also gain greater access in the Shelter, allowing them to purchase items that were not available to regular parties. That way, their partys strength would improve even faster. Soon, Discipline Paradise and Ironwrist arrived before Shi Feng, who was currently seated at a corner of the bar. Brother Expert, let me introduce you. This here is the leader of our District Fives Third Party, Discipline Paradise. Hes quite knowledgeable about the Dark Den you spoke of, Ironwrist said, smiling. Hello, you can just call me Discipline. Discipline Paradise smiled. Although Discipline Paradise was one of the powerhouses of District Five, he did not display any form of arrogance. On the contrary, he was a very kind and straightforward man. When the surrounding players saw Discipline Paradise, the leader of the Third Party, and Ironwrist, the leader of the Seventh Party, actively greeting a Swordsman that none of them had ever seen before, every one of them was stupefied. Who is that person? Why havent I seen him before? Is he one of the top ten party leaders of some other District? I dont think hes just limited to being in the top ten, right? Didnt you hear Ironwrist calling that person an expert? That person might even be one of the top three party leaders of some other District. Otherwise, why would Discipline Paradise personally come over to meet him? Everyone began guessing at Shi Fengs identity one after another. However, Discipline Paradises next words instantly shocked everyone inside the bar. Brother Ye Feng, would you be willing to join our District Fives crusading army? 579 Crusading Army Join the crusading army? Shi Feng began pondering silently. He did indeed want to go and take a look at Gloomy Valley, with his goal for going there being the Chapter of Darkness. After all, there might be some sort of connection between the Chapter and the Bible of Darkness. However, he had intended to go there by himself. There was only a single Chapter of Darkness. With so many people wanting to obtain it, how was he supposed to get it if he went with a group? It was also unlikely that everyone would give him the Chapter of Darkness. Hence, the only way for him to obtain it was to move alone. That way, he would not have to share the Chapter with others. Based on the information he had gathered earlier, there was no need to defeat the Great Lord Noya to get the Chapter of Darkness. The Great Lord was simply guarding the Chapter of Darkness. Hence, Shi Feng could just steal the Chapter. There was no real need for him to conquer the Great Lord. The difficulty of obtaining the Chapter of Darkness this way was undeniably much lower. Moreover, he had already succeeded in carrying out similar feats in the past. Previously, he had stolen an Imperial Heirloom from the Anubiss Gatekeeper, a Great Lord ranked monster. Afterward, he had also snatched the God Crystal from a Tier 4 Mythic Creature, the Orc King Tresik. The first theft was difficult, but the subsequent one was easy. Currently, he had much more confidence in stealing an item from a Great Lord. Thats right, join the crusading army. To be precise, I am asking you to join our Third Party, Discipline Paradise said, his eyes filled with sincerity. Hearing Discipline Paradises words, all the players inside the bar could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng, envious expressions appearing on their faces. The crusade this time was not something just anyone could participate in. As it was a crusade against Gloomy Valley, the number of players they could bring was limited. Naturally, they would only allow elites to participate in it. That way would increase the chances of success considerably. Meanwhile, in District Five, only the top ten ranking parties received direct admission into the crusading army. Everyone else had to go through a test, and only the best could join the crusade. There were many players in District Five. Meanwhile, only a total of 100 slots were allotted to District Five for the crusade. Among them, 60 were already assigned to the top ten parties, so everyone else would have to fight for the remaining 40 slots. One could just imagine how intense the competition would be. Now, Shi Feng could join the Third Party directly and participate in the crusade without having to compete over those 40 slots. This was practically a gift from the heavens. As long as the crusade succeeded, the 100 players participating in it would receive a bountiful harvest, particularly in terms of Contribution Shares for the Shelter. How could this situation not make others envious? Discipline, how can you be so underhanded?! Ironwrist suddenly called out. Even if Brother Ye Feng is going to join the crusading army, he should be joining my Seventh Party, not your Third Party! I only invited you over to discuss matters relating to the Dark Den! When Ironwrist had gone looking for Discipline Paradise earlier, he had told the Guardian Knight everything about his encounter with Shi Feng. However, he had not expected Discipline Paradise to actually play such a card. No matter how one looked at it, Shi Feng was a Maverick with frightening strength. Although the crusading army this time had gathered the power of multiple Districts, after the crusade succeeded, the number of Contribution Shares awarded would be based on each partys performance in the crusade. In other words, the party that was the most helpful during the raid of the Great Lord Noya would receive the most Contribution Shares once the Great Lord was defeated. Most importantly, the party that received the highest Contribution Shares had priority in choosing from the loot. If Ironwrist could get a Maverick like Shi Feng to join the Seventh Party, his partys strength would no doubt soar. At that time, the number of Contribution Shares they could obtain was self-evident. Hence, he was doing everything he could to befriend Shi Feng. This is not a first come, first served thing. Moreover, regarding this matter, I wont back off even if youre my friend, Discipline Paradise said in a righteous tone. Also, it will be of great help to Brother Ye Feng if he joins my Third Party. Suddenly, Discipline Paradise and Ironwrist began arguing with each other over Shi Feng. What is this situation? Can someone tell me who that Swordsman is? The scene of two District Five big shots arguing over an unknown Swordsman stunned the players drinking inside the bar. Great help? Shi Feng could not help but ask, May I know what kind of help Brother Discipline is referring to? The Chapter of Darkness! Discipline Paradise sent a whisper to Shi Feng. This item serves a huge purpose for Shelters. However, it is also closely related to the Dark Den. From the information I gathered, the Chapter of Darkness is a key meant to open the Dark Den. Since Brother Ye Feng wishes to go to the Dark Den, you will naturally have to obtain the Chapter of Darkness. However, the Chapter of Darkness is in the Great Lord Noyas hands. If one wishes to obtain it, they will have to either kill or steal the Chapter from the Great Lord. Only, the latter option is practically impossible. The only feasible method to gain the Chapter is to kill the Great Lord. As long as Brother Ye Feng joins our party, we will definitely have a chance to become the top contributing party in the crusade. At that time, we can choose the Chapter of Darkness as our reward. I will then use the Chapter of Darkness to open the Dark Den for Brother Ye Feng. What does Brother Ye Feng think about this? So thats the case. Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization. Nodding, he said, Alright, then. Ill agree to your proposal. However, I wish to change the conditions a little. Change the conditions? Discipline Paradise asked, slightly worried. What conditions? You cant be wanting the Chapter of Darkness itself, right? The Chapter of Darkness had only two functions: empowering the magic array of a Shelter and opening the Dark Den. To a Maverick, the first function was obviously useless. This was also the reason why Discipline Paradise had come looking to cooperate with Shi Feng. Rest assured, I dont want the Chapter of Darkness. Only, if I manage to obtain the Chapter of Darkness by myself, what will you use to exchange for it? Shi Feng asked secretly. Obtain the Chapter of Darkness by yourself? How can that be possible? Discipline Paradise asked, stunned. I am only saying if, Shi Feng laughed. If you manage to get the Chapter of Darkness by yourself, I will definitely provide you with sufficient remunerationTaboo Skills, Curses, top-tier equipment, whateveras long as you are willing to exchange it. Discipline Paradise did not know what was going through Shi Fengs mind, but if he could obtain the Chapter of Darkness, it would be of great help to their party. Hence, he was willing to pay any price for it. Shi Feng was slightly stunned after hearing Discipline Paradises words. Exchanged Taboo Skills can be traded? Shi Feng asked softly. Discipline Paradise nodded. Of course. Only, the price required to do so is somewhat high. However, for the Chapter of Darkness, I am willing to pay six Tier 1 Taboo Skills. Six? Shi Feng shook his head. If I obtain the Chapter of Darkness, I want to exchange it for a Tier 1 Taboo Skill for every class, as well as the activation of the Dark Den. Can you really do it? Discipline Paradise asked in surprise. A Tier 1 Taboo Skill for every class, this price was indeed frightening. Even for Discipline Paradise, this was a very steep price. The Chapter of Darkness was merely a Dark-Gold item with a somewhat special function. In truth, it was worth only seven or eight pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, the value of a Taboo Skill was no less than a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. Since there was a total of twelve major classes, that meant a total of twelve Taboo Skillsequivalent to twelve pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment. Dark-Gold Equipment was considered a luxury item for any party. If one had to give away twelve pieces all of a sudden, any party would feel a sting in their hearts. However, compared to this painful price, what Discipline Paradise was most concerned about was whether or not Shi Feng could obtain the Chapter of Darkness. 580 Abyssal Upgrade In response to Discipline Paradises question, Shi Feng only smiled while remaining silent. Receiving such a reply from Shi Feng, Discipline Paradise didnt get angry; his eyes glowed with excitement, instead, his trust in Shi Feng growing even stronger. Previously, he had heard from Ironwrist that Shi Feng had managed to defeat a Level 42 Chieftain ranked Dark Magic Serpent all by himself. This was definitely a feat that no ordinary person was capable of. Currently, there were only ten parties capable of hunting Dark Magic Serpents in District Five. Other than their excellent techniques and equipment, the main reason why these ten parties were equal to the task was their having learned Tier 1 Taboo Skills that countered these Chieftains. Otherwise, they all would be powerless against Dark Magic Serpents. As for defeating a Dark Magic Serpent single-handedly, not even he, the leader of District Fives Third Party, had ever dreamed of attempting such a feat. Due to this reason, he had come over personally to invite Shi Feng to join their team and aid them in competing for the Chapter of Darkness. When will Brother Ye Feng be able to obtain the Chapter of Darkness? Discipline Paradise asked somewhat anxiously. Hints of reverence and elation gleamed in his eyes. Although several Districts were participating in the crusade against the Great Lord Noya this time, Noya was a Level 40 Great Lord. Even if everyone combined their power, victory over the Great Lord was still a long shot. They had made ample preparations, yet their current predicted success rate was below 10%. The odds for stealing the Chapter of Darkness werent worth mentioning. It was not easy for a party to survive in a Shelter. Besides constantly competing over the party rankings inside a Shelter, parties also needed to defend the Shelter every day lest the Shelter fall into ruin and all their efforts come to naught. Now that an expert like Shi Feng had shown up, the Third Party would have a much better chance at obtaining the Chapter of Darkness. Noya was no ordinary Great Lord; it was a Guardian Monster serving as the key for activating a new map. Such Guardian Monsters normally tested a players individual abilities. Having more players participating in the crusade would only lead to more mistakes occurring. Ever since Gods Domain began, Mavericks had been the ones to activate many of the new maps. Hence, everyone in this place revered Mavericks greatly as they had managed to accomplish a task that most parties couldnt. Meanwhile, this was the first time Discipline Paradise encountered a Maverick as strong as Shi Feng. Shi Fengs chances of obtaining the Chapter of Darkness were definitely much higher than their crusading armys. Ill give it a go as soon as possible. Shi Feng could not give an accurate timeline. After all, he had not yet seen Noya personally. However, with his equipment and means, he should have an excellent chance of stealing the item the Great Lord was guarding. I hope that Brother Discipline can prepare the Tier 1 Taboo Skills as soon as possible. Tier 1 Taboo Skills and Curses were not cabbages piled high in the market. Based on the information Shi Feng had collected, out of the tens of thousands of players in District Five, only the top five parties possessed six or more Tier 1 Taboo Skills and Curses. Ironwrists Seventh Party had two; however, currently only one of his members had succeeded in learning a Tier 1 Curse. One could just imagine how difficult it was to obtain Tier 1 Taboo Skills and Curses. Brother Ye Feng can rest assured on this point. As long as you succeed in getting the Chapter of Darkness, I will definitely hand over twelve Tier 1 Taboo Skills. Discipline Paradise laughed confidently. Following which, Discipline Paradise shared with Shi Feng specific information regarding Noya. Unfortunately, Shi Feng and Discipline Paradises conversation in a private chat dismayed Ironwrist, who was seated beside the two. However, seeing how Discipline Paradise, the leader of the Third Party, was acting so respectfully with Shi Feng, Ironwrist also could not help but feel a little prideful. After Discipline Paradise left, Shi Feng looked at the depressed Shield Warrior and said, Brother Ironwrist, can I get you to help me with something? Brother Ye Feng, please dont hold back. You are our partys savior. If you have anything you need help with, just tell me! Ironwrist assured, clapping his chest. Can you help me exchange these Soul Crystals for some Level 30 Fine-Gold ranked or above weapons? Shi Feng asked as he took out three gray crystals from his bag. Heavens! You actually have so many Soul Crystals! Ironwrists eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw the three Soul Crystals Shi Feng produced. He finally realized why Shi Feng seemed to care little about Soul Crystals before. In order to obtain just one Soul Crystal, their Seventh Party had spent several days hunting Dark Magic Serpents. In the end, they had gotten one only by sheer luck. He had even shown off their partys harvest in front of Discipline Paradise. Yet, now, Shi Feng just casually took out three Soul Crystals Seeing that Ironwrist was still silent after quite some time, Shi Feng could not help but ask, Has nobody managed to obtain Level 30 Fine-Gold Weapons yet? The players residing in District Five were very high-leveled. The high-ranking parties often challenged monsters of higher levels. Although only a few parties were capable of defeating Level 40 monsters, there should be plenty that could handle monsters that were Level 30 or so. Shi Feng had also seen plenty of players selling Level 30 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment on the streets earlier. Moreover, they were selling the items very cheaply. This was a scene that had yet to appear in White River City. However, after giving it some thought, Shi Feng found it to be reasonable. The players here were killing monsters day in and day outespecially since monster armies attacked the Shelter at night. They were improving their combat techniques daily. In addition to other factors, such as Gemstones, challenging monsters of a higher level was routine. However, while the players here found it very normal to fight against monsters of a higher level, it was a different story for the players outside the Dark Den. Players outside preferred to grind monsters of a lower level whenever possible. They definitely would not choose to grind monsters that were of the same level as, or even higher level than, they were, as doing so would mean increased risk. As a result, players outside the Dark Den improved their combat techniques and upgraded their equipment at a much slower rate. Thats not it. Brother Ye Feng, do you really want to exchange Soul Crystals for weapons? Thats just such a waste. Although the market value of a Soul Crystal is equal to one Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon or five Fine-Gold Weapons, no one who manages to obtain a Soul Crystal would exchange them for equipment or weapons. After all, weapons and equipment will depreciate with time. On the other hand, the Contribution Shares one can acquire with Soul Crystals will never lose their value. The true value of a Soul Crystal is far above a Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon. It will be an even greater loss if you exchange it for Level 30 Fine-Gold Weapons, Ironwrist advised. The Shield Warriors words rendered Shi Feng somewhat dumbfounded. Soul Crystals were really of no value to him. On the other hand, the value of Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons was much higher. As for why he wanted these weapons, he was planning to upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Level 30. A Level 40 Great Lord was no pushover, and it would be to Shi Fengs benefit to increase his combat power as much as possible. As a Magic Weapon, the higher-leveled the Abyssal Blade was, the higher its Attributes and quality would be. When Shi Feng first obtained the Abyssal Blade, the Magic Weapons Attributes were only equal to a Secret-Silver Weapon. Now that the weapon was Level 25, its Attributes were already above Dark-Gold rank. If Shi Feng upgraded it to Level 30, it might reach the standard of an Epic Weapon. A Level 30 Epic Weapon would definitely push his combat power up to a whole new level. At that time, he would have much more confidence in stealing the Chapter of Darkness. Seeing how Shi Feng was insistent on exchanging his Soul Crystals for weapons, Ironwrist had no choice but to comply and think of a way to carry out the Mavericks wishes. An hour or so later, Ironwrist had managed to exchange the three Soul Crystals for one Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon and eleven Level 30 Fine-Gold Weapons. After Shi Feng received the weapons, he parted ways with Ironwrist and went searching for a secluded location. The commotion the Abyssal Blade caused with each subsequent evolution grew increasingly larger. Now that Shi Feng was about to upgrade the Magic Weapon to Level 30, the aftermath would definitely alarm the entire District Five. Not wanting to attract any attention to himself, Shi Feng had no choice but to head for an out-of-the-way spot. Devour! Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Abyssal Blade upon arriving at a wilderness with no other players around. 581 Epic Weapon The moment Shi Fengs finger made contact with the system window, the pitch-black Abyssal Blade released a dragons roar. The deafening roar sounded as if an actual dragon stood before Shi Feng right now. With such a ferocious roar, even the birds in flight were petrified, falling out of the sky one after another. Immediately after letting out the dragons roar, the Abyssal Blade struggled free from Shi Fengs hand and flew into the air. In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black Abyssal Blade transformed into a cloud of black mist that devoured the eleven sacrificial weapons. As it consumed the weapons, Shi Feng could also hear a strong heartbeat coming from the black mist. It was as if an ancient creature was awakening. A terrifying aura washed over Shi Feng and his surroundings; the nearby greenery even withered. Why is there such a huge difference in power from the last evolution? Shi Feng looked at the black mist floating in midair, frowning. Is this the beginning of a Backlash? Shi Feng had never witnessed or heard any details about the Backlash of a Magic Weapon before. In the past, players who obtained Magic Weapons had never disclosed any information regarding Backlashes. They only advised others to stay as far away as possible from Magic Weapons. The pressure the Abyssal Blade was currently emitting was incredibly terrifying. Back when Shi Feng upgraded the Magic Weapon to Level 25, he could still move about relatively easily under the aura the weapon emanated. Now, however, even motion was a luxury. He could only stand still and watch quietly as all of this happened. After a while, the magnitude of the heartbeats gradually increased. The black mist in the sky also took the shape of a black heart. Meanwhile, with this black heart as the core, a vaporous phantom of a black dragon appeared. The black dragon silently looked down on Shi Feng, a human-like playful expression contained within its blood-red eyes. In the next moment, the phantom dissipated into nothing, this time transforming into a silver sword that landed at Shi Fengs feet. The phantom of the black dragon is becoming more realistic with each subsequent evolution. Even the pressure it emits is growing stronger. No wonder so many players dared not use Magic Weapons even though they had obtained them. Shi Feng frowned slightly as he looked at the Abyssal Blade, which had stabbed into the ground. When and where a Backlash would occur, nobody knew. Continuously strengthening the Abyssal Blade was equivalent to enhancing the power of the Magic Weapons Backlash. Just the current Abyssal Blade could already make him feel fearful. If he continued upgrading the Abyssal Blade, he might really fail to cope with the Backlash. This should be the so-called the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Forget it. Lets take things as they come. Shi Feng shook his head, dispelling the negative thoughts in his head. He then pulled out the Abyssal Blade and took a look at its Attributes. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +633 All Attributes +42 Attack Speed +15 Ignore Levels +15 Attacks have: 50% chance to cause 200% damage. 25% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2%, up to a maximum of 20%. If wielder belongs to any Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +3. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 30. Can be upgraded. (Devour twenty Level 35 Fine-Gold Weapons and three Level 35 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 35). Can be evolved (Unknown). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill. Instantly creates a doppelganger. You can control this doppelganger. Doppelganger will have 70% of original bodys Attributes and all Skills. At the same time, doppelganger and the original body can be swapped. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind. Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash. Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder to use; each phantom sword is capable of dealing up to 50% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 4: Abyssal Curse. Prevents all targets within a radius of 30 yards from moving or attacking for 5 seconds, as well as reducing all their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 40 minutes Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor. When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack of death aura can be used to increase all Attributes of wielder by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds, or be used to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 30 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 15 hours The Abyssal Blade was personally created by master smith Olysses using the Black Dragon Kings fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six famed swords, and it is ranked 31st. However, this sword has been cursed by the Black Dragon King. Aside from providing the wielder with immense strength, there will be a Backlash every period of time. However, after being remodeled by Jack using a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been greatly reduced. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the curse of the Black Dragon King, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Such a high Attack! This is equal to the Attack Power of a Level 30 Epic ranked two-handed sword, right? Shi Feng exclaimed in surprise. Back when the Abyssal Blade was Level 25, its Attack Power had only been over 400. Now that the Magic Weapon was upgraded to Level 30, its Attack Power had actually increased by over 200 points. Not to mention, the weapons Skills had also undergone a transformation, with Abyssal Curse replacing Dark Violent Dance. Used against a single target or a group, it was an extremely powerful Control and Weakening Skill. However, this was still not the most significant change to the Abyssal Blade. Swinging the Magic Weapon lightly, Shi Feng felt as if the Abyssal Blade was an extension of his arm, so much so that he could even feel the swords edge cutting through the air. Whats going on here? Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Blade incredulously. There was a saying that, when ones mastery of a weapon reached a certain level, said weapon would feel like an extension of ones own body. However, this was only a saying. Just being able to incorporate a weapon into ones own attack habits and styles was already an amazing feat. During the early stages of Gods Domain, the Attributes of weapons and equipment were very important. However, as players acquired better equipment, they would begin ordering custom-made weapons and equipment for themselves. Even if two items possessed the exact same Attributes, most players would choose equipment custom-made to their requirements over the other. Why was this so? The reason was very simple: the far greater ease of harmonization to their habits and styles. For this reason alone, players were willing to spend as much money as necessary. If a player possessed a high compatibility rate with the weapons they wielded, their attacks would flow much more smoothly. Most importantly, a weapon with good compatibility could improve a players Skill Completion Rate. This was also the reason why, during the later stages of the game, many players chose to discard ready-made Epic Weapons and, instead, were adamant in paying an astronomical sum to hire a Master or Grandmaster Forger to produce a custom-made Epic Weapon for themselves. It was all because custom-made weapons and equipment possessed a much higher compatibility rate. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately began brandishing the Abyssal Blade to get used to the newly enhanced weapon. He then found a Level 35 Demonic Hound to test his sword on. Chop! Usually, Shi Feng could achieve a Completion Rate of 85% or above when using this Skill, displaying 100% of the Skills might. In the past, his best record for Chop was 90%. Although this Skill was very simple, it was extremely difficult to execute properly. The three sword lights, which should have resembled three silver crescents, converged into one as they struck at the Demonic Hound, causing the damage dealt by Chop to reach its maximum. At this moment, however, the three sword lights had transformed into three full moons that met at a single point. The space at this single point looked as if it had been piercedone could faintly see a small spatial crack at this location. System: Chop Completion Rate 92%, resulting in 125% of Skills effect. Skill Proficiency +4. Shi Feng then followed up with Thunder Flame Explosion. Originally, this Skill should have combined the power of lightning and fire into a massive fireball that bombarded the enemy. Now, however, instead of a fireball System: Thunder Flame Explosion Completion Rate 90%, resulting in 110% of Skills effect. Skill Proficiency +3. What?! Why is there suddenly such a huge increase in Skill Completion Rate?! Shi Feng stared at the system notification window, flabbergasted. Compared to his past self, his current strength was much stronger. In the past, his best record for Chop was 90% Completion Rate. Although it was only a meager 2% increase, the gap was like the difference between heaven and earth. Based on the systems configuration, Completion Rates between 81% to 90% were categorized into the same group; achieving any percentage within this range would give an increase of three Proficiency Points. Also, at 90%, one could display 110% of a Skills effect. At 91%, a Skills effect was directly upgraded to 120% and would yield four Proficiency Points. The improvement to Thunder Flame Explosion was even more apparent. Previously, he could not even achieve an 85% Completion Rate on the Skill. Now, however, he had managed 90%. Shi Feng had killed a Level 35 Demonic Hound in just two moves. Its no wonder many had said Magic Weapons possessed frightening power and many experts could not bring themselves to divest their Magic Weapons in the past. So this was the case! Shi Fengs heart was pounding madly as he looked at the Level 35 Demonic Hound he had just annihilated. His compatibility with the Abyssal Blade right now was practically perfect. He felt invincible! 582 The True Power of a Magic Weapon Shi Feng killed over a dozen Level 35 Demonic Hounds, testing his various Skills. When used with the Abyssal Blade, he could manipulate every Skill of his as if just playing with a toy. He could casually mold the Skill to his liking, very easily exceeding his past records of Skill Completion Rates. In Gods Domain, Skill Completion Rates were an important indicator of a players actual strength. In the past, in order to improve the Completion Rate of one Skill by just 1%, many players had trained arduously for days, sometimes even weeks. Particularly, after reaching the 85% threshold, raising a Skills Completion Rate by 1% required a tremendous amount of effort. For some, even that wasnt enough; all the training in the world was useless. However, with the Abyssal Blade in hand, this ironclad law was instantly broken. When one wanted to improve their combat techniques, they first needed to learn how to control their own bodies. If one could not even control their form properly, they could never control the weapons in their hands. Shi Fengs control over his body had long since reached a very high standard. Unfortunately, he had not reached a similar level with his control over his weapons. He could not reach a level where he could feel even a strand of hair fall onto his swords edge. However, his compatibility with the Abyssal Blade now was practically perfect. It felt as if he had become one with the Magic Weapon, allowing his Skill Completion Rate to reach new highs. At this moment, he surpassed all previous records with one of his Basic Skills, Chop, achieving a 95% Completion Rate. If a Skills Completion Rate reached 95%, the Skill would display 135% of its effects. In other words, Shi Fengs current Chop dealt an additional 35% damage compared to his previous 85% Completion Rate. The increase in combat power was obvious. After continuously using the newly improved Abyssal Blade for such a long time, Shi Feng had grown addicted to the sensation he received from the Magic Weapon and the pleasure he felt from his strength gradually rising with every passing moment. His heart ached to remain in this state forever. After killing dozens of Demonic Hounds, Shi Fengs hunger was unsated. He wanted to continue to utilize these Demonic hounds to improve his Completion Rate. Unfortunately, time was of the essence. He needed to prioritize his quest for now. In the past, many of those who obtained Magic Weapons had told others not to involve themselves with these things as the Magic Weapons power would devour them. So, it turns out that the power they had referred to was not a Magic Weapons powerful Attributes. Shi Feng inwardly sighed as he looked at the Abyssal Blade in his hand. In the past, countless experts had trained arduously just so that they could increase their Skill Completion Rate by just one more percentage; some had even gone through all that effort for nothing. Yet, a Magic Weapon can achieve this feat easily. Moreover, as a Magic Weapon grows more powerful, this frightening compatibility rate will also intensify. This is the reason that players in the past had continued to upgrade their Magic Weapons, and as a result, drowned themselves in this sea of Skill Completion Rates, unable to pull themselves from the allure of this power. Thus far, Shi Feng had only trained for half an hour or so, and already, his stagnant Skill Completion Rates had improved massively. Moreover, Shi Feng could clearly feel that he had yet to reach his limit. Such power was truly terrifying! This was a temptation that no expert could distance themselves from. After all, there was not a single expert that did not wish to further refine their own techniques, particularly in this virtual world that was filled with various chance encounters. Even Shi Feng, someone who had played Gods Domain for over a decade, hungered to upgrade the Abyssal Blade once more, improving the Magic Weapons compatibility rate again. This way, he might be able to refine his Skill Completion Rate further. Achieving a 95% Completion Rate had already increased his combat power by 35%. Every 1% past 90% could increase a Skills effect significantly, not to mention past 95%. At that time, just how terrifying would his Skills become? It might even be possible to double his combat power. The impact of raising his Skill Completion Rates was far more valuable than learning a single Taboo Skill. After all, a Taboo Skill was only one attack. Although its might surpassed Skills of the same Tier, what would happen the Taboo Skills duration? In the end, he would return to his prior strength. Meanwhile, a player normally incorporated a variety of Basic Skills into their attacks when engaged in battle. If every Skill could achieve a 100% Completion Rate, one could easily wipe the floor with a player that had learned a Taboo Skill of the same Tier. This was the true power of a Magic Weapon. Its main purpose lay not in increasing its wielders Attributes, but rather, its main function was to improve the fundamentals of a players techniques. Not even Fragmented Legendary Weapons could offer such a devastating benefit, much less Epic Weapons. In the past, every player that wielded a Magic Weapon was undoubtedly a top-tier expert. Some even stood at Gods Domains peak. Shi Feng finally understood that their achievements were all due to the intense compatibility rates that Magic Weapons offered. Of course, this improvement method was more of a form of diabolism. After all, most of the apex experts of Gods Domain had attained their strength step by step. They had first trained their physical control to the very limit. They then focused on their control over their weapons. Apex experts like these possessed unshakable foundations. Even if they switched to new weapons and equipment, their strength would not decrease significantly and would soon recover. However, it was a different story for Magic Weapon wielders. For those who had obtained a Magic Weapon at the very start of the game, if they suddenly lost their Magic Weapons, their strength would plummet. Someone who had initially been an apex expert might instantly become a nobody. Hence, in the past, none of the wielders were willing to part with their Magic Weapons. As a result, their Magic Weapons eventually devoured them, and they were forced to start all over again. However, this inspired an idea in Shi Feng. If he wanted to nurture experts quickly, it would be best to start with searching for weapons with high compatibility rates. If a player possessed weapons or piece of equipment that was highly compatible, their strength would skyrocket. Currently, Zero Wing had extremely few top-tier experts, and the standard of the Guilds elite members was still relatively low. Meanwhile, Dungeons required very high levels of personal strength. Zero Wings advantage of raiding speed was only due to the equipment its team wore. In truth, they were far weaker than those teams that relied on personal combat techniques. The Dungeons Final Boss was particularly challenging for Zero Wing. There was practically no way to improve the equipment of Zero Wings core members any further at the moment. If they wished to increase their combat power, they could only do so through Skill Completion Rates. Unfortunately, until now, Zero Wings members had only focused on finding ways to obtain better weapons and equipment to increase their Attributes. They had mostly neglected to improve their Skill Completion Rates. Currently, even Fire Dance, the most powerful melee fighter on Zero Wings core team, could only achieve a maximum Skill Completion Rate of 80%. She was still a great distance away from reaching 85%. If he could improve Fire Dance and the others compatibility rates with their weapons, the combat power of Zero Wings core team would improve by leaps and bounds. Compatibility rate? Shi Feng pondered aloud. In fact, he did have a method that could improve ones compatibility rate; he could recruit a Master Forger into the Guild. Although Master Forgers could not produce a weapon with a 100% compatibility rate with a player, if Zero Wing had a Master Forger, said Forger could, more or less, produce tailor-made weapons and equipment with slightly higher compatibility rates for some of the Guilds members. This would help the Guilds experts massively. Only, nurturing a Master Forger was easier said than done Shi Feng no longer wasted time as he sheathed the Abyssal Blade and made his way to Gloomy Valley. Gray mist shrouded Gloomy Valley all-year round, limiting players vision as they explored the area. Moreover, Shi Feng could feel the gray mist suppressing all five of his senses while he wandered the Valley. It was as if he stood deep within the blood mist of the Demonkin armys killing intent. Only, the suppression effects were much weaker here. The majority of the monsters inside Gloomy Valley were Level 40 or above Elite rank. There were also plenty of Level 40 or above Special Elites roaming around. Even the outermost region of the valley was a challenge to get through. Meanwhile, in Gloomy Valleys inner region, the Level 40 Great Lord Noya stood guard at the gate leading to the next map. If one wished to journey to the new map, they first needed to kill Noya. Thats Noya? Sure enough, its strong. Shi Feng hid in the forest as he observed the massive gargoyle in front of the valleys entrance. [Noya] (Demonic Great Lord) Level 40 HP 10,000,000/10,000,000 583 Suppressing a Great Lord To current players, a Level 40 Demonic Great Lord was a nightmare. Noya was also a Gargoyle. Among Demonic Creatures, Gargoyles ranked at the top in terms of Magic Resistance and Defense. Worse, Gargoyles possessed a massive pair of wings that enabled them to soar through the sky. If players encountered one, they would not even have the chance to escape. Gargoyles could also attack from the sky, leaving melee players at a great disadvantage. Only ranged classes posed any threat to Gargoyles. A black slate tablet was embedded into the towering gate that Great Lord Noya protected. A faint gray barrier also prevented anyone from reaching the gate. Meanwhile, Demonic Power filled that black slate tablet; it was none other than the Chapter of Darkness that Shi Feng was trying to obtain. It was also the core energy source for the barrier protecting the stone gate. If one wanted to obtain the Chapter of Darkness, not only were they required to defend themselves against the Gargoyles attacks, but they also had to break the barrier. It was practically impossible for anyone to obtain the Chapter of Darkness without killing the Great Lord Noya. Only after defeating the Gargoyle could one attempt to break the gray barrier. As Shi Feng approached the gate stealthily, he could faintly hear noise from nearby, and he turned to look for the source. Why are players here at such a time? Shi Feng was surprised. A short distance from the massive stone gate, a team of a hundred players with levels ranging from 28 to 29 slowly approached, seemingly intending to raid the Great Lord. The sky grew darker by the minute, and it wouldnt be long before night arrived. To players, this was an extremely unfavorable situation. Ordinary players would normally hurry back to their respective Shelters at this time of day. Are they planning to raid Noya now? Shi Feng could not help his shock. At this moment, this team of 100 players had already spread out and moved into formation. It was obvious that they intended to raid Noya. Only, a Level 40 Field Great Lord was not an easy opponent. Even a 500-strong team would face one endingdeath. Otherwise, District Five would not have joined hands with several other Districts in an attempt to raid Noya. Meanwhile, the crusading army, which several Shelters had organized, consisted of 1,000 players. Of course, this did not mean that all 1,000 players would enter the battle simultaneously. Instead, they planned to use a rotational tactic, taking turns to wear out the Great Lord. Field Bosses would grow stronger depending on the number of players within their area of influence. For a Great Lord like Noya, when that number exceeded 100, its HP, Defense, and Attack Power would increase significantly. Hence, when fighting a Field Great Lord, it was ideal to send a team of 100 players or have several teams of 100 players rotate in and out of battle. This was also the method that Guilds favored when dealing with Field Bosses. Watching the 100 players stand before Noya, one could easily tell that they were not ordinary players based on their levels. In District Five, Level 28 or 29 players stood at the peak of the Shelter, yet, there were actually 100 such players here right now. However, against a Level 40 Great Lord, this team was still far from enough. Go! As the leading Elementalist shouted, the twelve Elementalists that had surrounded the Gargoyle promptly unfurled the magic scrolls in their hands and began chanting. These twelve magic scrolls seemed to be of one body as they formed a complex 12-star magic array. In the blink of an eye, this 12-star magic array enveloped the Great Lord Noya. Powerful elemental Mana continuously suppressed the Field Boss, who stood in this arrays center, causing the Great Lord to release an angry bellow. Humans! Its you damned humans again! Ill sacrifice you all to Lord Carlo! Despite the 12-star magic array, Noya still revealed a sinister smile. You can smile even in the face of death? the leading Elementalist sneered. Everyone, attack! With the Demon Suppressing Barrier in effect, it wont be able to display even one-tenth of its strength! The Chapter of Darkness is fated to belong to District One this time! Everyone nodded in agreement as they charged towards the Great Lord. The people from District One are insane. Shi Feng silently clicked his tongue. Although he had heard that District One was the most powerful Shelter in the Dark Den, trying to raid a Great Lord using such a brute-force method was clearly not a wise move. Just like the leading Elementalist had said, a Demon Suppressing Array formed by the power of twelve Elementalists was indeed powerful. Even a peerless Great Lord could only display about one-tenth of its strength while contained in this barrier. With this, their MTs could definitely tank a Level 40 Great Lord. However, the Demon Suppressing Array required twelve Elementalists to maintain it. Moreover, the barrier took an immense toll on the Elementalists Mana. If even one Elementalist ran out of Mana, the barrier would immediately crumble. Normally, only teams that were extremely confident in their DPS would attempt this method. After all, after one took into account the slots for MTs and healers, there were only 70 or so slots for DPS classes on a 100-player team. Losing another 12 core damage dealers would greatly affect the teams overall damage. Particularly, the abilities of the teams DPS were further put to the test when one considered the problem of the barriers duration. Following which, the six MTs of District One took turns receiving the Noyas attacks. With the rear line healers healing them, the MTs managed to stop the Gargoyles fierce attacks easily. At the same time, the other DPS of the team also began to attack the Great Lord madly. Fireballs, Frost Arrows, arrows All sorts of magical and physical attacks bombarded Noya. Although the Great Lords strength had been suppressed, greatly weakening its Attack Power and Defense, the players of District One could not inflict enough damage. The highest damage they dealt did not even exceed -1,000. Damn! Why does this monster have so much Defense?! the leading Elementalist frowned. Gritting his teeth, he shouted, Move on to Plan B! Immediately, a Cursemancer began chanting an incantation. The spell this Cursemancer used was one that Shi Feng was very familiar with. It was none other than the Tier 1 Curse that Ironwrists party had used, Dark Storm. Not only could it inflict large amounts of damage, but it could also heavily injure its target, greatly reducing the targets Defense. When Dark Storm struck Noya, damages of over -3,000 points appeared above its head, one after another The Tier 1 Curse only dealt a total damage of around -10,000 points to the Great Lord. To Noya, who possessed 10,000,000 HP, this was not even a scratch. Following which, everyones damage abruptly soared, and many dealt over -1,000 with their attacks. Unfortunately, the duration of Dark Storms effect was limited. A short moment later, everyones damage fell. Next! the leading Elementalist shouted. Another Cursemancer began chanting, similarly casting the Tier 1 Curse, Dark Storm. In such a way, the team repeatedly cast Tier 1 Curses at Noya. Eventually, the Gargoyles HP fell to 60%. What an amazing team. Not even Zero Wings core team is capable of wearing out a Level 40 Great Lord to such a degree. Shi Feng was quite surprised as he watched this scene. However, he was also pleased. Initially, he had struggled to think of a way to break the gray barrier. However, now that someone pinned down the Great Lord for him, he could head over to the barrier and take his time researching it. 584 What Can You Do to Me? While Shi Feng slowly circled to the other side of the battlefield, Great Lord Noyas HP suddenly decreased rapidly. This decrease could clearly be seen with the naked eye. At this moment, Noya was losing 1% of its HP every second. This sudden decrease was even greater than the damage that the District One team managed to cause. Is it nighttime already? the leading Elementalist lifted his head to look up at the gloomy sky. The moon had already emerged. As moonlight touched on the Great Lord, Noya began to change. Its originally massive three-story-tall body began to shrink rapidly, and its maximum HP fell from its original 10,000,000 to 6,000,000. However, as the Gargoyles body shrunk, its Strength continuously rose, the Great Lords damage increasing as well. Initially, Noya had only dealt around -2,000 to -3,000 to District Ones MTs. Now, however, every attack dealt over -4,000 damage. The MTs receiving the Great Lords attacks had more than 8,000 HP. Before, even if they were unlucky enough to receive a critical hit from the Great Lord, they would still live. Now, however, a critical hit would definitely kill an MT. Take turns activating your Lifesaving Skills to tank the Boss! Healers, concentrate on the lead MT! the leading Elementalist commanded. He had long since prepared for this. Following which, one of the Shield Warriors activated a Tier 1 Shield Wall, reducing the damage he received by half for 20 seconds. The damage Noya dealt instantly fell from nearly -5,000 points to just over -2,000 points. Meanwhile, the healers at the rear began dumping heals on the Shield Warrior, easily replenishing the 2,000-plus HP the Shield Warrior lost. However, after five seconds or so, the Shield Warrior suddenly struggled to cope with the Great Lords attacks. The damage Noyas attacks dealt suddenly increased from over -2,000 points to almost -4,000. If not for Shield Wall, the Shield Warrior might have lost his life instantly. Leader, Noya is more powerful than we thought! If its damage continues rising, our MTs wont last! a female Cleric said hurriedly. Since the battle had begun, the healers had not struggled to keep the teams MTs alive. They had also specifically chosen this time to challenge Noya. Based on their previous observations, Noyas HP during daytime was simply too high. When the sun set, however, the Gargoyles HP fell from 10,000,000 to 6,000,000, though its damage would soar in return. With their teams damage output, if Noya had 10,000,000 HP, they would not be able to defeat the Great Lord within the duration of the Demon Suppressing Barrier. So, they could only give the 6,000,000 HP Noya a try. Also, the longer Noya fought at night, the higher its damage became. Hence, they had chosen to challenge Noya near twilight. Only, the Great Lords damage scaling exceeded their initial estimations. Damn! Its damage is increasing far too quickly! The leading Elementalist glanced at his own remaining Mana. At most, the Demon Suppressing Barrier would last a few more minutes. Currently, however, Noya still had more than 3,000,000 HP. It was impossible for their team to deal that much damage in such a short time. Gritting his teeth, he yelled, Retreat! Soon, everyone began to back away from the Gargoyle in an organized retreat. The lead MT also began retreating from the barrier one step at a time. Not only could the Demon Suppressing Barrier suppress Demonic Creatures, but it also limited a Demons range of activity. Only, while no one repelled Noya, the Gargoyle was able to attack the barrier freely. The damage the barrier received rapidly depleted the twelve Elementalists Mana. By the time everyone left the barrier, Noyas eyes narrowed as it revealed a cold smile. The Gargoyle then roared. Suddenly, Noyas body cracked, some fragments falling from its body. These fragments then transformed into more than a dozen Miniature Noyas that were as tall as a normal person. However, these Miniature Noyas were no trivial monsters. Although each only had 200,000 HP, they were all Level 40 Chieftain ranked monsters. Immediately, these monsters bombarded the Demon Suppressing Barrier with attacks, and in just five seconds, the twelve Elementalists lost their remaining Mana. As a result, the Demon Suppressing Barrier crumbled. These Chieftain ranked Noyas then spread their wings, soaring into the air as they chased after the withdrawing players. For monsters capable of flight, it was childs play to chase players who fled on foot. After a short moment, the Gargoyles caught up to the escaping players of District One, engaging in a skirmish. With one attack, these Miniature Noyas dealt over -3,000 damage to the teams MTs. As for those who werent plate-armor classes, most were instantly killed. These Miniature Noyas damage practically rivaled Lord ranked monsters. Damn! Theyre just Chieftains! Why are their attacks so powerful?! a Guardian Knight shouted, complaining as he was beaten to death by three Miniature Noyas. Not even the teams healers could keep him alive. In just a moment, the team of 100 lost seven of its members. Meanwhile, the Great Lord Noya simply remained in front of the massive stone gate, protecting the Chapter of Darkness while watching the members of District One die one by one. If a team of 100 had to face over a dozen Chieftains, each with an Attack Power that could rival a Lord ranked monster, the team had no chance of survival. This Great Lord is really powerful. It also knows the Split Skill. With this Skill, there is no point in fighting a rotational battle. Shi Feng, who had been watching the battle from a short distance away, silently clicked his tongue. Split was a Skill that allowed a monster to split into many weaker versions of itself. If players did not kill these doppelgangers in time, these doppelgangers would become nutrients for the main body, recovering large amounts of HP. It was one of the most annoying Skills a Boss could possess. If a Great Lord like Noya possessed this Skill, a rotational battle would be useless. It was simply impossible for a team of 100 players to defeat so many Chieftains in time. No matter how many players a team swapped, the result would not change. However, Split was not without a weakness. After using Split, Noyas main form would not be able to attack, making it a perfect chance to damage the Great Lord. However, the raid team needed to be able to annihilate all the doppelgangers in time. Otherwise, there was no point in attacking the main body as Noya could recover the lost HP by absorbing its doppelgangers. Now that Noyas doppelgangers were chasing District Ones players, Shi Feng dashed towards the gray barrier. Despicable human! You dare think of stealing the Chapter of Darkness! Noya bellowed as it discovered Shi Feng standing before the gray barrier. Shi Feng responded to the Great Lord with a sideways glance that said, What can you do to me? Following which, Shi Feng ignored Noya as he began attacking the gray barrier. At this moment, Noya could only watch helplessly. As long as its doppelgangers were still alive, Noyas main body was unable to move or attack. This was the rule of the Split Skill, and not even a Great Lord could break this rule. As Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade, multiple silver blades of light that could cut even space itself bombarded the gray barrier. Boom! Boom! Boom! After over a dozen consecutive hits, cracks began to appear on the gray barrier. Unfortunately, these cracks began healing at a rate visible to the naked eye, taking only moments to disappear. Interesting. Shi Fengs eyes glowed. Immediately, Shi Feng launched a fierce assault on the barrier, his attack rate continuously increasing. There were two methods to break a barrier. One was through deciphering, while the other was through brute-force. However, the latter method required a very high Strength. Without having a certain amount of Strength, all attacks against the barrier would be useless. It was simply impossible for players at Shi Fengs level to force their way through this gray barrier. They could only think of a way to decipher it. However, Shi Feng was different. Currently, the Abyssal Blade was as strong as an Epic Weapon. Shi Feng also possessed the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragons Breath and the Epic ranked Seven Luminaries Ring. Furthermore, he wore the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Swordsmen. His Attributes far surpassed ordinary players of the same level. Despicable! Lowly ant, cease your actions! Noyas eyes turned crimson as it began to panic. However, as its doppelgangers were still around, it was unable to take action against Shi Feng. It could only watch as Shi Feng damaged the gray barrier. Despite the Chapter of Darkness supplying an endless stream of power, the barriers self-repair speed could not keep up with Shi Fengs damage. As a result, more and more cracks started appearing on the gray barrier. As the cracks expanded and were about to cover the entire barrier Human, you have truly angered me now! Noya released a frightening roar. In the next moment, the doppelgangers that had chased the members of District One collapsed, one after another. Thats right, collapsed, not absorbed. Noya canceled Split midway through the Skills duration. Leaping into the air, the Gargoyle flew towards Shi Feng. At this moment, a pitch-black scythe suddenly appeared in Noyas hand. Countless wraiths emitted ear-piercing screeches that echoed throughout the valley as they writhed on the snow-white blade of this scythe. Arriving before Shi Feng, Noya swung its scythe towards the despicable little ant. The scythe transformed into a black fissure that was as fine as a hair. This fissure was a phenomenon caused due to the scythes blade slicing apart space. It was as if space had been cut into two. This black fissure extended towards Shi Feng. 585 Perfect Skill Although Shi Feng had bombarded the gray barrier all this time, his attention never once left the Great Lord Noya. High-ranking Bosses in Gods Domain possessed very high intelligence. In a desperate situation, they were capable of carrying out actions that surpassed ones imaginations. Forcefully canceling Split caused a massive backlash. Initially, Noya still had over three million HP. Now, however, it only had over two million HP. Moreover, it was obvious that, overall, the Gargoyle had weakened significantly. This Great Lord is simply insane! Cold sweat slid down Shi Fengs back as he looked at the black fissure extending towards him. This move was the Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Dark Annihilation, and it was a Skill known for having the highest single target Attack Power among all Tier 3 Skills. Its might could rival even the Tier 4 Skill, Dimensional Slash. It was a frightening Skill that could only be dodged, not blocked. However, as Dark Annihilation was a very powerful Skill, its user would also receive a strong backlash that would place them in a Weakened state for a long time. Shi Feng had not expected the Great Lord to be so decisive. First, it forcefully canceled Split. Now, it even used a Tier 3 Taboo Skill. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately switched to the Aura of Earth and activated Absolute Defense, becoming invincible for five seconds. Immediately, a golden barrier appeared around Shi Fengs body. The instant the black fissure collided with this barrier, the impact sent Shi Feng flying. He felt as if he had just been struck by a truck. Shi Feng flew over twenty yards through the air, his body slamming into a cliff. However, Noya was far from done with its attack. The Gargoyle continued to brandish its scythe, sending a stream of black fissures striking at Shi Feng, who was embedded inside the cliff. Dark Annihilation was not a one-off Skill. Rather, the Skill functioned to enhance its users attacks for a certain amount of time. After suffering over a dozen attacks, the cliff collapsed, transforming into neatly cut gravel that exploded in all directions. This sensational scene stupefied the players of District One, who currently watched from afar. Compared to their prior battle with Noya, Shi Fengs battle with the Great Lord was on an entirely different level. If Noya had used this move against them, it would have wiped them out instantly. They would not have had a chance. Damn! That Gargoyle had actually been toying with us! The leading Elementalist tightly gripped his staff, feeling humiliated. Leader, this is weird. Why is Noya attacking a cliff instead of us? Whats going on here? a Level 29 Shield Warrior asked curiously. Has Noya gone insane? Thats not it. Ive already used Eagle Eyes to take a look. Noya is currently attacking a Swordsman player, a Ranger explained. This Swordsman sure is dumb. He actually tried to steal the Chapter of Darkness while we fought Noya. Does he really think the Gargoyle will let him steal the Chapter so easily? If it were that simple, we would have done it long ago. Many players on the team began ridiculing Shi Fengs foolish actions. Alright, thats enough. Lets hurry and retreat. If Noya comes after us again, we will truly be finished, the leading Elementalist said. Everyone nodded silently before escaping the valley. Despite their ridicule, they still felt very grateful towards Shi Feng. Just the brief battle against Noyas doppelgangers had reduced their numbers to less than 60. If things had dragged on, none of them would have walked out of here alive. As everyone turned to leave, the Ranger who had previously used Eagle Eyes suddenly exclaimed, Team Leader Blue Frost, that Swordsman is still alive! Alive? How can this be? Not even a Shield Warrior with Protection Blessing and Shield Wall can survive. How could a Swordsman possibly live after that attack? the leading Elementalist named Blue Frost could not bring himself to believe the Rangers words. Its true! If you dont believe me, you can ask the other Rangers as well! the Ranger replied, his shock clearly written all over his face. Curious, the other Rangers also activated Eagle Eyes and looked towards the cliff. Immediately, they all found themselves tongue-tied. When Blue Frost saw the shocked expressions on the other Rangers faces, he had no choice but to believe it to be true. Who is that? Blue Frost could not help but ask. Against such an attack, their team of one hundred could only embrace their deaths; it was simply impossible for them to block it. Yet, this mysterious Swordsman had survived against that frightening power. In Blue Frosts memory, a person with such capabilities did not exist. Even those Mavericks he knew of were incapable of doing so. At this moment, Shi Feng slowly stepped away from the broken cliff, his HP holding steady at 100%. Such frightening power. Shi Feng stretched, the bones all over his body cracking and popping. After receiving over a dozen Dark Annihilation attacks, he felt as if his entire body was about to fall apart. If not for the Invincible effect of Absolute Defense, he would be a dead man by now. In Gods Domain, attack and defense Skills were not absolute. In front of absolute power, even invulnerability was useless. Fortunately, Absolute Defense was not a Skill that current Bosses could overcome. If he had chosen to use Parry or Defensive Blade, he would most likely be dead. Seeing Shi Feng still alive, Noyas anger burned even brighter. Ignoring its weakened body, the Great Lord swung its scythe towards Shi Feng, adamant in reaping the Swordsmans life. Youre still not giving up? Do you really think that I wont fight you? Shi Feng frowned. Immediately, he activated Heavenly Dragons Power and Blade Liberation, jumping up to meet the Gargoyle in battle. Even if the Great Lord were in peak condition, Shi Feng would still be confident of putting up a good fight. Heavenly Dragons Power increased Shi Fengs Strength Attribute by 100%, and Defense and HP by 300%. Immediately, Shi Fengs HP broke past 30,000; his Defense climbed to more than double that of an MT of the same level. As for Blade Liberation, when the Skill was used on the Level 30 Abyssal Blade, Shi Fengs Strength increased by 90%. His Agility also increased by 90%. Although Shi Fengs body had not changed, the power within him right now resembled that of an ancient beast. The Abyssal Blade transformed into a streak of light as it struck the black scythe in Noyas hands. Boom! An explosion shook the air. Shi Fengs attack grounded the Level 40 Great Lord, forcing the Gargoyle to retreat by two steps as it landed on the ground. The ground shattered with each step. In contrast, Shi Feng managed to land effortlessly. Turning his feet slightly, he dashed towards the Great Lord. After activating Heavenly Dragons Power and Blade Liberation, Shi Fengs mind experienced serenity and clarity like never before. As he arrived before Noya, he activated Purgatorys Power, increasing both his Attack Speed and damage once more. His arm that held onto the Abyssal Blade then reflexively used Chop. Three full silver moons struck Noyas body from three different directions. The Abyssal Blade instantly pierced Noyas skin, which was harder than steel. The Great Lord released an anguished cry as the force of the attack threw it backward, frightening damages appearing above his head, one after another. -5,540, -8,346, -16,650. The final strike of Chop was even a critical hit. In total, Chop devoured more than 30,000 HP from Noya. System: Chop Completion Rate 98%, resulting in 160% of Skills effect. Skill Proficiency +4. Shi Feng broke his previous record. Noya raged. It tried to counterattack, but unfortunately for the Great Lord, Shi Feng had long since sensed its intentions. Shifting his body slightly, he easily dodged the Gargoyles claw. He then leaped into the air, tightening his grip on the Abyssal Blade. In the next moment, countless arcs of lightning and scorching flames emerged from the Abyssal Blade, which then transformed into a meteor that plummeted towards the Great Lords head. Every movement had been fluid and natural. Shi Feng felt as if he had gathered all his Strength to a single point, the tip of his sword. The instant he swung the Abyssal Blade, he felt incomparable satisfaction. Although Noya tried to defend with its scythe, the spatial suppression of Thunder Flame Explosion caused the Great Lords movements to turn sluggish. Noya could not keep up with the Abyssal Blades descending speed at all. Boom! Fire and lightning consumed Noya. -36,154. System: Thunder Flame Explosion Completion Rate 100%, resulting in 220% of Skills effect. Skill Proficiency +4. Is he human? The District One players who watched from afar were stupefied, shock filling their hearts. A player was actually capable of overwhelming a Level 40 Great Lord all by himself. If others heard of this, nobody would believe such a tale. Yet, that was exactly the situation they had just witnessed 586 Creating a Legend Leader, who is that? the vice-leader of the team, a beautiful Level 29 female Cleric named Evening Lotus, could not help but ask as she looked to Blue Frost. Blue Frost was the number one player in District One. Not only were his combat techniques excellent, but he also possessed plenty of contacts. He knew a lot of experts and even a few rarely-seen Mavericks. Moreover, he had been a Beta Tester of Gods Domain before the game had launched. Out of all of the players of the available Shelters, nobody was more familiar with Gods Domain than Blue Frost. I wish to know that as well, Blue Frost replied, smiling bitterly as he shook his head. None of the experts I know of are capable of reaching such a standard. Just a single attack from Shi Feng had managed to cause over -30,000 damage to Noya. Shi Fengs damage could already rival the damage of their entire 100-man team. The difference between them was inconceivable. Blue Frost recognized himself as one of the players standing at the top of Gods Domain. However, after experiencing Shi Fengs power, he finally realized that there would always be a sky above the clouds. It would be great if we can befriend him. Such an expert will definitely be one of Gods Domains leading figures in the future. If we can become friends with him, it could massively help our District Ones Shelter, Evening Lotus stated. Indeed. If we can recruit such an expert into our Shelter, we will become one of the strongest Shelters out there. Blue Frost nodded in agreement. Their District One was only considered the top Shelter in this region. However, that was not the case when they included other regions. Currently, players could only travel to their desired destinations using their own two feet. Their range of activities could not extend past a single region. Hence, for now, exchanges between different regions were very inconvenient. However, that story would change once other forms of transportation appeared. When movement between regions became more convenient, more competition would certainly greet them. Naturally, their District One would no longer be the strongest Shelter. If they had an expert like Shi Feng supporting them when such a time arrived, the position of their Shelter could rise significantly. Leader, what are we going to do now? Leave? Or Evening Lotus asked. Currently, Shi Feng still fought an intense battle against Noya. If they joined the battlefield now, it would look like they were trying to take advantage of the situation. If that happened, rather than finding friendship with Shi Feng, they would become enemies instead. Isnt it obvious? We wait, Blue Frost said very definitively. Wouldnt it be a pity if we lost the chance to befriend such an impressive expert? We have the perfect opportunity to do so right now. Although he is very powerful, he mustve used some sort of Berserk Skill to achieve such strength. Such Skills wont have a long duration. Sooner or later, he will have to escape. At that time, if we lend him a helping hand, wont it be easy to get acquainted with him? Evening Lotus nodded in agreement after hearing these words. Mavericks were very arrogant. Normally, they did not bother with people like them. Hence, it was not easy to befriend a Maverick. However, if they sacrificed themselves to save Shi Feng, even a powerful Maverick like him would be willing to get to know them. Hearing Blue Frosts words, the other members of the team also expressed their agreement. It was not easy to earn the favor of a Maverick. It was especially true for a Maverick like Shi Feng. If they could get such an expert to owe them a favor, they would not mind suffering some deaths or injuries. Hence, everyone quickly started to prepare. As soon as Shi Feng turned to flee, they would move in to hinder the Great Lord. \--- Currently, Shi Feng had no idea what was going on around him. He was already intoxicated with the feeling from his previous attack. Is this what a 100% Completion Rate feels like? Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Blade in his hand in disbelief, his mind recalling the previous attack. Since he had begun playing Gods Domain, this was the first time he had achieved a 100% Skill Completion Rate. The sensation was simply wondrous. As a result of Thunder Flame Explosion achieving a 100% Completion Rate, the Skill displayed 220% of its effect. Although the Skills Fainted effect was ineffective against the Great Lord, the Gargoyle had received the Movement Speed Reduction debuff in full. Moreover, due to Shi Feng achieving a 100% Skill Completion Rate, Noyas speed, which originally would have reduced to one-sixth of its normal speed, had now reduced to one-thirteenth of its original. The debuffs duration also lasted over a dozen seconds. Even if the Great Lord were at its peak, having its speed reduced to only one-thirteenth of its original would slow it to a turtles pace, not to mention the current Noya, who had suffered two debuffs already. Noyas current Attack and Movement Speeds were as effective as if it were in a Fainted state. At this moment, even a Level 1 could go up and give Noya a kick without dying. Shi Feng also knew that this was a great opportunity that would not be available a second time. Currently, Noya only had two million HP remaining. Not only was it suffering from two weakening debuffs, but it had also received a Thunder Flame Explosion at 100% Completion Rate. Most importantly, Shi Feng was at his peak. Finish it! This thought suddenly emerged in Shi Fengs mind. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to drive off Noya temporarily before shifting his focus to breaking the gray barrier. However, the rare opportunity before him was simply too tempting. That was a Field Great Lord! Even the loot of an ordinary Field Lord was astounding, with Fine-Gold Equipment being the most common among the drops. If one were lucky, they could even obtain Dark-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, High Lords had a very high possibility of dropping Dark-Gold Equipment. As for Great Lords, they would drop Dark-Gold Equipment with 100% certainty, and there was even a good chance of Epic items dropping. Even if no Epic items dropped, there would still be forging designs, recipes, and materials of equal value. In the past, even after sacrificing thousands of lives to kill a Great Lord of the same level, a Guild would still profit. One could just imagine how frightening a Great Lords value was. Currently, a greatly weakened Level 40 Great Lord stood before him. How could he let such a golden opportunity go? Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Nine Dragons Slash and Phantom Kill. He even activated Black Emperor, the trump card he had saved all this time. Blade Liberations effect only lasted 20 seconds. After these 20 seconds, if he were still unable to kill Noya, he would have no choice but to give up and run. Hence, Shi Feng decided to use all of his available Skills. Immediately, Shi Feng, his doppelganger, and the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms attacked Noya. With its speed reduced, Noya was incapable of resisting the attacks. However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied. Pointing the Abyssal Blade towards the sky, he activated the Magic Weapons newest Skill, Abyssal Curse. Clouds of black mist suddenly covered the sky. These clouds then submerged themselves into Noyas body. Immediately, the Gargoyle howled with anguish. Although a Great Lord possessed very high resistances, Abyssal Curse still managed to reduce 10% of Noyas Attributes. As a result, not only did Noyas HP fall to 1,800,000, its Defense also significantly decreased. At the same time, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms assaulted the Great Lord with a constant stream of attacks. Each phantom dealt over -1,500 damage, -3,000 damage if it were a critical hit. Fortunately, the Abyssal Blade had a critical chance of 50%. In total, the twelve Abyssal Blades were capable of dealing up to -30,000 damage every second. There was even less need to mention Shi Fengs doppelganger, who had activated Blade Liberation. Every casual attack from the doppelganger dealt over -3,000 damage, or over -6,000 damage if it was a critical hit. Including the damage from by various Skills, the doppelgangers damage output was simply mind-blowing. The numerous critical hits allowed Shi Feng to accumulate 30 stacks of Death Auras quickly. He also continuously utilized the Death Auras to reduce his Skills Cooldowns. Although the Death Auras could only be used to reduce the Cooldown of Skills he had learned, it was still a very powerful effect. Take the Tier 1 Chop for example. Shi Feng could instantly remove the Skills Cooldown by using a stack of Death Auras. As for Skills such as Thunder Flame Explosion and Thundering Flash, Shi Feng could use them every three to four seconds. Every one of these Skills could destroy more than 20,000 or 30,000 of Noyas HP. Moreover, Shi Feng continued to hack at the Great Lord with the Abyssal Blade, devouring HP as the Magic Weapons Passive Attribute quickly accumulated a bonus of 20% damage. As the recipient of these attacks, Noyas remaining 1,800,000 HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. In total, the Great Lord lost around 90,000 HP every second. In ten short seconds, Noyas HP fell below 1,000,000. However, Blade Liberations duration was reaching its end. During Shi Fengs initial collision with Noya, he had wasted nearly one second. Taking everything into account, he now had less than nine seconds to finish Noya off. Blade Liberation had a very powerful backlash. Once the Skills duration ended, Shi Fengs Attributes would instantly reduce by 80%. At that time, even if Noya only had several tens of thousands of HP remaining, the Great Lord could easily kill him. Bring it on! Shi Feng gritted his teeth. Right now, he was in a race against time. Suddenly, Shi Feng sucked in a mouthful of air as he activated Dragon Breath. A white beam lanced through the Great Lord Noya, causing critical damage of over -50,000 points. Shi Feng immediately followed up with a Firestorm. With both Heavenly Dragons Power and Blade Liberation activated, Firestorms power became even more frightening. Dragons of fire descended from the sky, one after another, completely devouring the Level 40 Gargoyle and turning the Great Lords surroundings into a sea of flames. Meanwhile, damages of over -30,000, and even -60,000, points appeared on Noyas head. Firestorm lasted a full five seconds. During this time, Shi Feng continued his relentless assault on the Great Lord. When only four seconds were left on Blade Liberation, Noya still had 500,000 HP. The final strike, Flame Burst! Shi Feng shouted, the Abyssal Blade instantly transforming into a miniature sun. At this time, Shi Fengs doppelganger had similarly activated Flame Burst. Shi Feng then activated Divine Providence, a faint golden glow suddenly enveloping his body. Knowing that death was already on its doorstep, Noyas eyes suddenly glowed a bloody red. It had actually managed to break free from the Movement Speed Reduction debuff and brandished its scythe at Shi Feng. Every strike from the scythe seemed capable of cutting apart space itself. This was also the last Skill in Noyas arsenal, the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Deaths Tribute. This move was a Domain Skill, and it was capable of causing horrific amounts of damage to enemies within a certain range. Upon Deaths Tributes activation, the area 50 yards around Noya turned deathly silent. Wraiths and evil spirits began to emerge from the ground. There were also dark blades moving through the area, and anything that came into contact with these blades immediately turned into sand and dirt. What kind of battle is this? Evening Lotus was shocked as she watched the battle from afar. On one side, there was the sun. On the other, the end of the world had arrived. If players like them participated in this battle, they would die instantly, without even ash remaining of their bodies. Die! At this moment, Shi Feng couldnt care less what the Great Lord was trying to do. Without hesitation, he dove straight into Death Tributes domain. If he did not fight now, once Blade Liberations time was up, he would not be a match for the Great Lord. Twenty-four consecutive strikes! One after another, miniature suns melded into the darkness of Deaths Tribute. In the next moment, Shi Feng and his doppelganger struck the Great Lord Noya a total of twenty-four times, each strike accurately hitting Noyas weak points. Every one of Shi Fengs attacks dealt over -20,000 damage and -40,000 with a critical hit. As for the doppelganger, every one of its attacks dealt over -10,000 damage and -20,000 if it were a critical hit. In the blink of an eye, twenty-four dazzling blades of light illuminated the Gloomy Valley. Noyas remaining 500,000 HP plunged to zero, frustration filling the Gargoyles eyes as its body fell to the ground. At this moment, Shi Feng also knelt; his complexion was deathly pale. Fresh blood covered his entire body as if he had just taken a dip in a gory pool. As for his remaining HP, he had less than 500. 587 Frightening Harvest of a Great Lord He won...? Blue Frost and the others, who had waited patiently for the time to save Shi Feng, were dumbfounded. They could not bring themselves to believe what their eyes had just witnessed. A single player had actually defeated a Level 40 Great Lord. Although they had seen other Mavericks defeat the monsters serving as gatekeepers to new maps, that was in the past. The monsters those Mavericks had gone up against had merely been Lords. A Great Lord, on the other hand, was on a completely different level. This fact had been reinforced after they witnessed Noyas ultimate move, Deaths Tribute. Everything within 50 yards of the Great Lord had turned into sand and dirt. No living creature could survive in that domain. Isnt that person way too powerful? He actually survived the Great Lords ultimate move. Just how high are his HP and Defense?! a Level 29 Shield Warrior exclaimed. Back when the Shield Warrior had received Noyas normal attack, despite having activated Shield Wall, he had still received over -4,000 damage. If he had not possessed Shield Walls 50% Damage Reduction effect, he would have died on the spot. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights wielded shields. Not only could ones shield increase a players Defense, but they also possessed a Block Rate. It was why these two classes could serve as a teams MTs. However, Noyas Deaths Tribute was not a normal attack. It was a powerful AOE Skill. Yet, Shi Feng had still managed to survive after receiving it His Defense and HP were inconceivable. In reality, Shi Feng was also rejoicing. He truly had not expected to survive Noyas last attack. The power of the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Deaths Tribute, was no joke. Even against a player of the same Level, their chances of survival were practically nil. It was the same even if said player was an MT who had activated a Lifesaving Skill. Although Heavenly Dragons Power increased both his Defense and HP by 300%, the might of a Tier 2 Taboo Skill rivaled that of a Tier 3 Skill. Defeating a mere Tier 1 player like himself would be childs play for Noya. Even a Tier 2 player would be badly crippled if they managed to survive. With the remaining 30,000 HP he had at the time, he should have had no chance of surviving the ordeal. Shi Feng could only think of one reason for his miraculous survival. Magic Resistance! Deaths Tribute was an attack that combined both physical and magical damage, with magical damage as the main component. Meanwhile, his high Magic Resistance had negated a large amount of the Taboo Skills magical damage, and as a result, allowed him to survive. Leader, are we still going over to meet him? Evening Lotus asked after recovering from her stupor. Yes! Of course, were going! He has just achieved such a feat, and we are the witnesses of this legend. How can we not go and congratulate him? At this moment, Blue Frosts eyes were filled with reverence as he looked at Shi Feng. To them, a Great Lord was an immovable mountain. Blue Frost even had yet to hear of anyone throughout Gods Domain overcoming this mountain. Yet, the man before them had easily scaled it, achieving a miracle that nobody had managed until now. On the other side, Shi Feng did not remain idle. After killing Noya, Shi Fengs Level instantly rose by one, pushing him to Level 33 and allowing him to recover significantly. Immediately after, Shi Feng sent a few slashes at the gray barrier. Blade Liberation was still in effect, so it was the best chance for him to shatter the barrier around the gate. Previously, before Shi Feng had used any of his Berserk Skills, the gray barrier barely defended against Shi Fengs attacks. Now, however, it had only taken a few swings to shatter the gray barrier. Like a balloon being poked with a needle, the barrier released a pop as it shattered completely. Shi Feng then jumped up and retrieved the black slate tablet from the stone gate. Ive finally got it. Shi Feng grinned at the Chapter of Darkness that was shrouded in a faint layer of demonic aura. [Chapter of Darkness] (Dark-Gold Rank Item) The Chapter of Darkness brims with Soul Energy. You may pass it to a Shelters Caretaker to enhance the Shelters power and activate a portion of the Chapter of Darknesss ability. Shi Feng then stored the Chapter of Darkness away with satisfaction. Now that he had obtained the Chapter of Darkness, his task here was finally complete. Whats left for him now was to collect the loot from Great Lord Noya. The moment Shi Feng arrived before Noyas body, Blade Liberations effect ended. Suddenly, his whole body lost strength, and his feet caught air. His Attributes sharply reduced by 80% as well. At this moment, he was not even as powerful as an ordinary player. The aftereffects of using twofold berserk sure is severe. Even my mental power has nearly depleted. Shi Feng suddenly felt a powerful migraine assaulting his head, and all he wanted was to lie down and sleep. If not for the Great Lords enticing loot, he would have logged out to rest that instant. Noya was as tall as a three-story building. Despite Shi Feng having activated Divine Providence before killing the Gargoyle, a jackpot had not occurred. Loot had not covered the ground around Noyas body at all. On the contrary, Shi Feng only saw six items beside Noyas body. Are the monsters in the Dark Den all so stingy? Shi Feng frowned. If he had killed a Great Lord outside the Dark Den, the monster would have dropped a minimum of ten items. Although Shi Feng had not hoped that Divine Providence would grant him a jackpot from a Great Lord, was there a need to be this shabby? After all the trouble he went through, he had only obtained six items Shi Feng then picked up one item after another. With each subsequent item Shi Feng picked up, his heart grew increasingly colder. He had only managed to encounter such a heaven-sent opportunity after much difficulty, yet, in the end, this was all he got in return? Out of the three items he had already picked up, all three were pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. None of these pieces were even set equipment, not to mention weapons.. When Shi Feng collected the fifth item, however, he was suddenly dumbfounded. Teleportation Magic Array Design! When Shi Feng saw this item, he began to have visions of mountains of gold. Players residing in the Dark Den might be unfamiliar with teleportation arrays as their only form of travel was by foot, but to players outside the Dark Den, they were quite familiar with the concept. After all, when players outside the Dark Den traveled to faraway maps to grind monsters, they normally used teleportation arrays to save on travel time. However, teleportation arrays could not teleport a player to every corner of Gods Domain, as a majority of the locations in Gods Domain did not possess a teleportation array. For such locations, players could only teleport to the nearest map and run the rest of the way. Even then, they would still have to waste a large amount of time. Meanwhile, the Teleportation Magic Array Design could easily solve this problem. As long as one paid a certain price and constructed a Teleportation Magic Array at a grinding spot, players could easily teleport to that location. Of course, unlike the teleportation arrays one would normally find in the Teleportation Halls, which allowed teleportation between various large cities, the teleportation arrays one could construct with this forging design were the simplest versiona one-to-one teleportation array. These teleportation arrays only allowed teleportation between two locations. Even so, it was something many Guilds dreamed of obtaining. Only, Teleportation Magic Array Designs were not that easily obtainable. Normally, Great Lords or above dropped them. Moreover, their drop-rate was horrifically low. There was no guarantee one would obtain a design even after killing a hundred Great Lords. On the market, a single Teleportation Magic Array Design was worth more than ten Epic items. Its value was only less than Fragmented Legendary items. However, nobody would be so foolish as to sell the Teleportation Magic Array Designs they obtained. For such a strategic-level item, not a single player would willingly trade it even if they were offered 20 or 30 Epic items. Depending on the Level of an Epic item, there would come a time when it would lose its value. However, Teleportation Magic Array Designs would never have such a problem. In the past, even after Gods Domain had been in operation for over a decade, these Forging Designs were still incomparably valuable. These were better at maintaining their value than any other item in the game. 588 System Upgrade My efforts werent in vain. Shi Feng sighed as he stored the Teleportation Magic Array Design. This single Forging Design made all of his efforts worth it. His trip to the Dark Den had not been wasted at all. While a piece of Epic Equipment might improve the combat power of a single player, a single Teleportation Magic Array Design could improve a Guild as a whole. As players reached higher levels, the maps they would journey to would be much farther away from cities. Currently, players visiting leveling maps around Level 30 could still reduce their travel time significantly by utilizing the teleportation arrays in cities. However, maps after Level 35 practically had no available arrays. Players were required to run across at least one entire map to get to their desired destinations. Even if players did not rest and did not encounter any monsters on their journey, with players current levels, they would require at least three hours to cross a map. Moreover, the higher level the map was, the larger it would be, which would result in longer travel times. Hence, after players reached Level 35, it was very normal to return to cities only once every two or three days. They would return only after they had exhausted their Consumable items or when their equipment was in dire need of repair. With a teleportation array, Zero Wings members could return to the city or go out to the fields any time they wished, saving plenty of time. They also wouldnt need to stay on guard throughout the night; they could easily return to the Guild Residence. With this, Zero Wings members could grind more efficiently, widening the gap between them and other Guilds. Shi Feng picked up the last item that Noya had dropped. The last item was a dark-gold whistle decorated with many complex runes carved into its metal. A mount! Shi Feng was shocked once more when he saw this whistle. Mounts were one of the means of transport in Gods Domain. After all, Gods Domain was massive. Not only was it laborious to travel from place to place constantly, but it would also take a huge toll on a players body. This was where Mounts came into play. Shi Feng was no stranger to Mounts. In the past, as the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, he had plenty of Mounts to choose from. However, the Mount he just obtained was different from those in the past. This was a Dark-Gold Mount. In Gods Domain, like equipment, Mounts were categorized into different ranks. There were Common, Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, Epic, and even Legendary rank. Mounts of different quality possessed varying abilities. Common Mounts could only be used for transportation, and they provided an additional Movement Speed bonus of 100%. In other words, a journey that one would normally take two hours to complete would only take an hour, saving players plenty of time. As long as players reached a certain Level, they could go to cities and purchase the most common Mounts. Bronze Mounts were slightly rarer, and not only could they be used as a means of transport, but they also possessed some offensive capabilities. They provided an additional Movement Speed bonus of 120%. Bronze Mounts could not be purchased in cities and were only available through some high-level Rare Quests, large-scale Team Dungeons, or when a players Reputation with certain powers reached a specific level. It was extremely difficult for ordinary players to obtain Bronze Mounts. As for Mysterious-Iron Mounts, other than having significant improvements to their offensive capabilities, they could also carry items for players, having the same capacity as a players mobile bag. The Mounts also increased a players Movement Speed by 150%. Such mounts could only be obtained through Super Rare Quests or large-scale Team Dungeons with a low drop-rate. Secret-Silver Mounts were extremely rare. Not only did they possess strong offensive capabilities, but they also possessed some special Skills that could be used to assist players. They could also carry more items than Mysterious-Iron Mounts, and the Movement Speed bonus they provided was 180%. They were even rarer than multiple pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment. Fine-Gold Mounts were as rare as a phoenix feather. Not even the Guild Leader of a large Guild would have one. A Fine-Gold Mounts strength was the equivalent of a Special Elites of the same Level, and it provided 220% Movement Speed bonus. A Fine-Gold Mount was no less rare than two or three Epic items. Dark-Gold Mounts were even more impressive. The Mount itself was already the equivalent of a Chieftain of the same Level. In addition, it also had special Skills that made it even stronger than an ordinary Chieftain. As for the Movement Speed bonus, a Dark-Gold Mount provided 280%. In the past, the best Mount Shi Feng had obtained was Fine-Gold rank. He never expected that he would actually obtain a Dark-Gold Mount from killing a single Great Lord. His luck was inconceivable. Even Grand Lords have an extremely low chance of dropping Dark-Gold Mounts. The drop-rate from Great Lords should be practically zero. This could be a system reward item for killing this Great Lord gatekeeper. Shi Feng rejoiced as he examined the dark-gold whistle in his hand. In Gods Domain, players could purchase Mounts in cities once they reached Level 40. Shi Feng had originally planned to complete some Rare Quests to obtain a Mysterious-Iron Mount once he reached Level 40. However, that was no longer necessary. With a Dark-Gold Mount, he could move even faster than when he activated Wind Rider. Moreover, Wind Rider had a limited duration, whereas a Dark-Gold Mount had no such limitation. In addition, a Dark-Gold Mount possessed significant combat power and special Skills. Overall, while out in the fields, a Dark-Gold Mount was far more useful than an Epic item. Unfortunately, it will still be some time before I reach Level 40. When Shi Feng thought about how powerful a Dark-Gold Mount was, he looked forward to the day he could equip this Mount of his. Mounts in Gods Domain were not static. They could become stronger if nurtured properly. In the beginning, Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Mounts only possessed combat power equivalent to that of a Common Monster of the same Level. However, through careful nurturing, it was not impossible to raise their combat power to the standard of an Elite or Special Elite. Naturally, Dark-Gold Mounts had far greater potential. From the moment they were born, they were already as strong as a Chieftain of the same Level. After nurturing, they could easily become Lords or even High Lords. In the past, Shi Feng had seen many wealthy players and upper echelons of first-rate Guilds parade their Lord-ranked Mounts on the streets, attracting shock and awe of many players. Compared to luxury cars in the real world, these Mounts were several times more impressive. Lord ranked monsters were Bosses in 20-man Team Dungeons. If one could ride such a monster, one could just imagine what kind of deterrent it would be. If Shi Feng could nurture his Dark-Gold Mount to become a High Lord quickly, it would significantly improve his combat power. Just as Shi Feng stored away the dark-gold whistle and was about to turn around and leave, the sound of a system notification suddenly rang out by his ear. System Announcement: Gods Domain will be undergoing a system upgrade. The system upgrade will require 10 real-time hours. All players must log out of the game within 10 minutes. Why has the third evolution started so soon? Shi Feng was momentarily speechless. Shouldnt it initiate only after players have conquered the first 100-man Team Dungeon? Did a team already manage to raid one? In the past, Gods Domains third evolution was one that affected the game the most. There were two reasons why Shi Feng had not hurried to raid a 100-man Team Dungeon all this time. Firstly, he still lacked sufficient strength. Secondly, the impact of the third evolution was simply too massive. It was still not something that he could take advantage of at the moment. Thats not right. It still shouldnt be possible for anyone to raid a 100-man Team Dungeon yet. The precondition for doing so is to have all players reach Level 30, attain their Tier 1 classes, and achieve peak combat power of a Tier 1 class. However, even with these conditions fulfilled, the success rate of clearing a 100-man Team Dungeon is no more than 20%. At the very least, a team needed to be fully geared with the set equipment from the 50-man Team Dungeons to have even a 30% to 40% success rate. Shi Feng shook his head, immediately denying this possibility. Currently, all of the various large Guilds were still trying to conquer 50-man Team Dungeons. How could they possibly have raided a 100-man Team Dungeon successfully? Shi Feng had to admit that the system evolution this time would greatly impact his plans. 589 Era of God’s Domain I wonder how Melancholic has been? Hopefully, she has collected a sufficient stock of Mana Crystals, Shi Feng muttered somewhat regrettably as he rubbed his forehead. While the third evolution of the Main God System meant that the world of Gods Domain was going to become even more fleshed out and realistic, it also indicated the opening of a new door. This third evolution would send Gods Domain to a whole new peak. Not only would demand of Mana Crystals suddenly rise, but the real world would also undergo some changes. Initially, Shi Feng had not expected this change for at least another dozen days or so. The largest impact would be the focus shifting from an era of physical fitness to an era of Gods Domain. After the second evolution, everyone had a vague method of testing a players skills through their Skill Completion Rates. Players who could achieve a Skill Completion Rate of 69% or below were basic players, whereas those above 70% were considered experts. As to what standard of an expert, nobody could accurately tell. However, after the third evolution of Gods Domain, this indicator would become very clear. After the third evolution of Gods Domain, the importance of Skill Completion Rate would grow, especially in battles between players. Meanwhile, the style of combat available would also become more varied. There would be field battles, survival battles, and more. Those who pursued excitement and limits would not miss this opportunity, and these future battles would allow everyone to witness a realistic world that was completely different from the one everyone was familiar with. These battles were far more exciting than the actual fighting competitions in the real world. They were just like the real survival battle that caused a sensation to sweep across the world dozens of years ago. In order to satisfy some of the worlds top figures, some of the major powers in the real world had secretly procured death-row inmates, having them engage in battle in specified locations. The winner of such battles would not only obtain their freedom, but they would also receive a large sum of Credits. In the end, this situation had resulted in many major powers nurturing their own experts in secret and forcing them into such survival battles. Despite major governments banning these battles on the surface, many were still conducted secretly throughout the world. Meanwhile, after Gods Domain underwent its third evolution and activated similar competitive battles, the game had immediately attracted a large number of players. In addition, due to Gods Domains combat system reaching the peak of perfection, the game had managed to replace many of the popular fighting competitions in the real world. After all, not only were fights in Gods Domain without danger, but the fighters in these competitions could also improve their strength through these battles. In addition, many of those who were disabled in the real world could obtain a complete body in Gods Domain. Whether they were blind, deaf, or missing limbs, as long as one did not suffer from any brain damage or mental disabilities, they could enjoy life as experts in Gods Domain. Due to these changes, the entire world entered the era of Gods Domain. As for how one could become an expert? The Main Gods System had provided a concrete answerSkill Completion Rate. How could one go about increasing their Skill Completion Rates? If one relied solely on hard work and constant training, they would not experience any significant improvements. The simplest method of increasing ones Skill Completion Rate was to improve their control over their own body. Take a persons physical strength for example. In a test, an ordinary person might land a 50kg hit on the first punch and 70kg on the second punch; this was a very wide margin. Meanwhile, this margin would only grow wider in a fight against another person. However, if a person underwent training and often participated in matches against other people, the fluctuations in their strength would become practically negligible and stable. With a stable output of physical strength, ones body would not break form due to using too much or too little, thereby reducing the chances of creating weak points for ones opponent to exploit. Many experts were even capable of achieving a level of control with which they could exert as much strength and accuracy as they wanted. For example, if they wanted to send out a punch with 90kg of force, they could do so. One could say that their physical control had already reached perfection. The usage of Skills in Gods Domain had a very high requirement of the bodys movements. Hence, such training was a must. As a result, many people began to study martial arts, learning how to control their bodies more efficiently. Due to this, places such as training centers and dojos became instantly popular again after the third evolution of Gods Domain in the past. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to optimize his training grounds further and secretly nurture plenty of Gods Domain experts. However, now that the third evolution of Gods Domain was being initiated, the other Guilds and powers would definitely notice of the changes and immediately shift the core of their development towards martial arts dojos and training centers. Although these first-rate Guilds and major powers had access to fully equipped training facilities of their own, these machines were all suited for daily exercises and maintaining physical fitness. The various powers had not particularly focused on training their members in martial arts. If they shifted their focus now, due to the inherent advantages these major powers possessed, one could just imagine how quickly they could nurture experts. Luckily, I secured the Big Dipper Training Center, obtaining a suitable training ground. I need Big Dipper to order some more of the latest equipment, Shi Feng muttered silently. Following which, Shi Feng searched for a safe location and prepared to log out of the game. At this moment, the players of District One hurriedly ran over to him. Expert, please wait! Blue Frost hurriedly said as he dashed up to Shi Feng. Shi Feng glanced at Blue Frost and the others. This group had helped him significantly, forcing Noya to use Split and creating a golden opportunity for him to kill the Great Lord. Otherwise, he would have only been able to steal the Chapter of Darkness and would not have obtained a Teleportation Magic Array Design and a Dark-Gold Mount. Do you need something? Shi Feng asked calmly. Brother Expert, please dont misunderstand. I am Blue Frost, the leader of District Ones First Party. I have come here to congratulate you on your victory. Just now, I personally witnessed the moment you killed the Great Lord by yourself. You have truly earned my admiration, Blue Frost hurriedly explained, afraid that Shi Feng would misunderstand his intentions. In truth, he, too, knew that abruptly showing himself could cause a misunderstanding. However, if Shi Feng logged off, he would most likely lose the opportunity to befriend Shi Feng in the future. Youre called Blue Frost? Shi Feng could not help but ask curiously as he looked at the Elementalist before him. Blue Frost...Shi Feng had heard this name in the past. To be precise, Shi Feng had heard plenty about this person before. In the past, Fantasy Extinguisher had a powerful general named Blue Frost. Back then, Blue Frost was a well-known Tier 5 Grand Wizard, and his strength was not one bit inferior to Fantasy Extinguisher himself. Particularly, Blue Frost had learned plenty of Tier 4 Curses and large-scale destruction spells. He was the nightmare for many Guilds. However, the current Blue Frost was somewhat different from the one Shi Feng had encountered in the past. The Blue Frost he encountered back then always wore a cold expression as if he donned a mask constantly that hid his true self. On the other hand, the Blue Frost before him looked to be a bright and cheery person. His current personality was completely different from before. Yes, I am indeed Blue Frost. Has Brother Expert heard my name before? Im really honored! Seeing that Shi Feng seemed to have heard about him before, Blue Frost felt hope. May I know how I should address Brother Expert? Although their team had long since discovered Shi Fengs name through Identification Skills, as a form of courtesy, it was proper to ask. Ye Feng, Shi Feng replied straightforwardly. The fact that I was able to kill the Great Lord Noya is largely due to Brother Blue Frosts team forcing Noya to use Split. Otherwise, if Noya had not weakened itself by canceling the Skill, I would have had no chance of defeating it. No, no. It is because Brother Ye Feng is awesome. If not for Brother Ye Feng, our entire team would have been wiped out. If you dont mind, why dont we go get a drink? My treat. Our District Ones Hundred Berry Wine is unmatched. Shi Feng involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva when he heard Blue Frost mention the Hundred Berry Wine. This beverage was one of Gods Domains extremely famous wines. However, it was rare, and its source was unknown to everyone but its supplier. Even Shi Feng had only tasted the wine twice in the past. He never expected that the Hundred Berry Wine actually came from the Dark Den. 590 Improvement of Control Shi Feng promptly accepted Blue Frosts warm invitation. However, as the system was going to update soon, they could only reconvene after the upgrade completed. Shi Feng and Blue Frost then added each other as friends. That way, they could contact each other at any time so long as both parties were online. Inside the Dark Den, players could still communicate with other players. However, it was limited to players who also resided in the Dark Den. Communication with players outside of this area was still unavailable. After logging off, Shi Feng did not remain idle. He called Liang Jing over and had her purchase the latest training equipment available. Nowadays, with the current technology, some of the latest training facilities could even speed up the improvement of ones physical control. Only, these machines were useless to people who only sought to improve their strength and fitness. Moreover, they were extremely expensive. Each unit cost millions of Credits. Hence, the various training centers had not bothered to buy them. Even martial arts dojos would only use some of the older models. Currently, the various powers that had invested in Gods Domain had not taken note of this. If Shi Feng did not purchase these facilities now, it would not be as easy to do so in the future. It was the same case with the virtual gaming cabins. Master Shi Feng, the volume you wish to purchase is simply too large. The funds required to do so exceed your allocated budget. I will have to report this to the Board of Directors and ask them to approve your request. Liang Jing contained her shock when she heard that Shi Feng wanted to buy over a dozen of the latest training machines. These training machines were meant to correct the way a person used and exerted their power with the help of AI. They also had various other functions available. Meanwhile, each unit cost two million Credits. They were extremely expensive, and practically nobody would willingly buy them. Yet, Shi Feng actually wanted her to purchase over a dozen units. This was simply a huge waste of money. There is no need to report to the Board of Directors. Im buying these machines with my own money. You just need to find a fair seller and negotiate a price for me, Shi Feng laughed. When Liang Jing heard that Shi Feng intended to buy so many training machines with his own funds, her little mouth involuntarily parted as she became dazed for quite some time. She knew Shi Fengs background. He was only a student who was about to graduate from university, and he was definitely not some young master from a wealthy family. If not for his identity as a martial arts master and his limitless potential, he would not have his current position. Hence, now that Shi Feng had suddenly revealed several tens of millions of Credits in order to purchase training machines, how could she not be shocked? Alright, stop daydreaming. This matter needs to be completed immediately. You only need to focus on negotiating a price for me. If the price is low, I want to buy a few more units, Shi Feng instructed. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Liang Jing was thoroughly stunned. She could not figure out just where Shi Feng had managed to obtain so much money. She even started to wonder if Shi Fengs identity and information were fake. He was actually treating a two million Credit machine as some sort of cabbage that one could easily buy from the market. However, as Shi Feng was spending his own money, Liang Jing could carry out his orders. She then left the training room and began to see to the necessary arrangements. Naturally, Shi Feng recognized Liang Jings shock. However, he would not explain his actions. These training machines might seem expensive right now, but once the various powers shifted their attention to a players physical control, it would be impossible to purchase these top-of-the-line training machines. In the past, if the major powers wanted to nurture experts, these training machines were a must-haves. Although these machines were not as effective as the tutelage of a martial arts master, the latter could not possibly spend their every waking moment guiding others. With these training machines, players could receive guidance and corrections any time. If they also factored in the tutelage of a martial arts master, they could very quickly nurture a group of experts. Hence, the training machines, which had not been particularly popular, instantly skyrocketed in price and demand. Moreover, these training machines were quite demanding of AI, resulting in a slow production speed. Only a limited number of units were produced each year. In the end, from its original price of two million, the price of each unit rose to three or four million Credits. Even then, it was extremely difficult to obtain one. If Shi Feng did not purchase his own now, he would not have the opportunity to do so in the future. During this period, due to Phoenix Rain secretly helping him, providing various contacts to sell the Candlelight Trading Firms equipment to, he had earned a lot of money. Moreover, the majority of his customers purchased the equipment with Credits. After all, everybody was tight on Coins at the moment. Hence, Shi Feng now had plenty of Credits on hand. After deducting the necessary expenditures, he still had a little over 50 million Credits. In the past, this would have been a massive sum of money to Shi Feng. To the current Shi Feng, however, this was nothing. Even Melancholic Smile was treating such a large sum as if it were nothing. After all, as the Candlelight Trading Firm continued to develop, it would be very easy for them to earn several, or even dozens, of times more. After his morning training, Shi Feng went on to guide Fire Dance and the others. In reality, he was simply teaching them how to use Void Steps. Void Steps was an advanced style of footwork in Gods Domain. Unlike other advanced styles, however, Void Steps placed a heavy burden on its users mental power. Even in his current state, Shi Feng did not dare use Void Steps in battle too often. On the bright side, although Void Steps mentally exhausted its user, this exhaustion gave one the opportunity to break past their mental limits and increase their brains activity. This was also Shi Fengs greatest discovery regarding Void Steps. Only, the precondition for this was to possess S-rank Nutrient Fluids. However, it was not easy to learn Void Steps. Even Shi Feng had only managed to grasp the technique recently. Whether Fire Dance and the others could successfully learn the footwork would depend on their efforts and natural talent. In the past, countless people would watch videos of experts battles to explore and learn various bodily movements, styles of footwork, and attack techniques. However, the number of people who actually achieved success from doing so was very low. As for those who managed to learn advanced techniques, they were as rare as a phoenixs feathers. Meanwhile, Void Steps was a special technique that combined breathing, footwork, bodily movements, and various other subtle techniques. It was more difficult than ordinary advanced techniques, so it was typical for players to struggle or fail to learn it. Through Shi Fengs teachings, only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had managed to obtain some clues. The others were still at a loss. Regarding his companions situation, Shi Feng was helpless as well. There would be no helping it if they were unable to learn Void Steps. Fortunately, it did not matter much if they could not learn it. Everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses. Also, Void Steps was a combination of a wide array of techniques. Even if Cola and the others failed to grasp Void Steps, the knowledge and experience they gained would still be very helpful when they went on to learn other techniques. Void Steps was especially useful in helping a player improve on their physical control. For example, despite Fire Dance and Violet Cloud only gaining some clues to performing the advanced style of footwork, their control over their bodies had improved significantly. They were now only a thread away from reaching half a step into the Refinement Realm. Their Skill Completion Rates also rose from 80% to around 83%. If they took half a step into the Refinement Realm, their Skill Completion Rates would reach 85%, allowing them to display 100% of their Skills effects. With the top-tier equipment they wore, they would instantly become great experts that stood at Star-Moon Kingdoms peak. As night arrived, Gods Domain finally finished updating. Drinking a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, Shi Feng immediately lay within the virtual gaming cabin and began a new day in Gods Domain. 591 New Changes Just after Shi Feng came online, he suddenly felt his body grow heavier. Its been quite some time since I experienced the Gravitational System. It really is somewhat difficult to adapt to. Shi Feng stretched and absorbed the sights, sounds, and smells of his surroundings. Based on what his senses experienced, the gravity in this region should be around 1.5 times that of normal gravity. After Gods Domain evolved the third time, combat and environmental effects in the game had been optimized. Not only could players detect changes in temperature more acutely, but depending on the region one was in, they would also experience a gravitational shift. This change would easily throw players off balance, particularly in battle. This gravitational shift would significantly impact a players display of their combat power. A weapon that initially weighed 5kg might become lighter or heavier depending on the areas gravity. It would cause players, who had already grown accustomed to the weight of their weapons, to feel uncomfortable. This would cause deviations when these players activated their Skills, resulting in significant declines in Skill Completion Rates. Shortly after Shi Feng logged into the game, the members of District One also began to load into the game, one after another. Whats going on? Why do I suddenly feel sluggish? A Shield Warrior very quickly discovered that something was amiss. Its true. It feels somewhat awkward when I try to swing my greatsword. A Berserker on the same team clearly felt the problem with his body as well. Although the other classes were similarly affected, the impact to their performance was not as significant as it was for the plate armor classes. The gravity must have changed. As one of the top-tier experts in District One, Blue Frost immediately pinpointed the cause of their current predicament. Since gravity has changed, lets not move unnecessarily for now. Well leave this place after we adapt. Everyone else on the team suddenly understood upon hearing Blue Frosts words, and they began to familiarize themselves with their new weight. Currently, it was still nighttime in the Dark Den. There were a lot of monsters hunting for food in the fields. Although Shi Feng and the others had logged into the game in a safe location, a pack of Level 40 Elite ranked Demonic Light Jackals quickly discovered them. These Light Jackals maneuvered their way through the forest swiftly, rapidly approaching Shi Feng and the District One team. Not good! A pack of Jackals is approaching! a Ranger with sharp senses shouted. Demonic Light Jackals were this areas tyrants. At night, these monsters usually moved in packs of seven to ten. Moreover, a Chieftain and multiple Special Elites usually led these packs. Facing such a group of monsters was normally extremely difficult. Even death was a possibility. Unfortunately, they were not only missing members, but the gravitational change also affected their combat power significantly. Fighting these Demonic Light Jackals as they were would be a big problem. Prepare for battle! Blue Frost frowned. Hurriedly, he said, MTs, just focus on pinning down the Jackals. Dont make any rash movements. The team from District One had not yet fully adapted to the gravitational shift. This sudden change greatly affected the plate armor classes in particular, and it would be quite challenging for them to serve as reliable combatants. The team could only rely on the magical classes for now. Yes, sir! Under Blue Frosts command, everyone on the team fell into formation, prepared to welcome the approaching battle. Sure enough, after the team took up their positions, Demonic Light Jackals began to emerge from the dark forest, one after another. These Jackals split up into groups of three to five, each group setting their eyes on a single target. Meanwhile, among these groups of Demonic Light Jackals, there were also the larger Special Elite ranked Demonic Claw Jackals and Chieftain ranked Black Demonic Jackals. [Demonic Claw Jackal] (Demonic Creature, Special Elite) Level 40 HP 360,000/360,000 [Black Demonic Jackal] (Demonic Creature, Chieftain Rank) Level 40 HP 1,000,000/1,000,000 Our luck is really bad. There are eight Demonic Claw Jackals and two Black Demonic Jackals in this group. Evening Lotuss expression turned grim when she saw the pack of Jackals. Are there two packs here? Normally, each pack only had one Chieftain and three to five Special Elites. Now, the numbers had doubled. All Elementalists, use Ice Wall! Try to split them up as much as possible and dont give them any chances to use group tactics! This was not the first time Blue Frost had fought these Jackals, so he was very familiar with their attack methods. Upon receiving the command, the dozen or so Elementalists in the team began chanting incantations, casting Ice Walls in an attempt to separate the Jackals. Even if they could not separate them, they could still slow their Movement Speed should the Jackals attempt to gang up on a player. Aooo! the two Black Demonic Jackals howled. Suddenly, the eighty-plus Demonic Light Jackals began to take action. Under the command of the Black Demonic Jackals, the Demonic Light Jackals split into two groups. More than thirty mounted a frontal attack, while the remaining 50-plus rounded to the side for a pincer attack. Damn! Four of the Demonic Light Jackals launched themselves towards one of the Level 29 Shield Warriors simultaneously. Although he tried to defend himself with his shield, due to the change in gravity, his movements were somewhat slow. As a result, he suffered the bites of all four Jackals, instantly losing more than half of his HP. The other melee players faced similar situations. Only the magical classes standing in the center of the team had an easier time. Whats up with these Jackals? Are they actually players in disguise? After fighting for some time, everyone quickly discovered that something was off. The Demonic Light Jackals had actually torn a small hole in their formation, and the moment they did, the Demonic Claw Jackals and Black Demonic Jackals charged through that hole, dashing towards the teams healers. Using Fierce Gale, one of the Black Demonic Jackals instantly arrived before a Tier 1 Oracle. Before this Oracle could use Mantra Resist, the Chieftains attack sent him flying, his body transforming into particles of light. Somethings wrong. These monsters have become smarter! Melees, hold them off as much as possible! Were retreating immediately! Blue Frosts complexion paled. Even a fool could tell that these monsters had changed. In the past, while players had pinned them down, these Jackals had not bothered the healers in the rear line at all. Now, the Chieftain and Special Elite ranked Jackals sent their underlings to keep the MTs busy, whereas they set their sights on the teams healers. To player teams, this sudden transformation was fatal! At this moment, one Demonic Light Jackal had managed to locate a gap and pounced on Shi Feng. [Demonic Light Jackal] (Demonic Creature, Elite Rank) Level 40 HP 140,000/140,000 Just as this Elite Jackals glistening claws were about to sink into Shi Fengs back, he suddenly took half a step to his left and tilted his body. As the Jackals claws glided past Shi Feng, the Elite monster exposed its body. The Demonic Light Jackal was as tall as a player, and pitch-black fur covered its entire body. There was also a horn on top of its head. Even if a player wore a Mysterious-Iron Breastplate, this horn could still easily penetrate the armor, breaking through the players defense. These Jackals were natural-born killers of the night. Shi Feng then unsheathed the Abyssal Blade, sending a Tier 1 Chop at the Jackal before him. Three silver moons bloomed from the Demonic Light Jackals body. Immediately, the Elite monster released an agonizing scream. Its body then slammed into a massive tree, frightening damages of -3,076, -4,622, and -9,254 appearing above its head. System: Chop Completion Rate 92%, resulting in 125% of Skills effect. Skill Proficiency +4. With just one Skill, the Demonic Light Jackal lost over 12% of its HP. Hmm. Sure enough, the 1.5 times of gravity has caused my Completion Rate to drop significantly. Shi Feng frowned, disappointed with his attack. As for the increase in these monsters intelligence, Shi Feng was not one bit surprised. As Gods Domain evolved, the monsters in the game would grow increasingly smarter. Currently, these Jackals were only targeting the healers of a team. In the future, they would target the teams commander instead. However, Shi Feng had no intention of letting these Jackals flaunt their arrogance in front of him. Adjusting his footwork, he transformed into a shadow as he dashed towards a Level 40 Black Demonic Jackal. 592 Players’ Advantage Destroy the leader, and the gang will collapse. This was a law of the war. The Elite ranked Demonic Light Jackals were like soldiers on a battlefield. The Chieftain ranked Black Demonic Jackals directed their actions completely. Hence, as long as Shi Feng could defeat the Black Demonic Jackals quickly, this packs fierce assault would crumble. However, taking out the enemy commander in a field battle was a most difficult task. As a Chieftain ranked monster, beyond being the strongest among this pack of Jackals, the Black Demonic Jackals sensitivity towards danger was also the highest. While Shi Feng was still some distance behind one of the two Level 40 Black Demonic Jackals, the Chieftain had already noticed Shi Fengs presence. Immediately, it stopped attacking the District One healers and turned to face Shi Feng. Baring its sharp fangs, the Black Demonic Jackal released a low growl, seemingly issuing a command. After this Black Demonic Jackals growl, two of the nearby Special Elite ranked Demonic Claw Jackals moved to stand before the Chieftain. The two Jackals then pounced on Shi Feng, brandishing their claws at the Swordsman. The players a short distance away were stupefied when they witnessed the attack. In the past, these Jackals had been bloodthirsty and reckless monsters. Back then, the Chieftain ranked Black Demonic Jackal would usually be the first to dive into battle, tearing its enemies apart, yet, now, it called upon its underlings to serve as its guards while the Chieftain itself continued massacring their teams healers. Even an Elite party of the same Level would struggle against two Demonic Claw Jackals with 360,000 HP, not to mention current players that were of much lower Level than these Jackals. Players could only rely on equipment with the Ignore Level Attribute to have a fighting chance. Brother Ye Feng, let me help you. Noticing the importance of killing the Black Demonic Jackals as well, Blue Frost led two parties over to assist Shi Feng. No. You guys handle these two Special Elites. Ill deal with the two Black Demonic Jackals, Shi Feng immediately countered. Under normal circumstances, with the strength of the District One members, a single party would be more than enough to deal with one Black Demonic Jackal. However, due to the gravitational shift affecting their combat power, they would most likely require a very long time to defeat just one Black Demonic Jackal. Hence, it would be far more efficient for these parties to deal with the Demonic Claw Jackals first. But There are two Black Demonic Jackals, Blue Frost said, slightly worried. However, when he recalled how Shi Feng had defeated a Great Lord by himself, even if the gravitational shift affected the Mavericks combat power, he should have no problem pinning down two Black Demonic Jackals. Immediately, Blue Frost said gratefully, Ill have to trouble Brother Ye Feng, then. Blue Frost then led his two parties to deal with the two Demonic Claw Jackals. Using the footwork for Void Steps, Shi Feng instantly disappeared. Even the Special Elite ranked Jackals lost sight of him, surprise coloring their expressions as they searched for the Swordsman. However, no matter how hard they tried, they simply could not discover any trace of Shi Feng. What kind of Skill is this? Dont tell me the Swordsman class can actually turn invisible? the female Cleric, Evening Lotus, stated in surprise. No, thats not a Skill. Invisibility Skills have a slight activation delay. Even an Assassins Vanish Skill is no exception to this rule. He mustve used some sort of technique. Blue Frost was very knowledgeable, so he quickly realized that Void Steps was not a Skill available in the game, but a technique. However, this technique is truly amazing. The Mavericks Ive seen before have only wielded techniques that increased their attack or dodging speeds. This is the first time I have seen a technique that allows its user to vanish from everyones sight. Both shock and admiration filled Blue Frost when he saw Shi Fengs Void Steps. Such a technique was practically a Lifesaving Skill. Whether the technique was used to escape or assassinate, it could yield miraculous effects. With such strength and techniques, he is definitely not someone we should provoke or make an enemy of. At this moment, Blue Frost rejoiced over the fact that he had befriended Shi Feng and had not become enemies with him. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. Shortly after Shi Feng disappeared, the nearby Black Demonic Jackal howled painfully. Aooo! the Black Demonic Jackal called out for the other Black Demonic Jackal to help as it glowered at Shi Feng, who had suddenly appeared beside it. At this moment, there was also a hint of fear within its eyes. Shi Feng had suddenly appeared by its side, his sword easily cutting through its iron-like skin, leaving behind a very long gash. The wound still bled. Although its Defense is not as high as the Dark Magic Serpent, its reaction speed is truly frightening. It actually managed to react the instant I stopped using Void Steps. Shi Feng was quite surprised as he observed the Black Demonic Jackals wound. Although there was a wide slice across the Chieftains body, the wound was not particularly deep. It would not affect the monsters mobility. After the third evolution of Gods Domain, not only had the Gravitational System appear, but the Monster Combat System had also changed, making battles against monsters even more realistic. This also created a new weakness. In the past, monsters would only lose some HP after being wounded. Even when their vital points had been struck, the attack would only deal a little more damage than usual. Their movements had not been affected whatsoever. However, after the third system upgrade, monsters injuries would affect their movements and attacks. Naturally, the same held true for players. However, unlike monsters, players had healers to help them recover from these injuries quickly, maintaining full HP. This was a huge advantage. When the two Black Demonic Jackals grouped up, rather than pouncing on their enemy, they circled Shi Feng, looking for his weak point to land a fatal hit. Even an MT of the same Level would die instantly under the combination of a Level 40 Chieftains Attack Power and a super-high damage Skill, not to mention Shi Feng, who was only Level 33 right now. The Black Demonic Jackals were precisely Chieftains with such Skills. Unlike the Dark Magic Serpent, which utilized its Vicious Venom Skill to exhaust its enemies to death, the Black Demonic Jackals used the horn on their heads to tear apart all enemies before them. The horn attack of a Chieftain ranked monster would even pierce Secret-Silver Equipment. At this moment, the players of District One focused all of their attention on Shi Feng and the two Black Demonic Jackals every action. This battle would determine the life and death of either side. Aoo! Following the howl, the two Black Demonic Jackals launched their attacks simultaneously. A large amount of Wind Mana also began to gather around their pitch-black horns. Immediately, the two Chieftains transformed into miniature tornados as they flew towards Shi Feng. Crap! Dodge it quickly! Blue Frost shouted anxiously. These miniature tornadoes were no trivial matter. If they struck a player, there was zero chance of survival. However, Shi Feng did not bother to dodge the oncoming attacks. His lips curling up slightly, he activated Heavenly Dragons Power. After logging out of the game for ten hours, not only had his Weakened debuff worn off, but the Cooldown for all his Skills had also completed. Otherwise, he would have had to activate Space Movement in order to dodge the attacks. After activating Heavenly Dragons Power, Shi Fengs Strength doubled. He then met the Black Demonic Jackals attacks with a Thunder Flame Explosion. System: Thunder Flame Explosion Completion Rate 91%, resulting in 120% of Skills effect. Skill Proficiency +4. Although his Completion Rate was significantly lower than before, 120% of the Skills effect was still impressive. The Tier 1 Thunder Flame Explosions effective range of 10 yards immediately increased to 12 yards. When lightning and fire made contact with the two Black Demonic Jackals, the two Chieftains Movement Speed immediately and sharply dropped, becoming only one-seventh of their initial Attribute. As a result, Shi Feng easily dodged the two oncoming miniature tornadoes. With a speed reduction of nearly eight seconds, the two Chieftain ranked Jackals could only receive a one-sided beating from Shi Feng. During these eight seconds, each Black Demonic Jackal lost roughly 10% of their HP. Just as the Movement Speed Reduction debuff was about to wear out, Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade and summoned his doppelganger. The doppelganger then followed up with its own Thunder Flame Explosion, instantly devouring over 10,000 HP from both Chieftains and reducing their Movement Speeds once more. With the doppelganger assisting him with dealing damage, Shi Fengs total damage output nearly doubled. Shi Feng and his doppelganger then each fought one Black Demonic Chieftain, significantly reducing the difficulty of the fight. Thundering Flash! Earth Splitter! Skywheel Sword! Firestorm! Flame Burst! When Shi Feng activated Flame Burst, every one of his attacks dealt over -20,000 damage. His doppelganger also dealt over -10,000 damage with its attacks. In addition to the frequent critical hits, the two managed to destroy close to half the HP of one Black Demonic Jackal. In less than 20 seconds, one of the Chieftains fell. The remaining Black Demonic Jackal was also heavily injured, covered in such severe wounds that one could easily see bone. As a result, the Chieftains mobility was incredibly limited. Even without the doppelgangers assistance, with Heavenly Dragons Powers duration of two minutes, Shi Feng finished off the last Black Demonic Jackal very easily. This burst power is invincible! Evening Lotuss jaw dropped when she saw the two dead Black Demonic Jackals. She was so shocked that she had even momentarily forgotten to heal her teams MTs. Although everyone had witnessed Shi Feng defeat a Great Lord, watching two Chieftains die in such a short time and at such a close distance, still astounded them. They were still not used to Shi Fengs terrifying damage. 593 Promising Newcomer When the two Chieftain ranked Black Demonic Jackals died, the entire pack suddenly fell into chaos, their attacks becoming monotonous. Moreover, after such a long battle, every Jackal had received some form of injury. Those that were heavily injured had even lost a detrimental amount of mobility. In contrast, although Blue Frosts team had lost over a dozen players in this fight, as their team had healers to keep them alive, the survivors were all in perfect condition; their combat power had not been affected at all. On the contrary, after fighting for a time, they had begun to adapt to the new gravity. Suddenly, the tides changed. Blue Frosts team immediately gained the advantage as they began killing off the Elite and Special Elite Jackals. As expected of a team from District One. Their members capabilities are impressive. They can deal with these Jackals so quickly. After Shi Feng picked up the loot that the two Black Demonic Jackals had dropped, he had not bothered to help Blue Frost and the others. He simply glanced at their intense battle. Currently, the melee players of the team had begun striking at the Jackals limbs, particularly the monsters powerful hind legs. That way, they could greatly hamper the monsters mobility, making the battle far easier. At this point, the outcome of the battle was already clear. Shi Feng began to arrange the drops he obtained from the two Chieftains. He was already Level 33. Despite having killed two Level 40 Chieftains, his experience bar had not increased by much. Meanwhile, after using Divine Providence, his harvest from the two Black Demonic Jackals was very bountiful. The two Chieftains had dropped a total of six Soul Crystals. Unfortunately, the other items were not worth mentioning. The rest was just a bunch of Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and materials. With six Soul Crystals, I should be able to trade them for a Tier 1 Taboo Skill. Shi Feng smiled with satisfaction. It was not easy for players outside of the Dark Den to obtain Tier 1 Taboo Skills. If he could have every Zero Wing core member learn a Tier 1 Taboo Skill, they would have no problems with conquering a 50-man large-scale Team Dungeon. Against a Level 28 Great Lord ranked Boss, even if they could not kill it with one series of attacks, they could severely injure it. At that time, the team only needed to expend a little more effort to defeat the Boss. After the battle ended, Blue Frost immediately walked up to Shi Feng, gratefully saying, Brother Ye Feng, I really have to thank you for your help. If not for you, this might have been our teams grave today. If you need help with anything in the future, just tell me. Can you help me trade for some Tier 1 Taboo Skills? Shi Feng had long since considered this request. Although Discipline Paradise was the leader of District Fives Third Party, he could only get his hands on a limited number of Tier 1 Taboo Skills. On the other hand, as the leader of District Ones First Party, Blue Frost definitely had access to plenty of Taboo Skills. It would be much easier for Shi Feng to trade with Blue Frost. You want to obtain a Taboo Skill? Blue Frost could not help his surprise. With Shi Fengs abilities, he should have long since obtained a Tier 1 Taboo Skill for himself. However, although Blue Frost was curious, it would not be proper to ask about it. Immediately, he nodded, saying, That is a simple request. No need to trade. If Brother Ye Feng wants a Tier 1 Taboo Skill, I can just give you one. I dont want just one Taboo Skill. Shi Feng shook his head. I wonder if Brother Frost can obtain twenty Tier 1 Taboo Skills for me? Twenty?! Initially, Blue Frost intended to agree with Shi Feng immediately. However, upon hearing that Shi Feng required twenty, he was shocked. Laughing bitterly, he said, Brother Ye Feng, as a Maverick, you might not know this, but each Tier 1 Taboo Skill requires about five Soul Crystals worth of Contribution Shares in trade. Even the First Party of a Shelter needs four Soul Crystals to trade for one. If they are for someone else, each Skill Book will cost an additional Soul Crystal. Moreover, I can only trade for three Taboo Skills per day. If it were in the past, I might have barely been able to trade for twenty Taboo Skills. However, after I purchased the Demon Suppressing Barrier, the maximum number of Taboo Skills I can gain right now is ten. If Brother Ye Feng wants them, I wont try to profit off you. Ten Taboo Skills for 50 Soul Crystals. Ten? Shi Feng was surprised. He had simply mentioned twenty to discover Blue Frosts bottom line. He had not expected that Blue Frost could purchase as many as ten Tier 1 Taboo Skills. Sure enough, the title of District Ones First Party was well deserved. So be it. I want all of them. May I know when Brother Frost can obtain all ten? Shi Feng did not particularly mind the issue of the Soul Crystals. He just needed to kill some Level 40 Chieftains to increase his stock. I can have them ready in a day. Blue Frost was shocked to hear Shi Fengs decisive agreement. Even their First Party required a long time to obtain one Soul Crystal. Currently, their party only had about a dozen or so in their Warehouse. After including the Contribution Shares they had stocked up, Blue Frost still needed to borrow many Soul Crystals from other parties. Yet, a Maverick like Shi Feng could spend 50 Soul Crystals so casually. Following which, Shi Feng followed Blue Frost to District One. On the way back, the group had been ambushed by Chieftain ranked monsters many times. As a result, Shi Feng had gained another nine Soul Crystals by the time they reached District Ones Shelter. The Shelter Blue Frost and the others resided in occupied the heart of a high-level area. The monsters surrounding the Shelter were all Level 35 and above. That was five Levels higher than the monsters surrounding District Five. Currently, the monster assault on District One had ended. Corpses of Level 35 monsters littered the surrounding area outside of the Shelters walls. There were over ten thousand dead monsters outside of the Shelter. Among them, there was no lack of Elite, and even Chieftain, ranked monsters. One could just imagine how intense the battle must have been. Moreover, even after Gods Domain had undergone its third evolution, District One still managed to defend its Shelter successfully. It went to show how strong a foundation the players of District One possessed. The moment Blue Frost and his team entered the Shelter, the players inside immediately sent them reverent gazes. Many female players even shrieked when Blue Frosts glance swept over them. In District One, Blue Frost was practically a celebrity. He attracted attention wherever he went, and almost everyone in the Shelter knew of him. Leader, youve returned. Did you finish off the Great Lord Noya? a skinny and youthful Level 29 Berserker asked excitedly as he ran up to Blue Frost. When Shi Feng saw this skinny Berserker, he involuntarily stiffened. He recognized this Berserker. The youths name was Wind Chaser. He was also one of the most powerful experts who had worked under Fantasy Extinguisher in the past. Back then, he had successfully learned a Tier 5 Taboo Skill, and his strength was only inferior to those Tier 6 God-ranked players. Great Lords and High Lords are monsters on entirely different levels. It was useless, even with the Demon Suppressing Barrier, Blue Frost said, shaking his head. He could not help his fear as he remembered how powerful Noya had been. Fortunately, we had Brother Ye Fengs help. Otherwise, we really wouldnt have returned with our lives. When Wind Chaser heard Blue Frost mention Shi Feng, the Berserker shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng, his eyes containing a hint of awe and fighting spirit. Chaser, dont have any foolish ideas. Brother Ye Feng is a guest that Ive invited. Not to mention, in front of Brother Ye Feng, those weak combat techniques of yours are not worth mentioning. If you want to fight, go look for Blue Bull. Blue Frost glared at Wind Chaser. He had personally witnessed how powerful Shi Feng was. Setting aside the fact that Shi Feng had defeated the Great Lord Noya by himself, just the number of Chieftains Shi Feng had killed on their way back had left him speechless. Wind Chaser most likely would not survive a single move against Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Blue Bull, the person Blue Frost had mentioned, was none other than their District Ones number one Berserker. Blue Bull was extremely powerful, and within their First Party, Blue Bulls position was only beneath his. However, as the operation against Noya had mainly relied on magical classes, and defending the Shelter against the monsters assault was also very important, Blue Bull had not been selected to participate in the raid. Meanwhile, Wind Chaser often liked to test himself against Blue Bull. Although Wind Chaser lost terribly every time, the Berserker never grew bored of challenging Blue Bull. After Blue Frosts reprimand, Wind Chaser was a little satisfied. However, after hearing his leaders suggestion, he immediately turned around, planning to look for Blue Bull to test his skills against him once again. At this time, however, Shi Feng suddenly said, No worries. Its good to be impulsive sometimes. As a guest of District One, I have not prepared any gifts. I dont mind sparring with Wind Chaser to liven things up a little. 594 Powerful Secre Hearing Shi Feng accept Wind Chasers challenge, those who knew just what kind of power Shi Feng wielded were confounded. Although PvPs were frequent occurrences in Shelters, these fights were usually meant to help each other improve. Take Blue Bull of First Party for example. If not for his notice of Wind Chasers potential, he would not have bothered sparring with the youth, offering pointers of how the other Berserker could improve his techniques. Not to mention, Shi Feng was a Maverick that had zero relations with their District One at all. Since Brother Ye Feng is willing to give Chaser a few pointers, this could not have worked out better. Blue Frost was naturally quite pleased with Shi Fengs offer. He turned to his subordinate, immediately instructing, Lotus, go to the Lions Bar and make the arrangements, particularly for the Hundred Berry Wine. Today, were reserving all of it. Consider it done. Hearing Blue Frosts command, Evening Lotus turned and ran towards the Lions Bar. However, this scene had left many of those who had come forth to greet Blue Frost speechless. Who is this Ye Feng? Leader Blue Frost is actually being so generous, renting out the entire Lions Bar! I recall that renting out the Lions Bar costs 3 Gold. You think Coins alone are sufficient? You also need plenty of Contribution Shares to rent out the Lions Bar. Moreover, the cost only a trivial matter compared to the Hundred Berry Wine. Not only does each bottle cost 1 Gold, but it also requires 200 Contributions. I have to complete ten Contribution Quests just to collect 200 Contribution Shares. Also, only 20 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine are available each day. Thats a total of 20 Gold and 4,000 Contribution Shares. This is worth far more than one Soul Crystal. Everyone shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng, awe and curiosity filling their hearts. The Lions Bar was the best bar available in District Ones Shelter. Even Blue Frosts First Party would feel a sting from their wallets when they visited the bar, not to mention renting out the entire place and spoiling everyone with Hundred Berry Wine. Not even the visiting First Party leaders of other Shelters would warrant such a grand welcome. Following which, Blue Frost led Shi Feng on a stroll towards the Lions Bar, introducing him to District Ones situation on their way. Wind Chaser tagged along in high spirits. He really wanted to know just how powerful Shi Feng was to earn such high respect from Blue Frost. Shi Fengs five senses were far superior to ordinary players. Naturally, he could detect Wind Chasers fiery fighting spirit. His personality is still the same as it was then, constantly challenging every powerhouse he met. It was no wonder he become someone who was only inferior to Tier 6 classes in the past. Shi Feng inwardly sighed. In the past, both Blue Frost and Wind Chaser had become extremely famous experts throughout Gods Domain. Fantasy Shrine, Fantasy Extinguishers first-rate Guild, had only surpassed a powerful Guild like Ouroboros due to these experts. In this life, however, Fantasy Extinguisher would not have the chance to receive the Epic Quest Darkness Descends, so it could not lead him here where he could recruit these people. Instead, that opportunity had fallen into Shi Fengs hands in this life. If he could recruit Blue Frost and his team, Zero Wing would certainly grow more powerful for it. Soon, Shi Feng and the others arrived before the Lions Bar. The Lions Bar was different than other bars in the Shelter. This bar that could only be constructed once a Shelter had developed up to a certain degree. The NPCs guarding the bar were extremely powerful, with the weakest at Level 150, the bouncers being Level 180 Tier 2 NPCs, and the proprietress was a Level 200 Tier 3 NPC. These NPCs even qualified to guard a small city. Even if monsters invaded the Shelter, the Lions Bar would not fall. Aside from consuming alcohol at the Lions Bar, players could also engage in PvP battles inside. The PvP battles here operated in a similar fashion to the battles held in the Underground Arenas found in the outside world in that other players were allowed to place bets on the fights. Hence, many players of District One frequented the Lions Bar. At this moment, however, Blue Frost had reserved the entire establishment, so not many players occupied the three-story-tall bar right now. Upon entering the Lions Bar, Shi Feng discovered that the place resembled the Colosseum of Ancient Rome. There was an arena in the establishments center. There were also spectator stands surrounding the arena that allowed players to consume alcohol while watching the matches. When Shi Feng arrived before a large private room, he discovered that the room already held plenty of players. Every one of these players possessed frightening auras, and they all wore dazzling equipment. The lowest-leveled player among them was Level 28, and one could easily tell that they were not ordinary players. Brother Ye Feng, let me introduce you. These people are the party leaders and vice-leaders of our District Ones top ten parties. They have heard about your arrival, so they wished to make your acquaintance. Blue Frost began introducing theses leaders, one after another. Hello, I am the party leader of Second Party, Best Reincarnation! Hello, Big Brother Ye Feng. I am the leader of Third Party, Shallow Moon. These players did not even show a hint of arrogance as they introduced themselves to Shi Feng. On the contrary, they treated Shi Feng as if he were an old friend. In truth, even without any introduction, Shi Feng already knew who they were. In the past, every one of these players had been upper managers of Fantasy Shrine. Encountering Blue Frost and Wind Chaser had already surprised Shi Feng. Now, even the many upper managers of Fantasy Shrine appeared before him. Shi Feng began to suspect whether or not District One had been Fantasy Shrines main headquarters. After exchanging pleasantries, Shi Feng finally understood why Blue Frost had invited all of these players. Unlike the other Shelters, the parties of District One were fiercely ambitious. They did not care about holding the title of District One in this region. Rather, they hoped to step out of this region and become the number one Shelter in all regions. Hence, the parties in District One were all united, unlike the parties in other Shelters, which treated each other as enemies rather than allies. It was also due to this that the Shelter in District One had managed to construct the Lions Bar so quickly. On the other hand, the other Shelters in this region had yet to construct a single advanced establishment like the Lions Bar. As the conversation continued, Blue Frost also revealed Shi Fengs victory over the Great Lord Noya and his slaughter of the many Chieftains they had encountered on their way back, shocking everyone present. The various parties present had all been helpless against Noya. Only the First Party had a small chance of defeating the Great Lord. They had not expected to hear that Shi Feng had actually defeated Noya by himself. Even though the Great Lord had been weakened, it was still an astonishing feat. Brother Frost, you are too insincere. You did not record a video for us to take a look! Thats right! This will definitely become a legend throughout Gods Domain. Everyone voiced their complaints, greatly disappointed that they had not personally witnessed Shi Fengs performance. At the same time, their reverence of Shi Feng grew even more intense. Hahaha! I had been completely stupefied by Brother Ye Fengs performance! By the time I thought of it, the battle was already over! Blue Frost scratched his head in embarrassment. However, you are not without a chance to watch him fight. In a moment, Brother Ye Feng is going to give Chaser a few pointers, so you guys will get to see how powerful Brother Ye Feng is. Leader, can I drink a bottle of the Hundred Berry Wine before the match begins? Wind Chaser hurriedly asked Blue Frost in embarrassment. Initially, he had thought Shi Feng was only an ordinary Maverick. He never expected that Shi Feng was actually capable of defeating a Great Lord by himself. Immediately, Wind Chaser had treated Shi Feng as if the Swordsman were the strongest expert he had ever encountered. If you were sparring against anyone else today, I wouldnt let you waste a bottle. Here, take this. Blue Frost laughed as he shook his head. He then took a cyan bottle of wind and handed it to Wind Chaser. Thank you, leader! Wind Chaser hurriedly accepted the Hundred Berry Wind. The youthful Berserker was like a hungry wolf looking at fresh meat when he saw the bottle of Berry Wine in his hands. With just a few gulps, he emptied the entire bottle. Wind Chasers cheeks suddenly flushed, clearly having become drunk already. Hahaha! Hes drunk after just one bottle! It seems that Chaser still needs training! The others could not help but laugh. Although Wind Chaser had gotten himself drunk, Shi Feng could clearly tell that the feeling the Berserker gave off had changed. If he had been an unsheathed blade before drinking the Wine, he was now a hidden blade. The blade might seem harmless while sheathed, but once it was revealed, it would definitely take its targets life. Though everyone else had similarly detected the change in Wind Chaser, it did not surprise them whatsoever. On the contrary, they all thought it was natural. Whats going on here? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. Is this related to the Hundred Berry Wine? 595 Frightening Wine Shi Feng glanced at the bottle of Hundred Berry Wine on the table, confirming that it was identical to the one he had drunk in the past. However, when he had enjoyed the Hundred Berry Wine, he had not experienced any particular changes to his body like Wind Chaser had. He only considered it incredibly delicious, so much so that it was hard to stop drinking. Yet, seeing Wind Chasers sudden transformation, it was obvious that the Hundred Berry Wine had some hidden effect. Does the Hundred Berry Wine possess some sort of effect that I do not know of? The more Shi Feng thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. Aside from satisfying thirst and hunger, some food and beverages in Gods Domain could increase a players Attributes or provide some other temporary benefits. Take the Black Steel Beer for example. Players that consumed it could gain the Ignore Levels effect, allowing them to challenge monsters of a higher level without suffering any penalties. Although one could ignore more Levels as they consumed more bottles of Black Steel Beer, there were also side-effects. One side-effect was the Drunken effect. With this debuff, ones vision would turn blurry, and their senses would numb, resulting in a decrease in combat power. One might even lose the ability to fight at all if they consumed too many Black Steel Beers. Meanwhile, the Hundred Berry Wine clearly possessed a similar effect. In the past, I only drank a cup of Hundred Berry Wine at a time. On the other hand, Wind Chaser drank the entire bottle at once. These changes must only happen after a player drinks an entire bottle. Shi Fengs interest in the Hundred Berry Wine grew. He then jumped onto the arena. Smiling at the drunken Wind Chaser, he said, Lets get this started! Shi Feng intended to test Wind Chaser properly. The Hundred Berry Wines effect should not be limited to increasing a players Attributes if it was able to cause a persons aura to change to such a degree. The PvP battles held in the Lions Bars arena were slightly different. Most arenas would not usually limit a players Attributes. The Lions Bars PvP arena, on the other hand, would adjust both parties Attributes to be on equal footing. Hence, items that increased Attributes were useless in this arena, making the fight a competition of techniques only. As the countdown timer above the arena began to tick down, Blue Frost and the others, who watched from the spectator stands, revealed smiles, though the intentions hidden behind each smile were different. Brother Frost, who do you think will win? the Oracle, Shallow Moon, asked. Smiling, she continued, In this match, both sides possess equal Attributes. However, while Big Brother Ye Feng is a Swordsman, Wind Chaser is a Berserker. In terms of classes, Berserkers possess an innate advantage over Swordsmen. Moreover, Wind Chaser drank a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine, increasing his combat power significantly. Even Big Brother Blue Bull would struggle against Wind Chaser with these conditions. Although I believe that Brother Ye Feng is very strong, while both of them possess the same Attributes, Wind Chaser should have a higher chance of victory, right? After all, he did drink the Hundred Berry Wine, a Guardian Knight commented. Everyone nodded, agreeing with this Guardian Knights estimation. Everyone present was quite familiar with Wind Chasers techniques. Among the melee classes in the First Party, other than Blue Bull, no one could defeat Wind Chaser in terms of techniques. Meanwhile, against a Great Lord, players relied more on Attributes rather than techniques. Despite Blue Frosts mention of how mysterious and godlike Shi Feng was, in their opinion, they only thought of Shi Feng as just someone who was slightly stronger than Blue Bull. On the other hand, when Wind Chaser consumed a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine, not even Blue Bull could win against the youthful Berserker. Naturally, Shi Feng would not fare any better. Since none of you have a high opinion of Brother Ye Feng, why dont we place a bet? Blue Frost suggested. This is my favorite part! What are we betting? Best Reincarnation, the leader of Second Party, suddenly grew interested. Simple. Well bet on the outcome of the battle. The wager will be Soul Crystals, and Ill be the bookkeeper. If Brother Ye Feng wins, the payout ratio will be 1-to-2, while Wind Chaser will be 1-to-1. You may only bet on one player. Blue Frost could tell that everyone doubted Shi Fengs strength. After all, without having witnessed the battles personally, even he would find it unbelievable. Now, it just so happened he could take advantage of the situation to make a little profit, making up for the cost of the feast he that he hosted. Okay, Ill bet two Soul Crystals on Wind Chaser. That brat has improved quite a lot recently. Brother Frost, you better not regret your decision. Ill bet one Soul Crystal on Wind Chaser as well. In a short moment, the various party leaders and vice-leaders had all placed bets on Wind Chaser winning this match. One could tell just how little trust everyone had in Shi Fengs strength. Only the Cleric, Evening Lotus, had bet on Shi Feng winning. Leader, can I use credit on this bet? I only have two Soul Crystals with me, but I wish to bet ten Crystals on Big Brother Ye Feng, Evening Lotus asked as she gave Blue Frost a pitiful look. Immediately, Blue Frost rolled his eyes at his partys Cleric. Resolutely, he said, No. If he allowed Evening Lotus to use credit, he wouldnt make any profit. As the battle in the arena began, everyones gazes locked on Shi Feng and Wind Chaser. The moment the battle began, Wind Chaser instantly used Charge. Like an agile and powerful cheetah, the Berserker dashed towards Shi Feng. However, despite this, Shi Feng did not try to evade Wind Chasers attack, allowing the youths Charge Skill to connect. Huh? He isnt using Parry? When Wind Chaser was only five yards away from Shi Feng, he noticed that Shi Feng had still not moved, the Swordsman seemingly having no intentions of defending against his Charge. Wind Chaser then abruptly swung his greatsword. At almost the same moment as his body crashed into Shi Fengs, his silver greatsword also struck Shi Fengs head. Wind Chasers actions were both simple and swift. Hua! The silver greatsword sliced through Shi Fengs body and smashed into the ground, creating a long and deep crevice. An afterimage? Sensing that something was amiss, Wind Chaser used Whirlwind Slash, a Skill capable of causing massive damage to enemies within a three-yard radius. The silver greatsword was like a wooden pole in Wind Chasers hand. With little effort, the Berserker transformed into a silver tornado that engulfed everything in its wake. Boom! As Wind Chaser used Whirlwind Slash, a loud boom echoed throughout the arena, followed by a figure flying away from the Berserker. Close one! Wind Chaser could not help but sigh with relief when he saw that the figure he had sent flying was none other than Shi Feng. If he had not used Whirlwind Slash at the first sign of danger, the sword in Shi Fengs hand would have bitten into his body by now. Such impressive dodging speed! I couldnt even see what he did just now! the Level 29 Shield Warrior, Best Reincarnation, exclaimed in shock. It is no wonder why Leader Frost praised Brother Ye Feng so highly. With such an amazing dodging speed, it will be very difficult for Chaser to land a hit, though an Assassin might have a chance. Everyone was similarly shocked by the skill Shi Feng had displayed. Although a few among them could similarly produce an afterimage, they definitely could not achieve it as silently as Shi Feng. Only after Wind Chasers greatsword landed had everyone realized that he had missed. Hehe, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Big Brother Ye Feng hasnt even warmed up yet! Evening Lotus giggled. On their way back to the Shelter, Shi Feng had frequently used Void Steps to kill Chieftains. That mysterious style of footwork of his was simply unstoppable. In comparison, the technique of using an afterimage to dodge an attack was a trifling matter. The others began laughing when they heard Evening Lotuss words; nobody believed her at all. In the arena, Wind Chaser finally became serious. Every one of his attacks began targeting Shi Fengs vital points or blind spots. Of the Berserkers many attacks, his Skills contained the most power. Wind Chaser was also extremely proficient in using his Skills in conjunction with his ordinary attacks. It was as if the Berserkers Skills had been tailored for Wind Chaser. So, thats the case. I didnt think that the Hundred Berry Wine possessed such a wonderful effect. It is no wonder the drink is so rare. While Shi Feng dodged Wind Chasers attacks, he also carefully observed the Berserkers every action. Although Wind Chaser did have significant physical control, he should still not be able to use his Skills so smoothly. In Zero Wing, only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had achieved this standard. The two were only a thread away from taking half a step into the Refinement Realm. On the other hand, Wind Chaser was still far from reaching that level. The only explanation Shi Feng could come up with was that the Hundred Berry Wine increased a players compatibility rate with their weapons. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng involuntarily shivered. Improving compatibility rate... This was something that countless experts dreamed of. Otherwise, nobody would bother wasting so much effort to obtain weapons and equipment that fit their styles. 596 Unbalanced Figh After seeing the Hundred Berry Wine''s true function, Shi Feng finally understood why Blue Frost and the others could achieve such high Skill Completion Rates. Unfortunately, the wine''s supply was simply too low, lowering the number of potential experts who could be nurtured with it. At most, there was just enough for everyone present. Any more and there wouldn''t be enough of the beverage to go around. For the next three minutes or so, Wind Chaser continued hacking and slashing his greatsword at Shi Feng. The more Wind Chaser fought Shi Feng, the more he grew frightened. Aside from his first Whirlwind Slash, none of his other attacks had touched Shi Feng. Every time he thought that his greatsword was about to connect with Shi Feng''s body, his weapon was always off its mark just slightly. After a dozen or so times, he could chalk it up to a coincidence. However, if over a hundred attacks had the same result, there was definitely no coincidence. Just what is going on? Why can''t I hit him? This was the first time Wind Chaser had encountered such a situation. In his past PvP battles, both sides had always suffered some form of damage. It was only a matter of how much, or how little, damage each side suffered. The side with the better techniques would naturally deal more damage, and as the battle dragged on, they would become the victor. However, this battle, in which he could not even hit his opponent, was simply driving him to madness. Is the gap between us really that big? Wind Chaser had already used all of the Skills he could, yet, no matter what he did, he could not even scratch the corner of Shi Feng''s armor. This failure dealt him a huge psychological blow. "Big Brother Ye Feng''s dodging techniques are brilliant. This is my first time seeing such techniques." Shallow Moon, the leader of District One''s Third Party, grew excited as she watched the battle between Shi Feng and Wind Chaser progress. She desperately tried to absorb whatever information she could regarding Shi Feng''s dodging techniques. Shallow Moon wasn''t the only person with such thoughts. The other leaders also wore stern expressions as they focused on Shi Feng''s every action. They even recorded the battle for future reference. "If I can grasp just half of Brother Ye Feng''s dodging techniques, it will become much easier to kill Lord ranked monsters in the future." Best Reincarnation sighed. "You don''t say? Lords have extremely high Attack Power. If an MT can evade 50% of a Lord''s attacks, this will significantly reduce the burden on healers. Unfortunately, nobody within our District One has managed to reach such a standard yet." As a Cleric, Evening Lotus had the most say on this matter. She was the number one Cleric on District One''s First Party. Every time the party''s MT tanked a Lord, the MT''s HP would fall as quickly as flowing water. As a result, Evening Lotus was forced to heal their party''s MT constantly. If she were not careful, she could easily draw the Lord''s aggro. "It really makes you wonder just how Brother Ye Feng learned such techniques. If the melee players in our parties can learn from him, our District One''s First Shelter can unlock the next stage very quickly." As long as their melee players could grasp this brilliant technique, they could easily hunt Chieftains and Lords out in the field. Their Soul Crystal farming efficiency would also rise significantly. At that time, they could upgrade their Shelter swiftly and catch up to the several Large Shelters in other regions. Although District One was the top Shelter in the Evil Ghost Domain, it was only a Medium Shelter. Although their Shelter was the only Medium Shelter among the Evil Ghost Domain''s Districts, other Domains already possessed Large Shelters. Their strength was several times greater than District One''s. The gap between them would only widen further as more time passed. "Leader Frost, is there no way to convince Brother Ye Feng to join our District One?" Blue Bull asked. Although Blue Bull was the First Party''s number one Berserker, Shi Feng''s techniques left a deep impact. These techniques shattered the concept of their past combat methods. If they could persuade Ye Feng to join District One and become one of the Shelter''s residents, it could lift the Shelter to a whole different level. Hearing Blue Bull''s suggestion, the other party leaders also turned to Blue Frost. "You guys" Blue Frost was rendered speechless. "Although I want that as well, Brother Ye Feng is a Maverick. You all know how Mavericks behave, right?" "It really is a pity." The others sighed dejectedly when they recalled Mavericks'' play styles. The Shelter was like their home. Naturally, they wanted to see their Shelter grow stronger. Unfortunately, Mavericks did not like restrictions. As the conversation came to an end, Shi Feng stopped dodging Wind Chaser''s attacks. I have most of the information that I need. Let''s end this match. Shi Feng had already obtained a thorough understanding of Wind Chaser''s strength and the Hundred Berry Wine''s effect. There was no reason to prolong this battle. Immediately, he used Void Steps and vanished before everyone''s eyes. He disappeared? Wind Chaser gaped at his surroundings in disbelief. Looking to his left, right, and even above him, he could not find any trace of Shi Feng. Where is he? Wind Chaser could not even sense Shi Feng''s presence. Normally, when an Assassin snuck up to him, even if he could not see the Assassin, he could, more or less, sense that someone was nearby. Now, he could not detect even the slightest indication of Shi Feng''s presence. The Swordsman''s technique was far more powerful than an Assassin''s Stealth. Everyone in the spectator stands was similarly stupefied. A live human had actually vanished into thin air No Swordsman should possess any stealth-related Skills. Once a match began, players could only exit the arena after a victor had been determined. The victor''s portrait would also be displayed above the arena after the match ended. If one of the fighters suddenly logged out of the game, the system would automatically determine them as the loser, thereby concluding the match. However, the system had yet to declare the outcome of this match; thus, the only possibility was that they were really unable to see Shi Feng. However, before everyone could recover from their shock, Shi Feng appeared beside Wind Chaser. He then swung his sword, sending three silver moons towards the Berserker''s body, intersecting as they struck. Such a fast attack! Although Wind Chaser tried to defend himself with his greatsword, Shi Feng''s sword was simply too fast. The attack landed before he could even react The force behind Shi Feng''s Chop sent Wind Chaser flying backward. Although they both possessed the same Attributes, Shi Feng''s Chop had achieved a 95% Completion Rate. The Skill effect he displayed instantly extinguished over 50% of the youthful Berserker''s HP. Is he really a Swordsman?! Wind Chaser was terrified when he saw how much HP he had lost. When he had fought other Swordsmen with the same Attributes as his own in the past, their Chop only managed to devour close to 20% of his HP. Now, however, Shi Feng''s Chop had obliterated over half of his HP. This disparity was insane. Wind Chaser even wondered if the system had made a mistake. What Wind Chaser did not know, however, was that the Abyssal Blade Shi Feng wielded had a 50% chance to deal 200% damage. Adding in his 95% Skill Completion Rate, his total damage was astounding. "It''s over!" Shi Feng looked at Wind Chaser, whom he had thrown backward, and used Dragon Breath. Dragon Breath was a Skill he had gained from a Fragmented Legendary item. Not only did the Skill possess frightening power, but it also required no casting time. The Skill''s Attack Speed was also extremely high. In the next moment, a green ray of light devoured Wind Chaser. Inflicting six times Shi Feng''s damage, Dragon Breath depleted Wind Chaser''s HP to zero. "It''s over?" The spectating crowd was dumbfounded. Although they had long since realized that Shi Feng could defeat Wind Chaser easily, they had not expected him to be capable of finishing off the youthful Berserker instantly. How was it possible for a Swordsman to instantly kill a plate armor class? 597 Zero Wing Guild Branch Even if everyone found it inconceivable, the appearance of Shi Feng''s portrait above the arena was irrefutable proof that he had won this match. "If he can defeat Wind Chaser so easily, despite having the same Attributes, it is no wonder how he can solo a Great Lord." Best Reincarnation and the others were shocked. With their standards, even if they fought an ordinary player with the same Attributes, it was impossible for them to defeat their opponent instantly. Yet, Shi Feng was fully capable of exactly that. The gap between them was simply unimaginable. If before they had treated Shi Feng as an expert, now, they treated him like a monster. They were people living in completely different worlds. Meanwhile, Wind Chaser, who had revived below the arena, was still stuck in a daze. "Chaser, didn''t I tell you earlier? With your weak skills, you are simply flaunting your incompetence before an expert. Why haven''t you thanked Brother Ye Feng for his pointers yet?" Blue Frost laughed when he saw Wind Chaser''s stunned expression. He was the slightest bit surprised by Wind Chaser''s crushing defeat. Compared to the battle with the Great Lord Noya, this match was child''s play to Shi Feng. Hearing Blue Frost''s words, Wind Chaser hurriedly thanked Shi Feng. After this match, Wind Chaser finally realized understood the extent of his strength. Following which, the leaders also turned to ask Shi Feng for advice on their combat techniques. Bombarded with questions, Shi Feng''s response to the situation was not miserly, graciously teaching them, one after another. Before anyone knew it, three hours had passed. Even so, none of them could get enough of Shi Feng. His''s guidance was targeted towards improving everyone''s individual weaknesses, allowing them to see immediate improvements to their combat power. This result furthered everyone''s admiration of Shi Feng. Not only did Shi Feng possess monster-like strength, but his teaching skills were also on point. In reality, though, Shi Feng had only made a few suggestions to remedy their bad combat habits and teach them how to control their foundations. They were unlike Fire Dance and the others, who Lei Bao had personally trained to control their bodies properly. "May I know if Brother Frost would be willing to sell me Hundred Berry Wine for the long-term?" The Hundred Berry Wine sorely tempted Shi Feng. Although the residents of District One had the Hundred Berry Wine to improve their compatibility rates, they did not possess the foundations necessary to display its full effects. If he had some of the wine for Fire Dance and the others to consume, they would most likely see massive improvements immediately. "Brother Ye Feng, you should know that the Hundred Berry Wine is a specialty of the Lions Bar, and its supply is very limited. If it is only a few dozen bottles, I I have no problems with giving them to you. However, you saw the Hundred Berry Wine''s effects for yourself. It can help us improve our Skill Completion Rates, making it easier for us to understand our Skills. If we sell it long-term, it will weaken our Shelter''s players significantly," Blue Frost explained. "I understand this, of course. However, what if I have a different method to improve the Shelter''s strength?" Shi Feng smiled. "Improve the Shelter''s strength?" Everyone present was suddenly interested. The competition between Shelters was very intense. Moreover, as players reached higher levels, the intensity would only grow as fewer high-level maps and resources would be available. Naturally, the areas where players could station Shelters would also decrease. Naturally, those with sufficient strength would have priority over the high-resource locations, whereas weaker players would be chased away. Their District One had already competed with other Shelters many times. In higher leveled maps, however, the Shelters they had to compete with would become more numerous and powerful, so upgrading their Shelter''s strength was of utmost importance. "Join my Guild, Zero Wing," Shi Feng said. "Join your Guild?" Everyone was stunned. They all knew what a Guild was. There were a countless Guilds in the virtual gaming world. In fact, members of Guilds had formed many of the Shelters. Only, as there was no Guild System available in their location, nobody could officially establish a Guild here. Rather than joining a Guild, it was more like joining a Guild''s forces. Many Shelters that lacked strength would usually choose to subordinate themselves to a Guild''s influence, gaining protection and assistance from said Guild Forces. In return, however, these Shelters were required to supply various resources and money to these Guilds. Every Guild Force they knew of was extremely powerful with a plethora of experts. For example, all Large Shelters were apart of a Guild Force. Medium Shelters, like District One, stood no chance against them. These Guild forces also had plenty of funds and consisted mostly of professional gamers. After considering it for a moment, Blue Frost said, "If we join you, what can Brother Ye Feng''s Guild provide? How are you going to help us increase the Shelter''s strength?" In truth, Blue Frost had thought of joining a Guild Force before. Many Guild Forces had come to recruit their District One. However, if they joined one, it would have to be a formidable Guild Force. That way, they could strive for much more resources for themselves. Otherwise, they would be better off running the Shelter without a Guild. "If you join Zero Wing, we will provide you with Teleportation Magic Arrays so that you can save on travel time. Zero Wing will also provide you with funding and equipment and will train you all to be true experts," Shi Feng said. "Teleportation Magic Arrays?! You guys actually managed to obtain that kind of item?!" Shock swept through the small crowd as they stared at Shi Feng, their jaws practically hitting the floor. As far as they knew, teleportation arrays weren''t available in this area; even Large Shelters didn''t have any. If their Shelter had teleportation arrays, they could save so much time. With that advantage, it''d be difficult for their Shelter not to grow stronger, even if they tried. "Brother Ye Feng, are you telling us the truth?" Blue Frost asked excitedly. "Don''t believe me?" Shi Feng laughed. He then retrieved the Teleportation Magic Array Design from his bag, placing it on the table for all to see. "Here; have a look at it yourselves." "Wah! It''s really a Teleportation Magic Array Design!" Evening Lotus''s eyes shone as she examined the forging design on the table. This item was more tempting than any weapon or piece of equipment. "You''ve seen it for yourselves now. If you all are willing to join Zero Wing, we will provide your Shelter with teleportation arrays. At that time, your Shelter will develop at never-before-seen speeds. Becoming an Advanced Shelter will become possible, not to mention a Large Shelter," Shi Feng said confidently. Just like the towns and cities in the outside world, the Shelters in the Dark Den were categorized into ranks. There were Small Shelters, Medium Shelters, Large Shelters, Advanced Shelters, and more. As a Shelter climbed the ranks, they would have access to more functions. However, it was not easy to upgrade a Shelter''s rank, as doing so required a large number of Soul Crystals. "I understand. Since Brother Ye Feng has such an optimistic view of District One''s Shelter, my First Party will join Zero Wing," Blue Frost said after considering the opportunity for a long moment. "Since Blue Frost has agreed, my Second Party will join as well," Best Reincarnation said as he nodded. "My Third Party will also join!" Shallow Moon agreed. In just a short moment, the top ten parties of District One all agreed to join Zero Wing. They were not fools. To put it simply, teleportation arrays were like strategic weapons to a Shelter. If news of this got out, countless Shelters would vie to join Zero Wing. Moreover, after seeing how powerful Shi Feng was, they realized that the Guild behind him would not be any ordinary existence. 598 Gaining Control Over District One After gaining everyone''s agreement, Shi Feng handed out contracts to each party leader and vice-leader. Not one of them was an ordinary player. They all were players at the top of District One. Naturally, they would not join Zero Wing as normal members, but middle managers at the very least. And since they were going to become Zero Wing''s middle managers, they needed to sign contracts. By the time Shi Feng had arrived at this Shelter, he had already considered establishing a Zero Wing Guild Branch here. The Dark Den was different from the outside world. Players here had a much easier time obtaining Gemstones and Tier 1 Taboo Skills, as well as the specialties unique to various Shelters. It was especially true for District One''s Hundred Berry Wine. This was an extremely rare item that could help improve a player''s compatibility rate. If this beverage were introduced to the outside world, it would help Zero Wing immensely in the future. Correspondingly, the development of Life classes within the Dark Den was very slow. There were practically no players producing advanced products here. Particularly, Consumables that players normally required to survive out in the fields were extremely hard to come by. These advanced Consumables would certainly bolster the Shelter''s strength if he could supply them. The reason Fantasy Shrine had been able to develop so quickly in the past must be due to their trades with the Shelter. Shi Feng suddenly thought about the first-rate Guild, Fantasy Shrine, which was located in the Black Dragon Empire. In the past, Fantasy Extinguisher had accepted this Epic Quest and turned Fantasy Shrine into one of the Black Dragon Empire''s giants. Back then, even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Branch Guild could not afford to provoke Fantasy Shrine casually. One could just imagine how helpful the trades between the two were to a Guild. After everyone had looked over the contract Shi Feng had provided, surprise colored their expressions. This Zero Wing sure is rich. It''s offering a wage that''s twice what other Guilds offer. Just what kind of Guild is this? Blue Frost had encountered many Guild Forces before. He had also heard of these Guilds'' reputations, and many of them were second-rate Guilds. Unfortunately, although the wages these Guilds offered District One''s top ten parties were tempting, they required far too many Soul Crystals in return. Submitting to these Guilds would only hinder their Shelter''s development. In the end, they rejected all the offers they had received. In comparison, not only was Shi Feng offering wages that would allow them to play God''s Domain full-time, but he also intended to supply various advanced products to hasten their development. Most importantly, he did not require any Soul Crystals at all. This was astounding. Soul Crystals were the foundation of Shelters. It was one of the resources required that players required to grow stronger. If they could gain so many benefits without having to contribute any Soul Crystals, they''d willingly join as normal members, much less middle managers. "If there aren''t any issues, you can sign the contract." Shi Feng involuntarily laughed as he saw everyone''s dazed expressions. He had written this contract after taking into account the best interests of Blue Frost and the others. Not a single Guild Force could afford such an offer. Soul Crystals might be important to Blue Frost and the others, but to Shi Feng, these items held no value whatsoever. After Shi Feng''s reminder, everyone hurriedly signed their contracts. With the top ten parties of District One joining Zero Wing, his Guild would have control over the entire Shelter. Previously, Shi Feng had learned about Shelters'' development model. The top ten parties of every Shelter had special privileges. Aside from being able to purchase the Shelter''s specialties, these parties also had a say in the Shelter''s construction; they had the right to vote on which establishments they wanted to construct first. Take the Lions Bar for example. Over half of the top ten parties needed to agree before the Lions Bar could be constructed. Meanwhile, in order to construct special buildings such as the Lions Bar, players would have to use the Soul Crystals accumulated by the Shelter. These accumulated Soul Crystals were what players normally exchanged for Contribution Shares. Hence, taking control of the top ten parties of a Shelter was the equivalent to taking control of the entire Shelter. With District One as the center, Shi Feng could then popularize the Candlelight Trading Firm''s products to other Shelters. Soon, the entire Evil Ghost Domain would become Zero Wing''s resource warehouse. At that time, Zero Wing''s development speed would soar. "Brother Frost, as the leader of First Party, you should be the most familiar with the Shelter. Do you know of any methods to increase the Hundred Berry Wine''s production?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to Blue Frost. In the past, although the Hundred Berry Wine had been extremely rare, Shi Feng had still managed to procure some for himself. However, if District One could only produce twenty bottles per day, how could Fantasy Shrine have possibly afforded to sell it? The only possibility was that the supply of the Hundred Berry Wine was not limited to this amount. However, the specialties available to every Shelter were random. It was extremely rare for a Shelter to obtain a Specialty such as the Hundred Berry Wine. Moreover, even with ten Shelters producing them, the total still wouldn''t be enough to sate a single first-rate Guild''s demands, much less others'' demands. "I do know of a way to increase the Hundred Berry Wine''s production. Currently, the Lions Bar is only a 1-star Bar. If we promote it to a 2-star Bar, then the production will increase to fifty bottles a day; one hundred bottles a day if we can upgrade the bar to 3-stars. However, that will require a lot of Soul Crystals. With our Shelter''s current stock, it is impossible for us to promote the Lions Bar." Blue Frost also wanted to increase the Hundred Berry Wine''s production. However, the Soul Crystal requirement was staggering. "I see. It seems that it won''t be possible in a short time." Shi Feng frowned slightly. "In truth, there is another method," Blue Frost suddenly said. "Only, this method is very costly, and nobody is willing to do it." "Let me hear it," Shi Feng said. "The Lions Bar independent promotion. Through this method, the number of Soul Crystals required will decrease significantly. However, that would require spending your own money for everyone else''s benefit. Also, the Soul Crystals spent will not gain you any Contribution Shares," Blue Frost explained. "If we use the Soul Crystals that everyone has contributed, we will need 10,000 crystals to upgrade the Lions Bar to 2-star status. Independently, only 500 will be required. However, even combining the Soul Crystals of all ten parties, we still don''t have 500 crystals." "How many are you guys missing?" Shi Feng asked after giving the situation some thought. "Based on our previous calculations, our parties only have slightly more than 300 Soul Crystals right now; we are short by almost 200," Blue Frost said, smiling bitterly. "That''s quite a lot. However, it is not an impossible task." Shi Feng nodded and continued, "Let''s do it this way. Frost, you try to buy as many Soul Crystals as possible for now. I''ll try to obtain some myself as well. It is of utmost importance that we upgrade the Lions Bar to 2-stars." "Okay; I''ll try my best." In truth, Blue Frost had considered upgrading the Lions Bar independently as well. Only, before today, the ten parties had not been of one mind. There would still be a few among them who would hold back some of their crystals, afraid that they would suffer if they lost too many. However, now that the top ten parties of District One had become members of Zero Wing, they had become a family. With this, it would be much easier to do things like this. From this point onward, District One''s Shelter would truly be united. After Shi Feng finished arranging the matters relating to District One''s Shelter, he departed from District One, heading towards District Five. 599 Great Demon It had only been a day since Shi Feng had left District Five. However, when Shi Feng arrived at District Five''s Shelter once more, a massive change had occurred. "What happened to the Shelter?" Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the sight before him. The originally flourishing Shelter of District Five had become a pile of ruins. The tall walls which had surrounded the Shelter were no more, and collapsed houses littered the area within what little walls remained. He could find no sign of anyone inside the Shelter. The rotting corpses of various monsters decorated the spacious streets. Moreover, these monsters were all Level 40 or above, far exceeding the level of this region. Among these monsters, a majority were Elites. There were also plenty of Special Elites and Chieftains as well. A Lord! After entering District Five''s Shelter, on the second street Shi Feng crossed, he discovered the corpse of a three-story-tall black bear. [Nightmare Bear] (Demonic Creature, Lord Rank) Level 40 HP 0/2,800,000 Even in the Evil Ghost Domain, Lord ranked monsters were extremely rare. Based on Shi Feng''s understanding, the monster armies that assaulted Shelters every night almost never had any Lords. The strongest monsters in these assaults were usually Chieftains. Yet, right before him, Shi Feng could see the corpses of four Lords on the street. One could just imagine how intense this monster assault on District Five had been. "Just what happened here?" Even after running down several streets, Shi Feng still failed to discover any other players. It was as if District Five had become a ghost city overnight. Normally, even when a Shelter had been invaded, players would not retreat from the region so quickly. When Shi Feng arrived at District Five''s central street, players'' screams reached his ears. This was not the first time Shi Feng had heard such screams of pain. However, he had only heard them in the past. This was his first time hearing such a desperate and painful wail in this life. Shi Feng then activated Windwalk and dashed towards the source of the cries. However, when Shi Feng was 200 yards away from the source, his body suddenly felt extremely heavy. It was as if he had just jumped into a quagmire. Crap! This is a Domain! Shi Feng immediately jumped backward, retreating from the Domain''s range. Domain It was something only high-tiered creatures were capable of using. Take Weissman, who was the Magistrate of White River City and a Tier 4 Great Wizard, for example. He was capable of summoning a Magic Domain that would empower himself and suppress his enemies. If someone without a Domain faced someone with one, unless they were far stronger than the latter, escape and death were the only available options. Meanwhile, one had to be at least Tier 4 to use a Domain. In other words, there was at least a Tier 4 monster at the heart of this screaming. Since it was a player screaming, one could easily conclude that the Tier 4 creature was an enemy. "Why would a Tier 4 creature be here?" Shi Feng was greatly surprised. Based on players'' current levels, encountering such a creature should be impossible, not to mention in such a low-level region. Shi Feng hurriedly jumped onto a collapsed rooftop and looked towards the origin of the screams. At this moment, three players were still alive on the central street. Discipline Paradise, someone Shi Feng was familiar with, stood in the lead. The other two were a Level 28 Assassin and a Level 28 Berserker. At this moment, however, all three of their HPs were very low. All sorts of Level 40 monsters surrounded them, making escape impossible. Worst of all, a pitch-black Demon with bat-like wings and blood-red eyes hovered high above them. [Knettel] (Demonic Creature, Great Demon) Level 60 HP 50,000,000/50,000,000 "What is a Tier 4 Great Demon doing here?" Shi Feng was astonished when he saw Knettel. Demons were enemies to the human race. As long as a Demon appeared within God''s Domain, the armies of various countries throughout the continent would set out to exterminate them immediately. Hence, encountering a Demon was rare, not to mention a Great Demon. Although Knettel was only a Level 60 Great Demon, to current players, he was invincible. He was something players simply could not afford to provoke. "Despicable human, I''ll give you one last chance to live. Surrender the Moloch''s Ring that you stole and submit!" Knettel glared down at Discipline Paradise and said coldly, "Otherwise, I will give you a taste of Soul Fire, destroying your soul just like your companions." Shi Feng immediately sucked in a breath of cold air when he heard Knettel''s words. To players, their souls were very important, and damage would bring about severe consequences. It was just like when Shi Feng collected the Immortal Souls of players he killed, and as a result, said players were unable to log into God''s Domain for a short time. However, what he collected was only a small portion of a player''s Immortal Soul. If Soul Fire burned a player''s soul completely, the consequences would be unimaginable. This penalty would not be limited to being unable to play the game for a few days. If a player''s soul were burned by Soul Fire, their account would be crippled. They would have no choice but to restart an account and obtain a new Immortal Soul. "Just what kind of quest did Discipline Paradise take on for it to have such a frightening penalty?" Shi Feng''s heart skipped a beat when he saw the black flame in the Great Demon''s hand. Tier 4 creatures, particularly a Tier 4 Great Demon like Knettel, would not come here for no good reason. The only explanation Shi Feng could come up with was a quest. Meanwhile, Discipline Paradise must have failed to complete this quest on time, and as a result, incurred such a punishment. This penalty was similar to the penalty of Shi Feng''s Epic Quest, Darkness Descends. "You want me to submit? Not in a million years! I''ll fight you to the end!" Discipline Paradise shouted as he threw his shield at the Great Demon Knettel. Before the golden shield hit Knettel, however, the Great Demon effortlessly caught the flying shield with a single hand. Knettle lightly clenched his fist. Peng! With just a squeeze, a Level 25 Fine-Gold Shield was crushed To a Tier 4 creature, it was an easy task to destroy Fine-Gold Equipment. Only Dark-Gold Equipment could withstand its power for some time. The two players standing by Discipline Paradise''s sides were immediately terrified. "Since you aren''t willing to become my servant, you can die!" Knettel sneered. With a light wave of his hand, black flames rained down on Discipline Paradise. Discipline Paradise''s group of three had no hope of defending against the rain of Soul Fire. Not only did their HPs rapidly deplete, but they also released agonizing wails due to the burning pain. The black flames devoured the trio for over a dozen seconds. Only when all three had turned to ash did the black flames disappear. "This is going to be troublesome." A headache began to plague Shi Feng. He had only managed to obtain the Chapter of Darkness after much difficulty. Yet, now, Discipline Paradise had accepted a horrible quest that was impossible to complete and was even forced to recreate his account. How was he supposed to go to the Dark Den right now? "Huh? What''s that?" With his extraordinary vision, Shi Feng discovered a flashing black light amidst Discipline Paradise''s ashes. "A ring?" Suddenly, Shi Feng recalled the Morlock''s Ring that the Great Demon Knettel had previously mentioned. That ring should be an item that would trigger a quest. Since it was a quest item, it naturally would not disappear with Discipline Paradise. Instead, it would remain and wait for the next player to come along. "Is that ring somehow related to the Dark Den?" Shi Feng could not help but wonder. Before this, he had asked Blue Frost about the Dark Den. However, Blue Frost did not know anything. He had not known that the Chapter of Darkness could open the gate leading to the Dark Den either. No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible for the leading figure of District One to possess less information than Discipline Paradise. The only explanation was that Discipline Paradise had obtained this information through some special means. Moreover, Discipline Paradise had been very eager to get his hands on the Chapter of Darkness. Now, a Great Demon had appeared to retrieve a ring. If one were to claim that the ring and the Chapter of Darkness were unrelated, who would believe it? "I can only give it a try." Shi Feng gritted his teeth. He then dashed forward towards the ring with intense speed. 600 Ring of Legends After Shi Feng crossed about a dozen yards or so, the Great Demon Knettel sensed his presence. "Why is there still an ant? Go, finish him off," Knettel, who hovered in the air, commanded five Level 40 Chieftains to deal with Shi Feng. In the Great Demon''s eyes, a Tier 1 player like Shi Feng meant too little for him to take action personally. He had only killed Discipline Paradise personally due to the Moloch''s Ring. Otherwise, he would have let his subordinates finish off the Guardian Knight and the others. When 100 yards stood between Shi Feng and the Moloch''s Ring, five massive Black Demonic Bears surrounded him. "Just in time." Shi Feng smiled faintly. He then used Silent Steps on one of the Demonic Bears. Shi Feng crossed a distance of 20 yards instantly. He then activated the Aura of Wind''s Activatable Skill, Wind Rider, his speed abruptly increasing by 220%. Transforming into a fierce gale, he easily shook off the five Black Demonic Bears and continued his way towards the Moloch''s Ring. "Not bad for a little ant." Knettel frowned. He stretched out his left hand. A ball of black flame bloomed in Knettel''s black-scaled palm. Although this ball of black flame did not radiate any scorching heat, Shi Feng could clearly feel how formidable it was. If the flame so much as touched him, he would instantly lose his life. "You should feel honored to die by my, the Great Demon Knettel''s, hand." Knettel then lightly waved his hand at Shi Feng. Suddenly, a tidal wave of black flame washed down from the sky. Agonizing screams tore from the throats of any monster that encountered these black flames; the raging fire turned them into nothingness in the blink of an eye. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng soared into the sky, avoiding the black flames by the skin of his teeth. "Despicable ant, you actually to dare dodge my attack!" Knettel bellowed. In the next moment, countless black arcs of lightning appeared in his hand; each arc was as thick as a person''s thigh. The Great Demon then pointed at Shi Feng, shouting, "Turn to ash!" Immediately, the arcs of lightning formed a giant web that flew towards Shi Feng faster than when he had Wind Rider activated. This was the Tier 4 Skill the Great Demon Knettel was most proficient with, Dark Vortex. Not even a Tier 4 NPC could dodge this Skill; they could only attempt to block it. As for players, they would die instantly. Is there a need to be this serious? Shi Feng was rendered speechless as he saw the black electric net that had already surrounded him. I have to use my trump card. Shi Feng no longer tried to dodge the black lightning, opting to charge towards it instead. "Trying to kill yourself now that you know escape is impossible?" Knettel smiled with satisfaction as he watched Shi Feng''s suicidal action. Boom! A thundering explosion occurred as Shi Feng collided with the black electric net. It was as if the end of the world had arrived. Not even a Level 40 Chieftain could survive such a frightening attack. Just as the Great Demon was about to turn away, he suddenly discovered that something was amiss. A golden figure flew towards him. "How is he still alive?" Knettel stared at the unscathed Shi Feng. While the Great Demon was surprised, Shi Feng arrived at Discipline Paradise''s ashes. His hand snatched Moloch''s Ring swiftly and placed the item in his bag. "Despicable thief! You have truly angered me this time!" A cold glint flashed in Knettel''s crimson eyes. Suddenly, a blood-red battle axe with a thorn-covered handle appeared in Knettel''s hands. With a flap of his wings, the Great Demon instantly appeared in front of Shi Feng, swinging his battle axe down at the Swordsman. Explosions shook the air as the axe descended. It was as if Knettel''s powerful attack shattered space itself, and not even Shi Feng could dodge or defend against the attack in time. Boom! When the blood-red axe struck Shi Feng''s body, he suddenly felt disembodied. After a fraction of a pause, the attack sent him crashing into a four-story building over 30 yards away. "What Strength and speed!" Shi Feng exclaimed as he climbed out of the rubble. The Great Demon Knettel''s strength was definitely at Upper-rank Tier 4. If he had not switched the Aura of Wind to the Aura of Earth and activated Absolute Defense in time, even if he were a Level 60 Tier 2 Sword Master, that single hit would have obliterated him. Currently, although Shi Feng had not received any damage, his entire body was numb. Even moving was difficult for him. The strength of a Tier 4 Great Demon was simply too terrifying. Moreover, Knettel''s strength wasn''t just limited to his Attributes. His techniques were similarly frightening. Knettel''s simple swing had not contained any excess movements at all. The Demon was operating at the same level as a top-tier expert. Against an opponent who possessed the Attributes of a Tier 4 class and the skills of a top-tier expert, even in his prime, Shi Feng could only turn tail and run. Knettel could not help his surprise when he discovered that Shi Feng was actually still alive. A tiny little ant had actually survived three of his moves. He had never encountered this in the past. Before the Great Demon could recover from his shock, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill. Suddenly, he turned and fled at maximum speed. "You want to escape? Do you really think you can run from me, the Great Demon Knettel?" Knettel revealed a malevolent smile. To the prideful Great Demon, the fact that Shi Feng had provoked it repeatedly was humiliating. If others heard of this, he, the Great Demon Knettel, would watch his reputation in the Dark Den whither. Spreading his wings, Knettel transformed into a black streak of light as he chased after Shi Feng. So fast. As expected of a winged Tier 4 Great Demon. Glancing at the rapidly approaching Great Demon, Shi Feng inwardly prayed that it would not discover his plan. Wind Rider only had a duration of 24 seconds. From the time he had activated Wind Rider until now, nearly seven seconds had passed. He had also used up Absolute Defense already. If he wished to escape from the Tier 4 Great Demon, his could only rely on diversions. At this moment, Shi Feng''s doppelganger hurriedly activated Blade Liberation and Windwalk. The doppelganger then dashed in the opposite direction of Shi Feng. None of the surrounding Level 40 Chieftains could keep up with the doppelganger''s speed. In just a short moment, the doppelganger had shaken off all its pursuers. Roughly five seconds later, Knettel also caught up with Shi Feng. "Despicable human, I admit that you are very skilled. A little Tier 1 Swordsman like you has actually forced me, the Great Demon Knettel, to expend so much effort to deal with you. As a reward, I will grant you endless torture! You will become my puppet for the rest of eternity!" Knettel shouted, a ferocious grin appearing on his face as he watched the currently motionless Shi Feng. "Oh, really? You''ll have to catch me first," Shi Feng replied disdainfully. "Catch you?" The Great Demon Knettel''s expression sank as he suddenly discovered that the Shi Feng before him had changed. Although the Shi Feng before him had become stronger, his eyes were that of a puppet''s. There was not the slightest sign of anger within those eyes. "Damn! It''s a doppelganger!" Saying so, Knettel abruptly jumped into the air and returned to District Five. However, roughly four seconds after the Great Demon Knettel turned to fly back to the Shelter, the originally emotionless Shi Feng suddenly wore an angry expression. Shi Feng had swapped positions with his doppelganger once more. The Abyssal Blade''s Phantom Skill could be an extremely powerful Lifesaving Skill. As long as his doppelganger was still alive, Shi Feng could swap positions with it indefinitely. With this move, even a Tier 4 Great Demon should not think of killing him easily. Shi Feng then changed directions and flew towards District One. Even after Wind Rider''s duration ended, the Great Demon could not find any trace of Shi Feng. "Finally safe." Shi Feng, who currently hid in a forest, breathed a sigh of relief. "Fortunately, the Great Demon does not know my trump card. Otherwise, I really would have died. Hopefully, this Moloch''s Ring is worth all I went through to get it." Shi Feng carefully retrieved the pitch-black ring, which was engraved with innumerable inscriptions, from his bag. Omniscient Eyes! Shi Feng examined Moloch''s Ring. Immediately, a shocked expression appeared on his face. "Impossible!" At this moment, even Shi Feng did not dare believe his own eyes. Moloch''s Ring was actually a Legendary item! 601 Legendary Ques Even after a long look, Shi Feng still did not dare believe that what he was seeing was real. Legendary items were as rare as a phoenix''s feather in God''s Domain, and not even Tier 5 players would necessarily possess one. Any player who owned a Legendary item had the power to challenge opponents of a higher Tier. Take Shi Feng''s Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon''s Breath for example. When he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, he could contend with a Lord, which was the equivalent of a Tier 2 class, for a short time. If he possessed a Legendary item, he could definitely contend with a High Lord. A Lord ranked monster was merely the Boss of a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. Meanwhile, a High Lord was the Boss of a 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. The difference in power was immense. If he could equip a Legendary item now, not to mention a 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon, he could even lead a team in a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. He could even give a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon a try. A Team Dungeon tested the overall strength of a team, while a Legendary item was capable of increasing the overall strength of a team significantly. This was the why Legendary items were so frightening. They could break the limits of conventional strength. Unfortunately, although the information Shi Feng had obtained regarding the Moloch''s Ring stated that it was a Legendary item, it turned out that the Ring was sealed. [Moloch''s Ring] (Ring, Legendary Rank) Sealed by the Lord of Balrogs, legend has it that this ring contains all of the Lord of Balrog''s secrets and power. By wearing this ring, one can obtain this power. After Moloch''s Ring had been sealed away, the Great Demon Knettel stood guard over the item. The Ring holds the Great Demon Knettel''s mark, allowing the Great Demon to sense its location periodically. System: Legendary Quest "Lord of Balrog''s Fall" activated. Quest details: Lift the seal on Moloch''s Ring. Quest rewards: Unknown. "A Legendary Quest!" Shi Feng smiled bitterly. "No wonder the penalty Discipline Paradise received was so severe." Just the penalty for failing an Epic Quest could half-cripple a player''s character, not to mention a Legendary Quest. "However, I''ve never heard of this Legendary Quest before. The clues the quest provides are so limited, too. It says that I need to lift the seal on the ring, but it doesn''t tell me how to do that. The ring doesn''t provide any clues, either. It is no wonder Discipline Paradise failed the quest." Shi Feng knew very well just how frightening a Legendary Quest was. A single Epic Quest had already given Shi Feng such a huge headache, not to mention a Legendary Quest. However, God''s Domain was fair in all regards. If he could complete this Legendary Quest, the reward he could obtain would definitely be incredible. In God''s Domain, if a player wished to obtain a Legendary item, they would have to do so by completing a Legendary Quest. However, a majority of the players that took this path normally ended up plunging themselves into a dark abyss. This was also why Legendary items were so rare. If possible, Shi Feng would rather not accept a Legendary Quest right now. "After going through so much to get this ring, in the end, it still doesn''t help me get to the Dark Den." Shi Feng sighed. Currently, as long as he held onto this ring, a Great Demon would hunt him. Moreover, there was no definite time as to when the Great Demon Knettel would make his appearance again. This was far more dangerous than his Epic Quest, which provided a clear time limit. Shi Feng stored Moloch''s Ring in his bag. Right now, completing the Darkness Descends quest was of the utmost priority. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave his hiding spot, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Moloch''s Ring has detected the presence of the Power of Darkness. Do you want Moloch''s Ring to devour the Power of Darkness? "Devour the Power of Darkness?" Shi Feng was stunned. Giving it some thought, he could not recall there being anything important in his bag. He then clicked "Agree." In the next moment, the dozen or so Soul Crystals inside his bag disappeared. Meanwhile, due to having devoured the Soul Crystals, the inscriptions on Moloch''s Ring glowed slightly. System: First seal on Moloch''s Ring lifted. "It''s lifted, just like that?" The sudden development rendered Shi Feng speechless. He then examined Moloch''s Ring again. [Moloch''s Ring] (Ring, Legendary Rank) Sealed by the Lord of Balrogs, legend has it that this ring contains all of the Lord of Balrog''s secrets and power. By wearing this ring, one can obtain this power. After Moloch''s Ring had been sealed away, the Great Demon Knettel stood guard over the item. The Ring holds the Great Demon Knettel''s mark, allowing the Great Demon to sense its location periodically. First seal lifted. A fragment of its power has been released. Power of Darkness required to lift the second seal: (6/100) All Attributes +10% Fire Resistance +30 Additional Skill- Gate of Darkness: Opens a teleportation gate to the central area of the Dark Den. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 24 hours "Sure enough, the Dark Den and this ring are related," Shi Feng stated, laughing. "With this, I can head to the central area of the Dark Den." After Shi Feng equipped Moloch''s Ring, he activated Gate of Darkness. Boom! The ground suddenly trembled as dark smoke slowly emerged from the forest floor. After a moment, the black smoke formed a pair of gates that was over five meters tall. There were countless golden runes engraved on the gates, radiating a frightening pressure. "So powerful. This pressure can rival even that of a Tier 5 NPC." At this moment, Shi Feng even found it difficult to breathe. He felt as if he were only an ant in front of these gates. However, when Shi Feng tried to push apart open the gates, he suddenly discovered that they were locked. Rather, he noticed a small groove in the center of the gates. It seemed like a keyhole. "So, that''s the case." Originally, Shi Feng had thought Discipline Paradise had been trying to trick him. Now, however, it would seem that he really did need the Chapter of Darkness to enter the Dark Den. He then placed the Chapter of Darkness into the groove. When Shi Feng placed the black slate tablet into the groove, the golden runes on the gates suddenly linked with each other, releasing a golden brilliance. The gates began to open slowly. The instant the gates opened, Shi Feng felt as if something were emerging from within the gates. His body suddenly felt incredibly heavy, and even taking a step forward was an extremely difficult task. "Just what kind of place is this Dark Den? The pressure from behind these gates alone is enough to suppress my combat power to one-tenth." Shi Feng had not felt such fear when he was in the God''s Grave. "Is there a God on the other side?" However, Shi Feng couldn''t care less. Gritting his teeth, he gradually pushed his body forward, advancing to the other side of the Gate of Darkness. He did not have much time left. If he did not complete his quest soon, only a dead end awaited him. After Shi Feng entered the Gate of Darkness, it seemed as if he had entered an entirely different space. A mountain, so tall that he could not even see its peak, loomed before him. He could also see many magnificent temples on the mountainside. These temples grew larger as one approached the top of the mountain. The temples at the foot of the mountain were merely ten meters in height. The largest temple that Shi Feng could see was over a hundred meters in height. Other than their massive sizes, these temples also radiated a powerful Divine Might. While Shi Feng was still overwhelmed by the sight before him, a figure suddenly flew down from the peak of the mountain. The figure descended with lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, it appeared before Shi Feng. "My luck can''t be that rotten, right? It''s actually a Tier 5 Fallen Angel." Dread gripped Shi Feng''s heart as looked up at the enchanting woman, who had three pairs of pitch-black wings on her back, hovering above his head. 602 Time Limi Fallen Angels were considered Higher Beings in God''s Domain, and they were born far stronger than Ordinary Beings. They were also known to be invincible against Ordinary Beings of the same Tier. Even a Tier 5 expert with a Tier 5 Taboo Skill could only run when facing a Tier 5 Fallen Angel. I''m dead for sure this time. Shi Feng could only reveal a bitter smile as he looked at the Fallen Angel hovering in the sky. He might have been able to escape a Tier 4 Great Demon, but against a Tier 5 Fallen Angel, he had no hope of resistance. Within a Domain established by a Tier 5 being, even the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement would be useless, not to mention his other Skills. As for competing in terms of speed, if he was not even a match for a Tier 4 Great Demon, how was he supposed to outmatch a Tier 5 Fallen Angel? In front of a Tier 5 Fallen Angel, even the Tier 4 Great Demon Knettel was an insignificant speck of dust. "Human, it seems that you are quite courageous. Despite being only a Tier 1 Swordsman, you have actually dared to steal Moloch''s Ring from Knettel," the Fallen Angel said, wearing a mischievous expression. She looked like a child who had just gained a new toy to play with. Before Shi Feng could react, the Fallen Angel disappeared from the sky. By the time Shi Feng realized what had happened, the charming Fallen Angel stood before him, her flawless white hand piercing Shi Feng''s heart. Instantly, Shi Feng''s HP, which was over 10,000, fell to zero. Is this the power of a Tier 5 Fallen Angel? Shi Feng stared at his rapidly decreasing HP, shock filling his heart. Regarding both speed and power, the Fallen Angel was far more powerful than any Tier 5 players Shi Feng had ever encountered. However, the Fallen Angel''s combat standards were by far the most frightening. They were impeccable. There was not the slightest excess movement her actions. It was no wonder many experts in the past had paled whenever they spoke about Fallen Angels. Although Shi Feng had already reached the Flowing Water Realm, the second stage of the Refinement Realm, he was still far from reaching a state of perfection with his physical control. Only when he achieved a Domain[1] could he strive for such perfection. However, just how many players could achieve a Domain in God''s Domain? At this moment, Shi Feng felt quite fortunate as the Fallen Angel had not used any special moves to kill him. Rather, she had only needed an ordinary attack to finish him off. With this, he would only lose one Level and some Skill Proficiency at most. Moreover, other than some items that would drop upon death, players would not drop any of their equipment when killed by monsters. "What''s going on here?" When Shi Feng opened his eyes, he discovered that he was still in the Dark Den after coming back to life. However, he had revived much further away from the towering mountain. If he wanted to head towards the mountain, he would have to run for more than half an hour. Normally, when a player died in a special map, they would revive back in a city. Since the Tier 5 Fallen Angel had killed him, logically, that should have been where he revived, in a city, yet he had revived out in the fields. Shi Feng then hurriedly called up his Attribute Panel, checking his Attributes and the contents of his bag. Good. I only lost a Level and some Skill Proficiency. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief. Regardless if he were Level 33 or Level 32, it did not matter too much to Shi Feng. Just what is going on? Looking around, Shi Feng suddenly discovered a golden avenue paved through the endless plains. There were also a countless monsters moving along this avenue towards the towering mountain. The monsters'' Levels varied greatly, with the lowest being Level 10 and the highest being over Level 100. A single glance told Shi Feng that there were tens of thousands of monsters moving along the golden avenue. Moreover, these monsters consisted of a wide variety of races; the majority were not linked to the forces of darkness. Shi Feng even spotted human NPCs. These NPCs also did not belong to the dark forces, and they looked more like Adventurers. Like the monsters, the NPCs'' Levels ranged from Level 10 to over Level 100. Why are there so many human NPCs here? Shi Feng was shocked. However, his shock did not stop him from quietly approaching the golden avenue. As a precaution, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill, sending his doppelganger ahead of him. Surprisingly, however, even after these monsters and NPCs noticed Shi Feng''s doppelganger, they showed no signs of aggression. When the doppelganger stepped onto the golden avenue, Shi Feng received a system notification stating that he could not attack anyone while inside this region. There was no danger. With this, Shi Feng relaxed. He then advanced towards the towering mountain along the golden avenue as well. He had only arrived at the Dark Den''s central region after much difficulty. There was more than an 80% possibility of the Bible of Darkness being somewhere on the mountain. Shi Feng had completed quite a few Epic Quests before. The Tier 5 Fallen Angel had only killed him with a normal attack. This proved that he had yet to fail the quest. It was possible that he had only incurred a punishment because he had used an incorrect method to enter the Dark Den. Otherwise, he would have truly been finished. If a Tier 5 Fallen Angel were guarding the Bible of Darkness, unless he were a Tier 6 God-ranked player, completing this Epic Quest would be impossible. Moreover, the fact that Fantasy Extinguisher had managed to complete this quest in the past proved that there was definitely some other way to scale the mountain and steal the Bible of Darkness. Arriving at the foot of the mountain, Shi Feng discovered that the golden avenue led towards a massive altar. Above the altar, countless monsters fought viciously, tearing each other apart. Occasionally, victors would emerge from the ceaseless battles, holding a golden key. These victors would then scale the mountain, reaching Shi Feng''s original arrival point. Sure enough, my entry was flawed. After watching the situation for awhile, Shi Feng did not discover any high-tiered monsters guarding the mountain. There were also no Tier 5 Fallen Angels patrolling the sky. Very quickly, Shi Feng arrived before the altar. The instant he set foot onto the altar, a system notification sounded out by his ears. System: Defeat all enemies before you, and you will be given entry into the World Summit. System: You will gain 1 minute for every Common Monster killed, 10 minutes for every Elite Monster killed, 30 minutes for Special Elites, 100 minutes for Chieftains, and 500 minutes for Lords. System: You may choose 10 monsters to serve as your opponent. If you fail to defeat all of your opponents, you will die. System: You have 19 minutes to decide. Failure to do so will result in automatic forfeiture. You will die if you forfeit. I see. There is a restriction for entering the World Summit. It seems that I''ll have to choose who my opponents carefully. Shi Feng finally understood the gameplay here. However, if I only kill ten Common Monsters, ten minutes won''t be long enough to explore all of the World Summit. I will most likely run out of time after traveling a short distance. No matter how he looked at it, an item like the Bible of Darkness would not be easy to find. It might even be at the very top of the mountain. He would not reach the top of the mountain even if he spent ten hours traveling. However, if he chose monsters that were too powerful, he''d be at a disadvantage. On the off chance that he could not kill the opponents he selected, he would have truly dug his own grave. A Lord was equivalent to 50 Special Elites or 5 Chieftains. However, although a Lord provided the most time, it was also the most difficult monster to take down. Moreover, if he had to face more than one Lord simultaneously, the difficulty of the challenge would increase manifold. Yet, if he did not challenge high-ranking monsters, he would not have enough time to explore the World Summit. While standing on the massive altar, Shi Feng pondered for a very long time. System: You have 1 minute to consider. Please make your decision as soon as possible. TL Notes: [1] Domain: This is slightly different from the Domain mentioned in Chapter 599. The Domain Shi Feng is referring to in this chapter is a martial arts thing, while the Domain mentioned in Chapter 599 that Weissman had used [Magic Domain] in the Mechanical Slayer arc is an in-game mechanic [It is something like a Skill]. 603 S-rank Time passed quickly, and Shi Feng''s head was spinning. This was a test meant to determine a player''s understanding of themselves and their abilities. If a player overestimated their strength and skills, they might bring about their own deaths due to choosing monsters that were too strong. On the other hand, if they chose monsters that were overly weak, they might fail their quest due to having insufficient time. In other words, the more a player understood of their own strength, the more benefits they could obtain through this test. With Berserk Skills such as Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation, although it was possible for Shi Feng to kill a Lord of the same Level, the same did not true for a group of Lords. Hence, Shi Feng could not make this decision lightly. System: You have 30 seconds to consider. Please make your decision as soon as possible. "I choose one Lord and nine Chieftains," Shi Feng said, finally deciding. System: Opponents confirmed. Based on the analysis of your combat power, this test''s difficulty is A-rank. Once victorious, you will obtain a key that can be used to open Shrine Gates that are Dark-Gold rank or lower. Do you wish to confirm your choice? Dark-Gold rank? Shi Feng immediately felt that something was amiss. Hurriedly, he said, "I wish to change my selection to two Lords and eight Chieftains." His quest was Epic rank. It was clear that he would not be able to obtain the Bible of Darkness if he could only visit Dark-Gold Shrines. He needed to be able to enter Epic Shrines. Otherwise, even if he won this battle, he would still fail his quest. System: Opponents confirmed. Based on the analysis of your combat power, this test''s difficulty is A-rank. Once victorious, you will obtain a key that can be used to open Shrine Gates that are Dark-Gold rank or lower. Do you wish to confirm your choice? Crap! Even with two Lords, it''s still hasn''t reached S-rank? Shi Feng inwardly cursed. "Change my selection to three Lords and seven Chieftains." Shi Feng should be at his limit with two Lords. There was only a 50% chance that he would emerge victorious from such a battle. If he faced three Lords, based on his estimations, his success rate would be less than 20%. System: Opponents confirmed. Based on the analysis of your combat power, this test''s difficulty is S-rank. Once victorious, you will obtain a key that can be used to open Shrine Gates that are Epic rank or lower. Do you wish to confirm your choice? "Confirm!" Shi Feng shouted, gritting his teeth. Hopefully, the line-up of these Lords won''t be too powerful. A moment later, ten monsters appeared before Shi Feng on the altar; three of them were Lords, and seven were Chieftains. All ten monsters were combat puppets of the same shape and size as an average player. In terms of Attributes, however, they were leaps and bounds above Shi Feng. [Golden Puppet] (Lord Rank) Level 32 HP 1,600,000/1,600,000 [Silver Puppet] (Chieftain Rank) Level 32 HP 550,000/550,000 Good, my luck isn''t that rotten after all. These puppets are all melees, and their HPs are quite low as well. I shouldn''t have too many issues if I fight them from a distance. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief. When the battle started, the ten puppets began moving. Step by step, they slowly approached Shi Feng, lacking the dexterity of a living creature. However, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless. Immediately, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, increasing his Strength by 100% and Defense and HP by 300%. Instantly, Shi Feng''s HP broke through the 30,000 threshold. Sure enough, Lords were not that easy to deal with. The instant Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, the combat puppets dashed towards him, much faster than an ordinary Chieftain and Lord. The ten combat puppets crossed the distance of 50 yards in the blink of an eye. The first to attack were the Silver Puppets, who thrust their spears at Shi Feng. Following closely, the Golden Puppets unsheathed the twin swords slung over their backs. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and Black Emperor, holding nothing back. Deep blue flames covered Shi Feng''s entire body, raising his fire and ice damage by 40%. Shi Feng then used Skywheel Sword, sealing the movements of all ten combat puppets within a fixed perimeter. He followed up with a Firestorm. Ice-blue flames devoured the ten combat puppets, dealing over -20,000 damage, or -40,000 damage with a critical hit, to all ten puppets every second for five seconds. When the spell''s duration ended, the ten combat puppets had received over -100,000 damage each. Shi Feng fully displayed the devastating might of the large-scale destruction spell. Meanwhile, Shi Feng collected 30 stacks of Death Aura from this single attack. "I''ll get rid of one of you first." Shi Feng then took out a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine from his bag, drinking it. Instantly, his compatibility rate with his swords soared. Moving towards a Silver Puppet with less than 300,000 HP remaining, he used Phantom Kill, followed by Flame Burst. Twenty-four consecutive strikes! Twenty-four swords of light illuminated the altar. The Silver Puppet faded out of existence. Although Shi Feng killed one Silver Puppet, the remaining six Silver Puppets and three Golden Puppets caught him in a pincer attack. With his most powerful Burst Skill exhausted, Shi Feng used Thunder Flame Explosion to slow the remaining combat puppets, as well as deal over -10,000 damage to each. Due to his compatibility rate rising, he managed to achieve a 95% Completion Rate on Thunder Flame Explosion, reducing the Movement Speed of these combat puppets for over 10 seconds. Following which, he switched to the Aura of Wind, turning around and fleeing with his doppelganger. Facing two Lords at the same time was already enough to overwhelm Shi Feng, not to mention three Lords and six Chieftains simultaneously. With the Aura of Wind''s Movement Speed Increase and Thunder Flame Explosion''s Movement Speed Reduction, the Silver Puppets were unable to catch up with Shi Feng. As for the Golden Puppets, although their speed allowed them to keep up with Shi Feng, their occasional attacks caused their speed to drop sharply as well. As a result, it became impossible for them to surround Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng activated Nine Dragons Slash, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms constantly assaulting the distant Silver Puppets. From time to time, Shi Feng would also attack with the Blazing Meteor. Although damage from his ranged attacks caused was not as high as the Abyssal Blade, each attack still dealt around -2,000 to -3,000 damage. Occasionally, Shi Feng would also use Thundering Flash to inflict the Damage Amplification effect on the remaining nine combat puppets. Shi Feng also constantly expended the Death Auras he accumulated to reduce the Cooldown of Thunder Flame Explosion, Thundering Flash, and other Skills. Among them, he reduced the Cooldown of Flame Burst the most. In such a way, Shi Feng reduced the Movement Speed of all combat puppets while exterminating the Silver Puppets. From time to time, he would use Flame Burst to instant-kill a Silver Puppet. In less than two minutes, Shi Feng had annihilated all of the Silver Puppets; only three Golden Puppets remained. However, these three Golden Puppets were inseparable. Shi Feng could not find a chance to take them on one-on-one. Moreover, even though so much time had passed since the battle began, the three Golden Puppets were still at full HP thanks to their battle recovery. Even when Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and managed to single out one of the Golden Puppets with his overwhelming speed, the remaining two would quickly catch up. As a result, Shi Feng could only land a few hits before he was forced to retreat. This is troublesome. Although the Golden Puppets do not have any Skills, the three of them are like a single entity, attacking and defending as one. Shi Feng, who hovered in the air, frowned at the three Golden Puppets. The Golden Puppets were too powerful when working together. Moreover, the Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s duration would end soon. At that time, even a battle of attrition would be difficult against the three Golden Puppets. "Do I have no other choice?" Shi Feng muttered as he reluctantly retrieved an aqua-blue Magic Scroll from his bag. This was his greatest trump card, one that he never thought of using. Watching the remaining seconds of the Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s duration tick by, Shi Feng had no choice but to unfurl the aqua-blue Magic Scroll. 604 Time is Money Shi Feng had prepared extensively to obtain the Bible of Darkness. His preparations included this aqua-blue Magic Scroll. Although Lords were powerful, in the end, they were only Tier 2 monsters. It was only their high HP and damage, which were far superior to ordinary players'', that made them so difficult to deal with. When Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Attributes were no longer below that of a Lord of the same Level. With his superior dodging techniques and powerful Skills, he could easily defeat a Lord of the same Level. However, with three Golden Puppets working seamlessly together, all Shi Feng could do was dodge. As Shi Feng unfurled the aqua-blue Magic Scroll, the surrounding Water Mana surged towards the paper. In a moment, the Mana formed a massive, six-star magic array. "Go!" Shi Feng pointed at the three Golden Puppets. Suddenly, water surged from the six-star magic array and swept over the bodies of the three Golden Puppets. In the blink of an eye, a small lake formed within an area of 50 yards. Although the water only reached the Golden Puppets'' knees, the lake itself seemed to possess life as it formed dozens of water whips to bind the three Lords. The three Golden Puppets desperately struggled to break free of these water whips. Facing a Lord''s power, these water whips snapped easily. However, the whips were seemingly endless; the moment one broke, another would immediately rise from the lake to take its place. As a result, it became extremely difficult for these Golden Puppets to move. "Give it up. You guys are only Lords. Against a Tier 2 Domain Skill, Binding Current, you don''t stand a chance," Shi Feng growled, annoyed at the loss of the Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Zero Wing possessed quite a few Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Yet, even among them, Binding Current was somewhat special. Binding Current was a Domain Skill, far rarer than even large-scale destruction spells. Although the Skill did not have any Attack Power, it was capable of restricting enemies. Shi Feng only possessed one such Magic Scroll. Once it was used, it would be very difficult to obtain another. Binding Current had a duration of ten minutes. During these ten minutes, all enemies within the Domain would be bound by water currents, their movements greatly affected. Even Lords'' strength would be significantly restricted while inside this Domain. "Die!" Shi Feng immediately struck a Golden Puppet. With the endless currents, the three Golden Puppets could no longer work in sync. This allowed Shi Feng to focus his attacks on a single Golden Puppet safely. Chop! Thunder Flame Explosion! Thundering Flash! Shi Feng used one Skill after another on the Golden Puppet. Due to Black Emperor, Shi Feng could decrease his Skills'' Cooldowns significantly. Shi Feng''s Chop was practically without a Cooldown. In addition, Shi Feng the bottle of Hundred Berry Wine allowed his Skill Completion Rates to remain above 95%. Every time Shi Feng used Chop, he obliterated nearly 30,000 HP from the Golden Puppet. As a result, the Golden Puppet''s 1,600,000 HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. When the Golden Puppet''s HP fell to 30%, Shi Feng suddenly sensed danger. Hurriedly, he retreated by several steps. Boom! After backing up, a powerful impact slammed into Shi Feng, sending him flying over a dozen yards backward. "This is Absolute Domain!" Shi Feng was shocked. At this moment, a faint gray membrane surrounded the Golden Puppet with only 30% of its HP remaining. When the countless water whips collided with his gray membrane, they were immediately repelled, unable to enter the Domain. Without the currents binding it, the Golden Puppet recovered its speed fully. In the blink of an eye, the Golden Puppet arrived before Shi Feng and brandished its twin swords. The puppet''s swords were like whips as they viciously assailed Shi Feng. "Just in time." Shi Feng involuntarily smiled. As if he had long since seen through the Golden Puppet''s intentions, he nimbly bent his body, allowing the whip-like swords to move over his body unhindered. The puppet''s swords slid against Shi Feng''s body as they passed. However, they did not truly connect with Shi Feng. Flowing Water Realm! Shi Feng was like flowing water as he received the Golden Puppet''s barrage, evading the countless sword lights smoothly. He would also occasionally strike back at the Golden Puppet, his attacks targeting the monster''s joints. If the Puppet were capable of using any other Skills, Shi Feng might really be in a predicament. However, since it could only use Absolute Domain, a Skill that dispelled all Control Skills targeting its user, the Golden Puppet was no threat at all. In terms of power, he was not one bit inferior to a Lord. As for speed, although he was slower than the Golden Puppet, he could make up for the gap with his dodging techniques. Moreover, even in the event that dodging was not possible, he could confront the Puppet directly. He was not afraid of facing the Lord in melee combat. After roughly a dozen seconds, Shi Feng finally defeated one of the Golden Puppets. With the death of one Golden Puppet, Shi Feng''s concerns had gone out the window. His chances of victory instantly increased to more than 50%. He then proceeded to deal with the second Golden Puppet. When Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s duration finally ended, Shi Feng used the Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Scorching Saber, to finish off the second Golden Puppet. Shi Feng glanced at Flame Burst''s Cooldown before shifting his gaze towards the final Golden Puppet. Smiling faintly, he muttered, "I can finally end this." After roughly two minutes of exhausting battle, Shi Feng finally managed to wear down the Golden Puppet''s HP to 1,000,000. Not wanting to waste any more time, Shi Feng activated Blade Liberation, increasing both his Strength and Agility Attributes by 90%. He then proceeded to torture the last Golden Puppet to death. Compared to when he had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his attacks dealt slightly less damage. However, due to his increased Attack Speed, his total damage was higher than before. When the Golden Puppet was about to activate its Absolute Domain, Shi Feng activated his ultimate Skills, Flame Burst and Dragon Breath, killing the Golden Puppet, which only had 30% HP remaining, instantly. When the battle ended, the sound of a system notification rang out by Shi Feng''s ears. System: You have completed the S-rank difficulty test. Rewarding Epic Shrine Key. You have received 2,200 minutes. After the test ended, Shi Feng did not rush towards the mountain. Instead, he chose to rest for a moment. When Blade Liberation ended, he would enter a Weakened state for three minutes. Moreover, he had no idea of what to expect on the mountain. Since he had already qualified to enter the World Summit and was not in a hurry, he could take the chance to recover his mental state. After all, high-intensity battles were very taxing on the mind. He could also take this opportunity to wait for the Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s Cooldown to end. "This test alone has forced me to use so many of my hidden cards. Just what awaits me on the mountain?" Shi Feng could not help but shudder whenever he recalled the Tier 5 Fallen Angel that had appeared before him. Three hours passed quickly. Holding the purple-gold key, Shi Feng arrived before the gates to the World Summit. The moment Shi Feng set foot on the World Summit, the time he had obtained through the test began to count down. "No monsters?" Shi Feng muttered, confused. He was not in a hurry. Examining his surroundings, other than the ten-meter tall Shrines, nothing hindered his path. Shi Feng then activated Windwalk and ran towards the nearest ten-meter tall Shrine. The stone doors in front of the dazzling golden Shrine were shut tightly. When Shi Feng touched the stone doors, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Epic Shrine Key detected. You are qualified to open the doors of this Bronze Shrine. Do you wish to spend 50 minutes to open them? "Crap! Opening the Shrines requires time?" Originally, Shi Feng thought he would have sufficient time to search for the Bible of Darkness. With this new development, however, that notion had changed. However, Shi Feng had no idea as to what was inside these Shrines. He needed a better understanding so that he could face any future developments. "Open the doors!" Shi Feng said, gritting his teeth. 605 Players Paradise After Shi Feng confirmed his decision, the heavy stone doors slowly parted. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s remaining time in the World Summit instantly decreased by 50 minutes. When he entered the Shrine, he was greeted by a staircase that led to the top of the Shrine. Engraved runes and pictures decorated the staircase''s walls. Among them, there were even images of Gods before the Great Destruction. Shi Feng ascended the Shrine''s staircase, step by step. In the beginning, Shi Feng had not felt anything out of the ordinary. However, by the time he was halfway to the top, he felt something off. "Why has the gravity here increased?" Shi Feng''s physical control was quite strong. As he took another step up, he felt the gravity increase by 10%. Although the gravity had only increased from 1 to 1.1 g, this small change would affect his Skill Completion Rates, resulting in a decrease in his combat power. However, since Shi Feng had already entered the Shrine, he had no intentions of leaving. If he could not even overcome a single Bronze Shrine, obtaining the Bible of Darkness would be a pipe dream. Shi Feng continued to ascend, step by step. However, he was no longer as fast as before, as with every ten steps, the gravity increased. And with each change, Shi Feng needed some time to adapt. By the time Shi Feng reached the top of the Shrine, the gravity had shifted to 2.4 g. Exposed to such an intense shift, even Shi Feng was significantly affected. The room at the top of the Shrine was not large. It was roughly the size of a basketball court. Aside from a black stone coffin in the room''s center, the area was empty. Shi Feng approached the center of the room. When he was ten yards away from the stone coffin, golden runes suddenly emerged on its black surface. A moment later, a golden magic array began to expand from the stone coffin, enveloping Shi Feng with it. "A barrier?" Shi Feng glanced at his surroundings. Golden, translucent walls enclosed the area around him, trapping him with the stone coffin. Just as Shi Feng considered his escape options, a semi-transparent figure materialized inside the barrier. This figure was actually Shi Feng himself. Both the figure''s appearance and apparel were exactly like his own. [Shrine Guard] Level 32 HP 20,000/20,000 "Am I supposed to defeat him?" Shi Feng frowned at the Shrine Guard, his expression becoming somewhat solemn. Shi Feng only required one critical hit to finish off the Shrine Guard''s 20,000 HP. However, he did not dare to casually approach the Shrine Guard because, currently, his intuition warned him that, should he approach the Guard, only death awaited him! Shi Feng was a player that was capable of defeating a Lord by himself, yet, against this Shrine Guard, who only had 20,000 HP, he was utterly helpless. "Are you too scared to approach me?" the Shrine Guard asked, laughing. Shi Feng could not help his shock when he heard the Shrine Guard''s humanlike speech and behavior. In his memories, only high-tiered NPCs were capable of such performances. He had never heard of a Common Monster behaving like this. It was obvious that the Shrine Guard was an extraordinary existence. "I don''t have a death wish." Shi Feng shook his head, growing more certain of his intuition''s warning. "Not bad. You have actually discerned the gap in strength between us. However, rest assured, since you have already made it here, there is no danger. On the contrary, I have a reward for you," the Shrine Guard said, laughing. "Reward? What kind of reward?" Shi Feng did not think that an NPC would trick him, and there was no need to do so. This NPC was certainly far stronger than himself. The Shrine Guard could simply kill him if he wanted to. "I will help you become stronger." The Shrine Guard then explained, "I can offer you guidance on one Swordsman Skill. How much you learn depends on you, of course. However, you don''t have much time left. You only have 49 minutes remaining." Guidance on a Swordsman Skill! Shi Feng was surprised. When he thought back to the price required to enter the Bronze Shrine, he immediately understood. Hurriedly, he said, "I would like you to give me pointers on Chop." Shi Feng had plenty of Swordsman Skills. However, there were some he used frequently and some he only used occasionally. Among them, he used Chop most often. Although his Magic Weapon had allowed his Skill Completion Rate to rise significantly, he was still far from achieving a 100% Skill Completion Rate. "You''ve made a wise decision. Watch me carefully, then." The Shrine Guard nodded. He then began to flow through the motions of Chop. The Shrine Guard''s body leaned forward and swung the Abyssal Blade in his hand. The Abyssal Blade then began to blur. In the next moment, it was as if the space in front of the Shrine Guard broke as a faint spatial crack appeared. The Shrine Guard''s Chop was completely different than Shi Feng''s. "How is this possible?" Shi Feng was at a loss for words. His Skill Completion Rate with Chop was over 95%, and he was extremely close to reaching perfection. However, whenever he used Chop, it always appeared in the form of three sword lights resembling full moons that gathered at a single point. However, these three sword lights did not appear when the Shrine Guard used Chop. From the beginning, there had only been a single sword light. Moreover, the Shrine Guard''s swing had not been particularly fast, so Shi Feng could see the Skill being executed very clearly. However, the most frightening aspect was the power the Shrine Guard''s Chop had displayed Shi Feng could sense that the Shrine Guard''s Strength and constitution and his own were exactly the same. The only difference was that the Shrine Guard had slightly more HP. Yet, the Shrine Guard''s Chop could tear apart space itself. Although the spatial crack that had formed seemed very small, the might it contained was sufficient to kill him instantly. Despite the Shrine Guard''s speed and power being ordinary, he was actually able to display such frightening power. "Confused?" the Shrine Guard asked, smiling. "Mhm." Shi Feng nodded and admitted shamelessly. No matter what was said or done, he was a top-tier expert in God''s Domain who had reached the Flowing Water Realm. Although he still could not compete with those apex experts in the past, he was not that far away from reaching their level. Yet, the Chop the Shrine Guard had executed shattered his conception of the Skill known as Chop. "If you don''t understand, I will display the Skill a few more times. You can also experience it for yourself. Rest assured; while inside this barrier, you will not receive any damage." The Shrine Guard spoke like a teacher who guided his student carefully. Hearing this, Shi Feng quickly sought the Shrine Guard''s guidance. If one wished to improve on their techniques, the fastest way to do so was through actual combat. Previously, he had kept a distance between himself and the Shrine Guard, worried that the NPC would kill him. Now that he knew the NPC intended to help him improve his ability with the Skill, he would not hold back. Immediately, he displayed his best Chop and began battling the Shrine Guard. Since Shi Feng attacked him, the Shrine Guard replied with a Chop of his own. When the two swords collided, sparks flew into the air around them. Peng! In one moment, Shi Feng sent a Chop at the Shrine Guard, and in the next moment, his body left an imprint on the barrier''s wall. There was even a faint spatial crack lingering in Shi Feng''s original position. "This is this a super-perfect Skill?" Shi Feng stared at the Shrine Guard with a stupefied expression. His mind replayed the Shrine Guard''s sword swing. Regarding speed, Shi Feng was definitely the victor. Moreover, he had prepared to dodge the NPC''s attack beforehand. However, before he had any chance to dodge, the Shrine Guard''s sword had collided with his own. He instantly felt a tremendous power flow into his hand. In the next moment, he had been thrown backward. Shi Feng was still badly shaken by the Shrine Guard''s attack. Fortunately, this was only a lecture. Otherwise, the NPC''s attack might have really killed him. He and the Shrine Guard were worlds apart from each other. "Perfect?" the Shrine Guard laughed. "Nothing is perfect in this world. It is only because your vision is limited, and you are confined to your own world." "Nothing is perfect?" Shi Feng thought about the Skill Completion Rate''s limit of 100%. Yet, the Shrine Guard had said that nothing was perfect. "Could the Skill Completion Rate possibly exceed 100%?!" The more Shi Feng thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. Otherwise, why would his Chop, which neared a 100% Completion Rate, be so inferior to the Shrine Guard''s? Following which, Shi Feng faced-off against the Shrine Guard again and again. Although every exchange ended in Shi Feng''s utter defeat, the more Shi Feng fought, the more his excitement grew. He felt as if he had caught onto something, something that he had never noticed before. He had laced too much importance on his body, trying too hard to replicate a Skill''s template motions that had been provided by the system; he had forgotten to think outside of the box. As Shi Feng traded blows with the Shrine Guard, his Skill Completion Rate continued to rise. 96%... 97%... 98%... "It should feel like...." Shi Feng leaned forward. He no longer pursued ultimate speed as he swung his sword along the air''s resistance. Suddenly, a spatial crack appeared before him. Chop''s Skill Completion Rate reached 101%. 606 Epic Shrine "This is a really wonderful feeling." When Shi Feng looked at the black fissure before him, he could not help but recall the sensation he felt when he drew his sword before. Unfortunately, he had only achieved this super-perfect Completion Rate accidentally. Trying to grasp this feeling was akin to trying to catch a dream. Just as Shi Feng was about to commence another bout with the Shrine Guard, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered his ears. System: Active duration of the Shrine has ended. Player will be sent out of the Shrine in three seconds. "Time''s up already?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise. He felt as if he had fought against the Shrine Guard for only a short while. He still had many questions he wished to gain answers to. Yet, before he realized it, 50 minutes had already elapsed. By the time Shi Feng snapped out of his daze, he was already back outside the gates of the Bronze Shrine. "This" Shi Feng still wanted to enter the Shrine again. However, the system notified him that he had already opened this Shrine once before and that he would have to wait another seven days before he could open it again. Truly a pity. If I were to practice there for a few more hours, I might be able to grab ahold of that feeling, Shi Feng silently lamented. In God''s Domain, whether it be a player''s combat techniques or Skill usage, both were learned through self-experimentation. There was no teacher to guide players on these topics. The system only provided a holographic video of the template motions of a Skill. The rest was up to the players themselves to experiment and practice. Having someone specially teaching them how to use their Skills was definitely a heaven-sent opportunity. After all, having a guide was far more efficient than groping for answers in the dark. The learning speed would definitely be more than ten times faster. Otherwise, there wouldn''t be so many players who couldn''t achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. "I wonder what kind of rewards the other Shrines have?" Expectations welled up inside Shi Feng. Just a single Bronze Shrine had provided him with such a guidance reward. What would the Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, and Epic ranked Shrines have in store for him? Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng no longer wasted any more time. He immediately activated Windwalk and dashed towards the peak of the World Summit. Shi Feng could determine the rank of a Shrine based on its location on the World Summit. The higher the rank of a Shrine, the closer to the pinnacle it lay. However, the World Summit was simply too massive. It was many times larger than White River City. Despite continually alternating between Windwalk, Wind Rider, and Speed Scrolls, Shi Feng had reached only the middle section of the World Summit after running for three full hours. He still couldn''t see the peak of the mountain from where he stood. On the other hand, the Shrines at the foot of the mountain were no more than little dots in his eyes now. I have managed to reach the area of the Fine-Gold Shrines only after three hours; that''s six Special Elite kills gone. Even if an expert player were to come here, they would not be able to obtain the reward of the Fine-Gold Shrines. Shi Feng had tried checking one of the Fine-Gold Shrines earlier, and it required him to spend 200 minutes just to open it. It should be known that the current elite players of God''s Domain were only capable of contending against an Elite monster of the same level, while ordinary experts were capable of opposing up to a Special Elite of the same level. Only first-rate experts could fight a Chieftain of the same level. As for top-tier experts, they were capable of contending against a Lord of the same level. In order to arrive at this place and open the doors of a Fine-Gold Shrine, a player would need to defeat two Chieftains and eight Special Elites, obtaining 440 minutes, at the very least. In other words, an extremely powerful first-rate expert would barely be able to open the doors of a Fine-Gold Shrine and obtain the reward stored within it. I have only reached the middle section of the mountain. Just how long do I have to continue running to reach the Epic rank section? Shi Feng grew somewhat worried. Shi Feng discovered that the distance between Shrines also grew wider the further up he went. He had only reached the edge of the Fine-Gold Shrine area right now. He still had to traverse the Dark-Gold area to arrive at the Epic area. He also had to spend time searching for the right Epic Shrine. Moreover, he had obtained the Epic Shrine Key by the skin of his teeth. He had no idea how much time was required to open the doors of an Epic Shrine. In the off chance that he did not have enough This place really is damnable. I can''t use the Aura of Space''s Spatial Movement here. Only the Aura of Wind''s speed increase and Wind Rider are of some help. The rules of the World Summit were thoroughly exasperating. If Shi Feng could use Spatial Movement here, he could travel a distance of 400,000 yards in just one second, saving him hours in travel time. Time passed by quickly. After running for another five hours, Shi Feng finally arrived before a Shrine that was over 300 meters in height. The Shrines around this area were completely different from the ones he had seen before. "This is an Epic Shrine?" Shi Feng muttered as he looked at the mountain-like Shrine. The Shrines he encountered before were all inanimate objects. On the other hand, the Epic Shrines here had frightening auras. Shi Feng even began to wonder whether terrifying monsters lived in these Shrines. Done admiring the Shrine before him, Shi Feng walked up and touched its doors. System: Epic Shrine Key detected. You are qualified to open the doors of the Epic Shrine. Do you wish to spend 1,000 minutes to open them? "A thousand minutes?" Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief. "I still have slightly more than 1,600 minutes right now. I will have plenty of time remaining even after I open an Epic Shrine. I should be able to locate the Shrine storing the Bible of Darkness within 600 minutes." The World Summit had a large number of Shrines, and the same held true even for Epic Shrines. Shi Feng counted nine Epic Shrines just within his range of vision. There were also plenty more up above. He guessed that the total number of Epic Shrines on the World Summit exceeded a hundred. These Shrines were different from each other. There was a huge difference just in terms of the elemental mana surrounding these Shrines. Some Shrines released bright and dazzling elemental mana, and others released flaming elemental mana. Even Shrines that released the same type of mana would have different images engraved on their doorsimages of Angels, Demons, and many other races. Some Shrine doors even depicted Gods. Hence, Shi Feng would not have difficulty looking for the Shrine that contained the Bible of Darkness, so long as he had sufficient time. "The Bible of Darkness is a treasure of the Demon race. It should be stored in one of the Demonic Shrines of the darkness element." Although Shi Feng had little understanding of the World Summit, he knew quite a lot regarding mana. A curse was categorized as a darkness Skill. Since it was a Great Demon who had cursed him, the Great Demon knew how to cast darkness spells. This meant that the Bible of Darkness had to be related to a Shrine of the darkness element. With a target in mind, Shi Feng quickly began his search. Very easily, he had managed to locate five Darkness Shrines. Among them, only two belonged to the Demon race. Meanwhile, of these two Shrines, one belonged to the Lord of Destruction, while the other belonged to the Lord of Nightmares. The Bible of Darkness was a descriptive record of all Demons written by the Lord of Destruction. Rumor had it that as long as one managed to control the Bible of Darkness, they would become the Lord of Demons with all Demons obedient to their commands. Without hesitation, Shi Feng opened the Lord of Destruction''s Shrine. When the black stone doors parted, an ancient aura washed over him. Shi Feng could feel the origin of destruction contained within this aura. The pressure he felt coming from within the Shrine was far more powerful than what he had felt from the Tier 5 Fallen Angel he encountered before. "Amazing. It is only a Shrine. There is clearly no living being inside, yet it gives off such an overwhelming pressure. As expected of the Lord of Destruction''s Shrine," Shi Feng exclaimed. "Heavenly Dragon''s Power, activate!" The immense pressure made even walking a difficult task for Shi Feng. However, after activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, the weight pressing down on him lessened significantly. He was then able to enter the Shrine with relative ease. 607 Magic Device The moment Shi Feng stepped into the Shrine, it was as if he had arrived in another world. He could hear the chirping of birds and smell the fragrance of flowers. Verdant trees and grass filled his vision. Instead of a Shrine, this place looked more like a garden. "Fallen Angel!" Inside the garden, Shi Feng immediately discovered the Fallen Angel that had killed him previously. Three pairs of pitch-black wings, a perfect, enchanting body, long and slender legs, as well as that jade-white skin and flawless face Of all the women Shi Feng knew, only the Great Divine Official Sharlyn was a match for this Fallen Angel. Any other woman standing before her would simply pale in comparison. "Human, you sure are fast," the Tier 5 Fallen Angel giggled as she looked at Shi Feng with her aquamarine eyes. "You Adventurers are truly blessed by the heavens, being born with an Immortal Soul. Even we would find it difficult to thoroughly kill you Adventurers." Even until now, Shi Feng still got chills whenever he thought back to how the Fallen Angel had killed him instantly. Most likely, only a few players throughout the entire God''s Domain could rival that near-perfect combat technique. If he had not known that only rewardsand no punishmentsawaited him inside these Shrines, he would have long since fled this Shrine. "My name is Serena. Come over. You entered the World Summit normally this time, so I won''t kill you," Serena laughed as she beckoned Shi Feng with her hand. "Since you''ve managed to make it to this place, it shows that you indeed possess some ability. I can give you two options." "Two options?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Though I say options, in reality, they are just two reward methods." Serena nodded lightly. "The first option is obtaining the Bible of Darkness that is stored in this place directly. The second option is undertaking a small test. Through the second option, you will not only obtain the Bible of Darkness but also have a chance to win these items." Serena waved her hand lightly. Suddenly, three Rainbow Treasure Chests appeared in midair. The first Rainbow Treasure Chest contained a large number of Soul Crystals. A simple glance told Shi Feng that there were over a hundred crystals at the very minimum. In the Dark Den, the Soul Crystal was the foundation of all development. A sudden infusion of more than a hundred Soul Crystals would definitely increase a Shelter''s strength significantly. The second Rainbow Treasure Chest contained a black stone tablet that looked similar to the Chapter of Darkness. However, the name displayed was Chapter of Shelter. It could be used to immediately promote a Shelter by a single rank, up to a maximum of Large Shelter. There''s such a good item available as well? Sure enough, the rewards of an Epic Shrine are astonishing. Shi Feng grew very excited when he saw these two rewards. Promoting the Shelters found inside the Dark Den was extremely difficult. Besides the astronomical number of Soul Crystals required, players also needed to complete a series of quests in order to promote a Shelter. The manpower and resources necessary to do so were extremely daunting. Even the Shelter at District One had yet to be promoted to a Large Shelter until now. One could just imagine how difficult a feat it was. Only a Shelter supported by a large Guild was capable of becoming a Large Shelter after amassing all the resources collected by the multiple Shelters controlled by said Guild. Once he obtained the Chapter of Shelter, he could immediately upgrade a Medium Shelter to a Large Shelter. This would be of immense help for District One''s Shelter, which was under Zero Wing''s control. However, when Serena opened the third Rainbow Treasure Chest, Shi Feng was thoroughly stupefied. "Magic Device Design!" Shi Feng''s eyes turned bloodshot as he looked at the dilapidated design inside the treasure chest. He could not help but wish he could snatch it up right away. "Oh? I did not think that a human like you would know about this item. Since you know about Magic Devices, then you must know what a Magic Device Design represents. Its value is only slightly lower than the Bible of Darkness''s. You humans, however, would probably appraise the Design more highly." The Fallen Angel Serena smiled in satisfaction upon seeing Shi Feng''s reaction. "Say it, then. Which reward do you choose?" At these words, Shi Feng fell silent. A product of God''s Domain''s magical civilization when it was at its peak, the Magic Device represented the pinnacle of alchemy, forging, and engineering combinedas well as the end of the era of the gods. Even the lowest ranked Bronze Magic Device boosted a player''s strength to a whole new level, not to mention a Magic Device Design. Even the lowest ranked Bronze Magic Device Design could provoke a war between Guilds. In the past, when a Mysterious-Iron Magic Device Design had appeared, over a dozen countries and more than a hundred Guilds had fought over it. Multiple Super Guilds had also participated. The death toll for that war was innumerable. A rough estimation had pegged it at five million. In the end, a Super Guild had emerged victorious. As for Shadow, which had been a second-rate Guild back then, it had not dared to even participate in the war. It could only stand on the sidelines and watch. Now that a Magic Device Design appeared right in front of him, how could Shi Feng not grow excited? Magic Devices were similar to the Mana Armor Kits. In the Magic Device''s case, however, it did not increase any Basic Attributes. Instead, it was mounted on a weapon to increase the weapon''s strength. Every weapon could only mount one Magic Device. After God''s Domain underwent its third evolution, whether it was a battle against players or against monsters, an injury would reduce a player''s combat power. And while players could rely on heals to recover from their injuries, the deterioration of their weapons was inevitable. It was especially true when players fought against high-ranking monsters. Unless one''s weapon was of high quality, players would have great difficulty injuring a Lord and reducing its combat power since Lords had skin that was as hard as steel. Meanwhile, a Magic Device could be used to strengthen a weapon. Not only could it make a weapon sharper, but it could also bestow special effects such as Reduced Weight, Increased Weight, Hardness, Mirage, Paralysis, and other effects that could improve a player''s combat power significantly. Most importantly, Magic Devices were not Consumable items. Like inlaid Gemstones, they could be taken off the weapons they were mounted on. Whether it was a Level 1 Common Weapon or a Level 200 Epic Weapon, players could freely transfer their Magic Devices between them. This was the reason why players were so attracted to Magic Devices. However, Magic Devices were extremely difficult to produce; hence, production volumes were very low. Even after reaching Level 100, most players still did not have their own Magic Devices. In the past, as the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, Shi Feng owned only a Mysterious-Iron Magic Device, even after he was over Level 100. As for other independent experts, they possessed only Bronze Magic Devices. If he could obtain a Magic Device Design right now, it would definitely become one of Zero Wing''s trump cards. "Have you come to a decision?" Serena asked, smiling as she flourished the Magic Device Design in her hand. "Time waits for no one. You only have three minutes to decide. If you do not give me an answer, I will take it as you picking the first option, and you may leave once you obtain the Bible of Darkness." "To hell with it." Shi Feng looked at the Fallen Angel, a passionate flame burning in his heart. "I choose the second option." Both the Chapter of Shelter and the Magic Device Design were items that were not easily acquired. The difficulty of obtaining the Magic Device Design was even above that for an Epic item. Otherwise, Magic Devices wouldn''t have been so rare in the past. "Good. I knew you were a smart man. Let''s begin, then." Serena smiled in satisfaction. She then waved her hand. The entire garden promptly vanished, and replacing it was a volcanic hell. Molten magma surrounded a 40-yard area of solid ground. The ambient temperature was scorching hot; any ordinary player would most likely broil to death slowly. Only someone like Shi Feng, who possessed high Fire Resistance, could stay in this place for long periods of time. Meanwhile, the gravity here had also increased to 3 g, which would greatly affect a player''s mobility. "Come, then. If you can defeat me, you win," Serena said, smiling as she looked down at Shi Feng from midair. 608 Tier 2 Taboo Skill Originally, Serena had anticipated seeing a look of horror on Shi Feng''s face. However, even after she had revealed the contents of the test, Shi Feng did not evince any shock. On the contrary, it seemed as if he felt that the test was totally reasonable. "Don''t you feel surprised that the final test actually requires you to defeat me?" Serena asked, a perplexed expression on her face as she looked at Shi Feng. A Tier 1 human against a Tier 5 Fallen Angel. With such a massive gap, even a person with a stable mentality would feel despair. And if not despair, then at the very least, anger, as this was obviously not a fair contest. Yet, Shi Feng remained unfazed by this revelation, so how could she not be surprised? "Since the rewards are so bountiful, I naturally prepared for the worst. Not to mention, I really don''t have a choice, do I?" Shi Feng laughed, a helpless smile on his face. There were no free lunches in God''s Domain. Not to mention, the rewards of the test were of such a frightening caliber. "It seems that you understand the rules of the world quite well, so it wasn''t just luck that prompted you to pick the second option." Serena squinted her aquamarine eyes slightly as she looked at Shi Feng. At this moment, she no longer looked down at the human before her. Curling her blood-red lips into a seductive smile, she continued, "If you had chosen the first option, then the Bible of Darkness you would have received would have been a replica. As for the second option, while you may fail the test, you will still obtain the real Bible of Darkness regardless." Although Shi Feng had guessed that this was the case, he inwardly felt relieved to hear these words directly from the Fallen Angel herself. When all was said and done, the Bible of Darkness was a treasure left behind by the Lord of Destruction. How could it possibly be that easy for players to acquire it? "Since you are already clear on the situation, I will explain the rules of the test." Serena raised her brows slightly and continued in a low tone, "The rules are very simple. You will not die while inside this area. Both our strengths will also be suppressed to Tier 1. It will be your win as long as you are able to defeat me in the remaining time you possess." "Both suppressed to the standard of a Tier 1?" Shi Feng frowned. Although both their strengths would be suppressed to the standard of a Tier 1 class in the upcoming test, Fallen Angels were Higher Beings. Not only were they born much stronger than other beings, but they also wielded many more Skills. Even at Tier 1, Serena''s combat power would most likely be at the peak of an ordinary Tier 2 class or above. She was stronger than even a High Lord of the same level. There was actually a possibility that her combat power approached that of a Great Lord. "If there are no problems, you may begin attacking as much as you want." Serena smiled faintly as she sent Shi Feng a teasing look. "Rest assured, I''ll make sure to hold back plenty. I also won''t use any Tier 3 or Tier 4 Skills." Despite Serena''s reassurance, Shi Feng had no intention of attacking her just yet. Even without using Tier 3 or Tier 4 Skills, a Tier 1 Fallen Angel can still kill me easily using Tier 2 Skills. He smiled bitterly as he took in Serena''s leisurely attitude. Shi Feng had a very clear understanding of his own strength. Although he had grasped plenty of powerful Skills, they were all Tier 1 Skills. As for Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, while he had quite a few on him right now, his opponent had Tier 2 Skills, which she could use indefinitely. The only trump card he had was Twofold Berserk. If he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation simultaneously, he would gain the ability to contend against a High Lord for a short period of time. However, engaging a Tier 1 Fallen Angel in melee combat was simply suicidal. I have close to ten hours left. It would be pointless to charge into battle right now. My only option is to wait for the Cooldown of Dragon''s Power to end. Shi Feng was in no hurry. He then sat on the ground, resting as he quietly observed the Fallen Angel before him. Earlier, when he was entering the Shrine, he was forced to use Heavenly Dragon''s Power to resist the intense pressure. If he fought Serena, a Fallen Angel who had the Attributes of a High Lord, without Twofold Berserk, he would just be seeking his own death. Fortunately, the condition to clear the test was only to defeat Serena, not to kill her. There was a massive difference between these two conditions. Defeat meant that he was only required to cause a certain amount of damage to Serena. After all, even if Serena simply stood still and allowed him to attack her freely, he would not be able to kill her within 20 seconds. Currently, although Serena was only Level 32, she had a total of 5,000,000 HP. Tier 1 Skills are definitely useless against Serena. In terms of combat techniques, she is also far superior to me. If I wish to defeat her, my only option is to rely on Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Although Shi Feng had his ultimate Skill, Flame Burst, this Skill was meaningless if his weapon could not connect with his opponent. Not to mention, in a direct clash of power, Serena would trounce him. Having thought up to this point, Shi Feng suddenly stood up. He then replaced the Aura of Wind with the Aura of Fire and cast Firestorm at Serena. The platform he currently stood on only had an area of 40 yards. Firestorm certainly covered most of it. At Level 7, Firestorm''s might could easily rival a Tier 2 large-scale destruction spell. A tsunami of flames descended from the sky. However, just as the flames were about to engulf Serena, her finger suddenly moved. In the blink of an eye, she had finished writing the runes required to cast Frost Storm, a Tier 2 large-scale destruction spell. In the next moment, fire and ice clashed, filling the space around the platform with steam. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s Firestorm did not even manage to touch the Fallen Angel. Fallen Angels with high intelligence are really difficult to handle. Shi Feng was not surprised. In the virtual reality games of the past, there would only be two possible outcomes when a player used a Skill: either the Skill hit, or missed. There was no third possibility. In God''s Domain, however, one would encounter various scenarios when attacking using a Skill. Aside from hitting or missing, it was also possible for the Skill to be blocked, offset, or unraveled. Blocking a Skill would result in one taking a small amount of damage, and normally, this was an action that most Lords were capable of. However, offsetting or unraveling a Skill was a feat that was doable only for high-tiered monsters and NPCs. Meanwhile, the method Serena had used to deal with Shi Feng''s Firestorm was to offset it using a Skill of her own. When one successfully offset a Skill, they would not receive any damage whatsoever. If even Firestorm is useless against her, my Tier 2 Magic Scrolls would most likely yield similar results. Shi Feng felt a huge headache when he looked at Serena, who was currently hovering in midair. It would be great if Kite were here right now. Kite was a Dark-Gold ranked Personal Guard. With his strength as a Tier 2 Sword Master, he could not overcome a Great Lord, which was equivalent to a Tier 3 class, but he could still pin it down for some time. His strength should not be below that of the Tier 1 Fallen Angel Serena. "Invincible within the same Tier?" A sudden inspiration came to Shi Feng as he looked at Serena''s smiling face. Taboo Skill! Taboo Skills possessed the power to transcend Tiers. Meanwhile, although Serena''s strength was currently suppressed to Tier 1, her frightening Basic Attributes and arsenal of Tier 2 Skills made her invincible even against ordinary Tier 2 classes. However, if a Tier 2 player managed to grasp a Tier 2 Taboo Skill, they would similarly become an invincible existence among other Tier 2 classes. Thank goodness I did not store Instant Strike inside my warehouse. As long as I manage to learn it, even if I cannot kill Serena, I still have a chance to defeat her. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed. Immediately, he retrieved the Skill Book of the Tier 2 Taboo Skill from his bag and began poring over it carefully. After half an hour passed, Shi Feng felt that he was ready. If he wanted to learn the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike, the first way to do so was to collect 100 Thunder Crystals, which was obviously impossible. The second option was to achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. Previously, it had indeed been impossible for him to achieve a 100% Completion Rate for Instant Strike. However, after the Abyssal Blade was upgraded, his compatibility with the Magic Weapon had increased significantly. With the help of the Hundred Berry Wine, which he had obtained from Blue Frost, he definitely had a chance to achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate right now. Hence, Shi Feng drank a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine and began rehearsing the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike. "Trying to learn a Tier 2 Taboo Skill?" Serena revealed a faint smile. "Not a bad idea. Unfortunately, the time you have left isn''t enough for you to do so." Taboo Skills required long periods of bitter training. There were no shortcuts available. Even a gifted person would require several days or over a dozen days to learn a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Shi Feng did not have much time left. It was simply impossible for him to succeed in learning the Taboo Skill in such a short period of time. 609 Instant Strike While Shi Feng was continuously rehearsing the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike, a great upheaval rocked the Evil Ghost Domain. The entire District Five was destroyed overnight, and over half of the District''s players had disappeared. To the players in the Evil Ghost Domain, this was an inconceivable situation. Just what could actually wipe out the Evil Ghost Domain''s fifth-ranking Shelter? Not a single Shelter in the Evil Ghost Domain would be capable of going up against such a frightening power. Suddenly, a strong sense of crisis filled the air of the entire Evil Ghost Domain. --- District One''s Shelter. "Leader Frost, what are we supposed to do now?" Best Reincarnation, the leader of the Second Party, asked worriedly. "Based on the information we discovered, it seems that the assault on District Five comprised of a large number of powerful monstersall Level 40 and above. There were actually numerous Lords participating in the monster assault as well. "However, this is still not the scariest part. When our players went to investigate the situation at District Five, they encountered some survivors from the Shelter. According to the survivors, the ones responsible for annihilating their District Five were not actually those Lords. Instead, it was the doing of a much more powerful monster. However, as they had been too far from the monster at the time, they did not get a clear look at what that monster was. They only know that that monster had annihilated hundreds of players with just a wave of its hand using black flames. It instantly killed even District Five''s strongest player, Punishment Day. "If we remain in this area, it is quite likely that we will encounter that monster as well. "Although District One is a lot stronger than District Five, against that rank of monster, we simply stand no chance at all." Everyone present fell silent at Best Reincarnation''s words. The enemy that obliterated District Five was just too terrifying. It had not been easy for them to raise their Shelter to the rank it had today. If it was destroyed, then their Shelter''s rank would also fall by one, dropping from a Medium Shelter to a Small Shelter. If that happened, the advantage of the Hundred Berry Wine they had possessed all this time would vanish as well. There was also no telling whether they would be able to obtain the Hundred Berry Wine again the next time they upgraded their Shelter to a Medium Shelter. Yet, if they moved their Shelter to a low-level area, the distance they had to travel every day would be extremely long and time-consuming. They would most likely have to spend the entire day running just to commute between their leveling spots and the Shelter. This would greatly impact the development of the Shelter. "Everyone, listen to me. This is an opportunity for our District One," Blue Frost said after pondering for some time, an excited smile on his face. "Opportunity?" "What opportunity?" Everyone could not understand what was going through Blue Frost''s mind. "I believe that you guys have heard of this as well. After the incident with District Five, many Shelters that previously refused to join a Guild Force began changing their minds one after another. They are all trying to gain the protection of Shelters run by Guild Forces. In the worst-case scenario, they can also migrate directly to the Large Shelters of the Guild Forces and develop themselves there," Blue Frost said. "Meanwhile, our District One has also joined Zero Wing. However, unlike the other Shelters, the Guild we joined is very strong. "You guys must have seen the Teleportation Magic Array Design for yourselves. Brother Ye Feng has also stated that, so long as we manage to gather the necessary materials, he will construct a Teleportation Magic Array for our Shelter. If we manage to annex the other Shelters right now, our position in Zero Wing will also rise. I believe that nobody present wishes to remain as just the party leader of a Shelter, right?" All the party leaders expressed their agreement with Blue Frost''s words. The things Zero Wing had revealed so far were already enough to show just how powerful the Guild was, particularly the frightening combat power Shi Feng had displayed as well as the funds that he had transferred to them. Zero Wing had even provided them with a training facility. As long as they made contributions to Zero Wing and raised their positions within the Guild, they would be able to head to Jin Hai City''s Big Dipper Training Center and undergo special training for their combat techniques. Every city had their own martial arts dojos and training centers. If one wanted to improve their combat techniques, it was definitely better to have someone guiding them. They had previously conducted some investigations in the real world regarding the Big Dipper Training Center. The moment they checked, however, they were shocked. The Big Dipper Training Center actually had a martial arts master overseeing it. Currently, the Big Dipper was already a famous training center, and many professional fighters from the surrounding cities had gone there to train. It was no longer a place that ordinary people could enter. Moreover, the amount one had to pay in order to become a member there was also not something ordinary people could afford. Although their knowledge regarding first-rate Guilds was lacking, they knew full well just how precious a martial arts master was. A martial arts master was the ultimate force of humans. If they could receive pointers from a martial arts master, their combat techniques in God''s Domain would definitely improve by leaps and bounds. Meanwhile, Zero Wing would allow them to undergo special training directly at the Big Dipper. The Guild''s financial prowess and influence had thoroughly shattered their perception of ordinary Gaming Guilds. Although they had earned quite a lot of money from playing God''s Domain, they were still far from being able to afford establishments like the Big Dipper Training Center. If they could climb their way up to Zero Wing''s upper management, they would not have to worry about earning enough to support themselves in the future. "I''m sure everyone clearly understands what a Teleportation Magic Array represents. What we need to do now is annex the other Shelters and obtain the materials required for the Teleportation Magic Array as soon as possible. Even if we retreat from this area, we can simply rely on the teleportation array to return here in the future." After listening to Blue Frost''s explanation, everyone nodded in agreement one after another. Previously, they had found it simply too difficult to gain control over the other Shelters in the Evil Ghost Domain. However, that changed after the incident with District Five. If they had a teleportation array, the amount of money and resources they could earn would be endless. Hence, the various party leaders began arranging workforces to collect the materials required for the Teleportation Magic Array. At the same time, they also tried persuading the other Shelters to subordinate themselves to District One''s Shelter. That way, the members of these Shelters would get to use the teleportation array of District One. --- Inside the Darkness Shrine, Shi Feng had already been rehearsing Instant Strike for five hours continuously now. After just five hours of practice, it was as if Shi Feng was a veteran who had been practicing Instant Strike for many years. His movements when executing the Taboo Skill were practically the same as the holographic video provided by the Skill Book. I''m still off by a little. Sure enough, a Tier 2 Taboo Skill is not that easy to master. Although Shi Feng had already given his all to trying to raise his Completion Rate, his best record was 95%. Right now, he could not increase it by even an additional percent. Moreover, he had only managed to achieve this result because of the Abyssal Blade and the Hundred Berry Wine. Otherwise, he would have taken several days to reach a 95% Skill Completion Rate with Instant Strike. He did not have much time left to practice. Each bottle of Hundred Berry Wine lasted only one hourand he had just three more bottles on hand. They would not last him till the very end. "Human, you should give up. The might of a Tier 2 Taboo Skill is simply too immense. It is not that I am trying to look down on you. However, if you wish to grasp a Tier 2 Taboo Skill, you will need another ten days of hard work at the very least." Serena could discern Shi Feng''s current progress in a single glance. "Presently, you have already grasped the motions of the Taboo Skill completely. Unfortunately, your comprehension of the Skill is lacking. With the remaining five hours you have, you would be fortunate to raise your Completion Rate by even just another 1%." "Lacking comprehension?" Shi Feng thought so as well. It was just like when he had achieved a 101% Completion Rate with Chop. That feeling had gone by in a flash, and he could not grab hold of it even if he wanted to. Comprehension? Compatibility? Does the comprehension Serena is speaking of refer to compatibility? Shi Feng did not give it too much thought. He did not have much time leftnot enough to wait out the 10-day Cooldown to challenge the World Summit again. He then took out all the Hundred Berry Wine in his bag and consumed all three bottles in rapid succession. Even with Shi Feng''s willpower and mental power, he still grew dizzy. The Hundred Berry Wine was just like the Black Steel Beer. The more one drank, the better the effect. Correspondingly, however, the side effects also grew stronger. It was best if players drank just one bottle at a time to maintain a clear mind, as players could steadily improve their Completion Rates and look for any shortcomings in their movements throughout the beverage''s effective duration. Consuming too many bottles at once could result in players losing themselves to the alcohol. Now, Shi Feng downed three bottles in one go. His compatibility rate instantly soared. This feeling is really great. At this moment, Shi Feng felt as if he had become one with his sword. When he drew the Abyssal Blade and executed Instant Strike, each and every one of his movements felt light and natural. There was no excess power in any of his actions at all. Then, Shi Feng''s initially smooth movements suddenly changed. The afterimages of the Abyssal Blade, which were originally created due to Shi Feng''s overly fast speed, suddenly vanished. The Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s hand also became clear and visible. In the next moment, faint blue electric arcs manifested around Shi Feng''s body, filling the air with crackling sounds. The places these electric arcs touched also charred. System: Instant Strike Skill Completion Rate 100%. 610 Higher Realm Arcs of electricity continuously sparked around Shi Feng. Although the electric arcs were tiny, the destructive power they contained was practically equivalent to a Tier 2 lightning spell. "He actually succeeded!" A shocked expression appeared on Serena''s beautiful face. Learning a Taboo Skill was an enormous challenge. It was the same for both players and NPCs with high intelligence. In order to learn a Taboo Skill, one had to go through long periods of arduous training as well as achieve a certain degree of comprehension regarding the Taboo Skill. Serena wasn''t the only one who was shocked by this result. Even Shi Feng himself was quite shocked. It was extremely difficult for a Tier 1 class to learn a Tier 1 Taboo Skill, not to mention a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Moreover, Instant Strike''s requirements were exceedingly high even for a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Achieving 100% Completion Rate on a Taboo Skill was a feat Shi Feng had never managed, despite having been a Tier 3 Sword King in the past. In this life, however, he had actually done so while he was still a Tier 1 class. This was simply a dream. Ninety-nine more times to go. I need to hurry up. Although Shi Feng was currently somewhat drunk, he was still able to maintain a relatively clear consciousness. To make sure he did not forget the feeling from before, he hurriedly continued with his rehearsal. Unfortunately, none of his next three tries managed to achieve a 100% Completion Rate at all. The highest he reached was 97%. He had only managed to achieve the 100% Completion Rate before due to luck. On this point, Shi Feng was very certain. However, now that there was a first, achieving 100% again would become much easier. Following which, Shi Feng continuously tried to recall the feeling he had felt before. His Skill Completion Rate gradually increased as well, and soon after, he managed to maintain a stable 99%. He was only a thread away from 100%. Not only do I have to control my own body, but I also have to learn how to adapt to the external environment around me and constantly adjust to the environment. As Shi Feng reviewed his memories, he did not only think about when he achieved a 100% Completion Rate with Instant Strike but also when he had achieved a 101% Completion Rate with Chop. Whether it was the Refinement Realm or the Flowing Water Realm, both pursued internal control. Before, the Tier 5 Fallen Angel Serena had stated that he had already done very well in terms of movement and that he was only missing a little comprehension. If it was said that comprehension was compatibility, and that compatibility was adaptation, then what he needed to do was adapt to the environment. If he used the same methods to execute a Skill in different environments, the results would naturally be different. This was just like how going from an ordinary environment to a high-gravity one would greatly affect a player''s Skill Completion Rate. However, what if this change to the environment was extremely subtle? It was highly possible that ignoring this minor change was the reason why players would never able to achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate, regardless of how perfect their movements were. Just as Shi Feng continued drawing his sword and adapting to the surrounding air flow, the friction between his sword and the air suddenly generated a small spark. This small spark immediately attracted countless arcs of electricity to circle around Shi Feng''s body. System: Instant Strike Skill Completion Rate 100%. Sure enough, the progression in control goes from internal to external. Is this what the higher realm feels like? Shi Feng finally discovered the direction he needed to take to advance. With a clear direction in mind, Shi Feng no longer focused his concentration on his own body but instead shifted it towards his environment. As Shi Feng grew increasingly familiar with his surroundings, the 100% Skill Completion Rate of Instant Strike grew more frequent as well. Currently, Shi Feng was achieving a 100% Skill Completion Rate about once every four times he executed Instant Strike. Moreover, during the process of swinging his sword, Shi Feng was also constantly making minor adjustments to better adapt his movements to the external environment. After training for another half an hour, Shi Feng''s improvement was undeniable. He was able to achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate practically every other time he executed Instant Strike. Before an hour had even passed since drinking the three bottles of Hundred Berry Wine, he had already executed a hundred Instant Strikes with a 100% Completion Rate. After Shi Feng completed an Instant Strike that achieved a 100% Completion Rate for the hundredth time, electricity purified his entire body, his skin becoming glossier and the muscles all over his body growing denser and more powerful. System: You have learned Instant Strike. Obtained Basic Lightning Physique. "Why does my body feel a lot lighter?" Shi Feng was greatly shocked when he saw the faint blue electric arcs coursing around his body. Carefully feeling out the changes to his own body, he exclaimed, "This Lightning Physique really is mysterious. The gravity my body is under should still be 3 g. Yet, the effect the increased gravity has on my body has clearly decreased significantly even though none of my Attributes have changed. Right now, the effect feels like the equivalent to a gravity of 1.5 g." After the third evolution of God''s Domain, the Gravitational System had impacted the combat power of players significantly. Meanwhile, now that Shi Feng''s body had undergone such changes, it would become much easier for him to adapt to his environment. The current state he was in was similar to being under the effects of the Hundred Berry Wine. Although the Lightning Physique''s effects were very much inferior to the Hundred Berry Wine''s, the fact that it was always active was a huge advantage. This Instant Strike is simply fantastic. It is actually able to improve a player''s Physique as well. No wonder it was so difficult to learn! In the past, Shi Feng had heard of some Taboo Skills in God''s Domain that when successfully learned, would provide players with additional rewards. However, these Taboo Skills were usually high-tiered ones. He never expected that the Tier 2 Instant Strike was one such Taboo Skill. Physique was a kind of Hidden Attribute in God''s Domain. If a player''s Attributes reached a certain level, they would be able to trigger an extraordinary Physique, allowing them to carry out feats that were definitely impossible in the real world. This kind of Hidden Attribute could not be viewed by players, so it was extremely difficult to alter or improve it. However, this kind of Hidden Attribute would have a significant impact on a player''s combat power. After resting for a while and recovering his mental state, Shi Feng walked up to Serena, smiling as he said, "Miss Serena, sorry for the long wait. Let us begin now." Currently, not only had he mastered the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike, but he had also obtained the Basic Lightning Physique. Not only did his body feel lighter right now, but its flexibility had also increased significantly. Shi Feng even felt that his reflexes had sped up. However, his reaction speed was still a far cry from that of a gifted talent like Soaring Snake. "Not bad. Despite being a mere mortal, you have actually managed to grasp a Tier 2 Taboo Skill while still being at Tier 1. Come, give me your best shot. Hopefully, you are able to entertain me for a little while," Serena said, licking her lips as she looked at Shi Feng. The moment Serena was done speaking, the surrounding magma started roiling. The ground also began trembling as the Fallen Angel released a frightening aura. Is this the power of a Tier 1 Fallen Angel? Shi Feng gulped down a mouthful of saliva. He knew that Serena had finally gotten serious. Just her aura alone was enough to render him breathless. Heavenly Dragon''s Power, activate! Blade Liberation, activate! Shi Feng was unwilling to lag behind. After activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation, his Strength Attribute was now equivalent to a High Lord of the same level. The instant Shi Feng activated Twofold Berserk, he tilted his body forward slightly. He then activated Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger get ready as well. Shi Feng''s sudden increase in strength surprised Serena somewhat. She had not thought the little human before her was capable of reaching such a level. She then stretched out her right hand. Instantly, a golden holy sword appeared in her hand. Countless wind blades wrapped around her weapon. She cast a Tier 2 Skill, Storm Blade, at Shi Feng right away. Countless swords of light instantly surged towards Shi Feng and his doppelganger. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and his doppelganger also simultaneously activated the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike. Shua! Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger disappeared from where they stood to instantly appear beside Serena. Both Swordsmen then began brandishing their swords at the Fallen Angel. Instant Strike, when activated, increased its user''s Attack Speed by 500% for a short period of time. Originally, Shi Feng''s Attack Speed was already terrifying. Now, Shi Feng and his doppelganger sent out dozens of sword lights in the time it took to take a single breath. Moreover, these sword lights had appeared practically simultaneously, with none ahead or behind the others. "Such a fast attack!" Serena''s gaze sharpened as another golden holy sword appeared in her other hand. She then parried the barrage of attacks sent at her. Peng Peng Peng Serena''s sword technique was flawless. Every movement of hers was utterly efficient as she blocked dozens of attacks continuously. However, even if Serena''s defense were more perfect, there was still a limit to her Attack Speed. In the end, Shi Feng managed to cut Serena''s arm with the Abyssal Blade, causing -1 damage to the Fallen Angel. When Shi Feng saw the compulsory -1 damage he dealt, his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Such a powerful Tier 2 Taboo Skill. You were actually able to break through my defense." Serena looked at the bloody cut on her arm. Gently moving her finger across the wound, she instantly returned her skin to its unblemished state. Then she looked at Shi Feng, saying, "Although I don''t want to admit it, since you were able to injure me, it is your win. You may take these items and leave." 611 Shrine Rewards After Serena was done speaking, the Fallen Angel suddenly vanished. At the same time, the volcanic hell that surrounded Shi Feng transformed into a golden Shrine with an altar before him. Three Rainbow Treasure Chests were stacked up one upon another on the altar, and placed on top of these Treasure Chests was a thick and heavy black leather book. "Victory at last!" Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief. Serena was just too powerful. Whether it was in terms of techniques or Basic Attributes, he was far inferior to the Fallen Angel. Shi Feng and his doppelganger had sent out over a hundred attacks within the three seconds of Instant Strike''s duration. Yet, Shi Feng had only managed to land a hit on Serena at the very last second. The Fallen Angel''s strength was simply terrifying. Most likely, even Kite would not be a match for Serena, who had suppressed her strength to Tier 1. If Serena had suppressed her strength to Tier 2 instead of Tier 1, he would not have stood a chance against her at all. Although Shi Feng had only managed to get through the test after immense difficulty, his harvest was similarly huge. During his three seconds of frantic attacking, Shi Feng had thoroughly experienced Serena''s perfect sword defense technique firsthand. He had seen for himself the sword technique of an NPC standing at the peak of God''s Domain. This was not something just any player would get to enjoy, as normally, they would have killed with a single hit. After Shi Feng reviewed his memories of the previous battle a few times, he walked up to the altar and carefully picked up the black leather book. As soon as he did so, he felt a hard stare. Moreover, this feeling was not just limited to one person staring at him. Instead, he felt the gazes of a vast number of people. Every one of these gazes felt cold and violent. It was as if his body had submerged in a chilling, icy hell. "Sure enough, the Bible of Darkness is not an ordinary item." Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and appraised the black leather book. [Bible of Darkness] (Fragmented Legendary Item) The Bible of Darkness had been destroyed during the Great Destruction. However, the Power of Darkness contained within the Bible is extreme. If one can gather the other fragments, they can restore the Bible''s power, gaining dominance over all Demonic Creatures and become the Lord of Demons. "It''s actually a Fragmented Legendary item? I heard that the Bible of Darkness Fantasy Extinguisher had was an Epic item. Was the one he obtained a replica?" Shi Feng muttered, feeling rather surprised as he looked at the quality of the Bible of Darkness in his hands. However, after giving it some thought, Shi Feng felt it was possible. With how powerful Serena was, Fantasy Extinguisher should not have been able to injure the Fallen Angel at all with the strength he had at that time. It was highly possible that he had chosen the first option instead. Meanwhile, Fantasy Extinguisher had managed to become a peerless expert in the Black Dragon Empire thanks to the Bible of Darkness. With the help of the Bible of Darkness, Fantasy Extinguisher managed not only to become exceedingly powerful himself but also to increase the strength of his Guild significantly. Only afterward did Blue Frost and the others from District One shine brightly. Back then, countless Guilds had looked at Fantasy Extinguisher enviously. There was nothing remarkable about owning a single Epic item. However, the Bible of Darkness was no ordinary Epic item, as it held the power to increase the overall strength of a Guild. The Bible of Darkness was capable of strengthening players with the Power of Darkness. Not only could players receive a huge boost in Attributes, but they could also obtain an Enhanced Skill corresponding to their classes. This was the reason why the Fantasy Shrine had managed to form the invincible Black Demon Legion in the past, allowing the Guild to become one of the tyrants of the Black Dragon Empire. Back then, even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Blood Legion had not been a match for the Black Demon Legion. If Fantasy Extinguisher had gained such achievements by relying on a replica, what would have happened if he had obtained the real Bible of Darkness? Most likely, the entire Black Dragon Empire would have fallen into the Fantasy Shrine''s hands. Shi Feng inwardly grew excited as he looked at the Bible of Darkness in his hands. He had finally completed one of the steps required to become an overlord in God''s Domain. Whether it was the Magic Weapon Abyssal Blade or the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, both were items that focused on increasing his personal strength. They were of little use in raising the overall strength of his Guild. However, the Bible of Darkness was different. It was an item focused on increasing the overall strength of many players. With the Bible of Darkness in hand, he would be able to form a group of Black Demon Guards. With his special training plan, he would be able to quickly establish a Black Demon Legion that surpassed even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Blood Legion. At that time, whoin Star-Moon Kingdomwould be able to compete with him? After some fantasizing, Shi Feng then stored the Bible of Darkness and shifted his gaze towards the three Rainbow Treasure Chests. "I have really made a killing from the Epic Quest this time. Not only did I get a Fragmented Legendary item, but I also obtained a Chapter of Shelter and a Magic Device Design," Shi Feng laughed. He quickly tucked the contents of all three Rainbow Treasure Chests into his bag. The first Rainbow Treasure Chest contained 188 Soul Crystals. Though Shi Feng himself had no use for these things, he would be able to upgrade the Lions Bar to a 2-star Bar with this many Soul Crystals. At that time, the production volume of the Hundred Berry Wine would increase to a level barely enough to supply the upper echelons of both District One and Zero Wing. The second Rainbow Treasure Chest contained the Chapter of Shelter. Before coming to the World Summit, Shi Feng had asked Blue Frost about Large Shelters in detail. If a Small Shelter was akin to a small village, then a Medium Shelter was a small town, while a Large Shelter was a large town. Why were so many Guild Forces madly accumulating resources and were adamant in upgrading a Shelter to a Large Shelter? It was because Larger Shelters possessed a certain degree of self-defense. The number of players a Shelter could hold was not unlimited. If players wished to become a resident of a Shelter, they had to register themselves with said Shelter. Meanwhile, the number of players a Shelter could register was limited. If there was no cap to registration, players within the Dark Den would have long since migrated to the best Shelters available to develop themselves. It was also precisely this limitation that severely restricted the development speed of a Shelter. A Small Shelter could register a maximum of 10,000 players, which was roughly equivalent to the member count of a small Guild. Medium Shelters could register up to 30,000 players, which was roughly equivalent to the player population of a small town. Aside from having a larger population, players could also construct some Specialty Buildings such as the Lions Bar in a Medium Shelter. The overall strength of a Medium Shelter was significantly higher than a Small Shelter''s. Meanwhile, when a Medium Shelter was upgraded to a Large Shelter, the number of players the Shelter could register would undergo a qualitative change, directly increasing to 100,000. That number could practically rival the member count of a second-rate Guild. Moreover, the functions of the Shelter would also increase notably. The increase was not limited to just the Skill Books and Specialties supplied; players of the Shelter would also be able to tame Mounts. Mounts could be said to be the lifeblood of players residing within the Dark Den. With no Teleportation Magic Arrays in the Dark Den, players could only rely on their own two feet to travel to their desired destinations. With a Mount, the mobility of players would improve significantly, and as a result, their strength would also rise much faster than before. Hence, the various Guild Forces were desperately accumulating resources in order to create a Large Shelter of their own. This was also why plenty of independent Shelters subordinated themselves to Guild Forces. As long as they joined a Guild Force, they could head to the Large Shelter controlled by said Guild Force and purchase Mounts. Otherwise, they would have to wait until their own Shelters were promoted into Large Shelters or try their luck in large-scale Team Dungeons. Now that Shi Feng had the Chapter of Shelter, he could directly promote the Shelter of District One to a Large Shelter. The players inside the Shelter could then begin to accumulate funds and resources. As soon as they reached a sufficient Level, they would be able to purchase a Mount of their own. Compared to the players of other Shelters, the players of District One would be able to save up on plenty of time. "Although I''ve obtained the Chapter of Shelter, I still don''t have a way to return to the Shelter right now. It seems that I can only wait until the Cooldown of the Position Teleportation Scroll ends before making another trip to District One''s Shelter." Shi Feng suddenly recalled that he had arrived at the central area of the Dark Den through a teleportation gate. As for the method of returning to the Evil Ghost Domain, he had no idea whatsoever. With the items he came for in hand, Shi Feng did not continue idling around inside the Lord of Destruction''s Shrine. He took out a Return Scroll and began chanting the incantation required to teleport back to White River City. After twenty seconds passed, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the Shrine. 612 Winds have Changed White River City Teleportation Hall: Due to Zero Wing''s evergrowing fame and the Candlelight Trading Firm''s wide array of high-end products, many players were attracted to White River City. Currently, one could see plenty of players forming Dungeon-raiding parties in the wide and spacious Teleportation Hall, The prosperity and liveliness here were far more intense than in Star-Moon City. The moment Shi Feng stepped out of the Teleportation Hall, he could feel the hustle and bustle that filled the city. Other than a large number of independent players who filled the city streets, there were also plenty of Guild players. These Guild players'' average levels were very high. Although they could not compare to the players in the Dark Den, most of these Guild players were still Level 27 or 28. That was still quite high in the current God''s Domain. These Guild players also wore Fine-Gold and Secret-Silver equipment. They were the envy of ordinary players. "That Guild is amazing! Its members'' equipment looks so amazing! They should be catching up to the powerful Guilds in White River City." "I''ve heard of that Guild before. It''s called Heaven''s Burial, and it''s one of the newly-established White River City Guilds. Although it is a new Guild, it is very powerful. So far, Heaven''s Burial has already raided many 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons and is in the midst of planning to raid 50-man Team Dungeons. I also heard that the Guild has a very powerful backer." "A strong backer isn''t the only thing Heaven''s Burial has. A few hours ago, one of Heaven''s Burial''s experts managed to break into the fourth floor of the Divine Colosseum. It is the tenth Guild in White River City to set foot on the Divine Colosseum''s fourth floor." "I''ve been to the newly-launched Divine Colosseum as well and paid one Magic Crystal to challenge it. The challenges are insanely difficult. I only managed to reach the second floor after exhausting myself. And I died the moment I set foot on the second floor. In the end, I only got 1 Silver as a reward. It was a serious loss." "Heaven''s Burial is amazing. Even Zero Wing, the most powerful Guild in White River City, has only advanced to the Colosseum''s fifth floor." The Divine Colosseum, which had recently appeared in God''s Domain, drew the interest and attention of many players, and every conversation was related to it in one way or another. After God''s Domain had undergone its third evolution, combat in the game had become more difficult for players. The Divine Colosseum was a very good place to train their combat techniques. Only, training there was too expensive. Moreover, the Colosseum only accepted Magic Crystals as currency. This had caused the price of Magic Crystals to skyrocket overnight. Since the third system upgrade, the price of Magic Crystals had doubled. "Sure enough, that which should arrive, will arrive." Shi Feng was frustrated as he swept a glance over the members of Heaven''s Burial. Before the third evolution of God''s Domain, international corporations had only prepared to invest in God''s Domain. As for other smaller corporations, they had not paid much attention to this particular investment route. However, with the launch of the Divine Colosseum, God''s Domain''s popularity began to show signs of overtaking the fighting competitions in the real world. This situation drove corporationsboth big and smallaround the world towards the game. With a potential gold mine in sight, these corporations began to increase their investments in the game. For a time, countless new Guilds emerged throughout God''s Domain, all wishing to take a bite of the pie known as God''s Domain. Among these corporations, several major investors looked to Star-Moon Kingdom. Some bought shares of long-standing Guilds, while others chose to establish their own Guilds. Among these newly-established Guilds, three stood out: Cloud Nine, Yin Yang Court, and Heaven''s Burial. In the past, Heaven Burial had started developing itself in Star-Moon City. The Guild was clearly ambitious. While Ouroboros and the Star Alliance had been busy fighting each other, Heaven''s Burial had taken advantage of the situation and solidified its position in Star-Moon City in one fell swoop. In the end, it had even forced the two first-rate Guilds to suffer quite a few hardships. Shi Feng had never expected that, after White River City began to show signs of becoming the number one city in Star-Moon Kingdom, Heaven''s Burial would run to White River City to develop itself. Moreover, of the newly-established Guilds Shi Feng had seen so far, Heaven''s Burial wasn''t the only one of the top three newbies to establish itself in White River City. He also saw members of both Cloud Nine and Yin Yang Court. Interesting. Everyone''s has come to White River City trying to take a bite out of the fat piece of meat that I cooked up. Do they really think that Zero Wing is some kind of pushover? Shi Feng could not help but smile. Zero Wing indeed possessed plenty of enemies. In the dark, Underworld lurked and spat like a viper. In the light, they had also provoked the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. As Shi Feng made his way to White River City''s Library, he discovered that, despite having only been away from the city for a short time, many players had acquired their own NPC guards. NPC guards had become beacons of hope for many powerless players. At the same time, these NPC guards had also received attention from the various large Guilds. As a result, these NPCs'' development speeds were unusually fast. Players who were trying to become merchants were especially interested in these NPC guards. In God''s Domain, players'' activities were not limited to killing monsters out in the fields. Players could also take on all sorts of quests. Many merchant players, who did not possess any combat power, could rely on NPC guards when carrying out special quests. However, the majority of the quests did not allow the assistance of ordinary guards, only Personal Guards. Just as Shi Feng arrived before White River City''s Library, the sound of his system communicator rang by his ears, and the caller was none other than Everlasting War. "Brother Ye Feng, you''ve finally come online. I''ve been trying to contact you for a while. How are preparations coming along?" Everlasting War asked, slightly worried. Shi Feng was the expert he had recommended. If Shi Feng did not pass the selection test, it would stain his reputation. "There are no issues. I can participate in the selection at any time. Seeing as Brother Everlasting is contacting me, has something happened?" Shi Feng asked. The selection held in Beast City was tomorrow morning. There was still quite some time before the selection began. Something must have happened for Everlasting War to contact him. "It''s nothing major. Only, the higher-ups have changed the requirements for the selection. Now, after you pass the selection, you are required to sign a contract and become a member of the company if you join the battle team. Of course, you will receive far more benefits as well. For example, you will be entitled to 5% of the wagers made on the matches you win," Everlasting War explained. "If Brother Ye Feng joins the battle team, with your strength, you will easily make more than a dozen times the Credits the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild would normally earn. Once the battle team becomes famous, your status in the world will become even greater than any Leader of a first-rate Guild. What do you think, Brother Ye Feng?" Everlasting War and his group did not particularly care about signing the new contract as they had originally been employees of the company. However, Shi Feng was different. He was affiliated with Zero Wing. Moreover, he was one of Zero Wing''s core members. He had definitely signed a contract with the Guild. If he joined the battle team, unless the company allowed it, he would not be able to be part of any Guilds in the future. To put it bluntly, the company was restricting the freedom of the team members instead of cooperating with them. "Of course, if Brother Ye Feng is selected to become one of the members of the battle team, the company will take full responsibility of the breach of agreement with your Guild. Brother Ye Feng can rest assured on this." Everlasting War was very confident in Shi Feng''s strength, and he desperately hoped that Shi Feng would join their battle team. In his opinion, what did a Guild in a virtual reality game amount to? How could it possibly hope to match up against an international corporation? 613 Peak of Star-Moon The benefits Everlasting War had mentioned were quite tempting. The Dark Arena was a place where the various international corporations around the world could secretly compete. The resources and funding involved were on an entirely different level than ordinary arenas. Even just 5% of the gambling rewards was sufficient to make someone a tycoon overnight. Moreover, as one''s battle record in the Dark Arena grew, the bets on their matches also increased. The income one could potentially earn through the Dark Arena could even tempt international fighters. To virtual reality gaming experts, that was an astronomical number. However, that was only the tip of the iceberg. Based on what information Shi Feng had, in the past, any players who signed a contract with a battle team held extraordinary positions in the corporation that owned the team. If it were a famous player such as Everlasting War, even the upper echelons of international corporations would treat them with respect. The Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild did not even qualify to fawn over such players. They were from entirely different worlds. The third evolution of God''s Domain arrived too soon. I did not expect these international corporations to discover the importance of expert players so quickly. Shi Feng frowned, feeling disappointed. It would have been great if these international corporations had only discovered this fact a few days after the selection tests. However, since these international corporations had discovered the truth, he could not do anything to change it. He was the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Moreover, in this life, he had sworn that he would not be controlled by others ever again. "Brother Everlasting, since the higher-ups have made this decision, you will have to forgive me for not participating in the selection," Shi Feng directly refused. Although he could no doubt earn a lot of money, fame, and status in the Dark Arena, in the era of God''s Domain, a player could similarly obtain all of these things so long as they had the ability. Since he could not earn a large sum of Credits through the Dark Arena, he just had to look for some other way. As a reincarnator, he did not believe that he could not earn Credits from other avenues. Particularly, from his trip to the Dark Den, he had obtained the Teleportation Magic Array Design and Magic Device Forging Design. These two items were practically money-printing machines. As long as he had enough raw materials, the money he could make would be astronomical. Everlasting War was slightly stunned by Shi Feng''s reply. He had not thought that Shi Feng would refuse his offer so decisively. However, when he thought about Shi Feng''s skill, he hurriedly advised, "Brother Ye Feng, won''t you reconsider? At the end of the day, a Gaming Guild is only a Gaming Guild. It is nothing compared to a major corporation that can affect the world''s economy. With your skills, I guarantee that you''ll at least become vice-leader of the battle team." The team''s strength did not rely on a single person. After all, each battle team could include up to ten members. Naturally, the more experts there were in a team, the higher the team''s chances were of obtaining victory. In Everlasting War''s opinion, Shi Feng could most likely rank within the top three within their battle team. If they lost a top three expert, it would wound the battle team''s overall strength. "Brother Everlasting, don''t waste your time trying to persuade me. Moreover, I have many matters that I need to attend to. Not being able to join is a good thing. Anyways, I still have something to do, so I''ll talk to you another time." Shi Feng disconnected the call. He then entered the Library. --- Meanwhile, Everlasting War could not help but sigh as he said, "Truly disappointing." "Disappointing? What''s there to be disappointed about? Isn''t he just a core member of a small Guild? How strong could he be? He must have realized how weak he actually is. Do you know how many experts of God''s Domain and professional fighters are trying to join the Glorious Battle Team? Even if he shows up, he will never be selected." A luxuriously dressed middle-aged woman standing across from Everlasting War disdainfully dismissed his concern. Four bodyguards in black stood next to this woman. All four radiated intimidating auras that were capable of making Everlasting War, someone who had once been a professional bodyguard, anxious. Particularly, the rugged-looking man among these bodyguards was very famous in the bodyguard industry. He was known as the Steel Guard, and even some international fighters were no match for him. "Director Hua, Ye Feng is no ordinary expert. If you can restore the recruitment conditions to what they were before and allow him to join the Glorious Battle Team, our chances of beating our next opponent, the Midday Wolves, will be much higher. This will also greatly benefit the company," Everlasting War carefully suggested. The changes in the battle team''s recruitment conditions were all due to this woman, Hua Qiushui, standing before him. Although he did not understand why Hua Qiushui had suddenly changed the conditions, this last-minute adjustment troubled him, the leader of the battle team. However, despite his annoyance, Hua Qiushui''s position was extraordinary. A single word from her could easily leave him jobless. Hence, he did not dare speak too boldly in front of her. "Naturally, I have considered these changes carefully. You only need to focus on how you''re going to defeat your next opponent. He is merely a nameless expert. Do you think that, just because we are missing one nameless expert, you''re going to lose against your next opponent?" Hua Qiushui questioned, her voice low and dangerous. "He is just one less nameless expert participating in the selection. There are plenty of God''s Domain experts coming to take the test. Among them, many are well-known in the industry. These people''s standards are far beyond his. I think that Vice-Leader Journey Leave should administer the test this time around. You should take this time to think of a strategy to deal with the Midday Wolves." Everlasting War''s words had clearly dissatisfied Hua Qiushui. Without hesitation, she had stripped him of his duties for a few days. Helpless, Everlasting War could only agree with the lady director. --- Inside White River City''s Library: After entering the Library, Shi Feng headed towards the building''s top floor. Two Level 180 Tier 2 White Robe Knights stood by the doors. Normally, ordinary players would not dare approach the Star-Moon Hall. However, Shi Feng had long since become a frequent visitor of this place. Without hesitation, he walked past the Knights and opened the doors to the hall. Sharlyn, who sat beside a table, looked at Shi Feng, mildly stating, "You''re here." Hearing Sharlyn''s intimate greeting, Shi Feng could not help but tense up. Crap! I forgot to store the Coins in my bag! Seeing Sharlyn''s intimate smile, Shi Feng suddenly thought of the precious Coins he had in his bag. This reaction was practically instinctual now. Although Sharlyn was an NPC, she seemed more realistic than a real person. Though she always appeared friendly, her actions said otherwise. If not for a few tricks he hid up his sleeves, she would have bankrupted him long ago. "Hahaha! Come over here; let me see what you''ve brought this time!" Sharlyn waved her hand at Shi Feng. Suddenly, a huge force tugged at Shi Feng''s body, sending him flying towards Sharlyn. Shi Feng was shocked at this sudden development. After not meeting for some time, Sharlyn''s strength had increased once more. Sharlyn, who had been a Tier 4 Great Divine Official, had now become a Level 200 Tier 5 Red Official. At this point, Sharlyn was many times stronger than Weissman, White River City''s Magistrate. She stood at the peak of Star-Moon Kingdom. Although Shi Feng had long since known that Sharlyn was not an ordinary NPC and that her strength would increase significantly every time they met, her improvement speed was simply mind-blowing. Even he, someone who had played God''s Domain for more than a decade, found it astonishing. Just who is Sharlyn? Questions filled Shi Feng''s heart. 614 Demon Gate Just as Shi Feng pondered Sharlyn''s identity, a hint of shock surfaced in the Red Official''s golden eyes. "You have actually obtained it!" Sharlyn could not help but reevaluate her opinion of Shi Feng. "And here I thought you would bring me a replica to help you solve your problem." Hearing this, surprise appeared on Shi Feng''s face. He had only discovered the truth about the replica from the Fallen Angel Serena. He had not expected Sharlyn to know about it as well. Sharlyn could see the question floating in Shi Feng''s mind. Smiling, she explained, "The Bible of Darkness is not an ordinary item. The Lord of Destruction crafted this item, and it is a treasure used to gain dominance over all Demonic Creatures. Even though the Bible has been destroyed, it still holds boundless power. There are countless powerhouses who wish to obtain it. In the past, plenty of strong people tried going to the Dark Den to obtain the Bible of Darkness. In the end, however, they only managed to return with replicas. "Even so, a replica of the Bible of Darkness still possesses a certain degree of power. There are no problems with using it to solve your Great Demon problem. Only, at the end of the day, a replica is still a replica. While it might be useful to a weak little Adventurer like you, to high-tiered powerhouses, it is hardly worth anything." It is no wonder why Fantasy Extinguisher stopped using the Bible of Darkness after he became a Tier 4 class. Shi Feng came to a realization after listening to Sharlyn''s explanation. In the past, Fantasy Extinguisher had made a name for himself by relying on the Bible of Darkness and had even enabled the Fantasy Shrine to overwhelm the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Branch. However, after Fantasy Extinguisher became a Tier 4 Spirit Emperor, he stopped using the Bible of Darkness. Back then, everyone had thought that Fantasy Extinguisher had dropped the Bible of Darkness and lost it after someone had killed him. Epic items, particularly special Epic items like the Bible of Darkness, an item that would take effect even when inside a player''s bag, would not lose its worth with the passing of time. Even a Tier 5 expert could continue to use it. After all, Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items were simply too rare. Even Tier 6 God-ranked players would not necessarily own such items. Owning a unique Epic item was still quite impressive. As Shi Feng reexamined the situation, he realized that it was highly possible that the replica of the Bible of Darkness could only display its worth up until Tier 3. If it were not helpful to Tier 4 classes, Fantasy Extinguisher would not have continued to use it. "Take it out, then," Sharlyn said softly, her eyes smiling. Shi Feng carefully retrieved the Bible of Darkness from his bag and placed it on the table beside him. "Mhm. Sure enough, it''s the real deal. You really are quite the capable fellow. Do you know just how many powerhouses are trying to retrieve the Bible of Darkness? In the end, everyone only returns with a replica. If they knew that a little fellow like you had the real thing, they would most likely go crazy from anger." Sharlyn nodded, smiling as she scrutinized the Bible of Darkness. She then continued, "Since you brought me the genuine article, I''ll give you two options. "The first option is free of charge. For this option, you''ll be able to solve the problem of the Great Demon descending on you. "The second option will cost you 1,500 Gold and 100 Soul Crystals. For this option, you can be done once and for all, destroying the Great Demon that targets you." Sure enough Shi Feng could not help but send Sharlyn a contemptuous gaze. Currently, he had a little over 1,600 Gold in his bag. This was the money the Candlelight Trading Firm had made while he had been absent. If he gave it all to Sharlyn, he would become a pauper once more. However, even so, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and handed over the money. If he had chosen the first option, although it might seem like he had dealt with the Great Demon, in reality, Sharlyn would only weaken the descended Great Demon to a level that he could cope with. He would still have to deal with the Great Demon''s will descending on him every so often until he could defeat and kill it. In the past, the darkness''s descent plagued Fantasy Extinguisher, requiring him to deal with a weakened Great Demon every-so-often and throwing his Guild, Fantasy Shrine, into chaos. The fact that he had a second option was considerably lucky. This might be the difference between a replica and the genuine product. Sharlyn received the Coins and Soul Crystals with a saintly smile. Nodding with satisfaction, she said, "Alright, step back." Following Sharlyn''s request, Shi Feng moved more than thirty yards away from her. Meanwhile, Sharlyn held up the Bible of Darkness. After flipping through a few pages, she began chanting a series of incantations, her hand continuously tracing out a line of runes in the air. As the line of runes grew longer, the Power of Darkness filling the Star-Moon Hall grew denser and denser, to the point where Shi Feng could even see faint black mist appear. This black mist desperately gathered in front of Sharlyn, forming a fourfold magic array. The surrounding space began to blur as well. The powerful Mana was even capable of suppressing the space within the hall. This Mana is simply too powerful. I can''t move at all! Shi Feng was shocked as he stared at the fourfold magic array suspended in midair. A magic array was actually capable of forming its own space... Chances were that only Tier 5 existences like Sharlyn were capable of forming such an array. After Sharlyn finished writing the runes, she casually scattered the 100 Soul Crystals before her. Immediately, all 100 Soul Crystals transformed into gray smoke. This gray smoke then formed a pair of silvery-gray gates. There were countless images of Demons engraved on these ancient gates, and every one of these Demons was quite famous throughout God''s Domain. These were existences that even ordinary Tier 4 powerhouses would not dare provoke. "Are you trying to summon a Demon?" Shi Feng frowned at the gray gates. He could clearly feel how frightening their power was. If the gates opened, horrific creatures would most likely crawl out. "You''ve guessed correctly. I am trying to summon a Demon. Moreover, I am summoning the Great Demon that targets you. Otherwise, how you going to get rid of it?" Sharlyn rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. Her golden eyes then shifted back to the gray gates. "In the name of Darkness, I summon thee! Emerge, Great Demon Kildred!" The moment Sharlyn finished speaking, the gray gates abruptly opened. "Who dares to summon me?" a cold, dark voice boomed through the gray gates. Following which, a figure pushed through the gray gates. This figure sported a large pair of black bat wings and two pitch-black goat horns on his head. Pitch-black scaled covered his entire body, and killing intent filled his blood-red eyes. The moment Kildred appeared, he surveyed his surroundings with his blood-red eyes, and he could not help but sneer at what he saw. "And here I wondered who had summoned me. It turns out that it''s just you, little Divine Official, and that foolish Adventurer," Kildred said disdainfully as he flapped his wings. "I did not expect that little ants like you could actually obtain the real Bible of Darkness. As your reward for summoning me, I''ll collect your souls and the Bible." Is this Great Demon stupid? Shi Feng frowned at Kildred, confused. Kildred was a Level 180 Tier 4 Great Demon. On the other hand, Sharlyn was a Level 200 Tier 5 Red Official. No matter how he looked at it, they were on entirely different levels. Moreover, the Great Demon had actually called Sharlyn a ''little Divine Official.'' Did Kildred believe that he was a Tier 6 Demon God? "Huh? Wait a minute" Shi Feng immediately discovered the problem. For some reason, the Sharlyn before him had somehow fallen from being a Tier 5 Red Official to a Tier 3 Divine Official. "Little Brother, stop daydreaming. Right now, your task is to kill him," Sharlyn instructed as she looked at Shi Feng. She paid no attention to the Great Demon Kildred''s provocation. "You wish to kill me, the Great Demon Kildred?! You two must be insane! I''ll show you what the consequences are for summoning a Great Demon!" Kildred revealed a malicious grin upon hearing Sharlyn''s words. Suddenly, black flames appeared in his hand. 615 Tier 5 Curse The raging black flames quickly transformed into a ferocious beast that bared its fangs and brandished its claws as it pounced on Sharlyn. Boom! At the sound of an explosion, the black flames in the air suddenly began to collapse, dissipating into nothingness. "You!?" The Great Demon Kildred''s malicious expression suddenly changed, and he no longer looked down on Sharlyn. Rather, he gazed at the Tier 3 Divine Official with solemn eyes. Even Tier 4 classes would find it difficult to deal with Soul Fire, yet, Sharlyn managed to disperse it without moving in the slightest. One could just imagine what kind of power she contained. No! It wasn''t the Soul Fire that was defeated! My Mana!" Kildred was horrified as he quickly discovered the true problem. His Mana rapidly leaked from his body. Due to the lack of Mana, he had lost control of the Soul Fire he had summoned, causing it to disappear. Standing at a distance, Shi Feng was also shocked by Sharlyn''s counterattack. The Great Demon Kildred''s Level plummeted, as did his Tier. Level 180 Level 170 Level 160 In a short moment, the Great Demon Kildred had become a Level 35 Tier 2 Evil Spirit. He was no longer a Level 180 Tier 4 Great Demon. "What have you done?!" Kildred asked, gaping at Sharlyn in abject horror. "Oh, it''s nothing. I just used God''s Twilight, a Tier 5 Curse," Sharlyn said, smiling. "While inside God''s Twilight''s effective area, all beings above Tier 2 will be forcefully suppressed by two Tiers. Naturally, their Levels will lower as well." Upon hearing these words, Kildred instantly paled. Shi Feng was similarly astonished. A Tier 5 Curse! This was a spell that could rival the power of a Tier 6 God-ranked spell. "Kildred, you can only escape this situation by defeating the Adventurer before you. Otherwise, you will die here." Although Sharlyn''s voice sounded pleasing to the ears, her words caused even a Great Demon like Kildred to shudder in fear. Realizing that was his cue, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and Purgatory''s Shadow. This should be the final test. Shi Feng licked his lips as he stared at the Great Demon Kildred, who hovered in the air. He had always known that it would not be so easy to obtain the Fragmented Legendary ranked Bible of Darkness. In God''s Domain, there was an abundance of Epic items. However, Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items, items that were above Epic rank, were extraordinarily rare. If players wanted to obtain one, they would have to pay an unimaginable price. The fact that he had grasped a special Fragmented Legendary item such as the Bible of Darkness with so little trouble could already be considered a miracle. In the past, to obtain a single Fragmented Legendary item, the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain would have to be busy for at least one to two months, possibly three to four months. Unless one were extremely lucky and encountered special locations such as the Star River Valley, they would have to rely on quests to obtain a Fragmented Legendary item. "Little ant, a Tier 1 Swordsman like you dares to draw your sword against me, the Great Demon Kildred? You are indeed courageous. However, just because I have been suppressed to Tier 2, you think you have a chance of defeating me?" Kildred laughed angrily as he felt the sting of a deep wound to his pride. "How will I know if I don''t try?" Shi Feng laughed. He then approached the Great Demon one step at a time. [Kildred] (Evil Spirit [Great Demon]) Level 35 HP 1,000,000/1,000,000 A Tier 2 Evil Spirit was the equivalent of a Lord ranked monster. However, due to Kildred''s intelligence, his combat power was definitely much higher than an ordinary Lord. His HP, though lower than an ordinary Lord, was also much higher than a player''s. As Shi Feng approached Kildred gradually, he suddenly discovered something fortunate. While he was under the effects of God''s Twilight, all of his Skills'' Cooldowns had not only been refreshed, but they had also been reduced by half. It seems my test this time is to defeat a Tier 2 Evil Spirit while at my peak. Shi Feng had initially been worried that he would not be able to use Blade Liberation. Now, however, it seemed that his worries were for naught. "Die!" the Great Demon Kildred roared. Suddenly, a black spear appeared in his hand. He then swooped down and jabbed the spear towards Shi Feng in rapid succession. In the next moment, streaks of black light rained down on the Swordsman. Tier 2 Skill, Black Rain Annihilation! Shi Feng did not dare to hold back. Immediately, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation. He then used the Aura of Wind''s Activatable Skill, Wind Rider, and leaped into the air. With a 280% increase to his Movement Speed, Shi Feng''s speed could rival that of a Great Lord. Very easily, he escaped the effective area of Black Rain Annihilation. Moreover, due to his ability to fly, he had no need to fear the Great Demon Kildred''s ranged attacks from the air. After avoiding Kildred''s Black Rain Annihilation, Shi Feng proceeded to activate the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, Phantom Kill, Nine Dragons Slash, Black Emperor, and Purgatory Power, instantly pushing his combat power to its peak. Immediately, both sides began a fierce and deadly dance. With Wind Rider active, Shi Feng held an absolute advantage in terms of speed. As a result, he was able to dodge all the Great Demon''s attacks easily. Kildred could not even make contact with Shi Feng''s body. On the other hand, sword lights bombarded on the scales covering Kildred''s body, easily penetrating the Great Demon''s armor. Chop! -25,641. Thunder Flame Explosion! -47,156. Thundering Flash! -14,527, -18,546, -24,716. Every Skill Shi Feng executed had a Completion Rate of 95% or above, allowing his Skills'' effect to increase significantly. The Great Demon Kildred''s 1,000,000 HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. After a measly five seconds, the Great Demon only had 70% of his HP remaining. However, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that, as he relentlessly attacked the Great Demon, his opponent''s Strength and speed began to rise. Originally, when he had activated Twofold Berserk, his Strength should have rivaled even a High Lord of the same level and overwhelmed the Great Demon Kildred. After a short period of intense battle, however, Kildred''s Strength was already equal to his. The Great Demon''s speed also quickly caught up. This can''t continue. Although I don''t know whether he is growing stronger due to the length of battle increasing or his HP decreasing, I need to finish him off as soon as possible! Shi Feng used Flame Burst. Suddenly, two miniature suns appeared and illuminated the Star-Moon Hall. Twenty-four consecutive strikes! Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger used Flame Burst at the same time. Twenty-four sword lights cut across the space of the hall, striking the Great Demon Kildred. Every sword light from Shi Feng dealt over -20,000 damage to the Great Demon. His doppelganger caused over -10,000 damage with each attack as well. When critical hits were achieved, the damage of the attacks doubled. When the attacks ended, the Great Demon Kildred suffered a total damage of over -500,000. "This" Shi Feng was stupefied when he saw the Great Demon that he had attacked. At this moment, the Great Demon Kildred had only 40% of his HP remaining. Meanwhile, a faint, black light radiated from Kildred''s body. Tier 2 Skill, Dark Shield... It was a spell that could absorb a relatively large amount of damage. "Damn it!" Shi Feng frowned. Flame Burst was his ultimate Skill. Yet, the Great Demon had actually managed to negate a portion of its damage. Currently, the Great Demon Kildred had grown more formidable after the attack. Meanwhile, there were less than 10 seconds left on Blade Liberation''s duration. "Hahaha! My Strength has completely surpassed yours now! Die, human!" Kildred snorted. He then threw his spear at Shi Feng. Kildred''s spear was extremely fast, and even Shi Feng only barely managed to block it with his swords. Peng! Shi Feng was immediately struck down from the air, his body colliding heavily with the floor and shattering it. A damage of close to -1,100 points appeared above his head. This was the damage he received after blocking the Great Demon''s attack. If he had failed to block the attack, he would have lost far more than a little over 1,000 HP. However, the Great Demon Kildred was not finished. Suddenly, Kildred split into two copies of himself. These two Kildreds looked exactly the same, and their Attributes were equally frightening. In the next moment, one Kildred charged at Shi Feng''s doppelganger while the other charged at Shi Feng. 616 Promotion to Coun Two identical Great Demon Kildreds attacked Shi Feng and his doppelganger. Shi Feng, who had been at a disadvantage in terms of Strength, had no choice but to dodge the Great Demon''s attacks. Although Shi Feng had entered the Flowing Water Realm and could predict the trajectories of Kildred''s attacks, the Great Demon''s spear was like a venomous snake that consistently sent fatal blows towards his blind spots. If any other player stood in his place, not to mention dodging, even blocking the attacks would be difficult. Facing the unavoidable attacks, Shi Feng had no choice but to block with his swords. However, the Great Demon Kildred''s Strength was simply too intense. Each of his attacks managed to push Shi Feng back by several steps and inflict slightly more than -1,000 damage. Fortunately, Heavenly Dragon''s Power had increased Shi Feng''s Defense and HP by 300%. With over 30,000 HP, Shi Feng could endure the Great Demon''s assault for quite some time. Only, Shi Feng''s Twofold Berserk state could only last for twenty seconds. Once these twenty seconds were over, he would enter a Weakened state and would lose all power to resist the Great Demon. A short moment later, the other Great Demon Kildred defeated Shi Feng''s doppelganger. "Hahaha! Human, you are quite amazing. A mere Tier 1 Swordsman like yourself has actually managed to damage me, the Great Demon Kildred, to such an extent. As a reward, I''ll let you become my puppet, and you can follow my orders for the rest of your life!" Kildred sneered at Shi Feng, who desperately tried to defend against his attacks. Standing at a distance, Sharlyn frowned slightly as she watched the battle. Sighing, she muttered, "Was it still too soon?" Now, Shi Feng no longer had his doppelganger. His ultimate Skill, Flame Burst, was also on Cooldown. Even though he was under the effects of God''s Twilight, reducing his Cooldowns by half, Flame Burst still had a Cooldown of 1 minute, 30 seconds. Most importantly, he had to face two Great Demon Kildreds who had the same Attributes and 40% HP remaining. Shi Feng had no chance of winning. It would be Shi Feng''s end once the two Great Demon Kildreds launched a pincer attack. "Human, be at ease and become my slave!" In the blink of an eye, the two Great Demon Kildreds appeared in front of and behind Shi Feng, both Great Demons revealing a ferocious expression. "This is just the Twin Life Technique. Do you really think that I have no way of unraveling it?" At this moment, Shi Feng''s previously stern expression suddenly vanished. On the contrary, he revealed a disdainful and victorious smile. Hearing Shi Feng mention the words "Twin Life Technique," Kildred''s expression turned grim. Twin Life Technique was a Special Skill that did not possess any Tiers. It was a Skill that utilized the aid of a treasure to produce a doppelganger with the same capabilities as the original, though both the doppelganger and the original shared the same HP. However, unlike the original, the damage the doppelganger received would be increased by 300%. While Twin Life Technique boosted its user''s combat power, it also increased the damage they took. The Skill was a double-edged sword. If used correctly, it could display boundless power. If used badly, one would cut their own lifeline with this Skill. "So what if you know about the Twin Life Technique? Can you tell which one is real and which is fake?" Kildred did not believe that Shi Feng could differentiate the true Kildred from his doppelganger. The doppelganger the Twin Life Technique had created was exactly the same as the original. It was impossible to tell the difference by sight alone. "Even if you identify the doppelganger, will you be able to block the attacks from both of us?" Shi Feng did not reply to the Great Demon. Instead, he pointed the Abyssal Blade towards the hall''s ceiling. Suddenly, countless golden divine swords appeared above them. When these golden swords descended, two different damages appeared above the two Great Demons'' heads. The Great Demon in front of Shi Feng received over -5,000 damage, while the one behind Shi Feng received over -15,000 damage. At this point, it was obvious which was real and which was fake. However, Shi Feng was not finished with his attacks. Tightening his grip around the Abyssal Blade, he swung the Magic Weapon downwards. Abyssal Curse! Suddenly, the space within 30 yards around Shi Feng took on the effects of a quagmire. The two Great Demon Kildreds were unable to move. Although Kildred was immune to Fainted effects and other control conditions, the Abyssal Blade was as powerful as an Epic weapon. Even if Abyssal Curse could not restrict the Great Demon for a full five seconds, to Shi Feng, two or three seconds were more than enough. "I''ve been waiting for this moment." Shi Feng activated Silent Steps and appeared behind Kildred''s doppelganger. Suddenly, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s hand released a dazzling flame. "This How is this possible! How can you still use that Skill?!" Kildred''s originally calm expression abruptly changed. The Skill Shi Feng currently used was none other than Flame Burst, the Skill that had previously inflicted massive amounts of damage. However, Shi Feng had used that Skill recently. Now, the Swordsman used it against his doppelganger once more! "Die!" Shi Feng did not bother explaining anything to the Great Demon. In truth, while Kildred''s doppelganger faced-off against his doppelganger, he had used up the 30 stacks of Death Aura on Flame Burst. Each stack of Death Aura could reduce the Cooldown of a Skill by three seconds, and thirty stacks just happened to grant him 90 seconds. Once his doppelganger died, he pretended to struggle against one of the Great Demon''s attacks, allowing the two Great Demon Kildreds to launch a pincer attack and giving him a good opportunity to deal with the Great Demon''s doppelganger. Twelve consecutive strikes bit into the Great Demon''s immobile doppelganger. Even when Shi Feng had used Flame Burst on the real Great Demon Kildred, each of his attacks had dealt over -20,000 damage. Now that the damage was amplified by 300%, each strike dealt over -60,000 damage against Kildred''s doppelganger, or -120,000 damage with a critical hit. Against such frightening damages, Kildred''s doppelganger died instantly. "No!" Kildred released a frustrated scream. Unfortunately, Twin Life Technique made it so that both doppelganger and the original shared the same HP. The doppelganger''s death meant the original''s death. The Great Demon Kildred would never have guessed that Shi Feng was a reincarnator. Not only was Shi Feng extremely familiar with many of the Skills in God''s Domain, but he also knew the weaknesses of the various Skills. After Shi Feng killed the Great Demon Kildred, a golden glow appeared around his body. Moreover, this golden glow appeared twice in a row. Shi Feng''s level immediately jumped from Level 32 to Level 34. "Such an abundant amount of EXP!" Shi Feng said in shock. As the class he possessed was the hidden class Blade Saint, the EXP he required to level up was double of what other players required. Now that he had leveled up twice in a row, not only had he earned back the level he had lost at the World Summit, but he also gained a level beyond that. System: Epic Quest "Darkness Descends" completed. Quest rewards: "Demon Slayer" title, Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation +50, White River City Reputation +500, automatically promoted to the status of Count in White River City. System: Congratulations on becoming a Count of White River City. You can now employ 100 guards, including four Personal Guards. You can also enjoy a 20% discount on all expenditures in White River City. "As expected of an Epic Quest. I''ve been promoted to a Count after completing a single quest. I can lessen my cost significantly when I head to the Divine Colosseum," Shi Feng said, smiling. If a Viscount was considered a major noble, then a Count was a top figure among major nobles. In God''s Domain, the highest social status a player could attain in a city like White River City was Marquis. Only in a capital city like Star-Moon City could players become Dukes. Thus, becoming a Count of White River City was quite impressive. To players, the largest difference between a Count and a Viscount, aside from the difference in status and the number of guards they could employ, was the Divine Colosseum. The Divine Colosseum was a location where players could raise their combat power. Meanwhile, the Colosseum required Magic Crystals as currency. However, Viscounts or below would not receive any discounts at the Divine Colosseum. Only Counts or above would enjoy that benefit. This was also one of the reasons why many players had strived to increase their Reputation and become Counts. That way, one could lessen the burden on their wallet. Compared to ordinary players, a Count''s title held far more importance to players who owned private Lands because Counts possessed much greater authority. This authority was also the capital that a player required if they wished to rise and succeed in a city. 617 Book of Legends After the Great Demon Kildred died, Shi Feng discovered a particularly interesting item. A Design had dropped from the Demon. However, this was no ordinary Design. The Design Kildred had dropped was nearly four times larger than ordinary Designs. "Stable Design!" Shi Feng could not help his shock after examining the item. In God''s Domain, after players reached Level 40, they could use Mounts rather than relying on their own two feet to travel. Players could purchase Common Mounts from the various large cities. Of course, players were also required to have a certain amount of Reputation before they could make this purchase. As for higher ranking mounts, players could only obtain them through quests, raiding Team Dungeons, and killing high ranking Field Bosses. Guild players had one other avenue to obtain a Mount. The Guild Mount! Guild Mounts were different from the generalized Mounts that one could purchase from cities. They were Mounts unique to Guilds. They could also be considered the symbol of a Guild. Not only did Guild Mounts possess higher Movement Speeds than Common Mounts, but they could also be upgraded. Only, upgrading a Mount was very difficult. However, high-quality Mounts were an ordinary player''s dream. How could a Guild obtain Guild Mounts? They could do so with the Stable! In order to obtain a Guild Mount, a Guild had to construct a Stable in its Residence and recruit NPCs to nurture the Mount. Guild members could only purchase these Mounts with Guild Contribution Points. In the past, to obtain a Guild Mount, many independent players had desperately tried to join a Guild. As for why they were so desperate to obtain a Guild Mount, aside from Guild Mounts having higher Movement Speed and being upgradable, the key benefit was that the Mounts had unique appearances. Guild Mounts had different appearances from the Common Mounts one could purchase from cities, so if one rode a Guild Mount while roaming a city''s streets, they would attract a lot of attention. Not only could a Guild Mount serve to raise the reputation of its rider, but they were great ice-breakers. The Mounts one could purchase from cities only consisted of horses. The only difference between them was their coloring. However, Guild Mounts were not limited to horses; there were many other rideable species. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, there were several thousand Mount species in God''s Domain. Hence, most Guilds would have their own unique Mounts. Why were there so many species of Guild Mounts? It was because Guild Mounts were either wild beasts or Demonic Beasts that had been captured, tamed, cultivated, and propagated until they were finally rideable. This was why there were so many species available. Similarly, it was not easy for a Guild to obtain a Guild Mount. This required a large amount of resources and manpower. Now that I have the Stable Design, I can push ahead with the plan to develop Zero Wing''s Mount. Shi Feng had considered a few locations where he could capture rare Mounts. In the past, the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain had headaches over the acquisition of their Guild Mounts. After all, depending on the beast they caught and the method they used to nurture said beast, the Mount''s Attributes would be different. If a beast were nurtured properly, it could start with a rank close to Bronze. The Mount could also increase Movement Speed up to 115%. One could just imagine how beneficial this would be to a Guild. While everyone used Common Mounts, they could obtain a Mount that was close to Bronze rank. With some additional nurturing, the Guild would have a batch of Bronze Mounts. At Bronze rank, Mounts could assist players in battle. This alone would allow them to widen the gap between themselves and other players. Hence, in the past, the various large Guilds would nurture the beasts they captured with extreme care to avoid a late start against other Guilds. The sooner a Guild possessed the Stable Design, the sooner they could start preparing their Guild Mounts. However, the Stable Design was extremely rare. The easiest method to obtain it was through raiding Level 20 to Level 60, 100-man Team Dungeons. Only, the drop-rate for the Design was abysmally low. In the past, even when Guilds had offered to purchase a Stable Design for 5,000 or 6,000 Gold, nobody was willing to sell theirs. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to wait for everyone in the Guild to grow stronger before raiding 100-man Team Dungeons. Now that the Great Demon Kildred had dropped this Design, it had saved him plenty of time. After Shi Feng stored the Stable Design excitedly, Sharlyn closed the Bible of Darkness and turned to Shi Feng, saying softly, "Not bad. You actually managed to defeat the Great Demon Kildred. However, even though Kildred is dead, why is there still such a dense Power of Darkness lingering around you?" Seeing Sharlyn''s confused expression, Shi Feng quickly came to an understanding. He then retrieved Moloch''s Ring from his bag, saying, "This should be why." "Moloch''s Ring!" Sharlyn instantly recognized the ring. Surprised, she asked, "How did you get your hands on this ring?" "I stole it from a Great Demon called Knettel," Shi Feng responded honestly. "Stole it?" Sharlyn''s eyes narrowed suspiciously. She obviously did not believe Shi Feng''s claim. A Tier 4 Great Demon at full power only needed to swing his hand to wipe Shi Feng out of existence. Shi Feng would simply not survive an attempt to steal the ring from the Great Demon. "Are you really not afraid of death, or are you just that ignorant? You actually had the guts to remove the seal on the ring. Fortunately, you only obtained Moloch''s Ring now. I guess you are somewhat lucky. "Legend has it that Moloch''s Ring is related to the fall of the Lord of Balrogs. Moreover, this ring is a complete Legendary item. With your strength, this ring will devour you very quickly." "Devour?" Shi Feng thought back to when the Great Demon Knettel had chased after him. If not for his good luck, he would have certainly died. "When I say ''devour,'' I mean it in the literal sense. Do you really think a Legendary item is easily controlled?" Sharlyn rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. "Based on what I know, several hundred years ago, the Demon that guarded this ring was a Tier 5 Great Demon King. After that Great Demon King was devoured, it became the current Great Demon Knettel''s turn to guard it." Shi Feng broke out in cold sweat upon hearing these words. At this moment, Shi Feng understood what Sharlyn was trying to say. The so-called "guardian" of Moloch''s Ring was nothing but a sacrifice for the ring to devour. Meanwhile, those Demons had been unaware of the fact that they were sacrifices. To make matters worse, he had foolishly stolen the ring without knowing this fact. If even a Tier 5 Great Demon King had not been able to avoid its fate, with Shi Feng''s current strength, he stood absolutely no chance against Moloch''s Ring. "In the past, in order to seal this ring, ten Tier 5 powerhouses sacrificed themselves. Now that you have removed one of the seals, if you wish to seal it again, you will need the help of at least three Tier 5 classes. Otherwise, no matter where you go, you will not be able to hide from your fate." Seeing Shi Feng''s grim expression, Sharlyn could not help but laugh as she said, "However, I have also said that you are somewhat lucky." "Lucky?" Shi Feng grew curious. "That''s right. Your luck is quite good. You were able to obtain the real Bible of Darkness. If you had returned with a replica, even I would have no way to save your little life." Sharlyn rubbed her forehead lightly, saying seriously, "The Bible of Darkness is a treasure made by the Lord of Destruction. If one wields the Bible of Darkness, they can rule over every Demon in existence; the Lord of Balrogs is no exception. As for why the Bible of Darkness is capable of ruling over Demons, it is because the Bible is the origin of all Demons. All Demons have evolved from the Bible. With the Bible of Darkness, one possessed the power to restrain all Demons. "Of course, in its current state, it won''t be able to suppress Moloch''s Ring. Only the complete Bible of Darkness has the power to do so. What you need to do now is repair the Bible of Darkness. Do you understand?" 618 Target: Tier 2 "Repair the Bible of Darkness?" Shi Feng laughed bitterly. In God''s Domain, some Fragmented Legendary items could be repaired to their peak conditions, which was Legendary rank. However, very few Fragmented Legendary items could actually be repaired. Otherwise, Legendary items wouldn''t have been so rare in the past. In the case of the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, the ring''s description clearly expressed how it could be repaired. In the case of the Bible of Darkness, however, the description only provided a vague clue. How was he supposed to repair it? "Of course, it won''t be easy to repair the Bible of Darkness. With your current strength, you can''t repair it at all. Fortunately, you have only removed one seal on Moloch''s Ring thus far. You still have enough time to prepare," Sharlyn said slowly after perceiving the current state of Moloch''s Ring with her magic. "Lady Sharlyn, how long do I have?" Shi Feng asked rather anxiously. "That depends on you." Sharlyn smiled as she glanced at Shi Feng. "Me?" Shi Feng was stunned. "That''s right. The stronger you are, the more time Moloch''s Ring will need to accumulate enough power to devour you. Based on your current level, you have roughly fifty to sixty days. It would be the best if you reach Tier 2 within fifty days. If you can do so, Moloch''s Ring will require far more power to devour you. Of course, there is a catch. "If you continue releasing the seals on the ring, the speed at which the ring accumulates power will grow. Hence, the deadline depends on you." Hearing Sharlyn''s explination, Shi Feng immediately came to a realization. In the past, the first top-tier expert to have been promoted to a Tier 2 class appeared three months after God''s Domain launched. However, Shi Feng was a Blade Saint. He required twice as much EXP as ordinary classes to level up. Although he was a reincarnator, it would still be somewhat difficult for him to become a Tier 2 class within 50 days. The issue wasn''t leveling speed, but that the Advancement Quest was too challenging and time-consuming. Hence, in the past, even top-tier experts had only obtained their Tier 2 classes three months after the game launched. The Advancement Quest for hidden classes were far more difficult, and the time required to complete them was much longer. If he had to complete his Advancement Quest within 50 days, he really didn''t have much confidence of succeeding. If he had 60 days instead, then he would have significantly more confidence. Yet, the deadline Sharlyn had given him ranged between 50 and 60 days. Who knew how much time he actually had? Because of how specific Sharlyn was, Shi Feng even began to wonder if the Main God System set such a deadline purposefully. "You are already very lucky. If you had not acquired the Bible of Darkness, Moloch''s Ring would not have required so much time to devour you. However, with your current strength, you have no chance of repairing the Bible of Darkness. Look for me again once you are promoted to Tier 2." Sharlyn waved her hand lightly. The Bible of Darkness then floated to and hovered before Shi Feng. "Oh, right. Don''t forget about the task I gave you." Finished speaking, Sharlyn vanished. There was no trace of her throughout the Star-Moon Hall. "This is Will Projection!" Shi Feng stated, shocked when he saw Sharlyn disappear. Will Projection was not a profound Skill or something similar. It was an ordinary Tier 4 Skill. In the past, many Tier 4 magical class players had known how to use the Skill. However, the doppelganger summoned through Will Projection only possessed a small portion of the original''s strength. The doppelganger could not be used as a fighting force. It was a Skill normally used for probing and reconnaissance. Yet, it had not been Sharlyn who had summoned a Demon Gate and suppressed a Tier 4 Great Demon with a Tier 5 Curse, but her doppelganger. Sharlyn had easily completed these feats by relying on a weakened copy. In terms of strength, she definitely stood at the very top among Tier 5 NPCs. When Shi Feng recovered from his shock, he discovered that the Bible of Darkness had undergone some changes. [Bible of Darkness] (Fragmented Legendary Item) The Bible of Darkness had been destroyed during the Great Destruction. However, the Power of Darkness contained within the Bible is extreme. If one can gather the other fragments, they can restore the Bible''s power, gaining dominance over all Demonic Creatures and become the Lord of Demons. Skill 1: Demon Summoning: Summons the Demon Gate with the Power of Darkness, calling forth a random Demon that is no higher than 1 Tier and 10 Levels than the summoner (Maximum Tier cannot exceed Tier 5). The holder of the Bible of Darkness can command the summoned Demon for up to five hours. Cooldown: 3 hours Skill 2: Gate of Darkness: Allows teleportation to the Dark Den. Can also be used in the Dark Den to teleport to the outside world. Can teleport a maximum of five people at a single time. Cooldown: 1 day Skill 3: Light of Darkness: Strengthen a player with the Power of Darkness, allowing said player to wield the Power of Darkness. Can strengthen up to a maximum of 600 people. Every player strengthened provides one Source of Darkness to the wielder of the Bible of Darkness. Skill 4: Power of Darkness: Fill your body with the Power of Darkness, increasing all Attributes by 60%, decreasing Cooldown of all Skills by 30%, and increase damage by 50%. Duration will be equal to the number of Source of Darkness*1 second. (Power of Darkness cannot stack. Can only strengthen players up to a maximum of Tier 5 classes) Cooldown: 6 hours "So, that''s the case. It''s no wonder Fantasy Extinguisher had stopped using the Bible of Darkness Replica after reaching Tier 4." Shi Feng was overjoyed after seeing the Bible of Darkness''s Attributes. In the past, there had been two reasons why Fantasy Extinguisher was able to become a tyrant among Tier 3 classes. One was his reliance on the Demon he summoned, and the other was the Power of Darkness. However, the Demons Fantasy Extinguisher could summon had only been as strong as their summoner, possessing the same Tier. Moreover, he could only summon a maximum of one Demon at a time. Even so, it had been quite impressive. After all, a Demon of the same Tier was a lot more powerful than a monster of the same Tier. Although it still could not compare to a Fine-Gold ranked Personal Guard, Demons that died could be resummoned. On the other hand, if a player''s Personal Guard died, they would have to go through a lot of trouble to resurrect said guard. However, the Bible of Darkness replica Fantasy Extinguisher had obtained most likely could only be used up to Tier 3. On the other hand, the real article in Shi Feng''s hand could be used up to Tier 5. The gap between the real and the fake was massive. The most frightening aspect of the real Bible of Darkness was the fact that it was capable of summoning a Demon that was one rank higher than the summoner. Shi Feng was currently Tier 1, so he could summon a Tier 2 Demon. When he reached Tier 2, he would be able to summon a Tier 3 Demon. With this, who could possibly challenge him? The only unfortunate thing was that the skill summoned a random Demon. There was no guarantee that he would summon a Demon of a higher Tier. Meanwhile, Power of Darkness was a Berserk Skill that was famous throughout God''s Domain. Although the Skill did not increase one''s Attributes much, its duration was extremely long. It was at least two or three times longer than ordinary Berserker Skills. Moreover, there were no side effects. "Fantasy Extinguisher''s Power of Darkness lasted six minutes, while mine can last up to ten minutes. Even the number of people I can buff has increased to 600." Shi Feng''s heart burned with passion when he thought of forming his own Black Demon Legion. A Black Demon Legion with a total of 600 members.... As long as the members of the Black Demon Legion were around the same Level, they could definitely go on a crusade against a town controlled by the forces of darkness, capturing it and constructing their own Guild Town. Shi Feng then stored the Bible of Darkness. The Bible of Darkness was not equipment. It could take effect even from inside a bag. Hence, it was extremely difficult for others to plunder it. Now that Shi Feng had the Bible of Darkness, he would not waste any more time. He immediately departed from the Library and headed towards Zero Wing''s Residence by way of horse carriage. On his way, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose. "Aqua, have the members of the main force gather at the Residence," Shi Feng said. "Guild Leader, the main force is currently raiding a Dungeon. Our efforts will go down the drain if we recall them now. Many Guilds in White River City have already reached the Final Boss." Aqua Rose did not understand Shi Feng''s intentions. Currently, the various large Guilds in White River City desperately vied for the First Clear of the 50-man Team Dungeon, Ruins of the Crow God. If they recalled Zero Wing''s main force right now, they would have wasted a lot of precious time. "Relax; it won''t be a problem." Shi Feng was very familiar with the Final Boss in the Ruins of the Crow God. It will not be that easy to raid. Smiling, he said, "Moreover, I''m calling them back to help them clear the Dungeon." "Guild Leader, are you serious?" Aqua Rose grew excited. To conquer the Ruins of the Crow God, the various large Guilds had tried every hand and exhausted every ounce of brainpower they had. They have never encountered such a difficult Dungeon Boss before. They were truly helpless against it. Everyone could only try to force their way through the Boss again and again. If they had a raiding strategy, then they would have a much easier time dominating the Dungeon. "Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Shi Feng laughed. "Okay! I''ll notify them right away!" Aqua Rose''s eyes shone with renewed passion. After disconnecting her call with Shi Feng, she immediately notified Zero Wing''s main force. 619 Generation of Talents Inside the 50-man Team Dungeon, the Ruins of the Crow God: A black crow that stood over thirty meters high currently spewed endless blue flames, turning the surrounding landscape into a sea of fire. Any players that came into contact with these blue flames would die within three seconds. This black crow was none other than the Final Boss of the Dungeon, the Bluefire Crow King. [Bluefire Crow King] (High Lord) Level 28 HP 10,000,000/10,000,000 Although a High Lord ranked Dungeon Boss was slightly weaker than a Field Boss of the same Level and rank, its HP was several times higher. In addition, Dungeon Bosses also possessed some special Skills, making them much harder to take down than Field Bosses. It was especially true for the Final Boss of a Dungeon. These Bosses usually possessed very high intelligence, so they knew how to strike at a team''s weak points. Because of this, survival demanded significantly more cooperation between players. To put it simply, the Final Boss of a Dungeon was a test of sorts of a team''s ability to work with each other. If one wished to emerge victorious against such a Boss, there were only two ways to do so. The first was to rely on the composite strength of teamwork; the second was to rely on overwhelming power. However, to the current players in God''s Domains, both were extremely hard to achieve. "Careful! Dodge the flames! Anyone who has touched the flames, distance yourselves from the group immediately!" Fire Dance shouted sternly. These blue flames were one of the Bluefire Crow King''s team-wipe Skills. It would have been fine if the sea of fire only prevented players from approaching the High Lord. However, these flames were like a plague. Players who had touched the fire would inflict -2,000 damage to other players within a radius of 10 yards once every three seconds. That amount of damage was more than half of a cloth armor class''s HP. Moreover, this plague formed a chain reaction, jumping from player to player as they neared their teammates. If not dealt with properly, the debuff would make quick work of the entire team. Fortunately, none of the 50 players present were greenhorns. They had already fought the Bluefire Crow King dozens of times, so every one of them was extremely familiar with the High Lord''s attacks. The moment the Crow King began to spew the blue flames, everyone instantly moved to dodge the attack. However, the flames still struck a few unfortunate players, so they had no choice but to distance themselves from the rest of the team. After the Bluefire Crow King stopped spewing its fire, it squinted as it focused on one of the healers standing at the rear line. Flapping its wings, it created a storm as it soared into the sky. The Crow King then spread its massive wings, blotting out the sun as it prepared to swoop down towards that healer. "Damn! It''s targeting Violet!" Fire Dance frowned. Hurriedly, she shouted, "Cola, use Iron Will!" "Ouh!" Cola, who was as robust as a bear, shouted. In the blink of an eye, his body began to emit a golden glow, making it impossible for others to ignore him. Cola instantly attracted the Crow King''s attention. The Crow Wing''s steel-like wings then descended on Cola''s head. [Iron Will] (Tier 1 Skill) Forces all nearby enemies to attack user and increases Defense by 70% for 4 seconds. If enemy ignores user, Strength increases by 70%, speed increases by 100%, and damage increases by 100% for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes A Guardian Knight''s Strength was already quite high. If Cola''s Strength increased by another 70% and his damage increased by another 100%, even a Boss of the same Level would find his attacks too much to bear. Hence, the Crow King had no choice but to attack Cola. Boom! The Crow King''s black wings possessed a massive amount of Attack Power. Upon contact, the boss repelled Cola, the Guardian Knight having no choice but to retreat eight steps before he could stabilize himself. Despite having blocked the attack with his shield, Cola still received over -800 damage. "Its Battering Dive really packs a punch." Cola hurriedly used his shield to block the High Lord''s follow-up attacks. Every collision numbed his arms and forced him to retreat by multiple steps. If his Defense had not been increased by 70%, he would have easily received over a thousand damage. The Crow King would attack more than a dozen times in quick succession when using Battering Dive. If Cola received every single attack, he would die without question. While Cola''s HP rapidly decreased, Violet Cloud, who stood at the rear of the team, waved her jade-like hand. Healing spells then landed on Cola, one after another, causing Cola''s HP to yo-yo. Her heals were very timely. In the end, Violet Cloud managed to stabilize Cola''s HP above a safe threshold, letting the Guardian Knight avoid the fate of instant death at the hands of the Bluefire Crow King. Thanks to Violet Cloud''s precise and powerful healing, the entire team had an easy time dealing with the Bluefire Crow King. Violet Cloud was the only healer responsible for the lead MT. This situation freed the other healers to focus on keeping the other members of the team alive, allowing the team to avoid losing members to one of the Boss''s minor Skills. Meanwhile, the other ranged classes took the opportunity to barrage the High Lord with a stream of attacks. When Cola''s Iron Will ended, the Bluefire Crow King shifted its focus back to Violet Cloud. However, just as the Crow King was about to deal with the Astromancer, the female Guardian Knight, Turtledove, similarly activated Iron Will and forced the Crow King to attack her instead. Turtledove was a Guardian Knight Shi Feng had encountered in White River City''s Teleportation Hall during the incident with the Mechanical Slayer. Back then, she had only been at the standard of an elite player. Now, however, she had become a member of Zero Wing''s main force. Of Zero Wing''s Guardian Knights, she was only inferior to Cola and Ye Wumian. Unfortunately, as her equipment was slightly inferior, she required two healers to maintain her HP above a safe threshold. While the MTs held the Boss, Fire Dance and the other melee players of the team assaulted the Bluefire Crow King with a continuous stream of attacks. The Truefire Blades in Fire Dance''s hands transformed into countless streaks of light. Every one of her attacks dealt over -1,000 damage. The total damage Fire Dance dealt surpassed even Blackie, who wielded an Epic staff. Meanwhile, among the melee players, one Berserker stood out like a sore thumb. Although this Berserker''s weapon was only a Level 25 Fine-Gold greatsword, his total damage ranked 7th in the entire team. He was none other than Shadow Sword, the person who had accompanied Turtledove during the Mechanical Slayer incident. Shadow Sword was almost equally matched with Rampant Blade, one of the Five Demon Generals and the Berserker ranked 6th in terms of total damage within the team. However, unlike Shadow Sword, the weapon Rampant Blade used was a Level 25 Dark-Gold two-handed saber. However, although Rampant Blade''s weapon possessed significantly higher Attack Power than Shadow Sword''s Fine-Gold greatsword, the two Berserkers were almost equal in terms of their total damage. One could see clearly just how high Shadow Sword''s Skill Completion Rate was. "Shadow, you''re improving too fast! Your Skill Completion Rate was roughly 78% yesterday, yet, today, it''s sitting at 80%. It seems that my position as number one Berserker will soon be in danger," Rampant Blade said, depressed. "That''s because you''re not working hard enough. Shadow Sword has either been raiding Dungeons or visiting the Divine Colosseum to improve himself," Ye Wumian, who had been the Workshop''s past leader, said contemptuously. "Alright, enough! Focus on the Boss!" Fire Dance reprimanded. In reality, other than Shadow Sword, many other powerful recruits had joined Zero Wing''s main force. This allowed the strength of Zero Wing''s current main force to improve significantly. At this point in the fight, the Bluefire Crow King only had 50% of its HP remaining. "Die, intruders!" the Bluefire Crow King bellowed. "Cola, take care of the Boss! The other MTs and melees will deal with the small mobs!" Fire Dance shouted, her expression turning grim. A moment later, over a dozen three-meter-tall Bluefire Crows descended from the sky. Every one of these Bluefire Crows was a Level 28 Special Elite, each with 300,000 HP. It would be extremely hard difficult with them all. If players did not dispatch these Bluefire Crows swiftly, these monsters would grow using the only Skill they possessed, Growth. When the Bluefire Crows used this Skill, they would instantly become Chieftain ranked monsters, their maximum HPs reaching 700,000. If the battle dragged on for too long, they could even become Lords that possessed 1,500,000 HP. Even a more powerful team could not contend with a High Lord in addition to over a dozen Lords. A few minutes later A group of players emerged from the Ruins of the Crow God''s resurrection point. Meanwhile, quite a few teams took this chance to relax around the resurrection point. Among them were the various large Guilds of White River City. The Bluefire Crow King had wiped them all out. When everyone saw this new group of players appear, they all could not help but gaze at these players with admiration. This group was none other than Zero Wing''s main force. They were the team with the best equipment of all the teams in White River City. "Those Bluefire Crows are too difficult to deal with. Our overall DPS is still too low," Blackie stated dispiritedly. "It would be awesome if Guild Leader joined us. With his DPS, we can breeze through this Boss." The other members of Zero Wing''s main force nodded in agreement. In their opinion, Shi Feng was no longer a human. He alone could serve as an entire team. Suddenly, Fire Dance received a call from Aqua Rose. After exchanging a few words, joy appeared on Fire Dance''s face. "Let''s head back to the city and rest for a bit," Fire Dance said through the team chat. "Return? Aren''t we supposed to try five or six more times today?" Blackie asked, surprised. "Didn''t you want Guild Leader to raid with us?" Fire Dance grinned. "Guild Leader has just returned, and he''s telling us to head back to the Residence immediately. He says that he has something to tell us and that it''s related to the Dungeon." "Really?!" Everyone was suddenly excited. "We''ll know once we get back." Saying so, Fire Dance took out a Return Scroll and began chanting. Everyone else followed her example, one after another. --- "Look! Zero Wing''s main force is leaving! Are they giving up on the Dungeon?" "Probably. The Final Boss of the Ruins of the Crow God is really too powerful. They must''ve guessed that no team will clear it anytime soon, so why bother wasting their time here?" Many teams that had watched Zero Wing carefully before chatting among themselves. 620 Frightening Power of Darkness After Zero Wing''s main force left the Ruins of the Crow God, the news spread like wildfire. If one were to point out which Guild in White River City had the highest chances of obtaining the First Clear of the Ruins of the Crow God, it would undoubtedly be Zero Wing. Not only did Zero Wing''s team possessed excellent equipment, but it also had plenty of experts. Following Zero Wing would be Overwhelming Smile and the other Guilds. It was especially true for the recently-established Guild, Heaven''s Burial. The new Guild''s raiding speed was only slightly slower than Zero Wing and Overwhelming Smile. "Leader, it seems that Zero Wing has left," a Level 28 Ranger in gray reported to a youth in white robes. "Everyone''s already at the point of clearing the Dungeon, yet, Zero Wing has given up?" The white-robed youth pondered the situation. He was greatly confused about Zero Wing''s actions. "Leader, Zero Wing must''ve determined that they aren''t able to raid the Final Boss and gave up," a gorgeous woman wearing low-cut crimson robes commented, smirking. "Everyone talks about how Zero Wing has so many experts. Now, however, it seems that they only amount to this. Despite our Heaven''s Burial having such a late start, we still caught up to Zero Wing''s raid progression of the Ruins of the Crow God, reaching the third phase of the Final Boss. As long as we familiarize ourselves with the Boss''s third phase, today might be the day we surpass Zero Wing and become the first Guild in White River City to reach the fourth phase of the Final Boss." Hearing this beautiful woman''s words, pride appeared on every face in the team. "Leader, just ignore Zero Wing. We are the experts the company has recruited. Zero Wing arrived in White River City only a few days before us. If we had arrived earlier, Zero Wing would not necessarily be White River City''s overlord," a tall and robust Level 28 Berserker said, laughing. Although Heaven''s Burial was a newly-established Guild, the power backing the Guild was much stronger than even the power behind Overwhelming Smile. Moreover, their company had paid a huge price to recruit quite a few well-known experts in the virtual gaming world. Among them, the commander of Heaven''s Burial''s main force, Flame Blood, had been crowned as one of the top ten newcomers of the virtual gaming world during the previous year. He had once been an expert who had become an overlord in a large-scale virtual reality game. Now that Flame Blood and so many other experts have arrived in White River City, if they could not surpass Zero Wing, they would have wasted their many years of playing virtual reality games. "Indeed. Regardless of what Zero Wing does, we will be the ones to obtain the First Clear of the Ruins of the Crow God," Flame Blood said, revealing a refreshing smile. "Soon, Ghost Shadow and the others will arrive. At that time, Heaven''s Burial will claim the Ruins of the Crow God in one fell swoop." Hearing the name ''Ghost Shadow,'' a hint of reverence appeared in everyone''s eyes. The Ghost Shadow Workshop was one of the industry''s first-rate Gaming Workshop. It had came conflicted with Super Guilds in many virtual reality games before. The strength of the Workshop''s core members was extraordinary. Meanwhile, in terms of popularity, Ghost Shadow was even superior to the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow and the Guild Leader of Star Alliance, Galaxy Past. Two days ago, the company successfully purchased Ghost Shadow Workshop, rebranding the Workshop''s members as members of Heaven''s Burial. Heaven''s Burial''s strength soared instantly and even showed signs of surpassing Zero Wing. --- Aside from Heaven''s Burial, Overwhelming Smile had also made ample preparations in order to conquer the Ruins of the Crow God. War Wolf, who had been based in Maple City, had come to White River City. In addition, he brought with him a group of experts with domineering auras. If Shi Feng were present, he would definitely be shocked as a few of War Wolf''s team actually consisted of Ouroboros''s top combatants. Among them was the gifted Soaring Snake, who had undergone a massive change. Not only had he reached Level 29, but he also carried two blue longswords whose quality could not be determined. The two longswords looked identical, and it was obvious that they were a set. "Brother Wolf, now that Zero Wing has given up, the rest will be up to you." Feng Xuanyang addressed War Wolf respectfully. After facing a series of failures, Feng Xuanyang''s position in Underworld had fallen significantly. However, he had not given up. As long as Overwhelming Smile obtained the First Clear of the Ruins of the Crow God, he still had a chance to make a comeback. Hence, he had specifically invited War Wolf and the others to help him. "Young Master Feng, you can rest assured. God''s Domain is not a one-man game. Even if Black Flame is more powerful, his capabilities inside a large-scale Dungeon are limited. With Boss Wolf taking the lead with our expert support, the Ruins of the Crow God''s First Clear will be ours for the taking," an Elementalist said confidently. War Wolf only nodded silently. After the third evolution of God''s Domain, the powers backing the various large Guilds had begun placing importance on the experts in God''s Domain. As War Wolf possessed extraordinary strength, his position in Underworld rose rapidly. Not only did Underworld supply him and his team with all sorts of resources, but the organization had also mobilized the Guilds under their control in order to gear up War Wolf and the others. In terms of equipment, their team was only slightly inferior to Zero Wing''s main force right now. --- While Overwhelming Smile and Heaven''s Burial prepared to go all out in raiding the Ruins of the Crow God, things were getting extraordinarily lively in Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City. "Guild Leader is finally willing to lead us in a Dungeon. I want to see just what sort of reaction those bastards from Overwhelming Smile will have once we leave them in our dust." Cola laughed loudly. "Guild Leader said that he would lead us in a Dungeon the last time. He''s finally fulfilling his promise," Ye Wumian said, laughing as well. Zero Wing had already proven its strength to the public many a time through the wars they''ve participated in. However, regardless of how capable a Guild was in PvP, their ability to raid large-scale Dungeons was far more important. Only when they obtained the First-Clear of the Ruins of the Crow God would they truly stabilize their position as White River City''s overlords. Otherwise, other Guilds would always try to rise up and overtake Zero Wing. However, compared to White River City''s overlord position, what everyone truly anticipated was for Shi Feng to lead them in a large-scale Dungeon personally. That way, they could learn far more from him. It would be a huge help towards improving their own strength. A moment later, the doors of the meeting room abruptly opened. Shi Feng slowly entered the room. He had already used the Demon Mask to recover Black Flame''s appearance. Although there were no changes to Black Flame''s character, his aura was much stronger than before. Everyone was shocked by this change. Originally, Shi Feng''s aura had been contained, making him seem like only an ordinary passerby. However, after undergoing a series of challenges that pushed him to his very limits, his strength had improved vastly. At this moment, his previous strength could not compare. He would require some time before he could sheathe his aura once more. Taking his seat on the Guild Leader''s throne, Shi Feng swept a glance over everyone present and said slowly, "The reason why I''ve called you guys back is to notify you of one thing. You could also say that this is a core secret of Zero Wing." Upon hearing the words "core secret," everyone immediately fell silent. "There''s no point in just telling you. I''ll give you a demonstration," Shi Feng announced, smiling faintly. He then shifted his gaze to the Berserker Shadow Sword, saying, "Shadow Sword, come over here for a moment." Shadow Sword revered Shi Feng. Ever since watching Shi Feng battle at the Teleportation Hall, Shadow Sword had been mesmerized by Shi Feng''s combat techniques. He had watched and learned from Shi Feng''s battle videos repeatedly, hoping to grasp even the tiniest fraction of Shi Feng''s techniques. Hearing Shi Feng call for him, despite his normal calm, he involuntarily grew excited. Immediately, he walked up to his Guild Leader. Shi Feng stretched out his hand, a black ball the size of a fist suddenly condensing in his palm. The center of the ball looked like a miniature universe; it was fascinating. Shi Feng snapped his fingers. This black ball then melded into Shadow Sword''s body. When this black ball vanished into Shadow Sword''s body, the Berserker''s aura changed. Suddenly, Shadow Sword released a frightening aura resembling that of a demonic beast. "This is" Shadow Sword looked at himself in shock. He had never experienced such a strong force before. With Shadow Sword''s astounded reaction, there was no need to mention everyone else''s, who possessed acute five senses. So strong! Fire Dance faintly felt a sense of danger when she looked at Shadow Sword. 621 Sensation Chapter 621 - Sensation As the commander of Zero Wing''s main force, Fire Dance had a very clear understanding of every member''s strength. Although Shadow Sword had improved quite significantly during this period, his combat power only ranked slightly above average for the team. He was not capable of making her feel even the slightest hint of danger. However, the Shadow Sword standing before her was vastly different. It was as if he had transformed into an ancient beast, dangerous and threatening, in the blink of an eye. After receiving Lei Bao and Shi Feng''s continuous guidance, Fire Dance had mostly learned how to control her body''s power. She had already taken half a step into the Refinement Realm. Her Skill Completion Rates hovered around 85% as a result. She was considered a true top-tier expert. After factoring in the powerful Attributes of her Tier 1 Set Equipment, the Dark Melody Set Equipment, very few players could triumph over her. Only monsters like Shi Feng could possibly defeat her. Yet, now, Fire Dance felt that Shadow Sword had a chance against her. One could just imagine how massive of a buff Shadow Sword had received. "Guild Leader, what is going on here?" Aqua Rose fixed her gaze on Shi Feng. She very much wanted to know what had just happened. Everyone present turned to Shi Feng as well, all of them sharing the same thought as Aqua Rose. If a few more of their team members suddenly become as strong as Shadow Sword, they would no longer be stuck at the Bluefire Crow King''s third phase. Every player here was a core member of Zero Wing. To ordinary players, they were considered absolute experts. Not only did they possess incomparably acute senses, but their intuitions were also very sensitive. Only by sheathing one''s aura perfectly could they fool these players. Shi Feng during their previous encounter was an example. Before this, he could hide his aura completely and disguise himself as an ordinary passerby. Players only realized what a monster Shi Feng actually was after he took action. Seeing the fervent gazes directed at him, Shi Feng could not help but laugh as he said, "I obtained an item that can increase a player''s strength. As for how much of an improvement it grants, you guys can see that for yourselves." The Power of Darkness could increase a player''s Basic Attributes by 30%. An increase of 30% was the equivalent of a player''s combat power reaching a whole new level. For example, if a player possessed Tier 1 intermediate combat power, after their Attributes increased by 30%, their combat power would approach the peak of Tier 1. Shadow Sword was currently Level 28, and his strength was near the top of Tier 1 intermediate. He was close to approaching Tier 1 advanced. After the Power of Darkness''s enhancement, his combat power would rise to the peak of Tier 1. Meanwhile, Fire Dance, who was currently Level 30, already possessed combat power at the peak of Tier 1. Facing Shadow Sword, who similarly possessed combat power at the peak of Tier 1, it was only natural for Fire Dance to feel some danger from the Berserker. Of course, the Power of Darkness did not permanently increase a player''s Attributes. Rather, it gave players a Berserk Skill that they could activate freely. Only, this Berserker Skill had a slightly longer duration than ordinary Berserk Skills. The Power of Darkness lasted a full ten minutes and had a Cooldown of five hours. Shadow Sword''s sudden strength boost was due to the fact that the Power of Darkness had just melded with the Berserker, resulting in the Berserk Skill activating immediately. However, this effect only lasted several seconds. Once it was over, the Berserk Skill would become an Active Skill that players could use at any time. This had been the true power of the Black Demon Legion. Berserk Skills were extremely rare in the entire God''s Domain. If every member of a legion possessed a Berserk Skill that lasted ten full minutes, one could just imagine how frightening they would be. This was also why the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Blood Legion had not been a match for the Fantasy Shrine''s Black Demon Legion in the past. "Guild Leader, how many people can that tool strengthen?" As the Vice-Leader of the Guild, Aqua Rose was particularly concerned about this. If they could enhance many players, they could definitely raise the main force''s combat power to a whole new level. Everyone''s hearts began to pound upon hearing Aqua Rose''s question. They, too, wished to become stronger like Shadow Sword. However, they all knew that such a buff could only be used on a limited number of players. It would not be easy to obtain a spot for themselves. "Relax. Every member of the main force can obtain this power." Shi Feng did not reveal the exact numbers to his Guildmates. There were a total of 100 members in Zero Wing''s main force. In addition, there were 200 reserve members. The 600 slots he had on hand were more than enough to go around. "Everyone? Guild Leader, you''re not joking, right?" Aqua Rose was inwardly thunderstruck. She seriously doubted Shi Feng''s claim. If every member of Zero Wing''s main force could possess this power, then they could display astonishing combat power. Not to mention the Hard Mode Ruins of the Crow God, they could even try Hell Mode. "I have not finished. I plan to choose some members from the second echelon to form the Black Demon Legion. This legion will focus on dealing with Field Bosses and 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. I''ll leave this matter to you, Aqua." Shi Feng did not wish to waste his remaining Power of Darkness. In the past, one of the duties of the Fantasy Shrine''s Black Demon Legion was to grind and collect equipment through raiding various 10-man and 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. In a Guild, even the elite teams would struggle to raid 10-man and 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. With the Power of Darkness, however, the difficulty of Dungeons would fall sharply. It would be much easier to clear Dungeons in the future. It was also this reason that had allowed the Fantasy Shrine to amass a ton of wealth. The greatest asset they could gain from raiding Hell Mode Dungeons was Magic Crystals. Normal Mode Dungeons very rarely dropped Magic Crystals. However, it was a different story for Hell Mode Dungeons. The drop-rate in Hell Mode Dungeons was more than ten times that of Normal Mode. The Magic Crystals could then be used to train the Guild''s elites and experts. Hence, Fantasy Shrine''s overall strength had steadily increased in the past. In the end, the Guild had become the overlord of the Black Dragon Empire, and even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had been forced to give way to Fantasy Shrine. In this life, Shi Feng could use the Power of Darkness on far more players than Fantasy Extinguisher had been able to. Naturally, he had to utilize this benefit properly. A short moment later, every official member of Zero Wing''s main force received the Power of Darkness. To Fire Dance and Violet Cloud, a 30% increase in Attributes was colossal. Their combat power had already been at the peak of Tier 1. After using the Power of Darkness, they even qualified to contend with a Lord, which was the equivalent of a Tier 2 class, by themselves. Although they still could not win against a Lord, they could hold one off for a relatively long time. They could almost rival a great expert such as War Wolf. Only, they still lacked techniques. After strengthening the main force, Shi Feng led Fire Dance and the others towards the Ruins of the Crow God. Although Shi Feng still had many things he needed to attend to, such as the Teleportation Magic Array and the Stables, the construction of these two required materials. These materials could only be obtained from large-scale Team Dungeons. Hence, there was no point in focusing on those items for now. --- An hour or so later Ruins of the Crow God. An extremely tense atmosphere surrounded the 50-man Team Dungeon. Players crowded the vast plains around the Ruins. The majority of these players consisted of Guild players. The various large Guilds in White River City knew that this was the juncture for the final sprint to claim the First Clear of the Ruins of the Crow God. It was highly possible that a lucky Guild would obtain the First Clear in the next second. Hence, many Guilds'' members anxiously waited outside the Dungeon''s entrance. If their Guild''s team required any tasks or additional supplies, these idle members would rush to get it done or delivered. "Look! It''s Zero Wing!" "Huh? Why are they here again? I thought they gave up?" "I don''t think so. Look, even Black Flame has shown up. They must plan to go all out." "This is going to be interesting. Just before this, Heaven''s Burial also received backup from a group of experts. I heard that those experts were members of the Ghost Shadow Workshop. Every one of them is incredibly strong. As for Overwhelming Smile, they, too, dispatched a lot of experts. I wonder which of the three will emerge wearing the crown?" "I''m betting on Heaven''s Burial. They have Ghost Shadow leading the team. Even Super Guilds are trying to annex the Ghost Shadow Workshop. Moreover, Heaven''s Burial entered the Dungeon a while ago. Zero Wing has only just arrived. Most likely, they are already too late." Upon noticing Zero Wing''s arrival, everyone in front of the Ruins of the Crow God began chatting among themselves. "Guild Leader, we have trouble. I''ve heard of Ghost Shadow before. He is definitely an expert among experts. Moreover, he has a group of reliable teammates with him. Now that they''ve been in the Dungeon for quite some time, it will be difficult to compete over the First Clear." Aqua Rose frowned slightly. She had heard plenty about Ghost Shadow. Shi Feng shook his head. Laughing, he said, "Who says we''re competing over the First Clear of Hard Mode?" Everyone turned to Shi Feng in shock. However, before they could react, Shi Feng selected the Dungeon''s Hell Mode difficulty. In the next moment, every member of the team was teleported into the Dungeon. 622 Power that Causes Despair Chapter 622 - Power that Causes Despair "Look! That''s the teleportation gate for Hell Mode!" "That''s impossible, right? Is Zero Wing actually challenging the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God? Have they lost their minds?" "I heard that the Ruins'' Final Boss is a Great Lord. It''s many times stronger than a High Lord ranked Boss. There''s no way any of these Guilds can beat something so strong. Could Zero Wing''s team leader have chosen the wrong difficulty?" When everyone outside the Ruins of the Crow God saw the pair of pitch-black teleportation gates and the flickering skull behind it, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The Final Boss of Hard Mode already made them feel powerless. None of them even humored the thought of raiding Hell Mode. Shortly after Shi Feng and the others entered the Dungeon, the news quickly spread throughout White River City. No one who heard it could bring themselves to believe that it was true. Meanwhile, if one had to point out who was most shocked by the news, then it would be White River City''s various large Guilds. Now that White River City''s long period of development had come to an end, the city contained well over a hundred Guilds. Meanwhile, as White River City''s overlord, Zero Wing constantly received attention from many of these Guilds. "They actually dare challenge Hell Mode even though they still haven''t cleared Hard Mode. I never thought that Black Flame would be so foolhardy." When Feng Xuanyang received the latest news regarding Zero Wing, he could not contain his mocking smile. Underworld''s information network covered over a dozen kingdoms and multiple empires. As part of Underworld''s middle management, Feng Xuanyang knew exactly what the Hell Mode of a 50-man Team Dungeon represented. Despair! Of all these kingdoms and empires, there were several top-tier large Guilds that had already conquered the Hard Mode of a 50-man Team Dungeon. Yet, out of all of these Guilds, not a single one had managed to defeat the First Boss of Hell Mode; they had not even managed to drop the Boss''s HP below 90%. No matter which MT they tried, everyone died from a single hit. It was useless, regardless of how many healers the team had. In the end, these top-tier large Guilds had no choice but to give up on raiding the Hell Mode of their respective 50-man Team Dungeons and had to shift their focus to 100-man Team Dungeons instead. Previously, Zero Wing had only reached the third phase of the Bluefire Crow King, yet, now, they were actually trying to challenge Hell Mode. Even with three or four Shi Fengs, they still had no chance. --- Meanwhile, inside the Ruins of the Crow God... Regarding the environment, there were not many differences between the Hell Mode and Hard Mode Ruins of the Crow God. Collapsed shrines and towering statues littered the Ruins. At this moment, however, Fire Dance and the others were extraordinarily tensed. Every one of them wore somber expressions. "Haven''t you guys fought up to the Final Boss of this place already? Why are you all so nervous?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh as he looked at his teammates. He was the only one who had not drawn his weapons, ready to fight at a moment''s notice. Team Dungeons were different from 6-man Party Dungeons. Team Dungeons only refreshed once every three days. It did not make a difference if one cleared Normal, Hard, or Hell Mode. Moreover, in Team Dungeons, Bosses and monsters would not respawn even if the team decided to change difficulties midway. Teams would not be able to kill Bosses that they had already defeated. Depending on which Boss a team fought up to, they would simply continue from the same Boss after switching difficulties. Only, the strength of the remaining monsters and Bosses would change according to the new difficulty. There was a difference between the Team Dungeons in God''s Domain and those in other virtual reality games. Unlike other virtual reality games, the difficulty setting of Team Dungeons could only be increased, not decreased. In other words, if a team raided Hard Mode and defeated the First Boss, but failed to defeat the Second Boss, they were not allowed to lower the difficulty to Normal Mode to continue raiding the Dungeon from there. If they wished to change the difficulty of the Dungeon, they could only raise it to Hell Mode. Previously, Fire Dance and the others had fought up to the Final Boss. Now that they had selected Hell Mode difficulty, the path to the Final Boss was quite safe. Everyone felt a little embarrassed when they heard Shi Feng''s questions. They had an instinctive fear of Hell Mode. "Alright, let''s take a look at the Bluefire Crow King," Shi Feng said, laughing. Fire Dance then led the way towards the Final Boss''s nest. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng followed, he called up the system interface. He was currently Level 34 and was already far above the maximum level limit, Level 30, to obtain the Dungeon''s First Clear. He needed to reduce his level. Moreover, the Hell Mode Bluefire Crow King was not a trivial opponent. Even if he had four additional levels of Attributes, it would not make a huge difference. Converting those Levels and Attributes into combat power would be far more beneficial. Shi Feng selected his Skill window and clicked on Flame Burst. He leveled up the Skill without hesitation. At Level 9, Flame Burst was already an impressively domineering Skill. After the Flame Burst icon flashed a few times, the Skill upgraded to Tier 1, Level 5. The Skill''s stats increased significantly as well. [Flame Burst] Tier 1, Level 5 (Requires 480,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 1 Level 6 skill) Channeling time: 1 second Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 900% damage to the target. Attack Count: 15 times Cooldown: 3 minutes Originally, the Level 9 Flame Burst had an Attack Count of 12, and every attack dealt 750% of Shi Feng''s damage. Now, not only did the Attack Count increase by three, but the damage each hit dealt also increased significantly. The Tier 1, Level 5 Flame Burst''s damage far surpassed the Level 9 Flame Burst. At the same time, however, Shi Feng''s level fell rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he dropped to Level 30, which was in line with the requirement of obtaining First Clear of the Dungeon. As expected of a super Skill. If I want to upgrade Flame Burst further, I''ll have to wait until I am Level 40 at the very least. Shi Feng inwardly calculated. Flame Burst required 480 million EXP just to reach the next level. With Shi Feng''s current level, if he upgraded Flame Burst to Tier 1, Level 6, he would most likely drop to Level 25. Any other player would most likely lose many more levels; Shi Feng''s saving grace was his class''s high EXP requirement. However, upgrading Flame Burst to Tier 1, Level 5 at the cost of four levels was still a worthwhile exchange. With this Skill alone, Shi Feng was confident of heavily injuring even a full HP Lord. In the future, he would have a much easier time killing Lord ranked monsters. Half an hour later, Shi Feng and the others arrived before the Crow God''s Shrine, the Bluefire Crow King''s nest. "It''s huge!" Blackie gaped as he gazed at the Bluefire Crow King in the distance. In Hard Mode, the Bluefire Crow King was roughly 30 meters tall. That was already an intimidating size. Now, however, the Bluefire Crow King before them stood over 50 meters high. The Hard Mode Bluefire Crow King was a child compared to the Hell Mode Bluefire Crow King. [Bluefire Crow King] (Great Lord) Level 30 HP 27,000,000/27,000,000 "How are we supposed to fight that? Its HP alone is already more than double that of the High Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King." Cola gulped, his prior enthusiasm dissipating. Although they were now capable of activating the Power of Darkness and increasing their Basic Attributes by 30% for 10 minutes, the Bluefire Crow King''s Attributes had increased by more than 30%. The gap between them now was even wider than before. Fire Dance frowned. Even she was not confident of taking down such a powerful Boss. "Leader, are we still going to fight it?" Aqua Rose asked as she turned to Shi Feng. Initially, due to Shi Feng''s leadership, everyone had possessed a shred of confidence of conquering the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God. However, they had terribly underestimated the horrors of Hell Mode. Even with Shi Feng, it was impossible for them to defeat such a powerful Boss. "Fight! Why wouldn''t we? What else do you think we came here to do?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at his team. This was not the first time Shi Feng had experienced the horrors of Hell Mode. Even if Shi Feng went all out, he would require a long time to finish off the Crow King''s 27,000,000 HP. Not to mention, the Crow King would also recover 1% of its HP every five seconds. The Great Lord''s battle recovery alone made for a frightening weapon. This was why an individual''s power was extremely limited inside a Team Dungeon. Even though Shi Feng was capable of withstanding the Crow King''s attacks for a short period, he and his team could not deplete that much HP within such a short time. Of course, since he dared to come here, he naturally had a certain degree of confidence of emerging victorious. Otherwise, he would not have chosen to challenge Hell Mode. "Time to put you to good use." Shi Feng opened his bag and smiled at the Bible of Darkness. 623 Tier 2 Strengthening Chapter 623 - Tier 2 Strengthening Looking at Shi Feng, who was brimming with confidence, everyone''s heavy hearts grew lighter. Although the Great Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King was powerful, they still had a fighting chance against it. After all, Dungeons were meant to be raided by players. They just had not figured out a proper raiding strategy yet. In the next moment, Shi Feng retrieved the Bible of Darkness from his bag and began to chant the incantation recorded within. "Emerge, Demon Gate!" With Shi Feng''s light shout, the dark mist in the sky congregated to form a pair of dark gray gates. However, unlike the Demon Gate Sharlyn had summoned, Shi Feng''s was far weaker. Not only was the size of the Demon Gate much smaller, but the aura it radiated was also ordinary. It lacked the ability to instill fear in others. Although the Demon Gate he summoned was significantly smaller, Shi Feng did not particularly mind it. However, to Fire Dance and the others, who were seeing these gates for the first time, their expressions grew serious as their gazes locked onto the Demon Gate. As the Demon Gates slowly opened, everyone felt a sense of panic. A moment later, a purple Demon, double the height of an average player, stepped out from the Demon Gate. When this purple Evil Spirit swept its eyes across the crowd before it, Fire Dance and the others instinctively raised their weapons, expecting a fight. "There is no need to worry. This is a Demon that I''ve summoned." Shi Feng waved his hand, signaling for the others to calm down. "It seems that my luck is quite good this time. It is actually a Heart Devourer, a Tier 2 Evil Spirit." [Heart Devourer] (Evil Spirit) Level 35 HP 1,200,000/1,200,000 A Tier 2 Evil Spirit was the equivalent of a Lord ranked monster. Although it did not possess as much HP as a Lord of the same Level, in terms of Skills and intelligence, it was superior. It would be a massive help in a Team Dungeon. Although players could bring their Personal Guards to a Dungeon, Kite''s current Level was too high. Moreover, in the off chance that Kite died, it would be extremely troublesome to revive him. Most importantly, Personal Guards took up Dungeon slot. Hence, it was not worthwhile to bring a Personal Guard. However, Shi Feng would not have to worry about such matters if he summoned a Demon. Moreover, every Demon possessed many Skills and was proficient in a specific field. Take the Heart Devourer for example. It was proficient as support. Not only was it capable of weakening its enemies, but it was also capable of enhancing its allies'' strength, which was why Shi Feng was satisfied with his luck. "A Tier 2 Demon!" Aqua Rose stared at the Heart Devourer in shock. There were plenty of Summoning Skills in God''s Domain. For example, the Summoner was a class that specialized in summoning creatures. However, even a Tier 1 Summoner would find it very difficult to summon a Tier 1 creature. The majority of the current Summoner players could only summon Tier 0 creatures to fight for them. If Tier 1 Summoners already found it difficult to summon Tier 1 creatures, there was no need to mention Tier 2 creatures. That was practically a Lord ranked monster. The summoned creature would be able to move unhindered among the current players of God''s Domain. It could even display unimaginable strength in current Dungeons. "Alright, everyone get into positions. Maintain a distance of 10 yards between each other. Fight the Bluefire Crow King as you would the Hard Mode Boss." Shi Feng immediately began to issue commands, not wanting to waste any more time. In the past, Shi Feng had raided the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God so often that he found it tiresome. Only, at that time, he had conquered the Dungeon by relying on level suppression. Every one of his team members had been above Level 40. The equipment they wore had also been Secret-Silver rank or higher. There were not many differences between the Hell Mode and Hard Mode Ruins of the Crow God. Only, the Basic Attributes and Skills of the monsters had been greatly enhanced. The Dungeon''s Bosses had not received any additional Skills, and no new traps had been added into the Dungeon. The Ruins of the Crow God could be considered to be a large-scale Team Dungeon of intermediate difficulty. "Heart Devourer, support spells!" Shi Feng commanded the Demon once everyone was in position. Nodding, the Heart Devourer began drawing line after line of runes in the air with its sharp claws. Tier 2 Spell, Iron Wall Reinforcement! Tier 2 Spell, Blood Radiance! Tier 2 Spell, Magic Power Increase! Tier 2 Spell, Mad Cow''s Power! The Heart Devourer''s Tier 2 Spells significantly increased the strength of the entire team. It was especially true for Cola''s Defense and HP. Not only had his Defense doubled, but his HP also increased by 60%. Cola''s HP was now over 16,000. As for Ye Wumian, the second-ranking MT on the team, his HP was also close to reaching 15,000. Due to the significant increase in Defense, HP, and Strength, it was no longer possible for the Great Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King to kill them with a single hit. "Damn, having Tier 2 Support Spells is just too awesome!" Blackie grew excited as he discovered that the magic damage he dealt and healing effects he received had increased by 20%. With this, the team''s damage and healing rose to a whole new level. Everyone finally understood why Shi Feng wanted to challenge Hell Mode. With the assistance of these Tier 2 Spells, it would be child''s play to fight the Hard Mode Bluefire Crow King. "Attack!" Shi Feng shouted as he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. Cola and Ye Wumian immediately took the lead and charged towards the Great Lord. When there was still a distance of 150 yards between the two MTs and the Bluefire Crow King, the Great Lord noticed Cola and Ye Wumian. "Caw!" The Crow King''s cry echoed throughout the shrine. It flapped its wings, sending black feathers, which were as large as the players themselves, flying at the two MTs. The densely packed feathers descended on the two MTs like raindrops, giving them no opportunity to dodge the attacks. Immediately, Cola and Ye Wumian both raised their Shields to defend against the attacks. "These feathers deal a lot of damage!" Cola stated, aghast. In Hard Mode, the Crow King''s feather attack only dealt around -200 to -300 damage per feather. However, due to the high number of feathers, Cola would receive more than -1,000 damage per second, so the overall damage was relatively high. However, the Great Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King''s feathers each dealt nearly -400 damage, and this was after his Defense had doubled. If he did not have the assistance of the Heart Devourer''s Tier 2 Spells, he would most likely have received around -800 damage from each feather. When Cola and Ye Wumian were still 50 yards from the Bluefire Crow King, the Great Lord halted its Feather Attack. It then condensed a ball of blue fire in its mouth, launching it at the Guardian Knight Cola and the Shield Warrior Ye Wumian. Cola and Ye Wumian had long since familiarized themselves with dodging these flames. Immediately, they both threw themselves to the ground, dodging the blue flames and taking the opportunity to charge at the Great Lord. Shield Bash! -1,042. Violent Strike! -895. Cola and Ye Wumian sucked in a mouthful of cold air. "Crap! Why is its Defense so strong?!" Cola''s eyes widened in shock when he saw the damage he had caused. After being strengthened by Mad Cow''s Power, his Strength increased by 15%. His damage should have significantly increased as well. If he were facing the High Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King, his damage would have easily surpassed -1,500 points, yet, now, his attack had only dealt slightly over -1,000 damage. While Cola was still in a daze, the Bluefire Crow King flapped its wings and slapped them at Cola. Reacting quickly, Cola raised his shield to protect himself. Boom! The impact drove Cola knee-deep into the ground. A damage of over -4,000 appeared above his head. "Why is the Great Lord ranked Crow King so powerful?!" Every member of the team was stunned by this scene. If Cola had received the Crow King''s attack with his body rather than his shield, he would have most likely died. Moreover, if he had not received the buff to his Defense, he would have received over -8,000 damage, even if he had blocked the attack with his shield Shi Feng was not surprised. Without the assistance of Tier 2 Support Spells, Cola would have had to activate the Power of Darkness to withstand the Great Lord''s attacks. Otherwise, the Boss would kill him very easily. However, due to the Heart Devourer, this battle became a lot easier. "Your turn!" Shi Feng commanded the Heart Devourer once more. Having prepared for this moment, the Heart Devourer pointed its finger at the sky. Suddenly, a 7-star magic array appeared on the Bluefire Crow King''s body. Tier 2 Spell, Judgment of the Seven Stars! Immediately, the Bluefire Crow King released a pained cry. 624 Difference in Strength Chapter 624 - Difference in Strength The 7-star magic array suppressed the Bluefire Crow King. The Crow King struggled as if it were trapped inside a swamp, its mobility declining sharply. As a result, the Crow King''s massive wings, which originally descended towards Cola, slowed significantly as well. "Such a powerful spell!" Cola took the opportunity to roll out of the way, easily dodging the Great Lord''s wing attack. As the team''s lead MT, if Cola could dodge the Boss''s attacks, it would reduce the burden on the team''s healers. Moreover, the healers would not have to run the risk of attracting the Boss''s attention due to healing too much. "Good. Everyone, attack!" Shi Feng nodded as he ordered the team''s damage dealers to begin their assault. The Tier 2 Spell, Judgment of the Seven Stars, was not an Attack-type Spell. Instead, it placed a powerful binding on a single target. The Spell''s effects would even affect a Great Lord. With the Heart Devourer''s Judgment of the Seven Stars, both the melee and ranged damage dealers could attack the Boss safely. This was particularly helpful to Fire Dance and Flying Shadow as the high damage they dealt drew the Crow King''s aggro. With the Boss''s restricted movements, they could dodge its attacks easily, not having to worry about pulling aggro at all. This was just like the time Blue Frost''s team had used the Demon Sealing Barrier on the Great Lord Noya. However, even though the Demon Sealing Barrier''s restraining effects were far more powerful than the Judgment of the Seven Stars, players could not maintain the barrier for too long due to a lack of Mana. On the other hand, there was no need to worry about such problems when it came to the Judgment of the Seven Stars. The Heart Devourer was a Tier 2 Evil Spirit. It possessed an abundance of Mana, more than a dozen times that of a player of the same Level. Hence, the Evil Spirit could maintain the Tier 2 Spell for a very long time, long enough to last until the end of the battle. Moreover, the team would not have to sacrifice any combat power by using the Judgment of the Seven Stars. They were not required to partition a portion of the team to maintain the magic array. Hence, the overall effect of the Judgment of the Seven Stars was much stronger than the Demon Sealing Barrier. The Bible of Darkness really is impressive. It is no wonder why Fantasy Extinguisher had been able to lead his team to into large-scale Team Dungeons, one after another, in the past. Shi Feng was extremely satisfied with the Bible of Darkness. Ordinary Fragmented Legendary items could not compare it at all. Following which, Shi Feng joined in the attack on the Boss as well. No matter what was said or done, the Bluefire Crow King was a Great Lord. Although various Spells buffed their team, everyone''s total damage was still considerably low. Currently, the team''s number one DPS was Fire Dance. Each of the female Assassin''s normal attacks dealt roughly -900 damage. She could inflict over -2,000 damage if she used her Skills. Even when she used Absolute Strike, the most powerful Burst Skill available to a Tier 1 Assassin, she only managed to deal around -5,000 damage to the Great Lord. As for everyone else, the majority of their normal attacks only dealt around -600 to -700 damage. They were only able to deal more than -1,000 damage if they used Skills, and very few among them could deal more than -2,000 damage. To the Bluefire Crow King, which had 27,000,000 HP, that damage was practically negligible. Thanks to its battle recovery, the Bluefire Crow King could recover up to 270,000 HP every five seconds; it was the equivalent of recovering 54,000 HP every second. The Crow King''s battle recovery alone negated most of the damage everyone dealt. Moreover, this was a battle inside a Dungeon, not a shooting range where one could stand still and attack freely. Everyone had to focus attention on dodging the Crow King''s attacks, so it was impossible for them to attack constantly. In other words, if their damage output was insufficient, it was impossible for them to kill the Bluefire Crow King. Rather, the Great Lord would exhaust them to death first. Shi Feng then activated Windwalk and circled to the Crow King''s side. After activating the Aura of Fire, Purgatory Power, Phantom Kill, and Nine Dragon''s Slash, Shi Feng began his assault on the Great Lord. As the Crow King''s mobility was restricted, it could not avoid Shi Feng''s attacks. Every one of Shi Feng''s normal attack dealt over -1,500 damage or -3,000 damage with a critical hit. Due to the Abyssal Blade, he had a 50% chance of achieving a critical hit. The Abyssal Blade also increased the damage he dealt with each successful hit. After landing his tenth attack, his subsequent normal attacks began dealing over -1,800 damage, over -3,600 damage if it were a critical. As for his doppelganger, although it only possessed 70% of Shi Feng''s Attributes, it had activated Blade Liberation, increasing its Strength and Agility by 90%. The damage the doppelganger currently dealt was actually higher than Shi Feng''s. Each of its normal attacks dealt over -2,400 damage, while its critical hits deal nearly -5,000 damage. The doppelganger''s Attack Speed was also slightly faster than Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s normal attack damage was already several times higher than Fire Dance''s, not to mention his Skills. Double Chop! -11,420, -15,432. Double Thunder Flame Explosion! -14,266, -20,164. Damages of over -10,000 appeared above the Bluefire Crow King''s head, one after another, the Great Lord repeatedly crying out in pain as its HP bar decreased. Everyone''s jaws hit the floor when they saw these damages. "Guild Leader, are you cheating!!" "Guild Leader, you''re not giving us a chance" Everyone''s eyes twitched every time they saw Shi Feng''s attacks deal over -10,000 damage. It would have been fine if that was the only issue, but, there were also the occasional -20,000, or even -30,000 hits. Shi Feng''s damage was over a dozen times higher than theirs. Their attacks were on entirely different levels. Originally, everyone had already treated Fire Dance as if she were a monster as every time they raided a Dungeon, Fire Dance''s total damage always ranked at the top of the team. Moreover, her total damage was over 50% higher than the second place. Yet, what about Shi Feng? Despite having only attacked for a short time, his damage had already surpassed Fire Dance by more than eight times. His damage was the equivalent of half the team''s total damage None of them understood how Shi Feng had achieved such a feat. "Guild Leader, can''t you give us some tips on how to increase our damage?" Blackie felt as if this were the first time he had ever met Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s damage simply defied common sense. Suddenly, Shi Feng was the center of attention. "It''s simple. Increase your Skill Completion Rates," Shi Feng said. He could not help but laugh at everyone''s serious expressions. His Skill Completion Rate hovered around 95%, so he could increase his Skills'' effects by an additional 50% or so. In addition to the various powerful items he wore, his damage would naturally be greatly superior to the members of Zero Wing''s main force. "Guild Leader, how high is your Skill Completion Rate?" Aqua Rose asked curiously. She knew full well that Shi Feng''s Skill Completion Rate was very high. However, her Skill Completion Rate was not low, either. After a period of arduous training, she had managed to maintain it between 83% to 85%. Throughout White River City, this Completion Rate was definitely considered top-tier. As for Fire Dance and Violet Cloud, they maintained a stable 85%. "Ninety-five percent." Shi Feng stated straightforwardly. "Ninety-five percent?!" Everyone inhaled sharply. After the third evolution of God''s Domain, all players had discovered the importance of Skill Completion Rate. Hence, they had all begun to train in order to improve. However, even raising it by 1% was extremely difficult. It was especially true after reaching the 80% threshold. Yet, Shi Feng had actually reached 95%, which was 10% higher than Fire Dance, the most powerful player in Zero Wing''s main force. They all understood that at 85% Completion Rate, one would display 100% of a Skill''s effect. Meanwhile, every increment of 1% afterward would increase the effect significantly. It was simply inconceivable how high the Skill''s effect would be at 95% Completion Rate. Originally, none of them had any idea of Shi Feng''s strength. Now, however, they fully understood just how powerful their Guild Leader was. Ninety-five percent? Fire Dance was similarly shocked. Looking at Shi Feng, she inwardly swore, I will reach 95% as well! "Is this the Guild Leader''s strength?" Shadow Sword''s eyes glowed. This was the first time he felt that his decision to join Zero Wing had been the right one. In truth, Shadow Sword wasn''t the only one who had such thoughts. Every team member was suddenly enthusiastic, thinking the same thing. For a time, everyone''s reverence and admiration towards Shi Feng rose to a whole new level. They all dreamed of the day when they would reach Shi Feng''s standard. Time quickly passed. Due to Shi Feng''s stimulation, everyone became even more serious about experimenting to increase their Skill Completion Rates. The Bluefire Crow King''s HP continuously decreased. 98%... 96%... 90%... In just a few short minutes, the Crow King''s HP dropped to 70%. Releasing an angry cry, the Bluefire Crow King soared into the air. "Everyone, take caution! The Boss has entered its third phase!" Shi Feng warned. 625 Team’s First Clear Chapter 625 - Team''s First Clear After the Judgment of the Seven Stars suppressed the Bluefire Crow King, the blue flames it spewed posed no threat to anyone. In addition, Shi Feng would always give a timely reminder before the Boss released its flames. Until now, the Crow King''s flames had not struck a single player. However, when the Bluefire Crow King entered its third phase, the battle truly began. They had all fought the Bluefire Crow King dozens of times now, but they always wiped at the Boss''s third phase. Hence, now that the Bluefire Crow King entered this particular phase, they grew anxious. If they were facing the Hard Mode Bluefire Crow King, they would not be worried at all. After all, their team''s current combat power had reached a whole new level compared their last attempt. It would be child''s play for them to conquer Hard Mode. However, they were currently in the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God. The Bluefire Crow King''s Skills would be far more powerful than before. After the Crow King released an angry cry, eighteen Bluefire Crows descended from the sky. Not only had the Hell Mode Bluefire Crow King entered its third phase at 70% HP, but the Bluefire Crows it summoned also started out at Chieftain rank right off the bat In Hard Mode, the Bluefire Crows only started out as Special Elites. Every member of the main force was capable of soloing one on their own. However, Chieftains were different. There were less than ten players on the team capable of soloing Chieftain. Moreover, the Chieftain ranked Bluefire Crows of Hell Mode each had 900,000 HP, 200,000 more than Hard Mode. This raised the burden on the team''s DPS to devastating levels. The Bluefire Crows activated their Growth Skill once every two minutes. In other words, if they did not die in two minutes, they would become Lords. At that time, they would be far more difficult to deal with. However, the eighteen Chieftain ranked Bluefire Crows had a total of 16,200,000 HP "This Boss is bullshit." Blackie''s expression turned grim. If this were Hard Mode, the Stars of Light Skill he had saved would still be of some help. However, against Chieftains with 900,000 HP, even Stars of Light would not do much against them. "Everyone, activate the Power of Darkness!" Hearing Shi Feng''s command, everyone did as he said, their Basic Attributes increasing by 30%. As the lead MT, Cola''s HP instantly soared to slightly over 20,000. The Shield Warrior Ye Wumian''s HP had also increased to more than 19,000. Both of their damages and reaction speeds had also improved. "Turtledove, pull the Bluefire Crows'' aggro. All mages, get ready to cast your AOE Skills on my command," Shi Feng said unhurriedly. Immediately, Turtledove, a Guardian Knight with over 17,000 HP, charged into the group of Bluefire Crows and activated Iron Will. All eighteen Bluefire Crows were caught within the Skill''s range and were forced to focus on Turtledove. Following which, Turtledove activated Protection Blessing. The Tier 1 Protection Blessing could reduce its target''s damage taken by 70%, 20% more than the Tier 0 version of the Skill. The Skill''s duration was also slightly longer, lasting up to 20 seconds. However, the Chieftain ranked Bluefire Crows were no trivial matter. Every one of their beak attacks dealt nearly -500 damage to Turtledove. Fortunately, although Turtledove had aggroed all eighteen Chieftains, only six could attack her at a single time. In other words, the Guardian Knight took nearly -3,000 damage with each wave of attacks. To Turtledove, who had over 17,000 HP, this damage was no threat. Following which, Turtledove received one heal after another, each heal recovering one or two thousand HP for the Guardian Knight. The healers could easily stabilize Turtledove''s HP. However, Protection Blessing only lasted for 20 seconds. Once the buff expired, she could not endure the simultaneous attack of six Bluefire Crows. "Good!" Shi Feng smiled. After finding a good location, he activated Skywheel Sword. As golden divine swords rained down from the sky, the eighteen Bluefire Crows were immediately trapped within the Skill''s effective area. Immediately, damages of over -4,000 points appeared above the Crows'' heads. Of course, Turtledove, who stood in the center of this onslaught, received damage from Skywheel Sword as well. This was why AOE Skills were not suited for Dungeons. However, thanks to Protection Blessing and Ironwill, the Guardian Knight only received slightly more than -700 damage from Shi Feng''s attack. However, Shi Feng was far from satisfied. "Blackie, cast Guardian of Light on Turtledove!" Shi Feng said. Guardian of Light was one of Mavis''s Guard''s Additional Skills. When cast, the target of the Skill would become immune to all magic damage. The physical damage they received would also reduce by 80%, and they would recover 5% HP every second for 20 seconds. It was definitely a super Lifesaving Skill. When Blackie waved his staff, a golden glow wrapped around Turtledove''s body. Once she received the proper buffs, Shi Feng no longer held back as he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. After his Strength increased by 100%, he activated the Aura of Fire''s Skill, Firestorm. Just before the roaring flames devoured Turtledove, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Fire to the Aura of Water, casting Life Bloom on her. Due to the Aura of Water increasing healing effects by 100%, Turtledove could recover up to 60% of her HP every second for 40 seconds. With Turtledove''s HP, she was practically immortal for the moment. Although Firestorm dealt over -40,000 damage to the Bluefire Crows every second, the spell was ineffective against Turtledove as she was immune to all magic damage. Moreover, she had Life Bloom, which recovered over 10,000 HP for her every second, the healers'' attention, and the Clerics'' Truth Shield. As a result, the damage the Bluefire Crows dealt was not even a scratch to her. Even if she stood still and did nothing, her life would not be in any danger. Everyone was immediately stupefied. Watching the female Guardian Knight Turtledove fight the many Bluefire Crows amidst the raging inferno, it seemed as if these destructive flames were no different than a breeze, safe and harmless. The more Turtledove fought, the more valiant she became. At this moment, she seemed like a Goddess of War and Fire, demanding reverence. "Everyone, use your AOE Skills!" Shi Feng commanded. A moment later, the team''s mages cast their AOE Skills. Although they were not as powerful as large-scale destruction spells, these AOE Skills still dealt several thousand damage to the Bluefire Crows. Among them, Blackie''s Stars of Light caused massive amounts of damage to the Chieftains. The first wave alone dealt over -4,000 damage to each Crow. The damage of every subsequent wave increased by 10%, lasting for a total of 15 seconds. Shi Feng also looked for opportunities to use Dragon Breath, Thundering Flame, Flame God''s Fury, Earth Splitter, Thunder Flame Explosion, and other AOE Skills. Fifteen seconds later, the Bluefire Crows were in a half-crippled state, possessing less than 5% of their total HPs. A few unlucky Bluefire Crows that had received one too many critical hits had even died during these past 15 seconds. Of the eighteen Bluefire Crows that had been summoned, only eleven remained. Shi Feng''s figure then swayed slightly as he sent several more strikes at these Bluefire Crows. Adding in the team''s damage, they dealt with the remaining eleven Bluefire Crows in less than ten seconds. Once the Bluefire Crows had been annihilated, it became much easier to deal with the Bluefire Crow King. Moreover, now that Shi Feng had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his damage against the Great Lord doubled. Within three minutes, the Bluefire Crow King only had slightly more than 1,000,000 HP remaining. "It''s finally here." Shi Feng smiled calmly. The Bluefire Crow King had a total of four phases. Everyone had thought that the most difficult phase was the third phase. However, what everyone did not know was that the Crow King used its true trump card during its fourth phase. The Bluefire Crow King would only enter its fourth phase when its HP fell below 1,000,000. That was also when the entire raiding team would be the most tired and relaxed. It would be at this moment that the Crow King would transform into a living inferno and become a Fire Crow. During this phase, any enemies within 50 yards would receive -1,000 damage every second. However, that was only in the case of Hard Mode. In Hell Mode, players received -1,600 damage every second. If the raiding team could not deal 1,000,000 damage to the Bluefire Crow King before every member died, they would team-wipe. In the past, countless teams had repeatedly died at the fourth phase and had been unable to clear the Dungeon all because they had lacked a true ultimate Skill. Just as the Bluefire Crow King''s HP was about to fall below the 1,000,000 threshold, Shi Feng activated Blade Liberation, increasing both his Strength and Agility by 90%. He then activated Silent Steps and appeared behind the Bluefire Crow King, and both his body and the Abyssal Blade began to release a brilliant glow. Divine Providence! Flame Burst! Slash after slash struck the Bluefire Crow King''s back. -122,154! -61,846! -122,454! After fifteen consecutive strikes, the Bluefire Crow King''s HP, which had been slightly over a million a moment ago, bottomed out. The Crow King released a sorrowful cry before falling heavily to the ground. 626 Famous Chapter 626 - Famous Inside the Ruins of the Crow God: A handsome young man in white robes commanded his team as they attacked the Bluefire Crow King. This Cleric drew runes in midair without rest, using one Healing Spell after another. Moreover, these Spells weren''t ordinary Spells. Rather, they were Tier 1 Healing Spells. Yet, his casting speed was the same as when others cast Tier 0 Healing Spells. All the while doing so, he wore a relaxed expression; his actions were seemingly effortless. In the blink of an eye, the team''s low HP MT recovered to full health. This youth was none other than the commander of Heaven''s Burial''s main force, Flame Blood. "Just 3% HP to go! Raise the damage output!" Flame Blood shouted sternly. Currently, less than half of the original team of fifty remained, the Bluefire Crow King''s flames having burned every one of them to death. Losing 1,000 HP every second was simply too much. Even Flame Blood, one of the virtual gaming world''s top ten newcomers, could only focus on keeping the team''s lead MT and himself alive. At best, he could cast instantaneous Healing Spells on some of the team''s main DPS, though the effects were very weak. After the Bluefire Crow King had entered its fourth phase, it had entered its Berserk state. Not only had its Attack Speed increased, but its attack range had also improved. Some of the team members who could not dodge its attacks in time died instantly. Despite the Bluefire Crow King having only 3% of its HP remaining, to the surviving members of the team, it felt like an iron fortress that they could not break through no matter what they tried. --- Heaven''s Burial wasn''t the only one in such a situation. At this moment, Overwhelming Smile was also struggling. Only, Overwhelming Smile was having a slightly easier time of it. Though the Bluefire Crow King they faced still had 4% of its HP remaining, they had more than forty members still alive. The few deaths had simply been due to bad luck, and they had failed to escape the High Lord''s attack range in time. Sure enough, it''s not that easy to obtain the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon. War Wolf dodged the Bluefire Crow King''s attacks to the best of his ability by relying on Omnivision, the technique he was extremely proficient with. Although he could not dodge all of the High Lord''s attacks, he was still capable of evading one-third of them. This greatly reduced the burden on the healers, leaving them with plenty of excess power to heal the other members of the team, keeping as many as possible alive. If not for a powerful lead MT like War Wolf masterfully redirecting the Crow King''s attacks, it would have been impossible for so many members of the team to have survived until now. However, even so, this was the third time Overwhelming Smile had challenged the Hard Mode Bluefire Crow King''s fourth phase. The Bluefire Crow King''s HP gradually decreased. 3%... 2%... 1%... White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Ruins of the Crow God. All players on the team will be rewarded with 2,000,000 EXP, 50 Silver, 80 White River City Reputation Points, and 20 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Ruins of the Crow God. All players on the team will be rewarded with 3,000,000 EXP, 3 Tier 2 Gemstones of random Attributes, 100 White River City Reputation Points, and 50 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points. God''s Domain Southern Continent System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Ruins of the Crow God. All players on the team will be rewarded with 5,000,000 EXP, 1 Tier 3 Gemstone of random Attributes, 80 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points, and 5 Humanity Reputation Points. The system announcement echoed in everyone''s ears three times. "How is this possible?" Both Overwhelming Smile''s and Heaven''s Burial''s teams were shocked speechless. The Hard Mode Ruins of the Crow God had already caused them brutal headaches, yet, just as they were a thread away from success, Zero Wing snatched the lead and cleared the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God. However, although they were shocked, none of them stopped what they were doing. Only, they were no longer as motivated as they attacked the Bluefire Crow King. A moment later, the High Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King fell at War Wolf''s feet. At that moment, the system announcement rang out once more. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Overwhelming Smile for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode of Ruins of the Crow God. All players on the team will be rewarded with 1,000,000 EXP, 20 Silver, 30 White River City Reputation Points, and 10 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Overwhelming Smile for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode of Ruins of the Crow God. All players on the team will be rewarded with 2,000,000 EXP, 1 Tier 2 Gemstones of random Attributes, 50 White River City Reputation Points, and 20 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points. Compared to the previous system announcement, however, this announcement was meaningless. Zero Wing had already cleared Hell Mode. On the other hand, Overwhelming Smile had only managed to clear Hard Mode. Rather than gaining glory, Overwhelming Smile had become a laughing stock. One could clearly see the gap between the two Guilds. However, this gap was not due to Overwhelming Smile''s weakness. Zero Wing was just too powerful! "In the end, we still lost." A bitter smile appeared on War Wolf''s pale face. Before this, he had received news stating that Black Flame had led Zero Wing''s main force into the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God. Although he felt that there was a possibility that Zero Wing would conquer Hell Mode, he had never expected that they would clear it so quickly. --- On Heaven''s Burial side, the Guild''s main force also defeated the Bluefire Crow King. "Sure enough, Zero Wing is not White River City''s overlord for nothing. However, Heaven''s Burial will not let this rest. Sooner or later, we will catch up to them." Fighting spirit filled Flame Blood''s eyes. "That is only a matter of course. It has been a long time since I''ve encountered such an opponent. It seems that Black Flame is quite formidable." The Assassin with flowing straight hair beside Flame Blood was similarly enthusiastic. However, there was an undetectable coldness hidden in his gaze. He seemed like a beast that had just found new prey. Glancing at the Assassin youth beside him, Flame Blood laughed and said humorously, "It seems that Black Flame is in for a tragedy. He actually attracted the attention of the famous Ghost Shadow. Heaven''s Burial''s future development in White River City will progress much more smoothly." "Although I wish to exchange a few moves with him, I am still too weak. Once I complete my quest, I can definitely test Black Flame''s skills." Ghost Shadow shook his head in response to Flame Blood''s words. He then sheathed his pair of pitch-black short swords and took out a Return Scroll. He was not the slightest bit interested in the Bluefire Flame King''s loot. --- Compared to Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile''s shock, all of White River Cityno, all of Star-Moon Kingdom was in an uproar. Throughout God''s Domain, many teams had already obtained the First Clear of a 50-man Team Dungeon. However, that was only limited to 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons. No one in the surrounding dozen or so kingdoms or several empires had managed to clear Hell Mode. A newly established Guild like Zero Wing stole this glory. It was simply inconceivable. --- For a time, Zero Wing''s reputation soared to new heights. Previously, Zero Wing''s success in fending off the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s assault had attracted the attention of over a dozen kingdoms and empires. However, Zero Wing had only been protecting themselves. Moreover, they had relied on the strength of NPC guards rather than their own members. There was no need to grow wary of Zero Wing. Now, however, things had changed completely. Claiming the First Clear of a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon showed that the Guild''s overall strength should not be underestimated. "Zero Wing?" Phoenix Rain could not help but smile upon hearing the system notification. "It seems that I have underestimated Black Flame''s abilities. Fragrance, prepare to head to White River City." "Miss, why are we going to White River City? Pantheon''s Guild Leader will arrive shortly," the pretty woman named Pure Fragrance asked, confused. "We are going to meet that mysterious Black Flame, of course." Phoenix Rain laughed. "Black Flame?" Pure Fragrance could not help her curiosity. Who was Black Flame? Could he possibly compare to the Guild Leader of the Super Guild Pantheon? 627 Divine Bluefire Shield Chapter 627 - Divine Bluefire Shield As the outside world reacted to Zero Wing''s achievement, Shi Feng busied himself with arranging the Bluefire Crow King''s loot. System: Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God has been cleared for the first time. Loot increased by 100%. Divine Providence would already increase the loot from the Bluefire Crow King Now that the loot had doubled, items covered the ground. With a single glance, one could count more than 30 items, though the majority consisted of various rare materials. "Is this the loot of a large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon?" Blackie''s eyes shone with wonder as his jaw hit the ground. Although Shi Feng had yet to appraise the dropped items, based on their majestic appearances and magical rune engravings, it was obvious that the weapons and equipment that had dropped were anything but ordinary. Secret-Silver items couldn''t even compare to these. Moreover, the Bluefire Crow King was a Level 30 Great Lord, so everything it dropped would be Level 30. To the team members who still wore Level 25 equipment, this was a massive haul. Zero Wing had quite a few Level 30 items now. After all, as the members of the Guild''s main force were mostly Level 29 or Level 30, they could raid Level 30, 6-man Party Dungeons, 10-man Team Dungeons, and even 20-man Team Dungeons. Only, the quality and Attributes of the equipment they obtained was not particularly good. Most were Bronze or Mysterious-Iron rank, and very little of their loot was Secret-Silver rank or above. Every increase in five Levels for equipment was the equivalent of a single increase in quality rank. If one could equip a piece of Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment, it would be the equivalent of equipping a piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. If they equipped a piece of Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment, that was the equivalent of wearing a Level 25 item with Attributes that were extremely close to Epic rank. Currently, most of the top-tier weapons and equipment the various large Guilds possessed was Level 25 Fine-Gold rank; very few had any Dark-Gold items. In addition, there were also Level 30 Secret-Silver rank and extremely few Fine-Gold items. If Zero Wing had Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment, it would be considered the best equipment beneath Epic Equipment and Tier 1 Set Equipment. Although combat techniques were important, a player''s Basic Attributes were equally so. Meanwhile, not only had their team just defeated a Level 30 Great Lord, but its drop-rate had also increased by 100%. It was natural for the Boss to drop a few Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment. After picking up all of the loot, Shi Feng began appraising the weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose began distributing the Guild Contribution Points for successfully raiding the Dungeon. All raid members would get priority to purchase the weapons and equipment from their Dungeon raids with Guild Contribution Points. If nobody wanted the items, only then would they occupy the Guild Warehouse with a reasonably high price tag, allowing other Guild members to purchase them. After successfully raiding a Great Lord ranked Boss, everyone received a bounty of Guild Contribution Points. However, no one paid attention to the points they had just earned. Instead, their attention was focused on Shi Feng, every one of them prepared to go for broke today. Within Zero Wing''s main force, aside from players such as Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Cola, Ye Wumian, Blackie, Minor Wind, and a few others, none of their items could compare to the dropped equipment from a large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon. This was because Shi Feng had given Fire Dance and the others a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment, the best equipment available for Tier 1 classes that was only inferior to Epic Set Equipment. Hence, until they became a Tier 2 class, they would not need to replace their equipment unless they procured a set of Epic Set Equipment for themselves. A short moment later, Shi Feng finished appraising the loot. A total of 33 items had dropped, and among them, 19 were materials such as Magic Crystals, Hundred Beast Wood, which was required to construct Stables, Essence of Mana, which was required to construct Teleportation Magic Arrays, and several other super-rare materials. Normally, one would not obtain these materials even if they defeated Great Lord ranked Bosses. Now, however, they had actually gained two or three of each. "The benefits of obtaining the First Clear of Hell Mode are impressive," Shi Feng stated. He could not help but smile as he gazed at the weapons and equipment inside his bag. "Guild Leader, what items dropped to make you this happy?" Aqua Rose knew of Shi Feng''s tastes. Items that could excite Shi Feng would definitely be something extraordinarily good. "That''s right! Guild Leader, share the stats!" Although Blackie wielded an Epic staff, he still liked seeing the Attributes of excellent weapons and equipment. "I won''t waste your time. Here; look at this item first, then." Shi Feng took out a deep-red two-handed sword that emitted pale blue flames. Not only was the weapon extremely attractive, but it also felt as if it possessed extraordinary power. [Bluefire Double-edged Sword] (Two-handed Sword, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 30 - Level 35 Attack Power +702 (Currently Level 30) Strength +54, Agility +41, Endurance +44 Attack Speed +2 Ignore Levels +10 Attacks have: 30% chance to trigger Bluefire Attack, causing an additional 120% flame damage to the target and reducing the target''s Defense by 30% for 7 seconds. 20% chance to cause 200% damage. 10% chance to trigger Bluefire Dance, causing 300% flame damage in a cone. Although the Bluefire Double-edged Sword did not have any Active Skills, it had plenty of Passive Skills. Its Attack Power alone was more impressive than the Level 30 Abyssal Blade. It was a weapon made for violence. Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air upon seeing the Bluefire Double-edged Sword''s Attributes. "Crap! Even Epic Weapons aren''t any better than this!" Blackie was stunned. He possessed an Epic Weapon himself, so he could tell just how excellent of a weapon the Bluefire Double-edged Sword was. It was of the same caliber as the Truefire Blades Fire Dance wielded. If one of the team''s Berserkers equipped this two-handed sword, their DPS would soar by several levels. Their damage would be close to Fire Dance''s. Moreover, the Bluefire Double-edged Sword could be upgraded to Level 35. It could rank at the top even amongst Level 40 weapons. In other words, if one equipped the two-handed sword, they would not have to worry about replacing their weapon even when they reached Level 40. Immediately, the Berserkers within the team started drooling, staring at the Bluefire Double-edged Sword with burning gazes. "Such powerful Attributes. This sword alone could push a Berserker''s damage to the top of the team," Fire Dance said in awe. "Don''t be so shocked by this item. The Bluefire Double-edged Sword only ranks third out of the weapons and equipment we obtained." Shi Feng shook his head as he chuckled. He then revealed a red and black buckler, saying, "This is the second best item." Hearing Shi Feng''s claim, everyone was surprised. Such an excellent weapon was not the best piece of equipment that dropped! The red and black buckler was only one-third the size of an ordinary shield. However, the image of the Bluefire Crow King had been engraved onto the shield, surrounded by many runes. With a single glance, one could tell that this buckler was extraordinary. [Divine Bluefire Shield] (Shield, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 30 - Level 35 Defense +1,950 (Currently Level 30) Equipment Requirement: Strength 220 Defense +550 Block Rate: 42% Strength +31, Endurance +47 Evasion +15 Attack Speed +2 Additional Passive Skill- Bluefire Shield: Absorbs 30% of the damage taken and converts it into Bluefire. When accumulated damage reaches 5,000 points, causes 150% damage to an area of 3*10 yards in front of user. Additional Active Skill- Rising Fire: When activated, sacrifice 20% HP to transform Bluefire into the Armor of Flames, increasing Defense by 150% and Strength by 40% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes 628 Guild Moun Chapter 628 - Guild Mount The moment the Divine Bluefire Shield appeared, hunger burned in the eyes of every MT on the team; even Cola drooled. The shield was crucial to any MT. It was the equivalent of half of an MT''s life. Not a single MT would pass up an excellent shield. The best shield Zero Wing currently had was a Level 25 Dark-Gold Shield. However, compared to the Divine Bluefire Shield, it was no more than scrap metal. Not only did the Divine Bluefire Shield possess extremely high Defense, but it also had a powerful Attack Skill and Berserk Skill. If an MT equipped it, they would no longer be just a meatshield. The damage they could deal would be no less than what a normal DPS classes could do. "This Divine Bluefire Shield''s Attributes are better than even the current first ranking shield, the Blue Dawn." Aqua Rose was greatly shocked when she examined the red-black buckler. "Most likely, this is the best shield currently available throughout God''s Domain." As the manager of a Guild, Aqua Rose normally collected information on the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain. For example, she knew which Guilds had been active recently, members of the main force of various large Guilds, experts, and the latest powerful equipment. Blue Dawn was a Level 30 Dark-Gold shield. However, a Super Guild had obtained this shield through a quest, and it had made many other Super Guilds jealous. Many corporations had even offered an astronomical price of 1,000 Gold for it. On the other hand, the Divine Bluefire Shield was a Dark-Gold shield that would improve to Level 35. Setting aside its Basic Attributes, just the Passive Skill Bluefire Shield and Active Skill Rising Fire were excellent Skills. The Bluefire Shield was clearly more valuable than the Blue Dawn. Not including Epic Shields, it would not be an exaggeration to call it the most powerful shield currently available in God''s Domain. However, Aqua Rose very quickly realized something. If the Divine Bluefire Shield, something that was so important to a Guild, only ranked second among the loot they had obtained What kind of item ranked first? Very quickly, the rest of the team reached the same conclusion. Their gazes darted back to Shi Feng, expectation written all over their faces. "Alright, then. I''ll unveil the first ranking item." Shi Feng laughed. He then took out a purple-blue crystal necklace. "Chances are that every magical class will go crazy over this." [Bluefire Heart] (Necklace, Dark-Gold Rank) Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 200 Level 30 - Level 40 (Currently Level 30) Strength +10, Agility +10, Endurance +10, Intelligence +40, Vitality +35 Casting speed increased by 20%. Magic damage and healing effects increased by 20%. Passive Skill- Mana Heart: Maximum Mana increased by 15% and Mana Recovery Rate increased by 50% Active Skill 1- Bluefire Devour: Burn 30% of your Mana in exchange for the Power of Bluefire, increasing all Skill effects by 200% and Mana Consumption Rate by 200% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes Active Skill 2- Bluefire Summon: Summons three Elite ranked Bluefire Crows to battle for you for 30 minutes. Cooldown: 5 hours The Bluefire Heart''s Basic Attributes were average at best. However, the necklace''s Skills increased its value tremendously. The Skills almost made up for all of the weaknesses a magical class possessed and enhanced their firepower. Most importantly, the Bluefire Heart was a necklace. Ornament-type items were extremely rare in God''s Domain. The value of one was multiple times that of a weapon or other equipment of the same quality and level. In the case of the Bluefire Heart, even a Tier 3 class would continue to use it. Hence, it was significantly more valuable than the Divine Bluefire Shield. "Since you have seen the items for yourselves, you can start bidding for them," Shi Feng said, grinning at everyone''s dumbfounded expressions. "First up is the Bluefire Double-edged Sword. The starting price is 20,000 GCP." Currently, Zero Wing''s Contribution Points were worth roughly 30 Copper per point. In other words, 20,000 Contribution Points was around 60 Gold. However, this price didn''t surprise any of them. For a weapon of the Bluefire Double-edged Sword''s caliber, this was considerably cheap. If it were on the Auction House, it would sell for at least 200 or 300 Gold. "21,000!" "24,000!" "26,000!" For a time, the Berserkers and Swordsmen began fervently outbidding each other. As the members of the Guild''s main force, they frequently raided Dungeons, especially small-scale Team Dungeons. Furthermore, they were the Guild''s frontline when it came to pioneering Team Dungeons. They would exchange most of their unwanted equipment for Guild Contribution Points. In addition, they also completed the various high-level Guild Quests. Hence, they had accumulated quite a lot of Guild Contribution Points. In the end, however, the Guild''s current number one Berserker, Rampant Blade, won the weapon for 40,000 Contribution Points. Cola won the second item, the Divine Bluefire Shield, for 90,000 Contribution Points. However, this was practically Cola''s entire fortune. It would be some time before he could compete with others for equipment. Aqua Rose bought the third item, the Bluefire Heart, using 150,000 Contribution Points. As the Guild''s Vice-Leader, Aqua Rose enjoyed certain benefits. In addition, she also frequently participated in Dungeon raids and Guild Quests, so she had accumulated an extraordinarily high number of Guild Contribution Points. Not even the commander of Zero Wing''s main force, Fire Dance, could hold a candle to Aqua Rose. In Zero Wing, only Shi Feng was a match for the woman. Everyone on the team envied these three players. These three pieces of equipment were definitely among the best currently available in God''s Domain. Equipping them would significantly boost their combat power. After all, no other Guild in God''s Domain had managed to clear the Hell Mode of a 50-man Team Dungeon. Following which, various members of the team purchased other Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold Equipment, increasing the overall strength of the entire team significantly. As for the other materials, he stored them in the Guild Warehouse. "Everyone, head back to the city and get some rest. Our next goal is to challenge a 100-man Team Dungeon," Shi Feng said slowly. "Blackie, Fire Dance, Cola, Violet, and Aqua, stay behind. I''ll need you guys to accompany me on a quest." "Quest?" Everyone could not help but grow interested. Shi Feng was the publicly acknowledged number one expert in Star-Moon Kingdom. Just what kind of quest would he need help with? However, everyone only wondered about it; none of them volunteered to assist. After all, weaklings like them would never survive a quest that even Shi Feng would need help to complete. They needed a certain amount of strength before they could embark on such a quest. Otherwise, Shi Feng would not have called the top ranking experts of the Guild to join him. After everyone else returned to the city, Blackie, who could no longer hold back his curiosity, asked, "Guild Leader, what kind of quest are we doing? Why the need for such secrecy?" "Guild Leader, is it an Epic Quest? I''ve been wanting to give an Epic Quest a try!" Cola''s eyes glowed. Epic Quests... No one, other than Shi Feng, in the Guild had taken on an Epic Quest yet. First of all, ignoring how rare an Epic Quest was, they were simply too difficult. Moreover, in the event that one failed an Epic Quest, the consequences would be extremely severe. However, if one completed the Quest, the rewards would be astonishing. "Although I call it a quest, I need help capturing a wild beast." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. "Capturing a wild beast?" Everyone grew confused. It was possible to capture wild beasts in God''s Domain. However, capture was far more difficult than simply killing it for EXP. Even if one captured a wild beast, there was nothing they could do with it. At most, they could leave it in a corner and look at it. Most importantly, players had to spend a lot of money to capture a wild beast. Hence, at present, nobody was willing to spend their time on something so costly. "Don''t you want to capture a wild beast and ride it as a Mount?" Shi Feng said, smiling. Upon hearing these words, a hint of anticipation flashed in everyone''s eyes. "However, I heard that, in order to capture a wild beast to tame it into a Mount, a Guild first needs a Stable," Aqua Rose stated. "Guild Leader, we don''t have a Stable. We''ll have to challenge 100-man Team Dungeons to obtain one." Shi Feng simply laughed without offering a reply. "Guild Leader, don''t tell me that you already have the Design" Aqua Rose asked in disbelief, her beautiful eyes widening as she stared at Shi Feng. 629 5-star Moun Chapter 629 - 5-star Mount Aside from Aqua Rose, no one understood the value of the Stable Design. However, this was expected. Of those present, aside from Aqua Rose, who was the Guild''s manager, and Blackie, who managed the Workshop''s affairs, everyone had immersed themselves in improving their combat techniques. Why would they have noticed the Guild''s potential constructions Seeing Shi Feng silently nodded his head, Aqua Rose involuntarily began trembling. In the past, why had various large Guilds desperately tried to raid large-scale Team Dungeons, going so far as to invest massive sums of money into gearing up their respective Guild''s MTs and utilizing all items capable of assisting their raid of a large-scale Team Dungeon? There was only one main reason. Guild Mounts! God''s Domain''s maps were extremely large. Once players began arriving at Level 30 and higher maps, they would have to spend a large chunk of their time traveling. The maps would also only grow larger the further one progressed into the game. Meanwhile, a powerful Mount would help players save a lot of time. However, the more important function of Guild Mounts was that they could attract more players to join a Guild. The Common Mounts sold in cities not only required players to have sufficient Reputation, but they also required a significant sum of money to purchase. A Common Mount cost a full 40 Gold. Even after players reached Level 40, it would still be extremely difficult to procure that much money, unless, of course, one was willing to purchase Coins with Credits. In the end, however, they could still only purchase a Common Mount. However, Guild Mounts were different. Although players were required to collect a certain amount of Guild Contribution Points before they could purchase a Guild Mount, which was more expensive than a Common Mount, unlike the Common Mounts, Guild Mounts could be nurtured and upgraded. Moreover, they possessed varying and much better-looking appearances. This was fatally tempting to many independent players and wealthy players. Guilds could take this opportunity to develop and expand themselves, obtaining a large sum of funds. After all, Guild members were also required to spend money when purchasing Guild Mounts. Meanwhile, a portion of that money would flow into the Guild''s coffers. Due to this, the various large Guilds in the past had desperately attempted to raid 100-man Team Dungeons. It wasn''t just because they had aimed for the weapons and equipment available inside the Dungeon, but more because they hoped to obtain the Stable Design as soon as possible. Aqua Rose had never imagined that Shi Feng would actually obtain a Stable Design, one of the greatest money-earning tools of a Guild, so quickly. It seems that my decision had really been the right one. I want to see just what Father will have to say in the future! Aqua Rose''s lips curled up slightly. She could not help but recall the reason why she had left Twilight Echo. I will make sure Zero Wing surpasses Twilight Echo! Originally, Aqua Rose had not believed that Zero Wing could surpass Twilight Echo. After all, Twilight Echo was a long-standing, first-rate Guild. Whether it was in terms of background, funding, contacts, or human resources, Twilight Echo was far superior to Zero Wing. Although Zero Wing was currently far ahead of the other Guilds, the Guild''s weaknesses were glaring. The Guild simply had no background. Even though Zero Wing was so far ahead of the other Guilds right now, it would still have to accumulate power for a relatively long time in order to fully operate this machine known as a Guild. However, the situation had changed. Since they could build a Stable, one of the core components of a Guild, so soon, they could accumulate power several times faster. Following which, Shi Feng wasted no more time as he sent the group back to White River City to prepare some necessary hunting tools. Meanwhile, Shi Feng made a trip to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Capturing wild beasts in God''s Domain was not an easy task. It was also a major field of study. In the past, there had even been a specialized class for this task. The Tamer! In the past, there had been players who specialized in researching methods to capture rare wild beasts. They would also sell the beasts they captured to various large Guilds, earning huge sums of money. Meanwhile, the most important item required to capture wild beasts was a Cage. However, NPCs did not sell these Cages, requiring players to produce them. Hence, many players would learn forging to craft the Cages themselves. Fortunately, the NPC-run Forging Associations sold the Forging Designs for Cages. Moreover, they were very cheap. However, Shi Feng did not bother purchasing these forging designs as he had a method of producing a Cage of even higher quality. Shi Feng quickly hurried back to the Candlelight Trading Firm and entered a forging room. He then retrieved a pile of materials from his bag and began to refine them. Cages were sorted into ranks, with 1-star being the lowest and 10-star being the highest. Different ranks could capture beasts of a corresponding rank. In other words, a 1-star Cage could be used to capture a 1-star beast at maximum. It could not be used to capture a 2-star beast. One had to use a 2-star Cage in order to capture a 2-star beast. The wild beast Shi Feng planned to capture was at the highest rank he could capture currently, a 5-star beast. Hence, he required a 5-star Cage. Meanwhile, a 5-star Cage cost almost 2 Gold to craft. Moreover, there was no certainty he could capture a 5-star beast with a single try. This was also one of the reasons why capturing wild beasts was a costly endeavor. Shi Feng was currently a Basic Forger, so he had almost a 30% success rate of producing a 5-star Cage. Half an hour later, Shi Feng managed to forge four 5-star Cages. The total raw materials he had spent on these four Cages cost over 30 Gold. He had also instructed Aqua Rose and the others to purchase a large number of Hunting Scrolls and Storage Space Scrolls, both costing more than 3 Gold. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the forging room, the sound of his communicator reached his ears. "Phoenix Rain?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw the caller ID. Ever since Phoenix Rain invested into the Candlelight Training Firm, she had left practically all cooperation matters to her subordinates. She no longer contacted him directly. Or, to put it in another way, she did not find it worthwhile to keep in touch. After all, in the wide world of God''s Domain, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing was an insignificant character compared to a grand player like Phoenix Rain. To the young lady, the Candlelight Trading Firm was only one of her many small investments. Since her business with the Trading Firm had been completed, she would not bother entangling herself in the matter anymore. "Guild Leader Black Flame, congratulations on obtaining the First Clear of the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God," Phoenix Rain said as she laughed softly. "I had jumped in surprise when I heard the system announcement. I had not realized that you had hidden your strengths so deeply." "It''s nothing." Shi Feng laughed as well. Doing away with pleasantries, he asked, "Since Miss Phoenix is contacting me personally, do you have some business you wish to discuss?" "Sure enough, Guild Leader Black Flame understands people well. Would you be free to meet-up at the Blueberry Restaurant?" Phoenix Rain smiled mysteriously. "Guild Leader Black Flame might receive another boon." Shi Feng was surprised when he heard her mention the Blueberry Restaurant. Blueberry Restaurant was one of White River City''s ordinary restaurants. This meant that Phoenix Rain had personally made a trip to White River City. It was clear that she wished to discuss something quite important. "Okay, I''ll head over there now," Shi Feng agreed. During his previous meeting with Phoenix Rain, the latter had brought him an Epic Chest and allowed him to earn a hefty profit. Since Phoenix Rain offered another business opportunity, he had no choice but to meet with her again. In truth, Shi Feng could more or less guess why Phoenix Rain wanted to meet him. As soon as he cleared a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon, she had come knocking on his door. This showed that it must be something related to the strength of the Guild''s team. She might very well be looking for Zero Wing to help her complete some sort of quest. He might even be able to take the opportunity to earn a large sum of Credits from her. Before, in order to purchase the necessary training facilities, he had spent most of the Credits in his account. If he could lure Phoenix Rain into an alliance with Zero Wing, it could save Zero Wing many years of work. 630 Proof of Strength Chapter 630 - Proof of Strength White River City, Blueberry Restaurant: The moment Shi Feng entered the restaurant, he immediately felt several gazes land on him. Phoenix Rain sure knows how to put on a display. Shi Feng looked around the restaurant, noticing that the establishment''s customers were not simple at all. The players sitting around were unanimously Level 30. In the current God''s Domain, they ranked at the very top. Moreover, judging by the feeling these people gave off, it was obvious that they were not virtual gaming experts. Rather, they felt like experts who were proficient in martial arts. Among these people, some had cold and sinister auras, while others had a violent auras. However, they all shared a common aspect; they were all independent players. None of them were members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. After glancing at Shi Feng, these people turned back to their own interests. "Guild Leader Black Flame, please come upstairs," a beautiful, young lady asked softly as she walked down from the restaurant''s second floor. Shi Feng also knew this beautiful woman. She was Phoenix Rain''s capable assistant, Pure Fragrance. She was also one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s top-tier experts and was quite famous. She ranked within the top 600 on the God''s Domain Experts List. Not only did she possessed impressive strength, but she was also quite talented. In the past, she had been a Tier 5 powerhouse during her peak. Shi Feng simply nodded and followed Pure Fragrance to the second floor. At this moment, Phoenix Rain was the only other person on the second floor. She sat at a table near the window, quietly overlooking the street outside as she toyed with a black leather book. "Miss Phoenix, may I know what you wish to discuss with me?" Shi Feng asked. In response, Phoenix Rain smiled leisurely as she handed the black leather book to Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Black Flame, please take a look at this," Phoenix Rain said unhurriedly. The black leather book was not a quest prop or anything similar. Instead, it contained the written records of players. However, after reading through a few pages, Shi Feng''s surprise grew as he continued to read. This black leather book contained information on the Dark Arena. To be precise, the book held information regarding the official members of the many battle teams participating in the Dark Arena. Moreover, the information was extremely detailed, so much so that even the participants'' life stories had been recorded. There was even a brief introduction to their current equipment. Beyond that, there was an assessment of every battle team member''s combat power. These assessments were also very detailed. These players'' strengths and weaknesses had been recorded in detail. "Guild Leader Black Flame, how do you feel about this information?" Phoenix Rain asked gently, a pleasant smile on her face. "Miss Phoenix, why are you giving me this information?" Shi Feng was slightly confused about Phoenix Rain''s intentions. "I''ve heard that your Guild has been in contact with the Glorious Lions Battle Team, so I believe that Guild Leader Black Flame should understand the Dark Arena''s value by now." Phoenix Rain smiled sweetly as she collected the leather book from Shi Feng. "Unfortunately, ordinary players do not qualify to participate in this game. However, I am, so I hope to establish a battle team myself to have some fun in the Dark Arena. "Initially, I intended to seek cooperation with Pantheon''s Guild Leader, but I suddenly changed my mind. Now, I wish to cooperate with Guild Leader Black Flame instead. May I know if you are interested in cooperating with this young lady?" "Miss Phoenix must be joking. How could Zero Wing possibly hope to compare with a Super Guild? Wouldn''t working with Pantheon be a better choice?" Although Shi Feng was so calm on the surface, inwardly, he was stunned. He had not expected Phoenix Rain to be capable of obtaining the participation rights to the Dark Arena. However, Shi Feng did not believe that Phoenix Rain would hand over such an opportunity so easily. After all, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had countless experts, not to mention a Super Guild like Pantheon. It would be child''s play for Phoenix Rain to gather ten apex experts. Why would she need Zero Wing? "I sought you out precisely because Zero Wing is not very famous. That way, the opposing team will not bother to investigate you in detail. With Guild Leader Black Flame''s power, it should not be hard to earn some achievements in the Dark Arena," Phoenix Rain said, smiling. "After all, it should not be that easy to obtain the First Clear of the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God." Phoenix Rain had personally entered a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon before, so she understood just how difficult raiding one was. Even a Super Guild''s main force had zero chance of raiding a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon successfully, much less the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Raiding a Dungeon was different from PvP. Successfully raiding a 50-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon was proof of one''s strength. Moreover, she had conducted an investigation of Zero Wing''s experts. Not to mention Hell Mode, even clearing Hard Mode would be a challenging endeavor, yet Zero Wing had done just that. What did this mean? Black Flame was not as simple as he appeared. Hence, she had abruptly changed her plans and immediately made her way to White River City. "I presume that Guild Leader Black Flame has already seen the experts downstairs. None of them were professional gamers before God''s Domain launched. They are experts that I have nurtured secretly, and none of the other battle teams have any information on these people. With the element of surprise, we might be able to compete for the top 100 rankings. "As for the remuneration, Guild Leader Black Flame will earn 10% of all of our winnings. If you lead the team into the top 100 spots, I''ll give you 20% of the winnings. What do you think?" Phoenix Rain''s offer was extremely generous. It was much better than Everlasting War''s. Most importantly, there were no restrictions on his freedom. He would only partner with Phoenix Rain. Phoenix Rain would provide the participation qualifications, while he would fight. The Dark Arena''s battles were the fastest method to earn Credits. Moreover, after he gained fame in the Dark Arena, he could form plenty of influential connections. In the future, he would have a much easier time purchasing S-rank Nutrient Fluids, various training materials, and virtual gaming cabins. Most importantly, the Dark Arena was the perfect place to improve one''s strength. Even the Divine Colosseum could not compare. After all, the Divine Colosseum was a place for ordinary players to battle each other or the system. Compared to battles against experts, players gained fewer benefits in the Divine Colosseum. "What if I get us into the top 30?" Although Shi Feng was already satisfied with the 10% and 20% remuneration Phoenix Rain offered, he instinctively tried to strive for more. "Top 30?" Phoenix Rain could not help but chuckle. "If Guild Leader Black Flame really manages to get the battle team into the Dark Arena''s top 30, then I''ll increase the remuneration to 40%." In Phoenix Rain''s opinion, entering the top 100 would be extremely difficult, not to mention the top 30. After all, this was a competition between the battle teams that various major international corporations had formed. None of those teams could be underestimated. "Okay, let''s see a contract, then." Shi Feng grinned. Although he, too, doubted that they could achieve such a feat, he had not accepted the Epic Guild Quest, Ancient Battlefield. If he could allow the Guild''s few top experts to train there for a time, they might have a chance of getting into the top 30. A moment later, Phoenix Rain and Shi Feng established a contract. "Let''s go, then. I''ll introduce you to your team members." Phoenix Rain stored the contract and walked downstairs. The moment Phoenix Rain arrived downstairs, the tens of people sitting seated on the first floor of Blueberry Restaurant stood and greeted her respectfully. None of them displayed the temperament of an expert as they had with Shi Feng. Even those several experts that had exuded violence had sheathed their auras. As expected of the woman known as the Demon Queen. She sure knows how to put on a powerful display. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished. 631 Trial of Strength Chapter 631 - Trial of Strength Every player here was an expert. And as experts, they all had their own pride and principles they abided to. It would not be easy to get these experts to submit. Yet, looking into these experts'' eyes, Shi Feng could see the reverence that filled their hearts, proving that their actions were not due to Phoenix Rain''s demands. "Miss, all twenty members are present," Pure Fragrance said in a low, but respectful, tone. Phoenix Rain nodded in response. Turning to Shi Feng, Phoenix Rain asked, "Guild Leader Black Flame, how do you feel about these experts?" Of the twenty players present, all were Level 30. Their equipment also consisted of Level 25 to Level 30 top-tier equipment. In White River City, these players would rank at the very top. Clearly, their skill spoke for itself. Every one of them was an expert who had experienced the baptism of live combat many times. Noobs like Fire Dance and Zero Wing''s other core members, who had only gained their strength through arduous training, could not compare to these experts. One could feel the hostility they radiated from far away. "Amazing. You will not find many in Star-Moon Kingdom who can match them," Shi Feng replied truthfully. However, Shi Feng''s words instantly earned the ire of these twenty people. They glared at Shi Feng, killing intent filling their eyes. They were all experts who Phoenix Rain had carefully nurtured. How could the lowly experts of Star-Moon Kingdom possibly hope to be their equals? "Guild Leader Black Flame, you may not realize this, but despite none of these people having any fame, they are not much weaker than the experts on the God''s Domain Experts List; they are even stronger than some of those experts," Pure Fragrance said contemptuously. Just how many people in Star-Moon Kingdom ranked on the God''s Domain Experts List? On the other hand, if the twenty people present displayed their strength, every one of them could definitely rank on the Experts List. One could just imagine how immense their strengths were. They were far beyond Star-Moon Kingdom''s top-tier experts. Shi Feng did not refute Pure Fragrance''s words. The God''s Domain Experts List had initially served as an analysis of experts who had publicly displayed their strengths. It did not record every expert within the game. At most, the List could be used as a reference. However, he also wasn''t wrong. Although these people were strong, in White River City alone, there were plenty of experts who were much stronger. For example, there was War Wolf and Ghost Shadow. There was also no need to mention those unknown experts hidden throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. While God''s Domain was very large, Star-Moon Kingdom was not small. How could it possibly be that easy to become one of the top experts in a kingdom? "Fragrance, enough. Have everyone introduce themselves so that Guild Leader Black Flame can establish the battle team more easily," Phoenix Raid softly instructed. "There is no need for all of that. Anyone who can block my sword without using any Skills will be admitted into the battle team. Of course, I won''t use any Skills, either," Shi Feng declared, not wanting to waste too much time. "It seems that we are all going to become official members of the battle team today." A thin Assassin in black snorted. The others similarly revealed annoyed sneers. Shi Feng actually dared to underestimate them to such a degree. Initially, Shi Feng had similarly surprised Phoenix Rain. However, she smiled and said, "Guild Leader Black Flame''s suggestion will also work. Let''s do as he asks, then." Following which, everyone left the Blueberry Restaurant and headed towards the Divine Colosseum. The Divine Colosseum was situated in White River City''s central district. The Divine Colosseum was a massive tower that stood in the city''s center. Although the Divine Colosseum had only recently been constructed, a sea of players flowed to and from the building. "Hahaha! I passed the second floor today! I can finally take part in Zero Wing''s entrance exam!" "Recruiting members for a Level 25 Team Dungeon! Must have Skill Completion Rate of 70% and above! Equipment must be at least Mysterious-Iron rank!" "Heaven''s Burial is recruiting Guild members! Our Guild has already cleared the Hard Mode Ruins of the Crow God! If you wish to join, you must be able to clear the Divine Colosseum''s first floor before you can take the entrance exam!" In the Divine Colosseum''s first floor hall, many independent teams shouted, recruiting members. In the past, these players usually recruited at the Teleportation Hall. Now, however, they had all come to the Divine Colosseum because they could determine a player''s strength here. That way, they could be more at ease when they raided Dungeons. Similarly, ever since the Divine Colosseum had emerged, Guilds no longer looked at a player''s Level and equipment when allowing players to take part in their entrance exams. Instead, they determined the player''s qualifications through their progress in the Divine Colosseum. An ordinary player''s techniques would not even be enough to pass the first floor of the Divine Colosseum. If one passed the second floor, they would be roughly as strong as an elite player. Meanwhile, one was definitely considered an expert if they could clear the third floor. Hence, it was very easy to determine the exact standard of a player. Upon arriving at the Divine Colosseum, Pure Fragrance spent 5 Magic Crystals to rent an amphitheater. In the amphitheater, players could fight however they wanted. The combat inside an amphitheater and the combat in the Underground Arena were different. In an amphitheater, players could set the rules of combat to their liking. For example, they could allow only melee combat, prohibiting the use of Skills or tools. This would make fights much more realistic. On the other hand, such privileges were not available in the Underground Arena. After setting the rules, Shi Feng and the twenty reserve members entered the amphitheater. "Miss, Black Flame is simply too arrogant. I''m going to enjoy watching him embarrass himself," Pure Fragrance gloated as she smirked at Shi Feng. "Fragrance, you''re underestimating Black Flame. The fact that he could become the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom and remain undefeated is already enough proof of his strength. Don''t forget, even Martial Dragon was helpless against him. You will see just how skilled he is," Phoenix Raid said, smiling. When Pure Fragrance thought about the monster known as Martial Dragon, she could not help but tremble. An expert who had mastered a Domain was an inhuman existence. In the entire Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, very few were capable of blocking Martial Dragon''s attacks. After the last war between the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing, the various large Guilds at the time had investigated Black Flame in detail. After all, a person capable of lasting against Martial Dragon in battle was extremely rare, not to mention someone capable of killing the Berserker. Although Black Flame was not responsible for killing Martial Dragon in the end, the fact that he fought Martial Dragon as an equal was an astounding feat. However, the investigation''s results shocked everyone. Black Flame''s Basic Attributes were simply tyrannical. He had relied on pure destructive power to survive against Martial Dragon. To put it simply, Black Flame''s equipment was excellent. Now, however, things were different. Since that battle, the various large Guilds had improved their equipment constantly, strengthening their top-tier experts'' Basic Attributes. Martial Dragon''s Basic Attributes had grown significantly. If he faced Black Flame now, most likely, Black Flame would last only a few exchanges before dying. Meanwhile, the twenty reserve members present wore top-tier equipment. Their equipment also held Tier 2 Gemstones. Every one of them wore three Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. In terms of Attributes, they had eliminated their weaknesses. On the contrary, one could even say that Attributes were their strong points. Hence, it was no longer possible for Black Flame to rely on pure destructive force to win his battles. Just as Pure Fragrance fantasized about the twenty reserve members toying with Shi Feng, a shocking scene suddenly played out before her eyes. Before anyone realized it Shi Feng''s first opponent fell to the ground, lying there motionlessly. "What happened?" Pure Fragrance muttered in disbelief. She was only distracted for a moment, yet the battle was already over 632 Gray Eagle Chapter 632 - Gray Eagle Above the wide and spacious stone platform, Shi Feng slowly sheathed the Abyssal Blade, not even bothering to look at the Level 30 Berserker who had fallen to the ground. "Next," Shi Feng said calmly. The rules of the amphitheater were set so that when a vital point was struck, death and defeat were certain. Even a Shield Warrior with high HP and Defense was no exception to this rule, not to mention a Berserker. Seeing Shi Feng''s calm expression, everyone who had felt insulted immediately shut their mouths, a hint of fear appearing in their eyes. Although the Berserker class was not a speed-based class, it was not easily defeated. Not to mention, the Berserker that had served as Shi Feng''s opponent was an expert who had experienced countless live battles. Moreover, they were all companions, so they understood each other''s strengths quite well. Although the Berserker Shi Feng had defeated did not rank within the top five of their group, his combat power could still rank within the top ten. The fact that Shi Feng had defeated the Berserker with a single attack, giving the Berserker no time to react, was simply inconceivable. "As expected of someone chosen by the Pavilion Master; you indeed possess some ability. Let me, Gray Eagle, learn something from you, then." A middle-aged man with a lean body and eyes as sharp as an eagle''s stepped out from the crowd. When the crowd saw the Berserker named Gray Eagle step forward, the shock from Shi Feng''s one-sided victory immediately dissipated, their arrogance and confidence returning. "Eagle, we''re counting on you! We can''t let him look down on us!" the others showed their support from the side. Gray Eagle was the number one expert among their group. Although the man was already in his forties, his keen skills and bountiful combat experience were unmatched by ordinary, young players. "I''ll do my best." Gray Eagle nodded as he slowly walked up to Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain smiled pleasantly as she watched from the stands. "We didn''t have the chance to see Black Flames true strength in the previous match. Now that Gray Eagle has stepped forward, we should get to see his limits," Phoenix Rain said, smiling as she watched a playback video of Shi Feng''s prior battle. "Miss, even in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, Gray Eagle is an expert who ranks at the very top. He has a good chance of defeating anyone among the younger generation, other than Martial Dragon. How could he not be a match for Black Flame?" Pure Fragrance could not help her surprise when she heard Phoenix Rain''s words. Pure Fragrance believed that Phoenix Rain overestimated Shi Feng''s strength. She had not been paying attention, so she had not seen the moment when Shi Feng had drawn his sword. However, after watching the battle''s recording, she could tell that his attack was not so fast that it was unblockable. Only, Shi Feng''s attack was crafty, suddenly changing its trajectory to target his opponent''s blind spot. As a result, the Berserker was unable to react in time and received a hit to his vital point, dying. However, Gray Eagle was different. The combat experience he possessed was several times greater compared to the other reserve members. Even if Shi Feng abruptly changed the trajectory of his attack once more, it would be no threat to Gray Eagle. "We''ll know once the battle begins." Naturally, Phoenix Rain knew how powerful Gray Eagle was. She had initially wanted Gray Eagle to lead the battle team. If Black Flame had not succeeded in conquering the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God, she would not be here today. The moment Phoenix Rain finished speaking, the countdown timer above the stone platform also ended. "Let me see just how strong you are." Gray Eagle retrieved his two-handed saber. Suddenly, his eyes grew cold; even the surrounding temperature dropped. It seemed as if nothing could escape his frosty gaze. Before Shi Feng could move, Gray Eagle sent his saber slashing at Shi Feng''s shoulder. Gray Eagle''s attack was not fast. On the contrary, it was very slow. Even an ordinary player could react to and block the attack. It was as if Gray Eagle''s attack were tempting his opponent to block it. In addition, Gray Eagle''s saber targeted a vital point. Facing this attack, one would have no choice but to either block or dodge it. If Shi Feng did not defend against this attack, choosing to attack Gray Eagle''s vital point instead, the battle would end in mutual destruction. One could say that this was a suicidal blow. At this moment, those who were familiar with Gray Eagle laughed. They all knew that Gray Eagle was not trying to pit his life against his opponent''s. Rather, he was using this attack to probe for his opponent''s weaknesses. Normally, experts rarely had any weak points when they were on guard. However, the instant they launched an attack, they would reveal their greatest weak point. Hence, Gray Eagle tempted Shi Feng to expose his weak point of his own accord. Then, he would strike. Although Gray Eagle would also reveal his weak point, with his superior insight and abundant combat experience, he could easily suppress his opponent. In other words, Gray Eagle lured Shi Feng to fight within his comfort zone. Due to this ability, many top-tier experts in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion were helpless against Gray Eagle. "Going all-in?" Shi Feng laughed. "You''ll regret it." In the next moment, Shi Feng recklessly dove forward, towards Gray Eagle''s purple-black saber. He did not even bother using his sword to block the oncoming weapon. Has he gone mad?! Gray Eagle was dumbfounded as he watched Shi Feng''s insane behavior. Does he think I''ll show mercy? Or does he think he can avoid my saber at the last moment? Gray Eagle was very experienced in combat. Seeing as Shi Feng was not a lunatic, the only possibility for such reckless behavior was that Shi Feng believed he could evade his attack at the very last moment and take the opportunity to strike at his weak point. You underestimate me. Gray Eagle''s expression chilled further as he used more of his arms'' strength. Suddenly, the speed of his saber increased. At such a close distance, it was simply impossible for anyone to avoid this attack. Immediately after, Gray Eagle''s saber passed through Shi Feng''s body. "This is...?!" Gray Eagle was dumbfounded as he saw his saber cut across Shi Feng''s face, discovering that his weapon only struck an afterimage. "What''s going on here?" Pure Fragrance gaped at this scene. No matter how she looked at it, Gray Eagle''s saber should have struck Shi Feng. Yet, for some unknown reason, despite a short distance of one meter between the Berserker and Swordsman, the 1.3-meter-long two-handed saber had failed to reach its target. Sitting beside Pure Fragrance, Phoenix Rain squinted her eyes at this scene. With a heavy expression, she said, "Treating retreat as advance. I didn''t imagine that Black Flame had already reached such a realm." "Treating retreat as an advance? How does he know that?" Pure Fragrance was shocked when she heard her superior''s comment. Treating retreat as an advance was an attack technique. Against this technique, one would notice their opponent rush towards them, while in reality, their opponent was retreating. In actual combat, one would discover that they could not make contact with their opponent''s body despite their opponent remaining right in front of them. It was as if they were haunted by a ghost, and they could not get rid of this ghost no matter what they did. This was a technique that could mentally exhaust the other party. Treating retreat as an advance was Martial Dragon''s specialty. However, the reason Martial Dragon could use such a technique was his Domain. He was only capable of using such a combat technique due to his absolute control over his surroundings. Could he have learned it after his fight with Martial Dragon? How can that be?! Thinking up to this point, Pure Fragrance felt a chill crawl down her spine. Following which, Gray Eagle brandished his sword over a dozen times at Shi Feng. Every attack was swift and precise. Ordinary players could not defend against these attacks at all. Yet, no matter how hard the Berserker swung his saber, his weapon never struck the Swordsman before him. His attacks would always be off by a small thread. However, he could not stop his desperate and suicidal attacks. With such a short distance between them, if Shi Feng attacked, he would not have enough time to react. No wonder the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s men were so confident when Gray Eagle stepped up. He''s an expert who has entered the Refinement Realm. If I had not gained some enlightenment from the Darkness Shrine, fighting him would have really been troublesome. At this moment, Shi Feng already had a general grasp of Gray Eagle''s standard. Time to end things. 633 Capturing a Demonic Beas Chapter 633 - Capturing a Demonic Beast Shi Feng suddenly disappeared. Is this the rumored Void Steps? Gray Eagle was surprised. He had, more or less, watched the videos of Shi Feng using his specialty move, Void Steps. Only, he had not imagined that a live human being could actually disappear right before his eyes. Not even his acute five senses could find any trace of Shi Feng''s presence. However, Void Steps weakness was also blatantly obvious. And that was the instant when Shi Feng attacked. Facing a fatal strike, the brain would not ignore such vital information. However, it was also very difficult to block such an attack as the distance between them was simply too short. The most common method to counter Void Steps was to adapt to it gradually, allowing one''s brain to stop ignoring the transmission of information. That way, Shi Feng''s Void Steps would be rendered useless. However, it was extremely difficult to achieve this. It was like trying to remember the faces of the hundreds of pedestrians one walked by every day. Remembering the faces of a few people was already a difficult feat, as the brain would automatically ignore the majority of such information. Hence, it was extremely difficult to unravel Shi Feng''s Void Steps. However, you still underestimate me. Gray Eagle grinned as he shifted the trajectory of his saber, swinging the weapon towards a vacant location. Dang! Sparks scattered as the sound of clashing metal echoed throughout the amphitheater. Suddenly, Shi Feng appeared above the stone platform. Sure enough, he can grasp my general location. Shi Feng was not at all surprised by Gray Eagle''s performance. After all, the Berserker had already entered the Refinement Realm. Gray Eagle''s observational skills should be exceptional. Even with a lack of information, Gray Eagle should be able to grasp his general location. It was like his fight with Martial Dragon. With his Domain, Martial Dragon was capable of processing all information within his Domain without missing even the tiniest of detail. If Martial Dragon concentrated on observing his surroundings, he could render Void Steps utterly useless. Unfortunately, you only have a single weapon, whereas I have two. Shi Feng increased the force he exerted with the Abyssal Blade, pinning down Gray Eagle''s two-handed saber. Meanwhile, Purgatory''s Shadow, which he wielded with his other hand, completed a perfect arc as it slid through Gray Eagle''s heart, leaving behind small and unnoticeable seam. "Damn it" Gray Eagle clutched at his heart as he fell to the stone floor of the platform, reluctance filling his eyes as he died. Gray Eagle''s defeat stunned the venue into silence. Although this match had appeared uneventful, most battles between experts were like this. Tiny differences usually decided the outcome of these battles. "What a pity. If Gray Eagle could use two weapons as well, Black Flame would not have won so easily." Pure Fragrance sighed. No matter what anyone said or did, Gray Eagle was a part of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. The fact that Gray Eagle was defeated so easily was not a good thing for the Pavilion''s reputation. "Would two weapons really solve the problem?" Phoenix Rain wore a complex expression as she watched Shi Feng. "He really is a hateful person." Gray Eagle was a Berserker, a class that was known for its Strength. The class''s Strength growth was the highest of any class, yet Shi Feng had suppressed Gray Eagle with a single hand. This was enough to show just how high Shi Feng''s Strength Attribute was. With such an advantage, Shi Feng could easily decide the outcome the moment the battle began. Still, Shi Feng had chosen to waste so much time with Gray Eagle. Why? There could only be one explanation; he wanted to determine Gray Eagle''s strength. Originally, Phoenix Rain had thought to use Gray Eagle to uncover the depths of Shi Feng''s strength. However, not only had they failed to do so, but they had also allowed Shi Feng to study them in turn. Following which, Shi Feng proceeded with testing the remaining 18 reserve members and sure enough, not a single one passed. Shi Feng finished off everyone with a single hit. "Miss Phoenix, I''m sorry to say this, but none of these people passed. It seems that I can only recruit members on my own," Shi Feng said, smiling at Phoenix Rain. Hearing Shi Feng''s declaration, the reserve members instantly paled. Shi Feng had extinguished their previous arrogance and confidence. They could not even bring themselves to muster a retort. "If none of them passed, it can''t be helped. I still have to deal with some procedures regarding the participation rights. As for the battle team members, I''ll leave it to Guild Leader Black Flame." Phoenix Rain inwardly rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. It was obvious that Shi Feng had no intentions of letting her subordinates join the battle team. Finished speaking, Phoenix Rain left the Divine Colosseum with her group. Meanwhile, Shi Feng hailed a horse carriage and hurried towards White River City''s Teleportation Hall. "Phoenix Rain can''t be underestimated. She was actually able to recruit three Refinement Realm experts. It seems that I''ll have to hasten Fire Dance and the others'' training." Shi Feng had a clear understanding of his companions'' strength. If not for his intention to widen the Guild''s core members'' horizons in the Dark Arena, Phoenix Rain''s top three reserve members definitely qualified to become official members. After all, Refinement Realm experts were rare in God''s Domain. A battle team with three of such experts could definitely rank in the middle among all battle teams participating in the Dark Arena. This was also why Phoenix Rain believed that the battle team had the chance to rank within the top 100. Of course, that was not to say that Fire Dance and the others were weaker than Gray Eagle''s group. A player''s combat power could not be determined by combat techniques alone. Attributes and Skills also made up a rather large ratio. Upon arriving at the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng quickly discovered Fire Dance and the others, who had been waiting for him for quite some time. "Guild Leader, we brought what you asked for. However, haven''t we bought a few too many?" Aqua Rose asked, feeling a slight sting to her heart. Hunting Scrolls and Storage Space Scrolls were already very expensive. A single Hunting Scroll cost 3 Gold, 50 Silver, whereas a Storage Space Scroll cost a full 5 Gold. If they only needed to purchase a few, Aqua Rose would not have minded. After all, the Guild''s member count had increased significantly in recent days. The money a 2-star Guild could earn through Guild Quests was quite significant as well. In addition, they also had the profits from the Candlelight Trading Firm. Hence, spending 100 or 200 Gold wouldn''t be an issue. However, Shi Feng had requested 100 Hunting Scrolls and 50 Storage Space Scrolls. Furthermore, hunting required other items as well. In total, they had spent more than 800 Gold to prepare for this hunting trip. Not even a Bronze Mount cost that much. "You''ll understand when the time comes. This amount is nothing considerable." Shi Feng laughed. In the past, to obtain a slightly better Guild Mount, various large Guilds had spent astronomical sums of money. In comparison, they had only spent around 800 Gold. Aqua Rose grew frustrated by Shi Feng''s response. Fortunately, Zero Wing still had the Candlelight Trading Firm to support it. Otherwise, this hunting trip would have punched a huge hole in the Guild''s finances. "Let''s head to the Great Forest of Soria." Saying so, Shi Feng approached the Teleportation Magic Array. Upon discovering their destination, everyone involuntarily trembled. The Great Forest of Soria... Anyone who researched high-level maps knew that the Great Forest of Soria was a Level 50 map. To current players, it was a death trap. Furthermore, the Great Forest of Soria was different from ordinary leveling maps; it was a forbidden land for the human race! 634 Starfall City Chapter 634 - Starfall City Very quickly, Shi Feng paid the party''s teleportation fees. Each person cost 80 Silver for a total of 4 Gold, 80 Silver for the whole party. An ordinary party could not afford to spend that much money even if they bankrupted themselves. The Great Forest of Soria was a neutral area situated between the Black Dragon Empire and the Star-Moon Kingdom. Current players were not nearly strong enough to survive the area. Players also knew the Great Forest of Soria as the Forest of Death. It was a Level 50 to Level 70 leveling map, and it was three to four times larger than ordinary leveling maps of the same Level. However, the map''s high level wasn''t the greatest threat. The reason behind the ''Forest of Death'' nickname was the utter lack of fortresses or safe gathering locations for humans. Instead, the map was a haven for Demonic Beasts and Half-orcs. The Great Forest of Soria was a kingdom of Half-orcs, and it posed a great threat to players as the Half-orc race was highly prejudiced against outsiders. Players could encounter the Half-orc patrol squads at any time inside the Great Forest. Not only were these patrol squads extremely powerful, but they would also call for their other companions to ambush players. Hence, survival within the Great Forest was, to say the least, challenging. Through the teleportation array, Shi Feng''s party quickly arrived at Starfall City, a city near Star-Moon Kingdom''s border. Starfall City was the second largest city in Star-Moon Kingdom''s northern region. Although the city was near the kingdom''s border, it was the most prosperous of all the cities in the northern region. Starfall City was of similar rank to White River City. Only, the city had a few more Tier 4 NPCs guarding it than White River City. There were a total of seven Tier 4 NPCs. The city''s defensive power greatly surpassed White River City and was only weaker than Star-Moon City. "This place is impressive!" Blackie could not help his shock when he saw the busy street. There were a lot of NPC guards patrolling the streets, at least twice that of White River City. Other than the NPC guards, there were also plenty of Merchants roaming about. One could also see many horse carriages carrying cargo coming and going. Moreover, these Merchants were not limited to NPCs. There were also plenty of player Merchants. These player Merchants similarly rode horse carriages around the city. There were also plenty of player Merchants who had parked their carriages in one place and hawked and bought various items. "What are they doing? Cola noticed that these player Merchants were frantically purchasing various materials and equipment from other players. There were even some who purchased common items from NPC Merchants. Moreover, these player Merchants purchased these common items in large quantities, costing up to dozens, or even more than a hundred, Gold. Such an amount would be enough to fund a small Guild for a relatively long time. None of White River City''s players would be so insane as to purchase so many common items from NPC Merchants. "Those people are reselling goods and making a profit through the price differences," Shi Feng explained. "Making a profit through the price differences?" Blackie was confused. "But the NPCs'' prices are the same throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Only some unique items can be resold for a profit. Even so, there aren''t usually many of those items available for sale, and normally, when the NPCs restock, large Guilds usually buy everything, keeping them for their own use. Who are they planning to sell these common items to?" "To players, of course," Shi Feng said, laughing. "Although NPCs'' common items in Star-Moon Kingdom have uniform prices, the prices may be different in other kingdoms and empires. Some items sold in Star-Moon Kingdom might be more expensive in the Black Dragon Empire, while some items might be cheaper. Meanwhile, these people are trying to make a profit through the difference in prices." "Then, aren''t there teleportation arrays? Wouldn''t it be easier just to deliver their products using teleportation arrays?" Blackie asked curiously. "Why must they use horse carriages?" "Very simple. The transportation fees would be too high if they used the teleportation arrays. Moreover, only the capital city has an array that enables teleportation between other kingdoms and empires, and each teleportation would cost more than 1 Gold. Their profit margin is not high. Moreover, a player can''t carry enough items. They might even incur losses if they used teleportation arrays to conduct their trades. "Meanwhile, a horse carriage can carry more than a dozen times that of players. Some good horse carriages can even carry up to twenty or thirty times. Although one may waste some time and encounter some dangers if they travel to the Black Dragon Empire via a horse carriage, in general, they can earn a lot of money with a single trip. These player Merchants earn even more money than our Guild''s elite players." Shi Feng had some knowledge regarding the Merchant subclass. In the past, his Guild had frequently organized Caravans to conduct cross-border trade, earning significant funds for the Guild. Meanwhile, Starfall City offered a natural advantage for cross-border trade. This was also why many Merchants throughout Star-Moon Kingdom specifically traveled all the way to Starfall City to develop themselves. Everyone came to a realization upon hearing Shi Feng''s explanation. They had never imagined that the cross-border trade was such a profitable business. The wages Zero Wing offered were among the highest of all Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom. The money its elite members earned each day was several times more than the elite members of other Guilds. The money they earned could even rival that of ordinary experts. Yet, these Merchant players actually made more money than Zero Wing''s elite members. In other words, these Merchant players made more money than even the ordinary experts in God''s Domain. "Alright, split up and look for any Caravans that are about to depart," Shi Feng ordered. There was a great distance between Starfall City and the Great Forest of Soria. If a player relied on their own two feet to travel, it would take over ten hours to reach the Great Forest. If Shi Feng were traveling alone, he could simply teleport to the Great Forest with the aid of the Seven Luminaries Ring, saving him a lot of hassle. Unfortunately, none of his other party members possessed the Seven Luminaries Ring. Hence, they would have no choice but to travel to the Great Forest on foot. Meanwhile, if a Caravan were about to embark from Starfall City to the Black Dragon Empire, they would have to pass through the outermost region of the Great Forest of Soria. If one traveled via horse carriage, the journey to the Great Forest would only take three or four hours. It was much faster than even Common Mounts. However, the road to the Black Dragon Empire was not easy for a Caravan. A Caravan normally required an escort of guards. Meanwhile, powerful players would often accept such Escort Quests as they were extremely profitable. The money one could earn from these quests was several times higher than ordinary high-level quests. Only, one would have to invest a lot of time to complete the quest. A dozen minutes or so later, Aqua Rose located a Caravan that was about to depart for the Black Dragon Empire. This Caravan was not particularly large. In total, there were only a dozen or so horse carriages. Moreover, it was a Caravan that consisted entirely of players. It was far less safe than NPC Caravans. After leaving the city, Caravans could encounter all sorts of trouble such as monster attacks and player robberies. In the past, Shi Feng had even tragically been mugged by a Tier 4 Sword Emperor NPC. Meanwhile, in an NPC-organized Caravan, there would usually be some NPC guards escorting the Caravan. Ordinary players would not dare consider robbing such Caravans; monsters offered the greatest danger these Caravans. Player-organized Caravans, on the other hand, were often the targets of players who had joined the dark forces. Of course, with risk comes opportunity. If player Merchants joined an NPC-organized Caravan, their profits would decrease sharply. The maximum amount of money they could earn from a single trade was only one-third of the money they could make if they joined a player-organized Caravan. Of course, even this was still a significant amount of money to an ordinary player. In other words, a player-organized Caravan''s profits were three times that of an NPC-organized Caravan. Naturally, courageous or strong players would take this risk. "Our Red Rain Caravan is not some weak Caravan. We don''t welcome weaklings here. Not to mention, you guys are only planning to join us to the Great Forest of Soria. You will occupy our guard slots for nothing." A female Ranger with a charming and flirtatious look sneered. This female Ranger had black, shoulder-length hair and wore a black-and-red tight-fitting leather jacket. 635 Rainless Sword Chapter 635 - Rainless Sword Just as the female Ranger had said, the Red Rain Caravan''s strength could not be underestimated. Although the Red Rain Caravan was slightly weaker than the other Caravans that consisted of over 30 horse carriages, their horse carriages were of higher quality. Two horses pulled the Red Rain Caravan''s carriages, unlike the normal horse carriages that other Caravans used, which were only pulled by one horse. Not only were the Red Rain Caravan''s carriages faster, but they could also hold considerably more cargo, with each carriage holding up to 24 times that of an ordinary player''s bag space. Moreover, due to the horse carriages being of a higher rank, they could hire two more guards than ordinary carriages. Forming such a powerful Caravan at this stage of the game displayed the great capability of this player group. "Guild Leader, although there are several other Caravans that are about to leave we''ll have to wait for another three to four hours for them to resupply before they set out. However, this Caravan doesn''t want guards that will quit halfway through the journey," Aqua Rose reported. Although there were many Caravans in Starfall City, that did not mean that a Caravan was available to set off at any time. "It''s their loss for not picking powerful guards like us," Cola snorted. He had just replaced his old shield with the Divine Bluefire Shield, his strength increasing significantly, so he felt somewhat irritated by the fact that the Red Rain Caravan had ignored him. Shi Feng swept a glance over the Red Rain Caravan that was recruiting guards some distance away. The Red Rain Caravan consisted of a total of 16 Bronze Carriages, each holding a maximum of five people. That was two more than Common Carriages; in other words, the Red Rain Caravan could carry a total of 80 people. After including the Caravan''s Merchants, they could recruit up to a maximum of 50 guards. If the Caravan allowed Shi Feng''s party of six to take up one-eighth of the remaining slots, it would greatly strengthen the Caravan. Currently, Shi Feng''s group wore Black Cloaks to hide their identities. Outsiders could not discern their appearances at all, not to mention their Guild. With Zero Wing''s influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, the Red Rain Caravan would definitely show some deference and allow their party to join. However, Shi Feng did not wish to expose their tracks. Every large Guild had their own investigation team that was responsible for collecting information on and tracking the important members of other large Guilds, taking the opportunity to investigate their movements or seek opportunities to assassinate these members. Everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom knew of Zero Wing. Naturally, their actions would attract the attention of many parties. Not to mention, Zero Wing had plenty of enemies. If someone discovered their tracks, some of these enemies might go out of their way to deal with them. Although Shi Feng was not afraid of his enemies, he did not wish to risk exposing the location of a rare Guild Mount and the method of capturing it; that would be a huge loss for him. Therefore, Shi Feng had everyone in his party hide their identities. "I''ll negotiate with them." Shi Feng shook his head and smiled. He then walked towards the lead female Ranger. "Why are you here again? Haven''t I said that our guard slots are precious and that we can''t afford to hire people that will quit halfway through the trip?" the female Ranger named Red Rain said. "We don''t want any remunerations. I''ll even give you 1 Gold as a traveling expense. How about it?" Shi Feng took out a shining Gold Coin from his bag. Although the Red Rain Caravan transported a lot of goods, they could not earn much. To the Caravan, 1 Gold was a significant amount of money. Hearing Shi Feng''s offer, Red Rain hesitated. "Although the Great Forest of Soria is only halfway, most of the dangers on the way to the Empire come from the Great Forest itself. As long as you get through the Great Forest, you shouldn''t encounter any problems on the remaining journey. We''ll part ways only after we exit the Great Forest, how about that?" Shi Feng offered another suggestion. "This" Red Rain was clearly tempted. Indeed, just as Shi Feng had stated, the truly dangerous area from Starfall City to the Black Dragon Empire was the Great Forest of Soria. The Great Forest was the best place for players to set up an ambush. At the same time, the Great Forest was also where Caravans would most likely encounter monster attacks. As long as they passed through the Great Forest, their trip to the Black Dragon Empire could basically be considered a success. "Sis, just agree to their offer. Our Red Rain Caravan is famous in Starfall City. Those bandit players normally take the long way around to avoid us. What''s wrong with earning a little more money?" a Level 29 Swordsman youth asked. "Even if we encounter some trouble on the second half of the journey, doesn''t the Caravan still have me?" While the Swordsman youth was speaking, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to size up the young man. The Swordsman''s name was displayed as Rainless Path. The majority of his equipment was Level 25 Fine-Gold rank with a few pieces of Level 30 Secret-Silver Equipment. There was even a piece of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. Rainless Path? When Shi Feng saw this name, he suddenly recalled something about this Swordsman. In the past, Rainless Path had been a famous Swordsman in Star-Moon Kingdom. At his peak, he had ranked within the top 30 Swordsmen in Star-Moon Kingdom. Back then, he had also been known as Rainless Sword. His name had shaken the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Unfortunately, his growth had been limited by the fact that he was an independent player. For an independent player like Rainless Path to place within the top 30 of the kingdom''s Swordsmen was an amazing feat. "Alright, then. I accept your offer. However, we have to make a contract first," Red Rain sighed as she conceded. She thought that she was behaving too conservatively. After all, the Red Rain Caravan was a well-known Caravan in Starfall City. Bandit players normally would not try to make an enemy of their Caravan. Even in the off chance that someone did try to rob them, they still had an expert like Rainless Path. "Okay." Shi Feng did not object to signing a contract. With a contract, both sides could feel at ease. Afterward, Shi Feng and his party entered into a contract with the Red Rain Caravan. The contract required Shi Feng''s party to pay a remuneration of 1 Gold to the Red Rain Caravan. In return, the Red Rain Caravan would transport his party to the Great Forest of Soria. The two groups would part ways once they exited the Great Forest. After another dozen or so minutes, the Red Rain Caravan recruited enough players to fill the remaining guard spots. Shortly after, the Caravan departed from Starfall City. The Bronze Carriages were very fast. Moving along the highway, it took only two hours for the Red Rain Caravan to reach the Great Forest of Soria. Level 50 monsters roamed the Great Forest''s outermost region. However, due to the Star-Moon Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire armies often clearing the monsters around the highway, the Great Forest''s monsters did not dare approach the highway casually. This allowed players to organize their own Caravans to travel between these two countries. Moreover, with the current level of players, as long as they possessed some equipment that had the Ignore Levels Attribute and the Protection Skills unique to Caravans, even a player Caravan could pose a certain degree of threat to Level 50 monsters. As long as there were not too many monsters, a player Caravan could even kill off the Level 50 monsters. Only, during transport, the players in a Caravan would not get any loot or EXP from the monsters they killed. Hence, players were unable to take advantage of the Caravan''s strength to grind for EXP and items. Moreover, the Carriages could only travel on commercial roads; they could not travel to other locations. Otherwise, players would not need to purchase Mounts. --- Shortly after the Red Rain Caravan entered the Great Forest of Soria, a thinly-built Ranger hiding in a towering tree noticed the Caravan. This Ranger then activated Eagle Eyes and carefully observed his target. "Boss, another Caravan has arrived," the Ranger said through the team chat. "Which Caravan is it?" a rough and barbaric voice came from the other side. "Looking at the symbol, it seems to be the Red Rain Caravan," the thinly-built Ranger said, licking his lips. "Red Rain Caravan. Excellent. I''ll show that slut, Red Rain, that struggling is useless, even if she has Rainless Path. Send me their coordinates. Today, the Thousand Mile killers will take this opportunity to lay our hands on the Red Rain Caravan for never paying tolls!" The thinly-built Ranger immediately sent the Red Rain Caravan''s coordinates to his boss. "Hahaha! We''re going to make a fortune! I heard that the Red Rain Caravan is as rich as an oil baron! The Caravan has even given Rainless Path a Dark-Gold Weapon. Their riches will be ours, the Thousand Mile Killers!" The thinly-built Ranger drooled as he watched the Bronze Carriages of the Red Rain Caravan. 636 Dark Guild Chapter 636 - Dark Guild The Red Rain Caravan did not have an easy journey through the Great Forest of Soria. They oftentimes encountered attacks from one or two Level 50 Wind Leopards, forcing the Caravan to halt their advance and face these Demonic Beasts. [Wind Leopard] (Demonic Beast, Common Rank) Level 50 HP 50,000/50,000 Although the Wind Leopard was only a Common monster and its HP was very low, its speed and damage could rival even that of a Level 30 Chieftain. Ordinary players would not survive more than three hits from this monster. If an ordinary player encountered a Wind Leopard, only death awaited them. They would not even have a chance to escape. However, when a Caravan was in the process of delivering goods, it gained Special Skills. There was no need for players to risk their lives to defend their cargo. They could deal significant damage to these monsters just by relying on the Bronze Carriages'' Attack Skills. The Bronze Carriages could also enhance players'' Attributes within a certain range. A Level 30 player could receive such a massive buff that it gave them the Attributes of a Level 40 player. Hence, as long as a player was somewhat skilled, it was not entirely impossible for them to defeat Level 50 monsters. Before Shi Feng''s party even descended from their Carriages, Rainless Path was already charging towards the two Wind Leopards. And before the two Wind Leopards could react, Rainless Path activated Chop and dealt three damages of over -1,000 points to one of the Demonic Beasts. "Aoo!" The injured Wind Leopard released an angry howl. It then pounced at Rainless Path, brandishing its sharp claws at the Swordsman. At the same time, the other Wind Leopard darted towards Rainless Path with its fangs bared. However, before the two Wind Leopards could touch Rainless Path, the six frontmost Bronze Carriages each fired a blue beam at the two monsters. The beams were extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, they struck the Wind Leopards, knocking them back. Each beam dealt -3,000 damage and severely injured the two monsters. Rainless Path circled to the Wind Leopards'' backs, aiming Earth Splitter at their hind legs. The keen edge of a Dark-Gold longsword was extraordinary. Immediately, Rainless Path''s weapon sliced through the Leopards'' thick hide, damaging the tendons and greatly reducing the monsters'' mobility. Following which, the other Bronze Carriages fired beams as well, and in a short moment, the two Wind Leopards were dead. Meanwhile, Rainless Path had even not received a single point of damage. The coordination between player and Carriages was perfect. Shi Feng and the other guards had no chance to display their skill at all. Sheathing his longsword, Rainless Path leaped back onto his Carriage and said, "Let''s go." This scene shocked many of the Caravan''s guards. Rainless Path was able to defeat two Level 50 Wind Leopards without suffering any damage. In all of Starfall City, very few were capable of such a feat. "As expected of Red Rain Caravan''s Rainless Path, it seems that the only thing we''ll do on this trip is fill our pockets with money," many of the guard players said in celebration. Although the remuneration and EXP for a Caravan''s Escort Quest were abundant, the quest itself was not an easy one. One would encounter many life-threatening dangers on the road. Hence, not many players in Starfall City were willing to accept an Escort Quest. However, it was a different story if the Escort Quest was for a powerful Caravan. In such cases, taking on the quest would be the equivalent of free money and EXP. If he already has such precise physical control now, chances are that, among those in the Guild, only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud can defeat him. It''s no wonder why he was able to make a name for himself in Star-Moon Kingdom despite being an independent player. Shi Feng was able to gage Rainless Path''s combat standards during his previous battle. The current Rainless Path was many times stronger than Shi Feng when he had first logged into God''s Domain in this life. --- At a stone bridge in the Great Forest of Soria''s outer region, multiple Level 27 and higher players hid in the surrounding forest. At such a distance, ordinary players traveling the road could easily discover these players. However, they had used Isolation Scrolls. Although they were not invisible, the scrolls blurred their bodies, making it very difficult to notice them by sight alone while they hid in the forest. The person leading this team was a Level 29 Berserker wearing black scale armor and wielding a silver greatsword. Watching the quickly approaching Caravan, he sneered as he said, "They''re finally here. Get into position." Upon receiving this man''s command, every team member took out an earthy-yellow magic scroll from their bags. The moment the Red Rain Caravan''s Carriages entered their encirclement, the leading Berserker shouted. "Go!" The members of Thousand Mile Killers immediately activated the yellow magic scrolls. In the next moment, thick walls rose from the road, sealing off the path ahead and behind the Red Rain Caravan, preventing the Carriages from advancing or retreating. The ambush took the Red Rain Caravan''s players by surprise. Before anyone could react, nearly one hundred players burst from the forest on both sides of the road. Normally, when attempting to plunder a Caravan, one could not have too many players because if too many players joined the fight, the Caravan''s Special Skills would grow stronger, making the Caravan far more difficult to deal with. When attacking a Caravan consisting of a dozen or so Carriages, a small army of one hundred players offered the best results. "Thousand Mile Bear!" Red Rain''s expression sank, her beautiful eyes glaring at the Berserker amidst the crowd. "We have never interfered with each other''s business. What is the meaning of this?" The Thousand Mile Killers was a Red Name Team that had already plundered countless Caravans; Thousand Mile Bear was their leader. However, the Thousand Mile Killers had never attempted to rob Starfall City''s famous Caravans. Hence, the various famous Caravans had never bothered to join hands to deal with the Thousand Mile Killers. Red Rain had never thought that Thousand Mile Bear would break the unwritten rule after all this time and target their Red Rain Caravan. "Red Rain, do you really think that I don''t normally target you guys because I am afraid of you?" Thousand Mile Bear grinned. Coldly, he said, "Hand over one piece of Dark-Gold Equipment and five pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment. Oh, and leave your Carriages behind. Otherwise, none of you will leave here alive." "Thousand Mile Bear, do you think that our Red Rain Caravan is that easy to bully? If you''re strong enough, take it yourself!" Red Rain unslung the dark blue longbow from her back and fired multiple arrows consecutively at the Level 29 Berserker. Although an arrow was not as powerful as a Spell, it was much faster. Rainless Path also unsheathed his longsword and swiftly charged towards Thousand Mile Bear. In order to round up bandits, one must first catch their ringleader. If Thousand Mile Bear died, the other members of his team would fall into disarray. "Since you don''t know when to give up, don''t blame me for not showing mercy." Thousand Mile Bear swung his greatsword, deflecting the incoming arrows. He then called out to the twelve black-robed players behind him, saying, "It''s up to you guys now!" All twelve black-robed players hid their identities. Their appearances were also indiscernible. However, all twelve radiated a bone-chilling aura. The twelve players nodded silently before splitting up and charging towards the Caravan. They did not bother dealing with Rainless Path as a group. "I heard that you are a Swordsman expert. I want to see just how strong you are." One of the robed players, a Swordsman, unsheathed his pair of swords as he approached Rainless Path, wearing a playful expression The black-robed Swordsman activated Wind Blade, arriving before and brandishing his swords at Rainless Path. As if they were venomous snakes, the black-robed Swordsman''s two swords struck at Rainless Path''s heart and neck with deadly precision. The attacks were so fast that Rainless Path barely saw the weapons'' afterimages. "Who are you?" Rainless Path was shocked. Hurriedly, he swung his longsword to block the attack. Throughout Starfall City, only a few players were capable of such speed and accuracy, and Rainless Path knew practically every Swordsman in the city who could achieve such a feat. However, he could not remember anyone who matched the size and aura of the black-robed Swordsman. Dang! Dang! Two rings of metal clashing resounded. Although Rainless Path blocked the black-robed Swordsman''s attacks, he had been forced to retreat by two steps. The black-robed Swordsman was slightly stronger than Rainless Path. However, Rainless Path did not lack speed as he slashed at his opponent''s Black Cloak, revealing the mysterious Swordsman''s true identity. The mysterious Swordsman was actually a severely emaciated youth. However, the youth''s character ID was as crimson as a deep pool of blood. A black skull also graced the boy''s silver armor, and his entire body radiated a faint bloody glow. "What is the Dark Guild, The Million Ghosts, doing here?!" Rainless Path could not help his shock when he saw the skull-shaped Guild Emblem. "You really are powerful. However, what do you think of this?" the Swordsman youth laughed. In the next moment, he swung his swords and sent ten sword images towards Rainless Path. All ten sword images appeared before Rainless Path''s body simultaneously, making them impossible to block or dodge. 637 Are The Million Ghosts Very Strong? Chapter 637 - Are The Million Ghosts Very Strong? Facing ten sword images, even an ordinary expert would be surprised, failing to defend themselves. However, instead of moving to block the attacks, Rainless Path activated Defensive Blade and charged towards the sword images. Rainless Path then used the Tier 1 Swordsman Skill, Five Consecutive Slashes, on the Swordsman youth. Five Consecutive Slashes was not a particularly powerful Skill among Tier 1 Swordsman Skills. However, this Skill increased his Attack Speed more than any other in his arsenal. When executing the Skill, the user would send out a total of five slashes, with each subsequent slash receiving a 20% Attack Speed and damage increase. Hence, each subsequent slash was faster and more powerful than the prior one, making it extremely difficult to counter. Both Rainless Path and the mysterious youth were Swordsmen, and both parties were Level 29. Although they had extraordinary Attack Power, their Defenses were average. However, in terms of Attributes, the youth was stronger. The boy had over 7,300 HP, whereas Rainless Path only had over 6,800 HP. If either Swordsman failed to defend his opponent''s attack, even if they did not die instantly, they would not have much HP remaining. Facing Rainless Path''s suicidal attack, the Swordsman youth had no choice but to activate Defensive Blade. Peng Peng Peng After sparks scattered, both Swordsmen pulled away from each other. Though neither received any damage, their Defensive Blades had been exhausted. For a short time, neither Swordsman could use the Lifesaving Skill again. After a series of exchanges, neither side managed to grasp an advantage over each other. Although the Swordsman youth had the advantage in Attributes, Rainless Path''s combat techniques were superior. For a time, the Swordsmen were helpless against each other. However, the same could not be said for the battles happening elsewhere. Arrows and Spells flew through the air. The Bronze Carriages added their own magic attacks into the mix, as well. At the rear line, the healers of both sides concentrated on keeping their allies alive. The bridge had transformed into a miniature battlefield. Players could die at any time. When the Red Rain Caravan''s guards were killed by Red Names, they would lose one Level and drop two or three pieces of equipment. On the other hand, the ambushing Red Names suffered a more severe fate. When they died, not only did they lose two or three Levels, but they also dropped the majority of their equipment. There were even some Red Names who dropped every single piece of equipment they had upon death. However, the black-robed players who had emerged were frighteningly strong. Killing the Red Rain Caravan''s guards was like child''s play to these players. In a short moment, these black-robed players had killed eight guards. "How could this be?!" Red Rain suddenly felt a wave of despair. They should not have had any problems dealing with the Thousand Mile Killers. However, these twelve powerful experts had rendered even the Red Rain Caravan powerless. Moreover, these twelve experts were members of The Million Ghosts, a Dark Guild. Dark Guilds were different from ordinary Guilds in that they focused on slaughtering other players. The members of Dark Guilds were all Red Names. Meanwhile, The Million Ghosts was one of the famous Dark Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire. The Dark Guild''s strength could rival even that of a first-rate Guild. Only, the Guild had far fewer members than a first-rate Guild. Red Rain had never imagined that The Million Ghosts would lay their hands on this place as well. Rainless Path was similarly anxious. After all, as his fight against the Swordsman youth drug on, more people in the Caravan would die. "Hahaha! From today onwards, the trade route between Star-Moon Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire belongs to The Million Ghosts! You people from Red Rain Caravan, when you return to Starfall City, make sure to tell all the Caravans in the city that anyone who crosses this bridge will have to pay a toll! Otherwise, they will share your fate!" Thousand Mile Bear arrogantly declared as he overlooked the battling crowd. The Red Rain Caravan''s members could not help but despair at these words. The Million Ghosts intended to use them as an example for the people of Starfall City. "So, that''s the case. However, are The Million Ghosts very strong?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling as he looked down on the Level 29 Berserker. Dark Guilds would normally occupy some high-traffic routes, making a fortune in tolls. However, Shi Feng had never imagined that The Million Ghosts Guild would discover the importance of trade routes and begin claiming them so quickly. It was just like the how the Candlelight Trading Firm was charged an export fee when selling their products in other cities. If they exported products to other countries, however, the fees were much higher, charging 30% of the item''s price. Hence, once players established a Shop in other countries, they normally formed their own Caravans to transport their goods, saving a lot on travel expenses. The Candlelight Trading Firm already possessed Shops in a few cities within the Black Dragon Empire. The Trading Firm similarly had a Shop in Starfall City. However, as the level of current players was still somewhat low, Shi Feng had not planned to establish his own Caravan just yet. Since The Million Ghosts was already eyeing trade routes, Shi Feng could not sit idle and do nothing. "How dare you provoke The Million Ghosts!" a Level 29 black-robed Berserker charged towards Shi Feng, sending a Heavy Strike at Shi Feng''s head. In response, Shi Feng remained motionless as he allowed the Berserker''s axe to descend on him. Peng! Before anyone knew it, Fire Dance appeared beside a black-robed Berserker and used Sneak Attack, forcing the Berserker into a Fainted state for 3 seconds. Immediately after, she used the most powerful Burst Skill an Assassin had, Absolute Strike. When her Dagger penetrated the Berserker''s back, the attack threw the latter forward by ten yards. System: Absolute Strike Completion Rate 85%, resulting in 100% of Skill''s effect. Skill Proficiency +3. -12,056! The black-robed Berserker, who had less than 8,000 HP, dropped like a stone. As the Berserker slammed heavily into the ground, he dropped three pieces of equipment. Since the Berserker was a member of a Dark Guild, even though he was a Red Name and his name was nearly black, his punishment from the system would not be too severe. Only, he would drop slightly more items than an ordinary player. As for his lost levels, he would only lose one level like everyone else. However, the black-robed Berserker''s death immediately silenced the battlefield. Everyone''s attention shifted towards Fire Dance, who currently wore a Black Cloak that blurred her appearance. "Who are you?" Thousand Mile Bear asked, his expression turning grave as he stared at Shi Feng. The twelve experts The Million Ghosts had sent were all core members of the Dark Guild. Every one of them was extremely powerful. Meanwhile, the Berserker that Fire Dance had killed ranked fifth out of the twelve experts. If such a person died from a single hit, even an idiot could tell that Shi Feng''s group was not ordinary. Red Rain, who had begun to despair, also stared at Shi Feng''s party in disbelief. So strong! Rainless Path could not help but shiver when he recalled Fire Dance killing the black-robed Berserker instantly. When he placed himself in the Berserker''s shoes, he felt that he would not have even had time to activate Defensive Blade, dying instantly. With such strength, Fire Dance could definitely rank at the very top of Starfall City. She was not someone that he could hope to contend with. At this moment, Shi Feng waved his hand and said, "Get rid of them! Teach The Million Ghosts that there are some things that they are not allowed to touch!" Fire Dance and the others nodded as they dashed towards The Million Ghosts'' experts. Although there was not much of a level difference between them, in terms of equipment, Fire Dance and the others were leaps and bounds above The Million Ghosts'' experts. Not to mention the Dark Guild''s core members, even The Million Ghosts Guild Leader would not have equipment that could compare with a Tier 1 Set Equipment. Cola charged at a Level 29 black-robed Assassin and used Divine Shield Strike. The Divine Bluefire Shield transformed into a blue meteor that struck the Assassin and dealt -2,748 damage. In response, the Assassin hurriedly spun to Cola''s back and used Backstab on the Guardian Knight. However, shifting his feet slightly, Cola easily blocked the attack with the Bluefire Shield, receiving no damage. Immediately after, Cola followed up with a Hammer of Sanctions and Punishment, finishing off the black-robed Assassin. The entire battle was over in a flash. If even an MT like Cola could defeat his opponent so swiftly, there was no need to mention the rest of Shi Feng''s party. With a wave of her staff, Aqua Rose cast Flame Explosion and finished off one of the bandits instantly. As for Fire Dance, she activated Wind Steps, and like Death''s scythe, she harvested her enemy''s head easily. After a short moment, only a few of the Thousand Mile Killers remained. As for The Million Ghosts members, only four of the black-robed experts still stood. Nobody would have thought that a party of players could actually render these Red Name experts utterly powerless. "You guys are digging your own graves!" Thousand Mile Bear''s eyes bulged from his anger. "The Million Ghosts will not let you off the hook! We''re retreating!" Saying so, Thousand Mile Bear turned and fled. However, activating Silent Steps, Shi Feng immediately appeared behind Thousand Mile Bear and sent a Chop at the Berserker. Shi Feng''s sword drawing speed was astonishing, and all everyone saw was a silver flash. In the next moment, Thousand Mile Bear''s body fell to the ground. The Berserker could not believe that someone could actually execute such a fast attack. It was so fast that he had no chance to react. The only thing he could do was watch as his HP descend until it reached zero. 638 Forming a Caravan Chapter 638 - Forming a Caravan Thousand Mile Bear''s instant death stupefied The Million Ghosts members who had been fleeing for their lives. Shi Feng was simply too fast. They had only heard Thousand Mile Bear finish his words, and in the next moment, his body hit the ground. And before anyone had noticed, Shi Feng stood beside Thousand Mile Bear like the God of Death. Monster! This thought immediately possessed the minds of the Million Ghosts members. They finally understood why Shi Feng looked down on The Million Ghosts. With such strength, not even the Big Three in their Guild would be his match. Both Red Rain and Rainless Path stared in shock at Shi Feng quietly standing in the distance. They were very familiar with Thousand Mile Bear''s strength. Even if they worked together, they would need to expend a lot of effort to defeat him. Thousand Mile Bear might even escape. However, as if he stepped on an ant, Shi Feng only needed an instant to kill the Berserker. They could no longer fathom just how strong Shi Feng was. And here I thought that his companions were strong enough. I never imagined that the man himself would be even stronger. Thank goodness I accepted his request. Red Rain was somewhat afraid as she thought back to how she had taken a Gold Coin from Shi Feng. Fortunately, she had not offended Shi Feng with her words or actions. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. So that''s what a real expert looks like. An indescribable excitement rose in Rainless Path''s heart when he recalled Shi Feng''s attack, which had been as quick as lightning. In Starfall City, he was already considered one of the city''s peak experts. There were not many worthy opponents for him in the city. However, upon seeing Shi Feng''s stunning performance, he finally understood what a real expert was. A real expert was someone who could exert their body and techniques to their limits, someone who could utilize their strength with maximum efficiency, and someone who was more than just slightly stronger than an ordinary player. After Thousand Mile Bear died, Fire Dance and the others swiftly dispatched the remaining The Million Ghosts members and collected some excellent equipment. Although these Level 25 Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold items were of no use to Fire Dance and the others, there were a bunch of people in the Guild who would fight over for them. Hence, the party silently pocketed the equipment, not bothering to leave any for the Red Rain Caravan. "Many thanks for Big Brother Expert''s help. Without you taking action, our Red Rain Caravan would have been obliterated." Red Rain repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng hid his name, from the vague appearance Red Rain saw beyond the cloak, she could tell that Shi Feng was not a child. Hence, she referred to Shi Feng as "Big Brother Expert." "There is no need to thank me. I am only doing my job as a guard." Shi Feng waved his hand. He then shifted his eyes to The Million Ghosts'' corpses, commenting softly, "A Dark Guild is already targeting this trade route. In the future, any Caravans that pass through here will have to pay a toll. I wonder what plans Miss Red has for the future?" Compared to ordinary Guilds, Dark Guilds were far more overbearing. They would not give up a potential source of income just because of one failure. They would mobilize their forces, attacking again and again like a pack of hungry wolves. They would not give up before achieving their goals. After all, Dark Guilds had significantly fewer sources of income than ordinary Guilds. In order to develop themselves, it was a necessity to resort to such desperate actions. Moreover, as players'' levels increased, trade routes would become increasingly prosperous. One could collect astronomical tolls. Moreover, it was a costless business. If a Dark Guild managed to take control of multiple important trade routes, its income would most likely exceed even the Candlelight Trading Firm''s, which was why it was impossible for The Million Ghosts to give up on the trade routes. For a Caravan of independent players like the Red Rain Caravan, there was no safety to speak of. Even an expert like Rainless Path could not change the outcome. After all, an independent expert''s strength was limited. In the past, after Violet Cloud left Ouroboros, she had similarly established her own Workshop to serve as her foundation. Otherwise, she would not have become a Tier 6 Cleric God. Being questioned by Shi Feng in such a way, Red Rain quickly realized the severity of the situation. Even if an independent Caravan were powerful, it could not stand against a large Guild. "If this path is too risky, then our Red Rain Caravan can only move to other cities to develop ourselves," Red Rain could not help but sigh. She had never imagined that, shortly after the Red Rain Caravan improved and was about to follow a profitable path, an incident like this would happen. "Move to other cities, huh?" Very quickly, Rainless Path noticed a crucial point. Shaking his head, he said, "Sis, I think the other cities will have the same issue. It''s only a matter of how high the tolls they are." Red Rain''s mood soured further upon hearing Rainless Path''s logic. If that were the case, independent players could no longer survive "Miss Red, if you still wish to continue transporting goods, I know of a good option. I''m just not sure if you will be interested," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Big Brother Expert, please, tell us." Red Rain was definitely interested in what Shi Feng had to say. "The Candlelight Trading Firm has recently begun to hire Caravans to ship its goods to other kingdoms and empires. With the backing of the Trading Firm, you won''t have to worry about large Guilds robbing you when transporting goods in the future." Shi Feng finally revealed his true goal. Red Rain and her group were experienced in the transportation of goods. As the Candlelight Trading Firm continued to develop, sooner or later, it would require its own Caravan. By recruiting the Red Rain Caravan, not only would he establish a foundation for the Trading Firm in advance, but he could also deepen his connection with Red Rain and Rainless Path. "The Candlelight Trading Firm? Is that the famous trading firm that Zero Wing established?" Red Rain''s breathing grew a little rushed. If the Candlelight Trading Firm were really hiring Caravans to transport goods, this would be a heaven-sent opportunity for them. With the support of the Trading Firm, they would gain an additional layer of protection. The only issue was that they would have to prioritize the Candlelight Trading Firm''s goods. However, in the future, the Red Rain Caravan would no longer have to worry about robberies. Zero Wing was currently like the midday sun throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. It was a Guild that even the super-first-rate Guild, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, was helpless against. There was no need to mention the other Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Thank you for the advice. I''ll begin preparing once we return to Star-Moon Kingdom," Red Rain repeatedly thanked Shi Feng. Following which, Red Rain and the others began to clear the battlefield. After completing this shipment, they intended to try their luck with the Candlelight Trading Firm. Standing beside Shi Feng, Aqua Rose asked curiously, "Guild Leader, since when did Candlelight begin recruiting Caravans? Why didn''t you tell me about this before?" It was not an easy task for a Caravan to transport goods. The previous battle made this obvious. There were many problems involved in such an operation, and they were extremely troublesome to deal with. "I just decided it," Shi Feng laughed. Aqua Rose was speechless. She could not help but shift her gaze towards Red Rain, before returning her gaze to Shi Feng, a meaningful smile appearing on her face. She looked at Shi Feng as if saying, "I see..." Half an hour later, the Red Rain Caravan arrived at the exit of the Great Forest of Soria. Reaching this point, Shi Feng and the others had fulfilled their agreement. After parting with Red Rain and the others, the party advanced into the inner regions of the Great Forest. Roughly four hours later, Shi Feng''s party arrived at a small lake in the forest. "Guild Leader, aren''t we trying to capture a Guild Mount? Why aren''t there any monsters here?" Blackie glanced at his surroundings, failing to find a single monster around the lake. No matter how he looked at it, this was not an area for capturing Mounts. Shortly after Blackie finished speaking, the sound of wings reached his ears. Turning to the source of the sound, Blackie noticed a golden-winged lion that was over twenty meters long descending from the sky, landing beside the clear lake. "A Great Lord!" Blackie gaped as he saw this monster. Every member of the party was shocked. 639 Rare Moun Chapter 639 - Rare Mount "Guild Leader, don''t tell me we''re going to capture that?!" Blackie inquired. He gulped audibly as he stared at the massive figure in the distance. The Golden-winged Lion King before him was a bona fide Great Lord. Moreover, it was no ordinary Great Lord. It was a Level 60 Great Lord. It was definitely part of the ruling class of monsters; it could obliterate them with a sneeze. [Golden-winged Lion King] (Demonic Beast, Great Lord) Level 60 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 "Capture it?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie, saying, "You must be crazy." Although the Golden-winged Lion King could be captured, it was a Level 60 Great Lord. He wasn''t that good. Unless they had a 100-man team of Level 70 Tier 2 players or above, they had absolutely no chance of capturing the Great Lord. Shi Feng''s reply left Blackie speechless. However, the other members of the party released a sigh of relief. Capturing a monster was several times more difficult than killing one. "We''ll head over once it leaves," Shi Feng said in the team chat. This Golden-winged Lion King was this area''s overlord. Hence, no other monsters dared to approach the area around the lake. However, nobody would have thought that not only was the Golden-winged Lion King a Field Boss, but it was also a Guardian Boss. It was a Boss specifically tasked with guarding a treasure. In the past, after Fantasy Extinguisher led a team of players to exterminate this Golden-winged Lion King, they discovered a secret. When that secret got out, it shocked the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain. Back then, even ordinary players had their own Mounts. The various large Guilds had also realized the importance of rare Mounts and constantly searched for their own unique monster. The commotion these Guilds caused as a result had disrupted God''s Domain''s peace and tranquility. However, nobody would have imagined that the Fantasy Shrine had actually managed to obtain a 5-star Mount. The star-ranking of a Mount represented its Growth Potential. A Guild Mount''s rank could be upgraded when properly nurtured. Furthermore, with a higher star-rank, a Mount had a higher promotion success rate. The majority of the Guild Mounts throughout God''s Domain were 1-star Mounts. A 1-star Mount started out as a Common Mount. It was a general Mount, and most Guilds would not capture a 1-star Mount for a Guild Mount as there was only a 10% chance for it to become a Bronze Mount. A 2-star Mount started out slightly stronger than a 1-star Mount, and there was a 20% chance that it could become a Bronze Mount. As long as Guild members were willing to pay the price, they could nurture their 2-star Mount into a Bronze Mount. It was much cheaper than just purchasing a Bronze Mount. As for 3-star Mounts, they were rarely seen. Not only could the additional Movement Speed they provided initially reach 110%, but there was also a 30% chance that they could nurture them to become Bronze Mounts. However, few Guilds were capable of obtaining 3-star Mounts. A 4-star Mount was a rare Mount. Not only could its initial Movement Speed reach 115%, but there was also a 50% chance for it to become a Bronze Mount. Impressively, there was a 15% chance for it to become a Mysterious-Iron Mount. This was a potential that 1-star to 3-star Mounts did not possess. Hence, 4-star Mounts and above were considered rare Mounts. Various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain drooled over the idea of their own 4-star Mount. Although there was only a difference of one rank between a Bronze Mount and a Mysterious-Iron Mount, the latter possessed storage capabilities. Moreover, unlike Bronze Mounts, Mysterious-Iron Mounts'' combat capabilities allowed them to make a difference in a battle. Five-star Mounts were even more powerful. The additional Movement Speed they provided initially could reach 120%; its speed was practically equivalent to an ordinary Bronze Mount. Only, it did not possess any combat capabilities. However, 5-star Mounts had a 70% chance to become Bronze Mounts. Not only could they be upgraded within a short amount of time, but they also had a 30% chance to become Mysterious-Iron Mounts and a 3% chance to become Secret-Silver Mounts. The most powerful Guild Mount Shi Feng had seen in the past was a 6-star Mount. Its rarity could even rival that of a Legendary item. There was a 90% that it could become a Bronze Mount, 50% chance for Mysterious-Iron rank, and 10% chance for Secret-Silver rank. Just the thought of a Guild outfitting its members with Secret-Silver Mounts was frightening. After all, unlike Mysterious-Iron Mounts or below, Secret-Silver Mounts possessed Skills that could assist players in battle, increasing their combat power significantly. This was also why so many Guilds had been so desperate to collect rare Mounts in the past. In the past, after Fantasy Extinguisher''s team killed the Golden-winged Lion King, they discovered a 5-star Mount and became one of the few large Guilds throughout God''s Domain to possess one. After over an hour, the Golden-winged Lion King finally quenched its thirst and finished its rest. It then flew from the clear lake. "Alright, everyone, drink your potions and follow me." Shi Feng did not bother to explain much. Immediately, he retrieved a deep blue potion from his bag and emptied the bottle''s contents. The Underwater Breathing Potion allowed players to breathe underwater for two hours. After drinking the potion, Shi Feng led his team and dove into the lake. Although the Golden-winged Lion King was a Guardian Monster, it did not guard this place constantly. It normally left the area for an hour or so, giving players a loophole to exploit. Otherwise, Shi Feng would not have been confident of capturing 5-star Mount that hid behind a Great Lord. After swimming for about a dozen minutes or so, the party discovered the ruins of a shrine. However, the shrine''s thick, stone doors were currently shut tight. Even after combining their strength, they could not open the doors. It was obvious that they needed some sort of item to gain passage. Just as everyone was at a loss on what to do Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement and entered the space beyond the stone doors. A minute later, the stone doors slowly opened. Everyone was amazed by this scene. They had not thought that the doors could be opened like this. "I wish I had an item with Space Movement. I could easily teleport into any shrine I find without wasting effort looking for a way to open the doors," Blackie said enviously. "This method is only viable for shrines that are not magically sealed. You wouldn''t be able to teleport into shrines with magic seals or their own spaces." Shi Feng wished the same, but there were very few non-magically sealed shrines throughout God''s Domain. There were even fewer items with Skills similar to Space Movement. Normally, in order to enter this shrine beneath the lake, players were required to obtain the key by killing the Golden-winged Lion King. "Alright, we don''t have much time left. We have around 40 minutes before the Lion King returns. We need to finish the job within these 40 minutes." Shi Feng no longer bothered to explain. Immediately, he swam further into the shrine. The shrine was not large, being only three-stories tall. The first floor was completely flooded. There was nothing special about the second floor beyond the various idols that cluttered the space. However, upon reaching the third floor of the shrine, the party felt as if they had entered a different space entirely. The third floor was actually a forest. Various wild beasts and Demonic Beasts lived here, and the monsters were all Level 50. However, the beasts living here would not actively attack players. Meanwhile, slumbering in this forest''s heart was a blue wolf that stood over three meters tall. Despite being asleep, blue arcs of electricity flashed around the wolf''s body, preventing others from approaching it. [Thunder Wolf] (Demonic Beast, Lord) Level 50 HP 9,000,000/9,000,000 "Such a handsome wolf!" Cola was immediately mesmerized by the Thunder Wolf. In comparison, the horses of the Red Rain Caravan''s Bronze Carriages looked like ugly toads. The Thunder Wolf was twice as large as a horse. If he could ride the beast through the city, he would become the envy of all. "We only have thirty minutes left. Get into position as I taught you. If we fail, we''ll have to spend a long time running back to this place," Shi Feng hurriedly commanded. Quickly, everyone stealthily approached the Thunder Wolf under Shi Feng''s command. 640 Astonishing Attack Power Chapter 640 - Astonishing Attack Power The Thunder Wolf cracked opened its eyes upon detecting Shi Feng''s party. It then emitted a low growl, warning the approaching humans. Although the Demonic Beasts on the third floor would not actively attack players, they would give warnings when players got too close. If the players refused to heed their warning, they would attack. "Cola, make sure you''re ready to aggro the Wolf! Blackie, focus on using Guardian of Light! Violet, focus on healing! Everyone else, use the Hunting Scroll when the time arrives!" Shi Feng hurriedly commanded his team when he noticed the Thunder Wolf beginning to stand. Normally, it was practically impossible for them to capture a Level 50 Lord. However, the Thunder Wolf was slightly special. One could use a special method to capture it. The first condition for capturing a wild beast or Demonic Beast was to lower the monster''s HP to exactly 10%. If its HP were above or below 10%, one could not capture the monster. It was a stringent condition, and it was one of the reasons why killing a monster was much easier than capturing one. Cola was currently Level 30 and wore a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment. He also had the Divine Bluefire Shield. Even so, he could not hope to tank a Level 50 Lord. Finished with his commands, Shi Feng revealed the Bible of Darkness and began activating Demon Summoning. "Emerge, Demon!" When Shi Feng finished chanting the incantation''s final verse, the Demon Gate slowly opened. From behind the gates, a human-shaped Demon, an Evil Blade Spirit, stepped out. Sharp spikes and black scales covered the Demon''s body. This Demon was a pure attack-type and would not possess any Support Spells like the Heart Devourer. [Evil Blade Spirit] (Evil Spirit) Level 36 HP 3,000,000/3,000,000 Not bad. At least it''s a Tier 2 Demon. Shi Feng smiled at the Evil Blade Spirit in satisfaction. Although it was not as strong as the Thunder Wolf, it would still be of significant help. It was fully capable of pinning down the Thunder Wolf for a long period. "Everyone, assist the Evil Blade Spirit and attack the Thunder Wolf. Make sure you dodge the Wolf''s lightning attacks." Shi Feng then commanded the Evil Blade Spirit to charge at the Thunder Wolf. The Evil Blade Spirit fought like a Berserker. Activating Shadow Charge, it appeared before the Thunder Wolf like a ghost. The Blade Spirit''s sword-like arms then sliced fiercely at the Thunder Wolf''s body. -17,519. -16,749. Two damages that were over -10,000 points appeared above the Lord''s head, shocking the team. Such a high Attack Power. Shi Feng was also surprised. We lucked out this time. A Level 36 Lord had no chance against a Level 50 Lord. The latter''s Defense was many times higher. The Thunder Wolf''s Defense was even greater than an ordinary Level 35 Great Lord. For Shi Feng, he would have to enter his Twofold Berserk state to inflict more than -10,000 damage to the Thunder Wolf. Yet, the similarly Lord ranked Evil Blade Spirit could easily deal more than -10,000 damage. The Demon''s Attack Power was stronger than even a High Lord of the same level. "Awoo!" The Thunder Wolf howled, countless blue arcs of electricity suddenly appeared and surrounded its body, significantly increasing its speed. It then swung its claws at the Evil Blade Spirit. The Tier 2 Evil Spirit had no opportunity to block or evade before the attack struck and sent it flying backward by more than ten yards. As it crashed to the ground, the resulting impact formed a large crater. The Thunder Wolf''s claws easily sliced through the Evil Blade Spirit''s scale armor, leaving multiple scorched scratch marks. The Evil Blade Spirit''s HP instantly fell by 41,864. The difference in strength between them was instantly obvious. "Isn''t its attack a little too powerful? If I don''t activate Lifesaving Skills, I''ll most likely die with a single hit." Standing a short distance away, Cola gulped when he saw the Thunder Wolf''s damage. He no longer dared underestimate the Demonic Beast. The Thunder Wolf''s Attack Power was many times stronger than even the Great Lord ranked Bluefire Crow King Just how were they supposed to lower this monster''s HP to 10%? "Violet, heal the Evil Blade Spirit! Everyone else, attack from a distance!" Shi Feng was not particularly surprised by this result. Level 50 was another great divide of levels. At Level 50, players could become Tier 2 classes. Hence, monsters would become a lot more powerful after reaching Level 50 as well. Moreover, the Thunder Wolf was a super-attack-type Demonic Beast. Naturally, its Attack Power was dismaying. However, this astonishing Attack Power was the key factor in capturing the Thunder Wolf. Following which, Shi Feng controlled the Evil Blade Spirit and began to lure the Thunder Wolf elsewhere. At the same time, Violet Cloud continuously healed the Evil Blade Spirit. Although each of her heals could only recover several thousand HP for the Tier 2 Evil Spirit, they added up. As long as the Evil Blade Spirit fought while it fled, it will soon recover to full HP. Meanwhile, Blackie and Aqua Rose were the party''s main damage dealers. Unfortunately, when Aqua Rose used the Tier 1 Spell, Fire Dragon''s Dance, she only caused a little over -1,500 damage. As for Blackie, who wielded an Epic staff, he only dealt over -2,000 damage with the Tier 1 Spell, Darkness Ball. Against the Thunder Wolf''s 9,000,000 HP, their attacks were practically negligible. Only after including the Evil Blade Spirit''s attacks did their damage surpass the Lord''s battle recovery. After Shi Feng lured the Thunder Wolf to a low-lying area, he stopped actively controlling the Evil Blade Spirit and allowed it to attack on its own. "This should be the place." Shi Feng observed his surroundings. After confirming that there were no problems, he recovered a dark blue Tier 2 Magic Scroll from his bag. "Everyone, distance yourselves 50 yards from the Thunder Wolf!" Hearing Shi Feng''s command, although Blackie and Aqua Rose wondered why he wanted them to stop attacking, they had no choice but to back away from the Thunder Wolf. After seeing Blackie and Aqua Rose retreat, Shi Feng unfurled the Magic Scroll and began chanting the incantation recorded within. At this moment, the Evil Blade Spirit, which confronted the Thunder Wolf head-on, lost HP rapidly. Each of the Thunder Wolf''s attacks dealt over -40,000 HP, while its Skills dealt over -70,000 damage. The Evil Blade Spirit only had 3,000,000 HP. Very quickly, the Demon''s HP fell below 2,000,000. On the other hand, the Thunder Wolf had only lost around 100,000 HP. "Blackie, use Guardian of Light on the Blade Spirit!" Shi Feng said sternly through the party chat after completing his preparations. Immediately, Blackie cast Guardian of Light on the Evil Blade Spirit. Guardian of Light was an Additional Skill of Mavis''s Guard. When activated, the Skill granted immunity to all magic damage, reduced physical damage taken by 80%, and recovered 5% HP every second for 20 seconds. It was one of the most powerful Lifesaving Skills at this stage of the game. After receiving Guardian of Light, the damage the Evil Blade Spirit received fell sharply from over -40,000 points to just over -2,000 points. Moreover, it also recovered 5% of its HP every second. For the Evil Blade Spirit, that was 150,000 HP every second. Not only did the Evil Blade Spirit stop losing HP, but its HP also recovered rapidly. "What''s going on?" Aqua Rose was surprised. The Thunder Wolf had initially dealt over -40,000 damage to the Evil Blade Spirit. Even if its damage were reduced by 80%, it should still deal over -8,000 damage. Yet, now, its attacks only inflicted over -2,000 damage. Before Aqua Rose could make sense of the situation, Shi Feng activated the Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Waterfall, in his hands. Suddenly, a massive magic array appeared above the Thunder Wolf. A torrent of water then gushed out of the magic array, pummeling the Thunder Wolf and causing damages of over -4,000 points to appear above the Lord''s head. The Magic Scroll''s effect lasted for 4 seconds. "We''re finally done. All we need to do now is to watch the show," Shi Feng smiled faintly. "Watch the show?" Doubt flashed in Fire Dance''s eyes. Everyone was clearly confused. They did not understand Shi Feng''s actions. It was merely a Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Moreover, it wasn''t dealing much damage. In the next moment, however, everyone''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Suddenly, damages of more than -60,000 points started appearing above the Thunder Wolf''s head. "This is!" When Fire Dance noticed the Thunder Wolf''s claws falling into the pooled water from the Waterfall and it receiving massive amounts of damages as a result, she immediately came to a realization. "That''s right. The Thunder Beast''s attacks are mainly lightning-type magical attacks. Using the electrical conductivity of water, although the water will amplify the power of its attacks, it will also become a victim of its own power," Shi Feng explained, grinning. If it were any other monster, he would have no method to capture it. Unfortunately for the Thunder Wolf, its attacks were lightning-based, so its greatest weakness was water. Hence, when the Fantasy Shrine had faced enemies with water-type AOE Spells, they would not utilize their Thunder Wolf Mounts to assist them in battle, as doing so would cause more harm than good. For a time, the Thunder Wolf''s 9,000,000 HP rapidly decreased. "Everyone, get ready!" Watching the Thunder Wolf''s HP about to reach 10%, Shi Feng immediately ordered everyone to retrieve a Hunting Scroll and begin the capturing process. 641 Battle Demon Chapter 641 - Battle Demon Black Dragon Empire, Sandstone Town: Sandstone Town occupied the Black Dragon Empire''s southern border and was the nearest town to the Star-Moon Kingdom. Unfortunately, the forces of darkness occupied this town, so ordinary players could not venture here. Only players who had joined the forces of darkness could enter the town safely. The forces of darkness controlled very few towns, so many Dark Guilds were based in Sandstone Town. Among them, the most powerful Dark Guild was The Million Ghosts. One could say that The Million Ghosts was Sandstone Town''s absolute overlord. "Thousand Mile''s team was defeated?" "Impossible!" "We sent twelve core members to assist them! With the strength of the independent Caravans that travel between Starfall City and Copper Mountain City, how could they possibly lose?!" Inside the conference hall of The Million Ghosts, the Dark Guild''s upper echelons were flabbergasted when they received news of Thunder Mile Bear''s defeat. Dark Guilds were different from ordinary Guilds. Their members relied on strength to raise their positions within the Guild. Meanwhile, every person who became a core member was an expert who had fought hundreds and thousands of Guild members to get to there. There were only slightly more than 100 core members in The Million Ghosts. If these core members were members of any of the ordinary large Guilds, everyone would easily become one of the top few experts within the Guild. Yet, of the twelve core members they dispatched, not a single one managed to return alive. It was simply inconceivable. "What did the twelve that died have to say?" the middle-aged man, who occupied the Guild Leader''s seat, asked. This middle-aged man had dark eyes, a stalwart body, bronze skin, and a chiseled face. When this man spoke, the conference hall immediately fell silent. Nobody dared to act presumptuously before this man. This man was The Million Ghosts'' Guild Leader, Lifestealer. He was also an intimidating character who the various large Guilds in Black Dragon Emperor had nicknamed ''Battle Demon.'' In an ordinary Guild, the position of Guild Leader was only a symbol of status, not a symbol of strength. This held true for most Guilds in God''s Domain. However, for Dark Guilds, the position of Guild Leader was the symbol of both status and strength. The fact that Lifestealer had become The Million Ghosts'' Guild Leader proved that his strength ranked number one in the entire Guild. Due to Lifestealer''s presence in The Million Ghosts, the various large Guilds in the several nearby cities avoided provoking The Million Ghosts at all. Even the Guild ruling over Bronze Mountain City, the Holy Church of War, deferred to The Million Ghosts. The Holy Church of War was a second-rate Guild with control over five cities. It was a top-tier second-rate Guild that had over 300,000 members. The Guild also had two experts who ranked on the God''s Domain Experts List. Yet, such a Guild still allowed The Million Ghosts to manage the trade route to Star-Moon Kingdom freely. This was all due to the Battle Demon Lifestealer. "Their opponents wore cloaks, so they did not see who they were fighting. However, judging by the enemy''s tone, it seems that they look down on The Million Ghosts. They even warned us not to touch the trade routes." "They''re taking us too lightly! Guild Leader, let me lead some men and hunt down those bastards! If we don''t do anything about this, the reputation our Guild has built will be ruined!" "Guild Leader, I''ll go as well. The nearby large Guilds should have learned of this by now. The Holy Church will also be watching. If we show them what the consequences are for messing with us, the Holy Church won''t dare consider vying for dominance." The Elders in the conference hall began stepping up, one after another, all wanting to teach those who dared provoke The Million Ghosts a lesson. "It seems that our Guild''s reputation isn''t as well known as it should be, to think that even the people from Star-Moon Kingdom dare provoke us. However, there is no need to be anxious. Since they have done such a thing, it shows that they possess certain confidence and background. Have our members stationed in Starfall City investigate this matter. Once we know who we''re dealing with, we''ll give them a taste of hell," Lifestealer revealed a malicious grin. Seeing the smile on Lifestealer''s face, everyone involuntarily shuddered. Back when the third-rate Guild, Divine Flurry, had provoked their Guild, their Guild Leader had revealed this exact smile. Four days after the initial incident, every core member of Divine Flurry died over a dozen times, and the Guild disbanded as a result. Now that Lifestealer wore this smile once more, Starfall City would most likely fall into chaos. --- Meanwhile, inside the shrine in the Great Forest of Soria Watching the Thunder Wolf''s HP rapidly approach 10%, tension grew in the party. This was the crucial moment to capture the Thunder Wolf, and any mistakes could waste all of their previous efforts. Suddenly, Shi Feng controlled the Evil Blade Spirit to leave the flooded area. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others dashed towards the Thunder Wolf, each holding a Hunting Scroll. 12%... 11%... 10%... "Start!" Shi Feng immediately lured the Thunder Wolf out of the flooded area, the Lord''s HP stopping at precisely 10%. Upon reaching her position, Fire Dance chanted the last verse of the incantation and activated the Hunting Scroll. Xiu! A pitch-black chain emerged from the Hunting Scroll and bound one of the Thunder Wolf''s hind legs. Meanwhile, Fire Dance affixed the scroll on the ground. The Hunting Scroll''s purpose was to trap the targeted beast. However, its effect only lasted one short minute. At the same time, everyone else in the party also activated their Hunting Scrolls, binding all four of the Thunder Wolf''s limbs and preventing the Demonic Beast from moving. "Awoo!" the Thunder Wolf howled in anger. Suddenly, dense dark clouds condensed above the fight, releasing blue strikes of lightning towards the affixed Hunting Scrolls. Reacting quickly, Fire Dance activated Wind Steps, utilizing the Skill''s nearly 1-second invulnerability to block the oncoming lightning strike. However, though she was unscathed from the attack, the Hunting Scroll was obliterated. "Continue using Hunting Scrolls! Do not let it go no matter what!" Shi Feng also retrieved a 5-star Cage from his bag and charged at the Thunder Wolf. The second key aspect when capturing a beast was timing. Cages required time to activate. During this period, the target must not escape the Cage''s range. Otherwise, the capture will fail, rendering the Cage useless. Fire Dance and the others understood what they needed to do. They retrieved more Hunting Scrolls from their bags and activated them. Meanwhile, the Thunder Wolf continuously destroyed the affixed Hunting Scrolls in a fit of rage. At this moment, Shi Feng found an opportunity as he abruptly leaped into the air, jumping above the Thunder Wolf and activating the Cage. Fixing the Cage to a specific location required approximately two full seconds. However, the 5-star Cage''s enclosure was not large. "Awooo!" the Thunder Wolf released an angry howl. Suddenly, more dark clouds collected in the sky, the lightning strikes increasing in number as well. Immediately, two of the five affixed Hunting Scrolls were destroyed. The Thunder Wolf then made an angled jump, escaping the Cage''s enclosure in the nick of time. Capture failed! Following which, Fire Dance and the others hurriedly used more Hunting Scrolls to pin down the Demonic Beast. However, Shi Feng''s second capture attempt also failed. Meanwhile, Shi Feng only had two 5-star Cages remaining. In other words, he only had two chances to capture the Thunder Wolf left. As expected of a 5-star rare Mount. It really is lively. This was the first time Shi Feng had attempted to capture a 5-star Mount in either life. The Thunder Wolf was far more difficult to capture than he had expected. However, Shi Feng was not someone to be trifled with. For his third attempt, he activated one of the Abyssal Blade''s Skills, Abyssal Curse, preventing all targets within a 30-yard radius from moving for 5 seconds. Although the Thunder Wolf was a Level 50 Lord, the Skill would still affect it somewhat. Suddenly, the Thunder Wolf''s movements visibly slowed. Shi Feng then activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and used Thunder Flame Explosion on the Demonic Beast. -8,679. Although his damage was negligible, Thunder Flame Explosion had a Movement Speed Reduction effect. As a result, the Thunder Wolf''s speed dropped further. "Use the Hunting Scrolls quickly!" Shi Feng shouted anxiously. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Fire Dance and the others activated their Hunting Scrolls. This time, five chains simultaneously bound the Thunder Wolf. Still not satisfied, Shi Feng activated Abyssal Bind as well. Nine chains suddenly sprouted from the ground, locking the Thunder Wolf in place. However, despite the many restrictions, the chains began to shatter, one after another. Shi Feng began setting a Cage into position once more. For a moment, everyone forgot to breathe. Just to hold the Thunder Wolf in position, they had used more than 60 Hunting Scrolls. Each person only had a few Hunting Scrolls remaining. The Cage''s channeling time slowly decreased. Two seconds One second "In you go!" Shi Feng roared. Immediately, a massive steel cage fell from the sky, trapping the Thunder Wolf within. 642 Formation of the Dark Gods Legion Chapter 642 - Formation of the Dark Gods Legion The Thunder Wolf struggled desperately inside the Cage, repeatedly slamming its body against its steel bars. The 5-star prison even began showing signs of strain. Seeing this scene, Shi Feng hurriedly chanted an incantation. In the next moment, the magic runes carved into the Cage glowed. The Cage itself then proceeded to shrink, only stopping when it was squeezing the Thunder Wolf. At this point, the Thunder Wolf no longer had space to generate enough momentum for a powerful charge. "It sure is difficult to capture a Demonic Beast." Aqua Rose swept a glance at the numerous little craters around her, the aftermath of the Thunder Wolf''s attacks on the anchors of the chains binding it. Fortunately, the few of them managed to react and evade the Lord''s lightning attacks quickly, allowing them to capture the Thunder Wolf without any fatalities. "Let''s get ready to leave, then." Shi Feng took a look at the time. They were cutting things fine; the Golden-winged Lion King would return soon. He then retrieved a bunch of Storage Space Scrolls from his bag. Although they had already captured the Thunder Wolf, the Demonic Beast''s massive frame was over three meters tall. In addition, there was the massive steel Cage. Transporting the Thunder Wolf out of this place would be extremely troublesome. They would require many players with high Strength just to lift the Cage and the Thunder Wolf. And even if they did manage to lift them, their Movement Speed would be significantly reduced. They would also encounter many dangers while carrying the Demonic Beast. Who knew just how much time they would have to waste conveying the Thunder Wolf back to White River City? Hence, Storage Space Scrolls were available for purchase in God''s Domain. These scrolls could be used to store large items. Not only was the Thunder Wolf massive, but it was also a living creature. Shi Feng had to use a total of 20 Storage Space Scrolls in order to fit the Thunder Wolf into his bag space. The Thunder Wolf instantly took up 20 slots there. However, the duration of the Storage Space Scrolls was not indefinite. They could only be used to store items for up to half an hour. Following which, everyone used Return Scrolls and departed from the shrine. --- White River City, Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: After Aqua Rose and the others went to rest, Shi Feng went to the Warehouse inside the Guild Residence by himself. He then placed the Thunder Wolf inside the Warehouse, as well as took out several Magic Crystals from his bag and put them inside the Thunder Wolf''s Cage. Demonic Beasts were different from wild beasts. Their primary source of food was Magic Crystals. Just a single crystal could sustain a Demonic Beast for a long time. "Now that I''ve obtained a rare Mount, next up will be constructing a Stable." When Shi Feng looked at the ferocious Thunder Wolf, he grew eager to construct a Stable as soon as possible. Only after he had a Stable could he begin taming the Thunder Wolf. Demonic Beasts were much more difficult to tame than wild beasts. Moreover, the higher the star-ranking of a creature, the longer the time required to gentle it. Complete taming of the Thunder Wolf would need at least 10 to 15 days. If he could finish the Stable even a day sooner, he might be able to have the Thunder Wolf trained by the time the Guild''s core members reached Level 40. If he could pair every core member with a Thunder Beast, their combat power would soar through the roof. Only, too many materials were required to construct a Stable. The Stable was different from the other structures inside the Guild Residence, which needed only money to build. Moreover, many of the materials required for a Stable were obtainable only from large-scale Team Dungeons. "I need to speed things up a little bit." Shi Feng then thought about forming the Dark Gods Legion. Whether it was the collection of the materials for the Stable or for the Candlelight Trading Firm''s future development, he needed to form a powerful Dark Gods Legion right away. Shi Feng had already experienced the development process of God''s Domain before, so he knew full well that as players reached higher levels, battles between players would occur more frequently. Guild wars would also grow increasingly intense. If a Guild did not possess a formidable legion that could serve as a deterrence, said Guild would get embroiled in many wars in the future. Following which, Shi Feng instructed Aqua Rose to pick roughly 300 elites to form the Dark Gods Legion. Meanwhile, the equipment provided to the members of the Legion would be inferior only to that of Zero Wing''s main force. Shortly after Shi Feng began establishing the Dark Gods Legion, news of this matter spread like wildfire throughout the entire White River City. The development immediately attracted the attention of the many Guilds in the city. However, the ones paying the most attention to this matter were still the independent players. At this point, Zero Wing was no longer the small Guild it was in the past. Not only did it have over 100,000 members, but it also had the strength to clear the Hell Mode Ruins of the Crow God. Whether it was grinding monsters or questing out in the fields, not a single Guild dared to do anything to the members of Zero Wing within the region of White River City. This situation had made many independent players envious of the members of Zero Wing. At this stage of the game, large Guilds already occupied all available high-resource maps. As independent players, even when they were out doing a high-level quest, there was a chance that Guild players would target and kill them. As a result, leveling up and upgrading equipment became extremely difficult for them. Hence, many independent players were considering joining a powerful Guild. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was currently forming a Dark Gods Legion. Moreover, the members of the Legion received treatment that was inferior only to the Guild''s main force. It should be known that, while every Guild had plenty of ordinary teams in its midst, there would be only one main force. Zero Wing''s formation of a legion was equivalent to establishing a second main force. This situation tempted many independent players to join Zero Wing. For a time, the number of players trying to enter Zero Wing surged once more. Shi Feng spent two whole days carefully choosing the members of the Dark Gods Legion. After all, the number of people he could use Light of Darkness on was limited. Even though he could take back the Power of Darkness he bestowed, he still preferred not to flaunt it. Meanwhile, during this period, Shi Feng produced quite a number of Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, which were all meant for the members of the Dark Gods Legion. During these two days, many things happened throughout God''s Domain as well. One of these developments was that many Guilds had succeeded in raiding 50-man Team Dungeons and had moved their competition on to 100-man Team Dungeons. However, 100-man Dungeons were significantly different from 50-man Dungeons. One could say that 50-man Dungeons were warm-ups for 100-man Dungeons. The number of monsters and the monsters'' strength inside a 100-man Dungeon were both significantly higher than in a 50-man Dungeon. Of course, the loot from a 100-man Dungeon would also make many players drool. Initially, Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment was extremely difficult to obtain. However, it much easier to get in a 100-man Hard Mode Dungeoneven the Chieftain ranked monsters inside the Dungeon would drop it. There was also Fine-Gold Set Equipment specifically meant for the various classes. Nevertheless, the most attractive part about 100-man Dungeons would still have to be the forging designs and various sorts of rare potion recipes that were not obtainable from any other place. Getting even a single design or recipe would mean endless riches. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was also desperately trying to raid a 100-man Dungeon. However, despite obtaining the Power of Darkness, the progress of Zero Wing''s main force was only subpar at best. A 100-man Dungeon had a total of six main Bosses. Currently, Zero Wing had managed to defeat only two of them. They had yet to see what the Final Boss looked like. Aside from competing over 100-man Dungeons, the next thing that excited players the most was the activation of the Colosseum List. To experts, this was a relatively good benefit. The Colosseum List also served as an incentive for players to improve their Skill Completion Rates and combat power. The Colosseum List was the combat power rankings of the Divine Colosseum. As long as one managed to rank within the List, they would obtain the corresponding Colosseum Points. Players could use these points to exchange for many items such as equipment, Skills, potions, rare materials, and many more items. Among them, the greatest attraction was the equipment available. Not only was there Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment available, but even Level 30 Dark-Gold Set Equipment was also up for exchange. Due to this reason, Divine Colosseums throughout God''s Domain became extremely popular. Many players fought desperately to raise their rankings on the Colosseum List. Large Guilds sent their core members one after another to challenge the Divine Colosseum. For a time, many hidden experts emerged throughout God''s Domain, giving players a great shock. Nobody had thought that there were actually so many experts in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was currently seated in a large private room in the Divine Colosseum of White River City. 643 Astonishing Financial Resources Chapter 643 - Astonishing Financial Resources Inside the towering Divine Colosseum Dozens of large screens hung inside the main hall of the Divine Colosseum were currently displaying the battle videos of experts who had managed to reach the fourth floor of the Colosseum. The challenges inside the Divine Colosseum were purely meant to test how much combat power a player could exert. The quality of a player''s equipment was irrelevant in these challenges. Even a player wearing only Bronze Equipment could get past the fourth floor. However, ordinary players would have a difficult time just getting through the first floor of the Divine Colosseum, not to mention the fourth. In White River City, experts capable of breaking through the fourth floor were as rare as a phoenix''s feather. As for players who did not have any Magic Crystals to challenge the Divine Colosseum, they could also watch the battle videos of experts at the main hall. Of course, these videos were only released with the consent of the players involved. Players could also use this opportunity to make a name for themselves. "Look! Heaven''s Burial is here again!" Everyone in the hall quickly noticed the arrival of a group of players. These players were uniformly Level 30, and they were members of Heaven''s Burial''s current main force. If not for the fact that they were aiming to obtain the First Clear of a 100-man Dungeon, these players would have long since leveled up. Even so, their levels were currently far ahead of ordinary players. Besides their levels, the equipment of Heaven''s Burial''s members was also extremely eye-catching. Most of them boasted Level 30 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, with the most inferior being Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment. In contrast, the typical equipment of current ordinary players was only Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Only elite players possessed several pieces of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. "Not only does Heaven''s Burial have so many experts, but these experts also come here to train multiple times each day. It makes you wonder just how strong they are." "What do you even know? Having more experts in a Guild is better, of course. Moreover, by training here, they can increase their rankings on the Colosseum List and earn points to exchange for Dark-Gold Equipment, aside from improving their combat techniquesthat''s killing two birds with one stone. Why wouldn''t they do it?" "Recently, Heaven''s Burial has been growing increasingly stronger. Initially, they had less than ten members who managed to pass the fourth floor. Now, after only a few days, that number is up to 20. Two members of the Guild even have managed to get to the sixth floor. In the entire White River City, Heaven''s Burial is only slightly inferior to Overwhelming Smile and Zero Wing." "Isn''t that only because the Guild is rich? Challenging the Trial Tower costs one Magic Crystal each time. Normally, when we raid Dungeons, we will only get one Magic Crystal after a lot of difficulties. Even then, we still have to split it among several people. After raiding Dungeons all day, our turn to get a crystal might still not come. Meanwhile, the members of Heaven''s Burial''s main force get a daily allowance of five Magic Crystals, so they get to challenge the Trial Tower five times a day. With 100 members in the main force, Heaven''s Burial has to spend 500 Magic Crystals per day. Due to the Divine Colosseum, the current price of Magic Crystals has long since gone up by severalfold. Right now, each crystal is worth 20 Silver, yet there is a shortage. There is still room for prices to rise." "That''s right. I knew I should have stocked up on some Magic Crystals. I would have been able to make a small fortune by now." "It would be great if I could become a member of Heaven''s Burial''s main force." Many players looked on with envy as the members of Heaven''s Burial walked towards the Trial Tower. Not even the wealthy Overwhelming Smile could afford such extravagance. Currently, 500 Magic Crystals were equivalent to 100 Gold. Of course, a majority of these Magic Crystals came from the Dungeons raided by the Guild. Otherwise, even Heaven''s Burial would find it extremely taxing to fork out 100 Gold every day. --- Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who had rented a large private room in the Divine Colosseum, was currently standing before 300 people. These people were all players he had selected for the Dark Gods Legion. Currently, everyone in the Dark Gods Legion was feeling excited. These members had not expected to be able to meet their legendary Guild Leader, Black Flame, in person. Moreover, Black Flame was even going to nurture them himself. This training was a privilege that was not available anywhere else in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Nobody in Star-Moon Kingdom did not know of One-hit Asura, the publicly acknowledged number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. Tuition with the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom was a privilege beyond price. "I''ll put this out first. Although you all official members of the Dark Gods Legion and get to enjoy extremely high benefits, the Dark Gods Legion operates on an elimination system. Waiting behind you are 700 reserve members. If your strength is found wanting, a reserve member will take your place," Shi Feng said in a somber tone. "From today onwards, each of you will receive ten Magic Crystals daily to challenge the Trial Tower. I will rank you based on your battle record in the Trial Tower. At the end of each week, I will compare the last thirty official members with the top thirty reserve members. The winners will be official members, while the losers will go on the reserve team." Everyone could not help but gasp. The competition was incredibly intense. Up to thirty people might switch out each week. However, everyone was also shocked at Zero Wing''s generosity. The Dark Gods Legion had 300 members in all. If every member could spend ten Magic Crystals a day, that meant that Zero Wing would expend a total of 3,000 crystalsor 600 Golddaily. This outlay was simply inconceivable. Even a first-rate Guild did not boast such frightening financial resources. What no one knew was that, even if Zero Wing had that much money, it was impossible to purchase so many Magic Crystals. Currently, the various large Guilds were treating Magic Crystals like strategic resources. They would not sell any of their Magic Crystals at all. One could only purchase a small amount from independent players. However, even before the release of the Divine Colosseum, Shi Feng had already tasked Melancholic Smile with purchasing Magic Crystals in bulk. They had spent practically all the Coins they earned stocking up on Magic Crystals. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm had several Warehouses full of Magic Crystals. "Ah, right. I forgot to mention one more thing. The top 30 people will receive an invitation to undergo training together with the Guild''s top-tier experts," Shi Feng laughed. "I believe that all of you have probably heard how Zero Wing has a special training ground. Whether you will be able to go there and train will depend on your efforts." "Guild Leader, you''re not tricking us, right? Can we really go to that place?" many Dark Gods members asked in anticipation. They had indeed heard that Zero Wing possessed a specialized training facility in the real world. There, one could ramp up their combat techniques. One could also learn the rumored advanced combat techniques and become a true top-tier expert. Originally, training at that place was a privilege available to only a limited number of core members. Nobody had expected that even official members of the Dark Gods Legion could receive such a treatment. "As long as you can enter the top 30, you can naturally go." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. The Big Dipper Training Center completed the renovation of the Greenwater Villa only recently. The villa was outfitted with all kinds of training apparatuses and could now accommodate more people. Otherwise, he really would not be able to extend its use to the members of the Dark Gods Legion. When Shi Feng was done speaking, the atmosphere inside the private room instantly changed. Everyone there was flushed with fighting spirit, and they could not help but want to dash to the Trial Tower right this instant to raise their rankings. After Shi Feng distributed the Magic Crystals and concluded the meeting, everyone promptly rushed out of the private room and ran as fast as they could towards the Trial Tower. This scene stupefied the players inside the main hall. 644 Secret Competition Chapter 644 - Secret Competition "How rich is Zero Wing? They''re actually sending so many people to the Trial Tower all at once." "They should be members of the newly-formed Dark Gods Legion. I heard that the benefits they receive are only beneath what Zero Wing''s main force enjoys." "Being a Guild''s core member must be great. They get to enter the Trial Tower every day. On the other hand, independent players like us can only enter once in a long while." "I know, right? Magic Crystals'' drop rate is simply too low in Party Dungeons. It''s only higher in Team Dungeons." "As expected of the number one Guild of White River City. Even Overwhelming Smile can only send 200 members each day, while Heaven''s Burial only sends 100 members. On the other hand, Zero Wing is sending 300 people in one go. Moreover, they are only members of the Dark Gods Legion." Everyone was incredibly jealous. Only the members of large Guilds had access to such a large supply of Magic Crystals each day. Independent players had to struggle just to obtain a single crystal. As for small Guilds, although they could also afford to supply their members with Magic Crystals, they could not afford to offer a large amount every day. One could gage a Guild''s financial strength in White River City by the number of members that entered the Trial Tower. "What''s so amazing about Zero Wing? Can its financial strength compare to Overwhelming Smile?" the Level 30 Guardian Knight, Lone Tyrant, sneered as he entered the Divine Colosseum. Ever since the Dark Star''s disbandment, Lone Tyrant held firm to his hatred of Zero Wing. If not for Zero Wing, Dark Star would have been White River City''s ruler, and he would have stood as its emperor. Due to Zero Wing''s constant rise, he was now only one of Overwhelming Smile''s core members. He was not even the Guild''s Chief MT; he was nothing more than cannon fodder. However, it was also because of this that he was able to experience just how frightening Underworld was. Particularly, after the third evolution of God''s Domain, Underworld had increased its investment in God''s Domain by several folds, pouring a massive sum of money into the game. Not only did the organization begin recruiting a large number of experts, but it had also collected a large stock of Magic Crystals, which were extremely important to current players. Even a first-rate Guild could not compete with Underworld''s financial resources. Underworld''s influence covered a vast expanse of God''s Domain. It could purchase Magic Crystals through several avenues. This was an advantage that many first-rate Guilds did not possess. With all these Magic Crystals, Underworld could quickly nurture plenty of experts through the Divine Colosseum. God''s Domain was not a game that could be dominated by a single player''s strength. Even if Shi Feng were stronger, he could only defend White River City. However, White River City was not the only city in Star-Moon Kingdom, much less God''s Domain. As far as Lone Tyrant knew, Underworld had yet to give up on the feast that White River City offered. Hence, the organization had once more invested significant funding and Magic Crystals, enough to even put a first-rate Guild to shame. On the surface, Overwhelming Smile sent only 200 members to the Trial Tower each day. Moreover, every member could only challenge the Trial Tower three times a day. In reality, however, Overwhelming Smile secretly sent a large number of hidden experts to challenge the Trial Tower as well. This group of experts consisted of nearly 400 people, double that of what the Guild sent openly. In total, Overwhelming Smile sent nearly 600 people to the Trial Tower every day, affording each member three challenges. The public was already astounded by Heaven''s Burial''s financial strength. Unfortunately, compared to Overwhelming Smile, Heaven''s Burial was nothing. After including the additional resources that War Wolf and his group of top-tier experts had received, Overwhelming Smile was spending nearly 2,000 Magic Crystals every day. What did Heaven''s Burial''s expenditure of 500 Magic Crystals amount to? "Lone Tyrant, control your mouth. It is not the time for Overwhelming Smile to display its strength. Let Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial bask in the limelight." Watching the Dark Gods Legion enter the Trial Tower, a faint smile appeared on Feng Xuanyang''s face. With pride and arrogance, he said, "Black Flame, your complacency won''t last." In truth, Feng Xuanyang had not expected Underworld to continue investing in White River City. He had thought that the organization would just let Overwhelming Smile, the Guild he controlled, fend for itself. Currently, there were extremely few experts who had managed to pass the fourth floor of the Divine Colosseum. Among them, Zero Wing had the most with a total of 36 people. Overwhelming Smile came in second. It had 29 people in total. Next up was Heaven''s Burial. It had 20 people. Assassin''s Alliance stood in fourth place. The Guild only had 14 people. At fifth place, Cloud Nine had 12 people. At sixth place, Yin Yang Court had 11 people. However, Overwhelming Smile had hidden a large fraction of its forces. For example, their 29 experts did not include War Wolf and his team. In reality, the Guild had more than 50 people who had passed the fourth floor. Overwhelming Smile had long since surpassed Zero Wing by leaps and bounds. Moreover, as time passed, that number would only increase. Soon, it would be Overwhelming Smile''s turn to rule over White River City. --- While the various large Guilds in White River City competed over the First Clear of a 100-man Dungeon and compared their progression in the Divine Colosseum, Shi Feng had used the Bible of Darkness to travel to the Evil Ghost Domain. After his two-day absence, Shi Feng found that District One had developed rapidly. The Shelter had annexed six other Shelters and invested all of the Soul Crystals they obtained into promoting the Lions Bar, upgrading it to a 2-star Bar. Now, the Hundred Berry Wine''s production had increased to 50 bottles per day. According to Shi Feng''s arrangements, 20 bottles would be held for District One''s Shelter, while he would take the remaining 30 with him. Shi Feng had been away for two days now, so he had a stockpile of 60 bottles. Shi Feng had also brought with him a huge stock of Light Stones for Blue Frost and the others. The nights in the Dark Den were longer than the days. Hence, Light Stones were far more useful to these players. "Having a Guild is awesome. I never imagined that we would get our hands on an item like this. Even at night, our top ten parties will be able to grind safely." Blue Frost expressed his shock as he stared at the Light Stone in his hand. Not a single Shelter in the Dark Den had anything like the Light Stones. Other than grinding and questing, the Light Stones could also be used during monster attacks to weaken the monsters, making it much easier to defend the Shelter. "Right, my main goal in coming here this time is to give this to you," Shi Feng said as he retrieved the Chapter of Shelter from his bag. The Chapter of Shelter was an item that could promote a Shelter by a single rank, up to a maximum of Large Shelter. When everyone saw the Chapter of Shelter, they were stupefied. Up until now, Large Shelters were something that only Guild Forces possessed. Although they had thought of upgrading District One''s Shelter to a Large Shelter countless times before, it was simply too difficult for independent players. They would require at least a month to gather the required manpower and resources. That time might be extended further depending on their progression on the quests involved. Now, however, with the Chapter of Shelter, they could upgrade District One''s Shelter into a Large Shelter without going through all that trouble. They would then qualify to compete for dominance in the Dark Den. Zero Wing was astonishing! Shi Feng''s generosity had engraved this notion on Blue Frost and everyone else''s hearts. The many Guild Forces in the Dark Den had spent a ridiculous amount of effort to upgrade a Medium Shelter to a Large Shelter. They had gathered all of the resources from the Shelters under their control and had spent significant time to do so. On the other hand, Shi Feng had completed a similar feat by casually revealing a Chapter of Shelter. If the other Guild Forces discovered this, they would definitely be dumbfounded. "Lotus, begin the preparations. We''re going to upgrade the Shelter," Blue Frost proclaimed, grinning at the Chapter of Shelter in Shi Feng''s hand. 645 Administrator Chapter 645 - Administrator The Evil Ghost Domain was vast. It was roughly the one-fifth the size of Star-Moon Kingdom. There were also several Shelters within the Domain. Among these Shelters, some were under the control of large Guilds. However, not a single Shelter within the Evil Ghost Domain had been promoted to a Large Shelter until today. One could just imagine how difficult it was to promote a Medium Shelter to a Large Shelter. When a Medium Shelter became a Large Shelter, its player capacity increased from 30,000 to 100,000. Not only would this increase the Shelter''s defensive capabilities, but the larger population would also improve collection speed of Soul Crystals by several times. Most importantly, upon becoming a Large Shelter, a Shelter could have three Specialties, which was two more than a Medium Shelter. Moreover, these Specialties production volumes would increase significantly. Originally, the 1-star Lions Bar only produced 20 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine per day. After becoming a Large Shelter, the Lions Bar''s production of 50 bottles a day doubled. In other words, the 2-star Lions Bar could produce 100 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine each day. The Hundred Berry Wine was a rare tool that could increase a player''s compatibility rate with their weapons for a short time, allowing players to grasp the feeling and subtlety of improved compatibility rates. It was the best item for cultivating experts. The Hundred Berry Wine was far more effective than the Trial Tower of the Divine Colosseum. Otherwise, with no Divine Colosseums inside the Dark Den, these players would stagnate and fall far behind players elsewhere. Half an hour later, the Heavenly Crystal Pillar inside District One''s Shelter released a dazzling red light that shot into the sky. A faint red barrier then began to form around the Shelter. For a time, aside from Shi Feng and the others who were currently inside the Heavenly Crystal Pillar, every player was teleported out of the Shelter. In the next moment, the Shelter began to expand. At the same time, new buildings began appearing, one after another. A short while later, the Medium Shelter''s size had increased by tenfold. When the Shelter stopped expanding, a system announcement reached out to every player inside the Evil Ghost Domain. Evil Ghost Domain System Announcement: Congratulations to the Shelter of District One for becoming the first in the Evil Ghost Domain to become a Large Shelter. Rewarding 1,000 Soul Crystals to the Shelter. All players of District One will receive a two-day Protected buff that increases all Attributes by 10%. Production volume of the Shelter''s Specialties will be increased by 100% for seven days. The system announcement excited District One''s stunned players. "Our District One is too amazing! We actually became a Large Shelter! We won''t have to worry about getting Mounts once we reach Level 40!" Everyone celebrated the new achievement. Currently, the Shelter''s players were nearing Level 40. It wouldn''t be long before they reached that milestone. However, upgrading a Medium Shelter to a Large Shelter was not achievable in a short amount of time. If they wanted to obtain Mounts, they would have no choice but to travel to other Large Shelters and pay an exorbitant fee to purchase one. Moreover, they had to obtain permission from the ruling parties of said Shelters beforehand. Otherwise, they would not be able to purchase a Mount even if they could afford one. Now, however, they no longer had to worry about such problems. They could just buy a Mount at cost price from their own Shelter. --- Meanwhile, the various other Shelters in the Evil Ghost Domain were stupefied. Normally, to promote a Medium Shelter to a Large Shelter, one had to pool the majority of the resources available within a Domain and invest a lot of time. Although District One was one of the strongest Shelters in the Evil Ghost Domain and had annexed several competitors, it should still require a long time before becoming a Large Shelter. Yet, after only a few days since District One began annexing other Shelters, it had successfully upgraded to a Large Shelter. It was simply inconceivable. "Contact the leader of District One''s First Party, Blue Frost, immediately! Tell him that our District Nine is willing to submit." "How did they manage this so quickly? Wouldn''t it be more beneficial to join District One, rather than joining a Guild Force, now? We need to head to District One and discuss an alliance." Shortly after the system announcement, the top ten parties of many Shelters discussed currying favor with District One. When a Medium Shelter became a Large Shelter, it could hold 70,000 more players than before. It could easily fit the population of two or three Medium Shelters. If they could obtain a slot for themselves, they would not have to worry about obtaining Mounts in the future. They could also enjoy the various benefits only available in a Large Shelter. --- Meanwhile, inside District One''s Heavenly Crystal Pillar, Blue Frost and the others were similarly surprised. Although they had expected the Shelter''s promotion, they had never expected their hold over the Shelter to become more powerful. All along, the Shelter belonged to all of its residents. Meanwhile, they, the Shelter''s top ten parties, only acted as managers; they were not the owners. The managers were determined through Contribution Shares. If another party possessed more Contribution Shares than they did, they would be replaced immediately. Normally, this rule held fast even after a Shelter was upgraded. Only, after a Shelter''s promotion, the top ten ranking parties would receive a massive amount of Contribution Shares, making it more difficult for other parties to compete for the top ten positions. However, while it might be difficult for a Guild Force to take over a powerful Shelter by force, it was not entirely impossible. However, after Shi Feng used the Chapter of Shelter, the management system had changed. Shi Feng had become the Shelter''s Administrator. An Administrator was far more powerful than the managers. Shi Feng could now arbitrarily delist players from District One, exiling them from the District and the benefits the Shelter offered. No other player possessed this authority. Of course, this was useless against the Shelter''s top ten parties. Moreover, there was a limit to the number of players an Administrator could delist each day. Even so, an Administrator''s authority was plenty frightening. Now, they had the ability to remove potential threats easily, preventing other Shelters from scheming against their Shelter. More importantly, an Administrator had the authority to veto a decision. For example, if the top ten parties wished to construct something, even if all ten parties agreed, the Administrator could voice their refusal, and the matter would end there. Moreover, the position of Administrator was unrelated to Contribution Shares. In other words, even if someone else accumulated more Contribution Shares than the Administrator, they could not replace the Administrator. The only way to overthrow an Administrator and take over a Shelter was to assault the entire Shelter and destroy it. However, it was not easy to assault a Large Shelter. In other words, currently, the Shelter of District One was under Zero Wing''s complete control. Outsiders could not steal it. "So the Chapter of Shelter has such a function as well." Shi Feng also only learned this after using the Chapter of Shelter. However, with this, he would not have to worry about losing the Shelter to other Guilds. He could rule with an iron fist. With that out of the way, he could invest more resources in District One''s Shelter, transforming it into an iron fortress. Following which, Shi Feng left the Shelter''s management to Blue Frost. He then purchased all of the available bottles of Hundred Berry Wine from the Lions Bar and took the massive batch of Gemstones Blue Frost had prepared before returning to White River City. As the Shelter had just upgraded to a Large Shelter, its Specialties'' production had improved. As a result of the 7-day bonus, the Lions Bar could produce up to 200 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine each day. However, as Blue Frost and the others had already purchased 50 bottles, there were only 150 bottles remaining. Even so, Shi Feng was satisfied with this amount. Even one bottle of Hundred Berry Wine could tempt many experts, not to mention 210 bottles. With this many, he could raise the combat power of Zero Wing''s core members to a whole new level. 646 Killing Multiple Birds with One Stone Chapter 646 - Killing Multiple Birds with One Stone Shortly after Shi Feng used a Return Scroll and returned to White River City, the Shelter of District One hummed with activity. Now that the Shelter''s population potential had increased so drastically, many players in the Evil Ghost Domain planned to migrate to District One to enjoy the benefits of a Large Shelter. Hence, reviewing the invitations demanded a considerable amount of work. In addition, the promotion to a Large Shelter did not mean that players could purchase Mounts immediately. There was a need to construct a Taming Facility first, and the construction of a Taming Facility required a massive amount of Soul Crystals. Meanwhile, after District One''s Shelter became a Large Shelter, many Guild Forces based in the Evil Ghost Domain began to consider it a target. They all wished to conquer the Large Shelter. In the past, although District One occupied valuable land, and the Shelter was relatively strong, to Guild Forces, it had been a trivial opponent. After all, independent players ran District One. It was of no threat to Guild Forces. Now, however, things had changed. District One had become the first District to own a Large Shelter in the Evil Ghost Domain. This would greatly affect the situation in the Evil Ghost Domain. The Medium Shelters under their control held no advantage against a Large Shelter. If they could take control of District One, not only could they extinguish any looming threats, but they could also increase their own strength. They also wouldn''t have to waste effort collecting and pooling their Guild''s resources to obtain a Large Shelter for themselves. Most importantly, District One''s Large Shelter had not been promoted by a Guild Force. As far as they were concerned, District One was like a heap of loose sand; its residents were not united. They could take advantage of this and take the Shelter by storm. With this, they could kill two birds with one stone. Why wouldn''t they do it? For a time, the many Guild Forces in the Evil Ghost Domain secretly plotted to insert their own men into District One''s Shelter. Meanwhile, although Blue Frost and the others had predicted these Guild Forces'' intentions, not only did they not attempt to stop them, but they also actively encouraged it. After all, they were not afraid of anyone trying to replace them. They earnestly wished the various Guild Forces would come and offer them more resources. The matter of District One joining Zero Wing was only known by a few of District One''s upper echelons. In the eyes of outsiders, District One had only obtained a Large Shelter due to its managers being very united, powerful, and lucky. Moreover, there were only so many Guild Forces in the Evil Ghost Domain. Everyone knew which Shelters belonged to which Guild Forces. Hence, everyone believed that District One''s Shelter had yet to ally themselves with a Guild. Normally, if players wished to join a Shelter, the Shelter''s managers would welcome them with open arms. After all, more players would strengthen the Shelter itself and increase the number of Soul Crystals the Shelter could obtain. For District One, however, other than those who had been recruited by the Shelter''s upper echelons, any player who wished to join District One was required to pay a fee of one Soul Crystal. Although the price was high, current players were much higher leveled than before. As a result, the difficulty of obtaining Soul Crystals and the price of Soul Crystals had decreased. Compared to Shi Feng''s initial arrival in the Dark Den, Soul Crystals'' prices had fallen by two to three times. Currently, every elite party had at least one Soul Crystal on hand at all times. If they worked hard for a week or so, they could collect six Soul Crystals. Obviously, Guild Forces'' elite teams had a far easier time of collecting the Crystals. Even after Blue Frost and the others recruited some players, there should still be 50,000 spots remaining. Charging one Soul Crystal per person, if they managed to fill all 50,000 slots, they would receive an additional 50,000 Soul Crystals. A player''s ownership of 50,000 Soul Crystals was vastly different from a Shelter''s ownership. Take the Lions Bar''s promotion for example. If Blue Frost and the others funded the promotion themselves, they would only have to spend 500 Soul Crystals to promote the bar to 3-stars. However, if they used the Shelter''s cumulative resources, they would have to spend 10,000 crystals. With 50,000 Soul Crystals, not only could they easily construct a Taming Facility, but they could also construct two more buildings that supplied Specialities and upgrade both buildings to 2-stars. In addition, they would have enough leftovers to upgrade the Lions Bar to 3-stars, increasing the production volume of the Hundred Berry Wine once more. --- Meanwhile, Shi Feng had returned with a large stock of Gemstones and Hundred Berry Wine to White River City. Gemstones were extremely rare. Ordinary players would be reluctant to embed the Gemstones they had obtained into their equipment; if the item were destroyed, the Gemstones would similarly be destroyed. Players would generally only embed Gemstones in top-tier equipment as it was a safer option. When the need arose, they could simply remove the Gemstones and reuse them with other top-tier equipment. Currently, Tier 1 Gemstones were very cheap in the Evil Ghost Domain. Each crystal only cost 3 Silver. In Star-Moon Kingdom, however, each Tier 1 Gemstone sold for 9 Silver. As for Tier 2 Gemstones, each sold for 30 Silver in the Evil Ghost Domain, while prices in Star-Moon Kingdom fluctuated around 1 Gold. Star-Moon Kingdom''s prices were at least three times higher. Shi Feng had obtained 30,000 Tier 1 Gemstones from Blue Frost. These Gemstones had either been secretly purchased from the various Shelters in the Evil Ghost Domain or traded for Light Stones. A single stack contained 20 Gemstones. Shi Feng had returned with a total of 1,500 stacks of Tier 1 Gemstones, valued at a total of 900 Gold, which practically filled his entire bag. As for Tier 2 Gemstones, he had not bothered taking any as he had the Philosopher''s Stone. Through Alchemy Synthesis, he could produce Tier 2 Gemstones from Tier 1 Gemstones. After returning to White River City, Shi Feng first headed towards the Candlelight Trading Firm. At this point, the Candlelight Trading Firm was the most lively location in White River City. It could be considered the business center of all of Star-Moon Kingdom. The Trading Firm was the organization with the highest number of forgers and other Lifestyle classes in the entire kingdom. There were all sorts of player-made advanced products for sale on its shelves. If it were available in Star-Moon Kingdom, the Candlelight Trading Firm would almost certainly have it. Only certain exclusive items such as the Overwhelming Trading Firm''s Fire Dragon Potion were not available, as not even Zero Wing could obtain the designs and recipes for these items. Even so, the wide variety of products they offered was enough to overwhelm players. Other than Star-Moon Kingdom, thanks to Phoenix Rain''s help, the Candlelight Trading Firm had also set up Branch Shops in the major cities of neighboring kingdoms and empires. The Trading Firm''s daily profits reached several thousand Gold. However, this placed a heavy burden on the Firm''s manager, Melancholic Smile. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s ability to earn money far surpassed even first-rate Guilds. Only super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds could rival the Trading Firm now. However, as time progressed, super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds would definitely surpass the Candlelight Trading Firm due to their massive range of influence in God''s Domain. The resources and contacts they possess far surpassed the Candlelight Trading Firm. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm could continue to expand, Zero Wing simply did not possess the required strength and manpower to keep up with it. Fortunately, Shi Feng had long since prepared for this situation. He had not been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in the past for nothing. Since the first day he logged into God''s Domain in this life, he had been thinking of ways to improve his Guild''s background and had come up with a series of plans. At this point, his plans had finally produced some results. Shi Feng retrieved the Philosopher''s Stone from his Personal Warehouse and arrived at his exclusive Advanced Forging Room in the Candlelight Trading Firm. He then began to synthesize the Tier 2 Gemstones. If he sought out the aid of NPC Alchemists to synthesize high-tiered Gemstones, not only would he have to foot an exorbitant labor fee, but the success rate was also not particularly high. For Tier 2 Gemstones, NPCs only had a 30% success rate. Synthesizing a Tier 2 Gemstone required four Tier 1 Gemstones. With acceptable luck, he might obtain one Tier 2 Gemstone for every twelve Tier 1 Gemstones. However, the Tier 2 Gemstones was only ten times more valuable than Tier 1 Gemstones. Hence, it was not profitable to synthesize high-tiered Gemstones. On the other hand, the Philosopher''s Stone in Shi Feng''s possession had a 100% success rate for synthesizing Tier 2 Gemstones. If he synthesized Tier 2 Gemstones using the Philosopher''s Stone, he could easily multiply his profit. Naturally, Shi Feng could not let this opportunity escape him. Only, Shi Feng''s goal was not to earn money. Tier 2 Gemstones have already become a mainstream item among large Guilds. If I want Zero Wing''s main force to clear a 100-man Dungeon even a day sooner, I will have to set Tier 3 Gemstones as the standard. Shi Feng took out his Tier 1 Gemstones and began the Alchemy Synthesis. 647 Realm of Experts Chapter 647 - Realm of Experts Currently, the highest-tiered Gemstone one could obtain from monsters in God''s Domain was a Tier 2. As for Tier 3 Gemstones, they only dropped from Level 30 and above large-scale Dungeons. Meanwhile, NPC Alchemists only had a 20% success rate to synthesize Tier 3 Gemstones. The cost involved was massive. Currently, Tier 2 Gemstones sold for 1 Gold. Ignoring the labor fees and with average luck, one would require at least 20 Tier 2 Gemstones to synthesize a Tier 3 Gemstone. The cost alone was 20 Gold. It was simply not realistic for a Guild to supply its main force with Tier 3 Gemstones. However, the Attributes Tier 3 Gemstones provided were significantly higher than Tier 2 Gemstones. Tier 1 Gemstones only increased a single Attribute by 3 points. Tier 2 Gemstones increased a single Attribute by 6 points. As for Tier 3 Gemstones, they increased a single Attribute by 12 points. If one embedded every piece of equipment they had with Tier 3 Gemstones, it would be the equivalent of wearing an additional piece of top-tier equipment. This would significantly increase a player''s combat power. To the large Guilds'' main forces, upgrading Attributes was limited because their equipment had already reached a certain level. If an ordinary player swapped out their full set of Bronze Equipment for a full set of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, their strength would rise by a single level. However, a large Guild''s main force usually wore the highest quality equipment they could get their hands on. If it were not Dark-Gold rank, then, at the very minimum, they would wear Fine-Gold rank. Hence, it was extremely difficult to upgrade their equipment. If they could receive a bonus to their Attributes that had as large of an impact as another piece of Dark-Gold Equipment, it would make a huge difference. Without rest, Shi Feng spent half the day synthesizing Tier 2 Gemstones. In the end, he transformed the 30,000 Tier 1 Gemstones into 7,500 Tier 2 Gemstones. "The success rate for synthesizing Tier 3 Gemstones is actually as high as 80%?" Shi Feng could not help but grin when he saw the message that the Philosopher''s Stone displayed. Initially, Shi Feng would have been satisfied with a 60% success rate. After all, NPC Alchemists'' success rate was only 20%. Furthermore, Shi Feng''s Luck Attribute was also relatively high. That would most likely lower his expenditure even further. Four hours later, Shi Feng had a total of 1,674 Tier 3 Gemstones, 174 more than his initial estimation. "If I sold all these Tier 3 Gemstones, just how many more plots of Land could I buy for the Candlelight Trading Firm?" Shi Feng sighed as he stared at the Tier 3 Gemstones cluttering the table. It was no wonder why the Philosopher''s Stone was a treasure that could incite war between kingdoms and empires. Moreover, it was currently incomplete. Shi Feng could not even begin to fathom just how powerful the complete Philosopher''s Stone would be. In the past, during God''s Domain''s initial stages, a Tier 3 Gemstone could sell for 25 Gold. Its price was more than ten times higher than Tier 2 Gemstones. If Shi Feng sold all 1,674 Tier 3 Gemstones, he could earn over 40,000 Gold. That was enough money to purchase three or four golden Lands. Meanwhile, he had only spent 900 Gold on the Gemstones. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of selling the Tier 3 Gemstones. What Zero Wing lacked right now was a large group of experts. With these Tier 3 Gemstones, he could elevate Zero Wing''s strength to a whole new level. That way, the Guild would have the power to support and stabilize the Candlelight Trading Firm''s development. --- Just as Shi Feng was excitedly contacting Aqua Rose and preparing to replace the main force''s Tier 2 Gemstones with Tier 3 Gemstones, the situation at White River City''s Divine Colosseum had reached a boiling point. More experts from Heaven''s Burial suddenly broke through the fourth floor of the Trial Tower. Currently, the Guild had a total of 42 members who had reached the fifth floor, double that of their previous record and surpassing Zero Wing''s previous record of 36 people. "Although three more people from Zero Wing have passed through the fourth floor, Heaven''s Burial is superior. Another 22 of their people have passed the fourth floor within the same timespan. It really makes you wonder just how they have nurtured so many experts." "It seems that Heaven''s Burial has a chance of replacing Zero Wing as White River City''s overlord." "Overwhelming Smile isn''t doing too bad, either. Today, another eight people have reached the fifth floor, pushing their total to 37. Right now, Overwhelming Smile is only behind Zero Wing by two people. In another one or two days, Overwhelming Smile''s number of experts will probably surpass Zero Wing as well." Due to the increase of each Guild''s number of experts in the Divine Colosseum, many players had begun changing their opinions of Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile. Although one could not tell much by the number of experts, it could indicate a Guild''s potential. In the God''s Domain of today, due to Shi Feng repeatedly shattering the concept of strength by numbers, the public no longer evaluated a Guild based on how many members it possessed. Then, how could one judge a Guild''s strength? The first method was by examining the Guild''s raid progression of large-scale Team Dungeons. This was the best way to judge the comprehensive strength of a Guild. The second method was by reviewing the number of experts a Guild possessed. At present, passing the fourth floor was the commonly accepted standard for an expert. Very quickly, this matter attracted the attention of the various large Guilds in White River City. Originally, Zero Wing had been White River City''s sole ruler. Now, however, it would seem that three rulers would sit on the city''s throne. Heaven''s Burial, in particular, was very mysterious. The Guild developed as fast as Zero Wing had in the past. Even the famous Ghost Shadow Workshop had joined Heaven''s Burial. One could just imagine how powerful the Guild''s backing was. Previously, Zero Wing had relied on Shi Feng to shoulder its success. Now, however, Heaven''s Burial''s potential was even greater than Zero Wing''s. Not only did it possess well-known, top-tier experts, but it also had the financial strength to rival Overwhelming Smile. Heaven''s Burial was definitely a powerful competitor. For a time, many players were tempted to take part in Heaven''s Burial''s entrance examination. Heaven''s Burial was constantly recruiting Guild members. Moreover, its entry requirements were a lot lower than Zero Wing''s. If they joined Heaven''s Burial now, by the time the Guild grew into its power and became White River City''s overlord, their statuses would rise with the tide. It was just like the Zero Wing of today. Currently, even a normal member of Zero Wing was enviable. --- Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: The members of the main force had gathered in the conference hall after receiving Shi Feng''s summons. At this moment, they discussed events among themselves. "Did Guild Leader summon us because of the Divine Colosseum?" "Probably. After all, this is a matter concerning the Guild''s reputation. Zero Wing is the number one Guild in White River City, yet right now, we have fewer experts who have passed the fourth floor than the newly established Heaven''s Burial. We have to do something to restore our reputation." "How could the Trial Tower''s fourth floor be so easy to break through? I am still stuck in the fourth floor''s middle sector, not to mention the end." "Indeed. Based on what I heard from Guild Leader, if one cannot display 50% of their actual combat power, they will not be able to overcome the fourth floor." Everyone felt disheartened when they spoke about the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. They all were members of Zero Wing''s main force and were the envy of ordinary players. In reality, however, they knew that, without breaking through the Trial Tower''s fourth floor, they could not be considered as true experts. Despite Zero Wing providing far better resources than Heaven''s Burial or Overwhelming Smile, for some reason, only a small number of people had managed to reach the realm of experts. As everyone chatted, Shi Feng entered the conference hall, leading Aqua Rose and Fire Dance. The conference hall suddenly fell silent, everyone in the room shifting their gazes towards the black-cloaked Shi Feng. 648 Rapid Improvemen Chapter 648 - Rapid Improvement As Shi Feng appeared, the atmosphere inside the conference all became extraordinarily heavy. The benefits that this Zero Wing team enjoyed were far more generous than what Overwhelming Smile and Heaven''s Burial offered. Not only had everyone received their own rooms, allowing them to store up the Double EXP buff easily, but they also had access to an extravagant number of Magic Crystals. Each of them received ten Magic Crystals each day. This was double what Heaven''s Burial''s main force received. Yet, in the end, Heaven''s Burial had more members reach the fifth floor. If the public learned about the benefits that Zero Wing''s main force enjoyed, they would ridicule the team as a bunch of trash. Knowing this, everyone had prepared themselves to receive Shi Feng''s scolding. Shi Feng took his seat on the Guild Leader''s throne. Without saying a word, he took out a cyan wine bottle and placed it on the table. Everyone shifted their gaze to the bottle curiously. The wine bottle''s information displayed the name "Hundred Berry Wine." It was only a bottle of wine. "Guild Leader, you''re not forcing them to get drunk as a punishment, are you?" Aqua Rose could not figure out what Shi Feng intended to do. At this moment, rather than admonishing everyone for their arrogance, which had led to their complacency, Shi Feng instead revealed a bottle of fine wine. Just what was he trying to do? "I am not that extravagant." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. "I''ve prepared this bottle of Hundred Berry Wine as a reward." As for the matter regarding Zero Wing''s performance falling behind Overwhelming Smile and Heaven''s Burial, it had not surprised Shi Feng whatsoever. These two Guilds were not as simple as they appeared. Both Guilds had been recruiting talents from everywhere, not just White River City. In addition, both Guilds possessed powerful backgrounds with long histories. Now that these two Guilds had familiarized themselves with God''s Domain, their advantage began to reveal itself. It would still be a while before a newly-established Guild like Zero Wing would catch up to these two. This was also why first-rate and second-rate Guilds looked down on upstart Guilds like Zero Wing. Every time a new game came out, many upstart Guilds would appear. They rose very quickly and fell very quickly. These newly-recognized Guilds were like the nouveau riche. How could they possibly compare to the wealthy aristocrats who had been tested over time? Only those capable of withstanding the test of time were able to set foot into this realm. "Reward?" Everyone curiously stared at the bottle of Hundred Berry Wine on the table. Every player here was a core member of Zero Wing. They would usually have plenty of excess money to spend, and normally, they would treat themselves at high-class bars and restaurants. After all, the food and wine that these establishments served were far superior to those in the outside world. It had become a trend for many wealthy prince and princesses to dine at these establishments. However, despite frequently enjoying those delicacies, none of them had ever heard of a wine named the Hundred Berry Wine. Moreover, what could they do with only one bottle of wine? "This Hundred Berry Wine can assist you with improving your combat techniques. I doubt any of you will take my word for it, so I intend to allow each of you to test it. Everyone will receive one bottle. When you have reached your limit inside the Trial Tower, drink the whole bottle. At that time, you''ll see what I mean," Shi Feng laughed. He then took out another 99 bottles from his bag. "After this, if any of you want the Hundred Berry Wine again, that will depend on your improvement speed and strength. Once every three days, I will reward at least one bottle to the top ten ranking members in the Trial Tower. The first place will receive three bottles, second and third will receive two bottles, and the rest will receive one. The top ten to improve the most during the three days will also be rewarded. At that time, how many bottles you receive will depend on your own ability. Although Shi Feng wished to supply everyone with a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine, enabling them to search for that feeling, the wine''s production volume was simply too low. He could only offer it to very few of the Guild''s elites. "Guild Leader, can this item really improve a person''s combat techniques?" Aqua Rose also knew quite a bit about God''s Domain. However, she had never heard of an item capable of improving a player''s combat techniques. If the Hundred Berry Wine was truly capable of such a feat... The rest of the team similarly doubted Shi Feng''s claim. Improving combat techniques was not something that could be done overnight. The process involved a lot of learning and practice. The Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower also offered suggestions on how to improve one''s combat techniques. Although the guidance was minimal, everyone considered it very helpful. "You''ll find out once you test it." Shi Feng smiled, not bothering to explain. --- Inside the Divine Colosseum: In order to promote their Guilds, Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile publicized their battle videos through the screens in the Colosseum''s main hall for free. Many players took the time to study these videos. "Ah, Zero Wing''s members are here." "Are they trying to wrestle back their glory?" "Probably. However, the likelihood of them succeeding is slim. Some time ago, a few more experts from Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile broke through the fourth floor. Currently, Heaven''s Burial has 49 people who have reached the fifth floor. The Guild even has eight people who have reached the sixth floor. Their position as White River City''s number one Guild is solid now. Meanwhile, Overwhelming Smile is closely following behind, with 45 people who have reached the fifth floor and six who have reached the sixth. Both Guilds are way above Zero Wing, who only has 39 people on the fifth floor and four on the sixth." Many players were not optimistic about Zero Wing''s chances. Whether it was the members of the Guild''s main force or the Dark Gods Legion, both had already challenged the Trial Tower today. "I never thought that there would be a moment when Black Flame would panic. However, his actions only bring him more despair." Seated in a room on the second floor, Feng Xuanyang quickly noticed Shi Feng enter the Divine Colosseum with the other members of Zero Wing''s main force. With excitement filling his eyes, he said, "Go; notify War Wolf''s team. It''s time to show the public who the true ruler of White River City is." Originally, Feng Xuanyang had intended to keep Overwhelming Smile''s strength hidden for a little while longer. However, after seeing Shi Feng personally show up at the Divine Colosseum, he could not suppress the hatred in his heart. Although he could not do anything to Shi Feng directly, it would soothe his heart if he could strike a mental blow to Shi Feng. As long as War Wolf''s team took action, Overwhelming Smile would immediately have a large group of experts pass through the fourth floor. At that time, Zero Wing''s efforts to make a comeback would be rendered futile. Its reputation would be in tatters. --- Meanwhile, the members of Zero Wing''s main force, who had just entered the Trial Tower, felt a burden of expectation. Everyone clearly understood their own combat power. To put it simply, it was extremely difficult for them to break through the fourth floor. However, since Shi Feng had told them to give it a try, they could only grit their teeth and follow his commands. Very quickly, the members of Zero Wing''s main force passed through one floor after another. Upon reaching the fourth floor, everyone grew anxious. The Trial Tower''s tests were set according to the player''s strength. For every test, the system would generate a perfect doppelganger of the challenger. The doppelganger possessed the same combat power as the challenger. However, the doppelganger''s actual combat power varied depending on one''s progression in the Trial Tower. Each floor was also divided into three stages: early, middle, and late. Through the battles with their own doppelgangers, players could learn their own shortcomings. Meanwhile, players who were capable of defeating the doppelganger during the fourth floor''s late stage would basically be able to display 50% of their actual combat power. These players were regarded as experts of God''s Domain. However, based on the standard of the current players of God''s Domain and the time they had to develop themselves, very few were capable of reaching the standard of an expert. "Hopefully I can pass through the late stage this time," Blackie prayed as watched his doppelganger before him. He then took out the Hundred Berry Wine from his bag and emptied the bottle''s contents, swallowing every last drop. Suddenly, his mind felt clear. Moreover, his compatibility rate with his weapon and equipment began to rise rapidly. The items felt like an extension of his own body. "This is amazing!" The others were similarly shocked. After drinking a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine, their perception of the world had undergone a complete change. When everyone casually used a Skill, they immediately discovered their Skill Completion Rates had significantly improved. Even Shadow Sword and the others, who had been stuck at around an 80% Completion Rate, could now easily achieve an 85% Skill Completion Rate, their combat power soaring. After familiarizing themselves with this new sensation, everyone tackled their respective opponents. 649 The Number One Guild’s Background Chapter 649 - The Number One Guild''s Background Shortly after Zero Wing''s main force entered the Trial Tower, both Overwhelming Smile and Heaven''s Burial simultaneously dispatched a large number of players to challenge the Trial Tower as well. Due to the competition between these three Guilds, the originally quiet Divine Colosseum suddenly grew lively. Many players who had returned to the city to rest had quickly made their way to the Divine Colosseum, hoping to witness this competition''s outcome and watch the exciting battle videos. Compared to the battle videos of normal PvP battles, these battle videos were far more valuable as references. It was especially true for the battle videos after the fourth floor. This was because the system would specifically display the fighting styles of the various classes, making the battle videos much more instructive. Normally, Guilds would not release such instructive battle videos to the public, keeping them for their own members. Some experts would even earn money with their battle videos. Other players would have to pay these experts a fee to watch. Many players who wished to improve themselves usually went for this option. As for those who did not wish to spend money, they would come to the Divine Colosseum to observe the battle videos for free. However, that which one can obtain for free lacked value. One would not learn the truly powerful techniques from a free battle video. As a result, the gap between paying and non-paying players widen, little by little. Meanwhile, the three great Guilds of White River City occupied themselves with their competition. Although the battle videos these Guilds publicized was limited to the fourth floor, it was enough to excite many players. "I wonder which Guild will obtain first place this time." "I''m betting on Heaven''s Burial. Of the members of Heaven''s Burial I saw going in to challenge the Trial Tower a moment ago, a few were well-known experts of other virtual reality games." "Heaven''s Burial really is amazing. It has actually recruited so many experts. It won''t be long before they try to claim the seat of White River City''s overlord." "That''s right. Now that Ghost Shadow Workshop has joined Heaven''s Burial, the Guild''s strength has soared by leaps and bounds. Ghost Shadow himself still maintains the highest record in the Trial Tower." "Ghost Shadow indeed deserves to be called one of the virtual gaming world''s top-tier experts. Even now, no one else has reached the seventh floor. Moreover, he even reached the middle stage of the seventh floor. I heard that Star-Moon City''s best record stopped at the sixth floor''s middle stage." "This is simply madness. I''m an elite member of the Assassin''s Alliance, but even until now, I am still stuck on the third floor. The fourth floor is still out of my reach. It really makes you wonder just how those experts manage to do it." "However, isn''t Black Flame Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert? Did Black Flame fail to reach the seventh floor?" "I''m not sure. However, Black Flame''s name isn''t on the Trial List. Maybe he hasn''t challenged the Trial Tower yet." "Hasn''t challenged it yet? He must be afraid of embarrassing himself. If he fails to surpass Ghost Shadow, he will lose his title as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert." Everyone grew excited as they examined the Trial Tower''s ranking list. Normally, it was extremely difficult for ordinary players to meet experts like Ghost Shadow. They lived in two completely different worlds. Now, not only did they have the chance to see these experts in person, but they also got to watch these famous experts compete against the main force of White River City''s number one Guild, Zero Wing. How could they not be excited? Just as everyone chatted about which Guild was stronger and which expert was more powerful, something changed on the Trial List. "Quick! Look! Someone just passed the fourth floor and reached the fifth!" A perceptive player quickly discovered the change. There were two ranking lists posted in the Divine Colosseum. One was the Tournament List, which catered towards PvP battles, while the other was the Trial List. Trial List held the names of the players who managed to clear each floor and the name of the Guild they belonged to. However, only the top 300 players on each floor would be displayed. For those who cleared the same floor, they would be ranked based on their clear time. However, the clear time held no particular meaning, as everyone only paid attention to the players on the highest floors. Nobody would care about how fast a person could clear the first three floors. Meanwhile, as there had yet to be a total of 300 players in White River City who had reached the fifth floor, it was very easy for players to notice a change to the number of players currently on the fifth floor and identify the person responsible for the change. "War Wolf? Who is that? Why haven''t I heard of him before? Really though, his clear time sure is short. His clear time for the fourth floor is only longer than Ghost Shadow''s." "I never thought that Overwhelming Smile would have such a powerful expert. If he has cleared the fourth floor so quickly, he should be able to reach the sixth floor." Suddenly, the crowd fell into a heated discussion. In White River City, the players who could reach the sixth floor were as rare as a phoenix''s feather. There were less than twenty as of this moment. Moreover, these experts were members of the three great Guilds. Meanwhile, there was only one person who had managed to reach the seventh floor, and that was the famous Ghost Shadow. "Sixth floor?" Feng Xuanyang was filled with disdain when he heard the players chattering downstairs. "What does the sixth floor amount to? The number one spot on the Trial List will belong to Overwhelming Smile." A moment later, War Wolf cleared the fifth floor, his name entering the sixth floor''s list. The sixth floor''s list housed very few people, so a new addition was bound to attract attention. At the same time, five more players passed through the fourth floor. Among them, two were members of Heaven''s Burial, two were Overwhelming Smile''s members, and the last person was Zero Wing''s Blackie, who had once ranked number one on White River City''s Ranking List. "It seems Zero Wing really is crap. Three more experts from Overwhelming Smile have reached the fifth floor, and one has even reached the sixth. As for Heaven''s Burial, two of their players have passed through the fourth floor as well. On the other hand, despite sending so many people in, only one person from Zero Wing has managed to reach the fifth floor. It seems that Zero Wing is no match for the two other Guilds when it comes to nurturing experts." Everyone made their own judgments upon seeing the obvious differences between the three Guilds. "Hahaha! Black Flame, do you see now? This is the difference between our Guilds! No matter how amazing you are, do you think a Guild with the support of only one person can surpass a real, large Guild?" Feng Xuanyang celebrated as he looked towards the room Shi Feng resided in. Time slowly passed. Suddenly, something inconceivable happened. The seventh floor''s list, which originally only had one, lonely name on it, suddenly had two. "Who is War Wolf?! He has actually passed through the sixth floor and entered the seventh floor!" "This is madness. It would be awesome if he released his battle video." The main hall suddenly exploded with activity. To the majority of current players, the seventh floor was a legend. It was a floor they could never reach. Meanwhile, sitting in one of the rooms on the second floor, Ghost Shadow frowned when he saw this change. "So, there''s still such an expert in White River City." A hint of excitement flashed in Ghost Shadow''s eyes. It was very lonely being an expert of his caliber. It was extremely difficult to find someone to compete with. Throughout White River City, there were only two experts who he was interested in. The first was Black Flame, while the second was Flame Blood. Now, one more had caught his interestCWar Wolf. However, while everyone committed War Wolf''s name to memory, another name suddenly joined his on the seventh floor''s list. Fire Dance! Everyone knew this name, the Commander of Zero Wing''s main force. Many of Overwhelming Smile''s experts had died at her hands. She had even fought valiantly in the great war with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, making a name for herself. Nobody would have thought that she would once more appear in the limelight. "Sure enough, Zero Wing will not be replaced so easily." Ghost Shadow could not help his elation when he saw another person reach the seventh floor. "How is this possible?" Feng Xuanyang stared at the name on the seventh floor''s list in disbelief. Fire Dance, Assassin, Affiliated Guild: Zero Wing. No matter how he looked at it, the name belonged to Fire Dance of Zero Wing. However, a short moment later, another new name appeared on the seventh floor''s list. Violet Cloud, Cleric, Affiliated Guild: Zero Wing. 650 Breaking the Record Chapter 650 - Breaking the Record The appearance of a fourth name on the Trial List''s seventh floor instantly plunged the Divine Colosseum''s main hall into silence. Everyone''s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when they saw Violet Cloud''s name. "How?!" Feng Xuanyang, who occupied a VIP room, also stared, slack-jawed, having lost his previous calm. He could barely accept Fire Dance reaching the seventh floor. After all, she was the Commander of Zero Wing''s main force. However, he could not bring himself to accept Violet Cloud''s victory. Aside from the difficulty of reaching the seventh floor, just the fact that there were two people in Zero Wing capable of this success was shocking. Yet The second person from Zero Wing to reach the seventh floor was not even a combat class. Instead, she was a Cleric, one of the healer classes. It was commonly known that, out of the twelve main classes in God''s Domain, the healer classes possessed the weakest combat power. It was also a lot more difficult for healer classes to advance in the Trial Tower as most of their Skills focused on healing rather than dealing damage. Hence, healers never ranked particularly high in the Trial Tower. Yet, Violet Cloud, a Cleric, had actually managed to reach the seventh floor However, what everyone did not know was that, in reality, Violet Cloud possessed a hidden class. She was not purely a Cleric. Regarding combat capabilities, Violet Cloud was slightly stronger than ordinary combat classes. Moreover, Violet Cloud had a bit more control over her own body than Fire Dance. Since Fire Dance had reached the seventh floor, Violet Cloud would naturally be able to do so as well. One could say that this was expected. When comparing top combat power, it was obvious, with a glance, which Guild was superior. Zero Wing grasped a complete victory. "Zero Wing really is the number one Guild. They actually have two top-tier experts capable of reaching the seventh floor. If Black Flame also competes, Zero Wing will most likely have three people on the seventh floor. Even Overwhelming Smile and Heaven''s Burial combined are no match for Zero Wing." "But it''s still too early to determine anything. Zero Wing has always had many top-tier experts. It is reasonable that they are superior to Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile in this aspect. However, a Guild cannot survive by relying on a handful of people. It has to rely on its main force, the Guild''s backbone. Take a look at Zero Wing''s backbone; it is clearly inferior to the other two Guilds. Zero Wing''s potential is still no match for the other two." "We are no longer living in the past. Before, Zero Wing was White River City''s absolute overlord. Now, however, just look; the person occupying the top one position on the Trial List is Heaven''s Burial''s Ghost Shadow. Zero Wing might not necessarily hold the overlord''s seat in the future." Many players in the main hall began discussing the matter, and the majority did not have a favorable view of Zero Wing''s future. A Guild had to depend on a powerful team for support. Even if an individual was stronger, how much of a difference could they make by themselves? Not to mention, Zero Wing had yet to obtain the number one position on the Trial List. "Right, this should be Zero Wing''s last remaining card. What''s there for me worry about? White River City will definitely be mine." Feng Xuanyang calmed himself down. He had too much riding on White River City. At this point, he had already invested everything he had into White River City. As long as he succeeded, he would become the first heir to his family. After being repeatedly defeated by Zero Wing, it had become an instinct of sorts to worry. However, after calming himself and giving the matter some thought, he realized that he had nothing to worry about. There were only so many experts in Zero Wing. On the other hand, in order to take control of White River City, Underworld had invested blood and sweat and had sent the experts it recruited from all over the virtual gaming world to White River City. With White River City under its control, how could Zero Wing possibly hope to compare with Underworld when it came to recruiting talent? This was only the beginning. Now that Overwhelming Smile had surpassed Zero Wing in terms of their respective Guild''s backbones, in the future, this gap would only grow. It was only a matter of time before Overwhelming Smile took control of White River City. Time gradually ticked by. Although it had been quite a shock to the spectators that two people from Zero Wing had reached the seventh floor, everyone''s attention quickly shifted back to the fifth floor''s list. To ordinary players, reaching the seventh floor was an impossible dream. The fifth floor, on the other hand, was not completely out of their reach. Hence, they paid more attention to the fifth floor''s list. "Look, two more people from Heaven''s Burial have passed." "Three more from Overwhelming Smile have passed as well." Just as everyone was focused on the fifth floor''s list, the list suddenly began to change multiple times. "What''s going on? I''m not seeing things, right? Why did more than a dozen names suddenly appear on the list?!" "Wow, it''s true. The total number of people on the list was 224. Now it''s 242. I wonder which Guild or independent players succeeded?" Many among the spectators greatly admired the independent experts who had reached the fifth floor. At this point, there were only a few experts in White River City who had reach the fifth floor. If one were an independent expert, large Guilds would shower them with invitations and various offers. They would become famous overnight and would no longer have to live an ordinary life. This situation had driven many independent players into a frenzy. It was one of the reasons why so many independent players were desperately challenging the Trial Tower. Today''s mainstream experts were already on the fifth floor. After some more time passed, when these experts reached the sixth floor, it would be far more difficult for independent players to experience such overnight fame. As everyone began searching for the identity of those 18 experts, they suddenly realized that something amiss. "Why does it seem like these people are from Zero Wing?" "This is a lie, right? All 18 people are actually from Zero Wing?!" None of the spectators dared to believe their own eyes. They immediately began counting the total number of players Zero Wing had on the fifth floor. In the end, they discovered that there were indeed 18 more fifth floor experts in the Guild. Instantly, Zero Wing became the Guild with the most experts on the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. However, just as they finished counting, another group of experts managed to pass through the fourth floor. This time, the numbers were even more frightening, with a total of 45 people. Moreover, all 45 were members of Zero Wing. Suddenly, the Divine Colosseum fell silent. Just what was this? Nobody in the main hall could make sense of what was happening. In the morning, Zero Wing''s main force had challenged the Trial Tower. At that time, however, not a single person had passed through the fourth floor. Yet, now, every single one of them passed. Zero Wing now had a total of 103 people on the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, far ahead of Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile. "Impossible! This is not possible! Something must have gone wrong with the Trial Tower!" Feng Xuanyang abruptly stood, his eyes bulging as he stared at the Trial List. If it were just an additional dozen or so people, he would have, at most, been surprised. However, if every single member of Zero Wing''s main force was an expert who passed the fourth floor, the term "shock" was no longer appropriate This was simply terrifying. To obtain more experts who could pass through the fourth floor, Feng Xuanyang had scoured and poached talents from various other cities. He had also received a continuous supply of experts from Underworld. Yet, even so, he still couldn''t produce a 100-man team of such experts. What about Zero Wing? Not only was it a Guild without any backing whatsoever, but it also lacked a wide array of connections. How did such a Guild manage to obtain so many experts? "Zero Wing really knows how to hide its strength." Ghost Shadow squinted his eyes at the fifth floor''s list. He, too, felt a heavy pressure weigh on him. There was no longer anybody who dared to look down on Zero Wing. Nobody dared disparage the Guild anymore, claiming that its position as White River City''s overlord was no longer stable. What a joke. If Zero Wing''s entire main force consisted of fifth-floor experts, which Guild in White River City could contend with it? Not to mention White River City, even in all of Star-Moon Kingdom, there was not a single Guild that was a match for Zero Wing. However, before everyone could recover from their daze, another change occurred on the Trial List''s seventh floor. This time, however, there was no addition to the list itself. Instead, the rankings had changed. The lofty and overweening Ghost Shadow, who had stood at the very top of the Trial List, had fallen. Moreover, he had fallen not just one, but two places, taking the third place on the seventh floor. Meanwhile, the first and second ranks on the Trial Tower''s seventh floor now belonged to Fire Dance and Violet Cloud, respectively 651 Sensational Chapter 651 - Sensational The floors of the Trial Tower were divided into three stages. For the Trial Tower''s first four floors, the difference between each stage was small. However, from the fifth floor onwards, the required combat power would increase significantly with each subsequent stage. Hence, every time a player passed a stage after reaching the fifth floor, they had to undergo a relatively long period of training to proceed further. In the Divine Colosseum, only experts who had passed through the fourth floor would know how difficult it was to overcome each stage from the fifth floor onwards. Not to mention, Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had only recently passed the sixth floor, arriving on the seventh floor. However, of everyone in the Divine Colosseum, the situation shocked Ghost Shadow the most. The record he maintained so far was the middle stage of the seventh floor. In other words, both girls from Zero Wing had at least reached the seventh floor''s middle stage and had performed better than he had. He knew full well just how difficult the battles on the seventh floor were. That was no longer a challenge that an ordinary human being could tackle. Not only did the seventh floor have a relatively high requirement of one''s Skill Completion Rate, but more importantly, it also required one perfect application, executing Skills as if they were executing a normal attack. For example, if an ordinary person and a martial arts master were given identical swords, although the weapons were the same, each person''s capabilities with the blade were miles apart. Similarly, the combat power each individual could display was miles apart from each other. In this case, Skill Completion Rate was the weapon. The higher the Skill Completion Rate was, the more power the weapon could display. However, how much of that power was actually displayed still depended on the individual''s application. Ghost Shadow recognized himself as one of the top players in the virtual gaming world. He was also a talented individual. After coming into contact with God''s Domain, he had continuously researched and explored ways to better integrate his Skills into his basic attacks, displaying the maximum effect of his Skills and eliminating any hindrance in battle. Yet, now, two little girls had surpassed him so quickly. It was inconceivable. Have they been holding back all this time? Ghost Shadow wondered. In fact, Ghost Shadow wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. Everyone wondered. There was no other explanation. Something like a breakthrough in the face of a crisis was legendary. It might be a coincidence if it were just one person, but it was impossible for two people to encounter such a coincidence at the same time. The effect of the Hundred Berry Wine is really impressive. It''s a pity that I can only get my hands on so many bottles. Relaxing in a room, Shi Feng nodded and smiled as he watched the Trial List. Shi Feng was not surprised that every member had managed to pass the fourth floor. After all, that was the system-acknowledged standard for an ordinary expert. After drinking the Hundred Berry Wine, a player''s compatibility rate would increase significantly. Normally, the wine was capable of increasing a player''s Skill Completion Rate by roughly 10%, though the effects grew weaker as one progressed. However, to Zero Wing''s core members whose Skill Completion Rates hovered around 70%, their Skill Completion Rates would increase to 80% or more upon drinking the Hundred Berry Wine. Normally, one would pass through the fourth floor so long as they could maintain a stable Skill Completion Rate of 75%. Hence, it was only natural for everyone to reach the fifth floor. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and Violet Cloud were capable of reaching 85% Completion Rate with their Skills. After drinking the Hundred Berry Wine, their Skill Completion Rates could increase to roughly 90%. Although it was only a meager increase of 5%, the power they could display with their Skills would improve by 20% or 30%. The basic requirement for reaching the seventh floor was a Skill Completion Rate of 85%, displaying 100% of a Skill''s effect. In addition, if one were capable of skillfully applying their Skills into their basic attacks, they could normally pass through the seventh floor''s early stage. Although Fire Dance and Violet Cloud might still lack actual combat experience and were not proficient with Skill application, a Skill Completion Rate of 90% would be sufficient to get them through even the middle stage and pushing them into the seventh floor''s late stage. Hence, the fact that the two girls had managed to surpass a veteran top-tier expert like Ghost Shadow did not surprise Shi Feng at all. If Ghost Shadow could achieve a 90% Completion Rate with his Skills right now, at the very minimum, he could set foot on the eighth floor. It''s unfortunate that the Hundred Berry Wine only improves a person''s combat power temporarily. A person''s comprehension depends on the person. Shi Feng sighed as he glanced at the remaining 110 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine in his bag. The Hundred Berry Wine was a strategic tool in nurturing experts. It was no wonder why the Fantasy Shrine had managed to rise to power so quickly in the past. The Hundred Berry Wine had definitely contributed to this achievement. Shortly after every member of Zero Wing''s main force passed through the Trial Tower''s fourth floor, news spread at the speed of light. This reminded everyone just how powerful Zero Wing was. Upon receiving this information, many Guilds gave up on their development in White River City, shifting their attention to other cities instead. Against Zero Wing, whose main force consisted entirely of experts who could clear the fourth floor, their Guilds stood no chance. Rather than wait for their extermination, it would be better for them to develop themselves elsewhere. Who knew? Their chances of achieving success might even be higher somewhere else. --- Meanwhile, in Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Residence "Just how did Zero Wing manage to recruit so many experts?" Flame Blood frowned upon receiving news of the Divine Colosseum''s latest events. "What happened?" a short and chubby middle-aged man beside Flame Blood asked in a low tone. "Zero Wing just sent its main force to challenge the Trial Tower. In the end, every member has managed to reach the fifth floor. Among them, two have even surpassed Ghost Shadow''s record," Flame Blood said, not showing any signs of the arrogance he usually displayed as the Commander of Heaven''s Burial''s main force. On the contrary, he had lowered his posture when he spoke to the chubby middle-aged man. Although the man before Flame Blood was not adept with virtual reality games, the man''s position in the real world allowed him to remove Flame Blood from Heaven''s Burial easily should he ever wish to. Even the Guild Leader of Heaven''s Burial, Singular Burial, had to treat this middle-aged man with great respect. "Interesting. It seems that we won''t be able to avoid a confrontation with Zero Wing if we wish to obtain this treasured land," the chubby man said as he caressed his goatee. After a moment of silence, he continued, "Since we can''t beat them with numbers, let''s improve the Guild''s overall strength. "Flame Blood, notify Ghost Shadow and tell him that I''ll send Daybreak Fog to help out. We need to obtain the First Clear of a 100-man Dungeon as soon as possible." "Daybreak Fog?" Flame Blood could not help his surprise at the mention of this name. "Are we giving up on Star-Moon City?" Heaven''s Burial''s ambition was colossal. The Guild aimed to control all of Star-Moon Kingdom. The best way to do so was to take control of the kingdom''s lifeline firstits players. The two cities with the largest player population in the kingdom were Star-Moon City and White River City. Both also had the largest gathering of elite players. As long as Heaven''s Burial took control of these two cities, controlling the rest of the kingdom was only a matter of time. Of these two cities, Flame Blood spearheaded the White River City take-over, while Star-Moon City was spearheaded by Daybreak Fog. If one compared these two people''s fame, Daybreak Fog was superior. Flame Blood was merely one of the previous year''s top ten newcomers. On the other hand, Daybreak Fog had been one of the top ten newcomers of the virtual gaming world two years ago. Afterward, she had continued to perform magnificently in many virtual reality games. her fame was only slightly inferior to the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow, as she had made her debut roughly two years later than Gentle Snow had. In terms of strength, Daybreak Fog ranked third within Heaven''s Burial. If they really sent Daybreak Fog to White River City as support, with her strength and her team, Heaven''s Burial might actually have a chance of clearing a 100-man Team Dungeon. After all, during this period, everyone mostly understood the difficulty of a 100-man Team Dungeon. From the experience of clearing 50-man Team Dungeons, they had thought up of plenty of strategies. Now, all they needed to do was to take action. "White River City has become Star-Moon Kingdom''s business center. The number of elite players migrating to the city increases by the day. Star-Moon City is no match in this aspect. Hence, we have to prioritize this side for now. Moreover, when comparing the difficulty of 100-man Dungeons, White River City''s is easier. If we allow Zero Wing to continue developing unhindered, it will become impossible to take control of White River City in the future." --- Suddenly, Shi Feng received a communication request from a friend. "Gentle Snow?" 652 Asura Mode Dungeon Chapter 652 - Asura Mode Dungeon "Miss Snow, long time no see. You look tired," Shi Feng said, slightly surprised as he saw Gentle Snow''s haggard expression through the video chat. Gentle Snow was a well-known superwoman in the virtual gaming world. She also had plenty of capable subordinates under her. After not seeing each other for only a few days, Gentle Snow looked so exhausted. It was surprising. It had been quite a few years since Gentle Snow had made her debut. She should be quite competent at managing a Guild by now. In addition, the majority of Ouroboros''s Elders supported Gentle Snow right now, so managing the Guild should not be difficult. "I''ve been busy with Guild affairs these past few days, so I haven''t gotten much rest," Gentle Snow laughed softly, sweeping the matter under the rug with a single sentence. Inwardly, she envied Shi Feng, who could push the majority of Guild affairs onto Aqua Rose. Moreover, he only had to focus on White River City. Ouroboros, on the other hand, was competing over dozens of cities, both large and small. However, these cities were still the least of her problems. Star-Moon City was the issue. Ouroboros and the Star Alliance had been consolidating their positions in Star-Moon City. In addition to several other powerful second-rate Guilds, things had become extremely hectic for Gentle Snow. It was especially true for the three upstart Guilds that had recently appeared in Star-Moon City: Cloud Nine. Yin Yang Court. Heaven''s Burial. All three possessed extraordinary backgrounds. They even had multiple Guild Residences in Star-Moon Kingdom''s major cities. They were developing as fast as a plague. Among the affected cities, Star-Moon City received the greatest impact, and White River City was not far behind. Particularly, the manager of Star-Moon City''s Heaven''s Burial, Daybreak Fog, was far more difficult of an opponent than even Galaxy Past of the Star Alliance. So far, Ouroboros had clashed with Heaven''s Burial dozens of times, the battles ranging from small skirmishes to large-scale battles. Although Gentle Snow still held the advantage, Ouroboros did not have only one enemy. Both Cloud Nine and the Yin Yang Court eyed Ouroboros like fresh meat. Ouroboros had already been unstable due to Cao Chenghua''s theft of several of the Guild''s core and elite members. Now, before she could settle the turmoil within the Guild, she faced so much trouble. In such a precarious situation, how could set aside time to rest? She had not even upgraded her equipment recently. As Gentle Snow knew that Shi Feng disliked playing with words, after their casual greetings, she got straight to the point and said, "We have discovered a hidden treasured land near Star-Moon City. The area is rich in Magic Crystals, and I wish to invite Zero Wing to pioneer this treasured land by our side. Are you interested?" Before the Divine Colosseum had been released, Magic Crystals had not been particularly valuable. Now, however, they were a strategic commodity that every large Guild fought over frantically. Although every large Guild had a large number of players and was capable of dispatching many teams to raid Dungeons each day, Team Dungeons could only be raided once every three days. There were only so many Team Dungeons available. They could not acquire nearly as many Magic Crystals as they consumed. Meanwhile, if there was another optionother than Team Dungeonsfor one to obtain Magic Crystals, this was not an opportunity one could miss. "A hidden treasured land?" When Shi Feng heard these words, the first place that popped up in his mind was the Stoneclaw Mountains. In the past, when Stoneclaw Mountain had been discovered, it incited a great war between every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. The war had been the first kingdom-level war in Star-Moon Kingdom. Hundreds of Guilds involved themselves, all wanting to get their hands on a share of the profits. That war had caused every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to suffer massive damages. Moreover, Ouroboros and the Star Alliance had even started an all-out war with each other. In the end, taking advantage of the situation, Heaven''s Burial, the Yin Yang Court, Cloud Nine, and several other second-rate Guilds had banded together to form a massive alliance and took over the Stoneclaw Mountains, splitting the profits. Afterward, any players who wished to enter the Mountains were required to sign a contract, agreeing to hand over 30% of the Magic Crystals they harvested. In addition, players were required to pay a fixed fee before they could enter. The various large Guilds then split the profits. The Stoneclaw Mountains was a Regional Dungeon that had formed a space of its own. However, it was not just any Dungeon, but an Asura Mode Dungeon. Ordinary Team Dungeons were divided into three difficulties: Normal, Hard, and Hell. However, Regional Dungeons were divided into five difficulties: Normal, Hard, Hell, Asura, and God. The Stoneclaw Mountains existed within the fourth difficulty level of Regional Dungeons. The Dungeon was Level 30 to Level 49. In other words, only players that were within the range of Level 30 to Level 49 could enter the Dungeon. Unlike Team Dungeons, however, there was no limit to the number of players who could enter. It was like White Fog Canyon. Inside the Dungeon, players could obtain items that were normally unattainable elsewhere. In White Fog Canyon, players could obtain Starfire Ore that increased the success rate of forging. There was also the Warfire Set Equipment. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had already ruined White Fog Canyon. As of this moment, the Level 35 Great Lord, Anubis''s Gatekeeper, still roamed the map. As a result, no players dared to approach. Meanwhile, White Fog Canyon was merely a Hard Mode Regional Dungeon, whereas the Stoneclaw Mountains was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. Survival was far more difficult in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, Magic Crystals were vastly important. They must be obtained, regardless of the sacrifices. Even Zero Wing was no exception to this. "Currently, several Guilds from Star-Moon Kingdom are contesting over the rights of this hidden treasured land. If Zero Wing is willing to help, I can offer 50% of the income," Gentle Snow offered a relatively attractive price. To Gentle Snow, offering 50% of the profits was a big concession on her part. The Stoneclaw Mountains were within the Star-Moon City region. It was impossible for Zero Wing to send a large number of players to supervise the map. Hence, the responsibility of supervising the map would fall to Ouroboros. However, Zero Wing possessed extraordinary strength. As of this moment, even Shi Feng''s strength was a mystery. If Ouroboros and Zero Wing banded together, their chances of coming out on top would be a lot higher. Furthermore, working with other Guilds was simply not an option for Ouroboros. "Alright, but I have a condition," Shi Feng responded after giving it some thought. Zero Wing was based in White River City. There was a limit to how much combat power it could display in the faraway Star-Moon City. Even though the Guild was powerful, it could not move on the Stoneclaw Mountains by itself. Moreover, it was not realistic for a single Guild to monopolize the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Tell me." Gentle Snow rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. Her offer had already been bountiful, yet Shi Feng still had conditions of his own. "It''s not really a condition. I just need Ouroboros to help me obtain some materials. I''ll even purchase them for 20% above market value," Shi Feng laughed. He currently had very few of the materials required to construct the Stable and Teleportation Magic Array. It would take a long time to gather the necessary materials if he relied on Zero Wing. However, it would be much easier if he used Gentle Snow''s connections to purchase the materials because most of these materials could only be obtained by large Guilds. It was practically an impossible task for independent players. Yet, even if he tried purchasing these materials, other Guilds would only sell them to their allies. "Give me the list, then." Gentle Snow released a sigh of relief upon hearing Shi Feng''s condition. She had thought Shi Feng intended to take advantage of her current predicament, but it turned out that he still had some humanity left in him. "I''ll send it to you now," Shi Feng then sent a list of the materials required to construct the Stable and Teleportation Magic Array to Gentle Snow. "You really are daring. Most of these materials are rare drops from large-scale Team Dungeons. Although my Guild can obtain some, 20% above market value is too cheap. I''ll need 50% at least." Surprise flashed across Gentle Snow''s eyes when she read the list Shi Feng had provided. Even if she worked with the Star Alliance, the two Guilds could not gather all the materials listed. The cost alone was more than 2,000 Gold. "Okay, just get them as soon as possible." Shi Feng did not care about spending a little more money. If he could get his hands on the materials, he could earn back the money in the blink of an eye. Hearing Shi Feng''s lack of hesitation, Gentle Snow was slightly shocked. A 50% increase in price would mean more than 3,000 Gold. Even to a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros, that was a massive amount of money. Yet, Shi Feng thought nothing of it. After both sides established a contract, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and the others, instructing them to gather. The Stoneclaw Mountains could only be dealt with sooner, and not later. The earlier they occupied a favorable location, the greater their advantage would be when the war began. 653 Overall Improvemen Chapter 653 - Overall Improvement Although the Trial Tower''s competition ended with Zero Wing''s victory, the members of Zero Wing''s main force were well aware that it had been due to the Hundred Berry Wine. Otherwise, they would not have achieved such frightening results. During the challenge, everyone had discovered many of their own imperfections, their combat power improving slightly as a result. "What a pity. If I could experience that kind of feeling once more, I might reach a stable Skill Completion Rate at 87% and pass this stage." After the Hundred Berry Wine''s effects dissipated, Fire Dance challenged the sixth floor''s late stage again. This time, she passed it without any issues and could now reach the seventh floor with her own power. Unfortunately, she suffered defeat in the seventh floor''s early stage. "But the Hundred Berry Wine did allow me to gain an initial understanding of how to use Void Steps. Guild Leader will be surprised if he finds out." Void Steps was an advanced style of footwork and Shi Feng''s trademark technique. Just gaining an initial understanding of how to use the Skill was extremely difficult. If Shi Feng learned that Fire Dance could use Void Steps, he would definitely be surprised. He had spent many years in order to learn the technique, yet Fire Dance had managed to grasp it in such a short time. Although Shi Feng''s guidance largely contributed to her success, the fact that she had learned the technique in such a short time certainly had something to do with her innate talent. "Huh? Return to the Residence?" Fire Dance muttered as she read the message Aqua Rose had sent to her. She then chose to teleport out of the Trial Tower. --- Inside the conference hall of Zero Wing''s Guild Residence Without wasting time, Shi Feng retrieved all of the synthesized Tier 3 Gemstones from his bag. "All of you, equip these Tier 3 Gemstones." Shi Feng had already replaced all his Tier 2 Gemstones with Tier 3 Strength-attributed Gemstones. As a result, his Strength Attribute had increased by more than a hundred points. At this moment, even without activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Strength could match a Chieftain of the same level. Even a Lord of the same level would struggle to push him back. If the main force replaced their Tier 2 Gemstones with Tier 3 Gemstones as well, although they would not be as strong as he was, they could still contend with a Special Elite of the same level. Some, such as Fire Dance and the others, who wore a Tier 1 Set Equipment, might be capable of more. Ordinary players'' Attributes were inferior to Common monsters of the same level. They would only be slightly stronger with a full set of Bronze Equipment. At that time, the only advantage Common monsters would have was their higher HP. If a player was fully equipped with Secret-Silver Equipment, their Attributes should be roughly equal to an Elite monster of the same level. Only when one wore a full set of Dark-Gold Equipment would they have the same amount of Attributes as a Special Elite of the same rank. As for Zero Wing''s main force, although their equipment was a mix of Level 30 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, they had the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits to make up for the difference. If they embedded Tier 3 Gemstones into every item, their Attributes should be roughly the same as if they wore a set of Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment. None of the main force''s members dared to believe their eyes as they stared at the Tier 3 Gemstones on the table. Every jaw hit the floor. Aqua Rose was similarly stunned speechless. She knew full well just how valuable Tier 3 Gemstones were. Moreover, no one had found a source for these Gemstones yet. One could only obtain them from Alchemy Synthesis. However, synthesizing a Tier 3 Gemstone would cost at least 20 Gold. Meanwhile, there were over a thousand shining Gemstones on the table. In other words, the Gemstones scattered across this table were worth over 20,000 Gold at the very least. "We''re in a hurry, so equip them quickly." Shi Feng had already received a status report about the Stoneclaw Mountains. Although things seemed calm on the surface, and the various Guilds were busy killing monsters and grinding for Magic Crystals, the number of Guild players gathering in the Mountains increased by the minute. Every Guild was rapidly mobilizing their forces. Even Stone Forest Town, the closest town to the Stoneclaw Mountains, was surrounded by players. All of these players were members of various large Guilds. It seemed that these Guilds intended to capture Stone Forest Town. The nearest teleportation array to the Stoneclaw Mountains was over ten hours on foot. On the other hand, Stone Forest Town was only an hour from the Asura Mode Dungeon. The town was an absolute treasure. Whether it was for repairing equipment or purchasing consumables, Stone Forest Town was the best option. Otherwise, they would have to waste a day to travel back and forth between Star-Moon City and the Stoneclaw Mountains. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town was not under Star-Moon Kingdom''s control. Instead, the forces of darkness held it. It was one of the towns that players could capture and occupy. As long as the town fell under a Guild''s control, said Guild could hire an army of NPCs to defend the town for 15 days. Even if every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom banded together, they would not be able to do anything to the captured Stone Forest Town. After a Guild successfully captured Stone Forest Town, said Guild would also receive an additional advantage. They could select a resurrection point. When players died, they would revive in their own cities. Of course, players could also choose to revive at the nearest resurrection point. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town was the nearest resurrection point to the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, the precondition for reviving in Stone Forest Town was that one needed to capture it. Moreover, only members of the Guild that held the town, or those given explicit permission by said Guild, could revive there. This would be a huge advantage for capturing the Stoneclaw Mountains in the future. Since Shi Feng had learned that the Stoneclaw Mountains had been activated, he would not waste any time. He intended to capture Stone Forest Town with Zero Wing''s greatest forces. Unfortunately, other Guilds shared the same thoughts. For now, though, he needed to occupy a strategic location as quickly as possible. Otherwise, their tasks would be far more difficult. A short moment later, every member of the main force had replaced their Tier 2 Gemstones with Tier 3 Gemstones, their Attributes increasing significantly. Following which, Shi Feng led the main force and the Dark Gods Legion mightily towards the Teleportation Hall. "Wow, what''s Zero Wing up to?" "Whoa! That''s so impressive! I''m actually having trouble breathing right now!" "Is Zero Wing planning to start a war?" The players on the streets could not help but wonder when they saw Zero Wing''s frightening momentum. Over 400 players, fully equipped with the current best equipment, marched down the street. No matter where this army went, they would be a force to be reckoned with. They could easily trample a large Guild. Not to mention, over 100 of these players were experts who had surpassed the fourth floor of the Trial Tower. If they participated in a field battle, they could easily stand against several thousand elite players. Meanwhile, a single large Guild only had several thousand elite players. Suddenly, the various large Guilds in White River City began to panic. Although an army of over 400 players seemed small, its strength was no laughing matter. If they wanted to, they could easily obliterate any Guild team that was grinding out in the fields. "Does Black Flame intend to move against us?!" Feng Xuanyang trembled upon receiving this news. He was so shocked that he nearly jumped out of his seat. "But why? We haven''t provoked Zero Wing recently. We even yielded a few high-resource areas to them! They shouldn''t have any reason to deal with us. Did some fool go and provoke Black Flame again?" At this moment, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds in White River City felt threatened. Every one of them immediately withdrew from the fields, returning either to White River City or the nearest town as fast as possible. 654 Town Capturing Chapter 654 - Town Capturing Star-Moon City, Stone Forest Town: Ever since the Stoneclaw Mountains had been discovered, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds had realized the importance of Stone Forest Town. As a result, the various large Guilds in Star-Moon City had frantically gathered their members around the town. Upon receiving information regarding the Stoneclaw Mountains, large Guilds from other cities also mobilized their forces to Stone Forest Town. However, as the teleportation fees were a problem, they could not dispatch too many members. Most of the members they sent were the Guild''s elites. After arriving at Stone Forest Town, these Guilds would send their main forces to the Stoneclaw Mountains to grind for Magic Crystals, while leaving behind the majority of their elites to stand guard a short distance away from Stone Forest Town to observe other Guilds. At this moment, Stone Forest Town was surrounded. There were over 300,000 players watching the town, making the town''s resident players quite uncomfortable. These 300,000-plus players were not ordinary players. They all were the elite members of various large Guilds. They were stronger than even 3,000,000 ordinary players. If these elites surged into Stone Forest Town at the same time, although the town was protected by Level 55 Dark NPCs, these NPCs would most likely fall under the fierce assault of so many elite players. The only fortunate advantage that they had was that these elite players belonged to multiple large Guilds. They were not united, each Guild having their own intentions. "And here I thought this was our chance as Dark Guilds to rise to power. I didn''t think that the Star-Moon City''s Guilds would find out about the Stoneclaw Mountains so soon. Now, we won''t even have a place to level up." "What are you worried about? Don''t forget that Stone Forest Town has the Three Great Leaders. Furthermore, the Guilds outside are not united. Unless some Guild is looking to get itself killed and benefit the other Guilds, they won''t invade." "You''re not exactly wrong, but Star-Moon City''s first-rate Guilds, Ouroboros and the Star Alliance, have dispatched most of their elites already. Of the 300,000-plus elite players out there, over one-third belong to those two Guilds. Even if the other Guilds don''t make a move, those two alone are enough to capture the town." Stone Forest Town''s Red Names discussed their current predicament. They were at a loss on what they should do next. Originally, they had simply lived here in peace. When they had nothing better to do, they would kill some players to earn some money or complete some high-level quests. They lived carefree lives. Hence, they had never imagined that such a massive issue would arrive on their doorsteps one day. --- On a hilltop a short distance away from Stone Forest Town, a group of players quietly observed the town below. These players were uniformly Level 30 and wore Level 30 Fine-Gold or above Equipment. Not far behind these players, there were more than 70,000 players standing at attention. The majority of the players in this army were Level 28, with the lowest being Level 27. They were two or three levels higher than the current average level of players. These players were none other than the members of the Star Alliance led by Galaxy Past. Star Alliance was also the Guild that had dispatched the most players to Stone Forest Town. An army of 70,000 elite players... This was the strength of a first-rate Guild. It was not something a second-rate Guild could hope to compete with. Ordinary second-rate Guilds would only have over 100,000 members, while a more powerful one would have up to 200,000 or 300,000 players. Of these players, only a maximum of 30,000 or 40,000 would be elite players. After deploying these elites across multiple cities, it would be amazing enough if a second-rate Guild could dispatch 20,000 elites for a single expedition. However, compared to a first-rate Guild like the Star Alliance, second-rate Guilds were not worth mentioning. "Guild Leader, I''ve put together a detailed report on Stone Forest Town with the results from my investigation. There are roughly over 1,000 NPCs in the town, and the majority are Level 55 Elite guards. There are over a hundred Level 60 Tier 1 NPCs and roughly 30 Level 60 Tier 2 NPCs. If a fight breaks out, more NPCs might show up. However, the largest challenge of capturing the town will be Stone Forest Town''s Three Great Leaders," Flourishing Willow, who wore dark blue leather armor, reported softly. "Are the Three Great Leaders very powerful?" Galaxy Past asked. "According to the information I obtained from the Red Names living there, these Leaders are only Tier 2 NPCs. However, they possessed very high intelligence. They are far more powerful than ordinary Tier 2 NPCs regarding combat power. It is especially true for the Great Leader, Sareya. He is a Tier 2 Professional Mage, and I have heard that he knows how to use large-scale destruction Spells." Hearing Flourishing Willow mentioning large-scale destruction Spells, everyone frowned. Large-scale destruction Spells were zerg tactics'' Achilles'' heel. Moreover, a high-intelligence NPC''s combat techniques were far more powerful than ordinary players. Based on the settings of God''s Domain, Sareya should be capable of displaying more than 50% of his actual combat power. In other words, he was at least as skilled as an ordinary expert. If a player possessed the Attributes of a Level 60 Tier 2 NPC and large-scale destruction Spells, said player would be a natural disaster to the current players of God''s Domain. "Right, I''ve also received news that White River City''s Zero Wing has sent people over. It seems that they have designs on this area as well," Flourishing Willow said. "Zero Wing?" Galaxy Past laughed. "This is the Star Alliance''s home ground. Do they think that they can just show up and take a slice of the pie as well?" Zero Wing was indeed powerful. However, that was limited to White River City. Stone Forest Town was in the Star-Moon City region. How many people could Zero Wing possibly dispatch? Moreover, the ordinary guards one hired could not be used in the fields. Only Personal Guards could be used. On the off chance that a Personal Guard died, it would be extremely difficult to revive them. Hence, players would not use their Personal Guards casually. Even if Zero Wing sent its Personal Guards, their impact would be minimal. "Ignore them. Since we can''t capture Stone Forest Town in a short time, have the main force grind for Magic Crystals for now. However, we can''t let Ouroboros relax, either. Look for opportunities to kill some of its members. After all, the Stoneclaw Mountains still belong to our two Guilds." Galaxy Past smiled lightly. "It truly is fortunate that Cao Chenghua stole a large number of experts and elite players from Ouroboros. The Stoneclaw Mountains will belong to the Star Alliance." In Star-Moon City, the Star Alliance had far more experts and elite players than Ouroboros. Currently, Ouroboros barely held on. As for the other Guilds in Star-Moon City, they were nothing to the Star Alliance. At this moment, many Guilds that had completed their investigation of Stone Forest Town had decided to give up on the idea of capturing the town. Instead, they shifted their focus towards grinding for Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, as the majority of their elite members had yet to reach Level 30 and could not enter the Stoneclaw Mountains, these elite members were tasked with leveling up as fast as possible. --- Meanwhile, at Ouroboros''s base camp, Shi Feng had just arrived with his team. Very quickly, Shi Feng''s group became the center of attention. The group was simply too impressive. Not only were the members of Zero Wing''s main force uniformly Level 30, but many in the Dark Gods Legion were also Level 30. In addition, the most inferior piece of equipment worn by the group was Fine-Gold rank. Most importantly, every member''s aura inflicted a deep fear. They felt like a group of primordial beasts. Even those standing quite a distance away could not help but tremble when they glanced at this group of players. "This is Zero Wing?" "Sure enough, their reputation is well-deserved. Zero Wing is simply too powerful. We don''t even have so much top-tier equipment." The members of Ouroboros could not help discuss Zero Wing''s members. Meanwhile, when Gentle Snow emerged to welcome Shi Feng and the others, she was similarly surprised. How did Zero Wing manage to recruit so many experts? Gentle Snow could clearly feel that, among the 400 players Shi Feng had brought with him, many radiated an intense pressure. There were even a dozen or so people who felt extremely dangerous. Although she had been busy settling the Guild''s internal affairs, she had not fallen behind or neglected her own development. Throughout Star-Moon City, extremely few players were capable of making her feel nervous. There were even fewer experts who felt dangerous to her. Star-Moon City should only contain a handful of such experts. Yet, Zero Wing had over a dozen such people. It was simply inconceivable. 655 Flame Shaman Chapter 655 - Flame Shaman It had been a relatively long time since God''s Domain launched. During this period, even an ordinary player''s sensitivity towards danger had increased significantly, not to mention experts''. Many a time, experts of God''s Domain would not judge an opponent''s strength based solely on the other party''s weapons and equipment. They also judged their opponent''s strength based on the degree of danger they felt from their opponents. An expert''s combat power was not limited to their weapons and equipment. Combat techniques and powerful Skills also affected a person''s combat power. These were hidden aspects, not visible until combat. Hence, one had to rely on intuition to judge a person''s strength. Gentle Snow was very confident of her own perception because, up until this day, her intuition had never failed her. It reminded her of her first encounter Ye Feng. Although Ye Feng''s equipment had been pathetic, his level had been very low, and he had not felt threatening in the least, her intuition had told her that Shi Feng was extraordinary. And indeed, her intuition had not been wrong. Time had proven that Shi Feng was truly extraordinary. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow''s intuition currently told her that The group of people in front of her was very deadly. They were not as simple as they appeared. It felt as if every single player had a ferocious beast hidden inside their bodies. Only, these beasts had yet to expose their true nature. Zero Wing is growing more mysterious by the minute. Gentle Snow laughed bitterly as she subtly examined the crowd from Zero Wing. In the past, Zero Wing had been no more than a small, weak Guild, yet, before anyone realized it, the Guild had grown into a towering existence. Even Ouroboros had to treat Zero Wing seriously. Fortunately, their two Guilds had long since formed an alliance. Otherwise, Zero Wing would be a formidable enemy. "Let''s talk inside," Gentle Snow said as she led the way to a large Tent. Shi Feng nodded and entered the Tent with Aqua Rose and Fire Dance. During God''s Domain''s early stages, players only had needed to travel for a short time to arrive at their destination. However, as players reached higher levels, the time they spent on travel increased. When going out to the fields to level up, it was typical for players to not return to their respective cities for several days. Meanwhile, when players wish to rest, they could rely on these Field Tents. HP and Mana would recover quickly when consuming food and beverages. However, Concentration and Stamina would not. Generally, players had to return to a city to rest and recover. With a Field Tent, however, there was no need to do so. Although the recovery speed while inside a Tent could not compare to resting in a city, it was sufficient. Only, ordinary players could not afford a Field Tent. Just an ordinary 6-man Tent sold for 10 Gold at NPC Shops, not to mention 20-man, 50-man, or 100-man Tents. Not only did one need enough money to purchase a 100-man Tent, but they also needed a certain amount of Reputation. The large Tent before them was a 100-man Tent, and it had cost 200 Gold. If one had sufficiently high Reputation, they could receive a small discount. However, even then, a 100-man Tent would still cost more than 150 Gold. Inside, the Tent looked like a Guild Residence''s conference hall. Currently, more than a dozen people sat inside the Tent, and every one of them was a member of Ouroboros''s upper echelon. They were uniformly Level 30, and their equipment was among the best one could find. Meanwhile, the beautiful and vibrant Zhao Yueru relaxed amongst these players, currently dressed in white and red luxurious mage robes. In her hand, she wielded a red-jade staff covered in runes. Looking at the faint red glow that surrounded the staff, one could immediately tell it was an extraordinary item. Furthermore, a faint flame-red aura surrounded the caster. She looked like a Goddess of Fire. Flame Shaman? Shi Feng concealed his surprise when he saw Zhao Yueru, who had undergone a massive change since the last time they met. Flame Shaman was a hidden class, and its Legacy rank was similar to the Astromancer. It was considered an Advanced Legacy. As the name suggested, it was a class that specialized in controlling flames. However, a Flame Shaman was not as balanced as an Elementalist. The class specialized in attacking and destroying everything. In terms of damage output, the class was far superior to an Astromancer. It was an extremely violent class. In the past, Zhao Yueru''s fame had only started to soar after she class-changed into a Flame Shaman. The public had known her as the Flame Witch. Shi Feng never imagined that Zhao Yueru would become a Flame Shaman so quickly. Even against an MT of the same level geared with top-tier equipment, a Flame Shaman could finish them off in two or three moves. A Flame Shaman could practically one-shot an ordinary MT. However, although the class''s damage was astounding, it was also because of this that Flame Shamans had very few survival and lifesaving abilities. In Dungeons and team battles though, they were beyond scary. They were practically Tomahawk cruise missiles. After sweeping a glance over everyone present, Shi Feng understood the general situation regarding Ouroboros''s top combat power. Although Ouroboros had lost many of its top combatants, the Guild was still much stronger than second-rate Guilds with its remaining forces. "This is the data we collected on Stone Forest Town," Gentle Snow said as she handed Shi Feng a folder. Slowly, she explained, "Currently, every Guild is trying to occupy the town. However, the town is strong enough to avoid capture even if we combine our Guilds'' strengths. "I suggest that we strike at the Stoneclaw Mountains first, harvesting Magic Crystals and building our strength. With both of our Guilds'' experts, we should be able to occupy the high-resource areas within the Mountains quickly. We can then use the opportunity to widen the gap between us and the other Guilds." Currently, nobody could do strike against Stone Forest Town. The best option right now was to accumulate their strength. This was also why Gentle Snow had asked for Zero Wing''s help. "There is no need to go through all that trouble. We can just capture Stone Forest Town. Once we occupy the town, it will be simple to obtain the rights over the Stoneclaw Mountains," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He did not agree with Gentle Snow''s idea. In the past, it was precisely such thinking that had led to the various large Guilds ending in a deadlock with each other. As a result, more Guilds had involved themselves in the situation in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Once that happened, they would lose the chance to capture Stone Forest Town. At this moment, the various large Guilds were still helpless against Stone Forest Town, so they would focus their attention on the Stoneclaw Mountains. This was the best chance to capture Stone Forest Town. Otherwise, if time dragged on, the number of Guilds in the area would increase. At that time, the number of experts who were interested in this area would also increase, and their chances of capturing Stone Forest Town would decrease. Hearing Shi Feng''s resolve, Gentle Snow was momentarily stunned. That was suicide! Immediately, she explained, "You should have seen the information regarding the Three Great Leaders for yourself. All three are high-intelligence NPCs. They are equivalent to expert players who have reached the fifth floor. They also possess large-scale destruction Spells. Furthermore, if we attack Stone Forest Town, the other Guilds will not sit by and do nothing. They will take advantage of the situation and try to annihilate us." "What if we don''t give them the chance?" Shi Feng smiled confidently. On his way here, Shi Feng had considered the matter of Stone Forest Town extensively. It was extremely difficult to deal with the Three Great Leaders. Not to mention, they would have to give the other Guilds the slip. However, there was a simpler method of capturing Stone Forest Town. 656 Crazy Decision Chapter 656 - Crazy Decision "Don''t give them the chance?" Gentle Snow grew curious. There were over 300,000 Guild elites stationed close to Stone Forest Town. Of them, 70,000 belonged to the Star Alliance, while Ouroboros only had 50,000. Even if both first-rate Guilds banded together, they still wouldn''t be able to do anything to the other Guilds. Hence, every Guild was maintaining this temporary peace. Nobody dared provoke anybody else. However, if a Guild decided to attack Stone Forest Town, so much commotion would attract the other Guilds'' attention. At that time, no one would not sit by and let someone else capture the town. The other Guilds would definitely work together to exterminate the mutual enemy. Because of this, even Star Alliance, with its numerical advantage, would not dare to take action. Now, however, Shi Feng insisted that they attack Stone Forest Town without giving the other Guilds the opportunity to retaliate. How would that even be possible? There were Level 55 and Level 60 NPCs defending the town. Among them, there were even Tier 2 NPCs. A Level 60 Tier 2 NPC was even stronger than a Level 30 Great Lord. Not to mention, there was more than just one Level 60 Tier 2 NPC defending the town. The Great Leader Sareya, who wielded large-scale destruction Spells, also defended the town. With Ouroboros''s 50,000 elites, it would be a bitter battle to capture Stone Forest Town. There was also no certainty that they would succeed. "Yes, don''t give them the chance," Shi Feng nodded as he repeated himself. "When the time comes, everyone needs to dispose of the town''s NPCs as quickly as possible and leave the rest to me." Shi Feng had conquered many towns in the past, so he was quite familiar with the method. It was not an easy task for a Guild to gain control of a town. First, players had to dispose of every NPC within the town. Leaving even one NPC alive would result in failure. Second, players had to obtain the Town Token that the leader of the town guarded. After completing these two tasks, one would obtain the authority to rule over the town. Hence, it was extremely difficult to capture a town with a large number of competitors nearby. In the past, after the Stoneclaw Mountains'' profits had been distributed, no Guild bothered with capturing Stone Forest Town. However, things were slightly different in this life. Currently, various large Guilds'' main forces and elite members had gathered near the Stoneclaw Mountains, making this the perfect opportunity to capture Stone Forest Town. However, they only had a small timeframe to do so, as it took less than two hours to travel from the Stoneclaw Mountains to Stone Forest Town on foot or 30 minutes on a Mount. Fortunately, no one had reached Level 40 yet. "Are you planning to hold off all of those Guilds by yourself?" Gentle Snow asked, flabbergasted. She highly doubted that Shi Feng could achieve this feat. They were talking about more than 250,000 elite players. How could one person possibly hold off that many players? Shi Feng''s words stupefied everyone else in the Tent as well. Although they had long since realized that Shi Feng was crazy, they had not thought that he was this crazy. Sitting beside Shi Feng, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose were similarly shocked. Shortly after, however, they both smiled bitterly. Although they had no doubts that Shi Feng could escape the clutches of 250,000 elite players, no matter how they wracked their brains, it was impossible to fend off 250,000 elite players, preventing this army from harassing them while they attacked Stone Forest Town. Yet, Shi Feng had never once failed to keep his word, regardless of how insane his claim sounded. He would never give his word if he were not confident of keeping it. One man holding off 250,000 elite players? Just thinking about it gave them goosebumps. "Relax, it''ll be fine. However, whether or not we succeed will depend on how fast you can clear the NPCs in the town," Shi Feng said confidently. Following which, Shi Feng gave Fire Dance and Aqua Rose their respective orders. In the upcoming battle, Fire Dance was tasked with leading the main force, while Aqua Rose was tasked with leading the Dark Gods Legion. As for Gentle Snow and the others, they still hesitated to make a decision. "Snow, are we really going to do this? You know how insane this is, right?" Zhao Yueru asked softly. Gentle Snow took a deep breath. In the next moment, cold determination flashed in her eyes as she said, "We have no other options. The Star Alliance grows stronger by the day. Other Guilds constantly harass us as well. At this rate, the Star Alliance will overtake us. " Afterward, Gentle Snow began organizing her Guild''s forces, preparing for battle. Shi Feng, however, was in no hurry. First, he investigated the various large Guilds, particularly their main forces. Before they took action, Shi Feng used the Bible of Darkness to summon a Tier 2 Demon. Three hours later, Shi Feng summoned another Tier 2 Demon. The two Level 35 Tier 2 Demons were as large as small hills. Tier 2 Demons were the equivalent of Lord ranked monsters. It was quite reassuring to have two Level 35 Lords on their side. "I never imagined that Black Flame would have something like this. It''s no wonder he was so confident of fending off the other Guilds." Gentle Snow was stunned when she saw the two powerful Tier 2 Demons. Even a 100-man team could deal with an ordinary Tier 2 Demon, although they might struggle. However, a Tier 2 Demon under a player''s control was far more terrifying. It could annihilate even a 1,000-man elite team. If two Tier 2 Demons banded together, their impact would be multiplied several folds. With these two Tier 2 Demons, Shi Feng could successfully delay the other Guilds for some time. --- Just as Zero Wing and Ouroboros were about to mobilize their forces, the various large Guilds received news of this matter. The various large Guild each had their own information network. With Ouroboros mobilizing such a large army, how could news of it escape the eyes and ears of the various large Guilds? "Has Gentle Snow gone mad? She really believed Black Flame? Does she think Black Flame is a God that can fend off an army of 250,000 players?" Galaxy Past, who was currently in the Stoneclaw Mountains, laughed madly when he received this information. "Notify the others immediately. If Ouroboros dares attack Stone Forest Town, find an opportunity to strike." Galaxy Past wasn''t the only person with such thoughts. The other Guild Leaders similarly thought that Gentle Snow had lost her mind. Black Flame was similarly insane. Did he really think that their Guild''s elite members were blockheads that would just stand by and die for him? If all 250,000 players worked together, the ranged attacks alone could kill a Lord of the same level instantly, not to mention a player. Suddenly, the various large Guilds surrounding Stone Forest Town began mobilizing their forces, preparing to take action at a moment''s notice. Now, all that was left was for Ouroboros and Zero Wing to move. As for the various large Guild''s main forces and elite members, they all continued grinding for Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- "News sure flies. However, this isn''t too bad, either. It would have bothered me if they didn''t make a move," Shi Feng chuckled. He then activated the Aura of Wind''s Wind Rider, transforming into a blur as he flew to Stone Forest Town. "What is he trying to do?" Gentle Snow muttered in confusion. Shi Feng''s actions even confused Fire Dance and Aqua Rose as Shi Feng had not revealed his true plans. "Let''s begin, then!" Shi Feng grinned. Immediately, he swapped the Aura of Wind for the Aura of Fire. He then cast Firestorm on Stone Forest Town''s NPC stronghold. Suddenly, flames engulfed the third and highest floor of the stronghold. Some nearby players turned to ash instantly. As for the NPCs inside the stronghold, they sustained heavy damage as well. In the blink of an eye, the stronghold''s third floor was nothing more than scorched ruins. The crowd watching from afar was stupefied. Shi Feng had actually attacked the NPC stronghold by himself. He was seeking death! At this moment, a white-haired old man in black robes emerged from the ruins. This old man was Sareya, a Level 60 Tier 2 NPC. Looking at Shi Feng, Sareya shouted angrily, saying, "Intruder! You actually dare to provoke me?! I will show you how terrifying it is to anger a Mage!" [Sareya] (Great Leader, Professional Mage) Level 60 HP 5,500,000/5,500,000 In addition, two NPCs with imposing auras stood beside Sareya, and they were the Second Leader, Lyme, and Third Leader, Paddo. [Lyme] (Second Leader, Sword Master) Level 60 HP 6,500,000/6,500,000 [Paddo] (Third Leader, Berserker Master) Level 60 HP 7,000,000/7,000,000 Shi Feng''s Firestorm had only dealt around -80,000 damage to the three Leaders, a meager amount comparing to the millions of HP they possessed. However, their stronghold''s destruction was what truly infuriated the three Leaders. At this moment, the three Leaders glared at Shi Feng, their eyes containing the promise of a painful death. Laughing, Shi Feng turned and flew away. "Nobody can escape our fury!" Sareya and the other two Leaders summoned their Mounts and chased after Shi Feng. The difference between having a Mount and not having a Mount was massive. Despite Shi Feng having activated Wind Rider, the three NPCs caught up with him very quickly. "Shit, they''re heading towards us!" The spectating Guilds quickly noticed that something was off as Shi Feng flew towards them. Wind Rider only had a short duration of 24 seconds. Shi Feng could cover just enough distance in that time to land right in the middle of the various large Guilds. At this moment, Sareya, who rode his horse, drew line after line of runes in the air. He then flicked his finger, and suddenly, thunderclouds began to condensing above the army of players. "Turn to ash!" Sareya revealed a sinister smile as he cast the Tier 2 Spell, Lightning Storm, on Shi Feng''s location. 657 Pits of Despair Chapter 657 - Pits of Despair Hearing the rolling thunder above him, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade. He then dashed towards the largest crowd. Although the Tier 2 Spell, Lightning Storm, was not a large-scale destruction Spell that dealt ridiculously high damage, the Spell covered a very wide area, up to a radius of 100 yards. After the Tier 2 Professional Mage had chanted the Spell''s full incantation, even Shi Feng could not withstand or evade the attack. "Hurry! Get rid of Black Flame!" The upper echelons of the various large Guilds saw through Shi Feng''s ploy. He intended to kill them with a borrowed sword. Hence, as long as they killed Shi Feng first, their problems would be solved. However, Shi Feng''s Attributes were far above the standard of current players. Even the strongest powerhouses of the various Guilds could not compete with Shi Feng in terms of Basic Attributes. Moreover, as Shi Feng had buried himself in the crowd, nobody dared to launch casual attacks. It was especially true for the ranged classes. It would be very easy for their attacks to hit their allies. Only the melee classes could attempt to pin Shi Feng down. However, could elite players possibly predict Shi Feng''s actions? Moreover, Shi Feng was extremely cunning as he dashed towards the healers. "Hurry up; use Control Skills! Don''t worry about friendly fire!" the upper echelons hurriedly commanded. As the magical classes began chanting their Spells, the thunderclouds in the sky reached their climax. In the next moment, blue lightning descended from the sky. For a moment, it looked as if the end of the world were upon them as bright lightning and booming thunder took over the field. When the lightning strikes stopped, silence fell. Everyone was stupefied. All players that were within Spell''s range had received over -5,000 damage each time the lightning descended. After more than a dozen lightning strikes, even the high-HP MTs who had activated Shield Wall and such Lifesaving Skills gave up the ghost. Meanwhile, with his extreme speed, Shi Feng managed to escape Sareya''s Lightning Storm after receiving a couple of lightning strikes. Everyone else, however, met a tragic end In order to deal with Zero Wing and Ouroboros, the various large Guilds had prepared and gathered together. Shi Feng just so happened to land in the middle of that crowd. After the Lightning Storm ended, nobody within the Spell''s effective radius of 100 yards had lived. Instead, only weapons and equipment occupied the space. This scene caused witnesses to gasp and shiver. "Is this the power of a Tier 2 NPC Mage?" Gentle Snow''s expression turned grim as she looked at the hollowed, scorched area that had previously held a sea of people. Previously, Gentle Snow had thought it was feasible to capture Stone Forest Town with only 50,000 elite players if they did not have to worry about the other Guilds'' harassment. After watching this, however, even if they had an army several times larger, capturing the town was utterly impossible. From a rough estimate, around 8,000 people must''ve died from that single Spell. When Sareya saw that Shi Feng was still alive, unharmed even, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. He then began chanting another Tier 2 Spell. Meanwhile, the two other Leaders of Stone Forest Town began to massacre the players before them as they charged towards Shi Feng. Against Level 28 and Level 29 elite players, the two Level 60 Tier 2 NPCs only needed one hit to end their lives. The two NPCs were like meat grinders as they butchered the various Guilds'' elites. As for Shi Feng, he did not bother putting up a heroic fight against the NPCs. Instead, he simply around and fled, running to the highest concentration of players. Not only could he reduce the number of enemies this way, but he could also utilize the elite players to pin down the Three Great Leaders, giving him more time to escape with his life. The strength of Level 60 Tier 2 NPCs with high intelligence was no laughing matter. Even a Level 35 Great Lord would not be a match for these NPCs. Otherwise, the various large Guilds would not have hesitated to capture the town. "Black Flame, are you trying to make an enemy of every Guild here?!" an upper echelon from one of the Guilds shouted, veins popping from anger. Everyone had already witnessed the Three Great Leaders'' strength. If they did not stop Shi Feng, their Guilds would suffer tremendous losses. The Guild members that had accompanied them were not normal members. These members were their Guilds'' foundations. If even a fraction of these players died, it would set their Guilds back tremendously, not to mention if they lost half or even three-quarters. Losing half or more of their members would deal an irrecoverable blow. "Black Flame, even if Zero Wing is more powerful, your Guild will pay if you oppose every Guild present! We can still negotiate for peace if you stop now! Don''t make the wrong decision here!" Watching the slaughter of their Guild members, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds tried their best to stop Shi Feng. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain. Shi Feng was simply too fast. Their Guilds'' experts were currently grinding in the faraway Stoneclaw Mountains. With just their elite members present, they could not pin down Shi Feng. "Sure; don''t say I never gave you a chance. Instruct your Guild Leaders sign a contract stating that your Guilds will no longer meddle with matters pertaining to Stone Forest Town immediately," Shi Feng replied. "Black Flame, don''t go overboard! If you don''t stop now, don''t blame us for taking action against Zero Wing''s members!" Walk away from Stone Forest Town? Even without reporting Shi Feng''s demands to their higher-ups, they knew it was impossible. If Zero Wing and Ouroboros occupied a strategic location like Stone Forest Town, it would only be a matter of time before the Stoneclaw Mountains would fell their hands as well. Hence, they could not agree to this condition. At this point, none of the large Guilds dared to strike the Three Great Leaders in fear of shifting the NPCs'' aggro towards themselves. As for having their members scatter and flee, although they could reduce their losses by doing so, once scattered, they would no longer be a threat to Ouroboros and Zero Wing. However, dealing with Zero Wing''s 400 members would be a piece of cake for their armies. Even Shi Feng could not save his allies. At that time, both sides would end in mutual destruction, with neither side obtaining any benefits. "What a pity. You leave me with no choice, then." Shi Feng then proceeded to dash towards the next crowd of players. "You! You will regret this!" The upper echelons of the various Guilds had never imagined that Shi Feng would be so decisive and unafraid of their mutual destruction. --- At this moment, the Guild Leaders of the various Guilds, who currently resided in the faraway Stoneclaw Mountains, had received news of the attack. "Black Flame has truly lost his mind this time. He actually dares to declare war against all of our Guilds. Since he wants to play, let''s play. Tell them to send a small detachment to take out Black Flame. Everyone else is to split up and delay Ouroboros and Zero Wing as much as possible. I doubt that Black Flame will lead the Three Great Leaders towards his own allies," Galaxy Past laughed. Immediately, he commanded, "Everyone, retreat from the Stoneclaw Mountains and hurry to Stone Forest Town. Also, contact the other Guild Leaders. I want to show Black Flame and Gentle Snow that they are doing nothing more than digging their own graves." Before this occurred, the Star Alliance and Ouroboros had both been intimidating Guilds. Hence, none of the other Guilds would have worked with either one of them. Now, however, the situation changed as Ouroboros actively stirred up trouble. The nail that stuck out would be hammered down. If the Star Alliance could band together with the other Guilds to deal with Ouroboros, not only could they obliterate Ouroboros in one fell swoop, but it would also have a better chance of obtaining Stone Forest Town. After all, within the Star-Moon Kingdom, no other Guild could possibly stand against the Star Alliance. Once Ouroboros was gone, the Star Alliance''s word would become law. --- A short moment later, sure enough, the Guild Leaders of the various large Guilds had formed an alliance with the Star Alliance to deal with both Ouroboros and Zero Wing. After the various large Guilds surrounding Stone Forest Town banded together, according to Galaxy Past''s plans, they sent out a force of 80,000 players to suppress Ouroboros and Zero Wing. As for the remaining forces, they scattered and circled the town preventing anyone from escaping. "Black Flame, it''s too late! Today, we''ll teach you the consequences for antagonizing the masses!" The upper echelons of the various Guilds directed their members to suppress Ouroboros and Zero Wing. Even if the Three Great Leaders were more powerful, with everyone spreading out, even if the NPCs had free rein, they would only kill a limited number. Against an army of 250,000, that number would only be a drop in the bucket. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds had forced Ouroboros and Zero Wing into a corner. It was extremely easy for an army of 250,000 elites to suppress 50,000 elites. Not to mention, the experts of each respective Guild were on their way. When their main forces arrived, Ouroboros and Zero Wing would be finished. They''ve banded together as expected! Shi Feng frowned. However, he just shook his head and laughed. Since you want to go for mutual destruction, I''ll show you the pits of despair. The Three Great Leaders protecting Stone Forest Town had not revealed all of their strength. Stone Forest Town was in such close proximity to the Stoneclaw Mountains. With the massive benefits from the Mountains, how could Stone Forest Town possibly be an ordinary town? 658 Nightmare Descends Chapter 658 - Nightmare Descends "Aqua, lead everyone away from the town immediately," Shi Feng said through a whisper. "Understood." Aqua Rose was slightly stunned by this command. Originally, she had thought Shi Feng would use Zero Wing''s trump card. She had not expected him to order a retreat and give up on Stone Forest Town. However, since Shi Feng had given the command, Aqua Rose had no choice but to lead everyone away. Gentle Snow''s army similarly retreated. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, there was not a single Guild that could stand against an army of 250,000 elite players. If they continued fighting, only death awaited them. In truth, though, even if they did fight, their enemy would not leave unscathed either. Both sides would be destroyed. In terms of equipment, Zero Wing''s main force was far superior to the other Guilds'' experts, not to mention their elite players. After the main force had swapped out their Tier 2 Gemstones for Tier 3 Gemstones, their Attributes were simply overwhelming. In addition, there were currently no enemy experts to pin them down. As a result, the Zero Wing''s main force swept like a scythe across the enemy forces, leaving only devastation in its wake. Spell after Spell bombarded Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove, who stood at the forefront of the team. However, these Spells had not even tickled the three MTs. Even the most powerful attack only dealt slightly over -1,000 damage. However, all three MTs had over 10,000 HP each. Moreover, the majority of their enemy''s attacks had not even landed. These MTs only needed a single heal to recover to full HP. There were also the two Tier 2 Demons. Both Tier 2 Demons were melee fighters with over 3,000,000 HP each. Under Shi Feng''s control, both Demons were like Gods of Destruction. The two Demons were unstoppable as they targeted the enemy healers. Also, although Shi Feng could not control the two Demons perfectly, he could maneuver them to avoid as many attacks as possible. In terms of Basic Attributes, the two Level 35 Tier 2 Demons were much stronger than even Shi Feng. Even their Strength was superior to Shi Feng''s, who wore Tier 3 Strength-attributed Gemstones. So, how could ordinary players hope to touch them? Only if everyone concentrated their attacks on the two Demons and sealed off their escape routes would the two Demons receive some form of damage. However, with Zero Wing''s healers and the Demons'' innate battle recovery, they could very quickly recover the lost HP. Against the two Tier 2 Demons'' assault, the various large Guilds suffered scores of deaths with every passing second. After only a few minutes of battle, the coalition of Guilds had lost nearly 7,000 elite players. Zero Wing claimed just as many lives as the Three Great Leaders. The members of the various large Guilds felt like a knife had been plunged into their hearts as they watched. Without any of their Guilds'' experts, they were helpless against a team like this. This was also why the various large Guilds were desperately trying to nurture experts and frantically fighting over the Stoneclaw Mountains. The only consolation was that Ouroboros suffered similar losses. Since the battle had begun, Ouroboros had lost over 2,000 members. As both sides watched their companions die, an intense fighting spirit began to fill their hearts. At this moment, the area around Stone Forest Town was like an ancient battlefield. Meanwhile, the Red Names in Stone Forest Town were dumbfounded. Players were killing each other all over the place. There were players dying every second. Even experts would be insignificant in a war of this scale. In comparison, their kill counts were a joke While Ouroboros and Zero Wing retreated from Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng activated Windwalk and crushed a Speed Scroll as he dashed towards the town. Meanwhile, the Three Great Leaders followed closely behind. "Hahaha! Black Flame is finally scared! Too bad that it''s too late for regrets!" "Brothers, charge! Don''t let anyone from Ouroboros or Zero Wing get away!" With the Star Alliance taking the lead, the other Guilds enthusiastically chased after Ouroboros and Zero Wing''s remaining members. However, as the two Guilds charged at the enemy encirclement, everyone finally witnessed Zero Wing''s strength. With just 400 members, Zero Wing had easily torn apart the encirclement of over 10,000 players. Casting Stars of Light, over a thousand players died by Blackie''s hand in the blink of an eye. As for Fire Dance, she was like a ferocious beast as she charged into the enemy crowd. With a swing of her short swords, she easily sent players flying and dispersed the crowd. There was even less need to mention the Strength-based classes like Cola and Rampant Blade. Crashing into the enemy frontlines with his shield, Cola easily sent five Level 28 and Level 29 MTs flying, damages of over -1,000 points appearing above the enemy players'' heads. After absorbing an accumulated damage of 5,000 points, he then activated Bluefire Shield, causing 150% damage to an area of 3*10 yards in front of him. The enemy players before him lost over half of their HP. As for Rampant Blade, he brandished his Bluefire Double-edged Sword, killing an enemy player with each hit. From time to time, he would also trigger the Bluefire Dance, instantly wiping out a group of elites. However, when it came to group-killing capabilities, Aqua Rose was the strongest of them all. Not only was she a glass cannon, but she also had the Bluefire Heart. She could summon three Elite ranked Bluefire Crows to assist her in battle. Although the Bluefire Crows were only Elite ranked and were the same level as Aqua Rose, Level 30, their Attack Power would increase based on Aqua Rose''s Intelligence Attribute. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose currently wore a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment. In addition, she was also fully equipped with Tier 3 Gemstones. Her total Intelligence was over 400 points. Overall, each Elite ranked Bluefire Crow could rival a Special Elite of the same level. However, the Bluefire Crows'' most impressive aspect was their Growth Skill. One minute after the Bluefire Crows had been summoned, they could grow from Elites to Special Elites. After five minutes, they would become Chieftains. After ten minutes, they would become Lords. After 18 minutes, they would become High Lords. Finally, at 27 minutes, they would become Great Lords. At that time, even though the Bluefire Crows would only last for three more minutes, three Level 30 Great Lords could easily wipe out an army of 1,000 Level 30 elite players. By this point, 18 minutes had passed since the Bluefire Crows'' summoning, so all three were already High Lords. Their damage could rival even Great Lords. Aside from MT classes, the Bluefire Crows only needed one strike to kill the other classes. "How is Zero Wing so strong?! Even though they have so few people, they''ve killed over 10,000 of our troops. Yet, we''ve only managed to claim over a dozen or so lives!" For a time, after seeing how powerful Fire Dance and the other members of Zero Wing were, the enemy Guild members refused charge forward, afraid that they would die instantly as well. Before this, everyone had only heard that Zero Wing was very strong. However, no one had ever actually witnessed their exact strength. Now, however, these Guilds finally saw it for themselves. An army of 10,000 elite players was nothing to these experts. This scene also shocked Ouroboros''s members. With just 400 players, they had instilled fear into tens of thousands of players. As an enemy, they were a frightening force to reckoned with. As an ally, however, they were incredibly dependable. Very easily, Zero Wing punched a hole through the encirclement of the various large Guilds, creating a path of escape. However, facing the encirclement of over 200,000 players, even Zero Wing''s members could only do so much. Ouroboros, which had started this war with an army of 50,000 players, had less than 30,000 members remaining. Should they continue fighting, they would most likely suffer complete and utter annihilation. --- Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town suddenly began to collapse, the buildings within the town crumbling, one after another. A massive Obelisk then emerged in the heart of the town, and Shi Feng stood atop this Obelisk. "What''s going on?" This commotion instantly attracted everyone''s attention as they felt the ground beneath their feet quake It was like an earthquake measuring 7 on the Richter scale had hit the area around Stone Forest Town. "What are you trying to do?!" Sareya shouted anxiously at Shi Feng, an expression of horror on his face. The two other Leaders similarly stopped their pursuit as they glared at Shi Feng. This Obelisk was their group''s greatest secret. They had never imagined that Shi Feng would know about it or to rush into their stronghold to activate it. "Of course, I want to witness the depths of hell." At this moment, Shi Feng looked ragged. Not only had he needed to avoid all the traps inside the stronghold, but he also had to dodge the Three Great Leaders. Only after using all his usable Lifesaving Skills had he manage to activate the greatest Taboo Obelisk in the Star-Moon City region. Saying so, Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade, shattering the dazzling crystal ball on top of the Obelisk. "Stop!" The Three Great Leaders shouted in horror. 659 Town Token Chapter 659 - Town Token "What''s going on?" Seeing the Three Great Leaders'' panicked expressions, the players in Stone Forest Town turned to Shi Feng, who stood on top of the Obelisk. The Three Great Leaders were Level 60 Tier 2 NPCs. At this stage of the game, these NPCs could squish players like ants. Yet, such powerful NPCs were actually afraid. What was going on? After Shi Feng shattered the crystal ball, he switched the Seven Luminaries Ring to the Aura of Space and used Space Movement to escape the town. In the next moment, a massive fivefold magic array appeared above Stone Forest Town, enveloping it. Suddenly, Mana Rain began to fall on the town. "Such a high Mana density! My Spell effects have doubled! This feels awesome!" Many magical class players in the down grew excited. At this moment, the members of Ouroboros and the various large Guilds had stopped fighting as they shifted their gazes towards the phenomenon in Stone Forest Town. The fivefold magic array covered the sky above the town and currently released a colorful brilliance. Even from so far away, they could feel the dense Mana filling the city. Suddenly, Stone Forest Town became a paradise for players. The higher the density of Mana in the environment, the clearer and more active a player''s mind was. These areas were helpful for improving a person''s Skill Completion Rate. Unfortunately, locations with high Mana density were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Although the environmental Mana in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower was quite dense, it was nothing compared to Stone Forest Town. Seeing that Stone Forest Town had such a valuable atmosphere, the various Guilds'' upper echelons began to drool. Regardless of the sacrifice, we must have a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town! Ruthless greed flashed in these echelons'' eyes. Setting aside the Mana Crystals of the Stoneclaw Mountains, capturing Stone Forest Town for its atmosphere was worth every sacrifice. If they possessed Stone Forest Town, they could send their Guilds'' elites here to improve themselves. Although development here would not be as efficient as in the Divine Colosseum, they would not have to spend a single Mana Crystal on training. They could save a lot of money. Moreover, if they allowed their members to train in Stone Forest Town for long periods, the rate at which they nurtured experts would definitely surpass the other Guilds. With a large group of experts, becoming even a super-first-rate Guild would be entirely possible. Without hesitation, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds immediately reported this to their respective Guild Leaders. "I never imagined that Stone Forest Town would have such a secret." "I don''t care what it takes! We must obtain Stone Forest Town!" Hearing this news, the various Guild Leaders gave their orders. For a time, none of these Guilds paid Ouroboros or Zero Wing any attention. Their members began to surge into Stone Forest Town. Moreover, with the dense Mana surrounding the town, the closer these players got to the town, the stronger their combat power became. It was especially true for magical class players. Their combat power more than doubled. At this moment, it would be a piece of cake to clear out Stone Forest Town''s NPCs. Although the NPCs in the city had also grown stronger due to the environmental Mana, only the magical class NPCs received a damage buff. Their Skill Completion Rates had not changed. However, that was not the case for players. The dense Mana created a conducive environment that improved both Spell effects and Skill Completion Rate. Players had received a much greater boost to their combat power than the NPCs. Hence, capturing the town became much easier. "Guild Leader, just what did you do to Stone Forest Town?" Aqua Rose could not bring herself to believe what she saw. Stone Forest Town was practically a cultivating heaven for players now. In addition, there were also the Stoneclaw Mountain''s Magic Crystals. Any Guild that claimed the town would definitely become Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. "Don''t ask. Order everyone retreat from the town this instant," Shi Feng said sternly. He had long since distanced himself from the town. In the past, when the Stoneclaw Mountains came into being, the Dungeon had incited a war between Star-Moon City''s large Guilds. Back then, however, nobody had claimed Stone Forest Town for themselves. Only after a long time had passed did the Star Alliance launch an assault on Stone Forest Town. Naturally, Stone Forest Town had not been a match for the first-rate Guild. However, just before the Guild captured the town, Sareya had activated the Obelisk. Shortly after, Star Alliance''s army was obliterated. Initially, when Shi Feng planned the attack on Stone Forest Town, he had intended to finish off Sareya quickly, giving him no opportunity to activate the Obelisk. However, since the situation no longer permitted that, he had no choice but to activate the Obelisk himself. Under Shi Feng''s command, even though Aqua Rose and the others were reluctant, they quickly retreated from Stone Forest Town. "Snow, let''s go. As long as we snatch the Town Token dropped by the Great Leader, Stone Forest Town will belong to us. At that time, even if the Star Alliance and the other Guilds band together, they will not be a match for us," Zhao Yueru suggested anxiously as she watched the Guilds frantically surge into Stone Forest Town. If the other Guilds obtained Stone Forest Town, Ouroboros would struggle to survive in Star-Moon City. Glancing at Aqua Rose and the others, who gradually fled the town, Gentle Snow shook her head and said, "Let''s retreat." "But what about Stone Forest Town? With that many elite players, they could definitely exhaust the Three Great Leaders to death. Not to mention, the other Guilds'' experts are currently making their way here," Zhao Yueru asked curiously. "Black Flame told us to leave Stone Forest Town. He must have a reason. Otherwise, with Zero Wing''s strength, they could compete for the Town Token. Since they aren''t trying to fight over it, there must be something wrong with Stone Forest Town. Moreover, Black Flame caused this himself. He must know more than we do. It''s best that we retreat and observe the situation for now." Stone Forest Town tempted Gentle Snow as well, but she chose to maintain her calm because she knew that a calm mind was the strongest weapon in such a situation. "Hah" Zhao Yueru sighed. Although she was disappointed, her friend had never been wrong. In the end, she could only turn and retreat after glancing at Stone Forest Town. Ouroboros''s other members also began to retreat. Time passed little by little. The battle inside Stone Forest Town grew more intense as time passed. The environmental Mana also grew denser. The players in the town fought madly in the thick Mana. After more than ten minutes of frantic battle, the majority of the NPCs inside Stone Forest Town had died. Only a few Tier 2 NPCs remained, desperately fighting for their lives. The elite players that surged into the town in waves were simply too much to handle, even for the Three Great Leaders. At this moment, the three NPCs each had less than 30% of their HP remaining. On the other hand, there were still over 150,000 elite players in the city. Victory was in sight for the various Guilds. "Kill!" "Sareya only has about 1,000,000 HP left! Focus on avoiding his large-scale destruction Spells!" "Guild Leader has issued the command. Whoever secures the Town Token will be directly promoted to a Guild Elder, rewarded with a set of top-tier equipment and five million Credits!" The Guild''s upper echelons secretly sent commands through their respective Guild channels. Aside from the Guild Elder position, owning a set of top-tier equipment was everyone''s dreams. In addition, there was also the reward of five million Credits. The Town Token''s importance was obvious. To ordinary players, five million Credits was an astronomical amount. If they had that kind of money, they wouldn''t have to work a single day for the rest of their lives. In addition to the position of Elder, they could enjoy a life of luxury. Suddenly, everyone began attacking with even greater enthusiasm. --- Meanwhile, Ouroboros and Zero Wing''s members, who watched from afar, grew anxious. "Guild Leader, at this rate, some other Guild will claim the Town Token," Aqua Rose said anxiously as she looked to Shi Feng, who maintained an extraordinary calm. However, as soon as Aqua Rose finished speaking, Sareya, who was inside Stone Forest Town, suddenly bellowed, the sound waves sending all players within a radius of 30 yards flying. Before anyone noticed it, Sareya''s white hair had become a lustrous black. As if he had grown younger by several decades, his appearance morphed from one of an old man to that of a handsome youth. However, unlike ordinary people, this youth''s eyes were pure black like two black pits. Those eyes contained no emotion, and just looking at them would send shivers down one''s spine. "It''s finally coming," Shi Feng grew serious as he watched the distant Sareya. "Aqua, have everyone prepare." 660 Awakened Chapter 660 - Awakened The Obelisk functioned as a seal. Meanwhile, crushing the crystal ball on top of the Obelisk was equivalent to undoing the seal. Sealed inside the Obelisk was something horrifying. Players only discovered later on that the thing sealed inside the Obelisk was an Awakened. It was akin to Mutants among monsters. However, while a Mutant was a mutation of a monster, an Awakened was a mutation of an NPC. The probability of an Awakened appearing was extremely low; even Shi Feng had never personally witnessed an Awakened during his decade of experience playing God''s Domain. He had only heard bits of information about them. What followed the emergence of every Awakened was a disaster. After the Star Alliance had accidentally triggered one such disaster in the past, more than 100,000 of its elites had crossed the River Styx. Even Galaxy Past had failed to escape back then. Compared to Mutants, an Awakened was much more frightening. Unlike Mutants, an Awakened was born with extremely high intelligence. It was the enemy of all living creatures. In addition, an Awakened could rival even a Fallen Angel, a Higher Being, of the same Tier, so it was ridiculously powerful. The person sealed inside the Obelisk was originally a Tier 5 Divine Mage. As the person was also an Awakened, his strength was the equal of a Fallen Angel''s of the same Tieronly Tier 6 Gods could suppress him. Fortunately, with the Awakened''s body already obliterated and just its soul remaining in existence, it could only possess the body of another NPC, even after the removal of the seal. Meanwhile, at this moment, the Awakened had taken over Sareya''s body and devoured the old man''s soul, becoming the new owner of the body. After the possession, Sareya''s strength underwent a heaven-defying change. He was no longer an existence that the old Sareya could compare to. "Are we really going to take action now?" Aqua Rose''s eyes widened as she stared at Sareya, who was hovering in midair in the distance. Unconsciously, she had started holding her breath. At this moment, Sareya was no longer a Level 60 Tier 2 NPC but already a true monster. Just looking at Sareya from a distance, Aqua Rose instinctively felt the need to run as far away as possible from him. [Sareya] (Awakened, Great Mage) Level 50 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 Not only had Sareya''s body suddenly undergone a massive transformation, but even his statistics had also experienced an earth-shaking change. Although the NPC''s Level had fallen quite a bit, his HP had recovered back to full status. His class had even risen from a Tier 2 Professional Mage to a Tier 3 Great Mage, his strength increasing disproportionately. A Tier 3 NPC was equivalent to a Great Lord of the same level. On the other hand, a Tier 3 Awakened NPC possessed a strength that could rival even a Tier 4 NPC of the same level. A Tier 4 NPC was not an existence that current players could challenge at all. At this moment, the members of the various large Guilds, who had been frantically attacking Sareya before, were similarly stunned. After his transformation was complete, Sareya flexed his body tentatively. A moment later, the surrounding air began trembling. Immediately after, Sareya pointed a finger towards the sky. Suddenly, countless lightning bolts flashed down and gathered around Sareya''s fingertip, forming a two-story-tall ball of lightning. "Prepare to dodge! With so many people remaining, even a Tier 3 Great Mage is no match for us!" a commanding Level 29 Elementalist shouted. However, as soon as the Elementalist finished speaking, Sareya pointed his finger towards this Elementalist. The massive ball of lightning promptly transformed into a rushing river that poured down onto the Elementalist, devouring the Elementalist and all the players around him. Under the effects of the Tier 3 Spell Lightning Stream, no players within an area of 15*100 yards survived. In the blink of an eye, several hundred people died. However, Sareya was still not satisfied. He then proceeded to use multiple Tier 3 Spells in quick succession. Whether it was the players or NPCs inside Stone Forest Town, Sareya did not let a single person off the hook. In the Awakened NPC''s hands, Tier 3 Spells were like simple toys. He could forgo chanting incantations, immediately casting his Spells, not giving his targets any time to dodge at all. After just a short moment, despite everyone standing sparsely apart from each other, Sareya still managed to kill nearly 6,000 players. Meanwhile, the attacking players discovered that far from damaging the Awakened NPC, their onslaught couldn''t even penetrate Sareya''s Magical Shield at all. Suddenly, the players inside Stone Forest Town fell silent; no longer did they possess the enthusiasm from before. "Run!" "Everyone, retreat from this place quickly!" Many Guilds finally realized that they were nothing against the Tier 3 Great Mage at all and that the only thing they could do was run for their lives. Otherwise, none of them would leave this place alive. "Guild Leader, that monster is too scary. Look, the other Guilds are all retreating. If we charge ahead right now, only death awaits us." Aqua Rose was deeply pessimistic about defeating such a powerful NPC. They would only suffer like the other Guilds had if they tried fighting that monstrous existence. "Who says we need to defeat him? We just need to seal him again," Shi Feng laughed. In the past, when the seal on the Obelisk was undone, the Awakened had gone on a rampage, throwing the players within the Star-Moon City region into a panic. Moreover, as time passed, the Awakened had continuously risen in both Levels and Tiers. Even a coalition of the various Guilds residing in Star-Moon City had been utterly helpless against the Awakened. In the end, however, this incident was still solved. Back then, a player had discovered inside the Obelisk the method to reseal the Awakenedutilizing an immense amount of Magic Crystals to repair the sealing crystal ball. Otherwise, with the strength of the players back then, it would have been absolutely impossible to stop the roaming Awakened. Should they encounter him, the only fate that awaited them was death. Meanwhile, now that Sareya was busy butchering the members of the various large Guilds, it was the perfect opportunity to reseal the Awakened NPC. Shi Feng spent about ten minutes running back to Stone Forest Town. During this period, Sareya slaughtered over 100,000 players. At this moment, less than 50,000 players of the original 150,000-plus remained. When the various Guild Leaders learned of this death toll, they nearly vomited blood and passed out. Meanwhile, the Guild that suffered the greatest loss was the Star Alliance. From their initial 70,000 elite members, less than 20,000 remained. Moreover, this number continued to decrease. "Hahaha! With this, the Star Alliance is finished! After losing so many elite members, they will take a long time recovering from this loss!" Zhao Yueru giggled as she pressed her hand to her chest. Although Ouroboros had suffered severe casualties in this war as wellhaving less than 30,000 elite members surviving out of the original 50,000those were inconsequential compared to the losses of the other Guilds. With this, Ouroboros would become the number one Guild of Star-Moon City. "Is this Black Flame''s true plan?" This moment drove home to Gentle Snow how fearsome Shi Feng was. Just a single Stone Forest Town had plunged so many elite members of the various large Guilds to their deaths. If not for them working together with Zero Wing, Ouroboros would most likely have been one of those Guilds right now. While Sareya was hunting the members of the various Guilds, Shi Feng took the opportunity to dash towards the Obelisk. Arriving at the top of the Obelisk, Shi Feng immediately retrieved 10,000 Magic Crystals from his bag and placed them atop the altar on which the crystal ball had originally sat. To any Guild, 10,000 Magic Crystals was a massive sum. Fortunately, Shi Feng had tasked Melancholic Smile to purchase them in bulk before the appearance of the Divine Colosseum. If not for capturing Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng would not have readily parted with 10,000 Magic Crystals. In the next moment, the 10,000 Magic Crystals transformed into droplets of transparent liquid that quickly agglomerated into a sealing crystal ball. "Despicable human!" Sareya panicked when he noticed the reformation of the crystal ball that had kept him sealed all this time. Using Instantaneous Movement, he flashed towards Shi Feng. "You best return to where you came from," Shi Feng muttered in a low tone as he looked at the rapidly approaching Sareya. He then pressed his hand on the sealing crystal ball, muttering, "Fivefold Seal, activate!" All at once, a fivefold magic array appeared above Stone Forest Town once more, illuminating the area around the town. "No!" Sareya shouted defiantly as he attempted to use Tier 3 Spells to attack the sealing crystal ball. Unfortunately for him, under the suppression of the fivefold magic array, he failed to cast even a single Spell. In the next moment, golden chains descended from the magic array and wrapped around Sareya''s body. Shi Feng had seen these golden chains before. Chains of Order. Even Gods were helpless against them, what more of Sareya? These chains then dragged Sareya above the Obelisk. Suddenly, a blue chain emerged from the tip of the Obelisk and pierced through his body. In the next moment, Sareya released an agonized scream as the blue chain dragged a half-transparent soul out of his body and into the sealing crystal ball. Meanwhile, Sareya''s body, which had long since lost its original soul, died with the sealing of the Awakened''s soul. A pile of loot also showered the ground along with the NPC''s death. 661 Harvest after the Battle Chapter 661 - Harvest after the Battle "He died?" Everyone looked at the corpse of Sareya, which had fallen on top of the Obelisk like a broken rag doll, in disbelief. The Sareya that had sent over 200,000 elite players running for their lives like dogs had perished almost instantly. It was like waking up to find that everything that happened before had been merely a bad dream. "Just what did he do?" Gentle Snow did not dare believe this situation was real. Such a powerful NPC like Sareya had actually been no more than a toy for Shi Feng All this time, the various large Guilds had been dancing on the palm of Shi Feng''s handas if these large Guilds were at his beck and call. This feat was much more frightening than just relying on pure strength to defeat the various Guilds. With this ability of his alone, he could easily instill fear in every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. While everyone was still stunned at the sudden development, some of the Guild upper echelons quickly reacted. "The Town Token!" The Town Token was an item that dropped only from the leader of the town. Now that Sareya had died, he would naturally drop the Town Token. As long as they obtained the Town Token, they could turn Stone Forest Town into a Guild Town. They would also receive protection from the kingdom for a limited time, during which, they could set up Shops and establish their own Guild Residences, allowing a smooth transfer of town management. In addition, the maps around Stone Forest Town ranged from Level 30 to Level 50. Players were sure to come to this area in the future, meaning the town had a very strategic location. Not to mention, the Stoneclaw Mountains were only a short distance away. "Everyone, charge! We must get that Town Token no matter what!" The upper echelons of the various Guilds issued commands one after another, passing down the same order from their respective Guild Leaders. The various large Guilds had already suffered tremendous losses from the war. If they still failed to obtain the Town Token, then wouldn''t all their efforts have benefited their enemy instead? Under a unified command, everyone charged madly towards the heart of Stone Forest Town, all fully intent on killing Shi Feng and taking the Town Token. At this time, Gentle Snow had also reacted, immediately shouting, "Everyone, protect Black Flame as he retreats! Don''t let the enemy succeed!" After the Town Token dropped, a marker would appear on the player who picked it up. The marker would disappear only after two hours. The Town Token would also drop upon death. Moreover, during this period, the player holding the Town Token would not be able to use Return Scrolls and similar items. Hence, Shi Feng could not escape to the city using a Return Scroll. He could only endure and survive through the two hours. At this point, Shi Feng was the closest to Sareya''s corpse. Everyone else was still quite a distance away. It was obvious to everyone that the Town Token would fall into Shi Feng''s hands. Although the opposing Guilds had less than 50,000 elite members left alive, these still posed a threat to Shi Feng. Not to mention, there was still a large group of experts on their way to the town. Fortunately, with 30,000 elite members, protecting Shi Feng''s retreat would be a walk in the park for Ouroboros. Once he was out of harm''s way, he only needed to hide in a secluded location and wait out the two hours. Meanwhile, with the sealing of the Awakened now completed, the Obelisk had also begun sinking back into the ground, disappearing from view. As for Shi Feng himself, he was leisurely picking up the loot Sareya dropped, paying no mind to the rapidly approaching army. Once an item was in his hands, it was practically impossible for anybody to steal it from him. Despite being only a Tier 2 NPC, the loot Sareya dropped was quite bountiful. Sareya had dropped more than 20 items, though the majority of them were Magic Crystals and some rare materials. Of the items dropped, the most valuable was the Town Token. The next was a magic array design. The rest were some Level 50 weapons and equipment. However, the items were of low quality, uniformly of Secret-Silver rank. Moreover, current players could not equip these items. Although this Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array is a good item, unfortunately, it costs too many Magic Crystals to operate. At present, no Guild will be able to sustain a magic array like this. Shi Feng inwardly felt disappointed as he looked at the tattered design in his hand. The Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array could gather and condense Mana into an area of 30*30 yards, allowing players to meditate and improve on their Skill Completion Rates within it. Although the density of the Mana inside the magic array would be slightly higher than in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower, the magic array cost 50 Magic Crystals per hour to maintain. In terms of development functions, the Trial Tower had the Main God System showing players the perfect combat style of each class. This aspect of the Trial Tower was superior to the Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array, which did not supply players with any opponents. However, the magic array provided a perfect environment when players wished to train in the usage of their Skills. After all, the Trial Tower would not give players any time to drill their Skills. Unfortunately, the optimum number of players the Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array could accommodate was roughly eight to ten. This capacity made the magic array very costly. Moreover, there would not be any noticeable effects if one only trained for one or two hours. Players usually had to train within the magic array for five or six hours. In other words, a Guild would have to expend around 30 Magic Crystals per personan exorbitant price for the current Guilds of God''s Domain. Storing away the Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array Design, Shi Feng took out a golden key from his bag. Of the items Sareya dropped, this was the third most valuable treasure: the key to Stone Forest Town''s treasury. Every town occupied by a force of darkness would have its own treasury, just like the time when Zero Wing had raided Creek Town. However, as they had been on a Crusade Quest back then, the system had reduced the amount of treasure they could obtain significantly. Even so, it had still been a considerable harvest. On the other hand, since they had managed to actually capture Stone Forest Town without the aid of a Crusade Quest, the amount of treasure they could obtain would no doubt be enough to make Guilds go crazy over it. However, this was a secret known only to players who had captured a town. Currently, the various large Guilds of Star-Moon City were still ignorant of this matter. "Aqua, I''ll leave this key with you. Take the main force and the Dark Gods Legion, and clean out the treasury. Afterwards, reconvene back at White River City." Saying so, Shi Feng passed the golden key to Aqua Rose. He then made a straight dash out of Stone Forest Town. Although he could easily shake off the various large Guilds, he had no choice but to spend some time playing around with these Guilds to buy some time for Aqua Rose and the others. "Shit! Black Flame''s escaped!" "After him! We can''t let Black Flame get away no matter what!" When the various large Guilds saw Shi Feng exiting Stone Forest Town and running towards the limestone hills, they immediately changed their course and headed in that direction as well. Looking at the elite army chasing behind him, Shi Feng reduced his speed to give his pursuers some false hope as he slowly lured them away from the town. --- "Guild Leader, the Town Token has already fallen into Zero Wing''s and Ouroboros''s hands. Our men most likely won''t be able to keep up with Black Flame''s speed. With this, it will become a lot more difficult for us to compete for the Stoneclaw Mountains." Purple Eye frowned when she watched the video from the members at Stone Forest Town. Stone Forest Town provided a geographical advantage in capturing the Stoneclaw Mountains. Now that Zero Wing and Ouroboros had secured the town, they had at least a 50% chance of claiming the Dungeon for themselves. Not to mention, with the massive loss that the various Guilds of Star-Moon City had just suffered, nobody was capable of hindering Ouroboros and Zero Wing. Given some time, the odds that the two Guilds would claim the Stoneclaw Mountains would rise to 70% to 80%. "It seems that I really underestimated Black Flame. However, ultimately, Star-Moon City is still the Star Alliance''s territory. Even if Zero Wing and Ouroboros have obtained Stone Forest Town, they should not even dream of monopolizing the Stoneclaw Mountains," Galaxy Past said, a cold glint flashing across his eyes. "Let''s return to Star-Moon City for now. Purple, contact the other Guilds and have them spread the news about the Stoneclaw Mountains. I want to see just how Zero Wing and Ouroboros intend to swallow up the Stoneclaw Mountains." Time passed quickly. After Shi Feng toyed around with the various large Guilds for two hours, he immediately used a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. However, Shi Feng did not return directly to the Guild Residence. Instead, he brought the Town Token of Stone Forest Town to the Adventurer''s Association. 662 Guild Town Chapter 662 - Guild Town Ever since players had started paying attention to the Guard System, the Adventurer''s Association had seen increased traffic with every passing day. Many players who were not proficient in battles had focused their attention on NPC guards. Many were also taking advantage of this growing popularity to make a fortune for themselves. At this point, physical class Bronze Guards sold for 120 Gold. The selling price for a magical class Bronze Guard, on the other hand, was over 300 Gold. Meanwhile, physical class Mysterious-Iron Guards sold for 600 Gold, not to mention magical class Mysterious-Iron Guards. As long as one managed to obtain a physical class Mysterious-Iron Guard, a player could easily get rich overnight if they sold said guard. Hence, more and more players came to the Adventurer''s Association to test their foresight and luck. As a result, the Adventurer''s Association was packed every day with players, who would chat idly while waiting for their turnand the Adventurer''s Association had become the number one source of information in every city. Many independent players would come to the Adventurer''s Association to either exchange or collect information regarding God''s Domain. Before Shi Feng even entered the building, he had already heard plenty of people discussing the Stoneclaw Mountains. "A Regional Dungeon appeared over at Star-Moon City. I heard that even the small mobs there drop Magic Crystals." "It can''t be true, right? Shouldn''t it just have a slightly higher drop rate compared to Team Dungeons?" "Hahaha! This is something else that I heard from a friend of mine over at Star-Moon City. Because of the Stoneclaw Mountains, every Guild in Star-Moon City is in chaos. The Guilds even waged war a few hours ago. In the end, the various large Guilds suffered tremendous losses. For now, the Stoneclaw Mountains remain unclaimed. Currently, as long as you are Level 30, even an independent player can enter the Dungeon freely. It''s a pity that my level is still too low. Otherwise, I would have been grinding for Magic Crystals there already." "I''ve also found out about this matter from one of my friends who''s in a Guild. According to him, you can obtain one or two Magic Crystals just by grinding inside the Stoneclaw Mountains for an hour. The efficiency there is higher than even in a 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. Currently, Guilds in the various cities across the kingdom are organizing teams to set out for the Stoneclaw Mountains." "All of you have outdated information. There aren''t just Magic Crystals inside the Stoneclaw Mountains. The monsters inside also drop plenty of Level 30 or above top-tier equipment. The potential income there is much higher than even from large-scale Team Dungeons. Not to mention the cities in Star-Moon Kingdom, many players from the surrounding kingdoms and Black Dragon Empire are also heading towards the Stoneclaw Mountains." The rumors immediately tempted the many players inside the Association who heard about the Stoneclaw Mountains. Unfortunately, none of them had reached Level 30 yet. Otherwise, they, too, could get a share of the pie. They''ve released news about it already? Shi Feng smirked faintly. Unfortunately, doing so is useless. With Stone Forest Town under his control, the Stoneclaw Mountains were practically in his hands already. There were bound to be unreconciled Guilds that would try to stir up some trouble. However, these Guilds did not truly know what Stone Forest Town''s becoming a Guild Town signified. Upon Shi Feng''s entry into the Adventurer''s Association''s reception hall, Aqua Rose, who had long since been waiting for him, immediately walked up to him. Smiling sweetly, she said, "Guild Leader, we''ve struck gold this time!" Shi Feng simply laughed in response, not bothering to probe deeper into Aqua Rose''s words as he led the woman up to the second floor. The hall on the first floor catered to individual players, while the one on the second floor specialized in managing Guild affairs. "Guild Leader, are you not curious about what we found inside the treasury?" Aqua Rose pouted slightly. Originally, she had wanted to tease Shi Feng a little bit with the answer. She had not expected Shi Feng to be completely uninterested. The harvest they gained from Stone Forest Town this time was more bountiful than the one from Creek Town. Just the amount of Coins they obtained exceeded 3,000 Gold. There were also more than 400 Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, over 100 Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, over 2,000 Magic Crystals, over 1,000 Tier 1 Gemstones, and over 300 Tier 2 Gemstones. In addition, they had found a large number of rare materials as well as many Level 50 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Normally, such a harvest would require a very long time for Zero Wing to amass. However, they had managed to get it from just a single town battle. If the other Guilds knew, the various Guild Leaders would most likely die from anger, yet Shi Feng remained utterly indifferent to it. "Have you brought the money?" Shi Feng turned around and asked Aqua Rose. "I''ve retrieved the money from the Guild and the Candlelight Trading Firm." Aqua Rose nodded, then handed all the Coins to Shi Feng. Before she had come to the Adventurer''s Association, Shi Feng had tasked her with making a trip to the Candlelight Trading Firm to collect all the funds the Trading Firm had earned recently. She had also retrieved Zero Wing''s income from Guild Quests. When Aqua Rose was collecting the money, despite having been an Honorary Elder of Twilight Echo, a long-established first-rate Guild, even she received a fright. She had never imagined that Zero Wing actually possessed that much money. There was a total of 13,000 Gold! Not to mention one first-rate Guild, even three or four first-rate Guilds combined would not possess that much liquid funds. "Including what I have here, it should be enough." Shi Feng accepted the money and quickly arrived before a counter. "Greetings, Lord Count. How may I be of service to you today?" the blonde NPC beauty asked with a smile. "I wish to construct a Guild Town. Here is the Town Token," Shi Feng said, placing the Town Token on the countertop. "A moment, please." After the NPC clerk accepted the Town Token, she began manipulating the crystal ball on the counter. "This is the Town Token for Stone Forest Town. Stone Forest Town is situated within the Star-Moon City region. If you wish to construct a Guild Town, you will have to pay a registration fee of 6,000 Gold as well as a basic construction fee of 5,000 Gold. In the future, you will also have to pay a monthly management fee of 5,000 Gold. Does my lord wish to hire any guards?" "Yes." Shi Feng nodded. "Okay. The offers we have here are as follows: ten Level 150 Common Guards for ten Gold per three days, ten Level 150 Elite Guards for 50 gold per three days, ten Level 150 Tier 1 Guards for 100 Gold per three days, and ten Level 150 Tier 2 Guards for 300 Gold per three days. May I know how many guards my lord wishes to employ?" the NPC clerk reported. Meanwhile, standing beside Shi Feng, Aqua Rose was shocked when she heard these prices. She never imagined that hiring guards would be so costly. However, what Aqua Rose did not know was that their Guild could get these guards only because they had just established the town. Once 15 days passed, they would no longer receive such a treatment. "I''ll hire 300 Common Guards, 40 Elite Guards, and ten Tier 1 Guards for 15 days," Shi Feng replied after making a rough estimate based on the size of Stone Forest Town. Normally, a town of such a size required around 500 NPCs. However, he lacked funds at the moment; thus he could hire only this many. "Okay. The total is 15,000 Gold. However, as my lord is a Count of the city, you receive a 10% discount, lowering the total to 13,500 Gold," the NPC clerk said, smiling. In contrast to the sincere smile on the female NPC''s face, Aqua Rose had an extraordinarily gloomy expression on her face right now. If Shi Feng were not a Count of White River City, entitling him to a 10% discount, the money she brought definitely would not have been sufficient. However, Shi Feng paid the 13,500 Gold without hesitation. After all, he knew full well that, compared to the money he just spent, he would earn even more money from Stone Forest Town in the future. The wealth a Guild Town could bring was originally quite daunting already, not to mention Stone Forest Town with its close proximity to the Stoneclaw Mountains. 663 Preparing a Town Chapter 663 - Preparing a Town After handing over 13,500 Gold, the NPC clerk handed Shi Feng a Deed. With this Deed, Stone Forest Town would only belong to Shi Feng from this point forward. He could construct any building he desired within the town''s confines without restriction. I finally have some capital. Shi Feng was inwardly overjoyed as he looked at the Deed of Stone Forest Town. There were countless Guilds in God''s Domain. If a Guild wanted to stand on its own feet, it first needed its own Guild Residence. If a Guild wanted to develop and flourish, then it needed its own Guild Town. A Guild was a massive machine, a machine that required a large sum of money to operate and maintain. Although a Guild could earn a lot of money through trading firms during the early stages of the game, it was chump change compared to what a Guild Town could generate. However, as players reached higher levels, they would have more sources to earn an income. Hence, Coins would depreciate as time passed. Meanwhile, Guild Towns were different. A Guild could construct various establishments in their own town. A town also offered a wide array of business models for the Guild. Guild Towns were different from NPC Towns that only accepted Coins. In Guild Towns, the ruling Guild could even require Credits as payment. In God''s Domain, NPC Towns were very restricting. For example, it was extremely difficult for players to purchase their own Houses or Shops. However, Guild Town''s did not have those restrictions. Only money was necessary. Furthermore, Guild Towns were generally constructed off the beaten path, providing players on the frontlines a place to rest and reorganize without needing waste time traveling back to cities. It was especially true for a strategic town like Stone Forest Town. It was very easy to lure players to the town. Most likely, once the town began operating, its player traffic would even surpass White River City. One could easily earn a ton of money just by opening a small Shop there, not to mention the money one could earn from controlling the entire town. Unfortunately, in order to develop the town, Shi Feng needed to construct various buildings such as restaurants, an Auction House, an Adventurer''s Association, Shops, bars, hotels, and other establishments. The cost would be significant. "I need more money," Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he considered the cost. The various large Guilds in Star-Moon City were of the mind that, as long as they obtained Stone Forest Town, they could easily earn a large sum of money. If these Guilds really had obtained Stone Forest City, most likely, the only thing they would have done was stare at it. Aside from the construction cost of various lifestyle buildings, just the basic construction and registration fees were enough to bleed a first-rate Guild dry. Even with Zero Wing''s financial strength, it would be extremely taxing to operate Stone Forest Town. Afterward, the cost would continue to climb as they prepared to open Stone Forest Town to the public. --- Time passed quickly. Unknowingly, two days had gone by. For people in the real world, two days was nothing. To players in Star-Moon Kingdom, however, they had spent every waking moment grinding to reach Level 30 and enter the Stoneclaw Mountains for Magic Crystals. During these two short days, the number of players that had entered the Stoneclaw Mountains had increased significantly. Every Guild in Star-Moon City had fallen silent as they busied themselves with their own agendas, acting as if the war at Stone Forest Town had never occurred. Shi Feng had focused solely on reconstructing Stone Forest Town, executing his initial plans for the town. Although Shi Feng could have relegated this task to Aqua Rose, for assurance''s sake, he chose to do it himself. After all, he had several carefully considered plans in mind. He was also more familiar with the town''s layout. Furthermore, he had his own plans for his Guild''s future. Hence, it was best if he dealt with the town''s reconstruction. In the meantime, Aqua Rose tagged along with Fire Dance''s team to raid the 100-man Team Dungeon, Frost Prison. As a 100-man Team Dungeon, ordinary Dungeons could not compare to the Frost Prison. The Bosses inside were all Great Lords. The least valuable items that dropped in the Dungeon were Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. There was also a high chance for Dark-Gold Equipment to drop. To current players, such equipment was among the best. Hence, the various large Guilds desperately raided Dungeons. Of course, they focused on these Dungeons for the fame of obtaining First Clears, but they also did so to prepare for the Stoneclaw Mountains. As an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, how could the Stoneclaw Mountains be easy? Even these Guilds'' main forces would find the Dungeon difficult to survive. Moreover, they could only grind in the Dungeon''s outermost region. To obtain a large number of Magic Crystals, they needed to venture further into the Stoneclaw Mountains. Hence, the various large Guilds focused on avenues to improve their equipment. The fastest way to do so was through 100-man Team Dungeons. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s Dungeon progression thus far was quite efficient. With the Power of Darkness and the improvements they had gained from challenging the Trial Tower repeatedly, Zero Wing''s main force had reached the Final Boss, the Frost Giant. At this moment, they only needed a little luck to clear the Dungeon. --- "The basics should be finished by now. With this, I can finally launch Stone Forest Town." Shi Feng glanced at the time, feeling that construction of the town''s basic infrastructure should be complete. Normally, after a Guild obtained a town, the town would have to undergo a construction period of two or three days. However, in truth, Shi Feng had spent most of the time completing Zero Wing''s Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town. Compared to Zero Wing''s Guild Residence in White River City, the Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town was larger and more extravagant. While Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City could only accommodate a few tens of thousands of people at one time, the newly constructed Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town could accommodate up to 100,000 people. Moreover, as Zero Wing was a 2-star Guild, there were plenty of 2-star Private Rooms in the new Residence. In comparison, White River City''s Guild Residence did not even have enough Private Rooms for the Guild''s core members. "Guild Leader, here are the materials you requested," Melancholic Smile said as she entered the Advanced Forging Room and unloaded the collection of rare materials onto the large stone table. By this point, Melancholic Smile had become an Intermediate Forger thanks to the large amount of resources that she had been given access to. Currently, she was very close to becoming an Advanced Forger. In addition, she was also one of the Eight Great Intermediate Forgers in Star-Moon Kingdom. Among these Eight Great Intermediate Forgers, four belonged to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, not a single trading firm could compete with Candlelight. "Good. Notify Cocoa and the others. We''ll be going on a trip in a moment." Shi Feng nodded as he stored his plans. He then took inventory of the materials. Melancholic Smile nodded in confusion. She did not understand why Shi Feng suddenly wanted her and the others to accompany him. They were simply forgers. They had no combat capabilities whatsoever. Gathering these materials sure took a lot of time. If not for Gentle Snow, who knows how long it would''ve taken. After confirming that nothing was missing, Shi Feng smiled satisfactorily. These were the materials he needed to construct a Teleportation Magic Array. Every one of these items was extremely rare, even to large Guilds. Gentle Snow had only obtained these materials for Shi Feng after using her personal connections. Following which, Shi Feng stored the materials and led Melancholic Smile and the others towards Stone Forest Town. --- Arriving in Stone Forest Town The town was no longer a gathering place for Red Names. All around, one could see Level 150 guards patrolling the streets. Any player who wished to attack Stone Forest Town had to go through them first. Level 150 guards. Even a Common Guard at this level could kill current players instantly, not to mention Tier 1 and Tier 2 Guards. Even an army of hundreds of thousands of players would fail to capture the town now. 664 New Residence Chapter 664 - New Residence The construction of Stone Forest Town''s basic infrastructure was finally complete. A massive, eight-story-tall building dominated the town''s heart. Zero Wing''s six-winged Guild Emblem graced the front of this building, and even from afar, one could see it clearly. This fortress-like superstructure was none other than Zero Wing''s new Guild Residence. Aside from Zero Wing''s Residence, the second most eye-catching architecture was a seven-story Shop. Shi Feng had prepared this for the Candlelight Trading Firm. To construct this Shop, Shi Feng had paid a total of 1,500 Gold in material fees. Fortunately, he was in charge of the town. Otherwise, the price of the Land alone would''ve emptied Zero Wing''s coffers. The town also possessed plenty of two-story buildings for other players to use. If not for his lack of funds, Shi Feng would''ve preferred five-story buildings rather than two-story. After all, these buildings were all within Stone Forest Town''s golden area. The taller the building was, the more he could charge in rent. Shi Feng had specifically designed the town to allow its main street to lead towards the Stoneclaw Mountains. Any players that entered the town with intentions of heading towards the Stoneclaw Mountains would have to travel down the main street. Hence, the flow of traffic would have to pass by these Shops, ensuring that they would not go unnoticed. Furthermore, Shi Feng had also constructed a hotel and smithy, infrastructures that were most important to players. Only, as his funds were limited at the moment, the hotel and smithy were quite ordinary. He could only reconstruct them in the future. When Melancholic Smile saw the town, her eyes instantly lit up. Although she did not participate in any combat, she was well-informed. She had long since known that Zero Wing had taken control of Stone Forest Town. However, she had never imagined that Zero Wing would be capable of so much. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s 2-star Shop in White River City was only five-stories tall, yet the Shop here was seven-stories tall. Moreover, it occupied a much larger area. Not only could the Shop here accommodate many more Lifestyle players, but there was also no need to fuss about lacking space for a warehouse. At this point, the Candlelight Trading Firm was developing faster and faster. Although they had set up branches in many important cities, there was simply not enough space to store the materials they collected due to Shi Feng''s hoarding requests. After they had filled their Shops warehouses, they had no choice but to rent warehouses from the Bank. However, such a massive Shop in Stone Forest Town would solve much of their storage problem. Shi Feng quickly led Melancholic Smile and the others to Zero Wing''s new Guild Residence. "This is the design for the Teleportation Magic Array. Take a look. I hope that you can manufacture it as soon as possible," Shi Feng said as he revealed the design. Any player, regardless of class, could manufacture the Teleportation Magic Array. Only, as the manufacturing process was too complex and cumbersome, it was not a job for a single person. Moreover, highly skilled forging players would have a higher success rate with the teleportation array. Hence, Shi Feng asked Melancholic Smile and the other Intermediate Forgers to construct it for him. "Teleportation Magic Array Design?" Everyone was thunderstruck. Although they were not combat players, they knew full well just how valuable a Teleportation Magic Array was. Their trip to Stone Forest Town had proven this. In total, they had spent over ten hours traveling from White River City to Stone Forest Town. There were only 48 hours in a day in God''s Domain, and most players would only be online for roughly 20 to 30 of those hours. Hence, it was extremely frustrating to spend more than ten hours on travel. Unfortunately, players had no choice but to travel here as this was the leveling map for players Level 30 and above. The Stoneclaw Mountains also loomed nearby, reminding players of the benefits it offered. If there were a Teleportation Magic Array, however, many things would become easier. If they constructed a Teleportation Magic Array in Stone Forest Town, they could teleport between the town and other cities. They could save more than ten hours'' of travel time. While others wasted more than ten hours of their day, they could use that time to focus on more important matters. It would be extremely easy to shake off the other Guilds. However, what no one knew was that Shi Feng had other plans for the teleportation array in this town. "The Teleportation Magic Array''s manufacturing process is so complex!" Cream Cocoa''s interest was more than piqued. When forging weapons and equipment, forgers would often engrave runes or other strange images on the items. She was absolutely clueless about the meaning behind these runes and images. However, as they played an important role in determining her forging success rate, she often retreated to the library for research. Unfortunately, what she could learn from the library was limited. Although she had learned plenty, her understanding of runes and images was still half-baked. The Teleportation Magic Array was intensely magical. The array utilized a massive number of runes and images. The Teleportation Magic Array Design was different from ordinary forging designs. The design referred to many concepts that were not available in the library''s database. "Guild Leader, this will be a massive undertaking. With the few of us here, it will take a very long time to complete." Melancholic Smile laughed bitterly after a brief examination of the design. "I know. However, the Teleportation Magic Array is exceptionally difficult to manufacture. Even Basic Forgers will struggle to meet the minimum requirements. Hence, I''ve asked the few of you. After you discuss and distribute the tasks, make a photocopy of the part of the design you will work on and find me for the materials you require." Shi Feng had already predicted that his forgers would need a lot of time to complete the task. However, he would rather waste a little time than deal with unnecessary failures. Fortunately, the Teleportation Magic Array was an assembly of parts. Even if Melancholic Smile and the others failed to manufacture certain parts, they would not need to restart the process from scratch. However, the materials he had on hand were limited. He really did not dare risk letting Basic Forgers try their hand. After Melancholic Smile and the others finished splitting up the workload and photocopied the Teleportation Magic Array Design, Shi Feng stored the design and headed towards the first floor''s lounge. The Teleportation Magic Array Design was different from ordinary designs. It was not a learning-type design. After a player clicked to learn an ordinary design, said design would become useless, and the player would have learned to produce the item recorded. However, the Teleportation Magic Array Design could not be learned in such a way. Players could only mimic the procedures recorded. Moreover, the design was a Consumable item. Once players completed all procedures and managed to manufacture the Teleportation Magic Array, it would not be functional yet. The actual design was needed to activate the teleportation array because the design itself contained special magic. This special magic was required to fix the teleportation coordinates to the array in question. The Teleportation Magic Array Design could be used to fix transfer coordinates up to ten times. The design did not allow players to learn and produce an unlimited number of Teleportation Magic Arrays. --- Inside the Guild''s lounge Shi Feng retrieved a Magic Scroll. However, unlike ordinary Magic Scrolls, which were only the size of a book, this Magic Scroll was as large as he was. Shi Feng had spent 300 Gold to obtain this Magic Scroll. Its function was to bind coordinates. It allowed Guild members to use Transfer Scrolls to teleport to the Guild Residence they were bound to. Previously, as Zero Wing''s Guild Residence occupied White River City, even without using a Transfer Scroll, Zero Wing''s members could just use a Return Scroll to return to White River City. Hence, this Magic Scroll would have only been a waste of money. However, things were different now. Now that Zero Wing had a Residence in Stone Forest Town, even if the town did not possess a teleportation array, Guild members could simply purchase a Transfer Scroll from the Guild Hall and teleport to Stone Forest Town. 665 New Discovery Chapter 665 - New Discovery The Stoneclaw Mountains'' outermost region: Due to the Star Alliance''s advertising, the stream of players rushing towards the Stoneclaw Mountains increased by the minute. Even experts from the surrounding kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire arrived in droves. Although there was a minimum level requirement of 30 to enter the Regional Dungeon, easily more than 50,000 players had pushed into the Stoneclaw Mountains thus far. Moreover, as time passed, this number would continue to increase. "Boss Red, there''s a Half-orc settlement ahead of us. The settlement houses over 300 Elite Half-orcs and over 20 Special Elites. There are also four Wolfman Chieftains and one Wolfman Lord." "A settlement?" Red Feather smiled. "Excellent! Notify Willow''s team immediately. If we combined our strength, we should be able to take down the settlement." Although the Stoneclaw Mountains were a treasured land, that did not mean that players could obtain Magic Crystals and equipment easily. After experimenting for some time, the various large Guilds had discovered certain patterns. Compared to monsters in settlements, the Dungeon''s roaming monsters were far less profitable. The difference in drop-rate for Magic Crystals was particularly massive. Often enough, the harvest one could obtain after taking down a single monster settlement could top even an entire day''s worth of income for a 100-man team. However, settlements were extremely rare. Moreover, even a 100-man team would find it very difficult to take down a settlement. Normally, when a team managed to discover a settlement, they could only circle and watch. However, the Star Alliance did not need to waste their time. "Boss Red, my equipment had already reached the red caution line. I doubt the remaining Durability will last me through a big battle," a Shield Warrior spoke up after seeing the warning sign beside his equipment''s Durability. The Stoneclaw Mountains'' terrain was complex. Not only were there a large number of monsters here, but the monsters were also quite powerful individually. If a team were too large, not only would they monsters discover them easily, but they would also set off a chain reaction, making it harder for the team to survive. Ever since the battle for Stone Forest Town, the Star Alliance''s overall strength had decreased significantly. Fortunately, their top combatants had not received any damage, so the Guild''s loss did not affect their progression in 100-man Team Dungeons and the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, the Half-orcs in the Stoneclaw Mountains were very powerful. Their Armor Break ability had caused players massive headaches. Equipment that normally lasted for a long time would drop to a critical Durability after only a dozen or so battles. If an item''s Durability reached zero, repairing it would no longer be possible. At that time, it could only be disassembled for its raw materials. In truth, it wasn''t just the lead MT''s equipment that had reached a critical point. The equipment of the other MTs and melee players in Red Feather''s team had also reached a critical level. Weapons and equipment were different. One could recover a weapon''s Durability through Advanced Whetstones. However, there were no items available that could recover equipment''s Durability. Players could only bring their equipment to a smithy for repairs. This was also why players did not normally pay much attention to their equipment. During battle, players would typically attack and defend with their weapons. Very rarely would their equipment receive a blow. Hence, their equipment''s Durability decreased slowly. However, the monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains were different. Their Armor Break ability already made them fairly powerful, but they also possessed relatively high intelligence. They would often find opportunities to strike at a player''s vital points, quickly decreasing their equipment''s Durability. "What about your backup equipment?" Red Feather frowned slightly. "I''ve used it already. This is my final set." The Shield Warrior was also quite frustrated. After entering the Stoneclaw Mountains, the various large Guilds quickly discovered that the Dungeon exhausted their equipment''s Durability. It was especially true for the MTs. Hence, they had specifically prepared multiple sets of equipment in advance to replace their equipment when needed. However, after one day of grinding, they had exhausted their backup equipment. "Damn it. A round trip will take us an entire day. If we wait, some other team will snatch this settlement," Red Feather growled with frustration. He then asked, "What about the party that was sent to replace our equipment?" Everyone knew how much trouble it was to go back and forth to the Stoneclaw Mountains. Hence, the various large Guilds had arranged parties to deliver replacement equipment for their teams to save time. "Boss, I just asked, and the supply party says that it''ll take them another eight hours or so to reach the Dungeon''s entrance." "Eight hours?" Red Feather doubted that this settlement would remain undiscovered for another eight hours. At this point, the number of teams that came to grind for Magic Crystals continuously increased. Although the Star Alliance had the home ground advantage, it was only slightly stronger than the first-rate Guilds of the surrounding kingdoms and empires. Not to mention, even the super-first-rate Guild, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, had joined the party. "We''ll retreat and meet up with the supply party. Have Willow''s team watch over this Half-orc settlement. We must not let someone else obtain it." Saying so, Red Feather prepared his team to leave the Stoneclaw Mountains. Since the lead MT''s equipment was already in the red, it would not be wise to engage in battle. And since they could not participate in fights, their best option was to meet up with the supply party. At the same time, the various teams around the Stoneclaw Mountains struggled with the same headache. If they used Level 30 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment, they could replace the items as often as they wanted to. However, the monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains were just too powerful and numerous. Without Level 30 Fine-Gold or above equipment, they would not last long. If they used Secret-Silver Equipment, the equipment could become scrap at any given moment. Yet, Level 30 Fine-Gold or above equipment was simply too rare. The various large Guilds could only secure a limited stock. Hence, each team possessed very little backup equipment. Most teams were usually forced to rest after grinding for half a day, only to resume after their supply parties arrived. --- Meanwhile, in Stone Forest Town The town, which had been heavily guarded and had refused entrance to outsiders, suddenly removed the ban. "Huh? The guards that usually patrol the town''s perimeter gone." "Hey, look over there! Independent players are entering and leaving Stone Forest Town." The various Guilds'' supply parties quickly discovered the change. Unable to help their curiosity, some of these players approached the town. Originally, Stone Forest Town had not possessed a tall exterior wall. Ever since the town fell into Zero Wing''s control, the Adventurer''s Association had automatically built one for the town, making it difficult for players to investigate the situation inside. "Wah, Zero Wing''s Guild Residence is huge!" "Isn''t that the Candlelight Trading Firm? It''s in operation already?" "There''s a hotel over there!" "Quick, look! There''s a smithy!" The players who entered the town were immediately mesmerized. Just a few days ago, Stone Forest Town had been a pile of ruins, yet the town had become brand-new and offered far more than it had previously. "Crap, I need to notify the Guild!" "Zero Wing is amazing! It''s only been a few days, and already, they have a smithy and hotel." Compared to the majestic Guild Residence and Trading Firm, the players that entered Stone Forest Town paid more attention to the two facilities that could repair their equipment and allow them to recover their Stamina and Concentration. Very quickly, news about Stone Forest Town spread to every team in the Stoneclaw Mountains, shocking the various Guilds. After Shi Feng had obtained the Town Token, the Guilds had launched an extensive investigation on the town''s construction. However, they were immediately flabbergasted. Nobody could have imagined that constructing a town was actually so expensive. The initial investment alone required cost over 10,000 Gold. If one wanted the town to operate properly, they would have to spend even more money. Most likely, even though Zero Wing was very wealthy, it would be a long time before the Guild could operate Stone Forest Town. None of the Guild would have ever imagined that Zero Wing could get the job done in just a few days 666 Shocking Income Chapter 666 - Shocking Income "What?!" "Stone Forest Town is open to outsiders? And it has a smithy that can repair equipment?!" When the various teams in Stoneclaw Mountain received this information, they acted as if they had just found out that the sky was falling. Stone Forest Town was just an hour away from the Stoneclaw Mountains. Even a round trip would just take two hours. It was far less time compared to the supply parties that took over ten hours to travel from Star-Moon City. "Let''s go; we''re going to Stone Forest Town." The leaders of the various teams immediately issued orders upon receiving this news and quickly made their way to Stone Forest Town. In truth, they were going to Stone Forest Town not just to repair their equipment, but to hasten their Stamina and Concentration recovery as well. The recovery rate in the Field Tents was just too slow. In just a few hours, the previously quiet Stone Forest Town became very lively. "Guild Leader, I understand sheltering Ouroboros''s members, but why are you allowing everyone to rest in town? Aren''t we giving away our advantage?" Aqua Rose asked in confusion. Currently, she stood on the Guild Residence''s observation deck, looking down at the members of the various large Guilds. Seeing their merry spirits, it looked as if they were celebrating New Year''s Eve. Although more Guilds gathered in the Stoneclaw Mountains as time passed, none of them had any chance of capturing Stone Forest Town. If they limited entry to Zero Wing and Ouroboros''s members, both Guilds could obtain far more Magic Crystals than their competitors. At that time, they could definitely nurture experts much faster than the other Guilds and could use the opportunity to widen the gap between themselves and the other Guilds. Yet, now, after struggling through so many challenges to reconstruct the town, Shi Feng chose to permit entry to everyone. How were they supposed to widen the gap now? "You''re placing too much importance on the profit right before your eyes. At the end of the day, the Stoneclaw Mountains is only a Regional Dungeon. It is not the only place players can obtain Magic Crystals. Moreover, as everyone''s levels increase, the various Guilds'' core members will be able to use Mounts at Level 40. At that time, we will regain our lead," Shi Feng said, laughing. "Moreover, I didn''t build this town just so we could obtain more Magic Crystals. It''s also meant to earn money for the Guild." "Earn money?" Aqua Rose was confused. "Although we have the advantage of owning the town, most likely, the various large Guilds will use the Consumables they produced rather than purchase the items from the Candlelight Trading Firm. How are we supposed to make money?" "Look at the smithy." Shi Feng pointed towards the smithy in the distance. At the moment, there was a very long line outside of the smithy. "That''s where we''ll make our money." Currently, there were several hundred players outside the smithy. Every one of them carried an entire team''s worth of equipment. Several hundred players meant several hundred 100-man team''s equipment. One could just imagine how profitable the equipment repair business was. "However, we don''t claim the smithy''s repair fees. We only collect taxes." Aqua Rose was even more confused now. "We collect a fixed tax. However, don''t forget that all the properties in the town are under our control. I have merely hired NPCs to man the smithy and repair equipment. As for prices, I have the final say," Shi Feng explained with satisfaction. "Hence, I''ve tripled the smithy''s repair fees. These players can decide whether or not they want to pay the fee to repair their equipment." Aqua Rose gasped. She then said, "Triple? Why would anyone agree to that?" It was not cheap to repair a piece of equipment. Repair fees were a Guild''s largest expenditure. Raising the fees to three times the original price would be fatal to a Guild. "That''s the point. I don''t want them to spend Coins to repair their equipment because, aside from paying triple the original repair fee, there is another method of payment. This is something that can only be done in a Guild Town. Not only is it possible to pay for items and services using Credits in a Guild Town, but it is also possible to use certain items such as Magic Crystals as a form of currency." Shi Feng smiled faintly. "If they pay with Magic Crystals, considering the current market value, the repair fees will only cost 1.5 times the usual rate. Meanwhile, all of the Magic Crystals the smithy receives will belong to us. We just need to pay some Coins in return." Before this, Shi Feng had already received a report from Ouroboros regarding the income of the various Guild teams and had set the repair fees accordingly. If he set the repair fees at market rate, their rival Guilds would gain the advantage. Meanwhile, 1.5 times the market rate was just barely within the various large Guilds'' budgets. Hence, the Guilds who had lined up outside the smithy to repair their equipment were gnashing their teeth while they waited. With more than 10,000 pieces of equipment needing repairs, just how many Magic Crystals would it cost? "Doesn''t that mean that the various large Guilds are currently earning Magic Crystals for Zero Wing?" A realization suddenly stuck Aqua Rose. It was no wonder why Shi Feng so generously allowed the various Guilds to enter Stone Forest Town. Compared to grinding for Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains themselves, not only would they earn far more Magic Crystals by letting the various large Guilds grind for them, but they could also save plenty of time and manpower. "This is just the start. Soon, they will discover that, the moment they set foot in Stone Forest Town, the Magic Crystals in their inventories ceased to belong to them." Shi Feng had never intended to monopolize the Stoneclaw Mountains for himself. With so much free labor available, why should he waste the time of Zero Wing''s core members? In fact, the hotel and leisure centers employed a similar business model as well. These establishment''s prices were set according to normal rates if one paid with Magic Crystals, but double when using Coins. In other words, Stone Forest Town had already become a goldmine for Magic Crystals. Based on Shi Feng''s initial estimates, the town could earn more than 2,000 Magic Crystals in a single day. Moreover, as time progressed and more players entered the town, this number would increase. If it were up to Zero Wing''s main force and the Dark Gods Legion to grind for Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains, even if they slaved all day, they would never obtain 1,000 Magic Crystals, let alone 2,000. With a steady income of 2,000 Magic Crystals each day from Stone Forest Town, in addition to the Magic Crystals the Guild normally obtained from Dungeons, Shi Feng could support Zero Wing''s massive daily expenditures. Otherwise, the Magic Crystals Shi Feng had accumulated previously would last for only so long. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds in Stone Forest Town were complaining about and gnashing their teeth at Zero Wing. However, they were utterly helpless against the Guild as Stone Forest Town was under Zero Wing''s control. Helpless, they could only hand over a portion of the Magic Crystals they had obtained. After all, they could earn more Magic Crystals during the time they saved by traveling here rather than to Star-Moon City. Overall, they would still earn more than they had been. After Shi Feng finished with Stone Forest Town''s affairs, he passed the management of the town''s daily affairs to Aqua Rose. He then returned to White River City to focus on claiming the First Clear of the Frost Prison. As a 100-man Team Dungeon, the Frost Prison was incredibly difficult. Even until now, one could count on a single hand the number of Guilds that had obtained the First Clear of a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon throughout God''s Domain. As for Star-Moon Kingdom, no one had earned this achievement yet. This was not due to everyone lacking appropriate equipment. Rather, it was because everyone''s combat techniques were not up to snuff. Even Heaven''s Burial and Overwhelming Smile''s experts had quite a ways to go before meeting the minimum requirement. Hence, the various large Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom were all stuck at the Final Boss of their respective 100-man Team Dungeons. Precisely because of this, Shi Feng had never bothered leading Zero Wing''s team to raid the Frost Prison. Now, however, the situation had changed. In order to improve the strength of Zero Wing''s main force, he had invested a large number of Magic Crystals into the team, allowing them to practice and improve their combat techniques at the Divine Colosseum undisturbed. He had even given them a taste of the Hundred Berry Wine''s effects. After a period of training, every member of the main force was now capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor by relying on their own abilities, finally becoming experts. 667 Twelve Sacred Knights Chapter 667 - Twelve Sacred Knights Inside the Frost Prison: The Final Boss, the Frost Giant, roared, causing the entire frost cavern to shake. In the next moment, countless icicles on the ceiling of the cave abruptly broke off and fell. The one hundred Level 30 players in the cave desperately dodged the descending icicles. If struck by these icicles, even an MT who had activated a Lifesaving Skill would not be able to survive a single hit, much less any other classes. "Everyone, pay attention to dodging, but don''t waste too much Stamina either. The Boss only has 30% HP remaining," War Wolf hurriedly reminded his team after throwing himself to the floor to avoid the Frost Giant''s steel hammer. At the moment War Wolf''s maximum HP was already more than 9,000. He was only behind Cola, who was equipped with a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment, by over 1,000 HP. He could definitely be considered one of the highest HP MTs in the game. Compared to the Frost Giant, which was the size of a small hill, War Wolf''s HP was like a mere speck of dust. [Frost Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 32 HP 45,000,000/45,000,000 As the ruler of the Frost Prison, a 100-man Team Dungeon, the Frost Giant was considerably more powerful than any Boss they had faced previously. Not only did it possess extremely high HP, but its massive five-story tall body could cause great destruction with every action. Even War Wolf would receive nearly -4,000 damage when he blocked one of the Frost Giant''s attacks with his shield. If he received a direct hit, his base damage would certainly exceed -6,000 points. In addition, the Great Lord also possessed a Frost Domain. The Frost Domain had a coverage area of 200 yards. Not only would everyone within the Domain''s Movement and Attack Speed reduce by 40%, but the Domain would also increase their Stamina consumption rate by several times. It was common knowledge that, in God''s Domain, every movement a player made consumed Stamina. However, as Stamina was a Hidden Attribute, players were unable to check for their own Stamina. Once they consumed their Stamina to a certain degree, players would no longer be able to fight. They could only resume combat after resting for a time. In ordinary battles, players would not be able to exhaust their Stamina completely even after three to four hours of continuous fighting. However, when a player''s movements increased in intensity, their Stamina consumption rate would also increase correspondingly. Meanwhile, the battles conducted in a large-scale Team Dungeon would be undeniably intense. Inside a large-scale Team Dungeon, even the slightest mistake could lead to a team-wipe. Therefore, the burden placed on a player''s Stamina was incredibly significant. Under the effects of the Frost Domain, players would only be able to fight for a short time before they collapsed from exhaustion. In such an extreme battle, ordinary players would only last five or six minutes. Even elite players would last just two or three minutes longer. Only players who possessed powerful control over their own bodies could minimize their Stamina consumption to the very minimum and last more than 12 minutes in the battle against the Frost Giant. However, very few players were capable of achieving such a high degree of control. After being struck by another wave of icicles, several more players fell flat on the floor from over-exhaustion. They were unable to attack the Boss, even if they wanted to. "How many people are still able to fight?" War Wolf asked through the team chat as he lifted his large shield to intercept the Frost Giant. "Boss Wolf, we just lost another four more melees, and one ranged; we only have 76 people left," an Oracle standing at the rear line replied. "Seventy-six?" War Wolf looked at the Frost Giant''s HP. Currently, the Great Lord still had 27% of its HP remaining, which was roughly 12,150,000 HP. With their current damage output, they would have to continue attacking the Boss for another three minutes or so to end the battle. However, after experiencing so many battles against this Boss, War Wolf knew very clearly that the further they proceeded into the battle, the more players would become over-exhausted. It was simply impossible to finish the battle in three minutes. "Is it still impossible?" The Frost Giant did not have many powerful Skills. As long as one familiarized themselves with the Great Lord''s Skills, they could mostly evade the powerful moves of the Boss. However, instead of dying to one of the Boss''s Skills, the team had died from over-exhaustion. If this matter were made known to others, they would certainly become a laughingstock. Five minutes later, a group of people appeared at the resurrection point of the Frost Prison. This group of people was none other than the members of Overwhelming Smile. "Boss, the Frost Giant''s combat technique requirement is simply too high. If we want to clear the Dungeon, we''ll need to have Underworld send more experts to us. It''s no solution to continue losing EXP here," Soaring Snake, clad in black armor, suggested. "Although Underworld is paying great attention to White River City, its main focus is still on the Frostwolf Kingdom and the Snowstorm Kingdom. The organization won''t be willing to dispatch many experts to us. Besides, we can now bring the Final Boss down to less than 10% HP. As long as we have over a dozen people still alive near the end, we can clear the Dungeon." War Wolf shook his head, denying Soaring Snake''s suggestion. He then said, "It''s a pity Youlan is too busy with managing the trading firm and Guild over at Maple City. With her skills and wisdom, we might have already cleared the Dungeon by now." Hearing War Wolf say so, everyone could not help but nod their heads in agreement. When one spoke about the experts of Overwhelming Smile, the strongest expert was definitely War Wolf. However, nobody could ever guess that the second strongest expert in the Guild was actually Youlan. Youlan''s harmless appearance must not fool one. When it came to an actual fight, even the prideful and talented Soaring Snake was not a match for her, so much so that Soaring Snake could not even shave off one-third of Youlan''s HP before being defeated. The fight between Youlan and Soaring Snake had stupefied everyone. Originally, Soaring Snake was considered one of the top few experts of Ouroboros. After receiving War Wolf''s knowledge of numerous combat techniques, Soaring Snake''s strength had soared by leaps and bounds. Yet, he was still not a match for Youlan "Let''s head back," War Wolf said through the team chat. He no longer wished to waste any more time here. Just as the members of Overwhelming Smile were about to leave, the sound of a system announcement entered everyone''s ears. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Heaven''s Burial for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode of Frost Prison. All players on the team will be rewarded with 4,000,000 EXP, 70 Silver, 100 White River City Reputation Points, and 40 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Heaven''s Burial for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode of Frost Prison. All players on the team will be rewarded with 5,000,000 EXP, 5 Tier 2 Gemstones of random Attributes, 100 White River City Reputation Points, and 50 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points. God''s Domain Southern Continent System Announcement: Congratulations to Heaven''s Burial for becoming the first team to conquer the Hard Mode of Frost Prison. All players on the team will be rewarded with 6,000,000 EXP, 1 Tier 3 Gemstone of random Attributes, 100 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points, and 10 Humanity Reputation Points. The announcement repeated three times. The teams raiding the Frost Prison were instantly stupefied. Nobody would have thought that the first Guild to clear a 100-man Team Dungeon in Star-Moon Kingdom would be the newly-established Heaven''s Burial. "Heaven''s Burial?" War Wolf''s expression turned grim, a hint of confusion flashing across his eyes. Although there were many experts in Heaven''s Burial, they should be about equal in strength to Overwhelming Smile. Yet, Heaven''s Burial had actually managed to raid the Hard Mode Frost Prison so quickly. No matter how he thought about it, there was something fishy. A short moment later, a group of players appeared at the Frost Prison teleportation gate. These people all wore the Emblem of Heaven''s Burial on their chests, and they were uniformly Level 30. Meanwhile, the leader of the team, the Cleric, Flame Blood, looked at War Wolf and smiled. Beside Flame Blood, there were also many faces that War Wolf had never seen before. Meanwhile, every one of these new arrivals emitted sharp and frightening auras that were stronger than even War Wolf''s. "Team Leader Wolf, it seems that Heaven''s Burial has managed to come out slightly on top this time," Flame Blood said as he walked up to greet War Wolf. "I''ve always thought that Zero Wing was our greatest opponent. I never thought that Heaven''s Burial had hidden its strength so deeply. However, although Overwhelming Smile has lost this time, the results will not necessarily be the same the next time," War Wolf replied, smiling. He could not help but take a look at the few people standing beside Flame Blood. This time, he was fully convinced of his loss because even he could not see through the strength of the Guardian Knight beside Flame Blood. The man gave off a feeling similar to a mountain. Despite having used an Advanced Identification Skill on the Guardian Knight, all War Wolf managed to see was the fact that the Guardian Knight had over 10,000 HP, nearly 1,000 more than he did. The Guardian Knight''s strength was definitely above his own. With such a powerful MT, in addition to top-tier experts like Flame Blood, Ghost Shadow, and several other experts who were a match for the Guardian Knight expert, it was very reasonable for Heaven''s Burial to clear the Hard Mode Frost Prison. In the middle of the two''s conversation, Shi Feng had arrived before the Dungeon together with his team. The expressions on each of their faces at the moment were very ugly. None of them would have thought that Heaven''s Burial would obtain the First Clear of the Frost Prison. "Guild Leader Black Flame, it is truly a pity. If you had come here a little earlier, the First Clear of this Dungeon might''ve belonged to Zero Wing instead," Flame Blood laughed elegantly. The achievement of obtaining the First Clear of a 100-man Team Dungeon this time would lift Heaven''s Burial''s reputation to a whole new level. Although it still could not become White River City''s number one Guild, at the very least, everyone would no longer think that Heaven''s Burial was inferior to Zero Wing. In terms of Dungeon raiding capabilities, others might even think that Heaven''s Burial was slightly superior. Shi Feng did not make a response regarding Heaven''s Burial''s unexpected performance. Sweeping his gaze across the members of Heaven''s Burial, his attention immediately fell onto a single person. Why is one of the Twelve Sacred Knights here? Shi Feng was inwardly stunned when he saw the Guardian Knight standing beside Flame Blood. 668 Challenge Chapter 668 - Challenge Other than those extraordinarily rare, God-ranked experts, there had been countless experts in God''s Domain. There had even been many Tier 5 experts. In the past, the top twelve Tier 5 players of every class had been known as the Twelve Sacred Experts. Tier 5 experts were considered treasures to any Guild. They were geniuses that could not be ignored. Any Guild that managed to nurture a Tier 5 expert would celebrate for days. Meanwhile, the Twelve Sacred Experts were a group of players standing at the very peak of Tier 5 classes. They had been geniuses among geniuses. Right now, the Guardian Knight standing beside Flame Blood had been one of the famous Twelve Sacred Knights, Lightning Blade. Not only was his bladework astonishingly fast, but he was also famous for having an impenetrable defense. In the past, even the Twelve Sacred Assassins had been unable to break through his defense. Lightning Blade had ranked eighth among the Twelve Sacred Knights. However, the most frightening aspect about him was the fact that he had been an independent player. Had Lightning Blade joined a first-rate Guild early on in the past, he might have had the chance to join the Tier 6 God-ranked players. Shi Feng never imagined that Heaven''s Burial could actually rope in such a peerless expert. He was slightly surprised. There was no doubting the importance of an MT to a team. Heaven''s Burial had already recruited many experts of the virtual gaming world. Now, they had even managed to recruit such a powerful MT. Lightning Blade''s entry into the Guild instantly elevated the strength of Heaven''s Burial''s main force by several levels. "You''re the famous One-hit Asura, Black Flame?" Lightning Blade shifted his gaze to Shi Feng. Grinning, he said, "I heard that you were Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert. I have always enjoyed challenging experts. Why don''t we have a duel? I want to see whether the rumored One-hit Asura is actually as godly as they say, being able to send anyone to the afterlife with just one hit. Or maybe everything was just a big lie." The moment Lightning Blade finished his words, the surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees. At this moment, every member of Zero Wing radiated an intense killing intent. Shi Feng was their Guild Leader. How dare anyone just walk up to him and issue a challenge, not to mention doing so with such a disrespectful tone? This was an insult to Zero Wing itself. However, as the leader of Heaven''s Burial''s team, rather than stopping Lightning Blade, Flame Blood simply stood by a side, smiling. Although it was not wise to provoke Zero Wing, Heaven''s Burial''s momentum was in full swing. It was also a good thing to have Lightning Blade test the depths of Shi Feng''s strength. Not only would this improve the Guild''s reputation, but it would also serve as a foundation to deal with Shi Feng in the future. Moreover, in the event that Lightning Blade managed to defeat Shi Feng, Heaven''s Burial''s fame would soar. Standing by the side, War Wolf played the role of an observer in this fight. If Shi Feng refusedLightning Blade''s challenge, Heaven''s Burial would definitely spread the news of this matter, claiming that Shi Feng was afraid to accept the challenge. Shi Feng''s position as the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom would definitely be at risk. However, if he accepted the challenge, he would also risk revealing his strength to his enemies. If this happened, he would not have as many hidden advantages in future battles. Violet Cloud suddenly stepped forward and said, "Don''t you think it''s a little too early for you to challenge our Guild Leader? However, I''ll be your opponent." "You? A Cleric?" Lightning Blade glanced at the young and slender Violet Cloud. With disdain, he said, "I have no interest in unripened little girls like you. Black Flame, you can''t possibly send a little girl into battle just because you''re afraid of facing me, right?" "Little girl?" Violet Cloud remained unperturbed by the Guardian Knight''s insult. Smiling calmly, she said, "If you can''t even defeat a little girl like me, what qualifications do you have to face our Guild Leader?" "Then, are you saying that, as long as I beat you, your Guild Leader will fight me?" Lightning Blade countered with a question of his own. "I guarantee it." Shi Feng nodded. "Okay, I look forward to experiencing Guild Leader Black Flame''s brilliant moves," Lightning Blade laughed. He then shifted his gaze towards Violet Cloud. Following which, both teams distanced themselves from each other, creating a space for the fighters. "Lightning, be careful of that girl. She''s not as simple as she looks. She''s an expert who has reached the later stage of the seventh floor. She should be just as strong, if not stronger, than Ghost Shadow," Flame Blood warned the MT. Lightning Blade was an expert that Heaven''s Burial had spared no expense to recruit. The Guardian Knight''s strength spoke for itself. Even Ghost Shadow had failed to damage him as Lightning Blade had blocked every one of the Assassin''s attacks. With his exceedingly high HP and lightning-quick attacks, Lightning Blade eventually wore Ghost Shadow down, claiming his life. One could say that Lightning Blade had a massive advantage in PvP battles. Against a low damage Cleric, it would be child''s play for Lightning Blade to secure a victory. However, a little caution never hurt anybody. "Relax. I''ve known about this for a while. I''m just trying to agitate Black Flame so that he will agree to a Duel." Lightning Blade no longer had a prideful and arrogant air around himself. On the contrary, he remained calm and attached great importance to this Duel. Meanwhile, on the other side, Shi Feng secretly passed a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine to Violet Cloud, saying softly, "Drink this before you fight him. Do not let him within ten yards of you." Though Shi Feng was unsure of Lightning Blade''s current strength, he did know one of his weaknesses. While knowing this weakness would do little good to ordinary experts, to Violet Cloud, however, it would help her tremendously in the upcoming battle. "Guild Leader, is Lightning Blade so strong that Violet Cloud needs to drink Hundred Berry Wine?" Fire Dance was confused by Shi Feng''s actions. In Zero Wing, when speaking about combat techniques, Violet Cloud was even superior to her. Meanwhile, in terms of strength, she was only slightly superior to Violet Cloud due to the advantage of her class and weapons. They both wore the best available equipment in all of God''s Domain. With their current standards, there were very few people who could defeat them in Star-Moon Kingdom. Even against an expert like War Wolf, Fire Dance was confident that both she and Violet Cloud had more than a 60% chance of defeating him. "If we''re going to win, we have to win brilliantly," Shi Feng laughed. He did not think that the current Violet Cloud was inferior to Lightning Blade. The girl was even an Astromancer, a hidden class. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone could not help but roll their eyes at their Guild Leader. This was simply extravagant! Normally, they had to fight tooth for nail against each other to obtain a single bottle, exhausting themselves. Yet, now, Shi Feng let a bottle go to waste just for a flashy win. If they had known something like this would happen, they would have volunteered. That was the Hundred Berry Wine! Drinking just one bottle could allow one to become a top-tier expert. Two bottles could push one to the apex of Star-Moon Kingdom. Without hesitation, Violet Cloud emptied the bottle of Hundred Berry Wine, a faint blush appearing on her white, delicate cheeks. Tasting her lips, it was obvious she still could not get enough of the beverage. She was adorable. The members of Heaven''s Burial were surprised when they saw Zero Wing''s members watch Violet Cloud enviously. What was going on with Zero Wing''s members? Was participating in the Duel really something to be jealous of? "This will be interesting. That young lady easily toyed with Nimble Snake in the past." War Wolf wore a playful smile. He then shifted his gaze to Lightning Blade, a cunning spark flashing in his eyes. "This is a good chance to see just how powerful that Guardian Knight is. I actually feel a significant pressure from him." Standing by a side, Nimble Snake nodded in agreement with War Wolf''s words. Violet Cloud''s combat techniques were indeed very powerful. She had actually reached the seventh floor of the Trial Tower. However, actual combat and challenging the Trial Tower were two entirely different things. Previously, he had lost to Violet Cloud due to the latter having the advantage in Tiers. Otherwise, the outcome would not have necessarily ended in Violet Cloud''s favor. His strength had improved significantly since then. If they faced each other again, he would definitely win against Violet Cloud. Once both combatants were ready, Lightning Blade and Violet Cloud initiated the Duel. System Countdown: 5 seconds. System Countdown: 4 seconds. System: Duel, start! 669 Divine Exemption Chapter 669 - Divine Exemption When the Duel began, everyone''s attention promptly shifted towards the two fighters. One was a Guardian Knight, while the other was a Cleric. Neither was a high-damage class. In this matchup, however, Lightning Blade held the advantage due to the Guardian Knight''s a Magic Resistance Aura and several Interrupt Skills. To Violet Cloud, a fragile and healing-oriented class, this Duel was somewhat disadvantageous for her. In terms of HP, Violet Cloud had over 7,000, far above the average for magical classes. However, compared to an MT like Lightning Blade, who had over 10,000 HP, it would not save her. "Fall!" Lightning Blade immediately charged at Violet Cloud. Tightening his grip on the massive shield in his left hand, he executed Shield Bash. As his entire person crashed into Violet Cloud, Lightning Blade''s right arm began to swing, his saber slicing the air as it transformed into a streak of light that flew towards Violet Cloud''s delicate neck. The entire process was flawless and happened in the blink of an eye. He had not given Violet Cloud any chance to cast her Skills. "Such a proficient two-stage attack," War Wolf could not help but praise the MT as he watched Lightning Blade''s performance. Ordinary players would find it difficult just to evade the oncoming shield. Moreover, as the shield came at them, players would instinctively focus on the shield, thereby ignoring Lightning Blade''s closely-following saber. Against such a two-stage attack, even an expert at their peak would be distracted by the shield momentarily and miss the opportunity to deal with Lightning Blade''s saber. It was very easy for one to fall prey to Lightning Blade''s attack. Violet Cloud hurriedly sidestepped, evading the Guardian Knight''s Shield Bash with the least amount of movement. At the same time, she instinctively activated Truth Shield, an Instant-cast Skill. Boom! Boom! Boom! Three consecutive slashes struck the same spot on the golden shield, and the shield began to show signs of shattering. Reacting, Lightning Blade sent a Hammer of Sanctions descending on Violet Cloud''s head. Moving her feet, Violet Cloud gracefully evaded the Guardian Knight''s Hammer of Sanctions. "Your reaction speed is impressive; I''ll give you that. Unfortunately, although you might be able to avoid my Hammer of Sanctions, you won''t avoid this move," Lightning Blade sneered. Immediately, he executed Cross Slash, the attack colliding with the golden shield protecting Violet Cloud. Boom! Unable to bear the weight of the attack, the golden shield shattered. In addition, Violet Cloud received over -400 damage. If not for the Truth Shield absorbing a large portion of the damage, she would have lost a lot more HP. After shattering the Cleric''s Truth Shield, Lightning Blade followed up with several more slashes that were aimed at Violet Cloud''s vital points. Responding quickly, Violet Cloud immediately activated Terrorizing Roar, causing all enemies within range to lose control of their characters. With a calm expression, Lightning Blade let out a low shout. In the next moment, his body released a golden brilliance. Tier 1 Skill, Divine Exemption! For the next seven seconds, he became immune to all Control Skills. Violet Cloud''s Terrorizing Roar was rendered completely useless. After effortlessly diffusing the Skill, Lightning Blade''s saber continued to fall towards Violet Cloud without losing any momentum. Violet Cloud was caught off guard. Although she tried to block with her staff, the Guardian Knight''s attacks were simply too fast. In the end, she received a few hits. Instantly, Violet Cloud was sent flying, her HP rapidly decreasing. Every attack had devoured over 500 HP. After three consecutive strikes, Violet Cloud had lost over 1,500 HP. Now, she had less than 5,000 HP remaining. While Divine Exemption was still in effect, Lightning Blade continued to pursue his enemy ruthlessly. Easily dodging Violet Cloud''s Sacred Sanctions, he swiftly appeared before the Cleric once again. Divine Storm! Consecutive Holy Slash! Although Violet Cloud constantly tried to put more distance between herself and Lightning Blade, Guardian Knights possessed Skills that could enhance their Movement Speed. Hence, Violet Cloud could only desperately try to defend against the oncoming attacks, her HP rapidly decreasing in the process. Even though she had activated Instant Recovery to heal herself, the healing she received could not keep up with the damage Lightning Blade dished out. After a short moment, Violet Cloud''s HP fell below 3,000. If any other healer class fought Lightning Blade right now, the Duel would have long since ended. "Lightning Blade''s attacks are becoming faster and fiercer. He''s not giving that Cleric any chances to catch her breath. Although the Cleric class does have a few Control Skills, none of them are effective against Lightning Blade." Smiling faintly, Flame Blood said, "However, Violet Cloud really is strong. Even though a Cleric is not a combat class, she has still survived against Lightning Blade until now. With her skills, it''s no wonder she set foot on the seventh floor." Standing by the side, Ghost Shadow nodded in agreement with Flame Blood''s words. At the end of the day, a Cleric was not a PvP class. If Fire Dance were the one fighting in this match, Zero Wing might have had a chance of emerging victorious. "You''re quite good. However, I won''t give you any more chances to heal." Grunting, Lightning Blade''s body suddenly expanded slightly as he used the Berserk Skill, Light Force, increasing his Strength and Endurance by 30%, and Defense by 60% for 20 seconds. Suddenly, Lightning Blade''s HP rose to more than 13,000. His damage also increased significantly. "Guild Leader Black Flame, it is truly a pity that this battle is going to end so quickly," Flame Blood said as he turned to Shi Feng, smiling. The outcome was obvious now. Lightning Blade still had more than 13,000 HP, whereas Violet Cloud had less than 3,000 HP. Though Violet Cloud could technically heal herself, Skills such as Healing Light and Greater Healing required one to chant and channel for at least one or two seconds. Against an expert such as Lightning Blade, Violet Cloud would not have any chance to cast such time-consuming Skills. She could only use Instant-cast Skills to heal herself for a small amount of HP. However, now that Lightning Blade had activated a Berserk Skill, that small amount of healing was practically negligible. When Lightning Blade activated Berserk Mode, even Ghost Shadow, who was proficient in melee combat, would have no choice but to activate Vanish to evade the Guardian Knight''s attacks temporarily. Otherwise, he would not survive three to five moves. "Indeed. I had not expected that Lightning Blade would be so impatient, not giving Violet Cloud any extra time." Shi Feng nodded. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Flame Blood could not help but be surprised. He had not imagined that Shi Feng would be so straightforward. With anticipation, he said, "Hahaha! Lightning indeed possesses such a personality. However, this is also because he very much looks forward to fighting you, Guild Leader Black Flame." "Fighting me?" Shi Feng shook his head. Calmly smiling, he said, "I''m afraid a loser doesn''t qualify to challenge me." "Loser?" Confusion appeared on Flame Blood''s eyes. "Is Guild Leader Black Flame referring to Lightning Blade?" "Who else would I be referring to?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the Cleric. "You have an interesting sense of humor." Flame Blood understood that Shi Feng was in denial. "Let''s see who will lose, then." Although Shi Feng''s voice was not loud, experts with keen five sense could hear him clearly, even from a distance. When Lightning Blade heard Shi Feng''s words, his mouth inadvertently twitched, wrathful flames appearing in his eyes. "I had intended to show some mercy. Now, however, I''ll teach you the meaning of despair! If you want to blame someone, blame your Guild Leader!" Lightning Blade transformed into an afterimage and arrived before Violet Cloud, the blade of his saber vanishing as he swung the weapon. At this moment, one could only see the afterimage of his arm. Moreover, the Guardian Knight no longer aimed at Violet Cloud''s vital points, but at her limbs instead. Just as Lightning Blade''s saber was about to strike Violet Cloud, the saber suddenly stopped an inch before Violet Cloud''s arm, unable to proceed. "What''s going on?" Lightning Blade muttered in shock. No matter how much strength he used, so much so that the veins in his arms bulged with the effort, his saber could not reach Violet Cloud''s body. It was as if he had just struck a steel wall. "Guild Leader, couldn''t you have let me play a little longer?" Violet Cloud pouted. 670 Difference in Skills Chapter 670 - Difference in Skills Everyone was stunned when they saw the sudden change between the combatants. After activating his Berserk Skill, Lightning Blade was extraordinarily powerful, particularly in terms of Strength. Yet, his slash, which was backed up by that powerful Strength, could not actually touch Violet Cloud. Lightning Blade''s saber was frozen one inch before reaching Violet Cloud. It was simply inconceivable. "A Protection Skill?" War Wolf reacted quickly. There were many kinds of Protection Skills in God''s Domain such as a Swordsman''s Parry or a Berserker''s Block. Magical classes also had corresponding Skills. Only, these Skills were extremely rare because magical classes were not melee classes. They faced significantly fewer dangers. Hence, these types of Skills were very rare. Everyone suddenly came to a realization. Protection Skills were extremely rare. However, with Zero Wing''s strength, it would not be difficult to obtain one such a Skill Book for Violet Cloud. "So, she has a Protection Skill. However, how many of my attacks do you think your Protection Skill can withstand?" Lightning Blade growled. "You are only prolonging your suffering!" Saying so, Lightning Blade began brandishing his saber once again. Generally, Protection Skills could only block a certain number of attacks. Moreover, that number was very low. It was a Skill only meant for crucial moments. Standing at a distance, Shi Feng could clearly see what was going through Lightning Blade''s mind, and he could not help but shake his head. The Protection Skill Violet Cloud had used was not any ordinary Protection Skill. The Skill was called Absolute Space, and it was a Tier 1 Legacy Skill unique to Astromancers. When activated, Absolute Space nullified all attacks the caster received for five seconds. During this time, the caster was not allowed to move but could cast Spells to attack. It was a near-invincible Skill. Despite Lightning Blade relentless assault, the latter did not receive a single point of damage. In the meantime, Violet Cloud casually used Lesser Healing and Recovery, her HP rising rapidly. In the blink of an eye, her HP recovered to more than 6,000. She also had plenty of time left on Absolute Space. Taking this opportunity, Violet Cloud began to chant an incantation. Her finger traced line after line of runes in the air. Just as the duration of Absolute Space was about to expire, Violet Cloud pointed her finger at Lightning Blade, the tip of her finger releasing a black beam at the Guardian Knight before her. Tier 1 Spell, Black Coffin! Realizing that something was amiss, Lightning Blade hurriedly tried to dodge. However, before he could do so, four pitch black walls emerged from the ground around him, sealing him in completely. When Nimble Snake saw this, his teeth ground together. This move was precisely the one that Violet Cloud had used to defeat him in the arena. Now that Lightning Blade had similarly fallen prey to it, the outcome of the battle might change drastically. Black Coffin could trap its target for three long seconds. Violet Cloud took the opportunity to create some distance between herself and the trapped Guardian Knight. She then leisurely chanted an incantation. The Spell she cast this time created a much bigger commotion. As Violet Cloud began chanting, a black magic array appeared in midair. In the next moment, the Mana in the surrounding area frantically gathered at the magic array. Soon, the Black Coffin began to fade out of existence. Escaping the Coffin, Lightning Blade was immediately greeted by the sight of a black magic array spewing numerous black balls of light. One, two Very quickly, the number increased to 36. Every black ball of light was as large as a basketball, and they covered the entire space above the Duel venue. "Go!" Violet Cloud shouted her command. The black balls of light filling the sky then bombarded Lightning Blade. Violet Cloud''s attack came from all directions. Even when Lightning Blade tried to defend himself with his shield, many black balls struck him from his flanks and rear. Unable to endure the barrage, Lightning Blade began to move, attempting to evade the balls of light. After taking four steps, however, the Guardian Knight no longer dared to move about carelessly. With each step, he discovered that he would lose over 600 HP. Lightning Blade only had over 13,000 HP. If each step destroyed more than 600 HP, he would be finished with his 22nd step. Yet, against the omnidirectional bombardment of the 36 Mana Balls, even if he had amazing skills, the balls would still devour his HP. Moreover, whenever the Mana Balls collided with his body, the impact felt like he had been struck by a sledgehammer. Not only did they contain a massive amount of power, but they could also deal over -300 damage. Every time the Mana Balls attacked him, roughly five or six would find their way through his defense, causing over -1,500 damage in an instant. "Damn it!" Seeing as he could neither move nor defend himself properly, Lightning Blade had no choice but to cast Protection Blessing, reducing the damage he received by 50%. However, if this continued, he would not last for long even with Protection Blessing. Everyone was currently stupefied by the Duel before them. Is she really a Cleric? This question hovered in everyone''s mind. This attack method had already surpassed their understanding of the game''s Skills. In the past, Skills had been straightforward. This was the first time they had seen such a flexible and diversified method of combat. Until now, everyone had believed that magical classes stood no chance against physical classes in PvP and that their only advantage was being capable of high damage in Dungeons. However, Violet Cloud''s strategy had thoroughly changed everyone''s minds. Violet Cloud''s Skill combination was simply too frightening. Not only was Lightning Blade unable to move, but he even faced the attacks of the numerous black balls of lights. If anyone else stood in Lightning Blade''s place, the bombardment would have long since turned them into mincemeat. Even highly skilled experts like Flame Blood, Ghost Shadow, and War Wolf felt powerless as they watched Violet Cloud''s attacks. At this moment, Flame Blood''s expression twisted. He could no longer maintain his previous calm. How was this even a Duel? This was a slaughter Is this the true strength of an expert who has reached the later stage of the seventh floor? At this moment, Flame Blood could not help but shift his gaze towards Shi Feng and Fire Dance, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes. If both Fire Dance and Shi Feng were stronger than Violet Cloud, then Zero Wing was truly a terrifying Guild "How did she become so strong?!" Nimble Snake was horrified as he watched Lightning Blade''s destruction. Even his leader, War Wolf, would not be a match for Violet Cloud. While everyone was mesmerized by Violet Cloud''s performance, Lightning Blade, who stood in the Duel site, felt depression overtake him. If only 20 black balls of light attacked him, he might barely cope and avoid receiving any damage. However, dealing with 36 was far beyond his capabilities. At this moment, regret swallowed Lightning Blade. If he had known earlier that Violet Cloud had such an attack method, he would never have agreed to Duel her. A bona fide top-tier expert like himself had actually become a punching bag, unable to resist in the least. It was utterly humiliating. The Hundred Berry Wine is the best! I actually achieved a 91% Skill Completion Rate, allowing me to summon so many Mana Balls! I wonder just how many I can summon if I achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. Violet Cloud inwardly rejoiced while she controlled the Mana Balls in the sky. In the past, she had only achieved a 90% Skill Completion Rate and summoned a maximum of 30 Mana Balls. Now, however, she had increased her Completion Rate by 1%, and just this 1% had increased the maximum Mana Balls by six. If she could raise her Skill Completion Rate to 100%, her Skills would be absolutely terrifying. Time crawled by. Before ten seconds had passed, Lightning Blade''s 13,000 HP depleted completely. From beginning to end, the Guardian Knight had not been able to resist in the slightest. 671 True Form Chapter 671 - True Form Defeated! Lightning Blade had been thoroughly defeated! Nobody would have imagined that Zero Wing had such a powerful character as Violet Cloud. The arrogance Heaven''s Burial''s members had displayed had been utterly extinguished. Others might not realize exactly how strong Lightning Blade was, but they knew. In the entire Guild, nobody could win against Lightning Blade in a one-on-one match, let alone obtain victory so effortlessly. "Does anybody from Heaven''s Burial still dare to challenge our Guild Leader?" Violet Cloud shifted her gaze towards Heaven''s Burial''s members, a faint smile appearing on her face. Provocatively, she said, "I really want to see just who among you qualifies to do so." Nobody from Heaven''s Burial dared respond. None of the spectators were weaklings. Through Lightning Blade''s battle, they could determine Violet Cloud''s standards. They would only be asking for humiliation if they tried to challenge her. Unlike everyone else, however, Ghost Shadow revealed a look of interest. Unfortunately, just as he was about to open his mouth and speak, the woman beside him stopped his words. This woman wore a gorgeous red mage''s robe, which failed tremendously to hide her magnificent cleavage. She also wore a white beret on her head, covering her silky blue hair, which scattered around her waist. In her hand, she held an eye-catching, white-jade staff that radiated a faint golden glow. "Daybreak, why are you stopping me?" Ghost Shadow demanded, dissatisfied. Daybreak Fog was in charge of Heaven''s Burial''s affairs in Star-Moon City. Her position in the Guild was higher than even Flame Blood''s. Her strength could not be underestimated. If not for Daybreak Fog''s help, even with Lightning Blade present, Heaven''s Burial would not have cleared the Frozen Prison today. "Don''t humiliate the Guild any further. You are no match for her. There''s too much of a difference in strength between your Skills. We have already completed our task here. You will have your chance in the future," Daybreak Fog said as she raised an eyebrow at Ghost Shadow. She had not used a persuasive tone, but a commanding one. Flame Blood nodded in agreement. Now that Heaven''s Burial had obtained the First Clear of the Frost Prison, their reputation flourished. However, if Violet Cloud defeated their several great experts, all of their efforts would go to waste. "Zero Wing certainly has many experts. In the future, we will have many opportunities to clash with them. Today, we have other matters to attend to, so we will not keep you any longer." Flame Blood gave Shi Feng a cupped-fist salute[1] before turning away. After watching Flame Blood and the others leave, War Wolf saluted Shi Feng before leaving with his team as well. "Guild Leader, are we still going to raid the Frost Prison?" Fire Dance asked softly. Now that Heaven''s Burial had obtained the Frost Prison''s First Clear, there was no point in raiding the Dungeon. Rather than obtaining some materials and equipment, grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains for Magic Crystals and high-level equipment would be more effective. After all, the Stoneclaw Mountains was a Level 30 to Level 49 Regional Dungeon. Not only did it drop much higher-level equipment, but it also offered higher quality equipment. By grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they could prepare to raid the next large-scale Team Dungeon. It was more efficient than grinding for a bunch of Level 30 equipment in the Frost Prison. "Of course, we''re going. They''ve only obtained the First Clear of Hard Mode, not Hell Mode. My goal has always been the First Clear of Hell Mode. Even if Heaven''s Burial has obtained the First Clear of Hard Mode, it doesn''t affect us one bit." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. The materials for constructing a Stable were not that easily obtainable. The drop-rate for these materials in a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon was very low. Sometimes, the materials he required would not even drop. If he wished to obtain the necessary materials to construct a Stable as soon as possible, he would have to clear Hell Mode. By relying only on 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons, they would not gather all the necessary materials even if they raided the Dungeon 100 times. On the other hand, they could obtain what he needed from Hell Mode. Team Dungeons refreshed once every three days. Raiding a Team Dungeon 100 times would require at least 300 days. Though, when players reached higher levels, lower-leveled Dungeons would become much easier to raid. At that time, the number of teams the Guild could form to raid these Dungeons would also increase. However, that was still a long ways off. Currently, Shi Feng was in a hurry to construct a Stable and nurture the Thunder Wolf. Nurturing a 5-star Mount required a lot of time and effort, after all. He did not wish to see the Thunder Wolf still in the process of being tamed while the mainstream players had already purchased their own Mounts. "This" Everyone was rendered speechless. "Guild Leader, with our recent improvement, we might be able to manage Hard Mode, but I think that Hell Mode is still out of our reach." Fire Dance refused to believe that Hell Mode was only slightly harder than Hard Mode. "Indeed. In terms of techniques, the majority of the team is still far from qualified. Though, in terms of equipment and Attributes, everyone has already passed the minimum requirements." Shi Feng then grinned and said, "However, techniques can be made up for." "Made up?" A light suddenly shown in Fire Dance''s eyes. "Guild Leader, are you planning on using the Hundred Berry Wine?" If one spoke of a method to improve one''s combat techniques for a short period, then the only thing that came to everyone''s mind was the Hundred Berry Wine. Only, the Hundred Berry Wine was too rare. Currently, everyone could only obtain it through Shi Feng. They had not even heard of the beverage being available elsewhere. "Let''s enter the Dungeon before we continue this conversation." Shi Feng nodded. The Hundred Berry Wine was indeed extremely rare. However, some time ago, he had made another trip to District One''s Shelter and had obtained another 300 bottles. Hence, he had no problem wasting a few to obtain the First Clear of the Hell Mode Frost Prison. --- Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial''s successful raid of the Frost Prison had become major news throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. For a time, everyone in the kingdom knew of the Guild named Heaven''s Burial. "Heaven''s Burial is too amazing! Even the two first-rate Guilds in Star-Moon City have yet to obtain the First Clear of a 100-man Team Dungeon. Yet, Heaven''s Burial succeeded." "A 100-man Dungeon! That place is a goldmine for Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Our Guild has only managed to raid 50-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons so far. I wonder when I''ll obtain a complete top-tier Set Equipment for myself?" "Top-tier Set Equipment? I don''t need so much. I only hope to wear a full set of Secret-Silver Equipment. My friends would die from envy." "A full set of Secret-Silver Equipment? Just the Level 25 Secret-Silver Weapon my friend wields is already enough to make me drool. When he showed me the weapon, he even brought our friends and me into a Dungeon to show off that weapon in action. Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Weapons can never hope to compare to how cool his weapon is!" "I heard that Heaven''s Burial is mass-recruiting right now. The benefits they offer are excellent. The Guild often brings newcomers with good potential into large-scale Team Dungeons. We should still make it for the recruitment if we hurry." Players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom were talking about Heaven''s Burial on the forums. For a time, Heaven''s Burial''s member count soared. Unlike Zero Wing, however, Heaven''s Burial did not have any financial issues. Players could join the Guild as long as they reached the minimum requirements. The Guild also began to show signs of becoming the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. --- Meanwhile, inside the Frost Prison, Shi Feng and the others finally arrived at the Frost Giant''s entrenchment. Compared to the Hard Mode Frost Giant, the Hell Mode Frost Giant was much larger. It was as tall as an eight-story building. Moreover, sharp icicles covered its body. Cold air also flowed from the Frost Giant''s body, reducing the mobility of those affected. Before the battle had even begun, everyone could feel the cold air wash over them, causing them to shiver. Nobody knew that the Hell Mode Frost Giant was the Frost Giant''s true form. [Frost Giant] (Elemental Being, Grand Lord) Level 32 HP 60,000,000/60,000,000 TL Notes: [1]cupped-fist salute: https://previews.123rf.com/images/rukawajung/rukawajung1507/rukawajung150700043/42559300-chinese-salute-greetings-sign.jpg 672 Terror of a Grand Lord Chapter 672 - Terror of a Grand Lord Shortly after Shi Feng and the others entered the Hell Mode Frost Prison, the various Guilds received news of the matter. "Black Flame really is interesting. After we''ve just claimed the First Clear of Hard Mode, he immediately leads Zero Wing to raid Hell Mode," Daybreak Fog said, a hint of interest flashing in her eyes. Smirking, she asked, "Flame Blood, what do you think of this?" "They should just be testing the waters. At this point, there isn''t any point in raiding the Hard Mode Frost Prison. Aside from challenging Hell Mode, their only other option is to challenge the 100-man Team Dungeons of other cities. However, the team will have to prepare and familiarize themselves with the other 100-man Team Dungeons to raid them successfully," Flame Blood said quietly as he read the report from his subordinates. "Unfortunately, with Zero Wing''s current teams, it is simply impossible to raid the Hell Mode Frost Prison. That is no longer an issue of being strong enough or not." "Indeed. Maybe I am just overthinking things. That is, after all, a 100-man Hell Mode Dungeon." Daybreak Fog had previously met Shi Feng. Although she had not seen exactly how skilled the man was, judging from his past performances and the various experts around him, he was not someone who would make foolish decisions. "Forget it. What Zero Wing does no longer matters to us. I only visited to help you with the Dungeon. Guild Leader has already declared that our true focus is the Stoneclaw Mountains. As for the matters in White River City, leave them to Elder Seven Treasures." "What is it that requires all of us to head there? Aren''t the Stoneclaw Mountains just a place to grind for Magic Crystals?" Flame Blood asked, confused. These two were the strongest combatants within the Guild. It would not be wise to station them all in the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Haven''t you ever wondered how the Stoneclaw Mountains activated?" Daybreak Fog laughed. "I have no clue. Does Guild Leader know?" Flame Blood shook his head and asked. "Not only does he know about it, but Guild Leader is responsible for activating the Stoneclaw Mountains." When Daybreak Fog spoke about Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Leader, Singular Burial, adulation filled her voice. She had left the Super Guild she had been apart of and joined Heaven''s Burial without hesitation because of this man. Meanwhile, Singular Burial had personally dragged the Stoneclaw Mountains that every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom fought over into existence. Flame Blood and the others were astonished. They were unable to regain their wits for quite some time. At this point in time, the Stoneclaw Mountains had affected players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, as well as the Black Dragon Empire and several other neighboring kingdoms. Its influence transcended any single event that had occurred in God''s Domain so far. "It can''t be, right?" "As expected of our Guild Leader. He has actually managed such a feat." Everyone could not contain their excitement. "Activating the Stoneclaw Mountains is merely one part of a quest. The follow-up quests are inside the Stoneclaw Mountains. As long as we complete this quest, Star-Moon City will fall under our control. Hence, this matter takes precedence over everything else," Daybreak Fog said sternly, her tone hinting that she would not take no for an answer. "Since that is the case, let''s prepare to head over there immediately." Flame Blood fully agreed with Daybreak Fog''s words. If they could obtain Star-Moon City for themselves, it would become somewhat easier to obtain White River City. --- Frost Prison: "Why is a Grand Lord so much stronger than a Great Lord?" Fire Dance frowned as she observed the Frost Giant. Currently, her senses warned her that she must not provoke the Frost Giant under any circumstances. Although the Grand Lord ranked Frost Giant only had 15,000,000 more HP than the Great Lord version, the difference between them felt like the difference between heaven and earth. The team members could not help but shudder. The Grand Lord''s aura was so dense that it made them feel like they were submerged in water, reducing their mobility significantly. Just how were they supposed to fight like this? "Let''s rest here for now," Shi Feng said in the team chat. He was not in a hurry to start the battle. The Hell Mode Frost Prison was no trivial matter. Even with the assistance of the Hundred Berry Wine, there was no guarantee they could clear the Dungeon. Contrary to expectations, the greatest difference between a Grand Lord and an ordinary Great Lord was not Attributes, but mental suppression. It was one of the reasons that made Grand Lords exceedingly difficult to take down. Aura was intangible. It was more like a form of mental suppression. When people were under immense pressure, they would often lose their ability to perform normally. Some people would even find it difficult to move. It was just like how many people would be petrified when they encountered a life-threatening situation. A Grand Lord possessed such an aura. Even an expert player would find it difficult to cope with such a situation, much less ordinary players. Hence, the 100-man Hell Mode Dungeons of the various regions were exceedingly hard to clear. It was not a matter of having insufficient strength. Rather, it was because players were unable to exhibit it properly. Only powerful experts with stout hearts would endure the mental suppression and fight normally. To current players, this was asking too much. Fortunately, Shi Feng had a way to combat this problem. "Fire, distribute these bottles." Saying so, Shi Feng took out 100 bottles of Hundred Berry Wine from his bag. Not only could the Hundred Berry Wine increase a player''s compatibility rate with their weapons and equipment, but it also had the side-effect of dulling a player''s five senses. Normally, this would reduce a player''s sensitivity in battle, weakening their perception of danger. In this case, however, it was the best method to reduce the Frost Giant''s mental suppression. "Alcohol makes a man braver." However, instead of increasing a person''s courage, alcohol would numb a person''s mental perception, removing their sense of crisis. Normally, crisis awareness was the foundation of survival for all living beings. Only with a sense of danger could one avoid threats and survive. This sense was indispensable for God''s Domain''s players. Players normally worked to sharpen their crisis awareness. That way, they could avoid attacks and launch counterattacks in battles. Meanwhile, Grand Lords were so terrifying was precisely because the Main God System had specifically designed these monsters to challenge this sense. After receiving the Hundred Berry Wine, everyone promptly emptied their bottles. Sure enough, the suppression everyone experienced lessened significantly. Their bodies no longer felt heavy. At the same time, Shi Feng also used the Bible of Darkness to summon a Level 36 Tier 2 Evil Spirit. Although it was not a support-type Evil Spirit like the Heart Devourer, it was a magic attack-type Evil Spirit. It could increase the team''s overall DPS significantly. "Everyone, focus on dodging and positioning. When attacking, focus on stability above all else. If you know your attacks will miss, don''t bother wasting Stamina," Shi Feng began to issue commands. "Also, MTs, listen up. After you launch a few attacks at the start of the battle, you won''t need to continue attacking the Boss. Just make sure you stand in front of the Boss as much as possible. For damage dealers, do the opposite; do not stand in front of the Boss as much as possible. It is best if you attack from the sides." Shi Feng had fought the Hell Mode Frost Giant plenty of times in the past. The Frost Giant possessed relatively low intelligence. Even as a Grand Lord, this fact held true. This was fairly common for Elemental Beings. The Frost Giant''s attacks were also quite simple, preferring to attack only the targets in front of it. The Frost Giant would only switch targets after destroying the target before it. The team''s MTs did not deal a lot of damage. If they had to focus on attacking while evading and blocking the Frost Giant''s attacks, with their current techniques and Attributes, they would run out of Stamina before ten minutes were up. Against the Grand Lord''s 60,000,000 HP, ten minutes was definitely not enough to finish the battle. After everyone was in position, Cola, Ye Wumian, Turtledove, and the other MTs charged at the Frost Giant as one fierce assault. Before the group of MTs arrived before the Frost Giant, the Grand Lord released its Frost Domain. The Frost Domain''s effects this time were slightly stronger than against the Great Lord ranked Frost Giant. Though the Stamina consumption rate was the same, their Movement and Attack Speeds had now decreased by 50%. 673 Grinding a Boss Chapter 673 - Grinding a Boss Before Cola and the other MTs could reach the Frost Giant, the Grand Lord raised its iron fists and smashed the frozen ground heavily. Ice Thorns! As if the frosty ground had transformed into water, waves rocked the surroundings. Every wave rolled the ground. Amidst these waves, ordinary players would struggle to stay on their feet. Although Cola and the others were experts, even they could barely advance. Following which, glistening ice spikes exploded from the ground, one after another. Even the slightest touch dealt nearly -3,000 damage to Cola and the other MTs. This attack was obviously much stronger than the Great Lord ranked Frost Giant''s. Everyone''s chests tightened at this situation. Could they really defeat this Frost Giant? "Damage dealers on the sides can attack freely. Blackie, cast Guardian of Light on Cola. Violet, focus on damage," Shi Feng leisurely commanded. "Got it." Although Blackie was curious as to why Shi Feng wanted him to use Guardian of Light on Cola so soon, he did not question the command. Immediately, he cast Guardian of Light on Cola. Initially, Cola lost nearly 5,000 HP with each hit from the Grand Lord. However, with Guardian of Light, the Frost Giant''s attacks dealt less than -1,000 damage to the Guardian Knight. In addition, Guardian of Light healed Cola for roughly 600 HP every second. Against the Frost Giant''s damage, Cola could survive quite a while without the healers'' assistance. However, shortly after Guardian of Light activated, the Frost Giant abruptly stomped its foot, dealing massive damage to all enemies within ten yards. Naturally, Cola could not avoid the attack as the Giant''s foot slammed him to the ground, a damage of over -3,000 points appearing above his head. Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. This attack was simply too frightening. Shi Feng, however, was not surprised. This move was an instant-kill move unique to the Hell Mode Frost Giant. The Frost Giant would first use Fatal Blow against one enemy. If that enemy failed to withstand the attack and died, the nearest person would receive damage as well. However, as long as a player withstood the attack, the Frost Giant would not immediately repeat the attack on a new target. "Good. Next, focus on dodging the icicles from above." Seeing as there were no major issues, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Space and dashed towards the Frost Giant. He had no intentions of saving his Stamina. The Frost Domain was a Control Spell. As long as he activated the Aura of Space, he would be immune to all Control effects. In other words, the Frost Domain would not affect him, and he could fight without worrying about his Stamina depleting too quickly. With Cola holding the Boss''s aggro, the other DPS began their relentless assault. Spells and arrows bombarded the Frost Giant. Meanwhile, the melee classes desperately attacked the Grand Lord''s joints, thereby disturbing its attack rhythm. The members of Zero Wing''s main force wore excellent equipment, and practically all of their Skills could deal over -1,000 damage to the Frost Giant. Among the team members, Fire Dance and Rampant Blade were the strongest. The majority of Fire Dance''s equipped Tier 3 Gemstones were Strength-attributed. Every one of her normal attacks could deal over -1,000 damage. When she used Absolute Strike, she dealt nearly -6,000 damage or over -10,000 damage with a critical hit. As for Rampant Blade, he possessed the Bluefire Double-edged Sword. Each swing dealt over -1,500 damage to the Grand Lord. With a 20% critical rate, he could occasionally deal over -3,000 damage. From time to time, he would also trigger Bluefire Dance, dealing nearly -5,000 damage. His damage output was only second to Fire Dance''s. Following them were Blackie and Violet Cloud. As the Frost Giant was an Elemental Being, it possessed some Magic Resistance. Hence, magic attacks were not as effective as physical attacks against the Grand Lord. Meanwhile, activating Silent Steps, Shi Feng appeared directly above the Frost Giant. He sent a Thunder Flame Explosion descending on the Grand Lord''s head. -10,436 "The effects are better than I expected." Shi Feng glanced at the system notification panel, seeing a 98% Skill Completion Rate. After he had consumed the Hundred Berry Wine, he noticed that drink had been more effective than usual. Normally, he could only achieve a 96% Completion Rate with Thunder Flame Explosion, even with the help of the Hundred Berry Wine. Following which, Shi Feng executed Chop. His motions were as smooth as flowing water. In the next moment, the three slashes he sent out intertwined into a single silver light, which tore everything in its path as it struck a single point. -12,846! This time, his Chop achieved a 99% Completion Rate. He was only a thread away from reaching 100%. Shi Feng''s astonishing damage shocked his fellow teammates. Chop was one of a Swordsman''s Basic Skills, yet when Shi Feng executed his Tier 1 Chop, his display was far different from other Swordsmen''s. Instead of dealing three damages, the Skill only dealt one. The Skill''s overall damage was even more frightening. In the absence of a critical hit, Shi Feng had dealt over -10,000 damage with his Chop. His damage was on the same level as Fire Dance''s and Rampant Blade''s critical hits with their most powerful Skills. This was simply inconceivable Immediately after, Shi Feng used Flame Burst, launching 15 attacks in quick succession. Every hit forced the Frost Giant to take half a step back. Moreover, each hit dealt over -16,000 damage and over -32,000 damage if it were a critical hit. The sight floored the other Zero Wing members into a momentary stand-still. "Don''t focus on dealing more damage to the Boss. Think about how you can improve your Skill Completion Rates. It isn''t often that you get to experience a mental suppression like this." Shi Feng finally understood why the Hundred Berry Wine was more effective than usual. The Hundred Berry Wine had a side effect of blurring a player''s five senses, dulling their perception. However, the Grand Lord''s aura could negate much of this side effect, allowing players to maintain a clear state of mind even with the alcoholic effects. With this, players could execute their Skills more efficiently. After Shi Feng''s reminder, everyone became aware of their own conditions. Previously, when they had drunk the Hundred Berry Wine, they had not been able to maintain a clear state of mine. If they could practice their Skills while sober, it would definitely help to improve their Skill Completion Rates. Excitement gripped the team. They were no longer afraid of the Grand Lord. On the contrary, they stared at the Frost Giant as if he were nothing more than a mountain of gold, desire gripping their hearts. Using a Grand Lord as target practice was simply unbelievable, yet Zero Wing''s members did just that. The rapid rise of everyone''s Skill Completion Rates allowed them to understand more about their respective Skills. At the same time, this improvement also allowed them to reduce many of their excess motions, thereby reducing their Stamina consumption rate significantly. A short moment later, the Frost Giant''s HP fell to the 20% threshold. However, none of these players were satisfied. During this short period, everyone''s Skill Completion Rates had improved significantly. For example, Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had managed to raise their Skill Completion Rates by a stable 2%. Everyone else managed to raised theirs by a stable 1%. Originally, when raiding the Hard Mode Frost Giant, the team would have less than 70 people capable of fighting at this point. Now, however, every member of the team was still up and ready to fight. On the contrary, it was the Frost Giant who looked pitiful right now "You actually dare stand before me, the King of Frost?! I will show you a power that you have never seen before!" the Frost Giant bellowed, causing the entire cavern to tremble. Cold air began to gather and condense in the Frost Giant''s hand. In the dark cavern, it seemed like the Frost Giant held a bright moon that dispelled the darkness. "Why haven''t we seen this move in Hard Mode before?" A bad feeling started to creep up on Fire Dance. Before the Frost Giant attacked, everyone could feel a bone-chilling cold wrap around their bodies. In the next moment, they began losing 500 HP every second. If the Frost Giant released its attack, it would likely obliterate the entire team instantly. When the Frost Giant held up the hill-sized ball of ice, which it had formed from the condensed cold air, Shi Feng made his move. Absolute Time! When activated, Absolute Time prevented enemies within a radius of 100 yards from using any Skills or tools for 24 seconds. In this case, however, although the Skill did affect the Boss, it would only last three to five seconds at most. Even so, that was more than enough. Suddenly, the massive ice ball cracked and shattered. Meanwhile, the Frost Giant had weakened significantly following the interruption. "Go! It''s weak! Activate your Berserk Skills!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted. Suddenly, everyone activated the Power of Darkness, their Attributes increasing significantly. In a fraction of a second, Spells and arrows bombarded the Frost Giant, forcing constant, painful screams from the Great Lord. Following which, the Frost Giant''s HP rapidly decreased, and even its hard exterior began to burst. In the end, the Frost Giant was reduced to a clear puddle of water, leaving behind a massive resplendent gemstone and a mountain of loot. 674 Evolution of the Abyssal Blade Chapter 674 - Evolution of the Abyssal Blade Star-Moon City: Currently, due to the Stoneclaw Mountains, a large number of players had gathered in Star-Moon City. Even White River City during its peak could not compete with the capital city''s current crowd. The players gathered in the city were not limited to the elites and experts of Star-Moon Kingdom. There were also players that had come from the Black Dragon Empire and the neighboring kingdoms. The city''s population increased by the minute. Players filled the city streets and even crowded Star-Moon City''s normally desolate areas. "Star-Moon City really is a great place. With so many elites and experts here, we won''t have to worry about not being able to recruit any players into our Guild." Flame Blood could not help his envy of Daybreak Fog when he saw that the majority of the players wandering the streets were Level 29. Many players had even reached Level 30 already. Heaven''s Burial''s elite members were currently Level 28 or 29; very few had managed to reach Level 30. Yet, in Star-Moon City, there were so many high-level players. Daybreak Fog would have a much easier time nurturing her Branch''s members than he would. Now that Heaven''s Burial had obtained the First Clear of the Frost Prison, not only had its fame spread throughout Star-Moon City, but the players in the Black Dragon Empire and the neighboring kingdoms also knew about Heaven''s Burial''s success. If Heaven''s Burial recruited members in Star-Moon City now, it could easily obtain a large number of elite members. In a few short days, the Guild could easily form an army to explore the Stoneclaw Mountains. "This is only natural. Why else did you think Guild Leader chose this place?" Daybreak Fog smiled. She then pointed towards Ouroboros''s Guild Residence, saying, "As long as we help Guild Leader complete his quest, both Ouroboros and the Star Alliance will live in fear of our shadow." Just as the members of Heaven''s Burial chatted while waiting to receive orders from their Guild Leader, the sound of a system announcement suddenly rang near everyone''s ears. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Frost Prison. All players on the team will be rewarded with 9,000,000 EXP, 1 Tier 3 Gemstone of a random Attribute, 100 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points, and 10 Humanity Reputation Points. God''s Domain Southern Continent System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Frost Prison. All players on the team will be rewarded with 10,000,000 EXP, 5 Tier 3 Gemstones of random Attributes, 100 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points, and 20 Humanity Reputation Points. God''s Domain Continent System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Frost Prison. All players on the team will be rewarded with 15,000,000 EXP, 10 Tier 3 Gemstones of random Attributes, 200 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation Points, and 30 Humanity Reputation Points. The announcement repeated five times. For a moment, every player in Star-Moon Kingdom fell silent. --- Inside the Frost Prison: "Success!" "The Frost Giant is dead!" Everyone suddenly shouted with joy. They had obtained the First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. None of them had ever dreamed of accomplishing this feat. The majority of these players had never been experts of the virtual gaming world. They were merely ordinary players who had followed Shi Feng''s lead. This was one of the most difficult Hell Mode Team Dungeons in God''s Domain. Even Super Guilds did not dare to take on 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons right now. They had simply claimed the First Clear of Hard Mode and immediately prepared to raid the next high-level Team Dungeon. But, Zero Wing had done it. Moreover, not a single player on the team had died. It was simply inconceivable! There was a fundamental difference between obtaining the First Clear of a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon and the First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. By obtaining the First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon, their names would be recorded on the God''s Domain Glory List! If they claimed the First Clear of a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon, at most, their names would be recorded on the Glory List outside of the Dungeon for future players to see. However, by claiming the First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon, not only would they have their names on the Dungeon''s Glory List, but they would also have their names on the God''s Domain Glory List, which could be found in the Glory Temple in the various major cities throughout the continent. Players throughout God''s Domain would see their names, and their fame would soar instantly. How could anyone not grow excited at obtaining such an honor? Of course, everyone understood that this achievement had only been possible due to Shi Feng''s leadership and guidance. Otherwise, they would never have had such an opportunity. Shi Feng did not stop his teammates from celebrating as, inwardly, he was also excited. This was also his first time his name had ever been recorded on the God''s Domain Glory List. In his previous life, he was only able to gaze with envy at the other names in the Glory Temple. Now, however, he had become one of those people. Even though he tried to maintain his calm, he could not suppress the wild elation in his heart. After a moment, Shi Feng managed to calm himself. He then slowly walked up to the Frost Giant''s remains and began to collect the loot. Right before finishing off the Frost Giant, Shi Feng had activated Divine Providence, allowing his Luck to soar. In addition to the First Clear bonus, the number of items the Frost Giant dropped was extraordinary. At a glance, there were over 100 items scattered across the ground. Of course, the majority of them consisted of rare materials. "What a harvest. From this single raid, one-third of the materials I need for the Stables have dropped. After a few more, I''ll be able to start the construction," Shi Feng muttered as he casually glanced at the items. Suddenly, his eyes shone as he exclaimed, "An Epic item!" There were zero chances for an Epic item to drop in a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. For Hell Mode, though, there was a very small chance of one dropping. Hence, even in the past, Epic items were extremely rare. Unless they were extremely lucky, ordinary players had no hope of getting their hands on one. Only large Guilds would have quite a few Epic items. However, those required the efforts of the entire Guild. "What''s this?" Shi Feng quickly discovered a faintly glowing golden crystal. Having never seen this item before, he unconsciously used Omniscient Eyes to examine it. [Mana Crystal] Contains a frightening level of Mana. Rumor has it that this is the best material for forging Magic Weapons. "The best material for forging Magic Weapons?" Shi Feng''s jaw hit the floor. Magic Weapons were far rarer than Epic items. Every Magic Weapon possessed an extraordinary history. The Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s hands was one such example. The master smith Olysses had personally forged the magnificent weapon. The materials used would not have been one bit inferior to that of Legendary items. The value of a material that could be used to forge a Magic Weapon would most likely rival that of an Epic item, or even surpass it, because a Magic Weapon''s strength depended on the skills of the forger. System: Abyssal Blade has discovered an evolution item. Would you like the Abyssal Blade to absorb the item and evolve? Suddenly, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. "This is an evolution item?" Shi Feng gazed at the faintly glowing golden crystal in his hand in amazement. Aside from leveling up, the Abyssal Blade could evolve. Only, the system had never revealed the conditions for its evolution. Moreover, Shi Feng had only managed to learn very little information regarding Magic Weapons in the past, so he was not sure how to evolve a Magic Weapon. Unexpectedly, he had actually obtained the evolution item required after obtaining the First Clear of a 100-man Team Dungeon. "Should I evolve it or not?" Shi Feng knew that the stronger a Magic Weapon became, the stronger the Backlash would be when it occurred. After giving it some thought, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and agreed to evolve the Abyssal Blade. On the path of experts, if one did not move forward, they would be left behind. Since he aimed to reach the peak of God''s Domain, he would encounter countless experts and monstrous players. If he could not even control a single Magic Weapon, how was he supposed to face those monsters? 675 Bountiful Loo Chapter 675 - Bountiful Loot After Shi Feng clicked to evolve the Abyssal Blade, the golden crystal in his hand suddenly atomized, transforming into a stream of golden mist that flowed into the Abyssal Blade. Suddenly, the Abyssal Blade began to tremble and emit a flickering golden light. A short moment later, the Abyssal Blade''s exterior also began to transform. The silver sword darkened to pitch-black once more. This time, however, eye-catching, bright red runes covered the sword''s blade. This is an evolution? Shi Feng was stunned. He could clearly feel that the Abyssal Blade had changed massively. His compatibility rate with the Magic Weapon had particularly increased. It felt as if the weapon had been tailored for him. However, unlike the Abyssal Blade''s usual commotion when it leveled up, the weapon had not changed beyond its appearance. It was simply inconceivable. Immediately, Shi Feng investigated the Abyssal Blade''s Attributes. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +655 All Attributes +45 Attack Speed +15 Ignore Levels +15 Attacks have: 50% chance to cause 200% damage. 25% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 20%. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +3. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 30. Can be upgraded. (Devour twenty Level 35 Fine-Gold Weapons and three Level 35 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 35). Equipment Tier 1. Can be evolved (Devour ten Mana Crystals to evolve to Tier 2). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill (Tier 1). Instantly creates a doppelganger under the wielder''s control. Doppelganger has 80% of the wielder''s Attributes and all Skills. The wielder can swap positions with the doppelganger at any time. Duration: 1 minute, 10 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (Tier 1). Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds Cooldown: 50 seconds Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash (Tier 1). Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder''s use; each phantom sword deals up to 60% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (Tier 1). Prevents all targets within a radius of 30 yards from moving or attacking for 6 seconds and reduces their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Effect doubles if there is only one target within range. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor (Tier 1). When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack can be used to increase all Attributes by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds or to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 33 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 12 hours The master smith Olysses personally created the Abyssal Blade using the Black Dragon King''s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six Famed Swords, ranking 31st. However, the Black Dragon King himself has cursed this sword. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. However, after Jack had remodeled the Abyssal Blade with a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has reduced greatly. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. So this is what an evolution looks like. Shi Feng finally understood what was going on. The Abyssal Blade''s evolution had only provided minor improvements in terms of Attributes. However, it had increased the Tiers of the Magic Weapon''s Additional Skills, upgrading them from Tier 0 to Tier 1 Skills. It was similar to how players upgraded their Skills. Only, while players required Skill Proficiency to upgrade their Skills, the Abyssal Blade required Mana Crystals. Although the Additional Skills had not improved much after the evolution, the Skills would now be more effective on high-tiered monsters. But this Mana Crystal was not easy to obtain. It only drops from 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons, and its drop-rate is really low. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. It was not easy to raid 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Not to mention, there was only a chance for a Mana Crystal to drop from each raid. If one did not have the support of a powerful Guild, it was practically impossible to evolve their Magic Weapon. Although the Abyssal Blade''s evolution had been an unexpected windfall for Shi Feng, the Frost Giant''s other loot was extremely bountiful as well. Shi Feng spent over a dozen minutes organizing the loot. In total, they had obtained 26 weapons and equipment pieces in this raid. Aside from one Epic weapon, two Tier 1 Weapons, eight Dark-Gold Set pieces, and seven Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment had dropped. The remaining non-material items were Fine-Gold Set pieces. The harvest this time really is massive. Not only did an Epic item drop, but we also obtained two Tier 1 Weapons. Shi Feng immediately began appraising the Epic item and Tier 1 Weapons. Among the many weapons and equipment pieces that dropped, the Epic item definitely ranked first in terms of value. The Tier 1 Weapons followed closely behind. Aside from Epic Weapons, a Tier 1 Weapon was the best weapon available for a Tier 1 class. Although Tier 1 Weapons were only slightly superior to Dark-Gold Weapons in terms of Attributes, they specifically catered to a single class. Hence, these weapons allowed players to exert more of their strength in combat. [Divine Frost Armor] (Plate Armor, Epic Rank) Level 30 - Level 90 Equipment Requirement: Strength 240, Agility 150 Attributes adjust according to the user''s level. HP increased by 20%. Defense increased by 30%. Evasion +20 Ice Resistance +30 Defend +2 Levels Ignore Levels +10 Additional Passive Skill 1- Frost Domain: Reduce the Movement Speed and Attack Speed of all enemies within a range of 20 yards by 20%. Additional Passive Skill 2- Frost Shield: When attacked, there is a fixed chance to generate a Frost Shield that reduces damage received by 50%. Additional Active Skill- Freezing Air: Increases Defense by 100% and reduces magic damage received by 80% for 15 seconds. Reduces enemies'' Movement Speed within 15 yards by 40% each second. After being slowed for 3 seconds, they will be frozen for 7 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Tempest''s Breath] (Two-handed Saber, Tier 1 Weapon) Level 30 - Level 50 Class Requirement: Berserker Attack Power +748 (Currently Level 30) Strength +50, Agility +45, Endurance +40 Ignore 20% of the target''s Defense. Ignore Levels +10 All Berserker Skills +1 Level Durability 160/160 Attacks have: 15% chance to trigger Whirlwind Slash (passive), dealing 180% weapon damage to surrounding enemies. 20% chance to trigger Fatal Blow, dealing 220% weapon damage to target and inflict Bleed, reducing target''s HP by 20% over 6 seconds. [Windchaser] (Longbow, Tier 1 Weapon) Level 30 - Level 50 Class Requirement: Ranger Attack Power +708 (Currently Level 30) Strength +43, Agility +55, Endurance +42 Attack Speed +3 Accuracy +10% Ignore Levels +10 All Ranger Skills +1 Level Durability 140/140 Attacks have: 10% chance to trigger Wind''s Protection, increasing arrow speed by 60% and inflicting 170% weapon damage. 20% chance to trigger Quadruple Stars, transforming one arrow into four, each dealing 90% weapon damage. When Shi Feng shared these weapons and equipment pieces'' statistics, the team forgot about their joy of claiming the First Clear of Hell Mode completely. "This Epic Plate Armor is insane! This is perfect for dealing with Agility-focused Bosses and players!" Cola stared at the armor, mesmerized. MT classes were not particularly agile. With the Frost Domain, however, MTs could make up for this weakness, their strength reaching a whole new level. "Now that you''ve seen the items for yourselves, let''s start the team auction," Shi Feng announced. 676 Famous Chapter 676 - Famous White River City: Before Heaven''s Burial''s popularity could reach its peak, White River City''s players had turned away from the Guild, leaving it in the cold. Zero Wing was the only thing on everyone''s minds. "As expected of the number one Guild of our city. Zero Wing has actually claimed the First Clear of the Hell Mode Frost Prison so quickly." "That''s right. I heard that, even until now, there has yet to be a single Guild that has successfully raided a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon in the entire game. Even those Super Guilds don''t have the courage to challenge them. Yet, Zero Wing dared to, and they succeeded. The strength of Zero Wing''s main force definitely ranks at the peak of God''s Domain. It really makes you wonder just how the Guild has managed to find so many experts." "Find? You have the wrong idea. My friend is a member of Zero Wing''s main force, and I am very familiar with his strength. When we started playing God''s Domain, he was even slightly weaker than I was. However, ever since he joined Zero Wing, his strength has improved at a rate beyond the imagination. At this point, he has even reached the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, becoming one of the few experts in White River City." "That''s not possible, right?" "What''s not possible? I''ve been regretting my decision to join my current Guild ever since. Although we are both core members of our respective Guilds, I''m just a noob compared to my friend." As the sun began to drop below the horizon, the number of players who wandered into the Blue Moon Bar increased. When speaking about Zero Wing, many could not help but sigh with regret. Initially, Zero Wing had merely been a small and insignificant Guild. Now, however, not only had it become White River City''s unquestioned overlord, but it had also become the focal point of God''s Domain. Many Guild players wallowed in their regret. Had they had only chosen to join Zero Wing, they would have enjoyed extraordinary status and fame by now. Many Guilds'' elites even swore a silent oath to leave their current Guilds and join Zero Wing, even if they had to compensate their Guilds for the loss. It was much better than remaining a nobody for the rest of their lives. --- Meanwhile, in Star-Moon City, the news of Zero Wing''s First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon caused a massive sensation to sweep through the city. This sudden development had changed many players'', who had intended to join Heaven''s Burial, minds, opting to join Zero Wing instead. "Just how did Zero Wing manage it?! We''re talking about Hell Mode!" Flame Blood utterly refused to believe the news. Although their Guild had never dived into a 100-man Hell Mode Dungeon before, they had obtained a lot of information from Super Guilds. Not only were the Dungeon''s monsters stronger in terms of Attributes, but the Final Boss was also capable of mental suppression. When fighting the Final Boss, players could not display their usual strength. Even a team of fifth-floor experts would lose as much as two-thirds of their strength. Hence, the various Super Guilds had given up on raiding Hell Mode, focusing on raiding other 100-man Dungeons to earn Guild Reputation instead. Yet, Zero Wing had done it Moreover, Zero Wing''s achievement instantly shattered the momentum that Heaven''s Burial had gained after many difficulties. "Sure enough, Black Flame is not as simple as he looks. He has hidden his strength so deeply," Daybreak Fog muttered as she absorbed the information with great interest. The files she read were all about Black Flame. "Although Heaven''s Burial''s information network is not as extensive those Super Guilds, it is still significantly more thorough than other first-rate Guilds. However, we have close to no information regarding Black Flame''s background. It is as if he just appeared out of thin air one day. "However, we don''t have to pay too much attention to this matter right now. We''ve already recruited quite a number of elite players. Now, we need to improve everyone''s levels and equipment quickly and prepare to complete the task Guild Leader has assigned to us. When Guild Leader completes his quest, Heaven''s Burial will become Star-Moon City''s overlord. At that time, Zero Wing will no longer be an obstacle." No ordinary NPC City could compete with Star-Moon City. In games, players competed with each other via resources. Meanwhile, the resources available in God''s Domain''s various regions were limited. As the capital city of a kingdom, Star-Moon City naturally offered more resources than any other city in the kingdom. The City also offered a more convenient transportation system. Visiting players from other kingdoms and empires who wished to explore Star-Moon Kingdom could only teleport to one cityCStar-Moon City. Only after teleporting to Star-Moon City could they teleport to the other cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. This alone was enough to allow Star-Moon City to stand above its competitors in the kingdom. Not to mention, Star-Moon City had far more high-level maps and Dungeons within its region. --- Aside from Star-Moon Kingdom, the various large Guilds across God''s Domain began to turn their attention to Zero Wing, particularly first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. "Zero Wing? Isn''t that the upstart Guild that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion failed to annihilate?" "If it can claim the First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Dungeon, some major corporation must be funding it in secret. It seems we''ll have to investigate." --- Meanwhile, inside Twilight Echo''s Guild Residence Despite being a veteran first-rate Guild, Twilight Echo was in a turmoil. Initially, they had not particularly cared about Zero Wing. After all, it was simply a farce Aqua Rose had concocted. Now, however, the situation had changed. The Zero Wing that Aqua Rose currently occupied had claimed the First Clear of a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Even Super Guilds lacked this achievement. This went to show that Zero Wing''s strength was extraordinary. At the very least, the standard of the Guild''s main force must rank at the very peak of God''s Domain. However, nobody among Twilight Echo'' upper echelon believed that Black Flame was the one responsible for such a powerful team. After all, before God''s Domain, nobody in the virtual gaming world had ever heard of him. The only possibility was that Aqua Rose was responsible for the team''s creation. "I told you that Aqua Rose possessed immense potential, yet you were adamant about chasing her out of Twilight Echo. If Aqua Rose were still with us, given the Guild''s background, we would have become the next super-first-rate Guild by now. Tell me, then. What should we do now?" a middle-aged man with a righteous air huffed angrily. "Elder True Martial, there is no need to get so agitated. We were left with no other choice. After all, her parents made the decision. It wouldn''t be right to meddle with their family affairs," a lady nearing her forties assuaged. "However, now that everyone has seen what that child is capable of, I believe that everyone present understands what this means. This farce has gone on for long enough. It''s time that we bring that child back to us." At the Twilight Echo''s Elder meeting, Brilliant Wargod was livid. He had never expected Aqua Rose to be so capable. She had actually managed to develop a small Guild into a large Guild that even Twilight Echo could not ignore. Listening to the Elders'' intentions, he realized that he could never coerce Aqua Rose in the future. "Guild Leader Glorious, what is your will?" Elder True Martial asked coldly as he turned to Glorious Echo, who sat comfortably on the Guild Leader''s throne. Back then, Glorious Echo had strongly advocated stripping Aqua Rose of her position as an Honorary Elder. Now, however, Aqua Rose''s strength was clear for all to see. Twilight Echo was not a one-man Guild. If Glorious Echo continued to hinder Aqua Rose''s return to the Guild, he would make an enemy of every Elder in the Guild. Glorious Echo, who had held his silence through the meeting, smiled and responded indifferently, "Since everyone has decided, I will not object. However" 677 Solomon’s Sword Chapter 677 - Solomon''s Sword Inside the Frost Prison, after Shi Feng announced the start of the auction, a heated competition began between every member of the team. They even fought fiercely over the Dark Gold Set pieces, much less the Epic ranked Divine Frost Armor. The bids continuously increased by 1,000 GCP increments. Zero Wing''s GCP was not cheap. Each point was roughly the equivalent of 30 Copper. In other words, 1,000 GCPs were worth roughly 3 Gold. To the majority of independent players, 3 Gold Coins was an astronomical price. Normally, these players would only have several Silver Coins in their pockets, maybe 10 or 20 Silver if they were slightly stronger. However, in the hands of Zero Wing''s main force members, that amount of money was practically nothing. After a brief moment of bidding, the price for the Tier 1 Two-handed Saber, Tempest''s Breath, had reached 50,000 GCPs. If converted to Coins, that would be 150 Gold. However, the true value of a Tier 1 Weapon was far more than 150 Gold as it could last until Level 50. It would only start to lose its value after players attained their Tier 2 class. Meanwhile, among the Berserkers'' current weapons, Rampant Blade''s Bluefire Double-edged Sword was the strongest. However, it was slightly weaker than the Tier 1 Tempest''s Breath. Hence, the Berserkers desperately fought to outbid each other. Some even sought to loan GCPs from their friends. "Rampant, you lost out big time this time. After spending nearly all of your GCPs on the Bluefire Double-edged Sword, you couldn''t compete for the Tempest''s Breath even if you wanted to," Turtledove could not help but tease the Berserker as she smiled at the anxious Rampant Blade. "What are you gloating for? If not for Big Brother Cola and Boss Wumian having Tier 1 Sets, Guild Leader would not have given you the Divine Frost Armor." Rampant Blade rolled his eyes at the female Guardian Knight. Although the effects of a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment were frightening, the Attributes on the Divine Frost Armor were simply too good. It was only slightly inferior to a Tier 1 Set Equipment. In terms of combat, the Divine Frost Armor might even be better. Ignoring Rampant Blade''s words, Turtledove hugged the Divine Frost Armor to her chest, smiling gleefully. Although she owed the Guild a large number of Contribution Points after obtaining the Frost Armor, with it, she could earn GCPs much faster than before. Moreover, with the Frost Armor, her combat power instantly rose to the same level Cola and Ye Wumian, making her one of the top three MTs in the Guild. While Turtledove joyfully celebrated her prize, Shadow Sword spent 85,000 GCPs to gain the Tempest''s Breath. Minor Wind, one of the Five Demon Generals, purchased the Tier 1 Weapon, Windchaser, for 92,000 GCPs. Both Shadow Sword and Minor Wind were Zero Wing''s core combatants. Although they were not as strong as Fire Dance and Violet Cloud, they had still passed the fifth floor of the Trial Tower, making them both experts who had reached the sixth floor. Now that they both had a Tier 1 Weapon, their combat power had improved significantly. After the auction was over, seeing as it was relatively late in God''s Domain, everyone logged out to rest. Only a few people, such as Shadow Sword and Minor Wind, continued to play. They intended to test out their new weapons. Hence, they all went to the Divine Colosseum to train. Just as Shi Feng was about to leave the Frost Prison, the sound of a system notification suddenly reached his ears. System: There is a strange image engraved on the Elemental Core left behind after the Frost Giant''s death. Do you wish to investigate it? "Strange image?" Shi Feng turned to the massive, resplendent gemstone that he had previously ignored. The blue gemstone was as tall as he was. If not for the system notification, he would not have noticed the palm-sized image engraved on the gemstone''s exterior. "Why haven''t I encounter this notification in the past?" Shi Feng walked up to the gemstone and inspected the image carefully. He discovered that it was an extraordinarily complex magic array. It was, by far, one of the most complex magic arrays he had ever seen. It was as intricate as an electronic instrument. When Shi Feng touched the image, the Elemental Core suddenly began to shrink. From the size of an adult human, the massive gemstone shrank to the size of a fist in the blink of an eye. System: Quest "Solomon''s Treasure" activated. Quest details: An immensely powerful magic array has been carved into the Elemental Core along with Solomon''s symbol. You might gain an unexpected bounty if you take this Elemental Core to a Great Mage. Quest rewards: Unknown. "Is this a bonus quest for obtaining the First Clear of Hell Mode?" Shi Feng involuntarily shuddered when he heard the name "Solomon." There were countless weapons in God''s Domain. However, while Epic Weapons were exceedingly rare, Legendary Weapons were as rare as a phoenix''s feather. Among the ten most famous Legendary Weapons in the past, one of them had been Solomon''s Sword. Although Shi Feng did not know how Solomon''s Treasure and Solomon''s Sword were related, even the faintest of connections was amazing. It was enough to make every melee class in God''s Domain mad with greed. Legendary items were powerful enough to allow a person to challenge opponents of a higher tier. The Ten Great Legendary Weapons, however, stood out from the crowd. Shi Feng had heard many deeds involving the Ten Great Legendary Weapons in the past. To put it in another way, not a single player in God''s Domain would ignore one of these weapons. One of the most sensational occurrences had been a Tier 3 player''s provocation of a Tier 5 player. In the end, the two fought each other with everything they had. However, when everyone had believed that the Tier 3 player was finished, that Tier 3 player had actually managed to escape their opponent. In God''s Domain, the difference between Tiers was massive. A Tier 5 player could massacre a group of Tier 3 players effortlessly. Hence, it was practically a miracle that the Tier 3 player had managed to escape. The incident had shocked God''s Domain as that person had broken one of the game''s iron rules. Afterward, that Tier 3 player reached Tier 4, and when he encountered the Tier 5 player again, he only took a few seconds to finish his opponent off. After the incident, the various large Guilds investigated the mysterious player, hoping to find the cause for such an upheaval. In the end, they discovered that the Tier 3 player''s weapon had been one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. Afterward, that person went on to become a Tier 6 God-ranked player. He had also been a member of the famous Midnight Tea Party, known as the Mage God Gaia. Although Gaia had only begun playing God''s Domain during the middle-stage of the game, both his talent and luck were far beyond that of the ordinary person. He quickly became a Tier 6 God-ranked player, becoming a massive headache for Super Guilds. Now that he had a clue that could possibly lead towards one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons, even Shi Feng was shocked senseless. Although he currently had the Abyssal Blade, at the end of the day, a Magic Weapon was only a Magic Weapon. It was significantly inferior to a Legendary Weapon, not to mention one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. Such an item was almost a myth, even in God''s Domain. Shi Feng carefully stored the Elemental Core and with trembling hands, took out a Return Scroll. "Calm down! Calm down!" Shi Feng told himself repeatedly. However, he could not keep his thoughts from wandering towards Solomon''s Sword. "I should meet with Weissman for now." Although there were quite a number of Tier 3 Great Mages in White River City, there was only one Tier 4 Great WizardCWeissman. Shi Feng did not believe that ordinary Great Mages would know much about Solomon. Only those old fellows who had lived for over a hundred years would have detailed information. Ordinary players had no chance of gaining an audience with Weissman. Fortunately, Shi Feng was a Count of White River City. He was a true, major noble. Even Weissman would not dismiss him casually. Furthermore, the two were familiar with each other. 678 Top of the World Chapter 678 - Top of the World As the sky darkened, the magic lamps lining the streets of White River City lit up, brightly illuminating the entire city. Quite a number of Merchant players crowded the streets, purchasing equipment and materials. At this time, many combat players were returning to the city after a day of hard work. These combat players usually sold their unwanted materials as well as spent a portion of the day''s earnings on some delicacies and alcohol. By now, everyone had already adapted to their new lives in the world of God''s Domain. The players on the streets of White River City were currently chatting merrily with each other, the hot topics either relating to Zero Wing or the currently popular Stoneclaw Mountains. After returning to the city, Shi Feng reverted his appearance to that of Ye Feng''s. When he walked through the city streets, he immediately became the center of attention. "Look, that guy''s a member of Zero Wing!" "His equipment looks awesome! He must be an elite member of Zero Wing at the very least. It would be great if we could get him to carry us." "Zero Wing really is amazing. Even a random member of the Guild is Level 30 and has such enviable equipment. It''s a pity I failed to get through their test today. I''ll definitely have another go at it in a few days." The six-winged emblem was something extremely familiar to the players of White River City. Unfortunately, the number of players who could sport this six-winged emblem was quite low. From time to time, female players would send flirtatious glances at Shi Feng, causing some male players to look at him with disdain. "Tsk. What''s so good about him? Isn''t he just some lucky bastard basking in Zero Wing''s limelight? If I got into Zero Wing, I''d definitely have much better achievements than him," a Level 25 male Summoner snorted in discontentment. "If you have the ability, you can go take Zero Wing''s test. If you manage to become an elite member of Zero Wing, I''ll come fawn over you as well," a beautiful short-haired woman said to the male Summoner, giggling. "Only, I''m afraid you don''t have that ability." The crowd near the male Summoner broke into laughter. Nowadays, Zero Wing was very famous. Countless players were trying to join the Guild. Plenty of elite members of other Guilds had also withdrawn from their Guilds to transfer to Zero Wing. But despite so many players applying to Zero Wing, the Guild''s member count did not increase by much. One could just imagine how difficult it was to enter the Guild. Zero Wing''s entrance examination was rigorous and had very high requirements. The Guild had always put quality before quantity. However, anyone who passed the test would only be an ordinary Guild member. Those who wished to become an elite member would have to accumulate a certain amount of GCPs to qualify for the elite test to become an elite member. In short, Zero Wing''s requirements were far more stringent than other Guilds''. Hence, it was incredibly difficult to become an elite member of Zero Wing. Any person who managed to become an elite member of Zero Wing was already an expert in the eyes of ordinary players. Shi Feng simply smiled at the gossiping of the crowd. Shaking his head, he donned a Black Cloak and quickly made his way to the City Hall. A female receptionist dressed in neat office attire came up to Shi Feng and asked, "Good day, sir. How may I be of service to you today?" "I wish to meet with Lord Weissman." Shi Feng showed his Count Emblem. "Lord Count, please follow me." Upon seeing the Count Emblem, the receptionist immediately led Shi Feng to the inner sanctum of the building. After waiting for several minutes, Shi Feng was then shown into Weissman''s office. "Young man, what brings you to this old man today?" Weissman asked warmly as he stroked his white beard. "Lord Weissman, please take a look at this." Shi Feng retrieved the Elemental Core from his bag. The instant Shi Feng took out the Elemental Core, Weissman squinted his eyes, a serious expression appearing on his face. "Young man, you really are something." Weissman felt a little surprised as he carefully inspected the Elemental Core. "Logically speaking, this thing should not exist in this world anymore, yet you''ve actually managed to obtain it. Your luck truly is extraordinary. It''s no wonder that little girl Sharlyn says that you have heaven-defying luck." "Lord Weissman, do you know what this item is?" Shi Feng asked hurriedly. Judging from Weissman''s reaction, he could tell that there was more to this item than met the eye. After inspecting the magic array engraved on the Elemental Core, Weissman could only shake his head and say, "It is still too early for you to come into contact with this thing. If you wish to challenge this, I advise you to do so only after you become stronger." "Lord Weissman, may I know how strong I need to be?" Shi Feng asked. "Reach Tier 3." Weissman immediately provided Shi Feng with a definite answer. "Tier 3?!" Shi Feng could not help his surprise. "Is it really impossible for me right now?" Although he knew that the quest would not be simple, he had not thought that the difficulty would be so excessive. He was still a long way from obtaining his Tier 2 class, not to mention the Level 100 Tier 3 class. In the past, even after a decade had passed, Tier 3 players were still considered peerless experts as the majority of the player population failed to attain their Tier 3 classes at all. For Solomon''s Treasure to be a quest that required him to have a Tier 3 class to complete it, its difficulty was simply ridiculous. However, this revelation also further convinced Shi Feng that Solomon''s Treasure might be somehow related to Solomon''s Sword. "It''s not exactly impossible. The problem is, with your current strength, you won''t be able to reach that place," Weissman laughed. "Won''t be able to reach?" Shi Feng came to a realization. He did not lack the strength to complete the quest but only the strength to arrive at the quest location. "Lord Weissman, can you tell me where that place is?" "The Top of the World, Mount Sogar." Weissman did not try to withhold the answer from Shi Feng. On the contrary, he sincerely explained, "The magical array carved onto this Elemental Core is not only a map but also a key. Meanwhile, the location indicated in the map is Mount Sogar. Setting aside how far that place is from Star-Moon Kingdom, on your way there, you will have to pass through places with powerful monsters. Having a Tier 3 class is already the minimum. If you wish to arrive safely at Mount Sogar, you should reach my standard at the very least. Hence, you had best give up on that place for now. It won''t be too late to go there once your strength reaches a sufficient level. You are still young. What you have is time." "The Top of the World?" Shi Feng smiled. Shi Feng knew of this place. Although he had never personally been to Mount Sogar before, its fame as the Top of the World was most likely known throughout God''s Domain. And indeed, just like Weissman had said, a Tier 3 class would be no different from food to the monsters one would encounter on the way to Mount Sogar. Even if he were still a Level 200 Tier 3 Sword King right now, he would barely manage to reach Mount Sogar. He would also have to spend a long time traveling to get there as the teleportation point nearest to Mount Sogar was ten days away. Moreover, that was assuming that he could continue running for ten days straight and did not encounter any powerful monsters throughout the entire journey. Although he could shorten the travel time by using a Mount, even then, it would still take a long time. However Shi Feng had the Position Teleportation Scroll, a Tier 4 Scroll that allowed him to teleport to any location in God''s Domain, except for a few special spaces. Mount Sogar was not one of these exceptions. In other words, he could teleport there directly. Shortly after, Shi Feng bade farewell to Weissman and immediately ran back to the Candlelight Trading Firm. As its moniker suggested, Mount Sogar was the tallest location in the entire God''s Domain. At the same time, it was also a domain that humans did not willingly enter, as a multitude of powerful monsters lived there. Even the human empires were powerless against the monsters there. In the past, there had been many players who had tried challenging that place. Although Shi Feng could head to Mount Sogar right now, he still needed to make a lot of preparations. After he returned to his forging room, he immediately contacted Melancholic Smile. "Melancholic, send the top-ranking Alchemist and Engineer within the Trading Firm to my forging room, please." 679 The Weapon that Ended an Era Chapter 679 - The Weapon that Ended an Era Inside an Advanced Forging Room of the Candlelight Trading Firm: Under Melancholic Smile''s instructions, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s most skilled Alchemist and Engineer immediately made their way to Shi Feng''s forging room. "Take a look at these for now, and tell me how confident you are at manufacturing these items," Shi Feng said. He then passed two separate designs to the Alchemist Nine Coasts and the Engineer Ocean Smile. The two people hurriedly nodded in response, not daring to act sloppily at all before Shi Feng. Nine Coasts was the only Intermediate Alchemist of the Candlelight Trading Firm, whereas Ocean Smile was the only Intermediate Engineer of the Trading Firm. In the past, both these people had boasted great achievements and had managed to set foot into the realm of Masters. Back then, even Shi Feng, the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, had to treat them with great respect. Yet, now, these two people were very nervous while conversing with him. There was no hint of the arrogance they usually displayed when dealing with other Lifestyle players within the Firm. They were just like two obedient little kittens as they earnestly studied the designs Shi Feng had passed to them. However, this reaction of theirs was unavoidable. Black Flame was simply too preeminent. In the entire Star-Moon Kingdom, not a single person did not know about Black Flame. He was a great character standing at the peak of Star-Moon Kingdom. But at this very moment, such a great character was actually standing right before them and was asking the both of them to perform a task for him. How could they not get flustered? After the two nervously studied the designs, surprise surfaced in their eyes. The designs Shi Feng had passed to them were just too frightening. "Guild Leader, with how complicated this alchemy array is, even I have only around a 10% certainty of manufacturing it. If I can advance to an Advanced Alchemist, I might be able to raise the success rate to20%?" Nine Coasts said anxiously. "What about you?" Shi Feng turned to look at the Engineer, Ocean Smile. Ocean Smile stuttered, "F-Fivepercent" "Five percent, is it?" Shi Feng frowned slightly. When Ocean Smile saw such a reaction from Shi Feng, he nearly collapsed on the spot. After some pondering, Shi Feng still gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, then. From now on, I''ll permit you two to use the Special Forging Rooms continuously, so focus all your attention on producing these items." The designs he had taken out were actually parts of the Magic Device Design that he had obtained from the Dark Shrine. As the weapon that ended the era of Demons and Gods, the difficulty of manufacturing it was extraordinary. Normally, even Master-level characters had low success rates in fabricating the components of the Magic Device, what more of individuals who were not Masters? Meanwhile, he was responsible for producing the Magic Device''s core component. However, with his current standard as an Intermediate Forger, manufacturing it was still beyond him. "I need to raise my Proficiency." Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he looked at the design, which comprised over twenty pages. "Sure enough, a Magic Device isn''t that easy to produce." However, without a Magic Device, he did not dare to travel to the Top of the World. --- The outer area of the Stoneclaw Mountains: In a forested valley surrounded by mountains, lights from Spells, sparks, and Light Stones were visible in the vicinity. Ever since Stone Forest Town opened to the public, the Stoneclaw Mountains had become the hunting grounds of expert teams. Even in the dead of night, the number of teams passionately grinding in the Regional Dungeon did not decrease in the slightest. The various teams were grinding for Magic Crystals and equipment day in and day out. Magic Crystal was the standard currency used at the Divine Colosseum. Since the Stoneclaw Mountains was a Level 30 to Level 49 Regional Dungeon, the equipment that the monsters inside dropped naturally ranged between Level 30 to Level 45. Moreover, the quality of the equipment dropped at the Stoneclaw Mountains was just slightly inferior to those dropped in large-scale Team Dungeons. Only, the amount of equipment that a Boss inside the Stoneclaw Mountains dropped each time was very small. Now that Zero Wing had claimed the fame of clearing a Level 30, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon, there was no longer any point in Guilds competing over the First Clears of other Level 30, 100-man Team Dungeons. Shifting their attention to competing over Team Dungeons that were over Level 30 was more beneficial. After all, reaching Level 30 was only a small milestone for players, and Zero Wing had merely gained a little advantage from this achievement. There were still milestones at Level 40 and Level 50. Hundreds of Levels awaited them. The competition over Level 30 large-scale Team Dungeons was just the beginning. Meanwhile, the Stoneclaw Mountains was the best location for training and preparing to compete for the First Clears of future large-scale Team Dungeons. Not only could they level up quickly at this place, but they could also gain a hefty amount of Magic Crystals. Most importantly, they could obtain a lot of high-level equipment here in short order. Setting aside the fact that Team Dungeons in the outside world had Cooldown times, which greatly restricted the production volume of top-tier equipment, players also took time to adjust when switching from one Team Dungeon to another. Players would waste a lot of time when going through this transition. However, Regional Dungeons were different. These had no Cooldown time for entry. As long as one had sufficient strength, they could come here to grind for Level 30 or above top-tier equipment at any time. It was very efficient. Guilds could build up a massive advantage for raiding 50-man and 100-man Team Dungeons in the future. Precisely because of this reason, various large Guilds had frantically dispatched their members to the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Boss, this Lord dropped something," the Star Alliance Assassin responsible for picking up the loot said excitedly. Meanwhile, the Lord lying beside this Assassin was a Level 35 Half-orc over three meters tall. Scattered around this Half-orc were many Elite Half-orc and Special Elite Half-Orc corpses, their total number exceeding 100. When Red Feather, who was resting underneath a large tree, heard the Assassin''s words, joy surfaced on his face. "Bring it here and let me take a look at it," Red Feather said hurriedly. Although the Stoneclaw Mountains would drop plenty of Level 30 and above equipment, most of these were Level 30 Common Equipment. "Boss, this is a Level 35 Fine-Gold longbow." The Assassin passed the weapon to Red Feather excitedly. "It''s a really good bow. It''s slightly better than a Level 30 Dark-Gold longbow. Willow has lucked out this time. As long as she reaches Level 35, she can immediately replace her current weapon," Red Feather said enviously after appraising the Attributes of the longbow. He and his team had been grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains for quite some time now. However, the loot of the Bosses they killed was far from ideal. The majority of the Bosses dropped only Level 30 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Very rarely would they drop Level 35 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. "However, we wasted a lot of time on this battle. If not for the majority of our team''s weapons being Fine-Gold rank, fighting these monsters might even have been dangerous." Red Feather still felt somewhat fearful when he thought back to the battle just now. The monsters of the Stoneclaw Mountains were generally stronger than the monsters found outside. The Chieftains were only somewhat weaker than the Lords of the outside world. The Lords here were even more powerful; in terms of combat power, they could rival even the High Lords of the outside world. Only their HPs were at normal standards. As for the Level 35 Lord ranked Half-orc their team faced just now, most of their melee weapons failed to even scratch the Lord. Only Fine-Gold Weapons or above could cut through the tough skin of the Half-orc Lord and chip away at its combat power. In fact, Red Feather''s team wasn''t the only one experiencing such headaches. Any team that came to grind in the Stoneclaw Mountains found themselves facing similar problems. Every battle in the Regional Dungeon would greatly exhaust a team. Players who used Secret-Silver Weapons were even forced to use Whetstones to recover their weapon''s Durability after fighting just one battle. Otherwise, their weapons were sure to break in the next engagement. As a result, the teams in the Stoneclaw Mountains could not fight continuously over long periods of time. "Boss Red, Elder Purple Eye''s team has encountered one Lord and six Chieftains. They are in urgent need of backup right now." "Purple Eye''s team is too unlucky to have actually encountered so many monsters. Everyone, follow me immediately." Shortly after Red Feather''s team began resting, Purple Eye, who was also one of the Star Alliance''s top combatants, sent a request for help. Red Feather had no choice but to respond. Even if the standard of Purple Eye''s team was very high, there was no way her 100-man team could take on the equivalent of one High Lord and six Lords of the outside world simultaneously. Not to mention, there should also be plenty of Elite and Special Elite monsters. However, the problem plaguing the various teams was actually making the Candlelight Trading Firm in Stone Forest Town a fortune. Whether it was Whetstones or Advanced Whetstones, none of the Guilds had initially planned to purchase these items from the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, the consumption of these items was simply too voracious. Their own production was insufficient. Hence, the Guilds had no choice but to purchase these items from the Candlelight Trading Firm. Due to this reason, the entire Candlelight Trading Firm was extremely busy since several hundred Whetstones might sell at any given minute. --- Meanwhile, during the time the various Guilds were scrambling over the Stoneclaw Mountains, Shi Feng cooped himself up inside a Special Forging Room, frantically producing Intermediate Mana Armor Kits and continuously increasing his Forging Proficiency. For four whole days, Shi Feng did not sleep or rest, spending all that time madly raising his Proficiency. He only stopped when the sound of a system notification entered his ears. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s Level had also increased rapidly during this period. At this moment, he had already reached Level 32. His leveling speed simply left one speechless. 680 Advanced Forger Chapter 680 - Advanced Forger System: Congratulations! You are the first player to be promoted to an Advanced Forger. Rewarding 10 Magical Gold and 20,000,000 EXP. The system notification repeated three times. Upon the arrival of this system notification, Shi Feng finally stopped producing Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. He had required a total of 24,000 Proficiency Points to advance from an Intermediate Forger to an Advanced Forger. That was double the amount necessary for the promotion from a Basic Forger to an Intermediate Forger. "It really is tough work." Shi Feng abruptly collapsed into a chair, breathing out a sigh of relief. "With this standard, I should be able to manufacture the core component of the Magic Device." Even if he was producing Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, it normally should not have been possible to gain 24,000 Proficiency Points in just four days. However, he had the Forging Talent "Forging Genius" that every forger dreamed of obtaining. With each successful forging, he had a fixed chance to receive an additional two Proficiency Pointsequivalent to successfully producing one more high-level item. The Luck from Icarus''s Heart also helped increase his chances of triggering the effects of Forging Genius. Only with the combination of all these effects did he manage to become an Advanced Forger. Nevertheless, his success rate at producing the core component of the Magic Device would still be very low, even though he was now an Advanced Forgerroughly 10% at most. If he became a Master Forger, though, his success rate could be as much as 30%. However, time waited for no man. Moreover, even if Shi Feng had the Book of Forging, the Blacksteel Insignia, and Forging Talent, advancing from an Advanced Forger to a Master Forger would still be extremely difficult. That promotion was no longer a problem of Proficiency or success rate. One of the requirements for a player to become a Master Forger was the creation of their own weapons and equipment without relying on readily available forging designs. Doing so would not take days but rather months or years, instead. Hence, even after a decade had passed, remarkably few players had managed to reach the level of Master. Setting aside the fact that Shi Feng needed to advance to his Tier 2 class within a short period, just the test for the Tier 2 class was already quite challenging; the test for one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies could only be more so. If he wanted to clear the test quickly, it was naturally better for him to be stronger. Solomon''s Treasure might allow him to improve his strength further. Needless to say, he had to complete the quest as soon as possible. During these four days, many things had also occurred in the vast God''s Domain. The most popular matter had to be the activation of the Divine Battlefield at the Divine Colosseum. The Divine Battlefield was a place for players to wage war against each other. Players could obtain points for killing other players in the Divine Battlefield, which they could then use to exchange for rewards. A wide selection of rewards was available, although the most attractive rewards were still weapons and equipment. The best reward players could trade for was Dark-Gold Set Equipment. However, the number of points required to do so was immense. Moreover, the weapons and equipment received were nontradable and were usable for only the person who exchanged for them. Hence, even if the items dropped upon the owner''s death, other people could not avail of said items, though they could sell them to NPCsat dismal prices. To exchange for Dark-Gold Set Equipment, players were first required to reach the highest-ranking battlefield. The Divine Battlefield was divided into multiple ranksSoldier''s Battlefield, General''s Battlefield, Marshal''s Battlefield, King''s Battlefield, and Hero''s Battlefieldwith each succeeding rank having increasingly higher entry requirements. Only after reaching the Hero''s Battlefield could players collect points to exchange for Dark-Gold Set Equipment. However, this was also a good way for experts to upgrade their equipment. After all, even Guilds had a hard time obtaining Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Hence, everyone''s passion for the Divine Battlefield deepened. When Fire Dance and her team participated in the Divine Battlefield, they would occasionally get slaughtered as well. The players visiting the Divine Battlefield did not come from just a single kingdom or empire. Instead, the entire God''s Domain shared a single Divine Battlefield. Against monstrous experts or the encirclement of three or four top-tier experts, even Fire Dance and the other Zero Wing core members could only accept fate. This experience also allowed her and the others to realize that, no matter how strong they had become, there was always someone stronger than they were. Even if they ranked at the top of a weak, little kingdom like Star-Moon Kingdom, they were still insignificant beings in the vast world of God''s Domain. Meanwhile, the situation at the Stoneclaw Mountains was also heating up. Many teams had already begun clearing the monsters wandering in between the outer and inner areas of the Dungeon, and upgrading their equipment very quickly as a result. Zero Wing was also sending large numbers of members to the Regional Dungeon to grind and level up. For a time, competition within the Stoneclaw Mountains rapidly intensified, and quite often, friction and fighting would break out between players in the Dungeon. With the passage of time and the continuous improvement of the system, many more experts would emerge in God''s Domain. Hence, Shi Feng was in a hurry to improve himself further. "Guild Leader, here are the items you''ve asked for." The Alchemist Nine Coasts stacked a pile of components on top of the stone platform. Respectfully, he said, "These are all the components we''ve managed to make during these past few days. There are 70 sets here." After striving for four days, he and Ocean Smile had managed to manufacture only 70 sets of components. Despite receiving an endless amount of materials, their success rates were far lower than their initial estimates. They had spent a full 1,000 Gold on manufacturing a mere 70 sets of components. If converted to Credits, that amount of Coins would be worth several million. At this point, they just wished they could crawl into a hole and die. After all, the materials required to manufacture each component cost roughly 30 Silver. With over 1,000 Gold, they could have produced over 3,000 individual components. Yet, the both of them combined had only managed to make 140. Their success rate did not even reach 5%. "Okay, you can go back and continue making the components." Shi Feng nodded. He was not surprised whatsoever by this abysmal success rate. All things considered, those were components required to manufacture a Magic Device. Their failure to achieve a 5% success rate was entirely within his expectations. After Nine Coasts left, Shi Feng sorted his mood out and began producing the core component of the Magic Device. The core component required only a few materials. However, they were all rare materials. Even after the Guild''s combined efforts as well as purchases through Gentle Snow''s connections, he had managed to collect only 100 sets of materials. The cost of one set was roughly 10 Gold, so one hundred sets cost about 1,000 Gold. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s success rate was only around 10%. Even the Star Alliance and Ouroboros would not be willing to take such a gamble. "Fortunately, I''m earning quite a lot of money through Stone Forest Town and the Candlelight Trading Firm. Otherwise, even I wouldn''t dare to take this risk," Shi Feng muttered, smiling bitterly as he looked at the materials in his hands. The core component he was going to produce was a ball-shaped object. Just refining the metals required was already a difficult task. However, by relying on the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the metal he refined had relatively good color. What came next was molding the metal into the desired shape. If he was off by even a single millimeter, then the final product would end up as a failure. As for the last step, he had to engrave runes onto the metal ball. Time crept past. Shi Feng went through 70 attempts in one go. In the end, only three out of the 70 attempts had succeeded. The difficulty of producing the core component was much higher than his initial expectations. I''m generally familiar with the process already. I should start using the Magical Gold now. Shi Feng considered the materials he had left, feeling that he already had sufficient practice. The Magical Gold rewarded by the system was an extremely rare material. Not only could it increase his forging success rate, but it could also evolve an item at a fixed chance. Its market value was no less than 100 Gold per piece. Initially, Shi Feng had taken 50 tries to produce one core component. Afterwards, however, he had managed to succeed twice out of 20. Without a doubt, his success rate had increased significantly, which was all due to his continuous experimentation using the Simulation Device. If he did not possess the Simulation Device of the Special Forging Room, he would have most likely failed all 70 attempts. 681 Dual Abilities Chapter 681 - Dual Abilities With only 30 sets of materials remaining, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless. A Magic Device was an assembly of different components. The core component was merely one of three parts. If he failed the final assembly, the product would be a failure as well, and the components would have to be scrapped. Shi Feng had seen a Master Forger assemble Magic Devices in the past. Back then, said Master Forger only had a success rate of 30%. Even so, a massive number of players eagerly searched out this Master Forger to help assemble their Magic Devices for them because other Master Forgers had less than a 20% success rate. Five sets of components were required just to assemble a single Magic Device. Furthermore, each component set, which consisted of three individual components, required roughly ten sets of materials to manufacture. In other words, at least 50 sets of materials were required to produce a Magic Device. If one were unlucky, they might actually require more than 100 sets Even an expert player would have to spend a long time to gather 100 sets of raw materials. The Coins involved could also put an expert player into debt. This was precisely why Magic Devices had been extremely rare in God''s Domain in the past. The players capable of obtaining one were generally either experts or wealthy tycoons. After Shi Feng had gone so much trouble to obtain 100 sets of materials, he had only managed to produce three core components after expending 70 sets. It was not enough to assemble a Magic Device. At the very least, he needed to prepare ten core components to have a higher chance of manufacturing a Magic Device. After all, he was only an Advanced Forger, not a Master Forger. Time crawled by. Shi Feng''s first attempt to produce the core component with the Magical Gold failed. The second attempt failed as well. After four consecutive failures, Shi Feng had no choice but to give up on using the Magical Gold. Magical Gold was one of the best support tools for forging Dark-Gold and Epic items. Even Shi Feng felt a sting after failing four times in a row. On his ninth attempt, Shi Feng finally succeeded. "Sure enough, engraving the runes is the most difficult stage." Shi Feng could tell that his previous successes had not been due to luck because he had felt as if his entire being had melted into the metal while he had focused on engraving the runes on this last core. He had felt something similar during his previous successes. This feeling of melding with the core component? Shi Feng stopped his work for a moment and pondered the sensation. It feels somewhat like improving my Skill Completion Rate. To improve my Skill Completion Rate, I had to integrate myself with the environment. Suddenly, Shi Feng retrieved a bottle of Hundred Berry Wine from his bag and began to manufacture the core component once again. This time, he used a bar of Magical Gold. The Hundred Berry Wine was a tool that could increase one''s compatibility rate. Since the theory behind engraving runes was somewhat similar to improving Skill Completion Rates, the Hundred Berry Wine should help him reach a higher success rate with the engraving the core component''s runes. This time, Shi Feng completed the core component''s refinement much faster than before. In just five minutes, Shi Feng finished refining and molding the metals. He also completed engraving the runes in a single breath. As the core component felt like an extension of himself, Shi Feng''s control over the rune engraving process was quite high. System: Core component has been successfully manufactured. Forging Proficiency increased by 3 points. Obtained 50,000 EXP. Sure enough, my guess was correct. Excitement bubbled in Shi Feng''s chest as he heard the sound of the notification. I never realized that the Hundred Berry Wine could be used like this as well. Immediately, Shi Feng used the remaining materials in one go. Of the remaining 20 sets of materials, he successfully produced four core components. Among them, Magical Gold had been incorporated into three. His success rate had reached the level of a Master Forger. With this, he had managed to produce nine core components with the 100 sets of materials. Among them, four had Magical Gold. He was only one core component from his goal of ten. Now, all that was left was to assemble the Magic Device. If he succeeded, he would be the first player in God''s Domain to birth a Magic Device. As the weapon that had brought about the end of the era of Demons and Gods, one could just imagine how powerful a Magic Device was. A Magic Device''s most valuable effect was its ability to strengthen weapons, allowing these weapons to inflict damage to Demons and Gods. To put it simply, Magic Devices had given humans the ability to resist Demons and Gods. Of course, the Magic Device Shi Feng had obtained was not that powerful as it was only Bronze rank. Even so, a Bronze Magic Device should not be underestimated. As players reached higher levels in God''s Domain, the monsters they encountered would grow stronger as well. At some point, even Dark-Gold and Epic Weapons would not deal much damage. However, after one equipped a Bronze Magic Device, even a Secret-Silver Weapon could cut through the tough hide and scales of monsters, not to mention Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons. If players did not possess a Magic Device, however, the difficulty of defeating those powerful monsters would increase significantly. Hence, in the past, the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain had been extremely desperate to obtain Magic Devices. Even the design for a Bronze Magic Device could incite a war between first-rate Guilds. Now that Shi Feng had obtained a Magic Device Forging Design so early into the game, he could begin to manufacture them much sooner than anyone else. He would also be prepared when everyone began encountering monsters that could not be easily defeated with normal weapons. The first assembly failed The second assembly failed The third assembly was successful! System: Bronze Magic Device has been successfully manufactured. Forging Proficiency increased by 5 points. Obtained 100,000 EXP. Shi Feng was stunned when he heard the system notification. "This can''t be real, right? Success on the third try?" Shi Feng muttered, astonishment filling his voice, as he stared at the fist-sized metal ball in his hand. The black metal ball overflowed with light; the surging Mana within was visible to the naked eye. "I wonder what kind of Attributes it possesses?" After a Magic Device''s successful assembly, it would gain a random Ability. Although the bonus a Magic Device provided varied in strength, the Magic Device''s basic function would not change; the layer of Mana that covered the weapon, or Mana Blade, was invaluable. This Mana Blade could interfere with the Mana that radiated off a monster''s body, thereby weakening its Defense significantly and allowing players to inflict damage. Otherwise, a monster''s body with that protective layer of Mana was tougher than diamond. Even scratching the monster would be extremely difficult, not to mention taking it out. [Magic Device] (Bronze Rank) Strengthens a weapon, giving it the Basic Reduced Weight effect and weaken target''s Mana Body by 30%. "What a pity. Although the weakening effect is quite powerful, the Reduced Weight effect isn''t particularly useful to a one-handed weapon. It would be very useful towards a two-handed weapon though." Shi Feng inwardly felt disappointed. Both the Abyssal Blade and Purgatory''s Shadow fit him perfectly right now. If they became any lighter, he might not be able to exert his full strength with them. Following which, Shi Feng returned to assembling Magic Devices. One Two Three As his stock of components dwindled, the sound of a system notification rang by his ears once more. System: Bronze Magic Device has been successfully manufactured. Magical Gold''s effect triggered. Forging Proficiency increased by 5 points. Obtained 100,000 EXP. When Shi Feng heard that the Magical Gold''s effect had been triggered, his excitement stole his breath. Originally, he had only used the Magical Gold to increase the success rate of manufacturing the Magic Device''s core component. Hence, he had not expected the Magical Gold''s effect to trigger. Immediately, Shi Feng clicked to inspect the evolved Magic Device''s statistics. "Dual Abilities?! Isn''t this a little too much?!" Shi Feng could not believe what he was seeing. A Magic Device could only strengthen a single Attribute. Even the higher ranked Mysterious-Iron Magic Device was no exception to this rule. Only the strengthened effects were slightly better. However, the Magic Device in Shi Feng''s hands actually offered two buffs. 682 Power of Magic Device Chapter 682 - Power of Magic Device "It really is a pity. It would be great if the Magic Device''s rank were a little higher," Shi Feng felt both joy and disappointment as he gazed down at the pale silver orb in his hand. The Bronze Magic Device''s debuff was average at best. Although it was more than enough against current monsters, it would grow increasingly weaker as the game progressed. Sooner or later, the Bronze Magic Device would have to be discarded for something better. And yet, he had never heard of even a Mysterious-Iron Magic Device possessing Dual Abilities. Purely in terms of combat power, the double-Attributed Bronze Magic Device was stronger than ordinary Mysterious-Iron Magic Devices. Only, Mysterious-Iron Magic Devices posed more of a threat to a monster''s Mana Body. Oh well, one can''t have everything. I''ve already lucked out by manufacturing a double-Attributed Magic Device. I can''t get too greedy. Shi Feng quickly shifted his focus, and the more he looked at the Magic Device in his hand, the more he fell in love with it. [Magic Device] (Bronze Rank) Strengthens a weapon, giving it the Basic Vibration effect, Basic Polarizing effect, and weaken target''s Mana Body by 27%. Both the Vibration effect and the Polarizing effect were considerably powerful Additional Abilities among Magic Devices. The previous Device Shi Feng manufactured only had the Reduced Weight effect. However, the Vibration effect could allow a weapon to emit high-frequency vibrations, allowing it to display astonishing destructive power with each hit. Meanwhile, the Polarizing effect could refract light off of weapons, making it difficult for enemies to predict the weapon''s trajectory and dodge it effectively. Originally, among the many Abilities available, these two were only Intermediate Abilities. However, when these two Abilities were combined, the overall strength the Magical Device offered increased exponentially. Not only could the Magic Device make a weapon difficult to dodge, but it could also give the weapon immense destructive power. The combined effects of these two Abilities was not the slightest bit inferior to an Advanced Ability. Magic Devices of different ranks generated different Abilities. Normally, Bronze Magic Devices could only generate Basic or Intermediate Abilities, with the former having a higher chance. Mysterious-Iron Magic Devices could only generate Basic or Intermediate Abilities. Only, it had a higher chance of generating an Intermediate Ability. Only after reaching Secret-Silver rank could a Magic Device generate an Advanced Ability. However, the probability was not very high. Currently, although his Magic Devices was only Bronze rank, it rivaled a Secret-Silver Magic Device with an Advanced Ability. How could he not grow excited? However, this was also the reason for Shi Feng''s disappointment. Advanced Abilities were extremely rare. Even in the past, Magic Devices that possessed Advanced Abilities had been as rare as a phoenix''s feather. The appearance of one usually triggered a rain of blood. "I wonder what kind of effects it will have after it is equipped?" Shi Feng could no longer hold back as he impatiently equipped the Magic Device on the Abyssal Blade. The moment Shi Feng placed the Magic Device on the Abyssal Blade, the pale silver orb transformed into a blob of liquid that seeped into the Magic Weapon. A small alchemy array then appeared on the sword''s hilt. In the next moment, the alchemy array began to absorb a large amount of Mana from the surroundings, assimilating it into the Abyssal Blade and increasing the Magic Weapon''s power. When Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade lightly, he saw the sword split into three identical blades. With just the naked eye, it was impossible to tell which sword was the real one. When the Abyssal Blade passed through a corner of the stone platform, the blade easily sliced through the dense stone, leaving behind a surface that was as smooth as a mirror. "Amazing. If someone else equipped this Magic Device and used it against me, I think even I would even struggle to block the attack." Looking at the stone platform with its missing a corner, Shi Feng was very surprised. The Special Forging Room''s stone platform was not an ordinary stone platform. Normally, even a Magic Weapon could only leave a small scratch. Now, however, Shi Feng had effortlessly sliced off the platform''s edge. For a moment there, Shi Feng had even wondered if he had missed as he had not felt the slightest resistance when the Abyssal Blade passed through the stone. If his target had been a Secret-Silver Weapon or a piece of Equipment, the item might have split in half effortlessly. Shi Feng even doubted whether a Fine-Gold Weapon could withstand such a frightening, destructive power. Currently, expert player''s mainstream weapons were only Fine-Gold rank. If even Fine-Gold Weapons could not block his attacks, enemy experts with Fine-Gold Weapons would be tantamount to unarmed noobs. How were they supposed to face him? "With this strength, I should be able to try Mount Sogar." Although Shi Feng had never been to Mount Sogar before, he was not unfamiliar with the Top of the World. Now that he had dealt with the most dangerous part of the journey, all that was left was locating Solomon''s Treasure. Weissman had already given him the map, which had been engraved on the Elemental Core. However, the map was too simple, and he had no idea where exactly Solomon''s Treasure was. Fortunately, the map did not lead to a high-leveled area on Mount Sogar. With his current strength, he should be able to cope with the dangers there. Following which, Shi Feng tidied up the room and took out the Position Teleportation Scroll. He intended to head to the Top of the World immediately. Suddenly, the sound of a system notification reached his ears, indicating that Blackie had sent him a message. Guild Leader, Aqua seems to be having trouble. Please head over to the Residence in Stone Forest Town quickly. Shi Feng froze, slightly surprised. Stone Forest Town had NPC guards to protect it. Unless they wanted to be banished, the various Guilds would not stir up trouble. If a Guild were banished from Stone Forest Town, they would no longer have a place to resupply or repair. As long as one had a brain, nobody would dare provoke Zero Wing right now. In fact, they should be afraid of the Guild. Forget it. Let''s see what''s going on. Shi Feng stored the Position Teleportation Scroll and took out a Guild Transfer Scroll. Currently, the Teleportation Magic Array in Stone Forest Town was still under construction. If players of Zero Wing wished to arrive at Stone Forest Town quickly, their only option was to use the Guild Transfer Scroll. After using one, they would have to wait for an hour before they could use one again. It was far more inconvenient than a teleportation array. Moreover, the scrolls were not cheap. Ordinary Guild members would not be willing to use it. --- Stone Forest Town, inside the reception room of Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: At this moment, Aqua Rose wore a very ugly expression, flames of rage burning in her eyes. Meanwhile, the two people sitting across from Aqua Rose smiled. Aqua Rose''s anger did not affect them in the slightest. Of these two people, one was an indifferent-looking middle-aged man, while the other was a beautiful woman wearing a glamorous purple robe that revealed a large portion of her cleavage. If Shi Feng were here right now, he would certainly be surprised. The indifferent man was none other than Twilight Echo''s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo. "Guild Leader Glorious, don''t you think you''re going overboard?" Aqua Rose asked coldly. "Overboard? How is this overboard? I am just offering a kind reminder," Glorious Echo laughed. "Although you left Twilight Echo, do not forget that you have yet to dissolve your contract with the Guild. If I sue you for breach of contract, can you afford the compensation?" "I''ve already clearly stated that I am only a Vice-Leader of Zero Wing. I do not have the authority to allow Twilight Echo to construct a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town. I have even less authority to give Twilight Echo half the town," Aqua Rose growled. She had wanted to dissolve her contract with Twilight Echo the moment she first left, but in the end, she had abstained as her family sat on the Board of Directors of the Guild. However, she never would have thought that now 683 Cooperation? Chapter 683 - Cooperation? Although Aqua Rose had been trying to explain, Glorious Echo acted as if he had not heard a word. With an unsmiling expression, Glorious Echo said coldly, "The conditions I offered are quite generous. You should know that, if not for your family, we would never offer the chance to become a Guild Elder. We also wouldn''t offer triple the price to purchase your shares of Zero Wing in addition to some of Twilight Echo''s shares! "Or are you telling me that you can afford the severance fee?" As a veteran first-rate Guild, Twilight Echo had very few loopholes in its management. In the past, Aqua Rose had been an Honorary Elder of Twilight Echo. With a considerably high position in the Guild, it had only been natural to require her to sign a contract with the Guild. She was no exception to this rule even though her family sat on Twilight Echo''s Board of Directors. Now that Aqua Rose had left Twilight Echo and joined another Guild, she was in severe violation of her contract. If it were Aqua Rose of the past, the severance fee would not have been an issue with her family''s backing. Now, however, since Aqua Rose''s family hoped that she would agree to Glorious Echo''s conditions, they would not assist with the severance fee. Since the Divine Colosseum had launched, the price of Magic Crystals continued to climb by the day. In contrast, however, the increased availability was insignificant. As a Regional Dungeon that produced Magic Crystals, various Guilds throughout God''s Domain targeted the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, the travel costs for Guilds outside of Star-Moon Kingdom were ridiculously high. Moreover, without a foothold in the area, these Guilds, at most, would be left with table scraps. As the nearest town to the Stoneclaw Mountains, setting aside Stone Forest Town''s geographical advantage, the Coins and Magic Crystals it could earn each day was enough to make the various Guilds drool. Only, Level 150 guards patrolled the town, protecting the Guild that owned it. At the same time, there were also the NPC guards that Zero Wing''s members had recruited. Even a Super Guild had to stand by and watch, helpless against Zero Wing''s defense. From Twilight Echo''s perspective, Aqua Rose was the only reason Zero Wing had any power today. Otherwise, it was impossible for a Guild without any background, financial strength, or nurturing methods to grow to such a scale within such a short amount of time. Aqua Rose had initially been an Honorary Elder of Twilight Echo. She was well-known in the virtual gaming world, yet she had suddenly joined a nameless and powerless Guild. This Guild must have offered a relatively high price to recruit her. In addition, with Aqua Rose''s current importance to Zero Wing, she would undoubtedly wield a massive amount of authority. Even giving away 90% of the town''s lands would be well within her authority, much less allowing Twilight Echo to establish a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town. As long as Twilight Echo obtained Stone Forest Town, the Guild would have the capital to rise in God''s Domain. A veteran first-rate Guild had an abundance of manpower. Twilight Echo was no exception, with an army of elite players held in reserve. However, it was not easy to nurture a God''s Domain expert. This process required a large amount of Magic Crystals. If Twilight Echo could claim Stone Forest Town, then it could farm Magic Crystals, which would then allow them to nurture a large number of experts. At that time, Twilight Echo would have much higher chances of emerging victorious in the competition over the Storm Empire. Hence, it was a must for Twilight Echo to secure Stone Forest Town. Listening up to this point, Aqua Rose fell silent. She had already had enough when her family had forced a marriage upon her. She had joined Zero Wing and wholeheartedly focused on managing the Guild, watching it grow slowly, because she wanted to prove her talents to her family and gain their approval. However, rather than gaining recognition, she was still treated like a tool. "Glorious Echo, if you have nothing else to say, you can leave now. You are not welcome here!" Aqua Rose no longer bothered addressing Glorious Echo as "Guild Leader," but referred to him by his character name instead. She made sure they knew how furious she was. Since she had joined Zero Wing, she had been very happy. Her time here was completely different from her time in Twilight Echo. She had learned many things during her time in the Guild. Counter to other''s beliefs, it was Zero Wing that had made her stronger, not the other way around. And they want her to sell out Zero Wing? Not in this lifetime! Seeing Aqua Rose''s determination, Glorious Echo''s somber expression darkened. "Right, I''ve forgotten to introduce this young lady beside me," Glorious Echo''s expression suddenly changed. With a smile, he proceeded with the introduction, "This is Miss Exemplary Willow. She represents Open Source Corporation and is responsible for the Corporation''s affairs relating to God''s Domain." Exemplary Willow, who wore a purple robe, only smiled in response. She did not bother to offer a single word. It was as if she looked down on Aqua Rose. "Why is someone from Open Source Corporation here?!" Aqua Rose''s shock was obvious. Open Source Corporation was a Global 500 company. Moreover, it ranked very close to the top. To the Corporation, Twilight Echo was like an ant that it could squeeze to death at any given moment. They were from completely different worlds. "You might not realize this, but Open Source Corporation has already invested in Twilight Echo, becoming the Guild''s largest shareholder. Although your parents were strongly opposed to the plan, their efforts were useless," Glorious Echo sneered. "If our talks for cooperation fail today, I believe that Miss Willow will be quite disappointed. If Miss Willow is unhappy, Open Source Corporation might accidentally take everything from you and your family. So, I think you should consider your options carefully before you speak." So, that''s their game. Aqua Rose immediately came to a realization, a self-deprecating smile appearing on her face. It was no wonder why her family had not opposed the Guild''s decision. It would be child''s play for Open Source Corporation to suppress her family''s business. Facing such a monstrosity, her family would have no choice but to lower their heads. "This is your best and only option. Why must you make life difficult for yourself?" Glorious Echo advised softly. "Besides, we''re not just taking Stone Forest Town''s land for granted. We are offering your Guild Leader a satisfactory price. If you can persuade him to hand over Stone Forest Town, then I assure you that, not only will you become a Director of Twilight Echo, but Black Flame will also receive shares of the Guild and become a Director with you. With OSC''s investment, Zero Wing will quickly become the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Wouldn''t this be a better result?" Taking a deep breath, Aqua Rose said resolutely, "Glorious Echo, stop dreaming. I will never agree to your offer." She would never betray the Guild. Although she felt sorry for her family, she believed that, by relying on her own abilities, even if her family''s business went under, she could help her family flourish even more than before. "Good, very good!" Glorious Echo applauded. However, his expression while doing so was exceptionally grim. With a chilling tone, he said, "Since you do not know what''s good for you, I''ll move this discussion to your Guild Leader. I believe he will be far more understanding. You better not regret your decision." No Guild could ignore the temptation of receiving OSC''s investments. As long as Black Flame was a reasonable man, he would beg to have Open Source Corporation become the major shareholder of Zero Wing. "Are you looking for me?" At this moment, Shi Feng pushed open the doors, smirking wickedly as he slowly entered the room. 684 You Are Not Qualified Chapter 684 - You Are Not Qualified "Guild Leader." Startled, Aqua Rose turned to Shi Feng; guilt and embarrassment were written across her face. Glorious Echo was also momentarily stunned. He had never expected Zero Wing''s Guild Leader to actually appear. He quickly recovered, smiled, and introduced himself, "Good day, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Twilight Echo''s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo. This is Miss Exemplary Willow, Open Source Corporation''s God''s Domain Representative." Having been unprepared for Shi Feng''s sudden appearances, Glorious Echo intended to use Exemplary Willow''s identity to frighten Shi Feng a little. Meanwhile, Exemplary Willow only glanced at Shi Feng indifferently. It was obvious that she was not interested in a conversation between ants. Rather, her interest in Aqua Rose grew. Without much effort, one could predict this conversation''s outcome. OSC was a major, international corporation. It was also a giant in New Energy trading. Its industries covered the entire world. Now that the corporation was moving on God''s Domain, there were countless people desperately trying to show off, vying for the corporation''s attention. An upstart Guild like Zero Wing would definitely react in the same way. Only, Aqua Rose''s decision had surprised her slightly. Facing such pressure and temptation, Aqua Rose remain unmoved. Having an assistant like Aqua Rose by her side could be quite valuable. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was unaffected by Glorious Echo''s introduction. Calmly, he asked, "May I know what business Guild Leader Glorious has with me?" Regarding OSC''s financing of Twilight Echo, Shi Feng had expected this due to his memories of his previous life. He was not at all surprised by this revelation. He even knew plenty of major secrets that OSC had yet to discover. Shi Feng''s cool reaction unsettled Glorious Echo a little. Upon hearing the name "Open Source Corporation," any Guild in God''s Domain would introduce themselves carefully to win Exemplary Willow''s favor. Yet, without offering a single greeting, Shi Feng forged ahead and asked for the reason behind his visit Does he not know about OSC? Glorious Echo was inwardly stunned. Immediately, he said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, Open Source Corporation is a major, international corporation. The Corporation has both funding and connections in abundance. Currently, the Corporation has taken a liking to Stone Forest Town and wishes to purchase it. Hence, we''ve sought out Aqua to discuss the conditions of the purchase. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has made a personal appearance, our negotiations will be much simpler. "Guild Leader Black Flame, state your price. As long as it is appropriate, I believe that OSC will agree to your terms." Exemplary Willow nodded in conjunction with Glorious Echo''s words. Although she had just come into contact with God''s Domain, she already had a relatively good understanding of Stone Forest Town''s importance. She had to admit that it was surprising that a mere upstart Guild had obtained such a town. "I see," Shi Feng laughed. He then looked at Glorious Echo, saying, "Then, Guild Leader Glorious, you may leave now." "Huh?" Glorious Echo was momentarily stunned. "What do you mean, Guild Leader Black Flame?" "Isn''t OSC looking for me to discuss Stone Forest Town?" Shi Feng countered with a question. "Then, why are you still here, Guild Leader Glorious?" Glorious Echo sputtered, utterly speechless. From the side, Aqua Rose could not help but giggle. To her family, OSC was the largest source of pressure, not Glorious Echo. If she could settle a deal with the Corporation, she could relieve that pressure on her family. "Miss Willow has only recently been introduced to virtual reality games, and there are still many things she does not understand. As the Leader of the Guild under the Corporation''s management and someone who possesses a wealth of experience regarding the virtual gaming world, it is my responsibility to help Miss Willow with the negotiations," Glorious Echo explained coldly. "Since that is the case, I''ll just tell you my price for Stone Forest Town," Shi Feng laughed. Raising his index finger, he said, "I''ll take a little loss on this trade and settle for 10% of Open Source Corporation''s shares." As Shi Feng''s words fell, the room became utterly silent. Aqua Rose''s little mouth hung open as she stared at Shi Feng. His demand had gone beyond greedy. This was outright insane! Meanwhile, Glorious Echo as well had thought he had misheard for a moment. As for Exemplary Willow, she snapped her frosty gaze towards Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Black Flame, your joke is not funny at all," Glorious Echo said in a somber tone. Even 1% of Open Source Corporation''s shares could purchase multiple Zero Wings, much less 10%. "Why do you say that, Guild Leader Glorious?" Pointing at Stone Forest Town through the window, Shi Feng said earnestly, "Stone Forest Town is the nearest town to the Stoneclaw Mountains. Meanwhile, the Stoneclaw Mountains is a Dungeon rich with Magic Crystals. I don''t believe I need to inform you of this item''s importance. Since you wish to purchase Stone Forest Town, this would be equivalent to cutting off Zero Wing''s path of development. I only want a few Open Source Corporation''s shares, so how is that excessive? "Since Guild Leader Glorious doesn''t qualify to make this decision, please look for someone who does to speak with me. You should know that I am a very busy man. If I make an appointment with every random nobody to discuss business, I won''t even have any time to rest." Insulted, Glorious Echo''s vision went red as he even considered Shi Feng''s murder. Shi Feng had actually dared to humiliate him publicly, calling him a "random nobody!" Even Super Guilds were not so bold! Meanwhile, Aqua Rose could not hold back her laughter. The Guild Leader of the almighty Twilight Echo had actually been humiliated to the point where he could not offer even a word of retaliation. This was the first time Aqua Rose had seen such an ashen expression on Glorious Echo''s face. This comic moment relieved much of her pent-up frustration. However, Aqua Rose realized that Shi Feng was currently venting for her, and her heart could not help but warm at this sight. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you being serious?" Finally, Exemplary Willow spoke. However, her tone was extraordinarily cold. She could not believe that the Guild Leader of such a tiny Guild would actually dare to underestimate OSC. Although Exemplary Willow had not said anything threatening, the room''s atmosphere grew heavy with tension. Even Aqua Rose struggled to breathe. This was the aura of someone who had always stood at the top of the world. Despite being unimaginably weak, she could still make a top-tier expert like Aqua Rose feel anxious. If Shi Feng answered poorly The consequences would be unimaginable. At this moment, Aqua Rose was somewhat regretful. She should have stopped Shi Feng. At the very least, she could have prevented this. However, as if Shi Feng was without a care in the world, he nodded leisurely and responded, "Of course. I am always a man of my word." Although Shi Feng was not loud, everyone in the room could hear him clearly. Insane! This person was insane! Glorious Echo''s previous anger vanished, replaced by shock. With astonished eyes, he stared at Shi Feng. Shi Feng had just intentionally provoked an international corporation just to help Aqua Rose get revenge. Just how ignorant must one be to carry out such an action? "Very well. I will convey your price to my superior," Exemplary Willow said indifferently. She then turned to Glorious Echo, commanding, "Let''s go." 685 New Continen Chapter 685 - New Continent After Exemplary Willow and Glorious Echo left. The tension in the room evaporated. However, Aqua Rose still wallowed in her guilt. Exemplary Willow''s eyes as she departed had reflected her inner anger clearly. This matter definitely would not be resolved so easily. "Thank you," Aqua Rose muttered as she watched Shi Feng, who maintained his usual calm, with grateful eyes. She was no fool. Although Shi Feng''s actions had seemed foolish, she knew that he had been helping her. Initially, OSC''s had focused on Aqua Rose, and it would not let her, or her family, off the hook for her refusal to cooperate. However, Shi Feng had come forth and provoked OSC intentionally, shifting the Corporation''s hatred towards himself. This way, the Corporation would not bother targeting her and her family. If this were any other Guild, none of them would willingly make an enemy of OSC for a single Guild member. In response, Shi Feng simply laughed and said, "Forget about managing the affairs of Stone Forest Town for now and focus on leveling up and improving yourself. I''ll have Melancholic manage the town for the time being." He was not the slightest bit worried about what had just happened. "But OSC" Aqua Rose understood that Shi Feng was letting her distance herself from the dispute this time. This way, she would not attract Open Source''s attention. However, she was the main instigator of this issue. She couldn''t just watch the situation play out from a safe distance. "Don''t worry about it. Stone Forest Town is simply too valuable. Even without Twilight Echo and Open Source, there will be other Guilds and corporations wanting a piece of the pie." Shi Feng could see Aqua Rose''s guilt. However, things were not as simple as she thought. "In Star-Moon Kingdom, there has yet to be a single power capable of taking Stone Forest City from us. What do we have to fear?" The intense competition in God''s Domain far surpassed every virtual reality game before it. Although Shi Feng did not know the reason for God''s Domain''s popularity, as someone who had experienced it before, he was fully aware of the dangers that came with taking over Stone Forest Town. And sooner or later, these dangers would erupt. Hence, rather than sitting still and waiting for their deaths, they might as well take the initiative to land the first blow. Even so, he had not expected to start a war with the Open Source Corporation. Fortunately, Open Source''s economic influence would have little effect on him. If the Corporation wished to deal with him, they had to do so through God''s Domain. However, God''s Domain was his home ground. It would not be so easy for Open Source obtain victory. Both the Guild and I need to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Shi Feng''s hunger for obtaining Solomon''s Treasure increased. If Solomon''s Treasure was related to Solomon''s Sword, he might actually be able to get his hands on the Legendary Weapon. With his current strength, his effect in a massive war between Guilds was limited. Against an alliance of multiple Guilds, he was insignificant. However, if he had Solomon''s Sword, he could attempt to replicate Mage God Gaia''s achievement of hunting and butchering the various large Guilds. Following which, Shi Feng passed on Stone Forest Town''s management to Melancholic Smile and Blackie while Aqua Rose led the Dark Gods Legion to grind in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Meanwhile, Shi Feng retrieved a few Magic Scrolls and lifesaving items from the Guild Warehouse. He then traveled to the Top of the World to complete his quest. In reality, the Top of the World was a new continent with a very high altitude. The map engraved on the Elemental Core showed that Solomon''s Treasure was hidden on Mount Sogar, one of this new continent''s regions. Fortunately, Mount Sogar was not a very high-level region. It was only a Level 40 to Level 60 map. Although Shi Feng was only Level 32, with the top-tier equipment he had, it was not impossible to explore the place. In the snow-covered forest around Mount Sogar, space suddenly ruptured. In the next moment, a pitch-black figure jumped out of the spatial crack. "Is this the Top of the World?" Shi Feng took a deep breath as he observed his surroundings. The air was extremely thin here. Moreover, the gravitational pull was intense; the gravity here was at least 3 g. The temperature was also below 20 degrees Celsius. The environment was harsh. After God''s Domain underwent its third evolution, the Gravitational System was only one part of the system upgrade. Air density and temperature would also affect a player''s combat power. The effect of temperature on players was not significant as players only needed to acquire some Resistance to counteract the effects. As long as one had 20 points of Ice Resistance, they would not find the low temperature uncomfortable. If one could not withstand the cold, they also had the option of wearing some warm clothing. The thin air, however, would impact a player''s combat power significantly. In a low-oxygen environment, the more players fought, the more rapidly they would burn through their Stamina. Players without Stamina had no combat capabilities at all. In other words, players would not be able to fight for a long time in a low-oxygen environment. It was highly possible that they would lose the ability to fight in the middle of a battle. "Grauu!" The powerful soundwaves immediately attracted the attention of the nearby Wild Beasts. A moment later, these Wild Beasts answered with their own deafening roars. [Snow Lion] (Wild Beast, Elite Rank) Level 42 HP 180,000/180,000 At this moment, a total of five, white-furred Snow Lions appeared around Shi Feng, surrounding him, their amber eyes radiating a fierce bloodlust. These monsters sure are powerful. Despite being only Elite rank, their bloodlust is so strong. This place really isn''t meant for ordinary players. Shi Feng chuckled as he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. If any other expert stood in his place right now, the Snow Lions would likely devour them. Fortunately, Shi Feng was no ordinary expert. "Grauu!" At the sound of a low roar, a Snow Lion dashed forward and bit down at Shi Feng. Almost as if they had planned their attack, the other four Lions took the opportunity to circle to Shi Feng''s back. "Scram!" Shi Feng struck at the Snow Lion''s head, the Abyssal Blade colliding with one of the monster''s fangs. Dang! "So tough!" Shi Feng felt his hand go numb when the Abyssal Blade stuck the Snow Lion''s fang. However, the Snow Lion that attacked Shi Feng had not fared any better than Shi Feng as the impact sent it flying. Its ivory fang also sported a deep gash. The Abyssal Blade had nearly chopped off the Snow Lion''s fang. However, the Snow Lion only suffered -424 damage from the attack. To its 180,000 HP, that damage was practically negligible. Shi Feng then spun and sent a slash to his back, the black streak of light slashing at the four oncoming Snow Lions. The Snow Lions'' hides were far more tender than their fangs. Very easily, the Abyssal Blade sliced through the Lions'' hides, leaving behind a bone-deep gash. However, the attack only dealt slightly more than -1,200 damage to each of the four Lions. "Why is their Defense so high?!" Shi Feng was surprised. Previously, seeing as his attack had landed on the Snow Lion''s fang, he thought the low damage was reasonable. However, even after his blade bit into the monsters'' flesh, he had only managed to deal over -1,200 damage. These Snow Lions'' Defense was stronger than even a Great Lord. "Do all monsters here have such high Defense?" Shi Feng muttered, feeling a slight headache begin to brew. These Snow Lions were only Elite monsters. If he encountered a Chieftain or Lord, how was he supposed to defeat them? He had already equipped the Abyssal Blade with a Magic Device. Without the Device, his damage would most likely be much lower. After Shi Feng managed to repel four Snow Lions with a single attack, the Lions began to roar. "Grauu!" The sound of their deafening roars was powerful enough to echo over a thousand meters. "What are they trying to do? "Are they trying to scare me?" Shi Feng could not help but smirk at the roaring Snow Lions. None of them showed any signs of attacking at this moment. However, just as Shi Feng intended to finish these monsters off, he detected movement in the surrounding forest. The ground began to tremble, and soon, he noticed the towering trees fall, one after another. Suddenly, a massive Snow Lion that stood over five meters tall emerge from the forest, a long, sharp horn protruding from his forehead. [One-horn Lion King] (Wild Beast, Lord Rank) Level 45 HP 4,000,000/4,000,000 686 Tattered Old Treasure Ches Chapter 686 - Tattered Old Treasure Chest "They summoned a companion?" Shi Feng frowned as he saw the Lord ranked One-horn Lion King. Monsters at the Top of the World were already much stronger than monsters one normally found in Star-Moon Kingdom. In addition to the environmental effects, dealing with these monsters would be quite challenging. In the current God''s Domain, there had yet to be a single player capable of soloing the Level 45 Lord ranked One-horn Lion King. Even if Shi Feng activated Twofold Berserk, he would not have a shred of hope of defeating the Level 45 Lord. Aside from its 4,000,000 HP, Shi Feng also had no information on the Boss''s Skills. If it summoned another Lord, it would even be difficult to escape with his life. The One-horn Lion King gave Shi Feng no opportunity to consider his situation. Lifting one of its massive paws, the Lion King suddenly transformed into an afterimage as it dashed towards Shi Feng like a gust of wind; its speed could match Shi Feng''s when he had Windwalk activated. It took only an instant for the massive Lion King to cross more than 20 yards, its paws sending dirt and snow into the air. So much destructive power. Shi Feng immediately used Abyssal Bind, not daring to be careless. After the Abyssal Blade had evolved, all of its Skills had reached Tier 1. A Lord ranked monster was the equivalent of a Tier 2 class. With only a difference of one Tier, Abyssal Bind could exert a large fraction of its effects. Xiu Xiu Xiu Twelve pitch-black chains appeared out of thin air, instantly binding the One-horn Lion King''s limbs, forcing the Lord to halt its charge. The Lion King bellowed in rage as it struggled against its bindings. If Shi Feng had taken on this fight before the Abyssal Blade had evolved, the One-horn Lion King would have easily freed itself from Abyssal Bind. However, no matter how much strength it exerted, it could not move an inch. The most it managed was cause the chains to tremble slightly. Although the chains showed signs of breaking, it would still be some time before they would shatter. "I can finally use Abyssal Bind again." Shi Feng was quite satisfied with this outcome. The stronger the monster was, the weaker the effects of Abyssal Bind would become. Hence, he rarely used Abyssal Bind in his fights anymore. Now that the Skill had regained its usefulness, he would have another card against powerful monsters. However, Shi Feng did not dare to tarry any longer as he activated Windwalk and fled. Initially, Abyssal Bind could prevent a target from moving for four seconds. Against the One-horn Lion King, however, he''d be lucky if the Skill lasted two seconds. If utilized properly, he could put quite some distance between himself and the Lord. Sure enough, two seconds after Shi Feng activated Abyssal Bind, the One-horn Lion King broke free from its restraints. Without hesitation, the Lion King chased after its prey. Like so, one man and one beast ran through the snowy forest. Although Shi Feng had attracted the attention of several monsters during his escape, he easily threw them off with his speed. The only monster he could not shake off was the One-horn Lion King. Fortunately, the Lion King was not a speed-type Lord. After activating Windwalk, Shi Feng''s speed was roughly equal to the Lion King''s. Hence, the Lion King could not close the distance he had created during his two-second head start. It won''t do to continue running like this. I haven''t seen any flying-type monsters so far, so it should be fine to use Wind Rider. While Shi Feng fled, he searched for any movement in the air. The ability to fly was a massive advantage against monsters. However, as players reached higher levels, many high-level maps would also contain flying-type monsters. If players encountered such a monster, escape would not be an option. They either defeated the flying monster chasing after them or said monster claimed their life. It would take a miracle to escape from a flying monster. The Top of the World was known for being an area that only experts could challenge. One would find it difficult to survive even the low-level regions of this place. Fortunately, Shi Feng also had the Seven Luminaries Ring. He considered himself to be someone who was quite good at escaping. However, even Shi Feng did not dare to use his Skills at the Top of the World casually as a single misuse might get him killed. After confirming that he saw no threat above him, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and soared into the sky. Meanwhile, the One-horn Lion King could only roar in frustration as it watched its prey escape its clutches. Although Shi Feng was only Level 32, the 220% increase in Movement Speed that Wind Rider provided made him faster than even a Level 45 Lord. The location marked on the Elemental Core showed that Solomon''s Treasure was in Mount Sogar''s core area. Taking advantage of Wind Rider''s effects, Shi Feng flew towards the map''s core. As Wind Rider only had a duration of 24 seconds, but a Cooldown of 2 minutes, Shi Feng was forced to stop every once in a while during his flight. Shi Feng did not have the courage to brave the path on foot. During his 24 seconds in the air, he had spotted at least three Lord ranked monsters. In addition, there were also plenty of Chieftains and Elites roaming around the snowy forest. Even if he used an Isolation Scroll, he would not escape detection from so many powerful monsters. After more than an hour of flying and hiding, Shi Feng arrived at the base of Mount Sogar''s core area. Luckily, I can fly. Otherwise, I really might not have made it here alive. Shi Feng could not help but inwardly celebrate as he looked at the snowy forest at the foot of the mountain. On his way here, aside from Lords, Shi Feng had even spotted a Level 50 Great Lord. With Shi Feng''s current standards, without flight, he would never escape a Great Lord. After arriving at the foot of the mountain, Shi Feng refused to use Wind Rider to fly up the mountain itself. The top of the mountain was flying-type monsters'' territory. If he accidentally caught the attention of one of these monsters, he would be in trouble big-time. Following which, Shi Feng used an Isolation Scroll and carefully proceeded along the stone steps up the mountain. After arriving at Mount Sogar''s heart, the monsters he encountered were Level 50 at the very minimum. Shi Feng was merely Level 32. With such a huge difference in levels, monsters could easily perceive his presence from a long distance away. Although he could reduce his presence with an Isolation Scroll, if he wanted to avoid detection, he would still have to maintain a distance of roughly 80 yards from these monsters. Fortunately, that distance was still well within his range of sight, so he could easily hide. The path up Mount Sogar was very narrow and surrounded by steep cliffs. Not only was it very difficult to hike up the mountain, but there were also groups of Stone Apes patrolling the path. Unfortunately, there was only a single path up the mountain. [Stone Ape] (Elemental Being, Elite Rank) Level 50 HP 300,000/300,000 By itself, the Stone Ape was no threat to Shi Feng. In fact, he could easily handle three or four of these Elite Stone Apes simultaneously. However, when a Stone Ape Guard accompanied the group, the situation was largely different. [Stone Ape Guard] (Elemental Being, Chieftain Rank) Level 50 HP 2,800,000/2,800,000 On his way up the mountain, in order to avoid the patrolling Stone Apes, Shi Feng hurriedly hid inside a small cave on the steep hillside. "Oh? A Secret-Silver Treasure Chest!" A light shone in Shi Feng''s eyes. The small cave was only the size of a room. Meanwhile, a tattered Treasure Chest sat in the deepest part of the cave, giving off a faint silver glow from on top of a thorn- and moss-covered stone platform. In God''s Domain, even Common Treasure Chests were a rare sight, not to mention Secret-Silver ranked ones. The loot one could obtain from a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest was much better than even the loot from a Lord ranked Boss. He was truly lucky to stumble upon one by accident shortly after arriving at Mount Sogar. However, as a precautionary measure, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to search for traps inside the cave. In the past, countless players had lost their lives by triggering a trap due to their momentary excitement of discovering a Treasure Chest. Under the probing of Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng noticed a magical fluctuation from beside the stone platform. Taking a closer look, he discovered a magic array carved into the cave wall. Only, the thorns and moss covering the wall had obscured the magic array. Fortunately, under the perception of Omniscient Eyes, these simple obstructions were no different than transparent glass. "Sure enough, there''s a magical trap." Shi Feng laughed as he activated Phantom Kill. He then had his doppelganger stand at the cave''s entrance while he ran towards the Treasure Chest. 687 Tier 3 Magic Scroll Chapter 687 - Tier 3 Magic Scroll There were many types of traps in God''s Domain, and any one of these traps could finish a player off easily. The simplest traps were the ordinary, physical traps. Most players could resolve these traps. A slightly more advanced trap was a magical trap. Even experts could lose their lives to these traps if they were not careful. The most advanced traps were challenge traps. When triggered, challenge traps would seal players inside a barrier. Players were then required to undergo a challenge, and only after they cleared the challenge would they obtain the reward. Although challenge traps were the most advanced of the three types, the former two were the most fatal when triggered. After all, players could simply choose to ignore the treasure if they did not wish to risk their lives, whereas the other two types would not offer players such a luxury. Hence, the physical and magical traps claimed the most lives. Meanwhile, classes like the Assassin possessed Skills to disarm traps. Hence, most solo Assassins could get by just fine in God''s Domain. Although Shi Feng was a Swordsman without any Disarm Skills, he had Magic Scrolls that could do the job. This item had a very low drop rate. Moreover, it was only capable of disarming magical traps and challenge traps. Even with Zero Wing''s strength, the Guild had only managed to obtain slightly over 20 scrolls. Before coming to Mount Sogar, Shi Feng packed five of these Magic Scrolls with him. Although, he had not expected to use one so soon. Walking up to the stone platform, Shi Feng did not hurry to open the Treasure Chest. Rather, he cleared away the thorns and moss covering the stone platform. He then took out a silvery-gray scroll, unfurling it and chanting the incantation recorded within. This silver-gray scroll was none other than a Tier 1 Disarm Scroll. It was capable of disarming all magical and challenge traps of Fine-Gold rank and below Treasure Chests. However, the precondition was to locate the trap''s activation array. Otherwise, the scroll would be useless. As the Disarm Scroll activated, gray smoke seeped into the trap''s activation array. The Mana within the activation array then began to corrode. Without any Mana to power the activation array, the magical trap could no longer be triggered. "I wonder what items I will find this time?" Shi Feng shifted his gaze towards the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest once more. Exchanging a Tier 1 Magic Scroll for a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest was a very profitable trade. Moreover, he was in one of the maps at the Top of the World. This area was untouched by players thus far. In other words, the Treasure Chests throughout the Top of the World had yet to be opened even once. Their loot would naturally be somewhat more abundant. This was a similar phenomenon to obtaining the First Clear of the Dungeon, whereby the end rewards would be slightly buffed. However, Shi Feng still did not hurry to open the Treasure Chest. He first activated Divine Providence. Immediately, his Luck increased by an additional 32 points for 30 seconds. Only now did Shi Feng open the Treasure Chest. Following which, a loading bar appeared above the Treasure Chest, filling gradually. Twenty seconds were required to open the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. The activation time for this one sure is abnormally long. Shi Feng was a little concerned when he saw the required activation time. A Treasure Chest''s activation time usually ranged from 3 to 10 seconds. Even Secret-Silver Treasure Chests didn''t usually require as long as 20 seconds. The seconds ticked by slowly. After the long and arduous 20 seconds, the tattered old Treasure Chest audibly clicked before its lid gradually opened. In the next moment, an array of colors escaped the Treasure Chest, illuminating the entire cave. "There are so many items inside!" After the rainbow brilliance dissipated, the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest''s contents were on full display before Shi Feng. Items filled the entire chest. This was definitely the fullest Treasure Chest Shi Feng had ever seen in his life. He spotted more than ten Tier 3 Gemstones alone. There was also a large number of Magic Crystals and Silver Coins. There were even three weapons and equipment inside the chest. These items were all Level 50. Level 50 was considered a major milestone in God''s Domain. Although part of the reason was that players could apply for their Tier 2 classes at this level, it was mainly due to the difference in equipment. Level 50 equipment was a lot stronger than Level 45 equipment. Originally, the Attributes on a piece of Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment was roughly the equivalent of a piece of Level 45 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Only, the latter had slightly higher Defense. However, the Attributes on Level 45 Secret-Silver Equipment were only the equivalent of Level 50 Bronze Equipment. That was a difference of two ranks. Because of this, the Attribute gap between players widened significantly. However, after reaching Level 50, players would quickly discover that high-quality Level 50 weapons and equipment would become far more difficult to obtain. Moreover, the number of weapons and equipment that dropped from Dungeons would decrease significantly. Nowadays, ordinary players could collect a full set of Bronze Equipment so long as they put in the required effort. Many might even have a few pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment mixed into their sets. However, an ordinary Level 50 player walking around in a full set of Level 50 Bronze Equipment would be an impressive feat. Even Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment would be rarely seen on a Guild''s normal members. Only elite Guild members could barely scrape together a full set of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. One could just imagine how difficult it was to obtain Level 50 equipment of high quality. Currently, of the three pieces of Level 50 equipment inside the Treasure Chest, two were Secret-Silver rank, and one was Fine-Gold rank. He had truly hit the jackpot this time. However, the item that demanded Shi Feng''s attention was a pale-gold scroll. Even though the scroll sat quietly inside the chest, the frightening amount of Mana radiated distorted the surrounding Mana. If the scroll were activated, who knew what kind of power it could display? This was an effect that only Tier 3 Magic Scrolls or above could display. Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were as rare as a phoenix''s feather throughout God''s Domain. If sold, it could fetch for an astronomical price. However, nobody would be so foolish as to actually sell a Tier 4 Magic Scroll. Meanwhile, although Tier 3 Magic Scrolls could not compete with Tier 4 Magic Scrolls in terms of rarity, each scroll was still considered a strategic item to a Guild. Outside of an emergency, Guilds would never consider using their Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. "I wonder what kind of Tier 3 Spell it contains?" Shi Feng eagerly picked up the pale-gold scroll and examined it. [Magic Amplification Scroll] (Tier 3 Magic Scroll) Forcibly upgrades the Tier of a Skill by 1 Tier up to a maximum of Tier 3. Cooldown: 1 hour Uses remaining: 30 After reading the introduction, Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. A Magic Amplification Scroll was no less valuable than an Epic item. To ordinary players, this scroll could forcibly improve their Skills by a single Tier. This scroll could provide a miraculous impact if used at a critical moment. For example, in a battle between two players who could both use only Tier 1 Skills, if the losing player could suddenly amplify one of their Skills to Tier 2, it could turn the tide of battle. When fighting Bosses, the control effects of a Tier 1 Skill was incredibly limited. However, the skill would display a marked difference at Tier 2. And yet, this was still not the Magic Amplification Scroll''s greatest function. Its true purpose lay in summoning! It was particularly useful to the Summoner class. A Tier 1 Summoner could, at most, summon a Tier 1 monster to fight for them. After using Magic Amplification on their Skills, however, they could summon Tier 2 monsters. As for Tier 2 Summoners, they could summon Tier 3 monsters. A Tier 3 monster was the equivalent of the Great Lord rank Whether it was out in the fields, a Dungeon, or a PvP battle, having a Great Lord ranked monster by one''s side would provide massive advantages. One such monster could easily decimate an army of ten thousand players. Although I''m not a Summoner, I have the Bible of Darkness. I wonder if the Magic Amplification Scroll will have any effect on it? When Shi Feng thought about the possibility of summoning a Tier 3 Demon, he could not help but grow excited. If he could summon a Tier 3 Demon, he would have a much easier time searching for Solomon''s Treasure. With the assistance of a Tier 3 Demon, he could easily defeat even a group of Chieftain ranked Stone Ape Guards. 688 Tier 3 Overlord Chapter 688 - Tier 3 Overlord Setting aside the Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Shi Feng stored the remaining items from the Treasure Chest in his bag. He then carefully took out the Bible of Darkness. "You must succeed." Shi Feng was not absolutely confident in being able to summon a Tier 3 Demon. After all, the Bible of Darkness was a Fragmented Legendary item. It was not an easy task to upgrade the Skill of a Fragmented Legendary item. Even with a Tier 3 Magic Scroll, the likelihood of success was low. Unfurling the Magic Amplification Scroll, Shi Feng began to chant its incantation. Suddenly, the Mana in the cave went berserk. An endless stream of Mana surged into the cave from outside, increasing the density within the cave to the point where it was visible to the naked eye. The dense Mana took the form of a multicolored haze that filled the cave, creating a beautiful sight. Such dense Mana! Shi Feng had become the heart of the cave as Mana surged into his body, forming a massive vortex. "Emerge, Demon Gate!" Shi Feng activated Demon Summoning. Rumble Suddenly, the cave began to tremble. In the blink of an eye, a massive pair of gates suddenly appeared out of thin air. This gate was twice as large as those that appeared when he summoned Tier 2 Demons. Shi Feng even struggled to move under the intense pressure this gate emitted. Did I succeed? Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement as he watched the Demon Gate. The combination of the Magic Amplification Scroll and the Bible of Darkness If he could put this combination to use in a Guild War, it would definitely turn the tides of battle. Regardless of the time or location, a Great Lord ranked monster was a massive threat to a player, not to mention a Great Lord that was under an enemy player''s control. The threat level of such a Great Lord would be increased by at least tenfold. As the Demon Gate slowly opened, a humanoid Demon wearing crimson scale armor and wielding a pitch-black war axe hovered out of the darkness. However, although the Demon had the shape of a human, it was much larger. The Demon stood over three meters tall and had a pair of blood-red wings that allowed it to hover above the ground. "Such a weak little ant actually dares to summon me, the Purgatory Demon?" the Purgatory Demon snarled, ridicule flashing its blood-red eyes as it looked down on Shi Feng. With a single flap of its wings, the Purgatory Demon crossed the distance of ten yards in an instant, its speed surpassing even that of a Great Lord. The Demon then swung its war axe down towards Shi Feng. "Die!" The pitch-black war axe suddenly emitted intense shockwaves, destabilizing the surrounding space. As the war axe descended, Shi Feng suddenly discovered that he could not move This is the Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Spatial Suppression! Shi Feng was aghast. He had never imagined that the Demon he summoned would be so powerful. There were many kinds of Tier 3 Demons. Moreover, Tier 3 Demons possessed very high intellect, so there was a small number who could learn Tier 3 Taboo Skills. Among Tier 3 Demons, these individuals were warlord-level existences. Shi Feng was only a Tier 1 class. He had no hope of breaking free from the suppression of the Tier 3 Taboo Skill. He could not even use a Skill. He could only watch as the massive war axe descended on him. Boom! When the pitch-black war axe landed, the impact destroyed the entire cave. "Hahaha! Such a weakling also dares to use the Bible of Darkness? With this, the Bible of Darkness now belongs to me," the hovering Purgatory Demon could not help but laugh. However, its laughter was short-lived as a serious expression suddenly appeared on the Demon''s face, its gaze focused on the ruins before it. "Why are you still alive?!" the Purgatory Demon stared in shock as it watched Shi Feng slowly climb out of the rubble. Shi Feng looked somewhat miserable as his entire body was covered in dust. However, his HP was still full; he had not received any damage from the Purgatory Demon''s attack. "As expected of a Tier 3 Demon. If I hadn''t used Phantom Kill as a precaution for the magical trap, that hit really would have killed me," Shi Feng said, smiling as he turned to the hovering Purgatory Demon while dusting himself. The instant the Purgatory Demon had appeared, Shi Feng had noticed that he could not control it completely. Hence, he had immediately activated the Replace Skill, trading places with his doppelganger while he hid at the cave''s entrance. However, the shockwaves from the Demon''s Tier 3 Taboo Skill had still affected him. Fortunately, he was able to activate Defensive Blade in time, blocking the incoming damage. "Lucky ant. But you won''t be so lucky the next time," the Purgatory Demon revealed a sinister expression as it swung its massive waraxe at Shi Feng once more. In response to the fast and destructive attack, Shi Feng simply smiled as he said coldly, "There won''t be a next time because your time is up." "Time?" Confusion flashed in the Purgatory Demon''s eyes. Immediately, however, panic appeared on its face as it shifted its gaze towards the Bible of Darkness in Shi Feng''s hands. Countless blue chains suddenly emerged from the Bible of Darkness. Like a pack of hungry wolves, the chains shot towards the Purgatory Demon. Defiantly, the Demon shouted, "No!" The Purgatory Demon no longer bothered with its attack on Shi Feng. Instead, it was now fled from Shi Feng with all its might. However, even if the Purgatory Demon was fast, it could not outrun the blue chains. The blue chains instantly pierced through the Demon and wrapped around its body, sealing its movements completely. It could only whimper and mourn painfully as it lay on the ground. After a few seconds of whining, the Purgatory Demon''s spirited eyes dimmed. As if it had become a walking corpse, the Demon slowly stood up from the ground and looked at Shi Feng as if waiting for a command. The blue chains binding the Demon began to fade. "That was close. Luckily I used my doppelganger to buy some time." Shi Feng finally released out a sigh of relief as he saw the Purgatory Demon''s lifeless eyes. The Tier 3 Demon was finally under his control. It was possible for a summoned creature to rebel. However, the chances of a rebellion were determined by the summoner''s strength. Currently, Shi Feng was merely a Tier 1 player. If he used a Tier 3 Magic Scroll to forcefully summon a Tier 3 Demon, the chances of a rebellion were quite high. Meanwhile, when a summoned creature rebelled, its first target would be its summoner. Of course, there was also a method to end a rebellion. For example, the Bible of Darkness was capable of eliminating a summoned Demon''s consciousness. However, time was required to do so. After killing the summoned creature''s will, it would become a puppet without any trace of autonomy. This would make it very difficult to control the summoned creature, sharply reducing its combat power. Normally, after a creature was summoned, the summoner only needed to transmit simple commands. The summoned creature would then carry out the commands automatically. However, after becoming a puppet, the summoner would have to split a portion of their consciousness to direct the summoned creature''s every movement. This would, in turn, impact the summoner''s own combat power. Most importantly, after a summoned creature lost its consciousness, players would face great difficulties when using the monster''s Skills. When a monster was self-aware, it could achieve 100% of its Skills'' effects. For players who had never used any of the summoned creature''s Skills before, in addition to splitting their focus on controlling the monster, it would be a miracle if they exerted 50% of the summoned creature''s Skills'' effects. However, Shi Feng couldn''t care less right now. Compared to a turncoat Tier 3 Demon, a puppet Tier 3 Demon was far more useful. Although having to control the Demon manually would greatly reduce its combat power, it was better than nothing at all. I wasn''t able to check its Attributes before because it wasn''t under my control. I wonder just what kind of Attributes the Tier 3 Purgatory Demon possesses? Shi Feng was very curious about the Tier 3 Demon''s Attributes. The fact that it could use a Tier 3 Taboo Skill showed that it was much stronger than ordinary Tier 3 Demons. 689 Astonishing Leveling Speed Chapter 689 - Astonishing Leveling Speed "So many Skills!" Upon opening the Purgatory Demon''s Attribute Panel, Shi Feng discovered a list of tens of Skills. Among them, there were three Tier 3 Skills, one being the Tier 3 Taboo Skill. The remaining Skills were all Tier 2 The Purgatory Demon had more Skills than an ordinary player. Moreover, the majority of its Skills were AOE Skills. The Demon could play a huge role in a group battle. In addition, the Purgatory Demon''s HP and Level were similarly shocking. [Purgatory Demon] (Demon) Level 51 HP 13,000,000/13,000,000 Among Level 50 Great Lords, its HP might not be considerable, but compared to other Tier 3 Demons with high intellect and a large number of Skills, the Purgatory Demon''s HP was very high. Moreover, an ordinary Tier 3 Demon''s combat power was generally higher than a Great Lord of the same Level. If it came down to a battle, the Tier 3 Demon would emerge victorious. Its Strength Attribute is outrageous. It''s several times higher than my Strength. It should rival a Grand Lord of the same Level. The more Shi Feng examined the Purgatory Demon''s Attributes, the more shocked he became. Currently, he was fully equipped with Tier 3 Strength-Attributed Gemstones. He even wore the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. His Strength was no weaker than a Chieftain of the same Level, yet even if he activated Twofold Berserk, his Strength would not reach even half of the Purgatory Demon''s With such a powerful summon, his exploration of Mount Sogar''s core area would be much easier. At the very least, he would not have to run and hide from monsters constantly. Following which, Shi Feng began controlling the Purgatory Demon to venture deeper into the heart of Mount Sogar. There were many groups of Stone Apes patrolling the trail up Mount Sogar. Not only did each patrol team have over a hundred Elite Stone Apes, but the teams were also led by one Lord ranked Stone Ape Guard. Shortly after exiting the cave, a Stone Ape Guard discovered both Shi Feng and the Purgatory Demon. The Lord released a roar and immediately, over a hundred Level 50 Elite Stone Apes charged at the two intruders. "You guys can serve as a test, then." Shi Feng smiled calmly as he focused the majority of his consciousness into the Purgatory Demon while he hid as far away as possible. However, the Purgatory Demon, which was over three meters tall, was like an immovable wall as it stood in the middle of the mountain trail. With its war axe held ready, the Demon managed to block the entire trail by itself. When the Stone Apes arrived before the Purgatory Demon, the latter swept its massive two-handed war axe horizontally across the enemy group. Suddenly, the six leading Stone Apes flew through the air, slamming into the mountainsides bordering the trail. Some of the Stone Apes'' rock bodies shattered when they met the massive war axe, damages of over -30,000 points appearing above their heads. If a player had received the Purgatory Demon''s attack just now, they would have died instantly. "Such fierce damage." Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. He had never imagined that the Purgatory Demon could deal such high damage. Compared to the Snow Lions, the Stone Apes'' Defense was much higher. Previously, he could deal around -1,200 damage to the Snow Lions with his normal attacks. Yet, the Purgatory Demon dealt over -30,000 damage, destroying over one-tenth of the Stone Apes'' HPs with one swing of its axe. Moreover, it even shattered the Stone Apes'' rock bodies, wounding the Elites heavily and significantly reducing their combat power. In the face of the Purgatory Demon''s Strength, the Stone Apes were no more than toys. They could not approach Shi Feng, who hid behind the Purgatory Demon, at all. However, Shi Feng was also struggling to control the Tier 3 Demon. Shi Feng was already not used moving in the Demon''s massive body. Attacking only increased the complexity of his task. He could not exert his desired effects at all. At the moment, he was exerting less than one-third of the Purgatory Demon''s actual strength. Suddenly, the Stone Ape Guard standing behind the group of Stone Apes jumped into the air and thrust its spear towards the Purgatory Demon. As if it were a venomous snake, the spear left behind three afterimages that struck the Tier 3 Demon. With the Purgatory Demon''s usual standards, it could have dodged the Lord''s spear attack effortlessly. However, Shi Feng was unable to exert the Demon''s full strength, so the Demon received all three attacks. -2,742. -2,802. -2,784. Three consecutive damages appeared above the Purgatory Demon''s head. However, compared to the Purgatory Demon''s 13,000,000 HP, these damages were practically negligible. The Demon''s battle recovery alone regenerated 130,000 HP every five seconds. Even if Shi Feng allowed the Stone Ape Guard to attack as much as it wished, it would not kill the Purgatory Demon. "I wonder how this move will fare?" Shi Feng did not want to waste any more time with these Stone Apes. He controlled the Purgatory Demon and activated the Tier 3 Skill, Garuda''s Flames. Garuda''s Flames dealt flame damage within a cone to all enemies within 50 yards. At the same time, targets struck would be forced into a Fainted state for five seconds. The Purgatory Demon swung its massive war axe and the Stone Apes before it drowned in a sea of fire. Even while standing behind the Purgatory Demon, Shi Feng could feel the scorching heat of Garuda''s Flames. Against such a wide range attack, neither the Stone Ape Guard nor the Elite Stone Apes could avoid it. The Purgatory Demon''s attack swallowed every one of the Stone Apes. Suddenly, the hundred-plus Stone Apes lost their lives. Only the Lord ranked Stone Ape Guard still lived. However, the Lord''s body glowed bright red with heat, and of its original 2,800,000 HP, only around 2,100,000 remained. Garuda''s Flames dealt nearly 700,000 damage to a Level 50 Lord. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had exerted less than 50% of the Skill''s effect. If the Purgatory Demon were still self-aware, Garuda''s Flames would probably have devoured over half of the Stone Ape Guard''s HP. It''s a pity that this Skill''s Cooldown is somewhat long. Otherwise, grinding with this Skill would be exhilarating. Shi Feng sighed as he glanced at his experience bar. Shi Feng had been at 9% of Level 32. Now, his experience stopped at 20%. His experience bar had jumped by a full 11%. After players reached Level 30, the amount of EXP they required to level up would increase tremendously. Even expert players had to grind for several days to gain a single level, not to mention someone like Shi Feng, who required twice as much EXP as ordinary players. Any other player would have gained 22%. They would only have to defeat five Stone Ape patrol teams to gain a Level. However, part of this was also because the monsters at the Top of the World provided much higher EXP than the monsters in Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, there was also the fact that the Stone Apes were Elite monsters and were 18 Levels higher than Shi Feng, providing him with ample amounts of bonus EXP. For an ordinary player, a Common monster that was two or three levels higher would be their limit, let alone an Elite monster. Normally, a party of ordinary players was required to take down a single Elite monster. After splitting the EXP six-ways, each player would only receive a small amount. Meanwhile, Shi Feng enjoyed the EXP from more than a hundred Stone Apes by himself. His leveling speed would be as fast as flight. Following which, Shi Feng directed the Purgatory Demon to attack the Stone Ape Guard with more Skills. The Tier 3 Skills'' Cooldowns were simply too long. Shi Feng intended to use them sparingly, so he only used Tier 2 Skills to deal with the Stone Ape Guard. Even so, each Tier 2 Skill dealt over -100,000 damage. In less than 30 seconds, the Stone Ape Guard lay at the Purgatory Demon''s feet. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s experience bar had risen by an additional 6%. The Lord provided more EXP than half of the hundred-plus Elite Stone Apes. Other than providing Shi Feng with an abundance of EXP, these Stone Apes had also dropped a large number of items. Equipment and materials littered the mountain trail before the Purgatory Demon. The drop-rate here was even better than in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, this place was home to monsters that were Level 50 and above. If Shi Feng grinded in an ordinary high-level map in Star-Moon Kingdom rather than at the Top of the World, he would not enjoy such a lucrative drop-rate. However, Mount Sogar possessed a large number of powerful monsters. This was one major difference between it and ordinary maps. Surviving here was already extremely difficult for Level 50 players, not to mention grinding for levels and items. Moreover, Shi Feng was only able to eliminate the powerful monsters here due to the Purgatory Demon. 690 Absurd EXP Chapter 690 - Absurd EXP The Top of the World is pretty nice. It''s no wonder why those experts in the past tried so hard to come here. Shi Feng sighed contently after he finished organizing the loot. Among these drops, there were several dozen pieces of Level 50 equipment, two of which were Mysterious-Iron rank, 16 were Bronze rank, and the remainder were Common rank. After reaching Level 50, even Elite monsters rarely dropped Bronze Equipment. Only Chieftains would drop Bronze Equipment with a 100% certainty and had the chance to drop Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As a result, players would have a far more difficult time obtaining Level 50 high-quality equipment. To make matters worse, the Final Bosses of Level 50 Hard Mode Party Dungeons were only Chieftains. Only Hell Mode had Lord ranked Final Bosses. However, how many ordinary parties were capable of conquering Hell Mode Party Dungeons? Moreover, Bosses drop-rates declined sharply after Level 50. A Boss that would drop six or seven items at lower levels would only drop one or two items after reaching Level 50. Shi Feng could vaguely remember the time he had fought and grinded frantically, only managing to reach Level 50 after an arduous struggle. Yet, what about Level 50 equipment? After investing a ton of effort, he had only managed to obtain a full set of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment by the time he reached Level 50. If he had worn that quality equipment when he was Level 45, he would have been considered as an ordinary veteran player at best. Even so, he had been the envy of Blackie and many of his fellow Guild members. Back then, wearing several pieces of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment into a 20-man Team Dungeon had been a luxury, not to mention a full set of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. After all, one obtained less than a handful of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron items after clearing a Level 50, 20-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. This was also the reason behind forgers'' suddenly popularity surge. Although it might be very difficult for players to forge top-tier equipment, they had a relatively high success rate for producing Level 50 and above Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Weapons and Equipment. However, the required materials were not so easily obtained. On the other hand, after defeating a single wave of Stone Apes, Shi Feng now had so many pieces of Level 50 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. It was mind-blowing. Shi Feng continued to explore Mount Sogar''s core area. During his journey, he defeated any Stone Ape patrols that he encountered for EXP and equipment. Humans had yet to claim Mount Sogar, so there were many Stone Ape patrols wandering along the mountain trail. It did not take long before Shi Feng encountered another patrol team. For Shi Feng, this place was a leveling heaven. Against the Stone Ape patrols, the Purgatory Demon''s strength was simply overwhelming. In less than three hours, Shi Feng easily reached 74% of Level 33. If he wanted to, he could place in the top 20 of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List. Previously, to obtain the First Clear of Level 30, 100-man Team Dungeons, the various Guilds had intentionally held back their levels. Meanwhile, some powerful independent experts or Workshop experts had not. Instead, they took the opportunity to level up rapidly, earning some fame for themselves. Hence, the current average level on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List was quite high, with the top three players at Level 34. Meanwhile, the top 20 on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List were all Level 33 and above. If not for the Purgatory Demon helping him grind on Mount Sogar, he might have struggled to catch up to the top 20 players. Mount Sogar was massive. It was almost three times as large as an ordinary leveling map of the same Level. Hence, searching for Solomon''s Treasure was time-consuming. Shi Feng also encountered many powerful monsters throughout his journey, which slowed his progress further. To explore Mount Sogar effectively, Shi Feng had used the Bible of Darkness and Magic Amplification Scroll once more to summon a Level 51 Tier 3 Curse Demon. Although the Curse Demon had similarly turned on him, Shi Feng had directed the Purgatory Demon to incapacitate the Curse Demon, allowing him to force it into submission. Unlike the Purgatory Demon, however, the Curse Demon did not possess any Tier 3 Taboo Skills. It also only had 9,500,000 HP. However, as it was a magic-type Demon, its AOE capabilities were much stronger than the Purgatory Demon. With two Tier 3 Demons under his control, Shi Feng could explore the area far more efficiently. He had no problems facing even two or three waves of Stone Ape patrols simultaneously. He no longer had to waste too much time hiding and killing monsters. --- The Stoneclaw Mountains'' inner region: "Cola, be careful of that Half-orc Lord''s Skills. Lure it away from the team first. Everyone else, focus fire on the Lord that Turtledove is tanking." Fire Dance fought while commanding her team to deal with two Level 40 Half-orc Lords. Currently, players crowded the Stoneclaw Mountains. To secure more resources for themselves, Zero Wing''s main force had no choice but to distance themselves from the crowd and push deeper into the Mountains. They were lucky if they encountered a Lord in the outer region. However, after reaching the inner region, the number of Lords wandering about had increased significantly. From time to time, players would have to face two Lords simultaneously. This was a huge challenge for teams. Hence, the various Guild teams avoided this area. To Zero Wing''s main force, however, this area was just difficult enough. Zero Wing''s lead MT Cola wore a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment. He also had the Bluefire Shield. He had no problems handling a single Level 40 Lord by himself. As for Turtledove, she had recently obtained the Epic ranked Divine Frost Armor, so she, too, could tank a Lord without assistance. In addition, Ye Wumian similarly wore a complete Tier 1 Set Equipment for Shield Warriors. He was constantly ready to jump in when necessary. If the MTs had no issues, there was no need to mention the team''s DPS. Whether it was Fire Dance, Rampant Blade, Shadow Sword, Minor Wind, or Violet Cloud, every one of them possessed superb Attack Power. They also wore equipment that allowed them to ignore more than ten of monsters'' Levels. Without any level suppression, their damage against Level 40 Lords would not be affected in the slightest. Hence, the team was more than capable of taking down two Level 40 Lords simultaneously. Currently, the members of Zero Wing''s main force were all at Level 32, leveling with impressive speed. There were a few reasons for their leveling rate. First, everyone''s experience bars had been frozen around 90% of Level 30 throughout their raid of the Frost Prison. After obtaining the First Clear of the Hell Mode Frost Prison, everyone promptly turned their attention to grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains. They also managed to accumulate the Double EXP buff by resting in the Guild Residence''s Private Rooms while they had been offline. While they had focused on raiding the Frost Prison, they had accumulated more than one Level''s worth of the Double EXP buff. Thus, the moment they returned to leveling, they rapidly climbed to Level 32. In less than 20 minutes, the team had dealt with their latest Half-orc enemies, resulting in everyone''s experience bars rising significantly. "Fire Dance, our Guild members have been ambushed in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Be careful." Aqua Rose suddenly contacted Fire Dance to warn her. "Someone''s ambushed our Guild members?" Fire Dance was slightly surprised. "Which Guild is it?" Stone Forest Town was Zero Wing''s territory now. For someone to dare target Zero Wing''s members in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they were simply asking to be banned from the town. "I don''t think that it''s a Guild. The ambushed members reported that their attackers had not worn any Guild Emblems. After watching the videos they recorded, the ambushers didn''t seem like any Guild experts I''ve encountered. However, the enemy is moving in relatively large groups. The smaller groups have around a dozen or so players, while the largest one is a 50-man team. I''ve researched that team already. They do not belong to any Guild. Rather, the team belongs to a Workshop." Aqua Rose was similarly surprised when she received the report on these assailants. After all, every player currently grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains should know Zero Wing''s reputation. Yet, there were still people who dared to ambush their members. "In any case, your team should be on the lookout as well. I''ll try to learn more as soon as possible." If this really were the doing of a Guild, then she would destroy that Guild''s foothold in the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Alright, I''ll make a note of it." Fire Dance nodded. There would not be any other players in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' inner region. After all, the danger here was much higher than in the outer areas. Ordinary players could not set foot here and survive. However, as soon as Fire Dance disconnected the call, she heard Minor Wind''s anxious voice through the team chat."A large group of players is approaching!" 691 Red Lis Chapter 691 - Red List In God''s Domain, not only did Rangers possess both melee and ranged combat capabilities, but their perception and scouting abilities were also superior to other classes. Particularly, out in the dangerous fields, if a party had a Ranger among its members, the party could avoid many potential dangers. As the number one Ranger of Zero Wing, not only did Minor Wind wear excellent equipment, but he had also learned some Rare Skills thanks to Shi Feng''s guidance, particularly Scouting and Perception Skills. Some of these Skills could strengthen a player''s five senses, even allowing them to see a blade of grass that was over 100 yards away. If they could detect a powerful monster approaching, they could avoid unnecessary battles. As a Ranger expert, Minor Wind could reach even greater heights with these Skills. If an enemy did not possess Skills like the Assassin''s Stealth, Minor Wind would easily discover them as they shifted through the grass, even from 150 yards away. "Are they Guild players?" Fire Dance asked. This was the Stoneclaw Mountains'' inner region. Not only were the monsters very high-leveled, but they were also much stronger than ordinary monsters of the same Level. Generally, only large Guilds'' main forces were capable of grinding here. "No. None of them are wearing any Guild Emblems. Moreover, they all are Red Names," Minor Wind reported and shook his head after observing them carefully with Eagle Eyes. "Based on how they''re moving, it is clear that they are coming straight for us." "They''re charging at us?" Cola could not help but laugh. "Do these Red Names think that we are easy targets?" The others also began laughing. With their team''s skills and equipment, even an army of 1,000 elite players would not be a problem, much less a small team. Other players should celebrate their peaceful coexistence. Yet, now, an unknown group of players intentionally sought them out to cause trouble. These people did not understand the difference between life and death. "Alright, enough. Everyone get ready," Fire Dance commanded. She felt that this matter was not as simple as it seemed. She then directed a question to Minor Wind, asking, "Roughly how many of them are there?" "There should be around 300 people. Among them, there''s one person I''ve seen before. He''s an expert ranked on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Red List," Minor Wind could not help his surprise after he could observe more details about the approaching enemies. The Main God System had not comprised nor did it handle the Red List. Rather, players had established it to keep a record of powerful Red Names. Star-Moon Kingdom''s Red List only kept a record of the top 100 Red Names in the kingdom. Every one of these Red Names was an expert. Among these Red List experts, there were even a few that Guilds would not casually provoke. Fortunately, however, these experts also avoided provoking the various large Guilds. Hence, the relationship between them had always been relatively peaceful, each minding their own businesses. Yet, now, an expert on the Red List had actually come to challenge them. This was certainly unexpected. "Since they want to target Zero Wing, make sure their visit is a one-way trip." Fire Dance glowered. She felt there was more to this than what appeared on the surface. Although she did not know what it was, dealing with the approaching Red Names took priority over all else. Immediately, Fire Dance led the team to welcome their aggressors. --- "Big Brother Traceless Blood, it seems that we''ve been discovered," a sharp-faced male Ranger in tight, gray leather clothes hurriedly reported to the male Assassin beside him. This Assassin had eyes like a venomous snake, and he hid his face behind a black scarf. Although this male Assassin had a thin body, among the nearly 300 Red Names present, not a single person dared to underestimate him. It was because this man was an expert ranked within the top ten of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Red List. Although there was more than one Red List expert among the crowd, none of them could even hope to hold a candle to Traceless Blood. After all, Traceless Blood had once massacred a third-rate Guild''s main force. Moreover, even though said third-rate Guild had attempted to corner Traceless Blood many times, they had never once successfully killed him. On the contrary, the Assassin had claimed their Guild Leader''s life multiple times. For a time, that Guild had been a laughingstock. From that moment on, no Guild out there dared to underestimate Traceless Blood. Aside from Guilds, Traceless Blood had also killed many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s experts. His most notable assassination attempt so far was his assassination of the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader, Galaxy Past. In the end, although he had failed to kill Galaxy Past, he had escaped the Star Alliance''s many experts. This outcome had angered Galaxy Past greatly, and the man had even ordered a bounty on Traceless Blood, rewarding 50 Gold each time someone manages to kill him. If converted to Credits, 50 Gold was the equivalent of more than 100,000 Credits. This was sufficient to tempt many people. Unfortunately, until this day, not a single person had managed to kill Traceless Blood even once. On the contrary, Galaxy Past''s bounty had only served to boost the Assassin''s fame, becoming an infamous Red Name on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Bounty List. "Good, then. I''ve wanted to experience the skills of Zero Wing''s experts for a while now. You guys should be careful. Although we have the numerical advantage, our coordination is definitely no match for theirs. Try to split their members up as much as possible," Traceless Blood commanded. He then activated Stealth and vanished before the crowd. Everyone nodded in response. In truth, however, they all looked down on Zero Wing. They were all PvP experts. Hundreds, if not thousands, of players had died at each of these Red Names'' hands. Particularly in field battles, the various large Guilds'' experts were no different from pampered, flowers. These experts mainly focused on raiding Dungeons. When it came to PvP in the fields, such experts were nothing to them. "I heard that the equipment of Zero Wing''s main force is superb. We''re going to make a fortune." Many Red Names drooled when thinking about Zero Wing''s equipment. "Someone''s charging towards us," a Red Name Ranger shouted. Immediately, every Red Name went on alert, focused on the group of players charging towards them. "Hahaha! Sure enough, they''re just a bunch of noobs that don''t know what a real battle is! Rather than attacking from a distance first, they''ve decided to jump into their graves!" Many of the ranged Red Names began to launch attacks at Zero Wing''s three MTs. These three were none other than Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove. Facing more than a hundred ranged attacks, the three MTs immediately utilized the trees as cover, avoiding the oncoming attacks while advancing. Even when an attack landed, they only received a few hundred damage. All three MTs had over 10,000 HP, so this damage was barely a scratch. A single heal from the rear line healers was all they needed to recover. "Such high Defense and HP. However, do you really think you can win by relying on your equipment?" a few melee Red Names could not help but curse disdainfully as they watched the three MTs. They then readied their weapons and charged to meet Zero Wing in battle. Equipment was only one of the many aspects of battle. Even if their HPs and Defenses were higher, they could not live if they could not move. Suddenly, dozens of melee players surrounded the three MTs, halting their advance. Knowing that Cola and the others had superior equipment, these Red Names did not take them head-on. Instead, they used Skills to restrict the trio, creating opportunities for the ranged players to chip away their HPs. Turtledove was only a Guardian Knight. Even if her dodging capabilities were more powerful, against more than a dozen players, she was bound to be hit sooner or later. Red Name''s normal attacks usually dealt around -400 damage to her. If a powerful Skill stuck her, she would receive more than -1,000 damage. She would not last long even if she cast Protection Blessing on herself. "I can finally test out this move." Turtledove smiled calmly as she activated Freezing Air. 692 A Corporation’s Strength Chapter 692 - A Corporation''s Strength Star-Moon City, Star-Moon Restaurant: Star-Moon Restaurant was the only 5-star restaurant in Star-Moon City. The building was 36-stories tall and stood at the heart of the city''s central trade district. If one dined in the top floor rooms of the restaurant, they could couple their food with the beauty of Star-Moon City. However, even expert players could not afford even a single meal in the top floor rooms. The minimum expenditure here was 30 Gold. Normally, only NPC nobles came here for a meal. This was not a place for players. Today, however, a charming and sexy female player in luxurious purple robes enjoyed a meal in one of the VIP rooms on the top floor. Delicacies covered the table, each costing at least 2 Gold. Each dish offered players a relatively top-tier piece of equipment. Suddenly, the room''s doors opened. A burly, middle-aged man entered the room. "Miss Willow, I''ve arranged for the matter you requested. Both the Red Names and various Workshops are quite satisfied with the remuneration that we have provided. Now, all we need to do is watch as Zero Wing is slowly ground to dust," the burly man reported coldly as he approached the purple-robed female respectfully. This man was none other than Twilight Echo''s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo. After Shi Feng had angered Exemplary Willow, the latter had ordered Glorious Echo to deal with Zero Wing. However, that was a challenge even for him. Star-Moon Kingdom was not Twilight Echo''s home ground. Moreover, even if it were, Twilight Echo couldn''t do anything about Stone Forest Town. Hence, he had decided to hire the various Workshops and Red Names in Star-Moon Kingdom to deal with Zero Wing. A beggar doesn''t fear going bankrupt. Unlike Guilds, these players could afford to target Zero Wing as they had never particularly relied on Stone Forest Town or the Stoneclaw Mountains to strengthen themselves and level up. Even if Zero Wing tried to avenge their losses, locating these Red Names and Workshops would not be easy. The resources and manpower required to do so would gradually wear Zero Wing down. It was especially true for those Red Names. Every one of them was an expert in field combat. It was easy for these Red Names to find an opportunity to kill a few of Zero Wing''s core members. In addition, through repeated ambushes and harassment, they could restrict Zero Wing''s activity. Moreover, Exemplary Willow was still arranging further punishment for Zero Wing. There was no need to worry about the Guild surviving. "What did the Star Alliance and Ouroboros say about our offer?" Exemplary Willow asked softly. "The Star Alliance has agreed to our conditions. Ouroboros, unfortunately, does not know how to appreciate kindness when offered. However, I''ve contacted Ouroboros''s original Guild Leader. If Miss Willow agrees to help him, he is confident that he can reclaim Ouroboros for himself." Glorious Echo had been shocked by Gentle Snow''s rejection. Ouroboros was no longer as strong as it had been. After the mutiny, Ouroboros began to struggle. Several corporations that had originally supported Ouroboros had abandoned the Guild. The fact that the Guild remained standing was a miracle in and of itself. Theoretically, the Guild should be in need of a large sum of money to turn things around. Yet, Gentle Snow had rejected the offer of Open Source Corporation''s support. Exemplary Willow had offered no less than what she had given Twilight Echo. Moreover, as the Guild Leader of Ouroboros, Gentle Snow should hold a significant fraction of the Guild''s shares. If she had accepted the offer, those shares would have easily become over ten times more valuable. Exemplary Willow wanted to obtain the Stoneclaw Mountains at all cost. If they could not obtain Star-Moon City''s two first-rate Guilds, it would be nearly impossible to claim the Regional Dungeon for themselves. Hence, Glorious Echo had sought out Ouroboros''s original Guild Leader, Cao Chenghua. Cao Chenghua''s influence was still entwined with Ouroboros. He was only helpless about his situation because Gentle Snow had gained the support of several important Guild Elders. If Cao Chenghua had the support of OSC, however, there was a large possibility that he could regain control over Ouroboros. "Since that is the case, agree to his conditions. I don''t want to waste too much of my time on Star-Moon Kingdom." Exemplary Willow nodded indifferently. When she thought about Shi Feng''s previous arrogance, her lips unconsciously twisted into a cold sneer. Against a boorish fellow like Shi Feng, she had decided show him just what kind of beast he had provoked. --- Meanwhile, in the Stoneclaw Mountain''s inner region, the battle between Zero Wing''s main force and the army of Red Names was in full swing. After Turtledove activated Freezing Air, the temperature within 15 yards of her fell sharply, cold air filling the area. The Movement Speeds of the dozen or so Red Names surrounding Turtledove instantly dropped by 40%. Meanwhile, the damage Turtledove received decreased to around -100 points. These Red Names were no fools. The moment they noticed the change to their Movement Speeds, they began to distance themselves from Turtledove. In the next second, however, their Movement Speeds decreased by another 40%. Even if they fast, they could not outrun the Guardian Knight. Three seconds later, all of the melee Red Names surrounding Turtledove and the other two MTs were frozen. "What kind of Skill is this?" Some of the melee players who had intended to charge at Turtledove slid to a halt, aghast as they watched their companions turn into ice sculptures. With such an AOE Control Skill and high Defense, melee classes like themselves had no hope in close combat with Turtledove. They could only allow Turtledove move unhindered as she approached their team''s rear line healers. However, as players who often participated in PvP battles, these Red Names were no weaklings. Every one of them possessed Skills that allowed them to remove control effects. They immediately activated these Skills to break free from their restraints. If they were frozen solid, they would be no more than practice targets. Zero Wing''s ranged players would bombard them with vicious attacks. If comparing equipment quality, Zero Wing''s main force was at least two levels above theirs. It was especially true for Minor Wind''s attacks. As he possessed the Tier 1 Weapon, Windchaser, even MTs such as Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, who possessed Damage Reduction Skills, received over -1,000 from each of his normal attacks. If they sustained one of the Ranger''s Skills, they would receive nearly -3,000 damage, nearly -6,000 damage if it were a critical hit. Among these Red Name MTs, there were a few who had as much as 9,000 HP, while some had as little as 8,000 HP. A single critical hit from a Skill was more than enough to destroy over half of their HPs. Even the Red Name healers could not keep up with Minor Wind''s damage. Moreover, Minor Wind''s Attack Speed was astonishing. Even expert players would have a hard time dodging his arrows. Furthermore, these Red Names had opponents in front of them to deal with. They could not afford to split their attention to dodging the Ranger''s arrows. Only, as soon as these players broke free from their Frozen debuffs, they instantly discovered that something was amiss. Although they were no longer frozen, their Movement Speeds were still so low. They could not shake off Turtledove and could only suffer the Guardian Knight''s repeated attacks. Each of Turtledove''s attacks dealt over -600 damage to the melee players. Using Hammer of Sanctions, not only could she force her target into a Fainted state, but she could also achieve a critical hit of over -3,000 points. The half-HP Level 31 Shield Warrior, who was Turtledove''s current target, lost his remaining HP instantly, dropping two pieces of equipment as he fell to the ground. These Red Names all belonged to the forces of darkness. Even the penalty they received for being Red Names were light. They only lost slightly more EXP than the average player; roughly 1.5 to 2 Level''s worth of EXP. Meanwhile, Cola''s and Ye Wumian''s damage was even higher than Turtledove''s. Each one of their Skills dealt over -4,000 damage with a critical hit. The unlucky half-HP melee Red Names died instantly. "Damn it! Why is their damage so high?!" Many Red Names were dumbfounded. What these Red Names did not know, however, was that Cola and the others'' Skill Completion Rates far surpassed theirs. Hence, their Skill damage was very high. Three seconds later, the melee players who had broken free from the Freezing effect froze solid once more. Against the ranged attacks of Zero Wing''s main force, even with their healers'' support, these Red Names could not escape death. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen melee Red Names fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the majority of Zero Wing''s melee forces suddenly emerged from the forest, launching a pincer attack from the side. As the Red Names had focused all of their attention on the three MTs, they were momentarily caught off-guard by the sudden pincer attack. Just as the melee Red Names tried desperately to defend against the sudden ambush, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, and the other Assassins of Zero Wing suddenly appeared behind the Red Name healers. Ambush! Backstab! Absolute Strike! With a chain of attacks, Fire Dance and the other Assassins claimed the lives of multiple healers. Meanwhile, the Red Name Assassins had similar thoughts. They had long since circled to Zero Wing''s back, launching an ambush on the team''s healers. "Die!" Traceless Blood had long since set his eyes on the Cleric Violet Cloud. Using Shadow Steps, he appeared right behind Violet Cloud, his dagger plunging towards Violet Cloud''s heart. 693 Magic Weapon Against Magic Weapon Chapter 693 - Magic Weapon Against Magic Weapon Traceless Blood was extremely fast. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The Assassin had not given Violet Cloud any opportunities to activate her Skills. Traceless Blood had investigated Violet Cloud, so he knew the Cleric was very strong. If he gave her even a breath of time, it was possible that his assassination attempt would fail. Hence, he had taken his time, slowly and carefully approaching Violet Cloud and using Shadow Steps at its maximum range. This way, by the time Violet Cloud''s senses reacted, it would be too late. The dagger covered in engraved, black runes tore through the air, colliding with Violet Cloud''s back. With his first strike landing successfully, Traceless Blood immediately used the most powerful Skill of Assassins, Absolute Strike, instead of a different Skill like Backstab. Unlike Backstab, Absolute Strike did not require any specific attack motions, allowing for a faster strike. Suddenly, Traceless Blood transformed into a black light that pierced through Violet Cloud. After arriving in front of the Cleric, Traceless Blood spun in midair, using his dagger''s most powerful Additional Skill, Flowing Light, on the Cleric. Flowing Light''s single target damage was even higher than Absolute Strike. The Skill was also much faster, the entire process ending in less than a heartbeat. "You!" Traceless Blood''s eyes widened as he looked at his dagger in disbelief. No matter how much strength he put into his arm, his dagger could not pierce Violet Cloud''s pale golden robes. It was as if her robes were made of adamantine. "You are quite impressive. If I hadn''t activated Absolute Space at the first sign of danger, I would have most likely been dead by now," Violet Cloud said as she looked at the dagger with black runes. Those black runes looked very familiar to her. They were very similar to the runes unique to Magic Weapons. If the dagger wounded her, the consequences would be unimaginable. Since his attack had failed, although Traceless Blood was shocked, he immediately turned and fled. He abandoned the idea of attacking Violet Cloud as he knew that he could no longer inflict damage on the Cleric. Moreover, he did not know the duration of the Cleric''s Absolute Space. While she had that protection, he was no more than a living target. His only options were to run and hide. "You can''t escape!" Violet Cloud did not dare give Traceless Blood an opportunity to escape. Absolute Space had a relatively long Cooldown. If she allowed the Assassin to get away, she would not be able to fend him off should he come back to attack her again. Waving her finger, she used the Tier 1 Skill, Star''s Guidance. Immediately, a powerful gravitational force pulled at Traceless Blood, dragging him back towards Violet Cloud. What kind of Skill is this?! This was the first time Traceless Blood had seen such an unconventional Skill. He felt like small threads had wrapped around him, zealously pulling him towards his enemy. As a last resort, Traceless Blood used his Control Removal Skill, removing the effects of Star''s Guidance. "Sacred Seal!" Seeing that her attack had failed, Violet Cloud used Sacred Seal, a Marking Skill of Clerics. Suddenly, a sacred light appeared on Traceless Blood''s forehead, preventing him from entering Stealth. Damn it! She knows a Skill like this as well?! Traceless Blood began to panic. Not being able to enter Stealth was extremely disadvantageous for him. With this, he would not be able to sneak up on Violet Cloud later in the battle. Shortly after Traceless Blood began to flee, a black figure dashed towards him. "Don''t even think of escaping!" Shadow Sword lifted Tempest''s Breath and used Charge at the Assassin. Since Traceless Blood had already used his Control Removal Skill, he had no choice but to use Wind Steps, utilizing the 1 second of invulnerability the Skill provided to block Shadow Sword''s Charge. Turning around, Traceless Blood then flipped his dagger into a reverse-grip and plunged the weapon into Shadow Sword''s abdomen. Kidney Strike! As long as the Skill forced the Berserker into a Fainted state for two or three seconds, it would be enough for him to get away. Realizing that he could not block the incoming attack in time, Shadow Sword activated Whirlwind Slash, swinging Tempest''s Breath at Traceless Blood. Shadow Sword fully intended to trade hit for hit. Seeing this, Traceless Blood had no choice but to halt his attack and retreat immediately, evading Shadow Sword''s Whirlwind Slash. He was merely an Assassin. How could his normal attacks deal more damage than a Berserker? Moreover, he wore leather armor, whereas Berserkers wore plate armor. Even if his weapon were a Magic Weapon, a head-on clash could end with mutual destruction. Moreover, he currently occupied the rear line of the enemy''s formation. There were no healers to recover his HP. However, Shadow Sword was different. He had the assistance of a healer like Violet Cloud. The Berserker had no fear of a battle of attrition. Hence, when Shadow Sword attacked, there was no fear in his eyes at all. After evading Shadow Sword''s attack, Traceless Blood immediately turned and fled, having no desire to continue his clash with the Berserker. His opponents included an expert Cleric and an expert Berserker. He had very little confidence in defeating either one in a frontal assault, to begin with, not to mention fighting both simultaneously. However, Shadow Sword had no intentions of letting the Assassin get away so easily. Immediately, he followed his failed attack with Break and Thunderclap. When the Movement Speed Reduction effects of both Skills were compounded, Traceless Blood lost any hope of escaping the Berserker. Traceless Blood had no choice but to enter a melee with Shadow Sword. Peng! When the two weapons collided, dazzling sparks scattered into the surroundings. The impact forced Traceless Blood to retreat by three steps, a grim expression appearing on his face when he noticed his opponent still standing steadily in his original location. Why does he have so much Strength?! Traceless Blood acknowledged that his own Strength Attribute was quite high, even slightly higher than an ordinary Berserker. Yet, against Shadow Sword''s attack, this Berserker''s Strength overwhelmed him. The Magic Weapon he wielded granted him a significant amount of Strength. Even if Shadow Sword was superior in terms of Strength, the Berserker''s attack should not have been able to force him back by three steps. Even now, his hand still felt numb from the exchange. Zero Wing actually possesses so many top-tier experts? Smiling, Violet Cloud finished chanting her incantation. She then pointed her finger at Traceless Blood. Tier 1 Spell, Black Coffin! A pitch-black barrier suddenly wrapped around Traceless Blood. Having no other choice, Traceless Blood used Vanish. After activating Vanish, he would become invulnerable to all attacks momentarily. The Skill would also place him in a Forced Invisibility state for three seconds, followed by a Stealth state. Even Sacred Seal would not be effective during Forced Invisibility''s three seconds, and these three seconds were more than enough to put a huge distance between himself and the two experts. "Vanish?" Shadow Sword had no counter for this Skill either. This was the most powerful Lifesaving Skill an Assassin, one of the twelve major classes, possessed. Unless one had a Silencing Skill, it was extremely difficult to kill an expert Assassin. Three seconds later, Traceless Blood reappeared far from Shadow Sword. At this range, even the Berserker''s Charge would not reach him. Moreover, Assassin was an Agility-focused class. In terms of Movement Speed, an Assassin was much faster than a Berserker. In addition, Traceless Blood also possessed equipment that enhanced his speed. There was no way that Shadow Sword could catch up to him at this point. This was also why Traceless Blood had been able to escape after his assassination attempt on Galaxy Past had failed. "What''s this?" Traceless Blood suddenly noticed a black magic array beneath his feet. Although Traceless Blood struggled to get away, this black magic array was like a black hole. No matter how much he tried to struggle, he could not escape his fate of being devoured. In the next moment, the black magic array swallowed the Assassin whole, his body vanishing without a trace. When Traceless Blood saw light again, he was shocked. "How is this possible?!" He appeared a short distance from Violet Cloud once more. This time, however, he was surrounded by Mana Balls and Barriers of Light. The Berserker, Shadow Sword, also stood nearby. He had no options to flee the enclosement of the Barriers of Light. "I already told you that you can''t escape." Wielding a pitch-black key in her hand, Violet Cloud smiled at Traceless Blood and said calmly, "You have a Magic Weapon. I, too, have a Magic Weapon." To resolve a serious threat like Traceless Blood, Violet Cloud utilized her final trump card, Star''s Reminiscence. The Skill was also an Astromancer''s main weapon. One of the Skill''s effects was Spatial Imprisonment. When activated, Star''s Reminiscence would lock a target in the specified space indefinitely. If the target wished to escape their imprisonment, their only option was to shatter the spatial barrier or have the user dispel the Skill. Meanwhile, the user''s Mana determined how much damage the spatial barrier could absorb. It was a Skill with terrifying effects. However, the Skill also had a very long Cooldown of two hours. I''m actually going to die like this. Traceless Blood could not help but smile bitterly as he watched the Mana Balls that covered the sky and the Berserker that eyed him like a fierce tiger. 694 Zero Wings Strength Chapter 694 - Zero Wing''s Strength Stoneclaw Mountains, outer region: Currently, over 400 finely equipped Red Names pushed deeper into the Stoneclaw Mountains'' inner region. However, as they approached the area, not only were the monsters they encountered stronger, but the number of monsters they encountered also increased. Moreover, the more players there were on the team, the easier it was for monsters to discover them. As a result, battles occurred quite frequently. Initially, the group only encountered two to three hundred Level 35 Elite Half-orcs and a few Special Elite and Chieftain Half-orcs. Now, however, the group frequently encountered groups of four to five hundred Level 38 Elite Half-orcs led by Level 39 Half-orc Lords. The battles were twice as difficult now. "Our luck is terrible. These Half-orcs respawn so quickly." "If we had known that their respawn rates were so fast, we would not have wasted so much time on recruiting more members and let Traceless Blood get ahead of us." Many team members envied Traceless Blood''s team. To have better chances of defeating Zero Wing''s main force, they had spent a lot of time trying to recruit more members. Yet, now, they had to deal with all of these Half-orcs. It would still be some time before they would catch up with Zero Wing''s main force. "I heard that the battle has started already. I wonder if we can make it in time?" "We''d be more effective if we arrived late. After all, this is Zero Wing''s main force we are talking about. If Traceless Blood cannot wipe them out completely, we can pick up the scraps." "Hey, that''s Traceless Blood you''re talking about. With him on the offensive, do you really think many will get away?" "I guess that''s true. Let''s hurry, then. Otherwise, this trip will have been pointless." Realizing this, the team began to fight with more fervor. In God''s Domain, dark players and light players rarely interacted as both sides looked down on each other. To dark players, light players were merely a group of players with little to no combat capabilities. They were only good at grinding Dungeons. How could such players compare to their intense lifestyles of blood and blades? Hence, no matter how famous and powerful a Guild expert was, in the eyes of Red Names, these experts were insignificant existences. Red Names thought nothing of Light Guilds. "There''s a large group of players heading our way," a Ranger suddenly reported. "It can''t be Zero Wing''s main force, right? I didn''t think that they would give up so quickly. It seems that Zero Wing only amounts to so much. Those rumors about how powerful the Guild is are all just a bunch of lies," many Red Names began to ridicule and mock the Guild. "Alright, enough. Get ready. Do not let a single player from Zero Wing escape." They were quickly approaching the Stoneclaw Mountains inner region. Aside from Zero Wing and the ambushing Red Names, this area was empty of players. Since these players approached them from the inner region, they were, without a doubt, members of Zero Wing. Immediately, the 400-plus Red Names spread out and waited for Zero Wing to stumble right into their encirclement. Seconds ticked by. Very quickly, several dozen players emerged from the forest, each and every one of them looking miserable. These players panted heavily as they emerged. It was obvious that they had exhausted their Stamina from running across a long distance. Just as the Red Names, who lay in wait, were about to rush forward and surround these exhausted players, they suddenly realized that something was amiss. "Huh? Isn''t that Berserker Three Knives, the person ranking 91st on the Red List?" "Aren''t they members of Traceless Blood''s team?" "Why do they look so miserable?" A series of questions popped up in everyone''s minds. However, they soon found their answers. Suddenly, dozens of arrows and Spells burst from the forest. In the blink of an eye, several of the escaping Red Names fell to the ground and dropped several pieces of their equipment. Meanwhile, Three Knives, who ran at the forefront of the team, desperately blocked and dodged the incoming attacks. However, two arrows still found him, his HP instantly falling by nearly 3,000. "You think you can get away with provoking Zero Wing?" Minor Wind, who appeared at the treeline, coldly demanded as he glared at Three Knives. Behind him, more of Zero Wing''s members followed. "Since I can''t escape, I''ll take you to the grave with me!" Three Knives, who was exhausted from running, stopped as he resolved to fight to the death. The fight with Zero Wing''s main force had been one-sided punishment. Even their strongest combatant, Traceless Blood, had been easily defeated, not to mention the rest of their team. Less than five minutes since their battle with Zero Wing began, they had lost over half their numbers. On the other hand, Zero Wing had not suffered a single death. It was simply inconceivable. At that point, each side''s strength had been obvious. They were on completely different levels. Following which, he had issued a command to retreat immediately. When they started retreating, they still had more than 100 players. Now, however, only a dozen or so were alive. Minor Wind had claimed the majority of their members'' lives himself. Not only were the Ranger''s arrows extremely fast, but he also had ranged AOEs at his disposal. Even Three Knives, who ranked 91st on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Red List, could not defend against all of Minor Wind''s attacks, much less the members of his team. "Mutual destruction?" Minor Wind could not help but laugh. "Unfortunately, you are not capable of such a thing." Although Three Knives was strong, superior to even a few members of Zero Wing''s main force, the Berserker''s Skill Completion Rates were not high. After taking into account the difference in their equipment, Three Knives would rank roughly around 56th in Zero Wing''s main force. Of course, this was not taking the Power of Darkness into consideration. As Minor Wind said so, he nocked his longbow and shot dozens of arrows in quick succession at the remaining Red Names. Although Three Knives and the other Red Names tried to approach Minor Wind, over 40 yards stretched them and the Ranger. There was not enough time for them to reach the Ranger. Moreover, of the dozen or so remaining Red Names, not a single one was a ranged class. Hence, the group had no choice but to weather the rain of arrows as they advanced. However, the Tier 1 Weapon, Windchaser, was no trivial item. With it, Minor Wind could deal over -1,500 damage with his normal attacks alone. Three Knives and the others had, at most, a little over 7,000 HP. A few arrows were enough to finish them off. In addition, Minor Wind''s arrows would occasionally trigger the Quadruple Stars effect. Before the dozen or so Red Names crossed 10 yards, only Three Knives remained alive. Though, the Berserker only had a thread of HP left. The Red Names lying in ambush were all shocked. With just his bow, Minor Wind single-handedly defeated over a dozen Red Names before they came anywhere close to him. Even Three Knives was on his last breath. None of the Red Names lying in wait could believe their eyes. "Am I dreaming?" "Why is that Ranger so powerful?!" Suddenly, everyone realized that their fellow Red Names who had gone ahead to ambush Zero Wing were all dead. Moreover, the only survivor had no more than a thread of HP remaining. The gap between the light players in their imaginations and the members of Zero Wing''s main force was massive. "Oh? You called for reinforcements?" Minor Wind shifted his gaze towards the Red Names hiding in the bushes. With Eagle Eyes, he noticed more than 400 players. Grinning, he said, "Since Big Sis Fire and the others are not around, let''s use you guys to test out my true strength." When the Red Names heard Minor Wind''s words, a sense of doom seeped into their hearts. Minor Wind''s Attack Power was simply too high. Moreover, none of them were confident in escaping his rain of arrows unscathed. Three Knives was the best evidence for the assumption. Suddenly, the leading black-robed Elementalist jumped up from his hiding spot and shouted, "W-Wait!!" 695 Flower of Seven Sins Chapter 695 - Flower of Seven Sins The black-robed Elementalist was Level 33. On Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List, he would rank within the top 20. The majority of his equipment consisted of Level 30 Fine-Gold rank, while the rest was Dark-Gold rank. Particularly, his staff, which sported a spiral of flame-red runes, was no ordinary Dark-Gold staff. "Sunlight Dust!" Three Knives was shocked when he saw the black-robed Elementalist reveal himself. "What are you doing here?" Among the top ten experts on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Red List, Traceless Blood ranked seventh. Meanwhile, Sunlight Dust stood above Traceless Blood, ranking third on the Red List. The Red List was different from the Ranking List. Rather than ranking players by their Levels, players on the Red List were judged by their strength. It was a far more accurate estimation than the God''s Domain Experts List the Secret Pavilion had created. "So you''re Sunlight Dust, the person who defeated Red Feather, the Star Alliance''s apex expert." Minor Wind grew serious as he watched Sunlight Dust. Coldly, he asked, "Are you targeting Zero Wing as well?" Red Feather was one of the strongest combatants in the Star Alliance and was an expert who ranked on the God''s Domain Experts List. The fact that Sunlight Dust could defeat an apex expert like Red Feather showed that the Elementalist should also rank at the top of Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, even he could not afford to be careless around Sunlight Dust; even the slightest mistake could result in his death. "Initially, I had only planned to earn a quick buck. Now, however, it seems that won''t be possible," Sunlight Dust said as he turned to an empty area near Minor Wind. Shaking his head, he said, "Zero Wing really has an abundance of experts. Its fame is not undeserved." Seeing Sunlight Dust''s reaction, Three Knives was very confused. With Sunlight Dust''s strength and that of his companions, they could make short work of Minor Wind, yet the expert Elementalist chose to surrender. A figure suddenly appeared beside Minor Wind. This figure was none other than Flying Shadow, who had been in Stealth all this time. "I''m impressed. He actually sensed me from so far away," Flying Shadow muttered in surprise. With his standards, aside from their Guild Leader, Black Flame, only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud could detect him from such a long distance. One could just imagine how powerful Sunlight Dust was. "You can''t expect this matter to end just because you revealed yourself, right?" Flying Shadow growled as he stared at Sunlight Dust. Sunlight Dust and his companions had aimed for Zero Wing from the very beginning. And yet, the instant the situation turned sour, they wanted to just up and leave. It was nothing more than disrespectful. "Of course not," Sunlight Dust said calmly. "I have very useful information for Zero Wing. Let us offer this as compensation. What do you think?" "What kind of information?" Flying Shadow asked. "Currently, only Red Names and small Workshops are targeting Zero Wing. However, this is only the beginning. I''ve heard that our employer is in the process of hiring the Flower of Seven Sins as well," Sunlight Dust said slowly. At the mention of the name "Flower of Seven Sins," everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. There were many powers in the virtual gaming world. There were Guilds, Workshops, and special organizations such as the Flower of Seven Sins. The Flower of Seven Sins was neither a Workshop nor a Guild. However, the organization''s name shook the virtual gaming world. Their fame was so widespread was because the Flower of Seven Sins was an organization specializing in assassination work. They targeted gamers'' characters, specifically. As long as a virtual reality game possessed a PvP mechanism, the Flower of Seven Sins would be present. And as long as a player could afford their price, whether it was a monster-like gamer or the Guild Leader of a Super Guild, the Flower of Seven Sins could assassinate their target. Moreover, these statements were not without proof. In the past, someone had paid to have the Guild Leader of a Super Guild eliminated. In the end, the Flower of Seven Sins completed the task. Back then, the organization had greatly angered said Super Guild, causing said Super Guild to declare war against the organization. In the end, however, this Super Guild ceased to exist. The Flower of Seven Sins tore the Guild apart thoroughly and removed its name from the virtual gaming world forever. However, the Flower of Seven Sins'' asking price was extremely high. No ordinary person could afford it. Fire Dance suddenly appeared in between the two groups. In a grave tone, she asked, "Are you telling us the truth?" Fire Dance''s sudden appearance surprised even Sunlight Dust, causing the Elementalist to feel an immense pressure. I actually failed to detect her at such a close distance?! Sunlight Dust wore a grave expression as he looked at Fire Dance. This was the first time anyone had come so close to him undetected. He possessed a Special Skill that granted him greater perception than ordinary players. Otherwise, he would not have so easily discovered Flying Shadow. If Fire Dance attacked him at such a close distance, he would likely die. Zero Wing really is scary. It''s no wonder that person is hiring the Flower of Seven Sins. Sunlight Dust finally realized. He then turned to Fire Dance, smiling bitterly as he responded, "I guarantee that this information is true. However, as to what that person has requested the Flower of Seven Sins to do, even I have no clue." "You may leave." Fire Dance dismissed them with a wave of her hand. Whether Sunlight Dust was lying to her or not, she doubted his words. Experts had their own pride to protect. It was especially true for an apex expert like Sunlight Dust. Following which, Sunlight Dust led his team away. As for Three Knives, he was not allowed to leave with his life. Flying Shadow immediately ended the Berserker''s life as negotiations ended. As for Sunlight Dust, he did not particularly mind. Although he and Three Knives were both Red Names, they were not companions, and he had no obligation to rescue Three Knives. "Big Sis Fire, what are we going to do now?" Flying Shadow asked worriedly as he sheathed his daggers. Every player''s heart was familiar with the terror of the Flower of Seven Sins. Until today, they had never once failed a job. Even Super Guilds did not dare to provoke the Flower of Seven Sins. Such an organization targeted Zero Wing Even with Zero Wing''s current strength, Flying Shadow doubted that they could fend off the Flower of Seven Sins. "This matter is of utmost importance. Let''s discuss it with Aqua and Guild Leader first." Fire Dance had no idea of what to do now. The Flower of Seven Sins'' reputation was simply too immense. Anyone who had touched a virtual reality game knew about the organization. The Flower of Seven Sins was a transcendental existence among gamers. If the Flower of Seven Sins truly intended to annihilate Zero Wing, then this would be the greatest danger their Guild had ever faced. --- The Top of the World, Mount Sogar: With the aid of two Tier 3 Demons, Shi Feng finally managed to locate a pair of massive locked doors near the top of Mount Sogar. Engraved runes decorated the stone doors and black chains bound them, each chain giving off a faint pressure. This pressure was familiar to Shi Feng. Divine Might! Although the Divine Might the chains exuded was faint, no one who had encountered Divine Might would forget the sensation. Shi Feng had already reached Level 34. His level was high enough for him to rank within the top 3 of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List. On Mount Sogar, however, he was an insignificant existence. If he had not possessed two Tier 3 Demons, he would not have made it up to this point. Shi Feng had encountered multiple Level 50 Lords on his way up the mountain. With his strength alone, unless he activated the Aura of Space''s Space Movement, he would not have survived. Meanwhile, a gigantic beast stood guard beside the massive pair of stone doors. This quest is absurdly difficult on so many levels Shi Feng inwardly laughed bitterly as he watched the gigantic beast. [Nine-headed Magic Snake] (Ferocious Beast, Great Lord) Level 55 HP 90,000,000/90,000,000 696 Ferocious Beas Chapter 696 - Ferocious Beast Ferocious Beasts were different from general Wild and Demonic Beasts. They belonged to the ancient era. During ancient times, Ferocious Beasts were monsters that fought even Gods. Some Ferocious Beasts had even managed to kill Gods. Ferocious Beasts were on the same level as Angels and Dragons, possessing the strength to challenge opponents of a higher Tier. In the past, Shi Feng had watched large Guilds raid Ferocious Beasts, and he could describe those battles with a single wordintense. Once, an army of ten thousand elite players and several hundred first-rate and top-tier experts had attempted to raid a Ferocious Beast. The players had all been above Level 100, whereas the Ferocious Beast had only been Level 90. Some of those players had even been Tier 3 classes. In the end, although the players defeated the Ferocious Beast, over 95% of the elites and half of the experts had died. There was a massive difference in strength between players at Level 90 and players at Level 100. It was like the difference between Level 40 and Level 50. Equipment''s Attributes would undergo a massive improvement at the Level 100 threshold. Monsters received a similar boost. Yet, even with such a huge difference, the players who faced off against the Ferocious Beast still suffered devastating losses. Although the Nine-headed Magic Snake was only a Great Lord, unlike the Level 90 Ferocious Beast that had been a Level 90 Grand Lord, it was still a much higher level than Shi Feng. At the very minimum, it would take a party of Level 60 players to take down a Level 55 Great Lord ranked Ferocious Beast. In Shi Feng''s opinion, if he wanted to kill this Ferocious Beast, he needed at least 500 Level 60 and above Tier 2 players. Moreover, they would need excellent equipment. Particularly, their weapons should be at least Dark-Gold rank. Facing the Nine-headed Magic Snake with any less would be suicide. Unlike other monsters, Ferocious Beasts did not just possess immense combat power. They also possessed the lifeforce passed down from ancient times. In combat, ordinary monsters'' battle recovery would only regenerate 1% of their HPs every five seconds. Ferocious Beasts'' battle recovery, on the other hand, regenerated 3% of their HPs every five seconds. A Ferocious Beast''s HP already ranked at the very top among monsters. They were practically Bug-like[1] existences. The Nine-headed Magic Snake had 90,000,000 HP. In battle, it could recover 2,700,000 HP every five seconds. Even if Shi Feng multiplied his damage output by ten, and the Great Lord stood motionless, he could not kill it. With such a powerful monster guarding the doors, it had been made clear that underestimating this quest''s difficulty would be a mistake. Even an Epic Quest wasn''t this absurdly difficult. Fortunately, it doesn''t seem like I''m required to kill the Nine-headed Magic Snake to pass through those doors. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief as he shifted his gaze towards a small circular indentation in the stone doors. The indentation was the perfect size for the Elemental Core. Weissman had said that the Elemental Core was both a map and a key. Since there was a keyhole in the stone doors, he just needed to insert the Elemental Core to open them. Moreover, with the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s massive body, it would not be able to cross the threshold. As long as Shi Feng reached the other side of the doors, he should be safe from the Ferocious Beast. However, trying to open the doors under the Snake''s nose was not going to be easy. It seems like I''ll have to sacrifice the Purgatory Demon. Shi Feng noticed that the Purgatory Demon''s time in this world was already nearing its end. Since it was going to disappear soon anyway, he might as well put it to good use. The Purgatory Demon had 13,000,000 HP. It should buy him some time. Immediately, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill and sent his doppelganger away. With this, should his life be in danger, he could escape. As the doppelganger distanced itself from Shi Feng''s group, the Swordsman directed the Purgatory Demon to charge towards the Nine-headed Magic Snake. Next to the Nine-headed Magic Snake, which was over 30 meters tall, the Purgatory Demon looked like an insect. One bite from one of the Great Lord would be enough to devour several Purgatory Demons. When the Purgatory Demon was 30 yards away from the Nine-headed Magic Snake, the latter yawned lazily as it whipped its tail forward. Suddenly, the hill-like snake tail appeared before the Purgatory Demon. Before Shi Feng could react, the Snake sent his Purgatory Demon hurtling into a nearby stone wall. When the Purgatory Demon slammed into the wall, a damage that the Demon had never experienced before appeared above its head. -267,849. Shi Feng''s mouth twitched when he saw those numbers. This damage far surpassed his expectations. With a casual strike, the Nine-headed Magic Snake dealt nearly -270,000 damage. Despite both creatures being Tier 3, the difference in strength was like heaven and earth. "Since I can''t approach it, what about this?" Shi Feng did not dare direct the Purgatory Demon to approach the Ferocious Beast again. Instead, he used the Tier 3 Skill, Garuda''s Flames. Suddenly, a sea of fire rushed towards the Nine-headed Magic Snake. This time, the Ferocious Beast finally woke. Suddenly, one of its snakeheads opened its mouth and inhaled. The beast sucked the flaming tide into its mouth, devouring the fire in the blink of an eye. "This" Even Shi Feng was stunned. This was his first battle against a Ferocious Beast. Although he had known that the Purgatory Demon was no match for the Nine-headed Magic Snake, he had not expected the Ferocious Beast to fend off the Purgatory Demon''s attack with little to no effort. The difference between them was absurd. After devouring the sea of fire, that snakehead turned to stare at the Purgatory Demon. In the next moment, it widened its mouth and spat out a more powerful version of Garuda''s Flames. The flames were extremely fast, and it took everything Shi Feng had just to get the Purgatory Demon to dodge those flames. As for the sturdy stone walls that bore the brunt of the molten attack, not only did the flames effortlessly tear through the walls, but the stone also melted into glowing lava. In an instant, over 50 meters of the stone wall disappeared. "Is this the strength of the Nine-headed Magic Snake?" Shi Feng was utterly baffled. At this point, he even began to doubt whether the Nine-headed Magic Snake was just a Great Lord. Even several thousand Tier 2 players would not be a match for the Ferocious Beast. Moreover, based on the Magic Snake''s lazy attitude, it was obvious that the Ferocious Beast was simply toying with him. It had yet to utilize its true potential. Helpless, Shi Feng could only use his final trump card. The Purgatory Demon''s Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Spatial Suppression! If he could not shift the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s attention towards the Purgatory Demon, he would not have a chance to open the stone doors. The power of a Tier 3 Taboo Skill could rival even an ordinary Tier 4 Skill. As the Nine-headed Magic Snake was both a Great Lord and a Ferocious Beast, its combat power should be equivalent to Tier 4. In theory, a Tier 3 Taboo Skill should deal damage to the Nine-headed Magic Snake. Moreover, the damage should be relatively high. When the Purgatory Demon swung its war axe at the Nine-headed Magic Snake, Shi Feng silently prayed that the attack would wound the Great Lord. Even a small amount of damage would be fine. This time, the Nine-headed Magic Snake finally raised all nine of its heads, its eyes locked onto the Purgatory Demon''s incoming war axe. Suddenly, a hint of gravity appeared in its amber eyes. Let this succeed! Shi Feng tightened his grip around the Elemental Core, focused on the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s reaction. When Spatial Suppression activated, everything the space surrounding the Nine-headed Magic Snake suddenly grew incomparably heavy. One could not move if they tried. Yet, the Nine-headed Magic Snake still moved. Although it was extremely slow, it was still capable of moving under the Spatial Suppression. However, as its tail moved very slowly, Shi Feng could easily control the Purgatory Demon to avoid the attack. The Demon''s war axe then struck one of the Fierce Beast''s heads. Boom! The Nine-headed Magic Snake instantly lost that head as it fell to the ground, forming a massive crater. Meanwhile, the other eight heads simultaneously screamed in pain as a massive amount of damage appeared above them. -605,791! TL Notes: [1] Bug-like: This isn''t referring to a literal bug. It''s referring to a computer program or system error. 697 Super-large-scale Destruction Spell Chapter 697 - Super-large-scale Destruction Spell After suddenly losing one of its heads, the Magic Snake''s eight remaining heads glared at the Purgatory Demon, rage filling their amber eyes. Less than a second later, however, the dismembered head grew back. All nine of the Great Lord''s heads then abruptly opened their mouths and spat out a gray beam. Despite receiving a Tier 3 Taboo Skill, the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s combat power had not decreased in the slightest. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng hurriedly directed the Purgatory Demon to evade the beams and distance itself from the Ferocious Beast. Anything the Snake''s beams touched turned into gray stone. However, as the beast had fired nine gray beams, due to Shi Feng''s lack of control over the Purgatory Demon, he accidentally allowed one of the beams to strike on the Demon. Instantly, the Purgatory Demon lost over 500,000 HP. Moreover, it was also afflicted with the Petrified state, stealing more than 200,000 HP every two seconds and 60% of its Movement Speed for 30 seconds. "Isn''t this Petrification Skill a little too strong?!" Shi Feng used the Aura of Water''s Skill, Life Bloom, on the Purgatory Demon the moment he saw the debuff''s description. While Petrified, not only would the Purgatory Demon lose massive amounts of HP, but the Nine-headed Magic Snake could also easily catch up to it due to the Movement Speed reduction. If that happened, the Purgatory Demon would be a goner in less than 30 seconds. With Life Bloom, however, the Purgatory Demon''s HP recovered at an impressive rate. Life Bloom recovered 60% of its target''s HP every second. With the Purgatory Demon''s 13,000,000 HP, even if the Nine-headed Magic Snake were more powerful, it would not instantly kill the Demon. Hence, for the next 40 seconds, the Purgatory Demon was nearly invulnerable. Immediately, Shi Feng used the Purgatory Demon to lure the Nine-headed Magic Snake away from the massive stone doors. Once the Ferocious Beast was 40 yards away, and Shi Feng was sure that it focused on the Purgatory Demon fully, Shi Feng activated Windwalk and dashed towards the stone doors. Time ticked by, second after second. As Shi Feng approached the massive stone doors, his heart rate rose rapidly. If the Nine-headed Magic Snake discovered him now, he would die without a doubt. Even if he relied on the temporarily-immortal Purgatory Demon, he could not stop the Ferocious Beast from grinding him to a pulp. By the time Shi Feng arrived at the stone doors, over six seconds had passed. Meanwhile, the Purgatory Demon had lured the Nine-headed Magic Snake 100 yards away from the stone doors and desperately tried to pin it down, earning as much time for Shi Feng as possible. To the Nine-headed Magic Snake, the Purgatory Demon was practically a toy. Again and again, the Ferocious Beast smashed the Purgatory Demon into the ground, damages in the hundreds of thousands appearing above the Demon''s head. The Purgatory Demon had no power to resist. Without wasting any time, Shi Feng immediately inserted the Elemental Core into the small hole in the doors. Suddenly, the magic arrays on the Elemental Core and inside the circular hole shifted and aligned. They then released a faint, golden light. The runes covering the pair of stone doors lit up, releasing a dazzling golden glow. A moment later, the chains around the stone doors began to shatter. Faster! Hurry up! Shi Feng''s anxiety mounted as he watched the chains break, one after another. There were over 20 chains around the doors, yet each one took a full second to break. It would take more than 20 seconds for the stone doors to open. As the chains shattered, the initially weak Divine Might grew stronger. This is bad! Shi Feng frowned as he turned to the Nine-headed Magic Snake, which currently toyed with the Purgatory Demon. With the Divine Might growing stronger, even he could sense it clearly now, not to mention the Ferocious Beast that had guarded the doors all this time. Sure enough, the Nine-headed Magic Snake sensed the increasing Divine Might, and it could not help but turn to look at the stone doors. Suddenly, it whipped its tail and sent the Purgatory Demon flying before turning and slithered towards Shi Feng. Meanwhile, ten chains remained on the doors. With the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s speed, it did not need that much time to reach him. With no other choice, Shi Feng directed the Curse Demon to use the Tier 3 Skill, Spiritual Blade, to attack the Ferocious Beast. Spiritual Blade was not just a Magical Attack Skill; it was also capable of forcing its target into a Confused state for 15 seconds. The Skill could earn him enough time for the doors to open. This time, due to the stone doors being unlocked, the Nine-headed Magic Snake did not bother blocking the Spiritual Blade. Immediately, the Ferocious Beast received over -300,000 damage, releasing a pained cry as its massive body slid to a halt. Its eyes glazed over slightly. "Good." Shi Feng unconsciously sighed with relief. Although the Nine-headed Magic Snake possessed relatively high Magic Resistance, in the end, it was still only a Great Lord. A Tier 3 Skill should still be effective against it. As the chains continued to shatter, the Ferocious Beast''s glazed eyes gradually regained clarity. By the time the last three chains remained, the Nine-headed Magic Snake woke from its stupor. It then released an earth-shaking roar, its cold, amber eyes suddenly turning blood-red. Widening its mouths, it fired multiple gray beams once more. The Nine-headed Magic Snake had spat a total of nine gray beams. Each one was more than enough to kill Shi Feng instantly. Moreover, the nine beams sealed off any path of retreat. Shi Feng had nowhere to go. Immediately, Shi Feng activated his Replace Skill. In the next moment, Shi Feng''s doppelganger lost all of its HP as it transformed into a gray statue. Following which, the doppelganger shattered, becoming dust that scattered in the wind. It could not resist the beams in the slightest. Seeing Shi Feng vanish completely, the Nine-headed Magic Snake shifted its attention towards the Curse Demon. Shi Feng immediately directed the Curse Demon to escape. To the Nine-headed Magic Snake, however, the Curse Demon was simply too slow. After the Demon had taken a few steps, the Ferocious Beast caught up to it. With a whip of its tail, the Nine-headed Magic Snake sent the Curse Demon into a stone wall, destroying over 400,000 HP instantly. In less than three seconds, the Curse Demon lost over 2,000,000 HP. This is my chance. Shi Feng realized that all of the chains had finally broken. He activated Space Movement and arrived before the doors once more. Stretching out his hand, he twisted the Elemental Core. As the Elemental Core produced a "click" sound, the massive stone doors gradually opened. Turning to take a look, the Nine-headed Magic Snake froze. It had never imagined that Shi Feng would appear again. Thinking that its previous Skill had been too weak, all nine of the Great Lord''s heads stretched open their jaws once more. This time, however, the heads did not spit gray beams. Suddenly, a massive threefold magic array appeared above the stone doors. The sky suddenly darkened as black winds moaned. The massive magic array covered a radius of 300 yards, and even the distant Purgatory Demon and Curse Demon were within the Ferocious Beast''s attack range. Shi Feng''s excited expression dropped. Shi Feng had seen this Spell before. The Tier 3 Curse, Dark Gale. The Curse was a super-large-scale destruction Spell that lasted ten full seconds. At this moment, Shi Feng had no defense against this Spell. The Seven Luminaries Ring was still on Cooldown, so he could not switch to the Aura of Earth or the Aura of Illusion. As for Defensive Blade, the Skill''s block counts were not enough to block the Dark Gale completely. As the black gale tore at him, Shi Feng said his prayers as he activated Defensive Blade. The wind devoured all life it touched. In the blink of an eye, the Defensive Blade''s nine block counts had been exhausted. Dark Gale had caused nine instances of damage in just one second. Even with his Tier 1 Defensive Blade, Shi Feng would not last two seconds. Meanwhile, the Purgatory Demon and Curse Demon each lost nearly 500,000 HP every second. The Nine-headed Magic Snake''s damage was terrifying. "What a pity." As the black wind surrounded him, Shi Feng felt somewhat disappointed. He was a thread away from opening and entering the stone doors. He had never imagined that the Nine-headed Magic Snake would be so vicious to use a Tier 3 Curse. Moreover, it was a super-large-scale destruction Spell. The Ferocious Beast gave him no chance. As the black wind swept in for a second attack Suddenly, the threefold magic array in the sky began to disappear. The dark gale also dissipated into nothingness. Before Shi Feng could figure out what was happening, the Nine-headed Magic Snake cried painfully as its body rapidly turned into stone. It then shattered into dust and rubble. Three shimmering items fell on top of the pile of rubble. The sound of a system notification suddenly reached Shi Feng''s ears. "This is" 698 Strengthening Device Chapter 698 - Strengthening Device By now, Shi Feng was quite familiar with the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s strength. To current players, it was practically invincible. It didn''t matter how many players came here to raid it. Meanwhile, in Shi Feng''s mind, he had never actually thought of killing the Nine-headed Magic Beast. Since the beginning, he had only thought of luring it away from the stone doors. He had never expected the Great Lord to die. For a time, Shi Feng was speechless. However, when he heard the sound of the system notification, he more or less understood what had happened. System: Blood Refining Passage has been opened. Do you wish to enter? (Time remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes) So it turns out that, as this place''s guardian beast, if the stone doors open, the guardian dies. It''s no wonder why the Nine-headed Magic Snake was so desperate. Shi Feng inwardly celebrated as he stared at the rubble that used to be the Nine-headed Magic Snake. Unfortunately, he had not killed the Snake. Otherwise, with the EXP from the Ferocious Beast, he might have risen several levels. With the stone doors open and quite some time before they closed again, Shi Feng did not hurry into the Blood Refining Passage. Instead, he approached the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s remains, hoping to take a closer look at what items the Ferocious Beast had dropped. Although he was not responsible for the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s death, as a monster, it would still drop some items after dying. Only, it would drop significantly fewer items. The Nine-headed Magic Snake had been a Great Lord ranked Ferocious Beast. Even the most inferior item it would drop was not something one would find from an ordinary Great Lord. Among the three items, one was a magical, pure-black cube covered with blood-red runes. The item was called Blood Refining Stone, and it could be used inside the Blood Refining World. As for the other two items, one was a silver, fang-like dagger, while the other was a drawing. Sure enough, a Ferocious Beast''s loot is amazing. It even dropped an Epic dagger. Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. [Petrified Thorn] (Dagger, Epic Rank) Level 40 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 550, Agility 400 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +1,165 (Currently Level 40) Strength +92, Agility +101, Endurance +60 Strength increased by 10%. Agility increased by 10% Attack Speed +12 Evasion +20 All Skills +2 Levels Ignore Levels +20 Ignore 20% of the target''s Defense. Damage from sneak attacks increase by 20%. Level requirement to equip all items decreased by 5 Levels. Durability 300/300 Attacks have: 30% chance to inflict Petrified effect, reducing target''s weapon damage by 10% each second and Movement Speed by 60% for 6 seconds. 30% chance to trigger Fatal Blow effect, increasing damage by 220%. Additional Skill 1- Devour Magic: Absorbs magic damage equal to 300% of user''s maximum HP for 15 seconds. Damage absorbed can be converted into a single attack, dealing twice the amount of damage absorbed to an area of 5*50 yards in front of user. Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Skill 2- Petrification Domain: Enemies within 50 yards receive 500% weapon damage and have their Movement Speed reduced by 50% for 10 seconds. Increases the user''s Agility, Strength, and Movement Speed with each target hit. Agility and Strength can increase to a maximum of 30%, while Movement Speed can increase to a maximum of 100% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour Fire Dance really lucked out this time. She''ll be able to equip this once she reaches Level 40. Only, the dagger''s Strength requirement is somewhat high. I''ll have to figure out a way to increase her Strength. Shi Feng happily stored away the Petrified Thorn. Although the Truefire Blades Fire Dance wielded were top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons, they were on a completely different level compared to the Petrified Thorn. At the end of the day, even the most powerful Dark-Gold Weapon was only a mortal''s weapon. An Epic Weapon, on the other hand, was a true Extraordinary Weapon. The Petrified Thorn''s Attack Power was especially frightening. The dagger''s 1,165 Attack Power was even higher than a Level 40 Dark-Gold ranked two-handed weapon. Not to mention, there were the Strength and Agility increases the dagger provided. If Fire Dance equipped this dagger, she could slice through players as if she were dicing vegetables. Following which, Shi Feng''s gaze shifted towards the tattered drawing. [Strengthening Device Forging Design] Can strengthen player equipment, significantly reducing the consumption of Durability. Required materials: 1 Magic Crystal, 10 Mithril Ore, 2 Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions, and 1 Basic Alchemy Array. "Is this real?! Even something like this dropped?" Shi Feng muttered in surprise. In God''s Domain, monsters would grow more powerful as they reached higher levels. Take the monsters players currently faced for example;, not only did they possess very high Attack Power, but they could also significantly reduce equipment Durability. It was why the various Guilds were forced to repair their equipment in Stone Forest Town. Players could repair weapons with Whetstones and Advanced Whetstones. However, there were no such recovery items for equipment. However, there were items that could reinforce equipment. The Strengthening Device was one such item. Only, its forging design was extremely hard to obtain. It only dropped from Level 50 and above Great Lord ranked Field Bosses. Dungeons would not drop the design. Moreover, the Strengthening Device was a Consumable item. It could not be permanently equipped. Fortunately, the forging process was very simple, and the item also had relatively high Durability. Players could put it to good use for a relatively long period. If they dodged attacks properly, they could extend the Strengthening Device''s lifespan even further. However, one of the raw materials required was not that easy to obtain. While Mithril Ore, Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions, and Basic Alchemy Arrays were both cheap and easily available, it was a different story for Magic Crystals. Magic Crystals were always rare and valuable. Hence, crafting Strengthening Devices was expensive. Each one would cost roughly 30 Silver to produce. Even so, there were still a large number of players willing to purchase it. While ordinary players were willing to waste some time traveling back to towns and cities to repair their equipment, large Guilds were not as willing. To them, time was money. In the past, a Strengthening Device''s standard price was 2 Gold. During its peak, however, the price soared to 4 Gold due to high demand and low supply. Currently, the various large Guilds of Star-Moon Kingdom and several neighboring kingdoms had sent many of their members to the Stoneclaw Mountains. Obviously, the Strengthening Devices could offer some convenience. Just the amount of time and repair fees the Strengthening Devices could save them were worth more than 4 Gold. It seems I''ll have to find some opportunity to grind Level 50 Field Great Lords. With one Strengthening Device Forging Design, I won''t even be able to produce enough for the Guild members. Shi Feng suddenly thought of a profitable business idea. If he waited too long, the Strengthening Devices would not be as profitable. Just as Shi Feng finished organizing his items and was about to enter the Blood Refining Passage He suddenly discovered over a hundred unread messages in his inbox. Among them, over 90% were from Aqua Rose. There were also messages from Gentle Snow and Fire Dance. They had all sent these messages around the same time. After he had reached Mount Sogar''s core, he had worried that he would get himself killed while receiving a message. Hence, he had blocked all calls and messages for the time being. "What happened? Why are they so anxious?" Shi Feng wondered as he opened the messages. 699 Banished Chapter 699 - Banished "The Flower of Seven Sins?" A serious expression overcame Shi Feng when he saw this name. He had not expected that Exemplary Willow to be so vicious. It would have been fine had she just hired a bunch of Red Names and small Workshops to harass Zero Wing. At most, it would make things a little difficult for the Guild. However, it was a completely different story if she hired the Flower of Seven Sins. As a mysterious assassin organization of the virtual gaming world, nearly every virtual reality game contained traces of the Flower of Seven Sins. In the past, the Flower of Seven Sins had even developed itself into one of God''s Domain''s peak powers. No Guild could afford to offend the Flower of Seven Sins. As long as one could afford the organization''s price, these assassins could even take out a Super Guild''s Guild Leader. Everyone was afraid of them. In the past, five Super Guilds had banded together to suppress the Flower of Seven Sins, threatening to retaliate if the organization accepted any assassination requests on their respective Guilds'' upper echelons. Unfortunately, those Super Guilds'' efforts had been futile. In less than ten days, all five Super Guilds gave up on suppressing the assassin organization; the Flower of Seven Sins had made a statement by killing their upper echelons once. There were even God-ranked experts among those who had died. From then on, the various Super Guilds in God''s Domain no longer bothered with the Flower of Seven Sins. Back then, the incident had shaken God''s Domain. The Flower of Seven Sins had become a power that no one would dare provoke. However, the organization''s asking price was also extraordinarily high. Even Open Source Corporation should feel a sting from the cost of hiring the organization. Exemplary Willow must''ve hired the Flower of Seven Sins to deal with Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Even OSC can''t afford to target the entire Guild. Shi Feng gave the situation some thought. The best method to deal with Zero Wing was to kill the Guild''s upper echelons to Level 0. This would certainly collapse both Zero Wing''s strength and reputation. As for the possibility of the Flower of Seven Sins failing to carry out their contract Since its creation, the Flower of Seven Sins had never once failed a job. Their strength was practically endless. Even Shi Feng was not confident of surviving an assassination attempt from the Flower of Seven Sins right now, not to mention the Guild''s other members. If I remember correctly, before the Flower of Seven Sins takes action, the organization usually invests some time to investigate their target'' before taking action. In the past, the Flower of Seven Sins would take anywhere from five to ten days to collect information. If Exemplary Willow went directly to them and hired the organization after she returned from our meeting, I should still have roughly four days before the organization takes action. If their target is much stronger than their initial estimations, the Flower of Seven Sins will adjust their quote to their employer and will only take action after their employer agrees to the new price. Right now, the best way to avoid this mess is to increase the strength of the Guild''s upper echelons significantly within four days, forcing the Flower of Seven Sins to renew their price. If that happened, Exemplary Willow might not consider the price worth it and give up on the organization altogether. Shi Feng had some understanding of the Flower of Seven Sins'' rules and pricing. Killing a system-recognized, third-rate expert cost 500,000 Credits. The price increased depending on the expert''s strength. Moreover, this was only the price for one death. As for system-recognized, second-rate experts, the minimum asking price was 3,000,000 Credits. The minimum price for first-rate experts was 10,000,000 Credits. Top-tier experts cost 100,000,000 Credits at the very minimum. Above them would be apex experts, and the organization charged upwards of 500,000,000 Credits for each kill. Ordinary people could never afford the Flower of Seven Sins. Only those large Guilds and corporations with significant financial strength could do so. However, rather than spend so much money to kill an opponent, it was more cost effective to send their own men to get the job done. Hence, only when one had no other options would they employ the Flower of Seven Sins. This was precisely the case for Exemplary Willow right now. At this point, even the Star Alliance was helpless against Zero Wing in the Star-Moon Kingdom, not to mention Twilight Echo, which did not have the home ground advantage. The cost of killing Zero Wing''s upper echelons to Level 0 was astronomical. Only a massive existence like the Open Source Corporation could afford such a price. Currently, the Flower of Seven Sins had yet to determine the strength of Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Based on Shi Feng''s estimates, killing a fifth-floor expert of the Trial Tower should cost at least 500,000 Credits, a sixth-floor expert would cost at least 3,000,000 Credits, a seventh-floor expert would cost around 10,000,000 Credits, and an eight-floor expert should cost at least 100,000,000 Credits. Currently, Zero Wing upper management consisted of more than 20 players, and the majority were sixth-floor experts. Only Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had reached the seventh floor. If everyone could improve their strength, the cost of killing them would increase exponentially. At that time, even OSC would have to reconsider. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose, instructing her to turn the Guild''s upper echelons'' focus on improving their strength and progressing through the Trial Tower as much as possible. Shi Feng would also go all-out to supply everyone with the Hundred Berry Wine. Although Aqua Rose did not understand Shi Feng''s intentions, since he had given the order, she had no choice but to do as he wished. For a time, Zero Wing''s upper echelons ceased grinding monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Instead, they focused on their progression in the Trial Tower. As for Gentle Snow''s message, she wanted to inform Shi Feng of OSC''s investment into the Star Alliance, becoming one of the Guild''s major shareholders. She also stated that OSC intended to deal with Zero Wing, so he should be wary of the Star Alliance. Naturally, Shi Feng had already taken appropriate measures to protect Zero Wing. Hence, not long after Shi Feng read Gentle Snow''s message, shocking news spread throughout Star-Moon City. Stone Forest Town was no longer open to the Star Alliance. Any Guild that was affiliated with the Star Alliance was also barred from Stone Forest Town. This incident instantly attracted the attention of every player in the capital city. Everyone was confused as to why Zero Wing would suddenly declare war against the Star Alliance. The Stoneclaw Mountains had long since become an iconic symbol of Star-Moon City. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town was an indispensable resting place for players grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Without this resting place, the Star Alliance would fall far behind the other Guilds. Of course, the Star Alliance could seek the aid of others to help them repair their equipment in Stone Forest Town. However, Shi Feng had prepared for that as well. Shi Feng had limited the amount of equipment players could repair. In other words, in addition to one''s own equipment, players visiting Stone Forest Town could only help one other player repair a set of equipment once. Moreover, he also placed a limit on the players'' Levels; only players who were Level 30 or above were allowed to repair their equipment in the town. With this, he restricted the Star Alliance''s options of repairing equipment in Stone Forest Town. --- "Can someone tell me what is going on here?" When Galaxy Past received this information, he nearly jumped out of his seat from anger. The situation had changed so suddenly that even Galaxy Past did not understand what had happened. Why had Zero Wing turned against them? The Star Alliance had only considered striking out against Zero Wing. The Guild had yet to take such considerations seriously. Yet, Zero Wing chose to humiliate the Star Alliance publicly. The Star Alliance had already mobilized the majority of its combat power to the Stoneclaw Mountains. If the Star Alliance''s members could not rest in Stone Forest Town, how was the Guild supposed to compete with the other Guilds? Silence filled conference hall. This was the first time anyone had seen Galaxy Past so furious. "Guild Leader, maybe Zero Wing made this move because they think that we are becoming too big of a threat?" Purple Eye was also confused by Zero Wing''s drastic actions. They had clearly minded their own business until just recently. "Zero Wing must''ve found out about OSC''s investment into the Star Alliance," Red Feather reasoned. "Even if we have OSC''s support, there is no reason for this. Zero Wing has clearly made us out to be their greatest enemy," Purple Eye said as she shook her head. "Go. Contact Black Flame immediately." Galaxy Past agreed with Purple Eye''s opinion. He needed to sort out this matter with Black Flame properly. 700 Improving Swordsmanship Chapter 700 - Improving Swordsmanship After Shi Feng finished dealing with Zero Wing, he entered the Blood Refining Passage. Regarding the Flower of Seven Sins, he could only focus on growing stronger. He had already obtained an Epic Weapon, and he was nowhere near completing the Solomon''s Treasure quest. If he completed the quest, he might be able to upgrade his equipment. If he could obtain an Epic Weapon for himself, his combat power would rise significantly. "Is this the Blood Refining Passage?" Shi Feng found his surrounding somewhat stifling. The Blood Refining Passage was a long and narrow passageway. Shi Feng could not even see the passage''s end. Numerous blood-red runes had been carved into the walls on either side, radiating a faint Divine Might that made him very uncomfortable. It felt as if he were submerged in water; even walking down the passageway was difficult. If he had to fight in such an environment, he wouldn''t be able to exert even half of his normal strength. The moment Shi Feng entered the passageway, the large, stone doors had closed, preventing any retreat. Right now, his only option to escape was to give up on the quest and use a Return Scroll. Since his path of retreat had been closed off, Shi Feng could only advance down the walkway. However, before Shi Feng had covered a distance of 100 yards, two monsters suddenly emerged from the walls on either side of the passage. These two monsters wore blood-red armor and wielded silvery-white bone spears. [Blood Fighter] (Undead, Elite Rank) Level 50 HP 100,000/100,000 "Undead?" Shi Feng unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the two three-meter-tall Blood Warriors. "Luckily, they''re just Level 50 Elites." With the Divine Might''s suppression, the strength he could exert was limited. If a Chieftain had appeared, he would have had no choice but to summon a Tier 3 Demon. However, the Magic Amplification Scroll had limited uses. Shi Feng did not want to waste them. After the two Blood Fighters appeared, they immediately charged at Shi Feng while thrusting their spears, each spear splitting into three. They fought like experts who had known the same weapon for many years. All six spears aimed for Shi Feng''s vital points. With the two Blood Fighters working together, even Shi Feng could not avoid all of their attacks. Such skill! Shi Feng was slightly surprised. The Blood Fighters'' spearmanship was on par with experts who specialized with the spear. In a fight without Skills, even elite players would stand no chance against these Blood Fighters. Shi Feng retreated, dodging the oncoming attacks as much as possible. From time to time, he used his swords to block an attack. The passage was somewhat narrow, and the two Blood Fighters took up the entire path. He had no room to circle to their sides; he could only face them head-on. "Die!" After Shi Feng tested Blood Fighters'' skills, he took half a step back and raised the Abyssal Blade, intending to use Thundering Flash to end this battle quickly. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade transformed into a streak of black light as it descended. However, the usual blue electric arcs did not appear. The two Blood Fighters did not receive any damage whatsoever. On the contrary, one of them thrust its spear at Shi Feng''s head fiercely. Hurriedly, Shi Feng repelled the oncoming spear with Purgatory''s Shadow in his other hand, deftly evading the silver spear. I can''t use Skills? Shi Feng felt his head begin to ache. Skills were a player''s advantage against monsters. If a player could not use any of their Skills, then more than half of their advantage over monsters would be gone. However, Shi Feng was not a greenhorn. During God''s Domain''s initial stages, players normally relied on Skills in a battle. However, battles between experts were usually fought without any Skills. Instead, they relied on their techniques against each other. The two Blood Fighters were indeed powerful. However, their attack patterns were overly monotonous and lacked flexibility. To a sword expert like Shi Feng, a few exchanges were all he needed to find a gap to damage the two Elites. When the Abyssal Blade slashed at a gap in one of the Blood Fighter''s crimson armor, that Blood Fighter immediately retreated by a step, a crack appearing on the white bone beneath the armor. A damage of -1,056 points then appeared above the Blood Fighter''s head. Such a powerful Defense and Mana Body! Shi Feng had a very clear understanding of how high his Attack Power was. Not to mention, the Abyssal Blade even bore a Magic Device that increased its destructive power drastically. Against a Level 50 Elite monster, he should be able to deal at least -1,500 damage. His strike should also affect his target''s combat power to some extent, not to mention an attack that had struck a vital point. Yet, he had only dealt slightly over -1,000 damage after striking the Blood Fighter''s bone. Moreover, only a small crack had appeared on said bone. The Blood Fighter''s Defense could already rival that of a Chieftain ranked monster. However, after repelling one Blood Fighter, the space available to him increased significantly. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Feng quickly dashed to the other Blood Fighter''s side, stabbing Purgatory''s Shadow into the Blood Fighter''s arm joint and forcing the Elite''s attack to a stop. Immediately after, the Abyssal Blade struck one of the Blood Fighter''s vital points. One hit at the joints and one hit at a vital point. Shi Feng repeated this combination attack, preventing the Blood Fighter from retaliating as its HP rapidly decreased. Even though the Blood Fighter had 100,000 HP, the damage would slowly accumulate if Shi Feng continued dealing -1,000 or so damage with his attacks. In less than five minutes, both Blood Fighters fell to the ground, becoming no more than a pile of bones and armor while dropping a piece of Level 50 Common Equipment and a few dozen Copper Coins. They had also provided Shi Feng with an ample amount of EXP. In the next moment, the red mist that the Blood Fighters released upon death suddenly flowed into Shi Feng''s body. System: Blood Refining Stone has obtained one point of Blood Energy. System: Blood Refining Stone has obtained one point of Blood Energy. "This is" Shi Feng took out the Blood Refining Stone, which he had obtained from the Nine-headed Magic Snake. The pitch-black stone gave off a faint, red glow. Its information had also changed. [Blood Refining Stone] Can evolve into a Blood Refining Crystal after absorbing 1,000 points of Blood Energy. (2/1,000) Although Shi Feng did not know what use there was to upgrading the Blood Refining Stone into a Blood Refining Crystal, after giving it some thought, he realized that it might be a crucial key to completing his quest. Moreover, the Blood Fighters had provided an ample amount of EXP. It was roughly three times that of an ordinary Level 50 Elite. Hence, this wasn''t a bad place to level up. Following which, Shi Feng continued along the passageway. He would encounter Blood Fighters every so often. However, as he progressed down the passage, more Blood Fighters appeared with each ambush. From the initial two, the number gradually increased to three, then four. However, this was still not the greatest change. As the number of Blood Fighters increased, their attacks became more accurate. By the time Shi Feng faced four Blood Fighters at the same time, their spearmanship had also become far more flexible. Their attack patterns began to vary as well. Killing the Blood Fighters became more of a challenge, and the time it took for him to end each battle increased significantly. After three to four hours of intense, non-stop combat, even an elite player would feel mentally exhausted. Fortunately, Shi Feng had long since adapted to God''s Domain''s battles. Rather than feeling tired, he felt elated when fighting these Blood Fighters. It was not very often that he could fight in a life-or-death battle purely involving techniques. Without being able to use his Skills, Shi Feng gradually noticed the deficiencies in his own swordsmanship. While he possessed plenty of attack methods, he lacked methods to defend himself with his swords, and he would often make up for this gap by relying on movement. Hence, Shi Feng began to use his swordsmanship for both attacking and defending, no longer relying on his agility to evade oncoming attacks. As Shi Feng engaged in more battles, his defensive swordsmanship improved. Initially, he still had to evade attacks every so often against two Blood Fighters simultaneously. After a few hours, however, Shi Feng no longer needed to evade the attacks. He could fend off all of the attacks with his two swords. "Huh? Another change has occurred?" Just as Shi Feng prepared to deal with the next batch of Blood Fighters, the Elites stopped appearing. Instead, a skeleton wielding a two-handed saber and wearing exquisite armor pulled away from one of the walls. Life filled the skeleton''s flashing, red eyes. It was completely different from the robotic Blood Fighters. 701 Blood Warrior Chapter 701 - Blood Warrior Hua! Hua! The skeleton in black-spiked armor suddenly brandished its two-handed saber, creating a powerful gale that engulfed Shi Feng. Its bladework is so fast! I didn''t see the weapon move at all! Shi Feng unconsciously tightened his grip on the Abyssal Blade. He felt an immense pressure as he stared at the flashing red flames in the skeleton''s eye sockets. [Blood Warrior] (Undead, Special Elite) Level 50 HP 240,000/240,000 Although the Blood Warrior''s HP was not high, its Attack Speed and Strength were on a whole different level compared to the Blood Fighters. Suddenly, the Blood Warrior stomped its foot. Shi Feng only heard the sound of a sonic boom before the Blood Warrior appeared right in front of him, its massive saber transforming into a streak of silver light as it descended towards his head. In terms of Strength and speed, the Blood Warrior was simply overwhelming. Although Shi Feng had stretched his perception to its very limit, the Blood Warrior''s explosive power still caught him unprepared. Boom! When the Blood Warrior swung its saber, the saber light extended over ten yards. If the walkway had not been indestructible, the Undead''s attack would have gouged the ground. Meanwhile, the attack had sent Shi Feng flying over 20 yards, a damage of more than -1,000 points appearing above his head. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng lost one-tenth of his HP. So powerful! Shi Feng gaped at the Blood Warrior with a face. His entire arm was numb. It was not surprising that the Special Elite was stronger and faster than he was. What was surprising was the fact that the Blood Warrior had an expert''s techniques as well. Neither its movement nor attacks contained any excess movement whatsoever. This allowed the Undead to exert astonishing speed and destructive power. Even Shi Feng had only barely blocked the attack with his sword. Suddenly, Shi Feng was no longer as complacent as he had been against the Blood Fighters. Players had two main advantages against monsters. The first was their Skills, while the second was combat techniques. However, inside the Blood Refining Passage, players could not use any of their Skills and could only rely on their combat techniques in a fight. As for the Blood Warrior before Shi Feng, not only did it possess superior Attributes, but its techniques surpassed even ordinary expert players. If an ordinary expert stood in Shi Feng''s place right now, they would have no strength to resist the Blood Warrior Just as Shi Feng pondered ways to deal with the Blood Warrior, the latter charged for Shi Feng once more, giving him no time to catch his breath. The Blood Warrior slashed its two-handed saber at Shi Feng in quick succession, every one of its attacks faster than Shi Feng''s visual perception. Shi Feng could only rely on his intuition to block or dodge the attacks. He did not even have time to breathe. One slash, two slashes, three slashes Countless saber lights intertwined, generating dazzling sparks as they collided with Shi Feng''s swords. Each time Shi Feng blocked the Blood Warrior''s saber, he was sent flying. Even while Shi Feng soared through the air, the Blood Warrior showed no signs of stopping its assault. As long as Shi Feng erred in his judgment, he would be executed on the spot. Shi Feng was thrown over a hundred yards in quick succession, his body slamming into the ground. The difference between their strengths was obvious at first glance. "Is this really a Level 50 Special Elite?" Shi Feng looked at his own HP. He had less than 3,000 HP remaining. At most, he could receive three more hits before his life ended. Before Shi Feng could even consider his options, the Blood Warrior appeared before him. Attacking with its saber, it sent Shi Feng flying once more Since Shi Feng had rejoined God''s Domain, he had suppressed his opponents with his Strength. This was the first time an opponent had beaten him so badly regarding Strength and speed. In the face of absolute strength, all manner of trickery was useless. At this moment, Shi Feng was reminded of the fact that Attributes were the basics of combat in God''s Domain. Even if Shi Feng could perceive the Blood Warrior''s attack trajectories, he simply could not keep up with the Special Elite''s speed. If he could not even dodge the Blood Warrior''s attacks, there was no point in considering a counterattack. If Shi Feng received the Blood Warrior''s saver a few more times, Shi Feng''s HP would be no more. "Huh?" Shi Feng suddenly realized that the Blood Warrior had stopped attacking him. Instead, it turned around and walked back to where it came from, no longer interested in Shi Feng. "What''s going on here?" Despite needing only two more hits to end the battle, the Blood Warrior had stopped attacking him "Did I move out of its field of activity?" Shi Feng accepted this conclusion after giving it some thought. Otherwise, the Blood Warrior had no reason to spare him. "It seems that I need to defeat the Blood Warrior if I wish to continue forward." However, with his current strength, it was utterly impossible to defeat the Blood Warrior. It would be easier without the Divine Might''s suppression. Shi Feng thought as he glared at the passage walls. The Divine Might radiating from the walls had limited his strength significantly. Otherwise, he would not have been so helpless against the Blood Warrior''s attacks. If I wish to pass the Blood Warrior, I only have three options. I can reduce the Divine Might''s suppression, improve my combat techniques, or improve my Attributes. Without any of my Skills, weakening the Divine Might will be impossible. As for techniques, that is not something I can improve significantly in a short time. It seems that my only choice is to raise my Attributes. Shi Feng then looked at his current Level. At this point, he was at 61% of Level 34. He was very close to reaching Level 35. He currently wore a Tier 1 Set Equipment. As his level increased, the set''s Attributes would improve as well. Level 35 was considered a small milestone for equipment. Moreover, he also possessed Epic and Fragmented Legendary ranked items. Once he reached Level 35, those Attributes would also increase. "Let''s level up, then." Shi Feng halted his advance. Instead, he retraced his steps. Shi Feng had mostly grasped the Blood Refining Passage''s rules. He would encounter different monsters depending on where he was. Since he had entered the field belonging to the Blood Warrior, if he retreated to the previous field, his would return to the four Blood Fighters. Fortunately, the Blood Fighters provided a lot of EXP, so Shi Feng did not level slowly. Moreover, he could also improve his techniques by facing the Elite monsters. In such a way, Shi Feng began an endless journey of grinding, his level rising little by little. --- Star-Moon City, inside a VIP room of one of Star-Moon''s High-class Restaurants: Currently, three people, two women and one man, occupied the luxurious and spacious room. All three were at least Level 32. One woman had already reached Level 33. This woman was none other than Zero Wing''s Vice-Leader, Aqua Rose. Sitting across from Aqua Rose were the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader, Galaxy Past, and the Star Alliance''s number one Elementalist expert, Purple Eye. "Vice-Leader Aqua, let''s be frank. Why did Zero Wing suddenly decide to banish the Star Alliance from Stone Forest Town? I don''t recall our Guild provoking your Guild in any way," Galaxy Past asked quietly, trying his best to suppress the raging fire within him. The Star Alliance''s progression into the Stoneclaw Mountains had slowed significantly. If this situation persisted, their previous advantages would vanish, and other Guilds would overtake them. Had it not tasted the fruit known as Stone Forest Town, it would have been fine. However, after experiencing the benefits that Stone Forest Town offered, it was impossible for the Star Alliance to endure losing access to the town. "Guild Leader Galaxy, don''t tell me that you''ve agreed to Open Source Corporation''s investment without knowing what was happening?" Aqua Rose countered calmly. "Or does Guild Leader Galaxy not know what kind of people have been harassing Zero Wing recently?" After Aqua Rose''s reminder, Galaxy Past quickly came to a realization. He had received some information mentioning a small conflict between Zero Wing and Open Source Corporation. However, he had never imagined that this enmity was so severe. "Guild Leader Galaxy, I believe that you should have a general understanding of the situation. Today, I''ve come here to pass on a message from our Guild Leader." Narrowing her eyes, Aqua Rose coldly declared, "If the Star Alliance doesn''t enter an alliance with Zero Wing now, then it will be our enemy. What is your decision?" 702 Swift and Ruthless Chapter 702 - Swift and Ruthless "Become your enemy?" Galaxy Past let out a laugh as he raised an eyebrow, a flame of anger igniting in his eyes. However, he quickly suppressed the emotion. Chuckling softly, he said, "Guild Leader Black Flame really hasn''t changed. Although he had known about Black Flame''s arrogance, he could not help his anger when it turned on him. However, he had to admit that, up until this point, not one Guild had managed to do anything to Zero Wing. "Aqua, you''re saying that Zero Wing intends to go to war if the Star Alliance refuses to become its ally?" Purple Eye asked, a hint of cold surfacing on her white, delicate cheeks. The killing intent she radiated even dropped the surrounding temperature by several degrees. The Star Alliance was a first-rate Guild. Its survival until now spoke volumes to its strength; why would it possibly cower due to an upstart Guild? Besides, the Star Alliance currently had OSC''s support. Star-Moon City was the Star Alliance''s home ground. If an all-out war broke out between their two Guilds, Zero Wing would suffer tremendous losses. If not for Stone Forest Town, the Star Alliance would have lashed out against Zero Wing in the Stoneclaw Mountains long ago. "You can interpret it as such," Aqua Rose nodded in acknowledgment. Shi Feng''s method was indeed crazy. Dealing with Open Source Corporation was already a huge headache. Now, he planned to tear away all pretenses with the Star Alliance. This decision would only place Zero Wing in even greater danger. Currently, Zero Wing was not in particularly advantageous position. Aside from Overwhelming Smile, Heaven''s Burial, and the other White River City Guilds eyeing Zero Wing covetously, now, they needed to deal with Open Source Corporation and the Star Alliance. If Zero Wing declared war on the Star Alliance, it went without saying that Overwhelming Smile and Heaven''s Burial would also take action. At that time, Zero Wing would be exposed to attacks from the front and the rear. However When dealing with a problem, one must be both swift and ruthless. Since they already knew that the Star Alliance had fallen under OSC''s control, there was no doubt that the first-rate Guild would become Zero Wing''s enemy in the future. If they maintained the current peace, they would only prolong the inevitable. Zero Wing would eventually be at risk. Moreover, by declaring war on the Star Alliance, it would deter the other Guilds. They would have to think twice before plotting against Zero Wing. Currently, as the Star Alliance had the home ground advantage, even without Stone Forest Town, the Guild could continue their development in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, the other Guilds did not have that advantage. "So what if we don''t become allies?" Galaxy Past sneered. In a low growl, he asked, "Do you think the Star Alliance needs a rest stop like Stone Forest Town? Once the 15-day protection period is over and Zero Wing losses their NPC guards, the Star Alliance will be able to occupy the town at any given moment. Moreover, I believe that the other large Guilds will also be very interested in the town." "Guild Leader Galaxy is correct. However, might I remind you that Zero Wing has not yet started a war with the Star Alliance; our Guilds have not had any conflicts with each other in the Stoneclaw Mountains. If we go to war, however, Zero Wing cannot guarantee the safety of the Star Alliance members in the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Guild Leader Galaxy, you know that Star-Moon City doesn''t have only one first-rate Guild." Aqua Rose paid no attention whatsoever to Galaxy Past''s threat. Zero Wing had the support of Stone Forest Town. Even if its members died, they could simply revive in the town. Ouroboros''s members, Zero Wing''s allies, could also revive in Stone Forest Town. Hence, Ouroboros could quickly send reinforcements into the Stoneclaw Mountains. Aside from Stone Forest Town, the nearest town players could revive in was over ten hours away. If a fight broke out in the Stoneclaw Mountains, the Star Alliance''s members would have to waste a lot of time to return. Aqua Rose refused to think about the resources and manpower that would go to waste. If the war persisted, it would definitely wear down the Star Alliance. Galaxy Past and Purple Eye''s expressions grew serious upon hearing Aqua Rose''s words. Yet, if they allied with Zero Wing, Open Source Corporation would not be pleased. How could the Guild Elders ever agree to an alliance that would anger a god of fortune like Open Source Corporation? Even his position as the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader would be at risk. However, Galaxy Past did not wish to start a full-blown war with Zero Wing right now. Seeing Galaxy Past''s troubled expression, Aqua Rose stifled a sigh heavy with emotion. Zero Wing had only recently established, yet with no backing whatsoever, it had become an existence that could even trouble the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild. Nothing like this had ever occurred during the virtual gaming world''s long history. "If the Star Alliance allies Zero Wing, our Guild Leader has promised to let the Star Alliance repair its equipment in Stone Forest Town at market price; its members will also be able to revive in Stone Forest Town. In addition, the Star Alliance will be allowed to construct a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town, allowing its Guild members to transfer to the town swiftly and save on travel time," Aqua Rose said, her bright, charming lips curling into an alluring smile. "What did you say?!" Galaxy Past''s composure shattered. For a moment, he wondered if he had heard wrong. If Aqua Rose''s words were true, then the Star Alliance''s development speed in the Stoneclaw Mountains would rise by multiple times. Purple Eye was similarly shocked. She had never imagined that Zero Wing would be so generous. "I''ve said all that needed to be said. I look forward to Guild Leader Galaxy''s decision. We will only wait one day." After saying so, Aqua Rose turned and left the VIP room. Zero Wing''s biggest problem right now was not the Star Alliance, but the Flower of Seven Sins. Hence, the Guild''s upper echelons needed to improve their strength quickly and prepare. Aqua Rose would not waste her time with the Star Alliance. Right now, she needed to challenge the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. Shi Feng was going all-out to provide the upper echelons with the Hundred Berry Wine. They would be fools not to use it. Hence, both Fire Dance and Aqua Rose fully immersed themselves in the Trial Tower. As for the Stoneclaw Mountains, they could leave that to the Guild''s core members. After Aqua Rose left, Galaxy Past and Purple Eye remained within the luxurious room. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Purple Eye asked, a hesitant expression on her face. Both the OSC''s funding and Stone Forest Town''s resources were sorely tempting. However, both organizations were just as threatening. No matter which side they chose, the consequences would not be light. "If it were up to me, I would agree to Zero Wing''s offer. However, the Guild''s main purpose when it established was to earn money for the company. The investment of a god of fortune like OSC is something all Guilds strive for," Galaxy Past laughed bitterly. "However, now that I think about it, this was all due to Zero Wing. OSC only chose to invest in the Star Alliance to deal with Zero Wing. "Purple, gather the Guild Elders for a meeting immediately. They must all be present; I don''t care if they''re busy." "I''ll contact them right away." Suddenly, the Star Alliance''s Elders received a message. All of the Elders, regardless of where they were, were required to attend the meeting in Star-Moon Kingdom. This situation shocked the Star Alliance''s members. As a first-rate Guild, their development was widespread. The Star Alliance had created Branches in several other kingdoms, each one managing themselves on their own. This was the first meeting since they had joined God''s Domain that required the presence of every Elder. --- Time flowed quickly. Before he knew it, a day had passed in God''s Domain. Inside the Blood Refining Passage, Shi Feng had killed Blood Fighters almost without rest. He only took small breaks to recover his exhausted Stamina, before returning to grinding Blood Fighters. After Shi Feng killed another Blood Fighter, the sound of a system notification suddenly reached his ears. System: The Blood Refining Stone has collected 1,000 points of Blood Energy. Do you wish to evolve it into a Blood Refining Crystal? There was no guarantee that each Blood Fighter killed would generate Blood Energy. The more Blood Energy Shi Feng accumulated, the less he could collect from the slain Blood Fighters. Who knew how many Blood Fighters he had slaughtered throughout the day to collect the 1,000 points of Blood Energy? 703 Improved Attributes Chapter 703 - Improved Attributes "Evolve." Shi Feng clicked "Confirm." Although he did not know what changes would occur after upgrading the Blood Refining Stone to a Blood Refining Crystal, seeing as he had spent so much time to collect the required Blood Energy, the crystal should not be an ordinary item. Otherwise, it would not have dropped from the Nine-headed Magic Snake. Suddenly, the magical black cube in Shi Feng''s hands crumbled, transforming into a half-transparent, blood-red crystal ball. There were even droplets of dark red liquid flowing within the crystal ball, each containing powerful Life Force. "Why is there so much Life Force?!" Shi Feng could clearly feel the life inside those droplets of blood. It was only slightly weaker than the Water of Life. But what kind of treasure was the Water of Life? Just one drop was enough to cure a crippled NPC. After accumulating a certain amount of the treasured water, one could even use it to revive a dead NPC. Meanwhile, the blood-red crystal in his hands contained over ten droplets of blood that could rival the Water of Life. "Just what kind of item is this?" Unable to hold back his curiosity, Shi Feng clicked to check the Blood Refining Crystal''s statistics. [Blood Refining Crystal] (Dark-Gold Rank Item) Can absorb the Life Force of powerful monsters the wielder kills. After accumulating 100 points of Blood Energy, player can produce a drop of Life Essence. Can accumulate a maximum of 1,000 drops of Life Essence. Each drop can increase a player''s Stamina and Concentration recovery speed for two hours. Current drops of Life Essences: 12/1,000 "Is this the true power of the Blood Refining Crystal?" Shi Feng was shocked when he read the statistics. In God''s Domain, it was common knowledge that players required rest to recover their Stamina and Concentration. Hence, players could not grind for long periods. They had to take breaks. Although there were some tools that sped recovery, such as food and Field Tents, those items could only be used outside of combat. Shi Feng also knew of a few items that could recover Stamina and Concentration during combat. However, these items were extraordinarily difficult to obtain. The Water of Life was one such item. However, using the Water of Life to grind for longer periods was no less than extravagant. Not a single Guild in God''s Domain could afford such a waste. The other tools were similar to the Water of Life, in which they were extraordinarily valuable and exceedingly difficult to obtain. Even if a large Guild mobilized its forces, it would barely obtain enough items to supply for a handful of experts. Shi Feng had never expected the Nine-headed Magic Snake to drop such a valuable item. With the Blood Refining Crystal, he could recover Stamina and Concentration without having to stop his slaughter. With this, he could grind far longer than other players. Unfortunately, accumulating Life Essence was a slow process. At most, two or three players could use the crystal continuously. "With the Blood Refining Crystal, I can save plenty of time." Due to Shi Feng''s reliance on techniques to kill the Blood Fighters, he consumed far more Stamina and Concentration than usual. Moreover, the Blood Fighters in the Blood Refining Passage were not easy opponents. In an intense battle, a player''s Stamina and Concentration consumption rate increased by several folds. Hence, the Blood Refining Crystal was a convenient item for Shi Feng right now. Following which, Shi Feng poured a drop of Life Essence into his hand and drank it. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt his body relax, the fatigue he had accumulated from constant battle vanishing instantly. His mind also cleared. "This really is a great item." Originally, Shi Feng had intended to take a break after fighting for a little while longer. Now, it seemed that he no longer needed rest. After fighting the Blood Fighters for over a day, Shi Feng was very familiar with their attack patterns. His swordsmanship had also become far more precise. During battle, Shi Feng would try to discard extra attacks, pursuing efficiency. As a result, his swordplay became much faster, and he could now defeat the Blood Fighters with minimal effort. Shi Feng had never considered these techniques before. He had only focused on ending the monsters he fought regardless of how much power he had to expend. After reaching the Blood Refining Passage, however, he had to improve his attack efficiency if he wanted to kill his opponents quickly due to his inability to use Skills. It was as if a new world had opened up to Shi Feng. Initially, when facing four Blood Fighters simultaneously, Shi Feng had needed over 150 moves to finish off just one of the Undead. Among these 150 moves, more than 50 were used to defend himself against incoming attacks. He had to defend himself because he was unfamiliar with his surrounding, and as a result, this allowed the Blood Fighters to launch counterattacks. However, as the number of fights against the Elites increased, he began to require fewer movements to defend himself. Now, he could defeat a Blood Fighter with roughly 130 attacks. For a time, Shi Feng''s leveling efficiency increased significantly. As time passed, Shi Feng had become completely immersed in his swordsmanship. He no longer needed to think about how to streamline his attacks. Once he ran out of Stamina, he just needed to drink a drop of Life Essence before returning to battle. Only after Shi Feng reached Level 35, and a golden glow illuminated his body, did he finally regain his senses. "After training for so long, I should be at my limit. It''s time to challenge the Blood Warrior again." Shi Feng smiled faintly as he looked at his newly improved Attributes. When he reached Level 35, the Golden Stigmata increased all of his Basic Attributes by 5 points and provided 10 Free Attribute Points. Meanwhile, as a Tier 1 player, he received 8 Free Attribute Points every time he leveled. The Abyssal Blade also provided a bonus of 2 Free Attribute Points. After reaching Level 35, Shi Feng received 20 Free Attribute Points in total and 5 points into all of his Basic Attributes. Furthermore, his Tier 1 Set Equipment, the Seven Luminaries Ring, and the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath had also received a significant boost to their Attributes. During Shi Feng''s previous fight with the Blood Warrior, it was obvious that he lacked sufficient speed. Hence, he placed all 20 Free Attribute Points into Agility. Despite rising by only one level, Shi Feng had improved his Attributes almost as much as if he had equipped an additional piece of Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. His strength had also improved. --- Blood Refining Passage, Blood Warrior''s combat area: The Blood Warrior wielding a silver two-handed saber appeared once more. Since Shi Feng had already experienced the Special Elite, he would not allow the Blood Warrior to take the initiative to attack. Taking a step forward, he dashed towards the Blood Warrior. Previously, such an action would have been suicidal. With the Blood Warrior''s Attack Speed, Shi Feng had not been able to defend against its attack. It would have been utterly impossible to dodge the Special Elite''s fearsome saber. In the next moment, the Blood Warrior tightened its grip on its saber. It then slashed forward, sending a streak of silver light plunging towards Shi Feng. Boom! The silver two-handed saber missed Shi Feng. Shi Feng had long since predicted the trajectory of the Blood Warrior''s swing. Even before the Blood Warrior prepared to strike, Shi Feng had prepared to dodge. If he had only begun dodging after the Blood Warrior launched its attack, with his current Attributes, he would never have evaded it. Even blocking it would have been a challenge. Shi Feng did not immediately launch a counterattack after evading the first slash. Instead, he abruptly fell backward. Hua! Another streak of silver light cut across the crown of Shi Feng''s head. Only after Shi Feng evaded five strikes did he send a slash of his own at the Blood Warrior''s side, causing a critical damage of -2,174. Although the strike had forced the Special Elite to retreat by half a step, it had not affected its combat power in the slightest. Even so, this result excited Shi Feng. In his previous battle against the Blood Warrior, he had not been able to resist the Undead in the least. Now, however, he managed to damage to the Special Elite. At this point, grinding away the Blood Warrior''s 240,000 HP was only a matter of time. 704 Final Trump Card Chapter 704 - Final Trump Card The Blood Warrior launched one violent attack after the other, whereas Shi Feng desperately dodged and blocked the Special Elite''s attacks. As they exchanged more attacks, Shi Feng refined his own actions, thinking of ways to deal faster damage. -1,042. -2,108. -1,071. One damage after another appeared above the Blood Warrior''s head, its HP decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Initially, Shi Feng had to dodge five attacks before finding the opportunity to strike. However, as he refined his movements and gained a firmer grasp on his situation, he was soon able to attack after dodging every four attacks. In less than five minutes, the Blood Warrior''s HP fell to 30%. In contrast, Shi Feng had yet to receive any damage. Just as the Blood Warrior''s HP fell below the 30% threshold, the crimson flames burning inside the skeleton''s eye sockets turned dark green. The two-handed saber in its hands disappeared, and in its place, two longswords appeared in each hand. Damn it! Shi Feng scowled at the change. There was a qualitative difference between avoiding a two-handed weapon and two one-handed weapons. While the Blood Warrior had used a two-handed weapon, it signified that its attacks carried absolute power. A single strike was capable of sending him flying. However, as long as he managed to evade its attacks, victory would be within his grasp. Now that the Blood Warrior used two one-handed weapons, however, the situation had changed. Although the power of attacks would lessen, it could double the number of attacks it dished out. To Shi Feng, who had relied on evasion to survive until now, this was an extremely disadvantageous situation. The Blood Warrior''s sudden transformation had caught Shi Feng off-guard. When the Blood Warrior launched its first attack, its blade moved as fast as the two-handed sword had, as fast as lightning. If he had not predicted the attack by the movements of the Blood Warrior''s joints, it would have struck him. Against this first strike, Shi Feng abruptly turned sideways, allowing the silver longsword to brush past his chest. Just as Shi Feng thought of taking a step backward, the Blood Warrior''s other sword arrived before him. Dang! Sparks scattered. The Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s hand barely blocked the Blood Warrior''s fatal strike in time. As a result, however, Shi Feng was forced to retreat by four steps before he could stabilize his body. Meanwhile, a damage of over -400 points appeared above his head. The Blood Warrior''s destructive power with a one-handed sword was much weaker than with a two-handed saber. If Shi Feng had a choice, however, he would very much prefer the saber-wielding Blood Warrior. I can only try my best. Shi Feng quickly adjusted his footwork, using Void Steps as he saw the Blood Warrior coming in for a second wave of attacks. Suddenly, Shi Feng vanished from the Blood Warrior''s sight. hi Feng had no intentions of giving up this fight. Currently, the Blood Warrior had less than 70,000 HP remaining. If he strived for a little longer, he could defeat the Special Elite. Whether it was against players, monsters, or NPCs, Void Steps was a very effective technique. Only, Void Steps was not suitable against high-tiered monsters and NPCs as these individuals possessed Domains. The owner of a Domain could grasp every movement within their Domain. They had greater perception than what their vision provided, rending Void Steps useless. However, the Blood Warrior was merely a Special Elite. Moreover, it was neither a high-intellect NPC nor a high-tiered monster. It could not cope with Shi Feng''s Void Steps at all. After Shi Feng used Void Steps, he frequently disappeared and reappeared. Each time he appeared, he would inflict a significant amount of damage to the Blood Warrior. And every time the Blood Warrior tried to retaliate, Shi Feng would vanish, preventing the Blood Warrior from locking on to its target. Although this move seemed like a Bug, this was Shi Feng''s final trump card, which he normally avoided using. Void Steps combined of both footwork and breathing techniques. The burden on its user''s Stamina was only secondary. Its main downfall was the massive stress it placed on its user''s Concentration. Even though Shi Feng''s brain activity had improved significantly, utilizing Void Steps frequently was a double-edged sword. He did not know when the technique would backfire and hurt him. Shi Feng used Void Steps more than forty times in a row, breaking his previous record. Meanwhile, the Blood Warrior''s HP fell rapidly. Now, it had less than 40,000 HP remaining. Shi Feng was also dizzy after using the advanced footwork so many times. He felt indescribable fatigue. However, if that were all, he could force himself through it. Fortunately, before the battle began, Shi Feng had drunk a drop of Life Essence. Hence, both his Stamina and Concentration recovered rapidly right now. Otherwise, he would not have been able to stay conscious. One hit Two hits Three hits The Blood Warrior could not resist in the least. It could only endure Shi Feng''s assault silently, its HP decreasing by the thousands. Very quickly, the Special Elite''s remaining HP plunged from 40,000 to 30,000, from 30,000 to 20,000, and then finally falling to a critical state. In the end, Shi Feng suddenly appeared behind the Blood Warrior and thrust his sword through its back, destroying its final strand of HP. I''ve really pushed myself to the limit this time. When Shi Feng saw the Blood Warrior fall, he breathed a sigh of relief and slumped on the ground. If the battle had gone on any longer, Shi Feng would have exhausted himself, losing his ability to use Void Steps and his control over his body. He would become sheep at the slaughter. Fortunately, he had succeeded. After the Blood Warrior died, Shi Feng''s experience bar increased by a sizeable chunk. The EXP he obtained from the Special Elite was more than even a Level 50 Lord offered. Immediately, he reached 9% of Level 35. Aside from providing Shi Feng with a large sum of EXP, the Blood Warrior also dropped a Level 50 Fine-Gold cape. [Blood Refining Cape] (Fine-Gold Rank) Level 50 Equipment Requirement: Strength 400, Agility 800 Defense +571 Strength +68, Agility +54, Endurance +56 Movement Speed +4 Evasion +15 Additional Passive Skill- Conceal: Increases the difficulty to perceive the wearer. Additional Active Skill- Lightning Flash: Appear behind a maximum of four targets. Damage increased by 20%. Duration of 5 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes "What a good item." Shi Feng''s eyes shone as he examined the Blood Refining Cloak. Capes were extremely rare in God''s Domain. They were even rarer than rings and ornaments. Even now, the only other cape Shi Feng had found since joining God''s Domain in this life, and still used, was the Dark Pursuer''s Cape. Although the Dark Pursuer''s Cape provided very minor buffs to his Attributes, the Skill, Silent Steps, that the cape offered was very powerful. It could even rival an Assassin''s Shadow Steps. Only, the Skill''s Cooldown was somewhat long. However, if used appropriately, it could set one up for an instant kill. In combat, such a Skill was far more valuable than Attributes. However, now that he had the Blood Refining Cape, as soon as he fulfilled the Equipment Requirements, he would immediately replace the Dark Pursuer''s Cape. The requirement of Level 50 was not a problem to Shi Feng as he had the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, which reduced items'' level requirements by 10 Levels. In other words, he could equip the Blood Refining Cape once he reached Level 40. Although the Seven Luminaries Ring also decreased the level requirement of all items by 5 Levels, in God''s Domain, this effect was not stackable. The highest effect would apply. Aside from dropping the Blood Refining Cape, the Blood Warrior also dropped an ancient gold-rimmed book. The pressure this ancient book radiated even caused Shi Feng to shudder with fear. Two large words graced the book''s cover. Solomon''s Treasure! 705 Whereabouts of a Legendary Item Chapter 705 - Whereabouts of a Legendary Item "This is Solomon''s Treasure?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise. Originally, he had thought Solomon''s Treasure would be a mountain of gold or an ocean of silver. It should at least be a high-ranking Treasure Chest. However, he had never expected Solomon''s Treasure to be a book. "Could it be an Epic item?" Thinking so, Shi Feng picked up the ancient book. The pressure the book radiated instilled fear into anyone who neared it. This was a power that only an Epic ranked or above item possessed. In God''s Domain, although Epic Weapons and Equipment were precious, Epic tools were far more rare. Take the Bible of Darkness for example. Even without occupying an equipment slot, it increased a player''s strength significantly. This was a benefit that no weapon or piece of equipment could provide. After Shi Feng picked up the book, he was suddenly alerted of a system notification. System: You have obtained the Ancient Document "Solomon''s Treasure." Do you wish to activate the Ancient Document? "So, it''s an Ancient Document." Excitement appeared on Shi Feng''s face upon hearing that the book was actually an Ancient Document. "No wonder it''s called a treasure." There were many kinds of books in God''s Domain. Some were meant for reading, some could be used to learn Skills, and some offered their own abilities. The Bible of Darkness belonged to the third category. In addition to these three, there was another category that was extremely rare and specialthe Ancient Document. Ancient Documents held records of God''s Domain. However, players that obtained an Ancient Document had only one chance to activate it. Upon activation, players could obtain one of God''s Domain''s secrets. Although this seemed trivial, in the past, players in God''s Domain had gone crazy over a single Ancient Document. In the past, Ancient Documents sold in the Blackwing Auction House at much higher prices than even Fragmented Legendary items. Why were they worth so much money? They were so valued because an Ancient Document could unlock the whereabouts of a Legendary item, offering players a high chance of obtaining one for themselves. Of course, aside from Legendary items, one could also learn the whereabouts of powerful Super Skills or tools. However, with the goal of growing stronger, a Legendary item was undeniably the best choice. Legendary items in God''s Domain were extremely limited. One had to expend unimaginable effort to claim one. One needed luck and strength. Every Legendary item was extremely difficult to obtain. Moreover, the game would never reveal a Legendary item''s exact location to players, only clues. Unfortunately, clues were never 100% accurate, and most of the clues relating to Legendary items were likely traps. Even after a long search, one might find nothing but a dead end, realizing that all their effort had been for naught. In the past, to obtain a single Legendary item, many large Guilds had mobilized every available Guild force, spending a large amount of time to gain some clue. With the many clues they obtained, they would search for the location of said Legendary item. One could just imagine the manpower and resources that the search required. Hence, even after mobilizing an entire Guild, the chances of successfully claiming a Legendary item were quite low. However, one could locate a Legendary item with an Ancient Document. There was no need to check every clue they had obtained. Hence, Ancient Documents were precious and valuable. "It seems that my trip wasn''t a waste." Shi Feng grinned as he looked down at the Ancient Document in his hands. Although he had quite a few clues regarding Legendary items, he did not actually know how to obtain them as no player would ever reveal such high-level secrets. In the past, those who had obtained Legendary items kept a tight lid on any information. Shi Feng had only found a few clues after his Guild invested in quiet investigation. Although it is impossible to obtain a Legendary item at my current level, knowing the precise whereabouts of one will allow me to prepare. Shi Feng then clicked to activate Solomon''s Treasure. After Shi Feng confirmed his decision, Solomon''s Treasure opened and released a blinding, golden glow. In the next moment, a fivefold magic array appeared before Shi Feng. Countless runes danced inside the magic array. Suddenly, the space surrounding Shi Feng froze. Shi Feng''s connection with the outside world severed completely. System: Ancient Document, Solomon''s Treasure, activating System: Beginning connection with the Main God System... System: Verification completed. Ancient Document confirmed as the Sixth Volume of Solomon''s Book. Allowing connection with God''s Domain''s database System: Connection with God''s Domain''s database is successful. You have one chance to access God''s Domain''s database. Please enter desired inquiry. Luckily, I know the name of a Legendary item. No one else would have any idea of what to search for. Shi Feng''s grin deepened. Immediately, he entered the words "Solomon''s Sword." System: Searching for information on Solomon''s Sword System: Search completed. Confirming data on Solomon''s Sword System: Confirmation completed. Do you wish to accept the information? Shi Feng then clicked to accept. Shi Feng felt a plethora of information relating to Solomon''s Sword flow into his brain. The system displayed a total of 3,687 clues before him. Immediately, Shi Feng felt a headache coming on. Verifying one clue was an extremely difficult task, not to mention 3,687. Even a large Guild would go mad if it had to verify every one of these clues. At this point, Shi Feng came to understand one thing. Those who had found Legendary items were either players who had received the blessing of the Main God System and possessed heaven-defying luck, or they were as frightening powerful as Super Guilds. Not only did Super Guilds have an abundance of members at their disposal, but they also possessed monster-like experts. Only with this kind of manpower could they search for a Legendary item. It was practically impossible for a third-rate or second-rate Guild. "I didn''t think that all of the clues I gained in the past were all fakes. Fortunately, I haven''t attempted to verify those clues. Otherwise, I would have wasted a ton of time," Shi Feng said, relieved. Among the 3,687 clues listed, the system only confirmed five as legitimate. In other words, only these five clues could lead him to Solomon''s Sword, one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. If Shi Feng had not obtained the Ancient Document, he would never find Solomon''s Sword. Of the 3,687 clues, every clue required a long time to verify. The easiest clue required one to spend two or three days'' time, while the more difficult clues required up to half a month to verify. Moreover, due to level restrictions, Shi Feng would not be able to visit many of these places yet. Even if he only needed to spend one day verifying each clue, it would still take ten years to plow through them all Without the Ancient Document, obtaining Solomon''s Sword was a dream. After receiving the information, Shi Feng grew somewhat dizzy. Suddenly, the sound of another system notification reached his ears. 706 Disaster Treasure Ches Chapter 706 - Disaster Treasure Chest White River City, Divine Colosseum: Ever since they had discovered that the Flower of Seven Sins targeted Zero Wing, Aqua Rose and the Guild''s upper echelons had holed up inside the Divine Colosseum. They continuously expended Magic Crystals and Hundred Berry Wine in the Trial Tower and Divine Battlefield to train as much as possible. As a result, Zero Wing''s upper echelons broke their previous records in the Trial Tower again and again, shocking White River City''s players. Awe towards Zero Wing swept through the city once again. Meanwhile, inside the Divine Colosseum, a bald man in gray leather armor stared at the Trial List while sipping Vodka. Suddenly, a thin, cloaked youth walked up and sat down beside this bald man. "Accurate Nine, what''s the situation regarding Zero Wing''s upper echelons?" the thin youth sent a whisper to the bald man as he ordered an Ice-Blue Spirit. "Their strength has been improving rapidly. Currently, three people have reached the eighth floor. Seven people have reached the seventh floor. My guess is that it won''t be very long before the others reach the seventh floor as well. It would not be easy to kill all of them back to Level 0," the bald man, Accurate Nine, responded, laughing. "However, the stronger they are, the better. This way, we can charge more for the job." Nodding, the thin youth said, "Indeed. I just wonder whether or not Open Source Corporation will be willing to pay the price." "I think they will," Accurate Nine said as he handed the NPC bartender another Magic Crystal, purchasing another bottle of Vodka. "Magic Crystals are the lifeline of all of God''s Domain''s players. If OSC obtains the Stoneclaw Mountains, their future earnings will far surpass the cost of hiring us." "Let''s hope that OSC is willing to pay this price, then. It''s been a long time since I''ve accepted a major job. Zero Wing should prove to be quite the challenge. I can also use this chance to polish my skills a little bit," the youth said. Downing the Ice-Blue Spirit, he shifted his gaze to the three names listed on the Trial List''s eighth floor. "Huh? Where''s Black Flame''s name?" "Black Flame has always been mysterious. Even now, I have yet to discover the exact extent of this person''s strength. However, based on the information I''ve collected thus far, he should have progressed relatively far in the Refinement Realm. He might have even reached your standard," Accurate Nine said seriously as he sent a sideway glance at the thin youth beside him. "My standard? The second stage of the Refinement Realm? That''s interesting. I look forward to taking him on," the youth said, a hint of excitement shining in his eyes. He looked like a predator that had just caught the scent of new prey. "Pleiades, don''t even think about it. Silver has already reserved Black Flame. At most, you can pick your target from the Trial Tower''s eighth floor," Accurate Nine said, smiling as he pointed to Violet Cloud''s, Fire Dance''s, and Aqua Rose''s names. "Silver? Why is he suddenly interested in this mission?" the youth named Pleiades said, slightly surprised. "Hasn''t he always targeted those old monsters?" "How should I know what''s going through his mind?" Accurate Nine said, shrugging. "However, OSC has lucked out this time. Normally, an expert of Silver''s standards would not even consider this type of mission. Now, it''s just a matter of whether OSC will pay to hire Silver." "This fella named Black Flame really is unlucky. He has actually caught Silver''s attention. Not even heaven can save him," Pleiades said sympathetically. The Flower of Seven Sins'' missions were divided into several levels. Experts within the organization were similarly ranked. An expert like himself only ranked at the intermediate level, whereas Silver was a peak expert in the Flower of Seven Sins. An expert like Silver dealing with Black Flame was simply a waste of time. --- As Pleiades and Accurate Nine occupied themselves with their conversation, one of Star-Moon City''s first-rate Guilds,, the Star Alliance, had officially declared war against Zero Wing, announcing their intentions to seize Stone Forest Town. This news spread quickly throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. --- The Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region: A 500-man team ravaged a Half-orc settlement. A settlement typically contained Lord ranked Half-orcs. A powerful settlement might even house three or four Lords. Ten or more Chieftain ranked Half-orcs usually patrolled the area as well. In this Half-orc settlement, there were a total of three Half-orc Lords and 17 Half-orc Chieftains. However, against this team of 500 players, they could not offer any form of resistance. Currently, almost all of the settlement''s Half-orcs were already dead. Only one Level 38 Half-orc Lord continued to resist desperately. In the end, however, a silver-armored female Berserker still claimed its life. "Snow, something has happened with the Star Alliance," Zhao Yueru, who wore a purple-red robe, suddenly reported. "A moment ago, the Star Alliance declared war against Zero Wing and sent many of their elites to deal with Zero Wing''s members." "In the end, the Star Alliance''s Elders had been mesmerized by the money that OSC offered," Gentle Snow said, laughing lightly. "Although I do not know what kind of hidden cards the Star Alliance possesses, this is a good opportunity for us. Contact the our other members immediately. Tell them that Ouroboros is going to declare war against the Star Alliance as well." Shortly after, more shocking news spread throughout Star-Moon City. The two first-rate Guilds of Star-Moon City were finally going to take action. This war would be unlike the previous small skirmishes. This time, both Guilds would face each other head-on. In the future, whenever the members of either Guild encounter each other, only one would walk away. --- Despite a storm currently brewing in Star-Moon City, Shi Feng was oblivious. System: Quest "Solomon''s Treasure" completed. Quest rewards: 10,000,000 EXP, 20 Free Mastery Points, and one Completely Random Treasure Chest. After the system notification faded, Shi Feng''s experience bar increased by a small chunk. A wooden treasure chest emitting a purple glow appeared inside his bag. [Completely Random Treasure Chest] May contain a reward or a punishment. Disappears after five uses. "Isn''t this the Disaster Treasure Chest?" Shi Feng was suddenly speechless as he stared at the dazzling Treasure Chest inside his bag. "Completely Random Treasure Chest" was the name the system gave. The players who were familiar with the Treasure Chest, however, had another name for it: the Disaster Treasure Chest. Nine out of ten times, opening the Completely Random Treasure Chest resulted in a punishment. Moreover, the punishments were relatively severe. The punishments ranged from losing one or more Levels to losing some Attributes permanently. Some punishments even prevented players from gaining any EXP or reduced their Attack Power for many days. Hence, it gained the name Disaster Treasure Chest. Of course, if players obtained a reward, they deserved a celebration. In the past, many players had bragged on the forums about the rewards they had obtained. There were players who had actually gained an Epic item from the Random Treasure Chest, while some had obtained a complete Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Others had been rewarded a top-tier Mount. To put it simply, the rewards the Treasure Chest provided were extremely tempting. Reward and punishment, It was up to players to decide if the risk was worth it. To Shi Feng, however, the potential benefits were greater than the risks. A player''s Luck Attribute greatly affected the outcome of their draws. Even if Shi Feng opened a punishment, due to his Luck Attribute, it was possible that the punishment would be light. Currently, Zero Wing faced the threat of the Flower of Seven Sins. Hence, it was of utmost importance that he grow stronger. Naturally, Shi Feng would not let go of this perfect opportunity to improve his strength. Not to mention, his chances of obtaining a reward were much higher than others. "Hopefully, I''ll draw something good." Shi Feng then activated Divine Providence and stretched out his hand to open the Disaster Treasure Chest. 707 God Sword Chapter 707 - God Sword As Shi Feng gradually opened the Treasure Chest, a golden ray of light escaped from the wooden box. Hua! The golden light merged with Shi Feng''s body. Shi Feng immediately felt a renewed and improved strength, his accumulated fatigue weakening significantly. System: Completely Random Treasure Chest has been activated. Rewarding 10 points to Hidden Attribute: Fortitude. "A Hidden Attribute as a reward, I''ve lucked out this time," Shi Feng muttered as he clenched his fists. He could feel his fatigue lessening. Fortitude was the most important Attribute among the Four Great Hidden Attributes. Hidden Attributes would not increase a player''s damage. Similarly, it would not decrease the damage a player received. However, they were far more useful than Basic Attributes. Unfortunately, Hidden Attributes would not increase with a player''s level. They would only increased through special means. Meanwhile, Fortitude was somewhat similar to a monster''s Mana Body. First, it decreased the impact external injuries had on a player''s combat power. The second effect was to decrease Stamina and Concentration consumption during battle, allowing players to fight for longer periods. Third, it reduced the impact Stamina and Concentration depletion had on a player''s combat power. Due to these three major effects, players thirsted for the Fortitude Attribute. It was especially true for experts. Expert players normally incorporated certain combat techniques during battle. These combat techniques placed a heavy burden on their Stamina and Concentration. Take Void Steps for example. Although the burden on Shi Feng''s Stamina was minimal, it was a massive burden on his Concentration. Hence, Shi Feng had to limit how often he used the technique in his fights. If a player''s Fortitude was sufficiently high, they could use such combat techniques far more often. In turn, this would improve their chances of victory. In addition, against high-tiered monsters such as a Grand Lord or monsters that possessed Special Skills that could reduce a person''s Stamina and Concentration, Fortitude was a severe advantage. In the past, there had been a Tier 5 player that had become famous due his monstrously high Fortitude. Berserker Saint Broken Flow. Due to his extraordinarily high Fortitude, he opted to fight battles of mutual destruction. With such tactics, Broken Flow had even defeated those whose strength and techniques were superior to his. As a result, Broken Flow had become one of the Twelve Sacred Berserkers. As God''s Domain was still in its initial stages, it was extremely difficult to obtain the Fortitude Attribute with players'' low levels. Even Shi Feng did not know of any good methods to gain the Hidden Attribute at his level. Normally, players would only begin to encounter the Hidden Attribute after Level 50. Moreover, of the methods and quests Shi Feng knew, the majority only rewarded one or two points of Fortitude. The fact that he had managed to obtain 10 points now had saved him plenty of time and effort. Hence, Shi Feng was quite satisfied. With how he had profited from opening the Disaster Treasure Chest for the first time, Shi Feng quickly proceeded to open it a second time. The second time he opened the Treasure Chest, he obtained the Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Thunder''s Wrath. It was a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell and covered an area of 100 yards. The third time Shi Feng opened the Treasure Chest, a black beam struck him, and his Agility Attribute permanently decreased by 25 points. To ordinary players, a 25 Agility point loss was massive. Even after obtaining their Tier 1 classes, they would have to level up three times to make up lost points. To Shi Feng, however, the loss was acceptable. The Abyssal Blade already provided with an additional 2 Free Attribute Points each time he leveled up. In addition to the Golden Stigmata, a loss of 25 Agility would not affect him too badly. When players reached Tier 2, the amount of Free Attribute Points they obtained with each level up increased to 20. At that time, it would be easy to make up for this loss. There were also plenty of tools that could permanently increase a player''s Attributes. In fact, Shi Feng knew of a few that were relatively easy to obtain. Moreover, he had already obtained 10 Fortitude and a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell. Those two were more than enough to make up for this meager setback. When Shi Feng opened the Completely Random Treasure Chest for the fourth time, he was struck by a purple beam. System: You have been cursed. EXP gained from killing monsters decreased by 70% for ten days. "Fortunately, I still have plenty of options to level up," Shi Feng frowned slightly as he saw his new punishment. Very quickly, however, he dispelled the disappointment from his mind as he muttered, "With two punishments in a row, let the last be a reward!" Shi Feng then opened the Treasure Chest for the final time. This time, a purple-red potion appeared inside the wooden box. [Dragon Slayer Potion] (Consumable) Increases all Attributes by 100% and all Resistances by 100 points for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 hours "This potion is insane!" Shi Feng could not help his shock. In Shi Feng''s memories, the best potion he had ever seen only increased a player''s Main Attribute by 100% and offered a small amount of Magic Resistance. The Dragon Slayer Potion, however, actually increased all Attributes by 100%. This was, by far, the most intense Attribute increase Shi Feng had ever seen a potion offer. Even the effects of the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s Activatable Skill, Heavenly Dragon''s Power, could not compare to this. If he drank this potion, it would be the equivalent of wearing an additional Legendary item. He could challenge opponents of a higher Tier. Unfortunately, the Treasure Chest only rewarded one Dragon Slayer Potion. If he could produce more, the Flower of Seven Sins would be no more than a flea to Zero Wing. After using all five draws, the Completely Random Treasure Chest disappeared. Shi Feng then stored the Dragon Slayer Potion away and took out Solomon''s Treasure to begin sorting through the information he had gained regarding Solomon''s Sword. After using an Ancient Document, the information that flowed into the user''s mind only offered a general summary, whereas the detailed information was recorded inside the Ancient Document. After Shi Feng studied the information for several hours, he finally understood how he could obtain one of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Legendary Weapons, Solomon''s Sword. The complete Solomon''s Sword had long since disappeared. It had been shattered during the Great Destruction. Solomon''s Sword broke into five fragments and had been scattered throughout God''s Domain. Later, different people had found each of these fragments. These people had recast the shattered fragments to form new weapons. Each of these new weapons contained an immense power. However, due to the passage of time, the inhabitants of God''s Domain had forgotten about Solomon''s Sword. Instead, these five weapons had shaken God''s Domain with their might, their names passed down by the common populace. As the fragments of Solomon''s Sword had not been equal, the might of the new weapons differed from each other. Among the created weapons, the most famous was the third-ranking sword on God''s Domain''s Famed Swords List, Broken Steel. Broken Steel was leagues stronger than Shi Feng''s Abyssal Blade. There is no need to think about Broken Steel right now. With my current strength and level, it is impossible to obtain. I can only approach it slowly. Shi Feng was extremely familiar with Broken Steel. However, he could not go after it right now. In the past, among the Twelve Sacred Swordsmen, the number one Sword Saint used none other than Broken Steel. Shi Feng had also witnessed the sword''s might personally. Although it was not a Legendary Weapon, its Attributes and Skills were not much weaker than a Legendary Weapon. If he could obtain Broken Steel in this life, his strength would soar to unspeakable heights. 708 Five Clues Chapter 708 - Five Clues As the most powerful sword among the weapons recreated from the fragments of Solomon''s Sword, Broken Steel was, naturally, the most difficult to obtain among the five weapons. Even if Shi Feng wanted the challenge of obtaining it right now, only death would await him. Shi Feng carefully researched the five clues. Among the five recreated weapons, three could not be obtained before reaching Level 100. He could only attempt to find two while he was below Level 100. Among these two weapons, the easiest was located at the Top of the World. "Dragon''s Maw?" Shi Feng fell into deep thought when he realized where the clue led him. The Dragon''s Maw was one of the regional maps found at the Top of the World. It was a Level 60 map. However, the area was far more dangerous than any ordinary Level 60 map. Based on what Shi Feng had heard about the Dragon''s Maw, the map had even claimed the lives of many Tier 4 players. Moreover, they had died tragically. Not only had they lost some EXP and a piece of equipment, but they also permanently lost Basic Attributes upon death. Even Shi Feng wasn''t sure how much they had lost exactly. However, the fact that a Level 60 map had even caused the deaths of Tier 4 players was more than a little intimidating. The Dragon''s Maw was only a short distance from Mount Sogar. Shi Feng only needed to travel across two leveling areas. If he left the Blood Refining Passage, he could reach the map quickly. However, with his current strength, he was more than 90% certain that he would die there. Shi Feng did not particularly mind dying. However, the risk of losing Attributes outweighed the gains. If he wished to increase his chances of obtaining the weapon hidden in the Dragon''s Maw, the best option was to go there after reaching Level 50 and completing his class change. Fortunately, he didn''t have to worry about someone else claiming the weapon before him. If one wished to travel to the Top of the World through normal means, they would need the strength of a Tier 4 class at the very minimum. Unless, of course, they possessed a Tier 4 Position Teleportation Scroll. However, such an item was extremely rare. A second Tier 4 Magic Scroll would most likely not appear in God''s Domain for a long time. Hence, the chances of players reaching the Dragon''s Maw were practically non-existent. Just as Shi Feng prepared to leave the Blood Refining Passage and grind monsters nearby, he suddenly heard the sound of a system warning. "What? I''ve used up the Nutrient Solution already? Didn''t I just replace it yesterday?" This sound was very familiar to Shi Feng. If the Nutrient Solution were about to run out, the system would warn him. "But it''s already four in the afternoon right now. I should log out and get some rest." Shi Feng had spent practically all of his time killing Blood Fighters in the Blood Refining Passage. He had not logged out to train or relax. Now that he had completed his quest, this was a good time for him to take a break. Having made his decision, Shi Feng logged out of God''s Domain. Inside the luxurious bedroom, the lid of the pure-white virtual gaming cabin slowly lifted. Shi Feng emerged. The sun illuminated his room, shining on a wide array of modern electronic smart devices displayed before Shi Feng. As the Big Dipper Training Center''s luxury villa, an ordinary apartment could never compare to the Greenwater Villa. Artificial Intelligence managed the rooms, and whatever Shi Feng wanted done, he only needed to issue the command, and the Villa''s AI would complete the task. It was an extremely convenient place to live. After exiting the virtual gaming cabin, Shi Feng felt an indescribable physical weakness. Sure enough, I exhausted myself during my fight with the Blood Warrior. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Although he had always focused on improving his brain''s activity, it was simply too difficult to get his hands on S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Even if he were the one providing the money, Big Dipper could only procure a limited quantity. To nurture Fire Dance and the others, he kept only five bottles for himself. Hence, he would use them conservatively. This was the reason that he did not use Void Steps unless absolutely necessary. However, this quest had been very important. If he had been unable to defeat the Blood Refining Warrior, he would not have obtained the Ancient Document or discovered Solomon''s Sword''s whereabouts. Following which, Shi Feng drank two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid before he recovered from his weakened state. S-rank Nutrient Fluids really are impressive. It''s unfortunate that even Big Dipper can''t obtain more in a short time. Otherwise, if I had a large supply, I could push Fire Dance and the others into the Refinement Realm quickly. Shi Feng sighed with disappointment. Both Fire Dance and Violet Cloud had long since set half a foot into the Refinement Realm. However, neither could break past the final hurdle, entering the new world. Otherwise, with Fire Dance and Violet Cloud''s equipment, their combat power could rank among the top five experts throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. There were many expert players in God''s Domain. Neither the Red List nor the God''s Domain Experts List could take into account every expert in Star-Moon Kingdom. Among these experts, many were still unknown, hiding frightening combat power. Take the members of Midnight Tea Party for example. In the past, during God''s Domain''s early stages, the majority of the independent team''s members had been unknown existences. However, every one of them possessed astonishing strength. Only, their goals differed from other players, so they had never bothered to make themselves known to the public. However, with Fire Dance and Violet Cloud''s equipment advantage, there was a very high possibility that they would rank among the top five in the kingdom once they reached the Refinement Realm. Just as Shi Feng was about to head to the gym to train, his quantum watch rang as his class''s female monitor, Zhao Ruoxi, called. Zhao Ruoxi''s smiling face appeared on the screen. With a cold voice, she asked, "Shi Feng, do you remember what today is?" Shi Feng was about to ask, but after hearing Zhao Ruoxi''s tone, he immediately came to a realization. He had previously agreed to attend Zhao Ruoxi''s birthday party. However, due to God''s Domain, he had completely forgotten about the event Although Zhao Ruoxi wore a warm and elegant smile, Shi Feng knew how angry his classmate actually was. As if she had known that Shi Feng would forget about her birthday, Zhao Ruoxi sighed as she said, "My car is parked outside the villa. You have thirty minutes." "I''ll be right there!" Shi Feng hurriedly began to tidy himself. Roughly ten minutes later, Shi Feng emerged from the Greenwater Villa. Zhao Ruoxi wore a navy blue dress and a pure white ribbon atop her head. Her long, silky hair swept down to her waist, her prideful figure even rivaling Gentle Snow''s in God''s Domain. As she stood beside her luxury sports car, passersby could not help but turn to look at her. "Who is that? She''s so beautiful!" "She''s even more beautiful than our school''s beauty! I wonder who she''s waiting for?" Some of the men training at the Big Dipper Training Center drooled as they stared at Zhao Ruoxi. However, as this was the Greenwater Villa, the person living here was definitely someone extraordinary. Hence, the most they did was look, none of them daring to approach Zhao Ruoxi. "You''re finally here! Get in!" Zhao Ruoxi, who had initially worn a displeased expression, revealed a happy smile when she saw Shi Feng. "Hurry up! We should still be able to make it in time if we leave now." "What''s the rush? Isn''t the party at six?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "You''ll understand once you get there." Zhao Ruoxi revealed a proud smile. Pretending to be mysterious, she said, "However, when the time comes, you''ll definitely be shocked." "Shocked, huh?" Shi Feng simply smiled in response, no longer probing the matter as he slid into the car. Zhao Ruoxi then stomped on the accelerator, her sports car rolling up a cloud of smoke as it left the Greenwater Villa. 709 Birthday Party Chapter 709 - Birthday Party High-rise buildings loomed over the bustling, downtown streets. However, there were two buildings that stood out from the rest: a pair of twin towers that were over 300-stories tall. The twin towers shone like the city''s emperors, overlooking all life inside the city limits. These towers had long since become one of the symbols of Jin Hai City. At the same time, the twin towers were also Jin Hai City''s famous 6-star hotel, the Blue Ocean Horizon. Having a meal or staying a night in this hotel cost more than a month''s salary for an ordinary office worker. Normally, only Jin Hai City''s big-shots could afford to dine or rest here. Ordinary people could only watch from far away. Zhao Ruoxi was the Zhao Group''s princess. The Zhao Group''s influence in Jin Hai City was massive. Their yearly income was astounding. Furthermore, they were one of the Blue Ocean Horizon''s major shareholders. Zhao Ruoxi stopped her car in front of the Blue Ocean Horizon''s entrance. Immediately, four valets came up and opened the driver''s door respectfully. When Zhao Ruoxi exited her car, the four valets were momentarily mesmerized. However, they very quickly snapped out of their daze. Not only was Zhao Ruoxi an absolute beauty, but she also arrived in an impressively luxurious car. There was no doubt that her identity was extraordinary. She also exuded a noble aura. She was definitely out of their lowly reach. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who emerged from the other side of the car, similarly shocked the four valets, though in an entirely different way. As the Blue Ocean Horizon''s valets, they had seen all sorts of people. Hence, they were quite confident of their judgment, particularly of a person''s attire. Although Shi Feng wore a very fitting suit, based on the suit''s design and fabric, they could immediately tell that it was nothing special. The suit was far below the Blue Ocean Horizon''s standards. Is he a bodyguard? The four valets wondered. However, they were surprised when Zhao Ruoxi slid her arm into Shi Feng''s as they made their way into the hotel. The valets'' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. All four were utterly dumbfounded. After entering the Blue Ocean Horizon, Zhao Ruoxi led Shi Feng to the Hotel''s top floor. There, one could view Jin Hai City in its entirety. The sight was breathtaking. Many people already mingled inside the large, magnificent banquet hall. They were all famous figures and held influential positions within the city. Normally, it would be difficult to meet even one of them. Today, however, so many of these powerful figures had gathered here. One could just imagine how much influence the Zhao Group possessed. "Is that the young lady of the Zhao Group?" a handsome young man in a white suit could not help but shift his gaze towards Zhao Ruoxi, who had just entered the hall. Unconsciously, he muttered, "If I can marry her, I won''t have to lift a finger for the next hundred years." "You?" Lan Hailong, who was dressed in a black, high-class suit, shook his head. Smirking, he said, "Duan Xianglin, you don''t recognize the man beside the young lady, do you?" "Looking at how he''s dressed and his peasant-like temperament, do you think he could be a challenge for a prince of a major financial group like myself?" the youth named Duan Xianglin asked disdainfully. Although the Duan Group could not compare to the Zhao Group, it was still one of the top ranking financial firms in Jin Hai City. If he wanted to, a group of beautiful women would flock to him with a wave of his hand. How could a lucky peasant possibly be a match for him? Moreover, even if Zhao Ruoxi had taken a liking to the brat, the Zhao Group would never agree to the match. "I guess it''s expected that you don''t know. After all, you only recently returned to the city. The man beside Miss Zhao is Shi Feng. He is the martial arts master who is currently in charge of the Big Dipper Training Center. Duan Xianglin suddenly fell silent. Although he doubted the claim, Lan Hailong was a good friend of his. He had no reason to lie to him. Moreover, there was no point to such a lie, as the truth would come to light with a little investigation. If Shi Feng had become an internal force expert at such a young age, it would not be surprising if he became a top-level international fighter in the future. They were currently living in the age of combat. The reputation and status an international fighter possessed were immense, and even an existence like the Zhao Group want to fawn over them, not to mention a small financial group. Lan Hailong had a complex look in his eyes as he watched Shi Feng enter the banquet hall. Not too long ago, Shi Feng had merely been a minor character, yet the youth had become someone who even he looked up to. However, Lan Hailong did not look up to Shi Feng due to his title as a martial arts master, but due to Zero Wing! Among everyone present, only Lan Hailong truly knew how amazing Shi Feng was. Currently, God''s Domain''s popularity grew by the day, with major corporations investing in the game with fervor. One could already imagine what kind of future the game would offer its experts. Although the Shadow Guild under his control had developed fairly well so far, compared to Zero Wing, Shadow was a joke. Shadow was just one of the many Guilds in White River City. However, Zero Wing had become the city''s absolute overlord. Even Stone Forest Town, which every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom lusted after, had fallen under Zero Wing''s control. The Stoneclaw Mountains were Zero Wing''s backyard. If Zero Wing continued developing at this rate, it might even be possible for the upstart Guild to become Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. The Guild''s influence at that time could easily be surmised with one wordfrightening. Meanwhile, Lan Hailong had heard that Shi Feng had become one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Hence, how could he possibly not be impressed? It would have been awesome had I managed to form a close relationship with him. It is all that foolish Ling Feilong''s fault! He made me lose such a perfect opportunity! Even now, Lan Hailong grew angry whenever he thought about Ling Feilong. However, he had long since banished Ling Feilong from Shadow Workshop, severing all ties with the foolish bastard. Otherwise, in the off chance Ling Feilong managed to provoke Shi Feng, he would cry himself to death if Shi Feng mobilized Zero Wing to deal with Shadow. --- Inside one of the luxurious rooms on the top floor banquet hall: Two middle-aged men conversed quietly. One wore a silvery-gray suit, while the other wore a set of white robes. When Zhao Ruoxi entered the room with Shi Feng, the two men ended their conversation immediately and shifted their gazes towards Shi Feng. "Old Zhao, this must be the little brat you''ve been talking about, right? Indeed, I am impressed," the white-robed man could not help but utter words of praise after giving Shi Feng a rough evaluation. Zhao Jianhua, who wore the silver suit, said happily, "Of course! Didn''t I say that Ruoxi''s foresight is much better than mine?" "Second uncle!" A faint blush appeared on Zhao Ruoxi''s cheeks. Hurriedly explaining, she said, "It''s not what you think!" "I get it; I get it," Zhao Jianhua nodded, giving his niece an understanding look. While Zhao Jianhua poked fun at Zhao Ruoxi, Shi Feng focused his attention on the middle-aged man beside Zhao Jianhua. Shi Feng could feel the aura of a martial artist coming off of this man. However, his aura was different from that of experts like Lei Bao. Standing before this white-robed man, Shi Feng felt as if this man''s aura dominated the room. It felt as if the white-robed man were the ruler of this space. A Domain? Shi Feng could not help his shock. However, he quickly denied this thought. No, that''s not right. This isn''t a Domain. Having a Domain is like forming a separate world around oneself. Owners of Domains have absolute control within their Domains. These existences can no longer be considered human. The danger they give off is also on a whole different level. Although the white-robed man before him was not as powerful as Martial Dragon, he was not far from achieving a Domain, either. Just who is this? Shi Feng wondered as he watched the white-robed man before him. There were extremely few internal force experts in the world. However, looking at the man before him, Shi Feng judged that not only was he an internal force expert, but he was also a monster who was close to grasping a Domain. Such a character had actually appeared in a small place like Jin Hai City. It was truly inconceivable. 710 The Mysterious Shi Feng Chapter 710 - The Mysterious Shi Feng Ever since Shi Feng''s brain activity had improved, his senses had become extraordinarily sharp. The white-robed man before him hid his strength very well. Currently, he felt like the quiet ocean that would accommodate everything. He felt comfortable to be around. In front of this man, Shi Feng could not find it in himself to generate any hostility at all. However, it was precisely because of this that Shi Feng was afraid of him. He had honed his senses through countless life and death battles in God''s Domain. Particularly, after his brain activity had improved, it had become a lot harder for others to put his mind at ease. However, the white-robed man''s every action easily slipped through his warning senses. If the man before him suddenly decided to strike, the consequences would be dire. "Young man, you are really impressive. You have actually become one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons at such a young age. Sure enough, Zero Wing has hidden itself quite deeply," the white-robed man said in a very friendly tone as he smiled at Shi Feng. "Ah, right. I haven''t introduced myself. I''m Yuan Tiexin, an Elder of the Secret Pavilion." "Shi Feng, haven''t you been playing God''s Domain for some time? Uncle Yuan is an expert of the virtual gaming world''s older generation. Although he might not be a match for you in real life, in virtual reality games, he might be even more powerful than you! This is a good chance to ask him for some guidance," Zhao Ruoxi said, her lips unconsciously curling into a smile when she saw Shi Feng''s surprised expression. Before this, Shi Feng had maintained a calm composure. He had always been the one to hold the initiative. Now that she watched something fluster Shi Feng, she could not help but feel a little proud of herself. Shi Feng was speechless when he saw Zhao Ruoxi''s joyous look. Yuan Tiexin was a hidden expert in the truest sense of the word. Both in fighting and gaming, the middle-aged man was far above him. It was a fact that he had played God''s Domain for more than a decade now. However, one''s superiority was not determined by the amount of time one played God''s Domain. Otherwise, there would not have been so many players stuck at Tier 2, unable to advance to Tier 3, even after ten years. One also had to take into account aspects such as opportunity, talent, and luck. For example, most people would live out their lives in obscurity; some would spend only a few years to reach astounding heights that others would never touch throughout their entire lives. God''s Domain was similar in this manner. Shi Feng was not so arrogant as to think that he was invincible in God''s Domain. He had only utilized his memories to obtain certain opportunities. "Little girl, you speak too highly of me. Young man, I was only interested in meeting you after hearing Ruoxi say that she''d bring someone promising, one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons. To suggest asking me for guidance...I''m not that amazing of a person. You can just call me Uncle Yuan," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling as he shook his head. "Let''s have a seat before we continue our chat." Although Yuan Tiexin had spoken casually, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless around the man. The Secret Pavilion was not just any Guild. It was an existence that everyone in the virtual gaming world knew. The Secret Pavilion specialized in collecting and selling information on the major powers of various games. The Secret Pavilion ability to compile the God''s Domain Experts List showed how skilled it was in gathering information. "Uncle Yuan, you''ve constantly talked about Shi Feng''s status in Zero Wing. Is Zero Wing an amazing Guild?" Zhao Ruoxi asked curiously. Zhao Jianhua was also curious. Yuan Tiexin had mentioned Zero Wing multiple times now and had even praised Shi Feng''s potential. After knowing Yuan Tiexin for so long, this was the first time he had seen the man react in such a way. Although he did not have much contact with virtual reality games, he knew that Yuan Tiexin''s status in the virtual gaming world was quite high. Particularly, after God''s Domain became popular, Yuan Tiexin''s status had grown with it. Many major international corporations had tried to contact Yuan Tiexin, some going as far as fawning over him. Although their Zhao Group possessed some status and wealth in Jin Hai City, they were nothing compared to those major international corporations. They were not even on the same level. Yet, such powers fawned over Yuan Tiexin. Although this was Zhao Ruoxi''s birthday party, Zhao Jianhua had been surprised that he had convinced Yuan Tiexin to attend. Zhao Jianhua knew Yuan Tiexin''s itinerary. Today, he should be meeting with the upper echelons of a major international corporation, yet he had come here instead. The man had not attended out of respect for Zhao Jianhua, either. He had joined them today to meet Shi Feng. Thinking up to this point, Zhao Jianhua could not help but inwardly sigh. However, he was also pleased. "You two might not know this since you don''t play God''s Domain, but Zero Wing is a very popular Guild in the virtual gaming world. It has caught the attention of various parties. Based on my understanding, even Open Source Corporation has set its eyes on Zero Wing, going so far as to offer a high price to purchase some of the Guild''s shares. However, Zero Wing had rejected OSC," Yuan Tiexin exclaimed. "Open Source Corporation? The Open Source Corporation which focuses on trading New Energy?" Zhao Jianhua did not dare believe it to be true. Hence, he wanted to confirm if the Open Source Corporation Yuan Tiexin mentioned was the major corporation that he knew. "Yes. I was quite shocked when I received the news. I never thought that the youngsters these days would act so impulsively. There are countless Guilds hoping to gain OSC''s financial support. This is my first time hearing of someone actually refusing OSC''s offer." Yuan Tiexin nodded. Chuckling, he said, "I''ve come here for two reasons. First, I wanted to see Ruoxi. Second, I wanted to meet this upper echelon of Zero Wing that I''ve heard so much about in the hopes that I can arrange a meeting with the incomparably mysterious Guild Leader, Black Flame. I wonder if I can have the honor?" Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Ruoxi were dumbfounded when they heard Yuan Tiexin''s words. They shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng. Rejecting Open Source Corporation''s investment was shocking enough. They had never imagined that Yuan Tiexin had actually come here in person to obtain Shi Feng''s help For a moment, both Zhao Jianhua and Zhao Ruoxi''s minds were blank. However, as the person of interest, Shi Feng wore a calm expression as he said, "Since Uncle Yuan wishes to meet my Guild Leader, I will try my best to get in touch with him for you. However, the Guild Leader has always been a busy man. I cannot guarantee that he will be willing to meet with you; I hope that Uncle Yuan can forgive me." "Certainly. I also hope you will pass on a message to Guild Leader Black Flame for me. The Flower of Seven Sins has begun to act," Yuan Tiexin said very confidently. "I believe that once Guild Leader Black Flame receives this information, he will accept my request." When Shi Feng heard the news of the Flower of Seven Sins taking action, his heart involuntarily shuddered, a serious expression appearing on his face. The Secret Pavilion had obtained this information; there was no need to question its authenticity. Since Yuan Tiexin had reported that the Flower of Seven Sins was on the move, it meant that Exemplary Willow was willing to pay the Flower of Seven Sins'' price. Aqua Rose had already told him that the Guild''s upper echelons were rapidly growing stronger. At this moment, three of them had reached the eighth floor, and seven people had reached the seventh floor. As for everyone else, they were all at the late stage of the sixth floor. The Flower of Seven Sins'' price was undoubtedly astronomical. Has that woman lost her mind? No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, this was not a worthy tradeoff. Unless 711 Violent Dragon Se Chapter 711 - Violent Dragon Set After the birthday party ended, Shi Feng immediately returned to the Greenwater Villa and logged back into God''s Domain. Yuan Tiexin had already made himself very clear with his words. If Shi Feng wished to find out more about the Flower of Seven Sins, then it would be best if he contacted the man. Since the Flower of Seven Sins had already started taking action, then what he needed to do right now was prepare for the upcoming battle. If he had information on the exact movements of the organization, at the very least, he would not be caught off-guard. The Flower of Seven Sins had yet to fail at a job. If the organization truly managed to annihilate Zero Wing''s upper echelon, it would deal an irrecoverable blow to the Guildespecially now that the Star Alliance had declared all-out war on Zero Wing. In fact, during the time Shi Feng was at the party, many battles between the two Guilds had occurred both inside and outside the Stoneclaw Mountains. Fortunately, though both sides had suffered losses, Zero Wing had the upper hand since it also had help from Ouroboros. Even so, the situation was not looking too good, as the Star Alliance also had many Red Names and Workshops on its side. This situation prevented the members of Zero Wing from focusing on grinding at the Stoneclaw Mountains. On the sidelines, other Guilds were quietly eyeing Zero Wing as well. If this situation dragged on, it would be extremely detrimental towards the level and equipment of Zero Wing''s members. On top of that, if Zero Wing''s upper echelon were to suffer complete annihilation, the blow to the Guild would be fatal. Then, the various Guilds grinding at the Stoneclaw Mountains would definitely have designs on Stone Forest Town. At that time, if these Guilds were to band together with the Star Alliance to deal with Zero Wing Shi Feng did not wish to see such a situation take place. When Shi Feng logged back into God''s Domain once more, he had already been teleported out of the Blood Refining Passage, appearing at the foot of Mount Sogar. He immediately opened his Friends List and chose to add a friend. Shi Feng had set his Friends List so that it was shielded, which prevented others from adding him as a friend. As for messages and calls, his settings automatically rejected those from strangers. Hence, other than his friends, nobody had any way of contacting him. Yuan Tiexin had told Shi Feng that his God''s Domain ID was Grilled Ironheart[1]. Currently, Shi Feng was using his identity as Black Flame to add Yuan Tiexin as a friend. As long as Yuan Tiexin agreed to the friend request, the middle-aged man would be able to contact Shi Feng right away. Less than five minutes after Shi Feng sent out the friend request, the system notified him that Grilled Ironheart had agreed to become his friend. "It really has been difficult for the Secret Pavilion to get in touch with you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has taken the initiative to contact me, then you must be very interested in the information regarding the Flower of Seven Sins," Yuan Tiexin said slowly. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that the Secret Pavilion thrives on trading information. If you wish to obtain information on something, then you have to pay an appropriate price for it. I believe Guild Leader Black Flame should understand this point, right?" "I understand what you are trying to say. Without a doubt, you guys must be aiming for the Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Yet, it also won''t be so convenient for you to obtain them. Hence, seeing as you are trying to make contact with me at this time, you must be hoping to set up a foothold at Stone Forest Town, correct?" Initially, Shi Feng had felt it strange that a major character like Yuan Tiexin would appear at Zhao Ruoxi''s birthday party. However, when the middle-aged man had brought up his wish to make contact with Black Flame, Shi Feng immediately understood his goal. The Magic Crystal was an essential resource required for a player to develop in God''s Domain. Although the various kingdoms and empires around the continent also had their own Regional Dungeons that could produce Magic Crystals, these Regional Dungeons remained undiscovered. Moreover, even if some countries had activated their Regional Dungeons, the drop-rate of Magic Crystals there could not compare to the Stoneclaw Mountains. The Stoneclaw Mountains was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. A Regional Dungeon of such high difficulty would naturally have much better drop-rates than other Regional Dungeons. Although the Secret Pavilion was quite a lofty existence in God''s Domain, it had yet to reach the standard of an omnipotent God. The Secret Pavilion might not have much need for Coins, weapons, and equipment, but it was a different story for Magic Crystals. After all, if they wished to maintain their status as a lofty existence, strength was still necessary. For example, the current Yuan Tiexin, whom Shi Feng was looking at through the video chat, carried a flame-shaped shield and wore spiked scale armor. This spiked scale armor set was the Violent Dragon Set, a Level 30 Dark-Gold Set Equipment meant for Shield Warriors. To obtain the entire set, one had to complete a series of high-level quests that was utterly impossible without a very powerful 100-man team. The difficulty of the quests was only slightly lower than the difficulty of raiding a 100-man Team Dungeon. One could just imagine how powerful the Secret Pavilion was. It should be known that Shi Feng had relied on special means to clear a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Otherwise, raiding the Hell Mode Frost Prison would have been utterly impossible. "Guild Leader Black Flame is certainly amazing. That''s right. The Secret Pavilion is indeed very interested in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Hence, we hope to set up a Guild Residence at Stone Forest Town," Yuan Tiexin said laudatorily. Practically everyone within the Secret Pavilion was familiar with the name of Black Flame by now. As for why they were very familiar with it, it was not because Black Flame was the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. Rather, it was because Black Flame had managed to kill one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strongest fighters, Martial Dragon. Although he had the aid of a Personal Guard, that, too, could be considered a part of his own strength. "Straight to the point, I see. I wonder, what benefits can the Secret Pavilion bring to me, then?" Shi Feng asked, smiling bitterly. In truth, letting the Secret Pavilion establish a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town would not affect Shi Feng in any way. The Secret Pavilion''s home ground was not in Star-Moon Kingdom. It would not have any conflicts of interest with Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wing was not yet strong enough to prevent others from entering the Stoneclaw Mountains. Moreover, if the Secret Pavilion invested in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing could also earn some repair fees from the Guild. However, even though there were no demerits, that did not mean he should let the Secret Pavilion enter Stone Forest Town for free. "Guild Leader Black Flame can rest assured on this point. The Secret Pavilion can provide you with the general information regarding the Flower of Seven Sins'' hit list on Zero Wing and the assigned assassins. To know one''s own strength and the enemy''s is the sure way to victory. I believe that, with this information, Guild Leader Black Flame will have a much easier time coping with the situation." Although Yuan Tiexin had said these words very casually, Shi Feng''s heart was already beating madly at this moment. Shi Feng had never imagined that the Secret Pavilion was such a frightening existence! The Flower of Seven Sins was a very mysterious organization in the virtual gaming world. Its movements were kept even more of a secret from others. Yet, the Secret Pavilion was actually able to obtain such information. It was simply inconceivable. If I have this information, with Zero Wing''s current state, we should be able to cope with the assassinations of the Flower of Seven Sins. Shi Feng had some knowledge regarding the jobs carried out by the Flower of Seven Sins. Normally, the organization would send out assassins according to the mission''s difficulty. Unless it was absolutely necessary, the organization would not field an overwhelming force to complete a mission. Shi Feng did not think that the Flower of Seven Sins would rank an upstart Guild like Zero Wing that highly on their mission board. If he responded properly, Zero Wing had a definite chance of defeating the Flower of Seven Sins. If the Flower of Seven Sins failed a mission, they would drop it. Moreover, they would return only half of the remunerations paid. Unless, of course, someone spent more money to commission a new mission. At that time, however, the price would be more than double that of the first time. Shi Feng did not believe that Open Source Corporation would be willing to spend that much money on commissioning another hit on Zero Wing. "May I know Guild Leader Black Flame''s thoughts on this?" Yuan Tiexin asked, smiling. TL Notes: [1] Grilled Ironheart(˻): Yuan Tiexin(Ԭ) has no relation to Roasted Ironheart(). Their in-game names are just that similar. 712 Three Realms of Refinemen Chapter 712 - Three Realms of Refinement "Okay, I can agree to your conditions. However, aside from providing information on the assassins this time, you guys must also keep me updated on the latest developments of the Flower of Seven Sins." Shi Feng put out another request after giving the situation some more thought. Since the Secret Pavilion was able to uncover the hit list and hit men, it would be an easy task for the Guild to find out the specific time when the organization would take action. If he knew the general timing of when the Flower of Seven Sins was going to attack, he would have a better chance of laying a trap to deal with the organization''s hit men. Combat in God''s Domain was not just limited to simple ambushes. There were various sorts of means one could use to deal with other players. Only, the mindset of current players was still confined to previous virtual reality games. This thinking held that only players could be used to deal with other players. In fact, one could also employ traps in PvP. As long as one knew the opponent''s movements and then proceeded with setting up a trap at a fixed location, one could kill off their targets without even lifting a finger. Moreover, even if the trap could not finish off the target, one could still gain the initiative in the battle, placing their opponent in a disadvantageous position. "Deal. As long as they make a move, I''ll notify you of it immediately. However, even I will only be able to tell you the general timeframe for when they take action. As for when and where exactly they are going to take action, those are far beyond the abilities of the Secret Pavilion." Yuan Tiexin agreed immediately, his voice filled with confidence and determination. He had long since guessed that Shi Feng would ask for something like this. A short moment later, both parties signed a contract through the Main God System. Shi Feng would provide a location in Stone Forest Town for the Secret Pavilion to establish its Guild Residence, while the Secret Pavilion would provide Shi Feng with reports relating to the Flower of Seven Sins'' movements against Zero Wing. After the contract was signed, Shi Feng received the report he wanted from Yuan Tiexin almost immediately. Sure enough, he really is an old fox. After taking a look at the information, Shi Feng found that the file included even the latest movements of the Flower of Seven Sins. Yuan Tiexin had obviously prepared this report long before their conversation. The middle-aged man had only been waiting for him negotiate for it. However, Shi Feng could not help but admit that the trade this time was very worthwhile. Even if he spent a large sum of Credits to investigate the movements of the Flower of Seven Sins, it was unlikely he could come up with the information he wanted. Currently, the Flower of Seven Sins had yet to establish a permanent base of operations in God''s Domain. Moreover, the organization was not a Guild. All its members were independent players, and every member of the organization was extremely mysterious. Just investigating one member would be an extremely complicated task, not to mention carrying out an investigation on the movements and strengths of the majority of the organization''s members. Only a force like the Secret Pavilion could achieve such a feat. If not for the Secret Pavilion''s interest in the Stoneclaw Mountains this time, Shi Feng did not believe the Secret Pavilion would sell him this information even if he asked for it. After all, not only would the Guild provoke the Flower of Seven Sins by doing so, but it would also expose some of the Secret Pavilion''s capabilities. "Guild Leader Black Flame, in celebration of our first successful cooperation, I will provide you with additional information. The major forces eyeing Zero Wing right now aren''t limited to Open Source Corporation. Some have already begun taking action. While dealing with the Flower of Seven Sins, it is best to take additional precautions," Yuan Tiexin laughed. He then disconnected the call. "Other major forces are participating in the struggle this time?" Shi Feng''s expression suddenly grew serious. In the past, the Star Alliance had been the one that managed to obtain the Stoneclaw Mountains in the end. Back then, the average Level of players was much higher. The Stoneclaw Mountains had also been mostly developed. Quite a number of Regional Dungeons that could produce Magic Crystals had also appeared in other kingdoms and empires. Hence, the various major forces of God''s Domain naturally would not bother going out of their way to lay claim to the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, things were different in this life. He had managed to obtain Stone Forest Town a lot earlier thanks to the special means he had employed. However, this had also resulted in a situation where obtaining Stone Forest Town was equivalent to claiming the Stoneclaw Mountains. "It seems that I''ve gone a little overboard this time." Shi Feng could not help laughing bitterly as he shook his head. "However, if I didn''t take the opportunity to obtain Stone Forest Town back then, doing so would have become much more difficult in the future. It also wouldn''t have become the goldmine that it is right now. "Forget it. Since things have already gotten to this point, I can only deal with the problems as they crop up." Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began analyzing the information supplied by the Secret Pavilion. Open Source Corporation really is going big this time. They''re actually targeting the members of the main force as well. Shi Feng involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air after reading the report. The Flower of Seven Sins had a very high asking price. OSC had paid for two deaths for every member of Zero Wing''s main force. Although that number was much lower than for Zero Wing''s upper echelon, for whom OSC had paid for ten deaths each, it would still weaken Zero Wing''s main force significantly. But really though, the people from the Flower of Seven Sins are sure looking down on Zero Wing. They are actually sending less than 50 members to deal with us. Giving the list of assassins a glance, Shi Feng could immediately tell how confident the Flower of Seven Sins was. They had not bothered relying on numbers at all. Although Secret Pavilion''s information was not complete, judging from what was in the report, every one of these people could be considered a top-tier expert in God''s Domain. They all were Level 33 and above, and even their most inferior equipment was Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The Secret Pavilion really is powerful. They even have a general assessment of the combat standards of these people. After carefully looking through the Secret Pavilion''s report, Shi Feng gained a new understanding of the Guild. The Secret Pavilion was simply terrifying. Compared to the level of detail in this report, the information the Secret Pavilion published on the God''s Domain Experts List was child''s play. However, the Flower of Seven Sins was indeed as frightening as the rumors made it out to be. Of the assassins the organization sent, over 30 people had already set foot into the Refinement Realm. No matter which Guild these experts were in, they would surely rank among the top of the Guild, yet the Flower of Seven Sins had actually managed to dispatch over 30 of such people. Among these 30-plus people, seven had even managed to reach the next stage of the Refinement Realmthe Flowing Water Realm. However, the most powerful assassin sent by the Flower of Seven Sins was not one of those seven Flowing Water Realm experts. Instead, it was an expert who had reached an even further realm. The categorization of a player''s combat power using combat standards such as the Refinement Realm was a concept that had existed even before the launch of God''s Domain. Moreover, it had existed for a very long time already, so the theoretical setup behind the concept had long since been perfected. The system was not unique to God''s Domain. Only, God''s Domain had made the concept of the Refinement Realm known to the general public. Back then, Shi Feng had learned of the combat realms dividing expert players only after coming in touch with God''s Domain. There were a total of three Realms of Refinement: the Refinement Realm, the Flowing Water Realm, and the Void Realm. Of these three realms, the latter was higher than the former. Meanwhile, only those who managed to enter the Refinement Realm were considered true top-tier experts of God''s Domain. Each one of these experts was capable of going up against an entire army of players by themselves. Meanwhile, above the Realms of Refinement would be the Domain. However, the monsters that had managed to achieve a Domain were as rare as a phoenix''s feather. One such existence was Martial Dragon. If Shi Feng had not relied on his Attributes to suppress Martial Dragon back then, in addition to having the assistance of his Personal Guard Kite, defeating Martial Dragon would have been utterly impossible. Had the fight dragged on, Shi Feng would have been the loser, instead. Currently, although Shi Feng still had the advantage in equipment, this advantage was continuously shrinking. It seems that this Void Realm expert has been prepared to deal with me? Shi Feng could not help but inwardly guess. Even if he could successfully deal with his opponent, the other members of the Guild 713 Silver Chapter 713 - Silver Firewing Empire, Firewing Imperial Capital: "Tiexin, were your negotiations successful?" a white-browed youth wearing a pair of frosty robes asked, shifting his gaze towards Yuan Tiexin, who had just entered the room. Yuan Tiexin was one of the Elders of the Secret Pavilion, his position within the Guild very high. Moreover, he was already 50 years old this year. Yet, despite the white-browed youth directly calling Yuan Tiexin by his personal name, the latter did not show any signs of dissatisfaction. On the contrary, Yuan Tiexin carefully handed over the contract he signed with Shi Feng to the youth in a very respectful manner and said seriously, "Just like Guild Leader has surmised, Black Flame was very incisive in making a decision. We can now begin constructing our Guild Residence at Stone Forest Town immediately." If Shi Feng were here right now, he would definitely be shocked. After all, the Secret Pavilion''s Guild Leader was actually a young man. "Ah, thanks for your hard work. Have Wen Yao bring the kids there, then. This time, we can let those kids get a chance to widen their horizons a little. Ever since God''s Domain''s launch, the virtual gaming world has not been as nice a place to mingle around in as it had been." The white-browed youth took a glance at the contract and accepted it with satisfaction. He then turned to look at Yuan Tiexin, smiling as he asked, "Tiexin, just ask whatever is on your mind." "Guild Leader, the Flower of Seven Sins has already targeted Zero Wing. If we include those other people as well, there is simply no chance for Zero Wing to protect Stone Forest Town. Aren''t we just making an unnecessary move with this?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but ask. "This can''t really be considered an unnecessary move. I am simply hoping to have Zero Wing test out the Flower of Seven Sins. If we can get the others to expose themselves as well, we will have profited in this exchange," the white-browed youth replied, laughing. He then took out a document and placed it before Yuan Tiexin, saying, "You''ll know once you take a look at this." Yuan Tiexin was inwardly very confused at the youth''s words. He promptly began flipping through the document. "How could this be?!" Yuan Tiexin was shocked. "That Silver has appeared? Is there some sort of mistake here? Zero Wing is merely an upstart Guild. Although that Black Flame indeed possesses some ability, it is not to the degree where it is necessary for Silver to take action, right?" "Whether Silver will be taking action personally or not, I am not sure. However, it is certain that he will be going with the group that''s going to attack Zero Wing. If he is willing to take action, this will be the perfect opportunity for us to gather some information on him," the white-browed youth said, shaking his head. Silver was part of the upper echelon of the Flower of Seven Sins. Even for the Secret Pavilion, obtaining information on Silver was extraordinarily difficult. Meanwhile, a perfect opportunity to do so had just appeared before them, and he did not wish to let the others from the Flower of Seven Sins ruin this opportunity. If the other members of the Flower of Seven Sins defeated Zero Wing swiftly, then a superior like Silver would naturally not take action because Zero Wing simply did not possess this qualification. However, if Zero Wing could force the Flower of Seven Sins into a bitter battle, the possibility of Silver taking action would be much higher. "Guild Leader, can I go as well?" Yuan Tiexin, who was usually calm and collected, currently had a hint of excitement in his eyes. Silver was an existence akin to a legend in the virtual gaming world. Every time he took action, he would cause an earth-shattering sensation. However, the people who knew of him were extremely few, as the various major powers would take the initiative to keep this information hidden, giving ordinary powers no chance to learn about Silver at all. "Go if you want to, but don''t arouse any suspicions. It will be best if you go in disguise," the white-browed youth replied. He then took out a dark gray ring with purple elvish words engraved on it, the ring itself giving off the glow effect unique to Dark-Gold items. "I understand." Yuan Tiexin''s heart began beating madly when he heard the youth''s words. He then picked up the ring and hurriedly left the Guild Leader''s office. --- The Top of the World, the Dragon''s Maw: The Dragon''s Maw was a map filled with steep and winding paths, and these paths extended down towards a bottomless crater. The crater looked just like a massive mouth that was trying to devour everything. At this moment, Shi Feng was standing at the entrance of a small path, looking down at the sight before him. No wonder this place is called the Dragon''s Maw. It''s simply impossible to see the bottom of this crater from out here. Everywhere around this place is sending my alarm bells ringing. This really isn''t a place for ordinary people. As Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings, he could feel a premonition of death coming from all around the Dragon''s Maw. Yet, strangely enough, he could not see any signs of danger here. There was not a single monster present within his field of vision. Nevertheless, his intuition was warning him that he might lose his life at any given moment, should he set foot on the path before him. This time, however, Shi Feng had no choice but to ignore his intuition and step forward. The assassins from the Flower of Seven Sins possessed overwhelming strength. With a force of over 30 Refinement Experts, seven Flowing Water Experts, and one Void Expert, who were all geared in Level 30 top-tier equipment, not to mention killing Zero Wing''s main force, the group could even attempt to kill a Super Guild''s main force. In Zero Wing, aside from Shi Feng himself being a Flowing Water Expert, there was nobody else within the Realms of Refinement. Even with the advantage in Attributes, Shi Feng knew very clearly that Zero Wing''s main force stood no chance at all against so many Refinement Experts. The outcome would be the same even if they had the Power of Darkness. After all, if even the members of Zero Wing''s main force possessed Berserk Skills, how could it be possible for these Refinement Experts not to have obtained one for themselves? Even if not everyone from the Flower of Seven Sins had managed to get their hands on a Berserk Skill, as long as there were a few who had, these few people could easily annihilate Zero Wing''s entire main force. Whether it was Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, or Fire Dance, all three of these girls possessed massive potential. Unfortunately, having potential did not necessarily mean they were strong right now. If they had several years'' time to grow No, even if it were just half a year''s time, if he properly guided them and helped them fully realize their potential, no doubt they would be able to cream these experts. However, there was simply not enough time right now. From the report of the Secret Pavilion, Shi Feng knew that the Flower of Seven Sins was still in the process of making preparations, which might take anywhere from three to five days. Hence, it was highly possible for them to take action within these three to five days. However, he did not possess a method to improve everyone''s strength significantly within such a short timespan. The improvement of combat techniques required time and accumulation of experience, not to mention setting foot into the unfathomable Realm of Refinement. Despite Fire Dance and Violet Cloud being just a thread away from entering the Refinement Realm, no matter what they did, they were unable to achieve a breakthrough. Even Shi Feng had no methods to assist them in breaking through. Otherwise, the Refinement Realm would not have become the great divide that differentiated ordinary experts from top-tier experts in God''s Domain. Even Super Guilds would find it very difficult to nurture a Refinement Expert. Although there was the option of bringing Fire Dance and the others to level up, the possible improvements through this method were limited. Within four or five days, the most he could do was help everyone in the main force gain two more levels. The first reason for this was because everyone was already high-leveled now. The amount of EXP they required to level up was a lot. The other reason was that, while he was capable of killing monsters that were many levels higher than himself, the others could not. At most, they could only serve as support. If the EXP of the monsters he killed were to be split among 100 players, the overall leveling speed of Zero Wing''s main force would only be slightly faster than an ordinary expert''s. Rather than doing such a futile action, Shi Feng decided to go all-out. Although Solomon''s Sword had been broken into five parts, even the weakest fragment could improve a person''s strength to a very frightening degree. As long as he could obtain the weapon hidden inside the Dragon''s Maw, it might be possible for him to pull off an upset in the upcoming battle with the Flower of Seven Sins. As Shi Feng walked deeper into the crater along the small path, he used the Magic Amplification Scroll once more to summon a Level 52 Tier 3 Demon, to deal with unexpected situations. However, even after walking for more than three hours, Shi Feng did not encounter a single monster. His surroundings were deathly silent. Occasionally, he could also hear agonizing screams as if an invisible ghost were standing right beside him. Not wishing to waste too much time, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and quickly descended the path. Finally, after traveling for another two hours or so, he arrived at the bottom of the crater. "Statues?" At the dark bottom, Shi Feng discovered many lifelike stone statues carved in the form of various creatures: humans, Elves, Half-orcs, and many more. Every single one of these statues had an expression of horror on their faces. It was as if they had seen something extremely terrifying. Before Shi Feng could further analyze these statues, the sounds of stone shattering entered his ears. He quickly shifted his eyes towards the source of the sounds, discovering more than a dozen black shadows moving about. These black shadows were tiny, roughly the size of an ordinary person''s fist. However, their speed was horrifying; it was practically impossible for the naked eye to keep up with them. Most importantly, every single one of these shadows gave Shi Feng a heavy sense of dread. Meanwhile, these black shadows were currently approaching Shi Feng at lightning speed. 714 Engineering Tool Chapter 714 - Engineering Tool The floor of the crater was very dark. As a result, Shi Feng was caught completely by surprise when the dozen or so shadows suddenly appeared. He did not have time to direct the Tier 3 Demon to protect him. Seeing three fist-sized shadows fly straight at him, Shi Feng immediately switched the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Aura of Wind to the Aura of Earth and activated Absolute Defense. Suddenly, a pale yellow glow surrounded Shi Feng''s body. The black shadows created massive tremors when they crashed into the golden barrier. The powerful impact Shi Feng sent flying more than ten yards away. After receiving the bombardment, Shi Feng managed to uncover the black shadows'' true identity. [Quartz Worm] (Special Elite) Level 60 HP 420,000/420,000 These Quartz Worms were made of black quartz crystals. In addition to their small bodies and astounding speed, they were extremely difficult to detect in this darkness. Although these Special Elites had low HP, their Attack Power was frighteningly high. So many Quartz Worms would even kill a Tier 2 player instantly. Fortunately, Shi Feng had Absolute Defense. Even though these Quartz Worms were Level 60 Special Elites, they could not break through the Aura of Earth''s Activatable Skill. However, as the seconds ticked by, more Quartz Worms started to appear. In the blink of an eye, nearly 60 Quartz Worms had surrounded Shi Feng. He could not help but shiver as he felt the numerous beady, bright red eyes on him. These Quartz Worms gave Shi Feng no opportunities to escape as they surrounded him and barraged him with a stream of attacks. As each second passed, Shi Feng could hear several dozen crashes. It felt as if someone were firing an automatic rifle at him. Shi Feng had no resistance to offer whatsoever. When Absolute Defense''s duration came to an end, Shi Feng would die. The Quartz Worms here could drown a player to death. Shi Feng was relieved that he possessed a Skill such as Absolute Defense. Otherwise, even if he came here after reaching Level 50 and obtaining his Tier 2 class, death would be the only outcome awaiting him. With only two seconds remaining before Absolute Defense vanished, the Tier 3 Demon standing a distance away began to chant an incantation, casting the Tier 3 Spell, Oblivion Storm, over the area where Shi Feng stood. Oblivion Storm was a Tier 3, large-scale destruction Spell that had an effective area of 50 yards. It could easily envelop Shi Feng and the Quartz Worms. Suddenly, a massive blue magic array appeared in the air. A massive tornado then descended from the magic array. They were all, Shi Feng and the Quartz Worms, sucked into the tornado and assaulted by countless wind blades from every direction. Immediately, the Quartz Worms'' HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. Meanwhile, the tornado sent Shi Feng flying into the sky. The moment Absolute Defense''s duration was about to end, Shi Feng immediately stopped the Tier 3 Demon from channeling its Spell. Suddenly, the tornado vanished. Glancing at the Quartz Worms that were over a hundred meters in the air, Shi Feng realized that the Special Elites only had a small amount of HP remaining. The lower HP ones had around 10,000 to 20,000, while the higher HP worms had around 30,000 to 50,000. If Shi Feng had not stopped the Demon''s Spell, these Quartz Worms would have died. However, if Shi Feng had not stopped the Spell, he, too, would have died. Hovering in midair, both player and monsters, neither of which could fly, began to descend. Shi Feng quickly activated Gravity Liberation, slowing his descent to less than one-tenth of his initial speed. At the same time, he directed the Tier 3 Demon below to cast the Tier 3 Spell, Scorching Gale, over his and the Quartz Worms landing area. Scorching Gale was not a large-scale destruction Spell. Rather, it was a cone AOE Spell with a range of 20 yards. Not only had Oblivion Storm sent its targets into the air, but it also gathered them into a single area. Hence, Scorching Gale could easily envelop the landing zone. However, due to the difference in their speed of descent, the Quartz Worms had landed while Shi Feng still floated down. Suddenly, the Tier 3 Demon fired countless flame blades from its hands, the burning attack devouring the Quartz Worms. -104,189. -110,467. Damages over -100,000 appeared above the Quartz Worms. The low HP Special Elites could not endure the flaming assault. Only after Scorching Gale finished did Shi Feng land. Loot and Quartz Worm corpses littered the ground. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s experience bar rose rapidly. The Quartz Worms were Level 60 Special Elites. Although the EXP they rewarded was less than what ordinary Level 60 Special Elites offered, it was still a lot more than Level 60 Elites. Moreover, Shi Feng was only Level 35 right now. The bonus EXP he obtained from fighting monsters that were 25 Levels higher than him was impressive. However, the bonus EXP one could obtain through killing monsters of a higher level was not without limit, capping at 20 Levels. Hence, players'' EXP would, at most, increase by 20 times. Even so, an increase of 20 times would still provide Shi Feng with an exaggerated amount of EXP. After this brief battle, Shi Feng had gone from 9% of Level 35 to 98% of Level 35. He was only 2% away from reaching Level 36. At this level, he could rank at the top of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List. Currently, the number one player on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List only approached Level 35. They still needed to grind for half a day before crossing the threshold to Level 35. "This method of leveling isn''t bad at all." Shi Feng could not help his grin as he looked at the EXP he had obtained. Unfortunately, Special Elites were not easily discovered. Even in the Stoneclaw Mountains, an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, so many Special Elites would not appear at a single time. In a group of one hundred Elite monsters or so, roughly eight or nine Special Elites might tag along. Hence, it was nearly impossible to find large groups of Special Elites such as the Quartz Worms to grind on. Moreover, the Tier 3 Demon''s Tier 3 Spell, Oblivion Storm, had a relatively long Cooldown of 70 minutes. Unfortunately, the Demon did not have any other combination attack that could kill a group of Level 60 Special Elites instantly. Most importantly, it would be very difficult for Shi Feng to locate so many Quartz Worms again. After Shi Feng had wiped out the wave of Quartz Worms, silence returned to the area. The only Quartz Worms in the area were the corpses on the ground. Although the Quartz Worms had not provided much EXP, the loot they dropped was relatively good. Moreover, Shi Feng had the Luck-increasing Icarus''s Heart. The 60-plus Quartz Worms had dropped quite a bit of Level 50 or above Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment. The Special Elites had even dropped an engineering design. "Glare Bomb?" Shi Feng was delighted. One could produce many interesting items with engineering. However, very few engineering items could be used in combat. Take the Frost Grenade for example. Not only could it cause damage, but it also possessed a control effect. Sadly, only Master Engineers could produce such items. Moreover, the designs were extremely difficult to obtain. Yet, if one tried to purchase these items, their prices were extraordinarily high. Ordinary players could not afford to use them. The Glare Bomb was not as advanced as the Frost Grenade. It could not inflict any damage. However, it was very easy to produce. The materials required were not particularly rare. Hence, it was one of the most common tools in field battles. The Glare Bomb could temporarily blind all creatures within its range, though its effect on players was reduced. After Shi Feng finished arranging the loot and was about to leave the area For some reason, the external layer of stone on the statues began to fade, revealing these statues'' original appearance. Every one of these restored individuals radiated a frightening aura. Shi Feng felt an immense pressure from these creatures and was overcome by a desire to flee. However, these unpetrified individuals had noticed Shi Feng. 715 Thunder Emperor Chapter 715 - Thunder Emperor With the eyes of these revived individuals on him, Shi Feng did not dare to make any sudden movements. Every one of these NPCs, be it human, Elf, or Half-orc, had an astounding and intimidating level. Level 150! Even a Common monster at this level could kill Shi Feng effortlessly, not to mention the humans and Elves, both of which were Tier 3 classes. "Young man, was it you who saved us?" a middle-aged human male asked as he turned to Shi Feng, his previous aura vanishing suddenly. This middle-aged man was a Tier 3 Great Mage. Even in White River City, he would be considered an incredibly powerful individual. Players would find it difficult to gain an audience with such a character. "I''m not really sure. I merely cleared out the Quartz Worms residing here," Shi Feng said truthfully, calming after seeing no evil intent among these NPCs. Hearing Shi Feng mention the Quartz Worms, these Level 150 NPCs examined their surroundings, bewilderment appearing on their faces. It was obvious that they, too, were unsure of the situation. After these NPCs had a quiet chat among themselves, the Tier 3 Great Mage named Carrian Walker walked up to Shi Feng. "Although we are not sure of what happened exactly, we''re certain that your actions saved us. As a show of our gratitude, we''ve unanimously decided to gift you this item," Carrian Walker said. He then took out a purple-gold, lightning-shaped emblem and carefully handed it over to Shi Feng. "This emblem is our Imperial Army''s Honorary Emblem. We hope that you will accept it." Shi Feng accepted the emblem. When he inspected the information, he was shocked. [Thunder Emperor''s Emblem] This is the Honorary Emblem of the Thunder Beast Empire. This grants the wielder Honorary Citizenship within the Thunder Beast Empire. Wasn''t the Thunder Beast Empire destroyed long ago? Shi Feng knew quite a bit about God''s Domain''s history. The Thunder Beast Empire had been one of the extremely powerful empires in God''s Domain. During its peak, its territory encompassed over a dozen kingdoms. On the continent of God''s Domain, not a single kingdom or empire dared to act against it. The ruler of the Thunder Beast Empire had been the Thunder Emperor Kaiser. However, according to God''s Domain''s historical records, to pursue eternal life and become a God, Kaiser had broken many taboos. As a result, his actions had earned the anger of the Gods as the imperial capital had suddenly disappeared. Following the capital''s disappearance, the Thunder Beast Empire had split into multiple kingdoms. At this point, the Thunder Beast Empire had long since faded from existence. Naturally, this Thunder Emperor''s Emblem also held no meaning whatsoever. "Young adventurer, although we have been freed, we have many companions still living under the curse. We hope that you can save them. If you succeed, we will present to you the empire''s greatest treasure," Carrian Walker said as he looked at Shi Feng, his clear expectation reflecting in his eyes. "Are you not coming with me?" Shi Feng could not help but ask. Carrian Walker shook his head and said, "Our time in this world has long since run out. Although the curse has been lifted, our strength wanes. Moreover, as we approach that place, we lose strength faster. At this point, only you can save our companions." "Alright, then. I promise you. Where do I have to go to save your companions?" When Shi Feng heard about the empire''s treasure, he thought that it might be related to the weapon he hunted. The clue he had obtained had indicated that the weapon hid within the Dragon''s Maw. As it had been an extremely powerful empire in the past, the Thunder Beast Empire must have amassed countless treasures. The weapon he looked for might very well occupy the empire''s treasury. Rather than searching for the weapon blindly, he might as well accept this quest. "We are merely people who had escaped the imperial capital. Our companions are still trapped in the capital. This is a map of the imperial capital. Hopefully, it will be of some help to you," Carrian Walker said. He then took out a map of the imperial capital and passed it to Shi Feng. System: Epic Quest "Empire''s Past" accepted. Quest content: Save the people inside the imperial capital within ten days. If the quest is not completed within the allotted time, you will be inflicted with the Petrification Curse. Rewards unknown. An Epic Quest with a time limit of ten days? Shi Feng was immediately stunned upon hearing the system notification. He had never imagined that the quest would be so difficult. However, after giving it some thought, he found it reasonable. The weapon he sought was no trivial item. How could the game offer it up so easily? After Shi Feng accepted the map, he summoned another Tier 3 Demon. With two Tier 3 Demons leading the way, it would be much easier to deal with the Quartz Worms. Now that Shi Feng had a map, his progression into the Dragon''s Maw''s maze of the underground tunnels became a lot easier. After Shi Feng reached the Dragon''s Maw''s second underground layer, many Demonic Beasts appeared in the dark tunnels. With a single glance, Shi Feng counted over 500. The monsters squeezed tightly together as they blocked Shi Feng''s path. [Giant Petrified Rat] (Demonic Beast, Elite Rank) Level 60 HP 300,000/300,000 Without hesitation, Shi Feng directed the two Tier 3 Demons to clear out these Rats. When the Giant Rats saw the two Tier 3 Demons, they released ear-piercing screeches one pounced on the Tier 3 Demons. They showed no fear of the two Tier 3 Demons. Normally, even monsters would fear a powerful enemy, yet these Giant Rats were unafraid. Shi Feng used one Tier 3 Demon to attract these Giant Petrified Rats'' attention while the other Demon cast a Tier 3 Spell. The Petrified Rats had very high Attack Power. Even against a Tier 3 Demon, their bites dealt over -1,000 damage. If these Elites faced an MT player of the same Tier, they could easily devour half of said player''s HP. Meanwhile, these Giant Petrified Rats attacked in groups of a dozen or so. They would instantly devour players of the same level. Only a Tier 3 Demon with 9,000,000 HP could withstand their assault for long. "This is" Shi Feng suddenly noticed that the Tier 3 Demon that held off the Rats began to show signs of petrification. A portion of its body had already begun to turn a dull gray. Could this be why even Tier 4 players have fallen here? Shi Feng did not believe that these Giant Rats were capable of defeating a Tier 4 player with only their powerful bites. However, it was a different story if they could petrify their targets. Looking at the Tier 3 Demon''s statistics, although it had lost less than 1% of its HP, an additional Petrification Value had appeared. Currently, the Demon displayed a Petrification Value of 0.84%, and with each bite from the Giant Rats, that value increased slightly. Needless to say, once this Petrification Value reached 100%, even if the Tier 3 Demon still had 100% of its HP remaining, it would turn into stone. So this is how they work. Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had only used his summoned Demons to attack. If he had faced these monsters himself, the consequences would have been dire. The Tier 3 Demons he summoned could last five hours. With the increment rate of the Petrification Value, although they would not last a full five hours against these monsters, they should have no problems fighting for three or four hours. Fortunately, he could summon a new Demon once every three hours. In other words, he could rely on his summoned Demons to fight for him, having no need to worry about being petrified or any hindrance to his progress. 716 Ruins of the Imperial Capital Chapter 716 - Ruins of the Imperial Capital Under Shi Feng''s control, the two Level 52 Tier 3 Demons quickly swept through all of the Giant Petrified Rats in the stone hall. Following the clear sound of a system notification, a golden glow encompassed Shi Feng. He had finally reached Level 36. Without hesitation, Shi Feng placed the 10 Free Attribute Points he had just obtained into Agility, partially making up for the loss of 25 Agility he had previously suffered. The Giant Petrified Rats were Level 60 Elites, and they dropped valuable loot. Aside from some materials, they dropped plenty of Level 50 and above Common and Bronze Equipment. In the outside world, Shi Feng would have to grind far longer to obtain so many items. "Huh? A Tier 2 Skill Book!" Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he picked up a book decorated with silver silk from the pile. In God''s Domain, the majority of a class''s Basic Skills were learned from NPC instructors, while some of the slightly more powerful Skills were obtained from quests. As for high-tiered Skills, however, one could gain them by trading the Legacy Skill Point that the system provided. Tier 0 Skills could generally be found in the fields or Dungeons. However, Tier 1 Skills practically never dropped, increasing the difficulty of obtaining them exponentially. In truth, the majority of the Tier 1 Skills that monsters dropped could be gained by trading in Legacy Skill Points. If one obtained such a Skill from monsters, they would not have to waste their Legacy Points to unlock said Skill and could spend the points on learning other Skills. Ordinary Tier 1 Skills generally cost two Legacy Skill Points to learn. Meanwhile, players only obtained one point for every three Levels. Hence, a player would have to level up six times to learn an ordinary Tier 1 Skill. If Tier 1 Skills were already so expensive, there was no need to mention Tier 2 Skills. Even the most common Tier 2 Skill cost four Legacy Skill Points. One had to level up 12 times to learn one. Hence, in God''s Domain, Skill Books were extremely valuable. Currently, the going rate for an ordinary Tier 1 Skill Book could even rival a piece of Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. If it were a powerful Tier 1 Skill such as a Lifesaving-, AOE Attack-, Control-, Control Removal-, or Burst-type Skill Book, no one would sell it even for the price of a Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon, much less anything Fine-Gold ranked. Weapons and equipment would be discarded as players increased in level. However, Skills would not. Nobody would complain about too many Skills. The drop-rate of Tier 1 Skill Books in a large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon was roughly 2%. However, in large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons that were Level 50 and above, the drop-rate of Tier 2 Skill Books was less than 0.3%. Obtaining one was mostly due to luck. Hence, Shi Feng was astonished when he realized that the Giant Petrified Rats had dropped a Tier 2 Skill Book. hi Feng checked the Skill Book, discovering that it was the Tier 2 General Melee Skill, Dark Ghost. [Dark Ghost] (Tier 2 Skill) Split yourself into four and attack simultaneously. Every doppelganger deals 100% of the main body''s damage. Duration of 4 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes Tier Requirement: Tier 2 class or above. I recall someone exchanging this Dark Ghost Skill for an Epic item with relatively good Attributes in the past. I never thought I would find it here. Shi Feng was speechless. General Skill Books were much more valuable than Class Skill Books as they could be used in a variety of battles. It was especially true for this Dark Ghost Skill. If he suddenly split himself into four identical copies, who would dare to approach him casually? Hence, among Tier 2 General Skills, Dark Ghost ranked relatively near the top. Many melee players had sought after this Skill. If used during a crucial moment, the Skill could turn the tide of battle. It''s a pity that I can''t learn it yet. I''ll have to wait until I reach Tier 2. Shi Feng tucked the Dark Ghost Skill Book away in satisfaction. He then directed the Tier 3 Demons to advance. The second underground floor was like a massive maze. Even with the map in hand, Shi Feng had a very difficult time progressing through it. Throughout his journey, he would occasionally encounter Giant Petrified Rats'' nests. When he met such encounters, he had no choice but to stop and clear out the nest. Otherwise, he could not venture further. Moreover, due to the petrification issue, it became far more difficult to control the Tier 3 Demon that held off the Giant Rats. In the end, Shi Feng gave up on the Tier 3 Demon altogether and let the Giant Rats attack it. With the Tier 3 Demon''s HP and Shi Feng''s Life Bloom, the Giant Petrified Rats would never kill it. Although killing the Rats was time-consuming, the fact that these Elites could drop Tier 2 Skill Books motivated Shi Feng. Moreover, he could also obtain a large sum of EXP. While Shi Feng explored the Dragon''s Maw''s second underground floor, he instructed the Dark Gods Legion, which had been training all this time, take action, delving deeper into the Stoneclaw Mountains. As an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, the Stoneclaw Mountains was somewhat special. Not only were the monsters inside the Dungeon more powerful, but the loot was also better than elsewhere. The monsters also dropped Magic Crystals. More importantly, the monsters dropped Barrier Crystal Balls. If one collected a sufficient number of Barrier Crystal Balls, they could use them to form a barrier. The barrier would suppress the strength of contained enemies. It was just like the Demon Suppressing Barrier that Blue Frost''s team had used when they faced the Level 40 Great Lord Noya. The barrier had greatly reduced Noya''s combat power, making it a lot easier to raid the Great Lord. The Barrier Crystal Balls were similar in this aspect. Only, the Barrier Crystal Balls were somewhat different from Magic Scrolls. Generally, Magic Scrolls were one-use items. Barrier Crystal Balls, however, could be used multiple times. Only, each use would expend a lot of Magic Crystals. During God''s Domain''s initial stages, players were both low-leveled and low-tiered. Hence, most felt helpless against even High Lord ranked monsters, not to mention Great Lords. Raiding these monsters simply required too much from players at this stage of the game. Perhaps the Main God System had taken this into consideration; since a player''s strength was limited, the only other way to defeat these Grand Lord ranked Bosses was to suppress their strength. However, aside from quests, there were practically no methods or tools that could suppress Boss-level monsters. Bosses of large-scale Team Dungeons had been a roadblock for many large Guilds. However, after the Stoneclaw Mountains had appeared, the various Guilds had discovered the Barrier Crystal Ball in the Dungeon''s inner region. This had allowed the Guilds to reduce the difficulty of large-scale Team Dungeons, significantly increasing their raiding speed. A Guild only had a limited number of experts. Normally, only these experts were barely able to clear large-scale Team Dungeons. Large-scale Team Dungeons also had Cooldown times. Hence, this had resulted in the rarity of top-tier equipment. However, if a Guild could lower the difficulty of a large-scale Team Dungeon and allow players that were not quite experts to clear it, the acquisition of top-tier equipment would naturally skyrocket. Shi Feng was not confident in dealing with the Flower of Seven Sins adequately. Against the Star Alliance, however, he had plenty of confidence. The best method to crush the Star Alliance swiftly was to increase Zero Wing''s overall strength. After all, a battle between Guilds could not be settled by an individual. Currently, the various large Guilds were grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains outer area. They avoided the inner region as they had deemed the danger to be higher than the potential rewards. The Flower of Seven Sins was already preparing to deal with Zero Wing. However, it would not be wise for Shi Feng to send the main force into the Stoneclaw Mountains. But it was a different story for the Dark Gods Legion. Originally, the Dark Gods Legion''s members were already powerful as individuals. After taking into account the Power of Darkness, they could easily venture into the Stoneclaw Mountains'' inner region to obtain the Barrier Crystal Balls. Under Shi Feng''s command, the Dark Gods Legion had no trouble obtaining several dozen Barrier Crystal Balls. This was enough to outfit several 100-man teams to raid the Hard Mode Frost Prison. Time passed quickly. After a day of travel through the second floor, Shi Feng finally arrived at the staircase leading to the floor below. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was already Level 37. He had fully recovered the 25 Agility he had lost. The instant Shi Feng''s foot landed on the staircase, the view before him changed. He was transported to a fog-covered city. The sound of a system notification suddenly reached his ears. System: You have discovered the Ruins of the Imperial Capital. 717 Taboo City Chapter 717 - Taboo City The Mana density here is intense. Standing in the mist, Shi Feng suddenly felt his mind become clear and ethereal. He could see the mist''s true colors. In God''s Domain, when players found themselves in places with high Mana density, their minds would clear, and they would feel more energetic. This greatly aided in the improvement of their Skill Completion Rates and combat techniques. With such a high Mana density, the boost one could get in this area is no less than the Hundred Berry Wine. If players fight and level up here, they could see improvements at least five or six times faster. It''s a pity that this area isn''t easy to access. When Shi Feng opened his system interface, he discovered that he could not contact with the outside world at all. H, he had also discovered Undead roaming down the lifeless city streets. Fortunately, they were not very high-leveled. [Suffering Soul] (Undead, Elite Rank) Level 60 HP 450,000/450,000 [Ghoul] (Undead, Special Elite) Level 60 HP 700,000/700,000 These half-transparent Suffering Souls and Ghouls wandering about the city were not particularly numerous. A Level 60 party should be able to handle these monsters very easily. Whether it was leveling up or improving one''s Skill Completion Rate, grinding monsters here would be beneficial. After examining his surroundings briefly, Shi Feng took out an Isolation Scroll and used it. He then descended from the rooftop carefully and headed towards the Palace indicated on the map. The city had long since died. Shi Feng could see various statues haunting the city streets. These statues had all been citizens who had received the curse. However, it was unlikely that killing those Undead would lift the curse. Shi Feng would have to deal with the problem at its source. Based on Shi Feng''s understanding of the Thunder Beast Empire, only one person was capable of cursing an entire city. Thunder Emperor Kaiser! Emperor Kaiser had been a Tier 5 Sword Saint. He had only been a step away from becoming a Tier 6 God. Unfortunately, it had been so close, yet so far. To players, the promotion from a Tier 5 class to Tier 6 required great opportunities, luck, and strength. It was even more so for an NPC. For example, in the past, even the Dark-Gold Guard Kite, with his vast potential, could only be promoted to Tier 5. It was practically impossible for him to reach the realm of Tier 6. According to the legend, in order to pursue eternal life, Emperor Kaiser had mobilized his empire to carry out a taboo. Looking at it now, it was highly possible that said taboo was related to the curse currently plaguing the imperial capital. Damn it! The city is already in ruins, so why are there still guards?! Shi Feng stood on the roof of a building one street away from the Palace, his eyes locked onto the mechanical guards stationed on either side of the Palace gate. [Thunder Beast Guard] (Grand Lord) Level 200 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? The Thunder Beast Guards'' levels were just too high, so Shi Feng could not see how much HP they had. However, he could confirm one thing; their HP was mind-bogglingly high. Normally, Grand Lords had six HP bars displayed. The Thunder Beasts had ten. Furthermore, there were a total of eight Thunder Beast Guards The Thunder Beast Empire''s strength left Shi Feng in awe. Shi Feng had visited plenty of empires before. However, this was his first time seeing such powerful mechanical guards. The Palace was also protected by a magic array. In order to enter the Palace, Shi Feng would either have to destroy the magic array or enter through the front gate. The first option of destroying the magic array was obviously unrealistic. Even a Tier 6 God would find it difficult to destroy a magic array that carried such dense Mana, not to mention a Tier 1 Swordsman like Shi Feng. Yet, entering through the main gate was also unrealistic. Even a Level 200 Tier 4 class would not dare to provoke eight Level 200 Grand Lords simultaneously. Shi Feng was only a Level 37 Tier 1 Swordsman. The Thunder Beast Guards would send him to oblivion long before he ever reached the Palace gates. Shi Feng had thought of using a Tier 3 Demon as bait. However, due to the gap in levels, rather than luring the Guards away, he might draw the Guards'' aggro himself. Do I have to give up just like this? Shi Feng was frustrated. He observed his surroundings in hopes of finding a solution. After watching from the rooftop for some time, Shi Feng suddenly discovered something interesting. There were plenty of Undead roaming the streets in front of the Palace. However, not a single Suffering Soul came within 200 yards of the palace gates. Only a few Ghouls would wander near. Meanwhile, when a few occasional Ghouls and Suffering Soul tried to wander towards the gates, the Thunder Beast Guards vanquished them immediately. Only those few Ghouls remained unharmed. The Thunder Beast Guards should be absolutely neutral. They should regard both players and monsters as enemies. So why are those few Ghouls safe? Shi Feng was very curious. He even summoned a Tier 3 Demon, directing it to capture a few Ghouls from elsewhere and throwing the monsters towards the main gate. Without exception, the Thunder Beast Guards annihilated every Ghoul. This is interesting. Shi Feng could not help his smile as he watched the few Ghouls wander about before the gates. He then directed the Tier 3 Demon to hide and waited for those few Ghouls to wander out of the restricted area. Minutes and seconds passed quickly. However, Shi Feng did not rush. To Shi Feng, who had taken on many adventures and quests in God''s Domain, patience was the foundation of success. After more than an hour, a Ghoul finally exited the 200-yard restricted area. Like an eagle hunting its prey, Shi Feng directed the Tier 3 Demon to nab the Ghoul. No matter how hard the Ghoul attacked and struggled, it could not break free from the Demon''s grasp. With a flap of its black wings, the Demon put more distance between itself and the restricted area. The Tier 3 Demon then brought the Ghoul before Shi Feng, its hand gripped the Ghoul tightly, preventing the Special Elite from moving. Meanwhile, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to inspect just what differentiated this Ghoul from the others. The Ghoul was actually able to deter even the Thunder Beast Guards from attacking it. The Ghoul had mutated from a human''s corpse. It still wore the noble''s clothes it had worn in life. There had been nobles among the Ghouls the Guards had killed. Could it be that this Ghoul had possessed a higher rank while it was alive? After observing the Ghoul for some time, Shi Feng failed to discover any clues. However, he did not believe that the Main God System would have him complete this high-level quest for no good reason. For a quest in a Level 60 map, even a Legendary Quest, Level 60 players should be able to complete it. However, even Level 200 players would not be able to get past the Thunder Beast Guards before him, much less Level 60 players. At the very minimum, it would take a team of ten Level 200 Tier 4 players to defeat them. Forget it. Let''s kill it as an experiment. In any case, there are a few more Ghouls I can experiment with. In the end, failing to discover any peculiarities, Shi Feng had the Tier 3 Demon finish off this Ghoul. When the Ghoul died, it transformed into a bundle of meat and green liquid. It also dropped a few Silver Coins and some other items. Its loot was no different from the Ghouls Shi Feng had killed before. "Huh? This is" 718 Grinding Mastery Points Chapter 718 - Grinding Mastery Points Among the Ghoul''s loot, Shi Feng found an item that he was relatively familiar with. Mastery Book! This item was extremely rare and would provide players with Free Mastery Points. Normally, it could only be obtained from Treasure Chests or quests. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen this item drop from a Special Elite. Shi Feng''s One-handed Sword Mastery had already become a Basic Sword Master, the Mastery increasing his damage with the one-handed sword by 30%. At this stage of the game, even for powerful experts, being an Advanced Swordsman was impressive, receiving a 20% damage increase. The majority of the expert players in God''s Domain were currently stuck as Intermediate Swordsman. "A Bronze Mastery Book, huh?" Shi Feng was somewhat disappointed after he checked the Mastery Book''s information. If it were a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book, he might be able to become an Intermediate Sword Master this instant. When used, a Bronze Mastery Book could provide players with anywhere from 5 to 25 Free Mastery Points, significantly fewer than a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book''s 10 to 50 points. Basic Sword Master required 150 Mastery Points. Intermediate Sword Master required 200 Mastery Points. If he were lucky with a Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book, after including his previously accumulated Free Mastery Points, he might have achieved the promotion to the Intermediate Sword Master right away. At Intermediate Sword Master, the Mastery would increase Shi Feng''s damage with the one-handed sword by 40%. This was a significant increase to any player, not to mention Shi Feng. Shi Feng then used the Bronze Mastery Book, obtaining 9 Free Mastery Points. Adding this to what he had already accumulated, he had 177 Mastery Points. He was only 23 points away from the 200 point threshold. "I wonder if all the remaining Ghouls will drop Mastery Books as well?" Shi Feng could not help but get his hopes up. He then directed a Tier 3 Demon to wait outside the restricted area while controlling the other Tier 3 Demon to kill nearby Ghouls. There were currently three more Ghouls within 200 yards of the Palace. However, Shi Feng did not dare to lure them away casually. He was too low-leveled. A single mistake might attract the Thunder Beast Guards'' attention. At that time, he would certainly die. Hence, he could not take this risk. As Shi Feng bided his time quietly, steadily decreasing the Ghoul population. He had obtained one Bronze Mastery Book for roughly every 50 Ghouls he killed. This gave Shi Feng a good idea to strengthen himself and his Guild. At the moment, God''s Domain''s players did not focus overmuch on improving their Weapon Masteries. However, once players reached an adequately high level, they would discover the massive strength boost that Mastery provided. As an Intermediate Sword Master, Shi Feng''s damage with the one-handed sword would increase by 40%. As an Advanced Sword Master, that bonus damage would increase to 50%. If Shi Feng could go one step further and upgrade his Mastery to Basic Sword King, his bonus damage with the one-handed sword would rise to 80%. Two or three additional pieces of equipment could not bridge a 30% damage gap. Hence, among the many PvP battles that occurred in God''s Domain, despite both sides being nearly equal in terms of techniques, the player with superior Attributes would occasionally taste defeat. This was a result of the difference in Mastery levels. If he could improve the Mastery levels of the Guild''s upper echelons, they would have an easier time coping with the assassins of the Flower of Seven Sins. However, it would be very difficult to increase one''s Mastery to the Sword King standard. In order to reach the Advanced Sword Master standard, one required a total of 300 Mastery Points. Meanwhile, Basic Sword King required 450 Mastery Points, which was three times that of a Basic Sword Master. --- As Shi Feng grinded Ghouls while waiting for the Ghouls inside the restricted area to venture out, a huge commotion occurred in Star-Moon City. The Secret Pavilion''s Guild Residence had appeared in Stone Forest Town. This was the second foreign Guild to establish a Guild Residence in the town after Ouroboros. It was common knowledge that Ouroboros had only received such treatment due to its alliance with Zero Wing. However, what about the Secret Pavilion? Were they allies, too? When the various large Guilds considered the possible alliance between Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion, they began to reconsider how they treated Zero Wing. The Secret Pavilion was a massive existence in the virtual gaming world. Although it did not participate in the struggles between Guilds, no one dared to underestimate the Pavilion. Even Super Guilds tread lightly when around the Pavilion. Now that the Secret Pavilion occupied Stone Forest Town, the Guilds, who initially aspired to obtain the town, would have to reconsider their options. Previously, since a first-rate Guild like the Star Alliance had taken the lead, the various Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom had gained some confidence in facing-off with Zero Wing. However, there was a massive difference between the Star Alliance and the Secret Pavilion. Contesting over Stone Forest Town with the Secret Pavilion would be suicide. --- Inside the Star Alliance''s Guild Residence: "Purple, have you investigated the matter regarding the Secret Pavilion? Just what kind of relationship does Zero Wing have with the Pavilion?" Galaxy Past, who occupied the Guild Leader''s throne, asked as he turned to Purple Eye. Originally, Galaxy Past had been in a merry mood as he had recently accepted a high-level Rare Quest. Just as he prepared to complete it, however, he had received this very distressing news. Hence, to get to the bottom of this situation, he had called for an emergency Guild meeting. Aside from being one the Star Alliance''s top fighters, Purple Eye was also one of the Guild''s information managers. Purple Eye also possessed some special connections of her own, which allowed her to obtain information that even the Star Alliance could not get its hands on. Hence, Galaxy Past asked Purple Eye directly. "According to the investigation, the Secret Pavilion is not in an alliance with Zero Wing," Purple Eye said softly. "However, the Pavilion seems to have conducted an internal trade with Zero Wing. As to what the two Guilds have exchanged, even my sources could not uncover that." "A trade?" Galaxy Past frowned. "Black Flame really knows how to surprise people. The Secret Pavilion does not trade with others easily. Just in case, slow down our actions against Zero Wing. From now on, we should be more careful when dealing with Zero Wing. Let Open Source Corporation deal with them." Although the Star Alliance had the OSC''s financing, that did not mean the Guild would sacrifice itself for the corporation. --- In the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region: "Snow, now that the Secret Pavilion has established a Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town, Galaxy Past must be pretty annoyed," Zhao Yueru could not help but smile when she read the report she had just received. "It really makes you wonder just how Big Brother Black Flame managed it. He actually roped in the Secret Pavilion. As long as the Pavilion intervenes, the Star Alliance will be powerless in the Stoneclaw Mountains." "It is still too early to determine anything. No one knows exactly what the Secret Pavilion exchanged with Zero Wing. If the Secret Pavilion is really willing to help Zero Wing, it would have already declared Zero Wing to be its ally rather than let the situation remain uncertain. However, my guess is that the Star Alliance will not act drastically any time soon due to its fear of the Pavilion. We can use this opportunity to snatch some of the high-resource areas the Alliance currently occupies," Gentle Snow expressed her intentions after examining the report. Due to the Open Source Corporation''s financing, the Star Alliance had grown significantly stronger over these past few days. They had both gained new members and improved the quality of their members'' equipment. It was especially true for the Consumables the Guild supplied to its members. Ouroboros stood no chance against the Star Alliance. This situation allowed the Star Alliance to occupy many of the high-resource areas in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region. This was the perfect opportunity for them to steal those high-resource areas. --- A group of black-cloaked players had gathered inside a bar in Stone Forest Town. These players were all very high-leveled, with the lowest among them being Level 34. On Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List, they could all rank among the top ten. With their presence alone, these people had caused a chill to sweep through the bar, causing the other players around them to shiver in fear. These players shared a commonality; they all were independent players. None of them belonged to any Guild. Suddenly, a young man in silver robes entered the bar, instantly breaking the silence. The group of cloaked players stood at attention at this man''s arrival, watching him seriously. None of them dared to show any disrespect. "Everyone, get ready. Open Source Corporation is already getting antsy." 719 Mastery Skyrockets Chapter 719 - Mastery Skyrockets Ruins of the Imperial Capital: On the streets filled with wandering undead, Shi Feng controlled the Tier 3 Demon to slaughter Ghouls. However, the presence of Ghouls was quite rare, and after clearing several streets surrounding the Palace, Shi Feng had only obtained four Bronze Mastery Books. His EXP bar, on the other hand, had risen significantly. Currently, he was at 53% of Level 37. At most, he would need to grind for another day or so to reach Level 38. Just after Shi Feng killed the last Ghoul within the 200-yard restricted area Golden light escaped from this Ghoul''s body and flew towards the sky. After the golden light dissipated, a golden beam shot into Shi Feng''s body. The sound of a system notification suddenly rang by Shi Feng''s ears. System: You have liberated a bound soul and have received the blessing of the dead. For each Ghoul you kill, you will increase your Thunder Beast Empire Reputation by 1 point. Killing Ghouls increases my Reputation with the empire? Shi Feng suddenly understood how he could enter the Palace. One could not casually approach a kingdom''s or empire''s Palace. One first needed a certain amount of Reputation. Unfortunately, neither a kingdom''s nor an empire''s Reputation was easy to obtain. Generally, one had to complete special quests or obtain the First Clear of Team Dungeons to gain Reputation for a kingdom or empire. These Thunder Beast Guards were mechanical puppets. They would only carry out the commands they had been given. Hence, if Shi Feng had sufficient Reputation with the empire, he could walk into the Palace unhindered. Meanwhile, if one wanted to enter a kingdom''s Palace, they needed to become a Count first. As for an empire''s Palace, one had to become a Marquis. Becoming a Marquis required 5,000 Reputation Points. Normally, it would be exceedingly difficult to accumulate so much Reputation. Now, however, Shi Feng only needed to kill Ghouls. With this, it would be much easier to rise to the rank of Marquis. No wonder this quest has a time limit of ten days. It turns out that I need to kill 5,000 Ghouls. Shi Feng began to understand the quest''s time limit. Ghouls were Level 60 Special Elites. Moreover, there were also many Suffering Souls getting in the way. Shi Feng would have no choice but to kill the Elite monsters while hunting for Ghouls. Even a Level 60 ordinary expert would have to spend quite a long time killing a Level 60 Special Elite Ghoul. Each one could take anywhere from seven to over a dozen minutes depending on the expert''s strength. At that pace, even with ten days, they would not be able to kill 5,000 Ghouls. To Shi Feng, though, this was not a problem. One Level 52 Tier 3 Demon took less time to kill a Ghoul than a 20-man team. Fortunately, Shi Feng could control two Tier 3 Demons simultaneously. Following which, Shi Feng began sweeping through the city for Ghouls. Previously, as he had to wait for the Ghouls in the restricted area to wander out, Shi Feng''s range of activity had been limited. Hence, his grinding efficiency had been very low. Now that this restriction was gone, he could move from one end of a street to the other, slaughtering everything without pause. As one Ghoul after another fell, Shi Feng''s Reputation rose. System: You have killed a Ghoul. Reputation in Thunder Beast Empire +1. System: You have killed a Ghoul. Reputation in Thunder Beast Empire +1. System: You have killed a Ghoul. Reputation in Thunder Beast Empire +1. After three hours, Shi Feng''s Reputation had increased to 207 points. He gained Reputation far slower than he had expected. Although he killed the Special Elites very quickly, there were only so many Ghouls that appeared on a single street. He had to waste a lot of time moving from one Ghoul to another, which significantly reduced his efficiency. At this rate, I will only complete this part of the quest if I grind nonstop for two days. The remaining time should be enough to lift the curse on the city and complete the quest. Just as Shi Feng was lost in thought, he heard a warning from the system. This warning was a notification telling him that someone was calling from the real world. Normally, the game would only warn players when communication with the outside world had been severed, and players were unable to accept real world calls from inside God''s Domain. "Did something happen?" Shi Feng didn''t think too much about it as he immediately swiped his fingers, calling up the system interface and clicking the "Logout" button. Previously, he had told Fire Dance and the others that he was working on a quest in a special area and that contact with the outside world was unavailable. Hence, they would not call him unless it was urgent. It was 3 am in the real world. Normal people would not call at this time of night. For Blackie and the others to contact him in the dead of night, the only possibility was that something had happened to Zero Wing. Darkness surrounded Shi Feng as he stepped out of his virtual gaming cabin. The ringing from the quantum watch Shi Feng wore on his wrist echoed throughout the silent bedroom. Taking a look at the watch''s display, Shi Feng discovered that it was Blackie. "Blackie, what''s so urgent? Has something happened in God''s Domain?" Shi Feng asked after answering the call. "Brother Feng, the Stoneclaw Mountains something has happened! Blackie said in a panic after the call connected. "Of the 300 members in the Dark Gods Legion, nearly all of them have been wiped out. Only a dozen or so managed to return to Stone Forest Town." "Impossible!" Shi Feng was dumbfounded. "Could it be the Star Alliance? That shouldn''t be possible!" Although the Dark Gods Legion only had 300 members, their equipment was first-class. Their combat techniques were also top-notch. Furthermore, the Dark Gods Legion had a Berserk Skill like the Power of Darkness. Even if the Star Alliance sent out its best fighters, they could never annihilate the Legion. "Initially, I wondered the same thing. However, based on what the survivors told us, the people who attacked them did not seem like members of the Star Alliance. They weren''t Red Names either. They were a group of independent players. The instant they appeared, they killed off a few dozen members of the Legion. Even after everyone activated the Power of Darkness, they couldn''t hold their ground against those independent players. "Some of the more powerful players even killed Legion members in just a few moves. Before they could even react, they were dead" The news had also shocked Blackie. Hence, he had contacted Shi Feng immediately. Aside from Zero Wing''s main force, the Dark Gods Legion was the most powerful team in Zero Wing. Even throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, the Legion ranked at the very top in terms of combat power. The Legion also had the Power of Darkness. Yet, they had been massacred News of this incident had already spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. If they did not deal with this matter properly, Zero Wing''s reputation would plunge to the darkest pits of the abyss. "A group of independent experts with top-tier equipment and skills? Could it be the Flower of Seven Sins?" Of all of Shi Feng''s possible enemies, only the Flower of Seven Sins was capable of such a feat. "However, wasn''t the organization''s target Zero Wing''s main force and upper echelon?" Hearing Shi Feng suggest that it was the Flower of Seven Sins'' doing, Blackie was momentarily stunned. Blackie agreed with Shi Feng''s deduction. Only, he never imagined that the Flower of Seven Sins would be so powerful. Initially, he had doubted that any power could easily defeat Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion. Even if the Flower of Seven Sins took action, the organization would have to expend a lot of effort to take the Legion down. In the end, however, he had been sorely mistaken. If the Dark Gods Legion had already suffered such a fate, Zero Wing''s main force was in trouble. "Brother Feng, what should we do?" Blackie asked, panicking. 720 Marquis Chapter 720 - Marquis Shi Feng fell silent at Blackie''s question. He had never expected the Flower of Seven Sins to take action so quickly. Not only had the organization made its move several days earlier than estimated, but their targets had also not been Zero Wing''s main force or upper echelons. The loss of EXP from the Dark Gods Legion''s annihilation was a small matter. However, it would not be easy to recover the lost equipment. "Blackie, tell Aqua and the others that they are already being targeted immediately and try to stay within city limits as much as possible. Have them focus on improving their techniques in the Divine Colosseum. We''ll deal with the Flower of Seven Sins once I return," Shi Feng said after giving it some thought. The best decision right now would be to have Aqua Rose and the others avoid the executioner''s blade. With so many Refinement Experts, Aqua Rose and the others would have no chance of victory in their current state. "Right, also have Melancholic gather some materials for me. I''ll need them once I return." In God''s Domain, with players'' current strength, it was impossible to commit murder in the cities or Stone Forest Town and get away with it. Although the Flower of Seven Sins was powerful, they would throw away their lives and suffer in jail for a time if they killed another player within a city. The Flower of Seven Sins would most likely avoid such a raw deal. If they wanted to deal with the Flower of Seven Sins, their best option was to wait for his return and set up a trap for the organization''s assassins. Only then would they have a chance of victory. Anything else would just add bodies to the growing mound of corpses. "I understand." Blackie nodded solemnly. Although he was frustrated, this was all he could do right now. After the call ended, Shi Feng busied himself, refilling the gaming cabin''s Nutrient Solution. He needed to give it his all and complete this Epic Quest of his as soon as possible. Now that he was halfway through the quest, he could not turn back to seek for help. The penalty for failing an Epic Quest was no laughing matter. I''m taking too much time to kill the Ghouls. I need to work faster. After Shi Feng logged into the game, he opened the imperial capital''s map and searched for the location with the highest density of monsters. Although the area around the Palace is crowded, it''s not the most populated area. Generally, the Trade Area has the most NPCs. After deciding on a destination, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider, leading his two Tier 3 Demons as he charged towards the Thunder Beast Empire''s Commercial District. --- At the same time, something was happening in Star-Moon Kingdom. The news about the near annihilation of Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion had already appeared on Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums, and many players chatted about this latest drama. "Aren''t there a ton of experts in Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion? How did they get wiped out?" "I heard they were done in by a group of independent players." "I used to think that Zero Wing was very powerful. It seems that they only amount to this much." "Indeed. Others keep saying how powerful Zero Wing is and how the Guild has so many experts. In the end, a group of independent players slaughtered them. As expected, everything was just a bunch of rumors." As news about Zero Wing''s defeat spread, the Guild''s reputation began to sink. As a result, many players who had intended to join Zero Wing began to hesitate. Meanwhile, in Stone Forest Town, many Guilds had begun to move covertly when they heard this news. They were all preparing to deal with Zero Wing. --- "Hahaha! Open Source Corporation is truly formidable! They managed to annihilate Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion so quickly. This should be a major blow to the Guild." Galaxy Past could not help but laugh when he received the news. "Purple, do you know who did it?" "The Flower of Seven Sins!" Purple Eye said with a serious expression. As an expert who had been nurtured by a Super Guild, Purple Eye knew quite a bit about the terror of the Flower of Seven Sins. Although she was quite happy that the Flower of Seven Sins targeted Zero Wing, she could not help her fear upon seeing the organization''s frightening power. On the off chance that a major power hired the organization to target the Star Alliance, they would not laugh. "It''s no wonder they wiped out the Dark Gods Legion. It seems that OSC really went all-out this time." Galaxy Past similarly shivered when he heard the name of the Flower of Seven Sins, his joy vanishing. "Since the Flower of Seven Sins has begun to strike, we won''t have anything to worry about. Notify Red Feather and the others. Both inside and outside of the Stoneclaw Mountains, tell them to kill every Zero Wing member they meet!" Previously, the Star Alliance had been afraid of an ambush by Zero Wing''s top fighters. Hence, the Guild had dispatched mostly elite members to the Stoneclaw Mountains, with only a few experts to tag along. Now that they had the support of the Flower of Seven Sins, however, things had changed. In terms of top combatants, the Flower of Seven Sins possessed an overwhelming advantage. Now, rather than fear Zero Wing''s experts, their experts could strike. That way, the Flower of Seven Sins could obliterate all of them in one-go, burning Zero Wing''s prestige to the ground. "I''ll get it done." Purple Eye left to put the plan into action. --- As the Star Alliance''s experts began to move, Zero Wing, which had dominated the Stoneclaw Mountains, was suddenly at a disadvantage in the Regional Dungeon, its members having to take precautions. "Vice-Leader Aqua, many Guild members have begun complaining about our inaction. If you keep having us train in the Divine Colosseum and ignore the situation in the Stoneclaw Mountains, I''m afraid that morale will start to fall." "Vice-Leader, why don''t you let us deal with those bastards from the Star Alliance? The Dark Gods Legion will put fear into their hearts, and the Alliance won''t dare set foot in the Stoneclaw Mountains ever again." Many of Zero Wing''s core members were annoyed with the Star Alliance''s actions, eager to participate in the battles in the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Rejected. I understand your sentiments, and I feel the same, but we will only fall into the Star Alliance''s trap by doing so. Guild Leader has already ordered us to put everything aside until his return," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. "As for the Stoneclaw Mountains, everyone should just go elsewhere to level up for now." Previously, roughly a dozen of the Guild members had attacked without authorization in the hopes of teaching the Star Alliance a lesson. In the end, they died before they had even arrived at the transfer gate to the Stoneclaw Mountains. The dozen or so main force members had been defenseless. Moreover, the enemy even had fighters at the time. Launching a counterattack right now would be the equivalent of gifting their equipment to their enemies. For now, they could only give up on the resources in the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- Meanwhile, inside the Ruins of the Imperial Capital After luring and killing monsters in the Trade Area for more than a day, Shi Feng finally managed to kill 5,000 Ghouls, reaching Level 38 and becoming a Marquis of the Thunder Beast Empire. However, Shi Feng was more excited about the Mastery Books he had obtained. Although the drop-rate in the Trade Area was much lower, the 5,000 Ghouls Shi Feng killed had yielded him a total of 31 Bronze Mastery Books. After killing 5,000 Ghouls, Shi Feng had killed practically every Ghoul in the Trade Area. The Ghouls in the imperial capital were different from the monsters in the outside world. They did not respawn after they died, so there would be one Ghoul less with each kill. Hence, no one else would ever grind here for Mastery Books again. With so many Mastery Books, I wonder just how many Mastery Points I''ll obtain? Hopefully, my luck won''t be too bad. Shi Feng then took out a Mastery Book from his bag and clicked to use it. 721 Promotion to Sword King Chapter 721 - Promotion to Sword King After Shi Feng clicked "Use," the Mastery Book transformed into a silver light and vanished. A half-transparent prize wheel then appeared before him. A Bronze Mastery Book offered a player anywhere from 5 to 25 Free Mastery Points. A player''s Luck Attribute had no effect whatsoever on this type of prize wheel. The needle of the prize wheel would only stop spinning when the player shouted "stop." However, the prize wheel was not divided into equal sections. The higher the number of Free Mastery Points a section provided, the smaller its area was on the wheel. For example, the 5-point section occupied 25% of the wheel. It was easy to land on. Meanwhile, the 25-point section occupied less than 1% of the wheel As for relying on one''s eyesight for a better outcome, it was simply impossible. The naked eye could not keep up with the spinning needle. There was no way to determine when one should stop the needle. After Shi Feng yelled "stop," the needle slowed. The needle stopped at the 6-point section. Sure enough, it won''t be easy to land on a high-point section. Fortunately, I have 35 Mastery Books with me. I should gain enough points to become an Advanced Sword Master. Shi Feng could not help but laugh bitterly as he looked at the number he had obtained. He needed 200 Mastery Points to reach the Intermediate Sword Master standard, and 300 points to reach the Advanced Sword Master Standard. Currently, he had 177 Mastery points. With the addition of the six points he had just obtained, he would have 183 points in total. Even if he got five points from every Bronze Mastery Book, he would gain at least 170 Mastery Points. He wouldn''t have any issues gaining the promotion to an Advanced Sword Master. His damage with the one-handed sword would increase by 50%. His strength would also rise significantly. Following which, Shi Feng began plowing through the Mastery Books. Mastery +5! Mastery +7! Mastery +5! Mastery +9! Not a single roll he made exceeded ten points. The Bronze Mastery Books the Ghouls had dropped were extraordinarily fraudulent. However, after using 14 Bronze Mastery Books, Shi Feng managed to increase his One-handed Sword Mastery to 300 points. I still have 20 books left, and I''m just 150 points away from 450 Mastery Points. Let''s try for Sword King. Shi Feng had intended to leave a few Mastery Books for Fire Dance and the others. However, if he could upgrade his One-handed Sword Mastery to Basic Sword King, the lethality of his attacks would be no laughing matter. If he went up against a top-tier MT, he would need roughly seven basic attacks as an Advanced Sword Master to end the battle. If he became a Basic Sword King, he would only need five hits. This was not including Skills. In other words, if he upgraded his One-handed Sword Mastery to the Basic Sword King standard, it would be the equivalent of permanently activating a minor Berserk Skill with an indefinite duration. In PvP battles, this improvement could allow him to challenge opponents of a higher Tier. Currently, Shi Feng was only at the Flowing Water Realm. The equipment of top-tier experts in God''s Domain continuously improved. On the other hand, his equipment had long since reached the peak. It would be extremely difficult to improve his equipment for a while. Hence, his advantage of Attributes decreased as time went on. In a battle of basic attacks, Shi Feng estimated himself to be only slightly stronger than a Void Realm expert wearing top-tier equipment and at his Level. If he wanted to kill a Void Realm expert, it would take him a relatively long time. Against so many experts from the Flower of Seven Sins in a group battle, the longer the Void Realm expert pinned him down, the greater the danger he would be in. However, if he could become a Basic Sword King, killing a Void Realm expert would become much easier. Hence, it was imperative for Shi Feng to become a Basic Sword King. Shi Feng then continued using the Bronze Mastery Books. One book Two books Three books One Bronze Mastery Book after another vanished from Shi Feng''s hands. Mastery +6! Mastery +8! Mastery +5! Mastery +9! "Eight more points!" Shi Feng looked at the indicator displayed beside his One-handed Sword Mastery. Picking up the last Mastery Book, he clicked "Use." As the needle began spinning, Shi Feng inhaled deeply before shouting, "Stop!" If he could not obtain eight points, then he needed to go elsewhere to search for more Ghouls. The Trade Area housed the highest Ghoul population. Other places had fewer Ghouls. If he wished to obtain another Mastery Book, he would have to kill at least a hundred Ghouls. He would have to waste another two or three hours. Immediately, the needle began to slow, passing through the double-digit sections and the 5-point section. The needle continued through the 6-point section. In the end, the needle gradually came to a halt at the 9-point section. System: You have obtained 9 Free Mastery Points. Without hesitation, Shi Feng placed all nine points into his One-handed Sword Mastery, boosting the Mastery to 451 points. System: Congratulations! Your One-handed Sword Mastery has reached 451 points. For becoming the first player to upgrade your One-handed Sword Mastery to the Basic Sword King, you will be rewarded with the title of Swordsmanship Master. Shi Feng examined the Swordsmanship Master title. [Swordsmanship Master] When using sword-type weapons, Attack Speed increased by 20%. When attacked by sword-type weapons, Evasion +20. (You may only use one title at a time. Effects will not stack with other titles.) Increase Attack Speed by 20%?! Such a powerful title! Shi Feng was shocked. In God''s Domain, very few weapons and equipment increased a player''s Attack Speed. Every item that did was precious. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen a title capable of increasing a player''s Attack Speed by 20%. In the past, the highest amount he had heard of was 15%. I had been unsure about going up against that Void Realm expert from the Flower of Seven Sins. Now that I have my One-handed Sword Mastery at the Basic Sword King level and the Swordsmanship Master title, I should be able to end the battle quickly. Shi Feng could not suppress his grin as he looked at the Swordsmanship Master title. Shi Feng wished he could return to White River City immediately. However, he was only halfway done with his quest. It''s about time I pay the Palace a visit. Shi Feng immediately switched his title to Thunder Beast Marquis. He then activated Wind Rider and flew towards the Palace. With his rank as a Marquis, none of the Thunder Beast Guards on either side of the Palace''s main gate moved to stop Shi Feng. The Grand Lords simply allowed Shi Feng to enter the Palace. However, the Guards instantly killed the Tier 3 Demon Shi Feng had summoned. It frustrated Shi Feng slightly. As soon as he passed through the Palace gates, Shi Feng was greeted by the sight of numerous mechanical guards patrolling the spacious hall. [Thunder Beast Patrol] (Great Lord) Level 200 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? Although these Thunder Beast Patrols were not as strong as the Thunder Beast Guards, they were far more of them. Each squad had 20 Thunder Beast Patrols. Against such a force, even a Level 200 Tier 4 player would have to tuck tail and run. If I had really tried to barge my way in, this would have been my grave. As Shi Feng watched the Thunder Beast Patrols, he recalled the rumors of so many Tier 4 players dying here. These Thunder Beast Patrols merely glanced at Shi Feng before continuing with their duties. Shi Feng moved through the Palace unhindered. Due to the Thunder Beast Patrols, not a single monster was present in the Palace. Shi Feng easily reached the Palace''s heartthe Thunder Beast Courtyard. The map indicated that the Thunder Beast Courtyard was where Thunder Emperor Kaiser lived. Hence, Shi Feng had made his way there. Such intense Mana. The density here is almost triple that of the outside world. Before Shi Feng even entered the Thunder Beast Courtyard, he could feel his mind clearing. This was a phenomenon that would only occur when the Mana reached a certain density. It seems that I was right to come here. 722 Demigod Chapter 722 - Demigod A curse that could plague the imperial capital would require an immense amount of Mana to sustain. Hence, places with high Mana density had a higher likelihood of holding the curse''s source. Shi Feng entered the Thunder Beast Courtyard. At this point, the once splendid courtyard had become a dilapidated ruin. Meanwhile, a fivefold magic array enveloped something in the courtyard''s center. Shi Feng could faintly see a bottomless pit in the center of the courtyard. This pit released a continuous stream of Mana. However, unlike the Mana Shi Feng usually saw, this felt violent and cold. Just looking at sent chills down his back. Shi Feng could not imagine what would happen if someone stayed near this Mana for too long If not for the fivefold magic array before him suppressing the Mana, Shi Feng did not doubt for a second that this Mana would surge and flood the imperial capital in the blink of an eye. Could Emperor Kaiser have attempted to open the Dark Abyss? Shi Feng suddenly recalled the Dark Abyss when he felt this cold, violent Mana. The Dark Abyss had a vile environment, yet its Mana density was astounding. With the combination of these two aspects, it birthed many horrifying monsters. There were some monsters that even Gods feared. Hence, the Gods had sealed the Dark Abyss. These frightening monsters wanted to claim God''s Domain as their own. Hence, the war between the human race and the Dark Abyss had never ceased. Rumors had it that Emperor Kaiser had reached the pinnacle of Tier 5 and was only a thread away from becoming a Tier 6 God. Shi Feng could empathize with Emperor Kaiser. Although there was only a difference of one Tier between Tier 5 and Tier 6, the power gap was like the difference between heaven and earth. One side was doomed to be devoured by the river of time, while the other was free of any bindings. To an emperor, nothing was more tempting than eternal life. Hence, there was nothing surprising about Emperor Kaiser trying to open a path to the Dark Abyss in search of a breakthrough. As Shi Feng approached the bottomless abyss and was about to take a closer look at it, a chilling aura bound him, preventing him from moving. "Who are you? Why have you come here?" A cold voice dripping with power echoed from the bottomless pit. The voice was void of any emotion. "I am an adventurer. A Great Mage called Carrian Walker sent me here to lift the curse on the imperial capital, saving the suffering people within the city," Shi Feng said slowly and truthfully, showing no resistance towards the person questioning him. "Carrian Walker?" the voice said with a hint of surprise. "I never imagined that little fellow would escape the capital with his life. He really is impressive. "If I had not been swayed by my own feelings and my wish to improve myself, such a terrible disaster would never have occurred." "Could you be the Thunder Emperor Kaiser?" Shi Feng could not help his shock when he heard the disembodied words. "Thunder Emperor Kaiser I wonder how many years it has been since I last heard that name? That''s right; I am Kaiser." However, Kaiser sighed and said, "It is unfortunate, but you have wasted your time by coming here. It is impossible to lift the curse on the city. You are simply too weak right now, and you cannot help me seal this abyss." "May I know how to seal it?" Shi Feng probed, refusing to give up. If he gave up on the quest, only death awaited him. "To seal this abyss, someone needs to suppress the Mana temporarily. That way, I can form a new magic array to close off the Dark Abyss." Although Shi Feng knew that he was not nearly strong enough, he gritted his teeth and asked, "May I know how powerful I need to be to suppress this Mana temporarily?" "You must be a Demigod!" Kaiser said straightforwardly. When Shi Feng heard the word "Demigod," he was confused. In God''s Domain, Tier 5 classes were considered Saints, whereas Tier 6 classes were considered Gods. What was a Demigod? This was the first time Shi Feng had heard this term in God''s Domain. It should be known that even if players at the very peak of Tier 5 or Tier 5 NPCs that could rival Tier 6 Gods, nobody had ever been referred to as a Demigod. "You are too weak, so it is expected that you do not know about Demigods." As if he understood Shi Feng''s doubts, Kaiser began explaining, "The difficulty of crossing the threshold of Tier 5 and becoming a Tier 6 God is much greater than you imagine. Not only must you undergo a transition in your life orders, but you must also possess the Immortal Brilliance. A Demigod has only reached Tier 6 in their life order but does not possess a Brilliant Will. Hence, they are limited as Demigods." "Transition? Brilliant Will? Is this the requirement to become a Tier 6 class?" This was the first time Shi Feng had heard details about becoming a Tier 6 classes. Although he had played God''s Domain for over a decade, he had never reached Tier 5. He had no authority to speak on Tier 6. Moreover, all information regarding Tier 6 classes were top secret. A second-rate Guild had no access. However, once Shi Feng understood what a Demigod was, despair filled his heart. Not only must he be a Tier 5 class, but his life order must also be at Tier 6. There was no such player in God''s Domain right now. As for the NPCs, one could probably count them on one hand. He could not simply meet with one because he wanted to, not to mention getting their help. "Are there no other methods?" Shi Feng asked anxiously. After a short pause, Kaiser replied, "None. Unless you have the Seven Treasures, you will need the strength of a Demigod to suppress this Mana. However, the Seven Treasures have been lost for hundreds of years. Locating them would be far more difficult than finding a Demigod." Shi Feng knew of the Seven Treasures. In fact, he had a quest to search for them. He even had the Golden Stigmata to assist him in locating the Seven Treasures. However, he had yet to find even one of the Seven Treasures. "Either the strength of a Demigod or a tool that can suppress the Mana?" Shi Feng wracked his mind for any relevant information. When considering NPCs that might be Demigods, Shi Feng could think of a few candidates. One of which was Faust, whom he had met in Star River Valley. Faust had once managed to seal a Tier 5 Great Demon King. He had also survived an exchange with a God. He was a mythical character who had lived for over 300 years. Another candidate would be the City Lord of Blackwing City. Even kingdoms and empires feared the City Lord. He was not an ordinary Tier 5 NPC. There was also Hell''s Gatekeeper, Christie. That NPC guarded the most dangerous God Mode Regional Dungeon throughout God''s Domain. The Final Boss of the God Mode Regional Dungeon was a Tier 6 God. One could just imagine how powerful Christie was. The NPC was not a simple Tier 5 class either. However, none of these NPCs were easy to contact Aside from these human NPCs, Shi Feng had also encountered several monsters with the strength of a Demigod. The Fallen Angel Serena. Fallen Angels'' life order was very high. They were only inferior to Gods. At Tier 5, they should be as powerful as a Demigod. "Right! How could I forget?! Demons are on the same level as Fallen Angels!" Shi Feng suddenly remembered the Bible of Darkness. He possessed the original version of the summoning book. Even though it was only a fragment, it could still summon a Tier 5 Great Demon King. A Great Demon King was much stronger than a Tier 5 human. The only problem was that he wasn''t strong enough to summon a Great Demon King. Maybe Kaiser could... 723 Power of the Bible of Darkness Chapter 723 - Power of the Bible of Darkness The Bible of Darkness was a treasure created by the Lord of Destruction. It possessed the power to rule over all Demons, allowing one to become the Lord of Demons. Since ancient times, Abyssal Demons were one of the top races in the Dark Abyss and were one of the human races'' greatest enemies. Even Tier 6 Demons wandered in the Dark Abyss, not to mention Tier 5 Demons. Through the power of spacetime, the Bible of Darkness could summon a Demon from the Dark Abyss. However, the Bible of Darkness had already been destroyed, so it could not exert its true power. Summoning a Tier 5 Great Demon King was its limit. "Your Imperial Majesty, may I know if this will be of some help?" Shi Feng took out the thick, heavy Bible of Darkness. The dense Power of Darkness that radiated off the Bible was more than enough to instill fear. NPCs that were not quest-related could not steal items from players. Hence, Shi Feng was not worried about Kaiser snatching the Bible of Darkness. Although NPCs could not steal a player''s items, they could use them. However, Shi Feng was not sure if Kaiser could use the Bible of Darkness as he was now. "The Bible of Darkness?!" Kaiser recognized the thick book immediately, shock appearing on his face. "I had never expected a little guy like you to have such a treasure. It''s unfortunate that the Bible has been destroyed and cannot exert its true power. Otherwise, with this book''s original strength, it could seal the passage to the Dark Abyss easily." Shi Feng was stunned. The passage to the Dark Abyss could not be opened and closed as one wished. Otherwise, the War God Temple would not have tried so hard to search for the Seven Treasures to suppress the passage between the two worlds. However, listening to Kaiser, the Bible of Darkness actually possessed the power to open and close the passage. In other words, the completed form of the Bible of Darkness was as powerful as the Seven Treasures. "Although the Bible of Darkness has been damaged, it could be of some help," Kaiser said. In the next moment, the Bible of Darkness flew out of Shi Feng''s hand and fell into the bottomless pit. "Little guy, back away." At Kaiser''s warning, Shi Feng did not dare remain where he stood. Immediately, he turned and ran out of the Thunder Beast Courtyard. The pressure exuded by a Demigod-level existence was no laughing matter. Previously, Kaiser had used his aura to bind and render Shi Feng immobile. If a Demigod like Kaiser flicked his finger, Shi Feng would likely turn to dust. After Shi Feng fled the Thunder Beast Courtyard, the Mana density begin to rise rapidly. In the next moment, a massive pair of gates made of bone appeared above the courtyard. Compared to the Demon Gates that appeared when Shi Feng summoned Tier 3 Demons, this Demon Gate was colossal. The Demon Gate loomed like a mountain, and the pressure it radiated warped the courtyard''s atmosphere. This is the Demon Gate a Demigod can summon? Shi Feng finally realized how terrifyingly powerful the Bible of Darkness was after seeing the towering Demon Gate. It was no wonder why so many NPCs in God''s Domain were so keen to obtain it. The power he could currently exert with the Bible was just the tip of the iceberg. If the wielder could summon an army of Demons during battle, who could stand against them? It was uncertain whether a Tier 5 player could even defeat a Tier 5 Great Demon King, not to mention a group of them. Moreover, said player would also have to face the summoner, who was also a Tier 5 class. This alone allowed the Bible''s wielder to defeat Tier 5 classes. If the Bible were complete, even at Tier 5, one could challenge Tier 6 God-ranked players and Tier 6 Gods. As the gates slowly opened, a one-horned Demon that was over 30 meters tall emerged. The Demon''s body was pitch-black, and it wielded a sword covered in emerald fire. Shi Feng felt his breath catch in his throat as the Demon''s dark eyes swept over him. Shi Feng tried to appraise this one-horned Demon''s statistics. However, all he found was "Unknown." Since the Demon''s information was hidden from normal observation, he would have to move closer to use Omniscient Eyes. "Despicable human! You have the gall to summon me, the Great Demon King Andos?! Prepare to die!" Andros bellowed, glaring at the bottomless pit. The fire devouring his massive sword suddenly blossomed into a raging inferno. One swing was all it would take to destroy the Thunder Beast Courtyard. So powerful! This is definitely the most powerful Tier 5 monster I have ever seen! Shi Feng was shocked as he watched the Great Demon King. Despite standing so far away from the Demon King, its aura left him unable to move. This strength was so close to that of a true God. Of course, it was also possible that Serena, the Tier 5 Fallen Angel he had encountered before, had not displayed her true strength. Just as the emerald fire was about to descend, countless blue chains suddenly shot out of the bottomless pit, binding Andros and his emerald fire. "Andros, don''t try to resist. I have the Bible of Darkness. Even if you are as strong as I am, under the power of the Bible, you cannot strike against me," the Thunder Emperor threatened the Demon in a low growl. Andros moaned painfully. "You Demons are born with a higher life order than humans. However, there are also constraints on your power. If you submit now, I can allow you to retain your will. Otherwise, I will turn you into a puppet." "I submit." In the end, the Great Demon King Andros agreed reluctantly. Demons originated from the Bible of Darkness. They were born without the ability to resist the Bible. Although the Bible had been damaged, it contained enough power to compel a Great Demon King. Currently, only Tier 6 Demon Gods had the power to resist the Bible''s restrictions. "Suppress the Mana from the Abyss for me," Kaiser ordered, not wasting any time with nonsense. Having no other choice, Andros controlled his endless emerald fire to seal the bottomless pit. Suddenly, the Mana from the Abyss was contained. The Thunder Emperor Kaiser then flew out of the pit. Shi Feng could finally see the true Thunder Emperor Kaiser. The emperor wore a suit of golden armor with a set of white robes. Electric arcs were faintly visible as they surrounded Kaiser. Two Sacred Swords hung from the emperor''s waist, one red and one blue. His smooth golden hair and young face left one speechless. Female players would consider this man to be a god of male beauty. [Kaiser (Thunder Emperor)] (Human, Sword Saint) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? After Kaiser emerged from the pit, he unsheathed his two Sacred Swords. As the blades left their scabbards, the surrounding space froze. It was as if the connections between the space around the swords and the outside world had been severed. What are those weapons?! They can freeze the world around them?! Shi Feng''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw those Sacred Swords. Could one of them be one of the five fragments I am looking for? Just as Shi Feng fantasized about the weapons, Kaiser used the twin swords to draw divine runes in the air before him. Divine runes of the highest quality formed, line after line. A short moment later, the emperor had drawn over a hundred lines of runes. The Spell Kaiser was casting was far more complex than any Tier 5 Spell Shi Feng had seen before. "Seal! God Banishing Domain!" With a shout, Kaiser brandished his two swords. A golden, sixfold magic array appeared above the Palace. This magic array wrapped around the Palace, sucking in the Mana of the Abyss like a hungry beast. This was the first time in his life Shi Feng had seen anything so magnificent. 724 Sacred Sword Killing Ray Chapter 724 - Sacred Sword Killing Ray The God Banishing Domain very quickly spread beyond the Palace. As mist began to gather above the Thunder Beast Courtyard, the foggy imperial capital gradually clearing. After a dozen or so minutes, the mist covering the Thunder Beast Imperial Capital had disappeared. As the fog faded, the power of the curse that plagued the imperial capital began to weaken. The Ghouls and Suffering Souls wandering about the streets had started to die. Meanwhile, the humans, who had been petrified for hundreds of years now, recovered from their stone-like state. System: Epic Quest "Empire''s Past" completed. Quest reward: 50,000,000 EXP. To ordinary players, 50,000,000 EXP might be a lot, but to Shi Feng, who needed double the EXP to level up, he needed several hundreds of millions of EXP to reach the next level. Hence, the effect 50,000,000 EXP had was limited. "I''ve finally finished this quest." Shi Feng sighed in relief when he heard the system notification. All he had left was collecting his reward from Carrian Walker. Epic Quests not only offered bountiful rewards, but they also had severe penalties for failing. Although Shi Feng did not know how the Petrification Curse would affect him, in the event that he failed the Epic Quest, there was no escaping the loss of some Levels and Attributes. After Kaiser finished sealing the passage to the Dark Abyss, he sent the Great Demon King Andros back as well. Meanwhile, Kaiser stood quietly alone beside the bottomless pit. "Adventurer, here is your Bible of Darkness." In the blink of an eye, Kaiser appeared before Shi Feng and passed the Bible of Darkness back to him carefully. "Thank you for helping me. Without your help, the curse would still have its grip on the capital''s citizens. I don''t have much to give you as thanks, so here; I will give you this sword that I had used during my younger days." Saying so, Kaiser took out an immaculate long sword and handed it to Shi Feng. Initially, Shi Feng had dreamed of receiving one of the Sacred Swords that hung from Kaiser''s waist. This was the first time Shi Feng had ever seen a weapon that could freeze the space around it. However, the longsword the Thunder Emperor offered him was also extraordinary. The hilt was snow-white, while the blade was aquamarine in color. Divine, golden runes were etched on the aquamarine blade. Overall, the sword looked as if it were made of clear gemstone. One could also see blue arcs of electricity appear around the sword. When Shi Feng placed his hand around the hilt, a cold sensation seeped into him from the sword. Suddenly, he felt his mind clear. When he moved the sword, he could feel space flow away from the blade. With a gentle swing, the aquamarine longsword transformed into a streak of lightning, moving instantly from one side to the other. Isn''t this sword a little too impressive?! Shi Feng stared at the aquamarine longsword in disbelief. He could feel a higher compatibility rate with this sword than what he had with the Abyssal Blade. His speed with the sword, however, was what shocked him the most. Even when he achieved maximum speed with the Abyssal Blade, the Magic Weapon was still significantly slower than this sword. It was as if this sword could enhance his speed. "I happened to come across this Sacred Sword while exploring an ancient ruin. The sword''s name is Killing Ray. I ask that you cherish it," Kaiser said. The Thunder Emperor could not help but reminisce about his youth when he looked at the aquamarine longsword. His Thunder Emperor title was largely due to this Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. When Shi Feng heard of the sword''s name, he immediately grew ecstatic. Killing Ray was one of the thirty-six Famed Swords in God''s Domain, and it was one of the fragments of Solomon''s Sword that he was searching for. Killing Ray was different from the Abyssal Blade. The Abyssal Blade was a Magic Weapon, but Killing Ray was not. No matter how often he used it, he would never have to fear a curse or Backlash. Immediately, Shi Feng called up the Attribute Panel for the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. [Killing Ray] (One-handed Sword, Sacred Sword, Epic Rank) Level 30 - Level 120 Equipment Requirement: Strength 700 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +760 (Level 30) Strength +70, Agility +64, Endurance +55 Attack Speed +20 Ignore 20% of the target''s Defense. When equipped: Strength increased by 15%, Agility increased by 10%, and Attack Speed increased by 10% Ignore Levels +20 All Sword Skills +3 Levels All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels. Attacks have a 40% chance to trigger Lightning effect, increasing Attack Speed by 50% and damage by 240%. Additional Skill 1- Summon Lightning: Summons lightning to deal 400% lightning damage to enemies within a range of 15 yards and inflict the Numb effect for 5 seconds. Afterwards, attack range increased by 20 yards for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2- Thunder God''s Descent: Become immune to all Control Skills, Movement Speed and Attack Speed increased by 150%, damage increased by 50%, and all damage received decreased by 50% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour A Sacred Sword created by the Godsmith Arnold using a piece of mysterious sword fragment. Killing Ray is one of the thirty-six Famed Swords of God''s Domain, ranking 20th. It was once a sword used by the Thunder Emperor Kaiser. Allows the wielder to have the speed of lightning. When fighting against Dark Creatures, damage increased by 100%. Can be evolved. Cannot be destroyed. Such powerful Attributes! Shi Feng was stunned speechless as he examined Killing Ray''s Attributes. No wonder it ranks 20th among the thirty-six Famed Swords. Sure enough, it is even stronger than the Abyssal Blade. Regarding Attack Power or Basic Attributes, Killing Ray was much stronger than the Epic Weapon Petrified Thorn he had previously obtained. However, the Sacred Sword''s Attributes were not its most amazing aspect, nor was it the fact that it could not be destroyed and thus, did not possess a Durability limit or require repairs, nor the 100% damage increase towards darkness-type creatures. To players who loved to PvP, its speed was the Killing Ray''s most impressive feature. The Passive Skill Lightning allowed one''s initial Attack Speed to start at 50% rather than zero. This meant that while attacking, players would not take as long to accelerate to a maximum speed. A player''s sword draw would be much faster than normal. Following which, Shi Feng immediately traded the Purgatory''s Shadow for Killing Ray. To Shi Feng, the requirement of 700 Strength was nothing considerable. He had fully inlaid Tier 3 Strength-type Gemstones into his equipment. His Strength Attribute had long since exceeded the 700-point threshold. Instantly, Shi Feng''s overall Attributes increased by a sizable chunk. Shi Feng was currently Level 38. Hence, the Level of Killing Ray adjusted to match his level. The Level 30 Killing Ray had offered 760 Attack Power. Now, that jumped to 1,002. This allowed Shi Feng''s Basic Attack Power to rise by several hundred points. Before equipping Killing Ray, with Shi Feng''s One-handed Sword Mastery at the Basic Sword King standard, he would have needed five normal attacks to defeat an MT of the same Level. Now, he would only need four hits. If he triggered consecutive critical hits, he could end the battle in two hits. So much Strength! Shi Feng could not suppress his shock after wrapping his hand around Killing Ray''s hilt. With this Strength, he was even more peerless. With the Magic Weapon, Abyssal Blade, in one hand, and the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray, in the other Shi Feng felt like he could even rival a Strength-type Chieftain of the same Level. He also had a Passive Skill like Lightning. Even against a Void Realm expert, unless said expert was also astonishingly fast, Shi Feng was confident of ending the battle in just a few moves. 725 Intermediate Magic Array Chapter 725 - Intermediate Magic Array After completing the Epic Quest and obtaining the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray, Shi Feng returned through the transfer passage to the Dragon''s Maw''s lowest underground floor. After leaving the special map, Shi Feng used the Activatable Skill of the Aura of Space, Space Movement, to appear before Carrian Walker. Upon returning to Carrian Walker and the other NPCs, Shi Feng noticed that these NPCs had grown significantly older. Although the petrification had allowed them to live for hundreds of years, once the curse lifted, time had begun to erode their bodies, causing them to age rapidly. At the end of the day, they were mortals, not Gods. They could never break free from the shackles of time. If Shi Feng had not hurried back so quickly, Carrian Walker and the others would have passed away. "Young adventurer, thank you. I can already feel the curse in my body vanishing. With this, we can leave this world without regret." Carrian Walker looked at Shi Feng and bowed deeply. He then took out a golden book and passed it on to Shi Feng, saying, "This is our Thunder Beast Empire''s prided magic array, the Nine-star Polar Domain. Hopefully, it will be of help to you someday." Shi Feng accepted the immensely heavy Magic Array Illustration, excitement appearing on his face. Magic Array Illustrations were extremely rare in God''s Domain. The various kingdoms and empires were extremely secretive about magic arrays, each conducting their own research in the field. Naturally, any results were kept secret. Normally, when ordinary people used magic arrays, they relied on Magic Scrolls. The same was true for players. Meanwhile, these Magic Scrolls that were created from Magic Array Illustrations. There were various types of magic arrays such as enhancement, suppression, and binding. Regardless of the type of magic array, they were all exceedingly rare. Normally, players could only obtain Magic Array Scrolls through quests or Treasure Chests. Although the Stoneclaw Mountains had introduced players to the Barrier Crystal Balls, they were not very convenient. They took a long time to activate. Moreover, the Barrier Crystal Balls were not nearly as strong as the Magic Scrolls. Their capabilities were also limited. They were unlike Magic Scrolls, which could be activated swiftly with little to no restriction. Hence, Magic Array Illustrations were rare and precious. If players wanted to research their own magic arrays, they would require a massive amount of time, energy, and resources. It was already exceedingly difficult for an ordinary large Guild to obtain a Magic Array Illustration, not to mention researching one from scratch. Now that he had obtained a Magic Array Illustration, how could Shi Feng contain his excitement? With the Magic Array Illustration, Zero Wing could produce Magic Array Scrolls without limit at the cost of a few materials. hi Feng could not help but click on the Magic Array illustration in his hand, eager to see what kind of magic array he had obtained. "Why is it an Intermediate Magic Array?!" Shi Feng was shocked when he saw its statistics. Magic arrays were also organized into several ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, Craftsman. Currently, the majority of the magic arrays players encountered were Basic Magic Arrays. However, even Basic Magic Arrays could be immensely helpful in various ways, such as suppressing monsters that were of Grand Lord rank or below. Magic arrays above Basic rank were extremely rare. This was because Intermediate Magic Arrays were capable of suppressing monsters of Mythic rank and below. The Final Bosses of the current 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons were merely Grand Lords. With an Intermediate Magic Array, players could easily suppress such a Boss, reducing the Dungeon''s difficulty tremendously. However, what excited Shi Feng the most was that the Intermediate Magic Array Carrian Walker had given him was a top-tier suppression-type magic array. [Nine-star Polar Domain] (Intermediate Magic Array) Suppress all enemies within an area of 100*100 yards. Requires nine people to cast. Only usable by magical classes. Required materials: 3 Magic Crystals, 1 Intermediate Scroll, 9 Starlight Stones, and 1 bottle of Elemental Water. Such a wide-area magic array requires only nine magic classes to cast? Moreover, there aren''t any specific classes required. It''s no wonder why Carrian Walker said that it is the Thunder Beast Empire''s prided magic array. After Shi Feng carefully looked through the illustration, he finally understood just how beautiful of a reward this quest had given him. The Mastery Books and Killing Ray he had obtained were already impressive. Yet, this Nine-star Polar Domain was far more astonishing. It was more valuable than an Epic item. It was common knowledge that a limited number of players could enter a Dungeon at a single time. If a team used a magic array to suppress a Boss, the players maintaining the array would not be able to attack or defend. The more people a magic array required, the greater the effect it would have on the team''s combat power. Hence, the fewer people required, the better. Generally, magic arrays that could suppress Bosses required more than ten people to maintain. For example, the Demon Suppressing Barrier Blue Frost and the others had used against the Great Lord Noya required twelve people. Even so, it was considered a very powerful magic array. Yet, the Nine-star Polar Domain only required nine people. Moreover, the Nine-star Polar Domain''s class requirement was not too specific, requiring only nine magical classes to cast. On the other hand, the Demon Suppressing Array specifically required twelve Elementalists. The difference between these two requirements might seem small, but for those who had researched magic arrays before, they would know that the more advanced a magic array was, the more people it would require to maintain and the more specific it would be with its class requirement. It was extremely difficult to reduce the requirement by even one person, not to mention reducing the restriction on classes. That was twice as difficult. Only after the Thunder Beast Empire had gathered all of its talents had it managed to construct such a streamlined and practical Intermediate Magic Array. It would most likely be impossible for any other empire to produce such a magic array. Looking at this magic array now, Shi Feng could not help but think of the Thunder Emperor Kaiser. Without any help, the emperor had created a sixfold magic array. This showed that Kaiser''s magic array research had reached a profound realm. At the very least, he should be a Grandmaster. In God''s Domain, he was as rare as a phoenix''s feather. I had thought of using the Barrier Crystal Balls to set a trap, but with this Nine-star Polar Domain, they''ll have no chance of escaping. Shi Feng smiled at the illustration in his hands. Although the Nine-star Polar Domain was an Intermediate Magic Array, the materials required to produce it were not especially rare. For starters, Zero Wing had no lack of Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, Starlight Stones were stones containing Star Power. Although they were somewhat rare, there were many places where one could harvest them. The rarest material required to make the Nine-star Polar Domain was the Elemental Water. Elemental Water could automatically absorb large amounts of Mana. When used to produce Magic Scrolls, it could reduce the Mana that the magic array required. It was very valuable. Aside from being used to produce Magic Scrolls, Elemental Water was also used in alchemy and forging. It was an item with a wide variety of uses. However, even in large-scale Team Dungeons, the drop-rate for Elemental Water was very low. The various large Guilds treated Elemental Water like a strategic item and would not sell any unless necessary. Of course, if Shi Feng were willing to spend a little more money, he could obtain a significant amount. After Shi Feng stored the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array Illustration, he bid Carrian Walker and the others farewell and used a Return Scroll to teleport back to White River City. 726 Guild War Chapter 726 - Guild War Ever since Stone Forest Town had fallen under Zero Wing''s control, the town developed faster by the day. Due to the Stoneclaw Mountains, Stone Forest Town had already become a haunt for elite players. Various facilities constantly emerged within the town, the town undergoing endless changes and improvements. At this point, the town had six smithies. There were over 20 hotels. Even though more players had gathered than before, there were no longer the long queues there had been when the town had first fallen into Zero Wing''s clutches. They no longer needed to wait several hours to repair equipment. However, ever since Zero Wing had given up on developing the Stoneclaw Mountains itself and shifted its focus towards conquering Team Dungeons and leveling up elsewhere, Stone Forest Town''s atmosphere had grown extraordinarily intense. It felt as if a war would break out between the Guilds at any time. Although Zero Wing had given up on developing the Stoneclaw Mountains, the number of Guilds replenishing their supplies in Stone Forest Town had never diminished. On the contrary, more Guilds arrived each day. This allowed Zero Wing''s income of Magic Crystals to remain steady. The various large Guilds were extremely envious, and they all hungered to replace Zero Wing as Stone Forest Town''s manager. --- Inside the Secret Pavilion''s Guild Residence: "Uncle Yuan, you called us here so suddenly; did something major happened?" a young man asked. This youth wore silver scale armor and carried a heavy greatsword on his back. His expression was indifferent, and he wore his red hair in a spiky style. The youth radiated a suffocating bloodthirst that prevented anyone from approaching him casually. Moreover, this youth''s Level was very high. He was a Level 34 Berserker. He could rank at the very top of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List. Aside from this youth, there were also quite a few young men and women waiting in the Guild Hall. These men and women also had very high Levels, with the lowest among them being Level 33. The weakest piece of equipment they wore was Level 30 Fine-Gold rank. Even in first-rate Guilds, such high-leveled and well-equipped individuals were extremely rare. However, almost one hundred of such players stood in the Secret Pavilion''s Guild Hall. "Of course, something good has happened. Cold Autumn, don''t tell me you''ve forgotten why the Guild Leader told you to come here?" Yuan Tiexin, who had already reached Level 35 and currently wore a set of long, black robes, said, chuckling. Every major power would nurture their own experts. Meanwhile, Cold Autumn was the most outstanding individual among the new generation of the Secret Pavilion. He was also a genius, recognized by many of the Guild''s Elders and Founding Members. "Huh? Has the Flower of Seven Sins finally started to take action?" Cold Autumn asked excitedly. To let them, the Guild''s new generation, learn the strength of the Flower of Seven Sins, their Guild Leader had sent them on a trip to Stone Forest Town. This would show them of the difference between their power and the organization''s. At the very least, they would not remain ignorant like frogs at the bottom of a well. Although the Secret Pavilion was a powerful force in the virtual gaming world, compared to the incomparably mysterious Flower of Seven Sins, the Pavilion was almost nothing. After all, the Flower of Seven Sins was an organization that struck fear even in the hearts of Super Guilds. "However, I''ve heard that after sustaining several attacks from the Flower of Seven Sins, Zero Wing''s members have become more cautious and have kept a low profile. Both the Guild''s main force and the Dark God''s Legion either held themselves up in the Divine Colosseum or went out to complete quests after disguising themselves. They have stopped forming teams to level up in the fields. Even the Flower of Seven Sins could not find an opportunity to attack. How could the organization have found a chance to make a move now? Could they be planning to trade their lives, ignoring their safety to kill their targets?" Cold Autumn asked, wondering aloud. They had seen a few battles between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins. However, Zero Wing''s members had been defenseless. Before the organization''s assassins could exert their full strength, the players from Zero Wing had died. However, Cold Autumn had to admit that there were some powerful experts among Zero Wing. In the last secret battle between the two organizations, Zero Wing had ten members on their side. On the other hand, the Flower of Seven Sins had sent a party of six to ambush Zero Wing. During that battle, the Assassin named Fire Dance had performed magnificently. She had fought the assassins'' party leader to a standstill. In the end, she had activated a Berserk Skill, killing one of the assassins and escaping with her life. However, at the end of that battle, Zero Wing had suffered nine deaths, while one from the Flower of Seven Sins had died. Even so, this had been an amazing outcome as, during the previous exchanges between the two, Zero Wing had always suffered complete while the Flower of Seven Sins came out unharmed. These battles were not due to Zero Wing having weak members. Rather, it was because the Flower of Seven Sins was simply too strong. Cold Autumn had pondered his capabilities in such a situation. At best, he was confident in fighting toe-to-toe with an ordinary member from the Flower of Seven Sins. If neither side had the class advantage, his chances of emerging victorious would be roughly 50%. As for facing a party leader, the difference in strength was too vast. He would not even have the chance to survive or flee. This time, the Flower of Seven Sins had dispatched less than 50 members. Meanwhile, those capable of becoming a party leader in the organization would be, at least, a Flowing Water Realm expert. Cold Autumn himself was merely a Half-step Refinement Realm expert. Without much of a difference in terms of Basic Attributes, he had zero chances of winning against a Flowing Water Realm expert. Not to mention, his equipment was inferior to the Flower of Seven Sins'' party leaders. Not only could their equipment rank at the very top of God''s Domain, but the party leaders had also learned many rare Skills. Every one of them possessed powerful Berserk Skills and were all inhumanely strong. Hence, Cold Autumn admired Fire Dance. The fact that Fire Dance could contend with a party leader and had even killed a party member before escaping showed that she was far stronger than he was. However, part of the reason that Fire Dance could achieve this feat was due to her Attributes surpassing the Flower of Seven Sins'' party leader. She even had a Berserk Skill with a lengthy duration of ten minutes. Without these advantages, she, too, would have shared the same fate as her team members. "It''s not the Flower of Seven Sins. It is the Star Alliance," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. "Hasn''t the Star Alliance been focusing on developing the Stoneclaw Mountains? Why would they suddenly want to conquer Stone Forest Town?" Cold Autumn did not believe that any power in God''s Domain was capable of occupying Stone Forest Town. Against current players, Level 150 NPC guards only needed one hit to finish the fight. Plenty of high-tiered NPC guards also protected the town. "You''ll understand once you see the official forums," Yuan Tiexin said. Cold Autumn immediately opened Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums. Sure enough, at the very top of the front page, massive letters attracted attention to a specific post. Moreover, the post had been created by none other than the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader, Galaxy Past. The Star Alliance officially issues a challenge to Zero Wing. We will wait in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Do you dare accept? If Zero Wing does not have the courage to accept this challenge, you can hide in Stone Forest Town for the rest of your lives. Although the post had just been issued, the Star Alliance''s many members had constantly upvoted it. They had also disparaged Zero Wing in the comments. "Isn''t Zero Wing supposed to be impressive? Do you guys dare accept our challenge?" "Black Flame, aren''t you Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert?! If you''re strong enough, stop hiding and fight me! Let''s show the world how I beat you up into a pulp!" "Sure enough, Zero Wing''s members are all cowards. The only thing they know how to do is to hide in the Safe Zone." "So, this is the case." Cold Autumn immediately understood what was going on. "It seems that the Star Alliance is not doing too well right now, either." "Without the supplies that Stone Forest Town offers, even with funding, the Star Alliance''s development in the Stoneclaw Mountains has lagged behind the other Guilds. Naturally, the Guild cannot allow this to continue. Now that the Flower of Seven Sins is dealing with Zero Wing''s experts, it is the perfect chance for the Alliance to deal a massive blow to the Guild. If the Alliance succeeds, once Stone Forest Town''s protection period has ended, it will be a lot easier for the Alliance to take over," Yuan Tiexin explained. "Hence, I have called you all here to prepare." "I understand. I''ll have everyone get ready. Hopefully, Zero Wing won''t try to dodge this battle." Cold Autumn felt that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, was not so foolish as to get taken in by such a pitiful provocation. However, it was a different matter when it came to the Guild. If Zero Wing wanted to retain its reputation, it would have no choice but to accept the Star Alliance''s challenge. 727 War! War! War! Chapter 727 - War! War! War! White River City, Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: Due to the Star Alliance''s sudden provocation, Zero Wing was in disarray. Previously, the Guild''s lack of response towards the Dark Gods Legion''s annihilation had caused many members within the Guild to feel dejected. If not for Aqua Rose holding everyone back, many members would''ve rushed to the Stoneclaw Mountains to seek revenge. Now that the Star Alliance had launched such a challenge as well, how could they contain their anger? As it was difficult to locate a small number of independent players, they could have ignored the previous assault. However, it was a different story with the Star Alliance. Their enemy had even prepared a battlefield! Even if the Star Alliance was a first-rate Guild and had set up a trap, they needed to show everyone that Zero Wing was not a Guild to provoke. At worst, they''d just have to die once. "Vice-Leader Aqua, everyone in the Guild is ready to fight! If you give the word, we''ll leave immediately and annihilate the Star Alliance!" many core members stepped forward and declared. Zero Wing was no longer the weak upstart Guild it had been before. Now, it was White River City''s overlord. The Guild already had over 100,000 members. They even had close to 20,000 elite members. Although the others were not elites, they were not far from it, either. They could definitely put up a fight against the Star Alliance. "You guys are taking this situation too lightly. Since the Star Alliance has dared to provoke us openly, they are confident in defeating us. Moreover, the Star Alliance is not our only enemy," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. After seeing that forum post, it would be a lie if she said she wasn''t enraged. If she were an ordinary Guild member, she would have torn apart the Star Alliance''s members on the battlefield by now. However, she was not an ordinary member of the Guild, so she could not do so. She had to consider the Guild as a whole. As long as it was not one of the Guild''s important figures, even if they died tens of times, it would not impact the Guild. However, if every elite member died even once, the Guild would be wounded. If that happened, the best case scenario would be the Guild''s development slowing down and losing its previous advantages. In a more severe case, the Guild''s development would stagnate, and from then on, the Guild would no longer be able to contest for supremacy over God''s Domain. All of their time and efforts would be for naught. Such a situation had occurred many times throughout the virtual gaming world''s history. The Guilds involved had long since been forgotten. Hence, a Guild had to be extremely cautious with each step it advanced. Passion was not enough for a Guild to become an overlord in God''s Domain. Otherwise, there would not be so few first-rate Guilds. Yet, if Zero Wing, the overlord of White River City, did not respond to the Star Alliance''s provocation properly, then any prestige the Guild had gained would vanish like smoke. Who would join such a guild in the future? "The Star Alliance has stooped low this time. They are actually using such a despicable tactic," Fire Dance said, frowning. "However, if we accept their challenge, the Flower of Seven Sins will assist them from the sidelines, targeting our Guild''s experts. The other Guilds might even try to take advantage of the situation and strike as well. The Star Alliance will devour us." "Fire, you''ve fought a party leader from the Flower of Seven Sins before. Do our main force and the Dark Gods Legion really stand no chance against them?" Aqua Rose asked as she gave Fire Dance a concerned look. "The Flower of Seven Sins have equipment that is in no way inferior to our main force''s. Only those of us wearing Tier 1 Set Equipment are slightly stronger than them. However, they are experts who have the experience of many years of trials and tribulations. Even the organization''s most ordinary member is only slightly weaker than I am in terms of combat techniques. The majority of their members are a lot stronger than me. If not for my weapons and equipment, as well as Magic Scrolls and the Power of Darkness, I wouldn''t have lasted against that party leader for long. When I faced that party leader, his defense was impeccable. He was able to see through all of my attacks easily and prepare. It felt as if I were fighting our Guild Leader." Hearing Fire Dance''s experience, everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, their previous passion vanishing completely. Everyone finally understood just how frightening the Flower of Seven Sins was. Fire Dance''s combat techniques ranked third within Zero Wing, and only Shi Feng could win against her with absolute certainty. Yet, just an ordinary member from the Flower of Seven Sins possessed combat techniques that were nearly equal to Fire Dance''s. Meanwhile, there were as many as 50 assassins. Fighting them would be like facing 50 Fire Dances. Moreover, among these 50 people, there were monsters that could rival Black Flame. Obtaining victory would be impossible. A monster like Black Flame could play an unimaginably massive role in a war against tens of thousands of players. Meanwhile, they had to take down at least six such monsters In truth, when Black Flame had seen the list of assassins, even he had been surprised. "Vice-Leader Aqua, what are we supposed to do?" Blackie had begun to panic a little. "Neither fighting nor hiding is an option." "I can''t make that decision. Let''s contact our Guild Leader first." In truth, Aqua Rose had an idea: send a portion of the Guild''s members into battle while leaving behind the Guild''s core strength. That way, even if they suffered defeat at the Star Alliance''s hands, they would retain the Guild''s core combat power. They would still be able to contend for supremacy over God''s Domain. However, only Black Flame could make that final decision. Everyone nodded in agreement. When Aqua Rose mentioned their Guild Leader, a sense of reverence and confidence blossomed in everyone''s hearts. So long as their Guild Leader gave the command, even if they had to fight to the very last man and repeatedly die until they were Level 0, they would do so willingly. At most, they would just start all over again with their Guild Leader. Suddenly, the conference hall doors swung open. A familiar figure appeared before Aqua Rose and the others. "Guild Leader! "Guild Leader, you''re back!" Immediately, everyone in the conference hall stood up. "Sit. I already know what''s going on." Shi Feng could not help his happy smile when he saw everyone in the room. They had all done very well by holding themselves back, giving the Flower of Seven Sins little to no chance to attack. Now, it was time for their Guild Leader to take the stage. "Blackie, what''s the status on my previous request?" Shi Feng asked. "We bought everything we could get our hands on. Melancholic has even gone to other kingdoms and empires to purchase them. We should have enough for our needs," Blackie said confidently. "Good. Collect these materials for me. Don''t worry about the price. As long as it doesn''t exceed twice the original price, buy everything," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then handed a list of materials required to manufacture the Nine-star Polar Domain to Blackie. Turning to look at Aqua Rose, he said, "Since the Star Alliance wants a war, then war is what we''ll give them! Aqua, pick 10,000 elite members from the Guild and have them prepare to head to the Stoneclaw Mountains! "All members of the main force and the Dark Gods Legion should also head out and replenish their supplies. "Everyone, let''s destroy the Star Alliance!" When Shi Feng finished speaking, his Guild members were dumbfounded. None of them had imagined that Shi Feng would be so decisive. In the blink of an eye, however, pride rose in everyone''s hearts. Their Guild Leader was way too cool! Today, even if they suffered total annihilation, they would show that Zero Wing was not easily bullied! 728 The Popular Stoneclaw Mountains Chapter 728 - The Popular Stoneclaw Mountains After Shi Feng finished delegating tasks, he headed to one of the Special Forging Rooms in the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Star Alliance had gone all out this time. Naturally, the Guild would dispatch a large number of its elite members. Based on the information Aqua Rose had obtained, the Star Alliance had dispatched more than 80,000 elite members. The Alliance had sent more than four times what Zero Wing possessed. Moreover, that was not the end of it. Aside from the Star Alliance, the other large Guilds had secretly dispatched a large number of players to help the Star Alliance. Over 120,000 elites had gathered. In a head-on clash, Zero Wing had zero chances of victory. The Star Alliance also had the help of the Flower of Seven Sins'' experts. As long as the Flower of Seven Sins pinned down or killed Zero Wing''s experts, they would have no hope of escaping the slaughter. Although Gentle Snow had said she would help, even if they included the power of Ouroboros, they still far from enough to secure a victory. "Guild Leader, here are all the materials that you requested," Melancholic Smile said as she entered the forging room. She proceeded to stack materials on the stone table. Melancholic Smile understood the Star Alliance''s strength. Zero Wing had no chance against this opponent. Yet, during such a crucial period, Shi Feng shut himself away in this forging room, producing items. She was confused. --- Time passed, little by little. The Star-Moon Kingdom had gone into an uproar. The Star Alliance, a first-rate Guild, was going to face-off against Zero Wing in the Stoneclaw Mountains. How could anyone not be excited? Everyone was eager to see who would emerge victorious. On one side, the Star Alliance was a first-rate Guild with a powerful background and countless members. Meanwhile, although Zero Wing did not have as many members, it had an army of experts. The Guild even had a monstrous character like Black Flame. --- In the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region: Ever since the Star Alliance had declared war on Zero Wing, a large area in the outer region had been cleared out to act as the upcoming battle''s battlefield. The Star Alliance quietly waited for Zero Wing to arrive. "Guild Leader Galaxy, as we predicted, Zero Wing has begun to gather their members. It seems they plan to fight to the bitter end," Twilight Echo''s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo, said, laughing. "Guild Leader Echo, rest assured, we won''t disappoint Miss Willow. As long as Zero Wing shows their faces, we will show them complete and utter annihilation. As for Zero Wing''s experts, however, I will leave them for you," Galaxy Past said, similarly laughing. "You can rest assured. The Flower of Seven Sins'' reputation is not undeserved. As long as they make a move, even Zero Wing''s Black Flame will surrender his life," Glorious Echo said, patting his chest confidently. Previously, Glorious Echo had only heard about the Flower of Seven Sins. This time, he had witnessed the organization''s power personally. No first-rate Guild stood a chance against that power. Glorious Echo had rewatched the battle video of the Flower of Seven Sins facing the Dark Gods Legion more than half a dozen times so far. In terms of equipment, the Dark Gods Legion could rank at the top of God''s Domain. Even Twilight Echo''s strongest legion could not compare to the Dark Gods Legion. However, what had shocked Glorious Echo the most was the Legion''s Berserk Skill. All 300 members of the Legion possessed a Berserk Skill. After activating their Berserk Skill, even the weakest member possessed the strength to overwhelm a fifth-floor expert with top-tier equipment. Neither Twilight Echo nor the Star Alliance possessed more than 100 experts who had broken past the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. Even a veteran Guild like Twilight Echo only had around a dozen more of such experts than the Star Alliance. Meanwhile, these experts were considered the highest combat power first-rate Guilds like theirs possessed. As for second-rate Guilds, even having 30 of these experts would be impressive. Yet, the Dark Gods Legion had 300. After watching the Dark Gods Legion, Glorious Echo finally realized why Black Flame had been so confident and had been able to look down at Twilight Echo, going so far as to pick a fight with Open Source Corporation. Even so, the Flower of Seven Sins'' 50 players had wiped out the Dark God''s Legion''s 300. Despite the numerical advantage, the Dark Gods Legion had been nearly annihilated, while the Flower of Seven Sins had not suffered even a single death. The difference was massive. "I''ll have to thank you for that, then." Galaxy Past laughed. In truth, even without the Flower of Seven Sins, Galaxy Past was confident in defeating Zero Wing. The Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile had secretly joined forces, and Overwhelming Smile had sent a large group of experts to support the Star Alliance. Among the experts, there were a few that could even threaten Galaxy Past. The captain of these experts, War Wolf, was even someone that Galaxy Past wisely feared. Aside from Overwhelming Smile, the Star Alliance had also formed a secret agreement with the other large Guilds, and these large Guilds had sent plenty of experts to support the Alliance as well. Based on Zero Wing''s latest statistics, the Guild had over 200 members who had pushed past the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. There was not a single Guild within Star-Moon Kingdom capable of coming close to this number. However, after including the experts that other Guilds had sent, Galaxy Past counted more than 1,000 fifth-floor experts on their side. Purely in terms of numbers, they had already exceeded Zero Wing by at least five times. Zero Wing had no chance of winning this war. Yet, unless they no longer cared for their reputation, Zero Wing could not back down. Otherwise, Zero Wing would become a laughing stock. They would lose any prestige they had earned. Moreover, Zero Wing would not be as lucky as it had been during the war for Stone Forest Town. Galaxy Past had chosen the Stoneclaw Mountains for the battle precisely because he was afraid that Zero Wing would somehow come up with another powerful monster. However, there was no monster in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region that the Star Alliance could not handle. --- In one of the Stoneclaw Mountains'' stone pillar forests, the members of Overwhelming Smile cleared out the monsters. Standing at the lead was a Level 34 Shield Warrior who wielded a massive, deep-blue shield. This Shield Warrior currently took on two Half-orc Lords. Yet, despite receiving attacks from the two Lords simultaneously, this Shield Warrior remained steady like an iron wall. No matter how hard the two Half-orc Lords struggled, they could not break past this Warrior''s shield. "Boss Wolf, Zero Wing is really finished this time. Not only must it face the Star Alliance, but they also have to face us. As long as we crush Zero Wing, White River City will belong to Overwhelming Smile." Soaring Snake, who bombarded a Half-orc Lord, could not help his excitement about their army''s strength. "Overwhelming Smile and the Star Alliance are just working to get what each of us wants. Moreover, Zero Wing is not our main objective. Instead, we need to hinder Ouroboros. You are not allowed to get revenge on Zero Wing on impulse," the pale-faced War Wolf said. Glancing at Soaring Snake, he continued, "Moreover, it is too early to determine the outcome of this battle. Don''t forget how Dark Star perished under Black Flame''s hands. It is better to avoid trouble whenever possible." "Boss Wolf, Big Sis Youlan has already reminded me. Why would I dare act impulsively and ignore the bigger picture?" Soaring Snake said, laughing. --- While the various large Guilds prepared for war, Shi Feng had finished crafting the items in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Forging Room. "Aqua, have the main force and the Dark Gods Legion gather at the Residence in Stone Forest Town." 729 Rules of War Chapter 729 - Rules of War Stone Forest Town: Under Shi Feng''s command, Zero Wing''s main force and the Dark Gods Legion quickly gathered in Stone Forest Town''s Guild Residence. "I heard that the Star Alliance has gathered a lot of experts. I will finally have the chance to stretch my muscles," a Berserker, Shadow Sword, said as he caressed his Tier 1 Weapon, Tempest''s Breath, his fighting spirit burning in his eyes. Standing beside Shadow Sword, Cola, Ye Wumian, Rampant Blade, Flying Shadow, Minor Wind, Turtledove, and the other members of Zero Wing''s main force nodded in agreement. Ever since the Flower of Seven Sins had targeted Zero Wing''s main force, Shi Feng had ordered them to stay inside the city and train in the Divine Colosseum. Although their EXP bars had barely moved over these past few days, their combat techniques had improved significantly. Everyone''s Skill Completion Rates, in particular, had improved by leaps and bounds with the help of the Hundred Berry Wine. Previously, only Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose could maintain their Skill Completion Rates at 85% and above. Now, however, they could do so as well. Although their techniques were still weaker than Fire Dance and the other two women, with their top-tier equipment and Tier 3 Gemstones, the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins should not mistake them for easy targets. After a short wait in the Guild Hall, Shi Feng appeared in the Residence''s Hall after using a Guild Transfer Scroll. The Zero Wing members immediately saluted out of respect. "Aqua, have you finished organizing the magical class teams?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to Aqua Rose. He had obtained plenty of information regarding the Star Alliance from Gentle Snow. With just 10,000 elite members, they had no chance against an army of more than 100,000 elite players. If they wished to challenge such a large army, they would have to rely on the Nine-star Polar Domain. Meanwhile, it was safest for the players maintaining the Intermediate Magic Array to have as much Mana as possible. Hence, Shi Feng had asked Aqua Rose to choose magical class players who had focused their Free Attribute Points on Intelligence. "Everything has been arranged. Following your instructions, I have formed twenty groups of nine players. Every player has been supplied with plenty of Isolation Scrolls and Invisibility Potions," Aqua Rose reported. "Alright. Give these to them. Each person will only get one scroll, no more." Shi Feng revealed the newly-produced Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Scrolls. If one entered combat, one would lose the effects of both the Isolation Scrolls and the Invisibility Potions. However, they were very useful to an ambush. Suddenly, Melancholic Smile burst into the Guild Hall. Panting, she said, "Guild Leader, I''ve brought what you''ve requested." "Good. Distribute them to the main force and the Dark Gods Legion. Each person will get 10 Advanced Frost Grenades and 100 Intermediate Frost Grenades. Additionally, members of the main force will get two Glare Bombs. Lastly, elite members participating in the war will each get 10 Intermediate Frost Grenades," Shi Feng instructed. The Glare Bomb was very easy for engineers to manufacture, and it did not share the same Cooldown as the Frost Grenades. Furthermore, like the Frost Grenade, the Glare Bomb was an invaluable tool for war. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had only found a single design. Even with the Starstreak Trading Firm''s Intermediate Engineer producing them constantly, he had only managed to craft around 200 bombs, barely enough to supply the main force. Although Shi Feng''s words had been leisurely, his subordinates were shocked. They had used the Frost Grenade before. It was one of the Guild''s strategic items that they kept in reserve. However, though they knew that the item sold only in Blackwing City, none of them knew exactly where they could buy them. Currently, Shi Feng had only revealed the location to Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile. [Intermediate Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 70. Deals 800 frost damage to a radius of 12 yards, freezing targets for 5 seconds, then reducing Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 10 Silvers [Advanced Frost Grenade] Effective against monsters (and players) below Level 120. Deals 2,000 frost damage to a radius of 15 yards, freezing targets for 5 seconds, then reducing Movement Speed by 60% for a duration of 12 seconds. Price: 70 Silvers Although these tools would only be half as effective against players, it would still leave an impact. Only, these items were incredibly expensive. Yet, for this battle, Shi Feng had prepared so many. The Guild had spent 6,800 Gold on the main force and the Dark Gods Legion. After including the allocation for 10,000 elite members, the Guild spent a total of 16,800 Gold Even the Star Alliance, which received financial support form Open Source Corporation, could never spend that many Coins in a single breath. The Alliance would never willingly part with such a sum of money. Yet, Shi Feng did not hesitate at all. Even to Zero Wing, 16,800 Gold was not pocket change. This was the money that Zero Wing had amassed after many difficulties. However, Shi Feng did not particularly mind the expenditure. He had not only requested Melancholic Smile to purchase the Frost Grenades. He had requested something even more powerful as well. That item was more expensive than all the Frost Grenades they had purchased combined. To others, it might not be easy to deal with an army of more than 100,000 elite players. To Shi Feng, who had Coins to spend, it was not difficult at all. Even top-tier players would be limited under the iron hoof of an elite army. To increase their chances of overcoming the Star Alliance, Shi Feng needed to increase the Guild''s overall strength. The best method to do so was to arm every elite member with Intermediate Frost Grenades. Shi Feng had played God''s Domain for more than ten years now. He had lost count of the number of Guild Wars he had participated in. Hence, he was extremely familiar with how Guild Wars worked. To secure victory in a Guild War, relying on elite and expert players was far from enough to emerge victorious. In God''s Domain''s battles, magical tools were crucial as well. Take the Twin Snake Ring, which had once been famous throughout the continent, for example. It was a kind of strategic weapon that, even in the hands of an ordinary player, could send hundreds of thousands of elite and expert players running with their tails tucked between their legs. It was a weapon that could cause the various kingdoms and empires to tremble in fear. In the end, after the various kingdoms and empires had paid an unimaginable price, they manage to destroy the Twin Snake Ring. Thus, in the past, the various large Guilds had invested money desperately to research these items. Only, current players had yet to realize just how powerful magical tools could be. Hence, they felt that they could rely on numbers and experts to secure victory in battle. Even though the Frost Grenades'' effects were halved against players, they were more than enough to give the Star Alliance''s elites a run for their money. If used properly, the Frost Grenades could even teach the Star Alliance an important lesson. Battles in God''s Domain could not necessarily be won with a larger army. One could also drown their opponents to death with money. After everyone from Zero Wing was equipped with the necessary supplies, under Shi Feng''s lead, they boldly made their way towards the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- "Quick, look! They are from Zero Wing!" "Wow! They''re really going to fight! They must''ve lost their minds!" "What do they intend to do with so few people? Are they trying to get themselves killed?" Many independent players watched Zero Wing''s army, which consisted of just slightly more than 10,000 players, with disdain. It should be known that the Star Alliance had more than 100,000 elite players on their side. --- "What is Black Flame trying to do? Why did he send so few people?" Waiting at the Stoneclaw Mountains'' Dungeon entrance, Gentle Snow frowned when she saw Zero Wing''s army approach. "Could he have given up?" 730 Sword Drawn Chapter 730 - Sword Drawn Outside of the Stoneclaw Mountains'' transfer gate, Ouroboros''s elite army waited for their allies. A battle involving hundreds of thousands of players was different from battles involving only hundreds or thousands of players. There were not many locations that could house a battle of that scale. It was even less likely to find a proper area inside of a Dungeon. Before the war began, one had to organize their troops first. Charging into battle recklessly would only lead to one''s doom. Hence, Gentle Snow held Ouroboros back from entering the Stoneclaw Mountains. Instead, she chose to wait for Zero Wing''s arrival. Ouroboros was a first-rate Guild. Although the Guild had lost quite a few of its elites due to infighting, it still possessed the background of a first-rate Guild. Moreover, due to its Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town, Ouroboros developed far faster than their competitors. At this point, God''s Domain had already evolved from the era of Coins to the era of Magic Crystals. With sufficient Magic Crystals, a first-rate Guild with a strong background could quickly nurture elite players. Ouroboros already had more than 60,000 elite members. They had only slightly fewer than when they had conquered Stone Forest Town with Zero Wing. However, if one wanted to compare the quality of their elite members, Zero Wing was still slightly superior to Ouroboros. Shi Feng had always been an advocate of quality over quantity. Otherwise, Zero Wing would have had 40,000 or 50,000 elite members rather than 20,000. "Guild Leader Black Flame, what do you have planned for the war with the Star Alliance?" Gentle Snow asked as she turned to Shi Feng. Initially, Gentle Snow had thought Shi Feng would bring all of his Guild members above Level 30 with him into this war. She had never imagined that he would only dispatch 10,000 elite members. If so, she had no choice but to alter her original plan. There were over 100,000 players on the Star Alliance''s side. Based on the latest reports she had received, they had more than 150,000 elites. Had Zero Wing brought all of its Level 30 and above members, after including Ouroboros''s elite members, they would have had more than 100,000 players as well. In truth, many of Zero Wing''s ordinary members would be considered elites in other Guilds. However, Zero Wing was very strict with its elite members. Not only must one hit the mark in terms of both Level and combat techniques, but they must also be capable of defeating an Elite monster of the same level. Hence, even until now, the Guild did not have many elite members. If Zero Wing dispatched 40,000 members, the army''s overall combat power would most likely be higher than an army of 40,000 elite members from other Guilds. Hence, even if they faced the Star Alliance''s army of 150,000 elites, their army of 100,000 players would still have a chance of victory. Yet, Shi Feng had not done so. "Zero Wing will draw the enemy''s fire while Ouroboros will engage in a pincer attack from the sides," Shi Feng said very simply. By the time the Star Alliance had issued the challenge, Shi Feng had already formulated a plan to deal with the enemy Guild. Although the Stoneclaw Mountains were vast, the Dungeon was covered in dense forests and mountainous regions. The area had few flatlands, and they were also small in size. There was nowhere large enough for a battle of hundreds of thousands. It would be a miracle if a single battle zone could fit several thousand players. Hence, Shi Feng had only chosen to dispatch 10,000 elite members. Had he dispatched any more, they would not have had enough Nine-star Polar Domain magic arrays to go about. "You really don''t need any of our members?" Gentle Snow placed great importance on this Guild War. Ouroboros was already in the same boat as Zero Wing. If Zero Wing suffered defeat, Ouroboros would suffer in the Stoneclaw Mountains as well. The Star Alliance and their allies would make sure of it. They needed to defeat the Star Alliance no matter what. If they removed the Star Alliance from the picture, the other Guilds would hesitate before moving against them. Of course, Gentle Snow had not forgotten about the issue with the Flower of Seven Sins. However, the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins would only target Zero Wing''s experts. They would not participate in the battle between elite members. Hence, they would not necessarily affect the war''s outcome. As long as they crushed the Star Alliance''s elite army quickly, the Star Alliance would struggle to return to prominence. "No need. I have already prepared. When the time comes, you just have to remember your desire to eliminate the Star Alliance," Shi Feng said, his lips curling into a confident smile. Following which, after both Guilds finished preparing, they entered the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Main force, follow me! The Dark Gods Legion will act as the spearhead and penetrate the Star Alliance''s core! Everyone else, as we discussed, split up into ten legions and advance slowly!" Shi Feng shouted his orders after entering the Stoneclaw Mountains. Shi Feng''s decisions had confused Aqua Rose and the others. In such a massive battle, he wanted all of Zero Wing''s experts to gather in a single location. They would be throwing away an expert''s advantages on a battlefield. On such a large battlefield, their enemies would scatter. By concentrating all of their experts into a single point, although their combat power was astounding, they would only be able to claim a limited number of lives. They wouldn''t be nearly as efficient on the battlefield as they could be. "Alright, enough daydreaming! Move!" Shi Feng commanded. Naturally, he understood everyone''s concerns. However, he did not have time to explain his plan. Although this formation would not benefit the Guild on the battlefield, it would not give the Flower of Seven Sins a good opportunity to strike. Moreover, they could reduce the number of casualties from the elite legions. The Flower of Seven Sins was an assassin organization. They had only been hired to do one thing in this battlefieldCkill Zero Wing''s experts. Shi Feng had confirmed this with the Secret Pavilion. As long as there were no experts in the elite legions, the Flower of Seven Sins would not bother helping the Star Alliance by killing Zero Wing''s elite members. However, if an expert appeared in the midst of the elite legions, even if the assassins were reluctant, they would have no choice but to clear out the elite members blocking their path. This would deal a fatal blow. Shi Feng was a Flowing Water Realm expert, so he understood how beneficial such narrow terrain was to experts in the Realms of Refinement. He also knew how effective such experts were in a battle involving thousands of players. Hence, Zero Wing''s experts needed to cluster. That was his first reason. His second reason was to drive the assassins to a single location. That way, he would not have to waste time searching for them. He could set a trap to catch them at once. Under Shi Feng''s command, everyone immediately began to move. Shi Feng directly led the 100 main force members in a charge towards the tallest peak in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region. That area was a favored location for a large scale battle. From there, he could see the overall situation and direct his army. Ouroboros had also circled to the edge of the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- Meanwhile, on top of a hill in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region "Guild Leader Galaxy, Zero Wing has entered the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, Zero Wing has only brought 10,000 elite members. It seems that the Star Alliance will not get to see much action. If you don''t move quickly, the other Guilds might decimate Zero Wing before you get to see any action," Glorious Echo warned the other Guild Leader cheekily. He could not help but laugh when he received the report on Zero Wing''s arrival. "You might not even get a share of the equipment they drop." Hearing this, Galaxy Past shook his head and laughed, saying, "In the end, it seems that Black Flame is not brave enough to make a last stand. He has actually dispatched so few people. Purple, issue my commands. Have Red Feather lead 30,000 elite troops into battle immediately. We can''t let the other Guilds steal the bounty." "Understood!" Purple Eye contacted Red Feather. 731 Flurry Chapter 731 - Flurry After the large Guilds received the reports that Zero Wing had dispatched 10,000 elite members to the Stoneclaw Mountains, they began to mobilize their troops. Although the various large Guilds had only dispatched a small number of elites and experts, there were over a dozen large Guilds aiding the Star Alliance. In fact, the total number of elites and experts the various large Guilds had sent was only slightly lower than the Star Alliance''s army. Overall, they had more than 70,000 players. If the various Guilds went all-out, they could gather more elite players than the Star Alliance and Ouroboros combined. "Ten thousand elites won''t even be enough to fill the gaps between our teeth!" "Sure enough, Zero Wing is only here to make an appearance. They don''t have the courage to face us all-out. We''re currently the closest to the Dungeon''s entrance, so Zero Wing''s equipment will be ours for the taking!" In Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing was famous for having top-tier equipment. Despite being Level 31 or 32, the elite members of ordinary Guilds generally wore Level 25 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment, and very few had Level 30 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As for Level 25 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, only an extremely small number of elite players had the privilege of owning any. Meanwhile, Level 30 Secret-Silver Equipment was considered a luxury. As for Level 30 Fine-Gold items, they were considered top-tier equipment, and only a Guild''s core members were fortunate enough to wear such equipment. After all, Fine-Gold Equipment only had a slightly higher drop-rate in large-scale Team Dungeons. However, teams that could raid Level 30 large-scale Hard Mode Team Dungeons were rare. Even first-rate Guilds only had several hundred teams capable of raiding such Dungeons. Hence, Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment was incredibly rare. However, what about Zero Wing''s elite members? The most inferior equipment they wore was Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment. Many among them even had one or two pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, and some even had Level 30 Secret-Silver Equipment. There was no need to mention Zero Wing''s core members and main force members. The harvest they could gain from killing two or three Zero Wing elite members would be like killing a Level 30 or above Chieftain. However, how rare and difficult was it to deal with Chieftain ranked monsters? Even with a team of 20 elite players, sacrifices were necessary to kill a Level 30-plus Chieftain. There was even the risk of a team-wipe. However, it was a different story if their opponents were elite players. Field Chieftains would grow stronger depending on the number of players raiding them. Elite players would not, making them much easier to deal with. As the various large Guilds quietly approached the Dungeon''s entrance, many players who were tasked to defend strategic locations began to complain. "Say, why is our luck so bad? What''s the point of having us stay in this godforsaken place? The others will probably annihilate Zero Wing before they get anywhere near us. While everyone else gets to take a bite out of the pie, we won''t even get a taste of the crumbs." "I know, right? The higher-ups have even said that we get to keep half of the spoils we get from the enemies we kill. Last time, we only got to keep a quarter of the spoils. Even now, I still haven''t obtained any Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. Those bastards that went ahead lucked out this time." "If I had known something like this would happen, I wouldn''t have volunteered to defend this area. I could have been killing a few of Zero Wing''s members and upgrading my gear." The 2,000-man elite legion standing on top of a mountain whined as they enviously watched the fires of battle some distance away, nearly drooling. Meanwhile, under Shi Feng''s lead, Zero Wing''s main force arrived at the foot of this mountain undetected with the help of Isolation Scrolls and Invisibility Potions. With these two items, even a Ranger''s Eagle Eyes would not detect them. It was very easy for the group to circle the army of the various large Guilds. "Guild Leader, I''ve investigated the situation using Eagle Eyes. There should be around 2,000 players on top of the mountain. Among them, over 20 have excellent equipment. They should be experts," Minor Wind reported in the team chat. "Twenty-plus experts?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "These people are taking this mountaintop too lightly. Fire, lead your group; get rid of their healers first. Everyone else, focus on your positions. Herd them together as much as possible before using AOE Skills." Shi Feng did not take the 2,000 elite players seriously at all. The equipment worn by Zero Wing''s main force was considered among the best throughout God''s Domain. They had at least double the Attributes of their enemies. Even the Dark Gods Legion could defeat 2,000 elite players easily. The only ones who might actually pose a threat would be the twenty-plus experts. Currently, those that could be considered experts were players who had, at least, reached the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Unfortunately, even the weakest members of Zero Wing''s main force were sixth-floor experts. Hence, Shi Feng did not have a shred of doubt that his team would slaughter the army of 2,000 elite players. The Rangers, who observed the situation on the mountain, did not detect Shi Feng and the others'' approach. "Guild Leader, we''re in position." Fire Dance, who stood a short distance away from the enemy''s healer team, said quietly through the team chat. Flying Shadow and eight other Assassins accompanied Fire Dance. "Guild Leader, we''ve arrived at the enemy''s magical class team," Cola reported quietly. Shi Feng stood a short distance away from the twenty-plus experts. Through a combination of Void Steps and the effects of the Invisibility Potion, even a Ranger or Druid with sharp senses would not detect Shi Feng. "Kill them!" Shi Feng growled. Immediately, everyone burst into action. Fire Dance activated the Additional Skill of the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Assassins, Flurry, increasing her Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50% for 20 seconds. She then executed Ambush and thrust her flaming shortsword into the back of a Level 32 Cleric. -15,267! The Cleric, who had close to 7,000 HP, died instantly. Magical classes were very fragile. Not only did they possess very little Defense, but they also lacked Passive Skills that reduced damage. Against Fire Dance, who boasted both high Attack Power and critical rates, magical classes could not withstand even a single blow. Even without a critical hit, Fire Dance could still kill a Cleric with more than 7,000 HP with a single move. With the sudden death of a Cleric, the remaining healers were dumbfounded. The healers were typically safe in the heart of the legion. It was nearly impossible for an enemy to reach them undetected, yet their enemy had done just that. However, the most frightening aspect about Fire Dance was her damage. She killed a Cleric with nearly 7,000 HP instantly, just like that After Fire Dance killed off the Level 32 Cleric, she immediately executed Backstab, her shortsword sinking into a nearby Oracle. -11,485! Landing another critical hit, Fire Dance instantly killed the Oracle with over 6,000 HP. At the same time, Flying Shadow and the others began their own killing sprees. In an instant, the healer team with over 200 members lost over ten players. "We''re being ambushed!" a player suddenly shouted. However, as soon as this player announced the attack, he heard screams. The fires of war illuminated the area. Activating Charge, Shadow Sword arrived before a Level 32 Elementalist. Before this Elementalist could use Blink, the Berserker forced him into a Fainted state. Shadow Sword then followed up with a Whirlwind Slash, a damage of over -4,500 points appearing above the heads of all enemies within eight yards; some even received critical damage of over -9,000 points. Even Level 30-plus expert magical class players would rarely have more than 8,000 HP. In the blink of an eye, Shadow Sword killed off three players, while four held on by a thread of HP. However, Shadow Sword had also triggered the Bluefire Double-edged Sword''s Passive Skill, Bluefire Dance, with his previous attack. Swinging his sword violently, Shadow Sword sent a cone of blue fire ahead of him, dealing more than -7,600 damage and killing another eight players. Zero Wing''s main force had only begun their assault, yet, in the blink of an eye, close to 300 elite players fell. To Zero Wing''s main force, these elite players were even less of a challenge than ordinary Elite monsters. "Leader, we''re being ambushed!" some quick-witted players hurriedly called for help from their team leader. However, when these players shifted their gazes towards their team leader, they were all dumbfounded. Countless divine, golden swords rained down on their leader and the other experts, damages of over -5,500 points appearing above their heads. Those who received critical hits received more than -10,000 damage with each shining blade. In the blink of an eye, half of the twenty-plus experts died while everyone else was sealed within the Skywheel Sword''s effective area. 732 Unstoppable Sword Chapter 732 - Unstoppable Sword "Black Flame?!" The dozen or so experts turned to look at Shi Feng, who had suddenly appeared, their eyes widening in shock. The various Guilds'' upper echelons had long since engraved Black Flame''s name in their minds. Hence, they were extremely familiar with his appearance. He wore entirely black armor, including the cloak draped over his shoulders; even his eyes resembled the night sky. Two exquisite swords, one aquamarine and the other shining black in color, hung from his waist. Black Flame just stood there, but it felt as if he had become the focus of this battlefield. Their instincts screamed a warning. "Everyone, be careful! Do not engage him in close combat!" Endless Plains, a Level 33 Ranger who led this elite legion, hurriedly warned his comrades. "Use ranged attacks!" In response, the surviving experts nodded, serious expressions appearing on their faces. Black Flame''s reputation was simply too monstrous. He even had the One-hit Asura title. Even God''s Domain''s top-tier experts could only last a few moves against him. A few of Black Flame''s battle videos had even been regarded as a teaching scripture for Swordsmen. Black Flame''s grasp of timing and Skill usage completely surpassed other expert Swordsmen by several levels. Although none of them had ever believed they could win against Black Flame in a one-on-one fight, they had never imagined that, after meeting Black Flame in person, the man would be this frightening. Despite being a Swordsman, Black Flame had approached them undetected by relying on an Isolation Scroll and an Invisibility Potion. His sneak attack was so fast that they had not had time to react. Moreover, not only did Black Flame''s attack catch them, but that single attack had devoured close to half their numbers. Even the high Defense and HP Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors had lost close to 4,000 HP. To make matters worse, that was only a Control-type Skill. Logically, such Skills usually dealt low damage. Yet, the Skill had stolen one-third of the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors'' HPs. If Black Flame had used a high-damage Skill, the consequences would have been unimaginable. "Thousand Hunts and I will hold him back. Look for chances to attack him. Don''t worry about hitting us," a Level 34 Shield Warrior named World Defender said as he lifted his barbed, diamond-shaped shield and dashed forward. Sternly, he said, "Thousand, if Black Flame moves, activate all Defensive Skills immediately! Don''t hold anything back!" "I understand," the Guardian Knight named Thousand Hunts nodded as he stepped to the forefront of his team. They absolutely could not afford to be careless against Black Flame. He understood that, if they did not start the fight with everything they had, it was likely that this Swordsman would claim their lives instantly. "Good luck." The other team members dashed towards the sword domain''s edge. To them, World Defender''s and Thousand Hunts''s strength felt reassuring. These two were well-known experts in the virtual gaming world. Although they could not compare to hidden experts like War Wolf, they could still rank near the top among MTs in Star-Moon Kingdom. Previously, they had only received so much damage because Black Flame had caught them by surprise with his ambush. Now that these two were going all-out, even Star-Moon Kingdom''s top experts would not find it easy to break through their defense. "It seems like you guys have done your homework," Shi Feng stated as he glanced at the twelve remaining experts. Among these people, he was familiar with quite a few of these experts. Endless Plains from the second-rate Guild, Wildfire. World Defender from the second-rate Guild, Arrogance. Thousand Hunts from the second-rate Guild, Secluded Fantasy. In the past, he had looked up to these experts. He had never dreamed that he would face-off against them. He had not expected the shift in their positions, either. In the past, even if he had gone all-out and pushed his senses to their limits, he would barely be able to contend with any of these experts, yet now, these experts had to work together and fight with everything they had just to have any chance of survival against him. Although these people worked together for the first time, they fell into a defensive formation seamlessly despite the previous sneak attack. They calmly considered and executed the best strategy to deal with him. The extent of their combat experience was obvious. This was precisely what Fire Dance and the others lacked the most. Although Shi Feng had charged at his enemy after using Skywheel Sword, Endless Plains had fired a storm of arrows the moment he set foot into the sword domain. Not only were the Ranger''s attacks extremely fast, but they limited Shi Feng''s range of movement, forcing him to confront the two oncoming MTs. "Black Flame, show me just how good you are!" the tall and robust World Defender stood proudly before Shi Feng as he activated a series of Lifesaving Skills in quick succession. [Bloodthirsty Rage] (Tier 1 Skill) Recovers 3% HP every second for 10 seconds. [Shield Wall] (Tier 1 Skill) Decreases all damage by 60% for 18 seconds. [Last Stand] (Tier 1 Skill) Increases maximum HP by 30% for 30 seconds. Suddenly, World Defender''s HP rose from close to 12,000 to nearly 15,600. He also recovered to more than 10,000 HP. Standing a short distance away, Thousand Hunts similarly activated his Lifesaving Skills. He also used a Tier 1 Holy Shield Protection, which could absorb over 2,000 points of damage, on himself. When the shield broke, it would heal the player for over 1,000 HP. Following which, Thousand Hunts activated Justice Roar. Enemies, players or monsters, affected by the Skill would have to attack him. If they didn''t, he would receive a boost to his speed and damage. Feeling the effects of Thousand Hunts''s Justice Roar, Shi Feng could not ignore the Guardian Knight. Dashing up to Thousand Hunts, the Abyssal Blade transformed into numerous black streaks of light that descended on the Guardian Knight''s body. So fast! Thousand Hunts was shocked. He had never imagined that Shi Feng''s Attack Speed would be so fast; he could not even see the afterimages of Shi Feng''s attacks. Fortunately, he wielded a shield. Compared to players without shields, he had an easier time defending against attacks. As long as he moved the shield slightly, he could block close to half of his body, making it very difficult to strike him. Thousand Hunts moved his shield quickly, blocking the Abyssal Blade. However, Shi Feng did not bother changing the Abyssal Blade''s trajectory. Instead, he continued swinging the Magic Weapon at Thousand Hunts. Illusory Shadow! The Abyssal Blade passed through the Guardian Knight''s shield, the six black streaks of light penetrating the Holy Shield Protection before biting into Thousand Hunts. -1,274. -2,604. -1,295. -2,582. -3,829. -1,285. Six consecutive damages appeared above Thousand Hunts''s head, his HP, which had been over 9,000, plummeted to zero How could this be possible?! Thousand Hunts could not believe what he was seeing. Despite Protection Blessing, reducing the damage he received by 60%, Black Flame had killed him without breaking a sweat. The other experts were similarly dumbfounded. A Guardian Knight with more than 9,000 HP remaining and Protection Blessing had died instantly Just how high is his Attack Power? World Defender no longer dared to waste time with attacks. Instead, he used Charge at the Swordsman. Turning, Shi Feng used Silent Steps, appearing behind World Defender and brandishing Killing Ray. His witnesses only saw a flash of blue. Thundering Flash! Like a roaring dragon, three blue streaks of lightning instantly devoured World Defender. -2,746. -7,087. -4,424. World Defender''s HP, which had been over 10,000, vanished instantly, his body falling slowly to the ground 733 Unstoppable Chapter 733 - Unstoppable "How could this be?!" Shock shook Endless Plains''s heart when he saw World Defender and Thousand Hunts''s lifeless bodies on the ground. He could no longer maintain his previous calm. Both of these MTs had activated all of their Lifesaving Skills, yet each of them had only lasted one move against Black Flame. They lost their lives before they could work with anyone else on the team to deal with Black Flame. "Is he really a player?" They could not help but remember Black Flame''s title of One-hit Asura. However, everyone finally understood something; against Black Flame''s attacks, the only thing they could do was dodge. "That''s two." World Defender''s quick death had not particularly surprised Shi Feng. After all, not only had his One-handed Sword Mastery reached the Basic Sword King standard, but the Aura of Fire also increased his damage by another 50%. Even an MT with all of their Lifesaving Skills active would be paper in front of his swords. Shi Feng then shifted his gaze towards the nearest Assassin. Wind Blade! Suddenly, Shi Feng left behind an afterimage as he appeared before the Level 33 Assassin, his Killing Ray slicing through the air. "Don''t think that I''m that easy to kill!" The Assassin abruptly retreated as Shi Feng appeared before him and tried to activate Vanish. When activate, Vanish would provide him with nearly of invulnerability. Within this second, all attacks against him would be useless. However, Killing Ray''s Lightning effect triggered. The instant Shi Feng swung Killing Ray, he gained a 50% boost to his Attack Speed. Like a flash of light, Killing Ray danced across the Assassin''s body. -13,548. It was another instant-kill. As if that had been a cue, the rest of the team bombarded Shi Feng with attacks. Numerous arrows and Spells flew at Shi Feng. Sidestepping, Shi Feng jumped into the air, avoiding the oncoming attacks. Following which, he turned and retrieved the Blazing Meteor. With a flick of his wrist, a meteor suddenly flew from Shi Feng''s hand. Flame God''s Fury! [Flame God''s Fury] Deals physical and flame damage to enemies within a 40*3 yard area. Deals 900% damage to the initial target, and damage reduces by 10% with each consecutive enemy hit to a minimum of 500% damage. Xiu! An Elementalist, a Cursemancer, and a Summoner, who were in the midst of Spell-casting, could not avoid the attack in time; the crimson flames devoured them in an instant. The remaining experts were shocked. They had never imagined that Black Flame would also possess such powerful long-range attack capabilities. As soon as Shi Feng landed, over a dozen Frost Arrows descended on him. Endless Plains had grasped the timing of his attack. Not only had he predicted Shi Feng''s landing position, but his arrows also blocked off Shi Feng''s path of retreat. He had aimed several other arrows at Shi Feng''s vital points. Dang Dang Dang Before five Frost Arrows could strike Shi Feng, they pinged against the Swordsman''s aquamarine blade. The remaining Frost Arrows simply brushed past Shi Feng''s body, dealing no damage whatsoever. "F*ck my life." Endless Plains stared, stunned. Despite his perfect angle of attack and timing, it seemed as if his arrows had actually tried to avoid Black Flame. After dealing with the attacks, Shi Feng released a low shout. Dragon Breath! He fired a white beam from his mouth. Endless Plains threw his body to the side, hoping to avoid the incoming beam. However, as if this white beam had predicted the Ranger''s actions, the beam plowed into the Ranger. Shi Feng achieved another instant-kill. Even after death, Endless Plains was confused. No matter how he thought about it, why would he have jumped into the Dragon Breath''s path? However, Violet Cloud, who happily massacred the elite legion, was not the slightest bit surprised when she saw this scene. Shi Feng had already reached the Flowing Water Realm of the Realms of Refinement. He could easily predict a player''s movements by observing their body. Hence, after seeing Endless Plains''s intention, he had adjusted Dragon Breath''s trajectory before firing the Skill. Although nearly 20 yards stood between them, Endless Plains had yet to set foot into the Realms of Refinement. He lacked sufficient physical control. In such high-speed battles, he could not respond quickly enough to evade the Dragon Breath. Violet Cloud sighed. This was the watershed[1] of top-tier experts. Although the difference seemed insignificant, its impact on the battle''s outcome would be astounding. Extremely few ordinary players in God''s Domain could exert their virtual bodies to their very limits. On the other hand, thanks to their refined control over their own bodies, expert players could sometimes push their virtual bodies to their limits. Naturally, if both sides possessed equal Levels and Attributes, expert players were far more powerful. However, even top-tier experts would find it extremely difficult to adjust their movement in such a superhuman, high-speed battle. It was like a sprinter''s difficulty to stop after running at full speed. In a battle this fast, one could just stop without effort. However, experts who had reached the Realms of Refinement were capable of exactly that. Although it did not appear impressive, having the ability to accelerate and stop suddenly meant that a player could change their attack trajectories abruptly, confusing the enemy. Violet Cloud had already reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. However, even now, she could not break through that final barrier. Hence, Violet Cloud observed Shi Feng''s battle carefully while fighting her own, hoping to gain some insight. "This" the elite players who had intended to help were stupefied. In just two seconds, Shi Feng had killed seven of their experts; none of them had been able to withstand even one of his attacks. If even experts had no defense against him, what could elite players like themselves hope to accomplish? Those who had intended to rush over and assist lost all their courage instantly. Screams echoed from all across the mountaintop. Even for elite players, it was extremely difficult to exert their bodies to their limits. Not to mention, the members of Zero Wing''s main force all had very high Attributes. Their limits were much higher than elite players. This was no longer a battle. This was a massacre. Weaving through the crowd, Fire Dance moved faster than any of these elites players could follow. And as she moved, Fire Dance plunged the Truefire Blades into every player she passed, taking their lives with just a few hits. After just a brief moment, corpses littered the field. Dashing into the crowd, Shadow Sword brandished his Bluefire Double-edged Sword madly. He sent the several Shield Warriors, who had charged at him, flying. The Berserker then followed up with a Flame Flash, blue fire devouring these Shield Warriors instantly. He used Whirlwind Slash to finish them off. Standing on a natural rise, Minor Wind launched a continuous stream of powerful arrows with his Windchaser. The power within a single arrow was enough to push back a Berserker, a class known for its Strength. Even though many elite players tried to approach the Ranger, against the dozens of arrows, these elite players became no more than lifeless pincushions. Aqua Rose, Blackie, and the other magical classes released one AOE Spell after another, killing dozens of players with every attack. In just a few minutes, the 2000-strong elite legion had less than 1,000 players remaining. In contrast, Zero Wing''s main force had not suffered a single casualty yet. "Why are they so strong?" "Are they really human?" "I don''t want to fight anymore! I want to go home!" This situation was nothing like the videos they had watched of experts exchanging moves. Now that they witnessed a true battle between experts, they finally understood just how huge of a gap there was between themselves and expert players. Suddenly, fear swept across the battlefield. The elite legion''s members refused to continue fighting as they fled in all directions. --- While Zero Wing''s main force fought, the situation in the Stoneclaw Mountains grew increasingly intense. Both sides'' armies had finally begun fighting a short distance away from the foot of the mountain. "How dare you face us with just 10,000 players! Everyone, charge! Kill them all!" Red Feather sneered as he glared at Zero Wing''s elite members. TL Notes: [1]watershed - an event or period marking a turning point in a situation, e.g., "these works were a watershed in the history of music" 734 Silent Battlefield Chapter 734 - Silent Battlefield In the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region, Zero Wing''s ten 1,000-man elite teams finally faced the legions from the Star Alliance and other enemy Guilds. However, Zero Wing''s elite legions were at a disadvantage. Their opponent outnumbered them by more than ten times. "It seems Zero Wing really wants to die here. Despite so few players, they still split themselves so sparsely. We mustn''t let the other Guilds get a head start on us." Red Feather also ordered his army of 30,000 elites to split into multiple legions to surround Zero Wing, afraid that they would lose Zero Wing''s elite members to the various large Guilds. The other Guilds had sent more than 70,000 elites in total. The army was more than enough to deal with Zero Wing''s 10,000 elite players. --- Just as Red Feather led the Star Alliance''s army to Zero Wing''s position, the other Guilds began to clash with their enemy. However, Zero Wing''s elite members had slightly superior equipment. Moreover, the battlefield was only so large; only so many ranged players could attack at once. Hence, when it came to ranged firepower, Zero Wing had a slight advantage. After several exchanges, Zero Wing''s foe had already suffered over a hundred casualties. On the other hand, Zero Wing had only lost a dozen or so members. Other than the difference in damage, Zero Wing''s elite members were far more adept at dodging attacks. In addition, their HPs and healing prowess were much higher. Zero Wing''s ranged players only needed three to four hits to kill an enemy elite. However, if the various Guild''s elites wished to finish off one of Zero Wing''s, they needed to land roughly six attacks. Yet, against Zero Wing, the Guilds'' elites could only dodge three or four out of ten attacks. On the other hand, Zero Wing''s elites could dodge at least five attacks. The difference in equipment, Attributes, and combat techniques, though small, was clear for all to see. In the end, this minor difference impacted the results significantly. "Damn it! All MTs, advance! Ranged players, cover them! Healers, follow!" "Assassins, circle and deal with their healers!" "Don''t be afraid! We outnumber Zero Wing! When we reach them, victory will be ours!" The upper echelons quickly issued the orders to charge ahead when they noticed Zero Wing''s strategy of attack and retreat. Immediately, a collection of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights emerged from the Guilds'' elite army, every one activating their Lifesaving Skills as they charged madly at Zero Wing''s members. The healers supplied these MTs with endless streams of recovery spells from a safe distance. However, no matter how hard these Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights tried to dodge, no matter how much healing they received, or how they lifted their shields as they forged ahead, they died helplessly as Zero Wing''s hundreds of ranged players blotted out the sky with a rain of Fireballs, Frost Arrows, and normal arrows. If one watched from afar, they would see row after row of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights tumble to the ground. "How is Zero Wing''s firepower so powerful?!" Only 40 yards stretched between the two armies. Yet, to shorten the gap by 20 yards, the various Guilds had lost over 300 melee players. Even the upper echelons flinched at this spectacle''s brutality. They had never imagined that Zero Wing''s ranged attacks would be so powerful. Before they could even reach Zero Wing''s elites, their legion, which began with more than 4,000 players, had lost close to 500 members. Originally, the various large Guilds had thought that this would be an easy battle. After all, they had a massive numerical advantage. However, after seeing Zero Wing''s combat method, they realized one thing. Indeed, they did have the advantage in numbers, but unfortunately, the Stoneclaw Mountains'' terrain prevented them from using that advantage. However, the various large Guilds couldn''t care less anymore. They all gritted their teeth as they charged forward. If they did not get rid of Zero Wing''s elite army today, they would never recover. Moreover, the Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins of the various Guilds were close enough that they could use their skills effectively. If they did not fight now, then when? "Kill them!" "We''ll earn everything back once we plunder Zero Wing''s equipment!" Suddenly, the Guilds'' melee classes advanced, an intense bloodthirst shining in their eyes. However, just as the various melee players activated their Skills, each Zero Wing elite retrieved an Intermediate Frost Grenade, pelting their approaching enemy. Peng Peng Peng Suddenly, hundreds of Intermediate Frost Grenades bombarded the advancing crowd, transforming the vibrant forest into a world of ice, snow, and death. As for the melee elites from the various large Guilds, they froze into ice sculptures. When a gentle breeze blew past, every one of these elite ice sculptures shattered, decorating the battlefield with equipment. Even though there were some Assassins and Swordsmen that had reacted quickly enough and activated their Lifesaving Skills in time, their Lifesaving Skills could only deflect a limited number of attacks. These Skills'' durations were also extremely short. However, the bombardment of the hundreds of Frost Grenades lasted for nearly six seconds. In the end, these players still fell under the rain of Frost Grenades. Each Intermediate Frost Grenade could deal roughly 400 damage to players and had an effective radius of 12 yards. One hundred Frost Grenades would deal roughly 40,000 damage. At this stage of the game, no player in existence had more than 40,000 HP. Furthermore, Zero Wing had not thrown only 100 grenades. "This" The various Guilds'' commanders were shocked, speechless. Their remaining elite players also paused, every one of them wearing dazed expressions. "Nice!" "Awesome!" "You guys thought you were impressive, huh?! Now you understand Zero Wing''s power!" When Zero Wing''s members saw how nearly all of the enemy melee players had fallen, pride and joy suddenly welled in their hearts. They also felt endless reverence towards their Guild Leader, Black Flame. They, too, had thought that their defeat was inevitable. However, this scene had cleared their minds of any doubt. In the blink of an eye, they had wiped out thousands of their enemies. These several hundred Intermediate Frost Grenades were far more powerful than even a large-scale destruction Spell. If they could fight here, in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' narrow valley, they would not even fear twice this many opponents. The various battles that raged elsewhere met similar situations. The large Guilds'' elite legions suffered tremendous losses under the Intermediate Frost Grenade bombardment. Their death toll already exceeded 10,000, whereas Zero Wing had only lost around 100 members so far. The large Guilds were forced to reassess the combat power of Zero Wing''s elite army. --- Meanwhile, at the highest peak in the Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region, roughly ten minutes after the battle had begun, the elite legion of 2,000 players had lost over 80% of its members. The few survivors had scattered and escaped. Just as Fire Dance and the others were about to give chase, Shi Feng stopped them. "Alright, that''s enough. Ignore them. We don''t need to waste our time hunting them down. We have more important things to do," Shi Feng said in the team chat. His main goal was to occupy this strategic location with good view over the battlefield, not to kill these elite players. Moreover, even if they allowed these several hundred elite players to escape, it would not impact the war''s outcome. "Guild Leader, what are we going to do next?" Aqua Rose asked curiously. The other team members were just as eager to learn their next step. Shi Feng had led them through the Star Alliance''s encirclement and occupied this highland. What, exactly, was his goal? "We''re going to wait for them here," Shi Feng said, laughing. "However, we can''t idle, either. Aqua and Blackie, follow me. Fire, your group will clear the battlefield. Everyone else, pay attention to your surroundings. Be wary of any ambushes from the Star Alliance." Aqua Rose and Blackie nodded sharply. They followed Shi Feng and climbed to an even higher overlook. Fire Dance then arranged her team to guard their surroundings. 735 Instrument of War Chapter 735 - Instrument of War The news of the various large Guilds inside the Stoneclaw Mountains suffering heavy damage spread like wildfire. Players throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom were paying very close attention to this Guild war. Hence, the moment this news appeared on the official forums, it instantly exploded, shocking many players throughout the entire kingdom. The uploaded battle videos of the war staggered them even further. Hundreds of Intermediate Frost Grenades exploded continuously, filling the land with ice flowers and dyeing the land in snow-white color. Several thousand elite players were suddenly nothing more than lifeless ice sculptures doomed to shatter and scatter with the wind. Just seeing this scene alone could give one the shivers. What elite players? What zerg tactics? Under the bombardment of the Frost Grenades, everything was insignificant. Without using any words, Zero Wing had proven to everyone that its strength was no trifling matter. Even when going up against over 100,000 elite players, Zero Wing was not afraid. With just the sacrifice of a dozen or so players, Zero Wing had managed to slaughter thousands of elite players. "Zero Wing is simply too powerful! They are actually able to obtain so many AOE attack tools!" "The effects of this item are so good, so it should be very rare and expensive, right?" "That''s an engineering tool! I''ve bought engineering tools before, so I know how insanely expensive those things are! Since that item they used is practically an instrument of war, it''s definitely much more expensive! Despite that, Zero Wing is actually able to casually toss out so many as if they were just toys! Zero Wing is simply too rich!" Many players on the official forums began a heated discussion over Zero Wing''s financial strength. Although everyone was unclear about the exact price of the Intermediate Frost Grenades, they could still estimate the price range of the Frost Grenade based on its effects. After making a rough estimate, they then calculated the number of Frost Grenades Zero Wing had used. Suddenly, everyone was shocked. Just the first wave of Frost Grenades Zero Wing had thrown in one battlefield cost dozens of Gold. Since there was a total of ten battlefields, that meant Zero Wing had spent several hundred Gold just on the first wave of Frost Grenades. In God''s Domain, the liquid funds of many Guilds did not even amount to several hundred Gold, yet Zero Wing had just casually tossed out that sum, using up an entire Guild''s liquid funds in the blink of an eye. Zero Wing was no longer fighting using players. The Guild was practically drowning its enemies with money. However, no one could criticize the effects of this strategy. Based on initial estimates, the number of deaths the various Guilds had suffered already exceeded 10,000. After looking at this scene, one could not help but admit that this money was well spent. If Zero Wing were to rely on its Guild members to claim that number of kills, the total cost of the equipment lost and compensation given out would indeed be a lot more. Due to Zero Wing''s frightening performance, the Guild''s prestige, which had been on a constant decline before, suddenly began rising rapidly. Many players, who had initially belittled its chances in this war, also started anticipating the final outcome. Meanwhile, the ones that this sudden turn of events affected the most emotionally would be none other than the Guilds that were watching from the sidelines. At this moment, they were all inwardly celebrating the fact that they had not rushed to join the Star Alliance''s coalition. The outcome of this war, which was initially against Zero Wing''s favor, had suddenly taken a big turn. For the Guilds directly participating in this war, should the Star Alliance come out victorious, they would definitely benefit greatly from the Stoneclaw Mountains in the future. However, should Zero Wing win, then Zero Wing would surely banish from Stone Forest Town every Guild that had aggressed. These Guilds would then have a much harder time developing themselves at the Stoneclaw Mountains. --- "So this is his trump card. It''s no wonder he insisted on being the spearhead and attracting enemy fire to himself." Gentle Snow could not help but smile after looking at the video showing the situation on the battlefield. "It seems that I have really underestimated him." Black Flame had deliberately dispatched only 10,000 members, giving his enemies the impression that Zero Wing was vulnerable. He had then brought out the Frost Grenades and taken his enemies by surprise. Although the Star Alliance''s side had lost over 10,000 players, the impact on the overall situation of this war was negligible. However, it had still awakened the belief that Zero Wing might emerge victorious in this war. --- This counterattack of Zero Wing had also struck anxiety in the Star Alliance. "Guild Leader, what should we do now? If Zero Wing possesses such an instrument of war, we will only be going to our deaths if we charge forward, yet we are no match for Zero Wing in a ranged battle. We also can''t utilize our numbers advantage," Red Feather said. When Red Feather received news of this situation, he immediately reported it to Galaxy Past. Due to Zero Wing''s counterattack, the various large Guilds no longer dared to close in, only fighting at range. However, such ranged battles were extremely time-consumingand extremely disadvantageous for the Star Alliance''s coalition. When their members died, they would have to travel over ten hours to return to the battlefield in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, when Zero Wing''s members died, they only needed an hour or so to rejoin the war. Regarding reinforcements, Zero Wing was overwhelmingly superior to the Star Alliance. A war of attrition was unfavorable to the coalition. "They should not have too many of such tools. We have the numerical advantage. Continue sending people forward, but lower the number of people charging at a single time. It would be best if we can have people attacking Zero Wing from all sides. I want to see just how much money Zero Wing has to spend." Galaxy Past was aware of the severity of the situation this time. Hence, he decisively made such a costly decision. "I understand." When Red Feather heard this, he immediately realized the limitations of the Frost Grenade. The Frost Grenade was not a Skill with indefinite use. Moreover, the grenade should not be cheap. With their numbers, they could simply use a small fraction to bait Zero Wing to use the Frost Grenades. Once Zero Wing depleted its supply, its elite army would merely be sheep for the slaughter. As long as they defeated Zero Wing and obtained Stone Forest Town, all the losses they suffered now would be negligible. After the various large Guilds received the directions from the Star Alliance, they also began attacking Zero Wing''s elite legions from multiple locations as well as using the lives of their members to draw out Zero Wing''s Frost Grenades. Time passed slowly. The battle between both sides grew increasingly intense and increasingly concentrated. Although the effect of the Frost Grenades was indeed striking, the results now were much more subdued, compared to the first time Zero Wing used the instruments of war. After facing several charging attempts from the Star Alliance, Zero Wing exhausted its supply of Frost Grenades. However, the Star Alliance suffered only 40,000-plus casualties. In terms of their number of elite members, the Star Alliance was still superior to both Zero Wing and Ouroboros combined. Without the Frost Grenades, Zero Wing''s casualties also began rapidly rising. "Hahaha! Zero Wing has already run out of AOE attack tools! Brothers, it''s time to let Zero Wing know how amazing the Star Alliance is!" "Brothers, charge!" Suddenly, the Star Alliance and the various large Guilds initiated an all-out charge. Many expert players, who could exert massive destructive power, accompanied the assault teams. These experts could kill an elite Zero Wing player in just a few hits. However, nobody was capable of stopping these experts. --- "Guild Leader, if this continues, our people won''t be able to last long. Why don''t I lead a team to go and clear out some of the Star Alliance''s teams?" Fire Dance took the initiative to ask. She could no longer stand watching this one-sided battle. The Star Alliance''s experts had already begun moving and were casually killing their companions. Meanwhile, they, the experts of Zero Wing, could only stand and watch from the sidelines. This inaction made them feel greatly troubled. Standing at the peak of the mountain, Shi Feng shook his head, saying, "Your duty is to guard this place, not to kill elites." Since Stamina was a limiting factor in God''s Domain, even an expert like himself would still slowly drown to death in the flood of players. Hence, exchanging the Stamina of experts for the lives of the enemy''s elite members was unjustifiable. It would be a different story if they had a large number of expert players. However, Zero Wing had far fewer experts than their opponents. "But" Fire Dance truly could not understand why Shi Feng wanted them to guard this location. "Relax. When going up against elite players, we naturally have to use a method for dealing with elite players." Shi Feng laughed. He then spoke through the team chat, saying, "Aqua, are you guys ready on your side yet? If you don''t take action soon, Fire is going to start growing anxious." Before he had come to the Stoneclaw Mountains, he had already thought of a way to cope with the Star Alliance''s army. He had never once thought of relying on just the Frost Grenades to win this war. His real trump card was another item he had asked Melancholic Smile to purchase. Basic Mana Pulse Cannon! He had spent a full 20,000 Gold to purchase this thing. However, in order to use this item, they had to fix it to the ground and could not move it. Moreover, its assembly and disassembly were extremely troublesome processes. It was also very easily destroyed. Generally, it was an instrument of war used to defend towns and cities. Despite it being only a Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, the power contained in a single shot could rival even a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. The cannon had a shooting range of 15,000 yards, and it was a tool often seen in wars that occurred during the later stages of God''s Domain. "Guild Leader, it''s ready. We''re just waiting for your orders now," Aqua Rose replied through the team chat, smiling. 736 Battlefield Dominator Chapter 736 - Battlefield Dominator "Now that Zero Wing has used up their Frost Grenades, they no longer have anything to depend upon. Although the Dark Gods Legion is slaughtering the elite legions of the Star Alliance, the Alliance has already sent over 500 experts to hold back the Legion. "Once the duration of the Dark Gods Legion''s Berserk Skills ends, Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion will be finished as well. "Even if the 100 experts of Zero Wing''s main force were to take action now, the assassins of the Flower of Seven Sins will block them. This battle should be nearing its end now. "Autumn, have the others get ready. We''re heading over to the highland Black Flame has occupied right away. "Now that the outcome of this war is about to be determined, it should be about time for the Flower of Seven Sins to make its move." Yuan Tiexin, who stood observing from an elevated position, could not help but shake his head. In the end, going up against the major forces of God''s Domain was simply impossible for an upstart Guild with no background. However, even if Zero Wing was defeated, the fact that the Guild was able to survive up to this point was already a matter to be proud of. "Uncle Yuan, isn''t there still Ouroboros''s elite army of 60,000?" Cold Autumn had previously read the report on Ouroboros. The army led by the Snow Goddess Gentle Snow was not something to discount. Moreover, there were also several noteworthy experts on Ouroboros''s side. Currently, the difference in the number of elites between both sides was no longer as large as when the war began. It was still too early to establish the outcome of this war. "If the Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile did not possess that trump card, the outcome of this war would indeed be undetermined," Yuan Tiexin said, smiling as he shook his head. "The Star Alliance''s trump card?" Cold Autumn looked at Yuan Tiexin very curiously. A war involving over a hundred thousand elite players was not something that could be decided with just any ordinary trump card. However, judging from how assured Yuan Tiexin was, the trump card was precisely that powerful. "I have also only heard this piece of information from the Guild Leader. Just the other day, the Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile both spent an extremely massive sum to purchase two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls from a Super Guild," Yuan Tiexin said. Enviously, he added, "Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls are exceedingly rare in God''s Domain. They can be of great help in capturing towns or when used in Guild Wars. Even the Secret Pavilion has only managed to gather a few pieces after going through many difficulties. Every piece is a treasure that cannot be bought even with thousands of Gold Coins. "A place with narrow terrain like this is indeed unsuitable for large-scale battles. However, it is the best environment for a Tier 3 creature to exert its advantages. A Tier 3 creature can serve as the best shield and sword in this war. With the assistance of a large group of elite players, a Tier 3 creature can easily annihilate an army of several thousand elite players. What more with two Tier 3 creatures? Without sufficient experts to pin down them down, these monsters will slaughter elite players. Zero Wing and Ouroboros will stand no chance against these monsters." When Cold Autumn and the others heard this, they shivered involuntarily. The power that two Great Lords controlled by players could exert was simply unimaginable. With the current strength of players, coping with these monsters was impossible. They could only rely on zerg tactics to kill the Great Lords. However, the number of sacrifices required to do so would be horrific. To Zero Wing and Ouroboros with their smaller fighting force, this trump card of the Star Alliance would be a fatal one. --- Meanwhile, on the battlefield of Ouroboros and the Star Alliance, as both sides were almost evenly matched, the number of casualties on both sides was nearly equal. "Since Zero Wing is almost finished, Purple, give Ouroboros the final blow," Galaxy Past, who was commanding the battle, whispered to Purple Eye. They had brought two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls to this war. One was in Purple Eye''s hands, while the other was in Overwhelming Smile''s War Wolf''s hands. Galaxy Past was not in control of the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll in Overwhelming Smile''s possession. However, seeing as Zero Wing had already become sheep for the slaughter, he did not wish the Star Alliance to continue losing more elite members. "I understand," Purple Eye, who was fighting at the frontlines, replied, her lips curling up into a smile. She then excitedly retrieved the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll in her bag. Unfurling the scroll, she shouted lowly, "I summon thee, Mountain Giant!" Suddenly, in the heart of the intense battlefield, a massive magic array appeared in midair. In the next moment, a Mountain Giant with a body made entirely of rocks fell from the aquamarine magic array. The Mountain Giant was over 50 meters tall, and all players before its colossal body were no different from ants. [Mountain Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 54 HP 20,000,000/20,000,000 Purple Eye was currently Level 34. Meanwhile, creatures summoned using Summoning Scrolls would be 20 Levels higher than their summoners. Hence, the Mountain Giant summoned was Level 54. At the same time, its control also fell to Purple Eye. As the number one Elementalist in the Star Alliance, Purple Eye''s standard in terms of techniques was slightly above even Galaxy Past''s. The instant the Mountain Giant appeared, Purple Eye promptly controlled it to slaughter hundreds of Ouroboros''s elite members. Immediately after, the Mountain Giant abruptly stomped on the ground, and the ground within 120 yards of the Great Lord''s feet trembled. In the next moment, at the rear line of Ouroboros''s legion, a rock spike with a radius of 20 yards shot up from the ground, instantly annihilating dozens of Ouroboros''s healers and striking panic in the remaining healers. Previously, the battle between both sides remained at a stalemate. With the appearance of the Mountain Giant, however, it immediately became a one-sided struggle. When Ouroboros''s attacks landed on the Mountain Giant, none of them dealt more than 100 damage due to the Level and Tier suppression. Even after adding up the efforts of several hundred players, the total was merely in the tens of thousands. To the Mountain Giant, who had 20,000,000 HP, this amount of damage was not worth mentioning. Just its battle recovery alone could maintain it at full HP. The Mountain Giant was essentially a strength-type Great Lord. With a single blow, it could instantly kill a full HP Level 30 elite MT. Moreover, as all of the Mountain Giant''s attacks were AOE attacks, when it came to a crowded battlefield, a single blow from it could kill anywhere from a few to more than a dozen players. The Mountain Giant completely dominated this entire battlefield with overwhelming force. In less than five minutes, one of Ouroboros''s 3,000-man elite legions was wiped out. This scene shocked the other elite legions into a constant retreat. Shortly after the appearance of the Mountain Giant, a Level 54 Great Lord ranked three-headed hound appeared on Overwhelming Smile''s side of the battlefield. [Cerberus] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 54 HP 17,500,000/17,500,000 Although the Cerberus did not possess as much HP as the Mountain Giant, it was significantly superior to the Mountain Giant in terms of magic damage. Its Movement Speed and Attack Speed were also much faster. When it came to killing elite players on the battlefield, it was even more proficient than the Mountain Giant. After two Level 54 Great Lords joined the battlefield, Ouroboros''s members immediately fell into a panic. The two Great Lords both possessed quite a number of AOE Attack Skills. In a battle of thousands, they could easily reap the lives of hundreds of elite players every passing moment. Ouroboros could not offer any resistance whatsoever. "Snow, what should we do now?" Zhao Yueru felt her scalp tingling and her body shivering when she looked at the two Great Lords. If they could not deal with these two Great Lords, Ouroboros would have no chance of victory at all. "We don''t have any other choice. Let''s use our final card. Although it can''t stop these two Great Lords, it will be able to trap them for a short time. This should give us enough time to escape their pursuit," Gentle Snow said, gritting her teeth. She inwardly felt great frustration. She had never imagined that they would lose this war just like this. Faced with two Great Lords, choosing a direct confrontation would only increase their losses. As for waiting until the summoning duration of the two Great Lords ran out, by the time that happened, everyone from Ouroboros would most likely be dead already. Just as the two Great Lords were pushing forward relentlessly, a beam of alternating black and white lights flashed down from a distant mountaintop, directly piercing the advancing Mountain Giant. A black-and-white pillar of light then appeared, devouring an area of 200 yards around the Mountain Giant. When the light pillar dissipated, not even a blade of grass lingered within the 200-yard radius. Only a large crater and a half-kneeling Mountain Giant remained. 737 Absolute Power Chapter 737 - Absolute Power The appearance and disappearance of the black-and-white pillar of light stunned everyone. The power of this sudden attack was simply devastating. The shocking scene etched itself deep into everyone''s minds. It was difficult to forget even if one wanted to. "Just what was that thing?" At this moment, looking at the half-kneeling Mountain Giant, the shock Gentle Snow felt was indescribable with words. It would have been fine if the pillar of light had just killed every player within a radius of 200 yards. However, not only had the devastating attack dealt over 4,000,000 damage to the Level 54 Great Lord, but it had also placed the Mountain Giant in a Heavily Injured state, immobilizing it. Although the Mountain Giant could still fight, its controller, Purple Eye, had already died within the pillar of light. Normally, summoned creatures could only move within a certain range from their summoners; they could not leave this area. Meanwhile, if the summoner died, the summoned creature would also vanish. One could say that this dependence on the summoner was the weakness of a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Initially, Gentle Snow had also considered killing the player controlling the Great Lord. However, it was simply impossible for them to circle around the Great Lord and break through the numerous elite players protecting the summoner. Hence, they could only retreat in defeat. But with this devastating power, not to mention killing the controller, even killing the Great Lord would not be a problem. Compared to the shock Gentle Snow and the other members of Ouroboros were feeling, the members of the Star Alliance were utterly dumbfounded. If just a single attack could kill over a thousand players, wouldn''t it be only a moment''s effort to finish off tens of thousands of players? Just how were they supposed to go up against this power? Setting aside the fact that the attack covered a radius of 200 yards, the speed of that attack was simply not one that players could dodge. One could say that the instant the black-and-white beam of light appeared, everyone within its range of attack only had death awaiting them. Suddenly, everyone could not help but turn to look at the origin of that beam of light. "Black Flame!!!" Galaxy Past''s eyes immediately turned crimson with rage, his expression becoming exceedingly ugly. Galaxy Past had known the location of Zero Wing''s main force ever since Shi Feng launched his attack on the elite legion stationed on the mountain. The only reason he had not sent anyone after them was because he intended to have the Flower of Seven Sins finish the job. He had never imagined that Shi Feng would have such a card as well. In just a single attack, Shi Feng had exterminated one of his trump cards. The Star Alliance had paid an unimaginable price to obtain that Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Moreover, this price did not take the form of Coins. Instead, it was the Magic Crystals that the Star Alliance had amassed with much difficulty during this period. Yet, now, before the Mountain Giant could even begin to display its strength, Shi Feng had already wiped it out of existence. At this moment, Galaxy Past wished he could rip out Shi Feng''s heart with his very own hands. "Kill! Kill them all! That kind of attack should only be usable once! Victory still belongs to us!" Galaxy Past immediately notified everyone as he began attacking the members of Ouroboros in a frenzy. Due to Galaxy Past''s reminder, everyone from the Star Alliance quickly regained their senses. Launching such a heaven-defying attack even once was already plenty amazing. The possibility of Zero Wing pulling off another such attack should be extremely low. Currently, although one of their two Great Lords had been defeated, they still had one left. The advantage their side possessed had yet to disappear. Zero Wing and Ouroboros were still on the losing side. "Aqua, how long till the next shot?" Shi Feng could not help but ask as he saw the Star Alliance going into action once more. The requirements to use the Mana Pulse Cannon were extremely stringent. It had its limitations. Firstly, the cannon could not be used inside Dungeons. Otherwise, dealing with Dungeon Bosses would be a piece of cake. A few shots would be all it would take to clear the Dungeon. Secondly, the cannon had a relatively long Cooldown time after firing before it could fire again. Normally, this Cooldown was roughly three to four minutes long. Thirdly, it was extremely costly to fire the cannon, with each shot costing 1,000 Magic Crystals. Even ordinary large Guilds were unlikely to obtain 1,000 Magic Crystals in a day. Yet, the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon only needed an instant to waste it all. In terms of Coins, the cannon cost over 200 Gold to fire each time. To first-rate Guilds, 200 Gold was not a small amount, not to mention 1,000 Magic Crystals. Even if first-rate Guilds possessed a Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, they would not be willing to use it unless absolutely necessary. "There''s still another 30 seconds," Aqua Rose, who was controlling the Mana Pulse Cannon, immediately replied after taking a look at the Cooldown time. Previously, she had felt slightly confused when Shi Feng had asked her and Blackie to follow him. However, after Shi Feng took out the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, she was left dumbfounded for a long time. She never imagined there would be such a horrifying weapon even in God''s Domain. Of course, one also needed considerable financial strength to use this horrific weapon. First and foremost, the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon''s selling price of 20,000 Gold was enough to deter the majority of the Guilds in God''s Domain from buying it. The next part was the fuel of 1,000 Magic Crystals. If Zero Wing had not occupied Stone Forest Town and could not collect a large amount of Magic Crystals from the various large Guilds every day, using the Mana Pulse Cannon would really have been too expensive. However, she also could not help but admit that this money was well spent. Just a single shot had directly stunned everyone in the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, compared to the cannon''s actual effects, its impact on morale was much more amazing. In a war, if one side''s momentum were suppressed by the other, this would greatly affect the spirits of both sides, regardless of whether it was the stronger side or the weaker side. "Alright. The next target will be that Cerberus. Make sure you don''t let the summoner get away," Shi Feng commanded. He then messaged Gentle Snow, having her lure the Cerberus as close as possible to the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. The Basic Mana Pulse Cannon only had a shooting range of 15,000 yards. Beyond this range, the cannon was no threat. After receiving Shi Feng''s message, Gentle Snow immediately began directing Ouroboros''s army with renewed vigor, to move closer to Shi Feng''s location. Seeing the members of Ouroboros escaping, the players on the Star Alliance''s side naturally gave chase. The duration of a summoned creature was limited. Obviously, they needed to achieve the greatest results during this time limit. Thirty seconds quickly passed. "You''re next!" Aqua Rose aimed at the approaching Cerberus and fired the Mana Pulse Cannon once more. Xiu! The black-and-white beam of light shot directly at the three-headed hound. Despite the distance of several thousand yards, the energy pulse of the Mana Pulse Cannon took only an instant to hit a spot close to the Cerberus. When the black-and-white pillar of light appeared in the Stoneclaw Mountains once more, every player at the outer area of the Dungeon was able to see it clearly. War Wolf had noticed the energy pulse the moment it appeared. However, he instantly knew that it was too late to avoid it. The only thing he could do was activate every Lifesaving Skill he possessed. However, the energy pulse, which had the might of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, was not something a measly Tier 1 player could defend against. Even for Shi Feng, his only option when going up against this attack would be to activate Space Movement to escape. The Aura of Earth''s Absolute Defense might not even be able to defend against this move, as invulnerability in God''s Domain was not absolute. If an attack surpassed the limit a Skill could endure, it would likewise break through the Skill. After the black-and-white light pillar dissipated, as expected, War Wolf had fallen to the energy pulse. The Cerberus had disappeared as well together with War Wolf. At the same time, over a thousand Overwhelming Smile members had also been turned into ash, leaving behind only a crater filled with equipment. 738 Seven Sins Take Action Chapter 738 - Seven Sins Take Action The reappearance of the black-and-white light pillar and the new wave of devastation that came with it stunned just about everyone in the Stoneclaw Mountains once more. For a moment, they had forgotten to fight as they turned to watch pillar of light. In the face of this horrific power, the prowess of tens of thousands of players was a joke. Complete annihilation could happen at any minute. Although the energy pulse had killed was only over a thousand players, a deep fear of the weapon had seeped into their bones. Nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of that attack, disintegrating into dust. Suddenly, everyone, players from the Star Alliance and various Guilds alike, feared Zero Wing. They were deeply afraid that Zero Wing would launch another such attack. After the energy pulse first appeared, they consoled themselves that it was impossible to use such an attack twice. However, that consolation vanished after the second energy pulse. Players would lose one Level when they died. However, losing a Level in the 30s would require several days to recover. At the thought of losing their lives to a single attack, the Star Alliance and its allies began to move cautiously. The various troops reined in their bloodlust. After all, if they attracted too much attention, Armageddon could come knocking on their doors next. In contrast, Ouroboros and Zero Wing''s morale flourished, the members of both Guilds passionately launching their counterattacks. One side held back with caution, while the other side forged on with guns blazing. The battle''s outcome was obvious. "Damn it! Just where did Black Flame get that thing?!" Galaxy Past scowled. That energy pulse attack was simply too much of a threat to the Star Alliance. If they did not deal with it quickly, they would certainly lose this war. Losing this war would be a fatal blow to the Guild. The loss of EXP and equipment was a secondary concern. Most importantly, the Star Alliance''s prestige as a first-rate Guild would vanish. Not only had the Star Alliance challenged an upstart Guild like Zero Wing, but it even lost miserably. In the future, how was the Alliance supposed to compete with Ouroboros in Star-Moon City? Meanwhile, if Zero Wing won this war, not only would it gain more prestige, but the Guild would also see a flood of players trying to join, which, in turn, would allow the Guild''s strength to grow. Just how was the Star Alliance supposed to capture Stone Forest Town? "Red Feather, lead the main army and annihilate Black Flame! We cannot allow him to fire that thing again!" After considering his options, Galaxy Past did not believe that they could allow Zero Wing to occupy that mountain any longer. With the mountain''s vantage point, Zero Wing could fire that energy pulse anywhere on the battlefield they wanted. If they could evict Zero Wing quickly, then the threat of mass destruction would lessen. Hence, it was imperative that they remove Zero Wing from the mountain. As for Zero Wing''s elite army, it was no longer important. "Rest assured, Guild Leader. I''ll lead a unit to annihilate Black Flame." Red Feather understood the importance of his task. Moreover, this was the perfect chance to avenge the humiliation he had previously suffered. He had only sent his subordinates to deal with Black Flame during the battle in White River City, yet, in the end, not one of the six subordinates he sent had returned alive. This time, he intended to deal with Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert personally. "Brother Glorious, I''ll have to trouble you to inform the Flower of Seven Sins. Hopefully, they can act as soon as possible. This way, we''ll be able to end this battle a little sooner, rather than continuing to waste resources." As insurance, Galaxy Past still decided to deploy the Flower of Seven Sins. Exemplary Willow had intended to force Black Flame to taste despair. Hence, she had ordered them to wipe out Zero Wing''s elites before hunting Black Flame and Zero Wing''s upper echelons. However, that plan was no longer viable. That energy pulse was simply too much of a threat. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s main force had occupied a location that was easy to hold but difficult to attack. With the combat power of Zero Wing''s main force, although Red Feather led many elite members, they could not exert their maximum power. No one was certain that they could chase Black Flame and his team off that mountain. If the battle dragged on and Zero Wing was allowed to fire that energy pulse a few more times, it could turn the tide of this war. Hence, for safety''s sake, it would be more efficient for the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins to take action. If the Flower of Seven Sins could take down Zero Wing''s upper echelons quickly, they could deal a massive blow to both Zero Wing and Ouroboros. The Star Alliance could regain its lost momentum in full. It would be much easier to annihilate the remaining elite members of the two Guilds. "I''ll notify them right away," Glorious Echo replied. He, too, realized the severity of the situation. His previous carefree expression had vanished. The war that had clearly been in their favor had suddenly taken a 180-degree turn. If they idled, this war would lose all meaning, even if they killed Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Exemplary Willow wanted an overwhelming victory in addition to Black Flame''s despair. If he told Exemplary Willow that they had won a Pyrrhic victory[1], the woman might even skin him alive. --- "Finally want us to join the fray?" a silver-robed man asked. This middle-aged man carried a black spear on his back and chuckled when he received Glorious Echo''s call. "Yes. I hope you can finish the job as soon as possible." Glorious Echo nodded. "Relax. As long as we make a move, Black Flame''s time in this world will be limited," the silver-robed man laughed. He then disconnected the call and looked to the others, saying, "Let''s begin. Don''t forget your targets. You are only allowed to attack someone else after your target is dead." Although they were all extremely powerful, top-tier experts, when dealing with this silver-robed man, they could not help but shiver as they nodded their heads respectfully. The Flower of Seven Sins was an organization where strength meant everything. The silver-robed man was stronger than every one of them. Hence, he had full command of this operation. --- Just as the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins made their way towards Shi Feng''s peak, the Secret Pavilion''s members, who had watched from afar, began to move. "I had not expected Zero Wing to obtain such a strategic tool. It''s no wonder why it grew from an upstart Guild to its present power. If not for the Flower of Seven Sins, Zero Wing might really win this war." Yuan Tiexin shuddered when he recalled the prior devastation. If Zero Wing could obtain several more tools, who could possibly stand up to it in the future? However, this event had reminded him of one thing. Wars in God''s Domain were not won just by relying on elite and expert players. Such strategic tools were similarly very important. --- While the Star Alliance mobilized a unit, approaching Shi Feng''s position, Shi Feng used this time to fire the Mana Pulse Cannon a few more times, annihilating thousands of the Star Alliance''s members. The Star Alliance''s expert team, which faced the Dark Gods Legion, also received a shot. The energy pulse had instantly disintegrated close to half of the expert team, alleviating the pressure on the Dark Gods Legion. This situation had nearly caused the upper echelons of the Star Alliance and the various other Guilds to faint. "Guild Leader, as expected, they''re approaching. Should we have the nearby elite legion head our way and assist us? That way, we''ll have an easier time holding this area," Fire Dance asked Shi Feng as she watched the elite army gather at the foot of the mountain. With only Zero Wing''s main force, it would be extremely difficult to secure this location. "No need. Having more people will only hinder us." Shi Feng waved his hand. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and the Tier 3 Magic Amplification Scroll from his bag, smiling faintly. TL Notes: [1]Pyrrhic victory: a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has also taken a heavy toll that negates any true sense of achievement. 739 100 versus 20,000 Chapter 739 - 100 versus 20,000 The Star Alliance had dispatched an army of 20,000 elite players to surround Shi Feng''s mountaintop. Even if Shi Feng and the others were more powerful, they would never escape an army of 20,000 elite players and numerous experts. "Everyone, split up as much as possible and attack in groups! Be careful of Zero Wing''s AOE Spells!" Red Feather commanded. The Star Alliance had investigated Zero Wing''s main force members extensively. Blackie''s Stars of Light and Shi Feng''s Firestorm were the army''s biggest threats. These two Spells had displayed their frightening, destructive power many times in the past. If they charged as one, they would be no more than target practice. "Even without the Flower of Seven Sins, 20,000 elite players are more than enough to drown Black Flame''s group of 100," Cold Autumn, who watched from a nearby mountaintop, could not help but sigh at the sea of players as they climbed the mountain. Players'' Stamina in God''s Domain was not unlimited. It might have been fine if Zero Wing fought ordinary players, but not only was every member of the 20,000-man army an elite, but the army also contained plenty of experts. This battle would not end quickly. If Zero Wing faced only Common monsters, it might have a chance at victory. After all, Common monsters did not require much from players. There was no need to push oneself to the limit to fight such opponents. In a normal battle, players could fight for a very long time. However, it was a different story in a high-speed battle where it was necessary to remain at one''s peak. This would have a high demand of one''s Stamina and Concentration. This was like running a marathon. A runner might have the Stamina to jog ten kilometers, but not at full speed. It''d be a miracle if an experienced runner could run a full kilometer at full speed. It was the same concept with maintaining one''s peak during combat. If they, the younger generation of the Secret Pavilion, were the ones to fight in this battle, let alone 20,000 players, even 10,000 players would be more than enough to drown them to death. They could only retreat if they wanted to survive. Choosing to fight would simply lead to their grave. The fact that the Star Alliance had dispatched 20,000 elites to entrap Black Flame and his team showed just how afraid the Alliance was of the Swordsman. Ordinary top-tier experts would not warrant such treatment. --- Meanwhile, as the war raged, the official forums exploded with comments. "Zero Wing is too amazing! They''re actually going up against 20,000 people with a team of 100! "I wonder who will win? I wish I could watch this battle in person." "I''m guessing that Zero Wing will wipe. We''re talking about 20,000 Guild elite members." "Indeed. That''s 20,000 elite players, not 20,000 Common monsters. If Zero Wing comes out victorious, they will be a legend in God''s Domain." "I wonder how many people Zero Wing''s 100 members will kill?" This battle would determine the supremacy over the Stoneclaw Mountains. Hence, the players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom paid very close attention to it. Moreover, one did not often see a Guild War of this scale. Aside from the forum discussions, players also broadcasted live streams of the war on the official forums. For this war, the Star Alliance did not bother with chasing away outsiders. Instead, the Guild allowed other players to watch. They wanted everyone to know how powerful the Star Alliance was. Only, the Star Alliance had begun to regret that decision. --- "Advance! Show everyone the consequences for opposing the Star Alliance!" Red Feather shouted. Suddenly, the army of 20,000 elite players ascended the mountain, leaving no gaps for Zero Wing to escape through. They intended to wipe out Black Flame and his team. When the Star Alliance''s army was halfway up the mountain, a black figure suddenly appeared in midair. Whenever the figure flapped its pitch-black wings, it generated powerful winds. "Why is a Demon here?" Everyone from the Star Alliance turned to look at the figure. [Battle Demon] (Demon)[1] Level 55 HP 11,000,000/11,000,000 While everyone was caught in a daze, the Battle Demon lifted its twin blood-red war axes and swooped down into the crowd. Swinging its weapons, the Battle Demon created a storm that sent all players within a radius of 15 yards flying into the air, the countless wind blades ending their lives. Once the violent storm ended, hundreds of pieces of equipment fell from the sky. Everyone involuntarily shuddered. With players'' current standard, none of them had any hope against a Level 55 Tier 3 creature. "No! This is Zero Wing''s Demon! All melee players, scatter! Ranged players, distance yourselves from the Demon and use Barrier Magic Arrays to trap it!" Red Feather immediately commanded. Although the Demon''s sudden appearance had surprised him, he remained relatively calm. Although Barrier Magic Arrays were rare, a first-rate Guild like the Star Alliance had quite a few in reserve. They might not be able to kill the Tier 3 Demon, but they could confine it for a while. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of giving the Star Alliance the opportunity to trap the Demon. The Demons he summoned with the Bible of Darkness were different from the creatures summoned with Summoning Scrolls. The Demons could be controlled from a very long distance. Hence, Shi Feng directed the Battle Demon to fly into the air and attack other locations. Despite the constant attacks from the Star Alliance''s players, due to the Level and Tier suppression, their damage was practically negligible. In such a way, the Battle Demon repeatedly struck and fled. Every time the players with the Barrier Scrolls reached the battle, the Demon was out of reach. For a time, the Star Alliance''s army plunged into chaos. Red Feather''s eyes were bloodshot with fury as he roared deafeningly, watching this madness repeat again and again. It was already difficult enough to deal with a Tier 3 Demon. Now, the Demon ran about randomly, wrecking havoc wherever it went. To the Star Alliance, this Demon was a nightmare. They were sheep to the slaughter. A casual assault could kill several hundred players. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before the Demon annihilated their army of 20,000 elite players. --- "Guild Leader, you really are amazing. You can actually summon such a powerful Tier 3 Demon. With this, the Star Alliance will suffer," Blackie rejoiced as he watched the Battle Demon massacre the Star Alliance''s elites. Previously, the two Great Lords the Star Alliance and Overwhelming Smile had summoned had dealt quite the blow. Just when he thought that this war had been over, Shi Feng revealed the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. With just two shots, they had dealt with the two Great Lords, forcing the Star Alliance to send out an army of players. Now, Shi Feng had summoned a Tier 3 Demon. In such a narrow mountain path, a Tier 3 Demon was far more effective than several thousand elite players. --- "Ignore that Demon! Charge up the mountain! If we kill the summoner, that Demon will disappear!" Galaxy Past, who commanded the battle against Ouroboros in the distance, suddenly shouted in the Guild chat. Regardless of how powerful a summoned creature was, its summoner was always its weakness. Rather than wasting time with the Tier 3 Demon, it was more effective to attack its summoner. Zero Wing itself had taught them this lesson. Sure enough, after Galaxy Past''s reminder, the Star Alliances'' elites calmed themselves and pushed up the mountain, leaving only the barrier team behind to deal with the Tier 3 Demon. --- "Guild Leader, they''re coming. Should I fire?" Blackie asked as he watched the elite army charge at them like a swarm of ants. He desperately wanted to use Stars of Light to show the Star Alliance who they were dealing with. Before replying, Shi Feng glanced at a 50-man team that climbed the mountain path swiftly. With a serious expression, he said, "Save it for now. We can deal with the Star Alliance after we deal with the Flower of Seven Sins." TL Notes: [1] Demon: Demon refers to both the race and the rank name for Tier 3, though in this case, it is referring to Tier 3. Or both? x.x 740 Top-tier Battle Chapter 740 - Top-tier Battle Hearing Shi Feng''s comment, Fire Dance and the others turned towards the Flower of Seven Sins'' approach. If they had to name their greatest threat in this war, it was definitely not the Star Alliance''s army of over 100,000 elite players. It was the 50-man team from the Flower of Seven Sins. Watching the assassins close the distance between them, Fire Dance and the others grew nervous. They knew that, should the assassins defeat them here, their previous efforts would be for naught. "Don''t hold back against them. Use the Power of Darkness right from the start," Shi Feng reminded his team through the team chat. "Victory or defeat, let it be determined within these ten minutes." In terms of techniques, the Flower of Seven Sins was leaps and bounds above them. They only had two advantages. First, they had more numbers on their side. Second, they had the advantage of Berserk Skills. The Power of Darkness had a duration of ten minutes. Ordinary Berserk Skills generally only lasted a fraction of that time. When they activated the Power of Darkness, their opponents would have no choice but to activate theirs as well. If they could last through the duration of the Flower of Seven Sins'' Berserk Skills, they would emerge victorious. Shi Feng directed the Battle Demon to charge at the assassins with flying speed. With the overwhelming combat power of a Tier 3 Demon, it should be simple to defeat the 50-man team of assassins. "Do you think you can stop the Flower of Seven Sins with a single Tier 3 Demon?" the silver-robed man glanced at the Battle Demon flying towards his team, a playful smile appearing on his face. He then revealed a black Magic Scroll. Unfurling it, he shouted, "I summon thee, Magma Giant!" Suddenly, a massive humanoid figure covered in molten lava appeared on the mountain. [Lava Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 55 HP 18,000,000/18,000,000 The instant the Lava Giant appeared, it released an angry bellow and lifted both its hands. Suddenly, lava spewed from the ground and sweaped across the mountaintop, transforming an area of 300 yards around the Lava Giant into a Lava Domain. Not only did the Lava Domain suppress enemies'' Attributes, but it also ate away 3% of their HPs every five seconds. Players could not fight within the Domain for very long at all. After establishing its Domain, the Lava Giant tightly clasped both its hands together. In the next moment, hot lava began to spew into the air, engulfing the Battle Demon and preventing it from moving. A Great Lord actually knows a Domain Skill and a Tier 3 Imprisonment Skill. The Flower of Seven Sins is even willing to part with such a Summoning Scroll? Shi Feng could not help his frown. A Tier 3 Imprisonment Skill could seal the Battle Demon''s movements for a very long time. However, throughout the Skill''s duration, the caster could not move. Both summoned creatures had been taken out of this fight. However, the Flower of Seven Sins had the aid of a Domain Skill, which was a significant disadvantage for Zero Wing. "Give up! Nobody can avoid the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins!" The silver-robed man chuckled. The Lava Domain had already enveloped the mountaintop. Zero Wing''s members were trapped inside. Moreover, with the suppression and HP reduction effects, even if Zero Wing''s members activated their Berserk Skills, they would not survive for long inside the Lava Domain. In the end, death would be waiting to greet them. "That isn''t necessarily true." Watching the assassins charge at them, Shi Feng suddenly shouted, "Activate the magic array!" Suddenly, a purple-gold magic array appeared in the air, enveloping both Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins. This magic array was none other than the Intermediate Magic Array, Nine-star Polar Domain, that Shi Feng had previously obtained. As long as the Nine-star Polar Domain was active, people outside the barrier could not enter. Similarly, those inside could not leave. Only after the nine casters'' Mana ran out would the barrier disappear. Moreover, the Nine-star Polar Domain also suppressed the assassins'' Attributes. Furthermore, its suppression was more powerful than the Lava Domain''s. The Lava Domain could suppress a player''s Attributes by 30%, whereas the Nine-star Polar Domain could suppress a player''s Attributes by 40%. Against high-tiered monsters, it could suppress over 70% of their Attributes. It was an extremely powerful magic array. When the players outside of the barrier saw Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins'' various combat methods, they were momentarily stunned. "Very good. At least things are getting a little interesting now." The silver-robed man could not help but laugh. "Let''s see which one of us will last until the very end." Saying so, the members of the Flower of Seven Sins activated their Berserk Skills. Although they suffered a more powerful suppression, the Lava Domain would chip away at Zero Wing''s HPs. If they dragged on the battle, they could win easily. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s side similarly activated the Power of Darkness. Suddenly, both sides'' Attributes soared, their combat powers reaching greater heights than before. With only a few dozen yards between them, they began to launch ranged attacks. Spells and arrows flew at their targets. However, neither side was easy to defeat as they weaved between the rain of Spells and arrows. In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two teams closed. The melee classes exchanged blows rapidly, their bodies moving with blurring speed. Fire Dance immediately set her sights on a Level 34 Cleric. Using Shadow Steps, she appeared behind the Cleric and activated the Assassin class'' strongest Skill, Absolute Strike. However, this Cleric had sensed Fire Dance''s approach. Not only did he manage to activate Truth Shield before Fire Dance''s attack reached him, but he also activated Terrorizing Roar. Fire Dance was forced to activate a Control Removal Skill. Afterward, she thrust her shortsword towards the Cleric. In response, the Cleric used his staff to block the attack. As Fire Dance possessed overwhelming Strength, her attack had sent that Cleric flying. However, the Cleric took the opportunity to put some distance between them. Unfortunately, Fire Dance''s damage only shattered the Cleric''s Truth Shield; the Cleric remained unharmed. Just as Fire Dance thought of chasing after the Cleric, she felt an intensely dense killing intent from behind her. Hurriedly, Fire Dance used Wind Steps. Dang! Without her notice, a dagger struck her back. Fortunately, Fire Dance had activated Wind Steps in time, the one-second invulnerability nullifying the attack. "Your reaction time is quite good, but how about this?" the black-clothed Assassin that suddenly appeared behind Fire Dance bantered. He then brandished two daggers, sending over a dozen afterimages at Fire Dance. It was as if he had launched these attacks simultaneously, entrapping Fire Dance. Instinctually, Fire Dance had wanted to defend against the attacks. However, she quickly changed her mind and used Void Steps instead. Suddenly, Fire Dance vanished. The black-clothed Assassin halted his attacks and activated Wind Steps. Dang! Fire Dance suddenly appeared beside the black-clothed Assassin, her shortsword stopping just before the man''s back, unable to proceed even an inch. "Such an amazing footwork. It seems that I did not choose the wrong target," the black-clothed Assassin laughed. He glanced at Fire Dance, saying, "I''m Pleiades, the one who is going to kill you." A Flowing Water Realm expert? When Fire Dance saw her opponent''s calm reaction to Void Steps, she could roughly guess Pleiades''s standard. Otherwise, he would not have been able to defend. Only those capable of predicting her movements could defend against her Void Steps. Aside from Fire Dance, who had encountered a Flowing Water Realm expert, Violet Cloud faced down one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' party leaders. Although Zero Wing''s members had the advantage in Attributes and could take the initiative in attacking, the assassins'' techniques were far more refined. The assassins did not use strictly might to face their opponents. Instead, they defended and counterattacked. After all, with the presence of the Lava Domain, Zero Wing''s members would continuously lose HP over time. They just needed to wait until their opponents ran out of HP. "Black Flame, show me your strength," the silver-robed middle-aged man demanded as he stood in Shi Feng''s path. Sweeping his spear horizontally, the middle-aged man exuded an imposing aura. 741 Godly Speed Chapter 741 - Godly Speed The members of Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins had entered their own battles. Aside from Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose relying on the Attribute advantage that their Tier 1 Set Equipment provided to suppress the assassins'' party leaders, the others struggled against the remaining four party leaders. These party leaders'' equipment was in no way inferior to the members of Zero Wing''s main force. In addition, they wore almost a full set of Tier 3 Gemstones, and their Berserk Skills were slightly more powerful than the Power of Darkness. Hence, they easily made up for the difference in Attributes. With very little difference in Basic Attributes, even if three of Zero Wing''s main force members ganged up on one of the Flower of Seven Sins party leaders, they were powerless. The enemy neutralized their attacks, one after another. Meanwhile, if they were not careful and received an attack, they would instantly lose one-third of their HP. It was only a matter of time before they were defeated. Not to mention, the Lava Domain was also in effect, continuously reducing the HPs of Zero Wing''s players. Surprisingly, Shadow Sword, Minor Wind, Flying Shadow, Turtledove, Cola, and Ye Wumian were able to exchange blow for blow with their assassin opponents, both their HPs and their enemies'' gradually decreasing. A small difference in HP might determine the outcome of their fights. "Zero Wing is quite strong. Despite facing so many experts from the Flower of Seven Sins, they still fight so ferociously. If this were any other team, the Flower of Seven Sins would have defeated them by now," Yuan Tiexin, who watched the fight from afar, said in slight surprise. "Unfortunately, Zero Wing will still go up in flames." Currently, aside from a few of Zero Wing''s upper echelons holding their ground, it was only a matter of time before the others were defeated. If the battle dragged on, the ordinary main force members would fall. At that time, the assassins could corner Zero Wing''s upper echelons. As they already had their hands full with their current opponents, facing more at once would be fatal. The other Secret Pavilion members nodded in agreement. However, they had to admit that Zero Wing''s main force was indeed impressive. If they were in Zero Wing''s place, the battle would end very quickly. Refinement Realm experts could alter their actions in such high-speed battles nimbly. However, ordinary experts could not. On the scorched battlefield, although the fights between Zero Wing''s main force members and the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins was exciting, the Secret Pavilion members focused on Shi Feng''s battle. After all, the title of One-hit Asura was not just for show. To have earned his current reputation, Shi Feng had killed many experts. However, in this war, Shi Feng''s opponent was even more extraordinary than he was. He fought the assassins'' leader. This was a rare sight, indeed. "The Flower of Seven Sins sent you to lead the mission this time?" Shi Feng asked as he unsheathed his swords. He was utterly focused on the silver-robed man before him. Although the silver-robed man had not yet attacked, the cold killing intent he radiated caused Shi Feng to shudder involuntarily. Shi Feng felt as if his life were slipping away. It almost felt as if he were standing in the middle of a Demonic Beast''s nest. Moreover, the silver-robed man''s Level and equipment quality were extremely high. Not only was the man a Level 35 Berserker, but his equipment was also the Dark-Gold Set Equipment meant for Berserkers, the Wind Frost Set. The Wind Frost Set focused on speed and Strength. It was Level 30 to Level 40 equipment. It was a Dark-Gold Set that could improve as its wearer leveled. It was only second to a Tier 1 Set Equipment. As for the snow-white spear in the man''s hands, although Shi Feng had never seen it before, judging by the runes and weapon''s elegance, it should be, at the very least, a top-tier Dark-Gold Weapon. "That will depend on whether or not you qualify to know!" the silver-robed man rebuked as he swung his spear. Suddenly, it seemed like his spear had transformed into five poisonous snakes that shot towards Shi Feng. One Spear, Five Transformations! Although there were only five spear images, these images attack trajectories were both complex and varied. Even the middle-aged man could not predict the attacks, not to mention the attack trajectories. Seeing this, Shi Feng abruptly retreated. Dang! Dang! Sparks scattered between the Swordsman and the Berserker. Such quick spearmanship! Shi Feng could not help his surprise. Despite retreating as soon as he had noticed the attacks, the five spear images had appeared before him instantly. By the time he had reacted, although he had deflected two of the spear images with his swords, it had been too late to block the other three spears. He had no choice but to activate Defensive Blade to block the spears. Otherwise, with his Attributes after activating the Power of Darkness, although the remaining spear images would not kill him instantly, they would destroy one-third of his HP. Due to the previous clash, Shi Feng had gained a general understanding of just how powerful the silver-robed man was. Hence, he could predict the man''s damage. "You actually avoided my One Spear, Five Transformations. You are worthy for me to take you seriously." The silver-robed man smiled. Suddenly, he launched another attack. This time, six spear images flew towards Shi Feng. This attack was also much faster than the last. By the time Shi Feng could react, the six spear images appeared before him. Despite having taken precautions, three of the six images struck Shi Feng. Fortunately, Defensive Blade blocked the other three. How are his attacks so fast?! Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he glanced at his opponent''s spear. He had clearly predicted the man''s general targets, yet, by the time he had defended himself, the six spear images had arrived before him. It almost seemed as if the images had teleported. Despite predicting the trajectory of the attacks, his body could not keep up with the assassin''s speed. This was the first time Shi Feng had encountered such a situation. Logically, he should be much faster than the silver-robed man, yet, the man''s spear moved as if it had Instantaneous Movement. Even if he were faster, he could not keep up with the silver-robed man''s spear attacks. With no other choice, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. The four-second binding gave him plenty of time to kill the silver-robed man several times over. However, as soon as the pitch-black chains emerged from the ground, the silver-robed man activated Wargod''s Radiance, a dazzling light shining from his body as he became immune to all control effects. Immediately after, six more spear images appeared before Shi Feng, striking him. This time, Defensive Blade''s block count was exhausted. The Secret Pavilion members watching from afar were dumbfounded. The silver-robed man''s spear strikes were simply too fast. The attacks had completely surpassed the speed defined by the system. How could anyone dodge such attacks? "How are that man''s attacks so fast?" Despite being the top genius of the Secret Pavilion''s new generation, Cold Autumn was shocked as he watched the fierce battle. If he had to block the silver-robed man''s attacks, he, most likely, would have died immediately after the battle had begun. Only Black Flame, with his lightning-fast swordsmanship, was barely capable of defending against two or three of those spear strikes. Anyone else would have died multiple times by now. "Autumn, now you understand why I brought you all here to watch this battle, right?" Yuan Tiexin asked, chuckling. "The apex experts you know of are only figureheads. This is a true apex expert of the virtual gaming world. However, Black Flame''s performance is just as impressive. One Spear, Six Transformations is that man''s specialty technique. Countless well-known experts have died against this move. I can count the number of experts who can block two or three strikes while in the Flowing Water Realm on one hand. "Now that Black Flame has used up all his Lifesaving Skills, this fight should end very quickly." The silver-robed man executed One Spear, Six Transformations once more. However, Shi Feng suddenly closed his eyes. He saw nothing as he allowed the assassin to attack. "Could he have given up already?" The sudden development shocked the onlookers. With the spear moving so fast, if Shi Feng did not rely on his sight to predict the silver-robed man''s actions, how could he defend against the spear attacks? "It seems the fight is over," Cold Autumn said, shaking his head. The six spear images pierced Shi Feng''s body. However, the instant the six spear images shot through Shi Feng''s body, another Shi Feng appeared beside the silver-robed man. This other Shi Feng swung down his Abyssal Blade. Dang! The clear ring of metal clashing with metal resounded throughout the battlefield. The silver-robed man was forced to retreat three steps before stabilizing himself. "You actually dodged all of them!" Shock appeared on the silver-robed man''s face as he stared at the unharmed Shi Feng with disbelief. 742 Deciding Strike Chapter 742 - Deciding Strike Shi Feng''s sudden evasion of the silver-robed man''s One Spear, Six Transformations left the Secret Pavilion members speechless. "How did he do it?!" Cold Autumn''s eyes widened as he stared at Shi Feng, who still had his eyes closed. Shi Feng had avoided that godlike spearmanship, which had been impossible to dodge with open eyes, with his eyes closed. This was simply inconceivable! Yuan Tiexin was similarly stunned. "Black Flame really is surprising. I had never imagined he would see through Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations so quickly," Yuan Tiexin exclaimed. "Years ago, I suffered numerous losses against Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations, yet Black Flame had seen through it after only a couple of attacks. Could he be a monster?" The silver-robed man named Sky was one of the Flower of Seven Sins''s veteran assassins. Many top-tier experts from Super Guilds had suffered immensely at Sky''s hands. Sky had even killed many experts who had also stepped into the Void Realm. Only those at the Void Realm, who could exert their five senses to their limits and possessed rudimentary control over their surroundings, had the ability to block One Spear, Six Transformations. Even Yuan Tiexin struggled to defend against One Spear, Six Transformations while wielding two weapons. He could block four or five strikes at most. However, he was a Shield Warrior, so he had a much easier time defending against the spear strikes with a shield. Only, he would have a much harder time closing in on Sky. Of course, there were many Skills in the game, such as wide-range attacks, that could neutralize such precision attacks. One could also distance themselves from Sky. After all, a Berserker''s attack range was only so far. Even a long spear would not increase one''s attack range by much. However, in a close-quarters, high-speed battle like this, aside from the Lifesaving Skills that one could activate with a thought, it was impossible to defend against Sky''s attacks with Skills. Skills generally required specific motions before activation. This would create a sense of disharmony in expert players. Their attacks using Skills would not be as fast and natural as their normal attacks. Hence, this would reveal weak points that they did not normally possess. It was this reason precisely that experts in the Refinement Realm or above rarely used Skills in close combat against other players as it was highly possible that one weakness would spell their doom. Shi Feng had yet to reach the Void Realm. However, without using any Skills, he still managed to neutralize Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations. This was the first time Yuan Tiexin had seen such an occurrence. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, after Sky calmed his slightly surprised heart, fighting spirit flared in his eyes. He began to execute One Spear, Six Transformations once more. ky executed his specialty technique numerous times in succession. Yet, Shi Feng dodged all of his attacks with his eyes closed, launching a counter attack each time. Initially, Shi Feng had only gotten one hit in during his counterattacks. Now, he landed two hits. Although Sky had blocked every attack Shi Feng had sent at him, he had received a lot of damage. Each one of Shi Feng''s attacks had dealt over -500 damage. Shi Feng''s Strength was astonishing. In God''s Domain, the resulting impact as weapons clashed would offset the damage. If there were a significant difference between the combatants'' Strength, however, some damage would occur. However, this damage was usually so low that it was almost negligible. If the difference in the combatants'' Strengths was quite vast, the weaker side would receive significant damage, even if they blocked the attack successfully. Sky experienced this first-hand against Black Flame. His equipment had already reached the current peak among players in God''s Domain. He was also a Berserker, a class famed for its Strength. The Berserk Skill he had activated was even a Strength-type Berserk Skill. Yet, Shi Feng''s Strength was still far above his own. This was the first time Sky had encountered such a situation. In terms of the Strength Attribute, even those monster-like players in God''s Domain could not overwhelm him like this. It no longer felt as if he fought another player. Instead, it felt more like he fought a humanoid Lord ranked monster. He received over -500 damage just by defending against attacks. His HP after activating his Berserk Skill was only slightly more than 19,000. He had a limit to the number of times he could defend against Shi Feng''s attacks. Although Sky put in the utmost effort to dodge Shi Feng''s attacks, he discovered that he could not dodge any of them. Despite having relatively powerful control over his surroundings, Shi Feng''s attacks were simply too fast. Even though he could predict Shi Feng''s attack trajectories, he could barely defend himself. "You really are amazing. It''s no wonder why even Silver has noticed you." Glaring at Shi Feng, Sky said in a low tone, "I had intended to save this card for challenging Silver, but it seems that I have no choice but to try it on you." As soon as he said this, Sky''s spear shot out and transformed into nine spear images. One Spear, Nine Kills! This was currently the limit of Sky''s abilities. Not only did this move have a greater range than One Spear, Six Transformations, but it was also much faster. This time, Shi Feng opened his eyes. Facing the sudden approach of the nine spear images, rather than retreating, Shi Feng moved forward to welcome the spears. Yuan Tiexin, who watched from afar, thought that Shi Feng had lost his mind. Players, who knew of it, already avoided One Spear, Six Transformations like the plague. On the other hand, One Spear, Nine Kills sent chills down even Yuan Tiexin''s spine. Even if he could lift his shield in time, the spear images would, most likely, hit him. Yet, Shi Feng had taken the initiative to welcome the spears. Did his success of neutralizing Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations make him overconfident? However, as Yuan Tiexin stood too far away from Shi Feng, he did not notice the faint blue arcs of electricity circling Shi Feng''s body. This move was none other than Killing Ray''s second Skill, Thunder God''s Descent. [Thunder God''s Descent] Become immune to all Control Skills, Movement Speed and Attack Speed increased by 150%, damage increased by 50%, and all damage received decreased by 50% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour In the next moment, numerous blue lights flashed. The lights deflected the spear images as they closed in on Shi Feng. From an outsider''s view, it looked as if the spear images had avoided Shi Feng. Like a strong gale, Shi Feng blasted through the nine spear images and swept past Sky. Too fast for the naked eye to follow, Killing Ray penetrated Sky''s body. This had all happened in an instant. Before Sky even realized what had just happened, fountains of blood spurted from his body. His HP plummeted rapidly. In the blink of an eye, his 19,000-plus HP fell to zero. Sky''s body thudded as it hit the ground. "This" Shi Feng''s sudden attack had killed Sky, stunning everyone who watched. For a moment, only silence followed. "What happened just now?!" "How did he block the nine spear images?!" "Sky died?!" Questions filled the minds of the Secret Pavilion crowd. Despite their focus on Shi Feng all this time, they had only seen Shi Feng vanish and reappear. They had not noticed Shi Feng draw his sword before Sky fell to the ground. None of them knew exactly what had just happened. Shi Feng had clearly waged a bitter battle against Sky just moments ago. Yet, after a few exchanges, Shi Feng had seen through and neutralized Sky''s specialty technique. He even claimed Sky''s life with a single move. This change had happened too fast. It was unbelievable. "Uncle Yuan, do you know what happened just now? What did Black Flame do?!" Cold Autumn asked, practically shouting his question with bloodshot eyes. However, standing beside him, Yuan Tiexin''s were just as wide, containing his own confusion. 743 Seven Sins’ Defea Chapter 743 - Seven Sins'' Defeat In Yuan Tiexin''s eyes, although Shi Feng was certainly strong, he was still no match for him. However, the Swordsman''s sudden performance had truly dumbfounded him. If Yuan Tiexin faced Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations, he was only 50% certain of emerging victorious. However, against the One Spear, Nine Kills Sky had just displayed, Yuan Tiexin did not think he had any chance of victory. Yet, even after using One Spear, Nine Kills, Sky died after Shi Feng''s single strike. From the moment Shi Feng moved to when he swung his sword, everything had happened all too quickly. Moreover, due to the distance between them, the battle had ended before Yuan Tiexin realized what had happened. "Did any of you record this battle?" Yuan Tiexin asked the several people behind him. They were staff from the Secret Pavilion''s intelligence department. The Magic Mirror they held was a magical tool in God''s Domain that could record the scenes within a certain range. One could purchase a Magic Mirror from shops in the various major cities. However, they were extremely expensive. A Basic Magic Mirror cost 3 Gold. However, a Basic Magic Mirror could record an area of 100*100 yards in a range of 4,000 yards for two hours. This item could easily allow the various large Guilds to keep a record of certain battles. It was especially easy for players like them to get dragged into battles like this. Hence, they needed to maintain a certain distance from the battle. Although they could use Binoculars to watch the fights, those items could not record the battles. Hence, Magic Mirrors were the best tools to gather information. After collecting the required data, one could research the information in detail. It was much easier than the system''s recording function. "We got everything." The intelligence agents nodded in reply. "Good! Make a copy and send it to me later! Send a copy to the Guild Leader as well!" Yuan Tiexin commanded seriously. For an expert like himself, nothing was more alluring than watching a battle between players of Shi Feng''s and Sky''s standards. Moreover, Shi Feng''s performance was also mindblowing. At this moment, Yuan Tiexin could not help but reconsider the relationship between the Secret Pavilion in Zero Wing. However, this decision would have to wait until after the war ended. Compared to the surprise the Secret Pavilion members had felt, the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins were thunderstruck. Although Sky was not one of their upper echelons, his fame within the organization was resounding. Almost everyone had heard of him. Moreover, among the many Void Realm experts in the organization, Sky was the only expert capable of facing down Silver. Yet, Black Flame, someone who was only slightly famous, had killed Sky. This was like watching an ant defeat a lion. It was inconceivable. "Guild Leader!" When Fire Dance saw the Assassin Pleiades freeze, she followed the Assassin''s gaze. Immediately, she discovered that Shi Feng had claimed the assassins'' team leader, and unconsciously, power welled up in her. Fire Dance wasn''t the only one to react this way. Everyone from Zero Wing''s main force also felt power flow into their bodies when they saw the Berserker on the ground. Although Zero Wing''s main force had lost over a dozen members, this one death had far more of an impact that killing three or four of the Flower of Seven Sins'' party leaders. Hadn''t the Flower of Seven Sins never failed a job? In the end, hadn''t their strongest team leader still died under their Guild Leader''s sword? Sky''s death also caused the Lava Giant to disappear. Without the Lava Giant, the Lava Domain vanished as well. In the blink of an eye, the suppression on everyone from Zero Wing lifted, their Attributes abruptly soaring. On the other hand, the Nine-star Polar Domain still suppressed the Flower of Seven Sins'' assassins. Damn it! Sky actually died so quickly! Pleiades frowned as he turned to Fire Dance, whose Attributes had been restored; he lost his prior composure. Initially, Fire Dance already had higher Attributes than he did. He had only kept up with Fire Dance''s attacks by relying on his accurate judgment. Now that Fire Dance had recovered her Attributes while he was still hampered, dodging and blocking the woman''s attacks became far more difficult. Whether it was Pleiades or the other members of the Flower of Seven Sins, they all had grimaced as they fought. "Didn''t you enjoy beating me up just now?!" Shadow Sword, who had less than half of his HP remaining, said as he smirked at a Refinement Realm Level 34 Guardian Knight. His lips curling into a smile, Shadow Sword said, "It''s my turn now!" Saying so, Shadow Sword swung the Bluefire Double-edged Sword violently and executed Whirlwind Slash. He was not the slightest bit afraid of revealing any weak points. Against absolute Strength and speed, despite the Level 34 Guardian Knight using his shield to defend against Shadow Sword''s Whirlwind Slash, the impact forced him to retreat six steps, a damage of over -800 points appearing above his head. For a second there, he had nearly lost his balance. Shadow Sword immediately followed up with a series of violent slashes. Facing Shadow Sword''s rapid barrage, the Guardian Knight had no choice but to raise his shield and defend himself. However, every time Shadow Sword struck his shield, he received over -200 damage, his body forced to retreat one step after another. He had no chances to counterattack. On Violet Cloud''s side, the Astromancer was finally able to apply leverage. Activating Star''s Guidance, she sent the Level 34 Berserker party leader, who chased after her, flying. Immediately after, she attacked with her Mana Balls. Thirty Mana Balls appeared in the air around them. Although this attack was not as strong as the 36 Mana Balls she could summon after drinking the Hundred Berry Wine, Violet Cloud was able to control the 30 Mana Balls with much greater precision. Moreover, due to her recovered Attributes, the force her Mana Balls contained had also increased significantly. The Berserker party leader required his full might to block every Mana Ball. Otherwise, the Balls would knock him back and reveal even more weak points. However, against the overwhelming power of the 30 Mana Balls, the Berserker party leader occasionally missed two or three Mana Balls, receiving around -500 to -600 damage. Without the suppression of Zero Wing''s Attributes, the battle immediately turned to Zero Wing''s favor, whereas the Flower of Seven Sins were at a complete disadvantage. After killing Sky, Shi Feng did not stop to pick up the loot the Berserker had dropped. Instead, he turned around and dashed for the Seven Sins party leader that posed the greatest threat to Zero Wing. These party leaders were all experts in the Flowing Water Realm. Even if Zero Wing''s main force members recovered their Attributes, the party leaders were still a major threat. After Shi Feng''s Attributes recovered, due to Thunder God''s Descent still being active, he became much faster. Although he was not as fast as when he had killed Sky, his speed was more than enough to deal with the Seven Sins party leaders. After appearing behind one of the party leaders, Shi Feng executed Chop with his Killing Ray. A streak of blue light flashed. -15,485. A bloody mark appeared on the Shield Warrior party leader. Only at this moment did the Shield Warrior''s shield appear in Shi Feng''s trajectory. The Shield Warrior was slower than Shi Feng''s by a massive margin. Suddenly, the party leader, who had roughly 11,000 HP remaining, fell to the ground. Observers were, once again, rendered speechless. Shi Feng''s attack was simply too fast. Watching from afar, they had only seen a flash of blue light. They had not even seen his sword''s afterimage before it struck his opponent. Just how was someone supposed to defend against such an attack? After just a short moment, four of the seven Flower of Seven Sins party leaders had died at Shi Feng''s hands. Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose took care of the last three. In the end, Zero Wing had annihilated the assassins from the Flower of Seven Sins 744 Star Alliance’s Defea Chapter 744 - Star Alliance''s Defeat As the Flower of Seven Sins came to an end, everyone watching from afar was dumbfounded. It was especially true for the Star Alliance''s upper echelons. People in their position were very aware of how terrifying the Flower of Seven Sins was. The Flower of Seven Sins was an organization that had killed the upper echelons of Super Guilds countless times, invoking the Super Guilds'' wrath. However, none of those Guilds could do anything to the assassin organization. Until this day, the Flower of Seven Sins had never failed a job. Yet, now, this legend shattered The most incredulous aspect was that it had been an upstart Guild that broke the legend. "How can this be?!" Red Feather''s eyes widened, and he clenched his fists as he stared at the corpses of the Seven Sins scattered across the ground. The Flower of Seven Sins had been their final trump card against Zero Wing. Now that the assassins had been wiped out, how were they supposed to deal with Zero Wing''s upper echelons? Any expert could take advantage of the narrow terrain to exert their strength, not to mention Black Flame, who could instant-kill the Flower of Seven Sins'' team leader. With Black Flame''s strength, he could slaughter elite players without wasting much Stamina. He only needed one hit for each kill. If they relied on zerg tactics to kill Black Flame, just how many elite players would they need to sacrifice? Not to mention, the Tier 3 Demon was still alive and kicking. It was practically impossible to annihilate Zero Wing''s main force here with just 20,000 elite players. "Guild Leader, the Flower of Seven Sins members have been wiped out. What should we do now?" Unsure himself, Red Feather quickly decided to report to Galaxy Past. "What?!" Galaxy Past was momentarily stunned when he received the news. For a second, he even thought Red Feather was joking. However, Red Feather would never joke so distastefully in such a dire situation like this. His expression turning serious, Galaxy Past asked, "How many people does Zero Wing have left? Is Black Flame dead?" The Flower of Seven Sins'' strength was absolute. Even if Zero Wing''s main force were impressive, they would not walk away unharmed. If Zero Wing''s main force had suffered severe casualties, then they could rely on their elite army to swarm their remaining enemies. Without any commanders, Zero Wing''s army would into disarray and morale would drop sharply. It would be significantly easier to take out Zero Wing''s elite army without its leaders. "They have 76 people remaining. Black Flame is still alive," Red Feather hurriedly reported after glancing at Zero Wing''s members, who were still within the magic array. Galaxy Past''s surprise escalated. "A-Are you sure?" Galaxy Past asked once more. The Flower of Seven Sins had dispatched 50 of its top-tier assassins. Every one of these assassins was an expert that struck fear into one''s heart. Even Galaxy Past himself was not sure that he could escape should any one of these experts come for his life. How was it possible that this team of assassins had only claimed slightly over 20 Zero Wing lives? Galaxy Past had a very clear understanding of the strength of Zero Wing''s main force. Aside from the few, very strong upper echelons, most of them were subpar. Galaxy Past was even confident he could face several of them at once. "Guild Leader, how could I mistake something like this?" For a time, even Red Feather was at a loss. Hurriedly, he said, "All of Zero Wing''s upper echelons are still alive. Only a few core members died. That Tier 3 Demon has also broken out of its magical imprisonment and has begun to attack our people." When Galaxy Past heard this, his brain stopped functioning. Since when was Zero Wing so powerful? Against the Flower of Seven Sins''s 50-man assassin team, Zero Wing had actually emerged victorious, losing only a few unimportant members. "Guild Leader, what should we do now? Do we fight or retreat?" Red Feather asked anxiously as he watched the Tier 3 Demon slaughter his elite members. "Black Flame! We will retreat!" Only after a long moment did Galaxy Past finally decide. When he uttered the word "retreat," he sounded as if he had been sapped of all of his energy. How many years had it been? Galaxy Past had long since forgotten the feeling of defeat. However, today, he had been reminded of the taste. This taste made him very uncomfortable. Ever since the Star Alliance had fallen into his control, the Guild had only lost to Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. The Star Alliance had never lost to anything less. Yet, now, the Star Alliance he commanded had been beaten into submission by an upstart Guild. This blow was many times more humiliating that suffering defeat at the hands of those Super Guilds. A Tier 3 Demon was the equivalent of a Great Lord. Galaxy Past knew the strength of a Great Lord quite well. Otherwise, he would not have paid such a large price to purchase a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll from a Super Guild. At this stage of a game, having a Great Lord on one''s side could reduce one''s losses significantly while dealing a devastating blow to the enemy. With two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, they thought they had this war in the bag. However, Galaxy Past had never imagined that an energy pulse attack would eliminate both of their Great Lords. They had no way to deal with a Tier 3 Demon. If they did not retreat, they would only suffer more casualties. After Red Feather heard Galaxy Past''s command, his downcast expression became even more gloomy. However, he still gave the order to retreat. --- Meanwhile, standing on a nearby mountaintop, the Secret Pavilion members were engaged in a heated discussion over this war between the Star Alliance and Zero Wing. "Guild Leader Black Flame is too powerful! The way he killed that team leader from the Flower of Seven Sins was just too cool!" "I wonder what sort of training Black Flame used to get to his level? Even after watching the battle so many times, I only caught a glimpse of Black Flame''s figure. I couldn''t even see the afterimage of his attack. Uncle Yuan would most likely last only a few moves against Black Flame." "What do you even know? Uncle Yuan is powerful. Of course, he could block Black Flame''s attack." "But Black Flame''s Attack Speed is so high. Who could possibly defend against his attack?" Among the Secret Pavilion''s trainees, many had renewed their impressions of Zero Wing. They were no longer arrogant when talking about Zero Wing. Unconsciously, they had gone from calling the Swordsman ''Black Flame'' to calling him ''Guild Leader Black Flame.'' However, a few youths among them were still unsatisfied. "There is no need to argue. I am not a match for Black Flame. Or to put it in another way, only those few, monstrous players can contend with Black Flame now," Yuan Tiexin said suddenly. He could not help but laugh at everyone''s conversation. "Autumn, what did you think of this fight?" Yuan Tiexin asked the silent Cold Autumn. Cold Autumn was the top genius among the Secret Pavilion''s new generation. The youth had joined the Secret Pavilion''s secret training program a year ago. He was only 17 years old, yet he had already become the Pavilion''s star pupil. He had already reached the Half-step Refinement Realm and was only a thread away from truly entering the Refinement Realm. He could break through at any time. Initially, Yuan Tiexin had brought Cold Autumn and the other trainees here to teach them not to be too arrogant, showing them that there were many experts in the virtual gaming world. He had also wanted to show them a true monster. Unfortunately, Silver had not made an appearance this time. However, their gains from watching the battle between Sky and Black Flame should be sufficient. Yuan Tiexin had even hoped to see a confrontation between Black Flame and Silver. Just what kind of outcome would such a battle yield? "Black Flame is very strong. With my current strength, I am no match for him," the prideful Cold Autumn admitted softly. "However, I will continue to work hard! Sooner or later, I will surpass him!" "Hahaha! That''s right! This is the sort of mindset you must possess! It seems that this trip here has not been a waste at all!" Yuan Tiexin nodded with satisfaction. Suddenly, he heard the ring of his communicator, surprising him. After all, this was a call from none other than the Secret Pavilion''s Guild Leader. 745 Eternally Remembered Strike Chapter 745 - Eternally Remembered Strike After Red Feather gave the order, the elite army the Star Alliance had sent to deal with Zero Wing''s main force retreated, leaving behind only a small squadron to deal with the Battle Demon. The elite legions of the Star Alliance and the various large Guilds, which fought elsewhere on the battlefield, also began to retreat, preparing to leave the Stoneclaw Mountains. "It''s too late to retreat now!" Shi Feng sneered as he swept his gaze across the fleeing Star Alliance army. Immediately, he sent a command through the Guild chat, saying, "All elite legions, activate the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array!" There was why Shi Feng had previously split Zero Wing''s army into ten separate elite legions. The Stoneclaw Mountains'' outer region was vast. However, there were only ten paths that led to the Dungeon''s teleportation array. As soon as the war began, Shi Feng had used the Guild War Order to seal off the Stoneclaw Mountains. Any player within could not escape with a Return Scroll; the only way to leave the Dungeon was by using the teleportation array. There were two methods of using magic arrays in God''s Domain. The first method used a magic array aggressively to suppress the enemy. The second use was defensive. Due to the unique characteristics of Barrier Magic Arrays, once these magic arrays were activated, enemies trapped inside the barrier could not leave. Similarly, nobody would be able to enter the barrier unless they destroyed the magic array itself. However, it was not easy to destroy a magic array. A lot of time was required to do so. Attacks from outside the array would be weakened. Normally, it was much easier to destroy a magic array from inside. The Nine-star Polar Domain was no exception. Hence, Shi Feng had sent Zero Wing''s ten elite legions to guard the ten paths. When the elite legions activated their Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array, they would prevent the Star Alliance and other large Guilds from leaving the Stoneclaw Mountains. They could then take the opportunity to gain more from this war. With Shi Feng''s command, the barrier parties mobilized, every one of them revealing the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Scroll they had held on to all this time. As the ninety players unfurled the Magic Scrolls in their hands, ten massive magic arrays suddenly appeared above the battlefield, enveloping a large portion of the battlefield and sealing all exits out of the Stoneclaw Mountains. "What''s going on? Why have my Attributes decreased?" "Damn it! I don''t even have 6,000 HP right now!" The various Guilds'' elite members, who had forced Zero Wing''s elite legions into a constant retreat, suddenly discovered something amiss. Their Attributes had decreased by 40%. Their attacks could not cause any significant damage to Zero Wing''s elite members at all. In contrast, Zero Wing''s elite members, whose Attributes remained unchanged, could finish them off with just a few hits. Suddenly, Zero Wing''s enemies began to panic. Although the players caught outside the magic array tried to help and constantly attacked the barrier with Spells, the effect of their attacks were minimal. The magical class players maintaining the Nine-star Polar Domain did not lose much Mana from their attacks at all. "It''s our turn now!" Seeing the various Guilds'' panicking elites, Zero Wing''s elite members rushed forward to resolve the battle. Originally, they had needed roughly four or five attacks to defeat their enemies. Now, they only needed two or three hits to do so. On the other hand, their enemies now required roughly eight or nine hits to kill them. The battle was one-sided. Moreover, the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array was like a knife at their throats. The magic arrays had cut off their retreat. "Aqua, use the Mana Pulse Cannon to support the legions. Everyone else, guard the Cannon and clean up the battlefield." After Shi Feng issued his commands, he activated Wind Rider and flew down the mountain. The Nine-star Polar Domain would not hold the Star Alliance and its allies for long. The various large Guilds would escape by the time the Battle Demon reached them. However, if he killed his enemies'' commanders, the remaining elite players would run like a headless chicken. He would significantly reduce the elite army''s momentum, earning more time for his army. "Someone''s flying towards us!" the retreating Star Alliance members suddenly shouted as they glanced towards the sky. Everyone turned to see the flying figure. "Black Flame!" "It''s Black Flame!" As the figure approached, the elites recognized Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. "Charging at us alone? Do you really think the Star Alliance is that easy to bully?!" Red Feather also noticed Shi Feng rapidly approach their army. He bellowed," Ranged players, shoot him down! Anyone who kills Black Flame will be rewarded with a set of top-tier equipment, 500 Gold, and a promotion to core member!" A first-rate Guild had many members. However, only a few could become core members. Without extremely powerful combat skills, becoming one of the Guild''s elites was generally their limit. Meanwhile, there was a qualitative difference between the treatment an elite member received and what the core members enjoyed. Not only did core members have priority on good equipment, but they also received a bountiful salary each month. One could earn far more Credits as a core member than they could as at an office job in a large corporation. One could say that core members were considered formal internal staff in a first-rate Guild while an elite was merely external staff. The benefits were on a completely different level. "Black Flame, die!" The Star Alliance''s elites shouted excitedly. Thousands of ranged players began casting their Spells and nocking their arrows as they awaited Shi Feng''s arrival. As Shi Feng grew closer to the elite army, Spells and arrows began to fly towards him. However, with Wind Rider''s speed increase, Shi Feng had little trouble evading the Spells and arrows. Moreover, as these elite players launched their attacks based on their predictions of Shi Feng''s movement, he only needed to fly out of range to avoid the attacks. Like this, Shi Feng advanced effortlessly, weaving his way through the rain of Spells and arrows. From afar, it seemed as if Shi Feng danced amidst the countless Spells and arrows. As a result of his frightening speed, Shi Feng left behind one afterimage after another, confusing the Star Alliance''s elites. None of them could follow Shi Feng''s movements. Seeing Shi Feng approach, instead of being affected by Shi Feng''s frightening momentum, Red Feather sneered as he took out a crimson Tier 2 Magic Scroll from his bag. "Black Flame! You''re the one who will die today!" Red Feather acknowledged that none of his own Spells would land on the fast-moving Shi Feng. However, the Tier 2 Magic Scroll he held was a different story. Tier 2 Spell, Holy Spears of Flame! Suddenly, 36 Flame Spears appeared around Red Feather, the scorching fire increasing the surrounding temperature. "Black Flame! Turn to ash!" Red Feather waved his staff when he saw that there were only 30 yards left between him and Shi Feng. The 36 Flame Spears transformed into streams of light as they shot towards Shi Feng. The Flame Spears were much faster than Shi Feng, taking only an instant to cross the 30 yards. The Flame Spears blocked any path of escape, giving Shi Feng no room to dodge. Meanwhile, the Holy Spears of Flame was an unblockable Sacred Spell. Every spear rivaled a Lord ranked monster''s power. It was an extremely powerful Spell. Just as the Spears were about to strike Shi Feng, he suddenly disappeared. None of the Flame Spears hit their mark. "You!" Before Red Feather could react, he discovered Shi Feng in front of him. Blue arcs of electricity circled Shi Feng''s body, crackling as they sparked. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! Shi Feng''s figure dashed past Red Feather, leaving behind a blue afterimage that remained for a relatively long time. Red Feather fell to the ground, his body lying motionless. His HP, which had been over 8,000, dropped to nothing. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s figure had long since departed, leaving the Star Alliance elites in a daze. They would carry this scene forever in their minds. While thousands of players bombarded him with attacks, Shi Feng had managed to kill Red Feather with one hit. All they could do was stare at Shi Feng''s back as he departed! 746 Breaking Through Flowing Water Chapter 746 - Breaking Through Flowing Water The retreating elite members weren''t the only ones who saw Shi Feng kill Red Feather. The Secret Pavilion members, who had been preparing to depart from the battlefield, also saw the attack. With a flash of blue light, the battle had been over. No one from the Secret Pavilion understood what had just happened. Despite the thousands of elite players and Red Feather''s Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Shi Feng had killed Red Feather instantly and left without so much as a scratch. It was simply inconceivable. Shi Feng''s attack was even faster than the one he had used to kill Sky. Who could possibly contend with that kind of speed? "Black Flame was still hiding his strength when he faced Sky?" Yuan Tiexin was shocked. As for the Secret Pavilion''s trainees, everyone was speechless, chills crawling down their spines. Ordinary elite members might not have caught the crucial moment of the fight, but they had seen it. Rather than his dodging capabilities, the speed of Black Flame''s attack had been truly frightening. They had only seen Black Flame brush past Red Feather. None of them had seen Black Flame''s sword leave its sheath. They stood too far away, so they had not been able to see the attack too clearly. However, Red Feather had taken the hit personally. He should have seen Black Flame''s technique clearly. Moreover, due to God''s Domain, both ordinary players and experts'' sharp intuition had improved significantly. In the moment of death, this wild-like intuition could allow them to evade attacks. Expert players, in particular, had an easier time and a higher chance to evade. Red Feather was an expert ranked on the God''s Domain Experts List, which the Secret Pavilion published. His strength was extraordinary. Although he had yet to reach the Half-step Refinement Realm, he possessed bountiful combat experience with very high Basic Attributes to back it up. His ability to respond to danger was first-class among experts. Even Cold Autumn, a genius proclaimed by the Secret Pavilion, might not be as good as Red Feather in this aspect. Yet, an expert with such fast reactions had not reacted in the least when Black Flame had attacked him. It was as if Red Feather''s intuition had vanished during that moment. Only when he had died did he realize that he had been struck. This was the cause behind the Secret Pavilion members'' shudders. Although the Attack Speed Black Flame displayed when he faced Sky had been astounding, their eyes had only failed to keep up with Black Flame''s sword. Now, however, they had not even realized when Black Flame had attacked. They had only seen the streak of rapidly dissipating blue light. --- Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who had already pulled away from the elite army, was not particularly satisfied with his performance. Sure enough, it won''t be easy to replicate that sensation again. After killing Red Feather, Shi Feng recalled the move he used to kill Sky. The principle behind One Spear, Six Transformations was similar to his Void Steps. One Spear, Six Transformations was a technique that used special attack methods to overload the opponent''s brain with complex information, causing their brain to ignore this information, not allowing them to perceive the attack. Only when the spear truly threatened their life would their brain dispel this ignorance. However, at that point, the spears were already under their noses, and it was too late to react. Even with his advantage of Attributes, Shi Feng could barely block two or three spear images. It was practically impossible to block all six. Shi Feng was only able to employ such a technique with his body. However, Sky could employ the technique on his attacks; it was astounding. The body''s Movement Speed was far inferior to its Attack Speed. Hence, it was exponentially more difficult to employ such a technique with one''s attacks. Moreover, for this kind of technique, the faster it was, the more difficult the technique was to use. One was required to carry out a series of complex motions within an extremely short period to execute the technique. Only with overly complex information would the brain refuse to accept the image, choosing to ignore it. As someone who had a profound understanding of this technique, Shi Feng had no choice but to close his eyes and shut out all visual information. Instead, he chose to rely on his other sensory organs, his wealth of combat experience, and his sharp intuition to dodge Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations. With his absolute advantage regarding Attributes, it was possible. If he maintained a distance of roughly one yard away from Sky''s attack range and evaded the instant he sensed the Berserker''s spear displace the air around him, he would have sufficient time to dodge the incoming attacks. This was precisely the reason that Shi Feng had avoided Sky''s aggressive attacks while launching his own counterattack. In a battle between experts, it was extremely dangerous to shut out one''s visual sense because, among a person''s five senses, one''s sight absorbed the most information. Ordinary players relied on sight the most. If a player lost their sight, they would be crippled, wounding their combat power. However, while Shi Feng had closed his eyes and evaded Sky''s One Spear, Six Transformations, he discovered that his perception of the world had changed. Without his sight, his concentration had focused on his surroundings. He no longer focused on his enemy. When he faced the threat of death, he discovered that his perception had become much clearer than before. Although he had not been able to see Sky''s movements, he had sensed the spear''s position, which allowed him to have an increasingly easy time to dodge the Berserker''s attacks. Finally, when Sky executed One Spear, Nine Kills, Shi Feng realized what the Void Realm actually was. At that moment, it was as if his environment were a part of his body. It felt like the martial arts concept of harmony between man and nature. At that moment, Sky''s spear ceased to confuse him. In the end, Shi Feng had opened the last door of the Realms of Refinement. Void Realm! After reaching the Void Realm, Shi Feng could see the general attack range of One Spear, Nine Kills with a single glance. Hence, Shi Feng brandished Killing Ray to block every single strike. If comparing Attack Speed, Shi Feng, who had activated Thunder God''s Descent, could not lose. However, when Shi Feng landed the final strike against Sky, he noticed a crack in space. He unconsciously swung Killing Ray along that space. By the time he was aware of what was happening, Sky was already on the ground. When he had killed Red Feather, however, he had not been able to relive that sensation. Only, the bonus speed that Instant Strike provided was simply astonishing, so much so that Red Feather could not react to his attack. Hence, Shi Feng was somewhat dissatisfied with this result. After Shi Feng killed Red Feather, Red Feather''s elite army fell into a turmoil. None of the elites knew what to do. Moreover, after watching Shi Feng''s performance, many of them were scared witless as they scattered. If killing Red Feather generated such a result, Shi Feng could not let the other legion commanders off the hook. On top of his own battles, Shi Feng directed the Battle Demon to kill the Star Alliance and their allies'' commanders. Very quickly, chaos broke out on the battlefield. --- "Damn that Black Flame! He is trying to wipe us out!" After receiving the reports from the Star Alliance''s various elite legions, even if Galaxy Past were a fool, he understood Shi Feng''s goal. He then looked at the map of the Stoneclaw Mountains and said through the Guild chat, "Everyone, gather at the northwest mountain path! We''ll break through as one!" With mayhem overwhelming the battlefield, breaking through multiple exits would be too time-consuming. They would only play into Shi Feng''s hands if they did so. Hence, Galaxy Past chose to gather the Star Alliance''s army at the nearest exit path, focusing their power into a single point. With this, they could smash through Zero Wing''s defense. A moment later, under Galaxy Past''s command, the Star Alliance''s elite army gathered at the northwest mountain path and began to attack the Nine-star Polar Domain madly. Despite Zero Wing''s elite members retaliating, the effect was minimal. The nine players maintaining the magic array lost their Mana rapidly. After a few minutes, the Nine-star Polar Domain shattered. The Star Alliance members rejoiced. "Huh? Isn''t that Black Flame?!" "It''s not just Black Flame! Isn''t that Fire Dance and Aqua Rose beside him?!" When the magic array shattered, the players from the Star Alliance with sharp eyesight discovered Black Flame and Zero Wing''s main force members in the middle of the mountain path. Their expressions sank instantly. 747 Harvest of the War Chapter 747 - Harvest of the War Everyone had seen for themselves what kind of powerhouse Shi Feng was. Despite watching from afar, they could not stop their shudder. The fact that Shi Feng was able to kill Red Feather, while surrounded by thousands of elite players, and leave unharmed showed them that their lives were in Shi Feng''s hands. If Shi Feng wanted to take any life here, nobody could stop him. It was precisely this reason that kept the various players from the Star Alliance from rejoicing when they shattered the Nine-star Polar Domain. Right now, they only felt fear. Every one of them froze; none of dared to move forward by a single step. One man had deterred an elite army of tens of thousands. Moreover, this was no ordinary elite army. It was the elite army from the Star Alliance, a first-rate Guild. Every elite member was Level 32 or above. In the eyes of ordinary players, they were all experts. Yet, against Shi Feng''s might, these experts lost the will to fight. Furthermore, Shi Feng had many famous experts standing with him. Whether it was Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, and the other upper echelons of Zero Wing, each one of them was even more famous than their Guild Leader, Galaxy Past. Moreover, they all possessed dazzling battle records. Chances were that Zero Wing''s upper echelons were stronger than their Guild Leader. How were they supposed to face these monsters? Zero Wing loomed in front of them. Behind them, Ouroboros waited. The Star Alliance army was stuck between a rock and a hard place. "Zero Wing only has several hundred people guarding the exit! So what if Zero Wing''s main force has joined the fray?! Do they really think they can stop our 50,000-strong elite army?!" Galaxy Past suddenly shouted. "All of you, charge! Wipe them out!" Galaxy Past''s words jerked everyone out of their daze. Although Zero Wing had a Tier 3 Demon, they had Barrier Scrolls, which could to suppress it. Dealing with Zero Wing''s several hundred members would be a piece of cake. Even if Shi Feng were more powerful and could kill a player with every attack, even if everyone let him, it would take a very long time to kill 10,000 players, not to mention 50,000. Suddenly, the Star Alliance members swarmed towards Shi Feng. The players from Zero Wing felt their hearts race as they watched the tide of players surging towards them. They only had several hundred players on their side. Although their Guild''s main force had arrived to assist them, it was impossible to hold off 50,000 players. Even lasting for a short time would be impressive. After all, battles between players demanded an extremely heavy burden of one''s Stamina. Without Stamina, even the strongest expert would fall under an ordinary player''s blade. However, as soon as the Star Alliance''s elites closed in, dozens of Intermediate Frost Grenades exploded among the crowd, freezing the mountain path and decorating it with hundreds of ice sculptures. As soon as they appeared, these ice sculptures shattered and disappeared. Naturally, Shi Feng knew that it was impossible for several hundred players to hold off an army of 50,000. However, the Frost Grenades could delay the elite army for long enough for Ouroboros''s army to arrive. Each main force member carried 100 Intermediate Frost Grenades and ten Advanced Frost Grenades, which were significantly more powerful than Intermediate Frost Grenades. With the main force''s strength and the large stock of Frost Grenades, it was child''s play to hold back the Star Alliance''s army until Ouroboros arrived. "Black Flame!" Galaxy Past gnashed his teeth as the Frost Grenades appeared once more. At this point, the fearsome might of the Frost Grenades had embedded itself into everyone''s minds. Previously, Zero Wing''s elite legions had damaged the various large Guilds significantly with these Frost Grenades. To deplete Zero Wing''s supply, the various Guilds had sacrificed a large chunk of their armies. If the Star Alliance showed its fear and halted its rampant assault, Zero Wing wouldn''t need to waste their Grenades to buy time. However, if the Guild proceeded, it would pay a horrific price. "Guild Leader, are we continuing the charge or not?" one of the Star Alliance''s commanders asked. "Charge! I refuse to believe that Zero Wing has that many tools!" Galaxy Past shouted, a chill running through his troops. Neither advancing nor retreating was a good option. Hence, even if he knew that they would slam into a brick wall, they needed to charge past Zero Wing''s blockade. If they waited until Ouroboros''s army arrived, none of them would leave this place alive. Suddenly, the Star Alliance launched a full charge. Zero Wing''s main force, who were throwing Frost Grenades, had nearly buckled under the flood. The Star Alliance''s assault was fierce. These players showed zero regard for their lives as they pushed forward. Many MTs activated all of their Lifesaving Skills, significantly increasing their maximum HP and reducing the damage they took. The Intermediate Frost Grenades were already half as effective against players. Now, its damage reduced by another half. At this moment, each Intermediate Frost Grenade only dealt around -200 damage to the Alliance''s MTs. With over 14,000 HP, not even 60 or 70 Intermediate Frost Grenades would be enough to kill them. As a result, Zero Wing''s 70-plus main force members threw their Grenades as fast as they could, barely holding off the assault. As Shi Feng charged towards the Star Alliance''s army, he upgraded the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Aura of Fire to Level 9. As a result, Shi Feng''s Level fell from 38 to 37. However, the Aura of Flame''s Activatable Skill, Firestorm, instantly improved. Previously, the Skill only inflicted 1,000% damage within a range of 30*30 yards for 6 seconds and had a Cooldown of five minutes. After its upgrade, it inflicted 1,200% damage within a range of 45*45 yards for 6 seconds with a Cooldown of five minutes. Although upgrading the Skill by two Levels did not increase its damage by much, the Skill''s range had increased by 1.5 times. The Skill could now cover over half of the mountain path. Suddenly, an inferno roared in the middle of the mountain path, transforming the frozen land into a scorching hell. Even an MT who had activated all of their Lifesaving Skills only lasted two seconds inside this inferno. Six seconds later, the smoke cleared to reveal a large area empty of players but littered with weapons and equipment. The dropped items nearly formed a small mountain. The least valuable items were Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. It was mainstream equipment for God''s Domain players right now, and each piece could sell for at least 40 or 50 Silver. Meanwhile, nearly 5,000 pieces of equipment decorated the ground. Most of it had dropped from players who died under the Frost Grenade assault. Converted to Coins, the equipment was worth at least 2,500 Gold. Meanwhile, this harvest had only required a brief moment of effort. Shi Feng also collected plenty of Immortal Souls. Despite a limit of 10 yards, Shi Feng still managed to collect several hundred Immortal Souls. If he collected 10,000 souls, he would qualify to establish his own city. A city was different from a town. A town''s location was predetermined by the system. On the other hand, players could choose where they wished to build their city. Moreover, after capturing a town, one had to reconstruct the town from scratch, developing it into a city slowly. The time involved was long. On the other hand, the Sherlyn''s quest would reward Shi Feng with the qualifications to construct a city. Before him was the perfect chance to complete this quest. There were two conditions to collect Immortal Souls. The first condition was the limit of 10 yards. The second was the Level limit. There could not be more than 5 Levels between Shi Feng and his prey. Currently, the Star Alliance''s elites were at least Level 32. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was now Level 37. It just so happened that he could absorb all of their Immortal Souls. If he missed this opportunity, he would not find one like it again. There weren''t enough people before. Now that so many are here, I should get enough Immortal Souls. Shi Feng could not help his smile as he looked towards the distant Galaxy Past. Retrieving a blue Magic Scroll from his bag, he activated Wind Rider and dashed towards the Guild Leader. 748 One Mans Strength Chapter 748 - One Man''s Strength When the Firestorm swept through the land, it turned the mountain path into a river of fire. Watching the players inside the fire turn to ash horrified everyone. "This Spell sure is scary. Luckily, I wasn''t with the front line," a Level 32 Shield Warrior in silver heavy armor gulped as he watched the flames in front of him. He had only been a thread away from losing his life. Had he taken another step forward, he would have died like the Guardian Knight who had been in front of him a second ago. The Guardian Knight had over 12,000 HP and had Protection Blessing and Magic Resistance Aura activated. The Guardian Knight had even received a Truth Shield from a Cleric and a Defense Blessing from an Oracle. Yet, said Guardian Knight still evaporated in a matter of seconds. "Huh? Someone''s heading this way?" The heavy-armored Shield Warrior suddenly discovered a figure charging straight for him. "Someone actually dares to face us alone?! Brothers, let''s f*ck him up!" a Level 32 Berserker snarled as he raised his heavy sword. The Berserker immediately received an enthusiastic response from his companions, they all took up a stance to welcome the approaching enemy. After the enemy toyed with them using the Frost Grenades, resentment filled these players'' hearts. Now that a fool charged at them blindly, this was the perfect chance to let off some steam. The heavy-armored Shield Warrior squinted, trying to see the figure hidden in the smoke. When he glimpsed Shi Feng''s general appearance, he shouted, terrified, "Wait! I think that''s Black Flame!" The dozen or so Berserkers and Shield Warriors, who had activated Charge, could not help their shock. However, as they had already activated their Skills and were only a dozen or so yards away from Shi Feng, retreat was no longer an option. Every one of them hardened their resolve as they aimed their most powerful Skills at Shi Feng. To Shi Feng, however, these Berserkers and Shield Warriors'' Attack Speeds were simply too low. Moreover, these dozen or so players had already entered Shi Feng''s range. Now that Shi Feng was in the Void Realm, his perception allowed him to see the attack trajectories of these dozen or so players with a single glance. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s footwork changed. Like a cool breeze, he swept through the pincer attack. As he passed these players, the Killing Ray in his hand left behind several streaks of dazzling blue light on their bodies. On the other hand, none of the enemies'' swords and sabers even touched Shi Feng. In seconds, over a dozen plate-armor classes died, each dropping a weapon or piece of equipment as they fell to the ground. Over a dozen Immortal Souls flowed into the marking on Shi Feng''s hand. If these people had known that the players who Shi Feng killed would lose their Immortal Souls, not being able to log into the game for a few days, in addition to the usual Level and Skill Proficiency loss, they probably would have sacrificed themselves to the river of fire before letting Shi Feng get near them. "How is this even possible?" Everyone from the Star Alliance, who watched from a short distance away, were dumbfounded as Shi Feng finished off over a dozen players in a matter of seconds. They felt a weight that they had never experienced pressing down on them, their breathing growing haggard as a result. Previously, they merely thought that Shi Feng was amazing and powerful. However, this kind of power was somewhat illusory for them. They did not fully understand it. However, only after facing this power themselves did they realize how massive a gap there was between them and Shi Feng. Now that they realized Shi Feng''s true power, they nearly lost their grip on their weapons from fear. And although they tried to move, neither their hands nor their feet responded. Suddenly, everyone thought that their previous idea of overwhelming Shi Feng with numbers was childish. By the time they returned to their senses, Shi Feng had appeared right before them. In the next moment, numerous streaks of blue light bloomed on their bodies. There sure are a lot of people. As Shi Feng glanced at the crowd of Star Alliance members blocking his way, he lifted Killing Ray and slashed downwards. Thundering Flash! Suddenly, several lightning strikes slithered towards the Star Alliance players, leaving behind dazzling electric arcs in the air. With a single move, Shi Feng gained dozens of Immortal Souls and cleared a path for himself. By the time the Star Alliance members reacted and tried to surround and contain Shi Feng, he had already dashed into the crowd and began a slaughter. Chop! Earth Splitter! Thunder Flame Explosion! Skywheel Sword! Shi Feng leisurely harvested the Star Alliance''s lives, one after another. Despite the elite members throwing all sorts of Control Skills at Shi Feng, who had activated the Aura of Space, none of these Control Skills had taken effect. As for the various attacks sent at him, with his Movement Speed, none of them even came close to hitting him. Frequently, onlookers watched bodies soar into the air, hitting the ground with a thud far from the Star Alliance''s elite army. Those who watched were stupefied. Not only had Shi Feng''s onslaught slowed the Star Alliance''s offensive, but he had also killed a large fraction of the Star Alliance''s elites. Shi Feng was unstoppable as he rushed through the Star Alliance''s army. As Zero Wing''s members watched the slaughter, their fighting spirits burned within them as they joined the offensive. --- "He''s so strong!" "Black Flame can actually hold off the Star Alliance''s assault by himself? Is he even a player?" The players from the Secret Pavilion watching from afar were stunned. Shi Feng''s astonishing performance even aroused many of the Pavilion''s female players. Despite being surrounded by enemies, not only did Shi Feng''s rampage continue without pause, but he was also able to evade everyone''s attacks in the limited space. This feat was immensely difficult. The Secret Pavilion''s experts were quite confident that they could handle 100 elite players by themselves. During the battle, they would try to choose the most favorable terrain for their fights, using it to funnel their opponents, limiting the number they had to face at a single time. This way, they would have a much easier time defending against and dodging attacks. However, when the enemy surrounded them, the difficulty of defending and dodging increased exponentially. They would most likely last only a moment before they died. Even Cold Autumn, who was known as a genius of the new generation, would be lucky if he lasted even 20 seconds. However, Shi Feng had already lasted over a minute. Moreover, he had yet to receive any damage. --- "Black Flame!" Complex emotions filled Galaxy Past''s heart as he watched Shi Feng. The Star Alliance''s overall strength had clearly surpassed Zero Wing''s by a large margin. The Alliance had even received assistance from various Guilds. They had amassed a force that not even Zero Wing and Ouroboros combined could defeat. Yet, at the end of the day, he never would''ve imagined that In this war, involving hundreds of thousands of elite players, Zero Wing grasped the outcome, dominating simply because they had Shi Feng on their side. It should have been impossible for a single player to change the outcome of a major Guild War, yet at this moment, that is exactly what had happened. Moreover, this domination occurred right before his very eyes. "This will end now!" Killing intent flashed in Galaxy Past''s eyes as he lifted his greatsword and charged at Shi Feng, shouting, "Everyone, attack him as one!" Even Twilight Echo''s Guild Leader, Glorious Echo, took action. Over a hundred experts also circled to Shi Feng''s back stealthily. 749 Wargod Possession Chapter 749 - Wargod Possession "Galaxy Past finally can''t endure it." Yuan Tiexin could not help but smile as he watched Galaxy Past, who rushed at Shi Feng. Although it was impossible for Shi Feng to wipe out the Star Alliance''s army, even if Galaxy Past let the Swordsman be, doing so would wound the Alliance''s morale severely. If Galaxy Past did not stop Shi Feng''s unrestrained slaughter, the elite members'' opinions of their Guild might hit rock bottom. When Ouroboros''s army arrived, the Star Alliance would truly be finished. However, with this opportunity, Yuan Tiexin would finally see Shi Feng''s limits. During the battles against Sky and Red Feather, Shi Feng had shown rapid improvements to his combat power. Initially, Yuan Tiexin merely thought that Shi Feng''s stunning performances against Sky and Red Feather were a result of his overwhelming Attributes. However, after seeing Shi Feng last so long while surrounded by elites, yet not receiving any damage This was no longer a matter of superior Attributes. Without stepping into the Void Realm, which allowed one to perceive one''s environment as if it were a part of their own body, it was impossible to dodge so many Spell and arrow attacks coming from behind accurately. Yuan Tiexin suddenly realized something that made his skin crawl. The Secret Pavilion had collected plenty of information regarding Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. Yuan Tiexin, himself, had read the reports on Black Flame multiple times. In the beginning, Black Flame had gained his fame in Star-Moon Kingdom through his identity as a forger, earning himself the title of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Chief Forger. However, as Black Flame began to appear in battle, everything had changed. Black Flame had relied on absolute strength to defeat his enemies. Through his achievement of killing his enemies with a single hit, he had gained the title of One-hit Asura. However, Black Flame''s performance had been a result of his excellent equipment and very high Basic Attributes. As for his combat standards, he was merely a top-tier expert in the eyes of the general public. He had not even been a match for Cold Autumn when it came to combat standards. He was only someone with a wealth of combat experience. He could not hold the attention of the major powers in God''s Domain. Yet, as he participated in more battles, Black Flame''s combat standard surprised the public again and again. He had gone from Half-step Refinement Realm to reaching the Refinement Realm fully, then entering the Flowing Water Realm as well. As his battle count increased, Black Flame''s abilities increased. Now, he had reached the Void Realm Yuan Tiexin refused to believe that Black Flame''s battles had just been acts. Moreover, experts who had set foot into the Realms of Refinement had their own pride. They would not suppress their strength to deal with a weakling. There was no point to that. ince it wasn''t an act, Yuan Tiexin could only think of one possibility. Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, had improved with an intensely terrifying speed. Compared to the horror of Black Flame''s Basic Attributes, his growth was what truly frightened people. The Secret Pavilion considered Cold Autumn a genius because he was young. In addition, despite training with the Pavilion for less than a year, he had already reached the Half-step Refinement Realm and could break through to the Refinement Realm at any moment. Cold Autumn''s growth was even faster than Yuan Tiexin''s when he had been young. But, what about Black Flame? How long had it been since God''s Domain launched? In less than two months, Black Flame had gone from someone who was not even a Half-step Refinement Realm expert to a true Void Realm expert. Was he even still human? Even Martial Dragon, someone whom the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had considered a genius that only appeared once every ten years, would not be a match for Black Flame. In the future, Black Flame might very well become one of the virtual gaming world''s monsters. With that in mind, Yuan Tiexin decided that, even if Zero Wing suffered defeat in this war, he would offer to aid Zero Wing in securing Stone Forest Town, taking the opportunity to get associated with the Guild. God''s Domain, as a virtual reality game, was massive. It was different from the virtual reality games they had seen in the past. Even a Super Guild should not consider the idea of monopolizing the game. Moreover, the waters of the virtual gaming world were relatively deep. Now that various major international corporations had put a foot in as well, the virtual gaming world had become far more complicated. If the Secret Pavilion could gain a powerful ally like Zero Wing, it would benefit the Pavilion''s development in the future. The Pavilion could seize more opportunities and gain a stronger influence. --- Just as Yuan Tiexin plotted to strengthen the relationship between the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing, over a hundred figures approached Shi Feng with astonishing speed. "I''ll hold his attention! Find an opportunity to attack!" Galaxy Past commanded through the team chat as he approached Shi Feng. He then retrieved a deep-blue potion from his bag. Shi Feng might be able to fight with relative ease while surrounded by elite players, but it would be a different story if he were surrounded by expert players. It was extremely difficult for elite players to push their virtual bodies to their limits. However, this was not an issue for experts. They could do so easily. Naturally, Shi Feng had no trouble with elite players if he fought with everything he had. However, it was a vastly different story against experts who also pushed themselves to their limits. "Black Flame, I''ll teach you that a first-rate Guild is not easy to deal with!" Galaxy Past shouted. He then dumped the deep-blue potion down his throat. At the same time, he activated his Berserk Skill, Wargod Possession. Suddenly, not only did his body grow a size larger, but it also released a brilliant golden glow. His aura was even stronger than a Lord ranked monster, and this sudden change sent a ripple of shock through the Star Alliance''s army. Since the various Guilds had learned of Zero Wing''s Berserk Skills, they had spared no effort to collect their own. Galaxy Past had even mobilized the entire Guild''s strength and lost several thousand elite players to obtain Wargod Possession, the Berserk Skill that all Berserkers dreamed of having. Wargod Possession was a Tier 1 Taboo Skill. Its effects could even rival an ordinary Tier 2 Berserk Skill. Moreover, the Skill was very well-suited for the Berserker class. Upon activation, it instantly increased the user''s Strength by 150%, all other Attributes by 80%, and Defense by 200%. Moreover, the less HP the user had, the higher the Strength bonus the user received. The only shortcoming the Skill had was its short duration of 20 seconds. Once those 20 seconds passed, the user would enter a weakened state for one hour. The Skill also had a 24-hour Cooldown. It was a forbidden Skill that should only be used during the most crucial moments. However, to deal with Shi Feng, who possessed frightening Attributes, Galaxy Past had no choice but to activate this Berserk Skill. As insurance, Galaxy Past drank an Extreme Speed Potion, a rare, high-level potion that he had obtained from a quest. The potion increased Movement Speed by 100% and Attack Speed by 150% for 30 seconds with a Cooldown of one hour. With the effects of Wargod Possession and the Extreme Speed Potion, it was not entirely impossible to kill Shi Feng. Moreover, not long ago, Shi Feng had used his own Berserk Skill. Berserk Skills generally had very long Cooldowns. Only a short time had elapsed since Shi Feng had last used his. It was impossible for his Berserk Skill to have cooled down already. Without a Berserk Skill, even if Shi Feng''s Attributes were more powerful, he was not a match for Galaxy Past, who had activated a Tier 1 Taboo Skill. "Black Flame! It''s time you know what it feels like to have your Attributes overwhelmed!" Galaxy Past activated Charge and appeared before Shi Feng like a ghost. With a malevolent smile, he swung down his Dark-Gold ranked greatsword, Weeping Silver, violently. Boom! When Weeping Silver descended, an explosion shook the area. The ground beneath Shi Feng''s feet shattered, revealing long sword marks. A Level 32 Shield Warrior, who had accidentally collided with the sword aura, lost his life instantly. Galaxy Past''s horrific power caused everyone to shudder. 750 Berserk Chapter 750 - Berserk Galaxy Past''s performance shocked every player who saw it. Nobody had ever imagined that Galaxy Past was so powerful. Not only was his Strength unmatched, but he was also so fast that people only caught a glimpse of him as he moved. Despite using Violent Strike, one of the most common Berserker Skills, he displayed more power than an AOE Attack Skill. Even a Lord of the same Level would pale in the face of such destructive power. "Black Flame is done for sure this time!" This scene cleared away the Star Alliance''s defeated mood. "As expected of the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader. He actually hid such a card so well." Glorious Echo was also impressed. Although he had his own trump card, it was slightly inferior to Galaxy Past''s. With such Strength and speed, even if Black Flame had not died from the sudden blow, he would be heavily injured. The hundred or so expert players stilled their footsteps, thinking that the battle had ended, that their help was no longer needed. When the dust settled, however, a man, wearing a Black Cloak and wielding an emerald longsword, stood before Galaxy Past, unharmed. "He blocked it? How?" Everyone''s jaws nearly fell to the ground. Shi Feng had actually blocked Galaxy Past''s attack, which had been stronger than a Lord''s. Everyone had thought that Shi Feng might evade the attack, but never had they thought Shi Feng would block it with his sword. Moreover, Shi Feng was still unscathed. Only the ground beneath his feet had fragmented, the cracks spreading out across five yards in every direction. From the state of the ground, they knew how heavy Galaxy Past''s Violent Strike had been. Such immense Strength! Shi Feng felt his hand, which held onto Killing Ray, go numb. Although he had sensed Galaxy Past charge at him, he had not expected the Berserker''s Strength and speed to increase by so much. With that kind of speed, it had been too late to dodge. If not for his perception of his environment having sharpened, he would not have executed Parry in time to block Galaxy Past''s attack. Parry was considered one of a Swordsman''s Lifesaving Skills. It could neutralize one instance of damage coming from ahead of the user. However, the user would not be exempt from the impact. If Galaxy Past''s attack had struck Shi Feng''s body, even with his high Defense and his HP being over 14,500, he would not have died, but he wouldn''t have had much HP left, either. "I want to see just how many Lifesaving Skills you possess!" Seeing that his surprise attack had failed, Galaxy Past, swung Weeping Silver and executed Horizontal Slash. Not only did Horizontal Slash have a larger attack range than Violent Strike, but it was also significantly faster. With the boost from the Extreme Speed Potion, Weeping Silver transformed into a streak of silver light as it shot towards Shi Feng. Galaxy Past completely disregarded his own safety, revealing all sorts of weak points as he attacked. He was fully intent on trading Shi Feng a hit for a hit. In response, Shi Feng used Silent Steps and avoided the devouring white light. Reappearing behind Galaxy Past, he swung Killing Ray down on the Berserker. While using a Skill, players were highly susceptible to revealing weak points if they were not adept with a Skill''s movements. Galaxy Past experienced this for himself. Transforming into a streak of electric-blue light, Killing Ray descended with frightening speed. Even if Galaxy Past had wanted to block the attack, it was too late. However, as if he had expected this, Galaxy Past immediately executed Whirlwind Slash, spinning with his greatsword. He ignored the blue light descending towards him, fully intent on trading damage for damage. In terms of Strength, Galaxy Past had an absolute advantage. Hence, if they traded blows, Galaxy Past would come out victorious. Shi Feng had no intentions of granting Galaxy Past''s wish. With a thought, he activated Defensive Blade. Boom! The blue light slammed into Galaxy Past''s body, stealing over 2,300 of the Berserker''s HP. Meanwhile, although Weeping Silver found its mark, Shi Feng''s Defensive Blade blocked the damage. Such high Defense. Shi Feng clicked his tongue. He wielded the Epic Weapon, Killing Ray. His One-handed Sword Mastery had even reached the Basic Sword King standard, which increased his damage with the one-handed sword by 80%. He could easily finish off a cloth-armor class of the same level with a single hit. Yet, his attack had only inflicted around -2,300 damage. Galaxy Past currently had 21,000 HP. Shi Feng''s single attack had merely devoured slightly over one-tenth of his HP. Just as Shi Feng intended to get a few more hits in, he noticed a Guardian Knight''s Protection Blessing suddenly enveloping Galaxy Past. A Cleric''s Truth Shield and an Oracle''s Defense Blessing also fell over the Berserker. A Healing Light touched Galaxy Past''s head, instantly recovering his HP to full. Quickly, Shi Feng brandished Killing Ray and launched a barrage of attacks. However, all he managed to do was shatter the Truth Shield. He was still short of shattering the Defense Blessing. An Oracle''s Defense Blessing and a Cleric''s Truth Shield were different. The Truth Shield could protect the target''s entire body, and the caster''s Mana determined how much damage it could absorb. Defense Blessing, on the other hand, could only block attacks coming from one direction. However, the target''s maximum HP determined how much damage it could absorb. A Tier 1 Defense Blessing could absorb damage equal to 30% of the target''s maximum HP. Since Galaxy Past had 21,000 HP, a Defense Blessing cast on him could absorb over 6,000 damage. Shi Feng frowned slightly. They were currently surrounded by members of the Star Alliance. If Shi Feng were facing an elite MT, even if said MT activated Shield Wall, he was confident that he could finish off the MT quickly without giving the healers a chance to heal him. Now, however, Galaxy Past''s Defense was simply too high. The Berserker''s HP had also increased to 21,000, and he had the damage reduction from Protection Blessing. It was practically impossible to kill Galaxy Past before the healers recovered his HP. Although the predicament troubled Shi Feng, Galaxy Past was shocked. He finally realized just how massive the gap was between him and Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s Attack Power was insanely high. Wargod Possession had increased Galaxy Past''s Defense by 200%. It would be impressive if expert Berserkers could even deal around -900 damage to him, yet Shi Feng had dealt over -2,300 damage with a single attack, nearly three times higher than those expert Berserkers. If not for the aid from the surrounding experts, he might have lost close to half of his HP from that exchange. "Galaxy, I''ll help you," Glorious Echo had also noticed how massive the gap was between Galaxy Past and Shi Feng in terms of combat standards. Even with the surrounding experts'' help, it would not be easy to take down Shi Feng. Hence, as an additional precaution, Glorious Echo activated his Berserk Skill as well, his Attributes soaring instantly. Although his Berserk Skill, Evil God''s Power, could not compare to Galaxy Past''s Wargod Possession, it was still a very rare Berserk Skill. Moreover, Glorious Echo was a Shield Warrior. His normal HP was already close to 13,000. After activating the Berserk Skill, his HP rose to over 26,000. He also radiated a bloody miasma, which formed a faint layer of blood armor around his body, increasing his Defense significantly. Glorious Echo then revealed a Tier 2 blue Magic Scroll and used it. [Lightning Speed] (Tier 2 Magic Scroll) Increases the target''s Movement Speed by 80%, Attack Speed by 120%, and damage by 20% for 30 seconds. (Cannot be stacked) Cooldown: 1 hour When the Star Alliance members saw the two Guild Leaders activate their own Berserk Skills, their confidence rose. The expert players a short distance away began to support the two Guild Leaders, casting buffs and heals. At this moment, it was practically impossible to kill Galaxy Past and Glorious Echo. "Black Flame, today will be the day you die!" Glorious Echo used Charge, following up with a Justice Roar and releasing a dazzling glow as he forced Shi Feng to focus on him. If he didn''t, Glorious Echo''s Strength and speed would increase significantly, and killing Shi Feng would become much easier. Yet, as soon as Glorious Echo arrived before Shi Feng, he discovered that Shi Feng was smiling. That smile told him two things: everything was under Shi Feng''s control, and they had foolishly jumped into Shi Feng''s trap. Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Suddenly, numerous golden dragon scales covered Shi Feng''s body, the strength of his aura rising exponentially. It felt like they had woken an ancient beast, and one could not help but shiver when this aura swept over them. 751 Ancient, Broken Sword Chapter 751 - Ancient, Broken Sword "Crap! He still has a Berserk Skill!" Galaxy Past was shocked. Hurriedly, he lifted his greatsword and swung it towards Shi Feng, taking the opportunity to assist Glorious Echo. Just as frightened by this sudden development, Glorious Echo instinctively lifted his massive, golden shield. A blue streak of light flashed across them. Boom! Glorious Echo was forced back by six steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground. -527! Although the damage was small, practically negligible compared to Glorious Echo''s 26,000 HP, Glorious Echo''s shield hand was numb and trembling. A grave expression crossed over the Shield Warrior''s face. After activating Evil God''s Power, his Defense had received a massive boost. In addition, as a Shield Warrior, he possessed Skills and equipment that reduced the damage he took. After activating Shield Wall, the damage was reduced by another 60%. He had even blocked Shi Feng''s attack with his shield. And Shi Feng still dealt over -500 damage to him. In terms of Strength, Shi Feng was practically a humanoid Boss. If Glorious Echo had not blocked Shi Feng''s attack, his HP might have dropped by a frightening amount. Suddenly, Galaxy Past''s Weeping Silver slashed at Shi Feng. Just before the streak of silver light bit into its target, Weeping Silver suddenly stopped before Shi Feng, the weapon unable to proceed by even an inch. Unfortunately for Galaxy Past, Defensive Blade had intercepted the attack. "That damned Lifesaving Skill!" Galaxy Past''s previous excited expression vanished. He had forgotten that Shi Feng''s Defensive Blade was still in effect. Xiu! This time, a streak of blue light bloomed on Galaxy Past. A damage of -2,054 points appeared above Galaxy Past''s head, shocking the Berserker. Hurriedly, Galaxy Past brandished his sword in an attempt to block Shi Feng''s follow-up attacks. When Shi Feng brandished Killing Ray, none of them could even see the sword''s afterimage. They could only see the faint blue arcs of lightning that trailed after the Epic Weapon. Numerous blue lights streaked across Galaxy Past''s body. Although Galaxy Past was very fast thanks to the Extreme Speed Potion, he was a Berserker. Even after drinking the Potion, he was only slightly faster than Shi Feng. When Killing Ray''s Lightning effect triggered, Galaxy Past could not see the weapon''s attack trajectory at all. Despite his desperate attempts to defend himself, Galaxy Past only avoided a few of Shi Feng''s attacks. -4,719. -1,984. -2,018. Galaxy Past''s HP fell rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he had lost over half of his total HP. In the next moment, however, several heals soothed his pain, each recovering over 3,000 HP. In an instant, Galaxy Past recovered to full HP. "Hahaha! Black Flame, stop wasting your time. You can''t kill me!" At first, Galaxy Past had thought he was dead for sure. For a moment there, he had completely forgotten about the numerous expert players supporting him from the sidelines. As long as Shi Feng couldn''t instant-kill him, these expert healers would recover his HP immediately. Knowing this, Galaxy Past''s confidence grew. Growing bolder, he took the initiative to attack Shi Feng, disregarding the Swordsman''s attacks. Watching, the frightened Glorious Echo also calmed down and continued charging at Shi Feng. Although neither of them was a match for Shi Feng, as long as they could land one hit out of the dozens of attacks they sent, they would obtain their victory. With both of them having such high Defense and Protection Blessings, I won''t be able to kill them within a short time. Sure enough, Heavenly Dragon''s Power alone won''t be enough. Shi Feng sighed. Suddenly, he leaped and broke away from the two Guild Leaders. "He''s trying to escape! Stop him!" Galaxy Past shouted as Shi Feng fled. His Wargod Possession had a very short duration. If he could not defeat Shi Feng within that duration, they would definitely lose this fight. Hearing Galaxy Past''s command, the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights activated their Lifesaving Skills and rushed at Shi Feng. "Scram!" Shi Feng shouted. Turning, he swung Killing Ray violently. Hurricane! [Hurricane] Deals 200% + (30% * Hurricane Energy stacks) weapon damage in a 20-yard cone and lifts all targets struck into the air, preventing movement for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes. This was one of the Tier 1 Swordsman Set Equipment''s Additional Skills, Hurricane. As Shi Feng had long since built up 10 stacks of Hurricane Energy during his previous attacks, he used Hurricane at its maximum power. Instantly, the dozens of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights were blown into the air. Despite these players having activated Shield Wall and Protection Blessing, they still received over -15,000 points of damage. Some had even received a critical hit of more than -30,000 points. Instantly, every one of these MTs died before they hit the ground. However, Galaxy Past and Glorious Echo had used this brief opportunity to catch up with Shi Feng. I finally have some space. Shi Feng glanced at the approaching Berserker and Shield Warrior. He then retrieved the Dragon Slayer Potion, which he had obtained from the Disaster Treasure Chest, and drank it. [Dragon Slayer Potion] (Consumable) Increases all Attributes by 100% and all Resistances by 100 points for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 hours In reality, Shi Feng didn''t need to use the Dragon Slayer Potion to deal with Galaxy Past and Glorious Echo. He could simply activate Blade Liberation. However, the 20-second weakening effect after the Skill''s duration was a risk that Shi Feng could not afford. Hence, he toughened his resolve and chose to drink the Dragon Slayer Potion instead. That way, he would not receive any negative side-effects that would hamper his combat power later on. After drinking the potion, Shi Feng felt his entire body brim with energy. It felt as if his every attack contained enough power to decimate heaven and earth. "Black Flame, you won''t escape!" After activating Charge and arriving before Shi Feng, Galaxy Past executed the Berserker''s strongest Tier 1 Skill, Lethal Blow. However, Shi Feng suddenly stopped running. With double the Attributes now, Shi Feng turned around and evaded Galaxy Past''s Lethal Blow easily. The Killing Ray then transformed into numerous blue lights that snaked towards the Berserker. Before Galaxy Past realized what had happened, Killing Ray had struck numerous times. -4,418. -9,578. -9,495. In the blink of an eye, Galaxy Past''s HP hit rock bottom, his body falling to the ground. The healers standing at the rear had not even had the time to heal him. When Galaxy Past died, he dropped a piece of equipment and an ancient, broken sword with a golden hilt. Suddenly, the entire battlefield fell silent. The Star Alliance members who had tried to block Shi Feng''s path revealed expressions of disbelief. The Guild Leader they revered had been killed! When Glorious Echo saw his companion hit the dirt, he froze in his tracks, his will to fight vanishing. Shi Feng''s terrifying power left him thoroughly shaken. Shi Feng noticed that Galaxy Past had dropped something extraordinary, so he took the opportunity to pick up the Berserker''s loot while everyone was still caught in their stupor. They all watched in a daze as Shi Feng collected the drops. Nobody dared try to stop him. Seeing as nobody wanted to approach him, Shi Feng smiled faintly as he took a blue Magic Scroll out of his bag. Shi Feng had also obtained this from the Disaster Treasure Chest. [Thunder''s Wrath] (Tier 3 Magic Scroll) Deals devastating damage within a radius of 100 yards for 5 seconds. Although this Magic Scroll was powerful, it had a channeling time of nearly one second. During this time, he could not afford any interruptions. This moment, however, was the perfect opportunity to use it. While everyone struggled with their shock, Shi Feng unfurled the Magic Scroll and channeled the Spell. With himself as the center, he activated Thunder''s Wrath. "Crap! Run, quickly!" Glorious Echo shouted in a panic after realizing what was about to happen. Unfortunately, it was too late. To finish Shi Feng off, the Star Alliance had gathered most of its experts around him. If Shi Feng attempted to hunt down these experts one by one, they would have fled. If he used Thunder''s Wrath, however, none of them would get away. Suddenly, a gigantic magic array appeared in the sky. Countless lightning bolts began to descend. However, area-wide attacks like these usually required around two or three seconds to reach their full potential. During this period, the lightning strikes that snaked down from the sky would gradually increase. Hence, not all players within the affected area would take damage the instant the Magic Scroll activated. Upon activating Thunder''s Wrath, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Space to the Aura of Earth and activated Absolute Defense. The Skill''s duration was just enough to last through the duration of Thunder''s Wrath. Shi Feng then dashed towards the Star Alliance''s expert players. Lightning bolts descended, one after another. Even Glorious Echo, who had the highest HP and Defense among every player present, was vaporized when one of these bolts struck him. Shi Feng weaved his way through the lightning storm as he collected the experts'' Immortal Souls. This fed his current collection rapidly. By the time Thunder''s Wrath ended, the Star Alliance''s expert players had been wiped out. 752 Star-Moons Number One Chapter 752 - Star-Moon''s Number One "Black Flame really is vicious!" Yuan Tiexin could not help his sigh as he looked at the charred corpses in the distance. "The Star Alliance is done for this time." Thousands of Star Alliance elite members had died in an instant. Who knew how much equipment was scattered across the ground? If converted to Coins, just how much one would have to spend to purchase all of that equipment? To the Star Alliance, however, the lost items were only secondary. To deal with Black Flame, the Star Alliance had gone all out and sent most of its experts to surround Shi Feng. Yet, with just one blow, Shi Feng had annihilated all of them. This was an irrecoverable blow to the Star Alliance. Without these upper echelons commanding the war, the Star Alliance''s army would definitely fall into chaos. Zero Wing and Ouroboros''s armies would slaughter the survivors. After players died in God''s Domain, they could not contact those still alive in the game. They could only do so after they revived. However, unlike in Dungeons, players would not revive immediately upon death. They needed to wait for half an hour before they could return to the world of the living. By the time half an hour had passed, the war in the Stoneclaw Mountains would, most likely, be over. At that time, there would be no point in returning. Even Yuan Tiexin could not begin to estimate how many elite members the Star Alliance would lose in this war. However, what Yuan Tiexin did not know was that Shi Feng had not only killed the Star Alliance''s experts, but he had also absorbed many of their Immortal Souls. As a result, these upper echelons would not be able to log into God''s Domain for some time. After losing a war, a Guild did not need to focus on its losses, but whether or not it could stabilize itself. If a Guild''s upper echelons could not log into God''s Domain for two or three days, even Shi Feng could not imagine the chaos that would befall the Guild. Not only had the Star Alliance lost the war, but its upper echelons had also gone missing. Who would want to remain in such a Guild? This was also why plundering Immortal Souls had become a taboo among players in God''s Domain in the past. --- Meanwhile, the reports of Shi Feng wiping out the Star Alliance''s upper echelons with Thunder''s Wrath had begun to spread throughout the official forums. Instantly, the Star-Moon Kingdom forums gone into an uproar. "Black Flame is too godly!" "Damn! Black Flame can win, even surrounded by enemies?! Is he even human?!" "If Zero Wing has such an expert, it won''t have any problems growing stronger!" "Please, carry me!" "Please accept me as your disciple, God Black Flame!" "Although I''ve just joined God''s Domain, I am going to join Zero Wing no matter what!" Only minutes after Black Flame''s battle video posted, it had been upvoted to the number one spot on Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums. Meanwhile, the majority of the kingdom''s players desperately wanted to join Zero Wing. Aside from focusing on Black Flame, players had also grown curious about Zero Wing''s other experts and had begun to investigate the Guild. The moment they checked, however, they were frightened. Zero Wing had three people who had reached the eighth floor of the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower! If one were a veteran player in God''s Domain, they would be very enthusiastic about the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. The Trial Tower had become an important indicator for players'' comparisons against each other. For players new to God''s Domain, it was practically a dream to clear even the first floor. As for veterans, reaching the third floor was their limit; whereas elite players could roughly reach the fourth floor. Meanwhile, ordinary players already considered elite players experts. When forming a party to raid a Dungeon, any party that had an elite player would be the envy of others. An elite player could increase the party''s overall strength, making it a piece of cake to clear a Hard Mode Party Dungeon. As for the experts who had reached the fifth floor, ordinary players looked up at them as if they were stars. A city would only have several hundred experts; some even had less than a hundred. NPC cities'' player population could range anywhere from 70,000 to over 1,000,000. One could imagine just how rare such experts were. In other words, these experts were the top players in an NPC city. Currently, in most of the cities in Star-Moon Kingdom, the highest floor any player had reached was the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. Only the major NPC cities with a player population of over 1,000,000 would have seventh-floor experts. Yet, Zero Wing actually had three people who had managed to reach the Trial Tower''s eighth floor. The players of Star-Moon Kingdom struggled to accept this fact. It was impossible for ordinary players to encounter true experts. Hence, they usually used the Trial Tower as a method of judging experts because the Divine Colosseum''s Tower did not test a player''s Attributes or equipment; rather, it tested a player''s true power. The difference between players was made clear. Each of the Trial Tower''s floors was more difficult than the last. Veteran players could only reach the third floor after fighting through hell and high water. Hence, elite players who reached the fourth floor were treated like experts. However, what about those who managed to reach the eighth floor? No one could even imagine how much power these players had. The Assassin Fire Dance, the Cleric Violet Cloud, and the Cursemancer Aqua Rose[1]... Beneath them were quite a few seventh-floor experts such as the Berserker Rampant Blade, the Berserker Shadow Sword, the Guardian Knight Cola, the Shield Warrior Ye Wumian, the Ranger Minor Wind, the Assassin Flying Shadow, the Elementalist Su Qianliu, and the Cursemancer Blackie. Zero Wing also had many sixth-floor experts Only after a detailed investigation did anyone discover that Zero Wing housed so many top-tier experts. "Zero Wing is simply spectacular! There are actually so many experts in a single Guild!" For a time, the many players in Star-Moon Kingdom began thinking that, if they wanted to become an expert, they would only have a chance at fulfilling that dream by joining Zero Wing. After all, wasn''t Zero Wing''s Guild Leader Star-Moon Kingdom''s top expert? Aside from Aqua Rose, who used to be in Twilight Echo, nobody had ever heard of Zero Wing''s experts before the Guild established. After some research, they discovered that these players had undergone a heaven-defying change after they had joined Zero Wing. This discovery made many players who had withdrawn from Zero Wing to join other Guilds regret their actions dearly. They had begun from the same starting point, yet because of their unfortunate decision, their past companions had become the experts that they revered. --- Inside the Stoneclaw Mountains: After Thunder''s Wrath dissipated and the Star Alliance''s upper echelons were dead, chaos descended on the Alliance''s elite army. The Guild''s elite players scattered, fleeing in all directions and discarding their attempt to charge towards Zero Wing''s blockade. Moreover, Ouroboros''s army had finally caught up and had begun to trap the Alliance''s elite army. As Shi Feng had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and had drunk the Dragon Slayer Potion, he could not idle and let the effects go to waste. He charged into the Star Alliance''s elite army and began slaughtering players like a ferocious beast. On the other hand, none of the Alliance''s elite members showed any will to defend themselves. They only wanted to escape the Stoneclaw Mountains. As Shi Feng massacred the Alliance''s elite members, the system notification he had long awaited for finally arrived. System: Congratulations! You have collected 10,000 Immortal Souls. Rewarding Basic Tyrant title. TL Notes: [1]the Cursemancer Aqua Rose: not a typo. The author has finally remembered that he originally introduced Aqua Rose as a Cursemancer and suddenly decided to change her back. 753 Title: Sword King Chapter 753 - Title: Sword King I''ve finally finished this quest. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the system notification before him. Although it was not difficult to kill 10,000 players in the time-frame Sharlyn had set, it would be very time-consuming if he had gone out of his way to do so. Where would Shi Feng, who already had his hands full with his own tasks, find the time to hunt random players? Now that he had completed the Epic Quest, Immortal Crown, the weight bearing down on Shi Feng''s heart lifted significantly. After all, he still had an extremely deadly Legendary Quest waiting for him. Lord of Balrog''s Fall! If he did not gain the promotion to Tier 2 quickly, only death awaited him. Failing an Epic Quest would partially cripple a player. However, there was still a chance to recover from the blow. A Legendary Quest, on the other hand, was different. If failed, the penalty would render the player''s account useless. In the past, even though many players had encountered the opportunity to undertake a Legendary Quest, they had hesitated for a very long time before making a decision. There were multiple known instances where players, who had not been strong enough, had accepted a Legendary Quest. In the end, they had to delete their accounts and start all over again. Hence, in the past, many players had chosen to pass on the opportunity to challenge a Legendary Quest, either challenging it later or selling the quest''s information to stronger, bolder players. A Legendary Quest''s rewards were incredibly bountiful. Normally, they would reward either a Fragmented Legendary or Legendary item. These were invaluable to a player, and they could push a player''s combat power to the next level. Hence, one could gain quite a profit by selling information about such quests. In the past, many players who had known that they were too weak would sell these Legendary Quests to large Guilds, earning Coins or items to strengthen themselves instead. Others had scolded these players for being foolish. After all, just how much of a boost would a Legendary item offer a player? Even so, many people had still envied such players. After all, it was extraordinarily difficult to complete a Legendary Quest as an individual. Obtaining one or two pieces of Epic Equipment without bearing any of the risks that came with a Legendary Quest definitely made it a worthwhile trade. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A small advantage was more beneficial than a massive risk. Improving one''s strength was the priority. However, a Legendary Quest was not as easy as an Epic Quest. Epic Quests were similar to Epic items in God''s Domain, while Legendary Quests were similar to Legendary items. Although Epic items were very high-end, they would gradually become commonplace among the general populace. A Legendary item, on the other hand, would remain a rarity. Not many players would ever encounter one without heaven-defying luck. Moreover, the players'' decisions to sell the Legendary Quests had been proven a wise one because, among the large Guilds that had purchased these quests, 90% of them had failed to complete their Legendary Quests even after suffering tremendous losses. Many of those Guilds'' experts had been forced to start all over again. Shi Feng knew of a few Legendary Quests he could pick up. However, he wasn''t quite strong enough right now, so he would not try to take these quests on just yet. Yet, Shi Feng never imagined that the Legendary Quest that he tried so hard to avoid would come looking for him instead. "Basic Tyrant title?" Shi Feng was reminded of the Tyrant Bear Cola when he saw this new title. In the past, Cola had ranked at the top among the MTs in Star-Moon Kingdom. However, this achievement had not been due to his excellent combat techniques; rather, it had been his title. That title was Tyrant. However, Tyrant Bear Cola had never revealed his title''s origin in the past. Now, Shi Feng finally understood how he obtained it. [Basic Tyrant] (Title) When title is in use, Fortitude +30, maximum Stamina increased by 20%, and all Attributes increased by 5%. (Requires 100,000 Immortal Souls to upgrade by one Level.) What a powerful title. Shi Feng was stunned. This was only the Basic ranked Tyrant title, yet, not only did it already increase a player''s Fortitude by 30 points, but it also increased their maximum Stamina by 20%. Just how powerful were the Intermediate and Advanced Tyrant titles? Both Fortitude and Stamina were Hidden Attributes. In the past, many people had paid massive prices to add just one point to their Hidden Attributes. Yet, one could obtain both Stamina and Fortitude from just a single title. Not to mention, the Tyrant title also increased a player''s Basic Attributes. In God''s Domain, although Basic Attributes were important, Hidden Attributes were far more powerful. It was especially true for expert players. Fortitude could reduce the consumption of a player''s Stamina and Concentration, whereas Stamina could extend the time a player could spend in battle. Fights between experts of similar strength almost never ended in a short amount of time. Eventually, it would become a competition of Stamina and Concentration. Whoever could outlast the other would be the winner of the fight. Shi Feng had only managed to obtain 10 Fortitude points after taking the risk to open the Disaster Treasure Chest. Even so, this meager amount had thrilled Shi Feng. Now, if he used the Basic Tyrant title, he could obtain 30 Fortitude Points and increase his maximum Stamina by 20%. If he encountered an opponent of roughly equal or greater strength in battle, he could definitely fight a battle of attrition and slowly wear down his opponent. This was why, despite Cola being the MT of only a second-rate Guild, he had been able to push his way through the many obstacles in his path and become one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s top MTs. In fact, as one progressed in the game, Fortitude and Stamina were also extremely important when raiding a large-scale Team Dungeon because the Bosses inside these Dungeons demanded much of one''s Stamina. More often than not, raids would fail not because the Bosses inside large-scale Team Dungeons were overwhelmingly powerful, but because the players raiding these Bosses would collapse from exhausting their Stamina. "Guild Leader, we''ve cleared out most of the elites from the Star Alliance and the various large Guilds. Those still alive have already escaped the Stoneclaw Mountains. Should we hunt them down?" Aqua Rose reported excitedly. This war had truly been a pleasurable one. They had even beaten a massive threat like the Star Alliance to a pulp. Even if the Star Alliance tried to rope the other large Guilds to join hands and capture Stone Forest Town in the future, no one would work with them. "No need for that. Everyone''s tired from the war. Let''s tidy up the battlefield and tally our gains and losses," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. When players left the Stoneclaw Mountains, they could use a Return Scroll to teleport to their respective cities. It would be impossible to pursue these players even if they wanted to. Moreover, they had already achieved their main goal in this war. In the future, any Guild would have to consider their decisions carefully before trying to lay a hand on Zero Wing. Shi Feng left the post-war report to Aqua Rose and the others to manage. After all, he had something more important to deal with right now; he needed to look for Sharlyn and turn in his quest. Shi Feng was already dying to receive the reward for the Immortal Crown. --- As Shi Feng took off to turn in his quest, a huge incident rocked Star-Moon Kingdom. The Secret Pavilion had updated its God''s Domain Experts List. This time, the update had rendered many experts throughout God''s Domain speechless, none of them daring to believe the truth of what they saw. The God''s Domain Experts List was a very credible ranking list in God''s Domain. Experts who ranked on it were all considered extraordinary players. Particularly, the top 500 rankings very rarely saw any fluctuations. It was very difficult to climb the ranks once a player entered the top 500. Meanwhile, since the first publication of the God''s Domain Experts List, the top 100 had never changed. This time, however, someone had finally broken that record. Moreover, not only had someone climbed the ranks, but their title had also changed. God''s Domain Experts List Rank 51: Black Flame Class: Swordsman Title: Sword King 754 Famous Throughout God’s Domain Chapter 754 - Famous Throughout God''s Domain Every one of the experts within the God''s Domain Experts List''s top 100 had been a famous expert in the virtual gaming world for many years. These experts had become overlords in not just one, but several virtual reality games. Each was a master-level character with countless, brilliant battle records. Upstart experts could never hope to compare with these masters. It was already extremely difficult for upstart experts to join the top 1,000. For an upstart expert, joining the top 100 was practically a miracle. Yet, not only had Black Flame achieved a miracle, but he had also jumped to the 51st rank. Excitement over the new development swept through Star-Moon Kingdom. The majority of those top 100 experts resided in God''s Domain''s various empires. Empire players had always been dismissive of kingdom players. Subconsciously, no one truly believed that kingdom players were a match for those from the empires. Yet, Black Flame, who came from Star-Moon Kingdom, had managed to rank 51st on the Experts List. Star-Moon Kingdom''s players were bursting with pride. "The Secret Pavilion is certainly trying hard to flatter this upstart expert, raising his rank to 51 just after a single Guild war. Is he someone from the Secret Pavilion''s son?" "That''s right. Didn''t he just lead an upstart Guild to victory against a first-rate Guild? That has happened many times before in other games, yet I''ve never seen the Pavilion change the ranking list so drastically The top 100 experts have experienced victory in dozens of great wars. The Secret Pavilion is just favoring Star-Moon Kingdom''s players." "There is definitely something fishy about this!" "Black Flame''s title just as absurd. He''s actually calling himself a Sword King! Does he really think he is the king among sword users? Every other Swordsman player in the top 100 could easily beat him to a pulp!" As the God''s Domain Experts List updated, many players from other kingdoms and empires voiced their complaints about the latest change. They all felt that the Secret Pavilion over-exaggerated Black Flame''s achievements. Many of these players were also miffed that an upstart player had surpassed the god-like experts they had looked up to so easily and were skeptical about the Secret Pavilion''s judgment. However, the Secret Pavilion couldn''t be bothered to explain itself. They didn''t need to waste their time mincing words with fools. Shi Feng''s battle video was evidence enough. If these players still could not understand, then there was a problem with their intelligence. Trying to explain further was pointless. If Shi Feng had not displayed the combat standards of a Void Realm expert, the Secret Pavilion would not have granted him the 51st rank. When the other top-tier experts saw this development, they realized that Black Flame was someone who demanded their attention. It was especially true for the top 100 experts. There were three thresholds for all ranking lists the Secret Pavilion published. Only the Pavilion itself and very few experts knew exactly what these thresholds were. The first threshold was the top 400. If an expert had yet to set foot into the Realms of Refinement, then regardless of how brilliant they performed in a game, they would never reach the top 400. If an expert were ranked among the top 400, then it proved that this expert had already set foot into the Realms of Refinement. This was why Shi Feng had only ranked 481st; based on the Secret Pavilion''s previous investigation, Shi Feng had not yet entered the Realms of Refinement. He had only reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. Otherwise, Shi Feng would have had a higher ranking. The second threshold was the top 200. Experts outside of the Flowing Water Realm should not even dream of entering the top 200. Even with the most brilliant of performance, the best rank they could achieve was 201. The third threshold was the top 100. Only those in the Void Realm could earn one of the top 100 ranks. As Shi Feng had shown that he had reached the Void Realm and had defeated the well-known Sky, his rank instantly jumped to 51. Otherwise, the best rank Shi Feng could achieve was around the 80s or 90s. An expert''s position on the God''s Domain Ranking List was not determined by just their strength. Instead, experts ranked based on their performance and battle records in a game. If experts ranked according to strength, then many of the experts on the ranking list would qualify for any positions. If an upstart expert managed to reach the 401st rank on the God''s Domain Experts List, God''s Domain''s top powers would, at most, spare that player a glance, making a note of their existence. They would not consider that person important in the least. Now that Shi Feng had joined the top 100, however, this sudden development forced the major powers to acknowledge him. "Fifty-first? Black Flame is truly interesting." Phoenix Rain''s beautiful eyebrows lifted slightly as she read the God''s Domain Experts List. "He certainly knows how to hide his strength. I had actually failed to notice his true combat standard. It seems that he had not defeated Martial Dragon by luck alone." Previously, Shi Feng had merely been a minor character in Phoenix Rain''s eyes. He had just luckily obtained some top-tier equipment. At most, he would only reign supreme for a short time. However, it was a different story if She Feng had reached the Void Realm. Even Phoenix Rain would have no choice but to treat Shi Feng as an equal. With the Experts List''s latest update, God''s Domain''s top tier players understood one thinganother apex expert had appeared in the virtual gaming world. --- Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: As soon as Shi Feng returned to the city, he discovered that a constant stream of players arrived though White River City''s Teleportation Hall. Moreover, these players'' average Level was quite high, with the lowest among them being around Level 30. Although they were not at the standard of a Guild elite player, they were considerably high-leveled among ordinary players. Meanwhile, as these players arrived, they immediately asked around for directions to Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. "Little brother, do you know where Zero Wing''s Guild Residence is?" a thin man approached Shi Feng, asking politely. This man looked to be in his forties and wore a blue mage''s robe. Behind this middle-aged man were five other people. All five were Level 30, and their equipment was Level 25 Mysterious-Iron rank at the very minimum. In a Guild, these players could definitely join the elite members. Unfortunately, their Levels were slightly off the mark. However, independent players did not have the same advantages as Guild player. Independent players did not have access the various benefits that a Guild offered. They had no choice but to invest some of their time in other aspects. Hence, their leveling speed was slower than Guild players. Shi Feng currently hid under his Black Cloak and had reverted to his original appearance. Both his Level and equipment were also hidden. Hence, no one recognized him. When Shi Feng glanced at this group of players, his eyes instantly lit up with an excited light. The person speaking to him was actually Silent Years, who had been a top-tier expert in his previous life. This man had once ranked within the top 50 among the Oracles of Star-Moon Kingdom. He had even reached the top 10 during his peak. "Big Brother Silent, this person is wearing Zero Wing''s Emblem. He''s from Zero Wing," the female Elementalist beside Silent Years said awkwardly as she jabbed her finger at the Oracle. Suddenly, Silent Years jerked, realizing this. As he had walked up to Shi Feng from behind, he had not noticed the Guild Emblem on the Swordsman''s chest. To think that he had actually asked a member of Zero Wing whether or not they knew where the Guild Residence was "Zero Wing''s Residence is on the city''s central street," Shi Feng said casually, not minding the Oracle''s awkward question. "You guys can just take a carriage there." After saying so, Shi Feng turned and left the Teleportation Hall, riding a horse carriage towards the Library. "Sure enough, Zero Wing is really amazing. It''s no wonder how it became an expert''s playground. I felt so much pressure from a casual member! It seems that we have not wasted a trip. We must join Zero Wing," Silent Years stated as he watched Shi Feng''s departing figure, reverence on his face. His evaluation of Zero Wing increased substantially. Shi Feng had not realized that his casual response had increased Silent Years'' reverence of Zero Wing. 755 City Promoted Chapter 755 - City Promoted Horse carriages rattled up and down White River City''s streets. As Shi Feng rode comfortably in one such carriage, he could feel the tremendous changes that had swept through the city. More horse carriages moved along the streets than before. Moreover, there were more varieties of carriages now. God''s Domain evolved over time. Similarly, NPC cities also changed as time passed. Nothing would stay the same forever. Ordinary players might not think much of the number or variety of horse carriages, but to Shi Feng, who had played God''s Domain for over a decade, these changes symbolized the city''s prosperity. How could one determine how prosperous a city was? The most basic criterion was the city''s horse carriages. It was similar to the cars in a city in reality. In small cities, not only were there fewer cars, but high-class cars were also very rare. In big cities, however, traffic jams were common. One would also see high-class luxury cars all over the city. God''s Domain''s cities were similar in this aspect. When an NPC city''s player population increased, to satisfy the players'' needs, the Main God System automatically increased the number of horse carriages within the city, allowing more convenient travel. Meanwhile, as players consumed more in a city, the system would also release advanced horse carriages. These advanced horse carriages charged more but were much faster. This would allow players to save time when traveling. After all, an NPC city was very large. It was very normal to spend several hours walking from one place to another. Currently, advanced horse carriages had only appeared in five cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. The city with the most carriages was none other than White-River City. One could say that White River City had become Star-Moon Kingdom''s most prosperous city. Unlocking the advanced horse carriage feature was only one of a thriving city''s basic settings. As time passed, various new facilities would open, such as flying tools and the flying transportation feature, which could allow players to reach destinations where teleportation arrays could not. As a result, these features would subtly improve a player''s leveling speed. This was also one of the main reasons that empire players were much higher leveled than kingdom players. Now that White River City has unlocked the advanced horse carriages, with the number of carriages present, the city should not be that far from unlocking the luxury horse carriages. When the city unlocks the luxury horse carriages, players will be able to take the Flying Ship to the Eclipse Gate to level up. It seems I''ll need to prepare for that. Shi Feng could not help but recall the Eclipse Gate, which had been the most famous leveling area that White River City had to offer in his previous life. In the past, by the time White River City had activated the Flying Ship feature, the average player in God''s Domain had closed in on Level 50. Many had even been promoted to their Tier 2 classes. From that moment onwards, players'' Levels in White River City had exploded. This was because White River City''s Flying Ships could access the Eclipse Gate. Of course, White River City wasn''t the only city whose Flying Ships passed through the Eclipse Gate. Every city in Star-Moon Kingdom''s eastern region had Flying Ships that could reach the Eclipse Gate. Four countries would gather at the Eclipse Gate: the Star-Moon Kingdom, the Rhine Kingdom, the Ice Field Kingdom, and the East Spring Empire. It was considered a neutral zone, and the various countries had garrisoned their armies there to prevent the creatures within the Eclipse Gate from invading God''s Domain. Hence, there were plenty of high-level and Army Quests there. A player''s leveling speed at the Eclipse Gate would be roughly double than in other leveling maps of the same Level. Moreover, the Eclipse Gate was a colossal Level 40 to Level 70 map. One could also find plenty of rare herbs and ores in the area, which were all necessary resources to produce high-level potions and equipment. More importantly, the Eclipse Gate was a source for Energy Essence, a resource required to tame Mounts. Taming a Guild Mount required resources. The higher the quality and quantity of resources one had, the quicker one could tame a Mount. At the same time, one could use these resources to hasten a Guild Mount''s growth. Energy Essence was one of the advanced materials required to tame a Mount. Precisely because of this, players coveted the Eclipse Gate. After reaching Level 40, everybody dreamed of having a good Mount. However, they were not that easy to obtain. One had to nurture their Guild Mounts slowly, promoting it as quickly as possible before it could become a part of one''s combat power. However, although one could level up quickly and obtain plenty of resources at the Eclipse Gate, there was a downside. The Eclipse Gate''s environment was relatively severe. If one did not possess a certain amount of Fire and Ice Resistance, even expert players would lose their lives. Hence, after the Eclipse Gate opened, whether it was in Star-Moon Kingdom or the three surrounding countries, the demand for equipment with Ice Resistance and Fire Resistance Attributes grew. Aside from Ice and Fire Resistance equipment, tools that increased one''s Ice and Fire Resistance were also extraordinarily popular. Although there was still quite a long time before the Flying Ship feature would unlock, Shi Feng felt that he could already begin the necessary preparations. Although Ice Resistance and Fire Resistance equipment sold for a relatively high price right now, once everyone reached the Eclipse Gate, such equipment would double in price. Tools would also sell for far more. Whether it was for improving the leveling speed of Zero Wing''s Guild members or making money by reselling items, now was the perfect time to stockpile these items. I recall Campbell Volcano drops plenty of Fire Resistance equipment and tools. It might not be a bad idea to bring Aqua and the others there to grind. Shi Feng could recall quite a few maps in Star-Moon Kingdom that were a great source for Fire and Ice Resistance equipment. Among them, Campbell Volcano had the highest drop-rates for Fire Resistance equipment. Campbell Volcano was a Level 40 to Level 50 map. However, due to its extreme environment, very few players were willing to venture there. However, after the Eclipse Gate had appeared, Campbell Volcano became one of the most popular locations in Star-Moon Kingdom. No one had visited that map yet. This was a good chance for him to lead the main force members there to develop the map since none of the Bosses had died yet. Bosses killed for the first time would have double their usual drop-rates. Moreover, with the strength of Zero Wing''s main force, they shouldn''t have any issues dealing with a Level 50 Boss. As for the Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they could rely on the Guild''s elite members to continue that harvest. Before Shi Feng realized it, the advanced horse carriage he rode in had already arrived at the Library. The Library''s entrance was the same as usual, with a group of players bunching around the doors, hoping to gain the favor of an NPC noble and gain entry into the Library. Under everyone''s watchful eyes, Shi Feng strode into the Library unhampered. When the NPC guards stationed at the entrance saw Shi Feng, they treated him with respect, shocking many of the loitering players. After entering the Library, as always, Shi Feng headed towards the Star-Moon Hall on the building''s top floor. When the two Level 300 Tier 3 Red Paladins, who guarded Star-Moon Hall''s doors, saw Shi Feng approach, they stopped him. Since when did Tier 3 NPCs guard this place? Shi Feng was surprised. Tier 4 NPCs were already overlords in White River City. Some small cities only had Tier 3 NPCs to safeguard them. Yet, now, two such NPCs guarded the Star-Moon Hall. This was surprising. Normally, only the Palace in Star-Moon City warranted such treatment. "Without permission, outsiders are not allowed to enter!" the Level 200 Red Paladins said as they blocked Shi Feng''s path with their spears. Suddenly, however, a clear, crisp voice floated out from the hall. "Let him in." When the two Level 200 Red Paladins heard this, they immediately retrieved their spears and opened the doors, allowing Shi Feng entry. 756 Fief Chapter 756 - Fief Compared to Shi Feng''s previous visit, a new, large collection of ancient books filled the Star-Moon Hall. Some of these books even radiated Mana that could rival Tier 4 Magic Scrolls. Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were almost as rare as Legendary items in God''s Domain. Tier 4 Magic Scrolls had survived since the ancient era. Shi Feng had yet to hear of anyone who could produce Tier 4 Magic Scrolls. If a book could exude so much Mana that it rivaled a Tier 4 Magic Scroll, one could easily tell that these books were extraordinary. Meanwhile, Sharlyn, who sat high above the hall, had also changed significantly. Although her Level, statistics, and clothing had not undergone any transformations, the pressure she gave off had changed tremendously. She did not have the usual, oppressive aura of a powerhouse. Instead, she felt like the all-encompassing sky. Her presence could be felt from anywhere within the room. Before Shi Feng had approached Sharlyn, he felt his mind clear far more than ever before. He also noticed that the endless streams of Mana in the room were actually moving towards Sharlyn. It was as if Sharlyn were God''s Domain''s heart. This How could this be possible! Shi Feng was shocked when he arrived before Sharlyn. Shi Feng had discovered something that shook him to the core. After reaching the Void Realm, he felt his environment as clearly as the palm of his hand. He could sense everything within a fixed radius of himself to an astonishingly accurate degree. Previously, as Sharlyn had still been outside his range, he had not thought much about not noticing Sharlyn''s energy. Yet, despite standing so close to the woman, he couldn''t feel her at all. Before, the two Tier 3 Paladins had clearly been able to feel her presence. Shi Feng doubted that his sense had failed him. "Has something happened that has led you to find me so urgently?" Sharlyn, who had been reading a book, asked with great interest as her beautiful eyes turned towards Shi Feng. "Lady Sharlyn, I''ve collected the Immortal Souls you requested." Shi Feng displayed the Spirit Seal imprinted on the back of his right hand. Immortal Souls filled the Seal to the brim. "Oh? Good job. With this many Immortal Souls, I''ll be able to repair the Immortal Crown quickly." Sharlyn nodded and tapped her finger in the air. Suddenly, golden divine runes began circling Shi Feng''s right hand. Countless golden threads flowed out of the Spirit Seal, gathering into a ball before flying into Sharlyn''s hand. "Since you have completed your quest, I will fulfill my promise as well. Here, this is for you." Sharlyn waved her hand. In the next moment, a leaf of lambskin parchment appeared in her hand. The parchment then flew towards Shi Feng. The lambskin parchment looked quite ordinary. However, the words on the parchment could tempt any Guild in God''s Domain. tar-Moon Kingdom City Building Order! As long as it was within Star-Moon Kingdom''s jurisdiction, one could construct their own city with this City Building Order. To a Guild, even a Legendary item was not worth as much as this single piece of parchment. Cities were different from towns. In God''s Domain, cities could be built, whereas towns could not. Meanwhile, captured towns'' locations were fixed, but built cities could be chosen casually. One could even build a city in the middle of monsters'' territory. A town''s maximum population usually ranged between 30,000 to 50,000. On the other hand, even the smallest city could hold 200,000 players. This was why, after obtaining their own towns, Guilds would focus all of their efforts on developing the town in the hopes of promoting it into a city as soon as possible. Moreover, as a city demanded a sufficiently large plot of land, one could construct a Mana Tower in the city. With the Mana Tower, any player residing in the city would enjoy increased Stamina and Concentration recovery rates. They could even accumulate the Double EXP buff. Although the accumulation rate was not as generous as a Guild Residence''s, one could still accumulate 10%''s worth of Double EXP buff after 48 hours of rest. Once players reached higher levels, the needed EXP to level up increased tremendously. Currently, Level 30 ordinary players required roughly three or four days to reach the next level. Hence, even a 10% Double EXP buff would significantly reduce the time players needed to grind. Aside from improving one''s Stamina and Concentration recovery rates, hotels would also offer the Guild Residence effect, allowing players to accumulate 20%''s worth of Double EXP buff after 48 hours of rest. Meanwhile, the Guild that controlled the city would also see some benefits. When Guild members rested in the Guild Residence, they would accumulate 30%''s worth of Double EXP buff after 48 hours. In addition to receiving this Double EXP perk, a player-established city would also receive a Specialty Product. Aside from being able to construct a Mana Tower, one could also construct a Black Market Auction House in the city. This Auction House would function like the Auction House in Blackwing City. It would offer a large stock of products once every three days. Sometimes, even Epic items were available for bidding. Because of these benefits, many Guilds in God''s Domain desperately wanted to establish their own cities, regardless of the price. A player-owned town could only make travel more convenient for players. A city, on the other hand, made it easier for players to level up. The size of a Guild Residence and the number of members it could house were limited. Not every Guild member could enjoy the Double EXP buff. However, it was a different story if a Guild owned a city. With a city, every Guild member could enjoy the Double EXP buff. A city was also a great source of income for a Guild. As a player city had various benefits that an NPC city did not, many players wanted access to a player city. Unless a Guild offered Private Housing within the city, all players were required to pay an entry fee. The entry fee was an important source of income for a player city. In comparison, a Guild would only earn pennies from the opening a shop. A Shop could never compete with a city regarding profits. When Shi Feng gazed down at the City Building Order in his hands, he nearly drooled. Despite having been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in his previous life, the Guild having owned ten city-states, he struggled to maintain his calm now that he knew he would have his own. His very own city! In the past, something like this could only happen in his dreams! Yet, now, he held this dream in his hands. While every other Guild competed over the golden Lands in NPC cities, nobody had any clue that Shi Feng would no longer compete on the same stage. Because from now on, Shi Feng would begin the competition for the kingdom''s Territories. Calm! I need to stay calm! This is only the beginning! Shi Feng continuously advised himself. In God''s Domain, like NPC cities'' golden Lands and ordinary Lands, there were poor Territories and Territories with excellent resources in every kingdom and empire. The sooner one constructed their own city, the sooner they could occupy these resource-rich Territories. What counted as a resource-rich Territory? First, it was in an easily accessible location. As players reached higher levels, they would have to venture further from NPC cities. If a city were close to these high-level maps, it would save players a lot of travel time. It was a similar concept to capturing certain towns. However, most towns were still quite far away from the truly excellent leveling areas. Meanwhile, a city that was close to multiple high-level maps would attract large amounts of players. Second, it was an area that was near consumable resources. This would provide convenience for players who needed to farm materials. After all, rare herbs and ores were necessary for players, regardless of Level. Third, the Territory needed to be close to high-level Regional dungeons. Most Regional Dungeons were particularly far from NPC towns and cities. Furthermore, Regional Dungeons had their own specialty products such as the Stoneclaw Mountains'' Magic Crystals. Even after reaching Level 200, Magic Crystals were still must-have items. Where should I construct the city? Shi Feng grew troubled as he stared at the City Building Order. 757 Witch’s Hill Chapter 757 - Witch''s Hill Star-Moon City, the Star-Moon Restaurant''s top floor: Few players were usually willing to dine here. However, more than a dozen player currently occupied the large, luxurious hall. If Gentle Snow were there, she would have been shocked as every one of these players was an Elder from the Star Alliance. Even Galaxy Past had to behave respectfully before these people. Currently, however, every Elder had lowered their head as they watched the Level 10 woman seated on a bench, fear and respect radiating off of them. "What did you just say? Galaxy Past has not been able to log into the game?" Exemplary Willow asked quietly, frowning. "What the hell is going on?" The Star Alliance''s Elder felt helpless against Exemplary Willow''s questioning. After the Guild war ended, the Guild''s upper echelons should''ve begun working to stabilize the Guild. Yet, for some reason, the majority of the Guild''s upper echelons, who had participated in the war, could not log into God''s Domain. Based on the Main God System''s notification, these people were locked out of the game for around two or three days. Some were even barred from entering the game for up to four days. Four days'' time! That was enough time for the mainstream players in Star-Moon Kingdom to grind at least one Level. Although they, the Guild''s Elders, had tried to stabilize the falling morale that shook the Guild, with the disappearance of the majority of the Guild''s upper echelons, many members began to doubt the Guild. Many had begun to wonder if the Alliance''s experts had defected to some other Guild. If the Guild''s experts had left, what was the point in remaining in the Guild? Only a few hours after the Guild war ended, over ten thousand members had withdrawn. If this persisted, no one knew if the Star Alliance would survive. However, this was not the most tragic issue. The Star Alliance''s defeat had infuriated Exemplary Willow. A high and mighty first-rate Guild like the Star Alliance had actually lost to an upstart GuildCon their home ground no less! This caused Exemplary Willow to doubt the Star Alliance''s strength. If Exemplary Willow suddenly decided to withdraw her funding, it would deal a fatal blow to the Star Alliance. "If none of you knows why they can''t log into the game, your Guild may be truly finished," Exemplary Willow stated coldly as she sneered at the Alliance''s Elders before her. Sternly, she said, "Since your Guild is nothing more than a failure, then you can forget about any follow-up investments! I have no intentions of spending money on a wastrel of a Guild! Get lost!" When the Elders heard these words, their complexions paled to a sickly white, every one of them begging Exemplary Willow for mercy. Unfortunately, Exemplary Willow chased them all out of the room. Exemplary Willow refused to tolerate defeat. he had initially invested in the Star Alliance to deal with Zero Wing, teaching Shi Feng the consequences of angering Open Source Corporation. She would then plunder the Stoneclaw Mountains'' Magic Crystals for herself. Yet, in the end, not only had she failed to teach Shi Feng anything, but his fame had also grown. "The Flower of Seven Sins is also garbage. They had been so confident of themselves. In the end, didn''t they lose as well? Fortunately, I only promised them one-third of the Stoneclaw Mountains'' Magic Crystals and did not have to pay much," Exemplary Willow muttered as she glanced through Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Her mood soured as she saw the many discussion threads relating to Black Flame. "In the end, it seems that I''ll have to use my own power to resolve this matter." Meanwhile, in the real world, the Star Alliance''s upper echelons enclosed themselves in a secret meeting. Although they could not contact each other in God''s Domain, the Star Alliance was a major company in the real world. The company often held video conferences between its upper echelons. Even without God''s Domain, this latest loss would not affect the company. Only, it was a lot more difficult to direct the Guild members in God''s Domain. "Guild Leader, we suffered tremendous losses. Based on the initial statistics, we lost over 50,000 items. We''ll need quite some time before we recover. However, the most tragic loss is ours. None of us can log into God''s Domain for some time. It will be a challenge to catch up to Ouroboros," Red Feather reported sourly. He had never imagined that they would actually lose this war so tragically. Not only had the Guild''s experts been wiped out, but the Guild''s elite army had also almost been obliterated. Less than 10% of the elite army had managed to escape with their lives. The loss of EXP, equipment, and post-war compensation were huge problems that they needed to deal with. Most likely, by the time they saw to those issues, the Star Alliance will have been drained of resources. "Purple, what''s the situation with the Guild Elders?" Galaxy Past similarly gnashed his teeth upon hearing Red Feather''s report. The Star Alliance had never suffered such a tragic loss. However, they first needed to deal with their current predicament. "Based on the latest report, it seems that Exemplary Willow chased the Elders away; they are all in a foul mood. Exemplary Willow has probably withdrawn her funding," Purple Eye said, shaking her head. "As expected of a businesswoman, she gave up on the Guild as soon as she deemed it useless." Galaxy Past could not help but laugh, reacting as if he cared nothing for this result. "Guild Leader, what should we do now?" Seeing Galaxy Past laugh even in this situation, Red Feather''s frustration grew. Without Exemplary Willow''s funding, the Guild would have to spend significantly more time to recover. They might never truly recover from this blow, and the Guild might fall from its status as a first-rate Guild. "What''s done is done. These Elders normally have little regard for me. They were also the ones who supported the decision to cooperate with Open Source Corporation. Now that OSC has withdrawn its funding, it is about time for these Elders to leave the Star Alliance," Galaxy Past sneered. When Exemplary Willow had first approached them, he had strongly opposed the idea of cooperating with Open Source Corporation; he had not believed that Black Flame was as much as a fool as the OSC thought. However, with the Guild Elders supporting the decision so strongly, his opposition had been futile. Now that the Alliance had lost the Guild war, all of the blame could be pushed onto these Elders. He could also utilize the Board of Directors to expel them from the Star Alliance. This way, he would become the Guild''s true ruler, not just in name. In the future, he would have a much easier time taking action. --- Meanwhile, in God''s Domain''s White River City: After Shi Feng bade Sharlyn farewell, he took a horse carriage to White River City''s City Hall. Shi Feng was all too familiar with Star-Moon Kingdom. He knew of multiple locations which fulfilled two or even all three conditions for a resource-rich Territory. However, players could not reach these locations yet. If he constructed a city in a very high-level location, the city would not be nearly as attractive to players. Although building a city in a Level 100 map might be attractive towards players in the future, to current players, this city would be useless. Without a large player population, the city''s development would be slow. The city''s construction was not a small issue, either. The demand of manpower and resources could not compare to a town''s. It would be a severe waste if he invested a large amount of resources in something that would not yield any immediate profits. Moreover, Shi Feng''s goal of constructing a city was to earn money. He could not waste large sums of money on a useless city. It seems that the Witch''s Hill is my only choice. After considering his options, Shi Feng decided that the Witch''s Hill was the most profitable location right now. While Shi Feng''s mind wandered, the advanced horse carriage arrived before the City Hall. 758 Building a City Chapter 758 - Building a City The instant Shi Feng stepped out of the advanced carriage, he attracted a lot of attention like someone driving a luxury car in the city. "Wow! That guy''s rich!" "He seems to be someone from Zero Wing. It''s no wonder he''s so rich!" "I know, right? Zero Wing receives so many advanced quests every day. Even the Guild''s normal members have the chance to snag one for themselves. On the other hand, our Guild only receives a few advanced quests each day, and the Guild''s upper echelons have priority on them, leaving very few for anyone else. Even elite members have a hard time obtaining one. Although I''m an elite member, I have only accepted two advanced Guild Quests so far. Those were good times. I earned over a dozen Silvers a day during those days!" "Indeed. One of my friend''s friend is an elite member in Zero Wing, and he says that Zero Wing''s elite members can accept an advanced Guild Quest once every two or three days, while normal members can pick one up once every five or six days. Envy filled these players'' voices as they spoke about Zero Wing. It cost 1 Silver to ride an ordinary carriage and 3 Silver to ride an advanced carriage. To them, even riding an ordinary carriage was a luxury. They would rather run to their destination than spend so much. Shi Feng could not help but shake his head at this sight. He had never imagined that he would be envied for riding a carriage. While the majority of the players in God''s Domain still strived to earn a single Silver Coin, even a Gold Coin was of little use to Shi Feng anymore. He was more concerned about time than he was about spending a few Silvers. At this point, the towering City Hall bustled with noise. Regarding both Reputation and Coins, the various large Guilds had accumulated a certain stock after playing God''s Domain for so long. Naturally, more people would be attempting to purchase the city''s Lands. However, most purchased ordinary Lands as the golden Lands and Lands in the central district were not easily affordable. "Hello, sir. How may I be of service to you today?" a beautiful female employee approached Shi Feng and asked. "I wish to construct a city," Shi Feng said. "Please, follow me," the NPC receptionist smiled as she led Shi Feng to a VIP reception room. Whether it was establishing a town or a city, players needed to begin the relevant procedures in an NPC city. "May I know if you have a City Building Order?" the NPC receptionist asked politely. Shi Feng retrieved the Star-Moon Kingdom City Building Order Sharlyn had given him. The lambskin parchment was worth over a million Gold. "Very good, sir. May I know where do you wish to establish your city so that I can quote you a price?" the NPC receptionist said as she took out a Magic Scroll, unfurling it on the table. This Magic Scroll displayed a map of Star-Moon Kingdom. Compared to the system map players had, this map was far more detailed. "The Witch''s Hill," Shi Feng said as he tapped a spot in the southwestern corner. Immediately, the Scroll displayed the Witch''s Hill map. The Witch''s Hill was a Level 50 to Level 70 map. Rumors had it that a great witch lived there, hence, the hill had been called the Witch''s Hill. The hill''s name had remained unchanged even after hundreds of years and the Star-Moon Kingdom''s ownership. The Witch''s Hill could be considered an ordinary leveling map. It was not particularly rich in resources. Yet, various Guilds in Shi Feng''s previous life had frantically sought after the Witch''s Hill. They had done so for two reasons. The first was the location''s accessibility. The Witch''s Hill bumped up against two resource-rich maps; Shadow Forest, a Level 80-100 map, and Ruins of Agon, a Level 60-75 map. Of these two locations, one produced rare herbs, while the other housed a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. The Witch''s Hill''s secret was the second reason. This secret of the Witch''s Hill had only been discovered after the mainstream players had reached Level 100. At that time, the various Guilds had suddenly rushed to construct their cities in this map. Dozens of Guilds had fought over the Witch''s Hill. Naturally, that included Shadow, the Guild Shi Feng had led. In the end, the powerful Star Alliance and Ouroboros had captured the Witch''s Hill. The other Guilds had stood no chance against them. Rumors had it that the Witch''s Hill was home to a great witch, and they had been around for hundreds of years. In fact, this rumor was absolutely true, as even now, that witch still lived in the Witch''s Hill. That witch was also one of God''s Domain''s legendary characters, the Jealous Witch. In the past, Shi Feng''s sight had been limited. He had thought that the Jealous Witch was only a Tier 5 powerhouse. Now that he thought about it carefully, he was sure that the Jealous Witch was not a Tier 5 powerhouse, but a Demigod. Otherwise, how could she have lived for so long? The Jealous Witch none other than the guardian of the Otherworld Gate. The Otherworld Gate led to another continent outside of God''s Domain. The Otherworld was similar to the Top of the World that Shi Feng recently visited. There, not only could players level up much faster, but they could also obtain equipment far more easily. There was only one condition to cross the Otherworld GateCplayers must have reached Tier 2. In God''s Domain, it was very difficult for players to find equipment of good quality above Level 50. However, it was much easier to grind for such equipment in the Otherworld. Hence, back when the Otherworld Gate had been discovered, the various large Guilds had fought frantically to occupy the Witch''s Hill. After all, in order to obtain good equipment, countless players would grind and level up in the Otherworld. Hence, Witch''s Hill bustled with player activity. Even after a decade had passed, a storm of players still gathered in the Witch''s Hill. Currently, however, no one had discovered this secret yet. Hence, Shi Feng had to strike while the iron was hot. Furthermore, Zero Wing''s members were nearing Level 50. The Witch''s Hill''s proximity to a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon was also a good enough reason to establish a city there. "Hello, sir. We have calculated the quote for the region you''ve selected." At this time, a beautiful female NPC walked over and handed Shi Feng a list. "Based on our preliminary assessment, the city''s construction will cost 90,000 Gold. If the city comes under attack, we will charge you an additional fee based on the number and rank of monsters killed. In addition, there is also a 30,000-Gold registration fee. Based on the city''s current level, you will also have to pay a 30,000-Gold management fee each month. May I know how many guards you wish to be stationed there?" Although Shi Feng had prepared himself and had only come here to ask about the price His heart skipped a beat when he heard the cost. The price of establishing a city was more than ten times higher than establishing a town. Moreover, after establishing the city, he also had to pay a monthly management fee of 30,000 Gold. That was the equivalent of paying 1,000 Gold every day. Just how many Guilds in God''s Domain could earn 1,000 Gold every day? Even if Shi Feng had not spent most of his funds on Frost Grenades and the Mana Pulse Cannon, he couldn''t afford even a fraction of that price. "Sir, do you wish to build the city now?" the NPC receptionist asked with a smile. "No, I have to consider this." Shi Feng rolled his eyes at this NPC receptionist. The initial payment alone was 120,000 Gold. There were also additional fees if the city were attacked during construction. Shi Feng had experience in constructing a city. Even if he dispatched the entire Guild to repel the monster attacks, defending the city would cost tens of thousands of Gold. "Alright. However, I must remind you that you only have one month to use this City Building Order. If it isn''t used within a month, this City Building Order will be voided," the NPC receptionist said before leaving the reception room. 759 Harvest of the War Chapter 759 - Harvest of the War Shi Feng could not help his bitter smile as he heard the NPC receptionist''s words. Sure enough, it isn''t that easy to establish a city. Shi Feng had thought it strange that Sharlyn had so kind-heartedly given him a City Building Order in exchange for only 10,000 Immortal Souls. This reward was much too extravagant for an Epic Quest. Sure enough, there is another test to this. God''s Domain was currently still in its early stages. Even a first-rate Guild would have to spend a relatively long time just to collect several thousand Gold. After all, for a Guild to develop, expand, and improve itself, it would have to spend an exorbitant amount of money. Normally, having even 1,000 Gold lying around was considered a luxury for a first-rate Guild. Only Zero Wing, which had the Candlelight Trading Firm, Stone Forest Town, and a large number of Guild Quests, had a daily income of several thousand Gold. However, after expanding the Guild, they had a wider variety of expenditures. After deducting operating costs and salaries, Zero Wing raked in a clean profit of roughly 1,000 Gold each day. After a month, the Guild would make around 30,000 Gold. The other Guilds could only dream of such wealth. However, Shi Feng understood that, in reality, he was still just a poor bastard. This was only a fraction of what he needed to establish his city. The basic construction fee alone cost 120,000 Gold. After including the cost of dealing with monster attacks, it was practically impossible for him to earn what he needed to construct the city. He also had to think of the necessary building construction that he would need after the city itself was complete. Shi Feng thought back to when Shadow had constructed a Mana Tower in its first city. The Mana Tower''s required raw materials had cost close to 10,000 Gold. The Guild had also hired a bunch of NPCs to deal with the construction. Overall, the Mana Tower had cost Shadow 35,000 Gold. The Black Market, on the other hand, had been somewhat cheaper. Even so, its construction still cost over 20,000 Gold. If one added all the costs together, they would discover that the initial construction fee was only the first step to constructing a city. Even so, a large Guild would willingly sacrifice everything it had, seeking sponsors and selling small portions of the Guild''s shares, to build a functioning city. Once the city was built, however, it would be a money magnet. In the past, to construct its first city, Shadow had sought out over a dozen sponsors. It was also then that Shadow split its shares between many financial groups and corporations. If Zero Wing did not wish to rely on external powers to construct a Guild City, then it needed to earn a lot more money. When Shi Feng thought about the need to multiply his current income by several times, he felt his head throb. When Shadow had constructed its first city, there were far more people playing God''s Domain, and it had been much easier to earn money. Currently, the majority of the players in God''s Domain had yet to reach Level 30. Hence, the challenge of earning more than 100,000 Gold was significantly more difficult than it had been. Moreover, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s daily income was nearly at its max. It would be very difficult to increase it. As for Stone Forest Town, the town''s income mainly came in the form of Magic Crystals. Moreover, it was also impossible to increase the town''s income within a short time. As for the income from Guild Quests, it could not even begin to compete with the income of the Candlelight Trading Firm and Stone Forest Town. It seems I''ll have to look for a new source. Shi Feng began to consider the matter. Currently, the most profitable trade involved selling top-tier weapons and equipment. Consumables were the next most profitable items. Zero Wing did not even have enough top-tier weapons and equipment to equip all of its members, so how could it possibly afford to part with those items? Just as Shi Feng''s headache over searching for a new source of income grew, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, I have the post-war report ready for you! We struck gold this time!" Aqua Rose said excitedly. "After deducting the compensation and rewards for our Guild members, we obtained 18,456 pieces of Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, 3,187 pieces of Level 25 Secret-Silver Equipment, 549 pieces of Level 25 Fine-Gold Equipment, 84 pieces of Level 25 Dark-Gold Equipment, 1,427 pieces of Level 30 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, 241 pieces of Level 30 Secret-Silver Equipment, 53 pieces of Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment, and 4 pieces of Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment." There were always spoils after a great war. However, Shi Feng had never imagined that they would enjoy such a bountiful harvest. This was all net income. With this equipment enriching the Guild Warehouse, they could increase Zero Wing''s strength by a large margin. If they had purchased all of this equipment, they would have had to spend over 50,000 Gold. "With this equipment and the equipment we already had in the Guild Warehouse, we will have no problems expanding the Guild by another 30,000 to 50,000 members." Previously, Aqua Rose had still struggled with her headache over the issue of equipment after expanding the Guild. Zero Wing had already become a large Guild, acknowledged by every player in Star-Moon Kingdom. Its fame had even surpassed the Star Alliance and Ouroboros. As a result, more players reached out in an attempt to join the Guild each day. Hence, this was the perfect time to expand. However, they would suffer if they did not have enough equipment in the Guild Warehouse for the new recruits. Initially, Aqua Rose had considered limiting the number of new members they recruited to 10,000. Now that they had obtained so much new equipment, however, they could recruit an additional 30,000 to 40,000 players. "However, most of the equipment''s Durability has nearly been depleted. The repair fees will cost us a lot. I was thinking of taking out a portion of the Guild funds to repair the equipment," Aqua Rose suggested. If it were only a small amount of money, Aqua Rose could make the decision herself. However, too much equipment needed repairs. Hence, she needed Shi Feng''s permission before she moved forward. Hearing this, Shi Feng felt another headache bloom. "There isn''t a lot left. Sell some of the lower quality equipment and use the money to repair the rest," Shi Feng said after some thought. "I understand." Aqua Rose then disconnected the call. After speaking with Aqua Rose, Shi Feng suddenly recalled the forging design inside his bag. The Strengthening Device! This item was capable of strengthening a player''s equipment, reducing the consumption of Durability. This was a must-have for current players. During lower Levels, the majority of players in God''s Domain would not think much of their equipment''s wear and tear. However, as players reached higher levels, they encountered far more powerful monsters. Naturally, the burden on their equipment grew as they began to take more damage. The repair fees alone would demand the majority of a player''s earnings. Selling the Strengthening Devices would be a great source of income. Shi Feng could not help but smile. Previously, he had considered selling the Magic Devices. However, Magic Devices were too precious and expensive. Only the various Guilds'' upper echelons could afford to purchase and use them. Moreover, there weren''t even enough Magic Devices to outfit Zero Wing''s members. Fortunately, it was a different story for the Strengthening Devices. Shi Feng immediately left the City Hall and hurried towards the Candlelight Trading Firm. "Huh? Isn''t this the broken sword that Galaxy Past had dropped when he died?" While Shi Feng searched through his bag for the Strengthening Device Forging Design, he discovered an extraordinarily eye-catching, broken sword. The broken sword''s aura alone was enough to make Shi Feng''s heart skip a beat, despite it sitting idle in his bag. 760 Flawed Weapon Thousand Transformations Chapter 760 - Flawed Weapon Thousand Transformations Inside Shi Feng''s bag, aside from the Bible of Darkness, the broken sword was the next most powerful item. Even the Epic Weapon Petrified Thorn could not compete with the broken sword''s presence. "Just what kind of weapon is this?" Shi Feng carefully retrieved the broken sword from his bag and clicked to check its statistics. [Dilapidated Broken Sword] It''s impossible to tell which era this ancient weapon originated from based on its appearance. However, the broken sword''s blade radiates a frightening magic power, and its edge is still sharp enough to slice through space itself. Although the blade has already been broken, its engraved, divine runes are still intact. More secrets might be revealed under a Grandmaster Forger''s examination. "What a powerful weapon. I actually need to take it to a Grandmaster Forger if I want to know anything more." Shi Feng''s interest in the broken sword grew. A Master Forger was already a towering figure in God''s Domain. There were very few throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. As for a Grandmaster Forger, they were treated with fear and respect, regardless of where they were from. There had been a countless Tier 4 and Tier 5 powerhouses who dreamed of hiring a Grandmaster Forger to craft them a custom weapon. In God''s Domain, who wouldn''t want a weapon that had been made specifically for them? Although Master Forgers could produce Epic Weapons, their success rate was abysmally low. Even so, many powerhouses flocked to them. After all, a tailored Epic Weapon would allow them to exert more of their own strength. Hence, Master Forgers enjoyed a lofty position in society. Meanwhile, a Grandmaster Forger had a much greater chance of producing an Epic item. They even had some chance of producing a Legendary item. In terms of status, Master Forgers could not compete with them at all. "I want to see just what this broken sword''s true identity is." Saying so, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to appraise the broken sword. After a full 30 seconds, Omniscient Eyes finally finished appraising the broken sword. [Thousand Transformations] Sixty-fifth of God''s Domain''s 108 Flawed Weapons. However, due to the sword''s broken blade, it is now no more than scrap metal. Fortunately, the blade''s divine runes remain nearly intact. The sword can be remolded and repaired using 100 Mana Stones. "So, this is the rumored Flawed Weapon Thousand Transformations." In the past, Shi Feng had only heard about this shortsword. Throughout God''s Domain, there were a total of 36 Famed Swords and 108 Flawed Weapons. Famed Smiths and Craftsman Forgers had crafted everyone, and they were all peerless weapons. Legendary figures had once used the 36 Famed Swords. The Flawed Weapons, on the other hand, were different. Although the legendary figures of the past had never wielded any of these weapons, they were something far beyond ordinary Epic Weapons. After all, the Flawed Weapons were the results of Famed Smiths and Craftsman Forgers'' failed attempts to forge Legendary Weapons. A weapon produced with the same materials as a Legendary Weapon was naturally not something ordinary Epic Weapons could compare to. Meanwhile, the Thousand Transformations had been made vastly famous by a player in Shi Feng''s previous life. In the past, a Tier 6 Assassin God had wielded the Thousand Transformations and had claimed countless expert lives with the blade. Among those experts, even the era''s apex experts had died to the blade. This was precisely the reason that Assassin had become one of God''s Domain''s solo players that others feared and respected. Meanwhile, that Assassin''s name had been Feather. Although his ID was ordinary, nobody dared to show him disrespect. In the past, a few people with too much time on their hands had compiled a list of God''s Domain''s solo players that one should avoid provoking. Among them, the top ten were known as the Ten Great Solo Players. One of these Ten Great Solo Players had been the Cleric God Violet Cloud. However, Violet Cloud had merely ranked eighth on the list, whereas the Assassin God Feather had ranked third. Shi Feng had never imagined that he would obtain Feather''s weapon. Although 100 Mana Stones is a steep price, owning a Flawed Weapon will be a worthwhile trade. Shi Feng inwardly smiled. For most, obtaining one Mana Stone was an extremely difficult endeavor. To Shi Feng, however, there was no challenge to it at all. He only needed enough Magic Crystals to synthesize. Immediately, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and Fire Dance. He had Melancholic Smile retrieve 10,000 Magic Crystals and instructed Fire Dance wait for him at the Candlelight Trading Firm. An hour later, Shi Feng arrived. Both Fire Dance and Melancholic Smile had waited patiently in his Special Forging Room. "Guild Leader, those are the 10,000 Magic Crystals you''ve asked for," Melancholic Smile said as she pointed towards the Magic Crystals carefully stacked on the table. If other Guilds realized that Zero Wing could easily take out 10,000 Magic Crystals, they might bang their heads against a wall in frustration. Shi Feng nodded. Ten thousand Magic Crystals should be just enough to synthesize 100 Mana Stones. If converted to Coins, 100 Mana Stones was worth far more than an Epic Weapon. However, anyone would be willing to trade 100 Mana Stones for a Flawed Weapon. "Guild Leader, why have you called me here?" Fire Dance asked softly. Although she was thrilled that Shi Feng had called for her, she was not a forger. She was only apt at fighting. She could not help the Candlelight Trading Firm. "What do you think about this weapon?" Shi Feng retrieved the Petrified Thorn from his bag and handed it to Fire Dance. After receiving the weapon, Fire Dance checked its statistics and was stunned. "An Epic Weapon!" Fire Dance could not believe her eyes. The Truefire Blades were top-tier, even among Dark-Gold Weapons. Compared to the Petrified Thorn, however, they were no different than trash. "Yes. This weapon is for you. I hope you use it well," Shi Feng said. He could not help but smile as he watched Fire Dance''s excitement. "However, this is only one of the two I''ve prepared for you. You''ll have to wait a while for the second." "Another one?!" Fire Dance was nearly dying with excitement after receiving an Epic Weapon. Yet, now, Shi Feng was actually going to give her a second one. Fire Dance had even wondered if she had misheard him. It wasn''t just Fire Dance, but Melancholic Smile, who stood beside her, was similarly shocked. Until now, although she had heard about the various large Guilds accumulating quite a stock of top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons, she had yet to hear anything regarding the rumored Epic Weapons. One could just imagine how rare Epic Weapons were. Yet, Shi Feng could hand out two such weapons so casually. Moreover, both were meant for Assassins. It was simply inconceivable. "Melancholic, take this design and learn it. Use as many materials in the warehouse as you need. If there are not enough, have Aqua Rose try to obtain more. Produce as many as you can." Shi Feng then handed the Strengthening Device Forging Design to Melancholic Smile. Although forging the Strengthening Device was particularly difficult, Melancholic Smile was an Intermediate Forger. With a little practice, she should have a relatively high success rate. Shi Feng did not have the time to forge the items himself, of course. Melancholic Smile''s eyes shone after she examined the design. Nothing interested a forger more than forging designs. It was especially true for advanced forging designs. Compared to Epic Weapons, the Strengthening Device Forging Design was far more attractive to Melancholic Smile. Moreover, the Strengthening Device''s effect was astounding. It would significantly reduce equipment''s Durability consumption. Unlike the Advanced Whetstones, the demand for this item on the market would be immense. Advanced Whetstones had already saturated the market, and many Guilds could produce their own. On the other hand, the Strengthening Device would be unique to the Candlelight Trading Firm. It would become a hot-selling item, no matter where they sold it. After Shi Feng finished directing the women, Melancholic Smile rushed back to her own Special Forging Room to research the Strengthening Device'' production method, leaving Fire Dance and Shi Feng behind. 761 Visit from Various Parties Chapter 761 - Visit from Various Parties In the spacious Special Forging Room, Shi Feng carefully took out the Philosopher''s Stone and placed it on the stone table. He then began his Alchemical Synthesis. "Hopefully, 10,000 Magic Crystals will be enough." Shi Feng still felt a slight sting he saw the synthesis success rate of 50%. During the war in the Stoneclaw Mountains, the Mana Pulse Cannon had needed to consume 1,000 Magic Crystals for each shot. Aqua Rose had fired the cannon over 30 times. Although it had been magnificently effective, over half of Zero Wing''s Magic Crystal supply had been depleted during the war. Now, the Guild had barely 15,000 Magic Crystals remaining, and he was about to use another 10,000. Even to Zero Wing, this expenditure was considerable. While Shi Feng synthesized Mana Stones, Fire Dance sat out of his way and watched quietly. When will I truly become an asset to Guild Leader? When Fire Dance recalled the danger she had faced during this war, frustration filled her heart. If not for Shi Feng, the Flower of Seven Sins would have wiped out Zero Wing''s main force. Despite having an advantage in Attributes, she had been utterly helpless against that Seven Sins party leader. Although their Guild had won, they were still far from being a match for God''s Domain''s major powers. --- Stone Forest Town: After the war between the Star Alliance and Zero Wing, Stone Forest Town''s atmosphere had transformed. Originally, the various large Guilds had quietly eyed Stone Forest Town and waited for Zero Wing to suffer defeat. Once Zero Wing lost its prestige, the Guild would lose members. After that exodus, they simply needed to gang up on Zero Wing to obtain Stone Forest Town. However, their plans had vanished into thin air when the Star Alliance had been defeated. Moreover, they had finally seen Zero Wing''s true strength. The Star Alliance had suffered over 50,000 casualties. The various Guilds'' shared a similar death count. In total, the Star Alliance and the various large Guilds had lost over 100,000 elite players. In contrast, Zero Wing had only lost 4,128 members, while Ouroboros had only lost close to 30,000 members. Based on the death counts of either side, Zero Wing''s power was apparent. Despite only dispatching an army of 10,000 elite players, Zero Wing had defeated an enemy several times its size. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had over 20,000 elite members in its midst. With such strength, what Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare to challenge Zero Wing? The Star Alliance''s fate served as the best example. After the Star Alliance had been defeated, several thousand members had withdrawn from the Guild within an hour. Moreover, due to the disappearance of the upper echelons, despite the Guild Elders'' attempts to stabilize the situation, over 30,000 players had left the Star Alliance. As time passed, this number would only increase. Making a rough estimate, the various large Guilds guessed that the Star Alliance had lost at least 20 to 30% of its members from just this single war. It would be extremely difficult for the Guild to recover from such a huge loss. Although Zero Wing and Ouroboros had both lost close to half their members in this war, they had recruited far more than those they had lost. Moreover, due to their overwhelming victory, both Guilds managed to collect plenty of weapons and equipment, filling their Guild Warehouses. Not only had the Guilds'' prestige grown after this war, but they had also increased their overall strengths. Many of the other Guilds grew envious of this situation. As a result of this war, Ouroboros had also replaced the Star Alliance as Star-Moon City''s overlord, becoming the city''s number one Guild. One was the number one Guild of Star-Moon City, while the other was the number one Guild of White River City. With these Guilds working together, who would dare attack Stone Forest Town? On the contrary, now that Zero Wing had already taken care of its main enemy, it shifted its concentration towards the other Guilds that plotted against it. For a time, the various large Guilds that had joined hands with the Star Alliance felt an impending doom. None of them knew what Zero Wing would do next. Even if Zero Wing joined hands with Ouroboros and laid claim over the Stoneclaw Mountains, none of the other Guilds could do anything about it. The Stoneclaw Mountains had become an important source of Magic Crystals for the various Guilds. If they were banished from Stone Forest Town, their harvest would be limited. They would stagnate. Hence, immediately after the war, various Guild Leaders and upper echelons hurried to Zero Wing''s Guild Residence in hopes of negotiating with Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not have that much time to waste on these people. Hence, he had passed the responsibility to Aqua Rose. Currently, the Guild Leaders and upper echelons from the various Star-Moon Kingdom Guilds occupied Zero Wing''s residential reception hall. Normally, these individuals were extremely secretive about their intentions, and arranging a meeting was rare. Yet, now, all these powerful individuals sat obediently, waiting for their turn. "Next!" Xiao Zhao, Aqua Rose''s female assistant, shouted in the reception hall. Immediately, Unparalleled, the Guild Leader of the second-rate Guild Heaven''s Gate, stood and walked into Zero Wing''s meeting room. Unparalleled was a Level 34 Ranger. He wore Level 30 Fine-Gold rank or above equipment. He was an expert who had reached the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. In an ordinary NPC city, he would be considered one of the top experts. Unfortunately, in front of Aqua Rose, he was no one special. Heaven''s Gate was a second-rate Guild that occupied two cities within Star-Moon Kingdom. Even here, it was a relatively powerful Guild. However, when Unparalleled entered the meeting room, he had no choice but to show Aqua Rose proper respect. Heaven''s Gate was indeed the overlord of two cities. However, those cities'' total player population had not yet reached 400,000. On the other hand, White River City''s population closed in on 5,000,000. Moreover, the city housed numerous elite and expert players. Other cities could not compare to White River City. "Guild Leader Unparalleled, let''s not waste each other''s time. Here''s the contract. If you have no issues with it, please sign here," Aqua Rose said as she took out a contract and handed it to Unparalleled. The contract was quite simple. If Heaven''s Gate wished to remain in Stone Forest Town, the Guild would have to hand over 15% of its total Magic Crystal income to Zero Wing. Otherwise, Heaven''s Gate would be banished from Stone Forest Town. At the end of the day, Stone Forest Town was just a town, not a city. It could only contain a limited number of players. Initially, not many players had visited Stone Forest Town, so it had not mattered whether or not they collected fees from the various large Guilds. However, once mainstream players reached Level 30, the town would begin to see an influx of activity. Hence, they could not just allow the other Guilds and players to occupy the town''s limited space for nothing. They had to collect a small fee, similar to how cities charged entry fees. After all, they had not established a town for charity, but to increase their profits. Of course, it was impossible for a town to collect an entry fee like cities. However, it was possible to adjust the repair fees and accommodation fees in Stone Forest Town. Guilds that did not sign Zero Wing''s contract would experience doubled repair fees and tripled accommodation fees during their future visits to the town. For those who signed the contract, however, the rates would remain the same. "You bastards!!" Unparalleled paled. He had never imagined that Zero Wing''s demands would be so vicious. This contract was an agreement to join Zero Wing''s labor force! "If you have nothing else to say, then please leave." Aqua Rose gestured towards the door. 762 Grandmaster Forger Chapter 762 - Grandmaster Forger Unparalleled never thought that Aqua Rose would not show any intention of persuading him at all. With no better choice, he could only sign the contract. Currently, over a hundred Guilds had come to Zero Wing''s Residence in Stone Forest Town, and over a dozen of them were second-rate Guilds. Who knew which Guild had signed Zero Wing''s contract, and which had not? It would be fine if nobody signed a contract with Zero Wing. However, if some did while others did not, those who did not sign it would definitely fall behind in their development at the Stoneclaw Mountains. After all, the rest stop known as Stone Forest Town was simply too beneficial for the purpose. On one hand, members of Guilds that signed the contract needed to travel only about an hour to reach the Regional Dungeon. On the other hand, players from Guilds that did not sign it had a travel time of over a dozen hours. The former would have a tremendous advantage over the latter, whether it was in terms of revival point or equipment repair. If the situation persisted, what would become of the second-rate Guilds that did not sign the contract? Magic Crystal was now the most critical resource after Coins. Even after handing over 15% of its Magic Crystals, a Guild would still earn substantially more than the alternative should they abandon the assistance of Stone Forest Town. In the end, the choice was obvious. It seems that from now on, nobody will be able to stop Zero Wing''s development in Star-Moon Kingdom, Unparalleled thought as he left the meeting room. When he saw the reception hall packed full of Guild representatives, he could not help but sigh inwardly. In truth, they should already consider themselves lucky. Unlike them, the dozen or so Guilds that had secretly assisted the Star Alliance did not even get the opportunity to sign the contract. Zero Wing had immediately banished these Guilds from Stone Forest Town after the war ended. In the future, these Guilds would most likely not be able to develop themselves at the Stoneclaw Mountains even if they wanted to. On the other hand, due to this contract, Zero Wing''s income in Magic Crystals would increase by two- or threefold at the very minimum. Originally, the Guild''s daily income of Magic Crystals was already plenty frighteningenough to supply the daily needs of every core member within the Guild. This provision was a feat no other Guild could achieve. If Zero Wing''s Magic Crystal supply doubled or tripled, the Guild''s core members wouldn''t be the only ones to receive Magic Crystals from the Guild. The Guild''s elite members would be able to get a share too. At that time, even Zero Wing''s elite members would improve rapidly. --- Inside one of the Special Forging Rooms of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng finished synthesizing 100 Mana Stones after two hours. The amount of Magic Crystals he had expended was somewhat lower than he had initially expectedonly over 8,000 crystals. The Mana Stones placed on the table looked splendorous. Just their presence increased the Mana density within the entire room significantly. Although the Mana Stones were merely the size of a fist, they contained a frightening amount of Mana. If fully utilized, there was enough Mana here to turn the entire Stone Forest Town into ash instantly. My job''s finally done. Next up will be repairing Thousand Transformations. Shi Feng carefully put away the 100 Mana Stones. He then looked towards Fire Dance and said, "Let''s go. We''re going to visit a smithy." Although Fire Dance had no idea why they were going to a smithy, she still followed after Shi Feng immediately, leaving behind the serene and elegant Special Forging Room. Shi Feng first stored the Philosopher''s Stone back in his Warehouse. He then took an advanced horse carriage with Fire Dance and headed towards Seliora''s smithy. To ordinary players, even meeting a Master Forger was already a tough challenge. As for meeting a Grandmaster Forger, that was practically a dream. However, no one less than a Grandmaster Forger could repair a weapon like Thousand Transformations. Besides Seliora, Shi Feng had never heard of another Grandmaster Forger in Star-Moon Kingdom. If he had not been lucky enough to help Seliora become a Grandmaster Forger, Shi Feng would most likely be having a massive headache at this moment over figuring out how to get Thousand Transformations repaired. Shi Feng did not know that, when Galaxy Past had obtained Thousand Transformations, he had been extremely elated. He had even mobilized the entire Star Alliance to search for a Grandmaster Forger. Unfortunately, even after scouring the length and breadth of Star-Moon Kingdom, they could not find any trace of a Grandmaster Forger within the kingdom. In the end, he had no choice but to give up on the endeavor. If Galaxy Past were to find out that Shi Feng was able to locate one so casually, he would definitely have a heart attack. Not only had he failed to use the item that he had obtained after going through many difficulties, but he had also given his enemy an advantage. When Shi Feng arrived before Seliora''s smithy, the large steel door of the little house was still shut tight. There was not a single player or NPC present in this place. After he gave the steel door a few knocks, a gap cracked open. "Oh, it''s you," Seliora mumbled. She then opened the door and said, "Come in." At this moment, Seliora had a sleepy look on her face. She had on a tight, black leather shirt and short, black leather pants. Not only was her appearance extremely sexy, but she also looked like a lazy kitten that had not gotten enough sleep. To the ordinary male, her demeanor was pure temptation. Even Fire Dance was mesmerized by Seliora, her eyes fixed on the Grandmaster Forger''s body. "Fire Dance! Fire Dance!" After entering the house, Shi Feng discovered that Fire Dance still hadn''t moved. And even after he called out to her twice, she remained dazed. Shi Feng could not help but shake his head and laugh at this scene. Seliora was a rose in the forging world. A countless number of young males had tried courting her before, including the prince of an empire. One could see just how amazing Seliora was. However, Seliora''s attractiveness lay not just in her appearance. There was also her temperament. Lookswise, Seliora was only on par with Gentle Snow, whereas figurewise, she was on par with Zhao Yueru. Generally speaking, Seliora''s appearance was not enough to seduce a great beauty like Fire Dance. Seliora had only managed to captivate Fire Dance due to her unique temperament. If Shi Feng were still the young sapling that he had been back then, Seliora would have most likely sucked out his soul already. Unfortunately, Shi Feng was no longer the same as before. His willpower had long since grown to surpass ordinary people''s. He quickly flicked Fire Dance''s forehead. "Guild Leader?" Fire Dance covered her reddened forehead with her hands, confused about Shi Feng''s actions. "The fact that Seliora mesmerized you shows that your training is deficient. After we return, we''ll need to make sure you properly cultivate your willpower," Shi Feng explained slowly. "Fortunately, the one you encountered right now is Seliora. If you were to encounter Medusa, you would have most likely been petrified by now." Medusa was one of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Beauties. She was also one of the legendary figures in God''s Domain. Even without using any Skills, Medusa could make countless expert players surrender themselves to her, regardless of gender. Fire Dance nodded wordlessly. Inwardly, however, she was very curious as to why Seliora would suddenly enthrall her. "Being mesmerized is not a problem. The great characters and powerful monsters in God''s Domain have already reached an extremely high level of mental strength. Even without doing anything, they can affect a player''s mental state. This is your first time encountering a great character like Seliora, so your reaction is very normal," Shi Feng explained. In truth, with Fire Dance''s mental strength and willpower, Seliora should not have been able to mesmerize her so easily. Only, the current Seliora was no longer the Seliora Shi Feng had known in the past. Instead, she was now a Grandmaster Forger. Through normal identification, Shi Feng could see only Seliora''s name. Both her Level and Tier were in question marks. Even after utilizing Omniscient Eyes, the only additional information Shi Feng managed to obtain was Seliora''s Level and class. [Seliora] (Human, Grandmaster Forger) Level 200 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? "Speak. Why have you come looking for me?" Seliora asked as she tidied up her forging materials. If it were any other player, Seliora would''ve most likely chased them away by now. However, Shi Feng was the player who had helped her become a Grandmaster Forger. Hence, he received better treatment from her. "I wish to have this weapon repaired," Shi Feng said. He then took out Thousand Transformations from his bag. With just a single glance, Seliora''s eyes immediately widened when she saw the broken sword. "The Flawed Weapon Thousand Transformations! This is great! With this, I can finally complete the weapon I designed before!" Seliora instantly appeared in front of Shi Feng and snatched Thousand Transformations out of his hands, her eyes flashing with excitement. 763 Legendary Quality Chapter 763 - Legendary Quality Before Shi Feng could even react, Thousand Transformations was already in Seliora''s hand. There, Thousand Transformations underwent massive changes. The Mana in their surroundings suddenly began surging towards the Flawed Weapon. In Seliora''s hand, Thousand Transformations seemed as if it were alive. Is this the ability of a Grandmaster Forger? Shi Feng was surprised. Shi Feng had encountered other Grandmaster Forgers in the past. However, these Grandmasters would never display their abilities before commoners like himself. Hence, this was his first time witnessing a Grandmaster Forger''s ability on display. A forger made weapons and equipment. Their understanding of weapons and equipment was most likely much greater than that of the users themselves. Despite this clearly being Seliora''s first time wielding Thousand Transformations, Shi Feng could sense that her compatibility rate with the Flawed Weapon was at an extremely frightening level. If the Abyssal Blade could display 80% of its true power while in Shi Feng''s hand, then Thousand Transformations could display 120% of its true power while in Seliora''s. This scene fascinated Fire Dance too. Thousand Transformations was a short sword. Even though Seliora was clearly not an Assassin, Thousand Transformations seemed more like a living being rather than an inanimate object as she wielded it. When Seliora gave Thousand Transformations a few casual swings, the Flawed Weapon sent ripples through space. Despite having already lost most of its power, Thousand Transformations still managed to tear through the space within the house, leaving behind numerous pitch-black spatial rifts. Even with Killing Ray, Shi Feng''s swings could never achieve such a standard. In the next moment, Fire Dance suddenly unsheathed the Truefire Blades that hung at her waist, brandishing them. As she swung the weapons, her body movements contained not a single bit of excess motion. The speed of the Truefire Blades suddenly increased sharply, Fire Dance''s Attack Speed accelerating significantly. Moreover, her attacks were no longer as rigid as before. They now seemed much more relaxed. "What?!" Shi Feng was thunderstruck. Fire Dance had only watched Seliora do a few swings, yet she actually managed to break through the final barrier and officially set foot into the realm of top-tier experts. Her power of comprehension was simply too frightening. So this is the Refinement Realm. No wonder I never could win against Guild Leader! There was actually such a large gap between us. Fire Dance was still reliving the pleasure she felt just now as she looked at the Truefire Blades in her hands. Shi Feng sighed with emotion at seeing Fire Dance officially enter the Realms of Refinement. He had spent many years before managing to set foot into the Refinement Realm. On the other hand, Fire Dance had succeeded in less than two months after coming into contact with God''s Domain. Her talent was simply extraordinary. Although some luck was involved in her achievement, luck was also a part of a person''s strength. If it were anybody else, they probably couldn''t set foot into this realm within such a short time. Now, Zero Wing finally had its second Refinement expert. This would have an immense impact on Zero Wing''s combat power. As soon as Fire Dance reached Level 40, she would be able to equip both the Petrified Thorn and Thousand Transformations. At that time, even if Shi Feng was not around, Zero Wing would still be an existence that everyone would fear in Star-Moon Kingdom. It would be great if Violet Cloud can set foot into the Realms of Refinement as well. Shi Feng was not particularly sure how far Fire Dance could reach in the future. With Violet Cloud, however, Shi Feng knew very clearly just how great a potential she had. Tier 6 God-ranked players were peak existences in God''s Domain. Not to mention a Tier 6 God-ranked player, if a first-rate Guild managed to produce even one Tier 5 player, the Guild would celebrate and hold feasts for days. In the past, after a decade of development in God''s Domain, the gap between first-rate Guilds became extremely massive. Take Ouroboros for example. Even after ten years had passed, the Guild had not boasted a single Tier 6 God-ranked member, though there were quite a few Tier 5 players in the Guild. As a result, Ouroboros was only middling among first-rate Guilds. However, a first-rate Guild that had a Tier 6 God-ranked member would be considered top-tier among first-rate Guildseven if the entire Guild had only one Tier 6 God-ranked player and no Tier 5 experts. Meanwhile, due to Aqua Rose and her Mage God friend, Unyielding Ice, Twilight Echo, which had similarly been a first-rate Guild, succeeded in developing into a super-first-rate Guild back then, only a short distance away from becoming a Super Guild. This potential was the amazing part about Tier 6 God-ranked experts. As long as Violet Cloud and Aqua Rose continued striving, it was only a matter of time before the both of them set foot into the Realms of Refinement. After Seliora finished toying around with Thousand Transformations, she turned to Shi Feng and asked, "Are you trying to get this short sword repaired?" "Mhm. I''ve already prepared the materials needed to repair it." Saying so, Shi Feng took out the 100 Mana Stones from his bag. "As your friend, I don''t recommend you repair this sword," Seliora said seriously. "Although I am not sure what managed to destroy a Flawed Weapon like this, and although the divine runes engraved on Thousand Transformations are still mostly intact, this sword is already dead. Even if you repair it, the weapon won''t be able to display its original strength. After all, Flawed Weapons are essentially failed products." "I still wish to have it repaired. A damaged Flawed Weapon is still not bad." Shi Feng naturally knew about the problem plaguing Thousand Transformations. This problem was the reason why Feather had switched out Thousand Transformations for a better weapon back then. However, Thousand Transformations was not an ordinary Epic Weapon. Even if it could not recover its peak state, it would still be significantly stronger than an ordinary Epic Weapon. "I''m not finished speaking. If you were to bring this thing to anybody else, they would repair Thousand Transformations and leave you with a barely usable weapon at most. However, after researching the Broken Steel Set Equipment Forging Design you left with me last time, I received plenty of inspiration and produced several weapons, gaining tremendous experience. The Famed Smith that made Thousand Transformations originally intended it to be a Legendary Weapon. However, due to some error in the forging process, the final result was unsatisfactory. Even so, the raw materials used to make Thousand Transformations were extremely precious Legendary ranked materials. As long as I recast it, it might end up becoming a true Legendary Weapon," Seliora said proudly. "Recast into a Legendary Weapon?" Shi Feng was stunned. He never imagined that Seliora actually possessed such remarkable capabilities. Legendary Weapons were weapons that only Famed Smiths and Craftsman Forgers could produce. The probability of a Grandmaster Forger producing one was abysmally low. After playing God''s Domain for over a decade, Shi Feng had never once heard of a Grandmaster Forger successfully producing a Legendary Weapon. "That''s right. Of course, there are some risks as well. If the recasting failsthe weapon will naturally end up scrapped," Seliora said sternly. "What is the success rate?" Shi Feng asked. "Hmm Roughly 20%. How about it? Pretty high, right? An Epic Weapon has a 20% chance to become a Legendary Weapon. This is a trade that you''ll never be able to find anywhere else," Seliora said as she puffed her chest out proudly. "I''ll stick with repairing it," Shi Feng said definitively. What a joke! Only a 20% chance of success meant an 80% chance of failure. If it were three or five years later, not to mention 20%, even if there was only a 5% chance, he would willingly take the gamble. Now, however, he could not afford to do so. Currently, the value of an Epic Weapon was in no way inferior to a Legendary Weapon. How could he possibly let Seliora turn one into scrap metal? 764 Epic Hidden Ques Chapter 764 - Epic Hidden Quest "Don''t be in such a rush. I''m still not done speaking." Seliora wagged her finger at Shi Feng as if she''d guessed his thoughts. Laughing softly, she added, "Although there is only a 20% chance for it to become a Legendary Weapon, that doesn''t mean that the other 80% will be a failure." "What do you mean?" Shi Feng asked uncertainly. Fire Dance didn''t understand Seliora''s words, either. "I''ve already said that the materials used to produce Thousand Transformations are very high-quality, but because of some small defects, it did not become a Legendary Weapon. If I recast it, then there is a 20% chance it will evolve into a Legendary Weapon, as well as a 50% chance it will become a Fragmented Legendary Weapon but never an actual Legendary Weapon. As for the remaining 30%, the recasting will end up a complete failure, and Thousand Transformations will turn into scrap metal," Seliora explained slowly. "Now you should understand what I''m trying to say, right? Are you sure you are fine with just repairing it?" Shi Feng and Fire Dance were both stunned for a long time. "Really?" Shi Feng sought further confirmation, thinking that he had heard wrong earlier. Not to mention upgrading Thousand Transformations into a Legendary Weapon, just turning it into a Fragmented Legendary Weapon was already an unbelievable notion. Currently, the various large Guilds and major powers in God''s Domain were frantically searching for traces of Epic Weapons. Who knew whether they could even obtain one? Fragmented Legendary items were practically godly weapons to players right now. It was just like the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath he had obtained, which could raise his personal combat power by a large margin. However, the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath was only a ring. If it were a weapon, the improvement it could bring him would be dreadfully high. Legendary items could give players the ability to challenge opponents of a higher Tier. Tier 1 could go up against Tier 2, Tier 2 against Tier 3, and Tier 3 against Tier 4. Meanwhile, a Fragmented Legendary item might not allow players to challenge opponents one Tier higher than themselves, but it would still increase a player''s strength by a large margin. Although Fire Dance was already in the Refinement Realm and she possessed combat power at the peak of Tier 1, she was still no match for a Lord ranked monster of the same Level at the moment. The purpose of combat techniques was to give players the ability to exert their own combat power. Take an ordinary player for example. Even if said ordinary player were fully geared in top-tier equipment and their system combat power value was at 1,000 points, so long as their combat techniques only allowed them to exert 20% of their combat power, then their actual combat power value was only 200 points. On the other hand, expert players could bring out more of their combat power in battle. An expert player who could exert 50% of their combat power in battle would have 300 points in actual combat power value when wearing shabby equipment and having a system combat power value of only 600 points. However, a person''s combat power was only half of what determined a battle''s outcome. The other half was external environmental factors. Ordinary players failed to exploit their surroundings. Expert players, on the other hand, were adept at using the environment to their advantage. This knack was another major difference between ordinary players and expert players. Should an ordinary player and an expert player of the same Level fight against each other, the outcome of the battle was self-evident. Even if the expert player had poorer equipment, the victory would still belong to the expert player. Fire Dance''s normal combat power was only at the peak of Tier 1. In a situation where she lacked any advantage in environmental factors or any special Skills or tools, a frontal clash with a Lord of the same Level would only end in her loss. After all, Fire Dance''s limit was the peak of Tier 1. Even if she could exert 100% of her combat power, defeating a Lord ranked monster, which was equivalent to a Tier 2 class, would be impossible for her. However, as long as Fire Dance equipped a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, she would immediately gain the combat power of a Tier 2 class. She would then be capable of soloing a Lord. "What''s your decision now?" Seliora asked with a smile on her face. "Since there''s a 50% chance for it to become a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, let''s recast it, then." After giving it some thought, Shi Feng still decided to gamble. Not only was there a 50% chance to upgrade Thousand Transformations into a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, but there was even a 20% possibility for the Flawed Weapon to become a true Legendary Weapon. Moreover, although Epic Weapons were currently extremely precious and could improve a player''s combat power considerably, an Epic Weapon would not provide Fire Dance with the combat power she needed to go up against a Lordeven if she wielded two Epic Weapons. Without the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, Shi Feng''s combat power would directly decrease by at least 40%. In such a case, he would not last even a single exchange with Sky of the Flower of Seven Sins. Such was the strength of Fragmented Legendary items. If Fire Dance could obtain one herself, rather than improvement, her strength would undergo a metamorphosis. If Thousand Transformations became a Legendary item, once Fire Dance equipped it, her strength would most likely surpass even Shi Feng''s. "Since you''ve already decided, then go prepare the materials." Seliora nodded. Sure enough, the game won''t give away a Fragmented Legendary Weapon so easily. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. God''s Domain was particular about fairness. Gains and losses came in equal proportion. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, it was simply impossible for him to turn the broken sword he had casually picked up into a Fragmented Legendary Weapon for no cost whatsoever. "The Mana Stones should be sufficient already. However, it is extremely difficult to melt down Legendary ranked materials. Although I have some of the materials I need here at my place, after conducting my previous few experiments, I''ve already used up all of my Inferno Gold. Go and collect ten more pieces of it for me," Seliora said, smiling. Her eyes gleamed as if she saw a rich tycoon when she looked at Shi Feng. System: Epic Hidden Quest "Recast Thousand Transformations" accepted. Quest content: Collect ten pieces of Inferno Gold. Quest reward: Seliora will recast the Flawed Weapon Thousand Transformations for you. "Ten pieces of Inferno Gold?! Does it have to be this vicious?!" Shi Feng felt his stomach aching when he heard the system notification. "Guild Leader, I''ve just checked, but there''s no mention of Inferno Gold on either the official forums or our Guild''s database. Where are we supposed to find this thing?" Wanting to share some of Shi Feng''s burden, Fire Dance had searched through Zero Wing''s database for Inferno Gold. However, she came away empty-handed. God''s Domain had an extremely enormous amount of information for players to process. However, aside from basic information, the official game developers did not provide players with anything else. Players had to depend on themselves to search for the information they wanted through the Libraries, ruins, and other such places. For convenience, the various large Guilds had tasked individuals to collect information in the game after entering God''s Domain and compile it into a single database. The upper echelons of Guilds could then search this database for the information they wanted. After Shi Feng established Zero Wing, the Guild naturally had tasked certain members with collecting all sorts of information and integrating it into the Guild database. This was also the reason why players always crowded the entrance of Libraries. Most of these players were not suited to battle but were suited to information gathering. They would also often visit the Libraries of various cities to collect information, because the information stored in Libraries were not uniform, with some Libraries having information that other Libraries did not. Only Zero Wing''s members could access its database. However, the level of information available to them would also differ depending on the individual''s rank within the Guild. For example, as the Commander of Zero Wing''s main force, Fire Dance had first-level authority to the Guild database, which was beneath only Shi Feng''s top-level authority. 765 Grinding Field Bosses Chapter 765 - Grinding Field Bosses Shi Feng simply chuckled in response to Fire Dance''s worries. Inferno Gold was beyond current players. Only Master Forgers or better could use Inferno Gold. It was used specifically to melt materials, particularly extremely rare materials such as those of Epic or Legendary rank. A single ingot was worth as much as an Epic item as it was a necessary component in crafting Epic and Legendary items. In his previous life, Shi Feng had often led teams to farm Inferno Gold. However, Inferno Gold was hard to find, and they had never managed to collect much at all. Only Field Bosses has a chance to drop the ingots. Moreover, the Bosses had to be Level 50 Great Lords or above. Level 50 Field Great Lords were extremely rare in God''s Domain. These monsters were walking treasure troves, so Guilds with sufficient strength would dispatch their forces to kill these Great Lords upon encountering or receiving information on one. Meanwhile, Field Great Lords'' Inferno Gold drop-rate was not particularly high, averaging around 3%. Because Master Forgers needed the ingots to produce Epic Weapons, Inferno Gold''s market price had only increased as time passed in the past. Scanning through Zero Wing''s current database, it was natural that Fire Dance had not discovered anything regarding the valuable metal. She would find less than nothing if she scanned the internet. I need to find time to update the Guild''s database. Fire Dance''s question had reminded Shi Feng. In God''s Domain, players who joined Guilds would have access to three main benefits: expert nurturing, the Guild Warehouse, and the Guild''s database. These benefits were also the three main criteria most independent players based their decisions on when choosing a Guild. Needless to say, any Guild that wished to grow stronger needed its own experts. However, it was extremely difficult to develop experts. Ordinary Guilds would not have the necessary means; only first-rate Guilds and above had the appropriate environment. After all, the task that required a lot of manpower and resources. It was as costly as the upkeep of an entire first-rate Guild. Second-rate Guilds'' backgrounds weren''t strong enough. Although second-rate Guilds received financial support from corporations as well, they received far less funding than first-rate Guilds. Maintaining normal operations already taxed their budgets. Second-rate Guilds never had enough time or money to nurture experts. This was also the reason why there was such a massive gap between first-rate and second-rate Guilds. Meanwhile, a Guild''s Warehouse allowed members easy access to the equipment and items they needed. Unlike independent players, Guild players did not need to purchase items from Auction Houses or trading firms. Usually, a Guild Warehouse also offered a wider array of items. A Guild''s database was even more valuable to players. Generally, players needed to look for clues regarding the whereabouts of quest-related items themselves, which required a lot of time. Fortunately, Guilds usually had players who specialized in collecting such information. Guild members could easily obtain the information they needed by accessing the Guild''s database, saving precious time. This was one of the reasons that Guild players leveled up much faster than independent players. Veteran Guilds in the virtual gaming world would strike at these three factors when entering a new game. Hence, many players preferred joining well-known, long-standing Guilds. However, there were differences between each Guilds'' information. Moreover, collecting and registering information was not easy as it had to be transcribed in the Guild''s database by hand. Meanwhile, every Library in God''s Domain contained an overwhelming amount of information. Transcribing it all into the Guild''s database was a vast project that needed a lot of manpower. Although Aqua Rose had invested a lot of effort into developing Zero Wing''s database, at the end of the day, Zero Wing was merely an upstart Guild that had only recently established. Naturally, it could not compete with other large Guilds in terms of resources. Hence, its database was inferior to those long-standing Guilds that had spread their roots throughout God''s Domain. "Knowledge is power" was a suitable term in God''s Domain. If Zero Wing''s current database had even half of the information Shadow had ten years ago, Zero Wing''s strength would soar. Although Shi Feng could not remember every shred of information Shadow had collected, he remembered how to acquire a few Hidden Quests and rare materials. If he recorded this information in the Guild''s database, it would be a massive help to Zero Wing''s upper echelons and the Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, thanks to his Demon Hunter title, Shi Feng was a World Noble. He could easily visit the Libraries of various major cities without needing to complete quests and grind for Reputation. He could also take others with him into a Library. With this, Zero Wing could send at least one person to every Library in God''s Domain. The Guild would be able to gather information even faster than a first-rate Guild. It wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing surpassed their first-rate neighbors. While Shi Feng pondered, his system communicator rang. Phoenix Rain, who had not reached out to him for quite some time, waited for him to accept the call. "Guild Leader Black Flame, congratulations on your victory in the Stoneclaw Mountains. With this, you have stabilized Zero Wing''s position in Stone Forest Town. Really though, you are full of surprises. You actually managed to join the top 100 on the God''s Domain Experts List. I doubt that there is any major power in God''s Domain that hasn''t heard of you now," Phoenix Rain said, chuckling. "May I know what business you have with me?" Shi Feng did not think that Phoenix Rain had called him just to congratulate him. "It''s nothing urgent. Your first opponent for the Dark Arena has been decided, so I''ve called to notify you." Phoenix Rain revealed a charming smile that could melt one''s heart. "The fight will be in three days. The venue is in the Fire Dragon Empire''s imperial capital. Don''t be late. I''m eager to earn some money off of you." "Who''s our opponent?" Shi Feng asked. "Ah, I nearly forgot. It''s a battle team called Glorious Lions. Everlasting War is their leader. This battle team has already won twice in a row, so it is very strong. I''ll send you the information we have on them in a moment," Phoenix Rain said before disconnecting the call. "Everlasting War is my opponent?" Shi Feng could not help his smile when he heard this name. He had originally planned to join the Glorious Lions Battle Team. He had never imagined that they would be his opponents. Immediately, he turned to Fire Dance. "Fire, contact the main force members and have them gather in Star-Moon City. Tell them to bring all of the Barrier Crystals and Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Scrolls we have left. We''re going to grind Bosses." Currently, the various large Guilds were either busy in the Stoneclaw Mountains or Team Dungeons, so they were not particularly focused on hunting Field Bosses, not to mention Level 50 Field Great Lords. Guilds typically avoided such Bosses like the plague. With the strength of Zero Wing''s main force, killing a Level 50 Field Great Lord was practically a dream. Fortunately, they had the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array. Shi Feng could think of a few Level 50 Field Great Lords they could test their strength on. Previously, to avoid the Flower of Seven Sins''s assassins, Zero Wing''s main force had taken a break from leveling, hiding safely in the city. Hence, their Levels were not particularly high. There were no level restrictions or strength suppression in the Dark Arena. Even a difference of one level could lead to a huge difference in Attributes. Zero Wing was at a disadvantage. Hence, he needed to raise everyone''s levels as quickly as possible. By killing these Bosses, not only could he farm for Inferno Gold, but he could also help his team level up, killing two birds with one stone. "Understood! I''ll notify them right away! Everyone will be excited to hear this!" Fire Dance burst with energy. It had been a very long time since Shi Feng had taken them along to kill Bosses. Moreover, after breaking through into the Refinement Realm, her strength had improved significantly. She could use these Bosses to get used to her new strength. 766 Asura Battle Team Chapter 766 - Asura Battle Team Beast Empire, Beast City: As the imperial capital of an empire, Beast City was far more prosperous than Star-Moon City. Moreover, its territory was vast. It ranked near the top, even among the many empires on the continent of God''s Domain. Beast City''s player population alone exceeded ten million. The city had even more elite and expert players than White River City and Star-Moon City combined. Although there were five first-rate Guilds in Beast City, the imperial capital''s true ruler was the Super Guild Battle Wolves. All five of these first-rate Guilds submitted to Battle Wolves'' rules. They were only allowed to develop in Beast City after signing an agreement with the Super Guild. Otherwise, the massive Guild would have chased them out of the city long ago. --- Inside Battle Wolves''s Guild Residence: "Leader, our opponent for the next match has been decided. Here is a list of their names and the information we have gathered," the Vice-Leader of the Glorious Lions Battle Team, Journey Leave, reported as he approached Everlasting War. The report Journey Leave held was very thin as the folder only contained a single sheet of paper. Many of the battle team''s members in the meeting room were confused. "Vice-Leader, you couldn''t have brought the wrong report, right? Why is there only one sheet of paper? Don''t we usually have a stack for each team?" the other members asked curiously. Journey Leave''s report regarding the previous two battle teams they had faced had taken them nearly three days to analyze, yet their Vice-Leader held only a single sheet this time. No matter how they looked at it, that did not seem like their usual reports. "This isn''t a mistake; the battle team we''re facing this time has only recently joined the Dark Arena. This will be their debut match," Journey Leave confirmed. When he had received the report, he, too, had his doubts. However, the intelligence department had confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the report, stating that their opponent was a new battle team. Aside from the battle team''s leader, there was no information on any of the team''s members. "A new battle team?" Everlasting War''s curiosity grew. He had not expected a new battle team to boldly challenge the Glorious Lions. "It seems that the battle team''s employer is confident of their team. In any case, we should be careful. Journey, give us a general introduction." Journey Leave nodded. He then opened the report on the meeting table and displayed it before his team members. "This battle team is a new one, so, aside from some basic data on the registered team leader, we haven''t uncovered any information. As of now, the other members have not been registered yet, and we have nothing on them. "The battle team is called Asura, and it''s led by Ye Feng. I researched this Team Leader myself. When God''s Domain launched, he was relatively famous. He had once defeated a large Guild by himself, so he is very powerful. However, it has been a very long time since anyone has seen him. Even when I went to the Secret Pavilion to research him, I left empty-handed. He is a complete mystery. As for his exact strength right now, that is also unknown." Journey Leave then played Shi Feng''s battle video for everyone to watch. However, this battle video had been recorded before everyone had reached the cities. In the video, Ye Feng killed dozens of players by himself while inside the town. Although Phoenix Rain had given Shi Feng full authority over the battle team, he had no intention of participating in the Dark Arena as Black Flame. Black Flame was a Guild Leader. Having a Guild Leader of a large Guild participate in a brawl would only make him a laughingstock. Hence, Shi Feng intended to use his true identity in the Dark Arena. "What kind of report is this?" "Is this a joke? Doesn''t this mean that, aside from the battle team and the team leader''s name, we know absolutely nothing?!" "What is our intelligence department doing?! How old is this battle video? Ye Feng hadn''t even reached Level 10 yet! Mainstream players are already reaching Level 30! Don''t we have anything current on him?!" The battle team''s members demanded answers, one after another. There was a massive gap between Level 10 and Level 30. The battle video could not be used as any kind of reference. Journey Leave shook his head helplessly. He had also investigated Ye Feng. However, there was nothing to find. It was as if all traces of Ye Feng had vanished from God''s Domain. While everyone complained, Everlasting War sat back in a daze. "Why is he the Asura Battle Team''s team leader?" Everlasting War had tried to invite Shi Feng multiple times, hoping to recruit him as the Glorious Lions'' Vice-Leader. Unfortunately, Hua Qiushui, the representative of the corporation backing the battle team, was adamant in modifying the contract and restricting the battle team''s freedom. The result was Shi Feng''s rejection. Everlasting War had felt Shi Feng''s strength personally. Although he had never exchanged moves with the young Swordsman, he knew that Shi Feng was a Refinement Realm expert. Shi Feng could even emit an intense pressure. Experts in the Refinement Realm were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Most of these experts were relatively old. They weren''t usually interested in such competitions. Thus, Refinement Realm experts were relatively rare even in the Dark Arena. "Leader, do you know him?" the other team members asked curiously. "Yes. Originally, Ye Feng was supposed to participate in the last audition. However, due to complications, he did not take part. I had never imagined that he would lead the Asura Battle Team. Now, we have to face him," Everlasting War said disappointedly. "His strength is the real deal. Although he is keeping a low profile, I suspect that he''s a Refinement Realm expert. As for his weapons and equipment, it''s been a long time since I''ve seen him. Even I am not sure how strong he has become." At this moment, Hua Qiushui, who sat at the head of the table, wore a twisted expression. Although she had forgotten about a minor character like Shi Feng, Everlasting War had reminded her. The minor character that she had forgotten had become a leader of a battle team. Furthermore, his battle team was going to face her own. If the Asura Battle Team won against the Glorious Lions, the other major corporations would take advantage of her humiliation. Seeing Hua Qiushui''s reaction, everyone quickly realized the severity of the situation. Back when the Glorious Lions had held its auditions, Hua Qiushui had decided to change the battle team''s requirements, restricting the team member''s freedom. In reality, however, they had not lost much. Take Everlasting War for example. His restrictions were minimal. "Leader, you''re not the same player that you were before. This is just a brat in the Refinement Realm. After all of your special training, this will be child''s play!" a team member joked. However, this joke was also true. The Super Guild Battle Wolves supported their battle team. Since they had begun participating in the Dark Arena, they had gained access to various resources. They didn''t need to worry about top-tier weapons and equipment at all. They had even less worry about obtaining Skills. As for leveling up, they had a group of players who helped them gain levels rapidly. It was heaven. They only needed to improve on their combat techniques, thinking of ways to exert more of their strength. They could also spar and receive guidance from the Super Guild''s older generation. In the real world, they also received guidance from martial arts masters on a daily basis. Ever since joining the Glorious Lions Battle Team, their strengths had improved by leaps and bounds. After two matches, the Glorious Lions Battle Team had earned quite a bit of fame in the Dark Arena. It would be a piece of cake to deal with a new battle team. "Everlasting, for the upcoming competition, I only have one demand. You must annihilate the Asura Battle Team! You cannot go easy on them just because you know Ye Feng!" Hua Qiushui interjected as she turned to Everlasting War, her voice soft but commanding. "I will always fight to my limits, regardless of my opponent. Please rest assured, Director Hua." Everlasting War could guess what was going through Hua Qiushui''s mind. However, he wouldn''t go easy on an opponent just because they were acquainted. The Dark Arena was his battlefield. On a battlefield, he would not show any enemy mercy. Hearing Everlasting War''s assurance, Hua Qiushui nodded in satisfaction. --- Campbell Volcano: After Shi Feng finished dealing with his matters, he led Zero Wing''s main force to Campbell Volcano in search of Level 50 Great Lords. "Guild Leader, I''ve found the Boss!" Minor Wind shouted in the team chat. 767 Godly Skill for Grinding Monsters Chapter 767 - Godly Skill for Grinding Monsters "Alright, everyone gather over there!" Shi Feng commanded through the team chat. Campbell Volcano was a Level 40 to Level 50 regional map in Star-Moon Kingdom and was famed for dropping Fire Resistance equipment. However, the Campbell Volcano''s environment was extremely severe. Not only did the scorching temperatures increase the burden on players'' Stamina significantly, but players also had to deal with a Debuff. [High-temperature Environment] All of your Basic Attributes have been decreased by 10%, flame damage received increased by 20%, and HP recovery rate decreased by 50%. The monsters in Campbell Volcano''s map all used fire-type Skills. Some monsters even dealt flame damage with their basic attacks. Due to the severe environment, even Common monsters were challenging opponents, not to mention the Elite and Boss monsters. In the future, however, Campbell Volcano would become a favored destination. Many Workshops would grind here for Fire Resistance equipment, earning a fortune. However, God''s Domain''s mainstream players had not yet reached Level 30, so ordinary players could not survive here. Guild players were even less likely to visit this map. This was primarily due to the two main Field Bosses that wandered about Campbell Volcano. Both Bosses were Level 50 Great Lords, and they would turn any player that ventured into Campbell Volcano to level up into a charred corpse. "Guild Leader, that''s the Boss," Minor Wind said as he pointed towards the massive bear sleeping in the magma-filled valley. [Violent Flame Bear] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 50 HP 63,000,000/63,000,000 "Its HP is insane!" Blackie gulped. This was the first time he had seen a Boss with such a high HP. How long would they have to spend to grind this Boss down? The Violent Flame Bear was a Level 50 Great Lord. Depending on the Boss''s Defense, after including the damage reduction due to the level suppression, their damage output would drop by at least 50%. "Its HP isn''t the only challenge. Don''t forget about its environment. Look, we are surrounded by magma. If we accidentally touch the magma, the entire team will be in danger." Fire Dance quickly noticed that there were too few footholds for them to stand on. There was no way their MTs could dodge the Flame Bear''s attacks properly. A Level 50 Great Lord''s Attack Power would definitely be astonishing. If their MTs did not have enough space to avoid attacks With Fire Dance''s reminder, the team realized the crux of the problem. The Great Lord was already absurdly strong. If it could use Skills that utilized the surrounding magma, they would not be surprised if they team-wiped. Without extremely high Fire Resistance, the magma would reduce them to ashes in less than three seconds. Fear ripped through the team as they were suddenly paralyzed. "Cola, Ye Wumian, stand where the magma intersects. Everyone else, wait along the sides of the valley''s entrance. I''ll lure the Boss." Shi Feng could not help but laugh at his team''s response. If they threw themselves into battle, they would never defeat a Level 50 Great Lord. It was especially true for the Violent Flame Bear. Due to the High-temperature Environment, the Flame Bear could even instant-kill a well-equipped Level 50 MT. Normally, only Tier 2 MTs could survive a Great Lord''s attacks. In addition, the Violent Flame Bear also had the team-wiping Skill Earth Fury. When activated, the Great Lord would execute an earth-shaking stomp. Although the Skill''s damage was not particularly high, the stomp would create a magma tsunami that would devour all enemies within a 50-yard radius. Even Shi Feng, with his high Fire Resistance, would lose 500 or 600 HP each second in the molten liquid. He''d be surprised if his teammates didn''t lose 5,000 HP per second. Among Zero Wing''s main force members, even Cola would only last several seconds with all of his Lifesaving Skills active, much less everyone else. In the past, to deal with the Violent Flame Bear, the various large Guilds had lost hundreds of 100-man teams. These teams had consisted of Level 50 and above elite players. They had been much stronger than Zero Wing''s main force. Naturally, since Shi Feng had chosen to raid this Boss, he had a strategy to deal with it. Shi Feng retrieved the Bible of Darkness and the Magic Amplification Scroll. He then summoned a Demon. A Tier 3 Demon was the equivalent of a Great Lord. Although the Tier 3 Demon Shi Feng summoned would suffer the Debuff and wouldn''t have any environmental advantages, it could still act as a meat shield. A Level 53 Tomahawk Demon with 11,000,000 HP appeared before them, stupefying Zero Wing''s main force. None of them had thought that Shi Feng could still summon a Tier 3 Demon. A single Tier 3 Demon was far more useful than four or five Level 50, 100-man teams. With this Demon, raiding the Violent Flame Bear would be much easier. "Go!" Shi Feng directed the Tomahawk Demon to fly towards the Great Lord. When the Tomahawk Demon was within 50 yards of the Flame Bear, the sleeping Great Lord discovered its presence. Suddenly, the Flame Bear opened its mouth, gathering an overwhelming surge of fire-type Mana in its mouth before releasing it. Tier 2 Spell, Breath of Fire. Instantly, a red beam of light lanced through the air towards the Tomahawk Demon. The beam was too fast. Shi Feng already struggled to control the Demon. Hence, the red beam struck the Tomahawk Demon, sending it plunging into the molten magma. -124,084! The Violent Flame Bear''s damage left everyone speechless. With one move, the Flame Bear had managed to obliterate so much of the Demon''s HP, regardless of the fact that it had as much Defense as a Great Lord of the same Level. If a player had received that attack, they would die instantly "Isn''t it going to instant-kill us if we rush at it?" Cola unconsciously gulped when he saw the Demon plunge into the fiery liquid. He doubted whether he could even stop the Violent Flame Bear from moving past him. However, while everyone was still in a daze, Shi Feng controlled the Tomahawk Demon to brandish its axe. The five-meter-tall battle axe transformed into a stream of light and slammed into the Great Lord''s body. Tier 2 Skill, Axe of Destruction! -84,509! Despite using a Tier 2 Skill, the Tomahawk Demon''s attack was weaker than the Violent Flame Bear''s. However, Shi Feng did not mind. After all, with him directing the Tomahawk Demon, he exerted less than 50% of the Skill''s effect. He was satisfied with dealing over -80,000 damage. "Gaoo!" The attack had clearly inflicted pain as bloodthirst flashed in the Flame Bear''s ruby eyes. Immediately, it launched itself from the magma and charged towards the Tomahawk Demon. "Good. It took the bait." Shi Feng then had the Tomahawk Demon rush towards the valley''s entrance. "Cola, Ye Wumian, get ready. When the Flame Bear gathers Mana in its mouth, use Mock to attract its aggro and direct the Bear''s attack towards the intersection where you''re standing. Do not let it attack elsewhere." The Violent Flame Bear''s general attacks were limited to Flame Claws and Breath of Fire. Flame Claws was not an AOE attack, so the Tomahawk Demon could deal with it easily. Breath of Fire, on the other hand, was a straight-line AOE Spell. The Spell contained frighteningly destructive power, and any mishap could destroy the valley''s entrance. This would put the other players in danger. The Tomahawk Demon did not possess any aggro-holding Skills, so it could not control the direction of the Flame Bear''s attack. They needed someone else to do the job. If Cola failed to attract the Great Lord''s aggro, Ye Wumian could back him up. As long as the valley''s entrance remained intact, the high terrain could prevent everyone from drowning in magma when the Violent Flame Bear activated Earth Fury. With their HP, Zero Wing''s main force members could easily handle Earth Fury''s base damage. "I understand." Cola nodded heavily. Very quickly, Shi Feng lured the Violent Flame Bear to the valley''s entrance. He then directed the Tomahawk Demon to pin the Great Lord down. With the Tomahawk Demon''s high Attack Power, no one could steal the Great Lord''s aggro. Time flew by. Throughout the battle, Zero Wing''s main force toyed with the Violent Flame Bear. Whenever it opened its mouth to use its breath attack, Cola provoked it. After the breath attack, the Tomahawk Demon would use a Tier 2 Skill to redirect the Great Lord''s aggro. As for everyone else, they bombarded the Great Lord with attacks without a care in the world. After all, regardless of their damage, they could not outdamage the Tomahawk Demon. When the Violent Flame Bear eventually executed Earth Fury, although its attack had caused the earth to tremble, and the team members had taken plenty of damage, they still had over half of their HP after the attack. As for the resulting magma wave, it stopped growing after it engulfed the mountain''s lower half. It didn''t come near Zero Wing''s main force. After a dozen or so minutes, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and dealt the final blow. The Violent Flame Bear released an agonized scream as it fell to the ground. A treasure trove appeared around its body. 768 Summoning Flute Chapter 768 - Summoning Flute In God''s Domain, killing a Field Boss for the first time would double its drop-rate. Hence, large Guilds loved to raid bosses on new maps. Players had yet to develop C ell Volcano. All of its Bosses were untouched. If anyone killed the Bosses here, they would obtain a treasure trove. Furthermore, Shi Feng had a Skill like Divine Providence, which greatly increased his Luck Attribute. Despite Level 50 and above monsters having poor drop-rates, after Shi Feng applied Divine Providence, the Violent Flame Bear dropped a frightening amount of loot. Not only did the Great Lord dropped over 20 items, but it had also given everyone a bounty of EXP. A Level 50 Great Lord already provided an abundant sum of EXP, but after including the bonus EXP for defeating a monster of a higher Level, some members even gained a full level, climbing from 32 to 33. "The EXP is awesome! I gained 40% of a level after just a little over ten minutes of hard work! If I had to level up myself, I probably wouldn''t even get this much after half a day of grinding. If we continue leveling up like this, it won''t be long before we reach Level 40. We''ll be able to buy our own Mounts!" Blackie could not help his excitement when he saw his experience bar. He had never thought that a Field Great Lord would provide so much EXP. Even after splitting the Great Lord''s EXP between 100 people, he obtained nearly half of an entire Level. He was already Level 33. He required a massive amount of EXP to level up. Even if he grinded and raided Dungeons nonstop, it would take him at least two or three days to reach Level 34. Now, however, he only needed to kill two more Great Lords to reach Level 34. He could level faster than a rocket. Shi Feng simply laughed and shook his head as he watched Blackie''s reaction. His friend was too optimistic. Although it was true that Field Bosses provided an abundance of EXP and that they had only taken a dozen minutes or so to defeat the Violent Flame Bear, Field Bosses were not Common monsters and were not easy to find. Take Campbell Mountain for example. There were only two Great Lords in this entire map. After these Bosses died, it would take them a day to respawn. They could not grind them indefinitely. Moreover, they had been able to kill this Boss due to the Tier 3 Demon. Without the Tier 3 Demon tanking the Great Lord, with their current Level and equipment, killing a Level 50 Great Lord was impossible for them as they were. "Guild Leader, what did the Boss drop?" Although Cola was similarly shocked by the EXP he had received, he was more interested in the Boss''s loot. Hearing Cola''s question, everyone redirected their attention towards the loot as well. A Great Lord ranked Boss''s loot was a temptation to any Guild in God''s Domain. "The loot is alright. The Flame Bear dropped eight weapons and pieces of equipment. Among them, one is a Level 50 Dark-Gold ranked plate armor; one is a Dark-Gold ranked two-handed battle axe, and the rest are all Fine-Gold rank. However, this flute is the most precious item among the loot." After Shi Feng finished arranging the drops, he smiled as he revealed a silver flute. Players were lucky if an ordinary Level 50 Great Lord dropped even ten items. It was only due to the first-kill bonus and Shi Feng''s high Luck Attribute that the Violent Flame Bear had dropped over 20. Among the items, over half were rare materials. The materials were all good quality, and even an ingot of Inferno Gold, an item with an extremely low drop-rate, had dropped. They had definitely profited from this raid. However, what had surprised Shi Feng the most was the appearance of the silver flute in his hands. "Guild Leader, what''s so special about this flute?" Even after examining it for a long moment, Aqua Rose could not see any peculiarities about the silver flute. The others couldn''t see anything special about it, either. There was only one line of text introducing this silver flute. [Broken Flute] If they had picked up this item during a normal hunt, they would have sold it to an NPC as garbage. "You guys have heard of Summoning Flutes, right?" Shi Feng smiled faintly as he provided a hint. "What?! Guild Leader, are you saying this is a Mount?!" the Guardian Knight Turtledove shouted excitedly. While everyone else relied on their own feet for travel, it would be absurdly awesome if she could ride a high-ranking Mount. Mounts were still out of players'' reach, and it wasn''t only because of their low levels. The main issue was money. Even after reaching Level 40, players needed to 40 Gold to purchase a steed. Even to expert players, 40 Gold was astronomical. Furthermore, expert players would not be satisfied with a Common Mount. However, obtaining rarer mounts was extremely difficult. A Guild Mount also required a lot of time and resources to nurture. Hence, riding a high-ranking Mount right now was practically a dream. Everyone began drooling over the silver flute in Shi Feng''s hands. "This flute should trigger a quest that rewards a Mount. The Mount should be Bronze rank at the very least. It might even be Mysterious-Iron rank." Shi Feng was relatively familiar with Mount Quests. A Mount Quest generally awarded a Bronze Mount. However, as they had obtained this flute by killing a Field Boss for the first time, the Mount Quest might even reward a Mysterious-Iron Mount. "Alright, which one of you wants it? We''ll start the bidding at 50,000 GCPs." In terms of Coins, 50,000 GCPs were worth roughly 150 Gold. A Bronze Mount would cost far more than just 150 Gold. There was also a chance that this silver flute would yield a Mysterious-Iron Mount. If that were the case, the Mount would be worth several times more. "Guild Leader, don''t you want it? This is a high-ranking Mount!" Aqua Rose asked strangely. Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. He was their Guild''s face. He should be seen on the best Mount they could find. Although she knew that the Guild had already captured a Mount, the Guild Stable had not been built yet. None of them could purchase a Guild Mount right now. Moreover, a Guild Mount only started out slightly stronger than a Common Mount. It was far from the prestige of a Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Mount. "I already have one, so you can fight for it." Shi Feng smiled faintly. He had not told anyone that he had obtained an even better Mount when he had visited the Dark Den. When everyone heard that Shi Feng would not participate in the auction, their hearts pounded as they frantically shouted their bids. In just a short moment, the bidding had increased past 100,000 GCPs. However, this was only the beginning. As the main force''s ordinary members reached their limits, Blackie, Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Cola, and the other upper echelons joined the auction. "One-hundred and forty thousand!" "One-hundred and forty-five thousand!" "One-hundred and fifty thousand!" "Two-hundred and twenty thousand!" As the upper echelons reached their limits, Aqua Rose shouted an offer that disappointed everyone present. Aqua Rose did not normally utilize her Guild Contribution Points. She also often donated plenty of weapons and equipment to the Guild Warehouse. Hence, she had accumulated an immense amount of GCPs. Her offer instantly dismissed everyone''s hopes. If converted to Coins, 220,000 GCPs would be worth 660 Gold. If other Guilds discovered that Aqua Rose had only spent 660 Gold to purchase a Mysterious-Iron Mount, they would be shocked. If it were up to them, they would not hesitate to spend 1,000 Gold on purchasing the Mount. Following which, Shi Feng handed the silver flute to Aqua Rose as envy swept through the team. Before she had even reached Level 40, Aqua Rose had obtained a high-ranking Mount. As soon as she reached Level 40, she could travel through God''s Domain with ease. "Alright, enough idling. Split up and search for the other Great Lord. Who knows? The next one might drop another Mount as well," Shi Feng said, laughing. Shi Feng''s words motivated everyone instantly as they began searching for the other Great Lord in Campbell Volcano. 769 Levels Rising Rapidly Chapter 769 - Levels Rising Rapidly In the Stoneclaw Mountains: A long-abandoned city rested within a circle of mountains. Tens of thousands of corpses belonging to both players and Half-orcs surrounded and littered this city. Several hundred players stood at the city''s entrance. They were all out of breath and covered in fresh blood. "Flame Blood, revive the healers first. We''ll continue after some rest," a man wearing deep-blue chainmail and carrying a longbow on his back commanded. Flame Blood, whose white robes had long since been stained red with blood, immediately began reviving the fallen healers. "Guild Leader, the respawn rate is simply too fast. We''ve only managed to clear out these Half-orcs after so much trouble. If we don''t hurry and enter now, entering the city will become far more difficult," Daybreak Fog said anxiously, a tired expression on her face. To enter this ruined city, Heaven''s Burial had dispatched all of their elites, over 20,000 players. Only after several hours of fighting had they eliminated the Half-orcs surrounding the ancient city. Overall, they had sacrificed over 20,000 elite players to deal with the tens of thousands of Elite Half-orcs, a Great Lord ranked Half-orc, and five High Lord ranked Half-orcs. If they did not venture into the city now, all the regret in the world would not help them when the monsters respawned. "It doesn''t matter. Even if they respawn, that Level 45 Great Lord won''t be a problem. At most, we''ll have to deal with those High Lords again. If we want to complete this quest, we need to stabilize the situation outside the city. Otherwise, we''ll die," Singular Burial, the man in the deep-blue chainmail, responded calmly. "We''ve been here for several days already. Now that success is in sight, it is important that we do not rush. As long as we complete this quest, Heaven''s Burial will become Star-Moon City''s overlord. Both Ouroboros and the Star Alliance will have no choice but to submit." Currently, players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and the surrounding countries drooled over the Stoneclaw Mountains. These Guilds watched Stone Forest Town, which was under Zero Wing''s control, enviously. However, nobody knew that The person responsible for activating the Stoneclaw Mountains was Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Leader, Singular Burial. "But now that Zero Wing has stabilized its position in Stone Forest Town, it is only a matter of time before the Stoneclaw Mountains become their backyard. Will this quest really help Heaven''s Burial become Star-Moon City''s overlord?" Lightning Blade questioned doubtfully. Singular Burial had been keeping a tight lid on the quest''s information. Nobody else knew what the quest would award. Based on Lightning Blade''s understanding of God''s Domain, there shouldn''t be a quest that could allow a Guild to dominate over a city. "Zero Wing''s backyard?" Singular Burial sneered. "It''s just the Stoneclaw Mountains. So what if we give it to Zero Wing? "Since this quest is almost complete, I''ll explain. Do any of you know why there are so many Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains? Although other countries have their own Regional Dungeons that provide Magic Crystals, none of them are as saturated as the Stoneclaw Mountains. "This ancient city is the reason. This city contains a treasure that is capable of condensing Mana naturally. Hence, the Stoneclaw Mountains'' monsters have a much higher chance to drop Magic Crystals. "If we can get our hands on that treasure, even without grinding monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains, any monster we kill within a certain radius of the item will drop Magic Crystals. Moreover, the drop-rate will be the same as it is in the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Do you think I would pay so much just to clear a ruined city if not for such a treasure?" When Daybreak Fog and the others heard Singular Burial''s explanation, they were stunned. The monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains were too strong. Not only were these monsters hard to kill, but they were also harder on weapons and equipment than monsters elsewhere. If monsters in other maps could also drop Magic Crystals with the same probability as the monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they would be able to farm Magic Crystals much faster and more efficiently than in the Regional Dungeon. Moreover, it would cost less to farm elsewhere. Even if the other Guilds put more effort into farming Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains, they would be miles behind Heaven''s Burial. As long as they had a sufficient stock of Magic Crystals, Heaven''s Burial could rise to power. "Alright, get some rest. We''ll enter the city when we''ve recovered," Singular Burial commanded. --- While Heaven''s Burial''s members were preoccupied with their secret quest, the various large Guilds throughout Star-Moon Kingdom desperately tried to level up, getting themselves ready to challenge Level 40 large-scale Team Dungeons. To ordinary players, Level 40 was still far out of their reach. To the various large Guilds, however, they would reach it soon. Level 40 could be considered a new beginning. At Level 40, players could use Mounts, doubling their mobility. As a result, their leveling and questing efficiency would double as well. However, purchasing a large number of Mounts for its members was unrealistic for a Guild. Having a Guild Mount was more reasonable. Hence, Guilds needed to focus on constructing a Stable. However, Stable Design''s drop-rates were abysmal. Only 100-man Team Dungeons had a somewhat higher drop-rate. Hence, the various large Guilds were desperately preparing to raid Level 40 large-scale Team Dungeons in the hopes of obtaining a Stable Design sooner. For a time, Guilds were in a frenzy to raid large-scale Team Dungeons. --- Time quickly passed. Three days had gone by before anyone had realized it. During this period, Shi Feng led Zero Wing''s main force all around the kingdom, hunting for Great Lords. If they did not find any, then they would kill Field Lords and High Lords until they had finally exhausted the Magic Amplification Scroll. Shi Feng had also completed his quest. All ten Inferno Gold ingots were accounted for. Meanwhile, the team had climbed in levels. Originally, the average level of Zero Wing''s main force was Level 33. Now, the lowest among the team was Level 37. Blackie, Fire Dance, and the other upper echelons had even risen to Level 38. Throughout all of God''s Domain, they had the highest Levels. Currently, the number one player on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List was only Level 35. Although there was only a difference of two levels, the EXP gap was massive. As for Shi Feng, he had reached Level 39. He was only one step away from Level 40. Unfortunately, Shi Feng''s Magic Amplification Scroll was now useless. He could no longer summon a Tier 3 Demon to assist them in battle. Otherwise, they would have continued leveling at this speed. Aside from levels, they had also obtained a massive stock of materials and Level 50 equipment. They had filled Shi Feng''s bag completely and placed the overflow in Aqua Rose''s bag. They had more than 40 pieces of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment and several hundred pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment. Contrary to what they had expected, they had obtained less than 100 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. If they sold these items on the Blackwing Auction House, it would definitely shake God''s Domain''s major powers. Currently, while the various large Guilds struggled to reach Level 40, Level 50 top-tier equipment was already on display It''ll be a little rushed, but fortunately, we''ve completed the quest. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the time. He had five hours remaining before his appointment with Phoenix Rain. Immediately, he said through the team chat, "Everyone can head back to the city. Aqua, take your team to get some rest. In three hours, meet up in Star-Moon City''s Teleportation Hall." 770 Basic Fire Resistance Armor Ki Chapter 770 - Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City, Candlelight Trading Firm: Upon arriving at the trading firm with Fire Dance, Shi Feng noticed a significant decrease in the Shop''s customers. We''ve reached our limit already? Shi Feng glanced at the players on the streets before taking another look at the situation inside the Shop. Despite the Candlelight Trading Firm''s location in the Trade Area, a high-traffic area, and the fact that this area enjoyed a growing player population, the trading firm was losing customers. This situation illustrated a lot of problems. Glancing at the street again, Shi Feng noticed that several large Guilds and Merchant players had set up Shop near the street corners. With more shops, the competition grew more intense. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm''s position in White River City was still unshakable, the trading firm was losing profits. Initially, the firm could bring in over 1,000 Gold every day from each shop. Now, including the Shops in major cities throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and other countries, the Trading Firm was just barely making a total profit of 1,000 Gold per day. Currently, fewer and fewer hot-selling items such as Whetstones and Advanced Whetstones, as well as various other necessities such as Recovery Potions and Mana Regeneration Potions, sold each day. This was all due to the new competition. Most of these new Shops had powerful backers. Furthermore, the designs for hot-selling items were becoming more common. One could easily farm them or purchase them from the Auction House. As long as these Shops hired some Lifestyle players to produce these items and sold them at a lower price than the Candlelight Trading Firm, with a profitable location, they could easily steal plenty of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s customers. Fortunately, Light Stones and Basic Strengthened Armor Kits still sold like hotcakes. However, Shi Feng knew that this situation would not last. Neither the Light Stones nor the Basic Strengthening Armor Kits were unique items like the Mana Armor Kit. As more time passed and players reached higher levels, it would become easier to obtain these items'' designs. As a matter of fact, after just being away from the city for three days, other Shops had already begun selling Basic Strengthened Armor Kits. Only, they demanded slightly higher prices than the Candlelight Trading Firm. It wouldn''t be long before Light Stones would appear in other Shops as well. At that time, the Candlelight Trading Firm would lose some of its advantages. "Guild Leader, why have you called for me?" Melancholic Smile asked with a tired expression as she entered the firm''s reception room. Melancholic Smile was feeling the pressure of the lost profits. Although she had thought of many solutions, none were effective enough to save them from this predicament. "How is the production of the Strengthening Devices coming along?" Shi Feng asked. With the Candlelight Trading Firm''s current income, they could never earn 150,000 Gold in the next twenty-some days. They needed to increase their profits. The Strengthening Devices were their only hope. More players flocked to White River City. Among them, there was no lack of elite and expert players. These players often ventured to high-level maps to grind. The burden on their equipment was much higher than ordinary players. Hence, they also had a much greater need for an item like the Strengthening Device, so that they could grind and adventure for longer periods. "So far, I''ve produced 400 Strengthening Devices. My success rate is roughly 40%. Unfortunately, our stockpile is still too small to begin selling them. We will sell out before we even begin attracting customers. I intend to put them up for sale in the trading firm once we have a stockpile of 1,000 units," Melancholic Smile was optimistic about the Strengthening Devices. When they began to offer the Strengthening Devices, the Candlelight Trading Firm would regain its popularity, increasing their daily sales tremendously. A success rate of 40%? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He had not expected Melancholic Smile to have such a high success rate. If Shi Feng produced the Strengthening Devices himself, he''d have a 30% success rate at most. He then revealed a stack of designs and passed them to Melancholic Smile, saying, "Let Cocoa and the others learn these designs. If the firm has anyone with potential, you can allow them to learn one as well. Produce as many of these as you can. I have something important I need them for." Melancholic Smile was dumbfounded as she accepted the stack of designs. Strengthening Device! Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit! Melancholic Smile already knew how important the Strengthening Device was. Obtaining even a single design was already an amazing feat, yet Shi Feng had five more If they had five more people producing the Strengthening Devices, they could satisfy the demands of one or two city''s worth of players. After all, the cost of forging for the Strengthening Device was relatively high, and the forging success rate was low. Hence, they could not offer the Devices for too low a price. However, the other item, the Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit, confused her slightly. [Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit] Defense +120 Endurance +5, Agility +3 Fire Resistance +7 Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Can only be bound to Level 30 equipment or above. In terms of Basic Attributes, it was only slightly stronger than the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit. However, the materials it required were much rarer. The Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit would cost twice as much to produce as the Basic Strengthening Armor Kit. Would anyone really be willing to buy these? Although the Fire Resistance Armor Kit provided quite an amount of Fire Resistance, there were many areas in God''s Domain that didn''t offer the danger of fire. Players didn''t need to head to leveling maps or Dungeons that required high Fire Resistance. One could say that the Fire Resistance Armor Kit was not a necessity. Even if they produced this item, not many players would be willing to purchase it. However, the fact that Shi Feng viewed the Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit and the Strengthening Device as equally important showed that the former was just as precious. "From now on, focus on forging Strengthening Devices and Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kits. Set everything else aside." Shi Feng was aware of Melancholic Smile''s concerns. However, the Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit was no less valuable than the Strengthening Device. Although the Armor Kits were not useful right now, once the Eclipse Gate opened, items that provided Fire and Ice Resistance would skyrocket in price. Only then would the Fire Resistance Armor Kits shine. With these three Armor Kits, one could gain 21 points of Fire Resistance. This way, players could equip fewer pieces of Fire Resistance equipment. Although Fire Resistance equipment could increase one''s Fire Resistance, they would have to sacrifice Basic Attributes. Having too much of that equipment would wound a player''s combat power, making it more difficult to kill monsters in the Eclipse Gate. Hence, after the various large Guilds discovered the Basic Fire Resistance Armor Kit, they would rush towards Campbell Volcano to farm for the design. Unfortunately, the design''s drop-rate was incredibly low. Moreover, they only dropped from the volcano''s Field Bosses. Throughout these past three days, Shi Feng had killed plenty of Field Bosses at Campbell Volcano with Zero Wing''s main force. After three days of hard work, with the help of Divine Providence, they had obtained a total of nine copies. Anyone else would thank their stars to obtain just one. "Right, how many materials have we collected for the Stable so far?" Shi Feng made it clear that the Guild Stable was also a priority. The various large Guilds were closing in on Level 40. It would be a huge waste if he had the Stable Design but could not construct it. 771 Thousand Transformation Evolves Chapter 771 - Thousand Transformation Evolves Hearing Shi Feng''s question, Melancholic Smile''s expression sank, a hint of embarrassment appearing on her face. "I''ve only managed to gather a little more than half of the required materials. We''re still short 20 logs of Primal Emerald Wood and 12 Soul Cultivating Stones," Melancholic Smile reported honestly. Shi Feng had instructed her to handle the material collection for the Stable, regardless of the price, a while ago. Yet, until now, aside from the materials Zero Wing''s members had gathered, she had only managed to source a small fraction of the required materials. "Alright. I doubt we''ll be able to obtain the remaining materials easily. I''ll try to think of a way to collect the rest. Focus on forging the Strengthening Devices." Shi Feng nodded. Shi Feng understood just how difficult it was to find the materials they needed to construct a Stable. Even in 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons, the drop-rates for these materials were abysmally low. Only Hell Mode had a slightly higher drop-rate. If they had not obtained the First Clear of the Frost Prison, they wouldn''t have as much stock as they did right now. It was already impressive that they had over half of the materials. Moreover, the situation in God''s Domain had changed. The various large Guilds were only a short time from the Level 40 era. As long as the various large Guilds did a little research, they would discover a hint to what they needed for their own Stables. Primal Emerald Wood and Soul Cultivating Stones were among the more obvious necessities. However, only those with Stable Designs would know the majority of the materials they needed. There were many kinds of rare materials that dropped in large-scale Team Dungeons, and they could be used in multiple designs. Even if they came across some building material that the Stable Design would require, the various Guilds might assume it had a different purpose. However, as information on the Primal Emerald Wood and Soul Cultivating Stones was available in cities'' Libraries, it would be nearly impossible to purchase these materials from other Guilds. They were usually hard to obtain. However, Shi Feng was also feeling celebratory. If he had not been able to participate in the Dark Arena, searching for a way to obtain the remaining Stable materials would have really given him a headache. On the surface, the Dark Arena appeared to be a secret competition between the various international corporations. In truth, however, it was a place for the various corporations to exchange precious material and items. The Dark Arena provided a method to obtain the rarer materials and items. Of course, if one wanted these items, they needed to gamble on the team battles. In the Dark Arena, Credits were not the most valued resource. Rather, it was the precious materials and items of God''s Domain. Normally, God''s Domain''s major powers refused to sell these rarer items. At most, they might be willing to trade for items of equal value. Meanwhile, in the Dark Arena, if one offered a fair price, they could negotiate. Once both sides agreed, they would then bet on a match of their choosing. The winner would take everything. However, the winning battle team would also earn a small portion of this bet. If the battle team did not want the offered rewards, the party that won the bet could purchase the items from the winning team with Credits. This was why so many powers throughout God''s Domain had hungered to join the Dark Arena in the past. They hadn''t just wanted the fame. They had also wanted the chance to earn endless wealth and resources in God''s Domain. Unfortunately, not everybody could take part in the Dark Arena. The Dark Arena had its own inner circle. Ordinary Guilds were not worthy of an invitation. Take Shi Feng for example. Despite being the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, he needed to get the assistance of the upper echelon of a first-rate Guild to gain entry into the Dark Arena. In the past, Shi Feng had visited the Dark Arena over a dozen times, and he had to admit that second-rate Guilds could not afford to mingle there. Even Legendary items and player-constructed cities were sometimes used as bargaining chips, much less Legendary ranked materials. Although each team in the Dark Arena consisted only of ten members, the profits one could earn from a single match could inspire hundreds, even millions, of people to fight. The Primal Emerald Wood and Soul Cultivating Stones were precious materials. In the Dark Arena, however, these materials were considered subpar wagers. Hence, it would not be difficult for Shi Feng to gather the materials he needed to build his Stable. After Shi Feng stored the rare materials and Level 50 weapons and equipment in the Trading Firm''s Warehouse, he hurriedly led Fire Dance towards Seliora''s smithy. --- In Seliora''s smithy: Shi Feng handed Seliora the ten Inferno Gold ingots. Immediately, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Epic Hidden Quest "Recast Thousand Transformations" completed. Quest rewards: 200,000,000 EXP and Fortitude +5. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s experience bar rose to 42% of Level 39. Two hundred million EXP might be a lot to ordinary players, but to Shi Feng, it was a drop in the bucket. Aside from the fact that he required double the EXP normal players required to level up, an ordinary Level 39 player needed an astonishing amount of EXP to level. Even several hundred millions of EXP was not enough to climb from Level 39 to Level 40. However, the 5 Fortitude points were quite valuable. If Shi Feng challenged advanced quests, he would have to waste a lot of time and complete three or four to gain 5 Fortitude points. After stowing away the Inferno Gold with satisfaction, Seliora looked at Shi Feng and asked seriously, "Now that I have everything I need, who is the weapon intended for?" "My companion here will use it." Shi Feng tugged Fire Dance forward as he introduced her to Seliora. Since Thousand Transformations was going to be recast, a Grandmaster Forger like Seliora could not recast the weapon blindly. She needed to make sure that the weapon would fit its user perfectly. Taking a look at Fire Dance, Seliora turned back to Shi Feng and said, "You must think this through. The weapon I recast will not be some garbage Epic Weapon that you can find anywhere on the streets. It will have the possibility of becoming a Legendary Weapon. Are you truly willing to give that up?" Even Tier 6 Gods would go crazy over a Legendary Weapon. Seliora refused to believe that Shi Feng would actually go through all that effort for the sake of a "companion." "Why wouldn''t I be willing?" Shi Feng laughed. Thousand Transformations was a short sword. Although Swordsmen could use short swords as well, they did not suit his style. On the other hand, Fire Dance was Zero Wing''s number one Assassin. She could wield the Thousand Transformations to its greatest potential. Hearing Shi Feng''s confidence, Fire Dance''s face burned with both excitement and bashfulness. With the light from the smithy''s furnace, Fire Dance''s normally white cheeks seemed to have been stained red. "You blockhead! Fine! It''s your decision!" Seliora then shifted her gaze towards Fire Dance. "You, follow me." Fire Dance nodded silently. She then followed Seliora and arrived before a silver magic array. "All you need to do is stand in the center of the magic array," Seliora instructed. Her hands then began tracing divine runes in the air. By the time Fire Dance took her place at the array''s center, Seliora had already written dozens of lines of golden divine runes; her casting speed was tremendous. Shortly after, Seliora flicked her delicate finger, and the divine runes wrapped around Fire Dance''s body rapidly, enveloping her. After finishing her preparations, Seliora took out the Mana Stones Shi Feng had readied for her and tossed them into the furnace. Suddenly, 100 Mana Stones hovered above the magic array, looking like stars as they circled the Thousand Transformations, which the Grandmaster Forger had placed inside the furnace. "In you go!" Seliora took out the ten Inferno Gold ingots and tossed them into the furnace as well. Immediately, the crimson flames transformed into golden tongues of fire. In the next moment, the broken sword, which even Killing Ray could not damage, melted as they watched. When Thousand Transformations had melted completely, it transformed into multi-colored globs of molten metal. "Condensate!" Seliora shouted. A multi-colored magic array then enveloped the furnace and everything around it. The 100 Mana Stones instantly transformed into liquid and melded with the liquified Thousand Transformations. Afterward, Seliora returned to rapidly writing divine runes and curses. The golden runes and purple curses also began to flow into the liquid metal inside the furnace. The Grandmaster Forger wrote runes for over half an hour. By the time Seliora finished, her face had paled to an unhealthy white. Meanwhile, the divine runes and curses had molded the liquified Thousand Transformations. Seliora waved her finger. Thousand Transformations then flew out of the furnace and hovered in midair. Currently, Thousand Transformations glowed red and radiated a scorching heat. "It''s finally complete." Seliora could not help but reveal an excited smile as she gazed at the newly recast Thousand Transformations. 772 Extraordinary Ability Chapter 772 - Extraordinary Ability Due to Thousand Transformations, the temperature in the smithy had increased rapidly. Shi Feng felt as if he stood in the mouth of a volcano. Despite standing ten yards away from the Flawed Weapon, Shi Feng received tens of damage with each passing second. If a player with low Fire Resistance stood in his place, they would not last ten seconds. Fortunately, Fire Dance was cocooned deep inside the magic array. She did not receive a single point of damage from the heat. Naturally, Seliora didn''t need to worry about the heat. "Stand further away!" Seliora reminded Shi Feng with a low command. A bottle of dark-blue liquid then appeared in her hands. The instant Seliora took out this bottle, the smithy''s temperature decreased significantly. Shi Feng was still basking in the aftertaste of Seliora''s forging process. However, upon hearing Seliora''s reminder, he ran out of the smithy. Shi Feng was no stranger to forgers. He was even a famous forger himself. Although Shi Feng had watched Master Forgers work many times in the past, he had never once witnessed the forging process of a Grandmaster Forger. He had never imagined there was actually such a huge difference between a Master Forger and a Grandmaster Forger. The experience of watching Seliora work had been quite valuable. Even after ten years, Grandmaster Forgers had still been extremely rare in God''s Domain. Even the Guild Leader of a Super Guild had to treat such an existence with great respect. One could imagine just how high a Grandmaster Forger''s status was. Initially, Shi Feng had thought that the largest difference between a Master Forger and a Grandmaster Forger was their research and understanding of materials. However, after watching Seliora work, he realized the difference wasn''t just the understanding of materials. A Master Forger could never hope to compare to a Grandmaster''s understanding of divine runes, curses, and magic arrays as well. It was no wonder why the Master Forgers of Shadow had never reached Grandmaster status, regardless of how hard they had tried. The strength of Grandmaster Forgers was ridiculous. "Fortunately, I recorded Seliora''s entire recasting process. Afterward, if I show the recording to Melancholic Smile and the others, they might have a better chance of becoming Grandmaster Forgers." Shi Feng, who waited outside Seliora''s house, could not help smiling. After Shi Feng had left the house, Seliora opened the deep-blue bottle and poured a single drop of the deep-blue liquid onto the glowing Thousand Transformations. The instant the deep-blue liquid connected with Thousand Transformations, the Flawed Weapon cooled at a visible rate. The smithy also chilled to become a frozen hell. Although the smithy looked simple, extremely powerful magic arrays strengthened the area. Nothing from the outside world could disturb the house''s interior. Likewise, nothing inside the house could disturb the outside world. Hence, Shi Feng, who stood outside the house, was safe. He could not even sense the drastic changes inside the house. Only after another half an hour had passed did Seliora call Shi Feng back. Thousand Transformations had already cooled completely. It was finished. The Flawed Weapon was white as snow. The sword''s blade also emitted a faint glow, looking like a star in the night sky. Despite doing nothing beyond hovering in the air, Shi Feng could feel a frightening power radiating from the short sword. "Was it a success?" Shi Feng asked curiously. If it were a success, then the moment Fire Dance equipped the weapon, her Attributes would most likely surpass his by a wide margin. After all, he only had a single Fragmented Legendary item on his person. A complete Legendary item had the power to decimate the heaven and earth. Several Epic items and a Fragmented Legendary item could not compare. Unfortunately, Seliora shook her head in disappointment and said, "Although I''ve completed the runes on the sword, there are some defects in the original materials. It can only reach Fragmented Legendary rank. If I had the complete Thousand Transformations, it might''ve become a Legendary Weapon." Shi Feng expressed his sympathy when he saw Seliora''s disappointment. Every Grandmaster Forger dreamed of creating a Legendary Weapon of their own. Although Seliora had not been forging an entirely new weapon, only recasting one, if she succeeded, it would be of immense help towards making a Legendary Weapon in the future. However, he had expected this. A Legendary Weapon was not easily obtainable. It was not something he would stumble across after completing a single Hidden Epic Quest. A Fragmented Legendary item was the limit. If he wanted to obtain a Legendary Weapon, he would have to complete a Legendary Quest at the very minimum. If Galaxy Past knew that his death had given Zero Wing an additional Fragmented Legendary item, he would probably die from a heart attack. Shi Feng could imagine just how much effort Galaxy Past had put into obtaining Thousand Transformations. However, it had fallen into Zero Wing''s hands. As for Feather, the future God-ranked Assassin, Shi Feng could only apologize to him. "Come; test it out," Seliora said as she turned to Fire Dance, who had been frozen in place throughout this process. Players could wield and test any weapon in God''s Domain. However, if they did not meet the necessary requirements, they could not use the weapon in battle. When Fire Dance grasped the hovering Thousand Transformations, she was instantly stunned. Only after a long moment did she dazedly make a few casual swings. Suddenly, a silver flash appeared in the smithy. Despite only swinging the weapon a few times, it felt as if the silver sword were present throughout the building. Moreover, only the Sacred Sword Killing Ray in Shi Feng''s hands could match this sword''s speed. So strong! Shi Feng watched the myriad of sword images that filled the space, feeling threatened. Despite being a Void Realm expert, he could not predict the Thousand Transformations'' attack trajectory. He also couldn''t tell which image was real and which image was just an afterimage. They all seemed real and fake at the same time. Is this the true power of Thousand Transformations? Shi Feng had watched Feather''s battle videos in the past. However, Thousand Transformations had not been this powerful. Although Feather''s attacks with Thousand Transformations had also created numerous sword images, a Refinement Realm expert could, more or less, differentiate the fakes from the real deal. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had already reached the Void Realm, yet, he couldn''t differentiate between the sword images Fire Dance had created. Even though he could feel many of the sword images were fake and were out of sync with Fire Dance''s movements, the pressure these sword images gave off felt very real to him. "There is a reason why this sword was named the Thousand Transformations. When swung, it can transform its user''s attack into a myriad of forms and confuse the enemy. However, when the opponent attempts to retaliate, they will quickly discover that most of the sword images are fake. Yet, when struck by these fakes, they will receive damage. Thousand Transformations can interchange illusions with reality. It''s a pity that it did not become a Legendary Weapon. It would have been truly magnificent," Seliora explained, smiling. As she had personally upgraded this weapon to Fragmented Legendary rank, she understood Thousand Transformations like the palm of her hand. "How about it? Do you feel any discomfort while using it?" Fire Dance was still deeply immersed in the sensation of using Thousand Transformations. Even after Seliora asked her a question, she remained unresponsive. However, judging from Fire Dance''s current reaction, it was obvious that the weapon fit her like a glove "Guild Leader, it feels like this weapon is a part of my body! I can even feel the blade cut across air!" Fire Dance said excitedly as she wielded Thousand Transformations like a favorite toy. "Of course! This is a Fragmented Legendary Weapon Lady Seliora has personally adjusted for you. It should fit you far better than any other Fragmented Legendary Weapon. You should feel that way," Shi Feng laughed. "Alright, stop playing with it for now. Thousand Transformations already belongs to you. You have all the time in the world to analyze it. Let me see its Attributes." 773 Strongest Attributes Chapter 773 - Strongest Attributes Shi Feng was incredibly curious to see how powerful a Fragmented Legendary Weapon was. There were quite a number of Fragmented Legendary items in God''s Domain. However, those who had obtained Fragmented Legendary items were not fools. They would not intentionally reveal their item''s Attributes, allowing their opponents an opportunity to guess their strength and discover weaknesses. Moreover, Fragmented Legendary items that belonged to large Guilds were kept as Guild secrets. They wouldn''t even advertise owning one, much less revealing the item''s Attributes. Although Shi Feng had been Shadow''s Guild Leader in the past, the Guild had not owned a single Fragmented Legendary item. On the other hand, the Guild had owned quite a few Epic items. However, at the end of the day, an Epic Weapon was only an Epic Weapon. It could never compare to a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Hearing Shi Feng''s request, Fire Dance lost her composure. Hurriedly, she sent Shi Feng the Thousand Transformations'' statistics. "As expected of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Compared to this, an Epic Weapon is practically garbage." Shi Feng''s hands involuntarily trembled when he saw the weapon''s Attributes. [Thousand Transformations] (One-handed Sword, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 700, Agility 700 Attack Power (200% of Strength) Attack Speed (2% of Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to user''s level) When equipped: Strength increased by 50%, Agility increased by 60%, Intelligence increased by 40%, Endurance increased by 50%, Attack Speed increased by 50% Ignore Levels +20 All Skills +3 Levels All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Attacks have: 60% chance to trigger Deadly Blow, increasing damage by 220% and Attack Speed by 20%. 20% chance to trigger Critical Point effect, ignoring all block and Defense effects, and dealing 330% weapon damage. Additional Skill 1- Phantom: When activated, summons five doppelgangers. The doppelgangers share Attributes with the wielder. They do not have any Attack Power. All attacks against doppelgangers will have no effect. User can freely swap positions with any of the five doppelgangers without Cooldown. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Skill 2- True Illusion: If wielder dies within 40 seconds upon activation, wielder will respawn at full HP nearby. Grants 3 seconds of invulnerability. All buffs before death will remain in effect. Cooldown: 48 hours Additional Skill 3- Illusory Power: Increases Strength by 80%, Agility by 100%, and Movement Speed by 70%. All damage received has a 50% chance to be sent into the void. Grants immunity to all control effects. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 5 hours Created by Famed Smith Jax. Thousand Transformations is 65th of God''s Domain''s 108 Flawed Weapons. It had lost all its power due to the blade''s destruction. However, it had been recast by Grandmaster Forger Seliora. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. User: Fire Dance An Epic Weapon could never hope to compare to the Thousand Transformations'' Attributes, much less the Additional Skills. This weapon was perfect for Assassins. However, the most impressive aspect of Thousand Transformations was the True Illusion Skill. It was even more amazing than the Full Revival Skill. Even when a player revived with Full Revival, they would still have to suffer the death penalty and lose a Level. Moreover, the monster they fought would leave combat due to their death. When said player challenged the same monster again, the monster would have recovered to full HP. The player would have to start the battle all over again. However, True Illusion was different. It could dismiss a player''s death, allowing them to reappear with full HP without needing to lose a Level. Even if one died in mid-battle against a monster, they could reappear and continue fighting immediately. In PvP, this Skill was even more powerful. In ordinary Duels, this Skill might not be useful as the system would declare the outcome of the battle as soon as a player''s HP fell to 1. In a Death Match, however, the battle would only end after a player had died. In such a situation, True Illusion would take effect, allowing the player to reappear with full HP instantly. The system would not judge the player as the loser, and the battle would continue. With this Skill, with the survivability of Assassins, it would be near-possible to kill Fire Dance. If one did not have the strength to instant-kill Fire Dance, they would not be able to kill her at all. Moreover, Thousand Transformations was now a personal weapon. Even if others wanted the Flawed Weapon, they could not steal it from her. Of course, if Fire Dance obtained better equipment, Thousand Transformations would go to waste. There were both pros and cons. "Can you equip it now?" Shi Feng asked Fire Dance, his excitement evident in his tone. If Fire Dance could equip Thousand Transformations right now, they would have a much easier time in the Dark Arena. After all, that was a team battle. An individual''s strength was limited. To prevent monster-like characters from dominating the entire competition, the Dark Arena ran team battles. This way, the outcome was much harder to predict. It was also impossible for one player to carry a battle team to victory. A battle team was only likely to secure victory if the majority of the members were very powerful. If Fire Dance equipped Thousand Transformations, it would undeniably increase the Asura Battle Team''s chances of victory. "My Agility is sufficient. However, I don''t have enough Strength." Fire Dance was similarly tempted and wished she could equip the new weapon immediately. However, the weapon demanded 700 Strength, and of everyone in Zero Wing, only Shi Feng had met this requirement. "How far are you from the requirement?" Shi Feng asked. "I''m short by 133 points," Fire Dance felt helpless. Unfortunately, she had placed the majority of her Free Attribute Points into Agility. Her Tier 3 Gemstones were also all Agility-types. However, had she not focused on her Agility, she wouldn''t have enough for that requirement either. "That''s quite a lot." Shi Feng frowned. If it were only several dozen points, he had some ways to make up for the gap. However, over 100 points was a little too much. Unless she could replace her equipment"Right, now that you''re Level 38, you should be able to equip the Petrified Thorn! Try!" The Tier 1 Set Equipment for Assassins, the Dark Melody Set, could decrease the equipment requirement by 3 Levels. The Petrified Thorn could only be equipped at Level 40. As for the other equipment requirements, Fire Dance had fulfilled them long ago. She could equip the Petrified Thorn now. Being reminded by Shi Feng, Fire Dance hurriedly replaced the Sub-hand Truefire Blade with the Petrified Thorn. Immediately, her Attributes skyrocketed. Not only did an Epic Weapon provided more fixed Attributes, but it also increased a player''s Basic Attributes by a fixed percentage after being equipped. Take the Petrified Thorn for example. When equipped, it would increase the wielders'' Strength and Agility by 10%. Moreover, the Truefire Blade was only a Level 30 Dark-Gold Weapon. How could it possibly compete with a Level 40 Epic Weapon in terms of Attributes? Sure enough, after Fire Dance equipped the Petrified Thorn, she was only 32 Strength short of reaching 700 points. Afterward, Shi Feng led Fire Dance to the Candlelight Trading Firm and had her replace some of the Tier 3 Agility Gemstones with Tier 3 Strength Gemstones, instantly pushing her Strength to 700 points. Her Agility remained above 700 as well. "Test it out," Shi Feng said. He could not help but laugh at Fire Dance''s slightly nervous expression. "Mhm." Fire Dance then replaced her main weapon with Thousand Transformations. Immediately, Fire Dance''s aura changed massively. The pressure Shi Feng felt from her also increased tremendously. The Assassin now felt like a ferocious beast that had just woken and bared its sharp fangs. Shi Feng was incomparably excited to see Fire Dance''s strength increase. Currently, in terms of Basic Attributes, Fire Dance had surpassed him. "Alright, it''s time to make a trip to the Fire Dragon Empire." Shi Feng smiled. 774 Four Great Empires Chapter 774 - Four Great Empires In one of the bars in Star-Moon City''s Slums: A middle-aged man in silver robes turned and looked at his surroundings. After confirming that no one had followed him, he walked into the bar. Aside from the NPC barkeeper, the bar''s only occupant was a white-haired youth dressed in exquisite, black leather armor. When the white-haired youth, who had been enjoying a bottle of vodka in silence, sensed the silver-robed man walk over, he turned around and smiled, saying, "You''re finally here. It seems that Black Flame has put you through quite the ringer. Did you finish what I asked you to do?" The silver-robed man was none other than Sky from the Flower of Seven Sins. He was also the first Void Realm expert Shi Feng had killed. Sky''s position in the Flower of Seven Sins was extraordinary. He could be considered one of the organization''s key figures. Normally, upon meeting, the Fower''s members only felt fear and respect. They were deeply afraid of offending Sky, who had a strange personality. Yet, when speaking with this man, the white-haired youth remained calm and natural. If the other members saw this, they would definitely be shocked. "As you guessed, he can steal players'' Immortal Souls. However, I did not discover that item''s presence on him. Really though, this incident has ruined me. I wasn''t able to log into the game for three days. I''ve fallen behind in levels. I even lost an excellent pair of shoes. Say, how do you intend to compensate me for the losses?" Sky said, annoyance clear in his tone as he glared at the gloating youth. "Fine. They were just a pair of shoes. What do you think of this?" the white-haired you asked, laughing. He then revealed a pair of Level 35 Dark-Gold ranked combat boots. Currently, God''s Domain''s mainstream players were around Level 30, while its experts were Level 33. Even expert players were barely reaching Level 35. Yet, the white-haired youth could so easily hand Sky a pair of Level 35 Dark-Gold ranked combat boots. Even Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment was very difficult to obtain, not to mention Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. "That is more like it. Anything less and you''d fail to live up to your name, Silver." Sky, however, was not particularly surprised. He accepted the combat boots. "You really are a strange one. Instead of looking for him yourself, you chose me to test his strength and learn whether or not he has that item. Isn''t this just a waste of time? With your abilities, can''t you find an opportunity to kill him fairly easily?" "You don''t understand. There is only one chance to obtain that item. In the off chance that I alert him, I will lose that one opportunity. "Besides, it was fortunate that I didn''t join you. It would have been too difficult to kill him. He didn''t bring the item with him, either. Killing him would have been useless." Silver shook his head. Laughing softly, he said, "I am not in a rush, anyway. In any case, I have other places to be, as well. However, I need you to keep a close eye on him and report any movement to me. "As for the reward you requested, I''ll take care of it as soon as possible. However, you mustn''t forget that only you and I know this information. If I find that word has gotten out you will suffer the consequences!" Sky involuntarily shivered under Silver''s warning glare. Hurriedly, he replied, "I understand." Silver was a true upper echelon of the Flower of Seven Sins. Throughout the organization''s history, Silver was the only player to join the organization''s upper echelons at such a young age. His strength and abilities were extraordinary. If he offended Silver, not only would he find it impossible to mingle in God''s Domain, but he would also suffer in the real world. --- Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon Imperial City: God''s Domain was the home of numerous empires. The Four Great Empires, however, towered above the rest. The Fire Dragon Empire was one of these four. The Beast Empire''s imperial capital only had a player population of around ten million. Flame Dragon City, however, had a population of over thirty million. Beast City could not compete with Flame Dragon City. At the same time, Flame Dragon City was also one of the four venues that often hosted the Dark Arena. Flame Dragon City''s territory was also massive. Compared to Flame Dragon City, Star-Moon City and White River City were merely small children. Currently, a large number of players had gathered in Flame Dragon City''s Underground Arena. Every one of these players either held prominent positions in the virtual gaming world or was one of God''s Domain''s many overlords. No one could afford to offend a single one of these players. Currently, ordinary players could not enter the Underground Arena as a Super Guild had cordoned off the area. If a player dared to cause a scene here, they would find themselves very quickly removed from God''s Domain. Hence, no one dared to approach without an invitation. "Big Sis Rain, it''s almost time, yet, those people haven''t arrived yet. Should we have the others prepare for now?" a charming beauty wearing luxurious, purple mage robes asked Phoenix Rain softly. "We still have some time. It won''t hurt to wait a little longer. If they aren''t going to show up, we''ll have the others take their place," Phoenix Rain said as she glanced at the charming beauty beside her. Smiling, she continued, "Blue, I know you have a low opinion of Zero Wing, but Black Flame is the expert who defeated Martial Dragon. Just a while ago, he even defeated Sky from the Flower of Seven Sins. His strength is at the pinnacle of God''s Domain." In the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, Blue Phoenix was no less famous than Martial Dragon. She was one of the top combatants the Phoenix Pavilion had paid a large price to nurture secretly. However, due to Martial Dragon awakening his Domain a step ahead of her, Blue Phoenix was weaker than Martial Dragon. Even so, she was still an expert ranking at the very top of God''s Domain. Originally, Phoenix Rain had intended to allow Blue Phoenix to lead the battle team, taking advantage of her strength to make a fortune. However, Black Flame''s sudden appearance had changed her mind. If she had Black Flame lead the battle team instead, she had a better chance of keeping herself hidden. At the very least, nobody would connect her with this battle team. "But Black Flame looks down on us! Big Sis Rain, you only obtained this battle team slot after a lot of trouble, yet they haven''t shown themselves, and we''re losing time before the match begins. This shows that they''re not taking this seriously at all! How could someone like this fight with everything they have in the match?" Blue Phoenix complained indignantly. As Phoenix Rain waited quietly for Shi Feng''s arrival, a woman in a set of glamorous purple robes appeared before her. This beautiful woman radiated the air of luxury. "Why, if it isn''t Miss Feng[1]. I never thought that after so many years, you''d still be a measly Pavilion Master. If you had agreed to my brother''s conditions, you wouldn''t be in such a pitiful state," Exemplary Willow said, giggling. Her eyes, however, contained ridicule as she spoke. "And here I wondered who had appeared before me. So it''s Miss Liu[2], who recently suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of an upstart Guild like Zero Wing," Phoenix Rain chuckled while covering her mouth with her hand. Hearing Phoenix Rain comeback, Exemplary Willow flared with anger like a cat whose tail got stepped on. "Feng Qianyu, don''t think that you''ve won just yet! Sooner or later, I''ll teach you that all your efforts are for nothing! Your fate has already been determined and cannot be changed! Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion cannot help you! Not to mention, you''re still just a measly, little Pavilion Master!" Exemplary Willow snorted as she stomped away. After Exemplary Willow left, however, Phoenix Rain''s complexion darkened slightly. "Big Sis Rain, time''s up. The organizer is ushering us to get ready. What should we do?" Blue Phoenix asked. TL Notes: [1]Feng (Feng Qianyu/ Phoenix Rain): Feng Qianyu is Phoenix Rain''s real name. In truth, she''s using her real name in the game as well, but I don''t think Feng Qianyu will be meaningful/memorable. [2]Liu (Liu Shishi/ Exemplary Willow): Liu Shishi is Exemplary Willow''s real name. She''s using her real name in the game as well. 775 Sure-kill Spell Chapter 775 - Sure-kill Spell "Could he have forgotten?" Phoenix Rain frowned slightly. In truth, she had more confidence in her subordinates than in Black Flame. After all, she had gone to great lengths to nurture these subordinates, molding them into experts. Moreover, they wore the best equipment the Phoenix Pavilion had to offer. She had invested a lot of time and effort into this match. Even Zero Wing, a Guild famed for its equipment, was unlikely to have better equipment. Immediately, Phoenix Rain called up the system interface, intending to contact Black Flame. If the man truly wasn''t going to show up, then she could only send her subordinates into the match. Although there was the risk of exposing her identity, winning the match was equally important. Just as Phoenix Rain was about to click "Contact Friend," Shi Feng appeared in her line of sight. However, rather than his appearance of Black Flame, Shi Feng wore the features of Ye Feng. "Hello, Phoenix Pavilion Master. I am Ye Feng, the leader of the battle team Guild Leader Black Flame has sent," Shi Feng explained slowly. "Hello. May I know where your Guild Leader is right now?" Phoenix Rain asked as she looked at Shi Feng, not taking him seriously. She knew of Ye Feng. In her opinion, however, this was only a trap Black Flame had set to confuse the enemy battle team. Black Flame should be the battle team''s true leader rather than this young man before her. "Guild Leader has something important to take care of, so he delegated all responsibilities regarding the battle team to me. If Phoenix Pavilion Master has any questions, please feel free to ask." Shi Feng could tell what was going through Phoenix Rain''s mind. Laughing, he said, "Moreover, Phoenix Pavilion Master, do you really think that it is appropriate for Zero Wing''s Guild Leader to take part in such a competition?" "Then, are you saying that Guild Leader Black Flame won''t be participating in the Dark Arena at all?" Phoenix Raid asked with a chilling tone, wrathful flames flaring up in her eyes. This development was unexpected. "Of course. However, Phoenix Pavilion Master, please rest assured. We won''t disappoint you," Shi Feng said, not particularly minding Phoenix Rain''s anger. Calmly, he continued, "If Phoenix Pavilion Master is still unsure, you can test my strength personally." Shi Feng was very curious about Phoenix Rain''s current strength. In the past, countless Guilds had fallen into Phoenix Rain''s hands. There was even on instance where multiple apex experts banded together to deal with Phoenix Rain, yet without exception, she defeated every one of them. Back then, the assassination attempt had boosted Phoenix Rain''s prestige in God''s Domain. She had been given the "Demon Queen" title as a result. After all, not only was she a country-toppling beauty, but she also possessed an absolute strength that allowed her to step on apex experts. Those apex experts, who had tried to deal with Phoenix Rain, had admitted that, when they had fought Phoenix Rain, she had killed them without taking any damage at all. Those apex experts had been to Gods to Shi Feng. He had only been able to look up to them. Yet, such experts hadn''t been able to land a finger on Phoenix Rain, even after banding together. Phoenix Rain''s strength was inconceivable. However, after that battle, Phoenix Rain had practically avoided combat. She had left all matters to Blue Phoenix to handle. As a result, Phoenix Rain''s true strength remained a mystery in God''s Domain. At this moment, Blue Phoenix stepped forward and said, "As expected of the team leader favored by Guild Leader Black Flame. Since you''re so confident, let me have a bout with you." Blue Phoenix was furious with Zero Wing. Black Flame had actually decided to neglect such an important match, passing all responsibility to a subordinate instead. At this point, she intended to teach Zero Wing''s members a lesson and humiliating Black Flame. "Of course, I have no issues with that. However, it doesn''t seem like we have much time," Shi Feng said after glancing the time. They only had 15 minutes before the competition officially began. If they did not enter the arena before the competition started, they would automatically forfeit the match, and their opponents would win without even fighting. "One minute will be more than enough," Blue Phoenix said as she glanced at Shi Feng''s level, which he had modified to appear as Level 35. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, what are your thoughts?" Shi Feng turned to look at Phoenix Rain. "I''m also curious about Guild Leader Black Flame''s judgment. Since he has chosen you to serve as the team leader, let me see your strength. If you cannot survive for one minute, I can only say that Guild Leader Black Flame is overly optimistic. If that''s the case, I''ll have to reconsider our cooperation." Despite observing Shi Feng for a long time, she did not think that Shi Feng was particularly strong. Although she felt a faint pressure from him, this pressure was minimal. It was far from the massive pressure she felt from Black Flame. "The nearby dueling ring is available. You two can fight there." In truth, Phoenix Rain was also curious about Shi Feng''s identity. She had seen Ye Feng''s name in Zero Wing''s investigation report before. However, Ye Feng had only appeared briefly during God''s Domain''s early stages. Afterward, he had not accomplished anything notable. Yet, Black Flame had given Ye Feng full authority over the battle team for such an important event like the Dark Arena. Even Aqua Rose, Zero Wing''s Vice-Leader, was only the battle team''s second in command. How could this situation not pique her interest? Based on Phoenix Rain''s impression, Black Flame was a man of absolute calm. He knew his priorities and had glimpsed upon the world of the great. It was impossible that Black Flame did not understand the importance of the Dark Arena. Yet, he still delegated all responsibility to Ye Feng It would be unwise to cast aside Ye Feng without testing the young man. Hence, she decided to take the time to test Ye Feng''s strength. If he could last one minute against Blue Phoenix, then he was relatively strong. It would not be impossible for him to secure victory in the upcoming match. After all, the other Zero Wing members of the battle team were relatively strong as well. "Since Phoenix Pavilion Master doesn''t have any problems with it, I have no issues with it, either," Shi Feng laughed as he walked towards the dueling ring. There were many dueling rings inside the Underground Arena that players could rent for practice matches. However, the higher rank the dueling ring was, the higher its rental fees were. In the dueling ring, as soon as Blue Phoenix and Shi Feng turned towards each other, the Duel''s countdown began. Five seconds Four seconds Just as the Duel was about to begin, Phoenix Rain suddenly noticed that Zero Wing''s other members weren''t particularly interested in watching. On the contrary, they chatted, carefree, with each other. "Underestimating my subordinate?" Phoenix Rain could not help but laugh. Her laughter, however, contained a hint of frost. Blue Phoenix, noticed the behavior of Zero Wing''s members. Good! Very good! I intended to go easy and let your team leader last a few more seconds. Now, I''ll take him down in five seconds! Blue Phoenix inwardly swore. Blue Phoenix was a Level 36 Tier 1 Elementalist. Meanwhile, her equipment consisted of Level 35 Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold quality. The staff in her hand was even the Level 30 Dark-Gold ranked Dawn Scepter, a weapon she had obtained from a Level 30 Hell Mode Team Dungeon. The Dark-Gold ranked staff could even level with her to Level 35. Overall, Blue Phoenix''s magic damage was astonishing. Even her minor Skills could inflict massive damage to an MT of the same Level. Soon, the bell signaled the start of the Duel. "Die!" With a low shout, she began drawing several lines of runes with great familiarity. Immediately, dozens of Ice Spears appeared around her and shot towards Shi Feng. Tier 1 Sure-kill Spell, Ice Madness! Every Ice Spear contained immense power. Players that came into contact with the spears would suffer a debuff, their Movement Speed reducing by 40% and Attack Speed reducing by 30%. Under Blue Phoenix''s control, dozens of Ice Spears flew towards Shi Feng from all directions. The Swordsman had nowhere to hide. Moreover, Blue Phoenix had already reached the Void Realm. She could perceive her surroundings and Shi Feng''s actions like the back of her hand. With Shi Feng''s slightest movements, she could immediately adjust the attack angle of her Ice Spears. However, this was not all. Suddenly, Blue Phoenix waved her hand, and two Ice Walls appeared in front of her, preventing Shi Feng from charging at her. 776 Triple-casting Chapter 776 - Triple-casting "Such swift and fierce techniques. She must be more than just an ordinary expert of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion." Aqua Rose, who watched from the stands, was slightly stunned. She had not expected Blue Phoenix to be so highly skilled. Magical classes and melee classes'' combat methods were different. Magical classes had to focus on their familiarity and control of their Spells. The more familiar a player was with a Spell, the faster they could cast said Spell. Once they were familiar with a Spell to a certain extent, they only needed minimal Concentration to cast it. It was even possible for players to skip chanting completely and cast their Spells instantaneously. Meanwhile, the higher a player''s control was of their Spells, the more Spells they could cast simultaneously. Also, high-tiered Spells required more control to cast. Multicasting Spells was like multitasking in real life. One might be able to handle one task with ease but would find two or more simultaneous tasks difficult. For magical class players, without a certain level of control of their Spells, it was impossible to cast multiple Spells at once. Of course, there were some talented people who could multitask two or more tasks without training. If these people played a magical class, they could easily become experts. Even without a high degree of control, they could cast two or more Spells simultaneously. One could overwhelm their enemies by multicasting Spells, drowning them in a bombardment of magic. After all, evading one Spell attack was already difficult, not to mention evading two or more. Being able to double-cast Spells would greatly increase a magical class player''s variety of attack methods. They would not have to rely on monotone attacks that could be easily avoided. Naturally, this would increase their combat power by leaps and bounds. Currently, Aqua Rose could only handle double-casting. Moreover, she could only cast two Tier 0 Spells simultaneously. Even casting one Tier 0 and one Tier 1 Spell simultaneously was beyond her. Yet, Blue Phoenix was capable of multicasting a Tier 1 Sure-kill Spell and a Tier 0 Spell. One could just imagine how superior Blue Phoenix was to her. Facing the dozens of incoming Ice Spears, Shi Feng ran, leaving behind multiple afterimages as he moved. It was far more difficult to hit a moving player with a Spell. Not to mention, Blue Phoenix had to focus on controlling so many Ice Spears. "It''s useless!" Blue Phoenix had long since seen Shi Feng''s intentions and had taken countermeasures. However, Shi Feng was also an expert in the Void Realm. He could sense the dozens of Ice Spears'' exact locations. The instant the Ice Spears were about to reach him, he sidestepped and allowed the dozens of spears to brush past. He then circled the Ice Walls and approached Blue Phoenix. Although the Void Realm allowed players to perceive their surroundings clearly, their range was not unlimited. Their maximum range was 20 yards. As long as he was over 20 yards away from Blue Phoenix, the Elementalist could not perceive his movements in such detail. It wouldn''t be possible for her to change the trajectory of her Ice Spears in time. However, Blue Phoenix was no fool. While controlling Ice Madness, she also used the Ice Walls or instant-cast Frost Arrows to hinder Shi Feng''s advance. Just as she was about to force Shi Feng into a corner, she summoned four Ice Walls, surrounding Shi Feng from all sides. The dozens of Ice Spears that had lain in wait descended on Shi Feng. Boom! Boom! Boom! Frost particles and white mist permeated the area. "Is he dead?" Blue Phoenix looked at the time. Only three seconds had passed since the battle had begun. Suddenly, Blue Phoenix felt that something was wrong. It felt as if a ferocious beast had just appeared behind her. Hurriedly, she activated Blink with a thought and appeared 15 yards away from her original position. Hua! Numerous blue sword lights blossomed Blue Phoenix''s original location, slicing apart the afterimage she left behind. She had only been a thread away from Shi Feng''s strikes. Her senses sure are sharp. Shi Feng sighed disappointedly. If he faced against any other class right now, he would have hit his opponent. Unfortunately, Blink could be cast with a single thought. The Skill took effect instantaneously, allowing the user to appear 15 yards away. No matter how fast his sword was, it could not outmatch Blink. That was close! With her Void Realm perception, Blue Phoenix had realized what Shi Feng had done. So, he still had such a move. Unfortunately, it is useless! I will end everything with this! Following which, Blue Phoenix waved her finger and used Ice Dragon''s Roar. In the next moment, a powerful gush of cold air blasted towards Shi Feng. Just as Shi Feng was about to dodge to the left, five Great Fireballs appeared, flying at him. Double-casting could allow magical class players to launch preemptive strikes, using the first attack to force the enemy to reveal a weak point, then attacking said weak point with the second Spell. If ordinary players did not cope with the twofold attack properly, they would not even know how they died. Void Realm magical class experts sure are difficult to deal with. Having no better options, Shi Feng retreated backward, intending to avoid the five Great Fireballs before evading the Ice Dragon''s Roar. However, two Ice Walls suddenly appeared behind Shi Feng, sealing his path of retreat. "Impossible!" Astonishment appeared on Aqua Rose''s face. "She can actually triple-cast?!" Double-casting was already Aqua Rose''s limit. Even so, double-casting had increased her combat power tremendously. Yet, Blue Phoenix could triple-cast. She was simply inhuman. Despite both Ice Wall and Great Fireball being Tier 0 Spells, when triple-casted, they were far more powerful than a Tier 2 Spell. Everyone finally realized just how frightening Blue Phoenix was. It was no wonder why she had confidently claimed that she could end the battle in one minute. Almost anyone would be helpless against her diverse attack method. A player''s only option was to confront the incoming Spells. However, against Blue Phoenix''s high magic damage, just how many attacks of her''s could one handle? "Blue is taking this too seriously," Phoenix Rain sighed helplessly as she watched her comrade''s performance. "It seems that Blue will be participating in the competition." In the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, Blue Phoenix had even suppressed Martial Dragon before he had awakened his Domain. Needless to say, an unknown character from Zero Wing stood no chance against the Elementalist. Hence, she had told Shi Feng before that he would pass if he could survive a minute against Blue Phoenix. Now, however, it would seem that even one minute wasn''t possible. With Blue Phoenix''s current equipment, lasting ten seconds against her serious efforts was impressive enough. Just as the Ice Dragon''s Roar was about to devour Shi Feng, he lightly swung Killing Ray at the torrent of cold air. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Multiple streaks of blue lightning pierced the Ice Dragon''s Roar. Two streaks of lightning scattered the pure-white Spell. Following which, another two streaks snaked their way towards Blue Phoenix. When Blue Phoenix saw the incoming lightning bolts, she hurriedly cast Ice Walls and Flame Explosion to defend herself. Only after breaking the third Ice Wall did the lightning bolts vanish. Such high Strength! Blue Phoenix could not help her shock as she glanced at the evaporated Ice Wall. However, before Blue Phoenix recovered from her shock, she saw Shi Feng swing Killing Ray once more. Hurricane! Immediately, countless wind blades flew towards Blue Phoenix, leaving no space for the Elementalist to dodge. Blue Phoenix hurriedly used Blink again, escaping Hurricane''s attack range. However, Shi Feng had already circled to her left and was only 20 yards away from her. Elementalists could cast Blink, at most, twice in a row, with each Blink charge having a Cooldown of 12 seconds. Only a few seconds had passed since she used Blink the first time. Hence, her Blink was on Cooldown and was unavailable. Do you think you can approach me just because I''ve used up my Blink? Blue Phoenix smiled disdainfully. Waving her staff, she began casting Ice Walls, one after another, to block Shi Feng''s path. At the same time, she used Ice Spheres to both slow and damage Shi Feng. Slowed by evading the Ice Walls and Ice Spheres, as well as pinned down by her firepower, by the time Shi Feng could close in the Elementalist, Blink would have finished its Cooldown. By the time Shi Feng could approach her, her Blink would already be ready for use. Just as Blue Phoenix wondered how Shi Feng would evade her attacks, Shi Feng suddenly activated Defensive Blade and swung his sword at the Ice Wall before him. When one touched an Ice Wall, the Spell would reduce their speed instantly. However, if one attacked an Ice Wall using sword aura, their speed would be unaffected. After activating Defensive Blade, Shi Feng''s attack range extended to 15 yards. Peng! Suddenly, the blue sword aura shattered the Ice Wall before Shi Feng. He then charged past the broken Ice Wall. "Don''t even think about getting near me!" Blue Phoenix cast more Ice Walls while bombarding Shi Feng with Ice Spears. However, the instant her Ice Walls appeared, Shi Feng''s blue sword aura shattered them. The numerous Ice Spears Blue Phoenix fired shared a similar fate. When Shi Feng was within 15 yards of Blue Phoenix, he suddenly brandished Killing Ray at the Elementalist and triggered the Lightning effect. A streak of blue light shot across the dueling ring. Not only did the sword light pierce the blocking Ice Wall, but it also pierced Blue Phoenix''s Frost Body. Numerous streaks of blue light then wrapped around Blue Phoenix, devouring her HP, dropping it to zero 777 Times are Differen Chapter 777 - Times are Different When the white mist faded, the Duel''s outcome was on display above the ring. Victor: Ye Feng! "Just who is he?" Shock and suspicion filled Phoenix Rain''s eyes, her expression growing somewhat somber. She was very familiar with Blue Phoenix''s Basic Attributes. The Elementalist definitely ranked at the very top of God''s Domain in this aspect. Yet, Shi Feng had surpassed Blue Phoenix An Elementalist''s Ice Wall was not easily destroyed. Even a Berserker of equal strength couldn''t shatter an Ice Wall with two or three hits. Even if the Berserker were slightly stronger, it was impossible to destroy an Ice Wall with a single hit. However, Shi Feng''s Attributes still wasn''t the most shocking aspect. What truly shocked her was his combat realm. Void Realm experts were rare. Yet, a little Guild like Zero Wing actually had two such experts. Suddenly, Phoenix Rain realized that her knowledge of Zero Wing was somewhat lacking. "Hahaha! Big Brother Ye Feng has won!" Violet Cloud cheered. "Someone had even boasted that they could end the battle in one minute. It seems that it was true!" Blackie laughed. After her defeat, Blue Phoenix was dazed for quite some time. When she looked at the name displayed above the dueling ring, then looked at the young man standing before her, a bitter feeling arose in her heart. The battle had lasted less than 10 seconds. This was the first time she had lost so miserably after her training. Moreover, Ye Feng did not seem to be particularly old. They should be roughly the same age. The bitter feeling of rivalry bloomed in Blue Phoenix''s heart. In the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, she stood out among the other talents. Despite Martial Dragon being stronger than her, she had never once held him in any regard. After all, Martial Dragon was several years older than she was. She was younger and had more potential. As long as she was given enough time, she would, sooner or later, awaken her Domain as well and become one of the true experts at the peak of God''s Domain. Yet, now An expert who was around the same age but significantly stronger had appeared. What infuriated Blue Phoenix the most was that Ye Feng was only a Void Realm expert, not someone with a Domain. Despite the fact that they had reached the same combat realm, he had beaten her so ruthlessly. How could she accept this outcome? "You''re Ye Feng, right?" Blue Phoenix marched up to Shi Feng, scanning the young man''s appearance and committing it to memory. "Mhm." Shi Feng nodded as he wondered about Blue Phoenix''s odd, analyzing gaze. "I''ll remember it. My name is Blue Phoenix. You must remember it. This name will surpass yours in the future." After saying so, Blue Phoenix turned and left the dueling ring. Shi Feng laughed in response to Blue Phoenix''s declaration. He had never thought the woman would have such an abrupt personality. However, this trait had allowed Blue Phoenix to improve herself continuously and become one of the top few experts in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. In the future, she would grow ridiculously strong, eventually becoming a Tier 6 Mage God, an existence that countless people looked up to. In Shi Feng''s previous life, the Tier 6 goal had been far out of his reach. Now, however, he possessed the ability to contend with a future, God-ranked expert. After this fight, Shi Feng''s mentality had shifted slightly. Back then, he had struggled at the very bottom. Now, however, God''s Domain''s peak was already within his reach. "Surpass me?" Shi Feng smirked at the departing Elementalist. Silently, he swore, Those who I have surpassed will only find the gap between us widening. --- "Phoenix Pavilion Master, do you still have qualms with my participation?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to Phoenix Rain. To avoid exposing his identity as Black Flame, not only had Shi Feng altered his level and the appearance of his equipment using the Demon Mask, but he had also kept many of his Skills hidden, using only a few basic Swordsman techniques. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to discover his secret. Moreover, Ye Feng''s and Black Flame''s auras were greatly different from each other. Ye Feng''s state was his natural state. He kept Ye Feng''s aura sheathed, as plain as water, and one would easily mistake him as a passerby. After donning the guise of Black Flame, however, he became more flamboyant. Black Flame was like an unsheathed sword, a powerful deterring force. Wherever he went, he was the center of attraction. He felt absolute to others. "I never thought that Guild Leader Black Flame would have someone so powerful. Even in the battle in the Stoneclaw Mountains, you never made an appearance. It seems that Zero Wing really knows how to hide its strength. Guild Leader Black Flame has even fooled me," Phoenix Rain said after thoroughly reevaluating Shi Feng. Although she suspected that Black Flame was Ye Feng, their auras were vastly different. Moreover, she had even used a super-advanced Identification Skill that could see through disguises. Even the Demon Mask could not hide the truth from her Skill. However, even with her Identification Skill, Shi Feng''s ID displayed as Ye Feng, not Black Flame. This assured Phoenix Rain that they were not the same person. The only thing she discovered was that Ye Feng had altered his Level. She had never imagined that Ye Feng was actually Level 39, three levels higher than herself. Since he was three levels higher, there would naturally be a significant gap in terms of Attributes. This explained why Blue Phoenix was no match for Shi Feng. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, it''s getting late. If we don''t enter the venue now, the organizer will most likely declare a forfeit," Shi Feng said as he looked at the time. They had a little over ten minutes remaining. They would be just in time if they hurried over immediately. As for whether or not Phoenix Rain had discovered his identity, Shi Feng could easily tell by the woman''s behavior that his truth was safe. It was obvious that Phoenix Rain had failed to uncover his secret. Moreover, nobody would assume that Zero Wing''s almighty Guild Leader was just a fake identity, while Ye Feng was his true identity. Even if someone did suspect him of being Black Flame and had used an advanced Identification Skill on him, they would only discover the identity of Ye Feng. Even when he wore the guise of Black Flame, his secret was still safe; he always wore a Black Cloak while acting as Black Flame. Even an advanced Identification Skill could not uncover his information. With his identity hidden, outsiders would think that there were two great Swordsman experts in Zero Wing. With that assumption, even a first-rate Guild would grow wary of Zero Wing like Phoenix Rain was now. "Alright. I''ll let you handle the rest. I hope that Team Leader Ye Feng to bring me the good news of victory." Phoenix Rain smiled sweetly; she no longer treated Shi Feng with indifference. On the contrary, she was surprised and pleased. With Ye Feng''s skills, the battle team''s overall strength could not be underestimated. Moreover, with Ye Feng''s presence, everyone watching the competition would focus on Zero Wing. Nobody would bother with her, the battle team''s backer. This way, she could earn a fortune in secret. Following which, Shi Feng led Aqua Rose and the others to the Underground Arena''s Main Venue. "Big Sis Rain, I''m sorry I lost to Ye Feng." After Shi Feng and the others left, Blue Phoenix was wracked by guilt. Despite Phoenix Rain having the best resources the Guild possessed, she still suffered defeat. "Foolish girl, it was only natural that you lost. Do you know what Level he is right now?" Phoenix Rain chuckled softly, not blaming Blue Phoenix at all. Blue Phoenix shook her head in response. "He''s Level 39!" Phoenix Raid announced. "Even the old monsters from Super Guilds have not reached that Level yet. As for his weapons and equipment, even I don''t know what he''s wearing. Although his items looked plain and simple, it is clear that he had disguised them. Unfortunately, my Identification Skills cannot see through the disguise. Meanwhile, the fact that his Attributes are far superior to yours shows that his weapons and equipment are extraordinary. It is especially true for those swords. I suspect they might even be Epic Weapons!" 778 Peak of God’s Domain Chapter 778 - Peak of God''s Domain Although Phoenix Rain had not been loud, her words had stunned Blue Phoenix. Epic Weapons! Currently, these items were practically legends. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion only had one Epic item thus far. However, it was not a weapon. Rather, they had a pair of cloth armor gloves. This Epic ranked gloves had caused a fight between the Phoenix Pavilion and Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. Both Pavilions had tried to claim the gloves for themselves. In the end, however, the Great Pavilion Master had given the gloves to Phoenix Rain. Due to this, Nine Dragons Emperor of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion was furious. However, Nine Dragons Emperor could not do anything about the decision because he wasn''t a magical class. On the other hand, Phoenix Rain was an Elementalist. The Epic ranked gloves were also perfectly suited for an Elementalist. To gain the greatest benefit, the gloves went to Phoenix Rain. When Blue Phoenix saw the gloves'' Basic Attributes, she realized that the gloves were significantly stronger than Dark-Gold Equipment. Furthermore, the Epic Equipment increased certain Basic Attributes by a fixed percentage. Although the increase only ranged between 10% and 15%, to a top-tier expert with over 500 points in their main Attribute, a 10% increase was a significant jump. The Epic ranked gloves also had powerful Skills. The gloves alone increased Phoenix Rain''s combat power by nearly 30%. If an Epic item was so effective, how powerful were Epic Weapons? Just thinking about it made Blue Phoenix shiver in fear. The fact that Shi Feng had sliced apart her Ice Walls with a single slash spoke volumes of his weapons'' strength. However, this revelation also confused Blue Phoenix. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had only managed to obtain a single piece of Epic Equipment after a lot of struggling. How did a small Guild like Zero Wing manage to obtain two Epic Weapons? "It seems Zero Wing isn''t as simple as we thought. Neither the Star Alliance or the Flower of Seven Sins lost to Zero Wing without reason. In any case, have more people watch Zero Wing. I keep feeling that Black Flame is shrouded in mystery," Phoenix Rain sternly commanded her subordinate after pondering for some time. "I understand. I''ll have the intelligence department start a new, thorough investigation on Zero Wing." This was the third time Blue Phoenix had seen Phoenix Rain so serious. She believed that Phoenix Rain overestimated Zero Wing. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. Even if Zero Wing rose at a tremendous pace, it was still ten years too early for it to become anything more than a first-rate Guild. The virtual gaming world had been around for hundreds of years. Throughout its history, many upstart Guilds had become first-rate Guilds through accomplishments in a single game. However, no upstart Guild had ever surpassed first-rate Guilds through just a single game. Beyond that, Zero Wing had no particular backing. --- A sea of people filled the Underground Arena''s Main Venue. There were two modes of combat in the Underground Arena. The first was the system-acknowledged ranking matches held in the Basic, Advanced, and Special Areas. The second mode was a zero-restriction match. For zero-restriction matches, players could fight Special Area experts without requiring combat results in the Underground Arena. However, the size of the venues and rules were different. Even the fees were different. The Basic Venue for zero-restriction matches could hold far more people than that of the ranking matches. Each venue could hold roughly 500 people. If one wanted to reserve the venue, each day cost 3 Gold. Inside the venue, players could fight however they wished. There were no restrictions to the number of fights that could be held. As for the Advanced Venue, it could hold 3,000 people. Reserving it for the day cost 10 Gold. The Special Venue could hold 20,000 people, and reserving it for a day cost 100 Gold. Even large Guild could not afford to reserve the Special Venue. The Main Venue towered above the Special Venue. The number of people the Main Venue could hold depended on the city''s rank. A kingdom''s Main Venue could hold roughly 50,000 people. An empire''s Main Venue could hold roughly 70,000 to 80,000 people. The Main Venue of the Four Great Empires'' Underground Arenas could hold roughly 100,000 people. Aside from accommodating larger crowds, the greatest difference between zero-restriction matches and ranking matches was the size of the dueling rings. In Basic Venues, the dueling rings there could support one-on-one matches. The dueling rings of Advanced Venues could support three-on-three matches at most. Special Venues could hold ten-on-ten matches. Lastly, Main Venues could hold 100-on-100 matches. In the Underground Arena, the spectator stands offered the full view of the dueling ring. One could observe the battlefield from whichever angle they desired. Battles involving hundreds of players frequently occurred across God''s Domain. However, it was difficult to observe these battles without being dragged into the fray. However, that would not happen in the Underground Arena. Players could observe the battles in the dueling rings closely. Hence, players favored the Underground Arena. The various large Guilds would also often rehearse 100-man team battles here. However, unlike the other venues, each Underground Arena only possessed one Main Venue. Moreover, the rental fee was very expensive. Renting out the Main Venue in White River City cost more than 300 Gold. As for the Four Great Empires, their Main Venues cost 600 Gold to rent each day. Through Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng only raked in roughly 1,000 Gold of profit each day. Yet, it cost 600 Gold to rent the Main Venue. Meanwhile, such competitions occurred in the Four Great Empires'' Underground Arenas every day. The wealth of the Dark Arena''s organizer was obvious. Neither the participating players, nor the audience members needed to play an entry fee. Of course, they all required an invitation to enter. No one could enter the Main Venue without one. However, even without charging an entrance fee, the Dark Arena''s organizer still made an immense profit. The organizer charged a 1% processing fee for all winning bets in the Dark Arena. Although 1% might not seem much to whoever won the bet, only those of extraordinary status were invited to watch the battles. Even 1% was an extraordinary amount of money. Furthermore, there were a lot of people betting on the fights. The organizer earned far more than just 600 Gold each day. With so much profit at stake, it was natural that the position of the Dark Arena''s organizer was not permanent. Initially, one would secure the position by influence. Later, they secured it with strength. Why were the various major corporations pushing their battle teams to secure victory with every match? They pushed because only the top few ranking battle teams could qualify to challenge the Dark Arena''s organizer. Hence, the qualifications to form a Dark Arena battle team were precious. When Shi Feng learned that Phoenix Rain had qualified to send a battle team to the Dark Arena, he had been shocked. "There are so many people here!" After Blackie entered the Main Venue, the scene had left him awestruck. The competition venue, which could accommodate 100,000 players, was about 20% full. "These people have extraordinary statuses. Most likely, even the most inferior among them are upper echelons of first-rate Guilds," Aqua Rose stated. When she swept a glance over the audience members, she noticed several upper echelons from first-rate Guilds. She even spotted the Guild Leaders of several first-rate Guilds. "It''s not just the upper echelons of the first-rate Guilds in God''s Domain. Many famous experts have been invited as well. In addition, the representatives from many major corporations have received invites. However, the Dark Arena is lively today," Shi Feng explained slowly. He had visited the Dark Arena many times in his previous life. Back then, however, he had been over Level 100. By then, many people had discovered the Dark Arena. Moreover, the battles he had watched had usually been between relatively skilled battle teams. Even then, the venues were only about 30% full. Currently, the Dark Arena was still new, only emerging recently. An occupancy rate of 20% was already considerably high. As staff members guided Shi Feng and his team into the dueling ring, their appearance had elicited a small cry from a corner of the audience stands. "Isn''t that Ye Feng?!" Zhao Yueru exclaimed as she rubbed her eyes, thinking they had fooled her. However, no matter how she stared, the man was undoubtedly Ye Feng. "Why is he here?!" 779 Zero Wing’s True Appearance Chapter 779 - Zero Wing''s True Appearance Hearing Zhao Yueru''s shriek, Gentle Snow, who sat beside her in silver armor, could not help but turn to look. "This" Gentle Snow was slightly surprised as well. Even in Star-Moon Kingdom, Ye Feng unknown to the public. However, Gentle Snow knew very well that, if not for Ye Feng''s help, it would have been impossible for her to defeat Cao Chenghua. One could say that Ye Feng was quite strong. However, being strong and being able to participate in the Dark Arena were entirely different things. After not encountering Ye Feng for a short time, the man had become one of the Dark Arena''s participants. This sudden development was truly shocking. Just what kind of place was the Dark Arena? It was a hub for the top powers in God''s Domain. Even the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild was not qualified to receive an invitation. Only first-rate Guilds would have the opportunity to watch the matches here. Although Zero Wing had risen to prominence in Star-Moon Kingdom, and it was as strong as a first-rate Guild, it was still an unknown existence to the majority of God''s Domain. After all, Star-Moon Kingdom was only one of the many kingdoms in God''s Domain. Even if the Guild received an invite to the Dark Arena, it shouldn''t have happened for another several months. Yet, Ye Feng had joined a battle team. Joining a battle team required far more than joining the audience. "Snow, look! It''s not just Ye Feng! Zero Wing''s upper echelons are here, too!" Zhao Yueru quickly noticed Aqua Rose and the others, who followed Shi Feng closely. During the war in the Stoneclaw Mountains, Zero Wing''s upper echelons had allowed the various large Guilds to gain a new understanding of their strength. Although their victory against the Flower of Seven Sins mainly attributed to Black Flame''s uncontrolled power, the fact that they had lasted so long against the assassins and suffered so few losses was astounding. It was especially true for Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud. These three women had stood against the Flower''s party leaders without assistance. They were extraordinarily strong. After the war, Gentle Snow had even asked for a copy of the battle video. Although Gentle Snow knew that it was not appropriate to ask for the favor, she was very keen to know the process of that battle. After all, the battle between the Flower of Seven Sins and Zero Wing''s upper echelons had been a crucial turning point in the war. At the same time, that team battle had been the most intense in Star-Moon Kingdom so far. How could anybody resist watching such a battle? For experts wanting to improve on their combat techniques, the recording of that battle was a priceless treasure. Hence, Gentle Snow had specifically asked Shi Feng for a copy. "Black Flame" Gentle Snow could not help but smile bitterly as she watched the Asura Battle Team, which consisted only of Zero Wing''s members. She could not help the feeling that Black Flame had played her for a fool. She had not viewed Zero Wing as particularly powerful in the past. However, what was the truth? Gentle Snow even began to suspect if Black Flame had been putting up an act all along and was secretly laughing at everything she did. The rights to send a battle team into the Dark Arena were not easy to obtain. Without a powerful background, the various international corporations would not bother acknowledging Zero Wing. Yet, Zero Wing was here, with a battle team consisting fully of its own members, in the Dark Arena. This showed that Zero Wing did not lack a background. Gentle Snow finally realized why Zero Wing dared to pick a fight with Open Source Corporation. --- While Gentle Snow sighed, depression overwhelmed another corner of the spectator stands. "Guild Leader, they are" Purple Eye''s eyes nearly fell out of her sockets when she saw Zero Wing''s members enter the dueling ring. It would have been nothing if only one or two Zero Wing members were on the battle team. However, every slot of that battle team belonged to a Zero Wing member. "That damned Exemplary Willow! And damn the Elders who can think of nothing but profit! Every one of them should go to hell!" Galaxy Past cursed as he paled. At this point, he had no idea what to say. "They''ve doomed the Star Alliance!" He had never considered Black Flame to be an irrational man. He had reasons to be confident if he actually dared to provoke Open Source Corporation''s Exemplary Willow. The situation should have stayed between Exemplary Willow and Black Flame. However, due to those Elders, the Star Alliance had gotten mixed up in a fight between these titanic forces. Now, not only had the Star Alliance become cannon fodder, but it had also angered Zero Wing. Furthermore, Exemplary Willow had up-and-left after the Star Alliance''s defeat. However, the Star Alliance could not leave Purple Eye''s hatred towards Exemplary Willow and the Guild Elders also ran deep. The Star Alliance was her home. Now that the Star Alliance had provoked Zero Wing, it was only a matter of time before the Alliance was annihilated. However, that was not the most crucial issue. The Star Alliance had built its main base of operations in Star-Moon Kingdom. If they moved their main base to another country, it would be extremely difficult to compete with the other Guilds there. "It''s okay. With this information, it''s not too late to turn things around. After this competition is over, we will immediately hold a meeting with our highest members." At this moment, Galaxy Past truly regretted letting Exemplary Willow finance the Star Alliance. In return for a little funding, they had provoked a power that they should have left alone. "Are we going to return right now?" Purple Eye asked curiously. "Since we''re already here, we can''t leave empty-handed. Although the Glorious Lions Battle Team has won against two strong battle teams in a row, Zero Wing''s upper echelons are capable of taking down the Flower of Seven Sins. With Zero Wing''s combat power, there is a 60% chance that they will win," Galaxy Past said, bitterness blooming in his heart. To learn just how powerful Zero Wing was, he had sacrificed 80% of the Guild''s elite members. God forbid; if he did not earn back some of his losses today "I''ll place a bet right away." When Purple Eye heard Galaxy Past''s words, she realized something. Even Super Guilds feared the Flower of Seven Sins. Since Zero Wing could defeat those assassins, they should have no trouble defeating the Glorious Lions Battle Team. --- At the same time, Gentle Snow''s people were also frantically placing bets, wagering every rare material and top-tier equipment they had with them on the Asura Battle Team. "Snow, I''ve already bet all of the materials I brought." Although Zhao Yueru somewhat hated Ye Feng, she could not help but acknowledge the man''s strength. In Zero Wing, only Black Flame was stronger. Hence, the possibility of the Asura Battle Team obtaining victory was very high. Since they knew that there was an extremely high chance for the Asura Battle Team winning, they could not miss this chance to make a profit. "I even wagered my staff. There really isn''t anything else I can bet." "Notify Old Xu to bring as many rare materials as he can immediately," Gentle Snow said. She could not help but laugh as she watched her money-grubbing friend. --- While the audience placed their bets, the Glorious Lions and Asura Battle Team had arrived at the center of the battlefield. "Brother Ye Feng, long time no see," Everlasting War greeted Shi Feng. "I never thought we would meet again under such circumstances." He had long since acknowledged Ye Feng''s strength. Unfortunately, Hua Qiushui had her own considerations. "I''m surprised as well. What would you like to bet this time?" Shi Feng could see Everlasting War''s helplessness and guilt. However, he was quite pleased that he had rejected the Glorious Lions. Otherwise, where would he have found the opportunity to allow Zero Wing''s upper echelons to participate in such a competition? Moreover, he had full authority over the battle team. This was an opportunity he could never have dreamed of in his previous life. As the battle team''s representative, he could propose a bet with their opponent. As for the winnings they earned from the audience''s bets, the system was responsible for distributing them. "We don''t really care. What do you wish to bet?" Everlasting War laughed. There was nothing in God''s Domain that they did not possess. Hence, they did not particularly care what they gambled. Moreover, Everlasting War was confident that the Glorious Lions would win this match. "Since you do not care, I won''t be courteous." Shi Feng had never thought that Everlasting War was so wealthy to dismiss profit. He relaxed and said, "Let''s bet 40 logs of Primal Emerald Wood, 24 Soul Cultivating Stones, 30,000 Magic Crystals, and 1,000 pieces of Level 30 and above Dark-Gold Equipment. How about it?" 780 Wager Chapter 780 - Wager Before the match began, the audience began to place their bets. Everyone came to the Dark Arena for two reasons. The first was to earn rare materials and top-tier equipment. The second was to watch an exciting battle. As soon as the two battle teams stepped into the dueling ring, everyone began searching for information regarding the team members and placing their bets based on what they found. The audience was shocked by what they found. "Why does this Asura Battle Team consist of members from a small Guild?" "Just who established the Asura Battle Team? Have they lost their mind? Aside from Aqua Rose, who has some fame, the other members are nobodies! So what if they''re somewhat famous in Star-Moon Kingdom; do they think they can win the competition with such low standards? Are they taking the Dark Arena seriously? Or can the Asura Battle Team not afford to hire even a few famous experts?" "With such a battle team, the Glorious Lions would find it hard to lose even if they wanted to. It seems the Glorious Lions will win their third match in a row." Once the audience members read what information had been collected on Zero Wing, they couldn''t believe their own eyes. Although Zero Wing was not weak, it was not particularly strong, either. Black Flame was the only notable figure in the Guild. However, there was no sign of Black Flame. Moreover, none of the members had even set foot into the Realms of Refinement. Their equipment might rank at the top in their kingdom, but what did that matter in the Dark Arena? The Dark Arena was the hub for God''s Domain''s top powers. Top-tier equipment in a kingdom was nothing in this place. One could see this much just by looking at Glorious Lions'' leader, Everlasting War. Everlasting War wore a complete Level 35 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the current-best Set Equipment in God''s Domain. It was significantly stronger than a Level 30 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Everything else the man wore was Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment as well. He was also fully equipped with Tier 3 Gemstones. As for Zero Wing''s members, they had not replaced their equipment since Level 30. They were no match for Everlasting War. "They dare call themselves Asura with such members? This is a joke. If Black Flame made an appearance, the show might be interesting, but it seems that Black Flame has allowed his Guild members to venture off on their own. Bet on the Glorious Lions. Although many will bet on them as well, a small profit is still profit." Many among the audience could not help but sigh with disappointment at the lost chance to make a fortune. However, Gentle Snow''s excitement grew as she watched this development. "Hehe! Sure enough, none of them know about that incident!" Zhao Yueru giggled as she watched the other audience members place their bets on the Glorious Lions. "Alright, stop laughing. We only discovered it by coincidence," Gentle Snow strictly reprimanded her companion. Although plenty of information about the war in the Stoneclaw Mountains had leaked, most of this information came from independent players who had watched from afar. At such a great distance, nobody had been able to get a clear recording of the apex battle between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins. Moreover, only a few of the Star Alliance''s upper echelons knew about the Flower of Seven Sins striking out against Zero Wing. The other Guilds had no idea about the assassination attempts. They only knew that the Star Alliance had hired experts to deal with Zero Wing''s upper echelons. As for the Secret Pavilion, they would not be so foolish as to share a great secret. What the Secret Pavilion chose to reveal confirmed that Zero Wing''s upper echelons had powerful Basic Attributes. However, they did not reveal any information about the experts they had faced. Although Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose had yet to become Refinement Realm experts, they could exert enough combat power to face down Flowing Water Realm experts. Furthermore, the Asura Battle Team had Ye Feng. Overall, the Asura Battle Team had four experts who could rival Flowing Water Realm experts. The other members were strong enough to contend with Refinement Realm experts. To put it simply, it would not be difficult for the Asura Battle Team to secure victory against the Glorious Lions. It was a pity that Black Flame was not here. Otherwise, the Asura Battle Team might have won this competition without question. --- "Aunty Hua, you must avenge me!" Exemplary Willow immediately burst with anger when she saw that every member of the Asura Battle Team was from Zero Wing. She had lost quite a bit of money in the last war. To make matters worse, she had failed to annihilate Zero Wing. She had never imagined the despicable Guild would appear before her once more. "Hm? Did this battle team provoke you somehow?" Hua Qiushui asked, laughing. "Yes! They caused me to lose a lot of money. Aunty Hua, since the Glorious Lions Battle Team is yours, do you think you can raise the wager and make them suffer?" Exemplary Willow gnashed her teeth as she glared at the Asura Battle Team. "Alright. However, both sides have to accept the wager first. If the other side refuses, I can''t do anything about it. But rest assured, your Aunty Hua will definitely make them pay." Hua Qiushui nodded. She had nothing against the Asura Battle Team. However, she was not fond of the man known as Ye Feng. Not only had he refused to participate in her audition, but he had also appeared before her as the leader of the Asura Battle Team. Society''s inner circle was only so big. If Ye Feng won this competition and others learned of their history, she would be a laughingstock. Now that even Liu Shishi asked her to avenge the loss the girl had suffered, she could use this opportunity to teach Ye Feng a lesson. --- In the dueling ring: "What did you say?" Everlasting War asked again. The other Glorious Lions members were similarly stunned by Shi Feng''s offer, thinking that they had heard wrong. Both Primal Emerald Wood and Soul Cultivating Stones were necessary materials to construct a Stable. The various large Guilds in God''s Domain were keeping a tight hold on their stocks, causing the prices to skyrocket. For example, the Primal Emerald Wood had cost 40 Gold per log not too long ago. Each log was already worth as much as a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. Now, however, each log cost 60 Gold. As for the Soul Cultivating Stone, each stone originally sold for 30 Gold. Now, no one would part with theirs even for 50 Gold. These two materials had become strategic resources for Guilds. Even in the Dark Arena, not many were willing to wager these items. After all, a Stable was simply too important to a Guild. It was far more valuable than any of the current Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Yet, Shi Feng wanted to gamble 40 logs of Primal Emerald Wood and 24 Soul Cultivating Stones. Even Everlasting War did not have the authority to approve of such a large bet. Furthermore, the Swordsman also wanted 30,000 Magic Crystals and 1,000 pieces of Level 30 and above Dark-Gold Equipment. Even their total profits from the previous two matches were not worth so much. "Forty logs of Primal Emerald Wood, 24 Soul Cultivating Stones, 30,000 Magic Crystals, and 1,000 pieces of Level 30 and above Dark-Gold Equipment. What do you think, Brother Everlasting? If you think the wager is too low, we can increase it further," Shi Feng repeated. Zero Wing''s recent expansion had been massive. While the Guild did not lack Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment, there was a shortage of top-tier equipment. Lately, Zero Wing''s main force had been busy dealing with other matters and had not raided any Dungeons. In addition to the recent expansion, Zero Wing needed Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment. If he could obtain 1,000 pieces of Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment from this match, it would make up for the Guild''s shortage. Everlasting War was rendered speechless. Previously, he had boasted that he did not care what they bet. He had never dreamed that Shi Feng would offer such an expensive wager. There was no doubt that Shi Feng could afford this gamble. After all, if either side did not have the ability to pay up, the system would not allow the battle to begin. Hence, Shi Feng had no reason to lie. Moreover, he was not that kind of person. "Brother Ye Feng, please wait a moment. I don''t have the authority to agree to such a large wager. I need to ask my superior." For now, Everlasting War could only offer an excuse. Following which, he contacted Hua Qiushui and reported the situation honestly. "Director Hua, the Asura Battle Team has offered the wager. Please take a look. If this is not enough, they are willing to increase the bet." When Hua Qiushui saw Shi Feng''s wager, her complexion darkened. "Aunty Hua, are you not feeling well?" Exemplary Willow asked curiously when she saw Hua Qiushui''s expression. 781 Hidden Strength Chapter 781 - Hidden Strength Hua Qiushui waved off Exemplary Willow''s question and said, "It''s nothing. Watch your Aunty Hua avenge your losses." "Thank you, Aunty Hua." Exemplary Willow smiled sweetly, her mood brightening. Following which, Hua Qiushui contacted Everlasting War and asked in a low tone, "Everlasting, what is your opinion on the Asura Battle Team''s strength?" "My opinion?" Everlasting War wondered why Hua Qiushui asked such a question. "The Asura Battle Team is very strong. A few of its members feel like intense threats. As for the team leader, Ye Feng, he is a Refinement Realm expert. However, based on our team''s strength, winning should not be a problem." There were a total of five matches in this competition. Two were one-on-ones, one was a two-on-two, and two were three-on-threes. To secure victory, a battle team only needed to win three matches. Even if a battle team had an invincible expert, at most, the team would win one match, not the competition. Furthermore, Ye Feng was not invincible. Everlasting War was 60% certain of defeating Ye Feng. "There should not be a problem?" Hua Qiushui''s expression was stern. Even for her, this was a very large wager. If the Asura Battle Team''s employer wasn''t a fool, then they must be absolutely confident of their team. Although Hua Qiushui trusted Everlasting War''s estimation, she did not think that the Asura Battle Team''s employer would bet on luck. A fool like that would never make it to a place like this. "Everlasting, do what you need to. We''re sending in Team Two." After giving it some thought, Hua Qiushui made up her mind. "Are we really going to mobilize Team Two?" Everlasting War was shocked. "Currently, we still have quite a few matches to win before we can challenge the organizer. Is mobilizing Team Two necessary? If we reveal our strength too soon, it would only make it easier for our future opponents to learn our weaknesses." Nine people had been chosen during the Glorious Lions'' audition. Including Everlasting War, they formed a full battle team. Afterward, however, Everlasting War learned that those nine members were only reserves. The battle team''s official members had long since been decided. Only, Hua Qiushui had never mentioned that before the audition. This had been the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s secret. So far, he had only been introduced to two of the other nine official members. However, both of these people were strong enough to frighten Everlasting War. When the audition members learned that they were merely reserve members, they were not pleased. As a result, the nine of them had fought the two official members in a team battle. In the end, victory had belonged to the two official members. Neither had even lost any HP throughout the battle. The nine audition members had no choice but to admit their defeat. The difference in their strengths was too massive. Hence, the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s reserve members formed Team One, while Team Two consisted of the battle team''s official members. Even Everlasting War had no idea where Hua Qiushui had found these experts. Meanwhile, Everlasting War was only Team Two''s Vice-Leader. As for the mysterious official leader, even now, Everlasting War had yet to him. However, whenever he saw Hua Qiushui converse with that person, the woman would show respect. Her voice carried none of the commanding tone it usually had when she spoke to him. "The wager is too big to risk. Notify the organizer. The competition has not begun yet, so there should be no issues in making a last minute change to our roster," Hua Qiushui demanded. In truth, aside from worrying that the Asura Battle Team hid its strength, Hua Qiushui wanted to show Ye Feng that the audition members were merely part of a reserve team. They were minor characters she used to deceive her enemies. "I understand." Everlasting War sighed helplessly. He had looked forward to an intense match against the Asura Battle Team. Now, however, that was no longer possible. The members of Team One were capable of defeating the Asura Battle Team. However, there was a massive gap between Team One and Team Two. The Asura Battle Team had no hopes of winning against Team Two. --- After the Glorious Lions Battle Team and the Asura Battle Team confirmed their bets and registered their participating members, a commotion ripped through the Main Venue. "What the What is this?" "Why did the Glorious Lions swap out their members?" "Wait, the team''s leader, Everlasting War, is still on the team. Only the other members have been replaced." "Don''t tell me they''re complaining that the Asura Battle Team is too weak and are trying to up the risk of the competition." The audience fell into a heated discussion. Although last-minute replacements frequently occurred in the Dark Arena, there had never been a full team replacement, excluding the leader. "Something''s not right!" Gentle Snow''s expression suddenly turned grim. "Snow, what''s going on?" Zhao Yueru asked curiously. "The Glorious Lions aren''t replacing their stronger members with weaker ones! They''re replacing their weaker members with stronger ones!" Gentle Snow said seriously. "I had never imagined that the Glorious Lions would have hidden their strength so deeply. They kept their true strength hidden all this time. The Asura Battle Team is in danger." "Snow, how do you know that the Glorious Lions have replaced their weaker team with a stronger one? Their levels are mostly the same." Zhao Yueru looked at the levels of the new members. The highest among them was Level 36, while the lowest was Level 35. They were not much stronger than the previous team. Moreover, she had never seen any of the new members before. They were not particularly famous in the virtual gaming world. "It''s not surprising that you don''t know them. I have only encountered a few of these people by chance," Gentle Snow said, smiling bitterly. "That tanned, skinny Level 36 Assassin named Long Rainbow defeated four of Underworld''s Seven Ghosts by himself in the Divine Battlefield. He is slightly stronger than Great Ghost, the Seven Ghosts'' number one expert. That Level 36 blue-armored Swordsman named Blood Sun defeated War Wolf and Soaring Snake by himself in the Divine Battlefield as well." She had only discovered this information from her spies in Underworld. Currently, Underworld sided with Cao Chenghua. Naturally, she had been forced to take her own countermeasures. These incidents had flabbergasted Underworld''s upper echelons. Nobody could have imagined that their top experts, who had gone into the Divine Battlefield to grind, would have been hunted for points. Gentle Snow had been quite pleased when she heard the news. She never imagined that someone other than Black Flame would cause so much trouble for Underworld. Now, however, she felt no joy at all. "That can''t be true, right? Since when have the Glorious Lions been so strong?" Zhao Yueru knew plenty about Underworld''s Seven Ghosts. She also remembered War Wolf''s strength. The man had played with Fierce Snake, one of Ouroboros''s Twelve Apostles, like a toy. Even Zhao Yueru feared the man''s strength. Yet, someone had defeated such a powerful expert despite him combining his strength with Soaring Snake''s, the Twelve Apostles'' number one expert. --- Like Gentle Snow, Phoenix Rain, who sat comfortably in a VIP room, frowned deeply. "Damn it! Why is he here?!" Phoenix Rain glared at the Glorious Lions'' new leader, complaining indignantly, "Do the Battle Wolves not care about their reputation?!" 782 Famed Sword Bonfire Chapter 782 - Famed Sword Bonfire "Big Sis Rain?" Blue Phoenix was confused. This was the first time she had seen Phoenix Rain grow so angry. In her eyes, Phoenix Rain was a lofty queen. She was always calm and dignified. Even when competing with a Super Guild over an item, she spoke and smiled peacefully. Now, however, she was clearly anxious. It was simply inconceivable Phoenix Rain had also realized that she had lost her composure. Smiling bitterly, she explained, "Ye Feng''s group is doomed. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn''t have bet so much on the Asura Battle Team." "Big Sis Rain, is that man particularly powerful?" Blue Phoenix watched the middle-aged man, who now led the Glorious Lions. Appearance-wise, this middle-aged man had a handsome face, a strong body, and sharp eyes that resembled an eagle''s. He wore silver-black armor and carried a flame-red greatsword. He looked like a towering war god. After analyzing the man just for a short moment, Blue Phoenix suddenly noticed that the man''s gaze shifted towards her as if he noticed her watching him. Blue Phoenix was afraid. Not only was she far from the dueling ring, but she was also in a VIP room. The players in the dueling ring should not be able to see inside the VIP rooms at all. "Blue, you understand now, right?" Anger filled Phoenix Rain''s eyes as she glared at the new team leader. "Big Sis Rain, who is that man? Why haven''t I heard of someone with so much power?" Blue Phoenix asked as she realized just how powerful the middle-aged man was, shock setting in. Logically, such monster-level characters should disdain taking part in such competitions, yet here one was. It was no wonder why Phoenix Rain had become so enraged. "Although you''ve never met him before, you should have heard his name," Phoenix Rain said as she shook her head. "He is one of the Four Great Wolf Kings of the Battle Wolves, Sirius!" "That''s him?!" Blue Phoenix immediately understood Phoenix Rain''s anger. The Battle Wolves was a Super Guild that had existed for over a hundred years. The Guild''s Four Great Wolf Kings had shaken the virtual gaming world with their fame for many years now and were mainly responsible for pushing the Battle Wolves to the peak of the virtual gaming world. Only, eight years ago, the Four Great Wolf Kings had removed themselves from the public eye. No one had heard any news about the Wolf Kings after that. For those who remember them, however, the names of the Four Great Wolf Kings still resounded like thunder in their ears. Now, an old monster had arrived to participate in a competition between the younger generation. This was harassment! "Big Sis Rain, why don''t we notify Ye Feng and tell him about this?" Although Blue Phoenix had lost to Shi Feng, at the end of the day, they were on the same side. Now that Sirius had joined the competition, they could only send cannon fodder at him, losing the match intentionally and focusing on the other matches. "No need. Ye Feng is no fool. He can tell how powerful Sirius is. I don''t think he''ll try to face Sirius head-on," Phoenix Rain said. "However, Sirius isn''t the only one to watch out for. There are several other members who are extremely dangerous as well. Even if Ye Feng chooses the right members for the match-ups, this will be a hard battle." "Are we going to lose our first competition?" Blue Phoenix was frustrated. She wished she was a part of the battle team''s roster. They might even have a chance at victory. However, now that the competition roster had been set, no further changes were allowed. "If you lose, you lose. Victory and defeat are common on the battlefield. In any case, this will be a profitable loss. At the very least, we now know the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s trump card." Although Phoenix Rain was frustrated as well, one must know when to surrender. Fortunately, this was only their first competition, not a crucial competition. The only problem was that Zero Wing would, most likely, suffer a huge loss of resources this time. "This is odd, though. Hua Qiushui is a calm and collected woman. Why would she suddenly decide to deal such a vicious blow to a new battle team, going so far as to reveal her trump card?" --- "Guild Leader, the Glorious Lions'' atmosphere is weird. Their previous team leader has been demoted to vice-leader. The other members don''t seem to like him, either," Aqua Rose stated curiously as she watched the Glorious Lions rest a short distance away. Changing members at the last minute was a basic strategy in such competitions, so she had not been particularly surprised by the sudden development. After all, with every battle in the Dark Arena, a large number of people would analyze the players in the competition. If a battle team revealed their cards to the public, the team''s next opponent would prepare a strategy to counter them. To prevent exploitation, last-minute substitutions were normal. Only, despite Everlasting War being the vice-leader of the team, the others seemed to disregard him. None of them treated him with any respect. This was strange to behold. "They''re probably just not on the same wavelength," Shi Feng laughed. He could not help but shift his gaze towards Sirius. "However, their new team leader is really powerful. I wonder how the Glorious Lions found such an individual." In the past, Shi Feng had never heard of Everlasting War becoming the vice-leader of the Glorious Lions. As far as he knew, Everlasting War had always been the Glorious Lions'' team leader. Most of the battle team, though, had been replaced. After all, every fighter in the Dark Arena wished to become the organizer. Hiding one''s strength was a basic strategy. Only, Shi Feng had never imagined that the Glorious Lions had hidden so much strength. Everlasting War himself was already quite formidable. However, none of the substituted members were weak. Furthermore, the new team leader was immeasurably powerful. It was especially true for that greatsword on Sirius''s back. Shi Feng was extremely familiar with that particular weapon. It was one of God''s Domain''s 36 Famed Swords, Bonfire! However, according to Shi Feng''s memory, a Berserker named Deathless had owned Bonfire. Could he be Deathless? Shi Feng was fiercely curious. However, he shook his head and denied the thought. No. Deathless had not joined God''s Domain this early. --- "Everlasting, for this competition, you''ll fight in the last three-on-three. Leave everything else to Thousand and the others," Sirius announced in a gravelly tone that left no room for argument as he glanced at Everlasting War. "I understand." Even if Everlasting War was unhappy with this decision, he could only nod in agreement. In truth, however, he was not dissatisfied at all. If not for Sirius''s guidance, he would not have improved so fast. Only, it was unfortunate that he would not get the opportunity to fight. There were a total of five matches in this competition. The first match was a one-on-one. Following it would be a two-on-two, and then another one-on-one. If they won the first three matches, there would be no need for the last two three-on-threes. "Thousand, you''ll be our spearhead. Take it a little easy, and don''t let the opponent die too quickly. I don''t wish to reveal the battle team''s strength so soon," Sirius said deeply. "I understand," the Level 36 Ranger called Thousand Blades nodded, chuckling. Seeing Thousand Blades walk up to the dueling ring, the other battle team members expressed their displeasure. "Tch. Why has he been chosen again?" "What can we do? Our leader doesn''t want to reveal too much of our strength. Naturally, sending Thousand is the best choice. After all, his combat power ranks in the middle of our team. He should be able to deal with the enemy easily while pulling the wool over those intelligence personnel''s eyes." When the other members heard this deduction, they understood Sirius''s decision. After all, they had already garnered plenty of attention with the sudden substitutions. Restraining their strength would benefit them. --- When Zero Wing''s members saw that their first opponent would be a Ranger, everyone began to volunteer for the match. "Guild Leader, let me fight. We''re both Rangers. It is a good opportunity to determine which battle team is superior," Minor Wind said hurriedly. "No. As a precaution, Aqua Rose will face him," Shi Feng said as he shook his head. He had already formulated his own plan. 783 Thousand Blades versus Aqua Rose Chapter 783 - Thousand Blades versus Aqua Rose When the Zero Wing team heard Shi Feng''s decision, they were confused. The Cursemancer was a magical class, so it would be at a disadvantage against a Ranger. At the very least, they should send a Ranger like Minor Wind to negate the class advantage or an Assassin or Berserker, which countered Rangers. "Guild Leader, let me take him on instead. My class is particularly effective against Rangers. This match will be ours," Fire Dance suggested. The others agreed with her proposal. There were a total of five matches in this competition, but they only needed to win three to emerge victorious. If they could win the first match, it would increase their chances of winning and the team''s morale. Moreover, during their journey to the Dark Arena, the team had noticed a change to Fire Dance''s weapons. Fire Dance, who had never replaced her Truefire Blades before, had replaced both of them. The Truefire Blades were Set Weapons. Both were also top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons. Even on their own, they were only slightly weaker than Level 35 Dark-Gold Weapons. However, even two Level 35 Dark-Gold Weapon could not compete against the Truefire Blades'' set effects. Yet, Fire Dance had still replaced them. This told them that the new weapons'' Attributes must far surpass the Truefire Blades. Now that Fire Dance had gained a boost to her Attributes, with her combat techniques, she should be able to defeat the Ranger easily. "No. Aqua is the best choice here. You have more important matters to deal with." Shi Feng shook his head. His decision was firm. Shi Feng knew quite a bit about the Ranger named Thousand Blades. After all, he had been one of the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s members in the past. Thousand Blades also often took part in the Dark Arena battles. In these top-tier competitions, Attributes meant very little. Even if Minor Wind wore a Tier 1 Set Equipment and was slightly stronger than those wearing Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment in terms of Attributes, the Tier 1 Set Equipment only consisted of five pieces. Minor Wind''s other equipment would not give him an advantage against Thousand Blades. Both Rangers were also fully equipped with Tier 3 Gemstones. To put it simply, Minor Wind did not have much of an advantage with his Attributes at all. In the end, the fight would come down to techniques. Based on Shi Feng''s estimations, if Minor Wind had an equipment score of 2,000 points, then Thousand Blades would have around 1,800 points. Although there was a gap, techniques could easily close that gap. This was commonplace in the Dark Arena. Moreover, tools were not allowed in Dark Arena battles. This meant that the fight would come down to techniques and equipment. Minor Wind had yet to reach the Half-step Refinement Realm. He could only exert his body to its limits. How could he possibly challenge a Refinement Realm expert like Thousand Blades, someone who could control his body''s power freely? After Shi Feng made his decision, the fighters'' names appeared above the dueling ring, which had an area of 300*300 yards. Thousand Blades versus Aqua Rose! "The Asura Battle Team is pretty pitiful. They''re actually sending Aqua Rose, the most famous player on their team, into the first match. It seems they really don''t have anybody who will be a challenge." the Assassin Long Rainbow laughed. "Unfortunately, even she is no match for Thousand. They would''ve been better off sending cannon fodder. They''ve just lost their only chance to win." "Based on our reports, the Sword King, Black Flame, is the only capable player in Zero Wing. I really wish I could fight him. That way, I could take the title of Sword King for myself," Blood Sun, the blue-armored Swordsman, said. He could not help his sigh as he looked over the Asura Battle Team roster. The Glorious Lions'' other members nodded their agreement. This first match told them everything they needed to know. The Asura Battle Team stood no chance of victory. If Aqua Rose were a Refinement Realm expert, even with a class disadvantage, she could put up a good fight against Thousand Blades. Unfortunately, she was not. Even though she was only a thread away from the threshold, without actually setting foot into the Refinement Realm, there would be a massive gap between her skills and Thousand Blades''. --- "Big Sis Rain, what is going on with Ye Feng? He sent Aqua Rose up. Can''t he judge Thousand Blades'' strength?" Previously, Blue Phoenix had come to admire Shi Feng. Now, however, Shi Feng''s choice had disappointed her. Thousand Blades had not bothered hiding his combat power at all. His actions were so smooth and natural, without any excess movement; it was obvious he had already reached the Refinement Realm. "No matter how I look at it, Thousand Blades should have reached the Refinement Realm. Even if Ye Feng doesn''t face the Ranger himself, at the very least, he should send Fire Dance, right?" Fire Dance was Zero Wing''s number one Assassin. In terms of techniques, she was on par with Aqua Rose. Moreover, the Assassin class, more or less, countered the Ranger class. Although Fire Dance had not reached the Refinement Realm either, with her Attributes, it was not impossible to secure a win. Giving up the match without even trying was a waste. Phoenix Rain simply shook her head. She, too, did not understand Shi Feng''s decision. If the weak wanted to take down the strong, they needed to grasp and strike at the enemy''s weakness. Currently, it was obvious that the Glorious Lions did not take the Asura Battle Team seriously at all. It was the perfect advantage. Yet, Shi Feng had chosen to give up the match. Aqua Rose did not give Shi Feng''s decision much thought. A one-on-one fight against such a powerful expert was a rare opportunity. Although she did not know what was going through Shi Feng''s mind, she was very happy to face Thousand Blades, even though her odds of winning were low. "Aqua, hold on a second." Shi Feng suddenly stopped Aqua Rose, who was about to enter to the dueling ring. He then retrieved an emerald staff from his bag and handed it to Aqua Rose. "No need to rush the battle. Take this chance to hone your skills." "Guild Leader, this is!" Aqua Rose was ecstatic when she saw the emerald staff. She then said, "Guild Leader, rest assured; I''ll toy with him with everything I''ve got!" Saying so, Aqua Rose approached the stage confidently. "Your leader is a fool. He sent you to your death. Well, whatever. It''s been too long since I killed a beauty like you. Don''t blame me for being ruthless." Thousand Blades was arrogant, his lips curling into a cruel smile. He retrieved the copper-colored longbow from his back and took out five green steel arrows from his quiver. He had prepared these arrows himself. They were called Scorpion Arrows, each costing 10 Silver to produce. They were extremely expensive. He wouldn''t normally use them, but in this competition, he could not be frugal. Even a slight graze from these arrows would cause massive damage. They would also poison the target when they struck, reducing their Movement Speed and Attack Speed as well as inflicting damage every five seconds. Magical classes already had low Movement Speed. If the Scorpion Arrows hit Aqua Rose, she wouldn''t be able to dodge any follow-up attacks. She would become a sitting duck. Moreover, Cursemancers were different from Elementalists. Elementalists were human-shaped cannons with powerful burst damage. Cursemancers, on the other hand, focused on crowd control and debuffs. Their instantaneous firepower was subpar at best and was no match for Rangers. Aqua Rose ignored Thousand Blades'' provocation. She was utterly focused on her new staff, looking like a little girl with a new toy. "You!" Thousand Blades was instantly indignant when he realized he had been ignored. "I''ll teach you the meaning of despair!" The countdown finally reached zero. With the sound of the bell, the match officially began. "Scatter!" Thousand Blades fired an arrow towards the sky and executed the Tier 1 AOE Skill, Falling Rain. The descending Scorpion Arrows cast a massive shadow over Aqua Rose. 784 Attack and Defense Chapter 784 - Attack and Defense "This is bad." When Blue Phoenix saw Thousand Blades start the battle with an AOE Skill, she could not help her worry for Aqua Rose. Rangers were a physical ranged class, and the majority of the class''s Skills were single-target Skills. Very few were AOE Skills. Hence, when one fought a Ranger, they only needed to focus on monotonous attacks from the front. Even ordinary players could dodge these attacks. However, as soon as a Ranger learned an AOE Skill, their attack patterns would no longer be monotonous. It would become significantly more difficult to avoid a Ranger''s arrows. An Agility-type class might have an easier time coping with a Ranger''s AOE attacks, but Aqua Rose was a Cursemancer. She had far less mobility. Hence, it was even harder for her to dodge attacks from an expert like Thousand Blades. "I''ll make you wish for death!" Thousand Blades then pulled his bowstring into a full moon, firing Scorpion Arrows rapidly to surround Aqua Rose. He targeted Aqua Rose''s right side, where she was most likely to dodge. When he had executed Falling Rain, he had focused the majority of the Skill''s effective area towards Aqua Rose''s left. Hence, if she wanted to avoid the Falling Rain, she would have to dodge to the right. When experts fought each other, it was common to use the first attack as a diversion and the second attack to deal a blow. Surprisingly, Aqua Rose didn''t move even after noticing the rain of arrows descend towards her. With a light wave of her emerald staff, a faint red protective barrier appeared around her. [Life Shield] (Tier 0 Spell) Summons a barrier that absorbs damage equal to 30% of caster''s maximum HP for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 36 seconds Aqua Rose had a maximum HP of 9,200. This meant that the Life Shield could absorb up to 2,760 damage. However, Aqua Rose was not done. She then slammed her staff down, and a gray magic array appeared, covering the ground. [Dark Strengthening] (Tier 0 Spell) Damage taken reduced by 20% and casting speed increased by 20% for 10 seconds for all allies within 10*10 yards. Cooldown: 1 minute Thousand Blades'' Falling Rain was only one wave of attacks. Moreover, due to it being an AOE Skill, its damage was not particularly high. In the end, the arrows descending on Aqua Rose had not even broken her Life Shield. As for Ranger''s follow-up attacks, they were useless. Thousand Blades was slightly surprised that Aqua Rose had not fallen for his trap. Very quickly, however, he altered his attack pattern, choosing to attack the Cursemancer directly instead. Instantly, five arrows transformed into five streaks of green light as they flew towards Aqua Rose. All five arrows closed the distance of over 20 yards in the blink of an eye. Not wanting to be outdone, Aqua Rose waved her staff once more, sending out pitch-black Dark Arrows, one after another. Aqua Rose''s Dark Arrows clashed into Thousand Blades'' arrows, the impact throwing both attacks off course. In addition, Aqua Rose double-cast, using Dark Weakening on Thousand Blades. Immediately, dark fog appeared next to the Ranger, swarming him. Noticing the attack, Thousand Blades retreated without hesitation, avoiding the dark fog. While he retreated, he continued his ruthless assault on Aqua Rose. For a time, the two combatants traded attacks, neither gaining an advantage. On one side, Thousand Blades utilized his high mobility to avoid Aqua Rose''s attacks. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose utilized her various Skills to defend herself. Even after multiple exchanges, neither fighter had lost a single HP. "Aqua Rose is quite good. She has already grasped the technique to double-cast. It''s no wonder why she is quite famous. If she is nurtured properly, it is entirely possible for her to reach the peak of the virtual gaming world. Unfortunately, she joined the Asura Battle Team." Everlasting War had not expected Aqua Rose to be so powerful. Although Thousand Blades was holding back, it was still impressive that she fought the Ranger to a standstill. Thousand Blades was already in the Refinement Realm. His physical control was quite refined. Hence, his combat was quite efficient. Ordinary players would find it difficult to deal with the Ranger''s direct attacks, not to mention the counterattacks he launched while evading. Moreover, every time Thousand Blades attacked, he fired at least three arrows simultaneously. When an ordinary player attacked, there was over an 80% chance that they would fail to avoid such a complex counterattack. However, with her ability to double-cast, Aqua Rose was able to both attack and defend. Unfortunately, such high-intensity battles placed a heavy burden on a player''s Concentration and Stamina. In such a battle, Thousand Blades could conserve more of his strength and outlast Aqua Rose should the battle drag on. This girl really does deserve her fame. After fighting me for a short time, she has already gotten a clear grasp of my movements. Thousand Blades clicked his tongue. Contrary to his expectations, Aqua Rose had not grown weaker as the battle progressed; rather, her strength was growing. Thousand Blades no longer looked down on Aqua Rose. Initially, he had evaded Aqua Rose''s curses easily. However, as the battle progressed, Aqua Rose''s attacks improved. Now, she was beginning to predict his movements, and it was becoming far more difficult for him to evade her attacks. When the battle had first begun, he could fire five arrows simultaneously while dodging. Now, he could fire only three arrows. Why are her Dark Arrows so powerful? With the power behind my Scorpion Arrows, even if they collide with her Dark Arrows, the impact should not affect their trajectories at all. Thousand Blades was very confident of his own arrows. He had never imagined he would encounter something like this. I can''t drag this on any longer. Thousand Blades was now certain that dragging this battle on any further would only benefit Aqua Rose. Immediately, Thousand Blades used the Tier 1 Skill, Heart Piercing Arrow. Xiu! A silver arrow sliced through the air as it flew towards Aqua Rose. Heart Piercing Arrow''s power was astonishing. Even the Berserker on the Glorious Lions Battle Team would not take Thousand Blades'' Heart Piercing Arrow head-on. Hence, it was impossible for Aqua Rose to block his attack using the instant-cast Dark Arrow. Peng! As expected, the Heart Piercing Arrow shattered the Cursemancer''s Dark Arrow. Such power! Aqua Rose knew that it was too late to cast another Spell. Immediately, she used her staff to block the attack. Peng! When the Heart Piercing Arrow struck Aqua Rose''s staff, the Cursemancer was forced to take five steps back. Her arms were numb from the impact, and a damage of over -600 points appeared above her head. "Die!" Thousand Blades smiled faintly, taking the opportunity to launch a fierce assault. One Scorpion Arrow after another rained down on Aqua Rose like a storm. As the Heart Piercing Arrow had interrupted Aqua Rose''s rhythm, it became impossible for her to defend against the dozen or so arrows. Meanwhile, the only Lifesaving Skill a Cursemancer had was Soul Protection. It could reduce the damage she took by 90% for 4 seconds. However, the Skill had no defense against the Movement Speed reduction and DoT effect of the Scorpion Arrow''s poison. Once Soul Protection''s duration ran out, her fate would be sealed. "If you have to blame someone, then blame yourself for being a Cursemancer!" Thousand Blades grew gleeful when he saw that his attacks would hit Aqua Rose. Dang Dang Dang Suddenly, three massive treants appeared before Aqua Rose. Like an iron wall, the treants blocked all of the incoming arrows. "What''s going on here?" Thousand Blades frowned when he saw the three massive treants. [Forest Sprite] (Special Elite) Level 38 HP 240,000/240,000 A powerful expert could, at most, deal with one Special Elite of the same level. Now, however, three Special Elites had appeared before him. He also had a Cursemancer, a class with many Control Skills, to contend with. This was definitely a problem. 785 The Cursemancer That Shouldn’t Be Provoked Chapter 785 - The Cursemancer That Shouldn''t Be Provoked The three six-meter-tall treants earned shrieks from the audience the moment they appeared in the dueling ring. "Do Cursemancers have such a Skill?" "What Skill is that?" "Three Special Elites! The Glorious Lions are going to have a difficult time winning this match." The players in the audience were not ordinary, but experts with extraordinary insight. Ordinary players might never have the chance to watch a match between God''s Domain experts, but to these players, such opportunities were readily available. Hence, they were very familiar with the amazing aspects of God''s Domain experts. They were even more familiar with classes Skills in God''s Domain. Cursemancers mainly relied on Control Skills in combat. As long as they could restrict their opponent''s movements, they could finish them off easily. However, Cursemancers were somewhat weaker than Elementalists and Summoners when it came to survivability and damage output. However, if they had a meat shield to pin down the opponent, a Cursemancer''s threat level would rise exponentially. After all, Cursemancers'' Tiers and Levels were still low, and many of their powerful Skills had relatively long cast times. The class was not suited for expert battles. In a battle between experts, the outcome could be determined at any moment. It would be suicidal to use a Spell with a cast time of more than one second. Hence, very few Cursemancers were found in the Dark Arena''s battle teams. Generally, the battle teams'' casters were Elementalists and Summoners. However, now that three Special Elites had appeared to assist the Cursemancer, these monsters would easily make up for her deficiencies. "I''ve really underestimated the Asura Battle Team. It''s no wonder why they dared to send a Cursemancer into the fight." Sirius could not help but shift his gaze towards Shi Feng, who sat quietly on the other side of the dueling ring. "Tell Thousand to stop holding back. We must win this match." Everlasting War nodded. He then left his seat and approached the side of the dueling ring, forming hand signals to inform Thousand Blades. Players inside the dueling ring could not receive any messages or hear anything from outside the dueling ring. However, they could see what was outside the dueling ring. Hence, the various battle teams in the Dark Arena had created their own hand gestures and code words to convey instructions. At this moment, Thousand Blades'' continuous retreat was exhausting him. Not only were the three Forest Sprites'' Defenses very high, but their Movement Speed was also relatively high. Avoiding the three treants took a lot out of him. He also had to deal with the various Control Skills Aqua Rose sent at him. Hence, he had no choice but to focus on his defense. Yet, if he only defended without attacking, he would, inevitably, suffer defeat. Previously, he had accidentally allowed one of the Forest Sprites to graze his shoulder, and instantly, his HP had fallen by 2,318. His total HP was just slightly over 10,000. A few more hits would definitely finish him off. Huh? I can go all out? When Thousand Blades noticed Everlasting War''s hand signals, his lips curled into a smile. He then retrieved three golden arrows from his quiver and fired them at the three Forest Sprites. Imprisonment Arrows! The Imprisonment Arrow would prevent enemies within a certain range from leaving the area, and the only way to break free from the seal was to destroy the arrow itself. However, the Imprisonment Arrows would also reduce summoned creatures'' damage by 80%. Even to Thousand Blades, these arrows were precious. After spending a large stock of precious materials, he had only managed to produce five Imprisonment Arrows. Now, however, to win this match, he had no choice but to use them. Three golden streaks of light struck the three Forest Sprites. Immediately, the treants were trapped inside golden cages. Meanwhile, each of the golden cages had 100,000 HP. Even though the Forest Sprites were Special Elites, after the 80% damage reduction, it would take them quite some time to free themselves from the cages. By the time they escaped from their imprisonment, the match would be over. After imprisoning the three Forest Sprites, Thousand Blades activated his Berserk Skill, Beastmaster''s Soul. For one minute, his Agility increased by 80%, Strength by 60%, and Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50%. The Berserk Skill also had a Cooldown of ten hours. After the Ranger''s Strength and Agility jumped, not only were his arrows faster, but they also contained far more power. In the next moment, a sonic boom echoed throughout the dueling ring. Numerous arrows arrived before Aqua Rose. However, as if she had expected this, Aqua Rose simply smiled as she waved her hand. Suddenly, three figures covered in blue flames appeared before her. When the powerful arrows struck these blue figures, they were forced to step back. Aqua Rose, however, remained unharmed. "You" Thousand Blades'' eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. How was she a Cursemancer? She was basically a Summoner! He could accept the three Forest Sprites, but Aqua Rose could also summon three Elite ranked Bluefire Crows. "Go!" Aqua Rose immediately directed the three Bluefire Crows to charge towards Thousand Blades. Although the Bluefire Crows were not as powerful as the Forest Sprites, they were faster. Thousand Blades knew he could not afford to clash with the Elite monsters head-on. Hence, he had no choice but to run about the dueling ring while finding opportunities to attack. If he dealt with the summoned creatures first, Aqua Rose would have enough time to activate an advanced Spell. If that happened, the summoned creatures wouldn''t be his only problem. He absolutely could not give Aqua Rose that kind of time. "Still not giving up?" Seeing the arrow fly at her, Aqua Rose activated the Power of Darkness, her Attributes rising abruptly. She also activated the Bluefire Heart''s Skill, Bluefire Devour. Although she would lose a significant portion of her Mana and increase her Mana consumption rate by 200%, her Skill effects would increase by 200% for 30 seconds. Aside from Bluefire Devour, Aqua Rose also activated Elemental Domain. [Elemental Domain] All allies within a radius of 50 yards will have their magic damage increased by 15%, cast speed increased by 15%, and Mana consumption decreased by 20% for 1 minute. Aqua Rose then fired a Dark Arrow. When the Dark Arrow clashed with Thousand Blades'' Scorpion arrow, the latter was thrown off course, whereas the former continued towards the Ranger. Seeing this, Thousand Blades hurriedly fired another arrow, successfully diverting Aqua Rose''s Dark Arrow. Why is it so powerful?! Thousand Blades was stunned. The arrow he fired after activating his Berserk Skill was even weaker than before Thousand Blades had no clue that the staff Aqua Rose wielded was the Epic ranked staff, the Song of Beatrice. Aqua Rose already had higher Basic Attributes than Thousand Blades. Now, not only had Aqua Rose activated her Berserk Skill, but she also had a Support Skill empowering her attacks. Hence, it was only natural that her Dark Arrows were far stronger. However, Aqua Rose did not give Thousand Blades too much time to think about it. She sent one Dark Arrow after another. At the same time, Dark Weakening''s ominous fog began to appear around Thousand Blades. If the dark fog caught him, not only would his speed fall sharply, but his Attributes would also decrease significantly. Again, Thousand Blades was forced to focus on his defense, escaping for his life. This time, however, he struggled far more than before. Previously, he had only needed to deal with the summoned creatures. Now, he had to deal with the summoned creatures and Aqua Rose''s Dark Arrows. As a result, Thousand Blades'' mobility was restricted. Meanwhile, this situation gave Aqua Rose sufficient time to cast the Tier 1 Spell, Soul Cloud. Soul Cloud gathered the power of shadows to form ten flying blades that could only be dodged, not blocked. Soul Cloud was considered one of the Cursemancers'' Sure-kill Spells. After Bluefire Devour''s amplification, Aqua Rose was able to summon 20 pitch-black flying blades. However, she wasn''t satisfied. Just before she finished casting Soul Cloud, she activated the third Skill of the Song of Beatrice, the Song of Sprites. [Song of Sprites] Increases the effect of a specific spell by 300%. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose chose to amplify none other than Soul Cloud. Immediately, the 20 pitch-black flying blades increased to 60. Each flying blade was even stronger than Aqua Rose''s Dark Arrows. Impossible! Thousand Blades paled when he saw the swarm of flying blades hover before Aqua Rose, a chill crawling down his spine. He could feel the power within those pitch-black blades. A single one of them would devour at least half of his HP. Without waiting for Thousand Blades to react, Aqua Rose waved her finger. Immediately, the 60 flying blades transformed into 60 streaks of black light as they shot towards the dazed Ranger from all directions. Hua Hua Hua Even if Thousand Blades had already reached the Refinement Realm, he was powerless against the attacks of three summoned creatures and 60 flying blades. In the end, the streams of black light consumed him, and he died tragically. 786 Strong Matchup Chapter 786 - Strong Matchup When the black lights dispersed, the victor''s name appeared above the dueling ring. Aqua Rose! The entire venue fell silent. Aqua Rose''s performance was simply too shocking. Not only could she summon monsters to fight for her, but her final Soul Cloud was also exceedingly powerful. "It''s no wonder why Ye Feng sent Aqua Rose to fight in the first match. It turns out that she has an impressive trump card. I''m guessing that not even the Glorious Lions expected such an outcome." Blue Phoenix shuddered when she recalled the might of Aqua Rose''s Soul Cloud. Although Thousand Blades had activated his Lifesaving Skills to defend against the attack, Soul Cloud could not be blocked, only dodged. Against flying blades from all directions, even Blue Phoenix was only confident in dodging 20 to 30 attacks with her techniques. Using Blink to escape would be her only option. However, Thousand Blades was a Ranger. He did not have any instantaneous movement capabilities or Skills that provided invulnerability. "It seems that we don''t understand as much about Zero Wing as we thought." Phoenix Rain revealed a bright smile as she watched Aqua Rose. One move to finish the enemy! Such situations were rare in the Dark Arena. Furthermore, Aqua Rose had yet to even set foot into the Refinement Realm. Since she had not secured victory with her techniques, then the only possibility was the Cursemancer''s weapon and equipment. Previously, Ye Feng had displayed his overwhelming advantage in terms of Attributes. Now, they realized that Aqua Rose had the same advantage. The Glorious Lions had the support of the Super Guild Battle Wolves. Very few could compete with the Glorious Lions'' equipment and weapons. Hence, it was inconceivable that Zero Wing''s Aqua Rose had better equipment than Thousand Blades. Phoenix Rain''s curiosity of the Guild named Zero Wing grew. However, the following matches were the true hurdles the Asura Battle Team had to overcome. A team had to win three out of five matches to win the competition. However, the Glorious Lions had a monster-like expert. One could say that the battle team had at least one match in the bag. If the Asura Battle Team could not win two out of the three remaining matches, then it would lose. However, through this first match, everyone finally understood the Asura Battle Team''s strength. They also understood just how powerful Aqua Rose was. Victory with one move! In the future, anyone who challenged Aqua Rose would have to consider today''s fight. For a time, the various major powers focused their attention on Aqua Rose. They began to investigate her past. "She used to be an Honorary Elder of Twilight Echo? The upper echelons of Twilight Echo really are interesting. They chased such a talent out of the Guild." "Hahaha! Twilight Echo sure is rich! While others are frantically trying to recruit top-tier experts, Twilight Echo is chasing them away! The Guild must have too many geniuses!" "It''s no wonder why Twilight Echo has not been performing well in recent years. So this is their problem. Now that Aqua Rose has joined a small Guild like Zero Wing, we might have a chance to poach her." The various major powers in the venue could not help but ridicule Twilight Echo. The expressions of Twilight Echo''s upper echelons, who had come to watch the battle, twisted in response. Although they had known that Aqua Rose was a talented fighter and an experienced manager, they had never thought she would become this strong. --- Meanwhile, in the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s resting area, the team members remained indifferent about the battle''s outcome. They acted as if it were none of their business that they had lost the first match. "This Asura Battle Team is fairly interesting. They are slightly stronger than I expected. It is no wonder why that Aqua Rose is Zero Wing''s Vice-Leader. Thousand Blades really lucked out this time," the Swordsman Blood Sun commented disappointingly. He paid no attention whatsoever to Thousand Blades'' defeat. After all, there was no way their battle team could lose this competition. On the Glorious Lions Battle Team, Thousand Blades'' strength only ranked in the middle. None of their strongest combatants had taken part in the competition yet. On the other hand, the Asura Battle Team had already dispatched its strongest fighter. The competition''s outcome was already self-evident. "Let''s see what the Asura Battle Team plans to do next. Though, it doesn''t really matter what kind of tricks they try to pull," the Assassin Long Rainbow said, yawning. --- In the first match, the Glorious Lions Battle Team had been the first to send a combatant into the ring. For the second match, it was the Asura Battle Team''s turn to send a representative. Shi Feng had no wish to prolong this competition. Hence, for the next two-on-two match, he sent Fire Dance and Violet Cloud. "What''s going on? They''re actually sending a Cleric?!" "Is the Asura Battle Team giving up this match entirely?" "Wait, that Fire Dance seems to be the commander of Zero Wing''s main force." The Asura Battle Team''s representatives for the second match confused the crowd. Although Clerics were not entirely useless, one would not normally send a Cleric into a two-on-two match. After all, if the enemy focused on the Cleric, the battle would quickly devolve into a two-on-one situation. To make things worse, the Assassin class could not pin down players like the Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior classes could. "Just what is going through that man''s mind? Is he trying to forfeit the match?" Phoenix Rain could not help her frown. She was aware of the three great experts of Zero Wing. They were Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud, respectively. Although sending two of the three great experts seemed like a good move, in the off chance that they were both defeated, the Asura Battle Team would lose all chances of winning this competition. Having them take part in the later three-on-three matches, taking the enemy by surprise like Aqua Rose had, would have been the wisest move. Yet, Ye Feng had discarded that opportunity. "Interesting. This brat''s desire to win is impressive. He wants to win two matches in a row and rely on his own strength to fight for the final strand of hope? He is underestimating the Glorious Lions," Sirius muttered as he glanced at Shi Feng. Immediately, he instructed, "Rainbow and Blood, you two will fight. Show the Asura Battle Team''s leader the Glorious Lions'' strength." Blood Sun and Long Rainbow''s combat prowess was only weaker than his among the Glorious Lions Battle Team. It was especially true for Blood Sun. To increase their chances of becoming the Dark Arena''s organizer, the Battle Wolves had even given Blood Sun an Epic Weapon. With Blood Sun''s skills and the Epic Weapon, the Swordsman''s combat power was only beneath his own. Hence, winning this match would be child''s play for Blood Sun and Long Rainbow. In fact, Blood Sun alone was more than enough to defeat the Asura Battle Team''s two representatives. "Leader, rest assured," Long Rainbow confidently reassured the team''s commander as he stood abruptly. "Rainbow, wait a minute. Fighting one player is too boring. Let me handle the both of them by myself," Blood Sun said as he stopped Long Rainbow. "After the competition, I''ll give you a bottle of Life Wine. How about it?" The Life Wine was a Fire Dragon Empire specialty. It was known as a mortal world delicacy. Although the recipe was easy to obtain, the materials it required were extraordinarily rare. One could only obtain these materials if they were lucky. Aside from the drink''s delicious taste, the Life Wine also had a certain probability of strengthening a player''s physique. It was even more precious than Dark-Gold Equipment. "Really?" Long Rainbow was certainly tempted when he heard the words "Life Wine." This item was Blood Sun''s treasure. Even their team leader had only managed to obtain one bottle from the Swordsman after a lot of trouble. Normally, Blood Sun would not even share a cup. "Of course," Blood Sun assured. He wanted to test his new sword properly, and he did not want Long Rainbow to interrupt his fun. "Fine, I agree. However, if it seems like you are going to lose, for the sake of winning the competition, I''ll have to join the fight. Of course, you''ll still have to give me the Life Wine," Long Rainbow said after giving it some thought. "Sure." Blood Sun grinned. 787 Phantom Sword Chapter 787 - Phantom Sword In the wide and spacious dueling ring, the Assassin Long Rainbow stood in the corner while the Swordsman Blood Sun took his place in the ring''s center. The spectators were surprised. Normally, in a two-on-two match, teammates wouldn''t stand so far from each other. They usually stood relatively close so that they could better-coordinate their attacks and defense. Furthermore, they were both melee players, which was all the more reason not to stand 50 yards apart. With a distance of 50 yards, even a Ranger, the class with the longest range, would not be able to assist a companion in battle. "What are you guys trying to do?" Fire Dance glanced at the distant Long Rainbow before shifting her gaze back to Blood Sun. Carefreely, Blood Sun said, "One-on-one battles are too boring, so I intend to take you both on by myself. Don''t worry about it. The fight will be over very quickly." The audience could hear the players in the ring quite clearly. When they heard Blood Sun''s words, an uproar shook the venue. They never thought that the Glorious Lions'' member would make such a bold statement. Nothing like this had ever happened in the Dark Arena before. Everybody wanted to win the competition, so why would anyone hold back their strength? If Blood Sun wasn''t a fool, then he must be absolutely confident of his own power. "So, you want a one-on-two battle?" Rage flared in Fire Dance''s eyes as she glared at Blood Sun''s arrogant expression. Suppressing her anger, she said coldly, "It seems the Glorious Lions really underestimates us." "Hahaha! Don''t put it like that. This is a good opportunity for you to win the competition!" Blood Sun laughed. He did not pay any particular attention to Fire Dance''s cold killing intent. The loss of the first match had wounded the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s reputation quite severely. Blood Sun''s first reason for asking Long Rainbow to step aside was to recover the team''s reputation, while the second reason was to experiment with his Epic Weapon. However, Blood Sun did not think Fire Dance and Violet Cloud even qualified as test subjects. "As you wish." Fire Dance stepped forward, standing in front of Violet Cloud. Understanding Fire Dance''s intentions, Violet Cloud retreated. "Interesting!" Blood Sun did not mind the women''s actions as he unsheathed the silver sword encrusted with seven resplendent gemstones. "Hopefully, you don''t lose too quickly." --- "This is bad." Gentle Snow frowned as she watched the ring from the spectator stands. "Snow, what''s wrong? If Fire Dance could last against the party leader of the Flower of Seven Sins for so long, shouldn''t she be able to defeat Blood Sun easily?" Zhao Yueru was, more or less, familiar with Fire Dance''s strength. Even if Blood Sun was very strong, she did not think that the Swordsman was guaranteed to win. "You don''t know this, but Blood Sun''s swordsmanship is very odd. Even a Shield Warrior like War Wolf couldn''t defend against his attacks," Gentle Snow explained as she shook her head. She had watched the video of the battle between War Wolf and Blood Sun. She already had a general understanding of Blood Sun''s strength. Although there was not much of a difference in terms of combat power between Blood Sun and a party leader from the Flower of Seven Sins, in terms of attack techniques, the former was definitely stronger. Now that Blood Sun wanted to face his opponents alone, it was the perfect opportunity for the Asura Battle Team to get rid of the Swordsman. Immediately, Gentle Snow contacted Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Snow, what''s the matter?" Shi Feng asked after accepting the call. "Ye Feng, Blood Sun has strange attack methods. It is best for Fire Dance and Violet Cloud to finish him off together. If you allow Fire Dance to fight him by herself, she won''t be able to defend against Blood Sun''s attacks," Gentle Snow hurriedly warned the man. The match had not begun yet. There was still time for Fire Dance and Violet Cloud to coordinate their attacks and deal with Blood Sun. Once the match officially began, it would probably be too late even if the two women banded together. "Thank you for your warning, Guild Leader Snow," Shi Feng said, laughing. He had never expected Gentle Snow to call him in such a rush just to warn him. Seeing Shi Feng''s calm reaction, Gentle Snow''s anxiety grew. It was obvious that Shi Feng was not taking her words seriously. "Blood Sun is very strong. He even defeated War Wolf and Soaring Snake while they were working together. War Wolf''s shield couldn''t get close to Blood Sun''s sword before he suffered defeat. I believe you are aware of War Wolf''s strength. If he couldn''t even deflect Blood Sun''s attacks, it will be very difficult for Fire Dance hold the man off," Gentle Snow explained in detail. In Star-Moon Kingdom, War Wolf''s strength was absolute. He could rank within the top three MTs of the kingdom. Defeating War Wolf was already impressive, yet the powerful Shield Warrior had not been able to withstand Blood Sun''s attacks. "Ah, I understand. If Guild Leader Snow doesn''t have anything else, I''ll disconnect the call now. The match is starting soon." Shi Feng nodded. He then disconnected the call. "Hello? Hello?" Gentle Snow was speechless as she stared at the already-dark screen. "Ye Feng is so infuriating! Even though you offered a warning with good intentions, he treated your words like they were nothing! It''ll be his fault when his team loses!" Zhao Yueru grumbled. --- "Leader, will it really be alright to let Fire Dance deal with that man by herself?" Aqua Rose asked sternly. She had been sitting beside Shi Feng, so she had overheard the conversation with Gentle Snow. War Wolf''s strength definitely ranked at the top of Star-Moon Kingdom. If not for her equipment advantage, even she would not be a match for the man. "Don''t worry about it. We just need to sit tight and enjoy the show." Shi Feng waved his hand. Aside from Sirius, he had very detailed information on the Glorious Lions'' combatants. Shi Feng understood Blood Sun''s capabilities far better than Gentle Snow. In the past, Blood Sun had been quite famous in the Dark Arena. He had been known as Blood Sun the Phantom Sword! Although Blood Sun had only reached the Flowing Water Realm standard, the swordsmanship he used made it impossible to grasp his attack trajectories and rhythm. If one had not reached the Void Realm, it would be exceedingly difficult to defend against his strikes. If the Fire Dance of a few days ago were fighting, he would definitely instruct her coordinate with Violet Cloud. They could easily defeat Blood Sun with the Astromancer''s strange attacks. Moreover, the Assassin Long Rainbow was similarly extraordinary. In the past, he had earned the title Ghost Hand in the Dark Arena. When the two worked together, even a Void Realm expert would fall. However, Fire Dance was not the Assassin she had been in the past. Even Shi Feng was unsure how much her strength had improved. This was the perfect opportunity to test her strength. --- Above the dueling ring, the countdown timer finally reached zero. "You''re not entering stealth?" Blood Sun asked, unable to help his curiosity, as he watched Fire Dance, who remained motionless 30 yards away from him. As an Assassin, Fire Dance could only display her true power while hiding in the shadows. Generally, Assassins would enter stealth as soon as the battle began and look for an opportunity to deal a fatal blow. "That won''t be necessary." Fire Dance sounded calm as she unsheathed Thousand Transformations and Petrified Thorn from her waist. Step by step, she slowly advanced on the Swordsman before her. "Good! Very good! I want to see just how long you can hold that arrogance!" When Blood Sun heard her challenge, rage flared in his chest. This was the first time someone had looked down him. Taking a step forward, he used Wind Blade and dashed towards Fire Dance. 788 Legendary Power Chapter 788 - Legendary Power "Has she lost her mind?!" Gentle Snow was flabbergasted as she watched Fire Dance approach Blood Sun slowly. Zero Wing''s Guild Leader was insane enough. She had never imagined that Fire Dance would follow in that man''s footsteps. An Assassin''s abilities in a frontal confrontation were significantly weaker than a Swordsman''s. It would be very easy to defeat an Assassin in a head-on clash. Blood sun was not an ordinary expert, yet Fire Dance had forfeited the greatest advantage an Assassin possessed --- As soon as Blood Sun arrived before Fire Dance, the silver sword in his hand vanished. Following which, over a dozen streaks of silver light appeared around Fire Dance, surrounding her. Tier 1 Skill, Wind Flurry. In the next moment, the dozen or so silver lights sliced through Fire Dance''s body. "An afterimage?" Before Blood Sun could celebrate his attack, he noticed something odd. Abruptly, he leaped forward. Xiu! A streak of silver light then cut across where Blood Sun had just stood. Seeing her Shadow Steps fail, Fire Dance followed up with an Absolute Strike. Instantly, she transformed into a shadow as she plunged towards the Swordsman. Dang! As soon as the shadow Fire Dance had transformed into arrived before Blood Sun, the Swordsman Parried the incoming attack with his silver sword, negating all damage. "It''s no wonder why you dared to fight me head on. Your Strength is so high despite being an Assassin." Blood Sun was slightly surprised as the impact forced him to retreat three steps. He smiled and asked, "However, how will you react to this move?" Blood Sun charged at Fire Dance. Suddenly, his two swords transformed into dozens of afterimages. Every one of these images slashed at Fire Dance simultaneously. The sudden appearance of so many blades would have bewildered any opponent. However, this was not the most impressive aspect of Blood Sun''s attacks. The speed of these sword images varied. Some moved faster than others. Moreover, the blades'' speeds constantly changed. Trying to grasp the Swordsman''s attack rhythm was nearly impossible, not to mention predicting the images trajectories. The attack took Fire Dance by surprise. She couldn''t differentiate which of these swords was real. If she rushed to defend or attack, the slightest carelessness could very well result in her death. Wind Steps! Fire Dance retreated as she utilized the less than one-second invulnerability the Skill provided. In addition, Wind Steps'' Movement Speed increase allowed Fire Dance, whose Movement Speed was already quite high, to dash out of Blood Sun''s attack range. "You''re really fast. You are definitely the fastest Assassin I have ever seen to date." Although Blood Sun had hit Fire Dance, the Assassin had utilized Wind Steps to block his attacks. Just as he was about to chase the woman down, he discovered that the Assassin was already quite some distance away from himself. He couldn''t hit her from this far if he wanted to. --- Although Fire Dance and Blood Sun''s exchange had been brief, the audience was stupefied. "These two are amazing!" "Why do I feel my chest tighten while watching these two fight?" Every member of the audience had seen battles between experts before. However, Fire Dance and Blood Sun''s battle ranked near the top of their lists. Both players were incredibly fast. Before anyone could react, they had already separated from their confrontation. All the onlookers saw was dozens of sword images and a flickering shadow. In the next moment, both fighters had swapped positions. They were too fast for the naked eye to follow. As a result, many among the audiences weren''t entirely sure about what had just transpired. "Blood Sun is powerful!" Blue Phoenix exclaimed. Although most of the audience did not know what had happened, Blue Phoenix was a Void Realm expert. She had seen the exchange very clearly. "Blood Sun should be the famed Battle Wolves'' Phantom Sword. I had never thought that the Battle Wolves would be so desperate to host the Dark Arena." Phoenix Rain smiled bitterly. "Phantom Sword?" Although Blue Phoenix had never heard this name before, even she had been unable to differentiate which sword images had been real and which had been fake. After all, she was too far away from the dueling ring. She could only rely on her sight, not her other senses. "Mhm. He is one of the great experts that the Battle Wolves have nurtured. I''ve also heard that Phantom Sword managed to defeat one of the Battle Wolves'' Guild Elders," Phoenix Rain explained. "It seems the Asura Battle Team won''t be able to win this match." "Why do you say that? Although Fire Dance is at a disadvantage, both her movement and reactions are very fast. She still has a possibility of winning this match," Blue Phoenix asked curiously. "You underestimate the Battle Wolves. I''ve told you before that the Battle Wolves do not care about their reputation. The Guild has even loaned the Epic ranked one-handed sword they obtained from a Boss they stole to Blood Sun. Knowing this, do you still think Fire Dance has any hope of winning?" Personally, Phoenix Rain wanted the Asura Battle Team to emerge victorious. However, based on the information she had obtained, the gem-encrusted, silver sword in Blood Sun''s hand should be the Epic ranked one-handed sword the Battle Wolves had plundered some time ago. A Dark-Gold Weapon could never compare to an Epic Weapon. The benefits of an Epic Weapon were simply too great. Moreover, Blood Sun had just been testing out his new weapon. Without utilizing his actual strength, he had backed Fire Dance into a corner. If he began to take the match seriously, he would only need an instant to defeat Fire Dance. --- "An Epic Weapon is quite amazing. Just after equipping an Epic Weapon, Blood Sun can produce far more sword images. I wonder how long this young lady will last against him?" Sirius revealed a faint smile after watching Blood Sun''s performance. The Phantom Sword was no stranger to experts. His swordsmanship utilized the shift in swinging speed to generate afterimages. Ordinary experts would be hard pressed to generate three perfect afterimages, but Blood Sun was a genius in this aspect. Using two swords, he could generate dozens of perfect afterimages. However, this was not Blood Sun''s most frightening aspect. Blood Sun''s physical control also surpassed ordinary players'' by leaps and bounds. Even an expert would struggle to launch attacks with the exact same trajectory at full speed. However, Blood Sun could do just that. Moreover, he could perform the feat without error. Blood Sun''s attack, which had just been an afterimage, could very well be a real sword in the next second. This ability made it nearly impossible to avoid or block his attacks. Without reaching the Void Realm, it was impossible to differentiate which of his attacks were real, and which were fake. --- In the dueling ring, Blood Sun launched a barrage of attacks at Fire Dance. However, Fire Dance maintained a subtle distance from him; she only needed one step to escape his attack range. This made it possible to dodge or block his attacks easily. "Let''s end the game here, then." Blood Sun had mostly familiarized himself with Daybreak. Meanwhile, the duration of Fire Dance''s Wind Steps was nearly over. Immediately, he activated Windwalk, increasing his speed as he charged towards the Assassin. His swords then transformed into dozens of phantoms, blocking all of Fire Dance''s paths of retreat. Just as the silver lights were about to devour Fire Dance, she tightened her grip around Thousand Transformations and swung the weapon in front of her. With just a light swing Suddenly, countless sword lights appeared before Fire Dance. The sword lights shone like stars in the night sky. These sword lights clashed with Daybreak''s phantoms. Peng! Peng! The sound of metal clashing reverberated throughout the dueling ring. Blood Sun felt his hands go numb instantly. He was also forced back four steps before he managed to stabilize his body. "How did you do that?!" Blood Sun''s eyes widened; he couldn''t believe what had just happened. Even though Fire Dance had simply swung her sword, countless, shining sword lights filled the space between them. These sword lights were incredibly realistic, making it impossible to determine Fire Dance''s true attack trajectory. When he came into contact with a random sword light, it had repelled him 789 Realistic Illusionary Attacks Chapter 789 - Realistic Illusionary Attacks "What happened?" Everyone was confused when they saw Blood Sun pushed back. All they had seen was Blood Sun accelerate towards Fire Dance, and in the next moment, a silver light flashed. Blood Sun was forced to retreat by several steps before he stabilized himself. They could even see the Swordsman''s hands tremble. Originally, the battle had been in Blood Sun''s favor. Now, however, the situation had changed completely. Nobody understood what had just happened. "Who is that Fire Dance?!" Everlasting War''s mouth gaped in shock. He had understood Aqua Rose''s victory. After all, she was a famous newcomer in the virtual gaming world. She had also been nurtured by a Super Guild. However, no one had ever heard of Fire Dance, yet she was actually able to repel Blood Sun while he went all-out. Everlasting War could not believe this to be real. Even he had an extremely difficult time defending against Blood Sun''s Phantom Sword. He could only use an AOE Skill to counter Blood Sun''s attack. However, Fire Dance had only used one strike to repel the Swordsman. With just a single swing of her sword, she filled the entire space between them with her sword''s afterimages. It was practically impossible to defend against such an attack. Blood Sun''s Phantom Sword was meaningless in the face of such an attack. One could say that Blood Sun was simply showing off his slight skill before a master. Compared to Fire Dance''s attack, Blood Sun''s Phantom Sword was a joke. Everlasting War was confused. He could not figure out how Fire Dance had managed to accomplish such a feat. Who could defend against an attack like that? She''s already set foot into the Refinement Realm? Sirius narrowed his eyes as he began to evaluate Fire Dance carefully. Fire Dance''s previous attack was astounding. Even Sirius had not seen how the Assassin had pulled it off. Against such an attack, even he would be forced to evade the sword images. However, Fire Dance''s performance showed that she did not use any excess movements when drawing her sword. She had not executed any special techniques at all. She had just swung her sword. Yet, this ordinary attack had created countless afterimages that filled the area before her. Unfortunately, he sat too far away from the battle. He had not been able to see the details of what had happened. --- "Snow, look! Fire Dance repelled Blood Sun! What do you think just happened?" Zhao Yueru turned to Gentle Snow, her mouth hanging open. Shaking her head, Gentle Snow responded with a surprised expression, saying, "I don''t know what happened, either." This was simply too shocking. Only now did Gentle Snow understand why Shi Feng was so confident in letting Fire Dance take on Blood Sun alone. It turned out that Fire Dance had hidden her strength all this time. --- Compared to the audience''s shock, Zero Wing''s members were utterly stupefied. "When did Big Sis Fire learn such a peerless technique?" "That attack was so powerful! We''ll definitely win this time!" With a single swing of her blade, Fire Dance created countless, deadly stars. Her powerful attack made it impossible to approach her or defend against her attacks. One could only cope with this vicious barrier if they attacked from a range or to use an AOE Skill. --- In the dueling ring, Blood Sun''s face twisted into a grave expression. However, he was no fool. He did not believe that Fire Dance''s attack was a peerless technique. He suspected that she had used a Skill. Hence, he strode forward and attacked the Assassin using Phantom Sword once again. "Although that move is quite powerful, all Skills have a Cooldown! I don''t believe you can use it limitlessly!" Blood Sun sneered. However, despite seeing the dozens of sword images flying at her, Fire Dance didn''t move. Instead, she swung the Thousand Transformations upward violently. Peng! Countless silver lights flashed, and she repelled Blood Sun again. --- Shi Feng laughed silently when he saw the dumbfounded look on Blood Sun''s face. In terms of Basic Attributes, even an Epic Weapon was no match for a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. However, this was not the largest benefit of wielding a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. A Fragmented Legendary Weapon would also grow stronger with the improvement of the player''s combat techniques. Previously, Fire Dance had never utilized her full strength in battle. She had used plenty of excess movements when she swung her sword. In her last attack, however, there were none. Hence, she had displayed Thousand Transformations'' true power. Realistic illusions! Although she had only swung Thousand Transformations once, every afterimage that appeared was real. Regardless of which afterimage the enemy encountered, that afterimage would become a true attack the moment they made contact. Fire Dance didn''t need to think about how she should defend herself against Blood Sun''s Phantom Sword. She only needed to swing her own blade. A simple swing could transform into an attack that incorporated both attack and defense Countless people dreamed of achieving this level of swordsmanship. However, Fire Dance had achieved it easily with the Thousand Transformations. This was also why so many people desperately chased after Legendary Weapons. If a Fragmented Legendary Weapon already possessed such power, a true Legendary Weapon would be terrifying. --- In the dueling ring, Fire Dance charged at Blood Sun and brandished her Thousand Transformations. Numerous sword lights flashed before Blood Sun''s eyes. However, Blood Sun could not find the real weapon among the illusions. It seemed as if every afterimage was the real deal. He was already inferior to Fire Dance in terms of speed. The Assassin''s unavoidable attack only made things worse. Now, all he could do was attempt to block the attack with his swords, yet the instant his weapons clashed with Fire Dance''s afterimages, the attack forced him back, both of his hands going numb as a damage of over -200 points appeared above his head. However, Fire Dance showed no signs of stopping as she assaulted the Swordsman before her. As a result, Blood Sun''s HP continued to decrease. This turn of events stunned the audience members. Nobody had imagined that an Assassin could be so frightening. Fire Dance''s slashes was a combination of violence and beauty. "Blood, I''ll help you!" Long Rainbow shouted. Long Rainbow could already see the severity of the situation. Immediately, he entered Stealth and charged at Fire Dance. "I have truly underestimated the Asura Battle Team. I had never imagined that your team would have such a powerful player. However, don''t think that you have won just yet." As Fire Dance repelled Blood Sun, his HP gradually fell. If this continued, she would drain his HP, which totaled at over 10,000, in less than 30 seconds. Immediately, Blood Sun activated his Berserk Skills, his Attributes rising abruptly. His HP shot from over 10,000 to more than 15,000. A blue glow enveloped his body. The Epic Weapon Daybreak in his hand also emitted a blue sword aura that was over two meters long, increasing Blood Sun''s attack range significantly. Blood Sun then executed Phantom Sword and struck at Fire Dance. "Let''s see if you can block this!" Blood Sun revealed a sinister smile. He was clearly confident in his attack. He had activated his Berserk Skill, Sword Shadow. When activated, the Skill increased all of his Attributes by 50% and his Attack Speed by 80%. The Skill also increased his attack range. At the same time, Blood Sun had activated one of Daybreak''s Skills, Consecutive Shadow Strikes. For ten seconds, his attacks could neither be blocked nor parried. Fire Dance was only an Assassin. Her attack range was shorter than a Swordsman''s. Now, he had increased his attack range further. Moreover, even if Fire Dance''s short sword clashed with Daybreak, the Epic Weapon would ignore the blade and strike Fire Dance''s body. Immediately, a sword light phased through Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations, colliding with the Assassin. However, Fire Dance suddenly split into six copies of herself. When Daybreak hit Fire Dance''s body, it simply passed through her unhindered. He had not felt the sensation of his weapon cutting into flesh at all. An illusion? Blood Sun''s complexion paled. He had not expected Fire Dance to have a move like this. "It''s my turn now." Fire Dance smiled. Suddenly, all six female Assassins charged at Blood Sun from different directions. Blood Sun brandished his two swords, attempting to defend himself. However, when his attacks struck the Fire Dances, not a single one of them received any damage. All of them are fakes? Just as Blood Sun wondered about the Skill The six Fire Dances arrived before Blood Sun, surrounding the Swordsman. All six Assassins raised their weapons and swung downward. Blood Sun had intended to ignore Fire Dance''s doppelgangers and rush out of the encirclement, but a silver short sword suddenly slid into his back, dealing -3,481 damage. "You''re real?!" Blood Sun reacted quickly, swinging his sword at the real Fire Dance behind him. However, when Daybreak cut across Fire Dance, it did not cause any damage. "Unfortunately, you''ve guessed wrong." The Fire Dance who stood to Blood Sun''s left grinned as she swung her sword at the Swordsman. Once more, Blood Sun lost a large chunk of his HP. In the blink of an eye, he lost over 7,000 HP. His HP was now dangerously close to zero. It would only take one more hit to end his life. However, Blood Sun suddenly smiled. "No You''re bait!" Fire Dance suddenly felt a bone-chilling killing intent from behind her. Immediately, a streak of black light pierced through her back. "You noticed too late," Long Rainbow suddenly whispered with a cold smile. 790 Different Level Chapter 790 - Different Level Everything had happened far too quickly. Long Rainbow was like a wild beast as he approached and ambushed Fire Dance stealthily. He had hidden his presence throughout the process. However, when he finally struck, he was like a venomous snake, both fast and accurate. "What a pity." "The Glorious Lions truly don''t care about their reputation anymore. Previously, they''ve even declared that they wanted to go one-on-two. Now, it''s become a two-on-one instead!" None of the audience had expected the battle to change so quickly. Words could no longer describe Fire Dance''s strength. She was definitely the most powerful Assassin they had ever seen in God''s Domain. Her Strength Attribute was absurdly high. She had been able to suppress a Swordsman expert with so little effort. Her attack that filled the ring with starlight could also suppress everything before her. She was practically invincible in a one-on-one battle. --- Meanwhile, standing behind the woman, both Long Rainbow''s pitch-black dagger and the hand wielding the weapon passed through Fire Dance''s body without any resistance. "This is" Long Rainbow did not dare believe his eyes. The target he had carefully chosen was just an illusion! Just as he was about to warn Blood Sun, he discovered a silver short sword cutting across Blood Sun''s waist, eliminating the Swordsman''s final strand of HP. Even after Blood Sun''s HP reached zero, the man had not realized what had happened, confusion as to why his HP had dropped to zero filling his eyes. After Fire Dance killed Blood Sun, she released a sigh of relief. Long Rainbow had nearly forced her into a Fainted state. With both Long Rainbow and Blood Sun having activated their Berserk Skills, she would most likely die before Violet Cloud could lend her support. Fortunately, the Thousand Transformations'' Phantom Skill was no ordinary Skill. It allowed her to swap positions with her doppelgangers without any telltale signs. The ability also didn''t have a Cooldown, allowing her to use it freely. All she needed to activate the ability was a thought. Hence, she had swapped positions with her doppelgangers the instant before Long Rainbow''s dagger plunged through her. However, as soon as Fire Dance finished off Blood Sun, Long Rainbow reacted. Immediately, he used the Assassin class''s strongest Skill, Absolute Strike, transforming into a streak of shadow that assaulted Fire Dance. Unfortunately, by the time the black shadow pierced Fire Dance''s body, Fire Dance had long since swapped positions with another of her doppelgangers. When Long Rainbow''s body rematerialized and reappeared behind Fire Dance''s doppelganger, Fire Dance swapped position with said doppelganger again. Holding the Petrified Thorn in a reverse-grip, she spun and with centripetal acceleration, she executed a perfect Backstab, shoving her blade into Long Rainbow''s back. Dang! "Vanish?" Fire Dance realized what had happened after Petrified Thorn was forced to a stop before it could strike the other Assassin. Long Rainbow began to disappear immediately. Her lips curling into a smile, Fire Dance stated, "Unfortunately, even this move can''t save your life!" A second after Long Rainbow had disappeared, Fire Dance raised the Petrified Thorn above her and slammed it into the dueling ring''s floor. Petrification Domain! This was the Epic ranked dagger''s second Skill. When activated, it dealt 500% weapon damage to enemies within 50 yards. Enemies hit would also suffer a 50% Movement Speed reduction for 10 seconds. In addition, the Petrification Domain increased Fire Dance''s Attributes and Movement Speed. Suddenly, with Fire Dance at the center, the ground began to turn stone-gray, the affected area spreading outwards. In the blink of an eye, everything within 50 yards of Fire Dance turned stone-gray. Meanwhile, Long Rainbow had been forcefully exposed. Golden, divine runes flowed around the Assassin''s body, and although Long Rainbow had not received any damage, his body had turned the same gray as the ground, his Movement Speed having plummeted. Damn it! This Skill has a Movement Speed Reduction effect! Long Rainbow''s expression was grim as he watched Fire Dance dash towards him. Although he had activated Magic Immunity and his Berserk Skill, his Basic Attributes higher than Fire Dance''s by a large margin, he was not confident of defeating Fire Dance in a direct confrontation. After all, even Blood Sun, who was the stronger of the two, had died while facing the female Assassin head-on. His chances of victory were even lower. The only way he could win this match now was to eliminate the Cleric Violet Cloud first. Once his Skills'' Cooldowns had completed, he could look for an opportunity to slay Fire Dance. However, that was no longer an option Just as the six Fire Dances were about to reach Long Rainbow, the latter activated a Skill that freed him from all Control effects. Following which, he struck at the leading Fire Dance. "Heh." Fire Dance did not bother resisting the attack, allowing Long Rainbow to strike as much as he wished. After Long Rainbow passed through Fire Dance''s body unhindered, Fire Dance executed an Eviscerate from behind the male Assassin. However, Thousand Transformations had failed to hit Long Rainbow. The Fragmented Legendary Weapon only struck the afterimage the Assassin had left behind. Before anyone realized it, Long Rainbow appeared behind Fire Dance''s true body, executing Backstab. Long Rainbow had thought of this plan after Fire Dance had forced him out of stealth. He had deliberately exposed a weakness in his defense, launching a surprise counterattack while Fire Dance attempted to strike. "Die!" Long Rainbow shouted, his eyes bloodshot with fury as he thrust his blade. In the end, however, his dagger still passed through the woman without any resistance. He had failed. "How?!" Long Rainbow''s eyes widened. Meanwhile, as soon as Long Rainbow''s black dagger left Fire Dance''s body, the doppelganger spun and slashed at the Assassin. The two were too close. Even if Long Rainbow had predicted the attack, the Fire Dance''s Attack Speed was simply too high. Furthermore, he had not yet recovered his stance after his full-powered attack. He could not defend himself. The silver Thousand Transformations became a stream of light that shot Long Rainbow''s heart. Immediately, a damage of -10,648 points appeared above Long Rainbow''s head, devouring more than two-thirds of the Assassin''s HP. Ignoring the pain, Long Rainbow abandoned his defense as he tightened his grip on his dagger and stabbed at Fire Dance. As an expert, his pride no longer allowed him to care about winning or losing this match. Only one thought went through Long Rainbow''s mindhe needed to damage Fire Dance at least once. Although his attacks had only struck illusions, the pain Thousand Transformations caused him was absolutely real. Hence, Long Rainbow was certain that the Fire Dance before him was the real deal. Yet, just as his dagger was about to strike Fire Dance, Long Rainbow felt another sting in his back. "You" As Long Rainbow''s HP dropped like a stone, he turned his head to take a look, discovering that the real Fire Dance had appeared behind him without his notice. Following which, Long Rainbow fell to the ground, bitterness filling his eyes. Despite his Berserk Skill, even until his death, he had not managed to touch the real Fire Dance. This was the first time since he had joined God''s Domain that anyone had toyed with him to such a degree. And he had been completely powerless against it. --- Silence dominated the spectator stands. Compared to this battle, the previous battles had been a joke. The battle had only lasted several seconds, yet before anyone realized what was going on, the two great experts of the Glorious Lions Battle Team were dead. Although none of the audience members understood what had just happened, they had learned one thing from watching Fire Dance''s battle All attacks against Fire Dance were ineffective, while every one of her attacks was vicious. This fight had felt like a dream. Two great experts had died without offering the slightest resistance. Aside from their confusion, everyone among the audience admired and feared Fire Dance. The Glorious Lions'' two great experts were undoubtedly extraordinary individuals. Even in the Dark Arena, their strength ranked at the top. Yet, even after these two great experts had activated their Berserk Skills, Fire Dance had defeated them without any Berserk Skill whatsoever. Berserk Skills generally improved a player''s combat power significantly. It should have been impossible for a player without a Berserk Skill to contend with a player with one active. Today, however, every player in the room had been given a living example to the contrary. This was no longer an issue of Attributes. Both sides were simply on entirely different levels. "Just who is this Fire Dance?" The major powers in the audience grew quite curious about Fire Dance''s identity. 791 Old Monster Chapter 791 - Old Monster Above the wide, spacious dueling ring, the system displayed Fire Dance and Violet Cloud''s names as this match''s victors. When the audience saw this announcement, an extraordinarily heavy atmosphere overtook the venue. With a mysterious combat technique, Fire Dance alone had defeated two great experts from the Glorious Lions Battle Team. At this moment, Fire Dance''s name etched itself deeply on everyone''s hearts. "Amazing. I had never thought that Zero Wing would''ve hidden so much of its strength. It''s no wonder why Black Flame could afford to excuse himself from such an important event." When Phoenix Rain looked at Fire Dance, she felt as if a whole new world had opened up to her. Although Fire Dance''s combat realm was mediocre at best, the Assassin''s bewildering combat method was a first for her. Even Blue Phoenix, a Void Realm expert, would not have any defense against Fire Dance, much less Long Rainbow and Blood Sun. The only method to deal with the Assassin''s mysterious combat method was to use large-scale Destruction Spells or manipulate several dozens of flying blades like Aqua Rose had and attack from a distance. Even having significantly higher Attributes than Fire Dance would be of little use against the Assassin. However, both large-scale Destruction Spells and the Tier 1 Spell, Soul Cloud, had a long casting time. During this period, with Fire Dance''s speed, she could kill her opponent several times over. If even magical classes would have such a difficult time against Fire Dance, physical classes would have even more trouble taking her down. --- Even Hua Qiushui, who watched from the spectator stands, was stunned by the match''s outcome for quite some time. The Asura Battle Team, a team new to the Dark Arena, possessed such a strong framework. It was simply inconceivable. Whether it was Thousand Blades, who had fought in the first match, or Blood Sun and Long Rainbow, who had just been defeated, all three were experts that she had handpicked herself. She was very familiar with their strengths. Yet, all three had failed. She had never expected this outcome. Where did this Asura Battle Team come from? Hua Qiushui wore a gloomy expression. She was in a very bad mood. To avoid the unexpected, she had been as careful as possible, yet after dispatching the members of Team Two, they had still lost two matches in a row. If they lost another match, they would lose the entire competition. It''s no wonder why he dared to challenge my Glorious Lions Battle Team. Sure enough, he has some ability. Hua Qiushui could not help but shift her gaze towards Shi Feng. Initially, she had seen Shi Feng a minor character that did not necessitate any attention. Now that he was the Asura Battle Team''s leader, however, she could not afford to ignore him. Meanwhile, when Exemplary Willow saw Hua Qiushui''s gloomy expression, she more or less understood the Glorious Lions'' situation. However, Exemplary Willow was truly confused. Zero Wing was merely an upstart Guild. She could deal with the Guild''s victory over the Star Alliance in the previous war, but it now forced Hua Qiushui''s battle team into a serious predicament. This was simply inconceivable. "Aunty Hua, we will win this competition, right?" Exemplary Willow asked worriedly. Before the competition had begun, she had wagered all of the rare materials and equipment she had obtained after many difficulties on the Glorious Lions'' victory. She had obtained the materials and equipment from Twilight Echo to use as bets. As a precaution, she had bet her funds on the Glorious Lions. On the off chance that the battle team lost, Twilight Echo''s development would most likely stagnate "Rest assured; although the Asura Battle Team''s performances were shocking, such powerful Skills and equipment are not that easily obtainable. The fact that the Asura Battle Team had two or three such items is impressive. However, it is unlikely that they will show off any more in the following matches," Hua Qiushui responded confidently. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that the third match was a one-on-one. The Glorious Lions had sent their strongest fighter, Sirius, into this match. Hua Qiushui had also investigated Zero Wing during the small break after the last match. The Guild only had so many experts. Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud were known as the Guild''s three greatest experts. After including Ye Feng, a hidden expert of the Guild, Zero Wing only had four. The other experts within the Guild were mediocre at best. They had no reason to fear them. One of the remaining matches was a one-on-one, while the other two were three-on-threes. In a three-on-three, Ye Feng was the only true opponent the Glorious Lions had to face. Even if the Glorious Lions'' members were no match for Ye Feng in a one-on-one, with three people using their Sure-kill Skills simultaneously, they could easily finish off the Swordsman as soon as the match began. Afterward, they could take their time finishing off the other two Asura Battle Team members. If Ye Feng fought in the one-on-one, all the better. Sirius could win the competition by himself. The following matches would only be for show. Regardless of what decision the Asura Battle Team made, the outcome would be the same. --- "It seems the Glorious Lions can''t endure this any longer." Phoenix Rain''s lips curled up slightly when she saw Sirius walk onto the dueling ring. The Glorious Lions'' lineup was gorgeous. After all, the Super Guild Battle Wolves supported the battle team. Zero Wing was merely an upstart Guild. The fact that it had forced the Glorious Lions into a corner was considered a miracle in the Dark Arena. "Big Sis Rain, who do you think the Asura Battle Team will send for this match?" Blue Phoenix could clearly feel the terrifying aura Sirius radiated. The instant Sirius entered the ring, her instincts warned of extreme danger. This was the first time she had experienced such a feeling. Although she had never fought Sirius, she could already see her defeat. The gap between them was simply too wide. He was someone she could currently defeat. Phoenix Rain only shook her head in response to Blue Phoenix''s question. Even she didn''t know what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. After all, the man''s performance until now had surpassed her expectations. "Hopefully Ye Feng won''t try to be a fool. As long as he doesn''t fight Sirius, there is more than a 50% chance that Zero Wing will win the competition." Blue Phoenix nodded, agreeing with Phoenix Rain''s words completely. In the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, although Martial Dragon was strong, he was not so strong that she could not see the difference between them. On the other hand, Blue Phoenix could not even begin to guess how wide the gap was between her and Sirius. However, after giving it some thought, Blue Phoenix thought that this situation was reasonable. After all, Martial Dragon had only recently awakened his Domain. Sirius, on the other hand, was already an old man in his fifties. In front of an old monster like Sirius, Martial Dragon was no more than a newborn. Martial Dragon only had the potential to contend with Sirius in the future. Although Shi Feng was also very powerful, he was not yet qualified to face Sirius. "Please, don''t be a fool!" Blue Phoenix suddenly worried for Shi Feng. Experts were prideful beings. When they encountered stronger experts, they had the urge to challenge them. Furthermore, opportunities to fight against old monsters like Sirius were extremely rare. If Shi Feng acted rashly and tried to fight Sirius himself This competition would truly be over for the Asura Battle Team. --- "Brat, what are you waiting for?" Sirius, who waited in the dueling ring, chuckled softly as he said, "Or are you a coward?" "This old bastard" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Sirius''s provocation. "Leader, are you really going to face him?" Aqua Rose, who sat beside Shi Feng, asked. After feeling the killing intent Sirius radiated, she had paled to a ghostly white. This was the first time she had felt such a cold and tangible killing intent. Just bathing in it stole her breath. The difference in their combat experience was like the difference between heaven and earth. They were on entirely different levels. "Of course, I''m going to face him. Opportunities to fight such old monsters don''t come by very often," Shi Feng said as he contained the excitement in his heart. Slowly, he approached the dueling ring. 792 The Ye Feng that cannot be Underestimated Chapter 792 - The Ye Feng that cannot be Underestimated Seeing Shi Feng approach the dueling ring, Phoenix Rain frowned. "Ye Feng is still too young and aggressive." Although Phoenix Rain could understand Shi Feng''s desire to challenge powerful experts, he should also consider the time and place. Sirius was an old monster that Shi Feng had no chance against as he was right now. Even if he wanted to challenge Sirius, at the very least, he needed to awaken his Domain first. Otherwise, the only outcome would be a miserable defeat. When Blue Phoenix saw this, however, she somewhat envied Shi Feng. Old monsters like Sirius stood at the true peak of God''s Domain. Hence, many gaming experts'' ultimate goal was to challenge monsters like Sirius and emerge victorious to prove themselves worthy of standing at the peak as well. Blue Phoenix had yet to qualify to challenge such old monsters. However, Shi Feng did. Why wouldn''t she be envious? Although Sirius had intended to provoke Shi Feng, this showed that he acknowledged the Swordsman''s strength. He believed that Shi Feng was qualified to challenge him. Otherwise, an old monster like Sirius would not stoop so low as to provoke a youth. If she were in Shi Feng''s shoes, she, too, would accept this challenge to see what kind of heights she could reach. --- "This kid is insane. He is actually challenging Sirius." A victorious smile emerged on Hua Qiushui''s face when she saw Shi Feng walk up the dueling ring. In order to recruit Sirius for the Glorious Lions Battle Team, she had made a powerful promise to the Battle Wolves. Had she not, the Battle Wolves would not have allowed Sirius to join the team. Even Hua Qiushui wasn''t sure of Sirius''s true strength. However, she was certain of one thing When she had first met Sirius, she had wanted to test the man''s skills. Hence, she had hired over a dozen top-class professional bodyguards to fight the old man. The outcome of that fight had far surpassed her expectations. Every one of the bodyguards she had hired was a top expert, yet, not one of these bodyguards had even laid a finger a finger on Sirius. Before she realized what had happened, all of her bodyguards were lying on the floor. She had not dared to move a single muscle. She had felt as if chains had bound her. At that time, she had finally realized how greatly she had underestimated the experts of the virtual gaming world. After all, Sirius had even defeated her most trusted bodyguard, Everlasting War, with a single move. Hua Qiushui had seen such situations before. However, that had been when she had hired ordinary people as bodyguards. In front of Sirius, even experts were no different than ants. Moreover, this had happened in the real world --- Meanwhile, when Shi Feng and Sirius stood in the dueling ring, staring at each other, the stage''s atmosphere seemed frozen. "Not bad!" Sirius nodded slightly as he watched Shi Feng. "You have reached such a standard at such a young age. You can even endure my mental suppression. It''s been a long while since I''ve seen such a promising brat. You also agreed to fight me. Before the match begins, what would you say to placing a bet?" "A bet?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh when he heard this. "What do you want to wager?" "The girl named Fire Dance on your team is very promising. It would be a waste for her to remain on your team. She could have an even brighter future, so I''d like to accept her as my apprentice. I can help her advance on her path. In the future, she will grow to surpass me. Hence, if your Asura Battle Team loses, I want Fire Dance to become my apprentice. "Of course, if our Glorious Lions Battle Team loses, I''ll tell you how to advance your combat standards. What do you think?" "How to improve my combat standard?" Shi Feng had to admit that he was tempted. After reaching his level, it was extremely difficult to improve further. Awakening a Domain was not a simple matter. Countless geniuses were stuck at this bottleneck and were unable to enter that realm. Even he had yet to discover any clues about awakening his Domain. Yet, Sirius declared that he had such a method. In Shi Feng''s opinion, however, such a possibility should exist. In the past, he had merely been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. He had very little information regarding the top powers of the virtual gaming world. These top powers had existed for decades. They all had their own methods to nurture experts. Hence, it was not entirely impossible for them to discover a method to awaken a Domain. Unfortunately, this method was an absolute secret. Otherwise, how could the various Super Guilds nurture so many Refinement Realm experts? This was the difference between ordinary Guilds and Super Guilds. A small Guild was lucky if they even had a few top-tier experts. A large Guild was considerably powerful if it had several Refinement Realm expert leaders. However, Super Guilds could easily nurture their own Refinement Realm experts. An expert nurturing system would be a powerful asset to Zero Wing. Shi Feng inwardly sighed. "What do you think?" Sirius asked seriously. "This is not something I can decide. Fire Dance has her own plans. However, what if I offer something else as a wager?" Shi Feng was sorely tempted by Sirius''s proposal. If he could obtain a reliable method to improve his abilities, rather than search for the method himself, it would save him a lot of time. He could also use that method to nurture others. "Something else? I''m not trying to look down on you, but there is nothing in the virtual gaming world that can tempt me." Sirius had not expected Shi Feng to propose a counteroffer. He could not help but laugh as he said, "Neither Coins nor Epic items are out of my reach. I just need to invest a little time to obtain them. If you are trying to tempt me with such things, don''t bother." "What about the Stable Design?" Shi Feng smiled faintly. "What did you say?!" Sirius was taken aback. "You have the Stable Design?!" A Super Guild like Battle Wolves had no issue obtaining Epic items; they needed little time to amass a collection. In fact, the Battle Wolves already had several Epic items. Hence, Epic items weren''t tempting in the least to Sirius. The Stable Design was a different story. The various large Guilds in God''s Domain were currently going crazy over Mounts. They were frantically gathering the required materials to construct a Stable. However, although many Guilds throughout God''s Domain had obtained the needed materials, until now, none had obtained the precious Stable Design. Acquiring this Design was simply too difficult. If the Battle Wolves could obtain the Stable Design and begin nurturing their Guild Mount ahead of the other Guilds, the Guild would surpass its competition by a large margin. They would have a greater advantage when competing for dominance over God''s Domain. "What do you say?" Shi Feng understood just how important the Stable Design was to a Guild. It was an important item that could raise the Guild''s overall strength. The Stable Design was far more valuable than several Epic items. Even Super Guilds were trying desperately to obtain the Stable Design. After all, shear strength was not enough to obtain the item. One also needed to be lucky. Regarding Shi Feng''s ownership of the Stable Design, he no longer had a reason to hide the information. In any case, the moment he began constructing the Stable, the secret would be out. "I have to say; I am touched by your sincerity." When Sirius looked at Shi Feng once more, he suddenly felt that the young man before him was not as simple as he had thought. The fact that Shi Feng had the Stable Design, which even Super Guilds had failed to obtain, was proof enough of the young man''s abilities. After both sides agreed to the wager, the countdown came to an end. Sirius immediately revealed a smile as he unsheathed the flame-red greatsword from his back. He then swung the weapon violently at Shi Feng, who was 20 yards away. Instantly, a sea of fire emerged from the dueling ring''s floor, transforming into a ferocious beast that pounced on Shi Feng. 793 Famed Sword versus Famed Sword Chapter 793 - Famed Sword versus Famed Sword What a cunning, old bastard! Shi Feng cursed as he watched the towering crimson fire surge towards him, destroying everything in its path and sealing off his path of retreat. Before the match had begun, Sirius had stood in the ring''s corner, opposite of Shi Feng, deliberately. Burning Wave, one of the Famed Sword Bonfire''s Skills, was an AOE Attack Skill. With the Skill''s wide range and the old man''s strategic positioning, Sirius had cornered Shi Feng perfectly. If Shi Feng jumped into the air to avoid the attack, he would expose himself in midair, giving Sirius the perfect opportunity to strike a fatal blow. "Break!" Shi Feng shouted abruptly. Dragon Breath! Immediately, the cry of a dragon echoed throughout the arena, a white beam piercing through the sea of fire and heading towards Sirius. In terms of Basic Attributes, Shi Feng was far stronger than Sirius. Moreover, Dragon Breath was one of the Fragmented Legendary Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s Additional Skills. In terms of power, the Skill was already stronger than the Additional Skill of an Epic Weapon. Hence, Dragon Breath could easily break Sirius''s Burning Wave. The white beam devoured Sirius whole. "It''s over? Just like that?" Everyone in the audience was stupefied. However, Shi Feng did not relax. He immediately activated Windwalk and his Swordsmanship Master title before charging towards Sirius''s previous location. Yet, before he reached the halfway point, Sirius burst out of the white beam, radiating a faint purple glow. When Dragon Breath''s white beam collided with the purple glow, it scattered into nothing. The old man received no damage from the attack whatsoever. "You actually saw through my trick," Sirius stated, feeling slightly surprised when he saw the young man charging towards him. Originally, he had intended to launch a sneak attack while the Swordsman youth relaxed. However, it seemed that the plan was not viable. Shi Feng did not intend to give Sirius time to react. Immediately, he activated Illusory Shadow. Suddenly, six blue streaks of light flashed from Killing Ray, arriving before Sirius instantly. Shi Feng moved like flowing water. His attacks had no excess movement. Thanks to the Swordsmanship Master title, his Attack Speed had also increased by 20%. He moved far faster than what an ordinary person could perceive. After the blue lights cut across Sirius, a deep frown appeared on Shi Feng''s face. In the next moment, a streak of red light sliced towards his head from an inconceivable angle. Without hesitation, Shi Feng pulled his Abyssal Blade closer. Dang! When the two swords collided, sparks scattered, and even the air trembled. The impact''s shockwave cracked the stage. Fortunately, Shi Feng had managed to block the incoming red light just in time. However, the instant he blocked the first attack, another one descended towards him. How?! Shi Feng had just repelled one of the Berserker''s attacks; how could he have launched another already? Moreover, he had failed to detect the attack until it was upon him. Parry! This time, Shi Feng used Killing Ray to block the red beam from above. Such high Strength! Shi Feng retreated by a step, the floor beneath his feet shattering. His arm was also slightly numb. This was the first time he had blocked a player''s attack that could numb his arm. As expected of the Famed Sword Bonfire. It excels with both speed and power. After this single exchange, Shi Feng could tell that Sirius''s Basic Attributes were extraordinary. Although Sirius was a Berserker and had extremely high Strength growth, logically, his Strength Attribute should not be this high even with a Famed Sword. Hence, Shi Feng was sure that Sirius had more than one Epic item. It was impossible for the Berserker to overwhelm him slightly with Strength with just Bonfire''s Passive Skill. However, this was still not the most important issue. Despite his intense perception of his surroundings, he had failed to detect Sirius''s attack. He had not even noticed the trajectory of the old man''s attack Moreover, his attacks with Illusory Shadow should have hit Sirius, yet he had not felt Killing Ray strike flesh. --- Although the two combatants had only exchanged moves for a brief moment, everyone on the spectator stands was stunned. "They''re so fast!" Phoenix Rain exclaimed. Shi Feng''s Attack Speed was even faster than when he had faced Blue Phoenix. Even his hand movements were only a blur to her, not to mention the sword itself. "Big Sis Rain, why didn''t Sirius lose any HP? I clearly saw Ye Feng''s attack hit him," Blue Phoenix asked curiously. "Hit him?" Phoenix Rain shook her head. "Ye Feng hasn''t touched him once; how could he lose any HP?" "Huh? But I saw the streaks of blue light pass through Sirius''s body!" Blue Phoenix''s eyes widened. She couldn''t believe it. However, the statement had come from Phoenix Rain, so it couldn''t be false. "This is Sirius''s powerCAbsolute Control!" Phoenix Rain explained slowly, saying, "Although it looked like Ye Feng''s attack had hit Sirius, in reality, there was a paper-thin distance between Sirius and Ye Feng''s sword. The gap is impossible to see with the naked eye. It''s natural that you couldn''t tell the difference. However, the system''s judgment with attacks is very accurate. Even if the gap is one-tenth of a millimeter, the attack will not count." Blue Phoenix''s mouth widened when she heard this. "Is he even still human?" Blue Phoenix doubted that she could evade an attack by a single centimeter, and she had even reached the Void Realm. Someone in the Refinement Realm only had a delicate control over their movements. Their perception was still far from comparable to a Void Realm expert. Hence, dodging an attack by three centimeters would be a miracle. Meanwhile, Sirius could dodge an attack by less than one centimeter. It was inconceivable. "This is only the beginning. Sirius is far stronger than you can imagine." Phoenix Rain sighed as she watched Shi Feng defend against Sirius''s attacks. --- In the dueling ring, Shi Feng''s alarm grew as he fought the old monster. No matter how fast he swung his swords, he couldn''t hit the Berserker. On the contrary, Sirius''s attacks grew powerful as the battle progressed. At this point, he was starting to struggle to keep up. Sirius''s attacks always struck at his blind spots. The attacks also grew more precise. He had very nearly failed to block the old man''s last attack. Finally, after over a dozen seconds A streak of red light finally struck Shi Feng. However, the red light stopped just before it collided with Shi Feng''s body, unable to proceed. Is this the strength of a Domain? Shi Feng had no choice but to activate Defensive Blade. None of his attacks were effective against Sirius. On the other hand, the Berserker had no issues landing an attack. Throughout the battle, for some reason, Shi Feng had felt as if someone were pulling his strings. "Amazing. You have lasted this long without using a Lifesaving Skill." Sirius smiled calmly as he looked at the miserable youth before him. Now, rather than gripping his greatsword in one hand, he transferred it into a two-handed grip. "Since you are so strong, I will show you my true power." Sirius raised his crimson greatsword high before swinging it down towards Shi Feng. Suddenly, time stopped. Only Sirius''s sword moved, descending. So fast! Although Shi Feng could see the sword light approaching, he knew that neither of his swords could make it in time to block the attack. No, I''m the one who has slowed down! Immediately, Shi Feng recalled another of Bonfire''s Skills, Flame Dragon''s Flash. When activated, it reduced Attack Speed and Movement Speed of all enemies within attack range by 60% and tripled the user''s Strength when attacking. This move was famous for being unblockable. A Strength increase of 300% was far more powerful than a damage increase of the same amount. With Strength, one could shatter the opponent''s Defense, causing the opponent to expose a weakness. One could then strike a fatal blow. Shi Feng knew that it was too late to block the attack. Moreover, Defensive Blade''s block counts had already been exhausted. He had no defense against this attack at all. Hence, he had no choice but to use Silent Steps, evading the sword light and appearing behind Sirius. However, just as Shi Feng was about to strike the Berserker, Sirius spun, as if he had expected the move, and swung the greatsword in an arch towards Shi Feng''s right side. The greatsword''s oppressive Strength even suppressed the air around them. Even though Shi Feng''s Strength Attribute was also very high, his movements felt so restricted under Bonfire''s massive pressure that he even struggled to breathe. With no other choice, Shi Feng activated Thunder God''s Descent and Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Sirius''s Attributes were extremely high. The Berserker had even tripled his Strength. Being hit by Sirius''s greatsword was no laughing matter. A critical hit might even kill him on the spot. 794 Contest of Strength Chapter 794 - Contest of Strength The instant the aquamarine Killing Ray[1] and the crimson Bonfire collided, a boom shook the dueling ring. With the two swords at the center, the stage''s stone floor shattered, dust clouds filling the air. As soon as the shockwave passed, a figure flew through the dust clouds, slamming into the ground. As soon as that figure landed, however, it stood. "I made it," Shi Feng muttered as he got to his feet. Glancing at his trembling hand, he smiled bitterly as he said, "He has so much Strength." God''s Domain''s 36 Famed Swords each had their own strengths. Among them, Bonfire was famous for its destructive power. Its Skills were incomparably violent. In the hands of a Berserker, the weapon could topple a city. Even though his Basic Attributes were slightly higher than Sirius''s, after activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power and increasing his Strength by 100%, the Berserker''s attack had still sent him flying. Fortunately, however, Heavenly Dragon''s Power had increased both his HP and Defense by 300%. Thunder God''s Descent also had a Damage Reduction effect. Hence, even after receiving the attack, he had only lost a little over 200 HP. Fortunately, with Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Shi Feng''s maximum HP reached more than 48,000. Even without the Thunder God''s Descent, Sirius''s attack could barely scratch Shi Feng. --- "Ye Feng is strong. Even after Leader used Flame Dragon''s Flash, he took so little damage." Blood Sun was almost speechless after seeing Shi Feng mostly unharmed. Everlasting War was similarly dumbfounded. His memory of Sirius''s Flame Dragon''s Flash was still fresh in his mind. While Sirius had offered him guidance, the Berserker had used a single hit to finish him off, yet Shi Feng had only lost slightly over 200 HP It was astonishing. Moreover, Shi Feng had lasted so long against Sirius. Shi Feng was the first person he had ever seen capable of such a feat. Not one member of the Glorious Lions Battle Team could last ten seconds against Sirius. Activating their Berserk Skills had not changed that; Sirius could still end their lives in ten seconds without relying on a Berserk Skill himself. The difference in combat techniques between Sirius and his subordinates was like the difference between heaven and earth. --- "I had never realized that Ye Feng had held back so much of his strength. He can actually contend with an old monster. It feels as if he is even stronger than Martial Dragon." A light shone in Blue Phoenix''s eyes. She couldn''t help but admire Shi Feng''s strength. If it she had been the one to fight Sirius, the match would have ended by now. "Indeed. Ye Feng is stronger than Martial Dragon. However, this is only in terms of Skills and Attributes. It really is a wonder how Zero Wing has obtained so many Epic Weapons and Equipment." Phoenix Rain fell into deep thought as she watched Shi Feng, who stood proudly in the dueling ring. After watching this match, she finally had a relative understanding of Shi Feng. Sirius''s strength spoke volumes for itself. Yet, despite facing a monster like Sirius, Shi Feng could rely on his Basic Attributes to compensate for his shortcomings. One could just imagine how powerful his Basic Attributes were. One could not rely on Dark-Gold Equipment to gain Attributes like this. Epic items were the only explanation. However, how precious were Epic items? Even now, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion only had a few. Yet, among the Asura Battle Team, more than one member wore or wielded their own Epic item. By her estimations, Aqua Rose and Fire Dance should both possess at least one Epic item. As for Violet Cloud, the Cleric had yet to fight, so she did not know. However, this insight was frightening enough. After all, Phoenix knew very well that these Epic items originated from Zero Wing. --- After Shi Feng activated his Berserk Skill, he would not waste time. Immediately, he charged at Sirius, going in for the kill. With his HP and Defense, he didn''t need to worry about Sirius''s attacks. He could afford to trade blow for blow. As Shi Feng was about to arrive before Sirius, he jumped into the air. He then raised Killing Ray, the power of fire and lightning gathering around the blade. Thunder Flame Explosion! Immediately, the attack suppressed the space around Sirius. The spatial suppression would reduce all enemies'' Movement Speeds. With the Skill''s wide range, Sirius had nowhere to dodge. Sure enough, Sirius showed no intentions of avoiding the attack. Instead, he crossed Bonfire in front of his body, fully intent on receiving the descending elements. Boom! Fire and lightning devoured the Berserker whole. However, the instant the elements came into contact with Bonfire, the Famed Sword absorbed them as if it were a black hole "This Skill sure packs a punch." Sirius revealed an excited smile after Bonfire finished absorbing the flames and lightning. More more cracks had appeared beneath his feet. "However, thanks to you, I finally have a chance to use this Skill to its limits." The Berserk Skill he had learned was somewhat unique. The Skill''s name was Baptism of Fire. To display the Skill''s might, he needed to absorb a certain amount of damage from a single attack. Furthermore, he could exert more of the Berserk Skill''s strength depending on the damage he received from the one attack. In the past, he had been lucky if his opponents allowed him to display 50% of the Skill''s might. However, Shi Feng''s attack allowed him to exert 100% of the Skill''s effects. Currently, Baptism of Fire''s Strength bonus reached 120%. His Attack Speed increased by 100%, and his HP jumped by 200%. Six blades of fire also appeared around his body. Meanwhile, Baptism of Fire lasted one full minute, which was more than enough time to end the match. Shi Feng had a bad feeling as he heard Sirius''s words. However, before Shi Feng could react, the six flaming swords shot towards him. So fast! Seeing the rapidly approaching swords of fire, Shi Feng instinctively brandished Killing Ray and the Abyssal Blade. Peng Peng Peng Six brilliant fires scattered around him as he repelled the fiery weapons. However, the attack had also sent Shi Feng flying across ten yards, three damages of over -300 points appearing above his head. --- "How is this be possible?!" Every member of the Asura Battle team was shocked when they saw Shi Feng fly through the air. They knew full well how strong Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were. This was the first time they had seen anyone or anything throw Shi Feng after he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Heavenly Dragon''s Power increased Shi Feng''s Strength by 100%. With Shi Feng''s current Strength Attribute, a 100% increase even allowed him to face down a High Lord, yet Sirius had sent him flying. How could they not be shocked? --- After landing, Shi Feng stared at Sirius with fear in his eyes. Is this the true strength of these old monsters? Shi Feng glanced at his trembling arms, excitement flaring in his eyes. Others might not know what had just happened, but as the person responsible for deflecting those swords of fire, Shi Feng understood the events well. Regarding Strength, Shi Feng''s was definitely higher than that of the fiery blades. However, Sirius could control the six swords of fire to their limits. One sword of fire might not have enough Strength to overpower him, but if two swords combined their Strength, then they would be stronger than him. Although combining the Strength of two swords sounded simple, realizing the action was extremely difficult. To accomplish this feat, one needed both swords to attack the same location at the same time. Only by doing so could one combine the Strength Attribute of both swords. No ordinary player could achieve the precision and skill this feat required. Even he, as he was now, could not accomplish this feat. However, Sirius had done it. Moreover, he controlled the swords from a long distance "Fighting you to this point has made me quite happy. In return, I will show you my strongest, ultimate move," Sirius proclaimed as he smiled at Shi Feng excitedly. With a faint smile, he pointed Bonfire at Shi Feng. Immediately, the six swords of fire shot towards Shi Feng, all six combining into one flaming weapon. TL Notes: [1]aquamarine Killing Ray: Killing Ray''s color has been changed from emerald to aquamarine. Translation mistake (21-Sep-2018). Those who read Chapter 724 and onwards after 21-Sep-2018 can ignore this note. 795 Six Swords in One Chapter 795 - Six Swords in One When the six swords of fire merged into one, the crimson flames turned a brilliant white. Wherever this flaming white weapon went, the white stone floor beneath it melted. Seeing the white sword of fire fly towards him, Shi Feng''s expression turned grim. Just how strong is he? Merging two swords of fire together was already an incredibly difficult task. If one could not synchronize the swords perfectly, even an error of one-tenth of a millimeter would ruin the combined Strength, resulting in individual attacks. Yet, now, Sirius had merged all six swords of fire into one. The compounded Strength was no laughing matter. The burning white weapon possessed three times the Strength of the previous combination. "Alright, it''s time we put an end to this battle." Sirius narrowed his eyes. Xiu! A sonic boom resounded throughout the dueling ring as the fiery white sword covered a dozen yards in an instant, arriving before Shi Feng''s heart. Although Shi Feng wanted to dodge the sword, Sirius had already locked on to him. If he moved in the slightest, Sirius would immediately adjust the sword''s trajectory. Defending himself while moving was also far more difficult. His only option was to allow the flaming blade to come within critical range before dodging it. The instant the sword was within range, Shi Feng sidestepped. "It''s useless. I''ve already predicted your actions," Sirius shook his head as he commanded the white sword of fire with a thought. The sword suddenly changed its trajectory, stabbing towards Shi Feng''s heart once more. However, Shi Feng had prepared for this moment. Suddenly, Killing Ray released a dazzling white glow. Flame Burst! The white light caused the dueling ring''s temperature to soar instantly. Killing Ray then transformed into a streak of white light that collided with the sword of fire. Boom! Everyone in the spectator stands felt their hearts shake and eardrums rupture. In the next moment, a small crater with a radius of over two yards appeared at the epicenter of the collision. The crater had been scorched black as if created by a meteorite. Meanwhile, like a cannonball, Shi Feng flew over 20 yards away. His HP instantly fell by more than 1,500 points. When he landed, the stone flooring beneath his feet cracked, the fissures extending over five yards from him. As the deafening boom passed, silence overtook the audience. Everyone was stupefied. "Is this really a battle between humans?" This thought continuously echoed through everyone''s minds. The two fighters in the dueling ring felt more like Lord ranked monsters, rather than players. Not only were they both astonishingly fast, but their Strengths and reaction speeds were also incredible. They had used the system''s slow-motion function to watch the two fighters clash. Otherwise, they would not have had a single clue about what had happened. "Snow, do you know anything about that sword of fire? Is it a Skill?" Zhao Yueru asked, excitement flashing in her eyes. Even after watching the fight for a long time, she could not figure out why that burning weapon was so immensely powerful. Previously, it had only dealt Shi Feng around -300 damage. Now, not only had it dealt over -1,500 damage, but the Strength it contained had also increased tremendously. However, she had only seen the six crimson swords of fire merge into one. If she could similarly combine her Spells, just how devastatingly powerful could her Spells become? Gentle Snow simply shook her head in response to Zhao Yueru''s question. This was the first time she had ever seen something like this. The thought of combining attacks to improve the Strength of a Skill had never crossed her mind before. She had never imagined that the combined Strength would yield such overwhelming effects. Although she could tell what her friend was thinking, she did not think that Sirius''s attack was just as simple as merging the six swords of fire to attack simultaneously. After all, when they fought Dungeon Bosses, there were often instances where several Spells struck the Boss simultaneously. However, none of those instances had ever yielded such combination effects. Moreover, if the six swords of fire had combined to attack simultaneously, six damages should have appeared above Shi Feng''s head. However, only one had appeared. Hence, Sirius''s attack was not as simple as it seemed. Otherwise, with Shi Feng''s current combat standard, there was no reason why he could not use such a technique as well. Since Shi Feng was not using this technique, that could only mean one thinghe was not capable of using it. Thinking up to this point, Gentle Snow trembled involuntarily. The combat techniques Shi Feng had displayed had long since surpassed her imagination, yet even a powerful expert like Shi Feng couldn''t use this combination technique. One could just imagine how powerful Sirius was. Moreover, at this point, it was obvious that Shi Feng had already activated his Berserk Skill. Even so, he was at a disadvantage. In contrast, Sirius had yet to suffer a single point of damage. While everyone focused on the battle, Sirius had launched another attack. He had no intentions of allowing Shi Feng to catch his breath. Again and again, the sword of white fire attacked. Although Shi Feng managed to block them, the attacks sent him flying repeatedly. Very quickly, his HP dropped below the 50% threshold. "Is that old man really human?" Blue Phoenix was speechless as she watched the battle unfold. Others might not grasp how complex and elaborate Sirius''s combination attack was, but she could. Moreover, she had even attempted the technique before. Currently, she could barely merge two attacks into one. Adding even one attack to the combination would increase the technique''s difficulty exponentially. Although combination attacks could increase her firepower tremendously, this technique placed an extremely heavy burden on her Concentration. After three uses, she had no choice but to enter Sleep Mode. In contrast, not only was Sirius capable of merging six attacks, but he could also the attack over a dozen times "Brat, you really are durable. You are the first person to last so long against this move. However, now that you''ve used up that Skill that enhances your Attack Power, the next attack won''t just end with flying across the ring." Sirius laughed. Is this the true strength of a Domain? As Shi Feng watched the flaming blade dart towards him again, he finally realized the gap between Sirius and himself. Although his Attributes were superior, Sirius surpassed him when it came to Skill application. Experts in the Realms of Refinement might be able to exert 100% of their combat power, but the old man before him could exert more than that. However, this battle had also helped him finally realize what he needed to work towards. "To fight against an old monster like you I am truly fortunate," Shi Feng mumbled, his lips curling into a smile as he watched the brilliant white sword fly straight towards him. "Fortunate?" Sirius was momentarily speechless when he heard Shi Feng''s mumbling. He had not expected Shi Feng to be a masochist Shi Feng suddenly relaxed his body before tightening his grip on Killing Ray. Blade Liberation! The weapon he chose was none other than the Sacred Sword Killing Ray. Blade Liberation''s effects would change depending on the quality of the target sword. In previous instances, when he used the Abyssal Blade as the target sword, his Strength and Agility increased by roughly 90%. Meanwhile, Killing Ray was a higher quality weapon than the Magic Weapon. The instant Shi Feng activated Blade Liberation, a blue glow surrounded his body. With a light swing of his arm, the Killing Ray in his hand transformed into a bolt of lightning that ripped through the air towards the sword of white fire. 796 Godly Power Chapter 796 - Godly Power When lightning and fire clashed, the flash momentarily blinded everyone watching. With the boom that echoed throughout the venue, Shi Feng was forced to retreat by three steps before he could steady himself. Following which, a damage of over -100 points appeared above his head. As for the white sword of fire, the attack had thrown it to the side. When the audience saw this, they were flabbergasted. "Just how strong is Ye Feng?" "Who is Ye Feng?" "Can current players really achieve this level?" Before, the audience members had somewhat admired Shi Feng''s strength. Now, however, that admiration had become shock. It was especially true for those who knew Sirius. This should have been a one-sided battle. Nobody could have ever imagined that Shi Feng still had such a trump card. Even though they did not stand in the ring themselves, they could feel the violent power radiating from Shi Feng''s body. Many of them had felt this power in the past. One only experienced this power while raiding a large-scale Team Dungeon. This was the power of a Great Lord! At this point, the pressure they felt from Shi Feng was even greater than the pressure they felt from the Great Lords they had fought before. They were breathless. "Big Sis Rain, just who is Ye Feng?" For a time, Blue Phoenix was at a loss for words as she stared at the glowing Shi Feng. After her own match against him, she had seen the gap between the Swordsman and herself quite clearly. His strength had not been out of her reach. Now, however, it would seem that the strength Shi Feng had used against her had just been the tip of the iceberg. If she fought this kind of violent power, she would most likely die in an instant. Not responding to Blue Phoenix''s question, Phoenix Rain remained silent as she continued to watch the man named Ye Feng. It seems I''ve truly underestimated Zero Wing. It''s no wonder why they dared to pick a fight with Exemplary Willow. So, the Guild had still hidden such an expert. Joy flooded Phoenix Rain. She had not initially had much hope for the Asura Battle Team. She had only hoped to win a few matches and earn a small fortune in the Dark Arena. After all, the Dark Arena had only established recently. Many experts considered themselves to be above such brawls. Now, however With the strength the Asura Battle Team had just displayed, they could definitely fight for a high rank in the Dark Arena. --- "Ye Feng!" Shock filled Everlasting War when he saw Shi Feng relatively unharmed after receiving Sirius''s six-in-one combination attack. Others might not realize how strong Sirius was, but he knew. To obtain the rights to host the Dark Arena, Hua Qiushui had paid an extremely high price, convincing the Battle Wolves to lend the Guild''s several Epic items to the Glorious Lions Battle Team. Blood Sun only possessed one Epic item. Sirius, however, had two. The Berserker even had a precious sword of undetermined quality. The treasured sword''s Attributes were even slightly higher than an Epic Weapon. In other words, Sirius had the equivalent of three Epic items on him. Purely in terms of Attributes, particularly Strength, Sirius was, by far, the strongest Berserker he had ever seen. Yet, even after combining the Strength of six swords, Sirius had only been able to repel Shi Feng. The Swordsman had only received a small amount of damage from the resulting impact. At this point, Everlasting War could not fathom just how high Shi Feng''s Strength was. Previously, he had thought that Shi Feng''s strength was roughly equal to his own. Looking back at it now, his assumption was laughable. Equal? He overestimated himself. --- Meanwhile, in the dueling ring, the new development also surprised Sirius. "So, this is why you were so confident about facing me." At this moment, even Sirius took this fight seriously. "However, you are still a fool if you think you can defeat me!" Saying so, Sirius directed the fiery blade to strike at Shi Feng again. That attack is so hard to block even after activating Twofold Berserk. It seems I can''t proceed with brute force alone. Seeing the white flames fly towards him once more, Shi Feng took a step forward and abruptly charged at Sirius. From an outsider''s point of view, he had only lost around 100 HP. He currently had 48,000 Hp, so 100 points of damage were negligible. However, only those who had experienced Sirius''s six-in-one combination attack knew how powerful the attack was. If not for the 300% increase to his Defense, as well as the Damage Reduction effect from Thunder God''s Descent, he would have lost far more HP. Meanwhile, Blade Liberation did not only improve his Strength. The Skill also increased his Agility. Hence, he had received a massive boost to his Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and flexibility. Although Sirius''s combination attack could multiply the Strength behind his attack, it could not increase his Attack Speed. Now that Shi Feng''s speed had increased once more, evading the sword of white fire had become much easier. In the next moment, Shi Feng easily avoided the fiery weapon, which he had not been able to dodge before. Shi Feng then approached Sirius with flying speed. The swords of fire were quite strong. However, to control this Strength, one needed to invest much of their Concentration; even more so after combining the Strength of six swords. Hence, Sirius had been forced to stand in place while directing the burning blades. As Sirius had focused his Concentration into controlling the six swords of fire, the man had no combat power at the moment. However, there was still a distance of over 20 yards between Shi Feng and Sirius. Although Shi Feng was fast, the white flaming sword hindered his path. This should be close enough After avoiding the flaming weapon once more, Shi Feng tightened his grip on Killing Ray and swung the Sacred Sword. Thundering Flash! Four arcs of blue lightning snaked their way towards Sirius. As if he had predicted this attack, Sirius directed the sword of fire to appear before him a step ahead of the lightning strikes. The flames slashed at each arc of lightning. The instant the sword collided with the lightning, the latter shattered. The sword of fire then advanced towards Shi Feng''s heart. "Take this!" Shi Feng was not surprised by Sirius''s defensive maneuver. Instead, he revealed the Blazing Meteor and threw it. A red streak of light smashed into the sword of fire, causing the white sword to pause before continuing towards Shi Feng, having lost momentum. At this time, Shi Feng hacked at the weakened white flames, the impact forcing him back a step. This time, however, he only received slightly over -50 damage. "Trying to go for a battle of attrition?" Sirius frowned slightly. "Not on my watch!" The six-in-one combination attack placed a huge burden on the user''s Concentration. Even he could not support the technique for too long. If his fight with the young Swordsman dragged on, he would collapse from over-extending his Concentration, losing the match as a result. Following which, one sword of fire split away from the white flames. Although a five-in-one combination attack was slightly weaker, it was still enough to suppress Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the other sword could find an opportunity to deal damage. Immediately, the brilliant sword of white fire charged towards Shi Feng, whereas the crimson sword attacked the Swordsman from behind. As long as the white flames repelled Shi Feng, he would reveal gaps in his Defense. This would make it far easier to land a direct hit. Peng! Sure enough, Shi Feng was forced back by a step after colliding with the five-in-one combination attack. However, just as the other sword of fire was about to stab the Swordsman, a figure suddenly appeared to block the attack. Phantom Kill! After he upgraded the Abyssal Blade by a rank, Shi Feng''s doppelganger had gained 80% of his Attributes. With his Twofold Berserk state, it was child''s play for the doppelganger to block a single flaming sword. After blocking the attack, Shi Feng''s doppelganger activated Windwalk and Wind Blade before charging towards the enemy Berserker. Although Sirius wanted to use the white sword of fire to defend himself, Shi Feng had the weapon pinned down. It couldn''t approach the doppelganger. When Shi Feng''s doppelganger arrived before Sirius, the Berserker finally gave up his control over the white sword of fire. He swung Bonfire to defend against the doppelganger''s Chop. Just as the doppelganger''s sword was about to strike, the Berserker evaded the attack. Immediately after, Bonfire bit into the doppelganger''s body. However, even after the doppelganger received the damage, it did not retreat; instead of the doppelganger, it was Shi Feng who stood before Sirius. After swapping positions with his doppelganger, Shi Feng swung his sword at Sirius. A streak of blue light flashed. Surprised by the unconventional attack method, Sirius had failed to react and received Shi Feng''s attack in full. The massive impact forced Sirius into a retreat. Taking the opportunity, Shi Feng followed up with a series of over a dozen slashes. Although Sirius tried to defend himself, he couldn''t block Shi Feng''s attacks completely. As a result, he received several more strikes. 797 Complete Victory Chapter 797 - Complete Victory Sparks scattered when the blades collided. Although the exchange appeared slow, in reality, everything happened in an instant. Sirius''s HP drained like flowing water. Only after Sirius fell to the ground and lay there motionlessly did everyone realize the Berserker''s HP had dropped to zero. "Leader lost?!" "Impossible!" The Glorious Lions were dumbfounded as they stared at Sirius''s unmoving corpse in the dueling ring. None of them dared to believe their own eyes. Sirius was one of the Battle Wolves'' Wolf Kings. Yet, now, he had lost to a nameless upstart. Nothing like this had ever happened before. In fact, the Glorious Lions weren''t the only ones who were shocked. Every member of the audience was stunned as they stared at the name above the dueling ring. Victor: Ye Feng! No one had expected this outcome. How could the competition end so suddenly? After one direct confrontation, the famous Sirius had tasted defeat. It was inconceivable. "I''m not seeing things, right?" "How can the Asura Battle Team be the victor?" "This is unbelievable" "The Asura Battle Team is amazing! The Glorious Lions, a battle team that had won twice in a row, had lost, three-to-zero, to the Asura Battle Team! Only those watching will probably ever believe this." Even now, the audiences had yet to recover from their daze. It was as if the last, brief exchange from before had etched itself into their minds. The techniques in this battle were definitely worth studying. The Glorious Lions were not weak. The Asura Battle Team was just a little stronger. "Although I''ve lost some materials from betting on the Glorious Lions, it was worth watching this battle." Many among the audiences had bet on the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s victory. However, the majority of these people were not disappointed. On the contrary, the upper echelons from various major powers felt as if they had raked in a huge profit. The high-level battles that had taken place in this competition had taught them much. Particularly, it had allowed them to understand the true strength of each battle team. After this competition, it would be much easier to cope with the team members. At the same time, everyone had grown cautious about the Asura Battle Team. A fear of the Guild called Zero Wing slithered through the crowd. A small upstart Guild like Zero Wing had actually obtained so many Epic items. If someone had told them that Zero Wing did not have any background or strength, they would not believe it. --- "Big Sis Rain, now that the Asura Battle Team has become so famous, it will probably be very difficult to arrange opponents in the future." Although Blue Phoenix was happy for Shi Feng, in the Dark Arena, the stronger a battle team was, the more difficult it was to find an opponent. Every battle team in the Dark Arena fought to gain the arena''s hosting rights. However, that was not an easy goal. Firstly, a battle team needed to participate in ten games, winning eight. Only then would a battle team have the right to challenge the Dark Arena''s organizer. Only after defeating the organizer''s battle team would one obtain the hosting rights. Hence, the various battle teams would not accept challenges easily. It was even more difficult for strong battle teams. Everyone wanted to rack up victories by challenging weaker teams. Of course, to prevent some people from avoiding battles completely, the Dark Arena had a time limit. If a battle team could not find an opponent within ten days, the Dark Arena would choose an opponent randomly. Hence, the stronger teams in the Dark Arena did not need to fear a lack of challengers. They just had to wait a relatively long time before they could complete all ten required games. Much would change in God''s Domain after 100 days. "It doesn''t matter," Phoenix Rain said as she shook her head. "Previously, I worried that the Asura Battle Team would lose miserably. As for future matches, it seems that we''re going to make a fortune from now on." "Big Sis Rain, did you agree to another match before this?" A realization struck Blue Phoenix. "That''s right. As the Asura Battle Team is a new team, with members from a small Guild, many people had requested a battle. A few had even promised to bet favors and a certain number of materials. It''s a pity that each battle team can only compete in three matches every ten days. It would be great if we could arrange a few more matches." Phoenix Rain laughed. When she thought about the next two battle teams they had to face, she could not help but pity those teams. Chances were that the players from those teams held a deep resentment for her right now. Every one of them had assumed that the Asura Battle Team was quite weak. None of them would have imagined that the team was actually a dark horse. Only, finding opponents for the last seven matches would give her a slight headache. "Hopefully, Ye Feng can hold back in future matches. Otherwise, finding an opponent will be a problem," Phoenix Rain muttered softly. --- "Lost! He actually lost!" When Hua Qiushui heard the applause and cheers, her face twisted into an ugly expression. Losing a game was not a major issue for her. After all, the Glorious Lions only needed to win eight out of ten games. However, not only had they exposed much of their strength, but they had also lost the competition and suffered immense losses. Primal Emerald Wood and Soul Cultivating Stones were not cabbage that one easily found on the streets. Not to mention, they also had to pay the 1,000 pieces of Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment and 30,000 Magic Crystals. Such a huge loss would not end with a slight sting. Who knew how much time she would have to spend to recover? However, losing money was secondary to her. Her reputation was far more important. The upper echelons from the major corporations would learn of the Asura Battle Team''s victory. It was a guarantee that they would launch investigations on Ye Feng. If they discovered that she had chased Ye Feng away from the Glorious Lions She would probably be branded with the title "Blind Fool." Her superiors might even begin to question her abilities as a manager. "Zero Wing! Sooner or later, I will get my revenge!" Exemplary Willow raged as she stomped her feet. She shot a glare at Shi Feng before turning to leave. --- Below the dueling ring, Zero Wing''s members celebrated and rejoiced. "Leader, are you alright?" Fire Dance asked as she approached Shi Feng. Shi Feng looked worn. His complexion was pale and waxy. He looked nothing like a winner. "It''s nothing. I just expended too much of my Concentration," Shi Feng replied as he shook his head. This battle had been truly dangerous. He had gone all-out from the very beginning of the battle, pushing his five senses to their limits. He had remained on full-alert throughout the match, fearing that a moment of carelessness would lose him the fight. Sirius''s combat standard was simply too high. If this match had taken place two or three weeks from now, he definitely would have lost. Although Sirius''s equipment was already impressive, the old man even possessing several Epic items, at the end of the day, he did not have a Fragmented Legendary item. He also had not learned any Super Skills. These two aspects could improve a player''s combat power by leaps and bounds. Even Sirius would have a hard time trying to bridge the gap by relying on techniques alone. In front of absolute strength, all manner of trickery was useless. This was the cruel reality of games. Hence, regardless if they were experts or ordinary players, all players prioritized improving their weapons, equipment, and Skills. While Shi Feng rested, Sirius revived below the dueling ring and marched straight over to Shi Feng. "Kid, you sure know how to hide your strength. However, you might be able to beat me now, but it will be a different story in the future," Sirius said, a warm smile appearing on his stern face. "Alright, I''ve said enough. As per our agreement, I''ll give you this. With this information, you should be able to improve yourself further and reach my level a little sooner. However, whether or not you obtain the item will depend on your own abilities." Saying so, Sirius sent Shi Feng a private message. He then turned and left. As he walked away, he could not help but glance at Fire Dance, shaking his head and sighing. His reaction creeped Fire Dance out. Seeing Fire Dance''s reaction, Shi Feng chuckled. The two had discussed their bet through private chat. Nobody knew about their conversation. If Fire Dance knew that Sirius had wanted her as his disciple, she would probably feel quite awkward. However, although Shi Feng admitted that Sirius''s guidance would open many doors for Fire Dance in the future, he did not think that she would have any fewer achievements if she remained by his side. He also would never allow the Battle Wolves to poach one of his experts. Following which, Shi Feng opened the file Sirius had sent him, intending to glance through the information he had won from the old man. Just what kind of information could actually give him the possibility of advancement? 798 Deterring Force Chapter 798 - Deterring Force Like a wildfire, news of the Asura Battle Team''s victory in the Dark Arena spread throughout God''s Domain. Practically minutes after the competition ended, information regarding the Asura Battle Team had reached the hands of God''s Domain''s various major powers. The reports were so detailed that it even included information on the acquaintances of the Asura Battle Team''s members. --- Star-Moon Kingdom, Maple City: Maple City had already become Overwhelming Smile''s main headquarters. With Underworld''s hidden support, the Guild had solidified its position as the city''s overlord. At the same time, Maple City had become the second largest city in the Star-Moon Kingdom''s Eastern Region. The city''s player population was over one million. Although it was still far from the grandeur of White River City, it was superior to other cities within the kingdom. "Youlan, why have you called me here all of a sudden?" Feng Xuanyang demanded, annoyed, as he entered the Residence''s meeting room, his gaze locked onto the charming, elegantly smiling Youlan. He should have had the most authority in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Eastern Region. However, due to Youlan''s successful management of Maple City, Underworld''s higher-ups designated Youlan to handle everything in the region. This enraged him. He had expended all of that effort to deal with Zero Wing, yet Youlan sat back and enjoyed the fruits of others'' labor. Without an enemy to deal with, it had naturally been easy to develop Maple City. If it were up to him, he wouldn''t have had any issues handling the task either. "It''s nothing major. I just wanted to tell you to withdraw Overwhelming Smile''s members from White River City immediately and have them develop elsewhere," Youlan instructed, paying Feng Xuanyang''s rude behavior no heed. "And why should I do this?" Feng Xuanyang said, his expression darkening as he grew somewhat indignant. "You know how high of a price I''ve paid to solidify my position in White River City. Although Zero Wing is very strong, White River City''s overlord isn''t set in stone. Don''t even think about ordering me to withdraw Overwhelming Smile from White River City." Many of Overwhelming Smile''s members were focused on all sorts of quests, including Guild Quests, in White River City. As long as they completed a certain number of quests, Overwhelming Smile''s status in White River City would improve. Afterward, they could accept all sorts of rare, high-level quests. They might even receive Epic Quests. With Epic Quests, it would be extremely easy to obtain all sorts of top-tier weapons and equipment. They might even find new, strategic tools for war. The Guild''s recent promotion had even triggered an Epic Guild Quest. If they completed this Epic Guild Quest, he could obtain a tool of war. When they started another war with Zero Wing, even if Zero Wing had an abundance of experts, he did not think he would lose against the Guild. If they pulled out of White River City now, then all of the White River City quests they had already completed would be for naught. He couldn''t give up on the city now. "Feng Xuanyang, this is not my decision. The higher-ups made this decision. You have no say in this matter. In any case, you have three days to transfer all of our members to other cities," Youlan stated coldly. "That is not possible!" Feng Xuanyang was dumbfounded. The higher-ups had hoped to obtain White River City, investing manpower and resources into the endeavor. Yet, now, they had decided to give up on the city? No matter how he thought about it, such a thing was impossible. "I also considered the decision foolish. However, after seeing the information they provided, I changed my mind. I don''t disagree with the decision," Youlan said. She then threw a file at Feng Xuanyang, saying, "Have a look at it yourself." "This is!" Feng Xuanyang boiled with rage when he saw the folder''s title. Zero Wing Report! Zero Wing was Feng Xuanyang''s sworn enemy. If not for Zero Wing interrupting his plans again and again, White River City would have been his by now. He wouldn''t have suffered under Zero Wing''s oppression as he did now. To make things worse, Zero Wing had flourished in the war in the Stoneclaw Mountains, becoming one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds that could even rival first-rate Guilds. This had also weakened Overwhelming Smile''s position in the city significantly. Now, Overwhelming Smile''s members had to tread carefully when encountering Zero Wing players on the city''s streets. This humiliated Feng Xuanyang. However, he endured because he knew that this was still not the time to pick a fight with Zero Wing. Now, after striving silently for a long time, he had finally obtained an opportunity to seize White River City. Hence, no matter what, he could not give up in this competition for dominance. As long as he obtained White River City, the favor Youlan received from Underworld''s upper echelons would also vanish. At that time, he would become the absolute leader of Underworld''s branch in Star-Moon Kingdom rather than playing underling to a greenhorn wench who had only been a member of the organization for a short time. However, after Feng Xuanyang read the Zero Wing Report, his excited expression froze, his eyes widening with shock. He paled as if he had seen a ghost. "How can this be?!" Feng Xuanyang couldn''t believe his eyes. "How has Zero Wing appeared in the Dark Arena?! They even defeated a battle team that has the backing of a Super Guild?!" Currently, Underworld was considered one of the virtual gaming world''s major powers. The organization was stronger than most first-rate Guilds. Over the years, it had nurtured plenty of experts. However, there was still a vast gap between them and super-first-rate Guilds like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, not to mention Super Guilds. Yet, an upstart Guild like Zero Wing had actually managed to defeat a Super Guild''s battle team. This was simply inconceivable. Super Guilds had too many experts to count. They even had monster-like existences. The powers supporting them were also profound and complex. Only other Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds could shake the foundations of such giants. No one else should even consider trying. Unless Zero Wing had a Super Guild behind it "A Super Guild?" Feng Xuanyang suddenly felt his body grow cold. "That''s right. The higher-ups have reached the same conclusion. Hence, we can''t provoke Zero Wing anymore. There is no reason to continue wasting our time in White River City." In truth, Youlan doubted that Zero Wing had the support of a Super Guild. However, the Mana Pulse Cannon in the Stoneclaw Mountains and the various Magic Array Scrolls Now, they also had to consider the performance in the Dark Arena A mere upstart Guild was not capable of achieving these feats. Hence, it was quite possible that a Super Guild supported Zero Wing from the shadows. Even though it was only a possibility, Underworld would not take this risk. "I understand. I''ll transfer the majority of our members to other cities. However, I still have a quest I need to complete." Feng Xuanyang nodded. "Fine, but make it quick," Youlan stated before standing and leaving the meeting room. --- Elsewhere, Shi Feng had led Fire Dance and the others back to White River City. On their way back, Shi Feng browsed through the information Sirius had given him. "So, this is the case." After reading through the files, Shi Feng was so happy that he found it difficult to hide his smile. "Guild Leader, what has made you so giddy?" Aqua Rose asked curiously as she moved to Shi Feng''s side. "It''s nothing. I''ve just found something that can help you improve your combat standards." Shi Feng laughed. "Guild Leader, what is it? Can I have a look?" Violet Cloud sent Shi Feng a yearning look. Fire Dance had already reached the Refinement Realm. This development placed a weight on the rest of the team. Violet Cloud felt particularly pressured. She was incredibly anxious to become stronger. "There is no need to rush. We happen to be on our way there right now." Saying so, Shi Feng pointed at the distant Candlelight Trading Firm. 799 Secrets of Gods Domain Chapter 799 - Secrets of God''s Domain The Candlelight Trading Firm, Special Forging Room: "Guild Leader, here are the items you requested." After Melancholic Smile entered the room, she stacked materials onto the stone table, creating a large mound of items. If the upper echelons of other large Guilds saw this, they would be shocked. Every material was extremely valuable. Some were even used to construct a Stable. However, among these materials, there was one item that was particularly eye-catching: a fragment of a silver stone tablet. This fragment was clearly not a raw material. Shi Feng picked up the stone tablet while transferring the materials into his bag. Including the materials he had won in the Dark Arena, he had enough to begin the Guild Stable''s construction. Currently, the various large Guilds were occupied with raiding Dungeons to collect the Stable Design and required materials to construct the building. However, no one would have imagined that a small Guild like Zero Wing had both. The only thing left to do was to construct the Stable itself. Shi Feng could not contain his excitement. In the past, Shadow had invested a lot of time to construct its Stable. By the time the Guild''s Stable was complete, God''s Domain''s mainstream players had surpassed Level 50. Many ordinary players even had their own Mounts. On the other hand, this timeline''s mainstream players had only reached Level 30. Yet, Zero Wing could begin constructing its own Stable. Zero Wing would be the first Guild in God''s Domain to reveal its Guild Mount to the public. Ordinary Mounts cost 40 Gold. However, Guild Mounts only cost 25 Gold. Although the difference was only 15 Gold, no ordinary player could afford that, even if they sold everything they owned. Even Guild elite players would have to save for a long time to accumulate so much. Due to this 15-Gold gap, Guild players could obtain their Mounts ahead of ordinary players. The only problem Guild players faced was that they needed to a certain amount of Guild Contribution Points before they could purchase a Guild Mount. GCPs were automatically rewarded after one completed a Guild Quest. The amount of GCP varied depending on the quest''s difficulty, with higher-leveled quests awarding more points, and ordinary and daily quests awarding very few. In fact, one could say that the GCP requirement wasn''t a major issue. Money was the only thing Guild players truly needed to purchase their Guild Mounts. "Guild Leader, is this stone tablet related to your earlier, mysterious actions?" Fire Dance knew of their plans for the Guild Stable. However, she was more concerned with Shi Feng''s previous statement. After reaching her combat standard, it was extremely difficult to advance further. If there really was an item that could improve a player''s combat standards, it must be heaven-defying. "That''s right. This stone tablet is the item that can help everyone grow stronger." Shi Feng nodded. The information he received from Sirius stated that there were all sorts of Skills in God''s Domain. There were ordinary Skills, General Skills, Taboo Skills, and an extremely rare type of Skill known as a Secret Technique. Secret Techniques were unique in God''s Domain. Moreover, learning a Secret Technique was different from learning ordinary Skills, whereby players could learn a Skill with a click of a button. Secret Techniques were also different from Taboo Skills, where players were only required to reach a certain Completion Rate. To learn a Secret Technique, players had to comprehend it. One''s comprehension depended on the player. As to how one used the Secret Technique, that also depended on the player. Unlike the usual Skills, a Secret Technique would not appear in a player''s Skill Menu even after learning it. Secret Techniques also lacked a Cooldown. Players could use the Secret Technique whenever and however they desired. The only resource consumed when using a Secret Technique was Concentration. Shi Feng had learned a Secret Technique before. In truth, a Secret Technique was just a unique method of utilizing combat techniques. Void Steps was considered a footwork-type Secret Technique. Moreover, Sirius had revealed that his six-in-one combination attack was a byproduct of his Secret Technique. Although he had known how to use such a technique for quite a while, he had not been able to use the six-in-one combination attack. However, learning the Secret Technique had allowed his combat standard to reach a whole new level, allowing him to execute a six-in-one combination attack. Without the Secret Technique, even with his Domain, such a complex technique would have been beyond him. Meanwhile, when speaking of Secret Techniques Shi Feng immediately thought of the Secret Sword Technique he had obtained during his promotion to Blade Saint. At the time, he had not realized what this item''s purpose was. The stone tablet''s introduction simply stated that it held some kind of divine power and that he needed to collect all the stone tablet fragments to restore the engraved pattern. Hence, he had not bothered with the Secret Sword Technique. After all, obtaining this single fragment had nearly cost him his life. How difficult would it be to collect all six pieces? Of course, the Secret Technique stone tablet the Battle Wolves had obtained was also incomplete. Even so, players could still learn from the fragment. However, they needed to meet a specific requirement to learn the Secret Technique it hid. The requirement was Magic Crystals! One needed to inject a significant amount of magic power into the stone tablet to activate the Secret Technique once. Moreover, this Secret Technique was not complete. If one wanted to learn the complete Secret Technique, they had to collect all the necessary fragments. Although Sirius had kindly told him how to activate the Secret Technique stone tablet, the old man had not told him where to find one. This was also the first time Shi Feng had ever heard of Secret Techniques. This was the tragedy middle- and low-class players faced. Unless one was extraordinarily lucky, many of God''s Domain''s secrets were beyond people like him. "Secret Sword Technique?" Violet Cloud blinked as she looked at the stone tablet in Shi Feng''s hands. "Guild Leader, can''t only melee classes learn this?" "No. Any class can learn a Secret Technique. However, some are more suitable for certain classes. Fortunately, there is no limit to how many players can learn it. Take Void Steps and Sirius''s six-in-one combination attack for example. These combat techniques are not necessarily suitable for our classes. However, if utilized properly, they are still significantly effective," Shi Feng explained, smiling. In reality, the Secret Technique Sirius had learned was more suited to magical classes, while Void Steps was more suitable for Assassins rather than Swordsmen. When used, however, they could still improve a player''s combat power significantly. Aside from suitability, how much one had of a Secret Technique was also important. Sirius had learned his Secret Technique from a fragment. Hence, he could display immense power with the technique. On the other hand, Shi Feng had learned Void Steps by copying another player. His skill with the technique was less than garbage. Hence, his capabilities with Void Steps were limited. If he had learned the Secret Sword Technique before his fight with Sirius, he would have had a much easier time taking the old man down. Hearing Shi Feng''s explanation, his companions were speechless. They had all seen Sirius''s six-in-one combination attack. They had never imagined that the stone tablet before them was actually something so amazing. If they could learn such a combat technique as well, they would have a higher chance of winning their battles, even against more powerful opponents. 800 Restrictions Chapter 800 - Restrictions Shi Feng could not help his smile when he saw the yearning and desperation in everyone''s eyes. He could relate. "Although the Secret Technique stone tablet is an excellent item, there are many restrictions. There are even restrictions while one is learning the Secret Technique itself. This is not an easy endeavor," Shi Feng explained. The Secret Technique stone tablet help players learn how to better-utilize their combat techniques. While learning these methods, they might even discover a breakthrough and advance their combat standards. This was why Sirius was so confident of his declaration that Shi Feng could grow stronger if he possessed a Secret Technique stone tablet. If every member in a Guild could learn the Secret Technique, their strength could defy heaven. Naturally, the Main God System would not allow such a situation. Although the legacy within a Secret Technique stone tablet would not expire, it could only be used once per month. Moreover, only ten players could learn the technique each time it was available. In addition, because he only possessed a fragment, he needed to create a Stabilizing Magic Array to use it. Magic arrays were incomparably precious. Normally, it was impossible for players to obtain the knowledge of creating one. Moreover, kingdoms and empires kept a very tight lid on any information they had about magic arrays, making it even more difficult for players to learn the process. Hence, players had to rely on the Magic Array Designs they obtained to teach them the mechanics of producing magic arrays. Currently, no player throughout God''s Domain knew how to produce Stabilizing Magic Arrays. They could only obtain them from NPCs. Although God''s Domain had countless NPCs, not all NPCs knew how to produce magic arrays. Even powerful magical class NPCs rarely knew how to produce more profound arrays. The Stabilizing Magic Array just happened to be a particularly profound, twofold magic array. Even Tier 3 magical class NPCs would find it extremely difficult to produce an array of such caliber. This wasn''t the only issue they faced. These magic arrays also required something of each player. To learn a Secret Technique from a stone tablet, players also needed to know how to produce magic arrays. Of course, they didn''t need a complete understanding of the topic, but they did need the ability to produce a simple Intermediate Magic Array. This was why Shi Feng had led his team to the Special Forging Room. The Simulation Device in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Forging Rooms had already recorded all of the information Zero Wing possessed about magic arrays. Even the designs for the Nine-star Polar Domain and Teleportation Magic Array had been recorded. Players could easily rehearse the production process without needing to waste precious materials. They only needed to spend some Magic Crystals. When Shi Feng thought about how the Battle Wolves lacked a Special Forging Room of its own, he imagined how many materials they Super Guild had spent to allow ten players to learn to produce an Intermediate Magic Array. The thought was staggering. However, the Battle Wolves was capable of such a feat precisely because it was a Super Guild. A first-rate Guild could never afford to learn a Secret Technique without a Special Forging Room. "If you wish to learn the Secret Technique, you''ll have to learn to produce Intermediate Magic Arrays. All of the necessary information can be found inside the Simulation Device. Learn the technique as quickly as possible. Once you can produce Intermediate Magic Arrays, you can learn the Secret Technique," Shi Feng explained as he pointed towards the flowing ball of water inside the forging room. "Learn to produce Intermediate Magic Arrays?" Aqua Rose repeated with a frown. This task would be very difficult. As a Cursemancer, she relied on incantations and runes to cast her Spells, so she had little understanding of the subject. In reality, when magical class players cast a Spell, they drew runes or chanted incantations to guide the surrounding Elemental Mana to form a magic array. Of course, higher-tiered Spells required more runes and incantations. As she understood it, a Tier 1 Spell''s magic array was the equivalent of a Basic Magic Array, while a Tier 2 Spell''s array was the equivalent of an Intermediate Magic Array. Moreover, when constructing a magic array, the system would not offer any assistance or guidance. Players had to draw the runes or chant the incantations themselves. Hence, the requirement was quite strict. In other words, without any assistance from the system, she needed to complete a relatively complex Tier 2 Spell in a set period of time. Furthermore, the magic array she needed to craft would be far more complex than any of her Spells. It would be very difficult for her to produce an Intermediate Magic Array. If a magical class player already had such troubles, this would be a nightmare for physical class players. "This is mandatory. Even I can''t do anything about it. You have to rely on yourselves for this task," Shi Feng said as he spread his hands in a helpless gesture. He could not help them. He had only been able to produce the Nine-star Polar Domain so quickly because of the understanding he had gained in his previous life. Hence, it would take a relatively long time for the others to produce an Intermediate Magic Array. Fortunately, he could use this opportunity to deal with the Guild Stable. Following which, Shi Feng left the Candlelight Trading Firm and headed towards the Adventurer''s Association. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the other physical class players began to learn all they could about magic arrays. As for Aqua Rose and the other magical classes, they began to experiment with the process of producing Basic Magic Arrays. --- As the number of Guild Residences in the city rapidly increased, the number of players who visited the Adventurer''s Association in search of their Daily Guild Quests increased as well. Currently, the Association enjoyed a constant stream of players entering and leaving the building. When the players inside the building saw the six-winged Guild Emblem on Shi Feng''s chest, their gazes turned green with envy. Many of the female players acted like ravenous wolves when their eyes landed on Shi Feng. They shot him flirtatious glances and dreamed of pouncing on the young man, devouring him whole. Shi Feng was speechless. He inwardly celebrated the fact that he had not come as Black Flame, and that he had chosen to wear his Black Cloak. Otherwise, these players might have truly devoured him. However, when he saw the players lined up to accept their daily quests, he could not help but feel nostalgia. In the past, he, too, had often come here to receive his Daily Guild Quests. Guild Quests fell into two main categories. The first category consisted of the Daily Guild Quests that players could accept at the Adventurer''s Association, while the second consisted of the NPC-commissioned quests that were sent to Guild Residences. Any Guild member could accept a Daily Guild Quest. However, the rewards were mediocre at best. Very little EXP was awarded as well. Meanwhile, NPC-commissioned quests were different. Even the most ordinary commissioned quest provided decent remuneration and EXP reward. Some even rewarded relatively good weapons and equipment. Unfortunately, Guild Residences did not receive enough NPC-commissioned quests to supply every member within a Guild. These quests were also directly related to a Guild''s Popularity. The higher a Guild''s Popularity was, the more well-known it was among NPCs. After reaching a certain level of popularity, even NPCs from other cities and towns would commission a quest. Currently, Zero Wing had the highest Popularity among all of the Guilds in White River City. Every day, Zero Wing''s Guild Residence received more than 1,000 commissioned quests. Among them, there were over a hundred high-level quests. Aside from its high Popularity, Zero Wing received so many quests because of its Residence''s Smithy. Every day, the Smithy would provide a certain number of quests. Hence, Zero Wing received far more commissioned quests than other Guilds. Large Guilds like Overwhelming Smile only received several hundred commissioned quests each day, with only several dozen high-level quests. Zero Wing walked the path of the elite, so it had far fewer members than its competitors. As a result, the percentage of players within the Guild that could accept commissioned quests each day was relatively high. On the other hand, due to having too many members, other Guild''s ordinary members even found it difficult to receive an ordinary commissioned quest, not to mention high-level commissioned quests. --- In the second-floor reception hall: "Sir, how may I be of service to you today?" a beautiful female receptionist asked Shi Feng, smiling. "I wish to construct a Stable. Please compile the necessary quotes for me," Shi Feng said, handing over the Stable Design. 801 Mount Taming Chapter 801 - Mount Taming After the female receptionist accepted the Stable Design, she tapped on the magic crystal ball before her. Immediately, a miniature, half-transparent building appeared before Shi Feng. This was the construction model for the Stable. It allowed players to select and modify the building. Unlike other buildings, which were categorized by ranks such as Ordinary, and Luxury, Stables were only differentiated by size. There were many Wild and Demonic Beasts in the world of God''s Domain, and all of these monsters came in different sizes. The larger a monster was, the larger the Stable it required. Obviously, the larger the Stable was, the more it would cost to construct it. A small-sized Stable could cost anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 Gold. A medium-sized Stable cost anywhere from 4,000 Gold to 5,000 Gold. A large-sized Stable could cost anywhere from 8,000 Gold to 10,000 Gold. A super-large-sized Stable could cost anywhere from 40,000 Gold to 50,000 Gold. For a high-ranking rare Mount like the Thunder Wolf, Shi Feng needed at least a medium-sized Stable. Of course, the benefit of a larger-sized Stable wasn''t limited to additional space. A Larger Stable would allow a Guild to tame Mounts faster. Guild players would also have an easier time growing their Mounts. Most importantly, one could invite a powerful tamer with a larger Stable. In God''s Domain, Mount taming was considered a field of knowledge. Tamers played an important role in harnessing the power of a Mount. Half of a Guild Mount''s growth depended on the tamer. Hence, hiring a powerful tamer was essential to a Guild. "I want this large-sized Stable." Shi Feng chose a Stable with style and clicked "Confirm." "Sir, you have chosen Stable Number 059. The total cost will be 9,450 Gold. In addition, you also have to provide the core materials required to construct the Stable." The female receptionist smiled as she produced a bill of materials. The list stated all the necessary expenditures to construct the Stable. "Here are the materials and money." Shi Feng paid everything off without hesitation. He had made a huge fortune in the Dark Arena. Aside from the profits he had made from his bet with the Glorious Lions Battle Team, as the winning battle team of the competition, the Asura Battle Team also earned a small portion from the audience''s winning bets. Moreover, due to the audience underestimating the strength of the Asura Battle Team, many people had gambled on the Glorious Lions. As a result, even after splitting half of the profits with Phoenix Rain, he still walked away with a hefty income. The battle team''s shares in the Dark Arena were different from the organizer''s. Only the winning battle team would get a share of the audience bets. The loser received nothing. Moreover, the winning battle team would earn 3% of the shares, 2% higher than the organizer. Only, as Shi Feng did not own the Asura Battle Team''s participation rights, he needed to split the 3% with Phoenix Rain. Among the 1.5% of winnings that Shi Feng had obtained, he had sold the materials and equipment that he did not need. Although Shi Feng had only received 1.5%, his earnings had not been meager. Every member of the Dark Arena''s audience was a wealthy big-shot. Their bets made involved several hundred Gold of materials at the very least. Since so many people had placed generous wagers on the Glorious Lions, Shi Feng''s earnings had naturally been impressive. From this single competition, he had earned over 7,000 Gold. He had also obtained the Stable materials from the Glorious Lions. After obtaining what he had needed, he sold excess materials to Phoenix Rain, selling each Primal Emerald Wood for 75 Gold and each Soul Cultivating Stone for 60 Gold. Overall, he sold 20 logs of Primal Emerald Wood and 12 Soul Cultivating Stones, earning him another 2,220 Gold. Including the money he had on hand before the competition, he now had over 11,000 Gold on him. He could easily afford the large-sized Stable. After Shi Feng finished paying the bill, the female receptionist passed him a Stable Certificate. In the future, if he wanted to modify the Stable, upgrading it to a super-large-sized Stable, he could simply present this certificate to make the necessary modifications. He would not need to obtain another Stable Design. --- After Shi Feng confirmed the Stable''s construction, a group of NPC Architects entered Zero Wing''s Guild Residence in White River City and began building the Stable. Suddenly, a large space within Zero Wing''s Residence, which had been vacant, transformed into a construction site. Players were barred from the area. "What''s going on?" "We''re constructing a new building?" "What is it going to be?" Zero Wing''s members grew curious upon seeing groups of NPC Architects enter the construction site. They had been ecstatic when the Guild had constructed a Smithy. Not only could they save money on repair fees, but they could also maintain their weapons with the Weapon Maintenance function, extending the amount of time they could spend out in the fields. Players from other Guilds were particularly envious of this benefit. Now that their Guild had begun constructing a new building, how could they contain their excitement? --- Elsewhere, Shi Feng hailed an advanced horse carriage in front of the Adventurer''s Association and headed towards the Commoner''s District. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, there were a total of three Master Tamers in White River City. If he relied on a Basic Tamer or Advanced Tamer, it would take a very long time to finish taming a 5-star Mount. As to how much time was needed, even Shi Feng had no idea. However, he did know how long it would take to tame a 3-star Mount. A Basic Tamer required a month to finish taming a 3-star Mount, while an Advanced Tamer needed 20 days. Master Tamers only needed ten days to complete the job. A Master Tamer was three times as efficient as a Basic Tamer. Moreover, Basic Tamers could not tame 5-star Mounts. Only Advanced Tamers and above could do so. If even a Master Tamer needed ten days to tame a 3-star Mount, Shi Feng could not imagine how long it would take to tame a 5-star Mount. He would be surprised if it only took double the time a 3-star Mount required. If he left the task to an Advanced Tamer, the required wait time would be even more frightening. Hence, he needed to hire a Master Tamer to tame the Thunder Wolf. An hour later, Shi Feng arrived before a large courtyard in the Commoner''s District. Many beasts lounged on the courtyard''s lawn. The lowest level beasts were at Level 100, with the more powerful ones being Level 150. Shi Feng could also see a Level 150 High Lord. This beast was even stronger than an ordinary Level 150 Tier 2 class. "This is the residence of Master Owen. Master Owen does not wish to meet with outsiders, so please leave." As soon as Shi Feng arrived before the courtyard''s entrance, two Level 150 Tier 1 guards in silver heavy armor immediately blocked his path, barring him from the residence. Although tamers were not as reputable as forgers and alchemists, after becoming a Master, their statuses were slightly higher than ordinary nobles. Hence, although Owen was only a commoner, he still had two Level 150 Tier 1 guards protecting his home. Ordinary people did not qualify for his attention. "Don''t tell me that even I am refused entry?" Shi Feng flashed his identity as White River City''s Count. Immediately, the two Tier 1 guards fell to one knee, kneeling before Shi Feng with respectful expressions. This scene dumbfounded passing players. "Just who is that?" "Amazing! He can actually force Tier 1 NPCs to kneel before him!" Normally, these Tier 1 guards thought very little of players, yet now, they knelt before one. How could they not be shocked? "Huh? Ye Feng? Why are you here?" Immediately after Shi Feng revealed his true appearance, a crisp voice sounded from beside him. Turning towards the voice, Shi Feng noticed a beautiful girl in deep-purple mage robes approaching him. This girl was accompanied by a white-haired, old man. 802 Silver Legend Chapter 802 - Silver Legend Upon seeing the old man, one of the two Level 150 guards hurriedly stood to greet the old man, while the other quickly opened the large metal gates. "Master Owen, welcome back!" the guard said respectfully. Shi Feng was slightly surprised by this sudden development. Of course, his surprise was not due to the old man''s identity. After all, this was not the first time he had met Owen. The true source of his surprise stemmed from Thoughtful Rain, the purple-robed beauty beside the old tamer. Although Owen was not a noble, he had a higher status in White River City than ordinary nobles. He was an Advanced NPC that current players could not meet easily. Only a major noble like himself might be able to arrange a meeting with Owen. Thoughtful Rain, on the other hand, had yet to become a major noble in White River City, yet she had obviously become acquainted with the old man. It seemed that the girl was more capable than he had initially thought. "I''ve come to make a request of Master Owen," Shi Feng explained as he watched Thoughtful Rain approach. The last time he had met Thoughtful Rain was when she had introduced him to Everlasting War. Back then, Thoughtful Rain had only had the level and equipment of an elite player. However, after this short time had passed, not only had the girl reached Level 35, but she also wore equipment that elites would envy. She was almost fully geared in Level 30 Fine-Gold Equipment. The deep-red staff she held was known as the Elemental Requiem, and it was a Level 30 Dark-Gold ranked staff. In addition, she had a slightly more daring temperament than before. Moreover, as she walked towards him, her footwork was both light and natural. Her actions lacked any excess movement. Even if Thoughtful Rain had not yet reached the Half-step Refinement Realm, she was not too far, either. Shi Feng found it truly hard to imagine that the girl had grown this much in God''s Domain in such a short period. "A request for Master Owen? Did you receive the quest as well?!" Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Thoughtful Rain could not help her joy as she said, "I''ve had a headache trying to figure out how to complete it. If we do it together, we should be able to complete the quest very quickly." "Quest?" A realization struck Shi Feng. "Are you talking about the Silver Legend quest in the Crystal Forest?" "Mhm. Isn''t that your quest as well?" Thoughtful Rain nodded. "No. I have not accepted that quest. I''m looking for Master Owen for something else." When Shi Feng saw Thoughtful Rain nod, although he appeared quite calm on the outside, he admired the girl''s great luck. The Silver Legend quest was one of the few super-rare special quests in White River City. It was not easy to obtain. One needed to encounter a certain NPC to obtain this quest. However, this NPC appeared at random locations within White River City. Players needed luck to find this NPC. As Shi Feng understood it, this quest had caused quite a commotion in White River City in the past. After this quest had been completed, players received a Mount as a reward. However, the quality of the Mount depended on the player''s quest completion rate. The higher their completion rate was, the higher the Mount''s quality would be. To players, even obtaining a Common Mount was a massive expenditure, not to mention a high-quality Mount. Back then, this quest''s discovery had led White River City''s players to a frantic search for that NPC. Unfortunately, very few players had found that NPC, not to mention those who achieved a high question completion rate. "What a pity." Thoughtful Rain sighed lightly when she heard Shi Feng''s words. She had been working on this quest for a long time now. The next part of the quest was even more difficult than the previous parts. With her strength alone, this quest was difficult to complete. If she had an expert like Shi Feng helping her, she would have a far easier time with it. However, she had only met Shi Feng a handful of times before. They could hardly be considered friends. They were acquaintances at best. Naturally, she could not trouble an expert like Shi Feng to help her complete a quest. Suddenly, Blue Bamboo, who wore a pure-white dress over a delicate, but curvaceous, body, appeared behind Thoughtful Rain. "Rain, what''s taking you so long? Everyone''s starting to grow anxious," Blue Bamboo urged. However, her gaze quickly fell on Shi Feng, and she began to evaluate him. Narrowing her eyes as if trying to recall something, she turned to Thoughtful Rain, revealing an expression that seemed to say, "Ah, I see." "It''s not what you think! We just met by coincidence!" Thoughtful Rain explained hurriedly. "Doesn''t our party just so happen to be missing a member?" Blue Bamboo grinned at her friend. She then turned to Shi Feng, smiling sweetly as she asked, "Big Brother Ye Feng, won''t you please help us? After we complete the quest, I''ll have Rain treat you to a meal at Morning Dew Restaurant! I heard the food there is even better than the food of a 7-star hotel''s!" "Blue!" Thoughtful Rain could not help her embarrassment, miffed that Blue Bamboo was always trying to poke fun at her. "If you two can wait two hours, I can go with you," Shi Feng offered after giving it some thought. Currently, Thoughtful Rain was already an elite member in Zero Wing. Since they were allies, he would naturally lend a helping hand if he could. Moreover, the Silver Legend quest was very special. If the quest completion rate was high enough, Thoughtful Rain might become a powerful force in Zero Wing in the future. "It''s only two hours. Since this quest isn''t particularly urgent, we''ll meet up at the Flame Bar later," Blue Bamboo answered before Thoughtful Rain could react. Following which, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo departed from Owen''s mansion, while Shi Feng entered the courtyard alone. Led by the Tier 1 guards, Shi Feng reached the courtyard''s central garden. Owen already sat comfortably inside a gazebo, waiting for him. A Count ranked at the top of White River City''s social pyramid. Owen was merely a Master Tamer. His status was not as high as a Master Forger''s. Hence, he still showed Shi Feng some respect. If any other player stood before him, he''d only show them a cold shoulder. Seeing Shi Feng approach, Owen took the initiative to greet the Swordsman, bowing slightly as he said, "Lord Count, how may I be of service today?" "Hello, Master Owen. I''m here to invite you to become Zero Wing''s tamer consultant. I wonder if you can agree to this request?" Shi Feng asked. In God''s Domain, Guilds with Stables generally sought to hire a tamer, having the tamer work in the Guild at all times. However, hiring a Master Tamer was very difficult. It was impossible to tie a Master Tamer to a single Guild. Hence, one could only hire a Master Tamer as a consultant. Moreover, there was still no guarantee that the Master Tamer would agree. "This" Owen hesitated for a long moment, unsure of how to respond. "Take a look at this." Shi Feng took out the Stable Certificate and handed it over to the old man. To hire a Master Tamer, a Guild must first possess a large-sized Stable. Otherwise, the effort would be futile. Even with Shi Feng''s status, a Master Tamer would refuse. This was the main reason why he had opted to construct a large-sized Stable. Only after Owen saw the Stable Certificate did he agree to Shi Feng''s request, saying, "It would be my honor to accept Lord Count''s invitation. We can see to the formalities immediately." Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Owen. In return for Owen becoming Zero Wing''s tamer consultant, Zero Wing would pay Owen a monthly retainer of 200 Gold. After the contract was official, Shi Feng led Owen to Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. Meanwhile, a huge commotion tore through the Guild Residence. 803 New Expansion Pack Chapter 803 - New Expansion Pack After the Stable appeared within Zero Wing''s Residence, news of it spread at the speed of light. "Even first-rate Guilds have yet to construct a Stable, yet Zero Wing has theirs already! This is insane!" "Zero Wing''s members are so lucky. They can purchase a unique Mount as soon as they reach Level 40. On the other hand, we have to ride horses" "I''ve heard that Guild Mounts only cost 25 Gold. That''s 15 Gold cheaper than Common Mounts!" "This won''t do! I need to join Zero Wing! I want to buy a Guild Mount, too!" For a time, the official forums exploded with threads about Zero Wing''s latest development. Many Guild players drooled over the image of Zero Wing''s Stable. Field battles in God''s Domain were growing more difficult. Not only had the monsters become far more of a challenge, but the burden these monsters placed on Durability also added a hefty expenditure to their daily budgets. If they could purchase a Guild Mount, not only would they save 15 Gold, but they could also obtain a growing Mount. Once they managed to nurture their Mounts to Bronze rank, their Mounts could assist them in battle. Field battles would become easier to take down. The consumption of equipment Durability could also be decreased significantly. At the same time, the various large Guilds throughout Star-Moon Kingdom also felt an immense weight drop onto their shoulders. To obtain the Stable Design and the necessary materials to construct the Stable, they had spared no effort. Yet, not only had they failed to obtain the Stable Design thus far, but they had also only collected a small stock of the materials. On the other hand, Zero Wing had already finished its own Stable. "How did Zero Wing construct a Stable so quickly?!" When Feng Xuanyang heard the news, jealousy overwhelmed him. At the same time, he was somewhat relieved. Now that Zero Wing had revealed this trump card, no other Guild would have a chance of dominating White River City. This incident also confirmed for Feng Xuanyang that a Super Guild did indeed back Zero Wing. Otherwise, how could the Guild have possibly constructed a Stable so quickly? Shortly after Zero Wing''s Stable was complete, a system announcement reached every player in God''s Domain. System Announcement: God''s Domain''s new expansion pack, "Abyss Battlefield," has been activated. All players can now register at the War God''s Temple in the various cities to participate in the war. System Announcement: God''s Domain''s new expansion pack, "Abyss Battlefield," has been activated. All players can now register at the War God''s Temple in the various cities to participate in the war. System Announcement: God''s Domain''s new expansion pack, "Abyss Battlefield," has been activated. All players can now register at the War God''s Temple in the various cities to participate in the war. The system announcement repeated three times, echoing in everyone''s minds. Immediately, players began to search for information on the new expansion pack. They were shocked by what they found. After they read about the new expansion pack, every player, ordinary and Guild players both, were ecstatic. --- Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who had hurriedly led Owen to Zero Wing''s Residence, was also stunned when he heard the system announcement. Why has the Abyss Battlefield appeared so soon? Shi Feng could not help his frown. Is it because of the Stable? The more Shi Feng thought about it, the more he agreed with the possibility. In the past, the Abyss Battlefield expansion had released when mainstream players neared Level 40. At that time, Super Guilds had almost finished constructing their Stables. Although the Abyss Battlefield was called an expansion pack, in reality, it was just the introduction to another way for players to experience the game. Ordinary players had almost no opportunities to experience a true battlefield. Guilds also tried to avoid massive wars involving hundreds of thousands of players. Hence, to give ordinary players the experience of a true battlefield, the system had introduced the Abyss Battlefield. Through the War God''s Temple in the various cities, players had one chance to enter the Abyss Battlefield each day. If they died, they would be returned to their respective cities. The Abyss Battlefield was a massive map. Players transferring in from different cities would appear in different towns within the Abyss Battlefield. Players were required to defend their respective towns, preventing the Abyssal races'' invasion. The system awarded players depending on their contributions. EXP and Honor Points were the usual rewards. These Honor Points could be exchanged for various rare potions and Magic Scrolls. Players could also trade the points for the Double EXP buff. In the Abyss Battlefield, players received EXP from the monsters they killed. These monsters'' drops were also relatively good. Moreover, even if players died in the Abyss Battlefield, they would not suffer the usual penalties. On the contrary, they would be rewarded depending on their performances. Hence, when the Abyss Battlefield had been introduced during Shi Feng''s previous life, players had flooded the area. Shi Feng could only manage a bitter smile. Although constructing the Guild Stable had provided massive advantages, it had also hastened God''s Domain''s evolution. Following which, Shi Feng led Owen to the underground Warehouse of Zero Wing''s Residence. "Heavens! Are my eyes playing a trick on me?!" Owen''s face lit up when he saw the Thunder Wolf inside the massive Cage. "I never thought I would actually meet a 5-star beast in my lifetime!" "Master Owen, may I know how long it will take for you to tame it?" Shi Feng asked. "This is my first time encountering a 5-star beast. However, based on my calculations, I will need roughly 25 days." Owen caressed his white beard before offering his answer. "I''ll leave the task to you, then," Shi Feng said. When he heard how long the Thunder Beast''s taming would require, he was shocked. Even a Master Tamer required 25 days to tame the Thunder Beast. If he had hired a weaker tamer to do the job, even ordinary players would have their Mounts before the Thunder Beast was ready. "Please leave it to me! I will nurture the Thunder Beast into the best Mount you''ve ever seen!" Owen said, his eyes glowing with excitement. After Shi Feng finished dealing with the Guild Mount issue, he took a horse carriage to the Flame Bar. On his way, Shi Feng could clearly hear the fevered discussions regarding the Abyss Battlefield. --- Meanwhile, in the Flame Bar, many players who had come to relax could not pull their eyes from the establishment''s corner and the three great beauties sitting there. The girl in long, purple robes, in particular, moved the male players'' hearts with every movement. However, as soon as these players saw the six-winged emblem on two of these beauties, they immediately discarded any thoughts of approaching the women. Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem was a taboo in White River City. No player dared to provoke Zero Wing''s members inside White River City. Even the domineering members of Overwhelming Smile proceeded with caution. "Blue, is this person really that strong?" a female Berserker in deep-blue heavy armor could not help but ask. This female Berserker had a graceful body and pearly white teeth. "Of course! He is one of our Guild''s experts!" Blue Bamboo said pridefully. "An expert?" The female Berserker smiled. Even the two men beside her smiled. Ordinary layers might think of Guild players as experts, but to them, Guild experts were a joke. They had killed well over a hundred Guild experts in the fields by now. "Look! He''s here!" Blue Bamboo said as she pointed towards Shi Feng after he entered the building. 804 Wind Gods Spear Chapter 804 - Wind God''s Spear "Is he the person you were talking about?" The female Berserker and her two male companions shifted their gazes towards Shi Feng. The young man wore a Black Cloak and silver armor. From his waist hung two exquisite longswords, one white and one black. Every one of his movements felt natural and graceful. His actions lacked any awkwardness, so much so that, if they did not focus on this young man, their minds might ignore him altogether. Moreover, the young man did not give off the familiar pressure they usually felt from experts. On the contrary, he felt safe and relatable. As Shi Feng made his way through the bar, players seemed to move out of his way as if trying to avoid him intentionally. It was as if they couldn''t sense Shi Feng''s existence. It did not take long for Shi Feng to move through the crowd and reach the party. "Big Brother Ye Feng, you''ve finally arrived! We were just talking about you!" Blue Bamboo said, giggling. "Let me introduce you. "This great beauty is Autumn Goose, this gentleman with the beard is called Death Wind, and this handsome man is Gunfire. They are members of Wind God''s Spear." "Hello," Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at the three people. Inwardly, however, he was surprised. He was familiar with the name "Wind God''s Spear." The name belonged to an independent organization similar to the famous Midnight Tea Party, and it based its operations in the Dark Night Empire. Independent players that disliked the restriction of Guilds and preferred adventure would usually form independent organizations to conquer certain quests that could not be completed alone. Among the independent organizations in the past, Wind God''s Spear had been relatively famous. This organization had once completed several Legendary Quests. Legendary Quests were difficult enough to give even Super Guilds pause, not accepting one unless they were extremely confident in succeeding. However, the Wind God''s Spear contained countless players who would not hesitate to take up the challenge. To put it simply, they were a bunch of lunatics with no fear of death. When everyone had believed that the organization would fail, the Wind God''s Spear shattered these naysayers'' beliefs, completing one Legendary Quest after another. Aside from those who loved to challenge deadly quests, the Wind God''s Spear also contained players with a furious love of battle. Every member within the organization was a battle-maniac. They had often challenged God''s Domain''s experts in the past. These players would even hunt down the older monsters from Super Guilds for a duel. Unfortunately, Shi Feng was not privy to the outcome of those fights. However, seeing as the Wind God''s Spear had still been around after a decade and had even become a legend in the eyes of many independent players As for the three people before him right now, Shi Feng had heard of two of them before: the Shield Warrior Death Wind and the Berserker Gunfire. Both of them had taken part in a Legendary Quest in the past. Even an apex expert of God''s Domain would not have more than a 20% success rate against a Legendary Quest. Meanwhile, these two had completed a Legendary Quest before. Their abilities were unquestionable. They were extremely powerful. Shi Feng had thought that Thoughtful Rain would, at most, have a few ordinary elite players accompanying her. He had never imagined she knew such experts. If an elite party tried to complete the Silver Legend quest, even if they succeeded, their completion rate would not be high. However, with this group, achieving a high completion rate would be a piece of cake. Just who is this girl? Curiosity overwhelmed Shi Feng as he shifted his gaze towards the quiet Thoughtful Rain. The first time they met, Shi Feng felt as if he had seen Thoughtful Rain before, but he couldn''t recall meeting her elsewhere. She felt both familiar and unfamiliar to him, yet he couldn''t remember an expert named Thoughtful Rain in God''s Domain during his previous life. Meanwhile, now that he met Thoughtful Rain again, both her aura and strength had undergone a heaven-defying change. If she continued to develop at this pace, she would definitely become more than an ordinary expert. Moreover, with the fact that she knew members of the Wind God''s Spear, it was even less possible that she had been an unknown entity in God''s Domain in the past. "Hello," Autumn Goose and the others returned Shi Feng''s greeting. "It seems that Blue hadn''t been exaggerating. If we can have an expert like you with us, we should be able to complete this quest with ease." They had not expected that Zero Wing also had someone like this in its ranks. To ordinary players, Shi Feng was an ordinary young man. However, they were neither ordinary players nor ordinary experts. After hundreds of life-and-death battles and overcoming their limits, again and again, not only had they cultivated a beast-like intuition, but they had also gained the ability to distinguish the strong. True experts would only reveal their domineering auras when displaying their strength. Normally, their auras would remain hidden. Their auras would appear to be as calm as the great ocean, unperturbed regardless of what was thrown at them. Others would find it hard to generate hostility against someone with such an aura. Without a doubt, they noticed this about Shi Feng. Shi Feng was a true expert. He was far beyond the ordinary experts they usually encountered. "Big Brother Wind, who is this guy? Why haven''t I heard of someone named Ye Feng in Zero Wing before?" Autumn Goose could not help but ask the Shield Warrior through a private chat as she evaluated Shi Feng. "I''m not sure, but based on our information on Zero Wing, aside from Black Flame, the Guild''s experts are subpar at best. However, I expect no less from the upstart Guild that defeated the Star Alliance. The Guild has even constructed a Stable. Zero Wing''s strength is truly unfathomable," Death Wind laughed. "It is good that Rain has joined such a Guild." "Indeed. While we still have a headache over our Mounts, both Rain and Blue can obtain a Guild Mount of their own as soon as they reach Level 40," Autumn Goose responded enviously. "What''s so great about Guilds?" the Berserker Gunfire snorted. "How can they compare to the freedom we enjoy? We can move about God''s Domain unrestricted. We also don''t have to work under anyone. Weapons, equipment, rare Skills, or Mounts, whatever these large Guilds can get their hands on, we can, too!" After they had joined God''s Domain, Guild players had often sought them out to cause trouble. The various large Guilds occupied all of the valuable leveling areas. Hence, they had formed the Wind God''s Spear. Not only had they fought the various large Guilds in the Dark Night Empire, but they had also made these Guilds suffer abundant losses. Pampered Guild players could not compare to the hardships they faced. Neither Death Wind nor Autumn Goose refuted Gunfire''s words. Their hatred of Guilds had been precisely the reason they had joined Wind God''s Spear. Now, they would never bother with joining a Guild. "Since everyone''s here, let''s head over to the Crystal Forest," Thoughtful Rain said as she invited Shi Feng to their party. Moreover, she had even passed the party''s leadership to Shi Feng. Gunfire was not pleased. No matter how he looked at it, Death Wind should be the party leader as he was the most qualified for the role. Death Wind possessed a wealth of leadership experience. He even had completed many advanced quests before. He was the best choice. However, since Thoughtful Rain had invited them, it was up to her to choose the party''s leader. Arguing against it would be inappropriate. Following which, Shi Feng and the others headed to the Teleportation Hall and teleported to the Crystal Forest. The Crystal Forest was a small Level 40 to Level 50 map. However, the terrain was complex. The monsters here also had high Defense and HP. As a result, very few players were willing to level up here. Taking a look at the quest details Thoughtful Rain had sent him, Shi Feng looked towards the distant cave and said, "That should be the place." Close to the cave entrance, over a dozen Level 43 Special Elite Crystal Giants roamed the area. Meanwhile, a massive Icefire Cheetah slept a short distance from the cave. This Icefire Cheetah was a Level 44 Lord. It would slaughter an ordinary party easily. Heh, let''s watch you make a fool of yourself. Gunfire inwardly sneered as he watched Shi Feng. The Silver Legend quest was extremely difficult. Even with Death Wind leading them, their party would be hard-pressed to complete the quest. Hence, it was impossible for a pampered young master like Shi Feng, who had only completed a few high-difficulty quests, to succeed here. 805 Insane Suggestion Chapter 805 - Insane Suggestion "This is bad." Autumn Goose muttered as she glanced at the cave''s surroundings. Aside from the Crystal Giants and Icefire Cheetah guarding the cave, she also spotted a group of Crystal Wolves patrolling the area. As long as they fought within the cave''s vicinity, they would attract the attention of the Crystal Wolves. The monsters would inadvertently catch them in a pincer attack. The Crystal Wolves were roughly two meters long, and their bodies were made of light-blue crystal. Unfortunately, several hundred Crystal Wolves patrolled the forest. [Crystal Giant] (Elemental Being, Special Elite) Level 43 HP 510,000/510,000 [Icefire Cheetah] (Elemental Being, Lord) Level 44 HP 4,000,000/4,000,000 [Crystal Wolf] (Elemental Being, Common) Level 41 HP 48,000/48,000 If they took on so many monsters at once, it would be extremely difficult for them to make it to the cave. Furthermore, there were large level gaps between them and the cave''s guardians. They were only Level 35, yet they had to face a Level 44 Lord and over a dozen Level 43 Special Elites simultaneously. This would not be an easy endeavor. As a monster''s Level increased, not only would its HP increase, but its Attributes also increased. A Level 44 Lord dealt no less damage than a Level 30 High Lord. The Level 44 Lord might even be slightly stronger. Facing down a Level 30 Field High Lord would be suicide. Not to mention, they would also have to fight so many Crystal Giants and Crystal Wolves. Every one of these monsters had high HP and Defense. Without a team of at least fifty Level 40 elite players, defeating these monsters would be incredibly difficult. Thoughtful Rain frowned at this situation. "Why don''t we clear away those Crystal Wolves first?" Thoughtful Rain suggested after a moment of thought. "Mhm. I think it would be wiser to clear take out the Crystal Wolves first as well. If we trigger a battle while trying to enter the cave, with a speed-type Boss like the Icefire Cheetah chasing us, we won''t be able to avoid a pincer attack." Death Wind nodded in agreement. "After we get rid of those Crystal Wolves, I''ll hold back the Boss while you guys enter the cave. With the Icefire Cheetah''s size, it should not be able to get in." Even if he were strong, with only one healer in the party, he could not tank a Level 44 Lord for very long. After all, there was a vast difference between his Attributes and the Boss''s. Moreover, the Icefire Cheetah was a speed-type Boss, the bane of MTs. It was extremely difficult to avoid the attacks of a speed-type Boss. The level gap only made the situation worse. "Leader, what do you suggest?" Gunfire asked as he turned to the silent Shi Feng, grinning. The members of the various large Guilds were accustomed to using zerg tactics to solve their problems. Regardless of what kind of problems they faced during a quest, they just needed to send a large group of players to deal with it. Now, however, they only had the strength of a party. Moreover, this quest was located in such a high-level map. Unlike Death Wind, who had long since grown accustomed to high-level monsters and could remain cool-headed in such a situation, Shi Feng would have no idea what to do here. However, their quest was quite difficult. Normally, they would challenge monsters that were, at most, five Levels higher than them. Even then, the fight would be risky. Now, they had to face a Level 44 Lord. The slightest mistake could cause a party-wipe. "Me?" Shi Feng glanced at the Crystal Wolves before shifting his gaze back towards the Icefire Cheetah. "I suggest that we charge for the cave. There is no need to waste time on the Crystal Wolves. Once we enter the cave, the Icefire Cheetah won''t be able to follow us. Afterward, we just need to deal with the Crystal Giants and Crystal Wolves. Moreover, the cave is cramped inside, so the Crystal Wolves won''t be able to use their wolf pack tactics. It should be fairly easy to annihilate them." In truth, Shi Feng wasn''t overly worried about the Icefire Cheetah or the Crystal Giants; his biggest worry was the Crystal Wolves. Thoughtful Rain and the others had no idea just how scary those Crystal Wolves were. Wolves loved to hunt in groups. Naturally, this was the case for the Crystal Wolves in the Crystal Forest. Although they could only see a few hundred in the area, once the battle began, these Crystal Wolves would call for reinforcements. If they could not finish the Crystal Wolves off quickly enough and allowed the monsters to use their Summon Skill They would have to fight far more than just a few hundred Crystal Wolves. If the Crystal Wolves summoned the Crystal Wolf King, tragedy would befall them. The Crystal Wolf King was the Crystal Forest''s ruler. It was also a Level 50 Great Lord. In Shi Feng''s previous life, countless players, who had ventured to the Crystal Forest in search of ores, had died under the Wolf King''s paws. Hence, after the general populace learned of this beast, many players had tried to avoid provoking the Crystal Wolves. If their party attacked the Crystal Wolves, they would find death waiting for them. "Charge for the cave?" Autumn Goose was dumbstruck. "How are we supposed to shake off the Crystal Giants and enter the cave?" Although Death Wind could pin down the Icefire Cheetah for a short time, if the others wanted to enter the cave, they had to deal with the Crystal Giants. The Crystal Giants were Level 43 Special Elites, not Common monsters that even noobs could defeat. They were not easy opponents. The Crystal Giants would flatten them under their fists if they made the slightest mistake. Meanwhile, the Crystal Wolves would have enough time to join the fray while they had their hands full with the Special Elites. In the end, they would be caught a pincer attack with no path of retreat. "Leave the Icefire Cheetah to me. Death Wind will attract those Crystal Giants. Blue, you just need to focus on healing Death Wind. Rain, you''ll assist Death Wind by restricting the Crystal Giants from afar. Everyone else, head straight towards the cave," Shi Feng explained slowly. Death Wind was a Shield Warrior and had the Crowd Mock Skill. He would have the easiest time holding the Giants'' aggro. Without the Crystal Giants in their way, the Crystal Wolves wouldn''t have time to launch a pincer attack. Once they entered the cave, without the Lord''s interference, it would be easier to deal with the Special Elites and Common monsters. Even if the Crystal Wolves summoned the Crystal Wolf King, with how little space the cave provided, all the Crystal Wolf King could do was wait outside with the Icefire Cheetah. "You''ll tank it?" Thoughtful Rain and the others turned to Shi Feng as one. Shi Feng was only a Swordsman. Although he had hidden his Level with the Black Cloak, even if he were the same level as the Level 44 Icefire Cheetah, its claws would rend him to death with two or three attacks. Furthermore, he wouldn''t have a healer on him. At most, he could hold off the Lord for a brief moment. That certainly wasn''t enough time for them to make it into the cave. "Rain, are you sure that there won''t be any issues?" Autumn Goose quietly asked Thoughtful Rain. It was not that she did not believe in Shi Feng. However, this plan was simply too dangerous. The slightest mistake could compromise their lives. If they lost a Level, it would become far more difficult to complete the quest. "I trust him," Thoughtful Rain said with confidence as she looked at the calm, composed Swordsman. Although she, too, had her doubts, when she looked at Shi Feng''s composure and confidence, she wanted to believe in the young man. She did not know why, but whenever she looked at Shi Feng''s figure, she thought of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, whom she had met only a few times before. Black Flame always tried something that everyone else thought was impossible. In the end, however, he always proved everyone wrong. Black Flame had become a legend in Zero Wing. Many members in the Guild admired him. "Hah whatever. It''s just one death," Autumn Goose sighed as she prepared herself to take a leap of faith. Even if the plan failed, she had a backup plan to help Thoughtful Rain and the others escape. As for Death Wind and Gunfire, they also prepared to die. After Shi Feng arranged the party''s positioning, he activated Windwalk and dashed towards the Icefire Cheetah. When Shi Feng was within 80 yards, the Icefire Cheetah woke, discovering the Swordsman immediately. It released a vicious growl. "Grrawr!" With its growl, the Icefire Cheetah, which stood over eight meters tall, spat scorching flames. Immediately, over a dozen massive Fireballs bombarded Shi Feng. "It''s over" When Thoughtful Rain and the others saw the dozen or so Fireballs, their hearts sank. Shi Feng could never dodge all of those attacks. However, before they could sigh, they saw a streak of blue light cut across the space before Shi Feng, slicing the massive Fireballs in half. 806 Difference in Weapons Chapter 806 - Difference in Weapons "This" Surprise flashed in everyone''s eyes as they watched Shi Feng. The Lord ranked monster''s Fireballs were extraordinary. Even from this distance, they could feel the power contained within those massive Fireballs. If they encountered one of those Fireballs, the blast from the impact would definitely send them flying. Yet, in front of Shi Feng, these massive Fireballs were as fragile as glass. With one hit, Shi Feng sliced apart every Fireball sent at him. The Icefire Cheetah''s attack hadn''t slowed Shi Feng in the slightest. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng was only 30 yards away from the Icefire Cheetah. "Grrr!" Seeing the impudent human approach, the Icefire Cheetah released an angry, deafening roar. Rather than attacking with its fire, its paws pushed off the ground. Instantly, the Level 44 Lord transformed into an afterimage as it pounced on Shi Feng. A Lord ranked monster''s Attributes were frightening enough. To add to the terror, the Icefire Cheetah was a speed-type Boss. It would only take the Icefire Cheetah an instant to cross the 30 yards. The Icefire Cheetah loomed like a three-story building as it appeared before Shi Feng. It swiped its razor-sharp claws at Shi Feng''s head. Boom! The hard, rocky ground beneath the Swordsman shattered and exploded, sending dust everywhere. Even Thoughtful Rain and the others, who stood roughly 100 yards away from Shi Feng, could feel the ground tremble. "Such high Strength!" Autumn Goose was shocked when she saw the flying rocks. "Is that a Level 44 Lord ranked monster?" Death Wind''s expression grew serious. Previously, he thought he could, more or less, cope with the Icefire Cheetah''s attack. Now, however, even with a healer, he would only last a few hits. Moreover, not only was the Icefire Cheetah''s Strength absurd, but its speed also astonishing. He would have an extremely difficult time trying to dodge the Lord''s attacks. "Death Wind, hurry and attract the Crystal Giants'' attention! Everyone else, head for the cave as quickly as possible!" Shi Feng''s voice suddenly burst into the team chat. The team was shocked to hear it. They had not expected Shi Feng to still be alive after taking the Icefire Cheetah''s attack. "How did he evade that attack?!" When the dust settled, Gunfire''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Shi Feng actually stood beside the Icefire Cheetah''s claws, completely unharmed. The Lord''s attack had only created a massive crater beneath its feet. The Icefire Cheetah was incredibly quick. Even Gunfire had failed to catch a clear look before the Lord''s claws landed. If even his eyes had trouble keeping up with the monster, he would have no hope of evading its attacks. Yet, without a doubt, Shi Feng had done just that. At this moment, however, everyone shoved away their shock as they charged towards the cave. Death Wind immediately cast Crowd Mock on the Crystal Giants, attracting the dozen or so Special Elites'' aggro. The Crystal Giants were not speed-type monsters. Rather, they relied on their Strength. Their movements were relatively slow. Although ordinary players would still find it difficult to evade the Crystal Giants'' attacks, an expert like Death Wind could easily evade simultaneous the attacks of two or three Crystal Giants. Even if he could not dodge, he could block them with his shield. Meanwhile, Thoughtful Rain cast Ice Walls and Ice Spheres to limit the Giants'' movement, allowing the others to shake off the Special Elites and head into the cave. "Such immense power!" There were too many Crystal Giants. For a time, even Death Wind struggled to cope with the attacks he was receiving, and he was forced to defend with his shield. However, the instant a Crystal Giant''s fist struck his shield, the impact forced Death Wind to retreat by four steps before he steadied himself, a damage of over -800 points appearing above his head. "Why are these Crystal Giants so strong?" Autumn Goose wore a solemn expression when she saw the damage above Death Wind''s head. Death Wind was a Level 35 Shield Warrior with over 14,000 HP. He was also fully geared with Level 30 top-tier equipment. Even his shield was a Level 30 Dark-Gold ranked shield. The Shield Warrior had also learned plenty of Passive Skills that increased his Defense. Death Wind would lose around 200 HP when he blocked an attack from a Level 35 Special Elite with his shield. Now, the Level 43 Crystal Giant dealt over -800 damage with one punch. Its Strength could rival a Level 35 Chieftain. If Death Wind failed to block or dodge the attack, the Shield Warrior would only last three or four hits. Autumn Goose''s gaze shifted towards the distant Shi Feng once more. Currently, Shi Feng was tanking a Level 44 Lord. If even a Level 43 Special Elite was so strong, just how horrific was the Lord? However, even now, the Icefire Cheetah had yet to land a single hit on Shi Feng. If she or anyone else tried to tank the Lord, the Icefire Cheetah would have long since claimed their lives. She never thought that there was such a massive gap between them Autumn Goose and the others did not realize that Shi Feng was actually struggling. One could say that he was on thin ice with every move. Shi Feng''s Attributes were very high. However, he was only Level 39. The Icefire Cheetah, on the other hand, was Level 44. Moreover, it was a Lord ranked monster. Previously, when Shi Feng had faced the Level 50 Special Elite Blood Warrior, he only managed to defeat it after using all of his strength. The Icefire Cheetah was much stronger than the Blood Warrior. Not only did it possess higher Strength, but it was also significantly faster. If not for his reaching the Void Realm and accurately predicting the Cheetah''s attack trajectories, the Level 44 Lord would have already shredded Shi Feng to pieces. Of course, Shi Feng had the ability to suppress the Icefire Cheetah. He just needed to activate his Berserk Skill. Unfortunately, Berserk Skills'' Cooldowns were too long. On the off chance that they encountered danger later on, without the trump card of a Berserk Skill, they would be easy prey. Aside from Berserk Skills, he could also summon a Tier 2 Demon with the Bible of Darkness. With a Tier 2 Demon acting as a meat shield, killing the Icefire Cheetah would not be a problem. However, doing so would reveal the Bible of Darkness to outsiders. He could not use it casually. Moreover, as a veteran gamer who had adventured in God''s Domain for over a decade, he knew how important it was to maintain his peak state. Currently, his job was to hold the Icefire Cheetah back, not to kill it. He had no reason to go all-out. This should be enough. While dodging, Shi Feng glanced towards the other party members, noticing that they had almost reached the cave. He then began to move towards the cave as well. After everyone entered the cave, and Shi Feng shook off the Icefire Cheetah Death Wind blocked the Crystal Giants and the quickly approaching Crystal Wolves. The rest of the party members then launched their own attacks. The cave was cramped, so only three Crystal Giants could attack the Shield Warrior at a time. Even if Death Wind blocked the attacks with his shield, the Cleric Blue Bamboo could heal him in time and keep his HP full. "So hard!" Autumn Goose felt her hands numb as she hacked her greatsword at a Crystal Giant. Meanwhile, the Crystal Giant she attacked only received around -1,300 damage. "This Defense could rival a Lord ranked monster''s." As for Gunfire, his damage was around the same as Autumn Goose''s. His normal attacks only dealt around -1,200 damage. Only with his Skills could he deal over -2,000 damage. Among the party members, Thoughtful Rain was the most awkward. As these monsters were Elemental Beings, their Magic Resistance was quite high. Despite her top-tier equipment, her Spells dealt less than -1,000 damage. Only Tier 1 Skills were slightly more effective. Peng! The crack of crystal echoed throughout the cave, and the players shifted their gazes towards the sound''s origin. A damage of -5,458 points appeared above the head of a Crystal Giant. A deep groove had appeared on the Special Elite''s hard crystal exterior 807 War Spirit Possession Chapter 807 - War Spirit Possession "How can his Attack Power be so high?" Autumn Goose and the others were momentarily stunned. Despite wearing top-tier equipment, their attacks barely scratched the Crystal Giants. These monsters'' Defense was so high that their weapons couldn''t injure the Special Elites. Yet, not only had Shi Feng''s attack dealt a frightening amount of damage, but it had also wounded the monster, decreasing its combat power. However, before Autumn Goose and the others could recover from their surprise, Shi Feng executed Chop on the Crystal Giant. Three arcs of blue sword light converged to a single point and flew towards the Crystal Giant. The attack even sliced apart space, a black seam appearing along the sword light''s trail. When the black seam encountered the Crystal Giant, the Special Elite''s crystal exterior shattered. Shi Feng''s sword passed through the Crystal Giant''s body as if it were air. Without any resistance whatsoever, the weapon cleaved through one side of the monster''s body. -9,462! This damage hadn''t been the result of a critical hit. This damage was simply from Shi Feng''s Skill. Immediately, a large chunk of the Crystal Giant''s HP vanished. Moreover, due to the injury from the attack, the Crystal Giant''s movements became somewhat sluggish. After a brief fight, the Crystal Giant, which had 510,000 HP, fell to the ground, dropping a piece of equipment and several materials. Everyone in the party also received a bounty of EXP. Meanwhile, the Crystal Giant that Death Wind and the other party members fought still had over half of its HP. The difference between Shi Feng''s damage and theirs was obvious with a glance. "Is he even human?! How is his damage so high?!" Autumn Goose exclaimed when she glanced at Crystal Giant. Shi Feng''s damage was several times higher than theirs combined. Moreover, he easily defeated the Crystal Giant without receiving any help at all. Even in the Wind God''s Spear, they would be hard-pressed to find such a strong player. "I told you that Big Brother Ye Feng is very strong, yet none of you believed me! You get it now, right?" Blue Bamboo said proudly as she puffed her chest, acting as Shi Feng''s achievement were her own. Seeing her friend''s behavior, Thoughtful Rain shook her head and smiled bitterly. However, Shi Feng''s performance had been satisfying. Previously, Autumn Goose and the others had continuously advised her to leave Zero Wing. Moreover, they had insisted that she would improve slower in the Guild than if she joined the Wind God''s Spear and that their organization''s experts were far stronger. However, Shi Feng''s performance proved them wrong. With this, Autumn Goose and the others would most likely stop trying to persuade her to leave Zero Wing. "Is this the strength of a Zero Wing expert?" Gunfire was stunned after watching Shi Feng''s performance. He was considered one of the top ranking experts in the organization. He had even killed many Guild experts during his time in the Dark Night Empire. However, if he compared himself to Shi Feng, the difference between them was practically the difference between heaven and earth. He could not bring himself to believe that a player could be so powerful. First, Shi Feng had tanked a Level 44 Lord. Now, Shi Feng swiftly defeated a Level 43 Special Elite by himself. Both the Swordsman''s combat techniques and his Basic Attributes were far more powerful than his own. With such a powerful DPS player like Shi Feng in the party, they could clear out the Crystal Giants and Crystal Wolves far faster. In less than half an hour, the Giants and Wolves inside the cave had died, leaving behind all sorts of weapons, equipment, and materials. "We''re leveling so fast. I will usually need to grind for two or three hours to earn this much EXP. If we continue grinding at this pace, I''ll reach Level 36 within a day." Autumn Goose''s excitement grew as she looked at her own EXP bar. Players could use Mounts once they reached Level 40. At that time, she would not have to waste so much time running about. She could also explore new places, reducing her competition over resources. The other party members also received a huge boost to their EXP bars. Their leveling speed here was at least two or three times faster than their usual leveling speed. To Shi Feng, however, the EXP he obtained from killing the Crystal Giants and Crystal Wolves was not nearly enough. He was Level 39 already. Moreover, he required double the normal EXP to level up. The EXP these Special Elites and Common monsters provided barely moved his EXP bar. "Huh? There''s a Skill Book here!" Death Wind stated when he noticed a thick, glowing golden book on the ground. Picking it up, he exclaimed, "A Berserk Skill Book! We''ve hit the jackpot!" The main method to learn Skills in God''s Domain was by visiting NPC instructors; players also learned Skills by purchasing them with Legacy Skill Points or obtaining Skill Books. The Skills that instructors offered were general. Their strength was also subpar at best. However, one could learn a large variety of Skills with this method. Meanwhile, although the Skills one purchased with Legacy Points were very powerful, it was extremely difficult to obtain Legacy Points. Normally, players only obtained them by leveling up. As for Skills learned from Skill Books, they were generally quite powerful. Some were even stronger than Legacy Skills. In the current God''s Domain, a player''s strength did not only depend on weapons and equipment. Skills were very important as well. It was especially true for Berserk Skills. If an elite player learned a Berserk Skill, they could contend with expert players; they might even be able to defeat them. If an expert player learned a Berserk Skill, they could defeat top-tier experts who lacked their own Berserk Skill. They could also hold off a Lord ranked monster of the same Level for a short time. Hence, Berserk Skills were incredibly valuable in God''s Domain. Unfortunately, Berserk Skills were even rarer than top-tier Dark-Gold Equipment. On the market, a single Berserk Skill Book could cost several hundred Gold. This fascinated countless players. If they could obtain an extremely powerful Berserk Skill, they could easily sell it for hundreds of Gold to a large Guild. However, players were rarely willing to sell their Berserk Skills. Even now, the powerful Wind God''s Spear only had two players with Berserk Skills. "Big Brother Wind, what kind of Berserk Skill is it?" Blue Bamboo asked, her eyes practically glowing. "Is it for magical classes?" When the others heard this, they glanced at the golden Skill Book as well. They were all curious about the Skill Book. "It''s a melee class Berserk Skill called War Spirit Possession," Death Wind said. He then displayed the Skill''s introduction to the party chat. [War Spirit Possession] Allows a heroic spirit to possess a melee class for a short period. When activated, decreases all Skill Cooldowns by 30%, increases damage by 20%, Strength by 90%, Agility by 50%, and Endurance by 50% for 60 seconds. Cooldown: 8 hours (Cannot be stacked with other Attribute-increasing Skills.) "Such a powerful Berserk Skill!" Many in the party fell speechless after reading the Skill''s details. Generally, a Berserk Skill only increased one Attribute. Berserk Skills that covered multiple Attributes were extremely rare. This Skill Book excited Autumn Goose, Death Wind, and Gunfire, who were all melee classes. On the other hand, Blue Bamboo and Thoughtful Rain were slightly disappointed. With this Berserk Skill, questing by themselves or fighting other players would become much easier. "Don''t just focus on the Skill Book. There''s still a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest here," Shi Feng informed the others as he pointed towards the large, golden Treasure Chest that sat deep inside the cave. 808 Ye Feng’s Invitation Chapter 808 - Ye Feng''s Invitation "A Fine-Gold Treasure Chest?!" Hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone spun towards the distant, glowing altar. Five crystal pillars stood around the altar, glowing a faint blue. A golden Treasure Chest sat above the altar. Next to the Treasure Chest sat a massive, pitch-black egg. Runes decorated the egg''s surface, and a faint, white mist flowed into it. "Rain, that should be the item you''re looking for," Autumn Goose said as she pointed towards the egg. Due to the quest''s introduction, the team knew that the quest would award a Mount. That giant, sealed egg was the reason for their visit to the Crystal Forest. "That should be the one." Thoughtful Rain nodded. However, when she looked at the altar, her expression darkened slightly. A faint, blue barrier enveloped the altar. An NPC also stood next to the altar with his eyes closed. If one used an Identification Skill on this NPC, they would discover that he was actually a Level 100, Tier 3 Illusionist. [Gerard] (Illusionist) Level 100 HP 8,000,000/8,000,000 The indicator above this Illusionist was red, informing players that this Tier 3 NPC was an enemy. A Tier 3 class was the equivalent of a Great Lord of the same Level. Although NPCs had far less HP than Great Lords of the same Level, players would rather deal with a Great Lord than a Tier 3 NPC. Furthermore, the Illusionist before them was a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC. The instant everyone noticed Gerard''s presence, they felt a weight land on their shoulders. A gloomy atmosphere descended on them, sabotaging their earlier joy of finding the Berserk Skill. "Are we supposed to defeat him?" Blue Bamboo asked softly as she pointed at Gerard, worried that her voice would attract the NPC''s attention. Nobody in the party had an answer to the Cleric''s question. If they had to defeat Gerard to complete this quest, then this trip had been in vain. Even a Level 100, Tier 1 NPC could beat them black and blue, much less a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC. The difference in Levels and Attributes was simply too massive. None of the equipment currently available in God''s Domain could make up for this gap. Just as everyone considered giving up "No. There should be a way to complete this quest," Shi Feng suddenly said through the party chat. "You have a plan?" Everyone turned to Shi Feng in surprise. Surviving Gerard''s attacks would be a miracle, not to mention stealing the giant egg he guarded. How could they possibly walk away with that egg? As far as they were concerned, this task was impossible. That was a level 100, Tier 3 NPC, not a Common monster. "Yes. That NPC is clearly maintaining the Defensive Magic Array and injecting most of his Mana into that giant egg. There are two possible outcomes if we approach him. In the first scenario,t Gerard gives up maintaining the magic array and attacks us, while in the second scenario, he continues to maintain the magic array, but summons a beast to deal with us. If that is the case, Gerard himself will be unable to move. If we interrupt his casting, the Defensive Magic Array will fail. "In either scenario, we have a chance to steal the egg as long as we interrupt the magic array. The only problem is delaying Gerald and creating an opportunity for one of us to steal the egg." Everyone nodded, agreeing with Shi Feng''s logic. "But which one of us will delay the NPC?" Autumn Goose asked. "Even if Big Brother Wind is a Shield Warrior, against a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC, he will die instantly. And which one of us will be responsible for stealing the egg?" Putting it bluntly, they did not even qualify as cannon fodder. How could they successfully steal the egg? "I can delay him for a short time. However, the person stealing the egg must be quick. If they''re not fast enough, this operation will fail," Shi Feng said after giving it some thought. With his current strength, he had no hope of defeating a Tier 3 Illusionist. Delaying one, however, was possible. Although Shi Feng had spoken softly, his words had dumbfounded his companions. They had a rough understanding of this Swordsman after witnessing Shi Feng''s actions and hearing what he had to say. He lived up to his words and was extremely trustworthy. Since Shi Feng had made the claim, it meant that he was confident that he could accomplish it. Otherwise, he would not have said anything at all. "But there are no speed-type classes among us. We won''t make it in time," Thoughtful Rain said, shaking her head. Setting aside magical classes and Shi Feng, who had to pin down the NPC, everyone else was a Warrior. They would be able to steal the egg fast enough. "Don''t we have the War Spirit Possession?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. The War Spirit Possession Skill increased a player''s Agility. Naturally, the player''s speed would also increase. Moreover, he had Speed Scrolls in his bag. With these, they should be able to reach the egg in time. "But this Skill Book is too valuable. Moreover, we have only come this far thanks to you, Ye Feng. Would you really be alright with letting outsiders learn the War Spirit Possession?" Autumn Goose asked awkwardly. The Berserk Skill was more valuable than top-tier equipment or weapons. "It''s just a Skill Book. If you feel so bad about it, why don''t you join Zero Wing? If experts like you join Zero Wing, you will be given a set of Dark-Gold Equipment. Receiving a Berserk Skill is also normal. Moreover, Zero Wing''s management is not strict. There aren''t many restrictions on our members. If you want to go out on an adventure or do a quest, the Guild will even provide with all sorts of assistance," Shi Feng offered, grinning. All three of these players, Autumn Goose, Death Wind, and Gunfire, exhibited remarkable combat standards. They only lacked some formal guidance. Otherwise, they could become a force to be reckoned with. Zero Wing had grown a lot stronger. However, it still had very few experts. If Autumn Goose and the others joined Zero Wing, it would undoubtedly make the Guild even stronger. Not to mention a mere Berserk Skill Book, Shi Feng was even willing to give each of them a Tier 1 Set Equipment if they joined the Guild. To other expert players, the War Spirit Possession might be precious, but to Zero Wing''s experts, it was nothing. Shi Feng could simply give them the Power of Darkness. Although the Power of Darkness did not provide as much of a boost as the War Spirit Possession did, its duration was far longer. Overall, the Power of Darkness was stronger than the War Spirit Possession by a large margin. Moreover, compared to several Berserk Skill Books, Shi Feng was more interested in the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. That Treasure Chest was even rarer than a Berserk Skill. After Shi Feng''s blatant attempt to recruit them, Autumn Goose and the others pondered their options for some time. Previously, they had felt nothing more than disdain for Guilds. However, after seeing Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo''s daily lifestyle in the game, in addition to the fact that Zero Wing was home to an expert like Shi Feng, their impressions of Zero Wing had changed significantly. Even an expert like Shi Feng was willing to help Thoughtful Rain with her quest. It was simply unthinkable in other Guilds. Moreover, Thoughtful Rain adventured with their group often. She had never been restricted. On the contrary, every time Thoughtful Rain joined them on a quest, she offered an abundance of useful information that she had obtained from her Guild. The information was usually out of their reach and had been incredibly convenient when they quested. In the end, after a serious discussion between the three, Autumn Goose walked up to Shi Feng with a solemn expression. 809 Power of a Tier 3 Chapter 809 - Power of a Tier 3 "Although we don''t think that joining Zero Wing would be a mistake, we have many friends in the Wind God''s Spear. Various Guilds are also targeting the Wind God''s Spear in the Dark Night Empire. It is not in a favorable position right now. We won''t abandon the Wind God''s Spear during such a crucial time, so please forgive us for rejecting your good will." Autumn Goose spoke with determination. Shi Feng could tell that the Berserker loved and was devoted to the organization. After all, they were all companions who had experienced life and death with each other. How could they abandon that for personal gain? If he were in their shoes, he wouldn''t do such a thing, either. Moreover, Autumn Goose understood that should they join Zero Wing, if they were seen fighting with the members of the Wind God''s Spear, those Guilds would turn to Zero Wing and cause trouble. Zero Wing would be dragged into the Wind God''s Spear''s mess. "I understand. If you wish to join a Guild in the future, please consider Zero Wing." Shi Feng nodded. "However, you cannot refuse the War Spirit Possession Skill Book. We cannot complete this quest without it." Shi Feng had understood that it would be very difficult to poach members from the Wind God''s Spear. After all, it was an organization of players that detested Guilds, to begin with. However, he had still wanted to try. He would take any opportunity he was given. After all, on the off chance he succeeded, he would make a huge profit. Meanwhile, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who had watched this from the side, were somewhat disappointed. If Autumn Goose and the others had joined Zero Wing, they would have a much easier time questing and adventuring together. Following which, after a brief discussion, it was decided that Autumn Goose would learn the War Spirit Possession. "Ah, right, take these," Shi Feng said. He retrieved five silver Magic Scrolls from his bag, handing them to his five party members. "Is this a Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll?" Death Wind could not help his shock after examining the Scroll. There were all kinds of Magic Scrolls in God''s Domain. Among them, the most precious were the Summoning Scrolls, although the Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls followed closely behind. Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls allowed players to teleport from one location to another, although it was limited. Players could travel 300 yards in the blink of an eye with a Tier 0 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll, 1,000 yards with a Tier 1 scroll, and 4,000 yards with a Tier 2 scroll. It was one of the best tools for retreat. However, these scrolls were extremely rare. Even Dungeon and Field Bosses rarely dropped them. Death Wind had only ever heard about such scrolls. On the market, one Tier 0 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll sold for more than 1 Gold, not to mention a Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll. Now that they had these scrolls, they could immediately escape the area once they obtained the egg. They could even avoid the Icefire Cheetah that still guarded the cave''s entrance. Autumn Goose and Gunfire were similarly speechless. "Big Brother Ye Feng, you''re rich! Can I mooch off of you in the future?" Blue Bamboo joked as she smiled at the Tier 1 Magic Scroll in her hands. "Blue!" Thoughtful Rain immediately flicked her friend''s forehead. To think that the girl was still in the mood to fool around at such a crucial time. "Begin the operation!" Upon seeing Autumn Goose in position, he charged towards Gerard the Illusionist. When he was 80 yards from the NPC, Gerard discovered Shi Feng''s presence. "Foolish fellows. You rush to your deaths. I''ll send all of you to hell!" Gerard smiled disdainfully as he swung his staff. Immediately, a black magic array appeared beside Gerard. A two-headed Hellhound launched itself from the magic array. "Are you kidding me?! A Level 100 Lord ranked monster?! Isn''t this cheating?!" Blue Bamboo''s jaw dropped when she saw the crimson Hellhound. A Tier 3 NPC was already enough trouble. Now, said NPC had summoned a Level 100 Lord. This was absurd. Everyone else''s expressions similarly darkened. "Heh." Shi Feng, however, only revealed a faint smile. The Hellhound hadn''t surprised him in the least. An Illusionist was a Tier 3 class. It was not unusual for one to summon a Tier 2 Lord. Powerful Illusionists were even capable of summoning Tier 3 Lords. A Tier 3 Illusionist was even more effective in battle than a Tier 3 Great Mage. Of course, while Illusionists were capable of summoning powerful monsters, they were very weak. After emerging from the magic array, the Hellhound opened its two mouths and spewed crimson flames. The fire engulfed over half of the cave, and any rock that these flames touched instantly turned into molten magma. At this time, Shi Feng activated Thunder God''s Descent, increasing his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 150%. He then transformed into a shadowy streak as he dodged the oncoming fire before continuing towards Gerard. By the time the Hellhound ceased its fiery attack, Shi Feng was less than 40 yards away from the Illusionist. Following which, Shi Feng activated Absolute Time, silencing Gerard and canceling his spell-casting. "Despicable ant! You dare to ruin my work!" Gerard grew enraged. However, under a Silenced state, even Gerard could not cast any Spells without leaving Absolute Time''s effective area. Suddenly, Shi Feng threw the Blazing Meteor in his hand. Flame God''s Fury! A streak of crimson light appeared before Gerard. Peng! "What?!" The party members exclaimed when the saw what had happened. Gerard had actually caught Shi Feng''s Blazing Meteor between his fingers Sure enough, the difference between our Attributes is simply too massive. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. However, he had already achieved his initial goal. Gerard focused solely on him. In the next moment, both Gerard and the Hellhound charged at Shi Feng. Both the Tier 3 Illusionist and the Hellhound''s Attributes were far higher than Shi Feng''s. Like a powerful gale, the two enemies closed the distance between themselves and Shi Feng. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng immediately swapped the Aura of Time for the Aura of Wind and activated Wind Rider. His speed soaring once more, he made a mad dash for the cave''s exit. Autumn Goose had also activated War Spirit Possession and dashed for the giant egg. However, Shi Feng''s situation was precarious. To avoid receiving the brunt of Gerard''s full strength, he had to remain inside Absolute Time''s field. Unfortunately, Shi Feng was slightly slower than the Hellhound. However, by relying on his understanding of the terrain, dodging the Lord''s direct attacks was still relatively easy. Only, the Hellhound''s attack range was quite long. In addition to the limited amount of space he had to dodge to, he received some splash damage from the Lord''s attacks. The flying rubble alone devoured nearly 2,000 of Shi Feng''s HP. He could only survive a few hits. Autumn Goose was extremely anxious. Upon arriving before the giant egg, she began to collect it. "Why is there a collection time?!" Autumn Goose''s anxiety jumped as she glanced at Shi Feng. While she had approached the giant egg, Shi Feng had lost one-quarter of his HP. If she delayed any longer, they would all be in extreme danger. Time seemed to crawl by. Autumn Goose had spent a total of three seconds collecting the giant, black egg. As for the locked Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, she simply chucked the thing into her bag. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had less than one-third of his HP remaining. "Damnable thieves! Don''t even think of leaving this place alive!" Discovering that the giant, black egg had been stolen, Gerard was furious. Waving his staff, he shattered the restriction Absolute Time placed on his magic power. Over a dozen silver-colored Elemental Balls appeared around his body before flying towards Autumn Goose and Shi Feng. "Go!" Shi Feng shouted sternly. He then unfurled his own Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll and vanished from the cave. 810 Zero Wing’s Horror Chapter 810 - Zero Wing''s Horror In a secluded, primitive forest, several figures suddenly appeared. As these figures appeared, a distant cave crumbled as a pillar of light shot into the sky. The frightening power that radiated from the pillar of light caused the air to stagnate. A long, terrifying roar echoed throughout the forest. These players finally realized just how truly terrifying a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC was. Astonishingly, Shi Feng had actually survived against the NPC for so long and escaped relatively unharmed. He was a monster. Autumn Goose, Death Wind, and Gunfire sighed. They had been given an opportunity to deepen their relationship with an expert as powerful as Shi Feng. If they had accepted his offer to join Zero Wing, the Swordsman might have even offered to tutor them. However, they had rejected his offer. "Quickly, use your Return Scrolls!" Shi Feng urged once he accounted for the whole team. Although the Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll was a powerful escape tool, their pursuer was a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC. Gerard would not let them get away easily. Hearing Shi Feng''s reminder, everyone quickly took out their Return Scrolls and began to activate them. The seconds ticked by. They were all on edge. If Gerard caught up to them, they wouldn''t have another chance to escape. Fortunately, the Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll had put quite a bit of distance between themselves and Gerard. Even if the Illusionist managed to escape the cave, he wouldn''t discover their exact location immediately. Sure enough, Gerard had not found them as they finished activating their Return Scrolls. --- White River City''s Teleportation Hall: "That was close. I thought we were dead for sure," Blue Bamboo said as she patted her chest. Even though she had returned to the city, some fear still lingered in her heart. A Level 100, Tier 3 NPC was practically invincible to current players. This had also been the first time she had ever seen a monster shatter a player''s attack. One could imagine just how vast the gap was between either side''s Attributes. Fortunately, they had completed their quest. As soon as Blue Bamboo finished speaking, a sound of a system notification reached their ears. System: You have been targeted by Gerard. If you cannot incubate and hatch the giant egg in three days, Gerard will discover your presence in any field map you venture to. If Gerard kills you, you will suffer a doubled death penalty and three days of a Weakened state. "Why is there another quest?" Thoughtful Rain frowned as she looked at the system notification. Her initial quest had been to retrieve the giant egg. Now, after so much trouble to accomplish that, she received another one. Moreover, the penalty for failure was considerably severe. If she failed this quest, a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC would hunt them down. Unfortunately, players at this stage of the game had no hope of killing this NPC. In other words, they would no longer be able to explore or level up if she failed. Autumn Goose and the others wore similarly horrified expressions. Although they had helped Thoughtful Rain, they had never expected to be held accountable for the quest as well. This was the first time they had encountered such a quest. They had experienced Gerard''s power personally. If they encountered Gerard in the fields, they would only find death. "Does the egg''s description include any incubation methods?" Shi Feng asked Autumn Goose. He had long since grown accustomed to such sudden developments. "Let me see" Autumn Goose hurriedly called up the giant egg''s information. "It says that we''ll need a large amount of Life Force to incubate this egg, which can only be obtained by killing Great Lords that are Level 40 or above." "How many do we need to kill?" Shi Feng asked. "Twenty!" Autumn Goose said helplessly. "Twenty?! This is a joke, right? We''re talking about Great Lords!" Blue Bamboo could not help but despair. Death Wind and Gunfire frowned as well. A Level 40 Great Lord was no laughing matter. Generally, each of these monsters required a raid team of 100 Level 40 players geared with top-tier equipment. Even then, any mistake could get them all killed. Even if they gathered such a team, raiding a single Great Lord would most likely require an entire day. The sacrifices they''d have to make were also staggering. No matter how one thought about it, it was impossible to raid twenty Level 40 Great Lords in three short days. First of all, Level 40 Great Lords were not that easy to find. Normally, these monsters only lurked in 100-man Team Dungeons. Even finding 20 Great Lords in the fields would take more than three days. How difficult was raiding a Level 40, 100-man Team Dungeon? Even now, the various large Guilds were still attempting to challenge the Hard Mode version of these Dungeons, not to mention Hell Mode. Even if they mobilized all of Wind God''s Spear, they could not complete this quest. While everyone struggled with their frustration and despair "It isn''t exactly impossible to complete this quest," Shi Feng said after giving it some thought. "However, I''ll need to prepare first. You guys should wait here for a while." Of course, it was impossible to kill a Level 40 Great Lord with the power of a 6-man party. However, a 20-man team might have a chance. "What? He even has a plan for this?" Gunfire watched Shi Feng''s departing back with doubtful eyes. Even Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who were in the same Guild as Shi Feng, were shocked. They had been talking about Level 40 Great Lords, yet Shi Feng spoke of them as if they were only Common monsters. After waiting for some time, they heard excitement spread throughout the Teleportation Hall. "Wah! Isn''t that Fire Dance from Zero Wing?!" "Look! That''s Zero Wing''s Vice-Leader, Aqua Rose!" The players inside the Teleportation Hall were stupefied when Fire Dance and the dozen or so Zero Wing core members entered the building. To ordinary players, these experts were basically legends. They lived in a completely different world. After the war in the Stoneclaw Mountains, players finally understood the power of a true expert. Zero Wing''s core members had long since become idols in White River City. How could these players contain their excitement as they finally saw these stars? "What?!" Blue Bamboo was dumbfounded when she saw Fire Dance and the others approach their party. These players were Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Every one of them was a top-tier expert in Star-Moon Kingdom, yet after a single call, they had hurried over. Even Violet Cloud, whom she admired greatly, was here. She could not believe this was happening. "Just who is Ye Feng?" Autumn Goose could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng. Death Wind and Gunfire were similarly shocked. They had still felt disdain and disinterest towards Guild experts. However, after seeing these experts from Zero Wing, they suddenly realized how little they knew. They could feel an intense pressure from each of these experts. Fire Dance, in particular, felt as if they stood before a humanoid Lord ranked monster. With a single glance from the Assassin, they trembled with fear. Their instincts screamed for them to run as far as they could from the Assassin. When these experts stood together, the combined pressure was overwhelming. The air in the Teleportation Hall was stifling. Even moving was a struggle. Moreover, they were not in combat. If they attempted to fight these Zero Wing experts They were certain that they would never escape these people''s grasp. "Alright, now that everyone has arrived, let''s begin the quest," Shi Feng said, chuckling. 811 Giant Beas Chapter 811 - Giant Beast White River City, War God''s Temple: For a long time, players had seldom visited this place. However, due to the appearance of the Abyss Battlefield, it had become a popular hub for players. "Independent team recruiting members! Those who want the Double EXP buff, come on over!" "Town reclamation team recruiting! Minimum requirement of Level 30! Equipment must be at least Mysterious-Iron rank! Must have reached the Trial Tower''s second floor! Noobs, do not disturb!" "Looking for players to carry me through the Abyss Battlefield! Five Silver for 100 Honor Points! Limited spots available! First come, first served!" Shortly after the new expansion pack launched, everyone had adapted to the new changes. Many players had already gained some experience of the playstyle in the Abyss Battlefield. Shi Feng was very surprised when he arrived. He had not expected everyone to adapt to the Abyss Battlefield so quickly. The Abyss Battlefield was a paradise for experts, particularly solo experts. Due to the Abyss Battlefield''s appearance, many solo experts had been able to shine brilliantly in the past, creating countless legends in God''s Domain. The Abyss Battlefield back then had also shortened the gap between independent players and Guild players. One of the main reasons for this was the EXP gain. Guild members could accumulate the Double EXP buff in their Guild Residences. Although the accumulated Double EXP buff did not seem like much, ordinary players could not fight for long periods. All players needed a break at some point, whether it was to repair their weapons and equipment or to recover their Concentration and Stamina. Overall, a large part of a player''s time in the game was spent resting. Hence, the difference the Double EXP buff created became significant. However, it was extremely difficult for independent players to accumulate the Double EXP buff. Aside from purchasing a house of their own in NPC cities, the only other option was to rest in a player-built city. This further highlighted the importance of the Abyss Battlefield. Players would earn Honor Points corresponding to their performance on the battlefield. They could trade those Honor Points for the Double EXP buff or potions. Powerful solo experts could easily earn a large number of Honor Points, and the Double EXP buff they could purchase was far more than Guild players. In addition, these solo experts were strong enough to kill monsters of a higher Level. Overall, solo experts were able to level only slightly slower than Guild experts. Aside from the EXP buff, Honor Points could also be traded for top-tier equipment. Although the equipment''s Attributes leaned more towards PvP, it was still valuable. The various large Guilds also took advantage of the Abyss Battlefield to grind for top-tier equipment. There were many Bosses in the Abyss Battlefield. Every town that monsters conquered would contain multiple Bosses. The weakest among these Bosses were Lords, while most were Great Lords. Some towns were even protected by High Lords or Mythic monsters. Guilds didn''t need to look far to find Field Bosses. However, although there were many advantages to the Abyss Battlefield, it had its downsides as well. Every player who entered the Battlefield was allotted one life each day. In addition, the monsters dropped neither materials nor money; they only dropped weapons and equipment. If one''s goal was purely to obtain top-tier equipment, the Abyss Battlefield was the perfect place for them. Shi Feng led his team into the Abyss Battlefield. After entering the Abyss Battlefield, players were transported to the human race''s campsite. As soon as Shi Feng and the others arrived, they were greeted by a sea of players. White River City''s players weren''t the only ones who had gathered at this campsite. Players had arrived from every city in Star-Moon Kingdom. They were all gearing up and preparing to set out. However, as this was a battlefield, one could see wandering Abyssal monsters in every direction. Players generally formed 100-man groups in the Abyss Battlefield. That way, they had a higher chance of survival. After all, the longer they remained alive, the more opportunities they would have to earn Honor Points. "This run has been the best! I earned 500 points during this run! I can afford a Basic Double EXP Potion! I''ll get 10% of the Double EXP buff with that. I might be able to reach Level 32 by the end of the day!" "That''s nothing. I heard that the players in Heaven''s Burial''s main army have conquered a town. With the Honor Points they earned, they can purchase three Basic Double EXP Potions! For those that perform well, they might even earn enough points to buy a Basic Body Strengthening Potion!" "Wow! That much?! One of those potions could improve my Attributes by 10% and reduce my Stamina consumption by 15% for two hours. The Basic Body Strengthening Potion costs five times as much as the Basic Double EXP potion!" "What did you think? They cleared out the Abyssal monsters of an entire town! Naturally, they received a ton of Honor Points. The various Guilds are dispatching their armies to clear out these monster towns. With enough Basic Body Strengthening Potions, raiding Dungeons will be a breeze. It''s a pity that my Guild is so small. We are nowhere near strong enough to clear out a town." The players around the campsite chatted as they stood in line to repair their weapons and equipment. They envied the players who had joined large Guilds. Unlike those players, they had to accumulate Honor Points slowly by killing wandering Abyssal monsters in the Abyss Battlefield''s outermost regions. "Let''s go." Shi Feng opened the Battlefield''s map. After examining it for a moment, he headed towards the nearest small, ruined city. "Wow, those guys got guts. They are leaving the campsite with just a 20-man team. Are they tired of living?" "I think they''re experts." "So what if they''re experts? Once they start fighting, they''ll learn that even experts are useless here. Moreover, didn''t you see which direction they went? They are heading towards South Lake City. None of the players who have gone there have returned alive." The players resting at the campsite fell into a heated discussion when they saw Shi Feng''s group of cloaked figures. The Abyss Battlefield was comprised of various regions. Different regions had different threat levels. The outermost region was the safest. However, there were far fewer monsters here. Players could not earn many Honor Points with so few targets. More monsters wandered around the outer region of towns, most being Elites with a few Chieftains thrown in the mix. Ordinary players who ventured into these areas quickly lost their lives. However, one could earn quite a sum of Honor Points if they survived. Monsters were abundant inside a town. There were also plenty of Lord ranked monsters present. Sometimes, even Great Lords would appear in towns. A party of players would find it very difficult to survive. As for small cities, these were considered monster nests. When players entered the city, their Attributes were suppressed immediately. Generally, Great Lords guarded these small cities. Sometimes, one even encountered a Mythic monster. Even a 100-man elite team would find it very difficult to survive here. Grand Lords generally ruled over medium cities, and players had a very high possibility of encountering a Mythic monster. In large-sized cities, players were guaranteed to find a Mythic monster waiting for them. Even a Guild-organized 1,000-man army risked a one-way trip by attempting to challenge these locations. Naturally, Shi Feng understood the Battlefield''s layout. He was far more familiar with the Battlefield''s rules than any other player. To grind for Great Lords, towns were the safest choice. However, Shi Feng had a time limit. Hence, he had no choice but to pick a small city. After traveling for over two hours, Shi Feng and the others finally arrived at South Lake City. The entire city had become a nest for Abyssal monsters. One could smell the rich scent of blood from the city''s edge. "Is that a Grand Lord?" Autumn Goose''s heart pounded when she saw the giant monster, which was over 100 meters long, hovering above the city. 812 Siege Chapter 812 - Siege "How can a monster be so massive?!" Every member of the party was flabbergasted as the watched the massive figure in the sky. This was a Bone Dragon with a body that stretched over a hundred meters and a wingspan that covered over two hundred meters. As its name suggested, its entire body was made of bone. Its massive skeletal head loomed like a small mountain. Smoldering green fire danced in its hollow eye sockets. The Bone Dragon created storms with every flap of its skeletal wings. [Frost Bone Dragon] (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 45 HP 64,000,000/64,000,000 This was the first time Autumn Goose and her companions had ever seen a Grand Lord, and they stared, struggling to breathe. The Frost Bone Dragon had a staggering 64,000,000 HP. However, this was not the Bone Dragon''s biggest threat. At the rank of Grand Lord, a monster could inflict a powerful mental pressure, preventing players from exerting their full strength. "That thing can probably instant-kill me with its breath attack." Gunfire involuntarily gulped as he watched the Bone Dragon circle above the city. "Are we really going to kill monsters here? There are too many!" Blue Bamboo asked worriedly as she glanced at the sea of Abyssal monsters within the city walls. [Skeleton Soldier] (Undead, Elite) Level 42 HP 140,000/140,000 These Skeleton Soldiers bore a shield and weapon in each hand. They also stood together in large groups with over a hundred other Skeleton Soldiers. If they fought one of those skeleton squads, it was highly likely that they would attract even more Skeleton Soldiers. Skeleton Captains also roamed the city. [Skeleton Captain] (Undead, Chieftain) Level 42 HP 1,300,000/1,300,000 If they fought here, an endless stream of monsters could easily surround them. Their chances of survival would plummet. "Why don''t we check somewhere else?" Autumn Goose suggested. They could deal with these numbers if they were merely Common monsters. However, the weakest monster in the city was an Elite. Chieftains even called this city home. Even a 20-man team had little hope of surviving this place. Although they knew Shi Feng and the others were quite strong, the Skeleton Captains were not isolated. From where they stood, they could spot as many as six Captains. Who knew how many more would appear once they started fighting? It was simply too dangerous to fight here. "Relax. You guys just need to watch from the sidelines." Shi Feng laughed, not bothering to explain. After stabilizing their mental states, Fire Dance and the others burst into action. Ordinary experts might struggle against this sea of monsters. To Zero Wing''s core members, however, this wasn''t even a challenge. This was a paradise! Fire Dance and Flying Shadow charged into the crowd of Skeleton Soldiers, luring the Elite monsters. Meanwhile, Minor Wind and the other ranged classes launched their bombardment from a distance. Immediately, they had attracted the attention of nearly 800 Skeleton Soldiers and three Skeleton Captains. Autumn Goose and her friends'' anxiety mounted. The army of Skeleton Soldiers and the three-meter-tall Skeleton Captains that wore black, thorny armor, seemed to have an unstoppable momentum as they charged to meet Zero Wing''s group. Death Wind, who stood between his team and the monsters, felt a massive pressure weigh him down. Just as the Skeleton Soldiers were about to reach the team, Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove made their move. Justice Roar! Angry Howl! The three MTs tore the aggro from the small team and forced the monsters to focus on them. "Take this!" Cola raised his flaming Divine Bluefire Shield and bashed it into the approaching crowd. Boom! With one hit, the MT sent the leading Skeleton Soldiers into a backward tumble. Cola then used Devotion, and a golden glow blossomed over an area of 15*15 yards, a damage of around -500 points appearing above the head of every Skeleton Soldier. As for Turtledove and Ye Wumian, they also dominated over their opponents. With each crash, they knocked down a group of Skeleton Soldiers. When they used an AOE Skill, they devoured hundreds of HP from several dozen Soldiers. The three MTs stood like an iron wall as they blocked the undead''s advance. The three Skeleton Captains had just as much trouble. Even against the Chieftains'' attacks, Cola and the others did not retreat by a single step. They dodged the majority of the attacks sent at them, launching counterattacks and dealing over -2,000 damage to each Chieftain. "So strong!" Gunfire could not help his shock. Not only could these three MTs hold back the hundreds of Elite monsters and three Chieftains, but they also dodged most of the incoming attacks, barely losing any HP. "They should''ve stabilized the aggro by now. Let''s start attacking as well," Blackie said excitedly. As Blackie spoke, he activated Stars of Light. Aqua Rose also used the Tier 1 Spell, Death and Decay. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had switched to the Aura of Fire and activated Firestorm. At this time, Cola and the others suddenly stomped the three Skeleton Captains, causing all three to lose their balance and fall to the ground. Immediately after, the three MTs retreated. In the next moment, the area before Cola and the others transformed into hell itself. Huge stars fell from the sky, black smoke emerged from the ground, and fire erupted into the air. The ground shook as if the end of the world had arrived. Boom Boom Boom After several seconds, most of the 800 or so Skeleton Soldiers had been annihilated. The three Skeleton Captains had lost close to half of their HP. Everyone''s level bars exploded with EXP. Blue Bamboo even leveled up on the spot, climbing from Level 34 to Level 35. At this time, Cola and the others slammed their shields into the three Skeleton Captains and began building their aggro once more. Meanwhile, Shadow Sword and Rampant Blade used Charge and appeared before a Skeleton Captain. They then swung their greatswords at the Chieftain''s joints, momentarily freezing the Captain''s movement. Two critical damages of over -5,000 points appeared above the Chieftain''s head. As for Fire Dance, she appeared behind another Skeleton Captain and used Absolute Strike. -28,467! Fire Dance immediately followed up with a Backstab, her attack triggering Thousand Transformations'' Critical Point effect. The Fragmented Legendary Weapon then transformed into a streak of silver light as it pierced and shattered the Skeleton Captain''s sturdy armor. A frightening damage of -19,482 points appeared above the Skeleton Captain''s head. "Is she even human?" Fire Dance''s damage shocked Autumn Goose and her team. Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were also shocked into silence. This was their first time they had seen their Guild''s upper echelons grind monsters. The difference between the way they normally grinded was like the difference between heaven and earth. In a Party Dungeon, a Chieftain ranked monster was a Boss. In front of Fire Dance, however, it was no different than a Common monster. Not a single one of Fire Dance''s attacks dealt less than -10,000 damage Under the continuous bombardment of Zero Wing''s core members, the three Skeleton Captains had not even had a chance to land a finger on Cola and the other two MTs. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud, one of the team''s healers, had become one of the main damage dealers. Each of her numerous Mana Balls dealt over -600 damage to the Skeleton Captains. As a result, the Chieftain''s HPs fell at a rate visible to the naked eye. After just 20 seconds, the three Skeleton Captains and the remaining Skeleton Soldiers crumbled to the ground, transforming into piles of bones and dropping several pieces of equipment. They also granted every player with a significant amount of EXP. 813 Frightening Leveling Speed Chapter 813 - Frightening Leveling Speed Seeing the scattered bones and their rapidly rising experience bars, Autumn Goose and the others were at a loss for words. Facing hundreds of Level 42 Elites and three Level 42 Chieftains would be a challenge even for a 100-man team of Level 40 elite players. Now, however, a dozen or so players had easily defeated these monsters Although they had realized that there was a gap between them and Zero Wing''s core members, this battle made it clear just how wide that gap was. "This grinding and leveling speed is amazing. I wish we could level like this every day." Blue Bamboo sighed as she looked at her experience bar. She had gained more EXP in less than a minute than she usually obtained after two hours of grinding. They were leveling faster than a rocket. Moreover, the speed at which they were earning money was simply ridiculous. In less than one minute, they had gained six pieces of equipment. Nowadays, in God''s Domain, the higher a monster''s level was, the lower its drop-rate for equipment would be. They had killed many Level 40 monsters before. Even when they killed Level 40 Elites, they rarely obtained any equipment. Only Level 40 Chieftains were certain to drop equipment. Even then, they usually only dropped one or two pieces. Among the six pieces of equipment they had obtained, four were Level 40 Bronze Equipment, and two were Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Although they were not pieces of top-tier equipment, they could sell for quite a bit of money. Even after splitting the profits among the team, they would earn more than what an ordinary player earned in a single day. Shi Feng had intended to split the loot equally. However, Autumn Goose and the others rejected the offer. After all, they had not done anything; they also were not members of Zero Wing. They already felt uncomfortable about receiving a share of such a lucrative amount of EXP despite not contributing. As for Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, the two girls similarly rejected the offer. In the end, Shi Feng had no choice but to pass the equipment to Aqua Rose to store in the Guild Warehouse. "Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, Minor Wind, lure the monsters. We''ll clear the city''s borders before we enter the city itself," Shi Feng commanded after he finished collecting the drops. In the Abyss Battlefield, the basic strategy to capture a city was to eliminate the monsters in the outer edge. If they did not take care of the minions outside the city, once they started fighting in the city, a single roar from a Boss could very well attract every single minion. The monsters would surround them, greatly increasing their chances of wiping. Hence, it was important to annihilate the monsters outside the city first. Moreover, in the Abyss Battlefield, monsters in towns and cities had long respawn times. They didn''t have to worry about endless respawning. They also wouldn''t have to waste a lot of time getting out of the city. Following which, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, and Minor Wind lured wave after wave of monsters towards Cola and the others. After the MTs had built up their aggro with the Skeleton Captains, Shi Feng would use Firestorm. Anyone else who possessed AOE Skills would join him with their own attacks, finishing off the Skeleton Soldiers quickly. Afterward, everyone would focus their attacks on the Chieftain ranked Skeleton Captains. The team finished off a wave of monsters every five minutes, rapidly filling their experience bars. After three hours of hard work, Autumn Goose and the others reached Level 35, whereas Blue Bamboo reached Level 36. The five felt as if they were dreaming as they watched their absurd leveling speed. "We''re leveling so fast. I''m the same level as the boss now." Gunfire was flabbergasted by his own Level. Autumn Goose and Death Wind had similar reactions. Even expert players needed to grind for two or three days just to reach their Level. It should be known that there were 48 hours in a single day in God''s Domain. Now, however, they had only taken three hours to level up. Their leveling speed was ridiculous. Furthermore, the monsters outside the city were no threat to Zero Wing''s members at all. Finally, after grinding for over nine hours, the team had managed to kill all the Abyssal monsters in South Lake City''s outer region. Meanwhile, Thoughtful Rain and the others had reached Level 37, whereas Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, and the other members of Zero Wing had reached Level 39. As for Shi Feng, he had reached 81% of Level 39. He was only 19% away from the Level 40 threshold. After clearing out the monsters from the city''s north side, Shi Feng led everyone into the city. South Lake City was far more dangerous inside its walls than it was outside. Abyssal monsters had a hierarchy. The lowest monsters generally lived in the outermost regions. As players ventured deeper into a city, they would encounter higher ranked and stronger monsters. Rather than increasing inside the city, the concentration of monsters decreased significantly. However, it was not difficult to spot the Skeleton Warriors that roamed the city streets. [Skeleton Warrior] (Undead, Special Elite) Level 42 HP 550,000/550,000 The city was also home to plenty of Skeleton Captains. Even a Level 40, 100-man elite team would have to be extremely careful upon arriving here. One mistake could attract hundreds of Skeleton Warriors and seven or eight Skeleton Captains, leaving the team surrounded. Fortunately, Zero Wing''s core members would have little trouble handling such a situation. They could defeat a monster army of such size with relative ease. However, Shi Feng''s goal was not to level up, but to kill Great Lords. Hence, he prioritized scouting the city over grinding. "I''ve discovered a Great Lord over here!" Flying Shadow, who used Stealth to scout the city, reported through the team chat. "I''m in the city plaza. Only, there is another team of players fighting the Great Lord right now." "Who are they?" Shi Feng asked, surprised. The others were surprised and curious as well. South Lake City was many times more dangerous than monster towns in the Abyss Battlefield. Even a Level 40, 100-man elite team had to be extremely careful here. Their team had spent so much time clearing out the monsters around the city, yet someone had gotten ahead of them and had already begun killing a Great Lord "They''re a 100-man team. These people are wearing a Guild Emblem, so they should be the main force of some Guild," Flying Shadow reported as he observed the situation. "The lowest leveled player is Level 34, while the commander is level 36. Currently, they''ve dropped the Great Lord''s HP by a third and have yet to suffer any losses." Field Great Lords were different from Dungeon Great Lords. They were a lot stronger. However, they did have a little less HP. The fact that the team had taken one-third of a Level 40-plus Great Lord''s HP without losing a single member showed that the team was extraordinarily strong. "Hold on; I''ll send you their battle video." Flying Shadow then started recording a short video before sharing it with the team. "I''ve never seen their Guild Emblem before. I don''t think that it''s a Star-Moon Kingdom Guild. However, the fact that they can handle a Great Lord this well shows that the Guild is certainly not ordinary." Upon receiving the video, they watched the short clip of this Guild in battle. In the video, the corpses of Abyssal monsters filled the wide fountain plaza. Meanwhile, a group of players faced a giant skeleton. The giant skeleton stood over ten meters tall. The skeleton wore black, heavy armor and wielded two massive war axes. [Skeleton General] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 43 HP 18,000,000/18,000,000 The Skeleton General brandished its war axes madly, each swing causing the earth to tremble. However, the players fighting the Skeleton General were very coordinated. Their MTs guided the Skeleton General''s attacks to an area void of other people. Meanwhile, the healers and ranged damage dealers responded when and how they needed to, decreasing the Great Lord''s HP continuously. Overall, the players were quite organized. This is interesting. I hadn''t expected to meet them in a place like this. Shi Feng''s lips curled up into a faint smile after seeing the players in the video. 814 Legendary Guild Chapter 814 - Legendary Guild "These people have relatively good combat standards and equipment, but why haven''t I heard of this Guild before?" Even after wracking her mind, Aqua Rose could not figure out which Guild these players were from. The Skeleton General displayed frightening power. Not only did it possess extremely high Strength, but it was also very fast. Even for Cola, tanking this Great Lord would be a burden. Although these players did not possess an MT like Cola, who had extremely high Defense and Strength, they made up for the lack of strength with the cooperation of four MTs. The team''s damage dealers also kept the Boss in check. This made it possible to raid the Skeleton General. Moreover, the team''s damage dealers and healers were very powerful. Almost all of them dealt over -1,000 damage with each attack, causing the Skeleton General''s HP to decrease slowly but steadily. It was only a matter of time before they defeated the Great Lord. No ordinary Guild was capable of such a feat. Generally, only the experts of famous large Guilds could raid a Level 43 Great Lord so easily. However, Aqua Rose knew nearly every famous Guild in the virtual gaming world, but she had never seen this Guild Emblem before. "Look, that Skeleton General seems to be summoning a companion!" Cola shouted as he watched the surrounding monsters gather towards Skeleton General, who stood in the plaza''s heart with a grim expression. The others were also shocked. They had not expected the Boss inside the city to have a such a move. With this, killing the Skeleton General would be far more difficult. After all, one was already required to go all-out against a Great Lord. More monsters joining the fray might become the last straw that broke the camel''s back. Everyone finally understood why Shi Feng had them clear out the surrounding monsters while on their way, rather than avoiding confrontation. "This Boss is too overpowered! It has lured another Great Lord!" Flying Shadow, who hid in the plaza, stated as he watched the blurry figure fly straight towards the Skeleton Warrior. [Agonizing Banshee] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 40 HP 17,000,000/17,000,000 Although the Agonizing Banshee had less HP than the Skeleton General, it was a magical class monster. It posed more of a threat than the first undead. The instant the Agonizing Banshee arrived, she released a piercing screech, forcing over a dozen players into a Confused state; these players lost all control over their bodies as they began behaving like raving lunatics. The sudden development was precarious for the team. "Let''s head over and take a look," Shi Feng said, laughing as he watched the Agonizing Banshee massacre the team of players. It was not unusual that Aqua Rose had not heard of this Guild. After all, the Guild wasn''t famous; it was an upstart Guild. The Guild''s name was Immortal Light. Immortal Light was based in the Twin Towers Kingdom. The Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom were adjacent to each other. Hence, Shi Feng knew quite a bit about the Twin Towers Kingdom. Although Immortal Light was only an upstart Guild, it had performed exceedingly well in the competition for dominance over the Twin Towers Kingdom. It had stolen over a dozen cities from the first-rate Guild, Emperor''s Light, going as far as to occupy the third largest city in the Twin Towers Kingdom. In Shi Feng''s previous life, Immortal Light had been one of Shadow''s allies. However, Immortal Light was much stronger than Shadow had been. In God''s Domain, it was very difficult for a small Guild to survive. Hence, these Guilds needed to work together. However, Immortal Light was different from Shadow. After ten years of development in God''s Domain, it had become a first-rate Guild and had occupied over half of the Twin Towers Kingdom. It had even dominated various cities in other kingdoms. Back then, it had developed into a Guild that could rival even Ouroboros. Meanwhile, Immortal Light''s Guild Leader, Sinned Heart, was a very famous expert in God''s Domain. He had been one of God''s Domain''s Twelve Sacred Elementalists in the past. Immortal Light also had several other Tier 5 experts. Even Ouroboros and Emperor''s Light had not dared to provoke the Guild in the past. One could say that Immortal Light had been a legend in the Twin Towers Kingdom. In just a few years, a no-name Guild had gone from an organization without any background or backing to a huge existence in the virtual gaming world, which even first-rate Guilds feared and respected. The difficulty of such a feat was unimaginable. Shi Feng never imagined that he would actually encounter this Guild so soon. "Do you know them?" Fire Dance asked curiously. She understood Shi Feng quite well. He would not attack someone unless they attacked him first. In addition, his pride as an expert would not allow him to steal a Boss from a stranger. Even if he wanted the Boss, he would simply wait for the two Great Lords to annihilate the other team. However, since Shi Feng chose to approach the battle, it was likely that he knew the Guild. "Something like that," Shi Feng replied vaguely, not knowing how to answer this question. In the past, he had been acquainted with this group from Immortal Light. In this life, however, they did not know him. --- Above the wide plaza, two Great Lords and dozens of Skeleton Warriors faced down the 100-man team. "Split up the Bosses. Rangers, kite the minions," the team''s leader, Sinned Heart, shouted. He would not let his confidence waver even though his team now had to fight two Great Lords simultaneously. On the contrary, he remained extraordinarily calm as he commanded the battle. "Guild Leader, that Agonizing Banshee''s AOE Spells are too powerful! We''ve already lost eight people!" "Thousand Leisures, lead your group and follow me! We''ll suppress the Banshee together! Everyone else, focus on the Skeleton General!" Even Sinned Heart was helpless against the Banshee''s Shadow Sweep attack. He could only lead a contingent to distract the Great Lord. Immediately, with Sinned Heart at the lead, ten players activated a Barrier Magic Array around the Agonizing Banshee, trapping the Great Lord behind a purple barrier. "Narrow the magic array''s area!" Sinned Heart shouted as he watched the Banshee resist. Quickly, the ten players controlling the magic array shrank the magic array, sealing the Agonizing Banshee inside a small, purple globe and preventing the Great Lord from moving. "Guild Leader, someone''s heading this way!" "How are there other people here?!" At this moment, even Sinned Heart grew anxious. To surely kill the Skeleton General, they had even used their most precious Barrier Magic Array. They could not afford any more surprises. --- "This Guild is quite impressive. They have an Intermediate Magic Array as well," Aqua Rose stated when she saw the hovering, purple ball. She could estimate the barrier''s strength with a single glance. Currently, in God''s Domain, being able to obtain a Basic Magic Array was quite a feat. One could probably count the number of Intermediate Magic Arrays players had found on one hand. Yet, now, an unknown Guild employed their own. The Guild clearly had an extraordinary background. "Friend, if you are interested in these two Great Lords, why don''t we take them on together and split the loot equally?" Sinned Heart shouted. Although the group that had just arrived only consisted of twenty players, the fact that this small group had made it this far spoke of their extraordinary strength. Without knowing Shi Feng and his team''s motives, Sinned Heart was unwilling to give up on the Great Lords. Hence, he might as well make them an offer. After all, even if Shi Feng''s team were strong, they could not handle two Great Lords at once. "Guild Leader, I think they''re from Zero Wing!" "What?! Zero Wing?! Isn''t that Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild?!" The players from Immortal Light were instantly on edge, wearing grim expressions. 815 Zero Wing Takes Action Chapter 815 - Zero Wing Takes Action "Why are they here?" Sinned Heart was shocked when he saw Shi Feng and his team. Even in the Twin Towers Kingdom, Zero Wing was resoundingly famous. Starting out as a small Guild, Zero Wing had faced down the various large Guilds in White River City, becoming White River City''s overlord. Later on, it successfully repelled the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, a super-first-rate Guild. However, this was not Zero Wing''s greatest achievement. Afterward, Zero Wing had occupied Stone Forest Town and won a war against the joint forces of the Star Alliance, a first-rate Guild and their various allies, instantly becoming the most sought-after Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. In addition, Zero Wing was a Guild of experts. Its Guild Leader, Black Flame, even ranked 51st on the God''s Domain Experts List and had been given the title of "Sword King." A recently-established Guild like Immortal Light could not possibly compete with a Guild like Zero Wing. "Those people are Zero Wing''s upper echelons." "Look! That''s Aqua Rose! Fire Dance is here as well! Look over there! Isn''t that Violet Cloud, Cola, Turtledove, Minor Wind, Shadow Sword, Blackie, and Ye Wumian?!" "Why are so many of Zero Wing''s experts here?" Immortal Light''s members panicked for a moment. Aqua Rose and the others were all publicly-acknowledged, top-tier experts. One of them could exterminate a 100-man elite team by themselves. "Hahaha! I never thought our Guild would be so famous! Even a Guild from another kingdom knows us!" Blue Bamboo could not help her pride as when she saw the Immortal Light''s collective anxiety. "I wonder when my name will be as famous as Big Sis Fire''s and the others''?" Fire Dance and her fellow echelons couldn''t help but laugh when they heard Blue Bamboo''s excitement. In reality, even they had never imagined that they would, one day, become famous experts in God''s Domain. Before they had met Shi Feng, they had never dreamed of such a thing. Now, however, they were targets for players'' admiration. Is Zero Wing really such an amazing Guild? When Autumn Goose overheard the Immortal Light''s members, she was shocked. She and her companions were independent players from the faraway Dark Night Empire. Hence, they had only heard rumors of Zero Wing''s strength through the forums. They had never witnessed the Guild in action. In their opinion, however, even the large Guilds in the Dark Night Empire were subpar at best. Hence, how strong could a Guild from a kingdom possibly be? However, after witnessing these players'' performance, they had a clearer understanding of the Guild''s strength. They felt that Zero Wing was different from those large guilds in the Dark Night Empire. Yet, it would seem that Zero Wing was far more powerful than Blue Bamboo and the official forums made it out to be. "Guild Leader Sinned, rest assured; we aren''t here to steal your Bosses. However, we won''t help you with these Bosses, either. If you can''t handle them, give up. We''ll take over from here," Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he responded to Sinned Heart''s proposal. Level 40-plus Great Lords were not easy to find, even in the Abyss Battlefield. Moreover, a Great Lord dropped far better loot than a Lord. Monsters of such rank generally dropped top-tier equipment. Even in Zero Wing, Level 40 top-tier equipment was still quite rare. Hence, he could not afford to split the drops. Hearing Shi Feng''s answer, a huge weight lifted from Sinned Heart''s heart. Zero Wing was the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Guild''s upper echelons would not break their word easily. "Thank you," Sinned Heart said with heartfelt gratitude. Following which, Sinned Heart commanded his team to focus on the Skeleton General, which only had 60% of its HP remaining. The Agonizing Banshee was still trapped inside the Intermediate Magic Array, so it was possible to kill the Skeleton General. Time passed quickly. Finally, Immortal Light''s members reduced the Skeleton General''s HP to 30%. "Be careful! The Skeleton General is about to go berserk!" Sinned Heart hurriedly reminded his team. Immortal Light''s MTs began to prepare, activating their Lifesaving Skills. The healers at the rear also readied themselves. "Humans, I will devour you!" the Skeleton General shouted, its eyes releasing a bloody radiance. Suddenly, the Skeleton General split into three copies of itself. All three were identical, even down to their HP bars. "Amazing, this Skeleton General actually knows a duplication Skill!" Aqua Rose exclaimed. Among the many Bosses they had encountered, very few could duplicate themselves. Any Bosses capable of such a feat were extremely difficult to fight. Suddenly dealing with two additional Bosses could destroy a team''s formation and rhythm. If not handled properly, it would not take long for the team to suffer annihilation. "They''re in trouble," Fire Dance stated as she glanced at the three Skeleton Generals. Each General radiated the same pressure. This meant that all three Skeleton Generals had the same combat power. It had taken almost everything the Immortal Light members had to deal with the one Skeleton General. Now, they had to take down three such monsters simultaneously While Zero Wing''s members discussed the situation among themselves Several Immortal Light MTs were thrown into the air. Until now, the team had relied on the combined strength of three or four MTs to defend against the Skeleton General''s attacks. Now that they had to fight three Great Lords at the same time, their MTs had to split up. As a result, they didn''t have enough strength to tank the Bosses. In ten short seconds, Immortal Light lost another eight members. "Guild Leader, at this rate, we''ll most likely wipe!" "How did things come to this?!" Sinned Heart balled his fists, frustration filling his heart. They had already lacked enough members to deal with the Skeleton General. Furthermore, to deal with the Agonizing Banshee, they had been forced to split their team and pull ten members away from the main fight. Now that the General had split into three, they didn''t have nearly enough strength to face the Boss. A single attack from one of the Great Lords could obliterate over 7,000 HP from one of their MTs. If the MTs did not block the attack with their shields, they might die instantly "Retreat!" Sinned Heart commanded, gnashing his teeth. If they wasted any more time, none of them would leave this place alive. If they retreated now, at the very least, half of their numbers might survive. "They can''t hold on anymore," Blackie chuckled. "Let''s go, then," Shi Feng said. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Zero Wing''s members exploded into action. Cola and Ye Wumian charged at the fully regenerated Skeleton General, whereas Turtledove made her way towards the Agonizing Banshee. "We''re going in now?" Autumn Goose and the others were momentarily stunned, thinking that they had heard wrong. Although Immortal Light''s members had already left, there were still two Great Lords in the plaza. What could they possibly do with a team of 20 players? "What are they trying to do?" The members of Immortal Light, who had escaped, were even more flabbergasted. Zero Wing''s team had far too few members. Furthermore, to deal with the two Great Lords, their team of twenty had to split itself. This was insane! Just as Autumn Goose, Thoughtful Rain, and the others struggled against their daze, the battle against the two Great Lords had begun. Cola sent a Shield of Vengeance at the Skeleton General, taking more than 2,000 of the Great Lord''s HP. He then followed up with a Hammer of Sanctions, eliminating another 3,000-plus HP and focusing the Great Lord''s aggro on himself. Facing the Skeleton General''s Quick Blow, Cola raised his shield and received the attack. He was immediately forced to retreat by six steps, both his hands numbing slightly. A damage of over -3,000 points appeared above his head. However, to Cola, who had over 18,000 HP, this damage was acceptable. "That''s a lot of Strength. I can use this opportunity to test a move that I recently learned." Cola smiled. Seeing another of the Skeleton General''s battle axes swiftly approach, he lifted his shield, blocking and pushing against the attack. As the attack sent Cola backward, he only lost around 1,700 HP, far less than the previous attack. Very quickly, Violet Cloud recovered his HP to full. "Let''s also begin," Aqua Rose said as she smiled at the Agonizing Banshee. She then used Bluefire Summon. Immediately, three Bluefire Crows appeared on the battlefield and assisted Turtledove against the Agonizing Banshee. 816 Bullying a Great Lord Chapter 816 - Bullying a Great Lord "What a powerful Summoning Skill!" Autumn Goose and the others were shocked when they saw Aqua Rose''s three Level 39 Elite ranked Bluefire Crows. Generally, Summoners could only summon one Elite or a few Common monsters. Aqua Rose, however, had summoned three Elite monsters at one time. This was the equivalent of adding three powerful melee fighters to their team. Turtledove threw her shield at the Agonizing Banshee, slamming it into the Banshee''s head. Not only did this attack interrupt the Great Lord''s Tier 2 Spell casting, but it also achieved a critical hit, dealing nearly -5,000 damage. The Agonizing Banshee was enraged. She pointed a finger at Turtledove. Immediately, eight Black Fog Spears shot towards the Guardian Knight. These Black Fog Spears had significantly damaged the Immortal Light members when they had faced her. As the spears were incredibly powerful, even when the Immortal Light''s MTs blocked the attack with their shields, they had lost nearly 4,000 HP. Worse yet, the Banshee had launched eight of these spears. Even an MT would lose their life if they received four or five spears. "That won''t work against me!" Turtledove declared. Rather than retreating, she charged towards the Black Fog Spears. Just before the spears reached her, Turtledove raised her shield and leaped forward, smashing into one of the Black Fog Spears. The remaining spears simply flew past Turtledove''s body, missing her completely. Boom! Upon collision, Turtledove was forced back by two steps. She lost nearly 1,800 HP. In the next moment, however, a Healing Light touched the Guardian Knight, returning her HP to full status immediately. "That is an MT from Zero Wing?" Sinned Heart was astonished as he watched Turtledove handle the Agonizing Banshee''s attacks so gracefully. When their strongest MT blocked one of the Black Fog Spears, he had lost over 3,400 HP instantly. In addition, due to the incredible speed of the spears, he hadn''t been able to avoid the following attacks in time. Generally, he would receive roughly three spears, destroying more than half of his HP. On the other hand, Turtledove had neutralized the Black Fog Spears with such ease. The other Immortal Light members were similarly stupefied when they saw Turtledove tank a Great Lord by herself. None of them could believe their eyes. Normally, they needed at least four or five MTs to rotate tanking a single Great Lord. Even so, there were times when they failed to hold the Boss. Turtledove was definitely stronger than they were. However, the members of Immortal Light did not know that Turtledove currently wore a Tier 1 Set Equipment. Her plate armor was even Epic rank. Although equipping the Divine Frost Armor had caused Turtledove to lose the final set effect of the Yin-Yang Walker Set Equipment, the former not only reduced the damage she took, but one of its Passive Skills also reduced the Agonizing Banshee''s Movement Speed and Attack Speed. Although the Black Fog Spears were quite fast, Turtledove could easily determine the best evasion route with the speed reduction effect. Moreover, Turtledove was a Guardian Knight. Her Magic Resistance was very high. With over 18,000 HP, she could even survive a direct hit from a Tier 2 Spell. Very quickly, Cola and Turtledove had pinned down the two Great Lords. Now, everyone just needed to focus everything they had on two Bosses. "Are those monsters really Great Lords?" Blue Bamboo felt as if she were dreaming as she watched Turtledove tank the Agonizing Banshee without assistance. Even now, she alone had maintained Turtledove''s HP at full. Normally, when she raided High Lords with Autumn Goose and the others, they needed at least three healers to focus on a single MT. Even so, their heals were not always sufficient. Yet, despite facing a Great Lord, only she was the only necessary healer to keep Turtledove alive Autumn Goose also wondered if the Agonizing Banshee seemed very weak. She even doubted that the MT needed her assistance as she focused solely on damage. However, Autumn Goose was very aware The Agonizing Banshee was not weak at all. Rather, Zero Wing''s members were just that strong, which resulted in such a misconception. Only now did she understand why Shi Feng had been so confident, why all of these experts from Zero Wing were so confident. Now that the MTs had solidified their hold on the Bosses, Zero Wing''s members had no issue dealing sufficient damage. The Assassin class relied on speed to deal massive amounts of damage over time. Fire Dance, however, played the class differently. Standing behind the Skeleton General, Fire Dance launched streak after streak of silver light at the Great Lord. Despite the Skeleton General''s incredible defense, the female Assassin''s damage was mind-boggling. -9,480. -30,121. -16,916. -20,518. Shi Feng''s damage was also impressive. None of his attacks dealt less than -6,000 damage. From time to time, his Chop achieved a critical hit, dealing over -20,000 damage with a single attack. As for the other melee classes like Shadow Sword and Rampant Blade, they never dealt less than -3,000 damage. With their powers combined, these several players devoured the Skeleton General''s HP of 18,000,000 at a rate visible to the naked eye. "Are they even human?" The Immortal Light members were astonished. The total damage Shi Feng, Fire Dance, Shadow Sword, Rampant Blade, Blackie, and a few other core members of Zero Wing dealt was higher than their 100-man team''s total damage. Previously, their attacks had only dealt over -1,000 damage to the Great Lord. Even Sinned Heart, the most powerful player on the team, had only dealt over -2,000 damage to the Skeleton General. Shi Feng and Fire Dance, however, easily managed tens of thousands of damage. From time to time, they even dealt over -30,000 damage. Despite the Skeleton General and Agonizing Banshee being two daunting Great Lords, against Zero Wing, they were no different than helpless Common monsters. The two Bosses could only struggle against the small team of players. Even with its prided speed and Strength, the Skeleton General, in particular, rarely landed a hit on the Guardian Knight Cola due to Fire Dance and Shi Feng''s coordinated attacks. Even when the Great Lord used a Tier 2 Skill, Cola easily took the hit with a Lifesaving Skill. As for the team''s healers, aside from the slight pressure they felt when the Skeleton General used a powerful Skill, they needed to do so little to keep their companions alive that they had time to join the attack on the Great Lords In just five minutes, the Skeleton General''s HP fell to 30%. "Wumian, pin one of them down and leave the other to me! Everyone else, focus on the Skeleton General Cola is tanking!" Shi Feng shouted after seeing the Skeleton General begin to split itself into three clones. Although this move was quite powerful, all three copies shared the same HP. As long as they had enough players to tank the three Skeleton Generals, they could cope. As soon as the Skeleton General had completed its cloning, Ye Wumian lured one away. As for Shi Feng, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. After all was said and done, a Great Lord was still a Great Lord. Unlike MTs, Shi Feng did not possess any Damage Reduction Skills or very high Defense. He didn''t have a shield, either. If he wanted to withstand the Boss''s attacks, he had to rely on his own Strength. Unfortunately, he could not contend with a Level 43 Great Lord with his normal Strength Attribute. Only by activating a Berserk Skill could he pin a Skeleton General down by himself. Among the many Berserk Skills Shi Feng possessed, Heavenly Dragon''s Power had the shortest Cooldown, which was three hours. The Power of Darkness had a 6-hour Cooldown, whereas Blade Liberation had a 10-hour Cooldown. The last one also had side effects he needed to worry about. Hence, Dragon''s Power was Shi Feng''s best option. Moreover, Heavenly Dragon''s Power was his best-suited Berserk Skill for head-on confrontations. It was the best option against Bosses. 817 Suffocatingly Explosive Power Chapter 817 - Suffocatingly Explosive Power "What is he trying to do?" Sinned Heart and the others were confused as they watched Shi Feng charge towards a Skeleton General. No Swordsman could solo a Great Lord. Even a Berserker, a class famed for its Strength, would fly through the air if they tried to block a Great Lord''s attack with their weapons. Peng! Shi Feng used Killing Ray to block one of the Skeleton General''s descending battle axes. Sure enough, my Attributes aren''t high enough to deal with this Great Lord. The resulting impact had forced Shi Feng to retreat by three steps, his hand numbing slightly. Meanwhile, a damage of over -700 points appeared above his head. However, to Shi Feng, who had close to 50,000 HP after activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, such a small amount of damage was nothing. His battle recovery regenerated nearly 500 HP ever five seconds. Violet Cloud waved her staff, and immediately, a faint golden film blanketed Shi Feng''s body. Bluish-green Life Force flowed into the Swordsman. Suddenly, a Recovering status appeared over Shi Feng''s status bar, recovering over 1,600 HP every 1.5 seconds for 15 seconds. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng''s HP was full. Seeing that its first attack had failed, the Skeleton General swung its other battle axe at Shi Feng violently. Having predicted the Skeleton General''s attacks, Shi Feng sidestepped abruptly, using the Abyssal Blade to receive the descending battle axe while thrusting Killing Ray towards the Skeleton General''s armor. A streak of blue light flashed. Although Killing Ray could not compare to the Fragmented Legendary ranked Thousand Transformations, after equipping a Magic Device, its sharpness was only slightly weaker than the Thousand Transformations''. As a result, it easily pierced the Skeleton General''s robust armor. A critical damage of -15,824 points appeared above the Skeleton General''s head. The Great Lord bellowed, angry with the damage it had received. Suddenly, its battle axes released a strange, smoldering green flame as it swung the weapons at the ground. The ground instantly shattered, flames surging into the sky and covering a radius of 15 yards. Shi Feng had long since prepared for this moment; he jumped up and past the Skeleton General''s head. He then used one of Killing Ray''s Skills, Summon Lightning. Arcs of blue lightning descended and struck the Skeleton General''s battle axes. The collision''s impact was massive. Shi Feng then utilized the force of the impact to avoid the smoldering flames. He then activated Silent Steps and appeared behind the Skeleton General, the Sacred Sword in his hand releasing a dazzling, flaming glow. Flame Burst! Fifteen brilliant explosions discharged behind the Skeleton General, one after another. -48,167. -117,954. -49,715. Fifteen damages appeared above the General''s head, one after another. Killing Ray had a 50% critical rate. In the blink of an eye, the Skeleton General lost over 1,000,000 HP. For a time, Autumn Goose, Sinned Heart, and the others were speechless. They sucked in a breath of cold air, not believing their eyes. Shi Feng''s damage was insane. He had dealt over 1,000,000 HP! Even a Level 40 Chieftain only had so much HP. Shi Feng had the power to instant-kill a Level 40 Chieftain! This power was no longer that of a player. This was the power of a humanoid Great Lord. However, Shi Feng did not think much of his attack. After all, his Strength Attribute was almost on par with a Chieftain of the same Level. After Heavenly Dragon''s Power doubled his Strength, he surpassed ordinary Lords of the same Level. He had also used his Sure-kill Skill, Flame Burst. Being capable of instant-killing a Chieftain of the same Level was expected. Flame Burst was not called a Sure-kill Skill for no reason. Shi Feng''s Flame Burst had heavily wounded the Skeleton General. The Swordsman had destroyed nearly half of its armor. Several bones beneath the armor had even cracked. "Focus on killing my Skeleton General!" Shi Feng shouted to his team. Not only had the General lost some of its combat power after receiving the several injuries, but its Defense had also dropped significantly. Hence, dealing with this Skeleton General would be much easier than dealing with the other two. Sure enough, in less than one minute, the Skeleton General''s HP fell below 500,000. Just before the General died, Shi Feng shouted once more, commanding, "Everyone, switch to the Banshee! Turtledove, tank this Skeleton General!" "What is Big Brother Ye Feng trying to do?" Blue Bamboo asked, confused. If they finished off the Skeleton General, it would become much easier to deal with the Agonizing Banshee, yet Shi Feng decided not to kill the Skeleton General. No matter how she looked at it, the decision was unwise. Blue Bamboo wasn''t the only one who was confused. Experts like Thoughtful Rain and Autumn Goose didn''t understand, either. However, none of Zero Wing''s members doubted Shi Feng''s command. Immediately, they shifted their focus towards the Agonizing Banshee. Turtledove swapped targets with Shi Feng. However, the Agonizing Banshee couldn''t care less about the sudden change as it continued to attack Turtledove with Black Fog Spears. "I am your opponent!" Shi Feng appeared behind Turtledove, the Killing Ray transforming into numerous streaks of blue light. Peng! Peng! Peng! Players usually suffered heavy injuries if the Black Fog Spears struck them, yet Shi Feng easily shattered each one. "Is this an expert of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild?" Sinned Heart was astounded. He felt his chest tighten, struggling to breathe. Zero Wing was far more frightening than the rumors make the Guild out to be. It was no wonder why even Emperor''s Light, a first-rate Guild in the Twin Towers Kingdom, feared Zero Wing, choosing to give up in Star-Moon Kingdom entirely. After Shi Feng shattered the Black Fog Spears, he vanished, abruptly reappearing before the Agonizing Banshee. Arcs of blue electricity circled his body. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! For three seconds, Shi Feng''s Attack Speed increased by 500%, and his damage increased by 400%. Before the Agonizing Banshee could react, over a dozen streaks of blue light wrapped around her body. -21,046. -43,248. -42,987. In the blink of an eye, the Agonizing Banshee''s aggro shifted to Shi Feng. However, even though Shi Feng now held the Great Lord''s aggro, the situation had not changed. The Agonizing Banshee was a magical class monster. Even as a Great Lord, her Strength could not compare to Shi Feng''s while he had a Berserk Skill active. As the Banshee began to cast another Spell, Shi Feng struck, interrupting her casting. For three whole seconds, the Agonizing Banshee could not use a single Spell. Instead, she lost more than a million HP. Suddenly, Fire Dance appeared behind the Agonizing Banshee, launching a Sneak Attack at the back of the Great Lord''s head and forcing her into a Fainted state for two seconds. She then used the Tier 1 Skill, Five-star Burst. -16,718. -34,297. Five numbers appeared above the Agonizing Banshee''s head in quick succession, only slightly lower than the damage of Shi Feng''s normal attacks while in a Berserk state. Following which, the Agonizing Banshee received a one-sided beating, her HP draining like flowing water. When her HP reached 30%, the Great Lord was thoroughly enraged. As the Agonizing Banshee released a piercing scream, a massive black magic array appeared in the sky. Everyone immediately felt their strength leave their bodies. "Crap! This is Spell absorbs players'' Stamina!" Fire Dance immediately noticed the abnormality. If players ran out of Stamina, even with godlike combat power, they were helpless. At this rate, they''d run out of Stamina in 30 seconds. After that, they would be sheep for the slaughter. "Not today!" Shi Feng, who had long since prepared for such a situation, switched to the Aura of Time and activated Absolute Time, freezing the Mana fluctuations in the surrounding area. Although Absolute Time''s duration on a Great Lord was less than ten seconds, interrupting the Agonizing Banshee''s Mana channeling was enough. After losing its supply of Mana, the gigantic magic array in the sky gradually dissipated. Seeing this, the members of Immortal Light finally understood how presumptuous they had been, thinking that they could raid South Lake City''s Great Lords. Seconds flew by. Finally, both the Agonizing Banshee and Skeleton General''s HPs were below 100,000. Shi Feng activated Divine Providence, significantly increasing his Luck Attribute. He then used Thundering Flash to finish off the Agonizing Banshee, before following up with a Thunder Flame Explosion on the Skeleton General. After a momentary struggle, the Agonizing Banshee and the Skeleton General fell to the ground, one after the other, dropping several items around their bodies. 818 Abyss Se Chapter 818 - Abyss Set "It''s over?" Autumn Goose wondered if she were dreaming as she stared at the two fallen Great Lords before her. In the current God''s Domain, Great Lords struck fear into every player''s heart. Even a 100-man elite team, led by an expert, would find it extremely difficult to defeat one. They might even be annihilated. Yet, now, this team of twenty players had defeated two Great Lords simultaneously. Moreover, a few of the team members had held back. No matter how she looked at this situation, it simply could not be real. Looking at it now, Autumn Goose found that the Wind God''s Spear simply could not compare to Zero Wing in terms of strength. They lived in entirely different worlds. If not for Thoughtful Rain, they probably would never have met Shi Feng and the other core members of Zero Wing. When she thought back to how they had tried to persuade Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo to leave Zero Wing and join the Wind God''s Spear, she could not help her embarrassment. "Rain, hurry up and collect their Life Force. If you do not collect them within five minutes after the Great Lords die, you will lose your chance," Shi Feng hurriedly reminded his companion. Thoughtful Rain finally woke from her daze as she retrieved the giant, pitch-black egg and collected the Life Force of the two Great Lords. While Thoughtful Rain collected the dissipating Life Force Shi Feng gathered the loot the two Bosses had dropped. The two Great Lords had dropped a total of seven pieces of equipment. Although this did not seem much, in the Abyss Battlefield, this was a considerable harvest. It was easier to find high-ranking monsters in the Abyss Battlefield than it was elsewhere. Hence, the drop-rate of the top-ranking monsters had been reduced. With the increase in levels, monsters'' drop-rate for weapons and equipment also decreased. The drops this time are fairly nice. Joy surfaced on Shi Feng''s face after he finished appraising the items with his Omniscient Eyes. Among the seven pieces of equipment, five were Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. They had even obtained a piece of Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapon. [Ice Spirit Staff] (Staff, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 40 Attack Power +1,045 Strength +51, Agility +47, Intelligence +92, Vitality +87, Endurance +66 Casting Speed increased by 15%. Magic damage increased by 20%. Casting range +5 When casting, 20% chance to obtain the Power of Frost, causing 220% frost damage and reducing target''s Movement Speed by 30% for 5 seconds. Additional Passive Skill- Frost Blessing: Increases Ice-type Spell effects by 30%. Additional Active Skill- Waterfall: Causes 300% frost damage every second in a radius of 20 yards for 8 seconds, freezing everyone within range for 10 seconds. Effective radius increases by 10 yards every second. Cooldown: 3 hours Once Shi Feng shared the Ice Spirit Staff''s information in the team chat, everyone fell speechless. "Although the staff''s Basic Attributes are average at best, it increases all of them. Moreover, its Active Skill is insane!" "This is the first time I''ve seen a Skill that can cover a radius of 100 yards. Even Stars of Light can''t compare to this Waterfall." "If one uses Waterfall on a battlefield, it will devastate the enemy forces." "It''s a pity, though. It would be amazing if it were an Epic ranked staff." Large-scale destruction Spells were priceless treasures to every Guild in God''s Domain, not to mention Waterfall, a Spell with so much AOE range. On a battlefield, this Spell could easily wipe out several thousands of players. In a battle of ten or twenty thousand players, this Spell could decide the victor on its own. The Active Skill was worth more than an Epic item. Shi Feng chuckled as he watched everyone admire the Ice Spirit Staff''s Active Skill. Among the seven pieces of equipment and weapons, the Ice Spirit Staff''s Active Skill was astonishing. However, rather than the Ice Spirit Staff, what surprised Shi Feng was the dark gray breastplate. A faint, bloody glow surrounded the armor, giving the equipment a creepy feeling. Sure enough; Divine Providence is a godly Skill. Shi Feng could not help but sigh. He then shared the statistics of this item through the team chat. Upon seeing the breastplate''s Attributes, even the excellently-geared core members gasped. [Abyss Armor] (Breastplate) Level 40 - Level 60 Equipment Requirement: Strength 700 Defense +1,240 (Level 40) Magic Resistance +10 Strength +42, Endurance +40, Agility +35 [Abyss Set Equipment] Level 40 - Level 60 Equipment Requirement: Berserker Set consists of eight parts: head, shoulders, chest, hands, wrists, waist, legs, and feet. Set effect Two-piece effect: Increases all Attributes by 10%. Four-piece effect: All Skill damage increased by 20%, Attack Speed increased by 20%, and Movement Speed increased by 15%. Six-piece effect: Obtain Abyss Rampage Skill: Increases all Attributes by 100% and gain immunity to all control effects for 1 minute. Cooldown: 5 hours. Eight-piece effect: Obtain Blade of Abyss Skill: Transforms equipped weapon into the Blade of Abyss, increasing Strength Attribute by 300%, Attack Speed by 100%, and attack range by 10 yards for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 3 hours. "What a powerful Set!" Blackie nearly drooled when he read the Abyss Set Equipment''s information. The breastplate''s Basic Attributes were only the equivalent of a Dark-Gold item. However, as one obtained more pieces of the set, their combat power would grow exponentially. If one gathered all eight pieces, although the set''s Basic Attributes might not compare to Epic items, the boost it granted would only be slightly weaker than a set of Epic Equipment. "Of course, it is strong. This Set Equipment is purely intended to increase violence. Even the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Berserkers cannot compare to the Abyss Set. After reaching Tier 2 at Level 50, no Tier 1 Set Equipment will be able to compete with the Abyss Set," Shi Feng explained. The Abyss Set Equipment was the Battlefield''s representative equipment. Moreover, it was not exclusively for Berserkers. All classes had their own Abyss Sets, and their Attributes were all specialized for violence. These sets were extremely well-suited for PvP. However, the Abyss Sets drop-rates were extremely low. It was practically impossible to collect all eight set pieces for a single class. If one could collect six pieces of a set, they could increase their prowess in combat far more than with a Tier 1 Set Equipment. After all, the Tier 1 Set Equipment only consisted of five pieces. If one gathered all eight pieces of an Abyss Set, they would be practically invincible in PvP fights. "I wonder if we''ll gather a complete set." Aqua Rose was eager to find out. If they gathered all eight pieces and let either Rampant Blade or Shadow Sword equip the set, the Berserker''s abilities would soar, becoming one of the Guild''s top fighters. Most likely, aside from Shi Feng and Fire Dance, nobody in the Guild would be able to match them. "Alright, rest up. We''re going to look for the next Great Lord soon," Shi Feng commanded as he stored the equipment. Meanwhile, Immortal Light''s members, who had watched from a distance, had not recovered from their shock after watching Zero Wing easily defeat the two Great Lords. Their team of 100 had failed to defeat even one Great Lord, yet Zero Wing had taken two down at once with a team of 20. The difference between their Guilds was like the difference between heaven and earth. Sinned Heart suddenly said, "Follow me!" 819 City Deed Chapter 819 - City Deed "Huh? Why are they heading our way?" Aqua Rose asked when she saw the members of Immortal Light approach their team. Jokingly, she said, "Are they going to try to plunder our loot?" "If they try to rob us, I won''t mind giving them a final send-off," Fire Dance laughed as she unsheathed her Thousand Transformations that hung from her waist. Although the Immortal Light players were relatively strong, she was more than enough to annihilate their team. Moreover, she looked forward to the day someone tried to rob them. Previously, she had found plenty of inspiration during her time in the Dark Arena. This was the perfect opportunity to test some of her ideas. "They shouldn''t be that stupid. They should be able to tell the difference between our strength and theirs." Shi Feng laughed as he watched his teammates prepare for a fight. Sinned Heart would be one of the Twelve Sacred Elementalists of God''s Domain in the future. If he lacked the necessary insight to tell the difference in strength between their teams, he would never have been able to make Immortal Light a famous, first-rate Guild in the Twin Towers Kingdom. "Thank you for your help. If not for you guys holding off those two Great Lords, none of us would be alive right now," Sinned Heart immediately expressed his gratitude upon arriving before Zero Wing''s team, his tone containing a hint of respect. Sinned Heart''s expert companions also stared at Zero Wing''s members with reverence. The heavy pressure Fire Dance emitted, in particular, made them breathless. If these teams fought each other, they would most likely die in an instant. "It''s nothing." Shi Feng shrugged. "If you guys are looking for Great Lords, we can help," Sinned Heart offered. "On our way here, we encountered quite a number of Great Lords. Only, these Great Lords resided in concentrated areas. It''s highly likely that you''ll attract a second Great Lord while dealing with the first." Saying so, Sinned Heart sent Shi Feng the coordinates of those several Great Lords. "Thanks." Shi Feng rejoiced when he received the coordinates. Sinned Heart had given him the coordinates for seven Great Lords. This would save them a lot of time searching for these Bosses. "Glad to be of help." Sinned Heart smiled. "I don''t believe that you came over here just to give me these Great Lord''s locations., What''s on your mind?" Shi Feng asked. He could not help but laugh when he saw Sinned Heart''s hesitation. In the past, even he had looked up to Sinned Heart. Countless small Guilds had tried to gain Immortal Light''s favor, yet now, watching this man struggle with his desire to ask for help Shi Feng could not help but sigh. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Sinned Heart released his tension with a sigh of his own and said, "In truth, aside from thanking you for the help, I wanted to ask something of Zero Wing. Although this may be sudden, I don''t have any better options right now." "Guild Leader, are you really going to ask?" one of the Guild''s upper echelons asked with surprise. "If they refuse and news of this leaks, we''ll be in big trouble." "Do you think we have any other choice?" Sinned Heart grumbled, a deep sense of powerlessness touching his expression. He did not want to do this, either. However, he could not think of a better plan. Only after encountering Zero Wing and seeing how powerful the Guild was did he find hope. This might very well be their last opportunity to escape their dire situation. The other upper echelons fell silent. Although they wanted to argue their Guild Leader''s decision, they could not bring themselves to do so. However, this had certainly captured Shi Feng''s interest. He could understand if Sinned Heart simply wanted to form a connection with Zero Wing. However, for a prideful person like Sinned Heart to place all his hopes in a stranger, the situation must be severe. Moreover, Shi Feng was familiar with Sinned Heart''s personality. He was not someone who would simply bow out of a challenge. Even when Immortal Light had fought a first-rate Guild, Sinned Heart had refused to lower his head. He prioritized bonds and friendship over personal benefits. Otherwise, he would not have risked Immortal Light''s extinction just to help an allied Guild resist a first-rate Guild. God''s Domain was only a game. Shi Feng could not imagine what could cause someone like Sinned Heart to despair. "I wish to sell several plots of Land in the Twin Towers Kingdom. I will sell these Lands at 90% market price. I''d like to offer them to Zero Wing in exchange for Coins or top-tier equipment of the same value," Sinned Heart finally said after a long moment of silence. "Sell Land?" Shi Feng was curious. Since when had Sinned Heart become a Land broker? "If they''re rubbish Lands, Zero Wing is not interested." "Please rest assured; the Lands are in Snow Field City and have a lot of potential," Sinned Heart said as he took out several Snow Field City Deeds. "These are close to the Underground Arena, the Adventurer''s Association, the Auction House, and the War God''s Temple! Have you lost your minds?! You''re actually selling these?!" Blackie could not help his shock after seeing the Deeds. Currently, most of the Lands in major NPC cities with potential had been purchased already. It was extremely difficult to buy these Lands even if one could afford them. With God''s Domain''s blazing popularity, more people would join the game in the future. The value of these Lands would soar. In less than half a year, these Lands would be worth several times their current value. It was especially true for the Lands in Twin Towers Kingdom''s third-ranking city, Snow Field City. Yet, Immortal Light wanted to sell away these Lands, at 90% market price no less. This was simply inconceivable. "They are indeed good plots of Land. However, why are you trying to sell them to Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked. The Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom shared many aspects. Both were medium-sized kingdoms. Although Snow Field City was no match for White River City in terms of status, it was its Kingdom''s third-ranking city. Many organizations would offer a high price for these Lands. "This" Sinned Heart fell silent for a moment. Shortly after, he sighed and said, "It''s not that I don''t want to sell them, but nobody is willing to buy them." "Why? The value of these Lands will only increase in the future. Why doesn''t anyone want to purchase them?" Aqua Rose asked, slightly surprised. Even the Lands in the twentieth-ranking city in the Twin Towers Kingdom would be highly sought after, much less the valuable Lands in the third-ranking city. Aqua Rose had personally ventured to other Kingdoms to purchase several plots of Land for the Candlelight Trading Firm, so she understood how popular these Lands were. "Because none of them wish to earn the ire of the Super Guild King''s Return," Sinned Heart said helplessly. When Zero Wing''s members heard Sinned Heart''s words, they were dumbfounded. King''s Return was a veteran Super Guild. Even a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was nothing in comparison. Moreover, the King''s Return''s headquarters was in the Glory Empire, an empire located only a short distance away from Star-Moon Kingdom and the Twin Towers Kingdom. Shi Feng was similarly shocked by this revelation. A small Guild like Immortal Light had actually provoked a Super Guild like King''s Return. No matter how he thought about it, this shouldn''t be possible. Moreover, it would be child''s play for King''s Return to wipe Immortal Light out of existence. Immortal Light was no threat to the Super Guild at all. Gnashing his teeth, Sinned Heart stated, "I don''t want much for these five plots of Lands. I only ask for 13,000 Gold." 820 A Group of Lunatics Chapter 820 - A Group of Lunatics "Guild Leader!" Sinned Heart''s asking price shocked the several upper echelons he had with him. These were five high-potential, golden Lands! "I know what I''m doing!" Sinned Heart barked, having made up his mind. Originally, he had intended to raid Great Lords for some Level 40 top-tier equipment and sell the items. However, they were not strong enough to take down Level 40-plus Great Lords. The only option they had left to earn a large sum of Coins quickly was to sell these five plots of Land. However, they could not sell the Land to anyone in the Twin Towers Kingdom. King''s Return had already declared their stance in the Twin Towers Kingdom, and nobody was willing to provoke the Super Guild. However, with Zero Wing''s strength, even a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had been forced to back down. Hence, Zero Wing should not fear King''s Return at all. Moreover, only a large Guild like Zero Wing had the financial strength to spend 13,000 Gold. Zero Wing occupied a treasured land like the Stone Forest Town. The Magic Crystals and Coins the town generated could tempt even first-rate Guilds. Although there were Guilds in their kingdom that did not fear King''s Return, these Guilds would need a relatively long time to gather the required money. Unfortunately, Sinned Heart could not afford to wait. "Thirteen thousand Gold?" Shi Feng had never expected Sinned Heart to sell these Lands for so little. Based on the current market, these Lands were roughly worth 20,000 Gold. Even at that price, many people would fight over them. Now, however, Sinned Heart wanted to sell them for 13,000 Gold. Shi Feng could profit greatly if he bought them. Not to mention, Star-Moon Kingdom and the Twin Towers Kingdom were neighbors. These Lands could benefit Zero Wing when it expanded towards the Twin Towers Kingdom. It seems that Sinned Heart has been backed into a corner. Shi Feng could more or less understand Sinned Heart''s current predicament after seeing the man''s anxiety. In Shi Feng''s previous life, however, Immortal Light had never ceased to exist. This showed that King''s Return had not wiped out Immortal Light in the past. Moreover, he had never heard of King''s Return attacking Immortal Light. Immortal Light had most likely relied on itself to solve this problem. "Alright, we''ll buy these five plots of Land." Shi Feng nodded. "Only, we''ll need some time to prepare such a large sum. Why don''t we conduct the trade in three days?" "Three days?" Sinned Heart pondered for a moment. Quickly, his tense expression relaxed as he responded, "Thank you. I''ll visit Zero Wing personally." Following which, Sinned Heart led his Guild members away from South Lake City. "Guild Leader, are we really going to oppose King''s Return?" Aqua Rose asked Shi Feng through a private message. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could not compare to King''s Return. Moreover, Glory Empire was not far from Star-Moon Kingdom. Once Mounts were available in God''s Domain, the Super Guild''s threat to Zero Wing would not be a laughing matter. "Don''t worry. We''re just conducting business. If we stop doing business just because a Super Guild demanded it, we might as well give up competing for dominance over God''s Domain," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Moreover, this isn''t a major issue. If King''s Return were truly angry, it would have annihilated Immortal Light already. If the Super Guild struck, Immortal Light would have no power to resist." Sinned Heart had helped him in the past. Now, he was only returning the favor. Moreover, he could make a huge profit with this trade and secure Sinned Heart''s gratitude. If Sinned Heart owed him a debt, he might be able to poach Sinned Heart into Zero Wing in the future. Why wouldn''t he accept such an offer? "Indeed. If we can obtain those five plots of Land, the Candlelight Trading Firm can start its development in the Twin Towers Kingdom." Aqua Rose agreed with Shi Feng''s reason. Zero Wing was no longer the weak, little Guild it had been. If they cowered from a such a small issue, developing the Guild in the future would be a problem. If King''s Return truly wanted to deal with Zero Wing, it would have to consider its options carefully. The Super Guild was not powerful enough to annihilate Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom. Zero Wing really is amazing. They''re not even afraid of King''s Return? Death Wind had never imagined that Shi Feng would agree to Sinned Heart''s offer so decisively. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. The Wind God''s Spear was already impressive for standing up against the first-rate Guilds in the Dark Night Empire. However, Zero Wing was far more amazing. The Guild was not even afraid of the titans of the virtual gaming world. I wonder when the Wind God''s Spear will conduct itself like Zero Wing? Death Wind''s mind wandered. Maybe joining a Guild like Zero Wing isn''t a bad idea. At this moment, Autumn Goose envied Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. After Immortal Light departed, Shi Feng led the team on a hunt for more Great Lords. With the coordinates Sinned Heart had provided, the team quickly cleared a path towards these Great Lords. The Great Lords behind city walls were no challenge for Zero Wing''s core members. The only issue they encountered was their Berserk Skills'' Cooldowns. Fortunately, however, not every Great Lord required their Berserk Skills. For two days, Shi Feng and the others spent their time either killing Great Lords or clearing a path through random monsters towards Great Lords. Time passed leisurely as they learned more about each other. Over these two days, their experience bars had risen rapidly due to the large mobs of monsters they killed. Not only had Shi Feng reached Level 40, but Aqua Rose and the others had also hit Level 40. "This is the last one." Thoughtful Rain looked at the fallen Great Lord as she collected her twentieth Great Lord''s Life Force. "Oh? Not bad. We actually got another Abyss Set piece," Shi Feng said after appraising the three pieces of equipment he had picked up. Smiling, he said, "Now, we only need two more to complete the Abyss Set for Berserkers." Although he had used Divine Providence for every Great Lord they had killed during the past two days, the Abyss Set Equipment''s drop-rate was simply too low. Even with his boosted Luck Attribute, a limited number of pieces had dropped. Fortunately, the Great Lords in South Lake City only seemed to drop the Abyss Set for Berserkers. Otherwise, they would not have gathered six pieces. "Our job is finally done here." Autumn Goose released a sigh of relief after watching Thoughtful Rain collect the final Life Force. If not for Zero Wing''s help, they would never have killed twenty Level 40 Great Lords in three days. In the end, the Level 100, Tier 3 NPC would have hunted them down until they quit God''s Domain. However, after realizing that they had completed their quest, Autumn Goose was slightly disappointed. While grinding monsters and raiding Bosses with Shi Feng and his team, not only had they enjoyed chatting with each other, but she had also learned several techniques from Zero Wing''s core members. Now that their quest was complete, they would have to go their separate ways, and she could not help her slight reluctance. "Leader, since we have completed the quest, it''s time to deal with the other issue, right?" Fire Dance asked as she turned to the gigantic Bone Dragon in the sky, a glint of excitement flashing in her eyes. The rest of the team laughed at Fire Dance''s jubilance. It was definitely not their style to leave a Grand Lord alone. To avoid any unnecessary risks, they had avoided challenging the Frost Bone Dragon. Now that they had finished their main objective, however, they had to kill the Grand Lord. "That''s a Level 45 Grand Lord you''re talking about!" Autumn Goose could not believe that these members from Zero Wing actually considered raiding the Dragon. They were insane. "How can we possibly win against that with so few people?!" "It might have been impossible before, but it is definitely possible now," Shi Feng said, laughing. He then retrieved a dark-gold flute from his bag. Complex runes decorated the flute, and it emitted a faint pressure. 821 Demonic Flame Tiger Chapter 821 - Demonic Flame Tiger "Is it really possible?" Autumn Goose muttered doubtfully. Chills crawled down her spine despite the Frost Bone Dragon being so far away, her instincts constantly warning her of the danger. Every time the Bone Dragon flapped its massive wings, the sounds of explosions rang through the air. Even a fool could see the difference between the Grand Lord and a mere Great Lord. The two were on entirely different levels. Shi Feng understood this fact as well. The Frost Bone Dragon was South Lake City''s final Boss. Of course, it wouldn''t be an easy opponent. Fortunately, however, he had two powerful trump cards. They still had a chance of victory. Moreover, it wouldn''t be a major issue if they died. At worst, they would be teleported out of the Abyss Battlefield. They would not suffer the usual death penalties. Following which, Shi Feng played the dark gold flute, the sweet sound echoing throughout South Lake City. "Rawr!" With a roar, a golden magic array appeared before Shi Feng. Suddenly, a massive black tiger leaped out of the array. The massive tiger stood over four meters tall. Black flames covered its razor-sharp claws, exquisite black armor wrapped around its body. Just by standing there, the tiger''s flames increased the surrounding temperature significantly. The ground beneath its feet melted under the scorching heat. The tiger was too hot to approach. "What''s that?!" Everyone was stunned by the sudden appearance of the black, flaming beast. "It''s a Mount, of course." Shi Feng walked up to the giant tiger and rubbed the soft fur on its head. He was quite satisfied with his Mount. [Demonic Flame Tiger] (Dark-Gold Mount) Level 40 HP 1,020,000/1,020,000 In the past, the best Mount Shi Feng had ridden was only Fine-Gold rank. In this life, however, he had obtained a Dark-Gold Mount after killing Noya, a Guardian Boss in the Dark Den. Mounts were extremely useful to players in field battles, especially a Dark-Gold Mount. Even a Bronze Mount already possessed certain combat capabilities, assisting players in battle. After reaching Dark-Gold rank, the Mount was the equivalent of a Chieftain of the same Level. Although a Chieftain might not be anything to a top-tier expert, a Dark-Gold Mount''s true power did not lie in its damage dealing abilities. Such a thing was only useful to ordinary players. The true value of a Dark-Gold Mount lay in its Support Skills. Having a Dark-Gold Mount was the equivalent of having a player with Support Skills by one''s side. Sure enough, a Dark-Gold Mount''s Skills are very powerful. Shi Feng was slightly surprised after he examined the Demonic Flame Tiger''s Skill Menu. A Level 40 Fine-Gold Mount only had two Support Skills. One was single-target Skill, while the other was an AOE Skill. However, a Level 40 Dark-Gold Mount had three Support Skills, with one being a single-target Skill and the other two being AOE Skills. [Synergy] (Passive Skill) While within 100 yards of the Demonic Flame Tiger, all Attributes of owner increase by 10%. [Battle Roar] The Demonic Flame Tiger releases a deafening roar. All allies within 20 yards experience a 20% damage increase, Movement Speed increased by 20%, and Attack Speed increased by 30% for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes [Dark Blessing] All allies within 20 yards gain 100 points of Magic Resistance, 20% damage reduction, and all Attributes increased by 10% for 30 minutes. Cooldown: 10 hours These three Skills alone could raise the strength of the entire team by a huge margin. This was the value of Dark-Gold Mounts. "A Mount?" Everyone''s jaws dropped when they heard Shi Feng''s explanation. "This can''t be true, right?!" The Demonic Flame Tiger before them looked absolutely stunning. Moreover, they felt a heavy pressure from it. Based on its HP, it should be at least as powerful as a Chieftain. A monster like the Demonic Flame Tiger could even serve as the Boss in a Party Dungeon, yet such a powerful monster was actually a Mount. This shattered any knowledge they had about Mounts. "What rank is this Mount?" "Secret-Silver?" "Fine-Gold?" Everyone nearly drooled as they stared at the Demonic Flame Tiger. With its imposing might and its majestic appearance, the Demonic Tiger would be the center of attention regardless of where it was. "It''s just Dark-Gold rank," Shi Feng said as he tapped the Demonic Flame Tiger''s front paw. The Demonic Tiger obediently bent down before Shi Feng, its dignified behavior vanishing. Shi Feng''s team members shot him a disdainful glare. "It''s just Dark-Gold rank?" Even though they had already reached Level 40, none of them even had a Common Mount. They just hoped to obtain a Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Mount. They wouldn''t even dare dream of owning a Secret-Silver Mount, let alone a Fine-Gold Mount. They had never even expected to see a Dark-Gold Mount. "After we leave the Battlefield, I must find my own Dark-Gold Mount to show off!" Blackie declared as he drooled over the Demonic Flame Tiger that was the size of a small house. He could not help but fantasize about riding his own Demonic Tiger down White River City''s streets. He would be the object of everyone''s envy. Just the thought gave him chills. The other team members nodded in agreement. The horses one could buy in cities were garbage compared to the Demonic Flame Tiger. Only a Mount like the Demonic Flame Tiger could be considered a real Mount. "This is not the time for this. Everyone, head to your appointed locations. Aqua, cast Song of Sprites on me," Shi Feng commanded. The Epic ranked staff Song of Beatrice he had previously given Aqua Rose had a very powerful Skill: the Song of Sprites. It could amplify the effects of a specific Spell. When used on large-scale destruction Spells and Summoning Skills, this Skill was incredibly powerful. Shi Feng had long since used up his Magic Amplification Scroll. The Song of Sprites was the perfect Skill to replace it. Following which, Shi Feng summoned the Demon Gate. Aqua Rose used Song of Sprites on Shi Feng, instantly buffing the Demon Summoning by 300%. In the next moment, a Tier 3 Battle Demon wielding a two-handed sword in one hand emerged from the Demon Gate. [Battle Demon] (Demon) Level 55 HP 14,000,000/14,000,000 It was a success! Seeing the Tier 3 Battle Demon step away from the Demon Gate, Shi Feng used the Bible of Darkness''s ability to rob the Battle Demon of its will, turning it into a puppet. "Is this Ye Feng and these core members'' true strength?" The instant the Battle Demon appeared, Autumn Goose, Thoughtful Rain, and the others were stunned. A Tier 3 Demon was the equivalent of a Great Lord ranked monster. It was also Level 55. That monster could kill them instantly. "Just how powerful is Zero Wing?" Autumn Goose and the others struggled with their shock. Only now did they finally understand why Zero Wing''s members had been so calm against all of those Great Lords. They even wanted to take on the Frost Bone Dragon. With such a powerful summoned monster, even with so few members, it was not entirely impossible to defeat the Level 45 Grand Lord. 822 Adjudicator Chapter 822 - Adjudicator Glory Empire, Imperial Capital Light City: As the main headquarters of the Super Guild King''s Return, Light City''s prosperity surpassed even that of the Black Dragon Empire''s imperial capital. The player population alone exceeded the capital''s by 15 million. The player population wasn''t the only indicator of Light City''s prosperity; player''s Levels also displayed the city''s success. Currently, God''s Domain''s mainstream players were around Level 32, while some of the more powerful elite players had reached Level 35. However, if one wandered the streets of Light City, they would easily spot Level 35 elite players. From time to time, one would also notice Level 36 or Level 37 independent players. The capital cities of various kingdoms and ordinary empires could not hold a candle to Light City. The reason behind the high levels of Light City''s players was none other than the Super Guild King''s Return. Super Guilds had very long histories in the virtual gaming world. Normally, these Super Guilds had their own means of nurturing experts, and they had no need to recruit powerful players from elsewhere. Moreover, the experts who enjoyed Super Guild''s nurturing would always rank as the top rookies of the year in the virtual gaming world, instantly becoming well-known experts. Their personal value would soar by several times. Countless players held this long-cherished dream of gaining overnight fame and riches. Hence, every year, swarms of young players would take part in the internal exam of Super Guilds, fighting to gain membership and participate in the Guild''s expert training programs. Aside from nurturing its own experts from scratch, King''s Return, a Super Guild that had already existed for a long time, did recruit some experts from elsewhere as well. These experts would become internal members and receive a multitude of resources. If any of these experts became one of the year''s top newcomers, they might even earn the privilege of becoming one of the Guild''s upper echelons. If that happened, they would not have to worry about a lack of money for the rest of their lives. Aqua Rose and Purple Eye were both such players. However, they had chosen their own paths. Hence, after finishing their training and paying a certain price, they left their Super Guild. Meanwhile, King''s Return was once again recruiting experts. Hence, many players throughout God''s Domain had come to Light City, hoping to join King''s Return. There was no lack of expert players among the crowd. --- Currently, many players were lined up inside King''s Return''s Guild Residence, giving the place a lively atmosphere. However, when two men entered the Guild Residence''s main hall, the room fell silent, every gaze shifting towards these two people. Of these two, one was a middle-aged man wearing black armor. He also carried a greatsword with inscribed runes, a chill radiating from the weapon. This man was a Level 38 Berserker. A handsome, younger man stood beside the Berserker with an unruly temperament. The young man carried a staff made of sapphire crystal and wore a set of gray mage robes. Faint arcs of gray electricity surrounded his body. This man was a Level 38 Elementalist. Even in the entire Glory Empire, these people''s Level could rank at the very top. "Isn''t that the Thunder Sword, Broken City? I actually get to meet one of King''s Return''s upper echelons! I''m so lucky today!" "The person beside Broken City seems to be the newly-promoted Adjudicator of King''s Return, Hell Fiend. I never thought that he would be so handsome. I wonder if he has a girlfriend?" Immediately, the various players in the main hall fell into heated discussions among themselves, reverence filling their eyes as they gazed at the two latest arrivals. Every one of these players dreamed of joining the ranks of King''s Return''s upper echelons or obtaining the title of the Guild''s Adjudicator one day. Hell Fiend, in particular, had obtained the position of King''s Return''s Adjudicator at such a young age. This had been unheard of in the Super Guild''s long history. Generally, experts could become an Adjudicator only after many years of arduous training. The title should be out of the reach of a rookie like Hell Fiend, yet the youth had managed to obtain it. Under the crowd''s watchful eye, Broken City and Hell Fiend walked into a small meeting room. A man in a Black Cloak had been waiting in the meeting room for quite some time. When this man noticed the two people enter the room, he immediately stood to welcome them. "Hand me the files and items. Also, give me a summary of the situation," Broken City commanded gruffly. "Understood," the cloaked man nodded. He then handed over a box and a folder before saying, "Originally, the plan had proceeded quite smoothly. However, Sinned Heart encountered Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Moreover, Zero Wing''s people agreed to Sinned Heart''s offer, and they are willing to purchase the five plots of Land. Sinned Heart will be to Zero Wing to complete the trade today." "Do those people from Zero Wing not know about our warning?" Hell Fiend asked coldly, frowning. "Sinned Heart had taken the initiative to reveal the situation to them. However, Zero Wing agreed to the purchase on the spot as if King''s Return means nothing to them," the cloaked man reported anxiously, sweat beading on his forehead as he felt the weight of Hell Fiend''s gaze. Peng! "Zero Wing is taking us too lightly!" Rage flashed in Hell Fiend''s eyes as he slammed his staff into the ground, cracking it. "There is no reason to be anxious. They have yet to conduct the trade, so we still have time to do something about it. I''ll have someone send Zero Wing''s Guild Leader a light warning. I believe Zero Wing will make the right choice," Broken City said, chuckling. "If Zero Wing truly refuses to listen, it won''t be too late for us to act." "I understand, Uncle Broken," Hell Fiend said as he suppressed the rage in his heart. To him, this matter was of utmost importance. If Zero Wing dared to interfere, he did not mind annihilating the upstart Guild. --- Elsewhere, Shi Feng directed his team''s battle preparations. "Fire, Flying, Minor, lure the surrounding monsters to us! Rain, get ready to use Waterfall! Blackie, get ready to use Stars of Light!" After Shi Feng summoned the Tier 3 Battle Demon, he did not rush to take on the Frost Bone Dragon. A Level 45 Grand Lord was simply too powerful for current players. Furthermore, the slightest mistake while the team fought inside a monster next could result in a team-wipe. Clearing the surrounding monsters was a must, particularly when facing a Guardian Boss like the Frost Bone Dragon. All Guardian Bosses possessed a similar ability: Life Devour. If a team did not respond to this Passive Skill appropriately, it would not matter how many players charged at a Guardian Boss. Everyone would simply charge towards their graves. Life Devour allowed Guardian Bosses to absorb all Life Force within a radius of 1,000 yards. Be they players or monsters, all those in range would lose 1% of their HPs every three seconds. Meanwhile, the Guardian Boss would absorb this HP. Hence, when going up against a Guardian Boss, too many people was not always a good thing. Guardian Bosses usually had very high HP. Chances were high that players could not even deal enough damage to these Bosses to overcome their innate battle recovery. Moreover, when fighting a Grand Lord like the Frost Bone Dragon, players'' Stamina consumption rate would be very high. They could not afford to fight a battle of attrition against such Bosses. In the end, players would die from exhaustion. Finally, after over an hour, Shi Feng''s team managed to clear all of the monsters within the Frost Bone Dragon''s range of activity. "Move out!" Following which, Shi Feng directed the Battle Demon to charge at the Frost Bone Dragon. He also activated the Demonic Flame Tiger''s Battle Roar and Dark Blessing. Immediately, the entire team''s Attributes and Magic Resistance rose by a large margin. 823 Monster-level Battle Chapter 823 - Monster-level Battle "Grawr!" When the Battle Demon was within 200 yards of the Boss, the Frost Bone Dragon sensed the Demon''s presence. As it released a furious roar, the Grand Lord flapped its massive bone wings; the generated gust prevented the Battle Demon from approaching. Before the wind came to an end, the Frost Bone Dragon stretched open its jaws. Suddenly, a storm broke out, covering a 200-yard-radius, and a seemingly endless amount of Mana gathered in the Bone Dragon''s mouth. "Damn it; it''s using Dragon Breath!" Realizing what he was seeing, Shi Feng hurriedly shouted, "Everyone, get away from the Bone Dragon''s front!" Shi Feng''s command confused Aqua Rose and the others. They were currently over 300 yards away from the Grand Lord. At such a distance, the Bone Dragon''s attack should not be a threat. However, seeing at Shi Feng''s anxious expression, the Zero Wing team did not dare to be careless as they rushed to the sides. Due to Battle Roar and Dark Blessing, everyone''s Attributes had received a significant boost. Their Movement Speeds had also increased massively. In the end, they managed to move just as the Mana in the Grand Lord''s mouth reached a critical level. Before the team could relax, however, they suddenly felt a chill from behind them, and they could not help their shivers. Instantly, a beam of white light devoured the buildings behind them. "How is this possible?!" Aqua Rose could not believe her eyes. The 600-yard-stretch before the Frost Bone Dragon had transformed into a frozen tundra. Had they not dodged the breath attack in time, they would have lost their lives. "How can a Grand Lord be so powerful?!" The crowd gasped collectively. With such a wide and long ranged AOE attack, even an army of ten thousand players would die instantly. "Alright; snap out of it. Let the Battle Demon pin the Frost Bone Dragon down. Everyone else, attack from the dragon''s sides. Absolutely do not stand in front of it," Shi Feng immediately commanded, not finding the Grand Lord''s powerful attack one bit surprising. The Frost Bone Dragon ruled over a city. Zerg tactics would never be enough for players to kill it. If not for his ability to summon a Tier 3 Demon, he would not risk everyone''s lives by provoking such a Boss. Although the Frost Bone Dragon was more powerful than their team, it was only a Level 45 Grand Lord. However, the Tier 3 Demon he had summoned was Level 55. The difference of 10 Levels could, mostly, make up for the difference in rank. Even if he could not exert the Tier 3 Demon''s full strength, he could use it to pin the Boss down. As the breath attack ended The Battle Demon, which Shi Feng had previously moved out of the breath attack''s range, arrived before the Grand Lord and used a Tier 3 Skill. Round Flash! Countless flashes of light appeared around the Bone Dragon''s skull until the monster''s head was hidden behind a dazzling, silver glow. -592,018! The Frost Bone Dragon released a pained cry as its body fell to the ground abruptly, flattening the buildings beneath it. The impact caused South Lake City to tremble. As for Autumn Goose and the others, who had begun their charge towards the Frost Bone Dragon, they were momentarily stunned. With a single hit, the Tier 3 Demon demolished a small, but visible, chunk of the Frost Bone Dragon''s HP. This one attack was most likely more powerful than the combined attacks of a player army of thousands. Moreover, this was the first time she had ever seen Tier 3 beings fight against each other. Usually, she only saw players tackle monsters. The shock of watching two monsters face each other was intense. This scene allowed them to realize just how weak players were. Compared to this great battle, their previous battles were practically child''s play. Before the Frost Bone Dragon, which towered over a hundred meters tall, any player would seem insignificant. The mental pressure the Grand Lord exerted stole their breath. "Don''t stop! We''ve entered its Frost Domain! As long as we remain inside this Domain, our Stamina will decrease rapidly! Even if we don''t move, our Stamina will decrease! We need to hurry and get rid of the Bone Dragon before our Stamina runs out!" Shi Feng reminded his team as he glanced at Autumn Goose, Thoughtful Rain, and the others, who had stopped moving due to shock. "Notify me immediately if any of you run out of Stamina during the battle!" "Yes!" Everyone nodded as they regained their focus. Against such a Boss, Aqua Rose and the other core members of Zero Wing fared relatively well. After all, they had raided a Grand Lord before. Only, the Frost Bone Dragon was significantly more powerful than that Grand Lord. However, this was the first time Autumn Goose, Death Wind, Gunfire, Thoughtful Rain, and Blue Bamboo had faced a Grand Lord. Fighting against such an oppressive pressure and bathing in such frigid killing intent, even moving became a struggle for them. It would be a miracle if they could even exert 50% or 60% of their usual strength. How can a Grand Lord be so terrifying?! Autumn Goose''s heart pounded as she watched the Bone Dragon''s mountain-like body. She then looked at Fire Dance and the others, who appeared almost unfazed and were still charging towards the Grand Lord, and she smiled bitterly. Back in the Wind God''s Spear, she had always pursued adventure and excitement. However, compared to the Frost Bone Dragon, those adventures had been a walk in the park. This Grand Lord''s might was overpowering enough that she felt incredibly powerless. In contrast, despite such an oppressive pressure, Zero Wing''s members did not show any signs of slowing. With this, one could easily tell that Zero Wing''s members had long since become accustomed to such battles. For some reason, a random thought invoked a strange feeling within Autumn Goose. This was what she has searched for all this time. While Autumn Goose was caught up in her daze, the Frost Bone Dragon slammed its massive claws down onto the Battle Demon. Unable to dodge the attack in time, Shi Feng could only direct the Battle Demon to defend itself with its weapon. Boom! -95,164. The ground beneath the Battle Demon''s feet shattered as the Demon became embedded into the ground. The surrounding land shook from the impact, a deep fissure forming and spreading towards Autumn Goose. Autumn Goose was momentarily taken aback. Compared to the Frost Bone Dragon''s destructive power, the Great Lords they had defeated earlier were nothing more than harmless kittens. However, Autumn Goose still reacted. Although her movements were sluggish due to the Guardian Boss''s pressure, she had managed to pull her weapon up before her. Peng! The incoming shockwave struck and threw Autumn Goose, a damage of -867 appearing above her head. A gasp tore through the watching players. Despite standing so far away, Autumn Goose still received nearly -900 damage after defending herself successfully. If she had failed to lift her weapon in time, she probably would have lost over 4,000 HP in an instant. As for the Frost Bone Dragon''s claws, even Cola might die instantly if he received a direct hit. Even after activating his Berserk Skill and all of his Lifesaving Skills, he would only survive one attack at most. Fortunately, however, they had a Tier 3 Demon to take the Bone Dragon''s hits for them. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have any chance of surviving against the Grand Lord. Shi Feng simply smiled at everyone''s reaction. Ordinary Bosses could not compare to a Guardian Boss. Furthermore, the Frost Bone Dragon was a member of the Dragon race. It was much stronger than ordinary Bosses. Even if Cola reached Level 45, he could not tank this Boss by himself. At the very least, they needed three MTs of equal caliber to handle the Frost Bone Dragon. This should be far enough. Shi Feng arrived beside the Bone Dragon and raised the Abyssal Blade. He swung the Magic Weapon down on the Grand Lord. Abyssal Curse! 824 Super-Large-Scale Destruction Spell Chapter 824 - Super-Large-Scale Destruction Spell "Seal!" Shi Feng shouted low. Suddenly, a massive, black magic array appeared beneath the Frost Bone Dragon''s feet. Even with its gigantic body, the magic array enveloped the Grand Lord, and an endless stream of black fog penetrated the Bone Dragon''s body, slowly corroding it. "Rawrr!" The Frost Bone Dragon struggled, trying to break free from the array''s bindings, but no matter how hard it fought, it could not expel the black fog from its body. Everyone on the team immediately used their most powerful Skills against the Frost Bone Dragon. Lifting his spear, Gunfire leaped into the air and used Beheaded. Peng! Although the Frost Bone Dragon had received the attack without any resistance, when Gunfire''s attack struck the Grand Lord''s white bone, it felt as if he had just hit a solid wall. Not only did the attack fail to cause any external damage, but the resulting vibration also inflicted pain to his own hand. His attack had only caused slightly over -700 damage "What kind of Defense is this?!" Horror filled Autumn Goose as she stared at the damage. No matter what was said or done, Gunfire was one of the top ranking experts in the Wind God''s Spear; he was very well-equipped. Even against all those Great Lords prior to this fight, his Beheaded Skill always dealt around -2,000 damage. Now, however, even after receiving a significant boost to his Attributes, his Beheaded had only caused around -700 damage. The Frost Bone Dragon''s Defense had to be more than double that of the previous Great Lords. Meanwhile, the Frost Bone Dragon had 64,000,000 HP. With its battle recovery alone it could regenerate 640,000 HP every second. Not to mention, since the battle had begun, the Grand Lord had been absorbing 1% of their HP every three seconds. With such a powerful recovery, even 100 continuously attacking Gunfires would barely scratch the Frost Bone Dragon. They would be no threat to the Grand Lord at all. Fire Dance then jumped up from the Frost Bone Dragon''s right, landing on the Grand Lord''s spine, instantly executing Absolute Strike. However, when Thousand Transformations, which was even sharper than the Sacred Sword Killing Ray, cut at the pearly white bone, the short sword only dug three centimeters deep into the bone before coming to a halt. -14,489. Why is there such a huge difference in Defense?! Fire Dance frowned. Absolute Strike was her most powerful Burst Skill, yet even after a critical hit, the Skill only dealt over -10,000 damage. At this rate, they would die from exhaustion before they could kill the Frost Bone Dragon. If this was already the case for Fire Dance, there was no need to mention how little the others could do against the Frost Bone Dragon. Everyone''s most powerful Skills had only managed to deal around -4,000 damage to the Grand Lord. Only after including Shi Feng''s damage did the team barely deal enough to overcome the Frost Bone Dragon''s recovery. At this rate, they would need to fight for five or six hours to kill the Grand Lord. Unfortunately, it would be a miracle if everyone''s Stamina lasted for ten minutes. As for the Battle Demon, although it was very strong, the Frost Bone Dragon easily blocked the majority of its attacks. It had barely any opportunities to damage the Grand Lord. Two seconds after Shi Feng activated Abyssal Curse, the Frost Bone Dragon''s wings shuddered as it broke free from the magic array. Immediately, it swiped its tail at the Battle Demon, launching a more violent attack than before. In the next moment, an afterimage briefly appeared. Before the Battle Demon under Shi Feng''s control could react, the Bone Dragon had sent it flying. Everyone had expected the Battle Demon to suffer an intense amount of damage. However, the Battle Demon only lost around 70,000 HP; that was even less than the damage it had received before. "The Bone Dragon''s Attributes have decreased!" Aqua Rose stated as she looked at the Frost Bone Dragon''s HP. Currently, the Grand Lord only had a maximum HP of 57,600,000. Its Attributes had been decreased by 10%. The players felt joy bloom in their chests. Their will to fight soared. Even to ordinary players, a 10% Attribute drop would significantly affect their combat power, much less for a Guardian Boss like the Frost Bone Dragon. "Everyone, activate your Berserk Skills! Use this opportunity to slay this Boss!" Shi Feng hurriedly reminded. Abyssal Curse could reduce the Frost Bone Dragon''s Attributes for ten minutes, so if they could not finish the Grand Lord off in these ten minutes it would become much harder to defeat later. They needed to exert all of their strength now. Following Shi Feng''s command, everyone activated their Berserk Skills at full strength. As for Shi Feng, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Among the several Berserk Skills Shi Feng had, Dragon''s Power increased his Strength Attribute the most. With the Tier 3 Battle Demon acting as a meat shield, Shi Feng used Silent Steps and appeared directly behind the Frost Bone Dragon. Phantom Kill! Flame Burst! Shi Feng and his doppelganger released a series of 30 dazzling explosions on the Bone Dragon''s weakened ribcage. -20,484. -28,497. -41,054. -57,149. Thirty consecutive hits struck the Frost Bone Dragon, instantly stealing a small chunk of the Grand Lord''s HP. Aqua Rose used Song of Sprites and cast the Tier 1 Spell Soul Cloud. In the next moment, several dozen damages appeared above the Frost Bone Dragon''s head, each one devouring over 1,000 HP. In addition, Aqua Rose summoned three Bluefire Crows and three Forest Sprites. Although each summoned creature could only deal around -1,000 damage, with the six attacking together, they instantly destroyed over 6,000 of the Grand Lord''s HP. In terms of damage output, Aqua Rose was only inferior to Shi Feng and Fire Dance. Besides, the Bluefire Crows were slightly different from the Forest Sprites. The Bluefire Crows possessed the Growth Skill. As time passed, they would increase in rank. From Elite monsters, the Bluefire Crow could grow to become Lords. At that point, Aqua Rose''s damage could even surpass Fire Dance''s. Seconds and minutes passed quickly. Under Shi Feng and his team''s all-out assault, the Frost Bone Dragon''s HP quickly fell to 30%. Finally, the Tier 3 Battle Demon was in an extremely miserable state. It currently had less than 20% of its HP remaining. "Foolish humans, feel the wrath of the Abyss!" the Frost Bone Dragon bellowed as it suddenly flapped its wings. Xiu! The Frost Bone Dragon instantly appeared above South Lake City. In the next moment, an endless amount of elemental Mana surged towards the Frost Bone Dragon''s body from all directions. At the same time, a deep-blue, twofold magic array appeared above South Lake City as well, enveloping the entire space above the city. The violent power radiating from the magic array threw everyone to the ground as if the end of the world had arrived. "It''s over How does the Bone Dragon know such a Spell?" Shock filled Aqua Rose''s eyes as she stared at the magic array above South Lake City. With her understanding of magic arrays, she knew that they had absolutely no chance of defending against the Frost Bone Dragon''s Spell. They could only wait for death to claim their lives, "With Spells like this, how can anybody defeat the Frost Bone Dragon?!" The other team members felt similarly powerless as they watched. It was technically not impossible to deal with a super-large-scale destruction Spell like this. However, with the magic array covering the entire South Lake City, how could they escape the Spell''s range in time? "Hahaha! Go on! Flee! Let''s see if you can escape the wrath of the Abyss!" the Frost Bone Dragon laughed. "I''ve been waiting for this!" Shi Feng''s lips curled into a smile. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Immediately, he activated Wind Rider. He then switched the Aura of Wind to the Aura of Time before looking at Aqua Rose, saying, "Use Song of Sprites on me!" It had already been five minutes since Aqua Rose last used Song of Sprites. The Skill''s Cooldown should have ended. "Ah?" Although Aqua Rose did not understand what Shi Feng intended to do, she cast Song of Sprites on him. Shi Feng then flew towards the Frost Bone Dragon, which was still in the process of gathering and condensing Mana. Absolute Time! This was Shi Feng''s final trump card against the Frost Bone Dragon. If he could not interrupt the Frost Bone Dragon''s Abyssal Wrath, a super-large-scale destruction Spell, trying to deal with the Grand Lord would be sheer lunacy. Immediately, with the Frost Bone Dragon as the center, the space within a radius of 300 yards froze. All Mana in the area scattered and vanished immediately. "No!" Due to the sudden loss of Mana, the Frost Bone Dragon released a pained cry as it suffered a backlash from its Spell. Its massive body, which had been over 100 meters in height, suddenly shrunk to only 60 meters or so. Its Attributes also fell by 40% as it entered a Weakened state for three minutes. The Frost Bone Dragon''s body then crashed to the ground. With its combat power greatly reduced, how could the Frost Bone Dragon be a challenge for the team from Zero Wing? Even without the Tier 3 Battle Demon, the Frost Bone Dragon was no longer a threat. At this time, Shi Feng activated the Power of Darkness, his Attributes soaring once more. He then began a rampant assault on the Grand Lord. When the Frost Bone Dragon had less than 500,000 HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence before using Flame Burst on the Grand Lord, destroying the Grand Lord''s final strand of HP. The instant the Frost Bone Dragon died, everyone heard the sound of a system notification. 825 Loot of a Grand Lord Chapter 825 - Loot of a Grand Lord "It''s finally dead!" They could not help but release a sigh of relief when they saw the Frost Bone Dragon fall to the ground, the Grand Lord''s HP thoroughly depleted. As the Bone Dragon fell to the ground, everyone''s experience bars filled abruptly by a large margin. "So much EXP!" A golden glow illuminated Autumn Goose, Death Wind, Gunfire, Thoughtful Rain, and Blue Bamboo as all five of them leveled from Level 38 to 39, shock coloring their expressions. Even the combined EXP they had gained when they had killed the twenty Great Lords could not compete with the EXP from a single Frost Bone Dragon. While the team celebrated their success of killing the Frost Bone Dragon, a sudden system notification surprised them. System Announcement: Congratulations! You have killed the Guardian Boss Frost Bone Dragon! War God''s Temple Reputation +20 points. Rewarding 5 Basic Medals of Honor. "Wah! We''ve hit the jackpot! We got 5 Basic Medals of Honor!" Autumn Goose and the others were similarly stunned. They had never imagined such great rewards for killing the Frost Bone Dragon. They had heard that many large Guilds had organized massive expeditions to conquer towns. Aside from earning Honor Points, two other important reason for these Guilds'' expeditions was to increase their Reputation with the War God''s Temple and obtain Basic Medals of Honor. The higher one''s War God''s Temple Reputation was, the more discounts one could obtain when trading Honor Points for items. At the same time, after one''s Reputation with the Temple reached a certain level, they could trade for higher ranking items. The high-ranking items available could tempt even top-tier expert players, much less ordinary expert players. For example: Battlefield Mounts, rare Skills, high-ranking rare potions, and many other items that were not available on the market. Although a Battlefield Mount was only useful in the Abyss Battlefield, the Mount was of very high quality. Players could trade for a Bronze Mount almost immediately. As one''s War God''s Temple Reputation increased, one could even obtain a Dark-Gold Mount. These Mounts could boost a player''s combat power in the Abyss Battlefield significantly. Furthermore, there were many powerful Skills available. However, these high-ranking items demanded one thing beyond the cost of Honor Points. They required Basic Medals of Honor! Obtaining a single Bronze Battlefield Mount required 20 Basic Medals of Honor and 30,000 Honor Points. Without Basic Medals of Honor, even if a player had all the Honor Points in the world, they could not afford the truly useful items. However, it was extremely difficult to obtain a Basic Medal of Honor. From what they had learned from the past few days of research, a single Basic Metal of Honor would be awarded to players who helped capture a town. Now, they had each obtained five medals. That was the equivalent of capturing five towns. If one wanted to purchase a Bronze Mount, they''d need to capture 20 towns. Capturing a town was easier said than done. Unlike the outside world, once players died in the Abyss Battlefield, they had to wait until the next day before entering the battlefield again. Hence, one''s life was essential in the Abyss Battlefield. To avoid death, players proceeded with caution and spent a long time raiding a single town. Currently, there were no Bronze Mounts available on the market. Only a single Common Mount was for sale, costing 40 Gold. Even if someone sold a Bronze Mount, it would cost several hundred Gold, at the very least. How could ordinary players possibly afford that? If one wanted to ride a Bronze Mount, this was the fastest method to achieve that dream. In the Abyss Battlefield, Battlefield Mounts were slightly more powerful than normal Mounts. Not only were they faster, but their combat power was also higher by a rank. A Fine-Gold Battlefield Mount could rival a Chieftain of the same Level, while Dark-Gold Battlefield Mounts could rival Lords. With such a Mount, players could obtain Honor Points more easily in the future. While everyone enjoyed their elation over their unexpected harvest, Shi Feng had appraised all of the items the Frost Bone Dragon had dropped. Although the Frost Bone Dragon had only dropped five items, they were either top-tier weapons or equipment. "Big Brother Ye Feng, what kind of items did the Boss drop to make you so happy? Hurry up and share! Don''t keep them to yourself!" Blue Bamboo''s curiosity grew when she saw the smile on Shi Feng''s face. This was her first time raiding a Grand Lord. Moreover, there was a rumor going around that Grand Lords had a chance of dropping Epic items. "Nothing much. I''m just happy because we managed to complete the Abyss Set. Aside from that, the Boss also dropped a Level 40 Dark-Gold ranked shield, a Level 40 Dark-Gold ranked ring, and a pair of Growth-type gloves," Shi Feng said, laughing. He then shared the details of the shield and ring through the team chat. [Frost Bone Shield] (Shield, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 40 - Level 45 Equipment Requirement: Strength 500 Defense +2,720 (Level 40) Block Rate: 37% Strength +43, Endurance +51 Ice Resistance +10 Evasion +10 Weakens damage received from the front by 20%. Every time shield is struck, 10% of the damage is converted to the user''s Defense up to a maximum of 2,000 Defense. Maximum HP increased by 10%. Additional Skill- Frost Body: Gain immunity to all damage from the front for 4 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes "This shield''s Defense is especially high. This alone is already a match for my total Defense." Aqua Rose was dumbstruck after examining the Frost Bone Shield''s Attributes. The Divine Bluefire Shield Cola currently used only had 1,950 Defense. However, the Frost Bone Shield could provide 4,720 points to one''s Defense. Beyond that, the shield had a Passive Damage Reduction Skill and an Active Skill that provided pseudo-invulnerability. With this shield, they could even take on Bosses'' super-powerful Skills in the future. Particularly when the healers could not keep up with the damage the MT with the Frost Bone Shield took, said MT could use Frost Body to alleviate the burden. [Ice Spirit Ring] (Ring, Dark-Gold Rank) Level 40 - Level 45 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 400 Strength +15, Agility +18, Endurance +24, Intelligence +55, Vitality +37 Casting range +2 Casting Speed increased by 10%. Magic damage increased by 10%. Attacks have a chance to trigger Freeze effect, freezing the target for 3 seconds. Additional Skill- Rapid Cooldown: Resets Cooldown of all Skills the user has learned while simultaneously removing all Control effects and increasing casting speed and Movement Speed by 30% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes When these players saw the Ice Spirit Ring''s statistics, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "With this ring, a magical class''s damage output would increase by at least 20%!" Blue Bamboo exclaimed as she drooled over the ring. This was the first time she had ever seen a ring with such amazing Attributes. Ornaments were very rare in God''s Domain. They were even worth far more than weapons. Despite being fully geared in top-tier equipment, her current ring was only a Level 20 Mysterious-Iron Ring. However, she was considered quite well-off. Many players still wore Level 10 Bronze ranked rings. However, compared to the Ice Spirit Ring, her Level 20 ring was practically trash. "Don''t get too excited. Neither the shield nor the ring can compare to how valuable these gloves are." Shi Feng then shared the gloves'' stats with his team. 826 Background of the Number One Guild Chapter 826 - Background of the Number One Guild "Growth-type Equipment?" Everyone stared at the image that released a faint, white glow. Many divine runes decorated the pair of gloves. There was also a small, dark-blue magic array etched onto the back of the gloves, with a light blue bead in the array''s center. [Frost Gloves] (Gloves, Cloth Armor, Bronze Rank) Level 40 - Level 90 Defense +348 (Level 40) Intelligence +26 Vitality +22 Endurance +21 Additional Passive Skill- Forced Chant: While casting, there is a 5% chance to cast Tier 1 or below Spells instantly. Additional Active Skill- Frost Breath: Deals 500% magic damage in a cone to enemies within 30 yards and freezes all targets hit for 5 seconds before reducing their Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 40% for 15 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour The Frost King had once worn these gloves embedded with Frost Beads, which he had sealed and cannot display their full power. To lift the Frost King''s five-layered seal, the wearer must sacrifice an abundance of EXP to the seal. (Removing the first seal requires 300,000,000 EXP) "The upgrade requirement sure is rough. The first seal alone requires 300,000,000 EXP." Blackie''s eyebrows rose when he read the gloves'' description. The EXP was enough for an ordinary player to level up once. Moreover, this was only the first seal. There were four more seals after that. Needless to say, the following seals would have higher requirements. "But the Skills are amazing. It can instant-casting Tier 1 Spells. Only, the chances are a little low. The AOE Control Skill, on the other hand, is quite good. With these two Skills, this pair of gloves is no less powerful than any Dark-Gold Equipment," Aqua Rose commented. When Shi Feng heard the various unbiased evaluations, he could not help but shake his head and laugh, saying, "Do you guys think that removing the seals will only improve the equipment''s Basic Attributes? This is Growth-type Equipment. It can be upgraded to Epic rank if you remove all of the seals. Both the gloves'' Basic Attributes and its Skills will improve as you undo the seals. Dark-Gold Equipment definitely cannot compare to something like this." "This is Epic Equipment?" Every player on his team was surprised. Zero Wing''s core members had a profound understanding of just how powerful Epic items were. Compared to Epic Equipment, Dark-Gold Equipment was practically garbage. The two were on entirely different levels. Equipping a single Epic Weapon or piece of Equipment could instantly boost a player''s combat power by a large margin, unlike Dark-Gold Equipment, where one would need multiple pieces to display their advantages. "So, this is Epic Equipment?" Autumn Goose and her friends at a loss for words when they looked back at the Frost Gloves. While they had rejoiced after obtaining a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment after defeating a Great Lord, Zero Wing had set its sights on Epic Equipment. Over time, the gap between them and Thoughtful Rain would unquestionably grow. Following which, Shi Feng held an internal auction among Zero Wing''s members. Autumn Goose, Death Wind, and Gunfire''s envy grew as they watched. They had never imagined that, even for such powerful equipment, Zero Wing would willingly distribute them with an internal auction. In other Guilds, the team''s leader usually chose who obtained what equipment. In the end, Ye Wumian won the Frost Bone Shield, while Thoughtful Rain obtained the Frost Ring. This outcome surprised Thoughtful Rain. Of course, part of the reason for this result was that the other magical class members had set their sights on the Frost Gloves. Unfortunately, Aqua Rose won the Gloves. After the equipment distribution, everyone teleported out of the Abyss Battlefield together. As soon as the team appeared at the teleportation array in the War God''s Temple, a wide array of noises reached their ears. Players shouting, recruiting team members, filled the Temple. After just a few days, the War God''s Temple had undergone tremendous changes. Players crowded the Temple''s main hall. These players'' Levels had also changed drastically. Originally, Level 30 players were considered mainstream. Now, however, the majority of the players in the main hall were around Level 32. Among them, there was no lack of Level 34 or 35 independent players. These players were also relatively well-equipped. However, shortly after Shi Feng and the others appeared, the main hall fell silent. Practically every player in the building had shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng''s group. "Aren''t they Zero Wing''s upper echelons?" "Damn! They''re the real deal!" "As expected of the top-tier experts in Star-Moon Kingdom. Even though I''m so far away, I can''t help but shiver at the pressure they give off." "Who are those three independent players with them?! All three are Level 39!" "What?! Level 39?! The number one player on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List just reached Level 38 not long ago. Did they hide their levels on the Ranking List?" "How did they level up so quickly?" "I wish I could mooch off of them!" "Pros, carry me please!" No one could believe their eyes when they saw Autumn Goose and the others. Shi Feng and the other members of Zero Wing wore Black Cloaks, so no one could identify their Levels. Autumn Goose and the others, however, did not; their Levels were quite visible to the public. Autumn Goose and the others could not help but feel slightly embarrassed. If not for Shi Feng bringing them along to kill so many Great Lords, they would never have reached Level 39 so quickly. At most, they would have reached Level 37 by now. After they returned to the Dark Night Empire, the other Wind God''s Spear members would be just as shocked upon seeing their Levels. "Ye Feng, are you not coming with us to turn in the quest?" Thoughtful Rain asked as she turned to Shi Feng. "I still have some matters to attend to, so I won''t be joining you," Shi Feng said as he shook his head. He had just received a message from Melancholic Smile, informing him that representatives from King''s Return wanted to meet him to discuss an important matter. After considering the situation for a long moment, the only conclusion Shi Feng reached for this sudden visit was the matter relating to Sinned Heart. After all, Zero Wing did not have any connection to King''s Return. However, he doubted that possibility. A Super Guild like King''s Return could annihilate an upstart Guild like Immortal Light easily. Like Nine Dragons Emperor of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, King''s Return could attack Immortal Light directly. They didn''t need to go through so much trouble to deal with one upstart Guild. However, since people from King''s Return had chosen to visit him, he had to pay back their sincerity regardless of what was said or done. As for the Silver Legend quest, even if he turned in the quest with Thoughtful Rain and the others, the most he would get was a little EXP. That meager amount of EXP was practically negligible to him. Now that the final arc of the Silver Legend quest was complete, there was no reason for him to tag along anymore. Hearing Shi Feng decline her invitation, a hint of disappointment colored Thoughtful Rain''s face. --- Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: Inside the large Guild Hall, Zero Wing''s members busied themselves with various tasks. The sudden commotion was due to the Guild Stable''s completion. To purchase their own Guild Mount once they reached Level 40, everyone began to frantically take on one quest after another, earning as much money as possible. This situation caused the Guild to buzz with activity. However, inside the busy hall, two people sat inside the second floor''s reception room, observing the situation leisurely. "They''ve managed to run the Guild quite well. It''s no wonder why Zero Wing is known as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. Unfortunately, the Guild''s background is poor, and it doesn''t have any expert-nurturing capabilities," a robust man in silver heavy armor spoke disdainfully as he watched the situation downstairs. This man was a Level 38 Berserker. Although there were many elite players in Zero Wing, at the end of the day, they were only slightly stronger than Star-Moon Kingdom''s ordinary players. They were no match for empire players. This was especially true when comparing expert players'' Levels. Currently, the highest-leveled player in Star-Moon Kingdom had only recently reached Level 38. On the other hand, many of the players on Empire Ranking Lists had reached Level 39. Suddenly, the reception room''s doors swung open. Shi Feng, who currently used his Black Flame appearance, walked into the room. Level 40?! How can this be?! 827 Sword King Black Flame Chapter 827 - Sword King Black Flame As Shi Feng entered the elegant reception room, he did not bother with disguising his current Level. The robust man''s gaze fixed on Shi Feng, confusion filling his eyes. A Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom actually had someone higher-leveled than the number one player on the Glory Empire''s Ranking List. No matter how he thought about it, this was inconceivable. Their levels were already quite high, so they required a tremendous amount of EXP to level up. It was especially true for leveling from Level 39 to 40. All those who held their rank on the Ranking List practically grinded without rest. Moreover, ordinary experts could not compare to their efficiency. Usually, these rankers had groups to lure and damage monsters for them. When the monsters dropped to their final strand of HP, these rankers would strike the final blow, taking the majority of the monster''s EXP. Either that or these rankers formed teams who possessed AOE Attack Spells and had others lure hordes of monsters to these AOE teams. They would then rotate through each team, sharing the EXP as they killed the monsters. The basis of these systems was sacrificing other players'' EXP. Only large Guilds had the power to employ these methods. With such a grinding efficiency, the EXP these rankers obtained was many times more than what ordinary expert teams could earn while grinding. Only with this technique could they exceed other players by so many levels. Even so, Shi Feng had still surpassed them by such a large margin "I am Black Flame. What business do you have with me?" When Shi Feng examined the two representatives, he realized that he had met one of them before. The robust man was none other than the Berserker, Thunder Tiger, whom he had met when he sold equipment in Blackwing City. Aside from the unruly-looking Thunder Tiger, Shi Feng also recognized the indifferent youth beside the Berserker. The youth''s name was Ordinary Stranger. In the past, he had been one of King''s Return''s top ten Summoner experts. These two people were extremely powerful. Both could rank with Star-Moon Kingdom''s top ten experts. Even the top-tier experts in first-rate Guilds could not hope to compete with either of these two. Their Levels alone made this evident. Among the two, one was a Level 38 Berserker, while the other was a Level 38 Summoner. Most likely, they leveled far faster than even the number one player on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List. Their equipment was even more impressive. Both were fully geared with Level 35 top-tier Dark-Gold Equipment. The staff in Ordinary Stranger''s hand especially One could not judge the staff''s quality based on its appearance alone. However, Shi Feng knew that the staff in Ordinary Stranger''s hand was a Magic Weapon. In God''s Domain, although there were far fewer Magic Weapons than Epic Weapons, they were significantly less difficult to obtain. One did not need to kill some kind of super-powerful Boss to obtain a Magic Weapon. Players also did not need to complete an Epic Quest. Instead, a Magic Weapon''s procurement depended on luck. Players might unexpectedly obtain a Magic Weapon by completing a Hidden Quest. They might even find a Magic Weapon when they opened a high-ranking Treasure Chest. Although Magic Weapons had helped many players become experts, they had ruined far more. Ordinary Stranger was one of those people who had managed to control a Magic Weapon in the past. Hence, he had become one of King''s Return''s top ranking experts. Otherwise, he would never have become one of the Super Guild''s top ten Summoners. "Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame! I am Ordinary Stranger of King''s Return; my companion here is Thunder Tiger," Ordinary Stranger stated, a smile suddenly lighting his indifferent face. Although his smile contained no ill will, it looked horrifyingly forced. "In truth, we have come to speak with you about a small matter. We hope that you can help us with this." Although he looked down on Zero Wing, he would show respect to a true expert. This was the 51st ranking expert on the God''s Domain Experts List, the Sword King, Black Flame. Ordinary experts might not realize what such a rank implied, but as an expert from a Super Guild, Ordinary Stranger understood what it meant. The fact that Shi Feng had earned the 51st rank told him that the man had already reached the Void Realm. He was many times stronger than either of them. If a fight broke out, even if they worked together, they would not be a match for Shi Feng. After meeting Shi Feng personally, Ordinary Stranger felt that the man had grown a lot stronger. He was particularly convinced when he saw the exquisite mold and intricate runes of the weapons hanging from Shi Feng''s waist. Although their special effects were hidden, he was certain that Dark-Gold weapons could not compare to those two blades. Based on the rumors floating around, these two weapons could very well be Epic Weapons. Epic Weapons! Even experts like themselves only obtained weapons like those in their dreams. Currently, only the Guild''s monster-level characters possessed Epic items. As to whether or not those items were weapons, that was one of the Guild''s absolute secrets. Even they had no clue. Even a Super Guild like King''s Return had gone to great lengths to obtain these Epic items. Hence, it was truly hard to imagine that the Guild Leader of an upstart Guild actually wielded two Epic Weapons. "You''re looking for my help? Interesting. King''s Return is a Super Guild. Is there truly anything your Guild can''t do in God''s Domain?" Shi Feng said, laughing. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you jest," Ordinary Stranger said hurriedly. "We really need your help with this situation." "Alright, tell me; what business do you have with me." Shi Feng waved his hand dismissively. "Recently, we''ve heard that Zero Wing plans to buy some of Snow Field City''s Lands. We would like to dissuade you. In return, King''s Return will provide Zero Wing with a plot of Light City''s Land, allowing the Candlelight Trading Firm to develop there," Ordinary Stranger explained. Although Snow Field City was the third largest city in the Twin Towers Kingdom, its player population could not compete with Light City''s. The difference between the two cities was simply too massive. Even an extremely ordinary plot of Land in Light City was far more valuable than Snow Field City''s golden Lands. "Can you tell me which plot of Land you are offering?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He had never expected King''s Return to be so generous. Only the extremely wealthy could afford Land in imperial capitals. Moreover, even if one managed to purchase one or two plots, without the endorsement from the city''s ruling Guild, one''s business would fail. The ruling Guild would cause all sorts of trouble to chase away their customers, going so far as to kill the players who dared to spend Gold at their Shops. This was especially true for imperial capitals in which Super Guilds had set up their headquarters. In a few years, the players within these imperial capitals would either become members of the Guild, guests who had business with these Super Guilds, or players who supported these Super Guilds. It would be practically impossible these Guilds'' foundations in their home cities. Hence, even if one could afford the Land in an imperial capital, most Guilds usually avoided them. After all, these Lands would only become expensive paperweights. Of course, it was a different story if one obtained the permission of the ruling Guild. This was why Shi Feng wanted to cooperate with Phoenix Rain. Since King''s Return would willingly allow the Candlelight Trading Firm to develop at Light City, once the trading firm set up a Shop, that Shop would most likely earn more money than five or six kingdom cities combined. After all, the player population in Light City was that massive. "Here it is." Ordinary Stranger took out a drawing. This was none other than the map of Light City. A red dot had been marked on the map''s top corner, representing the Land for resale. "The Slums?" 828 Chased Ou Chapter 828 - Chased Out Shi Feng thought he had interpreted the map wrong when he examined the marked location. Cities in God''s Domain generally had many districts. Among them, the most important was the Trade Area. Normally, when players tried to set up a Shop, they purchased Land in the Trade District. Following the Trade Area would be the Noble''s District. The Noble''s District housed the city''s Library and the War God''s Temple. Naturally, players frequently visited these locations. The Commoner''s District followed the Noble''s District. The Commoner''s District contained the Adventurer''s Association and the Underground Arena. Hence, that district enjoyed quite a bit of player traffic as well. The district with the worst traffic was the Slums. There were practically no establishments in the Slums that could attract players to the area. Very few players were willing to visit. Hence, in every city in God''s Domain, the Lands in the Slums there were the cheapest. Opening a Shop there was no different than throwing money into the furnace. "This is your offer?" Shi Feng asked, laughing. After all that talk, King''s Return wanted to trade a worthless location for five valuable plots of Land. "Guild Leader Black Flame, don''t be in such a rush. Many of Light City''s Lands have already been distributed. We cannot procure good plots of Land with so little time. These are the only ones left. However, our superiors have stated that King''s Return will allow the Candlelight Trading Firm to enter Light City to conduct business. If you are in a hurry to develop the Candlelight Trading Firm in Light City, you can purchase Land with potential from others," Ordinary Stranger explained. In Ordinary Stranger''s opinion, this offer was a powerful show of faith towards Zero Wing. Light City was King''s Return''s main headquarters. The city was home to more than ten million players. In the future, that number could definitely climb to twenty million, or even thirty million. It was not an exaggeration to say that every inch of land in Light City was worth its weight in gold. To obtain a share of this golden pie, all Zero Wing needed to do was to turn away from those five plots of Land in Snow Field City. There were lots of Guilds that hoped to set up a Shop in Light City. The fact that King''s Return had agreed to let the Candlelight Trading Firm set foot in Light City was an opportunity that many Guilds dreamed of, but could not obtain. "What if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked. Although Ordinary Stranger''s offer sounded nice, what fool would actually sell the high-potential Land they had only obtained after so much trouble? In the end, Zero Wing had nothing more than an empty promise at the loss of five very high potential Lands. Wasn''t King''s Return being a little too arrogant "This" Ordinary Stranger was taken aback. He had never dreamed that Shi Feng would actually consider turning his offer down. Coldly, he replied, "I hope that Guild Leader Black Flame will rethink this carefully. King''s Return is a Super Guild. Is it really worth offending us over a few plots of Land?" "Alright, enough. You two can leave now," Shi Feng said as he gestured towards the door. "Are you doing this because of Immortal Light?" Ordinary Stranger suddenly said coldly, "Guild Leader Black Flame, think this over. I can tell you that Immortal Light is a sworn enemy of King''s Return. We must annihilate this pest. If Zero Wing helps Immortal Light, you will incur King''s Return''s wrath as well!" "Now, that is interesting," Shi Feng said, his lips hooking up into a grin. He then continued, saying, "Do you think that Zero Wing is afraid of King''s Return?" Hearing Shi Feng''s bold question, both Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger were stupefied. They had not expected Shi Feng to brush the Super Guild off like that. Super Guilds were different from other Guilds. They were the true overlords of the virtual gaming world. In the virtual gaming world, aside from the few transcendent powers and other Super Guilds, nobody would dare disregard a Super Guild. However, when they thought back to how Zero Wing treated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it was possible that the Guild would ignore King''s Return''s threat. "Both of you can get lost this instant. Oh, and go back and tell your superiors this: what Zero Wing does is of no concern of King''s Return. I will buy those plots of Land. You can be certain of that," Shi Feng declared, a frosty glint flashing in his eyes. Sinned Heart had helped him many times in his previous life. Moreover, since he had already promised Sinned Heart to buy those Lands, he would not go back on his word. He had only wasted so much time talking to these two representatives to gauge what King''s Return''s stance was towards Immortal Light. Although Zero Wing could not defeat a Super Guild, in Star-Moon Kingdom, it had no reason to fear them either. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the temperature in the room dropped by several degrees. Both Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger suddenly felt their bodies grow cold. Their instincts shouted warnings, reminding them that they were in an extremely dangerous situation and that they could lose their lives at any moment. Both Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger knew that they were not a match for Shi Feng. Helpless, they could only leave Zero Wing''s Residence without accomplishing their objective. "What are we supposed to do now?" Thunder Tiger asked as he looked back towards the Guild Residence. "Are we just going to return and report this?" "What else can we do?" Ordinary Stranger had not expected Shi Feng to be this insane. He was actually willing to offend King''s Return for a meager Guild like Immortal Light. "Let''s find a quiet location and report to Elder Broken City. We''ll let the Elder decide how we should proceed." The two experts immediately ran to a high-class restaurant and rented a VIP room. They intended to report Shi Feng''s reply, word-for-word, to Broken City. --- Meanwhile, Shi Feng arrived at the Candlelight Trading Firm. "Melancholic, how many Strengthening Devices has your team completed?" Shi Feng no longer carried a fortune. Although he had earned quite a bit through Stone Forest Town and the Candlelight Trading Firm while he had been gone, after deducting the Guild expenses and the Magic Crystals, which could not be sold, he only had roughly 4,000 Gold on hand. Of course, to any first-rate Guild in God''s Domain, having 4,000 Gold of liquid funds after deducting Guild expenses was practically a dream. However, if Shi Feng wanted to purchase those five plots from Sinned Heart, he did not have nearly enough money. He also had a city waiting for him to build --- Inside a VIP room in a high-class restaurant "Is that all?" Broken City asked with gravelly tone through the video chat. "Yes, that is all. After that, Black Flame chased us out," Ordinary Stranger explained softly. "Since Zero Wing is adamant about poking its nose into our business, we should teach the Guild a small lesson. I''ll have Hell Fiend lead the Falcon Legion over. Find out where Zero Wing''s core members are right now. When the time comes, we won''t let any of them survive!" Broken City declared before disconnecting the call. Both Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger were stunned. Although they did not know why Broken City focused so heavily on a small Guild like Immortal Light, sending the Falcon Legion to deal with Zero Wing was no more than making a big fuss over a small issue. The Falcon Legion was King''s Return''s ace legion. The legion was comprised of the young experts the Guild had nurtured and had been specifically formed to deal with other Super Guild''s legions. Moreover, Broken City was actually sending the Adjudicator Hell Fiend. One could just imagine how furious the old man was. 829 Fifth Floor Master Chapter 829 - Fifth Floor Master Blackwing City: Many players hawked their wares on the wide, flourishing streets of the city. Shi Feng had already reverted to his original appearance and made his way towards the Blackwing Auction House. It had only been a short time since Shi Feng last visited the city. The street the Blackwing Auction House resided on had become a player market. It was even more lively than an empire''s imperial capital. However, unlike other cities, one only needed an entry pass to enter Blackwing City. As players'' Levels continued to increase, more entry passes dropped. Hence, Blackwing City''s traffic had increased by several times. At this point, Blackwing City had become the largest trade hub in God''s Domain. Even the Four Great Empires'' imperial capitals could not compete with Blackwing City. The transactions between the various large Guilds here were astronomical. If one wanted to point out God''s Domain''s most profitable locations, Blackwing City would definitely be one of them. The Auction House in Blackwing City was also where Guilds and independent experts of various kingdoms and empires preferred to sell or purchase items. This was because those who could reach Blackwing City were either lucky individuals who had gotten their hands on an entry pass, independent experts with a certain degree of strength, or players from the various large Guilds. As long as one had a valuable item, they did not need to worry about it not selling in Blackwing City. They also didn''t need to worry that players could not afford their prices. Hence, many players preferred to sell their treasures at the Blackwing Auction House. Upon entering the Blackwing Auction House, Shi Feng discovered even more players inside the establishment than those who camped on the street outside. It was especially true for the registration counters. Long lines of people had queued up in front of the dozen or so registration counters. Why are there so many people here? Shi Feng swept a glance over the sea of players before him. At the very least, there should be over a thousand players present. If not for the Blackwing Auction House''s extremely large size, it would be impossible to hold so many people. While Shi Feng tried to figure out why there were so many players lining up to get into the Blackwing Auction House, he suddenly heard a crisp, pleasant voice from behind him. "Ye Feng, so you''ve received the news as well." Turning to the source of the voice, Shi Feng discovered none other than Gentle Snow, whom he had not seen for quite some time. Currently, Gentle Snow wore a set of silver sacred armor. On her back, she carried a silver greatsword engraved with golden divine runes. A hint of bloodlust radiated from the greatsword. This faint bloodlust wrapped around Gentle Snow''s body, making the woman seem like a goddess of the battlefield. Walking through the building, Gentle Snow attracted the passionate, watchful gazes of many male players. However, nobody in the room dared to approach Gentle Snow casually. Though her status as Ouroboros''s Guild Leader was part of the reason, the main deterrent was the group of players accompanying Gentle Snow. Among this group, the lowest player was Level 37, while the highest was Level 39. In a kingdom, these players would rank at the very top of the kingdom''s Ranking List. Furthermore, every one of these players had an extraordinary origin. This was particularly the case for Hidden Cloud, the Level 39 Assassin leading the group. Hidden Cloud was a famous character that belonged to the Super Guild Nine Heavens Pavilion. He had been one of the talented newcomers that had entered the virtual gaming world ten years ago. He had risen to prominence like a comet when he had joined. Through a relatively popular virtual reality game, he had earned numerous achievements. Afterward, the Nine Heavens Pavilion had paid an astronomical price to recruit him. Back then, his appearance had shaken the virtual gaming world. Moreover, after joining the Nine Heavens Pavilion, he had become the Ninth Floor Master in just three years. His growth had left other Super Guilds speechless. There were a total of nine Floor Masters in the Nine Heavens Pavilion. Each of them enjoyed an even higher status than the Guild Elders. They were the Guild''s absolute core members. The First Floor Master was the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Guild Leader. Hidden Cloud had become the spearhead of the Nine Heavens Pavilion, leading the Guild through one conquest after another. By the time he joined God''s Domain, he had been promoted to the rank of Fifth Floor Master. With a Super Guild''s high-profile individual present, who would dare try to flirt with Gentle Snow? Only those who wished to quit God''s Domain or wished to start a new account would be so bold. Not only was Hidden Cloud inhumanely strong, but he was also incomparably vicious. There was once the upper echelon of a large Guild who had tried to compete with a good friend of Hidden Cloud''s over a woman. In the end, Hidden Cloud had wiped his Guild out of existence, removing the Guild from the virtual gaming world permanently. From then on, nobody ever dared to offend anyone close to Hidden Cloud. "Guild Leader Snow." Shi Feng could not help his confusion as he watched the woman approach. He had not come here due to any particular news. He had only come here to earn money. "Is something going on here?" "You don''t know? Today, Blackwing City will hold its monthly auction. Incredibly rare items will be available for bidding. I have heard that there is a possibility that Epic items will make an appearance," Gentle Snow informed him, somewhat surprised by Shi Feng''s reaction. The man before her was one of Zero Wing''s core upper echelons. Although news of the monthly auction had only been announced today, with Zero Wing''s capabilities, it should have received this information. So, that is what is going on. Realization dawned on Shi Feng. The end of the month was indeed approaching. Near the end of every month, Blackwing City randomly held a large-scale auction. Not only would NPCs sell large numbers of rare items during this auction, but players could also put their items up for sale. However, the handling fees were slightly higher. If one sold ordinary rare items during this auction, they would not walk away with any profit. On the other hand, if one sold extremely rare items, they could make a fortune. Shi Feng was ecstatic about this discovery. He never expected this coincidence. Before teleporting to Blackwing City, Shi Feng had retrieved 5,000 Strengthening Devices from Melancholic Smile. These Strengthening Devices were the culmination of several days of Melancholic Smile and her team''s hard work. The Magic Crystals the few of them had spent during this period would even astound a first-rate Guild. The current market value for Magic Crystals was 24 Silver each. However, that was only true if one purchased them in bulk. Purchased individually, one would have to spend at least 25 or 26 Silver. Unfortunately, Magic Crystals were the main material needed to manufacture Strengthening Devices. The other materials were very cheap. Fortunately, Magic Crystals were not a problem for Zero Wing right now. The Magic Crystals Shi Feng had won from the Glorious Lions Battle Team alone were enough to supply Zero Wing''s needs for a relatively long time. They also had the Magic Crystals earned from Stone Forest Town. "Snow, is this person your friend?" Hidden Cloud asked, his expression darkening as he examined Shi Feng. "Mhm. Let me introduce you. This is Ye Feng from Zero Wing." Gentle Snow nodded. She then looked towards Shi Feng and introduced Hidden Cloud, saying, "This is Hidden Cloud from the Nine Heavens Pavilion. He is also a good friend of my elder brother." Before Shi Feng could offer a greeting, he felt a very clear hint of killing intent from Hidden Cloud. Although Hidden Cloud had hidden it very well, once one reached Shi Feng''s standard, hiding killing intent was impossible unless one held absolutely no ill will. However, this killing intent vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. It was as if this killing intent had never existed. Was I mistaken? Shi Feng could not help but turn to the smiling Hidden Cloud. 830 Beginning of Fame Chapter 830 - Beginning of Fame "So, you''re the rumored Ye Feng." Hidden Cloud, with his tanned skin, a robust body, and a slightly evil air about him, wore a slightly surprised expression as he looked at Shi Feng. The majority of God''s Domain''s players were completely clueless about what had happened in the Dark Arena. Not to mention, matches were held in the Dark Arena every day, making it even more difficult for people to follow a single battle team. To a Super Guild upper echelon like Hidden Cloud, however, there was no need to pay attention to the Dark Arena''s ordinary experts. He was only interested in those who could leave an impression. Someone like Shi Feng, in particular, who had defeated a famous, old monster like Sirius, would catch his attention even if he wanted to avoid information on this expert. After all, his Guild would remind him about such existences. Experts at Shi Feng''s standard could not be ignored. Even in Super Guilds, he would be a member of the top fighting force. He would be an apex expert the Guild would use against its competition. "They''re just rumors." Shi Feng shrugged, chuckling. Hidden Cloud was an extremely powerful expert. His history was almost considered a legend. He had debuted into the virtual gaming world at the young age of 17. He was currently 27 years old, and already, he had become the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Fifth Floor Master. He was the target of admiration for countless young players. In the past, Hidden Cloud''s achievements in God''s Domain had even pushed him to his peak. After spending five years in God''s Domain, he had gained the position of Second Floor Master. In the Nine Heavens Pavilion, he had been the most likely candidate to become the next First Floor Master. However, Hidden Cloud''s position in the Nine Heavens Pavilion had been secondary. The man himself was far more impressive. In the past, he had been one of the Ten Great God-ranked Assassins in God''s Domain. No one throughout God''s Domain had been able to stop any of his assassination attempts. Hidden Cloud''s most impressive assassination had the death of a powerful upper echelon of the Flower of Seven Sins, which he had completed without any assistance. This incident had struck fear into the assassin organization and boosted the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s prestige. After all, even Super Guilds did not dare offend a transcendental power like the Flower of Seven Sins. Many of these Super Guilds had suffered multiple losses at the hand of the organization. Super Guilds had always suffered the Flower of Seven Sins'' wrath. Never once had the organization suffered a loss of its own. The fact that Hidden Cloud had managed to defeat one of the organization''s upper echelons had significantly boosted the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s reputation. This incident had shocked the upper echelons of the various large Guilds in God''s Domain. Shi Feng had been no exception. I had never thought that Gentle Snow knew Hidden Cloud. It seems she has a few of her own secrets. Shi Feng glanced at the four people behind Hidden Cloud. These four were Hidden Cloud''s brothers-in-arms. Every one of them was extraordinary. Even in the Dark Arena, they would be considered first-class experts. It was also thanks to these four people that Hidden Cloud had reached his current position so quickly. However, one thing confused Shi Feng. If Gentle Snow was acquainted with such a powerful existence, it should have been quite easy to secure the position of Ouroboros''s Guild Leader during the previous mutiny, so much so that, if Hidden Cloud had made an appearance, Cao Chenghua and the Elders backing him would have surrendered. After all, it was well known that Hidden Cloud greatly valued his relationships. He had even extinguished a large Guild just to help a brother earn a woman''s affections. Judging by Gentle Snow''s tone and expression when she spoke to Hidden Cloud, her brother should have a very close relationship with this man. Yet, in the past, Gentle Snow had still left the virtual gaming world eventually. This was truly a mystery. While Shi Feng pondered this riddle, Gentle Snow turned Shi Feng and smiled, saying, "Since you''ve only just learned about this, you most likely haven''t purchased an entry ticket, right? If you line up now, the tickets will probably sell out before you get one. Why don''t you join us? You will regret it if you miss out on the auction." The Blackwing Auction House had organized the auction suddenly this time, and many Guilds had rushed to purchase entry tickets the moment they heard the news. Now that the auction would begin soon, it was most likely be impossible for Shi Feng to get his hands on a ticket. Shi Feng had helped her earn a fortune in the Dark Arena. She had significantly increased Ouroboros''s liquid assets because of it. Although Shi Feng did not know that, Gentle Snow still thought that she should return the favor. After all, aside from helping her earn money, Shi Feng had also helped her secure Ouroboros. As soon as Gentle Snow extended the offer, Hidden Cloud''s expression darkened slightly, his gaze sharpening as he turned to Shi Feng. "Thank you for your kind offer. However, I have another matter that I need to deal with first, so it is best if I don''t disturb you." Shi Feng did not wish to miss this rare opportunity. He needed to register his auction items quickly. As for whether or not he could enter the auction itself, that was not important. After all, his goal was to make money. "How much time do you need?" Gentle Snow prodded. "Roughly half an hour," Shi Feng said as he glanced at the long queue. Although there were a lot of people at the registration counters, the registration process was simple and did not take very long. He should be able to finish what he needed in half an hour. "That won''t be an issue. In any case, there is still some time before the auction officially begins. I can wait here for you in the meantime," Gentle Snow offered after a moment of consideration. "Alright, I''ll try to finish as quickly as possible." Shi Feng nodded. Since Gentle Snow was willing to accommodate him, it would be rude to continue rejecting her offer. There would certainly be many valuable items for sale at Blackwing City''s monthly auction. He might be able to purchase something good if he participated. If an Epic item were available, he would hit the jackpot. "It sure is difficult to invite this man," Gentle Snow sighed as she watched Shi Feng''s departing figure. This was the first time inviting someone had been so difficult. However, shortly after Shi Feng left, Hidden Cloud secretly messaged one of his brothers, whispering, "Blaster, research that man called Ye Feng! Find out his origin! I want to know everything about him!" "Boss, rest assured; I''ll get it done quickly." The Berserker named Blaster smiled confidently. He then began rapidly searching through the forums for all information relating to Shi Feng. At the same time, he contacted a number of people to help him with the search. --- At the registration counter: After waiting for over twenty minutes, it was finally Shi Feng''s turn. "Sir, how may I be of service to you today?" the NPC female receptionist asked, smiling. "I wish to sell these items at this month''s auction," Shi Feng said as he revealed a Strengthening Device. "Alright, please wait for a moment," the NPC receptionist received the Strengthening Device and began appraising it. Not all items were allowed in the auctions held in the Blackwing Auction House. Items needed a certain value before being permitted. Hence, all items presented needed to undergo the system''s appraisal. "I apologize for the long wait. Sir, the estimated minimum price for this item is 1 Gold 40 Silver. If you wish to sell this item at our Auction House, we will charge you a 30% handling fee. Do you wish to put it up for auction?" The female receptionist handed the Strengthening Device back to Shi Feng after she had finished. Only Blackwing City''s auctions would charge a 30% handling fee. Other places charged 20% at most. Even so, Shi Feng did not mind it. "Yes." Shi Feng took out 2,000 Strengthening Devices and divided them into hundreds of auction lots, with each lot having anywhere from one to one hundred Strengthening Devices. If he sold too many at once, it would only cheapen the Strengthening Device. The various large Guilds participating in this auction should be able to stomach 2,000 devices. After dealing with the Strengthening Devices, Shi Feng ran to meet Gentle Snow. He then entered the auction venue with Gentle Snow and her companions, quietly waiting for the auction to start. At this time, Blaster sent Hidden Cloud a private message, reporting, "Boss, we''ve learned everything there is to know about that brat." 831 Great Disturbance Chapter 831 - Great Disturbance "There sure are a lot of high-ranking NPCs participating in the auction this time," Shi Feng commented as he swept a glance over the NPCs on the second floor, an amused smile appearing on his face. "High-ranking NPCs?" At Shi Feng''s comment, Gentle Snow turned to the second floor. Indeed, there were quite a number of NPCs present. "But isn''t it normal for high-ranking NPCs to participate in the Blackwing Auction House?" This was not her first time attending an auction in the Blackwing Auction House. She had even attended high-ranking auctions before. Players were not the only ones to compete over items up for auction. NPCs similarly contested over the items. However, after some of her own research, Gentle Snow, more or less, understood these NPCs'' function. These NPCs were here to make sure items were sold at an appropriate price. If the price players offered was too low, these NPCs would join the bidding. They would not let players take advantage of the system. At such a large auction, it was natural that more NPCs would join. However, when players tried to purchase an item, as long as the price they offered was higher than the item''s actual value, these NPCs would automatically relent and end their bidding. In response, Shi Feng smiled and nodded, saying, "It is very normal. Only, I''ve never seen so many powerful NPCs attend at the same time, so I''m slightly surprised." "Tch, what about these NPCs is surprising?" Blaster commented disdainfully. The others nodded in agreement, scorn flashing in their eyes as they looked at Shi Feng. Initially, they had thought that Shi Feng was one of God''s Domain''s apex experts. Now, however, it would seem that he was just a country bumpkin that had never seen the world of the great. At the end of the day, he was simply the upper echelon of an upstart Guild. There was no way he could measure up to their standards. Shi Feng simply smiled at the group''s reaction, not bothering to explain. However, Gentle Snow''s expression turned serious at Shi Feng''s statement as she secretly observed the NPCs on the second floor. She did not think that Shi Feng would be surprised just because there were a lot of high-ranking NPCs present. What?! How can this be?! When Gentle Snow''s eyes fell on a handsome youth in a suit of golden armor and an exquisite cape, she was shocked. Previously, she had never bothered to observe the NPCs. Now that she did, however, she discovered something astounding. When she examined the handsome youth, she could not uncover any information about him. She could not even see the most basic of information such as his name or Level. Even after activating an advanced Identification Skill, she was still left empty-handed. More frighteningly, when her gaze fell upon the youth, he actually turned and returned it, observing her. However, this youth simply smiled before turning away. Although they had only exchanged glances for a brief instant, Gentle Snow felt as if she had been suffocating. In that instant, she had felt as if her life was no longer her own. She had never encountered such an NPC before. She had not even experienced this feeling when she met with a Tier 5 NPC in an imperial capital. Tier 5 NPCs were considered top-class individuals even in an empire. Players could not encounter them casually. She had only met one due to a Special Quest. Moreover, there were also over a dozen Tier 5 NPCs on the second floor Even if one added together the Tier 5 NPCs in an empire, there would be fewer than those that were here now. It was no wonder why Shi Feng was surprised. "Ye Feng, with so many high-ranking NPCs participating in the auction, will something happen?" Gentle Snow sent Shi Feng a private message, wearing a nervous expression. Events frequently occurred throughout God''s Domain. If players could resolve these events, they could earn decent rewards. However, the penalties for failure were equally heavy. When these Events occurred, players'' consent did not matter. As long as one was within the event''s area, the system considered the players to have accepted the quest. Events in God''s Domain varied in terms of sizes. The larger an event was, the more horrific its punishment would be. She had met the Tier 5 NPC due to an event. In the end, said event had claimed the lives of 99% of the tens of thousands of players that had been present. A lot of equipment had dropped that day, and very few players had survived. She had been one of the lucky few. Unfortunately, because the event had not been completed, neither she nor the other survivors had received a reward. However, compared to the players that had died, she was considered very lucky. With so many Tier 5 NPCs here, she could not imagine what would happen if an event occurred. "It''s nothing major. Based on what I have learned, one can determine the value of the items that will be up for auction by the number of high-ranking NPCs that participate. The more NPCs that attend an auction, the more valuable the items will be that appear in said auction. Ordinary items wouldn''t attract these hidden dragons," Shi Feng explained. He could tell what Gentle Snow was worried about. "So, that''s the case. It''s no wonder why you would check the second floor." Gentle Snow finally understood. Her tense mood began to vanish. However, Shi Feng had hidden one truth from the Snow Goddess. More high-ranking NPCs joined an auction when there were more risks. It was especially true when an NPC like that mysterious young man attended. God''s Domain was not a game that let players have their way easily. During the game''s initial stages, conflict was limited to players. However, as players reached higher levels, the game would gradually introduce a new type of conflict: the conflict between players and NPCs. In the past, a powerful NPC had even robbed Shi Feng Hence, money wasn''t the only thing necessary to purchase an item from the Blackwing Auction House. It was a simple matter if one purchased an item from another player. However, if one purchased an item sold by an NPC, they would have to stay on guard. One might win the bidding for an extremely precious item, but keeping the item would depend on their ability. While Gentle Snow and Shi Feng conversed in secret, the auction had officially begun. Above the auction stage, a beautiful female NPC wearing a white evening gown approached the stage as the auction''s hostess. However, as soon as everyone noticed this beautiful, curvaceous NPC, their jaws dropped in shock. This NPC beauty was a Level 220, Tier 4 Great Wizard. In any city, she would be an overlord-level NPC. However, such an existence had actually been tasked to host this auction. Everyone marveled at Blackwing City''s wealth and influence. While the various players struggled with their daze, the first auction item appeared before them. After examining the item''s information, these players were thrown back into their stupor. The item was a golden tablet, radiating a purple-gold glow. Complex runes and images had been carved into the metal. With a glance, it was obvious that this tablet was anything but ordinary. "A Secret Technique!" "Damn! This can''t be real, right?! The system is so generous to sell something like this at the very beginning?!" "Our Guild must have that!" "We had been right to join the Blackwing Auction this time! Notify the others and tell them to purchase Coins immediately! Buy as many as you can! We cannot let other Guilds obtain this!" Ordinary large Guilds were completely clueless about the excitement that tore through the crowd. However, various Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds were thrown into chaos. These representatives eyed the golden tablet like ravenous wolves. "Blaster, notify the Guild Elders immediately! Tell them to send as much money as they can as quickly as possible!" Hidden Cloud shouted, excitement coloring his face. "I understand." Not daring to delay, Blaster rushed out of the Auction House and rapidly contacted the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Elders. 832 Crazy Auction Chapter 832 - Crazy Auction Shi Feng was similarly stunned for quite some time after seeing the auction window. A Secret Technique! This was a treasure that every expert dreamed of obtaining. He had never expected something so shocking to be the Blackwing Auction House''s first item. If he could obtain this golden tablet, he could help even more people from Zero Wing grasp a powerful combat technique. While Shi Feng recovered from his shock, the bidding for the golden tablet had begun. Bidding for the golden tablet started at 100 Gold. However, a few players present instantly bid on it like madmen. "One hundred and ten Gold!" "One hundred and twenty Gold!" "Seven hundred Gold!" It only took a few short seconds to stun many of the players present. The golden tablet''s starting bid had already been beyond many players, yet for just a piece of a broken tablet, someone was actually willing to pay 700 Gold. Even to a third-rate Guild, this was an astronomical price. A single third-rate Guild would have four or five hundred Gold at most. Only second-rate Guilds and above could afford such a price. Second-rate Guilds, however, unless they had lost their minds, would not spend all their liquid funds on an unknown tablet piece. Suddenly, Hidden Cloud shouted, "One thousand Gold! This tablet belongs to the Nine Heavens Pavilion!" Once again, many players were dumbfounded. They had never expected a Super Guild like Nine Heavens Pavilion to be so insane as to willingly spend 1,000 Gold on the golden tablet. "Such big words! Do you think this item belongs to your family or something?" A female Elementalist with an exquisite body laughed pompously. "One thousand, five hundred Gold! "Quiet Melody, what''s the point of fighting it? Do you really think the Sacred Temple can compete with the Nine Heavens Pavilion?" Hidden Cloud laughed. He then raised the bid, saying, "One thousand, six hundred Gold!" To develop the Guild, the Sacred Temple had recently spent a lot of Coins to purchase Land and Magic Crystals. Hence, the Temple''s should be running low. It could not compete with the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s financial strength right now. Of course, he had two goals in mind with his comment. First, he wanted Quiet Melody to retreat, while his second goal was to buy time. Hidden Cloud had not intended to pay much attention to the auction. He was mainly here to accompany Gentle Snow. Hence, he had not brought a lot of money with him. After pooling the money he and his companions had brought, they only had around 2,000 Gold or so. If this were a normal auction, that would be more than enough. They could even purchase a piece of Epic Equipment. Now, however, it was most likely not enough to win the golden tablet. After all, that tablet was far more valuable than any single Epic item. Currently, God''s Domain''s various Super Guilds searched for these tablets frantically, yet after investing so many resources and manpower, they had not found any clues leading to these items. There were no set patterns to acquiring these items. It was purely based on luck. Now that this tablet had appeared, he would spend more than 10,000 Gold if he could purchase the golden tablet, much less several thousand. This item was like God''s Domain''s golden Lands. Not only was it unique, but its value would also grow in the future. One could only encounter a treasure like this, not find one. However, his Guild needed time to collect the required money. This made Hidden Cloud somewhat anxious. "Hahaha! I never thought that the famous Hidden Cloud would be so arrogant!" Quiet Melody covered her mouth with the back of her hand and laughed. Her laughter mesmerized many of the male players in the auction venue. "It seems you really don''t have much money on hand right now! Well then, I''ll gladly buy this golden tablet on your behalf! "Three thousand Gold!" The entire venue suddenly fell silent. The various Guild representatives and the many independent players could not believe what they had just heard. Three thousand Gold?! With that much money, one could buy an ordinary plot of Land in an imperial capital. Even to Super Guilds, this was a large sum of money, yet someone was willing to spend it on a piece of a broken tablet. This was insane! "Just what kind of item is this?" Gentle Snow was astounded when she heard Quiet Melody''s bid. As expected of the Sacred Temple''s Vice Temple Master! Shi Feng, on the other hand, silently praised the beautiful Quiet Melody. He had not expected the woman to see through Hidden Cloud''s troubles with just a glance and act on it. While bidding for an item in a Blackwing Auction, the item would be sold to the highest bidder once a period of time passed without a competing bid. Moreover, if one did not have enough money on hand, they would not be able to bid. Hidden Cloud''s expression instantly soured when he noticed that his ploy had backfired. Three thousand Gold was already far beyond his limit. If he had not provoked Quiet Melody and had gradually increased the bid, he could have earned some time for his Guild to send more money. Now, however, he had lost the opportunity. "Snow, how much money do you have with you? Lend it all to me. I''ll pay you back with 10%, no, 20% interest later. How about it?" Hidden Cloud asked anxiously. "This" Gentle Snow hesitated. Although she did not know the golden tablet''s function, she could not outbid a Super Guild. However, her goal in coming here was to buy some items that were useful to her Guild. If she lent all of her money to Hidden Cloud, it would be difficult to purchase the items she needed. After all, such auctions did not happen very often. "Thirty percent!" Hidden Cloud shouted after hearing the hostess reporting the bid a second time. "Alright, I have 1,700 Gold with me," Gentle Snow said after considering her options. Gentle Snow immediately traded 1,700 Gold to Hidden Cloud, boosting his finances to 3,700 Gold. "Three thousand, one hundred Gold!" However, a few seconds after he called out this bid, Quiet Melody once more shouted, "Three thousand, two hundred Gold!" At this point, Quiet Melody lost her composure. Although she had prepared some money before coming to the auction, she had not prepared a lot. Recently, to develop its businesses, her Guild had purchased several plots of Land. Hence, her available funds were limited. For this auction, she had only brought 3,500 Gold. After Quiet Melody placed her bid, the other members of the Sacred Temple began to borrow money from other participants. However, a crisp sound echoed throughout the venue. "Three thousand five, hundred Gold!" Everyone immediately turned their gazes towards the new voice, discovering a beautiful young woman of similarly extraordinary origins. "Phoenix Rain!" Hidden Cloud glared at the smiling Phoenix Rain, who sat in the back row on the first floor. "I am truly sorry, but the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has set its sights on this item as well," Phoenix Rain said, smiling softly. Recently, she had made a huge fortune in the Dark Arena. Although she had already spent some of that fortune, for this auction, she had brought 4,000 Gold with her. It was also obvious that both Hidden Cloud and Quiet Melody were reaching their limits. Hence, she had more than enough to obtain the golden tablet. "Three thousand, seven hundred Gold!" Hidden Cloud yelled out his final bid. At the same time, he secretly sent a message to Blaster, demanding, "Blaster, is the money not here yet!?" "Boss, they''re still in the process of collecting money right now. They''ve already mailed some of it to me, but I''ll need to wait for another minute to receive it!" Blaster was also jittery. However, the process of sending money in God''s Domain was not instantaneous. There was a short transfer time. "Three thousand, eight hundred Gold!" Phoenix Rain increased the bid by 100 Gold without hesitation. Both Hidden Cloud and Quiet Melody frantically tried to borrow money. However, borrowing such a large sum in such a short time was easier said than done. And yet, after Phoenix Rain had announced her bid, Shi Feng motioned towards the hostess and said "Four thousand Gold!" 833 Stone Tablet Obtain Chapter 833 - Stone Tablet Obtained "Ye Feng?" Phoenix Rain''s mouth twitched slightly when she saw Shi Feng suddenly raise his hand. She hadn''t expected him to be here. Moreover, he had placed such a high bid. This placed her in a somewhat awkward position. She only had around 4,000 Gold on hand. It would be difficult for her to continue bidding. However, Phoenix Rain''s surprise was minor compared to the shock everyone else in the venue felt. This had been a contest between God''s Domain''s major powers, yet someone from a lesser Guild had actually dared to outbid them. He had practically issued a direct challenge. How does he have so much money? Surprise flashed in Hidden Cloud''s eyes when he turned to the calm Shi Feng. He had already read through the information his team had collected about this man. Shi Feng had been an unknown pawn before entering God''s Domain, an insignificant existence that did not warrant his attention. However, after joining God''s Domain, Shi Feng had begun to shine. During the game''s early stages, he had only been well-known in a town. Afterward, he had vanished from the public eye. The next time he appeared and displayed his strength was when he had helped Gentle Snow. Not only had he defeated Soaring Snake, one of Ouroboros''s top experts, but he also helped Gentle Snow become the Guild Leader of Ouroboros. However, the match against Sirius in the Dark Arena had truly earned him fame. Nevertheless, compared to Hidden Cloud, Shi Feng was still insignificant. Even if the Swordsman were more powerful, at the end of the day, he was merely the upper echelon of a small Guild. A small Guild could never compete with the Nine Heavens Pavilion. The resources each Guild commanded were on entirely different levels. Yet, a minor character like Shi Feng had bid 4,000 Gold. Shi Feng was even richer than he was! However, after a brief period of silence, Quiet Melody suddenly shouted, "Four thousand, five hundred Gold!" She rose the bid by 500 Gold instantly. Even Shi Feng could only smile bitterly while shaking his head. Like Phoenix Rain, he had only brought around 4,000 Gold. "That was a close call. Luckily, I managed to borrow some Coins at the last minute. Otherwise, I really would''ve lost the item to Phoenix Rain." Quiet Melody revealed a relieved smile as she turned to Shi Feng. If not for Shi Feng raising the bid and earning her some time, she would have lost this auction. "Damn it! The Sacred Temple is going to snatch it from us!" Hidden Cloud''s frustration was overwhelming as he glared at the satisfaction on Quiet Melody''s face. If he obtained the golden tablet, not only would the Nine Heavens Pavilion give him the right to use the tablet first, but he would have also made a huge contribution to the Guild. Moreover, with the first usage rights to the golden tablet, he could nurture a group of trustworthy experts. With those experts by his side and his contribution to the guild, he could advance his position in the Pavilion. Now, however, not only did he have to hand the golden tablet over to someone else, but that person was also a long-time rival. This was far more vexing than losing the golden tablet to Phoenix Rain. "Ye Feng, lend me your 4,000 Gold. I''ll pay you back with 30% interest," Hidden Cloud asked desperately, his voice no longer carrying any hints of superiority. Shi Feng shook his head, saying, "No, I want 50% interest." "That''s going too far!" Hidden Cloud growled, killing intent lacing his words. "Thirty percent is already high! If you hurry, you''ll lose the 30% interest and earn yourself a powerful enemy!" Emotion warmed Gentle Snow''s face. She had never thought that Hidden Cloud would ever make such a threat. His desperation truly confused the Snow Goddess. Just what kind of item was this golden tablet? It had actually driven Hidden Cloud to lose his composure. At this moment, the man before her behaved nothing like the Hidden Cloud she knew. "Going too far?" Shi Feng grinned. Unhurriedly, he pointed his finger at the distant Phoenix Rain, saying, "The Phoenix Pavilion Master has also asked for a loan. Since you don''t want to borrow it, I can lend it to the Phoenix Pavilion Master." "You!" Furious, Hidden Cloud wanted to rage. However, when he heard the hostess smash the gavel a second time, he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I promise 50%!" On the surface, although Hidden Cloud had agreed to Shi Feng''s conditions, he changed his view of Shi Feng from someone who needed a warning to someone who needed to be extinguished. Once the auction was over, he would introduce Shi Feng to despair. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had long since been prepared as he quickly retrieved a contract and handed it to Hidden Cloud. The terms of the contract were very simple. As long as Hidden Cloud signed it, he would obtain 4,000 Gold. However, the Assassin was required to return 6,000 Gold within a day. If he violated the contract, he would have to pay Shi Feng three times the amount he borrowed in Credits. After Hidden Cloud examined the contract, his hatred for Shi Feng deepened. This was the first time anyone had taken advantage of him to such a degree, yet he was powerless about it. Unfortunately, he could only swallow this humiliation and sign the contract. Immediately, an additional 4,000 Gold appeared in his pockets. "Seven thousand Gold!" Hidden Cloud shouted. As these words echoed throughout the auction venue, even Quiet Melody was momentarily stunned. She couldn''t believe that Hidden Cloud would be this decisive. She had only managed to gather a total of 5,100 Gold. The auction would be long over by the time she gathered enough money to make a counterbid. "This Ye Feng really is hateful. Even though we are secret partners, he loaned the money to Hidden Cloud," Blue Phoenix huffed as she watched the calm Shi Feng. "I was truly blind to have thought of him as a good person." However, Phoenix Rain, who sat beside Blue Bamboo, remained silent as she seriously evaluated the distant Shi Feng. She, too, had initially been angry. However, her anger quickly dissipated after she read the message Shi Feng had sent her. The message was very simple. The golden tablet is dangerous! Although she did not know what kind of danger the golden tablet possessed, she did not think that Shi Feng would lie to her. After all, she had a close partnership with Zero Wing. She had previously stated that, after she obtained the golden tablet, she would split half of the slots to learn the Secret Technique with Zero Wing. This trade would benefit both sides. There was simply no reason for Shi Feng to reject her offer. She also did not believe that Hidden Cloud would be generous enough split any of the learning slots with anyone else. While Phoenix Rain pondered, the hostess smashed her gavel a third and final time. "Congratulations to this gentleman for obtaining this tablet! Let us give him a round of applause!" the beautiful hostess announced as she clapped her hands. "I finally got it." At this moment, Hidden Cloud felt ecstatic. When the golden tablet rested in his hands, wonderous fantasies of a powerful future filled his mind. He then shifted his gaze to Shi Feng, ridicule flashing in his eyes. Now that I''ve obtained the tablet, I''ll take care of you soon. Shi Feng paid no heed to Hidden Cloud''s gaze. Instead, his eyes shifted towards the venue''s second floor. The moment Hidden Cloud obtained the golden tablet, the mysterious youth on the second floor smiled happily at the Assassin. When Shi Feng had first laid his eyes on the golden tablet, he, too, had wanted it for his own. However, when he shouted his bid of 4,000 Gold, he had turned his attention to the second floor. Indeed, just as Shi Feng had guessed This golden tablet was not some kind of treasure at all. It was a fatal poison. The instant he announced his bid, the mysterious NPC on the second floor had shifted his gaze towards him. Shi Feng had lived in God''s Domain for many years, so he was very familiar with the game''s NPCs. He was also very familiar with the look in the youth''s eyes when he turned towards him. It had not been a look of curiosity or congratulatory. He had looked at Shi Feng as a predator looked at prey. Since the golden tablet was the youth''s apparent target, Shi Feng had dropped out of the foolish competition for it. After the first auction item sold, the venue''s atmosphere grew heated. The items that appeared afterward sold quickly, one after another. However, none of these items caught Shi Feng''s attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, the next auction item is a precious tool in God''s Domain! With this, not only can you strengthen your Defense, but you can also preserve your equipment''s Durability! This is definitely a must-have when adventuring!" The female hostess then presented the Attributes of the Strengthening Device. When the players in the venue saw the Strengthening Device''s Attributes, they were flabbergasted, and a passionate flame began to burn in their eyes. 834 Tool of Astronomical Value Chapter 834 - Tool of Astronomical Value "There''s actually such a thing in God''s Domain?" The Strengthening Device was even enough to tempt Gentle Snow. As players reached higher levels in God''s Domain, battles grew increasingly intense. Against powerful monsters, in particular, the burden on their equipment Durability was massive. It was impossible for players to fight for extended periods in the fields. They had to return to towns frequently to repair their equipment. This limited their grinding and questing efficiency. Unfortunately, no one had found a tool in God''s Domain that could solve this problem. The only solution they had was to prepare several sets of equipment as temporary replacements. However, Guilds simply did not have enough equipment to supply every member with multiple sets. It was especially true for top-tier equipment. Even a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros had to rely out outside sources for equipment, not to mention other Guilds. To make matters worse, as players faced higher-leveled monsters, equipment drop-rates decreased. This had significantly slowed Guilds'' development. If Guilds had a tool like the Strengthening Device, they could solve this problem. Although the Strengthening Device was somewhat expensive, compared to the cost of preparing one or two additional sets of top-tier equipment for a player, the Strengthening Device was a cheap solution. Gentle Snow wasn''t the only person who had realized this. The representatives of the various large Guilds also understood the value of the Strengthening Device. Unfortunately, only one device was up for auction right now. "I wish more were up for sale," Gentle Snow sighed in disappointment. Although everyone shared her feelings, nobody held back when placing their bids. "Two Gold!" "Two Gold 10 Silver!" "Two Gold 30 Silver!" Although only one Strengthening Device was available, many people participated in the bidding. This was completely different from the golden tablet''s sale. The tablet''s price would soar randomly by several hundred or thousands of Gold. Small Guilds simply could not afford to participate. However, they could compete for an item that only cost several Gold. "Five Gold!" Hidden Cloud decisively raised the bid by a large margin, causing hesitation to ripple through the crowd. After all, if they call out a higher bid now, they would be challenging a Super Guild. They were not so desperate as to offend a Super Guild for a single Strengthening Device. Suddenly, Quiet Melody shouted, "Six Gold!" "Melody, you think you can challenge me?" Hidden Cloud sneered. He then shouted, "Ten Gold!" Now that he had the golden tablet, the Guild Elders were extremely pleased with him and had marked down his contribution to the Guild. Hence, he was in a very good mood. Moreover, the Guild had sent him the collected money. Even after paying off his debt to both Gentle Snow and Shi Feng, he still had around 5,300 Gold. He was not afraid to compete with the Sacred Temple in the least. When the bid reached 10 Gold, everyone promptly gave up. If they bought the Strengthening Device for 10 Gold, they would lose money rather than saving it. After a moment of thought, Gentle Snow chose to give up as well. Only a single Strengthening Device was up for sale. Even if she obtained it, its impact was limited. After the hostess slammed her gavel three times, Hidden Cloud won the Strengthening Device. Unfortunately, before Hidden Cloud could celebrate his victory, the hostess presented another Strengthening Device. Unlike before, however, she displayed a stack of 100 Strengthening Devices. "One hundred devices?" Gentle Snow was momentarily stunned. Immediately, joy blossomed in her heart. One hundred Strengthening Devices would have a far greater impact than just one. It would be of great help during large-scale team quests. "Three hundred Gold!" "Three hundred and ten Gold!" "Five hundred Gold!" The bids continuously increased. "You want to compete with your meager wealth?" Hidden Cloud laughed. If he could obtain these 100 Strengthening Devices, he could contribute far more to the Guild. He then shouted, "Seven hundred Gold!" "Eight hundred Gold!" Phoenix Rain bid. "One thousand Gold!" Hidden Cloud raised the price without hesitation. "One thousand and fifty Gold!" Quiet Melody gnashed her teeth as she rose the bid. If she missed the opportunity to purchase these Strengthening Devices, who knew when she would get another? "One thousand, two hundred Gold!" Hidden Cloud leisurely raised the price once more. Even to a Super Guild, 1,200 Gold was not a small amount of money. In the end, both Quiet Melody and Phoenix Rain could only relent. However, nobody could have expected that, after this stack of Strengthening Devices sold, a stack of ten Strengthening Devices would appear on the screen. "Damn! Is the system playing with us?!" "Can''t they just tell us how many Strengthening Devices will be up for auction?!" Although the various large Guild representatives were excited that the Strengthening Device had appeared again, they also felt helpless. After all, who knew if this stack of Strengthening Devices would be the last available? For a time, everyone participated in another bidding war for the Strengthening Devices. As one Strengthening Device after another sold, Shi Feng''s elation grew. In the end, all 2,000 Strengthening Devices had been purchased, with an average price of 10 Gold. After deducting the 30% handling fees, Shi Feng earned a total of 14,518 Gold. This was far more than he had initially expected. With this money, he would have no problem purchasing the five plots of Land in Snow Field City. After the auction concluded, players began to filter out of the Auction House. "Boss, we really hit it big this time. Not only did you get the golden tablet, but you also bought plenty of Strengthening Devices. It won''t be long before you secure the position of the Fourth Floor Master," Blaster whispered his congratulations. "It''s still too soon to celebrate. Now that we have the rights to the tablet, as long as you guys put on a good show, it will only be a matter of time before I become the Fourth Floor Master," Hidden Cloud laughed. He then shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng, who walked alongside Gentle Snow, and said quietly, "But that Ye Feng cannot stay. He swindled 2,000 Gold out of me. He is looking to die. Send someone to keep an eye on him. Once I''m done dealing with the golden tablet, I''ll teach him that it is not that easy to earn my money!" "Boss, rest assured; my men are already following him. He won''t escape," Blaster reported as he patted his chest. He could only feel sorry for the Swordsman. Throughout God''s Domain, there were very few people Hidden Cloud could not kill. He had even recently obtained an excellent dagger. The weapon was practically a nightmare for Hidden Cloud''s targets. Just as Hidden Cloud and the others left the Blackwing Auction House, everything on the street froze. "What''s going on?" The players wandering the street were shocked. None of them could move, not even a step. They couldn''t even make their fingers twitch. It was as if time had stopped, and only their minds remained active. As the space had frozen, fear surfaced in everyone''s hearts. They felt as if they stood in the middle of a ferocious beast''s nest, and this ferocious beast had already stretched its jaws and was prepared to devour them all. Even Phoenix Rain, Quiet Melody, Gentle Snow, and the other top-tier experts were astounded by this surprising event, much less the various ordinary players. After all, it wasn''t just players who could not move. Even the Level 180, Tier 2 guards patrolling the street had been rendered immobile Meanwhile, without anyone''s notice, a black figure had appeared in front of Hidden Cloud and quietly overlooked the Assassin. 835 Soul Disintegration Chapter 835 - Soul Disintegration "Who is that?" Phoenix Rain, who had just exited the Auction House, watched the mysterious youth slowly walk towards Hidden Cloud in disbelief. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation. Blackwing City was not an ordinary city. Even the city patrols were far superior to an imperial capital''s. Yet, despite it the daylight hour, this NPC acted so boldly. The most unbelievable part about this situation was that even the Tier 3 Guard Captains had been frozen in place. This mysterious youth''s power was incredibly frightening. "What are you trying to do?" Hidden Cloud asked the mysterious youth before him. He had only managed to force these words out after an intense struggle. He could clearly feel how terrifying the man before him was. The bloody glint in the man''s eyes alone made him involuntarily shiver. Before this man, his power was as insignificant as a speck of dust. If this man wished it, he would lose his life instantly. His only option right now was to delay for time. What kind of place was Blackwing City? It was probably the safest location throughout God''s Domain. There was no way Blackwing City''s authorities would allow an NPC to do as they wished. "Hahaha! You sure are an interesting little fellow! You''re still trying to buy time? I advise you to give up. Although you are still in Blackwing City, this space is in a completely different dimension. Even a Tier 5 Divine Mage, adept in space magic won''t detect us here," the mysterious man smiled calmly at Hidden Cloud''s question. "Alright, will you hand over the golden tablet on your own, or will I have to retrieve it myself?" Although the youth''s words had not been loud, every player on the street had heard him very clearly. "What? An NPC is robbing someone?" "Is this some kind of event? Isn''t this NPC too strong? He''s actually making a move inside Blackwing City!" "This isn''t a Legendary Quest, right?!" The watching players were both excited and scared; although this chance encounter was interesting, they were afraid of being caught up in the incident. A meaningless death at their levels would be a major, unfortunate loss. "Golden tablet? What is that? I don''t know what you''re talking about," Hidden Cloud said, his mouth twitching as he stared at the mysterious youth. That golden tablet was his hope of advancing his career in the Nine Heavens Pavilion. Not only had he spent a large sum of money to obtain it, but the Pavilion''s upper echelons had also heard of his procurement already. If he simply handed the tablet to this NPC and returned to report to his superiors that he had lost it, acting as if nothing had ever happened He would only enrage the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Elders and Guild Leader. Handing over the golden tablet was scarier than death Hearing Hidden Cloud''s words, Shi Feng glanced at the Assassin, "admiring" the man''s courage. When he had encountered an NPC robbery in his previous life, he had tried to resist as well. Unfortunately, he had not experienced a positive outcome. As he had not been strong enough, the NPC had successfully robbed him. However, being robbed was one thing. The true problem lay in the fact that said NPC had attacked. Dying by an NPC''s hand had a far more severe penalty than an ordinary death. Moreover, the more powerful the NPC was, the heavier the punishments players received when that NPC killed them. Shi Feng had been considerably lucky. His murderer had only been a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. In the end, he had lost two Levels and suffered a Weakened state for five days. Meanwhile, no matter how he looked at it, the mysterious youth was definitely stronger than a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. A lot stronger "You''re not gonna hand it over?" the youth sighed. "It seems that I have to do it myself, then." As soon as the NPC finished his statement, he stretched out a finger and lightly tapped Hidden Cloud''s forehead. Peng! "AHHH!" Hidden Cloud screamed with pain, sounding as if this pain came from the depths of his soul. In the next moment, Hidden Cloud''s physical body disintegrated, revealing a half-transparent version of himself. However, this half-transparent Hidden Cloud began to fade. The Assassin''s scream grew in pitch and distorted, sounding almost inhuman. Amazing! This NPC actually knows Soul Disintegration! Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he watched Hidden Cloud''s body vanish in the wind. At this moment, even Shi Feng had sympathy for Hidden Cloud. Shi Feng had only seen Soul Disintegration in a video in the past. Not only could this attack kill players, but it could also damage a player''s soul directly. It was similar to when he absorbed players'' Immortal Souls. An Immortal Soul, as the name suggested, was an immortal existence. No matter how much damage an Immortal Soul took, it could recover. When Shi Feng absorbed the Immortal Souls of the players he killed, he had only absorbed a tiny portion. Even so, this prevented the players from logging into God''s Domain for a short time. Soul Disintegration was different. It was a Skill purely meant to shatter a player''s soul. It could destroy a player''s Immortal Soul completely. Experiencing one''s soul disperse was far more severe than someone or something absorbing a portion of it. Although players could also recover from this damage, it took far more than not logging in for two or three days. Shi Feng would not be surprised if Hidden Cloud could not log into God''s Domain for half a month. "Why fight it? Though, even if you had handed it over, I would''ve still killed you." The mysterious youth shook his head as he looked at the golden tablet that had fallen from Hidden Cloud''s body. The youth then turned to the other players on the street, smiling as he stated, "Anyways, now that I''ve obtained the item, let''s celebrate with your deaths!" A chill gripped the players'' hearts as they heard the young NPC''s words. "It''s over" Phoenix Rain frowned, her previous hint of joy vanishing. Phoenix Rain wasn''t the only one to have that reaction. Everyone trembled with fear. They had all heard the Assassin''s painful wails. Hidden Cloud was an apex expert from the Nine Heavens Pavilion. How much pain could cause an expert like that scream as he had? Ye Feng had been telling the truth! Phoenix Rain suddenly remembered the message Shi Feng had sent. Shi Feng had warned her that the golden tablet was dangerous. Now, it would seem that she had also become one of this NPC''s targets, and not even the heavens could save her. Damn it! This NPC is too black-hearted! He won''t even spare innocent bystanders! Shi Feng''s expression darkened as he watched the mysterious youth''s raised hand. He had miscalculated this time. He had never imagined that he would become entangled in the robbery as well. The NPC robberies he had encountered in the past had usually only involved the targeted players. If bystanders kept to themselves, the NPCs would leave them alone. Unfortunately, it was too late to do anything now. In the next moment, an endless amount of Mana gathered in the youth''s hand. It was as if he had sucked all of the Mana in this space into his palm. With this much Mana, the Spell the youth was conjuring was likely stronger than a Tier 5 Skill. The mysterious youth smiled and pointed a finger to the sky. Immediately, the black ball of Mana shot up from the youth''s hand. After reaching a certain height, a crack suddenly appeared in the Mana ball. 836 Tablet’s Secre Chapter 836 - Tablet''s Secret Just who is this mysterious youth? Shi Feng was slightly shocked as he looked at the cracking ball of Mana in the sky. The Skill the youth had used was a Tier 5 Curse. Dark Paradise! Even Tier 6 Gods would fear this move. The power that the Curse contained could turn all the players on this entire street into ashes instantly. Most likely, the penalty they would suffer would not be any lighter than Hidden Cloud''s at all. "Disappear!" The mysterious youth then flew up towards the sky. In the next moment, the black ball of Mana transformed into a black hole that began sucking and devouring everything in its surroundings. As the suction grew stronger, the black hole expanded. Players on the street were even getting pulled off the ground. Damn it! Shi Feng abruptly activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation, and his Strength Attribute immediately surpassed that of a Lord ranked monster of the same Level. Space Freeze, the Skill that the youth had used earlier, was partially a Control Skill. After activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Shi Feng became immune to all Control Skills. Unfortunately, the Strength suppression, as well as an extremely powerful mental suppression, was still present inside the frozen space. Even without the original Control effect, moving inside the frozen space remained impossible with the Attributes of current players. Only by using Twofold Berserk did Shi Feng have a chance of moving. Sure enough, this Strength suppression is intense. When Shi Feng tried to shift his body, it felt as heavy as lead. "Oh? There''s still someone who can move?" The mysterious youth was slightly surprised as he swept his gaze towards Shi Feng. "You are the first Tier 1 class capable of moving under my Domain." At this moment, Shi Feng could already twitch his fingers. However, his body was still immobilized. "Unfortunately, under Dark Paradise, even if you can move, you cannot escape." However, as soon as the mysterious youth said these words, a low shout entered everyone''s ears. "Shatter!" As the sound of this low shout echoed throughout the entire space, the frozen space instantly shattered. "You actually dare make such a huge fuss inside Blackwing City. Your courage is truly commendable." In the next moment, a woman dressed in white sacred robes appeared in the sky, overlooking the mysterious youth. "Or are you saying that you intend to make Blackwing City an enemy?" Upon regaining his freedom, Shi Feng looked at the woman in white, and he could not help but shout in surprise, "Sharlyn!" Shi Feng knew full well just how powerful Sharlyn was. Every time he met her, the woman''s strength had received a significant improvement. At the very beginning, she had been playing the role of a female bandit. Afterwards, she had transformed into a Tier 3 Divine Official. Later on, she had even become a Tier 5 Red Official. Now, she was even more powerfulactually managing to directly shatter the mysterious youth''s Domain. While Shi Feng was still in shock, a red-jade staff appeared in Sharlyn''s hand. The instant this staff appeared, the Mana in the surrounding space stopped moving altogether. Sharlyn then lightly tapped her staff and Boom! The black hole abruptly disappeared from the sky of Blackwing City. "It seems I''ve underestimated Blackwing City''s capabilities," the mysterious youth said as he looked at Sharlyn. "However, it is still impossible for Blackwing City''s magic arrays to hold me captive." Saying so, the mysterious youth transformed into a streak of light and vanished from everyone''s sight. "He sure is quick in running away." The youth''s disappearance did not surprise Sharlyn. After sending Shi Feng a glance, she, too, vanished from the sky, leaving behind only a group of dumbfounded players. "What kind of situation is this?" "Isn''t that NPC a little too amazing? He actually succeeded in killing a player inside Blackwing City and got away safely on top of that." Excited expressions appeared on the faces of the players on the street who had witnessed this scene. This was their first time experiencing the power of a high-tiered NPC. In front of these NPCs, even the current strongest player in God''s Domain would be no different from an ant. However, their excitement was more due to their anticipation of high-tiered classes. Meanwhile, news of this matter also spread throughout God''s Domain at the speed of light. I never thought that there would also be such a risk when buying NPC-sold items from an auction. It seems I''ll have to be careful when purchasing items in the future. When Gentle Snow thought about her purchases for the Guild, she could not help growing anxious. Let alone that mysterious youth, even a Level 100, Tier 2 NPC could put her in a huge bind. If a Tier 3 NPC appeared, then only death would await her. In reality, Gentle Snow wasn''t the only person who had such thoughts. The representatives of the various large Guilds shared her fears. In the future, when they were purchasing treasures sold by NPCs in an auction, they would have to estimate properly whether or not they had the ability to protect the treasures they wanted to acquire. If they were not confident in protecting a treasure, they would not buy it. Otherwise, they could lose both their lives and money. He''s finally gone. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw the mysterious youth disappearing. Had Sharlyn come even one or two seconds later, he would have had to surrender to fate and gotten sucked into the black hole. At that time, not only would he have lost several Levels'' worth of EXP, but he also would not have been able to log into the game for several days. It definitely would have dealt a fatal blow to his gaming career. However, as soon as Shi Feng relaxed, Sharlyn''s voice suddenly entered his ears. "Come to the Library. I have some things to say to you." System: You have triggered the Epic Quest "Tablet''s Secret." Quest content: Head to White River City''s Library and meet with Sharlyn. "What?" Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he heard the system notification. Even an NPC robbery can trigger a quest? This was Shi Feng''s first time to encounter such a situation. Generally, if one had a certain amount of strength, they would be able to repel an NPC robbery easily and protect the merchandise they bought from the Auction House. One could say that having sufficient financial power was only the first threshold to purchasing a treasure from the Auction House. At the end of the day, whether one would be able to obtain the treasure depended on their own abilities. Hidden Cloud had purchased the golden tablet at a high price. If the Assassin were to learn that Shi Feng had fortuitously gotten such a chance encounter due to his sacrifice, he would most likely faint from anger. --- At this moment, however, Hidden Cloud had long since flown into a rage. "Damn it! Damn it! That damnable NPC actually dared to steal my tablet!" Hidden Cloud bellowed as soon as he exited his virtual gaming cabin, an extremely ugly expression on his face. Now that he had lost the golden tablet, the upper echelons of the Guild would definitely be angry. This feeling of falling from heaven straight into hell maddened Hidden Cloud. --- After Shi Feng had triggered the quest, he did not hurry to return to White River City. Instead, he bade farewell to Gentle Snow and secretly went to a private location and disguised himself. He then returned to the Blackwing Auction House and placed the remaining 3,000 Strengthening Devices up for sale at the establishment. Rather than selling all 3,000 Devices at once, he split them up into batches and scheduled them for different time slots. However, instead of selling them in stacks, he would sell anywhere from ten to twenty individual pieces for each time slot. If he sold the Strengthening Device at the Candlelight Trading Firm, he could indeed earn a lot more money. After all, he would not need to pay an exorbitant handling fee. He could even increase the trading firm''s fame this way. However, Strengthening Devices were not items that ordinary players could easily afford. Only the various large Guilds gathered at Blackwing City possessed the financial reserves to purchase these items. When Shi Feng''s first batch of ten Strengthening Devices went up for sale at the Blackwing Auction House It immediately triggered another commotion in Blackwing City. "Isn''t this the Strengthening Device that appeared in the monthly auction?" 837 Lake Heart City Chapter 837 - Lake Heart City Inside the Blackwing Auction House The moment the Strengthening Devices appeared once more, various members of large Guilds, who had been idling around in the main hall of the Auction House, began frantically contacting the upper echelons of their respective Guilds. The Strengthening Device from the monthly auction held just before had already become famous. It had even caused a commotion on God''s Domain''s official forums. Currently, the monsters in God''s Domain were growing more powerful. It would be a miracle if an ordinary player''s equipment could last them over ten hours of grinding out in the fields. If these players frequently fought Elite or stronger monsters, their equipment''s Durability would decline even fastergenerally lasting eight hours at most. Guild elite members might be able to hold out for a little longer. However, the current mainstream grinding spots were becoming farther and farther away from cities. Just making a round trip would cost players a lot of time, so much so that their travel time might be even longer than the time they spent grinding monsters. To the elite members and upper echelons of Guilds, time was money. It was especially true for the time of Guild experts. To develop their Guilds, not only were these experts required to maintain a strong lead in Levels, but they were also required to raid Field Bosses and Dungeons to procure equipment for the Guild. Naturally, these experts could not afford to waste all their time on travel. The obvious solution to this problem was to prepare extra sets of top-tier equipment. However, this method was simply too extravagant even for Guilds. While the monthly auction was still ongoing, the various large Guilds had immediately experimented on the Strengthening Devices they acquired. As a result, they had already gained a relatively precise understanding of the item''s effects. Previously, they could only make a rough guess based on the introduction of the item. Hence, upon conducting their tests, these large Guilds were shocked. Although the Strengthening Device could only extend a player''s grinding time by three to four times, the better the equipment the Strengthening Device was used on, the greater the effects. In addition, while battling, the bonus Durability provided by the Strengthening Device would be the first to diminish instead of the equipment''s own Durability. In other words, as long as players still had Strengthening Devices on hand, they could devote their time to grinding. They would not have to prepare any additional equipment; neither would they need to return to a city to get their equipment repaired. If allocated to ordinary or elite players, the 10 Gold Strengthening Device would indeed be very extravagant. However, when assigned to an expert player, it would not be one bit extravagant. On the contrary, it would be a profit, instead. Unfortunately, the Strengthening Devices were sold only in the monthly auction. This situation caused many large Guilds that had not participated in the auction great frustration. Now that the Strengthening Device had appeared in the Auction House as a player-sold item, how could the members of the various large Guilds not grow frantic? Just a few minutes after the Strengthening Devices'' appearance, the price for a single unit broke past the 9-Gold threshold. Moreover, the price was still increasing rapidly. Even Shi Feng had not expected the Strengthening Device to be this popular. When he exited the Auction House, he saw group after group of players rushing into the building. Huh? Why is Phoenix Rain suddenly contacting me? Just as Shi Feng was preparing to leave Blackwing City, he suddenly received a call from Phoenix Rain. However, the person she was contacting was not Ye Feng but Black Flame. "Guild Leader Black Flame, have you heard? There is a player selling Strengthening Devices at the Blackwing Auction House right now," Phoenix Rain said through the video chat, smiling. "Yes, I''ve also just heard about it." Shi Feng nodded, having already changed to his Black Flame guise. "But why is Phoenix Pavilion Master contacting me?" "I want to purchase a large number of Strengthening Devices, so I wish to borrow some money from you. Of course, I won''t borrow it for nothing. Three days later, I''ll return it to you with 30% interest, or you can buy a high-potential Land in one of the Black Dragon Empire''s major cities from me." Phoenix Rain smiled as she extended a tempting proposition. Originally, she had not wished to borrow money from Shi Feng. However, with the appearance of the Strengthening Deviceand based on her newfound knowledge regarding the itemshe had a great opportunity for the Phoenix Pavilion to surpass the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion. Level 40 was an important turning point in God''s Domain. With the Strengthening Device, she could rapidly raise a group of experts to Level 40. At Level 40, even using only Common Mounts would still bring about explosive improvements to their leveling speeds. They would be able to develop new maps earlier than other Guilds. However, she had already spent a large part of her funds to purchase other items during the monthly auction. She did not have enough to contest for the Strengthening Devices, not to mention needing money to buy Mounts. Hence, she gave Shi Feng such a lucrative offer. Of course, the reason why she had looked for Shi Feng to borrow money from and not someone else was mainly because Zero Wing was simply too wealthy. Zero Wing had relatively few members. The Guild''s various departments were also incomplete. The Guild''s expenses were not particularly high, either. Moreover, Zero Wing was the proud owner of Star-Moon Kingdom''s wealthiest trading firm, the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Guild also possessed the enviable Stone Forest Town. The Guild''s daily profits were in no way inferior to even those of a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Due to these reasons, the wealth Zero Wing possessed could make even her envious. Just from the bid Ye Feng had placed earlier on the golden tablet, one could tell how rich Zero Wing was. "Alright, but I want to purchase Land at the Black Dragon Empire''s Lake Heart City." Shi Feng inwardly cheered upon hearing Phoenix Rain''s words. He had never imagined that the woman would be so desperate. "However, I''ll say this first. I still have other uses for my Coins. I won''t buy it if your price is too high." Although he had previously purchased some potential Land in the Black Dragon Empire and subsequently established the Candlelight Trading Firm at these locations, there was a limit to his funds. Currently, large Guilds within the empire had long since bought up the majority of the potential Land in the empire''s major cities. Even if Zero Wing could afford to purchase them now, nobody would be willing to sell any of their Lands. Now that Phoenix Rain was willing to sell potential Land, he naturally had to take advantage of the opportunity. In the future, the value of these plots would increase manifold. It was especially true for the Land in Lake Heart City. Lake Heart City was a small island city located within the Black Dragon Empire. The island itself was situated in the middle of Mist Lake, the Black Dragon Empire''s largest lake. Lake Heart City was also a producer of one particular item. And that item was the Ice Jade. On its own, the Ice Jade was an item that could raise a player''s Ice Resistance temporarily. It could also be processed into Ice Resistance Gemstones, which could be inlaid into equipment, similar to regular Gemstones, and greatly increase a player''s Ice Resistance. During the initial stages of the game, this item was not particularly valuable. After players reached Level 50, however, the value of Ice Jades would multiply. At that time, the demand for the item would exceed its supply. Likewise, the value of the Lands of Lake Heart City would also increase markedly. Previously, there had been too many Lands that Zero Wing had to purchase. However, the Guild''s funds were extremely constrained. Hence, it had to limit its purchases to a few cities. Although it had earned enough money later on, by then, the potential Lands of Lake Heart City had long since been bought clean. As for the golden Lands of the city, Zero Wing had neither the money nor Reputation required to purchase them. In the end, the Guild had no choice but to settle for an ordinary plot of Land. "Lake Heart City?" Phoenix Rain checked and discovered that there were indeed two plots of high-potential Land under her name in Lake Heart City. Moreover, although Lake Heart City was one of the major cities in the Black Dragon Empire, the player population there was not particularly high, as the city was mainly a tourist spot for casual players. She had never imagined that Shi Feng would actually be interested in such a location. "Alright. I have Land that is close to the Auction House there. I''ll sell it to you at market price, which is 6,200 Gold. However, I also want to borrow an additional 4,000 Gold. I''ll return the 4,000 Gold three days later. How about it?" "Deal." Shi Feng immediately grew ecstatic when he saw the location of the Land in the map Phoenix Rain had sent him. With this plot of Land, he would gain another income source for his city-building funds. 838 Raging Marke Chapter 838 - Raging Market Lake Heart City was currently a prime tourist spot for players, as the city itself was like heaven on earth. Many casual players or players who wished to get away from the frontlines would often visit this city. However, those who preferred adventuring and battling rarely visited the city. Most of the leveling maps around Lake Heart City were either located underwater or shrouded in mist. Both environments affected a player''s combat power considerably. Hence, very few players wishing to level up and go on adventures would reside in Lake Heart City. Due to players reaching higher levels and the increasing number of maps and Dungeon Bosses requiring high Ice Resistance, the presence of the Ice Jades eventually attracted a lot of attention to Lake Heart City. In the past, the city had very quickly gained popularity, becoming the sixth most populous city in the Black Dragon Empire. The prices of Land there had skyrocketed overnight. Shi Feng never imagined that he would receive such a fortunate offer as a result from selling the Strengthening Devices. After agreeing on the trade conditions, Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain decided to meet up in White River City. If one wanted to trade Lands, they needed to do it through a City Hall through either of two methods. The first method was a relatively fast but troublesome process while the second method was simple but time-consuming. Shi Feng usually left the responsibility of purchasing Lands to Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile. They would then transfer the ownership of these Lands to him through a random City Hall. This way, he didn''t need to make a trip to the City Hall. However, this method of transferring ownership had a verification period of one day. The other method was for him to go to the relevant City Hall in person. By doing so, he could complete the transfer procedures immediately. Currently, Shi Feng was in no hurry to obtain the Land in Lake Heart City. Hence, there was no need for him to travel there personally to complete the transfer of ownership. During the time Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain were chatting with each other, one notification after another popped up in Shi Feng''s system notification window. System: The 20 Strengthening Devices you placed on auction have been sold. After the deduction of the processing fees, a total of 164 Gold 85 Silver has been added to your bag space. System: The 20 Strengthening Devices you placed on auction have been sold. After the deduction of the processing fees, a total of 165 Gold 64 Silver has been added to your bag space. During the short time since Shi Feng left the Auction House, the amount of money in his bag had increased by over 1,000 Gold. The rate at which he was earning money was just staggering. This handling fee is simply usurious! Shi Feng felt a pang in his heart when he looked at the actual amount of money he had obtained from the sales. Although the current handling fee was not as high as that of the monthly auction, it was still 20%. He could have purchased many good plots of Land with all the handling fees he had paid. hi Feng could not help but admit that the Auction House was extremely profitable. Unfortunately, current players were still incapable of establishing their own Auction Houses. The precondition for doing so was having a city of their own. Following which, Shi Feng teleported back to White River City and prepared to head to the Library. The golden tablet held a great temptation for Shi Feng. A Secret Technique was a treasure that could allow players to learn advanced combat techniques directly. To Guilds, not to mention several Epic Weapons, even the value of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon was incomparable to that of a Secret Technique. If he could obtain the golden tablet, it would definitely improve the overall strength of Zero Wing''s core members by a large margin. Upon exiting the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng took out the dark-gold whistle from his bag and blew it gently. As the sound of the whistle rang out, a magic array appeared on the street. The Demonic Flame Tiger then emerged from the magic array. The body of the Demonic Tiger was roughly the size of a small house. The black flames that surrounded its sharp claws sent the ambient temperature rising by several degrees. The instant the Demonic Flame Tiger appeared, the players on the street were immediately stupefied. "Why did a monster suddenly appear here?" "Could monsters be attacking the city?" "That''s not right. Why aren''t any of the guards on patrol reacting?" The onlookers grew flustered as they stared at the Demonic Flame Tiger. Not only did it possess an intimidating appearance, but the aura leaking out of its body also made their hearts shiver in fear. Even the elite players sensed a massive threat from the Demonic Flame Tiger. Shi Feng could not help but smirk as he swept a glance at the immobilized players. He then walked up to the Demonic Flame Tiger. This was a Dark-Gold Mount. Its strength was equivalent to a Level 40 Chieftain. Naturally, it is not something ordinary players could handle. "Has that person lost his mind?! He''s actually going up to it! Is he not afraid of getting killed?!" Everyone thought that Shi Feng had lost himself to fear as they watched him approach the Demonic Flame Tiger. However, when they saw the Demonic Flame Tiger obediently lie down before Shi Feng and enjoy Shi Feng''s caress agreeably, their mouths fell wide open. However, an even more shocking scene occurred in the next moment as Shi Feng mounted the Demonic Flame Tiger. "Let''s go!" Shi Feng shouted lowly. Suddenly, the Demonic Tiger let out a loud roar and took a step forward. It then transformed into an afterimage that disappeared before everyone. "What?!" "That''s a Mount?!" "I''m not seeing things, right?!" "Who is that person?!" "That giant tiger Mount looks so cool!" No one dared believe what they just saw. Riding a Mount was still a faraway dream for them. Even if they managed to reach Level 40 eventually, amassing a fortune of 40 Gold was not that easy. It would be even more impossible for them to ride a Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Mount. While Shi Feng was rapidly making his way towards the Library, the players present on the street outside the Teleportation Hall went into a frenzy. Every one of them was madly posting on the official forums. A hero riding a giant tiger has appeared in White River City! Many people initially did not believe the words written in this post. After all, the number one players on the various empire Ranking Lists were only at Level 39. These players were still a long way off from reaching Level 40. How could there possibly be someone capable of riding a high-ranking Mount right now? After watching the recorded video, everyone was shocked. There were some who felt admiration, some who felt jealousy, and some who felt pride. There were also many people trying to guess at Shi Feng''s identity. Just who was actually capable of riding such a Mount? Unfortunately, as Shi Feng had hidden his face using the Black Cloak, nobody could discern his identity. A Dark-Gold Mount sure is fast. Even an advanced horse carriage is far inferior to it. This was also Shi Feng''s first time riding a Dark-Gold Mount. The speed of the Mount was simply incomparable to Fine-Gold Mounts. The Demonic Flame Tiger''s speed was at least 20% or 30% faster than an advanced horse carriage. Just as Shi Feng was quickly approaching the Library, he suddenly received a call from Autumn Goose. When Shi Feng accepted the call, the image of an anxious Autumn Goose appeared before him. "What happened?" Shi Feng could not help but ask after seeing her apprehensive expression. "Ye Feng, Gunfire contacted me just now, saying that a group of players that had suddenly appeared is hunting Rain and Blue. These players are very powerful and are capable of doubling the death penalty of the players they killed. Moreover, they also have a means of jamming a player''s communications. However, I''m currently not in Star-Moon Kingdom. Can you please go save them?" Autumn Goose asked worriedly. After reaching their Level, even a single death was a painful loss. If their death penalties were doubled, the cost of dying once would be devastating. However, she could not come up with a good method to save Thoughtful Rain and the others at the moment. The only person she could think of right now who might be of help in this situation was Ye Feng. "Where are they now?" Shi Feng was initially stunned, but he immediately said in a hurried tone, "I''ll head over there right away." Shi Feng had never imagined that there would actually be people who would still dare to take action against Zero Wing''s members within the boundaries of Star-Moon Kingdom at this point. 839 Crystal Maze Chapter 839 - Crystal Maze Hearing Shi Feng answer without hesitation, Autumn Goose was touched. She also felt slightly envious. The reason why she had joined an independent organization like the Wind God''s Spear was precisely how the people within the organization treated each other like family. If one of them got bullied, they would fearlessly help out their companions regardless of the cost. They did not behave like Guild members, who had to worry about various aspects even when helping out a companion. Generally, players in the upper echelons of Guilds, like Shi Feng, were even less likely to make a move casually. People in his position would usually ascertain what kind of enemy they were going up against first and make a decision only after determining the potential profits and losses. However, Shi Feng had not done any of this. Instead of asking who their enemy was, the first thing Shi Feng wanted to know was the whereabouts of Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. Such a situation generally would never happen in a Guild. "Some experts ambushed Rain and the others at the Crystal Forest. The enemies were wearing Black Cloaks, so they did not find out anything about those experts. Moreover, their ambushers operated silently. Fortunately, Rain and Blue managed to use the Instantaneous Movement Scrolls you gave them before to escape. However, based on what Gunfire told me, those people were there specifically to kill Rain and Blue. They definitely will not let them get away. Here are the coordinates of where the ambush took place. You have to be careful," Autumn Goose said as she sent the map coordinates to Shi Feng. "I understand. I''ll hurry there immediately." After seeing the coordinates of the Crystal Forest, Shi Feng silently committed it to memory. He quickly turned the Demonic Flame Tiger around and headed straight for the Teleportation Hall. Despite the low odds for Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo''s rescue, when Autumn Goose heard Shi Feng''s calm and steady tone, for some reason, she felt relieved. The travel time from White River City to the Crystal Forest aside, just getting from the nearest transfer point to where Thoughtful Rain''s group got ambushed would require at least two hours. Although Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo had escaped using the Instantaneous Movement Scrolls, current players had many more Skills than before, which made tracking other players much easier. Moreover, the enemies chasing after Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo had somehow managed to keep them in a combat state, preventing them from using Return Scrolls. Even logging out of the game normally was not possible, as the system would directly mete out the death penalty if they went offline while in a combat state. "Please let Rain and the others make it." At this moment, the only other thing Autumn Goose could do was pray. She was currently in the faraway Dark Night Empire. She would need even more time than Shi Feng to reach the Crystal Forest. --- The core area of the Crystal Forest was rife with trees made out of crystals. Currently, over a dozen players covered in Black Cloaks were searching there. "Damn it! Quirrell, have you not found their tracks yet? Boss Hell Fiend has already given the word that we must kill those core members of Zero Wing," Ordinary Stranger asked in a low tone as he looked at a distant Assassin. They had already gathered information regarding the whereabouts of many of Zero Wing''s core members. However, the majority of those members were currently grinding in the Stoneclaw Mountains. It would take Ordinary Stranger''s team over a dozen hours of travel just to get there. As for the remaining core members, they were raiding Team Dungeons. They were unlikely to leave the Dungeons any time soon. The only ones nearby were Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who had been seen grinding with Zero Wing''s upper echelon before. However, he had never imagined that even those two women would succeed in escaping his ambush. In the end, his team had only managed to kill two unrelated independent players. If this matter were to reach the Adjudicator''s ears, his team''s days in King''s Return would no doubt be numbered. "Do you think it is that easy to track players here?" The Assassin named Quirrell rolled his eyes at Ordinary Stranger. He then swept a glance at the surrounding crystal shrubbery, gnashing his teeth as he said, "Those two beauties sure know how to run. They actually reached this Crystal Maze. If not for this natural maze, I would''ve long since found them by now. However, rest assured, although the terrain here is complex, this place has only one exit. The two of them cannot use Return Scrolls right now. They also cannot log off normally. It is only a matter of time before we find them." "Good, then. Thunder and I will guard the exit. You guys head inside and search for those two. We need to kill them as quickly as possible. Don''t forget, we don''t have much time left. We still need to deal with the other members of Zero Wing," Ordinary Stranger instructed. "I understand." Quirrell also began hastening his search. Aside from Quirrell, the other members of the team paired off and began searching the Crystal Maze. --- "Rain, what are we going to do? Those people are still chasing after us. If we head in any further, we will arrive at the lair of the Crystal Wolves." Blue Bamboo''s heart began palpitating as she looked at the patrolling pack of Crystal Wolves some distance away. These Crystal Wolves were incomparably powerful. In order to complete a crystal collection quest, they had also personally experienced the strength of these monsters. Previously, when Shi Feng had led them to kill the Crystal Wolf packs, they had not felt these monsters to be much of a threat. However, after returning to this place again by themselves, they found out just how difficult and exhausting dealing with these monsters was. Alone, a single wolf pack was not particularly scary. However, if they did not kill these Crystal Wolves quickly enough, these monsters would summon more companions in the vicinity, instantly bolstering their numbers by several times. Sometimes, the Crystal Wolves would also draw Special Elites, or even Chieftain ranked monsters. Fortunately, when the Chieftain appeared, they had Death Wind to tank it. Otherwise, they would have died without a doubt. Only, they had never imagined that, rather than dying to the Level 45 Chieftain, Death Wind would die at the hands of cloaked players that had suddenly appeared, instead. If not for Death Wind and Gunfire delaying those people, they would not have had a chance to use the Instantaneous Movement Scrolls that Ye Feng had given to them for emergencies. Currently, there were Crystal Wolves all around them. If they moved deeper into the maze, the possibility of discovery by a wolf pack would increase as well. In which case, by the time those cloaked players caught up to them, these Crystal Wolves would have long since killed them already. "We can only give it a shot. We''ll use an Invisibility Potion and continue forward. Hopefully, these wolf packs can buy us enough time." Thoughtful Rain gritted her teeth as she looked at her own status window. She then took out two Invisibility Potions and gave one of the bottles to Blue Bamboo. Both of them were currently afflicted with the Soul Lock debuff. As long as they were out in the fields, they would not be able to contact anybody for five hours. Their attackers had also forced them into a constant combat state, which prevented them from using their Return Scrolls. Arbitrarily logging out of the game would result in them suffering the death penalty immediately. --- While Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo snuck deeper into the Crystal Maze, Shi Feng had already arrived at the Crystal Forest. I finally caught up. Shi Feng tapped on the Demonic Flame Tiger, storing it away as he looked at the Crystal Forest before him. He then opened the map for the Crystal Forest. Even now, Autumn Goose had yet to contact him again. This silence meant that Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were still alive. The enemy is extraordinary. The fact that Rain and Blue have remained at large suggests that they entered the Crystal Forest''s core area, the Crystal Maze. Hopefully, I can make it in time. After taking a glance at the map, Shi Feng used Space Movement, the Activatable Skill of the Aura of Space. Space Movement allowed him to cross up to 600,000 yards instantly. He could easily traverse the entire Crystal Forest or move to any location within the map. If not for this Skill, he would not have made it to the Crystal Forest so quickly, either. Now that the Skill''s Cooldown was over, he could use it once again. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared at a location close to the Crystal Maze''s entrance. Guarding the entrance as well? It seems you guys really are targeting Zero Wing. The instant Shi Feng appeared in the area, he immediately noticed the cloaked Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger keeping watch at the entrance of the Crystal Maze, their eyes radiating cold killing intent. 840 Magic Staff Chapter 840 - Magic Staff Just when Shi Feng noticed Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger, the two of them caught sight of Shi Feng. "Brat, I don''t know how you suddenly appeared here, but since you''ve come to this place, you can only consider yourself unlucky," Thunder Tiger, who had hidden his identity and appearance, said when he suddenly saw the similarly anonymous Shi Feng. Taking the initiative, he walked towards Shi Feng. "All this waiting around has made me annoyed. Old Stranger, you better not make a move. I''m gonna use this brat here to relieve some of my stress." "Sure, but the equipment he drops will belong to me," Ordinary Stranger laughed. Ordinary Stranger had discovered Shi Feng''s presence the instant Shi Feng had appeared. Initially, he had thought that a powerful enemy had shown up. However, after some close observation, he did not sense any threat coming from beneath the Black Cloak. On the contrary, he had noticed many holes in Shi Feng''s defense. If not for Thunder Tiger declaring his claim, Ordinary Stranger would have long since taken action to remove this ant. However, even if the opponent were an expert, it would not matter. Thunder Tiger was a top-tier expert of King''s Return. Currently, he was already Level 38. Placed in Star-Moon Kingdom, his Level would rank within the top ten. Not to mention, he was fully geared in Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. His maximum HP was as high as 14,600. His combat standard was also at the Refinement Realm already. Dealing with two or three ordinary experts simultaneously would be child''s play for him. Even if the opponent were an expert of the same combat standards, Thunder Tiger was a Refinement Realm expert of King''s Return. The Guild had long since presented the Berserker with a Berserk Skill. As long as Thunder Tiger activated this Berserk Skill, he could kill a Refinement Realm expert easily. He could even defeat a Flowing Water Realm expert. In the off chance that Thunder Tiger was no match for this new arrival, Ordinary Stranger himself could still back up the Berserker. If he and Thunder Tiger worked together, they would be practically invincible in Star-Moon Kingdom. Only Zero Wing''s Black Flame and Ye Feng could cause them to feel fear. No one else was worth mentioning. As soon as Ordinary Stranger finished speaking, Thunder Tiger retrieved a two-handed saber from his back and used Charge at Shi Feng. When using Charge, controlling the sudden increase in speed was extremely difficult for ordinary players. As a result, they would usually reveal flaws in their attack. However, Thunder Tiger was different. He had long since mastered this Skill. By adjusting his center of gravity, he had managed to apply his increased speed to his attack, creating his own charging slash. He had transformed a system-generated Skill into a personal Skill. Not only did his saber speed up, but the power contained within it also increased. Even a Shield Warrior of the same Level would have to retreat several steps, breaking their stance. Boom! As the two-handed saber landed, sparks scattered into the surroundings. A silver one-handed sword actually stopped Thunder Tiger''s lightning-fast saber. What?! Thunder Tiger was shocked as he stared at Shi Feng standing steadily in his original position. The charging slash getting blocked did not come as a surprise to Thunder Tiger. However, this was his first time to encounter an enemy who could remain standing steadily after receiving his charging slash. Even Broken City, an Elder of King''s Return, had to retreat half a step after receiving this attack of his. This situation was simply inconceivable. "Tiger, be careful! We''ve got a tough one!" Ordinary Stranger warned hurriedly after realizing that their enemy this time was no common player. As he began casting a Spell, he added, "We''ll deal with him together." "I understand." Thunder Tiger''s expression had turned serious as well, the contempt he felt before disappearing completely. He promptly used Whirlwind Slash in an attempt to drive Shi Feng away. However, as soon as he started swinging his gray saber, a streak of blue light struck his weapon. A crack in space also appeared along the path the blue light had taken. Peng! Thunder Tiger felt his hands going numb as his saber came to an abrupt halt. It felt as if he had just struck an iron wall. Immediately after, however, a powerful impact shook him, forcing him to retreat four steps before he could stabilize his body. Damage of -1,338 points appeared above the Berserker''s head; he had instantly lost close to 10% of his HP. "Who are you?" At this moment, even if Thunder Tiger were a fool, he would understand that the man before him was definitely stronger than himself. In just a single exchange of Skills, he had lost over 1,000 HP. Shi Feng''s Strength could practically rival a Chieftain of the same Level. Before Thunder Tiger could react, a streak of blue light instantly slashed his body. Although the Berserker had tried to defend himself with his saber, he was simply no match for the speed of the sword light. -7,151. The Lightning effect having triggered, Shi Feng''s attack instantly took away half of Thunder Tiger''s HP. The Berserker himself also went flying over ten yards away. "Who am I?" At this time, Shi Feng laughed. "You dared to come and find trouble with Zero Wing, yet you still ask who I am?" Hearing Shi Feng saying so Whether it was Thunder Tiger or Ordinary Stranger, both of them immediately shuddered as a name appeared in their minds. Sword King Black Flame! Why is he here? Ordinary Stranger''s expression darkened, his heart roiling with confusion. Their operation this time was top-secret. They had even placed a Soul Lock on the targets of their ambush. The two women should have no way of contacting anyone from Zero Wing. Hence, the possibility of them encountering Black Flame here was practically nonexistent. Yet, now, Black Flame had appeared before them. However, Ordinary Stranger gave no further thought to this matter. Since Black Flame was here, there was only one thing they could do right now. Escape! They had next to no chance of winning against Black Flame in a direct confrontation. Their only hope for resisting Black Flame was to meet up with the Falcon Legion. In the next moment, Ordinary Stranger waved his staff and cast the Tier 1 Spell Summon Flame Spirit. A Level 38 Special Elite Flame Lizard appeared immediately. Following which, he used one of the Activatable Skills of his Magic Staff, Undead Sacrifice. Suddenly, the Flame Lizard let out an agonized wail as the red flames covering its body turned into an emerald green, its body doubling in size. Its rank had increased from Special Elite to Lord as well. [Undead Lizard] (Undead, Lord) Level 38 HP 3,600,000/3,600,000 Such a powerful monster was more than enough to deal with a top-tier expert. Moreover, as a Summoner, he could form a Soul Link with his summoned creature, which allowed him to transfer 50% of the damage he received to it. However, Ordinary Stranger knew quite well that even with the Undead Lizard, Thunder Tiger and he were still no match for Shi Feng. They had a very clear understanding of just how powerful experts of Shi Feng''s standard were. He had summoned the Undead Lizard only to delay Shi Feng. The Undead Lizard was a speed-type monster. At the same time, it possessed multiple Control Skills. It could surely pin down Shi Feng and give them an opportunity to escape. "Retreat!" Ordinary Stranger waved his staff and shot Elemental Bullets at Shi Feng. Simultaneously, he willed the Undead Lizard forward to attack Shi Feng. Thunder Tiger no longer held back, either, as he activated his Berserk Skill, Heart of Fury. The Skill instantly increased his Strength by 80%, his Endurance by 50%, and his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50% for two minutes. After activating his Berserk Skill, Thunder Tiger turned around and fled without hesitation. Looking at the oncoming Elemental Bullets and Undead Lizard, Shi Feng sneered and said, "Don''t you think it''s a little too late to be escaping now?" Saying so, he abruptly stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground. 841 Taboo Skill’s Migh Chapter 841 - Taboo Skill''s Might "You''re not getting away." Shi Feng deflected the Elemental Bullets using Killing Ray while activating one of the Abyssal Blade''s Skills. Abyssal Curse! Immediately, a black magic array appeared on the ground. With Shi Feng as the center, it covered a radius of 30 yards, instantly enveloping the Undead Lizard, which was the size of a small house, as well as Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger. Endless streams of black mist flowed into their bodies. "Not good! It''s an AOE Control Skill!" Ordinary Stranger frowned. Right now, it felt as if his body was stuck in quicksand. He could not move at all. He had never imagined that Shi Feng would have such a trump card as well. At this moment, not to mention him, even the Lord ranked Undead Lizard was immobilized. As a result, Shi Feng had readily broken through the Lord''s defensive line and was currently charging rapidly at them. "Tiger, delay him; buy me some time." Ordinary Stranger no longer tried to hold back as he activated his Berserk Skill, Mana Detonation, his Attributes increasing by a large margin. At the same time, he used Mental Exemption, becoming immune to all Control effects for five seconds. He then began chanting an incantation, causing the surrounding Mana to churn violently. Thunder Tiger nodded in response to Ordinary Stranger''s instructions. Activating Brilliant Will, he removed the Control effect of Abyssal Curse, then shifted in front of his Summoner companion. "Come! Let me have a look at the abilities of the Sword King!" Thunder Tiger bellowed as he stomped down, shattering the ground underfoot. He then swung his two-handed saber abruptly at the Swordsman rushing straight at him. Tier 1 Skill, Storm Slash! Over a dozen wind blades flew at Shi Feng, every one of them targeting his blind spots. Unlike the normal attacks of players, the wind blades of Storm Slash appeared simultaneously. There was no time-lag between each attack, preventing Shi Feng from evading them entirely. Moreover, Storm Slash was a Skill that could not be blocked, only dodged. It was an extremely rare Skill of the Berserker class. This Skill was also the trump card Thunder Tiger usually used to kill experts of equal standards. For players who did not know the intricacies of this Skill, they would generally defend themselves with their weapons. The outcome of doing so would be these players receiving the strikes of the dozen or so wind blades. Currently, Thunder Tiger had his Berserk Skill activated. The destructive power of his Storm Slash could easily instant-kill Shi Feng. "Try to block it if you can!" Thunder Tiger could not help but sneer as he saw Shi Feng remaining steadfast in his charge forward. Unfortunately for Thunder Tiger, he had grossly underestimated Shi Feng''s understanding of God''s Domain. When the wind blades arrived before Shi Feng, he was already within 20 yards of Thunder Tiger. He promptly used the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike. uddenly, Shi Feng vanished before the wind blades of Storm Slash and reappeared in front of Thunder Tiger, faint arcs of electricity circling Shi Feng''s body. Thunder Tiger panicked. He instinctively executed Whirlwind Slash. However, before the Berserker''s Whirlwind Slash could complete even half a rotation, numerous blue arcs of lightning devoured him whole. In the next moment, Thunder Tiger''s HP dwindled at a rate visible to the naked eye until it finally hit zero. How is he so fast?! Thunder Tiger''s eyes widened as he looked at where the strikes had landed. He simply could not bring himself to believe that what he was seeing was real. He had activated his Berserk Skill. He should have received significant improvements in speed, yet he still failed to keep up with Shi Feng''s swords. Not to mention his body, before his eyes could even react, the Swordsman''s swords had cut through him multiple times. This was definitely his first time witnessing such speed. Standing a short distance away, fear similarly covered Ordinary Stranger''s face. He had never dreamed that Thunder Tiger would not manage to delay Shi Feng for even a short while despite having activated his Berserk Skill. Fortunately, Shi Feng was still roughly ten yards away. The time it would take for the Swordsman to reach Ordinary Stranger was more than enough for him to finish casting his Spell. At that time, although the Spell would not kill Shi Feng, at the very least, it would help buy Ordinary Stranger time to escape. "Huh? Where is he?" During the brief moment Ordinary Stranger was lost in his thoughts, Shi Feng, who had been standing in front of Thunder Tiger, actually vanished. Hua! Suddenly, Ordinary Stranger felt a pang at his heart. Without him noticing, a longsword wrapped in blue electric arcs had emerged from his chest. "You!" Turning his head around, Ordinary Stranger discovered Shi Feng standing right behind him. He had actually failed to notice the Swordsman approaching him altogether. It was as if Shi Feng''s presence was completely nonexistent. Seeing his HP decreasing without any signs of stopping, Ordinary Stranger was at a loss for words. He and Thunder Tiger were both top-tier experts of King''s Return. They could easily become top-class existences in any kingdom they went to. Although he had long since known that he and his Berserker companion were no match for Shi Feng, he had never imagined that the gap between them was actually so enormous. At this moment, even if he related everything that had happened here to someone else, most likely, nobody would believe him. Although Ordinary Stranger still wished to say something, he was already out of time as his vision suddenly turned gray, his body falling to the ground. When he died, he dropped two pieces of cloth armor. "There were actually two Refinement Realm experts. It''s no wonder Rain and the others were no match for them." Although Shi Feng had failed to discover the identities of Thoughtful Rain''s assailants, he clearly grasped the combat standards of the two from the battle just now. With the strength of those two players, they would be hard-pressed to find any opponents capable of opposing them. Unfortunately for them, they had encountered him today. Not to mention, he had even activated a Tier 2 Taboo Skill to deal with them. Following which, Shi Feng picked up the items that the two dropped. He then summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and headed straight into the Crystal Maze. --- Deep inside the Crystal Maze, the members of the Falcon Legion were currently busy clearing out the Crystal Wolves blocking their path. They were moving increasingly closer to the lair of the Crystal Wolves. "These two beauties sure know how to run. They''re hiding wherever there is danger. However, let''s see how you''ll continue escaping once you enter the lair of the Crystal Wolves," Quirrell muttered as he switched his footwork. Like a black gale, the dagger in his hand struck at a Level 45 Special Elite wolf. Without giving the Special Elite wolf any opportunity to react, Quirrell landed blow after blow with his daggers. Although the Special Elite tried to resist, none of its attacks could connect with the Assassin''s body. Little by little, Quirrell plundered away the Special Elite''s HP, wielding the pitch-black daggers in his hands rapidly. A short moment later, the Special Elite wolf, whose HP had been in the hundreds of thousands, fell to the ground. From start to end, the wolf had never once managed to land a hit on Quirrell. "Team Leader Quirrell sure is amazing. His skill level has improved again. In the Guild''s next class competition, his ranking will no doubt increase once more," a nearby Level 37 female Assassin said, her face filled with admiration as she looked at Quirrell. "Don''t make a fool of yourself. Team Leader Quirrell has very high expectations. With your standards, do you think you will be able to gain his favor? Let''s just hurry up and clear away these Crystal Wolves. Otherwise, they''re going to call for more reinforcements. If we make Team Leader Quirrell angry, we''ll definitely suffer miserably," a Level 37 male Ranger criticized. The female Assassin, who possessed an above average appearance and figure, remained unperturbed by the Ranger''s comment. Instead, she retorted, "Hehe, so what if I''m trying to gain his favor? If you were as capable as Team Leader Quirrell, I would try to gain your favor, too." In the opinion of outsiders, once one became an inner member of a Super Guild, a wonderful future awaited them. In reality, however, this was a big misconception. Super Guilds were far crueler than other Guilds. The competition among its inner members was extremely intense. All those who managed to become a part of the middle management of the Guild were indeed experts among experts, dragons among men. They were experts who could easily wipe the floor with the so-called top ten newcomers of the virtual gaming world. This strength was also the reason why the various Super Guilds paid no particular attention to the super newcomers of each year. Meanwhile, as long as Quirrell improved just a little bit more, he could enter the middle management of King''s Return. At that time, he would become a celebrity-level character, enjoying endless fame and glory. "Team Leader Quirrell, something happened! Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger are dead!" 842 Ye Feng Arrives Chapter 842 - Ye Feng Arrives "They died?" When Quirrell heard the report, he quickly called out the system team window. Sure enough, among the list of team members, both the names of Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger had turned gray, which meant that the two of them were no longer alive at this time. When the other members of the team heard this, they promptly checked their team windows as well. They simply could not bring themselves to believe what they were seeing was true. Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger were both top-tier experts in their Guild. Their strength was equal to Quirrell''s. If the two of them worked together, even a team of ordinary experts would be helpless against them. It was truly hard to imagine that these two experts had died. "Leader, should we head back and take a look?" an Assassin asked. "We can''t just let someone kill the members of King''s Return and do nothing about it. If we don''t deal with this matter properly, the other Super Guilds will surely make fun of us." "No. Just traveling back to the entrance will take us more than half an hour. By that time, the enemy would have long since disappeared," Quirrell said, shaking his head. "Moreover, we don''t have a clear understanding of the situation over there. First, find those two women. We''ll talk about what to do next after we''ve gotten rid of those two. If the enemy is capable of killing both Stranger and Tiger, we cannot underestimate their strength. It is highly likely that the enemy is a powerful team that came here to grind. It won''t be too late for us to deal with them after we complete our mission." In Quirrell''s opinion, even a Great Lord ranked monster would not be able to kill Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger. No doubt the two of them had died at the hands of other players. Moreover, the enemy had to have very large numbers. They should also have many top-tier experts among them. Otherwise, with the two''s strength, at least one of them should have survived. As the number of opponents was high, resolving this matter would definitely be time-consuming. Their primary mission was to kill Zero Wing''s core members. They would risk letting their targets get away if they chose to deal with this new enemy first. The losses greatly outweighed the gains. Now that they were close to completing this mission, they naturally could not give up halfway. Following which, Quirrell and the other members of the Falcon Legion continued to move deeper into the lair of the Crystal Wolves, defeating one pack of Crystal Wolves after another. "Leader, I found the two women''s footprints up ahead. Judging from the tracks, they should have moved through here only recently," an Assassin, who had Detection activated, said as he looked at the light-blue footprints on the ground. These light-blue footprints showed that players had passed through this place before. However, these footprints were visible only to players using the Detection Skill. One could make rough judgments based on the size and brightness of these footprints. The brighter the footprint, the more recently it was left behind. "Good. We can finally put an end to this game of hide-and-seek." Quirrell revealed a cold smile as he looked at his map. As Quirrell said so, the members of the Falcon Legion began slowly walking in the direction indicated by the Assassin. "Rain, what should we do now?" Blue Bamboo, who was hiding in a crack in a rock wall, asked nervously as she looked at the slowly approaching Falcon Legion, her hands tightly clenched around her staff. They were currently Level 39. If they died now, it would take several days of hard work to make up for the loss. "There''s nowhere else to hide. When the time comes, we can only make a last stand." Thoughtful Rain was also out of ideas. Previously, they had used up their Instantaneous Movement Scrolls to escape from the sudden ambush. Afterwards, to shake off the pursuit of their ambushers, they had no choice but to hide inside the Crystal Maze. Now, however, it seemed that all their efforts were still in vain. As the eighteen members of the Falcon Legion moved increasingly closer, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo began casting their respective Spells, resolved to fight to their very last breaths. "Rawrr!" When the Falcon Legion was roughly 100 yards away from Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, a roar suddenly resounded throughout the cave. The members of the Falcon Legion halted their steps as they turned to look for the origin of this roar one after another. They immediately discovered a tiger the size of a house slowly approaching them, step by step, the paws of this tiger covered in pitch-black flames. Surprisingly, there was actually a person sitting on top of this giant tiger. However, as this person wore a Black Cloak, the members of the Falcon Legion could not discern this person''s appearance or identity. They could only tell that this person was a man. "A player?" A hint of fear woke in Quirrell''s heart as he looked at this cloaked man riding the giant tiger. He had already used an Identification Skill, which confirmed that the man on the tiger was indeed a player. Then, this situation could only mean one thing. The mysterious player before them was at least Level 40. As for the giant tiger, needless to say, it was this player''s Mount. Moreover, its quality should be very high. Currently, in God''s Domain, the top ten players on the Ranking List of empires were only Level 39. Quirrell had yet to hear of anyone reaching Level 40. Since this mysterious player had managed to attain such a Level, needless to say, his strength was extremely extraordinary. "Leader, that person is coming over. What should we do?" a Level 37 Ranger asked somewhat anxiously. The Ranger could feel significant pressure coming from the Demonic Flame Tiger before them. However, the player capable of possessing such a Mount was definitely even more powerful. For a time, the members of the Falcon Legion were at a loss as to what to do. "Let''s find out what his goal is for now." Quirrell did not hurry in making a decision. Although they had the advantage in numbers, the fact that the other party dared to walk over all by himself showed that he had no fear of them whatsoever. Otherwise, he would have long since turned around and left. When dealing with such an expert, making rash decisions was not wise. "Isn''t that Big Brother Ye Feng''s Mount?" The giant tiger gave Blue Bamboo a great sense of familiarity. However, she was also somewhat uncertain. After all, the likelihood of them encountering Shi Feng at this place was abysmally low. "That''s right. That is indeed the Demonic Flame Tiger." Thoughtful Rain''s eyes flickered with joy. She had never thought that they would be able to meet Shi Feng here. However, after a brief moment of joy, her heart filled with anxiety. After all, she could tell that the Falcon Legion was specifically targeting the core members of Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was someone important in Zero Wing''s upper echelon. He was sure to be one of the Falcon Legion''s targets. If they found out Shi Feng''s identity, they would immediately jump him for sure. Every member of the Falcon Legion was an expert. Many in the legion were capable of defeating Gunfire and Death Wind in a one-on-one. Among them, the leading Assassin, Quirrell, was incomparably powerful, trouncing even the experienced Death Wind in just a few moves. Shi Feng would definitely end up in an extremely dangerous situation if these eighteen experts surrounded him. Just as Thoughtful Rain was thinking of a way to warn Shi Feng Seated atop the Demonic Flame Tiger, Shi Feng looked down at Quirrell, who stood at the head of the team, and asked, "So you''re the ones looking for trouble with Zero Wing?" When Quirrell heard Shi Feng''s question, his expression suddenly changed. He immediately understood Shi Feng''s objective. Moreover, he was very certain that Ordinary Stranger''s and Thunder Tiger''s deaths had something to do with Shi Feng. "Kill him!" Quirrell abruptly retreated and activated Stealth. Hearing his command, the members of the Falcon Legion sprang into action. The three Shield Warriors of the team abruptly shifted to the forefront, the healers retreated, the Assassins entered Stealth, and the magical classes began chanting their Spells. Everyone reacted with practiced motions. "What is Big Brother Ye Feng trying to do?" Blue Bamboo could not help but gape when she witnessed this scene. "Let''s give him a hand. I''ll help open a path for him. Blue, you heal him," Thoughtful Rain said hurriedly. However, as the two of them rose from their hiding place, a gigantic crimson magic array appeared on the ground where the Falcon Legion stood. This Skill was none other than the Aura of Fire''s Skill, Firestorm. Suddenly, flames devoured the Falcon Legion. Despite the three Shield Warriors of the team reacting very quickly and activating Shield Wall the instant the flames appeared, when bathed in the violent flames, the three of them still lost over half of their HPs in the blink of an eye. Naturally, the other classes fared much worse. By the time the flames dissipated completely, the entire area had turned into a scorching hell. Just like that, thirteen out of the eighteen players died. All at once, the situation of the Falcon Legion took an abrupt turn. 843 Showing Off One’s Trivial Skills before a Master Chapter 843 - Showing Off One''s Trivial Skills before a Master At the sight of his companions reduced to ashes, Quirrell''s mouth twitched slightly. This large-scale destruction Spell came all too suddenly. Evidently, Shi Feng had long since been prepared to cast the Spell while he was approaching them. He had only voiced that question earlier to tempt them into attacking him and draw them into his trap. They did not have any time to evade this surprise attack at all. If not for Quirrell being near the edge of the Spell''s coverage, he would not have been able to utilize the brief invulnerability Wind Steps provided to rush out of the flames in time. At this moment, he would have most likely suffered the same fate as his thirteen other companions. "Leader, what should we do?" a Level 37 Elementalist asked softly. "We''ll retreat!" Quirrell replied, gnashing his teeth. Although he didn''t want to back off, since the man before them was capable of defeating Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger, just the five of them would not be able to do anything to him at all. Previously, they had eighteen players on their sideenough hands to activate a magic array to suppress their opponent. Now, however, that plan was no longer viable. If they remained to fight, the only outcome would be a complete team-wipe. "Don''t think you can escape that easily." Shi Feng smirked slightly as he looked at Quirrell and the others gradually moving away from himself. With quick steps, he approached the closest Level 37 Elementalist. Previously, in order to survive his Firestorm, these players had already used up all their Lifesaving Skills. It would be near-impossible for them to escape him now. "Don''t hold back when going up against him! I''ll pin him down! Ranged classes support me!" When Quirrell saw Shi Feng approaching them like a gale, he hurriedly activated his Berserk Skill, and his Attributes increased by a large margin. He then used Shadow Steps to appear directly behind Shi Feng and stabbed his fanglike dagger at Shi Feng''s heart. Absolute Strike! This was the fastest and most powerful Skill of the Assassin class. In addition to Quirrell''s flawless movements, there was practically no time-lag between the activation of Shadow Steps and Absolute Strike. It was simply impossible for ordinary players to guard against his attack. Moreover, after Quirrell activated his Berserk Skill, the power and speed of his attack were both boosted to inhuman levels. The Elementalist at a distance also shot one Fireball after another at the locations Shi Feng dodged to, his coordination with Quirrell seamless. The Ranger standing on the other side likewise sent a barrage of Frost Arrows at Shi Feng, his attacks accurately targeting the Swordsman''s vital points. Looking at the coordination of the three players, even Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who rarely fought other players, could tell that their enemies were very powerful. Immediately, panic appeared on their faces. All at once, however, Shi Feng disappeared. Quirrell''s and the others'' attacks all struck air. "Where is he?" Quirrell hurriedly observed his surroundings. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he rushed at the distant Elementalist, shouting, "Dodge, quickly!" At this moment, Shi Feng had already appeared behind the Elementalist using Silent Steps. He then violently swung the Sacred Sword in his hand. A streak of blue light flashed. Dang! Although the blue light was fast, when it landed on the Elementalist''s body, it moved no furtheras if it had struck an impenetrable wall. Ice Barrier? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he looked at the Elementalist, who was currently covered in a layer of ice. The Elementalist looked just like an ice sculpture right now. Ice Barrier was the strongest Lifesaving Skill of the Elementalist class, providing the user with invulnerability for eight seconds. However, after activating the Skill, the user would not be able to do anything else. This Skill was extremely rare. Generally, finding one or two people who had learned the Skill, out of 100 expert Elementalists, was unlikely. Helpless against this Skill, Shi Feng could only shift his sights to someone else. However, just as he started searching for a new target, a blue magic array appeared above his head. In the next moment, the rumble of thunder echoed in the cave. Quirrell, who stood at a distance, also revealed a cold sneer on his face. This magic array was the result of him using a Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Thunder Hell. Not only would the Spell deal a frightening amount of damage to a certain area, but it could also prevent players within the affected area from wielding any of their Skills. It was a Magic Scroll that was meant to counter experts in particular. "Die!" Quirrell shouted as he guided arcs of lightning to descend from the sky. Boom Boom Boom Arc after arc of lightning descended from overhead, turning a radius of 20 yards into a world of thunder and lightning. Any player caught within the region of Thunder Hell would not survive. Only the Elementalist, who had activated Ice Barrier beforehand, would remain unharmed by the Spell. "Hahaha! Team Leader is still the best!" the Ranger laughed proudly as he looked at the flurry of lightning bolts crashing before him. Players were fated to remain as only players. Even if they had extremely high Attributes and combat standards, actual field battles did not rely on just these two things. External tools still had great influence on the outcome of a battle. Even if Shi Feng possessed Attributes rivaling those of a Chieftain of the same Level, if he could not use any of his Skills, he would definitely succumb to the destructive power of a Tier 2 Spell with the pitiful amount of HP he possessed. Seeing the lightning storm devouring Shi Feng, Quirrell breathed out a sigh of relief as well. Although Shi Feng''s Silent Steps had surprised him somewhat, the latter must not have expected him to possess a Magic Scroll that was meant to counter expert players. Only, this Magic Scroll had a relatively long activation time. However, the Elementalist just happened to earn him quite a lot of time. "Alright, you guys are next." Quirrell then shifted his gaze towards the distant Thoughtful Rain. "Aaah!" At this moment, the previously celebrating Ranger suddenly screamed as numerous streaks of blue light bloomed on his body. The Ranger''s body then collapsed to the ground, a piece of equipment dropping off his body. "How did you manage to escape?!" Quirrell''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets at the sight of Shi Feng standing behind the dead Ranger. Moreover, the Swordsman was entirely unharmed. "Do you think you''re the only one who has a Magic Scroll?" Shi Feng smirked as he picked up the dropped equipment. The appearance of Thunder Hell had indeed shocked him. Fortunately, he always carried around plenty of Magic Scrolls when he went outespecially the lifesaving Instantaneous Movement Scroll. Although the Magic Scroll had a Cooldown of ten minutes, the scroll boasted instantaneous activation. It was an item specifically meant to counter Control Skills. "Just who are you? Why are you targeting us?" Quirrell asked, his complexion deathly pale. However, while Quirrell was posing his question, he was also making subtle gestures, signaling the two other Assassins in Stealth to circle around and ambush Shi Feng. The two stealthed Assassins nodded silently. They then began approaching Shi Feng with light steps. Both of them were experts capable of melding their actions with their environment. Even a top-tier expert would find it difficult to discover them while they were in Stealth. "Trying to divert my attention?" Shi Feng laughed as he shook his head. He then turned around without any warning and used Thundering Flash. Several arcs of lightning streaked across space. Immediately, two figures emerged in the path the lightning arcs traversed. They were none other than the two stealthed Assassins whom Quirrell had signaled to before. At this moment, both their bodies fell to the ground abruptly, both their HPs having already hit rock bottom. Shi Feng had activated Omniscient Eyes as soon as the battle began. Hence, he could see the two stealthed Assassins approaching him as clear as day. He had only pretended not to notice them. However, now that they were taking the initiative to present their lives to him, how could he possibly refuse their offer? "You" Quirrell''s complexion darkened significantly when he saw this scene. "Alright, now you''re the only one left," Shi Feng said in a low tone. "Only me?" Quirrell was inwardly confused. There was clearly an Elementalist still present. Why would Shi Feng say that he was the only one left? In the next moment, a crimson dart appeared in Shi Feng''s hand. He then threw the dart at the Elementalist stuck inside the ice. Flame God''s Fury! The instant the duration of Ice Barrier endedbefore the Elementalist could even reactBlazing Meteor had already appeared before him. Shi Feng''s grasp on time had reached perfection. Right after, flames devoured the Elementalist completely, reducing his body to a pile of smoldering ash. "Just who are you?!" Quirrell asked, fear painted across his face. After he had set up so many traps, even the apex experts in his Guild would have succumbed to death by now. Yet, as if he had been playing in Shi Feng''s palm all this time, none of his traps had worked on Shi Feng. Just thinking up to this point made his heart shudder in fear, a sense of powerlessness spreading throughout his entire being. "Do you have any last words?" Shi Feng asked softly, not bothering to answer Quirrell''s question. Instead, he slowly walked towards the Assassin, step by step. For each step Shi Feng took, Quirrell unconsciously retreated by a step as well. Despite his Berserk Skill being active right now, Quirrell was not the slightest bit confident he could win against Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who were watching this scene, were both stupefied. "I am part of King''s Return''s Falcon Legion! Are you trying to make an enemy out of King''s Return?!" Quirrell demanded, gnashing his teeth. He did not wish to die. The Guild''s class competition was rapidly approaching. If he died now, the loss in Level, equipment, and Skill Proficiency would have a significant effect on his performance in the competition. Now, his only choice was to reveal his identity. Previously, the reason they had concealed their identities was to avoid letting Zero Wing take preventive measures against them. With their identities unknown, their subsequent operations would flow much more smoothly. Now that everyone except for himself had died, there was naturally no need to continue hiding this fact. Moreover, the stronger an expert was, the more knowledgeable they were about how powerful Super Guilds were. If the opponent still dared to make a move even after he revealed this fact, this person would definitely be a fool. 844 Field of Swords Chapter 844 - Field of Swords "What? Don''t believe me?" Upon seeing Shi Feng showing no signs of stopping, Quirrell hurriedly took off his Black Cloak and displayed his King''s Return Guild Emblem. This sight momentarily stunned Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. "Why is someone from a Super Guild targeting us?" Thoughtful Rain was confused as she looked at the King''s Return''s emblem. She no longer possessed her previous joy at seeing Shi Feng defeating the Falcon Legion. On the contrary, she felt somewhat worried, instead. Although she had come into contact with virtual reality games only recently, she still knew just how powerful an existence a Super Guild was. In current society, virtual reality games had over a century of history already. The Super Guilds of virtual reality games were just like major celebrities. In the real world, one often saw news coverage of these existences. Hence, it was difficult for one not to know about them. Among them, King''s Return operated slightly differently from other Super Guilds. The Guild would occasionally recruit expert players. Regarding popularity, King''s Return greatly surpassed the other Super Guilds. One could frequently hear news of certain powerful experts joining King''s Return. Hence, Thoughtful Rain had a certain degree of understanding of the Guild, and she knew just how wide the gap between Zero Wing and King''s Return was. Whether it was in terms of member count or number of experts, the two Guilds were on entirely different levels. If a war were to break out between their two Guilds, it would be a disaster for Zero Wing. "No wonder you guys dared to take action against Zero Wing''s members in Star-Moon Kingdom! So you''re a member of King''s Return." Shi Feng finally understood what was going on. Because he had rejected King''s Return''s previous offer, the Guild was now targeting Zero Wing''s core members. However, he immediately smiled at Quirrell and asked, "But don''t you know who I am?" Saying so, Shi Feng stored away his Black Cloak and revealed his original appearance. "Ye Feng?!" Quirrell''s mouth slackened when he saw Shi Feng''s appearance. He simply could not bring himself to believe this was true. Ye Feng was not as famous as Zero Wing''s Black Flame and was an existence known only among the major powers of God''s Domain But when speaking of strength Ye Feng was someone who had defeated Sirius, one of the Wolf Kings of the Battle Wolves Guild. After the fight at the Dark Arena, King''s Return had even created a database specifically for information on Ye Feng. Quirrell himself had watched the battle video between Ye Feng and Sirius, learning from it. Hence, Quirrell recognized Ye Feng right off the bat. However, although he had indeed recognized who his opponent was, his complexion turned even uglier than before. Damn it! Why is my luck so horrible! To think I would actually encounter him here! At this moment, Quirrell was regretting the fact that he had revealed his own identity. If he had not exposed himself, he might still have a chance of surviving. Now, however, nothing he said would get him out of this situation alive. Although he still had his Vanish Skill, even if he was stupider, he could tell that Invisibility Skills were useless against Shi Feng. Otherwise, Shi Feng would not have struck at the stealthed Assassins behind him without even the slightest bit of hesitation. If even Stealth was ineffective, then wanting to escape in front of such an expert was nothing more than a pipe dream. King''s Return had done detailed research on that battle at the Dark Arena and made a rough estimation of the Attributes of the two fighters already. In terms of Basic Attributes, he was considerably inferior to Ye Feng. Not to mention, speed was also one of Ye Feng''s strong points. Quirrell''s face darkened at the sight of Shi Feng rushing over. "Damn it! To think that I would have to use that opportunity now! I definitely won''t forgive you, Ye Feng! I will definitely massacre every core member of Zero Wing!" Quirrell bellowed. He then took out a purple crystal ball from his bag while continuously spewing venomous curses. "Just you wait! I, Quirrell, will definitely make you regret this day!" In reality, the real reason he did not wish to die was the crystal ball in his hand. This item was something he had obtained unexpectedly after completing one part of a chain quest. It was a one-time-use item. Moreover, it could only be stored in his bag and would drop upon death. This item could directly transfer its user to a special space. Based on his research, that special space should be a sacred training ground capable of allowing players to improve their combat techniques and standards. Its effects should be even better than those of a Secret Technique tablet his Guild possessed. This item was something he had kept to himself. Originally, he had intended to wait until he had grown stronger and had hit a bottleneck before going to that special space, because based on the information he obtained, that space was extremely dangerous. If he went there too soon, he would only be wasting this opportunity. Hence, he had always done things with great care, avoiding dangerous situations as much as possible. He had never expected that he would actually be forced to enter that special space due to the mission this time. This crystal ball was his greatest opportunity to join the Guild''s upper echelon. Now, however, Shi Feng ruined all of his plans. How could Quirrell not be angry? Suddenly, an endless amount of Mana rapidly flowed into his body. A crack then appeared in the space behind him. Like a black hole, the spatial crack sucked the Assassin towards it. "You think you can get away?" Shi Feng smiled with disdain. He switched the Aura of Fire to the Aura of Time and then activated Absolute Time. Suddenly, the Mana within a radius of 100 yards stilled. The Mana surrounding Quirrell''s body also dissipated abruptly. Following which, the crack in space started mending itself. "No!" Quirrell was momentarily dumbfounded. In the next moment, his eyes turned bloodshot as he abruptly executed unique footwork and transformed into three identical copies of himself. These three copies then charged at Shi Feng maniacally. The three indistinguishable copies of Quirrell continuously circled Shi Feng. "Die!" All three Quirrells bellowed as they held their daggers in a reverse grip and stabbed them at Shi Feng. Like a black whirlwind, the pitch-black daggers struck at Shi Feng from all directions. Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who were watching this scene from afar, were stupefied. They understood clearly that the phenomenon of the black whirlwinds they were seeing right now was not a result of a system-generated Skill. Instead, it was the result of a combat technique used by the player himself. This was the first time they had seen such a situation. They were utterly clueless as to how the Assassin had achieved such a feat. Compared to Quirrell, the experts they had encountered before were simply weaklings. It was no wonder Death Wind and Gunfire fell at Quirrell''s hands in just a few moves. He was practically a monster in human skin. So he''s finally using his specialty, Whirlwind Strike? This sudden development did not surprise Shi Feng. After all, Quirrell was no stranger to him. In the past, Quirrell had been titled the Whirlwind Assassin. Although he had not been particularly famous during the early stages of God''s Domain, upon his promotion to King''s Return''s middle management, he began improving rapidly. In the end, he had even managed to become an Adjudicator of King''s Return. His strength back then had been extremely overbearing. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng chose to activate Thunder God''s Descent, which increased his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 150% and damage dealt by 50%, as well as decreased all damage received by 50%. Facing the stormlike dagger attacks, Shi Feng madly brandished his two swords. Immediately, sparks scattered as the clangor of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the surroundings multiple times. Shi Feng had already reached the Void Realm. He had long since exerted his five senses to their limits. He read his surroundings like an open book. Even if it was an attack that was invisible to the naked eye, Shi Feng could still clearly perceive it and execute a timely response. In the next moment, numerous streaks of blue and silver lights bloomed around Shi Feng''s body, forming an inviolable field. As long as the black daggers entered this field, they would immediately get repelled. Since Quirrell had his Berserk Skill activated, the Assassin was superior to Shi Feng in Strength. Hence, Shi Feng would lose around 200 HP following each clash of their weapons. Fortunately, with Thunder God''s Descent, Shi Feng still had a clear speed advantage, so none of Quirrell''s attacks managed to penetrate his defense. Aside from blocking all of Quirrell''s attacks, Shi Feng would also occasionally strike back at the Assassin, reaping a large chunk of the latter''s HP. In reality, Shi Feng could have ended the battle instantly. However, he wanted to improve his own techniques by fighting the Assassin. Hence, he had not bothered using any of his Berserk Skills to increase his Attributes. How can this be?! Why can''t I hit him?! The more Quirrell fought, the more fearful he became. Despite having already activated his Berserk Skill, his Basic Attributes surpassing Shi Feng, he could not break through Shi Feng''s defense no matter what. On the other hand, Shi Feng managed to strike at his vital points time after time, whittling his HP chunk after chunk until it finally zeroed out. As Quirrell fell reluctantly to the ground, he also dropped several items. 845 Five Great Legacies Chapter 845 - Five Great Legacies When Quirrell died, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who had watched quietly from afar, were astonished. When they looked at Shi Feng again, shock filled their eyes. They felt as if the man before them was a stranger; this was the first time they ever truly understood Shi Feng''s strength. Those two were simply too strong! Words alone were no longer sufficient to describe this level of strength. This was the first time they had ever witnessed such an intense battle. Their eyes had not been fast enough to keep up with the combatants'' speed, let alone their bodies. If they had fought Quirrell, the battle would''ve ended as soon as it had begun. In the end, however, Shi Feng was still superior. "Big Brother Ye Feng is so strong! If I had even half of his skill, I could defeat Autumn Goose!" Excitement filled Blue Bamboo''s eyes as she stared at Shi Feng. Thoughtful Rain could not help herself from laughing when she heard her friend''s words. When they were usually out in the fields adventuring and questing, Blue Bamboo was always lazy. She was never particularly interested in fighting and would generally stay in the back to heal the members of their party. Although they had advised her many times to brush up on her combat techniques, she never bothered to do so. Instead, she usually replied by saying that it would be fine so long as she had good equipment and that she didn''t need good combat techniques. Thoughtful Rain had never thought that the girl would be mesmerized by this one battle''s combat techniques. "Alright, enough daydreaming. Let''s head over there. It''s too dangerous to stay here," Thoughtful Rain said, laughing. --- Shi Feng began to collect his loot. Naturally, an elite squadron from King''s Return, led by an expert like Quirrell, possessed excellent equipment. Every piece of equipment they dropped was Level 35 Dark-Gold quality. Each item was worth dozens of Gold. In total, he had gained several hundred Gold''s worth of equipment. "Huh? What''s this?" While Shi Feng looked over the loot he had placed in his bag, he discovered a glowing, purple crystal ball. Among the many weapons and equipment that dropped, it was eye-catching. Moreover, Shi Feng felt a faint hint of pressure from this crystal ball, a very familiar pressure. Divine Might! It was a special power that only Gods could wield. "This is interesting." Shi Feng took out the crystal ball and observed it carefully. [Spatial Transfer Orb] (Consumable) Able to send one player to a mysterious Otherworld. This item can only be stored in the bag. Drops upon death. There were very few items in God''s Domain capable of sending players to an Otherworld. Based on Shi Feng''s understanding, every item that could transfer players to an Otherworld was considered an absolute treasure. Even an Epic item was not as valuable. In God''s Domain, an Otherworld was the equivalent of a Dungeon. Only, this Dungeon was a lot larger than generic Dungeons. Otherworlds also offered far more bountiful rewards. The lowest reward one could obtain in an Otherworld was an Epic item. Some people had even obtained Fragmented Legendary items in the past, while others earned Super Skills and such. To put it simply, all of the rewards one could gain in an Otherworld could significantly improve a player''s strength. It''s no wonder why he had tried so hard to live. He obtained a chance to head to an Otherworld. I wonder what rank this Otherworld is? When Shi Feng recalled the Quirrell''s deranged expression as the Assassin fought, he could not help but chuckle. He would have fought desperately to live, too. Quirrell hadn''t been particularly famous in King''s Return during the early stages of the game, either. However, after joining the Guild''s middle management, his progress had suddenly skyrocketed. It was as if he had become an entirely different person. His progress might very well be related to this thing. There were many Otherworlds in God''s Domain. Based on the Main God System''s categorization, Otherworlds fell into Common, Epic, and Legendary rank, with each one being larger than the previous. Each rank also offered players greater benefits. A Common Otherworld alone could massively impact a player''s growth. By visiting a Common Otherworld, an ordinary player could instantly become an expert. There was no need to mention Epic or Legendary Otherworlds. However, the majority of the Otherworlds in God''s Domain were Common rank. Even so, many desperately wished to encounter one, but alas, many failed. In the past, when players had discovered Otherworlds, the various large Guilds had frantically searched for clues relating to them in the hopes of nurturing a large batch of their own experts. After all, there were innumerable Guilds in the virtual gaming world. Not every one of them could nurture their own experts. With such a golden opportunity available, the various large Guilds could not let it slip through their fingers. In the past, a top-tier expert had sold an opportunity to go to an Otherworld at an auction. Although the Otherworld in question had only been Common rank, the various large Guilds fought over it like a pack of wolves. In the end, Summer''s Emerald, a first-rate Guild, had won the transfer tool for 15,000 Gold. Everyone who had participated in that auction had been stunned. After all, during that time, a single Epic item had only sold for around two or three thousand Gold. With that much money, one could easily purchase five or six Epic items. One could also use 15,000 Gold to purchase a good plot of Land. Yet, Summer''s Emerald had used that money to purchase a Common Otherworld, which was the equivalent of a single Epic item. Wasting so much money was the epitome of foolishness. Yet, nobody could have ever imagined that, in the end, Summer''s Emerald would profit from the exchange. The Guild had only obtained a single Epic Weapon, which was worth roughly 6,000 Gold, from the Common Otherworld. That had been far less than the money it had spent. However, thanks to the adventures in the Otherworld, Summer''s Emerald had also gained a Void Realm expert. The outcome had made many Guilds regret not fighting harder during the auction. From then on, transfer tools to Otherworlds became extraordinarily precious. Even Shi Feng, who had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, had invested a long amount of time before he had gotten his hands on a Common Otherworld transfer tool. Although he had not experienced breakthrough during his visit, his combat techniques had improved significantly. What a strange transfer tool. It doesn''t have a rank displayed. Even after observing with Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng had not discerned the purple crystal ball''s rank. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. However, although there was no rank displayed, the crystal ball reminded Shi Feng of something. Otherworld transfer tools. This was a good option to cultivate Guild experts. The general populace had yet to learn of Otherworlds. They were also not well-known by the various large Guilds. Hence, none of the Guilds were bothering to look for clues regarding Otherworlds. Although Shi Feng only knew five or six clues, no one else had obtained any of these Otherworld transfer tools. He could head out to search for them. Once he obtained these Otherworld transfer tools, he might be able to increase the number of Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts. As Blue Bamboo walked over, her eyes practically shone as she looked at Shi Feng. Patting her ample chest, she said, "Big Brother Ye Feng, it is truly a blessing to meet you here! If not for you, Rain and I would have suffered. From today on, I''ve decided to work hard to improve myself! Big Brother Ye Feng, can you teach me how to fight, please?" "I only hurried over here after hearing from Autumn Goose that you were ambushed. Fortunately, I made it in time. It is a good thing that you wish to learn how to fight. Unfortunately, as I am not a Cleric, I am not particularly clear as to how Clerics should fight. However, I can have Violet teach you. Her combat standard ranks at the very top of our Guild." Shi Feng chuckled. "Really?!" Blue Bamboo''s eyes flashed with excitement when she heard this. She had only made the comment as a joke. She knew full well just how busy Shi Feng was. How could he possibly have time to teach her? However, she had not expected to get a chance to learn from her idol. She felt as if she were dreaming. "Of course. When have I ever lied?" Shi Feng nodded. "By the way, why did you two come to the Crystal Forest? Didn''t you already finish your quest?" "We thought we had finished it. However, after I handed the quest in, I received another special quest that requires me to collect a Crystal Heart. However, we have yet to obtain it," Thoughtful Rain explained. "Crystal Heart? What kind of quest is this?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He knew how to obtain the Crystal Heart; one had to kill the Crystal Wolf King. The quest was not easy to complete alone. Thoughtful Rain then sent Shi Feng the quest details. "How did you receive this quest?!" Shi Feng could not help his shock upon reading the quest introduction. The quest Thoughtful Rain had accepted was no ordinary quest. Rather, it was one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Five Great Legacy Quests. The Witch''s Sin! 846 Witch’s Sin Chapter 846 - Witch''s Sin When Shi Feng read the quest introduction, he wondered if he had read it wrong. However, after reading it a few more times, he was 100% certain that this quest was one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Five Great Legacy Quests. "Is this quest very difficult?" Thoughtful Rain asked when she saw Shi Feng''s shocked expression. "I can''t say for certain, but it should be more difficult than an Epic Quest," Shi Feng explained. "Just for the first phase of your quest, you have to kill the Crystal Wolf King to obtain the Crystal Heart." There were many Legacies in God''s Domain. However, in Star-Moon Kingdom, there were five Legacies known to be the strongest. The Witch''s Sin was one of them. These Five Great Legacies were all Peak Legacies. Unfortunately, there was no concrete method to triggering any of these Five Great Legacies'' quests. It was highly possible for one to trigger the quest after completing an ordinary Quest. Those who encountered these Five Great Legacy Quests were extremely lucky. They were the system''s pampered children. After all, Peak Legacies were extraordinary. As long as one succeeded in their class change, they would improve their strength tremendously. Until now, throughout Zero Wing, only Shi Feng and Violet Cloud had managed to obtain a hidden class. One could just imagine how rare hidden classes were. However, stumbling upon one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Five Great Legacies and completing one were completely different matters. Most importantly, there would be frightening consequences if one failed the quest after accepting it. Those who failed a Basic Legacy Quest would, at worst, be barred from logging into the game for a certain amount of time. They could continue challenging the quest once they were able to log back into the game. As for Legacies that provided hidden classes[1], players only had one chance. Failing these Legacy Quests usually resulted in a single death. However, the punishment for failing the Five Great Legacy Quests was extremely severe. Not only would one lose three Levels, but they would also enter a Weakened state for ten days. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The worst part about failing one of the Five Great Legacy Quests was that one would permanently lose some of their Luck Attribute The Luck Attribute was a Hidden Attribute. Normally, it was difficult to increase the Attribute by one or two points. If a player permanently lost some of their Luck as a result of failing the Legacy Quest, it would massively impact their performance in various aspects such as their drop-rate when opening Treasure Chests and grinding monsters. Due to this, the Five Great Legacies of Star-Moon Kingdom had been extremely famous in the past. There was only a thin line separating heaven and hell. On the surface, they were known as the Five Great Legacies. Secretly, however, players knew them as the Five Great Curses. In the past, many players had obtained the Five Great Legacy Quests of Star-Moon Kingdom. However, based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, Gentle Snow was the only one who had completed one of the quests. He had never heard of anyone else. One could just imagine how difficult the quests were. Correspondingly, however, when Gentle Snow had obtained one of the Five Great Legacies, she had risen to fame in God''s Domain instantly. In field and Guild battles, she had killed plenty of top-tier experts and had even killed apex experts. Unfortunately, she had suddenly disappeared from the game, and the incident became one of God''s Domain''s unresolved mysteries. If Gentle Snow had not left God''s Domain, many people speculated that she would have become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in Star-Moon Kingdom. Many players could not help but sigh at how unfortunate the situation was. Hence, when Shi Feng saw that Thoughtful Rain had accepted the Legacy Quest for the Witch''s Sin, he was both excited and worried. "More difficult than an Epic Quest?" Thoughtful Rain''s eyes widened when she heard this, and inwardly, she smiled bitterly. Up until now, she had completed many quests in God''s Domain, so she understood one thing very well. The more difficult a quest was, the more difficult its punishment for failure would be. There was nothing good in accepting a quest that was beyond her abilities. A player would suffer if they failed an Epic Quest. If she failed a quest that was even more difficult than an Epic Quest, she did not dare to imagine the consequences awaiting her. "There is no need to get too hung up about it. The quest has a time limit of three months. You still have three months to grow stronger and complete this quest. During this period, how do you feel about training with the Guild''s main force?" Shi Feng asked. Even Shi Feng didn''t know the finer details of the Five Great Legacy Quests. However, since it was a Legacy Quest, Shi Feng was sure of one thing: players had to rely on their own strength to pass the quest''s final phase. If one were strong enough, it would not be too difficult to complete the Legacy Quest. Based on what Shi Feng remembered, Gentle Snow had completed her Legacy Quest when she had reached the Flowing Water Realm. As long as Thoughtful Rain could also reach the Flowing Water Realm, she should have no problems completing the final test. At that time, Zero Wing would have another player with a hidden class. "I can join in the training?" Thoughtful Rain could not help her surprise when she heard Shi Feng''s offer. The treatment Zero Wing''s main force enjoyed was far from ordinary. The Magic Crystals they received each day alone even made experts like Autumn Goose drool. One could use Magic Crystals to challenge the Trial Tower inside the Divine Colosseum and improve their combat standards. The Magic Crystal was an absolute hard currency. However, it''s supply was low, and it was difficult to obtain even if one had the money. Large Guilds would generally supply their main force members with around three to five Magic Crystals each day. However, Zero Wing gave its main force members 15 crystals per day. In other words, Zero Wing''s main force members could challenge the Trial Tower up to 15 times each day. Even the members of large Guilds could not catch up to their development speed. Moreover, based on what she had heard, Zero Wing''s main force members also got to watch all sorts of battle videos. These battle videos included expert battles that were not available on the internet. In addition, they could also spar against top-tier experts like Fire Dance. However, the most amazing part about being a member of Zero Wing''s main force was the rumored Hundred Berry Wine. Although she did not know the purpose of the Hundred Berry Wine, she knew that even the main force members fought over this item like crazy. Some were even willing to trade a large amount of Guild Contribution Points and Magic Crystals for it. However, those who obtained the Hundred Berry Wine would never trade them. Instead, they consumed the beverage secretly. One could just imagine how valuable the item was. "Big Brother Ye Feng, can I train with the main force as well?" Blue Bamboo asked sweetly as she batted her eyelashes. "Sure, but let me say this first: you two are only reserve members. If you fail the exam three times, you''ll be kicked out of the team," Shi Feng strictly informed the women. "Thank you, Big Brother Ye Feng! When Autumn and the others hear about this, they will die from envy!" Blue Bamboo could not help but giggle when she thought about the benefits the main force members enjoyed. "Right, how long will it take before you two are released from your locked state?" Shi Feng asked. "Roughly two hours," Thoughtful Rain replied after she took a look at her status window. Although their enemies were already dead, the Soul Lock debuff was in effect. They were still stuck in a combat state and could not use a Return Scroll to leave. "Blue, have you learned the Dispel Skill?" Shi Feng asked Blue Bamboo. Cleric''s Dispel Skill was not mainstream. Moreover, the Skill was relatively rare. Very few Clerics had it. However, this Skill had a miraculous effect when raiding certain Bosses. Dispel could remove a positive buff from an enemy. To Bosses who loved buffing themselves, this was the equivalent of yanking out their fangs and claws. The Crystal Wolf King was one such Boss. "Mhm. I bought one from the Auction House and learned it already," Blue Bamboo said and nodded strangely. "Good. Has it reached Tier 1 yet?" Shi Feng had dealt with the Crystal Wolf King many times before. If one used a Tier 0 Dispel, at most, they could remove a few Tier 2 buffs. Only a Tier 1 Dispel could remove buffs from Tier 3 Skills. "This not yet. I don''t use this Skill very often," Blue Bamboo answered awkwardly. "Take these Magic Scrolls. When the time comes, use them before you use Dispel," Shi Feng said. He then took out five golden Tier 1 Magic Scrolls from his bag and handed them to Blue Bamboo. These five Magic Scrolls were Spell Amplification Scrolls. Each one could upgrade a Spell up to Tier 1. "Big Brother Ye Feng, what am I supposed to do with these?" Blue Bamboo was even more confused now. "We''re getting ready to kill the Crystal Wolf King, of course," Shi Feng responded casually. "Kill the Crystal Wolf King?" Blue Bamboo was stunned. Thoughtful Rain was also at a loss for words. They had already seen the Crystal Wolf King. It was a Level 50 Great Lord. With just the three of them, challenging it would be tantamount to suicide. However, ignoring the two women''s shock, Shi Feng retrieved two contracts from his bag and began to chant an incantation. "Emerge!" Immediately, two Teleportation Magic Arrays appeared on the ground. Following a flash of silver light, two figures, a man and a woman, emerged from the two magic arrays. These two were none other than Kite and Anna, Shi Feng''s Personal Guards. TL Notes: [1]hidden class: Only the classes provided by Intermediate Legacies and above are considered hidden classes, as mentioned in Chapter 378. 847 Strength that Surpasses Tiers Chapter 847 - Strength that Surpasses Tiers "NPCs?" Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were surprised when Kite and Anna suddenly appeared. Both Kite and Anna radiated an intense aura. They felt suffocated as they stood so close to these two NPCs. After not seeing them for some time, they sure have grown a lot. Shi Feng was quite satisfied when he looked at the handsome Kite and charming Anna. Both are Level 60 now. As expected of Dark-Gold Guards. Their growth rate sure is fast. It was especially true for Anna''s improvement speed. Despite having become his Personal Guard a little later than Kite, she had caught up to her companion''s Level. Moreover, she had become a Tier 2 Summoner. In God''s Domain, it was not that easy to nurture a powerful Personal Guard. First and foremost, one required a large sum of money! As Personal Guards were NPCs, they required far more EXP to level up than players. If players frequently brought their Personal Guards when they went out to grind, this would only hold back the NPCs'' growth rate. If players wanted to let their Personal Guards level up and improve quickly, they had to let these Personal Guards accept quests at the Adventurer''s Association on their own. However, money was required when Personal Guards accepted a quest. Moreover, depending on the rank of the quest, the fee would also change. Although these Personal Guards would receive money, EXP, and other rewards after completing the quest, the player would receive none of it. This was because Personal Guards would use the money they earned to purchase their own equipment and items. Unlike players, who had to obtain powerful equipment by raiding Dungeons, Personal Guards could purchase such items from the Adventurer''s Association or NPC-run weapons and equipment shops. However, Personal Guards could only use the money they earned themselves. Hence, the first step to nurturing Personal Guards was to increase the amount of money they possessed, and they had to complete a lot of quests to obtain that money. In the Adventurer''s Association, the quests Personal Guards could accept were categorized into Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, and Epic rank. The higher the rank the quest was, the more abundant the rewards were. Likewise, the fee players had to pay would be higher as well. Currently, a Level 60 Bronze Quest required an application fee of 5 Gold, 10 Gold for Mysterious-Iron, 20 Gold for Secret-Silver, 40 Gold for Fine-Gold, 80 Gold for Dark-Gold, and 200 Gold for Epic. As to whether the Personal Guard in question could complete the quest, that depended on the Personal Guard''s strength. For example, a Bronze Guard would have a 70% chance of completing a Bronze Quest, but they would only have a 40% chance to complete a Mysterious-Iron Quest and 10% chance for a Secret-Silver Quest. However, one could increase a Personal Guard''s combat power through their equipment, increasing their quest success rate. Unfortunately, one needed time to gather the required resources. However, Anna and Kite were different. Their innate potential was Dark-Gold rank. Even in basic equipment, they had a 50% chance of completing a Dark-Gold Quest. As long as their equipment was up to date, their success rate for completing a Dark-Gold Quest could easily exceed 80%. After their strength reached a certain degree, they could even challenge an Epic Quest. Only, Epic Quests were not readily available. That depended on the daily updates of the Adventurer''s Association''s quest list. As Shi Feng''s Personal Guards could accept much higher ranked quests than other players'' Personal Guards, their leveling speed was much faster. "Ye Feng, are we really going to deal with the Crystal Wolf King?" Thoughtful Rain asked somewhat worriedly as she watched the high-spirited Shi Feng. Although the two Level 60 Tier 2 NPCs were very powerful, the Crystal Wolf King was a Great Lord, an existence equivalent to a Tier 3 class. "Relax. I''ve already investigated the Crystal Wolf King. The Boss''s Skills are buff-oriented. As long as Blue casts Dispel on it, our forces will be enough to take it down," Shi Feng explained, chuckling. This was not the first time he had dealt with the Crystal Wolf King. The Wolf King was powerful because of its speed. Even a top-tier MT of the same Level would find it difficult to respond to the Wolf King''s attacks. In addition, the Boss had a stackable Gain Skill that allowed it to grow stronger the longer it fought. If they did not deal with this Gain buff appropriately, they would be annihilated. However, if they dealt with the Boss''s Gain buff properly, with the strength of two Dark-Gold Guards, they should have no problems taking down the Crystal Wolf King. Following which, Shi Feng led Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo to a cave. A strong gale accosted the small team at the cave''s entrance. As they stepped into the cave, they heard the howling of a wolf. The howl echoed throughout the cave, causing the cave walls and floor to tremble. In the next moment, a towering figure emerged from the depths of the dark, spacious cave. The figure stood over ten meters tall. Baring its snow-white fangs, a hint of bloodlust flashed in the figure''s crimson eyes as it overlooked Shi Feng''s group. The figure''s body was made entirely of crystals, and a green glow flashed where its heart should have been. [Crystal Wolf King] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 50 HP 21,000,000/21,000,000 "Kite, you''ll tank the Wolf King. Anna, you''ll act as support. Blue, focus on healing Kite," Shi Feng immediately commanded. As Shi Feng gave his orders, the tall and robust Kite transformed into a gale as he dashed towards the Crystal Wolf King. Kite only had 750,000 HP. Compared to the Great Lord, that was practically nothing. The Crystal Wolf King swung its razor-sharp claws, sending numerous streaks of silver light flying at the Sword Master. The silver lights were so fast that no ordinary player would have time to react. However, rather than dodging, Kite unsheathed his two swords and brandished his weapons. Peng Peng Peng The Guard shattered the flying, silver lights. Kite released a low growl, and the two swords in his hands released a dazzling, blue glow. He then swung the weapons forward violently. Tier 2 Skill, Wind Fang! The two massive, blue fangs transformed into two streaks of light, instantly piercing the Crystal Wolf King''s body. "Aooo!" The Crystal Wolf King screamed in pain and retreated by two steps, two damages of over -100,000 points appearing its head. However, Kite was not done with his attacks. Immediately, he appeared before the Great Lord. The Crystal Wolf King was furious. Baring its fangs, it swung its massive paw at Kite so fast that one could only see black shadows move towards the Sword Master. Boom! The earth shook. However, the Wolf King''s paw never made contact with Kite''s body. Instead, Kite blocked the attack with one hand. Kite then countered with a slash towards the giant paw''s joint. A streak of blue light struck the Wolf King''s paw, causing the Boss to lose over 20,000 HP. "Big Brother Ye Feng, your Personal Guard is so strong!" Blue Bamboo''s eyes widened with surprise as she watched the fight. She had seen many powerful Personal Guards before. However, all of the Tier 2 Personal Guards she had seen had even struggled to deal with a Lord, not to mention a Great Lord. They also required players'' assistance. Yet, Kite could block this Great Lord''s attack with a single hand. Shi Feng was similarly shocked. He had never thought that Kite would be this powerful. The NPC had already grown to be capable of withstanding a Tier 3 monster''s attack. He even had slightly higher Strength than the Crystal Wolf King Only now did Shi Feng understand why those Super Guilds in the past had been so desperate to obtain a Dark-Gold Guard. If Kite was this strong right now, how powerful would he be when he reached Tier 5? While Shi Feng watched, astonished, Anna, who stood a short distance away from the Crystal Wolf King, also began to attack. When her chanting came to an end Suddenly, a brilliant light filled the dark cave. A massive, golden magic array had enveloped over half of the cave. Anna''s aura also grew by multiple times. Even Shi Feng, who stood far away from the Summoner, had trouble breathing in the dense aura. 848 Frightening Dark-Gold Guard Chapter 848 - Frightening Dark-Gold Guard What is this Spell? Shi Feng could feel the aura around Anna strengthening. Right now, it felt as if a Tier 3 NPC was standing before him. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen such a Spell. Tier 3 NPCs were generally tasked to defend a city. Even in a major city like White River City, they would be considered top-class individuals. Players would find it difficult to meet one. Shi Feng immediately called out Anna''s Skill Menu. What?! She''s grasped a Tier 2 Curse already?! Shi Feng was extremely shocked when he saw the list displayed on the Skill Menu. Anna''s growth potential was incredible. Previously, Shi Feng had checked Kite''s Skill Menu. Although the Sword Master had learned quite a number of Tier 2 Skills, he had picked up just one Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Moreover, he had obtained this Taboo Skill only after completing many quests. In contrast, Anna actually already possessed two Tier 2 Curses right now. Moreover, one of them was even a Curse Shi Feng had never heard before. Song of Summoning! Not only would the Curse forcefully upgrade the caster to Tier 3 temporarily, but it would also summon a Golden Giant, a Tier 3 creature. In the next moment, an endless amount of Mana began gathering at the center of the golden magic array. After roughly three seconds, the large supply of Mana condensed into a Golden Giant over ten meters tall. The giant was fully equipped with golden armor, and it carried a giant golden axe on its back. [Golden Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 60 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the Golden Giant. Anna''s performance was simply terrific. Despite being only a Tier 2 NPC, she was already capable of summoning a Tier 3 creature. Moreover, Anna herself had also reached the standard of a Tier 3, albeit temporarily. With this, dealing with a Tier 3 monster of the same Level would be child''s play for her. In the next moment, the Golden Giant charged at the Crystal Wolf King and swung its golden axe. However, the speed of the Giant''s axe was not particularly fast. As a result, the Wolf King managed to block the weapon in time using its paw. Boom! The impact of the collision sent the Wolf King flying, and then its body slammed heavily into the ground. The paw it defended itself with trembled uncontrollably as well. At this moment, when the Wolf King looked at the Golden Giant, its eyes were filled with fear. Not only had the Crystal Wolf King gone flying from this frontal clash, but it had also suffered over -5,000 damage from the resulting impact. If the Wolf King had not blocked the Golden Giant''s axe, the damage it received from the Golden Giant would have definitely exceeded the damage Kite had inflicted. A single Golden Giant was already more than enough to deal with the Crystal Wolf King. After including Kite''s targeted strikes at the Wolf King''s weak points, the Crystal Wolf King immediately fell into an absolute disadvantage. In the end, it could only accept its fate, serving as a punching bag. It seems my plans were unnecessary. Shi Feng laughed involuntarily as he looked at the Crystal Wolf King''s constantly decreasing HP. He finally got to experience how those players had felt when they obtained a Dark-Gold Guard of their own. Initially, he had still planned on taking action himself. Now, however, it would seem that his plans were utterly superfluous. If he were to join the fray as well, he would be bullying the Crystal Wolf King. However, he had to admit that it indeed felt awesome to have a Dark-Gold Guard! He could practically level up even while lying down and doing nothing. Even if he were a player who did not know how to fight, he could simply rely on his Personal Guard to help him level up. It''s no wonder those players back then had invested all their money into nurturing these Dark-Gold Guards. Shi Feng could not help but think back to those players who had been lucky enough to obtain Dark-Gold Guards in the past. It turns out that the difference in strength is actually so massive. Logically, if one possessed such a powerful guard, grinding, leveling up, and earning money should be a piece of cake. After all, Field Bosses were practically walking ATMs to players with Dark-Gold Guards. Generally, Guilds would have to organize large expeditions to raid these powerful Field Bosses. They even had to make enormous sacrifices to take down these Bosses. On the other hand, the only task players with Dark-Gold Guards had to do was search for Field Bosses. They could leave everything else to their Personal Guards to handle. Even if it took two or three days to locate a single Field Boss, once they killed the Boss, its loot would be all theirs for the keeping. Their income would definitely be far above that of experts of God''s Domain. Yet, in the past, any player that possessed a relatively good Personal Guard in God''s Domain was extremely poor. This was because these Personal Guards were no different from a bottomless pit. If the equipment and Skills of a Personal Guard did not improve along with the increase in their Levels, then raiding Field Bosses of the same Level would become much more dangerous. After all, unlike NPCs, monsters didn''t need equipment. As long as their Levels increased, their Attributes would increase significantly as well. In contrast, a Personal Guard''s strength was not dependent on just their Attributes. They also relied heavily on their equipment and Skills. They needed to continually improve themselves in order to go up against Bosses of the same Level. When players died, at worst, they would lose a single Level and a piece of equipment. However, the death of Personal Guards was different. Not only would they lose many Levels, but their revival would also take a very long time. Not to mention, the cost of reviving Personal Guards could sting even top-tier experts. Hence, to reduce the possibility of their guards dying, players in the past would try to increase the strength of their Personal Guards as much as possible. Time flowed by quickly. While under the observation of Shi Feng and the others Since Blue Bamboo had dispelled all the Gain buffs cast by the Crystal Wolf King on itself, its HP quickly fell to 30%. Right just then, the Wolf King''s crimson eyes suddenly gave off a bloody glow, its half-transparent crystal body gradually turning crimson as well. "Blue, hurry up and use the scroll! Rain, you and I will join the battle!" Shi Feng instructed hurriedly. Once the Crystal Wolf King''s HP fell below 30%, it would stop using the Tier 2 Buff Skill and start using the Tier 3 Gain Skill, instead. Just the first stack of the buff could increase the Wolf King''s Strength and speed by 10%, while subsequent stacks would further enhance its Strength and speed by 10%, up to a maximum of 30 stacks. In other words, the Crystal Wolf King''s Strength and speed could increase by as much as 300%. At that point, even a Grand Lord of the same Level would not be a match for it. Hence, they needed to finish off the Crystal Wolf King before things got out of hand. Only, its Gain buffs stacked up very quickly. It would gain a stack once every 10 seconds. If nobody removed this buff, in just two minutes'' time, the Crystal War Wolf''s strength could rival a Grand Lord. "Got it!" At this time, Blue Bamboo retrieved a Magic Scroll from her bag and began amplifying her Dispel. As the first stack of buff got removed, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and began attacking from the Crystal Wolf King''s side. Thundering Flash! Chop! Earth Splitter! Thunder Flame Explosion! One Skill after another landed on the Crystal Wolf King, each one dealing around -10,000 to -20,000 damage to the Great Lord. In contrast, Thoughtful Rain was not faring particularly well. The Crystal War Wolf was an Elemental Being, so it possessed relatively high Magic Resistance in addition to its own Defense. Thoughtful Rain''s attacks very rarely dealt over -3,000 damage to the Great Lord. When the Crystal Wolf King''s HP fell below 3,000,000, Kite executed the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Hurricane''s Descent. Anna also stopped holding back as she cast the Tier 2 Curse, Judgment of Light. A gray cyclone promptly appeared in the sky, and like a sharp blade, it stabbed directly at the Crystal Wolf King. As for Anna''s Judgment of Light, when she completed the Curse, it called forth a Battle Angel into the battlefield. The moment the Battle Angel appeared, she threw a sacred golden spear at the Wolf King. Boom! -1,045,137. -1,274,646. Instantly, two massive damages appeared above the Crystal Wolf King''s head, forcing an agonized howl out of the Great Lord. The Wolf King then fell to the ground, its body paralyzed. It had obviously suffered massive injuries from the two attacks and entered a Weakened state for a short period. The tremendous amounts of damages thoroughly stunned Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. Naturally, Shi Feng would not let this golden opportunity pass. He immediately activated Divine Providence followed by Flame Burst. When he finished executing his fifteen consecutive attacks, the Crystal Wolf King collapsed to the ground, its body completely motionless. 849 Alchemy Equipmen Chapter 849 - Alchemy Equipment With the Crystal Wolf King''s death, everyone''s experience bars rose by a large margin. Shi Feng reached 41% of Level 40, while Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were now only 20% away from Level 40. They would have to grind for just one more day, at most, to bridge this final gap. However, compared to the EXP they obtained, Shi Feng paid much more attention towards the Wolf King''s loot. The Crystal Wolf King was the guardian monster of this map. Moreover, this was the first time it had been killed. Its loot would naturally be much more bountiful than usual. Sure enough, among the ten items dropped, five were rare materials. As for the remaining five, three were Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment and one was the Crystal Heart that Thoughtful Rain required. With this Crystal Heart, she would be able to proceed to the next phase of her quest. The Witch''s Sin was a Chain Legacy Quest with a total of five phases. Unlike other Legacy Quests, where one simply had to obtain a Legacy tool and activate it, the Witch''s Sin allowed one to enter its Legacy grounds and undertake the final trial only after the completion of a series of quests. It was much more troublesome than the Legacy Quests of other hidden classes. However, it was also one of the easiest Legacies to encounter. Sure enough, the loot this time is good. Shi Feng smiled as he held up a deep-blue crystal bottle. This crystal bottle was neither a weapon nor equipment that combat players sought. Instead, it was an item that was in demand among Lifestyle players, particularly alchemists, because this crystal bottle was Alchemy Equipment. [Azure Ocean Crystal Bottle] (Alchemy Equipment, Secret-Silver Rank) Increases the alchemy success rate by 5%. Although the crystal bottle only increased the success rate of alchemy procedures by 5%, for comparison, a complete set of Mysterious-Iron Alchemy Equipment provided a total increase of only 8%. Meanwhile, the complete Azure Ocean set could increase the alchemy success rate by 12%. It was a set that was highly desirable even to Master Alchemists. Although Shi Feng currently had only a single bottle, this item would suffice to help an Intermediate Alchemist get promoted to Advanced Alchemist quickly. After reaching the Advanced Alchemist standard, an alchemist could begin producing all sorts of rare intermediate potions such as the Intermediate Fire Resistance Potion and Intermediate Ice Resistance Potionthe value of these potions would skyrocket once the Eclipse Gate opened. Unfortunately, the Candlelight Trading Firm simply had too few Advanced Alchemists at the moment. Now that Shi Feng had obtained a piece of the Azure Ocean set, it would help a lot in addressing this problem. After killing the Crystal Wolf King, Shi Feng did not remain idle. Instead, he led Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo around the Crystal Forest, killing Chieftains and Lords, using this opportunity to gather the other set pieces of the Azure Ocean set. Finally, around the time when the Soul Lock on Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo disappeared, he obtained an Azure Ocean Test Tube, which increased the alchemy success rate by 3%, after killing a Lord ranked Boss. Shi Feng lacked just two more to complete the set. However, seeing as it was getting late, he had to bring Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo back to the city first. As for the remaining two set pieces, he could only put off collecting them for the future. --- White River City, at an open-air restaurant close to the Candlelight Trading Firm: Players and horse carriages constantly traveled down the street outside the restaurant, every one of these players in a hurry to raise themselves to Level 40. All of this was due to the sudden appearance of a Mount in White River City. This incident had whetted the appetites of White River City''s players for Mounts. At the same time, the number of players trying to join Zero Wing had further increased. Previously, everyone had considered Mounts to be just another mode of transportation. However, after seeing the Demonic Flame Tiger, everyone came to understand one thing Mounts could also assist players in battle. This was especially true for a Mount like the Demonic Flame Tiger. Its mere presence was enough to make one shudder. One could just imagine how much more help it could provide in combat. "That tiger Mount sure is cool. It would be great if I could have one as well." "Stop dreaming. Someone on the forums is offering to buy the Mount for eight million Credits right now. Even so, many people are still ridiculing that person." "Ridicule? Why? That''s eight million Credits we''re talking about! If I had that much money, I wouldn''t have to work for the rest of my life. If I were the owner of the tiger Mount, I would definitely sell it!" "Do you think that Mount is worth only eight million? Although some Guilds have managed to get their hands on Mounts as well, those Mounts are just Bronze rank, with very few being Mysterious-Iron rank. Currently, rumor has it that the tiger Mount might be a Dark-Gold Mount. If that''s true, it''s the highest ranked Mount currently known in God''s Domain. Instead of it being just a Mount, it is a symbol of one''s identity. Most likely, eight million Credits isn''t even worth 10% of that Mount." "These people are just insane. I''m having a headache just trying to earn 40 Gold. Who knows when I''ll be able to save up that much money? It would be great if the Mounts were cheaper." "Of course there is a cheaper alternative. A Guild Mount costs only 25 Gold. However, you''ll need to join a Guild with a Stable first. Currently, Zero Wing is the only Guild in God''s Domain that has a Stable. The number of players trying to join Zero Wing every day has nearly filled up Zero Wing''s Residence to the point of bursting. If I had known something like this would happen, I would''ve tried to join Zero Wing sooner." "Zero Wing really is amazing. Right now, even Super Guilds have yet to construct their own Stables, but Zero Wing has done so already. In a few years'' time, Zero Wing might even become a new Super Guild." While the players on the street were busy chatting, a handsome young man wrapped in a Black Cloak wore a gloomy expression on his face as he sat in the open-air restaurant. "Zero Wing sure is something. It''s no wonder they dared to oppose King''s Return," the tall and beautiful woman seated beside the handsome youth said, a faint smile on her face. "It''s been too long since our Guild has made a move. It seems that people have started to forget how frightening we actually are." In the minds of ordinary players, Super Guilds were merely Guilds with long histories and plenty of experts. They did not understand the truly formidable aspect of Super Guilds. The reason why Super Guilds were powerful was not because of their large number of experts and vast resources, but more due to the quality of their experts. The Falcon Legion sent to kill the core members of Zero Wing was the best proof. The Falcon Legion was a legion of experts King''s Return had secretly nurtured. Every member of the Falcon Legion could rank among the top experts of a first-rate Guild. The more powerful members were even in the Refinement Realm already. Going up against multiple top-tier experts of first-rate Guilds at the same time would be a piece of cake for these Refinement Realm experts. Now, not only had King''s Return sent a 20-man team after Zero Wing''s core members, but the Guild had also assigned Quirrell, one of the team leaders of the Falcon Legion, to lead it. In addition, Ordinary Stranger and Thunder Tiger even accompanied the team. Both these men were Refinement Realm experts. With such a force, annihilating Zero Wing''s core members would be child''s play. Of course, King''s Return''s intention was not to exterminate Zero Wing but to give it a warning. "Hopefully, Zero Wing will learn their lesson after this little warning. If they still dare to stand against me, their core members won''t be the only ones to die next time," Hell Fiend stated, a cold glint flashing across his eyes. "Sinned Heart has already departed from his Guild Residence and is currently heading over. It should be time for us to meet that Guild Leader of Zero Wing." It would indeed be difficult for King''s Return to thoroughly exterminate Zero Wing in one fell swoop. However, other methods could be used to deal with the Guild slowly. The simplest way was to repeatedly kill the upper echelons of the Guild. If the Guild''s upper echelons were frequently killed, their deaths would negatively impact the growth of the Guild. If the situation was prolonged, Guild members would lose faith in their upper echelons. In the end, members would start quitting, which would, in turn, weaken the Guild. This was also the reason why the various Guilds were afraid of Super Guilds. Just as Hell Fiend was about to head to the Candlelight Trading Firm, twenty cloaked players appeared before him. These twenty players were none other than Ordinary Stranger''s group. "Well? Did you finish the mission?" Hell Fiend asked softly as he looked at Ordinary Stranger, who stood in the lead. 850 Hell Fiend’s Shock Chapter 850 - Hell Fiend''s Shock "Why are you all quiet?" Hell Fiend asked sternly as he looked at Ordinary Stranger''s team, which remained silent. However, Hell Fiend''s follow-up question still failed to elicit a reply from Ordinary Stranger and the others. Instead, their heads hung even lower, their complexions becoming extremely gloomy. "Did you, or did you not complete the mission? Have you all become mute?" Hell Fiend asked suspiciously. Whether it was Ordinary Stranger or Thunder Tiger, both of them were usually chatterboxes. Yet, now, neither of them had uttered even a single word. How could he not find this situation odd? After a long period of silence, Quirrell finally stepped forward and answered in a low tone, "We didn''t complete the mission." "You didn''t complete the mission?" Hell Fiend was momentarily stunned. He then looked at Quirrell and demanded in a deep tone, "Tell me exactly what happened." Following which, Quirrell and Ordinary Stranger made a full report to Hell Fiend. After hearing their recollection, Hell Fiend fell silent. Praying Lotus, the beautiful Level 39 Oracle dressed in sacred white robes who was standing beside Hell Fiend, also revealed an astonished expression. The reason for her astonishment was not because Quirrell and the others had died. Instead, it was because of who had ambushed them. Although Ordinary Stranger had guessed that the cloaked man was Black Flame, Quirrell had personally seen the cloaked man''s true appearance, and he could say with 100% certainty that their ambusher was Ye Feng. Ye Feng was someone who had long since entered the list of "targets to pay attention to" of Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. He was ridiculously strong; even if Hell Fiend were to take action himself, the outcome of the fight would be uncertain. Hell Fiend was even more likely to lose than win. Hence, it came to her as no surprise that Ye Feng had killed Quirrell and the others. If this were normal times, she could still chalk it up to Quirrell and the others having extremely bad luck. Unfortunately, things were not as simple as just having bad luck, and this was the part that gave her and Hell Fiend a headache. The movements of the Falcon Legion were kept top secret; even Hell Fiend himself had been in the dark. For the mission this time, only the 20 players on the team had known the details. Hence, before the team had made its move, it was impossible for Zero Wing to have known about the ambush. Moreover, when Quirrell and the others had taken action, they had even used Soul Lock on their targets. Their ambush targets had no way to get news out unless they died and logged out of the game. As for Ye Feng appearing at that location by coincidence, that was also impossible. After all, Ye Feng had ridden around White River City on his Mount for a long time, causing a huge commotion in the city. When Quirrell and the others took action, Ye Feng had still been in the city. Hence, Ye Feng''s appearance at the Crystal Forest was definitely no coincidence. It was certain that he had only rushed to the rescue after finding out about the incident. However, just how far away was the Crystal Forest from White River City? By the time Ye Feng arrived thereeven with a Mountthe Falcon Legion should have long since finished their targets. Yet, that was not the case. Not only had Ye Feng slaughtered the Falcon Legion, but he had even managed to save his companions. The speed of his mobilization was simply staggering. This meant that dealing with the members of Zero Wing would be much more troublesome in the future. If they were not careful, they might even end up suffering a huge loss. However, they also could not afford to send out their Guild''s apex experts. These people usually had their own tasks to handle. How could they possibly have the time to play around with an upstart Guild? Moreover, if they really did dispatch these experts, doing so would turn their Guild into a laughingstock for other Super Guilds. "It''s no wonder even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is helpless against Zero Wing. It turns out that they still have such a card to play. Good! Very good!" Hell Fiend exclaimed, his mouth twitching in anger. This move of Zero Wing had foiled his plans considerably. "Hell Fiend, are we still going to meet with Black Flame?" Praying Lotus asked. Their initial plan had been to teach Zero Wing a lesson and let the Guild know what kind of consequences awaited it should it offend King''s Return. Now with the Falcon Legion''s defeat, they naturally lost their deterrent against Zero Wing. "Go! Of course, we''re going! If Sinned Heart thinks he can get that sum of money, he can forget about it!" Hell Fiend declared, bloodlust shining in his eyes. With a resolute tone, he added, "Since we can''t do this subtly, we''ll just use force to convince Zero Wing! I don''t believe an upstart Guild with no backing won''t submit to King''s Return!" Saying so, Hell Fiend had Ordinary Stranger contact Zero Wing. --- White River City''s Teleportation Hall: Suddenly, several white flashes appeared inside the building as Shi Feng and the others returned to White River City once again. "What a pity! It would be great if we could continue grinding for a few more hours," Blue Bamboo said in disappointment as she looked at her own experience bar. During their time following Shi Feng around, their leveling speed simply left one speechless. With two Personal Guards capable of overwhelming a Great Lord present, dealing with those Chieftain and Lord ranked monsters was extremely relaxing. The Crystal Wolves they slaughtered as they traveled around the Crystal Forest also boosted their experience bars significantly. Currently, she was only 5% away from reaching Level 40. At most, she would need an hour''s worth of grinding to bridge that final gap. Level 40 was a relatively major milestone in God''s Domain. Throughout their travels, Blue Bamboo had eyed Shi Feng''s Demonic Flame Tiger with longing. Unfortunately, she had yet to reach Level 40, so she could not even give riding Shi Feng''s Mount a try. In God''s Domain, Mounts could generally carry two people at the same time. If a Mount was of a sufficiently high rank, it could even accommodate three people at once. A Dark-Gold Mount like the Demonic Flame Tiger could bear a maximum of three people. However, the riders had to be Level 40 or above. After exiting the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger once again. The Demonic Flame Tiger''s cool and massive body immediately attracted the gazes of the passersby. "I still have something to take care of, so I''ll be leaving first. If you encounter any problems in your quest again, just contact me or Aqua and the others," Shi Feng said as he jumped onto his Mount. He gave the Demonic Flame Tiger a tap and then sped towards the Candlelight Trading Firm. After Shi Feng departed, the players on the streets promptly shifted their gazes towards Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. "Are those two beauties members of Zero Wing?" "I saw them talking to that Mount-riding person just now. Could that expert be a member of Zero Wing?" All sorts of ideas started popping up in people''s minds. Many beautiful female players also started looking at Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo with eyes filled with envy and admiration. Although they were acquainted with many experts, compared to Shi Feng, those experts were simply noobs. On the other hand, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo actually managed to make friends with an expert like Shi Feng. "It would be great if I can get a Mount that''s as cool as Big Brother Ye Feng''s. At that time, my classmates will definitely die of jealousy," Blue Bamboo said as she looked at Shi Feng''s departing figure admiringly. However, Thoughtful Rain, who stood beside Blue Bamboo, did not have such thoughts in her mind. Instead, she was currently pondering how she could go about improving her strength. Shi Feng''s battles had truly widened her horizons. She had never imagined that there would actually be such a huge difference between players. --- Candlelight Trading Firm, second-floor reception room: "Hell Fiend, are you really going to do it?" Praying Lotus asked, a frown on her face. "If you do so, we''ll suffer significant losses as well." "I''ve already said that I absolutely will not let Sinned Heart get that money! If Black Flame is really resolute in opposing me, I will let him know what regret tastes like! Let''s see if he thinks opposing me just for a stranger like Sinned Heart is worth it or not!" Hell Fiend sneered and nodded decisively. As Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus were waiting quietly, the doors to the room opened suddenly. Shi Feng, who was currently in the guise of Black Flame, slowly walked up to Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus. 851 Book of Disaster Chapter 851 - Book of Disaster "So he is Black Flame?" Hell Fiend began carefully observing Shi Feng as the Swordsman approached him. Although the general public did not have a clear grasp of Black Flame''s strength, practically all experts from Super Guilds knew just how powerful the man was. Ranked 51st on God''s Domain''s Experts List. Although the rankings on this list did not measure the exact strength of an expert, they were still useful as a reference. Someone ranked 51st on the list was unquestionably an expert who could rank at the top in any Super Guild. Moreover, the fact that Black Flame had managed to develop an upstart Guild like Zero Wing to its current state showed that he was strong in more than just fighting. While Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus were observing Shi Feng, Shi Feng was also observing the two. Whether it was Hell Fiend or Praying Lotus, both of them had been very famous experts in the past. It was especially true for Hell Fiend. During the initial stages of God''s Domain, he had already become an Adjudicator of King''s Return. The title of Adjudicator was not just for show. It represented King''s Return''s apex combat power. Even the weakest Adjudicator was a Void Realm expert. In addition, there was also an age restriction. Candidates for Adjudicator could not be over 30. In other words, no one over 30 years old could take part in the exam to become an Adjudicator. Hell Fiend had managed to become one at such a young age. Ten years later, he had even become a Tier 6 Mage God that everybody knew of. As for the female Oracle, Praying Lotus, she was similarly very amazing. Although she could not compare to Hell Fiend, she had similarly been promoted into one of King''s Return''s Adjudicators a year or so later. In the end, she had even become a Tier 5 Red Priest. Her combat power back then had reached the peak of Tier 5. She had been an existence that countless experts looked up to. Shi Feng had never imagined that the two people looking to talk to him would be them. "What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng asked in a deep tone as he looked at Hell Fiend. "You can''t be trying to get me to give up on the trade, right?" "Actually, we are. The reason we''ve come looking for you this time is indeed to have you give up on that exchange. If you give up now, our previous agreement will still take effect." Hell Fiend nodded. He then took out a tattered old book from his bag. Smiling confidently, he said, "You can take a look at this thing here. If you are not willing to give up on the exchange, it won''t be the Falcon Legion taking action the next time. Instead, I''ll make use of this item. You don''t wish to see any accidents happening to the Stone Forest Town that you''ve arduously developed, right?" This ancient book was very old. There didn''t seem to be anything special about it. Its cover had long since been ruined. However, if one tried hard enough, one could still make out the faint words written on the book''s cover. Abyss Summoning! The instant Shi Feng saw these words, his heart involuntarily shook. This book was a nightmarish item in God''s Domain. This book itself was a disaster. In God''s Domain, the human race was constantly at war with the Abyss. However, it was not that easy for the Abyss to invade the continent of God''s Domain. Abyssal monsters needed to travel through an Abyss Passage to enter God''s Domain en masse. It was extremely difficult to open an Abyss Passage. Nevertheless, this ancient book could simply do so. This ancient book was an item monsters from the Dark Abyss[1] had specifically sent over. The reason for doing so was to have the people residing on the continent of God''s Domain use it. The book would then act as a marker that allowed abyssal monsters to open a passage to God''s Domain much more readily. The opening of an Abyss Passage would mean that endless abyssal monsters would surge into God''s Domain. At that time, many kingdoms and empires would fall to the invasion. Shi Feng had never dreamed that Hell Fiend would actually possess this item. No wonder he''s so confident! So he still has such a trump card. Shi Feng was momentarily at a loss for words as he looked at the ancient book on the table. If an Abyss Passage opened close to Stone Forest Town, it would indeed bring about the destruction of the town. However, opening an Abyss Passage was no laughing matter. In the past, a player had similarly used one such ancient book to open an Abyss Passage. The abyssal monsters that came out had ended up destroying an entire kingdom and even spreading to several neighboring kingdoms. The Glory Empire was only a short distance away from Star-Moon Kingdom. With the scope of the Abyss Passage, the Glory Empire would naturally suffer from the invasion. In such a case, King''s Return would not escape unscathed, either. However, this ancient book had one more secret that was not mentioned by the system. "If you don''t mind losing Stone Forest Town, you can go ahead and trade with Sinned Heart," Hell Fiend laughed. This ancient book was extraordinarily precious. Originally, he had not intended to use it for such a matter. After all, it could be used to deal with other Super Guilds in the future. Now, however, with the situation as it was, he couldn''t care less about wasting the book. However, he did not believe that Shi Feng would be so foolish. How could a measly five plots of Land possibly compare to Stone Forest Town? Contrary to Hell Fiend''s expectations, however, Shi Feng shook his head and said very seriously, "Sorry, but I still refuse. If you wish to use this ancient book of yours, go ahead." When Praying Lotus heard Shi Feng''s reply, she stared at him with an expression of disbelief on her face. Thinking that the man did not understand the severity of the situation, she hurriedly exclaimed, "Guild Leader Black Flame, you have to think this through carefully! That''s Stone Forest Town we''re talking about, not an NPC city! Do you think you can fend off an endless wave of abyssal monsters?!" This ancient book was extraordinary. Just the price to activate the Abyss Passage would cost them significantly. It would be a complete waste to use it on a small Guild like Zero Wing. "I''ve considered this very clearly. If you don''t have anything else, please leave. I still have many things I need to tend to," Shi Feng said. Then he stood up and left. At this time, both Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus were stunned. A lunatic! Black Flame clearly had a mental problem! Or did he think they would not actually carry out their threat? "Good! Black Flame, I applaud you! You are the first person to have earned my admiration since entering the virtual gaming world! Since you insist on doing so, I''ll fulfill your wish, then! I will definitely make you regret your decision today, Black Flame!" Hell Fiend laughed maniacally as he looked at Shi Feng''s receding back. "We''re leaving!" Following which, Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus departed the Candlelight Trading Firm. "Guild Leader, will helping Sinned Heart really be worth it?" Aqua Rose asked curiously as she looked at Hell Fiend''s departing figure. She had watched everything that happened very clearly from a secret room beside the reception room. After all, two important figures from King''s Return had come. How could the Vice-Leader of Zero Wing possibly be absent from this situation? Although Sinned Heart was a good-natured person, they were merely acquaintances. If Shi Feng were to abandon Stone Forest Town just because of a promise, it would be the epitome of foolishness. However, Aqua Rose also understood that it was precisely due to this personality of Shi Feng''s that she had agreed to join Zero Wing back then. If Shi Feng were someone who readily bowed to threats, he wouldn''t have so many people placing their trust in him right now. "Do you think I''m doing it just because of Sinned Heart?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "If Hell Fiend really does open up an Abyss Passage near Stone Forest Town, then I would have to thank him." "Thank him? The Abyss Passage will call forth an endless wave of abyssal monsters. How could Stone Forest Town possibly defend against so many monsters?" Aqua Rose asked, confused. "Gains and losses correspond in God''s Domain. That ancient book is both a disaster and an opportunity. Just like an Epic Quest, while terrific rewards are possible, the punishment for failure is similarly terrifying," Shi Feng explained, smiling. "Hopefully, Hell Fiend doesn''t disappoint me." Hell Fiend could not know about the true secret of the ancient book. This secret was something that players had found out only after God''s Domain had experienced such disasters multiple times. Shortly after Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus left, Shi Feng similarly departed the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, to avoid attracting too much attention, Shi Feng hailed an advanced horse carriage and headed towards the Library. Previously, due to Thoughtful Rain''s matter, he had not managed to deal with the golden tablet''s quest. Now that he was done with that matter, he naturally could not leave the tablet quest alone. However, after arriving at the Library, before Shi Feng could head to the entrance of the building, a beautiful figure suddenly intruded into his path, blocking him. Taking a closer look, Shi Feng discovered that the person blocking him was actually Youlan of Underworld. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you really are difficult to find. May I know if you have time for a private chat?" Youlan asked softly, smiling as she looked at the cloaked Shi Feng. 852 Sacred Grounds Chapter 852 - Sacred Grounds "Your ability to find someone is really amazing," Shi Feng said. However, his attention was currently not on Youlan. Instead, he was surveying his surroundings. However, even after careful observation, nothing in particular drew his eye. He did not detect anybody trailing him. Moreover, in a city, many players chose to wear a Black Cloak to avoid exposing themselves. Hence, cloaked players were not an uncommon sight in a city. Despite that, Youlan had still managed to locate him. At this moment, Youlan wore a set of luxurious purple robes, a glowing, silver staff clasped in her hand. The staff had many runes engraved on it, and Shi Feng could faintly feel the ambient Mana gathering around it. Youlan''s Level was similarly extraordinary. Currently, she was already a Level 39 Summoner. The current first ranking player on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List was only Level 38, yet Youlan had already reached Level 39. Her leveling speed was already on par with the experts of Super Guilds. "Guild Leader Black Flame is overpraising me. Why don''t we find a quiet place to sit down and have a chat?" Youlan revealed a meaningful smile. "I have some intelligence that I know will certainly interest Guild Leader Black Flame." "Intelligence that will interest me?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh when he heard Youlan saying so. He had already mingled in God''s Domain for over a decade already. In the past, he had even been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. The information he had regarding God''s Domain far surpassed that of any current player or Guild. Right now, most likely, only the secrets gathered by Super Guilds could possibly interest him. "Isn''t Guild Leader Black Flame interested in the Holy City of Titan?" Youlan asked as she revealed a confident and provocative smile. "How do you know about the Holy City of Titan?" Shi Feng was greatly shocked as he looked at Youlan. The Holy City of Titan was one of God''s Domain''s major secrets. Even in the past, not many players had known about the Holy City. It was a place that independent players had no chance of ever visiting. Even those who knew about the existence of the Holy City would not necessarily be able to go there. Only an extremely few large Guilds were capable of visiting it. Generally, only first-rate Guilds and above had the ability to get to the Holy City. Although Shadow had been a second-rate Guild in the past, it was only after joining hands with many Guilds, as well as having the powerful Immortal Light Guild of that time taking the lead, that Shi Feng had managed to get a glimpse of the Holy City of Titan. The Holy City of Titan was originally a city where the Titans resided. It was once an extremely powerful city, capable of going up against even Gods. However, after the war between the Gods, the city had weakened significantly. Even so, it was still much more powerful than the current Four Great Empires of God''s Domain, and was roughly Blackwing City''s match and greatly respected by the various kingdoms and empires of God''s Domain. However, the Holy City of Titan was different from Blackwing City. Blackwing City was more of a place for players to conduct trade at. Titan City, on the other hand, was a place meant for nurturing players. It had been titled a sacred training ground by many players. The reason for this was because the Mana density at Titan City was much denser than in most locations in the outside world. Aside from being a sacred training ground for combat players, Titan City was also a sacred ground for Lifestyle players. Due to the excellent environmental conditions there, Lifestyle players would have their production success rates improved considerably. In addition, the chance of obtaining Lifestyle designs at the grinding spots around Titan City was much higher than at other locations. Hence, many Lifestyle players yearned to visit the Holy City of Titan. However, Titan City was not a place that just any player could visit. Similar to Blackwing City, one needed to obtain a pass. However, the drop-rate for Titan City''s pass was much lower than Blackwing City''s. Moreover, only Level 30, 100-man large-scale Team Dungeons or above had a chance of dropping the pass. Although Shi Feng had thought of going to Titan City, until now, not a single team in Zero Wing had managed to obtain a pass for Titan City. In Shi Feng''s opinion, though, this was a very normal occurrence. The drop-rate for that item was simply too low. Obtaining it in Level 30 or Level 40 Dungeons was practically impossible. Only after reaching Level 50 would 100-man Team Dungeons have a slightly higher possibility of dropping the pass. Even so, the probability was only one in one thousand. In other words, one had to raid one thousand 100-man Team Dungeons to obtain a pass to Titan City. Moreover, the drop-rate for the pass was unaffected by one''s Luck Attribute. Hence, Shi Feng had excluded the Holy City of Titan when thinking of ways to nurture Guild experts. That method simply relied too heavily on luck. "It seems Guild Leader Black Flame really does know about Titan City. That will make the following discussion easier." Youlan smiled. "I have a pass to go to that place. Have I managed to catch your interest now?" "You''ve got me." Shi Feng could not help but laugh. He had never imagined that this woman before him would actually be so capable. A pass to the Holy City of Titan! The value of this item far surpassed that of an Epic Weapon. In the past, some Guilds had even been willing to pay 20,000 Gold just for a pass. Unfortunately, no Guild was willing to sell this item. After all, the value of going to Titan City was far above 20,000 Gold. Following which, Shi Feng followed Youlan to a high-class restaurant. The restaurant was located in the Noble''s District, so the prices here were way beyond the means of independent players. As a result, Shi Feng and Youlan were the only players within the restaurant. Inside a quiet VIP room on the second floor, Shi Feng and Youlan quietly sat facing each other. "Miss Youlan, I''m very curious. With Underworld''s power, you guys should have a high chance of getting through the entrance trial. Why have you come looking to cooperate with me?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Guild Leader Black Flame, surely you jest! Underworld has existed for a long time already. Like those Super Guilds, the power structure inside the organization is very complicated. Everyone has their own opinions and motives. For example, Feng Xuanyang and I are under different superiors. How could Underworld possibly compare to a straightforward organization like Zero Wing?" Youlan laughed. "This Titan City''s pass is something I just happened to chance upon. Nobody in the Guild has found out about it yet. However, with my own abilities, it is very difficult to get through the entrance trial. In addition, I only have three chances to challenge the trial. I won''t gain anything if I fail all three chances. Hence, I thought of asking for your help, Guild Leader Black Flame." "So that''s the case." Shi Feng found Youlan''s words readily convincing. After all, if even Ouroboros had faced such problems, what more an organization like Underworld? "Then, what kind of remuneration are you prepared to give me in return for my help, Miss Youlan?" "Since Guild Leader Black Flame knows of the Holy City of Titan, you should also know of the value of a pass to the city. As long as we get through the entrance trial, I''ll give 30 slots to you. How about it?" Youlan said, gnashing her teeth in reluctance. A single pass could allow a maximum of 100 players into Titan City. However, the difficulty of Titan City''s entrance trial was very high. With just her subordinates, she was unlikely to pass it. They needed the help of several powerful experts. Otherwise, she would not be willing to offer so many slots. "That won''t do. I want half. I can''t help you if you don''t give me half of the slots." Shi Feng shook his head. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this is simply daylight robbery! I am only trying to borrow a few experts from your Guild, yet you want half of the slots. I might as well rely on myself to get through the trial if this is your price," Youlan countered as she glared at Shi Feng. She had never imagined that Shi Feng would be so black-hearted. If Shi Feng were not someone known to keep his word, she would have long since sought out other experts. Then, she wouldn''t have to give away any of her limited slots. Just paying some Coins would suffice. 853 Entrance Trial Chapter 853 - Entrance Trial Youlan took a deep breath. In a very determined tone, Youlan said, "I''ll offer five more slots at most." Based on her investigations, Titan City was an excellent location to nurture Lifestyle players. Nowadays, the impact Lifestyle players had on the game was increasing. The various large Guilds were all investing heavily in Lifestyle players in the hopes of nurturing many more powerful Lifestyle players. It was especially true for forging and alchemy Lifestyle players. In addition, enchanting, tailoring, engineering, and other fields were also becoming increasingly important in the game. If she could nurture a group of high-ranking Lifestyle players, she could use them to earn large sums of money in the future. Hence, every slot to Titan City was of utmost importance, as these slots would become the capital for stabilizing and elevating her position in Underworld. "I believe that Miss Youlan should''ve challenged the entrance trial once already. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have come looking for me. So, I''m sure you are very clear about how difficult the trial is. It is not a problem that can be resolved easily with just a few more experts. If you fail all three challenges, then the pass will automatically become invalid. At that time, not to mention 50 slots, you won''t even get a single slot." Shi Feng had no intention of changing his mind. The slots to enter the Holy City of Titan were equally important to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, the trading firm had many more members to nurture. A meager 35 slots were far from enough. Even if he missed out on this chance, at most, he would just have the Dark Gods Legion and the main force raid more 100-man Team dungeons. In the various NPC cities in God''s Domain, even in imperial capitals, the only locations that could improve a Lifestyle player''s production success rate were Workshops. However, Titan City was different. Aside from Workshops, there were also Research Rooms meant for various Lifestyle classes. Not only could these Research Rooms increase a player''s improvement rate, but the production success rate increases were much higher than even in Special Workshops. As long as the Candlelight Trading Firm nurtured a large number of Advanced Forgers and Alchemists, it would be able to produce many more rare products, particularly Strengthening Devices and various items that increased Fire and Ice Resistance. Since the time Shi Feng left Blackwing City, the selling price of the Strengthening Device at the Blackwing Auction House only increased and never decreased. As long as the item appeared in the Auction House, someone would immediately purchase it. Previously, he thought that 2,000 pieces would be around the amount the market could stomach. Now, however, it seemed that even the additional 3,000 pieces he had scheduled to sell would not be enough to satisfy the market''s appetite. Even before these 3,000 Strengthening Devices sold out, he had already accumulated over 30,000 Gold. He was earning far more than his initial projections. At this moment, Shi Feng could not help but wish he could make more Strengthening Devices. Obtaining the design for the item was not much of a problem. After all, he only needed to raid Level 50 or above Great Lords to get them. With a godly Skill like Divine Providence, one out of every handful of Great Lords he killed would definitely drop the design. The problem was that, even if he managed to obtain a large number of designs, the Candlelight Trading Firm did not have that many Advanced Forgers to learn them. "Are you absolutely confident of clearing the entrance trial?" Youlan frowned. She had never imagined that Shi Feng would have such a deep understanding of the entrance trial. The difficulty of Titan City''s entrance trial was greater than even that of a 100-man Team Dungeon. Otherwise, she would not have come looking for Shi Feng. She would have long since monopolized the entry slots herself. "I won''t say absolutely, but I''m at least over 70% certain," Shi Feng laughed. He had visited the Holy City of Titan multiple times in his previous life, so he was very familiar with the Holy City''s entrance trial. The system set the difficulty of the trial based on the Levels of the players undertaking it, so players would always feel that the trial''s difficulty was the same, regardless of when they challenged it. Getting into Titan City depended on the overall strength of the team. With Zero Wing''s current strength and his understanding of the trial, he was far more than just 70% certain of making it to Titan City. Youlan fell silent upon hearing Shi Feng''s words. Even with Underworld going all-out, its chances of getting through the entrance trial was far from reaching 70%. Worse, if she were to attempt it with just her own team, her success rate would be 20% at most. Moreover, the pass gave only three chances to challenge the trial. She had already failed once. If she relied on her own team, it was simply impossible for them to get through it. Indeed, just as Shi Feng had said, if she could not clear the trial, then this pass of hers would be worth nothing. Moreover, looking at Shi Feng''s calm and confident behavior, he did not seem to be boasting. Demand for Advanced Lifestyle players was continuously increasing nowadays. The sooner she could nurture more Advanced Lifestyle players, the greater the advantage she would hold in the future. She could not afford to sit still and wait for her team to grow stronger. In the end, Youlan could not help but sigh as she conceded, "Alright. As long as you manage to clear the entrance trial, I''ll give you 50 slots. However, I also have a condition. You need to clear the trial within three days." "Deal. I''ll have to make some preparations first. I''ll contact you when the time comes." Shi Feng''s thoughts paralleled Youlan''s. The sooner they entered Titan City, the better. Moreover, many rare designs were obtainable only at the Holy City of Titan and nowhere else. Following which, the two of them established a contract between themselves. Shortly after Shi Feng left, an Assassin youth entered the VIP room. Fully garbed in silvery-gray leather armor, this Assassin should be roughly 18 or 19 years old, based on his appearance. However, his Level was extremely high. He was actually Level 38far beyond the reach of ordinary experts right now. "Big Sis Youlan, aren''t we giving Zero Wing a little too much? That''s 50 Advanced Lifestyle players we''re talking about. Who knows how much money we''ll have to spend to nurture that many Advanced Lifestyle players? Won''t it be fine if we look to Heaven''s Burial or the Star Alliance for help, instead? These two Guilds aren''t beneath Zero Wing in terms of strength. Moreover, we also wouldn''t have to pay such a huge price if we employ their help." The Assassin youth was very furious about the conditions Shi Feng proposed. "The Star Alliance and Heaven''s Burial more or less possess a connection with Underworld. If we get them to help us, the possibility of the others from Underworld finding out about Titan City is very high. However, we won''t have such a problem with Zero Wing," Youlan said, shaking her head. "Besides, Zero Wing is filled with experts. They''ll have a much higher possibility of clearing the entrance trial. Being able to enter Titan City securely is much more important than saving a few more slots for ourselves." Although the Assassin youth did not make any further retort to Youlan''s words, he inwardly still felt very dissatisfied. Back when they had entered the entrance trial, they had all been brimming with confidence. They had all thought that the trial was just a small matter. However, once the battle began, they found out that their thoughts had been too optimistic. The entrance trial was not something a 100-man Team Dungeon could compare to. The two were on entirely different levels. Even if Zero Wing''s experts challenged the entrance trial, the outcome would be the same. --- White River City''s Library: After Shi Feng entered the Library, he immediately made his way to the top floor of the building. Compared to the last time he had come here, the security in front of Star-Moon Hall was much stricter. Tier 3 Knights filled the place. Even his identity as a Demon Hunter would not have gotten him entry into the hall. If not for his identity as a Count of White River City, the most he would have been able to do now was stand at the entrance of the hall. Walking inside, Shi Feng was immediately greeted by the sight of the white-robed Sharlyn sitting before a table and quietly observing a floating crystal ball. Magic arrays encircled her as she radiated an incredibly powerful aura. Even Shi Feng found himself paralyzed when bathed in this aura. A fourfold magic array?! An expression of disbelief appeared on Shi Feng''s face. It would be understandable if this pressure he was feeling was due to a Domain released by an NPC. However, Sharlyn did not have her Domain out right now. This pressure he was currently experiencing was only a side effect of the Mana gathered at the magic array. Just what kind of Spell is this? It is actually this strong! At this moment, there was an image displayed inside the crystal ball. Meanwhile, this image was none other than the scene of the Blackwing Auction House under the effects of Space Freeze. The crystal ball had completely locked on to the appearance and aura of the mysterious youth back then. His every action was clearly replicated in the crystal ball. However, when the mysterious youth vanished from Blackwing City, the crystal ball suddenly cracked and shattered into countless tiny pieces. In the end, the broken fragments of the crystal ball ignited into silver flames before disappearing into nothingness. 854 Ancient Spell Chapter 854 - Ancient Spell "Soul Fire!" Shi Feng''s expression immediately tensed when he saw the burning flame. This was not his first time to encounter this flame. Soul Fire was a flame capable of causing great damage to players, inflicting extremely severe death penaltieseven more severe than having their Immortal Soul absorbed. To put it simply, Soul Fire was a flame that players should avoid coming into contact with at all costs. As the crystal ball disintegrated into nothingness, the silver flames immediately transformed into a leopard over two meters tall. Burning silver flames covered the leopard''s entire body, and wherever its four paws stepped, the stone floor underfoot became molten magma. Anyone seeing this scene would feel their hearts shudder and would try to get as far as possible from the silver leopard. However, Shi Feng could not run away even if he wanted to. The oppression of the fourfold magic array aside, the leopard itself was an extraordinary Level 200 Mythic monsterthe equivalent of a Level 200 Tier 4 NPC. Such a monster could instantly kill any current player. Even if Shi Feng were at his peak during his previous life, the only thing he could have done if he encountered such a monster was run away as fast as he could. Fortunately, this leopard formed from Soul Fire did not seem interested in Shi Feng. Instead, its pitch-black eyes stared at Sharlyn, who was lounging on a reading chair. In the next moment, the leopard transformed into a streak of silver light as it pounced at Sharlyn. The leopard was so fast that Shi Feng did not even manage to react before it appeared in front of her. "What a feisty little cat you are! I was just looking into your owner''s movements, yet you actually came all this way to pick a fight," Sharlyn said, eyeing the silver leopard pouncing at her as if she was just looking at a cute little animal. Suddenly, her left arm turned into a blur as she grabbed the silver leopard by the scruff of its neck. In the next moment, something unbelievable happened. The silver leopard, which was originally over two meters tall, actually began shrinking at a rate visible to the naked eye, until it was no larger than a little kitten. No matter how hard it fought, it couldn''t escape Sharlyn''s grasp. The only thing it could do was bare its tiny fangs and swipe its puny paws at her while emitting threatening hisses. Following which, Sharlyn took out a crimson crystal ball and did a short chant. The silver leopard then transformed into a streak of light and entered the crystal ball. Trapped inside the crystal ball, the silver leopard still tried struggling, but its efforts were all for naught. It couldn''t escape the bindings of the crimson ball. Shi Feng was incomparably stunned as he witnessed this scene from a distance. Sharlyn had actually just played around with a Level 200 Mythic monster as if it were a toy. Rather than a Tier 5 Red Priest, she seemed more on the level of a Tier 6 God. "So you''ve come." After Sharlyn was done dealing with the silver leopard, her golden eyes slowly shifted towards Shi Feng. Smiling faintly, she said, "After not meeting you for some time, I see that you''ve landed yourself in yet more trouble. Before you have even dealt with the matter of the Lord of Balrogs, you have earned yourself yet another curse. I really don''t know whether you''ve been blessed by the Goddess of Fate, or fancied by the Goddess of Misfortune." "Cursed?" Shi Feng frowned. He then gave himself a thorough look as well as checked his status window. However, he did not discover any abnormalities with himself. "Don''t bother. Ordinary mortals won''t be able to detect it." Sharlyn shook her head lightly. She then walked up to Shi Feng. Stretching one of her flawless fingers towards him, she began drawing one line of divine runes after another. Like golden ribbons, the glorious, golden divine runes wrapped around Shi Feng. As the number of divine runes increased, the Mana fluctuations surrounding him began weakening. After a short moment, his surroundings were devoid of Mana. This form of Mana nullification was different from the Silencing Skills used by players, which only froze the flow of Mana. What Sharlyn used thoroughly erased the existence of Mana. With the absence of Mana in his surroundings, Shi Feng felt as if his brain was suffering from oxygen deficiency. Momentarily, his vision blurred a bit. His mind grew somewhat dizzy as well, his control over his body dulling slightly. But in the next moment, a silver chain with the thickness of a finger appeared, extending from Shi Feng''s chest. When this chain went beyond the Mana nullification field, it quickly became invisible once again as if it had never existed. "What''s this?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise. This was his first time seeing such a situation. Moreover, with the appearance of this chain, he could clearly feel himself continuously weakening. "This is your curse. This silver chain is a Soul Chain, and it is bound to your soul. You can consider this a parting gift that mysterious youth left for you when he escaped," Sharlyn said, her cherry-red lips hooking up into a smile. Chuckling softly, she continued, "How about it? Are you feeling a little anxious now?" Shi Feng could not help but roll his eyes at Sharlyn. Even if he were stupid, he could tell that this curse was no trifling matter. A single mistake could very well send him to the Netherworld. Problems related to the soul were the most frightening thing to players. After all, failure to deal with such problems would not end with just suffering a simple death. It was very likely that his entire account would be crippled. How could he not feel anxious? "Can this curse be removed?" Shi Feng asked. In response, however, Sharlyn spread her hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Even you can''t remove it?" Shi Feng was far more shocked now. Sharlyn was definitely one of the strongest NPCs he had ever encountered in his entire gaming career in God''s Domain. If even such an NPC was incapable of helping him, one could just imagine what a stinking pile of trouble he had landed himself in this time. "This thing here is a Soul Chain. It is a Super Spell that has been passed down since ancient times. I am not a God, so how can I possibly remove it?" Sharlyn rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. Snappily, she continued, "However, you don''t have to fall into despair, either. There are two methods to remove this curse of yours. The first method is to remove the curse using force, while the second method is to kill the person who placed this curse on you. Since you can''t remove the curse, the only option left for you is to kill the person who had cursed you in the first place." Shi Feng was immediately rendered speechless. He wanted to, but did he have this kind of ability? Not to mention himself during his peak, even a Tier 5 apex expert would have a small chance of defeating that mysterious youth. Most likely, only Tier 6 God-ranked players would be capable of dealing with him. However, God''s Domain was currently in its infant stages. There was not a single Tier 2 player in existence yet. So, just where was he supposed to find Tier 6 players? "Relax, I''m not telling you to kill that youth yourself. With this weak, little body of yours, a sneeze from that person would blow you into smithereens. All you need to do is find his whereabouts." Sharlyn could not help but giggle as she eyed Shi Feng''s slightly ugly complexion. "Although I''ve used a Tracking Spell, that person is extremely adept at hiding his trail. Even I can''t locate him. However, you are different. The other end of the Soul Chain wrapped around your body is in his hands. As long as you follow the Soul Chain, you will be able to locate him easily. At that time, all you need to do is contact me." System: Legendary Quest "Lost Magic" accepted. Quest content: Locate the youth who has cursed you. Rewards unknown. "But how will I find him? If I''m not inside this magic nullification field, I won''t be able to see the chain at all." Shi Feng was inwardly at a loss for words after hearing the very simplified system notification. 855 Absorbing Soul Fire Chapter 855 - Absorbing Soul Fire Upon hearing Shi Feng say so, as if she had long since prepared for this, Sharlyn promptly handed the crimson crystal ball with the silver leopard inside it to him. "With your current standard, sensing the Soul Chain is naturally impossible for you. However, this thing here can help you," Sharlyn said as she pointed at the imprisoned silver leopard. "This thing is a Soul Beast formed using Soul Fire. As long as you absorb its Soul Fire, you will naturally be capable of seeing the Soul Chain." "Will I be able to control Soul Fire if I absorb it?" Shi Feng could not help but grow excited as he looked at the imprisoned leopard. "But how can I possibly absorb it? It''s a sentient Tier 4 being, not a Mysterious Flame." Soul Fire! It was the nightmare of countless players. Back at the Dark Den, Shi Feng had witnessed the Great Demon Knettel using Soul Fire to instantly reduce Discipline Paradise to Level 0, forcing the Guardian Knight to restart his progress in the game. Meanwhile, Soul Fire could be categorized into two types: black destruction and silver creation. The one used by the Great Demon Knettel was Black Soul Fire, which possessed frighteningly destructive power. As for the Soul Fire before Shi Feng, it was of creation. Although it was not as powerful as Black Soul Fire in terms of Attack Power, it possessed the ability to alter and mend souls. Both of these two flames were Mysterious Flames that were exceptionally hard to come by. As far as Shi Feng knew, no player had managed to control either kind of Soul Fire, even after a decade had passed in God''s Domain. If a player truly managed to control a Soul Fire, regardless of which type it was, they would become the nightmare of all other players. They would become an existence much more frightening than even a player capable of absorbing Immortal Souls. Now that Shi Feng had a chance to absorb such a flame, how could he not get excited? "Absorb a Soul Beast?" Sharlyn laughed involuntarily. "Are you tired of living? With your body, aren''t you afraid of exploding? I''m having you absorb only the Soul Fire this Soul Beast is releasing right now. However, even if it is just radiated Soul Fire, there''s no way you can absorb it with your current standard. The outcome will be the same even though you possess an Immortal Soul. I do know another method that can help you absorb the radiated Soul Fire. Only, you need to search for a Mysterious Flame to do so. Moreover, it needs to be a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame at the very least. Otherwise, you won''t be able to suppress the power of the Soul Fire and will end up burned to ash. "Hence, the only one thing you need to do now is find a bunch of Tier 2 Mysterious Flames. If you manage to absorb the Soul Fire, you will also be able to weaken the corrosion effect the Soul Chain has on your soul. That will buy you time to search for that mysterious youth. Otherwise, with the current state of the Soul Chain, you only have another 27 days before you become that person''s puppet. "Well, there''s nothing to worry about even if you fail to find that person. At that time, I''ll personally grant you relief, permanently erasing you from this world. At the very least, you won''t have to become that person''s puppet." "I only have 27 days if I don''t have the weakening effect of the Soul Fire?" Shi Feng frowned slightly. He had never thought that he would have so little time. Who knew where that mysterious youth had gone to hide? After all, the place the mysterious youth had disappeared from was Blackwing City. He could very well appear in any country in God''s Domain. He might not even be in any country in God''s Domain. He might have distanced himself far away from human society and traveled to a remote place like the Top of the World. God''s Domain was simply too massive. Even with a chain guiding him, locating the mysterious youth in just 27 days was impossible. "That''s right. Hence, you need to absorb Tier 2 Mysterious Flames or above and absorb the Soul Fire as soon as possible. This way, you''ll have a little more time." Sharlyn nodded. Very seriously, she continued, "Alright, hurry up and go search for Tier 2 or above Mysterious Flames. When you''ve managed to absorb one, come and find me. I''ll tell you how you can absorb the Soul Fire." "It''s fine as long as it is a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame?" Saying so, Shi Feng summoned the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. A dark-blue flame immediately manifested above his right palm, its appearance causing the ambient temperature to decrease gradually. To forgers and alchemists, Mysterious Flames were priceless treasures. Unlike top-tier weapons and equipment, which could be obtained easily through raiding Dungeons and Field Bosses or completing quests, one needed to investigate every map carefully to locate a Mysterious Flame. Finding one within a short span of time was not a feasible task. Besides which, a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame was something capable of inciting a great war between various large Guilds. It was not something that could be found in just twenty-odd days. Even Super Guilds would barely be capable of such a feat. Fortunately, Shi Feng had known the exact whereabouts of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and had secured it for himself as soon as possible. Otherwise, this quest would truly be his doom. Thinking about it now, he had indeed made a wise decision to secure the Ice-Blue Devil Flame back then. When Sharlyn saw the deep-blue, burning flame, an expression of surprise appeared on her face. "The Ice-Blue Devil Flame, a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame. This is a flame that only places filled with death are capable of producing. Just how did you manage to obtain it?" Sharlyn asked, greatly surprised as she looked at Shi Feng. "I just happened to discover it when I was traveling by the Hundred Ghost Forest." Shi Feng gave a casual reply. "You really have been blessed by the Goddess of Fate. The Hundred Ghost Forest was cursed by the legendary Black Witch. That Black Witch was a considerably amazing existenceand only a step away from becoming a God. The curse on the Hundred Ghost Forest might not be a problem to a weakling like you, but to powerhouses, that place is an absolute forbidden ground due to the curse." Sharlyn could not restrain her laughter. "Since you already possess the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, then you indeed possess the qualifications to absorb the Soul Fire. "There are two things you need to do when absorbing the Soul Fire. The first thing is control the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and have it wrap around the radiated Soul Fire. You need to envelop the Soul Fire completely. There must not be even the tiniest of leaks. If you fail to do so and get contaminated by the Soul Fire, even though you are a heaven-blessed individual, you will similarly suffer. "The second thing you need to do is the most crucial part when absorbing the Soul Fire. After you have completely contained the Soul Fire, you have to absorb it into your body. Afterwards, you need to fuse the Ice-Blue Devil Flame with the Soul Fire. However, the Soul Fire is too strong. The fusion needs to be a certain ratio. If the proportion of Soul Fire is too high, the merged flame will damage you. If it is too low, you won''t be able to display the power of the Soul Fire. Balance is a must. As for how to achieve that balance, you will have to depend on yourself for that. "I will set up a magic array to carry out this fusion for you. While inside this magic array, you''ll have an easier time guiding this fusion. Once you grasp that sensation, you''ll have a much easier time wielding the Soul Fire''s power in the future." After saying so, Sharlyn began reciting incantations as her hand drew line after line of divine runes continuously. A short moment later, the several thousand lines of divine runes drawn transformed into a golden fourfold magic array, brightly illuminating the entire hall. "Alright, give it a try," Sharlyn said as she pointed at the golden magic array on the ground, an exhausted cast to her face. Evidently, forming this fusion magic array had not been as easy as she made it look. 856 Basic Control Chapter 856 - Basic Control Star-Moon City, Teleportation Hall: A group of cloaked players suddenly appeared inside the building. Standing at the head of this group were an uncloaked young man and woman. The instant these two appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of many players. "Aren''t they Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus, experts of King''s Return?" "Why would they appear here?" "As expected of a Super Guild. Their levels and equipment are simply too amazing. Both of them are fully equipped in Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. That staff Hell Fiend is carrying is actually Epic ranked. The difference between us is just too massive. I wonder when I''ll be able to wear a full set of Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment?" "Could King''s Return be looking to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom?" Experts of King''s Return were practically bigtime celebrities in the virtual gaming world. Not to mention, neither Hell Fiend nor Praying Lotus had bothered to hide the special effects of their equipment. Hence, many players quickly managed to determine the ranks of the two''s equipment, which immediately prompted a discussion among the onlookers as they cast envious gazes at the two experts. Currently, mainstream players had yet to reach even Level 35. Only the elite players of large Guilds had mostly attained this level. Being able to have a complete set of Secret-Silver Equipment was also a very amazing achievement already, yet these two experts from King''s Return, a Super Guild, had already reached Level 39. They even sported the current best weapons and equipment from head to toe. An Epic Weapon. This was definitely the first time these ordinary players had seen such an item. There had been no news of such a weapon appearing in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. One could just imagine how frighteningly powerful a Super Guild was. Hell Fiend and Praying Lotus paid no attention to the looks they were receiving as they walked directly towards an outgoing teleportation array. "Hah, look who it is." Hell Fiend came to an abrupt halt, his gaze shifting towards an Elementalist waiting to use a teleportation array. "Hell Fiend? Why are you here?" The Elementalist youth also noticed Hell Fiend. Suddenly, as if something occurred to him, his expression immediately darkened as he asked, "Could you be trying to threaten Zero Wing?" "Sinned, it seems your luck is quite good. You actually managed to find a trustworthy ally. However, don''t celebrate too soon. Your fate has long since been determined. Nothing will change no matter how much you struggle," Hell Fiend sneered in disdain. He then turned away and left. "A trustworthy ally?" Sinned Heart hid his confusion as he looked at Hell Fiend''s departing figure. "Could Zero Wing have rejected Hell Fiend''s offer?" He had never seen Hell Fiend lose his composure to such an extent before. Inwardly, he breathed out a sigh of relief. The goodwill he felt towards Zero Wing also increased significantly. Not many people would dare to resist King''s Return, much less offend the Super Guild, just for a stranger. "Hell Fiend, are you really going to use the ancient book?" Seeing Hell Fiend''s hurried steps, Praying Lotus anxiously advised, "Don''t let your anger get to your head. Even if you utilize the ancient book''s power, Sinned Heart will still get that sum of money. At that time, you will have wasted the true value of the ancient book." "Of course, I know this. Lotus, do you actually think I''ve let my anger overwhelm me? I haven''t forgotten our primary goal in coming here. Although I said I was going to utilize the ancient book''s power, when did I say that I was going to use it on Stone Forest Town?" Hell Fiend''s mouth hooked up into an evil smile. "At that time, whether it is Black Flame or Sinned Heart, both of them will suffer." "You''re not using it on Stone Forest Town?" While Praying Lotus was happy that Hell Fiend was not letting his anger get the better of him, his words also confused her. Stone Forest Town was Zero Wing''s treasure trove. If they destroyed the town, they could undoubtedly deal Zero Wing a severe blow, wiping away one of the Guild''s major advantages in Star-Moon Kingdom. But if Hell Fiend was not planning on using the ancient book on Stone Forest Town, just what was his intended target? "You''ll see when the time comes." Hell Fiend smirked. --- Inside White River City''s Library, Shi Feng continued to try to fuse the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and the Soul Fire. However, the difficulty of merging two Mysterious Flames was extremely high. Despite numerous attempts, Shi Feng still ended up with only failure. The first step of wrapping the Ice-Blue Devil Flame around the small bundle of Soul Fire was no problem for Shi Feng. At this point, Shi Feng could control the Ice-Blue Devil Flame like an extension of his arms and legs. Shi Feng had already reached the Void Realm, so his perception towards his surroundings was already flawless. Hence, completely containing the Soul Fire was a walk in the park for him. However, the second step, which was the fusion of Mysterious Flames, was extremely difficult. Fusing the flames in the correct ratio was many times more challenging than threading a string through a needle hole. It was meaningless if Shi Feng fused too little Soul Fire with the Ice-Blue Devil Flame. However, if the proportion of Soul Fire was even a tiny bit too much, it would scorch him. At that time, not only did he suffer excruciating pain, but he also fell into a Weakened Soul state, causing his Basic Attributes to decrease. Each time he got burned by the Soul Fire, he would lose 1% of his Basic Attributes. Although 1% was not much, after numerous failures, the accumulated amount was still very frightening. Currently, he had already failed 34 times in a row, which diminished his Basic Attributes by 34%. Fortunately, this reduction was not permanent, only temporary. Even so, he would have to wait two natural days to recover fully. This really is difficult. After experiencing many failures, Shi Feng had more or less identified the ratio required to maintain a balance. However, knowing the fusion ratio was one thing. Accurately fusing the flames in correct proportion was another thing altogether. In the future, if he had to go through a similar process to utilize the Soul Fire without the assistance of the fusion magic array, the difficulty would be more than ten times higher. For example, if his permitted margin of error with the magic fusion array was at 0.1%, then without it, his margin of error would only be 0.01%. It would be significantly more difficult for him to utilize the Soul Fire''s power. After all, players were not machines. They couldn''t achieve such precision. It was the same even if Shi Feng''s brain activity had already improved substantially. Only now did Shi Feng understand why, even after a decade had passed in God''s Domain, despite there having been a few God-ranked experts who had managed to obtain Soul Fires, not a single one of them had managed to truly control the Soul Fire they had. If he was already having so much trouble controlling just a strand of the Soul Fire''s power, just how difficult was it to completely control the Soul Fire? However, after going through so many attempts, Shi Feng had also gained something else. And that was control! Before this, Shi Feng had only been focused on improving his control over his own body and the surrounding environment, always thinking of ways to push his five senses to their very limits. However, he had always done so through actual life-and-death battles. He had never truly calmed his heart. He had never noticed before, but now that he was paying attention he realized that his previous way of controlling his body and the surrounding environment seemed somewhat barbaric. Previously, he had been just like a sprinter, constantly placing an ultra-high load on his body while he fought. His control had no smoothness or flexibility whatsoever. However, after experiencing the fusion process multiple times, his control over his body had subtly improved. He could now extend and retract his power much more smoothly and naturally than before. This unexpected benefit overjoyed Shi Feng. He had never imagined that he would gain such a bonus from combining two Mysterious Flames. With the continuous improvement of his control, Shi Feng finally succeeded in merging the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and Soul Fire on his 45th try. System: Congratulations! You have gained basic control over the Soul Fire. You are now able to utilize the basic abilities of the Soul Fire. 857 New Class Chapter 857 - New Class Hearing the crisp sound of the system notification, Shi Feng let out a deep sigh of relief. He was supposed to challenge the Holy City of Titan''s entrance trial in three days. If his Attributes had decreased any further, he would have to wait until he had fully recovered from the Weakened Soul state before he could do so. He did not wish to miss out on this opportunity to visit the Holy City of Titan. With 50 slots to enter the Holy City, he could get quite a number of Intermediate Alchemists and Intermediate Forgers promoted to Advanced rank. If he let this opportunity slip by, who knew how much time and resources he would have to expend to nurture so many Advanced Lifestyle classes? Moreover, with these new Advanced classes, he could greatly increase the production volumes of Strengthening Devices and Ice and Fire Resistance items. In the current God''s Domain, the importance of Lifestyle players was increasing by the day. For example, large Guilds such as first-rate Guilds initially nurtured their own Lifestyle players. Now, however, in order to increase their competitiveness, these Guilds had now begun to recruit Lifestyle players as well. Moreover, the conditions they offered were exceedingly munificent. Currently, even ordinary Lifestyle players received benefits equivalent to those of Guild elite members. If their standard was sufficiently high, they could even receive a core member''s treatment. This situation was something unimaginable a few weeks ago. As a result, players who originally intended to rely on field combat to get by in God''s Domain had started considering switching careers and becoming a pure Lifestyle player, instead. After all, playing a Lifestyle class had its own benefits. Only, the status of Lifestyle players was not particularly high previously, and the treatment they received had only been subpar at best. Hence, most players would generally choose to fight monsters. Now that the situation had changed, players who did not excel at combat were exploring various Lifestyle classes. With the large influx of Lifestyle players into the market, the competition between Lifestyle players had intensified further. The number of Advanced Lifestyle players was also much higher than before. If not for the Candlelight Trading Firm having a massive advantage like the Special Workshop, which allowed it to attract and nurture plenty of talents, the trading firm would not have been able to maintain its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm. Although Shi Feng had long since anticipated this situation, he had never imagined that it would happen so quickly. Without the advantages the Candlelight Trading Firm had accumulated before, as well as its possession of popular and exclusive products, the trading firms run by other large Guilds would have surpassed it already. Based on Melancholic Smile''s latest report, the Heavenly Trading Firm opened by Heaven''s Burial was growing the quickest. In just a short dozen days or so, Heavenly Trading Firm had become one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Six Major Trading Firms. Recently, it even surpassed Overwhelming Smile''s Overwhelming Trading Firm to become the second largest trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom. It was also precisely because of this demotion that Youlan was in such a hurry to enter Titan City. After all, when judging the strength of a trading firm, aside from products and traffic, the crucial factor would still have to be the number of Advanced Lifestyle players it had. "Not bad. Now that you have basic control over the Soul Fire, you should have a much easier time searching for that person," Sharlyn said as she walked over to Shi Feng. After thoroughly sizing him up, she nodded and added, "Unfortunately, with just basic control over the Soul Fire, you can only weaken the effects of the Soul Chain slightly. At your current state, you have roughly 54 days to find that person. However, as your control over the Soul Fire improves, the weakening effect it will have over the Soul Chain will also increase, and you''ll gain more time to find that person." "How can I improve my control over the Soul Fire?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Although he could tell that he had only basic control over the Soul Fire and hence still had room for improvement, the Soul Fire''s introduction made no mention of how he could improve his control. "Simple, look for other Mysterious Flames and absorb them. The Soul Fire is no ordinary Mysterious Flame. The power of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame can only allow you to exert the Soul Fire''s power to this extent. If you wish to improve, you''ll need more Mysterious Flames to suppress the Soul Fire. The higher the Mysterious Flame''s Tier, the better. However, Tier 2 is the bare minimum," Sharlyn explained. "I need more Mysterious Flames to improve?" Shi Feng was immediately rendered speechless. Mysterious Flames were not Bronze Equipment. They were far from easy to obtain. There were indeed many Mysterious Flames located within Star-Moon Kingdom. There were even several just within the region of White River City. However, the Ice-Blue Devil Flame was the only Tier 2 Mysterious Flame Shi Feng knew the whereabouts of. He had no clue where to find the other Tier 2 Mysterious Flames. Although Shi Feng knew of the whereabouts of a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, that place was a secret location. Moreover, it was not somewhere a player of his current standard could go to at all. At the very least, he needed to reach Level 60 or 70, as well as achieve his Tier 2 class, to obtain that Tier 3 flame. With just 54 days, accomplishing such a feat was simply impossible. It seems I''ll have to have Aqua notify the Guild members to gather information on a few Mysterious Flames as soon as possible, Shi Feng thought to himself. A Legendary Quest was no laughing matter. Shi Feng also did not think he was capable of finding the traces of that mysterious youth in his current state. The mysterious youth''s strength exceeded Tier 5. Moreover, seeing as the quest provided him with a way to extend its duration, this indicated that this quest was not one he could currently complete. Just the difficulty of locating and obtaining a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame was no lower than an Epic Quest''s. Based on the statistics players had collected on God''s Domain in his previous life, an Epic Quest took anywhere from a few days to one or two months to complete. For Legendary Quests, however, players could take anywhere from two or three months to even three or five years to complete. The system''s main goal right now was to have him delay for time. If he could not locate a sufficient number of Mysterious Flames and failed to delay for enough time, it would be equivalent to him failing the quest. In the end, he would become someone''s puppet. At that time, his only option would be to delete his account and start all over again. This was the frightening aspect of Legendary Quests. It was not something an Epic Quest could possibly compare to. Following which, Shi Feng shook the thought of the Legendary Quest out of his mind and calmed himself. He then began testing out the power of the Soul Fire. In the next moment, a silver flame appeared in each of Shi Feng''s dark pupils. The feeling he gave off also changed abruptly. Previously, when Shi Feng intentionally hid his aura, he appeared to be as calm as the great ocean. When he was not hiding it, the feeling he gave others was like an unsheathed sword, sharp and domineering. Now, however, even though he had made no attempt to draw in his aura, he had an air about him that was similar to an iceberg''s, silent and cold. One would shiver inadvertently when bathed in this aura. Not a hint of emotion could be found within Shi Feng''s eyes. There was only cold rationality present. It was as if nothing in the world could affect his composure right now. Is this the power of the Soul Fire? Shock filled Shi Feng''s heart as he observed his surroundings. Previously, when he activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, the Mysterious Flame only increased the damage of his fire- and ice-type Skills. However, when he activated the Soul Fire, although he did not receive any improvements to his damage or Attributes, his mind felt calm like never before, to the extent that he even found it frightening. Currently, everything in the world was just like data to him. Aside from absolute calm, the world before Shi Feng had also become silver and white. He could see no other color through his eyes. Meanwhile, in this world of silver and white, he could see the Soul Chain wrapped around his body very clearly. He could also see it extending out of the hall and beyond. Just as Shi Feng was thinking of testing this newfound power of his, the sound of a system announcement entered his ears. System Announcement: A new expansion pack, "Abyss Invasion," has been triggered. The Twin Towers Kingdom has been assaulted by the Abyss, and abyssal monsters have begun invading the surrounding countries. When the time comes, players can participate in the Abyss War. After accumulating a sufficient amount of Merit, players can class-change into a new class. 858 Fallen City Chapter 858 - Fallen City When the system announcement appeared, every player in God''s Domain was stunned. There was nothing surprising about the launch of a new expansion pack. After all, this was not the first time something like this had happened. However, the mention of a new class piqued everyone''s interest. A new class being offered as a reward showed that this new class undoubtedly possessed an advantage other classes did not. If they managed to class-change into this new class, they might receive warm welcomes from the various large Guilds, just like those who managed to obtain hidden classes. This thought tempted a lot of players. Very quickly, many began planning to travel to the Twin Towers Kingdom to hunt abyssal monsters and earn large amounts of Merit. --- Meanwhile, at the Twin Towers Kingdom''s Snow Field City At this moment, hordes of abyssal monsters, both in the air and on the ground, surrounded Snow Field City completely. The strength of these monsters varied, their Levels ranging between 50 and 200. What current players could do against these monsters was very limited. Fortunately, Snow Field City possessed a defensive magic array that could easily envelop the entire city. As a result, the horde of abyssal monsters could only roam outside the boundary of the magic array and continuously bombard it with attacks. The sound of explosions echoing throughout the entire city instilled fear and despair in the players there. "Can this magic array really hold?" "This is an NPC city''s magic array. It should be able to. Otherwise, what will we players be able to do against those monsters?" Just as the players inside Snow Field City were debating about the city''s defensive magic array Kachik. A crack suddenly appeared in the magic array above the city. Along with the appearance of this crack, the magic array also began destabilizing. "Not good! The magic array is collapsing!" Nobody knew which player shouted, but these words triggered a stampede as the players on the street fled for their lives. Every one of them rushed towards the city''s Teleportation Hall in an attempt to leave Snow Field City. After all, these abyssal monsters were different from the ones found in the Abyss Battlefield. The abyssal monsters in the Abyss Battlefield were orderly, sorted based on their Levels, and players could choose which area to go to, depending on their own strength. Now, however, even monsters with Levels in the triple digits mixed in with Level 50 monsters. With just their strength, the players would be killed instantly, losing a Level. The hardships of leveling up were the pain of all players. Nobody wished to die a pointless death. They would have to spend several days recovering from such a loss. "Hahaha! Let''s see what Sinned Heart will do in this situation!" Seated in the largest open-air restaurant of Snow Field City, Hell Fiend laughed with great joy as he overlooked the entire city, a delighted look on his face. Immortal Light''s base of operations was Snow Field City. If the Guild wanted to earn large sums of money, it could only do so at Snow Field City. If Snow Field City were to fall to the abyssal monsters, the loss would not only uproot Immortal Light''s foundations but also drag down the value of the city''s Lands. Nobody would want the Lands here anymore. Even if Zero Wing kept its word and was willing to purchase those five plots of Land, how much could the Lands of a city captured by monsters possibly be worth? However, the thing that made him feel happy the most would still have to be the scope of the Abyss Summoning. Not only did it cover the entire Twin Towers Kingdom, but it also affected several neighboring countries, including Star-Moon Kingdom in the west. The Abyss Summoning would definitely impact Star-Moon Kingdom''s eastern regionwhich also happened to be Zero Wing''s territory. At that time, Zero Wing would similarly suffer, losing all the advantages it had piled up to the abyssal monsters. "Hell Fiend, we should leave as well. That magic array won''t last for much longer," Praying Lotus said hurriedly as she looked at the gradually collapsing magic array in the sky. "Relax. As long as you''re by my side and neither of us actively attack those abyssal monsters, they won''t try to attack us," Hell Fiend said nonchalantly. Using the Abyss Summoning, he had opened an Abyss Passage. As a reward for his efforts, he had obtained a strand of the Abyss''s power. To others, the abyssal monsters might be extremely dangerous. To him, however, these monsters were practically his allies. --- White River City''s Library, Star-Moon Hall: The system announcement was repeated three times, the contents of the announcement resonating in Shi Feng''s ears. Hell Fiend activated the Abyss Summoning in the Twin Towers Kingdom? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Originally, he had thought his provocation would prompt Hell Fiend to use the incomparably precious ancient book on Stone Forest Town. He had never thought that the Elementalist would give him such a surprise. Now, it would be somewhat difficult for him to take advantage of the situation. The Abyss Invasion indeed posed an enormous threat to the country the invasion occurred in. Players residing in said country wouldn''t even be able to level up normally. They would be forced to give up the leveling spots they were familiar with and head to safer locations, instead. However, this invasion was also an excellent opportunity for players to earn large amounts of Merit. Merit could be used to exchange for large numbers of magic array and siege tool designs, as well as to increase Guild Popularity significantly. It also provided players with a huge opportunity with class-changing into a new class. This new class was known as the Demonblade Knight. Not only was it a class that possessed the characteristics of a Berserker, making it extremely strong in melee fights, but it also had ranged attacking capabilities. Although the Demonblade Knight was neither a match for the Berserker class in a melee nor a match for Rangers and Elementalists in a ranged battle, the combination of these two modes of attacking increased the class''s survivability in battles significantly. After all, in both field battles and Dungeons, Bosses boasted a wide array of attack patterns. Dealing with these Bosses with just a single mode of attack was not easy. Players who loved to fight both in a melee and at range would choose this class without hesitation. "Just who is the fool who actually dared to open an Abyss Passage!" At this moment, Sharlyn''s complexion had turned extremely ugly, a wrathful flame burning in her eyes. Shifting her gaze to Shi Feng, she said, "I have some matters I need to deal with. If you manage to absorb another Mysterious Flame, you can come here to look for me." After saying this, Sharlyn immediately disappeared from the spacious hall. "It seems someone is out of luck." Seeing Sharlyn disappear, Shi Feng could not help feeling some pity for Hell Fiend. How could the power of the ancient book sent from the Abyss be that easy to obtain? God''s Domain was fair. Although the ancient book could grant a player power, this power came with its own risks as well. It would be fine if an NPC of the human race did not catch the player who had used the ancient book. The consequences of capture, however, would not be one bit inferior to the penalty for failing a Legendary Quest. Shi Feng couldn''t care less about the trouble Hell Fiend had just landed himself in, though. After all, he still had to thank him. Without these abyssal monsters, the members of his Guild wouldn''t have the opportunity to class-change into a Demonblade Knight. Following which, Shi Feng quickly left the Library and hurried back to Zero Wing''s Residence. Although he had previously received news that Sinned Heart was already waiting for him at the Residence, he had wanted to absorb the Soul Fire as soon as possible. Hence, he had not gone to meet with him right away. Now that he had gained basic control over the Soul Fire, it was about time for him to meet up with Sinned Heart. --- Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: "How could this be?!" Inside the reception room, Sinned Heart was currently walking around aimlessly, a very ugly expression on his face. His thick eyebrows were tightly knitted together, his heart filled with anxiety. This was especially so after he received the message from his Guild, which notified him that Snow Field City had already fallen into chaos. Many players had died horrible deaths at the hands of the abyssal monsters, and Snow Field City was no longer a place where players could reside now. Upon hearing this, Sinned Heart sank into deep despair. If Snow Field City had already fallen into such a state, then the Lands of the city might as well be worth nothing. Just as Sinned Heart was trying to figure out a solution to his problem, Shi Feng entered the reception room. 859 Design of Astronomical Value Chapter 859 - Design of Astronomical Value At this moment, Shi Feng was using his original appearance instead of disguising himself as Black Flame. When Sinned Heart saw Shi Feng walking over, even his usually calm self grew slightly nervous. His reaction wasn''t just because of the matter of Snow Field City. Rather, it was due to the massive pressure he felt from Shi Feng like nothing before. The last time he had met Shi Feng, he could clearly sense a hint of danger coming from the Swordsman that made him feel as if he was standing before a ferocious beast. Now, however, instead of danger, he felt relaxed while standing in Shi Feng''s presence. He could not feel any threat coming from the Swordsman at all. Sinned Heart had experienced many things since childhood, so he was very knowledgeable about one thing. The true danger was not the one that could be perceived but rather what could not be perceived. "Sorry to keep you waiting," Shi Feng apologized. "Let''s go carry out the exchange right now, then." "Brother Ye Feng, I wish to change the contents of our exchange. Will that be alright with you?" Sinned Heart said, having given the matter some thought. "Change the contents of the exchange?" Shi Feng feigned surprise. "What changes do you wish to make?" "I believe Brother Ye Feng must have already heard about what happened in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Currently, you could say that Snow Field City is already finished. The Land there has naturally become worthless as well. Brother Ye Feng, you''ve treated me so sincerely all this time, so I naturally can''t take advantage of you," Sinned Heart said. He then took out a tattered, old drawing from his bag and unfurled it on the table. "I''ve never told anybody about this item before. Originally, I had planned on using it to make a comeback. Now, however, I wish to sell it to you." At Sinned Heart''s tense expression, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the drawing on the table. "Engineering Locomotive!" Shi Feng could not help his surprise. There were three major fields of expertise in God''s Domain, namely forging, alchemy, and engineering. Under normal circumstances, engineering did not play a particularly large role. However, as the level of expertise of engineers rose, the variety of items they could produce, which were of great importance to players, also increased. As a result, the value of engineers would also grow. One of the reasons why engineering became popular in Shi Feng''s previous life was the need for Mounts. Mounts played an extremely crucial role in a player''s life in God''s Domain. However, Common ranked steeds were simply too ordinary, both in terms of appearance and performance, and could not satisfy the needs of the general populace. Moreover, many players were independent, so they couldn''t obtain a Guild Mount. Acquiring a Mount through other means was also very difficult. As a result, engineering Mounts became extremely valuable. Engineering Mounts could be categorized into multiple ranks, with the lowest being Bronze rank, and the highest reaching Dark-Gold rank. However, the design for a Dark-Gold Mount was almost as rare as a Legendary item. The materials needed to produce it were also extremely rare, making it difficult to mass-produce the Mount. However, a Bronze Mount was different. Although the design for it was similarly very hard to obtain, the materials needed to produce it were not particularly rare. As long as one had a sufficient number of Advanced Engineers, one could definitely mass-produce Bronze Mounts. Meanwhile, the design before Shi Feng just happened to be the design for a Bronze Mount. Only Field Bosses had a chance of dropping this item, and even the Luck Attribute would not affect its drop-rate. Meanwhile, its drop-rate was lower than even that of Titan City''s pass. Nevertheless, Sinned Heart had miraculously obtained it. Could this be the reason why he had managed to develop Immortal Light so quickly in the past? Shi Feng could not help but think back to the past. Despite being an upstart Guild, Immortal Light''s rise back then could match even Zero Wing''s of today. In the end, it had even managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with first-rate Guilds. One of the main reasons why Immortal Light had managed to develop so quickly back then was its immense funding. However, nobody actually knew how Immortal Light had obtained that funding. Everyone had simply assumed that the Guild had found a powerful backer. In hindsight, there was over an 80% chance that Immortal Light had obtained its funds by utilizing this engineering design. Only a Bronze Mount design could possibly help a Guild earn that much money. Even the Strengthening Device was far from comparable. After all, the value of an item like the Strengthening Device would decline sooner or later. However, the demand for Bronze Mounts was inelastic. It was one of the necessities in God''s Domain. Its value was not something other tools could compare to. In terms of monetary value, a single Strengthening Device was currently worth around 10 Gold. It would be fortunate if the item could sell for four or five Gold once it became commonplace in the game. A Bronze Mount, on the other hand, was worth several hundred Gold. Just a single Bronze Mount was worth dozens of Strengthening Devices. Moreover, one did not need to fear that a Bronze Mount wouldn''t sell. "How much do you want for it?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at Sinned Heart. "Twenty thousand Gold!" Sinned Heart stated after giving it some thought. Twenty thousand Gold was enough for him to deal with the problems plaguing him. He could also use the money leftover to migrate his Guild''s base of operations to a new location. "I believe you should understand what kind of situation Snow Field City is currently in. It would simply be impossible for Immortal Light to continue developing in the Twin Towers Kingdom under the current situation. How about joining Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked in a low tone. "Moreover, even if you all try to develop elsewhere, with a single word from King''s Return, there won''t be any place that will welcome Immortal Light''s presence. However, if you guys join Zero Wing, you can realize your ambitions without having to worry about King''s Return. What do you think?" To Shi Feng, although the engineering design was important, Sinned Heart and his group of experts were much more valuable. "Have us join Zero Wing?" Sinned Heart immediately fell into deep thought. Judging from Hell Fiend''s behavior before, he could tell that Zero Wing was truly powerful. After all, even someone like Hell Fiend could not do anything to Zero Wing. If Immortal Light joined Zero Wing, it would indeed allow them to develop safely without worry. However, Sinned Heart still shook his head as he said, "Brother Ye Feng, thank you for your kind intentions. However, I still wish to develop Immortal Light together with that band of brothers of mine." Shi Feng had expected Sinned Heart to reply in this manner. Hence, he offered another proposal, saying, "If this is so, how about having Zero Wing invest into Immortal Light? Our side will ask for just 50% of your Guild''s shares. In return, Zero Wing will supply you all with large amounts of funding and resources. Aside from the 20,000 Gold for the design, we''ll grant you a starting capital of 50,000 Gold, in addition to 30,000 Magic Crystals. Afterwards, we''ll also continue providing you with Coins and Magic Crystals. This much should be enough to let Immortal Light develop in any city. Zero Wing also won''t interfere with Immortal Light''s development. What do you think?" Sinned Heart was momentarily stunned when he heard Shi Feng''s offer. "Brother Ye Feng, you''re joking, right? With this much funding, not to mention Immortal Light, even buying 50% of a second-rate Guild''s shares won''t be a problem," Sinned Heart said. He felt both moved and shocked right now. Immortal Light was currently at its lowest point. Practically nobody felt optimistic about Immortal Light''s future, much less want to invest into the Guild. Before this, he had always heard other people mentioning how rich a Guild Zero Wing was. He never imagined that the Guild would actually be wealthy enough to casually throw out tens of thousands of Gold and Magic Crystals. With this much funding, Immortal Light would be able to become a second-rate Guild quickly. 860 Guild Expansion Chapter 860 - Guild Expansion Even after Shi Feng''s lengthy persuasion, Sinned Heart remained silent, his hesitation reflecting in his eyes. "Is that not enough initial funding?" Shi Feng asked when he noticed Sinned Heart''s pause. He didn''t particularly mind the lost funds. Although he was tight on money at the moment, with the Bronze Engineering Locomotive Design, it would be incredibly easy to earn money. The only problem was that he lacked a large number of Advanced Lifestyle classes. Manufacturing the Bronze Locomotive was not easy. Not only was the manufacturing process complex, but it was also different from the method forgers used produced weapons and equipment. Aside from needing a large number of engineers, forgers and alchemists were also needed to produce various components for the Engineering Locomotive. Even for the Candlelight Trading Firm, it would be very difficult to mass-produce the Bronze Mounts unless it stopped producing everything else. In Shi Feng''s previous life, abyssal monsters had not overrun the Twin Towers Kingdom. Hence, even though King''s Return had oppressed Immortal Light, the Guild had a place to develop itself and nurture its own Advanced Lifestyle players. Now, however, that was not possible. "No. It''s more than enough. Only" Sinned Heart hesitated as he looked at Shi Feng. After considering the situation at length, he said, "There is one thing that I am really confused about. Brother Ye Feng, we are only strangers who met by chance. I have also earned King''s Return''s ire. Why are you so willing to help us? Immortal Light is an upstart Guild, even weaker than a third-rate Guild. There should be no reason for Zero Wing to sacrifice so much for us. Can you tell me why?" If he claimed that Shi Feng''s offer of initial funding did not tempt him, he would be lying. Even a first-rate Guild would be greatly shocked by such wealth. Moreover, what had Immortal Light done to deserve such kindness? He was not particularly famous in the virtual gaming world. It was the same for his brothers in Immortal Light. There was no point for Zero Wing to go so far for them. "Do you want to know the truth?" Shi Feng laughed. "If you''re willing to tell me, yes." Sinned Heart felt as if he were dreaming. Naturally, he wanted to understand this situation. If Shi Feng''s goal was the same as Hell Fiend''s Even in death, he would refuse Shi Feng''s offer. "Alright. Since you wish to hear it, I''ll tell you. I have three reasons. The first is that Zero Wing needs to expand to other countries. Unfortunately, Zero Wing has become too famous, and it is very easy for others to target our members, particularly God''s Domain''s major powers. Zero Wing has already deeply ingrained itself in Star-Moon Kingdom. It would be very difficult for those major powers to shake Zero Wing''s foundation here. Even if they could do so, the price would be far greater than the gains. There is not a single major power in God''s Domain that is willing to pay that price. However, it is just as difficult to develop Zero Wing in other countries. None of these major powers will just stand by and do nothing as we expand into their territories. However, another way for Zero Wing to expand its influence is to develop an affiliated Guild that won''t attract these powers'' attention. Immortal Light just happens to fit this bill. "Your personality and potential are my second reason. I can tell that you''ve only joined the virtual gaming world recently. It is possible that God''s Domain is the first virtual reality game you and your friends have truly experienced. The fact that you guys can obtain such strength in such a short period speaks volumes about your potentials. There is also the fact that you guys have managed to offend a Super Guild. Generally, it is very difficult for ordinary experts to do that. After all, the two are on entirely different levels. It is an extremely rare occurrence in the virtual gaming world. "The third point is this Bronze ranked design. It can offer Zero Wing significant profit." Each of Shi Feng''s points was true. If Zero Wing wanted to grow stronger, expanding its influence to other countries was necessary. Shi Feng had spent a lot of time considering the matter. Beyond those three reasons, Shi Feng''s strongest motivation was due to Sinned Heart and his companions. These people would all be top-class experts in the future. Even spending hundreds of thousands of Gold to recruit them would be worth it, not to mention tens of thousands. However, Sinned Heart did not know this. "Of course, these benefits are not without a condition." Shi Feng changed the topic. "After obtaining these funds, if Immortal Light fails to take control of three or four major cities within two months, Zero Wing will take over the Guild''s management. After all, Coins and Magic Crystals do not grow on trees." Hearing Shi Feng''s condition, Sinned Heart''s previously vigilant expression vanished as he quietly released a sigh of relief. "Alright. No problem. I can assure you that, after obtaining this much initial funding, Immortal Light will obtain control of four major NPC cities within two months. If we can''t even do that, I would be too embarrassed to face you, Brother Ye Feng," Sinned Heart said earnestly as he patted his chest. Shi Feng simply shook his head and laughed. He was only trying to return the debt of gratitude he owed while taking the opportunity to recruit Sinned Heart to his side. He had never imagined that Sinned Heart would suspect him of ulterior motives, or that he would be forced to state conditions before the man would agree There were only so many cities in a country. Now that God''s Domain had launched some time ago, other Guilds had occupied the various major cities throughout God''s Domain. Even a second-rate Guild would find it difficult to take control of four major cities within two months, not to mention Immortal Light, a Guild that had recently been uprooted. However, Shi Feng did not mind. Regardless of whether or not Sinned Heart succeeded, Zero Wing would still make a profit. Following which, Shi Feng and Sinned Heart signed an agreement. Shi Feng then spent 20,000 Gold to purchase the Bronze Engineering Locomotive Design. He also spent 3,000 Gold to purchase the five plots of Land of Snow Field City, paying far less than what they had initially agreed upon. In response, gratitude filled Sinned Heart''s eyes when he looked at Shi Feng. He had never imagined that Shi Feng would keep to his word to such a degree. At this point, even if he tried to give them away for free, no one would want those Lands. After all, one would have to pay the city the corresponding management fees after accepting the Lands. Who would be willing to accept such a loss? However, Shi Feng did not feel as if he had taken any loss. On the contrary, he felt that he had made a huge profit. At the end of the day, the Abyss Invasion was only an expansion pack. Sooner or later, it would be resolved. Although not all NPC cities affected by the invasion would recover to their peaks and would undergo some changes, as one of the Twin Towers Kingdom''s top ten cities, Snow Field City would recover. Other Guilds might not be able to afford to wait, but Zero Wing could. Moreover, aside from being able to resell these Lands for a high price in the future, Shi Feng had an important purpose for these five plots of Land. When the time came, aside from the Bronze Locomotives, the five plots of Land in Snow Field City would earn him the most money. After Shi Feng and Sinned Heart completed their trade, Shi Feng hurried back to the Candlelight Trading Firm. As he prepared to produce the Engineering Locomotive, Aqua Rose called him. "Guild Leader, I''ve found Hell Fiend''s location. He is currently residing in Light City, the Glory Empire''s imperial capital. Here are his current coordinates." Aqua Rose then sent Hell Fiend''s whereabouts to Shi Feng. "He sure moves quickly." Shi Feng''s lips hooked up into a grin as he read the coordinates. "Even if you hide in Light City, you cannot escape." 861 Consecutive Upgrades Chapter 861 - Consecutive Upgrades While the ancient book Abyss Summoning could bring a disaster to God''s Domain, it could also bring power to players. However, there was one thing that Hell Fiend did not know. The power of that the ancient book could provide was not limited to protection from abyssal monsters or an increase to Basic Attributes while in a Demonic Field erected by abyssal monsters. Establishing a safe zone was the ancient book''s true purpose. Inside the established safe zone, abyssal monsters would not actively attack players. This was the forbidden book''s greatest value to players. Now that the Abyss Passage had been opened, not only had swarms of abyssal monsters appeared in the Twin Towers Kingdom, but Star-Moon Kingdom would also be invaded. Fortunately, the abyssal monsters required some time to fly from the Twin Towers Kingdom to Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, Star-Moon Kingdom was still relatively peaceful. When the abyssal monsters reached Star-Moon Kingdom, the kingdom''s players would suffer. Of course, Star-Moon Kingdom wasn''t the only country affected by the Abyss Invasion. Twin Towers Kingdom''s neighboring kingdoms and empires would similarly be affected. Only, they would not suffer as severely as the Twin Towers Kingdom. If Shi Feng wanted an advantageous position during the Abyss Invasion, the ancient book was a necessary item. Fortunately, the ancient book would drop upon death. Moreover, after Abyss Summoning was used, the ancient book could only be stored inside a player''s bag. As long as he killed Hell Fiend, he could obtain the ancient book. Now, Light City was the only problem. As an imperial capital, the city''s security was incomparably strict. A Level 180 Tier 3 NPC led every patrol group that roamed the city streets. If a player tried to cause trouble, these Tier 3 NPCs would kill them immediately. It seems I''ll have to level up the Abyssal Blade. Shi Feng felt somewhat helpless when he looked at his own Attributes. To absorb the Soul Fire, he had temporarily sacrificed 44% of his Basic Attributes. Even if his Attributes had been quite high, after such a huge decrease, his Basic Attributes could no longer compare to apex expert like Hell Fiend. Furthermore, he had to kill the Elementalist inside Light City. Shortly after he had upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 30, he had obtained the Sacred Sword Killing Ray. Hence, he had not rushed to upgrade the Magic Weapon. However, now that his Attributes had dropped by so much, he had to upgrade the Abyssal Blade if he wanted to increase his combat power quickly. Following which, Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm and stored the Engineering Locomotive Design in the trading firm''s warehouse. He then grabbed some of the weapons Melancholic Smile had prepared for him previously before using Space Movement to leave White River City and reach the deserted Howling Moon Canyon. Howling Moon Canyon was a Level 10 to Level 20 leveling map. To current mainstream players, this map was far too low-leveled for grinding. Only newcomers to God''s Domain would come here. Howling Moon Canyon didn''t offer particularly abundant resources, either. There were also very few quests in this area. Hence, players rarely ventured here to level up, which made it a perfect location for Shi Feng to upgrade the Abyssal Blade. I wonder what kind of commotion will happen with this upgrade? Shi Feng carefully unsheathed the Abyssal Blade from the scabbard hanging at his waist. He then called up the Abyssal Blade''s system interface and chose to upgrade it. Compared to the upgrade to Level 30, the Abyssal Blade required far more weapons to reach Level 35. It needed twenty Level 35 Fine-Gold Weapons and three Level 35 Dark-Gold Weapons. To current players, Level 35 Fine-Gold Weapons were top-tier weapons. Very few ordinary experts could obtain weapons of this rank. It was even more so for Level 35 Dark-Gold Weapons. Even to large Guilds, weapons of such caliber were exceedingly rare. However, without hesitation, Shi Feng chose to sacrifice the Level 35 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons he had prepared. Following which, the Abyssal Blade transformed into a dark cloud as 23 weapons flew out of Shi Feng''s bag and hovered around him. Immediately, a black magic array formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet; the pitch-black light that the array released shot into the sky. If one watched from afar, they would discover a pillar of light rise up from the canyon''s forest. The 23 weapons then disintegrated and transformed into 23 balls of pure, golden energy that melded into the magic array. After the golden energy balls vanished, Shi Feng heard chains snap. Following which, a dragon''s roar echoed throughout the canyon, causing the monsters in the area to drop to the ground, paralyzed with fear. As if their lives had been stolen from them, the plants around Shi Feng began to wither before eventually turning into ash. This phenomenon continued to spread, only stopping after it had extended 20 yards away from Shi Feng. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade reformed into a sharp, silver sword with engraved, crimson runes on its blade, radiating a faint bloodlust. The runes gave off a sinister feeling. However, Shi Feng did not pay much attention to the changes that had occurred as he clicked the "Upgrade" button once more. This time, to level up the Abyssal Blade from 35 to 40, although the number of sacrificial weapons had not changed, it now required Level 40 weapons. To current players, Level 40 top-tier weapons were utterly out of their reach. After all, even the number one players on empires'' Ranking Lists were only Level 39. They were still far from Level 40, not to mention obtaining Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons. Shi Feng, however, had plenty of Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons. Previously, while farming for designs, he had killed tons of high-ranking Field bosses. He even had a godly Skill like Divine Providence to assist him. He had piles of Level 40 weapons in stock. Hence, he could easily offer the Abyssal Blade the required 23 articles. The Abyssal Blade leveled up once more. Compared to the previous black magic array, a twofold magic array now appeared beneath Shi Feng''s feet. The array''s radius had also expanded from the previous 15 yards to 45 yards. In the next moment, a massive pillar of black light appeared in the middle of the canyon. Even those standing at the canyon''s entrance could see the pillar of light clearly, much less the players within the map. "What''s that?" "What''s going on with those monsters?" The players grinding in the canyon were momentarily stunned. The pillar of black light towered like a mountain. Everyone felt as if they were suffocating while they bathed in the pillar''s pressure. It felt as if their fate were no longer in their own hands. Shortly after, the pillar of black light faded. However, before anyone could feel relieved, a deafening dragon roar shook Howling Moon Canyon. This roar was so powerful that it even frightened some of the weaker monsters to death. The players inside the canyon had not fared much better as every one of them slumped to the ground, trembling. "Is there a legendary monster over there?" "Why don''t we go take a look? It might be a fortuitous encounter or some kind of rare Boss! If we can kill it, we might be set for life!" Although the numerous parties were afraid, they were also excited. There were many fortuitous encounters in God''s Domain. One frequently read such stories being on the official forums. There were many cases where unknown noobs miraculously stumbled across a powerful treasure, instantly becoming a famous local expert. Either that or they could make a fortune from selling the treasure they obtained and gear themselves with powerful equipment, earning countless players'' envy. Hence, compared to dying, the players in Howling Moon Canyon were more eager to obtain the treasure. This might very well be a turning point in their lives. At this moment, however, the source of the pillar of light was a disaster. Every plant and monster within a radius of 100 yards had been turned into ash. Currently, only one man and one sword resided in the center of this desolate area. 862 The Hidden Effect of Magic Weapons Chapter 862 - The Hidden Effect of Magic Weapons After upgrading the Abyssal Blade twice in a row, the Magic Weapon''s appearance had changed significantly. The sword was now pure silver with blood-red runes engraved across the blade. There was also a faint layer of black mist enveloping the sword. The hilt bore a miniature black dragon which looked astonishingly lifelike. Despite part of the sword''s blade being buried in the ground, Shi Feng could feel a significant oppression from the weapon; even he felt slightly uncomfortable. Even after Shi Feng had firmly held onto the Abyssal Blade, the oppressive feeling still did not disappear. To think it would be so powerful at Level 40 If I upgrade it two or three more times, I won''t be able to wield it in battle. Shi Feng both rejoiced and felt helpless as he gazed at the silver Abyssal Blade. There were weapons capable of mentally oppressing players in God''s Domain. However, this was definitely the first time Shi Feng had seen a weapon that would also oppress its user. When expert players fought ordinary players, they could similarly exert a significant mental oppression. This mental oppression could dull an opponent''s reactions and weight down their movement, which would, in turn, reduce their combat powers significantly. But against experts of similar standards, this mental oppression was practically negligible. However, the mental oppression that God''s Domain''s weapons and equipment exuded was different from that of players. This kind of mental oppression resembled what players felt when they faced Grand Lord ranked monsters. Not only could it dull players'' thought processes, but it could also increase players'' Stamina consumption rate. It was precisely this reason that Grand Lords were so difficult to deal with. It was practically impossible to rely on numbers to defeat Grand Lords. Even expert players would suffer tremendously against a Grand Lord''s mental oppression. It would be impressive if an expert could even exert 60% or 70% of their actual combat power. Yet, the mental oppression the Abyssal Blade released was stronger than that of Grand Lords. Even an expert of Shi Feng''s level would squirm under this mental oppression, affecting their combat power slightly. Following which, Shi Feng tightened his grip on the Abyssal Blade and slashed at the empty space before him. Earth Splitter! Hua! A streak of silver light slammed into the ground, stretching out over 30 yards. When the light vanished, it revealed a deep trench in the ground wide enough to fit three people lying shoulder to shoulder. The tench was nearly five meters deep. Earth Splitter''s power was now far stronger than when he had used the Skill in the past. Moreover, swinging the Abyssal Blade also felt completely different. However, what shocked Shi Feng the most was the sudden burst of mental oppression when he activated his Skill. Under this mental oppression, even an expert like Shi Feng would lose nearly 40% of his combat power. Weaker experts might even experience a 50% decrease. Factoring in the element of surprise, the mental oppression might even increase further. So strong! Sure enough, Magic Weapons are quite scary! Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he examined the Abyssal Blade''s statistics. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +1,204 All Attributes +72 Attack Speed +20 Ignore Levels +15 Attacks have: 60% chance to cause 200% damage. 30% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 20%. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +4. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 40. Can be upgraded. (Devour thirty Level 45 Fine-Gold Weapons and ten Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 45). Equipment Tier 1. Can be evolved (Devour ten Mana Crystals to evolve to Tier 2). Additional Skill 1: Phantom Kill (Tier 1). Instantly creates a doppelganger under the wielder''s control. Doppelganger has 80% of the wielder''s Attributes and all Skills. The wielder can swap positions with the doppelganger at any time. Duration: 1 minute, 10 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (Tier 1). Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds Cooldown: 50 seconds Additional Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash (Tier 1). Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder''s use; each phantom sword deals up to 60% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (Tier 1). Prevents all targets within a radius of 30 yards from moving or attacking for 6 seconds and reduces their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Effect doubles if there is only one target within range. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor (Tier 1). When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack can be used to increase all Attributes by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds or to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 33 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 10 hours The Famed Smith Olysses personally created the Abyssal Blade using the Black Dragon King''s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six Famed Swords, ranking 31st. However, the Black Dragon King himself has cursed this sword. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. However, after Jack had remodeled the Abyssal Blade with a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has reduced greatly. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. Purely regarding Attributes, the Abyssal Blade was no longer weaker than Epic Weapons. Now that it had gained the hidden effect of exuding mental oppression, it was a tool for slaughter. "It seems that I''ll have to make some time to get used to this kind of mental oppression." Even now, when Shi Feng thought back to the burst of mental oppression that had occurred when he had used a Skill, he was still somewhat afraid. If, when he faced a powerful enemy, this mental oppression affected him at a crucial moment, he would only have himself to blame if he lost the battle. However, when Shi Feng returned the Abyssal Blade to its sheath, the mental oppression vanished. "Oh? Someone actually dared to come here?" Just as Shi Feng was about to leave, he discovered someone attempting to sneaking up on him. This person was highly skilled with their stealth techniques. However, this person''s light footwork was secondary. The frequency of this person''s movements was crucial. This person had matched the rhythm of their footsteps to his own. Expert players were powerful because of their ability to push their body''s five senses and power to its very limits. With heightened senses, even a player in Stealth would not escape detection. After all, Stealth only made a player invisible; it did not eliminate a player''s presence. However, it was far more difficult for expert players to perceive those capable of matching their movement frequency. After all, a person''s five senses mainly functioned to detect existences on different frequencies. It was very easy for a player to ignore those on the same wavelength. The Assassin sneaking up on Shi Feng was actually capable of matching his frequency. Unfortunately, the strength difference between the two players was simply too massive. Despite having matched his frequency, Shi Feng detected the Assassin easily. "A pity," Shi Feng laughed. He then vanished from where he stood. Void Steps! When Shi Feng disappeared, the young man, a Level 18 Assassin, dropped his jaw in shock, not daring to believe what he had just seen. A Swordsman player had actually vanished right before his eyes. "How did he disappear? Can Swordsmen learn the Stealth Skill as well?" The Assassin youth ran to where Shi Feng had disappeared from in an attempt to make sense of what had just happened. However, before the Assassin youth came anywhere near his destination, his body froze with fright. By the time he realized it, a chilling, blue longsword had appeared at his neck. Had he taken another step forward, that blue longsword would''ve sliced his head clean off. 863 Audition Chapter 863 - Audition "Brat, you sure have guts to run all the way here." Shi Feng smiled faintly as he spoke to the stealthed Assassin youth. At Level 18, there was no way that he could make up for the massive difference between their Attributes, regardless of how proficient he was with his stealth techniques. Shi Feng had simply intended to leave the area. However, after discovering this Assassin, he changed his mind. He had done so because he was impressed with this youth''s strength. In the past, the youth had also been very famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Afterimage Assassin, Soundless! Shi Feng had encountered Soundless in the past. Soundless had garnered fame in the past due to the mess he had made of Ouroboros. Not only had Soundless targeted the first-rate Guild, but he had also targeted its Guild Leader, Cao Chenghua. Soundless had actually succeeded in killing Cao Chenghua for a total of three times. This incident had humiliated Ouroboros thoroughly. It wouldn''t have been so bad if Cao Chenghua''s killer had been a well-known assassination expert in the virtual gaming world. However, a nameless Assassin had claimed his life not once, but three times. After that incident, Ouroboros had tried furiously to get rid of Soundless. In the end, however, the Guild had failed to do anything about the Assassin. A single independent player had actually stood against a first-rate Guild. This had been an incredibly rare occurrence even throughout God''s Domain, not to mention a small country like Star-Moon Kingdom. As news of Soundless''s achievement spread, many large Guilds had attempted to recruit the Assassin. Some Guilds had even offered a portion of their shares to gain his membership. However, Soundless had paid no attention to the offers he received, refusing to join any Guild. After some more time, Soundless started a journey through God''s Domain to challenge the various experts on the continent. Of course, he had not remained undefeated. However, even after a defeat, he had lost gloriously. After all, the victors had not been ordinary experts. Every one was a top-class expert in God''s Domain; some were even old monsters from various Super Guilds. The Assassin had earned those old monsters'' favorable opinions and high evaluations. Some of those Super Guilds had even stretched out an olive branch in an attempt to recruit Soundless. After all, despite his age, Soundless already qualified to challenge those old monsters. Needless to say, his future would be brilliant. In the end, even the first-rate Guild Ouroboros had no choice but to surrender and offer corresponding compensation. Soundless had become an idol that many independent players revered. However, Soundless had always mingled in Star-Moon City. Shi Feng had never imagined that the youth would appear in White River City. Now that he had encountered such an expert, Shi Feng could not miss this chance to get acquainted. Currently, despite facing the pressure Shi Feng exuded, Soundless showed no hint of fear. Rather, reverence filled his eyes as he looked at the Swordsman. This was the first time Soundless had encountered such a situation. He had always been proud of his stealth techniques. Although he was only Level 18, even Level 35 Guild elite players had failed to notice him when he stood beside them, yet despite being over 60 yards away from Shi Feng, the latter had discovered him Moreover, before he had realized it, a blue longsword had appeared against his neck. He felt as if he were dreaming. However, the icy sensation he felt at his neck reminded him that this was not a dream, but reality. Although Shi Feng''s Level was much higher than his, he could tell that the gap between them was not simply a case of Attributes. Even the gap between their techniques was despairingly wide. "Brother Expert, please don''t misunderstand! I just came here to take a look!" Soundless hurriedly explained as he faintly felt the longsword move forward. While there were many fortuitous encounters in God''s Domain, banditry was even more commonplace. When one encountered another player trying to plunder their fortuitous encounter, they would take out said player without hesitation. "You came to take a look?" Shi Feng laughed. He retrieved Killing Ray and said, "Alright, then. I believe you. However, you best stay far away from this kind of place in the future. Next time, you won''t be as lucky." The youth had mistaken the turmoil the Abyssal Blade had caused as a fortuitous encounter If not for Soundless''s late timing, the Abyssal Blade''s shockwaves would have certainly killed him. Soundless had wanted to respond, but Shi Feng had vanished before he could utter a world. This time, however, Shi Feng had not used Void Steps. Instead, he used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement to return to White River City. Soundless was dumbstruck when he saw Shi Feng vanish, his reverence of Shi Feng growing even more intense. To come and go without leaving a trace, Shi Feng was even more of an assassin than an Assassin like himself. "So strong! I wish I had even half of his abilities! Zero Wing''s Ye Feng, is it? I must convince him to mentor me!" After recovering from his momentary stupor, Soundless retrieved a Return Scroll and activated it. He planned to join Zero Wing right away. Previously, he had dismissed the idea of Guilds, thinking that Guilds'' elites and experts were decent at best. However, after seeing Shi Feng''s frightening performance, he finally understood how little he knew. --- Elsewhere, Shi Feng had no idea that his display had attracted the Afterimage Assassin to join Zero Wing. He had only intended to establish an initial connection with the youth and later attempt to recruit him gradually. After all, independent experts like Soundless had a lot of pride. In the past, even after Super Guilds had extended an invitation, he had rejected their offers. After returning to White River City, Shi Feng traveled to the Teleportation Hall and towards Light City. When Shi Feng arrived in Light City, he discovered a crowd of players in the Teleportation Hall. Every one of these players was extraordinary, with most of them being Level 35 or above. One would not find a crowd like this in White River City or Star-Moon City. Many players who had traveled to Light City were stunned by what they saw. Just as Shi Feng wondered how he should search for Hell Fiend, a sudden commotion across the street attracted his attention. "King''s Return''s audition has begun! Let''s hurry over and check it out!" "I heard that more than a million players are participating in this audition. There are over six million players here to watch! This is the grandest recruitment competition King''s Return has ever held!" "I know, right? Right now, God''s Domain is insanely popular. Even King''s Return has made some slight adjustments to how many people they will recruit this time. Instead of recruiting 100 people like usual, they are recruiting up to 300. I even heard that the upper echelons will be here to observe the auditions." "I heard that Hell Fiend, the newest Adjudicator, will be watching. If I had even one-third of his abilities, I could secure first place! I''d get to enjoy the benefits of a core member!" "Keep dreaming! I''m not as greedy as you. I don''t need one-third; one-fifth will be enough for me." Swarms of players on the street were discussing the event. "Recruitment competition?" Shi Feng could not help his smile after overhearing these conversations. "This is a good opportunity." 864 S-rank Evaluation Chapter 864 - S-rank Evaluation There were not many Super Guilds in the virtual gaming world. As a result, the annual recruitment competition that King''s Return, one of these few Super Guilds, held was a huge event in the virtual gaming world. In addition, due to God''s Domain''s launch, this event had become even more popular than before. However, its Guild Residence had far from enough space to accommodate the massive number of players participating in this year''s assessment. Fortunately, King''s Return had thought of a plan to deal with this problem; it would host the audition in the Divine Colosseum. Unlike White River City, Light City''s Divine Colosseum had been constructed in the sky, above the imperial capital. However, the building had an ethereal form as if it existed in a different realm. "The audition''s requirements are intense this year. They require participants to reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. I only reached the fifth floor the last time I challenged the trial. I wonder if I can pass through the fifth floor this time?" "I know, right? This requirement is simply too high. The most powerful player in my city has only reached the sixth floor! King''s Return is not giving us a fair chance!" As they arrived, players began to complain when the ready King''s Return''s listed requirements. A player''s Level and equipment did not matter in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. Only their techniques mattered. However, the Trial Tower itself was the most damning aspect as each attempt to challenge its floors cost one Magic Crystal. Magic Crystals had always been a rare commodity in God''s Domain. Ordinary players had an extremely difficult time obtaining even one. Even expert players would only have a few on hand. Normally, players used every Magic Crystal sparingly, yet to prove their qualifications to take King''s Return''s test, they had to spend one Magic Crystal to challenge the Trial Tower. If, in the end, they failed to join King''s Return, they would have suffered a huge loss. However, as the various players fell into heated discussions, a young man caught their attention as he entered the main hall. Adoration and envy filled their eyes as they watched him. This man was the host of this year''s recruitment competition, Hell Fiend. He was also an Adjudicator of King''s Return. Even in the Super Guild, he was considered a top-class expert. He was also the role model they dreamed of becoming. While he had everyone''s attention, Hell Fiend ran the participants through this year''s competition rules. Following which, he entered a VIP room on the second floor to watch the audition quietly. "Hell Fiend, quite a number of experts are participating in this year''s audition. As the competition''s host, you should take the opportunity to recruit more high-potential newcomers. They might even become powerful allies," Praying Lotus, who sat beside Hell Fiend, advised as she looked down on the crowd. She had discovered several experts among the participants. Some of them had even reached Level 38. To independent players, this was a very difficult feat. There were many factions in a Super Guild. Hence, the Guild''s upper echelons paid a lot of attention to the recruitment of fresh talent every year. It was also extremely difficult to obtain the rights to host the yearly auditions. Hell Fiend had only obtained the honor after all sorts of negotiation and trades. As the host, Hell Fiend had the opportunity to rope in the participants he had set his sight on after the competition had begun. After the competition finished, he even had priority in choosing potential newcomers. After undergoing special training, these newcomers would quickly join the ranks of King''s Return''s experts; some might even become core members. These people would be extremely useful to Hell Fiend in the future. Hence, he needed to consider his selections carefully. "Relax. I''ve already investigated some of the powerful experts participating in the audition this year. I won''t let anyone else obtain a single potential newcomer." Hell Fiend laughed confidently. "If those old bastards knew that there were so many potential newcomers, they would regret trading with me." Before the King''s Return''s recruitment competition had officially begun, he had already sent his subordinates to scout the participants and make a list of the experts taking part in the audition. Among the numerous experts participating, eight had caught his attention. Regarding either age or current strength, these eight people had earned an S-rank evaluation on his list. In the past, three to five S-rank evaluations had been impressive. Now, there were a total of eight. Just thinking about it made Hell Fiend rejoice. To become this year''s audition host, he had paid a tremendous price, even giving up his tablet slot. However, securing all eight of these S-rank newcomers would definitely be worth the sacrifice. After all, it would be the equivalent of hosting two auditions. The people who had received an S-rank evaluation would go on to become top-class experts in the Guild. Praying Lotus had been one of these S-rank newcomers. Now, she was one of the leading figures in King''s Return''s younger generation. "Old bastards, just you wait and see. Sooner or later, King''s Return will belong to me!" When Hell Fiend thought about how he had not only foiled Sinned Heart''s exchange today, but had also orchestrated the abyssal invasion of Star-Moon Kingdom, an indescribable joy bloomed in his heart. It was true that he could not do anything about Zero Wing right now. However, those abyssal monsters could deal with the Guild easily. He was very aware that devastation would follow those abyssal monsters wherever they went. Even Star-Moon Kingdom would fall if it were invaded, much less White River City. In the end, the Lands Zero Wing had purchased would be worthless. However, Hell Fiend had no intentions of letting Zero Wing go with so little punishment. To prevent Sinned Heart from obtaining that money, he had used up his most precious, ancient book. If he let Zero Wing get away with so little damage, how could he appease the anger in his heart? He still wanted to get rid of Black Flame and every upper echelon of Zero Wing. He wanted to remove Zero Wing''s name from God''s Domain thoroughly. In the past, he had feared Black Flame somewhat. However, now that he had activated the ancient book and obtained its power, he was very confident that he could kill the Swordsman. Just as Hell Fiend congratulated himself, he received a message. Upon reading this message, his expression darkened. "Has Zero Wing gone mad?!" A bloody glint flashed in Hell Fiend''s eyes. He wanted nothing more than to devour every Zero Wing member alive. "Why are you so angry? What happened?" Praying Lotus asked. "Zero Wing bought those five plots of useless Land! Now, Sinned Heart has collected the required money. Black Flame! I won''t let you get away with this!" Hell Fiend bellowed; his voice was so cold that the room''s temperature plummeted. "How can this be?! The abyssal monsters have already taken over Snow Field City. The Lands are worth nothing! Are Zero Wing''s upper echelons fools?" Praying Lotus was shocked as well. She knew just how much money Sinned Heart needed. Zero Wing must be insane to spend that much money on five tattered Lands. "Lotus, we''re leaving! Everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom will watch as I end the Sword King''s legend today!" Hell Fiend growled as he stood and prepared to leave. "What about the selection?" Praying Lotus hurriedly asked. The audition had already begun. "I''ve already notified Ordinary Stranger. When the time comes, he will represent me in choosing those experts." Hell Fiend refused to waste any more time. He rushed out of the room, intending to head towards Light City''s Teleportation Hall. However, as soon as Hell Fiend set foot out of the room, numerous black chains emerged from the ground and bound him, startling the Adjudicator. He couldn''t respond to the sudden development while he was restrained. 865 Clean Sweep Chapter 865 - Clean Sweep The instant the pitch-black chains bound Hell Fiend, the Elementalist released a low shout as he activated a Control Removal Skill, breaking free from his restrictions. He then instinctively raised his staff and used Frozen Circle. A wave of cold air spread out to Hell Fiend''s surroundings. However, the cold air had failed to restrain the figure that had ambushed Hell Fiend. On the contrary, the figure had moved closer. In the next moment, a streak of blue light slashed towards Hell Fiend. Having no other choice, Hell Fiend used his Blink Skill, vanishing and reappearing 20 yards from where he had stood in the corridor. At this moment, Hell Fiend finally realized who had attacked him. It was a man hidden under a Black Cloak. The cloak''s hood concealed the man''s face, and he could only see a pair of black eyes. A silvery-white flame burned in those eyes, making Hell Fiend shudder. Despite the man standing in front of him, he couldn''t even pick up the slightest tension or oppression with his five senses; it didn''t even feel as if the man actually existed. "Who are you?!" Hell Fiend immediately realized that the man before him was no weaker than himself, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes. If not for his sharp senses instantly detecting the chains that had emerged from the ground, this man would have likely killed him already. Still inside the room, Praying Lotus was similarly stunned. She had never seen such a foolish expert before. She had never imagined that someone would be so daring as to aim for Hell Fiend''s life here. Setting aside Hell Fiend''s combat standard, Light City was King''s Return''s main base of operations. Moreover, they were in the Divine Colosseum. The NPCs guarding this place were far more powerful than the NPCs patrolling on the streets. Every one of them was a Level 200 NPC. Attempting to assassinate Hell Fiend here was nothing more than a suicide attempt. However, the Oracle Praying Lotus also reacted quickly as she began casting a Spell to cover Hell Fiend. Meanwhile, the expert that Praying Lotus considered foolish was none other than Shi Feng. Naturally, Shi Feng understood the risks of attacking a player in the Divine Colosseum. However, those risks were exactly what he needed to increase his chances of success. Furthermore, he had chosen this narrow corridor on the second floor to make his move. Combat in such a cramped area was highly disadvantageous for a magical class. Hence, his chances of killing Hell Fiend here were much higher than if he targeted the Elementalist on the open streets or in the fields. In addition, the Divine Colosseum''s NPCs were garrisoned in the first floor''s main hall. By the time they discovered his attack and reached the second-floor corridor, they would have wasted at least ten seconds. They would need more time to react than if he had launched his attack on the streets. "No answer? Then, die!" Hell Fiend began to chant an incantation when realized that his attacker had chosen to remain silent, firing numerous Frost Arrows at Shi Feng simultaneously. Inside the Divine Colosseum, he had an absolute advantage. Although the terrain worked against him, he didn''t need to defeat Shi Feng. He only needed to buy time until the NPCs arrived. He refused to believe that Shi Feng could kill him in such a short time. Moreover, he currently had the ancient book''s enchantment. He was confident of contending with his Guild''s old monsters, much less some fool with a few loose screws. In the next moment, the Frost Arrows flew through Shi Feng''s body and struck the wall behind him, resulting in a white explosion. Hell Fiend''s expression darkened as he noticed that someone had appeared behind him. However, Shi Feng had not revealed even a strand of killing intent. Despite reaching the Void Realm long ago, Hell Fiend had been slow by half a beat in discovering Shi Feng. Just as Hell Fiend considered using Ice Barrier to protect himself The Abyssal Blade was already unsheathed, and Shi Feng used Blade Liberation and Chop against Hell Fiend. The Abyssal Blade''s mental oppression while unsheathed was already extraordinary. After using a Skill, the mental oppression increased by several times. Any ordinary player would freeze and fall in fear against such a powerful oppression. Even standing would be a difficult task. To an expert like Hell Fiend, however, although he had not frozen, the mental oppression still delayed his reactions. Although mental oppression could not distinguish allies from enemies, Shi Feng had utilized the Soul Fire''s power before using the Abyssal Blade. His mind was utterly serene. With the help of the Soul Fire''s power, even the Abyssal Blade''s suffocating mental oppression felt like a light breeze. The Abyssal Blade could not affect him whatsoever. As a result of Hell Fiend''s delayed reactions, he allowed the Abyssal Blade to slice through Praying Lotus''s Magic Shield and his Frost Shield without any resistance. Hell Fiend had no time to deploy his Ice Barrier as the Magic Weapon bit into his body. Blade Liberation''s power had doubled Shi Feng''s Strength and Agility Attributes. Even if Shi Feng''s Attributes were currently weakened, his Attack Power was still higher than before. Even after the Magic Shield and Frost Shield absorbed a significant amount of damage from his attack, when his Chop struck Hell Fiend, it achieved a critical hit and dealt -13,418 points of damage. To Hell Fiend, who only had around 11,000 HP, this single attack was enough to deplete all of his HP instantly. "Just who are you?" Watching his HP rapidly decrease, Hell Fiend turned his head to look at Shi Feng, regret filling his eyes. If he had activated Ice Barrier from the very beginning, he might have held this man off until the NPCs had arrived, yet he had allowed his confidence of being in the Divine Colosseum to get the better of him. As a result, he underestimated his opponent''s strength. However, no matter how much Hell Fiend regretted his arrogance, his body still collapsed to the ground. He dropped a piece of equipment and an ancient book as he died. Praying Lotus, who still stood inside the VIP room, looked at Shi Feng grimly. She no longer dared to look down on Shi Feng. This had all happened too quickly. She had never dreamed that Hell Fiend would die like that, without even enough time to even activate Ice Barrier. Even if she relayed this story, nobody would believe her. However, this unimaginable scene had indeed occurred. Killing Hell Fiend inside the Divine Colosseum might have seemed extremely foolish, but they had been the true fools. After all, how could an expert of such standard possibly accomplish such a suicidal assassination without at least some confidence of succeeding? Moreover, the burst of mental oppression that had suddenly appeared was simply too frightening. Even from so far away, her mind had still gone blank for a moment. If Shi Feng approached her, only death would await her. Experts were experts because of their quick reactions. However, that kind of mental oppression had even slowed her thought process In a battle between experts, even an instant of hesitation could be fatal, not to mention falling into a daze. Just who is he? Praying Lotus''s mind rapidly shuffled through the well-known experts in God''s Domain as she watched Shi Feng''s cloaked figure. However, not one of the experts she knew of possessed a cold, ethereal aura like the man before her. She felt as if she were looking at an emotionless robot, rather than a human being. While Praying Lotus tried to guess Shi Feng''s identity, Shi Feng hurriedly collected the equipment and ancient book Hell Fiend had dropped. He then used Space Movement and departed from the Divine Colosseum silently. Shortly after Shi Feng left, a group of Level 200 guards wielding spears reached the scene of the crime. However, aside from Hell Fiend''s corpse, nobody else was present in the corridor. Moments after the guards arrived, a few curious players rushed to the scene as well. When they discovered Hell Fiend''s corpse, none of them could believe their eyes. Someone had killed King''s Return''s Adjudicator in the Divine Colosseum 866 Number One Bounty Chapter 866 - Number One Bounty "Isn''t that Hell Fiend, this year''s audition host?" "Why is he dead?!" "What happened here?" When the players attending the audition saw Hell Fiend''s corpse on the ground, the quiet corridor erupted with noise as they fell into a heated discussion. Who was Hell Fiend? What was this place? Everyone knew the answers to these questions. Yet, Hell Fiend had died here News of Hell Fiend''s death in the Divine Colosseum spread like wildfire. Posts about the incident filled the front page of the Glory Empire''s official forums. There were even commentary videos and photos showing Hell Fiend''s corpse. Instantly, this incident caused a commotion that swept throughout the Glory Empire. Every player in the empire was curious about what exactly had happened. --- Inside King''s Return''s Guild Residence: "Lotus, you were there. What happened?" a dignified, middle-aged man sternly demanded after he finished reading the report he had received. This man was none other than the Thunder Sword of King''s Return, Broken City, one of the Super Guild''s upper echelons. Even the Adjudicators had to treat Broken City with great respect. However, this was not only due to the man''s status in the Guild, but also because of Broken City''s strength. The man was one of the strongest fighting forces in King''s Return. Hell Fiend''s assassination was by no means a trivial matter. He had even died inside King''s Return''s territory. King''s Return had become a laughingstock among the Super Guilds over this incident. "This is the video I recorded." Praying Lotus forwarded her video, which displayed Shi Feng''s assassination of Hell Fiend, to Broken City. In the video, Hell Fiend had died almost instantly without any time to resist. This video made Broken City''s eyes twitch in anger. He was very familiar with Hell Fiend''s combat standards. Theoretically, it was impossible for the young man to blunder so severely. If Hell Fiend had not fallen into a daze for that brief instant, he could''ve survived that attack. "Lotus, what happened during that instant?" Broken City asked as he turned to the Oracle with a serious expression. Although Praying Lotus had made a recording of the battle, there were many things that could not be felt through watching a video. He also did not think that Hell Fiend would die such a foolish death. Following which, Praying Lotus relayed the events that had occurred in the corridor, particularly emphasizing the moment when Shi Feng had attacked Hell Fiend. No matter how much she may have wanted to, she could never forget the feeling of that intense mental oppression. Even the oppression she felt from the Guild''s old monsters could not come close to Shi Feng''s. There had also been that sudden burst of mental oppression she had felt when Shi Feng launched his attack. In that instant, that oppression had far surpassed even that of Grand Lords. During that moment, she felt as if she had been an ant, waiting for some monster to squish her to death. "Mental oppression?" Broken City''s expression turned somber. He had never imagined that God''s Domain would have such an expert. He finally understood why Hell Fiend had died so easily. In a fight between experts, life and death could be determined in an instant. This fact could not be any more real than in a game like God''s Domain. "Lotus, notify the players below immediately. I don''t care what methods they use; they must find this person! Also, place a bounty of 20,000 Gold on the man''s head. Those who can provide clues leading to him can earn a reward of 100 to 500 Gold! We need to show everyone that any player who dares to strike against King''s Return and use us as a stepping stone will only find death!" Broken City commanded. This assassination was a serious matter. This was the first time King''s Return had suffered such a loss from an assassin outside of the Flower of Seven Sins. If they failed to display their strength properly, they would only become a laughingstock for other Super Guilds. Hearing Broken City''s orders, Praying Lotus was shocked. Twenty thousand Gold was no small amount. With this much money, they could easily hire a top-class expert from the Flower of Seven Sins. However, Praying Lotus also understood that it would not be easy to deal with Hell Fiend''s killer. It would have been a different story if the other party had revealed their identity. The crucial issue was that the other party had not done so. As a result, they had to rely on his class and temperament to locate him. However, how large was God''s Domain? Just how many players did the game have? Moreover, God''s Domain was somewhat different from other virtual reality games. The game''s experts were not only from the virtual gaming world. There was also a large number of real-life martial artists who had joined God''s Domain. After all, God''s Domain could be played without affecting one''s daily life. On the contrary, it could give someone more free time, allowing them to do more with their life. The game practically extended one''s lifespan. Who knew just how many unknown experts roamed about God''s Domain? Furthermore, even if they looked into the motive behind Hell Fiend''s assassination, finding the killer would not be any easier. It would be a simple matter if that person had only killed Hell Fiend out of revenge or for a bounty. However, what if the player had done so to gain fame and prove his strength? There were countless players in God''s Domain who would be so daring. This would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Such incidents often occurred every day. There were some who used Guilds to become famous, while others used well-known experts to become famous. It was typical for players to use Super Guilds'' experts to garner fame. Moreover, such incidents had occurred many times in the past. Among them, the most famous case regarded Silver from the Flower of Seven Sins. Silver had used the upper echelons of several Super Guilds to build his fame. Although these Super Guilds had tried to retaliate, they were all helpless against the man. Aside from Silver''s personal strength, he had extremely powerful backing. In the end, the various Super Guilds had been forced to compromise. However, unlike Hell Fiend''s killer, Silver had not hidden his identity. Hence, the only way they could possibly locate this killer was to offer an astronomical bounty. Shortly after, news regarding the bounty King''s Return had announced spread throughout God''s Domain. The bounty of 20,000 Gold stupefied everyone. The previous top player on the Bounty List had only been worth 8,000 Gold. This was, by far, a new record in God''s Domain. "King''s Return is insane! That''s 20,000 Gold they''re talking about! If I had that much money, I wouldn''t have to work for the rest of my life." "This is too cool! If a Super Guild placed a 20,000 Gold bounty on me, I could die with pride." "But why isn''t there a mention of the target''s name?" "Silver fire burns in both of his eyes. He also has a chilling vibe about him. Why don''t we call him Frost Eye?" "Frost Eye? That sounds like a fitting name. A chilling aura and silver eyes. I can picture that person easily with that name." After the bounty had gone public, it was all many players throughout God''s Domain could talk about. Many also started to idolize Shi Feng. For countless players, both Hell Fiend''s strength and his background were unattainable. Now, however, a mysterious expert had slain a powerful existence like Hell Fiend. Moreover, as everyone thought that the nickname Frost Eye was rather fitting for the image King''s Return had published of Shi Feng, the nickname spread like wildfire. As a result, another top-tier assassin had emerged in God''s Domain; his name was Frost Eye. However, Shi Feng, the incident''s culprit, was clueless about this as he had long since returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City and was carefully studying the ancient book. 867 Ancient Abyssal Book Chapter 867 - Ancient Abyssal Book Inside the quiet Advanced Forging Room, Shi Feng was in an ecstatic mood. He had never imagined that combining the Abyssal Blade and the Soul Fire''s effects would be this powerful. Initially, he had prepared a trump card to finish Hell Fiend off. He had never realized that he could defeat the Elementalist so easily by relying on the Abyssal Blade''s hidden effect. With this power, he would even be able to contend with old monsters like Sirius without activating Twofold Berserk. Twofold Berserk was his final trump card. He would not use it unless he ran out of options completely due to the severe side-effects. If he had to endure a Weakened state for a long time, he could easily fall prey to his enemies. However, the Abyssal Blade''s mental oppression was not significantly limited. He could utilize it at any time. The only drawback was that the Abyssal Blade''s mental oppression also affected Shi Feng, but fortunately, the Soul Fire allowed him to remain calm and in control. Unfortunately, now that he had used the Abyssal Blade''s effect on Hell Fiend, he would have to be more careful when using the Magic Weapon in the future. While he was not afraid of King''s Return''s retaliation, he was afraid of others realizing that he possessed the ancient book. Hence, he had hidden his identity when he killed Hell Fiend. The ancient book''s power was no trifling matter. It could also enable him to make a massive fortune. Although current players still knew nothing of the ancient book''s treasure, various quests would appear along with the abyssal monsters'' invasion. This would, in turn, lead to players gradually learning about the ancient book and the book''s true value. While he was not afraid of anyone attempting to steal it from him due to his confidence of defending the book, he was afraid that, if others learned that he had the ancient book, someone would report him to the War God''s Temple. Now that the Abyss Passage had opened, the War God''s Temple would need the ancient book''s power to reseal the passage. If someone provided evidence to the War God''s Temple proving that the ancient book was in his hands, the temple''s NPCs would hunt him down. If that happened, he would be a wanted man throughout the continent of God''s Domain. At that time, his life would be over, not to mention losing the book. The punishment for possessing the ancient book would not be as simple as dying one or two times. In the past, players who had been caught using the ancient book had all their Attributes permanently decreased by 500 points, lost 10 Levels, and had their Reputation in all human cities decreased by 500 points. Players had found it difficult to enter the cities in which they had not earned any Reputation points as their relationship with the city''s NPCs had been Hostile. If players wanted to enter the city, they had to make up for the negative 500 Reputation Points first. When Shi Feng took out the forbidden, ancient book, a black mist instantly enveloped the room. "Such powerful Demonic Energy!" Shi Feng frowned. Previously, he had not experienced any such phenomenon when he had picked up the book. Now, however, just taking the book out had filled the room with Demonic Energy. Even after he returned the book to his bag space, Demonic Energy leaked from his bag. Although Demonic Energy was Mana, it was an extremely violent Mana. Players who remained inside Demonic Energy would find it difficult to stay calm. Moreover, players'' reactions would become sluggish inside Demonic Energy. To abyssal monsters, however, being surrounded in Demonic Energy felt like heaven. After all, not only would Demonic Energy allow them to grow stronger, but it would also increase their reaction speeds. However, the worst part about Demonic Energy was that it would attract abyssal monsters. Now that abyssal monsters had invaded the Twin Towers Kingdom, it was inevitable that Star-Moon Kingdom would be affected. At that time, the Demonic Energy seeping from his bag would act as a beacon in the darkness when Shi Feng ventured out to grind. Swarms of abyssal monsters would hunt him down. Moreover, the ancient book could only be stored inside a player''s bag space after it had been activated. He could not store it anywhere else However, while Shi Feng''s headache grew while he tried to find a solution to deal with the Demonic Energy leaking from his bag, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the Ancient Abyssal Book. Do you wish to wield the Book? System: After becoming the wielder, you can gain initial control over the Ancient Abyssal Book''s power. However, an Abyss Imprint will be placed on your body. If the War God''s Temple discovers you, you will receive a severe punishment. "So, this is the issue," Shi Feng could not help but release a sigh of relief. Immediately, he clicked "Agree." Currently, he was in sore need of money. Aside from the money he needed to provide Mounts for his Guild members as they reached Level 40 and the funds he had promised to Immortal Light, his head ached over the money he still needed to build his city. Although the Strengthening Device netted him quite a profit, the money earned was simply not enough to build a city in a short period. After all, they could only produce so many Strengthening Devices each day. It would also become cheaper as time passed. As for the Bronze Engineering Locomotive, it required a large number of Advanced Lifestyle players to manufacture. Nurturing these Advanced Lifestyle players alone would require a hefty investment. It would still be a long time before he could profit from the Engineering Locomotives. Hence, after all was said and done, the Ancient Abyssal Book was the fastest way to earn money. Due to the abyssal monsters'' appearance, many players were attempting to kill these monsters to earn Merits. However, killing these monsters was not easy as those on the frontlines were generally high-level creatures. Low-level abyssal monsters, on the other hand, usually resided deep inside captured territories. Players had no choice but to circle around the high-level abyssal monsters and sneak into these captured areas if they wanted to earn any Merits. Unfortunately, sneaking into these captured areas was time-consuming as there were no teleportation points in the cities. Players also had to avoid high-level abyssal monsters carefully. Even with a Mount, the journey would be an exhausting one. Furthermore, fights against abyssal monsters were taxing on weapon and equipment Durability. When one ran out of Durability, they would have no choice but to return to an NPC city, wasting even more time and energy in the process. Hence, those without great determination would not obtain the new class. On the other hand, if a player focused fully on class-changing to the new class, they would fall behind in terms of Levels and equipment. Yet, the amount of Merit one gained, more or less, corresponded with the Level of the abyssal monster one killed, with higher-leveled abyssal monsters granting more Merits This was where the Ancient Abyssal came into play. The Ancient Abyssal Book could be used to set up a barrier. Abyssal monsters would not actively cross this barrier, so players were safe inside. If he established a barrier in an area with low-level abyssal monsters and set up a Teleportation Magic Array, he could allow others to teleport to the area safely. He wouldn''t have to worry about the abyssal monsters destroying the teleportation array. Afterward, he only needed to collect teleportation fees. The Teleportation Halls in the various NPC cities made even more money than the Auction Houses. In God''s Domain, there were various ways to save money such as purchasing fewer Consumables and avoid purchasing better equipment if unnecessary. However, there were two expenditures that one could not avoid: repair fees and teleportation fees. The appearance of a new class sorely tempted players. There were also other rewards available. If one claimed to be uninterested in Merits, they would be lying. Meanwhile, to save precious time, these players naturally would not mind spending a little more money. Operating a Teleportation Magic Array required Magic Crystals. A single Magic Crystal could teleport roughly 20 people. Even if he only charged four Silver Coins per person, he would be swimming in money in no time. After solving the problem of the Demonic Energy, Shi Feng left the Candlelight Trading Firm secretly. Wearing a Black Cloak, he rode an advanced horse carriage towards the Teleportation Hall and traveled to the Twin Towers Kingdom''s capital. Now that the Twin Towers Kingdom had fallen, the originally lively atmosphere in the capital had cooled completely. At this point, only a few players around Level 20 roamed the city; most of the people on the streets were NPCs. 868 Abyss Town Chapter 868 - Abyss Town "This place is certainly deserted." Aside from noticing a few players in the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng rarely came across any other players, even as he walked the Trade Area''s streets. It was hard to imagine that there were once millions of players living in this city. Now that the Abyss Passage had appeared, the kingdom''s other cities had long since fallen; only the Twin Towers Kingdom''s capital had withstood the invasion. The abyssal monsters had transformed the various cities into nests. Players couldn''t level up safely in the fields anymore. Hence, the majority of the players in the Twin Towers Kingdom had migrated to neighboring kingdoms and empires. Moreover, due to the Abyss Invasion, teleporting from the Twin Towers Kingdom to other kingdoms and empires was now free of charge. Players did not need to worry about being buried with the Twin Towers Kingdom. Although the Twin Towers Kingdom was the abyssal invasion''s main target, the surrounding countries had also been significantly affected. As a result, the Black Dragon Empire experienced a flood of refugee players, causing the empire''s player population to soar. The capital''s Shops were completely void of players. However, although there were only a few players left in the city, none of the Guilds who owned the Lands here had any intentions of selling them. None of them were fools. The Abyss Passage''s activation was simply an expansion pack. The kingdom would soon revert to its original state. They wouldn''t sell their Lands rashly and hurt their opportunities in the future. However, Shi Feng had not come here to purchase Land. Immediately, he searched for a deserted area and used Space Movement, traveling towards Snow Field City. After abyssal monsters had invaded the Twin Towers Kingdom, every other city''s Teleportation Hall had been rendered unusable, aside from the capital city''s. If one wanted to travel to these cities, they had to do so on foot. Although Shi Feng had a Mount, it would take over a week to reach Snow Field City from the capital. Hence, Space Movement was the fastest method. If players wanted to earn Merits by killing abyssal monsters, Snow Field City was the best location to do so. This was because the most dangerous location was also the safest. Although Snow Field City was where the Abyss Passage had opened, the high-level abyssal monsters that had emerged had long since wandered off. The abyssal monsters remaining in Snow Field City could be considered the lowest-leveled bunch. Players had discovered this after experiencing multiple Abyss Invasions. Meanwhile, Shi Feng needed to find an optimum location to set up a Teleportation Magic Array. After that, money would flow into his pockets without him having to lift a finger. As Shi Feng used Space Movement again and again, the abyssal monsters he teleported close to ignored him as he was the Ancient Abyssal Book''s wielder. As a result, he arrived before Snow Field City safely. now Field City had already become an abyssal nest. Abyssal monsters patrolled the city. He could also see many abyssal monsters cultivating the surrounding forest, using the reclaimed land to grow various abyssal plants. The Abyss Passage was a short distance away from Snow Field City, and situated beside the passage was a tall fortress hovering in the air. Beneath the flying fortress was a town composed of abyssal monsters. Inside this town, one could even see abyssal monsters trading with each other. Without hesitation, Shi Feng rode the Demonic Flame Tiger into that monster town. The Dark Abyss was not only home to bloodthirsty monsters. There were also many intelligent lifeforms in the Abyss. Like the humans of God''s Domain, the Abyss''s intelligent lifeforms had their own towns and cities. Demons were one of the intelligent abyssal monsters. However, it was practically impossible for humans to enter these towns and cities safely. Only the wielder of the Ancient Abyssal Book could explore these places. As soon as Shi Feng arrived at the town''s main entrance, two ten-meter-tall, dark gray Level 200, Tier 3 Demons blocked his way and scrutinized him carefully. Only after noticing the Abyss Imprint did they allow him to enter the city. As Shi Feng entered the town, he noticed that many Demons had set up stalls on either side of the street. The items they sold could not be found in any human cities. Very quickly, however, a Shop run by a Tier 3 Demon caught Shi Feng''s attention. There was a massive amount of Mana Source Ore piled up in front of the Shop, exciting Shi Feng. I never expected to find this for sale here! I''ve struck gold this time! Shi Feng immediately strode over to the Shop. Mana Source Ore was an extremely rare ore in God''s Domain. It was used in producing high-rank weapons and equipment. If this item appeared on the market right now, players would fight over it. Mana Source Ore only appeared in areas with intensely dense Mana. However, there were extremely few locations with high-density Mana in God''s Domain. The Dark Abyss, on the other hand, was filled with violent Demonic Energy. Hence, Mana Source Ore could be purchased cheaply in the Dark Abyss. Mana Source Ore''s main purpose was to improve the power of the crafting flames, allowing forgers to better refine materials. Not only could stronger flames improve one''s refining speed, but it could also increase the success rate. Hence, the various large Guilds were desperate to obtain Mysterious Flames. However, Mysterious Flames were simply too rare. The only other option was Mana Source Ore. When the shopkeeper noticed Shi Feng enter his Shop, a gentle expression appeared on his sinister face as he said, "My shop has the best prices around these parts. May I know if anything has caught your interest?" "How much are you selling the Mana Source Ore for?" Shi Feng casually inquired. "The Basic Mana Source Ore costs 3 Silver per piece, while the Intermediate ore is 10 Silver per piece." The shopkeeper smiled as he glanced at the pile of Mana Source Ore outside of his Shop. "Oh? You have Intermediate Mana Source Ore, too?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Mana Source Ore fell into four ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Special. On the continent of God''s Domain, even Basic Mana Source Ore was quite rare. Basic Mana Source Ore could upgrade a flame''s power to Tier 2. "Of course. See those blue rocks inside the glass cabinet? That is the Intermediate Mana Source Ore. When burned, it can upgrade the flame to the Tier 3 standard. At that standard, producing Epic Weapons and Equipment won''t be a problem," the shopkeeper explained as he pointed at the deep-blue rocks. "Excellent. I want all of the Mana Source Ore you have." Shi Feng nodded. "Sir, this is your lucky day. We just recently restocked. We have 30,000 pieces of Basic Mana Source Ore and 2,000 pieces of Intermediate Mana Source Ore. That will cost a total of 1,100 Gold," the shopkeeper excitedly reported. What a profit! Shi Feng was instantly ecstatic when he heard this price. It was no wonder why the Ancient Abyssal Book''s wielders in his previous life had all been extremely rich. Back then, one Basic Mana Source Ore could sell for anywhere from 50 to 60 Silver, while the Intermediate version could sell for around 3 Gold. Even so, very few players had been willing to sell their ore as forgers had treated the Mana Source Ore like a priceless treasure. 869 Monster of Legends Chapter 869 - Monster of Legends "Sir, this is all the Mana Source Ore that we have in our Shop. Please confirm the amount," the demonic shopkeeper said after stacking numerous crates of Mana Source Ore before Shi Feng. After tallying up the total, Shi Feng stored the crates in his bag space. If he resold all of the Mana Source Ore, he could easily make dozens of times what he had paid for them. He could only dream of how rich the Book''s wielders had been in the past. "When will you restock?" Shi Feng asked. "We''ve only recently restocked. It will be roughly another ten days before the next shipment arrives through the Abyss Passage," the shopkeeper explained. He then added, "Although this little Shop has now sold out of Mana Source Ore, we still have plenty of rare products. I believe that you will find them to your liking, sir." Glancing at the other products in the glass cabinets, Shi Feng shook his head. Although there were many rare products on display, the profit he could make off of them wasn''t anywhere near what he could gain from the Mana Source Ore. However, as Shi Feng was about to leave, a blood-red pendant caught his eye. [Abyss Pendant] (Fine-Gold Rank) Although this item did not provide any bonus to Attributes, many players had dreamed of obtaining it in the past. Generally, the item would only drop from high-tiered abyssal monsters, and its drop-rate was horrendously low. Despite being so rare, this pendant only had one function. Fixed Teleportation! After marking a location, one could use the pendant to teleport there. Fixed Teleportation''s Cooldown lasted five hours, and only one location could be marked at a time. Even so, it was an extremely valuable pendant. After all, players hated travel more than anything. Unfortunately, due to problems such as equipment Durability and running out of Consumables, players had to return to cities often to resupply. It was extremely troublesome to travel back and forth constantly. Hence, it was easy to imagine why so many valued the Abyss Pendant. In the past, this Abyss Pendant had been one of the main reasons to farm abyssal monsters. "How much are you willing to sell that pendant for?" Shi Feng pointed to the Abyss Pendant. "You have great eyes, sir! This is our Shop''s main attraction!" The shopkeeper smiled. He then took the Abyss Pendant from its cabinet and said, "If you are interested in purchasing it, I can sell it for 5,000 Gold!" Shi Feng frowned when he heard this price. A single Epic item only cost around 2,000 Gold, whereas Epic Weapons cost around 5,000 to 6,000 Gold. In the past, people had only spent around 3,000 Gold to purchase Abyss Pendants. Although the pendant''s Fixed Teleportation was a convenient ability, there was one downside: its long Cooldown. After reaching Level 40, players would have Mounts, saving a massive amount of time when traveling. For distances that one could cross in five hours or less, Fixed Teleportation was a waste. If the Cooldown could be reduced from five hours to three hours, the Abyss Pendant might be worth nearly 8,000 Gold. Time was money. To any expert in God''s Domain, time was far more valuable than Gold. Seeing Shi Feng''s dimming interest, the shopkeeper hurriedly advised, "Sir, are you sure you won''t consider it? This pendant is extremely hard to obtain. It is highly unlikely that you will come across another one anywhere else." Shi Feng pondered his choices as he stared at the blood-red pendant. The Abyss Pendant was extremely rare. Even if he farmed high-tiered abyssal monsters, the chances of one dropping were abysmally low. Moreover, this could be considered an advantage the system gave the Abyss Ancient Book''s wielder. "Alright, then. I''ll take the pendant." In the end, Shi Feng decided to purchase it. Although the five-hour Cooldown was a big problem, he needed the Abyss Pendant right now. Moreover, he had a way to shorten the pendant''s Cooldown. The pendant would be worth far more after he did so. Shi Feng spent another 5,000 Gold to purchase the Abyss Pendant. He then left the abyssal town, searching for a suitable location to set up a teleportation array. This was the nest of abyssal monsters. Unfortunately, there were far too many abyssal monsters nearby. If the players without an Abyss Imprint ventured this far, a swarm of abyssal monsters would slaughter them. Hence, he needed to choose his location for the teleportation array carefully. Time flew by. After spending over three hours searching, Shi Feng finally found a suitable teleportation point in the middle of a valley. The valley was relatively far from the abyssal town, and the surrounding abyssal monsters had spread out. Moreover, few abyssal monsters wandered the several paths leading out of the valley, and those that did were not high-leveled. This area was perfectly suited for God''s Domain''s current players. Even if one were not an expert, they could easily survive if they formed a party. Following which, Shi Feng began to set up the teleportation point. In God''s Domain, the most troublesome aspect of establishing a Teleportation Array was producing the array itself. Fortunately, if one had already produced the required components, setting it up was much easier. Just as Shi Feng was about to use the Ancient Abyssal Book''s power to establish a barrier, a sudden commotion shook the valley. A pillar of black fire had emerged in the valley''s center. Even from the valley''s entrance, Shi Feng could see the pillar of fire quite clearly. "Soul Fire!" Shi Feng recognized the black flames with a glance, and he could not help his shock. "What is going on over there?" Soul Fire was not a trivial matter. Its appearance signified that an intensely powerful monster lurked in the area. At the very least, the monster had reached the Tier 4 standard. To current players, a Tier 4 monster was practically invincible. It was not something that should be provoked. However, before Shi Feng could investigate, several explosions shook the valley, the center''s ground caving in and forming a gigantic pit. Following which, a dragon''s roar echoed throughout the valley; Shi Feng even unconsciously trembled. "A Dragon?" Shi Feng wanted to flee the area immediately. Dragons were symbols of strength and violence in God''s Domain. They were the natural-born rulers over the game. Even Higher Beings like Demons and Angels feared Dragons. The appearance of a Dragon was cataclysmic. Just as Shi Feng considered leaving, he suddenly noticed several dozens of players floating up from the forest''s floor. These players had formed a gigantic, golden magic array that covered an extensive area. "How are there players here?" Shi Feng was astonished. Snow Field City had already fallen to the abyssal monsters, becoming a nest. Theoretically, players should have long since fled this place. Suddenly, a Dragon with a wingspan of over a hundred meters suddenly flew up from the gigantic pit, its silver scales shimmering in the sunlight. The instant the Dragon appeared, Shi Feng realized how powerless he was. Although this silver Dragon was smaller than the Frost Bone Dragon, in terms of power, the two were on entirely different levels. The pressure the silver Dragon radiated was many times stronger than Shi Feng''s Abyssal Blade when he used a Skill If not for the distance between Shi Feng and the Dragon, he would even struggle to say standing. However, just as the silver Dragon was about to escape the golden magic array, the magic array launched countless, golden chains, binding the Dragon''s limbs and wings. 870 Legendary Figure Chapter 870 - Legendary Figure When the silver Dragon landed, the sky darkened as a gray mist enveloped the area. Shi Feng had still considered leaving this place. However, after seeing the gray mist envelope valley, a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Just who are these people?" Curiosity bloomed within Shi Feng as he looked at the flashing, golden magic array in the distance. Regardless of the other players in the valley or why they were here, Shi Feng was shocked to see the gray mist. This was the Tier 5 Curse, Dark Sanctuary. When activated, the Spell would trap a fixed space within a barrier. Unless one destroyed the barrier or the caster removed the Spell, no one could enter or leave the barrier. Moreover, under this Dark Sanctuary, players could not contact the outside world. Even teleportation tools and Skills were useless. Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng dashed towards the Dragon. The valley was not large; thus, the Dragon was not far. With Shi Feng''s speed, after running for a dozen minutes or so, he reached an area of dense forest near a lake. The silvery-gray Dragon, bound in golden chains, stood proudly in the center of the lake, releasing one roar after another. The lake was roughly 400 meters across. With the Dragon standing in the lake, it seemed like a small pond. Every time the Dragon slashed its claws, it created massive waves that washed over the surrounding forest. [Silver Dragon] (Dragon, Tier 5) Level 220 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? The Frost Bone Dragon Shi Feng had faced in the Abyss Battlefield paled in comparison to this Silver Dragon. With a single swing of its claws, the Silver Dragon could easily exterminate the Frost Bone Dragon. This was because the Frost Bone Dragon was not actually a member of the Dragon race. Rather, it was an Undead creature that had taken on the appearance of a Dragon. It did not possess the power of the real thing. Shi Feng also noticed dozens of players standing around the lake, continuously bombarding the Silver Dragon with various attacks. These players'' Levels were quite impressive, with the lowest among them being Level 38 and the highest reaching Level 39. Including the players maintaining the magic array, it was obvious that this was a 100-man team. Currently, only super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds were capable of dispatching a team of such caliber. Moreover, it was impossible for current players to deal any damage to the Silver Dragon, yet these players had managed exactly that. Although their damage was not high, with each of their attacks dealing one to two thousand damage. These players were also coping with the Silver Dragon''s attacks fairly well, dodging every avoidable attack possible. For attacks that could not be evaded, the team''s five MTs worked together to protect the other players. Theoretically, even a light snort from the Silver Dragon could end these five MTs'' lives, yet even after blocking an attack from the Dragon''s claws, all five survive, being thrown backward and taking damages of -7,000 points each. To these MTs with over 17,000 HP, the damage was bearable. "What a powerful magic array." Shi Feng''s attention was on the golden chains around the Silver Dragon''s body. Shi Feng could feel faint Divine Might radiating from those chains. Although the Divine Might was not on the level of the Chains of Order, it had no problems suppressing a Tier 5 Dragon. With the golden chains binding it, not only was the Silver Dragon''s mobility restricted, but its strength was also notably suppressed. This was also why these players could stand against the Silver Dragon. Otherwise, the Dragon would have undoubtedly killed them already. As these players fought the Silver Dragon, Shi Feng quietly watched from a distance. Oddly enough, not one of these players wore a Guild Emblem. They were all certainly independent players. Shi Feng found it hard to believe that such a large group of independent players could achieve such a high Levels and possess the strength to contend with the Silver Dragon. However, when Shi Feng''s gaze fell on the man leading this 100-man team, he was flabbergasted. That man wielded a crimson longbow. Based on his appearance, he should be in his thirties. He had a handsome face and a well-toned body that resembled a cheetah. His entire being also exuded a certain nobility, as if he ruled over all. "Why is Owl here?" Shi Feng watched the leading Ranger, not believing his eyes. This man''s player ID was not actually Owl. Rather, it was the name of an adventurer team. In the past, independent players had formed many adventurer teams throughout God''s Domain. The Midnight Tea Party had been among the most famous. Like the Midnight Tea Party, Owl had been a top adventurer team. However, unlike the Midnight Tea Party, Owl had possessed many members. The entire adventurer team had around several hundred players. Meanwhile, the combined combat power of these players had been enough to instill fear into Super Guilds'' hearts. Moreover, unlike the Midnight Tea Party, which had not had a fixed base, Owl had successfully established its own city. A Super Guild had even attempted to raid Owl''s city. However, after sending hundreds of thousands of players, the Super Guild returned without success. After the war, Owl had garnered fame throughout God''s Domain and ranked as one of the game''s top adventurer teams. Owl''s creator had been none other than the man before Shi Feng, White Night. During his peak, White Night had been capable of defeating two Tier 6 God-ranked experts from Super Guilds in a one-on-two fight. Tier 6 God-ranked players had long since reached the very peak of God''s Domain in terms of weapons, equipment, and combat techniques. Beating one of these players in a one-on-one battle was already immensely difficult, not to mention winning a one-on-two fight. It''s no wonder why Owl had been so impressive. Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he watched the Silver Dragon''s HP decrease, bit by bit. Although he knew that some quest was responsible for Owl''s ability to stand against the Silver Dragon, the fact that these players had encountered such a quest in the first place showed just how extraordinary Owl was. Moreover, the longbow, chest armor, and shoes that White Night wore radiated the special effects of Epic ranked items. It was likely that one could only find such an array of items on an old monster from one of the Super Guilds. However, those old monsters had the support of countless players. On the other hand, Owl only had several hundred players, yet they had obtained such powerful weapons and equipment. This was simply inconceivable. "Look out for its breath attacks!" White Night suddenly shouted as he noticed the Silver Dragon open its mouth. The other team members immediately spread out, avoiding the area in front of the Silver Dragon. Dragons generally needed time to prepare a breath attack. However, they did not need long, roughly two or three seconds. Moreover, breath''s attack range was quite wide. If players attempted to evade after a Dragon''s breath attack had begun, they would likely be caught in the attack. However, as soon as the Dragon began to move its jaws, White Night had ordered his team to move as if he had a perfect understanding of the beast''s movements. In the next moment, a beam of silver light smashed through the forest, obliterating everything in front of the Silver Dragon. The beam dug out a long, eight-meter-deep trench, the lake''s water pouring in to form a river Despite the strength suppression, the Silver Dragon could still alter the terrain with a single attack. Dragons'' power was undeniable. Yet, despite the Silver Dragon''s immense power, under White Night''s command, the entire team emerged unharmed. As time quickly passed, the damage the team inflicted on the Silver Dragon compounded, diminishing the Silver Dragon''s HP. "Everyone, keep it up! This Dragon is almost done for!" White Night shouted excitedly as he saw the Silver Dragon''s HP bar turn red. 871 The Ring of Legends’ Restlessness Chapter 871 - The Ring of Legends'' Restlessness As the Silver Dragon''s HP reached a critical low, Shi Feng turned and fled from the Dragon. Shi Feng even activated Windwalk, transforming into a blur as he dashed through the thick forest. Dragons should not be provoked. Even with the suppression from an extremely powerful magic array, they were still terrifying creatures when they went berserk. Shi Feng understood that, with the golden magic array''s suppression, the Silver Dragon was as powerful as a Level 50, Tier 3 Great Lord. However, Dragons were not normal monsters. Dragons were even higher on the food chain than Fallen Angels. Based on Shi Feng''s estimations, the Silver Dragon would reach at least Tier 4 after going berserk. A Level 50, Tier 4 monster was not something current players could contend with. Owl''s 100-man team would, at the very least, have to consist fully of Tier 2 players to stand any chance against the monster. Although Shi Feng had stood roughly 400 yards away from the Silver Dragon, he had felt the danger he was in. Hence, he fled desperately, distancing himself from the Dragon. When Shi Feng was over 500 yards away, the Silver Dragon bellowed angrily. "Damnable ants! You dare to ruin my plans! I''ll blast you all into oblivion!" As if he had predicted the Dragon''s next move, White Night shouted to his team as the Silver Dragon''s voice echoed through the valley, "Everyone, retreat from the Boss''s sides! Frozen Dream, prepare to use the Tier 3 Magic Scroll!" A beautiful, white-robed Level 39 female Elementalist standing a short distance from White Night nodded to the Ranger''s command. She then retrieved a deep-blue Magic Scroll from her bag. The instant she revealed this Magic Scroll, the surrounding Mana surged towards the item. After its threat, the Silver Dragon''s wings shook. The golden chains around its body shattered instantly. Following which, the Silver Dragon''s body darkened to a pitch-black. A short moment later, the layer of darkness on the Dragon''s body flowed like liquid into the now-empty lake. The creepy black liquid had a metallic luster. As the liquid slid from the Silver Dragon''s body, it caused the surrounding Mana to grow violent and transform into Demonic Energy. The Silver Dragon abruptly fell to the ground and lost consciousness. However, as it fell asleep, its HP began to recover at a rate visible to the naked eye. "This is the main objective! Remove the magic array! Everyone, be careful of that thing!" White Night''s mouth curled into a smile as he commanded his team to surround the pool of black liquid. "Frozen Dream, get ready!" Although Frozen Dream did not know what was about to happen, she did not hesitate to unfurl the blue Magic Scroll and chant the incantation inside it. An aqua-blue magic array formed beneath the Elementalist''s feet as Mana rapidly collected around her staff. The power she exuded was no weaker than a Great Lord. In the next moment, the black liquid formed into 101 black-armored, human warriors. These warriors'' height and weapons varied, with some wielding swords and others wielding spears. There were also some who wielded crossbows, short bows, and longbows. Their Tiers were also different. Some were Common monsters, while some were Elites. The most powerful among them, however, was a two-handed-saber-wielding humanoid Chieftain. These monsters were unanimously Level 50. In addition, the human warriors shared one special characteristic. Their system interfaces listed them as Mutants. When Shi Feng saw this, he couldn''t believe his eyes. Mutants were enemies of all life. Moreover, they were not bound by the system''s restrictions in terms of Level or region. They could grow independently and roam through God''s Domain as they wished. Although these warriors'' Tiers were not particularly high, a single Common Mutant could rival a Lord ranked monster of the same Level, while an Elite Mutant was as strong as a High Lord. A Chieftain Mutant''s strength approached that of a Grand Lord. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. As time passed and these Mutants devoured and killed more monsters and players, their strengths would rapidly increase. In Shi Feng''s previous life, a single Level 80 Common monster that had become a Mutant had been enough to torment an entire country. Meanwhile, a total of 101 Mutants had just appeared. If they were allowed to live and grow, these Mutants would annihilate every player in every country neighboring the Twin Towers Kingdom before the abyssal monsters got anywhere near them. Suddenly, White Night shouted, "Now!" Almost immediately, the Frozen Dream waved her staff and pointed it at the recently formed humanoid Mutants as she activated her Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Extreme Frost Field! Suddenly, everything within 150 yards of Frozen Dram transformed into a frozen wasteland. All 101 humanoid Mutants froze as well. When activated, the Extreme Frost Field would instantly freeze all enemies within 150 yards for 10 seconds. In addition, all enemies in the area would suffer the Deep Cold debuff, which decreased their Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 50% and increased the frost damage they received by 100%. Extreme Frost Field was a large-scale Control Spell, and in terms of Magic Scrolls, it was only inferior to Summoning Spells and large-scale destruction Spells. Without a sustainable Control Removal Skill, both players and monsters'' combat power would be limited under the effects of this Spell. "Excellent! Charge!" White Night stretched his bow into a full moon as he smiled at the frozen Mutants. Xiu Xiu Xiu Instantly, five arrows carrying the power of frost five Common Mutants'' vital points. -715. -697. -1,424. -708. -1,417. When the five damages appeared, everyone gasped. "My god! Are those really Common monsters?!" "Their Defense is higher than a Level 50 Great Lord''s!" Every team member was shocked. Even White Night frowned when he saw the minimal damage, his expression turning grim as if he had not expected this development. Everyone knew how powerful White Night''s equipment was. He had a total of three Epic items, one of which was his weapon. In addition, his Epic ranked chest armor could reduce the level requirement of all items by 5 Levels. Hence, aside from his Epic items, White Night''s equipment was all Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Yet, even with such a high-end weapon and equipment, his Frost Arrows had only dealt around -700 damage. This was even after the Deep Cold debuff had increased the frost damage the Mutants received by 100%. Meanwhile, the Common Mutants had 1,500,000 HP each, while the Elite Mutants had 4,800,000 HP. As for the largest humanoid Mutant, it had 15,000,000 HP. Even if these Mutants stood there and did nothing, it would take a long time for their team to kill all 101 of these Mutants. "Don''t panic! We knew that this quest wouldn''t be an easy one! Kite the Elites and Chieftain first! We''ll deal with these monsters one by one! Try to conserve as much of your Stamina as possible!" White Night commanded after he readjusted his mood. He knew exactly what they needed to do right now. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who stood far from Owl''s 100-man team, stared at the unconscious Silver Dragon. Strangely, the Fragmented Legendary ring on his finger was reacting to the Silver Dragon. 872 Repairing the Heavenly Dragon’s Breath Chapter 872 - Repairing the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath Under White Night''s encouragement, his team overcame their worries and started moving to separate the Mutants from each other. However, just as a Shield Warrior was about to a still-frozen Common Mutant''s aggro The Frozen effect, which should''ve lasted ten seconds, disappeared. As if it had been planned, six Common Mutants quickly and seamlessly surrounded the Level 38 Shield Warrior, flanking him from all sides. They then launched extremely precise, vicious attacks. Although the Shield Warrior tried to dodge, the Mutants'' Attack Speed was frighteningly high. It took the Shield Warrior all he had to dodge two Mutants, much less six mention six. Even after using his shield to defend himself, two Mutant''s broke past his shield and struck. The Shield Warrior lost nearly 10,000 HP from both attacks; over half of his HP had vanished in an instant. As the Shield Warrior considered retreating, four Mutants charged forward and grabbed at him, restraining him. He could not even execute a Skill to shake the Mutants off. As for the remaining two Common Mutants, they laughed sinisterly as they thrust their weapons into the Shield Warrior, again and again, causing the Shield Warrior to scream with agony. As if they were performing for the players, the Mutants took their time in killing the Shield Warrior. Although the other Owl members tried to save the Shield Warrior, the other Mutants had coordinated to keep them at bay. The Mutants'' damage was also quite high. Even with a constant stream of healing, the Shield Warrior could only watch as his enemy hacked him to death. His eyes contained an endless fear as he passed away Everyone''s hearts grew cold as they watched, consumed by fear. Were these monsters really monsters? This thought penetrated the players'' minds. They had never seen monsters coordinate so perfectly before. Aside from having a large variety of Skills, the greatest advantage players possessed was their ability to cooperate, using their strengths to make up for their companions'' weaknesses. This allowed players to challenge Bosses of higher Levels and Tiers. If monsters grasped this ability, players would lose over half of their advantages. "Everyone, maintain your distance from these monsters! Don''t let them surround you!" White Night hurriedly shouted. Although he was also shocked, he reacted quickly. He finally understood just how difficult this quest was. However, the Mutants had no intention of giving White Night and the others any time to recover from their stupor. Splitting into multiple, smaller groups, they charged at the magical classes in the back of the group, not bothering to waste time with the MTs and melee classes. These Mutants behaved like players, rather than monsters. Without any defenses against this sudden development, White Night changed strategies, choosing team PvP tactics instead. He had the melee classes circle the ranged classes, holding back the incoming Mutants as much as possible as they retreated to more advantageous terrain. Watching from afar, Shi Feng had to admit that White Night was indeed one of God''s Domain''s legendary characters. Not only were his leadership abilities first-class, but he also had incredibly accurate observational skills and foresight. He fought like a machine. Grasping every aspect of battle perfectly, he knew who needed to do what, where to supply reinforcements, and when to use specific Skills. Every member of the team moved like an extension of White Night himself. Unfortunately, White Night''s team members gradually fell, one after another. In contrast, the Mutants had yet to suffer a single loss. Everyone''s attacks only dealt around -300 damage; critical hits only managed -600. Even if they concentrate their attacks on a specific Common Mutant, the latter had 1,500,000 HP. It would take the team a long time to kill one Common Mutant, not to mention the Elite and Chieftain Mutants. Even with appropriate commands and responses, Owl''s members could not make up for the difference in Attributes. As White Night and the others gradually retreated from the Silver Dragon, the Mutants moved with them. This gave Shi Feng the opportunity to sneak up to the Dragon''s side. After the black liquid had left the Silver Dragon, the Dragon''s silvery-gray body had paled to a pure silver. Despite being unconscious, the Dragon''s aura was intensely frightening. Even Shi Feng found it difficult to move once he stood 30 yards from the creature. If an ordinary player stood in Shi Feng''s shoes, they''d likely be paralyzed. However, the closer Shi Feng came to the Silver Dragon, the greater the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath reacted. "Does it want me to collect the Dragon''s Heart?" Shi Feng felt a headache brew as he raised his head to look at the massive Silver Dragon. The Dragon before him loomed like a mountain. The two swords in his hands were no more than toothpicks before it. Moreover, although the Silver Dragon was unconscious, the magic array no longer suppressed it. It had recovered to its original state. A Level 220, Tier 5 monster! Even if Shi Feng were allowed to hack and slash at the Dragon unhindered, he would not be able to inflict any damage. However, Shi Feng decided to try. Unsheathing Killing Ray, he stabbed the sacred sword towards one of the Silver Dragon''s scales. Dang! Sparks flew when his sword collided with the silver scale. The unconscious Silver Dragon did not even receive a mandatory -1 damage from Shi Feng''s attack. Moreover, the Silver Dragon''s HP bar still increased, little by little "Sure enough, damaging a Dragon with my strength is nothing more than a dream," Shi Feng laughed bitterly. Although he understood that White Night and the others had only wounded the Silver Dragon due to the magic array they had received from their quest, Shi Feng only truly understood how impossible it would be to slay this beast after trying it for himself. Unable to harm the Silver Dragon, Shi Feng had no choice but to follow where his ring led. He refused to give up on the chance of repairing the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. The Heavenly Dragon''s Breath had initially been a true Legendary item. If he wanted to restore the Fragmented Legendary ring, he needed three Magic Stars and a Dragon''s Heart. Among them, the Dragon''s Heart was the most difficult to obtain as Dragons were maddeningly rare in God''s Domain. Moreover, they were incomparably powerful. With such a godsent opportunity before him, Shi Feng really would not give up easily. The Heavenly Dragon''s Breath had not reacted to the conscious Silver Dragon in the least. However, as soon as the Silver Dragon fainted, the ring reacted. Moreover, the closer he was to the Silver Dragon, the greater the ring''s reaction was. Even after standing beside the Dragon, the ring''s grew more intense, throbbing on his finger like a pulsating heart. This indicated that there should be some method to repair the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. Otherwise, the ring would have remained quiet. When Shi Feng arrived before the Silver Dragon''s heart, the ring''s reaction reached its peak. "Could it be here?" Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and stabbed the Dragon. However, like before, the Dragon''s scales were impenetrable. His attack hadn''t even left a mark. With no other choice, Shi Feng placed the hand that wore the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath on the scales over the Silver Dragon''s heart. At this time, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Do you wish to absorb the Dragon''s Heart? "So, the Dragon''s Heart isn''t literally the heart of a Dragon, but the power it radiates." Shi Feng was instantly ecstatic. Immediately, he chose to absorb the Dragon''s Heart, afraid that he would lose this chance if he waited any longer. 873 Ring of Legends Awakens Chapter 873 - Ring of Legends Awakens The instant Shi Feng clicked "Absorb," the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath on his finger trembled faintly. Wisps of silver mist flowed from the Silver Dragon''s heart and into the ring. At the same time, a long loading bar appeared before Shi Feng. As the loading bar began to fill, a golden magic array appeared beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Numerous small, purple magic arrays also began to appear beside his hand, becoming more intricate as the loading bar filled. Line after line of divine runes automatically appeared and melded with these magic arrays, continuously perfecting them. If another player saw Shi Feng''s eyes, they would also discover a silver magic array in each, the arrays'' complexity surpassing even that of a threefold magic array. Shi Feng elation grew when he saw the restoration work for the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath begin. Fragmented Legendary items were exceedingly rare throughout God''s Domain. Each item could easily incite an all-out war between large Guilds. No Epic item could compare to its value. In the past, despite Shadow being a second-rate Guild and having established ten city-states, the Guild had not possessed a single Fragmented Legendary item. If Shi Feng had owned a Fragmented Legendary item back then, the item would have helped him become a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, even if his body were weak. Previously, in the Dark Arena, the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath had played a massive role in his victory against Sirius from the Battle Wolves. It was also why he had been able to defeat one apex expert after another in this life. If he could upgrade the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, with the strength of the Abyssal Blade''s hidden effect, he wouldn''t need to utilize the double-edged sword of his Twofold Berserk to contend with monster-like experts. After all, Fragmented Legendary items were insanely rare. Even now, he had not heard of anyone, aside from himself and Fire Dance with her Thousand Transformations, owning one. At most, he had seen others wielding Epic Weapons and Equipment. After quite some, the loading bar finally reached 1%. This pulled a frown from Shi Feng. The ring''s restoration required too much time. Meanwhile, the Silver Dragon''s HP was still recovering. When the Silver Dragon''s HP was full once again, it would definitely wake. At that time, he would lose his opportunity to absorb the Dragon''s Heart''s power. "Hurry! Please!" Shi Feng panicked as he watched the Silver Dragon''s HP reach 30%, whereas his absorption progress had only climbed to 4%. Moreover, Shi Feng still had to worry about those Mutants. Currently, he couldn''t move. Although White Night''s team was impressively strong, against so many Mutants, it was only a matter of time before they fell. If he had not finished repairing the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath by then, and those Mutants returned, all his effort would be for nothing "Please, you guys have to hold on for a little longer!" Shi Feng prayed as he watched the loading bar reach 5%. Time flowed quickly. When the Silver Dragon''s HP recovered to 50%, Shi Feng''s restoration progress had only reached 32%. Although his restoration speed was slightly faster than the Dragon''s recovery speed, the latter''s HP was nearly full. --- Meanwhile, White Night''s team also faced an intense situation. From the start of the battle to now, White Night''s team of 100 had fallen to around 70 players. In contrast, only three Common Mutants had died so far. If a team of ordinary, even elite, players stood against these Mutants, the monsters would have long since annihilated them without losing a single Mutant. The fact that Owl had persisted until now and had performed so stunningly proved that there had been a reason for their legendary reputations in the past. "Don''t hold back! Use all of the Magic Scrolls we have!" White Night ordered when the team reached the top of a steep hill. In God''s Domain, the terrain was an important factor in determining the outcome of a battle. White Night''s main goal behind the retreat was to move to favorable terrain. In a battle between players, steep highlands were easily defensible. Now that the team was on higher ground, they only needed to repel the incoming enemies. They could prevent the Mutants from surrounding them. Under White Night''s command, everyone on the team gnashed their teeth as they took out their precious Magic Scrolls and tools. If they couldn''t stop the incoming Mutants in time, they would use every Magic Scroll they had to force these monsters back. Like this, they fought off one wave after another. After a short period, two more Common Mutants died. However, these Mutants were not easy foes, either. Realizing that the battle was at a standstill, the dozen or so Elite Mutants began to work together to block White Night and his melee companions'' attacks, creating opportunities for the Common Mutants to break through Owl''s defensive line. "Boss, I''m nearly out of Mana. If this goes on, they will exhaust us to death, even if they can''t kill us directly," a Level 38 male Cleric anxiously reported as he glanced at his remaining Mana. This battle was far more taxing than any Boss battle they had fought so far. In the past, he had only needed to focus on healing the lead MT. Now, however, he also had to heal the rest of the team, which significantly increased his Mana consumption. Moreover, they had already exhausted themselves during the battle against the Silver Dragon. "Healers, control your Mana usage. If your Mana is running out, drink a potion. Melees, focus on pinning the monsters down; don''t fight. Try to reduce the burden on the healers as much as possible. If your HP is low, drink a potion," White Night commanded. He also knew how dire their situation was. He had not expected that these Mutants to be so strong and possess such high intelligence. If they continued fighting as they were, their only outcome would be a team-wipe. As the seconds and minutes passed, White Night''s team lost members. --- Elsewhere, Shi Feng''s anxiety grew with each passing second. The Silver Dragon''s HP had already reached 97%, while the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s restoration had only reached 93%. It was likely that the Dragon would wake before the ring''s restoration completed. Faster! Faster! Just a little more! Shi Feng inwardly yelled. He had never been this nervous after re-entering God''s Domain in this life. 95%... 96%... 97%... 98%... When the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s restoration reached 99%, the Silver Dragon''s HP bar finished filling. The Dragon''s massive eyelids slowly opened. The Silver Dragon noticed Shi Feng immediately, and flames of rage filled its gaze. "Despicable human! You dare try to steal my power!" the Silver Dragon bellowed. Widening its jaws, it used Dragon Breath on Shi Feng. Without hesitation, Shi Feng initiated Absolute Defense, the Aura of Earth''s Activatable Skill, which he had long since prepared. Boom! The powerful Dragon Breath created a massive crater around Shi Feng. Even White Night and the others, who were fighting quite a distance away, felt the ground tremble. After the Dragon Breath ended and the smoke cleared Shi Feng held onto one of the Silver Dragon''s scales with one hand, while his other hand pressed against the Dragon''s side over its heart, absorbing the power of the Dragon''s Heart. Although Shi Feng had not received any damage, he was dazed. Unfortunately, Absolute Defense, which should''ve lasted five seconds, had been destroyed However, the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s restoration finally reached 100%. The magic arrays that surrounded him then began to merge with the ring, one after another. As if the ring had awoken from its slumber, it radiated an astounding aura. The ring no longer felt like an inanimate object. 874 Dragons Domination Chapter 874 - Dragon''s Domination Although the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath had been restored, the Silver Dragon was thoroughly enraged. "Rwarr!" A single roar shook the valley. She Feng had even been thrown over 30 yards, a damage of over -1,000 points appearing above his head. Sure enough, Dragons shouldn''t be provoked! As Shi Feng climbed up from the ground, he stared at the towering Silver Dragon in shock. This was the Silver Dragon''s true power. Its roar alone had caused so much damage. Even throwing several million players at it would be suicide. However, Shi Feng did not know that, if not for the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath absorbing a large portion of the Silver Dragon''s power, the Dragon''s roar would have been more than enough to claim his life. --- The Silver Dragon''s roar also alarmed the distant Mutants and White Night''s team. "Big Brother White, the Dragon''s awake! What should we do?" the Elementalist, Frozen Dream, asked worriedly, frowning. They were already badly battered from their fight against the Mutants, and winning against these monsters was still a huge problem. If the Silver Dragon joined the fray, it would be their doom. She understood powerful the Silver Dragon was. Now that they didn''t have a magic array to suppress it, even its sneeze could end their lives. They could deal with suffering a single death. However, the quest White Night had accepted was extraordinary. If they failed the quest, the consequences would be unimaginable. "We''re still too close to the Silver Dragon. Let''s continue to retreat. I remember a cave being nearby; let''s head there," White Night commanded after considering the situation. The Silver Dragon''s strength spoke volumes for itself. However, as long as it did not discover them, it wouldn''t be a threat. These Mutants were still their main problem. Killing one was exceedingly difficult. If not for the advantageous terrain and the large number of Magic Scrolls and tools they possessed, they would''ve been dead already. "Boss, look! There''s someone in the sky!" a Ranger with sharp eyesight suddenly announced as he looked towards the distant clouds. "Huh?" White Night was confused. He unconsciously turned to look where the Ranger pointed. They were currently within an abyssal monster nest. They had only arrived here safely due to the Teleportation Magic Array the quest had provided. It was hard to imagine someone else being here. After a close look, White Night discovered someone flying across the sky. However, roughly two seconds later, White Night''s expression darkened. His team members'' expressions were similarly grim. They noticed the Silver Dragon following the player closely. Based on the Dragon''s appearance, it seemed furious. Moreover, now that the Silver Dragon was free of the magic array''s suppression, it looked far stronger than before. The Silver Dragon they had previously faced felt like an adorable kitten compared to the prehistoric beast that flew through the sky. "Crap, just who is that?" As these players watched the figure fight while fleeing the Silver Dragon, they were stunned. They even wondered if that figure was an NPC, rather than a player. However, the green diamond marker above the figure''s head confirmed that it was a player. Even if they wanted to deny the truth, they had to face the facts before them. --- In the sky, Shi Feng had activated Power of Darkness, increasing his Attributes by 60% for 10 minutes. In addition, he had activated Wind Rider. Overall, he was slightly faster than the Silver Dragon. Initially, Shi Feng had despaired, prepared to die and lose the Abyss Ancient Book. However, after examining the Silver Dragon''s information, he breathed a sigh of relief. Due to the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath having absorbed a large portion of its power, the Silver Dragon had fallen into an extremely weakened state. The previous roar had been the Silver Dragon''s last strand of power. Now, both its Level and Tier had fallen significantly. [Silver Dragon] (Dragon, Tier 4) Level 55 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? (Extremely Weakened) Although Shi Feng was definitely no match for a Level 55, Tier 4 Boss, with the Power of Darkness coursing through him and the partially-restored Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, his Attributes had far surpassed that of a Tier 2 class of the same Level. He also had a Skill like Wind Rider to boost his speed. Escape was entirely possible. [Heavenly Dragon''s Breath] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 400, Agility 400, Intelligence 200 When equipped: All Attributes +50 (Level 40) Strength +50%, Agility +50%, Intelligence +35%, Endurance +50% Movement Speed +35% Attack Speed +30% Ignore Levels +15 All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Skill 1: Dragon''s Authority. Suppress all enemies in the surroundings with the might of the Heavenly Dragon, inflicting the Fear status onto enemies within a 50-yard distance, reducing their Attack Power by 40%, Attack Speed by 40%, and Movement Speed by 40% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 minutes Additional Skill 2: Dragon Breath. Inflicts 10X damage in an 80*5 yard line in front of you. There is a 30% chance to induce the Fainted state for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 4 minutes Additional Skill 3: Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Allows the user to temporarily possess the power of the Heavenly Dragon, increasing HP by 500%, Strength by 150%, Agility by 60%, and Defense by 300%, and grants immunity to all controlling effects for 2 minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours Additional Passive Skill: Dragon''s Domination: Increases the Basic Attributes of all allied Dragons by 15% while suppressing the Basic Attributes of all enemy Dragons by 20%. Every Dragon within a radius of 1,000 yards will increase the user''s Attributes by 500 points. The Dragon Slayer Mekaseru once owned the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. It was originally a Legendary Ranked Item possessing the suppressed strength of the dragon tribe. Due to damage resulting from a war between Gods, its might has greatly decreased. However, the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath possesses an incomparably strong magic power and possesses the potential to restore itself. Its past glory may be restored with just three Magic Stars. Current restoration (1/4). After Shi Feng investigated the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s Attributes, he finally understood why the legendary NPC, Faust, had said that, as long as he restored the ring, he would not have to fear the Abyssal Blade''s Backlash. Despite having only completed one out of the four restoration requirements, the Fragmented Legendary ring''s abilities were so powerful. He could only imagine how powerful it would be against Dragons if he fully restored it. Even if the Silver Dragon were invincible at this stage of the game, due to the Dragon''s Domination Skill, he had gained a 500-point buff to all of his Attributes. Currently, he was even stronger than when he had been at his peak[1] by a large margin. He was even stronger than a Tier 2 class of the same Level. Moreover, the Skill had suppressed the Silver Dragon''s Basic Attributes by 20%. It simply could not catch up to Shi Feng. 875 Temple Ruins Chapter 875 - Temple Ruins In the sky over the valley, Shi Feng dodged the Silver Dragon''s attacks as he observed the surrounding terrain. Although the Power of Darkness had a very long duration, it was bound to end eventually. Once he lost the Power of Darkness''s buffs and had to rely solely on the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, escaping the Silver Dragon would be impossible. "There it is!" Shi Feng quickly found the Silver Dragon''s egress. He then turned and dashed towards that area. Dilapidated temple ruins used to occupy the area. However, the Dragon''s emergence had razed the ruins. Now, there was only a massive crater with the scattered fragments of the temple ruins. The scene reaffirmed Shi Feng''s previous assumption. There was a 99% chance that White Night and the other Owl members'' unexpected arrival was due to a quest. The Silver Dragon''s entrance was even more precipitous. Moreover, as soon as the Silver Dragon had appeared, the Tier 5 Curse Dark Sanctuary had activated. This Spell had obviously been set up to prevent something from escaping, and that something was definitely the Silver Dragon. Since the Spell had been set up to prevent the Silver Dragon''s escape, there should be a Spell that could reseal it, just like in the Obelisk in Stone Forest Town. The crater was bottomless. The Dragon soon realized that Shi Feng was flying towards the crater. Although it was afraid to go near the pit again, Shi Feng had stolen its power and left it Weakened. Even if it could still recover, recuperation would take a long time. It wouldn''t be able to soothe the hatred in its heart if it did not get rid of this Swordsman. Hence, it, too, flew into the crater after Shi Feng. --- Once the Silver Dragon vanished, White Night and his team heaved a sigh of relief. As long as they did not agitate the Dragon, they, more or less, had a chance of getting rid of these Mutants. Had the Silver Dragon joined the battle, they would have lost all chance of completing their quest. "Just who is that person? He was actually able to stand up to the Dragon for such a long time!" The members of Owl had been deeply shocked when they saw the scene from before. At the end of the day, a Dragon was still a Dragon. Even if it was weakened extremely, it was still not an ant that players like themselves could go up against. Previously, they had managed to see very clearly that, although the Silver Dragon was in a Weakened state, the information it displayed showed that it still had the strength of a Level 55, Tier 4 Boss. It would be a piece of cake for the Silver Dragon to squash them into pancakes, so much so that they wouldn''t even have any power whatsoever to resist it. "Alright, focus. The Dragon has already disappeared. Let''s hurry up and wipe out these Mutants. Use a magic array to suppress them, right away. We no longer have time to hold back." Shi Feng''s performance had likewise shocked White Night considerably. However, he did not think that Shi Feng could pin down the Silver Dragon for very long. Hence, they needed to finish up their task as quickly as possible. As soon as White Night said so, 15 magical class players in the team each took out a Magic Scroll and a blue potion. When these magical class players drank down the Intermediate Mana Recovery Potion in their hands, their Mana, which had been below 10%, instantly recovered by 30%. Their Mana Recovery Speed also doubled for 30 seconds. Following which, these 15 players activated a magic array. Immediately, a gigantic magic array enveloped all of the Mutants. The initial Extreme Frost Field had already slowed down the reactions of these Mutants significantly. With the effects of the magic array added in, the Mutants'' speeds decreased further by a large margin. Their Attributes were also suppressed by 30%. Although the Attributes of the Mutants were still superior to theirs, they were no ordinary experts. Originally, with just the effects of the Extreme Frost Field, each of them could easily handle a Common Mutant by themselves. Some of them were even capable of pinning down the Elite Mutants. Now, against these much slower and weaker Mutants, everyone had an even easier time fighting. The appearance of the magic array had instantly turned the tide of the battle. --- At the bottom of the crater, Shi Feng very quickly discovered a gigantic magic array surrounded by 36 stone pillars over a hundred meters tall with numerous divine runes engraved onto them. In addition to these pillars, he also spotted a destroyed altar at the corner of the magic array. It seems that, as long as that place gets repaired, I can reactivate the seal. Shi Feng immediately rushed over to the altar. As soon as he arrived before the stone altar, however, he immediately felt as if he had been scammed. To restore the stone altar, he actually needed 1,000 Magic Crystals as well as the permanent sacrifice of 80 points of all his Basic Attributes. The number of Magic Crystals required was nothing to Shi Feng. After all, he always carried several thousand crystals with him in case of emergency. However, the permanent loss of 80 points in all Attributes was a different story. To current ordinary players, losing that much in Attributes would practically cripple their account. However, seeing the Silver Dragon already flying over, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and clicked "Accept." Anyway, after restoring the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, the ring now provided additional Basic Attributes. It also received massive improvements in various other aspects. Overall, even after factoring in this loss, he still ended up with a net gain in Basic Attributes. The instant Shi Feng clicked "Accept," he immediately felt power draining out of his body. Meanwhile, the Silver Dragon, which had just arrived before Shi Feng and was about to slap him to death with its claws, suddenly froze, fear flashing in its eyes. At this moment, it distinctly heard the clanging and jangling of metallic chains. All at once, the Silver Dragon was terrified. It no longer cared about Shi Feng as it instantly tried to distance itself from this place that had once trapped it. "You want to escape?" At this moment, a cold smile appeared on Shi Feng''s face. If he were to let the Silver Dragon escape now, he would have sacrificed his Attributes for nothing. Abyssal Bind! Suddenly, over a dozen pitch-black chains emerged from the ground, directly binding the Silver Dragon. Although Abyssal Bind had little effect on a monster of the Silver Dragon''s caliber, it still managed to delay the Dragon by half a second. To most, this half a second might not seem like much. To the Silver Dragon, however, this half a second was sufficient to send it falling from heaven straight into hell. The Silver Dragon broke free of the pitch-black chains, but before it could escape the crater, numerous golden chains shot out from the magic array and bound it. No matter how hard the Silver Dragon struggled, it was slowly, bit by bit, dragged back down to the bottom of the crater. At this moment, the Silver Dragon''s heart overflowed with despair. It had gone through such lengths to escape its bindings and regained its freedom, yet, just for the sake of getting some petty revenge on a puny little human, it now suffered the binding of these damnable chains once more. "Human, you are very amazing. You managed not only to plunder my strength but also to survive against me for so long, and even to reseal me now. I acknowledge you to be an existence equal to myself!" At this moment, the Silver Dragon stopped struggling. Instead, it quietly observed Shi Feng as it asked, "Are you willing to make a trade with me? You should know that Dragons won''t easily make trades with weak existences like humans. Moreover, Dragons always keep their word. As long as a Dragon promises to do something, they will definitely see it through." "Trade?" Shi Feng was surprised in spite of himself when he heard this. At the same time, the sound of several system notifications also entered his ears. 876 Breathtaking Shi Feng Chapter 876 - Breathtaking Shi Feng The Silver Dragon''s words already posed some temptation for Shi Feng in the first place. After hearing the contents of the system notification, he was further stunned. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the recognition of the Dragon race. System: Congratulations! You have learned the language of Dragons. System: Hidden Quest "Life Redemption" triggered. Do you wish to accept this quest? So there''s such a benefit for resealing the Silver Dragon as well. After taking a look at the system notification window, Shi Feng shifted his gaze back to the Silver Dragon. Dragons weren''t just incomparably powerful. They also loved collecting treasure. If he could complete this quest relating to the Dragon race, the potential rewards would definitely be much more bountiful than those from quests given by human NPCs. Originally, White Night and the others were the ones who should''ve received this quest. Now, however, Shi Feng had accidentally stolen this opportunity from them. "Sure, but what will I get in return?" Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at the fallen Silver Dragon. In any case, he was not in a rush to go anywhere. Hearing the Dragon out wouldn''t hurt. "I know that you humans are always in pursuit of power. I know of a certain location. At that place, there is a Secret Technique tablet that powerhouses among you humans are always dreaming of obtaining. If you can release me and help me vanquish those Mutants, I can send you to that place," the Silver Dragon said slowly. "Secret Technique tablet?" Shi Feng was shocked despite himself. He truly never imagined that this Hidden Quest he triggered would actually offer such a bountiful reward. If he could obtain an additional Secret Technique tablet, he would be able to nurture even more Guild experts. "Alright, I agree to your offer," Shi Feng answered without hesitation. System: Hidden Quest "Life Redemption" accepted. Quest content: Help the Silver Dragon kill the Mutants. Such good opportunities did not come easily. Currently, Shi Feng was still utterly helpless about the golden tablet quest. That mysterious youth was simply too powerful. Shi Feng simply had no chance to complete the quest at his current Level. Dealing with the Mutants, on the other hand, was much less demanding. These Mutants had appeared just recently. They had not undergone any growth as yet and were currently at their weakest. Hence, it would be significantly easier to kill them. If he were to give the Mutants ten days or half a month, even he would be helpless to do anything about them. Following which, Shi Feng destroyed the stone altar once more and liberated the Silver Dragon. "Though I cannot get too close to those Mutants, I can support you from the sidelines!" Looking at the chains binding its body disappearing, the Silver Dragon extended one of its massive claws to Shi Feng and said, "Hop on. I will bring you over to the battlefield. Given free rein, those Mutants will only grow stronger as time passes. We need to exterminate them as quickly as possible." Without hesitation, Shi Feng hopped directly onto the Silver Dragon''s claw. Indeed, just as the Silver Dragon had said, even if those Mutants did not devour or kill any monsters or players, they would still grow stronger with the passage of time. Without any intervention, they would become a disaster in God''s Domain in a few days. In his previous life, a Mutant that had been left unchecked in Star-Moon Kingdom had wreaked devastation on the kingdom. By the time players realized the severity of the situation, that Mutant had already grown into a difficult foe to defeat even with more than a hundred thousand players. Suddenly, the Silver Dragon spread its wings and flapped them. It then flew straight out of the crater and shot into the sky. --- "Boss, something''s not right with these Mutants!" a Level 38 male Swordsman suddenly said. "I keep feeling that they''re becoming stronger and stronger." "Yeah, I get the same feeling! Although there aren''t any changes to their maximum HPs, my attacks are actually doing less and less damage to them." "Me too! Moreover, their movements and reactions are gradually improving." At first, everyone had thought this was just their own misconception. However, after one person mentioned it, everyone else similarly felt that something was amiss. If they allowed these monsters to continue strengthening, their situation would become increasingly precarious. After all, just from a numbers point of view, they were now at a disadvantage. Initially, there had been 101 Mutants. Now, there were still 87 of them. On the other hand, their team, which had started with 100 members, had only 64 members remaining. Most tragically, even until now, they had yet to defeat a single Elite Mutant. Moreover, they had also used up nearly all the Magic Scrolls and tools they had brought with them. This was the first time they had encountered such a difficult quest where they could not see any hope of victory whatsoever. White Night, who had been kiting the Chieftain Mutant all this time, frowned deeply as well. In truth, he, too, had long since noticed that these Mutants were becoming increasingly strongerespecially the Chieftain Mutant he was kiting. Whether it was in terms of reaction speed, Defense, or Attack Power, these monsters were receiving gradual minor improvements. However, he was also helpless about the situation. He had already made plenty of preparations for the quest this time. He had never thought that they would still end up failing. Just as everyone was falling into the pits of despair, a massive figure appeared in the sky once more, the roar it released making everyone from Owl tremble. "It''s over! We''re truly finished this time!" All their hearts sank into utter despair when they saw the Silver Dragon flying towards them. A Tier 4 Silver Dragon was far more powerful than these Mutants they were struggling against. They already possessed no chance of victory against these Mutants. Now that a Silver Dragon was joining the fray, they did not even have the heart to try to resist. "Hey, look at the Silver Dragon''s claw. There seems to be a person standing there!" Frozen Dream exclaimed as she stared at the distant Silver Dragon, her beautiful eyes widening in disbelief. The Silver Dragon was beyond terrifying. It was truly hard to imagine there would be someone capable of standing on the Dragon''s claw. Hearing Frozen Dream''s words, everyone promptly focused their gazes on the Dragon''s claws. "Isn''t that the player from before?" "I''m not dreaming, right? The Silver Dragon that was trying to kill him before has actually fallen under his control? Is he even human?" Everyone was thunderstruck when they saw Shi Feng standing on the Silver Dragon''s claw. Once upon a time, they had been prideful over the fact that they were in possession of either a Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Mount even before reaching Level 40. After looking at Shi Feng, however, they were just a bit short of dying from embarrassment. As the Silver Dragon rapidly approached them, its powerful aura left everyone breathless, despite several hundred yards still separating them. Shortly after, Shi Feng jumped down from the Silver Dragon''s claw and landed before everyone. None of the members of Owl could find it in themselves to speak to Shi Feng. They only observed him quietly with eyes full of fear. Just the thought of the Silver Dragon hovering above Shi Feng made them shudder. A single snort from the Silver Dragon would be more than enough to wipe them out completely. One could say that their fates were currently in Shi Feng''s hands. "Fellow friend, how may I help you?" At this moment, even White Night had an incomparably tense expression as he looked at Shi Feng. Setting aside the Silver Dragon hovering above Shi Feng, just the Swordsman himself gave White Night a feeling of an unreachable existence. Even though White Night clearly couldn''t feel any danger coming from Shi Feng, the aura the latter radiated was actually somewhat superior to even a Lord ranked monster''s of the same Level. In front of an expert of such caliber, even his prideful self had to tread with great caution. 877 Brutal Massacre Chapter 877 - Brutal Massacre Shi Feng sent a glance at White Night and the others, who were currently still locked in combat. From the current state of their battle, they were performing much better than he initially expected. At this moment, Shi Feng had to admit that Owl was indeed an adventurer team on par with the Midnight Tea Party. There was quite a number of capable experts among them. If Zero Wing''s main force were the ones fighting here today, they would''ve long since fallen to these Mutants. In particular, White Night, who was pinning down the Chieftain Mutant, had already achieved perfection in terms of Skill utilization. Shi Feng estimated that every one of White Night''s Skills had a Completion Rate of at least 90%. Despite fighting in such a cramped and dangerous environment, White Night still managed to achieve such results. Moreover, his control and utilization of his surrounding environment were similarly at a breathtaking level. Shi Feng did not think that even he himself could perform any better than White Night in this aspect. In addition, White Night''s predictions of the Chieftain Mutant''s movements were extremely accurate. Although the Level 50 Chieftain Mutant was not as strong as a Level 50 Grand Lord, it was not that far off, either. Even with the effects of the Extreme Frost Field and suppression barrier, a player at White Night''s Level would still face extreme difficulty evading the Chieftain''s attacks, not to mention doing so in such a cramped environment and without exposing any of his allies to the Chieftain''s attacks. If White Night could not predict the Chieftain Mutant''s movements one or two seconds ahead, it would be utterly impossible for him to guide the Chieftain''s attacks accurately. Unfortunately, although White Night and the other members of Owl were amazing, it was obvious that the Mutants had the advantage in this battle. As more time passed, the combat power of the Mutants would increase as well. It was only a matter of time before White Night and the others were wiped out. "Don''t misunderstand. I''m not here to look for trouble," Shi Feng said as he took another glance at the overall situation of the battle. Seeing the anxious and slightly hostile expressions White Night and the others were wearing, he could not help but laugh as he said, "Moreover, even if I came to look for trouble, I could simply just stand to one side and watch. In any case, these monsters will kill you guys eventually." When everyone heard Shi Feng''s words, they wanted to rebuke him. In the end, however, their words got stuck in their throats. This reaction wasn''t just due to the strength Shi Feng had displayed. It was also because Shi Feng''s words were not wrong. "May I know if fellow friend would be willing to help us out? After the battle, you can have all the loot of these monsters. We won''t take anything." White Night took the initiative to ask after giving the situation some thought. "Big Brother White, these monsters are so powerful. The loot they drop will definitely be very amazing. Moreover, we''ve only managed to reach this point after sacrificing so much. Yet, now, we''re giving all the benefits to someone else" Frozen Dream immediately panicked upon hearing White Night''s proposal to Shi Feng. Although they were indeed in a precarious situation, she did not think that Shi Feng would have a way to deal with these many Mutants. Both sides needed to work together in order to have a chance to eliminate these Mutants. Rather than just giving up all the loot, they should negotiate with Shi Feng. At the very least, they should ask to get the quest item. The other members of Owl similarly grew anxious. However, they also knew that White Night was doing this for them. While in this area, there were only two methods for them to leave. Either they killed all of the Mutants, or they were killed by the Mutants. Judging by the current momentum of the battle, it was only a matter of time before they diedand they would suffer significant losses if they died. Aside from losing a Level, they would also drop a piece of equipment. It would take them a long time to recuperate from such a loss. "Alright." Shi Feng nodded as he looked at White Night retreating while fighting the Chieftain Mutant. In reality, even if White Night did not make such a proposal, he would still help them exterminate these Mutants in order to form a connection with the future legendary adventurer team. He could get White Night to owe him a favor by doing so. White Night was a man who stood by his word. As long as he promised something, he would definitely do it. Back then, the Ranger had owed the Super Guild King''s Return a favor. In the end, he had started a war with King''s Return''s rival, the Super Guild Pantheon, without hesitation, aiding King''s Return in securing a war fortress. A war fortress was different from a player-established city or town, which had a fixed location. A war fortress could move, only it was very costly to shift around. However, it was the perfect tool to attack cities and devastate lands. At the same time, a war fortress could also serve as a small-scale city. It could move to the latest leveling maps to greatly reduce the travel time of players. The value of a war fortress was far above even that of a Legendary item. For this reason, Pantheon had hated Owl down to the very bone. The Super Guild had even mobilized its army to assault Owl''s main headquarters. Although Owl ended up winning in the end, the adventurer team had suffered tremendous losses. Meanwhile, although White Night had not said that he would owe Shi Feng a favor, the Ranger would definitely remember the favor Shi Feng would do him today. Just this point alone was enough for Shi Feng. "Many thanks!" Upon hearing Shi Feng agree to his proposal, White Night breathed out a sigh of relief. His teammates might not be convinced of Shi Feng''s strength, but if Shi Feng did not possess sufficient strength, how could he possibly have managed to treat the Silver Dragon as a Mount? Following which, White Night had Frozen Dream write out a contract. After both sides signed the contract, they added Shi Feng to the team and appointed him the team leader. "What''s there to thank him for? Haven''t we given him all the benefits already?" Frozen Dream silently pouted, feeling extremely displeased as she looked at Shi Feng, who was wearing a Black Cloak and had his identity hidden. She refused to believe that Shi Feng could truly do anything about these Mutants. In the end, he would just be utilizing the strength of the Silver Dragon. However, this was the Silver Dragon''s strength, not Shi Feng''s own strength. After signing the contract, Shi Feng also informed the Silver Dragon to take action. In the next moment, the Silver Dragon let out a deafening roar, and a gigantic, silver magic array covering a radius of 500 yards appeared immediately, catching everyone within it. As soon as the magic array appeared, the Mutants began emitting white smoke from their bodies. Not only did their Defense abruptly decrease by a large margin, but even their Attack Power had weakened significantly. "Such a powerful Spell!" At this moment, everyone fully experienced just how powerful this silver magic array was. Originally, their attacks only dealt around -200 to -300 damage to the Common Mutants. Now, however, their damages doubled. On the other hand, the damage the Common Mutants were dealing to their MTs had decreased significantly, instantly going from around -5,000 damage per hit to around -2,000 damage per hit. This sudden development greatly lessened the burden on the MTs and healers. Unfortunately, even with such a powerful Spell assisting them, it was still not enough to bridge the gap between the two sides. The HPs of the Mutants were simply too high. Just the Common Mutants already possessed 1,500,000 HP, not to mention the Elite and Chieftain Mutants. The monsters had more than enough HP to exhaust them to death. "Let''s use you all to test my new strength, then." A hint of excitement flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he looked at the clumped-up Mutants. In the next moment, Shi Feng activated Silent Steps and appeared behind a Common Mutant. Chop! -6,417. Thundering Flash! -3,405, -8,717, -7,004, -10,214. Thunder Flame Explosion! -12,137. The Common Mutant''s HP rapidly flowed away like running water. Even Shi Feng''s normal attacks dealt around -2,200 to -2,300 damage. When the members of Owl saw Shi Feng''s damage, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. The Swordsman''s damage was two to three times higher than even the extremely well-geared White Night''s. In the next moment, Shi Feng adjusted his positioning slightly and followed up with Dragon Breath. A beam of white light instantly engulfed close to 40 Common Mutants, damage of over -20,000 points appearing above the Mutants'' heads. Some even received critical damage of over -40,000 points. Over a dozen of the Mutants struck also fell into a Fainted state on the spot. "Just who is this person?" Frozen Dream was utterly dumbfounded at this moment. However, what no one knew was that Shi Feng was currently under the effects of the Power of Darkness as well as the Dragon''s Dominator. Even the high HP and Defense of the Mutants could do little against his attacks. Moreover, Shi Feng was not afraid of attracting the aggro of the Mutants at all. With his speed and mysterious footwork, none of the Mutants could close in on him at all. In fact, Shi Feng was even utilizing his high damage to gradually lure and concentrate the Common Mutants into a group. When he had gathered nearly 60 Mutants, he abruptly pointed his sword towards the sky. Skywheel Sword! Countless golden, divine swords rained down from the sky, trapping all the Mutants within a radius of 20 yards and dealing damage of over -5,000 points to every one of them. Immediately after, Shi Feng cast Firestorm. Scorching flames instantly engulfed the Common Mutants. Everyone immediately saw damages ranging from -30,000 to more than -50,000 rising through the flames. Moreover, this phenomenon repeated itself once every second for six seconds. Shi Feng was still not done with his attacks. He retrieved a silvery-gray Tier 2 Magic Scroll from his bag and unfurled it, rapidly chanting the incantation recorded within the scroll. Suddenly, numerous silver whirlwinds appeared amid the group of Mutants, continuously garroting them, dealing over -20,000 damage each second for four seconds. Tier 2 Spell, Storm Garrote! Due to the silver whirlwinds'' powerful suction, these Mutants couldn''t escape the garroting at all, their HPs continuously decreasing. This sight rendered everyone speechless. Every one of these Mutants was a Boss-level monster. Yet, now, Shi Feng was actually fighting them as if they were weak, low-level monsters. None of them knew what to say about Shi Feng''s performance. However, the HP and Defense of these Mutants were simply too high. Although this method might work against normal Elites and Special Elites, it was totally ineffective against these monsters that had over a million HP. Just as everyone was thinking of a way to help Shi Feng scatter the group of Mutants, Shi Feng took out another Tier 2 Magic Scroll from his bag. This time, it was the Tier 2 Spell Blizzard. Not only did the Spell freeze these Mutants for eight seconds, but it also dealt over -40,000 damage to each of them. After using one scroll, Shi Feng would take out another Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Moreover, it was another AOE Attack Magic Scroll. After he went through a total of eight Tier 2 Magic Scrolls in a row, the Common Mutants, which originally had 1,500,000 HP, had less than half their HPs remaining. "Crap, does this guy run a Magic Scroll photocopying shop or something?!" Shi Feng''s actions left everyone flabbergasted. They could be considered a top-class adventurer team. Throughout their time playing God''s Domain, they had accumulated a significant stockpile of items. They also possessed quite a few Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. However, even for them, Tier 2 AOE Attack Magic Scrolls were still extremely rare items. Until now, their entire team had managed to collect only five of such scrollswhich they had used up on previous quests. Now, however, Shi Feng alone had taken out eight of such Magic Scrolls! Just as everyone thought Shi Feng had already run out of scrolls, the latter pulled out yet another Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Everyone was now at a complete loss for words. This was definitely the first time they had seen such an extravagant way of grinding monsters. On the market, a single Tier 2 AOE Attack Magic Scroll currently sold for around 200 Gold. One could buy a Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapon already with that kind of money. Despite that, Shi Feng was actually using these scrolls as if they were ordinary Skills. What no one knew was that Shi Feng really did not lack in Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. He had obtained plenty just from the various Field Bosses he had raided with Zero Wing''s main force. There were also the Magic Scrolls his Guild obtained from Hell Mode and Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Moreover, as he ventured to new high-level maps, he would often come across Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests. In addition, after capturing Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing had acquired many Magic Scrolls from the town''s treasury. Just the number of Tier 2 AOE Attack Magic Scrolls in Zero Wing''s possession right now came close to 100 pieces. Even the stockpiles of Super Guilds were not as well stocked as Zero Wing''s. Meanwhile, for the operation this time, Shi Feng had prepared close to 60 Tier 2 AOE Attack Magic Scrollsmore than enough for him to massacre the Common Mutants. When Shi Feng used the twenty-fourth scroll, the Common Mutants finally could not hold out any longer. They abruptly fell before him one after another. The abundant amount of EXP they provided allowed Shi Feng to level up once to Level 41. 878 Foolish Humans Chapter 878 - Foolish Humans Frozen Dream and the other Owl members were speechless as they stared at the dozens of dead Common Mutants. A single Tier 2 AOE Attack Magic Scroll cost at least 200 Gold, yet Shi Feng had just used 24 of them. He had essentially blown through enough money to purchase an Epic Weapon Meanwhile, not only had the abundant EXP allowed Shi Feng to level up once, but the rest of the team also leveled up once or twice. Every Owl member was now at Level 40, with some being only a short distance away from Level 41. "These monsters give a ton of EXP!" "Hahaha! This is awesome! I''m fully recovered after leveling up!" Joy began to fill these players'' eyes. Both the healers and the magical classes, who had been running out of Mana, had fully replenished Mana bars. Their confidence in dealing with the remaining Level 50 Elite and Chieftain Mutants had been restored as well. Previously, these players had lost hope of emerging victorious as they knew that they would not outlast these monsters. There were simply too many Common Mutants. Everyone on the team would have died long before they finished them all off. "It''s no wonder why he was so calm. He really does have a way to deal with these monsters by himself." Frozen Dream could not help but shift her gaze towards the cloaked Shi Feng. When she thought back to her previous words, a light blush colored her pale-white cheeks as embarrassment overtook her. If not for Shi Feng''s aid, they would have died here. None of those who had spoken out against Shi Feng''s participation said a word. They only admired the cloaked Swordsman. At this point, only the 14 Elites and one Chieftain remained. Their team had finally reclaimed the advantage of numbers. Although the remaining monsters were far more difficult to deal with, they shouldn''t have any issues taking down the remaining adversaries with a powerful damage dealer like Shi Feng on their side. Just as the thought of ridding themselves of the Mutants entered everyone''s minds, the remaining Mutants transformed into a black liquid and gathered at a single point in the air; the black mass''s aura grew stronger as the liquid gathered. The team''s caution intensified as they watched the ball of black liquid squirm in midair. "Be careful. He has absorbed a lot of power from my body," the Silver Dragon suddenly said. As the Silver Dragon finished its warning, the black liquid transformed into a black Dragon and fell, shattering the ground with its weight. The Dragon the black liquid had formed was much smaller than the Silver Dragon. It was only roughly 20 meters tall. However, that was still more than tall enough to tower over players. The Dragon loomed like a seven-story-tall building. With a swipe of its powerful claws, it could rip through players like paper. [Mutated Dragon] (Mutant Dragon, Tier 2) Level 50 HP 80,000,000/80,000,000 After reading the Mutated Dragon''s statistics, Shi Feng frowned, a grim expression overtaking his face. Although the Mutant''s Level had not changed, only transforming from a Tier 1 Chieftain to a Tier 2 Lord, the difference between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. The problem was no longer limited to a gap between their Tiers. Rather, the problem was their positions on the food chain. The Upper-rank Tier 3 Frost Bone Dragon Shi Feng had previously killed had not been a true Dragon despite its appearance. The Mutated Dragon before them, however, was a bona fide Dragon. It was even higher on the food chain than Fallen Angels. Even though it was only at the Tier 2 standard and the same Level, it could easily defeat the Tier 3 Frost Bone Dragon. Furthermore, this Dragon was a Mutant, which gave it a vast potential to grow in various aspects. Shi Feng was no longer able to determine the Mutated Dragon''s true power. However, he could say one thing with certainty: the Mutated Dragon was exceedingly strong. If they allowed the Mutated Dragon to grow, it would cause a calamity across God''s Domain that was several times more severe than the Abyss Passage''s opening. Not only could the Mutated Dragon grow indefinitely, but it also wasn''t restricted to certain regions. It could go anywhere it wished, unlike Abyss Passages, which only affected the country where it spawned and its neighbors. In fact, Shi Feng wasn''t the only tense player in the group. The Owl members were also anxious. Even an expert like White Night felt a tremendous pressure from the Mutated Dragon. It felt as if they were sailing across the open ocean in a small boat, the threat of capsizing looming before them. Their lives could end at any given moment. "Foolish humans, I really have to thank you. If not for your help in ridding me of all of that excess power, I wouldn''t be able to display my true power." Revealing a human-like sneer, the Mutated Dragon laughed coldly as it said, "I also have you to thank, foolish Dragon. If not for your help, these humans wouldn''t have succeeded. As a show of gratitude, I''ll devour you all to nurture my power!" "I won''t let you have your way!" the Silver Dragon bellowed. Suddenly, a silver magic array enveloped over half of the valley. Numerous silver chains emerged from the magic array and bound the Mutated Dragon. "You''ve lost your mind! You are actually willing to sacrifice your lifespan to cast this Spell?!" The Mutated Dragon was flustered as it felt the silver chains drain its strength, yet no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn''t even scratch them. "So what if you''ve used this Spell? How much of your lifespan can you afford to expend? Once you''re exhausted, I will regain my freedom! You cannot stop me!" "Human, I will leave the rest to you" the Silver Dragon said weakly. Casting this Spell had obviously taken a massive toll. Suddenly, a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: You have to kill the Mutated Dragon within two hours. If you cannot complete this task, the Silver Dragon will exhaust its lifespan and die. At the same time, a timer appeared next to Shi Feng''s system interface. 1 hour : 59 minutes : 57 seconds "Hahaha! As expected of a foolish Dragon! Even in the face of death, you place your hopes in these little ants. Do you really believe that, even after siphoning my strength, these ants can defeat me?" the black Mutated Dragon laughed maniacally. "Fine, let me show you, foolish humans, how terrifying Dragons truly are!" Saying so, the Mutated Dragon dashed towards the group of players. "Be careful! Melees, focus on dodging! Do not try to block the Mutant''s attacks! All ranged players, target its joints!" White Night issued his commands immediately. The Mutated Dragon was, by far, the strongest monster they had ever faced since joining God''s Domain! [Mutated Dragon] (Mutant Dragon, Tier 2) Level 50 HP 40,000,000/40,000,000 They might not have had any hope of victory before, but the silver chains now suppressed the Mutated Dragon. Both its Attributes and mobility had been significantly restricted. Moreover, they had recovered to their peak states and risen to Level 40, improving their Basic Attributes. All hope was not lost. Very quickly, three Level 40 MTs moved to stand between the Mutated Dragon and the rest of the team, each one possessing over 18,000 HP. Seeing the Mutated Dragon swing one of its massive, clawed forefeet at them, all three MTs took evasive measures and activated their Lifesaving Skills simultaneously, reducing the damage they took by half. As the Mutated Dragon attacked, the distant White Night used Triple Piercer, the Skill with the greatest impact among all his Tier 1 Skills. His Skill Completion Rate had even reached 97%, the original three arrows merging into one. The newly combined arrow tore through the air as it penetrated the Mutated Dragon''s wrist. Boom! -2,315. Although White Night''s attack struck the joint, it did not affect the Dragon''s forefoot at all. The claws blurred as they struck a Guardian Knight that had not dodged in time. The Guardian Knight''s HP instantly fell by 10,000. If he had not activated his Lifesaving Skill, he would have become mincemeat the moment the Dragon''s claws reached him. "This is after it has been weakened?" The players gasped when they saw the Mutated Dragon''s Defense and damage. With such high damage, Defense, and speed, they had no hope of contending with the Mutated Dragon as they were right now. As the Owl members began to despair, a black figure appeared before the Mutated Dragon. This figure was none other than Shi Feng. Seeing this, disgust flashed in the Mutated Dragon''s eyes. It slapped at Shi Feng with its forefoot as if it were swatting a fly. Before anyone could react, the Dragon''s forefoot struck the ground, forming a crater with a radius of over ten meters. 879 Overwhelming a Dragon with Force Chapter 879 - Overwhelming a Dragon with Force The players from Owl were stunned when they saw the Mutated Dragon''s Strength. They had often seen attacks form craters after hitting the ground. However, this was the first time they had seen an attack form such a massive pit. Moreover, this had been a normal attack, not a Skill. "Why was he so impatient?" Frozen Dream frowned at the crater beneath the Mutated Dragon''s front foot. From the damage their Guardian Knight had received, she understood that they could not stand up against the Mutated Dragon in a head-on clash. They could only rely on the melees to kite the Dragon while the ranged players dealt damage and whittled down its HP. Only by doing so would they have any hope of emerging victorious, yet Shi Feng had stubbornly rushed up to the Dragon, dying with a single swat. Now, their team had lost a powerful ally, reducing their chances of defeating the Dragon even further However, as the Mutated Dragon lifted its claws, these players discovered a figure beneath the giant forefoot. "How?!" The team was astonished. The Mutated Dragon''s Strength was obvious. Even Level 50, Tier 2 MTs wouldn''t withstand such destructive power, yet a Swordsman like Shi Feng had survived. How could they not be shocked? Such high Strength! If not for the Dragon''s Domination''s suppression and the additional 500 Attributes I received, I would''ve been forced to waste a Lifesaving Skill! Shi Feng inwardly celebrated his survival. For each Dragon that was within 1,000 yards, Dragon''s Dominator would increase all of his Basic Attributes by 500 points. Currently, two Dragons were within range: the Silver Dragon and the Mutated Dragon. The Mutated Dragon was, in fact, a member of the Dragon race. With two Dragons present, each of Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes had gained 1,000 points. However, Shi Feng did not only enjoy this buff. As the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath increased his Attributes by a percentage, his Strength, Agility, and Endurance had increased by another 50%, and his Intelligence by 35%. Moreover, as he still had the effects of Power of Darkness, Shi Feng''s current Attributes had long since exceeded that of a Level 50, Tier 2 MT. Blocking the weakened Mutated Dragon''s attack wasn''t an issue. However, it was somewhat strenuous. Although Shi Feng had blocked the Mutated Dragon''s attack with his swords, he had lost 2,187 HP. Of course, two thousand damage wasn''t considerable to Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng currently had a maximum of 83,460 HP. Such low damage was practically negligible. Not to mention, there were multiple healers on standby who could restore him to full health at any moment. "Is he a human or a ghost?" Owl''s members were thoroughly stupefied. They had already been impressed by Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes. Even their leader, White Night, was no match for him. However, they had been able to see the Swordsman''s boundaries during the last fight. He had not been completely out of their reach. Watching him now, however, they realized that they were apart of two different worlds. While these players were still frozen with shock over Shi Feng''s absurdly high Attributes, the Mutated Dragon noticed that the Swordsman was still alive. Immediately, it slammed its claws down on Shi Feng once more. Boom! The already large crater expanded further. This time, however, the Mutated Dragon''s forefoot had not hit Shi Feng. After dodging the attack, Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade at the Dragon''s claw and executed Chop. -34,157. Upon receiving the critical damage of over -30,000 points, the Mutated Dragon''s foot trembled slightly. There was even a shallow cut across its adamantite-like scales. "Damn, my attacks are only dealing around a thousand damage, yet he can deal over 30,000 damage with a single hit." "Is he really a player?" Everyone''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw Shi Feng''s damage. White Night, who had attacked the Dragon continuously, froze momentarily, his eyes glued to the cut left on the Mutant''s joint. While it was impressive that Shi Feng''s attack had managed to deal over -30,000 damage, the implication of leaving a cut across the Dragon''s scales was far more significant. Direct damage would, at most, reduce the Mutated Dragon''s HP. However, inflicting external injuries would weaken the Mutated Dragon''s combat power. His longbow was an Epic Weapon, yet his attacks couldn''t even scratch the Mutated Dragon. There was one thing he was very certain of. The ability to injure a monster''s body was unrelated to a player''s Attributes. It was mainly due to the quality and sharpness of the player''s weapon. Is he using Fragmented Legendary Weapons? White Night''s shock increased as he glanced at Shi Feng''s two swords. He had gone through hell and back to obtain his current longbow. He had never once harbored any thought of obtaining a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. With this revelation, White Night considered befriending Shi Feng. He had played God''s Domain with the intention of getting to know various experts. He wanted to challenge his limits and surpass them. However, what White Night did not know was that Shi Feng''s weapons were not Fragmented Legendary rank. They were only on par with Epic Weapons. However, due to the Magic Devices he had equipped, their sharpness and destructive power had improved significantly, which allowed them to wound the Mutated Dragon. "I''ll serve as the MT! The rest of you, attack from afar!" Shi Feng commanded through the team chat after attracting the Mutated Dragon''s aggro. Originally, the members of Owl had their issues with Shi Feng leading their team. Now, however, they followed his commands without argument. The healers began to focus on Shi Feng, whereas the melee players retreated to maximum range, attacking the Mutated Dragon with the ranged players. Although the melee players'' ranged damage couldn''t compare to their ranged companions, overall, they dealt a considerable amount. With a powerful MT like Shi Feng, the healers had gained some peace of mind; they didn''t need to worry about Shi Feng being instant-killed. The ranged damage dealers could also attack without holding back. Even if the Power of Darkness ended right now, Shi Feng was confident he could dodge the Mutated Dragon''s attacks. However, he would have far fewer chances of counterattacking. In any case, Shi Feng''s goal in attacking the Mutated Dragon was not to decrease its HP, but to injure its joints. Although a single attack''s effects were not noticeable, after a hundred attacks, the effects were obvious. Once the Mutant''s joints were heavily wounded, both its reaction speed and Attack Speed fell drastically. This made evading the Dragon''s attacks and launching counterattacks even easier for Shi Feng. Eventually, the Mutated Dragon became utterly helpless against Shi Feng. It could only watch as the little human before it avoided every one of its attacks. In the end, even losing the buffs from Power of Darkness, Shi Feng was still able to dodge the Mutated Dragon''s attacks effortlessly. Meanwhile, although the other players'' damages were not considerable, their total damage exceeded the Mutated Dragon''s recovery speed. From time to time, Shi Feng also dealt a heavy blow. As a result, the Dragon''s HP continuously decreased. Time passed quickly. The Mutated Dragon''s HP had finally fallen to 20%. "Humans, your luck ends here!" the Mutated Dragon bellowed, its roar echoing throughout the valley. The Mutated Dragon, which had been 20 meters tall, started to grow, reaching 30 meters instantly. Not only did it receive an enhancement to its Strength and speed, but its range had also increased, making it far more difficult for Shi Feng to evade its attacks. In the next moment, the Mutated Dragon swiped its tail at Shi Feng, the swipe''s force instantly generating a storm. However, before the storm could devour Shi Feng, the Dragon''s tail arrived before him. Moreover, the Dragon''s attack range with its tale was quite wide, and Shi Feng did not have enough time to dodge. Defensive Blade! Peng! The attack threw Shi Feng. Even the players attacking from over a dozen meters behind him died instantly. Unfortunately, the Mutated Dragon was not done. It began to swing its tail like a whip, covering the area with afterimages. One swipe Two swipes Three swipes By the time the Mutated Dragon''s attack ended, Shi Feng''s Defensive Blade had been exhausted of block counts. Meanwhile, there were less than 40 players still standing. If the Mutated Dragon launched that tail attack one or two more times, it would wipe out their team. The Mutated Dragon''s terrifying chain attack had also devastated the surrounding forest, leaving very little behind. The Dragon race''s explosive power is truly terrifying. Fortunately, I haven''t used all of my cards yet. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief. Following which, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. 880 Slaying a Dragon Chapter 880 - Slaying a Dragon "Boss, the Dragon''s Defense and reaction speed have improved quite a bit. With our remaining numbers, I''m afraid that we can''t survive another round of chain attacks," a green-robed, Level 40 male Summoner anxiously reported. Once the Mutated Dragon went Berserk, a single round of whipping its tail had annihilated all of his summoned creatures. Even their attacks were becoming less effective. Previously, they had been able to, more or less, hit the Dragon, each of their attacks dealing around -1,000 damage. Now, however, the Mutant blocked over half of their attacks with its tail. Even when their attacks struck the Dragon, they only dealt around -600 damage. After factoring in the members they had lost and the healers, their overall damage could not overcome the Mutated Dragon''s regeneration. It was only a matter of time before they team-wiped. "This is the final push! Throw everything you have at it!" White Night had been watching the battle from the rear. Excluding Shi Feng''s hidden statistics, he had run through various simulations in his mind based on his team''s statistics and calculated their probability of taking down the Mutated Dragon. However, no matter how many simulations he ran through, they were no match for the Mutated Dragon. The difference between them was simply too massive. He had never expected the Mutated Dragon to be so terrifying after going Berserk. Ordinary Bosses generally gained around a 30% increase to their combat power after going Berserk. However, the Mutated Dragon''s overall combat power had increased by 50% at the very least. White Night even suspected that the Mutated Dragon had doubled its strength after going Berserk. Even after Shi Feng had joined, they had barely stood against the Dragon. Now that the Dragon''s strength had grown, they had no hope of victory. Hearing White Night''s orders, every player began to use their most powerful moves against the Mutated Dragon. Some even activated Berserk Skills. Although not every Owl member possessed a Berserk Skill, the remaining forty or so members were all experts with the highest strength among the team. Over a dozen had learned Berserk Skills. Immediately, these dozen or so players'' Attributes soared. White Night and Frozen Dream experienced the greatest improvements, their main Attributes increasing by 100%. "Buy me some time!" Frozen Dream shouted. Immediately, she began to chant an incantation, the surrounding Mana gathering rapidly around her. "Okay! Everyone, aim for the Dragon''s joints!" White Night shouted. Their survival now depended on this very moment. Either the Mutated Dragon would wipe them out while it was still Berserk, or they would finish off the Mutated Dragon''s 8,000,000 HP while they were Berserk. Spells and arrows flew at the Mutant. Seeing this, the Dragon swiped its claws. Peng Peng Peng The Dragon''s massive forefoot blocked over half of the attacks easily. Only extremely accurate attacks like those from White Night had struck the Dragon. -3,348. -1,448. -1,279. -1,354. Although numerous attacks had landed, only White Night''s attacks broke past the 3,000-threshold. Everyone else only dealt around -1,000 damage. Their overall damage barely made a dent in the Dragon''s remaining HP. Before White Night and the others could launch another volley of attacks, the Mutated Dragon rose its tail once more. "Watch out for its tail attacks! Fall back!" White Night instructed and began to retreat while attacking the Mutated Dragon''s massive tail. However, the tail''s Attack Speed and range were too much for them. Even Shi Feng had not been able to dodge the attack in time and had been forced to rely on a Lifesaving Skill. Although everyone had retreated quite a distance from the Mutated Dragon, they were still within range of the shockwave that would follow the tail swipe. The resulting shockwaves alone were enough to end White Night and his companions. Boom! A sonic boom ripped through the air as the Dragon''s tail swiped at Owl''s players, the tail''s attack range reaching over half of the team. Suddenly, however, a streak of blue light hacked at the swinging tail. Boom The Mutated Dragon''s attack halted abruptly. At the same time, a figure sank to the ground, a large crater forming around the player. "He blocked it?!" White Night''s jaw dropped as he stared at the figure in disbelief. Although he had not seen it clearly, he had caught a glimpse of Shi Feng swinging his sword at the Mutated Dragon''s tail. The instant his sword collided with the tail, however, Shi Feng vanished. The Mutant''s tail already contained far more power than its forefeet. The Dragon had also gone Berserk, yet Shi Feng had blocked the attack. Shortly after, Shi Feng climbed out of the pit. Although he appeared somewhat miserable, his HP bar revealed that he had only suffered negligible damage. The improved Heavenly Dragon''s Power really is amazing. With this, I can take the Mutated Dragon''s attacks without any problems. Shi Feng flexed his muscles a little. Due to the impact, he was sore everywhere. Overall, however, his combat power had not been affected overmuch. Not only had Heavenly Dragon''s Power increased his HP by 500%, but the Skill also increased his Strength by 150%, Agility by 50%, and Defense by 300%. Currently, he had over 260,000 HP. With his enhanced Defense, he had only received around -3,000 damage after receiving the direct hit. Even without the healers'' assistance, he could easily withstand several hundred such attacks. He didn''t need to fear the Berserk Mutated Dragon at all. Following which, Shi Feng activated Silent Steps and appeared behind the Mutated Dragon. He then used Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. Flame Burst! In the next moment, the twin swords Shi Feng wielded and those of his doppelganger transformed into dazzling, miniature suns. Scorching, white rays of light then slammed brutally into the back of the Mutated Dragon''s neck, one after another. -62,487. -43,718. -127,496. -43,587. Thirty consecutive scorching blades bit into the Mutated Dragon''s neck, all thirty strikes hitting the same location. In addition, a dozen Abyssal Blade phantoms continuously assaulted the Mutant, each dealing up to -6,000 damage. The Mutated Dragon released an agonized cry as it slammed into the ground. The Mutated Dragon''s HP had instantly fallen from 8,000,000 to 5,640,000. Immediately after, Shi Feng used Firestorm and Dragon Breath. The Mutated Dragon''s HP fell below the 5,000,000-threshold. "This is insane!" The witnessing players were nearly speechless as they stared at the fallen Dragon. White Night was just as shocked. He could not figure out how many cards Shi Feng had kept hidden. Shi Feng alone was savagely beating a Boss that his entire team had been helpless against At this time, Frozen Dream finally completed her chanting as she waved her staff. A deep-blue magic array suddenly appeared above the Mutated Dragon. A gigantic ice spear then emerged from the array and descended on the Mutant. Tier 1 Curse, Frozen Earth. When the ice spear struck, not only did it inflict over -7,000 damage, but it also encased the Dragon''s four limbs in a layer of frost, restricting it. Despite the Mutated Dragon breaking free from the layer of ice, the ice reformed instantly. Moreover, each time the Dragon struggled free, it wasted a lot of time to do so. As a result, the Mutated Dragon''s reactions were somewhat delayed. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Feng launched one attack after another. With an absolute MT like Shi Feng pinning down the Mutated Dragon, the other team members began to launch a fierce assault. As a result, the Mutated Dragon''s HP fell rapidly. 4,500,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 1,000,000 When the Mutated Dragon had less than 500,000 HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and used the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the Mutated Dragon. Over a dozen consecutive slashes bloomed over the Mutated Dragon''s heart. The Mutated Dragon''s HP hit rock bottom instantly, falling to the ground with a loud boom. Over a dozen shining items dropped around its humongous body. Suddenly, a golden glow surrounded Shi Feng''s body as he reached Level 42. 881 3-star Promotion Order Chapter 881 - 3-star Promotion Order As the golden glow engulfed Shi Feng''s body, the rest of the team experienced the glow as well. Some even experienced the phenomenon twice, their Levels launching from 40 to 42. The bountiful EXP that the Mutated Dragon had provided stunned them all. Even at their Level, the Mutated Dragon had awarded them enough EXP to level up at least once. They had just saved several days of effort. "Success!" "We won!" Everyone cheered as they looked at the motionless Mutated Dragon. The Mutant had been far stronger than any monster they had faced before. They shouldn''t have survived it at their level, yet they had defeated it. Although they had relied on Shi Feng''s strength, they were excited. Some of their excitement was also due to the system notification they received after the Dragon had died. System: Congratulations! You have received the "Dragon Slayer" title. Wielder of this title will gain a 10% increase to their Humanity Reputation. Although this title did not affect their combat power, many players dreamed of the buff it provided. In God''s Domain, Humanity Reputation was crucial. Aside from the fact that one needed a certain amount of Reputation to purchase Land and housing, higher Reputation allowed players to enjoy discounts when repairing or purchasing items in NPC cities. After reaching the highest achievable Reputation, one could even enjoy a 40% discount. Although players were discovering more methods of earning Coins, players still needed more. Aside from purchasing Consumables and some luxury items, such as delicious food, most of a player''s money went to repair fees. Moreover, as players equipped higher quality and leveled equipment, the repair fees increased. With a 40% discount in cities, a player could save a large sum of money. Moreover, as players gained more Levels, raising one''s Reputation in a single city would not be enough. Many high-resource leveling spots were quite far from starting cities; traveling back and forth was inconvenient. If a player wanted to level up quickly, they needed to have high Reputation in multiple cities. However, Reputation was not easy to obtain. Even until now, players still had headaches over gaining Reputation in their respective cities. Now that these players had the Dragon Slayer title, they wouldn''t have to put in as much effort. It was especially true for independent players. However, the team was more interested in the Mutated Dragon''s loot. The Mutated Dragon had dropped over ten items! Needless to say, such a powerful monster''s loot would be astounding. It would not surprise any of them if it even dropped an Epic item. Watching Shi Feng collect the items, one after another, they nearly drooled. However, White Night had promised Shi Feng that he could claim all of the drops. Hence, they could only watch enviously. "Look; is that an Epic Weapon?" "Crap! Look at that Magic Scroll! It can concentrate Mana naturally. It should be a Tier 3 scroll at the very least, right?" "That design is huge!" Although these players realized that the items belonged to Shi Feng, they still wanted to know what they were. As Shi Feng picked up the scattered Coins and items, he noticed a purple-gold, diamond-shaped token. A single word had been engraved on this token. Promotion! As expected of a Dragon, its loot is awesome. Shi Feng tried to calm his excited heart as he looked at the token. If not for White Night and the others'' presence, he would have laughed like a maniac. This Promotion Order was no ordinary Promotion Order; it was a Shop Promotion Order. Moreover, it wasn''t a 2-star Shop Promotion Order, but a 3-star Shop Promotion Order. In God''s Domain, even 2-star Shop Promotion Orders were extremely difficult to obtain. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and its neighboring kingdoms, no other trading firm, aside from the Candlelight Trading Firm, possessed a 2-star Shop. Only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the Black Dragon Empire had a 2-star Shop. Moreover, the super-first-rate Guild had only obtained it a few days ago. Current players had no hopes of getting their hands on a 3-star Shop. To obtain one, players would need to kill a relatively high-leveled, high-tiered Field Boss, open a high-rank Treasure Chest, or complete the Challenge Quest. Obtaining a 3-star Shop Promotion Order from a Field Boss was unrealistic, as only Level 50 or higher Tier 4 Field Bosses had a chance of dropping them. As for Treasure Chests, the Promotion Order would only appear in Dark-Gold Treasure Chests found in Level 50 or above maps. As for the Challenge Quest, its difficulty approached that of a Legendary Quest. The money required just to accept the quest would send cold shivers down the spine of any large Guild in God''s Domain. Take the 2-star Shop in the Black Dragon Empire for example. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had accepted the Challenge Quest to promote that Shop. However, the super-first-rate Guild had challenged the quest three times before it succeeded, and each challenge had cost 6,000 Gold. Ordinary Guilds could not afford that right now. Only super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds might have enough to take on the Challenge Quest. Although promoting a shop to 3-star status was exceedingly difficult, any Guild that could afford the fee would make an attempt. After all, there was a qualitative difference between a 3-star Shop and a 2-star Shop. The greatest difference was that, when a Shop reached 3-star status, its 1-star Shops could be promoted to 2-star status. This one aspect was more than enough to throw the various large Guilds into a frenzy. Aside from this, a 3-star Shop offered far more functions than a 2-star Shop. After reaching 2-star status, a Shop would gain access to the Special Workshops. At 3-star status, a Shop would gain access to the Basic Meditation Room. As the name suggested, the Meditation Room was a space that allowed players to process their thoughts. Moreover, due to the dense Mana inside the Meditation Room, players could maintain a clear state of mind, allowing them to better-exert their abilities. The Special Workshop, on the other hand, only altered the environment to adjust one''s mood. Of course, the Meditation Room also offered every function a Special Workshop possessed, allowing a player to alter the room''s environment. This was the main reason why the various Lifestyle Masters in the past had surged towards high star-ranking Shops. A positive work environment was crucial to Lifestyle players. However, there were two downsides to the Basic Meditation Room in 3-star Shops. The first was the cost. To maintain the Mana density inside the room, one needed to spend a lot of Magic Crystals. Maintaining the Mana density for a day cost a total of 300 Magic Crystals. The price of a single Magic Crystal had already reached 25 Silver. A total of three hundred crystals was the equivalent of 75 Gold Coins. Hence, Meditation Rooms were only used to produce high-valued items. The second drawback was its scarcity. At 3-star status, a Shop could only offer three Basic Meditation Rooms. For an establishment like the Candlelight Trading Firm, that was far from enough to satisfy its Advanced Lifestyle players. Forget it. It''s better to not have one at all. Melancholic can worry about it later. Shi Feng chuckled. He then stored the Promotion Order. Currently, he was eager to return to White River City and promote the Candlelight Trading Firm there to 3-star status. Among the many items that had dropped, there were also two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, four bottles of Exotic Potions, and three Forging Designs. The rest were weapons and equipment. Among these items, the most valuable, outside of the Promotion Order, were the two Epic items. One was a scale-covered shield, engraved with divine runes, while the other was an aqua robe. 882 Uncrowned Sword King Chapter 882 - Uncrowned Sword King The Guild''s MTs are quite lucky this time. Shi Feng smiled at the scaled shield covered in divine runes. A shield was an integral part of an MT''s equipment. A good shield could elevate an MT''s strength significantly. On the market, MTs'' shields were always the most expensive equipment. They were worth at least double that of a weapon of the same rank and Level. [Dragonscale Shield] (Shield, Epic Rank) Level 40 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 600 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Defense +4,020 (Level 40) Block Rate: 39% Strength +84, Endurance +107 Magic Resistance +20 Defend Skill +2 Levels When equipped: Strength and Endurance increased by 10%. All Skills +1 Level Ignore Levels +10 Additional Skill- Dragonscale Body: Forms an energy shield around the user''s body, increasing Defense by 200%, HP by 300%, and recovery ability by 500% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Passive Skill 1- Sturdy: Halves received impact and reduced damage received from the front by 15%. Additional Passive Skill 2- Light Weight: Increases shield movement by 20%. The Epic ranked Purification Robes also had high Attributes. However, it was far less valuable than the Dragonscale Shield. As for the other pieces of equipment he had obtained, they were either Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment or Fine-Gold Equipment. It was still too soon for current players to equip them. This should be White Night''s quest item. After Shi Feng tidied up the dropped equipment, he discovered a glass bottle. The bottle contained a black liquid; it was none other than the Mutated Dragon''s original form. Although the bottle did not have a label, its introduction stated that it was a "Specimen of a Mutated Life." Other than that, there was no information. After considering the matter, Shi Feng handed the bottle to White Night. "This is" After White Night saw the glass bottle, surprise colored his expression. "Take it. Even if I keep it, I can''t use it." Shi Feng laughed. The Mutant Specimen was useless to him. On the contrary, if he gave it to White Night, he could earn a favor from the Ranger. If he came across any trouble in the future, he could even ask for White Night''s help. "Thank you. If you encounter any issues in the future, just say the word. I''ll help out to the best of my abilities." White Night accepted the glass bottle without hesitation. The item was simply too important. Without it, he would fail his quest. If that happened, his account would be crippled. He would have to spend a long time to regain his strength. "Would it be convenient for you to reveal your name, sir? We can add each other as friends so that we can contact each other easily in the future." Hearing White Night''s logic, the other Owl members'' jaws dropped. ince he had joined God''s Domain, White Night had never added anyone as a friend. Various bigshots from Super Guilds were no exception. "Ah, right. I haven''t introduced myself." Shi Feng took off his Black Cloak and revealed his Black Flame appearance. "My name is Black Flame." After Shi Feng revealed himself, every witness fell silent. They stared at Shi Feng''s face. Shi Feng looked to be in his thirties. He had a firm face with faint stars flashing in his eyes. His aura felt so profound that those around him felt oddly drawn to him. "You are Zero Wing''s Sword King, Black Flame?" Frozen Dream''s delicate face revealed her disbelief. God''s Domain''s players often discussed the God''s Domain Experts List. Practically everyone was familiar with the great deeds of the list''s various experts. The name "Black Flame" was a particularly hot topic. Black Flame''s rise had been intensely fast. The Secret Pavilion had even given him the title "Sword King." How high had his evaluation been to become the king among Swordsmen? When the Secret Pavilion had updated their Experts List, many Swordsmen experts had complained about the Pavilion''s decision. Even Owl''s many Swordsmen had been dissatisfied, declaring that they would challenge Black Flame to teach him a lesson. Now, however, it would seem that the title of "Sword King" had not been an exaggeration. They even wondered if Black Flame''s rank on the God''s Domain Experts List was a little too low The strength Black Flame had just displayed had far surpassed the Secret Pavilion''s evaluation. Even some of the Swordsmen, who had previously intended to challenge Black Flame, were dumbfounded. "Strong Slash, didn''t you say that you wanted to challenge Black Flame? This is your chance!" A few of the Owl members teased their companion, grinning at a youth in silver light armor. In terms of strength, Strong Slash ranked 15th among their adventurer team. Although his battle records weren''t necessarily stunning, he was undefeated in their home city''s Underground Arena. He had already won 99 battles with a perfect winning streak. His defeated opponents even included large Guilds'' well-known experts. Back when Strong Slash had declared that he would challenge Black Flame and defeat him, nobody had doubted the youth''s words. After all, Strong Slash''s combat standards had reached the second stage of the Realms of Refinement, the Flowing Water Realm. With his Skills and equipment, it was not impossible to contend with a Void Realm expert. "I said ''in the future,'' not now!" Strong Slash rolled his eyes at his laughing companions. If he challenged Black Flame, someone who had just stood against the Mutated Dragon and won, it would not even be a fight. It would be a miracle if he survived even one of the Sword King''s attacks. The players laughed when they heard Strong Slash''s response. "My name is White Night, the leader of an adventurer team. Guild Leader Black Flame, if you need help with anything in the future, just call me." White Night had also begun to size up Shi Feng, shock filling his heart. Only now did he understand why Zero Wing had risen to power so quickly and had grown strong enough to challenge God''s Domain''s major powers. With such a powerful leader, what did Zero Wing need to fear? Following which, White Night and Shi Feng added each other as friends. "Since Team Leader White has said as much, I happen to have something that I need your help with in one or two days." After giving it some thought, Shi Feng continued, "Recently, our Guild has tried to raid a certain area, and we urgently need experts. We need roughly 30 players." Favors should not go to waste. It was wise to use them frequently to increase a bond between two parties. Moreover, he required the help of a group of experts to raid the Holy City of Titan''s entrance trial. His strength alone was not enough to pass the trial. "Alright. When the time comes, just say the word. I''ll lead a team over." White Night did not hesitate to agree. On the contrary, Shi Feng could see anticipation in his eyes. A place that even Black Flame had trouble raiding It must be immensely difficult. Moreover, he really wished to experience Black Flame''s world. After both sides agreed, White Night led his team, departing from the valley. Shi Feng, on the other hand, approached the Silver Dragon that had stood by the side all this time. "Young hero, thank you for accomplishing my long-cherished dream." At this moment, the Silver Dragon appeared extremely weak. Even speaking seemed laborious. "I only did what needed to be done," Shi Feng politely replied. The Silver Dragon then took out a flashing, golden Magic Scroll and said to Shi Feng, "This Magic Scroll will take you to the shrine where the stone tablet sleeps. However, the shrine is very dangerous. With just your current strength, you will not survive. It is best if you go there only after you have achieved your Tier 2 class. At that time, you will have somewhat higher chances of obtaining the stone tablet." Saying so, the Silver Dragon handed Shi Feng the Magic Scroll. It then flapped its wings and left the valley. Before Shi Feng could examine the golden Magic Scroll, a system announcement reached his ears. System Announcement: System upgrading. Please prepare to log out. The estimated duration is 40 hours. System: You have ten minutes remaining to log out. Please prepare to log out. 883 New System Chapter 883 - New System Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he heard the system announcement. Isn''t the fourth evolution happening a little too soon?! Shi Feng frowned deeply. This was not good news for God''s Domain''s players. Every evolution the Main God System underwent increased the realism and difficulty of the fights against monsters. Moreover, this was the first time Shi Feng had seen a system upgrade require 40 hours. Generally, system upgrades only lasted from 12 to 24 hours. Even in the past, none of the upgrades had needed more than 24 hours to complete. However, Shi Feng did not have time to consider the situation. He only had ten minutes left to log out of the game. He needed to find a safe location quickly. After the Mutated Dragon''s death, the Dark Sanctuary over the valley had begun to dissipate. Either due to the Silver Dragon''s absence or some other reason, many monsters began to appear in the previously scarcely populated valley. Moreover, these were not low-leveled monsters. The lowest among them was Level 30, while some were even Level 45. Among them, there was no lack of Elite monsters. To current players, monsters of this Level were still dangerous opponents. Finally, after finding a stream without nearby monsters, Shi Feng logged off. The morning sun shone brightly. Suddenly, the virtual gaming cabin in the room opened, and Shi Feng climbed out. Compared to when Shi Feng had first entered God''s Domain in this life, he was much stronger and more muscular. He had also grown slightly taller. In addition, his aura had changed tremendously. He gave off a calm and comfortable aura, which attracted others. "Since this system upgrade will be so long, God''s Domain must be chaotic right now." Shi Feng smiled. He then instructed the AI housekeeper turn on the television. Just as Shi Feng had predicted Many television programs were already covering God''s Domain''s system upgrade. After a period of development, God''s Domain''s influence on the real world had gradually expanded. In addition, the mass-production of God''s Domain''s virtual reality helmets had begun, which resulted in the helmet''s continuous price drop. Now, more and more people could enjoy God''s Domain. Gradually, God''s Domain had become a big part of most people''s lives. Moreover, the game''s advertising had grown, with the game''s biggest selling point being the various lifestyles and entertainment it offered, in addition to its ability to extend one''s lifespan. Although technology constantly improved, there was still a limit to how much it could extend a human life. Meanwhile, God''s Domain could indirectly extend the human lifespan, allowing everyone to enjoy nearly double their natural life expectancy. This alone attracted many people. Furthermore, the game played a medicinal role. The current technology in the field of medicine had reached a very high level, and most diseases could be cured. Unfortunately, even now, disabilities remained unconquered. However, upon entering God''s Domain, blindness, deafness, or amputation did not matter; these people could live an ordinary life. As Shi Feng understood it, after widespread promotion, many ill people had joined God''s Domain. Many of them even refused to leave the game world. "The following report regards God''s Domain''s latest change. The game''s official developers have expressed their sincerest apologies regarding players'' dissatisfaction with the latest system upgrade. They have also explained why this upgrade requires so much time. There are two main reasons for this. "The first reason is that the Main God System has collected sufficient data and can undergo another system upgrade. "The inclusion of the Mind Space system is the second reason. This system will attract even more people to this virtual reality game in the future, turning it into a true second world!" When the reporter mentioned this, Shi Feng was taken aback. He couldn''t believe what he had just heard. Didn''t this new system only launch two years after God''s Domain''s release? Shi Feng glared at the holographic screen''s message. The Mind Space System was also known as the Realm of God. In the past, during God''s Domain''s first year, the game had been very popular. However, its influence on the real world had been limited. The most the game had achieved was the expansion of the virtual gaming industry''s influence on the real world, growing from a niche industry to a household concept. However, the Realm of God''s appearance had pushed God''s Domain to its peak as an industry. Due to the Realm of God, any God''s Domain player could create their own virtual space. If players did not want to play the game, they could enter their virtual spaces for some rest and entertainment. While in a private space, they could adjust the environment to their liking. However, the more realistic the environment and the larger the space was, the more resources one needed to pay. One could even go as far as adjusting the flow of time inside their personal space. As far as Shi Feng knew, one could adjust the flow up to ten times that of natural time. In other words, ten days in one''s personal space was the equivalent of a single day in the real world. Hence, theoretically, it was possible to extend one''s lifespan by up to ten times. Meanwhile, while in one''s personal space, a player''s body would remain at its peak health. Age would not limit their enjoyment. Due to this reason, God''s Domain had become irreplaceable in the real world. Countless people had gone crazy over this new system. To enjoy longer lifespans, some wealthy tycoons had even paid an exorbitant price to construct their own space. God''s Domain had truly raked in the money once it released the Realm of God. In Shi Feng''s previous life, he, too, had set up his own space and often invited his friends for get-togethers. However, Shi Feng''s space had been quite average. He had only increased the time flow by four, and the space had only been roughly as large as a football field. Even so, he had earned the envy of many ordinary experts. Constructing a personal space was not as simple as establishing a Guild Residence, where one only needed to purchase a plot of Land and invest some Coins. To construct a personal virtual space, one needed memory! Players could not simply construct a personal space because they desired it. Sustaining a personal space placed a heavy burden on the system. The more luxurious and spacious the space was, the more memory its support required. In God''s Domain, memory had a different, well-known name. Mana! Constructing a personal space required Mana. However, it required more than just a little. Players could not use the low-quality Mana from Magic Crystals. Rather, one needed Seven Luminaries Crystals! However, Seven Luminaries Crystals were insanely rare in God''s Domain. This was clear just by looking at Star-Moon Kingdom. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, one could only find Seven Luminaries Crystal in the capital. Furthermore, Seven Luminaries Crystals were astonishingly expensive. An ordinary expert could only look on, powerless, with their measly finances. If an ordinary player got their hands on a few, selling them, they could live the rest of their lives without any concern for money. This was why Shi Feng had been so excited when he had reached the Forgotten Lands and encountered the Seven Luminaries Mountain in the God''s Grave. Unfortunately, his strength had been limited. He hadn''t been able to leave that area with a single, small chunk. After the news report regarding God''s Domain ended, Shi Feng ate a casual meal. He intended to check on the newcomers Lei Bao had been training during this time. Zero Wing could not compare to Super Guilds, where the latter had a perfect expert nurturing system and no shortage of talents. Fortunately, Zero Wing now had the Big Dipper Training Center to support it, providing an excellent training environment. Shi Feng had a few of Zero Wing''s newcomers sign a series of agreements and directed them here to undergo special training. They were the experts that Zero Wing nurtured internally. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s funds were limited. It could not afford to train enough newcomers. To a large Guild like Zero Wing, these few were like a drop in the bucket. Shi Feng''s female assistant, Liang Jing, suddenly called him and reported, "Master Shi Feng, a gentleman named Yuan Tiexin has arrived, looking for you. He claims to be an acquaintance of yours. Do you wish to meet him?" He sure moves quickly. Shi Feng smiled faintly. "Have him wait for me in the main hall''s reception room. I''ll head over right away." 884 Empress Purple Jade Chapter 884 - Empress Purple Jade The Mind Space System''s sudden launch in God''s Domain had massively impacted the real world. Shi Feng could clearly remember that, when this system had launched in his previous life, the world had gone crazy over it. Before the new system had been revealed, very few major corporations and financial groups had been willing to invest into God''s Domain. Most only wanted to observe. Take the Big Dipper Training Center for example. Although the corporation''s higher-ups had known about God''s Domain, none of them had paid particular attention to the game. Instead, they had focused on developing the training center itself. The other corporations within the city shared similar thoughts. After all, without any clear signs of profit, who would recklessly invest in the game? However, when the new system had been implemented, these individuals could no longer resist. Every one of these corporations had invested into God''s Domain, hoping to get a share of the pie. Due to these people, the cost of Coins had undergone massive inflation. Shi Feng had even earned a small fortune by taking advantage of the price increases. Considering the situation, Shi Feng immediately called Melancholic Smile and Aqua Rose, instructing them to start purchasing large sums of Coins as soon as they could log back into God''s Domain. The more Coins they amassed now, the more profit they could earn in the future. --- Inside Big Dipper Training Center''s reception room, a middle-aged man lounged on a sofa made of soft, white tiger leather. On either side of him stood a man and a woman. Both this man and woman only looked to be around 18 or 19 years old. However, they both carried a martial artist''s aura. "Uncle Yuan, this Shi Feng fellow is too arrogant. He has made us wait for so long. Even Big Dipper''s Director wouldn''t dare to neglect us like this," the young man wearing blue, martial arts robes said impatiently, frowning deeply. Although the Secret Pavilion was different from Super Guilds, it still had significant influence in the real world. Moreover, the Pavilion had recently agreed to collaborate with a few international corporations, elevating its status. Every single corporation within this city would be more than eager to gain the Pavilion''s favor. Yet, even after venturing this far for a personal visit, not only had Shi Feng not welcomed them himself, but even after over ten minutes, Shi Feng was nowhere to be seen. He wasn''t taking them seriously. "We''re not in a rush. In any case, he hasn''t refused to meet us," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. "Moreover, we are the ones who want to collaborate with Zero Wing. A small wait doesn''t matter. You are still too brash. This is why the Guild Leader told you to temper yourself. You should learn from Wen Hua." At Yuan Tiexin''s words, the male youth turned to the beautiful woman standing on the other side of Yuan Tiexin, falling silent. He wasn''t qualified to respond. There were three great geniuses among the experts the Secret Pavilion nurtured internally. The most popular among the three was Cold Autumn as he had broken through the Half-step Refinement Realm at such a young age and had officially entered the Refinement Realm. Wen Hua, who had joined a little before Cold Autumn, followed closely behind. Even the Secret Pavilion''s old monsters repeated praised Wen Hua''s combat talents. They all concluded that her chances of reaching the Domain Realm were quite high. People like them constantly pursued the Domain Realm. However, entering the Refinement Realm was already extremely difficult, not to mention reaching the Domain Realm. Those who did so were incredibly rare, even in Super Guilds. The fact that these old monsters'' evaluation had been so high spoke volumes about their high opinions of Wen Hua. If the young man attempted to compare himself to Wen Hua, the difference between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. He simply could not hold a candle to her. As Yuan Tiexin finished speaking, Shi Feng walked into the reception room with Liang Jing. "I apologize that I''ve made you wait," Shi Feng said as he sat across from Yuan Tiexin. When he glanced at the man and woman beside Yuan Tiexin, he was momentarily surprised, though he did not reveal it. Shi Feng recognized the great beauty beside Yuan Tiexin. Empress Purple Jade! Although her appearance was slightly different from her game avatar, the difference was minor. However, she still looked very young and immature. The arrogant aura that she had possessed in the past was also absent. Shi Feng was familiar with Purple Jade because he had learned Void Steps from her. He had lost count just how many times he had watched her battle videos. Even if her physical appearance was slightly different, he still recognized her with a glance. Why is she here? Shi Feng wondered. As Shi Feng understood it, Purple Jade was one of the Secret Pavilion''s Three Great Geniuses. The Pavilion''s upper echelons had favored her, and her status within the Pavilion had been on par with the Guild Elders. To put it bluntly, her position was not any lower than Yuan Tiexin''s. Why did the Secret Pavilion allow such a gem to come here? Moreover, she stood by the side as if she were a bodyguard. Although Shi Feng had hidden his observation, it had not escaped the notice of an old fox like Yuan Tiexin. Noticing Shi Feng''s reaction to Wen Hua, Yuan Tiexin''s mouth hooked up into a smile. Their Guild Leader had sent Wen Hua for the sole purpose of shocking Zero Wing. Recently, Zero Wing had gained too much momentum. Not only was the Guild rapidly developing, but the Guild''s performance in the Dark Arena had also been stunning. Zero Wing did not appear to fear any Guild. If the Secret Pavilion wished to collaborate with Zero Wing, they had to slow Zero Wing''s progress, teaching the upstart Guild that entities such as themselves were not as simple as they appeared. By doing so, they would have an easier time negotiating. However, Shi Feng''s perception had surprised Yuan Tiexin somewhat. He had not expected the youth to notice Wen Hua''s strength so quickly. "May I know what business you wish to discuss with me?" Shi Feng asked after recovering from his surprise. "Didn''t I tell you that the Secret Pavilion views Zero Wing favorably? To put it simply, I''ve come here seeking cooperation. Hence, I''d like to ask you to introduce us to Guild Leader Black Flame, or one of the Guild''s upper echelons who has the authority to approve such decisions," Yuan Tiexin slowly explained. "Seeking cooperation?" Shi Feng continued, asking, "Excellent. What kind of cooperation does the Secret Pavilion have in mind?" "We are interested in cooperating with Zero Wing in secret. Can you make a decision like this? If not, don''t stick your nose where it doesn''t belong," the male youth snapped. Yuan Tiexin made no attempt to rebuke the youth''s words, only watching the situation play out. It was no doubt that he, agreed with the youth''s words, thinking that Shi Feng was just a busybody. Although Yuan Tiexin felt that Shi Feng had great potential, qualifying to preside over the affairs of Zero Wing''s Workshop at such a young age, in the end, he was only a part of Zero Wing''s middle management. He did not qualify to join discussions of cooperation between Guilds. Fortunately, Shi Feng did not allow the young man''s tone to rile him. After all, to outsiders, he only appeared to be a member of the Guild''s management team. "I understand your concerns. However, I do possess the authority to make a decision on any matter of cooperation you wish to discuss. If you don''t believe me, you can contact our Guild Leader in God''s Domain." Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. Yuan Tiexin was slightly stunned by Shi Feng''s response. For a time, he was at a loss for words. Either Zero Wing was daring enough to use a new talent, or the Guild had no one else for the job Just how much faith must one possess to allow someone so new to God''s Domain to make such important Guild decisions? The fact that Zero Wing had developed into its current state showed that the Guild possessed a powerful background. Anyone that claimed otherwise was either lying or a blind fool. Generally, the various upper echelons of such a powerful organization would be, at least, in their thirties. Any exception was either a frightening talent or someone with a very powerful background. However, Yuan Tiexin had investigated Shi Feng thoroughly, and no matter how he looked at the results, Shi Feng was neither. "May I know your game ID?" Yuan Tiexin asked softly. 885 Guild Secre Chapter 885 - Guild Secret When Yuan Tiexin had met Shi Feng for the first time, he had investigated the youth thoroughly. The results had surprised the old man. Shi Feng was just an ordinary person. Even when he joined God''s Domain, he had used a trial helmet. Yet, somehow, after entering God''s Domain, Shi Feng had risen to become one of Zero Wing Workshop''s managers. Although Yuan Tiexin admitted that Shi Feng possessed some skill and fighting strength, he was too young. Hence, Shi Feng''s claim had surprised him. He is a core member of Zero Wing, huh? Wen Hua, who had remained cold and indifferent, shifted her gaze towards Shi Feng. She had never imagined that the currently flourishing Zero Wing would allow someone who was only a few years older than her to join the Guild''s top management. Initially, she had not wanted to take part in the negotiations. However, upon hearing that she might meet Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, she had agreed. She wanted to see just what the legendary Sword King Black Flame looked like. If possible, she might even find an opportunity to spar with the man. Now, however, she was disappointed. "My game ID?" Shi Feng laughed. He then said, "I am Ye Feng in God''s Domain." "You''re Ye Feng?" Yuan Tiexin''s expression immediately grew hard. He simply could not believe this. Hurriedly, he asked, "Are you really Zero Wing''s Ye Feng? The Ye Feng that led the Asura Battle Team?" "Impossible! You''re so young! How could you possibly be Ye Feng?!" Yuan Tiexin wasn''t the only one surprised. The male youth and Wen Hua''s eyes both went wide with shock as they stared at the ordinary-looking man before them. The name "Ye Feng" might not mean much to ordinary experts. They might not even know this name at all. However, among God''s Domain''s major powers, almost everyone knew the name. This was particularly true for the Secret Pavilion, which was known for its information network. The Secret Pavilion had even created an exclusive database that collected information on Ye Feng. Based on what they knew so far, although Ye Feng looked young, no one believed it. No youth in his early twenties could reach the Void Realm. He should be at least 24 or 25. Even so, he was considered an extremely talented individual. God''s Domain''s various major powers also suspected that Ye Feng had been secretly nurtured by whatever major power stood behind Zero Wing. Otherwise, he never would have defeated the Battle Wolves'' Wolf King Sirius. Meanwhile, even now, Ye Feng''s identity was shrouded in mystery. They would never have dreamed that The Shi Feng before them was actually the Ye Feng who had caused such a commotion among God''s Domain''s major powers. "I''m young?" Shi Feng scratched his head awkwardly as he glanced towards Wen Hua. Wen Hua was only 19 years old, while he approached 22 years old. Yet, she had called him "young." "I didn''t mean it that way. I just don''t believe that you are Ye Feng," Wen Hua replied seriously, shaking her head. She was most proud of her age and strength. Within her age group, no one could stand, shoulder-to-shoulder, with her. She did not even take the Pavilion''s number one genius seriously. However, if Shi Feng had truly defeated Sirius at such a young age, his talent was truly terrifying. Even she could not afford to take him lightly. Hearing Wen Hua''s honesty, Shi Feng was momentarily at a loss for words. It had never crossed his mind that they would refuse to believe him even when he revealed the truth. If he told them that he was also Black Flame, they would, most likely, deem him a con artist "I''m truly sorry for Wen Hua''s rude behavior," Yuan Tiexin apologized as he tugged Wen Hua''s sleeve and sent the girl a glance. He then returned his gaze to Shi Feng, smiling as he said, "I have come here representing our Guild Leader, and we would like to keep the subjects of our talks absolutely secret; hence, Wen Hua has spoken out of hand. Since we''ve confirmed that there are no issues, let''s discuss business." Although Wen Hua had fallen quiet, her interest in Shi Feng grew. A passion fighting spirit filled her eyes when they landed on Shi Feng. He felt as if she would challenge him to a duel at any moment. If Wen Hua''s past admirers could see this, they''d probably tear Shi Feng apart. Understanding Yuan Tiexin''s intentions, Shi Feng looked towards Liang Jing and said, "Liang Jing, head down for now." Liang Jing sighed helplessly as she left the room. Truth be told, she was very curious about who Yuan Tiexin and his companions were. Rather than fear or awe over Shi Feng''s identity as a martial arts master, the two youths had been shocked by his game ID. After watching Liang Jing leave the room, Yuan Tiexin adopted a serious tone as he said, "You are aware that the various Super Guilds and super-first rate Guilds in God''s Domain have their own expert training programs, correct?" "Mhm, I know a little about it. After selecting a few talented youths, these Guilds have them sign an agreement and put them through a training regimen, helping them become peerless experts." Shi Feng nodded. These powerful Guilds'' internal nurturing programs were no secret. However, the majority of virtual gaming Guilds could not establish their own programs. "You are correct. But, that is only on the surface. Regarding cost, many first-rate Guilds could easily do the same," Yuan Tiexin said, smiling. "You''re saying that it is not a matter of funding?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. As he understood it, one needed a specialized training venue and expert instructors to nurture expert players. In addition, one needed a large supply of advanced Nutrient Fluids. All of these aspects required money. Without sufficient capital, it was simply impossible to nurture a large number of experts. "That''s right; it''s not an issue of capital. A simulated training system is far more important. This is a system that the various Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds have developed on their own. They have collected information on countless experts with this system, and with it, can allow their newcomers to spar with the simulations at any time. "Think about it. Which has not had to experience countless life-threatening battles to reach their current status: a real martial artist or a virtual gaming expert? "The main reason behind the Secret Pavilion''s transcendental status in the virtual gaming world is our dabbling in the sales of information on various gaming experts, a practice that other Guilds rarely implement. With this information, one can realistically reproduce these experts in their simulation training system. "You understand now, right? "No matter how much capital those first-rate Guilds manage to obtain, as long as they do not possess the simulation training system, they can''t progress, and they will never become true powerhouses in the virtual gaming world. "I believe that you are aware that there are multiple first-rate Guilds in the virtual gaming world that are even stronger than a few super-first-rate Guilds, yet they have failed to be recognized as super-first-rate Guilds themselves. The reason for this is their lack of a simulation training system." Yuan Tiexin''s explanation had shocked Shi Feng once more. At the same time, Shi Feng now had answers to many of the issues he had faced before. "Meanwhile, there is a defining difference between a Super Guild and a super-first-rate Guild." 886 Guild Legacy Chapter 886 - Guild Legacy "Uncle Yuan, this is our Guild''s biggest secret. If you just reveal it there will be consequences, right?" Wen Hua warned, shocked by Yuan Tiexin''s decision. To ordinary Guilds and independent players, the simulation training system was a major secret. However, first-rate Guilds who wished to further themselves already knew this. As for the difference between super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds, only Super Guilds and several transcendental powers knew the truth. Even super-first-rate Guilds had no clue as these Guilds assumed that the difference lay in overall strength accumulated over the years. "Don''t worry about it. In any case, it impacts our cooperation." Yuan Tiexin waved his hand, signaling that there was nothing wrong with revealing the truth. Shi Feng was at a loss for words. This was the first he had ever heard of such things. He had never thought that there was actually such a defining difference between first-rate Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. Moreover, there was an unknown difference between super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. It would seem that these colossal organizations had not remained standing over so many years for no reason. All this time, Shi Feng had assumed that the difference between Guilds only lie in their member and expert count. Now, however, it would seem that there was more to the story. "The main reason why super-first-rate Guilds fail to gain recognition as Super Guilds is insufficient Guild Legacy[1] completion rate," Yuan Tiexin said, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes as he mentioned "Guild Legacy completion rate." "Guild Legacy?" Shi Feng drew a blank. This was the first time he had heard this term. "It''s expected that you do not know of it." Yuan Tiexin then explained slowly, saying, "I previously mentioned the simulation training system. However, there are also differences between each Guilds'' simulation training system. Although the information super-first-rate Guilds'' training systems collect is nearly the same that Super Guilds collect, Super Guilds'' training systems possess complete legacies that can help players reach the Domain Realm. Super-first-rate Guilds'' legacies, on the other hand, are incomplete and can only help one reach the Void Realm. This makes it extremely difficult for the top-tier experts in super-first-rate Guilds to cross that final threshold." "That is why there are so few experts capable of reaching the Domain Realm in super-first-rate Guilds." Shi Feng suddenly came to a realization. The gap between a Void Realm expert and a Domain Realm expert was massive. Moreover, as players'' Levels increased, combat techniques became extremely important. It was especially true if one wanted to obtain top-tier equipment. The Main God System would provide all sorts of trials, and these trials tested a player''s strength. "That''s right. This is the biggest difference between super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds." Yuan Tiexin nodded. He then added softly, "After many years of gathering information and working to improve ourselves, the Secret Pavilion has finally completed our Guild Legacy. As an upstart Guild, Zero Wing''s background is too shallow. It lacks the resources to nurture experts efficiently. Zero Wing doesn''t have a chance of competing with super-first-rate Guilds, much less Super Guilds. "Moreover, even if Zero Wing successfully established its own simulation training system, its operation is very costly. It requires the latest High-level Energy. I believe that you understand just how difficult it is to collect High-level Energy. Like the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, one cannot purchase it with money alone. "The Secret Pavilion is trying to expand and requires a large number of talented players. We believe that Zero Wing has great potential, and we have decided to invest in Zero Wing. In exchange for 50% of Zero Wing''s shares, not only will we supply significant funding, but we will also offer various support using the Secret Pavilion''s connections. This will allow Zero Wing to rise instantly and significantly. Furthermore, we will provide twenty slots for our training system. Your Guild wouldn''t need to create its own system," Yuan Tiexin explained temptingly. "You might not think that twenty slots are a lot, but the Secret Pavilion has also invested in other large Guilds. Even for first-rate Guilds, we only provide ten." The male youth beside Yuan Tiexin was shocked when he heard the offer include twenty slots. His performance in the Secret Pavilion was already quite impressive. Even so, he had barely earned a slot for himself. Currently, the Secret Pavilion only had 300 or so slots for its simulation training system. It did not have enough resources to sustain any more than that, yet, they were actually offering 20 slots to Zero Wing. This proved that the Pavilion''s upper echelons were highly optimistic about Zero Wing''s potential. The Secret Pavilion is really going all-out. It''s actually willing to offer so many generous benefits. Although Shi Feng did not fully understand the significance of these twenty slots, seeing Wen Hua''s and the male youth''s reactions, it was obvious that these slots were extremely valuable. However, he had his own plans. "I apologize, but Zero Wing rejects your offer." "Rejects? Why?" Yuan Tiexin unconsciously rose from his seat. "Even first-rate Guilds hunger for an offer like this. Moreover, the Secret Pavilion is only asking for 50% of Zero Wing''s shares. We will not involve ourselves in Zero Wing''s management or development. As long as Zero Wing obtains these twenty slots, with the potential the experts in your Guild, it should not be long before they reach the Refinement Realm. At that time, you will have the foundation to expand to other countries. Zero Wing might even become a super-first-rate Guild in the future." "Fifty percent of Zero Wing''s shares is simply too high," Shi Feng responded as he shook his head. "However, I am very interested in your simulation training system. I would like to buy a few slots. Is that possible?" The Secret Pavilion''s price was indeed tempting. However, Shi Feng was very familiar with just how frightening major powers like the Secret Pavilion could be. With even 30%, the Secret Pavilion could take control of Zero Wing in the future. The only way Shi Feng could accept this offer was if the Secret Pavilion offered a portion of its own shares in exchange. However, this was clearly not possible. Hence, Shi Feng did not bother asking. "You want to buy a few slots?" Yuan Tiexin shook his head, laughing. "Kid, you''re taking the training slots too lightly. Do you know how intense the competition for the training slots is within the Secret Pavilion? We don''t even have enough slots to satiate our own members, much less sell them to other Guilds. How can we possibly sell any slots to Zero Wing?" "What if I offer a high price?" Shi Feng laughed. "A high price? Are you talking about Epic items?" Yuan Tiexin''s smile grew even brighter when he heard Shi Feng''s comment. "Shi Feng, you know that, at the end of the day, weapons and equipment are external components. Even if Epic items are quite rare, they are not nearly as important as training slots to the Secret Pavilion." "What if I offer a large stock of Strengthening Devices and Bronze Mounts?" Confidently, Shi Feng said, "I believe that you have already heard about the Mind Space System on the news. I suspect that you know the value of this system. This system is one of the driving forces behind major corporations investment into God''s Domain. "If the Secret Pavilion obtains a large stock of Strengthening Devices and Bronze Mounts, it will surely gain an advantage over the various Super Guilds." 887 Black Card Chapter 887 - Black Card "Are you serious?" Yuan Tiexin was visibly moved. The Strengthening Device had only appeared on the market recently, and there were still very few available. Not only could it extend a player''s time in combat, but it could also help players save meaningless travel time and some repair fees. Various large Guilds were also hungering after Bronze Mounts. Unfortunately, obtaining a Bronze Mount was immensely difficult; even the Secret Pavilion only had a few thus far. By the time the Guild members reached Level 40, most of the Guild''s experts would only have Common Mounts. One should not underestimate the difference between a Bronze and a Common Mount. Although a Bronze Mount was only slightly faster than a Common Mount, the former could assist players in battle. It could significantly impact a player''s combat capabilities in the field. As for Guild Mounts Various Super Guilds already had a massive headache over obtaining the Stable Design, much less taming a Mount. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s Guild Mount was one of the major reasons for the Secret Pavilion''s optimistic view of the Guild. Zero Wing''s advantage would surface as God''s Domain''s players reached Level 40. With the Secret Pavilion''s resources, Zero Wing could quickly expand into the several surrounding countries and stand to rival super-first-rate Guilds. Without its potential, the Secret Pavilion would not have approached an upstart Guild with no background with such a generous offer. "Of course. I''m just not sure if the Secret Pavilion is interested," Shi Feng said, laughing. "It seems I have underestimated Zero Wing once again. I had not imagined you had such a card." Yuan Tiexin scratched his head awkwardly. If Shi Feng had offered anything else, the Secret Pavilion would''ve undoubtedly rejected the offer. There would be no rooms for negotiation whatsoever. However, the Pavilion was interested in the Strengthening Devices and Bronze Mounts. "I''ll need to consult with our Guild Leader." "Sure." Shi Feng understood that Yuan Tiexin did not yet qualify to make such important decisions. Yuan Tiexin the left the reception room alone, returning after fifteen minutes or so. His gaze, which had been hesitant, was now firm. "I''ve contacted our Guild Leader about this. We will provide five training slots. However, you need to give us 100 Bronze Mounts and 10,000 Strengthening Devices in return. There is no room for negotiations on this," Yuan Tiexin said in determination. "You guys sure are asking for a lot. It''s not a guarantee that we will be able to nurture five Domain Realm experts." Shi Feng frowned slightly. Although the simulation training system was valuable, it was not that valuable. Based on the current market price, a Bronze Mount was worth roughly 300 Gold. However, while there was a demand for Bronze Mounts, their supply was practically nonexistent. Nobody would truly sell a Bronze Mount. Even if one offered 500 Gold, one might not find a seller. After all, they were simply too rare, even rivaling Epic items. Yet, the Secret Pavilion wanted 100 Bronze Mounts. Even with a conservative calculation, the total value would be at least 50,000 Gold! As for the Strengthening Devices, based on current market value, 10,000 devices was worth roughly 100,000 Gold. All in all, the Secret Pavilion was asking for 150,000 Gold! Even to first-rate Guilds, 150,000 Gold was astronomical. Even if the Secret Pavilion were a transcendental power, this sum was massive. It would take the Pavilion several days to gather so much money. Moreover, even if one had 150,000 Gold, purchasing so many Mounts and Strengthening Devices was impossible, yet the Secret Pavilion had asked for exactly that in exchange for only five training slots. They were essentially asking Zero Wing to foot the bill for their members'' training. "There are only so many training slots available each year. The few we have aren''t even enough for our own use. Even I am surprised that our Guild Leader has agreed to sell any." Yuan Tiexin spread his hands in a helpless gesture, showing that this was not his will, either. "It''s not that Zero Wing doesn''t have these resources; I just want ten slots. Uncle Yuan, you understand that, now that the Mind Space System has launched, this is the best opportunity to gather as many advantages as possible. If you don''t take the opportunity to do so now, it will be far more difficult in the future." Yuan Tiexin''s response had not angered Shi Feng. Chuckling, he continued, "Moreover, these ten slots don''t really matter to the Secret Pavilion. Even with the ten slots, you aren''t guaranteed to nurture more Refinement Realm experts. It is even more unlikely that you will successfully nurture a monster with a Domain. On the other hand, by losing these ten slots, the Secret Pavilion will have a headstart over the other major powers. It will also be easier in the future to attract major corporations'' investments. Isn''t that so?" When she heard Shi Feng''s logic, Wen Hua shot him a contemptuous look. The man was speaking as if the training slots were worth nothing at all when, in fact, countless first-rate Guilds yearned for an opportunity like this. How could anyone compare them to cabbages that one could buy on the street? Limited High-level Energy sold annually. The money the Secret Pavilion spent to obtain what they needed each year was astronomical. However, Shi Feng paid no mind to Wen Hua''s gaze. He understood how much influence the Mind Space System had on the world''s major corporations. As long as the Secret Pavilion obtained a high-ranking personal space, it would not have to worry about attracting investors. If the chance to gain a headstart presented itself, God''s Domain''s major powers would fight over it like wolves. Yuan Tiexin was shocked when he heard Shi Feng''s words. He had never dreamed that Zero Wing had hidden its strength so deeply. Despite the Secret Pavilion having exhausted all of its resources to collect Bronze Mounts, they currently had less than 30. Yet, Zero Wing could offer 100 without hesitation, not to mention the highly sought-after Strengthening Devices. "This is" Originally, Yuan Tiexin had intended to refuse, attempting to force Shi Feng into lowering his price. However, as he watched Shi Feng get up from his seat and prepare to send them off, he quickly changed his words and continued, "I''ll need to discuss this further with my Guild Leader." Yuan Tiexin had to admit that Shi Feng had caught on to the Secret Pavilion''s Achilles'' heel. Yuan Tiexin finally understood why Zero Wing had left its Workshop''s management to a youth like Shi Feng. The boy was as cunning as an old fox. With no better choice, Yuan Tiexin left the room to contact his Guild Leader once more. After a lengthy period, Yuan Tiexin reentered the room. Sighing, he looked at Shi Feng and said, "Our Guild Leader has agreed to your demands. However, there is a condition. You need to give us the items within five days." "Impossible. Bronze Mounts and Strengthening Devices aren''t cabbage. I can only guarantee ten Bronze Mounts and 2,000 Strengthening Devices within the first five days. You will receive the remaining items within twelve days." Shi Feng shook his head. Currently, he did not even have one Bronze Mount. Manufacturing the Bronze Mounts required time. It was simply impossible to produce all 100 Mounts in five days. However, after completing Titan City''s entrance trial, in addition to the Meditation Rooms and Special Workshops, it should be possible to achieve that number within twelve days. "You" Yuan Tiexin felt cheated by Shi Feng. However, regret was pointless now. The Bronze Mounts and Strengthening Devices were simply too important. "Fine, then. Let''s establish a contract now." After both parties signed the contract, Yuan Tiexin placed ten of the twenty black cards he had prepared beforehand on the table. "These ten login cards are proof of identification needed to login to the simulation training system. They are effective for one year. Take care of them. If you lose them, we cannot replace them. You can access the Secret Pavilion''s latest training space through the virtual gaming cabin," Yuan Tiexin reminded. "However, take note of one thing. It is best to prepare a few bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. The burden the various high-level battles in the training space have on the human body is no laughing matter." After saying so, Yuan Tiexin''s party left the reception room, leaving only Shi Feng and the ten black cards in the room. As Shi Feng stared at the black cards on the table, excitement welled up within him. After suppressing his emotions as much as he could, he called out for Liang Jing, who stood just outside the room, saying "Liang Jing, call Fire Dance and the others here." 888 Simulation Training System Chapter 888 - Simulation Training System Outside the Greenwater Villa, a long, black hovercar was quietly parked at the entrance. "Isn''t this a limited-edition Pioneer?" "It is so cool! I''ve heard that there are only 1,000 of these luxury sedans around the world. I never thought we would see one in our third-tier city." "This is amazing. The Pioneer''s fuel alone is extraordinary. It can''t use any kind of normal fuel." Passersby began to gawk and chat as they noticed the car in front of the villa. As they wondered what kind of powerful individual had arrived, Yuan Tiexin''s group emerged from the automated door. Suddenly, a robust man, standing over two meters tall, rose out from the Pioneer; he was so naturally intimidating that everyone trembled involuntarily when they saw him. The robust man wore a black suit with a silver shield logo embroidered on his left lapel. The silver shield bore three stars. Everyone at the training center understood the fighting world. They immediately knew that the man before them was a fighting expert. "A silver shield logo? Isn''t that a bodyguard from the Guardian Group?" "Guardian Group? That''s an international, first-rate security agency, isn''t it?" "He seems to be a 3-star bodyguard. Even people from the city''s top corporations can''t hire one of them. Who are those people?" As the passersby watched in shock, the bodyguard respectfully opened the Pioneer''s door for Yuan Tiexin and his young companions. After Yuan Tiexin''s group took their seats, the bodyguard returned to the front passenger seat. Following which, the roar of the Pioneer''s engine echoed throughout the area, stunning everyone present. Who are they? Why would such important individuals seek out Shi Feng? Liang Jing was confused and surprised as she watched Yuan Tiexin and his people depart. I''ll have to let Director Xiao know about this. Not just anyone could hire the Guardian Group''s bodyguards. Even the Big Dipper Corporation did not qualify to hire a 2-star bodyguard, only allowed to employ a 1-star bodyguard. Only major international corporations could afford 3-star bodyguards. --- "Uncle Yuan, why did Guild Leader agree to give away ten slots?" Wen Hua asked. "The price the Star Alliance offered us was only worth ten slots. On the other hand, we gave Zero Wing the same without obtaining a sliver of its shares" "This is the Guild Leader''s will. As for the Guild Leader''s thoughts, even I don''t know. However, the items Shi Feng offered are extremely important to the Secret Pavilion." Yuan Tiexin then shook his head and continued, "Fortunately, we didn''t lose too much If we help nurture Zero Wing''s experts, we''ll see even more interesting matches in the Dark Arena in the future." "Interesting?" Wen Hua chuckled. "I recall that the Asura Battle Team''s next opponent is the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Although there are a few experts in that team, overall, they are significantly weaker than the Glorious Lions Battle Team. Even if Shi Feng doesn''t participate himself, the Asura Battle Team can win easily." "Hahaha! Wen Hua, you''re not seeing the big picture. If the latest system upgrade had not happened, the Evil Dragons would lose without a doubt. However, after the Mind Space System''s launch, the various large Guilds are rushing to gather money and resources. Naturally, they will not ignore the opportunity to make a fortune in the Dark Arena," Yuan Tiexin said meaningfully. "But the Evil Dragons don''t have backing from any Super Guilds. It will be difficult for them to present fighters on the same level as Zero Wing''s experts." Wen Hua was very interested in the Asura Battle Team. Hence, she had investigated their next opponent, hoping for another exciting match. However, the outcome had disappointed her. "I don''t expect you to know. The corporation backing the Evil Dragons has hidden itself quite well. Even we only discovered it a few days ago, but it turns out that said corporation had invested in the Miracle Guild in secret. When it comes time for the Dark Arena match, the Miracle Guild will make its move. Winning will not be easy for the Asura Battle Team," Yuan Tiexin said, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes. "If the Asura Battle Team can force Miracle to display its true strength, the Secret Pavilion will benefit." "The Miracle Guild? That Miracle Guild actually agreed to give away a portion of its shares?" Wen Hua exclaimed in surprise. Although the Miracle Guild was not a Super Guild, it was in no way inferior. However, its Guild Legacy was incomplete. Hence, it had failed to become a Super Guild. However, it was still stronger than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, who could not yet rival Super Guilds. "Haven''t you wanted to witness Ye Feng''s battles personally? This is a good opportunity to do so." Yuan Tiexin then handed Wen Hua a list of names. "Mad Sword Miracle Dragon, who you''ve wanted to defeat, might even make a move." --- Shortly after Yuan Tiexin''s group left, Shi Feng handed the black cards to Fire Dance and the others. "Guild Leader, what''s this for?" Fire Dance, who wore short-sleeved sportswear with her long hair draped over her shoulders, asked curiously. Fire Dance wasn''t the only one curious about the black cards. Cola, Violet Cloud, Flying Shadow, Ye Wumian, Rampant Blade, and Blackie were also confused. "This? This is a treasure," Shi Feng laughed. "Haven''t you all wanted to strengthen your combat techniques? This can help you do so quickly. However, how much you actually learn will depend on you." Following which, Shi Feng explained how to use the black cards and sent them to their rooms to try. The purpose behind the cards surprised them all. However, Shi Feng''s procurement of them surprised them more. Excitement overtook them as they looked at the black cards in their hands. They had yearned to improve their combat techniques. It was especially true after watching Fire Dance break through into the Refinement Realm. After everyone left, Shi Feng quietly returned to his own room. To the Secret Pavilion, the ten training slots might not be significant, but to Zero Wing, they were a timely blessing. Although the Secret Technique tablet could enable players to grasp profound combat techniques, which players could then utilize to improve their other combat techniques, the tablet''s flaws were obvious. Players needed to learn to make Intermediate Magic Arrays. This was achievable within a short time. Moreover, the tablet could only be used once a month. It was not nearly as efficient as the simulation training system. It was especially true for Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose, who possessed vast potential. They only lacked combat experience. If they could enter the simulation training system, even Shi Feng could not imagine how much these girls would improve. Moreover, the simulation training system was useful to him personally. He was currently stuck at the Void Realm. He had no idea whatsoever how to take the next step. Fortunately, the simulation training system could guide one to the Domain Realm. Shi Feng was satisfied with the cost he had paid due to this fact alone. On the surface, although it seemed as if he had paid a massive price for the black cards, that was limited to market price. Of course, the production cost for the Bronze Mounts and Strengthening Devices wasn''t one-tenth of their market price. Throughout this time, he had also been training frantically in the real world. He had already pushed his body to its very limits and could not improve any further. Even Lei Bao had been surprised by his progress, looking at him as if he were a monster. Shi Feng understood that his body was no longer a limiting factor. Only, he did not know what was. After all, he had never truly interacted with any of those old monsters and relied on himself to fumble and improve. After refilling the virtual gaming cabin''s Nutrition Solution, Shi Feng inserted the black card into the machine''s card slot. He then lay in the cabin and launched the system connection, accessing the simulation training system. 889 Battle Points Chapter 889 - Battle Points After Shi Feng closed his eyes, the system''s mechanical notification sound rang by his ears. Password confirmed. Mental link is stable. All systems operational. Do you wish to login? Login. Once Shi Feng silently agreed to the connection, darkness engulfed his surroundings, and he felt as if his body had fallen into a bottomless pit. In the next moment, however, Shi Feng felt a weight on his body. The sound of galloping horses and carriages moving reached him. He also heard voices. "This is God''s Domain?" Shi Feng was surprised when he opened his eyes. Western-style buildings rose up around him. Traffic covered the surrounding streets, and he could see many pedestrians wandering about wearing armor and carrying weapons. It felt as if he was in God''s Domain. The only difference Shi Feng noticed was his current appearance. Rather than his usual armor, he wore commoner''s linen clothing. He did not possess a single weapon. Physically, he appeared exactly as he did in reality. His system interface was also different. Although the method to call up the interface was the same, he only had options to log out, adjust the pain settings, and a clock that displayed real time. There was nothing else. Neither his HP bar nor name was displayed. Moreover, he felt very weak. In terms of the Basic Attributes of God''s Domain, Shi Feng felt as if they were all set at roughly 100 points. These were the only differences from God''s Domain that he noticed. "Look, another newbie has arrived." "There sure are a lot of newbies these past few days." "I heard that our Secret Pavilion has been implementing some major plan and has recently been annexing other Guilds. The upper echelons must''ve promised training slots to those Guilds in return." "Hah What a waste. We fight tooth and nail every day just for one slot. Aside from eating and sleeping, we spend all of our time training. These people, on the other hand, obtain a slot without any effort. They sure have it good." "I know, right? The training system isn''t easy to mingle in. These people are wasting their time and our resources by coming here." Several people sitting beneath a gazebo outside of a bar began chatted merrily as they watched Shi Feng. These people looked relatively young, only around 20 years old. However, they wore lavish clothing. Rather than linen, they donned exquisite silk clothing. As if they wanted Shi Feng to hear their conversation, these people did not bother to control their voices as they considered. Their tones were contemptuous when they spoke of players from other Guilds such as Shi Feng. I wonder where Fire Dance and the others are? I should find them before we start researching this simulation training system. Shi Feng paid no attention to these people''s belittling comments. However, he did feel a headache begin when he noticed that the training system lacked a communication function. Although this place seemed like a city in God''s Domain, it was much smaller. This place was roughly the size of a town. Shi Feng also noticed a massive fortress looming in the city''s heart. He could probably see the very edges of the city from the top of that fortress. Just as Shi Feng was about to head to the fortress to investigate, a deep, heavy voice came from behind him. "You have just arrived today, right?" Shi Feng turned at this question, noticing three people, similarly dressed in linen clothing, approaching. The two men and one woman looked to be around 20 as well. Meanwhile, the person that had called out to him was a tall, powerful looking man. The man smiled and gave off a friendly aura. "That''s right. Do you have some business with me?" Shi Feng nodded. "Hello; my name''s Kong Haoran, and these two are my friends, Huo Zhengyang and Du Xin," the man named Kong Haoran introduced, smiling. "Like yourself, we belong to other Guilds and have recently arrived. We aren''t like the people from the Secret Pavilion, who have been in here for over a month. As a newcomer, if you aren''t careful, you might suffer." "Suffer?" Shi Feng grew curious. He then asked, "Isn''t this place meant to gain combat experience and nurture techniques?" "In the beginning, we thought the same," Kong Haoran said, shaking his head. "However, after being here for some time, you''ll learn that things aren''t as simple as the people from the Secret Pavilion made it out to be. You can''t just spar with top-tier experts as you wish. "The training system mimics God''s Domain. The more powerful a simulation expert you choose to fight, the more energy the system consumes. The Secret Pavilion can only get its hands on a limited amount of High-level Energy. There is simply not enough to go around. Not to mention, the Secret Pavilion has expanded its influence recently and has increased the number of available training slots for its system, straining the system''s energy consumption. Hence, the Pavilion introduced a Battle Point system to cope. With these Battle Points, one can choose their opponent. Of course, the more powerful an opponent is, the more Battle Points you have to spend. "A lot of newcomers don''t know about this yet, so the Secret Pavilion''s veterans scam them. If one loses the starting Battle Points they receive, it becomes harder to earn Battle Points in the future." Hearing Kong Haoran''s explanation, Shi Feng came to a realization. It''s no wonder why Yuan Tiexin was so willing to hand over those ten slots. So, the Pavilion still had such a card to play. Shi Feng inwardly cursed the Secret Pavilion''s Guild Leader for being a sly, old fox. However, after giving it some thought, Shi Feng realized that it was actually quite reasonable. He had been a fool to think that he could fight monster-level experts stored in the system''s database without limit and gain a wealth of combat experience. Such a generous opportunity wouldn''t exist. "Thank you for your warning," Shi Feng said as he looked towards Kong Haoran. He then introduced himself, "My name is Shi Feng." "No need for thanks. Those of us from other Guilds need to look out for each other. Otherwise, the Pavilion''s people will just bully us all." Kong Haoran waved his hand. "The Secret Pavilion''s bunch came here over a month before we arrived. Moreover, they enjoyed the Secret Pavilion''s nurturing before this. Their combat standards are much higher than ours. "Newcomers are given 100 Battle Points initially. You can use these points to purchase a starter pack at the fortress. This starter pack lets you spar against ten different, extraordinary experts for three days. You can use them to familiarize yourself with the battles here. Otherwise, you can practice against the free opponents in the fortress. However, you probably won''t learn anything from the freebies. "There are two methods to obtain Battle Points. The first is to participate in the ranking matches; you can also place bets with other players before a duel. Some of the veterans trick many of the clueless newcomers. As a result, they lose their 100 starting points, just like that." After Kong Haoran finished explaining the simulation training system, he led Shi Feng to the Battle Fortress. However, as Shi Feng''s group was about to enter the fortress, they heard a loud commotion from the fortress''s main hall. "Quick, come and take a look! Another newbie is challenging a veteran!" "Damn! These guys sure are quick! Why can''t I ever find these newbies?!" 890 Deep Foundation Chapter 890 - Deep Foundation Inside the splendid hall, over a hundred people crowded around a large screen suspended in the air. "This newbie sure is unlucky." "He actually challenged a veteran without undergoing the beginner''s training." "All newbies are like that. They think that they can defeat Violent Bear just because they are strong in their own Guilds. Does he really think the Battle Points are that easy to earn?" Everyone began to chat merrily as they watched the screen. Such fights had become entertainment to flavor their lives. As for a newcomer''s chances of defeating these veterans? Their only answer was a meaningful "Hehe." "Sure enough, Violent Bear is bullying another newbie. He only recently finished conning the last one, and he''s already at it again," Kong Haoran sighed ruefully when he noticed another battle brewing. "Didn''t they say that it was the newcomer who challenged that Violent Bear fellow? Why would you say that he''s conning the newcomer?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "It''s like this: while newcomers only have 100 Battle Points, Violent Bear will gamble 500 Battle Points. Almost everyone who has come here is a top-class expert in their own Guild. Either that, or they are people with vast potential. Such people are typically quite confident of their strength," Kong Haoran explained. "However, they have forgotten that the Secret Pavilion''s experts aren''t ordinary either. Only the Pavilion''s leading fighters can earn a slot in this training system." "There is a huge possibility that these people will become members of the Secret Pavilion''s middle management in the future. Moreover, even before they entered this training system, they were all strong enough to be top-class experts in any first-rate Guild. After training in here for over a month, their combat standards have grown significantly. "Violent Bear is quite strong. Among the 350 training members, he ranks 141st. Newcomers shouldn''t try to provoke him." Shi Feng agreed with Kong Haoran. In God''s Domain, first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds lived in two, completely different worlds. A player known as a genius in a first-rate Guild might just be an extra in a Super Guild. In fact, the majority of the most outstanding newcomers each year were either from Super Guilds or super-first-rate Guilds. Even if an outstanding newcomer emerged in a first-rate Guild, it would be due to their innate frightening talent alone. Gentle Snow would be one such example. "This is interesting," Shi Feng muttered, smiling as he watched at the image on the screen. On the large screen, a man taller and more robust than even Cola stood to one side. The man wielded a battle axe and had chosen the Berserker class. Meanwhile, Shi Feng recognized the man standing across from the Berserker; it was the Elementalist Red Feather from the Star Alliance. Red Feather looked exactly as he did in God''s Domain. It was clear that he had not modified his appearance when he had joined God''s Domain, unlike Shi Feng, who looked quite different in God''s Domain. In the recent update of the God''s Domain Experts List, Red Feather had been ranked 934th. Although his rank had fallen slightly due to the emergence of new experts, he should not be underestimated. The simulation training system mimicked God''s Domain''s classes to near-perfection. However, in the training system, everyone''s Basic Attributes were normalized and their Levels set to 30. Their equipment did not provide any additional Attributes either, and the Skills they possessed were limited to their class''s Basic Skills. There were no special Skills in this system. The fights here relied on one''s techniques. As soon as the battle began, Red Feather launched a fierce assault on Violent Bear, using Frost Arrows to attack and Ice Walls or Ice Spheres to hinder the Berserker''s movements. Ordinary experts would not be able to cope with such a two-pronged approach. However, Violent Bear remained unperturbed. Not only could he easily evade the Frost Arrows, but he had also utilized his evasive maneuvers to shorten the distance between himself and the enemy Elementalist. This situation forced Red Feather to retreat repeatedly. In just ten seconds, Red Feather had lost half his HP. In contrast, Violent Bear had only lost around 10% from blocking a few Frost Arrows and Fireballs with his axe. Moreover, Red Feather had exhausted his Blink charges and was now at the Berserker''s mercy. In Shi Feng''s opinion, Red Feather had performed quite well. If he had faced an ordinary expert, he would have long since emerged victorious due to his unending assault and Ice Walls. Unfortunately, Violent Bear was no ordinary expert. Ordinary experts lacked sufficient physical control. Against Red Feather''s attacks, they would busy themselves with dodging and blocking. Violent Bear, on the other hand, had excellent control over his body. He could make the necessary movements during crucial moments, easily avoiding Red Feather''s accurate attacks while closing in on his enemy, slowly, but surely, forcing the Elementalist into a corner. Even before the battle had begun, the outcome had been determined. Red Feather currently had yet to reach the Half-step Refinement Realm. He simply stood no chance against Violent Bear, someone who had reached the Refinement Realm. The difference between their combat techniques was like the difference between heaven and earth. With both sides having equal Attributes and no special Skills or tools, Red Feather had no chance of winning. Sure enough, in less than half a minute, Violent Bear approached Red Feather with a Charge and claimed the Elementalist''s life with a Whirlwind Slash. "Hahaha! Little noob, consider the 100 points you''ve lost as a tuition fee. When you have points again, I welcome a rematch." The man known as Violent Bear smirked at the angry Red Feather disdainfully after teleporting back to the main hall. He then turned around and exclaimed, "Ah, this feels great! With these 100 points, I can face a decent opponent again." "You" Red Feather wanted to charge at the Berserker. However, Purple Eye held him back. "Red, you''re no match for him right now. He has already reached that realm," Purple Eye advised sternly, her voice containing both helplessness and excitement. Although she was slightly stronger than Red Feather, her strength was limited. There was still a massive gap between herself and Violent Bear. In the past few years, she had followed Galaxy Past around and had defeated many well-known experts. She acknowledged that she had improved significantly since leaving her Super Guild. However, she had never imagined that she would still suffer defeat against the internal experts that God''s Domain''s major powers nurtured. Refinement Realm experts, which were extremely rare in God''s Domain, were abundant here Yet, even a Refinement Realm expert like Violent Bear only ranked 141th here. Purple Eye finally understood just how terrifying the virtual gaming world''s giants were. What she had seen in the past had only been the tip of the iceberg. As Violent Bear approached the exchange counter, his gaze landed on Shi Feng. He immediately walked up to the Swordsman, smiling brightly as he said, "Oh? I''ve never seen you before. You must be new to the training system, right? Interested in a match against me? If I win, I want your 100 points. If you win, I''ll give you 500. What do you think? "I''ll teach you how precious the Battle Points here are. Those ranked beyond 300th place only get 20 points each day; 50 points if you rank between 201st and 300th, 100 points if you rank between 151st and 200th, 200 points if you rank between 101st and 150th, and 300 points if you rank between 51st and 100th. And don''t even dream of reaching the top 50 ranks. "How about it? With 500 points, you can spar against top-tier experts for an entire day." Kong Haoran stepped forward and growled, "Violent Bear, that''s enough of you." 891 Newcomer’s Nightmare Chapter 891 - Newcomer''s Nightmare Violent Bear''s explanation of the daily Battle Point allotment was correct. However, it had been a petty move from the Secret Pavilion. It was true that there were a total of 350 slots for the simulation training system this time. It was also true that the training system was a holy ground for rapid improvement. However, to face a decent opponent for a day, one needed at least 100 points. Even so, that was only enough to afford a Half-step Refinement Realm opponent. To obtain 100 points or more each day, one needed to rank within the top 200. Among the 350 people participating in the training system this time, 200 happened to be the Secret Pavilion''s members. These elites, whom the Secret Pavilion had nurtured, had already displayed relatively high combat standards. Now, they had received over a month''s head start in this training system. To put it simply, the members from other Guilds had no chance of claiming any of the top 200 positions. Meanwhile, those who ranked between 200th and 300th place could only afford to practice every other day. To newcomers, this was a nightmare. When they first joined the training system, they ranked below 300. Receiving only 20 points each day, newcomers had to wait for five days to fight a decent opponent. If they did not purchase the 100-point starter pack, they would have to waste even more time to familiarize themselves with the training system''s battles. Individuals could only purchase the starter pack once, and among the ten experts within the starter pack, eight were Half-step Refinement Realm experts, and two were Refinement Realm experts. If newcomers trained with these experts for three days, they could improve their techniques significantly. This way, they could qualify to fight for one of the top 300 rankings. Although joining the top 200 would be difficult, it wasn''t entirely impossible. While the Secret Pavilion''s members could face Half-step Refinement Realm experts once a day at the very minimum, members from other Guilds could only face one every other day at best. As for challenging Refinement Realm experts, that required 200 points. Those in the top 200 only needed to wait two days, while they needed four. As time passed, the difference between both sides would only grow. "Shi Feng, don''t let him trick you! Your starting 100 points are crucial!" the elegantly beautiful Du Xin advised. Newcomers like them could not contend with Violent Bear. Even those in the Refinement Realm had difficulty defeating the Berserker. After all, Violent Bear had reached the Refinement Realm a long time ago. Experts who had just reached the Refinement Realm could not compare to his physical control. Although Du Xin did not know which Guild Shi Feng originated from, she knew that even first-rate Guilds'' top-tier experts were no match for Violent Bear. "Kong Haoran, I''m not talking to you right now. I''m offering a sincere invitation to this little brother. I''m sure he isn''t a scaredy cat like you are, afraid of challenging me even once. In the end, you can only boast your strength in your little Guild," Violent Bear sneered. Although the man scolded Kong Haoran for his incompetence, his words were meant for Shi Feng. "Little brother, you agree with me, right? "Even if he does lose, it''s just 100 points. As long as he ranks among the top 300, he''ll earn those points back in two days. Although he won''t be able to face a decent expert during that time, at least he can still challenge the ranking competition once a day and practice against the normal simulated experts. Kong Haoran, you''re just exaggerating to scare him. "Since you don''t want the newcomer to fight me, why don''t you try your luck instead? You''ve already been here for five days, after all. "I''ll even handicap my Attributes by 10%. If you win, I''ll give you 800 points. If you lose, you just need to give me 100. How about it? Do you dare to accept my challenge? If not, get lost. Letting a coward like you in here was a waste of a precious training slot." Kong Haoran turned ashen as he glared at Violent Bear. However, he hadn''t been able to utter a single word. It''s not that he feared a fight, it''s just that he had other uses for his points. Yesterday, one of his companions had joined the system and fell for a veteran''s provocation. In the end, that companion of his had lost their points. Today, he had finally accumulated 100 points and planned to buy a starter pack for that companion. If he lost a match to Violent Bear now, his companion would have to wait several more days before getting their starter pack. "Tch. You''re a coward till the end," Violent Bear cast a disdainful look towards Kong Haoran when the man turned to leave. "Fellow brother, aren''t you being insincere? You''re willing to lower your Attributes and raise your bet to 800 points, yet against me, not only did you not offer to use a handicap, but your bet was also only 500 points," Shi Feng said softly as he glanced at Violent Bear. "Oh? You want a match?" Violent Bear''s gaze shifted back to Shi Feng, and he began to size up the Swordsman. Laughing, he continued, "Sure. If you want to fight me, I''ll offer you the same terms." Following which, Violent Bear led Shi Feng to the battlefield. "Why is he so impulsive? Didn''t he see how miserably Violent Bear beat his previous opponent?" Du Xin asked, slightly frustrated. "He might''ve done it because he didn''t want Violent Bear to continue humiliating me," Kong Haoran responded, feeling somewhat guilty as he watched Shi Feng depart. After interacting with Shi Feng for some, he could tell that Shi Feng was not impulsive. Moreover, he had not seen any anger or pride within Shi Feng''s gaze. On the contrary, he had appeared extraordinarily calm as he challenged the Berserker. This showed that he was aware of Violent Bear''s strength and had only challenged the man after considering it calmly. "Violent Bear is so lucky. He''s going to haul in 200 points in one day. With this, he can take on a Refinement Realm expert for an entire day." "However, that newcomer is pretty smart. He got Violent Bear to lower his Attributes by 10%." "Violent Bear has already set foot into the Refinement Realm. Against a newcomer, a 20% handicap wouldn''t change anything, much less 10%. Without also having reached the Refinement Realm, that newcomer doesn''t stand a chance." Everyone in the main hall had their gazes glued to the massive screen, envy flashing in their eyes as they watched Violent Bear. "Red, don''t you think that newcomer looks kind of familiar?" Purple Eye asked. As she watched Shi Feng on the screen, she felt as if she had seen him somewhere. "Familiar?" Red Feather''s loss vexed him, so he was in no mood to pay attention to the new duel. However, after Purple Eye''s comment, he shifted his gaze towards the screen. Immediately, he fell into deep thought as he muttered, "Indeed. He does feel familiar, but I can''t recall where or when I''ve met him before." As Purple Eye and Red Feather watched Shi Feng, Shi Feng''s duel with Violent Bear began. The battlefield was set in a desert. It was a standard, open battle with no terrain to benefit either player. Shi Feng had chosen the Swordsman class for this match, while Violent Bear stuck with the Berserker. However, Violent Bear had reduced his overall Attributes by 10%. In terms of Strength, he was roughly on par with a Swordsman of the same Level. As the battle began, Violent Bear used Charge at Shi Feng. "Brat, I''ll show you just how powerful I am!" Violent Bear tightened his grip on his battle axe and swung the weapon at Shi Feng violently. Although the axe did not seem to move quickly, it vanished halfway to Shi Feng. Second Acceleration! Violent Bear was quite confident of his melee combat capabilities. Even with reduced Attributes, with his Second Acceleration technique, he could defeat a Swordsman of the same Level easily. Even a melee expert who had also reached the Refinement Realm would find it immensely difficult to block his attacks, not to mention a newcomer like Shi Feng. 892 Breaking the Norm Chapter 892 - Breaking the Norm "So fast!" "His attack disappeared!" "What technique is that?" Many of the spectating newcomers were shocked when Violent Bear''s battle axe suddenly disappeared before their eyes. However, when Red Feather witnessed this, wrathful flames flared in his eyes. "That bastard! He held back against me!" Red Feather clenched his fists as he glared at Violent Bear on the screen. If Violent Bear had used this move against him, the match wouldn''t have even lasted 30 seconds. Although the newcomers in the hall were surprised, the Secret Pavilion''s veterans were indifferent. They were used to seeing this move. "Does he really need to be so serious against this newcomer?" "He might want to end the battle quickly. But this newcomer sure is unlucky. He''s forced to realize the disparity between us so soon after entering the training system. I''m guessing his confidence has shattered by now." As the various fighters discussed the fight, Violent Bear''s battle axe struck Shi Feng, again and again, leaving the Swordsman with no opportunity to catch his breath. Dang! Dang! Dang! After a series of over a dozen strikes, Violent Bear''s expression darkened. He then retreated, glaring at the unharmed Shi Feng. Just who is he? Violent Bear suddenly felt an immense, heavy pressure weigh down on him. Second Acceleration was an attack technique that utilized afterimages to trick the enemy. Even an expert of the same standard would struggle to defend against his attacks, yet Shi Feng had blocked every slash and hack. However, this was not why Violent Bear had retreated. As he had swung his axe, Shi Feng''s sword had met his blade as it began to accelerate, preventing him from gathering enough momentum in his weapon. As a result, Shi Feng''s sword easily deflected his axe, forcing the Berserker into a passive state. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of giving Violent Bear any time to rest. Dashing forward, he directly sent a Chop towards Violent Bear, his body void of excess movement. In the next moment, his sword vanished. The spectators only saw a flash of white light leave Shi Feng''s hand. Violent Bear panicked. He could not even see any afterimage of Shi Feng''s sword. However, he instinctively used Whirlwind Slash. Unfortunately, Violent Bear had been too late. Before he could begin to execute Whirlwind Slash, Violent Bear saw a flower of blood bloom on his chest. His Whirlwind Slash only began after the blood had blossomed. However, before his spinning axe could strike Shi Feng, the weapon stopped as if it had struck a wall, scattering sparks. The sudden halt forced the Berserker back a step. Before Violent Bear could catch his breath, however, more blood began to bloom across his chest, one after another. His HP drained away like flowing water. In the end, as the seventh flower of blood scattered across the sandy ground, Violent Bear fell motionless As the battle ended, Shi Feng obtained 800 Battle Points, pushing his total points to 900. "What did he do?!" Many of the Pavilion''s elites shouted in their confusion. "Why is Violent Bear dead?!" Today, Shi Feng broke the norm of newcomers'' helplessness against veteran bullying Violent Bear had clearly been on the offensive throughout the match, yet he had retreated, and Shi Feng had given chase, spilling the Berserker''s blood. Seeing the gashes decorating Violent Bear''s body, it was obvious that the Berserker had been cut. However, none of them had seen even an afterimage of a sword leave Shi Feng''s hand, striking Violent Bear. A deathly silence overtook the main hall. Everyone stared at Shi Feng, who was just returned from the battlefield, with dumbfounded expressions. "Ye Feng! That''s right; he is Ye Feng!" After seeing Shi Feng''s attack, Red Feather realized where he had seen that familiar face. Moreover, while there were some differences between Shi Feng''s and Ye Feng''s appearances, there were also some faint similarities. Purple Eye also recognized Shi Feng. The invisible attack had also been familiar Purple Eye couldn''t think of anyone, aside from Ye Feng, who used that technique. "Why is he here?" Purple Eye was astounded. She couldn''t believe her eyes. Ye Feng might not be very famous among God''s Domain''s general populace, but to first-rate Guilds and the game''s major powers, the young man''s name reverberated like thunder. Purple Eye had already been stunned when she had watched the battle video from the Dark Arena. Now that she had seen Shi Feng fight personally, even her soul trembled. In the Dark Arena battle, Shi Feng''s fast attacks had been understandable as he possessed Attributes that could even overwhelm an old monster like Sirius. Currently, however, he had the Basic Attributes of a Level 30 player and lacked any bonuses from weapons or equipment. Even so, his attacks were still too fast to see with the naked eye. Who could possibly defend against those attacks? Purple Eye finally understood that Shi Feng had not won against Sirius because of excellent equipment. His personal strength was, in fact, on par with those old monsters. When Shi Feng returned to the main hall, the Secret Pavilion''s members no longer looked down on him. Only fear filled these elites'' eyes. On the other hand, the newcomers originating from various Guilds cheered. The Secret Pavilion''s members had constantly bullied and suppressed them. Now that the Pavilion''s Violent Bear had been beaten with just a few moves, why wouldn''t they feel liberated and excited? "Shi Feng, you how are you so powerful?" Kong Haoran asked, stuttering nervously as he watched Shi Feng walk over. Huo Zhengyang and Du Xin, who stood beside Kong Haoran, also stiffened as the Swordsman approached. An expert! He was an absolute expert! Even if Shi Feng were a member of a transcendental existence like the Secret Pavilion, he would still be considered a top-class expert. They had always looked up to such monstrous experts. They had never dreamed that they would, one day, meet such an existence. When they thought back to how they had conversed and laughed merrily with the man, treating Shi Feng as if he were their junior, they were incredibly embarrassed. "You never asked." Shi Feng laughed. "You let us make fools of ourselves. If others learned that we met you like this, they would split their sides with laughter." In the end, Kong Haoran was not ordinary. He quickly adjusted his mood. Moreover, in his opinion, Shi Feng was actually quite friendly. He wasn''t like those aloof, arrogant apex experts. Huo Zhengyang and Du Xin also relaxed after a moment and resumed their conversation with Shi Feng. When the others inside the hall saw this, they envied Kong Haoran and his friends. They all dreamed of a friendship with a powerful expert like Shi Feng. If they could gain some pointers from an expert of his caliber, they could push themselves to the next level. "Ah, right. What''s up with the ranking competition? Don''t tell me we have to face everyone here every single day?" Shi Feng had heard all he needed to about Battle Points. However, he didn''t have a clue about the method of earning them. If he had to duel so many people each day, he would waste too much time. Moreover, he didn''t have that much time to spend in the simulated training system. 893 Battle Tower Chapter 893 - Battle Tower Kong Haoran and his companions laughed when they heard Shi Feng''s question. There were a total of 350 people in the simulation training system. If they had to fight so many people every day, they would die from exhaustion. Not to mention, no one had that much time to waste. After all, every person here was a professional gamer. They spent most of their energy in God''s Domain. A players'' strength did not only rely on combat standards and techniques. Weapons, equipment, and tools also factored into a player''s combat power. Otherwise, players wouldn''t pursue better weapons or equipment. "The simulation training system''s ranking competition isn''t a competition between players. Rather, it depends on your results in the Battle Tower. The Battle Tower is somewhat like the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower," Kong Haoran explained. He then pointed towards the large portal in the middle of the hall, saying, "That''s the Trial Tower that decides our ranks. "The Battle Tower has a total of seven floors. The higher the floor you reach, the more Combat Points you will earn. In the end, the system uses the Battle Value to determine our ranks. Inside the Battle Tower, everyone''s Attributes are normalized. However, you can only enter the tower once per day, and the ranks are determined every midnight. Generally, you must be prepared before challenging the tower. Otherwise, you''ll likely be eliminated and waste your chance." "So, that''s how it works." Shi Feng could not help his growing interest in the Battle Tower. He shifted his gaze back to Kong Haoran and asked, "Which floor have you guys reached so far?" "This" Kong Haoran scratched his head. Awkwardly, he replied, "We''re still on the first floor." "Is it that difficult?" Shi Feng asked in surprise. He could tell that Kong Haoran''s combat standard was quite high. Although the man was no match for Red Feather, he was not far off. In a first-rate Guild, he would be considered a top-class expert there. In terms of the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower, Kong Haoran would be a sixth-floor expert at the very least, yet such an expert was stuck on the Battle Tower''s first floor. How difficult was this tower? "In truth, all of the newcomers are stuck on the first floor. Only the Pavilion''s group have reached the second floor. Violent Bear, for example, is on the second floor. However, he ranks among the top of those on that floor," Kong Haoran explained. "The experts who have reached the third-floor rank within the top 100. Their ranks practically never change. The most we can do is fight for the top 200 spots. The top 100 are monsters. "The Battle Tower''s difficulty has been set incredibly high. I really don''t know why the Secret Pavilion made seven floors. I''ve heard that, even so many years after the Pavilion created this training system, nobody has the seventh floor. The highest record is the sixth floor." When they spoke of the tower''s difficulty, both Huo Zhengyang''s and Du Xin''s expressions twisted into something ugly. They were their Guild''s prided geniuses in God''s Domain. Countless players looked up to them, yet upon joining this simulation training system, they had been stuck at the bottom of the food chain. Although Kong Haoran had entered the top 300 ranks, it was beyond these two, and they were limited to a pitiful 20 points each day. "The record-holder has only reached the sixth floor?" Shi Feng was even more surprised. A transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion should have a few old monsters who had, at the very least, reached the Domain Realm, yet even they had only managed to reach the sixth floor. It was hard to imagine just how difficult the seventh floor must be. As he learned more, Shi Feng''s curiosity about the Battle Tower grew. Since Shi Feng currently had 900 points, he had no interest in the starter pack. At the very least, he needed a Void Realm Expert as a decent opponent. However, simulating Void Realm experts required 1,000 points. As for Domain Realm experts, facing them cost 2,000 points. Following which, under Kong Haoran''s guidance, Shi Feng entered the Battle Tower. As Shi Feng entered the Battle Tower, news of his overwhelming victory over Violent Bear spread like wildfire. After all, this was the first time a newcomer from another Guild had defeated a Secret Pavilion elite. Furthermore, Violent Bear was an expert that ranked among the top 150. Many people, curious about how well Shi Feng would fare in the Battle Tower, rushed to the Battle Fortress to watch. "Since this brat had easily defeated Violent Bear, he shouldn''t have any problems reaching the third floor. If he does, someone''s going to get kicked out of the top 100. "How can that be? The third floor isn''t easy to reach. Moreover, Violent Bear had handicapped 10% of his Attributes in that battle." "Damn, which Guild did that guy come from? He''s so strong. If he reaches the third floor, he''ll place a new record." "Mhm. I recall that the best record an expert from a different Guild had set on their first try was the second floor. However, that person is a true genius. Even the Pavilion is trying to recruit them." The Battle Fortress''s main hall exploded with commotion as everyone focused on the ranking lists before the Battle Tower. Even now, people streamed into the main hall, all talking about Shi Feng. For a time, Shi Feng was the fortress''s focal point. "Quick, look! Isn''t that Wen Hua?!" "Why is she here?" "Are you kidding me? Is she here to watch Shi Feng? Who is this guy?" As everyone discussed Shi Feng, a beautiful woman in purple-red martial artist robes appeared in the hall. Instantly, the focus shifted towards her. Everyone''s, including Kong Haoran''s group and Purple eye, who rested in a corner, jaws dropped. Most people in God''s Domain might not recognize the woman, but in this simulation training system, Wen Hua was a celebrity. Everyone knew about her. Why is she here? Did she discover Shi Feng''s identity as well? Watching Wen Hua slowly walk into the hall, becoming the center of attention, an indescribable sense of jealousy and admiration welled up in Purple Eye''s heart. In terms of appearance, Wen Hua could even stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Snow Goddess of Ouroboros, Gentle Snow. In terms of talent, however, Wen Hua surpassed Gentle Snow by leaps and bounds. Wen Hua was very young, much younger than Gentle Snow. To experts, age was a form of capital. Some people could reach the Refinement Realm at the young age of 18, while others only did so after turning 20. Although there was only an age difference of two years, this time gap could determine how far a player would go. Although both were considered geniuses, the difference in talent was massive. If one reached the Refinement Realm at the age of 18, there was a high chance for them to reach the peak of the virtual gaming world during their lifetime. They would likely become an old monster, becoming a Domain Realm expert in the future. However, those who managed to enter the Refinement Realm at the age of 20, without any special opportunities, would, at most, become an ordinary upper echelon in some Super Guild. Meanwhile, at the young age of 17, Wen Hua had reached the Refinement Realm. Currently, at 19, she had reached the peak of the Flowing Water Realm. The Pavilion''s old monsters commented that Wen Hua was lacked inspiration and could break through to the Void Realm at any moment. A 19-year-old Void Realm expert would have endless opportunities in their future. The Secret Pavilion had treated Wen Hua like a rare, precious seedling and spared no expense to nurture her. The Pavilion''s old monsters often offered her pointers. She was likely to become the Secret Pavilion''s future heir. Meanwhile, such an amazing woman had actually shown up to watch a newcomer. Why wouldn''t this be shocking? 894 Sword Meister Chapter 894 - Sword Meister Ignoring all the stares directed at her, Wen Hua took a seat near the Battle Tower''s portal and selected to spectate Shi Feng''s progress inside the tower. Being a spectator allowed her to see everything happening inside the tower clearly; however, this spectator mode cost Battle Points. Moreover, the number of points required by the system was not low: a total of 300 points to spectate a person; the system would automatically give 200 of these points to the fighter. For the newcomers and the members of the Secret Pavilion, this was a price that none of them was willing to pay. Paying 300 points to spectate anyoneaside from the experts ranked within the top 50would just be a big waste of their points, especially for a newcomer that barely anyone knew about. Shortly after Wen Hua sat down, a young man exited from the training field''s portal. When this young man spotted Wen Hua, he hurriedly made his way over to her. "Eh? Isn''t that Cold Autumn? Why is he here?" "I heard that he''s been training like a madman ever since his trip to Star-Moon Kingdom. He must''ve received some kind of stimulation there. Now, he spends nearly all of his spare time fighting inside the training field." The members of the Secret Pavilion were shocked when they saw Cold Autumn, who had appeared out of the blue, walking over to Wen Hua. The Three Great Geniuses of the Secret Pavilion were individuals that were usually very hard to meet, yet two of them had actually shown up in the Battle Fortress. It was truly a rare sight to behold. "Sister Wen Hua, why do you suddenly have time to come here?" Cold Autumn asked when he reached Wen Hua. After taking a seat, he continued, "Didn''t Uncle Yuan say that you are going to challenge Sanctuary''s Gale Sword Meister, Ruthless Sky? Aren''t you going to rest and prepare for that battle? No matter what, he is one of Sanctuary''s eight Sword Meisters. "I''ve heard that Ruthless Sky has made significant advances recently, and his rank on the Experts List has already gone up from 131st to 117th. Moreover, he even replaced one of his weapons yesterday, and the higher-ups suspect that it could be an Epic Weapon. This will increase his combat power even more." Sending a glance at Cold Autumn, Wen Hua said in a casual tone, "I know all that. Even so, I will still defeat him." Compared to her upcoming battle, she was more interested in this battle of Shi Feng''s. Previously, she had viewed Shi Feng''s battle with Sirius many times. However, at the end of the day, a video recording was still a video recording. The experience was far from comparable to watching in person. Originally, she had intended to come here only for a little training. She never thought that after arriving, she would hear news of a newcomer defeating Violent Bear. Moreover, the name of that newcomer was even "Shi Feng." As a result, this situation greatly piqued her interest. Just like Shi Feng, she was a Swordsman player. If she wanted to increase her combat experience, it was naturally best for her to learn from a fellow Swordsman. Only, there were not many Swordsmen in the Secret Pavilion and even fewer that she could seek guidance from. At this moment, these people could no longer help her improve any further. Hence, she had opted to challenge the famous Swordsmen in God''s Domain. Now that a Swordsman who had managed to defeat Sirius had appeared, she obviously could not let the opportunity to observe him fight slip by. If it was possible, she even wanted to have a match against Shi Feng. Following which, Wen Hua returned to observing Shi Feng''s battle quietly. Just who is this person? He is actually able to rouse Sister Wen Hua''s interest! Cold Autumn was baffled. If he were to spread the word of this matter, it would most likely shock the entire Secret Pavilion. Thinking so, Cold Autumn suddenly selected the spectator mode as well. Moreover, the person he chose to spectate was the newcomer Shi Feng. Three hundred points might be a lot to an ordinary expert of the Secret Pavilion, but to him, it was still barely acceptable. "Damn, this is just insane! Two of the Great Geniuses are actually spectating Shi Feng''s battle!" "This can''t be real, right? Isn''t he just a powerful newcomer? Even reaching the third floor is a problem. Is it really worth spending 300 points to watch him?" The mouths of the players in the main hall hung wide open as they watched Wen Hua and Cold Autumn quietly sitting beside the Battle Tower''s portal. "Damn it!" Purple Eye clenched her fists as she looked at Wen Hua and Cold Autumn. "It would be great if we had come here a few days earlier. It''s just impossible to gather 300 points right now." She knew who exactly Shi Feng was. If she missed this opportunity to witness his battle, who knew when she would get another chance? "Why don''t I go borrow some points? I heard that aside from duels, the members of the Secret Pavilion will also loan Battle Points. However, we''ll need to pay an additional 30% interest when paying back the points," Red Feather said, gritting his teeth. Purple Eye promptly nodded in response. Compared to paying an interest rate of 30%, being able to watch this battle was much more important. This scene bewildered the members of the Secret Pavilion. They could not understand just what kind of attraction Shi Feng held to rouse the interest of not only the Pavilion''s geniuses but also the newcomers. --- Inside the Battle Tower, Shi Feng was currently standing in the middle of an endless plain with a total of 49 Prairie Lions and one Prairie Lion King surrounding him. [Prairie Lion] (Elite Rank) Level 30 HP 60,000/60,000 [Prairie Lion King] (Special Elite) Level 30 HP 200,000/200,000 System: Defeat all monsters to progress to the next floor. Every Prairie Lion killed will reward you with 1 Combat Point, and killing the Prairie Lion King will reward you with 10 Combat Points. No wonder Kong Haoran''s group weren''t able to clear the first floor, Shi Feng thought as he swept a glance at the lions besieging him. He then took a look at his own Attributes. Currently, his Attributes were roughly equal to those of a Level 30 Swordsman geared in Bronze Weapons and Equipment. Right now, he was the very definition of an ordinary player. The difficulty of defeating this pride of lions would be extremely high. Moreover, this place was an endless grassland, offering no terrain whatsoever that players could take advantage of, which further increased the difficulty. "Roar!" the Prairie Lion King bellowed angrily and advanced. Simultaneously, the Prairie Lions surrounding Shi Feng pounced at him as well. An ordinary player would usually panic if faced with attacks coming from all sides. They would instinctively attempt to rush out of the encirclement. As for expert players, they would choose to fight while retreating, slowly but surely killing these monsters. However, Shi Feng did neither of these things. With an ordinary Level 30 player''s Attributes, he simply had no chance of outrunning the Prairie Lion King. On the contrary, attempting to do so would place himself in a disadvantageous situation. Facing the incoming pride of lions, Shi Feng began brandishing the twin swords in his hands. In the next moment, countless streaks of sword light flashed around Shi Feng, forming a barrier of sorts around him. Any lion that came at him would have their joints struck by Shi Feng''s swords. Although Shi Feng''s Strength was insufficient to repel the Prairie Lions, he still managed to deflect their attack trajectories slightly. Seen from afar, the half-dozen Prairie Lions attacking Shi Feng appeared to be intentionally circling the Swordsman, their attacks all landing on thin air. As these Prairie Lions moved past Shi Feng, a streak of sword light would strike at their bodies, causing over -1,500 damage to the Elite monsters. As the battle continued, the Prairie Lions died one after another. This person is clearing out the Prairie Lions so quickly! Cold Autumn was filled with shock as he observed this scene. Just who is this person?! He knew full well just how hard it was to deal with these Prairie Lions. Simply dodging their attacks was very exhausting, yet Shi Feng was actually toying with these Elite monsters like they were kittens right now. Despite Shi Feng having the same Attributes as he did when he challenged the first floor, Shi Feng''s clearing speed was at least double his. These Prairie Lions posed no threat to Shi Feng at all. Only the Prairie Lion King, whose speed was much faster and Strength was much greater than the Prairie Lions'', presented a challenge for Shi Feng. However, utilizing his positioning to guide the Prairie Lions, Shi Feng turned the Prairie Lions into shields for him, having the Elite monsters receive all the attacks of the Prairie Lion King, instead. After each successful block, Shi Feng would also follow up with a counterattack, each of his blows dealing over -1,200 damage to the Special Elite. The Prairie Lion King''s HP fell at a rate visible to the naked eye. In the end, the Special Elite died without even managing to land a paw on Shi Feng, its body lying motionless on the ground. Meanwhile, the players present in the main hall of the Battle Fortress suddenly fell silent, every one of them staring at the Record Board of the Battle Tower''s first floor with a dumbfounded expression. At this moment, the first floor''s original fastest clear record of 47 minutes 27 seconds had actually been broken. 895 Unstoppable Record Chapter 895 - Unstoppable Record "How is he so fast?!" An uproar broke out in the main hall the instant the players saw the record broken. None of them dared to believe it was true. The clear record for the Battle Tower''s first floor had stood for a very long time now. Most people required nearly two hours to deal with the monsters on the first floor, taking at least double the record time. Even the personal bests of the Three Great Geniuses of the Secret Pavilion were relatively far away from the record clear time. Yet, Shi Feng had broken it easily. 37 minutes 24 seconds! Everyone grew extremely curious as to what had happened inside the Battle Tower when they saw this new record. Just what did Shi Feng do to clear the floor so quickly? "Sister Wen Hua, just who is this person?" Cold Autumn could not help but ask when he saw this new record. The Battle Tower''s record had remained unchanged for many years now. Even if someone could surpass it, the person capable of doing so definitely should not be a young man like Shi Feng. Nevertheless, a newcomer originating from another Guild had beaten the best record by over ten minutes. "You''ve also seen this person before," Wen Hua replied, chuckling. "I''ve seen him before?" Cold Autumn grew curious at these words. However, he could not figure out where he had seen Shi Feng before. "He is Ye Feng, the apex Swordsman who defeated one of the Wolf Kings of the Battle Wolves," Wen Hua added, her words invested with strong fighting spirit. When she had only seen Shi Feng''s battle videos before, she merely thought of having a match with him. Now, however, what she wanted to do was surpass the man. However, what she had to do first was defeat Sanctuary''s Gale Sword Meister. "He is Ye Feng?" Cold Autumn gaped as he took in Shi Feng''s youthful appearance. Even though Shi Feng looked relatively young in God''s Domain, Cold Autumn had thought that Shi Feng''s true age should be around 25 or 26. Now, however, it would seem that the man was only 21 or 22 years old. He was not that much older than Wen Hua, yet he had already managed to defeat the legendary Sirius. Although he had relied mainly on his equipment advantage and Skill advantage, a win was still a win. "Sister Wen Hua, aren''t you being a little too mean? Since you already knew he was that Ye Feng, why didn''t you tell me? I nearly missed out on a big opportunity to spectate one of his battles," Cold Autumn grumbled. Inwardly, however, he felt thrilled. At the cost of just 300 Battle Points, he got to spectate the battle of an expert like Shi Feng. This was an opportunity that could not be bought even with money. "Everyone has their own opportunities. If you miss it, then you can only consider yourself unlucky. Just like the time when the Glorious Lions went up against the Asura Battle Team. Who knew that the battle at that time would become one of the most memorable battles in the Dark Arena?" Wen Hua sighed as she shook her head. "Alright, enough talking. Focus on watching. We won''t get another chance like this as easily later on." While Wen Hua and Cold Autumn were chatting, many of the Secret Pavilion''s members had also gritted their teeth and chosen to spend 300 points to spectate Shi Feng''s battle. A person capable of breaking the record of the first floor definitely possessed extraordinary abilities. After just a short moment, the number of people spectating Shi Feng''s battle grew to a total of 13, instantly increasing Shi Feng''s Battle Points to 3,500. Inside the Battle Tower, when Shi Feng progressed to the second floor, he was transported into a dark nest. Visibility was very low, and his vision only extended to 10 yards at most. He could also hear rustling coming from all around him, the sounds being hair-raisingly creepy. Although there aren''t a lot of monsters on the second floor, roughly only 20, this dark environment makes it much more difficult to evade the attacks of these monsters. I also had to attempt and train on this floor many times before I got used to this environment. Cold Autumn revealed a smile when he saw Shi Feng standing still after arriving on the second floor. Although he was not present on the battlefield, his viewing angle was not that far from Shi Feng. Moreover, as a spectator, he had a much clearer view of the battlefield than Shi Feng, and his field of vision was nearly three times that of Shi Feng''s. At this moment, 19 Elite ranked Nightwalker Tarantulas and one Special Elite ranked Ghost Tarantula had Shi Feng completely surrounded. [Nightwalker Tarantula] (Elite Rank) Level 30 HP 70,000/70,000 [Ghost Tarantula] (Special Elite) Level 30 HP 240,000/240,000 Shi Feng could get two Combat Points for every Nightwalker Tarantula he killed, while the Ghost Tarantula would give him a total of 40 points if killed. The points these monsters gave were much more than those for the monsters on the first floor. With a visual range of 10 yards, players would have an exceedingly short time to react to any attacks from the Tarantulas. Here, even taking a breath at a wrong time could result in one''s death. Even if players were just going up against monsters of the same Level, the difficulty of the second floor was significantly higher than the first floor''s. Hence, the number of experts that had managed to clear the second floor among the participants of the training system this time around was extremely low. Even a Refinement Realm expert like Violent Bear had failed to clear it. To Shi Feng, however, this floor was child''s play. After reaching the Void Realm, even having his sense of sight weakened would hardly affect his combat power. Although Shi Feng could not visually perceive the situation beyond ten yards, the vibrations and sounds passing through the air allowed him to pinpoint the positions of all the monsters within the nest. Before the monsters even got to ten yards of him, Shi Feng had already started taking appropriate countermeasures. Compared to the lions on the first floor, the massive tarantulas on the second floor were much easier to handle. Although the tarantulas were slightly faster than the lions, their Strength was weaker. Up to the moment the battle ended, none of these tarantulas had landed a direct hit on Shi Feng even once. Only the Ghost Tarantula''s high Attack Speed managed to force Shi Feng to block its attacks a few times, inflicting a small amount of damage as a result. Shi Feng''s evasive maneuvers and attacks completely mesmerized the spectators of the battle. Shi Feng had fought the monsters as if he was just taking a leisurely walk through the park. Aside from these feats Shi Feng had also broken the clear record of the second floor. The original record time was 32 minutes 54 seconds whereas Shi Feng''s clear time was 27 minutes 35 seconds. Following which, the number of people spectating Shi Feng''s battle increased by 15, boosting Shi Feng''s Battle Points further by 3,000. The third floor was a fiery hell. The majority of the ground on this floor was scorching red. Stepping on a patch of red immediately imposed burn damage. Only the areas scorched black were safe. However, there were very few of such areas in this fiery valley. Players would have their movement greatly restricted while fighting on this floor. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s opponents for this floor were drastically different from his previous ones. Although there were only ten monsters on this floor, all ten of them were hovering around in the air. [Flame Falcon] (Elite Rank) Level 30 HP 60,000/60,000 [Flame Eagle] (Chieftain Rank) Level 30 HP 900,000/900,000 --- "They say that the third floor is a major threshold, and until now, only a few experts have managed to clear the third floor. Just how far will he be able to go?" Looking at Shi Feng remaining motionless, many people began wondering how he would avoid the attacks of the Flame Eagle. A Chieftain was much stronger than a Special Elite. Dodging attacks from such a monster was already extremely difficult, to begin with, not to mention the various constraints the environment placed on Shi Feng''s movements. Without a proper method to cope with the Flame Eagle, Shi Feng would very quickly lose his life on the third floor. --- This is rather interesting. It''s no wonder they say that the Battle Tower plays a crucial role in guiding one through the various combat realms. As Shi Feng took in his surroundings and the Flame Eagle hovering above him, he suddenly understood what was going on in the Battle Tower. 896 Skyrocketing Points Chapter 896 - Skyrocketing Points The Secret Pavilion had another name for the Battle Tower: the Tower of Guidance. From what Kong Haoran shared, the Battle Tower could help a player growall the way up to grasping a Domain. Previously, Shi Feng only partly believed these words. Now, however, he no longer doubted them. In order to be considered as having reached the Refinement Realm, one needed to have excellent control over their own body and be able to flexibly and naturally vary the amount of strength their body exerted. The Flowing Water Realm required one to perceive and observe the opponents. One had to be able to distinguish their opponent''s thoughts and carry out appropriate responses in advance by observing the opponent''s minute movements. To put it simply, one needed to be able to react before their opponents even acted. The Void Realm demanded a certain amount of control over one''s surroundings. Instead of merely judging the environment through vision alone, one needed to push their five senses to the very limits and rely on these enhanced senses to determine all movements occurring in the background. The goal of the Battle Tower''s first floor was to have players learn how to control themselves, using the pressure of facing a large number of lions to learn how to adapt nimbly to sudden changes. The second floor was meant to improve a player''s instantaneous observation powers and snap judgment. The third floor served to improve a player''s perception and judgment of distance. Accurately judging distance was a challenging task. However, as long as one managed to achieve this, they would be considered to have officially entered the Flowing Water Realm. Shi Feng had to admit that the guidance provided by the Battle Tower was very on point. It was no wonder that Super Guilds could nurture such a large number of top-tier experts. The Flame Falcons and Flame Eagle hovering in the sky had no intention of giving Shi Feng too much time. Letting out screeches that echoed throughout the entire valley, the fiery birds spat out scorching flames in Shi Feng''s direction in unison. --- "It will be difficult for him to clear the third floor." Among those present inside the Battle Fortress were quite a few people whose progress stalled on the third floor. Hence, they were very clear on how difficult this floor was. Not only would one receive flame attacks from all directions, but the valley floor would also change at random. Places that were originally safe zones could turn into a danger zone in the next second. One constantly needed to pay attention to their footing while on this floor. Moreover, there were no objects in the area that could serve to block the flame attacks of the monsters. One could just imagine the difficulty of the third floor. Not to mention attacking the flying monsters, the majority of the players who reached this floor would generally fail to cope properly, and ultimately died to either the scorching ground or the flame attacks. "What is he trying to do?" Everyone suddenly noticed that, despite seeing the ten streaks of flames coming at him, Shi Feng actually chose to remain standing still. Just as the flames were about to devour Shi Feng, the Swordsman suddenly strode forward, his body leaving behind numerous afterimages as he moved about the small platform he was on. In the next moment, one streak of flames engulfed the afterimages Shi Feng left behind. After all ten were gone, Shi Feng was standing back in his original position completely unscathed. "How is this possible?!" Cold Autumn was momentarily stupefied. Although he had yet to reach the third floor himself, it was obvious to him that were he the one going up against these flame attacks, aside from running and dodging, he would have no other method to retain his life. The distance the flame attacks were launched from was simply too short. He would have absolutely no way to avoid that many attacks in the limited maneuvering space available. As for blocking the flame attacks with his weapon, that would be utterly impossible. He would need a complete set of Mysterious-Iron Equipmentat the very leastto avoid taking any damage from blocking the attacks of the Flame Falcons. Blocking the attacks of the Flame Eagle would require him to be fully geared in Secret-Silver Equipment at the minimum. However, the system armed them with only a set of Bronze Equipment in the Battle Tower. Trying to defend against the flame attacks would be suicidal. Now, even while standing in that small area, Shi Feng had actually managed to avoid all the flame attacks. It was as if these flames were intentionally circling his body. "This is impossible! There must be something wrong with the system! How can he dodge all those attacks in time at such a close distance?!" The players spectating Shi Feng had long since gone into an uproar. Almost all of them had shouted the same thing. No matter how they wrapped their minds around it, dodging so many attacks from such a close distance was not feasible. The only possibility was that an error had occurred with the system. Otherwise, how were they supposed to explain the earlier scene? Wen Hua, however, did not feel any surprise at the outcome of that onslaught. Everyone was basing their judgments only on the distance the flames were coming from. However, they had forgotten that they were living in a three-dimensional world. Aside from horizontal and vertical distance, one also should not forget depth. On the screen, it might seem as if all ten flame attacks came over similar distances. But in reality, the distance each attack needed to travel was different. As all ten attacks were launched simultaneously, the times at which the attacks reached Shi Feng would differ slightly. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had utilized the small time difference in the arrival of the attacks to systematically evade them one after another. The one part about this scene that annoyed Wen Hua, however, was that she had not noticed the slightest bit of haste or anxiety in Shi Feng''s movements. The man had casually dodged the attacks as if he was just taking a leisurely stroll, his actions containing no excess movement whatsoever. Wen Hua even felt a shiver go down her back when she looked at how smooth and natural his movements were. The numerous surprised gasps coming from the spectators immediately attracted the attention of those resting in the main hall, every one of them looking at these several spectators in confusion. "What''s up with them? Aren''t they just spectating a battle? Is there a need to go so crazy over it?" This curiosity now tempted many more people who were reluctant to part with their points. Such a commotion had never occurred before, even when the upper echelons of their Guilds fought in the Battle Tower. What exactly was going on inside the Battle Tower? Just as everyone was hesitating over whether or not to spectate Shi Feng''s battle, a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious red-black martial arts robes entered the hall. With quick steps, this middle-aged man walked up to the portal of the Battle Tower. After finding a quiet place to sit in, the man then chose to spectate Shi Feng''s battle. "Damn! This is madness! This is simply madness!" "Why has Elder Yuan come over as well? Isn''t this a training system meant to nurture youths with potential?" "He couldn''t be here to" All the bystanders suddenly thought of a possibility when they looked at Yuan Tiexin quietly sitting down and calling out his system interface. However, none of them could accept this shocking thought of theirs. Those who had still been hesitating immediately looked for seats and chose to spectate Shi Feng''s battle. Instantly, the number of people spectating Shi Feng increased to 63. Those who lacked the points to spectate were all stupefied by this scene. Even when the upper echelon of the Secret Pavilion came to challenge the Battle Tower, the number of spectators would be around this number, at most. Moreover, today was a day when many people were busy with their own matters and had not come to participate in the training system. Otherwise, the number of spectators right now would definitely rise even higher. "Just who is Brother Shi Feng?" The shock Kong Haoran was feeling right now at this sight was many times more intense than what he felt when he had faced off against an army of over 100,000 elite players. "I would be set for life if I could have this many people spectating my battle." Huo Zhengyang could not close his mouth as he saw this scene. Just how many Battle Points could he earn if he had this many people spectating his battle as well? Even if he fought against a Refinement Realm expert every day, those points could last him for two whole months. --- On the third floor of the Battle Tower, Shi Feng repeatedly dodged the flame attacks sent at him. Even when the terrain changed, he managed to reach a safe zone immediately. Occasionally, he would also attack with a flying dart. Although the damage he caused was low, only -500 points or so, none of the monsters in the Battle Tower had the battle recovery ability. Hence, he could slowly but surely wear down these monsters. Following which, one Flame Falcon''s HP continuously decreased. The battle had already fallen under Shi Feng''s complete control. That''s enough experimentation. It''s about time things ended. He then threw out the last dart that took away the final strand of HP of a Flame Falcon. As a result of one Flame Falcon dying, the number of attacks Shi Feng had to face at a single time decreased from ten to nine, making dodging the attacks much easier for him. With no suspense whatsoever, he whittled down the remaining Flame Falcons and Flame Eagle, once again easily clearing a floor. Only, as Shi Feng was not playing a ranged class, his attacks were a lot less effective compared those of ranged classes. Hence, he had not managed to break the record clear time for the third floor. Even so, he still stupefied all his spectators. The reason for everyone''s shock was because Shi Feng''s clear time for the third floor was only marginally slower than the current record holder''s. If his ranged weapon had been slightly better and he had learned a few more good Skills, he could''ve easily broken the record. Following which, Shi Feng entered the fourth floor of the Battle Tower. This was also the highest floor the current batch of trainees had reached. 897 Silent Hell Chapter 897 - Silent Hell "This person is strong! It was worth spending all those points to spectate him!" "This is my first time seeing someone clear the third floor so easily! This shows that he has still not reached his limits! At this rate, he might even be able to clear the fourth floor and become the first person among this batch of trainees to reach the fifth floor!" "That''s impossible. This is the fourth floor we are talking about. Even the top experts of our Guild are still stuck there. Even if Shi Feng is amazing, it is simply impossible for him to match up to the top experts of our Guild." "I guess you''re right. Our Guild''s top experts all stand at the peak of God''s Domain. There are probably only a handful of youths who can surpass them." Just as the spectators were discussing Shi Feng''s battle, Shi Feng himself set foot onto the fourth floor. Unlike the second and third floors, which had vile environments, the fourth floor was elegant and serene. Trees and shrubberies surrounded Shi Feng. There was also a pristine lake nearby. "This is" Shi Feng observed his surroundings, his expression turning slightly serious. Although his surroundings looked very peaceful, Shi Feng could not ignore a sense of crisis in his mind. The worst part about this hunch was that he did not know what triggered it. Even though he was standing still and doing nothing, this sense of crisis was looming closer and closer. Could they be stealthed monsters? Shi Feng thought of a possibility. Or to put it in another way, it was the only possibility. This sensation he was feeling right now was as if numerous top-tier Assassin experts were staring at him. However, no matter how skilled and silent the Assassin might be, as long as they were a player, Shi Feng would more or less be able to find traces of them through sight and hearing, yet neither of these two senses of his had picked up anything. He discovered them so quickly! Wen Hua was somewhat surprised to see Shi Feng''s expression turning a little guarded. The fourth floor of the Battle Tower had another name to itSilent Hell. It had a total of eight Elite ranked Void Assassins and one Chieftain ranked Null Assassin. [Void Assassin] (Elite Rank) Level 30 HP 50,000/50,000 [Null Assassin] (Chieftain Rank) Level 30 HP 200,000/200,000 Although their HPs were very low, these monsters had a special characteristic: they remained in a permanent state of nothingness. Their bodies existed in a completely different space, so one''s senses of sight, hearing, and smell could not detect these monsters no matter what. Only when these monsters launched an attack would their real bodies manifest. However, they would appear for only a very short time, around one second at most. Aside from this brief period, attacks directed at these monsters would be completely ineffective. The difficulty of the fourth floor had left everyone who had managed to reach the fourth floor in this batch of trainees utterly helpless. Setting aside the fact that the attacks of the Assassins were lightning fast, just the fact that the attacks were launched at such a close distance made dodging them nearly impossible. Or to put it in another way, it was simply impossible for someone with the Attributes of an ordinary Level 30 player to evade those attacks. Even if one managed to dodge those kinds of attacks, failing to counterattack in time would eventually lead to death from overexhaustion. Back when Wen Hua herself had reached the fourth floor for the first time, she had died completely unaware of what had happened. And even now, she was still stuck on this floor. Only the monster-like existences of the Secret Pavilion were able to contend against the Assassins on this floor. So far, just a few people throughout the entire Guild had managed to clear the fourth floor. I wonder just how far you will be able to go? A bright smile appeared on Wen Hua''s face as she quietly observed the Swordsman. She had a feeling that, if she could observe Shi Feng clearing this floor, she might be able to break through that barrier that was preventing her from improving. Under Wen Hua''s gaze, Shi Feng started moving. Without hesitation, he dashed up to a nearby tree and placed his back against the large tree. This way, he no longer needed to pay attention to attacks coming from behind. He just needed to keep an eye out for attacks coming from 180 degrees in front of him. "Damn, so you can do something like that as well?!" Everyone spectating this scene was stupefied. They had never thought to utilize the terrain in such a way. The effort an expert needed to expend to defend against attacks coming from just 180 degrees was many times less than attacks coming from all 360 degrees. With the energy saved, one could better perceive and concentrate as well. Moreover, dodging attacks would become much easier. However, as soon as Shi Feng stood in front of the large tree, a silvery-white dagger suddenly appeared before him, directly slashing at his neck. So fast! Surprised, Shi Feng instinctively sidestepped. With the speed of the attack as well as the short distance it was launched from, if Shi Feng had not responded instantly, he would have gotten struck without a doubt. Fortunately, he had already reached the Void Realm, so he could feel the movements in his surroundings. Although the appearance of the dagger was very sudden, the moment the weapon materialized, it would more or less generate some fluctuations in the air, which gave him sufficient warning and allowed him to carry out preventive measures. In the next moment, the snowy-white dagger brushed past his neck and left a deep scar on the tree behind him. Close on the heels of that first attack, fluctuations appeared from two more places. Meanwhile, the position of these fluctuations came from the direction he had sidestepped to. Shi Feng tightened his grip on his twin swords and hurriedly slashed at the locations the two fluctuations originated from. Peng! Peng! Two crisp sounds echoed throughout the entire forest. The sparks generated were also extraordinarily eye-catching. "Crap, isn''t he too amazing? How did he manage to detect those attacks?" The spectators'' mouths all fell wide open when they saw the sparks flashing before Shi Feng. As bystanders, they had a much clearer view of the situation than Shi Feng. However, even after looking for a long time, they failed to detect anything peculiar about the locations he had attacked; there was just empty space there. Nevertheless, Shi Feng succeeded in very accurately blocking two strikes. They all felt that Shi Feng was not human but a monster in human guise, instead. How are his attacks so fast? Wen Hua was inwardly shocked when she saw this scene, her mind constantly replaying Shi Feng''s previous actions. Setting aside how Shi Feng had managed to detect the location of the attacks, just being able to execute such quick counters from such a short distance was simply unbelievable. This was definitely not a feat an ordinary human being could accomplish. Her dynamic vision was among the best in the entire Guild. Even if it were a baseball moving at 160 kilometers per hour, she would be able to clearly see and count the number of rotations the ball was making. For attacks that no one else could see even the afterimages of, she could make out some afterimages. Although they would be extremely vague, she would still manage to see a small portion of the attack. However, Shi Feng''s slashes were completely different. Normally, when an attack was launched, the speed of the attack would start from zero and slowly accelerate up to maximum speed. However, through some unknown technique, Shi Feng''s swords had gone from a standstill to moving at maximum speed instantly. There was no acceleration process in between whatsoever. Following which, Shi Feng brandished his swords dozens of times, blocking every attack sent at him. Not a single scratch could be found on his body. Instead, the constant clangor of metal surrounded him. Seen from afar, Shi Feng appeared to be training his swordsmanship all by himself. As more time passed, Shi Feng grew accustomed to blocking the attacks of the Assassins. Time to end this! Shi Feng swept a glance at his surroundings, his lips curling up in a smile. At this moment, he no longer bothered to block the dagger striking at him. Instead, as if he had already anticipated this attack, his body smoothly sidestepped while his right arm swung at the location the dagger appeared from. Soon after, a streak of greenish blood stained the grassy ground. 898 Unseen Improvemen Chapter 898 - Unseen Improvement -1,327. The instant this damage emerged, a blurry figure also appeared, the dark-green HP bar above the figure''s head shortening slightly. A moment after the HP bar showed up, however, the figure disappeared once more. Even when Shi Feng tried launching another attack at the same position, the only thing his sword hit was air. There''s only a 1.3-second period for a counterattack. That really is short. No wonder so many people have failed to clear this floor. Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He had never expected these monsters to have such a characteristic as well. Originally, it was already very difficult to grasp the attack trajectories of these monsters. Moreover, there wasn''t just one monster attacking him. Based on Shi Feng''s perception, at least five monsters were attacking him. Yet, not only did he have to dodge the attacks of these monsters, but he also needed to launch a counterattack within such a short timeframe. This greatly increased the difficulty of clearing the floor. Having no better choice, Shi Feng could only continue silently blocking the attacks while searching for opportunities to counterattack. He often had to block over a dozen attacks before he got the opportunity to launch a counterattack. If he failed to grab this opportunity, he would have to block another dozen, or even two or three dozen, attacks. If an ordinary person were standing in Shi Feng''s place right now, they would surely feel bored at the moment. Shi Feng, however, was actually joyous. He could not help but admit that the guidance provided by the Battle Tower was indeed excellent. All unawares, Shi Feng had focused his full concentration on detecting the spatial fluctuations. As a result, the sensitivity of his five senses heightened while his grasp of his surroundings constantly deepened. It was normally impossible for one to encounter situations where subtle spatial fluctuations appeared around oneself. Hence, being able to hone his perception to such a fine degree right now was like a dream for Shi Feng. Time passed quickly. Even when Shi Feng had an opportunity to counterattack and deal damage to the Void Assassins, he did not take action. After all, this here was the best place for him to train right now. As his perception improved, Shi Feng became increasingly sensitive to the subtle fluctuations caused by the Void Assassins. Initially, these weak fluctuations felt no different from tiny raindrops hitting his skin. Although he could feel them, his perception of them was not that clear. As a result, even when his body felt these fluctuations, his brain dismissed them as negligible. However, after sensing the fluctuations for thousands of times, his awareness of them intensified. Now, these fluctuations felt more like little pebbles hitting his body, instead, the pain more than sufficient to grab his attention. Even without his brain making any conscious decisions, he would instinctively react and turn towards the direction the fluctuations came from. It''s no wonder super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds can nurture so many apex experts and even monsters that grasp a Domain. Sure enough, they are not existences that even well-funded first-rate Guilds can threaten, Shi Feng inwardly sighed emotionally. He had profited massively from the trade with the Secret Pavilion this time. If not for this trade, he most likely would have remained unaware of just how frightening the major powers of God''s Domain were. Although he currently had a Secret Technique tablet and even an Epic Guild Quest that could send him to the Ancient Battlefield, the Holy Land for Experts, neither of those things could even compare with the Battle Tower. The value of the Secret Technique tablet lay in the fact that it allowed players to learn advanced combat techniques, which would, in turn, greatly increase their combat powers. The improvement in combat standards was only a bonus. Whether players could actually gain inspiration from learning the combat technique was a different matter altogether. As for the Holy Land, although Shi Feng had never been there before, based on what he had heard about the place, the improvements one could gain there should be roughly equal to, or even inferior to, those from the Battle Tower. However, as the number of people the training system could accommodate was limited, the Holy Land seemed very valuable. Otherwise, the major powers of God''s Domain might not even bother to compete over entry to the Holy Land. --- "What a pity. I thought he would clear the fourth floor as well. Now, it seems that it isn''t possible. At the rate at which he is counterattacking, his Stamina and Concentration will run out before the battle is over." "Didn''t I say so already? That place is the Silent Hell. If even so many of our Guild''s top experts can''t clear it, how could a newcomer like him possibly clear it?" "But the fact that he has lasted for so long is already plenty amazing. This is my first time seeing someone survive this long against those monsters." "Indeed. The attacks of those monsters are simply impossible to predict. If it were up to me, I''d probably be dead in less than five seconds. Moreover, among our batch of trainees, not a single person has managed to last as long as Shi Feng on the fourth floor. With this, he can be considered the number one player among us." Without anyone noticing, Shi Feng had risen to become the first ranking player in everyone''s hearts. At this moment, the members of the Secret Pavilion no longer looked at him arrogantly, all of them feeling only admiration for the Swordsman. --- Just as everyone had thought that Shi Feng''s limit was the fourth floor Two streaks of green blood suddenly appeared before Shi Feng, the Void Assassin that had its body exposed losing close to a total of 2,700 HP. That should be enough practice. There''s no point in continuing this training. Let''s go to the fifth floor to take a look, then. After deciding so, Shi Feng adjusted his breathing and finally launched his counterattack. After a long period of tempering himself with the Void Assassins, Shi Feng could already react to the fluctuations they caused without paying deliberate attention to them. He could now place more of his concentration on dodging and attacking, instead. Although he could still improve slightly if he continued tempering himself, his remaining Stamina did not permit him to do so. Moreover, compared to tempering his perception of the surrounding space, he was currently more interested in finding out what sort of trial awaited him on the fifth floor. --- "What''s going on? Shouldn''t his Stamina and Concentration have declined significantly? Theoretically, his counterattack rate should gradually drop. So, why is it now increasing?" The spectators were all shocked to see Shi Feng behaving as if he had just taken a dose of stimulants. However, what no one knew was that, after undergoing that period of tempering, Shi Feng''s combat standards had received significant improvements. If before he had to focus three-fourths of his concentration on sensing the spatial fluctuations, he now needed to use only one-third of it to do so. This change allowed Shi Feng''s attack rate to increase over threefold. --- In less than ten minutes, Shi Feng had defeated all eight Void Assassins, leaving only the Chieftain ranked Null Assassin, which had not moved at all since the start of the battle. The instant the eighth Void Assassin died, the Null Assassin finally took action. The instant the Null Assassin struck, Shi Feng nearly lost his life. The Null Assassin''s attack was exceedingly fast, and its Strength was extremely powerful. It was simply impossible for Shi Feng to evade the Chieftain''s strike even though he had managed to sense it coming. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng launched an attack of his own at the Null Assassin''s dagger, using the force of the impact to deflect the dagger''s attack trajectory slightly so that it struck air, instead. So strong. Shi Feng inwardly felt fortunate as he looked at his still-trembling arm. If not for him requiring less concentration now to detect the spatial fluctuations and being able to invest more attention into attacking and evading, he would''ve most likely fallen to the Null Assassin already. --- He dodged it? Yuan Tiexin was astounded as he looked at the unmarked Shi Feng. He had expected Shi Feng to suffer miserably when the Null Assassin took action. The reason for this assumption of his was because he understood just how powerful the Null Assassin was. Although he, too, was a Void Realm expert, he had suffered hundreds of defeats at the hands of the Null Assassin. Only after a long period of arduous training did he manage to defeat the Null Assassin. Moreover, even until now, his win-rate against the Null Assassin was still not 100%. Hence, he never imagined that Shi Feng would actually manage to deflect the Null Assassin''s attack on his first try. The scariest part about the Null Assassin was its first attack. If one could avoid its first attack, the subsequent battle would become much simpler. Sure enough, after a short adjustment period, Shi Feng launched his counterattack on the Null Assassin, continuously dealing damage to the Chieftain. In the end, after a dozen minutes or so of strenuous battle, he depleted the Null Assassin''s 200,000 HP. 899 Ranking Competition’s Number One Chapter 899 - Ranking Competition''s Number One "What?!" "He cleared it, just like that?!" All of the spectators were stupefied as the Null Assassin''s corpse appeared on the ground. Until now, not a single person among their trainees had conquered the Silent Hell. Although they knew that some of them would eventually clear the fourth floor, they never expected a newcomer from another Guild to do so. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s success caused an uproar among the other players in the main hall. Many people began to regret their decision to not watch Shi Feng''s battle. If they had done so, they might''ve learned something, allowing for minor breakthroughs. After all, every expert had their own strengths and weaknesses. If the other party''s strength made up for what they lacked, they would gain some insight from watching the battle. "Hahaha! You guys have seen it now, right? I''m not weak. It''s that Shi Feng is too strong! Among our batch, he ranks at the very top. With my abilities, how could I possibly be a match for him?" When Violent Bear saw Shi Feng clear the fourth floor, excitement replaced his previously defeated expression. He then turned to the fighters who had laughed at him and proudly proclaimed, "If you guys think I''m weak, why don''t you challenge him, rather than spout bullshit from the sidelines?!" Suddenly, the players who had previously mocked Violent Bear fell silent. Thinking back to the Berserker''s battle against Shi Feng, although Violent Bear had lost quite a few points, he had actually profited from the fight against an expert like Shi Feng. Usually, for those with lower standards, it was impossible to find an opportunity to fight trainees who had reached the fourth floor. The latter despised fighting them. Violent Bear, on the other hand, had, unintentionally, scored a fight against an expert like Shi Feng. If Violent Bear gained even a fragment of inspiration from that fight, the 800 points he had lost would''ve been worth it. If possible, they were willing to spend five or six hundred points, eight hundred points, for a match against Shi Feng. However, this opportunity had obviously passed. The fact that Shi Feng had secured first place in the ranking competition meant that he no longer lacked Battle Points. Furthermore, why would Shi Feng need to fight them? --- On the Battle Tower''s fifth floor As soon as Shi Feng arrived, he felt a massive mental suppression weigh on him. This mental suppression was many times stronger than the Abyssal Blade had exuded when he executed a Skill. He felt as if he stood before a Tier 5 monster, suffocating. His body''s reaction speed and mobility were also heavily restricted. Aside from this oppressive pressure, he noticed that he stood in a dimly lit cave. Steam filled the cave, feeling like a massive sauna. The steam also hindered Shi Feng''s vision. Aside from Shi Feng, five giant snakes with dark gray bodies and three heads each slithered in the steamy cavern. The snakes amber eyes glared at Shi Feng. [Three-headed Snake] (Special Elite) Level 30 HP 150,000/150,000 Before Shi Feng could adapt to the environment here, the five Three-headed Snakes moved. Inside the rubble-filled cave, Shi Feng''s mobility was restricted. The Three-headed Snakes, on the other hand, treated these obstacles as if they didn''t exist. They moved through the cave like flowing water, easily overcoming the various obstacles in their path with unaffected speed. In the blink of an eye, all five snakes arrived before Shi Feng. After the five Three-headed Snakes surrounded Shi Feng, they began to spit needles of corrosive venom at the Swordsman. The venomous needles rained down on Shi Feng like thin rain. In this steamy environment, it was simply impossible to detect them with the naked eye. Shi Feng could only determine the attacks'' trajectories by the fluctuations in the air. However, there were simply too many needles. A single Three-headed Snake had spat over a dozen needles. With five Three-headed Snakes surrounding Shi Feng, he faced was over 70 attacks. An ordinary person would have their hands full with just five of these attacks. Now, there were over 70. Moreover, even one of these attacks was more than enough to injure Shi Feng heavily. The fifth floor''s difficulty was clear to see. Even if Shi Feng were at his peak, he could never defend against so many attacks. He needed to rely on quick movements to reduce the number of attacks he received. Only by doing so would he have any chance of survival. Moreover, not only were his reactions slowed right now, but he was also surrounded by a vial environment. With so many obstacles, it would be very easy to trip and fall if he moved too quickly, which would then open holes in his defense. However, even knowing this, Shi Feng chose to run. If he simply stood there, the numerous attacks would claim his life. As expected of the Battle Tower''s fifth floor. This isn''t any place for ordinary human beings. Shi Feng brandished his twin swords to deflect the venomous needles as he ran. Although these needles did not contain much force, there were many of them. Even after Shi Feng ran, he had to face nearly forty needles. With his blurred perception, a single mistake would result in the venomous needles finding their mark. Although each needle only dealt around -500 damage, Shi Feng only had several thousand HP. Following which, as Shi Feng ran through the cave and evaded the needles, his HP rapidly decreased. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng''s HP reached zero, his body falling to the ground. In the end, he was teleported out of the Battle Tower. Even after Shi Feng returned to the main hall, the spectators around the Battle Tower''s portal were still in a daze. The fifth floor was absurdly difficult. Just watching the rain of venomous needles pelt Shi Feng made a chill run down their spines. There was also that massive mental suppression to contend with. If they had to fight in such an environment, they wouldn''t even last two seconds before becoming porcupines. However, Shi Feng had managed to last over ten seconds before succumbing to the near-invisible needles. If not for those attacks being so hard to detect, Shi Feng could''ve survived for much longer. He might''ve even put up a good fight against those Three-headed Snakes. Is this his current strength? After Cold Autumn exited spectator mode, he looked around him, a faint chill crawling down his back. Fortunately, he had experienced that battle as a spectator. Had he been fighting, against that oppressive pressure, he would have been paralyzed; all he could have done was wait for death to take him. As for Wen Hua, after seeing the difference between herself and Shi Feng, she wasn''t afraid in the least. On the contrary, she brimmed with fighting spirit, the corners of her lips lifting into a bright smile. Although she could clearly feel just how massive the gap was between them, she had obtained tremendous insight from watching Shi Feng''s fight. Previously, she had concentrated on a singular question: why were Shi Feng''s attacks so fast? However, after a long period of observation, she more or less gained some inspiration. Every time Shi Feng attacked, his body began to move even before his sword did. By relying on his body''s movements and energy transfer, his sword had already been accelerating for a brief period by the time he moved his arm. Hence, when Shi Feng actually swung his sword, the sword seemed as if it instantly transitioned from a standstill to maximum speed. Although the theory sounded simple, one needed a degree of physical control that was beyond the scope of ordinary humans to accomplish this feat. Of course, Wen Hua had a lot of confidence in herself. She believed that, if Shi Feng could do it, there was no reason that she could not. 900 Challenge Chapter 900 - Challenge Inside the Battle Fortress''s main hall, a group of newcomers in linen clothing suddenly emerged from the training field''s portal. "The combat system here is really impressive. Those simulated experts felt like the real deal. They are all so powerful. Even in a one-on-one, they still suppressed me." When Blackie spoke about the combat training he had just experienced, he wore an amazed expression. When he fought the starter pack''s first eight experts, he has some hope of triumphing against them. However, the last two experts were absurdly powerful. They had defeated him easily, leaving him without any power to resist. "It''s a pity that there are so few experts in the starter pack. I wish we had more variations," Flying Shadow sighed. "The Secret Pavilion is fraudulent. Just fighting those ordinary experts costs 100 points per day. If we can''t rank among the top 200, we won''t be able to afford them every day." Although he had only fought for a few hours against the starter pack''s ten experts, he had learned a lot. If he could face all kinds of experts over time, he would gain combat experience with flying speed. He might even reach the Refinement Realm after a short period. "That should be enough training for us today. We still have to challenge the Battle Tower and raise our ranks," Fire Dance stated. Although she didn''t want to waste their starter packs'' duration, it was more important to raise their ranks first. If they didn''t, they would be stuck with 20 Battle Points per day. After they had entered the training system, they had learned a lot about the Battle Tower and the Pavilion''s veterans from the other newcomers. To put it simply, it would not be easy to enter the top 200 ranks with their current strength. Furthermore, Fire Dance aimed for the top 150 ranks. Only by entering the top 150 would she receive 200 points each day, which would allow her to face one Refinement Realm expert per day. If she were stuck among the top 200, she would have to wait two days to challenge a Refinement Realm expert. As for the starter pack''s experts, the first eight weren''t even a warm-up for her. Only the last two experts had made her work for her victory. Even after dozens of matches with those two experts, her win-rate was only 50%. On the other hand, the Secret Pavilion''s top 150 experts had at least an 80% win-rate against the starter pack''s Refinement Realm experts. With her current standards, it would be a relatively difficult task to enter the top 150. At the same time, she was very excited. There were only a handful of experts in Star-Moon Kingdom that could pose a challenge. In the simulation training system, however, there were crowds of such experts waiting for her. "Big Sis Fire, look; for some reason, a lot of people have gathered over there." Violet Cloud pointed out as she looked towards the Battle Tower''s portal. Curiously, she asked, "What are they doing?" When they had arrived at the Battle Fortress, not many people had been present. Now, however, over a hundred people had crowded the main hall. "Ah, someone seems to be leaving the tower," Cola said as he saw the portal flash with white light. The figure of a man then stepped out of the portal. After a moment, they recognized the familiar figure. A large crowd had huddled around the portal. As soon as Shi Feng emerged, everyone turned towards him. They looked at Shi Feng as if he were a monster, curiosity and horror flashing in their eyes. Shi Feng was simply some newbie that had joined the training system today, yet, he had set foot onto the fifth floor. The Secret Pavilion''s members had already been in the simulated training system for over a month. For some, this wasn''t even their first year. Yet, they were all still stuck on the Battle Tower''s fourth floor. Hence, Shi Feng''s achievement was difficult for them to swallow. "Doesn''t he look just over twenty? He actually reached the fifth floor at such a young age. Even among all the geniuses throughout our Secret Pavilion''s history, he should rank near the top, right?" "Yeah, he should rank within the top 20." "Between Shi Feng and Wen Hua, who do you think has more talent?" "Do you even need to ask? It is certainly Wen Hua. Even our Guild Leader can''t stop praising her talent, claiming that she ranks among the top 10 throughout the Secret Pavilion''s history." When Fire Dance and the others overheard the conversation, they were momentarily at a loss for words. They did not know whether they should celebrate or smile wryly. While their heads still ached about obtaining a better rank, Shi Feng had already become number one in the ranking competition Meanwhile, before Shi Feng even had the chance to relive the battle on the fifth floor, he heard the sound of an emergency notification. Shi Feng was then forcefully ejected out of the training system and forced into Sleep Mode. No one was surprised about Shi Feng''s sudden disappearance. They all thought that he had logged out to avoid their pestering. Moreover, training in the Battle Tower was very taxing. Almost everyone had to log out and rest after challenging the tower. --- Inside the luxurious bedroom, Shi Feng climbed out from his virtual gaming cabin, the machine continuously beeping. A single tempering session in the Battle Tower consumes so much? Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw the virtual gaming cabin''s depleted Nutrient Solution tank. Before he had entered the training system, he had made sure to refill the cabin''s Nutrient Solution storage and had drunk a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid. The depleted Nutrient Solution was one thing; however, he was extremely hungry. Moreover, his entire body felt drained. This emptiness felt similar to when he had broken through the limits of his mental strength for the first time. It''s no wonder why Yuan Tiexin had warned me to prepare S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Ordinary people can''t afford to play around with this training system. Shi Feng, more or less, understood why Yuan Tiexin had suggested caution. It seems I''ll have to prepare some more S-rank Nutrient Fluids from now on. While inside the Battle Tower, he had pushed his five senses to their brinks for a long time. In God''s Domain, however, he usually didn''t need to. It was especially true after one reached his standard. While fighting at one''s peak, the brain would be extremely active. This would increase the body''s energy consumption. If one did not replenish the lost energy afterward, the consequences would be unimaginable. It was even possible to destroy one''s own body. Now that Fire Dance and the others had begun their training in the simulation training system, they needed enough nutrient supplements after they emerged. Otherwise, their bodies would suffer. However, it was extremely difficult to obtain the best-performing S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Only transcendental powers like the Secret Pavilion, which were influential in both the real world and the virtual world, could obtain large quantities. As for a foundationless Guild like Zero Wing, it could, at most, obtain a few bottles. Furthermore, each bottle was very expensive. Meanwhile, Shi Feng needed the Coins he had on hand to keep the Guild functioning, and he had not liquidated any funds recently. As for the Credits he had on hand, Liang Jing had already used them to purchase training facilities. Currently, he was almost broke. It seems I''ll have to turn some of the Coins or items into money for now. Shi Feng sighed helplessly. Truthfully, he did not wish to exchange any of the game''s resources for Credits. After all, doing so would impact the Guild''s development. However, nurturing a group of top-tier experts was far more important right now. Just as Shi Feng pondered selling the resources of God''s Domain, Liang Jing barged into his room, looking worried. "Master Shi Feng something has happened!" Liang Jing said, panting. With her hand over her chest, she continued, "A group of people has suddenly arrived to challenge our training center. Several instructors have been injured. From what I have heard, this group defeated Master Chen Wu before arriving. They are demanding a match against you. They claim that there will be consequences if their demands aren''t met." "Challenge? Who are they? What do they look like?" Shi Feng recalled a faint memory after hearing these words. 901 Silent Blade Chapter 901 - Silent Blade Inside the bustling dojo, hundreds of people had gathered around the arena. "This dojo is pathetic. These instructors are just garbage. They''re completely misguiding the students here. With such skills, they even dare start up a dojo? "Hey, you guys, you''re better off training somewhere else. With these trash instructors teaching you, you won''t get anywhere in a fighting competition, no matter how long you train. It''s no wonder why, after so many years, this city has not produced a single, decent professional fighter. Of course, you''re not to blame. Rather, it''s these garbage instructors'' fault. "If it were up to me, I would pack up and leave after finding out how crappy these instructors are. I wouldn''t waste my youth here." Over a dozen youths in their twenties wearing dark gray martial artist robes glanced at the middle-aged instructor who had just been defeated, disgust filling their gazes. These gray-robed youths then sent sympathetic gazes towards the hundreds of teenagers training inside the hall. Although the Big Dipper Dojo''s trainees were furious, none of them dared to speak up, remaining silent as they watched this scene play out. These dozen or so people who had suddenly shown up were just too strong. Among these people, one indifferent youth, who looked to be roughly the same age as they were, had single-handedly defeated six of their highly-skilled instructors. Moreover, none of their instructors had landed a finger on this indifferent youth. Even someone who knew nothing of martial arts could see the disparity in their strengths. If they had to challenge that youth, they probably wouldn''t last one move. It was extremely difficult to defeat an opponent in a single move. It was even more so in an actual battle. Generally, such situations only occurred when martial artists fought an ordinary person. To put it simply, it was only possible if there was a massive difference between the fighters'' strengths. The hundreds of teenage trainees felt an immense pressure weigh on them when they looked at the thin, indifferent youth. Seeing the quiet trainees, the fierce, bald man standing at the forefront of the grey-robed youths smirked with satisfaction. "How about it? "You''ve seen the difference in our abilities for yourselves. We have come from the White Tiger Dojo. Recently, our dojo has considered establishing a branch in this city. This is a chance for all of you. If you perform well in the branch dojo, you might even get the chance to train in the main dojo. At that time, you will be the star of tomorrow''s fighting competition. You won''t have to waste your lives in this tiny place." Hearing the bald man''s offer, everyone was momentarily stunned. They immediately understood why even Master Chen Wu was no match for these youths. They had heard about the White Tiger Dojo. Anyone who wanted to join the world of fighting knew about it. Many famous contestants, who had taken part in past national fighting competitions, originated from the White Tiger Dojo. The dojo had even nurtured well-known, international fighters in the past. Countless youths that wanted their own fame in the fighting world dreamed of joining the White Tiger Dojo. However, they had never imagined that the White Tiger Dojo would open a branch in their city Before the bald man could say more, the dojo''s doors swung open. Having captured everyone''s attention, Shi Feng and Liang Jing approached the bald man. Immediately, the trainees grew excited. Shi Feng was the Big Dipper Dojo''s Head Instructor. Despite being so young, he had attained this position by relying on his own strength. He was their revered idol. In fact, many among them had specifically joined the dojo because they had heard Shi Feng was an instructor here. However, Shi Feng normally lived in the Greenwater Villa, only occasionally venturing to the dojo. Hence, they did not see him often. "You are the Head Instructor?" The bald man''s lips twisted into a sneer, glaring at Shi Feng with disdain. He had heard that the newly-established Big Dipper Dojo had a twenty-something-year-old martial artist who guided the students. He had thought it had been a joke. Now, however, it seemed that the rumor was true. The man before him wore cheap, dark-blue sportswear, and he didn''t appear strong. Not only did the man seem a little pale, but he also lacked the aura of a martial artist. It was hard to imagine how such a weakling had wormed his way into the position of Head Instructor. In his opinion, Shi Feng was weaker than the instructors that had already been defeated. At the very least, their auras had been passable. "Mhm, that''s right. Why have you come looking for me in such a hurry?" Shi Feng swept a glance over the dozen or so members from the White Tiger Dojo, becoming more confident in his conjecture. In the past, after God''s Domain launched the Mind Space System, the well-known dojos throughout the nation had begun to expand. These dojos had set up branches in various cities in an attempt to poach members and expand their influence, hoping to attract major corporations'' investments. Although some dojos had received these investments, the majority had not. These corporations'' intentions had been obvious. They had all wanted to nurture a powerful Guild of their own in God''s Domain. However, compared to recruiting ordinary players, it was far more efficient to recruit fighters from dojos, who were already familiar with actual combat. Moreover, God''s Domain wouldn''t impact these fighters'' daily routines. These people only needed to play God''s Domain while they slept. With this, not only would the fighting world and virtual gaming world remain separate, but they would also form a mutually beneficial relationship, helping each other improve. Both sides would make more money. Knowing this, the major corporations that had been interested in the Mind Space System had refused to ignore such a valuable opportunity. Among the country''s dojos, the White Tiger Dojo had chosen to set up branches in over a dozen third-tier cities. Jin Hai City had been one of those cities. Back then, the city''s various dojos had despaired upon hearing the news. These dojos had originally chosen to develop in a third-tier city precisely because they could not compete with the dojos in first- and second-tier cities. When the major dojo''s had targeted their cities, they had been forced out of business. In the end, many of Jin Hai City''s dojos had been forced to cooperate with the White Tiger Dojo. Once Shi Feng saw the White Tiger Dojo''s members, his gaze stopped on the indifferent youth behind the bald man. Shi Feng knew this youth. He had been extremely famous in Jin Hai City. Moreover, after joining God''s Domain, he had become unstoppable. In the past, he had been known as "Silent Blade" in God''s Domain. At his peak, he had been a Tier 5 Berserker who ranked 58th on the God''s Domain Experts List. Unfortunately, his entry into God''s Domain was somewhat late. Otherwise, his achievements in the game would''ve been even greater. "Our White Tiger Dojo is thinking of opening a branch in Jin Hai City, so we''ve come to say hello. We were also hoping to spar with you. I wonder if Instructor Shi is interested?" the bald man laughed. "Spar?" Shi Feng''s lips hooked up slightly. Shaking his head, he said, "Why doesn''t it look like that to me? The White Tiger Dojo is so famous that even a layman such as myself knows of it. Is it necessary to venture all the way here to poach our members?" "Don''t say it like that. We are just trying to conduct honest business. Naturally, we have to provide better options to those who wish to join the fighting world." The bald man laughed. He didn''t take Shi Feng seriously in the least. In his opinion, Shi Feng was merely a puppet that Big Dipper had employed to run this dojo. The man didn''t qualify to speak to him at all. "I''ve heard that you are quite powerful. I have always admired those with strength. I wonder; would you be willing to spar with me? We can show everyone whether or not your strength is superficial!" 902 Class versus Class Chapter 902 - Class versus Class The bald man''s sarcasm earned the displeasure of many within the dojo. Just as Liang Jing was about to step forward and say something, Shi Feng held her back with a hand. He was also familiar with this bald man. The man''s name was Gan Xingteng, and he was one of the White Tiger Dojo''s advanced disciples. The man was quite strong, even stronger than Chen Wu. He was very active in all sorts of fighting competitions and had earned himself some fame. Hence, he had the confidence to wipe the floor with every martial arts instructor in Jin Hai City. "What''s wrong? Afraid?" Gan Xingteng sneered. In Gan Xingteng''s opinion, Shi Feng''s pale complexion was definitely due to fear. With this thought, he became even more certain that Shi Feng was afraid of sparring with him. "I''m not particularly opposed to a sparring match. However, if I catered to every random person who burst into our dojo to challenge me, wouldn''t I die from exhaustion?" Shi Feng responded softly. Shi Feng''s retort didn''t fluster Gan Xingteng in the least. Rather, he laughed as he continued to run his mouth, saying, "The high and mighty Head Instructor of the Big Dipper Dojo only knows how to make up excuses. Instructor Shi, aren''t you afraid that you might become a laughingstock if others in our industry heard about your cowardice?" Initially, he had thought that the Big Dipper Dojo''s rumored martial arts master was truly quite powerful. Now, however, it seemed that those rumors had been nothing but lies. "I see that the Big Dipper Dojo only amounts to so much. If even its Head Instructor is too afraid to spar, what''s the point of starting a dojo? Might as well switch professions; start a dance hall instead!" "You and I are closer in age. If you don''t want to spar with Senior Brother Gan, how about my challenge? Do you dare to accept it?" Although Gan Xingteng was not angry, the intermediate disciples behind him were more than raring to fight. Wrathful flames filled their eyes when they looked at Shi Feng, and they wanted nothing more than to teach him a lesson, showing him exactly how powerful the White Tiger Dojo was. Any one of the White Tiger Dojo''s advanced disciples could easily serve as a dojo''s Head Instructor in a second-tier city. Even Chen Wu, Jin Hai City''s top expert, had lost to Senior Brother Gan, yet Shi Feng had actually implied that their Senior Brother wasn''t qualified to fight him. It was an insult to the White Tiger Dojo and their Senior Brother Gan. In their opinions, even one of the White Tiger Dojo''s basic disciples could easily defeat Shi Feng with a few moves. Sparring against their Senior Brother Gan was too much of a privilege for this man. "Don''t misunderstand me. I did not refuse your invitation to spar. However, since you are White Tiger Dojo members, I can''t use my status as an instructor to bully you, right? I intend to allow our disciples to spar with you. What do you think?" Shi Feng asked as he glanced at Gan Xingteng. The entire dojo fell silent as Shi Feng finished his question. The crowd from the White Tiger Dojo looked at Shi Feng as if he were an idiot. If even the Big Dipper Dojo''s instructors were no match for them, why would the disciples have any chance? Even with one hand tied behind their backs, they could easily defeat any of Big Dipper''s disciples. Meanwhile, when the Big Dipper Dojo''s disciples heard Shi Feng, they were all dumbfounded. They had already learned how terrifying the White Tiger Dojo was when they had watched the previous fights. Even if they fought together in groups of five or six, they wouldn''t be a match for one of the White Tiger Dojo''s fighters, much less in a one-on-one. "Sure. Only, once every Big Dipper disciple has been defeated, I hope that you will stop giving me excuses and spar against me yourself," Gan Xingteng sneered and nodded. "Rest assured; if you win, I will step up." Shi Feng laughed. He then turned to Liang Jing and said, "Fetch Fire Dance and the others." "Fetch them? But aren''t they" Liang Jing was momentarily stunned by Shi Feng''s order. After she had become Shi Feng''s assistant, he had often enlisted her help to manage some of Zero Wing Workshop''s affairs. Hence, she knew Fire Dance and the others'' identities. None of these people were professional fighters; they were professional gamers. Rather than having them fight the White Tiger''s members, it would be more effective if the dojo''s disciples fought. "Go. It''s about time they take part in an actual battle." Shi Feng understood the reason for Liang Jing''s shock. However, he still had her summon Fire Dance and the others. Fire Dance''s group might not be professional fighters, but after such a long stay in the Greenwater Villa, they had undergone various training. Lei Bao had even guided their foundations. In addition, they received an endless supply of A-rank Nutrient Fluids and the occasional S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Their current physiques were already many times stronger than when they had first arrived at the Greenwater Villa. Fire Dance and the others had even surprised a martial artist like Lei Bao, and the man often praised the group for being martial arts geniuses. Lei Bao had even wanted to accept them as his personal disciples. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had rejected his requests. A short moment later, Fire Dance and the others entered the dojo. Immediately, their appearance caused a great commotion. When the White Tiger Dojo group saw Fire Dance and the others, their jaws nearly hit the floor. Rage flashed in their eyes as thoughts of murdering Shi Feng surfaced in their minds. Originally, they had thought that Shi Feng had summoned a group of powerful experts to spar against them. Now, however, it would seem that he was simply ridiculing them. The group Shi Feng had called to face them actually included girls. Although there was no lack of female disciples in the various dojos, and there were female-only competitions in major fighting competitions, males and females were simply on different levels. The fact that Shi Feng had sent for a female disciple trampled on their glory and pride. Why wouldn''t they be angry? "Instructor Shi, are you trying to insult the White Tiger Dojo?" Gan Xingteng asked Shi Feng with a frosty tone. Gan Xinteng intended to wait for an answer. However, Fire Dance walked up to the arena and pointed at the White Tiger''s members, issuing her challenge, "One-on-one matches will be too boring. I want to take on all of you at once!" Before the White Tiger Dojo''s members could react, Liang Jing nearly fainted. Just who did Fire Dance think these people were? This wasn''t a game! They were all bona fide fighting experts. They were not random monsters that one could casually defeat in a game Liang Jing had thought of warning Fire Dance. However, seeing the murderous looks from White Tiger Dojo members, she rushed up to Shi Feng and said softly, "Master Shi Feng, please ask her to stop! These people are from the White Tiger Dojo! If she angers them and they stop holding back, someone will end up in the hospital!" "You''re right," Shi Feng nodded. He then looked towards Fire Dance and said, "Hold back. We shouldn''t hospitalize them." If it were Cola or Ye Wumian, they could''ve played with their opponents without hurting them too badly. If it were up to Fire Dance, however, her opponents would be in danger. After all, Fire Dance had never fought ordinary people before. After reaching the Refinement Realm, she usually only trained with Lei Bao. If she fought an ordinary person, she could miscalculate her opponent and use too much strength. "I understand." Fire Dance nodded and smiled. Shi Feng''s instructions left Liang Jing speechless. Although she wanted to inform him that that was not what she had meant, the indifferent youth from the White Tiger Dojo had entered the arena. As for the other White Tiger members, they shouted their indignation. "You Ziping, you better not hold back just because she''s pretty! Show them the strength of the White Tiger Dojo!" "You Ziping, if you can''t defeat her with a single move, I''ll mock you forever!" The visiting fighters'' eyes were all bloodshot with anger. They all wished they were in the cold You Ziping''s place, eager to show these bumpkins from the Big Dipper Dojo the extent of their strength. Meanwhile, Gan Xinteng laughed out of anger. He even wondered if Shi Feng acted out of desperation after realizing the hopelessness of the Big Dipper''s situation. You Ziping nodded seriously as he turned to Fire Dance with a chilling expression. Since You Ziping was already prepared, Shi Feng promptly initiated the fight, "Alright, then. Since you have decided, let the match begin." 903 Who’s Next? Chapter 903 - Who''s Next? When Shi Feng announced the start of the battle, You Ziping shot the man a glance, surprise flashing in his eyes. Shi Feng was simply too calm. He had participated in many fighting competitions before and had met people of various standards, so he could tell that Shi Feng''s serenity was not an act. Rather, his calm originated from absolute confidence as if everything were within his control. However, in his opinion, his match against Fire Dance was unbalanced. Fire Dance had no chance of winning against him. After all, females were generally weaker than males. It was especially true for a great beauty like Fire Dance. Although Fire Dance wore a set of dark blue sportswear, her clothing couldn''t hide her curvaceous body. She looked nothing like a muscular gorilla. On the contrary, she looked like someone who often practiced yoga. Her perfect figure only contained charm, not strength. In the face of absolute strength, all trickery was useless. All martial artists new this. In terms of strength, although he was not at the peak of the White Tiger Dojo''s intermediate disciples, he was still considered above average. Currently, he had a punching strength of 422 kg. Although he barely qualified to participate in the national youth championship, in a third-tier city like Jin Hai City, he could definitely rank among the city''s top fighters. In an actual fight, it was not easy for one to make up the difference in strength. That required a wealth of combat experience and techniques. However, while he might only be 18 years old, he had already participated in over a dozen large-scale competitions; he possessed a considerable amount of combat experience. He even frequently sparred with the dojo''s advanced disciples. In terms of combat techniques, he was already on their level. With the advantage of strength, experience, and techniques, losing was impossible. So, why was Shi Feng so calm? Where was his confidence coming from? However, You Ziping quickly shook these questions away as he returned his gaze to Fire Dance. He no longer wanted to think about what might be going through Shi Feng''s mind. Defeating Fire Dance was his priority. With this match, he would teach Shi Feng the meaning of a true professional fighter. "Fall!" You Ziping shouted, his voice as cold as snow. Like an arrow, he dashed to Fire Dance and sent a fierce punch towards her abdomen. His attack was both fast and precise. He did not hold back in the least. "Ziping sure is vicious. No matter what is going on, his opponent is still a great beauty, yet he''s not showing any mercy," Gan Xingteng muttered with sympathy. With this, the match would end as quickly as it had begun. Even in the White Tiger Dojo, You Ziping was looked upon favorably. However, the boy had one shortcoming; he did not know how to hold back. To a youth, however, this was a benefit. If one were frequently distracted, it would be very difficult to improve. Peng! The sound of a collision radiated from the arena. "She blocked it?! How is that possible?!" The people below the arena stared at Fire Dance in disbelief. The impact should have sent Fire Dance flying, yet she had actually blocked You Ziping''s fist with one hand. It was truly hard to imagine just how that thin, frail arm could endure so much force. Logically, her arm should''ve been knocked away; no one would have been surprised if her bones had cracked or shattered. However, Fire Dance showed no sign of pain. On the contrary, she had received You Ziping''s full-power punch as if she had reached out to say hello. You Ziping was also momentarily stunned. Hurriedly, he tried to withdraw. However, he suddenly discovered that his fist would not budge no matter how hard he tried. Fire Dance''s tender fingers clasped his fist like chains. With no other choice, You Ziping raised his left leg and swept it towards Fire Dance''s neck. Peng! However, Fire Dance caught his iron-like leg with her other hand. As if he had predicted this, You Ziping quickly sent a follow-up punch with his other hand. Just before You Ziping''s fist struck Fire Dance''s face, a creak echoed throughout the dojo. In the next moment, You Ziping released an agonizing scream, his fist halting as he suddenly tumbled to the ground. The fist and ankle that Fire Dance had caught had already begun to turn purple. The various spectators were flabbergasted. Having forgotten about the pale-faced You Ziping, everyone stared at Fire Dance with awe. Fire Dance''s performance was simply too shocking. Nobody could believe their eyes. Among the crowd, the White Tiger Dojo members were the most affected. They knew just how strong You Ziping was. Among their group, only two or three people were stronger than him. Yet, in front of Fire Dance, You Ziping was as powerful as a child. What technique? What combat experience? In front of absolute strength, they were nothing. Does she have some kind of godly strength? Gan Xingteng''s expression was somber as he looked at the injured You Ziping. Fire Dance was merely a young girl. However, even he was far weaker than her. He couldn''t compete with her strength in a fight. He could only rely on his speed and techniques to secure victory. Liang Jing, who stood beside Shi Feng, was similarly stunned. She had assumed that Fire Dance would be hospitalized after this match. She had never imagined that Fire Dance was actually this powerful. Is she a hidden master like Shi Feng? Liang Jing could not help but wonder. There was no other way to explain this overwhelming victory. However, there was one factor that confused Liang Jing; if Fire Dance possessed such skills, why hasn''t she participated in any fighting competitions? With her skills, she would even perform excellently in the national competition. If she could earn herself a victory, she would earn an unimaginable amount of money. She wouldn''t need to continue working as a professional gamer. As for Shi Feng, he glanced at the stunned Liang Jing before shifting his gaze to You Ziping, who was still on the ground. He shook his head and sighed, saying, "Of all the things you could''ve relied on, you chose physical strength." After Fire Dance had reached the Refinement Realm, her body''s physique had improved rapidly. Moreover, with Lei Bao''s guidance, she had already grasped the technique to utilize internal force. To Fire Dance, a punching strength four or five hundred kilograms was not difficult to achieve. You Ziping had been looking for a beating by relying on physical strength. If the boy had simply used his combat experience, he might''ve lasted a little longer. "I believe that the outcome has been decided. Take him away," Shi Feng said, pointing at You Ziping as he looked at Gan Xingteng. Only now did the White Tiger members recover from their daze. This match was over. They had even forgotten that one of their companions was injured and needed immediate medical attention. "Relax, I didn''t use that much force. His bones should be intact. After some treatment, he just needs to rest for a few days to recover," Fire Dance explained as she looked down at the silent You Ziping. She then turned to Gan Xingteng, who stood below the arena, and quietly asked, "The first match is over. Who''s next?" 904 Difference in Experience Chapter 904 - Difference in Experience Fire Dance''s voice was like a jade bead falling to the ground as it resounded throughout the dojo. Although her voice was not loud, her words had ingrained themselves into everyone''s minds, making them impossible to forget. The White Tiger Dojo members instantly paled at these words. Every one of them silently turned to their companions, lacking their previous confidence. You Ziping''s overall strength could rank second among their group; only Gan Xingteng was slightly stronger. They would only suffer if they fought Fire Dance. In contrast, the Big Dipper''s disciples stared at Fire Dance with reverence. Even You Ziping, who had beaten their instructors, had been defeated in less than a handful of moves. Fire Dance''s strength was astounding. Moreover, when they saw the visiting fighters'' fear, a bliss sprouted in their hearts. So what if the White Tiger Dojo was impressive? In the end, its disciples had still lost against their Big Dipper Dojo. Aside from helping them vent their stress, Fire Dance''s victory reassured them of their decision to join the Big Dipper Dojo. Before they had joined the Big Dipper Dojo, they had already heard some rumors. They heard that, in the Greenwater Villa, there were some people who were undergoing special training. However, they had no idea about what that special training entailed. Looking at it now, however, they were absolutely sure that the villa was a training ground for martial arts masters. If they performed well, they might even have a chance to participate in that special training. If they could have even half of Fire Dance''s abilities, they could nurture a powerful reputation for themselves within Jin Hai City. They might even make a name for themselves in the large-scale competitions in their province. After all, even Gan Xingteng, who had defeated Hall Master Chen Wu, wore a grim expression. His fear of Fire Dance was obvious. In the past, Chen Wu had become Jin Hai City''s champion fighter, and his results in the provincial competitions had been impressive. "Is nobody willing to face me?" Fire Dance asked once more as she swept a glance over the White Tiger Dojo members. Before she had come to the dojo, she had heard from Liang Jing just how powerful the White Tiger Dojo''s members were and had been warned to be careful against them. However, after that first match, she did not consider these people particularly strong. On the contrary, she thought they were pitifully weak. When You Ziping had attacked, he had left several holes in his defense. There had just been too many excess movements. Even Violet Cloud could defeat You Ziping easily, not to mention someone like her, who knew how to use internal force. What Fire Dance did not know was that, during her time in the Greenwater Villa, her strength had long since surpassed ordinary people. However, since she was usually cooped up inside the villa, she hadn''t had much contact with the outside world. Hence, she had not noticed these tremendous changes. "I''ll be your opponent!" Gan Xingteng had already realized that this opponent was more than he could handle. However, to preserve the White Tiger Dojo''s glory, he had to take center stage even if it meant humiliation. Before coming to Jin Hai City, the main branch had made it clear that his group needed to wipe the floor with every dojo in Jin Hai City, paving the way for their branch dojo. Even You Ziping could deal with these bumpkins easily, not to mention a Senior like him. Chen Wu should have been the only troublesome opponent they encountered. As for the martial arts master that governed the Big Dipper Training Center, he did not believe the rumor. Even their White Tiger Dojo had to treat martial arts masters with respect. How could an exalted figure possibly be content in a third-tier city like Jin Hai City? Although Gan Xingteng was unsure if Jin Hai City actually housed a martial arts master, he was certain that Fire Dance was an expert who shouldn''t be taken lightly. At the very least, if they wanted a high chance of defeating her, they needed one of the White Tiger Dojo''s instructors to take her on. However, not all hope was lost yet. No matter what was said or done, he was an advanced disciple from the White Tiger Dojo. His combat experience and strength far surpassed You Ziping''s. Previously, You Ziping had sparred against Fire Dance without knowing anything about her. Now that he knew that Fire Dance was extraordinarily strong, he would not make the same mistake. As long as he maintained a certain distance from Fire Dance and waited for her to reveal a flaw in her defense, he could defeat her. Moreover, based on Fire Dance''s appearance, the girl only looked to be in her early twenties. She didn''t have much combat experience. No matter how much she trained, actual combat was different. She would reveal her flaws when she attacked. As Gan Xingteng considered the upcoming fight, Shi Feng announced the start of the sparring session. As soon as Shi Feng shouted "start," Fire Dance crossed the distance of five yards like a leopard and arrived before Gan Xingteng in the blink of an eye. She proceeded to send an open-palm strike towards Gan Xingteng''s chest; the wind whistled as her palm sliced through the air. So fast! Surprised, Gan Xingteng abruptly retreated. Fortunately for Gan Xingteng, he had evaded Fire Dance''s fast attack in the nick of time, with the latter''s palm stopping just a few centimeters from his chest. This single exchange struck fear into Gan Xingteng''s heart. He hadn''t expected her to have explosive speed in addition to an absurd amount of physical strength. Had that attack struck, with Fire Dance''s strength, he would have had some trouble breathing in the best case scenario. In the worst case scenario, his ribs would have broken, and he would have lost consciousness on the spot. However, Fire Dance''s sudden attack had revealed a hole in her defense. When she had thrust her palm forward, she had left her side exposed. As long as he attacked that location, Fire Dance wouldn''t be able to defend against his attack. Hmph. In the end, a youngster is still a youngster. Because you''re so eager to win, you''ve exposed such a basic flaw. Gan Xingteng inwardly laughed. He then sent a roundhouse kick at Fire Dance. Both this kick''s speed and power were far more refined than You Ziping''s. Just as Gan Xingteng''s leg was about to connect with Fire Dance''s side, Fire Dance moved, her other hand snaking out to grasp the man''s leg. Suddenly, she jumped and twisted in the air, and with Gan Xingteng''s leg as a pivot point, she planted her feet straight onto his face. Immediately, Gan Xingteng''s face flattened, blood spurting from his nostrils and his eyes rolling as his head was thrown back. Gan Xingteng felt the world spin. He couldn''t even feel pain. After taking a few steps back, his body abruptly fell to the mat as he fainted. "Senior Brother Gan!" The White Tiger Dojo''s members cried out; none of them could believe what had just happened. They all felt as if they were dreaming. Just how fast had Gan Xingteng''s kick been? They had only seen an afterimage of his leg, yet Fire Dance had managed to grab it and use it as a pivot point, utilizing the flaw she had exposed to land a finishing blow. How much combat experience and how much reaction speed was required to carry out this feat?! Even their instructors couldn''t replicate Fire Dance''s counterattack. You Ziping, who rested below the arena, was dazed when he saw this. He finally understood that his loss had not been a simple lack of strength. Fire Dance had only chosen the simplest, most efficient method to deal with him because the gap between them was simply too massive However, there was one point that he could not make sense of. How did Fire Dance gain such a frightening amount of combat experience?! To perform that kind of counterattack, one needed extremely precise control over their bodies. Any mistakes could easily put one in peril. Only those who frequently dealt with such situations could execute such an accurate strike at such a crucial moment. Yet, how old was Fire Dance? How could she possibly possess that much life-and-death experiences? "Are you wondering why there is such a huge disparity between your combat experience?" Shi Feng asked as he walked up to You Ziping. As if he knew the boy''s thoughts, he smiled and said, "If you wish to know, I can tell you." 905 Workshop Expands Chapter 905 - Workshop Expands "Are you seriously willing to say it?" You Ziping eyed Shi Feng suspiciously. Accumulating combat experience was not something easy to doespecially combat experience involving life-and-death situations. Training under such circumstances was practically gambling with one''s life. There were quite a number of martial artists who had destroyed their own futures as a result of such training. If there actually was a method to accumulate life-and-death combat experience, improving rapidly within a short time would be an easy task. This rapid improvement was also the reason why so many martial arts experts liked to challenge their own limits. "Of course. However, I have a condition," Shi Feng laughed. "I knew it. Forget it. I won''t be joining your dojo." You Ziping let out a soft snort. He had long since known that a person like Shi Feng wouldn''t reveal such a huge secret without conditions. However, Shi Feng''s attempt at poaching him would only end up in failure. Many major dojos in first-tier cities had come scouting You Ziping ever since his talent became known. Some had even offered very excellent treatment, much better than what he was currently receiving from the instructors of the White Tiger Dojo. However, he had still rejected them all. He was not someone who would betray his benefactor. When he was at his lowest, the White Tiger Dojo had given him an opportunity. Had the White Tiger Dojo not nurtured him, he would not have his current achievements today. Simply put, he would not abandon the White Tiger Dojo just for his own benefit. "This kid sure thinks highly of himself. I really don''t know what the chief sees in him, to actually want to nurture someone like him." Standing a short distance away, the bearlike Cola clicked his tongue when he overheard You Ziping''s response, highly annoyed by You Ziping''s attitude. Whether it was in God''s Domain or Jin Hai City, as long as Shi Feng said that he was looking to nurture someone, tons of people would definitely come swarming. "The boss might have his own thoughts," said Ye Wumian standing beside Cola. After taking a look at You Ziping, he continued, "However, that kid indeed possesses some talent. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to become an intermediate disciple of the White Tiger Dojo at such a young age. Even his fellow intermediate disciples are looking at him with respect." Although Cola and the others spoke softly, their voices still failed to escape Shi Feng''s ears. The human brain ruled everything in the body. After Shi Feng''s brain activity improved, his five senses had also become much more acute. The trials of the Battle Tower, in particular, had further honed his five senses. Not to mention a distance of over a dozen yards, even if Cola and the others stood over twenty yards away from him, so long as he focused slightly, he would still hear their whispers. Meanwhile, regarding his companions'' sotto voce discussion, Shi Feng could only laugh inwardly in understanding. After all, not everyone was a reincarnator like he was; they did not know the things that would happen in the future. Not to mention, You Ziping was currently still a diamond in the rough. Who could possibly expect him to become an expert ranked within the top 50 of the God''s Domain Experts List in the future? Seeing You Ziping rejecting his offer righteously, Shi Feng laughed and said, "You misunderstood. I''m not trying to scout you into the Big Dipper Dojo. I''m only inviting you to join the Zero Wing Gaming Workshop. Doing so won''t affect your daily life in any way." "Join a Gaming Workshop?" Surprised, You Ziping asked, "For real?" In the current era, there were many Gaming Workshops in society. There were also plenty of professional gamers. Although not comparable to the fighting industry, the gaming industry was still an increasingly important business sector. Moreover, the majority of Gaming Workshops operated in the wee hours of the night, so joining one would not affect one''s daily life. If he could really increase his life-and-death combat experience just by joining a Gaming Workshop, this would definitely be a worthwhile exchange. Shi Feng nodded before turning to look at the members of Big Dipper and White Tiger and announcing, "This offer isn''t just you but for everyone present. As long as you are below the age of 25, all of you have an opportunity to join Zero Wing''s Workshop." Zero Wing was already developing quite well. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to wait a little while longer before recruiting for Zero Wing''s internal training program. Now that a major dojo like the White Tiger Dojo had already started making its move and begun poaching talents en masse, he naturally could not fall behind. Previously, he had only intended to nurture a few core members of Zero Wing at the Greenwater Villa, so he had not bothered dragging in the disciples of the Big Dipper Dojo. Now that he had such an excellent opportunity, he could use this chance to recruit a few good talents and start internally nurturing experts in large numbers just like the various major powers of God''s Domain. With this, he wouldn''t have to worry about lacking experts or talents getting poached away. Everyone was momentarily stunned when they heard this. Liang Jing was also at a loss for words. This place was a dojo, a place that nurtured experts for the world of fighting, yet Shi Feng was actually recruiting these people to become professional gamers. Doing so was simply ludicrous. If Director Xiao learned of this matter, he was sure to fly into a rage. "Instructor Shi, if we join Zero Wing''s Workshop, will we really become stronger?" a few disciples asked curiously. Hearing these disciples asking such a question rendered Fire Dance and the others speechless. They were the high and mighty Zero Wing! Moreover, when all was said and done, Zero Wing was extremely famous in Star-Moon Kingdom, and even possessed some fame in the world of God''s Domain. Despite all that, these people actually did not know anything about them. Of course, they also understood that, although these disciples might know about virtual reality games, their lifelong goal had always been to achieve fame in the world of fighting. Hence, they rarely came into contact with pleasure-seeking activities, focusing their all into training their bodies, instead. How could a bunch of people who had precious little exposure to virtual reality games possibly have heard of Zero Wing''s name? "Let''s put it this way. If you can pass the test and join the Zero Wing Workshop, I can assure you that it won''t be long before you become much stronger than your present selves," Shi Feng said definitively. "I want to take part in the test!" "I want to try as well!" Immediately, many disciples in the dojo raised their hands and voiced their intent to apply for Zero Wing''s Workshop, every one of them firmly believing Shi Feng''s words. After all, Fire Dance was the best example. Even Gan Xingteng, who had managed to defeat Hall Master Chen Wu, suffered a quick defeat at her hands. "What about you guys?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at the youths of the White Tiger Dojo. "No! Absolutely not!" shouted Gan Xingteng, who had just regained consciousness. "As long as you are a member of the White Tiger Dojo, you are not allowed to join any kind of workshop! Otherwise, you will be expelled!" Some of the White Tiger Dojo members, who had initially been entertaining thoughts of taking the test, immediately lowered their heads at these words. "Senior Brother Gan, why is this so?" a short youth asked curiously. Logically, there should not be any clash between a dojo and a Gaming Workshop. Disciples would normally take on part-time jobs. After all, not everyone could make a living out of participating in competitions, and the dojo did not provide everyone with financial support. They still needed to live. Joining a Gaming Workshop could be considered a part-time job. Moreover, it was more lucrative than any other part-time job. 906 You Will Regret I Chapter 906 - You Will Regret It Shi Feng was also somewhat surprised by Gan Xingteng''s yelling. He then shot a curious look at Gan Xingteng, whose countenance had completely distorted. Something occurred to Shi Feng. The White Tiger Dojo might''ve already entered into a partnership with a corporation, and instead of recruiting more members to attract investors, it was already preparing to enter God''s Domain. Meanwhile, in reply to the questions posed by the disciples of the White Tiger Dojo, Gan Xingteng simply sent them a glare and said strictly, "If you want to join a Gaming Workshop, be my guest. When the time comes, don''t blame me for not warning you." Immediately, the crowd from the White Tiger Dojo fell silent. In all dojos, there were two kinds of disciples. The first kind had to pay an exorbitant fee to join and was usually there just to train their body and learn some combat techniques. The dojo didn''t place them under any restrictions. The second kind was under contract. They were subject to relatively strict restrictions. However, they paid only a small fee or, depending on their rank, nothing at all to receive nurturing from the dojo. Disciples under this category were all aiming to become professional fighters, and they were more like contracted artists working for an agency. The White Tiger disciples who had come to the Big Dipper Dojo this time all fell under the latter category. They had undergone multiple examinations just to get accepted as a contracted disciple of the White Tiger Dojo. After all, the White Tiger Dojo was renowned in the industry, having produced many famous industry professionals. Just being able to get selected as a contracted disciple proved that one was already among the cream of the crop. If they were expelled from the White Tiger Dojo, the consequences would be unimaginable. Faced with that sort of pressure, everyone naturally no longer dared to harbor thoughts of joining the Zero Wing Workshop. "The White Tiger Dojo sure is overbearing. Their contracted disciples don''t possess any freedom at all." "If it were me, I wouldn''t stay in such a dojo at all. It''s not even a guarantee that I''d become a top-tier professional in the future." "Sure enough, our dojo is much better. Aside from the usual training, we can do whatever we want during our free time." The disciples of the Big Dipper Dojo were shocked at the restrictions the White Tiger Dojo placed on its disciples. Previously, they still felt relatively envious of the White Tiger Dojo members. Now, however, rather than envious, they felt fortunate that they had not joined such a tyrannical dojo. Moreover, Shi Feng had already assured them that anyone who managed to join Zero Wing''s Workshop would definitely gain significant improvements in the future. Not only would they be able to earn money, but they would also be able to improve their strength. Compared to joining the White Tiger Dojo, they would have a much better life staying at the Big Dipper Dojo and joining Zero Wing''s Workshop. When the White Tiger Dojo members heard the Big Dipper disciples'' words, their complexions turned extremely ugly. At this moment, none of the pride they had before was evident on their faces. At the White Tiger Dojo members'' silence, Shi Feng simply smiled and said, "The choice is yours. I won''t force you to make a decision. If you guys really want to join, you are welcome to come here and take the test any time." Although the White Tiger Dojo''s interference made it more difficult for him to poach You Ziping, now that the boy had come to Jin Hai City, the White Tiger Dojo would naturally come into conflict with the Big Dipper Dojo. At that time, he would still have plenty of opportunities to scout You Ziping. Having already cast his bait, all he needed to do was wait patiently. As far as Shi Feng knew, You Ziping had chosen to develop himself at the White Tiger Dojo because he liked the daughter of one of the White Tiger Dojo''s branch heads. Unfortunately, this branch head had not favored You Ziping and had given her daughter to a genius fighter called Xie Qiwen, instead. Xie Qiwen was very amazing. At just the young age of 25, he had already managed to qualify for an international fighting competition. Meanwhile, You Ziping had been a mere advanced disciple of the White Tiger Dojo back then, mingling only at the bottom ranks of national competitions. With such a great disparity between the two young men, it was obvious which person the branch head would choose. After that incident, You Ziping had left the White Tiger Dojo and joined the Super Guild Pantheon. Afterward, his achievements had skyrocketed. According to the current timeline, that branch head should not have given her daughter to anyone yet. You Ziping and Xie Qiwen were still competing with each other for her hand. However, if You Ziping did not present any outstanding performances to that branch head, then trying to gain her daughter would definitely be a pipe dream. Currently, Xie Qiwen was a big celebrity in the White Tiger Dojo. He was already a famous fighter on the national level. You Ziping simply stood no chance the way he was right now. If You Ziping wanted to have a fighting chance against Xie Qiwen, then the opportunity to strengthen himself that Shi Feng was extending to him was his only chance. Even if the current You Ziping did not wish to join Zero Wing, once he felt that he could not outcompete Xie Qiwen, he would surely think back to the absolute strength Fire Dance showed today. At that time, he would naturally consider joining Zero Wing. Just as Gan Xingteng thought that no one would dare to join the Zero Wing Workshop, a White Tiger Dojo member suddenly raised his hand. "I want to take the test!" Gan Xingteng and the other White Tiger Dojo members promptly turned to look at the origin of this voice. The person speaking was a young man around 20 years old. To those aiming to become professional fighters, his body was slightly too thin. It was truly hard to imagine how such a person had managed to become an intermediate disciple of the White Tiger Dojo. "Lu Ping, have you lost your mind?!" You Ziping was filled with shock as he turned to look at the young man currently taking care of him. In the White Tiger Dojo, Lu Ping''s talent was considered merely average. The only reason he had managed to become an intermediate disciple was his having trained at the dojo for many years. Currently, he was already 21 years old, yet he had been promoted to an intermediate disciple just recently. He could also be considered one of the few friends You Ziping had in the White Tiger Dojo. You Ziping never imagined that Lu Ping would actually forsake his future at the White Tiger Dojo just to join a Gaming Workshop. Although You Ziping wanted to dissuade his friend, Lu Ping forestalled him. "I''m different from you. You are a genius, while I''m just an ordinary person. I know my own limits. It would be a miracle if I can even become an advanced disciple by the time I reach thirty. Rather than continue walking on this path, I would rather take a gamble," Lu Ping explained. Hearing these words, You Ziping inwardly ridiculed himself. At the same time, he also understood that Lu Ping was firm on his decision. The other members of the White Tiger Dojo could more or less understand Lu Ping''s feelings as well when they heard his explanation. Gan Xingteng, however, had an extremely ugly expression on his face right now. He had originally come to the Big Dipper Dojo, representing the White Tiger Dojo, to humiliate the people here as well as poach some of its disciples. He had never imagined that he would end up on the receiving end of this plan, instead. If news of this matter were to spread, the White Tiger Dojo''s reputation would fall into ruin. "Hahaha! Good! Very good!" Gan Xingteng could not help but laugh madly at this development. He then turned to Lu Ping and said, "I won''t hold you back if you want to leave. However, you will definitely regret this decision in the future! We''re leaving!" Seeing that several more people in his group were starting to show signs of hesitation, he no longer dared to remain here any longer. He hurriedly called for everyone to leave the Big Dipper Dojo. At this time, Cola walked up to the somewhat dazed Lu Ping and patted the young man''s shoulders. In a very welcoming tone, Cola then said, "Brother, I have high hopes for you! I can assure you that, if you manage to join the Zero Wing Workshop, it will bewithout a doubtthe wisest decision you make in this lifetime! I mean, take myself for example. Before I joined Zero Wing, I was far weaker than your current self. As long as you work hard, you will certainly become much stronger than you would ever be if you stayed in the White Tiger Dojo!" "May I know how long Big Brother has been with Zero Wing?" After Lu Ping took a close look at the tall and robust Cola, as well as considered the feeling he got when Cola had patted his shoulders, he could tell that Cola possessed immense physical strength. He estimated Cola''s strength to be equal or above that of Gan Xingteng''s. After making a rough calculation, Cola answered honestly, "It''s been roughly a month since I''ve started training officially." "Just over a month?! And you say you were weaker than me before?! You''re not lying to me, right?!" Lu Ping''s eyes widened in shock. He simply could not believe Cola''s words. Cola rolled his eyes at Lu Ping, feeling that the young man was getting overly excited over nothing. He then pointed to Fire Dance and the others and said, "Why would I lie to you? All of us here started taking part in the special training at the same time. If you don''t believe me, ask them yourself!" "That''s right. All of us did indeed start training here only a month ago, more or less. And before Cola began the special training, he really was weaker than your current self." Fire Dance nodded and laughed. Hearing Fire Dance''s confirmation, Lu Ping was immediately dumbfounded. Or to put it in another way, the amount of information was just too much for his brain to process. Right now, he felt as if he had wasted all his life training for nothing. Just what kind of place did he come to? 907 Strength Changes Chapter 907 - Strength Changes After leaving the Big Dipper Dojo with miserable expressions, Gan Xingteng and the other members of the White Tiger Dojo returned to the high-class hotel where they were temporarily lodging. Disregarding his injuries, Gan Xingteng immediately reported what had happened at the Big Dipper Dojo to the main branch of the White Tiger Dojo upon arrival. "What did you say? There''s an expert who''s even stronger than you at the Big Dipper Dojo?" the white-robed middle-aged man on the other side of the video call repeated in surprise. "Could that person be that rumored internal force expert?" "Master Jiang, that Head Instructor called Shi Feng did not take action. The one who fought was a woman. Judging from her appearance, she should be around the same age as Shi Feng. However, she is extremely powerful. Even Xie Qiwen would have difficulty defeating her. I suspect that the real behind-the-scenes boss is that woman," Gan Xingteng reported carefully as he looked at the man in the screen. "Moreover, I believe that the Big Dipper Dojo has plans similar to ours." Although Jiang Tianyuan, the man before him, was not the main dojo master of the White Tiger Dojo, he was still a very powerful branch master. The man had been famous for more than 20 years already. One should not take his appearance at face value. While he might look like someone in his mid-thirties, in reality, he was already 50 years old this year. "This is interesting. Even Xie Qiwen wouldn''t be able to defeat her easily? It''s no wonder the Big Dipper Group has constantly been expanding its influence recently. But it doesn''t matter. The mindset of that bunch from the Big Dipper Group is too simple. What do they think they can accomplish with just one expert?" Jiang Tianyuan laughed. "I recall that Jin Hai City is going to hold a city-wide competition soon. I''ll send Xie Qiwen and Tang Jingyao to help you secure both male and female championship titles in Jin Hai City. At that time, even if the Big Dipper Dojo tries to recruit members, it won''t be able to outmatch us. For the moment, just focus on properly dealing with the matters of the branch dojo." "Understood!" Gan Xingteng nodded hurriedly, shock filling his heart. He had never imagined that Jiang Tianyuan would get so serious as to actually send both Xie Qiwen and Tang Jingyao over. The two of them were the pride of the White Tiger Dojo. Both of them usually took part only in national-level competitions, and they were also very famous fighters within the country. Having them participate in such a small competition was simply a waste of time. At that time, a commotion would definitely arise in Jin Hai City. As long as those two people took action, none of the other dojos in Jin Hai City would have any hopes of securing the championship title. --- Inside the Big Dipper Dojo, Shi Feng had Fire Dance and the others preside over the assessment of the new applicants. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself discussed with Liang Jing the matters of recruitment and advertising for Zero Wing''s Workshop. hi Feng''s approach to these problems was simple: advertising through the Big Dipper Training Center''s connections. The advertisement would state that Zero Wing was trying to recruit internal elites, as well as some application conditions such as only men and women below the age of 25 were allowed to apply. It was simply a recruitment advertisement. Originally, Liang Jing thought that even if a Gaming Workshop utilized Big Dipper''s connections to disseminate an advertisement, there would not be many applicants. Although the application conditions Shi Feng proposed were not particularly strict, the criteria for passing the assessment itself was very high. As proof of this, only 10% of the disciples of the Big Dipper Dojo had managed to pass the assessmentand every single one of these disciples had been handpicked by Big Dipper. If ordinary people, who only exercised occasionally, were to apply to the Zero Wing Workshop, it would be great if even 1% managed to pass the assessment. Moreover, the treatment Shi Feng offered was only average at best. She expected that anyone who saw the advertised benefits would directly give up on applying altogether. However, when the next day arrived, everyone in the Big Dipper Training Center was stupefied. There were actually tens of thousands of people swarming into the Big Dipper Training Center, every one of them wishing to take Zero Wing''s test. These people had very nearly destroyed the entrance of the training center. The lively scene was even more exaggerated than Jin Hai City''s annual fighting competition. Meanwhile, the only thing these people talked about as they filled the hallways of the Big Dipper Training Center was Zero Wing, their eyes filled with excitement and admiration as they spoke. In Liang Jing''s opinion, these people had all lost their minds. Since when did Big Dipper possess such powerful advertising capabilities? With this, there would be no need to run any training center or dojo. Big Dipper could simply start an advertising company and make a fortune. Wasn''t Zero Wing just a Gaming Workshop? It was not as if these people were applying to join one of the Fortune 500 companies. When Xiao Yu found out about this flood of visitors, he thought that a major incident had occurred at Big Dipper. As a result, even though he resided in another city, he hurriedly took a flight back to Jin Hai City. When he arrived at the Big Dipper Training Center and heard what the crowd was discussing, his mind stopped completely. He had never imagined that a game like God''s Domain could actually garner such popularity as well as possess such massive influence. Previously, he still considered God''s Domain to be like any other game. Even if those major corporations invested in it, they were only doing so to raise their prestige and help promote the game. Now, however, it would seem that was not the case. "It looks like I''ll have to find some time to have a discussion with Shi Feng." At this moment, Xiao Yu finally understood why Shi Feng was so intent on playing a virtual reality game. Otherwise, with the young man''s abilities, he could easily become a star in the world of fighting. Meanwhile, the large number of applicants also made the extremely confident White Tiger Dojo impatient. "Just what kind of trick did they pull?! Why are all these people trying to join that place?!" No matter how many times Gan Xingteng looked through Zero Wing''s flyer, he could not figure out why so many people were trying to join Zero Wing''s Workshop. Meanwhile, the instructions from the White Tiger Dojo''s main headquarters were also very simple: speed up the construction of the branch dojo. At the same time, the main headquarters also withdrew some funds to start advertising as well, refusing to believe that they could not outcompete Big Dipper with the fame of the White Tiger Dojo. After learning of the White Tiger Dojo''s actions, Liang Jing suggested Shi Feng either increase his scope of advertising or reduce the difficulty of the assessment. However, Shi Feng rejected her suggestions. In his opinion, the people of the White Tiger Dojo were truly fools. He was currently recruiting members for a Gaming Workshop, not a dojo. No matter how much the White Tiger Dojo advertised itself, it would not affect his recruitment campaign in any way. Following which, Shi Feng handed over all the tasks related to the recruitment to Liang Jing to handle, which kept her extremely busy. Not only did she have to go through the applications of tens of thousands of people as well as manage their assessments, but crowds of new applicants also continued coming in every day. If she did not mobilize every staff member of Big Dipper, she would''ve died from overwork already. Fortunately, becoming an internal elite of Zero Wing was not easy, and the passing rate of the assessment was exceedingly low. At the moment, the passing rate was not even 1%. As for Shi Feng himself, he continued training at the Battle Tower. At the same time, he shared some of his Battle Points with Fire Dance and the others, allowing them to fight with the simulated experts for long periods of time. During the two days that God''s Domain''s system update took to finish, Fire Dance and the others received massive improvements. Violet Cloud, in particular, had finally set foot into the Refinement Realm after training at the Battle Tower, becoming Zero Wing''s third expert to set foot into the Realms of Refinement. As for everyone else, they had all reached the Half-step Refinement Realm standard already. "When Big Sis Aqua finds out about this, she will most likely be very shocked at our improvement speed during this period," Violet Cloud said over the public channel, after entering her virtual gaming cabin, her heart full of anticipation as she prepared to log into God''s Domain. "Oh, right. Guild Leader, please don''t tell Big Sis Aqua about this matter right after you log in. She was always bullying me before. This time, I must give her a surprise!" "Sure," Shi Feng laughed as he shook his head. After Aqua Rose obtained her Epic Staff, although she was still a bit inferior to Violet Cloud in terms of techniques, she became far superior in terms of Basic Attributes. As a result, when the two sparred with each other, Violet Cloud was usually the one who got the worst of it. "After you guys log in, gather at White River City. I have something important to tell you all. In addition, there is also the matter of these newcomers." Following which, when the countdown timer for God''s Domain''s system upgrade ended, everyone logged into the game simultaneously. 908 3-Star Shop Chapter 908 - 3-Star Shop As soon as Shi Feng returned to God''s Domain after forty hours of waiting, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: The environment of the area you are in has changed. System: You have 30 seconds of invulnerability to look for a safe zone. "Isn''t this transformation a little too much?!" Shi Feng was surprised as he observed his surroundings. At this moment, the previously lush, green valley was nothing more than scorched earth. He could even faintly see streams of magma flowing nearby. This place had already turned into a volcanic hell. When the waves of hot air blew over Shi Feng, even with his high Fire Resistance, his skin still registered a burning sensation. The pungent smell in the air was almost unbearable. After God''s Domain underwent its fourth evolution, the five senses of players had evidently become much more acute. As a result, such severe external environments would have a greater impact on the combat power of players. Likewise, monsters also had their senses heightened. With their enhanced senses, monsters would now have significantly greater perception ranges. This change was extremely disadvantageous for players who grinded at night. After all, while players would have their acuity reduced at night, monsters would not. Now that the senses of monsters were sharper, most likely, players would be under attack even before they could detect these monsters. This change was a nightmare, particularly for players who were usually active in high-level maps, which were already very dangerous to adventure in, in the first place. Now, things just became even more dangerous. Although Shi Feng had already chosen a safe zone to set up a teleportation point before he logged out, with such drastic changes to the environment, his previously safe zone was now infested with extremely fierce Level 40 monsters. If not for the invulnerability provided by the system, he would''ve long since become dinner for these monsters. He immediately activated Wind Rider and continued searching for a safe zone to set up a teleportation point. After looking for about half an hour or so, he finally found an elevated location for the teleportation point. He also set up a protective barrier using the Ancient Abyssal Book. Aside from the monsters that were originally in the valley, one could also frequently see abyssal monsters flying overhead. These monsters were much higher-leveled than those residing in the valley, with the lowest being Level 80. To current players, these monsters were practically invincible existences. Without the barrier set up using the Ancient Abyssal Book, any player that came here would only become food for the abyssal monsters. However, it was also thanks to these abyssal monsters that he could get an opportunity to make a fortune. Eventually, he would only need to pay out some Magic Crystals in order to rake in large sums of Coins. After he was done with all of his tasks here, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and left the valley. --- At White River City, Shi Feng discovered that the city''s defensive magic array had already been activated, as soon as he walked out of the Teleportation Hall. There were also thousands of abyssal monsters hovering about in the air beyond the magic array, with the lowest-leveled among them being Level 180 and the highest being Level 200 Grand Lords. With the appearance of such terrifying monsters, the atmosphere within White River City had become subdued. The players walking around the street all felt extremely stressed, all of them fearing that the defensive magic array in the sky would suddenly crumble. "We''re doomed this time! With so many monsters here, will our White River City be captured as well?" "That can''t be possible, right? Although White River City is not comparable to the capital, it is still a major city in the kingdom''s eastern region. If even White River City falls, won''t the surrounding cities fare even worse?" When everyone thought about the gigantic monsters flying in the sky above the city, their scalps involuntarily numbed. In this situation, they couldn''t grind and level up within the region of White River City. At the same time, the Guilds based in the eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom were also holding urgent meetings one after another. The various Guilds had initially believed that the Abyss Invasion would only affect the Twin Towers Kingdom. They never thought that it would embroil the surrounding countries as well. Now, these Guilds had no choice but to decide whether or not they should relocate to another city. However, the consequences of doing so were something that no Guild could accept. It had taken them a lot of time and resources to establish themselves in their current respective cities. If they were to leave the city they controlled and choose to start developing all over again in another city, the cost of doing so would be much higher than the first time. --- The number two Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom''s eastern region, Overwhelming Smile, was currently extremely busy. Over a hundred people were seated inside its spacious meeting room. These people were all members of Overwhelming Smile''s upper echelon, and they were existences that ordinary players would rarely get to meet. "Hahaha! The timing of these abyssal monsters is simply impeccable! I want to see just how Zero Wing is going to continue strutting around in this situation!" Feng Xuanyang could not help but smile when he received the latest report. Based on the information from Underworld, the eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom wasn''t the only part of the kingdom affected by the Abyss Invasion. These abyssal monsters were already showing signs of spreading throughout the entire realm. By the time that happened, it would be relatively dangerous for players to go out and grind. Along with this report, the upper echelon of Underworld had also given the command for Overwhelming Smile to move its elites temporarily to the Black Dragon Empire, which did not receive any harassment from the abyssal monsters. Underworld''s influence spread across multiple kingdoms. A pause in its operations in Star-Moon Kingdom would not affect the entire organization too significantly. It definitely possessed the ability to transfer its elites to the cities of other kingdoms and empires that were under its control. Small and upstart Guilds with no background, on the other hand, did not possess this ability. These Guilds generally had their foundations in only one country and could not afford to move their base of operations in a hurry. Even if they did relocate, they would have to start from scratch. However, how could these Guilds compete in a foreign city against the entrenched local Guilds, which had already developed for months? For Zero Wing, the tyrant of Star-Moon Kingdom, things were even more severe. The amount of capital and number of advantages it would lose by migrating its base of operations would be unbearable even for a first-rate Guild. With such a loss, Zero Wing''s development would no doubt suffer a significant setback. When that happened, it would be nearly impossible for the Guild to catch up to the major powers of God''s Domain. In contrast to Feng Xuanyang''s joyful reaction, Youlan currently had a slight frown on her face. Zero Wing is really unlucky, but I guess this is also part of life. Youlan could not help but sigh inwardly. Zero Wing''s rise was already a legend in Star-Moon Kingdom. Ultimately, however, it couldn''t save itself from falling due to external factors. Who could''ve possibly imagined that the system would play such a trick? This development had thoroughly ruined Zero Wing. Of course, Youlan was also feeling very fortunate about the appearance of the abyssal monsters. This invasion was both a disaster and an opportunity. Currently, due to the abyssal monsters, the players belonging to countries neighboring the Twin Towers Kingdoms would definitely shift to other kingdoms and empires. Moreover, the possibility of players migrating to the Black Dragon Empire was the greatest. With so many players swarming into the Black Dragon Empire, the player population of the cities there would naturally soar. Hence, the market there for items would expand in spades. If she could nurture a batch of her own Advanced Lifestyle players now, her authority in Underworld would surely grow as well. Thinking up to this point, Youlan could not help but wish she could take action sooner. At this time, every minute and second was money! Unfortunately, while today should have been the day they went to the Holy City of Titan, due to the system upgrade, the operation had been delayed. --- While every Guild was busy holding meetings and deciding on how they should develop in the future, Shi Feng himself arrived at the City Hall of White River City. "How may I help you, sir?" the NPC beauty standing behind the VIP counter asked with a smile. In response, he calmly took out a purple-gold, diamond-shaped token and said, "I wish to upgrade the Candlelight Trading Firm into a 3-star Shop." 909 Shocking Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 909 - Shocking Star-Moon Kingdom After the female receptionist accepted the purple-gold token and confirmed that there were no problems, she looked at Shi Feng and said, "Sir, if you wish to promote your Shop to 3-star status, you still have to pay an additional 3,000 Gold reconstruction fee." Without hesitation, Shi Feng handed 3,000 Gold over to the receptionist. Previously, he had been busy with setting up a teleportation point. There had also been the matter of the Mutated Dragon. Back then, he simply had no time to check how much he had earned from the Blackwing Auction House. Although Shi Feng had spent 20,000 Gold to purchase the Engineering Locomotive Design from Sinned Heart, the 5,000 Strengthening Devices he sold at Blackwing City had made him a fortune. After deducting all the miscellaneous fees, he currently had close to 30,000 Gold Coins sitting in his pockets right now. If those first-rate Guilds were to learn of this, they would definitely be green with envy. In truth, Shi Feng had never imagined that the Strengthening Devices would be so welcome; the final 1,500 devices sold at a minimum price of 13 Gold 15 Silver. The Combat Guilds at Blackwing City had gone nuts over the devices. It''s a pity that the number of people who can produce the Strengthening Device is limited. Otherwise, with just the Strengthening Device, I could probably earn enough money to construct a city, Shi Feng sighed inwardly. While the Strengthening Device Forging Design itself was already extremely rare, the forgers capable of producing the item at a profitable rate were even rarer. As a result, the number of designs he had on hand was much more than the number of forgers he had who were capable of producing the item right now. As players reached higher levels, their chances of obtaining the Strengthening Device Forging Design would rise. As the number of Strengthening Devices on the market increased, its price would definitely fall. By then, it would be very good if he could sell one for eight or nine Gold. In another few months'' time, even selling a Strengthening Device for five Gold would be an extravagant dream. After Shi Feng paid the fees and completed all the necessary procedures, as soon as he walked out of the City Hall''s entrance and was about to head back to the Guild Residence A commotion broke out among players on the street. "Did you hear? The Candlelight Trading Firm''s Shop has transformed again!" "Transformed? Could there be a new product?" "No, that''s not it. The entire trading firm itself has undergone a transformation! Before, it was only a five-story building. Now, it is seven stories tall! Currently, it is only second to the NPC-operated Starstreak Trading Firm in terms of floors!" "What? Aren''t the number of floors for Shops fixed?" "That''s right! That''s why everyone suspects that Candlelight''s Shop has been promoted to a 3-star Shop!" "What!? Even the Black Dragon Empire had a 2-star Shop appear in its imperial capital only recently! How can the Candlelight Trading Firm possibly upgrade to a 3-star Shop so quickly?!" News of the Candlelight Trading Firm obtaining a 3-star Shop spread like wildfire. Very quickly, every Guild in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom had found out about it. This incident completely offset the depression and silence brought on by the abyssal monsters. "Just what is Zero Wing thinking?" "The abyssal monsters have already started to spread throughout the entire kingdom. White River City is even under siege right now. To upgrade a Shop in White River City to 3-stars, isn''t Zero Wing throwing good money after bad?!" "Doesn''t Zero Wing know that players have already begun migrating to other kingdoms and empires? Rather than constructing a 3-star Shop in a city with a rapidly decreasing population, they might as well construct it in a small city in the Black Dragon Empire." When the various Guilds received this news, their first reaction was to comment on Zero Wing''s foolishness. Meanwhile, the Guild that was the most excited about this news was naturally Overwhelming Smile, Zero Wing''s long-time rival; some Guilds that wished to overtake Zero Wing also got a kick out of this development. "Hahaha! Zero Wing is done for this time! It won''t be able to rise back up even if it wanted to now!" Initially, when Feng Xuanyang received news of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s promotion, he had been both shocked and envious. Overwhelming Smile had yet to possess even a single 2-star Shop up to now, yet the Candlelight Trading Firm already had a 3-star Shop. Shortly after, however, he started gloating over Zero Wing''s misfortune. If not for the invasion of the abyssal monsters, the fact that the Candlelight Trading Firm possessed a 3-star Shop would have indeed dealt a heavy blow to Overwhelming Smile''s Overwhelming Trading Firm. With the Special Workshop of 2-star Shops as an example, even a fool could imagine just how many more additional benefits a 3-star Shop could bring. Even a meager increase in the number of Special Workshops would still greatly enhance the Candlelight Trading Firm''s ability to nurture Lifestyle players. In the current God''s Domain, economic battles between Guilds were becoming increasingly important. This change in trend also led to Feng Xuanyang loathing Youlan to the extreme. He deeply regretted not contesting for the rights of the Overwhelming Trading Firm, allowing Youlan to obtain them, instead. Right now, Youlan was already a very important figure in Underworld; even he had to treat her with respect. --- Before Shi Feng even walked into Zero Wing''s Residence, he could already hear the merriment coming from inside. Just moments ago, Melancholic Smile had even directly contacted Shi Feng to report every functionality of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s new 3-star Shop, her voice bubbling with excitement. Although the building itself had increased by only two floors, the difference between the functions of a 2-star Shop and 3-star Shop made Melancholic Smile think that she was dreaming. That was right: dreaming. In order to develop itself, the Candlelight Trading Firm had recruited many Lifestyle players. Some of the new hires had very good potential. The only thing they lacked was experience. Unfortunately, the Candlelight Trading Firm had only five Special Workshops. With three rooms reserved exclusively for Melancholic Smile, Cream Cocoa, and Roasted Ironheart, only two were left for the others to use in turn and increase their production experience. With this, the amount of time allotted for each Lifestyle player was not calculated in hours or days, but in minutes. Generally, a Lifestyle player with good potential would have roughly 30 minutes to learn and train inside a Special Workshop, once every several days. Now, they had a total of 12 Special Workshops. Aside from the three reserved, they now had nine Special Workshops for those with excellent potential to use. This would increase their efficiency over fourfold. Finally, there was the Basic Meditation Room, which was what truly shocked Melancholic Smile. Out of curiosity, she had spent 300 Magic Crystals to activate the room. Although the price was indeed costly, the effects of the room left her speechless. While inside the Meditation Room, her mind experienced a calm like never before. In that calm state, even the most complicated production procedures became very simple for her. As a result, her production success rate had risen by roughly 10% while her production speed had improved by at least 30% as well. Although this improvement might not seem like much, to Lifestyle players like herself who frequently produced items, this improvement was extremely staggering. Currently, items that could raise production success rate by just 1% were selling for astronomical prices; something that could offer an increase of 10% would be priceless. There was also the improvement in production speed. Not to mention spending 300 Magic Crystals a day, even spending 500 crystals would be worth itso long as the Meditation Room was used to produce high-value items. If it were used only for items such as Advanced Whetstones, they would never be able to make up for the cost of using the room. Shi Feng only gave some simple instructions regarding the Meditation Rooms and Special Workshops. At the same time, he also had Melancholic Smile start recruiting more Lifestyle players from the general public. The fourth evolution of God''s Domain was not as simple as it appeared to be. Rather than the combat system, the Lifestyle production system was the part that had truly evolved. Soon, Lifestyle players would play a pivotal role in God''s Domain, just like combat players. Otherwise, a Master Forger wouldn''t have attained such a high standing in society in the past, to the point where even the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild like himself had to treat them with respect. Back then, even the members of Shadow''s board of directors had treated the Guild''s Master Forgers like their own babies. 910 Killing Multiple Birds with One Stone Chapter 910 - Killing Multiple Birds with One Stone While the Candlelight Trading Firm was causing a huge commotion Over a hundred people were currently gathered inside the meeting room of Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. Every person present was a core member of Zero Wing. Not only did everyone possess very high Levels, but even the equipment they wore could easily make expert players of God''s Domain envious. While the general public considered Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment rare, it was just basic equipment for them. As for their combat standards, every one of them could easily reach the fifth floor of the Trial Tower or higher. Experts capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor could easily become a first-rate expert in a city with a player population of over 100,000. Nevertheless, all these experts were gazing at the figure seated on the Guild Leader''s throne with eyes filled with reverence and shock. The reason for their reverence was the identity of the man before them. He was a legendary character who had single-handedly established Zero Wing and developed the upstart Guild to its current overbearing state. The man was even the publicly acknowledged number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom, and until now, he still maintained his indomitable record. As for the reason for their shock when they looked at Shi Feng, it was his Level. At this moment, Shi Feng had not done anything to hide his Level. As long as one paid a little attention, they would be able to see it. Level 42! Even the current top players in empires were only Level 39 at best. They were also still relatively far from reaching Level 40. Previously, when Fire Dance and the others had revealed themselves to be at Level 40, the other core members had already been flabbergasted. Although there was just a difference of one Level between them and the top players of empires, the amount of EXP required to cross this gap was massive. Now, Shi Feng was even more terrifying. He was actually two Levels higher than Fire Dance and the others. Not to mention the other core members present, even Fire Dance and her team were staggered. After all, when they had last met, Shi Feng was only Level 40. In just a short time, Shi Feng had actually managed to pull ahead of them by two Levels. His leveling speed was simply ludicrous. "Guild Leader, everyone''s here already," Aqua Rose said softly to Shi Feng after checking the entire meeting room. Nodding, Shi Feng swept a glance at everyone present and said seriously, "I''ve asked you all to gather here for two matters. The first matter is that Zero Wing is going to start branching out and developing at the Twin Towers Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire. The exact locations where we''ll be setting up the branches have also been determined already. When the time comes, I''ll have you all split up to these two locations. I''ll also set up a new main force in both of these locations. As for who will become part of this main force, I''ll be choosing them from the Guild''s elite members. Of course, you all can put in your recommendations as well. The treatment provided will be the same as Star-Moon Kingdom''s main force." Truthfully speaking, Shi Feng did not wish to develop outwards so quickly. However, now that God''s Domain had experienced its fourth evolution, the economic war involving Lifestyle classes had also officially begun. Even if he did not wish to develop Zero Wing in other kingdoms, he had no choice but to do so. Without sufficient resources, it would be impossible for them to contend against other large Guilds. Before Shi Feng was done speaking, everyone present had already fallen into a daze. Even Aqua Rose, the Vice-Leader of Zero Wing, was shocked at this news. Although Zero Wing expanding to other countries was something that was bound to happen sooner or later, she had never imagined that that day would come so quickly! Or to put it in another way, they had long since grown impatient waiting for the arrival of this day. Currently, Zero Wing simply had too many members. While playing virtual reality games, Guilds always had one big problem to face: the limited amount of resources in an area. If a Guild wished to develop and grow stronger, it needed to secure more resource-rich areas for itself. Otherwise, sooner or later, it would face resource-deprivation due to their constantly increasing member count. Then, the amount of resources each Guild member could receive would decrease, which would affect the overall development speed of the Guild members. This problem was also the reason why first-rate Guilds would spread their roots throughout multiple kingdoms and empires. The influence of the major powers of the virtual gaming world spanned several dozens of countries. However, one thing that confused everyone was Shi Feng''s choice to develop at the Twin Towers Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire. Setting aside how muddy the waters were at the Black Dragon Empire and the fact that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was Zero Wing''s enemy, just the Twin Towers Kingdom was already a huge problem. The Twin Towers Kingdom was infested with abyssal monsters. The players living there were scrambling to leave, yet Zero Wing was actually choosing to charge into the kingdom. The situation in the Twin Towers Kingdom was much more severe than Star-Moon Kingdom''s. There was simply no way for them to level up there. Just how were they supposed to develop themselves? "Guild Leader, abyssal monsters have already conquered the Twin Towers Kingdom. Why don''t we consider developing at the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the kingdom west of Star-Moon Kingdom? The abyssal monsters haven''t reached there. Moreover, the two first-rate Guilds in that kingdom have constantly been at each other''s necks all this time. With our Guild''s strength, we can easily make a place for ourselves there. In addition, the Purple Thorns Kingdom is rich in herbs. Our Guild will have a much easier time procuring herbs if we develop there," Aqua Rose suggested hurriedly. She had long since made ample preparations regarding Zero Wing''s development, only she never bothered making suggestions, as Shi Feng had always said that the time was not right yet. The Candlelight Trading Firm was the largest source of economic power for Zero Wing. With the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s abundance of herbs, they could definitely advance the Candlelight Trading Firm a step further. They would no longer have to rely on external sources to obtain their herbs. If they developed properly, they could definitely achieve self-sufficiency in herbs and greatly reduce the expenses of the Candlelight Trading Firm. The players in the room voiced their agreement with Aqua Rose''s suggestion one after another. The current combat power of Zero Wing''s elite members was in no way inferior to a first-rate Guild''s. In addition, they also had quite a number of experts in the Guild now. Even if they sent only a portion of their forces, they should not have any problem handling the threats present in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Moreover, Zero Wing already possessed several plots of Land in the cities of the Purple Thorns Kingdom. With this foundation, they would be able to construct a Guild Residence in that kingdom right away. One could say that the Purple Thorns Kingdom was the best option by far. "While the Purple Thorns Kingdom is indeed a good option, the Twin Towers Kingdom is much better," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. "Better?" All the core members were filled with questions as they looked at Shi Feng. They simply could not figure out what exactly was good about branching out to a place infested with abyssal monsters. "I know that you all are worried about the abyssal monsters, but that is also the greatest opportunity for Zero Wing." Shi Feng naturally understood everyone''s worries. In their shoes, he, too, would''ve chosen to branch out to the Purple Thorns Kingdom. However, he now had both the Ancient Abyssal Book and the Teleportation Magic Array in his possession. Regarding the threat of powerful abyssal monsters, he could just set up multiple barriers and allow his Guild members to grind at high-resource maps safely. There was also no need to worry about other Guilds and players coming to contest for those locations. In addition, they could also gain Honor Points by killing low-level abyssal monsters. Now that the Guilds originally residing in the Twin Towers Kingdom had left, although the Lands of the kingdom''s capital remained in the hands of these Guilds, as long as Zero Wing paid some Coins, it could still buy one or two plots of Land located near the heart of the city without any difficulty. Had he chosen to branch out to other kingdoms, Zero Wing couldn''t even dream of obtaining the central Lands of the top ten major cities in these kingdoms, much less the central Lands of the capital city. Nobody would be willing to sell them anything at all. Even if there was a willing seller, that price would not be one that Zero Wing would be willing to bear. Furthermore, the Twin Towers Kingdom was a country of ore. In terms of ore-related resources, it was only slightly inferior to the Storm Empire. At the end of the day, the Candlelight Trading Firm focused mainly on forging. Ore was something that it could not lack. Hence, developing at the Twin Towers Kingdom was akin to killing multiple birds with one stone. Following which, Shi Feng cleverly hid the matter of the Ancient Abyssal Book, simply telling everyone that he had discovered many special areas not assaulted by the abyssal monsters. Afterwards, as long as he set up teleportation points at these locations, they would be able to level up without worrying about abyssal monsters or other players, essentially turning those locations into Zero Wing''s backyard. When they heard Shi Feng''s reason, everyone''s eyes sparkled, anticipation filling their hearts. Nobody present was a noob. They knew full well just how valuable an uncontested high-resource map was. Otherwise, the various large Guilds would not fight over these high-resource maps. However, no one knew that Shi Feng had actually concealed another important reason for his choice to develop at the Twin Towers Kingdom. The large-scale Regional Dungeon, Tower of Time! 911 Tower of Time Chapter 911 - Tower of Time The Twin Towers Kingdom was named such because of its two ancient towers within the kingdom''s boundaries. These ancient towers had existed in God''s Domain for a long time; their age could no longer be verified. Among these two towers, one was the Tower of Time. It was also the Twin Towers Kingdom''s sole, large-scale Regional Dungeon. Like the Dungeon in the Stoneclaw Mountains, this Dungeon was set to Asura Mode. However, the Tower of Time''s Level was much higher; thus it was more difficult to raid. Meanwhile, the Tower of Time''s fame throughout God''s Domain had not only been due to its abundance of Magic Crystals, but its Bosses also had a chance of dropping the Seven Luminaries Crystals. The Level requirement just to enter the Tower of Time was Level 50. In the past, when mainstream players had been around Level 50, the Mind Space System had not yet launched in God''s Domain. As a result, everyone had treated the Tower of Time like an ordinary Regional Dungeon that produced large quantities of Magic Crystals. Even when people killed the many Bosses inside the Dungeon and obtained the Seven Luminaries Crystal, nobody knew their true value. The various large Guilds had simply treated as the Seven Luminaries Crystal as a high-end item to use or trade. Only after the Mind Space System launched did everyone realize their blunder. The Guilds that used or traded their Seven Luminaries Crystal had nearly choked to death with anger. Regional Dungeons all had level limits that prevented anyone below or above a certain Level from entering. When the Mind Space System had been introduced, God''s Domain had been operating for over a year. Players'' average Level had already been beyond the Tower of Time''s limit of Level 70. Hence, it had been practically impossible for Guilds to rely on their main forces to grind the Bosses for Seven Luminaries Crystals. Meanwhile, when one wanted to enter the Tower of Time, aside from the level requirement, one needed a Space-time Crystal. A single Space-time Crystal could allow 100 players into the Tower of Time. However, only the monsters near the tower dropped the Space-time Crystals, and its drop-rate wasn''t very high. This greatly restricted the number of players who could enter the Dungeon. In this life, before everyone knew the importance of the Tower of Time, Shi Feng intended to take advantage of the situation and grind for Space-time Crystals. Once Zero Wing''s core members reached Level 50, they could get a headstart over the other Guilds, raiding the Tower of Time. After Shi Feng explained his plans for the Guild''s expansion to everyone, he continued with notifying everyone about Zero Wing''s preparation to nurture a large batch of internal experts. "Guild Leader, if we try to recruit members now, it will be far less effective than our past recruitment campaigns. After all, nobody knows if White River City will hold off the abyssal monsters. Moreover, even if the magic array holds, it is still extremely dangerous for players to go out to level up. On the off chance that one encounters a high-level abyssal monster, a team-wipe is practically a guarantee. Based on my investigation, a portion of players have already moved to the Black Dragon Empire. "Moreover, many of our Guild members are worried about this crisis. This really isn''t a good time to recruit members. We would be better off holding a mass-recruitment campaign after we secure a foothold in the Black Dragon Empire. It would be more effective to wait." Saying so, Aqua Rose handed Shi Feng a statistics report, which clearly displayed White River City''s situation. Due to the abyssal monsters, the city''s teleportation fee had been temporarily removed. Currently, over 5% of White River City''s player population had relocated. Among these players, the majority had migrated to the Black Dragon Empire. As time passed, more players would relocate to continue their development. "Don''t worry about it. Start preparing for recruitment and assessment work. We will soon make up for those who chose to head elsewhere to develop," Shi Feng said as he read the report. The situation was much better than his initial prediction. "Make up for?" Aqua Rose was slightly confused. However, since Shi Feng had already spoken, she did not probe into the matter any further. She trusted Shi Feng''s judgment. Shi Feng simply smiled at Aqua Rose''s confusion. He then issued further instructions regarding the recruitment campaign. Everyone''s worries about the abyssal monsters capturing the city were unnecessary. The Abyss Passage had been activated in the Twin Towers Kingdom. The powerful NPCs guarding the border had held back most of the strongest abyssal monsters. As for the remaining powerful abyssal monsters, almost all of them were busy besieging the various major cities. Hence, when the players belonging to the neighboring kingdoms and empires ventured out to level up, they just needed to be a little more careful of their surroundings. Things were not so severe that their livelihoods in their countries had been severed. This was just like an addition of several Bosses, which should not be provoked, in everyone''s leveling maps. The abyss invasion was not as severe as everyone thought. On the contrary, due to the temporarily removed teleportation fees in affected cities, players now had more affordable leveling spots to choose from. Moreover, even if everyone failed to notice this, he could stealthily spread the message himself. In addition, there would soon be a teleportation array linked to a grinding area in the Twin Towers Kingdom. By then, the countless players who wanted to change classes would swarm to White River City. They didn''t need to worry about a lack of players in the city. Once the teleportation array was set up, they also wouldn''t need to worry about lacking development funds. As Shi Feng arranged for Blackie to lead the Dark Gods Legion''s elites to power-level the newcomers from the Big Dipper Dojo, Aqua Rose approached and whispered, "Guild Leader, Miss Phoenix Rain has arrived and is waiting in the reception room. She says that she has brought what you requested." "She''s finally here." Shi Feng nodded. He then left the remaining matters to Aqua Rose while he met Phoenix Rain. --- Inside the elegant, stunning reception room, Phoenix Rain sat quietly by the windowsill, a Black Cloak draped over her back. When Shi Feng entered the room, her gaze promptly moved away from the Zero Wing members walking around the first-floor hall and to Shi Feng. Level 42?! Phoenix Rain was stunned. Currently, she knew of several people who had reached Level 40 in the empire. However, these people had used special methods to achieve their level. Take herself for example. She was an Elementalist. Not only had she learned several AOE Attack Spells, but she also had a large number of elite members to assist her leveling progress. Her leveling speed was already fast. However, even now, she was over 30% away from reaching Level 40, yet Shi Feng had already reached Level 42. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, may I see the Lake Heart City''s Deed?" Shi Feng asked. He smiled in response to Phoenix Rain''s surprise. "Here; take a look," Phoenix Rain quickly recovered her composure and took out a Deed for a Land in Lake Heart City. "This is the only Deed I can give you. Even if you''re not satisfied, I cannot change it." "Mhm, not bad. Although it cannot compare to a golden Land, it still has relatively high potential," Shi Feng said with satisfaction after examining the Deed. With this Deed, Zero Wing could secure a foothold in the Black Dragon Empire. What followed next would depend on how things progressed on Melancholic Smile''s side. Once they were ready, Zero Wing would officially start pushing its way into the Black Dragon Empire. --- Elsewhere, a large crowd of players had gathered before the seven-story-tall Candlelight Trading Firm. It was even more lively than during normal times. While many among the crowd were Lifestyle players, the majority consisted of sightseers. After all, nobody had ever seen a 3-star Shop before. They were all quite curious about the differences between a 3-star Shop and a 2-star Shop. This was especially true for Lifestyle players. Not long ago, the Candlelight Trading Firm had published a shocking message. The Candlelight Trading Firm was currently recruiting Lifestyle players, regardless of rank. It did not care if one was an Apprentice, who had just started, or someone far along the path of their Lifestyle. As long as they could pass the simple entrance test, they could become an official member of the Candlelight Trading Firm. High achievers would even get the opportunity to improve themselves in the Special Workshop. This was a benefit that could not be found anywhere else throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom and even God''s Domain. After all, Special Workshops were simply too rare. Most trading firms only allowed their most skilled and trustworthy members to utilize their limited Special Workshops. Ordinary people had no hope of enjoying this particular benefit. 912 Bottomless Candlelight Trading Firm Chapter 912 - Bottomless Candlelight Trading Firm The news of the Candlelight Trading Firm mass-recruiting Lifestyle players spread like wildfire. It wasn''t just limited to White River City; very quickly, everyone throughout Star-Moon Kingdom heard about the opportunity. The official forums buzzed with activity. "What? This can''t be true, right? The Candlelight Trading Firm is actually recruiting members without any rank restrictions?" "I heard that Candlelight wants to recruit a lot of people this time. I wonder if an Intermediate Apprentice like myself has a chance?" "I remember that, when Heaven''s Burial recruited Lifestyle players, applicants needed to be at least Advanced Apprentice rank with a 65% success rate or higher to pass their assessment. However, Heaven''s Burial still doesn''t have a 2-star Shop. Candlelight''s assessment will probably be extremely difficult." Currently, Lifestyle players grew more important by the day. However, it was extremely difficult for a Lifestyle player to make a name for themself if they had to rely on their own strength. This was because Lifestyle players needed a lot of resources for their practice. The more important a Lifestyle class was, the more resources they needed to improve. Moreover, the further a Lifestyle player progressed, the more valuable were their required resources. Hence, if a Lifestyle player did not join a Guild, it would become extremely difficult for them to grow stronger. Just hours after the Candlelight Trading Firm announced its recruitment campaign, thousands of players had lined up outside the firm''s 3-star Shop in White River City, and the crowd was still growing. Melancholic Smile arranged for these Lifestyle players to take the firm''s assessment, one after another. The test was very simple. Lifestyle players were required to produce a tool or item corresponding to their ranks, and they would be given a pass as long as they achieved a success rate of above 60%. "What, exactly, is Zero Wing trying to do?" When the various large Guilds heard the news, they immediately assumed that Zero Wing had gone nuts. Although Lifestyle players were important, one needed to invest a lot of resources to nurture profitable Lifestyle players. Moreover, a loss was guaranteed during the early nurturing stages. Hence, when Guilds like themselves recruited Lifestyle players, they set their requirements very high and would only recruit a limited number. Otherwise, the expenditure would do more harm than good. Yet, not only was Zero Wing recruiting Lifestyle players regardless of rank, but it had also significantly lowered the assessment''s difficulty. During Zero Wing''s previous recruitment campaigns for Lifestyle players, it had required a success rate of 70% or higher. In just half an hour, Zero Wing had recruited over 30 Lifestyle players. Among them, only seven were Advanced Apprentice rank, while the others were below that. This outcome worried the Lifestyle players still outside of the Candlelight Trading Firm. They were afraid that the available slots would be taken up before their turn arrived. Contrary to expectations, however, more Lifestyle players were accepted. Very quickly, over a hundred players had been accepted into the firm. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm showed no signs of stopping its recruitment Seeing this, the spies the various Guilds had sent reported this information to their respective Guilds. "What?! They have accepted over a hundred Apprentices?! Has Zero Wing''s upper management lost their minds?!" "Could a 3-star Shop really be that powerful?" The various Guilds that had received this message were stunned. Normally, they would only recruit around 40 Lifestyle players when they gained an additional 1-star Shop. If they recruited any more, there wouldn''t be enough Workshops and resources to go around. After the Candlelight Trading Firm upgraded one of its 2-star Shop to 3-star status, the building had only gained two floors. Generally, it would be a miracle if they could recruit 200 players. --- "Big Sis Melancholic, should we raise the assessment bar? At this rate, we''ll fill the new Workshops. It will be a pity if we miss out on any talented newcomers later on," Cream Cocoa asked worriedly as she watched the thousands of people lined up outside of the building. "Relax. I''m actually concerned that we won''t be able to recruit enough people." Melancholic Smile smiled bitterly. "Not enough people? How is that possible? There are thousands of people outside right now. If we leave the bar at a 60% success rate, at least four or five hundred of them should pass. How is that not enough people?" Cream Cocoa was no longer the noob she had been when she had first started playing God''s Domain. She knew that, although Lifestyle players who could achieve a 60% success rate were rare, with the base number being so high, a frightening number of people could pass the assessment. Five hundred Lifestyle players was not a small crowd. Even an ordinary second-rate Guild could not afford to nurture so many. Furthermore, the Candlelight Trading Firm was already saturated with Lifestyle players. With the extra Workshops that came with the two additional floor spaces, the most they could afford to recruit was around 300 Lifestyle players. Any more and they would have to rent Workshops from the Lifestyle Associations. However, renting Workshops would massively burden their finances. "Four or five hundred really isn''t enough. The Guild Leader has already determined that we need to recruit 1,200 players," Melancholic Smile chuckled. "With just the Lifestyle players in front of us, we will probably won''t reach that goal. Hopefully, more players will show up." Cream Cocoa was rendered speechless. Lifestyle players were only a small minority of the player population in God''s Domain. In addition, the various Guilds often held recruitment campaigns of their own. Gathering 1,200 qualified Lifestyle players was a colossal task. Unfortunately, Cream Cocoa had another concern. Where were they going to house all of these Lifestyle players? --- Elsewhere, Shi Feng had completed his trade with Phoenix Rain in the City Hall and officially gained the Deed to a plot of Land in Lake Heart City. "This is the information we have obtained on the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Take a look. The match is in two days. I look forward to the Asura Battle Team''s performance," Phoenix Rain said, smiling pleasantly as she handed Shi Feng the information she had collected on the enemy battle team and the time, venue and rules for the next battle. She was in a good mood after obtaining the 10,000 Gold from Shi Feng. "Oh? The Miracle Guild?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised after a general glance through the information. "We have only discovered this after the system upgrade," Phoenix Rain said solemnly. "You mustn''t underestimate the Miracle Guild. Although it is a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, Miracle''s foundation is much stronger than ours. It can even contend with Super Guilds. When the time comes, the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s roster will undergo a complete change. You best prepare for the match." Although Phoenix Rain had said as much, she did not think that the Asura Battle Team had any chance of winning. After all, the Asura Battle Team had exposed too many of its trump cards. The Miracle Guild would definitely come prepared. If Miracle went all out in this match, the Asura Battle Team would be overwhelmed. After all, the difference between each side''s strength was immense. Phoenix Rain only prayed that the Miracle Guild would not take the match too seriously. This way, she could haul in another fortune. Shi Feng nodded silently in response to Phoenix Rain''s advice. In truth, even without Phoenix Rain''s warning, Shi Feng knew just how powerful the Miracle Guild was. In his previous life, when a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame had appeared in God''s Domain, the various large Guilds had employed all sorts of methods to obtain it. In the end, however, a dozen or so experts from the Miracle Guild had secured the flame. Among the Guilds experts that had fought for the Mysterious Flame, two other Super Guilds'' top combatants had been present. That battle had become a classic within God''s Domain. To put it simply, defeating the Miracle Guild-led Evil Dragon Battle Team would be extremely difficult for the Asura Battle Team. --- As Shi Feng hurried towards the Candlelight Trading Firm, a party of six arrived in the Teleportation Hall in White River City. The instant these players appeared, they became the main focus within the hall. Their equipment was too gorgeous to ignore. Even the lowest quality equipment was Dark-Gold rank. As for these players'' Levels, that was even more impressive. Of the six players, two were Level 40, while the remaining four were Level 39. Even in an empire, this group would be a force to be reckoned with, much less White River City. "So this is White River City? The standard of the players here is quite high." "We''re not here to sightsee; focus on the task at hand. Let''s head over to Zero Wing to have a look." 913 Intermediate Shop Chapter 913 - Intermediate Shop After these six players conversed among themselves, they left the Teleportation Hall and stepped onto the busy street as everyone watched. As soon as the group left the building, the leading white-haired, middle-aged man carrying a black-and-white spear summoned a giant snow-white wolf. The wolf was even larger than a lion. An Assassin, wearing dark-gray leather armor with two blood-red daggers hanging from his waist, summoned a black warhorse beside the middle-aged man. The warhorse sported silver armor and looked far more majestic than the horses NPC soldiers used. The instant these two Mounts appeared, they had immediately attracted the attention of every player on the street. "Damn, who are those people? Their Mounts are definitely not Common rank." "You''re right. I''ve never seen any Common Mounts that look that cool. At the very least, they should be Bronze, maybe Mysterious-Iron, Mounts." To current players, even Common Mounts were a luxury, not to mention Mounts ranked Bronze or above. Hence, when the players on the street saw these Mounts, both envy and admiration filled their hearts. Some beautiful female players even sent the white-haired man on the giant wolf flirtatious glances. Nowadays, God''s Domain was increasingly popular. One frequently saw the game mentioned in the news. Moreover, powerful Guilds were offering annual salaries ranging from 500,000 Credits to 6,000,000 Credits, depending on a player''s strength. To ordinary people, this was an astronomical amount of money. Seeing as the white-haired man rode a Bronze Mount or greater at this stage of the game, his salary must have been in the seven-digit range. "Hahaha! Boss Blood, I think those beauties are interested in you!" an Elementalist, who wore a robe embroidered with runic symbols and exuded a refined air, poked fun at the white-haired Berserker leading his group. "It''s a pity that these beauties will never catch Boss Blood''s eyes. After all, his heart already belongs to someone. Why won''t these beauties look at me instead?" a Level 39 skinny, male Swordsman said as he sighed. "Masked, you really should learn a thing or two from the Boss. If you put more effort into your improvement, you would''ve already reached Level 40 and could a Mount to woo those beauties." the male Assassin on the black mare snorted. "How can I possibly compare to Boss Blood? Even now, I have not passed the test or obtained a title, unlike you, Kirin, who obtained your title half a year ago," the Swordsman named Masked Angel said enviously. "Alright, that''s enough chit-chat. Focus on our task. I will head to Zero Wing with Kirin. The rest of you, catch up with a carriage," the leading Berserker named Bloodsucker ordered sternly. Immediately, everyone fell silent and did as they were told. The four Level 39s rode an advanced horse carriage and followed Bloodsucker and Kirin towards Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. Although the advanced horse carriage was fast, it was still slightly slower than the snow-white wolf and black warhorse. As a result, the gap between the two groups gradually increased. The party caused a Commotion everywhere they went. --- Meanwhile, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s entrance was overcrowded. Before anyone knew it, the Candlelight Trading Firm had recruited over 300 Lifestyle players. With this number, everyone could see how powerful the Firm''s foundations were. The other trading firms in Star-Moon Kingdom could not compare to this. "Guild Leader, we''ve reached our recruitment limits for the moment. Any more and we''ll have to send these people to the Lifestyle Associations," Melancholic Smile reported worriedly as she looked at the numerous files on the newcomers. One thousand, two hundred peopleCthis was already beyond what the Candlelight Trading Firm could handle. If they really recruited this many people, they would lose money each day, rather than make it. "It''s fine. Bring all of the information you have on the Candlelight''s branch Shops," Shi Feng instructed, waving his hand dismissively and chuckling. In God''s Domain, Shops were officially categorized by star-ranks. However, one could also categorize a Shop by its size. Players in his previous life had realized his and summarized the differences. There were a total of four categories. Basic Shop, Intermediate Shop, Advanced Shop, and Special Shop. To begin with, 1-star and 2-star Shops fell under the Basic Shop category. A Basic Shop could only accommodate a limited number of Lifestyle players, and a firm had to rely on numbers to make up for the lack of space. A Basic Shop''s assistance it could provide to Lifestyle players was also quite limited. The Intermediate Shop category included 3-star Shops to 5-star Shops. In terms of size, Intermediate Shops were massively different than Basic Shops. As long as a Shop reached 3-star status, it gained far more room than a 2-star Shop. Hence, when the various Guilds opened their own Shops, while it was relatively easy to upgrade a 1-star Shop to 2-star status, it was many times more difficult to upgrade a 2-star Shop to a 3-star Shop. Naturally, upgrading from an Intermediate Shop to an Advanced Shop was even more difficult. Meanwhile, the benefits an Intermediate Shop could provide became more obvious. The Basic Meditation Room was a primary example. After Shi Feng''s command, Melancholic Smile compiled all of the information she had on every Candlelight''s branch Shop and handed the files to Shi Feng. Not only was the compiled information detailed, but it was also easy to understand. So far, the Candlelight Trading Firm had a total of 25 Shops. Among them, 24 were branch Shops. These branch Shops covered 22 cities. The fact that the firm had expanded so much was partly due to Phoenix Rain''s secret assistance. Her help had allowed the Candlelight Trading Firm to set up Shops in the cities of a few neighboring countries. Moreover, she had only sold the Shops to Shi Feng at a price slightly higher than the initial cost. Phoenix Rain is certainly dedicated in her work. Shi Feng smiled slightly after reading the information. Among the many Shops, six were within the Black Dragon Empire. Moreover, five of these Shops were in cities with a player population in the millions. In addition, there were six Shops in the kingdoms neighboring Star-Moon Kingdom. Among them, four were in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. All four of these Shops were in the top ten most populated cities in the kingdom. As for the remaining two branch Shops, they were in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Unfortunately, most of the kingdom had fallen into ruin, and only the capital city remained standing. Shi Feng had to admit that it was beneficial to cooperate with a major power. Without Phoenix Rain''s help, Shi Feng would have to exhaust himself to no end to achieve a similar result, and this would have greatly impacted his personal growth. Based on this alone, one could see how frightening the foundations of God''s Domain''s major powers were. Currently, Zero Wing''s advantage only lay in the fact that it had a lot of liquid funds. However, this did not mean that the game''s major powers were poorer than Zero Wing. Rather, these powers reinvested most of the money they earned into valuable Lands. Although Zero Wing had a lot of money on hand, it didn''t have anywhere to invest. In terms of capital turnover, the difference between Zero Wing and these major powers was obvious at a glance. I will have to thank Phoenix Rain. I would have had a hard time using up these five slots otherwise. Shi Feng then chose five branch Shops and upgraded them to 2-star Shops. When upgrading these Shops to 2-star status, he saved far more money by using the special rights of a 3-star Shop than when he had used a Promotion Order. Each Shop only cost 600 Gold to upgrade. With this, he only needed to spend 3,000 Gold to obtain five 2-star Shops. Meanwhile, of the five Shops Shi Feng chose, three were in the Black Dragon Empire, with one of them in Lake Heart City. As for the remaining two slots, he used one on a Shop in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, and the other on the Shop in the Twin Towers Kingdom''s capital. 914 Engineering Locomotive Chapter 914 - Engineering Locomotive The reconstruction of the five branch Shops completed fairly quickly. Only ten minutes after Shi Feng chose to upgrade them, the five 1-star Shops evolved into 2-star Shops. Although the number of items that the Shop could sell had not changed, it could accommodate far more Lifestyle players. The additional space was more than enough for the 1,200 Lifestyle players the Candlelight Trading Firm wanted to recruit. God''s Domain was already developing faster than Shi Feng had expected. When Shi Feng had first obtained the 3-star Shop Promotion Order, he had not intended to recruit so many Lifestyle players. At most, he had planned to recruit around five or six hundred players. However, after the game''s fourth evolution, items became more complicated to produce, and this, in turn, would impact production speeds. After the system upgrade, Melancholic Smile had calculated the statistics of everyone''s production speed within the trading firm. To put it simply, the more advanced an item was, the more its production speed had been affected. For common items such as Whetstones, production speed had experienced roughly a 15% reduction. As for items such as Advanced Whetstones, their production had slowed by around 20%. In other words, if a Lifestyle player was capable of producing five Advanced Whetstones within a certain time before the system upgrade, then now, they were only capable of producing four Advanced Whetstones within the same period. As for items that only Intermediate Forgers or higher could craft, such as the Strengthening Device, their production speed had decreased by roughly 40%. Before the system upgrade, the Candlelight Trading Firm had not been able to produce many Strengthening Devices each day; now, the item''s output was pitifully low. Unfortunately, Shi Feng had already agreed to hand over ten Bronze Mounts and 2,000 Strengthening Devices to the Secret Pavilion within five days, as well as the rest of the items within twelve days after the system update completed. If he failed to do so, not only would he have to return the ten black cards he had received, but he would also be out of the items he had already paid. Hence, Shi Feng was very short on time. If he wished to increase production speed, he had two options: increase his current workforce''s success rates or grow his workforce. As there was a limit to how much he could raise a Lifestyle player''s success rate, his only viable option was to bolster his workforce. However, Shi Feng did not have much hope of nurturing a large batch of excellent Lifestyle players from the new recruits. Rather, he wanted the new Advanced Apprentices to take on the workload of the firm''s Basic Forgers, while the Basic Forgers would take on the Intermediate Forgers'' work. In turn, the Intermediate Forgers would take care of the Advanced Forgers'' workload. This way, he would have a higher chance of completing his task within the allotted time. Following which, Shi Feng explained his plans to Melancholic Smile and had her begin preparations. After all, it would not be easy to sort so many people in a short time. "Guild Leader, I''m afraid that this will be very difficult to accomplish. Even with the help of the Special Workshop, Cocoa, Uncle Ironheart, and I only have a 40% success rate with the Strengthening Devices. Even if the firm''s Intermediate Forgers have the help of the Special Workshop, they will only have, at most, around a 15% success rate. With such a low success rate, we''ll be lucky if we break even, let alone make a profit." Melancholic Smile was very familiar with the success rates of the trading firm''s forgers as she usually analyzed the trading firm''s statistics. Although a 15% forging success rate seemed relatively high, when one started the actual work, they would most likely fail ten out of ten tries. Based on her analysis, only with a 20% success rate would a forger have a chance of succeeding once out ten tries. Only after reaching a 25% success rate would a forger notice a qualitative change. Once a forger reached that milestone, they would generally succeed once or twice out of ten tries. If they allowed Intermediate Forgers to produce the Strengthening Device, they would be pushing their luck. Cream Cocoa, who stood beside Melancholic Smile, nodded her agreement. After a long period of research and experimentation, she decided that, as long as the system-calculated success rate was below 20%, she would give up on making the item. After all, her chances of successfully crafting the item were too low. Even if she did produce the item, the firm would only take a loss. Wasting money was one thing, but wasting resources was another thing altogether. The resources in God''s Domain were limited. The materials required to produce advanced items were even rarer. It would be foolish to produce an item without guaranteed success. "Look at this," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he retrieved a fist-sized, aqua-blue ingot and placed it on the table. Immediately, Melancholic Smile and Cocoa were stunned. The Mana the ore faintly emitted was actually denser than the Mana from the Magic Crystal. When the two forgers clicked to read the item''s introduction, their jaws dropped. "Guild Leader, where did you get this?!" Melancholic Smile locked her eyes with Shi Feng''s, excitement evident on her face. "Do you have a lot of them?!" Mysterious Flames were extremely rare in God''s Domain. They were so rare that, even after a long investigation, Melancholic Smile had not found any clues leading to a single Mysterious Flame. She only knew about Mysterious Flames to begin with because of the Ice-Blue Devil Flame in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Workshops. Shi Feng had left behind this Mysterious Flame. However, after one obtained a Mysterious Flame, they could only place it in up to three Workshops. If not for the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, they would not have reached a 40% success rate with the Strengthening Devices. However, the Mana Source Ore was the perfect item to make up for their lack of Mysterious Flames. The Intermediate Mana Source Ore Shi Feng had revealed could grant an ordinary flame the effects of a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame. The only downside was that, unlike true Mysterious Flames that could be used indefinitely, the ore was only effective for 30 minutes. With the aid of a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, the Intermediate Forgers could at least reach a 25% success rate with the Strengthening Devices. If they had a large stock of Intermediate Mana Source Ore, these Intermediate Forgers could definitely produce the Strengthening Devices. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm had close to 20 Intermediate Forgers, more than their Strengthening Device Forging Designs. If they allowed three Intermediate Forgers with the highest success rates to learn their three remaining forging designs, they could double their production team. Meanwhile, if the three of them utilized the Intermediate Mana Source Ore, their success rate might even exceed 50%. Including the Basic Meditation Room''s effects, if they forged Strengthening Devices nonstop, they might achieve a production volume of more than 700 devices. Rather than suffering a slower production rate due to the system upgrade, they could significantly increase their production. They could absolutely hit the target Shi Feng had requested. "Relax. I have enough for your needs." Shi Feng nodded, laughing. He then took out a table-sized design and unfurled it. This was none other than the Bronze Engineering Locomotive Design that he had purchased from Sinned Heart. "Melancholic, you''re the most familiar with the trading firm''s people. Look for a few trustworthy engineers and alchemists and work with them to produce this item." After glancing at the design and its name, Melancholic Smile was thoroughly stupefied. Cream Cocoa stared at the design as if she were looking at a priceless treasure, her eyes sparkling brightly. Although the design before them was an engineering design, the manufacturing procedure involved three classes: engineers, forgers, and alchemistsCthe three major Lifestyle classes. Moreover, the manufacturing procedure required a lot of its crafters. The Engineering Locomotive was far more difficult to manufacture than the Strengthening Device. One mistake could lead to failure. 915 Difference in Mounts Chapter 915 - Difference in Mounts Mounts'' importance to players went without saying. Even Melancholic Smile and Cream Cocoa understood the importance of any Mount, not to mention Bronze Mounts. Currently, God''s Domain''s elite and expert players moved ever closer to Level 40. However, how could Common Mounts possibly satisfy these experts? Unfortunately, obtaining a Bronze Mount was easier said than done. Even large Guilds could only get their hands on a few, and these Mounts were usually reserved for the Guild''s upper echelons. The other members could only dream of riding one. If it were truly possible to produce Bronze Mounts, they would sell tens of times better than the Strengthening Device. However, the Engineering Locomotive was extremely difficult to manufacture. At the very minimum, they needed an Advanced Engineer, an Advanced Forger, and an Advanced Alchemist to have any possibility of success. Even if they were equipped with a variety of support tools, they''d be lucky if they had even a 30% success rate of producing the Locomotive. In addition, manufacturing the Engineering Locomotive was a tedious process. It would take a very long time just to produce one. Producing one per day would be an impressive feat. "Guild Leader, this Engineering Locomotive is too difficult to manufacture. It also requires so many materials. Even if we successfully produce one, the cost will be astounding. Are we really going to make this, regardless of the cost?" Melancholic Smile''s lips twitched slightly as she read the listed materials recorded on the design. The hardest part of crafting the Engineering Locomotive would be the power unit. The power unit alone required 30 Magic Crystals. Other components, such as alchemy arrays, also required Magic Crystals. After taking all of the miscellaneous components into account, they needed a total of 50 Magic Crystals to produce one Engineering Locomotive. In addition, the Mount''s manufacturing required certain rare materials such as Fine Steel Ingots. A Fine Steel Ingot was the product of refining Fine Iron with other materials, and one only had a chance of obtaining Fine Iron from mining Hematite Ore. On the market, a Refined Steel Ingot cost around 30 Silver. That was practically the equivalent of a piece of Level 30 Bronze Equipment. However, there were fewer Refined Steel Ingots available on the market than Level 30 Bronze Equipment. Meanwhile, the Engineering Locomotive required 20 Refined Iron Ingotsa total cost of 6 Gold! Based on market value, producing a single Bronze Engineering Locomotive cost roughly 25 Gold. In reality, though, as most of the materials could be sourced from their Guild, they wouldn''t have to spend that much. Even so, the final cost would still be around 20 Gold Based on their current success rate, it could cost anywhere from 100 Gold to 160 Gold to craft one Engineering Locomotive. Meanwhile, a single Bronze Mount currently sold for around 300 Gold. It was not nearly as profitable as the Strengthening Devices. The only advantage the Engineering Locomotive had was its demand. If they offered the Mounts for sale, someone would buy them if the price were reasonable. If they wished to save more money, they would need the help of a Master Engineer. Although there was only a single rank difference between an Advanced Engineer and a Master Engineer, the latter could increase the success rate of producing the Engineering Locomotive by around 30%. After including the bonuses from various tools, they could achieve a success rate of 60% or higher. With such a high success rate, they could reduce their total cost to 40 Gold or lower. They could also produce the Mounts much faster. "How many Advanced Engineers do we have right now?" Shi Feng realized how high the production cost was. However, he had already signed an agreement with the Secret Pavilion. They had to manufacture the Engineering Locomotives regardless of the cost. Moreover, producing the Engineering Locomotive would allow Lifestyle classes to rapidly gain Proficiency. "We only have two people at the moment. There are three others who are close to reaching the Advanced Engineer rank," Melancholic Smile replied. "Two?" Shi Feng frowned. Based on their current manufacturing speed, producing ten Engineering Locomotives in five days would be cutting it very close. "Have them begin the process. I''ll help to produce some of the components as well." "I''ll contact them right away," Melancholic Smile said. She was momentarily stunned when she heard that Shi Feng would also take part. Hurriedly, she continued, "If they find out that our Guild Leader will be leading this project, they will die from excitement." In Star-Moon Kingdom, the majority of players addressed Black Flame by his title as the Sword King. Most had probably forgotten Black Flame''s past identity. However, while ordinary players had forgotten his past fame, to Lifestyle players, the title of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Chief Forger still resounded in their ears. Moreover, Melancholic Smile understood one thing very clearly; Shi Feng had been the first to become an Advanced Forger. Suddenly, Aqua Rose contacted Shi Feng and said, "Guild Leader, two people have entered our Guild Residence. Both are Level 40 players. Moreover, their Mounts are high quality. They are saying that they have something very important to talk to you about." "Two people with high-ranking Mounts?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Reaching Level 40 was still very difficult at this stage of the game, much less obtaining high-ranking Mounts. "Do you know their identities?" "I''ve never met either of them. Moreover, they aren''t wearing a Guild Emblem. Although, it is possible that they purposely removed it," Aqua Rose said as she shook her head. She had seen most of God''s Domain''s mainstream experts at least once. However, she had zero recollection of the two people that had arrived. Even after sending her subordinates to investigate, she had not obtained any information on these players. "This is interesting. Alright, I''ll head over right away." Shi Feng could not help his curiosity. After disconnecting the call, he rode the Demonic Flame Tiger back to Zero Wing''s Residence. --- In front of Zero Wing''s Residence: As Zero Wing had announced another mass-recruitment, players crowded around the Guild''s Residence. However, there was a clearing within the crowd where players had given two people a wide berth. Two massive Mounts rested beside these players. Nobody dared to approach either of them. "Who are these people? They look so strong!" "They aren''t here to cause trouble, right?!" When the players who had come to apply to Zero Wing saw the Berserker Bloodsucker and the Assassin Kirin, they were shocked by the two''s auras and equipment. "The advanced horse carriage is so slow! When will Masked and the others get here?" Kirin exclaimed as he looked at the time, paying no attention to the surrounding crowd. As soon as Kirin finished speaking, an advanced horse carriage approached from one end of the street. A moment later, the advanced horse carriage stopped before Zero Wing''s Residence, and four people stepped out. "Mysterious-Iron Mounts are wonderful. Once I reach Level 40, I will have to find one of my own." "Masked, don''t even think about obtaining a Mysterious-Iron Mount. They aren''t weeds that sprout up everywhere. Even those with titles in the Guild are struggling to get their hands on one, let alone someone like you." The four people that had emerged from the carriage chatted merrily amongst themselves. However, when the crowd saw these four newcomers, they were flabbergasted. All four were Level 39. Although the pressure these four people gave off was not as strong as the two that had already arrived, when these four players stood together, they felt like four ferocious beasts. A single glance from them was enough to give one shivers. "This is Zero Wing''s Residence? It''s quite big, but it''s rather shabby. The standard of the Guild members isn''t much to look at, either." Masked Angel gave a rough evaluation after a cursory examination of Zero Wing''s Residence. The other three agreed with Masked Angel. However, the Zero Wing members coming and going were somewhat annoyed when they heard the comment. Zero Wing''s Residence had cost a lot of Gold to build. Even if it did not rank number one in Star-Moon Kingdom, it ranked near the top. However, these people spoke as if their Residence belonged in the Slums. These Zero Wing members had intended to argue with these people. However, when they saw a black figure appear at the entrance, they immediately fell silent. Even the independent players lining up outside the Residence stared at this figure with admiration. Although the giant, snow-white wolf and pitch-black warhorse in front of the entrance were quite attractive, they were on an entirely different level from the Demonic Flame Tiger that had appeared like lightning. In front of the Demonic Flame Tiger, the wolf and warhorse were practically newborns 916 Dark Players Chapter 916 - Dark Players "What rank is that Mount?" Masked Angel was shocked, his eyes widening as he stared at the towering, majestic Demonic Flame Tiger. Although he already knew that Zero Wing possessed this Mount, after witnessing it personally, he could not help his surprise. Both Bloodsucker''s and Kirin''s Mounts were Mysterious-Iron Mounts. However, when comparing their Mounts to the Demonic Flame Tiger, he finally understood something. The difference between their Mounts was not just one rank. Standing there, he could feel the Demonic Flame Tiger give off a significantly powerful pressure. Generally, he only felt this pressure from Chieftain ranked monsters. Could it be a Fine-Gold Mount? This question simultaneously surfaced in Masked Angel and his companions'' minds. Even God''s Domain''s major powers did not have a single Fine-Gold Mount. Currently, the best Mount they had was of Secret-Silver rank. However, what truly shocked them was Shi Feng''s Level. Shi Feng was not currently using the Demon Mask to disguise himself as Black Flame. He did not even bother hiding his Level, so if one paid attention, they would discover that Shi Feng had already reached Level 42. He was actually two levels higher than Bloodsucker and Kirin. There was not a single player with such a high level throughout the various empires. It was hard to imagine that such an expert resided in a kingdom. "I am Ye Feng, an Honorary Elder of Zero Wing. Our Guild Leader has some urgent matters to attend to, so he can''t meet with you right now. I can represent Zero Wing in any matters you wish to discuss. May I know what business you have with Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling as he swept a glance over Bloodsucker and the others as he remained on the Demonic Flame Tiger. Even an Elementalist like Phoenix Rain had only reached Level 39, yet among these six people, not only had two surpassed Phoenix Rain, but the other four were the same Level. Achieving such a high Level was impossible without a special method or a powerful team. To Aqua Rose, these players might be strangers. To Shi Feng, however, they were extremely familiar. All six players were Super Red Names belonging to the Dark Guild known as Raven. Raven had appeared in the virtual gaming world in the past. It was an upstart Guild that had only established after God''s Domain had launched. Moreover, even now, Raven was not famous in the least. Dark Guilds could not compete against normal Guilds in terms of member count. However, the Raven Guild''s member count was impressive with less than 1,000 members. Even a decade after God''s Domain had launched, the Guild had less than 3,000 members. However, nobody in God''s Domain dared to underestimate Raven. In the past, Raven had been one of the top six Dark Guilds in God''s Domain. The Guild was extremely powerful; even Super Guilds had avoided provoking it. While the six people before him looked like ordinary players, this was only a disguise. Without an advanced identification Skill, one could not uncover any of their information. This disguise was similar to the Demon Mask. It could even hide one''s aura. However, under Shi Feng''s Omniscient Eyes, nothing would remain hidden. Such dense Blood Auras. How many people have they killed already? When Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes, he discovered that their names were no longer red. Rather, they were thoroughly black. In God''s Domain, when one actively killed other players, aside from their IDs changing color, a faint red Blood Aura would surround their bodies. However, this Blood Aura was barely visible. Generally, only after one had killed hundreds of players would this Blood Aura become more evident. Even so, this Blood Aura would gradually fade with time. However, the Blood Aura surrounding the six before him was powerful enough to make one''s hair stand on end. Currently, their Blood Auras had thickened into a bloody mist that enveloped a radius of four to five yards around them. Shi Feng could not even begin to fathom just how many players these six people had killed to achieve such a dense Blood Aura. However, this was still not why their IDs had turned black. In God''s Domain, only players who had committed unforgivable sins would sport pitch-black IDs. This was a type of curse. This curse could allow players to grow stronger; in return, however, cursed players were restricted to areas controlled by the dark forces. If NPC guards in an ordinary NPC city found them, the consequences would be unimaginably severe. "Hello. My name is Bloodsucker. This place isn''t suited for our discussion. Why don''t we look for somewhere more private to talk?" Bloodsucker suggested, smiling faintly as he looked at Shi Feng. "Alright, follow me," Shi Feng nodded. He then led Bloodsucker and the others into Zero Wing''s Residence. After Shi Feng entered the Guild Residence, the crowd outside of the Residence grew excited. Their eagerness to join Zero Wing grew. --- Inside the reception room of Zero Wing''s Residence... As Shi Feng was about to prepare some refreshments for Bloodsucker and the others, Bloodsucker stopped him. "I believe that Elder Ye Feng has already used an advanced Identification Skill on us, right?" Bloodsucker said, smiling. "I''m certain that you already know who we are. As you''ve seen, we are Red Players, or to put it another way, Dark Players." Shi Feng nodded without attempting to hide his actions. Now that God''s Domain had already been operating for so long, most Guilds had a few people with advanced Identification Skills. Hence, there was no point in hiding his actions. "We are members of the Dark Guild Raven. You might not have heard of us as our Guild has only recently established, but as for Raven''s strength, you have seen for yourself. We have come here today seeking to cooperation with Zero Wing," Bloodsucker explained. "Cooperation with Zero Wing? How do you wish to cooperate?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Generally, Dark Guilds and Adventure Guilds minded their own businesses and tended to avoid each other. Moreover, Raven possessed powerful financial backers. The Guild did not have that many members, either, so it should be very easy for the Guild to develop. Raven shouldn''t need to cooperate with any other Guild. "That''s right. We''ve investigated Zero Wing thoroughly. On the surface, while it might look like Zero Wing has a lot of experts, there are only a few true experts in the Guild. If Zero Wing wants to progress in the Dark Arena, relying on these few experts is not nearly enough. Even the Asura Battle Team''s victory in the next match is unlikely. Furthermore, since the system upgrade, the various major powers have begun to invest heavily into the Dark Arena. It will be very difficult for Zero Wing to earn money there in the future. "You''ve already seen our strengths for yourself. If Zero Wing has Raven''s assistance, your Guild will have a fighting chance for the position of the Dark Arena''s organizer. Not only can Zero Wing earn an astronomical sum of money each day, but you can also gain various rare materials. With these resources, Zero Wing will be able to expand easily and afford to nurture its Lifestyle and expert players. I''m sure you can see the benefits of such an outcome." When Bloodsucker finished his proposal, he snapped his fingers. Immediately, several pieces of Bloodsucker and Kirin''s equipment revealed the special glowing effect of Epic Equipment. Bloodsucker and Kirin''s weapons, in particular, were Epic Weapons. With this array of equipment, they could rank at the peak of God''s Domain. "What do you want in return?" Shi Feng asked, somewhat interested. Just as Bloodsucker had said, in the eyes of ordinary players, Zero Wing seemed like a Guild full of experts. However, in the elite Dark Arena, Zero Wing was bland. Currently, only he, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud could reliably win a fight. Unfortunately, Aqua Rose was still a little off the mark. 917 Proof of Strength Chapter 917 - Proof of Strength The Dark Guild Raven maintained a relatively low profile during the early stages of God''s Domain. The Guild always moved covertly. The Guild''s desire to maintain a low profile was evident by the lack of Guild Emblems on Bloodsucker and his companions. If not for Raven trying to display its strength to gain Zero Wing''s trust, the group would never act so flamboyantly. Shi Feng had to admit that this was one of the benefits that Zero Wing enjoyed as it moved closer to the top of God''s Domain. Whenever he had an issue, people would oftentimes take the initiative to offer their cooperation. If Zero Wing were a third-rate Guild or an unrated Guild, meeting people like Bloodsucker would be impossible, not to mention inspiring these people to find him. Shi Feng''s straightforward question had left Bloodsucker slightly stunned. He had initially thought that Shi Feng would play with words, driving him to state his conditions. After all, during negotiations, the side that revealed their terms first would be at a disadvantage. However, he had never imagined that Shi Feng would ask him so blatantly; he wasn''t used to this. The Guild had sent him, specifically, to negotiate with Zero Wing because he was one of the Guild''s stronger members. Now, however, all of his subtle arguments he had prepared to persuade Shi Feng and his efforts to show off Kirin and his team''s strength had gone to waste. "What? You don''t have any conditions?" Shi Feng chuckled. "No, it''s just that your straightforwardness surprised me a little. After all, Raven is only a small, unknown Guild," Bloodsucker said, shaking his head. "Since Elder Ye Feng has said as much, I''ll tell you Raven''s conditions. "In return for Raven assisting the Asura Battle Team, we want 50% of the income you gain from the Dark Arena!" "You guys sure are ballsy. Fifty percent is too much. I can offer you twenty percent at most." Shi Feng instantly rejected Bloodsucker''s offer. He was already splitting the income from the Dark Arena with Phoenix Rain. If the Raven Guild took another 50%, Zero Wing would be left with nothing. "I''m guessing that you don''t fully understand Raven''s strength. How about we prove ourselves first? We can negotiate afterward," Bloodsucker frowned when he heard Shi Feng''s offer. However, he was not surprised by it. Their Guild had remained in the shadows. As of now, practically nobody knew how terrifying Raven was. If not for the resources the recently-launched Mind Space System required, they would not have sought out Zero Wing for cooperation. In his opinion, Shi Feng had only offered such a low percentage because he didn''t know Raven''s true power. However, once they showed Shi Feng that, with Raven''s assistance, Zero Wing''s chances of becoming the Dark Arena''s organizer would improve, he would agree to 50%. After all, this was a sure-profit exchange. "Proof?" Shi Feng understood Bloodsucker''s train of thought. However, he really could not afford to lose 50%. As Shi Feng considered rejecting Bloodsucker''s offer, he suddenly had a good idea. Previously, his head had ached over the lack of experts. Now that he had a chance to gain the help of six top-tier experts, it would be a waste not to put them to good use. Following which, he nodded and smiled, saying, "If Raven wants to prove its strength, I just happen to have a very difficult quest that I need some expert help with. If you can show me that you are sufficiently powerful during this quest, there might be room for further negotiations. Of course, I''ll pay you for your help." "No problem. You can leave this quest to Raven. As for the remuneration, there''s no need. Consider this Raven''s gift to Zero Wing," Bloodsucker confidently stated. From the beginning, proving Raven''s strength had been their goal in coming here. When the time came, they would shock Zero Wing''s members. "I still need to prepare. It''ll take around three hours. You should do the same. This quest is very difficult. I just need you to send a party of six experts," Shi Feng said. "No need. The six of us will be enough," Bloodsucker assured. Seeing Bloodsucker''s determination, Shi Feng ended the conversation. After leaving the reception room, he contacted Youlan, telling her that they could challenge the Holy City of Titan''s entrance trial immediately. Both sides would send 50 experts each, and Zero Wing would lead the team. Youlan agreed upon receiving Shi Feng''s message. Her original plan had been to challenge the entrance trial in three days. However, the system upgrade had wasted nearly two days, so they had no choice but to delay the operation by two more. However, after the system upgrade, Lifestyle players'' production speed had slowed significantly. As a result, the various large Guilds now urgently needed a batch of Advanced Lifestyle players. Naturally, the sooner she got her hands on Titan City''s slots, the better. After confirming the plan with Youlan, Shi Feng contacted White Night, having him send 14 of their experts over. Zero Wing''s members would fill the remaining 30 slots. Although Shi Feng did not know what kind of experts Youlan would dispatch, he had a true gathering of experts. With these experts'' combat power, they had a very high chance of clearing Titan City''s trial as long as everyone followed his commands. After two hours, 50 players had gathered inside a high-class restaurant in the Noble''s District. These players consisted of three groups: Zero Wing, Raven, and Owl. Needless to say, Raven''s members were absurdly strong regarding Level and equipment. However, Owl''s members had shocked both Zero Wing and Raven. Everyone''s jaws hit the floor after Owl''s members, led by White Night, joined them in the restaurant and discarded their cloaks. They were all Level 42! One could easily rank among an empire''s top ten players in terms of levels at Level 40. Moreover, these top ten included those who hid their levels. Yet, White Night and his team were all Level 42. Aside from their high levels, every member of White Night''s team wore absurdly powerful equipment. Among them, four possessed equipment on par with Bloodsucker and Kirin. As for White Night, the group''s leader, his equipment surpassed Bloodsucker''s. The Ranger''s aura was also incomparably sharp. Due to this, Bloodsucker felt pressured. Who are these people? Bloodsucker watched White Night and the others, shock filling his heart. Are they Zero Wing''s hidden experts? Kirin and the others also felt immense pressure from Owl''s members. Previously, they had felt nervous when they met Fire Dance and Zero Wing''s other top-tier experts. Now, an even more frightening group had arrived. Their hearts, which had brimmed with confidence, now faltered. Theoretically, Level 40 players should stand at the very forefront of God''s Domain, yet so many Level 42 experts stood before them. They even began to wonder if there had been a flaw in the reports they had received. Shortly after White Night and the others had arrived, Youlan led a large group of players into the high-class restaurant. 918 Holy City of Titan Chapter 918 - Holy City of Titan The high-class restaurants in the Noble''s District were famed for their luxury. Even large Guilds'' elite members were reluctant to dine in these restaurants. These players would rather have a few drinks at a bar or eat their fill of ordinary food to get more bang for their buck. Upon joining Shi Feng and the others in the restaurant, Youlan glanced at the various players. Immediately, she was shocked. How does Zero Wing have so many experts?! Youlan had already thoroughly investigated Zero Wing, so she was very aware of Zero Wing''s current combat power. She had never imagined that Zero Wing still had secrets. Owl''s and Raven''s members were the source of her surprise. Even the lowest among them was Level 39, with the majority having reached Level 42. Zero Wing''s team composition overwhelmed the team she had struggled to establish. Among her players, the highest was only Level 39, while the others were Level 38 Although there was only a difference of two or three levels, the gap between Level 39 and Level 40 was like the difference between heaven and earth. Unless one had equipment that could reduce level requirements, otherwise, they could only wear Level 40 equipment upon reaching Level 40. However, such equipment was extremely rare. Generally, only Epic items had such an Attribute. There was a huge difference in terms of Basic Attributes between Level 35 and Level 40 equipment. If they had so many high-level experts working together, clearing Titan City''s entrance trial would be much easier. Moreover, Youlan could tell that, even if White Night and Bloodsucker were members of Super Guilds, they would be considered apex experts. It would be very difficult to find an expert in Underworld that could contend with these two. "Big Brother Wolf, do you know that Ranger and Berserker?" Youlan asked War Wolf quietly. The pressure she felt from White Night and Bloodsucker was extremely powerful. They were like beacons in absolute darkness. Even if she fought it, it would be hard not to notice them. Among the information she had on God''s Domain''s experts, nothing had been recorded on these two individuals. Although she did not know who these two were, War Wolf might know them. After all, War Wolf had once shone brightly in the virtual gaming world. Although he had later stepped away, he knew far more hidden experts than she did. "I don''t know them. However, I am sure that both of them are martial artists. Extremely powerful ones at that," War Wolf replied, his thoughts a little complex as he examined Shi Feng''s team. A few months ago, Zero Wing had merely been an unknown, upstart Guild in White River City. Even Zero Wing''s experts at that time weren''t worth his attention, yet now, the Guild had several people on-par with him in terms of combat standards. As for White Night and Bloodsucker, who he had never seen before, even he had to admit that he was weaker than them. War Wolf could not help but wonder what kind of charm an upstart Guild like Zero Wing had to attract so many experts. Even first-rate Gods weren''t capable of this feat. "It really makes you wonder just where the Guild Leader has found so many experts. Overwhelming Smile''s members must be scared stiff right about now." Blackie giggled when he saw Youlan and her Overwhelming Smile team''s shock. The rest of Zero Wing''s members agreed with Blackie. When White Night''s group had arrived, even they were surprised. Shi Feng stepped forward and said, "Miss Youlan, now that everyone is here, should we reform the team?" "Alright. Everyone, leave your teams," Youlan nodded as she pinned Shi Feng with a penetrating gaze. Although she had already known that Ye Feng would lead the expedition to Titan City, she had been somewhat surprised to receive this news. She thought that Black Flame would lead this expedition. This was not because she doubted Ye Feng''s strength. However, Black Flame was far more experienced with commanding a team. It was of the utmost importance that they cleared Titan City''s entrance trial. After all, once they could enter the Holy City of Titan, they could rapidly nurture Advanced Lifestyle players. In the future, they would have a greater advantage when competing with other trading firms. "I''ll start dividing the workload. I want everyone to send me a list of your Skills," Shi Feng instructed Youlan and the others after inviting them to his team. "That is a Guild''s secret! How can we just reveal that information to an outsider?!" Overwhelming Smile''s members immediately complained. All Guilds kept their players'' Basic Attributes and Skills secret. It was especially true for Guild experts. If others discovered this information, it would be very easy to exploit their weaknesses. Shi Feng then looked towards Youlan and said seriously, "I believe you know how difficult Titan City''s entrance trial is. If I don''t know everyone''s abilities, I can''t guarantee our success." After giving it some thought, Youlan nodded and said, "It''s alright. Tell him." Titan City''s entrance trial was much harder than a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. If the team leader did not even know what Skills his members possessed, it would be hard for him to issue effective commands. After receiving Youlan''s instructions, Overwhelming Smile''s members sent their Skill lists to Shi Feng, albeit reluctantly. As for the Skills Owl''s and Raven''s members possessed, the two groups had long since notified Shi Feng. Owl''s members had not held back in the least. However, Shi Feng was certain that Raven''s members had held back some information. Regardless, though, it would not affect the overall situation. After Shi Feng examined the Skills of Overwhelming Smile''s members, he was a little surprised. Twenty-three of these players wielded Berserk Skills. Among them, Youlan had learned a large-scale destruction Spell and a large-scale buff Spell. This would be of great help to the team. "Before we enter Titan City, I''ll give everyone certain responsibilities. Make sure you understand your tasks. When the time comes, you just need to do your part." Shi Feng then called up his system interface and split everyone into groups. Shi Feng had split the team of 100 players into five teams of 20. Among them, one team would serve as the main force while the remaining four would serve as support. Raiding Titan City''s entrance trial was different from raiding a 100-man Team Dungeon, where players only had to deal with one Boss at a time. The entrance trial resembled a field battle. Only, the team would face far more danger. In the entrance trial, one could encounter a powerful Boss at any time. It was even possible for multiple Bosses to appear at once. It would not come as a surprise if one mistake led to a team-wipe. Hence, they needed to prepare before they challenged the trial. There was only one MT on the main teamCola. This decision confused Youlan and the others. Cola was only Level 40, while the Guardian Knight White Night had brought was Level 42. In terms of techniques, the Guardian Knight was also much stronger than Cola. No matter how they looked at it, Cola should not be the main team''s MT. Even if Shi Feng placed Cola on the main team, he should include another MT. How was a single MT going to tank a Boss? However, Shi Feng did not bother to explain his decision. He had chosen Cola because he had previously passed the Epic ranked Dragonscale Shield to the MT. With this shield alone, none of the other MTs could compete with Cola. Not to mention, Cola was using the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Guardian Knights. Comparing Basic Attributes, he was stronger than Moonlight Knight, Owl''s Level 42 Guardian Knight, by a large margin. He was the best choice to serve as the lead MT. After the various tasks had been distributed, Youlan took out a golden key and began to chant an incantation. In the next moment, a pair of tightly shut, black stone doors appeared in the hall. The stone doors towered over three-meters high, and there were countless magical runes carved into the door''s stone. As the thick, heavy doors slowly parted, a terrifying aura surged out, and everyone immediately felt a powerful mental suppression weigh on them. This mental suppression could rival that of Grand Lords. However, every player here was an expert. Even if the mental suppression affected them, the effects were minimal. After everyone calmed their nerves, Shi Feng took the lead and stepped through the doors. One after another, the other players followed him. 919 Titan’s Legend Chapter 919 - Titan''s Legend The Holy City of Titan was buried in God''s Domain''s underground. Complex terrain surrounded Titan City, forming a natural maze. Players could easily get lost within the maze as they searched for Titan City. Although Titan City was underground, crystals that radiated a bright, blue glow covered the cavern''s ceiling. Hence, visibility was not an issue. After Shi Feng and the others entered the transfer gate, they had been teleported to this maze''s entrance. "This place is spectacular!" As this was Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other members'' first time here, they were captivated. Even experts like White Night and Bloodsucker found the scene awe-inspiring. Aside from the spectacular scenery, ten, towering statues of Titans loomed at the entrance. All ten radiated a boundless aura. In front of these statues, players like themselves were no more significant than insects. Although they had known that the quest Shi Feng had called them to help with was not simple, after witnessing this, they grew serious. With their sharp senses, they felt warnings of death from their surroundings the instant they reached this area. It was especially true for the entrance. It felt more like the maw of a gigantic beast. "These are just statues, yet they have such powerful auras. Are these statues alive?" Aqua Rose''s slender brows creased slightly as she swept her gaze over the statues before her. She could feel the surrounding pressure originating from these ten statues. If they had to fight while bathed in this aura, they would suffer a disadvantage. "Relax. Those are just statues. Their purpose is to frighten monsters and prevent them from approaching," Shi Feng explained. These ten statues were the sculptures of the ten saints who had founded the Holy City of Titan. According to legend, every saint possessed enough strength to rival Gods. Before they had died, these ten saints had used their remaining power to construct Titan Armaments. As long as one equipped the Titan Armaments, one could rival the Gods themselves. However, after several catastrophes struck Titan City, these Titan Armaments had been lost. In his previous life, Shi Feng had been fortunate enough to see one of these Titan Armaments. Although it had only been a pair of gloves, the gloves were Legendary rank. The gloves greatly increased the wearer''s Strength Attribute. Even while using a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, the player that had owned the Titan Gloves had fought a player wielding a Legendary ranked battle axe to a standstill. Among the equipment in God''s Domain, weapons provided the most benefits to a player''s combat power, yet this pair of gloves had provided enough Strength to rival a Legendary Weapon. One could just imagine how powerful the Titan Armaments were. In Shi Feng''s opinion, it was possible to rival a God if a player obtained the complete set of Titan Armaments. Unfortunately, the Titan Armaments were a mystery to players. Even after ten years, players had only discovered three Titan Armaments. Moreover, three different players had owned them. These players had been the targets of numerous assassination attempts in the past. "Alright, let''s head inside," Shi Feng said as he clapped his hands. After everyone took up their formation, they officially entered Titan City''s entrance trial. After several minutes of traveling down the straight pathway, the team halted. "Leader, there are four paths ahead. Which one should we take?" Aqua Rose asked Shi Feng. "Should we send someone to scout ahead?" Each path felt equally dangerous to her, so it was impossible to determine which path they should take. "Which path did you take last time?" Although Shi Feng knew which path they should take, he still asked Youlan. "We investigated all four paths the last time we were here. Among them, a Great Lord guards the first path, while the next two are littered with traps and ambushing monsters. A large number of mobs guard the last. After we had killed those monsters, we discovered that the path led to another crossroad. In the end, we took the path with the Great Lord. However, after a short distance, three Great Lords annihilated us," Youlan explained. Truth be told, they had gathered almost no information before the reached an abrupt end. Hence, Youlan had thought to search for experts to challenge the three Bosses. When Overwhelming Smile''s members recalled the three Great Lords that had ganged up on them, a chill ran down their spines. There were not many players who could face a Great Lord, not to mention three Great Lords simultaneously. Moreover, even a 100-man team would be hard-pressed to deal with one Great Lord here because, aside from the Great Lord itself, there were many monsters traveling with the Great Lord. Before they had dealt with the three Great Lords, the weaker monsters had swarmed and slaughtered them "So, that''s the case. Let''s go down the path with the crossroad, then," Shi Feng nodded. "Generally, the path with a Boss it should be the correct option. Taking the path with the crossroad is a waste of time," Youlan explained. "That might be true in other virtual reality games, but in God''s Domain, it is only half correct," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "This is an entrance trial. Our ultimate goal is to pass through the maze, not to defeat the Bosses, isn''t that right?" In reality, all four paths led to Titan City. If a team were strong enough, they could choose the most difficult path, which contained various Bosses. This path was also the most direct and would save the most time. In contrast, the path with the crossroads, as Youlan had said, would be time-consuming. However, it was the safest path among the four. Youlan''s group had grown comfortable with the mindset of using brute force to resolve issues. Hence, they had chosen to challenge the most difficult path after entering the entrance trial. It was no wonder why they had only traveled a short distance before team-wiping. The first time Shi Feng had come here in his previous life, he had been just as ignorant. He and his team had insisted on taking the most difficult path and killing all of the Bosses. In the end, they suffered team-wipe after team-wipe. Fortunately, unlike Youlan''s group, his team was not as simple-minded. When they challenged a Boss, they had a Cleric stay some distance away from the team to revive everyone in the event that the Boss slaughtered them. This way, they could challenge the Bosses endlessly. Moreover, as this was an entrance trial, no matter how many times players died here, they would not lose any EXP after reviving; although, they would lose some Skill Proficiency. After Youlan and the others heard Shi Feng''s reasoning, realization dawned on them. Following which, Shi Feng led everyone down the path with the crossroads. As they progressed through the maze, Shi Feng often deliberately took the wrong path, leading the team into difficult situations and traps. However, with the team''s abilities, overcoming the traps and Level 40 or so Elemental Beings wasn''t an issue. After walking for nearly two hours, the team arrived before a large temple. The temple was as big as five football fields, and a pair of tightly shut iron doors sealed its entrance. A steel statue with glowing red eyes that stood over ten meters tall walked back and forth before these iron doors. There were also groups of smaller steel statues patrolling the temple grounds like trained soldiers. [Steel Slaughterer] (Elemental Being, Grand Lord) Level 44 HP 50,000,000/50,000,000 [Steel Guardian] (Elemental Being, Lord) Level 42 HP 7,000,000/7,000,000 [Steel Watcher] (Elemental Being, Elite) Level 40 HP 120,000/120,000 "Cola, you''ll tank the Steel Slaughterer later. The other MTs will each handle one Guardian. White, lure those Elite monsters to us first. All magical classes will assist to clear out the Elites. Go!" 920 Epic Shield’s Effects Chapter 920 - Epic Shield''s Effects "Sister Youlan, should we go?" "Why is a Grand Lord here?! It''s stronger than any of the Bosses we faced before!" "Trying to fight that is suicidal." Shi Feng''s commands had left Overwhelming Smile''s members speechless. Although Shi Feng''s orders sounded simple, carrying them out would be very difficult. Monsters surrounded the temple. There were at least over 400 Steel Watchers. Moreover, there were as many as six Steel Guardians. Any 20-man elite team would struggle against a Lord ranked monster. Just luring a fraction of the Steel Watchers would be a challenge. These monsters stood too close to each other; if they attacked one of these monsters, they would alarm them all. Over 400 Watchers would chase them down. "Everyone, get ready." Youlan understood exactly what Shi Feng was trying to do. However, while realizing this plan was difficult, she had committed to Shi Feng''s leadership. Since he had not voiced any concerns with his plan, they had to believe in him. A short moment later, everyone fell into formation and prepared. Now, they only had to wait for the Ranger White Night to lure the monsters. White Night did not rush in luring the Elite monsters. Rather, he stood to one side and waited patiently for the patrolling Steel Watchers to move past before he attacked. However, White Night did not attack the Elite monsters directly. Instead, he set up a trap along the Steel Watchers'' path. Rangers were not just adept at ranged attacks. The class was also capable of setting various kinds of traps. White Night had set a Poison Trap. When a monster stumbled into it, it would suffer a Poisoned debuff and lose some HP every three seconds for 15 seconds. Traps were not limited by range, but by time. Even if a player were 100 yards away from their trap, it would still trigger. After setting up a series of traps, White Night distanced himself from the temple and waited for the patrol of Steel Watchers to return. After another few minutes, the Steel Watchers came back along their previous path. Without any suspense, one of the Steel Watchers triggered White Night''s trap, and its entire body took on a dark-green hue. Although the remaining 19 Watchers noticed the abnormality, White Night was outside of their perception range. Hence, the 19 Steel Watchers stood there ignorantly as they searched for the enemy. However, the poisoned Steel Watcher was different. Not only had the trap inflicted damage, but it also now suffered a DoT debuff. It charged towards White Night immediately. Traps were like curses. When a monster fell into a trap, it would detect its target after a certain amount of time regardless of how far the target was from it. Only, this period wasn''t long. After the time passed, the monster would similarly lose its target if the player were still outside its perception range. However, once the poisoned Steel Watcher had moved ten yards closer to White Night and just before the allotted time passed, it triggered another Poison Trap. As a result, the Steel Watcher confirmed White Night''s whereabouts and continued to charge towards the Ranger. In such a way, the Steel Watcher triggered a series of three traps, the traps luring it roughly 30 yards away from its companions. When the other Steel Watchers saw this, they cautiously followed the poisoned Watcher. Moreover, because of this Steel Watcher, four nearby patrol squads of Steel Watchers also began converging on White Night''s position. However, after a dozen or so yards, they abandoned their advance. After all, these monsters couldn''t detect an enemy. Without a clear target, these Steel Watchers could not react properly. As for the Steel Guardians and Steel Slaughterer, they ignored the incident. "Damn, that''s possible?!" Minor Wind was stunned upon seeing this method. Minor Wind wasn''t the only person present surprised. Youlan and the others also wore shocked expressions. With a single move, White Night had lured the Elite monsters away from the troublesome Lords and Grand Lord. With this, they didn''t have to fear pulling the Bosses'' aggro while they wiped out the Elite monsters. Dealing with the Bosses afterward would be much easier. After moving into the Watchers'' perception range, White Night nocked his arrows and fired three Frost Arrows at the poisoned Steel Watcher. The three arrows sped through the air and struck the poisoned Elite. -6,618. -6,627. -13,216. Not only did the poisoned Steel Watcher instantly lose a large portion of its HP, but its Movement Speed and Attack Speed had also been reduced. Just before the poisoned Steel Watcher reached White Night, the Ranger had depleted its 120,000 HP, and its heavy body fell to the ground with a loud boom. As for the Steel Watchers following closely behind, at Shi Feng''s command, the team''s ranged classes bombarded the monsters with AOE Attack and Control Skills. After a moment, every Steel Watcher died without any need for an MT, granting everyone EXP. After dealing with the first wave of Steel Watchers, the following waves became much easier. Once the team had cleared over half of the Steel Watchers around the temple, the Steel Slaughterer and Guardians could no longer remain idle as they charged towards the team. Unlike the low-intelligence Steel Watchers, however, the Grand Lord and Lords immediately targeted the healers. "Cola, intercept the Grand Lord! Other MTs, lead the Guardians away!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted. Cola, who resembled a grizzly bear, raised his Dragonscale Shield and charged at the Grand Lord. The Steel Slaughterer towered like a mountain. In front of its gigantic stature, Cola was an insignificant ant. Moreover, no player could stand against the power of a Grand Lord''s charge; they had to dodge it if they wanted to survive. Contrary to expectations, however, Cola moved straight towards the Steel Slaughterer''s feet, raising his shield and bellowing a war cry. Tier 1 Skill, Justice Bash! Immediately, Cola''s body released a golden glow as he doubled in size. He then crashed into the Slaughterer''s calf. Boom! The powerful impact generated a strong wind that swept over the other players. Cola had only managed to stabilize his body after taking three steps back, a damage of more than -6,000 points appearing above his head. To Cola, who had 22,400 HP, the damage was acceptable. After the healers sent him a few heals, Cola''s HP instantly recovered to full. As for the Steel Slaughterer, its charge had been abruptly halted, and it trembled slightly. The watching team members were stupefied. "He blocked it? Just like that?" Youlan''s mind froze. No MT could even stand against a Level 40 Great Lord''s Strength. They needed at least three to five MTs blocking to stop one of its attacks. But this was a Grand Lord, and even sending five MTs would be tantamount to suicide. Yet, Cola had stopped the Steel Slaughterer''s charge without any help. It was unbelievable. So, Zero Wing has such a powerful MT. I see why Ye Feng said that one person would be enough. White Night, Bloodsucker, and the others were similarly shocked. Although they had not tested the Steel Slaughterer''s Strength personally, they could make an educated guess. Most likely, no other MT on their team could replicate Cola''s feat of tanking a Grand Lord by himself. This Epic Shield is the best! Cola was ecstatic as he looked at the shield in his hand. Initially, he had been prepared to be thrown when he charged at the Steel Slaughterer. In the end, however, he was only forced back by three steps. However, Cola quickly regained his focus and proceeded to use Shield of Vengeance against the Steel Slaughterer''s calf, causing -3,475 damage. Shield of Vengeance came with a shock effect. Although its damage was not particularly high, the Skill felt powerful to others and would draw a monster''s attention to the Skill''s user. In the blink of an eye, the Steel Slaughterer switched focus to Cola. 921 Frightening Team Chapter 921 - Frightening Team With Cola tanking the Steel Slaughterer, the pressure on the team lessened significantly. Cola only needed three healers to stabilize his HP, so everyone else could deal with the six Steel Guardians and the remaining Steel Watchers without needing to push themselves too much. To ordinary players, the Level 42 Lord ranked Steel Guardians might be a nightmare, but to Shi Feng''s team of top-tier experts, they weren''t a problem. Any MT on the team could tank a Lord effortlessly on their own. Moreover, they only needed one healer to maintain their HPs. After the MTs stabilized their aggro on the Bosses, the rest of the team dealt with the remaining hundred or so Elite ranked Steel Watchers. An ordinary expert player could defeat two or three Elite monsters of the same level easily. As for this team, even the weakest among them could hold their own against a Chieftain of the same level for a long time. Some were even capable of killing Chieftains or resisting a Lord of the same level by themselves. If not for the threat of the Grand Lord, the team would have only needed a dozen or so players to deal with the hundred-plus Elite monsters. At this moment, Youlan finally experienced what it felt like to have a powerful MT on the team. With a powerful MT, even a headache-inducing problem could be easily resolved. "Zero Wing''s MT is amazing! Even without using a Lifesaving Skill, he only took around -15,000 damage after the Slaughterer''s Skill hit him. Even Boss Wolf might''ve died instantly if he didn''t activate a Lifesaving Skill in time." "How high is his Defense?" "His HP is so high! It should be at least over 20,000!" Many of Overwhelming Smile''s members were stunned by Cola''s performance. Although Zero Wing is much stronger than we had expected, Raven is more capable than this! Bloodsucker had no intention of letting Zero Wing continue to occupy the spotlight. After all, their goal in coming here was to show Shi Feng their Guild''s strength. Following which, Bloodsucker led his party to attack a Steel Guardian. Generally, dealing with a Lord ranked monster required a 20-man team of the same level. However, now that Turtledove single-handedly pinned down the Steel Guardian, Bloodsucker and his group of damage-dealers could launch their attacks without holding back. Bloodsucker instantly appeared behind the Steel Guardian and used Chop on the Lord, his spear thrusting into the Lord''s leg joint. Fully displaying the boundless Strength of Berserkers, Bloodsucker''s attack forced the Steel Guardian to one knee, a damage of over -8,000 points appearing above the Lord''s head. Bloodsucker''s attack had put an end to the Steel Guardian''s offensive. Following which, the Berserker used Whirlwind Slash, his spear striking the Steel Guardian''s other leg joint, dealing over -6,000 damage and causing the Lord to fall, face first, to the ground. uddenly, a black figure appeared above the Steel Guardian''s head. This figure was none other than Raven''s Kirin. Kirin''s daggers rapidly sliced the Steel Guardian''s head as he descended, leaving six deep cuts, each causing over -2,000 damage or over -4,000 damage with a critical hit. Once Kirin landed, he spun and used Absolute Strike on the back of the Lord''s head. Instantly, a black streak of light pierced through the back of the Steel Guardian''s head, exiting between its brows and devouring over 13,000 HP. The other Raven members joined the fray, bombarding the Steel Guardian with attacks. Overall, Raven''s Steel Guardian lost HP far faster than the Steel Guardian that Overwhelming Smile dealt with. Moreover, Raven''s members disabled the Guardian with every attack. As a result, Turtledove had an easy time tanking the Lord, so much so that she no longer required the help of a healer. However, Owl did not lag behind Raven in the least. The adventurer team''s 14 members fought two Steel Guardians simultaneously. White Night''s Steel Guardian, in particular, lost HP faster than Raven''s target. White Night''s normal arrow attacks could deal over -3,000 damage to the Steel Guardian. When he used Skills such as Burst Arrow, his attacks easily dealt over -10,000 damage; over -20,000 damage if it were a critical hit. Moreover, his Attack Speed was on par with an Assassin''s. With Owl and Raven''s members taking action, three Steel Guardians were dealt with. As for Zero Wing''s members, they focused on the Steel Slaughterer. The situation left Youlan speechless. Shi Feng''s side had dealt with 80% of the battle, leaving her side with very little room to display their strength. Her side only needed to deal with three Steel Guardians and the remaining Watchers. Youlan even began to suspect that, even if her team of 50 stood idle, Shi Feng''s side could finish the battle by themselves. In less than ten minutes, all six Steel Guardians and the hundred-plus Steel Watchers were dead. In contrast, Shi Feng''s entire team was also alive and well. Now, only the Steel Slaughterer remained. As the team began to think that they would easily pass this stage, the Steel Slaughterer stomped its feet. With a loud boom, the ground shattered. The following impact sent everyone flying. Although the players only received between -1,000 and -4,000 damage, they were all thrown 50 yards away from the Grand Lord. The Steel Slaughterer then raised its hands. A gigantic, blue magic array formed in the sky, countless arcs of lightning gathering at the Slaughterer''s hands. Anything these blue arcs touched instantly turned into ash. As if armageddon had arrived, the team could feel a deathly aura loom over them. "The Boss is going to activate a team-wipe Skill! All MTs, stand at the forefront and activate your Lifesaving Skills! Everyone else, stand behind the MTs! Drink a Magic Resistance Potion! Guardian Knights, activate your Magic Resistance Aura!" Shi Feng ordered, showing no signs of panic. After the monsters around the Steel Slaughterer died, the Grand Lord would activate a powerful AOE Skill called Thunder Destruction. The Skill''s range covered the temple and its grounds, so it was impossible to dodge. Their only option was to survive it. On the other hand, if a team focused on the Steel Slaughterer without finishing off the other monsters, when the Grand Lord''s HP fell below 70%, it would still use this move. After receiving this Skill, the team would either be dead or crippled. Facing the Lords and Elites after that would only end with their deaths. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, everyone flew into action. All ten MTs stood in front of the team and activated either Shield Wall or Protection Blessing. As for the Clerics and Oracles standing at the rear, they cast their respective shields on the MTs. Simultaneously, everyone drank a Basic Magic Resistance Potion. Although the potion did not provide much Magic Resistance, it was better than none at all. Suddenly, the Steel Slaughterer''s fists hammered the ground. Immediately, blue ripples spread out from the Grand Lord. The collision from a single blue ripple forced the MTs back by five or six steps, shattering the support barriers around them and dealing around -8,000 damage to each. As for the others, the attack sent them flying. However, they received much less damage, only around -4,000. "Quickly, heal everyone!" Shi Feng shouted. The Steel Slaughterer''s attack wouldn''t only happen once, but multiple times. As soon as the healers finished casting the first wave of heals, the second shockwave struck, followed by the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth. Only after the sixth shockwave did the Slaughterer''s attack end. However, because of this shockwave attack, nearly half of the team members had died. As for the MTs standing on the frontline, only five of the ten were still alive At this moment, everyone finally realized that they had greatly underestimated Grand Lords. A Grand Lord''s AOE Skills were far more powerful than an ordinary Great Lord. If not for Shi Feng''s quick thinking, they might have team-wiped. Suddenly, the Steel Slaughterer split into two, transforming into a silvery-white and a pitch-black Steel Slaughterer. The team was flabbergasted. They now had to face two Grand Lords! 922 Splendid Cooperation Chapter 922 - Splendid Cooperation "That''s a Doppelganger Skill. This will be tough." Bloodsucker frowned when the Steel Slaughterer split into two; he had a bad feeling about this. One of the worst kinds of Skills players could come across when fighting Bosses were Doppelganger Skills, particularly doppelgangers like this that did not have weakened Attributes. The only saving grace was that such doppelgangers usually shared HP. Overall, however, the Boss would be far more difficult to deal with than if it simply gone Berserk and gained a huge boost to its Attributes. Now that nearly half of their team was dead, their likelihood of defeating the two Grand Lords was very low. First of all, they only had half of their MTs. Secondly, the Grand Lord''s overall combat power had not simply doubled. If the two Grand Lords superimposed their attacks, they would deal double the damage. Against such a powerful attack, even an MT like Cola would die without every healer focused on him. "If these Grand Lords use that shockwave move again, we might as well give up." Youlan frowned, her willowy brows meeting, as she looked at the two Steel Slaughterers. She had never imagined that this Grand Lord would be so difficult to deal with. "Guild Leader, what should we do? Should we activate our Berserk Skills?" Aqua Rose sent Shi Feng a whisper. "Cola, tank the white one. Turtledove, you''ll assist him. The other three MTs will be responsible for pinning down the black one. Keep them 50 yards away from each other. All healers, stand in a triangular position to the two Bosses and stand as far away as you can to heal the MTs," Shi Feng commanded calmly. The Steel Slaughterer was an important Stage Boss. The system would not allow players to clear the entrance trial so easily. Moreover, as Youlan had guessed, when the Steel Slaughterers'' HP fell below 30%, both Grand Lords would still use Thunder Destruction again. The Skill wouldn''t be any weaker than the previous attack, either. In the past, before players had discovered an appropriate countermeasure, many expert teams had fallen to this move. Although nobody knew the reason behind Shi Feng''s command, they moved according to his orders without hesitation. After all, it was only thanks to Shi Feng''s guidance that they had come this far. Very quickly, everyone fell into position. Cola still had a relatively easy time dealing with the white Steel Slaughterer, receiving only five or six thousand damage from each of the Grand Lord''s normal attacks. Even when a Skill struck him, he only lost around 15,000 HP. When he had the buffs from Clerics and Oracles'' shields when he received an attack, he received even less damage. On the black Steel Slaughter''s side, however, Moonlight Knight, the lead MT for that doppelganger, teetered between life and death. Moonlight Knight lost over 8,000 HP due to a normal attack. Unfortunately, the Guardian Knight only had slightly over 19,000 HP; that was close to 3,000 points less than Cola. If he received one of the Grand Lord''s Skills without any buffs, he would die instantly. Although Moonlight Knight relied on his techniques and positioning to evade the black Steel Slaughterer''s attacks, the Grand Lord''s speed and Strength was overwhelming. Moreover, the Boss''s attacks covered a wide area. It was very difficult to bridge the gap with techniques and positioning alone. After all, the Guardian Knight class did not boast high Agility. It was mainly a meat shield. Fortunately, with three MTs taking turns tanking the Boss, they could, somehow, avoid fatalities. "Everyone, focus your attacks on the white Boss!" Shi Feng shouted. Under Shi Feng''s command, the team launched their Skills at the white Steel Slaughterer. However, the Grand Lord''s Defense was quite high. Its innate Magic Resistance was also high due to it being an Elemental Being. The majority of the team members only dealt around -2,000 damage, -4,000 with critical hits. Even Bloodsucker and Kirin, powerful DPS players who wielded Epic Weapons, only dealt around -4,000 to -5,000 damage with their Skills. As for White Night, his overall damage was slightly higher than Bloodsucker. However, compared to White Night and Bloodsucker, Shi Feng''s and Fire Dance''s damages were shocking. Epic Weapon wielders like White Night and Bloodsucker already dealt awe-inspiring damage, yet Shi Feng and Fire Dance surpassed them by a large margin. Upon arriving behind the Steel Slaughterer, Shi Feng brandished Killing Ray. Immediately, damages of over -6,000 points appeared above the Boss''s head, one after another. Moreover, every hit was a critical normal attack. When Shi Feng used a Skill, his damage soared to ten or twenty thousand. His performance was dazzling. The various players wouldn''t be terribly surprised if only Shi Feng''s performance were so magnificent, yet Fire Dance, who fought beside him, also resembled a humanoid Lord. With an overwhelming lead, these two occupied the first and second place in the Boss''s damage rankings. Among them, Shi Feng only held first place with a small lead. Although Fire Dance possessed the Fragmented Legendary Weapon Thousand Transformations, Shi Feng''s Abyssal Blade and Heavenly Dragon''s Breath had both improved. Including the gap between their techniques and Skills, Fire Dance had no advantage over Shi Feng. Moreover, they both possessed extremely high Strength Attributes. When the two of them attacked, they matched their attacks to strike a single location. One person''s Strength might not cause a significant impact, but with their Strengths combined, their attacks affected the Steel Slaughterer. Unfortunately, such combination attacks were difficult to achieve. If both individuals had not reached a certain combat standard, accomplishing such a feat was practically impossible. Overall, Shi Feng and Fire Dance''s occasional combination attacks against the Steel Slaughterer''s joints had greatly lessened the burden on Cola and Turtledove. The healers could now split their concentration and focus more on the MTs on the other side. "How are they accomplishing this?" "Am I seeing things?! They can actually combine their attacks to shake such a powerful Grand Lord?!" Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Shi Feng and Fire Dance''s attack rhythms, which closely resembled each other''s. They had never imagined that players could use this method to deal with Bosses. Although they, as experts, could also match their attack rhythms with others, Shi Feng and Fire Dance''s achievement was not that simple. These two were even capable of accurately striking the same position as if they had discussed this beforehand. In addition, they were fought impressively fast, which increased the feat''s difficulty exponentially. The intricate control required to combine two sources of Strength could easily cause an expert to go mad. This was no longer a lack of techniques. This feat required two people to possess a relatively high synchronization rate with each other. However, what everyone did not know was that, during their daytime training sessions in the real world, Shi Feng often sparred with Fire Dance. Hence, they were very familiar with each other''s attack patterns. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to cooperate this seamlessly. "How high are their Attributes?" Bloodsucker and White Night had not only noticed the two players'' perfect coordination. They were actually more curious about Shi Feng and Fire Dance''s Basic Attributes. Without sufficient Strength, even if Shi Feng and Fire Dance could combine their attacks, they would not shake the Steel Slaughterer. Previously, Bloodsucker had thought that Shi Feng and Fire Dance was only slightly stronger than him in terms of Attributes. After witnessing this, however, he finally understood just how wide the gap was between them. As for White Night, he was curious about the Guild Zero Wing. After witnessing Black Flame''s performance, he had already begun to reevaluate his opinion of the upstart Guild, yet another two monsters had emerged from Zero Wing Feng Xuanyang has truly doomed Underworld. Youlan''s eyes twitched as she watched the team''s damage statistics against the Boss. Even now, Feng Xuanyang wanted to annihilate Zero Wing and replace it as White River City''s overlord. After watching this, however, Youlan realized how foolish the man''s actions were. Previously, she had not had a clear grasp of Zero Wing''s top experts. Now, she understood. She also realized how wide the gap was between Zero Wing''s main force and hers, which she formed with Underworld''s connections. It was no wonder why Zero Wing had not feared the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and later dared to offend King''s Return. Now, it seemed that Zero Wing''s main force was no weaker than the main force of God''s Domain''s major powers. One would even be hard-pressed to find frightening damage dealers such as Shi Feng and Fire Dance on those teams, not to mention a powerful MT like Cola. With such a composition, they could collect top-tier equipment as fast as those major powers. Following which, the Steel Slaughterer''s HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. Very quickly, its HP fell to 30%. Suddenly, the Steel Slaughterers on both sides stomped the ground, forcing the players away. "We''re doomed!" Everyone knew that the battle was over when they saw the Grand Lords prepare to use Thunder Destruction simultaneously. One Boss using this Skill had already left them standing at death''s door. If both Bosses used this Skill simultaneously, the stacked damage would undoubtedly blast them through that door. "Everyone, hide beside the white Boss! Moonlight, you three hide beside the black Boss! You''ll be responsible for tanking the Boss! Blackie, give Moonlight Knight Guardian of Light! Cola, activate Dragonscale Body!" Shi Feng shouted. Guardian of Light could reduce the damage the target received as well as heal the target. Meanwhile, Dragonscale Body would increase Cola''s Defense by 200%, HP by 300% and recovery ability by 500%. After activating Protection Blessing as well, Cola could even survive without any healing. The black Steel Slaughterer was simply too far away. It was impossible for the other three MTs to reach the white Slaughterer in time. Hence, he had to leave the MTs with Moonlight Knight to fend for themselves. Fortunately, they had a Skill like Guardian of Light, so they could save at least one of them. Otherwise, without anybody tanking the black Steel Slaughterer, the two Grand Lords would obliterate the team. After Shi Feng issued his orders, everyone burst into action. Shortly after, both Steel Slaughterers activated Thunder Destruction; the power their Skills contained was no weaker than the last time. The only difference was that each Steel Slaughterer only launched three shockwave attacks instead of six. "Huh? What''s going on?" Everyone was confused when they noticed that no one had died. They should''ve received six damages. This time, however, they had only suffered three. Moreover, none of the black Slaughterer''s shockwaves had hit them. As for Moonlight Knight''s side, all three MTs had survived. Did the shockwaves offset each other? Youlan suddenly thought of their positions. They just so happened to be standing in line with the two Steel Slaughterers. With this, the shockwaves the black Slaughterer had released had been offset by the white Slaughterer''s before any had reached them. They hadn''t suffered any damage from the black Slaughterer''s attacks. Youlan wasn''t the only one who had realized what had just happened. Bloodsucker and White Night had reached the same conclusion. They all turned to Shi Feng, who was reorganizing the team''s formations, every one of them wondering just how smart Shi Feng was to think of such a solution so quickly. If they had been in charge, they would have only been able to wait for their deaths. After the Steel Slaughterer''s attacks, the two Grand Lords did not use any powerful AOE Skills. In less than ten minutes, both Bosses died by Shi Feng''s hands, granting everyone an abundance of EXP. Even after they shared the EXP, several of Overwhelming Smile''s Level 38 members rose to Level 39. Shi Feng''s experience bar had also risen by nearly 6%. Compared to killing an ordinary Grand Lord, the Steel Slaughterer provided far more EXP. Meanwhile, due to Divine Providence, the Steel Slaughterer dropped over a dozen items. 923 Steel Crown Chapter 923 - Steel Crown As the Steel Slaughterers crumbled into a pile of scrap metal, the temple''s locked iron doors opened. "It''s finally dead! I was nearly out of Mana!" "We won? Just like that?" "This is so awesome! Nobody will believe us when we tell them we defeated a Level 44 Grand Lord!" This was not the first time Zero Wing''s members had faced down a Grand Lord. However, this was the first time for Overwhelming Smile''s members. They had even shrunk back in fear even against a Level 40 Grand Lord, not to mention a Level 44 Grand Lord. Hence, how could they contain their excitement? Currently, very few teams in God''s Domain were capable of killing a Grand Lord. "This is the first time I have killed a Grand Lord so easily. If we had to rely on Raven''s main force, we would have lost at least 80% of the team. We might have even suffered multiple team-wipes." Masked Angel sighed in amazement as he sat on the ground. Raven''s other members nodded their agreement. Although they had killed Grand Lords before, they usually paid a high price to do so. Generally, they suffered multiple team-wipes before finally succeeding. Moreover, their team usually only had around a dozen or so people alive at the end of the raid. This was the first time they had killed a Great Lord so easily. Bloodsucker''s gaze drifted towards Shi Feng, who was occupied with picking up the loot, and he smiled bitterly. Originally, he had wanted to prove Raven''s strength to Zero Wing. In the end, he and Kirin were the only members of their Guild to rank within the top ten on the team''s damage stats against the Boss; he ranked sixth, while Kirin ranked tenth. As for everyone else in their party of six, they ranked beyond the twentieth place. It was difficult to boast about such results. With his DPS statistics, he could rank within the top five among Raven''s main force, yet he only ranked sixth on this team, showing that there were five people stronger than himself. The most laughable aspect was the massive gap between second and third place. White Night, who ranked third among the team, had only dealt slightly over half of Fire Dance''s total damage. Aside from them, Aqua Rose ranked fourth on the team, while one of Owl''s female Elementalist named Frozen Dream ranked fifth. With such an outcome, just how was he supposed to negotiate for a better deal with Shi Feng? "When fighting the next Boss, drink an Intermediate Boiling Blood Potion and raise your damage ranks. I don''t want to be at a disadvantage during out negotiations," Bloodsucker whispered to his party members. The Intermediate Blood Boiling Potion could increase a player''s damage by 20% for ten minutes. It was not available on the market and could only be obtained by killing certain special Field Bosses. It was extremely rare. "Boss Blood, are you sure that you want to use such a precious potion here? Our Guild only has a dozen or so of these potions," Kirin asked worriedly. This time, as a precaution, the Guild had given each of them a bottle. Even when the Guild had raided Grand Lords, they had refused to use it. "Do you think we can top the damage charts if we don''t use this potion?" Bloodsucker retorted, smiling bitterly. Truthfully, he did not want to use the potion, either. He had thought that he and Kirin would rank among the top five players in terms of damage, while the rest of his party would rank within the top twenty, yet they had not, and now, their reputation was in ruins. As the healers revived the dead, Shi Feng organized the loot he had collected. "Leader, did they drop something good?" Cola asked excitedly when he noticed Shi Feng''s smile. The other Zero Wing members turned to Shi Feng as well. They all knew Shi Feng''s personality. Items that they considered top-tier were ordinary in Shi Feng''s eyes. Items that could garner Shi Feng''s interest were precious first-class items. "Not bad. The Boss dropped a piece of Growth-type Equipment." Shi Feng chuckled as he shared the equipment''s Attributes in the team chat. [Steel Crown] (Helmet, Plate Armor, Bronze Rank) Level 40 - Level 90 Defense +1,374 (Level 40) Strength +31, Endurance +30, Agility +22 Additional Passive Skill 1- Iron Wall: After receiving an attack, user has a 5% chance to trigger Iron Wall, halving the next damage received. Additional Passive Skill 2- King''s Resolve: Halves mental suppression suffered by wielder and decrease all control effects by one-third. Additional Active Skill- Steel Impact: Increases Strength by 300%, speed by 100%, and causes a powerful impact to a maximum of three targets. Impact interrupts targets, knocks them back by 10 yards, and places them in a Fainted state for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 1 minute 30 seconds. This crown was crafted by Titan Craftsman Firos. However, the crown''s power has been severely weakened due to evil power pollution. To purify this evil power, one needs a large number of Magic Crystals and EXP. Can be purified five times. (First purification requires 100 Magic Crystals and 200,000,000 EXP) Every member of the team unconsciously gasped when they saw the Steel Crown''s Attributes. The crown was a treasure for MTs. The item''s two Passive Skills could significantly reduce the burden on MTs when facing Bosses. As for the Steel Impact Skill, it could be useful during crucial moments to prolong or interrupt a Boss''s channeling before it executed a powerful Skill. With the 300% Strength increase, an MT could easily take on a Grand Lord of the same level for a few moments. Furthermore, as the Steel Crown was Growth-type Equipment, both the crown''s Basic Attributes and the Skills would improve as the crown was purified. "This helmet can practically rival Epic Equipment." Masked Angel drooled as he gazed at the Steel Crown. The Steel Crown did not have a class restriction. Any plate-wearing class could use it. However, it was most suited for an MT. This item was fully capable of raising an MT''s standards to a whole new level. The team''s ten MTs stared at the Steel Crown in Shi Feng''s hands. However, Shi Feng had already discussed the matter of the Bosses'' loot. Among Zero Wing''s side, Raven''s members had opted out of the loot. As for Owl''s members, as they were returning a favor, Shi Feng would pay them with Coins. Beyond that, Shi Feng and Youlan had agreed to take turns choosing items from the loot; the team with the highest damage would choose first. Now that Zero Wing''s group had an absolute lead in terms of damage, Shi Feng got the first pick. Overwhelming Smile''s members could only watch on with envy. However, Youlan did not find this outcome unfair. After all, they had relied on Zero Wing to kill the Steel Slaughterer. Among the loot, the Steel Crown was undoubtedly the most precious. However, there were many good items among the loot. Four pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment had dropped. Currently, Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment was the best available outside of Epic Equipment. Tier 2 Magic Scrolls and rare potions also dropped. Even after splitting the loot, each side would reap a considerable harvest. "Turtledove, wear this," Shi Feng handed the Steel Crown to the female Knight Turtledove. "Me?" Turtledove was somewhat hesitant. Among the Guild''s MTs, both Cola and Ye Wumian were stronger than her. Logically, one of them should have received the crown. She already wore a pair of Epic ranked boots. If she received another piece of Growth-type Equipment now, it would be somewhat unfair to Cola and Ye Wumian. "Those two are using sets, so they can''t wear the crown. Moreover, the Steel Crown is only Bronze rank right now. Although your Attributes will decrease slightly after equipping it, you will improve overall. You''ll have an easier time dealing with the Bosses later on," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "That''s right. Turtledove, just take it." Both Cola and Ye Wumian nodded in agreement. In reality, Turtledove''s techniques were already quite impressive. She was definitely the third-ranking MT in the Guild. She just had slightly weaker equipment. If Turtledove improved her equipment, tanking Bosses would become much easier. "Alright, then." After some thought, Turtledove accepted Shi Feng''s offer. She was moved as well, and she inwardly swore not to let anyone down. 924 An Extraordinary Item’s Hidden Effects Chapter 924 - An Extraordinary Item''s Hidden Effects After Turtledove equipped the Steel Crown, although her Basic Attributes had decreased slightly, her aura instantly changed. Five ocean-blue gems adorned the silver crown, which gave Turtledove a royal air. Moreover, Turtledove appeared far more relaxed. Clearly, the mental suppression around the temple released its grip on Turtledove. "This crown is amazing. Wearing it actually calmed me down. With this, I don''t have to worry about mental suppression against a high-tiered Boss anymore." After equipping the Steel Crown, Turtledove felt a pleasant sensation wash over her body, her mind becoming much clearer than before. However, the greatest change she sensed was her body''s flexibility. Her previous helmet could not compare to the Steel Crown. "Growth-type Equipment is similar to an Extraordinary item. Aside from providing a huge boost to one''s Basic Attributes, it generally provides some hidden effects," Shi Feng explained. God''s Domain was a constantly evolving virtual reality game. During the game''s initial stages, Epic items were only slightly stronger than Dark-Gold items in terms of Attributes. However, as God''s Domain evolved, Epic items'' true power would reveal itself, little by little. God''s Domain had already undergone its fourth evolution. Certain Epic items would start to display extraordinary hidden effects that would allow players to display more of their combat power. After the team rested, Shi Feng led them into the temple. A long, narrow hallway, which led to a plaza, waited beyond the thick, iron doors. There were no intersections along the hallway. Various statues decorated the spacious plaza. The plaza also contained swarms of monsters. These monsters were covered in sharp, black scales. They had crescent-shaped heads and no eyes. However, rows of jagged, sharp teeth filled their mouths. Their four limbs looked more like daggers than actual limbs, and wherever these monsters passed, they left deep furrows in the ground. Silver versions of these pitch-black monsters also wandered the plaza. In terms of size, however, the silver monsters were nearly three times larger than their black brothers. Clearly, they would be more difficult to deal with than their smaller counterparts. [Corrosive Beast] (Dark Creature, Elite) Level 42 HP 150,000 [Corrosive Beast King] (Dark Creature, Lord) Level 43 HP 8,000,000/8,000,000 The plaza seemed to be these Corrosive Beasts'' nest. There were more than ten thousand monsters wandering around; just looking at them sent a chill down one''s spine. Meanwhile, a gigantic Teleportation Magic Array occupied the plaza''s center. If they wanted to proceed through the trial, the teleportation array was their only option. "Why are there so many monsters? Do we have to clear all of them?" Youlan frowned as she watched the disgusting Corrosive Beasts. With a rough glance, she could see over ten thousands monsters in the plaza. Among them, several hundred were silver Corrosive Beast Kings. Taking out these monsters would be a massive undertaking. Youlan wasn''t the only one who with a headache. Everyone was dumbfounded. This was the first time they had seen so many Lords in one place. These players even suspected that every one one of these monsters would swarm them the moment they descended the staircase. The thought of facing hundreds of Lords made everyone more than a little tense. There was no way they would survive so many. As their team stood there, shocked over the sight of so many powerful monsters, a pair of steel doors on the other end of the plaza opened, and a group of players emerged. "Why are there other people here?" Youlan muttered in surprise as she watched the players from across the plaza. "It seems you''re not the only one who obtained a Titan City Pass. We need to move faster now." Although Shi Feng found the situation strange, he was not particularly shocked. The Holy City of Titan''s entrance trial was not a Dungeon. It was just an extremely dangerous special map. In addition, it was categorized by levels, with every ten levels sharing one map. Players between Level 36 and Level 45 would share one map, and players between Level 46 and Level 55 would share a different map. Any player who obtained the pass could venture here. God''s Domain was massive, and with so many players, it''d be surprising if no other top-tier players managed to find their own pass. Unfortunately, the other party was clearly a powerful team, based on the fact that they had come this far, and Shi Feng didn''t want to benefit another team in the entrance trial. The trial''s four paths had three main stages, with each having a different challenge set for the first stage. However, all four paths would converge here for the second stage. The four paths also shared the same final challenge. The first team to clear the final stage would gain an additional benefit: Reputation for the Holy City of Titan. It was usually extremely difficult to raise one''s Titan City Reputation, so this was a massive benefit for the first team that cleared the trial. At the same time as Shi Feng and the others discovered those players, that group of players had also discovered Shi Feng''s group. "Boss Peerless, there''s another team over there. Should we get rid of them?" a Level 40, burly Assassin suggested, making the gesture of slitting one''s throat while he stared at Shi Feng and his team. "Ignore them. We''ll decide what to do after we pass through this area. It won''t be too late to get rid of them if we meet them later," Peerless, the group''s leader, said as he waved his hand at the Assassin. "Get ready. We need to clear this area quickly." "Understood!" As if this were not their first time here, the team burst into action. "Leader, the other team is making its move!" Aqua Rose asked softly, "Should we watch them for a moment first?" Naturally, Shi Feng understood Aqua Rose''s concern. With their team''s strength, taking on seven or eight Lords at once might be easy, but against several hundred Lords, even Shi Feng felt powerless. Hence, their best option was to observe the other group as they cleared this stage. This way, they would increase their chances of clearing the stage as well. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of letting the other side get ahead of him. Titan City''s Reputation was on the line, and he must have it! Although there were a lot of monsters in the plaza, their numbers weren''t the largest cause for his headache. The Corrosive Beasts had an extremely abominable ability which could rapidly deplete players'' Durability. With this ability, it was impossible to defeat them all before their equipment broke. "MTs and plate armor classes, gather around me," Shi Feng said. He then revealed a large number of Strengthening Devices. "Each of you, take two of these Strengthening Devices. After using them, thirty of you will form a protective circle while the other melees will serve as replacements when needed. All ranged DPS and healers will stand in the middle. We''ll charge for the teleportation array." As soon as Shi Feng said so, everyone understood his plan. They didn''t actually need to kill all of these monsters. Rather, they needed to reach the Teleportation Magic Array. Unfortunately, while this task might be easy for MTs, it was very difficult for melee classes. There were also countless Corrosive Beasts. They were all bound to receive some damage. If the healers only had to focus on a few MTs, they could bear it. However, they had to keep as many as 30 people alive. There was also a fairly long distance between the staircase and the plaza''s center. If their healing failed to keep up with the damage the melee classes received, everyone would die before reaching the teleportation array. Shi Feng''s decision was definitely risky. However, Youlan and the others could not think of a better plan. Hence, they had to put their faith in Shi Feng once more. Moreover, two groups of players were charging into the plaza. This would reduce the number of monsters they had to deal with. If they started moving after the other side had cleared the stage, it would be far more difficult to succeed. By the time everyone finished preparing, Shi Feng had noticed that the other team had begun to move. Immediately, he shouted, "Move out!" 925 King of Corrosion Chapter 925 - King of Corrosion The instant the team rushed down the staircase, the nearby Corrosive Beasts noticed them. The monsters turned their heads towards Shi Feng''s group one after another, and quickly, they swarmed towards the group like a tidal wave. The Corrosive Beasts were different from ordinary Elite monsters. A layer of corrosive fluid coated their bodies. The corrosive fluid would reduce the Durability of anything that touched it, whether it be weapons or equipment. If the equipment were Secret-Silver rank or below, it would be rendered useless after receiving a few of the Corrosive Beast''s hits. Even Fine-Gold Equipment would only last a few more hits, and only Dark-Gold rank items could last any length of time. Now that they had entered the plaza, there was no turning back. Against the tidal wave of Corrosive Beasts, the team''s only option was to reach the teleportation array within the shortest time possible. Shortly after the team met the Corrosive Beast army, although the Elite monsters did not break through the team''s defensive formation, after several bouts, everyone wore grim expressions. "My weapon!" "My equipment!" "What are these monsters?!" Many of the players cried out in shock when they noticed their equipment and weapons'' Durability. Even after a brief moment of contact with the Corrosive Beasts, their Dark-Gold weapons'' Durability had instantly decreased by one point. An ordinary Dark-Gold Weapon only had around 120 or so Durability. Their Dark-Gold Equipment fared even worse. After receiving a few hits, their Strengthening Devices'' Durability decreased by one point as well. It was obvious that, without the protection of the Strengthening Devices, their equipment would only last for a short time. "Leader, look at that team. It seems that they came prepared," Fire Dance said as she pointed at the other team. As she was not standing in the other ring, attacking with her throwing knives, she could focus on their distant competition. "That''s a smart move," Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he turned to watch the other team. Instead of using a circular defensive formation as they had, the other team employed a V-shaped formation; their most durable MTs served as the spearhead while the others followed closely behind. When the other team attacked, they would try to push the Corrosive Beasts standing before them away, forcing these monsters into the Corrosive Beasts behind them and buying some time. During this short period, the team pulled away from these monsters, with neither side having the opportunity to clash. In addition, the magical classes in the middle of the formation used one Tier 2 Magic Scroll after another. The Magic Scrolls they used all contained AOE Spells. Whenever a Corrosive Beast King charged at the team, these magical classes used a series of Magic Scrolls to knock back the oncoming Corrosive Beasts and Beast Kings, allowing the team to move faster. Despite both sides starting towards the Teleportation Magic Array at the same time, the other team was much faster. "Boss Peerless, your method is really effective. We''ll reach the teleportation array in half the time of our previous attempt." "That''s right! Boss Peerless is the best! We''ll definitely clear the entrance trial." "That team is pretty stupid. At this rate, we won''t have to worry about them." "Hahaha! I hope they can clear this stage, though. The fact that they reached this stage shows that their weapons and equipment are excellent. We might be able to earn some top-tier equipment." Everyone on Peerless''s team chatted cheerfully among themselves. As both teams were fairly far apart, they couldn''t tell who the other team was. However, as they had experienced the first stage''s difficulty personal, they knew that the other team must possess high-quality weapons and equipment. Otherwise, reaching the second stage would have been impossible. "Team Leader Ye Feng, we can''t continue like this. These Corrosive Beasts are wearing out our equipment too quickly!" Youlan said anxiously after examining the team''s situation. "Why don''t we start using Magic Scrolls as well?" The monsters'' corrosive ability was much stronger than she had expected. If not for the Strengthening Devices, their equipment would have long since broken. However, there was still a long distance to the teleportation array. Moreover, more Corrosive Beast Kings approached. In the beginning, they only had to deal with one or two at a time. Now, over a dozen attacked simultaneously. They weren''t even a third of the way, yet so many Lords bombarded their team. Soon, they may have to face dozens of Corrosive Beast Kings. The Corrosive Beast Kings were many times stronger than the Corrosive Beasts. Not only were they stronger in terms of Attributes, but their corrosive abilities were also stronger by a large margin. Even Cola, who used an Epic Shield, was having a difficult time against these Lords. Currently, their only way to break through was to utilize the same method as the other team, which employed AOE Magic Scrolls. Although their team had not prepared to use these Scrolls, they had brought some with them. Unfortunately, using large-scale destruction Spells would only add to the chaos of their situation. Large-scale destruction Spells did not differentiate between friend and foe. Even if they cleared out the monsters in an area with the Spell, they would have to wait until the Spell''s effects were over before proceeding. In the end, the monsters they had left behind would catch up while they wasted time. "No rush. We''ll use them after we reach the halfway point." Shi Feng rejected Youlan''s suggestion. Using Magic Scrolls with impact effects was certainly a method that many teams had employed in Shi Feng''s previous life. However, the second stage had another hidden mechanism. When two or more teams were halfway to the plaza''s center, they would awaken the slumbering King of Corrosion, Sailu Tiban. Now that the other team had passed the midway point, Shi Feng did not want to do the same too soon. At the very least, they should wait until the other team completed two-thirds of their journey. This way, the King of Corrosion would target that team rather than theirs, which had just entered the King''s Domain. Hearing Shi Feng''s rejection, Youlan was momentarily speechless. However, since Shi Feng''s leadership had already proven successful, it would not be wise to oppose his commands now. As time passed, more Corrosive Beast Kings converged on both teams. In the blink of an eye, each team faced over a hundred Lords. Even Peerless''s team began to slow due to the large number of monsters. However, when Peerless''s team was a quarter of a distance away from the teleportation array, Shi Feng and the others reached the halfway point. Immediately, a pillar of green light rose from the center of the plaza, releasing a dense, green fog. As this fog passed over the area, everything it touched heavily corroded, eroding hundreds and thousands of little holes across the ground. The scene sent chills down everyone''s spines. "What''s going on here?" Peerless stared at the pillar of light, his expression twisting into something ugly. This was not his first time here. Rather, it was his third visit. The first time he had reached this plaza, his team had only crossed two-thirds of the distance before they fell under the overwhelming sea of monsters. On their second try, while they had forged through this stage after many difficulties, they had not encountered anything like this. As he stared at the pillar of green light, he involuntarily shivered, his mind continuously warning him that it was extremely dangerous to continue forward. As everyone was caught in their stupor, a ferocious monster that stood over twenty meters high emerged from the green light. This monster was nearly three times larger than the Corrosive Beast Kings, and green scales covered its entire body. A green liquid seeped from the gaps between its scales. When the liquid touched the ground, it ate through the earth, creating a large hole. A green fog also circled the monsters humongous body. This was none other than the King of Corrosion, Sailu Tiban! Seeing this, everyone involuntarily gulped in fear. "Why has such a monster appeared?!" Peerless''s complexion paled as he stared Sailu Tiban. 926 Archaic Species Chapter 926 - Archaic Species The King of Corrosion''s sudden appearance cast a dark cloud over the two teams. "Damn it! We must have triggered this monster because there are two teams here!" Rage flared in Peerless''s eyes as he turned to Zero Wing''s team on the other side of the plaza, killing intent welling within him. However, it was too late to change anything. He had thought of taking care of Shi Feng and his team after they had reached the third stage, earning some weapons and equipment. However, he now regretted his decision to delay. The King of Corrosion did not give the players any time to consider their situation. After examining its surroundings, it charged towards Peerless''s team like a mack truck. The ground trembled with each of Sailu Tiban''s steps. As it moved, the corrosive fluid from its body ate large craters in the ground. Seeing these craters sent shivers down everyone''s spines. [Sailu Tiban (King of Corrosion)] (Dark Creature, Grand Lord) Level 45 HP 80,000,000/80,000,000 Sailu Tiban''s massive frame spoke of its immense power. However, after witnessing its exact strength, everyone was shocked. Sailu Tiban''s Attributes were far higher than the first stage''s Boss. No matter how they looked at it, the King of Corrosion possessed higher Attributes than what any Level 45 Grand Lord should have. "Leader, what should we do? Should we continue forward?" Aqua Rose began to despair after seeing the massive King of Corrosion. Sailu Tiban was just too strong! It was definitely the strongest Boss within the Level 40 range that she had ever seen. "Is this a joke? Why does this stage have such a powerful Boss?" Bloodsucker''s expression was particularly grim. Among the team, only White Night and the other members of Owl remained relatively calm. After all, they had faced a Dragon not long ago. The King of Corrosion was slightly weaker than the Tier 2 Mutated Dragon had been. However, they had only defeated the Mutated Dragon thanks to a monster like Black Flame. Without such a monster, defeating this Boss was unlikely. At this time, Shi Feng issued his commands in the team chat, "Fire Dance, use the Frost Grenades to stop the Corrosive Beasts! Blackie, use Stars of Light to clear a path ahead! Everyone else, if you have AOE Attack or Control Skills, now is the time to use them!" While Sailu Tiban might not be a Dragon, it was an Archaic Species. To put it simply, it was the descendant of Ferocious Beasts. Ferocious Beasts were from the same life order as Dragons, capable of killing Gods. Although the blood of Ferocious Beasts flowing through Sailu Tiban''s veins had been diluted over several generations, making the Grand Lord far weaker than a Ferocious Beast, ordinary monsters couldn''t compete with its power. Tier 1 players could not take this Boss down. At the very least, they needed Tier 2 players to have any chance against Sailu Tiban. Fortunately, defeating Sailu Tiban wasn''t necessary to proceed to the next stage. Under Shi Feng''s command, the team began to move like a well-oiled machine. Fire Dance and the other melee classes who were not fighting in the defensive ring threw one Intermediate Grenade after another, freezing the distant Lords and Elites before them. Blackie then used Stars of Light while Shi Feng used Firestorm. Youlan contributed as well as she used Thunder Beast''s Descent. When the three large-scale destruction Spells struck, light, flame, and lightning descended upon the plaza, looking as if doomsday were upon them. For a time, damages in the tens of thousands appeared above the frozen monsters'' heads. In a few short seconds, over a thousand Corrosive Beasts died, and a clearing appeared before Shi Feng''s team. Everyone''s experience bar soared rapidly, a few of the team''s Level 38 players reaching Level 39. Some of Zero Wing''s Level 39 players rose Level 40 as well. Due to the Frost Grenades'' Freezing effect, the monsters that were fortunate enough to be outside the AOE Spells'' range remained frozen. For a short time, no other Corrosive Beasts could fill the new clearing, which allowed Shi Feng and the others to proceed without any resistance. Shortly after, the magical class players began to use Magic Scrolls to repel the incoming Corrosive Beasts. Not only did this speed up the team''s advance, but it also significantly reduced their weapons and equipment''s Durability consumption. As Shi Feng''s team began to spring, the other team grew desperate. "Everyone, prepare for battle! Blade, get ready to use that Tier 3 Magic Scroll! No matter what, don''t let that monster near us!" Peerless knew that there was no point in regret now. He needed to deal with the problem before them quickly. If they could hold on until they reached the teleportation array, victory would be theirs. "Boss, we had prepared that Magic Scroll for the third stage. If we use it now" a Summoner in his mid-twenties voiced his concern. "Just use it. Fortunately, it isn''t our only trump card for the third stage," Peerless growled as he gnashed his teeth. He didn''t want to use the Tier 3 Magic Scroll, either. Just before Sailu Tidan reached their team, the Summoner named Blade used the Tier 3 Magic Scroll he held. Suddenly, a golden magic array appeared above them. A gigantic beast then descended from the array, knocking away the surrounding Corrosive Beasts. "Blade, use the golden lion to lure the Boss away!" Peerless ordered. The King of Corrosion was simply too dangerous. Even if it simply stood still and did nothing, the corrosive mist around it could claim their lives. They could only rely on the Tier 3 Great Lord they had summoned to hold it off. The golden lion, which stood over ten meters tall, then pounced on Sailu Tiban. However, before it crashed into the King of Corrosion, Sailu Tiban swiped its claws at the lion. Peng! The attack sent the lion flying, its massive frame crashing into a crowd of Corrosive Beasts. "What?!" Everyone''s jaws dropped. A single hit had sent a Level 55, Tier 3 Great Lord flying. The golden lion was actually ten levels higher than Sailu Tiban. Even if it weren''t a match for the Level 45 Grand Lord''s Strength, there should not be too much of a difference. Yet, the one attack had thrown the golden lion over thirty yards. This was unbelievable. Fortunately, the golden lion had attracted Sailu Tiban''s attention. Rather than stomping towards Peerless''s team, the King of Corrosion approached the fallen lion, one step at a time. Seeing the Boss change targets, Peerless and his team released a sigh of relief. Taking this opportunity, they made a mad dash for the teleportation array. Unfortunately, the golden lion wasn''t doing well as the King of Corrosion trampled upon its body, its HP decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Peerless and his companions shuddered in fear as they watched. As the golden lion''s HP plummeted, Peerless''s team sped towards the teleportation array. When the golden lion had less than 10% of its HP remaining, Peerless and the others were finally inside the teleportation array. "Damn it! Damn this thing! It made me waste a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll!" A cold glint flashed in Peerless''s eyes as he glared at the golden lion, which was on its last breath. He had hoped to take the lion with them through the second stage. However, that was no longer possible. This had severely disrupted his plans. He shouted sternly, "Blade, remove the summoning! I want those people to die!" "Understood!" the Summoner understood Peerless''s intentions. While it was no longer possible to leave with the golden lion, that did not mean they should let others take advantage of it. Immediately, he canceled the summoning. Shi Feng''s team still had to cross another quarter of a distance or so to reach the teleportation array. With the King of Corrosion''s strength, that was more than enough time to annihilate the team. Sure enough, the moment the golden lion vanished, Sailu Tiban''s gaze shifted to Shi Feng and his players. 927 Complete State Chapter 927 - Complete State "We are letting them off too easy." Blade clicked his tongue as he watched Shi Feng''s team. "Boss Peerless, should we activate the teleportation array now?" "Wait a moment. I want to watch the King of Corrosion kill them!" Peerless shook his head. The entrance trial''s third stage was not any easier than the second. It would be far more difficult to proceed without the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. He wanted to kill Shi Feng and his companions himself. However, he was satisfied with the knowledge that the King of Corrosion would massacre them. Sailu Tiban''s corrosive fluid could cause a tremendous amount of damage to one''s equipment. It might even destroy the other team''s weapons and equipment. This was a better outcome than killing them and taking a single item from each. Hearing Peerless''s words, his people turned to watch Shi Feng''s team with anticipation. Sailu Tiban''s Movement Speed was very high. Before Shi Feng and the others had crossed 100 yards, the King of Corrosion was less than 50 yards away from the team. They couldn''t help their panic as the Boss approached. The Grand Lord''s pummeling of a Level 55 Great Lord was still fresh in their minds. If even a Tier 3 Great Lord could not hold off this Boss, players such as themselves had no hope. Even if all ten of their MTs worked together, they couldn''t defend against the King of Corrosion''s attacks. "I''ll deal with him! Everyone else, hurry!" Shi Feng''s lips hooked up into a smile as he watched the incoming Sailu Tiban. Others might not know the King of Corrosion''s power, but he did. Although Sailu Tiban was an Archaic Species, it had a fatal weakness. Its couldn''t respond to sudden changes very well. Even a slight turn required it to waste roughly two seconds. Expert players would have plenty of time to dodge its attacks. However, they first had to draw the King of Corrosion''s aggro. Shi Feng instantly appeared before the King of Corrosion. Seeing this, Sailu Tiban swiped its claws at Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng easily evaded its attack using Silent Steps, instantly appearing behind the King of Corrosion. Dragon Breath! Suddenly, a massive white beam bombarded the back of Sailu Tiban''s neck. -23,187. "So tough!" Shi Feng clicked his tongue. Dragon Breath multiplied his damage by ten, yet when the Skill struck one of the King of Corrosion''s vulnerable spots, it only dealt around 20,000 damage. If an ordinary expert attacked the Grand Lord, they would probably only deal a few hundred damage. Shi Feng''s attack immediately drew Sailu Tiban''s attention. Following which, the King of Corrosion tried to turn to attack Shi Feng. However, Sailu Tiban was very slow when turning, shifting its body step by step. This gave Shi Feng ample time to activate Windwalk and leave his current position. As for the Corrosive Beasts and Corrosive Beast Kings blocking his way, they were no threat. "You''re quite durable. Unfortunately, this Grand Lord isn''t that easy to deal with. You''re just wasting your time," Peerless sneered as he watched Shi Feng. In the face of absolute power, techniques were useless. Even if Shi Feng bought his team some time, it wouldn''t be enough to reach the teleportation array. "Roar!" Sailu Tiban roared is fury as it chased Shi Feng. In the blink of an eye, the King of Corrosion had moved away from Shi Feng''s team, the team sighing in relief. A moment later, however, tension gripped their hearts once more. Sailu Tiban was simply too fast. Even after Shi Feng activated Windwalk, he could not match the King of Corrosion''s speed. If he allowed the Grand Lord to catch up to him, he wouldn''t have a Skill like Silent Steps to help him avoid another attack. After Shi Feng crossed about 20 yards, Sailu Tiban had caught up to him. Sailu Tiban''s claws transformed into afterimages as it swiped at Shi Feng, a sonic boom blasting through the air. Parry! Peng! Like a bullet, Shi Feng was thrown over 30 yards, his body slamming into the ground. The impact even created a large crater around Shi Feng''s body. As expected of an Archaic Species. Although its Strength is lower than the Mutated Dragon''s, it is still stronger than an ordinary Grand Lord. Once Shi Feng stood back up, he felt as if every bone in his body was about to pop out of its socket; his arms were numb after taking the King of Corrosion''s hit. If he had not used Parry to block the attack, he would have been dead by now. Seeing Shi Feng''s HP remain static, Sailu Tiban flew into a rage. Taking two steps forward, it instantly arrived before Shi Feng and stomped on the tiny Swordsman. Seeing the mountain-sized foot descending towards him, Shi Feng stopped holding back. Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Thunder God''s Descent! The two Skills instantly increased Shi Feng''s Strength Attribute by 150%, HP by 500%, Defense by 300%, Agility by 60%, Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 150%, and damage by 50%. He also received a 50% damage reduction. Shi Feng''s HP climbed to 122,800. As for his Defense, even Cola couldn''t match his. After receiving these massive buffs, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray towards the King of Corrosion''s feet. Chop! Three arcs of blue light gathered at a single point, tearing space itself apart. This spatial tear then extended towards Sailu Tiban''s feet. Boom! The powerful shockwave from the impact knocked the surrounding Corrosive Beasts back. Suddenly, there were no monsters within 20 yards of the King of Corrosion. "Is he an NPC?" When the dust settled, everyone''s jaws hit the floor as they stared at the shockwave''s epicenter. No one could believe their eyes. Shi Feng had actually blocked the King of Corrosion''s powerful attack. Moreover, he had caused Sailu Tiban to shudder slightly. Although Shi Feng was buried up to his knees, he had only received around -7,000 damage from the attack. To Shi Feng''s over 120,000 HP, this damage was nothing. The upgraded Heavenly Dragon''s Breath is wonderful. I won''t even have to activate Twofold Berserk at this rate. Shi Feng flexed his muscles, joints popping. Although he felt somewhat stiff, overall, Shi Feng''s combat power had not been affected. When he had faced the Mutated Dragon, he had been suffering a Weakened Soul state, reducing his Attributes by nearly half. He had relied on Dragon''s Domination to overcome the Mutant. Now that his soul had recovered, although his Strength was still not a match for the King of Corrosion even after activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, the gap was not as wide as it had been. In addition, with his extremely high Skill Completion Rate, he wouldn''t have a problem defending against the Grand Lord''s normal attacks. However, his Sacred Sword, Killing Ray, was the main reason that he could contend with Sailu Tiban. Killing Ray increased his damage by 100% against Dark Creatures. However, just after Shi Feng pulled his legs out of the ground, the enraged King of Corrosion swung its claws at him once more as if it were trying to swat a fly. Just in time. Let''s see how you fare against this. Shi Feng did not dodge the attack. Instead, he used his sure-kill Skill, Flame Burst. A miniature sun then collided with Sailu Tiban''s claws. 928 Holy Citys Treasure Chapter 928 - Holy City''s Treasure The instant Sailu Tiban''s claws met the scorching light, a tear appeared on its originally impenetrable green hand. The corrosive gas that surrounded its body also began to vanish. Boom! As an explosion shook the area, Sailu Tiban''s attack was repelled. In contrast, Shi Feng only took a step back, not receiving any damage. "He blocked it?" "How is that possible?!" Neither Peerless''s team nor Zero Wing''s team could believe their eyes. The King of Corrosion was capable of overwhelming a Level 55 Great Lord. Moreover, the last time Shi Feng had blocked the Grand Lord''s attack, he had received quite a bit of damage. Now, however, he actually stood there unscathed They felt as if they had just watched someone block an oncoming train with one hand. "Boss Blood, I don''t even think Guild Leader Bloodfang is a match for Ye Feng''s Strength," Kirin said in shock as he stared at Shi Feng. "Indeed. Purely in terms of Strength, he has surpassed our Guild Leader," Bloodsucker said with a serious glint in his gaze. The strength Zero Wing displayed before them had already surpassed the information they had on the Guild. After Shi Feng successfully repelled one of Sailu Tiban''s attacks, the King of Corrosion launched a series of attacks. Shi Feng used Killing Ray once more to repel the Grand Lord''s attacks. Boom! Boom! Boom! Shi Feng blocked every one of Sailu Tiban''s attacks. The combination of fire and the Sacred Sword is amazing. Shi Feng smiled. Aside from its slow turning speed, Sailu Tiban had another small weaknessfire. Fire attacks would deal double the damage against the Grand Lord. As a result, the combination of both bonuses allowed Shi Feng to match the King of Corrosion''s Strength. Unfortunately, Flame Burst''s uses were limited. He could not stand against the King of Corrosion for long. However, Shi Feng had no intentions waiting for his death. He had deliberately caused the King of Corrosion to appear. If he had wanted to play it safe, he could have allowed Peerless''s team to reach the third stage first. Sailu Tiban was the only reason he had not. In the past, many teams had reached the entrance trial''s second stage. Many teams often challenged the trial at the same time. Initially, when players encountered the King of Corrosion, they had treated it as if it were undefeatable. They only attempted to shake the Boss off and proceed to the next stage. However, as players reached higher levels and obtained better equipment, they started to raid the King of Corrosion for its loot. In the end, when a team of players finally killed Sailu Tiban, the Grand Lord had dropped a treasure that nobody had expected. The Holy City''s Emblem! Every Guild in God''s Domain had treasured this item. Even after ten years, the Holy City of Titan''s passes were extremely rare. Countless Guilds had sought the pass as players could not enter Titan City without it. However, the Holy City''s Emblem could also transfer players to Titan City. Unfortunately, it could only transfer ten players. However, unlike the Titan City Pass, the Holy City''s Emblem was not a Consumable; it could be used indefinitely. Moreover, the emblem could send players to the Holy City directly. They didn''t need to challenge the entrance trial. Now that there were two teams in the second stage, Shi Feng wouldn''t pass up this opportunity. The King of Corrosion was not undefeatable. In the past, through countless teams'' experimentation, players finally discovered an effective way to defeat Sailu Tiban. With his current team''s strength, if they used that method, they could do the same. Following which, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and flew towards the Teleportation Magic Array. Realizing where Shi Feng was flying to, Sailu Tiban also dashed towards the teleportation array. "Boss, that person''s flying towards us. We need to leave. If that monster charges over here, it''ll be difficult to escape," Blade hurriedly advised. Although Corrosive Beasts would not approach the teleportation array, there was no guarantee that the King of Corrosion would not. On the off chance that it entered the teleportation array, the consequences would be unimaginable. Peerless gnashed his teeth. However, he still gave the command to leave, saying, "Let''s go!" Although he was reluctant, he had to admit that Shi Feng and his team were far stronger than he had expected. If they clashed, they might fail the trial again. This was their final chance. There was no room for failure. Following which, Peerless and his team activated the Teleportation Magic Array, transforming into a beam of light and disappearing from the plaza. Shortly after Peerless''s team left, Shi Feng entered the teleportation array as well. Just as Peerless had guessed, the enraged King of Corrosion ignored the teleportation array and charged onto the platform. However, before Sailu Tiban reached the array''s center where Shi Feng stood, Shi Feng reversed the flow of Mana in the teleportation array. The teleportation array instantly transformed into a magic barrier. The green mist around Sailu Tiban began to scatter. Its Basic Attributes also plummeted. The Grand Lord''s HP, which had been 80,000,000, fell to 60,000,000. In the past, nobody had thought that the teleportation array in the plaza''s center could do such a thing. Everyone had only thought of using brute strength to kill the King of Corrosion. As long as the magic barrier was active, the King of Corrosion could not leave the area. Of course, players couldn''t use the teleportation array either. This was the equivalent of sealing off their own path of retreat, and unless they defeated the King of Corrosion, there was no way to proceed to the third stage. Now that the King of Corrosion had been weakened, even without Flame Burst, Shi Feng only received around -3,000 damage from clashing with the Grand Lord. However, Shi Feng no longer faced Sailu Tiban''s attacks head-on. Rather, he evaded the Bosses normal attacks. After the Heavenly Dragon''s Power ended, Shi Feng activated the Power of Darkness, increasing his Attributes by 60%. He then used the Aura of Water''s Activatable Skill, Life Bloom. With the Skill''s powerful healing, he could last against the King of Corrosion until his entire team had entered the magic barrier. "Cola, activate the Power of Darkness and tank it! Everyone else, add support from the sides! Once Cola''s Berserk Skill ends, Ye Wumian, activate yours and replace Cola! Turtledove will be next!" Shi Feng issued his commands once his team had entered the barrier. "Youlan, use your large-scale buff Spell! Everyone else, watch the Boss''s tail!" on Shi Feng''s command, before they could even catch a breather, they began to move once more. Cola immediately activated the Power of Darkness and used Justice Bash on the King of Corrosion''s feet. He followed up with a Shield of Vengeance, drawing Sailu Tiban''s aggro. Youlan also utilized her large-scale buff Spell, Angel''s Blessing. Suddenly, a harp-wielding, golden Angel appeared in the sky. As the Angel began to sing, a golden barrier enveloped every member of the team. Not only did the golden barrier increase everyone''s Attributes by 20%, but it also gave them a Divine Shield buff, reducing the damage they took by 20%. Both buffs lasted for 30 minutes. Although everyone''s Attributes had risen significantly, their damage against the King of Corrosion was still quite low, with most attacks dealing around -1,000 or so damage. Only Elementalists could deal almost -3,000 damage with fire-type Spells. However, Sailu Tiban had 60,000,000 HP. Its battle recovery alone healed it for 600,000 HP every five seconds. Raiding the King of Corrosion was far more difficult than they had imagined. The team members finally realized just how terrifying Shi Feng was to hold off the Grand Lord for as long as he had. 929 Clear Chapter 929 - Clear Even after Sailu Tiban had been weakened, it dealt over -10,000 damage to Cola despite the Guardian Knight''s active Berserk Skill. Fortunately, Cola now had 40,000 HP. Without the Berserk Skill, the single attack would have dropped his HP to a critical state. If it had been a critical hit, he would have died instantly "Skill incoming! Melee players, move back! Cola, focus on your positioning!" Shi Feng warned the MT when he saw the King of Corrosion''s raised claws release a green glow. Although Shi Feng had warned his team the moment he noticed the Grand Lord prepare the Skill, Sailu Tiban didn''t need long to launch it. When the Grand Lord''s claws descended, many were still within ten yards of it. Boom! The earth shattered. Everyone within 20 yards was thrown into a Fainted state. In addition, green mist surfaced from the affected area. All players within the green mist lost 10,000 HP every second. Although some players had dispelled their Fainted debuff immediately, they had failed to escape the area in time. In the blink of an eye, the mist claimed three lives. "What a powerful Skill!" Although five healers focused on him, Cola only had around 14,000 HP by the time he broke through the green mist. Even the healers couldn''t keep up with his diminishing HP. Meanwhile, his Strengthening Device''s Durability had fallen by 20 points. The mist''s corrosive power was staggering. After Sailu Tiban finished executing its Skill, it searched for a new target. Its eyes then fell upon one of the healers standing in the rear. It started to turn and tried to charge towards the healer. "The Boss is changing targets! MTs, block it!" Shi Feng shouted. Every so often, the King of Corrosion would choose a random target within 50 yards to attack, and for four seconds, it would become immune to aggro-pulling Skills such as Mock. During these four seconds, players could only do their best to hinder the Grand Lord. Although four seconds might seem like a short time, to Sailu Tiban, it was more than enough to cross 50 yards. After Shi Feng issued his orders, Turtledove executed Steel Impact and smashed her shield into the King of Corrosion. Peng! After a 300% boost to her Strength, her Strength Attribute surpassed even Shi Feng''s while the Swordsman had Heavenly Dragon''s Power active. As a result, the attack forced the King of Corrosion back by two steps, a damage of over -10,000 points appearing above its head. Shock and admiration filled the team when they saw the Grand Lord stumble back. This move had delayed Sailu Tiban for two seconds. After including the ten MTs'' blockade, the team foiled the King of Corrosion''s attempt to eliminate one of the healers. Taking this opportunity, everyone bombarded the Grand Lord with attacks. Multiple damages appeared above Sailu Tiban''s head. However, the King of Corrosion''s Defense was simply too high. Even Fire Dance had only dealt around -1,300 damage with each normal attack, while her Skills dealt around -3,000 damage. This damage was not nearly as eye-catching as what she had dealt to the Steel Slaughterer. As for Shi Feng, with the Sacred Sword doubling his damage and the effects of Power of Darkness and Angel''s Blessing, every attack dealt around -10,000 damage; if he scored a critical hit, he dealt around -20,000 damage. As time passed and Cola''s Berserk Skill ended, Ye Wumian activated his Power of Darkness and replaced Cola. After Ye Wumian was done, Turtledove took his place. During this time, Sailu Tiban managed to kill another dozen or so players. As for the King of Corrosion itself, its HP had fallen to 30%. "A big one is coming! Everyone, stand together! Healers, don''t hold back. Heal everyone!" Shi Feng ordered a halt to his team''s attacks as he gathered them together when he noticed the Grand Lord shrink. When its HP fell to 30%, Sailu Tiban would randomly launch powerful AOE attacks around itself. Every player within range would share the damage from these attacks. If only one person were within a targeted area, the attack would even deal enough damage to kill Shi Feng with Heavenly Dragon''s Power active. Hence, everyone needed to stand together to receive this attack. After the team had huddled together, pillars of green light began to descend from the sky, one after another. These pillars created large craters when the struck the ground. It was clear that these players would die if they were stuck. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng''s team received a blast. Everyone lost over 10,000 HP on the spot. Before the healers could restore their HP, another pillar struck the team. The players lost another 10,000 HP. The pillars of light descended for over twenty seconds. Throughout this time, a total of five pillars bombarded Shi Feng''s team. Many had died part-way. In the end, less than 50 people remained. Unfortunately, while Sailu Tiban cast its Skill, its HP had recovered, climbing from 30% to 50%. It now had 30,000,000 HP remaining. Despair gripped everyone''s hearts. They had fewer than fifty players standing now. Moreover, the surviving members were worse for wear, yet they still needed to burn away 30,000,000 HP from the King of Corrosion Had they not activated their Berserk Skills, the pillars of light would have killed them. If the King of Corrosion used this move again, their deaths would be imminent. "Don''t panic. The Boss is now Weakened," Shi Feng said as he pointed to the King of Corrosion. Sailu Tiban kneeled on the ground, a tired expression on its face. Seeing this renewed everyone''s confidence. Immediately, everyone launched a bombardment at the Grand Lord. Sure enough, as Shi Feng had said Everyone''s attacks were now dealing 50% more damage to the King of Corrosion. Moreover, both the Grand Lord''s Strength and speed had decreased by 30%. This significantly reduced the burden on the MTs. Sailu Tiban''s HP rapidly fell. In just a few moments, its HP dropped from 50% to 30%. Soon, it fell from 30% to 10%... However, as time passed the King of Corrosion slowly regained its vigor. "Don''t hold back! Throw everything you have at it!" Shi Feng anxiously shouted. The King of Corrosion was too difficult to deal with. By the time Sailu Tiban had 6% HP remaining, it had recovered from its Weakened state. Despite having used their Berserk Skills, the team had failed to finish off the Grand Lord while it had been weakened. Now that their Berserk Skills were no longer an option, it was practically impossible to defeat the recovered King of Corrosion. Suddenly, Cola activated Dragonscale Body and ran in for a final bout. Shi Feng also activated Blade Liberation, his Attributes instantly doubling. With the Sacred Sword''s effect, each of his attacks dealt over -20,000 damage. The others began to activate all sorts of Magic Scrolls as well, bombarding the King of Corrosion with various Spells. Once Sailu Tiban''s HP fell to 5%, it started to attack players randomly. To make things worse, none of their aggro-pulling Skills were effective. As a result, the team rapidly lost players. When there were only twenty or so players remaining, Sailu Tiban''s HP finally reached 1%. "Die!" Watching their teammates die, one after another, the survivors grew anxious. However, although everyone used every Skill they had against the King of Corrosion, the effects were minimal. They had long since exhausted their options, so their damage was now limited. When there were only 14 players standing, Shi Feng''s Flame Burst finished its Cooldown. Using Silent Steps, he arrived behind Sailu Tiban''s neck. He then began brandishing Killing Ray. Fifteen dazzling white lights flared. The King of Corrosion''s final 300,000 HP vanished instantly, its massive frame crashing before the team. 930 Siege Tool Chapter 930 - Siege Tool Seeing the King of Corrosion fall to the ground, the survivors released a sigh of relief. A moment later, everyone burst into cheers. Sailu Tiban''s death allowed the survivors'' levels to increase rapidly. For example, Fire Dance and Aqua Rose, who were Level 40, reached Level 42. Youlan also climbed from Level 39 to Level 42. As for Shi Feng, White Night, and Frozen Dream, they shot from Level 42 to Level 43. So much EXP! The corners of Bloodsucker''s lips twitched slightly when he saw two consecutive lights wrap around his body, his Level rising to 42. The King of Corrosion had nearly annihilated them. Not a single MT on the team was still alive. Among the healers, only Violet Cloud still stood. Without any Lifesaving Skills, the King of Corrosion could kill a player with each attack. The battle''s intensity had left a lingering fear among the survivors. "Rest up. Violet, after you recover your Mana, revive the other healers," Shi Feng ordered after glancing over everyone. The King of Corrosion''s might hadn''t particularly surprised him. After all, Sailu Tiban was an Archaic Species. In fact, this outcome had been excellent since he hadn''t used his trump cards. If they had been any other team, Sailu Tiban''s ultimate attack would have annihilated them. They would not have survived until the Grand Lord entered a Weakened state. The King of Corrosion didn''t drop much after it died. Even after Shi Feng had used Divine Providence, it had only dropped nine items and some Coins. Among the items, five were materials. After splitting the Coins among the team, each person only obtained around 40 Silver. They did not even have enough to pay for their repair fees. However, among the loot, Shi Feng only had eyes for a flashing, silver emblem. This was none other than the Holy City''s Emblem. With this emblem, he didn''t have to worry about finding a pass to the Holy City in the future. Of the three remaining items, one was a piece of Growth-type Equipment, one was a piece of Epic Equipment, and the last was a Miniature Ballista Design. [Celovia''s Blade] (Two-handed Sword, Bronze Rank) Level 40 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 700 Attack Power +944 (Level 40) Strength +52, Endurance +61 Attack Speed +3 Ignore Levels +7 When attacking, 20% chance to deal 2.1 times damage and inflict the Bleeding debuff on target for 12 seconds. Additional Passive Skill- Monstrous Strength: When attacking, there is a chance to increase Strength by 60% for 5 seconds. Additional Active Skill- Blood of Fury: The lower the wielder''s HP is, the higher their damage and Attack Speed become to a maximum of 70% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 5 hours This sword belonged to Titan''s Grand Marshall Celovia. However, due to contamination by the power of darkness, purifying the item will require a large number of Magic Crystals and EXP. (First purification requires 200 Magic Crystals and 400,000,000 EXP) This sword, which had once been used by a Grand Marshall of Titan City, caused the team''s Berserkers to drool. The weapon even tempted Bloodsucker. Although his current weapon was Epic rank, when comparing Additional Skills, Celovia''s Blade was much suited for Berserkers. Celovia''s Blade was almost tailor-made for the class. Unfortunately, purifying the weapon five times would require a lot of Magic Crystals and EXP. The other Epic item also left everyone speechless. [Ring of Corrosion] (Ring, Epic Rank) Level 40 - Level 90 Equipment Requirement: Agility 400, Intelligence 200 Strength +38, Agility +42, Endurance +26, Intelligence +31 (Level 40) Ignore Levels +10 When equipped: Increase all Attributes by 10%. Poison Resistance +20 Magic Resistance +10 Additional Passive Skill- Corrosion: Allows wielder''s attacks to weaken opponent''s Defense and Magic Resistance by 50% and inflicts a Poisoned debuff, causing damage every two seconds for 10 seconds. Debuff can stack up to 5 times. Additional Active Skill: Poisonous Miasma: Release a poisonous mist in a radius of 20 yards, causing damage equal to 500% of wielder''s Main Attribute every second. Enemies within this poisonous mist suffer a 10% Defense and Magic Resistance decrease for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes Ornaments were already extremely rare in God''s Domain, much less an Epic ranked ring. A ring that improved a player''s DPS was even rarer. Overall, the Ring of Corrosion was even more valuable than Celovia''s Blade. The instant Shi Feng revealed the Ring of Corrosion''s information, the players gasped. After everyone had revived, Shi Feng looked to Youlan and asked, "I choose the Holy City''s Emblem. Which item will you choose?" Overwhelming Smile''s members wished they could walk away with it all. The two items and the Miniature Ballista were extremely valuable items to a Guild. As for the Holy City''s Emblem, Shi Feng had not shared its Attributes. He had specifically exercised his right to choose the first item to avoid revealing its information. Nobody called Shi Feng out on his actions, either. After all, they had only won this battle because of Shi Feng''s commands. However, Youlan was somewhat hesitant, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two items and the Miniature Ballista. The Miniature Ballista was a powerful siege tool. Now that players were reaching higher levels, the various Guilds had begun to prepare for conquering towns. They had already learned the benefits of mastering a town from the situation in Stone Forest Town. That little town raked in thousands of Gold each day for Zero Wing. Hence, the various large Guilds prioritized capturing their own. However, producing the Miniature Ballista was very difficult. With Lifestyle players'' current abilities, it was almost impossible to manufacture. In the short-term, choosing the two pieces of equipment would undoubtedly benefit her team. In the long-run, however, the Miniature Ballista was more advantageous. As Youlan hesitated over her choice, War Wolf whispered to her, "Youlan, pick the two pieces of equipment. You still lack a powerful foundation. Although the Miniature Ballista is indeed valuable, it is not particularly useful right now." In the organization known as Underworld, Youlan was not yet an upper echelon. She also did not have a Guild of her own. While the Miniature Ballista might profit a Guild immensely, it was not particularly beneficial to an individual. If Youlan wanted to raise her position in the organization, then she needed a powerful team to support her. Hence, choosing Celuvia''s Blade and the Ring of Corrosion was a wiser decision than choosing the Miniature Ballista. Moreover, if not for Shi Feng''s help in the trial, they wouldn''t have any of these items. "I''ll pick the Ring of Corrosion." Youlan felt that War Wolf''s opinion was quite reasonable. Although Underworld might be an organization, not everyone within the organization was of a single heart. While she might temporarily raise her position if she presented the Miniature Ballista, others could replace her at any time. "I''ll pick the Miniature Ballista Design, then," Shi Feng said without hesitation. He had plenty of methods to obtain top-tier weapons and equipment. Although he lacked Epic Weapons and Equipment right now, as players reached higher levels, obtaining them would become easier. However, it was a different story for siege tool designs. These designs would also be difficult to find. They couldn''t be obtained by simply killing a few powerful Bosses. If he missed on this opportunity, he would definitely regret it. Moreover, Shi Feng now had the Holy City''s Emblem. He no longer worried about nurturing Advanced Engineers. He could even nurture Master Engineers. It wouldn''t be long before he could manufacture the Miniature Ballista. The thought of using the Miniature Ballista to capture a town excited Shi Feng. After Shi Feng finished distributing the items and everyone had rested, Shi Feng reversed the flow of Mana in the Teleportation Magic Array once more. Suddenly, a small, golden Teleportation Magic Array appeared a short distance away from the central array. The small teleportation array''s golden glow scattered the surrounding Corrosive Beasts and Corrosive Beast Kings. None of the monsters dared move closer than 300 yards from the teleportation array. "What''s going on?" Shi Feng frowned at the golden array with curiosity. 931 Titan Library Chapter 931 - Titan Library As far as Shi Feng knew, there should have only been one exit leading to the entrance trial''s third stage. The golden teleportation array that had suddenly appeared was much stronger than the array in the center of the plaza. The Mana density around each teleportation array made that obvious. With this new development, the team turned to Shi Feng and asked, "Leader, should we go over and take a look?" Previously, they had watched Peerless''s team use the central teleportation array to leave the plaza. Now that another had appeared, they didn''t know whether or not that teleportation array was a trap; after all, this was their first time here. Could it be a special reward for the First Kill? Shi Feng felt that it was highly possible. When he had killed the King of Corrosion in the past, no such phenomenon had occurred. Of course, when he had killed Sailu Tiban back then, other teams had raided the Grand Lord many times before. As for the golden teleportation array being a trap, it was unlikely. After all, revealing a trap after players had defeated the Stage Boss would be too fraudulent. The teleportation array was most likely a reward of some kind. "Let''s head over to investigate." In the end, Shi Feng decided to examine it. Under Shi Feng''s command, the team approached the golden teleportation array. As no monsters dared move near to the array, they had an easy time reaching it. The instant Shi Feng stepped into the teleportation array, his mind felt clearer than ever before. Moreover, a Brimming with Energy buff had appeared in his status window. The sound of a system notification suddenly reached his ears. System: You have discovered the Teleportation Magic Array to Titan Library. Sure enough, it''s the First Kill reward. Shi Feng was ecstatic when he heard the system notification. There were two main benefits to visiting Titan City. The first was that Lifestyle players could use the Titan Workshops to improve their skills. The other was the Titan Library, which all players dreamed of exploring. Generally, for players seeking the Titan Library, they first needed to reach the third stage and then take the path to the Library. However, while that path would also eventually lead players to Titan City, it was significantly more difficult than the path that led to Titan City directly. Players usually chose the latter option to ensure their Titan City entrance slots. Shi Feng had never imagined that obtaining the King of Corrosion''s First Kill would garner such a benefit as well. Following which, Shi Feng walked towards the teleportation array''s center and activated it. Everyone instantly transformed into streaks of golden light and vanished. After the team disappeared, the golden teleportation array faded as well, silence returning to the spacious plaza. --- The entrance trial''s third stage consisted of narrow pathways. Barely three people could walk, side by side, down the pathways. Meanwhile, bottomless pits lined each pathway on either side. If a player fell off the pathway, it wouldn''t even be possible to revive them. They would be instantly disqualified from the entrance trial. Aside from this dangerous pathway, there were large groups of bat monsters flying through the air that frequently screeched soundwave attacks. If players were not careful and failed to avoid these attacks, they may plunge to their deaths. When Peerless''s team arrived here, they were immediately thrown into a bitter battle. The weakest bat monsters here were Special Elites, with many being Chieftains. There were even Level 45 Lord ranked Bat Kings. When these bats caught players, they immediately threw them into the abyss. These bat monsters were far more difficult to deal with than the Corrosive Beasts. The fact that players would be disqualified if they fell off the pathway was particularly harsh. "Use the Sound Bombs!" Peerless shouted when he saw bat monsters gather around them. Against ordinary monsters, the Sound Bombs weren''t particularly effective. The bombs only made some noise to disturb monsters. However, against the bat monsters, the bombs'' effect was massive. A single explosion would scare away these monsters, preventing them from approaching for a short time. Peerless had specifically prepared this item to deal with the bat monsters. During his second trial attempt, his team had been utterly helpless against the bat monsters. From time to time, the Bat Kings would fly past, grabbing and tossing their team members into the abyss. Before they had even reached the halfway point, the entire team had fallen to their deaths. Under Peerless''s command, the team members took out their Sound Bombs and threw them at the clumped bat monsters. The explosions scared the incoming bats away. "Move faster! Use the Sound Bombs sparingly!" Peerless shouted hurriedly. Although the Sound Bombs were impressively effective, they were extremely rare. Even utilizing their Guild''s strength, they had only managed to procure a small stock. If they did not conserve their bombs, they wouldn''t make it through this tortuous abyss. --- Meanwhile, on the other path leading to Titan City, Shi Feng and the others suddenly appeared before an ancient, towering fortress. The ancient fortress loomed over a thousand meters high. The building itself looked like a mountain. Level 200 NPC guards stood before the fortress''s iron gates. These two NPCs were over ten meters tall. When these NPCs saw Shi Feng and the others, they blocked the gates with their spears. "This is the Great Titan Library! Outsiders are not allowed to enter!" one of the NPC guards coldly informed the players as he swept a glance over Shi Feng and the others. "If you wish to enter, you need to pass our test." The team members were shocked when they saw the Titan Library. It was, by far, the largest library they had ever seen in God''s Domain. Players were not strangers to God''s Domain''s libraries. It was especially true for magical class players. All magical class players who wanted to practice and improve their spellcasting techniques or learn new Spells generally did so in a library. However, gaining entrance into NPC cities'' libraries was a difficult feat. One typically needed to be a noble or a friend of the city''s NPC nobles to gain access. Aside from allowing players to learn Spells, libraries'' greatest purpose was information gathering. In truth, players could find information on many quests in God''s Domain in libraries. For example, the information Youlan had regarding the Holy City of Titan was available in libraries in NPC cities. However, the libraries in God''s Domain varied in size. Each library also contained different information. Hence, the various large Guilds usually created their own intelligence departments specifically to gather information from various libraries and compile their own information databases. This made it easier for their Guild members to find information on their quests. As for Shi Feng, who had the Demon Hunter title, he was considered a World Noble in God''s Domain. Hence, utilizing his privilege as a World Noble, he had led Zero Wing''s members into God''s Domain''s various libraries. Unfortunately, the Demon Hunter title only gave him access to libraries in ordinary NPC cities; it did not give him access to kingdoms and imperial capitals'' libraries. Players had to rely on their own capabilities to gain entrance. Even so, the information Zero Wing had collected was even more comprehensive than first-rate Guilds''. "We will accept the test," Shi Feng announced as he stepped forward. "Very well. You only have one chance. If you pass the test, you may learn from our library." 932 Advantage of Tier 1 Players Chapter 932 - Advantage of Tier 1 Players When the team heard that they could enter the Titan Library if they passed the test, elation colored their expressions. The team''s magical classes were particularly eager, their eyes alight as they hungered to enter the library as soon as possible. "Everyone, rest up. Make sure you are in peak condition before you challenge the test," Shi Feng instructed his team. Each person only had one chance to pass the test. If they failed, they would not gain access to the library; they would only find another chance to take the test when they came through the trial again. However, it would be far more difficult to reach the Titan Library next time. While Shi Feng was confident in leading everyone to Titan City, the same could not be said for the Titan Library. In the past, many independent players had chosen to take the Library''s test whenever they got their hands on a pass. However, since reaching the Titan Library was more difficult than the direct path to Titan City, very few players had passed the test. Even so, everyone wanted to try. This was all because players could learn extremely rare Skills in the Titan Library. These rare Skills could improve a player''s combat power significantly. For example, Shi Feng''s Flame Burst was one such rare Skill. Moreover, these Skills generally did not require Proficiency to level, only EXP. Hence, a player could dump a large sum of EXP into leveling these Skills during a crucial moment with the hope of turning the situation around. "Your test is simple. Because you are all Tier 1 classes, you just need to kill a Chieftain of the same level within a certain time. If you fail to defeat your opponent within the given time, you fail the test." After the Titan NPC finished explaining, the spear in his hand trembled. Suddenly, a golden magic array with a 5-yard-radius appeared a short distance away. "That is your arena. When you are ready to take the test, simply step into the array," the Titan NPC said as he pointed at the golden magic array. The NPC then fell silent as he resumed guarding the closed gates. As the team members listened to the test''s rules, they frowned. Ordinary experts could not solo a Chieftain of the same level, not to mention doing so within a limited time. Since the system had placed a time-limit on the test, it was obvious that players would not have long. "Just enter the array when you''re ready," Shi Feng said. He could not help but laugh and shake his head when he saw everyone''s depressed expressions. In reality, Tier 1 players had a benefit when they came here. When Tier 2 players took the test, they had to solo a High Lord of the same level; that monster was two ranks higher. Compared to a High Lord, a Chieftain seemed cute. After saying so, Shi Feng entered the magic array. He then transformed into a streak of golden light and disappeared. After watching Shi Feng enter the test, the rest of the team stepped into the magic array as well. Even if they were not confident of succeeding, they had to try. After players entered the golden magic array, they were transported to a peculiar space. When Shi Feng opened his eyes, he discovered that he had teleported to a wide, open prairie with no end in sight. Meanwhile, 200 yards away from him lay a flaming rhinoceros that was over five meters tall. [Crimson Rhinoceros] (Elemental Being, Chieftain) Level 43 HP 400,000/400,000 The Library''s test monster had far less HP than an ordinary Chieftain. The point of this test was to see if players could face these monsters head-on. As Shi Feng prepared to approach the rhinoceros, he heard the sound of a system notification. System: You have 10 minutes to complete the battle. If you cannot finish the battle within the allotted time, you will be automatically transferred out of this instance. "The system''s giving players ten minutes? It sure is favoring Tier 1 players." Shi Feng could not help but sigh. When Tier 2 players challenged the test, they only had 20 minutes. However, their monster was a High Lord. Wasting no time, Shi Feng walked towards the Crimson Rhinoceros. When Shi Feng was only 70 yards away from the Crimson Rhinoceros, the Chieftain discovered his presence. Immediately, it snorted scorching flames from its nostrils and stomped the ground angrily. It then charged at Shi Feng. When it moved, it thundered like a speeding truck. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Flame Burst. With light steps, he easily evaded the Crimson Rhinoceros''s charge and slashed the Chieftain''s back. Peng! The attack sent the rhinoceros flying over a dozen yards. When it slammed into the ground, it released a pained cry. A damage of -28,167 points appeared above its head. Shi Feng then activated Silent Steps and appeared behind the Crimson Rhinoceros. He brandished his swords at the Chieftain, every slash leaving a deep cut. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s attack triggered Killing Ray''s Lightning effect. Combined with Flame Burst''s effect, the attack dealt -67,846 damage. Before Shi Feng had used all of Flame Burst''s attack counts, the Crimson Rhinoceros burst into flames, disappearing from the prairie and leaving behind a black iron token. The token was the required proof he needed to enter the Titan Library. System: Congratulations! You have killed the Crimson Rhinoceros. Time remaining: 9 minutes 52 seconds System: You will return in five seconds. Please prepare. After Shi Feng picked up the token, he quietly waited for his teleportation away from this map. To him, the library''s test was not a challenge in the least. He had long since surpassed Chieftains of the same level in terms of Strength. Even without any special techniques, he could easily kill an ordinary Chieftain of the same level, not to mention one with weakened HP. --- In front of the Titan Library, many members were still preparing themselves mentally. When a figure suddenly appeared in the golden array, they turned to look. "What? Someone has finished already? It''s only been a few seconds." "Did the monster kill them?" Those who hadn''t taken the test yet grew even more nervous. However, when they Shi Feng emerge, their jaws dropped. "Isn''t he too fast?!" None of them doubted that Shi Feng had passed the test. If he couldn''t do it, no one could. However, he had cleared the test astonishingly fast. Not even twenty seconds had passed since he had entered the array. That was a Chieftain they were talking about! A Party Dungeon''s Boss! This wasn''t some ordinary monster they usually farmed! "Why haven''t you guys taken the test yet?" Shi Feng glanced over the group before the gates. There were over two dozen players who had yet to take the exam, and they were all Youlan''s subordinates. He then advised them, "Relax. The test isn''t as difficult as you imagine. Although the monster is indeed a Chieftain, its HP has been reduced." Youlan''s subordinates were speechless. Even with reduced HP, a Chieftain was still a Chieftain, yet Shi Feng talked as if it was some random mob that was too easy to slaughter. Shortly after Shi Feng had returned, Fire Dance stepped out of the magic array as well. Following which, one player after another emerged. Why are there so many people ahead of me? When Bloodsucker returned, he saw a large group already standing before the iron gates. Even Violet Cloud was among them. He was confused. He could accept monster-like damage dealers such as Shi Feng, Fire Dance, and White Night completing the test faster than him. But Violet Cloud was a Cleric. She was a mere healer. 933 Grand Wizard Chapter 933 - Grand Wizard As more people returned from their tests, the difference between Zero Wing''s side and Overwhelming Smile''s side became glaringly obvious. In the end, 21 of the 30 Zero Wing members had cleared the test. As for Overwhelming Smile''s 50 members, only 15 had passed. All of Owl and Raven''s members had cleared the test. Why does Zero Wing have so many experts? Youlan was shocked when she saw how many players from Zero Wing''s side had passed. Although she knew that there was a huge gap between their teams, she had not realized how massive that gap was. Youlan wasn''t the only person caught by surprise. Even an expert like War Wolf was astonished. They had formed their team by poaching experts from various sources. Overall, their team could rival even first-rate Guilds'' main forces. On the other hand, Zero Wing had only developed in Star-Moon Kingdom, yet regarding the quality and quantity of experts, Zero Wing''s team was far greatly superior to theirs. "Since everyone has finished the test, those who did not pass will wait by the entrance. Those who passed can head inside," Shi Feng said as looked over the team. He had sensed Youlan and her group''s confusion. However, he simply smiled at their actions. He then arranged for everyone to enter the library. Naturally, it was impossible for Zero Wing to surpass first-rate Guilds in terms of quantity of experts. First-rate Guilds had been developing in the virtual gaming world for a long time. In addition, these Guilds weren''t limited to developing in just one country, but multiple. In terms of member count, they exceeded Zero Wing by many times. Zero Wing was no match for them. Zero Wing''s only advantage over these Guilds was their number of top-tier experts. This was also why Shi Feng wanted to develop in other countries. There were only so many top-tier experts in Star-Moon Kingdom. Unless they nurtured their own, they couldn''t continue to build their forces of top-tier experts. Furthermore, they needed to recruit far more elite and ordinary expert players. Following which, under Shi Feng''s lead, all those who passed their tests began entering the Titan Library one after another. The Titan Library was relatively ancient in God''s Domain. It was far older than any kingdom or empire''s library. Those libraries could not compare to the information it contained. Suddenly a gray-robed man with a blurred face appeared before the team and said, "Young adventurers, welcome to the Titan Library. I am Warren, the manager here." Warren was not a Titan. He was the same size as an ordinary human. As if he were a robot, he spoke without emotion. However, the instant this man appeared, everyone felt as if they were suffocating. Warren''s powerful aura rendered these players helpless. Although they couldn''t accurately guess the library manager''s strength, they did not doubt that the man could end their lives as easily as blowing out a candle. Shi Feng, however, knew exactly how powerful Warren was. He was a Tier 5 Grand Wizard! Moreover, Warren wasn''t an ordinary Tier 5 class. He was a Grand Wizard who had mastered all four major elements. A Grand Wizard with mastery over two elements was already impressive. Tier 5 players generally only mastered one element, and it was exceedingly difficult to master another. In Shi Feng''s previous life, disaster had befallen Titan City, and it was only thanks to Manager Warren that this disaster had been mitigated. Warren had fought three Tier 5 abyssal monsters. Normally, it would take a small army of Tier 5 players to defeat just one Tier 5 abyssal monster, yet Warren had single-handedly defeated all three. The news had spread through God''s Domain like wildfire. It was also then that players had realized just how frightening a Grand Wizard, who had mastered all four major elements, was. "Now that you have come this far, you are allowed to search for one Skill Book to learn from. The Titan Library has stood for many years and has collected various Skill Books from all across God''s Domain. One can even find legendary Tier 6 Skill Books on these shelves. However, you only have three hours to find a Skill Book, and you only have three opportunities to learn from this library throughout your lifetime. There are also various restrictions in the library. The stronger the Skill Book is, the stronger the restriction will be. What kind of Skill Book you obtain will depend on your own abilities. Do not waste time out of greed over a powerful Skill," Warren explained slowly. Hearing this, the players'' eyes lit up with excitement. In God''s Domain, a Skill''s rarity increased with Levels and Tiers. Currently, even Tier 2 Skill Books were beyond players, let alone Tier 6. Only someone like Shi Feng understood how precious a Tier 6 Skill Book was. Its value could even rival that of a Fragmented Legendary item. Tier 5 Skills and Spells weren''t easy to obtain either. One had to be lucky to find one. Even after reaching Tier 4 and 5, many players in the past had only possessed a few Skills or Spells of the same Tier. Meanwhile, Titan Library just happened to allow players access to these rare Skills and Spells. Hence, players constantly fought to challenge the Titan Library''s test. Unfortunately, very few players had ever come this far. This opportunity to grasp a high-tiered Skill or Spell was far more valuable than an Epic Weapon. Warren had vanished after he finished his explanation of the library. Without wasting any time, Shi Feng and the others split up to search for their own Skill Books. The Titan Library was colossal and had many sections. Finding a suitable high-tiered Skill Book within three hours would not be easy. Hence, they needed to cherish every second they had. Following which, Shi Feng dashed towards the section for Melee Skills. In the Titan Library, Skill and Spell Books were not categorized by class. Rather, they fell into four main groups: Melee Skills, Ranged Skills, Healing Spells, and Destruction Spells. Melee players like Shi Feng had to head towards the Melee Skill section. Of course, one could also choose a Skill from the Ranged Skill section. Once Shi Feng reached the Melee Skill section, he delved deeper into the section. Every library section was divided further into four areas: the outer area, the inner area, the central area, and the core. There were thousands of Skill Books in the outer area. Shi Feng could waste his three hours just skimming through those books. Meanwhile, as one ventured closer to each section''s center, they would find fewer and higher quality Skill Books. However, based on what Shi Feng had heard in his previous life, even the core housed over a hundred Skill Books. The Titan Library''s wealth of information would shock any player. As Shi Feng left the outer area and approached the inner area, a barrier appeared, blocking his path. 934 Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill Chapter 934 - Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill The barrier against Tier 1 classes is stronger than I expected. Shi Feng lifted a hand to the invisible wall. The wall acted like a massive repulsion field that enclosed the three innermost areas. Players could not force their way in. This was also why Warren had warned them not to be greedy. There were too many Skill and Spell Books in the Titan Library, and it was very difficult to find a book that suited each player within a limited time. If they focused on breaking through these invisible barriers, they might leave empty-handed. Players could not rely on their Strength to break through the library''s barriers. They could, however, rely on techniques. Upon reaching the repulsion field, players'' every aspect would be suppressed to a certain extent. Even Tier 4 and Tier 5 players were not exempt. Inside the repulsion field, there were countless air currents. These air currents would barrage anyone within the field. If players did not respond appropriately, they would be thrown from the repulsion field. As Shi Feng entered the field, many others also began to move. None of them were interested in the outer area''s Skill Books. However, the moment these people entered the repulsion field, they slowed to a crawl as if they had been submerged in mud. With their speed crippled, several streams of air rushed at them. Failing to dodge in time, these people were expelled from the repulsion field. One of Raven''s members, Masked Angel, rushed into the repulsion field. "You think you can stop me with this little trick?!" Once Masked Angel stepped into the repulsion field, he sneered as he pushed further into the inner area with long strides. Over 100 yards of repulsion field separated the outer and inner area. Masked Angel quickly crossed over a dozen yards through the field, moving as if the air currents were nonexistent. "Amazing!" a few people who had been thrown from the repulsion field exclaimed. When they had entered the repulsion field, they hadn''t been able to move normally at all, yet Masked Angel did not seem to have any issues. As a few streams of violent air tore towards Masked Angel, he dodged every one with a mysterious footwork technique. He then continued forward. "What?! How are his movements so smooth?! Does the suppression''s strength depend on the player?" "That shouldn''t be the case." These players watched Masked Angel reach the halfway point with envy. As long as Masked Angel passed through this restricted area, he could search the inner area''s Skill Books. Even a fool could guess the difference between the outer area''s Skill Books and those in the inner area. They had already flipped through a few Skill Books in the outer area, and all they found were Tier 1 and Tier 2 books. While these Skill Books were very valuable, they would be of little use in the future. Only the inner area''s Skill Books could give them an edge as they leveled. As expected of an expert of Raven, he discerned the repulsion field''s rules as soon as he entered. Shi Feng was not particularly surprised when he saw Masked Angel move through the repulsion field with ease. After all, Masked Angel was a Refinement Realm expert. The resistance players encountered in the repulsion field was not monotonous. Rather, it changed randomly. Players might encounter weaker resistance in some areas, and stronger resistance in others. It was like firing an automatic machine gun from a long distance. One or multiple bullets might cross some areas, while others wouldn''t see any bullets. If someone attempted to charge through the repulsion field while ignoring this fact, they would quickly be expelled to the outer area. However, if one knew where the bullets would fly, traversing the repulsion field would be a simple matter. Unfortunately, adapting to the various resistances wasn''t so simple. Once Masked Angel had ventured over 50 yards through the repulsion field, his expression darkened. He also began to stiffen. More air currents began to assault him simultaneously, going from the initial three to five, to seven or eight. The repulsion field began to grow more difficult. Finally, when Masked Angel was 70 yards deep, an air current struck him and threw him from the field. The spectating players in the outer area were dumbfounded. Masked Angel had been doing fine up until this point. Why had he been suddenly thrown from the field? "Why did the difficulty increase so dramatically?!" Masked Angel''s expression had twisted into something ugly. "Do they even want us to pass through this thing!?" Others might not have realized what had just happened, but he was very aware. The moment he reached the 50-yard mark, the repulsion field rapidly grew stronger, going from strong to weak and weak to strong more quickly. Even Masked Angel found it difficult to cope with the changes. Furthermore, he faced far more attacks, making it more difficult to follow the resistance change. In the end, even after drastic evasive maneuvers, he had been removed from the field. After Masked Angel had been thrown out, Shi Feng entered the repulsion field. To others, it might be difficult to cope with the constantly changing resistance, but to Shi Feng, it was a walk in the park. He didn''t even need to employ any techniques to avoid the incoming currents. "Impossible!" Masked Angel was momentarily stunned. It looked as if Shi Feng strolled casually down a road. Even after the 50-yard mark, Shi Feng continued comfortably. After a short moment, he had left the repulsion field behind and reached the inner area. What Masked Angel did not know, however, was that neither the resistance''s strength nor the air current''s attacks were effective against Shi Feng''s perception. After reaching the inner area, Shi Feng casually browsed a few Skill Books. He did not hurry towards the central area. The barrier between the inner area and central area was many times stronger than the barrier separating the outer and inner areas. This barrier had even troubled God''s Domain''s apex experts of the past. Extremely rare Tier 4 Skills could be found in abundance in the inner area. Shi Feng could also see plenty of Tier 3 Sure-kill Skills. These Sure-kill Skills were similar to Shi Feng''s Flame Burst. Flame Burst was a Tier 2 Sure-kill Skill that players could learn at Tier 0. Meanwhile, the Skill could be upgraded by sacrificing EXP. However, it could only reach Tier 2. Even with this limitation, though, its advantages were obvious. Learning Flame Burst did not require a particular Tier. It did not require Skill Proficiency either. Sure-kill Skills were extremely rare in God''s Domain, much less a Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill. In the Auction House, it would sell for more than an Epic item. After all, many players in God''s Domain would hit their limit after reaching Tier 3. It was incredibly difficult to advance. For these players, their Tier 3 Sure-kill Skills would never grow old, allowing them to hold their top ranks among Tier 3 players. However, this would not satisfy Shi Feng. He still had plenty of time. He could attempt to reach the section''s central area. God''s Domain''s apex experts dreamed of the Titan Library''s central area. Not only did the central area house Tier 5 Skill Books, but it also held Tier 4 Sure-kill Skills. However, as the difficulty of reaching the Titan Library increased as one moved up in Tiers, very few apex experts could make it into the library in the first place, not to mention the central area. Since he was already here, he had to try. If it really were not possible to proceed further, he would simply choose a Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill that was suitable. Following which, Shi Feng arrived before the next barrier. Unlike the inner area, there was no powerful repulsion field preventing him from reaching the central area. Instead, everything before him was shrouded in darkness. He could not see inside the central area whatsoever. Suddenly, someone flew out of the darkness and slammed into the ground. This person was none other than Raven''s Bloodsucker. However, Bloodsucker was extremely pale, his face empty of blood. He seemed sapped of all energy. He looked like as if he had just fought through a long, life-or-death battle, completely exhausted. "You need to be careful. It''s very dangerous in there," Bloodsucker smiled bitterly as Shi Feng walking over. "I''ll be logging out to rest now." 935 Sword Trajectory Chapter 935 - Sword Trajectory As soon as Bloodsucker finished speaking, he logged out of the game. "Is the mental burden really so heavy?" Shi Feng frowned as he watched Bloodsucker vanish. After having observed Bloodsucker for a time, Shi Feng was certain that the man was a Void Realm expert. Even in a Super Guild, he would be an apex existence. This was also why Bloodsucker had been so confident when he had promoted his skills. To pass the Titan Library''s inner test, a player had to rely on their techniques; their skills and equipment wouldn''t help them in the least. Shi Feng found it hard to imagine how difficult it was to reach the central area for an expert like Bloodsucker to be rendered helpless. When a player overdrew on their mental strength, they generally had to rest for three to five hours to recover. Even if one used an S-rank Nutrient Fluid to aid in their recovery, they would need to spend roughly an hour in the real world to recover fully. However, players were only given three hours to choose a Skill Book in the Titan Library. If Bloodsucker rested for an hour in the real world, he would not have enough time to challenge the barrier between the inner and central areas. "This test is vicious!" Shi Feng clicked his tongue. If he failed once, he would lose a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Moreover, even after recovering, he would only be able to choose a Skill Book from the inner area. If he did not rely on the S-rank Nutrient Fluid to recover, he would lose his opportunity to learn from any of the library''s Skill Books. Only now did Shi Feng understand why so many apex experts had faltered before reaching the central area. "Fortunately, I still have a few bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Without them, I wouldn''t qualify to challenge this test." Once Shi Feng adjusted his mindset, he stepped into the dark barrier. As soon as the darkness swallowed Shi Feng, he sensed something odd. Not only did the barrier rob him of his sight, but it had also rendered him deaf. Any expert''s combat power would drop significantly if they lost their sight, not to mention losing both sight and hearing. With both senses suddenly muted, even staying calm would be a problem, not to mention fighting. Moreover, without being able to see or hear, one wouldn''t even know what kind of danger they faced. Against the unknown, even an expert player''s mental state would crumble. Fortunately, Shi Feng had experienced a similar situation in the Battle Tower. Although the circumstances hadn''t been as severe, they were not that different. Hence, Shi Feng remained calm and in control. Although he had lost his sight and hearing, he still had his sense of touch and smell. Hm? Something''s coming! After venturing a few steps into the darkness, he felt the air ripple against several areas of his body. However, these ripples were extremely weak. In the blink of an eye, he felt a pricking pain where he had felt the ripples. Something hit him, and he was forced three steps back. Following which, Shi Feng tried to advance once more. In the end, however, he met the same outcome. After a few steps, he felt weak ripples, followed by the pricking pain. Particularly in the areas he had felt the previous pain, this pain doubled. "So, that is how this works. It''s no wonder why so many experts were helpless against this test." Shi Feng smiled bitterly after a few more attempts. It was too difficult to sense an incoming attack by air currents alone. As a Void Realm expert, he perceived his surroundings by pushing his five senses to their very limits. However, if he relied only on his sense of touch, it would be very difficult to predict an attack. Even if he evaded the moment he perceived the needles, he couldn''t dodge them. Moreover, the pain he felt each time was frustrating, disrupting his calm. "Since I can''t dodge them, I''ll have to block them." Deciding so, Shi Feng unsheathed his swords and advanced. After the previous attempts, he had a general grasp of the needles'' attacks. Aside from powerful techniques and acute senses, the biggest reason why experts could become experts in the first place was their brain''s processing speed and their ability to memorize something instantly. Once one strengthened their mind, their memorization and calculation would improve tremendously. They could then run through various simulations in their minds using what limited information they had. In this dark area, the needle attacks were not without a pattern. For each wave of attacks, the needles would target three to five locations. Based on where Shi Feng had already been struck and how many times, a total of twelve locations on his body were being targeted. Although he could not be certain that the needles would only attack these twelve locations, knowing them was enough. As long as he defended these points, he couldn''t be disqualified if he received a hit, even if he were hit elsewhere. At most, he would be forced to take one or two steps back and defend another location. Following which, Shi Feng continued his advance, using his blades to form a barrier around himself as he repelled the needle attacks. Moreover, as he brandished his swords, Shi Feng refined his swords'' trajectories, little by little, gradually reducing his excess movements and strengthening his defense. As Shi Feng had speculated, there were more than twelve targets on his body; fourteen areas were being targeted. These fourteen points seemed to contain some kind of hidden meaning. As Shi Feng improved his sword trajectories, the defensive range enlarged as well. Right now, he could block roughly 40% of all attacks aimed at him from the front. This sensation astonished Shi Feng. He was also ecstatic over his growth. There were still many flaws in his sword trajectories, and his slashes were not as efficient as they could be. However, now that he could block 40% of the attacks coming from the front, he could theoretically block 20 of 50 targeted attacks launched from in front of him. After Shi Feng had ventured 50 yards into the darkness, six to eight attacks assaulted him simultaneously. The number of targets on his body also rose from 14 to 21. The sudden change disrupted Shi Feng''s rhythm, causing him to waver back and forth over the 50-yard mark. As attacks continuously struck his body, his pain grew more intense. The attacks were even painful enough to force a strong-willed person like Shi Feng to grit his teeth. However, although the pain distracted him slightly, Shi Feng''s determination grew as he fought. Now that he had to block 21 points, his sword trajectories became more complex. After half an hour of refining his techniques and eliminating unnecessary movement, Shi Feng finally pushed past the 50-yard mark. He could now block all of the needle attacks that assaulted him. When he had ventured past the 80-yard mark, the attack count increased once more, increasing to 14 to 18 attacks at a time. Furthermore, he now had to defend 32 points. Although he only had to block another 11 areas, the necessary sword trajectories multiplied by several times. Even Shi Feng struggled to cope with this qualitative change. Even after refining his movements for over an hour, his technique still had plenty of flaws. However, he could now block 60% of the attacks launched from his front. After several more failed attempts to perfect his sword trajectories, Shi Feng decided to gamble. Rather than trying to block all 32 targeted points, he gave up his defense over a few that did not follow his trajectories. Gritting his teeth and enduring the pain, he then attempted to cross the final 20 yards. In the end, with only 20 minutes of his three hours remaining, Shi Feng finally broke through the darkness and reached the Titan Library''s central area. 936 Lightning Edge Chapter 936 - Lightning Edge Unlike the library''s inner area, which contained many ancient bookshelves lined with books, the central area had various globes of blue water rotating around a three-story-tall water globe. As soon as Shi Feng set foot into the central area, he felt his consciousness waver. The constant pricking pain he had felt in the darkness had pushed him to his limits. The Titan Library really is a special place. Shi Feng sat down and took several deep breaths. Although he was very tired, he was ecstatic. However, his excitement was not due to his success in reaching the central area. Rather, he was thrilled about what he had gained in the darkness. Never in his dreams had he thought that he would find a Secret Technique hidden in the darkness. The sword trajectories he had employed to defend the 32 targeted points was profound. It was even more astounding than an advanced combat technique. Shi Feng had realized how frightening this Secret Technique was as he had continued to improve his swords'' trajectories. If he could grasp this sword trajectory, his swordsmanship might even surpass Sirius''s six-in-one combination attack. "Not bad, young man. It''s been a long time since someone''s reached this area." Shortly after Shi Feng had sat to rest, a figure appeared before him, praising Shi Feng. Looking up, Shi Feng discovered Warren, the library manager who had disappeared. "Since you''ve passed the test, follow me," Warren said before turning and walking towards the massive water globe. Hurriedly, Shi Feng rose from the floor and followed the manager. Although dodging the needle attacks had taken its toll, he had not yet exceeded his mental endurance. He didn''t need to rest immediately as Bloodsucker had. After reaching the transparent globe, Warren began to recite an incantation. The massive globe slowly descended from the air. Despite standing over a dozen yards away, Shi Feng could feel the daunting Mana radiating from the globe. This Mana was far purer than that within the Seven Luminaries Crystal. Furthermore, the Mana that the globe released into the air did not scatter. If the globe exploded, Shi Feng did not doubt that the explosion would obliterate the Titan Library. "Go on. This is where the most precious Skills the Titan Library has collected over the years have been contained," Warren urged. "Of course, you may also challenge the library''s core, but be warned; throughout the past several hundred years, only seven have reached the core and left to tell the tale." "Lord Warren, I''ve decided to choose a Skill Book here," Shi Feng declared without hesitation. He had been lucky to reach the central area. As for whether that luck would carry him to the core, Shi Feng did not even dare to wonder. As far as he knew, only five players had entered the Titan Library''s core in the past. Every single one of those players had been a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. With his current strength, his chances were close to, if not, non-existent. In all honesty, Shi Feng had considered trying. Unfortunately, his time was running out. On the off chance that he overextended his mental endurance and was forced to log out to rest, he might even drown in his regrets. "A wise decision." Warren nodded pleasantly. "The magic barriers inside the Titan Library are the blood and sweat of the ten saints. That is especially the case for the magic barrier that protects the core. Without standing in the same realm as the ten saints, challengers have no chance of success. Had you attempted to challenge the barrier, you would''ve been disqualified." "...!" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the manager. "You''re only telling me that now?" Following which, Shi Feng disappeared into the massive water globe. Upon entering the globe, a list of books appeared before Shi Feng. Every Skill Book listed was either a Tier 5 Skill or a Tier 4 Sure-kill Skill; the list contained hundreds of them. Shi Feng''s eyes drifted to the Tier 4 Sure-kill Skills without even glancing at the Tier 5 Skill Books. Although Tier 5 Skills were much stronger than Tier 4 Sure-kill Skills, one could only learn the former after reaching Tier 5. To his present self, a Tier 5 Skill Book would be as useless as a very expensive paperweight. It was not nearly as practical as a Tier 4 Sure-kill Skill. There were a total of 133 Tier 4 Sure-kill Skill Books on the list, and Shi Feng rejoiced at the sight. If he could learn them all, every Tier 4 player would be no more than a punching bag. There was a wide variety of Skills to choose from. Some were Single-target Skills like Flame Burst, while others were AOE Skills like Skywheel Sword. There were also Control Skills like Abyssal Bind and Abyssal Curse. There were even extremely precious Berserk Skills and Support Skills. These Skills covered nearly every aspect and were more than enough for players to compensate for their shortcomings. After much contemplation, Shi Feng decided to search through the AOE Skills. While Single-target Skills and Berserk Skills could elevate a player''s combat power tremendously, AOE Skills were far more effective in group battles and grinding. Shi Feng was currently in a rush to reach Level 50. An AOE Skill was, without a doubt, his best choice. There were a total of five AOE Attack Skills. Some dealt physical damage, while other dealt magical damage. Some even dealt a mix of each. "Having both would be the best choice." Shi Feng dismissed the first two varieties. While the pros of a physical or magical Skill were obvious, the cons were just as clear. If he encountered a monster that countered either type of damage, the Skill would lose its effectiveness. Take Firestorm for example. If he used the Skill against a fire-type monster or an Elemental Being, the Skill wouldn''t help him. Rather than risk such a specialized Skill, it was safer to pick one that dealt both types of damage. After excluding the specialized Skills, Shi Feng was left with two books. The first book contained the Skill Divine Punishment. When activated, the Skill dealt a combination of physical and holy damage to monsters in a targeted area. The Skill covered 20 yards in every direction and had a Cooldown of 10 minutes. The other Skill was Lightning Edge. Upon activation, it would deal a mix of physical and lightning damage to monsters in a cone. The Skill had an initial coverage of 30 yards and a Cooldown of 15 minutes. Countless players in God''s Domain dreamed of obtaining both Skill Books. Shi Feng found himself in a bit of a bind. Holy damage would be twice as effective against Dark Creatures. In addition to his Sacred Sword, he would be a nightmare to Dark Creatures if he chose Divine Punishment. The only downside was the Skill''s limited range. As for Lightning Edge, it was suitable for kiting monsters. Noticing that he was running out of time After a moment of hesitation, Shi Feng chose Lightning Edge. He had chosen this to help him level faster. Following which, Shi Feng clicked to learn Lightning Edge. As soon as he did, a stream of energy emerged from the water around him and surged into his body. System: Congratulations! You have learned Lightning Edge. [Lightning Edge] (Action-type) Tier 0, Level 1 (Requires 200,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 0, Level 2) Channeling time: 0.5 seconds Deals 300% physical and 300% lightning damage in a cone in front of user. Initial coverage range is 30 yards. Duration: 3 seconds Cooldown: 15 minutes As expected of a Tier 4 Sure-kill Skill. Its starting damage and required EXP are double that of Flame Burst''s. If it reaches Tier 1, it will likely be even stronger than Firestorm. Shi Feng was elated when he saw the Skill''s information. He immediately decided to upgrade Lightning Edge''s level. 937 Team Improves Chapter 937 - Team Improves Shi Feng was currently Level 43. However, even after upgrading Lightning Edge to Tier 1, Level 1, he remained at Level 43. However, upon reaching Tier 1, the required EXP to upgrade the Skill and the Skill''s might had undergone a qualitative change. [Lightning Edge] (Action-type) Tier 1, Level 1 (Requires 200,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 1, Level 2) Channeling time: 0.5 seconds Deals 700% physical and 700% lightning damage in a cone in front of user. Initial coverage range is 50 yards. Duration: 5 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes Shi Feng had intended to upgrade the Skill further. Unfortunately, doing so would drop him to Level 42, which would, in turn, decrease his overall Attributes and affect his performance when they attempted the entrance trial''s final stretch. Hence, he decided to hold off for now. After Shi Feng learned Lightning Edge, Warren transported him out of the library, returning him to the entrance. Everyone else from Zero Wing''s team who had entered the library had already learned a Skill or Spell and already returned to the entrance. They all looked ecstatic. The number of Skills and Spells the Titan Library contained was simply mind-blowing, and their rarity was equally staggering. Despite most of the players only being capable of choosing a Skill from the outer area, they had still boosted their combat powers significantly. "Look at how excited you all are. What kind of powerful Skills did you guys learn?" Shi Feng asked, a soft chuckle escaping from his lips. "Leader, did you know that Sister Aqua reached the inner area? She learned a large-scale destruction Spell. Violet did as well and learned an AOE Healing Spell. As for Sister Fire, although she didn''t learn an AOE Skill from the inner area, she learned a powerful control and weakening Skill. Even a Boss won''t be able to shrug off the Skill''s effects!" Cola enthusiastically explained. The Skills one could learn in the outer and inner areas were worlds apart. In the outer area, one could only learn rare Tier 2 Skills, while in the inner area, one could learn Tier 3 Sure-kill Skills. There was simply no comparing the two. Furthermore, the Skills Aqua Rose and the others had learned in the inner area would be of immense help to their current team. It was especially true for Violet Cloud''s AOE Healing Spell. At present, all Skills the various healing classes could learn were single-target Healing Spells. There was not a single AOE Healing Spell available for their low Tier. Now that Violet Cloud had learned one, she could act as multiple healers. When they raided Dungeons in the future, they could afford to bring fewer healers and more damage-dealers. Excluding Shi Feng, fourteen people had reached the Library''s inner area. Among them, three belonged to Zero Wing, three belonged to Raven, five belonged to Owl, and three belonged to Overwhelming Smile. This outcome stunned Zero Wing''s members. While Aqua Rose and the others, more or less, knew the identities of Raven''s members, Owl''s members were complete strangers, yet among the team of fourteen players, five had reached the inner area. The small team''s strength was astounding. Where did the Guild Leader meet these people? Aqua Rose was deeply shocked as she watched White Night and his companions. There are so many experts in just a team of fourteen people. After the team''s performance in the Titan Library, Aqua Rose finally understood how strong White Night and the others were. As for Youlan, who rested by the side, her expression suggested that she had finally come to understand the Guild known as Zero Wing. She knew how difficult it was to venture from the outer area to the inner area. Even after trying her hardest, she barely broke through the barrier. As for the other two players on her team who had reached the inner area, they were War Wolf and Soaring Snake. Everyone else had only made it to the 80-yard mark. Although she did not know how far Shi Feng had progressed, reaching the inner area should have been a walk in the park for him. With this, of Zero Wing''s fifty people, twelve had managed to reach the inner area. The team''s strength was intimidating. Youlan even suspected that, even if she scoured Star-Moon Kingdom and combined the strength of every Guild within its borders, she wouldn''t form a team as powerful as Zero Wing''s. "Since everyone has gathered, let''s proceed to the trial''s final stage," Shi Feng declared after confirming that everyone was present. He then led the team to a teleportation array a short distance away from the Titan Library. --- "Be careful! Healers, focus on those who are taking damage! MTs, hold down the monsters! Do not let them get away!" Peerless, who ventured through the gray fog, sternly commanded his people through the team chat. Initially, he had thought he would be welcomed by the sight of Titan City''s gates upon overcoming the abyssal path. However, he had never imagined that they would escape the wolf''s lair only to walk straight into a lion''s den. Inside this gray fog, their visibility was reduced to ten yards. In addition, monsters would randomly assault them from time to time. To make matters worse, the fog did not affect these monsters. Even with forty yards between them, these monsters discovered them and attacked immediately. These monsters attacked with bows and arrows, and after firing a volley, they would change their positions. Moreover, the monsters always targeted the cloth armor classes. If they did not defeat these archers as quickly as possible, the noise of battle would attract more enemies. Before realizing this, their team had suffered. Moreover, the players whom these monsters killed could not be revived. Their losses in this gray fog were permanent. They only had 89 players remaining now. If they lost any more members, their hopes of reaching the final goal would be dashed. Shortly after Peerless issued his orders, another volley emerged from the fog around them. The arrows were extremely fast. With the low visibility, even the Agility-based classes struggled to block or evade the attacks, not to mention the targeted cloth wearers. Immediately, a white-robed Cleric transformed into a hedgehog, his HP plummeting to zero in an instant. The Cleric did not even have a chance to heal himself. "Charge! Don''t let those monsters get away!" Peerless bellowed in rage. Over a dozen melee classes immediately dashed towards the arrow''s origin. Shortly after these players vanished, however, the others heard a pained scream. A few of these melee players had died instantly. Three MTs had even been thrown back to the team, their slamming into the ground before Peerless. All three MTs only had a strand of HP. "What happened?!" Peerless demanded through the team chat. The monsters they had previously faced had only been Level 45 Elites. Every one of these players could easily dispatch one of the monsters with help, yet not only had a few people instantly died, but their heavily-armored MTs had also been thrown such a long distance. There was definitely something off here. "Boss It''s a Boss!" one of the Swordsmen, who had previously charged forward, stuttered a reply. "Wait There are three" Before the Swordsman could finish his words, his name in the team status window faded to gray, signifying that this player had died. However, the Swordsman wasn''t the only one dead player. Those who had charged with him had died as well. Before Peerless could respond, three tall figures suddenly emerged from the fog accompanied by over a hundred bow-wielding, four-armed demonic monsters. Every player on the team tensed, feeling stifled. Of the three Bosses before them, one was a Grand Lord, while the other two were Great Lords. With this combination before them, the players crumbled in despair. As the two sides threw themselves into the battle, a golden radiance suddenly dispersed the dense fog. People then began to appear, one after another. "How!?" Peerless''s jaw nearly hit the ground when he saw the distant figures. These figures were none other than the members of Shi Feng''s team, who he had seen before. However, unlike their battered players, Shi Feng''s team appeared unharmed, every member brimming with energy as they stood on the path towards Titan City. 938 Pantheon Chapter 938 - Pantheon As the golden light appeared, it returned visibility to the foggy valley. Shi Feng and his team''s sudden arrival left Peerless''s team speechless. How are they here? This question echoed in everyone''s minds. It was an irrefutable fact that they had progressed through the third stage faster and more successful than they had during their previous attempt, yet Shi Feng''s team had still managed to get ahead of them. The most infuriating part was that, now that they had aggroed the three Bosses, Shi Feng''s team could simply head up the mountain and reach Titan City without issues. However, before Peerless and his team could figure out what they should do next, the three Bosses charged at them. [Three-headed Demonic Ape King] (Dark Creature, Grand Lord) Level 45 HP 70,000,000/70,000,000 [Two-headed Demonic Ape] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 45 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 Even a team of 1,000 elite players would have no hope against a Grand Lord and two Great Lords, much less a 100-man team. Realizing how grim their situation was, Peerless clenched his jaw and commanded, "Activate the barrier! Everyone else, follow me!" Fifteen players immediately gathered and began to form a magic barrier that trapped the three Bosses, preventing the monsters from pursuing the rest of their team. As they did so, Peerless and the other members moved towards Shi Feng. His intentions were obvious. He wanted to drag Shi Feng and his people into the fight, using the opportunity to escape. --- "Leader, those people are heading towards us. It seems they''re trying to drag us down with them," Aqua Rose giggled softly as she watched Peerless''s team rush towards them. "Let''s get rid of them, lest they hinder us later." Needless to say, Shi Feng also knew what Peerless and his team planned. "Wait a minute; that is Peerless, one of Pantheon''s Elders!" Initially, Youlan had agreed with Shi Feng''s decision. However, upon taking a closer look and recognizing the other team''s leader as Peerless, she hesitated. Pantheon was a Super Guild. Although Pantheon''s headquarters was nowhere near Star-Moon Kingdom and it couldn''t affect the kingdom''s affairs, a few of Underworld''s upper echelons had been buttering up the Super Guild. If they killed Pantheon''s members now, a simple inquiry would reveal her as a member of Underworld. When that happened, she would invoke her upper echelons'' ire. This was also why she was so desperately trying to strengthen her foundations. With a powerful team, her position in Underworld would not be at risk if she angered a few of the organization''s upper echelons. "Will it inconvenience you?" Noticing Youlan''s hesitation, Shi Feng, more or less, understood how much influence a Super Guild had. "It will impact the organization''s plans," Youlan replied honestly. Feebly, she continued, "If Team Leader Ye Feng attacks that team, I''m afraid that my side can''t help." "That''s fine. You guys can stay here and watch." Shi Feng dismissed Youlan''s concerns. Following which, Shi Feng led his team to welcome Peerless and the others. "Zero Wing sure is ruthless. They don''t even hesitate against a Super Guild." "It seems like the rumors of Zero Wing provoking King''s Return are true." Overwhelming Smile''s members watched with admiration. Everyone had been dumbfounded when Zero Wing had provoked the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Afterward, the Guild had picked a fight with King''s Return. Now, Zero Wing''s members had, without hesitation, decided to strike against Pantheon''s members. If they were any other first-rate Guild, they would have already cowered in fear The Titan City pass was extremely valuable. Based on how prepared Peerless and the other Pantheon members appeared to be, it was obvious how much the Super Guild valued the Holy City of Titan. If Shi Feng and his players killed Peerless''s team, Pantheon would undoubtedly hold a grudge against Zero Wing. --- "Boss Peerless, those people are heading this way! From the looks of it, I think they''re trying to block our path!" "Perfect. They''ve ruined my plans once already. Now, I''ll teach them to fear Pantheon! When the Bosses get here, head up the mountain!" Joy fluttered in Peerless''s eyes as he watched Shi Feng''s team approach. Had Shi Feng led his team up the mountain, he would have escaped the looming disaster of the three Bosses. However, now that they were coming to him, he could use this chance to relieve some stress. Both teams fell into formation and prepared for battle. "Boss Peerless, I think I''ve seen those players before! The Swordsman leading the charge looks like Ye Feng from the Asura Battle Team!" "Those are Zero Wing''s members!" "Ye Feng? Didn''t he defeat that old monster from the Battle Wolves?" When only 100 yards separated the two teams, Pantheon''s members realized who they were facing. Tension sang through them as they prepared for a gruesome battle, no longer taking this fight so lightly. They also discovered something shocking: Shi Feng and his team''s Levels. Every player was above Level 40, while some had even reached Level 43. It was impossible to find such a high-leveled team, even in God''s Domain''s empires. As the teams grew closer Although Peerless''s side had the numerical advantage, his team members'' expressions were grim. Previously, as both teams had been too far from each other, they hadn''t noticed anything special about Zero Wing''s team. However, as they closed the distance, fear began to grip their hearts. Shi Feng, White Night, Fire Dance, and a few others leading the team, in particular, radiated an even stronger pressure than a Lord. Why do they have so many experts? Peerless frowned, shock filling his gaze. Among Zero Wing''s 50-man team, at least nine of them felt threatening. Of the nine, he trembled in fear as the pressure of four specific players swept over him. He even began to wonder if he were facing another Super Guild''s raid team. Why else would there be so many experts on a single team? "I am Peerless, an Elder from Pantheon. You must be Elder Ye Feng from Zero Wing, correct? Why don''t we work together to defeat the Bosses?" Peerless shouted his suggestion as he watched Shi Feng. Although he was arrogant, he knew when the odds were against him. His current team stood no chance against Shi Feng''s people. If his team were annihilated now, they would lose their third chance of reaching Titan City. There was also no telling when their Guild would obtain another pass, either. He did not wish to watch his hard-earned opportunity go to waste over a little squabble. Peerless''s suggestion surprised Youlan and Overwhelming Smile''s members "Am I hearing things? Pantheon''s members are actually suggesting that we cooperate?" "I have heard that Peerless is a particularly arrogant Elder in Pantheon. Not only does he lack respect for Guild Leaders from first-rate Guilds, but he has also insulted them publicly! I must''ve misheard him!" A commotion swept over Overwhelming Smile''s members. Super Guilds were the virtual gaming world''s overlords. Normally, people would do everything they could to gain their favor, yet they rarely expressed goodwill. Suggesting cooperation was even more unlikely. Peerless and the others had already prepared to fight. However, they had suddenly suggested that the two teams work together. Even if news of this spread, no one would believe it. 939 Unfathomable Zero Wing Chapter 939 - Unfathomable Zero Wing Peerless''s sudden suggestion had stunned not only Youlan and her group, but it had also surprised Zero Wing''s Vice-Leader, Aqua Rose. Aqua Rose had to admit that Peerless''s suggestion was tempting. Both Pantheon and Zero Wing''s teams would struggle to take down three Level 45 Bosses simultaneously. If not dealt with properly, a team-wipe would not be surprising. If the two teams joined hands, however, their chances of defeating the three Bosses would increase tremendously. Although Aqua Rose was not at all familiar with the strength of Pantheon''s team, the fact that they had made it this far proved that it should not be underestimated. Peerless also firmly believed that his proposal would interest Shi Feng. After all, the team''s ultimate goal was to enter Titan City. Moreover, more than one team could reach the Holy City as long as they cleared the entrance trial. There was no conflict between them in terms of profit. Moreover, befriending a Super Guild was far more beneficial than creating a new enemy. However, Shi Feng replied with three, indifferent words. "No, thank you!" After responding, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray. Lightning Edge! After reaching Tier 1, Lightning Edge''s range had extended to a maximum of 50 yards. The damage spread could envelop over half of Peerless''s team. Strike after strike of blue lightning arced towards Pantheon''s members. Shi Feng''s Attributes were already exceptional. Even Cola could only endure a few of his normal attacks. In the blink of an eye, the lifeless bodies of over half of Peerless''s team members fell to the ground. Even the MTs, who had activated their Lifesaving Skills, had lost their lives. Only those who had been outside of Lightning Edge''s attack range and those who possessed Skills that provided a brief invulnerability had escaped with their lives. However, these players were only a minority of Peerless''s team. After Lightning Edge ended, less than ten players remained standing on Peerless''s side. Lightning Edge was in no way weaker than a Boss''s team-wipe Skill. "What is he doing?" Youlan was flabbergasted. Initially, she had agreed with the proposed cooperation. Not only would this eliminate the possibility of earning Pantheon''s ire, but they might also have the chance to form a friendship with the Super Guild. Both she and Zero Wing would benefit greatly from an amicable relationship with Pantheon. Furthermore, their chances of clearing the entrance trial would increase. Yet, Shi Feng had rejected the offer. Moreover, he annihilated the majority of Pantheon''s members without a second thought. Youlan even began to wonder if Shi Feng had some sort of unresolvable grudge against Pantheon. Shi Feng''s actions had even stunned Aqua Rose. Bloodsucker was gobsmacked as well. No matter what was said or done, these people were still Pantheon members, yet Shi Feng had killed them without any hesitation. Shi Feng''s decisiveness to kill another player even made a Dark Player like Bloodsucker involuntarily tremble. He was now even more afraid of Shi Feng than he was of a bloodthirsty killer such as himself! However, Shi Feng did not bother to explain his decision. Or rather, he could not. Only the first team to enter the Holy City of Titan would be awarded Reputation. He would not give up the guarantee of gaining the Holy City''s Reputation just to gain a dispensable partner, not to mention a partner that had initially planned to use his team to distract the Bosses. In God''s Domain, only one''s strength mattered. Everything else was secondary. "I''ll butcher you!" A vein popped in Peerless''s eyes when he saw his dead companions. If hatred were tangible, his would''ve drowned Shi Feng. These players were the capital he needed to clear the entrance trial. Now, Shi Feng had annihilated them. Peerless then activated his Berserk Skill. He raised his silver greatsword and charged at Shi Feng. However, before Peerless, whose body had grown slightly, could reach Shi Feng, a figure appeared between them and forcibly stopped the Berserker''s charge. This person was none other than the Guardian Knight Turtledove. "Scram!" Peerless boiled with rage. He swore to himself that he would fight Shi Feng to the end. Without hesitation, he sent a horizontal slash at the Guardian Knight in his way, intending to take advantage of his enhanced Strength to send Turtledove flying. In response to the vicious attack, Turtledove swung her longsword to meet the Berserker''s blade, activating Steel Impact before the two weapons collided. Peng! The counterattack sent Peerless flying ten yards away. It had also forced him into a Fainted state. His 26,600 HP dropped by more than 3,000 as well. Turtledove''s immense Strength stunned Pantheon''s members. They all knew just how powerful Peerless was. Although he could not compare to the Battle Wolves'' Sirius, he was one of Pantheon''s apex experts who had reached the Void Realm. He even wore a piece of Epic Equipment, while the rest of his gear consisted of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. In terms of Basic Attributes, few people were capable of matching the Berserker. The Berserk Skill Peerless had activated also boosted his Strength, Agility, and Endurance. In this state, he could even stand against a High Lord of the same level without giving way, yet a tall, slender female Guardian Knight had sent him flying. Their shock was indescribable. "Boss Peerless, I''ll help you!" A Level 40 burly Assassin dashed forward to assist Peerless, who had removed the Control effect plaguing him as soon as he had received it. However, before this Level 40 Assassin could reach the Berserker, numerous arrows flew towards him, forcing him to block the attacks. His actions, however, broke his Stealth. Isn''t that Pantheon''s Three Tigers? Why is he here? Youlan was surprised upon seeing the Assassin. It seems Pantheon really wants into Titan City. After this incident, Zero Wing and Pantheon will definitely be mortal enemies. The exposed Assassin was Three Tigers, an apex expert from Pantheon. He was also the Super Guild''s fifth-ranked Assassin. His attacks were famed for their violence. Others often called him the Man-slaughtering Tiger. However, the instant the Man-slaughtering Tiger was exposed, he felt death loom over him. Hastily, he used Wind Steps and threw himself to the ground. Unknown to him, the sharp blade of a short sword had sliced across his back. If not for the brief invulnerability that his Skill provided, the blade would''ve ripped through his body. What is that style of footwork?! Even so close, I didn''t detect her at all! Three Tigers felt his body grow cold when his gaze fell on Fire Dance, who had appeared behind him suddenly. If not for his ability to exert his five senses to their limits, which allowed him to sense the subtle fluctuations in the air as Fire Dance launched her attack, he would''ve fallen prey to the female Assassin''s attack. As expected, my Void Steps are still rough and crude. Fire Dance inwardly berated herself after Three Tigers dodged her blade. After evading Fire Dance''s ambush, Three Tigers discovered an incoming volley. White Night had fired these arrows and did so from the male Assassin''s blindspot. As a result, Three Tigers didn''t notice them until it was too late. Damn it! Why are there so many experts?! Three Tigers instinctively activated Vanish, repelling the arrows and remaining unharmed. He had just been forced to use two of his major Lifesaving Skills in a row. Three Tigers had never experienced a situation like this since he had joined God''s Domain. However, shortly after Three Tigers vanished, he discovered that he could not move. Before he realized it, pitch-black walls rose from the ground and surrounding him. This attack was none other than Violet Cloud''s Black Coffin, and she had timed the spell to activate just after Vanish''s 1.3 seconds of invulnerability had ended 940 Hells Gatekeepers Chapter 940 - Hell''s Gatekeepers Despite the fact that Three Tigers was a top-tier Assassin from a Super Guild, he could not think of an appropriate response to the seamless combination attack. Only when the Black Coffin began to close did Three Tigers activate a Control Removal Skill. Unfortunately, the half-second delay before he made a decision was more than enough time for Fire Dance to catch up to him, executing Absolute Strike. Suddenly, Fire Dance transformed into a shadowy streak that pierced through the male Assassin''s body. With little effort, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and White Night had taken out a Super Guild''s top-tier Assassin. The surviving Pantheon members were stunned. Three Tigers was in no way weaker than Peerless. The Assassin could move about unhindered even against hundreds of elite players and dozens of experts. In a large-scale war, he could even take the enemy commander''s life while surrounded by thousands of enemies. Yet, now, the combination attack of three people had killed him almost instantly. "Their cooperation is seamless. Without Skills that provide invulnerability, there is simply no escaping that attack." War Wolf sighed as he watched this scene play out. "The difference between the two team''s experts is massive. Pantheon doesn''t have a chance." As a matter of fact, War Wolf knew that, even without Violet Cloud and White Night, Fire Dance alone could render Three Tigers helpless. Although Fire Dance was an Assassin, her Attributes were outrageous. Moreover, only MTs could block the female Assassin''s mystifying attacks with their shields. Other classes had no hope of blocking or dodging her attacks. Their only option was to maintain a distance from the Assassin. Letting her get close was the equivalent of welcoming death into their homes. Youlan nodded her agreement with War Wolf''s evaluation. While it might seem as if Peerless had an advantage after activating his Berserk Skill, Zero Wing''s people had many of their own, terrifying Skills. After all, they had just come from the Titan Library. Youlan also understood just how powerful the Skills were in the library''s outer and inner areas. Even five Berserked Peerless clones wouldn''t be enough to change this battle''s outcome, let alone one. As Youlan was lost in her thoughts, Shi Feng joined the battle. The instant Shi Feng stepped forward, he vanished. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Peerless, arcs of blue electricity coursing around his body. He then slashed his blade down on the Berserker. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! "Die!" The instant Shi Feng appeared before him, Peerless sensed the Swordsman''s presence. A grin appeared on his face as he executed Whirlwind Slash. After watching Three Tigers die almost instantly, he had worried that Zero Wing''s experts would pin him down and defeat him before he had the chance to confront Shi Feng. He had never imagined that the detestable Swordsman would come to him and without activating a Berserk Skill! However, before Peerless''s greatsword could accelerate, a blue streak of light bloomed from Shi Feng''s hand. In the next moment, a critical damage of -27,684 appeared above Peerless''s head, the Berserker''s HP plummeting to zero. Peerless did not even have a chance to realize what had happened before his vision faded to gray. How is this possible?! As Peerless slowly fell to the ground, confusion filled his eyes as he stared at his body. A sword wound had appeared across his chest without his notice. The speed at which Shi Feng had drawn his sword had surpassed his perception. When Peerless''s body hit the ground, a piece of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment dropped beside him. Shi Feng''s attack had dumbfounded the remaining Pantheon members. His sword strike had been way too fast. Aside from a gradually fading blue glow, they saw nothing. That strike may have even killed someone with an Invulnerability Skill before they could deploy it. After Peerless died, Shi Feng went after the remaining members, too lazy to pick up the equipment the Berserker had dropped. By the time Pantheon''s members realized what was going on, Shi Feng had darted past them all, and they were already falling to the ground, one after another. Without suspense, Shi Feng had killed everyone. Instant Strike was as strong as a Tier 3 Skill. Even if they activated Berserk Skills that doubled their Attributes, current players were nothing against this Skill. "Pick up the loot and prepare to face the monsters!" Shi Feng commanded upon noticing the three Bosses breaking free from their distant imprisonment. Although one could clear the entrance trial without defeating the three Stage Bosses, Shi Feng had decided that defeating them was necessary. Like the second stage''s Boss, they might earn an unexpected reward for the First Kill of these three Bosses. As for why he had killed Pantheon''s members without a second thought, he had worried that these people would run for the city half-way through the Boss battle. Should that have happened, all of the regret in the world wouldn''t have given him his Titan City Reputation back. Moreover, had they cooperated with Pantheon, they would have had to share the Bosses'' loot equally. Since his team was more than capable of defeating the Bosses by themselves, why should they share the bounty? After the three Bosses had annihilated the Pantheon members that had trapped them, they shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng''s team. Roaring angrily, the three Bosses, followed by over a hundred four-armed demonic monsters, charged forward. "Cola, tank the Ape King! Wumian and Turtledove, separate the other two Apes! The farther, the better! The rest of the MTs will pin the demonic monsters down! Don''t let them get away! Everyone else, kill the demonic monsters first!" Shi Feng shouted. These Bosses'' powerful auras didn''t affect him in the slightest. The team immediately did as Shi Feng had ordered. Youlan cast Angel''s Blessing, increasing everyone''s Attributes slightly and decreasing the damage they received. Shi Feng also summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and had it cast Battle Roar and Darkness Blessing, increasing everyone''s Attributes by an additional 10% and reducing the damage they took by another 20%. The team also received a 100-point boost to their Magic Resistance. These buffs immediately rose the team''s strength to a whole new level. When Cola was within range, he executed Justice Bash and attracted the Three-headed Demonic Ape King''s attention. Ye Wumian and Turtledove lured the Two-headed Demonic Apes away from each other as well. However, the Demonic Apes had absurdly high Strength. This was especially true for the Ape King. Although the Grand Lord was not an Archaic Species, it still dealt over -10,000 damage to Cola despite the Guardian Knight''s multiple damage reduction buffs. As for Ye Wumian and Turtledove, they each took over -6,000 damage when the Great Lords hit them. Generally, players who had reached the third stage avoided fighting the three Demonic Apes. After all, like the second stage''s King of Corrosion, killing them wasn''t necessary to clear the entrance trial. Teams were simply not willing to take this risk. Moreover, in the past, the three Demonic Apes had been known as Hell''s Gatekeepers. Most teams that had reached this far would avoid them as much as possible. This was due to the three Demonic Apes'' special ability. In reality, the three Demonic Apes were actually of one body. Although they were neither Ferocious Beasts nor Archaic Species, they were still a nightmare for players. When one Demonic Ape died, its strength would transfer to the remaining Demonic Apes. When only one Demonic Ape remained, the gates of hell would truly open. No team could survive the Boss''s devastating power. Even if Shi Feng activated Twofold Berserk, he could do nothing about his impending death. Hence, the only way to defeat the three Stage Bosses was to kill them simultaneously. If the last Demonic Ape even had 1% HP remaining, it would massacre the entire team. However, a team needed powerful MTs, and healers in particular, if they wanted to kill all three Demonic Apes at the same time. From time to time, the three Demonic Apes used an AOE Skill. Every player on the team would lose HP when they did. These moments would put the team''s healers to the test. If too many members died, it would wound their overall damage output. All three Demonic Apes possessed extremely high HP, so their battle recoveries were not to be trifled with. If the team could not maintain their damage above a certain threshold, a team-wipe was inevitable. If not for Violet Cloud''s new AOE Healing Spell, Shi Feng would not have dared to fight the three Demonic Apes. As the battle raged, time passed quickly. By the time everyone finished dealing with the four-armed demonic monsters, Cola was close to succumbing to the Ape King''s might. Although the Guardian Knight could easily deal with the Ape King''s ordinary attacks, his roughly 30,000 HP would drop to just over 10,000 when the Grand Lord used its War Stomp. The Skill also forced him into a Fainted state. If not for a powerful healer like Violet Cloud, the Ape King''s next hit would have likely killed him. As Cola wavered, the rest of the team worried. If he died, it would not be long before the rest of them followed him to the grave. As expected, this will be a tough fight without Berserk Skills. Shi Feng felt somewhat powerless. Previously, to deal with the King of Corrosion, their team had nearly exhausted their Berserk Skills. Now, the Skills were still on Cooldown. "Fire, it''s up to you now." "Leave it to me," Fire Dance said as she playfully licked her lips. She had long since grown impatient and was incredibly eager to test the new Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill she had learned in the Titan Library. 941 Complete State Chapter 941 - Complete State Suddenly, the Three-deaded Demonic Ape King roared and stomped the ground violently. Boom! The ground shattered instantly, a shockwave spreading from the Grand Lord. Cola currently had less than 20,000 HP. Not wanting to risk his life, he activated Protection Blessing to reduce the AOE Skill''s damage. Even so, he still received close to -8,000 damage from the attack. Other players who stood within 60 yards of the three Bosses also received varying damages, with the farthest players receiving the least amount of damage. Even so, the team''s ranged players still received nearly -6,000 damage each Immediately after using the Skill, the Ape King slapped at Cola. The Guardian Knight hurriedly raised his shield to block the attack; the impact forced him back three steps before he stabilized himself, his HP dropped by almost another 5,000 points. In the blink of an eye, Cola had less than 5,000 HP remaining. If not for Protection Blessing, he would''ve died already. However, after the Ape King''s attack, several heals blanketed Cola, one after another, raising his HP to just over 20,000. Meanwhile, Fire Dance had already circled to the Grand Lord''s back. She then thrust Thousand Transformations into the dirt. Suddenly, water began to spew from the ground. "Go!" Fire Dance smoothly swung Thousand Transformations at the Demonic Ape King. Water Binding! The water that had pooled around the Ape King''s feet transformed into a rope, binding the Grand Lord''s limbs and body tightly. No matter how many times the Ape King broke the water rope, the latter always reformed around the Grand Lord''s body, slowing the Boss so much that it couldn''t hit Cola properly. Even when the Ape King''s attacks struck Cola, it only dealt around 70% of its normal damage due to the watery restrictions. The Ape King was no longer a threat to Cola. "What a powerful Skill! It can even affect a Great Lord!" Everyone was stunned when they saw the Demonic Ape King''s combat power decrease significantly. While everyone was still dazed, Fire Dance executed an even more surprising move. As Fire Dance swung her short sword through the air, a water whip emerged from the ground and lashed at the Ape King''s fist. Boom! Although the whip shattered upon impact, The Ape King''s attack had also stopped. Following which, Fire Dance swung again, summoning another water whip that lashed at the Ape King''s back. A damage of over -10,000 points immediately appeared above the Grand Lord''s head, stupefying her teammates. "What Skill is that?" Youlan''s mouth twitched involuntarily as she watched Fire Dance''s attacks. Fire Dance stood still as she swung her two blades, yet she had restrained the Demonic Ape King without help. Oddly enough, no one on the battlefield was more surprised than Fire Dance. She had never imagined that the Skill she had learned in the Titan Library would be this powerful. She had only upgraded Water Binding to Tier 1, Level 1, yet the Skill could already partially subdue a Grand Lord. If the Skill were upgraded to Tier 2, it could suppress a Grand Lord completely. "Good. Everyone, focus your full power on the Ape King!" Shi Feng excitedly ordered after watching Fire Dance''s performance with her new Skill. In God''s Domain, Skills generally fell into three categories: Attack Skills, Healing Skills, and Control Skills. However, there were also Domain Skills. However, this type of Skill was extremely rare, and players usually only discovered them after reaching Tier 4. This was also one of the reasons that there was such a huge strength gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 classes. However, the Domain Skill Fire Dance had learned also had a glaring flawCthe Skill''s user could not move while using Skill. Moreover, the Skill''s duration wasn''t very long. Based on Shi Feng''s guess, it would be a miracle if the Skill lasted ten minutes. Hence, they needed to deplete the Ape King''s HP while Fire Dance was engaged with her Skill. With Fire Dance''s assistance, fighting the Demonic Ape King became much easier. The Ape King''s Defense could not compare to the King of Corrosion''s. It was also a Dark Creature. As a result, even without activating a Berserk Skill, Shi Feng''s attacks easily dealt around 20,000 to 30,000 damage. When Fire Dance''s Water Binding ended, the Demonic Ape King only had 50% of its HP remaining. As the Grand Lord''s HP had dropped to 50%, Shi Feng commanded, "All DPS, distance yourselves from the Ape King and attack the other Two-headed Apes! Healers, focus on your Mana! Use a potion as soon as the Cooldown is over! Don''t try to conserve them!" When the Demonic Ape King''s HP fell to 50%, it would target a random player, executing Charge and forcing the player into a Fainted state before launching a barrage of rapid attacks. The Grand Lord''s Charge was far more powerful than a Berserker''s, and even an MT with an active Lifesaving Skill had little hope of survival against such a vicious assault. Unless the targeted player had a Skill such as the Elementalist''s Ice Barrier that could grant them a long period of damage immunity or they managed to dodge the Ape King before it reached them, only death awaited the Grand Lord''s victim. However, if players dealt with the Two-headed Demonic Apes first, when the two Great Lords'' HPs fell below the 70% threshold while the Grand Lord''s HP was above that, the Great Lords would enter a Berserk state, their damage and Attack Speed increasing by 30%. Hence, for safety''s sake, after reducing the Ape King''s HP to nearly 50%, he shifted the team''s attention towards the Two-headed Apes. Once the two Great Lords were almost dead, they would then return to deal with the Grand Lord. However, to achieve all of this, the team''s positioning and coordination needed to be precise. Moreover, as this would be a long battle, the healer''s Mana usage would be put to the test. As for the Three-headed Demonic Ape King''s situation, Shi Feng had four other Guardian Knights support Cola. At Tier 1, Level 1, Protection Blessing had a Cooldown of 3 minutes, 30 seconds. At higher levels, that Cooldown would drop. As every member of the team was an expert, their Skill levels were very high. Including Cola, all five of the team''s Guardian Knight had roughly a three-minute Cooldown on their Protection Blessings. When Cola had taken on the Demonic Ape King, Shi Feng had used Life Bloom on the Guardian Knight. Life Bloom had a duration of 40 seconds and a Cooldown of 1 minute, 30 seconds. After including the healing from three healers, Cola had been practically invincible during Life Bloom''s duration. Once Life Bloom''s Cooldown ended, the other four Guardian Knights would take turns casting Protection Blessing on Cola. Protection Blessing had a duration of 20 seconds, so Cola only needed three to tide him over until Life Bloom was ready once more. With Protection Blessing, even without Shi Feng''s Life Bloom, Cola would not die. If necessary, Shi Feng was also prepared to activate a Lifesaving Skill to help Cola survive the Ape King''s attacks, reducing the pressure on the Guardian Knight. With this, they formed a solid defensive cycle. Time passed quickly. The Three-headed Demonic Ape King had been pinned down during the entire battle. As for the two Level 45 Great Lords, they weren''t a challenge for Shi Feng''s team in the least. Very quickly, the two Great Lords'' HPs had dropped below the 5% threshold. Shi Feng then delegated one party to pin the Great Lords while everyone else attacked the Ape King. When the Demonic Ape King''s HP fell below 50%, it finally activated its Charge. Despite Shi Feng''s warning, the Ape King was simply too fast. In the end, the Ape King''s targeted Assassin had died instantly. During its Charge, the Ape King also collided into three others, two of which died and one had been gravely injured. Unfortunately, the injured player was a Shield Warrior Chills ran down the players'' spines as they received a blow to their morale. As the Ape King''s HP gradually decreased, the team lost members. By the time the Ape King had 10% HP remaining, only 64 team members were standing. Fortunately, the survivors familiarize themselves with the Ape King''s Charge, decreasing the number of fatalities with each subsequent Charge. "Roar!" As these players wondered if victory were within sight, the Demonic Ape King hammered on its chest as its entire body turned red; it was entering its Berserk state. Its fist then slammed into Cola''s Shield, instantly burying Cola up to his waist in the ground. Even with Protection Blessing, Cola still received close to -9,000 damage. As a Healing Beam struck Cola from one side, the Ape King''s next punch struck from the other. This time, the rest of Cola''s body sunk into the ground, his HP instantly falling below 50%. As everyone thought that the Ape King would punch Cola again, the Grand Lord swung its arms at the nearby players. Immediately, several players transformed into streaks of white light and disappeared The Ape King''s Strength left the players dumbfounded. "The Boss doesn''t have a lot of HP left! Give it everything you''ve got! Blackie, cast Guardian of Light on Cola!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted. After saying so, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Thunder God''s Descent before attacking the Ape King with everything he had. Fire Dance also used Illusory Power. At this moment, the team went into a frenzy as they desperately fought to kill the Demonic Ape King. Many also began to hurl powerful Magic Scrolls at the Grand Lord. 7%... 5%... 3%... As the Ape King''s HP decreased, the team dwindled. Very quickly, only 40 or so players remained standing. When the Grand Lord''s HP fell below 1%, the team finished off the two Great Lords. However, even with less than 300,000 HP, the Demonic Ape King''s might rained despair over the team. Even with Dragonscale Body activated, the Ape King still killed Cola. "Kill it!" Shi Feng used Flame Burst. However, in its complete state, the Demonic Ape King''s Defense was too high. Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger had only managed to deal a total of 120,000 damage. When the Ape King only had 100,000 HP remaining, there were less than 20 survivors. However, the most their attacks dealt was around -1,000 damage, with a majority of them only dealing hundreds of damage. The Ape King''s last 100,000 HP felt like an insurmountable wall. When the Grand Lord only had 50,000 HP, only ten players were still alive. Even White Night was beginning to lose hope. Suddenly, the Ape King''s gaze fell onto Shi Feng. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Earth''s Activatable Skill, Absolute Defense. The Ape King''s sudden punch sent Shi Feng flying over 30 yards away. Even Shi Feng shuddered when he felt the Grand Lord''s tremendous Strength. Fortunately, the Ape King could not penetrate Absolute Defense. Seeing Shi Feng survive its attack, the Ape King grew furious. It charged at Shi Feng before whaling on the Swordsman. However, throughout Absolute Defense''s five-second duration, the Ape King could do nothing to Shi Feng. All its rage-fueled attack did was buy more time for the team''s other survivors. Suddenly, Shi Feng retrieved a pitch-black Magic Scroll from his bag. Sensing the horrific Mana radiating from the ancient scroll, the Ape King shrunk back in fear, panic shining in its eyes. It seems that I will have to use this after all. Reluctance flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he looked at the black scroll. He had obtained this from the Epic Treasure Chest he got from Phoenix Rain. He had spent a lot of Mana Stones to open that Epic Chest, yet it had only contained two items. Among them, one had been the black scroll in his hands. 942 Beastmasters Compendium Chapter 942 - Beastmaster''s Compendium The remaining team members noticed the scroll the moment Shi Feng took it from his bag. "What''s that?" "Why is it radiating so much Mana?!" The instant the black scroll appeared, it released a daunting pressure. The flow of Mana around them froze under this pressure. If it could display such power before its activation, it was hard to imagine just what kind of Magic Scroll it was. Even Youlan, Bloodsucker, and White Night, people who knew a lot about God''s Domain, had never seen anything like this. In the end, we still have to use it? Aqua Rose sighed, clearly reluctant when she saw the scroll. In Zero Wing, only she and Shi Feng knew what items he had obtained from the Epic Treasure Chest. In God''s Domain, even Fine-Gold Treasure Chests were extremely rare. Generally, they were only found in special, hidden locations. As for Dark-Gold Treasure Chests, it was unlikely for a player to stumble across one even in the most resource-rich hidden locations or ruins. Hence, one could just imagine how precious an Epic Treasure Chest was. A Magic Scroll from an Epic Treasure Chest would be just as extraordinary. Currently, the strongest known Magic Scrolls in God''s Domain were Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. However, the scroll in Shi Feng''s hands was a Tier 4 Magic Scroll. However, this scroll was not why Shi Feng kept his the Epic Treasure Chest and the items he had obtained from it a secret. Rather, he had done so due to the other item the Treasure Chest had given him. The Beastmaster''s Compendium! Although it was an ordinary parchment book, every Guild dreamed of having their own. As Guild players reached higher levels, their need for Mounts would also increase by the day. Hence, the Guild Mounts'' importance was self-evident. However, nurturing Guild Mounts was more important. Common Mounts could not satisfy the members of the various large Guilds, yet upgrading a Common Guild Mount was far from easy. Even if the base Mount were a 5-star Mount, players only had a 70% chance of upgrading it from Common to Bronze rank, a 30% chance to upgrade it to Mysterious-Iron rank, and a 3% chance to upgrade it to Secret-Silver rank. If the Mount a Guild captured was a 3-star Mount or below, its upgrade chances were even lower. However, with the Beastmaster''s Compendium, Guilds could craft medicine that increased the promotion success rates. Moreover, the boost was quite high. Even a Basic Beastmaster''s Potion could increase the success rate of upgrading a Mount to Bronze rank by 10%, Mysterious-Iron rank by 5%, and Secret-Silver rank by 1%. If others knew that Zero Wing possessed the Beastmaster''s Compendium, every Guild in God''s Domain would target them. Furthermore, to produce the Basic Beastmaster''s Potion, one needed to become a Master Alchemist at the very least. Hence, they needed to keep the compendium a secret. When Aqua Rose had seen the Beastmaster''s Compendium, she had been utterly stupefied. If Phoenix Rain had known that the Epic Treasure Chest she had given away had not contained Epic Weapons or Equipment, but the Beastmaster''s Compendium instead, she would have even been content to wait six months before she could open it. After a pause, the Demonic Ape King started to hammer its fists at Shi Feng in fear, the powerful impacts forming large crater that was eight meters deep and forty meters across. Because of this, the team''s survivors were forced to attack the Grand Lord from a distance. "It''s no wonder why so many teams called it Hell''s Gatekeeper. With this horrific Strength, even a team of Tier 2 players wouldn''t defeat it," Shi Feng muttered to himself, smiling bitterly. However, no matter how hard the Ape King struggled, it was for naught. Shi Feng only needed one second to activate the Tier 4 Magic Scroll, and Absolute Defense would last for another two seconds. The Ape King could not stop Shi Feng. Shi Feng unfurled the scroll and began to chant the recorded incantation. Immediately, everything within 300 yards of Shi Feng froze. Aqua Rose and the others, who stood some distance away, couldn''t move at all; only the Demonic Ape King could move. However, the instant the Grand Lord saw Shi Feng unfurl the Magic Scroll, it turned and fled. Youlan and her companions were flabbergasted. A powerful monster like the Demonic Ape King was actually running away from a Magic Scroll. No one would ever believe this "You want to escape?" Shi Feng chuckled at the Demonic Ape King, who was already 30 yards away from him. "Can you get away, though?" With Shi Feng at the Spell''s epicenter, black fog rose from the ground across 300 yards in every direction. The fog then flowed into every body in the area. As Aqua Rose and the others were allies, they did not feel affected by the black fog. However, as if it had been submerged in a muddy swamp, the fleeing Ape King slowed rapidly until it eventually stopped. No matter how hard it struggled, it could not move an inch. In the next moment, the black fog formed ropes that bound the Grand Lord''s limbs and body. "Isn''t this the Domain Skill that I used earlier?" When Fire Dance saw the familiar ropes, her Water Binding Skill came to mind. Only, Water Binding was significantly weaker than this black fog. Moreover, Shi Feng could move the black fog as he wished. The Tier 4 Domain Skill Dark Madness is superb! Shi Feng controlled the black fog as if it were an extension of himself. In the past, one such Tier 4 Domain Skill had been precisely the reason he had been forced to let a Tier 4 NPC rob him. Of course, not every Tier 4 class had a Domain Skill. However, any player, NPC, or monster that managed to grasp one would undoubtedly stand at the peak among Tier 4 classes. Let''s test out its power. After activating Divine Providence, Shi Feng waved his hand at the Demonic Ape King. Suddenly, four black whips appeared around the Demonic Ape King. The whips then proceeded to batter the Ape King. The restrained Grand Lord couldn''t defend itself against these whips at all. When the first whip struck the Ape King''s tough hide, the Grand Lord''s skin spit, revealing flesh. The Ape King cried in agony as a damage of over -30,000 appeared above its head. Before the third whip landed, the Demonic Ape King''s HP dropped to zero, its body falling lifelessly to the ground. "So strong!" "That Skill is terrifying!" Youlan and the others gaped at the fallen Ape King. Even Bloodsucker and White Night, who had fought through many large battles, were shocked. Their attacks had only dealt around -1,000 damage. Moreover, that was the damage of a critical hit. However, one black fog whip had dealt over -30,000 damage with a single strike After the Demonic Ape King died, the survivors'' Levels soared. Shi Feng and his companions rose to Level 44 on the spot, with some even closing in on Level 45. The Demonic Ape King had provided far more EXP than the King of Corrosion. However, the remaining team members were far more interested in the Demonic Ape King''s loot. Despite Shi Feng''s Divine Providence, the Demonic Ape King had dropped fewer items than the King of Corrosion. In total, the Grand Lord had only dropped five items and some Gold Coins. 943 Holy Weapon Chapter 943 - Holy Weapon After the Demonic Ape King died, the sound of a system notification entered the ears of the survivors simultaneously. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Kill of the Three-headed Demonic Ape King. Rewarding "Trial''s Hero" title. This is the reward for getting the Demonic Ape King''s First Kill? This was the first time Shi Feng heard of the title. He then clicked to check its information. [Trial''s Hero] (Title) When title is in use, Reputation with the Holy City of Titan increased by 10%. Movement Speed and all Basic Attributes increased by 20% while within the area of Titan City. A pity. Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he swept a glance at the nine remaining players on the team. Including himself, only four of the survivors were Zero Wing members. The third stage of the entrance trial was different from the previous two. The system directly disqualified any players killed here and sent them out of the trial. Hence, only the survivors received this title. Moreover, this was the reward for getting the First Kill of the Demonic Ape King. In the future, others wouldn''t be able to obtain this title even if they killed the Grand Lord. With this title, they would have a much easier time should they attempt the entrance trial again in the future. A 20% increase in Attributes was already equivalent to a mini Berserk Skill. Excluding the effects of Skills and equipment, even MTs like Ye Wumian and Turtledove could surpass Cola if they received such a huge boost. Unfortunately, only Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, and Violet Cloud had managed to reach this point. There were no MTs among the survivors of Zero Wing. Even so, this was still a good outcome. The Trial''s Hero title increased its user''s Reputation by 10%. In Titan City, there was nothing that could be better than this reward. Following which, Shi Feng shifted his attention to the loot dropped by the Demonic Ape King. As he appraised the items dropped one after another, he could not help but sigh repeatedly. "Leader, how is it?" Aqua Rose could not help but ask curiously. The Demonic Ape King in its complete state was definitely the most horrific Boss she had ever gone up against. Even the King of Corrosion they faced before was no comparison to it. If not for Shi Feng using the Tier 4 Magic Scroll in the end, they would''ve team-wiped for sure. They wouldn''t have the luxury of sitting down and resting here right now. "Much better than the King of Corrosion''s. Of the five items, two are Growth-type Equipment." Shi Feng chuckled. [Life Talisman] (Necklace, Bronze Rank) Level 40 - Level 90 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 300, Vitality 200 Intelligence +21, Vitality +27, Endurance +22 (Level 40) Casting Speed increased by 10%. Healing effects increased by 15%. Additional Passive Skill- Light of Life: Select up to eight allies within a 30-yard radius and heal them for 30% of player''s Intelligence once every 3 seconds. Additional Active Skill- Life Connection: Select up to five allies, connecting and sharing their HPs. Life-connected targets receive a 20% increase in healing effects. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes A possession of the Life Priest Irene, the Life Talisman was made using the Stone of Life, which formed from the tears of the Goddess of Life. The Life Talisman contains immense Life Force. However, due to contamination by the power of darkness, it is greatly weakened. A large amount of Magic Crystals and EXP is needed to purify it. Can be purified five times. (The first purification requires 200 Magic Crystals and 300,000,000 EXP) [Crimson Moon] (Greatsword, Bronze Rank) Level 40 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 600, Agility 400 Attack Power +975 (Level 40) Strength +102, Endurance +36 Ignore Levels +5 When attacking, has a 30% chance to trigger Boiling Blood, increasing Strength Attribute by 500 points for 10 seconds, and a 15% chance to cause 200% damage. Additional Passive Skill- Blood Domain: Within a radius of 30 yards, the presence of any creatures with less than 50% HP will increase wielder''s Strength by 100%. One of Titan City''s thirty-one Holy Weapons, its strength has been greatly weakened due to battle damage. Fortunately, the Holy Weapon''s core remains intact. A large amount of Magic Crystals and EXP is needed to repair it. Can be repaired five times. (The first repair requires 1,000 Magic Crystals and 500,000,000 EXP) Everyone gasped upon reading the statistics of the items. Both pieces of Growth-type Equipment were clearly far from ordinary, particularly the greatsword, Crimson Moon. Despite being only Bronze rank, the Strength Attribute it provided surpassed even that of Epic Weapons. Crimson Moon was an entirely Strength-oriented weapon made purely with destruction in mind. Strength-wise, not even Shi Feng''s Killing Ray could compete with Crimson Moon. Most likely, only Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations was superior to it. However, the former was a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, while the latter was currently still a Bronze Weapon. While these two items were indeed shocking, what truly grabbed Shi Feng''s attention was a dilapidated crimson crystal ball. Despite its appearance, the crystal radiated faint Divine Might. Everything in the displayed information of the item was listed as "Unknown"; the result was the same even after Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes. However, Shi Feng knew what exactly this crystal was. This was no longer his first time to encounter such an item. God Crystal! This was something even a Tier 4 Sky Knight had died trying to obtain. It was simply not an item that ordinary mortals could control. If not for the God Crystal being damaged, causing it to lose most of its power, he wouldn''t even be able to touch the crystal right now. Shi Feng had never imagined that he would encounter yet another God Crystal. The last time the blue crystal ball devoured a God Crystal, it had transformed into the Legendary ranked Holy Grail. However, as the Holy Grail had been destroyed by the God of War, it was still in a damaged state right now. Even so, it was still a Legendary item. The power it possessed was not something that a Fragmented Legendary item could compare to. One could see just how amazing a Legendary item was from the fact that the current Holy Grail could upgrade an item up to a maximum of Fragmented Legendary rank. If he obtained this God Crystal, he would be able to repair the Holy Grail further. Obtaining Growth-type Equipment or an Epic item would pale in comparison to being able to upgrade the power of a Legendary item. The other two items that dropped, aside from the two pieces of Growth-type Equipment and the God Crystal, were extraordinary as well. One was a Secret-Silver ranked summoning flute, while the other was a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Currently, even Bronze Mounts were extremely rare in God''s Domain, not to mention Secret-Silver Mounts. The latter was most likely much more valuable than even an Epic item. As for the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll, even Super Guilds would only have a few of these things. Its rarity was even greater than Epic items''. "There are a total of five items. It won''t be possible to split them equally. How about we bid for the last item?" Shi Feng suggested to Youlan. Every single one of the five items was extremely valuable to a Guild. It was natural for neither side to be willing to let the other side get an additional item. Hence, bidding for the last item would be the fairest solution. "No need. If not for Team Leader Ye Feng using that precious Magic Scroll this time, we wouldn''t have been able to defeat the Ape King. I''ll let you choose three items first. Our side will be fine with taking the rest." Youlan shook her head, rejecting Shi Feng''s goodwill. After witnessing Zero Wing''s strength, she put much more importance to forming a friendly relationship with Zero Wing than to gaining these items. 944 Honorary Citizen Chapter 944 - Honorary Citizen Youlan''s determined answer slightly surprised Bloodsucker. Of the five items, aside from the unknown, dilapidated crystal, the other four were priceless. One would be hard-pressed to find these items in Raven. The Secret-Silver Mount, in particular, was extraordinarily rare. Only Super Guilds or super-first-rate Guilds had any chance of getting their hands on one or two. He had never imagined that Youlan would actually be so generous as to give Shi Feng first-pick of three items. While he could understand Youlan''s train of thought, if the choice were his, letting Shi Feng choose up to three items, rather than giving the Swordsman the first three picks, would be the limit of his generosity. Among the five items, it went without saying which three were the most important. The three included the two pieces of Growth-type Equipment and the Secret-Silver Mount. They had no information on the dilapidated crystal whatsoever. One could not use it even if they obtained it. As for the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll, while it was very valuable, there was no guarantee that it could help defeat a Boss or to obtain a Growth-type or Epic Equipment. At best, it could aid in team battles between Guilds or when raiding a town. However, Youlan''s decision had not surprised War Wolf, who had also survived the tough battle. Outsiders had no idea about Underworld''s internal situation or Youlan''s current position within it. However, after witnessing Zero Wing''s power, War Wolf was even more certain that they needed to strengthen their relationship with the Guild. To elevate their fame and position in Underworld, many upper echelons had spent a lot of effort to curry favor with various Super Guilds. For example, the numerous Underworld upper echelons were trying to get close to Pantheon. Unfortunately, the Guild wouldn''t give Underworld the time of day. After all, Underworld was only a coalition of organizations with some influence and capital. It was slightly stronger than an ordinary first-rate Guild. However, the organizations'' authority was scattered, and it was much harder to unite its members under one banner than it was in a first-rate Guild. Every upper echelon in the organization had their own motives, each trying to nurture their own forces and Guilds. Overwhelming Smile was the combined effort of four Underworld upper echelons. Although Zero Wing could not compete with Pantheon in terms of background, the same could not be said for its main force. With such a powerful team, they could acquire top-tier weapons and equipment just as fast as any Super Guild. This was clear based on the equipment Zero Wing''s members wore. Moreover, Zero Wing was situated in Star-Moon Kingdom. If Overwhelming Smile could improve its relationship with Zero Wing, they might be able to ask Zero Wing''s members for some help in the future. Perhaps they could assist each other when raiding monsters that one alone could not handle or trade raid information. After all, weren''t Underworld''s upper echelons trying to do the same with Pantheon for those very reasons? "I''ll take you up on that offer." Shi Feng also understood Youlan''s intentions. Without hesitation, he chose the God Crystal and the two pieces of Growth-type Equipment. As for the Secret-Silver Mount, it wasn''t nearly as valuable as the Growth-type Equipment to Zero Wing. Moreover, he had the Beastmaster''s Compendium. As long as he had a sufficiently skillful Master Alchemist, it was only a matter of time before he nurtured the Guild Mount to Secret-Silver rank. The Tier 3 Summoning Scroll held even less appeal to him. He had the Bible of Darkness. Once he was promoted to his Tier 2 class, he could easily summon Tier 3 Demons. Even now, it was possible to summon a Tier 3 Demon with Aqua Rose''s Song of Beatrice. Although this Tier 3 Demon would be weakened, they could use it as a meat shield. After both sides finished splitting the loot, Shi Feng passed the Life Talisman to Violet Cloud. Violet Cloud was already a powerful healer, and after equipping the necklace, her healing abilities would rise further. Once the remaining team members had rested, Shi Feng led them up the mountain. Although the group encountered many monsters on their way into Titan City, these monsters were no threat to Shi Feng''s team. After only three hours, these players arrived at the Holy City''s entrance. Titan City''s gates were 100 meters tall. The surrounding walls climbed to 300 meters. When Shi Feng''s group arrived before the city''s entrance, they looked like ants. Many divine runes had been engraved into the massive steel gates. When Shi Feng stepped within 500 yards of the gates, he felt an immense pressure wash over him. It felt as if these gates were the jaws of a gigantic monster. Clouds drifted above the city. However, these clouds were not ordinary; Rather, they consisted of Mana. One could imagine just how dense the Mana was in the Holy City of Titan. The instant Shi Feng''s group arrived before the gates, one of the two 200-meter tall Titan statues standing guard on either side moved. "Outsiders, congratulations on reaching the Holy City of Titan. For clearing the entrance trial, you will be awarded 100 entrance tokens. You may use these entrance tokens to teleport to Titan City''s Teleportation Hall without undergoing a trial. Every token will grant you three days in Titan City. Use them well." After the Titan statue had spoken, it waved its arm and formed 100 black iron tokens before Shi Feng and the others. "If you wish to enter the city now, you may do so using teleportation array to the side without expending an entrance token." After the Titan statue fell silent, the team members heard the sound of two system notifications. System: Congratulations! For being the first team to clear the entrance trial, you have been awarded 110 Titan City Reputation Points. System: Congratulations! Your Titan City Reputation has reached 100 points. Your status in the Holy City has been upgraded to Honorary Citizen. You will now receive the benefits of an Honorary Citizen while in the Holy City. You may now stay up to five days with each visit to the Holy City. "Why is there a time limit when in Titan City?" Youlan frowned. Originally, she had thought that, once she gained the slots to enter the city, her Lifestyle players could remain in the city until they became Advanced Forgers or Alchemists. She had not realized that each token only had a duration of three short days. It was impossible for an Intermediate Forger or Alchemist to reach Advanced rank within such a brief time. This meant that each Intermediate Lifestyle player would need multiple tokens to reach Advanced rank. She had never expected this development. "Let''s head inside and take a look for now," Shi Feng suggested. The revelation had not surprised him. Youlan and the others had simply hoped for too much. They had thought that, by obtaining the entrance slots to Titan City, they could nurture a small army of Advanced Lifestyle players without a care in the world. God''s Domain wasn''t that nice. Otherwise, Master Lifestyle players wouldn''t have been so rare in the past, even more exalted than Tier 4 players. This was also why he had prioritized the First Clear. Only by becoming an Honorary Citizen could one prolong their stay by two days. If one''s Reputation rose further, their allotted stays would also be extended. Of course, the benefits of becoming an Honorary Citizen weren''t limited to an extended stay. At Shi Feng''s words, Youlan quickly adjusted her mood and nodded before following Shi Feng to the teleportation array. She wanted to know if the team''s sacrifices had been worth the rumored benefits of Titan City. 945 Holy Land of Players Chapter 945 - Holy Land of Players The Holy City of Titan was not like other cities. As soon as Shi Feng and the others emerged from the Teleportation Hall, they were stunned by what they saw. Buildings that were hundreds of meters tall had been erected all over the city, looking very much like a modern city. Various Lifestyle NPCs roamed about the streets. In God''s Domain''s NPC cities, players did not often encounter Master Lifestyle NPCs. Here, however, it was hard not to. Yet, the Mana density was the most shocking aspect of the city. Just by standing on the street, everyone felt an indescribable serenity. Their minds were astonishingly clear. "This is a fantastic place to rest. This is a perfect place to relax and unwind after an exhausting day in the real world," Aqua Rose muttered to herself as she inhaled the pleasant air. Even a Dark Player like Bloodsucker found himself nodding in agreement. "Alright, snap out of it. Let''s investigate the Lifestyle Association first," Shi Feng said, chuckling at his companions'' reactions. In the past, many people had dreamed of vacationing in Titan City. Unfortunately, very few could afford such a luxury. Following which, the team rode an advanced horse carriage and headed for Titan City''s Lifestyle Association. There were three buildings that stood out in Titan City, and one was the Lifestyle Association''s floating island. Titan City''s ten saints had created this special island and suspended it above the city''s western area. Players could take the floating elevator in the spire to reach the island. When Youlan and the others saw the massive island above the 400-meter tall spire, they fell silent. Youlan had initially assumed that the Lifestyle Association in Titan City would only be slightly better than those in kingdoms and empires'' capital cities. Now, however, it would seem that there were more differences than she had thought. Calling this Lifestyle Association the ''Holy Land'' for Lifestyle players was an exaggeration. Shi Feng could not help but smile at Youlan''s shock. In the past, even Grandmaster Lifestyle players had dreamed of visiting the Holy City of Titan, and not without reason. Upon entering the spire, Youlan immediately approached an NPC to inquire about this place. "Hello, miss. How may I help you today?" the metal robot, which stood over three meters tall, asked from behind the front desk. "I wish to rent a Workshop. Can you give me an introduction?" Youlan asked. Immediately, the front desk robot began to explain the various Workshops available. However, the NPC robot''s introduction was very brief. It conveyed far less information than what Shi Feng knew. Even so, it was shocking enough the first time players heard it. The Lifestyle Association was divided into three areas, namely the lower layer, the middle layer, and the upper layer. The lower layer referred to the spire area. Workshops ranging from Basic to Special rank were found there. However, unlike the Workshops in other NPC cities, the Mana density in these was much higher. The Special Workshop here was even superior to the Basic Meditation Room in 3-star Shops. Of course, its rental was very expensive. Renting an Advanced Workshop for one day cost 10 Gold, while Special Workshops cost 25 Gold per day. This was an astronomical amount to ordinary Lifestyle players. Meanwhile, the middle layer referred to the ordinary buildings on the floating island. The island had various Research Rooms, ranging from Basic to Advanced rank, but not limited. Research Rooms were different from Workshops in which they stored large amounts of data that players could use to research and invent their own designs. It was commonly known that, to reach the rank of Master, Lifestyle players needed to create their own items. Moreover, they needed to create relatively high-ranking items. This was far more difficult than producing an item from an existing design. With these Research Room, Advanced Lifestyle players would have a much higher chance of becoming a Master Lifestyle player. It was also precisely this reason that the Holy City of Titan had been known as the Holy Land for Lifestyle players. In the past, countless Lifestyle players had spent hundreds of Gold to get a slot into the Holy City. However, no Guild would be foolish enough to sell their slots. Only those top-class adventurer teams would sell entrance tokens. However, the various Guilds normally bought these tokens. Independent Lifestyle players had no hope of obtaining their own. Of course, with such high benefits, the Research Rooms'' rent wasn''t cheap. A Basic Research Room alone cost 200 Gold per day, though players of any status could rent one. As for the Intermediate Research Rooms, each cost 500 Gold per day. Moreover, one needed to be an Honorary Citizen to rent these rooms. Furthermore, loaning the room to others was forbidden. At Advanced rank, the Research Room cost 1,200 Gold per day. Only Titan City''s nobles were allowed access to these rooms. This was one of the reasons that Shi Feng had been as desperate for the Holy City''s Reputation Points. Without sufficient Reputation, he couldn''t rent an Advanced Research Room regardless of how much money he had. In reality, even without the Reputation requirement, the rental cost was enough to deter most Guilds at this stage of the game. However, if one calculated the cost carefully, they would realize how inexpensive the rooms were. If a Guild nurtured a Master Lifestyle player as a result of renting one of these extortionate Research Rooms, that player could bring the Guild far more profit than the rental costs. Above the middle layer area was the Sacred Tower in the island''s center. Only players who were major nobles in Titan City were allowed entry to the tower. As far as Shi Feng knew, the players that had access to the Sacred Tower had been as rare as a phoenix''s feather in the past; most of them had been Grandmaster Lifestyle players, standing at the peak of God''s Domain''s Lifestyle players. As for what the Sacred Tower contained, even Shi Feng didn''t know. As the NPC robot introduced the Lifestyle Association''s various benefits, everyone, except for Shi Feng, gasped. "NPCs are really skilled thieves!" Even Bloodsucker and White Night, people who had paid no attention to Lifestyle classes, were shocked by the Research Room''s prices. Renting an Advanced Research Room for a day cost as much as an Epic item. Even Super Guilds couldn''t afford this. Youlan paled upon hearing the NPC robot''s explanation. Even the Workshops'' rent was astonishing. If she calculated the cost of nurturing twenty Lifestyle players, each person could spend six days in Titan City. If she allowed all twenty to use Special Workshops, the rent alone would cost 3,000 Gold. After factoring in the material costs, the total would even endanger a first-rate Guild. Furthermore, she would have to use her own money, and there was still no guarantee that all twenty players would reach Advanced rank within those six days. 946 Magic Light Se Chapter 946 - Magic Light Set While Youlan''s head ached over how much it would cost to nurture Advanced Lifestyle players, Shi Feng wandered to the sales counter. Aside from renting Workshops, Lifestyle Associations also sold designs and recipes for the various Lifestyle classes. Titan City''s Lifestyle Association was no exception. Moreover, compared to the other Lifestyle Associations in kingdoms and empires, Titan City''s designs were more valuable. Reaching Titan City was not easy. By focusing her attention on nurturing Advanced Lifestyle players, Youlan missed Titan City''s true value. Like Blackwing City, Titan City sold many exclusive items. One could say that these items were Titan City''s specialties. However, players needed to explore to learn more. "Sir, how may help you?" the NPC robot standing behind the counter asked. "I wish to purchase forging designs," Shi Feng stated. "Understood. Here is the information you''ve requested," the NPC robot responded before passing Shi Feng a list. It was a list of the available forging designs. Elsewhere, one would be hard-pressed to find an NPC selling Secret-Silver Equipment forging designs. Here, however, purchasing one was easy. Meanwhile, Shi Feng eyed the Magic Light Set Equipment Forging Design, which was unique to Titan City. This was one of the top-ranking sets among Level 50 set equipment. Due to the system''s evolution, Level 50 had become a great divide for players. Not only could players begin class-changing to their Tier 2 classes, but equipment would also receive huge Attribute increases. Moreover, Level 50 and above monsters had significantly reduced drop-rates. Currently, even Guild elite players strutted around in the latest Fine-Gold Equipment. However, once players reached Level 50, this would no longer be possible. Even Secret-Silver Equipment would become a luxury, much less Fine-Gold rank. As a result, Forgers'' status would rise exponentially. The Magic Light Set could be divided into three ranks: Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, and Dark-Gold. Titan City''s Lifestyle Association sold the forging designs for all three ranks. This was a benefit that no other Lifestyle Association offered. Of course, their prices were maddeningly high. The Secret-Silver rank forging design cost 300 Gold, the Fine-Gold design cost 900 Gold, and the Dark-Gold design cost 3,000 Gold. The Dark-Gold design cost as much as an Epic Weapon. Among the three, any player could purchase the Secret-Silver version, while Honorary Citizens or higher could buy the Fine-Gold rank. As for the Dark-Gold version, one needed to be a Titan City noble to buy their own. However, there was one detestable fact about the designs and recipes available in Titan City; they could neither be sold or traded to other players once they had been purchased. Hence, even if non-Lifestyle players earned sufficient Titan City Reputation, they would not be able to profit from the city''s designs and recipes. Of course, Shi Feng also had no intention of reselling the Magic Light Set Forging Design. Even if he could, other forgers would struggle to craft the set. After all, the set''s required core material was a Mana Stone. Even in 100-man large-scale Team Dungeons, Mana Stones rarely dropped. Producing weapons or equipment with one was incredibly expensive. Their production volume would also be limited. Furthermore, the set''s forging success rate wasn''t high. The Magic Light Set had six set pieces. At Secret-Silver rank, forging the set needed a minimum of six Mana Stones, with each set piece requiring one. At Fine-Gold rank, the amount of required Mana Stones tripled. At the Dark-Gold rank, the cost rose to insane heights as the set required a minimum of 60 Mana Stones. The Epic Treasure Chest that Phoenix Rain had obtained had only needed 88 Mana Stones to open. Even so, Phoenix Rain had given up on the Treasure Chest due to how much time and effort it would take to acquire 88 Mana Stones. As for Shi Feng, even with the Philosopher''s Stone, he needed to invest 50 Magic Crystals to synthesize one Mana Stone. Based on market value, each Mana Stone cost 10 Gold to produce. Fortunately, Magic Crystals were not a problem for Shi Feng. Shi Feng only regretted that he couldn''t purchase the Dark-Gold rank design. If he could equip the plate armor classes of Zero Wing''s main force with the Level 50 Dark-Gold ranked Magic Light Set, the team would be invincible. Unfortunately, this dream would remain a dream. In his previous life, even after players had reached Level 50, first-rate Guilds'' main forces had been lucky if they wore a few pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment. Level 50 Fine Gold Set Equipment was nothing more than a dream. Following which, Shi Feng spent 900 Gold to purchase the Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set Equipment Forging Design. After the team had spent several hours strolling around Titan City, Youlan and War Wolf returned to White River City and started preparing their Lifestyle players and required funds. Shi Feng did not linger, either, as he also led his team back to White River City. Although Shi Feng had wanted to complete a few Reputation Quests before he left, the Candlelight Trading Firm could no longer wait. The trading firm desperately needed Advanced Lifestyle players. They also had to face the issue of manufacturing the Bronze Mounts. He could not afford to waste much time in the Holy City. --- While Shi Feng had been gone, many changes had occurred in White River City. Not only had the tension of the Abyss Invasion alleviated, but more players had also gathered in the city. Currently, the city''s streets were packed with players. This looked nothing like a city in decline. "Why are there suddenly so many outsiders here?" Aqua Rose was slightly surprised by the scene that had greeted her. Although Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm''s recruitment campaigns had attracted quite a few of players to White River City, they hadn''t attracted this many. She could even see Guild players from other kingdoms and empires. Aqua Rose wasn''t the only person surprised by this development. White Night and Bloodsucker were also stunned. Players generally gathered in a city''s center, yet, rather than heading towards the central district, the players arriving through the Teleportation Hall rushed towards White River City''s Slums. Regardless of which city, players avoided the Slums. Yet, the opposite was occurring in White River City. While players flooded the city, White River City''s Guilds were in an uproar. They had all believed that White River City had been finished. Even if Zero Wing tried to utilize its recruitment campaign to increase the city''s population, no one could change its fate. However, a new building had appeared in the city''s Slums, and it had changed everything. 947 Mysterious Shop Chapter 947 - Mysterious Shop The moment Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, he saw dozens of 100-man teams rushing towards the Slums. A few among them immediately attracted the attention of the surrounding players. The reason for such attention was these teams'' all-female composition; there was not a single man among them. Such situations seldom occurred in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the woman leading these teams was also extraordinary. The woman was dressed in a set of crimson mage robes that gave off a faint impression of scorching flames. In her hand, she held a silvery-white crystal staff that constantly drew the ambient Mana, causing illusions to appear around it. She was even Level 40, a level which could rank her at the very top even in empires. However, compared to her dazzling equipment and level, her appearance and bearing held an even greater attraction for the surrounding players. She carried herself as if she was the empress of this space; one could not help but want to submit oneself to her rule. "Huh? Doesn''t that Guild Emblem belong to the Hundred Flowers Palace of the Dark Night Empire?" "Lucky! I actually got to see the Frostflame Goddess Cleansed Rue! This trip to White River City was definitely worth the money!" When the male players on the street saw Cleansed Rue, they all fell into a reverie. The title of Frostflame Goddess was not one that Cleansed Rue had long possessed. Cleansed Rue herself was a female player who had become famous in God''s Domain just recently. However, due to her superb combat power and beautiful appearance, many male players treated her as a Goddess. The reason why Cleansed Rue was known as the Frostflame Goddess was her extreme skill in fire and ice Spells, which she had used to defeat over a dozen well-known experts in the virtual gaming world. Recently, she had even triumphed over the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, her victory instantly solidifying her Guild''s rule over Silver Pine City, the seventh most populous city in the Dark Night Empire. After that famous battle, she received the rank of 173rd in the latest update of the God''s Domain Experts List. Meanwhile, aside from the Hundred Flowers Palace, Shi Feng also spotted many teams belonging to other first-rate Guilds. With just a single glance, he already noted four first-rate Guildsan impossible sight even in Star-Moon City. "Guild Leader, I''ll carry out an investigation right away," Aqua Rose hurriedly whispered to Shi Feng. She, too, found this situation perplexing. She was prepared to head to the Slums personally to find out just what was capable of attracting the interest of so many large Guilds. "No need," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Butthere are so many Guilds coming here." Aqua Rose was somewhat surprised that Shi Feng would actually have so little interest in such a huge incident. "All of this is part of my plan. Zero Wing''s members just need to watch from the sidelines," Shi Feng explained secretly. "Don''t let others know of this matter." Before he headed to Titan City, he had sent Melancholic Smile to purchase some Lands in the Slums on the sly. The Guilds and players in White River City paid practically no attention to the city''s Slums, and nearly all of the Lands there were still ownerless. Hence, these Lands were very cheap and easy to purchase. After purchasing the Lands, he had constructed a Shop there. He then had Melancholic Smile set up the Teleportation Magic Array inside the Shop; the location tied to the magic array was the teleportation point he had previously set up at the Twin Towers Kingdom. After that was done, he had hired a group of high-intelligence NPCs to manage the Shop as well as ordered them to keep any information regarding the Shop an absolute secret. To outsiders, all information regarding the Shop would only appear as "Unknown," preventing players from finding out if an NPC or a player owned the Shop. Afterwards, he had Melancholic Smile spread rumors of a Shop that had appeared in the Slums of White River Citya Shop with a teleportation array that could send players directly to the Twin Towers Kingdom where players could freely kill low-level abyssal monsters to earn Honor Points. After that was done, he just needed to wait patiently for things to develop on their own. The Ancient Abyssal Book was simply too dangerous. He absolutely could not allow others to find out he possessed the book. It would be very easy for others to make a connection between the teleportation array and the Ancient Abyssal Book. Although not many should know about the secret of the Abyssal Book at the moment, Shi Feng did not wish to take any risks. Keeping his identity hidden while earning money through the collection of teleportation fees would be much safer. As an extra precaution, he didn''t set up a Teleportation Shop in just White River City. Cities in the Black Dragon Empire and the Purple Thorns Kingdom also had them. All countries affected by the Abyss Invasion had such Shops set up in them, only the teleportation fees charged in these two countries were much higher than White River City''s. As a result, ordinary players who could not afford frequent teleportations would choose to come to White River City, instead. However, Shi Feng never expected that, in less than a day''s time, so many people would''ve already come to White River City. Moreover, everyone was highly interested in killing the abyssal monsters in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Aqua Rose was briefly stunned when she heard Shi Feng''s explanation. She was very curious about what method Shi Feng had used to attract so many players and Guilds. Although she did not investigate, she still managed to catch the gist of the situation from conversations of players on the streets. This sudden development greatly tempted the members of Shi Feng''s team. Currently, if one were to point out what the players of God''s Domain were most interested in, the first would have to be Mounts, while coming in second would be the new class. Although the official game developers had only given a brief introduction of the new class, the strength of this new class was simply unbelievable. It was definitely the top pick for players who loved both melee and ranged battles. Growing impatient, White Night and his group said their goodbyes to Shi Feng and directly rushed towards the Slums. However, before White Night left, he also sent Shi Feng a friend request. Through this trip to Titan City, Owl''s relationship with Zero Wing had deepened further. After White Night''s group left, Bloodsucker''s group also grew hesitant. Originally, they had planned to awe Zero Wing with their ability, making Zero Wing aware of the Raven Guild''s power, so that they could negotiate from a stronger position later on. However, after seeing Zero Wing''s performance today Bloodsucker''s confidence was severely shaken. It would''ve been fine if their party was inferior to Shi Feng alone, yet the ones that surpassed them in damage-dealing were not just two or three people. After such an unsightly performance, Bloodsucker would find it very difficult to negotiate for a higher price. However, he was also somewhat reluctant to settle for just 20%. If he returned to the Guild with such a poor result, the upper echelon would no doubt hold him accountable for it. Had he known that Zero Wing''s main force was actually this strong, he never would''ve chosen to have his party perform alongside Zero Wing''s main force. After arriving at the reception room of Zero Wing''s Residence, the Assassin Kirin could not help but look at Bloodsucker and ask, "Boss Blood, what should we do now?" As a member of Raven, he always held the Guild in high esteem. He looked down on even Super Guilds. However, after witnessing Shi Feng''s horrific strength, for the first time ever, he felt an overwhelming sense of defeat. Before, they had confidently declared their strength to Shi Feng. Now, however, they were nothing more than jokes. "I don''t have any ideas, either. Let''s just contact the Guild Leader for now," Bloodsucker replied, shaking his head. If possible, he really wished he could stop his past self from speaking so boldly. At the very least, he wouldn''t be at a complete loss for words right now. 948 Rapid Developmen Chapter 948 - Rapid Development Due to the presence of the Teleportation Shop, a large number of players had gathered at White River City. In less than a day, White River City''s player population skyrocketed past Star-Moon City''s, becoming the most populous city in Star-Moon Kingdom. As soon as Shi Feng returned to Zero Wing''s Residence, he received the statistics reports made by the Guild members. These statistics drew on the latest information gathered from White River City''s City Hall. Just recently, White River City''s player population broke past six million. A large majority of the capital cities of the kingdoms in God''s Domain did not even possess such a large population. In reality, though, most of these newcomers had migrated from various cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, as a byproduct of the flood of players, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s business flourished. Even the quality of the players Zero Wing recruited continued to rise. Originally, the Guild had lowered its recruitment criteria significantly in consideration of its expansion plans towards the Black Dragon Empire and the Twin Towers Kingdom. However, with the player population of White River City skyrocketing, Zero Wing had no choice but to gradually raise its recruitment criteria again. Even so, Zero Wing still managed to recruit over 10,000 players in less than a day. Such a number might not be a lot to large Guilds, but Zero Wing walked the path of the elite. The overall strength of these 10,000 new recruits could easily surpass the 50,000 new recruits of other Guilds. Due to this sudden increase in members, Aqua Rose was swamped with work as soon as she returned to the Residence. She needed to arrange these newcomers right away into parties and teams as well as assign them Dungeons to raid. Unlike independent players, Guild players could not raid Dungeons as they wished. Their team members would also change frequently. Generally, Zero Wing''s Guild teams consisted of a mix of veterans and new members. Such a combination allowed newcomers to get their equipment up to standards and integrate themselves into the Guild quickly. Having veteran members guiding newcomers also gave Aqua Rose a better grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of these newcomers. After gaining a sufficient understanding, she would then have to assign them to more appropriate teams. "Guild Leader, at our current recruitment rate, if we don''t move some members to other cities soon, our Guild members'' levels will lag behind other first-rate Guilds'' before long." Aqua Rose had a huge headache when she looked at the report in her hands. Due to the Abyss Invasion, abyssal monsters now occupied many high-resource areas in Star-Moon Kingdom. This situation had severely affected the leveling speed of Zero Wing''s Guild members. The recruitment of so many players meant that leveling speed would become even slower. "I understand. Start making the necessary arrangements to send 50,000 members to develop at the Black Dragon Empire''s Lake Heart City. During this period, I''ll try to have the Guild Residence at Lake Heart City constructed as quickly as possible. Once it''s ready, they can use the Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport there directly." Shi Feng also understood Zero Wing''s current predicament. However, he also did not have a better solution. This was the problem with an upstart Guild without any foundations. It was especially so for a Guild that had developed as rapidly as Zero Wing had. Unlike other Guilds that had already existed for several or even dozens of years, Zero Wing did not possess the luxury of starting its development in multiple cities. These long-established Guilds could simply split a large and unexpected influx of new members among the various cities under their influence. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s decision, Aqua Rose immediately started making the necessary preparations. It was going to be a huge job to decide which teams they would send over to the new Branch Guild. Seeing how busy Aqua Rose was, Shi Feng suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Although Zero Wing was gradually moving towards the top of God''s Domain, management of the entire Guild depended mainly on Aqua Rose alone. Moreover, management of the Guild involved the core secrets of the Guild. He could not assign the job to some random person he did not trust. Although he wanted to help out, he was already bogged down with his own matters. Meanwhile, Fire Dance needed to manage the Guild''s main force, while Blackie had to deal with the matters of the Workshop. Suddenly, Shi Feng discovered that he had nobody he could put to use. At this moment, the various flaws of an upstart Guild were quickly coming to light. "It seems that I''ll need to find some trustworthy managers." Shi Feng had already considered this matter before. Although he had thought of having some of the core members manage the Guild, none of them were particularly suited for the role. Moreover, all of them were busy improving themselves. After all, Zero Wing''s internal competition was extremely intense. If one wanted to receive better treatment, they needed to earn it with their own strength. Anyhow, he had already set his sights on a suitable candidate. Liang Jing! During this period, he had occasionally let Liang Jing handle some matters relating to Zero Wing''s Workshop, and she always dealt with them excellently. She was much more amazing than even Shi Feng himself, someone who had served as the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild for many years. Not only was she knowledgeable, but she was also very efficient. Blackie would even often seek guidance from her on various problems. If he could have Liang Jing manage the Guild, she would lighten Aqua Rose''s burden as well. At the very least, Aqua Rose would not try to run away as soon as she saw him the way she did right now. However, there was one problem with having Liang Jing manage Zero Wing. Liang Jing was an employee of the Big Dipper Training Center. The Guild''s manager needed to be someone from Zero Wing. "It seems I''ll need to find time to have a chat with Liang Jing." When Shi Feng considered the Guild''s present situation as well as the problems that would crop up in the future, he felt an even greater need to poach Liang Jing. While experts were necessary for a Guild to develop, managers were similarly important. Otherwise, it would simply be impossible to operate a Guild with so many members. In truth, aside from Liang Jing, he had another candidate in mind. White Night! White Night was strong not only in combat but also leadership capability, if not stronger. When they were fighting against the Demonic Ape King, he had led the members of the team as if they were his own arms and legs. Even Shi Feng had no choice but to admit defeat against him in that regard. In the past, under White Night''s management, Owl had gradually grown into one of the top adventurer teams in God''s Domain, an existence on par with the Midnight Tea Party. One could see just how capable White Night was from this feat. If Shi Feng could recruit White Night into Zero Wing, Zero Wing would definitely rise by another level. However, Shi Feng could only take it slowly regarding White Night''s matter. In the past, White Night had rejected even the offers of Super Guilds without hesitation; Zero Wing would not fare any better at the moment. After Shi Feng finished dealing with the various Guild affairs, he hurried to the reception room of the Residence. "Sorry for the wait," Shi Feng apologized when he saw Bloodsucker, who had been waiting for him for quite some time now. "It''s fine. I''ve also just received instructions from our Guild Leader," Bloodsucker said. "May I know if Elder Ye Feng has some time to spare right now?" "Time?" Shi Feng stared at him, somewhat confused by this question. Before giving a reply, Bloodsucker took in a deep breath. In a very serious tone, he then said, "Our Guild Leader wishes to have a personal chat with you and hopes that you can come meet him." After reporting Zero Wing''s information back to the Guild, he had been shocked to hear that Raven''s Guild Leader wanted to meet with Shi Feng. Kirin had also been surprised by this news. Less than ten people in the entire Raven Guild had ever seen the Guild Leader''s appearance before. Even Kirin himself had never personally met the Guild Leader, his conversations with the man limited to voice calls. However, just the means displayed by the Guild Leader so far had already inspired a worshipful mentality towards him in everyone in the Guild. Hence, Kirin found it truly inconceivable that their Guild Leader was actually willing to meet personally with Shi Feng. 949 Entrance Token Chapter 949 - Entrance Token "Right now?" Shi Feng asked, feeling somewhat curious as he looked at Bloodsucker. The Guild Leader of Raven, Bloodfang, was a mysterious existence in God''s Domain. Even in the past, Shi Feng had only heard of the man''s name. He had never seen a picture of the man. Yet, now, the high and mighty Guild Leader Bloodfang had suddenly asked to meet him. If this situation had happened in the past, it would definitely trigger a huge commotion. "Yes. Our Guild Leader has said that some things cannot be expressed in words. It will be more convincing if you see them with your own eyes," Bloodsucker explained, nodding. Back when Bloodsucker heard Guild Leader Bloodfang''s request to meet, he himself had been shocked. As a top-tier expert of the Raven Guild as well as an upper manager of Raven, he had only ever spoken with the mysterious Guild Leader of Raven through voice calls. To date, he had never personally met the man. For an outsider like Shi Feng to actually receive an invitation to meet for a discussion, one could see just how much importance the Guild Leader placed on Zero Wing. This situation made even Bloodsucker envy Shi Feng slightly. "Alright, then. This reason is indeed tempting." Shi Feng was also very curious as to what Bloodfang wanted to show him. "However, I still need to deal with some matters first, before I can follow you all. It''ll take me a few hours, roughly, to finish." "No problem. Guild Leader has already said that he is willing to wait for Elder Ye Feng''s visit." Bloodsucker unconsciously breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard Shi Feng agreeing to the meeting. The Guild Leader had already stated that he wanted to meet with Shi Feng no matter what. Moreover, the sooner, the better. It would be best if they could meet before the match between the Asura Battle Team and the Evil Dragons Battle Team. Although he did not understand why Guild Leader Bloodfang was in such a hurry, he did not try to delve into the man''s thoughts. Following which, Bloodsucker left Zero Wing''s Residence, intending to stroll around the city while waiting for Shi Feng to tie up his matters. --- Meanwhile, at the Slums of White River City, the originally desolate streets of the area were currently packed with a sea of players. Well-equipped 100-man teams loitered everywhere, the members of these teams all wearing discontented expressions. "Just how long are we supposed to wait?! We''ve already been waiting for over half an hour here already!" "Half an hour? Our team has already been waiting for nearly an hour already!" The various teams gazed helplessly at the simple house in the distance. While this house looked very simple, it contained the teleportation array that could send players straight to the heart of the Twin Towers Kingdom. However, the number of players this teleportation array could accommodate at a single time was limited, while the number of players wishing to earn Honor Points was a lot. Before long, the queue to use the teleportation array had already meandered through several streets. Among the teams waiting to use the teleportation array, a beautiful woman riding atop a black panther looked towards the Level 39 female Assassin who had just run up to her, and asked, "Frozen, what did you manage to find out?" This black panther was over two meters tall and looked just like a large-scale jeep. It was a very eye-catching sight on the street. However, compared to this black panther, its owner commanded even more respect. The beauty riding atop the black panther was none other than the Vice Guild Leader of the Hundred Flowers Palace, Cleansed Rue. "I''ve already checked everything. All nearby Lands suitable for constructing a Guild Residence have already been bought by someone. In addition, the few strategic locations that can be used to set up a Store have similarly been bought by someone," the Assassin named Frozen Pearl reported softly. "These people sure move quickly. Have you found out who bought them?" Cleansed Rue frowned slightly. After receiving news of this Teleportation Shop, she had immediately gathered a team and hurried over. She had even prepared a large sum of money to construct a Guild Residence in White River City. This way, their Guild members would not have to waste money on exorbitant teleportation fees and could simply teleport to White River City using the Guild Transfer Scroll. The new class would be very beneficial to their Guild in future struggles. Hence, they need to nurture a large number of this new class. Moreover, aside from exchanging for a new class, Honor Points also had other uses. There were only benefits to be had from grinding abyssal monsters. The only problem was the teleportation fee. The Dark Night Empire where their Guild was based was somewhat distant from Star-Moon Kingdom. They had spent several hundred Gold just to transport 300 players to White River City. If their Guild were to send thousands of players over, the expenditure would definitely reach frightening proportions. Nevertheless, if their Guild wished to have an advantage at the Twin Towers Kingdom, it was naturally better to send as many members over as possible. Hence, it was imperative for them to establish a Guild Residence in White River City. "I have yet to find out. The buyers have all kept their identities hidden," Frozen Pearl replied, shaking her head. "They''ve hidden their identities?" Cleansed Rue smiled. "Send some people to these locations to leave a message saying that our Hundred Flowers Palace sincerely wishes to purchase Guild Residence Land and that we hope they can contact us. If there are any movements from those landowners, notify me immediately." Generally speaking, any Guild that managed to secure these Lands would be more than eager to boast about their successful acquisitions. They definitely would not conceal it. Since the owners of these Lands chose to keep their identities a secret, that meant that they had purchased these Lands not for personal use but for resale. Their silence also showed that they were still waiting for the right price. Although Cleansed Rue did not know who would possess such great insight to actually discern the value of these Lands so quickly, she had no intention of wasting time waiting for these landowners to sell these Lands. Currently, the sooner they obtained nearby Guild Land, the sooner they would be able to dispatch more Guild members to the Twin Towers Kingdom. Even if the price was astronomical, she needed to purchase the Land as expeditiously as possible. "Understood!" Frozen Pearl nodded. She then led her subordinates to the nearby Lands that were suitable for constructing a Guild Residence. --- Inside one of the Basic Meditation Rooms of the Candlelight Trading Firm, all Intermediate and Advanced Lifestyle players of the firm were currently gathered. Several hundred players were present in the room. These players made up a large portion of the Intermediate and Advanced Lifestyle players in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. This was especially true for the Advanced Lifestyle players. Nowadays, the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain were placing more and more importance on Lifestyle players. Currently, the treatment an Advanced Lifestyle player received was already on the level of core members. At this moment, however, all these Advanced Lifestyle players were quietly seated at one side, all of them unconsciously holding their breaths as they looked with yearning at the black iron tokens placed on the table. These tokens were none other than the entrance tokens Shi Feng had obtained from Titan City. 950 Competition between Trading Firms Chapter 950 - Competition between Trading Firms "I''ve already explained the purpose of these Titan City Entrance Tokens," Shi Feng said as he toyed with the entrance token in his hand. He then took a look at the crowd before him, feeling very satisfied with the eagerness they all displayed. "So, what will your decisions be?" He had sacrificed plenty in order to obtain these entrance tokens. He had used even his most treasured Tier 4 Magic Scroll. In the past, each Titan City Entrance Token had sold for over 300 Gold at auction, the token''s price sometimes reaching even 600 Gold. It was not something ordinary players could afford. Moreover, even if they managed to obtain it, they still needed sufficient funds for expenditures in Titan City. Otherwise, there would be no point in visiting the Holy City. Generally, large Guilds were willing to purchase the entrance tokens for a high price only if they were trying to get an Advanced Lifestyle player to the Master rank or have some Lifestyle Master produce a new creation. Sending Lifestyle players of Intermediate rank and below to the Holy City would just be a colossal waste. However, Shi Feng couldn''t care less now. It was simply impossible for current Lifestyle players to reach the Master rank. Even with the aid of the Research Room, there was no way a forging genius like Cream Cocoa could become a Master Forger within a short time. Achieving the Master rank required all Lifestyle classes to produce original creations. To do so, one needed extensive knowledge of all sorts of materials. The Glimmer Chestplate Shi Feng had managed to create early on was merely the result of dumb luck. If he had to create a new piece of equipment right now, the likelihood of success was practically nil. Just creating the Bronze ranked Glimmer Chestplate was already a miracle. Not to mention, the quality of the items one needed to produce to become a Master was much higher. To become a Master Forger, aside from needing a ton of Forging Proficiency, one also needed to create three Mysterious-Iron items and one Secret-Silver item. Hence, the number of players who could successfully become a Lifestyle Master was extremely lowless than one out of 100 Advanced Lifestyle players. It was precisely because of this reason that the Holy City of Titan had become holy ground for Lifestyle players in the past. Countless Advanced Lifestyle players dreamed of entering the Holy City to further their careers. The various large Guilds also tried to purchase the entrance tokens at all costs. Anyone who managed to become a Lifestyle Master would become a core component of the trading firm they belonged to. After all, Lifestyle Masters could produce items unique to themselves. Moreover, one''s success at becoming a Master also proved that their research into the various materials related to their class had already reached a certain level. In the future, they would have a much easier time producing new items and thus plenty of opportunities to make money. Hence, the various large Guilds had treated Master-ranked players with great respect. "Well?" Melancholic Smile urged in a stern tone as she looked at the Lifestyle players before her. Tapping the contract placed on the table, she continued, "If you wish to improve yourselves further, you''ll have to sign this contract. Otherwise, the trading firm definitely will not give this precious opportunity to you." "But if we sign this contract, it''ll be equivalent to us selling ourselves to Candlelight. We won''t have any chances to leave Candlelight at all in the future. Moreover, you are even requiring us to go full-time. We need some time to consider this matter properly." A few Intermediate Lifestyle players voiced their opinions. In their eyes, God''s Domain was only a game. If they fully dedicated their lives to God''s Domain, who would guarantee that they wouldn''t starve to death in the future? In addition, the conditions listed in the contract were extremely demanding. The contract barred its signatories from working elsewhere within the next decade. They wouldn''t even be able to delete their accounts and start all over again. As this was a system-enforced contract, unless they decided to stop playing God''s Domain altogether, there was no escaping these conditions. Moreover, even if they chose to work elsewhere a decade later, they needed to first delete their accounts before doing so. "I won''t force you. However, you all must understand that it was extremely difficult to obtain these tokens. If you spend only half a day''s time in God''s Domain, you will simply be wasting these tokens. Not to mention, if you suddenly decide to just up and leave later on, wouldn''t all those resources I have invested into you go to waste? You all should know that any resource capable of helping you further advance your skills is priceless in God''s Domain. There might not be another opportunity after it is used up. "The contract already states very clearly that after you go full-time, you will enjoy benefits equivalent to the core members of Zero Wing. Aside from a monthly salary of 10,000 Credits, you will also receive commissions for the items you produce. I believe that you all aren''t signing this contract just for that little bit of income, right? "You should know very well that the treatment offered by Candlelight is also at the very top of the industry. I am a busy person. Ten minutes. I will only give you all ten minutes to consider." Shi Feng also understood the concerns these people had. Even so, they still had to sign the contract if they wanted to receive the opportunity to visit Titan City. Moreover, he had already presented them with very generous conditions. The offers of other Guilds simply could not compare to the resources he could provide. If the Advanced Lifestyle players of other Guilds had a 1% chance of becoming a Master, then those on his side had a 5% chance at the very least. In the past, as Shadow was a small Guild, it had not placed a lot of restrictive conditions on the Advanced Lifestyle players it hired. In the end, after investing a large quantity of resources into these people, those who managed to become Masters simply up and left for other Guilds, and there was nothing Shadow could do to stop them from leaving. There were just too many headhunters in God''s Domain. As the importance of Lifestyle players grew, the conditions offered by these poachers would likewise improve. Nobody could guarantee that these Lifestyle players would not fall prey to the temptations. Moreover, based on the investigations he had asked Aqua Rose to carry out, quite a few Advanced Lifestyle players of the Candlelight Trading Firm had already received overtures from headhunters. He did not wish to risk such an important matter on the morality of these Lifestyle players. "Right. I forgot to mention this before, but not everyone present will be qualified to sign the contract. You''ll have to look for Melancholic and take a test first," Shi Feng said as he looked at the silent Advanced Lifestyle players. "Also, you lot aren''t the only ones allowed to take the test. Melancholic, notify everyone in the trading firm. Tell them that, as long as they pass the test and sign the contract, they will have the qualifications to use the Meditation Room in the future." Other Guilds might have difficulty nurturing Advanced Lifestyle players, but to the Candlelight Trading Firm, this was an easy feat to accomplish. Other Guilds might find Advanced Lifestyle players rare, but not him. The Intermediate Lifestyle players of other Guilds would''ve long since reached the Advanced rank had they joined the Candlelight Trading Firm. After all, the Candlelight Trading Firm was the first to possess Special Workshops. The trading firm also had a large number of rare designs. If these people weren''t willing to sign the contract, he would rather place his resources on lower-ranked Lifestyle players. 951 Super-first-rate Forger Chapter 951 - Super-first-rate Forger While Shi Feng was holding a meeting with the Lifestyle players of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Heaven''s Burial was also having a meeting at Star-Moon City. Among the participants of the meeting were several middle-aged people dressed in plain clothing, aside from a large group of well-equipped expert players. The levels of these middle-aged people were only in the low thirties. The aura that combat experts usually exuded was also absent from these people. On the contrary, they gave off a dull and strict feeling. However, nobody present in the venue looked down on these people. Rather, everyone looked at them with deep reverence. "Uncle Seven, you are simply too amazing. I never thought that you would actually manage to recruit these people," the Cleric Flame Blood said in admiration as he looked at the middle-aged man named Seven Treasures. "With this, our Guild will definitely rise rapidly." "You''re giving me too much credit. I simply followed the Guild Leader''s orders to bring them here." Seven Treasures chuckled as he waved his hand. "It was Guild Leader who managed to persuade them? I heard that these people had rejected even the invitations of Super Guilds," Flame Blood said, a look of surprise appearing on his face. While he had known that Singular Burial had been secretly trying to poach the Advanced Lifestyle players of various Guilds before, he had considered it a futile effort. Currently, Advanced Lifestyle players were like treasures to any Guild. Not only did they receive excellent benefits, but they were also subject to a series of restrictive conditions binding them to their respective Guilds. These players would not easily defect to Heaven''s Burial. However, after seeing these few middle-aged men and women sitting before him, he now realized he had assumed wrong. The virtual gaming world had developed for over a hundred years already. Aside from well-known experts and Super Guilds leaving their names behind in the annals of history, there were also plenty of amazing Lifestyle players. These people had relied on Lifestyle classes to become famous in the virtual gaming world, and their fame was not one bit inferior to that of top-tier experts. Although there would be some differences between the Lifestyle classes of different virtual reality games, those capable of domination in a virtual reality game would perform mainly the same even if they switched to a different game. Aside from that, the middle-aged men and women present were among the best Lifestyle players in multiple virtual reality games, and any professional gamer who walked the path of Lifestyle classes would know of them. Now that Lifestyle classes were becoming increasingly important in God''s Domain, these several masters had become even more difficult to hire than top-tier experts, yet Heaven''s Burial had managed to recruit these people. With them aboard, Flame Blood was certain of one thing From today onwards, things were going to change in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Candlelight Trading Firm, which had remained the dominant trading firm within the kingdom all this time, would soon be history. Heaven''s Burial had an abundance of capital. In addition, they also had a steady source of Magic Crystals. Just the number of cities the Heavenly Trading Firm covered right now already surpassed the Candlelight Trading Firm''s greatly. Currently, it was only lacking in Advanced Lifestyle players and popular exclusive products when compared to Candlelight. Once the Heavenly Trading Firm dealt with these problems, becoming the number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom would be a piece of cake. "Daybreak, how is the progress of the quest on your side?" asked Singular Burial, who was seated on the Guild Leader''s throne. "We''re almost done. At most, we''ll need another two days'' time to obtain the Shop Promotion Order," Daybreak Fog said confidently. "Good. As long as we obtain this Promotion Order, the Heavenly Trading Firm will be able to secure its foothold in Star-Moon Kingdom. When the time comes, we''ll be relying on you several masters," Singular Burial said, turning to look at the middle-aged men and women seated at a corner. "As long as you accomplish what you''ve promised, we naturally won''t disappoint you," the bespectacled middle-aged man seated in the lead of the group said very casually. "At that time, not only will the Heavenly Trading Firm become the number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom, but it will also become the number one in the Black Dragon Empire and the surrounding countries!" Although the words of the man sounded very arrogant, nobody present doubted his words. After all, this man was the super-first-rate forger, Lava Heart, someone known as the Forging Lecturer in the virtual gaming world. In the real world, he was even a famous blacksmith who specialized in producing all sorts of weapons and defensive equipment for bigwigs and martial arts masters. "Please rest assured on this point. I am a man of my word," Singular Burial laughed. --- Inside the Candlelight Trading Firm: After Shi Feng was done stating his demands, the Intermediate Lifestyle players, who had initially been hesitant to make a decision, started applying to take the test one after another. The Basic Meditation Room was simply too tempting. Despite having entered the Meditation Room for only a short time, they could already clearly feel the benefits it provided. The Mana released into the room allowed them to maintain their calm. Their concentration while inside this room was significantly better. Any player that produced items would know just how important concentration was. After the fourth evolution of God''s Domain, the procedures to manufacture items had become increasingly complex. The lack of fine control over one''s movements when producing an item would easily result in failure. Meanwhile, having high concentration could allow players to carry out these fine movements with ease. The Meditation Room would definitely be able to help them further improve themselves. "Are you guys really going to agree to these conditions?" an Advanced Alchemist named Flying Fish could not help but ask as he looked at his fellow Advanced Lifestyle players. "I believe that you guys should''ve received invitations from Heaven''s Burial as well. The conditions they are offering are triple those of Candlelight''s. Moreover, they''ve also promised to assign an exclusive Special Workshop to each of us in the future. We''ll even get priority over choosing rare designs and recipes. We''ll have a much better time there than at Candlelight. Why don''t we all just move to Heaven''s Burial''s Heavenly Trading Firm?" "Although the treatment Heaven''s Burial is offering is indeed good, we get to learn extremely rare designs at the Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, there''s even the Basic Meditation Room available now. Not to mention, if we move to the Heavenly Trading Firm, we''ll have to start over from scratch," an Advanced Lifestyle player replied worriedly. "What''s there to worry about? Even if we start a new account, the technical skills we''ve accumulated will stay with us. Moreover, rare designs and recipes are becoming increasingly abundant. We''ll be able to regain our lost development very quickly. Also, you shouldn''t forget that the Heavenly Trading Firm also has those several masters. Compared to fumbling around in the dark, our chances of reaching the Master rank will improve significantly if we follow in their footsteps," Flying Fish said, yearning stirring in his heart when he mentioned those "masters." The only reason the Candlelight Trading Firm could become as strong as it was now was the rare designs it had managed to obtain early on. However, after the fourth evolution of God''s Domain, the difficulty of making items had increased significantly. It would be very difficult for them to improve further by relying on external factors. If they could receive the guidance of those several masters hired by the Heavenly Trading Firm, their chances of becoming true Lifestyle Masters would be much higher than if they continued staying at the Candlelight Trading Firm. "Burning, why don''t you follow me as well? With those masters guiding us, I believe that you''ll be able to become a Lifestyle Master very quickly. At that time, you might even get to join the upper echelons of Heaven''s Burial," Flying Fish urged the tall and thin youth standing beside him. Burning Abyss had entered the Candlelight Trading Firm just recently. Back then, he had only been an Advanced Apprentice. However, due to his great talent, he quickly managed to become an Advanced Engineer. In contrast, Flying Fish became an Advanced Alchemist only after striving for a long time. However, Burning Abyss shook his head in reply. Usually, aside from making items inside his Workshop, the thing he liked doing the most was reading in libraries. In addition, he would also take a look at the information gathered by Zero Wing. From reading the gathered information, he had obtained many secrets that others did not know about, which was also one of the reasons why he had managed to improve so quickly in engineering. Previously, when he saw Shi Feng take out the Titan City Entrance Tokens, his legs had nearly gone limp from shock. Although Shi Feng had kept his explanation of the function of the entrance tokens brief, only stating that those who use it would get to train in Special Workshops as well as learn some rare designs and recipes, Burning Abyss knew exactly what kind of place the Holy City of Titan was. That was a place known as the Holy Land. Titan City even had the Research Rooms that all Lifestyle Masters dreamed of entering. The help the research materials there could provide was many times more accurate and detailed than any guidance from a bunch of players. "Are you really planning to defect to the Heavenly Trading Firm?" Burning Abyss asked seriously as he looked at Flying Fish. "Of course," Flying Fish replied in a determined tone. At Flying Fish''s reply, Burning Abyss could not help but sigh as he said, "I advise you not to go. If you defect to the Heavenly Trading Firm, you will definitely regret your decision today." 952 Immense Wealth Chapter 952 - Immense Wealth "Burning, you sure know how to joke." "Burning, you can''t be reluctant to part with the Meditation Room, right? Although the Basic Meditation Room is indeed good, there are too many Advanced Lifestyle players in the trading firm. We''ll have to wait for a long time before our turn to use it comes. Not to mention, the Meditation Room simply provides very little assistance in getting us promoted to the Master rank, compared to the guidance provided by those top-tier Lifestyle experts." "Also, rather than the current situation where Super Guilds look down on us, once we become Masters, Super Guilds will beg us to join them." When the surrounding Lifestyle players heard Burning Abyss''s words, they could not help but start laughing. Lifestyle classes were different from combat classes. The aid that external factors could provide Lifestyle players was limited; one had to rely mainly on their own techniques and experience to perform well. Meanwhile, these things required frequent practice. During the early stages of the game, the external conditions provided by the Candlelight Trading Firm were indeed much better compared to those of Super Guilds. However, the aid from these external factors stopped when a player reached the Advanced rank. This was also the reason why Super Guilds thought little of Advanced Lifestyle players. After all, players relied on an abundance of resources to obtain that rank. It was a different story for Lifestyle players who had reached the Master rank, which was not achievable through resources alone. "Burning, if you don''t want to leave, so be it. Is there a need to try and scare us into staying as well?" Flying Fish''s expression darkened. Although he did not think that Burning Abyss''s words would come true, he still felt displeased after hearing them. Regret leaving the Candlelight Trading Firm? He refused to believe that the Basic Meditation Room could compete with guidance from those several masters. Moreover, he would receive much more attention and better treatment at the Heavenly Trading Firm. With those several masters present, it was only a matter of time before the Heavenly Trading Firm became the number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Suit yourself." After saying so, Burning Abyss walked towards Melancholic Smile to apply for the test. The only reason he had cautioned Flying Fish was the good relationship they usually had. The Titan City Entrance Tokens were extremely limited. In order to nurture talents, the Guild would no doubt prioritize sending Intermediate Lifestyle players to Titan City. The number of slots reserved for Advanced Lifestyle players would definitely be very few. If Flying Fish and the other Advanced Lifestyle players left, he would have a much better chance of getting selected to visit the Holy City. --- "Guild Leader, just like you''ve speculated, four Advanced classes and over twenty Intermediate classes are requesting the termination of their contracts with us," Melancholic Smile said as she handed a stack of withdrawal applications to Shi Feng. Frowning slightly, she asked, "Guild Leader, are we really going to let them go?" Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm had a dearth of Advanced Lifestyle players. If they let these people go now, it would only serve to undermine the trading firm''s competitiveness. "Don''t worry about it. Candlelight''s future has no need for these people." Shi Feng chuckled. "If they wish to terminate their contracts and gift us money, I very much welcome them to do so." Zero Wing''s Workshop had recently recruited a large number of people and required money urgently. Since other Guilds were willing to pay to poach these Lifestyle players, he was more than happy to oblige them. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, Melancholic Smile could not help but fall speechless. Other trading firms were selling products to earn money, yet Shi Feng was actually selling Lifestyle players to earn money. However, this was also a good outcome. To begin with, those Lifestyle players never had any intention of staying at Candlelight over the long run. Now, not only could they rid themselves of these leeches, but they could also make a huge profit off the termination fee while they were at it. "Right, how are things on the teleportation house''s side?" Shi Feng asked quietly. "Based on the test I conducted, each individual needs roughly one-fifth of a Magic Crystal''s energy to teleport from White River City to the Twin Towers Kingdom. Hence, I set the teleportation fee for White River City at 20 Silver per person. The profits we''ve made so far already exceeds what the entire Candlelight Trading Firm makes in a day by a considerable margin," Melancholic Smile answered, great joy brightening her face when she spoke about the teleportation house. The Candlelight Trading Firm was the number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Coins it earned in a day could make even first-rate Guilds drool. Even so, the trading firm''s income still paled significantly in comparison to that of the teleportation house. Deducting the daily management fees of the several NPCs as well as the cost of the Magic Crystals used to fuel the teleportation array, the teleportation house had already earned over 2,000 Gold after just a few hours of operation. Unfortunately, the amount of Magic Crystals they could obtain through the Guild and purchasing from others was limited; they couldn''t provide players with unrestricted use of the teleportation array. Even so, based on Melancholic Smile''s calculations, they could still make a clean profit of around 5,000 Gold every day. This was several times the income of the Candlelight Trading Firm. If Super Guilds were to learn of Zero Wing''s daily income, they would definitely take action against Zero Wing regardless of the cost. After hearing Melancholic Smile''s report, even Shi Feng was surprised. Although he had expected the teleportation house to be extremely profitable, he never thought it would be this profitable. If not for the limited supply of Magic Crystals, this amount would most likely be several times higher. It was no wonder so many people had gone crazy over the Ancient Abyssal Books in the past. It seems Magic Crystals will always remain a problem. The amount we can obtain by relying on just Stone Forest Town and purchases is simply too little. Shi Feng started pondering methods to earn large amounts of Magic Crystals in God''s Domain. As players progressed further into the game, the amount of Magic Crystals they required would also increase. However, the sources of Magic Crystals in God''s Domain were just too few. Currently, aside from Dungeons and certain hidden locations, the only other method to obtain a large amount of Magic Crystals was through mining Magic Crystal veins. However, the standard of current God''s Domain players made it utterly impossible for them to go to that kind of place. Sometime later, the results of those who applied to take the test inside the Meditation Room came out. Based on the ranks of each class, Shi Feng chose 50 players with the highest production success rates. Among these 50 players, only five were Advanced Lifestyle players, while twenty were Intermediate Lifestyle players, and 25 were Basic Lifestyle players. The reason he had decided on such a distribution was his wish to nurture a large number of Advanced Lifestyle players. He had no plans of having the Advanced players strive for the Master rank at the moment. Moreover, even if Shi Feng wanted to, the current Advanced Lifestyle players were simply incapable of doing so. As for Cream Cocoa''s group of Advanced classes, who wielded the core secrets of the Guild, Shi Feng would use the Holy City''s Emblem to transport them over. If he had them working in the Special Workshops of Titan City, they would be able to produce the Mounts and Strengthening Devices slightly faster. The Holy City''s Emblem could open a transfer gate to Titan City and allow up to ten people to pass through it. However, the emblem had a Cooldown of seven days. Although it was not as convenient as the entrance tokens, which did not possess a Cooldown, it was valuable in the fact that it was reusable. It could continuously send the Lifestyle players of the Candlelight Trading Firm to Titan City. After everyone had teleported to Titan City, Shi Feng silently departed the trading firm. --- "This is the Holy City of Titan?" Originally, everyone had been extremely excited over the fact that they were going to get to have their own exclusive Special Workshop as well as learn rare designs and recipes. However, upon entering Titan City, they were utterly shocked by the scenery of Titan City. 953 Holy Space Chapter 953 - Holy Space Inside Heaven''s Burial''s Residence in Star-Moon City "Guild Leader, I''ve just been notified that those four Advanced Lifestyle players from Candlelight have agreed to our conditions. Moreover, Candlelight isn''t forcing them to stay. As long as we send the money, they''ll let those four go," Flame Blood reported excitedly upon receiving the news. Advanced Lifestyle players were currently a rare commodity to any Guild. They were precious resources for Guilds in the war over market dominance. Hence, the various Guilds held onto their Lifestyle players tightly, preventing other Guilds from poaching. If a Guild wanted Advanced Lifestyle players, it would have to start by nurturing complete novices. However, doing so was time-consuming, and it would be very hard for a trading firm to gain a competitive edge in a short time. Hence, Singular Burial had used those several masters and offered irresistible benefits. Flame Blood had not expected Singular Burial''s strategy to be effective enough to poach four Advanced Lifestyle players. This would significantly weaken the Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, even though these Advanced Lifestyle players'' Proficiency had been reset and they had lost the designs and recipes they had learned, they still retained their experience and technical skills. With Heaven''s Burial''s resources, it would not take long for these players to recover the losses. This was far more cost-efficient than simply nurturing Advanced Lifestyle players from scratch. "Black Flame really is quite interesting. While other Guilds are keeping a tight leash on their Advanced Lifestyle players, he generously allowed four to walk away. It seems he is relatively confident in the Candlelight Trading Firm." The corners of Singular Burial''s mouth twitched when he heard this news, and he could not help but admire Shi Feng. They were talking about four Advanced Lifestyle players! After investing plenty of resources into its trading firm, Heaven''s Burial had only nurtured five Advanced Lifestyle players thus far. Among them, three had only recently achieved their promotion. Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm had abandoned four such individuals without hesitation. "Guild Leader, will these players be a problem?" Daybreak Fog asked worriedly from the side. "They shouldn''t be. I spoke with all of them in secret earlier. Their item production techniques and success rates are genuine," Singular Burial said, shaking his head. Chuckling, he continued, "Since Candlelight is so generous, we don''t need to be courteous with them. Uncle Seven, deal with this matter right away. We can''t let another Guild steal these people from us." With these four Advanced Lifestyle players and the five masters in the Heavenly Trading Firm, it wouldn''t be long before the position of Star-Moon Kingdom''s top trading firm switched owners. Once the Heavenly Trading Firm surpassed the Candlelight Trading Firm, Heaven''s Burial would have a stable source of income. At that time, Heaven''s Burial could officially begin its conquest of Star-Moon Kingdom. "Guild Leader, rest assured; I''ll head over right away," Seven Treasures said. He immediately departed the meeting room and dashed towards Star-Moon City''s Teleportation Hall. --- On the streets of Titan City, the city''s dense Mana intoxicated Melancholic Smile and her companions. The Mana density in this city is even higher than the Basic Meditation Room! Melancholic Smile grew breathless when she felt the city''s Mana. Although the difference in Mana between the Basic Meditation Room and the Special Workshop seemed small, it was precisely this small difference that made it far easier for Intermediate Lifestyle players to reach the Advanced rank. Lifestyle players gained Proficiency in a slightly different way from combat players who only needed to gain EXP by killing monsters. Take Intermediate Forgers who were trying to become Advanced Forgers for example. When their Forging Proficiency reached a certain degree, even if they only produced ordinary items befitting their rank, they would not gain any Forging Proficiency. They would have to produce rare items befitting their rank to raise their Proficiency. Soon, even rare items would not provide any Proficiency, at which point, Intermediate Forgers would have to produce items that were one rank higher to improve. One could just imagine how abysmal an Intermediate Forger''s success rate with producing Advanced items would be. If one could not complete the forging procedures flawlessly, they would waste an astonishing amount of materials. Moreover, Intermediate Forgers would be producing advanced merchandise, which required rare materials. Even Super Guilds would not waste their rare materials so recklessly. Guilds mainly nurtured Lifestyle players to make money. Although they would have to invest, this investment was not limitless. There was definitely a cap. In the Candlelight Trading Firm, rare materials were extremely limited. The trading firm did not have the leeway for everyone to produce higher-rank merchandise limitlessly. Hence, the trading firm would conduct a quality check every now and then, using the opportunity to determine how many rare materials to allocate to each person. Those with high production success rates received a larger supply of rare materials. This way, they could gain more Proficiency each day, increasing their promotion speed. This was precisely the reason that The Basic Meditation Room''s Mana density was extremely important. The dense Mana in the air could allow players to maintain a calm mind and high concentration. This way, they wouldn''t make errors as easily when crafting. If they could cut down on unnecessary mistakes, their production success rate would increase. Their promotion speed would also increase. This was why the various large Guilds were more willing to pay a huge price to poach Advanced Lifestyle players rather than nurture their own. Following which, Melancholic Smile led everyone to the Titan Lifestyle Association. As Shi Feng had requested, she rented Special Workshops for everyone for three days. Including the cost to purchase designs and recipes, she had spent over 4,000 Gold. This expenditure dumbfounded Cream Cocoa and the others. Even first-rate Guilds would be hard-pressed to collect more than 4,000 Gold. None of them had ever imagined that the trading firm would spend so much on them. They finally understood why the trading firm had required them to sign such a strict contract. In fact, if not for the money earned through the Teleportation House, even Melancholic Smile''s heart would''ve stopped by now. Coming here to raise one''s Proficiency and techniques was the epitome of luxury. However, upon entering the Lifestyle Association''s Special Workshop, her opinion changed. Although the Workshop here was only half the size of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Workshops, the Mana density was three times that of the outside world. Inside this room, she experienced a mental clarity like never before. Moreover, aside from its high Mana density, there was a large amount of research materials available inside this Special Workshop. After a cursory search for information on the Strengthening Device, Melancholic Smile compiled a few dozen pages'' of information. Among them were production videos from Master Forgers and key crafting points. "Master-ranked production videos?" Melancholic Smile clicked on the video out of curiosity. 954 New World Chapter 954 - New World The moment Melancholic Smile clicked on one of the Masters'' production videos, a tall, robust figure appeared inside the room, which was the size of a basketball court. The man had tanned skin and a long beard. "What?! This is a hologram?!" Melancholic Smile was shocked when she saw the bearded man. While there were production videos of many capable individuals on God''s Domain''s official forums, one could only watch them on a flat screen. At the end of the day, one could not experience their production process. Moreover, compared to this holographic Master Forger''s techniques, every forging player throughout God''s Domain was practically garbage. "A Master Forger is impressive. So, I can use this method to forge the Strengthening Devices as well." After watching the holographic video once, Melancholic Smile was aware of her flaws. Particularly, her rune-drawing techniques needed work. The bearded man''s rune looked natural on the Strengthening Device. Moreover, he completed the rune with one smooth motion. The original Strengthening Device design only offered a simple introduction and a few basic demonstrations. It did not contain any forging techniques to speak of. Melancholic Smile had no choice but to experiment. After watching the Master Forger''s video, Melancholic Smile felt as if doors to a whole new world had opened for her. "If this is what the videos are like, what are the key production points?" After calming herself, Melancholic Smile shifted her attention towards the key points of production, clicking on one of the several available links. As soon as Melancholic Smile clicked on it, she heard a system notification. System: Production Annotation Mode activated. Energy is required to activate this mode: Magic Crystals. One Magic Crystal will last one hour. Do you wish to continue? "It even needs Magic Crystals?" Melancholic Smile could not help her surprise. The Master Forger''s holographic video had not required any payment. Seeing as energy was required to annotate the key points of production, this function should be far more valuable than the videos. Melancholic Smile did not take long to consider her options. As she had come to produce Strengthening Devices, she had plenty of Magic Crystals on hand. Wasting one wouldn''t matter. Following which, Melancholic Smile clicked "Accept," and a single Magic Crystal disappeared from her bag. System: Production Annotation Mode activated. Loading Strengthening Device Template Number 017. You may now produce the Strengthening Device. "That''s it?" Melancholic Smile had not noticed anything different about herself, and nothing new had appeared in the room. However, since the system had said as much, she decided to start forging the Strengthening Device. In any case, Shi Feng had stated that they needed to produce a large quantity of Strengthening Devices as quickly as possible. As Melancholic Smile took out the necessary materials and prepared to smelt them, various images and data appeared before her. The information consisted of semi-transparent holograms and wouldn''t affect her production directly. When Melancholic Smile looked through the images and data, she was shocked. After all, this information guided her through producing the Strengthening Device. All she needed to do was overlay her actions with the holographic images and observe the smelting process. The data displayed also provided specific hints for carrying out these actions. The Production Annotation Mode was like a copybook that provided ideal forging procedures, and all she needed to do was familiarize herself with these procedures. Learning how to forge the Strengthening Device this way was many times more effective than simply watching a Master Forger at work. As Melancholic Smile forged the Strengthening Devices according to the hints provided, her forging success rate and speed steadily rose. Originally, Melancholic Smile''s success rate with the Strengthening Device had been around 40%. After using the Intermediate Mana Source Ore, her success rate increased to roughly 50%. However, she rarely achieved a 50% success rate when actually crafting them. Before arriving in Titan City, she usually succeeded four of ten tries, and sometimes less. After an hour inside the Special Workshop, however, she could now stabilize her output to four or more out of ten tries. Many of her uncertainties when forging the Strengthening Device had also vanished, and now, her actions were more decisive. This resulted in a faster forging speed. She was practically as fast as she had been before God''s Domain''s fourth evolution. She was overjoyed. With the videos of the Master Forgers and the key production points, her forging techniques improved with each second she spent in the room. Her growth was at least ten times faster than when she had been in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Basic Meditation Room. Melancholic Smile felt that the 4,000-plus Gold they spent was worth it. After such a short time here, she was confident of trying for the Master rank. As for the firm''s other Lifestyle players, rising from Basic or Intermediate rank to Advanced would be a piece of cake. Melancholic Smile wasn''t the only one excited about Titan City''s Special Workshops. All those who experienced the Special Workshops instantly fell in love. Everyone felt that, if they could stay here, they could easily become Masters. Unfortunately, this was only a misconception. After all, techniques and high success rates were not the only requirements to become a Master. One also needed extensive knowledge of materials. Without sufficient knowledge, creating an item of their own would be impossible. "If Flying Fish and the others knew about this, they''d go mad." Burning Abyss, who resided in his own Special Workshop, could not help but sigh when he thought of Flying Fish and the other Advanced Lifestyle players. Before coming to Titan City, although he had known that the city was the Holy Land for Lifestyle players, he had not expected it to be this amazing. Titan City definitely deserved to be called a ''Holy Land.'' It now seemed that, in his search of a shortcut to become a Master, Flying Fish had suffered a huge setback. Even if those several masters were extremely skilled in other virtual reality games, at the end of the day, those games were not God''s Domain. How could those masters'' guidance possibly compare to God''s Domain''s true Masters? Furthermore, there were the Research Rooms. --- Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City''s Teleportation Hall: Due to the new teleportation house, large groups of players flooded into White River City. Among them, a majority consisted of Guild players; only a small minority were independent players. After Shi Feng finished sorting out his matters, he arranged to meet with Bloodsucker and the others at the Teleportation Hall. When Shi Feng discovered Bloodsucker among the crowd, he also noticed an unfamiliar man beside Bloodsucker. The other party noticed him as well. Although this man hid his appearance with a Black Cloak, Shi Feng felt his piercing gaze. It was the gaze of a predator. Shi Feng was not comfortable being its target. Meanwhile, Bloodsucker and the others obviously treated this man with great respect. Kirin and Masked Angel, who stood beside the man, did not even dare to breathe loudly. "You must be Ye Feng, right?" the unfamiliar man said after looking at Shi Feng. Coldly, he continued, "Before you meet our Guild Leader, the Guild Leader has said that he wants to show you something." "Show me what?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Strength!" The man laughed. 955 Ravens Background Chapter 955 - Raven''s Background After the unfamiliar man spoke, he shifted his gaze towards Bloodsucker. "Blood, follow me. Everyone else, return to the Guild." Kirin and the others nodded to the man''s commanding tone, reverence filling their eyes when looked at him. This surprised Shi Feng. During the entrance trial, Shi Feng had discovered that that Kirin was a Void Realm expert. Throughout Zero Wing, only he could trump over the Assassin. Both Fire Dance and Violet Cloud were still weaker than him in terms of combat standards. Though, if it came to an actual fight, Fire Dance would defeat Kirin easily as the difference between their equipment was massive. Regardless, with Kirin''s combat standards, he would be an apex expert in any Guild. Yet, the unfamiliar man had clearly expressed that they were heading somewhere where an expert of Kirin''s caliber wasn''t qualified to be. Among the party, only Bloodsucker was allowed to accompany them. "Brother Blood, where are we going?" Shi Feng sent Bloodsucker a private message. He was very curious about their destination. "I don''t know. This is only my third time meeting one of the Guild Leader''s Dark Guards. Although he was a part of Raven''s upper management, he was not qualified to meddle with Raven''s core. In addition, Raven''s internal affairs were kept hidden. As a Dark Guild, Raven did not prioritize killing monsters or developing cities. Instead, Dark Guilds killed players and plundered cities for a living, and everything they did demanded secrecy. After all, NPCs desperately wanted to eliminate them. Hence, even an upper manager like Bloodsucker knew very little about the Raven Guild. He was only responsible for managing his area''s bounties. As for the Guild''s core secrets, he knew nothing. The Dark Guards were the Guild Leader''s trusted aids. Every one possessed extremely high combat standards; even he admired them. The Guild Leader almost never revealed himself during his various tasks. He even left crucial matters for his Dark Guards to handle. "A Dark Guard?" Shi Feng glanced at the cloaked man, shocked. He had heard about Raven''s Dark Guards before. Raven had become one of the Six Great Dark Guilds in God''s Domain due to its Dark Guards. These Dark Guards possessed inhuman combat standards. There were also many of them. Moreover, as they constantly covered themselves with Black Cloaks, nobody outside of Raven knew of their identities. Initially, many people had wondered if a Super Guild had established Raven. However, facts had proven that Raven was not related to any Super Guild in God''s Domain. Every Super Guild in God''s Domain had been under the care of Raven''s Dark Guards at some point. Despite the Dark Guards robbing them of many riches, none of these Super Guilds had any real method of dealing with the Dark Guild. This was because Raven had no fewer top-tier experts than a Super Guild. Meanwhile, Shi Feng could clearly feel that the Dark Guard before him was even more impressive than Bloodsucker. Of course, ''impressive'' did not refer to combat techniques. Rather, it was the Dark Guard''s aura that impressed him. He felt more like a machine, cold and emotionless, than a human. Bloodsucker was a Dark Player. He could build a mountain with the corpses of the players he had killed, yet he could not feel as intimidating as this Dark Guard. Like a soulless robot, this Dark Guard revealed neither joy nor sadness. After Kirin and the others had departed, this indifferent Dark Guard led Shi Feng and Bloodsucker through numerous teleportations, traveling far from Star-Moon Kingdom and arriving in a remote town in the Dawn Empire. Following which, the trio rode their Mounts for several hours before finally arriving in a seemingly-uninhabited town. Unlike NPC towns, this town had plenty of NPC guards patrolling its borders. A captured town? After seeing the town''s situation, Shi Feng could not help but admire Raven. Various large Guilds hungered to capture their own town. However, capturing a town was easier said than done. He had only managed to capture Stone Forest Town because the town was slightly unique. He had also been able to use hundreds of thousands of players as bait. Although players had reached higher levels and their Attributes had increased significantly, capturing a town was still very difficult. Even Super Guilds needed to plan long-term to do so. They couldn''t afford any mistakes. Otherwise, the consequences would be extremely dire. There was even less need to mention other Guilds. On his way here, Shi Feng had noticed that the surrounding monsters were all above Level 40. With this, the town''s original NPCs should have been Level 60 at least. It was no longer possible to capture a town by relying on players'' strength. One needed powerful external assistants such as Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls or a small army of Personal Guards. They could also use siege weapons. However, without any of that, capturing a town of this level was impossible. As for Bloodsucker, who was a member of Raven, he wore a dumbfounded expression. He could not believe his eyes. Despite being one of the Guild''s upper echelons, he had no clue that his Guild had its own town "Is this the Strength Guild Leader Bloodfang wants me to see?" Shi Feng asked the Dark Guard leading them. Currently, among God''s Domain''s various powers, those capable of capturing a town of this caliber could be counted with one''s fingers. However, after entering the town, Shi Feng realized something. The town was extremely poor. Aside from a Guild Residence, the only other buildings were a hotel and a smithy. There was nothing else Although the town was extremely poor, the several hundred players in the town were far from ordinary. Not only were they all Level 38 or above, but they felt like ferocious beasts. The chill in their eyes was similar to the Dark Guard''s; there was not a shred of emotion in their gaze. They seemed even less human than high-intelligence NPCs. If not for the green, diamond marker above their heads, Shi Feng would''ve wondered if these players were the town''s NPCs. When Shi Feng arrived before the town''s only hotel, three cloaked men emerged from the dilapidated building. The auras around these men were the same as the Dark Guard who had led them here, and they felt just as dangerous to Shi Feng. "Guild Leader has said that only Ye Feng may enter. Bloodsucker, wait outside." After hearing the Dark Guard''s command, Bloodsucker had no choice but to wait. As for Shi Feng, he boldly waltzed into the hotel. He was very eager to learn just what kind of person Raven''s Guild Leader was. 956 Priceless Town Chapter 956 - Priceless Town Inside the tattered hotel, aside from a man dressed and cloaked in black sitting on a windowsill and the two Dark Guards standing beside him, there were no players inside the establishment. There were only two NPCs inside the hotel: a bartender and a waiter. It was difficult to call this establishment a hotel. From the moment he entered to the moment he stopped before the black-cloaked man, the two Dark Guards watched Shi Feng''s every movement. If he made any sudden movements, they would eliminate Shi Feng immediately. They both felt like well-trained bodyguards. This is their hotel. Why are they so nervous? The Dark Guards'' behavior confused Shi Feng. Their behavior furthered his interest in the man named Bloodfang. In his previous life, Bloodfang had never once revealed his true appearance to the world. He had been a complete mystery, even more secretive than the legendary Flower of Seven Sins. Although many people had looked into Bloodfang''s background, no one ever learned anything. Bloodfang''s identity was so obscured that nobody even knew whether he was a man or a woman. After all, there were many items in God''s Domain that could disguise a player. Moreover, Bloodfang wore a Black Cloak constantly. Even if one used an advanced Identification Skill, they would learn nothing. The only thing everyone knew was that Raven''s members referred to their Guild Leader as "Bloodfang." "Care for a drink?" Bloodfang asked after Shi Feng sat. "The beverages here are very good." Unlike the Dark Guards, Bloodfang''s voice was not void of emotion. Only, his tone was somewhat gravely. "No need. Just tell me what you want. You didn''t invite me all this way just for a drink, right?" Shi Feng declined, shaking his head. "Indeed, just as Bloodsucker had said, you really are straightforward." Bloodfang chuckled. Pointing to the town outside the window, he continued, "I''ll just get straight to the point. What do you think of this town?" "It is very shabby. However, the fact that your Guild has captured this town shows that there must be something of great interest to your Guild here," Shi Feng said honestly. The Dawn Empire was very far from Star-Moon Kingdom. Teleporting from Star-Moon Kingdom to the Dawn Empire cost 4 Gold, 24 Silver. Even current expert players would be reluctant to pay this price. In the past, Shi Feng''s activity had always remain centered in Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, other than knowing their general location, Shi Feng did not know much about distant kingdoms and empires. Of course, he still had some knowledge of major incidents. Although he had never personally visited these countries, the Secret Pavilion often reported major incidents that occurred in God''s Domain''s various kingdoms and empires. However, as far as he could remember, nothing significant had occurred in the Dawn Empire at this stage of the game. "Your senses are sharp. Indeed, as you''ve said, this town is quite shabby. However, Raven has paid a huge price to capture it. We''ve almost invested everything we''ve accumulated since joining God''s Domain to do so," Bloodfang said, sighing. "I''m ashamed to say this, but although Raven has accumulated a lot of resources so far, constructing this town is too expensive." Shi Feng revealed a surprised expression as Bloodfang explained the situation. He was very familiar with a town''s construction. The construction''s early stages required a hefty investment. However, to a power like Raven, it should not pose a problem. "I don''t expect you to believe me. However, I am not lying. This town is somewhat special. Although it looks like this now, this town was initially flourishing. What you''re seeing is our second reconstruction." Helplessness tinged Bloodfang''s voice as he spoke. "The second time? Had the town been destroyed?" Shi Feng''s shock grew. It was common knowledge that a newly constructed city could hire NPC guards to protect it for 15 days. To current players, Level 150 NPC guards were invincible. Even if the surrounding Level 40-plus monsters sought to cause trouble, Raven could take care of them easily. This town was indestructible. "That''s right. This town has been destroyed once before. Even after hiring so many guards, in the end, we failed to defend it. Raven has invested too much into this town during its early stages. As a result, we can''t afford the reconstruction. Hence, I sought to cooperate with Zero Wing, hoping to convince your Guild to invest into this town and develop it with us," Bloodfang said, nodding sternly. Confidently, he continued, "No other Guild knows about the town''s true value. I only discovered it after reading through an Ancient Document. If Zero Wing invests 100,000 Gold, your Guild will receive 20% of the town''s income." "Guild Leader Bloodfang, you''re talking about 100,000 Gold, not 100,000 Copper. With that kind of money, you can rebuild this town six or seven times over, or construct six or seven other towns, yet you''re only offering 20% of this town''s earnings. Even if there were a literal Gold Mine here, this town would never be worth that much money," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. After hearing Bloodfang mentioning the words "Ancient Document," Shi Feng more or less understood that this town was different. However, he could construct a city''s basic structure with 100,000 Gold, much less a town. Even if this place had a Gold Mine, harvesting the ore would require tons of resources and manpower. Furthermore, they would have to smelt the ore into actual gold before they could sell it. Even if the harvest were high, if he only got 20% of the profits, who knew how long he would have to wait just to earn back his initial investment? He could not afford to throw what Coins he current possessed at this town. "Elder Ye Feng, don''t reject the offer so quickly. I have yet to explain why this town is so special." Shi Feng''s refusal did not seem to surprise Bloodfang. "Special? What''s special about this place?" Shi Feng asked. "There is a Manatite vein here. One can also obtain Magic Crystals alongside the Manatite Ore. Although the vein does not yield much, I believe that it does yield more than Stone Forest Town''s daily income. This could certainly benefit the Candlelight Trading firm," Bloodfang said, chuckling. "How about it? Do you think my offer is worth consideration now?" "It''s no wonder why Guild Leader Bloodfang is so confident. However, why Zero Wing? Wouldn''t it be better to work with Super Guilds? With the financial strength and manpower of a Super Guild, you would have more than enough to develop the town," Shi Feng said. He had to admit that the offer was tempting. Manatite was one of God''s Domain''s particularly rare minerals. As Manatite Ore contained dense Mana, Magic Crystals formed as a byproduct in a Manatite vein. Although one could collect more Mana Crystals by grinding monsters in the Stoneclaw Mountains, there was one benefit to harvesting Magic Crystals from a mine: the absence of danger. As long as they had a sufficient Mining level, any player could mine Magic Crystals. Moreover, the higher their Mining level was, the greater their chances were of obtaining Magic Crystals. 957 Defense Turre Chapter 957 - Defense Turret In God''s Domain, many players used Mining and Herb Gathering to get rich. Ordinary players had very few income options. Generally, players relied on quest rewards as Common monsters rarely dropped Coins. Only Elite rank and higher monsters had any chance of dropping money. Even so, the chances were only around two or three percent. Moreover, they dropped Copper Coins. As for monsters dropping materials, the chances were even lower After first joining God''s Domain, players could mostly afford their repair fees with their earnings from grinding Common monsters. However, as their levels increased and the quality of their equipment rose, the money they earned from Common monsters wouldn''t be enough to maintain their items. Usually, they had to grind Elite monsters to cover their costs. If they were lucky and obtained a Bronze Weapon or piece of Equipment, not only could they afford a day''s worth of repair fees, but they might also have something to save. Unfortunately, that had only been the case after God''s Domain had first launched. Every time God''s Domain evolved, the Main God System lowered weapon and equipment drop-rates. Now that the game had undergone its fourth evolution, even Elite monsters rarely dropped Bronze Weapons and Equipment. One usually had to obtain such items from Field Bosses or Dungeons. It was precisely this reason that Lifestyle classes had become popular. Meanwhile, the Lifestyle classes'' development relied on various materials. As players moved through maps, they usually paid attention to their surroundings. However, they were not only doing so to avoid player or monster ambushes, but to find ores and herbs. A gathering player who was familiar with the environment could earn more money by selling the raw materials they gathered than what Guild elite members could earn from fighting monsters. In the past, Shi Feng had frequently heard about gathering players obtaining excellent weapons and equipment solely by gathering ores and herbs. Many Guilds and trading firms had signed contracts with expert gathering players. As long as these players fulfilled their monthly quota, not only could they sell their materials at market price, but they would also gain bonus Credits. Hence, for players in God''s Domain, both Mining and Herb Gathering were usually very high-leveled. If there truly were a Manatite vein beneath this town, they only needed to higher players with high-level Mining Skills. They could certainly earn far more Magic Crystals than Stone Forest Town. After all, Stone Forest Town only earned Magic Crystals from players repair and hotel fees. The town didn''t earn nearly as much as players did in the Stoneclaw Mountains. "My initial plan was to earn a large sum in the Dark Arena. However, Zero Wing''s abilities have surpassed my expectations. While I have considered cooperating with Super Guilds before, they are simply too powerful; they might just take the town from Raven. Moreover, even if we form a partnership, with Super Guilds'' appetite, Raven won''t obtain much. "Although there are a few more powers aside from Super Guilds that we could approach, these powers cannot provide as many Coins as Zero Wing. "How about it? By cooperating with Raven, not only would Zero Wing not lack Magic Crystals, but the Candlelight Trading Firm would also have plenty of Manatite Ore. You will certainly earn more than 100,000 Gold." Bloodfang believed that the conditions he had proposed were quite generous. There was simply no reason for an upstart Guild like Zero Wing to reject his offer. Currently, Zero Wing did not have many assets in God''s Domain. However, it was extremely difficult to invest in the real estate in other kingdoms and empires. The local Guilds had long since claimed the available Lands. As for kingdom and empire''s main cities, although some golden Lands were still available, without sufficient Reputation in those cities, purchasing those lands was impossible. By the time someone from Zero Wing obtained the required Reputation, others would have claimed those Lands. In other words, Zero Wing should have a lot of money lying around right now, yet it could not effectively utilize the Coins, spending money to make money. However, this could not be helped. After all, Zero Wing was merely an upstart Guild. Its income couldn''t even compare to a veteran second-rate Guild, much less a super-first rate or Super Guild. If Zero Wing continued to hold on to its funds, it would eventually depreciate. This was also why, despite earning boatloads of Gold, Super Guilds had very little liquid funds. This was because these Super Guilds had long since invested the money into something more valuable, particularly various city''s Lands with high potential. If Zero Wing invested its excess Coins into Raven, it could kill two birds with one stone. "Guild Leader Bloodfang, as I''ve said before, 100,000 Gold Coins are not 100,000 Copper Coins. Even Super Guilds can''t hand over such a large amount, not to mention Zero Wing," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "And again, you''re only offering 20%. It will take ages to earn back our initial investment. God''s Domain changes each day. Zero Wing cannot make such a huge gamble. Why don''t we change our method of cooperation?" Bloodfang shook his head, responding, "If you wish to invest manpower, forget it. Current players cannot defend this town. With the number and level of monsters attacking this town, we can only rely on NPCs to defend it; in fact, we need a small army. We also need to construct extremely powerful magical arrays and Defense Turrets before the 15-day protection period is over, all of which requires a large sum of Coins." If not for his urgent need for money, he wouldn''t have considered cooperating with Zero Wing at all. He very much preferred to have the town''s profits to himself. There was not a single power in God''s Domain that would complain about having too much money, not to mention an essential item like the Magic Crystal. As expected, these monsters must be unusual. Hearing Bloodfang''s words, Shi Feng could faintly discern the true reason the town had been destroyed, and he could not help the corners of his lips curing up. In the past, towns with rare mineral and herb fields nearby were often harassed by the local monsters. Needless to say, a town with Manatite would be assaulted once every few days. During God''s Domain''s early stages, the various large Guilds had headaches over these towns. After all, most of the money the earned had to be spent on the town''s defense, with some towns needing additional investment. As Bloodfang had said, constructing one Tier 3 defensive magic array to defend a town would cost 32,000 Gold. Although the magic array would block any monsters below Tier 4, Level 200, it required a lot of Mana to operate. As for the Defense Turret, each one cost 7,000 Gold to construct. Generally, monsters would come from all directions when raiding a town. Even if they placed only one Defense Turret at each of the four cardinal points, they needed at least four Defense Turrets. Moreover, the Turrets'' artillery shells were very expensive. At market price, each shell cost 5 Gold, with higher-quality ones costing dozens. Furthermore, a single Defense Turret at each corner wasn''t nearly enough. They would need at least two. With this, the total cost was around 88,000 Gold. It was no wonder why Bloodfang wanted a 100,000 Gold investment. However, players'' wisdom was infinite. In the past, after the various large Guilds had experimented countless times, they had finally found a method to not only save on the high construction cost, but also resist against the swarms of invading monsters. 958 Inconceivable Zero Wing Chapter 958 - Inconceivable Zero Wing "If you can''t make a decision right now, you can return after discussing it with your Guild Leader. However, I can only give you a day to consider," Bloodfang did not believe that there was another option for cooperation. He believed that Zero Wing could not afford to hand over that much money in such a short time. "One hundred thousand Gold is no small amount. I do not believe that Zero Wing can collect that much money in so little time, either; you can pay 40,000 Gold upfront and the remaining 60,000 in the next five days." Raven was currently broke. They had used almost all of their money to reconstruct the town and hire the necessary NPC guards. However, these NPC guards were still not capable of standing against all those monsters. If they wanted to defend the town, they needed to construct the defensive magic array. With the magic array and the NPC guards, they should survive through the 15-day protection period. As long as they constructed the Defense Turrets during the protection period, they could begin mining the Manatite vein without issues. "Guild Leader Bloodfang, 100,000 Gold is just too much. Even Zero Wing can''t spend that much money," Shi Feng again rejected Bloodfang''s offer. "Why don''t we try a different method of cooperation? Zero Wing will be responsible for protecting the town. However, you will pay us 30% of the vein''s income." He still needed a large sum to construct his own city. How could he possibly give Raven his Coins? Moreover, even without the defensive magic array and NPC guards, it was possible to prevent monsters from trampling the town. He could simply head to Blackwing City and purchase a Monster Repellent Scroll. The Monster Repellent Scroll was an item that could disperse monsters within a certain area, preventing low-intelligence monsters from actively approaching. Although the effect was temporary, the scroll was very cheap. Each scroll only cost 5 Gold. It was much more cost-effective than constructing a defensive magic array or Defense Turrets. In God''s Domain, the defensive magic array and Defense Turrets were mainly used during monster raids. When dealing with players, however, they were not as effective as NPC guards, yet they cost far more. Rather than wasting money on that particular plan, Shi Feng would be better off investing his money into his own Guild or somewhere else. Generally, the monsters that raided towns and cities possessed very low intelligence, so the Monster Repellent Scroll could chase them away. As for using the scroll against the Abyss Invasion, very few abyssal monsters possessed low intelligence. Hence, the scroll wouldn''t be as effective. "Let Zero Wing defend the town?" Bloodfang could not help but laugh at Shi Feng''s proposal. "It''s not that I am looking down on Zero Wing, but rather, these monsters are over Level 100. There are thousands of them. With players'' current strength, it is impossible to defend against such an onslaught. And even if you succeed, why should I give you 30% for defending the town when I can ensure its safety for 100,000 Gold? Wouldn''t that be more of a loss? If this is your offer, I would rather contact several other major powers. I believe that they will be more than willing to cooperate." Zero Wing was not Bloodfang''s only option. The only problem was that none of the major powers could afford a 100,000-Gold investment. However, he did not necessarily need 100,000 Gold. As long as he had the initial 40,000 Gold, he could construct a sufficient number of hotels during the 15-day protection period. With a place to replenish their Stamina in, his subordinates could mine for Magic Crystals continuously. He could earn enough money to construct the required Defense Turrets before the protection period ended. However, Raven would have to be particularly frugal during this period. "If so, I have another suggestion. For each monster raid Zero Wing stops, Raven will pay 6,000 Magic Crystals. What do you think of that?" Shi Feng casually suggested. "Are you serious?" Bloodfang asked in surprise. If they utilized this method, the town''s income would belong to Raven fully. As long as they could begin their mining operation, Raven wouldn''t have any financial problems. They could quickly construct a powerful defense. Only, the initial period would be the most difficult. He hadn''t expected Shi Feng to be interested in such an exchange. Had Shi Feng simply handed over 100,000 Gold, he could have received 20% of the town''s income. As time passed, he would earn far more than 100,000 Gold, yet for short-term profit, he had given up on a future goldmine. Bloodfang found it hard to believe that a large Guild''s upper echelon would make such a rash decision. "Of course, I''m serious. I''ve already discussed this with my Guild Leader, and he has approved. Now, it is up to you whether or not to accept this condition." Shi Feng chuckled. "Alright, I agree to work with Zero Wing. I just hope that you don''t regret this decision," Bloodfang said. Even after watching Shi Feng for a long time, he did not understand the man''s thoughts. He could not figure out what Black Flame, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, was thinking, either. The only reason he had agreed to offer Zero Wing a share of the town was because he had worried the Guild would not be willing to fork over the money. That Zero Wing had refused the shares, only asking for some Magic Crystals, was good news for Raven. The monster raids did not occur every day. Generally, they only attacked every other night. Even if Zero Wing defended the town from ten attacks, he would only spend 60,000 Magic Crystals. When the town''s defenses were complete, he would not need Zero Wing''s assistance. Based on the current market price, each Magic Crystal was worth 25 Silver. Even if Zero Wing defended the town for twenty days, he would only spend 15,000 Gold. No matter how he looked at it, he would profit from this trade. Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Bloodfang. As long as Zero Wing helped Raven defend against a monster raid, Raven would pay 6,000 Magic Crystals. Moreover, the payment could only be made in Magic Crystals. If Raven could not pay up, it would have to pay five times the value of the Magic Crystals with Coins or other products. Aside from that, Raven must also allow Zero Wing to construct a Guild Residence in the town so that Zero Wing''s members could travel here easily. Of course, if Zero Wing failed to defend the town, it would have to pay Raven a reconstruction fee of 30,000 Gold. "It is highly likely that the next raid will happen tomorrow night, but I can''t say for sure. I hope that you will be prepared before then." Although Bloodfang had signed the contract with Shi Feng, he was still worried. Could Zero Wing really defend against that many monsters? "Rest assured. Once Zero Wing''s Residence has been constructed, you won''t have to worry about monsters," Shi Feng replied confidently. Now that they had signed the contract, he was in a great mood. Although it seemed as if Raven had just secured Zero Wing''s help, dealing with the Dark Guild''s biggest concern, Zero Wing would gain far more than 20% of the town''s income. However, Bloodfang didn''t know this. While the Monster Repellent Scroll was very convenient, it also had a huge flaw. The scroll could only chase monsters away, not exterminate them. As they fled, the monster army would grow. When players stopped using the Monster Repellent Scroll, the subsequent raid would be intense, even horrific. As long as the army grew four or five times, the town would fall even if they had thirty turrets 959 Spirit Seal Chapter 959 - Spirit Seal Shi Feng had no intention of telling Bloodfang about the Monster Repellent Scroll''s flaws. They were collaborators, not friends. They were simply obtaining what they needed from each other. Whether or not Raven could fend off the monster army was none of his concern. After all, he only needed to pay a small price for Raven to endure through the early phases of the town''s construction. Moreover, it would be a waste if he did not rip off a Magic Crystal tycoon like Raven. White River City''s teleportation house urgently needed Magic Crystals. As long as he had enough Magic Crystals, he could turn them into Coins. Once Zero Wing had its first city, it would have a safeguard of its own. As the Main God System had administered the contract between them, both parties felt reassured. Shi Feng had initially planned to leave using a Return Scroll. However, Bloodfang suddenly stopped him. "A moment!" Bloodfang held Shi Feng back. Smiling, he continued, "I still have information that I think will be of use to Zero Wing." Saying so, Bloodfang took out a black envelope and passed it to Shi Feng. Shi Feng raised his brows when he saw the envelope. Although the envelope looked normal, it was actually an encrypted message. No one would be able to read the message aside from the intended player. Moreover, after the message was read, it would self-destruct. Even recording the message would not be possible. "A video message?" After opening the envelope, the message came in the form of a video file. Following which, Shi Feng clicked to open the file. When he finished watching the video, however, he was shocked. In the video displayed numerous players encircling a one-horned humanoid creature that loomed over three meters tall and wore a black robe. Numerous crimson runes, resembling flames, decorated this humanoid creature''s body. Moreover, the humanoid creature exuded black fog from its body, and players shuddered when its crimson eyes turned towards them. Aside from this monster''s level and HP, the video showed nothing about it. Neither the monster''s level nor its HP was very high at Level 40 with just over a million HP. With a rough guess, Shi Feng surmised that the monster was only Chieftain rank, yet even it had massacred several hundred elite players. However, rather than the deaths of several hundred Level 35-plus elites players, the one-horned monster''s extraordinary actions were the key points of the video. The monster''s combat style was similar to a player''s. Moreover, whenever this monster killed a player, not only did it recover some HP, but its Attributes also rose slightly. Most importantly, Shi Feng noticed something familiar on the monster''s body. The Spirit Seal used to absorb Immortal Souls! Sharlyn had only marked the Spirit Seal on the back of his hand so that he could complete his quest, and this Spirit Seal would only shine silver when absorbing an Immortal Soul. The same Spirit Seal had been imprinted on the humanoid monster''s chest. Every time the monster killed a player, the Spirit Seal radiated a faint silver glow. From an outsider''s point of view, the glowing Spirit Seal throbbed like the monster''s heartbeat. A passing expert Assassin had recorded this video. As this Assassin had maintained his distance from the battlefield and stayed in Stealth, they had been hard to detect. Hence, this video was a record of the entire battle. After the one-horned monster finished killing the elite players, something even more astonishing happened. Usually, monsters didn''t pay attention to the items players dropped when they died unless they were quest-related items, yet after killing the players, the one-horned monster looted the drops. Before the monster left the area, several other figures appeared. Among these figures, a few looked like the monster. Not only were they tall, but a single horn also grew from their foreheads. Surprisingly, a player stood among them. However, as this scene had been recorded from far away and due to the player''s Black Cloak and mask, Shi Feng could not even discern the player''s gender, much less their identity. Yet, Shi Feng was certain that it was a player due to the green, diamond marker about their head. The marker was unique to players. The Assassin expert had tried to follow the monsters. However, he had been discovered. Although the Level 38 Assassin expert tried, with all his might, to flee, in the end, he failed to escape the one-horned monsters. How can there be such monsters? Shi Feng inwardly shuddered as he watched the monsters kill the Assassin. In terms of combat techniques, the Assassin could reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor with his standards. He would be a considerably powerful expert, even in a first-rate Guild. After all, the general public recognized players as experts once they had reached the fourth floor. Yet, the monsters'' combat standards were stronger than the Assassin''s. Unfortunately, due to a lack of combat footage, Shi Feng could not discern the one-horned monsters'' true capabilities. Even so, Shi Feng roughly guessed them to be near the Half-step Refinement Realm at the very least If they had been NPCs, Shi Feng would not be surprised if they had reached this standard. After all, he had encountered NPCs with much higher combat standards than that. However, for God''s Domain''s monsters to fight like this, their intelligence must be extremely high; even Great Lords didn''t fight like this. "The Assassin who recorded this video is a Red Player and a slightly famous one at that. It had been two days since he had died, but even now, he cannot log into God''s Domain," Bloodfang informed Shi Feng. "Very few people know about this. From what this player has said, these monsters are extremely powerful. Before these monsters dealt with that elite team, they were roaming the area, killing Field Bosses. These monsters were also capable of increasing their Attributes by killing both monsters and players. Moreover, their intelligence is very high. "The Assassin reported that, when he had faced those one-horned monsters, it had felt as if he had been fighting expert players. They were so intelligent that they could easily predict his movements and implement the appropriate countermeasures." "What does this have to do with Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked. Although he agreed that these monsters were extraordinary, there were many bizarre situations in God''s Domain. It might be some sort of in-game event. Furthermore, he was already swamped with his own matters. He did not have the time to concern himself with someone else''s business. "This video was taken in Star-Moon Kingdom, only a short distance from Stone Forest Town. Although these monsters are not yet a threat to the NPCs protecting the town, I believe that the town''s safety will be a problem once the protection period ends. After all, nobody can say for sure just how powerful those monster can become," Bloodfang said, chuckling. 960 Evil God Appears Chapter 960 - Evil God Appears "They are near Stone Forest Town?" Shi Feng fell quiet as he pondered the situation. He could not remember such monsters in Star-Moon Kingdom in his previous life. This was the first time he had ever seen such a thing. If they were Mutants, they wouldn''t let any creature live, players especially. They were somewhat similar to Mutants in that they could grow stronger by killing other monsters and players Indeed, just as Bloodfang had said, while there was nothing to worry about right now, as the monsters grew stronger, they would become very dangerous. "Before I sent Bloodsucker to negotiate with you, I sent him to investigate. Based on Bloodsucker''s report, not only was every Field Boss in the area dead, but he couldn''t find a single Common monster either. Moreover, he discovered a similar situation in the nearby Level 60 map," Bloodfang said. He then shared several pictures with Shi Feng. "Bloodsucker took these images in the Level 60 area. With the monsters'' growth rate, it won''t be long before they''re a threat to Stone Forest Town or NPC towns." When Shi Feng saw one of the pictures, he could not believe his eyes. The originally lush forest had become a scorched land pocketed with craters. Bloodsucker had also captured the corpse of a Level 63 Great Lord that had been over thirty meters tall. The corpse had withered like a mummy. What was more frightening was that Common monsters stopped spawning in the locations the one-horned monsters had visited. This was the equivalent of crippling an entire map. Although the effects were barely noticeable right now, if this continued, there wouldn''t be any leveling spots left in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Thank you for your information, Guild Leader Bloodfang. I have some matters to deal with, so I''ll be leaving." Shi Feng frowned deeply as he finished looking through the pictures. After saying his goodbyes, he retrieved a Return Scroll and activated it. After Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light and disappeared, Bloodfang turned towards one of the Dark Guards beside him and commanded, "Tell Bloodsucker to pull out our men from Star-Moon Kingdom and relocate them in the Black Dragon Empire temporarily." "Guild Leader, our business is doing relatively well in Star-Moon Kingdom. If we pull out of the kingdom now, we will lose a significant amount of income. Moreover, those monsters are only around Star-Moon City right now. Do we need to be this cautious?" the Dark Guard asked in surprise. "Do you really think those monsters are that simple?" Bloodfang eyed the Dark Guard. "There''s one thing that I didn''t mention to Zero Wing. I recently received a report from the Thorn Shadow Team, stating that they''ve discovered the one-horned monsters'' whereabouts. Do you know what else they discovered?" The Dark Guard shook his head. "Those monsters are currently based in an NPC town in a Level 50 map. They have nested in the town. The previous reports counted less than ten monsters, yet now, there are hundreds. Moreover, the lowest level among them is Level 50, while the highest are over Level 80. With their development speed, something is bound to happen in Star-Moon Kingdom sooner or later. It is best if we bow out now. Don''t forget that every player that those monsters had killed still can''t log into God''s Domain," Bloodfang said. Chuckling, he continued, "Moreover, I''ve received news that the bastards from the Blackwater Corporation have decided to make their move in Star-Moon Kingdom. It is best that we avoid them for now." "What?! Blackwater Corporation has finally joined God''s Domain? Why are they starting with Star-Moon Kingdom?" When the Dark Guard heard Bloodfang mention the Blackwater Corporation, his indifferent expression changed as fear flashed in his eyes. "I''m not sure. However, my guess is that it is likely due to this new class. After all, throughout God''s Domain, it is the easiest for players to obtain the new class through Star-Moon Kingdom. A batch of players with this new class would benefit their development in the game," Bloodfang said, shaking his head. "Among the many major corporations, I hate Blackwater the most. They always use unscrupulous means to achieve their goals, and they never follow the rules. Zero Wing will have to rely on its own power to weather this coming storm." Shortly after Bloodfang issued his command, although the command confused Bloodsucker, he began to move the several hundred Raven members hidden throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, shifting their operations to the Black Dragon Empire. As for Shi Feng, rather than traveling to Blackwing City to purchase the Monster Repellent Scrolls, he visited Star-Moon City instead. Star-Moon City had visibly changed over the past few days. Many of the players roaming the streets were from other kingdoms and empires, all hawking their weapons and equipment. The city had also experienced an increase of their noncombat players. These players were relatively low-leveled, with some even below Level 20. However, they were all very rich; these people were Merchant players. In cities, it was extremely difficult for ordinary players to obtain their own Shops. There were also fixed times when players could set up stalls in the free market. As for using the Auction House, the handling fees were too high for ordinary Merchant players. Hence, these players generally peddled their items on the streets. If they found an interested buyer, they would conduct a trade. Although doing so was somewhat time-consuming and strenuous, every Coin an ordinary player earned counted. Merchant players who dealt weapons and equipment, in particular, could earn a nice income. After reaching Level 10, Merchant players roamed between various cities and countries, purchasing items from players in one city and reselling those items elsewhere. After all, every city and country''s prices were different. Merchants could earn a lot of money due to this difference. As these players had chosen the Merchant class, they received a discount on teleportation fees as they traveled across God''s Domain. Moreover, like Lifestyle classes, Merchants were divided into ranks. The higher their rank, the higher their discounts were on teleportation fees. In the past, many players had earned enough capital from their travels to construct Shops in NPC cities. Otherwise, if one relied on an ordinary combat player''s income, they could never afford a plot of Land, even after a lifetime of saving. Following which, Shi Feng followed the main street to Grand Duke Hartfield''s mansion. The NPCs guarding the mansion didn''t stop Shi Feng, allowing him to enter the Grand Duke''s home. However, Shi Feng had not come here for the Twilight Treasure Chests this time, but for the one-horned monsters. Shi Feng had not initially recognized the one-horned monsters'' origin. However, from what he had learned from the pictures and Bloodfang, he was certain of one thing. Those one-horned monsters were somehow related to the Evil God''s Temple. Across the continent of God''s Domain, abyssal monsters weren''t the only threat to humans. There were other dark powers at play. Among these dark powers, the most dangerous was the Evil God''s Temple. Unlike the War God''s Temple, which specialized in resisting Abyss Invasions, the Evil God''s Temple focused on destroying God''s Domain. Moreover, the temple thirsted for the destruction of all life, unlike the abyssal monsters, who only aimed to conquer. 961 Sword Emperor Ryan Chapter 961 - Sword Emperor Ryan In the garden-like mansion, Shi Feng followed the Level 150 NPC steward to the mansion''s observation deck. As Star-Moon Kingdom''s only Grand Duke, Hartfield''s status was only beneath the King''s. Naturally, his mansion was astonishing. The observation deck was awe-inspiring. Not only did it float high in the air, but its floating elevator had also been crafted from Seven Luminaries Crystals. Even Star-Moon Restaurant''s rooftop view could not compare to the view from this observation deck. Furthermore, only the Palace and Star-Moon Auction House were higher up than the Grand Duke''s observation deck. Shi Feng felt as if he were standing atop the clouds as he looked out. He had an unobstructed view of Star-Moon City. The gentle breeze touching his face relaxed him. Despite the relatively normal Mana Density, he felt utterly carefree. Enjoying a meal here would be the epitome of luxury. In the past, many major Guilds had attempted to construct similar observation decks in their own cities, not excluding Shadow. However, only after the attempt did people realize how expensive it was. The floating deck required incomparably precious materials. Although they were not as rare as the Seven Luminaries Crystals, the Floating Stones were rare throughout God''s Domain. On the market, a fist-sized Floating Stone would sell for dozens of Gold. One could imagine just how much it would cost to construct an observation deck the size of a basketball court. Crafting the necessary floating elevator also required Seven Luminaries Crystals. Those crystals were the core components of Mind Spaces, and players were more than reluctant to part with them. Very few people could afford to use them to craft a floating elevator. Moreover, the moment the floating elevator was complete, other players would likely attempt to steal it. Next to the Level 200, Tier 3 Grand Duke Hartfield stood a middle-aged man in silver armor. A white mantle had been draped over the man''s back, and a sword with a gem-encrusted hit hung from his waist. Golden, divine runes had been engraved on the sword''s scabbard, giving it both a sacred and magnificent appearance. Seeing this treasured sword, Shi Feng had no doubt that, when this man walked down the street with that blade, he attracted a lot of attention. Countless female players and sword enthusiasts would hover around him like flies. Oddly enough, Shi Feng recognized this man. The man''s name was Ryan Reiter, and he was the Captain of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Royal Guard. He was also a Level 200, Tier 4 Sword Emperor. He was even stronger than White River City''s powerhouse, Weissman, and was known for being the closest person to becoming a Sword Saint in Star-Moon Kingdom. Although there were Tier 5 NPCs in Star-Moon Kingdom, none of these NPCs were affiliated with the kingdom. They originated from the several major NPC organizations in God''s Domain. Ucarus, the Temple Lord of Star-Moon Kingdom''s War God''s Temple, was one such example. Even the King had to show Ucarus respect. There was also the incomparably mysterious Sharlyn. Although Shi Feng did not know which NPC organization Sharlyn belonged to, he was certain that she did not belong to Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, aside from the Grand Marshal Adolf Cerrett, one could say that Ryan Reiter was the strongest NPC in Star-Moon Kingdom. In front of the Grand Duke and the Royal Guard Captain standing side-by-side, any ordinary player would be petrified. Surprisingly, Shi Feng approached them casually. The NPC steward respectfully moved to the side. Two of Star-Moon Kingdom''s VIPs are here together. It seems that something serious is really happening in the kingdom. Seeing the two NPCs before him, Shi Feng was more confident of his assumptions. The appearance of the Evil God''s Temple hinted that something major would happen soon. This was practically a natural law in God''s Domain. Shi Feng could remember that nearly half of Lion''s Heart Empire had been destroyed in the past due to the Evil God''s Temple''s appearance. Even the ruling Super Guild in the Lion''s Heart Empire had suffered severe losses, not to mention the empire''s smaller Guilds. This incident had shocked all of God''s Domain. No one had expected an NPC dark organization to be so powerful. After that incident, players exploded into action to remove the Evil God''s Temple the moment any related issues occurred. Even so, every country in which the temple appeared suffered heavy damages. After all, when the Evil God''s Temple appeared, all life and land were forfeit. Even after the threat was eliminated, the area took a long time to recover. Such situations impact on local players and Guilds was massive. Hence, Shi Feng had hurried here. It was very difficult to gain entry into Star-Moon Palace. Meeting with Grand Duke Hartfield, however, was easier. Everything would be fine as long as he reported the matter regarding the Evil God''s Temple to Hartfield; the Grand Duke could then travel to the Palace and inform the King. With the power of the kingdom''s army, eliminating the one-horned monsters should be easy. "Young adventurer, we meet again," Grand Duke Hartfield greeted Shi Feng as he approached. Caressing his goatee, Hartfield chuckled lightly before continuing, "Weissman has told me much about you. I would never have imagined that, despite being so young, you were capable of helping Lady Sharlyn with various matters. If my two sons were as outstanding as you, I could retire without worry." As Hartfield finished his praise, Ryan Reiter could not help but look at Shi Feng. This made Shi Feng feel somewhat strange. He had not expected his fame to spread to NPCs. Moreover, these two influential characters in Star-Moon Kingdom had heard of him. "Lord Hartfield, I have come with an urgent message that must reach His Majesty the King. However, I cannot enter the Palace, so I was hoping that you might transmit the message for me," Shi Feng requested respectfully. "Alright, then. If your news is as important as you say, I will pass on the message." Hartfield nodded, sternly agreeing to Shi Feng''s request. "I have found traces of the Evil God''s Temple in the Starfield Forest. The forest is currently devoid of life. If we don''t stop the Evil God''s Temple in time, it will quickly become a threat to the capital," Shi Feng said after considering his words. "As for the validity of my claim, Lord Hartfield simply needs to send someone to investigate Starfield Forest." High-ranking NPCs in God''s Domain were incredibly intelligent. Oftentimes, players were not required to present proof when reporting an incident. The NPC would take action as long as they reported the facts, initiating their own investigations. Once the report was verified, players would receive a reward. If the report were proven false, players would be punished. However, players needed to earn these NPCs'' trust before they could report various issues. If a player lacked credibility, NPCs wouldn''t bother to investigate the situations even if the player told the truth. Previously, Shi Feng had gained some Favorability with the Grand Duke. His words alone could prompt an investigation. If he were dealing with any other NPC, however, they wouldn''t even give him the light of day. "The Evil God''s Temple?" "The Evil God''s Temple has appeared so close to the capital?" When Hartfield heard "Evil God''s Temple," he tensed. The energy around him also changed. "Captain Ryan, like the report you''ve recently received, it seems that those damnable evil cultists are on the move again," Hartfield said, anger filling his eyes. "After their failed attempt fifteen years ago, they are going after that item again. This time, I will erase them from Star-Moon Kingdom!" After the Grand Duke''s statement, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears, with Star-Moon Kingdom''s System Announcement following closely. 962 Legendary Necromancer Chapter 962 - Legendary Necromancer System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Evil God''s Birth." Quest content: Exterminate the Evil God''s believers in the Star-Moon Kingdom. If you fail to exterminate the Evil God''s believers before they summon the Evil God, Star-Moon Kingdom will fall into ruin. As the system was notification repeated three times, Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. He had only been the messenger, yet he had triggered an Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest in Star-Moon Kingdom. This was not good news for Zero Wing. Shortly after the system notifications, the system announcements followed. Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: New expansion pack, "Disaster of the Evil God," has been activated. Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Ruins of the Evil God''s Temple has been discovered in the Undead Gorge. Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, the Undead Gorge, has been activated. Players Level 35 and above may enter the Dungeon. The system announcement also repeated three times, creating a stir in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Awesome! Who triggered the new expansion pack?" "An Asura Mode Regional Dungeon? The loot will be amazing!" "It''s actually an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. I bet the Dungeon''s monsters will drop Magic Crystals. I won''t have to continue fighting for kills in the Stoneclaw Mountains." The majority of the kingdom''s players were incredibly interested in the new Regional Dungeon. Originally, the only Regional Dungeon that offered Magic Crystals was the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, it had become a haunt for Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds. Even though the area provided abundant resources, ordinary players'' share was very small. Moreover, the competition for those resources grew with each day. The new Asura Mode Regional Dungeon''s appearance was definitely a cause to celebrate for the majority of Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. At the very least, there was now another area in which they could obtain Magic Crystals. Moreover, the Undead Gorge was much closer to Star-Moon City than the Stoneclaw Mountains. Only a single map separated the Gorge and the capital. The only problem was that the monsters in said map were somewhat high-leveled, all above Level 50. If one crossed the map without being strong enough, the risk of death would be quite high. However, this could also help disqualify some players, reducing the competition in the Regional Dungeon. The only downside was equipment repairs. Unlike in the Stoneclaw Mountains, none of the Undead Gorge''s adjacent maps had a town. It would take four hours to run there from the nearest teleportation point. While this was a huge problem for independent players, the various large Guilds found this acceptable. At the very least, they wouldn''t have to pay Zero Wing with Magic Crystals if they grinded in the Undead Gorge. Moreover, once their Guild members obtained Mounts, they could save time when traveling. For a time, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds began to prepare to garrison troops in the Undead Gorge. A new Regional Dungeon hinted that there would be undiscovered resources. If they entered the Undead Gorge immediately, they could obtain more than their competition. "Young adventurer, I would like you to help me with something," Hartfield sternly told Shi Feng. "Now that the Evil God''s believers have appeared, I suspect that Byrne, the Legendary Necromancer from fifteen years ago, is up to something new. I want you to locate him for me. If Byrne is trying to hold a summoning ritual, he will need to slaughter many to gather enough power to summon the Evil God''s doppelganger. I have a Tracking Crystal that has recorded the Evil God''s power. It will help you search for the Evil God''s power within an area. If Byrne is absorbing the power of the area''s creatures, the Tracking Crystal will detect him. Once you discover their nest, all you need to do is report back. "However, be careful in your search. Byrne is a Legendary Necromancer, and with the aid of the Evil God''s power, he can summon extremely powerful monsters. Summoning the Evil God''s doppelganger will require a lot of power, so he will have certainly nurtured many powerful monsters to help him gather what he needs. If you want to deal with these monsters, you should head to the remains of the Evil God''s Temple in the Undead Gorge. You might find some method of dealing with them." Once Hartfied finished speaking, he passed Shi Feng a blue crystal block. [Tracking Crystal] When activated, will scan 5,000 yards in every direction for the Evil God''s power. Each use consumes one Magic Crystal. Cooldown: 30 minutes What an inconvenient item. Shi Feng said nothing as he stared at the crystal block in his hand. Fortunately, it would require time to gather the necessary power to summon the Evil God. The one-horned monsters would continue to massacre everything in their path. He would, soon or later, find them; then, he only needed to follow them back to their nest. Following which, Shi Feng left the Grand Duke''s mansion with the Tracking Crystal in hand. He notified Aqua Rose to send some men to search the maps near Stone Forest Town for clues about the one-horned monsters. After completing that task, he teleported to Blackwing City. --- Meanwhile, inside Ouroboros''s Guild Residence in Star-Moon Kingdom, a meeting was being held. Usually, only the Guild''s upper echelons were invited to such meetings. This meeting, however, included three outsiders. "Guild Leader Snow, there are many benefits to becoming one of the Blackwater Corporation''s subordinate Guilds. Won''t you consider it?" the gloomy, short-haired youth, who headed the group of outsiders, asked, smiling at Gentle Snow. "Many benefits?" Zhao Yueru, repeated from beside Gentle Snow, anger tingeing her words. "You''re asking for management of Ouroboros and 90% of its shares, yet you''re offering us less than one-tenth of the market price. These are your so-called benefits?" "Oh, don''t put it like that. With Blackwater Corporation''s fame and influence, I am sure that you know how much our management will benefit Ouroboros. The Guild will become immensely strong," the short-haired youth said, chuckling. "Joining the Blackwater Corporation now is your best choice. Otherwise, you''ll run into a dead-end in the future. You won''t get anything at all." "Are you threatening me?" Gentle Snow frowned. "It is not a threat. I am simply offering a suggestion. I doubt that your investors will want to make an enemy of Blackwater," the youth said. He then turned to Ouroboros''s Elders, saying, "Your Guild Elders are aware of this. Did they not tell you yet?" "What is going on?" Gentle Snow shifted her gaze towards the several Guild Elders beside her. Each Elder represented one of Ouroboros''s investors. Their words were the investors'' will. "Our companies have already reached a consensus and decided to join the Blackwater Corporation. Snow, please don''t blame us. We don''t have a choice. Blackwater has been putting pressure on our companies as of late, so our profits are in jeopardy. If this continues, our companies may go bankrupt. We had to compromise," an Elder explained softly. 963 Three Days Chapter 963 - Three Days "The Blackwater Corporation employes impressive tactics!" Gentle Snow glanced at the short-haired youth sitting opposite of her listening to several Elders'' explanations. In the virtual gaming world, third-rate or greater Guilds typically split their shares among multiple shareholders. Zero Wing was unique in this as Guilds were rarely under the control of a single entity, much less first-rate Guilds. Although a first-rate Guild was the equivalent of a corporation and capable of earning its own money, when a Guild of such caliber joined a large-scale virtual reality game, it needed a lot of capital to begin developing. God''s Domain was peculiar among large-scale virtual reality games. Even with a first-rate Guild''s financial strength, investments from various companies were needed for a Guild to spread its influence throughout God''s Domain as it attempted to dominate one, or multiple, kingdoms. This was precisely the reason that multiple companies held the majority of Ouroboros''s shares. If these companies came to an agreement, even she, the Guild Leader, was forced to accept the decision. However, Gentle Snow had never imagined Blackwater to be despicable enough to force Ouroboros into submission. Generally, major international corporations disdained such tactics as doing so would only make them a laughingstock. "Guild Leader Snow, what is your decision?" the short-haired youth ignored the Snow Goddess''s ridicule. On the contrary, he sneered and said, "I know this is a very difficult decision to make. How about this? We''ll give you three days to consider your options. If you insist on rejecting our offer in three days, we''ll be forced to put someone else in the Guild Leader''s seat." After making his threat, the short-haired youth left the meeting room. The two Level 39 expert players followed him closely. "Big Brother Wave, why don''t we just get rid of Gentle Snow? It would make it easier to take over Ouroboros." "Now that you''ve given her three more days, she might persuade those on the fence or purchase their shares. If she does, it''ll be harder to occupy the Guild." The two robust men asked the gloomy, short-haired youth. The Blackwater Corporation''s goal from the very beginning was to take control of Star-Moon Kingdom. After turning Star-Moon Kingdom into the corporation''s playground, they would use it as a stepping-stone to dominate the Black Dragon Empire. Even if Gentle Snow agreed to their conditions, they would not let Ouroboros survive. Rather, Blackwater would establish its own Guild and absorb Ouroboros, gaining complete control. Hence, they did not need Gentle Snow''s consent. "Do you really think I will give her three days to make a decision?" the short-haired youth clicked his tongue. Sneering, he continued, "I am just giving Ouroboros''s members time to adapt. If I remove Gentle Snow from her position suddenly, it will cause quite a stir in the Guild. Not only will it decrease the Guild''s morale, but I will also have a lot of trouble rectifying the problem. Now that I am giving Gentle Snow three days, however, news of this matter will spread throughout the Guild. We''ll encounter less resistance when we take over the Guild''s management. "Most importantly, Young Master Jing has not yet sent me enough experts to take Ouroboros over. In three days, we should have enough personnel to assume control. At that time, we will gain control of Star-Moon City, and it won''t be long before we possess all of Star-Moon Kingdom." "Big Brother Wave, what about Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, Zero Wing? Are we not negotiating with them? I''ve heard that Zero Wing is particularly stubborn, and the Guild Leader alone controls the Guild. It will be more difficult to take over." "We won''t need to worry about that. Young Master Jing has other plans for Zero Wing," the youth named Abandoned Wave responded nonchalantly. "How are the people that Young Master Jing sent adapting?" "Big Brother Wave, rest assured; with our guidance, they''re improving each day. I believe they will adapt to God''s Domain''s combat style very quickly with the help of the battle videos we procured and the Trail Tower. As long as their Levels are brought up to speed, they will be the Guild''s greatest trump card," one of the robust men reported excitedly. The Blackwater Corporation was not like other corporations. It could actually fit quite well in God''s Domain. After all, Blackwater was an international corporation that dealt with fighting competitions. The corporation''s dojos spanned the globe. Moreover, the corporation was also one of the World Fighting Competition''s main hosts. With the amateur fighters in God''s Domain, it would be a piece of cake for Blackwater to dominate the game. If not for the recent launch of the Mind Space System, the Blackwater Corporation wouldn''t have harbored the slightest thought of investing in God''s Domain. Once Abandoned Wave''s group left, pandemonium swept through Ouroboros. The Guild was no longer focused on the new Regional Dungeon. --- Meanwhile, Shi Feng had arrived in Blackwing City''s Magic District. Unlike ordinary NPC cities, which were generally divided into the Noble District and the Commoner District, the NPCs and players that reached Blackwing City were extraordinary. Moreover, even if other kingdoms and empires'' nobles ventured to this city, they were ordinary here. In the Magic District, NPC-owned Magic Shops were everywhere. There were at least a hundred such Shops in the district. Not only did these Shops sell all kinds of daily-use magic items, but they also sold Magic Scrolls. Some even sold rare Magic Scrolls that could not be found in ordinary NPC cities. The Monster Repellent Scroll was one such Magic Scroll. Initially, players had assumed that the Monster Repellent Scroll had no particular value. After all, it was only capable of driving off low-intelligence monsters. Moreover, as players reached higher levels and explored higher-leveled maps, they encountered fewer low-intelligence monsters. Hence, there was rarely a need for the Monster Repellent Scroll. Furthermore, the scroll was expensive. The Monster Repellent Scroll had only gained popularity after players discovered its ability to protect towns. However, as one of the rare Magic Scrolls sold in Blackwing City, the Monster Repellent Scroll was not infinitely available. Only a limited quantity could be purchased each day. Moreover, only one Magic Shop sold the scroll, so it wasn''t easy to obtain. Overall, only twenty Monster Repellent Scrolls were available in Blackwing City each day. When Shi Feng entered the Magic Shop that sold the Monster Repellent Scrolls, he discovered numerous waiting players. These players turned towards Shi Feng. Why are people from the Sacred Temple here? Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw these players. 964 Extraordinary Nobody Chapter 964 - Extraordinary Nobody Conner''s Magic Shop was an unassuming Shop in Blackwing City. The Shop was hidden deep in an alley, making it difficult to spot. Moreover, the goods sold in the luxurious Magic Shops lining the Magic District''s main street were already more than enough to satisfy players'' needs. Hence, very few went out of their way to look for Conner''s Magic Shop. Shi Feng had never expected to meet members of the Super Guild Sacred Temple here. Aside from the glaring Sacred Temple members, a familiar woman chatted with the NPC shopkeeper. "Sister Melody, should we chase this player away?" a male Summoner wearing light blue mage robes asked quietly. This male Summoner looked relatively young, around 20 years old, yet he was already at Level 39. The aura of strength and arrogance he exuded revealed him as more than an ordinary expert. Moreover, his staff was a Tier 1 Weapon unique to Summoners, the Illusion Staff. Tier 1 Weapons were the most suitable for Tier 1 classes, aside from Epic Weapons. They could maximize a Tier 1 player''s combat power, which even the best Dark-Gold weapons could not accomplish. At the moment, even first-rate Guild only had one or two Epic items; some had none at all. Although Super Guilds were slightly better off in this regard, they could not arm every one of their apex experts with Epic items. Generally, these experts only used Dark-Gold items. Wielding a Tier 1 Weapon in the Sacred Temple spoke volumes of the youth''s combat standards. "No need. It just so happens that I have a reason to seek him out. Since he has presented himself, things couldn''t be better." When Quiet Melody saw Shi Feng, a faint smile appeared on her beautiful, charming face, her smile mesmerizing several of the Sacred Temple members. Seek him out? The Summoner youth was slightly stunned. Doubtful, he turned to look at Shi Feng as he wondered, Who is he? Quiet Melody was the Sacred Temple''s Vice Temple Master. She was also one of the Guild''s apex experts. Very few in the virtual gaming world could attract her attention. Seeing the Summoner''s confusion, Quiet Melody chuckled as she explained, "Fantasy, you might not know of him since you''ve recently graduated from the newcomer''s training, but he is none other than Zero Wing''s Ye Feng." "So, you''re the Ye Feng that defeated Sirius." The youth named Lonely Fantasy addressed Shi Feng, envy blooming in his heart. However, rather than envying Shi Feng''s strength, he was jealous of the attention Quiet Melody gave Shi Feng. He was a genius that had been nurtured by the Sacred Temple. Of the many newcomers who had recently graduated from the Temple''s training program and become internal members, he ranked within the top five. The Sacred Temple was a Super Guild, and it chose the newcomers it nurtured from the Guild''s elite members. Those who stood out among these elites were the cream of the crop. In any first-rate Guild, these individuals could easily become the strongest combatants. These individuals were the virtual gaming world''s blueblood experts. Yet, a lowborn individual like Shi Feng had defeated one of the Battle Wolves Guild''s old monsters. Moreover, Shi Feng received Quiet Melody''s attention, whom he admired. Why wouldn''t he be jealous? Unknowingly, a hunger for battle filled Lonely Fantasy''s gaze as he watched Shi Feng. "Ye Feng, we meet again." Quiet Melody took the initiative to greet Shi Feng. "If not for your loan to Hidden Cloud, I might have been unlucky." During the last Blackwing Auction, the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Hidden Cloud had beaten her in the auction for the golden tablet. In the end, however, a mysterious NPC had assassinated him for that tablet. Moreover, Hidden Cloud had not been able to log into God''s Domain for a long period after that incident. He had become a laughingstock among the Super Guilds. Even now, Quiet Melody broke out in a cold sweat whenever she thought back to how she had fought so hard for the Secret Technique tablet. Losing money was one thing. Losing time was crucial. Every minute and second counted to the various Guilds'' experts. If they could, these experts would spend every minute in the game. If they couldn''t log into God''s Domain for several days, their progress would be wounded. The damage might be less severe for someone like herself, who had lost interest in the battle for the Guild Leader''s seat and was content as a Vice Temple Master and holding some shares of the Guild. However, for an ambitious person like Hidden Cloud, who vied to become the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s First Hall Master, the damage was tremendous. "You must be here for some rare scrolls, right?" Quiet Melody said, her gaze shifting towards the Magic Scrolls filling the display cabinets. Smiling faintly, she continued, "Unfortunately, I have purchased all of the rare scrolls here. If you wish to buy some, you will have to wait until tomorrow." "Temple Master Melody is quite impressive. I''m surprised that you''ve found this place," Shi Feng said as he swept a glance over the display cabinets. Indeed, just as Quiet Melody had said, the rare scrolls were gone. Even the Monster Repellent Scrolls, which had no apparent use at this stage of the game, were sold out. "It''s nothing. I just stumbled upon this Shop," Quiet Melody replied casually. She then revealed a few of the rare scrolls she had purchased. Looking at Shi Feng, she said softly, "Which scroll are you looking for? If you are in a hurry, I can sell a few to you at cost." The Sacred Temple members were shocked. They thought that they were hallucinating. Quiet Melody was the Sacred Temple''s Vice Temple Master. Even if one disregarded her status, her appearance was enough to make countless men and women swoon. Aside from the required respect for the Guild Leader and the Guild''s older generation, she almost never expressed goodwill towards anyone. Yet, she was doing exactly that for Shi Feng. Even if Shi Feng was a particularly skilled fighter with astonishing strength, that shouldn''t warrant Quiet Melody''s warmth. After all, they belonged to different Guilds. Moreover, their Guild possessed many experts who were stronger than Shi Feng. "Sister Melody, we need these scrolls urgently. If we sell them to someone else" Lonely Fantasy quickly interjected. "It''s fine. We purchased a few extra as a precaution." Quiet Melody smiled, responding to the Summoner youth''s advice with indifference. However, Lonely Fantasy knew that these rare Magic Scrolls were crucial to complete their quest. On the off chance that they ran out during the quest, they may fall on the very edge of success. If that happened, their previous efforts would go to waste. He could not understand why Quiet Melody wanted to befriend Shi Feng. What was so good about this Swordsman? "Many thanks. I only need four Monster Repellent Scrolls." Shi Feng stated, not beating around the bush. His agreement with Bloodfang was extremely important. If the monsters raided the town before he was prepared, without the Monster Repellent Scroll, he would have to pay 30,000 Gold. Moreover, a person of Quiet Melody''s status had no reason to trick him and no need to use this opportunity to learn why he had come to this Shop. Since the woman wanted to befriend him and there was no enmity between him and the Sacred Temple, he saw no reason to reject her offer. Afterward, Quiet Melody gave Shi Feng four Monster Repellent Scrolls in exchange for 20 Gold. After receiving the scrolls, Shi Feng turned to look at Quiet Melody, who had been smiling all this time. Sighing, he said, "Temple Master Melody, just state your business. I''m assuming that you didn''t waste so much time talking to a nobody like me just to sell a few unprofitable scrolls." 965 Super Guilds’ Attention Chapter 965 - Super Guilds'' Attention "It''s nothing major. I just wish to purchase an item from Zero Wing." Quiet Melody chuckled at Shi Feng''s question. "What item are you interested in?" Shi Feng began to grow curious. Generally, any items that Zero Wing sold could be purchased from the Candlelight Trading Firm. With the Sacred Temple''s capabilities, Quiet Melody could even easily afford the limited Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Rather than seeking him out personally, she could simply issue a command, and her subordinates would fetch the items and deliver them to her doorstep. "The slots to the Holy City," Quiet Melody responded seriously. "How do you know about that?" Shi Feng''s expression immediately darkened. Very few people knew of his acquisition of the Titan City entrance tokens. He highly doubted that Youlan''s people would have leaked anything. However, based on Quiet Melody''s tone, it was clear that she was certain that he had the entrance tokens. "There''s no need for surprise. In reality, this news has spread throughout the various Super Guilds," Quiet Melody smiled. "I believe you remember Peerless, right? "As a result of his major loss at your hands, Peerless advertised your deeds. He even revealed the secret about Titan City. Moreover, he is very certain that you obtained slots to the Holy City. "Before this incident, I never knew that God''s Domain had such a Holy Land. Many Super Guilds are now watching Zero Wing. It is only a matter of time before they contact your Guild. I had intended to visit White River City after I had finished shopping here. However, it seems that won''t be necessary." Hearing Quiet Melody''s explanation, the Sacred Temple members were stunned. Even Lonely Fantasy wondered if he had heard wrong. They had never imagined that Shi Feng was actually responsible for the Pantheon Elder''s suffering. Even newbies knew about Pantheon''s Peerless. He was a big shot on the same level as Quiet Melody, yet Shi Feng had killed such a powerful character. It was unbelievable! Field battles were different from the PvP battles in the Dark Arena. Although Peerless was not as powerful as Sirius, one could use various tools in a field battle. Many powerful experts had also accompanied Peerless, making it even more difficult to kill him. Moreover, from listening to Quiet Melody''s words, the item in Shi Feng''s hands was even tempting to the various Super Guilds, so much so that a Vice Temple Master like Quiet Melody deemed it necessary to make a personal visit. This was a first in Sacred Temple''s history. Generally, when dealing with a Guild like Zero Wing, it was a miracle if the Sacred Temple even sent someone from middle management, yet the Guild had delegated the negotiations with Zero Wing to a core upper echelon. Lonely Fantasy was confused. Zero Wing was merely an upstart Guild in God''s Domain, yet it warranted treatment that first-rate Guilds dreamed of. How did it manage this? "So, he''s the one who let it leak." Shi Feng smiled bitterly as a realization struck him. "It seems that had been his final chance." He now, more or less, understood Peerless''s actions during the entrance trial. It was no wonder why the high and mighty Peerless of Pantheon had tried to negotiate halfway through the battle. Without a doubt, that had been his last chance to challenge the entrance trial. After losing that chance, he would have to wait a long time before he could try to enter the Holy City again. He might not even get another chance. Since he had lost this opportunity, he wouldn''t let the culprit behind his failure get off scot-free. Hence, he had spread the news and pointed the various Super Guilds towards Zero Wing. "Our Sacred Temple also knows how valuable the slots are, so we won''t ask for too many. Ten will be enough. I believe that with how many slots Zero Wing obtained, trading ten shouldn''t be an issue. Moreover, we are more than willing to pay a sufficient fee in either money or items," Quiet Melody unhurriedly explained her offer. In an ordinary Guild, the Holy City''s slots would, at most, add a few Advanced Lifestyle players. However, it was a different story for Super Guilds. Super Guilds like the Sacred Temple had many Lifestyle players who were masters in other virtual reality games. Unfortunately, as these masters were still unfamiliar with God''s Domain''s Lifestyle classes, they could only utilize a small fraction of their true abilities. However, with access to the Holy City of Titan, these past masters would rapidly become true Lifestyle Masters in God''s Domain. Once these masters could exert their true abilities, rather than just generating limited profits, the Sacred Temple''s network of Shops could finally be put to good use. Hence, to obtain the slots to the Holy City, the Sacred Temple was willing to pay a massive price. "If Zero Wing is willing to sell the slots, the Sacred Temple is willing to trade Epic items or golden Lands in major cities for them." Since Shi Feng had remained silent, Quiet Melody decided to use the Sacred Temple''s trump card. One needed more than just money to afford Epic items and major cities'' golden Lands. It was especially true for the Lands. Even a fool knew that these Lands'' value had room to grow. If not for how important Lifestyle Masters were to the Sacred Temple, the Temple would never have considered these bargaining chips. "Although I want to agree to your offer, the Holy City''s slots are too precious. I believe that you know just how important they are. Moreover, to tell you the truth, Zero Wing has already used many of our slots. Even if I wanted to trade them to you, Zero Wing doesn''t have many left. If you wish to buy them, I''ll have to discuss your offer with my Guild Leader." Shi Feng did not openly reject Quiet Melody''s request. After all, the Sacred Temple offered an impressive price. Moreover, based on Quiet Melody had said, it seemed that multiple Super Guilds were very interested in the Holy City''s entrance tokens. Even if he told the truth and claimed that Zero Wing had used all of its slots, none of the Super Guilds would believe him. At which point, Zero Wing would have earned many new enemies for no reason at all. This was all a part of Peerless''s sinister plan. "I understand. I''ll have to request that you speak with Guild Leader Black Flame, then. If he is willing to trade, our offer will not disappoint." Quiet Melody nodded, not surprised in the least about this outcome. In her opinion, Shi Feng was merely one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons, and the Holy City''s slots could decide the fate of a trading firm. Naturally, such an important decision fell to the Guild''s leader. As for whether or not Black Flame would agree to the Sacred Temple''s offer, she was unsure. However, she didn''t believe that it was likely that he would refuse the offer. After all, golden Lands in major cities were too valuable. They were also something that Zero Wing needed urgently. There simply was no reason for Black Flame to refuse. 966 Candlelight Auction Chapter 966 - Candlelight Auction After Shi Feng finished his conversation with Quiet Melody, he pretended to contact "Black Flame." In reality, though, he contacted Fire Dance. After all, he was Black Flame. How could he possibly contact himself? He had only said something about it to hide his identity. Had he made the decision as "Ye Feng," he would have roused Quiet Melody''s suspicions. Shi Feng had to admit that the Sacred Temple''s offer was tempting. At the same time, it served as a reminder. Zero Wing''s number of Lands couldn''t even compare to a first-rate Guild''s, not to mention Super Guilds. It had fewer than an ordinary second-rate Guild. However, this could not be helped. These Guilds had far stronger foundations than Zero Wing. These Guilds had joined God''s Domain with plenty of starting capital. Their members also spanned across many cities. Moreover, these Guilds had invested almost all of the Coins they earned from their money-farming teams into purchasing various cities'' Lands. Now players had been developing in God''s Domain for quite some time, these Guilds'' advantages were beginning to manifest. In stark contrast to these Guilds, Zero Wing had started in God''s Domain with absolutely nothing. Its possession of Lands in so many cities was already impressive. Now that God''s Domain had been operating for so long, even if Zero Wing had a lot of money, the various large Guilds had already bought out the lands in the various NPC cities. These Guilds treated their Lands like their babies. It was practically impossible for Zero Wing to purchase these Lands at a reasonable price without presenting something that these Guilds hungered for. The Holy City slots provided a golden opportunity. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm had only spread its influence to a few major cities. By the time the Lifestyle players in Titan City reached the Advanced rank, the firm''s small corner of the market wouldn''t be enough to display its true prowess. If the trading firm obtained a few plots of Land in empires'' top-ten major cities, it would secure a far larger customer base. If he took into account the Strengthening Device and the designs unique to Titan City, Candlelight Trading Firm''s profits would make the income from Stone Forest Town look pitiful. At the moment, however, Shi Feng did not have any Titan City Entrance Tokens on hand. Even if he did, he had no intentions of selling them to Quiet Melody right now. Since there were so many Super Guilds craving their own slots to the Holy City, he had to auction them and obtain the best price. Moreover, by doing so, he wouldn''t invoke these Super Guilds'' ire, preventing Peerless''s plans from coming to fruition. Currently, his only method of entering Titan City was the Holy City''s Emblem. However, the emblem had a seven-day Cooldown. He had used the emblem recently, so if he wanted to enter the Holy City, he''d have to wait. He could use these seven days to prepare. After all, purchasing Lands was a significant expenditure. Even if the Holy City''s slots were more valuable, he could not trade a single slot for a major city''s golden Land unless the Super Guild had lost its mind. In the past, a single Holy City slot only sold for several hundred Gold. Even if it sold for more than that at the moment, the most anyone would pay was roughly 1,000 Gold. On the other hand, major cities'' golden Lands were worth over 10,000 Gold. With the slots he had on hand, he could afford, at most, one plot of land. This was not the desired outcome. He planned to trade the Holy City slots for Lands in major cities, offering one slot and Coins to make up the cost difference. This way, he could purchase ten plots of Lands by selling ten slots. Hence, collecting enough Coins was now a priority. "Fire, prepare the main force and both the Dark Gods Legion''s official members and reserve members to advance on the Undead Gorge. Halt all other quests and activities temporarily," Shi Feng instructed. "Don''t forget to collect extra Strengthening Devices and Magic Scrolls from Candlelight as well. Although the Undead Gorge is an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, its monsters are much stronger than in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Don''t carelessly lose your lives in there." Shi Feng had never heard of the Undead Gorge before. However, as it was related to the new expansion pack, it was definitely not an ordinary Regional Dungeon. It should offer an abundance of resources, particularly Magic Crystals. Currently, there were too many players in the Stoneclaw Mountains. There weren''t enough monsters to go around. On the other hand, not only was the Undead Gorge a new Regional Dungeon, but it also required more to enter than the Stoneclaw Mountains. Guilds wouldn''t be able to dispatch as many members to the Dungeon. With this, Zero Wing could farm Magic Crystals far more efficiently. As long as he had enough Magic Crystals, he could use the teleportation house to turn them into mountains of glittering Gold Coins. With this, he could earn what he needed to purchase Lands during the next seven days. "Understood." Fire Dance nodded. After Shi Feng finished issuing his orders, he smiled as he turned back to Quiet Melody. Communication between players could be set to private mode. This way, unrelated parties would not overhear the conversation. Naturally, the surrounding Sacred Temple members had heard nothing Shi Feng had said, so these people assumed that he had been speaking with "Black Flame." "Temple Master Melody, I''ve have told our Guild Leader about your offer. Our Guild Leader has considered this problem; hence, he has already prepared and decided to auction off the slots. In seven days, the Candlelight Trading Firm will hold its first auction. Not only will the Holy City''s slots be available, but many other unimaginable items will also be for sale," Shi Feng said. "To participate in the Candlelight Auction, you will need to hold at least one Deed to a major city''s golden Land. These Lands will be used to bid for the Holy City slots. Of course, Zero Wing will supplement the cost for each Land with Coins. However, Zero Wing will only announce the auction to the public in three days. "This is all I can say for the moment. As for who obtains the Holy City slots, that will depend on the strength and capital of the various Guilds attending." The moment Shi Feng finished talking, Lonely Fantasy, who stood beside Quiet Melody, flew into a rage, growling, "What do you guys take those Holy City slots for?! Do you really think our Sacred Temple can''t obtain our own?!" "Fantasy, that''s enough!" Quiet Melody reproached her subordinate. Although Lonely Fantasy tried to continue, when he saw the fury in Quiet Melody''s eyes, he snapped his mouth closed. "Since Zero Wing intends to sell the Holy City slots, we are lucky. The Sacred Temple will certainly attend the auction," Quiet Melody said, her eyes carrying a silent apology. She then departed from the Shop with Lonely Fantasy and the others. Lonely Fantasy still wanted to say something after leaving the Shop, but Quiet Melody''s glare silenced him. "Fantasy, you have just officially joined the Sacred Temple, so there is much about God''s Domain that you do not know. Zero Wing is not as simple as you think. It was bold enough to provoke the super-first-rate Guild Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and the Super Guild King''s Return. Do you really think Zero Wing will think much of the Sacred Temple''s threats?" Quiet Melody scolded Lonely Fantasy, shaking her head ruefully. "While we wait, rather than following me around, head to the intelligence department and learn about the game''s various Guilds. God''s Domain is not the shallow game you think it is." Lonely Fantasy was taken aback by Quiet Melody''s words. He had not realized that Zero Wing was powerful enough to provoke King''s Return. Just what kind of Guild was it?! As for Shi Feng, after obtaining the Monster Repellent Scrolls, he returned to White River City. As soon as he returned, he headed for his warehouse in the bank. Previously, too many things had demanded his attention. He hadn''t yet had a chance to use the damaged God Crystal he had obtained during the entrance trial. The Holy Grail already possessed immense power. If he could upgrade it further The thought alone excited him. 967 Damaged God Crystal Chapter 967 - Damaged God Crystal At White River City''s bank, before Shi Feng had arrived, a crowd of players had formed in front of the building''s entrance. "Selling raw materials in bulk! A stack of Frost Grass for only 15 Silver! A stack of Flame Flowers for 21 Silver! First come, first served!" "Urgently selling Attribute Gemstones! Tier 1 Gemstones for 7 Silver each! Tier 2 for 75 Silver each! Limited stock available!" Players were selling all sorts of items near the bank''s entrance. Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment was even available for purchase. Current mainstream players were only Level 33, while elite players were generally Level 36. Even Guild elite players dreamed of owning Level 30 Dark-Gold Equipment. Very few people were willing to sell these items on the market. Generally, only players from small but powerful Workshops sold equipment of such caliber. After all, ordinary teams could not obtain Dark-Gold Equipment. However, rather than sell Dark-Gold Equipment for in-game currency, these small-scale Workshops generally sold their items to Guilds for Credits, which they used to maintain their Workshop''s operations. After all, such Workshops usually didn''t have the financial support of a corporation. "These are so cheap! I want three Tier 1 Strength Gemstones and one Tier 2 Agility Gemstone!" "Get lost! I want two Tier 2 Strength Gemstones!" "I want three stacks of Flame Flowers!" Aside from the group of peddling players, another crowd fought desperately to purchase the items for sale. A majority of these players were Merchant players and Guild logistic members. Are these people insane? Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he heard the various prices. Regardless of the herbs and ores, the Gemstone prices alone were astounding. The current market value for Tier 1 Gemstones was 9 Silver, which was slightly lower than its initial price. He could easily turn a profit of 2 Silver if he bought them for 7 Silver. As for the Tier 2 Gemstone, its prices had not fallen, but had risen instead. Currently, each sold for between 95 Silver and 1 Gold on the market. Moreover, Tier 2 Gemstones were still in high demand. Even after many players had obtained their Tier 2 classes in the past, the majority of their Gemstones had been Tier 1. Only Guild members or wealthy experts could afford a full set of Tier 2 Gemstones at this stage of the game. Moreover, many of the herbs and ores sold were relatively rare. They were still extremely difficult to purchase from the market, yet so many players hawked them here. Shi Feng even wondered if some large Guild had lost its mind. Regardless, Shi Feng had no intentions of missing this rare opportunity. He might''ve just walked away if only the Attribute Gemstones were available for a low price. After all, he could obtain much cheaper Attribute Gemstones from the Dark Den. Moreover, he normally sold these Gemstones through the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, it was a different story for rare herbs and ores. He had no shortcuts to obtain these items. He had to rely on his Guild members to collect them gradually. Now that someone sold them for 20% below market price, he would be doing the Candlelight Trading Firm a disservice if he didn''t purchase them all. Hence, Shi Feng joined the line of customers. Most of the players in the queue only purchased one or two stacks of materials. Only Merchant players and Guild players could afford a little more. However, these players focused on hard currencies such as the Attribute Gemstone. Although they would require some time to resell, they were certain to make a profit with such a low cost. "How many rare herbs and ores do you have?" When it was finally Shi Feng''s turn, he examined the middle-aged vendor. The man was only a little over Level 10. He was obviously a Guild player as only Guilds had such logistic players, yet neither the man, nor the players helping him wore a Guild Emblem. "Dear guest, let me assure you that we have an abundant supply. We have as much as you could possibly want." The middle-aged man revealed a businessman''s smile as he glanced at the cloaked Shi Feng. "I see. Alright, then. I want 3,000 stacks of Ice Dew Flower, 3,000 stacks of Moonlight Grass" Shi Feng listed various herbs and ores, requesting 3,000 stacks of each. Ice Dew Flowers and Moonlight Grass were both main materials for producing the Ice Resistance Potion. In addition, Shi Feng had asked for the main materials necessary to craft the Fire Resistance Potion. As long as he had these materials, he could produce Ice Resistance and Fire Resistance Potions in bulk. By the time White River City grew and the city''s players could travel to the Eclipse Gate, these two potions would sell like hotcakes. Shi Feng clearly remembered that, shortly after the Flying Ship feature launched, these potions'' prices had skyrocketed. The raw materials also became incredibly popular. White River City''s current development speed far outstripped that of the past. Based on Shi Feng''s estimation, it wouldn''t be long before the Flying Ships were available in White River City. If he stockpiled Ice Resistance and Fire Resistance Potions now, by the time players could travel to the Eclipse Gate, he would make a fortune. "Dear customer, are you sure you want so many materials?" Shock lit up the middle-aged man''s face as he listened to Shi Feng''s request. "The bag space of one or two people won''t be enough to hold so many. If you really want them, we''ll need some time to transfer the materials over from other cities." Even if he emptied his warehouse in White River City, he wouldn''t come close to fulfilling Shi Feng''s order. "Sure, I can wait," Shi Feng said, looking nonchalant. In any case, he had something to do in the bank. If there was money to be made, he could be patient. Hearing Shi Feng''s confidence, the middle-aged man smiled brightly. Hurriedly, he said in a respectful tone, "Please wait here for an hour. I''ll send my men to fetch the materials. However, we don''t have enough stock of some of the materials you have requested. Do you still wish to purchase them?" He could make as much money selling Shi Feng these materials as he had made from all of his previous customers. "So be it. In any case, bring as many of the materials I listed as you can. I''ll buy everything. As a precaution, let''s sign a contract. I''ll return in an hour to find you. If you prepare the items early, you can meet me in the bank''s main hall," Shi Feng said. He then produced a contract and handed it to the middle-aged man. "Please rest assured; I''ll have my men bring the materials immediately." After the middle-aged man read through the contract, he signed it without hesitation. He then began to contact his subordinates. As for Shi Feng, he entered the bank''s main hall. "Hello, sir; how may I be of service to you today?" the female NPC behind the front counter smiled as she asked Shi Feng politely. "I want to enter my Personal Warehouse. Here is the key," Shi Feng said. He then passed a bronze key to the female NPC. "Please follow me, sir." After the NPC received the key, her attitude towards Shi Feng shifted, showing more respect. The key Shi Feng had produced was paired to a Large Private Warehouse. This made him one of the bank''s VIP guests. No player could steal information about a Private Warehouse''s contents. This was the reason that Shi Feng had rented one for himself. Upon arrival, Shi Feng carefully opened one of the warehouse''s safes. The instant the safe opened, the air in the Private Warehouse grew heavy as a powerful aura surged from within the safe. The safe contained none other than the Legendary ranked Holy Grail. "This is" Originally, Shi Feng had intended to retrieve the damaged God Crystal from his bag. However, as if this God Crystal had been summoned, it flew from his bag without his involvement. As the God Crystal hovered before Shi Feng, it radiated a faint, golden glow. The God Crystal, which should have lost its power, seemed resurrected. It radiated a powerful Divine Might that prevented Shi Feng from moving. 968 Evolving the Emblem Chapter 968 - Evolving the Emblem How is this Divine Might be so powerful?! Shi Feng could only look at the damaged God Crystal. He could not even move a finger. The powerful Divine Might could even overpower Tier 5 NPCs. It was hard to imagine that this was merely a damaged God Crystal. Even the complete God Crystal he had previously snatched from a Tier 4 monster had not been as powerful as this. If he weren''t in his Private Warehouse, the God Crystal''s Divine Might might be enough to paralyze every player in the bank, causing a commotion in White River City. Although this damaged God Crystal was quite powerful, in front of the Holy Grail, it was a sheep for the slaughter. It could only wait for its death. The Holy Grail then radiated a purple aura that spread throughout the warehouse. This purple aura ate away at the Divine Might rapidly, and Shi Feng''s Private Warehouse was soon void of Divine Magic. As for the damaged God Crystal, it could barely stay afloat while it struggled desperately against the Holy Grail''s aura. Suddenly, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Do you wish to allow the Holy Grail to absorb the Titan Core? "This is a Titan Core?" The sudden revelation surprised Shi Feng. He used Omniscient Eyes once more to check the damaged God Crystal. [Titan Core] The Ten Great Saints of Titan''s greatest masterpiece. The Titan Core is capable of supplying a near-infinite amount of energy. It originally served as the Titan Fortress''s power core. However, it had been heavily damaged during the war between Gods. When Shi Feng finished reading the description, he was thunderstruck. He had heard of this item before. It could be used to construct a war fortress''s power core, which was also the most important component in a war fortress. A war fortress was far more difficult to construct than a city as it was a machine meant for slaughter. Even Tier 5 NPCs would flee from a war fortress as a single, random strike was enough to end their lives. However, moving a powerful war fortress required an astronomical amount of energy. Hence, one needed a very powerful power source. Among the available materials in God''s Domain, the Titan Core was the best option. Speaking of war fortresses, Shi Feng had seen one in the Physis Canyon. He had also accepted the Unique Quest "Steel Fortress Barrutia.". He had nearly lost his life attempting to power the Steel Fortress Barrutia with the Titan''s Heart. However, although the Titan''s Heart could also be used as a power core, it was far weaker than the Titan Core. The Titan Core possessed Divine Might, while the Titan''s Heart only possessed power. If the Titan''s Heart were powerful enough to threaten Tier 5 classes, the Titan Core was powerful enough to invoke Gods'' fear. Moreover, unlike the Titan Core, the Titan''s Heart''s energy was limited. Even a hundred Titan''s Hearts were not as valuable as one Titan Core. "Do I absorb it?" Shi Feng hesitated. To a Guild, the Titan Core was leagues more important than a Legendary item. Of the many components needed to construct a war fortress, the power core was the most difficult to obtain. In the past, this had caused many headaches for many of God''s Domain''s major powers. Moreover, even if they obtained a power source, they would not mobilize their war fortress due to the immense energy consumption. However, there was no denying a war fortress''s extreme power. If a Tier 5 player could defend a town with a player population over one million, a war fortress could defend nearly half of a kingdom''s territory. Moreover, that was with a limited energy source when it could not be moved casually. Obtaining or producing another power source was immensely difficult. If he could equip a war fortress with the Titan Core, the war fortress would have no problems defending an entire kingdom. Even the Super Guilds in the past had not had such a weapon of mass destruction. Moreover, powering a war fortress was only one of the Titan Core''s functions. The Titan Core could also be used in a player-constructed city to emulate the Holy City of Titan. According to legend, eighteen Titan Cores powered Titan City, granting it infinite energy. In the distant past, a large group of Tier 6 Gods had attacked the Holy City. In the end, however, these Gods had failed. Titan City''s dense Mana and its floating Lifestyle Association were due to its endless amount of energy. One could just imagine how precious a Titan Core was. If he allowed the Holy Grail to absorb the Titan Core now, it would be nigh impossible to obtain another in the future. After all, Titan City''s ten saints were long gone. There was no one around who was capable of producing another Titan Core. In the end, after giving it some thought, Shi Feng decided to withhold the Titan Core from the Holy Grail. Although the Titan Core was damaged and could not be used, there was hope of repairing it. After all, he had the Holy City''s Emblem. He could enter Titan City any time he wanted. As the Titan Core''s birthplace, he should be able to learn how to repair it in Titan City. To stop the Holy Grail from craving the Titan Core, Shi Feng stored the Core in another safe. No one was allowed to open the safes in a Private Warehouse without the user''s approval. The items in these safes would also be disconnected from the outside world. Sure enough, after Shi Feng stored the Titan Core inside a safe, the Holy Grail receded its aura and fell dormant. It seems I''ll have to look for other God Crystals to restore the Holy Grail. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the Holy Grail, which emitted a purple hue. He suddenly had a realization. Since the Grail can evolve an item, I wonder if it can evolve the Holy City''s Emblem? Although there was no indication of the Holy City''s Emblem having a rank, the Titan City Entrance Tokens were divided into ranks. His black-iron entrance tokens allowed wielders to enter the Holy City for three days. If players possessed sufficient Reputation, they could extend their stay. Silver was the next rank. Wielders of the silver entrance token could stay in the Holy City for six days. Similarly, they could extend their stay with sufficient Reputation. The highest ranking entrance token was the gold entrance token. It allowed players to stay in the Holy City for up to ten days. Which token players acquired depended on which difficulty they chose when challenging the entrance trial. Titan City''s entrance trial was not limited to one difficulty setting. Only, as Shi Feng''s team was still too low-level and only consisted of Tier 1 players, they had not had any other options. When the team had Tier 2 players, the entrance trial would provide a Hard Mode difficulty. As long as players cleared the Hard Mode trial, they could obtain silver tokens. When Tier 3 players were present in the team, Hell Mode would be made available, from which players could obtain the golden tokens. The Normal Mode of Titan City''s entrance trial was already as difficult, or more, as the Hell Mode difficulty of a 100-man large-scale Team Dungeon, not to mention Hard Mode and Hell Mode. Even in the past, Shi Feng had never heard of a team obtaining the gold tokens, and extremely few teams had managed to obtain the silver tokens; most had settled for black-iron. Since the entrance tokens were divided by ranks, the Holy City''s Emblems should have ranks as well. After all, he had obtained his Holy City''s Emblem from Normal Mode. What about those obtained from Hard Mode and Hell Mode? Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng could not help but click on the Holy Grail and select its Power of Evolution Skill. He chose the Holy City''s Emblem as the evolution''s target. 969 Evolved Effects Chapter 969 - Evolved Effects "I should be able to evolve it, right?" Although Shi Feng had chosen to evolve the Holy City''s Emblem, he still wasn''t sure that his plan was feasible. After all, unlike weapons and equipment, the Holy City''s Emblem did not have a rank to differentiate it from others. Suddenly, a strand of purple mist flowed from the light-blue Holy Grail, gently wrapping around the flashing silver emblem in Shi Feng''s hand as if scanning it. Three seconds later, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: Do you wish to sacrifice 1,000 HP permanently to evolve the Holy City''s Emblem? "Sure enough, a Legendary item is amazing!" Excitement lit up Shi Feng''s face. Although losing 1,000 HP stung, the return was worth the cost. As long as the evolution succeeded, this item would be far more valuable than an Epic item. Shi Feng agreed to the evolution. Shi Feng''s maximum HP then fell by 1,000, from 26,300 to 25,300. However, despite the loss, Shi Feng''s HP was still much higher than Cola''s. If Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Aura of Earth, he could even become a sturdier MT than Cola As Shi Feng''s HP decreased, streams of green liquid flowed from his body and into the Holy Grail. In turn, the Holy Grail radiated a dazzling purple glow that gradually melded with the Holy City''s Emblem. Suddenly, the emblem radiated a dazzling golden glow that enveloped the warehouse. "Was it a success?" Shi Feng stared at the Holy City''s Emblem, tension tightening his features. If the evolution were a success, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s future would be limitless. While other Guilds were expending effort and resources to nurture Advanced Lifestyle players, he could easily nurture one batch after another, giving the Candlelight Trading Firm a massive advantage over other trading firms. At that time, even if Candlelight lacked Shops, it could easily overwhelm its rivals with a large stock of advanced products. If they could nurture a Master-rank player, they could earn staggering amounts of money. If the evolution failed, though, he would have to wait another ten days before he could try again. He would also have to sacrifice another 1,000 HP. The thought soured Shi Feng''s mood. However, as depressing as it was, he would gladly sacrifice another 1,000 HP. After all, Titan City held the key to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s future. After the golden glow dissipated, the originally silver Holy City''s Emblem shone a pale gold. Moreover, tiny divine runes had been carved on the emblem, which gathered surrounding Mana. It almost seemed like a faint mist had wrapped around the emblem, giving it an aura of mystery. Following which, Shi Feng inspected the Holy City''s Emblem''s statistics. [Holy City''s Emblem] Opens a transfer gate to Titan City. A maximum of 20 people may pass through the gate. Each time the wielder of the Holy City''s Emblem enters the Holy City of Titan, they can extend their stay by up to two days. Cooldown: 7 days After Shi Feng finished reading the introduction, he was ecstatic. Although the evolved emblem did not extend a player''s stay like the higher-ranked entrance tokens, it now allowed twenty people to enter Titan City rather than ten. Moreover, the wielder could stay in the Holy City two days more than everyone else. Now, the Holy City''s Emblem was practically a permanent residence permit for Shi Feng. Generally, ordinary players could only stay in Titan City for three days, while Shi Feng, as one of the city''s Honorary Citizens, could stay up to five days. Including the emblem''s new effects, he could extend his stay in the Holy City to seven days, which was exactly how long the Cooldown lasted. With this, even if Shi Feng did not raise his Reputation, he could stay in Titan City as long as he wanted. Titan City was heavenly for both Lifestyle players and combat players. Not bad. With this, I won''t have to worry about time constraints when I''m questing in Titan City. Shi Feng smiled at the pale gold emblem in his hand. Titan City was a Holy Land to both Lifestyle players and combat players. Only, as the slots to enter the city were extremely valuable, most Guilds that possessed them only used them on Lifestyle players who could contribute more to the Guild than combat players. However, as more players reached Titan City, combat players would discover the Holy City''s benefits. They would also discover that they would enjoy just as many benefits as Lifestyle players. Only, the various Guilds had only discovered late in the game. By then, Titan City''s benefits were no longer useful to apex experts. --- Star-Moon City, Ouroboros''s Guild Residence: Due to the Blackwater Corporation''s visit, the entire Guild was a mess. Many of the players lounged around the Guild Residence''s main hall, not in the mood to level up. Instead, they chatted among themselves about the Guild''s situation. At the same time, an argument raged in the Residence''s meeting room. "Do your companies really intend to side with the Blackwater Corporation?! Have you never considered the fact that Blackwater is simply trying to annex Ouroboros and turn it into one of its toys?! At that time, your companies won''t have anything to do with Ouroboros at all!" Zhao Yueru bellowed, furious as she glared at the several Guild Elders beside her. "Won''t you reconsider this?" The Guild Elders not affiliated with a company nodded, showing their support for Zhao Yueru''s words. The Blackwater Corporation was ruthless and cruel. Before it had even obtained Ouroboros, it was asking its Guild Leader to step down and relinquish full management rights. One could only imagine what Blackwater would do once it truly secured the Guild. Ouroboros''s name would vanish from the virtual gaming world. After the Blackwater Corporation obtained 90% of Ouroboros''s shares, it would only be a matter of time before it obtained the remaining 10% and devoured Ouroboros. Aside from the compensation fees, these companies would have nothing left. Currently, God''s Domain''s popularity was rising rapidly due to the Mind Space System''s launch. Even a fool could tell what would become of God''s Domain in the future. Otherwise, so many companies from around the world wouldn''t be investing in the game. As a first-rate Guild, Ouroboros had a significant advantage. It had already amassed plenty of Lands. However, if they allowed Blackwater to take everything, these companies would never be able to establish another Guild as powerful as Ouroboros, no matter how much money they spent. By giving in to the Blackwater Corporation, these companies were ignoring long-term profits for short-term gains. "Regarding the problem of your funds, I have begun to sell the materials in the Guild''s warehouse to collect more. Including the funds I have and based on my estimations, we should be able to fund your companies'' resistance against Blackwater for some time. "Ouroboros can use this time to capture a few towns. With the income from these towns, the Guild will be able to sustain itself. It will no longer have to purchase Coins from others or hire money-farming teams. Meanwhile, you will retain your shares of Ouroboros. What do you think?" Gentle Snow proposed her plan calmly as she shifted her gaze towards the several Elders representing various companies. Although her plan was effectively cutting off Ouroboros''s means of retreat, this was the Guild''s best option. 970 Greatest Advantage Chapter 970 - Greatest Advantage The company representative Elders fell silent after Gentle Snow''s proposal. They had never imagined that Gentle Snow would take such decisive action, sacrificing the materials their Guild had struggled to accumulate. This would damage Ouroboros immensely and be robbing Peter to pay Paul. In reality, she had not solved the fundamental problem. However, if they gathered enough capital to cover their companies'' sudden shortage of funds and endure this difficult period, their companies could make a comeback and slap the Blackwater Corporation in the face. Moreover, as Gentle Snow had said, if Ouroboros could obtain a few towns within a short time and maintain Ouroboros''s profitable state, their companies would hold onto Ouroboros tightly, rather than surrender their shares to Blackwater. In God''s Domain, captured towns were different from NPC cities. Unlike in NPC cities, where players were under many restrictions, players could build as they wished in their own town. Moreover, constructing a house in a town was far cheaper. Most importantly, players wouldn''t be limited in what items they could sell. In the Shops in NPC cities, players were only allowed to sell items that were native to God''s Domain. In a player-owned town, however, players could sell foreign products such as cosmetic items. Unlike weapons and equipment, cosmetic items did not possess Attributes. At the same time, cosmetic items could only be worn within player-owned territory; they could not be worn in the fields or NPC cities. Moreover, designing cosmetic items in the game was not an easy task. Although it was not as troublesome and meticulous as weaving, leather making, or forging Attributed equipment, and crafting required an Advanced Lifestyle player''s skills, cosmetic items could only be crafted using native materials in God''s Domain. As a result, players were required to look for suitable materials to create pleasant-looking cosmetic items, which was not easy. Furthermore, more than one form of currency could be used. In player-owned towns, Shops had the option of selling their items for either Credits or Coins, which was convenient for both players and Shops. Take Stone Forest Town for example. As the first town to be captured in Star-Moon Kingdom, it had grown considerably. Stone Forest Town''s residential player population also increase by the dam. A lack of safety was the only issue as the area was home to high-level monsters. This prevented low-leveled players, who only sought entertainment, from visiting. Even so, many companies eagerly wanted to cooperate with Zero Wing. It was especially true for companies in the clothing industry. They all wanted to drown Zero Wing in Credits. However, for some unknown reason, Zero Wing had turned these companies down. Instead, it constructed hotels, smithies, bars, and other establishments. The town was nearly out of space already eeing the large numbers of players swarming to Stone Forest Town, many companies had cursed Zero Wing as insane. The Guild was ignoring a golden opportunity to earn a fortune. "We''ll contact our superiors immediately. However, we cannot guarantee that they will be willing to take this risk." The several Elders representing companies nodded before logging out of God''s Domain. Hearing the several Elders'' answer, the other upper echelons relaxed slightly. --- Inside Star-Moon Kingdom''s Divine Colosseum, a large group of players ranging between Level 10 and Level 20 wandered in and out of Trial Tower. Although these players were not very high-leveled, and their equipment was sub-par at best, others were shocked by how many floors they were clearing. Of these players, the weakest among them had even reached the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. "Brother Wave, the people that Young Master Jing sent are incredible. Their improvement speeds are astounding. It won''t even be long before they surpass me," a tall Level 39 Ranger, who sat beside Abandoned Wave, said, smiling bitterly. No matter what was said or done, he was a famous expert in the virtual gaming world. This time, he had been specially hired to train a group of newcomers who had recently joined the virtual gaming world. He had initially thought that this would be a simple job. However, the moment he met these newcomers, he sensed the dense killing intent and hostility. Their auras were nothing like an ordinary player''s, and he could instantly tell that these experts had been well-tempered in life combat. Among these newcomers, a few even felt stifling. These newcomers had already surpassed him and reached the realm he had always dreamed of. "This is all thanks to your guidance. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have grasped God''s Domain''s combat basics so quickly. When more newcomers arrive, I''ll have to trouble you again." Abandoned Wave was quite satisfied as he watched the new group enter the Trial Tower. As long as he raised these people''s Levels, it would only be a matter of time before Blackwater took over Star-Moon Kingdom. Before he had joined the game, he would never have imagined that combat in God''s Domain was as realistic as real-world combat. The only differences were players'' Skills and superhuman physiques. To the Blackwater Corporation, the game''s realistic combat was its greatest advantage. After all, Blackwater was a giant in the fighting world. No one had more combat experts or method of nurturing experts than Blackwater. Unlike other companies, which struggled to nurture their own gaming experts in God''s Domain, it was a simple task for the Blackwater Corporation. Blackwater only needed to assist players in adapting to God''s Domain''s combat style. Suddenly, a bald, robust man rushed up to Abandoned Wave and whispered, "Big Brother Wave, a message has arrived from Ouroboros. It seems that Gentle Snow is trying to use the Guild''s collected materials to compensate the companies for their missing funds. Moreover, someone in White River City has already agreed to purchase all of Ouroboros''s rare herbs and ores. Should we do something to stop her?" "Hahaha! Interesting! It seems that Gentle snow is good for more than just her pretty face! She is a daring beauty! It makes me somewhat reluctant to let her go!" Abandoned Wave could not help but roar with laughter. "It''s a pity that her efforts are pointless. She doesn''t understand Blackwater''s power. She doesn''t know these companies true intentions, either. "Gentle Snow has a considerable amount of Ouroboros''s shares. Even if those companies pressure her, they can''t stop her from selling the materials. However, I can''t let her have her way. Notify Gale and the others and have them warn the buyer. I don''t want Ouroboros to have a raw material shortage when I take control." "Understood!" After Abandoned Wave finished issuing his instructions, the bald man left the Divine Colosseum. 971 White River Citys Transformation Chapter 971 - White River City''s Transformation Star-Moon City, Ouroboros''s Guild Residence: Bursting into the meeting room, the tall, robust Berserker Fierce Snake hurried to Gentle Snow''s side and quietly reported, "Guild Leader, good news! You''ve been worried that we wouldn''t be able to sell the materials fast enough, right? Awhile ago, we found someone willing to purchase all of our rare herbs and ores! Moreover, the Attribute Gemstones'' sales in the various major cities are going quite well. We''ll collect the necessary funds in no time!" "Alright." Gentle Snow''s expression, which had been tense until now, finally relaxed. "Assemble the materials in the various warehouses immediately." Selling all of the materials Ouroboros had, even at 80% market value, in such a short time would be a daunting task. After all, there was a limit to how much the market could digest. If they could not gather the required funds in time, her proposal would have been nothing but talk. Now that someone wanted to spend the Coins to purchase their stock, they had helped her considerably. When Gentle Snow finished instructing Fierce Snake, the several company representative Elders came back online. "How did you manage to get an answer so quickly?" Gentle Snow felt something off when she saw the several Elders. Such an important decision wasn''t easy to make. At the very least, these companies would have had to hold an emergency meeting with their directors before making a decision, yet these Elders had only been gone for less than ten minutes. "Have you decided to submit to Blackwater in the end?" Gentle Snow''s expression darkened. She had only recently chased away Cao Chenhua after much difficulty and snatched back control of the Guild, which had originally belonged to her elder brother. She had never expected several of Ouroboros''s investors to abandon them just as she was starting to push the Guild onto the right track. With just her family''s company, she could not stand against these major companies when they worked together. "Guild Leader Snow, please understand that this is a world where the strong eat the weak. Our companies simply cannot stand against the Blackwater Corporation. Please prepare to hand over the position of Ouroboros''s Guild Leader. We also hope that you will support the new Guild Leader. As for the White Clan Group''s Shares, we will buy them back in three days." After the company representative Elders gave their answer, they sighed powerlessly as they logged out of the game. Although they were only the representatives of their respective companies, they knew that their companies had already signed a private agreement with the Blackwater Corporation. They no longer intended to play with the White Clan Group as they had found a new playmate. "Despicable! How could they do something like this!?" "We were blind...to think we actually accepted these companies investments in the Guild." The dozen or so Elders, who had fought long and hard with Ouroboros, started to bash the investors. To them, Ouroboros was their home. They had worked for Ouroboros for over twenty years. Now that someone else was taking over their Guild, why wouldn''t they be angry? "Snow" Zhao Yueru didn''t know how to console her friend. The White Clan Group had made its fortune in the virtual gaming world. It had established Ouroboros and gradually developed the Guild, taking over a dozen years to elevate it from a third-rate Guild to a first-rate Guild. Afterward, Ouroboros had dominated over a dozen virtual reality games, yet now it was crumbling in Gentle Snow''s hands. Zhao Yueru did not know what to say. "I''m fine!" Gentle Snow waved her hand. However, she was extremely pale. After a few minutes of silence, she took a deep breath and said, "Those companies and the Blackwater Corporation are underestimating me! Since Ouroboros cannot be salvaged, the White Clan Group will start a new Ouroboros!" Although the investing companies had secured Ouroboros''s management, and thus, the Guild''s Shops, gaming experts were the true key to a Guild''s power. Due to Cao Chenghua''s mutiny, the White Clan Group controlled Ouroboros''s God Slaying Army; it did not belong to the Guild. As a preventive measure against Cao Chenghua, Gentle Snow had purchased over a dozen plots of Land in Star-Moon City and several other high-population cities under her name. However, she hadn''t expected those preventative measures to come into play now. "Fierce, you don''t have to deliver the goods anymore. I''ll meet with the buyer personally," Gentle Snow said. Although the Blackwater Corporation now owned Ouroboros, she was still the Guild Leader. She also possessed a significant portion of the Guild''s shares, so she still had the authority to transfer a considerable amount of resources. Since she was going to leave Ouroboros, she needed to take some things with her. She wouldn''t allow Blackwater to get its hands on the resources under the White Clan Group''s management. Although she couldn''t transfer the Guild''s resources in bulk, Coins were much easier to move. Moreover, upstart Guilds lacked money the most. With the money from selling the materials, she could easily build a sturdy foundation for her new Guild. Following which, Gentle Snow left the meeting room. At the same time, Zhao Yueru began to mobilize the God Slaying Army and other Guild members. When the time came, she would take as many people with her as possible. Although they could not leave Ouroboros an empty husk, they could at least cause the Blackwater Corporation to pop a vein or two when it took over the Guild''s management. --- In front of White River City''s bank "Guild Leader, the buyer is inside the bank." The middle-aged man, who sold items in front of the bank, rushed up to greet Gentle Snow when she arrived. On her way to the bank, Gentle Snow was greatly surprised by White River City''s atmosphere. Despite Star-Moon City being the kingdom''s capital, the vibe in White River City felt as if should be the capital instead. As she traveled through the city, she saw many teams from various first-rate Guilds. There were more and higher quality players in White River City than in Star-Moon City. She had even seen a few players riding through the city atop Mounts. One wouldn''t see this in Star-Moon City, yet it seemed that White River City''s players were already used to these sights One would even be hard-pressed to find such happenings in imperial capitals. When Gentle Snow entered the bank, the middle-aged man guided her to a corner of the main hall. Shi Feng sat there alone, a Black Cloak covering his body. However, even though Gentle Snow could not see Shi Feng''s appearance, this man felt familiar. Gentle Snow? Why is she here? Is Ouroboros the Guild selling the materials? Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw Gentle Snow walking towards him. Could something big have happened to the Guild? With Ouroboros''s financial strength, the Guild shouldn''t need to do something so damaging to gather funds. As Gentle Snow stopped before Shi Feng and the middle-aged man was about to introduce her, six tall, burly men radiating hostility cut past Gentle Snow''s group and surrounded Shi Feng. "Oh, Guild Leader Snow, I''m sorry, but the Blackwater Corporation has some business with this gentleman. Would you give us a moment?" the leading Level 39 Berserker named Lethal Gale subtly demanded, smiling coldly. 972 Test of Strength Chapter 972 - Test of Strength As Gentle Snow was pushed aside, the middle-aged man quickly stepped forward to speak up. However, before he could do so, Lethal Gale shot him a penetrating glare. With the one look, the middle-aged man froze. Even though the middle-aged man knew that players wouldn''t dare attack another in a place like this, Lethal Gale''s sharp gaze had left him petrified. The dense killing intent within that gaze felt as if a blade had been pressed against the middle-aged man''s throat, and if he moved, his head would leave his body. This is killing intent! Gentle Snow could also feel the frightening pressure that Lethal Gale exuded, and she could not help but stare at the Berserker. To put it simply, killing intent was a kind of mental suppression. Although killing intent couldn''t be seen or touched, the human mind could sense the threat of danger. As a person could not perceive the danger with their five senses, the mind employed a self-preservation mechanism, halting the body from making any sudden movements. It was the same mechanism that was responsible for small animals freezing when surprised. There was a saying in the real world that looks could kill. Although it sounded like a joke, a person''s gaze could indeed transmit certain signals. Take wild animals for example. When two wild animals faced off against one another, if one of the wild animals received a ferocious glare from the other, the former would hesitate. Wild animals were born with much keener senses than humans, so they could pick up on these signals easier. Normally, it was very difficult for ordinary players. However, for experts who had experienced many life or death situations, their will and instincts had already been hardened and sharpened. Hence, they could transmit more powerful signals, which even ordinary people could pick up on. Lethal Gale was one such expert. However, Gentle Snow had not focused on Lethal Gale due to his killing intent, but rather because his was somewhat different from other gaming experts''. His killing intent was much colder and sharper. Unlike the killing intent other experts radiated, which only served as a warning signal, the killing intent Gentle Snow felt from Lethal Gale showed that the Berserker truly wanted to murder his target. More importantly, the Berserker wore a calm and natural expression while he radiated such killing intent. The fact that Lethal Gale could do this told her that his hands were stained with real-world blood. "One should always act on a first come, first served basis. Do the Blackwater Corporation''s people not respect this rule?" Gentle Snow asked as she pulled her subordinate away and glanced at Lethal Gale. Sneering, she continued, "Or do you need me to teach you a lesson in manners?" Although Gentle Snow''s tone was soft and not particularly loud, everyone who heard her trembled involuntarily. It seems the rumored Snow Goddess isn''t just a push-over. Lethal Gale thought, surprised by Gentle Snow''s aura. In his eyes, virtual gaming experts did not know what it truly meant to fight and kill. These people were nothing to them, people who had seen hell and walked the boundaries of life and death. However, the aura Gentle Snow radiated showed that she was not one bit weaker than him. He had not expected this revelation. "Sure. Since Guild Leader Snow made the offer, I''m interested to see just how tough you really are. If you can defeat me, my men and I will leave. If I win, however, you will have to wait for us to finish our chat with this gentleman." Although Gentle Snow''s aura had surprised him, that was all. In an actual fight, one could only rely on their own skill. He refused to believe that his skills, which he had honed in true battle, would lose to someone like Gentle Snow, was all style and no substance. Moreover, if he beat Gentle Snow, Abandoned Wave would have an easier time taking over Ouroboros. Lethal Gale''s companions wore mocking smiles as they watched Gentle Snow. He was absurdly strong. He had even defeated a famous expert from the Dark Night Empire, who ranked 354th on the God''s Domain Experts List. As for Gentle Snow, in the latest update of the Experts List, she only ranked within the top 900. Defeating her would be a piece of cake for Lethal Gale. "Okay, I want to see just what kind of experts the Blackwater Corporation has nurtured," Gentle Snow said. She then turned to Shi Feng, and in an apologetic tone, she said, "Excuse me, sir, but will you wait for a little while longer? I''ll finish this match very quickly. We can proceed with the trade once I''m done." Blackwater''s people had not initially been looking to cause Shi Feng any trouble. It was only because of her that these ruffians had done so. Hence, it was only right that she deal with this matter. Trying his best to hold back a chuckle, Shi Feng said in a deep tone, "It''s fine. I am more than happy to watch a good show." He had to admit that the Black Cloak was an excellent item for hiding one''s identity. Even as he stood before Gentle Snow, she didn''t recognize him at all. Right now, all she could discern was his gender. In reality, Shi Feng could''ve revealed his identity and put an end to this match. However, he was curious to see how strong Gentle Snow was. Both Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale were Level 39 Berserkers. Both wore equipment of similar standards, with both wearing Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. It was obvious that they both possessed top-tier equipment that could reduce item level requirements. Their weapons were the only difference between them. Although Shi Feng did not know the quality of Gentle Snow''s silver greatsword, seeing the greatsword gather traces of Mana from the area, it was definitely stronger than a Dark-Gold Weapon. On the other hand, Lethal Gale''s greatsword was slightly weaker. Even so, it was a top-tier Dark-Gold Weapon. With almost a negligible difference between them, this match would come down to their combat techniques. Shi Feng had already been observing Lethal Gale. Although he was a Berserker, a class famed for violence, his actions felt light and gentle. It was obvious that his physical control had already reached a very high standard. It was highly possible that he had reached the Refinement Realm. Refinement Realm experts were considered apex experts in first-rate Guilds. After all, unless one had the benefit of a simulation training system or some miracle, it was extremely difficult to reach the Refinement Realm. Hence, it was quite impressive if a first-rate Guild had a few such experts. As for experts of higher combat standards, that depended on luck. It was similar to some unrated Guilds'' luck as they saw a Refinement Realm expert arise from among their members. Unfortunately, the probability of such at this stage of the game was extremely small unless the player was also an extremely powerful martial artist in the real world. As for Gentle Snow, Shi Feng did not notice any sign that she had reached the Refinement Realm. In that case, where was her confidence coming from? Of course, it was also possible that Gentle Snow intentionally hid the subtle signs. If so, even Shi Feng would not be able to determine her combat standard. He could only confirm his doubts by watching an intense battle. Once Gentle Snow agreed to the match, they all headed for the Divine Colosseum above White River City. 973 Match of the Century Chapter 973 - Match of the Century Inside the Divine Colosseum, players came and went. It was even more lively than White River City''s Auction House. The Divine Colosseum had become the most populated location in the city. Sitting along the rest bar, many players chatted as they watched battle videos on the screens hovering in the main hall. "The drinks here are awesome. It''s a pity that they''re so expensive. Unlike everywhere else, where we can pay with Copper and Silver Coins, can only buy drinks here with Magic Crystals or the points we accumulated in the Divine Battlefield. Each bottle costs 100 points. I need to win at least three team battles to earn that many. I''ll never afford more drinks at this rate." "That''s nothing. A few days ago, someone spent 3,000 Battle Points to buy one bottle of Icefire Spirit. I heard that not only is it calming, but its effects last for five hours. Its calming effects are far better than the Trial Tower''s. It also tastes magnificent." "What?! I could drink for half a month with 3,000 points!" "The Icefire Spirit isn''t the best alcohol available. I heard that if one reached the Trial Tower''s eighth floor, they can purchase the Witch''s Tear. One costs 5,000 points. Some time ago, I heard that a player from another kingdom bought one. I wonder what it tastes like." "Stop dreaming. Only God''s Domain''s apex experts can reach the eighth floor. Getting past the fourth floor is difficult enough for us, much less the eighth floor." As the Divine Colosseum became a larger factor in players'' lives, players grew stronger. Players also used the Trial Tower''s results as a way to judge someone''s true abilities. As for tycoons who used their equipment to suppress others, they weren''t experts, just rich. Hence, Guilds and independent teams now recruited members using the Trial Tower''s results as a benchmark. Players who could reach the fifth floor were considered ordinary experts. Players who reached the sixth floor, even in a large Guild, were experts of the next level. Players who could reach the seventh floor were of the more powerful experts, even in first-rate Guilds. As for those who managed to reach the second half of the seventh floor, they were top-ranking experts in a first-rate Guild. One would be hard-pressed to find players in a first-rate Guild who could reach the eighth floor. While the players in the main hall chatted amongst themselves, Lethal Gale and the others, who had just arrived, immediately attracted everyone''s attention. People in their way moved aside as they felt these players'' shocking aura. Shortly after, however, everyone noticed Gentle Snow. Her saint-like beauty even enthralled a few new players. "That beauty is hot!" "Damn, is this your first day playing a virtual reality game? You don''t even know about the Snow Goddess? She is the Guild Leader of the first-rate Guild Ouroboros! Be careful with what you say. I heard that many wealthy young masters have tried to harass her in the past. In the end, these people had been killed to Level 0 and forced delete their accounts and start all over." Hearing the veteran players'' story, the players new to White River City shut their mouths immediately. To them, even joining a third-rate Guild would earn them bragging rights among their friends for days. They looked up to players in first-rate Guilds. They were also aware of the massive differences between third-rate and first-rate Guilds. In the current God''s Domain, unrated Guilds were forced to develop in smaller NPC towns; there was no place for a small Guild in a city. Only those acknowledged as third-rate Guilds barely survived in NPC cities. Meanwhile, first-rate Guilds ruled over several, or even over a dozen, major cities. With a word from Gentle Snow, other Guild Leaders would make their lives hell in God''s Domain without hesitation. With their standards, their only option would be to start a new account. "What are they trying to do? Why is Ouroboros''s Guild Leader in White River City''s Divine Colosseum?" "Huh? That man, Lethal Gale, recently defeated the 354th ranked expert from the God''s Domain''s Experts List. I heard that he even broke the Trial Tower''s record in Hot Sand City and reached the eighth floor. Why is he here?" "Can this be" When everyone saw Lethal Gale and Gentle Snow enter the same combat room, the main hall fell silent. They couldn''t help but stare at the combat room''s closed door, their skin breaking out in goosebumps. An eighth-floor expert was going to fight Ouroboros''s Guild Leader. "I need to notify my Team Leader and the others! This is the match of the century!" "Hopefully, they''ll broadcast the fight. I''ll even be willing to pay for this show!" "Look! They didn''t turn Private Mode on! We can watch the battle on the main screen! Hurry; select this battle!" Pandemonium swept through the main hall. Every player quickly called up the Divine Colosseum''s system interface and clicked to watch Gentle Snow''s battle against Lethal Gale. In the Divine Colosseum, the videos on the main hall''s screens depended on the number of viewers. If enough players wanted to watch the fight, the system would automatically display said fight on the main screen. Following which, everyone in the main hall stared the main screen in rapture. At the same time, many players fervently contacted their companions and Guilds, telling everyone they knew about this shocking development. Before the battle between Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale began, news of their fight had spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. The Guild Leaders and upper echelons of the kingdom''s various Guilds received the news at almost the same time. "Has Gentle Snow lost her mind? She agreed to such a challenge?" The Star Alliance''s Purple Eye was surprised when she heard the news. "Lethal Gale is a Refinement Realm expert. Although Gentle Snow is strong, she had only reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. Doesn''t she care about Ouroboros''s reputation anymore?" Purple Eye knew just how powerful Refinement Realm experts were from her experience in the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system. Although there only appeared to be a thin line separating a Half-step Refinement Realm expert from a true Refinement Realm expert, with equal levels and equipment, the disparity between their strengths was like the difference between heaven and earth. Although Gentle Snow had a slight advantage with her equipment due to her status as the leader of a first-rate Guild, she could never close the gap with such a small lead in Attributes. "No, she is no fool. I also heard about Blackwater purchasing Ouroboros. From what I learned from the Secret Pavilion, that Lethal Gale fellow is an expert that Blackwater has secretly nurtured," Galaxy Past said, chuckling. A realization struck Purple Eye. This was no longer a simple competition of strength. It was a competition between Ouroboros and the Blackwater Corporation. Both of their reputations were on the line. "Purple, notify our people in White River City immediately and have them record the battle. We must not miss this opportunity," Galaxy Past commanded. Other Guilds also burst into action. Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale''s battle had attracted the attention of Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds. 974 War Goddess Chapter 974 - War Goddess A bald, robust man suddenly burst into an exquisitely decorated room, tension written all over his face. "Boss Wave, something has happened with Gale," the bald man reported hurriedly. Raising his brows, Abandoned Wave asked, "What happened?" "I don''t know what Gale was thinking, but he''s about to duel Gentle Snow. News of the fight has already spread throughout the kingdom," the bald man said. "Gale is dueling Gentle Snow?" The news surprised Abandoned Wave somewhat. A moment later, however, he started laughing before he said, "Good, very good! Gale''s performance this time is excellent! Who would have imagined that, just as I was struggling to think of a way to take over Ouroboros, Gentle Snow delivered herself to my doorstep? Send someone immediately to livestream Gale''s battle! I want to see the look of despair on Gentle Snow''s face." Although he was not certain of Gentle Snow''s true strength, he knew how powerful Lethal Gale was. It was common knowledge that, although Lethal Gale had beaten the 354th ranked expert on the God''s Domain Experts List, it had been a hard-fought battle. Hence, in the public''s opinion, that must have been the limit to Lethal Gale''s strength. In reality, however, Lethal Gale had held back. After all, he was a member of the Battle Team that the Blackwater Corporation was nurturing. How could he afford to expose his true strength to the public? He needed to save that trump card to deal other Battle Teams a critical blow. Although Abandoned Wave had no idea how much strength Gentle Snow had hidden, she was a hundred years too early if she thought she could defeat Lethal Gale. --- Inside White River City''s Divine Colosseum, every player in the main hall watched the main screen as if hypnotized. It''s finally starting. Sitting at a corner of the rest bar, Shi Feng looked at the timer displayed on the screen, his heart thumping with anticipation. In the past, the strength Gentle Snow displayed during the early stages of the game had been extremely frightening. Many experts had considered her disappearance from God''s Domain a shame as they all believed that she had the potential to become a Tier 6 God-ranked player. Her abilities were clear for all to see just from how she had managed to nurture the Cleric God Violet Cloud. The main screen currently displayed a dense forest, which was the perfect environment for Assassins and Rangers. However, it was an entirely different story for Berserkers. Berserkers were the epitome of Strength. The Berserker class was a class that solved all problems with overwhelming Strength. Unlike a duel between other classes, the one between Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale would undoubtedly be a short battle. Either Gentle Snow would quickly defeat Lethal Gale or the other way around. There was no third possibility. Hence, everyone in the main hall paid close attention to the screen, afraid of missing out on any details of the battle. "Let me properly experience the strength of Ouroboros''s Guild Leader! Hopefully, you won''t disappoint me too much!" As soon as Lethal Gale let out a low shout, a bone-chilling glint flashed across his eyes as he unsheathed the gigantic greatsword slung over his back and entered a fighting stance. However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, he did not use Charge straightaway and rush at Gentle Snow. Instead, he slowly closed in on the female Berserker step by step. However, with each step Lethal Gale took, the surrounding air grew heavier. Even the players watching in the main hall could feel the frightening pressure the male Berserker radiated. As for Gentle Snow, she unsheathed her silver greatsword and pointed it directly at the approaching Lethal Gale. Her actions were as if victory was already in her grasp. Her calm appearance made her look just like the War Goddess of a battlefield. When only twelve yards separated the two Berserkers, everyone suddenly saw a shocking scene. Gentle Snow''s entire body started releasing a silver glow. In the next moment, three pairs of silver metallic wings sprouted from her back. The equipment she wore also underwent a transformation. Her original silver armor turned into a set of pure white robes. In the blink of an eye, Gentle Snow had changed from a plate armor class to a cloth armor class. This sudden development made it seem as if an angel had suddenly descended onto the battlefield. In the next moment, golden divine runes manifested on her robes and even on her unblemished cheeks, adding a few hints of holiness to the War Goddess. Meanwhile, the silver greatsword in her hands had also transformed into two thin, sharp blades. Golden arcs of electricity were faintly visible, wrapping around the blades of the one-handed swords. Before anyone even reacted, Gentle Snow dashed straight towards Lethal Gale. "What?!" "What just happened?!" "Is she really a Berserker!?" Gentle Snow''s sudden transfiguration riveted everyone in the main hall. None of them had expected her to undergo such a change. She''s so fast! At this moment, even Shi Feng was surprised. He had never imagined that Gentle Snow had hidden her strength so deeply. Gentle Snow''s current speed was already above his. Watching through the large screen, everyone only saw Gentle Snow leaving behind an afterimage in her original position before appearing right before Lethal Gale. "Hah! Come!" Lethal Gale laughed as he activated his Berserk Skill, Beastification, his skin suddenly turning a deep red. Both his Strength and speed also soared. Immediately, he sent a Cross Slash at Gentle Snow. In response, Gentle Snow swung the sword in her right hand, the blade transforming into an arc of light as it struck at Lethal Gale''s greatsword. What a fool. Gale has already activated Beastification. Although the Skill''s duration is very short, it increases his Strength Attribute by 120%. In addition, Cross Slash is a Tier 1 Sure-kill Skill. Even Great Lords won''t be able to block this attack, yet Gentle Snow actually dares to receive it directly? Could she have abandoned herself to despair because of losing Ouroboros? Abandoned Wave''s lips curled into a smile as he watched Gentle Snow''s actions. He could already see the scene of Lethal Gale heavily injuring the female Berserker. Has Gentle Snow really lost her mind?! She actually made such a rash counter! Purple Eye looked at Gentle Snow with eyes filled with worry. Gentle Snow was a rival of hers. She did not wish to see her losing to anyone but herself. At this moment, Purple Eye was wondering whether Gentle Snow truly understood just how powerful a Refinement Realm expert, who had activated a Berserk Skill, was. ... As for Shi Feng, he simply chuckled at this scene. Among everyone present in the Divine Colosseum, most likely nobodyaside from himselfknew what kind of state Gentle Snow was in at present. If one were to say that Lethal Gale was in a Berserk Mode right now, then the current Gentle Snow was in a Twofold Berserk Mode. The reason for Gentle Snow''s transfiguration was her obtaining the Holy Warrior class, one of the Five Great Legacies of Star-Moon Kingdom. The Five Great Legacies of Star-Moon Kingdom. Not to mention completing them, just being able to accept the quest for these Legacies showed that one was a favored child of the Main God System. In the past, only Gentle Snow in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom had managed to complete this quest. Shi Feng had never imagined that she would actually succeed in class-changing into a Holy Warrior ahead of time. The Five Great Legacies were all Peak Legacies. The Legacy Skills that Gentle Snow learned were naturally extraordinary. At this moment, the Skill that Gentle Snow had used was one unique to the Holy Warrior class, the Legacy Berserk Skill Starlight Saint. Not only did the Skill increase her Attributes significantly, but it also altered the external appearances of her weapons and equipment at the same time. Currently, although it might seem as though Gentle Snow was equipped in cloth armor, in reality, it was holy armor. The soft, white robes she was wearing were tougher that even adamantite. The defensive capabilities of those robes far surpassed those of plate armor. 975 Taboo Skill Life Return Chapter 975 - Taboo Skill Life Return Although Twofold Berserk could give players the strength to combat existences of a higher Tier, it also had a glaring weakness. Legacy Berserk Skills all shared the same problem. And that was the side effects! Unlike ordinary Berserk Skills, all Legacy Berserk Skills would place its user into a Weakened state once their durations ended. Moreover, the duration of Twofold Berserk was very short. Even Shi Feng, who possessed one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies, could maintain it for only twenty seconds. Once Twofold Berserk ended, he would fall into a Weakened state for several hours. However, it was also precisely because of such a drawback that the system allowed the use of Twofold Berserk. Based on Shi Feng''s estimates, Gentle Snow''s Starlight Saint should have a shorter duration than his Blade Liberation. If she could not finish off Lethal Gale within this period, once her Berserk Skill ended, she would lose without a doubt. One could say that Gentle Snow was taking a gamble. Boom! The collision of the two weapons created a shockwave. The ground under both fighters instantly collapsed as the clear sound of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the surrounding forest. Peng! Half a second later, Lethal Blade''s entire person went flying out of the crater, his body breaking several large trees before slamming heavily into the ground. His HP instantly decreased by over -1,800 as well. The difference in strength between both sides was clear for all to see. "Flew He flew!" "How is she so strong!?" "Is this the Guild Leader of Ouroboros?" This scene staggered everyone inside the main hall. The players who had previously entertained unscrupulous thoughts about Gentle Snow now had shivers running down their backs. Lethal Gale, who had defeated the 354th ranker on the God''s Domain Experts List, actually got sent flying with a single hit. If it were them in the male Berserker''s place, they would''ve gotten killed instantly by Gentle Snow''s lightning-quick attack. "Gentle Snow!" Abandoned Wave''s countenance turned grim when he saw Lethal Gale repulsed. To him, Lethal Gale losing in a contest of Strength even after activating Beastification was simply inconceivable. This was equivalent to Gentle Snow sending a Great Lord of the same level flying. How is her Strength so high?! After standing back up, Lethal Gale looked at the rapidly approaching War Goddess in shock. After activating Beastification, his Strength Attribute could already rival that of a Great Lord of the same level. Coupling it with his Cross Slash, even a Great Lord would be pushed back, not to mention a player. Despite that, Gentle Snow had managed to send him flying with a single strikewithout using any Skills. His mind just could not figure out how this was possible. However, Lethal Gale did not have the luxury of pondering this. If he did not cope with Gentle Snow''s next attack properly, he might very well lose directly. In a flash, Gentle Snow appeared before Lethal Gale once again. This time, he no longer dared to clash weapons with the female Berserker. Instead, he chose to take a large step backwards before defending himself with his greatsword. Peng! Lethal Gale was forced back once more. This time, however, he only received -400 damage or so. Moreover, the impact of the attack allowed him to pull away from Gentle Snow. Suddenly, a cat-and-mouse game commenced on the battlefield. Every time the two fighters clashed, Lethal Gale would manage to buy himself some time by sacrificing a small amount of HP. Lethal Gale was no fool. He knew that Gentle Snow''s current equipment was only slightly better than his. The fact that there was still such a huge disparity between them pointed to just one thing: a difference in Skills. God''s Domain was fair in all things. Such a powerful Skill definitely could not have a very long duration. Hence, all he needed to do right now was drag out the battle. If he managed to last until Gentle Snow''s Skill ended, victory would be his. He could tell that Gentle Snow had yet to reach the Refinement Realm and was only at the Half-step Refinement Realm; she did not possess perfect control over her own body. Moreover, she was clearly not used to this sudden increase in power since she would expose plenty of weaknesses when she attacked. This was the reason why he could deflect the trajectory of her attacks, dampening the collision of the attacks significantly and taking only a small amount of damage each time. This Lethal Gale fellow really is something. Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he looked at Lethal Gale successfully deflecting Gentle Snow''s attacks one after another. Rather than the Refinement Realm, the combat standard the male Berserker was displaying right now already approached the Flowing Water Realm. One could say that he had reached the Half-step Flowing Water Realm. Players at the Refinement Realm would have precise control over their own bodies. Even in high-speed combat, they would be capable of impromptu changes. However, just having such a combat standard would not be enough for one to deflect Gentle Snow''s attacks. One also needed to understand the Holy Warrior''s every action and predict her attack trajectories in advance. Only with this would one be able to keep up with Gentle Snow''s superior Attack Speed and turn aside her attacks. Although it sounded straightforward, experts at the Refinement Realm would find such a feat extremely difficult to achieve. Had Gentle Snow not activated Twofold Berserk, she really wouldn''t have any chance of victory against Lethal Gale. The seconds ticked by quickly. Ten seconds after the battle began, over half of the terrain of the combat room lay ravaged. At this moment, Lethal Gale was in a very miserable state and only a quarter of his HP remained. Gentle Snow would need just a few more seconds to defeat the male Berserker. "I have to admit, you are by far the strongest opponent I have faced in battle since I entered God''s Domain. However, I believe your Skill''s duration should be almost up. Originally, I did not intend to use this move. However, I acknowledge that your strength indeed deserves my going all out!" Lethal Gale said excitedly. Lethal Gale''s HP began recovering rapidly. At the same time, the aura he exuded also strengthened apace. Not good! That''s the Tier 1 Taboo Skill Life Return! Shi Feng immediately recognized the Skill Lethal Gale used when he noticed a green mist circling the male Berserker''s body along with his growing aura. As a Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Life Return was very powerful. When activated, the Skill completely recovered its user''s HP within a short period. Moreover, the more HP the user lost previously, the more bonus Strength and Agility Attributes the user would gainup to a maximum of 600 Strength and 600 Agility. Six hundred Strength was practically equal to the total Strength of a well-equipped Level 40 Berserker. With such a massive increase in Strength, even if Lethal Gale''s Strength Attribute was still not a match for Gentle Snow''s, there would no longer be such a great disparity as before. With Lethal Gale''s standards, it would be enough for him to defeat Gentle Snow. To make matters worse, Gentle Snow''s Twofold Berserk was already nearing its end. "Hahaha! Gentle Snow, I admit that you are amazing. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong opponent to go up against!" Abandoned Wave could not help but guffaw when he saw the gloomy expression on Gentle Snow''s face. Although Lethal Blade had used his final trump card, which would probably impact his future performance in the Dark Arena, being able to thoroughly defeat Gentle Snow now was also a good thing. Immediately, Lethal Gale used Charge and took the initiative to dash towards Gentle Snow. 976 Sudden Kill Chapter 976 - Sudden Kill After using the Taboo Skill, Lethal Gale''s Attributes and speed both increased by a large margin. With the inclusion of the speed boost from Charge, everyone only saw the male Berserker leaving behind an afterimage as he crossed over a dozen yards and arrived before Gentle Snow instantly. "Die!" Lethal Gale shouted, a bloodthirsty glint flashing across his eyes. Without even waiting for the Fainted effect of his Charge to settle in, he raised his greatsword and used Beheaded. Although he took less than a breath''s time to complete this entire process, Gentle Snow still managed to activate a Control Removal Skill and counter the male Berserker''s attack with Chop. Boom! Dazzling sparks flew as the clangor of metal resounded throughout the entire forest. Unlike before, however, Lethal Gale was not sent airborne this time. Instead, he had to retreat just a single step. The impact of the collision also cost him only around 100 HP. To Lethal Gale, who had recovered back to full HP, this loss was barely a scratch. Although his attack had failed to finish off Gentle Snow, Lethal Gale did not mind one little bit. He had long since figured out how powerful Gentle Snow''s current Attributes were. This first attack of his was merely to gauge how much of a difference there remained between their Strength Attributes. In a quick follow-up to his attack, Lethal Gale''s body flashed; then he appeared beside Gentle Snow and abruptly swung his greatsword upwards, the massive weapon slashing straight at her blindspot. As Gentle Snow was still unaccustomed to her greater Strength, the clash with Lethal Gale had thrown her stance off. Hence, her defense was full of holes right now. Had Gentle Snow reached the Refinement Realm, even with the suddenness of the increase in Strength, she would have been able to control it skillfully. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Lethal Gale''s greatsword suddenly split into four afterimages, each one striking at one of Gentle Snow''s weak points. Caught off guard, Gentle Snow no longer had the time to adjust her stance to defend against Lethal Gale''s attacks. In the end, she forcefully used Whirlwind Slash. In the next moment, a silver whirlwind suddenly formed around her. When the four afterimages of Lethal Gale''s greatsword collided against the silver whirlwind, they immediately got dispelled into nothingness. Meanwhile, Lethal Gale himself had to take a step back, giving Gentle Snow a chance to catch a breather. What a terrifying expert. After Gentle Snow retreated to a safe distance, she could not help breaking out in a cold sweat when she thought back to Lethal Gale''s previous attack. The difference between their combat standards was clear for all to see. Despite her advantage in Strength, Lethal Gale always managed to maintain his stance after receiving her attacks. Moreover, even after his Attributes had increased significantly, he was still able to receive all her attacks without fail, as well as launch attacks from various positions. On the other hand, it was taking her all just to handle her sudden increase in Strength, which made it very difficult to maintain her stance after a direct clash. Unlike ordinary computer games, fights in virtual reality games were no different from fights in the real world. In many cases, an attack that one could easily block while in a proper stance would become very difficult to handle if one lost their stance. This was true even with a very normal attack. Fights between experts were all high-speed battles. Deciding the outcome took only an instant. Losing one''s stance in battle was a fatal matter. Although Gentle Snow had repelled Lethal Gale, the latter had no intention of letting up on his attacks. He immediately charged at her once more and let loose a barrage of violent strikes. In the main hall, all anyone could see between the clashes of Gentle Snow''s one-handed swords and Lethal Gale''s greatsword were afterimages. "Is this a battle between true experts?" For a time, the players in the main hall even stopped blinking, afraid that they would miss out on the moment where victory and defeat were decided. If it were any other player going up against either of the two fighters right now, most likely, they would''ve already fallen numerous times to either Gentle Snow''s or Lethal Gale''s attacks before they could even react. Inside the combat room, although Gentle Snow seemed to hold the advantage in both speed and Strength, in reality, she was actually at a disadvantage. In order to maintain her combat stance, Gentle Snow kept having to retreat. Otherwise, she would create an opening that Lethal Gale could exploit. The seconds ticked by slowly. When Lethal Gale noticed the three pairs of silver metallic wings behind Gentle Snow starting to fade away, one after another, a triumphant smile appeared on his face. At this moment, he could sense that her Strength and speed were both starting to wane. Will I be able to make it? Gentle Snow looked at the last remaining pair of wings on her back. The outcome of this battle was already plenty obvious. With Lethal Gale''s combat techniques, even if she did not enter a Weakened state after Starlight Saint ended, she would still end up losing the battle. However, she was not willing to simply give up. From the moment Lethal Gale activated the Tier 1 Taboo Skill Life Return, she already knew just how powerful the Berserker was. The only reason she had fought desperately up until this point was for this final strike! When the three pairs of metallic wings generated by Starlight Saint started disappearing, it was not a warning to the user that their bonus Attributes were about to expire. Instead, the moment all three pairs of wings disappeared, the Skill would at last display its true power, releasing its final brilliance. However, this final power only lasted for one attack. If Lethal Gale managed to deflect or dodge her attack, her fate would be sealed. Hence, if Gentle Snow wanted to win, she needed to stay calm like never before. She needed far more precise control over her own body. She also had to push her mental concentration to its very limits. Thus, when her wings began fading, Gentle Snow had deliberately repressed her own Strength to the point where she could control it perfectly. Meanwhile, from Lethal Gale''s perspective, it seemed as if Gentle Snow''s Strength was continuously deteriorating. Upon seeing the final pair of metallic wings disappear, Lethal Gale immediately used the Tier 1 Skill Energy Slash. Energy Slash not only increased the power of an attack but also extended the attack range by five yards. "Six Ultimate Flashes!" Gentle Snow, on the other hand, had forsaken all her excess power and concentrated the remainder into one final attack. The collision of swords and greatsword generated a blinding glare, followed by a thundering boom. Peng Peng Peng... As the glare dissipated, the shrill of metallic armor being pierced echoed throughout the entire forestas well as the entire main hall of the Divine Colosseum. Five penetrating cuts appeared on Lethal Gale''s armor. His HP had also instantly fallen to zero. As for the victor of this battle, Gentle Snow, her complexion looked somewhat pale right now. The extraordinary concentration she displayed at the final moment depleted her mental strength, so much so that she was on the brink of collapse. With the side effects of the Starlight Saint kicking in, she appeared extremely frail. The players in the main hall of the Divine Colosseum, however, clamored at this scene. "It''s over?" "What happened in that instant!? I didn''t even manage to see anything!" "Gentle Snow won, just like that?" "This is a lie, right?" "All hail the Goddess!" Everyone simply could not figure out what had happened in that final moment. Lethal Gale clearly had the upper hand just then and was about to finish her off, yet such a shocking reversal had actually taken place. The tables had turned so suddenly that even Lethal Gale himself did not know how she had defeated him With the end of the duel, Gentle Snow and Lethal Gale both walked out of the combat room. Due to their previous agreement, even if Lethal Gale was reluctant, he no longer had the face to look for trouble with Shi Feng at the moment. He could only watch as Gentle Snow slowly walked over to Shi Feng. "Defeated?! Gale was actually defeated?! He even lost while every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom was watching?!" When Abandoned Wave saw the outcome of the match, he threw the bottle of Witch''s Tear, which was worth 5,000 Battle Points, to the floor. "Immediately notify Gale and the others! Since they''ve embarrassed the Blackwater Corporation, they need to make up for their actions! Have them think of a way to get rid of Gentle Snow within White River City!" Currently, Gentle Snow''s complexion was pale, and she looked extremely weak. She was clearly suffering the backlash of using that powerful Skill from before. With her in such a weak state, even with the deterrence of the city guards, killing her would be child''s play for Lethal Gale''s party of six. As long as the Blackwater Corporation killed Gentle Snow inside White River City, they would be able to regain the reputation they lost before in one fell swoop. As for Lethal Gale''s party members getting jailed by the NPC guards, that was irrelevant to Abandoned Wave. "Understood!" Lethal Gale accepted to the instructions he received without hesitation. A cold glint flashed across his eyes as he shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng and Gentle Snow, who were chatting with each other. 977 Shi Feng Takes Action Chapter 977 - Shi Feng Takes Action Following the Gentle Snow''s battle, the players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom were in an uproar. Gentle Snow''s valiant and heroic bearing captivated many male players, all of which considered applying for Ouroboros to get closer to the Snow Goddess. "She won, just like that?" Purple Eye was stunned as she watched Gentle Snow''s victory on the screen. With only a small difference in Attributes, Gentle Snow had actually defeated a Refinement Realm expert. "It seems the Blackwater Corporation has greatly embarrassed itself this time. If the news of Blackwater chasing Gentle Snow away in order to annex Ouroboros spreads, it will be very hard for Blackwater to mingle in Star-Moon Kingdom. Although Gentle Snow is an enemy, I have to thank her." The strength Gentle Snow had displayed had also surprised Galaxy Past. "Things will be more interesting in the kingdom for a time." Ouroboros and the Star Alliance were old rivals. Galaxy Past had initially thought that Cao Chenghua''s mutiny would have been the straw that broke the camel''s back, allowing the Star Alliance to surpass Ouroboros once and for all. Yet, due to Ouroboros''s alliance with Zero Wing, not only did the Star Alliance fail to surpass Ouroboros, but it had also been left in the dust. With the Blackwater Corporation purchasing Ouroboros, he had not expected Gentle Snow to make such a daring play. It might be possible that they would see a new Ouroboros emerge sometime soon. Star-Moon Kingdom was more lively than ever. Aside from the Blackwater Corporation, the recently-flourishing Heaven''s Burial showed faint signs of stealing the position of Star-Moon City''s number one Guild. If not for the Star Alliance having agreed to the Secret Pavilion''s investment, surviving in Star-Moon City would have been impossible. "Boss Gale, are we going to attack here?" a Level 39 Ranger beside Lethal Gale asked worriedly as he surveyed their surroundings. Even the weakest NPC guards in the Divine Colosseum were Level 200, Tier 2 classes, not to mention the roaming Tier 3 NPCs. If they made a move among so many NPC guards, these NPCs would kill them instantly. Although someone had successfully killed one of King''s Return''s upper echelons in the Divine Colosseum, not just anyone could replicate that. Even now, that person was a legend among players and had the nickname Frost Eye. Quite a few Super Guilds had attempted to contact this Frost Eye to hire him to assassinate other major powers'' upper echelons. God''s Domain''s Super Guilds had no lack of experts. Theoretically, they should be capable of dispatching their own men for such assassinations, yet in the end, they wanted to hire Frost Eye. Why? It was precisely because these Super Guilds weren''t capable of doing so, which was why they were willing to pay such a high price. Although they, Blackwater''s people, were experts, they could not contend with God''s Domain''s apex experts. If they attempted to kill another player in the Divine Colosseum, there was over an 80% chance that the guards would kill them before they could finish off Gentle Snow. "We can''t make a move here. Fortunately, it won''t be too late for us to take care of her after they leave the Divine Colosseum." Lethal Gale immediately dismissed the notion of attacking now after noticing the party of guards stationed a short distance away from Gentle Snow. "When we strike later, Stone and Tooth, you two coordinate with me to take Gentle Snow down. The rest will hold the NPCs off as long as possible. With Gentle Snow''s current state, the three of us should be able to finish her off in one or two moves." Lethal Gale''s party members nodded. They then began to simulate the assassination in their minds. Stone and Shattered Tooth were both Level 39 Assassins. The Assassin class specialized in ambush. If an Assassin successfully ambushed a Berserker, there was over a 60% chance that said Berserker would lose over half of their HP instantly. If two Assassins worked together, a Berserker of the same level would die instantly. With this lineup and a Berserker like Lethal Gale acting as a distraction, Gentle Snow''s fate was sealed. Furthermore, both Stone and Shattered Tooth were relatively powerful Assassins, even in the Blackwater Corporation. Both had already reached the Refinement Realm. Only, they had slightly fewer achievements than Lethal Gale. They could even defeat Gentle Snow in a one-on-one fight if they had the same weakened Attributes that she did right now. Killing Gentle Snow would be child''s play if these three worked together. "Guild Leader Snow is as amazing as expected. I had not expected you to reveal such a trump card in the end. Lethal Gale has defeated the 354th ranking expert on God''s Domain''s Experts List. With this, your rank will rise significantly," Shi Feng praised the woman as he watched the Snow Goddess approach. Now, he more or less understood why so many experts had suffered defeat against Gentle Snow in the past. Others might not have seen what had happened in that last moment, but he had. In the final moment, Gentle Snow displayed the physical control of a Refinement Realm expert. Hence, she had managed to control the six vicious sword strikes perfectly, finishing Lethal Gale off. Otherwise, with Lethal Gale''s skills, he would''ve been dodged at least half of the strikes. Had that happened, the battle''s victor would have been rewritten. Gentle Snow had only joined God''s Domain a short time ago. Moreover, she even had to manage the massive Guild that was Ouroboros. Yet, without any guidance, Gentle Snow had reached the Refinement Realm. She was devilishly talented. Shi Feng had only reached his current realm after experiencing ten years of fights in God''s Domain and the many miraculous encounters he had chanced upon Even Violet Cloud, whom he had taught carefully, had only recently reached the Refinement Realm. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose still had not done so. "I was just lucky." Gentle Snow shook her head. There was not a hint of joy on her face. Rather, more worry than before gripped her heart. The Blackwater Corporation had yet to join God''s Domain officially, yet it had already dispatched an expert like Lethal Gale to take her out. Now that she had confirmed that the corporation would start its conquest in Star-Moon Kingdom, it would not be as easy for her and her companions to start a new Guild as she had expected. "I assume that Guild Leader Snow hasn''t sought me out just to trade the small stock of herbs and ores, right?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. "Indeed, as you say, I would like to discuss some other with you. However, this is not a place for such a conversation. Why don''t we continue our chat in the high-class restaurant below?" Gentle Snow nodded. She did not try to hide the reason for her visit. She had many more resources on hand that she could sell. Unfortunately, it was impossible to find someone who could afford so many resources in a short time. In her opinion, if Shi Feng could afford her stock of herbs and ores, he should be able to purchase her other resources as well. "Let''s go, then." Shi Feng agreed with Gentle Snow''s sentiment. With so many eyes on them right now, this was an inappropriate place for their chat. Following which, as Shi Feng and Gentle Snow left the Divine Colosseum, Lethal Gale''s party followed closely behind. Although guards patrolled White River City''s streets, the patrols were sparse. Moreover, the city guards were much lower-leveled than the Divine Colosseum''s guards. Once they found an opportune moment, Lethal Gale''s party approached Gentle Snow silently. As for Stone and Shattered Tooth, they had long since gone into Stealth. When there were only 30 yards separating Lethal Gale and Gentle Snow, the former used Charge. "Guild Leader Snow, I am sorry for this, but you must die today!" Lethal Gale sneered. He then executed Cross Slash against the weakened female Berserker. Simultaneously, two black figures appeared on either side of Gentle Snow, four snow-white daggers thrusting towards the female Berserker''s blind spots. Gentle Snow''s expression darkened. She had not imagined that Lethal Gale would go to such insane lengths. The punishment for attacking another player in the city was no laughing matter. Unfortunately, even though Gentle Snow could see Lethal Gale rapidly approach, she could do nothing about it. In her Weakened state, all her Attributes had dropped by 80%. Moreover, the debuff lasted five hours. With only 20% of her Attributes, she could not survive against Lethal Gale. Not to mention, she had just sensed two Assassin experts. As the greatsword and the four daggers were about to plunge into Gentle Snow''s body, a low voice suddenly entered everyone''s ears. "The almighty Blackwater Corporation is really a sore loser. Are you in such a hurry to restore your wounded reputation?" As his voice faded, five streaks of blue light surrounded Gentle Snow. Peng Peng Peng The clang of metal colliding echoed down the street five times. Lethal Gale and the two Assassins were then thrown over five yards back. "Who are you?! You dare to stick your nose in Blackwater''s business?!" Lethal Gale glared at the cloaked Swordsman. However, his eyes contained a hint of fear. When experts fought, one clash was enough to gauge the opponent''s strength. Lethal Gale could tell that the Swordsman was stronger than him. The fact that the Swordsman had repelled all three of their attacks told him that this man was more than an ordinary expert. "Who am I? This is White River City. You dare to make a move in my territory and still ask who I am?" Shi Feng sneered as he glanced at Lethal Gale and the two Assassins. Chuckling, he took off his Black Cloak. "Ye Feng!" Gentle Snow was shocked when she saw who had hidden beneath the Black Cloak. Although the man had felt familiar, that did not help her to identify him. After all, he could be any random person she had met before Now that she knew her mysterious buyer''s identity, her previous questions had been answered. Who could possibly be richer than Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom? "S,o you''re Zero Wing''s Ye Feng. This is between the Blackwater Corporation and Ouroboros. I advise you to stay out of it! If you don''t, you will regret it!" Lethal Gale''s face twisted into an ugly expression when he heard this man''s name. To the Dark Arena''s participants, Ye Feng was a familiar name. Even with Stone and Shattered Tooth''s help, beating Ye Feng was impossible. He had no choice but to use the Blackwater Corporation as a threat. With this, he might still have a chance to finish off Gentle Snow. 978 Great Trees are Good for Shade Chapter 978 - Great Trees are Good for Shade After Lethal Gale''s group launched their attack, a commotion erupted among the players on the street. "Have they lost their minds? They are attacking someone in White River City. Are they not aware of the severe punishments for assaulting people inside a city?" "Amazing! Who are they? How long has it been since someone tried to kill another player in a Star-Moon Kingdom city?" The players stopped to watch the show. NPC cities were different from NPC towns. In cities, even if one only attacked another player, not killing them, the NPC guards would attack. Afterward, they would be imprisoned in the city''s jail for one or two days. For successful murders, however, that punishment was more severe. Every second in God''s Domain counted for expert players and the various large Guilds. If an expert player were imprisoned for several days, they would fall behind. Because of that, very few player attacks, beyond newbies to NPC cities, occurred. After issuing his threat, the Berserker''s three other party members joined the ambush on Gentle Snow. Their task was one of no return. Moreover, the nearby NPC guards had discovered their transgress and were heading their way. If they could not kill Gentle Snow before these NPC guards arrived, it would be much harder to kill her later. "I''ve already stated that this is Zero Wing''s territory. Guild Leader Snow is an ally. Do you really believe that I''ll just sit by why you kill my ally?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Lethal Gale. "Or do you think you can use the Blackwater Corporation''s name to frighten Zero Wing?" "Do you really intend to make Blackwater an enemy?" Shi Feng''s response caught Lethal Gale off guard. Shi Feng acted as if he had never heard of the Blackwater Corporation. However, time waited for no one. With no other choice, Lethal Gale ground his teeth as he growled in the party chat, "I''ll deal with Ye Feng. Stone and Tooth, assist me! Everyone else, kill Gentle Snow as quickly as possible!" "Leave it to us, Boss! We had just been a little careless," Stone and Shattered Tooth promptly used their Vanish Skills and circled to Shi Feng''s sides. The most powerful aspect about Assassins was their ability to appear and disappear like ghosts to deal lethal blows to their enemy. Previously, they had focused on attacking Gentle Snow. Even after they had exposed themselves, they paid no attention to Shi Feng, and this, in turn, gave the Swordsman an opportunity to exploit. If they were in Stealth, however, they were confident that even apex experts wouldn''t detect their presence. "I''ll create an opening for you. Don''t worry about hitting me in the process." After Lethal Gale calmed himself, he lifted his greatsword and charged towards Shi Feng. He was very familiar with Stone and Shattered Tooth''s strengths. He had also watched Shi Feng''s fight in the Dark Arena. In terms of combat techniques, he was weaker than Shi Feng. However, live combat was different from a competition. Many factors could affect a battle''s outcome. The cooperation of several experts, in particular, would raise their combat power exponentially Even he would find himself in trouble when Stone and Shattered Tooth worked together. Their psychedelic footwork allowed them to move silent, only revealing themselves, barely, as they struck. Although Shi Feng was strong, if two Assassins that he could not perceive attacked him, his mental state would suffer an immense pressure. Even if he tried to ignore it, his subconscious would constantly search for the sudden appearance of enemies, and this would affect his focus. He could use this opportunity to kill Shi Feng. If he killed both Ouroboros''s Guild Leader and Zero Wing''s Ye Feng, even if the NPC guards imprisoned him, the fight would be worth the loss. "Ye Feng, you need to be careful! Those two Assassins are strong!" Gentle Snow warned the Swordsman as Stone and Shattered Tooth disappeared. Although she was in a Weakened state, her perception had not dulled. On the contrary, her duel with Lethal Gale had heightened her senses. Even so, she had only detected the two Assassins after they had exposed themselves. As Gentle Snow finished speaking, Lethal Gale''s three other party members moved into range and began to launch their ranged attacks Over a dozen arrows and Fireballs rushed at Gentle Snow, sealing her paths of retreat. If the Snow Goddess were at her peak, dodging and blocking these attacks wouldn''t be difficult. She could even afford to be hit. However, with her Attributes reduced by 80%, one of these players'' normal attacks was unbearable. At the same time, Lethal Gale slashed at Shi Feng with precise timing. "You dare to look down on the Blackwater Corporation?! Do you really believe that you can protect Gentle Snow?!" If Shi Feng blocked his attack, the Swordsman would not be able to protect Gentle Snow. On the other hand, if Shi Feng defended Gentle Snow, the Swordsman would receive his merciless blow. Moreover, he still had Stone and Shattered Tooth''s assistance. If Shi Feng slipped up, they could very well take his life in one fell swoop. Once the hindrance was gone, it would be much easier to kill Gentle Snow. Suddenly, Shi Feng madly brandished his sword, tracing one trajectory after another in the air. This move was none other than the combat technique he had inadvertently learned in the Titan LibrarySword''s Orbit. By tracing the thirty-two sword trajectories with his blades, Shi Feng formed an impenetrable defense around him. Although a Swordsman did not have a long attack range, his attacks could cover a five-yard stretch in front of him, which just so happen to envelop Gentle Snow, who stood roughly three yards from him. While Shi Feng had yet to master the sophisticated Sword''s Orbit, his combat techniques were more than enough to block Lethal Gale and his people''s attacks. As the incoming arrows, Fireballs, and Lethal Gale''s Beheaded Skill came within five yards of Shi Feng, he blocked them. None of the attacks struck Gentle Snow or Shi Feng. A Skill? Lethal Gale''s heart pounded as he watched Shi Feng block all of the attacks. From his prior attack, he knew when his greatsword was within five yards of Shi Feng, and it felt as if he had struck a protective barrier. He hadn''t been able to push his greatsword an inch further. On the contrary, a powerful force had repelled his blade, preventing him from launching further attacks. As for Gentle Snow, who had stood, frozen, this entire time, she stared at Shi Feng with an odd gaze. Unlike Lethal Gale, however, she did not think Shi Feng had used a Skill. When she stood within Sword''s Orbit''s protective field, she could feel that Shi Feng''s every swing was a normal attack. Yet, this combination of strikes looked like an in-game Skill. The technique was divine. How did he do it? Gentle Snow was baffled. Despite only executing normal sword attacks, as if following some sort of rule, he managed to block the attacks that came at him from all directions. As Shi Feng fended off a wave of attacks, Stone and Shattered Tooth took the opportunity when he withdrew his swords to use Shadow Steps. After appearing behind Shi Feng, both Assassins stabbed their daggers towards the back of the Swordsman''s neck viciously. The process was complete within an instant. However, when the daggers were an inch away from Shi Feng''s neck, all four weapons stopped abruptly. No matter how much strength the two Assassins employed, they were unable to push their daggers any further. "Your footwork is impressive." Shi Feng glanced at the two Assassins in admiration. "Unfortunately, you tried to take me on." Due to their footwork technique, even Shi Feng found it hard to notice them. If not for Omniscient Eyes, he might''ve fallen prey to their sneak attack. He would not have had the time to activate Defensive Blade to defend himself. Knowing that Shi Feng had activated a Lifesaving Skill, Stone and Shattered Tooth began to launch rapid attacks in hopes of depleting his Defensive Blade''s block counts quickly. However, Shi Feng did not give them the chance as he used Sword''s Orbit once more. Suddenly, with Shi Feng as the center, a storm raged. Due to Defensive Blade increasing his attack range, not only did his attacks envelop both Stone and Shattered Tooth, but also Lethal Gale. After learning Sword''s Orbit, Shi Feng discovered that this combat technique was both an effective defense as well as a powerful offense. By the time he finished the thirty-two sword trajectories, Stone and Shattered Tooth''s bodies fell to the ground lifelessly. Meanwhile, Lethal Gale, who stood some distance away from Shi Feng, had less than 10% of his HP remaining. His body was marred with cuts, fresh blood flowing from his wounds freely. The gruesome scene caused many of the surrounding spectators to shudder involuntarily. 979 Strength Gap Chapter 979 - Strength Gap "What happened?" "How did those Assassins die?" "That Skill is so powerful!" The spectating players on the street were dumbfounded by what had just happened. Shi Feng''s sword drawing speed was incredibly fast. They hadn''t even seen an afterimage of Shi Feng''s swords. They had barely seen Shi Feng''s arms move, and in the blink of an eye, not only had the Assassins died, but even the distant Berserker was left in a critical condition "Is this the strength of Zero Wing''s Ye Feng?" "So awesome!" "He''s too strong!" Experts from other Guilds, who had come to White River City to grind for Reputation, stood among the spectators. Ordinary players might not realize what Shi Feng had done and would assume that he had simply used a system-learned Skill, but as experts, they knew that Shi Feng''s attack was no such thing. When Shi Feng first used this "Skill," they had been uncertain. This time, however, they had watched its execution carefully. No matter what stance a player used to execute a learned Skill, they all had the same starting motions. Moreover, the closer a player''s movements were to the required actions the system had determined, the higher their Skill Completion Rate would be. However, Shi Feng''s initial motions the second time he executed the "Skill" were different from the first. Furthermore, how could such a powerful "Skill" be used twice within one second? The skill had also been more powerful during its second use. No matter how they thought about it, this was out of line with God''s Domain''s rules. The only explanation was that This was a combat technique! The various Guild experts couldn''t help but shudder. Unlike system Skills, combat techniques were not limited by Cooldowns or other restrictions. Even while Silenced, they could use their combat techniques with normal attacks. The only downside was the burden on a player''s Stamina and Concentration. Those who attacked using special combat techniques knew that the more powerful a technique was, the more of a burden it had on Stamina and Concentration. Meanwhile, of the two Assassin experts Shi Feng had defeated, both were Level 39. Both could easily rank among the top of any kingdom''s Ranking List. As for the Berserker Lethal Gale, they were even more familiar with him. After all, he was the Berserker who had dueled Gentle Snow just some moments ago. With Lethal Gale''s combat standards, he could rank highly even among Super Guilds'' experts. Yet, even when all three players had worked together, they had been beaten so badly However, among the watching players, no one was more shocked than Gentle Snow. Is this really the Ye Feng I know? She had personally experienced Lethal Gale''s power. If not for her Peak Legacy, there was no way in hell she would have defeated the male Berserker. In spite of that, Shi Feng had ended the battle in three moves. Gentle Snow was even under the false impression that Lethal Gale and his Assassins were, in fact, quite weak. She knew that wasn''t true. Shi Feng was just that strong. Despite such fierce attacks, not only had Shi Feng nullified the attacks, but he had also dealt Lethal Gale and his companions such a devastating blow. Before this, Gentle Snow had never seen Shi Feng''s true strength. Now, she finally understood that they were no longer on the same level "Focus your attacks on Gentle Snow!" Lethal Gale, who looked pitiful, hurriedly commanded as he retreated from Shi Feng. He then took an ancient, black Magic Scroll from his bag. "To think I would be forced to waste this" Although it seemed as though both sides had been fighting for a long time, their exchange had only lasted a moment. The NPC guards were still quite a distance away from them. He still had time to use his precious Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Life Seizure. Life Seizure was a single-target attack Spell that could even severely wound a Tier 3 class. It would be a small matter to instant-kill a Tier 1 player. As Lethal Gale unfurled the Magic Scroll and began to activate it, a violent vortex of Mana appeared above them. Even a fool could tell that this Magic Scroll was extraordinary. Lethal Gale''s three remaining companions launched their attacks once more. "Die!" This time, their attacks were more vicious. All three hurled over twenty attacks at Gentle Snow. However, their attacks focused on quantity over quality. After all, even a low damage Skill like Ice Spear could deal frightening amounts of damage to Gentle Snow. In addition, the increased number of attacks would also make it more difficult for Shi Feng to guard Gentle Snow. "Despicable!" the bystanders cursed at Lethal Gale''s group as they watched. If this were a fair and proper battle, Lethal Gale''s group would be no match for Shi Feng. However, if Shi Feng were forced to remain by Gentle Snow''s side, the incoming Tier 3 spell would no doubt kill him. Suddenly, however, Shi Feng appeared beside Lethal Gale, arcs of blue electricity circling his body faintly. Shi Feng then sent a slash at the Berserker, who was invoking the Magic Scroll. What''s going on?! Lethal Gale had not predicted that Shi Feng would leave Gentle Snow to the wolves to come for him. However, as he glanced at Gentle Snow, he discovered Shi Feng standing beside the female Berserker Lethal Gale wasn''t the only one seeing this. Every other player on the street stared in wonder as well. "There are two of him?" "How can there be two of him?!" "Is it a Doppelganger Skill?" As everyone tried to figure out what was going on, Lethal Gale''s vision started to fade to gray. Before the shocked Berserker realized it, his HP had fallen to zero. Such a fast attack! When Shi Feng had appeared beside him, Lethal Gale saw a blue flash leave the Swordsman''s hand just before he activated Whirlwind Slash to fend off the attack. In the next moment, his body stopped responding to his commands. As his vision dimmed into darkness, he noticed the Shi Feng before him dissipate into nothing. It was as if the attack hadn''t happened, as if this had all been a bad dream. Meanwhile, before anyone realized it, another Shi Feng had appeared behind Gentle Snow. Even more surprisingly, this new version of Shi Feng blocked all twenty-plus attacks aimed at the Snow Goddess. Moreover, when he executed Sword''s Orbit again, it was even more powerful than before. He struck down every Spell and arrow before they had come within ten yards of Gentle Snow "How did he do that?!" Everyone was shocked. Even the Guild experts from other kingdoms and empires were speechless. Shi Feng was like a ghost, appearing wherever he wanted. In reality, however, Shi Feng had pushed himself to his very limits to execute this phantasmal attack. First, he had used Instant Strike to finish off Lethal Gale. He then activated Silent Steps to appear behind Gentle Snow. He had completed these two moves almost at the same time. Later, he executed Sword''s Orbit. Although Shi Feng appeared calm, he had exhausted most of his Concentration. His head was starting to ache. "You guys have had your fun. It''s my turn now." Looking at the three ranged members of Lethal Gale''s party, Shi Feng raised Killing Ray high before swinging it forward violently. Lightning Edge! Suddenly, streaks of blue lightning arced across the 50 yards ahead of him. Not only did the arcs of lightning devour the players'' attacks, but the lightning also devoured the players. All three players transformed into particles of light, leaving behind only three items. Not even their corpses remained 980 Ye Fengs Deterrent Force Chapter 980 - Ye Feng''s Deterrent Force Every spectator was shocked as they watched Shi Feng instantly kill three Level 39 expert players. "What a powerful AOE Attack Skill!" "Is this Zero Wing''s strength?" After seeing this, the Guild experts from other kingdoms and empires began to fear Zero Wing. If Shi Feng decided to ambush their Guilds'' elite teams in the field with such a powerful Skill, the consequences would be unimaginable. He was practically a human cannon. Although he didn''t wield as many AOE Skills as Elementalists, his versatility and mobility surpassed the latter by leaps and bounds. Currently, due to the emergence of the new class, many Guilds had dispatched their top teams to grind for Merits. As the top combatants of large Guilds, they had their own pride. Due to that, they didn''t pay any attention to White River City''s ruler, Zero Wing. After all, they were not grinding around White River City. They were simply using the teleportation array within the city. Once they reached the Twin Towers Kingdom, Zero Wing would lose its the home-ground advantage. If Zero Wing wanted any level of authority in the Twin Towers Kingdom, it would have to rely on its teams'' strength. However, the strength Shi Feng displayed a moment ago was beyond terrifying. He was fully capable of threatening their progress in the Twin Towers Kingdom. From now on, if they accidentally provoked Zero Wing, they would have to take into account the possibility of Zero Wing''s teams annihilating them. Immediately, the various large Guilds'' top teams reined in their arrogance and reevaluated their opinion of Zero Wing. They had notified their teams in the Twin Towers Kingdom, warning them to avoid conflict with Zero Wing''s teams as much as possible. Although they had their own experts, fighting Zero Wing would gain them nothing. Moreover, Zero Wing had another major advantage over the other large Guilds; the teleportation house was located in White River City. Their foreign Guilds did not have a Residence here. They had to foot the additional fee of teleporting from their respective cities to White River City. Of course, it was a different story for wealthy tyrants like Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds had far more powerful backgrounds than first-rate Guilds. It was especially true for their connections. These Guilds could set up a Residence in any city in God''s Domain. After which, they could dispatch their Guild members en masse. Unlike first-rate Guilds, these super powers didn''t need to struggle to obtain Land This was why the various large Guilds feared Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. Not only could these major powers dispatch apex experts to assassinate their Guilds'' upper echelons, but they could also send swarms of elite players to obliterate the Guild members. After Lethal Gale''s party had been annihilated, the NPC guards, who had been rushing to the scene, stopped and resumed their patrols. It was as if the surprise attack had never happened. As for Lethal Gale''s party, who had initiated an attack within the city limits, they would not escape the system''s punishment just because Shi Feng had killed them. Once they revived in half an hour, the NPCs would arrest them in the Resurrection Temple. After taking care of Lethal Gale''s party, Shi Feng collected his spoils of war. Although the weapons and equipment Lethal Gale''s party had dropped were useless to him, they could still enrich Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse. After Shi Feng finished with the loot, he caught an advanced horse carriage with Gentle Snow and proceeded towards a high-class restaurant in the Noble''s District. From beginning to end, not a single player had dared to step forward to snatch Shi Feng''s loot. Only after Shi Feng was truly out of sight did these players launch into heated discussions. "What?! Zero Wing''s Ye Feng wiped out Gale''s party?! How is that possible!" Abandoned Wave was dumbfounded as he listened to his subordinate''s report. He could not believe his ears. He then asked, "What about Gentle Snow? Did she die?" Lethal Gale''s people were one of the top ranking parties among those under his control. Usually, he tasked the party with assassinations and dealing with experts that made themselves a hindrance. Until now, they had never failed a job. They had always triumphed, even against a Void Realm expert. Field battles were different from PvP competitions. There were many factors that could affect a player''s combat power, not to mention the combat power of a group. Thus, it had been easier to send Lethal Gale to warn away Gentle Snow''s mysterious buyer. If words could not sway the buyer, Lethal Gale''s party would convince the buyer to submit by force. However, after giving it some thought, this task had been quite dangerous. If he had help from the NPC guards, it wouldn''t be impossible for Ye Feng to annihilate Lethal Gale and his companions. "Gentle Snow did not die. Gale''s party couldn''t even lay a finger on her before Ye Feng slaughtered them" the bald, middle-aged man said as he nervously played a recording for Abandoned Wave. The video clip showed the entire process of Shi Feng wiping out Lethal Gale''s party. Many curious spectators had recorded the entire battle. This video was already a popular topic on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Not only had this incident boosted the fame of Zero Wing''s Ye Feng, but it also made a mockery of the Blackwater Corporation. Abandoned Wave''s expression darkened as he watched the video. The dense killing intent he radiated could be felt over 30 yards away. Sensing this killing intent, several strong and talented youths rushed over, asking, "Big Brother Wave, what happened? What has you so riled up?" Although these youths'' Levels were not high, they were greatly admired by the Divine Colosseum''s regulars. "It''s nothing!" Abandoned Wave closed the video, enraged. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he said, "I''ve had to make some minor adjustments to my plans. Although Young Master Jing has told me that there is no need to bother with Zero Wing, if I don''t teach the Guild a lesson, be it Black Flame or Ye Feng, neither will acknowledge the Blackwater Corporation''s power! "I''ve heard that the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion''s Pavilion Master, Nine Dragons Emperor, has quite a grudge against Zero Wing and has been eager to teach Zero Wing a lesson. You, travel to the Black Dragon Empire and tell Qin Muyun this: If Nine Dragons Emperor wants to deal with Zero Wing, I will lend him a hand. Also, dispatch three parties to trail Gentle Snow. If there is an opportunity, kill her." "Understood!" After receiving his instructions, the bald man rushed out of the VIP room. Inside a high-class restaurant in White River City''s Noble''s District Zero Wing''s elite members filled the restaurant. Furthermore, several of Zero Wing''s core members surveyed the area from the establishment''s main hall. The high-class restaurant had become an impenetrable fortress. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Gentle Snow chatted with each other on the top floor. "The Blackwater Corporation is quite eager to take your life," Shi Feng commented as he gazed out the french windows. From his position, he could see at least eight people stalking the restaurant. While there was a chance that he had earned his own stalkers, it was far easier to believe that these players were hunting Gentle Snow. After all, the Blackwater Corporation had ambushed her once before. Moreover, Gentle Snow was still Weakened. He wouldn''t be surprised if they tried another three or four assaults. 981 Difference Between Guilds Chapter 981 - Difference Between Guilds "As expected of the Blackwater Corporation. Despite paying so little attention to God''s Domain when it launched, it has so many powerful experts," Shi Feng commented. Prompted by Shi Feng''s remark, Gentle Snow followed his gaze out the window. What she saw, however, surprised her. White River City was even more prosperous than Star-Moon City. Even in the costly Noble''s District, she could see plenty of players going about their business. From her vantage point, she had a clear view of what these players were doing, and very quickly, several players caught her attention. Although these players seemed to be chatting among themselves, they occasionally turned to look at the room she and Shi Feng occupied. These were not low-leveled players, either; the lowest among them was Level 38, while the rest were Level 39. Among these experts, a few neglected to hide their auras. Hence, she could feel just how much of a threat these people posed. If she left the building Needless to say, she wouldn''t leave White River City alive. The Blackwater Corporation had not prepared overmuch for the first ambush. Shi Feng''s presence must''ve also been unexpected. However, the corporation would prepare from here on out. "Relax. As long as you''re in here, they can''t touch you. If you stay here until you recover from your Weakened state, they will eventually give up and leave," Shi Feng assured Gentle Snow. On his way here, he had purchased the latest information regarding Ouroboros from the Secret Pavilion. Although the purchase had cost him a pretty penny, he had learned both bad and good news. He discovered that the Blackwater Corporation now focused fully on God''s Domain. In fact, it had already dealt with the companies that had backed Ouroboros. To put it simply, Blackwater now owned Ouroboros. Although, it had not yet declared so publicly. The good news was that he could finally recruit Gentle Snow. The bad news was that the Blackwater Corporation was not to be trifled with. Among the various international corporations, Blackwater was relatively overbearing. Moreover, the corporation had a powerful affinity for a game like God''s Domain. Compared to veteran gamers, fighting experts a much higher starting point when they joined God''s Domain. Their lack of familiarity with God''s Domain''s superhuman combat style was the only thing that held them back. However, once they were comfortable with this combat style, they would quickly become experts in God''s Domain with the combat techniques they had learned in the real world. The Blackwater Corporation had a perfected system to nurture fighting experts. Moreover, after many years of development, it had various dojos around the globe. Given enough time, even Super Guilds would be no match for the Blackwater Corporation. Even in the past, shortly after the Mind Space System had launched, the Blackwater Corporation had forced itself into God''s Domain. Although Blackwater had started later than everyone else, it was one of the first corporations to upgrade its own established Guild into a Super Guild. In contrast, corporations like Open Source could only invest in Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds to establish themselves in God''s Domain. It was simply too difficult to nurture their own expert players, much less apex experts. By the time they did so, their competition would''ve left them in the dust. When Blackwater had begun to focus on developing in God''s Domain, the game had been operating for over a year. After all, nobody would have imagined that the game would be more popular than fighting competitions, so much so that it had ushered in a new era. In reality, God''s Domain had not only impacted the fighting industry. The various other industries had been affected as well. By then, God''s Domain had become irreplaceable in people''s lives. It was similar to humanity''s introduction to the internet several hundred years ago. After learning about the benefits of God''s Domain, people couldn''t live without it. Meanwhile, among the affected industries, the fighting industry had suffered the most. When the Blackwater Corporation had officially shifted its focus to God''s Domain, it had been significantly weakened. It wasn''t even half as powerful as it has been during its peak. Even so, it lorded over God''s Domain a decade later. Currently, Blackwater was still at its peak, yet it had already shifted its gaze to God''s Domain. With its frightening financial strength and many experts, the corporation was akin to a natural disaster for Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing. If Zero Wing failed to cope with this disaster properly, it would be nothing more than a stepping stone for the Blackwater Corporation. "I roughly understand Ouroboros''s current situation. May I ask what you have planned? Is there anything I can with?" Shi Feng asked quietly as he turned to the somewhat dispirited Gentle Snow. "Blackwater has already obtained the majority of Ouroboros''s shares. Even my White Clan Group cannot change that fact. The only thing I can do now is take as many people with me as I leave Ouroboros and start all over again elsewhere. Would Zero Wing be interested in purchasing any other materials? I can sell them to you at a 40% discount," Gentle Snow offered as she smiled bitterly. "I also have a few plots of Land in Star-Moon Kingdom that I want to sell; although I am not sure if Zero Wing can stomach so much at once." She still intended to continue her development in another city in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, she understood Star-Moon Kingdom''s situation. However, after witnessing the Blackwater Corporation''s strength, once it secured Ouroboros, she would seal her fate if she remained in this kingdom. Her only choice was to restart somewhere far from here. As for the Shops and Lands she owned in Star-Moon Kingdom, there was no point in keeping them. The Blackwater Corporation would see to it that these Lands became worthless. Hence, she might as well sell them to fund her relocation. "Which Lands you are trying to sell?" Shi Feng could not help but ask. If they were high-potential Lands of a major city, they would become more valuable by the day. He would definitely profit if he purchased them. "Most of the Commercial Lands I possess are in Star-Moon Kingdom''s top ten major cities. I have a total of eleven plots. I also have three plots in the Black Dragon Empire and two in the Purple Thorns Kingdom," Gentle Snow said as she handed Shi Feng a list. "Here is a list of the Lands'' cities and locations as well as my quoted prices." After Shi Feng took a look through the list, he couldn''t help but sigh inwardly. Zero Wing was no match for a first-rate Guild. If these were only the Lands under Gentle Snow''s name, one could just imagine how many Lands Ouroboros controlled. On the other hand, despite having so much money right now, Zero Wing struggled to purchase any Lands in major cities. He was even forced to using the Holy City slots to purchase Lands from Super Guilds. Based on the current market price, the cheapest Land on the Snow Goddess''s list was worth around 3,000 Gold, while the most expensive were worth over 8,000. These Lands had long since doubled their original selling prices. Based on Gentle Snow''s quoted prices, he would need around 80,000 Gold to purchase all 16 plots. Even Zero Wing could not fork over so much money at a moment''s notice. Moreover, the prices were very reasonable. If anyone else were selling these Lands, he might have to pay an additional 20,000 to 30,000 Gold. Even then, he would have to fight many others to purchase them. 982 The Tip of the Iceberg Chapter 982 - The Tip of the Iceberg Even to Super Guilds, 80,000 Gold was a considerable amount of money. They couldn''t collect so much money within a short period, much less the smaller Guilds. Gentle Snow had little hope that anyone could afford to purchase all of her Lands. She would just sell as many plots as she could. Once she collected enough Coins, she could proceed with the next part of her plan more smoothly. While Shi Feng = carefully inspected the Commercial Lands, Gentle Snow received a call from Zhao Yueru. "Snow, the Guild has called an emergency Elder Meeting and has officially announced that Abandoned Wave will be replacing you as the Guild Leader. Aside from the raw materials you have, Abandoned Wave has frozen the Guild''s assets. Furthermore, many of the God Slaying Army''s members have reported ambushes in the fields and outside of Dungeons. They''ve suffered grievous damages," Zhao Yueru reported, shaking with rage. The Blackwater Corporation was too vicious. The God Slaying Army was their asset as they left Ouroboros. The Guild had spent many years nurturing these experts. If these experts came them and they had enough funding, the new Ouroboros could quickly establish a firm foothold in another kingdom. Initially, hiding the locations of the Army''s members had not been an issue. After all, every member was an expert. With their equipment, killing these players would not be easy. Now, however, the Blackwater Corporation had somehow recruited an army of its own experts and slaughtered the God Slaying Army scattered throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. The loss of a single level might have been fine, but the lost weapons and equipment was horrendous. When Blackwater''s experts killed them, the legion members would drop at least two pieces of equipment; some would even drop three items. The God Slaying Army had been equipped with the best items available in Ouroboros. If several hundred members lost an item each, it would severely wound the army, much less if they lost two or three items. They would need a lot of time to recover from the loss. Normally, the God Slaying Army could simply replenish their equipment from the Guild''s Warehouse. However, the Blackwater Corporation had already limited their authority. Now, they could not even take a piece of Common Equipment from the Warehouse. With the God Slaying Army suffering such a blow, rising in another kingdom in a short time would be impossible. "I understand. For now, have the army''s members be extra careful." Gentle Snow''s frown deepened after receiving a more detailed report. Even Ouroboros''s old rival, the Star Alliance, couldn''t kill so many of the God Slaying Army''s members so quickly. "Guild Leader Snow, you don''t look too well. Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked curiously when he noticed Gentle Snow''s troubled expression. "I''ve just received news that Blackwater has already begun to exact its revenge. The God Slaying Army that I command has suffered over 700 deaths. Although reports say that they''ve been ambushed by groups of cloaked players, I''m sure that these players are experts from Blackwater," Gentle Snow helplessly explained, not bothering to hide this fact from Shi Feng. Moreover, it was impossible to keep a tight lid on such a major incident. It was only a matter of time before the truth revealed itself. "It seems that your victory over Lethal Gale has made the Blackwater Corporation anxious. Otherwise, they''d have no reason to make such an excessive move." The news surprised Shi Feng. No matter what was said or done, the Blackwater Corporation had already purchased Ouroboros. One could even go so far as to say that Ouroboros was the Blackwater Corporation. If news spread of mysterious players slaughtering Ouroboros''s strongest legion on its own turf, it would damage the Guild''s reputation. "Since Blackwater has already gone to such lengths, I''m betting that even if you leave Star-Moon Kingdom, they will find some way to crush you," Shi Feng said seriously. "How about this? Invest in Zero Wing and become one of its shareholders. With Zero Wing''s prestige in Star-Moon Kingdom, the fledgling Blackwater Corporation should hesitate before declaring all-out war." "This" Gentle Snow was taken aback upon hearing Shi Feng''s proposal. The symbol of Ouroboros, which the White Clan Group had created, was incredibly important to her. If possible, she wanted to establish a new Ouroboros. However, if she joined Zero Wing with Ouroboros''s top players, the Blackwater Corporation would shift its focus to Zero Wing. "If you''re worried about the percentage of shares that you''d control or how your subordinates would be treated, relax. I can give you 15% of Zero Wing''s shares. I''ll also give you 50 core member slots and the power to form the Ouroboros Legion, which will be under your full control. What do you think?" Shi Feng suggested. "Are you not afraid of the backlash from Blackwater?" Gentle Snow asked Shi Feng seriously. "With Zero Wing''s strength and potential, don''t you think that you''d be suffering a loss by offering me 15% of the Guild''s shares for the little manpower and resources in my possession?" Zero Wing was no longer the upstart Guild it had been. Not only did Zero Wing control Stone Forest Town, but it also owned Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm. Zero Wing was the publicly-acknowledged number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Even first-rate Guilds were no match for it. There were also many companies and corporations chomping at the bit to invest in Zero Wing. Some major corporations were offering enough to tempt Super Guilds for as little as 50% of Zero Wing''s shares. Unfortunately, Zero Wing had declined every offer, yet Shi Feng had offered 15% of the Guild''s shares to recruit her and her people. No one would believe this if she told them. In response to Gentle Snow''s query, Shi Feng shook his head and confidently stated, "No. You are worth it." Shi Feng''s answer confused Gentle Snow. Even she didn''t believe that she was worth this price, yet Shi Feng sounded strangely confident. Moreover, the look in Shi Feng''s eyes told her that he was not lying. Gentle Snow also felt a little moved. After so many years in Ouroboros, her trust had long since ceased to exist, yet she trusted Shi Feng, despite so few meetings with him. Yet, despite only coming into contact with Shi Feng several times before, the man had somehow managed to fill her with trust. She didn''t know what to say. If Shi Feng were a fool, Zero Wing wouldn''t have had so much success. An indistinct feeling made Gentle Snow even more curious about the Guild known as Zero Wing. After taking a deep breath, Gentle Snow looked at Shi Feng and replied, "Alright, then. I agree to your conditions. However, you have to promise me one thing." 983 Gentle Snows Condition Chapter 983 - Gentle Snow''s Condition "Guild Leader Snow, feel free to state any concerns," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Many of Ouroboros''s elite and expert players followed Gentle Snow. If he recruited all of them, it would raise Zero Wing''s overall strength by a large margin. Although Zero Wing''s member count still wouldn''t compare to a first-rate Guild''s, it would have far more elites than its competition. There was also Gentle Snow''s potential to consider. If he could give Gentle Snow access to the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system, with her talent and his other training resources, it wouldn''t be long before she became a true apex expert. It wouldn''t be long before she surpassed him, either. What Guild wouldn''t want such an expert? Moreover, Gentle Snow was different from Fire Dance and Violet Cloud, who lacked management experience. Regarding management capabilities, only Aqua Rose might be a match for Gentle Snow. Before joining Zero Wing, Aqua Rose had only managed her own subordinates in Twilight Echo. Gentle Snow, on the other hand, had managed Ouroboros. Moreover, her previous Guild had continuously improved. The Guild had even shown signs of surpassing the Star Alliance. Even if Gentle Snow listed three or four conditions, Shi Feng would likely agree. Only Shi Feng knew exactly how valuable an expert capable of becoming a Tier 6 God-ranked player was to a Guild. "After so many years of development, Ouroboros has formed its own perfect expert training system. This was the reason that Ouroboros had ranked near the top among first-rate Guilds. Unlike other Guilds, we could produce our own experts without recruiting or poaching players. "However, the perfected expert training system had cost my White Clan Group too much. Although I can bring the God Slaying Army with me, I can''t take the training center. The White Clan Group only owns 40% of the training center''s shares, while the other companies own the remaining 60%. "I want Zero Wing to purchase the training center." Gentle Snow''s condition stunned Shi Feng for a moment. For any Guild in God''s Domain, constructing their own training center was of the utmost importance. This was also why second-rate Guilds couldn''t compete with first-rate Guilds. The initial cost of constructing an expert training center was already more than what the companies supporting second-rate Guilds could handle. Moreover, even if a second-rate Guild had a training center and established a perfect training system, the upkeep would be astronomically expensive. Unless a Guild could earn enough to maintain this training system, no Guild or company would be crazy enough to invest in something that would hemorrhage money. Shi Feng had been contemplating his own training center as well. The Big Dipper Training Center was simply not enough to meet his requirements. The training center did not even have a simple simulation training system. However, as constructing a training center was immensely expensive, he had to tackle this problem gradually. He had never imagined that Gentle Snow would ask him to purchase Ouroboros''s training center. He would have been lying if he has said he wasn''t pleased. With Ouroboros''s training center, Zero Wing could save several years of effort. Unfortunately, there was one big problem. He didn''t have enough money Shi Feng had served as the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in the past. He had been personally involved in establishing and constructing Shadow''s training center. It had happened shortly after Shadow had officially become a second-rate Guild. Hence, he knew just how much money a training center''s construction required. If not for several major companies in Jin Hai City working together, Shadow''s training center would never have come into fruition. The cost of the site and machinery was one thing. However, the various simulation facilities and the required energy to maintain them were a different story. Take the fruit of the Secret Pavilion''s research, their simulation training system, for example. Only energy of the highest grade could power this kind of system. Even an inferior simulation system''s daily maintenance cost was enough to quickly bankrupt multiple large companies. With Zero Wing''s current financial strength, affording its maintenance was impossible, not to mention purchasing it "Guild Leader Snow, you must be joking. Zero Wing can''t even afford to operate a training center, not to mention purchasing a perfected one. Even if we could afford it, I doubt that the other companies would willingly sell it. After all, that is Ouroboros''s foundation. As long as the training center exists, the Guild can produce more experts," Shi Feng said, smiling bitterly. Zero Wing had started with nothing. It didn''t have the support of any companies. The Zero Wing Workshop in the real world relied on the Guild''s daily income. Moreover, Shi Feng also did not dare to convert in-game resources into Credits casually. More major companies were joining God''s Domain by the day, and the competition was becoming more intense. The resources in God''s Domain were also becoming more valuable. Converting Coins into Credits would be a devastatingly foolish move. "I understand that I am being somewhat unreasonable, but now is the best opportunity to buy it." Gentle Snow was also aware of how expensive it was to purchase a training center. "Although Blackwater has purchased Ouroboros, Ouroboros''s training center is nothing to the corporation. Meanwhile, the training center''s daily operation is a huge burden to those companies. They will try to get rid of it as quickly as possible. If we don''t buy it now, another corporation, that wants to nurture its own experts, will. "If Zero Wing is willing to buy it, I can try to lower the price as much as possible." "I understand. Please wait a moment. I have to contact the Guild Leader about this first," Shi Feng said, creating an excuse to leave the room. It would be much more convenient to purchase a training center than establishing his own. If he purchased it now, he could save himself a lot of trouble in the future. Zero Wing would not have to risk stagnation as Shadow had in the past due to a lack of experts. With the training center, he could nurture a large number of experts rapidly, sending them out afterward to capture and defend towns. He could then use the money and resources these towns generated to sustain the training center. However, Zero Wing couldn''t gather so much money in such a short timespan. "Forget it. Let''s give it a try." After Shi Feng left the room, he contacted Aqua Rose. 984 Qualifications for Cooperation Chapter 984 - Qualifications for Cooperation Although Aqua Rose was Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, her family owned its own large business. Twilight Echo was a first-rate Guild with an even longer history than Ouroboros. Aqua Rose''s family was one of Twilight Echo''s major shareholders. In the past, Shi Feng had learned that Aqua Rose''s family owned the Sun and Moon Group. In ten years'' time, the Sun and Moon Group would join the Fortune 500 list. Of course, Aqua Rose had been the main contributor to the company''s success. The Sun and Moon Group and the Open Source Corporation were both involved in the energy industry. Hence, Aqua Rose''s family had been afraid of the Open Source Corporation when they had threatened the family to persuade Aqua Rose. Open Source was one of the industry''s giants. On the other hand, Sun and Moon struggled within the middle ranks. If the Open Source Corporation wanted to, it could easily squash the Sun and Moon Group. However, although the Sun and Moon Group only ranked in the mid-range in the energy industry, it wielded an extraordinary amount of funds. After all, the most profitable resource in the world was energy as it was used in nearly every aspect of life. It was also precisely this reason that Twilight Echo''s members had treated Aqua Rose like a treasure, even making her the Guild''s Honorary Elder. Not only was the Sun and Moon Group one of Twilight Echo''s major shareholders, but it was also the Guild''s biggest shareholder. Without the company''s supply of energy, the other shareholders would choke on the daily cost of maintaining the Guild''s training center. "Guild Leader, has something happened?" Aqua Rose asked. Aqua Rose was still dealing with the list of members they intended to send to other countries as well as various other tasks. She was so busy that her brain was about to short-circuit. Her helpers also rushed about the office, contacting Guild members and dealing with the letters of intent from Guild members who were willing to move to the Branch Guild. Now that Zero Wing planned to expand to other countries, many players wanted to apply to the Branch Guilds. Although the Branch Guilds were as safe as the headquarters in White River City, where they didn''t have to worry about other Guilds provoking Zero Wing, they would have more opportunities for promotion in the Branch Guilds. In White River City, there were only so many slots available for the Guild''s main force. Becoming a reserve member was nearly impossible, not to mention becoming an official member of the main force. However, once the Branch Guilds were established, the Guild would establish new main forces, and the main force members enjoyed far more benefits than elite members. Aside from having priority over equipment, just the amount of Magic Crystals each main force member received was enough to make a player drool. Main force members also had the opportunity to obtain the rumored Hundred Berry Wine. According to rumors, the Hundred Berry Wine was even more effective than the Divine Colosseum''s Icefire Spirit. It could help players improve their Skill Completion Rates. Currently, not one bottle was available on the market. No one knew how to obtain their own. Only official members of Zero Wing''s main force qualified to compete for the Hundred Berry Wine. Since members of the Branch Guilds'' main forces would receive similar benefits, why wouldn''t Zero Wing''s elite members be tempted? When Aqua Rose had announced the news, many elite members frantically applied to join the Branch Guilds. Although Aqua Rose looked battered, inwardly, she was elated. She dreamed of helping Zero Wing grow stronger. Because of Zero Wing''s extraordinary performance, her family now saw her in a different light. In fact, they even canceled her engagement to Brilliant Wargod. As Zero Wing''s performance reached new heights, her status in her household rose. Many large companies had secretly sent upper echelons to ask her family members to contact her, desperately wanting to invest in Zero Wing and offering many impressive perks. As a result, every time she visited home, her parents instantly pushed for her to meet with the companies'' representatives. She was even busier than the Star and Moon Group''s CEO "It''s nothing major. Didn''t you say that your family has wanted to invest in Zero Wing? And that other companies frequently pester you to negotiation our cooperation?" Shi Feng asked. "Mhm. More representatives have been showing up lately as well. My family is also constantly on my case. I swear they are even more diligent now than when I had been forced into the engagement with Brilliant Wargod. They almost annoy me to death these days. Do you have a plan to deal with them, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose asked. Just discussing this topic made her head ache. She knew where Shi Feng stood on the matter. Thus, she always rejected the offers. To avoid these people, she had no choice but to hide in her virtual gaming cabin. Only in God''s Domain would her family leave her alone "I have a method. It also isn''t a solution to always have uncle and aunty pressing you for an answer. I can offer them an opportunity to work together," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "As for whether or not they want to cooperate with us, that will be up to them." "Really?" Aqua Rose froze, surprised by Shi Feng''s declaration. She couldn''t believe this was true. Zero Wing was very famous in God''s Domain. This was because it had rejected countless investment offers. Other Guilds dreamed of having their own investors, yet Zero Wing turned them away. Zero Wing was already known as one of the most difficult Guilds to work with. "Yes, I intend to rent some plots of Land, so I would like you to find a few partners. However, each company must first invest one billion Credits. I will choose a total of ten partners." Gentle Snow had already given Shi Feng a rough estimate of the cost. If he wanted to takeover Ouroboros''s training center, he needed at least seven or eight billion Credits. Moreover, this was only the initial estimate. After all, Ouroboros''s training center was massive. It even had its own independent research team. The training center was also located in a top-tier city. Considering, Gentle Snow''s price was exceedingly low. "Guild Leader, are you talking about Stone Forest Town''s Lands?" Aqua Rose was so shocked that she had to ask for confirmation. Shi Feng nodded, replying seriously, "That''s right." "Guild Leader, although the player traffic in Stone Forest Town is high, as expensive as the town''s Lands are, they will never be worth as much as the golden Lands in kingdoms and imperial capitals. Moreover, even those golden Lands aren''t worth that much money. Only a sucker would accept your offer. No one will agree to that," Aqua Rose said helplessly. For some reason, Aqua Rose constantly had the feeling that Shi Feng lived in a different world. She was clearly the rich heiress here, yet when Shi Feng talked about one billion Credits, it sounded as if he were talking about chump change That was one billion Credits they were talking about! While the Sun and Moon Group could collect that much money, the other companies would likely hesitate. "What if I have this item?" Shi Feng laughed as he retrieved an old parchment from his bag. This parchment was none other than the Star-Moon Kingdom City Building Order. With this, he could claim one unassigned location within Star-Moon Kingdom and construct a city. 985 Shocking Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 985 - Shocking Star-Moon Kingdom "This is" Aqua Rose was astonished when she took a closer look at the old parchment''s information on the screen. A City Building Order! This item was far more valuable than any captured town. Yet, while Super Guilds were investing time and effort into capturing towns, Shi Feng had procured a City Building Order Aqua Rose rubbed her eyes. She was sure that they were playing tricks on her. What was a Star-Moon Kingdom City Building Order? That was proof that one had the rights to construct a player city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Currently, player towns in God''s Domain generally accommodated thirty to fifty thousand people. However, none of the Guilds that had captured various towns allowed had built houses in their towns; they had all built hotels. This way, the towns would accommodate more mobile players, which would, in turn, generate more income. Aside from Guild members, players had practically no options to become permanent residents. Even so, a player town could only handle a limited amount of traffic. Take Stone Forest Town for example. Stone Forest Town was very close to the Stoneclaw Mountains. Because most of God''s Domain''s players had already reached Level 30, the town''s traffic grew with each passing day, giving it an even livelier atmosphere than White River City. In the end, Zero Wing had no choice but to limit the amount of time each player could reside in Stone Forest Town''s hotels. This was also why many companies desperately wanted to work with Zero Wing. However, a town had its limits. Not only was the area around Stone Forest Town small, but the local environment also posed a huge problem. It was not suitable for players seeking entertainment, which greatly limited the benefits a real-world company could reap from setting up a virtual Shop. A city, on the other hand, was many times larger than a town. Generally, a town could house over 200,000 resident players, not including mobile players. If they chose an appropriate location, they could easily attract many entertainment-seekers, who disliked adventuring and fighting, to live in the city. "You''ve seen the City Building Order for yourself. Companies that cooperate with Zero Wing will be given priority when purchasing a large plot of Land in the city. As for the one billion Credits, that is only a deposit. However, before you let them in on this secret, find companies that truly intend to cooperate. Moreover, they must sign a confidentiality agreement. I don''t want news of this to leak, attracting everyone''s attention," Shi Feng explained. In truth, he did not want to sell any of the city''s Lands because of how much more valuable they would become in the future. If he nurtured his city to have a population in the millions, he could drown Zero Wing in money each day with the profits from renting the city''s Lands. Unfortunately, he had no avenues to earn so much money in such a short time. "I understand. I will see to the necessary arrangements right away." Aqua Rose nodded excitedly. Currently, the value of Stone Forest Town''s Lands could rival those with high potential in major cities. However, if they chose a strategic location to set up their city, the city''s Lands would easily surpass Stone Forest Town''s by several, or even over ten times. If she advertised this news, many corporations would be eager to work with them. "How many days do you need to get this done?" Shi Feng asked. "I''m in somewhat of a hurry for the money right now." "Roughly three to five days. After all, most major companies would be hard-pressed to collect so much money on such short notice." After giving it some thought, Aqua Rose suggested, "If you are in a rush for money, I can have my family pay for you first, or offer them a few more plots of Land in the new city. I believe they will be more than willing." Although the new city had yet to be built, if a company could enter the city and construct its own virtual Shop immediately, it would massively benefit the company''s development in God''s Domain. After all, once the new city was complete, plenty of entertainment-seekers were bound to visit the city. If a company could leave a deep impression on these players, more people would recognize them as they started Shops in other cities. This would create brand awareness. "Alright. I await your good news," Shi Feng said. As long as he gathered the necessary ten billion Credits, he was satisfied. Following which, Aqua Rose logged out of the game and hastened to make the necessary arrangements. As for Shi Feng, he went back into the room. "Guild Leader Snow, Zero Wing agrees to your conditions. However, we''ll need some time to collect the required Credits. It is unlikely that we can do so in one or two days," Shi Feng explained. "That won''t be a problem. In any case, the training center won''t sell quickly. That will also give me more time to drive down the price," Gentle Snow said, smiling. Initially, she had expected Zero Wing to reject her condition. Either that, or the Guild would need a very long time to gather the required funds. She hadn''t expected the Guild to raise the money so quickly. As she experienced more, she realized how little she truly knew about the Guild. Following which, Shi Feng and Gentle Snow discussed the details of their contract. First, Gentle Snow would join Zero Wing with the elites and experts under her command. At the same time, Gentle Snow would transfer all Lands in her control to Zero Wing. In return, Gentle Snow would receive 15% of Zero Wing''s shares and become one of Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders. Simultaneously, she would serve as the captain of the Ouroboros Legion and manage all of the legion''s affairs. After both parties signed the contract, Gentle Snow logged out of the game and to initiate her plan to purchase Ouroboros. Shi Feng, on the other hand, headed to White River City''s City Hall and took ownership of the 16 plots of Land Gentle Snow had owned. Afterward, he simply needed to construct the Candlelight Trading Firm on these 16 Commercial Lands. With the additional coverage, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s income would increase significantly. Gentle Snow''s insight is impressive. Of the three Lands in the Black Dragon Empire, one is in Emerald City. I won''t have to hunt for an Emerald source. After Shi Feng visited the 11 plots of Land in Star-Moon Kingdom, he could not stifle his grin as he looked at the Deeds for the three Lands in the Black Dragon Empire. Emerald City was one of the empire''s top ten major cities. It was in no way less prosperous than White River City. Players could find many ores around Emerald City, and Emeralds were the most common, hence the name "Emerald City.". Emeralds were generally used as raw materials to produce ornaments as the ore possessed relatively good Mana-storing capabilities. It was rarely ever used to produce other items. However, aside from requiring Mana Stones, Titan City''s Magic Light Set Equipment needed plenty of Emeralds. With a Shop in Emerald City, he could purchase Emeralds long-term. His Guild members wouldn''t need to travel back and forth from the city constantly. Following which, Shi Feng traveled to the Black Dragon Empire via Star-Moon City''s Teleportation Hall. Shortly after Shi Feng left, a shock tore through Star-Moon Kingdom''s various Guilds. "What did you say?! Zero Wing now owns Gentle Snow''s Lands?! How can this be?!" Abandoned Wave was flabbergasted when he received the news. 986 War of First-rate Guilds Chapter 986 - War of First-rate Guilds "Boss Wave, there''s no mistaking it. If you don''t believe me, take a look at these pictures. Our Shops in these locations are now owned by the Candlelight Trading Firm," the bald, middle-aged man reported as he displayed the pictures his subordinates had taken. Abandoned Wave''s expression darkened as he looked through the images. "Gentle Snow!" Abandoned Wave slammed his palm on the wooden table, the impact shook the wine glass and bottle of Witch''s Tear, nearly sending them to the ground. He had never imagined that, as soon as he forced Gentle Snow out of her position and killed her subordinates, the woman would counter with such a move. He hadn''t even had a moment to enjoy his victory. In reality, Abandoned Wave wasn''t the only person that Gentle Snow''s actions had infuriated. The upper echelons from Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds wore twisted expressions when they heard the news. "What, exactly, is Gentle Snow trying to do?!" "Has she lost her mind?! She actually sold so many high-potential Lands to Zero Wing!" The various Guilds loathed Gentle Snow''s latest decision. They would rather pay double the price to purchase Gentle Snow''s Lands and let them rot in their hands than let them fall into the Candlelight Trading Firm''s hands. These Lands had originally housed Ouroboros''s New Moon Trading Firm. Now, however, they housed the Candlelight Trading Firm. Although the Storefronts were the cheapest variations, curious players had already crowded the Shops'' entrances, interested in the sudden change and purchasing items. It was very easy to transfer a Shop''s ownership to another player in God''s Domain. One simply needed to visit a City Hall and follow the necessary procedures. If one didn''t intend to modify the shop, only changing the name, they could immediately have NPCs do so free of charge. The Candlelight Trading Firm had always been known for its Light Stones and Armor Kits. The Intermediate Armor Kits, in particular, usually sold out the instant they were restocked. If not for its low production volume, the Candlelight Trading Firm would''ve long since dominated Star-Moon Kingdom''s market. Even so, Candlelight had still become Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm. Moreover, due to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s lack of background, it had only purchased a limited number of high-potential Lands, despite all of its efforts. As for major cities'' golden Lands, first, the trading firm could not afford them. After all, one golden Land was worth around three or four high-potential Lands in the same city. Unless Zero Wing intended to set up a particular city as its main headquarters or went on a spending spree, it would not purchase a city''s golden Lands. Second, Zero Wing''s members did not have the required Reputation to purchase golden Lands in other cities. Therefore, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s development in Star-Moon Kingdom was limited. On the other hand, to avoid competition with the Candlelight Trading Firm, Gentle Snow''s high-potential Lands had been purchased in cities that lacked Candlelight''s presence or were located far from Candlelight''s Shops. By selling these Lands to Zero Wing, Gentle Snow had just compensated for the Candlelight Trading Firm''s shortcomings. Moreover, the Candlelight Trading Firm had recently recruited a large number of Lifestyle players. Once the trading firm nurtured these Lifestyle players, it would be a disaster for their Guilds, who were already limited to a small corner of the market. However, they could not do anything to oppress the Candlelight Trading Firm in Star-Moon Kingdom While Star-Moon Kingdoms'' various large Guilds tried to think of a solution to cope with the Candlelight Trading Firm''s new strength, Shi Feng had teleported to Emerald City from the Black Dragon Empire''s imperial capital, Black Dragon City. As soon as Shi Feng exited the Teleportation Hall, he found just as many players in Emerald City as there were in White River City. Only the players'' Levels and equipment was slightly inferior to those in his home city. Currently, due to the teleportation house, one could easily find Level 37 or Level 38 players roaming about White River City''s streets. Prior to that, Level 39 experts were as rare as a phoenix feather. Emerald City, however, was different. Shi Feng rarely saw Level 36 players roaming the streets, much less those who had reached Level 37 or higher. However, unlike kingdoms, second- or first-tier cities with populations ranging in the tens of millions were designated to God''s Domain''s empires. It was easy to find many Gaming Workshops and Guilds based in these cities. With Emerald City being one of the top ten cities of the Black Dragon Empire, Shi Feng saw members from no less than ten different Guilds going about their business. Such a sight was rare in Star-Moon Kingdom. Generally, only three or four large Guilds contested over its major cities. Emerald City, on the other hand, had more than ten, and even the weakest among them were second-rate Guilds. As for first-rate Guilds, Shi Feng counted three from where he stood. Emerald City already had as many first-rate Guilds as Star-Moon Kingdom. I recall that the Undefeated Dynasty had been Emerald City''s ruling Guild in the past. Among the many first-rate Guilds, Undefeated Dynasty was relatively tolerant. I shouldn''t need to worry about any trouble if I set a Shop up here. Shi Feng secretly assessed the city''s situation as he rode an advanced horse carriage. Based on what he could see, a large number of the Guild players roaming the streets belonged to Fantasy Shrine and Undefeated Dynasty. The other first-rate Guild was World Dominators, which Shi Feng was familiar with. Ever since Zero Wing had become White River City''s overlord, World Dominators had withdrawn from Star-Moon Kingdom, shifting its focus to the Black Dragon Empire and other kingdoms. Mountain ranges surrounded Emerald City, and it produced rare ores and Emeralds. It was considered a strategic city in the Black Dragon Empire. There were only so many Guilds in the city right now because the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion paid little attention to them. After Shi Feng alighted from the horse carriage, he saw over a dozen independent players leaving the New Moon Trading Firm. These players had very high levels, with the lowest among them being Level 36 and the rest being Level 37. In a large Guild, they would be elite members. As for their combat standards, at this stage of the game, it was very difficult for independent players who hadn''t reached the Trial Tower''s fifth floor to reach Level 37. Moreover, these players were well-equipped. Even the most inferior piece of equipment they wore was a Level 35 Secret-Silver rank. In the eyes of ordinary players, they would definitely be considered experts. "Damn it, to think that Intermediate Regeneration Potions and Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions would sell out so quickly. If I had known that something like this would happen, I would''ve stockpiled. Now, I won''t be able to earn a little bounty reward no matter how much I try." "There''s nothing we can do. Who would''ve expected Fantasy Shrine and Undefeated Dynasty to start a war against each other in Emerald City? They are even placing bounties on each other''s members." "Really, though, what is up with these Guilds? Why did they suddenly declare war on each other? Haven''t they tolerated each other pretty well until now?" "Based on some insider information I obtained, it seems that the two Guilds have discovered a town above a Mithril vein. If the town is captured, players can mine the vein freely." "A Mithril vein?! Won''t they be rich if they capture the town?!" "I know, right? However, the NPCs guarding that town are extraordinary. Capturing the town will be very difficult. If one Guild ambushes the other, the latter''s efforts will go to waste. That''s why both sides are trying to chase each other out of Emerald City." "Large Guild members sure have it easy. While independent players like us are exhausting ourselves just to find ordinary ores, they get to mine Mithril Ore in the safety of a town!" As these players spoke of the Mithril vein, they nearly drooled. Although Mithril Ore was not particularly valuable, it was frequently used to forge weapons and equipment. Generally, selling the Mithril ore one had was very easy. If they could harvest a steady supply of the ore, they could earn more money than they could imagine. "A Mithril vein?" Shi Feng''s lips curled into a smile as he watched the departing independent players. 987 Branch Residence Chapter 987 - Branch Residence After the dozen or so independent players left the New Moon Trading Firm, Shi Feng entered the Shop. Mithril veins were one of the more common mineral veins in God''s Domain. Large Guilds also fought over them fiercely. As the producer of ores and Emeralds in the Black Dragon Empire, there was more than one mineral vein in Emerald City''s vicinity. This was also why Undefeated Dynasty, Emerald City''s ruler in the past, had amassed a fortune. Meanwhile, the only Mithril vein Emerald City''s players knew of was beneath White Bone Town. White Bone Town had been relatively famous in the past because the mineral vein beneath it was a rich vein, and players could reach it easily to mine Mithril Ore. Although one could not make as much money as they could from the Manatite vein under Raven''s control, if developed, the profits would still be considerably shocking. However, current players were not yet strong enough to capture White Bone Town. The NPCs guarding White Bone Town were not humans, but Undead. Their levels were all above 50. Moreover, any player that entered the mine would be cursed, causing them to lose 10% of their HP every three seconds. The curse also lasted for an hour In addition, several Level 70 Grand Lords lurked within the mine''s depths. With players'' current strength, even an army of several hundred thousand elites would not be enough to defeat these monsters. However, this reminded Shi Feng of something. The Basic Holy Spirit Potion! This item would give players temporary immunity to curses. However, as the potion was only Basic rank, its effects were limited. Fortunately, the potion could offer immunity to White Bone Town''s curse. Due to the richness of White Bone Town''s Mithril vein, many players would take the risk to mine there. The money these players earned from a single day of mining the Mithril ore and its byproducts was even more than those who grinded monsters in the fields or raided Team Dungeons. Because of that, the Basic Holy Spirit Potion had been extremely popular in Emerald City in the past. The potion had not been particularly expensive. Initially, each bottle only sold for 2 Silver. Even ordinary players could afford that. The potions'' effects only lasted for half an hour; in that time, one could easily earn more than 2 Silver while mining underneath the town. Although White Bone Town''s monsters were very high-leveled, the mine''s entrance was located in the town''s outskirts. Not many monsters ventured there; so as long as one lured the monsters away, other players could enter the mine freely. The mine was massive, and its terrain was complicated. Very few monsters patrolled the mine, as well. As long as one didn''t explore too deep, they would not find any significant danger. When a player finished their mining, they simply needed to use a Return Scroll to leave safely. Hence, many players had taken the risk the risk to mine there. As more players headed to the Mithril mine, the Basic Holy Spirit Potion''s price quickly rose to 5 Silver. Later, it had even reached 10 Silver per bottle. Alchemist players had been overjoyed. The Basic Holy Spirit Potion''s recipe was not particularly difficult to obtain. Level 30 and above Team Dungeons had a chance of dropping it. Unfortunately, the drop-rate was very low, which resulted in few copies on the market. The potion''s materials were also relatively common. Crafting the potion''s main requirement was a Holy Spirit Flower, which was considered a rare herb. Making the potion didn''t even cost 1 Silver. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng burst into action. This was a valuable opportunity to make a fortune. Emerald City''s player population was in the millions. Once players discovered the method of mining in White Bone Town, swarms of players would flock to the Mithril vein. One could just imagine how large the market would be for the Basic Holy Spirit Potion. Following which, Shi Feng changed the New Moon Trading Firm''s name to the Candlelight Trading Firm and removed the Lifestyle players and products in the Shop. He then made a trip to the City Hall and spent 1,000 Gold to upgrade the Shopfront to the highest-ranking available. He also hired NPCs to purchase various kinds of ores, herbs, and Emeralds. As for the Candlelight products that would be sold in this Shop and the Shop''s personnel, Shi Feng passed the responsibility to the Candlelight Trading Firms'' management team. Meanwhile, he visited the Auction Houses in the Black Dragon Empire''s various cities to purchase the Basic Holy Spirit Potion Recipe and Holy Spirit Flowers. After spending most of the day like this, Shi Feng finally bought all the recipes on the Black Dragon Empire''s market. He had managed to collect a total of 776 recipes. Although the method to obtain the recipe was easy, its drop rate was painfully low. The recipe''s current market price wasn''t high. Shi Feng only spent around 35 to 40 Silver Coins for each copy. Overall, he had not even spent 300 Gold to buy all of the copies. The low price was mainly due to players not having a major use for the Basic Holy Spirit Potion; it simply wasn''t one of Alchemists'' hot items. If he were looking for the Intermediate Regeneration Potion and the Intermediate Mana Recovery Potion''s recipes, however, they would be much more expensive. With so many recipes, even after every Alchemist in the Candlelight Trading Firm learned it, he would still have plenty to spare. Shi Feng had also bought over 6,500 stacks of Holy Spirit Flowers, with 20 flowers per stack. Currently, each stack sold for around 12 to 13 Silver. In total, Shi Feng had spent over 800 Gold on the Holy Spirit Flowers. For a while, I''ll have Candlelight purchase Holy Spirit Flowers. Shi Feng was mostly satisfied with how many Holy Spirit Flowers he had procured. At the end of the day, the Holy Spirit Flower was a rare herb. Rather than sell it, most Guilds usually opted to store the flowers in their Guild Warehouses. Only independent players sold the herb, thus the limited supply on the market. If he turned these 6,500-plus stacks of Holy Spirit Flower into Basic Holy Spirit Potions, he would have enough to last Emerald City''s players for quite some time. As long as the Candlelight Trading Firm''s acquisition of Holy Spirit Flowers could keep up with the potion''s demand, Emerald City would become a stable source of income for the trading firm for a relatively long time. Shi Feng had also spent 3,000 Gold to construct an Advanced Guild Hall in Lake Heart City. Although the Land he bought from Phoenix Rain could not compare to Zero Wing''s main Guild Residence, the towering Advanced Guild Hall was still impressive enough to shock Lake Heart City''s players. "Wow! This Guild has style!" "I wonder which Guild this is, to think that anyone would want to develop in this backwater city." "It shouldn''t be a large Guild, right? Maybe it''s some third-rate Guild." "I guess you''re right. There is no way a large Guild would fancy our Lake Heart City." There were not many players residing in Lake Heart City due to its location on an island. There were not many good leveling spots around, either. The city''s current population was slightly over 100,000. No first-rate Guild would waste their efforts on a desolate city like this. As a result, only a second-rate Guild ruled over Lake Heart City. Moreover, its main headquarters wasn''t located in the city. Rather, it was based in a major city with a player population of over half a million. Furthermore, the Guild Residences in Lake Heart City. They were a far cry from Zero Wing''s magnificent Advanced Guild Hall. "Huh? Wait a minute! Look at the emblem on that Guild flag! Doesn''t that look like Zero Wing''s six-winged emblem?!" 988 The Seven Treasures’ First Appearance Chapter 988 - The Seven Treasures'' First Appearance Upon hearing Zero Wing''s name, the players on the street turned to look at the flag flying from the Guild Hall''s roof. "It really is a six-winged emblem!" "What?!" "Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild is actually starting a Branch Guild here?!" Many people felt chills crawl down their spines, excitement overwhelming them as they stared at the Guild flag. None of them could believe their eyes. Although Lake Heart City was in the Black Dragon Empire, the empire neighbored Star-Moon Kingdom. They were up-to-date about the nearby kingdoms. They also frequently purchased a copy the God''s Domain Experts List. Everybody knew about Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. Moreover, the ruler of the Black Dragon Empire''s imperial capital, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, had suffered at Zero Wing''s hands. With such a powerful Guild appearing in Lake Heart City, how could they contain their excitement? "Since Zero Wing is coming here does this mean we''ll have a chance to join Zero Wing?" "I guess so? When a Guild develops in a new city, it normally recruits some of the local players to expand gradually." "I heard that the benefits Zero Wing offers are awesome; they are even better than what first-rate Guilds offer. In other Guilds, I heard that only core members get to use the Guild Hall''s Private Rooms. On the other hand, one only needs to be an elite member in Zero Wing to rent a Private Room and accumulate the Double EXP buff." "I''ve always wanted to join Zero Wing. Unfortunately, it costs too much to teleport from the Black Dragon Empire to White River City. Now, though, I don''t have to worry about teleportation fees." Anticipation filled these independent players'' hearts as the ogled Zero Wing''s new Guild Residence. To ordinary players, traveling to other countries was too expensive. Even if they spent their entire fortune traveling to White River City, there was no guarantee that they would be accepted into the Guild. Furthermore, they had long since familiarized themselves with Lake Heart City and its surroundings. If they started developing in an unknown city, their leveling speed and daily income would decrease drastically. In addition, unlike in Lake Heart City, they wouldn''t have companions to rely on in White River City. Now, however, times had changed. Shortly after Zero Wing''s Branch Guild had appeared, news of this matter quickly spread throughout the city. Some rejoiced, while others grew worried. To independent players, Zero Wing''s appearance was good news. To the local Guilds, however, nothing was good about this development. When the Crimson Castle Guild, the second-rate Guild ruling over Lake Heart City, received the news, it had held an emergency meeting among its upper echelons. "Why has Zero Wing suddenly shown up in a backwater city like Lake Heart City?" "If Zero Wing really intends on developing here, they will target the high-resource areas we usually occupy." "What''s there to be afraid of? Even if Zero Wing is powerful in Star-Moon Kingdom, this is Lake Heart City. This is our territory. We are far more familiar with the city''s surroundings than Zero Wing. Even if a war breaks out between our Guilds, the winner isn''t set in stone." Crimson Castle''s upper echelons discussed the situation heatedly. Although the leveling areas around Lake Heart City were not particularly beneficial, once players familiarized themselves with the area, their leveling speed would increase. Moreover, unlike other cities, there were very few Guilds in Lake Heart City. This allowed Crimson Castle to obtain plenty of raw materials very easily. "There is no need to get too worked up about this. I have heard that the situation in Star-Moon Kingdom isn''t very stable. Zero Wing won''t focus too much on conquering Lake Heart City. Moreover, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has a grudge against Zero Wing. If we report Zero Wing''s arrival to the Pavilion, the Pavilion will seek vengeance," the dignified, middle-aged man in the Guild Leader''s seat said as he watched the arguing players before him. In a deep tone, he said, "During this period, keep an eye on Zero Wing''s members. Report everything to the Pavilion." Hearing their Guild Leader''s order, the Crimson Castle''s upper echelons fell silent and nodded in agreement. As their Guild Leader had said, Zero Wing had used the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion as a stepping stone to become famous, leaving the Pavilion''s prestige in tatters. After that incident, the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion''s Nine Dragons Emperor declared that he would not let the matter rest. Although dealing with Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom was difficult for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it was a different story in the Black Dragon Empire. The Black Dragon Empire was the Pavilion''s territory. It would be child''s play to take care of a measly Branch Guild. While Crimson Castle hashed out a plan to deal with Zero Wing, Shi Feng spent 300 Gold to bind the Guild Transfer Scroll''s coordinates. Afterward, Zero Wing''s members in White River City could simply purchase Lake Heart City''s Guild Transfer Scrolls to travel to the city directly. The Guild Transfer Scroll was one of a Guild''s greatest benefits. Unlike NPC cities'' Teleportation Halls, which charged a steep teleportation fee, players only needed to purchase the corresponding Guild Transfer Scroll to reach their desired Guild Residence. However, such a major benefit came with restrictions. Players were only allowed to carry one Guild Transfer Scroll at a time. Moreover, the scroll had a very long Cooldown. The Transfer Scrolls'' prices also varied depending on the distance between the destination and where it was purchased. Regardless, it was still cheaper than using the Teleportation Halls. If a Guild had enough Guild Residences, it could easily replace Teleportation Halls. When Shi Feng finished binding the coordinates, he looked at the time. Glancing up at the already-dark sky, he called up his system interface, intending to log off for the day and rest. Now that he had established Lake Heart City''s Branch Guild, he needed Aqua Rose to transfer the batches of selected members. As for Raven''s monster-repelling issue, Shi Feng had already instructed Flying Shadow to handle it. Originally, he had intended Fire Dance to carry out the task. However, Fire Dance was currently busy leading Zero Wing''s members in raiding the Undead Gorge and did not have time to spare. So, he used his next-best optionCFlying Shadow. Flying Shadow was Zero Wing''s second-best Assassin. Not only was his Movement Speed quite high, but he could also move about rather secretively. He wasn''t easy to detect. When it was time to repel the monster invasion, Flying Shadow could use the Monster Repellent Scroll without anyone noticing, which would reduce the chances of Raven discovering the scroll. Although the Monster Repellent Scroll was very rare and few people knew about it, seeing as Quiet Melody, the Sacred Temple''s Vice Temple Master, had purchased so many in Blackwing City, Shi Feng deemed it wise to use the scrolls discreetly, hiding the scroll''s function. In any case, Zero Wing only needed to repel the invasions. It was not obligated to reveal its means of doing so. After clicking the "Logout" button, while Shi Feng waited on the logout timer, he habitually used the Golden Stigmata''s Detect Skill. The quest to find the Seven Treasures was truly sinister. With God''s Domain being so massive, how was he supposed to locate them? Fortunately, he had been given a very long time limit to complete the quest. Hence, Shi Feng routinely used the Detect Skill once a day. If not for the Skill''s one-day Cooldown, his search for the Seven Treasures would''ve proceeded much faster. After using the Detect Skill, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: The Golden Stigmata has detected the Seven Treasures'' energy waves. Do you wish to track the energy waves? Why would the Seven Treasures be here?! Shi Feng instantly tensed. He had never imagined that he would come across the Seven Treasures'' energy waves in Lake Heart City! 989 Special Set Equipmen Chapter 989 - Special Set Equipment Upon hearing the system notification, Shi Feng immediately stopped the logout process and chose to track the energy waves. The Golden Stigmata''s Detect had a 50,000-yard range, which was not particularly large. The Skill just managed to cover Lake Heart City as well as the surrounding forest and fields. There should not be any monsters within that range, and it was even less likely for there to be any relics. Otherwise, someone would have long since discovered them. After all, it was impossible for an NPC city to be constructed above a relic. Yet, the Seven Treasures, which had been lost for many years, had appeared in the middle of nowhere. It was inconceivable. As expected, it is inside the city. Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw the perceived location on his map. This should be in the Noble''s District. Although Shi Feng knew that the Seven Treasures could be anywhere, who could''ve thought that he would find the legendary Seven Treasures in Lake Heart City''s Noble''s District? If the War God''s Temple knew that the Seven Treasures were in the Black Dragon Empire, they would''ve turned the empire over in their search, not to mention the insignificant Lake Heart City. After checking the general location, Shi Feng summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and charged towards the Noble''s District. "A monster! A monster has appeared in the city!" "Crap, that''s a Mount!" "What kind of Mount is that?! It''s so cool!" When the players on the street saw the Demonic Flame Tiger charge out of Zero Wing''s Residence, they were stupefied. A city like Lake Heart City didn''t even have one Level 40 player, much less a Mount. Hence, when these players saw the majestic, towering Demonic Flame Tiger, they grew more enthusiastic to join Zero Wing. Black Dragon Empire, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Residence: Entering the Guild Leader''s office, a beautiful, tall female Summoner reported respectfully, "Vice Guild Leader, the Crimson Castle''s Guild Leader requests a meeting with you. He claims that it is related to Zero Wing." "I understand. It seems that quite a few people are displeased with Zero Wing today," Blood Dragon, the Guild Leader of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Black Dragon Empire Branch Guild, said, chuckling. "Ghost, bring him in." The female Summoner, Beautiful Ghost, nodded. She left the office to guide Crimson Castle''s Guild Leader. Inside the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s reception room, a robust man, standing about two-meters tall, waited patiently. This man was none other than the Crimson Castle''s Guild Leader, Crimson Fox. Why haven''t they met with me yet? Crimson Fox was frustrated as he stared beyond the window pane at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members going about their business. Sure enough, the Pavilion deserved to be called a super-first-rate Guild. Despite only being a Branch Guild''s Residence, he saw plenty of experts moving about the hall, with many of them radiating a significant pressure. Among these experts, he envied a few players'' equipment. The Crimson Castle could never compare to a Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Crimson Fox had originally intended to send one of the Guild''s upper echelons to the Pavilion. However, when he thought about the violent and arrogant temper of the Pavilion''s Vice Guild Leader, Blood Dragon, he felt that it would be safer if he visited the Guild personally. Once he reached the Pavilion''s Guild Residence, he firmly believed that he had made the right decision. His Guild''s representative would never have been allowed through the Pavilion''s gates. Moreover, not long ago, he received another message from his subordinates stating that Zero Wing''s Demonic Flame Tiger had appeared in Lake Heart City. The upper echelons of God''s Domain''s various Guilds were no strangers to the Demonic Tiger. After all, the Demonic Tiger was known as the best Mount in God''s Domain. Many even suspected that it might be a Fine-Gold Mount. Besides, this powerful Mount''s owner was none other than Zero Wing''s Ye Feng. Those who understood Zero Wing knew that Ye Feng''s position in the Guild was definitely among the top three. He might even be second only to Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. Such an important figure in Lake Heart City stressed Crimson Fox. Anyone capable of leading a large Guild was no idiot. With a figure like Ye Feng visiting the city, it was clear how important Lake Heart City was to Zero Wing. If they did not remove Zero Wing as soon as possible, it would only be a matter of time before Crimson Castle fell from the position of the city''s ruler. While Crimson Fox occupied himself with these thoughts, the reception room''s wooden doors swung open. A tall beauty then entered the room. This woman was the female Summoner Beautiful Ghost, who had reported to Blood Dragon. When Crimson Fox''s eyes met Beautiful Ghost''s, he shuddered. Alarm bells rang in his mind, warning him to be careful of the woman standing before him. "You''re Crimson Fox? Follow me," Beautiful Ghost said. After sparing Crimson Fox a glance, she turned and left the reception room with an air of indifference. Her eyes hadn''t contained a hint of respect when she looked at Crimson Fox. Rather, they held contempt, as if she had been watching an ant. If not for Blood Dragon''s orders, she would not have paid any attention to the man at all. Although Crimson Foxed wanted to respond, after a moment of hesitation, he chose to shut his mouth. Aside from the fact that he was on foreign soil, this female Summoner was already stronger than him. Not only was she Level 39, but her equipment also radiated the unique glow of Dark-Gold items. Moreover, the red-blue robes, headwear, and other equipment were clearly pieces of a set. In other words, Beautiful Ghost wore a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. In comparison, he only had individual pieces of Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. A Level 35 Dark-Gold Set Equipment? As expected of a super-first-rate Guild. Crimson Fox smiled bitterly. He had no choice but to endure this woman''s contemptuous look. After all, she had more than earned her arrogance. However, Crimson Fox did not know that Beautiful Ghost''s Dark-Gold Set Equipment was not a Level 35 set. If Shi Feng were present, he would have instantly recognized the equipment. This was the Level 40 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, Life Summons. Only Level 40 and above Field Great Lords had a chance of dropping these set pieces. Initially, only Level 40 Summoners could equip the Life Summons set. However, this equipment was somewhat special. If one had all five pieces of the set, the level requirement would drop by five Levels. Under Beautiful Ghost''s lead, Crimson Fox quickly arrived before the Guild Leader''s office on the third floor. On his way, Crimson Fox had seen many Level 50 NPC guards. Without someone of relevance as a guide, even the Guild''s elite members would not be allowed near the Guild Leader''s office. Upon entering the office, Crimson Fox involuntarily shuddered. He felt an immense pressure, almost as if a Boss monster were in the room with him. Moreover, it didn''t feel like any ordinary Boss monster. At the very least, it felt like a Lord Boss or stronger. How is this possible?! Crimson Fox stared at Blood Dragon, who leaned against his office chair while enjoying a glass of wine, shock filling his heart. Is this the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Vice Guild Leader? At this moment, Crimson Fox struggled to breathe. Compared to Blood Dragon, the pressure he felt from Beautiful Ghost before was a joke. Against Beautiful Ghost, he could, more or less, move unaffected. However, when faced with Blood Dragon, his movements were somewhat sluggish. In battle, this pressure would greatly impact his combat power. However, the scene inside the office was even more shocking. Seated opposite of Blood Dragon was a gorgeous woman who, despite the powerful mental oppression in the room, seemed utterly unaffected 990 Empires Overlord Chapter 990 - Empire''s Overlord Who is she? Crimson Fox''s attention unconsciously drifted to the leisurely woman. Currently, Blood Dragon was Level 40, and only a handful of players throughout the Black Dragon Empire had reached this Level. Level 40 players were much stronger than Level 39 players in terms of Attributes as they could equip Level 40 equipment. If even he, someone who wore a full collection of Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment, felt such immense pressure from Blood Dragon, one could just imagine how intense of a pressure a Level 20 player would feel in Blood Dragon''s aura. Yet, the mysterious woman before him treated Blood Dragon''s undisguised aura as if it were a spring breeze. In addition, the mysterious woman herself exuded a noble and graceful aura that coaxed one into submission. "Sit," Blood Dragon told Crimson Fox as he pointed to one of the wooden chairs on the other side of his desk. "Let me introduce you. This beauty is the Blackwater Corporation''s representative, Qin Muyun. Like you, she is here for Zero Wing." "The Blackwater Corporation?!" Crimson Fox was taken aback. Everyone had heard of the Blackwater Corporation. It was a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, the young woman before him had been chosen to represent such a major corporation. "Guild Leader Crimson, if you have any information regarding Zero Wing that you wish to share, please tell us. I believe that Miss Muyun is also interested to hear it," Blood Dragon said, chuckling. Crimson Fox nodded nervously. He then relayed everything about Zero Wing''s development in Lake Heart City. "Vice Guild Leader Blood, you''ve seen Zero Wing''s ambition for yourself. If we let Zero Wing develop any further, no one will be able to guarantee that Zero Wing won''t set its sights on the Black Dragon Empire. If we don''t take measures to contain the Guild, with its development speed thus far, it won''t be long before it grows so big that even you will be helpless against it," Qin Muyun said, smiling. "You should consider my earlier proposal." Qin Muyun had the voice of a siren. Her words were intoxicating. Even an expert like Crimson Fox was not completely unaffected. Initially, Qin Muyun had worried that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would reject their offer of cooperation. Now, however, her worries had been resolved. Before this, Zero Wing''s operations had been limited to Star-Moon Kingdom. No matter how strong it became, it wouldn''t impact the Pavilion''s operations in the Black Dragon Empire. However, she had never imagined that, of all places, Zero Wing would choose to expand into the Black Dragon Empire. The Black Dragon Empire was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s territory! For the sake of its reputation, the Pavilion couldn''t let Zero Wing enjoy itself here. Otherwise, Nine Dragons Emperor''s prior declaration would be nothing more than his own disgrace. "Since Miss Muyun has already said as much, I agree to provide support in resources, products, Coins, and experts to help you defeat Zero Wing. Once the deed is done, however, the Pavilion wants full authority over Stone Forest Town." "Please rest assured. As long as the Pavilion helps us from the sidelines, the Blackwater Corporation will deal with the rest." Qin Muyun smiled. "If there isn''t anything else to discuss, I must leave to report the good news to my superiors." Blood Dragon nodded before sending Qin Muyun off with his gaze. "Vice Guild Leader Blood, what about Lake Heart City?" Crimson Fox asked anxiously. Lake Heart City was an important source of income for the Crimson Castle. Without it, the Guild''s development would deteriorate significantly. "Relax. Since Zero Wing dares to enter the Black Dragon Empire, the Pavilion won''t let the Guild off the hook. I will send the Blood Legion to assist the Crimson Castle. We''ll make sure that Zero Wing regrets ever setting foot in the Black Dragon Empire." Blood Dragon could not help but chuckle. Turning to Crimson Fox, he spoke in a domineering tone, "I''ll appoint my aid, Beautiful Ghost, to command the operation. I believe that you do not have any arguments, right?" "Of course, of course!" Crimson Fox said excitedly. The Blood Legion was a legion of expert Assassins that everyone in the Black Dragon Empire knew about. Not only did these experts possess excellent equipment, but every one of them was also adept with ambushes in the fields. Although the Blood Legion was not the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strongest force, it was the one that the various large Guilds feared the most. Even first-rate Guilds were afraid of the Blood Legion. Out in the fields, even a single expert Assassin was a force not to be reckoned with. Knowing that a team of 1,000 expert Assassins waited for them, who would possibly be bold enough to venture out to grind monsters? Even if a Guild dispatched a small army of players to hunt down the Blood Legion, its efforts would be futile. It was precisely this reason that the various large Guilds paled at the mention of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Blood Legion. Only a super-first-rate Guild with a powerful foundation was capable of compiling such a force. For a first-rate Guild, even forming a team of 100 expert Assassins was impossible. Now that the Pavilion intended to dispatch the Blood Legion, Zero Wing''s members should not even consider leaving Lake Heart City. If they did, they should not dream of returning alive. If this persisted, Zero Wing would not survive in Lake Heart City. Eventually, it would be forced to withdraw. "I''ll leave the rest to you," Blood Dragon told Beautiful Ghost. "Vice Guild Leader, do not worry. I will gather the men right away. It will only take a few days to eradicate Zero Wing from the Black Dragon Empire," Beautiful Ghost said very confidently. In Beautiful Ghost''s opinion, their opponent was merely Zero Wing''s Branch Guild. Dispatching the Blood Legion was simply making a big fuss over nothing. Lake Heart City''s Noble''s District: Not many players wandered down the street of Western-European buildings, only NPC nobles. When Shi Feng arrived before a luxurious mansion atop the Demonic Flame Tiger, he noticed a team of 20 players gathered at its gates. He also spotted a few familiar figures among the team members. These people were none other than Thoughtful Rain, Blue Bamboo, Gunfire, Death Wind, and Autumn Goose. "Big Brother Ye Feng! Why are you here?" Blue Bamboo noticed Shi Feng and the towering Demonic Flame Tiger immediately, surprise flashing in her eyes. Hearing Blue Bamboo''s exclamation, Thoughtful Rain and the others turned towards the Demonic Tiger by the entrance. Shi Feng was even more shocked by the sudden development than Thoughtful Rain and her companions. He had only arrived before this mansion due to the Seven Treasures. At this point, the Golden Stigmata''s tracker pointed to the Seven Treasures'' exact location. He had never expected to find Thoughtful Rain and the others here as well. However, after Blue Bamboo had noticed him, the rest of the team turned and glared as if he were their greatest enemy, killing intent filling their eyes. Suddenly, the Shield Warrior Death Wind scattered the heavy atmosphere as he approached Shi Feng and asked pleasantly, "Brother Ye Feng, what a coincidence! Are you here for a quest as well?" 991 Cost of Contemp Chapter 991 - Cost of Contempt "An acquaintance?" When everyone in the team saw Death Wind greet Shi Feng, their gazes softened slightly. Even so, they remained very cautious with him. Currently, Shi Feng wore his Black Cloak, so they could not see his information. However, the fact that he rode a Mount showed that he was extraordinarily strong. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have reached Level 40 so quickly. They wouldn''t mind a weak acquaintance. However, Shi Feng''s strength was precisely the reason that they remained wary. "Autumn, you guys know him?" a robust man asked Autumn Goose, who stood beside him. This robust man'' weathered appearance spoke of years of life''s vicissitudes. A suit of silvery-gray knight''s armor protected his body, and he carried a tower shield that was nearly as tall as he was. At his waist, he carried a luxurious golden knight''s sword. Furthermore, he had already reached Level 40. "Mhm. He''s one of Zero Wing''s Elders. He is incredibly strong. It was thanks to him that we had completed our previous quest." Autumn Goose nodded to the robust man''s question. She did not try to hide anything as the man beside her was none other than the commander of the Wind God''s Spear, Fallen Wind. "If we can convince Ye Feng to help us, we''ll have a much higher chance of completing this quest." Hearing Autumn Goose''s words, Fallen Wind could not help but reexamine Shi Feng. Although Autumn Goose seemed approachable on the surface, she was arrogant to the bone. In her eyes, very few people were worth Autumn Goose''s recognition. "Autumn, aren''t you giving him a bit too much credit? Isn''t he just some expert a large Guild nurtured? How strong could he possibly be? If we take him with us, he''ll probably only hold us back," a frosty youth in brown leather armor said dismissively. Aside from Wind God''s Spear''s brilliant battle records in the multiple confrontations they have had with several large Guilds, their several new experts were already many times stronger than first-rate Guilds'' pampered experts. As for the members here today, they were the crme de la crme of the Wind God''s Spear. Every Wind God''s Spear member here was a top-class expert with a list of illustrious achievements. How could someone like Shi Feng possibly compare to them? To further his point, the youth had never seen Shi Feng''s name on God''s Domain''s Experts List. Disregarding the cold youth''s words, Autumn Goose looked directly at Fallen Wind and said, "Commander, I believe that Big Brother Death Wind will also support my point." At Autumn Goose''s strong recommendation of Shi Feng, Thoughtful Rain''s beautiful eyes sparkled with anticipation. Although she did not understand why, whenever she was with Shi Feng, she felt indescribably safe. She didn''t even feel like this when she traveled with someone as powerful as Fallen Wind. "This is interesting." Fallen Wind could not help but watch the cloaked Shi Feng, curiosity flashing in his eyes. Naturally, there was no need to mention Shi Feng''s level. However, the Swordsman''s combat standards were unknown. Generally, one could judge a person''s strength based on the aura they radiated. The stronger a person was, the stronger their aura was. Such a phenomenon was due to the confidence they gained from experiencing countless battles. Yet Even after observing Shi Feng for a long moment, Fallen Wind could not sense any aura that hinted at Shi Feng''s strength. As to whether or not Shi Feng concealed his aura, this was unlikely. After all, even experts would find it extremely difficult to conceal their aura completely unless their mental fortitude had reached a certain level. However, experts capable of doing so were generally in their thirties or forties. Some only reached this refinement in their fifties. To put it simply, it was impossible for a youth to have enough control to hide their aura. However, both Autumn Goose and Death Wind seemed to admire Shi Feng. This was strange indeed. "Autumn, let''s pass on asking him this time. If the opportunity presents itself, we can invite him in the future. We''ve already determined our team''s roster. Sudden adjustments to the team will increase our chances of failure," Fallen Wind said after giving it some thought. "We cannot afford to fail this quest. If we complete this quest, the Wind God''s Spear''s strength will climb to a new level. The Wind God''s Spear won''t have to shuffle around in the Dark Night Empire''s shadows anymore. Instead, the empire''s large Guilds will have to hide like rats." "I understand," Autumn Goose dejectedly replied. She understood Fallen Wind''s sentiment. They had invested a lot of effort into this quest. Now that they had reached the final phase and were prepared, they would be taking unnecessary risks if they replaced one of the team members. "Our Commander knows best. If we allow a half-assed expert into the team, I''ll constantly have to worry about him dragging me to the grave," the cold youth said, nodding. When Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo heard Fallen Wind reject Autumn Goose''s proposal and Ordinary Blade''s, the cold youth, ridicule, they were annoyed. However, as they were members of Zero Wing, they did not find it appropriate to intervene in Wind God''s Spear''s internal matters. Yet, Ordinary Blade''s disrespect of Shi Feng made the somewhat angry. "Commander Fallen, I apologize, but Blue and I won''t be participating in this operation. After all, this is the Wind God''s Spear''s affair. It wouldn''t be proper for us to take part," Thoughtful Rain announced. They had simply tagged along for this quest due to Fallen Wind''s invitation and their friendship with Autumn Goose and the others. Now that Zero Wing''s Elder had been belittled, how could they, members of Zero Wing, remain on the team? "Ordinary, apologize to Miss Rain and Miss Blue!" Fallen Wind growled as he glared at the frosty youth. How could he not understand the meaning behind Thoughtful Rain''s words? The sudden development stupefied Ordinary Blade. He was simply trying to make himself look good before Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. How had things ended up this way? What was going on here? "Miss Rain and Miss Blue are members of Zero Wing!" Fallen Wind softly reminded the boy. This was the first time Ordinary Blade had met Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. In addition, as the two women were participating in the quest as individuals, they had not worn their Guild Emblems. Hence, Ordinary Blade had not realized that the duo was from Zero Wing. "Miss Rain, I misspoke. Please, forgive me," Ordinary Blade quickly apologized after realizing his blunder. He very much felt like digging a hole and jumping in. Seeing Ordinary Blade''s distress, Autumn Goose, who was familiar with the youth, could not help but giggle. In the Wind God''s Spear, Ordinary Blade was famous for his indifference. However, when the youth had met Thoughtful Rain for the first time, his eyes had nearly fallen from their sockets. It was obvious that the youth was interested in Thoughtful Rain. Unfortunately, his attempt to impress her had backfired magnificently. This time, even their commander couldn''t save him. She and Thoughtful Rain were as close as sisters. She was very familiar with Thoughtful Rain''s personality. When Thoughtful Rain made a decision, even a force of nature wouldn''t change her mind She remembered Thoughtful Rain''s decision to join Zero Wing. No matter how much she had tried to dissuade the girl, hadn''t Thoughtful Rain still joined the Guild? 992 Legendary Difficulty Chapter 992 - Legendary Difficulty Thoughtful Rain''s resolute refusal gave Fallen Wind a headache. Ordinary Blade truly knew how to give him trouble. Thoughtful Rain was a God''s Domain player who had come into contact with virtual reality games just recently. However, when Fallen Wind watched the battle video Autumn Goose sent him, which showed a duel between herself and Thoughtful Rain, a shiver had crawled down his spine. If not for Autumn Goose telling him about Thoughtful Rain''s situation, he would not have even imagined that God''s Domain was her first virtual reality game. Within just a few months'' time, she had actually managed to grow to a point where she could hold her own against Autumn Goose. Her improvement speed was simply godly. Compared to Thoughtful Rain, those players who were held up as geniuses in God''s Domain were simply garbage. Recently, Autumn Goose had been improving very quickly, and right now, her strength already ranked steadily within the top ten of the Wind God''s Spear. Although the Wind God''s Spear was only an adventurer team, its members were all battle maniacs and extremely proud. Members of the team would frequently spar with each other. They would also often pick fights with members of large Guilds. As a result, their strength increased continuously every day. Rather than passing their time leisurely in God''s Domain, they desperately sought all sorts of means to improve themselves. Hence, ranking within the top ten of the Wind God''s Spear was a challenging proposition, not to mention maintaining a position there. Yet, when Autumn Goose reunited with Thoughtful Rain after not meeting her for a short time, Autumn Goose had actually lost to Thoughtful Rain, who was significantly weaker than herself before, in a duel. Moreover, when Thoughtful Rain defeated Autumn Goose, it was obvious she had not used her full strength. Fallen Wind found it truly hard to fathom what heights Thoughtful Rain''s combat power had already reached. However, he estimated that she should be able to rank within the top five of the Wind God''s Spear. In contrast, although Ordinary Stranger was very talented and his improvement speed was very fast, he only ranked within the top 20 even now. Losing a combatant like Thoughtful Rain would greatly hamper their quest. Just as Fallen Wind was about to say something, a crisp voice suddenly came from within the mansion, echoing throughout the entire courtyard and making everyone''s souls tremble. "What a lively day it is today. I never thought that even an important person from the War God''s Temple would be willing to pay me a visit. However, since you''ve already arrived, I''ll have to ask you to remain and head to another world to enjoy." After the sound of this voice dissipated, a magic barrier enveloped the entire mansion. "What''s going on?" This sudden development threw everyone for a loop, Fallen Wind in particular. Their quest had tasked them to visit Countess Katie Green of the Black Dragon Empire. The Countess would then bring them to a secret location. However, based on the words she had just spoken, it was clear that she was trying to make them suffer. While everyone was panicking, Shi Feng remained relatively calm. It was very obvious to him that the Countess''s words were intended for him. Otherwise, she would not have mentioned "War God''s Temple." While Shi Feng and everyone else were thinking of how to deal with their current predicament, their vision immediately filled with darkness. Every one of them transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the luxurious mansion. It was as if none of them had ever appeared there. The NPC guards patrolling the streets did not even sense the existence of the barrier magic array. "What is this place?" "Why have my movements turned sluggish?!" "Commander, I can''t use my Return Scroll!" "Me too!" As soon as everyone could see again, they discovered that the scenery before them had changed. Their bodies also felt leaden. Many in the team could not help but grow anxious at this situation. Meanwhile, this sealed space had only a set of open, pitch-black stone doors, a few hundred meters in height, standing right before them. Beyond these doors was a wide and spacious passage, the walls of which boasted countless carvings of Gods and Demons, the images depicting the ancient war between Gods and Demons. This passage led directly to a towering temple in the distance. Upon seeing the massive stone doors, a name immediately appeared in Shi Feng''s mind. The Trial of God! To players, the Trial of God was an opportunity. It was extremely difficult to encounter one. Previously, Blackie and the others had only managed to enter one due to luck. However, great rewards also came with great risks. Maybe it was also due to their luck, but Blackie and the others had encountered only a four-colored trial. It was also precisely because it was only a four-colored trial that they had managed to deal with the challenges and safely clear the Trial of God. However, the Trial of God before him right now was no four-colored trial. Generally, players could determine the rank of the trial they were taking through the transfer gate in the outside world. However, after entering a trial, there was still another method to determine its rank. And that was the size of the Trial Gate. Trial Gates that were around ten meters tall signified that one was undertaking a one-colored trial, after which came 20 meters, 30 meters, 50 meters, 100 meters, 300 meters, and 999 meters. Meanwhile, the Trial Gate before them was clearly over 100 meters in height, perhaps around 300 meters in all. In other words, this was a six-colored trial, and its difficulty could rival Legendary Quests. Shortly after Shi Feng realized that this place was the Trial of God, Fallen Wind and several other experts came to the same conclusion. Immediately, their expressions turned very gloomy. "Why is it a six-colored Trial of God?" As calm as he was, even Fallen Wind''s mouth twitched involuntarily when he noticed this fact. The Trial of God was no secret in God''s Domain. With so many players playing the game, there were bound to be quite a few players who had encountered it. As more and more players discussed the trial on the official forums, details about the Trial of God became public. After the others heard Fallen Wind mentioning the Trial of God, they promptly looked it up on the official forums. However, once everyone understood what exactly a six-colored trial was, their hearts grew very heavy. "Commander, what should we do now?" many members of the Wind God''s Spear asked worriedly. There were only two methods to leave a Trial of God. One was to clear the trial, while the other was to give up on it. There was no third possibility. Those who died inside the trial would be resurrected and forced to continue. Those who completed the trial would be showered in glory, their strength increasing significantly. However, those who chose to give up would have to pay a heavy price. Moreover, the higher the rank of the trial, the greater the price exacted. If one forfeited a six-colored trial, the consequences were unimaginable. There was a great chance that their account would be crippled permanently. Hence, most players who encountered a Trial of God would first determine the trial''s difficulty before deciding whether or not they should challenge or distance themselves from it. In their case, however, they had been forcibly transported to this place. They did not even have a say in the matter. To the Wind God''s Spear, if the trial had the difficulty of only an Epic Quest, they would still be confident of clearing it. However, for a Trial whose difficulty approached that of a Legendary Quest, they had no confidence whatsoever that they would succeed. After taking a deep breath, Fallen Wind said, "Calm down. Since we''ve already entered the Trial of God, what we need to do now is think of a solution to clear it. We don''t have any other choice." As soon as Fallen Wind finished speaking, numerous silver-armored knights with glowing red eyes started emerging from the walls of the passage. In the blink of an eye, the entire passage was packed full of knights, every one of them charging towards Shi Feng''s ground. [Undead Fanatic] (Dark Creature, Elite) Level 50 HP 200,000/200,000 This scene caused everyone''s scalps to go numb. "Form a defensive formation!" Shi Feng shouted hurriedly. At this time, everyone finally reacted. Currently, everyone no longer considered whether they could succeed or not. Instead, they wondered how long they could survive. When the tide of Undead Fanatics reached the team, the MTs at the front felt greatly pressured. Despite these Undead Fanatics being Elite rank only, they possessed great Strength. Not only was every one of their attacks capable of pushing the MTs back, but it also caused nearly -1,000 damage even when blocked. With multiple Undead Fanatics attacking at the same time, the MTs lost HP by the thousands. The healers standing at the rear simply couldn''t keep up. Although everyone from the Wind God''s Spear was doing their best to retaliate, their attacks inflicting several thousand damage to the Undead Fanatics, there were simply too many monsters. No matter how much they attacked, their efforts did not seem to be making a difference. When the team was close to succumbing, a streak of light suddenly cut across the monsters. A large number of Undead Fanatics in a cone-shaped area died instantly. Everyone was stupefied by this scene. At this time, everyone could not help but shift their gaze towards the cloaked Shi Feng, the origin of this phenomenon. 993 Soaring Life Force Chapter 993 - Soaring Life Force Is this the person that caught Autumn Goose''s eye? Fallen Wind was astounded at the sight. He was a Level 40 Guardian Knight as well as the lead MT of the team. He had been fighting at the frontline all this time, so he knew very clearly just how powerful these Undead Fanatics were. If there was just one of these Elites, anyone on their team could easily solo it. Although the Undead Fanatics possessed great Strength, far surpassing even that of their team''s Level 40 Berserker, Autumn Goose, their Attack Speed and reaction speed were not particularly fast. Given enough space, even an MT could slowly wear one down by themself. However, it was terrifying if they had to go up against over 10,000 of these Elite monsters. The tide of Undead Fanatics surrounding them gave them no room to maneuver whatsoever, so they had no choice but to clash directly against these Elites. Moreover, the Undead Fanatics possessed 200,000 HPabove average HPs for Level 50 Elite Undead. In addition, the inherent Magic Resistance of Undead was very high. Even when someone in their team used an AOE Attack Spell, they only managed to deal around -2,000 damage to the Elites. Even after multiple applications, they barely did any damage to the Undead Fanatics. It was only a matter of time before the team would get annihilated. Yet, with just a single swing of his sword, Shi Feng had vaporized nearly a thousand Undead Fanatics. Aside from Fallen Wind, everyone else in the team was stupefied by Shi Feng''s performance as well. "Autumn, just how did you get acquainted with such a monster?" a Level 39 female Cursemancer asked softly. "I met him when I was doing a quest with Rain. Back then, just like you guys, we thought that Guild experts were merely pampered players." When Autumn Goose recalled how she had the same thoughts that the members of the Wind God''s Spear had right now, she could not help but feel ashamed of herself. Hearing the conversation between the Cursemancer and Autumn Goose, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo felt a surge of pride overwhelm their earlier anger. "I''ve said it before, right? Big Brother Ye Feng is very powerful. Some time ago, Big Brother Ye Feng managed to kill a Level 50 Field Great Lord with just me and Rain in the party. It is naturally not a problem for him to deal with these Level 50 Elite monsters right now," Blue Bamboo said proudly, puffing out her chest. Although they had relied mainly on Shi Feng''s two Personal Guards to defeat the Level 50 Great Lord, Blue Bamboo considered the Personal Guards part of Shi Feng''s strength. After all, she had never seen anyone else with the ability to recruit such powerful Personal Guards. "What?! He managed to solo a Level 50 Field Great Lord with just you two magical classes?!" "That''s impossible, right? Previously, even after our Wind God''s Spear had gathered a team of 100 players, we managed to defeat a Level 40 Field Great Lord only after utilizing many rare tools." Everyone from the Wind God''s Spear was shocked by Blue Bamboo''s revelation. The feat of killing a Level 50 Great Lord was much more amazing than directly wiping out hundreds of Undead Fanatics. After entering God''s Domain, they had fought against plenty of monsters. Hence, they knew full well just how frightening a Level 50 Field Great Lord could be. Current players simply had no chance of contending against such a Boss. Level 50 was a major milestone. Players could begin challenging their Tier 2 class-change at this level and greatly improve their Attributes. Their Skills could reach Tier 2 as well. Overall, upon reaching Level 50, players could receive a tremendous boost to their combat power. Hence, the system had made it so that Level 50 monsters were stronger than Level 49 monsters by a large margin. This gap was also the reason why even a Berserker expert like Autumn Goose was no match for the Level 50 Undead Fanatics in terms of Strength. Immediately, everyone looked at Shi Feng with astonishment. Meanwhile, when Ordinary Blade, who previously still felt contempt towards Shi Feng, noticed Thoughtful Rain constantly looking at Shi Feng, jealousy sprouted in his heart. Just you wait. I will definitely surpass you one day! Ordinary Blade swore to himself. He had only been in contact with God''s Domain for a short time. His strength was still rising rapidly. Besides, he had recently managed to apprentice himself to a martial arts master in the real world. Said master had even acknowledged him as a martial arts genius. With the virtual environment of God''s Domain practically the same as the real world, he refused to believe he would fail to surpass Shi Feng in the future. "We can''t always stay on the defense. I''ll open a path for us. Melee classes, protect the magical classes from the sides and follow me," Shi Feng said hurriedly when he noticed that Undead Fanatics were still pouring out from the walls of the distant passage. "Magical classes, don''t bother attacking. Try to use Movement Speed Reduction and Imprisonment Skills as much as possible." After Shi Feng was done speaking, he cast Firestorm ahead of him. A towering inferno promptly devoured everything. Although the Undead Fanatics possessed high Magic Resistance, Shi Feng''s Killing Ray doubled his damage towards Dark Creatures. As a result, by the time Firestorm''s duration ended, none of the Undead Fanatics caught within the range of the flames remained alive. Unfortunately, as this place was the Trial of God, regardless of how many monsters players killed here, they would not receive any EXP. Similarly, the monsters here also did not drop any loot. The only thing players could gain from fighting against the monsters here was Skill Proficiency. Generally, players would receive rewards only after they cleared a stage. Shi Feng, however, got an additional benefit from killing these Undead Fanatics. Previously, when he used Lightning Blade to kill the Undead Fanatics, he discovered that Icarus''s Heart had absorbed plenty of Life Force. After he had used the Holy Grail to evolve Icarus''s Heart, the necklace no longer required him to kill Bosses to upgrade it. Instead, he only needed to kill players and absorb their Life Force. The only downside was the amount of Life Force required. Currently, he needed 5,000 units of Life Force to upgrade the necklace to Epic rank. Although Shi Feng had killed plenty of players after evolving Icarus''s Heart, he had also used the necklace''s Skill numerous times, particularly when he was opening Treasure Chests and killing Bosses. Each use cost him 100 units of Life Force. He had practically used up all of what he had collected. Hence, he had never been able to upgrade Icarus''s Heart to Epic rank during this time. However, for every two or three Undead Fanatics he killed, Icarus''s Heart''s accumulated Life Force actually increased by one. After just two attacks, Shi Feng had gained over 800 units of Life Force. The rate at which he was gathering Life Force right now was much faster than when he was killing players. Following which, Shi Feng activated both Defensive Blade and Thunder God''s Descent. He then started brandishing his swords, executing Sword''s Orbit as he slaughtered his way forward. The Undead Fanatics might have had an advantage in Strength over Shi Feng''s team members, but the same could not be said for Shi Feng himself. When comparing Strength Attributes, Shi Feng, who possessed a Fragmented Legendary item and multiple Epic weapons and equipment, only needed a single attack to send the Undead Fanatics flying. In terms of speed, he was many times faster than the Elite monsters. Before the monsters could even touch him, his swords would''ve already struck their weak points, repelling them. Shi Feng was like a meat grinder when he went up against the endless Undead Fanatics. His swords madly devoured the Elite monsters charging at him. With no exception, all Undead Fanatics within 15 yards of Shi Feng would have their HPs reduced at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, numerous Undead Fanatics had their 200,000 HPs depleted completely. Following which, Icarus''s Heart''s accumulated Life Force rapidly increased. In just a few moments, the counter had crossed the 1,000-unit threshold. "Autumn, is he really a player?" The members of the Wind God''s Spear following behind Shi Feng gulped involuntarily. They could not bring themselves to believe what they were seeing. 994 Rising to Epic Chapter 994 - Rising to Epic Everyone had already seen for themselves just how strong Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were. Even the Level 50 Undead Fanatics were no match for him in terms of Strength. He could easily send the Elites flying with a casual attack. However, being able to make it so that not a single monster could get within ten yards of himself was impossible just by relying on Attributes. Combat techniques and experience played important roles as well. While players could improve their Basic Attributes through equipment upgrades, combat techniques and experience could not be easily improved. This was also the Wind God''s Spear''s greatest point of pride. The various large Guilds were all busy raiding Dungeons to upgrade their weapons and equipment. They did not place much attention on improving their techniques and accumulating combat experience. Hence, the Wind God''s Spear would manage to safely break away the encirclement of the Dark Night Empire''s various large Guilds time after time and continue existing with relative ease until now. Previously, when the members of the Wind God''s Spear witnessed Shi Feng killing hundreds of Undead Fanatics with one attack before, the most they felt was shock. After all, that was something he achieved through relying on powerful items and Skills. However, now that Shi Feng was using an inconceivable combat technique to slaughter the Elite monsters, the feeling everyone felt when they looked at Shi Feng was no longer that of shock but admiration and worship, instead. Many members on the team had already become deeply mesmerized by the Sword''s Orbit. If not for the Undead Fanatics constantly charging at them, they would definitely place all their attention on observing Shi Feng''s technique. "With such a sword technique, I''m afraid that even One Sword of the Eight Sword Heroes can''t compare to him." When Fallen Wind looked at Shi Feng, his eyes blazed with the urge to fight. In the entire Dark Night Empire, the number of experts that received his acknowledgment could be counted with his fingers. Among them, One Sword, whom the Secret Pavilion had dubbed one of the Eight Sword Heroes, was someone Fallen Wind admired greatly. Now, the number of people he admired had increased by one more. If not for the Undead Fanatics, he really would have wished to fight Shi Feng to his heart''s content. "If he keeps on using such a powerful combat technique, will his Stamina and Concentration be able to handle it?" Autumn Goose asked somewhat worriedly as she looked at Shi Feng. She was not an ordinary player. Previously, when she had gone up against the encirclement of the Dark Night Empire''s various large Guilds, she had also encountered players wielding special combat techniques. While these special combat techniques were indeed powerful, they also had a fatal flawthey were extremely taxing to use. Utilizing a special combat technique was akin to sprinting all out. The burden it placed on a person''s Stamina and Concentration was many times greater than jogging. In God''s Domain, even if players only had 1 HP remaining, they could still move freely so long as they did not receive heavy injuries. However, when players'' Stamina and Concentration fell below a certain level, they would no longer be able to enter combat. If Shi Feng exhausted his Stamina and Concentration right now, the consequences would be unimaginable. In reality, however, Autumn Goose''s concerns about Shi Feng were unnecessary. While Sword''s Orbit did indeed place a huge burden on Shi Feng''s Stamina, the technique''s consumption of Concentration was minimal. Moreover, before using Sword''s Orbit to defend against these Undead Fanatics, Shi Feng had already activated the Basic Tyrant title, increasing his Fortitude by 30, maximum Stamina by 20%, and all Basic Attributes by 5%. The additional 30 Fortitude reduced his Stamina and Concentration consumption significantly. Coupled with the increase to his maximum Stamina, Shi Feng could persist for much longer than Autumn Goose thought. Moreover, even if Shi Feng''s current Stamina and Concentration could not last him until they reached the distant temple, he still possessed the Blood Refining Stone. The Blood Refining Stone was something he obtained from the Blood Refining Passage. It could absorb the Life Force of powerful monsters and turn this into Blood Energy. He could use every 100 points of Blood Energy he accumulated to produce a drop of Life Essence. When consumed, the Life Essence could increase a player''s Stamina and Concentration recovery speed rapidly for two hours. Moreover, the effects were stackable up to three times. This was an item Shi Feng always kept on his person. Although not every Elite or above monster provided him with Blood Energy, after long periods of accumulation, he now had 827 drops of Life Essence. He did not need to worry about running out of Stamina and Concentration any time soon. Time passed quickly. Whenever everyone thought that Shi Feng''s Stamina would not hold up, Shi Feng would consume Life Essence. However, the recovery speed provided by a single drop was not enough. Only after consuming three drops would his recovery speed exceed his consumption speed. As Shi Feng continued slaughtering the Undead Fanatics, the amount of Life Force Icarus''s Heart accumulated increased rapidly. Two thousand points Three thousand points Four thousand points By the time the team arrived before the dazzling, golden temple, Shi Feng had long since accumulated 5,000 units of Life Force. Without hesitation, Shi Feng upgraded Icarus''s Heart. [Icarus''s Heart] (Necklace, Epic Rank) Equipment Requirement: All Attributes 120 Level 40 - Level 100 (Currently Level 44) All Attributes +44 Luck +18 Additional Skill 1- Divine Providence: Temporarily increases player''s Luck by 50 points for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes Luck, Duration, and Cooldown can be increased, prolonged, and reduced by sacrificing Life Force. Maximum of 200 points of Life Force allowed to be sacrificed at a single time. Additional Skill 2- God''s Blessing: Forcefully upgrades all Lifestyle classes learned by the user by one rank (up to a maximum of Master rank) for one hour. Cooldown: 5 hours Duration and Cooldown can be increased, prolonged, and reduced by sacrificing Life Force. Maximum of 500 points of Life Force allowed to be sacrificed at a single time. Passive Skill- Life Storage: Player can accumulate up to 10,000 units of Life Force. Current amount (0/10,000). Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the improved Attributes of the Epic ranked Icarus''s Heart. Although Icarus''s Heart did not receive much of an improvement in terms of Basic Attributes, it was definitely a godly item all players would want to have. Setting aside the increased Luck Attribute Icarus''s Heart provided, just the necklace''s ability to forcibly upgrade a Lifestyle class''s rank could easily skyrocket a Lifestyle player''s worth. Particularly during this period when Lifestyle players were still low-leveled, being able to upgrade an Advanced Lifestyle player to the Master rank, even if it was only for one hour a day, would help a trading firm massively. Currently, Shi Feng could not help but wish he could fly back to the Candlelight Trading Firm right this instant. Unfortunately, he first needed to clear the Trial of God. When everyone arrived before the temple, they were still thinking of a way to shake off the Undead Fanatics'' pursuit. However, once everyone entered the main hall of the temple, the mob of Undead Fanatics suddenly transformed into mists of blood before vanishing into nothingness. There were no signs that those monsters had ever existed. "Are we safe?" Blue Bamboo looked at her surroundings. After failing to find even a single Undead Fanatic in the vicinity, she automatically breathed out a sigh of relief. Had the battle dragged on any longer, her Mana would''ve definitely run out. Before, in order to keep everyone''s HPs above a safe margin, she had never once stopped casting her Healing Spells. On their way to this temple, she had consumed over a stack of Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions. Not only were Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions expensive on the market right now, but their supply was also very low. The ones that appeared in trading firms or Auction Houses would sell out almost instantly. After all, Mana was the second life of magical classes. Without Mana, magical classes were no different from rubbish. Hence, those who played a magical class would always carry around three or four bottles of Basic or Intermediate Mana Recovery Potion at the very least. She had obtained these Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions using the Guild Contribution Points she had earned with great difficulty. Now, however, she had used up half of her stockpile in just this short timetruly a disheartening situation. Just when everyone thought that they were finally safe and could obtain the Seven-colored Treasure Chest sitting atop the towering altar located at the very back of the main hall, the steps of the staircase leading up to the altar suddenly released red beams of light, which then formed into three-meter-tall, fully armored Undead Guardians. [Undead Guardian] (Dark Creature, Chieftain) Level 50 HP 2,400,000/2,400,000 Although there were only several hundred Undead Guardians standing on the staircasea far cry from the endless flood of Undead Fanatics from beforeeveryone could clearly sense that these Undead Guardians were many times more powerful than those Elite monsters. Currently, three Undead Guardians stood on each step of the staircase, and if the team attempted to lure any one of the Chieftains, no doubt the other two Undead Guardians would follow. In other words, the team had to go up against three Undead Guardians simultaneously at the very least. Their team''s average level was ten Levels lower than the Undead Guardians''. In addition, each Level 50 Undead Guardian could most likely rival a Level 40 High Lord in strength; only their HPs were lower. With so few players on the team, going up against three Level 40 High Lords at the same time would be extremely difficult. "It seems we won''t be able to clear this stage without defeating those Guardians," Shi Feng said. He could not help but wet his lips as he looked at the Seven-colored Treasure Chest sitting atop the staircase. This was not his first time challenging a Trial of God. However, having a lucrative reward like the Seven-colored Treasure Chest appearing in the first stage of the trial was definitely a first for him. 995 Guardian Chapter 995 - Guardian "Commander, these Undead Guardians are too close to each other. Even if we lure them over, we''ll have to fight a minimum of three at a time," Death Wind said, frowning. While he might be able to hold his ground against a Level 40 High Lord for a short time, he couldn''t handle three. He would be lucky if he did not die instantly. Meanwhile, their team only had two MTs; himself and the team''s leader, Fallen Wind. However, even an expert like Fallen Wind couldn''t hold off two Undead Guardians simultaneously. "Starfish, can you handle kiting one?" Fallen Wind asked as he turned to a lean, muscular Ranger. The Ranger class possessed high Movement Speed. In addition, the class had quite a few Control Skills. Rangers were perfect for kiting monsters. Starfish happened to be one of the top ranking Rangers in Wind God''s Spear. If Starfish could lure one Guardian away from the team, the MTs could handle the rest. "If Control Skills work on these monsters, it should be doable," Starfish said after observing the hall. He had plenty of space to run, so kiting the Undead Guardian shouldn''t be a problem for him. "I don''t think Control Skills are effective against them. None of our Control Skills worked on the Undead Fanatics. Only the Elementalists'' Ice Walls slowed them down. The stronger Undead Guardians should have the same settings as the Undead Fanatics," Autumn Goose said. The other team members agreed with Autumn Goose''s deduction. Generally, unless a Control Skill were very high-tiered, it would have no effect on Boss-level monsters. "We don''t have another choice. Use a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll, then," Fallen Wind said, gritting his teeth. He had thoroughly prepared to tackle this quest. The Tier 2 Summoning Scroll was one of his trump cards. Unfortunately, Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls were rare, and he had only brought four with them. Suddenly, Shi Feng offered a suggestion, "No need. I can handle one of them. However, we will need to prioritize killing mine." "Are you sure? That''s a Level 50 Chieftain we''re talking about," Fallen Wind questioned. As high as Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were, they should not be higher than a Level 50 Chieftain''s. Moreover, a Swordsman was not an MT. The class''s impact resistance and damage reduction were far weaker than the tank classes. "I can handle it," Shi Feng said, shrugging. "Commander, leave it to Brother Ye Feng. While he might be a Swordsman, he is even more capable as a tank than I am," the Shield Warrior Death Wind piped in. During one of their last meetings, he had watched Shi Feng tank a Level 44 Lord ranked Ice Cheetah. A lot of time had passed since that day. Shi Feng''s equipment had definitely improved during this period. He should have no problems tanking a Level 50 Chieftain. "Alright, I''ll have to trouble you with it, then," Fallen Wind said. After hearing Death Wind''s confidence and witnessing Shi Feng''s shocking performance earlier, Fallen Wind could not help but believe in Shi Feng. Once everyone knew their responsibilities, the team began to move. To start things off, the Ranger Starfish stretched his bow into a full moon and fired three arrows at the Undead Guardians patrolling the staircase''s first layer. Not only did his arrows hit all three Undead Guardians, but the arrows also struck the three Chieftains when they were furthest from the second level. As a result, the attacks had not attracted the second level''s Guardians. The instant the arrows struck the three Undead Guardians, a damage of around -500 points appeared above each of their heads. Their Defense was frighteningly high. Aside from the high Defense, these Chieftains were also very fast. When they moved, they were as swift as cheetahs. If not for Fallen Wind using Justice Roar in time, pulling the three Undead Guardians'' aggro, Starfish would not have been able to escape. As the three Undead Guardians turned towards Fallen Wind, Death Wind used Charge from another side. The Shield warrior then slammed his sword into the nearest Undead Guardian. Peng! The sharp sound of clashing metal echoed throughout the hall. The Undead Guardian had blocked Death Wind''s slash with its greatsword, not receiving a single point of damage. On the other hand, the impact forced Death Wind to retreat by two steps, and a damage of over -5,000 points appeared above his head. The Shield Warrior instantly lost a quarter of his HP. Everyone watching was appalled. Among the MTs in Wind God''s Spear, Death Wind''s equipment was only second to Fallen Wind''s. He was also a Level 40 MT, yet not only had the Undead Guardian discovered his sneak attack, but it also had more Strength than any of them had expected. "Its Strength rivals a Level 40 Strength-based High Lord! And its reaction speed is incredibly high! Melee players, approach it with care! Don''t try to fight it head-on!" Fallen Wind hurriedly shouted. "Understood!" the melee players promptly answered, tensing. A Level 40 Strength-based High Lord could kill any class except for plate armor classes instantly, not to mention a Strength-based High Lord with such quick reactions. In their opinion, Death Wind had timed his attack perfectly, yet the Guardian had still blocked his blade. If they crossed weapons with the Chieftain, they would lose far more than 5,000 HP. Just before the other two Undead Guardians reached Fallen Wind, a streak of red light struck one of the Chieftain''s sides. -43,246. The terrifying critical damage rendered everyone speechless. Starfish''s attacks had only dealt around -500 damage, yet this attack had inflicted over -40,000. Moreover, the impact had sent the Undead Guardian flying, its body slamming into the ground. Instinctively, everyone turned towards Shi Feng, the source of the attack, mixed feelings filling their hearts as they looked at the Swordsman. It''s Magic Resistance sure is high. Shi Feng frowned at the Undead Guardian that he had hit. Others might not realize it, but the Skill he had used was Flame God''s Fury, a Surekill Skill. In addition, his Sacred Sword doubled his damage against Dark Creatures, yet his attack, even after achieving a critical hit, had only inflicted over -40,000 damage. One could just imagine how high the Undead Guardian''s Defense and Magic Resistance were. Shi Feng''s terrifying damage instantly drew the Undead Guardian''s aggro. Raising its greatsword, the Chieftain leaped into the air and landed before Shi Feng. Suddenly, crimson flames burst from the Undead Guardian''s originally silver greatsword as it swung the weapon at Shi Feng in a horizontal arc. Tier 1 Skill, Flaming Cross Slash! "Crap! This monster actually knows a Surekill Skill!" Seeing the towering pillar of fire, the other players realized that this was many times stronger than the Berserker''s Flame Slash. They could see how much range the attack had from the height of the flames. This attack was impossible to dodge. Coupling this Skill with the Undead Guardian''s horrific Strength, even an MT like Fallen Wind would be hard-pressed to survive the attack. You want to compare brute force? Shi Feng chuckled. He then activated Flame Burst. Suddenly, the Sacred Sword in Shi Feng''s hand released a blinding light. As if he wielded a miniature sun, he swung Killing Ray at the incoming pillar of fire violently. 996 New Guild Chapter 996 - New Guild "Dodge!" Fallen Wind shouted when he saw the Undead Guardian''s pillar of fire. The Guardian''s Attributes were no laughing matter. Now that it used Flaming Cross Slash, it had an attack range of at least thirty to forty yards. With such an attack range, the Guardian''s attacks could reach over half of the team''s members. Even after casting Protection Blessing on himself, Fallen Wind doubted he could survive this attack. Even if he did, he would be very close to death. As for his team members, if they didn''t have Skills that granted invulnerability or damage immunity, they would not be able to survive the attack at all. "We''re doomed!" Everyone felt the threat of death loom over them. Although they tried to dodge the Undead Guardian''s Flaming Cross Slash, the Chieftain''s Attack Speed was simply too high. By the time they turned to run, the Undead Guardian had swung its pillar of fire horizontally. As the pillar was about to devour the team Shi Feng''s Sacred Sword released a brilliant glow. Boom! The massive pillar stopped abruptly as it struck the ground, scorching the earth black and gouging a two-meter deep trench. Overall, however, the pillar of fire hadn''t damaged the team. Only Shi Feng had been thrown like a cannonball due to the impact; he crashed into one of the temple''s support pillars before he slid to the ground. The other players gaped at this scene. Despite receiving the Undead Giant''s terrifying attack, Shi Feng had only lost around 2,000 HP When Death Wind had received one of the Undead Guardian''s attacks, the Shield Warrior had lost over 5,000 HP, yet despite receiving a far more powerful Skill, Shi Feng had only suffered minuscule damage. Although most of the players hadn''t seen exactly what had happened, Fallen Wind had. As the Undead Guardian''s attack had descended, Shi Feng struck at the Chieftain''s greatsword, sliding the blades along each other and altering the weapon''s trajectory slightly; in doing so, he forced the Chieftain''s Skill to an abrupt end. Not only had he managed to save half of the team from instant annihilation, but he had also reduced the impact on himself significantly. However, this feat was easier said than done. The Undead Guardian had immense Strength and top-class Attack Speed and reaction speed. Finding the perfect location to strike against such a powerful monster''s attack was harder than threading a needle. Shi Feng''s counterattack had been far from risky. Had he deviated in the slightest, he would have failed to save his team members and paid for his mistake with his life. While Fallen Wind was confident in achieving a similar feat, he wouldn''t have been able to do so as easily as Shi Feng. So, that is the rumored Flowing Water Realm? After seeing Shi Feng''s powerful deflection technique, a flash of inspiration struck Fallen Wind. Shi Feng''s attack had also blown away the roadblock that had hindered his progress. When Shi Feng had executed Sword''s Orbit, Fallen Wind could only tell how powerful Shi Feng''s combat technique was. He could not understand the techniques underlying principles. However, the technique Shi Feng used to counter the Undead Giant''s attack had fully displayed the properties of the Flowing Water Realm, which helped Fallen Wind finally understand why he had been stuck in the Refinement Realm all this time. Reaching the Refinement Realm required precise control of one''s body. The Flowing Water Realm, on the other hand, required precise control over the opponent''s body. Until now, Fallen Wind had focused too much on his own body, so he hadn''t truly observed his opponents and understood them. However, after seeing Shi Feng effortlessly deflect the Undead Giant''s sword, he finally understood that he didn''t have to spend so much energy on his own movements. Rather, he needed to put that energy and focus into his opponents. Although this situation had only changed his views slightly, Fallen Wind''s aura began to change rapidly. Unlike his previous battle-ready state, his aura relaxed, contained. "Commander, be careful!" Autumn Goose shouted a warning as she noticed Fallen Wind slipping into a daze. There was still an Undead Guardian looming before Fallen Wind. If the Guardian Knight did not deal with the Chieftain properly, it was very likely to kill him. Just as the Undead Guardian before Fallen Wind swung its greatsword, the Guardian Knight lifted his massive tower shield. Peng! The descending greatsword slid across the shield smoothly before smashing into the ground. Although the blade had scored a deep trench in the ground, Fallen Wind had only been forced back a step, a damage of over -2,000 points appearing above his head. The impact had only taken one-tenth of his HP. "Commander! You Did you" Autumn Goose''s jaw dropped in shock. She couldn''t believe her eyes. Although it wasn''t as refined, Fallen Wind had used almost the same defense technique that Shi Feng had employed. Seeing Shi Feng easily handle his Undead Guardian in the distance, Fallen Wind bitterly commented, "Sure enough, it''s difficult. However, the Flowing Water Realm really is something. It''s no wonder why I couldn''t defeat One Sword. This is the most I can handle for now. I''ll have to adapt to this new sensation." Now, he could barely estimate the Undead Guardian''s attack trajectory to defect it. Even so, it made his fight against the Chieftain a lot easier. Fallen Wind''s sudden rise in strength alleviated the healer''s burden slightly. They could now shift more focus to keeping Death Wind alive. Meanwhile, the rest of the team launched their attacks against Shi Feng''s Guardian. As the seconds ticked by, the Undead Guardian''s HP decreased. 70%... 60%... 50%... No matter how much the Undead Guardian retaliated, Shi Feng neutralized one of its attacks after another. Finally, after a pained shriek, the Undead Guardian, which had 2,400,000 HP, exploded into a blood mist and vanished from the large temple. The players released sighs of relief. After the Undead Guardian disappeared, Icarus''s Heart absorbed a large amount of Life Force, climbing from zero accumulated units up to 30. Although we won''t find any loot or gain any EXP here, this is a good place to collect Life Force. Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw his stored Life Force. After Icarus''s Heart had risen to Epic rank, its description no longer stated whether Life Force could be collected from players or monsters. It simply stated that it was capable of storing Life Force. In other words, he should be able to gain Life Force from both. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that he would gain anything from lower-level players and monsters. Learning that the Undead Guardians would provide so much Life Force, it would be a waste if he did not take advantage of this situation to farm them properly. Following which, Shi Feng rejoined the battle and dealt with the remaining Undead Guardians gradually. Unknowingly, two days passed outside the trial. The team finally defeated all of the Undead Guardians and arrived at the top of the staircase. We''re finally here. Shi Feng breathed a deep sigh of relief. Contrary to expectations, the temple''s Undead Guardians could respawn. A few new ones would appear every once in a while. The team had fought day and night, afraid that they wouldn''t keep up with the Chieftains'' respawn rate. Only after two days did they finally reach the top of the staircase. Unknowingly, Shi Feng had also filled his Life Force storage. Once he returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm, even forging the Magic Light Set Equipment would be a trifling task. Meanwhile, God''s Domain had undergone massive changes. Particularly in Star-Moon Kingdom, something had happened that had shocked the entire kingdom. The first-rate Guild Ouroboros officially disbanded, and a new Guild had absorbed its members. This new Guild was called Blackwater. Furthermore, as the Blackwater Guild appeared before the public, four second-rate Guilds and over a dozen third-rate Guilds merged with Blackwater. Blackwater had also formed a strategic alliance with Heaven''s Burial and declared all-out war against Zero Wing! 997 Cast Steel Armor Ki Chapter 997 - Cast Steel Armor Kit The alliance between Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had a huge impact on Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. Originally, Heaven''s Burial''s influence in Star-Moon City rivaled that of the Star Alliance. Now that it had joined hands with Blackwater, who had annexed Ouroboros, it took control of Star-Moon City. Even the Star Alliance would not dare to challenge Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial. Almost all of the high-resource maps within the Star-Moon City region had fallen under the two Guilds'' control. If anyone unaffiliated to these Guilds trespassed in these maps, regardless of whether they were there for monsters, Field Bosses, or herbs and ores, they would run the risk of falling prey to these Guilds'' players, dying upon discovery. As a result, the other Guilds now struggled to survive in Star-Moon City. To independent players, though, nothing much had changed. To begin with, they never visited high-resource areas as these maps always belonged to some Guild. Normal leveling spots were their bread and butter. Moreover, even if Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater had joined hands, the two Guilds wouldn''t have enough manpower to occupy every map. The various large Guilds were trying to monopolize high-resource areas because they could send their members there to level quickly, maintaining their Level advantage. At the same time, they could harvest plenty of raw materials. Large Guilds had no interest in monopolizing normal areas. Aside from obtaining Ouroboros, the Blackwater Guild had annexed many other large Guilds as well. In one night, Blackwater had taken control of nearly 30 NPC cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. When Aqua Rose notified Shi Feng of the news, he, too, had been surprised. He had never expected the Blackwater Corporation would actually be this swift and decisive. Moreover, it had annexed so many Guilds without self-imploding. The corporation''s Guild could still function in an orderly manner. In fact, it had already begun to recruit new members in the various NPC cities. Usually, a Guild needed to spend quite some time to stabilize its rule after taking over an ordinary NPC city before it could begin its recruitment. Even Zero Wing was no exception. The fact that the Blackwater Corporation had achieved such a feat showed just how frightening its foundation was. This sudden development gave Aqua Rose a massive headache. Just when Zero Wing had earned its title as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild and was about to expand, in came a giant like the Blackwater Corporation. Blackwater even publicly declared war on Zero Wing, stating that it would not rest until only one of their Guilds remained. Sadly, this was only the beginning. Their Guild members were dying like flies in the fields. As Blackwater grew stronger, field battles between Zero Wing and Blackwater''s members occurred more frequently. This would definitely affect their Guild members'' leveling speed. However, Blackwater''s actions had not particularly surprised Shi Feng. In the past, despite the Blackwater Corporation joining God''s Domain so late in the game and with only half of the strength it had during its peak, it had nurtured its Guild to become a Super Guild. The main reason for its success was its powerful foundation. It also had an advantage that other corporations lacked. Now that the Blackwater Corporation had joined God''s Domain at its peak, this performance was no surprise. While Shi Feng rested at the top of the staircase, Aqua Rose contacted him again. "Guild Leader, a short while ago, Blackwater''s Blackwater Trading Firm and Heaven''s Burial''s Heavenly Trading Firm have begun to drop their prices. They have also introduced two new, highly-competitive products. One is the Cast Steel Armor Kit, and the other is the Mana Mixture. Although they aren''t selling these items in high quantities at the moment, many of Candlelight''s customers have begun to turn to the two trading firms for products," Aqua Rose reported worriedly. "Should we lower our prices as well? After all, we have more Advanced Lifestyle players than these two firms combined. Our production cost is slightly lower than theirs." Within these two short days, the Blackwater Corporation had rendered Aqua Rose speechless. Every move the corporation made disregarded cost. Blackwater was simply using overwhelming force to deal with Zero Wing. Now, it had begun to move on the Candlelight Trading Firm. If Zero Wing lost this revenue source, it would only be a matter of time before it fell to the Blackwater Corporation. Now that she was in this predicament, Aqua Rose had to admit that, while Guilds with starting capital were amazing, Guilds with both strength and capital were incredible. Blackwater even produced its own armor kit and potion. Even the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Advanced Lifestyle players hadn''t accomplished this. The Cast Steel Armor Kit was much stronger than the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit. Each Cast Steel Armor Kit increased Defense by 180 points. It could rival already rival the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit. As for Basic Attributes, it increased roughly the same amount as the Basic Strengthened Armor Kit. However, the Basic Strengthening Armor Kit could not replicate one aspect of the Cast Steel Armor Kit. Damage reduction! With each kit that players bound to their armor, they could reduce the damage they received by 1%. As players could bind a maximum of three kits, one could gain a maximum of 3% damage reduction. Although 3% did not seem like much, the kits would perform magnificently against Bosses. An MTs'' ordinarly Passive Skill only provided 5% damage reduction. Unfortunately, such Passive Damage Reduction Skills were extremely rare and precious. These Skill Books easily sold for 10 Gold or more. However, even at that price, these Skills were hard to find; Guilds and Workshops normally kept these for their own use. After all, unlike weapons and equipment, Skills would never be outdated. Many Skills were still useful after players reached Level 200; unless, of course, players found a stronger replacement. However, doing so was easier said than done. As for the Mana Mixture, it was invaluable to magical class players. When consumed, the Mana Mixture increased a player''s maximum Mana capacity by 10% for two hours. While the potion did not possess a Cooldown, its effects would not stack. Mana was magical classes'' second life source. The importance of being able to raise one''s Mana capacity by 10% went without saying. Healers, in particular, would increase their healing abilities by 10% with a 10% Mana boost. They could last longer in Dungeons. With the revelation of these two products, Candlelight instantly lost nearly half of its customers The Candlelight Trading Firm wasn''t worried about a price war. The two exclusive products, however, posed a huge threat. In addition, with the Blackwater Trading Firm and the Heavenly Trading Firm working with each other, their Shops covered far more ground than Candlelight. With this, the increase in their market share would be even more frightening. "Do you know their prices?" Shi Feng asked casually. These two items had also appeared in God''s Domain in the past. However, they hadn''t appeared this soon. Heaven''s Burial had relied on these items as trump cards to take control of Star-Moon Kingdom. In this life, Shi Feng hadn''t expected Heaven''s Burial create these items so soon. "Currently, they''re selling each Cast Steel Armor Kit at 1 Gold, 50 Silver, while one bottle of Mana Mixture costs 12 Silver. Moreover, as they created these items personally, they can produce as many designs and recipes as they want. As more people learn these designs and recipes, their production volume will increase," Aqua Rose said. "They''re selling them so cheaply?" Shi Feng''s curiosity grew. He clearly remembered that these two items had sold for a considerably high price in the past. Heaven''s Burial hadn''t been so consumer-friendly. 998 Confidence Chapter 998 - Confidence "Cheap?" A hint of doubt flashed in Aqua Rose''s eyes. Although players could earn more money now, their daily expenditures were increasing just as fast as was their reliance on various tools when grinding monsters. After all, nobody wanted to die, wasting several days of effort, in the fields. Ordinary players would have to save for quite some time before they could afford a bottle of Mana Mixture. The Cast Steel Armor Kits, which cost 1 Gold and 50 Silver, were simply a luxury item. Only fairly powerful teams, independent experts, or those who bought Coins with Credits could afford the kit. "What is their sales volume?" Shi Feng simply chuckled at Aqua Rose''s confusion, not bothering to explain. Both the Mana Mixture and the Cast Steel Armor Kits were considerably good items at this stage of the game. They were also player creations, so they could be mass-produced. However, how could such valuable items not have drawbacks? If one pointed out these items'' greatest drawback, it would have to be the items'' required crafting materials. There were also the low production success rates to consider. In the past, although Heaven''s Burial had opened the market using the Cast Steel Armor Kits and Mana Mixtures, due to the items'' low production volume, the Guild hadn''t been able to dominate Star-Moon Kingdom''s market completely. Based on Shi Feng''s understanding, both items required rare materials. With the few materials available in Star-Moon Kingdom, it was impossible to produce large quantities of these items. In addition, based on the rumors of the past, it seemed that even Advanced Forgers only had a 20% success rate with the Cast Steel Armor Kit. The Mana Mixture''s production success rate was roughly the same. To outsiders, a 20% success rate might seem high, but the Lifestyle players involved in producing the items knew how low the success rate really was. With a 20% success rate, they would only have a chance of succeeding once out of ten tries. Most of the time, they failed to produce anything at all. With Lifestyle players'' current standards, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial wouldn''t even come close to covering the production costs if they sold the Cast Steel Armor Kits and Mana Mixtures at such a low price. In fact, for every item they sold, the firms took a major loss. "I''ve already sent people to investigate. Currently, they''re selling roughly ten Cast Steel Armor Kits in minor cities, while there are roughly 30-40 kits available in each major city. It''s the same case for the Manna Mixture." Aqua Rose gave Shi Feng a run down of the situation after glancing through the investigation reports she had received. Based on these numbers, it was obvious that these two items were not easy to produce. Either that, or the Guilds had very few people who could produce them. "Since they want a price war, we''ll play along. Reduce the price on everything except for the Light Stones. Lower our prices to match theirs." Shi Feng chuckled. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm had earned plenty from the Basic Strengthened Armor Kits and Mana Armor Kits, the Light Stones, which were essential items that could be produced in large quantities, were the main reason for Candlelight''s position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm. The total profits from their other items was just slightly more than what the firm earned from the Light Stones. Meanwhile, the designs for Light Stones mainly dropped around the Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon, the Towers of Death. Current Guild players had not reached that area yet, so no one else had gotten their hands on the Light Stone Forging Designs. Due to its affordability, the Light Stones had a competitive edge. Unless the two trading firms got their hands on the Light Stone Forging Design or an exclusive product that they could mass-produce, Candlelight''s position would be hard to shake. Furthermore, the Candlelight Trading Firm was no longer Zero Wing''s main revenue source. Now, the Guild relied on the teleportations houses leading to the Twin Towers Kingdom. Due to the Monster Repellent Scroll, monsters tried to invade Raven''s town more frequently, now invading the town once per day. In two short days, Zero Wing had earned a total of 12,000 Magic Crystals. With the teleportation houses, these Magic Crystals easily transformed into a mountain of shiny Gold Coins. Even after deducting the cost of the Magic Crystals, they earned close to 6,000 Gold every day. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s current income was nowhere near to catching up with the teleportation houses''. "I understand. Also, Guild Leader, when will you be returning? I''ve already found several companies who wish to meet with you to discuss our cooperation. After all, you are asking for a large investment. They could easily establish their own Guilds or invest into multiple large Guilds with that kind of money. "They''re also not very optimistic about Star-Moon Kingdom''s current state of affairs. Now that Stone Forest Town''s protection period has ended, other Guilds could attack and capture it at any time. They have expressed their concerns, and they hope that you can provide some assurance. At the moment, they are only willing to consider your offer until they have a clearer view of the situation." When the Sun and Moon Group had taken the lead, many major companies were desperate to cooperate with Zero Wing, even after hearing Shi Feng''s conditions. However, due to the Blackwater Corporation''s sudden appearance and Stone Forest Town''s protection period ending, these companies had become cowardly At this point, she could only name a few companies that were willing to work with Zero Wing. Moreover, this was only due to the revelation that the Sun and Moon Group had joined hands with the Guild, insinuating that there were profits to be gained. Otherwise, these companies would''ve long since ghosted them. "They want assurance?" Shi Feng smiled disdainfully. Sternly, he commanded, "Tell them this: If you want me to reassure you, sure, but you must sign the cooperation agreement first. Otherwise, don''t bother!" The Star-Moon Kingdom City Building Order was a core secret. Aside from himself, only Aqua Rose knew of its existence. If this information got out to the public, the consequences would be unimaginable. Shi Feng had no doubts that even Super Guilds wouldn''t be able to sit idle if they learned of this matter, much less the Blackwater Corporation. They would try to eliminate Zero Wing at all costs. At that time, Zero Wing would be on a one-way trip to hell. Currently, Zero Wing only dared to provoke Super Guilds because the latter had already deemed that dealing with the Guild was a waste of energy. Moreover, if they weakened themselves in the process of dealing with Zero Wing, other Super Guilds would have an opportunity to strike. However, the City Building Order was enough of a temptation for the Super Guilds to take the risk. Whether it was in the real world or a virtual reality game, even an innocent man would find trouble with enough money. Shi Feng still had much to prepare. He still needed to build his strength. Otherwise, he would''ve started the city''s construction long ago. "This" Shi Feng''s words left Aqua Rose dumbfounded. If she really relayed this to the company representatives, they would most likely explode with anger. But she also understood why they couldn''t reveal their trump card. However, there were too few companies that were both trustworthy and capable of investing such a large sum. If they chased these people away, it would be very difficult to find other collaborators within a short time. After all, Star-Moon Kingdom''s situation had changed. "Don''t worry about it. Just tell them," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. If it didn''t work out, he''d find someone else to work with. "Alright, then. I''ll contact them right away," Aqua Rose said, sighing. She had to admit that Blackwater''s timing was truly horrendous. Had the corporation established its Guild a few days later, Zero Wing would be in this predicament. Following which, Aqua Rose contacted the representatives of the several major companies. Inside a certain high-class restaurant''s VIP room: "Miss Aqua, our companies understand your current predicament; hence we have thought of another method. If Zero Wing is willing to hand over 60% of its shares to our management, our companies will invest two billion Credits. What do you think?" a tall, thin man proposed. The upper echelons of the other companies nodded their agreement. With the Blackwater Corporation''s sudden appearance, Zero Wing wasn''t as attractive as it had been. Regardless, it was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, so it still had some value. Aqua Rose was stunned. She had not expected these companies to change their minds so quickly and try to strike at Zero Wing while the iron was hot. Two billion Credits was a lot of money. It was enough to purchase prime corporate real estate in a major city''s center in the real world. One could even establish a large Guild with plenty to spare. However, Zero Wing was no ordinary large Guild. It was a large Guild capable of challenging Super Guilds. Currently, its foundations and number of Lands were only slightly inferior to first-rate Guilds. It was also the ruler of White River City, Star-Moon Kingdom''s most populated city, and controlled the strategic Stone Forest Town. Zero Wing was worth far more than two billion Credits. Including its potential, even an offer of 20 billion was an insult. "I think you have misunderstood something. Zero Wing is not selling any of its shares. Here is our previous proposal. If you are not willing to sign it, Zero Wing won''t force you. If that is all, I''ll be taking my leave," Aqua Rose said, smiling. After placing the agreement on the table, she turned and left the VIP room without hesitation. Aqua Rose''s extraordinarily calm performance stupefied these company representatives. The Blackwater Corporation had already allied with Heaven''s Burial to deal with Zero Wing. Just where did Zero Wing find the confidence to speak to them like this? "Aqua Rose''s behavior is out of line! She dares to treat us like this!" "Has she forgotten that she approached us, not the other way around?! Now, she isn''t even willing to offer any guarantees! Does she think Zero Wing is a Super Guild?!" "Hmph! I want to see just how long Zero Wing will last! Once Zero Wing''s funds run out, it will come running back to us!" "That''s right. We''re not in a rush. I refuse to believe that anyone other than fools or spendthrifts would be willing to work with Zero Wing. When the time comes, we only need to spend a little money to takeover Zero Wing." The several representatives sneered. In their opinions, Zero Wing only behaved as such because of its pride. Once the Blackwater Corporation gave Zero Wing a beating, the Guild would crawl back to them, begging for help. 999 Divine Treasure Ches Chapter 999 - Divine Treasure Chest Star-Moon City: After dismissing Ouroboros, Blackwater took over the Guild Residence. Compared to Ouroboros''s Residence, Blackwater''s was far more lively. Among the players moving about the Residence, quite a few were only between Level 10 and Level 20. However, not a single person looked down on these low-leveled players. These players'' auras were different from ordinary players. They all felt hostile. Their bodies were also tall and robust. Despite such low levels, even Level 30-plus ordinary players avoided them. "Who are these people? They''ve just joined the Blackwater Guild, yet despite such low levels, they have been inducted into the Guild''s Blackwater Legion, which the Guild has been heavily cultivating." "You might not know this since you''ve just joined Blackwater, but they are all experts from the Blackwater Corporation. Although their levels are low, their combat standards are very high. A few elite members even challenged them to a level adjusted match. In the end, these people defeated the elites in two or three moves. A few of them are even stronger than Ouroboros''s original experts." "What?! They''re actually stronger than Ouroboros''s experts?!" "Of course. In Ouroboros, I was also an elite member. To convince us that joining the Blackwater Guild was the right decision, the Blackwater Corporation had allowed Ouroboros''s experts, who were displeased by the change, to challenge its experts. In the end, Blackwater''s experts won every match. Afterward, Ouroboros''s experts were demoted from core members to elite Guild members. Elite members like myself were demoted to normal members. If we want a promotion, we have to take Blackwater''s new test." "And here I thought that the Blackwater Guild lacked experts after forcefully taking over Ouroboros. I never thought that it would have so many experts so soon. Once these experts catch up in levels, won''t the Blackwater Guild easily become the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom?" "I know, right? Initially, I had been rather worried about the sudden change. Now, however, it seems that remaining in the Guild was the right decision. Blackwater has more potential than Ouroboros ever did. Even the Star Alliance''s members avoid us in the fields." Many Blackwater members discussed their Guild''s situation as they relaxed in the Residence. They were quite confident about Blackwater''s future. Blackwater''s Residence, Guild Leader''s office: Entering the Guild Leader''s office, the bald, middle-aged man greeted Abandoned Wave respectfully before reporting, "Guild Leader, there''s movement in Zero Wing. Aside from the Light Stones, they''ve lowered their prices to match ours. Moreover, not long ago, I''ve received news that discussions between Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, Aqua Rose, and several major companies have failed. With this, Zero Wing won''t receive any major funding. Only the Sun and Moon Group remains a problem." "There is nothing to worry about with the Sun and Moon Group. They have their hands full with Twilight Echo. Furthermore, now that more players are reaching Level 40, Guilds are in urgent need of funds to supply their members with Mounts. Sun and Moon doesn''t have much to spare for Zero Wing. What we need to focus on now is exhausting Zero Wing''s funds and forcing the Guild to take the first swing. After that, we will deal Zero Wing a fatal blow," Abandoned Wave laughed. He then asked, "How is the material delivery going?" "The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has already sent the materials. They will last us a relatively long time. In addition, the Pavilion sent an additional 20 Advanced Lifestyle players, stating that these people can help us mass-produce the Cast Steel Armor Kits and Mana Mixtures. Should I reject their offer?" the bald man asked. "No need. Isn''t it just a few designs and recipes? They can have them. It won''t affect our operations in any way. In fact, I have been trying to figure out how to obtain more Advanced Lifestyle players. Blood Dragon is simply helping the Blackwater Trading Firm. With this, it will be much easier for the Blackwater Trading Firm to corner more of Star-Moon Kingdom''s market." Abandoned Wave shook his head and laughed coldly. "However, we can''t let the Pavilion learn those designs and recipes for nothing. Have the Pavilion sign an agreement. After learning the designs and recipes, they have to remove Zero Wing''s Branch Guild from Lake Heart City immediately. I don''t want Zero Wing to have any chance of making a comeback." "Understood. I''ll get it done right away." The bald man bowed before leaving. Inside the Trial of God''s temple, Shi Feng and the players from Wind God''s Spear were trying to think of a way to deal with the Undead Commander that had suddenly appeared before the Seven-colored Treasure Chest. The Undead Commander wore exquisite golden armor. Two longswords radiating cold area hung from the Commander''s waist. Despite standing quite a distance away from the Undead Commander, the team members could feel the chill from the two swords. As long as the team came within 100 yards of the Undead Commander, they immediately gained the debuff Chilling Field, which reduced their Movement Speeds by 50% and their Attributes by 20%. In addition, their Stamina consumption and the frost damage they received doubled. [Undead Commander] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 50 HP 27,000,000/27,000,000 For a Level 50 Great Lord, the Undead Commander''s HP was relatively low. However, the Great Lord''s Chilling Field gave everyone a headache. Their levels were already lower than the Undead Commander''s, but now that their Basic Attributes had decreased by 20%, they were even less of a match for the Great Lord. They also had to deal with double the frost damage. Even a Level 40 MT like Fallen Wind couldn''t tank the Great Lord. If nobody could tank the Undead Commander, they would have no way of clearing this trial. Sure enough, a Seven-colored Treasure Chest isn''t easy to obtain. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he observed the Undead Commander. In the Trial of God, every stage would provide rewards. This reward came in the form of Treasure Chests. However, depending on the trial''s rank, the Treasure Chests would differ. Generally, the best that would appear in a four-colored Trial was a five-colored Treasure Chest. The best in a six-colored trial would be a seven-colored chest. Based on rumors Shi Feng had heard, a seven-colored trial''s top reward was a Yin Yang Treasure Chest, also known as the Divine Treasure Chest. According to the official forums, the Divine Treasure Chest was even superior to a Legendary Treasure Chest. Unfortunately, no one had ever managed to open a Divine Treasure Chest, even after a decade in God''s Domain. The Seven-colored Treasure Chest before him was definitely the highest-ranking Treasure Chest Shi Feng had ever encountered. "Commander, should we use a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll and give it a try?" Autumn Goose suggested as she watched the three-meter tall Great Lord. No matter how she thought about it, they could not handle the Undead Commander without a Tier 2 summoned creature. With their current level, the Tier 2 creature they summoned would also be Level 50. In other words, they would have a Level 50 Lord tank. Although she did not think that a Lord could survive against the Undead Commander for long, they had four Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls. Fortunately, if they died here, they wouldn''t lose an entire Level like they would in the outside world. Like Dungeons, they would only lose 10% experience if they died in the Trial of God. They could afford to try. "I guess that''s our only choice. I''ll use the summoned creature to test the Undead Commander''s strength first. If it seems doable, we''ll start the raid immediately," Fallen Wind said after giving it some thought. Otherwise, they would have to give up on the trial and pray for a lenient punishment. 1000 Near-invincible Skill Chapter 1000 - Near-invincible Skill "May I know what Brother Ye Feng thinks of this plan?" Fallen Wind turned to ask Shi Feng, who quietly observed the Undead Commander. Although they hadn''t spent much time together, the strength and leadership abilities Shi Feng had displayed during the past two days had earned him Fallen Wind''s respect. If not for Shi Feng, they wouldn''t have reached this point. They might have been forced to use up their Summoning Scrolls against the Undead Fanatics. Hearing Fallen Wind''s query, Wind God''s Spear''s members stared in shock, looking like they had seen a ghost. "What? The commander actually knows how to ask others for their opinion?!" After joining the Wind God''s Spear, everyone learned that their Commander, Fallen Wind, would never ask for someone else''s opinion, regardless of whether they were raiding a Dungeon or adventuring in the fields. He always found a solution by himself. However, when they thought about it, they saw nothing wrong with this situation. After all, none of them could compare to their Commander''s experience or abilities. In the entire Dark Night Empire, Fallen Wind was famous for both his strength and leadership. Very few people in the empire qualified to offer him guidance. However, it was reasonable that Fallen Wind would ask for Shi Feng''s opinion, given the strength the Swordsman had displayed. After all, among the Dark Night Empire''s many experts, they could not think of one that was more capable than Shi Feng. "My opinion?" Shi Feng was also surprised. He hadn''t expected Fallen Wind to ask this of him. After some thought, he answered, "We don''t understand enough about the Undead Commander right now. It is best if we let the summoned creature fight the Great Lord until its last breath and collect as much information as we can. We will then draft up a raid plan. In any case, the Trial of God doesn''t have a time limit. Unfortunately, by doing so, we will be wasting a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll." The team members had mixed feelings about Shi Feng''s suggestion. After all, a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll was incredibly precious. Moreover, a Tier 2 summoned creature would be helpful during the fight against the Boss. "Alright, let''s do that, then. Everyone, step back," Fallen Wind said. While Fallen Wind also understood the value of a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll, his team members lacked leadership experience. Their considerations were short-sighted. They usually looked out for themselves and ignored the team''s overall situation. They were not in a Team Dungeon. They could not afford to lose. If they disregarded the team''s survival for a single Tier 2 Summoning Scroll, they might throw away their chance of clearing this stage. Although taking a risk and dying once might seem inconsequential, everyone had forgotten about a particular death penalty. The loss of equipment Durability! They were trapped in the Trial of God. Who knew how long they had to fight to clear the trial? The more deaths a player suffered, the faster their equipment''s durability would run out. If their equipment''s durability hit zero midway through the trial, they would have to switch to weaker spares. How would they clear the Trial of God then? After Fallen Wind finished speaking, he took out a golden Magic Scroll and activated it. Everyone immediate widened the distance between themselves and the Undead Commander. As for Shi Feng, he, too, hid in a corner. The Level 50 Undead Commander was foreign to him. If they charged into battle without analyzing the Boss, they would easily team-wipe. Without a doubt, sacrificing a Tier 2 summoned creature to analyze the Undead Commander''s combat style and Skills was the best decision. Fallen Wind summoned a Level 50 Lord ranked Thundercloud Tiger. [Thundercloud Tiger] (Elemental Creature, Lord) Level 50 HP 9,000,000/9,000,000 The Thundercloud Tiger was much larger than the Undead Commander, standing well over five meters. Blue lightning arched around the tiger''s body, giving it a very handsome and fierce appearance. Under Fallen Wind''s command, the Thundercloud Tiger charged at the Level 50 Great Lord. When the Thundercloud Tiger was within 40 yards, a greenish light glimmered in the Great Lord''s eyes. Unlike its previous red glow, the Undead Commander''s current gaze felt eerie and horrific. Moreover, the instant it opened its eyes, its Chilling Field expanded to 200 yards. The already cold temperature around it dropped further. Suddenly, the Undead Commander waved its hand. Icicles sprouted from the ground and pierced the Thundercloud Tiger''s massive body, forcing a pained cry from the Lord. -32,814. -31,974. -32,427. The massive icicles dealt horrific damage. This scene sent chills down the players'' spines. Before the Thundercloud Tiger had even reached the Undead Commander, its HP had already begun to fall. Against the Commander''s icicles, the Thundercloud Tiger''s 9,000,000 HP was a joke. "What kind of Skill is that?!" "Is that really a Great Lord?! How are we supposed to raid it with that kind of Skill?!" "Fortunately, we''re 300 yards away from it. If we hadn''t moved, it would have killed it before we could fight back." Everyone was stupefied when they saw the icicles. How was this a dual sword-wielding Boss? It was a magical turret with infinite ammunition! Anyone that rushed at it would be throwing their lives away. They doubted that they could even land a hit before the Undead Commander annihilated them. It''s just a Great Lord, but it possesses a Domain Skill? Shi Feng was shocked. Domain Skills were extraordinarily rare. This held true for both players and monsters. Any monster that had learned a Domain Skill was practically invincible among the same Level and Tier. Unless they had a death wish, players should take the long way around such a monster. However, after giving it some thought, Shi Feng realized that it wasn''t unreasonable. The Treasure Chest before him was a Seven-colored Treasure Chest. How could the final monster guarding it be a simple Level 50 Great Lord? Fortunately, the Thundercloud Tiger had plenty of HP. Despite the significant Movement Speed reduction, it reached the Undead Commander before using the Tier 2 Skill Thunder Claw. Boom! The Thundercloud Tiger''s Thunder Claw struck an icicle that had suddenly appeared, shattering it. However, the Undead Commander, who stood behind the icicle, remained unharmed. The Great Lord hadn''t even drawn its swords yet. It waved its hands gracefully before more icicles lanced into the Thundercloud Tiger. Although Fallen Wind controlled the Thundercloud Tiger to the best of his ability, launching one attack after another, the Undead Commander had no interest in fighting the Lord. It focused on evading the Thundercloud Tiger''s attacks and using its icicles to deal damage. Very quickly, the Great Lord whittle down the Thundercloud Tiger''s 9,000,000 HP to a critical low. With no other choice, Fallen Wind canceled the summoning and allowed the Thundercloud Tiger to disappear, dispelling the majority of the aggro he had on the Great Lord. As for the remaining aggro, he dealt with it swiftly by using an Isolation Scroll and the Cleric''s Disperse Spell. Once he dropped the Undead Commander''s aggro, the Great Lord returned to its original position and reverted to its calm state. "It is simply too powerful. Not only does it have such a powerful Skill, but its intelligence is also high. Defeating it is impossible." The corners of Autumn Goose''s mouth twitched as she stared at the motionless Undead Commander. Although she had seen more powerful monsters than the Undead Commander, this was the first time she had seen a Boss with such an outrageous Skill. If they did not have an appropriate method to cope with these icicles, they would have no hope of defeating the Undead Commander. Everyone began to consider giving up on the trial. "Big Brother Ye Feng, do you have any ideas? Are we really going to just give up?" Blue Bamboo turned to Shi Feng, who was in deep thought. 1001 Monster Grades Chapter 1001 - Monster Grades In Blue Bamboo''s opinion, the Undead Commander was terrifyingly powerful. However, for reasons unknown, she felt an indescribable sense of security whenever she stood beside Shi Feng. She always felt like Shi Feng had some sort of solution to her problems. The Undead Commander''s fighting style resembled the kiting method that players commonly used. It was simply toying with players as if they were random monsters. This was the first time she had seen a monster use such a combat method. Hearing Blue Bamboo''s question, the other team members shook their heads and laughed. Not one among them was an ordinary player. In a large Guild, they would be top-class experts. They had faced plenty of powerful Bosses before. However, the Undead Commander before them was, without a doubt, the most powerful Great Lord they had encountered so far. Unlike other Great Lords, which were strong in terms of Attributes, the Undead Commander was strong in terms of combat techniques. Fallen Wind had controlled the Thundercloud Tiger personally. Even if the Thundercloud Tiger could not defeat a Great Lord of the same level, it should have been more than capable of dodging the Boss''s attacks with the combination of its powerful Attributes and Fallen Wind''s operation skills. However, even a Thundercloud Tiger under the control of Wind God''s Spear''s number one player had been helpless against the Undead Commander''s icicle attacks. At this point, even Fallen Wind felt helpless against the Undead Commander. Nobody knew more about Undead Commander''s power than him. The Undead Commander was strong in both Attributes and Skills. Unfortunately, its combat techniques were even more frightening. Despite him having already reached the Flowing Water Realm, even if he couldn''t control the Thundercloud Tiger as smoothly as his own body, the Tiger''s combat standards should be significantly stronger than most of the team''s experts, yet the Undead Commander had predicted his moves. The icicles had been able to adjust their attack trajectories as if they were alive. Originally, Fallen Wind had thought he had misunderstood. However, after numerous attack and dodge attempts, he was certain that the Undead Commander had definitely reached the Refinement Realm. He had never encountered a situation like this before. When he realized this, goosebumps had covered his body. Aside from cooperation between players and targeting Bosses'' weaknesses, the reason that players could defeat monsters with far superior Attributes was their application of combat techniques. With combat techniques, players could display their true power, something that monsters were incapable of doing. Yet, the Undead Commander''s combat techniques were stronger than the majority of God''s Domain''s expert players. The Boss this team faced was like a Refinement Realm expert with the Attributes of a Level 50 Great Lord. With such a huge difference, even a team of 1,000 Level 50 players would be child''s play for a monster like this, not to mention their team of 21. Even someone monstrously strong like Shi Feng couldn''t contend with the Undead Commander. Unless they were all promoted to their Tier 2 classes right now, they had no chance of defeating the Undead Commander. "While I do have a plan, executing it is a little too costly," Shi Feng said, frowning at the Undead Commander. To God''s Domain''s current players, a monster with the combat standards of a Refinement Realm expert might be inconceivable, but Shi Feng had long since grown accustomed to such things. The monsters and NPCs in God''s Domain were different from those in other virtual reality games. The higher tiered and leveled a monster or NPC was, the more profound their combat techniques would be. Otherwise, once players gained their Tier 3 classes, wouldn''t defeating Great Lords of the same level be too easy? However, the reality was that, even after obtaining their Tier 3 classes, many players were no match for Great Lords of the same level. Some players even struggled to take down Lords of the same level. As their levels increased, monsters'' combat standards would improve. Hence, players'' combat techniques were extremely important in God''s Domain. This was also the reason that Shi Feng was in a hurry to establish Zero Wing''s own training center. Without a sufficient number of experts, even raiding Team Dungeons would be a massive problem, not to mention gaining better equipment. However, encountering a Level 50 Boss that had reached the Refinement Realm was a first even for Shi Feng. Generally, ordinary Guilds only had one option when they encountered such a BossCgive up. There were no other options. If one were weaker in both Attributes and combat techniques, what could they expect? As for large Guilds, aside from zerg-tactics, using a magic barrier was the most common method of dealing with a Boss like this. After suppressing the Boss with a magic barrier, Guilds would bombard the Boss with all sorts of precious tools. "Brother Ye Feng, do you have a plan?" Fallen Wind turned to Shi Feng, shocked. He even wondered if he had heard wrong. A six-colored Trial of God''s punishment was no laughing matter. He would rather give up his treasures than submit his people to the system''s punishment. In response, Shi Feng nodded and asked, "Yes. May I know how many Tier 2 Magic Scrolls you have?" "Tier 2 Magic Scrolls?" Fallen Wind quickly counted the Magic Scrolls he and his teammates had brought with them. Proudly, he answered, "Altogether, we have a total of 52 Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Among them, three are Summoning Scrolls." In God''s Domain, the most common Magic Scrolls were Tier 0. Tier 1 Magic Scrolls were much rarer, and Tier 2 Magic Scrolls were even more so. Most top-tier 100-man independent teams were lucky if they carried ten Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. "Fifty-two?" After some thought, Shi Feng said, "Aside from the Summoning Scrolls, hand me your Tier 2 Scrolls. I''ll leave these nine with you. Once I have the Undead Commander''s attention, use them." Saying so, Shi Feng handed nine Nine-star Polar Domain Scrolls to Fallen Wind. As an Intermediate Magic Array, the Nine-star Polar Domain could easily suppress a Level 50 Great Lord. Although Fallen Wind had no idea what Shi Feng intended to do, he handed over all of his Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, keeping the Summoning Scrolls. Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well give it a try. If they succeeded, they would walk away with massive profits. However, after Fallen Wind accepted the Nine-star Polar Domain Scrolls, he was shocked. "Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls!?" Fallen Wind stared at Shi Feng, who gradually approached the Undead Commander, in disbelief. Even Basic Magic Array Scrolls'' value could rival Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls. However, unlike Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls, one needed many copies of a Magic Array Scroll to use it. Even until now, the Wind God''s Spear had only collected half a set of Basic Magic Array Scrolls. They couldn''t use the Scroll''s magic barrier. As for Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls, they weren''t even available on the market yet. They were so rare that, until now, Fallen Wind had never seen one. They were no less rare than Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, yet Shi Feng had casually pulled nine from his bag. They were even identical. Even large Guilds couldn''t afford to expend so many, not to mention an adventurer group like the Wind God''s Spear. The rest of the team was just as shocked when they saw the Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls. Not only was Shi Feng so strong of his own right, but he also had such precious tools. Following which, Fallen Wind distributed the Nine-star Polar Domain Scrolls to nine of his team members. He then instructed them to spread out and stand ready. "There is no need to be nervous. After I damage the Undead Commander, you guys need to close in. Once you reach the maximum range, wait for my command," Shi Feng said in the team chat after confirming their positions. "Understood!" The nine people relaxed when they heard Shi Feng''s calm and confident tone. Once everyone was ready, Shi Feng activated Power of Darkness and Thunder God''s Descent. He then transformed into a blur as he dashed towards the Undead Commander. He was so fast that, before anyone realized he was gone, he was within 50 yards of the Undead Commander. 1002 Effects of an Advanced Combat Technique Chapter 1002 - Effects of an Advanced Combat Technique "So fast!" "Even the Thundercloud Tiger wasn''t that fast!" "Was he not using his full strength before?" Everyone was stunned by the afterimages that Shi Feng left behind. With such speed, getting a lock on Shi Feng would be difficult, not to mention hitting the Swordsman with ranged attacks. Even the speed-type High Lords they had encountered before were not as fast as Shi Feng. "The Undead Commander is making its move!" Autumn Goose grew nervous when the Undead Commander suddenly opened its eyes. Shi Feng''s ability to damage the Great Lord would decide the fate of this raid. If he could hit the Great Lord, he could pull the Boss''s aggro. With this, everyone else would be safer while deploying the Nine-star Polar Domain. On the other hand, if Shi Feng failed to hit the Undead Commander, there was a good chance that Boss would target the nine scroll-wielders as they approached. They would be especially vulnerable when they activated the Magic Array Scrolls. Generally, when players activated a magic array to suppress a Boss, they would attract the monster''s attention. If one of the scroll casters died, their efforts would be for naught. Previously, when Fallen Wind had controlled the Level 50 Thundercloud Tiger, he had not been able to deal a single point of damage. Although Autumn Goose thought highly of Shi Feng, she felt a horrific aura that nearly stopped her heart when the Great Lord opened its eyes. She stood well over 100 yards away from the Undead Commander, yet fear took over her body when the Great Lord''s gaze fell upon her, and her instincts screamed at her to run. The pressure felt as if she were facing a Grand Lord rather than a Great Lord. Autumn Goose wasn''t the only one who felt like this. The other team members also felt a powerful sense of impending doom. Suddenly, the Undead Commander turned to Shi Feng. It waved one of its hands towards the Swordsman. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Instantly, five massive icicles sprouted from beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Treating Shi Feng''s ghostly speed as if it were nothing, the Undead Commander accurately pinpointed Shi Feng''s movements. Of the five icicles, three limited Shi Feng''s range of activity, while the remaining two attacked the Swordsman directly. Without suspense, the icicles pierced through Shi Feng''s body. The entire process happened in the blink of an eye. "How is this possible!?" Fallen Wind couldn''t believe his eyes. The Undead Commander''s attacks had not been this accurate when against the Thundercloud Tiger. When it had attacked, it had left plenty of space of the tiger to maneuver. Now, however, Fallen Wind could not find any loopholes in the Great Lord''s attack. Seeing the Undead Commander''s glimmering green eyes, Fallen Wind suddenly felt as if he had been toyed with. The Undead Commander had not used its true strength yet. "No, Ye Feng is still alive," Thoughtful Rain firmly stated as she watched the two icicles where Shi Feng had been. "That''s not possible, right? Those icicles hit him. There is no way he is still alive after that kind of damage," Autumn Goose said as she shot Thoughtful Rain an odd look. She couldn''t understand Thoughtful Rain''s determination. "Look at the team''s status window," Thoughtful Rain explained. "What? How is he unharmed?" Everyone was surprised when they looked at the team''s status window. As Thoughtful Rain had said, Shi Feng was still alive. In fact, his HP was full. As the team members wondered what had happened, the Undead Commander began to gesture with its hands rapidly. Icicles shot from the ground, one after another. The Great Lord''s attack rate much faster than it had been against the Thundercloud Tiger. After a moment, the originally barren terrain had transformed into a forest of ice, yet the Undead Commander''s gestures didn''t stop. It was even starting to retreat. "Can anyone tell me what is happening?" Blue Bamboo asked, watching the Boss with wide eyes. All she could see is the Undead Commander launch random attacks, filling the battlefield. She refused to believe that such a powerful Boss had suddenly lost its mind. While the other team members wanted to answer Blue Bamboo''s questions, they didn''t know what was going on either. "Brother Ye Feng is fighting the Undead Commander. Only, our eyes can''t perceive him," Fallen Wind said uneasily. As they were relatively far away, he couldn''t see the battle clearly either. However, based on the Undead Commander''s movements, he could tell that the Great Lord could sense Shi Feng. "I get it! He''s using Void Steps!" Thoughtful Rain declared. After hearing Fallen Wind''s explanation, realization dawned on her. Void Steps was a footwork technique that only Zero Wing''s core members had an opportunity to learn. It was also the specialty technique of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. However, this advanced footwork technique was complex. Even now, she didn''t even understand a fraction of the technique. "Void Steps?" Thoughtful Rain''s explanation confused the players from the Wind God''s Spear. Even Autumn Goose felt as if she and Thoughtful Rain lived in different worlds. Hadn''t she been the one to guide Thoughtful Rain in the past? Following which, Thoughtful Rain explained the footwork technique as best as she could. "What?! Zero Wing''s core members get to learn an advanced technique like that?!" Wind God''s Spear''s members were flabbergasted. To them, learning combat techniques was a dream. They had no access to that kind of training. And yet, in Zero Wing, the Guild''s core members were handed the opportunity to learn such powerful maneuvers. Wind God''s Spear''s members suddenly envied Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. To battle maniacs like them, nothing was more tempting than improving their combat standards. Even Legendary Weapons and Equipment were not as valuable as Void Steps in their opinion. After all, weapons and equipment were external. As long as one was strong enough, they would, sooner or later, obtain these items. However, combat techniques were a different story. As everyone from the Wind God''s Spear admired Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, the Undead Commander stilled its hands abruptly. It unsheathed the two swords from hits waist and appeared to swing one of them at empty air. Boom! Suddenly, the clang of metal on metal echoed throughout the battlefield the resulting shockwave unbalanced Fallen Wind and the others from over 100 yards away. Meanwhile, a figure appeared where the Undead Commander had aimed its attack. This figure was none other than Shi Feng. Isn''t its Strength a little too high?! Shi Feng was inwardly shocked. He had used Parry to block the Undead Commander''s attack. Although he had not received any damage, the sturdy stone floor beneath him had shattered. The shock of the impact had also numbed his hands. The Undead Commander had far more Strength than a Level 50 Great Lord should have. Based on Shi Feng''s estimation, it has as much Strength as a Grand Lord at the very least. Fortunately, he had activated Power of Darkness before engaging the Boss. Without the boosted Attributes, he would have been dead on the floor. However, he had achieved his goal. "Scram!" Shi Feng then launched Dragon Breath at the Undead Commander. A beam of silver light devoured the Great Lord. Caught by surprise, the Undead Commander failed to evade the attack and received over -30,000 damage. Moreover, he had triggered Dragon Breath''s knockback effect, shoving the Undead Commander back by ten yards. Following which, Shi Feng took a silvery-gray, dilapidated Magic Scroll from his bag. The instant he unfurled the Magic Scroll, the surrounding Mana flow froze. Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Mana Seal! 1003 Advanced Title Chapter 1003 - Advanced Title After seeing the Tier 3 Magic Scroll in Shi Feng''s hands, the green flames in the Undead Commander''s eyes flared. It could obviously feel the threat from the Mana Seal as it raised its swords and slashed forward. Numerous icicles emerged beneath Shi Feng''s feet dense enough that dodging them was nearly impossible. However, predicting the move, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade and fended off the attacks. He then began to chant the scroll''s incantation. As Shi Feng finished the final verse, more than a dozen small, silver magic arrays appeared around the Undead Commander, surrounding the Great Lord. Although the Undead Commander tried to escape the encirclement, silver chains shot out from the magic arrays that bound the Undead Commander. As the chains tightened around the Undead Commander, its Chilling Field vanished. "Move!" Shi Feng shouted in the team chat. The Tier 3 Spell, Mana Seal, could only Silence one target. Although its effects wouldn''t last long against a Great Lord, it should be able to hold out for four or five minutes. At Shi Feng''s command, everyone snapped out of their daze. The nine people wielding the Nine-star Polar Domain Scrolls rushed to surround the Undead Commander before activating their scrolls simultaneously. Immediately, the surrounding Mana surged towards these nine people, forming a purple-gold magic array beneath each player''s feet. "Rawrr!" Sensing the battle''s shift, the flames in the Undead Commander''s eyes raged. It turned to charge towards the closest caster. "You''re too late!" Shi Feng smiled as he pointed the Abyssal Blade at the Undead Commander. Abyssal Bind! Nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground and bound the Boss. Although the Great Lord tor the chains like paper, they still managed to delay the Undead Commander. The brief moment allowed the magic arrays to merge, forming a golden magic barrier. Seeing the Nine-star Polar Domain, the Undead Commander released an angry roar. However, no matter how much it struggled, its Attributes decreased rapidly under the magic barrier''s suppression. In the blink of an eye, the Undead Commander''s maximum HP had fallen from 27,000,000 to 12,000,000. The Great Lord''s Attributes had been reduced by more than half. "Isn''t this magic array a little too strong?!" These players were nearly speechless. They had seen large Guilds use magic arrays to suppress Field Bosses before. Generally, a Basic Magic Array was considered relatively powerful if it could reduce a Great Lord''s Attributes by 20%. However, the Nine-star Polar Domain had weakened the Undead Commander by over 50%. Moreover, this magic array only required nine people to activate. Compared to the Nine-star Polar Domain, the magic arrays they had seen before were nothing but garbage. Although their team had sacrificed nine members to maintain the magic array, the Undead Commander was now significantly weaker. Even the Shield Warrior Death Wind could tank the Great Lord, not to mention the Guardian Knight Fallen Wind. "Use all of your Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls! Have the summoned creatures tank the Boss! Everyone else, attack from the sides!" Shi Feng hurriedly commanded while he dodged and blocked the Boss''s attacks. Although the Undead Commander had lost over half its Attributes, it still had a Great Lord''s Strength. Even after activating a Berserk Skill, Shi Feng received over -1,000 damage when he blocked the attacks. Moreover, this was after he had redirected a portion of the attacks'' power. Otherwise, he would have taken over -2,000 damage. "We''re using the scrolls now? Isn''t that wasteful?" Some of the team members were reluctant. "Stop talking nonsense and use them!" Fallen Wind shot his team members a glare. Some had begun to think that they could rest easy. However, Fallen Wind knew that this was far from true. The real battle was just beginning. The Undead Commander''s Attributes and Skills were indeed powerful. However, what made this boss truly powerful was its combat standards. Even though the Great Lord''s Attributes had been reduced, its Basic Attributes were still far higher than players''. It was more than capable of relying on its techniques to slaughter them. Following which, three Tier 2 summoned creatures were summoned and charged at the Undead Commander. Despite all three summoned creatures being Level 50 Lords, when they reached the Undead Commander and launched their attacks, the Undead Commander dodged two of them effortlessly. As for the third, the Undead Commander struck its vital points and sent it flying, devouring over 20,000 of the summoned creature''s HP instantly. Everyone''s jaws dropped. "Why is it still so strong?" Autumn Goose was a little dumbfounded. Not only had the three summoned creatures failed to damage the Undead Commander, but one of them had also taken damage. At this point, she started to doubt that their summoned creatures Lords. Although the three summoned creatures hadn''t inflicted any damage, they had affected the Great Lord''s actions slightly. This gave Shi Feng an opportunity to strike the Undead Commander''s joints, dealing a critical blow. -12,216! It seems that this is quite effective. Shi Feng smiled when he saw this damage. Although the summoned creatures hadn''t performed as well as he had expected, they still alleviated his burden. In addition, the other team members bombarded the Undead Commander, whittling down the Great Lord''s HP. 80%... 70%... 60%... Everyone''s attacks were well organized. The more they fought, the more confident they became. Time passed quickly. When the Undead Commander''s HP fell to 30%, the Great Lord''s wicked laugh echoed in the players'' ears. Green flames then covered its body, and the Mana-sealing chains binding it shattered, one after another. Sensing the Mana leaking from the Great Lord''s body, everyone shuddered. The Undead Commander''s Chilling Field once again flooded the battlefield. Unfortunately, the Chilling Field was also more powerful than it had been. Everyone''s Attributes instantly fell by 30%, increasing the gap between the players and the monster before them. "Give it everything you''ve got!" Fallen Wind knew that this was the crucial moment. Immediately, he used the Berserk Skill Power of Judgment. Power of Judgment was a Berserk Skill unique to Guardian Knights. Upon activation, it increased the user''s Defense by 200% and Strength and Endurance by 100%. However, it only lasted 90 seconds and had a long, 10-hour Cooldown. The rest of the team also activated their Berserk Skills, using this opportunity to close the gap. Unfortunately, their actions bore minimal effects. As the Undead Commander madly brandished its swords, one icicle after another exploded from the ground. With one wave of attacks, the Great Lord had claimed a life. The players maintaining the Nine-star Polar Domain also received splash damage. Nobody could get near the Undead Commander. At this moment, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider, dodging the Undead Commander''s icicle attacks as he retrieved Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, activating them swiftly. Unlike the other team members, he wielded a Sacred Sword. His damage with Magic Scrolls doubled against Dark Creatures. As the Tier 2 Magic Scrolls activated, horrific damages in the tens of thousands appeared above the Undead Commander''s head. Unfortunately, the Great Lord also claimed one player''s life after another. By the time Shi Feng had used all the Tier 2 Magic Scrolls Fallen Wind had given him, the Undead Commander only had around one million HP remaining. However, aside from the members maintaining the Nine-star Polar Domain and Shi Feng, only four players still lived. These four were Fallen Wind, Autumn Goose, Thoughtful Rain, and Blue Bamboo. All four had very little HP left. If not for Blue Bamboo activating Power of Darkness and increasing her healing capacity, they, too, would have long since succumbed to the icicle attacks. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s Power of Darkness came to an end. Possibly because it had realized the players were at their wit''s end, the Undead Commander began to chant an incantation. A giant magic array then appeared above the battlefield. Isn''t this the Tier 3 Curse, Frozen Hell? Seeing the magic array in the air and sensing its power, Shi Feng recognized the Undead Commander''s Spell immediately, his expression darkening. Why does it know a Tier 3 Curse? When Fallen Wind and the others sensed the magic array''s power, they knew that they were doomed. Shi Feng then threw caution to the wind as he activated both Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation. He also activated Instant Strike, appearing before the Undead Commander and sending a violent blow down on the Great Lord''s head. Boom! When the streak of blue light struck, the attack planted the Undead Commander''s face into the floor, creating a small crater beneath it. -126,718! Not only had Shi Feng''s attack triggered Killing Ray''s Lightning effect, but his powerful damage had also interrupted the Great Lord''s casting. However, Shi Feng was far from done. Streak after streak of blue light passed through the Undead Commander''s fallen body. Although the Great Lord tried to defend itself with its icicles, the blue lights shattered the frosty lances. By the time Instant Strike ended, the Undead Commander had less than 200,000 HP remaining. "Die!" Lifting Killing Ray high, Shi Feng used Flame Burst on the heavily damaged Undead Commander. Fifteen dazzling flames devoured the Undead Commander, burning it until nothing was left except for its suit of golden armor. System: Congratulations! You have killed the Immortal. Rewarding the Advanced Title "Spirit Slayer." 1004 Four-star Treatmen Chapter 1004 - Four-star Treatment "Is it dead?" "Is he really a human!? He actually gave the Undead Commander such a violent beating!" Everyone stared at the Undead Commander''s ashy remains, astonished. The Undead Commander was simply too powerful. While inside its Chilling Field, the team had been forced to deal with the icicle attacks. Although the attacks aimed at them were not as strong or fast as those targeting Shi Feng, one mistake could lead to an instant death. They had no leeway to launch their own attacks, either, as it had taken everything they had just to stay alive. If not for Shi Feng continuous assault on the Great Lord, none of them would''ve survived this ordeal. An Advanced Title? After sheathing his swords, Shi Feng stared at the system notification before him in shock. He had intended to save some of his strength to deal with the following Trial of God stages. However, he hadn''t expected the Undead Commander''s Tier 3 Curse. Had he allowed the Undead Commander to finish the Spell, the situation would have been unredeemable. Hence, with no other choice, he had used Twofold Berserk, suffering a long period of the resulting Weakened state. Now, however, it would seem that it had been worth killing the Undead Commander with his own two hands. There were all sorts of titles in God''s Domain, and different titles provided different effects. Titles were also divided into ranks, with Basic Titles at the bottom, followed by Advanced Titles, Epic Titles, and Legendary Titles. For the majority of God''s Domain''s players, obtaining even a Basic Title was exceedingly difficult. Even so, many players still sought them because of the convenience they offered. Take the Demon Hunter title for example. It gave Shi Feng the perks of a noble in God''s Domain''s major cities. There were also titles like the Basic Tyrant title, which increased a player''s combat power. If even Basic Titles provided such useful effects, there was no need to mention Advanced Titles. Only, obtaining an Advanced Title was far more difficult. In the past, many large Guilds had willingly offered Epic items in exchange for clues leading to Advanced Titles. In Shi Feng''s previous life, one of the Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists, Silent Wonder, had only obtained her unshakable position because of the Advanced Title, Alchemy Inheritor. Aside from benefiting Lifestyle classes, many players had only managed to complete their Tier 4 class-change due to Advanced Titles. When Shi Feng had been stuck at the peak of Tier 3, he had similarly sought clues regarding Advanced Titles. Unfortunately, he never found anything. After all, Advanced Titles were no less rare than Fragmented Legendary items. Now that he had just obtained one, how could he not be surprised? Following which, Shi Feng clicked to check the Spirit Slayer''s information. [Spirit Slayer] (Advanced title) The proof of vanquishing the Immortal. When equipped, this title suppresses nearby Dark Creatures. All Dark Creatures within 200 yards will fear the holder, preventing weak Dark Creatures from approaching. Dark Creatures within 100 yards will suffer a 20% decrease to their Basic Attributes. Holder of the title will also enjoy four-star treatment when interacting with the Adventurer''s Association. What an amazing title! Shi Feng was breathless when he finished reading the title''s introduction. It''s no wonder why those experts from large Guilds were so desperate for an Advanced Title. The Spirit Slayer''s suppression effects against Dark Creatures was one thing, but the rise in position one enjoyed with the Adventurer''s Association was over the top. The Adventurer''s Association''s importance to players was self-evident. The majority of the quests players received were from the Adventurer''s Association. This was especially true for Guild players. As players received and completed more quests from the Adventurer''s Association, they gained more Reputation with the Association. Only after obtaining 500 Reputation Points would one be considered an official member of the Adventurer''s Association. Before this, players were only outer members. Their status with the Association, and the way they were treated, was average at best. However, after becoming an official member, players received far more benefits. One of the most obvious changes were the ranks of the quests they could receive. As outer members, players were usually limited to basic quests. Very rarely would they receive advanced quests. It was common knowledge that more difficult a quest was, the greater were its rewards. After becoming official members, players received plenty of advanced quests. This was also why many independent players had been able to manage in God''s Domain relatively well without joining a Guild. Also, after becoming an official member, players activated the Adventurer''s Association''s Star-rank System. Official members started in the one-star position. Only after completing a sufficient number of one-star quests could they challenge the promotion test to become two-star adventurers. Two-star adventurers were the equivalent of Adventurer''s Association''s elite members. Needless to say, they enjoyed far more benefits. Three-star adventurers were equivalent to core members, while four-star adventurers were equivalent to the Vice Branch Association Masters, and five-star adventurers were equivalent to Branch Association Masters in the Adventurer''s Association. The Branch Association Masters were the equivalent of the War God''s Temple''s Branch Temple Leaders and the Magistrates in major NPC cities. Meanwhile, the Spirit Slayer title allowed him to enjoy a four-star position in the Adventurer''s Association. In the past, the furthest Shi Feng had gotten was the three-star status. After all, gaining a rank promotion in the Adventurer''s Association took more than completing quests. One also needed to be strong enough to pass the Association''s test. Now that he was considered a four-star adventurer, even NPC cities'' major nobles would have to treat him with great respect. He could even enter a Palace freely. Shi Feng was inspired, thinking of new plans for the future. Although he knew many of God''s Domain''s secrets, uncovering these secrets required sufficient standing and special conditions. Now that he had the Spirit Slayer title, he could do more. As the battle with the Undead Commander came to an end, Blue Bamboo and the other healers began to resurrect the dead. In the Trial of God, players would not be sent out of the trial upon death. If no healers were available to resurrect them, the system would respawn them at the trial''s starting point after 30 minutes. While Shi Feng carefully considered his future plans, Blue Bamboo walked over and asked eagerly, "Big Brother Ye Feng, we''ve mostly recovered. Should we activate the Treasure Chest now?" Now that the Guardian Boss was dead, the magic barrier protecting the Seven-colored Treasure Chest had vanished. After the long fight to defeat such a powerful Boss, the team was eager to learn what rested in the Treasure Chest that this Boss guarded. Shi Feng had contributed the most to the Boss''s defeat. The team had also relied on Shi Feng to get this far. Hence, the honor of opening the Treasure Chest fell to Shi Feng. No one disagreed with the decision. "I''ll open it, then," Shi Feng laughed. In reality, it did not matter who opened the Treasure Chest as the Trial of God tested all of them. Unlike ordinary Treasure Chests, which only provided a few items that players were required to share, the Treasure Chests at the end of each stage rewarded each player based on their contribution. Following which, Shi Feng approached the Seven-colored Treasure Chest and slowly lifted its lid. A golden light escaped the Treasure Chest. A seven-colored stone tablet then floated up from the chest. As the golden brilliance dissipated, words appeared on the five-meter-tall, seven-colored tablet. This tablet would evaluate players'' performances in the stage. Everyone stared, entranced, as the first name appeared on the stone tablet. Team Leader - Fallen Wind Evaluation: B-rank Reward: One Basic Strength Fruit, one Secret-Silver Mastery Book, and one Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. 1005 Divine Artifac Chapter 1005 - Divine Artifact "Holy crap!" "As expected of the Commander!" Everyone gasped when they saw their team leader''s evaluation. Aside from the rarity of a Fine-Gold Treasure chest, the Secret-Silver Mastery Book alone was a treasure that many experts dreamed of. Players usually only obtained eight Mastery Points every five Levels. Meanwhile, if players wished to raise their basic weapon damage, they could only do by increasing their weapon mastery. However, aside from the few points they earned when they leveled, there were very few means to obtain Mastery Points. Even Wind God''s Spear''s members, who frequently accepted all sorts of dangerous quests, could only earn one or two Mastery Points from Super-rare Quests or Unique Quests or by obtaining a Bronze Mastery Book if they were lucky. Hence, even now, they possessed few Mastery Points. Only a few among their adventurer team had reached the Advanced standard[1], which allowed them to deal 20% more weapon damage. Meanwhile, the majority of the team''s Level 35 players were only at the Intermediate standard. If their weapon mastery reached 150 points, they would reach the Basic Master standard, increasing their weapon damage by 30%. A Bronze Mastery Book provided anywhere from 5 to 25 points. In reality, however, most of the books only awarded Mastery Points in the single digits. Very few awarded more than 10 points. A Secret-Silver Mastery Book gave between 20 and 100 points. Even if Fallen Wind were unlucky, he should earn at least 30 or so points. If he were lucky, he might get enough points to raise his weapon mastery from the Advanced standard to the Basic Master standard, gaining a 10% boost to his damage. "Commander, what are the Strength Fruit''s effects?" Autumn Goose asked curiously. Seeing as the fruit had been included with a Secret-Silver Mastery Book and a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, it should be roughly as valuable as these two items. "Let me take a look," Fallen Wind as he opened his bag. Examining the Basic Strength Fruit''s introduction, he was shocked. "This fruit can actually raise its consumer''s Strength Attribute permanently!" [Basic Strength Fruit] Upon consumption, player permanently gains anywhere from 5 to 20 points in the Strength Attribute. A maximum of 5 Basic Strength Fruits can be consumed. "This reward is so awesome!" Everyone''s jaws hit the floor when they saw the fruit''s introduction. Tier 1 players only gained 8 Free Attribute Points with each level-up. Upon consuming the Basic Strength Fruit, a player could gain at least one level''s worth of Attributes. The team''s gazes shifted back to the floating tablet, anticipation filling their eyes. Shi Feng was also slightly surprised. He had never imagined that the Seven-colored Treasure Chest''s rewards would be this abundant. Moreover, that had only been a B-rank evaluation The system''s evaluations were not fast. After Fallen Wind''s name, evaluation, and reward were displayed, it took quite some time before the next person''s name appeared. Death Wind Evaluation: C-rank Reward: One Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book, and one Secret-Silver Treasure Chest. Gunfire Evaluation: C-rank Pass Reward: One Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book, and one Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest. Autumn Goose Evaluation: C-rank Excellent Reward: One Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book, and one Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. Thoughtful Rain Evaluation: C-rank Peak Reward: One Basic Intelligence Fruit, one Mysterious-Iron Mastery Book, and one Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. The system was quite meticulous in its evaluations. The majority of the team''s players only received C-rank Pass evaluations. Among the 20 players who had been evaluated thus far, only two had received fruits. Although these players were slightly disappointed by their evaluations, they still watched the stone tablet. Currently, only Shi Feng''s evaluation remained unknown. However, even after a long time, the system still evaluated his performance. "With his performance, he should get an A-rank evaluation at the very least, right?" "That is my guess as well. He might get an A-rank Excellent or even Peak. I wonder what kind of rewards he will get?" "If the reward for B-rank is a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, the reward for A-rank should be a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest." "Ever since I started playing God''s Domain, I''ve never seen a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. I have heard that Dark-Gold Treasure Chests have a chance of containing Epic items. If I had an Epic item, I could brag to my friends in the real world for an entire year." Everyone looked forward to seeing Shi Feng''s evaluation and rewards. Finally, after five minutes, the stone tablet displayed the name "Ye Feng." Ye Feng Evaluation: S-rank Peak Reward: One Rainbow Fruit, one Dark-Gold Mastery Book, one Epic Treasure Chest, and one Skill Book for the Tier 4 Sure-kill Skill, Chilling Field. "S Peak?" "What?! An Epic Treasure Chest?! I actually got to see the rumored Epic Treasure Chest!" "This is too much for my heart to take!" The rewards Shi Feng had earned stupefied everyone. In their opinions, an A-rank evaluation was already out of their reach. They had never dreamed that Shi Feng''s performance would earn an S-rank evaluation. The difference between their strengths was truly massive. Even Shi Feng was a little surprised. He had heard of S-rank evaluations before. However, he never imagined he would, one day, obtain such an evaluation. Moreover, his rewards were abundant. The Skill Book for Chilling Field was already enough to drive countless Tier 4 and Tier 5 players crazy. After all, Domain Skills could only display their true potential at Tier 4. Meanwhile, the Domain Skill Fire Dance had learned was not even close to Tier 4. It was only considered a half-baked Domain Skill. Moreover, Shi Feng had personally experienced just how powerful the Chilling Field Skill was. If not for the Undead Commander being a Great Lord and capable of only displaying the standards of a Tier 3 class, they wouldn''t have had any chance of victory. This is the rumored Rainbow Fruit? Shi Feng opened his bag to examine his rewards, his heart pounding furiously. The Rainbow Fruit was the size of an apple. However, it radiated the dazzling seven-colored light. The fruit was soft like jelly. Just by holding it in his hands, Shi Feng could smell an intoxicating scent from the fruit. The Rainbow Fruit was a Divine Artifact in God''s Domain. It was far rarer and more valuable than even the legendary Fruit of Life. It was one of the fruits that provided the largest boost to a player''s Attributes. Shi Feng had only read about the Rainbow Fruit in books. He had never actually seen one before. He never considered that he could obtain one in the Trial of God. [Rainbow Fruit] A fruit that has absorbed the power of God. Upon consumption, players can obtain a permanent increase of anywhere between 15 to 40 points to all of their Basic Attributes and Hidden Attributes. EXP gain will also increase by 10%. and death penalty will be reduced by 10%. In addition, the Rainbow Fruit can be given to an NPC. When consumed by NPCs, the fruit will significantly increase their Attributes and Growth Potential. A maximum of 3 Rainbow Fruits can be consumed. What an intense boost! Shi Feng''s jaw hung open after he read the introduction. It''s no wonder why the books called it a Divine Artifact! 1006 Attack-type Domain Skill Chapter 1006 - Attack-type Domain Skill When Shi Feng retrieved the Rainbow Fruit from his bag, he had not bothered to hide its Attributes. The fruit''s fragrance immediately drew everyone''s attention. After the team members read the Rainbow Fruit''s description, they were rendered speechless. Compared to the Rainbow Fruit, the fruits Fallen Wind and Thoughtful Rain had obtained were nothing. In God''s Domain, there were other items capable of permanently increasing a player''s Basic Attributes as well. However, even now, none of them had ever heard of items that could permanently increase a player''s Hidden Attributes. Players could not put points into the four main Hidden Attributes by simply leveling up. Yet, the four main Hidden Attributes happened to be extremely important to expert players. The Wind God''s Spear had gathered in Lake Heart City because of a dangerous quest that might reward a weapon or piece of equipment that would increase a Hidden Attribute. "I''m afraid that even an above-average Epic Weapon won''t be enough for this Rainbow Fruit." "What are you even saying?! If I had a Rainbow Fruit, I wouldn''t trade it for an entire set of Epic Equipment! Those are Hidden Attributes we''re talking about! Moreover, that fruit can increase anywhere from 15 to 40 points! Who knows how many quests we''d have to complete to get that many?" "Giving the fruit to a Personal Guard wouldn''t be a bad decision either. NPCs are far more powerful than players of the same Level and Tier. If you can increase an NPC''s Growth Potential to Dark-Gold rank, you''d basically have a Boss monster that could grow. Wouldn''t that be even more awesome?" "Promoting your class to the next Tier is always going to be more difficult than the last. For the sake of one''s future, no matter how I think about it, one should consume the fruit themself. After all, if you are strong enough, would you ever need to worry about getting good items in the future?" The team discussed the Rainbow Fruit enviously. Using the fruit on oneself or giving it to their Personal Guard were both good options. If they tried to claim that they weren''t jealous, they would be lying. However, Shi Feng had already proven that he qualified to own the Rainbow Fruit. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Rainbow Fruit. He had no intentions of deciding how to use the fruit right now. After all, he was still in the Trial of God. Clearing the Trial of God was still a problem. On the off chance that they failed, wouldn''t he have wasted the Rainbow Fruit? As for the Epic Treasure Chest he had obtained, it was locked. He couldn''t open it right now as it required 21 Magic Stones. As for the Dark-Gold Mastery Book, Shi Feng had no intentions of using it right now either. Even if he used it, he wouldn''t gain anything. The Dark-Gold Mastery Book provided anywhere from 50 to 300 Mastery Points. Unless he gained over 100 Mastery Points from the book, he couldn''t upgrade his One-handed Sword Mastery from the Basic Sword King standard to the Intermediate Sword King standard. The only item left was the Tier 4 Sure-kill Skill, Chilling Field. Shi Feng had no idea what sort of dangers awaited him. Meanwhile, Chilling Field could increase his combat power significantly, far more than what the Rainbow Fruit right now. After all, the Hidden Attributes would only be useful in the long term. They provided very little short-term gains. Following which, Shi Feng clicked to learn Chilling Field. [Chilling Field] Tier 0, Level 1 (Requires 400,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 0, Level 2) Coverage radius of 30 yards. When activated, user may wield the power of frost within range to attack and defend. Attacks and defenses contain 70% of user''s Strength. Can attack up to 6 targets simultaneously. Main target will receive 160% damage, while other targets will receive 100% damage. All enemies within Chilling Field will suffer a 10% Attribute decrease, 20% Movement Speed decrease, and 10% increased Stamina consumption. When using this Skill, user cannot move from their position. Moving instantly cancels Chilling Field. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 2 hours It''s already so powerful at Level 1? Shi Feng was surprised. He had seen Fire Dance''s Domain Skill, Water Binding. As a Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill, it was considered a pseudo Domain Skill. It simply could not compare to Chilling Field. Regarding control capabilities, Water Binding was superior to Chilling Field. However, Chilling Field had the absolute advantage regarding offense and defense. In God''s Domain, Domain Skills were divided into many types. There were attack-types, defense-types, and control-types, among which were more detailed sub-categories such as single-target or AOE attack-types. The same was true for defense-types. To put it simply, all Domain Skills had their own strengths and weaknesses. There was no issue of weak or strong Domain Skills of a particular Tier. It was only a matter of how suitable a Domain Skill was for a player. Obviously, Chilling Field was an AOE attack-type Domain Skill. As for Water Binding, it was a control-type Domain Skill that could only affect two targets at a time. In addition, the EXP required to level Chilling Field was double that of Water Binding. It would not be easy to upgrade it to Tier 4. However, Shi Feng did not pay too much attention to that right now. Immediately, he upgraded Chilling Field to Tier 1, Level 2. Any further, and his level would fall from Level 44 to Level 43, losing him the effect of the Free Attribute Points he had gained and allocated when he reached Level 44. When a player''s level decreased in God''s Domain, they would not lose the Free Attribute Points they had gained and allocated from leveling up. Instead, the points would be temporarily inactive. Only after said player recovered the level would the points become effective again. They would not gain new Free Attribute Points when they reached the level for a second time. After upgrading Chilling Field to Tier 1, Level 2, the Skill''s Attributes underwent an earth-shattering change. [Chilling Field] Tier 1, Level 2 (Requires 400,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 1, Level 3) Coverage radius of 50 yards. When activated, user may wield the power of frost within range to attack and defend. Attacks and defenses will contain 90% of user''s Strength. Can attack up to 6 targets simultaneously. Main target will receive 260% damage, while other targets will receive 150% damage. All enemies within Chilling Field''s range will suffer a 15% Attribute decrease, a 30% Movement Speed decrease, and 20% increased Stamina consumption. When using this Skill, user cannot move from their position. Moving instantly cancels Chilling Field. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour, 30 minutes As expected of a Domain Skill. With this Skill alone, no player of the same Tier and Level will be my match in a one-on-one. Shi Feng was speechless after reading the Skill''s description. Only now did Shi Feng understand why players who had learned Domain Skills in the past were practically peerless among the same Tier. Players of the same Tier without their own Domain Skill had no way of coping with such a Skill. One would only have a chance of winning if they had an overwhelming advantage in terms of Attributes. If one could upgrade a Domain Skill to Tier 4, even escape would be difficult. Shi Feng had experienced this himself. After all, Domain Skills would no longer restrict the player''s movements after reaching Tier 4. After Shi Feng learned the Domain Skill, he instructed the team to rest for a few hours. In any case, the Trial of God didn''t have a time limit. He could also use this opportunity to recover from the Weakened state he had earned from activating Twofold Berserk. After the team recovered and had prepared to challenge the next stage, they approached a massive teleportation array in front of the stone altar. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a system notification. System: You have completed the first stage. Do you wish to leave the Trial of God? If you leave, you will be teleported out of the trial and will not incur any punishment. If you continue, you will be teleported to the second stage''s individual challenge. 1007 Lively White River City Chapter 1007 - Lively White River City Hearing the system notification, everyone was stunned. "What''s going on?" "Isn''t this the Trial of God?" "Didn''t the information say that we won''t be able to leave without clearing all of the stages?" They had found a lot of information on the Trial of God on the official forums. Until now, every person that had challenged the Trial of God had only had two options to leave the trial. Either they gave up, or they cleared it. This sudden development made everyone wonder if this were a trap set by the system. They could not help but hesitate in making a decision. "Big Brother Ye Feng, do you think this is a trick?" Blue Bamboo asked Shi Feng instinctively. In her opinion, there was nothing in God''s Domain that Shi Feng did not know about. Thoughtful Rain also turned to Shi Feng. Generally speaking, the game didn''t use system notifications to set up a trap for players. However, for reasons unknown, she felt as if only Shi Feng''s answer would assure her of this. Seeing Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo''s hopeful gazes, Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he said, "God''s Domain''s system notifications will not lie to players. We were also transferred into the Trial of God forcefully rather than through the normal procedures. This is probably why the system is allowing us to leave halfway through the trial." In reality, when Countess Katie Green had teleported them into the Trial of God, Shi Feng had been shocked. The Trial of God was like an Otherworld. Moreover, the Gods had created this Otherworld. Even Demigods could not transfer players into the trail forcefully, much less an empire''s Countess. Normally, players could only enter the Trial of God through a spatial connection point. Moreover, this spatial connection point was unstable. Not only did it appear randomly, but it would also disappear after a certain amount of time, regardless of whether or not players had entered. Only Gods could transport a player into the Trial of God by force. How could the Countess of a mere empire achieve such a feat? According to Shi Feng''s conjecture, the Countless must''ve used some kind of item. Take the Bible of Darkness for example. The Bible could activate a Gate of Darkness, allowing players to travel to the Dark Den. However, such an item should have some flaws. For example, they could leave the Trial of God after completing one stage. "Commander, do we leave? Or continue?" Autumn Goose asked hesitantly as she looked towards Fallen Wind. The Trial of God''s rewards were abundant. After obtaining the Secret-Silver Mastery Book, Fallen Wind had finally pushed his Shield Mastery to the Basic Master standard, which significantly increased his damage reduction and defense capabilities. If they continued clearing this six-colored trial, they would emerge transformed. At that time, no one within the Dark Night Empire would be able to afford to underestimate the Wind God''s Spear. Even those Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds would have to be cautious when dealing with the adventurer team. "We''re leaving!" Fallen Wind declared. "If not for Brother Ye Feng''s help, we wouldn''t have even cleared the trial''s first stage. We are lucky that it''s giving us the chance to leave." Although the Trial of God awarded more with each cleared stage, the same was also true for the stages'' difficulty. Accurately determining one''s strength was one of the basics of being an expert. Moreover, the system had clearly stated that the next stage would be an individual challenge. They would not find any more loopholes to exploit and would have to rely on their own strength. If he had to guess who on his team could clear the second stage, he was sure that only Shi Feng was capable of doing so. Everyone else, including himself, had no hope of clearing the trial. Why should they risk suffering the system''s severe punishment? The team agreed with Fallen Wind''s proposal. They all felt that greed had gotten the better of them and they had forgotten the reason they had come this far. Turning towards Shi Feng, Fallen Wind asked in a very friendly tone, "Brother Ye Feng, the Wind God''s Spear intends to leave. May I know what you plan to do next?" "Me?" After giving it some thought, Shi Feng said, "I''ll leave as well. Although the Trial of God''s rewards are tempting, I still have many matters that I need to attend to." "Since that is the case, let''s add each other as friends. If not for Brother Ye Feng''s help, we wouldn''t have left this place in one piece. If you need any help in the future, please don''t hesitate to ask. I will give my all to assist you," Fallen Wind said. He then sent Shi Feng a friend request, hoping that he could become close friends with this Swordsman. It was also thanks to Shi Feng''s display that he had finally entered the Flowing Water Realm, which he had struggled to reach for many years. Among the many Guild experts he had met, none had truly earned his admiration. Shi Feng was the first expert he looked up to. He didn''t even feel this way about One Sword of the Eight Sword Heroes. Shi Feng instantly accepted Fallen Wind''s friend request. In the past, the Wind God''s Spear had been an apex adventurer team in God''s Domain. Although its fame was not as widespread as adventurer teams like the Midnight Tea Party and Owl, which even Super Guilds feared, they were still one of the few apex adventurer teams in the game. Gaining an ally like the Wind God''s Spear would definitely help Zero Wing''s development in the future. If those Super Guilds found out that Zero Wing had formed a deep relationship with two of God''s Domain''s future apex adventurer teams, they would most likely try to annihilate Zero Wing at all costs. Although the fact that Shi Feng possessed a City Building Order in his hands was already enough of a reason for Super Guilds to target his Guild. Following which, with Shi Feng taking the lead, everyone teleported out of the Trial of God. He then returned to White River City with Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. After seeing Shi Feng''s group off, Fallen Wind glanced at his team members, addressing them seriously, "You witness today''s situation for yourselves. Following this, Wind God''s Spear must work even harder. None of us can afford to be cocky anymore. God''s Domain is a far more amazing game than we assumed. Nobody knows just how many hidden experts are here." Although the Wind God''s Spear fared relatively well in the Dark Night Empire, in the end, the Dark Night Empire was only one of many empires in God''s Domain. It was truly laughable that they took pride in their current achievements. The adventuring players nodded in response to Fallen Wind''s words. Setting Shi Feng aside, they could already see how powerful Zero Wing was as a Guild based on Thoughtful Rain''s strength. Moreover, Zero Wing''s core members had the opportunity to learn advanced combat techniques. This was not something their Wind God''s Spear could hope to compete with. Before this, they had all been proud of their ability to pick fights with large Guilds Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Ever since Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had declared war on Zero Wing, the atmosphere in White River City had become somewhat tense. Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s members roamed the city. There were also plenty of players hidden under Black Cloaks. These people had a predator''s gaze when they looked at Zero Wing''s members. If not for the severe consequences of attacking another player within the city, there was no doubt that these people would''ve already made their move. Zero Wing''s Guild Residence: "These Red Players are getting increasingly brazen! They are bold enough to eye Zero Wing''s members openly on the streets!" "What can we do? I don''t know what Blackwater did, but it has persuaded many Dark Guilds to join hands against Zero Wing. Not only do we have to be wary of ambushes from Blackwater''s teams, but our elite parties also have to look out for sneak attacks from Red Players." "Those bastards only know how to use cowardly tactics! Once they see us rush at them, they scatter and flee. If I get my hands on them, I''ll give them a good beating!" A few core members in Zero Wing''s Residence angrily discussed the situation. 1008 Different Playstyle Chapter 1008 - Different Playstyle After leaving the Trial of God, Shi Feng returned to Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to pay Countess Katie Green another visit. However, after recalling what the Countess was capable of, he decided against it. He did not have the time or energy to risk getting sent into the Trial of God once more. In any case, if the Countess didn''t expect his return, she wouldn''t have a reason to flee. Moreover, both Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had declared war on Zero Wing. He needed to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Upon returning to the Guild Residence, however, Shi Feng was greeted by a depressing atmosphere. The Residence''s main hall was far less lively than it had been. There were also fewer players around the Quest Boards. The former vigorous atmosphere that surrounded the Guild Residence was gone. It was hard to imagine that Zero Wing had fallen so far in just a few short days. One could see how powerful the Blackwater Corporation''s foundations were. Fortunately, White River City was Zero Wing''s territory. There were a large number of the Guild''s members here. It was not easy for Blackwater to deal with Zero Wing in the field. After all, Blackwater needed a lot of manpower to develop the many cities under its rule. The most it could afford was to send the Guild''s top experts. In a war, both sides needed to spend plenty of Coins on rewards and remunerations. A Guild''s top experts were strong, so their chances of dying were much lower. They were also more capable of killing more enemy players. This was one of the most common methods employed in wars among Guilds. In the end, each Guild''s resources would determine the outcome. Whoever lasted longer would be the winner. In the past, this method had destroyed many small Guilds. Large Guilds had more resources and funding. They also had more experts. Small Guilds could not afford such a taxing war. "The Blackwater Corporation really is impressive. In just a few days, they have won over so many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Dark Guilds." Shi Feng could not help but frown as he overheard various conversations as players loitered in the main hall. "It seems that I can''t let the Dark Gods Legion continue its expedition in the Undead Gorge." "Are those Dark Guilds very strong?" Thoughtful Rain asked curiously. The Dark Gods Legion was Zero Wing''s strongest legion. If he recalled the Dark Gods Legion, it would impact the legion''s development. Wars between Guilds generally lasted a very long time. Having the Dark Gods Legion waste its time on skirmishes around White River City wasn''t a good idea. "Mhm, they''re very strong. Unlike regular Guilds, Dark Guilds have an abundance of battle maniacs who love PvP and plundering weapons and equipment from other players. They are very familiar with field battles. Moreover, the Skills they learn, the weapons and equipment they wear, and the techniques they possess all focus on PvP. Most importantly, the conditions to join a Dark Guild are far stricter than regular Guilds. "To join a regular Guild, you only need to pass the Guild''s test. However, Dark Guilds are different. Not only do you need to pass the Guild''s test, but you also need to complete the system''s test." "The system''s test?" Thoughtful Rain was even more confused now. This was her first time hearing about such a thing. "The system''s test to join a Dark Guild isn''t exactly difficult. You are only required to kill 10 players who are no more than three Levels lower than you. However, remaining in a Dark Guild is far more difficult. The system will periodically task you with killing a certain number of players and NPCs; by doing so, you will gain a large amount of EXP and various weapons, equipment, and tools. If you fail, however, you will be expelled from the Dark Guild. Because of that, players who remain in the Dark Guilds are incredibly strong. In addition, unlike regular players, Dark Guilds'' members are very discreet. They are not easy to deal with. This is also why regular Guilds usually avoid provoking them," Shi Feng explained slowly. In the past, many Guilds had been forced to disband because they had provoked powerful Dark Guilds. Unlike regular players, Dark Guild players did not kill monsters to earn EXP, weapons, equipment, money, and other necessities. Instead, they earned EXP from the players they killed. They also earned Kill Points, which could be traded for weapons, equipment, various tools of slaughter, money, and such. Dark Guilds could easily afford prolonged wars between Guilds it was just another day at the office. This was how these Guilds continued to exist in God''s Domain, despite so few Dark Guilds in the game and so few members. Following which, Shi Feng notified Aqua Rose and called for a war meeting. As soon as Shi Feng announced for the meeting, every Zero Wing member burst with excitement. "Yes! Our Guild''s upper echelons are finally going to make a move!" "I wonder what the Guild plans to do this time?" "I''ve been waiting for this moment for so long. It would be awesome if the Guild Leader leads us into a decisive battle." "It won''t be easy to find a battle like that. Haven''t you seen that the other party has no intentions of starting a head-on fight? They''re trying to whittle us down, bit by bit. Moreover, thanks to those Dark Guilds, it is becoming more difficult to start a team battle in the fields. Zero Wing''s members expressed their opinions as they discussed Shi Feng''s call for action. Some were hopeful, while others worried. In a Level 40 desert map near Star-Moon City, large groups of Level 20-plus players engaged in battle. Every one of these players wore the Blackwater Emblem. Surrounding these Level 20-plus players was over a hundred Level 35-plus players. Currently, roughly thirty Level 35-plus MTs stood side-to-side, blocking an advance of Demonic Ants and Great Demonic Ants. At the rear, groups of Elementalists, Cursemancers, and Summoners launched AOE attacks at the monsters. The scene was spectacular. [Demonic Ant] (Common) Level 45 HP 50,000/50,000 [Giant Demonic Ant] (Special Elite) Level 46 HP 550,000/550,000 One Demonic Ant was not much of a threat. However, Demonic Ants never acted independently. They generally swarmed with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of their companions. Moreover, Demonic Ants didn''t offer much loot, and the EXP they gave was average at best. Ordinary teams usually avoided them rather than wasting their time. However, Demonic Ants were one of the best monsters to grind for levels. "The leveling speed here is not bad. Continue luring monsters. The more, the merrier," Abandoned Wave commanded as he sat leisurely behind the wall of players, enjoying a glass of wine as he watched his experience bar rapidly rise. A short moment later, the Level 20-plus players behind him leveled up again. Their leveling speed was so fast that it could render elite players speechless. Suddenly, an indifferent man in a Black Cloak, with most of his face covered in black bandages, appeared beside Abandoned Wave. The few Level 40 experts guarding Abandoned Wave instantly tensed. Glancing at the indifferent man, Abandoned Wave raised his hand and said, "No need to panic. He''s one of ours." Hearing this, the Level 40 experts relaxed slightly. However, fear filled their gazes as they looked at the indifferent player. After all, none of them had sensed the man before he revealed himself. If he had come here with ill intent, the consequences would''ve been unimaginable. "Why are you here?" Abandoned Wave asked the bandaged man curiously. "My side''s preparations are almost complete. I''m here just to give you these items. When the time comes, your men won''t need to worry about friendly fire." 1009 Moon Gods Robes Chapter 1009 - Moon God''s Robes A large group of independent players had gathered before Heaven''s Burial''s majestic Guild Residence in Star-Moon City, every one quietly waiting to take the Guild''s entrance exam. In the past, such a situation would have been unthinkable for Heaven''s Burial. Now, however, this had become a regular scene, and the city''s inhabitants were used to it. Suddenly, these waiting players heard loud neighing. Everyone turned towards the sound. "Wow, so many mounts!" "Are those Common Mounts?" "Those are warhorses. I heard that warhorses are Bronze rank at the very minimum. Heaven''s Burial is so amazing! It has so many warhorses!" "I have to join Heaven''s Burial no matter what! If I get a Bronze Mount, all of the time I''ve invested into God''s Domain will worth it!" In the next moment, over a dozen players atop various kinds of warhorses entered Heaven''s Burial''s Residence, arousing the crowd''s envy. Particularly, the sight of the valiant, heroic beauty leading the group etched itself into everyone''s minds. Not only was this beauty fully geared with top-tier equipment, but her white warhorse also wore a set of silver armor. She looked like a war goddess as she rode into the Residence. All throughout Star-Moon City knew this goddess''s name. The Ice Witch, Daybreak Fog! Daybreak Fog had earned this title by defeating one of the Star Alliance''s 100-man elite teams in front of a Dungeon by herself. The Star Alliance had sent many experts to deal with her, including Red Feather, a player on the God''s Domain''s Experts List. In the end, however, Daybreak Fog had defeated all of these experts single-handedly, even Red Feather. While she killed the Star Alliance''s members, she had displayed her exceptional technique with ice-type Spells. She had transformed the Dungeon''s entrance into a winter wonderland with an ice-type, large-scale destruction Spell. After she used the Spell, not one player, aside from herself, had lived to see that snowy world. As a result, some players had started calling her the Ice Witch. Over time, as the tale of that battle had been retold, all of Star-Moon City''s players had begun to refer to her as the Ice Witch. "She''s too beautiful! If I get into Heaven''s Burial, I want to work under my goddess!" "Keep dreaming. Lady Fog is the commander of Heaven''s Burial''s Ice Fog Legion! Only the elites among elites are allowed to join that legion! It''s not even certain that you''ll be accepted into the Guild with your standards, much less joining the legion!" Among the many independent players crowded before the Residence, many only sought to join Heaven''s Burial because they had been captivated by Daybreak Fog''s charm. Otherwise, they would''ve joined Blackwater instead. After all, Blackwater''s Guild was backed by the famous Blackwater Corporation. Upon entering Heaven''s Burial''s meeting room, Daybreak Fog directed her gaze towards Singular Burial, who sat in the Guild Leader''s seat, and asked curiously, "Guild Leader, why have you recalled us so suddenly?" Many of the Guild''s upper echelons were also present in the meeting room. Aside from the several Lifestyle class masters, these members were mostly Level 40. If an ordinary player were here, they would tremble with fear. Among the Level 40 experts present, every one was considered a top-tier in Star-Moon Kingdom. Even the Guild Leaders of other large Guilds had to treat them with respect. "Take a seat. I''ll explain soon," Singular Burial said as he pointed towards the Vice Guild Leader''s seat. Hearing Singular Burial''s words, Daybreak Fog''s confusion grew. Practically every upper echelon was here; only a few preoccupied members were missing. Yet, Singular Burial''s comment seemed to suggest that they were waiting for someone. What''s going on? When Daybreak Fog reached her seat, she noticed an additional, empty seat beside Singular Burial. This seat had been placed parallel to the Guild Leader''s seat Daybreak Fog wasn''t the only person who wondered. The rest of the upper echelons were also curious. In Heaven''s Burial, Singular Burial was their one and only leader. He had single-handedly supported the entire Guild. No one sat as his equal. That hadn''t even changed when Blackwater''s Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave, had visited. After waiting for a little over ten minutes, the meeting room''s heavy doors swung open. "Who is she?" Everyone turned towards the doors, discovering a peerless beauty. The dazzling young woman wore a set of luxurious purple robes that reached the ground, vividly highlighting her graceful curves. The girl had silky black hair that reached her willowy waist. Every step she took felt as if she were stepping on their aspirations, inadvertently driving their gazes to the floor. How does such a person exist in this world? Daybreak Fog''s eyes widened in shock. She had never dreamed of this world having such a beautiful girl. Even Daybreak Fog acknowledged that she was no match for the girl''s beauty, and she could not help herself from being captivated. The instant this young woman appeared, she had become the center of attention "Is she wearing the Moon God''s Robes?" the Cleric Flame Blood commented, shocked, when he saw the young woman''s luxurious, purple robes. When everyone else heard the comment, they were also shocked. Ordinary players might not know what the Moon God''s Robes were, but the equipment was relatively famous in Blackwing City''s High-class Auction House. As Epic ranked mage robes, the starting bid was already a whopping 4,000 Gold. Its price could already rival that of an Epic Weapon. In the end, however, a mysterious player had purchased it for 7,600 Gold. Many players had ridiculed this mysterious player. After all, this player had spent so much money to compete with the NPC nobles over a single piece of Epic Equipment. Had that person spent a little more money, they could have afforded a major city''s Golden Land. It would have been easy to earn back the cost then. They had never dreamed that such a peerless beauty had been the mysterious player who purchased the Moon God''s Robes. These Guild members instantly activated their Identification Skills, hoping to discover this beauty''s identity. However, even after using advanced Identification Skills, they had failed to learn anything. "Sorry for the delay. I had some matters to deal with," the young woman apologized after taking her seat. "Alright, since everyone is here, let me introduce you. This is the Blackwater Corporation''s representative, Miss Ling Jingxuan. She has come here to discuss the raid on Stone Forest Town," Singular Burial said, respect filling his voice as he introduced Ling Jingxuan. Although the introduction had been simple, everyone was shocked. Singular Burial''s respect for Ling Jingxuan was one thing, but they had not expected that their discussion would involve raiding Stone Forest Town 1010 High-profile War Declaration Chapter 1010 - High-profile War Declaration "Guild Leader, are you really planning to do this?" Flame Blood asked, slightly confused. There were no NPC towns close to Stone Forest Town. If they attempted to raid Stone Forest Town, they wouldn''t be able to dispatch reinforcements quickly. On the other hand, Zero Wing''s members could utilize the Guild Transfer Scroll to reach the town in an instant. Even when they died, they would revive inside the town. To put it simply, this town was easily defensible. Although Stone Forest Town''s protection period was over, players could hire NPC guards. Although the levels of the enlisted NPCs would not be as high as the Level 150 NPC guards hired during the protection period, recruited NPCs were still 10 to 15 Levels higher than current players. With Stone Forest Town being one of Zero Wing''s primary revenue sources, after its protection period had ended, Zero Wing had hired 500 Level 50 and above Tier 1 NPC guards to defend it. In addition, many of Zero Wing''s members were garrisoned in the town. Zero Wing had also constructed Basic Mana Pulse Cannons, which the Guild had used in its war against the Star Alliance, around the town. In the last war, Zero Wing had introduced everyone to the weapon''s attack range and destructive power. Hence, raiding Stone Forest Town would not be easy. It was likely that they would have to sacrifice a significant number of players to take the town. The other Heaven''s Burial members also turned to Singular Burial, wearing confused expressions. While they had considered raiding Stone Forest Town before, it was too early for that. God''s Domain was only starting to transition into the era of Mounts. They should wait a little longer. "I understand your concerns. However, I have already considered this problem. Since we are going to make a move, I am confident in our success." Singular Burial chuckled. "However, I would like to invite Miss Ling to elaborate on this point." Everyone shifted their gaze towards Ling Jingxuan, questioning looks filling their eyes. "I''ve received news that Zero Wing has recently contacted several major companies to gain financial support. In addition, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has begun to move against Zero Wing and is dealing with Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in Lake Heart City. In response, Zero Wing has dispatched quite a number of their members to the Black Dragon Empire. Hence, the Guild''s member population in Stone Forest Town has decreased significantly. "However, most importantly, Zero Wing has begun to show signs of activity in White River City. They have even recalled their Guild''s strongest Dark Gods Legion. As long as Zero Wing is focused on hunting down Dark Guild members, the latter will think of a way to pin down Zero Wing''s main forces for as long as possible. After that, both Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial can take the opportunity to attack Stone Forest Town." Ling Jingxuan''s explanation had caught these upper echelons'' interest. If Zero Wing pitted everything it had to defend Stone Forest Town, they would never be able to capture the town. However, now that Zero Wing''s members were scattered, it would be a piece of cake to take Stone Forest Town with the strength of both Guilds. "I have a question!" Daybreak Fog suddenly declared. "If Zero Wing''s members use their Guild Transfer Scrolls, they can easily gather in Stone Forest Town. Regardless of how fast we assemble our forces, we''re not faster than Zero Wing. As if she had expected this question, Ling Jingxuan took out over a dozen old, tattered scrolls, displaying them on the table. "Those are" Curiously, everyone examined the scrolls introduction. Immediately, everyone''s jaws dropped; none of them could believe their eyes. A sealing magic array! This magic array would seal off an area for a certain amount of time, preventing the players from teleporting out of or into the area. This was a godly tool for raiding towns and cities! If Zero Wing could not teleport players into Stone Forest Town, with the small number of players garrisoned in the town, they could successfully raid it. As long as they took Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing would lose its main source of income. Meanwhile, their two Guilds, who captured Stone Forest Town, would enjoy the town''s massive profits. With this shift in power, it would only be a matter of time before Zero Wing was annihilated. "I''ll leave the sealing magic array in your hands. I hope that you can construct it quickly. If there''s nothing else to discuss, I''ll be taking my leave." After Ling Jingxuan said so, she left the meeting room under everyone''s watchful gazes. "Fog, you and everyone else here, get ready. I''ve already arranged for the Advanced Lifestyle players that will be required to construct the sealing magic array. You will protect them until they have finished their work. Do not let anyone disrupt them!" Singular Burial commanded sternly. "Guild Leader, leave it to us!" everyone excitedly replied. The sealing magic array was powerful. However, it possessed major flaws. Players needed to construct the magic array''s cores in various locations of a map. Moreover, the magic array cores would disturb the surrounding Mana, which would, in turn, cause nearby monsters to gather and attack the cores. Hence, players were needed to defend the cores. This was why Singular Burial had called Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons back. To seal a map as large as Stone Forest Town''s, they needed to construct at least 14 magic array cores. In other words, they needed to defend 14 separate locations. If they mobilized too many players at once, it would attract Zero Wing''s attention. Hence, dispatching experts to defend these locations was the best option. When the time came, they simply needed to replace these experts with a large number of elite players. Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City, after Shi Feng recalled the Dark Gods Legion, he had Fire Dance rally the Guild''s experts and elites, officially announcing their crusade against the Dark Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom that targeted their Guild! Every player in Star-Moon Kingdom noticed this sudden announcement. In a few short minutes, Shi Feng''s post rose to the very top of Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. "This is insane! Zero Wing has gone insane!" "Zero Wing is awesome! It has openly declared a crusade against Star-Moon Kingdom''s Dark Guilds! With their temper, these Dark Guilds won''t let this rest!" "All hail Zero Wing!" Zero Wing''s latest declaration dazzled God''s Domain''s ordinary players. Not only was Zero Wing at war with two of the kingdom''s giants, but it had also declared war on the Dark Guilds, which most players tried to avoid. Only a lunatic would make a move like this. The various Guilds were even more shocked by Zero Wing''s declaration of war. Ordinary players might not realize the truth about Dark Guilds, but they were perfectly aware. Although Dark Guilds had very few members, these people were extremely obstinate. Dealing with large Guilds like theirs was just another day at work for these people. Moreover, even if these players died, their Dark Guilds wouldn''t compensate them for any losses. They would only have themselves to blame for not being strong enough. Speaking of the survivability of Dark Guild players, they were much stronger than regular Guild members. Most importantly, unlike regular Guilds, Dark Guilds did not possess a permanent base of operations such as a Guild Residence. Instead, they operated like independent players. A simple bar was enough of a base for them. They could easily move between towns controlled by the forces of darkness. Hence, it was very difficult to launch a concentrated attack against Dark Guilds. Regarding sustainability, regular Guilds were even less of a match for their Dark cousins. Dark Guilds players could level up by killing other players. This was not an option for regular Guild players. If an extended war occurred between a regular Guild and a Dark Guild, the latter would only exhaust their enemy to death. Hence, regular Guilds generally overlooked Dark Guilds as none of them wanted an unnecessary confrontation. Logically, Zero Wing should have been more focused on dealing with Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial after it realized that its enemies had hired Dark Guilds to take action. After all, Dark Guilds were merely hired guns. It was easy enough to hold them at by. Once their employers were gone, they would go back to their normal lifestyle. Yet, not only had Zero Wing ignored Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial, but it had also provoked the various Dark Guilds deliberately. Zero Wing''s priorities were clearly skewed. 1011 High Alert Mode Chapter 1011 - High Alert Mode "A measly Guild like Zero Wing dares provoke all of our Dark Guilds? They must be tired of living." "If we don''t annihilate Zero Wing, the other Guilds will start to think that we''re weak." "I had only planned to humor the Blackwater Corporation. However, now it''s personal!" "Our Dark Guilds will not rest until Zero Wing''s name has been erased from Star-Moon Kingdom!" Shortly after Zero Wing announced its crusade, the various Dark Guild''s upper echelons issued their response. Originally, there hadn''t been many Dark Guild players in White River City. However, after Zero Wing''s declaration, cloaked players began to flood into the city. Moreover, Zero Wing''s members experienced more ambushes in the fields around White River City. "Guild Leader, now that the members from the various Dark Guilds have gathered, our Guild''s parties can''t leave the city. Only larger teams have any sense of safety in the fields. Some of those Dark Guilds have even begun to boldly stalk our Guild Residence''s entrance, trailing anyone who leaves and finding an opportunity to ambush them," Aqua Rose reported, frowning. She didn''t understand what Shi Feng was trying to do. They could deal with a single Dark Guild. Now, however, members from over a dozen Dark Guilds had gathered in White River City. The city was practically a hub for Red Names now, yet Zero Wing couldn''t do anything about it. As long as these Red Players wore cloaks and disguised themselves with various items, they could easily trick the NPC guards. Even if they were discovered, as long as they escaped to the fields, they would vanish without a trace. Although she had dispatched Zero Wing''s core members to kill some of these Dark Guild players, they barely made a scratch. If they continued this war of attrition, these Dark Guilds would wear Zero Wing down. Furthermore, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial were watching their Guild closely. "They''ve gathered in White River City?" Nodding, Shi Feng smiled and said, "We should celebrate. With this, we won''t have to waste time looking for them." Aqua Rose was confused. Despite the increasing number of enemies, Shi Feng thought this was a good thing. However, Shi Feng did not bother to explain. He simply led Aqua Rose and Fire Dance to the Adventurer''s Association. In the end, Dark Guilds were still Dark Guilds. They were no different than street rats that were forced to hide in dark corners. Now that they were acting so bold inside an NPC city, they had to pay the price. "Hello, sir; how may I be of service to you today?" the blond NPC beauty behind the counter asked as she watched Shi Feng''s group approach. "Hello, I wish to purchase a Blood Aura Crystal. Also, I want to activate White River City''s High Alert Mode," Shi Feng said. Neither Aqua Rose or Fire Dance had any idea of what was going on. They had never heard of the Blood Aura Crystal or the so-called High Alert Mode. "Sir, you''ll need to be at least a two-star adventurer to purchase the Blood Aura Crystal. As for activating White River City''s High Alert Mode, you need to be a three-star adventurer to apply for that," the NPC beauty explained. "Will this identity be enough?" Shi Feng chuckled as he switched to the Spirit Slayer title. The Spirit Slayer title was an Advanced Title that allowed him to enjoy four-star benefits in the Adventurer''s Association. His status was equivalent to that of a Vice Branch Association Master. "So, it is Lord Spirit Slayer. Here is the Blood Aura Crystal. As you are a four-star adventurer, you will receive a 30% discount. You may purchase the Blood Aura Crystal for 700 Gold. As for applying for the city''s High Alert Mode, you must pay a 1,400-Gold application fee." Upon seeing Shi Feng''s title, the NPC beauty adopted a more respectful tone and posture as she spoke with Shi Feng. "Alright," Shi Feng said. He then handed 2,100 Gold to the NPC. Both the Blood Aura Crystal and the city''s High Alert Mode were Red Players nemeses. This was why players from the various Dark Guilds avoided NPC cities. The Blood Aura Crystal could detect players'' Blood Aura within a certain range. Only players who had killed other players or lawful NPCs had a Blood Aura. It was similar to PvP players'' Red Names. It also took a long time for a player to get rid of their Blood Aura. In the past, the Blood Aura Crystal had been commonly used to target Dark Guilds. Only, current players had not discovered this yet. The Blood Aura Crystal was also very expensive, and only two-star adventurers could purchase and use it. As for the High Alert Mode, to put it simply, it would prevent all players within White River City from equipping Black Cloaks to hide their identities. The patrolling NPCs would also wield an Advanced Detection Stone that would pick up on Dark Creatures'' auras and Red Players'' Blood Auras. At the same time, players within the city would not be able to use teleportation items. With this mode, there were only two ways to leave the city: the Teleportation Hall and the city''s entrance. However, high-tiered NPCs guarded both locations. Without the Black Cloak to hide their identities, Red Players had no escape. "Lord Spirit Slayer, your application has been approved. High Alert Mode will last for three natural days. You will have to wait another week before you can reapply for this mode," the NPC beauty respectfully informed Shi Feng. After the NPC finished speaking, a system announcement rang throughout White River City. White River City System Announcement: The city has temporarily entered High Alert Mode. All teleportation tools will no longer function within the city. The system announcement repeated three times, dazing White River City''s players. "What''s this High Alert Mode?" "Did somebody trigger a special quest?" As the city''s players wondered about the system announcement, every player wearing a Black Cloak was revealed. "What''s going on?!" "Why isn''t my Black Cloak working?!" The Dark Guild players camping outside Zero Wing''s Residence panicked at this sudden development. Without their Black Cloaks'' Hide effect, the high-tiered NPCs would easily see through their disguises. As Red Players, they were as good as dead if they were caught inside an NPC city! "Guards are coming!" "Don''t worry. They''re only patrol guards, not high-tiered NPCs. We just need to be careful. Once this High Alert Mode ends, we can leave the city safely." "You''re right. Only advanced Identification Skills can see through our disguises." Just as these Red Players started to relax, the patrol guards over 200 yards away charged towards them. Without hesitation, the NPC guards began to slaughter these Dark Guild players. For a time, battles broke out across White River City, shocking the city''s ordinary players. After a few minutes, all Dark Guild members within White River City were dead. Not one had survived the NPC guards'' onslaught. However, this was not the worst part. It was common knowledge that, in White River City, the punishment for attacking another player was quite severe. If the city''s NPCs caught these Dark Guild members, who had killed countless players, these players only real option was to delete their accounts and start all over 1012 Profitable Investmen Chapter 1012 - Profitable Investment "Hahaha! Now that Zero Wing has provoked so many Dark Guilds, I can''t wait to see how the Guild gets out of this! Even I am starting to pity Zero Wing. Gentle Snow can''t get her priorities straight, either, refusing to join Underworld. I wonder how much she''s regretting that decision." "Young Master Feng, should we head to White River City and take care of Zero Wing''s members, too?" "That''s a nice idea. Now that so many Guilds are targeting Zero Wing, we can disguise ourselves and use this opportunity to rake in some profit. If we can get rid of ten or so Zero Wing core members, we can upgrade everyone''s equipment. If we''re lucky, we might even get a cut of White River City. My position in the organization will rise again, and I won''t have to listen to that damnable woman anymore." Currently, Feng Xuanyang led a team to grind Level 42 Mine Gnomes, using them to power level to Level 40. However, as his team lacked good equipment, they couldn''t afford to venture too far into the mine. If they could upgrade their equipment, they could increase their grinding speed. However, when Feng Xuanyang thought about how he had been forced to lead this team personally, he was indescribably frustrated. He had been one of Underworld''s middle managers. Now, however, he had been reduced to leading a team to grind monsters. This was all due to Underworld''s upper echelons sudden focus on Youlan. They had even transferred Maple City''s management, as well as five other major cities, to Youlan. This was a nightmare. Just you wait. When Zero Wing falls, I''ll poach Zero Wing''s top players and regain possession of Overwhelming Smile! Feng Xuanyang inwardly chuckled. Zero Wing''s elite members and experts were extraordinarily strong. If Zero Wing were defeated, these people would refuse to join Guilds like Blackwater or Heaven''s Burial. At that time, he simply needed to offer an appropriate price to recruit them. After making these people his own, Underworld''s upper echelons would have no choice but to focus on him. When Feng Xuanyang and his team reached White River City, they were astounded by what they saw. The NPC guards were slaughtering numerous players inside the Teleportation Hall. In the face of the Level 180 guards, Level 40 expert players were infants. The NPCs only needed one hit to defeat each player. One cloaked player, who had just teleported into the city, died before he had even realized what had happened. What''s going on here? Chills ran down Feng Xuanyang''s spine as he looked down at the Dark Guild player corpse beside him. Feng Xuanyang wasn''t the only player who wondered what was happening. Many other Guilds that had teleported to White River City to take advantage of Zero Wing''s predicament were stupefied. Inside the spacious Teleportation Hall, several hundred disguised Red Players had died. The scent of blood lingered in the air. White River City had become a forbidden ground for Red Players. Previously, everyone had thought that these Dark Guild players were too arrogant in the city. Now, however, they pitied these players. Any Red Players the NPC guards killed would be jailed in White River City''s Confinement Room to await their punishment after they resurrected. With the Crime Values these Dark Guild members possessed, it would be a miracle if they were not locked up for over a month Rescuing these players from White River City''s Confinement Room was nothing more than a dream. Level 200, Tier 3 NPCs guarded that room, and they would instantly kill any and all players that didn''t belong. However, if these players weren''t rescued, mainstream players would have long since surpassed these players levels and equipment by the time their prison sentence was over. It would be very difficult to catch up. At the very least, they would need to spend several months grinding endlessly. As for deleting their accounts and starting all over again, although they could level up quickly if high-level players power-leveled them, they would never catch up to mainstream players in a month without some leveling secret. Of course, regaining their levels was one issue, but what about their Reputation? What about their weapons and equipment? What about the wealth they had accumulated? "Young Master Feng, are we still going to take on Zero Wing''s members?" South Wolf, who was currently Level 38, asked hesitantly. Zero Wing was definitely involved in White River City''s sudden development, and anyone that said otherwise was lying. If Zero Wing was already capable of this, who knew what else the Guild could do? "Let''s investigate the situation first." Feng Xuanyang felt somewhat unsteady at this moment. He could not forget the Level 40 expert who had teleported in beside him dying after a single strike. Elsewhere, the various Dark Guilds'' upper echelons were dumbfounded when they heard the news of this sudden development. "Can someone tell me what is going on?!" "Why are White River City''s NPCs slaughtering our members like madmen?!" This was the first time these Dark Guilds had encountered a situation like this. The NPC city that they had been able to move through freely was now a forbidden land. Over half of the members they had dispatched to White River City were dead. Only a small minority were still active in the fields near White River City. This was an unprecedented blow to their Dark Guilds. The death of their members was nothing to them. However, if their members were confined for over a month, this would severely wound their Guilds. "Damn it! Zero Wing set us up!" "Contact the other Dark Guilds immediately! From now on, we cannot let anyone from Zero Wing survive! If they show themselves, kill them all!" Star-Moon Kingdom''s various Dark Guilds swore to fight Zero Wing until the bitter end. "What did you say?! Over half of the Dark Guild members have been locked up in White River City''s Confinement Room?! How is that possible?! Didn''t they have their disguise tools?!" Abandoned Wave''s expression froze when he received the news. He could not bring himself to believe it. While Dark Guilds were not strong in a head-on battle, their survivability and ambushing capabilities in the fields were top-notch. This was precisely the reason that he had paid a massive price for these Dark Guilds to whittle down Zero Wing''s strength. Yet, now, over half of them had been killed and jailed in White River City. With this, it had become far more difficult to deal with Zero Wing''s members. "Guild Leader, what should we do now? Now that over half of the Dark Guild players have been locked up, the threat on Zero Wing has been reduced significantly. Moreover, some of the regular Guilds that intended to strike Zero Wing have decided on the wait-and-see approach," the middle-aged, bald man asked. After some thought, Abandoned Wave commanded, "This development has affected our plans slightly, but no matter. Contact the Dark Guilds immediately. Tell them that we''ll send some of our top players to assist. If they can delay Zero Wing''s top players, we''ll reward them." Heaven''s Burial had already begun to construct the sealing cores around Stone Forest Town. If they could not pin Zero Wing''s core members down in White River City, taking Stone Forest Town would become far more troublesome. "Understood!" After hearing this, the middle-aged man retreated to contact the various Dark Guilds. Meanwhile, inside White River City, Shi Feng was in a very good mood. He had simply spent some money to exterminate the pests in White River City. He had never expected such a huge windfall. After he had activated the city''s High Alert Mode, over 10,000 Red Players had died and were captured. This result earned him yet another Advanced Title. City Protector! 1013 Epic Personal Guard Ques Chapter 1013 - Epic Personal Guard Quest When Shi Feng heard the system notification, he was dazed for a long moment. He had never thought that he could obtain an Advanced Title like this. It was already difficult to obtain a Basic Title, let alone an Advanced Title. Now, just by spending 1,400 Gold, not only had he dealt with the eyesores in the city, but he had also earned himself an Advanced Title. No one would believe this. In the past, many large Guilds had willing spent over 10,000 Gold for an accurate clue that led to an Advanced Title, not to mention the method of obtaining one. City Protector? While Shi Feng was relatively familiar with the Basic Titles throughout God''s Domain, his understanding of Advanced Titles was quite shallow. After all, Advanced Titles were extraordinary. Nobody would casually reveal information about them. [City Protector] (Advanced Title) A hero that has protected the city from the dark forces'' influence. Wielder enjoys the benefits of a major noble in every human city. At the same time, Personal Guards can accept one Epic Quest per week. In addition, Personal Guards receive a 5% increase to quest success rate. As expected of an Advanced Title, it actually allows my Personal Guards to pick up one Epic Quest each week! Shi Feng could not help his surprise. Personal Guards'' development speeds depended on the quests they accepted from the Adventurer''s Association. The higher the quest''s rank was, the better the EXP and items it would award. However, there were not many Personal Guard Quests to choose from in the Adventurer''s Association. Even Dark-Gold Quests only appeared about once a week, much less Epic Quests. One would be extremely lucky if they picked up an Epic Quest once a month. If his Personal Guards could complete an Epic Quest once a week, their improvement speed would be unimaginable. They also had a 5% success rate. Even if he allowed Dark-Gold Guards like Kite and Anna to challenge a Dark-Gold Quest, their success rate was only 50%. If they were very well equipped, their success rate could top out at 80%. As Shi Feng understood it, even extremely well-equipped Dark-Gold Guards only had a 30% chance of completing an Epic Quest. Otherwise, ordinary Dark-Gold Guards only had a 20% chance for success. As for Fine-Gold Guards, even with top-tier equipment, they''d be lucky if they had a 10% success rate. Hence, the City Protector title''s 5% increase to his Guards'' quest success rate was amazing. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately replaced his Spirit Slayer title with the City Protector title. He then summoned Kite and Anna to his side. Both Kite and Anna had leveled up significantly after some time away from Shi Feng. The last time he saw the two NPCs, both were only Level 60. Now, however, both had reached Level 65. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose and Fire Dance, who stood beside Shi Feng, were shocked upon seeing Kite and Anna. "How are they so strong?" Aqua Rose asked curiously. She had long since become a Viscount of White River City and could recruit her own Personal Guard. After mobilizing the Guild''s strength and Shi Feng''s guidance, she had managed to recruit a Fine-Gold Guard. Moreover, this Fine-Gold Guard was a Guardian Knight, which was an excellent match for her class. She had been overjoyed when she found this Personal Guard. After that, she had spared no effort to nurture her Personal Guard, helping the NPC accept all sorts of high-ranking quests. Her Personal Guard had only recently reached Level 60. Who knew how many more quests the NPC had to complete to reach Level 65? However, the NPC was already considered very high-level. After all, the Personal Guards that other Guilds'' upper echelons recruited were usually around Level 55 to 58. In terms of strength, those Personal Guards were nowhere near a match for hers. Yet, right now, not only had both of Shi Feng''s Personal Guards reached Level 65, but the NPCs'' auras felt like that of two Level 65 Great Lords. Aqua Rose felt as if she were suffocating in their presence. After summoning his two Personal Guards, he spent 200 Gold for both of them to accept an Epic Quest together. The Adventurer''s Association''s Epic Personal Guard Quests could be completed by more than one person. Moreover, by forming a party, the Guards'' success rates increased. However, only Personal Guards that belonged to the same player could form a party. Multiple players'' Personal Guards could not form parties together. With both Kite and Anna challenging the Epic Quest, the displayed success rate had increased substantially. Including the benefits from Shi Feng''s title, their current success rate was 37%. That percentage was high enough to excite many players, but Shi Feng was not satisfied. Although a 37% success rate seemed relatively high, Shi Feng knew that Kite and Anna might only succeed one of five attempts, rather than the theoretical one-of-three. However, these NPCs could only accept one Epic Quest each week. In other words, it could take five weeks for Kite and Anna to complete one Epic Quest. To Shi Feng, who started in God''s Domain with nothing and had not had the support of any corporation, this efficiency wasn''t favorable. It seems that I''ll have to use it. Shi Feng opened his bag and looked at the Rainbow Fruit that sat quietly inside. As a Divine Artifact, the Rainbow Fruit could increase a player''s potential, setting a sturdy foundation for challenging their Tier 4 and Tier 5 promotions. The boost might even help with one''s Tier 6 promotion. After all, the four major Hidden Attributes were incredibly important. It was extremely difficult to increase any of those Attributes by one point, not to mention improving all four by 15 points or more. However, using the Rainbow Fruit to nurture a near-invincible Personal Guard was also not a bad idea. In the past, despite Kite''s Growth Potential of 92 points, he had been practically invincible among Tier 5 classes. Only Tier 6 God-ranked players could take him down a notch. If Shi Feng nurtured a Tier 6 Personal Guard, he could stroll through God''s Domain unhindered. However, getting an NPC to Tier 6 was far more difficult than getting a player to Tier 6. It was not a problem that could be solved with money alone. Luck, opportunity, and strength were all necessary to raise a Personal Guard to Tier 6. Kite''s potential is at 94, while Anna''s is at 96. Although Anna is no match for Kite in a head-on fight, it will be safer to let Anna use the fruit. After giving it some thought, Shi Feng decided to let Anna consume the Rainbow Fruit. After Anna ate the fruit, the room''s Mana grew rampant. However, this phenomenon was different from a high-tiered Spell. It felt as if someone were deliberately controlling the surrounding Mana. Right now, various elemental Mana had come together to form a seven-colored mist that rapidly melded with Anna''s body. Soon, the seven-colored mist formed a giant cocoon that enveloped Anna. The mist flashed, again and again, releasing a seven-colored radiance and a frighteningly powerful aura with each burst. Shi Feng paled in the face of this mighty aura, and even moving a finger was difficult. As for Aqua Rose and Fire Dance, they were as stiff as statues. They could not move whatsoever. If not for them being in the VIP hall on the Adventurer''s Association''s second floor with a magic array separating them from the outside world, Shi Feng did not doubt that every player in the Association would have been thrown to the floor. After a minute passed, a crack formed in the seven-colored cocoon. When the cocoon shattered, Anna slowly emerged from within. However, unlike before, Anna seemed to have dominated elemental Mana. The surrounding Mana could not help but submit to her. Was it a success? Shi Feng anxiously examined Anna''s statistics. 1014 Promotion to Epic Guard Chapter 1014 - Promotion to Epic Guard The frightening Mana circulating in the room drove everyone''s gazes to Anna. Despite having the same Level and items, Anna''s aura had undergone an earth-shattering change. "What''s going on? Guild Leader, what did you do?" Aqua Rose''s eyes widened in shock as she looked between Shi Feng and Anna. She had no idea what Shi Feng had done to transform his Personal Guard. Previously, she had felt Anna radiate a powerful pressure. Now, however, she felt nothing from the woman This was not the first time she had experienced such a situation, so she knew full well what had caused the change. The greatest danger was one that you couldn''t sense. To put it simply, Anna''s new strength was outside her range of perception. While Aqua Rose and Fire Dance were shocked, Shi Feng was extremely anxious. The Rainbow Fruit was a Divine Artifact. It was likely that he would never obtain another. If Anna remained a Dark-Gold Guard after consuming the fruit, the loss would be tremendous. Shi Feng took a deep breath before taking a look at Anna''s statistics. [Anna] (Ye Feng''s Personal Guard) Level 65 Loyalty: 95 Growth Potential: 105 Epic rank! She reached Epic rank! Shi Feng was ecstatic. He had never heard of an Epic Guard. As to whether or not Epic Guards had existed in the past, he had no idea. He had merely been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild back then. He had not been privy to many of God''s Domain''s secrets. However, he was certain of one thing. Even among Epic Guards, one would be hard-pressed to find one with a Growth Potential as high as 105 points. In God''s Domain, the importance of an NPC''s Growth Potential grew as they reached higher levels. At higher levels, even an extra point would result in a massive boost to the Guard''s Attributes with each level-up. Hence, even Personal Guards of the same rank and Level could have drastically different Attributes. Take Kite for example. Although his Growth Potential was only two points higher than it had been, after he reached the same Level and Tier that he had been in the past, his strength would surpass his past self by a minimum of 10%. If it came down to a battle, the present Kite could easily suppress and defeat the past Kite within a short time. Moreover, this was only a two-point difference for Dark-Gold rank. There was even less need to mention Epic rank. There had not been any clear standards in the past for Epic Guards. Any NPC whose Growth Potential exceeded 100 points was considered an Epic Guard. Currently, Anna''s Growth Potential exceeded Kite''s by a whopping 11 points. By the time Anna reached Level 70 or 80, he had no doubt that she would defeat Kite even in a melee battle. In terms of combat power, even the current Anna could defeat Kite. As both NPCs continued to level, the gap between them would only grow wider. In the end, even Kite would have to look up to Anna. Amazing! Anna''s promotion to Epic rank has raised the Epic Quest''s success rate to 67%! I doubt even a full party of Dark-Gold Guards could achieve such a percentage. Shi Feng was speechless. With her promotion, Anna had learned many new Skills. She now had three Tier 2 Curses, one more than before. Most importantly, she had learned a Tier 2 Domain Skill. With this Domain Skill, Anna was practically invincible among Tier 2 classes. Unless the other party also possessed a Domain Skill, even two Kites were no match for Anna. Following which, Shi Feng had Kite and Anna set out to complete their Epic Quest. The sooner they completed it, the more they could improve their strength. "Guild Leader, I''ve just received news that Blackwater has dispatched many of their top players. From the looks of it, it seems that they were sent to help those Dark Guilds. Meanwhile, the members of the various Dark Guilds have joined forces. Not only are they targeting parties, but they''ve also begun ambushing 100-man teams," Aqua Rose reported once she received this information. "In addition, Blackwater has opened another Shop in White River City and is selling Cast Steel Armor Kits and Mana Mixtures in large quantities. They''ve even reduced their prices. They''ve already lured a lot of players to their Shop. They''ve also started purchasing rare herbs and ores at high prices from all over Star-Moon Kingdom. It looks like they''re getting serious." "Getting serious, huh?" Shi Feng smiled. "Since they want to play this game, then we''ll get serious as well!" Saying so, Shi Feng purchased 100 Cloaking Scrolls from the Adventurer''s Association. The Cloaking Scrolls were unique to the Adventurer''s Association. Only three-star adventurers could purchase them, and each scroll cost 20 Gold. The Cloaking Scroll were considerably useful to players adventuring in the fields. When used, the scroll provided a Cloaking buff to players within a 20-yard radius, which prevented them from being tracked, searched, and perceived. It also increased these players'' Movement Speeds by 10% for two hours. This was a must-have tool for escaping and pursuing enemies. Unfortunately, only the person who purchased items from the Adventurer''s Association could use them. Two-star adventurers could purchase a scroll similar to the Cloaking Scroll, but the scroll was only effective on themselves. Following which, Shi Feng gathered the Dark Gods Legion''s members and Zero Wing''s main force in the Guild Hall. He then used the Blood Aura Crystal and Cloaking Scroll. Everyone immediately obtained a buff. White River City region, Snowy Forest: The Snowy Forest was a Level 40 to Level 50 high-resource map. Usually, White River City''s various large Guilds came here to level. Now, however, this had become the main battlefield in the war between Zero Wing and the various Dark Guilds. "Godfire, you really are amazing! You actually defeated that Level 39 expert from Zero Wing in three moves!" a Level 39 mighty Berserker in spiked armor gushed with admiration as he gazed at a Level 40 emaciated youth wearing dark-gray mage robes. As their Dark Guilds had agreed to work together, they no longer operated individually or in small parties. They now moved in large teams. After experiencing several battles together, everyone on this team admired this Level 40 Elementalist. "It''s nothing. Zero Wing''s experts are noobs. They couldn''t dodge my Great Fire Dragon technique. If I were fighting our Guild''s experts, they would have easily dodged an attack like that rather than succumbing to my chain attacks," the youth named Purgatory Godfire said, laughing. "Godfire, you''re too humble. I''ve heard that you are the top fifth Elementalist in your Guild. Among the Elementalists in Star-Moon Kingdom, only a handful are as strong as you," another Level 40 masked Assassin said. Others might not realize Godfire''s strength, but he knew. After all, Godfire''s Dark Guild was far from ordinary. The Elementalist was a member of Smiling Angel. It was a top-tier Dark Guild that operated in multiple kingdoms and empires. The Guild was many times stronger than their Dark Guilds, which only operated in Star-Moon Kingdom. While everyone chatted with each other merrily, five streaks of blue light swept past the team. In the blink of an eye, five of the team''s 50 players died, transforming into light particles before vanishing and leaving behind a few pieces of weapons and equipment. "Who?" The Dark Guild players finally reacted. They turned towards the blue lights'' origin. They were all experts, yet they had only noticed the ambush after five of their team members had died. This was unprecedented. "Don''t even think that you can escape with your lives after killing Zero Wing''s members!" 1015 Initial Display of Strength Chapter 1015 - Initial Display of Strength As a deep voice echoed throughout the forest, over a dozen figures emerged from the woods. Every player bore a silver, six-winged emblem on their chests. Moreover, the lowest leveled player among them was Level 39, while many of them were Level 40. These players also brandished awe-inspiring weapons and equipment. However, after these dozen or so players appeared, the anxious Dark Guild members calmed, wearing mocking grins. "And here I thought Zero Wing''s members had surrounded us. It seems these people have only found us by coincidence." "Indeed. It seems that we''re quite lucky, though the same can''t be said for them. With so few, we won''t even break a sweat. Mm A team of Zero Wing''s core members. If we get rid of them, we''ll earn more excellent equipment." "These are Zero Wing''s experts? With just a dozen or so players, they dare to ambush us? Their foolishness knows no bounds." "Let''s finish this quickly! If we waste any more time, Zero Wing''s other members will catch up!" While Zero Wing''s sudden appearance had given them a scare, after a closer look, the difference in strength between them was clear. Based on each team''s numbers, the outcome of this battle was obvious. Although they had lost five players, they still had more than 40 team members. On the other hand, there were only a dozen or so Zero Wing members. These Red Names had an overwhelming advantage. Not to mention, they also had a top-tier expert on their team. "Leader, leave that Ranger to me. I''ll use him as practice for killing Black Flame. I''ll leave the others to you," Purgatory Godfire said, smiling as he focused on Minor Wind, the Ranger that had fired the first five arrows at their team. He could sense that, among these dozen or so players, Minor Wind was undoubtedly the strongest. He was even stronger than the Zero Wing core members he had already killed. Minor Wind was the best practice target. "Alright, leave the rest to us," the mighty Level 39 Berserker who led the team replied. He realized that even he could not take down the Level 40 Ranger, Minor Wind. Leaving the Ranger to Purgatory Godfire was definitely the best choice here. However, as soon as this mighty Berserker finished speaking, his expression darkened. Before anyone realized it, a figure had appeared behind Purgatory Godfire, a snowy-white dagger sinking into the Elementalist''s head and forcing him into a Fainted state. Immediately, the player thrust another dagger towards Godfire''s back. This sudden development even stunned the Elementalist. He had failed to notice the sneaking Assassin. However, Purgatory Godfire was no ordinary expert. In the moment of extreme peril, he activated Blink. Not only did he avoid the backstab, but he also canceled the Fainted state and appeared 15 yards away from his enemy. Unfortunately for him, as soon as Purgatory Godfire used Blink, the black figure followed by using Shadow Steps and appeared behind him once more, the gleaming dagger resuming its attack. "Scram!" Panicking, Godfire used Flameblast in an attempt to knock back his opponent. However, when Flameblast struck the black figure, contrary to Godfire''s expectations, the black figure stood steady. His Flameblast had passed through the figure''s body harmlessly. Crap! An afterimage! Godfire immediately realized that he had been fooled. Although he tried to rectify his mistake by casting Ice Wall to guard his back, the black figure landed a Kidney Strike, forcing him back into a Fainted state, before his Ice Wall could even take shape. The figure instantly followed up with an Absolute Strike, transforming into a shadowy streak that passed through Purgatory Godfire''s body. When the figure reformed, it spun in the air and launched Backstab on Purgatory Godfire''s side, stealing the Elementalist''s last strand of HP. "How are you so fast?! "Could you be Zero Wing''s number one expert Fire Dance?! "It seems that I truly have rotten luck" As Godfire''s HP was about to reach zero, his eyes focused on the black-robed Assassin. As far as he could remember, only Zero Wing''s Fire Dance possessed this kind of ability. Smiling Angle, his Dark Guild, had even labeled Fire Dance as a "unique combatant." Should any of the Guild members encounter her in battle, they were warned against taking her on alone. They should enlist the help of three or more people to deal with her, at the very least. The group must have an expert member, as well. "Big Sis Fire doesn''t need to dirty her hands with the likes of you! I, Flying Shadow, am more than enough! You''re ten years too early to think of fighting Big Sis Fire!" The black figure expressed its disdain in response to Purgatory Godfire''s words. However, Flying Shadow had not lied. Despite having reached the Half-step Refinement Realm after much difficulty, when he had sparred with Fire Dance, he had not even had a chance to retaliate. Meanwhile, Purgatory Godfire had not even reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. He was nowhere near good enough to be Fire Dance''s opponent. Although Godfire wanted to say something, his vision began to gray. In the end, none of his words left his mouth. "Godfire is dead?!" "How can he be dead?!" The other Dark Guild members were stupefied when they watched the expert die. They had all witnessed Purgatory Godfire''s strength personally. Even their Dark Guilds'' top experts were no match for him, yet against Flying Shadow, Godfire had stood like a child before a master. These players even wondered if they were dreaming. Although they had heard rumors of Zero Wing''s many powerful experts, Flying Shadow''s strength was insane. While these Dark Guild members struggled to recover from their daze, dozens of arrows and Spells bombarded them. In the blink of an eye, another seven died. "Damn it! We''ve encountered some troublesome experts! Retreat!" the leading Berserker commanded. After examining the situation on the battlefield, he understood the difference between their teams. Although they had a numerical advantage, it was only temporary. If the battle dragged on, more Zero Wing members would arrive. This was an extremely unfavorable situation. However, as soon as he issued his command, Minor Wind fired nine blue arrows from a distance, sealing his path of retreat. "Don''t even think about killing me that easily!" As one of the Dark Guilds'' team leaders, he had the strength to earn the position. Immediately, he activated Whirlwind Slash to block the incoming arrows. Peng Peng Peng However, when the Berserker''s battle axe collided with the fourth arrow, the weapon was repelled. The remaining arrows then struck this team leader, eliminating his HP. Without a leader, the surviving Dark Guild members fell into chaos. After all, most of them were from different Dark Guilds. They were barely familiar with each other, much less in sync. Not that the lacked someone in command, Zero Wing''s members swat them down like flies. Although some had tried to escape, none could outrun Flying Shadow and Minor Wind. After a short moment, the Dark Guild team of consisting of nearly 50 players died at the hands of Zero Wing''s team. At the same time, inside Snowy Forest, a large number of teams formed by the various Dark Guilds were also being ambushed by Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion and main force. As the Dark Guild members died, Shi Feng posted their death count on the official forums. In less than an hour, a total of 3,586 Dark Guild members operating near White River City died. Moreover, this number continued to climb by the minute. 1016 Unsealing the Advanced Book of Magic Chapter 1016 - Unsealing the Advanced Book of Magic Shortly after Shi Feng publicized the death count on the official forums, players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom were in an uproar. The various Guilds, who watched from the sidelines and planned to take advantage of Zero Wing''s misfortune, were particularly stupefied. Dark Guilds were famous for their abstinence and resilience. Although they had few members, taking down a Dark Guild in a field battle was extremely difficult for regular Guilds unless they wanted to invest far more players and resources into the endeavor. Unfortunately, that was just too costly. Furthermore, on the off chance that the operation failed, the Guild would suffer. This was why most regular Guilds avoided provoking Dark Guilds. Yet, not only had Zero Wing lured over half of the Dark Guild members into a deathtrap, but the Guild had also begun to plow over the remaining members like a bulldozer. These Dark Guilds were toothless and clawless beasts against Zero Wing. They posed no threat to the Guild whatsoever. Zero Wing''s methods were truly incredible. Most importantly, ]until this point, Zero Wing had suffered little to no losses during its hunt for the Dark Guild members. At the end of the day, strength decided the field battles'' victors. If the teams Zero Wing had dispatched were not strong enough, they would never achieve such frightening results. This development inspired the various large Guilds to reevaluate their opinions of the strength of Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion and main force. However, compared to Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds and players, the Dark Guilds'' upper echelons were fighting a headache over this situation. They could not understand how this had happened. They were famous for their stealth and evasion techniques in the fields, yet Zero Wing had arbitrarily slaughtered their forces. Moreover, according to the reports they received from their subordinates, Zero Wing''s members moved like ghosts, capable of approaching giving away their presence. Zero Wing must have possessed some sort of tool that could target them; anyone that said otherwise was lying. If this were the only problem, they could deal with it. The crucial issue was how few members Zero Wing had dispatched. The Guild had accomplished this terrifying win with only a fraction of its power. To Dark Guilds like theirs, who usually won their fights through quality over quantity, this was humiliating. They had become a laughingstock throughout the kingdom. "What should we do now? Do we continue fighting Zero Wing?" "What else can we do? Don''t forget our agreement with Blackwater. If we pull back now, everything we''ve done will be for nothing." "Indeed. Our only choice is to continue the operation. However, we don''t actually need to fight Zero Wing. Our job is simply to keep them busy. As long as we pin down Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion and main force, we will have fulfilled our part of the bargain. When the time comes, we simply need to watch as Zero Wing loses Stone Forest Town. "Without Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing can''t afford to sustain its development. We can strike then. I want to see just how they plan to fight our Dark Guilds!" "That''s right! We''ll let Zero Wing maintain its arrogance for now. I want to see their faces when they realize we''re only bait!" The various Dark Guilds'' upper echelons held a secret meeting to discuss their current predicament. As for facing Zero Wing head-on, that was just a dream. Although Blackwater had dispatched quite a few expert and elite players to assist them, White River City was Zero Wing''s territory. A direct confrontation with the Guild here was suicidal. Even if the Blackwater Guild were willing to pay the price for such a confrontation, it would only result in heavy damage to Zero Wing''s strength and reputation. If Zero Wing wanted to stage a comeback, it had everything it needed. However, if Blackwater captured Stone Forest Town and severed Zero Wing''s main source of income, Blackwater would only need to suppress Zero Wing financially, and it would eventually collapse into itself. When the Dark Guild representatives concluded their meeting, the various Dark Guild members around White River City split up, acting independently. With this, Zero Wing would have a harder time dealing with them. After the Dark Guilds'' weak behavior, the various large Guilds that had watched the situation began to withdraw to their own territories, afraid that they would suffer the same circumstances as these Dark Guilds. Despite Blackwater clearly being the mastermind behind all of this, Zero Wing had deliberately chosen not to target Blackwater''s members. Rather, it had decided to teach the assisting Dark Guilds a vicious lesson. After realizing this, they had no desire to take that risk. "Guild Leader, your plan is brilliant. The Guilds that have been watching from the shadows are too afraid of becoming our next target and have withdrawn," Aqua Rose said. She hadn''t been able to hide her smile when she received the report. "The players from the various large Guilds have split up. Although they are somewhat more bothersome to deal with now, if we invest a little more time, we''ll eradicate them, sooner or later. Even if the Dark Guilds intend to oppose us, I''m afraid they won''t be able to." Not only had the Dark Guilds'' defeat increased Zero Wing''s morale, but it had also improved the world''s evaluation of Zero Wing. Some major companies, which had been pessimistic about Zero Wing''s chances, had begun to express their interest in cooperation. Only, Shi Feng rejected all of these offers. However, he had not done so because he no longer lacked money. Rather, these corporations demanded a cut of Zero Wing''s shares in exchange for their cooperation. Shi Feng would not tolerate that. "Crap! Zero Wing is too arrogant!" "Do they really think that a small Guild like Zero Wing can stand against the Blackwater Corporation? Without our support, the Blackwater Corporation will, sooner or later, reduce Zero Wing to nothing!" The various corporations'' representatives were enraged when they received the blatant rejection. "Guild Leader, should I utilize my family''s authority to invest some of the Star and Moon Group''s funds?" Aqua Rose asked somewhat worriedly. The Blackwater Trading Firm dropped its prices, again and again. They were now taking a loss with almost every item they sold. However, Aqua Rose had to admit that it was quite effective; the Candlelight Trading Firm had been losing profits as a result. In addition, Zero Wing had t recently established two more Branch Guilds. It cost a considerable amount of Coins to maintain the additional main forces. Furthermore, a battle raged in Lake Heart City. "No need. I''ll find a way to earn more Coins." Shi Feng shook his head. He had already upgraded Icarus''s Heart to Epic rank. He had even filled the necklace''s Life Force storage. This was a good opportunity to show what the necklace was capable of. If he became a Master Forger, not only would he have a higher success rate when forging the Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set Equipment, but he would also unlock the next item in the Advanced Book of Magic. The Advanced Mana Armor Kit! Previously, the strongest armor kit Shi Feng had been able to produce was the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit. One of these kits could increase the wearer''s Attributes by over a dozen points. With three, the total Attribute boost was the equivalent of an additional piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. However, the Advanced Mana Armor Kit was more astounding. It was also the strongest item one could learn from the Advanced Book of Magic. In the past, countless players had gone crazy over the Advanced Mana Armor Kit. This kit was precisely the reason that a small Guild had risen in the massive world of God''s Domain. 1017 Advanced Mana Armor Ki Chapter 1017 - Advanced Mana Armor Kit Star-Moon City, Heaven''s Burial''s Residence: Although the Dark Guilds'' defeat had significantly increased Zero Wing''s prestige in Star-Moon Kingdom, this outcome had not affected Heaven''s Burial in the slightest. There was still a long line of players queued up outside the Guild''s Residence. Rather, things had become even more lively outside the Guild Residence. After the majority of the Dark Guild members had been confined in White River City, Heaven''s Burial announced its recruitment for a large number of Lifestyle players. It had even publicly announced that Lifestyle players who joined the Guild could receive guidance from a few of the virtual gaming world''s well-known Lifestyle masters, easing the difficulty of reaching the Master rank in the future. The Master rank was every Lifestyle player''s goal. It was also an opportunity for countless Lifestyle players to get rich overnight. After God''s Domain joined the virtual gaming world, the various large Guilds had begun to place greater importance on Lifestyle players. After all, many things in God''s Domain required Lifestyle players. This increased the value of well-known Lifestyle players in the virtual gaming world. In God''s Domain, some Lifestyle players'' status could even rival that of top-tier experts. Many Super Guilds even began to compete to recruit Lifestyle players who had a list of achievements in previous virtual reality games. Among them, the Super Guild Battle Wolves had paid an astronomical price to recruit one player who had been known as one of the top five grandmaster Lifestyle Players in the virtual gaming world. Moreover, the Battle Wolves had made this grandmaster their Chief Forger. Becoming one of a Super Guild''s forgers was already quite difficult, much less becoming the Chief Forger. A Chief Forger''s status was the equivalent of the Vice Guild Leader''s. Although they did not dream of such a lofty position, if they could become Master Lifestyle players in God''s Domain, they would be set for life. However, reaching the Master rank in God''s Domain was easier said than done. If they were guided by someone with experience, though, it would be easier to become Masters in the future. This was precisely the reason that Star-Moon Kingdom''s Lifestyle players had flocked to join Heaven''s Burial. Not only that, but other kingdom''s Lifestyle players also began to rush towards the Guild after hearing about its recruitment. "Uncle Seven, why are you in such a hurry to meet me? If you had something urgent to say, couldn''t you have just called me? Why make the trip back?" Singular Burial asked, chuckling as he looked at the fifty-plus-year-old man as he frantically rushed into the Guild Leader''s office. "If this were something that could have been conveyed in a call, I would''ve done so. This is important enough to make the trip. I also have a surprise for you," Seven Treasures said, laughing. "A surprise?" Singular Burial responded skeptically. "I knew you wouldn''t believe me. Here, take a look. What do you think this is?" Seven Treasures retrieved a design from his bag and placed it on the table. "This is" Singular Burial was stunned after reading the design''s introduction. Although the design was very common, the words ''Light Stone'' attracted Singular Burial''s attention. As the Guild Leader of Heaven''s Burial, not much surprised him. Even an Epic Weapon wouldn''t faze him. However, he had to admit that the Light Stone Forging Design that Seven Treasures had laid before him had been a surprise. The Light Stone was practically the Candlelight Trading Firm''s symbol. Despite Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater working together, neither of their Guilds had been able to damage the Candlelight Trading Firm overmuch. This was due to the Light Stones. Who in God''s Domain did not want to level up faster? However, when darkness fell over God''s Domain, the fields became much more dangerous. If one were not an elite or expert player, they would struggle. And if one were unfortunate enough to lose their life, their progress would go to waste. Hence, Light Stones were a must-have item to level up at night in God''s Domain. In addition, as the Light Stones'' price was quite low, it became a must-have tool for ordinary players. This secured the Candlelight Trading Firm''s position, leaving no room for competition. However, now that Heaven''s Burial had the Light Stone Forging Design, the Candlelight Trading Firm would no longer hold the monopoly over the Light Stones. "Uncle Seven, where did you find these?!" Singular Burial asked. Only one forging player could learn from a single forging design, and the number of Light Stones one person could produce was limited. The Heavenly Trading Firm still wasn''t a threat to the Candlelight Trading Firm. This would barely impact Candlelight''s business. "In the Towers of Death. One of our Guild''s teams obtained one by accident while grinding monsters there," Seven Treasures said, laughing merrily. "After obtaining this design, I immediately notified the Guild''s elite teams to grind in the Towers of Death. Soon, we''ll have far more Light Stone Forging Designs." "Wonderful! This is simply wonderful! Uncle Seven, I''ll leave the rest for you. If you lack manpower, just say the word!" Singular Burial was ecstatic. As long as they knew which monsters dropped the design, with Heaven''s Burial''s strength, it would only be a matter of time before they had a stockpile. "Once we have enough designs, we will extinguish Candlelight! Without the financial support from both the Candlelight Trading Firm and Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing will be finished!" "Mhm. Isn''t that why I''m here, trying to borrow some of the Funeral Legion''s members? The monsters are too high-leveled. Our ordinary elites'' grinding speed is too slow. They need experts to lead them," Seven Treasures explained, nodding. The Funeral Legion was Heaven''s Burial''s strongest player force. It was similar to Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion. Heaven''s Burial had invested the majority of its resources into nurturing this legion, and every member was extremely powerful. In the eyes of ordinary players, they were definitely experts. However, only the Guild Leader could command the Funeral Legion. They would ignore anyone else''s orders. "Sure, no problem. I''ll give you command of 400 members." Without hesitation, Singular Burial notified the Funeral Legion''s commander, instructing him to dispatch 400 members to the Towers of Death immediately. Inside one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Forging Rooms in White River City After sacrificing 500 units of Life Force to activate Icarus''s Heart''s God''s Blessing Skill, Shi Feng began forging Advanced Mana Armor Kits, one after another. Not only had Shi Feng forcefully raised his forging standard to Master rank, but the effect also lasted three full hours. Meanwhile, God''s Blessing''s Cooldown was only four hours. With this buff, he was practically a bona fide Master Lifestyle player. The only downside was that God''s Blessing cost too much Life Force to sustain. Regardless, Shi Feng was satisfied with this result. As a Master Forger, he could learn the Advanced Mana Armor Kit''s production method. By utilizing various tools, he also increased his success rate with the Advanced Mana Armor Kits to 41%, which allowed him to succeed one out of three tries. In three short hours, Shi Feng had successfully forged 31 Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Although the production volume could not compare to the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit''s, the Advanced version''s Attributes trampled over the Intermediate version''s. 1018 Master Forger Chapter 1018 - Master Forger There were many kinds of armor kits in God''s Domain. However, few armor kits were suitable for high-tiered players. The Advanced Mana Armor Kit was one. Armor kits suited for high-tiered players also had another name. Extraordinary Armor Kits! While armor kits such as the Intermediate Mana Armor Kit and the Cast Steel Armor Kit were acceptable for Tier 1 and Tier 2 players, to Tier 3 players and above, the Attributes those armor kits provided were simply too pitiful to the point of being negligible. After all, as players reached higher tiers, they received far more Free Attribute Points with each level. At Tier 0, players received four Free Attribute Points with each level, while at Tier 1, they received eight points. After reaching Tier 2, however, players would receive 15 points. The difference was obvious at a glance. Because of this, the earlier players completed their promotion to a higher tier, the more of an advantage they had. If a player completed their Tier 1 class promotion three or four levels later than others, they would have fallen behind by over ten Free Attribute Points. This gap would widen if the same situation occurred at Tier 2 and beyond. This was where the Extraordinary Armor Kits came in. Even among Extraordinary Armor Kits, the Basic Attributes the Advanced Mana Armor Kit''s Basic Attributes were on the higher end of the spectrum. Hence, many high-tiered players preferred these. It seems my luck is quite good. The Attribute increases are all above the standard. Shi Feng was very satisfied with the Advanced Mana Armor Kits he had forged. [Advanced Mana Armor Kit] When Physical Armor Kit is equipped: Defense +600 Strength increased by 3%, Endurance increased by 4%, Agility increased by 3%. Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Cannot be bound to Level 40 equipment or below. When Magical Armor Kit is equipped: Defense +240 Intelligence increased by 3%, Endurance increased by 4%, Vitality increased by 3%. Maximum binding limit per character: 3 Cannot be bound to Level 40 equipment or below. When three kits were equipped, they would increase each of a player''s Basic Attributes by roughly 10%. This was a considerable increase for ordinary players, not to mention expert players, who wore full sets of excellent equipment. A 10% increase to a player''s Basic Attributes could increase one''s combat power by roughly 20% to 30%. With such a huge boost to combat power, a player with three Advanced Mana Armor Kits could easily defeat a player possessing the same combat standards, weapons, and equipment, who did not have any armor kits equipped. Hence, many high-tiered players would flock to purchase the Advanced Mana Armor Kits. What a pity. Shi Feng felt a twinge of sadness as he looked at the Advanced Mana Armor Kits he had produced. Although the Advanced Mana Armor Kit was very good, its flaws were obvious. These armor kits took significantly longer to produce than the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits. Moreover, only he could produce them. Its production volume was fated to be low. He''d be lucky to produce enough for Zero Wing''s core members. At most, he could use the Advance Mana Armor Kits to attract players to the Candlelight Trading Firm. These kits were not profitable products right now. Following which, Shi Feng waited for an hour to pass before he used another 500 units of Life Force to activate God''s Blessing, continuing to craft the Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Once Shi Feng had made 100 armor kits, he switched to forging the Magic Light Set Equipment. While the Advanced Mana Armor Kit provided a powerful increase to a player''s Attributes, its true purpose was to help high-tiered players. To current players, its increase was extremely limited. After all, current players'' Basic Attributes were still relatively low. Compared to the armor kits, the Magic Light Set Equipment was far more valuable to current players. As a Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the Attributes it provided were far superior to a Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. The set''s total Attributes could even put a Tier 1 Set Equipment to shame. Although Shi Feng had obtained the Magic Light Set Equipment Forging Design, he had been an Advanced Forger; he hadn''t been confident of successfully forging the Level 50, Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Only after reaching the Master rank was he confident of succeeding. If a player could equip the Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set as soon as they reached Level 50, aside from players who owned multiple Epic items, they would surpass every player of the same level. If the Magic Light Set were Dark-Gold rank, even a player with multiple Epic items would be no match. Moreover, players were not necessarily required to reach Level 50 to equip the Magic Light Set. As long as they possessed weapons or equipment that reduced level requirements, they could equip the set below Level 50. This was one of the benefits of owning Epic or Growth-type Equipment. Shi Feng possessed the Seven Luminaries Ring and the even more powerful Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, which decreased item''s level requirement by 5 and 10 Levels, respectively. Shi Feng was currently Level 44. He was fully capable of equipping the Level 50 Magic Light Set right now. There were also a few players within the Guild that possessed weapons, equipment, or tools that lowered level requirements. Although none of those items were as impressive as the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, they still enabled their owners to equip the Magic Light Set before reaching Level 50, gaining overwhelming Attributes. Shi Feng was incredibly pleased. Following which, Shi Feng went into action. While he had been in the Trial of God, the Candlelight Trading Firm had purchased plenty of Emeralds in Emerald City. He had more than enough to make numerous Magic Light Sets. Aside from the Emerald requirement, which was a powerful Mana conductor, the Magic Light Set also required Mana Stones. Hence, Shi Feng took out a pile of Magic Crystals and began his Alchemical Synthesis. After the one-hour Cooldown of God''s Blessing ended, Shi Feng stood before a large mound of Mana Stones. He then activated God''s Blessing once more and began to forge the Magic Light Set Equipment. Compared to the Advanced Mana Armor Kit, forging the Magic Light Set was significantly more difficult. Even with his various tools, Shi Feng barely managed a 45% success rate. He needed roughly three attempts to produce a complete set. However, Shi Feng was satisfied with this result. If any other Master Forger attempted to craft the set, they''d be lucky if the achieved a 35% success rate. Rather than producing one set out of three tries, they should thank the high heavens if they produced one set out of five tries. Forging one complete Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set required 18 Mana Stones. Meanwhile, 50 Magic Crystals were needed to synthesize one Mana Stone. According to Magic Crystals'' current market price, each Magic Light Set would need 225 Gold''s worth of Magic Crystals. With the other materials, crafting the Magic Light set was abhorrently costly. If an ordinary Master Forger tried to forge the set, their production cost would be well over 1,000 Gold. There were not many Guilds throughout God''s Domain who could afford such a steep price. Fortunately, Shi Feng had a sufficiently high success rate. When he was lucky, he could forge one set every two tries. With his normal luck, he produced one set in three tries. By crafting these himself, Shi Feng saved hundreds of Gold. After three hours, maybe due to his high Luck Attribute, he produced a total of five Magic Light sets with his nine attempts. As for the remaining four sets, they were defective products at Secret-Silver rank. Even so, he could still make decent money from these defective products. After all, once players reached Level 50, Secret-Silver Set Equipment would still be relatively rare. Even Guild elites would generally wear Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As Shi Feng had nothing better to do while he waited for God''s Blessing''s Cooldown, he took out the Epic Treasure Chest he had obtained from the Trial of God. He hadn''t carried any Mana Stones on him while he had been in the trial. Now that he had a pile of them, he could use this opportunity to open the Treasure Chest. The last Epic Treasure Chest Shi Feng had opened had surprised him. It was especially true for the Beastmaster''s Compendium. Now that he had obtained another Epic Treasure Chest, Shi Feng grew nervous. Silently, he began to pray. Please don''t be an Epic item! Please don''t be an Epic item! Epic items were the most worthless items one could obtain from an Epic Treasure Chest. The truly valuable items were designs and recipes. Following which, Shi Feng sacrificed 200 units of Life Force and activated Divine Providence, instantly increasing his Luck by 70 points. He then activated the Epic Treasure Chest. 1019 Unbelievable Luck Chapter 1019 - Unbelievable Luck When Shi Feng opened the Epic Treasure Chest, a purple radiance enveloped the forging room. Had he opened the chest in the middle of White River City, he would''ve attracted everyone''s attention. As the purple light faded, the room''s Mana density increased significantly and remained that way for quite some time. There were a total of three items in the Epic Treasure Chest. One item was luxurious red armor fashioned with white detailing. The armor was encrusted with seven gemstones, neatly arranged to form a miniature magic array. The surrounding Mana gathered around this magic array, condensing into a thin layer of seven-colored mist, which made the armor extraordinarily eye-catching. When he saw the finished product, even Shi Feng was shocked. This was definitely the most visually-appealing armor he had ever seen. What kind of armor is this? Shi Feng wondered. This was the first time he had seen equipment that could increase the surrounding Mana density. Despite not wearing the armor, his mind felt much clearer than before. The Special Forging Room''s Mana was even denser than the Basic Meditation Room. If a player''s mind could be this clear all the time, it would massively help their training and battles. Following which, Shi Feng clicked to check the armor''s introduction. [Seven Luminaries Battle Armor] (Chest Plate, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,000 Class Requirement: Berserker When equipped: Defense increased by 100 * Player''s Level. All Attributes increased by 3* Player''s Level. Strength increased by 60%. Agility increased by 40%. Endurance increased by 60%. Magic Resistance increased by 30%. Ignore Levels +20. All Berserker Skills +5 Levels. All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Passive Skill 1- Seven Luminaries Protection: Decreases incoming damage from players of a lower tier by 70%, players of the same tier by 40%, and players of a higher tier by 20%. Grants immunity to Control Skills. Additional Passive Skill 2- Magic Reinforcement: Increases the Strength of wearer''s attacks by 50% and improves wielder''s physique by 30%. Additional Active Skill 1- Sky God''s Glory: Grants immunity to all magical damage, decreases physical damage received by 80%, and increases Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 100% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Active Skill 2- Seven Luminaries Domain: Effective radius of 50 yards. Decreases all enemies'' reaction speed within affected area by 30%, Movement Speed by 40%, and Attack Speed by 40%. Wearer can also control up to three Seven Luminaries Spears. Each spear contains 200% of wearer''s Strength and causes 500% holy damage. Duration: 2 minutes Cooldown: 5 hours (Skill is currently Tier 1. Skill''s tier will increase with player''s tier.) The Seven Luminaries Battle Armor was a Legendary item created by the Blacksmith God, Soros. During the Great Ancient War, it had been greatly damaged by the Lord of the Abyss. However, as the battle armor''s core remained intact, its repair only requires ten God Crystals. Current number of absorbed God Crystals (0/10). Shi Feng was dazed for a long moment after reading the armor''s introduction. He had never thought that it was possible to obtain a Fragmented Legendary item from an Epic Treasure Chest. It was even a considerably powerful Fragmented Legendary item. Whoever equipped the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor would watch their combat power soar. Unfortunately, only Berserkers could equip this armor. If he could equip it, it was very likely that he wouldn''t find a single player throughout God''s Domain that could match him. After all, if he had two Fragmented Legendary items equipped, not only would he have an overwhelming advantage in terms of Attributes, but he would also possess absurdly powerful Skills. If his opponent didn''t have a similar line-up of equipment, he would be invincible. Although the Battle Armor had its own glaring flaws, repairing it would be easier than repairing other Fragmented Legendary items. There was a much higher chance that he could repair it and transform it into a true Legendary item. Aside from the Battle Armor, two plain, old books lay within the Epic Treasure Chest. As Shi Feng was already satisfied with the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor, he hadn''t paid much attention to the two old books. However, when Shi Feng read their introductory texts, he was shocked once more. Icarus''s Heart''s effects are unbelievable! Shi Feng was speechless as he held the two books. Of the two books, one was an Alchemy Secret Journal, while the other was the design for the Magic Tower. In God''s Domain, both books were treasures that could only be obtained with luck. Among the two books, the Alchemy Secret Journal recorded the recipe for an Exotic Potion. However, only a maximum of ten Alchemists could learn the recipe. There were many types of potion in God''s Domain. Most generally lasted only one or two hours. Moreover, the effects would disappear upon death. However, Exotic Potions were different. Not only did they have long durations, but their buffs would remain after the player died and resurrected. Furthermore, these were only Exotic Potions'' side effects. Exotic Potions were the product of the hard work of God''s Domain''s Craftsman Alchemists. Every Exotic Potion was extremely powerful. The Secret Journal Shi Feng held contained the recipe to produce an Exotic Potion named Exotic Stamina Potion. When consumed, the potion increased player''s maximum Stamina by 10% and Stamina recovery rate by 80% for 10 hours. Stamina was indispensable for players. Regardless of whether players fought or ran, they consumed Stamina. Only, the amount consumed was different. If players ran out of Stamina, even if their HP were full, they would lose the ability to move. Hence, most players generally took a break after grinding monsters for a certain time, using the opportunity to recover their Stamina. If a player''s Stamina recovery rate and maximum limit increased, they would become far more efficient when grinding. Hence, in God''s Domain, all items capable of increasing a player''s Stamina or their Stamina recovery rate were extremely valuable. Although the Exotic Stamina Potion was not as effective as the Blood Refining Crystal''s Life Essence, its effects were still considerably good. It was useful to both expert and ordinary players. With this Alchemy Secret Journal, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s business would reach a whole new level. However, compared to the Alchemy Secret Journal, the Magic Tower Construction Design was truly useful to Zero Wing right now. In God''s Domain, players could purchase defensive weapons in the Adventurer''s Association after capturing a town successfully or while constructing a town. Defense Turrets were one of the most common defensive weapons. Not only did they possess massive firepower, but their attack range was also relatively large. However, Turrets were the most basic defensive weapons. There were many others that players could find elsewhere. The Basic Mana Pulse Cannon was one example. Unfortunately, it was very expensive. Moreover, not only did it possess a very long Cooldown, but it was also costly to operate. Even so, its attacks were a force to behold. A single blast could almost rival the might of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. The Defense Turrets could not compete with it. However, there was something even more advanced than the two aforementioned defensive weaponsCthe Magic Tower. Not even eight Defense Turrets were a match for the defensive capabilities of a single Magic Tower. This was precisely the reason that the Basic Tower had become a mainstream building in Shi Feng''s past. Unfortunately, constructing a Magic Tower was very difficult. Now that Shi Feng had the design, he would need a lot of resources to build it. 1020 Soaring Attributes Chapter 1020 - Soaring Attributes Shi Feng looked at the tattered Magic Tower Construction Design in his hands. He would be lying if he said he wasn''t excited right now. In reality, the Magic Tower was not very valuable to God''s Domain''s current Guilds; it wasn''t even worth as much as the Alchemy Secret Journal. To Shi Feng, however, its value far surpassed that of a Fragmented Legendary item. If he constructed a city in Star-Moon Kingdom, the city''s potential profits would even be enough to tempt Super Guilds to strike against them, disregarding all costs to themselves. After all, a city was much larger than a town. No measly town could compare to the population a city could hold. One could also construct a larger variety of buildings in a city. Most importantly, players seeking entertainment would flock to the city, which could impact its economy in a massive way. Then there was the Mana Tower, which would allow resident players within the city to accumulate the Double EXP buff. With Zero Wing''s current strength, going up against Super Guilds was suicidal. Once the city''s protection period ended, Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to defend the city with its own strength. When the time came, others would take the city from them. Shi Feng didn''t want to see that happen. That was the reason that Shi Feng wouldn''t construct the city right now, regardless of whether or not he could afford to. Without sufficient strength, excessive wealth only invited disaster. He would not naively believe that those Super Guilds would kindly offer to cooperate with Zero Wing. To begin with, these existences were playing virtual reality games to earn money, not to have fun. If they were fully capable of reaping the benefits by themselves, why would they share? If Zero Wing wanted to cooperate with Super Guilds, there was a precondition; the Guild needed to be able to protect the city it constructed. Otherwise, there was no point. It was similar to the encounter with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Shi Feng had been worried about his city''s defense. Acquiring the Magic Tower Design was undoubtedly good news. Once he constructed his city, he simply needed to construct a few Magic Towers to protect it. At that time, with Zero Wing''s constantly rising strength, defending a single city should not be a problem. However, like a Teleportation Magic Array Forging Design, the Magic Tower Design had limited uses. Up to five Magic Towers could be constructed with one design. This was enough for Shi Feng. "I had planned to add several more turrets to stabilize Stone Forest Town''s safety. It seems that won''t be necessary now." Shi Feng smiled. He then contacted Aqua Rose, instructing her to collect the necessary materials and Lifestyle players to construct the Magic Tower in Stone Forest Town. Unlike other items'' production, the Magic Tower''s construction did not require specific Lifestyle classes. In fact, any player could construct the Magic Tower. It was only a matter of speed and efficiency. However, to construct the Magic Tower''s core, players needed to be capable of drawing an Intermediate Magic Array. After all, the tower''s most important components were the magic array and the Mana circuit. For Shi Feng, who was capable of manufacturing Intermediate Magic Arrays, constructing the Magic Tower''s Mana circuit would be a piece of cake. As for the Magic Light Set Equipment, Shi Feng put the project on a temporary hold. In any case, no one else in the Guild could equip the set right now. The number of sets he had already produced was more than enough for the moment. Shi Feng then replaced his Tier 1 Set Equipment with the Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set Equipment. Following which, he replaced all three of his Intermediate Mana Armor Kits with the Advanced versions. Immediately, his Basic Attributes soared to a new level. His Strength instantly broke past the 1,200-point threshold. He was significantly stronger than a Lord of the same level. His HP also soared to 32,550, while his Defense could probably render even Zero Wing''s number one MT, Cola, speechless. "With this set of equipment, I can likely solo an ordinary Level 50 Lord without any Berserk Skills." When Shi Feng clenched his fist, he could feel that his combat power had reached a new realm. He had to admit that there was a massive difference between Level 50 and Level 45 equipment in terms of Attributes. After Shi Feng switched into his new equipment, he used the Demon Mask to alter the Magic Light Set''s appearance, using his previous appearance. This way, outsiders would not notice any changes to his weapons or equipment, and they would not be able to gauge his strength without fighting him. As Shi Feng arrived downstairs and was about to rearrange the counters in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s first-floor hall, he noticed that the number of players in the hall had decreased significantly. Moreover, a few of the players here scoffed at the trading firm''s products. "The Candlelight Trading Firm is unreasonable. Both the Heavenly Trading Firm and the Blackwater Trading Firm are selling their Light Stones for 80 Copper each, yet Candlelight is still selling them for a Silver each. I think I''ll be better off shopping at the other two trading firms." "Isn''t the Light Stone supposed to be the Candlelight''s specialty product?" "What? You don''t know? Not long ago, both the Heavenly Trading Firm and the Blackwater Trading Firm announced that they are selling Light Stones. Moreover, they''re selling each stone for only 80 Copper and have declared that they will never raise its price, unlike a certain blackhearted trading firm, who only wants to wring us dry." "What?! They''re so cheap?! If I had known, I wouldn''t have purchased so many Light Stones from Candlelight." While these several players chatted loudly, the surrounding players that overheard their conversation promptly changed their minds about purchasing Light Stones from the Shop. They began to filter out of the Candlelight Trading Firm in search of a better deal. It was obvious that they were going to investigate the Heavenly Trading Firm and Blackwater Trading Firm''s new products. Even 20 Copper Coins was a significant sum of money to ordinary players. If they used five Light Stones in a day, they could save up to one Silver Coin each day. That was enough money for independent players to buy themselves several drinks at the bar. If they saved up for a few days, they could also afford a nice piece of Bronze or Mysterious-Iron Equipment. They sure are quick to extend their hands. Shi Feng glanced at the several independent players who conversed with each other. He then called up the Shop''s system interface and teleported these players out of the Shop. He banned them permanently from all of Candlelight''s Shops. It was very obvious that these people had no intentions of purchasing anything from Candlelight. They were either hired by Heaven''s Burial or Blackwater to come here and steal customers. Otherwise, why would these people bother coming to Candlelight if they knew that the Heavenly Trading Firm and Blackwater Trading Firm sold Light Stones? Instead of blabbering on in the Shop, showing no signs of leaving, anyone who heard the news would likely rush out of the Shop as the previous customers had. "Crap, why can''t I enter the Shop!?" "What kind of trading firm is this?! They dare to chase away their customers?! I''m never coming back!" After Shi Feng banished several independent players from the Candlelight Trading Firm, those players stood outside the Shop, cursing in indignation. Very quickly, they attracted passersby''s attention. "The Candlelight Trading Firm is outrageous! How can they randomly kick people out of their Shop?! Isn''t there some saying stating that customers are akin to God?! They dare to kick God out of their Shop! They must want to go out of business!" "It my opinion, Candlelight is no longer a friend to players." Hearing those words, the crowd on the street began to discuss the Candlelight Trading Firm, their discontent rising as the discussion stretched on. However, Shi Feng didn''t pay any attention to the situation outside of the Shop. Instead, he opened a new counter in the first-floor hall. He then placed ten Advanced Mana Armor Kits on display inside the counter''s cabinet. 1021 Astronomically Priced Armor Ki Chapter 1021 - Astronomically Priced Armor Kit "I can''t wait to see what the Candlelight Trading Firm plans to do now!" As several players felt triumphant, thinking that their actions would damage the Candlelight Trading Firm''s business, they noticed that the player traffic entering the firm gradually began to increase, rather than decrease. Moreover, among these players, there were even members from various large Guilds. A flood of advanced horse carriages also began to stop near the Shop''s entrance. "Quick! Quick! If we''re late, they will sell out!" One after another, Guild players alighted from the carriages. "What''s going on?" The independent players who had been banned from the Shop realized that something was off, but they had no idea what was wrong. Although they wanted to enter the Shop to investigate the situation, no matter how hard they tried, they could not take one step into the building. They could only stare at the establishment from outside. "Fellow brother, do you know what''s going on inside the Candlelight Trading Firm?" "It seems that Candlelight has revealed a new product in the first-floor hall. After hearing what a friend told me, I stopped what I was doing and hurried over immediately. The new product is called the Advanced Mana Armor Kit, and I heard that its Attributes trump the Intermediate version. However, the production volume is much lower. Hence, Candlelight intends to hold an auction in a few minutes. If I can get my hands on one, I''ll definitely make a fortune by reselling it later!" "Advanced Mana Armor Kit?" The several players that Shi Feng had chased out were stupefied. They had been tasked to observe the Candlelight Trading Firm and to cause some trouble while they were at it. Yet, as soon as they had been kicked out of the Shop, the Candlelight Trading firm began to sell the Advanced Mana Armor Kit Everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom and the several surrounding countries knew about the Mana Armor Kits. However, due to their rarity, very few players could actually get their hands on them. For the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits, only Zero Wing''s members had reliable access to them with their Guild Contribution Points. Even then, elite members were only allowed to purchase one kit, while only core members were allowed to purchase three. Because of this, the various large Guilds were forced to purchase the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits from Zero Wing''s members secretly and at a high price. Moreover, only their Guilds'' top-tier experts qualified to use the kits. Now that Zero Wing was selling the superior Advanced Mana Armor Kit, it would cause an uproar throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. It was no wonder why the various large Guilds had frantically dispatched their representatives to Candlelight. Even the large Guilds, who had come to White River City to grind abyssal monsters, surged into the Candlelight Trading Firm. Thinking up to this point, these spies contacted Blackwater''s upper echelons immediately, hoping these upper echelons would send representatives to purchase the kits. If they could make it in time for the auction, the Guild might decide to forego their punishment. However, as soon as they began to contact their upper echelons, they heard a cheer from inside the Candlelight Trading Firm. Following which, a loud, clear voice echoed down the street. "Welcome, everyone, to the Candlelight Trading Firm! The auction for the Advanced Mana Armor Kits will now begin!" When the announcement ended, some new arrivals rushed into the Shop with eager smiles. Upon hearing news of the Advanced Mana Armor Kits'' auction, they immediately teleported to White River City and rushed over in an advanced horse carriage. Had they waited a minute longer, they might have lost their chance to purchase the armor kits. At this moment, the several incognito Blackwater members were stunned. They no longer had a way to explain themselves to their superiors. Even if someone from White River City''s Blackwater Trading Firm headed this way now, they wouldn''t arrive for at least another ten minutes. By then, the auction would be over As for having their Guild send them money, although the funds would arrive in time, they couldn''t enter the Candlelight Trading Firm. Meanwhile, inside the Candlelight Trading Firm, the various Guild members and independent players began to yell out their bids. The Advanced Mana Armor Kit''s starting bid was 10 Gold. Everyone was surprised; no one had expected the Candlelight to sell these kits so cheaply. Even the Intermediate Mana Armor Kits cost more than 10 Gold per piece. Every player here had seen the Advanced Mana Armor Kit''s Attributes for themselves. If a player equipped three of the kits, the kits could increase their Basic Attributes by roughly 10%. This might not be a lot to Tier 1 players, but once players reached Tier 2 or above, the boost would be massive. When everyone thought about how they could use the Advanced Mana Armor Kit after reaching their Tier 4 and Tier 5 classes, the passionate light in their eyes blazed as they looked upon the kits. This time, a total of ten armor kits were up for auction, with each lot containing one kit. The various large Guilds inwardly cursed the Candlelight Trading Firm for this despicable decision. The benefits of a single Advanced Mana Armor Kit were barely noticeable. If one wanted the most benefits out of the kits, they had to collect three of them. In other words, if one managed to obtain two kits in this auction, they would have to purchase the third kit, regardless of the cost. The competition in this auction would be fierce. Although the starting price of a single kit was 10 Gold, shortly after the auction began, the price quickly soared, surpassing everyone''s imaginations. "Fifty Gold! The Hundred Flowers Palace wants it!" Cleansed Rue, who wore vermillion red mage robes, declared softly. Everyone instantly shifted their gaze towards Cleansed Rue, gasping. However, their shock was not due to Cleansed Rue''s beauty or elegance, but her bid. With 50 Gold Coins, one could purchase a relatively valuable piece of Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment Suddenly, an indifferent youth emerged from the crowd and said, "What arrogance from the Hundred Flowers Palace. Isn''t your offer just a measly 50 Gold? The Secret Pavilion bids 100 Gold!" This youth was none other than the Secret Pavilion''s genius newcomer, Cold Autumn. The youth had already reached Level 40 and was fully geared in Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Many Guild members were stunned when they saw Cold Autumn. "One hundred and ten Gold!" Cleansed Rue unhurriedly announced. She must obtain the Advanced Mana Armor Kit. If Zero Wing had only held the auction after some promotion, the Hundred Flowers Palace might not have had a chance to purchase the armor kitt. This auction was too sudden. As a result, not many Guilds had made it in time. She, on the other hand, just happened to be in White River City to purchase Land for a Guild Residence. Hence, she had plenty of Coins on hand. She definitely had what it took to compete with the Secret Pavilion. However, Cold Autumn did not give up as he shouted his next bid. Within a short moment, the Advanced Mana Armor Kit''s price rose to 150 Gold, causing most players to give up on the item. Although the Advanced Mana Armor Kit was impressive, one would only have around a 10% increase to their Basic Attributes after gathering three kits. It was not worth that much money. Just as everyone thought that the Advanced Mana Armor Kit would go to the Hundred Flowers Palace, a woman wearing green mage robes raised her hand and called out, "I bid 200 Gold!" 1022 Candlelight’s Large-scale Auction Chapter 1022 - Candlelight''s Large-scale Auction "Two hundred?! She is insane!" "With that much money, I''d rather buy a Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapon!" Everyone inside the hall looked towards the woman who had placed the latest bid. What they saw, however, stunned them. The woman who placed the bid was Level 41. Among the crowd in the hall, there were only a handful of players who had reached Level 40. Meanwhile, every one of these players was an expert from a powerful Guild such as Cleansed Rue from the Hundred Flowers Palace and Cold Autumn from the Secret Pavilion. Even among their own Guilds, these people were top-ranking personnel. Even so, they were relatively far from Level 41, yet this woman had surpassed them. More importantly, such a powerful expert did not wear a Guild Emblem on her person, which was truly surprising. Alluring Summer? Who is she? When she saw the woman, who was no less attractive than herself, Cleansed Rue was astonished. She had practically memorized all of the well-known experts'' names in Star-Moon Kingdom. She also knew about many powerful experts, who hid from the public eye, in the various large Guilds. However, logically, it was impossible for an ordinary expert to be able to reach Level 41 at this stage of the game, much less an independent player. Cleansed Rue wasn''t the only one surprised by Alluring Summer''s presence. Even Cold Autumn was shocked. The Secret Pavilion''s information network was extensive. However, despite his search, he found no information relating to Alluring Summer. Not only did this woman feel dangerous, but she was also clearly wealthy. Logically, a person like this should not be able to hide from the public. The Secret Pavilion''s records even included the notable achievements players from some cities had accomplished, yet they included nothing about Alluring Summer. This was too strange. To Cleansed Rue and Cold Autumn, 200 Gold was not much money. However, neither of them was a fool. At this point, the Advanced Mana Armor Kit''s price was already way above its actual value. Hence, in the end, they decided to let Alluring Summer have it. Following which, the auction for the Advanced Mana Armor Kits became a bidding competition between these three players. In the end, however, Alluring Summer purchased the second and third armor kit for 200 Gold each, astounding everyone who took part. It would''ve been fine if a Guild player had purchased the armor kits for such a high price. After all, large Guilds like the Hundred Flowers Palace and the Secret Pavilion had many members. Naturally, they could get their hands on a lot of money. To ordinary players, however, 200 Gold was undoubtedly astronomical. Even expert players could not produce that much money. Yet, an independent expert like Alluring Summer had spent 600 Gold on just three Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Her wealth invoked questions about her origins. Moreover, judging by the woman''s expression, it did not seem as if she particularly minded spending 600 Gold. For a time, everyone was concerned about Alluring Summer''s identity. They were very curious about this woman''s identity. ome large Guild representatives even messaged Alluring Summer secretly, stating that they wished to recruit her into their Guilds and that they were willing to offer any benefits that she wanted. However, without exception, Alluring Summer deleted every message. She showed no interest whatsoever in these Guilds. After Alluring Summer bought the first three Advanced Mana Armor Kits, Cleansed Rue and Cold Autumn split the remaining seven. In the end, the other Guilds and players had wasted a trip to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Just when everyone thought that the auction was over and was about to leave the premise, a voice resounded through the hall once more, arousing everyone''s excitement. "Our auction for today has officially come to an end. In four days, Candlelight will hold its first large-scale auction. This will be the venue for that auction, as well. However, the auction will not be limited to the Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Many other valuable items will be available. Bronze Mounts will be among those items! As for the grand finale, we will be auctioning entrance slots to the Holy City of Titan! We hope that you all will spread the news of our upcoming auction!" As the announcement faded, everyone in the hall had chills. Although they had no idea what the Holy City of Titan was, they knew what Bronze Mounts were. Many top-tier experts in God''s Domain had already reached Level 40. This hinted that the era of Mounts had officially begun. Unfortunately, they weren''t easy to obtain. Ordinary players had a hard time obtaining Common Mounts, not to mention Bronze Mounts. Any Guild that had their own would prioritize their own experts. A Guild would never sell their Bronze Mounts. Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm had publicly declared that it would sell Bronze Mounts in its large-scale auction. How could they not be excited? After the announcement, many independent experts started to consider joining the competition for the Bronze Mounts. After all, even ordinary experts only found one if they were lucky. However, if it were only a matter Coins, then independent experts had a chance. At this moment, some independent experts were even considering to purchase Coins with Credits. Bronze Mounts were different from Common Mounts. Not only were they faster, but they could also assist players in battle. This small difference might not be much to ordinary players, but to experts, it was extremely important. More often than not, that small difference could decide whether or not they could solo a powerful monster. Moreover, if they had the assistance of a Bronze Mount, their survivability and hunting capabilities in the fields would increase significantly. Hence, even if they had to spend a lot of Credits to get their own Bronze Mount, they would do so. This was the equivalent of investing into one''s business. What? Is Zero Wing that desperate for money? They''re even selling the Titan City slots? The announcement surprised Cold Autumn. The majority of the players present might not know what the Holy City of Titan was, but he knew. After all, Pantheon had exposed the truth about the Holy City to God''s Domain''s various super powers. So, he understood how valuable the slots to Titan City were. What an interesting Guild. Everyone believes that Zero Wing will succumb to Blackwater''s attack. It seems that they have underestimated Zero Wing''s foundations. Cleansed Rue smiled upon hearing this announcement, her interest in Candlelight''s large-scale auction growing. After the auction, players left the Candlelight Trading Firm, one after another. However, once outside the Shop, they found that a group of Level 39 expert players radiating killing intent had surrounded the trading firm''s entrance. Every one of these players wore Blackwater''s Guild Emblem. Seeing this, ordinary players moved out of these players'' way, afraid of attracting their attention. Suddenly, a tall, robust man wearing silver battle armor stepped into Alluring Summer''s way and asked sternly, "Are you the one who purchased the Advanced Mana Armor Kits?" 1023 Intense Battle at the Entrance Chapter 1023 - Intense Battle at the Entrance When Blackwater''s members blocked Alluring Summer''s path, the people on the street turned to watch what was happening. Setting aside Alluring Summer''s great beauty, her Level 41 drew everyone''s admiration. Between that and Blackwater''s menacing players, this group had no difficulty attracting attention. So, he''s Laughing Drunkard of Blackwater. Cold Autumn''s gaze chilled when he saw the leading silver-armored man. Laughing Drunkard was one of the few experts who had risen to prominence in the Blackwater Guild. Although his battle record was limited, he had, single-handedly, defeated the Star Alliance''s Purple Eye and a dozen or so experts, wounding the first-rate Guild. He already ranked within the top 1,000 on the God''s Domain Experts List. Moreover, it was obvious that Laughing Drunkard had not used his full strength in his last battle. Due to this, the Secret Pavilion had investigated this man thoroughly. Even now, Cold Autumn could remember Yuan Tiexin''s words, warning him that, should he encounter Laughing Drunkard in the fields, caution would be best. His safest option was to step aside and take a long way around. Now, after observing Laughing Drunkard in detail, Cold Autumn discovered that the man radiated quite a pressure. Laughing Drunkard wore a full set of excellent Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. The man also carried a snow-white spear across his back. Overall, the man looked like a daunting general on a battlefield. However, with his current strength, he shouldn''t need to fear Laughing Drunkard to the point of avoiding contact. This left Cold Autumn confused about Yuan Tiextin''s warning. While Cold Autumn watched Laughing Drunkard, the man shot the youth a look, revealing a sneer, as if he had sensed Cold Autumn''s gaze. He then ignored Cold Autumn and returned his attention to the woman before him. Watching Laughing Drunkard and the others, Alluring Summer nodded and said, "That''s right. What business do you have with me?" "Good. We''ll give you 150 Gold; sell us all of your Advanced Mana Armor Kits," Laughing Drunkard said in a commanding tone after confirming that he got the right person. "Of course, you can choose not to sell them. But I can''t guarantee you will leave White River City with your life." As soon as Laughing Drunkard made the threat, the dozen or so Level 39 players beside him encircled Alluring Summer, sneering at the woman. Laughing Drunkard had not spoken softly. Almost every player watching his group had heard him clearly. Many players instantly voiced their complaints. "That woman spent 600 Gold to buy those three kits, yet he wants to buy them all for 150 Gold? Blackwater''s members are too much!" "Has Blackwater lost its mind? They dare extort others in broad daylight. Are they not afraid of the guards?" "Sure enough, independent players shouldn''t stand out. I''ve heard that Blackwater members even dared to attack Ouroboros''s Guild Leader, Gentle Snow, in the middle of the city. That beauty has no choice but to concede." Many players began to pity Alluring Summer. Everyone understood that, rather than targeting Alluring Summer specifically, Blackwater''s true intention was to demonstrate its might in White River City. Blackwater was currently engaged in an all-out war against Zero Wing. Now that Zero Wing had declared its large-scale auction in four days, Blackwater had to do something to suppress Zero Wing, preventing the Guild from making a comeback. An independent player like Alluring Summer, who had purchased the Candlelight Trading Firm''s items and wasn''t particularly strong, would undoubtedly be Blackwater''s best target for a demonstration. Whether Alluring Summer handed over the items willingly or they took the items by force, the act would send a message that anyone who purchased items from Candlelight would suffer the consequences! "You''re going to attack me if I refuse?" Narrowing her eyes, Alluring Summer smiled as she said, "I want to see if your Blackwater is strong enough to do so, then." "You must want to die!" A Level 39 black-robed Assassin suddenly appeared behind Alluring Summer, his eyes containing bloodlust. The Assassin thrust his dagger towards the back of Alluring Summer''s head, giving the woman no room to dodge or counter. Despicable! Cleansed Rue, who stood by the side, inwardly cursed this sight. While Laughing Drunkard had been talking, he had sent an expert Assassin to approach Alluring Summer stealthily and attack her should the negotiations fail. This was truly despicable behavior. As everyone thought that Alluring Summer was done for, they watched the Level 39 Assassin''s dagger pass through the woman''s body harmlessly. Rather than finding its target, the Assassin''s attack struck Alluring Smile''s afterimage. Her reaction time is so fast! Cold Autumn''s eyes widened, shocked at Alluring Summer''s speed. If he faced such a sneak attack, he would likely lose his life, then and there, yet Alluring Summer had dodged the attack as if she had predicted it. However, these players from Blackwater weren''t ordinary players either. Every one was an expert. After realizing that his attack had failed, that Assassin turned to where Alluring Sumer had aimed her Blink. After discovering the woman, he used Shadow Steps. In the blink of an eye, the Assassin appeared behind Alluring Smile once more. With a backhand swing, he sent a Backstab at Alluring Smile, the fluidity of his movements impressing many of the Guild experts who watched the fight. Peng! Before anyone realized it, an Ice Wall had appeared behind Alluring Summer. When the dagger struck the wall and subsequently slowed, Alluring Summer tilted her body forward slightly, deftly dodging the Assassin''s Backstab. Following which, she turned and before anyone realized it, completed chanting and tracing the runes for another Spell. She then pointed her finger at the Assassin. Immediately, an arc of blue lightning shot from Alluring Summer''s extended finger and struck the Assassin before her. However, the Assassin was no fool. Understanding that the lightning attack was quite powerful, he immediately activated Vanish, utilizing the brief 1.3-second invulnerability to block the attack. "It seems this chick is quite strong." Seeing that Alluring Summer''s was extraordinarily strong, Laughing Drunkard turned to one of the Swordsmen beside him and said, "Bullet, go, help take care of that chick. After this, I''ll ask the Boss to help you apply for training at the main headquarters." "Thank you, leader! I''ll take care of her!" The Swordsman named Bullet licked his lips before activating Windwalk and charging towards Alluring Summer. Cleansed Rue frowned when she saw the expert Assassin and expert Swordsman working together against Alluring Summer. She could tell that both the Assassin and the Swordsman could easily rank near the top of Hundred Flowers Palace''s players with their combat standards. If their coordination was good, even Cleansed Rue herself was not confident of defeating them. When Bullet arrived before Alluring Summer, the latter turned suddenly once more and pointed her finger at the Swordsman. Xiu! Another arc of lightning flew from Alluring Summer''s finger. Moreover, the lightning was even faster than before. The attack was far more powerful this time. Before anyone realized it, three Ice Walls had appeared around Bullet, preventing him from moving sideways or backward and leaving him with no choice but to defend against the attack. Peng! Bullet quickly activated Parry to block the attack. However, the instant his weapon met lightning, his body was launched like a cannonball, crashing through the Ice Wall behind him and landing over twenty yards away. The massive power within Alluring Summer''s attack made everyone shudder involuntarily. Such skilled double-casting! Alluring Summer''s performance surprised Cold Autumn. "It''s no wonder why you dared to challenge us. So, you have a few tricks up your sleeves. Ghost, join them. I want to see how long she can hold up," Laughing Drunkard ordered. "Understood!" At this time, a large, tanned Berserker named Smoking Ghost stepped forward. Without hesitation, he used Charge on the fatigued Alluring Summer. Just when this Level 39 Berserker''s weapon was about to hit Alluring Summer, a three-meter-tall skeletal claw appeared beside the Berserker without so much as a sound. Catching Smoking Ghost by surprise, the skeletal claw grabbed the Berserker before squeezing him, releasing a loud crunch. Smoking Ghost''s body transformed into a pile of ash that fell through the skeletal clawed fingers. "This is" Every spectator was stupefied. They could not figure out what had happened. That had been a Level 39 Berserker! Even Cold Autumn and Cleansed Rue were shocked. They could not believe that such an expert had died in a single move. Suddenly, a clear voice resonated down the street. "This is Zero Wing''s territory! Do you people from Blackwater think you can do whatever you want here?!" The crowd turned towards the voice''s owner. They were speechless. The person who had spoken was none other than Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, Aqua Rose. 1024 Mage God Chapter 1024 - Mage God "So strong!" "As expected of Zero Wing''s Goddess!" Aqua Rose''s Tier 1 Curse, Soul Annihilation, shocked every player on the street. Many female players were even mesmerized. She''s Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader? Cleansed Rue''s eyes widened in shock in shock as she saw Aqua Rose. Although she had been in White River City for a time and had seen photos of Aqua Rose and watched many of the woman''s videos, this was the first time she had seen her in person. However, the Aqua Rose she stared at was different from her Guild''s reports. Based on the information her Guild had provided, although Aqua Rose was very strong, the woman''s combat power was only slightly stronger than the Star Alliance''s Red Feather. Although Aqua Rose had improved as time progressed and had even defeated Thousand Blades, one of the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s apex experts, in the Dark Arena, she was not strong enough to kill a Level 39 top-tier expert with a single attack. Ordinary players might not realize how strong that Level 39 Berserker was, but as the Vice Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, Cleansed Rue did. This Level 39 Berserker''s timing was even better than the Assassin and Swordsman who had attacked first. He was definitely a Half-step Refinement Realm expert. Moreover, based on Laughing Drunkard''s tone, it was obvious that he was relatively confident in this Berserker''s strength. A Half-step Refinement Realm expert was no noob. In a first-rate Guild, said expert would rank near the top of the Guild. Said expert might even become the Guild''s strongest player. Yet, Aqua Rose had killed such an expert instantly Cleansed Rue began to wonder if Zero Wing had bribed her information department. It had only been a short time since she had received the report on Aqua Rose. How could one person improve so quickly? Suddenly, the masked Level 40 female Assassin beside Laughing Drunkard asked, "Drunkard, why don''t we gang up on Aqua Rose? If we kill her, it will deal quite a blow to Zero Wing. Guild Leader and the others will have less resistance when they strike." "Forget it. We should save some of our cards for later. Lethal Gale suffered precisely because he grossly underestimated Zero Wing," Laughing Drunkard said, shaking his head as he glanced at Aqua Rose. He then said in the team chat, "Bullet, you two go all-out and deal with Aqua Rose. I want to see how strong this Vice Guild Leader is." Laughing Drunkard had planned to put on a dominant show in front of the Candlelight Trading Firm to suppress Zero Wing''s recently-rising prestige. Now, however, it seemed as if that were no longer possible. Now that Bullet and the Level 39 Assassin had actively attacked someone inside the city, the NPC guards would kill and jail them upon arrival. It was also obvious that the two were not capable of killing the woman named Alluring Summer. Rather than lose their lives pointlessly, they might as well use this opportunity to test Aqua Rose''s strength. No matter what was said or done, Aqua Rose was Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, a VIP. If they could collect some information on Aqua Rose now, it would be easier to deal with the woman in the future. This war between Guilds would not be determined with just one or two big battles or several dozen minor skirmishes. Aside from an economic war, information gathering was extremely important. Information could determine a war''s outcome if used during a crucial moment. "Understood!" After Bullet and the Assassin received their command, they activated their Berserk Skills before turning and dashing towards Aqua Rose. Like machines, there wasn''t a shred of hesitation in their eyes. Both players'' Attributes rose significantly, and their dangerous auras resembled that of wild beasts. The surrounding players instantly felt death loom over them, and they started to back away from these two players. After the two activated their Berserk Skills, each temporarily gained the combat power of a Lord of the same level. Yet, as if the pressure these two players radiated were a spring breeze, Aqua Rose remained unfazed as she stood before the Candlelight Trading Firm''s entrance. Watching the two players charge at her, Aqua Rose simply waved her staff. The ground beneath her feet turned pitch-black, and as if this black shadow were contagious, it spread quickly, covering the ground around her. The shadow then enveloped the Assassin and Swordsman, and they instinctively jumped into the air to avoid the attack. "Begone!" Aqua Rose did not even bother to look at her assailants as she swiped her right index finger across the air. The pitch-black shadow rose from the ground, transforming into a pillar of black light that shot into the air. Even players several streets away saw the pillar of black light. Giving neither of the players a chance, the black pillar devoured them whole. Despite the two players activating their Lifesaving Skills, they screamed in agony from inside the pillar. They felt as if they were trapped in hell. The spectators even began to pity them after hearing the screams. When the pillar of black light finally disappeared, only Aqua Rose and two pieces of top-tier equipment remained on the battlefield "They died?" "How did she do that?" This scene left everyone gasping. Unlike the Berserker, who had died without any display of strength, Blackwater''s Assassin and Swordsman had shown off their combat standards against Alluring Summer. Thus, everyone watching the battle had a clear grasp of how strong those two experts were. Laughing Drunkard, who watched from afar, wore a dark expression. Aqua Rose was a lot stronger than he had expected. Until now, she had only used two Skills. This wasn''t enough for him to judge her current standard. Moreover, the information he gleaned from the pillar of black light was not enough to reach a conclusion. The Assassin and Swordsman had died for nothing. After Aqua Rose finished collecting her loot, she looked towards Laughing Drunkard and said, "If you still want to fight, attack me together. I don''t have time to waste on fighting you one by one." Currently, she was in a relatively good mood. She had only used two Skills to earn two pieces of Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. She could probably make close to 100 Gold if she sold these two items. Unfortunately, Blackwater''s members had swiftly retrieved the equipment the Berserker had dropped. Otherwise, she could have earned more money. "You!" When Blackwater''s players heard Aqua Rose''s provocation, they all wanted to jump into action. Although Aqua Rose''s Skills were indeed powerful, Skills like those generally had very long Cooldowns. If they charged at her now, they would be more than capable of defeating the Cursemancer. "We''re leaving!" Laughing Drunkard extended a hand to stop his teammates. "Now is not the time to fight them. We will have plenty of opportunities in the future." Saying so, Laughing Drunkard led his team away from the Candlelight Trading Firm''s entrance, earning jeers and mocking gazes from the surrounding players for his trouble. At the same time, the bystanders began to admire Zero Wing even more than before. White River City''s native players cheered. In their eyes, Zero Wing was a local Guild, while Blackwater was the enemy. Naturally, they would celebrate when Zero Wing suppressed Blackwater. "Aqua, isn''t your transformation a little too intense? It''s only been some time since we''ve seen each other, yet I nearly failed to recognize you." As everyone left the venue, Alluring Summer, who had silently stood by the side, smiled and greeted Aqua Rose. "Not here. Let''s continue our conversation inside." Aqua Rose responded to the greeting with a smile of her own. She then led Alluring Summer into the Candlelight Trading Firm. The remaining players on the street were stunned. They had never expected Alluring Summer to be acquainted with Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, Aqua Rose. They know each other? Why doesn''t the Secret Pavilion know anything about this? Cold Autumn was similarly shocked. Alluring Summer''s strength could not be ignored. After seeing the speed of her double-casting, Cold Autumn knew that the woman was extraordinary. Unfortunately, Aqua Rose had ended the battle too abruptly, giving Alluring Summer no opportunity to display her true strength. If Shi Feng were present, he, too, would have been surprised. After all, he was extremely familiar with the woman named Alluring Summer. Shi Feng wasn''t the only one. Practically every player in God''s Domain had heard of her in the past. Her fame had all been due Alluring Summer''s past nickname. The Lightning Mage God! 1025 Recruiting the Mage God Chapter 1025 - Recruiting the Mage God After the auction for the Advanced Mana Armor Kit ended, news of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s plans to hold a large-scale auction spread like wildfire. It quickly became the hot topic throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. "Zero Wing is so amazing! I never thought that it would even sell Bronze Mounts! I have to collect enough money to join the auction myself!" "Stop dreaming. Those are Bronze Mounts we are talking about. Even large Guilds only have a few. If Zero Wing really intends to sell them, independent players like us won''t be able to afford their price." "Even if I can''t afford it, visiting the auction is still be a good idea. I heard that, aside from the Bronze Mounts, they''ll be selling rare items." The majority of the players eagerly anticipated the Candlelight Auction in four days. Even if they could not buy themselves a Bronze Mount, they would be more than satisfied with a good weapon or piece of equipment. As the public disregarded this as just another normal auction, God''s Domain''s various large Guilds immediately took action, secretly gathering funds. To ordinary players, the most attractive item up for auction was the Bronze Mount. To large Guilds, however, the entrance slots to the Holy City of Titan and the Advanced Mana Armor Kits were far more important. The entrance slots were particularly valuable to Super Guilds. After all, they had the master Lifestyle players that other Guilds did not. Only, these Lifestyle players had yet to familiarize themselves with God''s Domain''s Lifestyle system. As long as these players had enough resources, they would easily become true Master Lifestyle players. With Super Guilds'' expansive network of connections, they could easily earn a ton of Coins with these Master Lifestyle players'' advanced products. Hence, when the various Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds heard the news of Zero Wing selling the Holy City''s entrance slots, they immediately began to gather funds. "As I expected of the number one Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom to think Zero Wing still had such a move." Singular Burial could not help but laugh when he read the report his subordinate had sent. Others might only see Zero Wing holding a simple auction, but he knew the true value of the Holy City''s entrance slots. Those slots would attract a large number of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. There was also the Advanced Mana Armor Kit to consider. A 10% increase to one''s Basic Attributes was no trifling matter. If one could equip a 100-man expert team with the Advanced Mana Armor Kits, raiding large-scale Team Dungeons would be much easier. This was especially true for Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeons. As the saying went, "once ahead, always ahead." Level 50 was a major turning point for God''s Domain''s players. If a Guild compiled a stock of Level 50 top-tier equipment ahead of its competition, when the time came, the Guild''s experts could complete their Tier 2 class-changes ahead of others as well. "Guild Leader, what should we do? If we let Zero Wing move unhindered, by the time the auction is over, they will resolve their funding problem." "It doesn''t matter. We''ll proceed as planned. Fog and her group should finish constructing the magic array in less than four days. Even if Zero Wing collects enough Coins, it will be powerless to change the situation. Collect some money for the auction. We need to join in on the fun as well." Singular Burial was not worried about Zero Wing making a comeback with the Candlelight Auction. Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater had already prepared to take down Stone Forest Town. No matter how hard Zero Wing struggled, nothing would change. Inside the Candlelight Trading Firm''s VIP guest room: The seven-story Candlelight Trading Firm was at least the equivalent of a ten-story building in the real world. On the top floor, one could see the beauty of White River City past the french windows and the ant-sized players wandering through the streets. In White River City, aside from the Candlelight Trading Firm''s 3-star Shop, no building offered such scenery. Most of the high-class restaurants throughout the city were at most three stories tall. Even NPC- and other player-owned Shops were not as tall. Alluring Summer, who currently sat by the french windows, glanced at the city before turning back to Aqua Rose and saying enviously, "Aqua, you really are getting by a lot better than I am. After not seeing each other for some time, your strength has improved so much. What have you been doing recently? You couldn''t be training deep in the mountains, right?" Aqua Rose had hidden her level during the scuffle on the street. After entering the VIP lounge, however, she had no reason to. Level 44! When Alluring Summer saw this, her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. She had barely reached Level 41 after encountering several miracles and spending most of her time cooped up in her home playing God''s Domain, yet Aqua Rose, who was busy as Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, had managed to reach Level 44. It was truly inconceivable. Alluring Summer could clearly remember that, when Aqua Rose had resided in the Storm Empire and one of Twilight Echo''s Honorary Elders, the woman''s level and equipment had been on par with hers. If she had lost to her friend only in levels and equipment, she wouldn''t have minded. The biggest issue was that Aqua Rose had also improved her combat techniques. Coupled with the woman''s equipment, she was not confident that she could defeat Aqua Rose right now. "What are you talking about?" Aqua Rose covered her mouth and grinned. She had known Alluring Summer since she was young as their families were friends. However, Alluring Summer was a far more talented gamer than herself. Due to that, this woman had always bullied her. Now that Alluring Summer had said such a thing, the little vanity inside her was quite satisfied. She felt even happier than when she had defeated the Star Alliance. "Who do you think you''re trying to fool?! Look at that smile on your face!" Alluring Summer rolled her eyes at her friend. Eagerly, she asked, "Speak! What have you been doing recently?! How did you improve so quickly?!" "Alright, alright! I''ll talk!" Aqua Rose nodded. "To be honest, I''ve asked you here for a reason. I''m sure that you have heard about Zero Wing, even in the Storm Empire. I invited you here today to ask you to join Zero Wing." "Join a Guild?" Alluring Summer shook her head straightforwardly and said, "Forget it. I''m used to moving alone. I hate being bound by Guilds'' restrictions more than anything. Don''t even try to persuade me. I refuse to join any Guild." "Don''t you want to improve your combat techniques?" Aqua Rose had predicted this reply. Smiling, she said, "Hasn''t that always been your goal? If you are always alone, I''m afraid that you''ll never catch up to that person. I''ve heard that that person is getting by pretty well in God''s Domain. His strength has already reached an unimaginable realm." 1026 Top Ten Chapter 1026 - Top Ten Alluring Summer fell silent at Aqua Rose''s words. Others might not know why she had started playing virtual reality games, but Aqua Rose knew her end goal. "I know how that person is doing. I''m still nowhere near his strength. However, I recently accepted a Hidden Class Quest. If I can complete the quest and obtain a hidden class, I might have a chance of catching up in the future," Alluring Summer said seriously. "I believe that you are familiar with his standards. Can you say with certainty that I can surpass that person by joining Zero Wing?" Before she arrived in Star-Moon Kingdom, she had researched Aqua Rose''s Guild thoroughly. She had to admit that it was miraculous that a small, unknown Guild had grown to become Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild in such a short time. However, Star-Moon Kingdom wasn''t much when compared to the whole of God''s Domain. There were hundreds of kingdoms. Star-Moon Kingdom was only slightly above average kingdom. Meanwhile, empires stood far above kingdoms. Based on what she knew, there were other small, unknown Guilds that had taken control of entire kingdoms. There was even a third-rate Guild that dominated an empire, though said third-rate Guild possessed an extraordinary background. On the other hand, Zero Wing had yet to take control over Star-Moon Kingdom fully. Among the many rising small Guilds in the game, it merely ranked among the top; it did not rank number one. Furthermore, the recently-established Blackwater Guild was an extremely tough opponent for Zero Wing. In the real world, the Blackwater Corporation had begun to gather all sorts of resources. It was clear that the corporation planned a major move in God''s Domain to seize some of the shares in God''s Domain''s market. As an international corporation, the amount of resources the Blackwater Corporation wielded was beyond imagination. Even without any tricks, it could easily defeat first-rate Guilds. To put it bluntly, Zero Wing was having a hard time staying afloat right now. How could the Guild possibly help her improve? When Alluring Summer had expected Aqua Rose to hesitate and fail to answer her question confidently, Aqua Rose revealed a dauntless smile and responded, "If you work hard enough after joining Zero Wing, I assure you that you will achieve your goal." If Alluring Summer had asked this question in the past, she wouldn''t have been so certain. After all, she knew full well how powerful Alluring Summer''s target was. It was not just a matter of being strong. That person was on an entirely different level. Only someone as talented as Alluring Summer could dream of surpassing such a person. As for herself, she had only been able to look up to him. However, things were different now. In the past, she had been barred from that person''s world. However, thanks to Shi Feng, she was beginning to enter it. With Alluring Summer''s frightening talent, it was incredibly likely that she would surpass that person in the future. Hearing Aqua Rose''s resolute answer, Alluring Summer was stunned. If Aqua Rose were not her best friend, she would suspect the woman of some trick. Seeing Alluring Summer''s hesitation, Aqua Rose took a deep breath and said, "I understand your thoughts. How about this? Join Zero Wing. If you think remaining in Zero Wing won''t help you reach your goal, I''ll ask the Guild Leader to let you go personally. How about it?" In reality, she had not asked Alluring Summer here only because she wanted to add her strength to Zero Wing, but also because she wanted to help her friend realize her dream. Firstly, she planned to recruit Alluring Summer as a Zero Wing core member and expose her to the Guild''s training. This was the greatest concession she could offer right now. After all, Zero Wing was not hers. She could not selfishly offer the Guild''s resources to an outsider. "Really?" Alluring Summer asked warily. She knew that as players were given access to more resources in a large Guild, they would be bound by more restrictions. It was impossible to up and leave for no reason. Take Aqua Rose for example. If not for the Sun and Moon Group position as one of Twilight Echo''s major shareholders, she wouldn''t have been able to leave the Guild so easily. "Don''t you believe me?" Aqua Rose rolled her eyes at Alluring Summer. "These are your words. Don''t regret them later. If I sense that there is no point to remaining in Zero Wing, I won''t hesitate to walk away," Alluring Summer stated seriously. "That''s fine," Aqua Rose said, smiling bitterly. "If you don''t have any other issues, sign this contract. Once you sign it, you''ll be one of Zero Wing''s core members and can enjoy all of the benefits that come with the position." Alluring Summer then read the system-approved contract. Indeed, as Aqua Rose had said, the conditions were lax. She could leave the Guild anytime she wanted. However, she would not be permitted to share any information relating to Zero Wing with others. Otherwise, she would be banished from God''s Domain. Alluring Summer understood the clause. After all, every Guild had its secrets. After finding no faults with the contract, she signed at the bottom. After Aqua Rose confirmed that the Main God System had acknowledged the contract, she sent her friend several battle videos. "Since you''re a core member, you are allowed to learn from these. As for how much you learn, that depends on you. If you wish to enhance your learning speed, you can fight for the Hundred Berry Wine. If you want to improve your strength quickly, you can also apply to join Zero Wing''s training grounds in the real world. There are dedicated experts there to offer pointers. If you rank within the top ten in Zero Wing''s rank matches, you may apply for the black card. With that, you can train in the simulation training system." "Black card? What''s that?" Alluring Summer could not help but ask. "I''m not allowed to offer any concrete information. You can only learn more if you rank among the top ten in the matches," Aqua Rose said, chuckling. She had been using the black card Shi Feng had sent her. She had never dreamed that Shi Feng would get his hands on something so valuable. Before this, she had not realized how frightening Super Guilds were. Despite her previous participation in a Super Guild''s training camp, she felt like she was learning about Super Guilds for the first time. During the several days she had spent in the Secret Pavilion''s training system, she had improved significantly. "Don''t be so stingy. Do you think that I can''t rank among the top ten with my strength?" Alluring Summer curled up her lips into a sneer. "I believe that you can in the future. However, you won''t make it in the upcoming rank matches," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. "Aqua, do you think that I used my full strength against those bastards on the street? I''m not trying to brag, but if I used my full strength, very few people in Zero Wing could stand against me," Alluring Summer said, annoyed. She had experienced many hardships in the Storm Empire. She had even disguised herself and defeated many well-known experts. Among them, some were even top-tier experts ranked on the God''s Domain''s Experts List. With her standards, aside from Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds, she would easily rank at the top of any of any large Guild. "I knew you would say that. However, take a look at these videos. Once you''re done, you''ll understand what I mean," Aqua Rose said, not bothering to explain further. "If you still think that you''re strong enough, I will find someone to spar with you. If you can defeat that person, I''ll help you apply for a black card immediately. What do you think?" "These are your words, not mine. Don''t regret them." Seeing Aqua Rose''s resolution, Alluring Summer decided to humor her friend, and she started to watch one of the videos she had been given. She was curious to find out what gave Aqua Rose such great confidence. 1027 Overwhelming Strength Chapter 1027 - Overwhelming Strength Only Zero Wing''s core members could view the battle videos Aqua Rose had sent to Alluring Summer. God''s Domain''s various large Guilds usually had their own intelligence departments that specialized in information gathering and videos of various battles. Battle videos of apex experts were not unique to Zero Wing. However, the battle videos Aqua Rose had sent were somewhat special. These battle videos could not be found anywhere on the market. The majority of these videos were of Shi Feng fighting other apex experts. Moreover, they had been recorded from Shi Feng''s point of view, not from a third party''s. In addition, they had been recorded with the Holographic Simulation Mode. Rather than watching the video on a flat screen, one could experience the fight themselves. Among the recorded opponents, the weakest were in the Refinement Realm, while the strongest had been an old monster in the Domain Realm. One could say that this was the classical collection of Shi Feng''s battles. As for opponents that had not reached the Refinement Realm, those had not qualified. After all, there were too many expert players who had yet to reach the Refinement Realm. Those videos were easy to find. Referencing those videos had no value. Aside from Shi Feng''s PvP battle videos, Alluring Summer also had access to his battle videos from the Secret Pavilion''s Battle Tower. The Battle Tower was the most direct method of testing a player''s combat standards. These videos could help a player summarize their deficiencies. These videos were precisely the reason that Zero Wing''s core members improved so quickly. Alluring Summer had not paid much attention when she had started to watch the videos. However, when the fight began, she couldn''t pull her eyes from the recording. Before she realized it, she had already watched all of the videos Aqua Rose had sent her. After Alluring Summer finished watching the videos, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Excitedly, she turned to look at Aqua Rose and asked, "Aqua, do you have other videos like these?" Although she had only watched a few and none of these videos lasted long, she had to admit that they were inspiring. Shi Feng''s battles gave her a glimpse of an entirely new world. She had never thought that players could fight in such a way. "These videos are the best we have. There are some others stored in the Guild''s database. The most exciting of those are the battles between core members. However, regarding combat standards, they are no match for the videos you just watched," Aqua Rose said. "They are no match?" Alluring Summer was disappointed. Although she had only watched the videos for a short time, she already felt that she had improved in a way. If she could watch more recordings of such high combat standards, she could improve faster than relying on trial and error. "Are you disappointed?" Aqua Rose asked, giggling. "Of course. I usually collect battle videos of God''s Domain''s experts, too. However, compared what you have given me, those experts are no more than children playing house." At this moment, Alluring Summer still couldn''t get enough of those videos. "To be honest, you don''t need to feel so disappointed. If you fight your way into the top ten in the rank matches and obtain a black card, you''ll develop even faster." Aqua Rose chuckled. One could fight all sorts of experts in the simulation training system. Experience would help one grow stronger much faster than watching videos. "Really?" Alluring Summer''s excitement was immediate. "Didn''t you say that, if I defeat a particular person, I can apply for a black card immediately? Call them here! I want to find out what this black card is." After watching the battle videos, while she admitted that she was absolutely no match for Shi Feng, she did not believe that, with her current strength, she could lose to anyone else in Zero Wing. After all, she had secretly defeated the 766th ranked expert on the God''s Domain''s Experts list. Furthermore, although she acknowledged that Aqua Rose had grown stronger after watching her friend fight, she believed that she had roughly a 40% chance of defeating the Vice Guild Leader. "Alright, then. I''ll contact them," Aqua Rose said, smiling helplessly. She knew full well how confident Alluring Summer was of her own strength. She also knew that Alluring Summer was a capable expert. Had Alluring Summer visited a few days earlier, with her current strength and techniques, she likely would have ranked among the top ten. In addition to her status as Vice Guild Leader, it shouldn''t be hard to get Alluring Summer a black card. Now, however, things had changed. Some time ago, Gentle Snow joined Zero Wing with a bunch of Ouroboros''s top players, increasing Zero Wing''s strength significantly. Right now, she was not certain of how well Alluring Summer would fare in Zero Wing. After all, she was not particularly familiar with the strength of Gentle Snow''s people. However, since her friend was eager to fight, she might as well accommodate the woman. She could use this opportunity to determine how much her friend had improved while they had been apart. Following which, Aqua Rose contacted Violet Cloud and led Alluring Summer to the Divine Colosseum. "Aqua, you''re kidding me, right? You''re having me fight a Cleric? Aren''t you underestimating me a little too much?" Alluring Summer frowned at the young Violet Cloud before her. Before arriving, she had thought Aqua Rose would find some middle-aged uncle to face her. She never thought that her opponent would be such a young girl. It was common knowledge that improving one''s techniques in virtual reality games was not as easy or convenient as improving one''s weapons and equipment. One needed to invest a lot of time to accumulate combat experience. Aside from those extremely talented youths, very few youths became experts. Most of the famous experts in God''s Domain were over 25 years old. Violet Cloud was also a Cleric. Alluring Summer''s victory was practically guaranteed. "Just fight her. You''ll understand soon," Aqua Rose said, smiling meaningfully. She had already promised that, as long as Alluring Summer defeated the person she called upon, she would help her apply for a black card. If she chose someone like Flying Shadow or Cola, her application might not be accepted. However, if Alluring Summer could defeat Violet Cloud, getter her access to the simulated training system would easier. Her application would definitely be accepted. After all, defeating Violet Cloud meant that Alluring Summer was already strong enough to rank among the Guild''s top ten. With no other choice, Alluring Summer helplessly entered the arena. She decided to put an end this pointless farce quickly. As soon as the timer reached zero Alluring Summer immediately began to double-cast. Moreover, both of her chosen Spells were Tier 1: Lightning and Chain Fireball. First, she intended to use the numerous fireballs to block her opponent''s paths, keeping the girl in one place. Afterward, she planned to attack Violet Cloud''s weak point with Lightning. Even an expert on her level would struggle to cope with such a combination. "Go!" As soon as Alluring Summer finished chanting, she hurled five fireballs at Violet Cloud. Each fireball was just as powerful as a full-powered attack from a Berserker of the same level. Moreover, the fireballs were extremely fast. Even an Assassin of the same level would find them difficult to dodge. This Spell should kill a Cleric instantly. Even if Violet Cloud survived the attack, Alluring Summer still had the more powerful and faster Lightning. This was the Spell she had used to throw Bullet, the Swordsman from Blackwater, over twenty yards away. It was overkill against a magical class. However, just as Alluring Summer thought that the battle was over, dozens of Mana Balls appeared around Violet Cloud. Under Violet Cloud''s control, these Mana Balls transformed into a beam of black light that struck the five fireballs. How?! Alluring Summer was stunned. The instant the five fireballs encountered those Mana Balls, not only had they been destroyed, but over a dozen more Mana Balls continued towards Alluring Summer. Despite using Lightning and Ice Wall to defend herself, the Mana Balls adjusted their attack trajectories as if they were alive, avoiding her Lightning and Ice Wall and surrounding her. A series of explosions echoed throughout the arena as Alluring Summer''s body fell to the ground. The system then displayed the victor''s name above the arena. Violet Cloud! 1028 Royal Guard Chapter 1028 - Royal Guard As soon as Alluring Summer resurrected outside the arena, she turned to look at the young girl walking out of it, her face filled with shock. Of all the experts she had encountered before, not one had ever managed to instantly kill her in a single move. She also had not believed that such a person existed. Not to mention, said person was a little girl. Why is there such a huge gap? Alluring Summer was baffled by this outcome. Standing to one side, Aqua Rose could not help but reminisce when she saw the stunned look on her friend''s face. Back when she had seen the strength Shi Feng displayed, she had been thoroughly stupefied. Now, Alluring Summer was experiencing a similar situation. The outcome of this match came as no surprise whatsoever to Aqua Rose. Although they were all playing the same game, the disparity in strength had made her wonder whether they were truly playing the same game. Alluring Summer was most likely pondering this same question at the moment, utterly confused by this situation. However, this was reality, an extremely cruel reality. This was the most unreasonable aspect of games. In ordinary virtual reality games, the gradual accumulation of Attributes made it very easy for a gap to appear between players. Meanwhile, God''s Domain was even more special than the usual virtual reality games. Not only was there the gap of Attributes, but there was also the gap of combat experience and techniques. Reaction speed, observation power, Skill utilization, grasp of timing, and many other aspects If one was just a tad stronger than their opponent in all these aspects, in a situation where both fighters possessed the same Attributes, there would still be a massive difference in the combat power displayed. This battle was undoubtedly the best proof. In terms of Attributes, Violet Cloud, who was currently Level 44, completely surpassed Alluring Summer. In terms of combat techniques, Violet Cloud, who had already entered the Refinement Realm, was also superior to Alluring Summer, who was only at the Half-step Refinement Realm. The result of this combination of advantages was a one-hit KO. After falling into a daze for quite some time, Alluring Summer turned to look at Aqua Rose and asked curiously, "Aqua, tell me honestly. What''s her rank within the Guild?" This was Alluring Summer''s first time encountering such a powerful Cleric since she started playing God''s Domain. She did not believe that Violet Cloud ranked only within the top ten of Zero Wing. Based on her estimation, the girl should be among the top three at the very least. If a Guild could have three of such experts, it was no wonder Zero Wing was considered Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. "Probably within the top five?" Aqua Rose could not say for sure. As far as she knew, Shi Feng had not held back in nurturing Gentle Snow and the others after they joined Zero Wing. Moreover, Aqua Rose had heard that Gentle Snow had already entered the Refinement Realm even before she joined Zero Wing. The weapon she wielded was even a Magic Weapon. She also had a hidden class that enabled her to use Twofold Berserk. In addition, there was Thoughtful Rain, who did not participate much in Guild activities. The girl was very strong and was another one who had a special Legacy. "She''s so strong, yet she''s only ranked within the top five?!" Alluring Summer exclaimed in shock. "You''re kidding me, right?!" She truly found it hard to imagine what kind of Guild Zero Wing was. There were actually four more monsters like Violet Cloud in the Guild. Just how were other Guilds supposed to go up against Zero Wing? "What benefit do I get from lying to you?" Aqua Rose rolled her eyes at Alluring Summer. Grumpily, she added, "Now you know how powerful Zero Wing is, right?" Although Aqua Rose was acting somewhat smug, Alluring Summer was paying no attention to her words whatsoever. Instead, she directly rushed up to Violet Cloud, hoping to continue challenging the young girl. Before this, she had extreme difficulty finding a powerful expert to fight against. Now that this little monster was right before her eyes, how could she possibly let this chance get away? To a battle maniac like Alluring Summer, this situation was equivalent to placing fresh meat before a hungry wolf. At the same time as Alluring Summer had joined Zero Wing, a huge incident had occurred over at the distant Star-Moon City. A short while ago, monsters had captured an NPC town belonging to Star-Moon City, massacring every player within the town and reducing a town with a population of nearly 20,000 players to a town of death. In response, Star-Moon City had announced that players could launch a crusade against this town. As long as they managed to clear out the monsters from this town, they would obtain generous rewards, including direct promotion to a Count of Star-Moon City. In God''s Domain, the importance of Reputation to players spoke volumes for itself. The higher a player''s Reputation was, the easier it would be for them to obtain a high-ranking or rare quest. Players could also receive discounts on their repair fees and teleportation fees. Most importantly, the number of Personal Guards they could hire would increase. At the Viscount rank, players were only allowed two Personal Guards. At the Count rank, however, players could have four. Even if a player themself was not strong, if they had four high-quality Personal Guards around them, even expert players would have to give them a wide berth. Moreover, grinding Field Bosses would also become a very simple task. Only, it was extremely difficult to find high-quality Personal Guards. Currently, even a Mysterious-Iron Guard would go for an astronomical price, not to mention Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Guards. However, players were no fools, either. Currently, even the various large Guilds had managed to find only a few Mysterious-Iron Guards, much less Secret-Silver Guards. Anyone who obtained one would definitely treat the NPC as their family heirloom. They would not sell the NPC no matter what. Meanwhile, one of the rewards for the town crusade just so happened to be an opportunity to select a Personal Guard from the King''s Royal Guard. The King''s Royal Guard! That was the gathering place of Star-Moon Kingdom''s elites. Only the most outstanding guards could join the Royal Guard. Their Growth Potential would naturally be significantly better than that of the NPCs players could find on the streets. Even if an ordinary player managed to obtain only a Mysterious-Iron Guard, they could immediately resign from their jobs in the real world and rely solely on God''s Domain to sustain themselves. If one obtained a Secret-Silver Guard and directly sold the NPC to a large Guild, they would no longer have to worry about living expenses for the rest of their lives. Hence, the moment news of this was released, the entire Star-Moon City went into an uproar. Both independent and Guild players formed teams one after another and embarked on an expedition to take back the town. Many Guilds and Workshops even started preparing siege tools. "Guild Leader, should we send some men over as well? In any case, that town is not very far away from Stone Forest Town," Blackie suggested softly as he looked at Shi Feng, who was currently overseeing the construction of the Magic Tower. "No need to hurry. It''ll be fine even if we head out after the tower is constructed," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. In reality, though, even he was greatly tempted by this reward. The NPCs in the Royal Guard were dragons among men. Generally, only players who had reached the Marquis rank had the opportunity to choose a Personal Guard from the Royal Guard. Even then, they would be required to complete a quest whose difficulty was no less than an Epic Quest''s. Extremely few players were capable of completing it. Fortunately, this quest belonged to the category of pure-reward quests, so players would not incur any punishment even if they failed. At most, they would lose their opportunity to recruit a Royal Guard. Yet, now, players only needed to capture a town in order to receive such a reward. Shi Feng was somewhat puzzled by this situation. 1029 Mythic Monster Chapter 1029 - Mythic Monster Upon hearing Shi Feng saying so, Blackie had no choice but to give up on taking a look at the monster town. After all, Zero Wing was truly very busy right now. The Guild''s expansion had driven home to Blackie its dire manpower shortage. Setting aside the ongoing war with Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial, just Stone Forest Town itself required a lot of people to manage it. In the past, as he had not been responsible for managing Stone Forest Town, he had not thought that the job was particularly difficult. Recently, however, Shi Feng had handed him some of the responsibility for the town, which finally made him realize how wrong he was. While the town had still been in its protection period, the task of maintaining the town''s security could be left fully to the NPC guards to handle. After the protection period was over, however, problems started cropping up one after another. The first headache was the matter of patrolling the town, a daily task in player towns. Zero Wing needed to arrange for some players to patrol Stone Forest Town and maintain its security. However, this need was not because of players but NPCs. Ever since Stone Forest Town''s protection period ended, a constant flow of NPC visitors from other towns had started trickling in. Among them included merchants, adventurers, and various other kinds of NPCs. This situation triggered the true development of the town''s economy, which was the root of the second headache. A town''s promotion relied mainly on its economy and degree of prosperity. Meanwhile, these two factors depended on the number of resident players and NPCs. In terms of players, Stone Forest Town had long since exceeded the target requirement and was already qualified for promotion to a medium-sized town. In terms of NPCs, however, Stone Forest Town was not even close to reaching the required number of 10,000 NPCs. Moreover, this number did not include the NPC guards brought over or hired by the Guild. Meanwhile, the town''s security was critical to attracting more NPCs to a town. Hence, Guilds needed to dispatch players every day to maintain the security within their town and inspect the NPCs in town to prevent the spies of dark forces from creating local mischief. In addition, Guilds had to dispatch a lot of members to maintain the security of the trade routes between towns, which faced threats from players, as well as from hostile NPCs and monsters. If the security of a town''s trade routes was not maintained, then merchant NPCs would not dare to visit said town to develop at all. Hence, managing a town was not as easy as Blackie had imagined it to be. Fortunately, these security tasks were considered Guild Quests, which also provided relatively good rewards, so quite a number of Guild members were fighting over these quests every day. Only, these quests were a little costly to the Guild. While the system supplied the EXP rewards these quests provided, the monetary rewards came from the Guild itself. Moreover, the longer the trade route that needed coverage, the more players that had to be dispatched, which would, in turn, raise the expenditures. Just a single day''s maintenance fees already cost the Guild 300 Gold. Moreover, this was only the beginning. As the protection period of the town had just recently ended, there was only a single trade route leading to Stone Forest Town right now. Once the number of trade routes increased, the Guild''s expenditures would rise significantly. "Guild Leader, is it true that we really won''t have to patrol any trade route near the town after we construct this Magic Tower?" Blackie asked curiously as he looked at Shi Feng, who was continuously manipulating magical runes at the moment. "Of course. Otherwise, why would I pay such a huge price to build this tower?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. The Magic Tower was the mainstream defensive building used in the later stages of God''s Domain. Just the cost of construction already exceeded 7,000 Gold. If one included the many materials wasted due to production errors, the total cost could exceed 10,000 Gold. Reducing wastage was also the reason why Guilds would usually have Master Lifestyle players construct the Magic Tower. With the rarity of the design for the Magic Tower and the sheer expense of actually constructing one, if the Magic Tower only had great destructive power, it would never have become the mainstream defensive building of God''s Domain. The key point that made the Magic Tower valuable was its defensive range. The tower had a detection range of 10,000 yards. Hence, after constructing a Magic Tower in the town, there would be no need to worry about hostile NPCs intruding upon the trade routes within 10,000 yards of the tower, as these NPCs would know that they would be discovered very quickly. The construction of a second Magic Tower would extend the defensive range of the towers by an additional 5,000 yards. This range was extendable to a maximum of 30,000 yards. In other words, the Magic Towers would reach maximum efficiency when there were five of them in a town or city. However, Stone Forest Town was not a commercial town. It would not have many trade routes that needed guarding. Hence, having a single Magic Tower was sufficient. Any more would just be a waste of resources. After all, its construction design was available in limited quantities. If he weren''t limited by the designs, though, Shi Feng would not mind building a few more towers and turning Stone Forest Town into an iron fortress. The current Stone Forest Town was no longer the same as it was in the past when the majority of its residents were Guild players. On the contrary, independent players currently outnumbered the Guild players within the town. This was because the various large Guilds had all shifted their focus to the Undead Gorge, as not only was the map there massive, but the monsters there were available in greater numbers as well. Whether one was trying to grind for levels or Magic Crystals, the Undead Gorge was an excellent choice. Most importantly, Guilds wouldn''t have to submit to Zero Wing''s exploitation by grinding at the Undead Gorge. If they grinded at the Stoneclaw Mountains, they would have to contribute a significant share of the Magic Crystals they earned to the repair fees and accommodation fees at Stone Forest Town. However, there would be no need to do so if they grinded at the Undead Gorge. Although it took more time to travel to the Undead Gorge, as Mounts became more commonplace, going from the nearest NPC town to the Undead Gorge would get whittled down to only around two hours. Hence, the various large Guilds had placed all their focus on the Undead Gorge. However, independent players were different. Firstly, their levels were not comparable to those of elite members of Guilds. Secondly, they would suffer at the hands of the Guilds grinding at the Undead Gorge. Hence, the Stoneclaw Mountains had become the best option for them. Currently, if one looked at the streets of Stone Forest Town, one would find that nearly 70% of the players there were independent players. The town was even more prosperous than it was in the past. During the time Shi Feng was completing the runes for the Magic Tower, news regarding the various large Guilds'' crusade against the monster town had spread all over the official forums. A Level 60 Mythic monster had actually appeared in Black Ridge Town! All Guilds participating in the crusade were defeated! "What? Aren''t Mythic monsters Tier 4 monsters?" "If only you had seen how powerful that monster was for yourself! With just a single move, it instantly annihilated over 10,000 of the players that had gone to recapture the town. Nobody could defend against that monster''s attack. Even magic barriers were useless against it." "That''s only the tip of the iceberg. I''ve heard that the monsters in that town all possess extremely high combat standards. Even ordinary players might not be able to defeat the Common monsters there in a one-on-one. Most importantly, I''ve heard that players killed by those monsters aren''t able to log into God''s Domain for some time. Moreover, those monsters would also grow in strength after killing players." "How are we supposed to recapture that town, then? The more people that go there, the stronger those monsters become. Plus, there''s even a Tier 4 Boss guarding the townthat''s as strong as the strongest NPCs in major NPC cities. Who could possibly do anything about those monsters?" "I''ve heard that the monsters inside the town have already begun spreading out into the surroundings. They aren''t just staying in Black Ridge Town. They''ve even ambushed many players grinding in that map. Now, no player dares to approach that map anymore." "It''s no wonder the system is offering such generous rewards. The difficulty of this quest is simply ridiculous. Luckily, I didn''t go there." "Do you think those monsters will continue taking over the nearby towns?" "That might actually be possible." "I think Stone Forest Town is in one of the maps closest to Black Ridge Town. If those monsters head over to Stone Forest Town, we''ll have an interesting show to watch." Many players were merrily discussing the monster town on the forums. At the same time, the various large Guilds also suddenly realized that something joyous was going to happen. If those monsters really continued extending their reach into the vicinity, it was only a matter of time before Stone Forest Town encountered trouble. 1030 Magic Tower Completed Chapter 1030 - Magic Tower Completed The news of the monster crusade failure spread rapidly throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Immediately after, the safety of Stone Forest Town also became a topic of discussion. Many players were delighted at this situation, particularly the members of Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial. They never thought that even the game would side with them. As long as Zero Wing lost its possession of Stone Forest Town, the Guild would lose a major source of income. Afterwards, with the capital their Guilds possessed, they could easily crush Zero Wing. Moreover, to fan the flames, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial started deliberately purchasing the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Light Stones in bulk and selling them together with the Light Stones they produced cheaply, quickly solving their Shops'' shortage of Light Stones. Although this would increase the Candlelight Trading Firm''s income in the short term as well as incur losses for their own Guilds, doing so would encourage Candlelight''s customers to gradually transition to shopping at the Heavenly Trading Firm and Blackwater Trading Firm in the long run. Due to this sudden development, the elite players originally planning to join Zero Wing started hesitating. After Aqua Rose received word of this development, she immediately conducted her own investigation. The joy she felt from successfully recruiting Alluring Summer vanished in an instant. Following which, Aqua Rose contacted Shi Feng, saying, "Guild Leader, this is our overall situation as of now." In less than an hour since news of the crusade failing had spread, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s sales of the Light Stones had increased by nearly five times. As a consequence, both the Heavenly and Blackwater Trading Firms had managed to plunder the popularity Candlelight had garnered through the Advanced Mana Armor Kits. As for the number of players trying to join Zero Wing, that had directly fallen by half. This was not good news for Zero Wing, which was currently in urgent need of manpower. "Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial sure are good. Only they would dare to do something like this." Shi Feng could not help but sigh ruefully as he looked at the Candlelight Trading Firm''s income and traffic situation. "Guild Leader, you''re still in the mood to joke around? If they really start mass-producing Light Stones, we will be in so much trouble," Aqua Rose said, pouting. "Moreover, you''ve also seen for yourself how bad Stone Forest Town''s situation is by now. Based on our investigations, those monsters'' numbers are continuously increasing. Current estimates put them at over 100,000 already. Moreover, they''ve also begun spreading out. It won''t be long before they come attacking Stone Forest Town." Shi Feng took a look at the report sent over by Aqua Rose. In one of the video recordings, he had spotted a familiar figure. This figure was none other than the one-horned humanoid monster. Only, it had improved significantly compared to when he first saw it. At this point, it had already reached Level 53. Its HP had undergone a qualitative transformation as well, rising from being over one million to six million. Now, the humanoid monster was at the standard of a Level 50 Lord. Back then, it had only been at the standard of a Level 40 Chieftain. Its improvement speed was truly terrifying. Fortunately, these one-horned monsters were very few. The majority of the monster army consisted of Level 50 to Level 60 Wild Beast-type monsters. Their intelligence and combat standards were clearly beneath the humanoid monsters''. Even so, these Wild Beasts already possessed the combat standards of ordinary players. This situation was a disaster for ordinary players. If these monsters continued developing, Shi Feng did not doubt that the entire Star-Moon Kingdom would fall into danger. "Since the Blackwater Corporation wants to hit us while we''re down, let''s fulfill their wishes. Any player who purchases two or more stacks of Light Stones will have to pay 2 Silver per Light Stone. If players only buy one stack, they''ll receive the normal rate of 80 Copper per piece," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "As for those monsters, just ignore them for now. We''ll continue doing what we need to do. It still isn''t certain who will have the last laugh." If this situation had happened before he had obtained the Magic Tower Design, he really would''ve worried about those monsters, which were nurtured by the Evil God''s Temple. Now, however, things were different. As long as Stone Forest Town''s Magic Tower got constructed, aside from NPC cities and some of the more fortified NPC towns, Stone Forest Town would definitely be the safest place in Star-Moon Kingdom. If the monsters from the Evil God''s Temple were to spread throughout the entire Star-Moon City region, the one crying tears of regret at that time definitely would not be him. "Are we really going to ignore them?" Aqua Rose was still very worried. Although she knew that Zero Wing still had other sources of income, the Magic Crystal income of Stone Forest Town was very important to them. Without a supply of Magic Crystals, the Guild''s development would very quickly come to a standstill. "Relax," Shi Feng said confidently. The Magic Tower was no trifling matter. Otherwise, it would''ve never become the mainstream defensive building in God''s Domain. Time passed quickly. After spending most of his day working, Shi Feng finally completed the construction of the Magic Tower. The instant the tower was done, Shi Feng''s EXP rose tremendously. His Forging Proficiency also increased directly by 500 points. To an Advanced Forger like Shi Feng, raising his Proficiency by even a single point was a very difficult task. He needed to make multiple advanced items for that to happen. Normally, an Advanced Forger would have to spend the entire day working in order to gain 500 Proficiency. At the same time as the construction was completed, the Magic Tower, which he had situated in the center of Stone Forest Town, released a blue pulse that gave everyone within the town the feeling they were under observation. "What''s this thing?" Players throughout the town quickly noticed the lofty Magic Tower. At the top of the tower sat a gigantic crystal glowing a faint blue. The crystal was like the moon illuminating the night sky. This scene piqued everyone''s curiosity about the tower. Previously, while Shi Feng was building the Magic Tower, a layer of fog had shrouded the tower itself and the area around it. Others couldn''t see what was going on beyond the fog. They only knew that something was under construction. After seeing this tall building, everyone was fascinated by the Magic Tower''s appearance. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself was currently standing atop the Magic Tower, one hand resting on the giant crystal. He then started activating the Magic Tower. The Magic Tower had a total of three functions. The first function was attacking distant targets. The power of the Magic Tower''s attacks rivaled that of the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. However, unlike the latter, the Magic Tower''s attacks had a very short Cooldown, roughly similar to that of Defense Turrets. The second function was reconnaissance. The tower was capable of locating any target within a 10,000-yard radius. The third function was also the favorite function of the various large GuildsMana density improvement. The Magic Tower''s Mana density-improving capabilities were far from comparable to those of a Mana Tower, which could be constructed only in cities. The total effectiveness of five Magic Towers was not even one-third of that of a Mana Tower. Even so, this result was already plenty good for a town. After all, the process of promoting a town to a city was a long and arduous one. The Magic Tower was equivalent to a transitional building. System: Do you wish to activate the Magic Tower? Activating the tower will cost 1,000 Magic Crystals, while maintaining the tower''s Mana-gathering function for a day will cost 500 Magic Crystals. "Activate!" Shi Feng clicked the "Activate" button without hesitation. 1031 When Water Rises, the Boat Rises with I Chapter 1031 - When Water Rises, the Boat Rises with It After Shi Feng tapped on the semi-transparent light-blue screen before him, 1,500 Magic Crystals instantly disappeared from his bag. Immediately, the gigantic crystal atop the Magic Tower released a dazzling light-blue beam that shot 400 yards into the air before bursting apart and spreading over the entire Stone Forest Town like an opened umbrella. This spectacular sight stunned all the players within the town. "What''s going on?" "Is Zero Wing setting up a magic barrier?" Everyone could not help but start discussing the Magic Tower. However, while most people were chatting, a few expert players with sharp senses suddenly discovered that the density of the ambient Mana was actually rising gradually. "Are you guys feeling it? The Mana density in the town seems to be rising." "Yeah, now that you mention it, my mind does feel a lot clearer than before." "Wait, take a look at your status windows! There''s an extra buff in mine!" As experts voiced their findings in surprise one after another, more and more players also noticed the changes that had occurred to the town. When someone mentioned the appearance of a buff in their status window, everyone promptly called out their status windows as well. [Ample Mana State] Stamina and Concentration recovery improved significantly. Player will be able to maintain a clear state of mind at all times while in this state. "This buff is too amazing!" "Hooray, Zero Wing!" "Hahaha! This is too awesome! My current recovery rate already rivals the recovery rate inside a hotel! With this, I won''t have to rest in a hotel anymore!" "What a fool! I just came out from a hotel. Resting in one is way better. Not only is the recovery rate there faster, but as long as you rest for five hours, once you exit from the Ample Mana State, your EXP acquisition rate will be 30% higher for two hours. If you rest for ten hours, you get four hours'' worth of 30% bonus EXP!" "What?! That amazing?!" "You''ll know once you go test it out. I have to work during the day, so I''ll definitely have to rest over ten hours in a hotel. With this, I won''t have to worry about falling behind in levels!" After the players in the town realized the effects of the Magic Tower, many of them couldn''t hold back their excitement and started cheering loudly in the streets. The majority of the players in Stone Forest Town were independent players. Unlike Guild players, who had Guild Residences, they did not have the opportunity to accumulate the Double EXP buff. Hence, independent players generally lagged behind Guild players in levels. However, as many independent players disliked the restrictive rules of Guilds, they would rather level up at a slower pace than join a Guild. That way, they could enjoy a free and comfortable lifestyle as well as the exciting adventures God''s Domain had to offer. However, now that they could also enjoy an EXP increase buff by resting in hotels, how could they not get excited? With this, they could have their freedom and level up quickly at the same time. The originally bustling hotels suddenly became jammed with players. Every independent player in town had rushed to the nearest hotel in the hopes of renting a room for themself. Previously, everyone had angrily cursed that the hotel rates of Stone Forest Town were daylight robbery, as the town was charging nearly triple that of other places, and only by paying with Magic Crystals would they receive the normal rate. Now, however, everyone thought nothing of it. Instead, they felt that this price was a bargain. After all, after resting for ten hours, one would have a 30% increased EXP acquisition rate for four hours. "Crap, this is a scam! I''m already using Magic Crystals to pay, so why are the rates still triple the normal hotel rates!" "If you can''t afford it, get lost! Can''t you see that there''s still a bunch of people waiting to rent a room?!" "Hahaha! Luckily, I was smart enough to rent a room for ten days before this situation happened! I''ve saved a fortune this time!" Currently, every hotel within Stone Forest Town was packed with independent players. Although many were disgruntled at the price markup, the 30% EXP buff was just too important. Hence, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and rent a room. Moreover, every player would rent for at least ten days. Otherwise, when demand for the hotel rooms skyrocketed in the future, they might not get an opportunity to rent one. "Guild Leader, this Magic Tower is simply amazing! It''s only been a few minutes, but every hotel in Stone Forest Town is already at capacity. Right now, many players are even complaining that there are too few hotels in town and are demanding that we build more," Blackie reported, smiling. Originally, renting a room for a day in one of Stone Forest Town''s hotels cost only 50 Copper. Now, even after jacking up the price to 1 Silver, 50 Copper, the many hotels in town still could not keep up with demand. Moreover, this price was for transactions in Magic Crystals. If players were using Coins, they would have to pay 3 Silver per day. "Ignore the matters regarding the hotels for now. Prioritize constructing a Battle Arena. That''s where the money will really come from," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Although hotels seemed to be very profitable, in reality, these establishments did not earn a lot of money. Hotels simply took up too much space. Moreover, Zero Wing would only gross a maximum of 1 Silver, 50 Copper per day from each player. After deducting the cost of hiring NPCs to manage the hotels, the Guild was earning roughly 1 Silver, 20 Copper from each player. Currently, the hotels in Stone Forest Town could accommodate a maximum of 20,000 people only. In other words, Zero Wing could earn 240 Gold per day at most through the hotelsa large sum of money to ordinary large Guilds, but to Zero Wing, this was a drop in the bucket. Moreover, 20,000 players were not even one-tenth of Stone Forest Town''s population. Even so, the current number of hotels occupied over half of the town''s lands. Originally, the reason why Shi Feng had constructed so many cheap hotels was to earn Magic Crystals. However, now that he had the Magic Tower, there was another building that could earn him even more moneythe Battle Arena. The Battle Arena was a place where players could fight against each other. Due to the Magic Tower, the Mana density in the entire town had increased. This situation would be of great assistance to players, just like in the Trial Tower of the Divine Colosseum. Under the effects of Stone Forest Town''s environment, players could maintain a very clear state of mind. Fighting under such a state would be of great help in improving their strength. However, inside a player-constructed town, PvP was prohibited. The only place players could fight against each other in a town was at a Battle Arena. When the time came, the 200,000 or so players residing in Stone Forest Town would definitely head to the Battle Arena to improve themselves through PvP. At that time, the money Zero Wing could earn through the Battle Arena would no doubt far surpass the income they were currently making from the hotels. "I''ll get it done right away!" Blackie''s eyes glowed when he heard Shi Feng''s explanation. At the same time, the matter regarding Stone Forest Town gradually spread throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. As a result, independent players who were tempted to head to the Undead Gorge started having second thoughts. Getting four hours of 30% increased EXP acquisition rate was no laughing matter, particularly for independent elite and expert players. This was a rare opportunity to level up quicker. If utilized properly, even if they could not completely catch up to Guild players, at the very least, they wouldn''t be left too far behind. Star-Moon City, Blackwater''s Residence: "Damn it! To think Zero Wing would still have such a move!" Abandoned Wave''s expression turned very ugly when he received the news regarding Stone Forest Town. At this rate, the more time they wasted, the more troublesome Zero Wing would become. At the same time, his heart was also filled with sheer envy, and he grew even more impatient to obtain Stone Forest Town. Following which, he looked at the subordinate standing beside him and commanded, "Immediately notify Singular Burial''s side! Tell them that there''s a change of plans! We''re going to take action ahead of time!" 1032 Independent Playerss Holy Land Chapter 1032 - Independent Players'' Holy Land The several upper echelons inside Blackwater''s Guild Leader''s office were shocked when they heard Abandoned Wave''s command. Though, they could understand Abandoned Wave''s train of thought. Stone Forest Town''s latest transformation made it all the more tempting. Stone Forest Town had been, at most, a tool that Blackwater could use to defeat Zero Wing, but now, the town was a mountain of gold and silver that could massively help Blackwater''s establishment in God''s Domain. To current Guilds, Magic Crystals were incredibly important. If a Guild wanted to nurture and improve its members'' techniques quickly, sending them to the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower was undoubtedly the fastest way. In order to do so, they needed Magic Crystals. Unfortunately, Magic Crystals were too difficult to procure. Even with the massive wealth and connections the Blackwater Corporation possessed, they could only procure a limited amount. In the end, the Guild could only supply its experts and a small number of elite members with Magic Crystals. In Blackwater, there was no lack of talented players. As long as they had enough Magic Crystals, they could nurture large groups of experts as they wished. Now that Stone Forest Town''s Mana density had increased and players could acquire a 30% EXP buff from the town''s hotels, the town would attract swarms of independent players. Unlike when these players'' choices of leveling areas had been limited, now, they could go to Stone Forest Town if they wanted to level quickly. The sooner Blackwater took control of Stone Forest Town, the sooner it could officially start its conquest of God''s Domain. "Boss Wave, we still have a lot of preparation. If we take action now, it might be difficult to take down Stone Forest Town," Laughing Drunkard advised. "Moreover, Big Sis Ling has set out to negotiate with Pantheon. If Pantheon agrees to lend us their experts, it will be easy to take the town. We don''t need to be in such a hurry." "You''re right. I was a little impatient," Abandoned Wave admitted as he took in a deep breath. He then laughed and said, "I was still angry about Zero Wing''s actions. Now, however, it would seem that I should thank them. They''ve even gone ahead and sent me a gift in their final moments. Let''s give them another two days to live, then. However, you should head to Stone Forest Town and investigate the new building. The town''s sudden transformation is definitely related to that tower. I want to know how we can construct one for ourselves as soon as possible." He had been somewhat impatient. The sealing magic array in the Stoneclaw Mountains was still incomplete. Without it, capturing Stone Forest Town would be quite difficult. However, once the magic array was complete and they persuaded the Super Guild Pantheon, Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to hold the town, regardless of the Guild''s capabilities. As Blackwater planned to wait for the sealing magic array''s completion, the independent players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom were in an uproar. As a result, many major companies, which had doubted Zero Wing''s future, began to regret their decisions. Due to the Magic Tower, Stone Forest Town''s potential and value had increased exponentially. To companies like theirs, nothing was more important than sufficient players. Initially, they had been certain that Stone Forest Town''s player population would never be high enough. However, things had changed. With the town''s favorable environment, it was only a matter of time before its population multiplied by several times. If they set up a virtual store in Stone Forest Town, their businesses would definitely gain a following. If their companies could occupy a portion of the virtual market ahead of their competition, they would have a brighter future in God''s Domain. Suddenly, Aqua Rose contacted Shi Feng. Happily, she said, "Guild Leader, some of the companies that were hesitating have contacted me stating that they want to discuss cooperation with you." Previously, she had worried that Shi Feng had been too arrogant and that none of the companies would be willing to work with them. Now, however, over 20 companies had contacted her. Moreover, every one of these companies was far more powerful than the few that had tried to take advantage of their predicament. "Oh? They sure are quick to decide. Unfortunately, there are still matters that demand my attention. Arrange a meeting with them for four hours from now in White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm," Shi Feng instructed her after some thought. It had been quite some time since Blackwater had annexed Ouroboros. This should be the best time to purchase the Guild''s training center. If he waited any longer, something unexpected might happen. Previously, he had learned a lot about the training center from Gentle Snow. He had to admit that Ouroboros was indeed a veteran first-rate Guild. The fact that the Guild had dominated multiple virtual reality games over the years was not without reason. Its training center alone was impressive. Not only was the training center fully equipped with everything a Guild needed to nurture expert players, but it was also larger than the Big Dipper Training Center. Moreover, the training center had been built in the downtown area of a first-tier city with an extremely large population. Every inch of that real estate was probably worth its weight in gold. If not for Gentle Snow holding a considerable amount of the training center''s shares, which allowed her to mark down the price, he wouldn''t have been able to get his hands on it, even if he paid double. "Ah, right. Guild Leader, one more thing. It seems Phoenix Rain has gotten wind of this and wishes to join the discussion as well. Should we invite her?" Aqua Rose asked. "Phoenix Rain?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He then said, "Alright, call her." Phoenix Rain was a Pavilion Master in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. She should have considerable status in the real world, too. The fact that Phoenix Rain had qualified to send a Battle Team into the Dark Arena showed that the power backing her was extraordinary. She clearly had her own, abundant wealth. Her interested in these negotiations was nothing but good news for Shi Feng. Elsewhere, a 50-man team fought a pack of Level 45 Grassland Ice Wolves in a grassy field. There were over 200 of these Elite ranked Ice Wolves with a Level 45 Chieftain leading the pack. However, this group gradually exterminated these Elite monsters like a well-oiled machine. Even against a Level 45 Chieftain, the leading Level 40 Guardian Knight tanked the Boss by himself. "Boss, I heard that we can get a four-hour 30% EXP bonus buff by resting in Stone Forest Town. Should our Snowfall team head there?" "Stone Forest Town is very close to the Stoneclaw Mountains. With the 30% EXP buff, we''ll level faster in the Dungeon than out here in the field. We can reach Level 40 sooner than planned. Moreover, with our adventurer team''s strength, grinding monsters in the Dungeon''s inner area shouldn''t be a problem. We''d be better off going to the Stoneclaw Mountains than the Undead Gorge." "That''s right, leader! Snowfall is one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s top adventurer teams. If we let the newer adventurer teams catch up to us, we''ll become a laughingstock." "Alright, Snowfall will continue our development in Stone Forest Town, then." After the news about Stone Forest Town spread, the various powerful adventurer teams across Star-Moon Kingdom began to make their way towards the Stoneclaw Mountains. For a time, Stone Forest Town became a hub of the various adventurer teams. As the various adventurer teams and independent players headed towards Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng finished the town''s Battle Arena in the center of town. The building already took up as much space as Zero Wing''s Residence, its five-story height casting a shadow over the residents. One could say that it was the most majestic building in Stone Forest Town. 1033 Rise of Stone Forest Town Chapter 1033 - Rise of Stone Forest Town Shi Feng was satisfied with the finished Battle Arena. The Battle Arena had a total of five floors. This was Stone Forest Town''s current limit. If he wished to construct it higher, it would have to occupy a larger area. However, Stone Forest Town was only a small town. There wasn''t much room. Even so, the five-story Battle Arena had been considerably costly to build. A single floor already cost 1,000 Gold, and this did not include all the cost of the various decorations and props. With the money he had spent on this five-story building, he could''ve easily purchased a high-potential plot of Land in a major city. Of the five floors, players could rent the combat rooms on the first three floors. Naturally, these rooms were more expensive than in NPC cities. After all, players could enjoy the Ample Mana State throughout the building. Hence, Shi Feng had set the rent at 1 Silver per hour. While ordinary players might consider this a steep price, the independent players capable of reaching Stone Forest Town all possessed relatively high combat standards. This price should not be a problem for these players. As for the fourth floor, Shi Feng intended to use it to hold a weekly tournament. Champions would be awarded excellent weapons and equipment as well as Coins. Shi Feng also intended to use this tournament to attract expert players. If the opportunity presented itself, he could recruit talented players through the tournament. Meanwhile, Zero Wing would charge spectators an entrance fee. Finally, the Battle Arena''s fifth floor consisted of private rooms. There was also a tournament field. However, to participate in the fifth-floor tournament, players had to rank within the top five in the fourth-floor tournament. These players would also have access to the private rooms. Not only could players enjoy benefits similar to the town''s hotels, but these private rooms were also much larger than usual hotel rooms. Players could also enjoy the view overlooking Stone Forest Town from their rooms. Meanwhile, unlike the fourth-floor tournament, the fifth-floor tournament would incorporate an elimination system. The fifth floor could only accommodate a maximum of 30 players. New arrivals could challenge the ranked players. Afterward, based on their weekly ranks, the top 30 players would get to remain on the fifth floor while the rest were disqualified. Also, the higher ranked a player was, the more benefits they enjoyed. Now that we''ve finished the construction, it''s time to recruit some NPCs to manage this place. Shi Feng could not help his excitement as he gazed at the towering Battle Arena. In the past, many large Guilds had constructed Battle Arenas as soon as they had their own Magic Towers in order to make a fortune. Unfortunately, Shadow had struggled to obtain a town of its own, much less construct a Magic Tower. By the time Shadow had its own Magic Tower, other Guilds'' Battle Arenas had become incredibly popular. Shadow had no hope of competing with them. This trend was similar to the real world''s fighting competitions. Back then, the Battle Arenas had become hugely popular throughout God''s Domain. Due to this, the Battle Arenas had replaced the fighting competitions in the real world. Now, not only had Shi Feng obtained a Magic Tower so early into the game, but he also had a Battle Arena to go with it. With this, he could seize a share of this market before others. By the time he constructed his city, he could further expand his Battle Arena business. Unlike towns, he could construct Mana Towers in a city. Moreover, a city''s buildings could be much taller. In the past, a Super Guild that had specifically constructed a massive tower meant for combatthe Combat Tower. Countless players had gone crazy over the Combat Tower. Many experts had even made a goal of reaching the tower''s peak. If they could reach the top of the Combat Tower, Guilds would instantly target them for recruitment. Even if they did not join a large Guild, reaching the top of the Combat Tower would award them enough to enjoy a life of leisure for the rest of their days. Whether it was for fame or wealth, many players chose to challenge the Combat Tower. Now that Shi Feng had constructed his first Battle Arena, the first stage of his project was complete. Next, he needed to scale up this project. However, it was particularly difficult to ramp up such a large-scale project. Furthermore, the cost of constructing a building that stood over 100-stories tall was even enough to drive Super Guilds insane. Following which, Shi Feng used a Return Scroll and teleported to White River City, intending to search for management NPCs. Meanwhile, shortly after the Battle Arena was complete, it became the focal point of Stone Forest Town. "Isn''t this a Battle Arena?" "Why has Zero Wing constructed a Battle Arena here?" "Are you a fool? Don''t you know that PvP is not allowed in player towns? Now that the town''s Mana density is so high, it would be a waste not to spar!" "I wonder when the Arena will open to the public? I want to try it out!" "Hopefully, it won''t be too expensive!" The town''s players discussed the Battle Arena excitedly. To players who had experienced the Trial Tower, they knew that the denser the environmental Mana was, the stronger they would be in a fight. They would be able to improve their techniques faster. After all, not everyone possessed extraordinary concentration. A Mana-rich environment could help players maintain a high degree of concentration. Only, the cost of using the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower was too high. Each challenge cost one Magic Crystal. Even elite players could not afford such an expenditure. However, it was a different story for a player-constructed Battle Arena. As the establishment was intended for public use, the fees wouldn''t be as high as the Trial Tower. Moreover, unlike the Trial Tower, players could conduct PvP matches with other players in the Battle Arena. Their development in the Battle Arena might not be any slower than in the Trial Tower. For a time, news about Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena gradually spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Players who had not been particularly interested in Stone Forest Town began to change their minds. There were all sorts of players in God''s Domain. Some loved adventuring, some loved fighting, some loved leveling up, and some only had money on their minds. However, all of these players shared one common interest. Combat standards! Even expert players found it difficult to endure the Divine Colosseum''s prices. Generally, only Guild players with the support of their Guilds could afford to play there. As for NPC cities'' Underground Arenas, while one could gain some combat experience from fighting there, fighting for long periods would easily cause one to lose focus. When that happened, players needed to take a break and rest. The Ample Mana State just so happened to make up for this flaw. "There is no stopping Zero Wing now!" "How great would it be if I were a member of Zero Wing? If that were the case, traveling to the Battle Arena would be more convenient." Suddenly, more and more players wanted to travel to Stone Forest Town. Seeing this, the several major companies that had broken off their discussions with Zero Wing regretted their decision even more. When they heard the news, these companies immediate sent new representatives to contact Aqua Rose, claiming that the previous representatives had declined Zero Wing''s offer without the companies'' consent and had thus been fired. They also expressed their wishes to re-enter negotiations with Zero Wing. These companies had looked down on Zero Wing with contempt, thinking that Blackwater''s victory over the Guild was certain. However, even now, Blackwater couldn''t touch Zero Wing. The most it could do was whittle Zero Wing down. However, now that Zero Wing had a gold mine like Stone Forest Town, it was practically impossible for Blackwater to weaken Zero Wing with its minor harassments. As everyone discussed Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng finally returned to White River City. 1034 Crimson Emperor Chapter 1034 - Crimson Emperor Upon returning to White River City, Shi Feng discovered that the number of players teleporting into the city had increased, particularly the members of other Guilds. All around, he could see Guild players. Moreover, they were extraordinarily high-leveled, with the lowest being Level 39 and the team leaders being Level 40 experts at the very least. This situation confused Shi Feng slightly. However, he quickly shook the thought out of his head. Right now, hiring NPC managers for the Battle Arena had utmost importance. To avoid attention, he took an advanced horse carriage to the Adventurer''s Association. Shortly after Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, a team of 20 players appeared inside. These players each wore an emblem shaped like a crimson flame. The lowest leveled player among them was Level 40. The equipment they wore also radiated the glowing effects unique to Dark-Gold Equipment. The white-haired man standing at the head of the group was even a Level 41 Guardian Knight, whose appearance suggested that he had experienced the vicissitudes of life. The man carried a diamond-shaped shield with a dragon printed on it slung on his back and a blood-red longsword inserted inside the shield. Despite this longsword clearly being a one-handed sword, the width of its guard was wider than the man''s shoulders, while the length of its hilt matched a two-handed sword''s. Combined with the blade, the sword was nearly as tall as he was. Seen from afar, the man appeared to wield a bloody cross. As he stood in the spacious Teleportation Hall, he was extremely conspicuous. Yet, despite the eye-catching composition of this team of 20, everyone who saw this team would almost immediately shift their gazes away, not daring to take a second look. The reason for such a reaction was these players'' emblem, which indicated they belonged to the Dark Night Empire''s veteran super-first-rate Guild, Crimson Emperor. Crimson Emperor was also the ruler of the Dark Night Empire; no Guild in the entire empire dared to make an enemy of it. The Guardian Knight leading the team was even head and shoulders above his team members. He was Crimson Emperor''s top five Guardian Knight, Cuttlefish, also known as the Iron Wall, and someone who had witnessed Crimson Emperor''s gradual growth from an ordinary Guild into the super-first-rate Guild it was today. At this time, a middle-aged man on the team looked towards the leading Guardian Knight and asked, "Uncle Cuttlefish, we were in the middle of raiding a Hell Mode large-scale Team Dungeon. Why did you suddenly call us to come all the way over here?" "I''ve also just received a notice about this from the Guild. It seems that some ancient ruins were found at the Twin Towers Kingdom. Currently, all Guilds that have received news about it have already dispatched teams. Crimson Emperor naturally cannot let this opportunity pass, either," Cuttlefish replied. Although he was already an old man in his 60s, his voice was just like a young man''s, filled with energy. "Ancient ruins?" An elegant and slim female Elementalist asked curiously, "Is there something special about those ruins? Is there really a need for us main force members to take action as well?" "That''s right. The ancient ruins discovered are like a huge maze. It is massive inside; however, only teams of 20 are allowed. After entering, teams are immediately teleported to an area with monsters that have a chance of dropping a kind of slate fragment. Those who complete a set can exchange for a Mount inside the maze. Based on what we know so far, there are even Mysterious-Iron Mounts available for exchange. Moreover, this was only in the outer area. Currently, the various Guilds are frantically fighting over the monsters inside. It is very difficult to enter the ancient ruins. The requirement for personal strength is extremely high. For efficiency''s sake, the Guild Leader is sending us to pioneer the way," Cuttlefish explained. Everyone else on the team immediately gaped in shock upon hearing this. The importance of Mounts to a Guild went without saying. Just the number of Bronze Mounts Crimson Emperor obtained was not even enough for the Guild''s internal experts, much less Mysterious-Iron Mounts. Yet, now, they could obtain Mysterious-Iron Mounts just by grinding in the outer area of some ancient ruins. Naturally, the upper echelons would freak out over this opportunity. "However, before we head to the ruins, we need to establish a stronghold in White River City. So, Poisoned, you''ll be responsible for visiting Zero Wing''s Residence and negotiating with them. Based on our investigations, Zero Wing has purchased the several plots of Land around the teleportation house. Tell them that Crimson Emperor is interested in purchasing one. As for everyone else, split up and purchase some potions and scrolls," Cuttlefish instructed. "Uncle Cuttlefish, Zero Wing is just an upstart Guild. Is there a need for Poisoned to make a special trip there? We are Crimson Emperor. If we want to buy a worthless plot of Land, won''t it be a done deal so long as we say the word?" a Level 40 Assassin asked in a somewhat displeased tone. Crimson Emperor was a veteran super-first-rate Guild. Nobody in the virtual gaming world did not know about it. The various Guilds in the Dark Night Empire also feared it greatly. Now, their Guild simply wanted to purchase a worthless plot of Land, yet they, members of Crimson Emperor''s main force, were actually sent to handle the negotiations. This was making a mountain out of a molehill. "If things could really be settled with just a word, I wouldn''t have Poisoned head over, either." Cuttlefish could not help but smile bitterly. "Alright, enough. Poisoned, you head over and negotiate with Zero Wing. Make sure to pay attention to your attitude when negotiating with them. If they really won''t sell, then there''s no need to force the matter. God''s Domain is unlike any other virtual reality game that has existed in the past. I believe that you guys have felt it as well. The waters in this game are much deeper than they appear to be. There is naturally a reason for Zero Wing being able to become Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild." The female Elementalist named Poisoned Wine silently nodded her head. Inwardly, though, she, too, felt that Cuttlefish was making too much of Zero Wing. Inside the Adventurer''s Association Shi Feng directly switched to his Spirit Slayer title and walked up to the front counter. Upon seeing Shi Feng, the blond receptionist with green eyes immediately received him with great respect. "Lord Spirit Slayer, how may I be of service to you today?" the NPC receptionist asked respectfully. "I wish to hire some advanced managers," Shi Feng replied. "Alright, then. Please follow me to the VIP room on the second floor. We''ll bring the related documents over to you right away." The NPC receptionist bowed before leading Shi Feng up to the second floor. This scene immediately stupefied the players who had come to the establishment to receive quests. "Who is that person? He actually got the receptionist beauty to escort him. Even a Viscount of the city doesn''t get to enjoy such treatment!" "That person is surely a top-tier expert. It would be great if I could get to know him." The players inside the main hall watched Shi Feng enviously as he walked upstairs. Shortly after Shi Feng arrived at the VIP room on the second floor, the NPC receptionist handed a file to him. The four-star treatment really is fantastic! After taking just a glance at the first page of the file, Shi Feng was shocked. In God''s Domain, players who wanted to hire advanced NPCs could do so only through the Adventurer''s Association. However, there were differences between advanced NPCs, with some possessing higher intelligence and some lower. The higher the intelligence an NPC possessed, the more human-like they would be. NPC managers with higher intelligence would be able to manage their tasks more effectively. Some NPCs even possessed management skills that were superior to players''. They were also more professional. Take Anna for example. Her intelligence was truly extreme. She could easily manage the entire Starstreak Trading Firm all by herself. However, NPC managers on Anna''s level could be encountered only with luck. Shi Feng had chanced upon Anna due entirely to a quest. Normally, encountering such an NPC was impossible. Generally, NPCs with more than 50 Wisdom could already serve as considerably good managers, while NPCs whose Wisdom reached 60 points were quite remarkable already. As for NPCs with 70 Wisdom, only Tier 2 Mages could achieve that standard. In the past, among the managers Shi Feng had met, even the one with the highest Wisdom had only 73 points in the Attribute. Moreover, that NPC had already been considerably advanced in age. Even so, Shi Feng had been quite excited when he found that old man. Back then, the old man had been able to manage an Auction House single-handedly with perfect order. Now, however, among the 30 NPCs listed on the first page, Shi Feng could see more than ten with over 60 Wisdom. Among them, there was even one with 71 Wisdomand this was only the first page. The file the NPC receptionist had handed him had over a hundred pages. 1035 Times Have Changed Chapter 1035 - Times Have Changed Before Shi Feng realized it, he had already spent half an hour inside the serene and elegant lounge, reading through the files. The more he read, the more shocked he felt. High-Wisdom NPCs, which were usually difficult to encounter, were now available to him in the thousands. Shi Feng had even found an NPC with 80 Wisdom. If not for the Main God System stipulating that NPCs hired from the Adventurer''s Association could not be made into players'' Personal Guards, Shi Feng would very much have considered taking all these NPCs back with him to form an army of Personal Guards. "I''ll choose these ten, then." After Shi Feng was done going through the name list, he selected the names of ten advanced NPCs; nine had over 70 Wisdom, while one had 82 Wisdom. In God''s Domain, an 82-Wisdom NPC''s intelligence was already equivalent to that of a Tier 3 NPC. Although Shi Feng still wished to hire more, he had already reached his hiring limit. A small-sized town could hire at most ten advanced NPCs. Moreover, hiring advanced NPCs was not a simple task. Unlike ordinary NPCs, which could be hired without limit and would only cost two Gold Coins a month in wages, one had to satisfy not only the salary demanded by these NPCs but also their conditions. Just the conditions of the 82-Wisdom NPC Shi Feng had pointed out could choke an ordinary Guild to death. This was because said NPC actually demanded a salary of ten Gold Coins per day. Shi Feng also needed to pay a one-month deposit in advance. In addition, the Shop the NPC managed had to have at least 500 other workers. To an ordinary Shop, having around 20 NPCs managing it would already be more than enough. One could run more than a dozen Shops with 500 NPCs. Fulfilling this condition would be impossible for a single, ordinary Shop. Fortunately, Shi Feng was running a large-scale Battle Arena. He needed to hire a lot of ordinary NPCs to run the establishment. Otherwise, there would be no way to cope with the large number of players visiting the Arena every day. After Shi Feng confirmed his choices, the NPC beauty beside him happily tallied the bill and very quickly provided him with a figure, saying, "Lord Spirit Slayer, you have chosen to hire ten advanced managers and 500 normal managers. You will need to pay a one-month deposit for all of them. The total is 4,000 Gold. Once you complete the payment, we will have them sent to Stone Forest Town within an hour. May I know if Lord Spirit Slayer has any other requests?" "That will be all." Shi Feng nodded. He then paid the 4,000-Gold deposit, his heart feeling a slight sting. The average level of players had risen considerably by now, and the money they could earn was much higher than before. However, Copper Coins still possessed quite a significant purchasing power, not to mention Gold Coins. Most likely, there was not a single Guild in the entire God''s Domain that was as generous as himself, directly spending 4,000 Gold to hire NPCs to manage just a single establishment. However, Shi Feng knew that this was a necessary expenditure. It was simply impossible for players to keep up with the management of a Battle Arena. After Shi Feng was done hiring the NPCs, he checked the time. Seeing as there was not much time left before his meeting with the representatives of those major companies, he promptly left the Adventurer''s Association and took an advanced horse carriage to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Inside the VIP room on the Candlelight Trading Firm''s seventh floor The representatives of the various major companies had already been waiting here for quite some time now. However, none of them showed any signs of indignation. On the contrary, expressions of shock filled their faces. At this point, White River City was the most populous city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, the Candlelight Trading Firm was situated in the central business district of White River City. Aside from NPC-run establishments, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s building was the tallest one in this area. From the top floor of the building, their view of the city streets was unobstructed. They felt as if they were kings overlooking the entire city. However, this unique scenery was still only secondary when compared to the report they had just received. During this period, the number of players residing in Stone Forest Town had already hit the 500,000 mark. In the future, that number was sure to double. A player population of one million was equivalent to the population of a major NPC city. If they could set up a virtual store in this bustling town, said store would definitely have no lack of customers. The only problem was that Stone Forest Town was too small. If the town were a medium-sized town, then that would be perfect. However, Stone Forest Town''s protection period had ended just recently. The town was only beginning to attract NPCs. It would still take a considerable amount of time to get promoted. Furthermore, Zero Wing was simply asking for too much money. With one billion Credits, these major companies could establish a large Guild of their own or invest into a second-rate Guild. With the latter option, they could even obtain a considerable number of shares. By cooperating with Zero Wing, however, they would only get priority in investing into a town. They would only receive a guarantee that they could directly rent a golden Land in one of the towns Zero Wing captured. The rent of these Lands would be gradually deducted from this one billion deposit. This condition was truly a little outrageous. Of course, after they signed the agreement, if they did not wish to continue renting Land from Zero Wing, they could get back their remaining deposit after half a year. However, the representatives of the various major companies still intended to negotiate this price. After all, the current situation in Star-Moon Kingdom was not particularly stable. There was also the Blackwater Guild persistently plotting against Zero Wing. Hence, they intended to use this opportunity to reduce the price. Just as everyone was pondering how they should go about negotiating with Zero Wing, the doors to the lounge suddenly opened. A woman with an extraordinary figure walked into the room. Although she had hidden her face with a Black Cloak, judging from her graceful figure, her countenance was no doubt heavenly as well. "Could this beauty be trying to cooperate with Zero Wing as well?" Everyone in the room immediately started quietly discussing this beauty''s identity among themselves. However, they very quickly discovered that this woman''s seat was right next to the seat of honor. One could just imagine how much importance Zero Wing placed on this peerless beauty. Meanwhile, this peerless beauty was none other than Phoenix Rain. When Phoenix Rain entered the room, she, too, was momentarily surprised. She had never imagined that there would be so many companies interested in cooperating with Zero Wing. Moreover, these companies all possessed extraordinary backgrounds that rivaled even Aqua Rose''s Sun and Moon Group. After she entered, she also discovered that Aqua Rose had become significantly stronger. Although the Cursemancer had hidden her level, the aura she radiated was indubitable. In addition, Violet Cloud, who stood beside Aqua Rose, was even more amazing. Phoenix Rain herself felt a significant amount of danger coming from the young lady. As for Alluring Summer, on the other side of Aqua Rose, she, too, was relatively powerful. A Level 41 Elementalist could easily rank at the top of any Guild. Moreover, Alluring Summer looked to be rather young, so she should still have great potential for growth. Is this really the Zero Wing I know? After Phoenix Rain observed Violet Cloud further, she suddenly noticed that the young lady''s every motion looked very natural, and this discovery shocked her greatly. She had seen Violet Cloud fighting at the Dark Arena before. Although the young lady had not moved much at that time, Phoenix Rain could still tell that Violet Cloud had yet to reach the Refinement Realm. Nevertheless, after just a short time, Violet Cloud had gone directly from the Half-step Refinement Realm into the Refinement Realm. Violet Cloud was clearly only a teenager, yet she had actually managed to reach the Refinement Realm at such a young age. If she were in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, she would definitely be considered one of the Pavilion''s top geniuses and nurtured heavily. After all, even a genius like Blue Phoenix had not reached the Refinement Realm at Violet Cloud''s age. Shortly after Phoenix Rain took her seat, Shi Feng entered through the doors. 1036 Zero Wing’s Foundations Chapter 1036 - Zero Wing''s Foundations As soon as Shi Feng set foot inside the room, everyone there automatically shifted their gaze towards him. Currently, Shi Feng had already disguised himself as Black Flame using the Demon Mask. At this moment, he was dressed in pitch-black armor and wore a Black Cloak. Two dazzling, blood-red swords hung from his waist, glowing a faint red. The aura his body radiated resembled that of an unsheathed sword, sharp and dangerous. The feeling he gave off was as if it wasn''t a human walking into the room but a Demon that had just escaped the abyss. The atmosphere in the lounge instantly grew heavy upon his appearance. When Shi Feng''s gaze swept over the representatives of the various major companies, they instinctively lowered their heads, due to the mental oppression they felt, none of them daring to make eye contact. "He''s Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame? Isn''t he a little too strong?!" Alluring Summer could not help but gasp upon seeing Shi Feng. "He''s practically a monster!" "Haven''t I already told you this before? Our Guild Leader is very strong," Aqua Rose said somewhat pridefully. "As long as you develop yourself in Zero Wing, it is only a matter of time before you achieve that dream of yours." At this moment, Phoenix Rain''s eyes had also widened in shock as she looked at Shi Feng slowly walking over to her. Just how much has he improved again? During her last encounter with Shi Feng, the latter only gave her the feeling of a sheathed sword. Now, however, his aura was entirely different. It was utterly overpowering, impressing on others the presence of a steamroller. Rather than calling him a player, he was practically a humanoid Lord. Shi Feng did not pay much attention to Phoenix Rain''s shocked reaction. He had on the Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set Equipment. His Basic Attributes were far superior to those using Level 40 or Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. After all, Level 50 equipment was meant for Tier 2 players. Phoenix Rain was naturally no match for him in terms of Attributes. Not to mention, he also wielded a Fragmented Legendary item and multiple Epic Weapons and Equipment. Strength-wise, he had long since surpassed Lord ranked monsters of the same level. Hence, it was only normal for Phoenix Rain to feel a massive sense of oppression when he did not suppress his aura. However, Shi Feng''s grandiose entrance had made the various company representatives lose their composure. Now, they were no longer as confident as before. After taking his seat, Shi Feng took another look at everyone present before saying straightforwardly, "Since you all wish to cooperate with Zero Wing, I believe you should''ve already read the agreement given to you, correct? If you have any problems, ask away. However, take note that Zero Wing will not make any changes to the conditions of cooperation, no matter what." "Guild Leader Black Flame, although Stone Forest Town indeed has excellent prospects, the conditions you require are simply excessive. You could even say that they are far above Stone Forest Town''s potential value. Moreover, one billion is no small number. If we invest that kind of money into a second-rate Guild, we can take control of a significant portion of said Guild''s shares. "Hence, after a discussion among ourselves, we believe that one hundred million Credits should be a more suitable amount. This way, we''ll have a much better time cooperating with each other in the future. After all, the current Stone Forest Town is only that big. Its value is extremely limited. There won''t be a single company that will agree to your price of one billion. We hope that Guild Leader Black Flame can reconsider this matter. Our companies are sincerely trying to cooperate with Zero Wing." The representatives of the twenty major companies all expressed their reluctance to pay such a high deposit. Moreover, they also firmly believed that no company would foolishly agree to this condition. However, in order to get a head start in occupying the virtual market, their companies were still willing to pay a certain price. "It seems you all are operating under a misconception. Zero Wing''s offer of a one-billion deposit is only the threshold for cooperation. In addition, Zero Wing is providing only ten slots. This doesn''t mean that anyone with one billion Credits will qualify for this offer!" Shi Feng then chuckled and added, "If you are dissatisfied with this offer, Zero Wing won''t try to force you into accepting it." Before everyone could refute his words, Shi Feng took out an old book from his bag and placed it on the table. Staring at the book on the table, everyone was greatly confused at Shi Feng''s intentions. They then clicked to check the book''s information. "Magic Tower Design Could this be" Phoenix Rain immediately thought of the tower in Stone Forest Town upon seeing the name of this book. "That''s right! Just like you''ve surmised, the tower constructed in Stone Forest Town is indeed a Magic Tower. It is also the cause of Stone Forest Town''s Mana density increase," Shi Feng explained, smiling. "I believe you all should''ve already seen for yourselves the effects of the Magic Tower, correct? Now, do you still think this one-billion threshold is a little too high?" Immediately, everyone in the room fell silent, shock plastered over their faces as they looked at the Magic Tower Design. A hint of fanaticism gleamed in their eyes. Everyone had attributed the change in Stone Forest Town to the newly constructed tower. Hence, the people from the various large Guilds as well as those from companies and corporations had immediately launched investigations into the tower. They all sought to obtain a Magic Tower for themselves. Unfortunately, they could not find any information regarding the Magic Tower whatsoever. They only knew that Zero Wing had built the tower. There were also rumors floating about that the Magic Tower might be a one-time-use quest reward. Hence, Zero Wing had chosen to set up the tower at Stone Forest Town, using the opportunity to raise the town''s value. However, they never imagined that players could actually build this thing. If Zero Wing could truly build as many Magic Towers as it wished and only needed to pay the production cost, then the Guild''s potential was indeed immense. In the future, as long as the Guild captured a town, it could directly construct a Magic Tower in it and use the higher Mana density in the town to attract large numbers of players. With this, Zero Wing would have another brand-new Stone Forest Town. As for Stone Forest Town being too small, that would no longer pose a problem, either. At that time, even obtaining a significant portion of the virtual market share would not be a dream for their companies. No wonder he''s so confident! At this moment, Phoenix Rain was eyeing the Magic Tower Design enviously. At the same time, she also felt fortunate that she had made this trip here. With the Magic Tower, trying to gather players and earning money would both be extremely easy to accomplish. Standing beside Shi Feng, Aqua Rose noticed the unflinching gazes of the various company representatives as well as their expressions, which stated that they would become Zero Wing''s collaborator, no matter what. She nearly let out a laugh. Although Shi Feng had revealed the Magic Tower Design, all everyone could see was the item''s name. They could not open the book and view its actual contents. In the end, everyone had mistakenly believed that one could construct an unlimited number of Magic Towers with the design and did not know about the Magic Tower Design''s limitations. Of course, this could not be considered as Zero Wing being deceitful. This was simply a beautiful misunderstanding. Under the fanatic gazes of everyone, Shi Feng stored the Magic Tower Design. Smiling, he said, "You''ve seen the item for yourselves. As for the qualifications for cooperation, one billion is the minimum requirement. Or to put it more precisely, one billion will only get you a plot of golden Land in a town. Also, Zero Wing doesn''t necessarily need ten collaborators. If none of you have any problems, let''s start the auction for the first slot!" 1037 Insane Woman Chapter 1037 - Insane Woman Shi Feng''s words caused another commotion in the room. None of the representatives had expected him to have such intentions from the very beginning. This sudden announcement truly caught them by surprise. The various company representatives, who were originally sitting close together, immediately started eyeing the people next to them, a wary expression appearing on their faces. At the same time, they were also secretly contacting the directors of their companies, hoping to get a quick reply from them. Nobody present was a fool. They knew just how much was at stake here. Just the value of a single town with a Magic Tower could practically rival that of eight player-owned towns. Moreover, capturing eight towns was easier said than done. Even if one managed to seize so many towns, the investments needed to develop these towns were not something an ordinary large Guild could support. Most likely, only entities like Super Guilds would be able to operate eight towns simultaneously at this stage of the game. However, buying a plot of Land in the towns owned by Super Guilds was nigh impossible for their companies. That was no longer a problem that could be solved with enough money. Super Guilds operated differently from ordinary large Guilds. They were playing virtual reality games with the intention of monopolizing a large share of the virtual industry and were more than capable of doing so. Hence, why would they want to split their profits with someone else? On the other hand, Zero Wing only needed to capture one town to gain the economic benefits of eight towns. If their companies could gain priority in investing in Zero Wing''s towns, they might be able to establish themselves in God''s Domain''s virtual industry. How could they possibly let this opportunity get away? Seeing Shi Feng remaining silent for some time after his announcement, Aqua Rose could not help but asked softly, "Guild Leader, are you still not going to start the auction?" "Wait a little. There''s no need to rush this matter. We''ll let them digest this information first. When the time comes, they''ll compete with even greater ferocity," Shi Feng replied, smiling as he looked at the company representatives busy contacting their superiors. Originally, this matter of cooperation had been relatively urgent. He had even made plans to risk exposing the City Building Order just to gather enough funds to purchase Ouroboros''s training center. The existence of a training center was simply too important to a Guild. This relevance was akin to that of the current dojos. The experts nurtured in dojos would go on to participate in all sorts of competitions. Training centers were similar in this respect, where the experts nurtured in training centers would go on to participate in all sorts of virtual competitions. The only difference was that virtual competitions possessed much greater influence and competitiveness. Moreover, if Shi Feng had his own training center, he could do things much more conveniently. He would have less to worry about in other matters. Most importantly, he could recruit and nurture members en masse rather than in limited numbers. He could also attract many more people to Zero Wing. This was also one of the reasons why Super Guilds would never have a lack of recruits each year. After all, nobody would wish to spend their entire life fighting for a half-dead Guild that did not even have a proper workplace in the real world. Due to this reason, second- and third-rate Guilds would often be a flash in the pan in the virtual gaming world, while first-rate Guilds and above remained as steady as a mountain in the industry. After Shi Feng waited for a short while, the various company representatives finally completed their tasks. They then turned to look at Shi Feng, their eyes filled with appreciation for his patience. "It seems you all have prepared yourselves already. Let''s begin, then," Shi Feng said after getting silent confirmation from everyone present. "The starting bid for the first cooperation spot is priced at one billion Credits. Every increment must be no less than ten million!" "One billion, twenty million!" "One billion, thirty million!" "One billion, forty million!" At this moment, the various company representatives no longer hesitated as they began frantically calling out bids one after another. There were only ten slots available. Even in the best-case scenario, only ten companies could cooperate with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, there were twenty companies present. If some companies were slightly greedy and were willing to pay the price and gamble on Zero Wing''s future, a single company might purchase two, or even three, slots. After all, however small a town was, there should still be no problem if it had two or three of the same virtual stores. The stores should not affect each other too greatly. Most importantly, the money they invested could still be taken back. They were merely placing a deposit for renting Lands right now. Moreover, judging by the popularity of God''s Domain, they could already tell what the future of the virtual industry would look like. Most likely, it would be even more profitable than the real-estate industry. Hence, the various companies intended to obtain as many cooperation slots as they could right now. Very quickly, the first cooperation slot''s price had risen to one billion, two hundred million. Moreover, the bidders still showed no signs of stopping. "Aqua, your Guild Leader is simply too good at doing business. He''s practically robbing them at this point," Alluring Summer said, smacking her lips. This was not her first time seeing such large transactions taking place. After all, just the construction of a single five-star hotel in the real world cost nearly ten billion Credits. It was even more expensive for six- and seven-star hotels. However, this was definitely her first time seeing a virtual store selling for such a high price. "This is nothing. Those who want to cooperate with us in the future will have to pay an even higher price," Aqua Rose said, unfazed by this situation. Although the towns in God''s Domain were good, they were a far cry from being comparable to a city, particularly the first player-owned city in God''s Domain. If not for the fact that they could not publicize the matter of the City Building Order yet, these companies wouldn''t even have the qualifications to negotiate with Zero Wing. During the brief moment Aqua Rose was chatting with Alluring Summer, the price for the cooperation slot had hit one billion and three hundred million. However, as the bids continued increasing and were approaching one billion and five hundred million, the number of people calling out offers started dwindling. At this moment, a clear voice resounded throughout the lounge. "Two billion!" Everyone instantly turned to look at the bidder in shock. This person was none other than Phoenix Rain! "This woman has lost her mind! She actually bid two billion!" "Who is she?" Everyone was stunned by Phoenix Rain''s bid. Although they also had that kind of money, the more they could save, the better. "Is there anyone willing to place a higher bid?" Shi Feng asked for confirmation as he swept a glance at everyone present. He was not particularly surprised by Phoenix Rain''s bid. After all, she was someone capable of obtaining a battle team slot for the Dark Arena. How could her origins be ordinary? After Shi Feng sought confirmation three times, he sent the first official contract to Phoenix Rain. Afterwards, she simply needed to place her signature on it. When all the representatives present laid eyes on the contract, envy surfaced on their faces. They then made preparations to bid for the second contract. However, as soon as Shi Feng announced the bid for the second contract, Phoenix Rain again said softly, "Two billion!" Silence fell once more. The representatives all felt hatred and frustration towards Phoenix Rain''s actions. "What the hell is with this woman?" "She is simply insane. There are ten slots available. I refuse to believe she can take down a third one." Everyone initially thought that Phoenix Rain would hit her limit after purchasing a single slot for two billion. They never imagined that she would repeat her feat. However, in their opinion, Phoenix Rain should''ve run through the funds she had on hand after spending four billion. She should no longer be a threat in the following bids. Unfortunately, reality proved to be far crueler than these representatives thought. Without the slightest hesitation, Phoenix Rain bought seven slots in succession, each for two billion Credits. Her actions thoroughly frightened all the company representatives. They even started to suspect that Phoenix Rain was merely putting on an act for Zero Wing right now. However, just as everyone was thinking this, Phoenix Rain suddenly opened her mouth and said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, there''s no need to continue this auction. I want all the remaining slots. I hope that the two of us can sit down and discuss the matter of cooperation further instead of continuing to waste time here." 1038 Town of Beginnings Chapter 1038 - Town of Beginnings Although Phoenix Rain did not speak loudly, everyone was still dumbfounded by her words. As for the matter of Phoenix Rain being Zero Wing''s puppet, they had long since flung that idea out of their minds. Is this the background of a super-first-rate Guild? Aqua Rose was greatly shocked as she looked at Phoenix Rain''s calm and composed demeanor. Although she had known that a very wide gap separated first-rate Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds in terms of overall strength, number of experts, and financial strength, she never imagined that the disparity was this massive. Phoenix Rain was actually capable of purchasing all ten slots as if she was shopping for vegetables at the market. Just as the various company representatives were about to refute Phoenix Rain''s words, Shi Feng got the jump on them, saying, "Since you are going to buy the remaining slots, we can naturally proceed with the discussions." "Guild Leader Black Flame, you shouldn''t make such a hasty decision!" "That''s right! There are still three more slots left. How would you know if we can''t outcompete this lady?" The other companies immediately grew anxious. Previously, they had intended to wait until Phoenix Rain had exhausted her funds in order to purchase a slot for themselves as cheaply as possible. They never expected something like this to happen halfway through the auction. "I can choose to give up if any of you can offer more than four billion for any of the three remaining slots," Phoenix Rain said. The entire venue fell silent once more. The various company representatives all gnashed their teeth in anger as they looked at Phoenix Rain. They could not help but admit that Phoenix Rain was simply too accurate in her calculations. Although the various companies present were willing to pay a huge price to cooperate with Zero Wing, a four-billion deposit was beyond their budget. Moreover, nobody could tell what kind of future awaited Zero Wing. If things went sour, all that money would be frozen for half a year. It was too great a risk altogether. "A lunatic!" "This woman really is a lunatic!" "If the Blackwater Guild topples Zero Wing, I''d like to see just how she salvages the situation!" At this point, the only thing the various company representatives could do was stand up and leave in a huff. As for Shi Feng, he was inwardly ecstatic. He had never imagined that Phoenix Rain was actually this wealthy! With this, Ouroboros''s training center was practically in the bag. He could even start the second phase of his plan, which was the construction in other cities of training centers that were open to the public, in the hopes of attracting players to go there and improve themselves. With this, he could earn money and recruit more newcomers with great potential into his Guild. This was a business model that many major Guilds adopted in the later stages of God''s Domain. This method had uncovered many top-tier experts in the past. Among them, the most famous one would be the Tier 6 Berserker God, Half Madness. Initially, Half Madness had only been an unknown, ordinary player. However, one day, he went to a training center run by the Super Guild Battle Wolves to play around, and the instructors there discovered that he had great potential. In the end, Battle Wolves recruited him, and everything else was history. His strength improved rapidly by leaps and bounds, and he eventually became one of Battle Wolves''s mainstays. If Zero Wing could construct such God''s Domain training centers in various major cities in the real world early on, it could snatch some high-potential players for itself rather than let Super Guilds monopolize all the good stuff. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''ve already signed the contracts. Now that all the outsiders are gone, isn''t it about time we discuss the matter of cooperation?" Phoenix Rain asked, smiling as she looked at Shi Feng. Truthfully, she had not expected to spend so much money on this visit. Originally, she had only thought that Stone Forest Town had potential for development and was planning to invest in the town. Doing so would also help the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion establish a foundation in the local industry. However, the Magic Tower was frankly too tempting. Hence, she had invested practically all the funds she had on hand right now into Zero Wing. As the manager of a Guild, she knew full well just how difficult it was to develop a town. Currently, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion controlled five towns in total. However, none of them were particularly attractive to players. At best, players used them as a rest stop or a temporary base to save up on travel time to high-level maps. Once the protection period of these towns ended, their expenditures would definitely increase. At that time, not to mention making a profit, it would be great if the towns did not incur a deficit. If one were to compare economic benefits, all five of the towns combined did not even equal one-tenth of Stone Forest Town. However, if these towns also had a Magic Tower, players would no longer treat them as just a simple rest stop. Instead, the towns would become a mecca for players who wanted to improve their strength. "Seeing as Phoenix Pavilion Master has spent so much money, I believe that your goal isn''t just gaining priority in investing in Zero Wing''s towns. Instead, it should be the Magic Tower, correct?" Shi Feng said. "That''s right. I am indeed doing this for the Magic Tower. As long as you can construct a Magic Tower in a town I manage, I can give you 40% of the town''s profits. How about it?" Phoenix Rain said and nodded, her words replete with temptation. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. Be it the ability to capture a town or to develop one, there was no comparison. Meanwhile, Shi Feng only needed to construct a single Magic Tower in order to receive 40% of one town''s profits. This offer would tempt anyone. "I want 50%. I will also help you construct only one Magic Tower. Moreover, the location of the town you choose must not be in any of Star-Moon Kingdom''s neighboring countries," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. He could build only four more Magic Towers right now. Meanwhile, he needed at least three to protect a city. Hence, the most he could spare was one Magic Tower. If possible, he was more than willing to construct a few more towers for Phoenix Rain. After all, that was free money they were talking about. Moreover, the Magic Tower Design was not unique. It was only a matter of time before other players obtained the design for it. Once the various Guilds all possessed the design, the tower would no longer be valuable. Hence, he had to earn as much money off it as possible right now. As for nurturing competitors, this was simply an unnecessary worry. God''s Domain was just too massive. There were also countless people playing the game. On the other hand, how many players could a single town possibly containor even a single city? If he kept the Magic Tower for himself, the most he could use it for right now was as a decoration. Rather than do so, it would be much better if he converted the tower into sustained revenue. Moreover, it was much harder to operate a city than a town. The current Zero Wing would barely be able to afford the manpower and resources required. This was also the reason why he was mass-recruiting members. Once he built his city, he would not have any energy to spare for managing any additional towns. "Alright, then! However, I have another condition. You need to get it done within three days." Previously, Phoenix Rain still wanted to renegotiate. However, seeing Shi Feng''s determined demeanor, she knew that that was not going to happen. However, at the very least, she had secured one Magic Tower for herself, achieving her initial goal. "That won''t be a problem. Send the town''s coordinates to me. When the time comes, I''ll send some people over to build it." Shi Feng did not mind this condition. Constructing a Magic Tower took only half a day. After which, he would have one more source of income. Then, he also would not have to worry about the construction fees for his city. After the two of them signed a contract reflecting their agreement, Phoenix Rain sent a set of coordinates to Shi Feng. Savage Wildland, Town of Beginnings. "What?! You''ve actually discovered the Savage Wildland?!" Shi Feng was momentarily surprised upon seeing the coordinates. 1039 Humanity’s Origins Chapter 1039 - Humanity''s Origins Shi Feng''s reaction astonished Phoenix Rain. The Savage Wildland was a massive, mysterious island discovered by one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s old monsters while he had been working on an Epic Quest. The Pavilion had investigated the island in depth, and they only uncovered part of the island''s secrets after much difficulty. She hadn''t expected Shi Feng to react as if he knew the Savage Wildland''s secrets when she had sent him the location. "Do you know about the Savage Wildland?" Phoenix Rain asked curiously. Only after browsing the library in the Apocalypse Empire''s imperial capital had the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion found some information about the Savage Wildland. However, the information was very vague. The only thing it mentioned was that the Savage Wildland was the birthplace of humans, which is why the town on that massive island had been named the Town of Beginnings. Even the weakest monsters on the island were Level 40. Moreover, the monsters exhibited considerably high combat standards. Even Guild elite players could not solo the area''s Elite monsters of the same level. They needed to form groups of three to take one down. Furthermore, it was very easy to come across Special Elite and Chieftain ranked monsters. These monsters mostly moved in groups, making it considerably difficult to level up. This also made it difficult to attract players to the Town of Beginnings. Yet, the Town of Beginnings was too important to her. To utilize the town''s true function, it needed to be promoted to a medium-sized town. She had been incredibly worried about this. Now that she had the Magic Tower, though, attracting players would be much easier. "Yes, I''ve read about it in a book. I have heard it''s humanity''s birthplace." Shi Feng nodded, though he did not reveal the frightening secret the Savage Wildland hid. In the past, when the Savage Wildland had first appeared, it had not attracted any attention whatsoever. First, it was simply too difficult to level up there. Rather than relying on the monsters, one would be better off grinding the useless monsters in low-resource areas. Moreover, the Savage Wildland''s monsters were quite stingy. How stingy? Even after killing over a hundred monsters, they wouldn''t drop garbage or a single material item. One could only obtain a handful of Copper Coins or cheap materials by killing Chieftain ranked monsters or above. As for obtaining weapons and equipment, that was a pipe dream. Yet, nobody had imagined that this stingy island was actually a transit point connecting to Otherworlds. In the island''s deeper regions, one sometimes came across spatial cracks that allowed players to explore Otherworlds. These spatial cracks were like random Dungeons. However, one had to be lucky to find one. Meanwhile, these spatial cracks were only one of the Savage Wildland''s benefits. The true value of the Savage Wildland was the Otherworld transfer gate in the heart of the island. Players were only required to pay some Magic Crystals to utilize this gate. Unfortunately, players could only use the gate once per week. Due to this, a large number of players had swarmed the Savage Wildland in the past. However, back then, the Savage Wildland had already fallen under the Super Guild Pantheon''s control. Anyone who wished to utilize the transfer gate had been required to pay an exorbitant fee. Despite the many other Super Guilds'' complaints, none of them had been able to do anything about it as the Pantheon ruled over the Town of Beginnings. The other Super Guilds could only watch as Pantheon regulated the area and collected massive amounts of money. Hence, the fact that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had taken the Town of Beginnings had truly surprised Shi Feng. Initially, Shi Feng had thought of searching for the Savage Wildland in this life. However, activating the island had many conditions. He also did not know which conditions he would need to trigger. Hence, he had no choice but to leave the island alone for now. He had never expected this opportunity to present itself. An Otherworld could effectively train players and help them improve their techniques. Clearing an Otherworld also granted bountiful rewards. This was the reason why transfer tools to Otherworlds were so precious and expensive. If he could take control of the transfer gate to an Otherworld, it would undoubtedly provide a special training location for Zero Wing''s members. "Guild Leader Black Flame is quite knowledgeable. The Pavilion has searched high and low for this information. If I had known earlier, I could''ve just asked you," Phoenix Rain could not help but sigh. She had mobilized all of the Guild''s power to learn about the Savage Wildland. Only after a two-day search had they found anything. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, you think too highly of me. I just like to read books about God''s Domain''s history in my free time," Shi Feng said, laughing. "It seems I''ll have to read about God''s Domain''s history more often, then," Phoenix Rain replied, smiling. She felt that Shi Feng''s habit of reading books was a wise one, particularly books related to God''s Domain''s history. If she did so as well, she might learn something that could come in handy in the future. Following which, Phoenix Rain said her goodbyes and returned to gather the funds she owed. As for Shi Feng, he immediately notified Gentle Snow about purchasing Ouroboros''s training center, having her make the necessary arrangements. After Shi Feng finished assigning the necessary tasks, he secretly traveled to the Teleportation Hall, intending to make a trip to the Savage Wildland. The Savage Wildland wasn''t currently valuable because the Town of Beginnings wasn''t yet a medium-sized town. It couldn''t yet activate its repellent magic array. The Savage Wildland''s monsters were extremely concentrated. It was very difficult to reach the heart of the island. However, once the repellent magic array was active, the area''s monsters would spread out. Generally, monsters in the wildland''s outer region ranged between Level 40 and Level 70, while the inner region had monsters ranging between Level 70 and Level 100. As for the island''s core, monsters around Level 100 to Level 120 called it home. Moreover, due to the high concentration of monsters, players could only reach the island''s heart after clearing the monsters in their way. However, once the repellent magic array activated, as long as players were careful, there could enter the island''s inner region without trouble. There, players could randomly encounter spatial cracks that allowed them to enter Otherworlds to build their strength. Hence, once the Town of Beginnings became a medium-sized town, the town''s popularity would experience a qualitative change. Despite the closest NPC town in the Apocalypse Empire being nearly twenty hours away from the Town of Beginnings, countless players still made the journey. Stone Forest Town was nothing in comparison. Now that Shi Feng knew that the Savage Wildland was active, he couldn''t let this opportunity get away. Others might not be able to reach the Savage Wildland''s core, but he could. He had the Seven Luminaries Ring. He could use Space Movement to travel directly there. Only, if he accidentally came across monsters over Level 100 in the core region, it was highly likely that he would die. However, Shi Feng was willing to take the risk. As long as he could set coordinates for a Teleportation Magic Array in the core region, Zero Wing''s members could just teleport there in the future, easily entering an Otherworld to improve their strength. With one Otherworld transfer gate serving as Zero Wing''s training grounds, in addition to the special training in the training center, what Guild could possibly compete with Zero Wing''s development speed? 1040 Maritime Business Chapter 1040 - Maritime Business Star-Moon City, Blackwater''s Guild Residence: Currently, three people, two men and one woman, sat inside the Guild Leader''s luxurious office. Among them, one man was Blackwater''s Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave, while the woman was Qin Muyun, who had been tasked with managing Blackwater''s affairs in the Black Dragon Empire. However, these two VIPs of the Blackwater Guild had their eyes locked on the man before them. The man wore a Black Cloak and had tightly-wrapped bandages around most of his face, preventing others from seeing his appearance or level. Moreover, he felt as if he were an illusion as if the man would vanish if one did not pay him careful attention. "You''re saying that Zero Wing can construct as many of those Magic Tower as they want?" Abandoned Wave asked, his brows raised in suspicion; he found this information somewhat hard to believe. Everyone throughout Star-Moon Kingdom had likely discovered how powerful the Magic Tower''s effects were in Stone Forest Town. The Magic Tower was precisely the reason that players had overcrowded the town. When Abandoned Wave saw the number of players traveling to and from Stone Forest Town, he could not help his jealousy. After all, all these players were walking sacks of Coins! Although the Blackwater Corporation was wealthy, its Coin income was very limited. With just the income of Stone Forest Town, it was no impossible for Blackwater to wear down Zero Wing. If what the bandaged man had said was indeed true, once Zero Wing captured another one or two towns, Blackwater would not be able to compete with the Guild''s financial strength. "I can assure you that this news is true. Moreover, Zero Wing has found a powerful financial backer. I''m afraid that within this short period, Zero Wing''s strength will rise explosively once more," the bandaged man declared confidently. "If we don''t get rid of Zero Wing soon, we will have endless trouble in the future." "I understand. I''ll send some men to help Heaven''s Burial with the sealing magic array''s construction immediately. But how are preparations coming along?" Abandoned Wave understood that this matter could no longer be delayed. If they did not remove Zero Wing soon, it would become increasingly harder to defeat the Guild in the future. Moreover, Young Master Jing had grown somewhat impatient and instructed him to conclude the matter swiftly. Otherwise, Blackwater would soon have another Guild Leader. "It won''t take too long. A day at most. Even if the Guild dispatches every player it has, nothing will save Zero Wing when the time comes," the bandaged man laughed coldly. "However, once this matter has been resolved, don''t forget about our agreement. You are aware of the consequences should you forget." "Rest assured. I am always a man of my word. When it is time, I''ll give you what we agreed upon," Abandoned Wave said. Hearing the bandaged man''s tone, Abandoned Wave''s confidence grew. The main force attacking Stone Forest Town this time would not be from Blackwater or Heaven''s Burial at all. Rather, it would be this bandaged man before him. "Guild Leader, Big Sister Ling just sent a message stating that the situation with Pantheon is a done deal. Now, we only need to decide a date for the operation," Qin Muyun suddenly reported. Abandoned Wave grew ecstatic upon hearing this. "Good! Muyun, lead a team to assist Heaven''s Burial right away. Once the magic array is complete, we''ll attack Stone Forest Town!" Although capturing Stone Forest Town was already in the bag, Pantheon''s help would be icing on the cake, depriving Zero Wing of every last shred of hope. Apocalypse Empire, imperial capital''s Teleportation Hall: As soon as Shi Feng arrived in the Apocalypse Empire''s capital, he discovered a crowd of players filling the Teleportation Hall as they lined up to use the teleportation arrays. It was even more crowded than Stone Forest Town. There sure are a lot of people here. Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he surveyed his surroundings. As one of the most ancient empires still in existence in God''s Domain, the Apocalypse Empire had a lot of players. Ordinary empires simply could not compete. The quality of the players in the Teleportation Hall made this clear. Among the players lining up, many were high-level independent players. Currently, God''s Domain''s mainstream players were only Level 35. However, most of the independent players here were Level 37 or above, with some already at Level 40. Even the Black Dragon Empire paled in comparison to the Apocalypse Empire''s prosperity. However, this was also the reason that three major powers contested over the Apocalypse Empire, with two being super-first-rate Guilds, while the third was a Super Guild. Of the two super-first-rate Guilds, one was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and the other was the Miracle Guild. Battle Wolves was the Super Guild. Due to these three major powers, even first-rate Guilds were forced to watch from the sidelines. With the Apocalypse Empire''s massive population, whichever Guild managed to take control of the empire would enjoy an explosive development speed. After all, only with more people could a Guild easily recruit talented players. Even now, the three major powers fought each other constantly, dispatching many of their elite and expert members to the Apocalypse Empire to develop. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s choice representative to preside over the struggle for the empire was none other than Phoenix Rain. This time, Phoenix Rain had resolved to bet all of her cards on Zero Wing''s cooperation. Shi Feng had to admit that Phoenix Rain had bet correctly. If the Town of Beginnings had a Magic Tower, not only could she rake in a fortune, but she could also hasten the town''s promotion to a medium-sized town. The Town of Beginnings would become the cornerstone that would allow the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to take over the Apocalypse Empire. Compared to the potential profits, the initial cost was nothing. Unfortunately, while focusing on a narrow goal, Phoenix Rain had neglected an even greater opportunity. Even without taking control of the Town of Beginnings, there was a way to access the Savage Wildland''s benefits. Following which, Shi Feng teleported to Ocean Viewing Town. Ocean Viewing Town was the closest coastal town to the Savage Wildland. However, due to the wildland''s location in the middle of the sea, players generally rented boats for the journey. The sea was far more dangerous than land. Players had to be extremely careful when venturing across the sea. If a player carelessly allowed their boat to be destroyed, they would have to rely on their own strength to swim the rest of the way. Compared to walking, swimming in the ocean was much more taxing on a player''s Stamina. It was also much slower. After running out of Stamina, players would ultimately drown. Due to this, despite Ocean Viewing Town''s close proximity to the Savage Wildland, the trip generally took around 20 hours. When Shi Feng reached Ocean Viewing Town, he did not immediately rent a boat. Instead, he visited the Town Hall. In the past, due to the many players rushing to the Savage Wildland, Ocean Viewing Town had also prospered. Eventually, it had even been promoted from a town to a city. The value of the town''s Lands had risen like crazy. However, trading these Lands had not been the most profitable business. The true profits were from boat rentals. Boats were different from ordinary Mounts. Although they were another mode of transportation and engineering players could construct them, their designs were exceedingly rare. Generally, players who wanted a boat of their own would use the designs that came with a Shipyard. A Shipyard also increased the speed of crafting boats. There were a total of five Shipyards for sale in Ocean Viewing Town. In the past, those who had purchased these Shipyards early had made a fortune when the Savage Wildland became popular. This was because the boats Shipyards crafted were unlike the fishing boats that NPCs rented out. Fishing boats were slow and could only carry a few players at a time. The boats also had very low durability, and mishaps occurred easily. Hence, when traveling to the Savage Wildland, players generally rented boats that other players had crafted. With this, the normal 20-hour travel time could be cut in half. Not only could one save a lot of time, but it was also much safer to rent a player-made boat. However, it was not easy to purchase a Shipyard in Ocean Viewing Town. The first requirement was a high enough Reputation. Without that, the Mayor would refuse to sell. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, which had only recently discovered the Savage Wildland, didn''t have enough Reputation to purchase one, even if it realized the value of Shipyards. It was simply impossible for the Pavilion to collect enough Reputation Points to become an Ocean Viewing Town Baron within this short period. However, Shi Feng was different. Upon entering the Town Hall, Shi Feng switched to the City Protector title. The title allowed him to enjoy the benefits of a major noble, which was the equivalent of a Viscount, in every human town and city. He now qualified to purchase a Shipyard in Ocean Viewing Town. 1041 Medium Shipyard Chapter 1041 - Medium Shipyard When Shi Feng entered the Town Hall, there were only a few other players in the building. They were all independent players, not Guild players. The Lands in God''s Domain''s NPC cities were very expensive. Generally, only Guilds could afford them. It was practically impossible to find a lone player who could afford these Lands as well. However, it was a different story for NPC towns. The Lands here were many times cheaper. Take Ocean Viewing Town for example. Its normal Lands only cost 200 to 300 Gold, while the Lands around the town center cost 500 to 600 Gold. Even the most expensive Land, which had an excellent view of the ocean, cost around 900 Gold. Generally, expert players of considerable skill could afford these Lands after their Tier 2 promotion. In the past, many players who could not afford houses in NPC cities would build their houses on Lands in towns with a good view or in prosperous towns. As a port town, even without access to the Savage Wildland, Ocean Viewing Town''s Lands were a valuable investment. After all, as players reached higher levels, players would unlock more in-game systems in God''s Domain. For example, the Maritime Merchant System. In God''s Domain, one could earn money from other players as well as NPCs. Helping NPC merchants transport their goods was one way to do so, earning a sizable income. If one managed themselves properly, obtaining their own fleet of ships and gaining Popularity among NPCs, they could make far more than expert players. This was precisely the reason that port towns had become so popular among independent players, particularly merchant players, in the past. Due to such systems, even players who were weak in battle could make a living in God''s Domain. Sometimes, if one were lucky and encountered some miracle, one could obtain weapons and equipment that even expert players would envy. Currently, independent players capable of purchasing Ocean Viewing Town''s lands were either merchants with some achievement or representatives from small-scale Workshops that planned to invest. When the several cloaked players, who were choosing Lands, noticed Shi Feng enter the building, they all turned with cautious expressions. They looked at Shi Feng as if he had come to steal their prey. Suddenly, an NPC administrator in a suit and tie approached Shi Feng. The NPC administrator then asked respectfully, "Lord Protector, how many I serve you today?" "I want to purchase a Shipyard," Shi Feng said. "Alright. Please follow me to the second floor. The information regarding the available Shipyards will be brought to you right away." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s request, the administrator led Shi Feng to the second floor''s lounge, showing Shi Feng as much respect as the town''s Mayor. The several merchant players who had been wary of Shi Feng were stupefied. "Who is that?" "Why is Administrator Joseph showing so much respect?" "Is he already a Baron in Ocean Viewing Town?" "That can''t be, right? Joseph wouldn''t even treat a town''s Baron like that." To win over Senior Administrator Joseph, they had tried all sorts of methods to raise his Favorability of them. They had done so to persuade the Senior Administrator to show them more Lands. Yet, Senior Administrator Joseph immediately led Shi Feng to the second floor when he arrived. The second floor! Despite their struggles to become nobles of Ocean Viewing Town, they still didn''t qualify to explore the second floor. These several merchant players could not help but envy Shi Feng. Like anywhere else, one needed sufficient Reputation to purchase Ocean Viewing Town''s Lands. Ordinary nobles had to remain on the first floor and choose from the town''s most basic Lands. Even then, not all ordinary Lands would be available. Only by raising one''s Favorability with the Senior Administrator would the latter present more strategically-situated Lands. Generally, only the town''s Barons qualified to climb the stairs to the second floor. On the second floor, most of the town''s Lands were available for purchase. As a Baron, one would even receive discounts. Shortly after Shi Feng entered the second-floor lounge, Senior Administrator Joseph brought all documents relating to the town''s Shipyards. "Lord Protector, Ocean Viewing Town has a total of six Shipyards. Here are the related documents," Joseph said as he carefully placed the documents before Shi Feng. He then retreated to the side, not daring to disturb Shi Feng in the slightest. "Six Shipyards? Weren''t there only supposed to be five?" Shi Feng was somewhat surprised. He was relatively familiar with Ocean Viewing Town. In the past, he had visited the Savage Wildland multiple times. He could clearly remember that there had only been five Shipyards. "Lord Protector, there were only five Shipyards before. However, due to the Far Ocean Trading Firm''s bad luck and recent shipwreck, the firm had been forced to sell its Shipyard to recuperate financially. The firm has asked us to help sell its Shipyard. The Mayor has stated that if this Shipyard has not sold after a month, he will take the Shipyard as collateral and issue the Far Ocean Trading Firm a loan. I have heard that the trading firm recently built this Shipyard to produce its new cargo ship," Joseph explained in detail. "New cargo ship?" Shi Feng''s interest was immediately piqued. Ship designs were almost as rare as Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, owning a design was one thing, but producing the ship was another. Constructing a Common ship wasn''t a big deal. However, for high-quality ships, construction was extremely troublesome. Finding the raw materials alone was costly in both time and money. Most importantly, ship designs were similar to the Magic Tower Design, in which both were limited-use items. Usually, one could construct ten ships from one design. Even after ten years, high-quality ships had still been considerably rare. God''s Domain''s ocean was expansive. Moreover, many miraculous encounters and treasures were available on the ocean''s islands and secret areas. Without a ship of considerable quality, death was likely when exploring the sea. Due to these two reasons, players in the past had been very willing to rent, even purchase, high-quality ships, even for an absurd cost. Following which, Shi Feng began to browse the documents. Shi Feng took ten minutes to look through all of the information. As Joseph had said, the Far Ocean Trading Firm had researched a new cargo ship. Although the ship was only Common rank, it was 15% faster than the other five Shipyard''s cargo ships. Moreover, its carrying capacity and durability were 20% higher. Aside from Bronze or higher ranked cargo ships, this was the best choice for merchant players. The only problem was the price. Although this was a town, a Shipyard was different from Lands. Even a Small Shipyard could sell for 10,000 Gold, not to mention a recently-built Medium Shipyard. In God''s Domain, the size of a Shipyard determined the types of ship it could construct. Not only could a Medium Shipyard produce small ships, but it could also construct medium ships. For example, a cargo ship was a medium ship. The Far Ocean Trading Firm''s asking price was 30,000 Gold! At this price, Shi Feng could purchase three plots of golden Land in a major city. 1042 Bronze Speedboa Chapter 1042 - Bronze Speedboat Shi Feng had to admit that the Far Ocean Trading Firm''s price was quite high. Normally, Medium Shipyards only went for 20,000 Gold. He could purchase another Small Shipyard with the additional 10,000 Gold. Thirty thousand Gold was almost everything Shi Feng had on him. Previously, he had spent quite a bit to deal with the Dark Guilds. Afterward, he had constructed the Magic Tower, the large-scale Battle Arena, and hired hundreds of NPC managers. The money he earned in the past several days had vanished in an instant. Shi Feng had only planned to spend 20,000 Gold to buy a Medium Shipyard while leaving the remaining 10,000 Gold to start the Magic Tower''s construction in the Town of Beginnings. Now, his plans had been disrupted However, even if the price were high, Shi Feng steeled himself to make the purchase. He had encountered a golden opportunity this time. Shi Feng could clearly remember that in the past, Ocean Viewing Town only had five Shipyards. A sixth hadn''t existed. Moreover, based on Joseph''s explanation, this Shipyard would be available for one month. If a player did not purchase it within the month, this new Shipyard would no longer be up for sale. In the past, players had likely missed out on this opportunity. As for the Far Ocean Trading Firm''s recent shipwreck, in Shi Feng''s opinion, it was very likely due to the activation of the Savage Wildland. After the Savage Wildland activated, the nearby water became far more dangerous. If Shi Feng missed this opportunity, he would not have the chance to buy it again. In the past, among the five Shipyards available, one had been a Medium Shipyard, while the other four had been Small Shipyards. A smart Guild would purchase the Medium Shipyard as soon as possible. This way, not only could it be used to craft small boats, which were a general means of transportation for players, but it could also craft cargo ships to do merchant work. Medium Shipyards had far better facilities than their smaller brethren. The production speed Medium Shipyards was also 30% faster than Small Shipyards. Moreover, Medium Shipyards had a higher success rate when manufacturing small ships. With control of Ocean Viewing Town''s Medium Shipyard, one would have control of nearly half of the town''s maritime income, much less the Far Ocean Trading Firm''s Shipyard, which could produce a new kind of cargo ship. With that Shipyard, Shi Feng might be able to snag a share of the nearby town''s market in addition to Ocean Viewing Town''s. "I''ll buy the new Shipyard, then," Shi Feng said softly after suppressing the excitement in his heart. Hearing this, Joseph quickly and carefully responded, "Lord Protector, as we do not own this Shipyard and it has only been consigned to us, the most we can offer is a 5% discount. You will have to pay a total of 28,500 Gold." A City Protector''s status was the equivalent of a major noble''s. Even Ocean Viewing Town''s Mayor had to address Shi Feng carefully. Shi Feng was not someone a town administrator could afford to provoke. "Alright, here''s the money." Shi Feng was not particularly surprised as he handed over the stated amount. A Shipyard was not a Land. Normally, a major noble would only receive a 10% discount when purchasing one. He was lucky to receive a 5% discount for a time-sensitive event like this. At the very least, he saved 1,500 Gold. That was the equivalent of a poorly Attributed Epic item. However, he was now broke. He had less than 3,000 Gold on his person. Shi Feng suddenly felt as if he were drifting further and further away from his 150,000-Gold target A moment later, Senior Administrator Joseph brought Shi Feng the Deed to the Far Ocean Shipyard. After Shi Feng verified the information, he rushed to the town''s port. He decided to set aside the Far Ocean Shipyard''s operations until Melancholic Smile''s group returned. Unlike producing weapons and equipment, which only required one player, the construction of even a small speedboat required ten Engineers. Medium ships required thirty to forty Engineers. Moreover, the Engineers could be no lower than Intermediate rank. Otherwise, the success rate would be too low and would result in losses. It was not easy to operate a Shipyard. It was not a problem that could be solved with enough money. One needed a small army of Engineers. Moreover, Apprentice Engineers were utterly useless for this task. To run a Medium Shipyard smoothly, one needed at least a hundred Intermediate Engineers. If one wanted higher production success rates, it would be best to have at least ten Advanced Engineers producing the ships'' core components. As for the new cargo ship the Far Ocean Shipyard had researched, it required even more than usual. The one ship required 50 Intermediate Engineers. In addition, the ship''s core required five Advanced Engineers; Intermediate Engineers did not qualify to touch the core component. Only after fulfilling these requirements could they manufacture this new cargo ship at the standard speed. Hence, Shi Feng planned to wait until Melancholic Smile''s group returned. He needed five Advanced Engineers at the very least to begin the ship''s construction. Otherwise, he would have to rely on small speedboats to earn money, wasting away the advantage of the new cargo ship. When he reached Ocean Viewing Town''s port, Shi Feng discovered many small fishing boats tied to the docks. Players could rent or purchase these boats. Only, they were somewhat expensive to purchase outright. Ordinary players couldn''t afford them. Even the crappiest fishing boat, which could only accommodate a maximum of four people at a time, sold for three Gold. A fishing boat that could hold up to six players cost five Gold. As for fishing boats with a small sail, their prices were even more absurd, with the most common selling for 10 Gold. However, one had to admit that it was worth every Coin. Fishing boats with sails were 10% faster than those without. Moreover, they possessed the Passive Skill, Sail Along the Wind. Players could increase their speed by another 20% with the wind in their sails. This way, players could escape sea monsters easily, avoiding the risk of losing both their lives and their ship. Renting a boat was far cheaper than purchasing one. One was only required to pay a deposit of half the value of the boat''s selling price and a 5% rental fee of once every three days. If the boat were damaged, players were only required to cover the repair fees. In the event that the boat was destroyed completely, however, one was required to compensate the owner in full within a fixed time. If one failed to do so, the owner would place a bounty on their head. Moreover, the bounty contract would not expire, only letting the player rest once it was fulfilled Hence, players were extremely careful with their rentals. At the same time, if they had the money, they would just buy one. Shi Feng could already see quite a few small fishing boats sailing across the ocean. These boats all carried a party of players. With a full party, players had a higher chance of surviving while they explored the islands. Players rarely explored the islands by themselves. In God''s Domain, small islands were like Party Dungeons. However, there were both good and bad small islands. If players encountered a good island, they might find a Treasure Chest, instantly making a fortune. If players encountered a bad island, however, they might leave with nothing. Generally, the Treasure Chests on a small island could range from Common to Dark-Gold rank. Though, the higher-ranked Treasure Chests had lower probabilities of appearing. Generally, players only found Common and Bronze Treasure Chests on small islands. Even so, players could still profit off of them; they were even more profitable than raiding Party Dungeons or questing. That was why so many independent players were willing to brave the sea. After reaching the port, Shi Feng did not choose to visit the Boat Chartering Association to rent a boat. Instead, he walked towards the market beside the port. The market offered many items. NPC merchants from many countries had gathered here, offering more than those in typical NPC towns. After multiple twists and turns through the market, Shi Feng finally stood before a two-story building called Dahl''s Workshop. Hopefully, nobody has triggered the Hidden Quest yet. Shi Feng inwardly prayed as he stepped into Dahl''s Workshop. In the past, the most famous quest in Ocean Viewing Town had been the chain quest that awarded a Bronze Speedboat. Back then, when the player had completed that quest series and received the reward, he had instantly become a target of envy. After all, most players at that time had still been renting fishing boats from NPCs. Even after Guilds had purchased a Small Shipyard, the small ships they produced were only Common rank. They could not produce Bronze Speedboats. After that player obtained the Bronze Speedboat, he had generously announced the method of triggering and completing said quest on the forums. Unfortunately, that quest was unique. After its completion, no other player could trigger the quest, much less obtain that particular reward. This quest could be triggered in Dahl''s Workshop. 1043 Godly Player Chapter 1043 - Godly Player Among the many workshops in the port market, Dahl''s Workshop was not particularly eye-catching. However, it was the oldest workshop in Ocean Viewing Town and had been created by a Grandmaster Engineer. The workshop had existed for over 300 years. Logically, even if it were not famous throughout the Apocalypse Empire, a Grandmaster Engineer''s workshop should be the most famous in the Ocean Viewing Town. Unfortunately, its decline due to the workshop''s inheritors, worse with each generation, letting the workshop to fall into its current state. At this point, almost nobody remembered Dahl''s Workshop''s past glory. However, the workshop''s current owner was quite talented. After inheriting the engineering notes from his predecessors, he had been obsessed with researching the notes to become a Master Engineer. Meanwhile, the Hidden Quest was helping the current inheritor of Dahl''s Workshop, Rodney, become a Master Engineer. If the player succeeded, they would earn a Bronze Speedboat. In God''s Domain, the value of a Bronze Speedboat could rival that of an Epic item. A Common Speedboat could carry up to two parties of six, and it was 20% faster than fishing boats. Moreover, it came with the Accelerate Skill and Braving the Winds and Waves Passive Skill. Both were necessary for adventuring on the open ocean. A Bronze Speedboat could hold a team of twenty, and its speed and durability were 15% higher than a Common Speedboat. A Bronze Speedboat also possessed offensive capabilities. In terms of lifesaving capabilities, the Bronze Speedboat was multiple times stronger than the Common Speedboat. The player that had obtained the Bronze Speedboat had formed a relatively good maritime adventurer group and had ventured into dangerous waters that other players had not dared to explore, becoming quite famous in the Apocalypse Empire. Upon entering Dahl''s Workshop, Shi Feng discovered several other players waiting in the basketball court-sized workshop as well. When Shi Feng entered the building, these players turned to him with hostile glares. Sure enough, others have discovered it. Shi Feng could not help but sigh. However, after giving it some thought, he found this outcome to be reasonable. Ocean Viewing Town might not be particularly big, but there were quite a few players who traveled here to level. Among them, there was no lack of experts. It wasn''t surprising that someone had discovered the Hidden Quest. The independent players inside the workshop were such experts. There were a total of five of them, and the lowest leveled among them was Level 39, while the highest was a Level 40 expert. These five people were clearly divided into two groups, with a Level 40 Ranger leading the group of three, while a Level 39 Oracle traveled with one companion. These players all wore considerably good equipment. Despite being independent players, their equipment was all Level 35 Secret-Silver rank or above, with the majority being Level 35 Fine-Gold Equipment. Their equipment could rank at the peak among independent players. Although two expert parties had already accepted the quest, Shi Feng paid them no mind. Instead, he approached the Level 70 male shopkeeper directly. "Hello, I wish to meet with your shop owner," Shi Feng said, smiling. Any player could accept this Hidden Quest. However, only the player who helped Rodney become a Master Engineer would receive the final reward. The first step of the quest was to meet with Rodney. However, when Shi Feng mentioned his request, the Level 40 Ranger snorted with amusement. Trying to meet the shop owner from the get-go was a dream. Ordinary people would assume that the male shopkeeper was an ordinary shopkeeper. In reality, however, the shopkeeper was Rodney''s apprentice. If players could not get past this apprentice, they would not be allowed to meet Rodney. To meet with Rodney, they had spent four days gradually raising their Favorability with the apprentice. Only then would the apprentice introduced them to Rodney to help fulfill the latter''s wish. The moment the male shopkeeper''s eyes touched upon the cloaked Shi Feng, he immediately stood up and responded respectfully, "Lord Protector, I''ll notify my master right away! Please wait here for a moment!" The major noble of a city! Even a true Master Engineer had to treat someone of such stature with some form of respect, much less an Advanced Engineer like his master, Rodney. "What!?" "How can he meet Rodney so easily?!" The five waiting players'' jaws dropped. Before they could react, hasty footsteps echoed from the second floor. After a short moment, a middle-aged, brawny man with disheveled hair came running down the stairs. "What?! Didn''t the shopkeeper say that Rodney was very busy?!" "Crap, just who is that? Is he one of those godly players?" The five waiting players were stupefied. They had come to Dahl''s Workshop to meet with Rodney. However, as Rodney had been manufacturing an item when they had arrived, they were forced to wait in the workshop until Rodney was done, yet after an hour, they saw no sign of the man. On the other hand, Shi Feng had only spoken a sentence to summon Rodney Upon seeing Shi Feng, Rodney''s serious expression transformed into respect as he said, "Lord Protector, I am Rodney, the owner of this workshop. May I know why my lord has come looking for me?" "I have heard that you''ve been trying to get promoted to a Master Engineer for a while. I have a method that can assist you in transitioning smoothly. May I know if you are interested?" Shi Feng was not surprised by Rodney''s respectful attitude. The power of an Advanced Title was no trifling matter. Rodney could not hope to compare to his status. Hence, there was no need to waste time on courtesy, fawning over the NPC. Hearing Shi Feng''s suggestion, Rodney''s eyes immediately lit up; his excitement was obvious. "Lord Protector, if you can help me with my promotion to Master Engineer, I will pay any price," Rodney answered and bowed, anticipation filling his eyes. Becoming a Master Engineer was his lifelong wish. Moreover, he wanted to revitalize Dahl''s Workshop with his own hands. Following which, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: Hidden Quest "Master''s Dream" triggered. Quest content: Help Rodney become a Master Engineer. Rewards unknown. "Let''s continue our conversation upstairs," Shi Feng laughed. Although his quest had a different name than the one in the past, the task was the same. "My lord, this way, please!" As soon as Rodney heard this, he led the way. "That Lord Rodney What about us?" The five independent players could no longer sit by. "Wait there for a while. I have matters to discuss with my lord," Rodney dismissed them, annoyed. The five immediately fell silent, afraid that their quest would be revoked should they anger Rodney. "Just who was that?" "He''s impressive, even when accepting a quest. It would be great if I could make his acquaintance." "I wonder if this god is accepting apprentices?" Although they had accepted plenty of high-ranking quests, this was the first time they saw an NPC beg a player to accept one After reaching the second floor, Shi Feng noticed all sorts of precious materials scattered around the hall. There were also plenty of engineering tools about. After taking a seat, Rodney asked anxiously, "Lord Protector, may I know what I should do to become a Master Engineer?" 1044 Promotion Condition Chapter 1044 - Promotion Condition Despite Rodney''s excitement, Shi Feng did not hurry to answer the brawny man''s question. Rather, he observed the second floor quietly. While there were various precious materials present, the place was considerably shabby. The room''s Mana density was too low. The environment was nothing like that of a proper workshop. Take Seliora''s smithy for example. Although the woman''s smithy looked shabby on the outside, numerous magic arrays coated the building''s interior, constantly gathering large amounts of Mana and keeping the workplace''s Mana density high. Yet, the second-floor hall of Dahl''s Workshop did not have any magic arrays. The density of the ambient Mana in here was the same as the building''s exterior. Even a player would have a difficult time gaining the promotion to Master Engineer, not to mention an NPC. Yet, despite working in such an environment, Rodney had eventually become a Master Engineer in the past. Rodney''s talent was obvious. Back then, aside from relying on the super-rare materials players had collected, Rodney had become a Master Engineer because of his excellent engineering tools. These were similar to the hammer and flames forgers used. Despite Rodney''s inheritance of Dahl''s Workshop, his current tools were only Bronze rank. Hence, the Hidden Quest''s final phase was to collect a set of Mysterious-Iron engineering tools for him. To put it bluntly, Rodney''s promotion to Master Engineer had taken so long despite his great talent because he was too poor. What would the deceased Grandmaster Dahl think if he learned about this? After catching a glimpse of Rodney''s financial situation, Shi Feng shifted his gaze back to Rodney and asked seriously, "Your promotion is simple, but before that, may I know if you are interested in consulting for my trading firm." In God''s Domain, players were allowed to hire Lifestyle NPCs in the same way that they were allowed to hire NPC managers to manage their Shops. Only, hiring ordinary Lifestyle NPCs was not particularly worthwhile. Lifestyle NPCs'' production was slower than players''. Although they had slightly higher success rates, when producing ordinary items, which already had considerably high success rates, speed was the focus. With the few items an ordinary Lifestyle NPC could produce in a day, the profits wouldn''t even come close to covering the employment costs. Hence, when players hired Lifestyle NPCs, they usually only hired NPC Masters as they could craft rare and valuable products. The income from these products was enough to make up for the NPC''s slow production speed. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to employ an NPC Master. Every NPC Master possessed status roughly on par with cities'' major nobles. For example, when Seliora was a Master, even Weissman, White River City''s Tier 4 Magistrate, had to take her seriously. However, after Seliora became a Grandmaster, her status surpassed Weissman''s. Even Star-Moon Kingdom''s King had to treat Seliora with respect. Because of this, it was extremely difficult to hire an NPC Master. Generally, there were only two methods to employ such an NPC. The first method was very direct. Players simply needed to offer conditions that could even tempt NPC Masters. However, very few individuals or Guilds were capable of this method. The second method was to recruit and invest in a Lifestyle NPC who was still at the Advanced rank but had the potential to become a Master. While this method was much cheaper than the first, luck would determine whether or not the NPC reached the Master rank. Since Shi Feng already knew Rodney''s potential, he could not let this chance slip away. Whether it was manufacturing boats or the Bronze Engineering Locomotive, a Master Engineer could achieve them with ease. If he had the help of an NPC like this, he could earn all the money he needed whenever he needed. Hearing Shi Feng''s proposal, Rodney''s passionate gaze immediately cooled. Determinedly, he said, "Lord Protector, as the inheritor to Dahl''s Workshop, my only wish is to revitalize this workshop. Please allow me to refuse your offer." "Don''t be in such a hurry to refuse. I''m not asking you to join my trading firm. I just want you to help me with producing some items." Shi Feng had not expected it to be that easy. Hence, he took a step back and loosened his condition. "No matter how I look at it, Dahl''s Workshop will need a lot of money to grow strong again. I''ll pay the normal employment rates even after I help with your promotion." "This" Rodney hesitated. After pondering for some time, he said, "If my lord helps me become a Master, I will promise to work for my lord for three months. How about it?" "Alright, then. Three months it is." Shi Feng sighed helplessly. He had to admit that Rodney was a tough nut. If he hadn''t had the City Protector title, Rodney probably wouldn''t have even offered three months. However, during these three months, by on the Holy City of Titan, the Candlelight Trading Firm should be able to give birth to a Master Engineer. With Rodney''s help, the could make it through the next few months. Following which, Shi Feng took out a set of Mysterious-Iron engineering tools and an old design that was as large as a table. He gave Rodney the tools to ensure a high success rate with the new item''s production. As for the design, it was the Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array. This was something he obtained when he had killed Stone Forest Town''s ruler, Sareya. When activated, this item would increase the Mana density within an area of 30*30 yards. However, it had an operating cost of 50 Magic Crystals per hour, and barely two players had enough room to spar within its coverage. Using it to train one''s combat techniques regularly was too much of a luxury. Hence, Shi Feng had never bothered with it. Now, however, the magic array was the perfect item to make up for Rodney''s poor work environment. Following which, Shi Feng spent 50 Magic Crystals to set up a Basic Mana Gathering Magic Array in the second-floor hall before using the design to activate the magic array. Immediately, the floor''s Mana density began to rise. In a short moment, the Mana density surpassed that of the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. "What a high Mana density!" Rodney could not help his surprise. This was the first time in his life that he had experienced such dense Mana. Even a casual breath cleared his mind. He could maintain his calm and focus like never before. "Try creating something now," Shi Feng said as he pointed towards the workstation a short distance away. Before this, Rodney lacked both good tools and a good environment. Now that these deficiencies had been supplemented, with Rodney''s talent, it was only a matter of time before he became a Master Engineer. "Thank you, my lord!" Rodney repeatedly thanked Shi Feng. He then went to his workstation and attempted to create an item. Sure enough, half an hour later, an ecstatic expression brightened Rodney''s face. He had successfully created a boat''s power source. When Shi Feng looked at Rodney''s details again, the latter''s introduction text had changed from being an Advanced Engineer to a Master Engineer. Suddenly, the sound of the quest completion notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Unique Quest "Master''s Dream" completed. Following which, Shi Feng''s experience bar increased by 15%, pushing him to 19% of Level 44. The awarded EXP surpassed Shi Feng''s expectations. "Lord Protector, truly, thank you! I finally have the chance to revitalize Dahl''s Workshop! I don''t have much to offer as a show of gratitude, so please, take this ancient speedboat. Lord Dahl crafted this speedboat personally, and it has always been treasured in the workshop. I hope that my lord will accept it." Rodney revealed a palm-sized, glass bottle. Inside the bottle was a miniature speedboat, floating on a layer of water. Pulsating magic patterns decorated the speedboat''s body. At first glance, it was obvious that the speedboat was extraordinary. Wasn''t it supposed to be Bronze rank? Shi Feng was thunderstruck when he saw this speedboat. He couldn''t take his eyes off of it. 1045 Tyrant of the Seas Chapter 1045 - Tyrant of the Seas What rank is it? Shi Feng had seen the awarded Bronze Speedboat in the past. The speedboat back then had not possessed any magic patterns, yet this one did. In Shi Feng''s memories, any ship that possessed magic patterns had been at least Mysterious-Iron rank. Following which, Shi Feng accepted the glass bottle and checked the speedboat''s Attributes. [Swift Dragon Speedboat] (Secret-Silver Rank) An item created by a Grandmaster Engineer. Maximum capacity: 30 people Durability 500/500 Additional Active Skill 1- Dragon Cannon: Range 1,000 yards. Deals a devastating blow to a radius of 15 yards. Cooldown: 15 seconds Additional Active Skill 2- Energy Pulse: Paralyzes all enemies within a 50-yards. Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Active Skill 3- Accelerate: Instantly increases Movement Speed by 100% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes Additional Active Skill 4- Magic Barrier: Envelops the ship in a magic barrier, granting immunity to all Spells and reduces physical damage received by 60% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Passive Skill- Braving the Winds and Waves: When sailing with the wind, Movement Speed increased by 50%. When sailing against the wind, Movement Speed is unaffected. As expected of a Grandmaster''s creation! Shi Feng was shocked. He had seen many high-ranking speedboats before. He had even seen Fine-Gold Speedboats. However, speedboats of such rank were impossible for ordinary Guilds to obtain. Only Super Guilds had any hope of owning their own. Meanwhile, the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s Skills was in no way inferior to Fine-Gold Speedboats. In the past, the best speedboat Shadow had obtained had only been Mysterious-Iron rank. Compared to the Swift Dragon Speedboat, that speedboat was garbage. With this speedboat, even delving into dangerous sea zones could be possible. As Shi Feng held the Swift Dragon Speedboat, he recalled numerous islands that had been famous in the past. These islands had offered extremely abundant resources. God''s Domain''s sea was vast. Its islands were like secret locations or super-large-scale Dungeons that contained countless treasures such as ancient secret lands, Treasure Chests, super-rare materials, and various kinds of ore. Hence, maritime exploration was no less important to the various large Guilds than land exploration. However, maritime exploration was different from land exploration. Not only did maritime exploration test players'' strength, but it also had stringent hardware requirements. If a player''s hardware did not meet those requirements, they would not be qualified to explore dangerous waters. This was because sea monsters were different from the Common monsters on land. They were not easy to defeat. Even the weakest sea monster was the equivalent of a Chieftain on land. As for their HP, it was multiple times higher than land Chieftains. In addition, the water greatly enhanced these sea monsters'' combat power. On the other hand, players were restricted and couldn''t use their full strength. As a result, even a full party of players had to flee if they encountered a Common sea monster of the same level. Fortunately, there were very few sea monsters in normal sea zones. Those players weren''t nearly as dangerous. In the more dangerous sea zones, sea monsters were far more common. Parties of ordinary players were guaranteed to lose their lives. At the very least, one needed a Bronze Speedboat to approach dangerous sea zones. This was also why he had come to Dahl''s Workshop. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, there was a small island hidden in a dangerous sea zone. The island contained a Manatite vein. Moreover, it was a slightly rich vein. When the vein had been discovered, it had caused a commotion throughout the Apocalypse Empire, inciting a war between the empire''s various large Guilds. The war then had sent tremors throughout God''s Domain. After all, Magic Crystals were important, regardless of the era. Over 50 Guilds had participated in the contest for the Manatite vein, with the weakest being third-rate Guilds. The war had been between three factions led by Battle Wolves, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and Miracle. The maritime battle had incurred tremendous losses for all three, with the death toll reaching the millions. Moreover, these were not the deaths of ordinary players, but Guild elites. Currently, God''s Domain had only launched a short time ago. It was still impossible for current players to reach that island. Hence, before completing the Hidden Quest, Shi Feng had planned to try traveling there. If he succeeded and claimed the Manatite vein, the development issues that would plague his future city would vanish. One could not complete a city by simply constructing an empty shell. The money and resources involved in a city''s operation were astronomical. Even Super Guilds could barely afford to run a city, much less the current Zero Wing. The most important resource, of course, was the Mana Crystal. Unlike the Magic Tower, whose daily operation only cost 500 Magic Crystals, the Mana Tower cost 4,000 Magic Crystals each day. There were also many other establishments that required Magic Crystals as a power source. Now that the town''s safety had been dealt with, he had to deal with the city''s construction and developmental problems. He needed to claim a Manatite vein. Originally, Shi Feng had not been particularly confident of reaching the island. Now that he had the Swift Dragon Speedboat, however, his confidence grew. Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Rodney, stipulating that Rodney would work for Shi Feng for three months. The first task he assigned the Master Engineer was to construct the power source of his Shipyard''s new cargo ship. After settling his affairs with Rodney, Shi Feng left Dahl''s Workshop and prepared to make a trip to the Savage Wildland. As soon as Shi Feng reached the docks, he discovered many players shouting to form parties. "Four waiting for two! We already have a boat ready! The route is guaranteed to be safe! We''ll set off once we have two powerful Level 39 DPS!" "Requesting companions to rent a boat together!" "Level 37 Cleric looking for a party!" "Level 39 powerful MT looking for a strong party!" Hundreds of players were trying to form parties. The scene was quite lively. Moreover, their requirements were high. This was nothing like White River City''s party-forming area. Most of these parties were looking for players Level 39 or above. Moreover, members must have Secret-Silver rank equipment or above. "Fellow brother, are you looking to sail? Since you are alone, why don''t you join our party? Once we reach an island, we''ll split the items equally." As Shi Feng was walking towards the sea, a Level 40 male Elementalist suddenly approached and sent him an invitation. Although Shi Feng wore a Black Cloak, he had used the Demon Mask to adjust his appearance and displayed himself as a Level 40 Swordsman. Even among this crowd, players who had reached this level were rare. Originally, Shi Feng had thought of rejecting the invitation. However, when his eyes landed upon this male Elementalist''s name, a surprised expression briefly appeared on his face. Hovering Feather! In the past, everyone in the Apocalypse Empire had known this name. He had been known as the Tyrant of the Seas. Although he had only been a Tier 5 Grand Wizard during his peak, even Tier 6 God-ranked players tried not to provoke him. It had all been due to this man''s ownership of two Legendary items. Tier 6 God-ranked players had been no match for him, particularly, out at sea. 1046 Ancient Ruins Chapter 1046 - Ancient Ruins Shi Feng had heard about many of Hovering Feather''s miraculous deeds. During God''s Domain''s early stages, Hovering Feather had been an independent player. By relying on his extraordinary strength and luck, he formed a considerably powerful adventurer team. However, for some unknown reason, he had provoked the super-first-rate Guild, Miracle. As a super-first-rate Guild and one of the Apocalypse Empire''s three major powers, it would be a piece of cake to eliminate a single adventurer team. Sure enough, without any suspense, Hovering Feather and his team had been massacred. However, as if he were blessed by heaven, Hovering Feather had obtained a Fragmented Legendary item while exploring an island. This boosted his strength. In addition to the fact that he was an independent player, making him very difficult to track, even Miracle''s experts had not been able to do anything to the man. Despite the Guild having dispatched its apex experts numerous times, not only had they allowed Hovering Feather to escape every time, but the latter had also caused some damage. As Hovering Feather had risen to prominence in the Apocalypse Empire, one of his fellow brothers had sold him out and given his coordinates to Miracle. In the end, he had been surrounded, and the Guild''s experts had killed him. Not only had he lost his Fragmented Legendary item, but he had also lost nearly half of his equipment, decreasing his strength sharply. He lost the strength to contend with Miracle. As for the brother that had betrayed him, he had joined Miracle officially and became one of its core members. On the other hand, Hovering Feather''s life in God''s Domain had hit rock bottom. Everyone had assumed that Hovering Feather had been finished. However, sometime later, the Elementalist had appeared in the public eye once again. Moreover, his strength had undergone an earth-shattering transformation as he managed to defeat over a dozen apex experts from Miracle in a row, instantly becoming famous throughout God''s Domain. This incident had enraged Miracle. In response, the Guild had dispatched a party led personally by an old monster to annihilate Hovering Feather. Yet, no one had expected Hovering Feather to survive and escape from the old monster''s pursuit. However, this incident was precisely the reason that everyone had learned about Hovering Feather''s secret. It turned out that, while the Elementalist had hidden from the public eye, he had come across a Legendary item. It was this Legendary item that had allowed Hovering Feather to escape the old monster. Afterward, Hovering Feather had learned how to play wisely. He would not ashore unless absolutely necessary, practically living out his time in God''s Domain out at sea. The sea was both vast and extremely dangerous. Even Miracle could not reach the Elementalist. Sometime later, the Battle Wolves took a fancy on Hovering Feather''s potential and extended an olive branch. To exact his revenge on Miracle, Hovering Feather agreed to join Battle Wolves and became one of the Super Guild''s mainstays. In the end, he had harassed and caused Miracle plenty of trouble during the Guild''s maritime exploration. Many independent players had lauded Hovering Feather''s exploits as classics in God''s Domain. Shi Feng then glanced at the four players watching Hovering Feather from a distance. Among these four players, the lowest-leveled was a Level 38 Oracle, while the other three were all Level 39 players. Including a Level 40 Elementalist like Hovering Feather, the party was quite strong. "Which island are you guys heading to?" Shi Feng asked. Based on the previous timeline, Hovering Feather should only be starting to form his adventurer team right about now. Although it was somewhat difficult to rope him into Zero Wing, there was no harm in getting acquainted. If his route happened to pass by Hovering Feather''s destination, he could let the Elementalist''s party tag along. "Our destination is the distant Golden Sands Archipelago. Although the way there is somewhat dangerous, very few players have headed that way. The resources are still abundant. Even if we don''t find Treasure Chests or special Party Dungeons, we can harvest quite a lot of materials for money. As for the route to the archipelago, our party already has a safe route from the Secret Pavilion. As long as we are careful, nothing will happen on our way," Hovering Feather explained quickly when he noticed Shi Feng''s interest. "The Golden Sands Archipelago?" Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he looked at Hovering Feather. Shi Feng had visited the Golden Sands Archipelago in the past. The archipelago was a medium-sized island and only a short distance away from the Savage Wildland. The archipelago was also very close to a dangerous sea zone. With players'' current standards, the trip was very risky. However, Hovering Feather''s achievements in the past had most likely been closely related to this risk-taking behavior. Had he played God''s Domain like other ordinary players and only operated around the islands close to Ocean Viewing Town, he''d have to be absurdly lucky to achieve any notable feats. Risk and opportunity came hand in hand when exploring the sea. Meanwhile, the Golden Sands Archipelago included considerably resource-rich islands. The most famous were the ancient ruins in the archipelago''s core. There was a mysterious merchant inside these ancient ruins. Every week, this merchant would sell rare items. If one were lucky, they might even find the merchant while he had Epic items for sale. However, the only form of currency this merchant accepted was Magic Crystals. Moreover, the conversion rate was not even half of the market price, making the exchange not worthwhile. Although, the merchant sometimes sold items that were worth the harsh prices. Shi Feng had planned to make a trip to the Golden Sands Archipelago after he finished constructing the Magic Tower. However, making a trip to the archipelago before heading to the Savage Wildland wouldn''t be a bad idea, either. "I can tag along with you. However, after we arrive at the location, I want to go off on my own. Will that be alright?" Shi Feng asked. After giving the matter some thought, Hovering Feather nodded and said, "I have no issues with it." In reality, reaching the destination safely by working together was the purpose of forming parties before a voyage. As for whether the party disbanded or not afterward, that was not important. After all, players could simply use the Return Scroll to teleport back to town. Following which, Hovering Feather led Shi Feng to convene with his other party members and introduced everyone. Currently, Shi Feng did nothing to disguise his name. He simply used his ID of Ye Feng. His name might be famous in Star-Moon Kingdom, but in the Apocalypse Empire, no one knew it, aside from the major powers'' experts or first-rate Guilds'' upper echelons. Hence, Shi Feng did not bother to mask his name. "Leader, you really are impressive! You even convinced a Level 40 expert to join us! With this, we''ll be much safer out at sea," a female Oracle sporting a ponytail joyfully praised the man. The other three members also welcomed Shi Feng''s participation. Among the players forming parties on the docks, the majority consisted of Level 39 players, while Level 40 players were extremely rare. Once players reached Level 40, they could equip Level 40 equipment. In terms of Basic Attributes, Level 39 players were inferior to Level 40 players by a large margin. If a party had a Level 40 player, it would increase the party''s overall strength significantly. With two Level 40 players, even if they encountered a Common sea monster, they could buy enough time to escape. With this, their party would have a much higher chance the Golden Sands Archipelago alive. "Since everyone''s here, let''s rent a boat. I suggest we rent a fishing boat with sails. We encountered a sea monster the last time went out on a boat without a sail. If not for our scapegoat, we would''ve shipwrecked. If we choose a smaller boat this time, with my current Reputation, we should be able to rent a boat for four Gold. Since you''re is willing to sail with us, Brother Ye Feng, you don''t need to pay for the deposit or rental fee," Hovering Feather said. Nobody in the party had any issues with Hovering Feather''s proposal. In Ocean Viewing Town, those who reached Level 40 were extremely powerful experts. Normally, convincing such an expert to join their party was nearly impossible. How could they possibly ask Shi Feng to pay for the boat rental as well? As Hovering Feather was about to rent a boat, Shi Feng stopped him and said, "Please, wait a minute! I have a boat, so we don''t need to waste money renting one." 1047 Empires Focus Chapter 1047 - Empire''s Focus "You have a boat?" Hovering Feather asked, slightly surprised. Like Mounts, boats were considered luxury items. Currently, an independent expert would be lucky if they had one or two Gold Coins on them. The better equipment an expert wore, the more costly their repair fees would be. Naturally, their expenditures were higher than other players'' as well. Moreover, there were concerns such as potions and scrolls. In the end, it wasn''t easy to save a lot of money. Hence, in Ocean Viewing Town, despite some players having reached Level 40, they could not afford to buy a Common Mount Hovering Feather had wanted to form an adventurer team for a while now. He had also been quite lucky recently, having found several Treasure Chests in a row. After selling his harvest, he had quite a bit of spare money on hand, so he planned to splurge a little today and rent a fishing boat with sails. He had never imagined that Shi Feng was rich enough to own his own boat. "Leader, you''ve really found us an expert! We got really lucky this time!" "I wonder when our adventurer team will have our own boat? If we had one, we could reduce our costs when we go adventuring." The party members turned to Shi Feng enviously. Following which, under Shi Feng''s lead, the party reached a slightly less populated section of the port. As everyone wondered why Shi Feng had moved them so far away, Shi Feng retrieved the glass bottle containing the Swift Dragon Speedboat from his bag. He then began to chant an incantation to release the speedboat. A dark mist began to flow out of the glass bottle. Hovering Feather and the others'' eyes nearly fell from their sockets as they watched. Generally, the mist from glass bottles holding ordinary fishing boats only expanded to about ten yards. Even if it were a slightly larger fishing boat, the mist would, at most, expand twenty yards, yet the mist from Shi Feng''s bottle stretched out over a full forty yards. That was double the size of Ocean Viewing Town''s best fishing boat. "I''m not seeing things, right!?" "This is a speed a speedboat!" "It looks so cool! Look at the ship''s bow! It even has a cannon!" "Crap, the entire ship''s covered in magic patterns!" "That''s not right. Even the high-ranking speedboats I saw NPCs use didn''t have magic patterns." Hovering Feather and the others were captivated by the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s elegance. "Let''s go." Shi Feng was quite satisfied with his speedboat. The Swift Dragon Speedboat had a streamlined appearance. Faint lights also circled its hull. It was the most elegant speedboat Shi Feng had ever seen. Moreover, its engine was made of two parts. Without the engine, it relied on the wind in its sails. If he were not satisfied with the boat''s speed, he could use Magic Crystals as a power source to gain more speed. However, this mode cost one Magic Crystal per ten minutes, which was the equivalent of 25 Silver every ten minutes. That was practically a day''s income for an ordinary expert. When Shi Feng finished admiring his speedboat, he led the party to the boat''s deck. As Shi Feng released the Swift Dragon Speedboat, the distant passersby were stupefied. "What kind of boat is that?" "Could some Super Guild''s expert team have come to our Ocean Viewing Town?" "That boat looks amazing! I wonder which apex adventurer team that is? I have to join them!" Swiftly, word of the Swift Dragon Speedboat caused a commotion throughout Ocean Viewing Town. Upon hearing this news, members of the various adventurer teams and Guilds began to ask around for information on the speedboat. When players began to approach to take a closer look, Shi Feng activated the vessel. The magic patterns around the boat''s hull emitted a light blue glow. As if a sharp sword had pierced the seawater, it parted away from the speedboat. Following which, the Swift Dragon Speedboat began to move as a gust of wind blew by. Compared to the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s Movement Speed, the fishing boats with sails looked like snails. In the blink of an eye, the Secret-Silver Speedboat passed these fishing boats, no slower than Bronze Mounts on land. Rapidly, the Swift Dragon Speedboat grew smaller in everyone''s view before disappearing as if it had never graced Ocean Viewing Town. "Isn''t it a little too fast?!" "My eyes aren''t playing tricks on me, right?! How can a boat be that fast?!" "Don''t tell me we''ve encountered the legendary ghost ship!?" "That shouldn''t be it. I saw a few players boarding the ship a moment ago. It must be a speedboat that some god-ranked experts own." "I wish I had a speedboat. I''d buy one even if I had to go bankrupt!" "With your pocket change, you can''t afford that boat''s rudder, much less the entire thing!" The players on the docks gaped as they watched the Swift Dragon Speedboat disappear, shuddering with an indescribable excitement. At the same time, news of the Swift Dragon Speedboat had spread to the ears of the various large Guilds'' upper echelons in the Apocalypse Empire. "A high-ranking speedboat?" "Find a way to contact the owner immediately! Our Guild must have that speedboat!" Almost every upper echelon of the various Guilds gave out the command to find the speedboat''s owner. The resources on God''s Domain''s islands and sea were far more abundant on land. However, exploring the ocean was too difficult. This difficulty wasn''t due to players lack of strength, but their ship''s lack of strength. Fishing boats couldn''t contend with sea monsters. It was even more impossible to rely on fishing boats to plunder treasures in dangerous sea zones. However, it would be a different story if their Guilds had a high-ranking speedboat. If they formed a team of experts to explore with said speedboat, their harvest could be even greater than raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. Unlike islands, large-scale Team Dungeons had a Cooldown once they were raided. Moreover, players needed far more time to explore and raid large-scale Team Dungeons. Now that income from Dungeons had hit a bottleneck, the Apocalypse Empire''s various large Guilds needed to transition their development towards the sea. "Big Sis Rain, news just came in. It seems that a high-ranking speedboat has been sighted in Ocean Viewing Town. Moreover, it seems that the speedboat is of an even higher rank than NPCs''." Upon receiving this news, Blue Phoenix contacted Phoenix Rain immediately. She also forwarded the images and videos of the Swift Dragon Speedboat. Upon seeing the video, Phoenix Rain''s expression turned serious. Due to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion ownership of the Town of Beginnings, the Pavilion had begun placing greater importance on maritime exploration. Phoenix Rain had seen plenty of speedboats on the ocean. However, those speedboats were nowhere near as fast as this. "Blue, begin an investigation on that boat immediately. While you''re at it, spread word that the Pavilion is willing to purchase that speedboat for a high price!" Phoenix Rain commanded. "I''ll get it done right away," Blue Phoenix nodded repeatedly. "Interesting. If Miracle has this speedboat, we can complete our quest in that dangerous sea zone. Send someone to Ocean Viewing Town. Find a way to get that speedboat; use whatever means necessary!" a man in his fifties growled. Although this man was already in his fifties and looked as if he had survived many of life''s vicissitudes, his body radiated a frightening aura that caused the Level 40 apex experts around him to shudder involuntarily. These experts lowered their heads, not daring to make eye contact. "Vice Guild Leader, please rest assured. We will complete this task!" the several apex experts declared. While Shi Feng sailed towards the Golden Sands Archipelago, without his knowledge, he had become a focus in the Apocalypse Empire. Practically every Guild in the empire discussed his Swift Dragon Speedboat. The Swift Dragon Speedboat really is fast. This should''ve been close to a twenty-hour journey. Now, we can reach the archipelago in five hours. I wonder how fast this boat moves if I spend Magic Crystals? Shock filled Shi Feng''s heard as he watched the outline of the Golden Sands Archipelago appear on the horizon. 1048 Expanding into the Apocalypse Empire Chapter 1048 - Expanding into the Apocalypse Empire "So fast!" Hovering Feather could not help but rub his eyes as he looked at the massive mountain range in the distance. He found it hard to believe what he was seeing was true. Although he could tell from the strong winds pushing against his face that the Swift Dragon Speedboat was moving rapidly, he never imagined that the speedboat would actually be this fast. It was definitely much faster than the fishing boats they had used before. Time was moneythis was a saying that the Gnomes of God''s Domain loved saying the most. This saying was perfectly appropriate for adventurer teams like theirs, which made a living on the seas. Ordinary players might not understand this, but as a veteran player who frequently fought on the seas, Hovering Feather was quite aware of the terrifying consequences this sort of time savings could bring. Many islands possessed extremely abundant resources; even the high-resource maps on dry land could not compare. However, they had a very severe drawbackthe journey to these islands was simply too time-consuming. Generally, players could remain in God''s Domain for only 30 hours or so and used the rest of the time for work, studies, and such activities in the real world. On land, Guild players might need only five or six hours to travel to a high-resource map to level up. Afterwards, they would have over twenty hours to spend grinding at the map before having to return to a city to rest. On the other hand, maritime players usually spent around twenty hours just searching for a high-resource island, leaving only ten hours to grind monsters. Yet, despite this gap in actual grinding time, maritime players still managed to keep up with Guild players'' levels. One could see just how effective it was to level up on high-resource islands. Meanwhile, players could also come across rare materials and good weapons and equipment more readily on high-resource islands. If one''s travel time at sea got shortened to around five hours only, they could spend over twenty hours grinding on a high-resource island. With this, their leveling speed would be two or three times faster than that of players grinding at high-resource maps on land. Two to three times the leveling speed of Guild players! Just thinking about it excited Hovering Feather. At that time, it would be child''s play to overtake the leveling maniacs on the Apocalypse Empire''s Ranking List. For now, though, he merely fantasized about this situation. An item like the Swift Dragon Speedboat was simply too rare. It was not an item he could get his hands on. Just who is he? Hovering Feather could not help turning to look at Shi Feng and gulping. At this moment, even if he was a fool, he could tell that his party had encountered a true expert. Otherwise, how could Shi Feng possibly possess such a powerful speedboat? Hovering Feather wasn''t the only one who realized this problem. The other members of his party had likewise come to a similar appreciation. "So this is a real expert!" "I''ve always thought that such experts were arrogant and aloof bastards. I never thought that experts were actually such approachable people. I wonder if he has a girlfriend already. I want to introduce him to my younger sister." "What?! You have a younger sister?! Why don''t I know about this?! What kind of friend are you?! We''ve known each other for so long, yet you didn''t even introduce her to a handsome man like myself!" "Scram! Although she isn''t related to me by blood, I can''t possibly push her into a pit of fire." "Alright, enough. Be serious. The expert is walking over." Only after Hovering Feather interrupted their hushed discussion did everyone notice that Shi Feng had already walked over to them. At this moment, when they looked at Shi Feng again, they suddenly felt that Shi Feng''s figure seemed bigger than before. They also felt a heavy pressure bearing down on their bodies. "We''ve arrived. I had a very good time chatting with you all during the journey. However, I still have some matters I need to attend to, so let''s part ways here," Shi Feng said. He could not help but smile as he looked at everyone suddenly taking a cautious attitude towards him. On their way here, they had not encountered any danger. Even when they met with sea monsters, it took very little effort to shake off the monsters with the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s speed. Hence, during their five-hour journey, they had mainly been chatting and joking with each other. Through their conversations, Shi Feng had also learned much about the Apocalypse Empire. The information that interested him the most was the empire''s maritime situation. In the past, as he mainly operated around Star-Moon Kingdom, he did not know much about the Apocalypse Empire, particularly the empire''s current state of affairs. The Apocalypse Empire was a coastal country. Its development path was slightly different from Star-Moon Kingdom''s, which mainly focused on land. This divergence was considerably beneficial during the mid-late stage of God''s Domain. After the game entered its mid-late stage, the competition on land became increasingly intense. The reason for this was the sheer scarcity of high-level maps. Moreover, high-level maps were usually located at the borders between countries, prompting the Guilds of various countries to wage war for resources. With so many Guilds fighting over a limited number of maps, one could just imagine how little resources each Guild could obtain. However, it was a different story for the sea. There were far more islands than there were players and Guilds to occupy and harvest them. For coastal countries that had long since developed their maritime power, gaining a large amount of resources and continuously improving their own Guilds did not take much effort. As for Guilds that realized this only then, how could they possibly contend against these coastal Guilds? Hence, it was extremely important for Zero Wing to develop its strength at sea. However, developing a Guild''s maritime power was not an easy task. This endeavor required massive amounts of resources and manpower. At the same time, said Guild also needed to have territory along the coast. The Apocalypse Empire had a total of 26 NPC coastal towns and cities. Of these, three were cities, while the remaining 23 were towns. Ocean Viewing Town was the most inconspicuous one. The three major powers of the empire had already claimed the three coastal cities, leaving no room for other Guilds to intervene. Fortunately, these three major powers did not pay much attention to the 23 coastal towns. Although other large Guilds were contesting for control over these towns, it was not entirely impossible for Zero Wing to try and get a share of the pie. From Hovering Feather and his party members'' conversations, Shi Feng had found out that six of the 23 towns remained ownerless. Hence, he decided to have Immortal Light, Zero Wing''s subordinate Guild, come and develop at these towns. In any case, Sinned Heart, the Guild Leader of Immortal Light, had yet to decide where he would develop his Guild next. Hence, he might as well serve as Zero Wing''s spearhead. If Zero Wing abruptly expanded its influence into these towns, it would no doubt attract the attention of the three major powers. In that case, even before Zero Wing could start developing, it would''ve already been squeezed to death. However, Immortal Light was different. It was a small Guild that was not even considered a third-rate Guild. None of the local large Guilds would pay attention to it if it expanded into these towns. As for the three major powers, Immortal Light''s existence was no different from air to them. With Zero Wing''s current foundations, it was definitely possible to let Immortal Light take advantage of the situation. If Immortal Light could establish its roots at these coastal towns, its presence would be of great help to Zero Wing''s development in the future. Afterwards, Shi Feng added Hovering Feather and the others as friends. He also mentioned to them that he was willing to purchase any rare materials the party found for a high price. He was even willing to exchange using high-quality weapons and equipment. This offer fanned Hovering Feather''s gratitude towards him. To independent players like them, the most difficult things to obtain were high-quality weapons and equipment. If they had these things, their adventurer team would have a much easier time developing in the future. After parting ways with Hovering Feather''s party, Shi Feng found a deserted location and used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before a small cabin beside a lake. This mundane cabin was none other than the most famous Golden Sands Exchange Shop, located in ancient ruins in the Golden Sands Archipelago''s core area. In the past, this place had been crowded with players. Practically every large Guild in the Apocalypse Empire would send people over daily to snatch up any rare items in the exchange shop as soon as they appeared. Now, however, there was nobody here to compete with Shi Feng over these rare items. He could take his sweet time making his picks. Just as Shi Feng''s hand grasped the handlebar and was about to push the cabin''s door open, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You are the first person to have discovered the Golden Sands Exchange Shop. Do you wish to pay 10,000 Magic Crystals to become a member of the exchange shop? 1049 Popular Battle Arena Chapter 1049 - Popular Battle Arena "Become a member?" Shi Feng''s eyes immediately lit up with joy when he received this notification. The exchange shop operated by its mysterious merchant had two modes of exchange. One mode was available to all players. The other mode was limited to members of the exchange shop. In the past, Shi Feng had yearned to become a member of the shop. Unfortunately, obtaining membership was not that easy. Based on his understanding, there were two ways to become a member of the exchange shop. The first one was very normal, and that was to achieve a certain number of transactions and trade volume with the exchange shop. One needed to make thirty consecutive transactions with the shop as well as attain a total trade volume of five million Magic Crystals. The number of transactions was not calculated based on the number of exchanges made but on the number of times the Golden Sands Exchange Shop refreshed its stock. The exchange shop would only refresh its stock of rare items once a week. In other words, one needed to visit the shop for thirty weeks in a row and make a huge purchase every week. If one were to stop even once midway, their count would have to start all over again. However, the number of transactions was only secondary. The key point was that the required trade volume was ridiculous. In reality, even if a player visited the exchange shop thirty times in a row and purchased plenty of items on every visit, they would still have great difficulty achieving the required trade volume. This was true even when they encountered valuable items up for exchange. There also weren''t a lot of useful items up for exchange in the shop. Hence, unless one was willing to take a loss and purchase useless items at above market price, it was practically impossible to achieve the required trade volume. Moreover, Magic Crystals were a strategic resource to Guilds. It would be foolish to spend them wastefully. Hence, Shi Feng had never managed to become a shop member in the past. The other method to become a member was through killing the Boss monsters inside the ancient ruins, which had a chance of dropping fragments of an ancient stone tablet. If one could complete a set of the fragments and hand it over to the mysterious merchant, one would likewise become a member of the exchange shop. Only, the drop-rate for the tablet fragments was criminally low. In addition, there were very few Bosses in the ancient ruins. The time they took to respawn was also very long. It was practically impossible for an ordinary large Guild to gather enough fragments to complete a set. Shi Feng could still clearly remember that in the past, a single tablet fragment had been worth at least a thousand Gold. Even so, the supply was far from enough to meet the demand. As long as a tablet fragment went up for sale, the various large Guilds would buy it almost instantly. o there''s also such a benefit for the first person to discover the exchange shop. Luckily, I came here before anyone else did. Shi Feng inwardly celebrated. Players who became a member of the Golden Sands Exchange shop would enjoy very excellent benefits. The first benefit was that members were allowed to enter the second floor of the exchange shop and exchange for the items there. For the second benefit, members would receive a 20% discount on all items on the first floor. For the third benefit, members would receive a Teleportation Crystal. In the future, they would no longer need to waste time traveling to the shop. Instead, they could teleport directly to it. Though the crystal had a Cooldown of 12 hours, it would still provide great convenience. It could also help players travel quickly to the Golden Sands Archipelagoallowing much more time for players to spend on leveling up. Following which, Shi Feng clicked "Agree" to become a member of the exchange shop. System: You do not have the required number of Magic Crystals. You have 48 hours to collect 10,000 Magic Crystals. If you are unable to collect them in time, it will be considered as you forfeiting this opportunity. "What a short time limit." Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Currently, Zero Wing''s income for Magic Crystals was indeed considerable. However, its expenditure of the precious resource was also very high. He had prepared only 3,000 Magic Crystals for the trip this time. Having no other choice, Shi Feng took out the Abyss Pendant and set a teleportation marker in front of the small cabin. He then took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and activated it. Along with a white flash, Shi Feng disappeared from the Golden Sands Archipelago. Star-Moon Kingdom, Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing''s Residence: Why are there so many players here? Shi Feng was surprised by the crowd of members in the main hall. Currently, Zero Wing''s Residence was extraordinarily lively. Normally, there would only be several hundred Guild members lurking around the first-floor hall. Now, however, Shi Feng could see more than a thousand present. "Today''s PvP match was awesome! Since coming into the game, this is the first time I''ve managed to achieve such a high standard with my techniques!" "I know, right? If I could spar at the Battle Arena for a few more hours every day, it won''t be long before I can give the Trial Tower''s fourth floor a try. At that time, I''ll become an elite member of the Guild and receive a 20% discount when I visit the Battle Arena." "Forget about it. Didn''t you see how many players were crowding into the Battle Arena today? If not for us being Zero Wing members, we wouldn''t get a turn even after queuing up for a day. And you want to fight several times a day? Didn''t you notice the looks those independent players were giving us when we entered the combat room? If looks could kill, we would''ve died multiple times back there." "I was just thinking about it. I wonder when our Guild will occupy another town? It''d be fine even if the town''s surrounding environment is poor. As long as the Guild sets up another Battle Arena there, we would be able to have some fun there, too, every day." Guild members were chatting merrily in the main hall. When they spoke about the Battle Arena, their eyes sparkled with excitement. They could not help but wish they could spend more time training there. Unfortunately, there were simply too many players trying to get into the establishment. Hence, the Battle Arena had limited every player''s usage of its combat rooms to no more than one hour per day. Moreover, the original price of one Silver per hour had also risen to two Silver per hour. Even so, an endless number of players still waited to enter the Battle Arena. There just was not enough combat rooms to go around. This situation relieved Shi Feng. He could not help but admit that the Battle Arena was worth every Coin he spent on it. Even without him doing anything, the advanced NPC managers would automatically deal with everything related to the Battle Arena. For example, the NPC managers would make adjustments to the pricing based on market conditions. Moreover, they would also provide corresponding preferential treatment to Zero Wing''s members. The NPCs had even set up a membership system for the Battle Arena. Those who became a member of the Arena would enjoy priority entry into the establishment. They would also receive discounts on their expenditures. Meanwhile, in order to become a member of the Battle Arena, one needed to pay a registration fee of 100 Magic Crystals, which was nonrefundable. If one wanted to get back their Magic Crystals, they could only do so by buying each crystal back for 20 Silver. Personally, Shi Feng felt that the membership fee of 100 Magic Crystals was a little too steep. However, the NPC managers had obviously done their market research because after they promulgated this rule, over a hundred players had promptly registered to become members. At this point, the Battle Arena already had over 300 members. Just like the treatment that the normal members of Zero Wing received, these Arena members had priority in entering combat rooms. At the same time, they also enjoyed a 10% discount when using the establishment''s services. Due to this benefit, the number of players trying to join Zero Wing had also exploded. Currently, word had already gone around that becoming a member of Zero Wing was equivalent to gaining 100 Magic Crystals. No other Guild could offer this treatment. If one managed to become an elite member, the treatment they received was even more amazing. Not only did they receive a 20% discount, but they also received even greater priority in entering combat rooms. Just as Shi Feng stepped out of the Residence''s main entrance to take a look at today''s Magic Crystal income, a notification came from the system informing him that he had received a message. "It seems they''re finally unable to continue sitting still." Shi Feng''s lips curled up into a smile as he read the message. 1050 Town’s Frightening Transformation Chapter 1050 - Town''s Frightening Transformation Stone Forest Town, Blue Moon High-class Bar: As the only high-class bar in Stone Forest Town, the Blue Moon High-class Bar hardly had any ordinary players patronizing it for entertainment as the prices here were extremely high. Generally, only wealthy elite players would come here occasionally. Now that Stone Forest Town''s player population had skyrocketed, even the high-class bar was not spared from the traffic increase. However, compared to the ordinary bars in town, the Blue Moon was still a quiet establishment with few customers. Just as the elite players inside the Blue Moon were excitedly discussing the newly opened Battle Arena in Stone Forest Town, two people, a man and a woman, suddenly entered the high-class bar. The instant these two people appeared, the entire building fell silent; everyone''s eyes focused on this pair. Of the two, the man was Level 41. The equipment he wore actually gave off the glowing effect unique to Epic itemsa dazzling sight to elite players. However, the more eye-catching one between these two people would still have to be the heavenly beauty standing beside the man. Although the woman wore blood-red armor, the armor itself failed to conceal her perfect and enchanting curves. Just looking at her body could cause one to fall into a reverie. She had a delicate, oval face and beautiful eyes. Every one of her movements also exuded a natural elegance. In addition, she carried a longsword that radiated a golden glow on her back. No one in the room could pull their gaze away from her. "Who is that beauty?" "Why don''t we go get acquainted with her?" "Shh! Speak softer! To think that you guys actually dare have designs on her! Are you all tired of living?" "We''re just going to make her acquaintance. Is there a need to be so careful?" "Do you know her?" "Who is she?" "Do you not see the Guild Emblem she is wearing? That''s the Secret Pavilion''s emblem! Her name is Purple Jade. She is one of the Pavilion''s top experts and has been named a peerless genius by the Pavilion. I heard that she managed to defeat Sacred Temple''s Sword Meister, Ruthless Sky, a few days ago. Apparently, her next challenge is Miracle''s Sword Freak, Miracle Dragon!" "Why is a genius like her here?" "Who knows? Maybe she''s here to experience the Battle Arena." The players in the hall began discussing Purple Jade, who had suddenly appeared. As for Yuan Tiexin, who stood beside her, he got ignored by everyone. After all, the feat of defeating the Sword Meister Ruthless Sky was simply too amazing. The Sacred Temple was a Super Guild. Meanwhile, Ruthless Sky was an expert who had been famous for many years now. Practically nobody in the virtual gaming world was unaware of him. Nevertheless, this young and peerless beauty actually defeated such an expert. This news was far more shocking than if Ruthless Sky had lost to some random nobody. After taking a look around the room, Yuan Tiexin could not help but shake his head and chuckle as he said, "There are too many people here. Let''s go upstairs." Purple Jade simply gave a silent nod in response. As for the gazes everyone inside the bar was directing at her, she paid no attention to them whatsoever. Or to put it in another way, she had long since learned to treat these players as air. After all, she had become the Secret Pavilion''s most dazzling star the moment she joined the Pavilion. Normally, there was not a single moment when she was not under close observation. She had grown used to receiving such gazes long ago. "Stone Forest Town really is becoming increasingly amazing. I never thought that even a genius from the Secret Pavilion would come here." "I know, right? Just awhile ago, I saw several well-known experts of Star-Moon Kingdom inside the Battle Arena. I''m betting that it won''t be long before Stone Forest Town becomes the gathering place of expert players!" "I''ve decided! From now on, Stone Forest Town will be my main base of operations! I wonder when Stone Forest Town will sell personal houses? Even if I have to bankrupt myself, I must buy one!" "Stop dreaming. If Stone Forest Town really starts selling houses right now, those experts would buy them up in an instant." "I heard that if you want to obtain a personal house in Stone Forest Town, there is currently only one way to do so, and that is by participating in the Battle Arena''s tournament. As long as you rank within the top five of the fourth-floor tournament, you''ll get to enter the fifth floor and receive a personal room. Also, I heard that if you rank within the top ten on the fifth floor, you''ll even receive a personal advance combat room." "You don''t need to tell me that. I''ve long since signed up for that tournament. Only, the registration fee is somewhat steep. It actually cost me half a Magic Crystal. If I can''t survive three rounds, I won''t even get to earn back my registration fee." "Hehe. I''m not aiming high. I''ll be happy as long as I can survive five rounds and earn some money. As for reaching the top five, I don''t even dare think about it. Most likely, only those famous experts in the kingdom will be able to fight for those positions. Players like us have no chance at all." While everyone was raving about the Battle Arena, Yuan Tiexin, who walked by them, could not help but sigh inwardly when he overheard their conversation, a somber expression on his face. Compared to ordinary players, he was much more informed about Stone Forest Town''s situation. Currently, even ordinary players were optimistic about Stone Forest Town''s prospects. One could just imagine how much development potential the town had. Some time ago, Stone Forest Town''s value was nothing to the Secret Pavilion. However, due to the construction of the Magic Tower as well as the increasingly popular Battle Arena, the town now had an immeasurable future; even Yuan Tiexin had to admit that. Hence, he and Purple Jade had also come to Stone Forest Town. Despite their having been gone for only a few days, Stone Forest Town had undergone an earthshaking transformation. Even he had received a fright when he arrived in town just now. Practically all the players roaming the streets were at the standard of elite players. Among them were many Level 38 and Level 39 experts. At this stage of the game, this was a scene that could only be found in the imperial capitals of empires, yet such a scene had now appeared in a player-owned town. Yuan Tiexin found this situation utterly inconceivable. Yuan Tiexin could already tell that a lot of experts would definitely be gathering at Stone Forest Town in the future. He had to admit that Zero Wing was truly wise to construct the Battle Arena. Not only could the Guild earn Magic Crystals this way, but this method also allowed the Guild to recruit expert players more easily. In addition, the Battle Arena had attracted many elite players to join Zero Wing. This was practically killing three birds with one stone. Right now, even the Secret Pavilion was incapable of such a feat. "Uncle Yuan, do you think Zero Wing will really agree to the Guild Leader''s conditions?" Purple Jade asked curiously as she looked at Yuan Tiexin. "Relax. Since the Guild Leader has already said so, he naturally is confident," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. "Moreover, I don''t think Zero Wing will refuse the offer, either. It is indeed true that Zero Wing has grown a lot stronger. However, its foundations are still too poor. Not to mention, the Blackwater Corporation is fully intent on getting a share of God''s Domain. It is simply impossible for Zero Wing to continue developing in Star-Moon Kingdom." "But there are also quite a number of experts in Zero Wing. Previously, I watched Zero Wing''s members training at the Battle Tower. Those people have very good potential and strength. As long as they are given some time, it won''t be impossible for Zero Wing to make a comeback," Purple Jade said. She could not help but recall Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and the other members of Zero Wing who had trained in the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system. The speed of their improvement had shocked even someone like herself. In addition, Zero Wing''s members possessed extraordinary equipment in God''s Domain. It still wasn''t guaranteed that the Blackwater Guild could do anything to Zero Wing. "You''re entertaining such thoughts because you still don''t know how fearsome the Blackwater Corporation actually is. There is a reason why the corporation can boast its current achievements in the fighting industry. Not to mention, Zero Wing no longer has much time left," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. He could not help pitying Zero Wing. Zero Wing could only blame itself for its bad luck. Of all the countries in God''s Domain, the Blackwater Corporation just had to choose Star-Moon Kingdom to be its staging point. Zero Wing simply had no chance of surviving this predicament. Just as Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were conversing, a knock came from the doors of the VIP room. Yuan Tiexin then released the lock on the doors. As the doors opened slowly, a figure that was not particularly tall appeared before Yuan Tiexin''s and Purple Jade''s eyes. "How can this be possible?!" Yuan Tiexin''s eyes widened in shock upon seeing this figure, his expression turning very grim. This figure belonged to none other than Shi Feng, whom Yuan Tiexin was familiar with. Only, right now, Shi Feng was actually Level 44! 1051 Monster Army Chapter 1051 - Monster Army "How is he so high-leveled?" Purple Jade''s eyes flashed with shock as she stared at Shi Feng slowly walking over to them. Currently, even the highest-leveled player in the Secret Pavilion was only Level 42. Moreover, that person was the Pavilion''s famous leveling maniac, who was also the number one player on the Fire Wing Empire''s Ranking List, Sleepless Star. However, aside from Sleepless Star''s personal strength, the reason he managed to come out on top in the Fire Wing Empire was the resources the Secret Pavilion supplied him with. Yet, Shi Feng, a member of Zero Wing''s upper echelon who was frequently busy dealing with Guild affairs, had actually managed to reach Level 44. This was truly inconceivable. However, rather than Shi Feng''s level, what surprised Purple Jade the most was the danger she picked up from him. Moreover, her alarm bells rang increasingly louder, the closer Shi Feng got to her. "What a terrifying monster." Yuan Tiexin was much more experienced than Purple Jade, so he could tell very clearly just how much Shi Feng had improved since they last met. Smiling bitterly, he could not help shaking his head as he said, "Jade, it seems it will be impossible for you to test Ye Feng''s bottom line this time. Right now, he is no longer just strong. His strength is already at an entirely different level from ours." Previously, when Yuan Tiexin had met Shi Feng, the latter had contained his aura exceptionally wellproof that the youth''s control over his body had already reached a realm of perfection. However, this time, Shi Feng failed to contain his aura that well when he moved. What did this mean? The only explanation for this was that Shi Feng''s power was so strong that even an expert like himself could not adapt to it properly. Hence, he was unable to contain his aura completely. When Purple Jade heard this, disappointment flashed across her eyes. In reality, her purpose in following Yuan Tiexin to Stone Forest Town this time was so that she could spar with Shi Feng and hopefully learn some of his techniques. However, if the gap in strength was too wide, Shi Feng could easily defeat her even without utilizing any profound techniques. With this, rather than a spar, she would simply be asking for a beating. "Uncle Yuan, may I know why you have come looking for me this time?" Shi Feng asked unhurriedly. Truthfully, he already knew why the Secret Pavilion had come looking for him. With the popularity of Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena right now, even a transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion would not be able to sit still and do nothing. Currently, Stone Forest Town''s development was still in its early stages. Aside from its geographical advantage, which allowed players to save up on travel time, it did not possess any actual advantage over other towns; this made it very difficult for the town to turn a profit and attract players. Establishing a money-making venture like the Battle Arena to draw players to the town represented a much more advanced business model. Only, operating a successful Battle Arena would be very difficult without the Magic Tower. "The Secret Pavilion wishes to conduct a trade with Zero Wing," Yuan Tiexin said as he retrieved a prepared contract from his bag. He then handed the contract over to Shi Feng and said, "The conditions stated inside are definitely what Zero Wing wants the most right now. Meanwhile, what the Secret Pavilion wants in exchange is the Magic Tower Design." "What Zero Wing wants most?" Shi Feng could not help but take a curious look at the contract. After spending several minutes to scan through the contract, Shi Feng realized that it was indeed just a simple trade. In summary, the Secret Pavilion would provide a kingdom for Zero Wing to develop in so that it could avoid annihilation by the Blackwater Guild. Meanwhile, all Zero Wing needed to do was hand over the Magic Tower Design to the Secret Pavilion. The contract had other minor conditions, but that was basically the long and short of it. "This is the condition that the Secret Pavilion is offering?" Shi Feng asked strangely after he was done reading the contract. Although Zero Wing''s foundation was not comparable to the Blackwater Guild''s, the current Zero Wing was no trifling opponent. It would not be so easy for Blackwater to remove Zero Wing from Star-Moon Kingdom. It was especially true now that Stone Forest Town had the Magic Tower. Shi Feng truly could not understand why the Secret Pavilion held such an optimistic view of Blackwater''s prospects. However, the Secret Pavilion''s information gathering was matchless in the virtual gaming world. Since the Pavilion was so assured of Blackwater''s victory, it definitely had reasons to believe so. Shi Feng just did not know what those reasons were. "That''s right. This is the condition the Secret Pavilion is offering. This is a trade that will bring only good and no harm to Zero Wing," Yuan Tiexin said determinedly. "I understand what you are thinking: it is impossible for Zero Wing to lose. But what will you think after looking at this?" Saying so, Yuan Tiexin sent a few video recordings to Shi Feng. Shi Feng promptly clicked to view the videos. And he was stunned when the first video started playing. "This is" The video had been recorded from the top of a mountain using a Magic Mirror. Meanwhile, the location displayed was none other than Black Ridge Town, which the video showed as being infested with monsters that were Level 50 and above. There were even Level 60 and above Lords and Great Lords among them, as well as the one-horned humanoid monsters that Shi Feng was extremely familiar with. Only, there was a huge disparity between the numbers of these humanoid monsters shown in the video and the report he received from his subordinates. Previously, there had only been several hundred humanoid monsters residing in the town. Now, however, there were over 4,000 of them. Moreover, a few of these humanoid monsters had even reached Level 60 already, their HPs breaching thirty millionequivalent to a Level 60 Great Lordand there were actually five of them. The development speed of these monsters made even Shi Feng shudder. Aside from these monsters, Shi Feng could also vaguely make out a figure wearing a Black Cloak. Meanwhile, the next few videos showed a mysterious cloaked person conversing with Blackwater''s Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave. Unfortunately, as the person recording these videos had been too far away, the video did not include the contents of their conversation. However, the appearance of this mysterious person was somewhat similar to the figure wearing a Black Cloak in Black Ridge Town. "Are you trying to say that these monsters are under the Blackwater Guild''s control?" Shi Feng asked Yuan Tiexin. "That''s right. Although we''re not sure what kind of relationship the two possess, those monsters should support Blackwater''s overall direction. Moreover, just recently, we''ve also received news that Blackwater has secretly joined hands with Pantheon. Knowing this, how long do you think Zero Wing will be able to hold on? Moreover, the longer this stalemate lasts, the more disadvantageous it will be for Zero Wing. After all, those monsters are simply developing too quickly," Yuan Tiexin said earnestly. Not to mention Zero Wing, even the Secret Pavilion might not be able to hold off all those monsters. The Common beast-type monsters might be manageable, but those one-horned humanoid monsters were a different story. They possessed not only very high combat standards but also similarly high intelligence. It would already be very troublesome dealing with one of those humanoid monsters at the Level 50 Lord standard, let alone a Level 60 Great Lord. With five of these Great Lords leading them, the 4,000-plus humanoid monsters could easily flatten a player town. What was more, there was still the endless horde of beast-type monsters. This was a force that current players simply could not contend with. In addition, the Blackwater Guild had its own forces. Combined with the monster army, Blackwater was practically invincible in Star-Moon Kingdom. The only way out for Zero Wing right now was to shift its base of operations to another location. Avoiding a confrontation with Blackwater was the best option. 1052 War Approaches Chapter 1052 - War Approaches Yuan Tiexin had anticipated seeing an expression of fear on Shi Feng''s face after his explanation. However, even after some time had passed, Shi Feng''s expression remained unchanged. "Aren''t you worried about Stone Forest Town''s safety?" Yuan Tiexin asked. "You should know that Black Ridge Town is only a short distance away from Stone Forest Town. If those monsters take action, they need only ten hours or so to gather at Stone Forest Town''s entrance. "With the strength of those monsters in addition to Blackwater''s various experts, it is impossible for you to hold them off without Level 150 guards, using just the Defense Turrets you''ve built. I believe you also know that the attacks of those turrets are very easy to see throughand are short-range. At long distances, elite players will be able to avoid their attacks. Not to mention, even the most inferior of those monsters possesses the standards of elite players. The turrets will pose practically no danger to those monsters whatsoever. You should understand what those monsters are capable of. "If Blackwater takes action now, Stone Forest Town has no chance of winning! "If Zero Wing sells the Magic Tower Design to our Secret Pavilion, we can provide you with a kingdom with a very safe environment to develop in. It will be enough to let Zero Wing recover back to its peak within a short time. Right now, the longer you delay your decision, the greater the losses you will suffer. "Hopefully, Zero Wing makes a decision soon. If you wish to negotiate the conditions, contact us at any time." Following which, Yuan Tiexin left the VIP room together with Purple Jade. In Yuan Tiexin''s opinion, Shi Feng could not make a decision on such an important matter. The youth definitely needed to discuss things with that mysterious Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Black Flame. "Uncle Yuan, has Pantheon really joined hands with Blackwater?" Purple Jade could not help but ask. Pantheon was a bona fide Super Guild. If it had indeed entered into an alliance with Blackwater, Zero Wing would have no chance of victory whatsoever in the upcoming war. Although Zero Wing had a lot of powerful experts for an upstart Guild, in front of Pantheon, a Guild whose history spanned several decades, that number of experts was not worth mentioning. The war this time would be different from when Zero Wing went up against the Star Alliance''s elite army and the experts of the Flower of Seven Sins. Previously, Zero Wing''s weapon of war had caught the Star Alliance''s army by surprise. The Star Alliance''s elite army had no way at all of defending against it. Currently, Pantheon could easily annihilate Zero Wing''s experts by dispatching any one of its core legions. Moreover, Pantheon''s resources were far superior to the Star Alliance''s. The Super Guild would have no problem taking out a few weapons of war. In fact, just recently, Pantheon had relied on weapons of war to take down a town heavily protected by the dark forces, instantly establishing its position in an empire. Right now, Zero Wing''s future was like a mirage that could disappear at any time. "This information has already been confirmed. As long as Blackwater starts moving, Pantheon will dispatch three of its core legions to support Blackwater. If Zero Wing doesn''t come to a decision in time, it will suffer even greater losses later on," Yuan Tiexin said, nodding. "Hopefully, Zero Wing decides as soon as possible." "It seems I''ve truly underestimated the Blackwater Corporation." Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he scrutinized the information from Yuan Tiexin several more times. Not to mention the current Blackwater Corporation, even in the past, despite the corporation having had such a late start in God''s Domain, it had still managed to develop a Super Guild within a short time. Moreover, he never imagined that Pantheon would actually stick a hand in Star-Moon Kingdom''s business. With Zero Wing''s current state, the Guild truly did not possess many means of retaliation. It could only rely on the Magic Tower to defend Stone Forest Town now. However, defending against so many monsters was impossible with just a single Magic Tower. Fortunately, the situation was still salvageable. At the very least, he had found out the Blackwater Corporation''s trump card in advance. Even if Blackwater decided to take action right this instant, its armies would need over ten hours to reach Stone Forest Town. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and instructed, "Melancholic, have everyone return to the Candlelight Trading Firm right now. I have something that I need you all to do." "But, Guild Leader, we still have quite a lot of time remaining. It would be a huge waste if we return now," Melancholic Smile argued, reluctance written her face. Living in Titan City felt like heaven. Their technical skills improved significantly every day. Advanced Lifestyle players also emerged in their group one after another. It would truly be a huge loss to leave the Holy City before their time was up. "Relax. You all still have chances to visit there in the future. Hurry up and have everyone return." Shi Feng could very much understand what was going through Melancholic Smile''s mind. However, they were in a race against time. In any case, he had the evolved Holy City''s Emblem. There would be many more chances to send players to Titan City. "Really?!" Melancholic Smile immediately revealed an ecstatic expression. "Alright, I''ll notify the others right away!" After Shi Feng was done dealing with matters on Melancholic Smile''s side, he immediately instructed Aqua Rose to begin collecting the building materials needed for the Magic Tower. As for the necessary funds, he had her sell off the Lands near the teleportation house. Although the value of those Lands had yet peak, he had purchased them very cheaply back then. Once they all sold, he should be able to earn over 10,000 Gold at the very least. After Shi Feng left the Blue Moon High-class Bar, he rushed to the Battle Arena without hesitation. As advanced NPCs were responsible for the entire management of the Battle Arena right now, the income of the establishment was stored inside the Battle Arena itself. If he wanted to use the funds, he had to make a personal trip there to collect them. Currently, the Battle Arena was crowded with players. From afar, Shi Feng could see many players surging into the building. Due to this scene, he suspected that had he not made the Battle Arena large enough back then, the structure might really have burst apart by now. After Shi Feng entered the Battle Arena, he noticed that the establishment''s original interior layout and decorations had transformed beyond recognition. The place looked nothing like when he had first constructed it. The splendid scene was reminiscent of the Auction House in the kingdom''s capital. Many window counters dotted the first-floor hall with a sweet and beautiful clerk manning each counter. Among these window counters were some specialized ones that catered only to members. Members of the Battle Arena could simply use these empty counters to register for a combat room instead of braving the absurdly long lines at the regular counters. Shi Feng did not stop on the first floor. Instead, he headed directly to the fifth floor. The fifth floor of the Battle Arena housed not only combat halls and personal rooms for tournament winners but also a warehouse and meeting room controlled by the NPC managers. These places were off-limits to outsiders and ordinary NPCs. After entering the warehouse, Shi Feng turned towards Cook, the middle-aged man currently taking account inside the warehouse, and asked, "How is the operation of the Battle Arena coming along?" Cook had 78 points in Wisdom. Among the ten advanced managers Shi Feng hired, Cook had the second highest Wisdom. In terms of management capabilities, he was superior to even Aqua Rose. For example, he had negotiated the prices for the interior decoration of the Battle Arena all by himself. In the end, the NPC managed to outfit the Battle Arena with the most luxurious decorations using the least amount of money in the shortest possible time. If this task had been left to players to handle, they would have needed more than two days to achieve similar results. 1053 Master’s Insignia Chapter 1053 - Master''s Insignia Upon hearing Shi Feng''s question, Cook immediately took out a list. "Boss, this is all of the Battle Arena''s income and expenditures, as well as the expected future income. With our current income, I recommend constructing an underground floor. This way, we will be able to handle more customers," Cook suggested. Shi Feng nodded after giving the proposal some thought. "Alright, go ahead with it." Buildings in towns could be constructed both upwards and downwards. Only, the cost of extending a building downwards was much higher than the opposite. Just constructing a single underground floor required 2,000 Gold, which was 1,000 Gold more expensive than a normal floor. Hence, Shi Feng had never considered extending the Battle Arena downwards. However, the popularity of the Battle Arena exceeded his expectations. If they constructed a basement floor, they could also make it more spacious than the first-floor hall. With the Battle Arena''s current popularity, it would take only a short time before they earned back their cost. Following which, Shi Feng passed 2,000 Gold to Cook and had him arrange for the construction of an underground floor. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself took a look at the list of accounts Cook had given him. "What?! It''s been less than a day, yet we''ve already received so many Magic Crystals?!" Shi Feng gaped in shock as he looked at the list. Currently, the Battle Arena already had 416 registered members. Shi Feng found this situation truly inconceivable. With the prerequisite registration fee of 100 Magic Crystals, he had obtained a total of 41,600 Magic Crystals from the 416 members. He had earned many more Magic Crystals from the registration fees than he had from Raven. There was also the profit of 539 Magic Crystals from combat room rentals. If they constructed an underground floor now, there would be additional combat rooms available for players to rent. The Battle Arena''s income at that time would become even more frightening. With this, Shi Feng now had an extra 42,139 Magic Crystals on him. If he invested this amount into the teleportation house Just thinking about it exhilarated him greatly. However, he had no intention of investing that many Magic Crystals into the teleportation house. After all, he simply had too many things that he needed to spend Magic Crystals on right now. Following which, Shi Feng took these Magic Crystals and directly teleported back to White River City. White River City, Teleportation Hall: The moment Shi Feng returned to the city, he could see many teams of Guild players, who were all very high-leveled. The players leading these teams were even Level 40 experts. Among these Guilds were first- and second-rate Guilds based in other kingdoms and empires. Why would so many large Guilds from other kingdoms suddenly run all the way to White River City? Shi Feng was stunned as he looked at all the Guild players crowding the Teleportation Hall. Could they be here to take advantage of Zero Wing''s predicament? However, Shi Feng promptly rejected this thought of his. Currently, the Blackwater Guild was only planning to deal with Zero Wing. It had not actually started taking action yet. As for the matter of the monsters at Black Ridge Town being under Blackwater''s control, this was something he had learned from the Secret Pavilion only because the latter was trying to negotiate with him for cooperation. Hence, it was practically impossible for the large Guilds of other countries to have found out about this matter. As for Blackwater''s alliance with Pantheon, Pantheon obviously intended to keep this matter a secret. Otherwise, it would''ve long since caused a huge commotion in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Leader, I just received news stating that Zero Wing is willing to sell the Lands around the teleportation house." "Excellent! We''ll hurry over there immediately! As long as we obtain a plot of Land there, Freedom Wind will be able to dispatch many more members over. Our Guild will then gain more opportunities at the ancient ruins over at the Twin Towers Kingdom!" a tall Level 40 Ranger with an erect bearing said, his eyes glowing with excitement at hearing this news. The Ranger wore dark-gray armor and carried a blue longbow on his back. Without hesitation, the Ranger led his 100-man team out of the Teleportation Hall. Why is Freedom Wind here as well? Shi Feng was astonished when he overheard the conversation of these players. The Guild known as Freedom Wind might be foreign to the players of Star-Moon Kingdom, but for those residing in the Sacred Hymn Kingdom, near the central region of the continent of God''s Domain, it was definitely a household name. The reason for the Guild''s fame was the thrashing it gave the only first-rate Guild to settle down in the Sacred Hymn Kingdomdespite being only a second-rate Guild. This feat instantly crowned it the overlord of the entire kingdom. This could be considered a legend in God''s Domain. Many large Guilds had even suspected that Freedom Wind possessed a powerful corporation behind it. In fact, as far as Shi Feng knew, Freedom Wind''s backers included not only a major corporation but also a well-known dojo in the real world. The Guild could nurture experts rapidly, batch after batch. Even a relatively strong first-rate Guild would readily fall to Freedom Wind. However, the Sacred Hymn Kingdom was very far from Star-Moon Kingdom. The distance between the two kingdoms was even greater than that between Star-Moon Kingdom and the Apocalypse Empire, which made the teleportation fee extraordinarily expensive. Despite that, Freedom Wind had still dispatched a team of 100 players over. Ancient ruins over at the Twin Towers Kingdom? Shi Feng could not help but silently ponder on the words of Freedom Wind''s members. If we''re talking about ruins that can attract so many large Guilds over It seems the Heaven Worshipping Maze has been activated, then. The Twin Towers Kingdom was very close to Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, he was quite knowledgeable about it. There were not many ancient ruins in the Twin Towers Kingdom. In fact, Shi Feng could count them on the fingers of both hands. If he had to name the ruins that current players could explore, then it could only be the Heaven Worshipping Maze. Since the Heaven Worshipping Maze was ancient ruins, the drops inside were naturally impressive. Particularly, players could exchange for Mounts inside the maze. This was one of the methods for obtaining high-ranking Mounts. However, entering the Heaven Worshipping Maze was not that easy. The maze had a very high requirement for players'' individual strength. At the very least, players needed to be capable of clearing the Trial Tower''s sixth floor in order to enter the maze. This requirement was impossible for many expert players. In other words, only large Guilds could dispatch some players to the maze. As for small Guilds, they could only stare at the maze from outside. That''s right! There''s still the Heaven Worshipping Maze! An idea popped into Shi Feng''s head. The Heaven Worshipping Maze was divided into three layers. The layer with the lowest difficulty was the outer area. Players could obtain tablet fragments, which they could then exchange for high-ranking Mounts, from the monsters killed there. After the outer layer was the black fog area and the temple area. At the black fog area, players could exchange for siege weapons used during ancient times as well as for even better high-ranking Mounts. Although these were no match for current siege weapons, they were still much better than low-end tools like the Defense Turret. The only problem was the large number of tablet fragments required to exchange for these siege weapons. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng continued on his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Currently, the meeting room on the Candlelight Trading Firm''s seventh floor was filled with Lifestyle players, who had just returned from the Holy City of Titan. At first glance, Shi Feng discovered that the number of Advanced Lifestyle Players had already increased to as many as forty. The rest might have been able to become Advanced Lifestyle players as well, if not for them having been asked to leave the Holy City ahead of time. As for Melancholic Smile, Cream Cocoa, and the others who had already been Advanced Lifestyle Players, they had experienced plenty of transformations as well. Despite them having been separated for only two days or so, the auras surrounding their bodies had undergone earth-shattering changes. "Hm?! A Master''s Insignia!?" 1054 Odds Chapter 1054 - Odds Shi Feng was astounded when he looked at a tall and thin youth named Burning Abyss. On this young man, Shi Feng noticed a lion head emblem that was giving off a golden glow. This emblem was none other than the symbol of Lifestyle Masters, the Master''s Insignia. Aside from being a symbol of one''s status in God''s Domain, the emblem also had some good additional functions. Among them, one function increased the wielder''s production success rate. Although the Master''s Insignia was not comparable to the Blacksteel Insignia Shi Feng obtained through a quest, it still provided a 3% increase in success rate. In addition, when producing items of the same level, one''s production would be 10% faster. When producing items of lower levels, the increase in one''s production speed would be 30%. Due to the existence of this Master''s Insignia, the role of Master Lifestyle players became even more important. "Guild Leader, you couldn''t have imagined it, right? Burning got promoted into a Master Engineer some time ago. Moreover, he is God''s Domain''s first Master Engineer. We planned to surprise you with this news, so we didn''t tell you all this time," Melancholic Smile said softly. In reality, she, too, was very shocked that Burning Abyss was actually the first player in the Candlelight Trading Firm to become a Lifestyle Master. She had expected it to be Cream Cocoa. However, like a dark horse, Burning Abyss improved by leaps and bounds as soon as he entered Titan City. He was able to create new items and tools one after another, shortly becoming a Lifestyle Master. On the other hand, she and Cream Cocoa were still researching the properties of various raw materials. It would still be awhile before they could get promoted to the Master rank. Regarding the surprise Melancholic Smile prepared for him, Shi Feng did not feel annoyed by it at all. A Master Lifestyle player! In Shadow of the past, Lifestyle Masters were pivotal existences in the Guild. Not to mention, Burning Abyss''s talent was simply too awesome. He might have the potential to reach the Grandmaster rank. If he did, even Super Guilds would be helpless against the Candlelight Trading Firm. "Right, what about the task I previously assigned to you all?" Shi Feng asked. In order to fulfill his agreement with the Secret Pavilion, Shi Feng had Melancholic Smile and the others ceaselessly produce Strengthening Devices and Bronze Engineering Locomotives. Even if the Engineering Locomotives cost a lot of materials to make, they still had no choice but to manufacture them. "We''ve already completed it. We have to thank Burning for this. Without him, we really wouldn''t have been able to produce the ten Bronze Engineering Locomotives in time," Melancholic Smile explained. Shi Feng could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief when he heard this. "Very good. From now on, Burning Abyss will be the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Chief Engineer and will enjoy benefits equal to that of Zero Wing''s Elders." Although there was still some time before he had to make the first payment to the Secret Pavilion, he did not know when the Blackwater Guild would make a move right now. If he could meet the stated quota ahead of time, the following matters would be much easier to deal with. Following which, Shi Feng used his identity as Black Flame to announce Burning Abyss''s promotion to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Chief Engineer. In the future, the youth could also use the trading firm''s Basic Meditation Room anytime he wanted. Immediately, many Advanced Lifestyle players inside the meeting room looked at Burning Abyss with envy. Not only would he get to use the trading firm''s Basic Meditation Room anytime he wanted, but he would also enjoy the status of an Elder in Zero Wing. As such, he would be able to choose a private room for himself in either the Candlelight Trading Firm or Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. What was more, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s private rooms were located on the Shop''s seventh floor, providing a view overlooking the entire Trade District of White River City. That was a treatment that many people dreamed of obtaining. "Since everyone''s already here, I''ll tell you what you all will be making next," Shi Feng said. He then took out a very large design from his bag and placed it in the center of the circular wooden table. Everyone''s jaws dropped when they saw the design, their breathing becoming a little ragged. A Miniature Ballista! This item might not be as popular as the Bronze Engineering Locomotive among the masses, but to a Guild, its value was not one bit lower than that of the Locomotives. The Miniature Ballista boasted an extremely long attack range of 3,000 yardsan attack range that no player could achieve. Most monsters did not have such a long attack range, either. Thus, the siege tool was the perfect weapon to raid towns. Moreover, it was very simple to operate, requiring only three people to move and use it. "Guild Leader, are we really going to make this item?" Melancholic Smile asked in surprise. The Miniature Ballista was a considerably advanced tool. Even with Advanced Lifestyle players like themselves manufacturing it, the production success rate would still be frighteningly low. Meanwhile, the production cost for the siege tool was quite high. After a cursory look of the materials required, Melancholic Smile estimated that a single Miniature Ballista would cost at least 1,000 Gold to manufacture. Meanwhile, she judged that their production success rate would be less than 20%. Even with Burning Abyss handling the ballista''s core component, it would be fortunate if he could achieve a 20% success rate. In other words, there was a chance that they might not even produce a single Miniature Ballista after spending 10,000 Gold. Ten thousand Gold! Even Super Guilds would have to think carefully when spending 10,000 Gold. If they lost this kind of money, it would greatly hamper their development speed. "Of course. Burning will be responsible for making the engineering portion of the core component of the Ballista, while I''ll personally handle the forging portion of the core. Finally, Burning will handle the assembly of the Ballista as well. If there are no problems, you all may begin working now. If you succeed in producing five Miniature Ballistas in ten hours, depending on your personal performance, you might get another chance to visit Titan City. Hopefully, you all can seize the opportunity!" Shi Feng said, chuckling. A single Miniature Ballista could deal with only a lone Boss. Among the monsters the Blackwater Corporation controlled, there was no lack of Boss-ranked monsters. A single Miniature Ballista would not be able to make much of a difference. If they had five Miniature Ballistas, however, the siege tools would be able to affect the war situation to a certain extent. "Guild Leader, will we really have another opportunity to visit the Holy City of Titan as long as we perform sufficiently well?" many Advanced Lifestyle players asked excitedly. At this moment, even Burning Abyss, who had already become a Master Engineer, looked at Shi Feng in astonishment. After experiencing the benefits the Holy City provided, it was impossible for Lifestyle players not to look forward to enjoying the plentiful resources of the Holy City again. Moreover, the benefits they had sampled on their visit was only the tip of the iceberg of Titan City''s offerings. There were still many places that they had not gotten to see. "Of course. However, I''ll say this first: the slots are limited!" Shi Feng replied, smiling. He then left the meeting room. Only after Shi Feng was gone did everyone finally snap out of their daze. Immediately, every one of them rushed to check what tasks they were assigned to do, blood rushing to their eyes. Like maniacs, they then ran to their respective workshops to start working. As for Shi Feng, he entered a Special Workshop himself and directly used God''s Blessing to become a Master Forger. Through the aid of his various forging tools, it took Shi Feng only a little over an hour to produce 15 core components that required forging. Fortunately, I have Icarus''s Heart. Otherwise, I really would be finished this time. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief as he looked at the core components. He had wasted nearly 40 sets of materials in order to produce these parts. Had he made them as an Advanced Forger instead of a Master Forger, his success rate would''ve been less than 10%. In that case, wasting over a hundred sets of materials would not have been surprising. 1055 Town Trade Chapter 1055 - Town Trade After completing the core components, Shi Feng handed them over to Melancholic Smile. The manufacturing of the Miniature Ballista was extremely complex, requiring many components. However, aside from the core components, the other parts were well within the capabilities of Advanced Lifestyle players. As for the final assembly work, with Burning Abyss''s standards, the Master Engineer would be more than capable of handling it. As for Shi Feng himself, he still had many things he needed to do. "Guild Leader, both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms are buying increasingly fewer Light Stones from us recently, yet the amount they are selling on their side has been continuously increasing. It is likely they have already obtained plenty of Light Stone Designs. Should we start lowering our selling price as well?" Melancholic Smile asked worriedly. After she had returned and took up the reins of the Candlelight Trading Firm again, she suddenly discovered that the trading firm''s position in Star-Moon Kingdom had become increasingly precarious. Setting aside the fact that both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms possessed exclusive products, just the competitiveness of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s hottest-selling product, the Light Stone, was already growing progressively weaker. In addition, unlike the Candlelight Trading Firm, which only had Shops covering several of Star-Moon Kingdom''s important NPC cities, both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms had Shops covering the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. At this rate, it would only be a few days before they overtook the Candlelight Trading Firm. If that happened, Candlelight''s income would take a significant hit. "So even the Light Stones are unable to hold out any longer?" Looking at the list Melancholic Smile handed to him, Shi Feng smiled as he said, "Since it''s no good already, it''s about time we switch to a new main product." "Change our main product?" Melancholic Smile''s thoughts shifted towards the Strengthening Device. The Strengthening Device was currently very popular on the market. However, due to its exorbitant price, only larger Guilds could afford to buy it. In terms of market size, it was nowhere close to the Light Stone. "Take this and have some trustworthy Alchemists learn it. From now on, our main product will be this item," Shi Feng said as he took out the Alchemy Secret Journal from his bag. The Exotic Stamina Potion recorded inside the journal possessed effects that all players dearly needed. Moreover, the materials used to craft the potion were not particularly precious. Hence, its selling price would not be very high, either. Even ordinary players would be able to afford it easily. "Guild Leader, you''re too amazing! You actually managed to get your hands on this thing as well!" Melancholic Smile exclaimed in excitement after taking a brief look through the journal. "If we have this potion, I want to see just how the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms are going to compete against us!" When consumed, the Exotic Stamina Potion increased a player''s maximum Stamina by 10% and Stamina recovery speed by 80% for 10 hours. This was a must-have item for players seeking to level up quickly. Moreover, the total cost of the materials required to make the potion was roughly only two Silver. If Advanced Alchemists crafted the potion, they would have a success rate of 50%. In other words, the total cost of making a bottle of Exotic Stamina Potion was around four Silver Coins. With the excellent effects of the potion, even if they sold each bottle for 10 Silver, there would still be swarms of players willing to buy it. Meanwhile, at 10 Silver, it would still be cheaper than the Mana Mixture introduced by the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms. In addition, the Exotic Stamina Potion was suitable for a much wider market than the Mana Mixture. With this, there was no way Blackwater and Heavenly could bring down the Candlelight Trading Firm. The players of God''s Domain earned a limited income every day. As would be expected, they could spend their scant funds on only a small number of items. Hence, when players were choosing which trading firm to shop at, they would naturally choose the trading firm with the lower prices and more useful products. Meanwhile, 10 Silver Coins was a considerable sum to ordinary players. Even elite players could just barely afford this price. Hence, if these elite players purchased the Exotic Stamina Potion, they would no longer have any money left for other itemswhich would definitely have a significant impact on the business of both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms. Following which, Melancholic Smile happily took the Alchemy Secret Journal and left the Special Workshop to select people to learn the Exotic Stamina Potion''s recipe. As for Shi Feng, he used the Abyss Pendant''s Teleportation Skill to return to the Golden Sands Archipelago. At the same time, two major incidents had occurred in Stone Forest Town. Moreover, both situations greatly excited the local players. The first incident was that Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena had constructed an underground floor housing combat rooms. Moreover, the new floor''s area was considerably larger than the first floor''s. Since the Battle Arena only had combat rooms set up for rent in the first three floors of the building, the addition of the underground floor was equivalent to increasing the capacity of the Battle Arena by more than one-third. Meanwhile, the second and more exciting incident was that the first group of wandering merchant NPCs had finally arrived at Stone Forest Town. Wandering merchants were a privilege that only player towns enjoyed. This visit was something that would never occur in NPC towns. Unlike ordinary NPC merchants, these wandering merchants would sell rare items that were not available anywhere elseeven rare tools that were very useful to players, such as Magic Scrolls or special potions. However, attracting wandering merchants to a town was not an easy task. To do so, a town needed extremely safe trade routes. Otherwise, these wandering merchants, who were highly risk-averse, would not travel to said town. "There''s no stopping Stone Forest Town from rising now!" "Hahaha! I''ve profited big today! I only spent three Silver to purchase a Swamp Scroll! With this scroll, if I party up with two more people, we will be able to thrash a Field Chieftain!" "That''s nothing! Didn''t you see that a guy managed to purchase a Lucky Potion for a mere 12 Silver just now? I heard that the Lucky Potion will raise a player''s Luck Attribute by 10 points for half an hour. He then resold that potion for 10 Gold Coins!" "What a pity. By the time I reached those wandering merchants, their products had already sold out." The arrival of the wandering merchants gave rise to discussions among the players in town about the NPCs. The merchandise of these NPCs completely surpassed everyone''s imaginations. They had all kinds of rare and strange goods up for sale. The only unfortunate part was that they sold only a limited amount of the products each day. Moreover, the items they sold every day were not fixed. However, it was also precisely because of this restricted supply that many players chose to live in Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, this situation was a boon to Stone Forest Town, since it levied a 10% tax on all local sales. Although that was not a lot of money, the income from taxes would increase as the number of NPC merchants gathered in the town rose. At the same time, word about the wandering merchants also began spreading in Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Stone Forest Town''s thrilling wandering merchants! Purchased Lucky Potion resold for 100 times the purchase price! News regarding the wandering merchants immediately piqued the envy of many players throughout the kingdom. Ordinary players would consider themselves rich if they had one Gold Coin on their person, all the more 10 Gold Coins. If they could encounter such fortuitous situations several times, they would be able to buy a Common Mount for themselves by the time they reached Level 40. Many expert players were too poor to purchase Mounts even after reaching Level 40. Star-Moon City, Blackwater''s Guild Residence: At this time, the elegant and beautiful Qin Muyun suddenly entered the Guild Leader''s office. With a slightly gloomy expression, she said, "Guild Leader, Young Master Jing is already dissatisfied with your performance because of this matter regarding Stone Forest Town. He says that you need to settle this matter as soon as possible. If you can''t get even such a small matter done" 1056 Grandmaster Magic Array Chapter 1056 - Grandmaster Magic Array Abandoned Wave, who was seated behind his desk, frowned slightly when he heard Qin Muyun''s words. In reality, he was also uncomfortable with Stone Forest Town''s present situation. Due to the construction of the Magic Tower in Stone Forest Town, many of Zero Wing''s elite and expert members had gathered there, instantly raising the difficulty of raiding the town significantly. With the addition of the wandering merchants now, most likely, there would be many more independent players trying to join Zero Wing. As long as these players became Zero Wing''s members, not only would they enjoy the membership perks at the Battle Arena, but they would also have the convenience of much shorter travel times to Stone Forest Town due to the Guild Transfer Scroll. The time savings from joining Zero Wing had tempted many independent players with good standards and strength. He had already received news that soon after the Battle Arena appeared, the number of players trying to join Zero Wing had started increasing exponentially. Moreover, practically every elite and expert player that recently joined Zero Wing had promptly migrated to Stone Forest Town to develop themselves. "I understand. Tell Young Master Jing that as long as he gives me a little more time, Stone Forest Town will very quickly become the Blackwater Guild''s property," Abandoned Wave said, nodding. "Also, tell Black Robe that the sacrifices he asked for are already ready." He had to admit that Zero Wing''s strength was ramping up quite rapidly. Unfortunately, the Guild had the misfortune to meet him. Otherwise, there truly wouldn''t be anybody in Star-Moon Kingdom capable of stopping Zero Wing from becoming its overlord. However, now that the Blackwater Guild had arrived, Zero Wing could only perish. Upon hearing Abandoned Wave''s reply, Qin Muyun turned around and left the office. At the same time, using the Abyss Pendant, Shi Feng appeared once more before the small cabin inside the ancient ruins at the core of the Golden Sands Archipelago. This time, Shi Feng immediately opened the wooden door and entered the cabin. Although the cabin looked small on the outside and appeared to have only a single floor, stepping into the cabin was like entering a completely different world. The inside was just like a player-constructed building, where the internal space was usually larger than what was visible on the outside. Only, the disparity between the wooden cabin''s frontage and interior space was much more grandiose. Upon entering the cabin, Shi Feng came upon an elegant hall the size of two basketball courts. Exquisite glass cabinets dotted the hall. There were all sorts of rare items on display inside these cabinets, and no lack of items that could tempt even expert players. Meanwhile, ten Level 200 NPCs stood guard around the hall, with four stationed by the staircase leading up to the cabin''s second floor. In addition to these guards, there was also a handsome and beautiful young man who seemed to be the manager of the establishment. The youth''s appearance could fascinate even men. When Shi Feng looked at the youth, he could only see the youth''s name, Harold, displayed. He could not see any other information about him. However, if one used an advanced Identification Skill on the youth, they would discover that the young and beautiful Harold was not a human at all. [Harold] (High Elf, Grand Wizard) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? In the past, many players often discussed which NPC in God''s Domain they thought was the strongest. They would also make strength rankings for NPCs, according to the NPCs'' tiers. In other words, only NPCs of the same tier would be compared with each other. Meanwhile, as a Tier 5 NPC, Harold''s strength had always been a mystery to everyone. After reaching Level 200, many players had attempted to use extremely powerful Identification Skills to examine Harold. In the end, however, they still failed to discern Harold''s level and HP. In addition, nobody had ever seen Harold''s true strength. Although there had been six Tier 5 experts who had attempted to rob the Golden Sands Exchange Shop in the past, Harold had instantly annihilated them in a single move. After those experts died, not only did they each lose ten whole levels, but they also got jailed for over half a month. From then on, nobody else dared to provoke Harold. They only knew that this High Elf was exceedingly puissant. After all, it was simply impossible for an ordinary Tier 5 NPC to defeat six Tier 5 players so swiftly. Even the Windbreaker, Kite, had not possessed this kind of strength at his peak. Hence, Harold''s strength had always been a mystery. Regardless, his strength was publicly acknowledged to rank within the top five among the various Tier 5 NPCs of God''s Domain. After Shi Feng entered the exchange shop, Harold slowly made his way over to him. In a very friendly manner, Harold handed a delicate, corolla flower-shaped emblem over to Shi Feng and said softly, "Sir, congratulations on becoming a member of our exchange shop. Here is our establishment''s member''s emblem. In the future, you may use this emblem to visit our shop any time you want. In addition, you may visit our shop''s second-floor hall. The items up for exchange there are all treasures carefully selected by our shop." "Thank you. I wish to take a look at the second floor, then. May I know what are the best products available for exchange this week?" Shi Feng asked, speaking as if he were an old customer after storing the exchange shop''s member''s emblem. After he had obtained the large quantity of Magic Crystals from the Battle Arena, he had directly paid 10,000 crystals to the system. Although he had felt a slight sting at the loss, compared to using the other methods to become a member of the exchange shop, it was already the best option. "Please follow me, sir," Harold said before leading Shi Feng upstairs. The size of the second floor''s hall was somewhat smaller than the first floor''s. Moreover, the number of glass display cabinets here was only one-tenth of that of the first-floor hall''s. Even so, the 30,000-plus Magic Crystals Shi Feng had on him right now was most likely insufficient to buy even one-tenth of the items displayed here. Even the cheapest item on display was priced at 2,000 Magic Crystals. Taking a casual glance around, Shi Feng had also discovered many items priced above 10,000 Magic Crystals. Sure enough, the second floor isn''t a place for normal people. Shi Feng was rendered speechless by what he saw. Currently, 100 Magic Crystals could be used to exchange for 25 Gold Coins on the market. Ten thousand Magic Crystals would be equivalent to 2,500 Gold. In other words, among the items displayed, there were many valued above 2,500 Gold. Two thousand five hundred Gold! With that kind of money, one could already purchase an Epic item. "Sir, of the many products that have arrived in our shop this week, these five items are the ones our shop is proudest of. Hopefully, they are to your liking," Harold said very confidently as he brought Shi Feng over to a glass cabinet protected by a magic array. "This isa Grandmaster Magic Array!" Shi Feng could not help his shock when he saw the magic array protecting the five items. He had done his fair share of research into magic arrays in the past and could even draw Intermediate Magic Arrays. Although he was not a master at crafting magic arrays, he could more or less discern their standard. As for the magic array Shi Feng was currently standing on, he had only seen the likes of this around the Palaces in imperial capitals. Even a group of Tier 5 NPCs would have difficulty breaking through a Grandmaster Magic Array within a short time. If it were an even more powerful Grandmaster Magic Array, those Tier 5 NPCs might meet their end. Yet, right now, one such Grandmaster Magic Array was actually being used to protect five items. This was entirely too extravagant! 1057 Divine Beast’s Descen Chapter 1057 - Divine Beast''s Descent "Sir, it seems that you are considerably knowledgeable about magic arrays," Harold addressed Shi Feng, who had focused on the magic array protecting the glass cabinet for quite some time. Chuckling, he continued, "If you are interested in magic arrays, we happen to have a few designs for sale at the moment. I believe that you will be satisfied with our selection." Hearing this, Shi Feng''s eyes shone with excitement. Hurriedly, he turned to Harold and asked, "You actually sell magic array designs here?" In God''s Domain, magic arrays were considered secrets. Normally, players could not purchase them. At most, players could purchase some unimportant Magic Scrolls or gain some basic understanding of them in libraries. Players almost never found an opportunity to encounter magic array designs. Shi Feng had only obtained the Nine-star Polar Domain magic array design by completing an Epic Quest. He had never imagined that he could purchase magic array designs on the Golden Sands Exchange Shop''s second floor. If Shi Feng had known that he could buy such items in his previous life, he would''ve tried to become one of the exchange shop''s members regardless of the cost. Magic arrays might not help players much during the game''s early stages, but as players reached higher levels, their impact would increase. This was especially true for Guilds. In Guild wars, only those who were at least elite players could affect the tide of battle. Ordinary players were simply risking their lives if they participated. They would only increase their Guild''s losses. However, as players'' understood more about magic arrays, their use became more widespread. Casting large-scale, group spells was one such example. A single magical class player might not be able to use extremely powerful Spells, but powerful magic arrays could combine the Mana of tens or even hundreds of magical class players to cast an intensely destructive Spell. Furthermore, producing such magic arrays was far easier than producing Magic Scrolls that contained Tier 4, or even Tier 3, large-scale destruction Spells. Because of this, even during God''s Domain''s later stages, ordinary players could play a considerable role in large-scale wars. Although, how well a Guild utilized its normal members depended on their magic array research. If one wanted to research magic arrays, they first needed enough of the designs. Hence, in the past, the various large Guilds had tried desperately to collect all sorts of magic array designs. If he could obtain the designs for large-scale group Spells right now, Zero Wing would not have to fear any Guild in God''s Domain. Current players had no hope against large-scale, group Spells. At the very least, one needed a Tier 4 Great Wizard on their side to counter such destructive power. "Sir, are you not going to consider our shop''s top five recommended products first?" Harold asked disappointedly. Glancing at the five items inside the glass cabinet before him, Shi Feng shook his head and replied, "Thank you for your kindness, but I think that the magic array designs are far more attractive." The five items inside the glass cabinet were as precious as Harold claimed. An Epic staff even rested among them. Unfortunately, the prices were simply too high for Shi Feng to accept. The exchange shop sold these items far above market price. Unless one needed these items urgently, they''d be a fool to purchase any of them. In the past, the six Tier 5 players had a reason for trying to rob the exchange shop. The shop''s exorbitant prices for the items they sought had been precisely why they had taken the risk. Unfortunately, those players had failed in the end. Aside from being known as the Golden Sands Exchange Shop''s manager, Harold had another title in the outside worldthe Blackhearted Merchant! Among the five items displayed, the cheapest cost 24,000 Magic Crystals, while the most expensive, the glowing black and white staff, cost 52,000 Magic Crystals. If converted to Coins, that staff would be worth 13,000 Gold! If the staff were only one or two thousand Gold above market value, Shi Feng would''ve considered purchasing it. However, Shi Feng was not willing to pay 13,000 Gold. Seeing Shi Feng''s disinterest, Harold dismissed his hopes of promoting the items. Instead, he led Shi Feng to a corner. Three small glass cabinets occupied the corner, each cabinet containing a thick, solid book cast in gold. These were none other than the magic array designs. "May I know if you are satisfied with our products, sir?" Harold asked, smiling. Although the magic array designs were not as valuable as the five items, they were still particularly high-priced items in the shop. Among the three designs, the cheapest, the Thirteen Totem Poles, cost 8,000 Magic Crystals. It was a Basic Suppression Magic Array and required 13 magical classes to activate. It was superbly effective against lone Field or Dungeon Bosses. The magic array belonged to the middle-upper standard among Basic Magic Arrays. The second design cost 12,000 Magic Crystals and was the Double Protection Barrier. It was similarly a Basic Magic Array but of a much higher standard than the Thirteen Totem Poles. It required 100 magical class players to activate. When activated, it formed a defensive magic array that would block all damage from the outside. Among Basic Magic Arrays, it was of the highest quality. The last design was also the most valuable, costing 24,000 Magic Crystals. This magic array was the Divine Beast''s Descent. The magic array concentrated the Mana of 88 Summoners to summon a Divine Beast to do battle. It belonged to the middle-upper standard among Intermediate Magic Arrays. As I expected of the exchange shop! It even has an Intermediate Magic Array! Shi Feng was shocked. Basic Magic Array Designs were relatively easy to find in God''s Domain. However, after reaching the Intermediate rank, magic array designs became extraordinarily rare. Even large Guilds found them quite difficult to obtain. Thus, it was truly surprising to find one in the exchange shop. Although the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array cost far more than its market value, the magic array would play a massive role in Guild wars. The Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array he currently possessed was a suppression-type magic array. Its main purpose was to weaken Bosses. In a war between players, its results were only satisfactory if used in narrow terrain. For siege battles and battles in broad, open spaces, the Intermediate Magic Array was not particularly useful. However, the Divine Beast''s Descent was a summoning-type magic array, and players could utilize powerful monsters in battle. This was like a Summoning Scroll. Only, the magic array''s conditions were much more stringent, requiring 88 Summoners to maintain it. If the magic array were interrupted, the summoned creature would disappear immediately. Most importantly, it was extremely costly as it required 88 magic array scrolls to activate. These scrolls would also disappear after a single use Even so, it was an extremely powerful tool of war. After all, ordinary players'' role in these wars was simply too small. They were practically negligible. However, combining their power and transforming them into a devastating force would be terrifying. After all, ordinary players comprised the majority of a Guild''s members. 1058 Change in the Capital Chapter 1058 - Change in the Capital "Have any of these caught your eye?" Harold asked Shi Feng once more, still smiling. Although there were only three magic array designs and the most powerful was only Intermediate rank, they were not easy to find elsewhere. Magic array designs were particularly valuable after reaching Intermediate rank. Shi Feng hovered between the three magic array designs. Although the Thirteen Totem Poles was only a Basic Suppression Magic Array and far from being comparable to the Nine-star Polar Domain, as a Basic Magic Array, more players would be capable of producing it. Even now, Shi Feng was the only person capable of producing the Nine-star Polar Domain. However, when would he find the time to mass-produce the magic array? However, the Guild had quite a few players who could produce the Thirteen Totem Poles Magic Array. With this, the Guild''s overall strength in Dungeons would increase significantly. It would be easier to obtain a plethora of good equipment. As for the Double Protection Barrier, as a defensive magic array, it was perfectly suited for siege battles. Aside from that, it did not have much purpose. Lastly, the Divine Beast''s Descent was a common type in large Guild wars. All three magic arrays had their own uses. All three were also things that Zero Wing sorely needed. However, Shi Feng could not afford all three due to their exorbitant prices. "I want the Divine Beast''s Descent and the Double Protection Barrier," Shi Feng announced after a moment of hesitation. His current priority was to defend Stone Forest Town. He had no choice but to give up on the Thirteen Totem Poles. With a limited amount of Magic Crystals, he had to use them on what was most necessary. "Alright, then. The two magic array designs will cost you a total of 36,000 Magic Crystals," Harold said. Following which, Shi Feng handed over the last of the Magic Crystals from the Battle Arena. Only after including some of the Magic Crystals from the Candlelight Trading Firm''s warehouse could he barely afford the total cost. This is truly fraudulent! Shi Feng could not help but feel a slight sting as he handed the Magic Crystals over. With all of these Magic Crystals, he should be able to purchase four or five magic array designs from the market. "Here are your magic array designs, sir," Harold said, his smile becoming even more cheerful after receiving the Magic Crystals. "As you are a member of our exchange shop, for every 10,000 Magic Crystals you spend, you''ll obtain one point. When you''ve accumulated 500 points, we can raise your membership status to an advanced member. You''ll receive a 10% discount on all purchases on the second-floor hall and a 20% discount on the first-floor hall. You''ll also qualify to enter our exchange shop''s main branch. Currently, you''ve spent 36,000 Magic Crystals, so you have obtained three points. If you spend another 4,000 Magic Crystals right now, you''ll receive four points instead. For a moment, Shi Feng was at a loss for words. He had to admit that Harold was a crafty merchant. Fortunately, he didn''t have any more Magic Crystals on him. Otherwise, Harold might have persuaded him to purchase another item for 4,000 Magic Crystals. However, this revelation confused Shi Feng slightly. He hadn''t expected an additional membership rank. And the advanced members even had access to the main branch!. However, as far as he could remember, there had never been any mention of an advanced membership in the past. Although rare, some players had become normal members of the Golden Sands Exchange Shop. Moreover, there was no real benefit in hiding this fact. "Excuse me, but can every member of the exchange shop be promoted to an advanced member?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Harold shook his head, chuckling before he explained, "Not everyone receives this privilege. As you are the first heaven-blessed person to visit our shop, we have extended this benefit. Normally, members have to spend an additional ten million Magic Crystals before we notify them of this option." So that''s why nobody knew about the advanced membership in the past. Realization dawned on Shi Feng. Following which, Shi Feng took the two magic array designs and left the exchange shop. As for becoming an advanced member, it was too early to bother with. Although, if he secured the Manatite vein in that dangerous sea zone, he could consider becoming an advanced member. Otherwise, not a single Guild throughout God''s Domain could afford the promotion requirement of 5,000,000 Magic Crystals. After leaving the exchange shop, Shi Feng used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement to reach a distant beach. He then released the Swift Dragon Speedboat and traveled to his final destinationthe Savage Wildland. As the Savage Wildland was very close to a dangerous sea zone, it was easy for players to encounter sea monsters. Although these sea monsters'' levels only ranged between Level 40 and Level 50, the threat they posed surpassed that of ordinary Level 40 to Level 50 High Lords. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavillion''s plan of using the Magic Tower to lure players to the Town of Beginnings wouldn''t be nearly as effective as doing so with a town on the mainland. After all, traveling to the Savage Wildland was simply too dangerous for current players. However, this had allowed Shi Feng to spot a business opportunity. Traveling to the Savage Wildland in a fishing boat was undoubtedly dangerous. However, if one used a speedboat, the danger would decrease significantly. What he needed to do was to open a sea route between Ocean Viewing Town and the Savage Wildland, starting a transportation business. If he charged each person 2 Silver, a flood of players would brave the journey. Even if there were only 10,000 players trying to reach the Savage Wildland each day, he could still earn 200 Gold daily. However, this was a conservative estimate. Take Stone Forest Town for example. Even though the town was over ten hours away from the nearest teleportation point on foot, a large number of players made the trip. Moreover, by the time the Town of Beginnings developed into a medium-sized town and unlocked the Savage Wildland''s true value, at that time, it would not be surprising if hundreds of thousands of players attempted the trip every day. The income he could gain from the transportation business might even match the income from the Town of Beginnings. Shi Feng could still remember that, when the Town of Beginnings had developed into a small-sized city, the city''s permanent player population had already neared a million. As for city''s floating population, that was well over five million. If that came to pass once again, counting each day''s earnings would become laborious. Time passed quickly. The trip, which should''ve taken over an hour, was over in only ten minutes or so thanks to the Swift Dragon Speedboat. From a distance, the Savage Wildland looked like a new continent. At first glance, the island seemed to have no end. The island was roughly the size of a major city''s jurisdiction on the mainland. However, even the island''s outer region was not easy to reach. Following which, Shi Feng found a place to dock before storing the Swift Dragon Speedboat. He then unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and activated Phantom Kill, his doppelganger splitting from his body. The Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement was quite convenient. However, he was no God. He could not remember the exact coordinates of the Otherworld transfer gate. He could only determine its general location on the map. But, how dangerous was the core area? As a precaution, he could use the Replace Skill to avoid dying should he find any powerful monsters during his journey. As Shi Feng was about to use Space Movement, he received a call from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, this is bad! I just received a report from the Secret Pavilion stating that three of Pantheon''s core legions have snuck into Star-Moon City!" 1059 Passage Established Chapter 1059 - Passage Established On the semi-transparent screen, anxiety pulled at Aqua Rose''s fair, dainty face. When Shi Feng had told her that Pantheon had joined with Blackwater to deal with Zero Wing, she had doubted his words. Moreover, even if it were true, it should have been quite some time before Blackwater attacked Zero Wing directly. She had never imagined that Blackwater would move this quickly If Blackwater and Pantheon had truly come for Zero Wing, she was not certain that Zero Wing could hold its ground against the Guilds. After all, Pantheon was a bona fide Super Guild. She was not ignorant as she had once been. After experiencing the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system, she understood just how terrifying Super Guilds were. The strength these Guilds normally revealed was the tip of the iceberg. However, this tip was more than enough to frighten any first-rate Guild. "It seems that they can no longer wait." The news didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. They could have flown under the radar if Stone Forest Town''s popularity had been the only thing growing. However, Zero Wing benefited from the town''s growth. Right now, the Guild was continuously absorbing the elites and experts among independent players, increasing the Guild''s overall strength. If Zero Wing were given another three to five days, Blackwater would have to pay an even higher price to take Stone Forest Town down. If it were up to Shi Feng, he would likely take action as soon as possible as well. "Guild Leader, should I dispatch men to Stone Forest Town?" Aqua Rose asked. "Try to do it as quietly as possible to avoid arousing their suspicion," Shi Feng instructed after giving the matter some thought. "Use the money we earned from the Lands we sold to purchase the building materials for the Magic Tower and send those as well. This way, they won''t realize that we''re already on to them. Have some people start construction of the Magic Tower''s framework. I''ll try to be there as quickly as possible." This war was no trivial matter. Zero Wing could not afford to lose. It would be best if he constructed more Magic Towers to defend Stone Forest Town as a precaution. If he could not even defend Stone Forest Town, his future city would also be finished. He would also have to figure out how to defend his city without Magic Towers. "Understood!" Aqua Rose disconnected the call and quickly saw to the necessary arrangements. Following which, Shi Feng immediately used Space Movement and crossed the Savage Wildland to its core area. However, as soon as Shi Feng stepped out of the spatial tear, he came face to face with a treant that stood over ten meters tall. The vines that stretched from the treant''s body were like iron whips. Despite one of these vines just casually striking a massive rock, the stone shattered. Over a hundred vines surrounded the treant''s body. [Old Forest Treant] (Elemental Creature, Lord) Level 110 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? When Shi Feng saw this Old Forest Treant, his expression turned gloomy. Against a Level 110 Lord, even a relatively skilled, Tier 2 player of the same Level would have to run for their life. "Roar!" Upon noticing Shi Feng, the Old Treant released an angry roar. Immediately, over a dozen vines shot towards Shi Feng as quick as lightning. Peng Peng Peng After the vines'' attacks passed, the ground split into dozens of segments. The horrific scene looked as if an earthquake had shaken the island. Fortunately, Shi Feng had managed to activate the Replace Skill in time, avoiding the intended execution. Shi Feng''s doppelganger, however, had not been as fortunate as the vines had obliterated it instantly. That was a close one. Shi Feng was shaken by his doppelganger''s sudden death. Not only were the vines very fast, but their movements were also cunning. The vines had attacked from his blind spots, enveloping him. The only option to cope with the attacks was to face them head-on. However, if he chose to do that, he would end up as nothing more than a gory mess. The difference between their attributes was simply too large. Techniques could not make up for that gap. After five minutes, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill once more. Readjusting his transfer coordinates, he activated Space Movement. With the knowledge he had gained from his first transfer and some minor adjustments, he accurately teleported to the Otherworld transfer gate. The transfer gate was massive. Standing over a hundred meters tall, it looked like a towering skyscraper. Magic arrays, which had existed since ancient times, surrounded the transfer gate. With these magic arrays, even the final Boss of the Savage Wildland''s core, the Demonic Golden Elephant could not approach the transfer gate. As long as players entered the magic array, they would be in a safe zone. Monsters wouldn''t chase them once they reached that point. However, the magic array had one disadvantage. Magic arrays could not be superimposed over one another. If Shi Feng wanted to establish a teleportation array, he needed to do it outside of the magic array protecting the Otherworld transfer gate. However, several monsters, all over Level 100, drooled as they waited for him to leave the magic array''s safety. In God''s Domain, setting the transfer coordinates for a teleportation array generally required 30 seconds. It was practically impossible to set the coordinates in the monster-infested core area. In the past, players had only established the coordinates for a teleportation array because Super Guild''s members had cleared the area''s monsters. Once the coordinates were established, Super Guilds had stationed experts near the Otherworld transfer gate to contain the monster population, allowing players to reach the transfer gate safely. Shi Feng wasn''t yet strong enough to kill the surrounding monsters, much less clearing them out periodically. Although Shi Feng wasn''t strong enough, he did have the Monster Repellent Scroll. The Monster Repellent Scroll would disperse the monsters within a fixed area. Once the monsters were gone, establishing the transfer coordinates would be easy. The only problem was that, when players teleported here in the future, they still had to deal with the guardian monsters. However, if players reacted quickly enough and could cross into the Otherworld in time, those monsters would be helpless to stop them. "Scatter!" Shi Feng unfurled the Monster Repellent Scroll. Immediately, the monsters around the Otherworld transfer gate began to flee, and the area fell silent. Taking this opportunity, Shi Feng immediately began to establish the transfer coordinates. With the transfer coordinates established, Zero Wing''s members could teleport here using a Teleportation Magic Array and train inside an Otherworld to improve their strength. Even Super Guilds'' apex experts didn''t enjoy such perks. After Shi Feng finished with the transfer coordinates, he retrieved a Return Scroll and returned to White River City. Now that Blackwater had shown signs of movement, he needed to use what little time he had left to produce Magic Array Scrolls. Unfortunately, when Shi Feng arrived before the Candlelight Trading Firm, Aqua Rose called. When the video call connected, Shi Feng noticed the woman''s grim expression. "What happened?" "I''m not sure what''s going on exactly, but just a moment ago, our Guild members couldn''t use their Guild Transfer Scrolls to transfer to Stone Forest Town. Players in Stone Forest Town couldn''t use their Transfer Scrolls to return to White River City either. Even their Return Scrolls have stopped working. "Aside from that, Blackwater has surrounded the closest NPC town. And in Lake Heart City, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members have begun to slaughter ours. Gentle Snow''s people have been badly pummelled." Aqua Rose was extremely anxious. Although she had sent a lot of the Guild expert and elite members to Stone Forest Town, there was still too few members there right now. Now that their members couldn''t use their Guild Transfer Scrolls, Zero Wing couldn''t send more reinforcements 1060 Action Chapter 1060 - Action Shi Feng''s expression darkened upon hearing Aqua Rose''s report. "The Guild Transfer Scrolls can''t be used?" Shi Feng pondered the situation. "Could they have used a sealing magic array?" The various large Guilds had commonly used sealing magic arrays to raid towns and cities in the past. However, such magic arrays were extremely rare. Generally, players only had a chance of coming across one in Level 60 and above secret locations. With the Guilds current strength, it was impossible to obtain one. "Guild Leader, should I lead some experts to take charge of the situation? Afterward, you can lead the Guild''s army to support us. I believe that, with Stone Forest Town''s defensive advantage, we should be able to hold out until the army arrives!" Aqua Rose suggested. Blackwater and Pantheon had acted too quickly. Although they had begun to prepare, they had never expected Blackwater to pull such a card. Without the advantage of the Guild Transfer Scrolls, it would take a considerable amount of time for Zero Wing to reach Stone Forest Town. By the time the army arrived, the siege would be underway. However, there were very few Zero Wing upper echelons in Stone Forest Town right now. Without anyone taking charge of such a large-scale Guild war, the town could easily fall. Hence, they quickly needed to dispatch experts capable of leading the defense. "Alright. Lead the members who have Mounts and start on the town''s fortifications. However, be careful of ambushes from Blackwater. Since they have gone to the trouble of sealing the entire map, they definitely have plans to prevent anyone from reaching the town," Shi Feng said, nodding. Currently, Mounts were still far from being common in God''s Domain. Even in Super Guilds, only very few experts had obtained a Mount. Aqua Rose''s group only needed to break through Blackwater''s defensive line, and they could reach Stone Forest Town without trouble. Players without Mounts had no hope of catching up to them at all. Moreover, due to a fortuitous encounter, Aqua Rose had obtained and completed a quest that had awarded her with a Secret-Silver ranked Flame Horse. With the speed of a Secret-Silver Mount, even Super Guilds'' players with Mounts would not catch up to her. After all, Secret-Silver Mounts were very rare. After Shi Feng finished assigning Aqua Rose''s tasks, he entered the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Basic Meditation Room and activated God''s Blessing. Using the materials that Melancholic Smile had prepared for him, he began to produce one magic array scroll after another. Even if Blackwater''s army traveled towards Stone Forest Town from the nearest teleportation point, they would have to run for over ten hours. Moreover, after such a long run, they would have to rest before joining the battle. Otherwise, ordering an army that had nearly exhausted its Stamina to raid a town would be the epitome of foolishness. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng hurried towards Stone Forest Town, he could arrive far more quickly. The sealing magic array created Mana fluctuations in the affected area and prevented Teleportation Magic Arrays from functioning properly. However, Shi Feng had the Seven Luminaries Ring. Space Movement was different from teleportation. Even if there were Mana fluctuations in an area, the Skill would not be affected. Hence, he could simply teleport to the nearest town and continue towards Stone Forest Town. In terms of speed, even someone riding a Dark-Gold Mount would be no match for him. He now had over ten hours to prepare for war. Right now, his priority was to make as many magic array scrolls as he could. Everything else was secondary. As for organizing an army to reinforce Stone Forest Town, he had no intentions of doing so. If it came down to a direct confrontation, even if Zero Wing were ten times stronger, it would be no match for Blackwater as the latter controlled those one-horned humanoid monsters. Sending players against those monsters was the equivalent of sending them to their graves. Furthermore, how could Zero Wing outmatch Pantheon''s expert count? Zero Wing''s only hope relied on magic array scrolls and the town''s defenses. Shortly after Blackwater sealed off the map surrounding the Stoneclaw Mountains, many players noticed the scent of gunpowder in the air. As Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s elite armies began pouring into the town nearest to Stone Forest Town, the various large Guilds around Star-moon Kingdom realized that Blackwater intended to steal Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, a commotion shook Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. "What? They''re starting to fight already?" "I wonder who will win this war?" "Do you even need to ask? It will definitely be Blackwater. Didn''t you see how many players the Guild has gathered? Moreover, I heard that even Pantheon is getting involved." "How could Stone Forest Town be that easy to raid? Don''t forget that Zero Wing has stationed many NPC guards in Stone Forest Town. In addition, the town has the normal guards that belong to the Guild''s members as well as the Defensive Turrets. Even if Blackwater has the advantage in numbers, it will still be very difficult to capture Stone Forest Town. Moreover, Zero Wing has the home-ground advantage. Even after its members die, they can resurrect in the town. Blackwater''s members, however, will have to travel for over ten hours to return to the battlefield." "You''re right!" For a time, Star-Moon Kingdom''s forms were cluttered with conversations about the Guild war. Many players had even eagerly rushed towards Stone Forest Town after receiving news, wishing to witness this war with their own eyes. In reality, it wasn''t just players who were eager to watch this war. Every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom paid close attention to Stone Forest Town as well. After all, this could be considered Star-Moon Kingdom''s first siege war. This war''s outcome was significantly important. If Zero Wing failed to defend Stone Forest Town, after losing this goldmine of a town, the Guild would most likely be reduced to a second-rate Guild. Blackwater might gradually devour the Guild until the name "Zero Wing" no longer existed in Star-Moon Kingdom. On the other hand, if Zero Wing repelled Blackwater''s assault, after this war, Zero Wing''s influence in Star-Moon Kingdom would reach unprecedented levels. Within a short time, Zero Wing''s strength would undoubtedly climb by leaps and bounds. Many players in Star-Moon Kingdom had felt that the Blackwater Guild, which had the support of the Blackwater Corporation, had massive potential and thought that it was guaranteed to become Star-Moon Kingdom''s ruler. Hence, many players and companies paid close attention to this war. If Zero Wing came out victorious, it would be impossible for Blackwater to organize further effective assaults in a short time. For a long time to come, Zero Wing would remain as Star-Moon Kingdom''s ruler. Meanwhile, inside the second-floor VIP room of a high-class bar in Saimu Town, the town closest to Stone Forest Town "Pantheon has lost its mind! It would''ve been fine if it had just dispatched its core legions to deal with Zero Wing, yet it dispatched one of its four trump card legions, the Red Jade Legion, as well! It seems that Zero Wing has seriously offended Pantheon this time!" Yuan Tiexin lightly clicked his tongue as he looked out the window at the 1,000-man legion marching through the street. Every member of this 1,000-man legion was Level 40 or above. Moreover, they all wore exquisite, white robes with an embroidered, blood-red eagle. This blood-red eagle was none other than the Red Jade Legion''s symbol. These players unified clothing, in addition to their levels, frightened the onlooking independent players. Pantheon had many core legions, but the most famous were the four trump card legions. Most of the experts in these legions were experts Pantheon had nurtured internally. Outsiders who wished to join these legions had to pass multiple tests. These trump card legions generally dealt with Super Guilds or super-first-rate Guilds. Until now, Pantheon had never once used these legions to deal with smaller Guilds. 1061 Divine Hand Chapter 1061 - Divine Hand "Hm? Why is he here?!" Yuan Tiexin''s expression froze when his eyes fell upon a middle-aged man standing with the Red Jade Legion. The middle-aged man''s appearance depicted strength, and he carried a bow of bones across his back. Noticing Yuan Tiexin''s suddenly stern expression, Purple Jade, immediately followed his gaze from her seat beside him. However, she did not discover anything unusual. Yuan Tiexin didn''t seem to be looking at anyone noteworthy. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, Purple Jade asked, "Uncle Yuan, could there be someone from the Dark Blade among those people?" Even a Super Guild like Pantheon had its secrets. Hence, the Guild had established a secret department called the Dark Blade. The Dark Blade specialized in tasks that others who walked in the light didn''t want such as assassinations and banditry. This department''s members would also assassinate other Guilds'' upper echelons, disguising the deed as another Guild''s work and causing strife between other Guilds for their profit. However, these tasks were secondary. The Dark Blade''s true purpose was to assassinate enemy commanders during Guild wars. To achieve this, when Pantheon nurtured these players, the selection of Skills, weapons, equipment, tools, and Attribute allocation were specially catered towards killing individual players. Although this was an extreme method of combat, it was suitable to deal with players who sought balance. In a one-on-one battle where both sides had equal combat standards and similar quality of weapons and equipment, the Dark Blade''s members could trample such players. Of course, with such an extreme combat method, the members of the Dark Blade fared poorly against monsters in the field or a Dungeon. This, in turn, greatly impacted their leveling speed. Hence, they needed other players to power-level them. "That''s right. I''m familiar with the man wielding the massive bone bow. He is the vice commander of Dark Blade, Divine Hand Nine Kills!" Yuan Tiexin said, rage filling his gaze as he watched the distant, bow-carrying player. The bow-carrying man''s name was Nine Kills, while Divine Hand was a title he had been given by others in the industry. In a past large-scale virtual reality game, due to Nine Kills successfully assassinating the Secret Pavilion''s third Vice Guild Leader at the time, the Pavilion had lost a major war against Pantheon. Yuan Tiexin had been one of the guards protecting the third Vice Guild Leader. In the end, however, Nine Kills had pulled off the assassination attempt. Due to that loss, the Secret Pavilion had been forced to withdraw from that virtual reality game. That incident had become one of Yuan Tiexin''s lifelong embarrassments, and he had hungered for revenge. However, the trail of Pantheon''s Dark Blade members was too difficult to track. Yuan Tiexin had not expected to encounter the man here. Although Nine Kills had modified his appearance somewhat, Yuan Tiexin recognized him. "So, he is the rumored Divine Hand," Purple Jade carefully observed Nine Kills as well. However, no matter how much she watched Nine Kills, she could not sense anything special from the man. He looked like any other expert in the Red Jade Legion. "Since Nine Kills is making a move, the other members of the Dark Blade should be hidden among the legion as well. Zero Wing has no chance of victory," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing. Setting aside the army of high-intelligence monsters, just the presence of Dark Blade could ruin Stone Forest Town. If the town didn''t have any commanders, it would be a piece of cake for Blackwater to raid the town. Although he believed that Shi Feng was quite strong, the Dark Blade''s members, who had undergone special training to kill other players, were no trifling opponents. The Secret Pavilion''s Vice Guild Leaders were not just figureheads. Without sufficient strength and talent, it was impossible to achieve this position, not to mention becoming the third Vice Guild Leader. Yet, even with three guards by his side, the third Vice Guild Leader had been killed. Although the three guards had eventually killed the Dark Blade member, their victory had held no meaning. Outside of Saimu Town''s entrance, a large number of elite members belonging to both Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial waited for their orders. These players were all Level 37 or above. The independent players watching from afar were shocked by this scene. "There should be at least 100,000 players, right?" "A hundred thousand? Aren''t you underestimating Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial too much? Both Guild recruited that alone during their last two recruitment campaigns. Not to mention, Blackwater annexed Ouroboros." "Eh? Many of the experts I know are now wearing Blackwater''s emblem. What''s going on?" "The Blackwater Corporation is supporting Blackwater. The Guild isn''t hurting for money at all. Moreover, the Blackwater Corporation is prepared to invest into God''s Domain fully. If one joins the Guild and obtains a good position, their future could be limitless. The income of the Guild''s core members already rivals the Blackwater Dojo''s newly-hired instructors. Do you know how many people are vying to become an instructor in the Blackwater Dojo each year? It''s a pity that only a handful of people get chosen." "I guess you''re right. It''s a pity that I''m not strong enough right now. Otherwise, I would try to join Blackwater." "I know, right? I have heard that, since Blackwater established its Guild, several thousand of Star-Moon Kingdom''s independent players have joined. However, they only received the treatment of elite members. It is extremely difficult to become a core member. This war is a good opportunity for them to display their skills. If they perform well, they might even be promoted to a core member. At that time, they could afford to live without worrying about basic necessities. I have also heard that the team leaders and vice team leaders among Blackwater''s core members received incomes that rival the Blackwater Dojo''s basic and intermediate instructors. If one manages to reach those positions, they wouldn''t have to worry about money for the rest of their lives." Just as the players in Saimu Town discussed the current atmosphere, a row of players atop high-ranking Mounts began to lead the elite army towards Stone Forest Town. Even the most inferior among these Mounts was Bronze rank, while the two people in the lead rode Mysterious-Iron Mounts. "Miss Muyun, I have truly underestimated your Blackwater Guild. I had never thought that you would dispatch so many elite members. I believe that even Zero Wing will be surprised," Singular Burial, who rode a black cheetah, commented, laughing. Previously, Singular Burial had thought that Blackwater could dispatch at most 100,000 elite members. After all, the Guild still faced many management issues after annexing Ouroboros. The Guild still needed some elite members to maintain order in the towns and cities it ruled over. However, contrary to expectations, Blackwater had dispatched 200,000 elite members It was very hard to imagine that Blackwater already possessed such strength, despite establishing only a short time ago. In terms of the number of elite members, even the Star Alliance was no match for Blackwater. Blackwater also had plenty of experts. If the Guild were already this strong after recently joining God''s Domain, it was hard to imagine how powerful it would become in the future. "Whether Zero Wing is shocked or not is no concern to Blackwater. In any case, ours won''t be the main force raiding the town. We are simply here to pick up the pieces," Qin Muyun said indifferently. "If Zero Wing uses everything it has against us, excellent. As for hindering Zero Wing''s reinforcements, I''ll leave that to Guild Leader Burial." "Please, rest assured. Heaven''s Burial will prevent Zero Wing''s army from setting foot in Stone Forest Town," Heaven''s Burial confidently declared. Although Blackwater had dispatched an army of elite members, Heaven''s Burial had dispatched quite a few of its own. With a total of 120,000 elite members in addition to their terrain advantage, the town would have new owners before Zero Wing''s army reached it. After that, Heaven''s Burial simply needed to work with Blackwater to encircle and annihilate Zero Wing''s army. "Guild Leader, a report just came in. Several cloaked players riding Mounts have been sighted leaving Saimu Town. By the looks of it, they seem to be heading towards Stone Forest Town!" Daybreak Fog, who stood to a side, suddenly announced. "They should be Zero Wing''s upper echelons. Should we dispatch some of our experts to get rid of them?" 1062 Forceful Break Through Chapter 1062 - Forceful Break Through Hearing Daybreak Fog''s deduction, Singular Burial fell into deep thought. "Have Ghost Shadow''s group stop them. Remember, don''t let a single player escape!" Singular Burial said strictly. "We''re sending Ghost Shadow''s group?" Daybreak Fog was momentarily stunned. "Aren''t we making a big fuss over something so small?" Ghost Shadow was Heaven''s Burial''s number one expert. He was already considered a top-tier expert in previous virtual reality games. Now, during his time in God''s Domain, he had come across a fortuitous encounter which allowed his techniques and strength to undergo a qualitative change. Only, Ghost Shadow had been improving himself away from the public eye all this time, so not many people knew about his current strength. They had originally planned to use him to surprise Zero Wing''s army. Yet, Singular Burial intended to expose Ghost Shadow''s strength to hunt down a few players. "I don''t think so. Even now, Zero Wing has yet to arrange an army to head over to Stone Forest Town. Instead, they are sending a few experts with Mounts over first. The only reason they would do so is most likely because there are no good commanders in Stone Forest Town right now. Among the Zero Wing members heading towards Stone Forest Town, a commander is likely among them. I believe that Ghost Shadow will be very interested in them. He might even come across Zero Wing''s number one Assassin, Fire Dance," Singular Burial explained. Of course, this was only a guess. However, to make their raid on Stone Forest Town easier, he would rather mistakenly kill a thousand players than let one escape. "I''ll head over as well, then." Daybreak Fog could not help her growing interest. It was a popular belief that Star-Moon Kingdom''s strongest female experts were in Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was the most famous female player in Zero Wing. This was because she had once been an Honorary Elder of the first-rate Guild Twilight Echo. Following Aqua Rose was Fire Dance, who had displayed frightening strength in several past battles. However, Daybreak Fog did not agree with this sentiment. Without having fought each other, how could she know which among them was the strongest? If she came across either one of these women, she would initiate a proper fight. "They dare to rush at us with so few people. They aren''t taking Heaven''s Burial seriously!" a strong, muscular Level 40 Assassin wearing a black mask gowled, sneering at the five players rushing towards him from a distance. "Leader, you must leave one for me! I want to show these people that the real experts aren''t in Zero Wing. They are in Heaven''s Burial''s Ghost Shadow Legion!" Although Heaven''s Burial was an upstart Guild, it possessed an extraordinary background. Otherwise, Blackwater would not have bothered to cooperate with the Guild. Meanwhile, in Heaven''s Burial, the Ghost Shadow Legion consisted of experts from many well-known Workshops. Only, this matter was never made public. The Ghost Shadow Legion''s members leveled up and trained in secret. The Guild had even invited some of the virtual gaming world''s apex experts to spar and train them. In the real world, the legion''s members specifically gathered in a training complex, which Heaven''s Burial used to nurture its experts. There, members of the legion sparred with other members and underwent all sorts of vigorous training methods each day. It felt like a living hell. Correspondingly, however, their strength had undergone earth-shattering changes. As for the experts who had made a name for themselves in Star-Moon Kingdom, they paid no attention to these people whatsoever. After all, even the best among those experts was only strong enough to reach the sixth floor of the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. On the other hand, even the weakest members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were sixth-floor experts, with many of them having reached the seventh floor. As for the legion''s commander, Ghost Shadow, he had reached the late stage of the eighth floor. He had long since surpassed the record Zero Wing''s members had set. Only, he had kept his record hidden all this time. "Sure. You''ll deal with the magical classes. However, if there is a female Assassin among them, leave her to me!" Ghost Shadow laughed. In reality, he didn''t care about the several Zero Wing members heading towards him. If not for Daybreak Fog stating that Fire Dance might be among these players, he would not have bothered coming. During the rank competition between Guilds in the Trial Tower, Fire Dance had humiliated him. He had been a top-tier expert in the virtual gaming world for many years, yet this little girl had defeated him. After that incident, he had vowed that he would, sooner or later, pay back the humiliation he had suffered. After a fortuitous encounter, not only had his combat standards improved greatly, but he also no wielded Epic ranked weapons. This was why he was so confident of defeating Fire Dance. He had walked the line between life and death to complete that quest. He had even sacrificed the lives of thousands of the Guild''s elite members. In his current state, he would even dare to challenge Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. "Big Sis Aqua, I used Eagle Eyes and discovered a team of 100 players hiding along the sides of the forest path ahead. Should we circle around them?" Minor Wind asked. Heaven''s Burial''s army was positioned all over the place. The Guild had sealed off practically all of the official paths leading from Saimu Town to Stone Forest Town. However, as the map was quite massive, it was impossible for Heaven''s Burial''s elite army to be everywhere. As long as they moved through the forest, their party could avoid detection. The only problem was that they could attract monsters'' attention. If that happened, they would have to waste a lot of time. However, fighting Heaven''s Burial''s members would similarly put them in a bind. "We don''t have that much time. Moreover, they don''t have a large group. We''ll force our way through!" Aqua Rose decided. "Oh yeah! I was waiting for you to say that!" Minor Wind said, grinning. Minor Wind rendered the other three party members speechless. It was obvious that Minor Wind had purposefully asked that question. The Ranger clearly wanted to test out the Advanced Mana Armor Kits he had recently equipped. Three Advanced Mana Armor Kits provided an increase of roughly 10% to one''s Basic Attributes. To players with excellent equipment like themselves, that was the equivalent of an additional piece of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. "Ready the magic array!" Ghost Shadow commanded upon seeing Aqua Rose''s party of five approach. "Once they are within 50 yards, activate it! Don''t let even any of them get away!" "Leader, rest assured; the magic array has an effective radius of 100 yards. As long as we activate it in time, they''ll have no hope of escape," a Level 40 Elementalist said confidently. When Aqua Rose''s group was within 50 yards of Ghost Shadow''s team, the latter activated their magic array. Suddenly, a red magic barrier that was 30 yards tall and covered a radius of 100 yards appeared in the forest. When active, the Six-star Crimson Array would lock an area within a barrier. It was a Basic Magic Array meant for ambushing enemies. The only way to break free was to attack the barrier and deplete the casters'' Mana. "Charge!" Ghost Shadow shouted in the team chat. Following which, he activated his Stealth Skill and made his way to his targets. Immediately, the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights hidden on either side of the small road took the lead and charged at the enemy''s Mounts, hoping to knock Aqua Rose and her teammates down. Meanwhile, the ranged classes hidden a distance away began to launch one attack after another. 1063 The Power of Five Chapter 1063 - The Power of Five The Rangers, Elementalists, Cursemancers, and Summoners hiding in the forest numbered several dozens. The Spells and arrows they shot out formed a wall that drove towards Aqua Rose''s party, leaving the five with no space to dodge at all. Boom Boom Boom As a series of explosions rang out, dust and dirt went flying into the air. Everyone from the Ghost Shadow Legion felt a strong gust of wind blowing in their faces. It''s over? Daybreak Fog quietly looked at the dust cloud before her in doubt. Did I guess wrong, and these people aren''t Zero Wing''s upper echelon at all? Although their frontal attack had been overwhelming, expert players could simply avoid them altogether rather than receive the attacks directly. After all, ranged attacks were not instantaneous. There was a small time lag between the launching and landing of the Spell. Moreover, there was also the system-provided ballistic prediction lines. "So they''re just a bunch of trash! It seems Zero Wing''s experts only amount to that much after all!" When the Ghost Shadow Legion members saw the rising dust cloud, smug smiles appeared on their faces. However, as the dust cloud dissipated, the faces of those who were still feeling proud of themselves immediately darkened. After the dust settled, what appeared was a large crater in the ground. However, this crater was actually in the shape of a semicircle. At the flat end of this semicircle, as if an invisible wall stood before Aqua Rose''s party, no damage had reached Aqua Rose and the others at all. They actually blocked all those attacks? Daybreak Fog''s eyes turned serious as she took in this unbelievable sight. With a closer look, she could faintly make out a translucent barrier erected before Aqua Rose''s party. A moment later, this barrier shattered like glass, its fragments scattering to the ground before vanishing out of existence. "Violet, this Absolute Barrier of yours really is strong! It actually managed to block off all those attacks. With this, we''ll have to rely on you to block the ultimate moves of Bosses in the future," Minor Wind said, chuckling. "My Absolute Barrier is only a Tier 1 Skill. It can block Tier 2 Skills at most. Right now, it is only useful in fights against other players," Violet Cloud said, shaking her head. Although Violet Cloud had said so, this feat had still dealt an enormous blow to the Ghost Shadow Legion''s mental state. They had considered the possibility that Aqua Rose''s party would directly dodge their attacks. However, they never imagined that the latter would actually be able to receive their attacks straight on. At this moment, Daybreak Fog noticed that the Elementalist standing behind Aqua Rose was in the midst of chanting an incantation. Hurriedly, she shouted, "Not good! Everyone, scatter!" As an Elementalist herself, Daybreak Fog had a deep understanding of the class. Even without the Spell''s magic array taking form, she could tell what kind of Spell it was just through the amount of Mana the incantation was gathering. Even if it was a Spell she was not familiar with, she could still judge the power of the Spell. Meanwhile, Daybreak Fog''s senses were currently telling her that the Elementalist standing behind Aqua Rose was casting a large-scale destruction Spell, and that it was already too late for them to interrupt the Spell. Hearing Daybreak Fog''s reminder, everyone in the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately broke into a sprint. At this time, the alarm bells in their minds were also going off, warning them that they would die if they did not flee. "Don''t you think it''s a little too late to run now?" the Elementalist behind Aqua Rose giggled softly before pointing a finger to the sky. A blue streak of lightning promptly shot towards the clouds. Following which, a gigantic twofold magic array appeared in the sky, covering a 100-yard diameter. In the next moment, the blue magic array shot out a blue pillar of light that directly bombarded the rear line of the Ghost Shadow Legion. Then, the light pillar began expanding in size and devouring the escaping players one after another. Damn it! It''s too fast! Although Daybreak Fog had used Blink to get away, she still could not escape the expanding light pillar. In the end, she had no choice but to use Ice Barrier, becoming immune to all damage. However, her body also couldn''t move as a result. As the light pillar faded, it left a plot of scorched earth in its wake. Black smoke wafted up from the blackened ground. This scene stupefied the Ghost Shadow Legion members standing at the frontlines. This scorched landscape was simply too terrifying. If not for them charging ahead, they would have already turned into ash and dust by now. "Isn''t this a little too strong?!" Minor Wind fell breathless despite himself. "Big Sis Aqua, just what kind of person is your friend?" This was his first time seeing a large-scale destruction Spell that could expand to cover such a large area so quickly. Just this single attack had annihilated over half of the 100-man team before them. "Her?" Aqua Rose looked over her shoulder to give Alluring Smile a glance. Chuckling, she said, "She''s just a battle maniac!" Upon hearing this, Alluring Summer could not help but stretch out her hand and pinch Aqua Rose''s waist. Not only had her friend forcefully dragged her all the way out here, but she also actually called her a battle maniac. "Alright, enough. We don''t have much time to waste here. Let''s hurry up and move!" Aqua Rose said hurriedly as she tugged on her Mount''s reins. At this moment, the members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were already frightened stiff by Alluring Smile''s attack. Although they had seen videos showing large-scale destruction Spells in use, experiencing one in person was something else altogether. When they felt the might of the large-scale destruction Spell, a feeling of helplessness overwhelmed their bodies. "Everyone, get a grip! Large-scale destruction Spells are extremely rare! They can''t possibly have another one! Even if they do, as long as we close in on them, they won''t be able to use it!" Daybreak Fog shouted as soon as her Ice Barrier ended. Although Aqua Rose''s party had caught them off guard, their advantage remained unchanged. Moreover, now, she was even more certain that someone of Zero Wing''s upper echelon was definitely among the party of five. Otherwise, it would simply have been impossible for them to use a large-scale destruction Spell. As long as they managed to hold back these five players, they would have a much easier time conquering Stone Forest Town later on. At Daybreak Fog''s words, everyone from the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately snapped out of their daze. The melee players standing at the forefront started moving once more. Charge! Previously, it was a wall of Spells and arrows that had assaulted Aqua Rose''s party. Now, it was a wall of players. With shields defending them from attacks and the healers in the rear line providing them with heals and protection buffs, even Minor Wind''s arrows could do little against them. At this time, Shadow Sword, who was in front of Aqua Rose, took the initiative, saying, "Let me!" Shadow Sword unslung the blood-red greatsword hanging on his back. This greatsword was the new weapon Shadow Sword had obtained after saving up Guild Contribution Points every way he could. He had even traded in his previous weapon for this greatsword. Meanwhile, this greatsword was none other than the Holy Weapon Shi Feng had obtained from killing the Demonic Ape KingCrimson Moon. Currently, Shadow Sword had already upgraded Crimson Moon to Fine-Gold rank. As a result, his level had dropped to just barely over Level 40. If he were to upgrade the weapon to Dark-Gold rank, his level would fall below Level 35. "He dares to come at us all by himself? Let''s surround him and beat him to death!" Seeing Shadow Sword charging towards them, the melee players of the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately sprang into action. As for the Bronze warhorse Shadow Sword was riding, they paid no attention to it whatsoever. Individually, their power might not be a match for the Bronze warhorse. However, they could easily hold it back if several of them worked together. It would be just like fighting against a Boss monster. Thud! Along with the sound of an impact, three MTs blocked the warhorse Shadow Sword rode. Just as the other melee players were approaching Shadow Sword from both sides "I was waiting for this!" Shadow Sword grinned as he tightened his grip on Crimson Moon. He then abruptly swung it. Whirlwind Slash! Immediately, a crimson storm sent the eight melee players approaching him flying. Even the three MTs blocking the warhorse had to retreat three steps, damage of over -2,000 points appearing above their heads. Such powerful Strength! Daybreak Fog was stunned. The members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were not your ordinary expert. Whether it was in terms of combat standards or weapons and equipment, they were top-notch. Yet, now, Shadow Sword actually beat these powerful experts and sent them flying by as if they were Common monsters. However, the Ghost Shadow Legion members were all experts. After their first assault got repelled, they coordinated their movements even more closely with each other for their second assault. Moreover, with Shadow Sword''s Whirlwind Slash on Cooldown, how was the Berserker going to defend against an attack coming from all sides? "Scram!" Seeing his enemies crowding around him once more, Shadow Sword brandished Crimson Moon again. Unlike the previous attack, Crimson Moon radiated a faint red glow this time, having successfully triggered the Blood Boiling effect. At Fine-Gold rank, the Blood Boiling effect increased Shadow Sword''s Strength by an additional 1,000 points for 12 seconds. With Shadow Sword''s current Strength, even a High Lord of the same level would be no match for him. This time, although Shadow Sword could not attack using Whirlwind Slash, he could use the Active Skill that came with the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Berserkers, Bladestorm. In the next moment, a red storm raged. All players within a 15-yard radius got blown into the air, invisible wind blades cutting their bodies time after time. In the end, these players transformed into streaks of white light and disappeared one after another. Then, weapons and equipment rained down on the ground. 1064 The Few Cannot Fight the Many Chapter 1064 - The Few Cannot Fight the Many "Just who are they?" Daybreak Fog''s eyes stayed glued on the five cloaked figures. She couldn''t guess the identities of Aqua Rose''s party of five at all. Among the information she collected, there were no records of such a powerful Elementalist or Berserker in Zero Wing. Particularly, the Berserker''s Strength was truly incredible! With just a single attack, he had directly killed over a dozen nearby melee playersincluding several MTs with over 20,000 HP. The destructive force of the Bladestorm he used could practically rival the large-scale destruction Spell used by the Elementalist before. With such Strength, how were other players supposed to contend with him? Faring worse than Daybreak Fog, the members of the Ghost Shadow Legion were stunned speechless. Just a meager party of five had killed over half of their Ghost Shadow Legion in mere moments. Moreover, this party of five remained completely unharmed. If they recounted this situation in Heaven''s Burial, nobody would believe them. "Leave that Berserker to me! All melee players, prioritize killing the four in the rear!" Daybreak Fog commanded. Shadow Sword was too powerful. It would be suicidal to have their melee players go up against him. Only a ranged player like herself could possibly pin him down. Obeying Daybreak Fog''s words, everyone promptly avoided Shadow Sword. He was only a Berserker. Even if he wanted to hold them back, he could detain only one or two people at most. The remaining dozen or so players could easily steer clear of him and charge at Aqua Rose and the others. "Get them!" The dozen or so melee players that managed to get past Shadow Sword''s blockade immediately charged at Aqua Rose and the others. When only ten yards separated Aqua Rose''s group and the melee players, over a dozen arrows shot towards the Berserker leading the charge. All the Berserker saw were several streaks of light coming at him. Knowing that he could no longer dodge or block the oncoming attacks, he instinctively raised his battle axe and executed Whirlwind Slash. However, when the Berserker''s battle axe came into contact with the first arrow, the powerful impact forced him to take a step back, causing his body to stiffen momentarily. Following which, the remaining dozen or so arrows struck the Berserker one after another. Every time an arrow hit, the Berserker had to take another step back, his HP decreasing by over 4,000. He even received over -8,000 damage. The healers standing at the rear failed to keep up with the damage. After the fifth arrow struck the Berserker, his body fell powerless to the ground. As for the remaining arrows, the remaining melee players of the Ghost Shadow Legion barely managed to block them. "They''re just arrows, so why do they contain that much power?" At this moment, the legion members eyed the distant Minor Wind in fear. They no longer dared to charge forward recklessly. If they received a concentrated volley of arrows like the Berserker had just now, they would undoubtedly lose their lives. They were no ordinary players. They were experts of Heaven''s Burial. From defending against Minor Wind''s attacks, they fully realized just how frightening the Ranger was. Although it seemed as if Minor Wind had shot these dozen or so arrows very casually, in reality, every one of these arrows was accurately aimed at their blind spotswhich made defending against the attacks extraordinarily uncomfortable. Moreover, their reactions towards such attacks would be slower and delayed compared to defending against other attacks. If they had to go up against five of such blind-spot attacks simultaneously, with their standards, they could defend against three or four of them at most; the remainder would strike home. Of course, if they had to receive only one or two attacks, they would not mind at all. After all, they had healers who could quickly patch up the damage they received. However, the power contained within Minor Wind''s arrows was extraordinary. As melee players, after they defended against one arrow, they would no longer have any power to spare to block the remaining attacks. With such a powerful Ranger backing up Aqua Rose''s party, quickly approaching the party was simply impossible. Just as Minor Wind was suppressing the melee members of the Ghost Shadow Legion, four figures suddenly appeared behind Aqua Rose''s group of four. "Die!" With Ghost Shadow in the lead, four Assassins stabbed their daggers at Aqua Rose''s group of four practically simultaneously. Ambush! Anyone struck by this Skill would be placed in a Fainted state for two seconds. To expert Assassins like them, two seconds were more than enough for them to kill an MT of the same level, not to mention non-plate armor classes. Seeing this scene, Daybreak Fog smiled. While she acknowledged that Aqua Rose and the others were indeed very powerful, the Ghost Shadow Legion members were no weaklings, either. The commands she had shouted were simply a feint. Her motive for doing so was to divert the attention of Aqua Rose''s group of four to allow Ghost Shadow''s Assassin group to display its fullest effect. As long as the four ranged players died, dealing with Shadow Sword would be a simple matter. At this time, Aqua Rose shouted, "Thorn Bind!" Thorn Bind was a Tier 1 Curse. When activated, it would immediately restrain all enemies within a 20-yard radius with thorny vines for four seconds. Moreover, these thorns would connect with the HP of the bound target. If the target tried to forcefully break free of their bindings, they would receive a corresponding backlash. Green vines swiftly emerged from the ground one after another with Aqua Rose as the center. In the blink of an eye, the vines bound all four Assassins. "Not good! Everyone, avoid them!" At this moment, Ghost Shadow also realized that they had fallen for a trick. He activated Vanish right away and disappeared from everyone''s eyes. The other three Assassins also activated their Vanish Skill without hesitation, rendering the bindings of the vines ineffective. After Ghost Shadow''s group disappeared, Violet Cloud used Soul Cloud[1], promptly sending attacks flying in all directions. Dang Dang Dang Along with a series of clashing sounds, Ghost Shadow''s group of four appeared once more. "Soul Cloud! So you''re Violet Cloud!" After Ghost Shadow defended against all the attacks, he glared at the cloaked Violet Cloud, intense fighting spirit blazing in his eyes. She had similarly defeated him previously at the Trial Tower. This time, he would not allow a repeat. However, immediately after Violet Cloud''s attack, Alluring Summer used Flame Barrage and attacked the four Assassins from their blind spots. As if the three women were of one mind, their coordination was seamless. Ghost Shadow managed to use his daggers to block the oncoming fireballs, but the other three Assassins failed to do so, opening a gap in their defense. Seizing this opportunity, Violet Cloud immediately controlled her Soul Cloud to bombard the three Assassins with black balls of Mana. If they were simply dealing with normal magical attacks, these expert Assassins could still defend against quite a few, even though their stance was not ideal. However, Violet Cloud''s Soul Cloud was extremely lively and flexible. Her attacks always managed to change directions abruptly at crucial moments. In the end, the three Assassins could only block a small portion of the oncoming attacks and promptly lost their lives to the barrage. Only Ghost Shadow, with his nimble footwork and accurate judgment, was able to defend against the black Mana balls. However, the more he fought, the more shocked he grew. "How can this Spell be so powerful?!" The power of the Soul Cloud Violet Cloud controlled was simply overwhelming. In terms of Strength, the Spell was practically equal to him. Meanwhile, he was wielding Epic Weapons. What was even more shocking was Violet Cloud''s ability to control the Spell. Her level of control had clearly already entered the Refinement Realm! This discovery astounded Ghost Shadow. Previously, when he had encountered Violet Cloud, he could tell that she was still far from reaching the Refinement Realm. Yet, just after a short time, not only had she entered the Refinement Realm, but her understanding of the realm had even achieved a considerable standard. She could not only control such a large number of attacks but also manipulate them with ease. As Ghost Shadow was dealing with Violet Cloud''s attacks, Aqua Rose and the others were assisting the girl from the sides as well. This support applied considerable pressure on Ghost Shadow. If he went one-on-one against Violet Cloud, he was still confident of defeating the girl. However, Violet Cloud had three experts with extremely high Basic Attributes surrounding her. Continuing to fight would only be a waste of energy. Right now, he needed to get away from this place first before launching another assault. Following which, Ghost Shadow activated Wind Steps and began retreating. "Don''t even think about getting away so easily!" Violet Cloud smiled faintly. She then used Star''s Guidance on the retreating Assassin. Immediately, Ghost Shadow felt a powerful force pulling him towards Violet Cloud. Reacting quickly, he used a Control Removal Skill. However, during Ghost Shadow''s momentary pause, a white arc of lightning pierced through his chest. Following which, Aqua Rose, Minor Wind, and Violet Cloud''s attacks bombarded the Assassin one after another. The four people killed Ghost Shadow instantly. 1065 War Erupts Chapter 1065 - War Erupts Ghost Shadow''s death was like the straw that broke the camel''s back. The moment he died, the other members of the Ghost Shadow Legion immediately fell into a panic, the momentum they had from before vanishing completely. The dozen or so melee players that originally were still rushing forward stopped cold, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at Aqua Rose''s group of four. The reason why their legion was named the Ghost Shadow Legion was all because of Ghost Shadow''s existence. If even someone as strong as Ghost Shadow got killed, what could they possibly do now? Looking at the current situation, Daybreak Fog gnashed her teeth as she reluctantly commanded, "Retreat!" Although she was unwilling to acknowledge their defeat, if this fight continued, it would only end with their total annihilation. Rather than gift their enemies with more equipment, they would be better off withdrawing. "Big Sis Aqua, they''re running away. Should we give chase?" Shadow Sword asked eagerly. He still had not had his fill of fighting. The battle this time was truly exhilarating. Or to put it in another way, he never had so much fun before. He felt as if he were in a dream right now. None of the Ghost Shadow Legion members were weaklings. Through his battle with these people, he could tell that they possessed bountiful combat experience and extremely high combat standards. Unfortunately for them, his combat experience still surpassed theirs. In the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system, he had fought against all kinds of experts. Although the Refinement Realm experts there bullied him to no end, these fights allowed him to develop a penetrating insight. As a result, he could easily see through the weaknesses of attacks on the level of the Ghost Shadow Legion members. With that insight added to his huge advantage in Basic Attributes, killing the experts of Heaven''s Burial was as easy as chopping up vegetables. Previously, he had been wondering whether or not he had improved at all. After all, no matter how many battles he fought in the simulation training system, they always ended with his defeat. Now, however, after tangling with these expert players, he finally realized just how much he had improved. "No need. Heaven''s Burial''s members are everywhere. If we let them surround us, we''ll have to waste even more time. Our priority right now is to reach Stone Forest Town," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head as she watched Daybreak Fog''s group remove the magic barrier and escape into the forest. Following which, Shadow Sword and the others swiftly collected their loot before getting back on their Mounts and hurrying towards Stone Forest Town. Shortly after Aqua Rose left, several Assassins appeared from the forest. These Assassins did not bear any Guild Emblems on their persons. They were all independent players who were planning on sneaking to Stone Forest Town to observe the upcoming war. The first siege war in Star-Moon Kingdomone which pitted Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s joint army of 300,000 elite players against Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, Zero Wingwas a major event. If they did not personally witness this war, they would surely regret it for the rest of their lives. Only, due to them coming across Aqua Rose''s party on their way to Stone Forest Town, they decided to follow after the party and take a look at what the party was up to. However, they never imagined that they would actually encounter such an expert battle on their journey. "Did you guys record everything?" "Do you take me for a fool? Of course, I''ve recorded everything! What about your side?" "Relax, I didn''t miss out any of the exciting moments!" "Our luck is really good! I never thought that we would come across such a fight. Zero Wing''s members are too cool! Just five of them managed to go up against a team of 100 experts! I really wonder, just how strong are those five people? If I can become as strong as any one of them, I wouldn''t have wasted my time playing God''s Domain." "Alright, enough dreaming. Let''s hurry up and post these videos on the forums. This message will definitely shock everyone!" Following which, these several Assassins posted their recorded videos on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Moreover, they even gave their post a very eye-catching title. Five Zero Wing experts shockingly massacre Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man expert team! Published along with this post were several video clips showing the fight between Zero Wing and the Ghost Shadow Legion from several different angles, the videos thoroughly reproducing the entire battle from before. As soon as the post was published, it immediately created a commotion in Star-Moon Kingdom. Nobody would''ve ever thought that a measly five people would be able to turn the tables on an encirclement of 100 experts. Moreover, they had even done so in such an overwhelming manner. Whether it was the weapons, equipment, Skills, or coordination of these five Zero Wing members, all were aspects that inspired everyone''s admiration. Particularly, Alluring Summer''s large-scale destruction Spell made the blood of all the viewers boil with passion. In addition, there was Shadow Sword with his horrific Strength. The fight was truly an unforgettable one. "This is simply inhuman! Over half a team of 100 experts were killed just like that! Who in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly stop Zero Wing now?!" "Hooray for Zero Wing!" "It seems Blackwater will have trouble taking down Stone Forest Town this time!" Due to the appearance of these videos, many players who initially did not have an optimistic view of Zero Wing''s prospects were stupefied. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds that were happily and eagerly anticipating Zero Wing''s fall could not help but start reevaluating Zero Wing''s strength now. However, the ones most affected by these videos would still have to be Zero Wing''s members. Previously, they all thought that Stone Forest Town was finished. However, after seeing at the performance of Aqua Rose''s party of five, they finally understood the views that their Guild Leader, Black Flame, advocated. Quality was much more important than quantity! Due to this reason, Zero Wing had always walked the path of the elite. Zero Wing might not be a match for Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial in terms of member count, but in terms of player quality, Zero Wing was definitely superior. Was it amazing to have a lot of people? Zero Wing only needed five people to trample over 100 experts! While everyone was discussing this topic on the forums, Singular Burial had an extraordinarily chilling expression on his face. "Kill them! I want them all killed! Notify the teams in hiding! Think of a way to stop them! Once their whereabouts are discovered, gather at their location right away!" Singular Burial commanded angrily. Originally, he had dispatched the Ghost Shadow Legion and Daybreak Fog precisely because he was worried that the regular experts couldn''t take down Zero Wing''s members. Now, however, Heaven''s Burial had become the biggest laughingstock of Star-Moon Kingdom. Those were 100 experts! The team even had apex experts such as Daybreak Fog and Ghost Shadow leading it. He found it truly hard to accept that Daybreak Fog and the others would lose so miserably. However, from the battle video, Singular Burial was able to clearly identify two of the five players. One was naturally Violet Cloud, whom Ghost Shadow had also identified, while the other one was Aqua Rose. If the Cursemancer leading the party wasn''t her, then Singular Burial truly could not figure out which Cursemancer in Zero Wing had the qualifications to command Violet Cloud. As long as they managed to hold back Aqua Rose, not only would they be able to repay the humiliation they suffered, but taking down Stone Forest Town would also be a piece of cake. Nevertheless, after watching the battle video, Singular Burial felt a deep chill crawling down his spine. Zero Wing''s experts were improving much too quickly. The rapidity of their improvement was to the point of being staggering. Only after paying a huge price did Heaven''s Burial manage to nurture a batch of experts. However, compared to Zero Wing''s experts, those experts Heaven''s Burial nurtured were practically garbage! If so many apex experts had already appeared in the current Zero Wing, if they really gave Zero Wing a little more time, then the consequences would be unimaginable. Unfortunately for Heaven''s Burial, its pursuit and interception mattered very little to Aqua Rose and the others. Their speed when riding Mounts was unmatchable by players running on foot. Moreover, the Mount Aqua Rose rode was a Secret-Silver Mount. In the end, the party of five managed to arrive at Stone Forest Town safely, and they promptly began commanding Zero Wing''s members in Stone Forest Town to take the appropriate defensive measures. As time went by, the atmosphere in Stone Forest Town also grew increasingly more oppressive. The usual liveliness in the streets was no longer present. To avoid getting dragged into the war, many players had chosen to leave Stone Forest Town and observe the battle from a distance. Only some daring players remained in town. "Big Sis Aqua, the Magic Tower has just sensed a large number of creatures approaching Stone Forest Town! By the looks of it, they should be those monsters!" Violet Cloud reported, her complexion slightly pale. The map displayed by the Magic Tower showed a swarm of creatures heading towards Stone Forest Town, the exact number incalculable. "So they''ve finally arrived." Aqua Rose, who stood atop the town''s defensive walls, turned to look into the distance. She knew plenty regarding this upcoming war. Rather than the player armies of Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial, their true enemies were the endless number of monsters. "Immediately notify the Guild Leader!" Inside the distant White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng was still desperately making the magic array scrolls for the Double Protection Magic Array and Divine Beast''s Descent. "They''ve arrived already?" After receiving the message, Shi Feng had to stop his actions, a slight frown appearing on his face. Blackwater''s monster army had arrived much sooner than he expected. He immediately used a Return Scroll to teleport to the city''s Teleportation Hall, then took a teleportation array to Saimu Town. 1066 Black Flame Appears Chapter 1066 - Black Flame Appears Standing at the top of Stone Forest Town''s Magic Tower, Aqua Rose and her companions noticed dust clouds rising in the distance as they finished taking care of the town''s defense. Upon closer inspection, they would discover swarms of monsters beneath the dust. "How can there be so many monsters?!" Blackie watched the black patch approach Stone Forest Town from a distance, shock filling his heart. It looked as if a swarm of locust was advancing on the town. Blackie wasn''t alone in his surprise. All players that witnessed this scene were frightened. Although they had seen high-level monsters before, this was the first time any of them had seen so many high-level monsters moving as a unit. The earth even shook as the monsters moved. Players were nothing in front of these monsters. These monsters were all Level 60 and above. Moreover, they were, at the very minimum, Elite rank. There were also plenty of massive Chieftains, Lords, High Lords, Great Lords, and Grand Lords that were over 30 meters tall. "Crap, what are those?!" Minor Wind cried out after using Eagle Eyes, which enhanced his vision far beyond that of normal players. Currently, ordinary players could only see the batch of monsters in the lead. They couldn''t see the three one-eyed monsters that were over a hundred meters tall walking behind the monster army. "Minor, what''s wrong? What''s got you so scared?" Aqua Rose asked curiously. "Mythic Mythic monsters!" Minor Wind stuttered, his complexion paling. "There are three of them!" To current players, Mythic monsters were insurmountable. They were the equivalent of Tier 4 classes among players. Currently, the strongest monsters players would encounter were Grand Lords. Even then, Grand Lords required a lot of planning and sacrifice to raid, not to mention Mythic monsters. Everyone already discovered that a Level 60 Mythic monster resided in Black Ridge Town. They were forced to realize just how powerless they were against such an existence. Even 10,000 players were nothing in front of the Mythic monster. All three Mythic monsters were Level 65. They were even stronger than the Mythic monster in Black Ridge Town. "How can this be? Wasn''t there only supposed to be one of them?" Aqua Rose frowned. To ensure their victory against Blackwater''s Mythic monster, she had used her connections to obtain five Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. She had even negotiated with the Secret Pavilion and traded a large amount of Tier 3 Gemstones for three Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. With eight Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, they should be able to pin down a Mythic monster. Yet, now, there were three of them "Big Sis Aqua, Blackwater''s vanguard has arrived," Minor Wind reported. "There seem to be 50 of them, and the leader looks like Blackwater''s Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave! Pantheon''s members are also with them!" Ordinary players needed to run for over ten hours to reach Stone Forest Town. However, players could reach the town in around four hours on Mounts. As soon as Minor Wind announced the incoming army, everyone saw over a dozen massive magic arrays appear in the distant sky. As these massive magic arrays began to gather a frightening amount of Mana, monsters that were around 20 to 30 meters tall emerged from these magic arrays. "Why do they have so many Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls?!" Blackie could not help but panic. Zero Wing had only obtained eight of such scrolls after much difficulty, yet Blackwater had easily prepared a total of seventeen Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. Moreover, unlike the monsters in the monster army, players controlled these summoned creatures. The threat they posed to Stone Forest Town far surpassed that of an ordinary Great Lord. Standing atop a hill some distance away from Stone Forest Town, Abandoned Wave and Peerless, the commander of Pantheon''s various legions for this war, laughed as they watched the monster army before them. "Against so many monsters, even an NPC city would fall. I want to see how Zero Wing deals with this." Abandoned Wave revealed a confident smile. "Brother Wave, you are too excited. How can an NPC city possibly be that easy to raid? Just the Level 200, Tier 4 NPC stationed in the city could easily obliterate us several times," Peerless said, rolling his eyes at Abandoned Wave. However, he had to admit that the monsters Abandoned Wave had called forth were incredibly powerful. With current players'' strength, it was impossible to defend against these monsters. "I was only joking," Abandoned Wave laughed. "However, even now, Black Flame hasn''t shown himself. I''m guessing that Zero Wing has already given up on Stone Forest Town." "That shouldn''t be the case. Stone Forest Town is Zero Wing''s goldmine. Unless absolutely necessary, they won''t abandon it," Peerless said sternly. "Let''s hope that''s the case, then. That way, I''ll get to use some of the trump cards I worked hard to prepare," Abandoned Wave casually replied. To assure his victory in Stone Forest Town, he had planned very carefully. No matter how Zero Wing struggled, Stone Forest Town would eventually belong to Blackwater. Star-Moon City region, Saimu Town. Inside the second-floor VIP room of a high-class bar Twenty people had gathered inside this room. These people were all Level 40 or higher. Moreover, they were all Assassins. As for Fire Dance, this group''s leader, she was Level 44. "Guild Leader, you really don''t need us to go over and help?" Fire Dance worriedly asked as she watched the cloaked Shi Feng enter the room. She already understood the gist of the situation due to Aqua Rose. To put it simply, Stone Forest Town''s situation was grim. Over 200,000 monsters surrounded Stone Forest Town. Moreover, the lowest-leveled monster among them was Level 60. There were even plenty of Chieftains, Lords, and Great Lords in the mix as well. The measly 20,000-plus elite Zero Wing members, NPC soldiers, and guards stationed in Stone Forest Town were not enough to deter this army. These monsters acted under the command of a player. To better-capture Stone Forest Town, the player controlling these monsters would be close to the battlefield. If their team of Assassins could eliminate that player, the monster army would fall into disarray. This would make it easier for Zero Wing''s members to defend the town. "No. I have another task I need you all to do," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then took out ten silver magic scrolls and dozens of Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, handing them over to Fire Dance. "The silver magic scrolls are Probing Scrolls. They can sense all monsters within a 3,000-yard radius. Your task is to find the anchor points for the magic array sealing the Stoneclaw Mountains. These anchor points are easy to find. As long as you see a large gathering of monsters, I''m 90% certain that it''ll be an anchor point. "However, Blackwater''s people are not fools. They will have heavy security there. It is also very difficult to destroy those anchor points. When destroying them, use these Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Once the seal lifts, our people can teleport to Stone Forest Town in droves." After issuing his instructions, Shi Feng used Space Movement to reach Stone Forest Town. Shi Feng''s sudden appearance immediately attracted everyone''s attention in the town. Shi Feng had already used the Demon Mask to disguise himself as Black Flame. Even if people tried not to pay attention to him, the horrific aura he radiated made it difficult to ignore him. "That is the Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Alluring Summer could not help but size up Shi Feng in surprise. Not only was the man Level 44, but just by standing there, his aura resembled that of a prehistoric beast. Despite such a huge distance separating them, alarms sounding off in her mind, warning her of her imminent demise. "He has arrived?" Abandoned Wave quickly received news of this matter. Sneering, he said, "So what?" As Shi Feng reached the top of the Magic Tower, he placed his hand on the massive crystal ball. "Activate Battle Mode!" 1067 Cutting Edge Chapter 1067 - Cutting Edge The instant Shi Feng activated the Magic Tower, an aqua-blue magic array appeared above the tower. A semi-transparent, protective barrier then appeared around Stone Forest Town, enclosing it within. "What''s going on?" "What is that?" Despite standing so far from Stone Forest Town, both Abandoned Wave and Peerless could clearly feel the sudden change. If the town had previously been a harmless, sleeping sheep, then now, the town felt like a waking beast. "Guild Leader, our spies have just reported that all of Zero Wing members within the town have received a 15% boost to their Basic Attributes. The damage they deal has also been increased by 20%, and their Movement Speed has increased by 15%!" Laughing Drunkard, who stood beside Abandoned Wave, announced. "How can there be such a huge increase?" Peerless frowned when he heard the news. "It seems that it''ll take some more time to finish them off." After reaching their level, even a 5% Attribute increase would massively increase a player''s strength, not to mention a 15% increase. Moreover, there was the 20% increase in damage dealt and 15% increase to Movement Speed. Such improvements were enough to raise the standards of elite players to a whole new level. After factoring in the coordination between players, the rise in the combat power of Zero Wing''s members would be even more intense. The sudden development doubled the difficulty of raiding Stone Forest Town. "So, that''s why Zero Wing hasn''t sent for reinforcements. They still have such a hand to play. Unfortunately, monsters are their opponents this time, not players. This small buff would only make a difference if they had to face other players." Abandoned Wave chuckled. Although the sudden development had surprised him considerably, the situation was still within his control. "In any case, this is a good opportunity to show Black Flame that all of his efforts are futile." "That''s right. They have only gained an additional buff. Against so many powerful monsters, one meager buff would not change the overall situation," Peerless nodded in agreement. Chuckling, he continued, "I''ll have to count on Brother Wave for the next step." "Leave it to me. You can just sit back and watch the show." Abandoned Wave then gave the command to start the assault on Stone Forest Town. He ordered the monsters to attack the town from all sides. When players raided a town, in order to minimize losses, they would generally launch a powerful assault on a single location. However, these players were not concerned about the monsters'' deaths. Hence, they could launch an all-around assault without worry, making Stone Forest Town even harder to defend. As the monster army began to circle the town, the Zero Wing members inside the town grew nervous. The monsters assaulting the town were different from the monsters they normally fought in the fields. These monsters possessed considerably high intelligence, and even elite players of the same level might not necessarily win against the Elite monsters in a one-on-one battle. Furthermore, they were dozens of levels lower than these monsters and were outnumbered by ten-to-one. Although the Magic Tower had significantly boosted their Attributes, when compared to the monsters'' Attributes, this increase was not worth mentioning "Guild Leader, can we win?" Even Aqua Rose''s confidence wavered. It would''ve been fine if their opponents were simply players. Now, however, seeing the black clumps of monsters come at them from all sides, even she felt somewhat nervous. Zero Wing was clearly understaffed. There were only around 20,000 elite members in Stone Forest Town right now. After splitting them up around the cardinal points, each side only had around 5,000 members protecting it. "We can only try," Shi Feng quietly responded. "How is the construction of the Magic Towers coming along?" "The foundations have been completed. Only the core magic patterns need to be drawn," Aqua Rose reported. "Good. Lead the Dark Gods Legion and deal with the Great Lord rank and above monsters first. Utilize all of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls to pin down the Mythic monsters. Have the town''s firepower focus on the monsters below Great Lord rank. After that, we have to endure for as long as possible. Once Fire Dance''s group completes their mission, the tides of war will shift to our favor!" Shi Feng instructed. Immediately, he made his way towards the Magic Towers that were still under construction. Magic Towers had become mainstream defensive buildings in towns and cities because of their outstanding defensive capabilities. Not only did they possess a Mana Pulse Cannon with great destructive power, but they could also increase local players'' Attributes. Meanwhile, the Attributes increases would change depending on the number of Magic Towers present. Of course, the maximum effect would be achieved with three Magic Towers. With three Magic Towers, players would receive a 30% boost to their Basic Attributes. This was why the various large Guilds in the past had actively constructed Magic Towers in the towns and cities they operated, going so far as to construct three Magic Towers in important towns and cities. As a precaution, Shi Feng had tasked Aqua Rose with spending all of the money they had earned from selling the Lands around the teleportation house to purchase the Magic Tower''s construction materials. They then built two more towers in Stone Forest Town. With three Magic Towers defending the town, even against so many high-intelligence monsters, they were not without a chance of victory. As for the Magic Towers for Shi Feng''s future city, he had no choice but to think of another means of defense. After all, if he could not even protect Stone Forest Town, he could never defend a city. "Charge!" Under Abandoned Wave''s command, the monster army roared angrily as they charged at Stone Forest Town. "Is this Blackwater''s strength?" "Stone Forest Town is truly finished this time. Even the NPC guards won''t be able to hold back so many powerful monsters!" The players observing the war from the sidelines were stunned by the tsunami of monsters rushing at Stone Forest Town. They no longer harbored any hope that Stone Forest Town would survive this war. The difference between each side''s strength was obvious at first glance. The various large Guilds'' upper echelons, who watched the war via a live stream, were similarly stupefied. Who in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly stand up against this army of 200,000 monsters? It was suicidal to try to fight these monsters! "Big Sis Aqua, they''re coming!" Blackie gulped nervously. "Good! Focus the Defense Turrets and Magic Tower''s attacks on the monsters below the Great Lord rank!" Aqua Rose commanded as she watched the approaching monsters from the top of the town''s wall. Immediately, the four Defensive Turrets situated around the town rang, the explosive shells they fired flew straight into clumps of monsters before exploding. The Elite monsters caught within the explosions died on the spot. Each of the four explosive shells killed over a hundred monsters. Unfortunately, while the Defensive Turrets could damage monsters above Elite rank, they could not kill them outright. "Hahaha! Although the Defensive Turrets are powerful, it''s a pity that their range is too small!" Abandoned Wave could not help but laugh when he saw that only several hundred monsters had died in the initial blast. He had previously thought that the Defensive Turrets would, more or less, pose a threat to his monster army. Now, however, it would seem that his worries were unnecessary. In the next moment, the tip of the Magic Tower fired a rainbow-colored beam towards the sky. Immediately, the clouds refracted the beam towards the monster army, shocking everyone. When the rainbow beam struck, it swept through the monster army. Everywhere the beam passed, massive flames erupted. All monsters below Lord rank were vaporized. As for the Lords that had survived, they had less than half of their HPs remaining. When the rainbow beam eventually disappeared, over 3,000 monsters had vanished with it. A large, empty space had appeared in the midst of the densely packed monster army 1068 Double Protection Barrier Chapter 1068 - Double Protection Barrier As the light from the Magic Tower dissipated, every player in Stone Forest Town fell silent. A single attack had extinguished the lives of over 3,000 Level 60 and above monsters. This was far more terrifying than any large-scale destruction Spell they had ever seen. In fact, it wasn''t just Zero Wing''s members who were stunned. Even Abandoned Wave and Peerless, who watched the war from a distance, wore dark, tense expressions. "Why does the Magic Tower have this kind of ability?" Abandoned Wave frowned as he looked at the empty space in the middle of the battlefield. "In one attack, it heavily injured Lord ranked monsters. Zero Wing really knows how to hide its strength." Among the 200,000 monsters, the majority consisted of monsters below Lord rank. Only a small minority consisted of Lord rank and above monsters. The firepower of a single Magic Tower could already rival the attacks of ten Defense Turrets. "That attack is already as powerful as a Tier 4, large-scale, destruction Spell. Based on my understanding of God''s Domain''s tools, this kind of attack should have a very long Cooldown. Even so, I no longer think that it''s possible to take Stone Forest Town down in a short time. If we don''t think of a way to deal with that Magic Tower as soon as possible, I''m afraid that our casualties will be severe," Peerless commented as he looked at the towering Magic Tower in the distance. "However, the Magic Tower''s attacks are somewhat clumsy. If players or agile monsters were charging into the town, I doubt that the Magic Tower would be as effective. If we send some agile monsters, we should be able to destroy it." "Although losing the Magic Tower will be unfortunate, we have to remove it to minimize our losses." Abandoned Wave nodded, agreeing to Peerless''s suggestion. Immediately, he barked in the team chat, "Drunkard, have the Tier 3 summoned creatures assault the Magic Tower! Think of a way to destroy it as quickly as possible!" "Guild Leader, rest assured; I will destroy that Magic Tower!" Laughing Drunkard confidently replied. They had a total of seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures on their side. Although those summoned creatures were only Level 55, much weaker than the Level 60+ Great Lords in the monster army, players were in full control of these summoned creatures. With the speed of Tier 3 summoned monsters, dodging the Magic Tower''s monotonous attacks would be a piece of cake. Quickly, Laughing Drunkard and his subordinates directed the seventeen summoned creatures to move out. Every one of the Level 55 summoned creatures had 50,000,000 HP. Including their battle recovery, even if they stood still and did nothing, players would need a lot of time to kill them. There were also seventeen of these creatures to contend with. Normally, these seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures would be more than enough to destroy a town. The moment the Tier 3 summoned creatures moved, they attracted the distant, spectating players'' attention. "Blackwater is amazing! That''s seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures!" "Crap! I recall that, during the last major war in the Stoneclaw Mountains, the Star Alliance had only summoned two of these monsters!" "As expected of the Blackwater Corporation. A Tier 3 Summoning Scroll is even more expensive than an Epic item. Even then, it is near-impossible to buy one. I suspect that even Super Guilds only have several on hand." "Watching such a spectacular battle with my own eyes is awesome! Most likely, even those apex experts looming over God''s Domain aren''t strong enough to participate in such a battle." "Indeed. It seems I did not waste my time making this trip to Stone Forest Town. The videos I''ve watched showing other Guild wars around God''s Domain cannot compare to this." "Zero Wing''s era is really coming to an end!" When the spectating players saw the summoned creatures, which stood over 20 meters tall, charge towards Stone Forest Town, goosebumps rose all over their bodies. The seventeen summoned creatures had very high Movement Speeds. Moreover, unlike ordinary monsters, they could change directions nimbly. The summoned creatures could easily dodge the Defense Turrets and the Magic Tower''s attacks. However, just as the summoned creatures were about to reach the town''s walls, a semi-transparent magic barrier appeared around the entire town. The summoned creatures crashed into the magic barrier, one after another, and were unable to proceed a step further. "Guild Leader''s protection barrier is so strong!" Blackie exclaimed, astonished. It had stopped the charge of seventeen Great Lord ranked monsters! Any normal magic barrier would''ve shattered under the might of these monsters, yet the Double Protection Barrier remained intact. Aqua Rose, who stood atop the Magic Tower, was similarly overjoyed. Previously, she had worried that the magic barrier would not hold off these monsters and believed that Shi Feng had been joking when he said that it could. She had never thought that the barrier would be this powerful. Not only weren''t there any cracks in the magic barrier that needed to be repaired, but the players maintaining the barrier also had all of their Mana. At this rate, the barrier could easily support its own recovery without any additional Mana. "A magic barrier?" Laughing Drunkard sneered. "Do you think you can hold us off with that?" Following which, Laughing Drunkard''s group controlled the summoned creatures to start a fierce assault against the semi-transparent magic barrier, ignoring the attacks Zero Wing''s elite members launched from within. Although Zero Wing''s members were very well-equipped, against Level 55, Tier 3 summoned creatures, the level suppression limited their attacks to around -1,000 damage. This was even with the Magic Tower''s buff. Otherwise, their attacks would only deal around -600 damage. With each attack only dealing around -1,000 damage, even with three or four hundred players attacking simultaneously, each wave of attacks would only shave off three or four hundred thousand HP. Furthermore, the summoned creatures had their battle recovery, which allowed them to generate 1% of their HP every five seconds. Even if Zero Wing''s elite members attacked freely, it would take a very long time before any of the summoned monsters fell. However, it was a different story for the magic barrier. The magic barrier used players'' Mana. The more damage the barrier took, the more Mana it consumed. If the players maintaining the barrier ran out of Mana, the magic barrier would crumble. With the power of their seventeen Tier 3 summoned creatures, it would take less than ten seconds to bring down the magic barrier. Deafening explosions shook the magic barrier, one time after another. Even those standing several thousand yards away could hear the explosions clearly. They could also see various attacks bombarding the summoned creatures, rapidly depleting their HPs. Five seconds Ten seconds Twenty seconds Even after thirty seconds of constant attacks, the magic barrier showed no signs of cracking. On the contrary, the seventeen summoned creatures had lost over ten million HP each. "This won''t do! Everyone, use your ultimate moves!" Laughing Drunkard yelled, grinding his teeth. Tier 3 summoned creatures possessed their own ultimate Skills. However, the Cooldowns were very long. He intended to save these Skills to take down the Magic Tower. Unfortunately, at this rate, the summoned creatures'' HPs wouldn''t outlast the magic barrier. Immediately, the seventeen summoned creatures released mighty roars as they began to concentrate their power, Mana rapidly gathering around these creatures claws. However, before these creatures could attack the magic barrier, five purple-gold magic barriers appeared and enveloped the seventeen summoned creatures. The instant these magic barriers took form, the summoned creatures suffered a 40% Attribute decrease, their maximum HPs dropping to 30,000,000. When the creatures Skills struck the purple barriers, although the barriers shuddered, they held. "How is this possible?!" Laughing Drunkard''s lips twitched as shock and confusion filled his gaze. Meanwhile, before anyone realized it, five Miniature Ballistas had appeared above the town walls, and all five were already aimed at the summoned creatures. "Kill them all!" Aqua Rose swung her hand forward fiercely. 1069 Mythic Chapter 1069 - Mythic With Aqua Rose''s command, the five Miniature Ballistas atop the town walls fired an arrow each. The five arrows were extremely fast, even faster than the Magic Tower''s Mana Pulse Cannon. From afar, one would only see five streaks of blue light shooting through the magic barrier, flying towards the Tier 3 summoned creatures. So fast! Laughing Drunkard, who controlled one of the summoned creatures, was surprised. His expert instincts kicking in, he willed his summoned creature to sidestep. In the critical moment, his summoned creature dodged the incoming arrow by a hair''s breadth. Boom! When the arrow struck the ground, the immense power within it carved out a crater that was twenty meters in diameter C the arrow embedded itself deep into the ground. Although Laughing Drunkard''s summoned creature had managed to dodge the Miniature Ballistas'' attack, his four companions'' creatures had not. Four summoned creatures had been nailed to the ground, each of their HPs dropping by one million. This amount of damage might not be much to a Level 55 Great Lord, but the arrows would pin their targets down for several seconds after they hit. This put the Great Lords, which possessed the advantage of speed, at a disadvantage. "Again!" Aqua Rose commanded once more. Before anyone realized it, the Miniature Ballistas, which had just launched their arrows, were already reloaded. Immediately, the players controlling the ballistas fired another volley of arrows at the Tier 3 summoned creatures. Seeing the arrows fly at the summoned creatures once again, Laughing Drunkard''s complexion paled. He had never imagined that the Miniature Ballistas would possess such a high attack rate. "Dodge the arrows! Use everything you have to attack the barrier!" Laughing Drunkard hurriedly ordered. While their summoned creatures were trapped inside the purple-gold barriers, not only were they given limited space to dodge the oncoming arrows, but they had also been significantly weakened. If they did not break free from these magic barriers, they would become live targets for the five ballistas. Although Laughing Drunkard had not made the wrong decision, he did not know that the magic array trapping their summoned creatures was the Nine-star Polar Domain, an Intermediate Magic Array. This particular array could even suppress Mythic monsters. Great Lords were not strong enough to free themselves from it. Exactly how powerful were Mythic monsters? They could rival major cities'' ruling NPCs. As Tier 4 monsters, all of their Skills were also Tier 4. These Skills were many times stronger than Tier 3 Skills. However, the Nine-star Polar Domain could withstand Mythic monsters'' fierce assault for a considerable amount of time, much less the attacks of Tier 3 summoned creatures. For a time, the seventeen summoned creatures were little more than practice targets for the five Miniature Ballistas as the arrows repeatedly nailed them to the ground. Zero Wing''s elite members also bombarded them with attacks, rapidly decreasing their HPs. After a short moment, two of the summoned creatures died. This scene stupefied the players observing the battle. Generally, it took a 100-man elite team led by an expert to raid Great Lord ranked monsters. If one encountered a Great Lord that possessed powerful AOE attacks, even a legion of 1,000 elites wouldn''t be strong enough to raid it. Now, however, Zero Wing rendered them helpless "Brother Wave, it seems that Zero Wing has prepared extensively. Do you need Pantheon to join the fray?" Peerless asked, chuckling at Abandoned Wave. "Thank you for your concern, Brother Peerless, but this small variable is not enough to put a dent in my plans." Abandoned Wave rejected Peerless''s offer. Following which, he notified the true controller of the monster army and asked softly, "Can you instruct the three Mythic monsters to join the battle?" Originally, he had only intended to use the monster army to eliminate the town''s exterior defenses and probe Zero Wing for hidden trump cards. After defeating every Zero Wing member outside of Stone Forest Town, he would then lead Blackwater''s elite army to capture the town. Although the monster army was very powerful, if these monsters entered the town, they would lose any hope of capturing it. The monsters would pollute the town with the Evil Energy they released. Players could not remain in an environment polluted by Evil Energy for any length of time. As a result, even if Blackwater secured Stone Forest Town, it would be useless unless they gave up their humanity as the monster army''s controller had. Either that or they would have to exterminate these monsters'' true creator. Obviously, neither of these options were viable. As for Pantheon, they had long since agreed that, before Blackwater dealt with Stone Forest Town''s defenses, Blackwater would not require Pantheon''s assistance. If Pantheon were asked to take action, Blackwater would have to split a portion of Stone Forest Town''s shares with Pantheon. Hence, he could only rely on the Mythic monsters to free him from this predicament. If possible, Abandoned Wave would rather avoid employing the three Mythic monsters. Although the Mythic monsters were incredibly strong, they were very difficult to control. Even the true controller could only issue general instructions. If a mistake occurred, it was highly possible that these monsters would charge into Stone Forest Town and wreak havoc. Hence, he had hoped to utilize the Tier 3 summoned creatures to destroy the Magic Tower. Unfortunately, that wasn''t going to work. With the protection barrier around Stone Forest Town, none of the monsters could proceed into the town. Even the Grand Lords were no exception. With the Defense Turrets and Magic Tower''s rampant attacks, the monster army suffered immense losses. If they did not break this stalemate, their Tier 3 summoned creatures would be annihilated. At that time, he would be forced to pay an even greater price to destroy the Magic Tower. "There are no problems on my side. However, if I force them, these three Mythic monsters won''t be nearly as strong," the mysterious, bandaged youth explained. "No problem. With the Mythic monsters'' strength, even if they are significantly weakened, they are still far stronger than Grand Lords. I refuse to believe that they can''t shatter a magic barrier!" Zero Wing''s magic barrier frustrated Abandoned Wave. This protection barrier had transformed Stone Forest Town into a sturdy fortress. In addition, the Magic Tower was on the offensive. The strength Zero Wing had displayed so far exceeded his expectations. "Rawrr!" Soon after, deafening roars echoed across the battlefield from behind the monster army. These roars shook the ground, and everyone turned towards the source of the sound. Three massive figures, standing over a hundred meters tall, gradually appeared. The Grand Lords, which were over thirty meters tall, looked like infants before these three towering monsters. [Evil Earth Dragon] (Dark Creature, Mythic) Level 65 HP 150,000,000/150,000,000 Everyone gasped when they saw the Evil Earth Dragons'' information, their eyes nearly falling from their sockets. Despite watching the monsters from afar, they involuntarily trembled, and fear filled their hearts. "Guild Leader, Blackwater has dispatched its three Mythic monsters. What should we do now?" Aqua Rose asked nervously as she watched the approaching Evil Earth Dragons. Mythic monsters! To current players, they were invincible. Although the Mythic monsters'' HP was only slightly higher than Grand Lords, the difference between their strengths was like the difference between heaven and earth. Once monsters reached the Mythic rank, they would unlock their Domains. Inside the Domain, not only would players'' Attributes be suppressed, but they would also be subjected to a powerful mental oppression. Even displaying 40% of their normal combat power would be a miracle. Moreover, players'' Stamina consumption would greatly increase. The battle in Black Ridge Town was the best example. The battle in Black Ridge Town had allowed everyone to realize just how frightening Mythic monsters were. Even an army of tens of thousands of players would have to turn tail and run from a Mythic monster 1070 Incarnation of Disaster Chapter 1070 - Incarnation of Disaster Mythic monsters? Shi Feng, who was currently drawing the magic patterns for the Magic Tower, frowned upon hearing this. Although he had known that Blackwater had dispatched three Mythic monsters, he hadn''t expected the piling pressure he felt when it was time to face them. God''s Domain''s players had yet to truly understand Mythic monsters. What they had seen in the battle in Black Ridge Town was only the tip of the iceberg. However, Shi Feng had fought Mythic monsters many times in the past. While Mythic monsters'' Domains were indeed powerful, their high intelligence and combat standards were the true dangers. In God''s Domain, aside from special cases, most monsters would only start developing high intelligence after reaching Tier 3. In other words, this was a concern after monsters became Great Lords. At that stage, monsters would be more difficult to deal with. They would often act in unexpected ways. Situations such as monsters ignoring MTs and going for the rear line healers occurred when one dealt with monsters at this rank. In these situations, the MTs combat experience would be put to the test. Not only must MTs attract the Bosses'' aggro, but they must also hold the Bosses'' attention. As for DPS classes, they had to do the opposite. When attacking, they had to make sure they attracted as little attention as possible. This was why Shi Feng had the Guild''s core members learn Void Steps. Even the weakest Mythic monster was as intelligent as an ordinary human. In addition, their combat standards were roughly equal to ordinary experts. Using the Trial Tower as a measurement, their combat standards should put them on the fourth floor. Hence, if players wanted to defeat a Mythic monster, they needed at least a team of 100 Tier 2 elite players of the same level. Right now, the 20,000 Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town wouldn''t even serve as a proper warm-up for the three Level 65 Mythic monsters. Fortunately, Shi Feng had hired plenty of Tier 2 NPC guards. The NPCs should be capable of holding the monsters off for awhile. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Alluring Summer and asked, "Summer, how are things on your side?" Before he had arrived to finish the Magic Towers'' construction, he had handed the magic array scrolls he had made to Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer. Among them, Aqua Rose was tasked with managing the Nine-star Polar Domain and Double Protection Barrier, while Alluring Summer was tasked with the Divine Beast''s Descent. Unlike the other two magic arrays, the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array required 88 Summoners to recite the predetermined incantation simultaneously to summon a Divine Beast. The requirement was much higher than ordinary Summoning Scrolls. Generally, players needed a lot of practice before they could pull off the summoning. In addition, the summoned Divine Beast lacked intelligence. It required a player''s control. Due to time constraints, Shi Feng only produced one set of Divine Beast''s Descent Scrolls and one set of Double Protection Barrier Scrolls. Among those currently in Stone Forest Town, Aqua Rose was needed to command the overall situation, Violet Cloud was a healer, while Alluring Summer outshined everyone else''s combat standards. Hence, Shi Feng had decided that Alluring Summer should control the summoned Divine Beast. "They''ve mostly familiarized themselves with the summoning procedure. I shouldn''t have many issues either," Alluring Summer replied nervously. Despite having recently joined Zero Wing, she had never thought that she would actually get to participate in such a large war so soon. Solo battles were her bread and butter. Even one-versus-many situations were not unusual for her. However, facing three Mythic monsters by herself was definitely the craziest thing she had done in God''s Domain. Inwardly, though, she looked forward to the upcoming battle. Based on the fact that Shi Feng had left such an important task for a newcomer like her, she could tell how highly he valued her. Moreover, Aqua Rose had personally recommended her for the task. Regardless of the circumstances, she needed to perform well in the upcoming battle. "Alright, I''ll leave it to you, then. I''ll have Aqua''s team summon Tier 3 creatures to assist you," Shi Feng said, trying to comfort Alluring Summer when he saw the woman''s tense expression. Alluring Summer might not be a match for Violet Cloud or Fire Dance, but with her current standards, she should have no problems controlling a Divine Beast. Moreover, she would also have help from the Magic Tower. As the three Evil Earth Dragons moved closer to Stone Forest Town, the players in the town grew increasingly tense. Aqua Rose had the Guild''s experts use the eight Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls they had gathered. However, compared to the three Mythic monsters, the eight creatures looked like children. Despite their massive sizes, the Tier 3 summoned creatures did not even reach the Evil Earth Dragons'' knees. It felt as if the Earth Dragons would kill the summoned creatures with one stomp. "Eight Tier 3 summoned creatures?" Abandoned Wave, who watched from afar, sneered. "So, this is Zero Wing''s trump card?" "That''s quite impressive, actually. Even first-rate Guilds only manage to get their hands on two or three Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. At this point, Zero Wing is roughly as strong as a first-rate Guild overall. The Guild has already surpassed my expectations by acquiring eight of these scrolls," Peerless commented, relatively surprised by Zero Wing''s foundations. Even a Super Guild like Pantheon had only obtained twenty Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls so far. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was only an upstart Guild that controlled White River City and Stone Forest Town. It was hard to imagine how the Guild had secured such resources. "Zero Wing''s foundations are indeed shocking. Unfortunately, the difference between us is too vast. It is fated that they will fail to defend Stone Forest Town," Abandoned Wave laughed. He did not oppose Peerless''s views. Unfortunately, eight Tier 3 summoned creatures were barely enough to pin down one Evil Earth Dragon. How was Zero Wing going to deal with the remaining two? Following which, one of the three Evil Earth Dragons charged at one of the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Arrays. The Defense Turrets and Magic Tower couldn''t land an attack on the nimble Earth Dragon. In the next moment, the Mythic monster stretched out one of its massive claws and slashed at the purple-gold magic barrier. Boom! The instant the claw collided with the magic barrier, a wide tear appeared in the sturdy barrier Meanwhile, the nine players maintaining the attacked barrier lost one-fifth of their Mana pool on the spot. This scene shook Zero Wing''s members. Even Aqua Rose was surprised. Even when the numerous Tier 3 summoned creatures had attacked the barrier, they hadn''t inflicted any significant damage. However, a single attack from the Evil Earth Dragon had nearly crumbled the barrier. The Mythic monster was even stronger than they had imagined. So sturdy! The bandaged man controlling the Evil Earth Dragons was slightly surprised by this outcome. Although he had taken control of the Evil Earth Dragons, decreasing its combat power significantly, the monsters'' power was still at the Mythic rank. If one of these monsters attacked a Basic Magic Array, it could shatter the array with one attack, yet even after the onslaught of three Evil Earth Dragons, the purple-gold barrier remained. The Mythic monsters had only torn the barrier. Moreover, the tear was quickly mending. I want to see how many hits this magic array can withstand! Immediately, the bandaged man controlled the Evil Earth Dragons to attack again. Peng Peng Peng After receiving a series of claw attacks, the Nine-star Polar Domain shattered, transforming into particles of light before vanishing. The four summoned creatures trapped within the barrier were released. As another Evil Earth Dragon was about to attack another Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array, a massive, golden magic array appeared above Stone Forest Town, enveloping nearly half of the town. "What''s that?" "A summoned creature?" Everyone could not help but look up. Before they realized it, a hundred-meter-long golden dragon appeared in the sky. The dragon''s wings stretched over four hundred meters. With a light flap, the golden Dragon sent a wind storm through Stone Forest Town. The strong wind nearly threw the players in the town to the ground. "A Dragon!" "How is this possible?!" "Isn''t that a legendary creature?" "Why has a Dragon appeared in Stone Forest Town?!" Everyone''s jaws fell open when they saw the golden Dragon. Dragons were considerably famous in God''s Domain. They were the image of power and destruction. Moreover, there were very few of them. When these creatures appeared, disaster followed. 1071 Mythic versus Mythic Chapter 1071 - Mythic versus Mythic "Why has a Dragon suddenly appeared?" When Abandoned Wave, Peerless, and Blackwater and Pantheon''s other upper echelons saw the dazzling, golden Dragon appear above Stone Forest Town, they were shocked. Dragons were legendary creatures. Even if one tried to find a Dragon, it was nearly impossible. Yet, one such creature had appeared in a small town like Stone Forest Town. It was inconceivable. "Could this besomething that Zero Wing has summoned?" Peerless frowned as he thought of this possibility. However, he was not certain of this answer. How rare were Dragons? It was simply impossible to come across one in Stone Forest Town coincidentally. The only possibility was that Zero Wing had summoned it. Those who had heard Peerless''s guess wore ugly, twisted expressions. According to what they had learned from various libraries, even the weakest Dragon was a Tier 5 creature. Moreover, due to their life ratings being extremely high, they were practically invincible among existences of the same tier. It would be a trifling matter for a Dragon to annihilate their army of 200,000 monsters. The Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons were no exception. "What are you worried about? Do you know how powerful an actual Dragon is? Do you think Zero Wing is really capable of summoning a Dragon?" Abandoned Wave coldly asked as he glanced at his worried subordinates. "Look closely! That is merely a summoned creature! It isn''t a true Dragon! It only has the shape of one!" Hearing this, everyone used their Identification Skills on the golden Dragon. [Divine Dragon] (Elemental Creature, Mythic) Level 60 HP 200,000,000/200,000,000 "An Elemental Creature?" Peerless muttered. Although its name contained the word "Dragon," it was an Elemental Creature instead of a bona fide Dragon. This hinted that this Divine Dragon only looked impressive, but lacked real worth. It did not possess an actual Dragon''s power. It was like the Evil Earth Dragons, where they were called "Dragons" but were Dark Creatures that did not possess the power of the Dragon race. Its life rating was no different than an ordinary monster. "Although I don''t know how Zero Wing managed to summon this Mythic monster, if they think they can defend Stone Forest Town with one Mythic monster, they are making a huge mistake." Abandoned Wave watched the Divine Dragon with contempt. He then gave his subordinates a command, saying, "Bring it out. Let''s widen Zero Wing''s horizons! We''ll show them that they aren''t the only ones with siege tools!" Hearing this, Abandoned Wave''s subordinates exploded into action. Shortly after, three Gnome Cannons appeared beside Abandoned Wave. Peerless was momentarily stunned when he saw these cannons. Why does Blackwater have these? Pantheon possessed Gnome Cannons as well. However, they were extremely difficult to manufacture. Even when they had allowed their Guild''s Chief Engineer to make them, the latter''s success rate was only 10%. In addition, due to the rarity of the materials and plenty of effort, Pantheon had only manufactured six Gnome Cannons. Each of these cannons was easily worth as much as one or two Epic items. Pantheon treasured its six Gnome Cannons. Even when they raided Towns, they refused to use them, afraid that they would accidentally damage or destroy them. He had never imagined that Blackwater would have three of the cannons as well. In terms of destructive power, the Gnome Cannon might not be a match for the Magic Tower. However, it could compare to the Defense Turret. Unfortunately, its firing rate was not as high as the Defense Turrets. However, its advantage lay in its maneuverability, unlike the Defense Turrets, which had fixed positions upon construction. Hence, they were considerably useful in a siege battle. The Gnome Cannons'' Passive Skill, in particular, could deal double damage against constructions and magic barriers. "Fire at will! I want to see how long their magic barriers can last!" Abandoned Wave commanded. Originally, he had not wanted to expose the Gnome Cannons. However, after all was said and done, the Divine Dragon was a Mythic monster. If the Evil Earth Dragons were at their peak, they might be able to put up a fight against the Divine Dragon. Unfortunately, the monsters'' combat powers were weak right now. If he had only sent one Evil Earth Dragon up against the Divine Dragon, the former would be overwhelmed. If that happened, the Divine Dragon would wreak havoc among the monster army. The losses they would suffer would be tremendous. Before this, he had signed a contract with the bandaged man, stating that he would compensate the latter for the monsters he lost. He could deal with the compensation for the monsters below Lord rank. However, if Lord or above monsters died, even he would feel a sting. For safety''s sake, he needed two Evil Earth Dragons to pin down the Divine Dragon. He would then have the last Earth Dragon attract the attention of Zero Wing''s summoned creatures. This way, Zero Wing would have no way to prevent Blackwater''s summoned creatures from rampaging inside Stone Forest Town. However, before they had the opportunity to use the Gnome Cannons, an explosion blasted above them. With a violent flap with its wings, the Divine Dragon appeared before the Evil Earth Dragon that was about to attack the Nine-star Polar Domain. It then whipped its tail at the Evil Earth Dragon''s pitch-black scales. Boom! The attack sent the massive Evil Earth Dragon flying. Not only had it been thrown away from the Nine-star Polar Domain, but its HP bar had also decreased by a visible chunk. The Divine Dragon''s strength surpassed everyone''s imaginations. The independent players watching the battle from a safe distance gaped in shock. Despite both being Tier 4 Mythic monsters and the Evil Earth Dragon being five levels higher than the Divine Dragon, the latter easily sent the former''s titanic figure flying However, the Divine Dragon''s controller, Alluring Summer, was more surprised than anyone. "Is this the power of a Mythic monster?" At this moment, Alluring Summer''s body had merged with the Divine Dragon. One could say that the Divine Dragon and Alluring Summer were one right now. The power the Divine Dragon wielded was intoxicating. This was the first time Alluring Summer had experienced such destructive power. Even high and mighty Grand Lords were trifling existences in front of her. She felt like she could easily annihilate those Grand Lords with a single wave of her hand. Seeing this, the other two Evil Earth Dragons brandished their claws against the Divine Dragon. One had to admit that the Evil Earth Dragons'' attacks were seasoned and accurate. They struck at the Divine Dragon''s blind spots. Moreover, the two Earth Dragons coordinated their attacks very well. If the Divine Dragon tried to block one of the Earth Dragons, it would fail to block the other. Yet, contrary to expectations, even when the Earth Dragons'' claws were about to strike the Divine Dragon, the latter remained motionless. It did not attempt to dodge or block the incoming attacks. "Is the Divine Dragon not listening to commands?" Aqua Rose wondered. If a problem occurred with the Divine Dragon now, this war was as good as over. Dang! In the next moment, the Evil Earth Dragons'' claws slammed into the Divine Dragon''s body. However, their claws only left behind several white marks on the latter''s golden scales; the attacks did not penetrate the Divine Dragon''s scales. As for the damage the Divine Dragon received, compared to the Divine Dragon''s 200,000,000 HP, it was not worth mentioning. If one did not pay close attention, they might not even notice the change to the Divine Dragon''s HP bar. "Impossible!" At this moment, Abandoned Wave''s calm vanished, his mouth hanging open as he watched. Why was there such a massive difference between the Dragons, despite being monsters of the same tier? Every player that witnessed this fight was stupefied. They even began to wonder if the Evil Earth Dragons truly were the demons that had annihilated tens of thousands of players in Black Ridge Town. 1072 Tier 4 Curse Chapter 1072 - Tier 4 Curse While Abandoned Wave and the others were shocked over the Divine Dragon''s Defense, under Alluring Summer''s command, the Divine Dragon began its counterattack. The Divine Dragon''s tail tore through space as it whipped at the two nearby Evil Earth Dragons. "Rawrr!" The two Evil Earth Dragons possessed high intelligence. Knowing that the Divine Dragon''s attack packed an extraordinary amount of power, they roared angrily as they swiped their sharp claws at the approaching tail. Boom! The instant claws and tail collided, a loud crash resounded throughout Stone Forest Town, the resulting shockwave sending all nearby players and monsters flying. At the same time, like kites with cut strings, the two Evil Earth Dragons were sent flying hundreds of yards away. When they landed, their bodies slammed into the ground, instantly killing dozens of Elite monsters. Atop the Magic Tower, Aqua Rose''s expression shifted from worry to joy. The Divine Dragon was so strong! Despite the Evil Earth Dragons also being Tier 4 Mythic monsters, they couldn''t even parry the Divine Dragon''s attack. With this strength, the Divine Dragon could easily suppress all three Evil Earth Dragons. Combined with the strength of their magic arrays and Tier 3 summoned creatures, they could definitely defend Stone Forest Town. Every Zero Wing member in Stone Forest Town brimmed with confidence once again. With the Divine Dragon and the Magic Tower holding down the fort, raiding Stone Forest Town became several times more difficult for Blackwater. The army of 200,000 monsters had become nothing more than a treasure trove of EXP. "Why is it so powerful? Could it really be a member of the Dragon race?" Abandoned Wave frowned. "No wonder why Zero Wing is so fearless. They have a card like this to rely on." The Divine Dragon''s power astonished Peerless as well. If not for him witnessing this battle personally, he wouldn''t have known that players were capable of summoning such powerful monsters. With a single Divine Dragon, the tides of the war had shifted in Zero Wing''s favor. "Brother Wave, are you ready to reconsider?" Peerless turned to Abandoned Wave. "If you let Pantheon join the battle and save those trapped summoned creatures, removing the Magic Tower and Defense Turrets shouldn''t be a problem. However, if you let this situation drag on, soon, even Pantheon won''t be able to guarantee our victory." "Fine; you can join the fray!" After hesitating for a few moments, Abandoned Wave agreed to Pantheon''s assistance. Although the three Gnome Cannons had bombarded the purple-gold magic barriers, their attacks, at most, caused the barriers to ripple. It was impossible to destroy the barriers quickly. Furthermore, now that the Divine Dragon protected the Nine-star Polar Domains, the Evil Earth Dragons could get close enough to save the Tier 3 summoned creatures. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before their Tier 3 summoned creatures died. If that happened, it would be far more difficult and costly to take down the town''s defenses. "Alright, boys, you heard him!" Pantheon announced, laughing. "However, Brother Wave, you mustn''t forget our agreement." "Of course. As long as you help me destroy Stone Forest Town''s Magic Tower and Defense Turrets, you''ll receive every share that I''ve promised you," Abandoned Wave said, nodding. He was curious about Peerless''s confident tone. What methods did Pantheon possess? To take down Stone Forest Town, he had sacrificed much to gain the bandaged man''s cooperation. The seventeen Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls hadn''t been easy to obtain either.. Even then, he hadn''t been able to shake Stone Forest Town''s foundations As soon as Abandoned Wave said so, a team of twenty players appeared behind Peerless, startling Abandoned Wave. All of these twenty players wore Black Cloaks. They radiated cold, dense killing intent, causing the nearby players to shiver involuntarily. So strong! Laughing Drunkard was inwardly shocked as he glanced at the twenty players that had suddenly appeared. Among these twenty players, quite a few felt extremely dangerous. If not for these people exposing themselves, Laughing Drunkard suspected that there was over an 80% chance that these people could kill him before he realized what had happened. Meanwhile, each of these Assassins retrieved a light gray Magic Scroll from their bags. Individually, these Magic Scrolls could not compare to Tier 3 Magic Scrolls'' quality. However, when all twenty were lined up, the Mana fluctuations they released instilled a deep fear in everyone''s hearts. "What are those?" Abandoned Wave asked curiously. "A magic array that rivals a Tier 4 Curse," Peerless introduced, laughing. "We obtained them from some temple ruins we raided. We sacrificed over one hundred thousand players to conquer those ruins. I''m willing to bet that this is the only set available throughout God''s Domain right now." "You guys raided temple ruins?!" Abandoned Wave could not help his surprise. There were many temple ruins throughout God''s Domain. The Gods had constructed these temples as centers for their worship. They all housed extremely valuable treasures. However, despite the passing of time and the destruction of a large portion of these temples, the temple ruins were considerably dangerous. These ruins'' core areas, in particular, were known as forbidden zones. Death was almost certain for any player who ventured into these ruins. Even so, many Guilds in God''s Domain willingly raided these temple ruins. Temple ruins were different from Dungeons. Dungeons limited the number of players that could enter at a time, and the requirement of each player''s strength was incredibly high. Temple ruins, on the other hand, did not have such limits. Any number of people could enter at the same time. Moreover, the treasures one could obtain were far better than Dungeons. In fact, over 70% of the Epic items the various Super Guilds had obtained had been found in temple ruins. Blackwater had found some severely damaged temple ruins. However, even after sacrificing tens of thousands of players, they had no hope of surviving the ruins'' core. In the end, they had been forced to give up. Abandoned Wave had never imagined that Pantheon had succeeded where Blackwater had failed. "Let''s begin!" Pantheon commanded. "Understood!" The twenty Assassins unfurled their Magic Scrolls and began to chant the recorded incantation. As the Spell activated, the twenty Magic Scrolls formed a massive, gray, threefold magic array directly above the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Arrays. The unnatural flow of Mana interrupted Shi Feng''s concentration as he put the finishing touches on the two new Magic Towers. He couldn''t help but turn towards the gathering of Mana. Space Smasher?! Shi Feng was stunned. How do they have that?! Space Smasher was a Tier 4 Curse. It also needed an Advanced Magic Array to cast. Unlike ordinary Curses, it had a much longer casting time. However, the area it enveloped was much larger, being able to deal a devastating blow to everything within a 300-yard radius. Tier 3 players could easily dodge such Curses. However, against an immobile target, the Curse could be tremendously effective. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng shouted through the Guild chat, "Everyone, get out of the magic array''s effective area immediately!" Unfortunately, Shi Feng''s warning served little purpose. Space Smasher covered too wide of an area. Aside from the players near the array''s edges, no one could avoid the incoming Spell. Boom! Immediately, space shattered within the affected area. Pitch-black spatial tears of various sizes appeared and moved about the magic array. When these spatial tears encountered the Nine-star Polar Domains, the latter''s magic arrays shattered. The Double Protection Barrier, which was also within Space Smasher''s range, disintegrated as well. Without exception, the spatial tears killed every player still in its affected area. As for the monster army, only Grand Lords survived the Curse. Even then, they lost over half their HPs in the attack. As for the Tier 3 summoned creatures, they had not received fatal damage as the Nine-star Polar Domains took the brunt of the attack. However, now that there were no more players, NPC guards and soldiers, or magic arrays in their way, these Tier 3 summoned creatures could easily storm Stone Forest Town. "Excellent!" Abandoned Wave was ecstatic. "Destroy Stone Forest Town''s fortifications!" 1073 Town Defense Chapter 1073 - Town Defense Seeing the release of the remaining thirteen Tier 3 summoned creatures, the joy Zero Wing''s members previously enjoyed made a 180 turn. If they only had to face the Tier 3 summoned creatures, they were confident of their success. After all, this was not their first time killing Great Lord ranked monsters. Moreover, they had 20,000 elite players on their side. Defeating these monsters would be a trifling matter. However, the true problem lay in the disappearance of the magic barriers that had protected them Now, they were forced to take on an endless army of monsters. "All MTs, move forward! Assist the NPCs and hold off the monsters! Don''t let any of them enter the town!" Aqua Rose hurriedly commanded. Previously, they had the Double Protection Barrier to mitigate the monsters'' damage. The most they lost was some Mana. As long as they replaced the players maintaining the barrier, they could hold out for a long time with little effort. However, that plan was no longer viable. Suddenly, a Level 60 Great Lord massacred one of the Level 40 MTs standing at the forefront. The healers in the back had not even had a chance to save the player. If not for the Level 60-plus, Tier 2 NPC guards and soldiers blocking the Great Lords, the monsters would''ve charged into the town. Unfortunately, this stalemate would not last long. Although Zero Wing had mass-recruited NPCs to defend Stone Forest Town, due to the town''s Popularity, they hadn''t been able to recruit a lot of powerful NPCs. In addition, due to Stone Forest Town''s small size, they could only recruit a maximum of 1,000 NPC guards. Among them, a portion consisted of Tier 1 NPCs ranging between Level 60 and Level 70. As for Tier 2 NPCs, there were less than 100. Tier 2 NPCs were only about as strong as Lord ranked monsters. However, as NPCs knew how to cooperate and monsters did not, they could display greater combat power. However, the Lords Aqua Rose could see outnumbered the Tier 2 NPCs by ten-to-one. There were also as many Great Lords as Tier 2 NPCs Even Tier 2 NPCs could not fend off such a monstrous lineup. Zero Wing suffered over 600 casualties during the monster army''s initial charge, and the death count continued to increase. Despite the Magic Tower and Defense Turrets continuous bombardment, they couldn''t slow the casualty rate. "Drunkard, ignore the summoned creatures and guards'' blockade! Regardless of the cost, I want that Magic Tower and those Defense Turrets destroyed!" Abandoned Wave commanded. While he had joined hands with the bandaged man to exhaust Stone Forest Town''s living forces, the main reason for their cooperation was to take down the town''s fortifications. If Stone Forest Town lost its fortifications, Blackwater''s forces could overwhelm Zero Wing in both quantity and quality when his elite army arrived. It would be child''s play to take the town. "Guild Leader, leave it to me!" Laughing Drunkard licked his lips before directing his Tier 3 summoned creature to circle Zero Wing''s summons and NPC guards, charging straight towards the Magic Tower. At the end of the day, Blackwater''s summoned creatures outnumbered Zero Wing''s. The latter had no hope of blocking the assault fully. Currently, the Evil Earth Dragons had the Divine Dragon pinned down. Zero Wing wouldn''t dare take the battle into the town, which is exactly what they hoped for. With this, his summoned creatures only had to face Zero Wing''s members. With his skills and the Tier 3 summoned creatures'' Attributes, it was practically impossible for Tier 1 players to stop him. "Block it!" Aqua Rose shouted. Although Aqua Rose had issued the directive, if a Great Lord ranked monster wanted to run, there wasn''t much Tier 1 players could do to stop it. Moreover, this monster had the awareness of an expert. It could easily dodge the majority of the attacks against it. Even if an attack struck, the damage was negligible to a Tier 3 summoned creature. With incredible speed, the Tier 3 summoned creature only needed a few moments to reach the Magic Tower. "Zero Wing, you''re finished this time!" Bloodthirst and excitement flashed in Laughing Drunkard''s eyes as he looked at the looming Magic Tower. Without the Magic Tower''s protection, Zero Wing''s fate was as good as sealed. Boom! In a single attack, a crack appeared in the Magic Tower''s sturdy wall. If not for the magic patterns'' bugger, Laughing Drunkard would have achieved his goal with that attack. "This thing''s quite sturdy, but how many hits can it take?" Ignoring the surrounding players'' barrage, Laughing Drunkard blasted the Magic Tower with attacks. With each attack, more cracks snaked along the wall. After a few hits, the Magic Tower started to tremble. Meanwhile, seated in a high-class bar in Saimu Town, a man and a woman watched the live stream of the war in Stone Forest Town. "It seems that this war will end soon," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing. "However, I truly underestimated Zero Wing''s foundations. Even first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds would have to take a joint attack by Blackwater and Pantheon seriously. Pantheon was even forced to use the only Tier 4 Curse it had. Although Zero Wing has lost this war, it is a glorious defeat." "It''s truly a pity. I thought that I would get to see Black Flame fight Pantheon''s experts. However, it seems that this siege war will end before that happens," Purple Jade commented disappointedly. Stone Forest Town''s peril was obvious at first glance. Regardless of whether Black Flame appeared or not, the outcome would not change. Once the Magic Tower fell, Zero Wing would no longer have the power to resist Blackwater''s invasion. Rather than prolong the fight, as Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame would try to save the Guild from further losses. "Alright, it''s about time we prepare as well," Yuan Tiexin said as he withdrew emotionally. Turning to Purple Jade, he said, "Thanks to Blackwater, we now understand just how powerful the Magic Tower can be. As long as the Secret Pavilion obtains its own, the status quo among God''s Domain''s super powers will have to change." The Magic Tower''s strength had exceeded Yuan Tiexin''s expectations. Not only could it attract players, but it could also fortify a town. If the Secret Pavilion had the Magic Tower, they could develop more towns. They would not have to worry about lacking manpower for their towns'' defense. "Hm?!" However, just as Purple Jade was about to turn the live stream off, she noticed something. Hurriedly, she shouted for Yuan Tiexin, who was about to leave the room, "Uncle Yuan, something''s not right! Look at the sky above Stone Forest Town!" Confused, Yuan Tiexin turned to look at the screen, and immediately, he was stunned. A massive, dark-blue magic array had appeared above Stone Forest Town, enveloping the town. Moreover, due to this magic array, Mana surged into the town, filling the sky with shimmering colors. It looked like an aurora of light, but more beautiful. "What''s going on?" Laughing Drunkard unconsciously froze as he looked at the sky. Even he shuddered with fear at the Mana gathering rate and the array''s effective area. "We finally made it." Shi Feng took a deep breath. 1074 Turning the Tables Chapter 1074 - Turning the Tables "This is" Quickly, Laughing Drunkard noticed that at another two Magic Towers had appeared in the town. The two new Magic Towers were positioned to form a triangle with the Magic Tower before him, and there seemed to be a faint connection between the three constructs. "How has Zero Wing obtained three Magic Towers?!" Jealousy filled Abandoned Wave and Peerless, who watched from afar. Even when the Divine Dragon had been summoned, they hadn''t envied Zero Wing. They had already witnessed the Magic Tower''s effects personally, so they knew just how powerful the construction was. A Super Guild or first-rate Guild would only need to dispatch a fraction of its forces to defend a town with a Magic Tower. Obviously, such a powerful, valuable construction was not easy to build. Yet, Zero Wing had constructed three Magic Towers in one town. "Extravagant! Zero Wing is simply too extravagant!" Despite his ability to control himself, Yuan Tiexin could not help but curse as he stared at the new Magic Towers. Stone Forest Town''s magic barrier had already been destroyed, and Blackwater''s Tier 3 summoned creatures were inside the town. It was a waste to complete more Magic Towers. With two Magic Towers, one could operate two towns with a player population of one million! Now, at best, these two additional Magic Towers could eliminate some monsters. It would not affect the overall situation at all. Zero Wing would have been better off selling these Magic Towers to the Secret Pavilion. "Hmph. Even if you have two more Magic Towers, it is futile," Laughing Drunkard snorted disdainfully. Were the magic barrier protecting the town still present, he might''ve feared the three Magic Towers. Previously, dodging the Magic Tower''s attacks had been relatively easy. However, if three Magic Towers attacked simultaneously, he wouldn''t escape the attack''s range in time. Meanwhile, the Magic Towers possessed the destructive power of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Even a Tier 3 summoned creature would suffer under such a bombardment. After receiving a few hits, his summoned creature would be heavily injured, which would decrease its combat power. In the end, he would not be able to destroy the Magic Towers. However, Stone Forest Town no longer had a magic barrier to protect it, and Zero Wing had no way of hindering his summoned creature in the town. Even destroying ten Magic Towers wouldn''t be difficult, much less three. "Shatter!" Laughing Drunkard then used his summoned creature''s Tier 3 Skill, Wind Ripper. In the next moment, wind-type Mana gathered around the creature''s claws, forming a tornado that was over 50 meters tall. Wind Ripper was the summoned creature''s strongest Skill. Although the Skill had a one-hour Cooldown, generally, summoned creatures could only exist for three hours. It''s over! Aqua Rose felt her heart grow cold as she watched the tornado, which was even taller than the Magic Tower, spin toward her. Boom! When the tornado crashed into the Magic Tower, dust and dirt flew into the air. Laughing Drunkard revealed a wicked smile. "Huh? This This is impossible!" However, when Laughing Drunkard turned to the tower after the dust cleared, he was stunned. As the dust settled, the Magic Tower stood before him. Although the cracks had widened, they were gradually mending. This was the most astonishing thing Laughing Drunkard had ever seen. Even Aqua Rose, Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, was flabbergasted. Previously, the summoned creature''s normal attacks had shaken the Magic Tower, yet after receiving a Tier 3 Skill, not only hadn''t the tower crumbled, but it also began to regenerate slowly. "I won''t let you recover!" Laughing Drunkard succumbed to madness as he controlled his summoned creature to strike the Magic Tower once more. However, despite the creature''s bombardment, the cracks didn''t widen. On the contrary, the cracks decreased. Shi Feng, who stood in a distant Magic Tower, could not help but laugh and shake his head as he watched Laughing Drunkard''s crazed assault. How foolish! As the mainstream defensive structure during God''s Domain''s later stages, the Magic Tower had its own unique qualities. Otherwise, wouldn''t capturing a town or city during the game''s mid-late stages have been a piece of cake for Tier 4 or 5 experts? If that were the case, why would anyone have bothered to construct these Magic Towers? As long as another Magic Tower was within range, the towers'' Defense would increase significantly. The Magic Towers would reach their peak when five were within range. Moreover, due to the magic patterns on the tower, it would automatically gather the surrounding elemental Mana to repair itself. The number of Magic Towers near each other would also affect this trait. Now that Stone Forest Town had three Magic Towers, the structures might not hold up against Tier 4 Mythic monsters for long, but they would have no problems against Tier 3 monsters. "How can this be?!" Abandoned Wave could no longer sit still. "Everyone else, help Drunkard! I want those Magic Towers destroyed!" If they failed to destroy the Magic Towers and allowed the defensive structures to attack freely, their army of 200,000 monsters would be massacred before they could annihilate Zero Wing''s 20,000 elites. Without nearby healers with the Resurrection Skill, players generally needed half an hour before they would automatically resurrect. However, their monsters would not revive; their deaths were permanent. Abandoned Wave''s angry bellow increased the pressure on the dozen or so players who controlled the Tier 3 summoned creatures. Hurriedly, they began to push through the encirclement of NPCs and players and charged forward to join Laughing Drunkard at the Magic Tower. Previously, as Laughing Drunkard had already broken through the encirclement, they had thought they could leave the Magic Tower and Defense Turrets'' destruction to him. However, the situation had changed. Even if they had to endure the attacks from Zero Wing''s Tier 3 summoned creatures, they had to break free and reach the Magic Towers. A few moments later, two more half-HP summoned creatures broke free and arrived to help Laughing Drunkard attack the Magic Tower. Seeing this, Shi Feng had to admit that their plan was somewhat effective. However, the addition of the two summoned creatures only served to slow the Magic Tower''s recovery rate; the structure took no additional damage. As the three summoned creatures madly bombarded the tower, Shi Feng appeared behind them. "Has Black Flame lost his mind?! He''s approaching three Tier 3 summoned creatures!" Yuan Tiexin wore an astonished expression as he stared at the Shi Feng on the screen. Tier 3 summoned creatures under player control were no trifling matter. Only ranged players had any chance against them. Melee players would simply seek death if they tried to take these monsters on. As she watched, Purple Jade was also confused. Although she had an inkling of Black Flame''s intentions, it was ludicrous! With his identity as a Guild Leader, it was unlikely that Black Flame would do such a thing. "Black Flame?" Upon seeing Shi Feng, Laughing Drunkard sneered as he said, "I''ve been looking for you! To think you would actually show yourself before me! Die!" Saying so, Laughing Drunkard sent his summoned creature''s claw slamming towards Shi Feng. Although Laughing Drunkard couldn''t fully display his combat standards due to controlling another body, he still pushed his summoned creature into the Half-step Refinement Realm. No Tier 1 player could cope with his explosive speed. "So fast!" Aqua Rose, who watched from a safe distance, gasped. In the blink of an eye, the summoned creature''s claw appeared above Shi Feng''s head. Boom! When the claw struck, it carved several deep grooves in the ground. As for Shi Feng, the attack had thrown him a short distance away. However, he had not received any damage; in the moment of imminent peril, he activated Parry to nullify the damage. "You blocked it?" Laughing Drunkard was slightly surprised. However, he recovered from his daze quickly and laughed as he coldly declared, "I want to see how many Skills you have!" Saying so, he brandished the summoned creature''s claws against Shi Feng once more. Sure enough, a Tier 3 summoned creature under an expert''s control is really powerful. After Shi Feng slammed into the ground, both of his hands were numb. It seems that I have no choice but to summon them. Watching the summoned creature charge at him, Shi Feng calmly revealed two scrolls. Summon guards! 1075 Suppressing Tier 3 Chapter 1075 - Suppressing Tier 3 The instant Shi Feng used Summon Guard, two unassuming figures appeared beside him. "Personal Guards?" When Laughing Drunkard saw the two figures, his lips curled up, and disdain filled his eyes. Currently, even very high-leveled Personal Guards were only Level 60. Even if they conquered their Tier 2 class promotions, a Tier 3 summoned creature could easily kill them. "Scram!" Laughing Drunkard''s summoned creature used the Tier 2 Skill, Dark Claw. He intended to send the two NPCs flying and finish Shi Feng off. After all, if Shi Feng tried to hide, he''d be very hard to find in a town this size. Right now, he was helpless against the Magic Towers. However, if he could kill Shi Feng, he could deal a greater blow to Zero Wing''s morale. Dang! As if it had collided with adamantium, the summoned creature''s claws stopped mid-swing, the clang of metal echoing across the town. "This" Laughing Drunkard wore an incredulous expression. "A Tier 2 NPC blocked a Tier 3 summoned creature''s Tier 2 Skill?" The gap between Tier 2 and Tier 3 was massive. This was especially true for monsters and NPCs. It was impossible for a Tier 2 NPC to stand against a Tier 3 monster. Yet, as the impossible became a reality, Laughing Drunkard''s mind was blown. They''ve really grown after completing the Epic Quest. They''re both so much stronger. Shi Feng was quite satisfied with Kite''s performance. If Kite were an ordinary Personal Guard, he wouldn''t be able to easily fend off the Tier 2 Skill of a Level 60, Tier 3 summoned creature. However, Kite was a Dark-Gold Guard. He was practically invincible among those of the same tier. Now that Kite had completed an Epic Quest, his combat power had risen once again. The new, silver longsword Kite wielded made this apparent. Although the hilt was hollow, it shone with a dazzling, golden brilliance. Rather than a sword, it looked as if Kite wielded a miniature sun. The sword was no less elegant than the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. Kite''s weapon was also Epic rank. Not only had Kite replaced many of his old weapons and equipment, but he had also risen from Level 65 to Level 68. His leveling speed was astonishing. Being able to block the attack of an ordinary Tier 3 summoned creature was expected. However, Anna''s transformation was even greater than Kite''s. Anna wore gorgeous, black and white mage robes and held a golden scepter. Her waist-long golden hair fluttered freely in the wind. Whether it was her appearance or temperament, she emitted the aura of a goddess. Even a great beauty like Aqua Rose was mesmerized by Anna''s beauty. A single glance was all it took to captivate countless male players. As for her level, she had already reached Level 69. "How can this world have such a beautiful NPC?!" "Crap! Even if I have to spend everything I have, I have to find an NPC like that for myself!" As everyone was enchanted by Anna''s appearance, body, and temperament, some experts had noticed the items she wore. As this was the first time Shi Feng had summoned Kite and Anna since their Epic Quest, he had not had an opportunity to hide the effects of their weapons and equipment. Hence, their items were available for all to see. At first, only Anna''s appearance had surprised the watching players. However, upon closer inspection, these players gasped. "A Fragmented Legendary Weapon!" Everyone''s eyes were glued on the golden scepter Anna wielded, greed filling their gazes. If not for the fact that players could not use NPCs'' items, they would''ve charged into Stone Forest Town to steal that scepter. Currently, Epic weapons were the highest rank available to players. There had not been any sightings of weapons or equipment above Epic rank. If they could get their hands on a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, they would instantly gain fame and fortune. "Do these Personal Guards belong to Zero Wing''s Guild Leader? They''re simply amazing!" "Crap! This is insane! I only recently equipped my Personal Guard with a set of Bronze Equipment. Even the Guild upper echelons'' Personal Guards I''ve seen are using at most Secret-Silver or Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment." "This is somewhat thorny. You two, help me pin down these NPC guards. I''ll deal with Black Flame!" Laughing Drunkard quickly reacted. After a single clash, he understood that he couldn''t injure Shi Feng if he fought alone. Only with the two other Tier 3 summoned creatures holding back Shi Feng''s Personal Guards would he have a chance of killing Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. "Leave it to us, boss!" Snapping out of their daze, the players controlling the two other summoned creatures launched an assault against Kite and Anna. Unfortunately, while Laughing Drunkard''s plan was fairly solid, he severely underestimated Anna. By the time the two summoned creatures arrived before Anna, the latter had finished chanting her Spell. Anna then slammed the butt of her scepter against the ground. Like a drop of water falling into a still lake, Anna''s scepter created ripples in the surrounding Mana. Immediately after, ten Tier 2 Rock Guards rose from the ground. Anna was capable of summoning far more creatures than ordinary Summoners. Moreover, the Rock Guards were Level 69. Following which, Anna started another chant and cast a Spell to strengthen the ten Rock Guards. In the next moment, the Rock Guards split up and surrounded the two Tier 3 summoned creatures. Even when the latter attacked, the Rock Guards received the blows without hesitation. However, the biggest surprise was the fact that each Rock Guard was nearly as strong as a Tier 3 Great Lord of the same level. They were on par with the Level 60, Tier 3 summoned creatures. With five of them working together, they easily suppressed one Tier 3 summoned creature. "How can there be such powerful Tier 2 NPC guards?" Laughing Drunkard ground his teeth as he watched Kite and Anna. Despite Shi Feng standing right in front of him, he couldn''t approach Shi Feng at all. Kite, the NPC guard he faced, already had higher Strength than his summoned creature. In terms of speed, the NPC was even more frightening. His creature couldn''t respond to the NPC''s attacks in time. Every one of Kite''s attacks devoured over a hundred thousand of his creature''s HP. If the former used a Tier 2 Skill, he could deal over -400,000 damage. Kite''s combat standards came as an even greater shock to Laughing Drunkard. A Tier 2 NPC fought as if it had entered the Refinement Realm. Kite''s HP might not be a match for a Tier 3 summoned creature, but he was definitely superior in terms of Strength and speed. On the other hand, the summoned creature Laughing Drunkard controlled could only display the Half-step Refinement Realm. In the end, Laughing Drunkard had to watch helplessly as his summoned creature''s HP fell. Suddenly, Anna arrived to assist Kite, using the Tier 2 Skill, Elemental Thorns against Laughing Drunkard''s summoned creature. With one attack, the summoned creature was forced to retreat by over a dozen yards. Not only had the attack dealt over -500,000 damage, but it also gave Kite an easier time damaging the summoned creature. Laughing Drunkard''s summoned creature could no longer resist the bombardment. Against Anna and Kite''s joint assault, it was only a short moment before Laughing Drunkard''s summoned creature collapsed, never to rise again. 1076 Final Figh Chapter 1076 - Final Fight "It''s dead?" "How did it die so quickly?!" The Blackwater members controlling summoned creatures were momentarily stunned. Laughing Drunkard was a top-class expert in their Guild. Moreover, he could display far more of his creature''s strength than they could. Yet, after just a few moments, his summoned creature, which had tens of millions of HP, died. Moreover, it had been killed by just two Tier 2 NPCs "Damn it! Damn it! You couldn''t even last a few minutes against two Tier 2 NPCs?!" Abandoned Wave cursed at Laughing Drunkard, who stood beside him. "Guild Leader, those two NPCs are extraordinary. They''ve both reached the Refinement Realm standard. They can execute all of their moves naturally. Moreover, their Basic Attributes are even higher than the Tier 3 summoned creature I controlled," Laughing Drunkard explained. "So, I" "Enough! Stop finding excuses! I only want results!" Abandoned Wave glared at Laughing Drunkard. Laughing Drunkard immediately fell silent. However, standing to the side, Peerless frowned when he heard Laughing Drunkard''s comments. He had originally expected to finish Zero Wing off with their Tier 4 Curse. He had never expected that Zero Wing would have hidden such a trump card. He had witnessed the fight between the Tier 3 summoned creature and the two Tier 2 NPCs personally. He had to admit that Laughing Drunkard had not lost without reason. Without much of a difference in Basic Attributes, a Half-step Refinement Realm summoned creature was no match for Refinement Realm NPCs. Now that Laughing Drunkard, the most skilled player among those controlling Blackwater''s summoned creatures, had been defeated, it was only a matter of time before the remaining twelve creatures were killed. "Brother Peerless, what do you think we should do now?" Abandoned Wave had already used all of his cards. He could not think of another way to destroy the Magic Towers. The Magic Towers'' Defense had already been quite high. Now that two absurdly powerful NPC guards had joined the fray, it was practically impossible to destroy Stone Forest Town''s fortifications. Of course, they could instruct the monster army to invade the town. With the number of players defending the town, Zero Wing could not fend off this army. However, doing so would discard the goldmine that was Stone Forest Town, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted. Frustration filled Abandoned Wave''s heart when he thought about how he couldn''t obtain Stone Forest Town. Of course, having his elite army force their way into the town wasn''t a viable option either. Not only would he suffer immense losses by doing so, but they still might fail to capture Stone Forest Town. The monster army''s losses made this clear. There was only one real method to capture a town; destroy the Guild Residence of the town''s ruler and obtain the Town Token hidden within. As long as one held the token for two hours, that player would secure the town''s ownership. Capturing a town was not as difficult as most thought. There was no need to kill every member of the ruling Guild in the town. One simply needed to destroy the ruling Guild''s Residence and obtain the Town Token. However, the two NPC guards Shi Feng had summoned were simply too powerful. If they defended Zero Wing''s Residence, sending players to take down the Residence would be as effective as sending them through a meat grinder "I have a plan. However, it will depend on your resolve," Peerless said after considering Abandoned Wave''s question. "What is it?" Abandoned Wave was out of options. "First, stop the assault on the town for now and order the monster army to retreat. Once Blackwater''s elite army arrives, we''ll charge into the town as one force," Peerless said, chuckling. "Afterward, I''ll have my Guild''s experts sneak into Zero Wing''s Residence to steal the Town Token. Of course, for this plan to work, we have to prevent those two NPC guards from entering Zero Wing''s Residence. You must keep them away from the Residence. I''m not confident of our success otherwise." Pantheon''s Dark Blade members were among the best in God''s Domain when it came to infiltration. Players had no way of sensing their presence. However, the same could not be said for Level 60-plus, Tier 2 Refinement Realm NPCs. On the off chance that they were discovered, only death awaited them. After all, Dark Blade members'' survivability was extremely low. "If I lure those two NPC guards away, how confident are you of succeeding, Brother Peerless?" Abandoned Wave asked when he noticed that Kite and Anna were already starting to clear out the remaining summoned creatures. "Assuming that Zero Wing has used all of its hidden trump cards, roughly 90%," Peerless said confidently. This time, Nine Kills, the Dark Blade''s vice commander, would lead the legion. Nine Kills had never failed to assassinate his targets. Stealing a Town Token would be a piece of cake. "Alright, I''ll leave it to you, then," Abandoned Wave reluctantly agreed. He then recalled his forces. "Guild Leader, they''re retreating!" When Aqua Rose noticed the monster army pull away from the town, she could not help but grow excited. "They''re retreating?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised to hear this. The battle wasn''t even halfway over, yet Blackwater retreated. No matter how he thought about it, something smelled fishy. Shi Feng wasn''t the only one surprised by Blackwater''s retreat. Everyone watching the war had questions of their own. Although Zero Wing appeared to have the advantage, after all was said and done, the monster army was too strong. If this war continued, Blackwater had a chance of capturing the town. Not only would such an abrupt retreat result in unnecessary casualties, but it would also wound the approaching elite army''s morale. After all, Blackwater''s monster army had already reached the gates of Stone Forest Town. As long as they continued fighting, they could take the town. However, after the monsters withdrew from the Magic Towers'' attack range, they stopped suddenly and defended their position. With this development, everyone finally understood what Blackwater intended to do. Blackwater wasn''t retreating at all. Rather, it was preparing for a final strike! Monsters'' Movement Speed was much higher than players, and Blackwater''s elite army was still on its way to Stone Forest Town. There was still some time before it would arrive. Hence, Blackwater intended to wait. Once both armies were present, it would launch an all-out assault against Stone Forest Town. "So, they''re finally getting serious," Shi Feng muttered as he watched Blackwater''s elite army gradually approach from atop a Magic Tower. Players were different from monsters. Although players were not as strong as monsters individually, they were able to cooperate to display a strength that surpassed their own. If it really came down to a fight, the elite army would be far more difficult to deal with than the monster army. "Guild Leader, look over there!" Aqua Rose said as she pointed towards the group of one-horned humanoid monsters that had suddenly appeared from the southeast. Based on their investigations, not only were the humanoid monsters frighteningly strong, but their intelligence was also shockingly high. Among them, some were on par with ordinary expert players. Most likely, the Great Lords were even more powerful than the Tier 3 summoned creature Laughing Drunkard had controlled. Over 100 one-horned humanoid monsters had arrived on the battlefield, and they were all Level 60. Among them, 20 were Great Lords, while the rest were High Lord rank. "Guild Leader Wave, this is the most help I can offer. Don''t forget your promise!" the bandaged man growled when he contacted Abandoned Wave. "Rest assured; after we capture Stone Forest Town, I''ll gather 300,000 elite players and 300 expert players for you," Abandoned Wave responded with a slightly grim expression. Unlike the other monsters in the monster army, the humanoid monsters wouldn''t pollute the town with Evil Energy if they entered. However, the humanoid monsters were incredibly precious. Hence, the bandaged man hadn''t wanted to risk losing them. However, to guarantee Stone Forest Town''s capture, the bandaged man had no choice. "I refuse to believe that Zero Wing can fend off this attack!" Following which, Abandoned Wave issued the command to attack. Immediately, both the monster army and the player army charged towards Stone Forest Town from all directions. 1077 Shadow Dancer Chapter 1077 - Shadow Dancer The spectacular scene of hundreds of thousands of monsters and elite players surging towards Stone Forest Town made Zero Wing''s members nervous. They were outnumbered by ten-to-one. Moreover, half of their enemies were players. Even Aqua Rose, who had experienced her fair share of large-scale battles, worried that they would fall against this assault. Unlike the previous assault, this move had been strategic. This time, both players and monsters stood considerably far apart. They were not clumped as they had been. As a result, even with three Magic Towers, they were not as effective as the one tower had been during the beginning of this battle. Although the Magic Towers weren''t as effective, the number of players and monsters dying still made Abandoned Wave''s eyes twitch. Every wave of attack destroyed over a thousand players and monsters. The Magic Towers'' destructive power once again stupefied the war''s spectators. "Blackwater is quite daring. With this, its losses will undoubtedly be astronomical." Yuan Tiexin could not help but sigh as he watched the rapidly increasing number of corpses on the battlefield. However, he had to admit that this move was effective. Against such an assault, even a transcendental existence like the Secret Pavilion would struggle to defend Stone Forest Town, much less Zero Wing. At most, it could reduce its losses by retreating from the town as quickly as possible. Although the Magic Towers seemed powerful, they had a glaring flaw. By the time Blackwater''s players and monsters reached the Magic Towers, the latter''s effects would be considerably limited. Once the Magic Towers were dealt with, Zero Wing would have to rely on its Miniature Ballistas and various Magic Scrolls to defend Stone Forest Town. Either that, or it would have to use large-scale destruction Spells. However, these were obviously not enough to take out such a large army. After all, no matter how many players or monsters died, Blackwater''s army still outnumbered Zero Wing''s. This numerical advantage would secure Blackwater''s victory. This was the cruel reality of siege wars. If Zero Wing could not fend off Blackwater''s forces in time, Blackwater''s excess forces would attack Zero Wing''s Residence and take the Town Token without any resistance. Unlike the Magic Tower, any player with even a little Attack Power could destroy a Guild Residence. It was only a matter of time. After all, the Guild Residence was not protected by magic patterns like the Magic Tower. Of course, faced with a frightening weapon like the Magic Tower, most Guilds would not attack as desperately as Blackwater. They definitely would not willingly sacrifice the lives of tens of thousands of players to take down Stone Forest Town''s Magic Towers. Elite members were an important part of a Guild''s foundation. A Guild required the strength of these elite members to accomplish many tasks. After all, Guilds generally had very few expert players. Strong blades needed strong steel. A Guild could allocate expert player teams to pioneer large-scale Team Dungeons. However, if a Guild relied on such a team to obtain equipment, said Guild would suffer severe deficiencies. After players raided a large-scale Team Dungeon, they had to wait for some time before they could raid it again. Meanwhile, each Dungeon dropped a limited number of items. Hence, Guilds would generally have their expert teams learn and build raiding strategies before passing on said strategies to the Guild''s elite members. With this, the Guild could farm more weapons and equipment within a certain amount of time. Due to this reason, a Guild''s development would stagnate if a large number of its elite members died. The army of 100,000-plus elite players Blackwater had dispatched was the Guild''s foundation. If these players died in battle, Blackwater would suffer a shortage of weapons and equipment for quite some time. However, Abandoned Wave could not care less right now. "Players, charge into the town''s heart! Leave the borders to the monster army!" Abandoned Wave shouted crazily. At this point, it was do or die. Throughout God''s Domain, only Abandoned Wave dared to use hundreds of thousands of monsters and elite players as bait. Zero Wing''s Residence: "Guild Leader, there''s too many of them. They''re rushing ahead and disregarding their casualties. We don''t have enough people to hold them off. Over ten thousand players have already infiltrated the town. The one-horned monsters are also assaulting the Residence from all sides. "Among our enemies, the most troublesome are the humanoid monsters. Even after we sent all of our Tier 3 summoned creatures, we couldn''t stop their advance. Moreover, they are devouring players and growing stronger. None of our players dare approach them. We have to rely on the NPC guards and soldiers to hold those monsters back." Aqua Rose anxiously reported the situation to Shi Feng. Battles had broken out all over Stone Forest Town. She couldn''t keep up with managing the war. If not for the three Magic Towers boosting her guildmates'' Attributes, Blackwater would have already captured the town. A siege war was different from war in an open field. Field wars relied on both quantity and quality. Siege wars, however, only relied on quantity. The more players a Guild possessed, the greater the advantage it would have. After all, even if an expert were more powerful, how many players could they hold back? How many players could they kill? Even if Zero Wing annihilated 99% of Blackwater''s army, it would lose this war if any enemy player got their hands on Stone Forest Town''s Town Token. After Blackwater took control of the Town Token, Stone Forest Town would enter a new protection period. At that time, all Blackwater needed to do was return to an NPC city and hire a bunch of powerful guards. After all, how could players who had not even reached Level 50 possibly survive against Level 150 NPC guards? After giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng looked at Anna and said, "Anna, you and Kite deal with those humanoid monsters. Don''t let them near the Guild Residence!" Shi Feng hadn''t expected the humanoid monsters to appear on this battlefield. To these monsters, Tier 1 expert players were nothing more than a snack. It was meaningless to have players fight these monsters. Moreover, any player these monsters devoured would lose a fraction of their Immortal Soul. This would deal a fatal blow to Zero Wing. Zero Wing had no way of receiving reinforcements. If the present elite members'' Immortal Souls were damaged, they would be forced out of the game for a long time. With no better choice, Shi Feng was forced to send Anna and Kite against these monsters. Otherwise, by the time these humanoid monsters devoured every player in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing would be powerless to stop them. "Brother Wave, it would seem that our plan has been quite successful. Those two NPC guards have already gone out to keep your monsters from devouring Zero Wing''s members," Peerless stated, joy brightening his eyes as he read the message his subordinate had sent. "Then that means" Excitement surfaced in Abandoned Wave''s eyes. What he had anticipated had finally occurred. "That''s right. Pantheon''s members have infiltrated Zero Wing''s Residence. When the time comes, not only will you obtain Stone Forest Town, but the three Magic Towers will also be yours to command," Peerless said, laughing. Without those two Tier 2 NPCs in their way, it was almost certain that the Dark Blade members would steal the Town Token. "Vice Commander, we''ve dealt with the hidden Assassins. Before us lies the secret room containing the Town Token," a Level 41 gray-robed Assassin reported to Nine Kills with a mechanical tone, pointing towards a room a short distance away. In response, Nine Kills nodded and said, "Alright, have everyone prepare. Leopard, Heart, Wind, Feather, follow me to retrieve the Town Token." He had hoped to assassinate Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. Hence, he had volunteered to join the war. Unfortunately, he had been disappointed. All of his opponents had been small fries; his several apprentices had no issue dispatching these players. However, after Nine Kills and his four companions opened the secret room''s locked door, their expressions froze. "Black Flame!" Nine Kills and the others were caught by surprise. They hadn''t expected Zero Wing''s Guild Leader to wait for them in the room with the Town Token. "Nine Kills?" Glancing at the middle-aged man carrying a bone bow, Shi Feng smiled slightly as he said, "I''ve been waiting for you for some time now." "You know of me? You''ve even discovered over tracks. As expected of the Leader of Zero Wing." After recovering from his shock, Nine Kills clapped, praising Shi Feng. "However, haven''t you a little too careless. You''re the only one here. I have men stationed outside. Reinforcements won''t reach you in time. Do you understand what this means?" "Not really, but I do know that none of you are leaving this place alive." Shi Feng chuckled. Shi Feng knew quite a bit about Nine Kills. In the past, the man had been an assassination expert with his own legends. If not for the Magic Tower''s detection ability and his Omniscient Eyes, he wouldn''t have noticed Nine Kills and the others infiltrating Stone Forest Town. Despite Nine Kills being a Ranger, his figure was blurry, and when he moved, he was soundless. Rather than calling him a Ranger, it was more appropriate to call him an Assassin. However, Shi Feng knew that Nine Kills wasn''t just a Ranger. He had a hidden class. Shadow Dancer! This class that was even more secretive and powerful than the Assassin class. Moreover, it was an extreme class. The class''s instantaneous, explosive power even surpassed Shi Feng''s Blade Saint class. "You''re going to accomplish this, alone?" Nine Kills sneered. The other four Assassins began to laugh. Shi Feng had just told the world''s funniest joke. "That''s right, alone!" Shi Feng ignored their mocking giggles as he unsheathed Killing Ray. 1078 Attack versus Defense Chapter 1078 - Attack versus Defense "How arrogant!" A cold glint flashed in Nine Kills'' eyes. Immediately, his body melted into the shadow on the ground and disappeared. Instead of having a Skill like the Assassin class''s Stealth, the Shadow Dancer class had the Shadow Space Skill that allowed players to meld with shadows, moving through them. They were far more difficult to detect than stealthed Assassins as their bodies were in a different dimension altogether when they vanished into the shadows. Furthermore, objects and people in the ordinary dimension couldn''t interfere with anything in the Shadow Dimension. This was different from Assassins'' Stealth Skill, which only turned its user invisible. After entering the Shadow Dimension, unless Nine Kills intentionally left the dimension, he was impossible to detect, even with an advanced Identification Skill. It was this reason that Nine Kills had been a legend in the past. Sure enough, I can''t sense his presence in the slightest. Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Despite having activated Omniscient Eyes, he couldn''t sense Nine Kills at all after the middle-aged man entered the Shadow Dimension. It was as if Nine Kills had vanished completely. This was bad news for Shi Feng. The Shadow Dancer class was an extreme class. The class had very powerful covert techniques and instantaneous explosive power. If a Shadow Dancer launched a successful ambush, even an MT with active Lifesaving Skills might not survive. "Hahaha! I guess even the Sword King can be nervous! Even Black Flame can''t do anything when the Boss enters the Shadow Dimension. Once the Boss finds a weak point to exploit, he''ll take care of Black Flame easily," a female Assassin with an oval face said softly. "Dark Heart, let''s get ready. The Boss''s Shadow Dimension has a long Cooldown. If he can''t defeat Black Flame in his initial assault, we need to jump in immediately. We absolutely cannot give an expert like Black Flame a chance to retaliate!" the youth named Dark Feather reminded his companion. "Relax. I still have a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Even if the Boss''s attacks don''t kill Black Flame, he won''t escape my Tier 3 Scroll," Dark Heart replied confidently. The scroll she carried contained a Tier 3 AOE Attack Spell that had an effective radius of 15 yards. The Spell''s range could cover over half of the room they occupied. If Nine Kills failed, she simply needed to activate the Spell, killing both Nine Kills and Black Flame. This was in line with the Dark Blade''s code of conduct. They would do anything, including sacrificing their own companions, to complete their missions. However, it wasn''t likely that they would need to go to such lengths. Shadow Dimension really is an amazing Skill. It seems that I have no choice but to use this method. After observing the situation for a long moment, Shi Feng still could not detect Nine Kills. Hence, he took eight Light Stones from his bag and threw them into the corners of the room. As the Light Stones released their dazzling glow, they illuminated the room. As a result, the nearby shadows shrunk. Although the Shadow Dancer class possessed superior covert and explosive capabilities, the class had a major flaw. Once Nine Kills entered the Shadow Dimension, he could only leave it through a shadow. Hence, Nine Kills had carried out his past missions at night or in enclosed spaces. He would not try to assassinate his targets during the day in the fields. "Damn it! How does he know my weakness?!" From inside the Shadow Dimension, Nine Kills frowned as he searched for a place to emerge. "There are still sixno, seven places I can launch an attack from. I should be able to use that move." Although he had no idea how Shi Feng knew about the Shadow Dancer''s weakness, the class had one secret he had never spoken about: the class''s Sure-kill Skill, Shadow Dancer''s Blade. After activating this Skill, he could move rapidly between a maximum of seven locations. Although the Skill had a long, one-hour Cooldown, during the Skill''s 10-second duration, he could move so quickly that he would be invisible to the naked eye. He hadn''t used this Skill since becoming a Shadow Dancer; he simply hadn''t found a qualified target. "You should be proud that you''ve forced me to use this Skill," Nine Kills sneered as he watched Shi Feng from the Shadow Dimension. Suddenly, in the ordinary dimension, a black figure appeared from one of the seven shadows in the room with lightning speed. Immediately, this black figure dove into another shadow. In less than a second, Nine Kills filled the room with his afterimages. It was impossible to detect Nine Kills'' true body. So fast! The sudden development surprised Shi Feng. Is this Shadow Dancer''s Blade? I can''t even catch sight of Nine Kills'' real body. Shadow Dancer''s Blade was the reason for Nine Kills'' fame. It was due to this Sure-kill Skill that Nine Kills had successfully assassinated numerous Super Guild apex experts. Unless one had a Skill that provided invulnerability for ten seconds or they moved out of the Shadow Dancer''s Blade''s effective area, this move was impossible to escape. "Die!" Once he was confident of landing a blow, Nine Kills unsheathed the short sword from his waist and slashed it at the back of Shi Feng''s neck. Dang! The clash of metal echoed throughout the room. Before anyone realized it, Shi Feng had begun to execute Sword''s Orbit, preventing all attacks from coming within eight yards of himself. As his Attributes and combat standards improved, he was able to exert a more powerful defense with Sword''s Orbit. Unless one had a higher Strength than Shi Feng, they would not be able to break through his defense. However, Shi Feng was currently Level 44 and equipped with the Level 50 Magic Light Set Equipment. He also wielded Epic Weapons and the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. In terms of Strength, even a Berserker with an Epic Weapon and a complete Level 40 Dark-Gold Set Equipment would be no match for Shi Feng, much less a Ranger like Nine Kills. Huh? Nine Kills, whose attack had been repulsed, stared at Shi Feng, dumbfounded. For a moment, his mind failed to process what had happened. His speed definitely ranked at the peak among God''s Domain''s current players. It was utterly impossible for players to react to his attack, let alone controlling their bodies to defend themselves. Although Void Realm Assassins might notice him, barely, they definitely could not defend themselves in time. Yet, Shi Feng had blocked his blade Impossible! Retreating into the shadows, Nine Kills launched another wave of rampant attacks against Shi Feng. After all, Shadow Dancer''s Blade had a duration of ten seconds. Xiu Xiu Xiu Nine Kills'' attacks were too fast to see. Due to his frightening speed, Nine Kills'' short sword pushed further into Sword''s Orbit''s defensive bubble. From the initial eight yards, the Ranger''s short sword gradually penetrated Shi Feng''s defense, pushing deeper until it was only three yards from the Swordsman''s body. However, no matter what Nine Kills did, he couldn''t push his attacks any further. Shi Feng was very nearly forced to activate the Aura of Earth''s Absolute Defense. Fortunately, the defensive capabilities of Sword''s Orbit were close to perfection. Despite facing Nine Kills'' lightning-quick attacks, Shi Feng remained calm. On the contrary, Nine Kills lost HP each time Sword''s Orbit repulsed his blades. Right now, he had less than half of his HP remaining This can''t continue! I need to use a bigger attack! Nine Kills could tell that, if he did not use a Berserk Skill to overwhelm Shi Feng''s Strength, he wouldn''t break through Sword''s Orbit. Suddenly, a faint gray glow enveloped Nine Kills'' body. [Shadow Possession] (Tier 1 Curse) Increases Strength by 60% and Agility by 80%, and improves Strength''s effects by 100% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 2 hours He had specifically learned this Shadow Possession Skill to make up for the Shadow Dancer''s lack of Strength. "Break!" Nine Kills fiercely swung his sword at Shi Feng. The power and speed within the blade allowed the weapon to cut through space itself as it collided with Shi Feng''s Sword''s Orbit. Sensing Nine Kills'' transformation, Shi Feng directly activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Boom! When the swords met, a violent storm raged through the room. Nine Kills transformed into a shadow as his body was embedded into the wall behind him. 1079 Futile Effor Chapter 1079 - Futile Effort "He lost?" Dark Feather''s four companions, watching from a short distance away, were speechless. They all stared at Nine Kills, who pulled himself out of the hole in the wall, with stupefied expressions. Nine Kills had less than one-third of his HP remaining. The short sword in his right hand trembled uncontrollably. My Strength is still no match for his? Nine Kills could not help but shift his gaze to Shi Feng, questions filling his mind. The additional Strength Shadow Possession provided might be mediocre, but the Skill could double its effects. Even a Berserker with a Strength-type Berserk Skill would not be a match for him. Yet, even after activating this Skill, the gap between him and Shi Feng hadn''t shortened; on the contrary, it had grown. Nine Kills even began to wonder if Shi Feng was a player or a Tier 2 NPC in disguise. What Nine Kills did not know was that Shi Feng had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, increasing his Strength by an additional 150%. In addition, Shi Feng had the buff from the Magic Towers. In terms of Strength, even a Great Lord of the same level was no match for Shi Feng, much less Nine Kills, who was only had the Strength of a High Lord. It wasn''t unusual for a Great Lord''s attack to send a High Lord flying. Not to mention, Shi Feng''s Strength was slightly higher than a Great Lord''s. "Dark Feather, use the Magic Barrier Stones! I''ll pin down Black Flame! We cannot let Black Flame leave alive! The consequences will be unimaginable!" Nine Kills barked the order through the team chat. "Boss, our task is to steal the Town Token. Isn''t it a little wasteful to use the Magic Barrier Stones?" The calm Dark Feather gave Nine Kills a strange look. Moreover, from the way Nine Kills spoke, it sounded as if he were treating Shi Feng like a Demon King that could destroy the world. What did he mean by "cannot let him leave alive?" Even if Black Flame were stronger, at the end of the day, he was still a player. Without support, he could not affect the overall war. Moreover, the Magic Barrier Stones were treasures Pantheon had sacrificed a lot of manpower and resources to obtain. These were supposed to be used against creatures below Tier 4. They could even trap the most powerful Tier 3 NPC. Using it on a Tier 1 player was a huge waste. "Stop wasting time! I''ll take responsibility, so use them!" Nine Kills growled as tension gripped his body. He had no time to explain. Dark Feather and the others had merely seen Shi Feng''s attack send him flying. However, he had experienced the attack personally. From that single clash, he understood how terrifying Shi Feng truly was. Even a Tier 3 Magic Scroll wasn''t likely to do much against him. Moreover, allowing Shi Feng to leave this room was the equivalent of releasing a Great Lord with a Void Realm''s combat standards onto the battlefield. He would be a lion among a herd of sheep. Of course, Berserk Skills did not last long. However, the Skill''s duration would be more than enough for Shi Feng to annihilate all of the Dark Blade members that had snuck into Zero Wing''s Residence. Pantheon''s Dark Blade did not have many members. Nurturing every member was costly. Helping each member level up was particularly expensive for the Guild. In addition, every Dark Blade member used weapons and equipment that were specifically tailored to their strengths. Pantheon had only gathered these items after utilizing the Guild''s full strength. Each item would be incredibly difficult to replace. Currently, over a hundred Dark Blade members had infiltrated Zero Wing''s Residence. If they all died, they would lose over a hundred weapons and pieces of equipment in total. If Black Flame had some special tool that increased the drop-rate of the players he killed, they could lose two or three hundred items They had to use the Magic Barrier Stones. Hearing Nine Kills'' command, Dark Feather and the others had no choice but to set up the Barrier Stones. As for Nine Kills, he turned to Shi Feng again to buy his allies enough time. "You want more?" Shi Feng began to execute Sword''s Orbit once more when he saw Nine Kills launch another assault. After activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Sword''s Orbit''s defense was even more solid than it had been. Shi Feng no longer relied on brute force to defend himself. Now, he redirected a portion of the incoming force. Shi Feng suspected that he could even defend against a Great Lord''s attacks right now. As for Nine Kills, he had wisened up after being thrown. This time, he didn''t try to encroach on Sword''s Orbit''s defensive bubble. Instead, he moved around the bubble''s perimeter, utilizing his absolute advantage of speed to render Shi Feng helpless. However, if Shi Feng relaxed for even a moment and stopped using Sword''s Orbit, he would strike. Unfortunately, while his plan was sound, its flaw was obvious. Shadow Dancer''s Blade''s duration was simply too short. After ten seconds, it would be his turn to be helpless. However, Nine Kills'' goal wasn''t to slay Shi Feng personally. He simply needed to pin the Swordsman down for as long as possible. "Boss, we''re ready!" Dark Feather called out. "Good! Use them now! Don''t worry about catching me inside!" Nine Kills nodded as he signaled for Dark Feather and the others to take action. Immediately, each member of Dark Feather''s group threw a black stone block around Shi Feng and Nine Kills. Magic Barrier Stones! A chill crawled down Shi Feng''s spine when he saw the black stone blocks that surrounded him. Magic Barrier Stones were extremely rare magical tools in God''s Domain, and they had many uses. Moreover, the more Barrier Stones players used, the more effective they were. Among them, Space Sealing was the most powerful effect! With the power of four Magic Barrier Stones, players could trap any creature beneath Tier 4 for a long period. The barrier could last anywhere from three hours to two days. It was like a portable jail. "It seems that you are familiar with the Magic Barrier Stones. Unfortunately, this has come to an end. The Barrier Stones don''t have a casting time. Even you can''t escape them. Let''s rest in here for a while. By the time you escape, Stone Forest Town will not belong to you anymore!" Nine Kills could not help but laugh at the grim expression on Shi Feng''s face. If he told Pantheon''s Elders that he had used the Magic Barrier Stones to trap a lone Tier 1 player, they would give him a beating. However, in Nine Kills'' opinion, the Barrier Stones had been well spent. After all, they could trap Zero Wing''s Guild Leader for several hours. Without its backbone, Zero Wing would lose this war. As Nine Kills finished his comment, the four Magic Barrier Stones activated. In the blink of an eye, both Shi Feng and Nine Kills were sent to another dimension. A black cube, each side measuring one meter, formed in their place. "The Boss is being too cautious. We could''ve settled things with the Tier 3 Scroll," Dark Heart said somewhat disappointedly. She thought that Nine Kills underestimated her abilities. "The Boss has his reasons," Dark Feather said, trying to console the female Assassin. "Before anything else, let''s retrieve the Town Token." The others nodded in response to Dark Feather''s suggestion. Although using the Magic Barrier Stones on Shi Feng might have been overboard, they could secure the Town Token earlier than expected. Following which, Dark Feather''s group began to attack the magic barrier protecting the Town Token. However, before they struck, they sensed a suffocating killing intent radiating from the black cube. For a moment, they even thought that the magic barrier would crumble. "Stop wasting your energy. It is impossible to do anything against me while you''re inside the barrier. You''re stuck with me in here," Nine Kills said contemptuously when he noticed the change in Shi Feng''s aura. Although they could both see each other, they were in different dimensions. He wasn''t afraid of Shi Feng killing him or escaping. "Is that so?" Shi Feng then activated Blade Liberation, his Attributes abruptly soaring. 1080 Heart and Sword become One Chapter 1080 - Heart and Sword become One "You!" Nine Kills was shocked when he noticed the rise in Shi Feng''s aura. Shi Feng''s Attributes had already been frightening. Now, even Nine Kills feared the Swordsman. The feeling Shi Feng gave off resembled that of a Grand Lord, an existence that was capable of mutilating its terrain with each attack. The sudden development made Nine Kills feel quite lucky. Had Shi Feng used this power earlier, they wouldn''t have had the opportunity to trap in this barrier. They would have been forced to watch as Shi Feng slaughtered every Dark Blade member in Zero Wing''s Residence. "Increasing your Strength is useless. No creature below Tier 4 can break free from the Magic Barrier Stones'' internal dimension," Nine Kills commented as he watched Shi Feng from a distance. Chuckling, he continued, "However, you should be proud. Pantheon has only found twelve Magic Barrier Stones so far. As a precaution, I specifically applied for four stones for this war. I hadn''t expected to use all four on you." "How will I know if it is impossible if I don''t try?" Shi Feng did not try to refute Nine Kills'' words. The Magic Barrier Stones were extremely powerful items. During God''s Domain''s mid-late stages, they had often been used against apex experts. Only, activating Space Sealing required at least four Barrier Stones. Following which, Shi Feng began to slash at the enclosed space''s walls. Despite being trapped inside the Magic Barrier Stones, he still received the Magic Towers'' buff. In terms of Strength, he should even rival a Grand Lord of the same level. Boom Boom Boom However, even after a series of attacks, the magic barrier remained unharmed. Its Defense was even higher than the Magic Towers. Is it no good? Shi Feng frowned. If he were trapped in here for several hours, the war would end before he escaped. Currently, Zero Wing relied on the sacrifice of its elite members to buy time. Although the Magic Towers were powerful, their attacks had limitations. In such a chaotic battlefield, friendly fire was common. Zero Wing was also at a huge disadvantage in terms of the number of experts. Setting aside the fact that Pantheon had sent three of its core legions, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s armies were more than enough trouble for Zero Wing. Meanwhile, the most important aspect of a siege war was the Town Token. With only Aqua Rose and several other Zero Wing core members, defending the Town Token was impossible. As long as Blackwater held onto the Town Token for two hours, this war would be over Dark Feather and his companions outside the barrier released a sigh of relief. They had almost expected Shi Feng to burst free from the sealing barrier. Those inside might not notice anything, but they had seen it clearly. Shi Feng''s attacks had shaken the magic barrier. Their hearts had shuddered with each boom that had echoed throughout the room. "Thank goodness his Strength isn''t any higher! However, with his Attributes, the barrier won''t hold him for long. We should hurry!" After calming himself, Dark Feather finally understood why Nine Kills had asked them to use the Magic Barrier Stones instead of Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. The others nodded in agreement. They then shifted their attention to the magic barrier protecting the Town Token. Every town players captured had a secret room to store the Town Token. A Protection Barrier could then be erected inside the room. However, a small town''s Protection Barrier didn''t have a high Defense. As long as players dealt a total of 10,000,000 damage, they would destroy the barrier. Any player could steal the Town Token. Meanwhile, when the Protection Barrier came under attack, all members belonging to the town''s ruling Guild who were in or near the town would be notified. After the invading players obtained the Town Token, they needed to hold onto it for two hours. Furthermore, they were not allowed to leave the town. If they held onto the token after the two hours were up, they would become the town''s new owner. Following which, Dark Feather''s group arrived before the magic barrier, and each player retrieved a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. These Magic Scrolls were single-target Attack Scrolls, and every one of them could give a Great Lord a run for its money. Immediately, the four players began to activate their Magic Scrolls. Boom Boom Boom Four Spells struck the magic barrier consecutively, immediately destroying over two million of the barrier''s HP, reducing the barrier to less than eight million. Suddenly, Zero Wing''s members in Stone Forest Town received a system announcement. Stone Forest Town Region Announcement: Stone Forest Town''s Protection Barrier is under attack! Please defend it quickly! "Is our Guild Leader having trouble?" Aqua Rose could not help but worry when she received the notification. Shi Feng had told them that he would defend the Town Token himself. Only a small number of players were allowed to enter the secret room that contained the Town Token. Shi Feng, who possessed extremely high combat power, would be able to display his full strength there. Aqua Rose tried to contact Shi Feng. However, the only response she received was a system notification that told her that the target player was temporarily unavailable. "This won''t do. Violet, lead a team to check on the secret room!" Aqua Rose commanded after considering the situation. "But what about them?" Violet Cloud asked as she watched Blackwater''s player army approach from the distance. They could handle an army of elite players. Unfortunately, an eye-catching, 1,000-man legion marched alongside that army. This legion''s members were all Level 40 and above, and they all wore exquisite, red-white coats over their equipment. These players were none other than the Pantheon''s prided Red Jade Legion. Although the Red Jade Legion only had 1,000 members, they were all experts. Despite having the Magic Towers'' buff, the Red Jade members easily slaughtered Zero Wing''s members. Only Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion barely held them back. "Don''t worry. I''ll try to hold on for as long as possible. The Guild Leader''s situation is more important right now. If the Guild Leader is in trouble, there won''t be any point in defending this town," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. "Alright, I''ll hurry." Violet Cloud agreed with Aqua Rose''s logic. Immediately, she led a team of 100 elite players into Zero Wing''s Residence. "Why is this Protection Barrier so resistant to Magic Scrolls?!" Dark Feather was stunned when he saw how little damage they had dealt. That had been four Tier 3 Magic Scrolls! The combined damage could even heavily injure a Great Lord, yet the barrier had only taken around two million damage. Initially, they had expected the Protection Barrier to lose over five million HP after the four Tier 3 Magic Scrolls'' attacks. However, the barrier''s tenacity surpassed their expectations. What Dark Feather did not know was that, thanks to the Magic Towers, the town''s buildings had received a significant resistance boost. "Feather, what should we do? We only have two scrolls left. With our attacks, we''ll need quite some time to break the barrier. Zero Wing''s members will have more than enough time to reach us," Dark Heart said. "Forget about that for now. Before anything else, let''s use the rest of the scrolls!" Dark Feather ordered as he took out another Tier 3 Magic Scroll. As the Protection Barrier''s HP decreased, Shi Feng halted his rampant attacks against the sealing barrier. "Hahaha! What''s wrong? Giving up?" Nine Kills laughed. In his opinion, Shi Feng was only wasting his energy. Exactly how precious were the Magic Barrier Stones? Their value could even rival Magic Scrolls that stored Tier 4 Curses. How could a measly Tier 1 player possibly break this barrier? Shi Feng paid Nine Kills no mind. Instead, he calmed himself and cleared his mind, relaxing his body. Thunder God''s Descent, activate! Phantom Kill, activate! Nine Dragons Slash, activate! Immediately, Shi Feng''s doppelganger appeared beside him, the doppelganger having 80% of his Attributes. In addition, twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms hovered around him. "Break!" Shi Feng''s eyes flew open as he activated Flame Burst. Gathering his concentration, he controlled his doppelganger and the Abyssal Blade phantoms to attack the sealing barrier simultaneously. 1081 Sword’s Orbit Breakthrough Chapter 1081 - Sword''s Orbit Breakthrough When the fourteen attacks landed simultaneously on the same spot on the sealing barrier, ripples propagated through the barrier like it was water, with the point of attack as the epicenter. Even Nine Kills, who was in a separate dimension, felt the ground underfoot vibrating strongly. "How is this possible?!" Nine Kills stared at Shi Feng, an incredulous look on his face. Previously, Shi Feng''s attacks did not even garner a single reaction from the barrier. Yet, now, he was able to elicit such an effect just by increasing the number of attacks? "Could it be" Suddenly, Nine Kills thought of a possibility. Strength stacking?! However, this feat was easier said than done. One had to grasp the timing of their attacks perfectly in addition to landing their attacks accurately on the same location. Such precise control was impossible for an ordinary expert. Of course, for an expert of Shi Feng''s caliber, merging the Strength of two sources into one was not a big problemhowever, doing so with three sources was. This was like how some people were capable of easily multitasking two jobs at once but faced much greater difficulty when they tried handling three. There were techniques available for coping with such problems. However, such specialized techniques were generally not taught to outsiders. Precious few people could actually learn them. Thinking up to this point, Nine Kills could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. Shi Feng''s Strength was indeed very strong. However, even if he stacked two sources of Strength together, the Tier 4 standard would still be way out of his reach. With Shi Feng''s current Strength, he would need to combine three or four sources of Strength to break the barrier. Moreover, assuming he had not learned any special techniques, combining three or four sources of Strength would only be a dream for him. Even if he eventually managed to figure out the trick of it, he would need a considerable amount of time to do so. By then, the power of the Magic Barrier Stones would''ve long since been exhausted. And the war over Stone Forest Town would''ve definitely ended already. Great! It is effective as expected! Shi Feng did not fall into disappointment when he saw the ripples on the barrier. On the contrary, an excited expression had appeared on his face. He immediately resumed his assault on the barrier. Nine Kills thought Shi Feng was trying to combine the destructive power of his attacks to destroy the barrier. In reality, however, that was not the case. During his battle with Nine Kills, Shi Feng had continuously used Sword''s Orbit to defend himself. Along with the increase of his Strength and speed, he had honed his mastery of Sword''s Orbit. Previously, after activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Shi Feng had no trouble sending Nine Kills flying and his body planting into a wall despite the Shadow Dancer having activated Shadow Possession. While part of this outcome was due to the massive boost in Strength the Berserk Skill provided him with, the main reason was Nine Kills''s attack having landed on one of Sword''s Orbit''s intersecting points. The merging of the Strength of two swords into a single point had significantly amplified the Strength in his counterattack, hence that shocking result. Otherwise, Nine Kills would at most have been sent flying. The Shadow Dancer definitely wouldn''t have had his body planted deep inside a wall. With this discovery, Shi Feng thought of a way to deal with the sealing barrier. Thus, he had summoned his doppelganger as well as the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms to execute Sword''s Orbit with him. Everything was just as Shi Feng had guessed. By increasing the number of weapons and having these weapons move according to Sword''s Orbit, the technique''s power had risen exponentially. However, as he was still unaccustomed to this new method of execution, the Sword''s Orbit he had executed was far from perfect. My doppelganger is somewhat of a hindrance to Sword''s Orbit''s operation. Without the doppelganger, I should be able to execute Sword''s Orbit more perfectly. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately sent his doppelganger to a side while he and the Abyssal Blade phantoms resumed attacking the sealing barrier with Sword''s Orbit. However, this scene stupefied Nine Kills, who was observing from the side. What''s he trying to do? When Nine Kills saw Shi Feng sidelining his doppelganger, which was only second to Shi Feng in terms of the Strength Attribute, he concluded that Shi Feng was a fool. Could he have given up? Compared to combining his Strength with that of some phantom weapons, it would be much easier if Shi Feng did so with his doppelganger. This was why expert players could work together to defend against Bosses that possessed far superior Strength. Just as Nine Kills was having such thoughts, the blades of Shi Feng''s swords landed on the sealing barrier once more. Boom! A dent immediately formed in the barrier. A ripple many times stronger than before also shook the entire barrier, making Nine Kills lose his balance and fall flat on his butt. Not enough! I need to be even faster! This time, Shi Feng decided to go all out. He swapped out his Basic Tyrant title for the Swordsmanship Master title, increasing his Attack Speed by 20%. At the same time, he switched the Aura of Fire to the Aura of Wind. Although his damage decreased, his speed underwent a qualitative change. Following which, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit together with the Abyssal Blade phantoms once more. This time, a transformation to Sword''s Orbit also occurred. Seen from afar, Shi Feng appeared to be surrounded by numerous twinkling stars. The speed of his swords had reached a point where they were invisible to the naked eye. The twinkling stars were none other than the intersection points of Sword''s Orbit. For a time, it was as if Shi Feng stood in a cocoon of starlight. The scene looked absolutely breathtaking. "What kind of Skill is this?" At this moment, Nine Kills wasn''t the only person who had noticed this change; even Dark Feather and the others outside the barrier spotted the change inside. Previously, Shi Feng''s attacks had already shaken Dark Feather and the others greatly. In just a single attack, the sealing barrier had inflated like a balloon, and it felt as if this balloon could burst at any time. How could this situation not panic Dark Feather and the others? "Break!" Shi Feng released a low shout as he violently attacked the sealing barrier. Boom! Boom! Boom! At this moment, the twinkling stars surrounding Shi Feng looked like real stars as they continuously bombarded the sealing barrier, relentlessly hollowing it. The dent on the barrier deepened with each step Shi Feng took forward. No No, this is impossible! Nine Kills, Dark Feather, and the others were stricken with anxiety and dread, every one of them very nearly shouting their thoughts out loud. However, with the sealing barrier continuously deforming, it eventually reached its limit. Peng! Suddenly, like a bursting balloon, the entire sealing barrier exploded. "This" When Nine Kills noticed he was back in the secret room, he was shell-shocked. At this moment, even a fool could tell that what Shi Feng had used just now was not a Skill but a combat technique. Moreover, the might of the technique completely surpassed Nine Kills''s imagination. In addition, there was the difficulty of combining the Strength of attacks. Nevertheless, Shi Feng had accomplished it in such a short time Even geniuses would pale in comparison to Shi Feng. After escaping the sealing barrier, Shi Feng shot a glance at the barrier protecting the Town Token. When he noticed that the Protection Barrier still had over three million HP remaining, he breathed out an involuntary sigh of relief. Had he not received a breakthrough, most likely, the Town Token would''ve fallen into Blackwater''s hands. At that time, it would have been much more difficult to snatch the token back. After all, only a limited number of players could enter this secret room. This constraint greatly benefited Zero Wing, which was currently at a numerical disadvantage. However, once outside the Guild Residence, Blackwater would have the upper hand. Thank goodness I made it in time. Shi Feng then shifted his gaze to Nine Kills and the others. "Die!" Saying so, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit again as he charged at the group of five. "Dodge!" Nine Kills warned hurriedly. Unfortunately, with Shi Feng''s current speed, even if Nine Kills and the others managed to react in time, they had no way of shaking him off. In addition, he was executing Sword''s Orbit so swiftly that even the naked eye had difficulty keeping up with it. Blocking it was next to impossible. The instant Shi Feng appeared before the five people, Dark Feather''s group of four immediately turned into particles of light and disappeared, leaving behind four pieces of equipment in their place. Nine Kills managed to react fast enough to activate Shadow Shift, a Skill that allowed him to become immune to all damages coming from the front for two seconds. However, Shi Feng took another step forwardand Sword''s Orbit suddenly struck Nine Kills''s back. What kind of combat technique is this?! As Nine Kills collapsed to the ground, his mind was filled with surprise and curiosity. As one of the top experts of a Super Guild, the things he knew about far exceeded the information of ordinary players. He had also seen many combat techniques that surpassed one''s imagination. However, this was still his first time to encounter this kind of domain-type combat technique. Although Nine Kills wished to continue gathering more information, when his HP hit zero, his body transformed into particles of light and disappeared, just like Dark Feather''s and the others''. Right now, only Shi Feng remained standing inside the secret room. 1082 Missing Dark Blade Chapter 1082 - Missing Dark Blade Outside Stone Forest Town, Abandoned Wave was currently commanding the siege on Zero Wing. The numerical difference was simply too great. Even the Magic Towers could not make up for this enormous disparity. Not to mention, the firepower of the Magic Towers was currently concentrated on the monsters outside the town. The defensive structures had no time to pay attention to the players inside the town. If not for the Magic Towers enhancing the Basic Attributes of Zero Wing''s members, making them stronger than Blackwater''s members, Zero Wing would''ve long since fallen. "Guild Leader, our men are occupying Stone Forest Town''s outer area already, while Zero Wing''s members have all fallen back to defend only a few important locations. With a little more time, we''ll be able to wipe them out without any problems," Qin Muyun reported. "Good. Next up, send some men to meet Pantheon''s party. Have everyone else focus on pinning down Zero Wing''s members at their current locations. After two hours, the entire Stone Forest Town, including the three Magic Towers, will belong to us!" Abandoned Wave could not help but reveal an excited smile. The operation this time had incurred immense losses for Blackwater. Currently, their elite army had less than 80,000 players remaining. Over half of the casualties were victims of the Magic Towers. As for the monster army, less than 100,000 monsters survived. Abandoned Wave had even made plenty of promises to Pantheon and the bandaged man. However, all of these were trivial losses compared to Stone Forest Town and the Magic Towers they would soon obtain. Once Blackwater occupied Stone Forest Town, with the Magic Towers'' ability to attract players to the town, in addition to the Blackwater Guild''s abundant resources and powerful background, recruiting another large batch of elite and expert players into the Guild would be easy. Moreover, Blackwater would also gain a stable supply of Coins and Magic Crystals. On the other hand, Zero Wing would have to withdraw from its position as ruler of Star-Moon Kingdom. Turning to look at Peerless, who stood beside him, Abandoned Wave asked, "Brother Peerless, how are things going on your side?" "It''s already in the bag. Although Black Flame managed to guess that we would go and steal the Town Token, we have already sealed him. I''m afraid that he will only be able to get out after the war is over," Peerless laughed. Back when Nine Kills requested the Magic Barrier Stones, Peerless had had strong opinions about his decision. He thought that Nine Kills was simply making a mountain out of a molehill. These things should be used against Tier 3 NPCs or Grand Lords, not a measly Tier 1 player. However, now that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader had been sealed, this would be a tremendous blow to the Guild. Just as Peerless thought that the mission was a wrap, a message suddenly came from a Dark Blade member. "Black Flame has escaped from the seal! Requesting backup!" When Peerless read this message, his expression immediately tensed. Although it was only one short sentence, its significance was something only those who understood about the Magic Barrier Stones would know. Escaped?! How is this possible?! This was the first thought that came to Peerless''s mind when he read this message. Without the Strength of a Tier 4 existence, breaking through the Space Sealing ability of the Magic Barrier Stones was impossible. Peerless immediately tried contacting the Dark Blade member that messaged him, wanting to get an idea of what was going on. However, the system notified him that said player was temporarily unavailable. This situation gave Peerless a bad feeling. There were only three scenarios where a player was incommunicado. The first scenario was that the target player was offline, the second scenario was that the target player was dead, and the third scenario was that the target player had entered a special place. It was obviously impossible for the first and third scenarios to occur right now. Hence, the only possibility was the second scenario. The second scenario meant that a disaster had occurred over at Dark Blade''s side. All by himself? Is it really possible? Peerless''s mind was filled with questions. The members of Dark Blade were experts nurtured by Pantheon specifically for assassinations. This time, as a precaution, Pantheon had dispatched a team of 100 Dark Blade members. The vice commander of Dark Blade, Nine Kills, even led the team. Normally, only the upper echelons of Super Guilds or super-first-rate Guilds merited having such a force sent at them. If not for the importance of the task this timein addition to the fact that Zero Wing possessed some extraordinary expertsPantheon wouldn''t have bothered mobilizing such a large team. If these 100 assassination experts worked together, even if the several apex experts of Zero Wing joined forces, they still wouldn''t be able to escape death. Unable to settle his fears, Peerless hurriedly contacted the vice commander of the Red Jade Legion. "Red Rain[1], lead a team into Zero Wing''s Residence right away. Something might have happened at Dark Blade''s side." Red Rain was the person the Guild had sent to assist him this time. In terms of combat standards, she was above even Nine Kills. Moreover, she was an extraordinarily talented genius. In just three short years since she joined Pantheon, she had managed to become the vice commander of one of the Super Guild''s trump card legions. The current commander of the Red Jade Legion even had a favorable opinion of her and was considering making her his successor. Her future in the Guild was many times brighter than that of an old man like himself. Hence, he still had to be polite when speaking with her. "Something happened with Dark Blade? That''s impossible, right?" A skeptical expression appeared on the face of the red-haired goddess in the screen. "Aren''t they being led by that old bastard, Nine Kills, this time?" "I can''t make contact with any of them right now. The Town Token is too important to us. We must obtain it at all costs!" Peerless also refused to believe that something had happened to Nine Kills. However, with the facts before him, he had no choice but to send someone over to check. "I understand." Red Rain nodded before disconnecting the call. She then commanded, "Monkey, switch with me in dealing with this Tier 2 NPC. I need to leave this place for now." "Big Sis Red, leave it to me!" A thinly built Elementalist nodded hurriedly. Following which, Red Rain led a team of 100 players and charged into Zero Wing''s Residence. "Big Sis Aqua, that Red Rain has led a team into our Residence," Shadow Sword, who was currently brandishing Crimson Moon at four Red Jade Legion members, hurriedly informed Aqua Rose when he saw Red Rain bypassing him. The members of the Red Jade Legion were not people ordinary Guild experts could go up against. Even with Shadow Sword''s Attributes greatly enhanced, they were able to suppress him with just four members. If even he was already faring this badly, there was no need to mention everyone else. Meanwhile, Red Rain of the Red Jade Legion was even more inhumanly strong. She had actually managed to kill a Level 65, Tier 2 NPC guard all by herself. When two of such NPCs worked together to deal with her, she still could hold her ground. The members of the Dark Gods Legion that tried to approach her got slaughtered just like that. When Aqua Rose received this report, she was stumped for a good solution. Currently, it was already taking everything she had to manage the defense of the town''s important locations. She did not have any energy to spare worrying about Red Rain. Zero Wing''s Residence: "Nobody''s here?" Red Rain muttered as she scanned the entire Residence and failed to detect any Zero Wing members present. However, when she arrived before the entrance to the Residence''s underground hall, she was stunned by the scene that met her eyes. Mountains of corpses littered the hall. Weapons and equipment were also scattered beside these mounds. After a closer look, Red Rain discovered that these corpses all belonged to Blackwater''s members. Boom! At this time, an explosion sounded from a short distance away. Like cannon balls, several players went crashing into the piles of corpses. "Is there a Grand Lord inside?" Red Rain was filled with curiosity. "As expected of the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. To think Zero Wing would have such a trump card as well!" These players that died were all Level 38 and above. There were even Level 40 experts among them. A rough count came to at least 30 experts among the corpses. With so many people, they should not have suffered such a miserable defeat even if they were going up against a Great Lord. Hence, Red Rain concluded that there should be a Grand Lord in the hall. "Big Sis Red, are we really going in?" a Level 40 Shield Warrior asked. He could not help but gulp when he saw this terrifying scene. "Of course we''re entering. Isn''t it just a Grand Lord? It''s not like it''s our first time killing one," Red Rain replied as she sent a glance at the Shield Warrior. She then took the lead to enter the hall. 1083 One Man, One Sword Defends the Entire Town Chapter 1083 - One Man, One Sword Defends the Entire Town Inside the long and narrow hallway, a large group of Blackwater members was currently staring quietly at the black-robed man standing in the middle of the hallway. The man wielded two swords in his hands, and although his figure and appearance were the very definition of normal, just by him standing there, nobody dared to move forward in the hallway. When the Blackwater members received a glance from this man, their bodies involuntarily retreated a step. "Damn it! Why is there such a monster defending this place?!" Standing at the rear of the group, Qin Muyun frowned as she looked at this figure over her diamond-shaped shield. This man was none other than Shi Feng. Due to Shi Feng''s presence, she and the elite team she brought with her couldn''t proceed a step further towards the secret room behind him. "Melees, move forward! Ranged players, attack as one! I want to see whether he runs out of Stamina first or we run out of players first!" Qin Muyun shouted. The most realistic part about God''s Domain was the Stamina system, which was something else that other virtual reality games did not have. Even the most powerful expert had a limit to their Stamina, and any combat they took part in would consume their Stamina. Due to this reason, zerg tactics were effective against even the most powerful experts. Of course, situations like this were rare. After all, when experts sensed that their Stamina was running out, they could simply run away. However, escape was not an option for Shi Feng, because if he did, Blackwater would be able to steal the Town Token. At that time, Zero Wing would no longer have any chance to turn the tables. When everyone from Blackwater heard Qin Muyun''s words, they unconsciously turned to look at each other. Still, nobody dared to approach Shi Feng. Since they began fighting Shi Feng, several hundred players had already diedincluding Level 40 experts. Yet, even now, Shi Feng still seemed to be brimming with energy. After reaching their levels, losing a single level would set them back by many days. Nobody wished to die a pointless death. Seeing her subordinates still paralyzed, Qin Muyun threatened, "What are you afraid of!? He''s currently in a Weakened state! His maximum Stamina must''ve decreased as well! If you all refuse to listen to orders, be ready to suffer the consequences later on!" Having no other choice, Blackwater''s elite members could only grit their teeth as they steeled themselves to attack Shi Feng. They had gone to great lengths to join Blackwater. If they disobeyed an order from their superior, the consequences would be extremely severe. The Guild would not only expel them but also hunt them down. Dying and losing one level now was much better than being killed by Blackwater until they were back to Level 0. Moreover, it was just like Qin Muyun had said. Shi Feng was currently in a Weakened state, and his Attributes had dropped to the point where he was even inferior to elite players like themselves. Players under a Weakened state wouldn''t have only their Basic Attributes reduced. Even Hidden Attributes like Stamina would be affected as well. Shi Feng had already solo killed several hundred players. His Stamina should already be at its limit. After thinking up to this point, Blackwater''s elite members grew confident. Immediately, they began advancing on Shi Feng in groups of five. Although the hallway was narrow, five people moving side by side could fit in it. In the next moment, five Berserkers used Charge at Shi Feng simultaneously. The Clerics standing at the back also cast Truth Shield on these Berserkers, while the Oracles cast Protection, and the ranged damage dealers launched a flurry of attacks. They gave Shi Feng no chance to avoid damage. Shi Feng''s side did not lose out to Blackwater''s elites, either. Violet Cloud, who stood inside the secret room, cast Truth Shield on Shi Feng, the Spell able to absorb over 7,000 points of damage. Violet Cloud''s Truth Shield was nearly twice as powerful as an ordinary Cleric''s. When the Berserkers were only five yards away, Shi Feng tightened his grip around Killing Ray as he executed Thundering Flash. Five lightning snakes devoured the Berserkers. Not only did the attack immediately shatter the Truth Shield and Protection cast on the Berserkers, but it also took away one-fifth of the Berserkers'' HPs as well as neutralized all the ranged attacks. Following which, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit, enveloping the five Berserkers in starlight. The Berserkers'' advance stopped cold as they cried out in pain. Even with the healers healing the Berserkers, their HPs fell at a rate visible to the naked eye. In a heartbeat, the five Berserkers became five corpses that were sent flying out of the hallway. From beginning to end, only a few seconds had passed. Everyone gasped at this scene. Although Shi Feng''s Attributes had been reduced by 80% due to the backlash of using Twofold Berserk, after including the buff from the Magic Tower and the effects of his Basic Tyrant title, he still retained around 30% of his Attributes. Although the current Attributes he had might not be a match for Blackwater''s experts, he should be roughly equal with Blackwater''s elite members. Moreover, the improved Sword''s Orbit also greatly enhanced his might. It was simply impossible for Blackwater''s elite members to defend against his attacks. "Go again!" Qin Muyun shouted once more. Although she could not see through Shi Feng''s Sword''s Orbit, she was no fool. She knew that the stronger a combat technique was, the greater the burden it placed on a person''s Stamina and Concentration. If Shi Feng continued using the technique, it was only a matter of time before he exhausted himself completely. Unfortunately for her, Qin Muyun did not know that Shi Feng possessed Life Essence, which could be used to improve his Stamina and Concentration recovery rate. A single drop of Life Essence could last him for two hours. He had no fear of running out of resources at all. On the contrary, by continuously using Sword''s Orbit, Shi Feng grew increasingly accustomed to the technique. Following which, time passed by quickly. Even after Qin Muyun''s legion of 1,000 elite players was nearly annihilated, Shi Feng''s powerful aura did not weaken in the slightest. On the contrary, the more he killed, the more vigorous he became. "The Guild Leader really is amazing!" "That''s right! Look at how dumbfounded Blackwater''s commander is! I''m guessing she''s already fallen for the Guild Leader''s manliness!" "Even though the Guild Leader is in a Weakened state, he is still able to render Blackwater''s 1,000 elite members completely helpless. I don''t even dare to imagine what he is capable of if he were at his peak." The Zero Wing members inside the secret room all sent gazes of admiration at Shi Feng. Their blood started to boil at this scene. Previously, most of them had only ever seen Shi Feng''s fights in videos, and those videos gave off a feeling of having been faked. However, now that they had personally experienced the pressure of contending against a legion of elite players as well as witnessed Shi Feng massacring over half of said legion all by himself, they were thoroughly stunned. What was an expert? Shi Feng was the exact embodiment of one. Despite having roughly equal Attributes, he could still make a legion of over a thousand elite players shudder in fear. "It''ll be a waste if only we get to watch this. Let''s upload the video for everyone to see!" "That''s right! I''ll upload it now! We''ll let Blackwater''s members know that Guilds aren''t just about having a lot of members! Our Guild Leader can defend an entire town all by himself!" Saying so, one of Zero Wing''s members began uploading their recorded video to the official forums. One Man, One Sword Defends the Entire Town. Blackwater, what can you do to us? Shortly after the video was uploaded with that title, an uproar broke out in Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. In less than a minute, the number of views already exceeded one million. "Crap, is he really human?" "Sure enough, he truly deserves to be called Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert! He is simply a monster! That''s a team of a thousand elites and experts!" "Blackwater is in trouble this time. If they don''t defeat Black Flame, they will have no way of capturing Stone Forest Town!" All the players who watched the battle video became hot-blooded. One Man, One Sword Defends the Entire Town! This incident would definitely go down as a legend in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, Blackwater had become the stepping stone used to create this legend. After watching this video, the Zero Wing members, who were not taking part in the war at Stone Forest Town, were deeply moved. At this moment, they could not help but wish they could rush over to Stone Forest Town and fight together with their Guild Leader. "Damn it! I don''t care what it takes. I want Black Flame dead immediately!" Abandoned Wave shouted madly, his complexion turning ashen after watching the battle video. Just as Qin Muyun''s team was nearly wiped out, a group of players wearing red-white vests suddenly entered the hallway. Meanwhile, the woman standing in the lead was a Level 41 Berserker. The woman carried a massive battle axe on her back. As the woman looked at Shi Feng, a playful smile appeared on her face. The Heaven Splitting Goddess!? Shi Feng''s expression tensed drastically when he saw this woman. 1084 Seal Removed Chapter 1084 - Seal Removed Every player in the hallway fell silent with Red Rain''s sudden appearance. None of them could pull their eyes from Red Rain. This was not because of Red Rain''s beauty or transcendent figure. Rather, it was due to the oppressive aura she radiated. Even the weakest present was a Guild elite player. They had experienced their fair share of battles in God''s Domain, and their senses had long since developed to be extremely sensitive of danger. These players could tell that the oppression they felt wasn''t just from Red Rain. In fact, the battle axe gracing her back was the main culprit. Rather than a battle axe, it was more appropriate to call it a massive, black scythe. Many blood-red patterns covered the scythe, and the weapon released an evil aura that made everyone present uncomfortable. As Red Rain approached, the discomfort became more prominent. Faintly, these players felt their thought processes slow significantly. "Why is she here?" When Violet Cloud, who stood inside the secret room, saw Red Rain, fear surfaced in her eyes. Hurriedly, she whispered a warning to Shi Feng, "Guild Leader, you need to be careful. That woman is very powerful. Even Level 65, Tier 2 guards were no match for her. Moreover, her battle axe is evil. It can slow her enemy''s reactions." It was impossible for current players to match the Attributes of Level 65, Tier 2 NPC guards. In terms of Strength, they were the equivalent of Level 65 Lords. Only, they had much lower HP. However, they compensated for that gap with their higher combat standards. They also possessed far more Skills than a Level 65 Lord. Generally, players very much preferred to fight a Lord ranked monster over a Tier 2 NPC. If she had to face a Level 65, Tier 2 NPC, she would turn and flee. Even if she worked with Fire Dance, they had no hope of victory. However, Red Rain had, by herself, killed a Level 65, Tier 2 NPC. To Violet Cloud, that fight had been unbelievable. However, actions spoke louder than words. She had seen Red Rain defeat one Tier 2 NPC after another with her own eyes. She had even done so in a relatively relaxed manner Currently, Shi Feng suffered a Weakened state. Fighting Red Rain right now would be a nightmare. Shi Feng responded to Violet Cloud''s concern with a silent nod. He did not ask her for any further information on the female Berserker. After all, it was unlikely that anyone throughout God''s Domain was more familiar with the woman known as Red Ran than Shi Feng. In the past, everyone had known about the Heaven Splitting Goddess, Red Rain. During God''s Domain''s early stages, in particular, Red Rain had wielded the Magic Weapon Bloody Mary, which ranked 73rd on the God''s Domain Magic Weapon List. The Secret Pavilion had compiled the God''s Domain Magic Weapon List in the past, ranking the game''s best 100 Magic Weapons after gathering all the information they could. Magic Weapons were much rarer than Epic Weapons. However, finding some in every kingdom and empire was possible. Hence, every Magic Weapon on that list was among the best of the best . They all possessed special effects; ordinary Magic Weapons could not compete with them. Among the top 100 Magic Weapons, Bloody Mary''s special effect was Mana Control. The weapon would automatically absorb the surrounding Mana and gather it in its wielder, enhancing their combat power. This effect also deprived the area around Bloody Mary of Mana. If the environment''s Mana thinned, it would directly affect players'' performance. The effect was the exact opposite of the buff players enjoyed in Mana dense environments. In addition, Skills and Spells would be weaker in areas with less Mana. As a result, Bloody Mary''s wielder possessed extremely strong combat power. This was especially true when the wielder fought players and NPCs. Monsters generally relied on their Basic Attributes in combat. Players and NPCs were more reliant on their Skills and Spells. If Skills and Spells were weakened, this would significantly reduce players and NPCs'' combat power. In addition, due to the Mana deficiency, players and NPCs would also be slightly sluggish. In a battle between experts, victory and defeat could be determined in the blink of an eye. This kind of slowing effect was practically fatal. Due to this, the scythe known as Bloody Mary qualified to rank on the Magic Weapon List. As Bloody Mary''s level increased, its Mana Control effect would also grow stronger. "You''re Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Red Rain asked, her lips curling up slightly as she slowly strode forward until she was within 20 yards of Shi Feng. Sizing up Shi Feng, she said, "You really are as strong as the rumors say. You''re also quite the handsome man, aren''t you? It''s a pity that Old Peerless has already declared that you need to die. Otherwise, I''d really be interested in a match against you at your peak." She rather admired Shi Feng. However, one person wasn''t strong enough to change the overall situation. First, he had entered a Weakened state after fighting Dark Blade. Then he had fought numerous elites and experts from Blackwater. At this point, he should be at his limit in every aspect. Even without her attacking, this battle was already over. Moreover, more of Blackwater''s elites and experts had begun to arrive. How many people could Shi Feng fend off by himself? Following which, Red Rain unsheathed Bloody Mary and brandished it. Suddenly, as if the hallway''s Mana had been devoured, the players present felt as if they were suffocating. Only Red Rain appeared refreshed. What a powerful special effect! Shi Feng was shocked as he felt the area''s Mana dwindle to almost nothing. In the past, he had only ever heard of Bloody Mary''s powerful Mana Control effect. He had never experienced it personally. Currently, only twenty yards separated him and Red Rain. He could feel how powerful Bloody Mary was. Even an expert like himself was slightly affected in such a Mana-lacking environment. He felt as if a layer of fog muddled his brain. He could no longer sense the minute fluctuations in the air around him. If the weapon''s power was so effective against him, there was no need to mention everyone else. In such conditions, it was no wonder why Tier 2 NPCs were no match for Red Rain. Mana was even more important to NPCs. In such a Mana-lacking environment, a Tier 2 NPC could not even exert 10% of their usual combat power. Even if their Attributes were superior, their defeat was only a matter of course. Suddenly, Red Rain used Charge and arrived before Shi Feng. She followed up with a downward slash, completing the process without any excess movements. Her actions were indescribably beautiful. Moreover, Red Rain had perfectly grasped Shi Feng''s movements. Her attack left no space for Shi Feng to dodge. So fast! Shi Feng''s heart grew cold. Peng! In the crucial moment, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade and blocked Red Rain''s battle axe. However, Red Rain had no intentions of giving Shi Feng time to catch a breather. Immediately, she launched with a series of attacks. With only 30% of his original Attributes, Shi Feng was no match for Red Rain. Adding in the fact that his reactions had slowed, defending against Red Rain''s attacks was even more difficult. Even after Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit, due to the effect on his mind, his defense wasn''t at its best. As a result, Red Rain easily predicted and dodged his blades. In the end, he had to watch as the Berserker saved off his Defensive Blade''s block counts. As Red Rain suppressed Shi Feng, the Red Jade Legion''s other experts circled Shi Feng and rushed into the secret room. Seeing this, Violet Cloud led the other Zero Wing members to hold off the approaching enemies. Unfortunately, Violet Cloud was the only person capable of putting up a decent fight. The Red Jade Legion''s experts easily suppressed her companions. In a short moment, five Zero Wing members had died. In contrast, the enemy experts were alive. Both sides'' strengths were obvious at a glance. "Begone!" Red Rain did not intend to waste any time with Shi Feng. After exhausting Defensive Blade''s block counts, she executed Flame Slash. Immediately, the massive scythe transformed into a fire snake that attempted to devour Shi Feng. Peng! Peng! Peng! However, just before the fire snake reached Shi Feng, icicles emerged before the Swordsman, one after another, blocking the fire snake. Where did that icicle come from? Red Rain was confused. However, before she could figure out what had happened, another icicle emerged from the ground. This time, the icicle aimed for her heart. Hurriedly, Red Rain used Whirlwind Slash and blocked the attack. However, the Red Jade Legion members inside the secret room were not as lucky. The icicles had heavily injured a few of them, giving Zero Wing''s members an opportunity to finish them off. As expected, Chilling Field isn''t particularly effective with my current Attributes. Shi Feng felt somewhat helpless when he saw Red Rain easily fend off his icicle attack. Despite having used a Domain Skill, he still was no threat to Red Rain. He had only succeeded in forcing her to retreat. However, when Red Rain''s Whirlwind Slash came to an end, Shi Feng vanished and reappeared before Red Rain. Instant Strike! Illusory Shadow! Immediately, Killing Ray transformed into a streak of blue light as it slashed at Red Rain. It was clear that Shi Feng intended to trade blow for blow. Seeing this, Red Rain executed Chop without hesitation. If they competed with their Strength and damage, the weakened Shi Feng had no hope against her. Yet, after several exchanges, Red Rain was the first to collapse to the ground. Shi Feng remained unharmed. "What''s going on?" The Red Jade Legion members were stupefied. They could not figure out what had just happened. They had watched everything with their own eyes. Both players had struck each other with their weapons. In the end, however, Shi Feng stood there, unharmed, while Red Rain lost her life. Red Rain had suffered the most injustice in this battle She never would''ve imagined that, before their clash had begun, Shi Feng had activated the Aura of Earth''s Absolute Defense, giving himself immunity to all damage for five seconds. He hadn''t been afraid of trading blows in the least Moreover, Shi Feng understood Red Rain''s personality. Words like "arrogant" and "confident" described the woman perfectly. In addition, due to the fact that he still suffered a Weakened state, she would choose to meet his attacks head-on rather than dodging them. After Red Rain died, the remaining Red Jade Legion members lost their will to fight. Meanwhile, Abandoned Wave, who watched a live stream of this battle from outside Stone Forest Town, could not sit still and led Blackwater''s experts personally, charging into the town. Even if Shi Feng were more powerful, he was just one person. It was simply impossible to fend off tens of thousands of players by himself. "All of you, charge into Zero Wing''s Residence! I want to see how long Black Flame lasts by himself!" Abandoned Wave had finally descended into madness. He was one step away from capturing Stone Forest Town. There was no way in hell he would give up when he was so close to achieving his goal. The rest of Blackwater''s experts trusted Abandoned Wave''s judgement. Currently, there were less than 5,000 Zero Wing members remaining. On the other hand, Blackwater had more than 50,000 players alive. It would take a miracle for Zero Wing to reverse the situation. "In the end, is the gap still too wide to bridge?" Shi Feng frowned when he read Aqua Rose''s latest war report. The numerical difference between their armies was simply too massive. Even the Magic Towers were not enough to bridge this gap. Suddenly, Shi Feng received a message. It was from Fire Dance. Shi Feng called the message up immediately. The message only contained one sentenceThe magic array''s core components have been destroyed! 1085 Full Power Chapter 1085 - Full Power Groups of Blackwater members charged at Stone Forest Town''s three Magic Towers. Although Blackwater couldn''t destroy the towers, once they killed the players manipulating the defensive buildings, the Magic Towers would be useless. However, the Magic Towers were easily defensible and very difficult to assault. But Blackwater''s elites couldn''t care less. They desperately tried to force their way into the Magic Towers. The reason for their fervent attitude was Abandoned Wave''s desperation; he had announced extraordinary rewards for the Magic Towers'' fall. Anyone who took down the Magic Towers would be awarded a set of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment as well as a Bronze Mount. Humans died in pursuit of wealth; birds died in pursuit of food. The thought of such a reward had kindled a passionate light in the eyes of Blackwater''s members. Only Guilds'' apex experts could wear a full set of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. As for the Bronze Mount, many Guild experts could only dream of obtaining their own. Furthermore, Blackwater had the numerical advantage in this war. They had more than enough people to take down the Magic Towers. Unfortunately, only three people would get to enjoy such a reward. Naturally, they had to fight with everything they had! However, this situation gave Aqua Rose, who commanded the war from inside one of the Magic Towers, a colossal headache. They had already expended all of their Magic Scrolls and large-scale destruction Spells. However, like madmen, Blackwater''s members continued to charge at the Magic Towers with complete disregard for their lives. This rapidly whittled down the number of Zero Wing members defending the structures. "Big Sis Aqua, what should we do now? We have less than 100 members near our tower. The other two Magic Towers'' situations aren''t looking too good, either. At this rate, the towers will fall," Blackie asked while launching attacks at the Blackwater members that flooded the nearby streets. However, no matter how many players he killed, they couldn''t seem to put a dent in the flood of Blackwater''s players. On the contrary, as he fought, more players seemed to swarm the streets. Aqua Rose frowned at Blackie''s report. Their group was already occupied with fending off the Red Jade Legion. They had no time to worry about the other locations. The difference between their numbers was too massive. Even with the Attribute boost from the Magic Towers, which allowed each of Zero Wing''s elite members to take on three Blackwater elites at a time, it was not enough. Blackwater possessed an overwhelming number of experts. Even several of Zero Wing''s elite members were no match for one expert player. "Guild Leader, I''ve gathered 10,000 people to attack Zero Wing''s Residence. We can charge in at any time," Laughing Drunkard reported when he arrived beside Abandoned Wave. "In addition, Heaven''s Burial has dispatched an army of 50,000 elites to support us. It will take them roughly ten minutes to reach Stone Forest Town. If we camp outside their Resurrection Temple, even if the Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town revive, they''ll only be able to watch as we secure the town." "Very good. Go and destroy Zero Wing''s Residence," Abandoned Wave commanded. Sitting atop his warhorse, he was incredibly satisfied with the sight of the army surrounding Zero Wing''s Residence. "Isn''t Black Flame an excellent fighter? Once you destroy the Residence, use the Gnome Cannons to bombard the secret underground room." He could not help but acknowledge that Black Flame was indeed powerful. The man had managed to defend the hallway to the secret room by himself, and both his subordinates and Pantheon''s experts were helpless against him. Although they could kill him if they continued to throw players at him, Abandoned Wave was done waiting. The defending army''s greatest advantage in a siege war was the ability to resurrect near the battlefield. In a war, half an hour would pass in the blink of an eye. The longer they dragged this war out, the more advantageous Zero Wing''s position would be. Hence, he didn''t want to waste any more time. It was not impossible to destroy a Guild Residence''s secret underground room. Only, it would be very difficult for players to do so by themselves. However, the Gnome Cannons could complete the task easily. Without the narrow hallway acting as a barrier, even if Shi Feng were more powerful, he couldn''t create endless duplicates of himself. They would only need 100 players to defeat him. Under Abandoned Wave''s command, the 10,000 players surrounding Zero Wing''s Residence began to bombard the Residence with attacks. Boom Boom Boom Against a series of Spells and Arrows, the buildings inside Zero Wing''s Residence began to crumble, one after another. "It seems that this war will end soon." "What a pity. It would be great if Zero Wing had more members present." "I know, right? Despite having just 20,000 members, they have lasted this long against Blackwater''s army of 200,000 monsters and 100,000-plus elites. They even managed to slaughter over half of Blackwater''s armies. If Zero Wing wins this war, it will qualify to be recorded within God''s Domain''s war history." "Even if Zero Wing loses, it''s still impressive. Have you ever seen any upstart Guild without backing stand against the joint forces of major existences like Blackwater, Heaven''s Burial, and Pantheon? Although Zero Wing has lost, it was a glorious defeat!" "Indeed. It is unfortunate that Zero Wing''s luck is so poor. If not for Blackwater, it would have only been a matter of time before it united all of Star-Moon Kingdom." Players could not help but sigh as they discussed the topic. "Jade, let''s return to White River City. There''s no point in watching the rest of this war. I just received a report stating that Heaven''s Burial''s vanguard has reached Stone Forest Town. It won''t be long before more reinforcements arrive as well. Even if all of the dead Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town resurrect, they cannot win this," Yuan Tiexin said as he looked at Purple Jade. "However, Black Flame is quite surprising. Despite his Weakened state, he defeated the Red Jade Legion''s vice commander, Red Rain. Pantheon''s upper echelons are discussing the matter heatedly." "Red Rain lost in a one-on-one?" Purple Jade could not help her shock. "That can''t be, right? I recall that Red Rain has already reached the Void Realm. She can also reach the Battle Tower''s fourth floor. Her Bloody Mary is even more tyrannical than an Epic Weapon, having a powerful countering effect against both NPCs and players. Even experts in the Void Realm won''t fight her in a one-on-one if they can help it. How did Black Flame win against her?" Purple Jade could not imagine how anyone with inferior Basic Attributes and weakened combat standards could defeat Red Rain. "I am not sure how, either. Pantheon is keeping a tight lid on the battle videos. Our men can''t get their hands on any recordings of that battle," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. He was also very curious about that fight. Moreover, there weren''t many battle videos that could elicit such a reaction from Pantheon. "Uncle Yuan, look at Zero Wing''s Residence!" Purple Jade suddenly said. "A flood of Zero Wing members are emerging!" "Are they attempting a final stand?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but shift his gaze to the live stream. Suddenly, several hundred players surged out of Zero Wing''s destroyed Residence. These people were all extraordinarily well-equipped. Moreover, they were all Level 40 and above, and their bodies brimmed with killing intent. The intensity of their auras could even rival the members of Pantheon''s Red Jade Legion. "Wait! Those are Zero Wing''s main force members and Dark Gods Legion members!" Upon sweeping a glance over the crowd, he immediately recognized many of Zero Wing''s experts. The instant these people appeared, they all activated Power of Darkness. Combined with the buff from the Magic Towers, their Attributes could rival Lord ranked monsters. Without hesitation, these people dove into Blackwater''s elite army and began a massacre. 1086 Miracle Appearing Once More Chapter 1086 - Miracle Appearing Once More Watching the flood of Zero Wing''s members charge out of the destroyed Residence towards them, Blackwater''s members were stunned. Based on the reports they had received, Zero Wing''s members in Stone Forest Town had been concentrated on the Magic Towers and town walls. A portion had also been dispatched to repel Pantheon''s three legions. Hence, the Guild shouldn''t have any more manpower to defend its Residence. Yet, now, several hundred players had emerged. Moreover, their weapons, equipment, and levels were all top class. How could they not be shocked? However, Blackwater''s members did not consider the matter overmuch. They currently had 10,000 players surrounding Zero Wing''s Residence. Among them, several hundred were expert players. With so much open space, Zero Wing could not rely on terrain to fight such a large force. Blackwater members relaxed their tense hearts as they charged to meet their enemies. In the next moment, several hundred of Blackwater''s MTs raised their shields and slammed into the approaching Zero Wing members. Peng Peng Peng As if they had been hit by a truck, Blackwater''s forefront MTs flew through the air and crashed into the crowd of players behind them. Not only had the initial clash shattered the Truth Shields and Protection the Clerics and Oracles had cast on these MTs, but the MTs'' HPs also dropped considerably. Moreover, among the Zero Wing members in the frontal charge, none showed signs of grouping up to fight their enemies. Instead, they split up and squeezed their way into the Blackwater crowd before them. This caused issues for Blackwater''s ranged players. After God''s Domain had undergone several system upgrades, even players on the same team could damage each other with their attacks. If the ranged players launched their Spells and attacks into such a cramped area, there were only two possible outcomes; either they hit their mark, or they harmed their allies. To make matters worse, the Blackwater melee players couldn''t stop Zero Wing members from splitting up. As if these Zero Wing members were high on drugs, they all displayed the Strength of Lord ranked monsters of the same level, with some even surpassing Lords. Blackwater''s army couldn''t even block Zero Wing''s members, much less stop them. "Who are these people?!" As players throughout God''s Domain watched this fight, they were stupefied. These several hundred Zero Wing members were too powerful. They looked like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep. From time to time, one could see numerous Blackwater members flying through the air. This looked like a battle between superhumans and ordinary people. It was a completely one-sided slaughter Less than a minute since the battle had begun, Blackwater''s army had lost over a thousand members. Moreover, this number rose rapidly. The massive gap in Attributes and combat techniques rendered Blackwater''s elite army helpless. "Guild Leader, these people seems to have active Berserk Skills. I suggest that we retreat for now and wait until their Skills'' durations run out. We''re at a disadvantage right now," Laughing Drunkard quickly suggested. "I understand. Order everyone split up. Ranged players will work to pin Zero Wing''s members down." Abandoned Wave''s eyes twitched with anger as he watched the massacre before him. "Once their Skills run out, I want them taken care of!" Berserk Skills were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Even Blackwater, with its bountiful resources and strong influence, had only obtained a small number, and only a minority of the Guild''s experts had qualified to learn one. Ordinary experts should not dream of wielding their own. Yet, Zero Wing had managed to supply Berserk Skills to several hundred players. With just several hundred players, Zero Wing had forced Blackwater''s elite army to flee like rats. This was the first time they had witnessed anything like this in God''s Domain. As time passed, Blackwater suffered more casualties. In contrast, Zero Wing''s several hundred players had extremely few deaths. "Are Heaven''s Burial''s members not here yet?!" Abandoned Wave demanded anxiously. Normally, Berserk Skills should only for last two or three minutes at best, yet nearly five minutes had gone by, and Zero Wing''s members still fought vigorously. On the other hand, over half of his elite army was dead. This was a nightmare. "Guild Leader, they''ve reached the town''s entrance and are currently making their way here," Laughing Drunkard responded. Meanwhile, 3,000 players had gathered inside the underground first-floor hall of Zero Wing''s Residence. As time passed, more players joined them. "Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial''s members have reached the town. Can we start now?" "That''s right! If we let the main force continue their slaughter, they''ll steal the war''s contributions!" "Guild Leader, just say the word! We''ll make those bastards from Blackwater beg for mercy!" The Zero Wing elite members that had used the Guild Transfer Scrolls to teleport to the Residence were starving for action. As they hadn''t been able to teleport in earlier, they had been forced to watch the war from so far away. Even though their allies were being slaughtered, they hadn''t been able to do anything to help. The building frustration had been intolerable. If not for the Guild''s upper echelons stopping them from running to Stone Forest Town, they would''ve braved the journey. Instead of responding to his Guild members, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and asked, "Aqua, can you see Heaven''s Burial''s members yet?" "They''ve already arrived. They are headed towards the Guild Residence. Initial estimates put their numbers above 30,000," Aqua Rose reported. Nodding, Shi Feng smiled and said, "Excellent. Your teams can retreat. Try to lure as many people to the Residence as possible." "Lure them over?" Aqua Rose was somewhat confused. Although she knew that the seal on the town had been lifted, the Guild Residence''s wide, open space was not a strategic location for a battle. However, Aqua Rose couldn''t care less. The Red Jade Legion before her was simply too powerful. Even though everyone from the Dark Gods Legion had activated their Berserk Skills, many of the Red Jade Legion''s members had their own. If they continued to clash with the Red Jade Legion, it was only a matter of time before they were annihilated. "Guild Leader Wave, I''ve made you wait," Singular Burial, who rode a horned lizard that was over two meters tall, greeted as he slowly approached Abandoned Wave. On his way here, he had heard plenty of news about the battle in Stone Forest Town. He had rejoiced when he heard the reports. He inwardly celebrated the fact that he had not led his Guild and joined the initial assault on Stone Forest Town. Otherwise, Heaven''s Burial''s fate would have been far worse than Blackwater''s. Just as Abandoned Wave was about to respond to Singular Burial, he discovered a change in the man''s face. Right now, Singular Burial wore an incomparably gloomy expression. Seeing Singular Burial''s ill complexion, Abandoned Wave asked curiously, "Guild Leader Burial?" Now that Heaven''s Burial''s vanguard army had arrived, victory was within their reach. It was also only a matter of time before Heaven''s Burial''s remaining army arrived. Right now, Singular Burial should be quite pleased, not wearing such an ugly look. "I just received news that the seal on Stone Forest Town has been destroyed!" Singular Burial explained awkwardly. "You''re saying Zero Wing has lifted the seal on Stone Forest Town?" Abandoned Wave immediately paled. With the seal lifted, Zero Wing could send an endless stream of reinforcements into Stone Forest Town. They had exhausted so much effort to annihilate most of Zero Wing''s 20,000 members defending Stone Forest Town. If another forty or fifty thousand joined the fray "Wait; something''s not right. Stone Forest Town''s seal should''ve lifted quite some time ago. Why are so few of them here right now?" Singular Burial suddenly felt as if something were amiss when he glanced at the empty Zero Wing Residence. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he felt the threat of death wash over him. Singular Burial wasn''t the only one to experience the feeling. All of the players within Zero Wing''s Residence felt it as well. Moreover, this feeling grew more intense as the seconds ticked by. Boom! Suddenly, the ground beneath Zero Wing''s Residence exploded, and a tall tower emerged from the ruins. When this tower appeared, everyone felt as if they were suffocating. This tower was none other than the Obelisk Shi Feng had unsealed when he had first captured Stone Forest Town. 1086 Divine Ruins Appearing Once More Chapter 1086 - Divine Ruins Appearing Once More Watching the flood of Zero Wing''s members charge out of the destroyed Residence towards them, Blackwater''s members were stunned. Based on the reports they had received, Zero Wing''s members in Stone Forest Town had been concentrated on the Magic Towers and town walls. A portion had also been dispatched to repel Pantheon''s three legions. Hence, the Guild shouldn''t have any more manpower to defend its Residence. Yet, now, several hundred players had emerged. Moreover, their weapons, equipment, and levels were all top class. How could they not be shocked? However, Blackwater''s members did not consider the matter overmuch. They currently had 10,000 players surrounding Zero Wing''s Residence. Among them, several hundred were expert players. With so much open space, Zero Wing could not rely on terrain to fight such a large force. Blackwater members relaxed their tense hearts as they charged to meet their enemies. In the next moment, several hundred of Blackwater''s MTs raised their shields and slammed into the approaching Zero Wing members. Peng Peng Peng As if they had been hit by a truck, Blackwater''s forefront MTs flew through the air and crashed into the crowd of players behind them. Not only had the initial clash shattered the Truth Shields and Protection the Clerics and Oracles had cast on these MTs, but the MTs'' HPs also dropped considerably. Moreover, among the Zero Wing members in the frontal charge, none showed signs of grouping up to fight their enemies. Instead, they split up and squeezed their way into the Blackwater crowd before them. This caused issues for Blackwater''s ranged players. After God''s Domain had undergone several system upgrades, even players on the same team could damage each other with their attacks. If the ranged players launched their Spells and attacks into such a cramped area, there were only two possible outcomes; either they hit their mark, or they harmed their allies. To make matters worse, the Blackwater melee players couldn''t stop Zero Wing members from splitting up. As if these Zero Wing members were high on drugs, they all displayed the Strength of Lord ranked monsters of the same level, with some even surpassing Lords. Blackwater''s army couldn''t even block Zero Wing''s members, much less stop them. "Who are these people?!" As players throughout God''s Domain watched this fight, they were stupefied. These several hundred Zero Wing members were too powerful. They looked like tigers pouncing on a flock of sheep. From time to time, one could see numerous Blackwater members flying through the air. This looked like a battle between superhumans and ordinary people. It was a completely one-sided slaughter Less than a minute since the battle had begun, Blackwater''s army had lost over a thousand members. Moreover, this number rose rapidly. The massive gap in Attributes and combat techniques rendered Blackwater''s elite army helpless. "Guild Leader, these people seems to have active Berserk Skills. I suggest that we retreat for now and wait until their Skills'' durations run out. We''re at a disadvantage right now," Laughing Drunkard quickly suggested. "I understand. Order everyone split up. Ranged players will work to pin Zero Wing''s members down." Abandoned Wave''s eyes twitched with anger as he watched the massacre before him. "Once their Skills run out, I want them taken care of!" Berserk Skills were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Even Blackwater, with its bountiful resources and strong influence, had only obtained a small number, and only a minority of the Guild''s experts had qualified to learn one. Ordinary experts should not dream of wielding their own. Yet, Zero Wing had managed to supply Berserk Skills to several hundred players. With just several hundred players, Zero Wing had forced Blackwater''s elite army to flee like rats. This was the first time they had witnessed anything like this in God''s Domain. As time passed, Blackwater suffered more casualties. In contrast, Zero Wing''s several hundred players had extremely few deaths. "Are Heaven''s Burial''s members not here yet?!" Abandoned Wave demanded anxiously. Normally, Berserk Skills should only for last two or three minutes at best, yet nearly five minutes had gone by, and Zero Wing''s members still fought vigorously. On the other hand, over half of his elite army was dead. This was a nightmare. "Guild Leader, they''ve reached the town''s entrance and are currently making their way here," Laughing Drunkard responded. Meanwhile, 3,000 players had gathered inside the underground first-floor hall of Zero Wing''s Residence. As time passed, more players joined them. "Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial''s members have reached the town. Can we start now?" "That''s right! If we let the main force continue their slaughter, they''ll steal the war''s contributions!" "Guild Leader, just say the word! We''ll make those bastards from Blackwater beg for mercy!" The Zero Wing elite members that had used the Guild Transfer Scrolls to teleport to the Residence were starving for action. As they hadn''t been able to teleport in earlier, they had been forced to watch the war from so far away. Even though their allies were being slaughtered, they hadn''t been able to do anything to help. The building frustration had been intolerable. If not for the Guild''s upper echelons stopping them from running to Stone Forest Town, they would''ve braved the journey. Instead of responding to his Guild members, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and asked, "Aqua, can you see Heaven''s Burial''s members yet?" "They''ve already arrived. They are headed towards the Guild Residence. Initial estimates put their numbers above 30,000," Aqua Rose reported. Nodding, Shi Feng smiled and said, "Excellent. Your teams can retreat. Try to lure as many people to the Residence as possible." "Lure them over?" Aqua Rose was somewhat confused. Although she knew that the seal on the town had been lifted, the Guild Residence''s wide, open space was not a strategic location for a battle. However, Aqua Rose couldn''t care less. The Red Jade Legion before her was simply too powerful. Even though everyone from the Dark Gods Legion had activated their Berserk Skills, many of the Red Jade Legion''s members had their own. If they continued to clash with the Red Jade Legion, it was only a matter of time before they were annihilated. "Guild Leader Wave, I''ve made you wait," Singular Burial, who rode a horned lizard that was over two meters tall, greeted as he slowly approached Abandoned Wave. On his way here, he had heard plenty of news about the battle in Stone Forest Town. He had rejoiced when he heard the reports. He inwardly celebrated the fact that he had not led his Guild and joined the initial assault on Stone Forest Town. Otherwise, Heaven''s Burial''s fate would have been far worse than Blackwater''s. Just as Abandoned Wave was about to respond to Singular Burial, he discovered a change in the man''s face. Right now, Singular Burial wore an incomparably gloomy expression. Seeing Singular Burial''s ill complexion, Abandoned Wave asked curiously, "Guild Leader Burial?" Now that Heaven''s Burial''s vanguard army had arrived, victory was within their reach. It was also only a matter of time before Heaven''s Burial''s remaining army arrived. Right now, Singular Burial should be quite pleased, not wearing such an ugly look. "I just received news that the seal on Stone Forest Town has been destroyed!" Singular Burial explained awkwardly. "You''re saying Zero Wing has lifted the seal on Stone Forest Town?" Abandoned Wave immediately paled. With the seal lifted, Zero Wing could send an endless stream of reinforcements into Stone Forest Town. They had exhausted so much effort to annihilate most of Zero Wing''s 20,000 members defending Stone Forest Town. If another forty or fifty thousand joined the fray "Wait; something''s not right. Stone Forest Town''s seal should''ve lifted quite some time ago. Why are so few of them here right now?" Singular Burial suddenly felt as if something were amiss when he glanced at the empty Zero Wing Residence. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he felt the threat of death wash over him. Singular Burial wasn''t the only one to experience the feeling. All of the players within Zero Wing''s Residence felt it as well. Moreover, this feeling grew more intense as the seconds ticked by. Boom! Suddenly, the ground beneath Zero Wing''s Residence exploded, and a tall tower emerged from the ruins. When this tower appeared, everyone felt as if they were suffocating. This tower was none other than the Obelisk Shi Feng had unsealed when he had first captured Stone Forest Town. 1087 Zero Wing’s Strength Chapter 1087 - Zero Wing''s Strength "A tower?" "Why is there a tower here?" Everyone in Stone Forest Town stared incredulously at the Obelisk that had suddenly emerged in the middle of Zero Wing''s Residence. The Obelisk was several hundred meters tall. Even the Tier 4 Mythic monsters looked no different than children before the Obelisk. The instant the Obelisk appeared, the cold hand of fear touched the hearts of all players within Stone Forest Town. Before anyone realized it, dark clouds covered the sky above the town. In the blink of an eye, elemental rain began to fall, scattering a mist over the town. "This is elementalization!" Magical class players who were familiar with elemental Mana immediately recognized the mist''s true identity, and they couldn''t help their growing excitement. The town''s players also felt their minds clear like never before. They felt their perspectives widen. If they could train in such a Mana-dense environment, it wouldn''t take long for them to improve by leaps and bounds. However, unlike the rest of the players, Abandoned Wave, Peerless, and Singular Burial did not show any excitement despite the thickening mist. Rather, they had noticed a fivefold magic array looming in the sky, enveloping the town. The instant the fivefold magic array appeared, the Mana it gathered sent a shudder through every player''s soul. Crap! This is a trap! Singular Burial could not help but recall Zero Wing''s initial capture of Stone Forest Town, and the monstrous, summoned NPC that destroyed the Star Alliance. Thinking up to this point, chills crawled down Singular Burial''s spine. If that monster appeared once more, the consequences would be unimaginable. A trap? Originally, Abandoned Wave hadn''t been sure about his guess. However, upon seeing Singular Burial''s pale complexion, he was certain. Immediately, he turned to Singular Burial and asked, "Can you tell me what is going on?" Now that he was so close to obtaining Stone Forest Town, he could not give up. He had sacrificed too much to dominate Stone Forest Town. He no longer had the option to retreat. Since he couldn''t flee, he needed to get a clear idea of the trap they had just fallen into; he needed to implement appropriate countermeasures. Meanwhile, Peerless, who stood beside the two, grew curious. What, exactly, could frighten the almighty Guild Leader of Heaven''s Burial to such a degree? "There''s no time! If we don''t leave this instant, it will be too late!" Singular Burial casually responded. Hurriedly, he began shouting through the regional Guild chat, "Everyone, withdraw from Stone Forest Town immediately!" Unfortunately, a few moments after Singular Burial issued this command, a translucent, purple barrier began to form around Stone Forest Town. The barrier swallowed the town as well as some of the land outside its border. The instant this barrier appeared, fear surfaced on the monsters'' faces outside of the town. Ignoring the bandaged man''s commands, these monsters turned and fled. The monsters that had been caught within the purple barrier were not as fortunate. Even Level 66 Grand Lords attacked the barrier desperately, yet the barrier remained intact. The barrier did not even shudder under the powerful assault. "Shit! We can''t get out!" When the players in saw how firm the magic barrier stood, despite the attacks it received, they started to panic, their previous joy disappearing completely. Meanwhile, outside Stone Forest Town, the war''s spectators could no longer see inside the town. Because these live streams were recorded from a safe distance outside of the town, all they could see was a large dome over Stone Forest Town. "What did Zero Wing do?" Yuan Tiexin felt an indescribable shock as he stared at the purple dome. As one of the Secret Pavilion''s upper echelons, he usually studied God''s Domain thoroughly. He knew just how terrifying a fivefold magic array was. This was something that could not even be found in empires'' Imperial Palaces. Generally, one only encountered such an array in divine ruins. Even Tier 5 NPCs were forced to avoid fivefold magic arrays, much less current players. Suddenly, Yuan Tiexin felt that his view of Zero Wing blur once again. After the magic barrier surrounded Stone Forest Town, elite and expert players began to swarm out of Zero Wing''s Residence, their numbers far exceeding everyone''s expectations. In less than a moment, over ten thousand Zero Wing members had joined the battle. Moreover, this number was still rapidly climbing. Ten thousand Twenty thousand Thirty thousand As players watched, 50,000 Zero Wing members exited Zero Wing''s partially destroyed Guild Hall. Even the weakest among them were Guild elites. "Damn it! It really is a trap!" Rage burned in Singular Burial''s gaze as he looked at the newly-emerged army of 50,000 elite players. Although Blackwater, Heaven''s Burial, and Pantheon''s combined force was still larger than Zero Wing''s, the gap had shortened. At this moment, their combined armies barely outnumbered Zero Wing''s by two-to-one. However, Zero Wing''s elite members received the Magic Towers'' buff. These elites'' Basic Attributes surpassed their elite members by a large margin. In a head-on clash, they would not have any advantage whatsoever. "Hahaha! Look at the ugly expressions on Blackwater''s faces! I want to see how long they last now that we''ve closed the gap!" "They actually dare to pick a fight with Zero Wing while most of us are away! I''ll be damned if I don''t camp their corpses until tomorrow!" "There''s no point in camping their corpses. They''ll resurrect in Saimu Town after they die. Instead, we should let our healers resurrect them, and kill them again. Let''s make them drop every item they have!" The Zero Wing members that had just emerged from the Residence brimmed with fighting spirit as they grinned at Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s members. "Guild Leader, all available elite members have arrived!" Blackie reported, pride growing in his heart as he watched the army of 50,000 elite players. It was hard to imagine that, in just a few months, Zero Wing had grown from an insignificant Guild to contesting for the position of number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Excitedly, Blackie said, "As long as you give the word, I''ll lead our brothers to exterminate Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial!" "Alright. It''s about time we show them Zero Wing''s true power," Shi Feng said, nodding. Suddenly, he shouted, "All units, listen up! Leave none of them alive!" Upon hearing this, Zero Wing''s members charged at Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s armies without any hesitation. The Obelisk was the Awakened''s prison. However, the crystal ball inside had more than its sealing ability. Only, the crystal ball''s other abilities were considerably costly. For example, the fivefold magic array enveloping the town had cost a whopping 18 Mana Stones to activate. In addition, the magic array had an extremely long Cooldown. Once used, it could only be used again after a full month. Meanwhile, the magic array only lasted ten hours. During this period, people could only enter Stone Forest Town. Leaving the town would be impossible until the array''s duration ended, or it was deactivated. As for destroying the magic barrier, that was beyond current players. Meanwhile, the white mist in the town strengthened allies, granting them an extraordinary calm and helping them improve their Skill Completion Rate. In contrast, enemy forces'' senses were dulled. Enemy players'' field of vision, in particular, would be greatly limited. If a player''s field of vision were too narrow, they could easily fall prey to ambushes. As the battle began, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s members were bombarded by various ranged attacks, yet when they tried to retaliate, they couldn''t locate their attackers. They could only stand there, dumbfounded, under the bombardment. In just the first wave of attacks, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had suffered over a thousand casualties. Against Zero Wing''s elite members, even Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s experts had trouble in a one-on-one fight, not to mention the Guilds'' elite members. Nobody could have imagined that the battle would become so one-sided. In less than fifteen minutes, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had lost over ten thousand members in total. On the other hand, Zero Wing had only lost several hundred. Moreover, these several hundred Zero Wing elites had traded their lives for the lives of Blackwater''s and Heaven''s Burial''s experts Watching Blackwater''s members die in troves, Abandoned Wave sent Shi Feng a hateful glare before reluctantly commanding through the Guild chat, "We retreat!" Defeated! He had been miserably defeated! He had never imagined that his long-cultivated plan would end like this. 1088 Legendary Existence Chapter 1088 - Legendary Existence When Abandoned Wave issued the command, a powerless look graced his face. However, this command allowed the players fighting Zero Wing to release a sigh of relief. This wasn''t a battle; it was simply a one-sided massacre. Not only were their Basic Attributes lower than Zero Wing''s members, but their senses were also disrupted. Despite having more people on their side, they were helpless against Zero Wing. "Guild Leader, they''re starting to withdraw to the north. Should we hunt them down?" Aqua Rose also sighed with relief when she saw Blackwater''s and Heaven''s Burial''s members retreat. This war hadn''t been an easy one. It was definitely the most thrilling war she had participated in since she had started playing virtual reality games. If not for Shi Feng''s preparations, revealing one trump card after another to foil Blackwater''s assault as well as dispatching Fire Dance to remove the seal over the town, Blackwater would have secured this war''s victory. Despite dispatching so many elite players and the support of the Magic Towers and Obelisk, Zero Wing had only taken 20,000 enemy lives after much difficulty. In exchange, they had lost 3,000 lives. Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s power was obvious. Moreover, Pantheon''s core legions had also taken part in this war. If not for Zero Wing''s home-ground advantage, the war''s outcome might not have been certain. "Chase after them. Kill as many as we can," Shi Feng commanded without hesitation. This war had given Shi Feng an understanding of just how powerful Blackwater was. Despite Blackwater''s short time in God''s Domain, it already possessed such combat power and foundations. If Blackwater were allowed to continue, Shi Feng even doubted that he could defend Stone Forest Town. Hence, he needed to deal a harsh blow to Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial in this war. If they annihilated the Guilds'' armies now, Zero Wing could continue to develop safely for a considerable amount of time. He would also have more time to prepare for his city''s construction. A city''s construction was different from that of a town. Not only did it cost more, but it was also more difficult to defend than Stone Forest Town. Most importantly, he had already used the Magic Tower Design three times. Of the two remaining Magic Towers he could construct, he had promised one for the Town of Beginnings. He''d be dreaming if he thought he could defend a city with a single Magic Tower. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, every member of Zero Wing charged at the scattering Blackwater''s and Heaven''s Burial members. This was a good opportunity to earn Guild Contribution Points. Many of the systems and benefits Zero Wing offered required a certain amount of GCPs. Promotions also required GCPs. GCPs had become particularly important after Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena had appeared. One could normally only gain GCPs by completing quests or trading in good equipment or items. However, there was a limit to the GCPs that could be obtained through these methods. It was only during Guild wars that GCPs could be earned without a limit. How could they pass up this opportunity? "Zero Wing is despicable! We''re already retreating, yet they''re chasing us down!" Singular Burial could not help but curse. Among the remaining players in the Blackwater-Heaven''s Burial army, the majority consisted of Heaven''s Burial''s members. Blackwater''s army had mostly been wiped out. Even if more were killed, it would not make much of a difference. However, things were different for Heaven''s Burial. Although their losses during their escape would be fewer than a direct clash with Zero Wing''s forces, they still lost several hundred players with each passing minute. Elite players were not as readily available as ordinary players. Elite players were a Guild''s backbone. If Heaven''s Burial lost so many of its elite players here, it would wound the Guild''s development. The Guild may even stagnate. However, regardless of how many times Singular Burial cursed, Heaven''s Burial''s members died by the dozens. Very quickly, over half of Heaven''s Burial''s 50,000 elite army had been lost As Zero Wing''s members continued to massacre Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s members, Shi Feng received a call request from an extremely familiar ID. Endless Scars? Shi Feng''s expression tensed when he saw this name. Why is she contacting me? We shouldn''t have any connections. Endless Scars had been a rather mysterious female expert in Shi Feng''s previous life. Aside from her name and battle records, nobody knew anything about her. Many players had recognized her as a legend among independent players. Many Super Guilds had even tried to recruit the woman, offering her all sorts of astronomical prices. However, the latter ignored these offers, operating alone. Surprisingly, none of these Super Guilds tried to cause Endless Scars any trouble. Endless Scars had become a legend due to her battle records against one higher-tiered opponent after another. First, she fought Tier 4 opponents as a Tier 3 player. Afterward, she fought Tier 5 opponents as a Tier 4 player. One of her most impressive battle records was of a fight with a Tier 6 God-ranked expert as a Tier 5 player. Tier 6 was a massive turning point for players. Any expert that reached this rank had peaked in almost all aspects, yet, Endless Scars had successfully defeated a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. After that battle, she became the number one expert on the God''s Domain Experts List of the time. Everyone had assumed that this goddess would continue her legend in God''s Domain. However, Endless Scars had suddenly disappeared from the public eye. Many throughout God''s Domain had speculated about her disappearance. Shi Feng had never imagined that such an existence would seek him out. Shi Feng immediately accepted the call. "Hello, my name is Endless Scars. You may also refer to me as Ling Jingxuan. I am a representative of the Blackwater Corporation," Ling Jingxuan introduced herself, her voice crisp and pleasing, which made her difficult to hate. Although he hadn''t reacted visibly, Shi Feng''s heart pounded madly when he heard this introduction. To think that this legendary player would be a representative from the Blackwater Corporation.... Shi Feng finally understood why none of the various Super Guilds had issued sanctions against Endless Scars after she rejected their offers. With such a powerful backer, of course, the various Super Guilds wouldn''t move against her. "Seeing as Miss Jingxuan has contacted me, are you, perhaps, trying to convince me to show mercy to Blackwater''s people?" Shi Feng asked, laughing. As one of the Blackwater Corporation''s representatives, Ling Jingxuan would care about the Blackwater Guild''s development. If all of the Blackwater Guild''s elite members died here, the Guild would undoubtedly stagnate. "That''s right. Doing so would benefit us both." Ling Jingxuan did not bother to hide her intentions. Instead, she chuckled lightly, acting as if this matter wasn''t important to her in the least. "Miss Jingxuan, I have received your message of goodwill. If there is nothing else, I''ll end the call now," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. "If you continue to force Abandoned Wave into a corner, he might decide to take you down with him. If that happens, Stone Forest Town will have no ruler." Shi Feng''s instant rejection surprised Ling Jingxuan slightly. The reports she had received had described his personality to a T. Immediately, she explained, "I am not saying this without basis. You know that Abandoned Wave is capable of controlling that monster army, right? Those monsters have yet to enter the town because Abandoned Wave is afraid of those monsters polluting the town with Evil Energy, making the area inhospitable for players. If you continue to pursue Blackwater''s members, he might release the monster army into Stone Forest Town. If that happens, everyone will lose." "Evil Energy?" Shi Feng seemed to recall something similar. Any area that the Evil God''s Evil Energy polluted became uninhabitable for players. If players were in these polluted areas for long periods, the Evil Energy would infect them as well. If that happened, the consequences would be extremely severe. This was precisely the reason that the Evil God''s Temple was the human race''s common enemy. "Evil Energy cannot be dispelled. If you let the remaining Blackwater members go, I can assure you that Abandoned Wave will not allow the monster army into Stone Forest Town. May I know your decision, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Ling Jingxuan asked, smiling at Shi Feng''s poker face on the screen. At this point, Blackwater had suffered a devastating blow. Even if it were not exterminated, it would not be capable of causing Zero Wing any trouble for some time. In her opinion, Shi Feng had no other choice. At the end of the day, Stone Forest Town was an important revenue source for Zero Wing. Losing Stone Forest Town was the equivalent to chopping off Zero Wing''s arms. "Thank you for your offer, Miss Jingxuan. Again, if there is nothing else, I will disconnect the call now," Shi Feng replied in the same manner as before. Without waiting for Ling Jingxuan to respond, he ended the call. 1089 Shi Fengs Madness Chapter 1089 - Shi Feng''s Madness "He rejected the offer?" Ling Jingxuan blinked in astonishment as she stared at the black, translucent screen before her. She hadn''t expected Shi Feng to be so decisive. "What an interesting person." Ling Jingxuan chuckled as she shook her head. "So be it. It''s just a pity that we''ll lose Stone Forest Town." Following which, Ling Jingxuan forwarded Shi Feng''s reply to Abandoned Wave. Her message was very straightforward, the contents simply stating that Zero Wing had rejected their offer. After Ling Jingxuan finished sending her message, a female Cleric looking to be in her early twenties walked over and said, "Big Sis Endless, we''ve found the hidden path leading to the ruins'' core. Only, the monster guarding it is a Level 60 Grand Lord. Leader has called for you to discuss a raid plan." If Shi Feng were present, he would notice that the female Cleric wore Light of the Forsaken, a Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for Clerics. It was a six-piece set that only dropped from Level 50 and above Field Great Lords. Meanwhile, the Cleric wearing the set was only Level 41. "Alright, I''ll head over right now." Ling Jingxuan smiled and nodded. She then followed the female Cleric deeper into the ruins. The Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town rushed madly at their enemies, while Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s armies ran and hid wherever they could, suffering immense losses in the process. As for Pantheon''s three legions, they held their ground in an easily defensible corner. However, although they had managed to lower their casualty rate, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out. Watching his Guild members die, one after another, Singular Burial could not help but ask anxiously, "Brother Wave, what did Black Flame say?" The purple barrier still enveloped the town. Players could only enter the town, not leave. No matter what methods they used, they were utterly helpless against the magic barrier. If this continued, the 50,000 elite members he had worked so hard to nurture would vanish like bubbles. After Abandoned Wave received Ling Jingxuan''s message, he was dazed for a long moment. Murmuring, he said, "He rejected." "Has Black Flame lost his mind?!" Singular Burial was stunned when he heard this. He had experienced an area polluted by Evil Energy personally. Players could not reside in those areas for long. If those monsters invaded Stone Forest Town, it would cripple the town. Stone Forest Town was Zero Wing''s main source of income. How could the Guild choose to give it up so easily? "Black Flame really is decisive. He is actually willing to sacrifice an entire town to defeat the last of our troops. I have underestimated him," Peerless said, astonished. "If he is even this ruthless to himself, it seems our defeat is not without reason." "Ruthless?" Abandoned Wave laughed. "Since he is so eager to die, I''ll fulfill his wish!" His defeat in this war was already certain. It was impossible to obtain Stone Forest Town. Moreover, after suffering such a miserable defeat, nothing good waiting for him upon his return to the Guild. He was more than willing to drag Stone Forest Town with him as he fell. Moreover, if Zero Wing lost Stone Forest Town, its development would slow significantly. He might even have a chance to redeem himself. He had only asked Ling Jingxuan to contact Black Flame to appease Pantheon and Heaven''s Burial. In reality, he hoped that Zero Wing would reject his offer. He had never imagined that Zero Wing would be this foolish. Following which, Abandoned Wave contacted the bandaged man. "You can make your move now! Let the monsters enter the town! Destroy as much as you can! Our previous agreement still stands!" "This is your decision, not mine. I''ll gratefully accept Stone Forest Town." Hearing Abandoned Wave resolution, a hint of excitement flashed in the bandaged man''s eyes. He was like a starving beast that had suddenly spotted an innocent sheep. Immediately, the bandaged man commanded his remaining monsters to charge into Stone Forest Town. The three Mythic monsters even joined the fray. "Guild Leader, this is bad! The three Mythic monsters are trying to charge into the town!" Alluring Summer hurriedly reported as she tried her best to stop the crazed Mythic monsters. However, the Evil Earth Dragons began to act differently. No longer controlled, their Basic Attributes instantly increased by 15%. Most importantly, their intelligence was no longer suppressed. Despite Alluring Summer''s Divine Dragon having superior Attributes, she was barely able to hold back two of the Earth Dragons. She was helpless to stop the third. As a Tier 4 Mythic monster, the Evil Earth Dragon was extremely fast. In less than ten seconds, it had reached Stone Forest Town''s defensive walls. "Roar!" Bellowing angrily, the Evil Earth Dragon, that stood over a hundred meters tall, shattered the wall before it with a single swipe of its claws. As for the town''s Level 65 NPC guards, they were nothing before the Evil Earth Dragon. No one could stop the Mythic monster as it charged into the town. Although some players had tried to stop the monster, the Earth Dragon took them out with one swipe of its massive tail. In addition, the attack devastated the surrounding terrain. Seeing this, Zero Wing''s members were stupefied. Even after activating Protection Blessing, just one of the Evil Earth Dragon''s normal attacks had killed a Level 40 Guardian Knight with nearly 30,000 HP instantly Meanwhile, the instant the Evil Earth Dragon entered the town, the monster''s body began to exude a gray fog that slowly spread. As the gray fog passed, the ground dried up as if its vitality had been devoured. "Hahaha! With this, Blackwater''s victory is a guarantee!" "Hooray for the Guild Leader!" Blackwater''s members jumped in celebration as the Evil Earth Dragon arrived. Although Zero Wing had a lot of players, they did not have anyone who could contend with a Mythic monster. They could only watch as the monster destroyed their town. "A Tier 4 Mythic monster is really powerful. Though, it''s a pity that we''ll lose Stone Forest Town forever," Singular Burial said, sighing. Previously, he had not had a chance to observe the Evil Earth Dragons up close. However, now that he witnessed one in action, he finally understood just how frightening Tier 4 monsters were. They were definitely not existences current players could challenge. "Aqua, tell everyone to use their Return Scrolls to leave Stone Forest Town right now," Shi Feng said to Aqua Rose, who stood beside him, as he watched the Evil Earth Dragon rampage inside his town. Following which, he dashed towards the top of the Obelisk. Unlike other magic barriers, the magic barrier enveloping the town did not isolate or hinder allies. Hence, Zero Wing''s members could use their Return Scrolls at any time. "We''re leaving?" Shi Feng''s decision confused Aqua Rose. However, after giving it some thought, she realized that they didn''t have anyone present that could take care of the Evil Earth Dragon. They would simply be throwing their lives away if they remained. It was better to return to White River City. In any case, with the presence of the Evil Energy, Stone Forest Town was finished. Following which, Aqua Rose notified Zero Wing''s members to withdraw from Stone Forest Town. "Hahaha! They''re retreating! It seems even Black Flame fears something!" Abandoned Wave was quite pleased as he watched Zero Wing''s members abandoned the town. Although he had not obtained Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing wouldn''t have it either. In other words, this war had ended in a draw, with neither side having an advantage. When the Evil Earth Dragon reached the Obelisk, it released a powerful roar as its eyes locked onto the only Zero Wing member left in Stone Forest TownShi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who stood on the Obelisk''s peak, unsheathed Killing Ray and swung the Sacred Sword at the gigantic crystal before him. Peng! The crystal split in half on the spot. Immediately, black fog began to seep from the crystal''s two halves, gradually forming into the figure of a person. A short moment later, an effeminate youth wearing long, blood-red robes with hair scattered over his shoulders appeared. This youth was none other than the Awakened the Obelisk had imprisoned. [Lancelot] (Awakened, High Elf) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? No wonder he didn''t die even after imprisoned for such a long time. So, he''s a High Elf. Realization dawned as Shi Feng looked at the effeminate youth. Elves had a much longer lifespan than humans. Moreover, they were naturally gifted with the ability to manipulate the magical elements. Spells in their hands could move as if they had a life of their own. If the current Lancelot were not in his soul form, he only needed to flick a finger to turn Stone Forest Town to ash. However, even the current Lancelot should be provoked. He was capable of taking over other NPCs'' bodies. Moreover, he became more powerful with each time his seal was lifted. The NPC he took possession of would also become incredibly difficult to deal with. Shi Feng hadn''t wanted to release Lancelot. However, to exterminate Blackwater''s remaining monsters, he had been forced to take this risk. 1090 Awakened versus Evil Earth Dragons Chapter 1090 - Awakened versus Evil Earth Dragons As Lancelot appeared, Shi Feng lost control of the magic barrier surrounding Stone Forest Town. Instead, the magic barrier automatically began to suppress Lancelot''s soul. The Mana flowing out of the magic barrier increased by numerous times. Even the Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons started to fear the magic array as they unconsciously retreated. Shortly after, Lancelot glanced at Shi Feng. However, at this point, the Mana from the magic barrier already suppressed him. Immediately, Lancelot vanished from Shi Feng''s view as he flew to occupy a Tier 1 NPC Elementalist. I should leave now. Shi Feng could not help but sigh with relief when Lancelot left. Although Lancelot was only a soul, the NPC possessed the power to damage and kill other living creatures. Lancelot would have no problem killing a weakened Tier 1 player like himself. If Lancelot had a physical body, he''d likely kill Shi Feng instantly. Now that the seal had been broken, the magic barrier had begun to dissipate naturally. Players inside the barrier were no longer restricted and could leave the barrier any time they wanted. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Space Movement and distanced himself from Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, the independent players watching the war from outside of Stone Forest Town could finally see the situation inside. "Is that Stone Forest Town?" Everyone''s jaws dropped when they saw the town''s current state. Instead of a thriving town, they saw a wasteland. Collapsed buildings littered the town. Potholes and cracks covered its streets. However, the player corpses that filled the streets shocked the spectators the most. This was the first time they had seen anything so tragic. "The magic barrier is gone!" Singular Burial''s frown relaxed as he watched the magic barrier vanish. However, after recalling the current state of his army, his hatred for Zero Wing intensified. Based on his current estimates, his elite army''s death toll exceeded 35,000. Of his 50,000-strong elite army, less than 15,000 people remained. After losing so many elite players, Heaven''s Burial''s development would undoubtedly stagnate for a time. The most abhorrent thing was that, even after losing so many troops, he had obtained nothing whatsoever. Moreover, Zero Wing''s opportunistic members had looted over half of weapons and equipment Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members had dropped. Not only hadn''t they profited from this war, but they had also lost far more than expected. "Damn it! Why is Black Flame so willing to part with his town!?" Abandoned Wave ground his teeth as he watched Shi Feng leave the town through a spatial tear. At this moment, he even doubted that Shi Feng was human. Shi Feng had sacrificed Stone Forest Town, yet he wasn''t willing to go down with it. "Let''s leave as well. The Evil Energy here is growing denser." Peerless also could not help but sigh when he saw Shi Feng disappear. He then commanded the members of Pantheon''s three core legions to leave Stone Forest Town. However, as everyone began to activate their Return Scrolls, a figure appeared in the sky, chanting an incantation. Immediately, a threefold magic array slowly formed above Stone Forest Town. "What kind of NPC is that? He can actually float in the sky." Everyone was surprised when they noticed the NPC Lancelot had possessed. "This is bad! NPCs capable of hovering in the air are at least Tier 4! Everyone, get out of there!" Singular Burial''s expression tensed when he saw Lancelot. Ordinary players might not know how significant hovering in the air might be, but as the leader of a Guild, Singular Burial knew what that ability represented. This signified that Lancelot was a Tier 4 NPC at the very minimum. Otherwise, he had no way of learning the super-rare Tier 4 Spell, Hover. If the enemy were simply a Tier 4 Mythic monster, he would not be particularly worried. However, the new opponent was a magical class NPC. As a Tier 4 magical class NPC, Lancelot knew many Tier 4 Spells. Among them, there were definitely Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. If he used those Spells, slaughtering these players would be child''s play. Peerless had also begun to notify his men, instructing them to escape Stone Forest Town quickly. "Foolish ants, cease your resistance and let me devour you!" Lancelot, who now had a physical body, overlooked Stone Forest Town, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes as he began to laugh. Suddenly, Lancelot pointed a finger towards the sky, and pitch-black ripples radiated into the surroundings. Any players that these black ripples enveloped were interrupted and could no longer use their Return Scrolls. Moreover, the Spell''s range was more than double that of the Obelisk''s magic barrier. Instantly, the black ripples enveloped Stone Forest Town. Even the monsters outside of the town failed to escape. After the black ripples touched everyone in the town, they felt as if something or someone dragged them as their bodies involuntarily moved closer to Lancelot. An Awakened''s Tier 4 Spell, Dark Gravitation is so much more powerful! Shi Feng was speechless when he saw the black ripples'' range. Fortunately, he had traveled far enough from Stone Forest Town. Otherwise, he would be among those being dragged towards Lancelot right now. Although Awakened NPCs and Mutants were somewhat similar, the former was unmatched in Skill and Spell utilization. Hence, Awakened NPCs were invincible among those of the same tier and level. They were even capable of challenging opponents of a higher tier. Even a Tier 6 God couldn''t kill a Tier 5 Awakened like Lancelot, and in the end, could only imprison the latter and pray that time would wear the High Elf down. "What did Black Flame do?" Fear surfaced on Abandoned Wave''s expression. Even if he were a fool, he could tell that Shi Feng was related to this situation. However, no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn''t break free from the power pulling his body. He could only watch as he gravitated towards Lancelot. "This won''t do. We can''t resist this Spell at all. We need the Evil Earth Dragons to get rid of that NPC!" Peerless hurriedly told Abandoned Wave. Even after activating his Berserk Skill, he was dragged towards Lancelot. Current players couldn''t contend with a Tier 4 NPC. The three Evil Earth Dragons were their only hope. As they were also Tier 4, even if the Evil Earth Dragons were slightly weaker than the NPC, there were three of them. Combined with players and the other Tier 3 monsters'' attacks, it might be possible to kill the Tier 4 NPC. If they could kill such a powerful Tier 4 NPC, based on God''s Domain''s settings, they might obtain some powerful items that could make up for the losses they had suffered. Upon Peerless''s reminder, Abandoned Wave hurriedly contacted the bandaged man. The Evil Earth Dragons were Level 65, and after using an advanced Identification Skill, Abandoned Wave discovered that Lancelot was only Level 70. To Tier 4 monsters, a difference of five levels was practically negligible. [Lancelot] (Awakened, High Elf, Great Wizard) Level 70 HP 73,000,000/73,000,000 In terms of HP, Lancelot definitely surpassed NPCs of the same tier and level. However, he didn''t have as much as the Level 65 Evil Earth Dragons. "Kill that NPC!" Abandoned Wave commanded. Immediately, with the three Evil Earth Dragons taking the lead, both monster and player armies began desperately attacking Lancelot. 1091 Taking Advantage of Otherss Misfortune Chapter 1091 - Taking Advantage of Others'' Misfortune Lancelot looked like an ant before the three Evil Earth Dragons. It seemed as if a single slap was more than enough to take his life. "Roar!" The three Evil Earth Dragons activated their Evil Roar Skills simultaneously, firing three gray beams at Lancelot. As the Evil Earth Dragons'' specialty Skill, their Evil Roars had a very wide range. If struck, even Mythic monsters of the same level would receive significant damage. Their combat powers might even weaken. The players watching from a distance felt chills crawl down their spines when they saw the three gray beams. They finally understood why the tens of thousands of players that had attempted to raid Black Ridge Town had suffered such a miserable defeat. It wouldn''t matter how many players attacked the town. Against such a Skill, all would die instantly. Boom Boom Boom The three beams of light converged into a single point, creating a deafening explosion. Despite the explosion occurring in the air, the resulting shockwave nearly sent the players inside the town flying. "Black Flame, do you think a single Tier 4 NPC can defeat us?" Abandoned Wave gleefully demanded. Although they had lost Stone Forest Town and their war with Zero Wing ended in a draw, every player throughout Star-Moon Kingdom would know of Blackwater now that it had displayed its power. The Guild would have no issues recruiting elite and expert players in the future. Blackwater would quickly recover its losses. But what about Zero Wing? Without Stone Forest Town, the Candlelight Trading Firm would be Zero Wing''s only source of income. The trading firm''s meager profits could never sustain a Guild of Zero Wing''s size. Moreover, Zero Wing could only operate around White River City. How could its development speed possibly compete with Blackwater''s? The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had also suppressed Zero Wing''s expansion into the Black Dragon Empire. Hence, it was only a matter of time before Blackwater surpassed Zero Wing. By then, he would remove Zero Wing''s name from Star-Moon Kingdom permanently. "Guild Leader, look" Just as Abandoned Wave''s hope rekindled, Laughing Drunkard''s eyes widened as he looked towards the sky, shock flashing in his gaze. Still hovering in the air, Lancelot was unharmed. A five-layer ice barrier shattered and fell to the ground, piece by piece. "He''s unharmed?" "How is he so powerful?!" "Is this a Tier 4 NPC?" The spectating crowd gasped when they saw this, their hearts nearly skipping a beat. A single Evil Roar could easily wipe out thousands of players or heavily injure a Grand Lord of the same level, yet Lancelot emerged unscathed after taking three of these attacks. Everyone was confused. Why was there such a huge disparity in strength between these Tier 4 existences? "Continue the attacks! He must''ve used a Lifesaving Skill! He won''t be able to use it repeatedly!" The outcome also surprised Abandoned Wave. However, he had a more complete view of the situation. The greatest difference between NPCs and monsters was their Skills'' strength. Otherwise, how could NPCs challenge monsters of the same tier? As Abandoned Wave had guessed, the Five-layered Ice Mirror was a Tier 4 Great Wizard''s Lifesaving Skill. The Skill could not be used again within a short time. Moreover, the Skill had a very short duration of only 10 seconds. Immediately, tens of thousands of Spells and arrows flew towards Lancelot. However, Lancelot was too small a target. Only several hundred attacks actually struck the NPC. In response, Lancelot stretched out his hand and swiped it across the empty space before him. Suddenly, a light blue magic shield appeared around him, releasing a dazzling, eye-catching glow. When the Spells and arrows met the magic shield, it was as if they had crashed into adamantite. The magic shield remained intact even after receiving the hundreds of attacks. By the time the first wave of attacks ended, Lancelot had finished chanting the incantation for the Tier 4 Spell, Earth Pulsation. The Spell had an effective radius of 300 yards. Upon the Spell''s activation, the ground in the affected area shattered. Over a thousand players died on the spot. Monsters beneath Lord rank were also killed. Immediately after, Lancelot swung his hand again. Clouds of dark smoke rose from Earth Pulsation''s affected area and flew towards Lancelot. This dark smoke was comprised of the slain players'' souls. Nothing nourished Lancelot more than players'' Immortal Souls. As Lancelot absorbed the dark smoke, pleasure lit his expression. His aura also grew slightly stronger. "He He can absorb souls!" When Abandoned Wave witnessed this familiar scene, fear flashed in his eyes. Immortal Souls were extremely important to players. If a player''s Immortal Soul were absorbed, the penalty could range anywhere from being unable to log into the game for several days to permanent death. In the latter scenario, players would have no choice but to start a new account When Peerless and Singular Burial heard Abandoned Wave''s words, they similarly paled. They were not ordinary players. They had a general understanding of Immortal Souls. If this NPC absorbed all of their present Guild members souls, the consequences would be devastating. Yet, the powerful gravitational force continued to drag them closer to Lancelot. They couldn''t escape the NPC at all "It seems I''ll have to give them some hints." Shi Feng could not help but laugh when he saw these players'' despair. Immediately, he anonymously published a message on the official forums, mentioning that he knew Lancelot''s weakness. However, the information would cost 10,000 Magic Crystals. Although his asking price was slightly high, if it could save tens of thousands of elite players and experts from losing their Immortal Souls, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial would buy the information without hesitation. As for letting Lancelot eliminate Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s members, that was not Shi Feng''s goal. If Lancelot absorbed these players'' souls, even Shi Feng would be helpless against the NPC. Moreover, he would truly lose Stone Forest Town. This was not his desired outcome. His best option was to ensure that both sides suffered immense losses. Of course, if Blackwater had not possessed the three Evil Earth Dragons, there would be no point in sharing Lancelot''s weakness. In the past, Lancelot''s seal had been removed a total of three times. Unlike the first time the seal had been released, imprisoning Lancelot by repairing the sealing crystal had been impossible after his second release. They had beaten Lancelot within an inch of his life before he could be resealed. If players wanted to suppress Lancelot, they needed someone or something to pin down the Awakened NPC for a moment. Only then could players approach the Obelisk and activate the magic array inside the structure. When activated, the magic array would suppress Lancelot, making him much easier to deal with. Suddenly, Daybreak Fog contacted Singular Burial and asked, "Guild Leader, I just discovered a method to deal with the NPC on the official forums. However, the other party is requesting 10,000 Magic Crystals. Should we purchase the information?" "Ten thousand?! Why doesn''t he just rob us instead!?" Singular Burial bellowed. Although Heaven''s Burial could obtain plenty of Magic Crystals, 10,000 was not a small number. However, as soon as Singular Burial finished speaking, Lancelot began to chant another incantation. The Mana fueling this Spell was no less than his Earth Pulsation. Moreover, due to Dark Gravitation, players were much closer to the NPC "Guild Leader, do we buy the information?" Although Daybreak Fog agreed that this price was ludicrous, they had no other options. "Buy it!" Singular Burial gnashed his teeth. Losing one''s Immortal Soul was no trivial matter. He did not want to take this risk. Inwardly, however, he swore to himself, This seller better not reveal his identity! I will not let him off the hook! 1092 Killing the Awakened Chapter 1092 - Killing the Awakened After Singular Burial paid the 10,000 Magic Crystals, he appeared to age significantly. Zero Wing! I will make you pay for this! His goal in dispatching such a large army to Stone Forest Town had been to take advantage of the situation and plunder some of the weapons and equipment Zero Wing''s members dropped. After all, Zero Wing''s members were famous for their excellent items. The average standard of Guild''s elite members was even higher than Heaven''s Burial''s. However, not only hadn''t he gained anything, but he had also lost over 30,000 elite members and 10,000 Magic Crystals After Heaven''s Burial received the strategy he had paid for, he fell silent for a long time. He radiated a cold, deathly aura. The message he received only contained one sentenceUse the Evil Earth Dragons to distract Lancelot and send someone into the Obelisk to activate the magic array. He paid 10,000 Magic Crystals for this? At this moment, Singular Burial even considered devouring Shi Feng whole. "Guild Leader Burial, what''s going on? What''s with the ugly look?" Peerless asked curiously when he noticed Singular Burial''s enraged laugh. However, after some thought, he found nothing unreasonable about Singular Burial''s reaction. Heaven''s Burial had not benefited from this war whatsoever despite sacrificing the majority of his 50,000-elite-player army. It would be odd if Singular Burial were in a good mood. However, Peerless rather admired the other Guild Leader. He never thought that the man would be so open-minded as to laugh after such a loss. Only, the man''s facial expression was slightly tense. However, Singular Burial was not ordinary. Very quickly, he sheathed his bubbling emotions and notified Abandoned Wave and Peerless of the method to raid Lancelot. Abandoned Wave immediately instructed the bandaged man to control the Evil Earth Dragons to pin down Lancelot, while Peerless had the Red Jade Legion''s experts sneak into the Obelisk and search for the prepared magic array. When Zero Wing''s members had retreated, Phoenix Rain, who was currently in the faraway Apocalypse Empire, had paid attention to every movement in Stone Forest Town. A white-haired, slightly hunched old man also watched the war from inside the spacious Guild Leader''s room. Although this man was already in his 70s and looked as if a strong breeze could topple him easily, Phoenix Rain treated him with great respect. This elder was none other than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master. He was the true owner of the Pavilion, Ku Rong. "Zero Wing is quite interesting. To think such a small Guild can catch both you and Nine Dragons''s attention at the same time," Ku Rong said, chuckling as he looked at the destroyed and occupied Stone Forest Town. "However, while one of you has an optimistic view of the Guild, the other is trying to destroy it. I cannot figure out what is going through your youthful minds nowadays. "But Rain, you''ve slightly overdone it this time. You''ve invested so much into Zero Wing. Now that Zero Wing has lost Stone Forest Town, how are you going to compete with Nine Dragons on Thunder Island? "You know how important Thunder Island is to the Guild. Moreover, I''ve already stated that whoever takes control of Thunder Island will succeed me in the future. I have always had a favorable opinion of you. I hope you do not disappoint me." When Phoenix Rain heard Ku Rong''s words, her chest tightened. In reality, she had always wondered if she had made the right decision to invest so much into Zero Wing. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had only discovered Thunder Island by chance while exploring a dangerous zone out at sea. However, upon reaching Thunder Island, the Pavilion had discovered certain information which the upper echelons greatly valued. Even Ku Rong, the Great Pavilion Master who usually did not show himself in the Guild, made an appearance. However, news about Thunder Island had quickly leaked, which attracted the attention of many Super Guilds. Several Super Guilds had already dispatched their capable forces to contest for the island. Meanwhile, Ku Rong had made up his mind and publicly announced to the Guild the condition to become the next Great Pavilion Master. Whoever took control of Thunder Island would become the next Great Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and the future Great Pavilion Master would control all of the Guild''s resources, talents, and future development. Even after so many years, Ku Rong had never once mentioned the matter of succession. Hence, Ku Rong''s abrupt decision after reading the collected information on Thunder Island had stupefied all of the Elders in the meeting. Phoenix Rain herself had been taken aback. However, wrestling control of Thunder Island from Nine Dragons Emperor and the various Super Guilds was easier said than done. It would likely require far more resources than she could imagine. Moreover, even if she collected enough funds, her chances of taking control of Thunder Island were very small. It seems I''ll have to find Black Flame or Ye Feng for a chat, Phoenix Rain thought as she massaged her temples. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town was quite lively right now. After the magic array inside the Obelisk had been activated, Lancelot''s Basic Attributes had been significantly weakened. As a result, the power of his Spells had decreased. After Lancelot had been weakened, players could finally damage the NPC. Unfortunately, they weren''t able to deal much. Even Level 40 experts'' damage was only in the dozens, while elite players only dealt two or three damage. Moreover, Lancelot dodged most of the attacks sent at him Even so, this turn of events gave these players hope of victory. Lancelot''s maximum HP was now only 60,000,000. Although players'' damage was low, many a little made a mickle. Furthermore, they still had the support of three Evil Earth Dragons. From time to time, the Mythic monsters would launch attacks that dealt tens of thousands of damage. It was only a matter of time before they wore out Lancelot. "Everyone, spread out! Melees, stop trying to approach the NPC and defend the magic array at the Obelisk! Ranged players, give him a beating!" Abandoned Wave commanded excitedly as he stood atop the Obelisk. After the Obelisk''s magic array had been activated, shadow monsters, formed from Mana, began to assault the magic array fiercely. However, compared to Lancelot, these shadow monsters were very weak. They were mostly Level 60 Elite monsters. The three Guilds'' elite and expert melee players were more than enough to defend the magic array. In addition, the three Evil Earth Dragons served as meat shields. Lancelot''s HP had already fallen to 20%. To get to this point, they had paid the lives and souls of nearly 6,000 elite and expert players. Two of the three Evil Earth Dragons had also died in battle, with the last only had half of its HP remaining. However, based on Abandoned Wave''s calculations, the remaining Mythic monster should last them until Lancelot died. Just thinking about the loot a powerful NPC like Lancelot would drop caused Abandoned Wave''s heart to jump with excitement. According to God''s Domain''s iron laws, the stronger the monster or NPC was, the better the items they would drop. What kind of loot would an NPC, that even three Mythic monsters were helpless against, drop? This thought had floated in Abandoned Wave''s mind throughout the battle against Lancelot. Time quickly passed. When Lancelot''s HP fell to 5%, the players inside the town charged at the NPC frantically. They completely ignored Lancelot''s AOE Spells. "He''s nearly dead! Attack with everything you''ve got!" Abandoned Wave shouted. Abandoned Wave wasn''t the only person with such thoughts. Singular Burial and Peerless''s hearts also began to pound. Very quickly, Lancelot''s HP fell from 5% to 4% before falling to 3%. Meanwhile, Lancelot''s retaliation grew more powerful, which rapidly increased the three Guilds'' death rate. Every one of the Awakened NPC''s attacks could easily kill hundreds of players. However, the Guilds'' members were too tempted by the NPC''s loot. They couldn''t care less if their allies died. When Lancelot only had 1% HP remaining, Shi Feng finally made his move. Using Space Movement, he instantly appeared above Lancelot. "There''s someone there!" "Someone actually dares to try to steal our loot?! Kill him!" Although everyone was absorbed in the battle, they were not so blind as to fail to notice an outsider. Kill-stealing was common in God''s Domain. Even they often practiced the act. Hence, they were naturally wary of kill-steals. The instant Shi Feng appeared, everyone instinctively shifted their attention to him. "Wait, that''s Black Flame!" Some expert players with good eyesight quickly recognized the intruder. "Black Flame! I never expected even you to make such a fatal mistake!" Abandoned Wave could not help but laugh at Shi Feng''s foolish behavior. Immediately, he commanded, "Everyone, stop attacking the Boss! Focus on Black Flame!" Although Lancelot only had 1% HP remaining, 1% of 60,000,000 was still 600,000. It was impossible for Shi Feng to kill Lancelot by himself. 1093 Epic Legacy Skill Chapter 1093 - Epic Legacy Skill "Kill him! Show him the consequences of trying to steal our Boss!" Hearing Abandoned Wave''s command, all the ranged players focused their fire on Shi Feng. Immediately, a barrage of Spells and arrows flew at Shi Feng, who was still in midair. With Shi Feng caught in freefall, ranged players could easily predict his trajectory and aim their attacks accordingly. "Die!" Singular Burial hated Shi Feng down to the bones right now. If not for Shi Feng releasing Lancelot, Heaven''s Burial would not have suffered such a tragic loss. Now that Shi Feng had taken the initiative to come looking for a beating, how could Singular Burial possibly let the man get away? Immediately, Singular Burial unslung the White Feather Double-string Longbow from his back. He then nocked five silver arrows carved with magic patterns and shot them at Shi Feng. After he loosed the arrows, they merged into one and flew at Shi Feng like a meteor. Singular Burial had just used the Tier 1 Taboo Skill Flying Meteor. The power of this Taboo Skill rivaled that of a Tier 2 Skill. Even a Tier 2 Lord would be heavily injured and become temporarily paralyzed if they received it directly. Aside from Singular Burial, other ranged experts had also used their specialties. Instantly, over a hundred attacks locked on Shi Feng''s landing spot. Faced with such an onslaught, even if Shi Feng were on the ground right now, he would find it impossible to dodge them all, not to mention that he was still in midair. However, just when he was about to enter the line of fire, his body suddenly stopped descending. Consequently, all the attacks simply streaked past underfoot. Immediately after, Shi Feng, who had activated Wind Rider, flew towards Lancelot. "He''s flying!?" "How can he be flying?!" Everyone was stupefied when they witnessed this scene. As for Singular Burial, who was somewhat familiar with Shi Feng, the fact that during the war at the Stoneclaw Mountains, Shi Feng had once flown for a short time popped into his head. "This is bad! He lured us away from the Boss! Quick, stop the Evil Earth Dragon from attacking the NPC!" Noticing that Lancelot was moving farther and farther away, Singular Burial suddenly understood why Shi Feng had not used his flying Skill right off. At this moment, aside from the last remaining Evil Earth Dragon, everyone else had stopped attacking Lancelot. Regardless, the damage of the Mythic monster was still much higher than the combined damage of all the players present. Even if it did not use any powerful attacks against Lancelot, it would shave off the NPC''s remaining 600,000 HP before long. With Shi Feng''s accurate judgment towards damage and timing, he could easily time his attack and land the finishing blow on Lancelot. In addition, Blackwater''s members had previously taken the initiative to lure Lancelot away from the main army. With the distance created, Shi Feng would have more than enough time to steal all the loot before the main army could catch up. This was a perfect plan that killed two birds with one stone. Hearing Singular Burial''s words, Abandoned Wave also realized what was going on. Hurriedly, he had the bandaged man stop holding back the Evil Earth Dragon and let it attack Lancelot with its full power. This Singular Burial sure reacted quickly. Shi Feng frowned. Just as Shi Feng was about to arrive before Lancelot, Abandoned Wave finally made a move himself. Taking out an extremely exquisite dark-green crystal ball from his bag, he began chanting the incantation to activate it. With a sinister smile on his face, Abandoned Wave squeezed the crystal ball and shattered it. When the crystal ball shattered, a stream of black smoke flew to Shi Feng. This crystal ball was an extremely precious sealing crystal that the bandaged man had given him. When activated, the crystal ball could Silence any single player within a radius of 100 yards for ten minutes. Shi Feng''s Wind Rider Skill instantly vanished, and his body plummeted towards the ground. "All melees, surround him! Do not let him get away no matter what!" Abandoned Wave shouted. "Leave it to me, Guild Leader!" Laughing Drunkard, who was charging at the forefront, licked his lips when he saw Shi Feng falling. He was already prepared to land a fatal blow on Shi Feng. The reason why players were strong was their ability to use numerous Skills and Spells. However, when they were Silenced, they could only resort to normal attacks. Needless to say, a Silenced player would have their combat power reduced significantly. Not to mention, Shi Feng was still in a Weakened state right now. Aside from Laughing Drunkard, over a dozen other Level 40-plus melee experts were dashing towards Shi Feng. As soon as Shi Feng landed, they would use their Control Skills to restrict him and butcher him. In response, however, Shi Feng took out a scroll from his bag leisurely. Summon Guard! Immediately, Kite''s tall and muscular figure appeared before Shi Feng in midair. The Dark-Gold Guard then executed the Tier 2 Skill Storm Blade. In the next moment, dozens of invisible wind blades struck at Laughing Drunkard and the others. "Damn it!" Laughing Drunkard immediately withdrew when he failed to read what kind of attack Kite had just executed. However, everyone else was not as fortunate. Anyone who attempted to defend against the descending wind blades ended up falling on their backs. Immediately after, several more wind blades reaped their lives. By the time Kite and Shi Feng alighted safely, all the playersaside from Laughing Drunkardwho had been within 15 yards of them had died to the Dark-Gold Guard''s attack. Kite''s power caused the players, who initially planned to rush at Shi Feng, to freeze up, putting an abrupt end to the footwork to execute Charge. "Black Flame, you will die here today! Don''t think that a single NPC can save your life!" Although Laughing Drunkard feared Kite, Shi Feng himself was unable to use a single Skill. As long as they distracted Kite, killing Shi Feng would be a piece of cake. "What if I have two?" Shi Feng laughed as he proceeded to summon Anna. With the Dark-Gold ranked Kite protecting him and the Epic ranked Anna on the offensive, the difficulty of killing him would most likely be even greater than if he were at his peak. The reason why guards were called guards in the first place was their very powerful ability to protect players. Without even waiting for Shi Feng''s command, Anna sprang into action as soon as she appeared. Ten Stone Guards abruptly appeared before her, forming a wall that blocked off all attacks from the front. The attacks of players could not even scratch the Stone Guards. In contrast, the Stone Guards sent numerous MTs flying with only a single attack. This situation rendered the surrounding players utterly helpless against Shi Feng. As a result, Shi Feng could stroll up to Lancelot. "Crap! What kind of Personal Guards are they?! They can actually cleave through an army of players so easily!" "My guess is that they''re Secret-Silver rank at the very least. They might even be the rumored Fine-Gold Guards." The spectating players were shocked when they saw how strong Kite and Anna were. Although the two NPCs had displayed frightening strength before, their performance right now was even more splendorous. However, Abandoned Wave, the Guild Leader of Blackwater, gnashed his teeth angrily when he saw this scene. At the same time, his heart was also tinged with jealousy. Kite was already plenty powerful, yet Shi Feng actually had two of such Personal Guards. The aura Anna exuded seemed superior to even Kite''s. "Change of plans! All melees, deal with Black Flame! Everyone else, kill the Boss as quickly as possible!" Abandoned Wave reluctantly chose to deal with Lancelot first when he saw Shi Feng still unharmed despite coming under assault from so many players. His decision was because, during the brief period they had stopped attacking Lancelot, the latter''s HP had recovered back to 2%. If this situation continued, even after they managed to kill Shi Feng, they wouldn''t have any way of dealing with the NPC. Several thousand melee players promptly surrounded Shi Feng, blocking his path to Lancelot. "Anna, it''s up to you now," Shi Feng commanded immediately, having no intention of wasting time. The strength of an Epic Guard was not as simple as Abandoned Wave thought it to be. Nodding in response, Anna began chanting an incantation, her hand continuously writing line after line of divine runes so fast that others could not even see her hand. Meanwhile, Kite and the ten Stone Guards hindered the assault of the maddened players and monsters. As Anna chanted the final verse of the incantation, a golden magic array suddenly appeared in the middle of the sky, covering a radius of 100 yards. In the next moment, a woman wearing golden, divine armor and wielding a silver spear emerged from the magic array. Two sets of white, feathered wings spread wide from the woman''s back. The instant this woman appeared, everyone could not help but turn their gaze towards the sky, fear and awe instantly flooding their hearts. "A Valkyrie?" "This is a lie, right?!" Everyone was stupefied. Without waiting for anyone to react, the Valkyrie flapped her wings and abruptly flew before Anna. With a wave of her spear, she sent a storm sweeping across everyone. The ground before the Valkyrie shattered as if the mortal world could not withstand even a normal attack of the Valkyrie. "Quickly finish off Lancelot!" Shi Feng ordered hurriedly. Angel Summoning was a Legacy Skill Anna learned after being promoted into an Epic Guard. The Skill allowed her to summon a Valkyrie to assist her in battle. However, the Valkyrie summoned could only be two tiers higher than Anna at most and would remain in existence for a short ten seconds. Moreover, Angel Summoning had a Cooldown of one full day. Shi Feng did not wish to waste this opportunity. Under Anna''s command, the Valkyrie transformed into a streak of light and appeared before Lancelot. When the Valkyrie swept her spear towards Lancelot, the weapon tore apart even space itself. The power contained within the attack was even stronger than Lancelot''s without the suppression of the Obelisk''s magic array. At the critical moment, Lancelot activated Five-layered Ice Mirror. However, when the layers of ice came into contact with the Valkyrie''s spear, they immediately shattered into oblivion. Furthermore, the spear''s power did not decrease even in the slightest as it landed on Lancelot''s body. Boom! Lancelot instantly shot away, and his body crashed into the Obelisk. His remaining 2% HP instantly fell to 0, leaving him deader than dead. 1094 Unstoppable EXP Chapter 1094 - Unstoppable EXP "He''s dead?" "Didn''t he still have 2% HP left?" Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw Lancelot''s motionless body planted in the wall of the Obelisk. They had personally seen for themselves just how powerful Lancelot was. Even after he was suppressed, pushing him into a critical state would''ve been impossible if not for the three Level 65 Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons slowly chipping away at his HP. In order to reach this point, they had sacrificed over ten thousand elite players and even two Evil Earth Dragons, and yet "Black Flame!" Abandoned Wave screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw that Lancelot was dead. At this moment, due to Shi Feng landing the final hit on the Awakened NPC, his experience bar was skyrocketing. In just a short moment, he had gone from Level 44 to Level 45. Even then, his experience bar continued to shoot up. Level 45 10% 30% 50% The EXP awarded for killing an Awakened is actually this much? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he looked at his rising experience bar. The hidden class he possessed doubled the EXP he required to level up. Not to mention, he had already reached Level 44. Even killing two or three Grand Lords of the same rank would not net him one level. In the end, Shi Feng rose from Level 45 to Level 46 and finally stopped at 84% of Level 46. He was only four levels away from the Level 50 threshold. This leveling speed truly surpassed Shi Feng''s expectations. Awesome! With this, I''ll have more time to deal with the city building matter. Shi Feng was in a great mood as he looked at his Attribute Panel. He could not help but wish he could kill several more Awakened NPCs right now. That way, he''d be able to reach Level 50 posthaste and challenge his Tier 2 class promotion. Then, he could visit many places that were currently off-limits to him. Level 50 was a major threshold in God''s Domain. Not only would players receive a huge improvement to their weapons and equipment, but they could also visit more places. In God''s Domain, many rare maps opened up only to players that were Level 50 and above. Although God''s Domain was different from most virtual reality games, it still imposed plenty of restrictions on players as a form of protection. These rare maps were perilous. Players below Level 50 that visited these would undoubtedly die. Even after they met the level requirement to enter these maps, they would only have a slightly higher chance of survival. In the past, many of God''s Domain players had suffered under this restriction. When they stumbled across such maps with zero knowledge about them whatsoever, they received a free trip back to their respective cities, courtesy of the Main God System, wasting plenty of precious travel time. After Shi Feng got over his joy of leveling up twice, he shifted his gaze up to the air. After Lancelot died, he had dropped plenty of items. However, they were all scattered around the Obelisk, not concentrated at a single location. Right then, the players inside Stone Forest Town also noticed the items strewn in midair around the Obelisk. Immediately, greed surfaced in their eyes. With how powerful Lancelot was, one could just imagine how amazing the loot he dropped would be. Most likely, any random item could sell for an astronomical sum. Everyone swarmed towards the Obelisk. Not daring to waste time idling around, Shi Feng dashed straight for the closest item. However, after he had taken only a few steps forward, a deafening roar entered his ears. In the next moment, the last Evil Earth Dragon executed Savage Charge on Shi Feng. Not only did the Skill provide the Mythic monster with tremendous speed, but the first target its charge hit would also suffer 400% damage. If struck, even a Tier 2 MT of the same level would be killed instantly, not to mention the weakened Shi Feng. Most likely, even a scratch would send him to his grave. "Go! Kill him!" Abandoned Wave''s eyes burned with rage after he saw two consecutive golden auras enveloping Shi Feng. If not for Shi Feng''s interference, the person who leveled up twice might have been him. As for Lancelot''s loot, he had long since ordered some Assassins to collect them. "Roar!" The Evil Earth Dragon roared as it charged at Shi Feng, its speed so fast that even if Shi Feng activated Wind Rider, he would not outrun it. Just as the Evil Earth Dragon was about to reach Shi Feng, the beautiful Valkyrie appeared before Shi Feng. She then thrust her spear at the approaching Mythic monster. Peng! As a clashing sound echoed throughout the entire town, not only did the Evil Earth Dragon''s charge abruptly stop, but the Mythic monster even went flying over 30 yards away. When its body slammed into the ground, the earth beneath it cratered. The Evil Earth Dragon instantly lost 3% of its HP, leaving it with only 16% of its HP. Such Strength! Her Strength should be close to a Tier 5 existence''s. As expected of a Higher Being. Shi Feng was astounded at this scene. The Evil Earth Dragon was bleeding profusely from the wound on its chest right now, and even the claw it used to block the Valkyrie''s spear was bent at an unnatural angle. This was the difference brought about by Life Rating. Despite both being Tier 4 existences, the Level 69 Valkyrie''s Strength completely eclipsed the Evil Earth Dragon''s. By the time the Evil Earth Dragon stood back up, the Valkyrie was already before it. Hovering in midair, the Valkyrie gently flapped her wings as she silently looked down on the Evil Earth Dragon. Just when the Mythic monster tried to do something, the Valkyrie sent another stab at it. Boom! The Evil Earth Dragon got planted into the ground once again. This time, only half its body was above ground. Meanwhile, its HP fell by another 3%. Everyone else inside the town felt a violent tremor that nearly caused them to lose their balance. After receiving a series of rapid attacks from the Valkyrie, the Evil Earth Dragon was thoroughly embedded into the ground, with only its cranium, which was about to be flattened, above the surface. At this moment, the Mythic monster had only 4% of its HP remaining. Then, the Valkyrie chanted an incantation. A massive, glowing sword manifested in the sky and plunged towards the Evil Earth Dragon. When the sword crashed into the Mythic monster''s exposed head, it took away the monster''s last strand of HP. After witnessing the Valkyrie''s series of attacks, everyone was thoroughly stupefied. Before the Valkyrie, a Tier 4 Mythic monster was no different from a Common monster. She had slaughtered the Evil Earth Dragon with no difficulty whatsoever. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who was currently frantically picking up loot, leveled up once more, reaching Level 47. When the Valkyrie shifted her gaze towards the nearby players, everyone suddenly couldn''t breathe. At this moment, it was as if their lives were out of their hands. Moreover, their bodies also felt extraordinarily heavy. "Guild Leader Wave, let''s retreat!" Singular Burial no longer had the will to fight when he looked at the Valkyrie. The Valkyrie was simply too strong. Even sending an army of 300,000 elite players against her would be pure folly. If they remained here, most likely, not a single one of them would leave Stone Forest Town alive. Peerless nodded in agreement with Singular Burial''s words. Of the three core legions he had brought with him, the Red Jade Legion was no longer functional. Currently, he had lost only one-third of his forces. He still had a chance to redeem himself. If he lost everything, however, he would have to start drafting his letter of resignation already. "Fine! Let''s go!" Abandoned Wave''s eyes were filled with reluctance as he said this. However, even though he was reluctant, he knew that contending with the Valkyrie was impossible. 1095 One versus Five Chapter 1095 - One versus Five "Wait, something''s wrong with that Valkyrie! Doesn''t it seem like she''s starting to become translucent?" "You have that feeling as well?" "Quick, look! That Valkyrie is starting to disappear!" Right after Abandoned Wave gave the command to retreat, a sudden change to the Valkyrie immediately grabbed everyone''s attention. The Valkyrie''s appearance had simply given them too much of a shock. Even Abandoned Wave and the others, who hated Zero Wing down to the bones, had no choice but to give up on Stone Forest Town. However, now that the Valkyrie started facing problems, their hopes rekindled. Seeing this scene, Abandoned Wave immediately interrupted the activation of his Return Scroll. "Everyone, hinder Black Flame and buy our people some time!" After Abandoned Wave was sure that the Valkyrie had disappeared, a sinister smile appeared on his face. Lancelot''s loot was just too tempting. Most likely, no player would willingly abandon it. Previously, he had already sent a team of Assassins to collect the items in secret to avoid detection by the Valkyrie. Now, however, there was no need for such precautionary measures. Currently, Zero Wing had no one present, aside from Black Flame and his two NPC guards. Although killing Black Flame might be difficult, plundering Lancelot''s loot would be a piece of cake. After all, with the Awakened NPC''s numerous drop items scattered all over the place, how could one person''s looting efficiency outmatch a group''s? Once Abandoned Wave gave the command, Peerless and Singular Burial also began coordinating their forces to cooperate with Blackwater''s members. Regardless if it was Kite or Anna, neither was an existence that current players could go up against. However, there would be no problems if they only wished to distract the two guards for a short period. Particularly, they still possessed magic arrays in their hands. As long as they found the opportunity to trap Kite and Anna using these magic arrays, killing the Silenced Black Flame would be child''s play. After Shi Feng picked up another item, he suddenly discovered over a thousand players converging on his location. Dozens of the previously stealthed Assassins have also begun making bold moves. Without hesitation, Shi Feng dashed towards the Obelisk. Currently, not only was he Silenced, but he was also in a Weakened state. He would simply be asking for a beating if he challenged a thousand elite players. Not to mention, the experts of the Red Jade Legion were among these players. As for Kite and Anna, both of them had already been trapped in magic barriers and were currently fighting against a group of players and one-horn humanoid monsters. The two guards had no attention to spare for him. Shortly after Shi Feng started running towards the Obelisk, his pursuers stopped cold. A legion of 1,000 players had suddenly appeared beside Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the person leading this legion was none other than Star-Moon Kingdom''s renowned Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. "So it''s Guild Leader Snow!" Abandoned Wave laughed involuntarily when he saw Gentle Snow. "I was originally planning to take care of you slowly. I never thought you would actually send yourself to me. Charge! Get rid of them all!" He had a very clear understanding of Gentle Snow''s strength. Although she was indeed quite strong, the people on his side were not unknown nobodies, either. Just the Red Jade Legion Peerless led had several Refinement Realm experts. Although both sides were roughly equal in number, in terms of quality, his army definitely surpassed Gentle Snow''s. In accordance with Abandoned Wave''s command, Peerless led four Refinement Realm experts and charged at Gentle Snow. As for Singular Burial, he led a group specifically to deal with the Silenced Shi Feng. "Your opponent is me!" When Gentle Snow noticed Singular Burial heading towards Shi Feng, she threw her greatsword at the man. Death Throw! "If you wish to deal with our Guild Leader, you need to get through me, Lightning Blade, first!" At this time, a Guardian Knight appeared beside Singular Burial and wielded his square shield to receive the greatsword. Meanwhile, Singular Burial did not even try to dodge the oncoming greatsword as he continued making his way to Shi Feng. He was very familiar with Lightning Blade''s strength. Heaven''s Burial''s current strongest MT was probably the Level 41 Lightning Blade, who could hold his ground against a High Lord of the same level all by himself without using any Skills. Defending against a player''s attack would be a walk in the park for him. Peng! When the greatsword collided with his shield, Lightning Blade had to take four steps back, damage of over -2,000 appearing above his head. Although this amount of damage was nothing to him, who possessed nearly 30,000 HP, an extraordinarily ugly expression still surfaced on his face. Why is her Strength so powerful? After Lightning Blade stabilized his body, he looked at Gentle Snow somewhat fearfully. The equipment he currently wore could definitely rank near the top in the current God''s Domain, particularly with the Epic bracer he had on right now. The bracer increased the effect of Strength contained within his attacks by 20%. Even if he was going up against a Berserker of the same level, he was confident of surpassing the latter in a contest of Strength. For the greatsword Gentle Snow threw to actually force him back by so many steps Gentle Snow''s Strength was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, facing the encirclement of Peerless and his four companions, Gentle Snow waved her hand lightly. Suddenly, three dazzling, divine spears appeared around her. Peerless and the others immediately felt as if they had sunk into a muddy swamp, their Movement Speed and Attack Speed decreasing significantly, and they could only watch as the three divine spears flew at them. Along with the clangor of metal, three of the five players perished instantly. Only Peerless and another Swordsman remained alive. How did she suddenly become so powerful? Didn''t they say that she had entered the Refinement Realm just recently? Peerless had an ugly expression on his face as he stared at Gentle Snow, his eyes filled with confusion. Currently, however, the most shocked wasn''t Peerless, but Gentle Snow. Right before the battle began, Shi Feng had actually passed her a Fragmented Legendary item, the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor. Although a chest plate mainly increased a player''s defensive capabilities, the additional Strength it provided allowed her combat power to undergo a qualitative change. The Seven Luminaries Spears that came with the activation of the Seven Luminaries Domain allowed her to display Strength rivaling that of a Great Lord of the same level even without activating a Berserk Skill. As a result, the massive gap in Strength allowed Gentle Snow to fend off the attacks of Peerless, Singular Burial, and the others single-handedly; the disparity was so great that she was even overwhelming Peerless and the others, causing the pressure on them to grow increasingly heavier. How did she become so powerful? Abandoned Wave was filled with shock. Before, Gentle Snow''s true strength only allowed her to go up against one Refinement Realm expert. Going up against two at the same time was definitely beyond her. Yet, after vanishing from the public eye for just a short time, she was now actually capable of going up against five Refinement Realm experts at the same time. She had even managed to kill three instantly. This feat was utterly inconceivable. Just as everyone was stunned by Gentle Snow''s performance, Shi Feng finally arrived before the massive crystal ball atop the Obelisk. System: Do you wish to use 10,000 Magic Crystals to repair the seal? Without hesitation, Shi Feng clicked "Yes." The 10,000 Magic Crystals he obtained from Heaven''s Burial immediately disappeared. The massive amount of Mana contained within the Magic Crystals then began returning the sealing crystal ball to its original state rapidly. At the same time, the purple barrier that had previously disappeared also enveloped Stone Forest Town once again. 1096 Wildly Arrogan Chapter 1096 - Wildly Arrogant When the purple barrier appeared around Stone Forest Town once more, the excited members of Blackwater could not help but stare at their surroundings. The magic barrier didn''t just reduce their combat power. Most importantly, it prevented them from leaving Stone Forest Town. On the other hand, Zero Wing could send in reinforcements continuously to whittle down their forces. At this moment, Abandoned Wave''s complexion also turned extremely pale as he stared at the disguised Shi Feng, who was standing at the top of the Obelisk. As long as the magic barrier existed, none of his forces could leave the town. Moreover, Lancelot''s loot would remain in an ownerless state for two hours after the items first appeared. As long as the players holding those items died, the looted item would drop from their corpses. Two hours were more than enough for Zero Wing''s reinforcements to arrive and wipe them out. "What a devious plan!" Yuan Tiexin, who was observing the battle from Saimu Town, felt a hint of fear towards Shi Feng after witnessing this scene. "With this, Blackwater, Heaven''s Burial, and Pantheon are truly finished." Thinking about it now, Shi Feng was truly a terrifying existence. Not only did he possess extraordinary strength, but he was also an incredible strategist. Despite going up against Blackwater''s powerful army, Shi Feng had actually managed to wear it down bit by bit, weakening it to such a state. Even a veteran like Yuan Tiexin, who had fought plenty of wars before, was horrified by Shi Feng''s capabilities. From beginning to end, this war had been under Shi Feng''s control. By the time Blackwater''s members realized this, everything was already too late. Currently, Blackwater no longer had a numerical advantage. Neither did it possess experts of superior quality. It didn''t even hold a terrain advantage. "Uncle Yuan, now that Zero Wing has already won this war, are we still going to look for Black Flame?" Purple Jade asked. She was not interested in this war in the slightest. However, through this war, her need to challenge Black Flame to a fight had further solidified. "Of course we''re still going. Or to put it in another way, because Zero Wing has won, we have even more reason to visit him," Yuan Tiexin replied, laughing. Although Zero Wing had won this war, Stone Forest Town was in ruins. Zero Wing could not sustain itself with just the income of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Right now, the Guild was in dire need of a new source of income for Coins. Otherwise, it would very quickly fall into stagnationsomething it could not afford to happen, particularly during this period when the experts of the various large Guilds were reaching Level 40 one after another. If Zero Wing did not have the financial strength to supply its Guild members with Mounts, it would definitely fall behind the other Guilds. Meanwhile, the Secret Pavilion could provide Zero Wing with cities and markets to develop in. Yuan Tiexin was not worried about not being able to obtain the Magic Tower Design at all. Time passed quickly. Inside Stone Forest Town, the members of Blackwater, Heaven''s Burial, and Pantheon began to assault the Obelisk desperately. "MTs, open a path for us! Healers, pay attention to healing! Assassins, sneak inside! As long as we destroy the magic crystal on top of the tower, we will be able to leave this place!" At this time, Abandoned Wave himself was also participating in the battle, giving out commands while he fought against Zero Wing''s members. "Whoever manages to break that crystal, I''ll give them an Epic item!" Peerless and Singular Burial also nodded in agreement with Abandoned Wave''s decision. After all, they had obtained a total of 26 items from Lancelot. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had managed to get only two. If they had to pay one Epic item to bring the 26 items away, the trade would definitely be worth it. Hearing this, everyone immediately started fighting with even greater desperation. In the current God''s Domain, the higher the level one reached, the more difficult it was to obtain high-quality weapons and equipment. Ordinary players already treated Dark-Gold items as godly items, not to mention Epic items. As elite members of their respective Guilds, obtaining an Epic item was practically a dream. In God''s Domain, be it Dungeons or ancient ruins, the more dangerous a place was, the easier it was to obtain good weapons and equipment. However, the requirement in individual combat standards and Basic Attributes for entering these locations were considerably high. Dark-Gold items were not comparable to Epic items. To elite players like them, an Epic item could provide them with significant improvements. It was their ticket to the world of experts. The expert players present had mostly reacted in the same manner. After all, even Super Guilds had obtained only a limited number of Epic itemswhich were then provided to an extremely small number of qualified apex experts. "What suicidal maniacs!" Even Gentle Snow felt somewhat pressured as she fought off the oncoming horde of players. The enemy was fully intent on trading blow for blow. If not for the healers providing sufficient healing, she would have long since drowned in the sea of players. However, this kind of attack method had also opened a path to the Obelisk. Leading hundreds of elite players, Abandoned Wave, Peerless, and Singular Burial charged into the Obelisk. The interior of the Obelisk consisted of a spiraling staircase that continued all the way to the top of the structure. Just as everyone was about to reach the top of the tower, a figure in black suddenly appeared before them, blocking their path forward. The instant this figure appeared, Abandoned Wave and the others involuntarily stopped their advance, their eyes filled with fear as they looked at this figure. This figure was none other than the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Black Flamethe man also known as the Sword King, who was the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. If it were before this war, everyone present would only feel some reverence towards Black Flame. They definitely would not fear him. However, after witnessing Black Flame''s frightening performance in this war, even if one did not try to recall those scenes, their hearts would immediately palpitate in fear at the sight of the blue longsword in Black Flame''s hand. "Black Flame! Do you think you can hold off so many people just by yourself?!" Although Abandoned Wave similarly felt fearful, the current situation was different from before. Not only was Black Flame in a Weakened state right now, but Abandoned Wave had even Silenced him just a while ago. Most importantly, the staircase they were standing on provided much more space than the narrow hallway before the underground secret room. They had enough room for over a dozen players to attack Black Flame at the same time. Looking at the tense expressions his opponents were making, Shi Feng simply shrugged and chuckled as he said, "How will I know if I don''t give it a try?" "Arrogance!" Peerless[1] abruptly executed Charge on Shi Feng, lifting his shield as he rushed at Shi Feng. The other melee players in the group also began circling around Shi Feng, intent on surrounding him. Immediately after, Singular Burial also shot out numerous arrows to prevent Shi Feng from dodging sideways. If Shi Feng was not Weakened and Silenced, they might have to be wary of him. Now, however, they had no reason to fear him whatsoever. Without even trying to evade the rapidly approaching Shield Warrior, Shi Feng chose to clash directly with Peerless. Peng! Along with the sound of metal clashing, Peerless felt as if he had just collided with a truck, his body, which was as huge as a bear, involuntarily taking a few steps backward. Everyone could not help but be dumbfounded. Peerless was one of Pantheon''s apex Shield Warriors, yet a Swordsman, who was both Weakened and Silenced, actually forced him back. "You!" Peerless was inwardly dismayed as well. Others might not know how powerful Shi Feng''s attack was, but Peerless knew very clearly. Unless Shi Feng possessed Strength rivaling a High Lord''s of the same level, it was practically impossible for him to achieve such an outcome. Yet, how could a Weakened player possibly have Strength rivaling a High Lord''s of the same level? TL Notes: [1]Peerless: In Chapter 939, Peerless was mentioned to be a Berserker. Here, though, he is a Shield Warrior (the author probably forgot about it again). 1097 Might of the Sword King Chapter 1097 - Might of the Sword King Although Peerless was dismayed, he very quickly regained his calm. He might not be a match for Shi Feng in a frontal confrontation, but he wasn''t alone. Right now, over a dozen Level 40 experts had already surrounded Shi Feng. Even if Shi Feng''s Strength was great, he was not invincible. As long as Peerless continued distracting Shi Feng, the others would have an opportunity to take advantage of the weak points Shi Feng exposed. In addition, unlike the time at the hallway before the secret room, Shi Feng did not have any healers supporting him this time. "I''ll figure out a way to block his attacks! You guys find an opportunity to attack from his blind spot!" Peerless commanded secretly through the team chat. The fifteen melee experts nodded silently in response, and they began watching Shi Feng''s every move. Once Shi Feng launched another attack against Peerless, they would take action at the same time. Then, even if Shi Feng had six arms and three heads, he wouldn''t be able to defend against them. Moreover, aside from melee players like themselves, Singular Burial was also looking for an opening from a distance. At this moment, Singular Burial carefully retrieved a Black Arrow from his bag. The instant this Black Arrow appeared, Abandoned Wave, who stood beside him, felt like death was imminent. Black Flame, you should feel proud that you''ve forced me to use this Black Arrow! Singular Burial''s eyes were filled with reluctance as he looked at the Black Arrow in his hand. He had obtained five of such arrows from some ruins and had used two of them recently to deal with a Field Grand Lord. He had never imagined that he would use one of the remaining three arrows on Black Flame. However, he still considered this to be a worthwhile trade. Time was of the essence right now. If they did not kill Black Flame soon, the other Zero Wing members would be able to catch up quickly. Singular Burial nocked the arrow and drew his longbow into a full moon, the Black Arrow locked on Black Flame''s body. After everyone was ready, Peerless activated Shield Wall and dashed at Shi Feng. Not only could the Tier 1 Shield Wall Skill reduce the damage taken by its user, but it also possessed the ability to resist impact forces. As long as Shield Wall was activated, even a Great Lord couldn''t force him back by a single step. At the same time, the fifteen other melee players surrounding Shi Feng promptly used their most powerful Skills. Berserker''s Beheaded! Guardian Knight''s Holy Slash! Assassin''s Absolute Strike! Swordsman''s Five Consecutive Slashes! All kinds of killing moves were used. Even a Domain Realm expert would not be able to defend against all these simultaneous attacks. In the next moment, just as Peerless was about to arrive before Shi Feng, the latter suddenly disappeared from everyone''s sight. This move was none other than Void Steps. It was footwork capable of causing the opponent''s mind to actively ignore the user''s presence, making it seem as if one had suddenly disappeared. Not good! Reacting very quickly, Peerless immediately stomped his foot, executing Thunderclap. The ground instantly cracked, the Skill inflicting a certain amount of damage to all targets within a certain range. At the same time, targets hit by the attack would also have their Movement Speeds reduced. Peerless intended to use this Skill to prevent Shi Feng from utilizing Void Steps normally. However, he was still a step too late. When Shi Feng reappeared, he was already standing beside a Berserker, his sword slashing up at a 45-degree angle towards the Berserker. Before the Level 40 Berserker could react, a blue streak of light cut through his neck. "So fast!" The Assassin positioned beside the Berserker felt his neck grow cold when he witnessed this scene out of the corner of his eyes. Only after the strike hit did the Berserker react. He hurried to twist his body, instinctively executing Whirlwind Slash to repel Shi Feng. However, before the Berserker''s body could start rotating, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s other hand pierced through the side of the Berserker''s armor and stabbed straight into his heart. Instead of pulling the Magic Weapon out directly, he sliced through the front of the Berserker''s chest, dealing another blow to the Berserker. Immediately after, Shi Feng spun around to the Berserker''s back. Killing Ray described an arc, and just as Shi Feng arrived behind the Berserker, the Sacred Sword also stabbed into the Berserker''s back and again hit his heart. -13,976. -5,738. -6,417. -17,233. Everyone only saw four sword lights passing through the Berserker''s body before the Berserker, who had over 20,000 HP, collapsed to the ground. Combat technique Four Moon Lotus! This was a basic combat technique that all Swordsmen needed to learn. In God''s Domain, the Silenced debuff was something players commonly encountered. Although a Silenced state was a nightmare for ordinary and elite players, it hampered the combat prowess of an expert player only slightly. This was because they could utilize combat techniques to make up for the loss of their Skills, although combat techniques placed a much greater burden on a player''s Stamina and Concentration. In terms of pure power, while combat techniques were inferior to in-game Skills, the former was not subject to Cooldown. Combat techniques could also be used while Silenced. Hence, so long as one was an expert, they would generally have a few combat techniques under their belts. Not only could combat techniques be used to make up for one''s lack of combat power when their Skills were on Cooldown, but combat techniques could also be used to add variation to one''s attacks. Due to this flexibility, even an expert with average equipment could easily beat an elite player with superior equipment senseless. The instant the Berserker died, everyone felt a chill crawling down their backs. This gorgeous attack was simply an eye-opener for everyone. However, the truly shocking thing was the damage Shi Feng dealt the Level 40 Berserker. "Be careful! He''s no longer in a Weakened state!" Peerless shouted. Previously, he had been wondering why Shi Feng possessed such Strength despite being in a Weakened state. Initially, he ascribed it to a special effect of equipment that multiplied his Strength. However, after seeing the Movement Speed and Attack Speed Shi Feng displayed, in addition to the damage he dealt, Peerless became certain that the current Shi Feng was already back to his peak state. At Peerless''s warning, ugly expressions appeared on everyone''s faces. The reason they had joined the vanguard was their belief that Shi Feng''s Attributes had been reduced, and that they could utilize their advantage in Attributes to offset the gap in techniques. However, now that Shi Feng had already recovered his Attributes In reality, Shi Feng himself had been surprised when he noticed that his Weakened state was lifted so soon. Unexpectedly, the Life Essences actually served to hasten one''s recovery from a Weakened state. Otherwise, he would not have dared to come and stop Abandoned Wave and the others so casually. However, he did not give his opponents much time to think, immediately executing Void Steps and charging towards another player. The various melee players had already been only a short distance away from Shi Feng. Now that they were charging up to him one after another, Shi Feng just needed to use Void Steps once to arrive beside another player. Without utilizing any Skills, Shi Feng succeeded in reaping another person''s life using only Void Steps and Four Moon Lotus. Before Peerless could even try to stop Shi Feng, the latter had already killed a total of five players. Nobody could defend against Shi Feng''s Four Moon Lotus. Shi Feng was like the god of death. Whomever he appeared beside would inevitably die. At this moment, everyone finally understood why the Secret Pavilion had dubbed Shi Feng One-hit Asura. The pressure of death caused everyone''s body to feel extremely heavy, their movements turning sluggish. "Black Flame, time to die!" At this moment, Singular Burial, who had constantly been searching for an opportunity, grinned as he released the bowstring and sent the Black Arrow flying upward. Xiu! The Black Arrow broke through the sound barrier as it shot towards Shi Feng''s heart. What a fast arrow! Shi Feng had long since taken notice of Singular Burial''s actions. However, when he saw the approaching black light, he still could not help but be shocked. At the critical moment, Shi Feng instinctively crossed his swords before him directly in the arrow''s trajectory. Boom! Shi Feng immediately felt his hands going numb, his body forced through the air by the arrow as his HP continuously decreased. It felt as if he had just received a meteor with his swords. After recovering from his momentary daze, he moved his swords, deflecting the arrow. Suddenly, a Black Arrow could be seen flying towards the top of the Obelisk. At this moment, less than half of Shi Feng''s 30,000-plus HP remained. 1098 Extravagant Combat Method Chapter 1098 - Extravagant Combat Method The Black Arrow shot straight upwards and stopped only after it hit the ceiling of the Obelisk. The arrow then transformed into particles of light and disappeared. That was close! The sight of the arrow prompted a thought to pop into Shi Feng''s head. The Black Arrow, is it? The Black Arrow was an item left behind in ancient ruins. It was somewhat similar to Magic Scrolls, and when used, it could display extraordinary destructive power. This destructive power corresponded to the player''s own strength. However, the Black Arrow''s power could go up to Tier 4 at most. But even when used against Tier 4 Mythic monsters, the Black Arrow could still heavily injure them. As it was an item that could be found only in ancient ruins, the Black Arrow was still considerably rare in God''s Domain. In the past, each Black Arrow sold for a minimum of 300 Gold on the market. It was a treasure that many expert teams dearly wished to possess. After all, Mythic monsters were simply too powerful. If they could heavily injure such a monster and reduce its combat power slightly, they would have a much easier time dealing with it. Using a Black Arrow was equivalent to paying 300 Gold in exchange for the life of a Mythic monster. Such a trade was sure profit. Of course, even if a Mythic monster were heavily injured, it still would not be easily killed. Its combat power would definitely remain above a Grand Lord. Hence, teams still needed to have a certain amount of strength. Fortunately, Singular Burial was only a Tier 1 Ranger. If he were Tier 2 right now, he would be able to display the Black Arrow''s full power. In that case, Shi Feng would have to activate Absolute Defense or suffer death. Even so, the Black Arrow was plenty frightening already. In just a little more than a second, Shi Feng had lost over half his HP. Had he delayed in deflecting the arrow by even one more second, he would''ve really died back there. He didn''t die?! Singular Burial was stunned by this outcome. Although the Black Arrow might not be as powerful as a Tier 4 single-target Spell, its might was not something a Tier 1 player could easily defend against. After all, Singular Burial had sent a Great Lord flying over twenty yards and inflicted heavy injuries when he had used the Black Arrow before. Nevertheless, Singular Burial''s arrow allowed the melee players, who had surrounded Shi Feng, to breathe out a sigh of relief. "Brother Burial, I never thought you would actually possess such a trump card as well. We''ll be mainly relying on you to deal with Black Flame from now on. As long as you kill Black Flame, we''ll let you have the first pick of the loot," Abandoned Wave said. Previously, he already felt helpless when he witnessed Shi Feng''s horrific strength. He had never imagined that Singular Burial would still bring him such a pleasant surprise. Peerless similarly had his hopes rekindled as he nodded in agreement with Abandoned Wave''s words. Singular Burial had taken away over half of Shi Feng''s HP in just a single attack. As long as he struck him again, the latter would undoubtedly die. Shi Feng''s death would break the myth of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader''s invincibility. At that time, Zero Wing would definitely receive a huge blow to its reputation. "Alright, then. Leave it to me," Singular Burial said, gnashing his teeth. He then retrieved the two remaining Black Arrows from his bag. "However, his reaction speed is too fast. Moreover, now that he is prepared for my attacks, it will become much more difficult to hit him. You guys need to think of a way to pin down his movements for a moment." "Leave it to us," Peerless and Abandoned Wave said boldly. Previously, they hadn''t been confident of dealing with Shi Feng, who had recovered to his peak state. However, now that they had Singular Burial''s Black Arrows, they had no problem with distracting Shi Feng whatsoever. Immediately, Peerless and Abandoned Wave had the players still capable of using Berserk Skills step forward. A total of eight players had Berserk Skills ready for usetwo Elementalists and six melee players, which included Peerless. Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were indeed heaven-defying. However, after they used their Berserk Skills, their Attributes would still be slightly superior to his. With six melee players and two Elementalists working together, they could suppress even a Great Lord for a short period, not to mention Shi Feng, whose Attributes were still beneath a Great Lord. "Go!" Under Peerless''s command, the five other melee experts activated their Berserk Skills together with Peerless. With their Attributes increased significantly, they charged at Shi Feng, who was currently recuperating at the rooftop. At this moment, Shi Feng took out an Intermediate Regeneration Potion and drank it. His HP instantly recovered back to 20,000, then began slowly rising bit by bit. Seeing Peerless charging at him, Shi Feng promptly executed Void Steps, avoiding an entanglement with the Shield Warrior. "This move of yours is already useless against me!" Very quickly, after pinpointing Shi Feng''s location, Peerless used Earth Slam. The Skill could place all targets within an area of 8*15 yards before him into a Fainted state. Shi Feng''s Void Steps was indeed powerful. However, Peerless had also gradually gotten accustomed to the technique after seeing Shi Feng using it multiple times throughout this battle. Although he was only able to catch a blurry view of the Swordsman, he could more or less still perceive the direction of Shi Feng''s movements. In the next moment, Shi Feng became visible within the range of Earth Slam. Immediately, the other five melee experts executed their own Control Skills one after another. The two Elementalists standing at the rear also summoned Ice Walls to surround Shi Feng completely. If Shi Feng wanted to retreat, he would have to spend a moment shattering the Ice Walls. This brief period would be more than enough for the five remaining melee players to land their attacks on the Swordsman. As long as even a single Control Skill struck Shi Feng, his death would be certain. This was also one of the strong points of in-game Skills. If an expert player did not possess any Control Removal Skills or they were Silenced, just a handful of elite players working together could defeat them. Right when the five melee players were about to reach Shi Feng, they suddenly stopped moving. "What''s going on with you all?!" Peerless bellowed. However, Peerless suddenly felt that something was amiss when he noticed the HPs of the five players decreasing rapidly. He instinctively took a step back and, at that critical moment, avoided the shadow spreading on the rooftop. With a swing of his sword, Shi Feng shattered the Ice Wall blocking his front. He then looked at Peerless, who was roughly 15 yards away from him, feeling somewhat surprised. His reactions sure are fast! The shadow on the floor was none other than the effect of the Tier 2 Magic Scroll Shadow Strangulation, which could bind all enemies within a 15-yard radius as well as deal 50% dark damage to them every second for five seconds. By the time the five melee experts reacted and were about to use their Control Removal Skills, Shi Feng was already unfurling another Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Spears of Judgment. Immediately, 36 holy spears appeared around him, each one capable of 80% holy damage with 100% Strength effect. Moreover, they also ignored Defense and dealt double damage to dark creatures. Xiu Xiu Xiu The 36 spears shot straight at the five melee players. Despite all five of them being experts, with the spears under Shi Feng''s control and fired at such a short distance, each melee player managed to block only two or three spears at most with the remaining spears hitting their bodies. All five melee players transformed into particles of light and disappeared on the spot. "This" Everyone stared, stupefied at this situation. They never thought that Shi Feng would actually use Magic Scrolls to make up for his Silenced state. Magic Scrolls were extremely precious, not to mention Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Each one was easily worth a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. Normally, it would be considered a luxury to use Tier 2 Magic Scrolls against ordinary Bosses. Nobody would be willing to waste them on just a few players. Nevertheless, Shi Feng really was using them one after another. Moreover, each one was more valuable than the last. "Die!" At this moment, Singular Burial finally found an opportunity to attack. He immediately loosed the two nocked Black Arrows. The Black Arrows instantly transformed into two streaks of black light as they flew towards Shi Feng. With how fast the Black Arrows were, Shi Feng did not have time to use another Magic Scroll to defend himself. Just when the arrows were less than 10 yards away from him, Shi Feng began executing Sword''s Orbit, surrounding himself in starlight. Peng! Peng! Two clear sounds of metal clashing rang out. Shi Feng went flying backwards by over ten yards, his hands nearly losing their grip on his swords. His HP began rapidly decreasing as well, only stabilizing after falling to slightly below 7,000. The two Black Arrows had their trajectories forcefully altered and, as a result, simply flew by Shi Feng''s sides. "Impossible! Isn''t he still Silenced?!" Singular Burial could not believe what he was seeing was true. Shi Feng was actually still alive. 1099 Town Promotion Order Chapter 1099 - Town Promotion Order "Is he a monster?" Everyone was stupefied when they saw that Shi Feng survived Singular Burial''s attacks. Previously, a single Black Arrow had reaped over half of Shi Feng''s HP. Yet, now, despite receiving two Black Arrows, he lost less than half of his HP. "All ranged players, focus fire on him! He doesn''t have much HP remaining!" While everyone else was frozen in shock at Shi Feng''s feat, Abandoned Wave quickly reacted and took out a dark gray Magic Scroll from his bag. Tier 2 Magic Scroll, Death''s Flurry. Immediately, eight gray blades of wind swept towards Shi Feng. At this moment, the other ranged players also began launching their own attacks one after another. However, Shi Feng had no intention of simply waiting for his death. Executing Void Steps, he disappeared before everyone once again. The incoming attacks just passed through his original position, not a single one landing on him. "Damn it! He actually recovered so quickly!" The corners of Abandoned Wave''s eyes twitched when he saw this scene. Hurriedly, he commanded, "Everyone, form a defensive formation and advance!" Void Steps was truly mysterious footwork. Even with how powerful Peerless was, the Shield Warrior could only make out a blurry figure of Shi Feng if the latter was within a radius of 20 yards. Beyond that range, he could not detect the Swordsman at all. As for Abandoned Wave and everyone else, not to mention 20 yards, even if Shi Feng were standing within 10 yards of them and launching an attack on them, they wouldn''t notice a thing. Hence, the only method to deal with this problem was to advance in a defensive circle. This way, Shi Feng would have no opportunity to approach Abandoned Wave, who was inside the circle. Peerless had also immediately entered the defensive circle, fully prepared to protect Abandoned Wave. Right now, Abandoned Wave carried all of Lancelot''s loot they obtained. If he died, all the loot would definitely drop. While having a single person carry all the loot was a risky move, having multiple people carry them would give Zero Wing an easier chance to target themand make it more difficult to protect the loot. Anyhow, Abandoned Wave himself was a Level 40 Assassin. In terms of combat standards, he was also a considerably powerful expert. As long as he entered Stealth, he could easily escape detection. Faced with Abandoned Wave and the others'' slowly advancing defensive formation, Shi Feng would appear sporadically before players standing at the outer edge, reaping a life before disappearing again. If he had enough time, he would even kill two players. What a tough turtle shell! Shi Feng was rendered speechless by his opponents'' actions. He had already used up all the AOE attack Magic Scrolls he had on hand. There were only a few single-target attack and control Magic Scrolls left, not enough to affect the overall battle at all. However, if he tried jumping over, they would definitely discover him while he was in the air. Players in midair could not change their movement trajectory. They would be sitting ducks. However, if he was greedy and went for more kills each time, he would very quickly lose his life under a barrage of attacks. After all, his opponents were not ordinary players. They coordinated well with each other, and their attacks were also very accurate. Moreover, he normally couldn''t finish off a player with just one or two moves without executing a combat technique. Having no other choice, he could only chip away at the formation. As the number of players dwindled, Blackwater''s members fell into an endless panic. Those standing at the outer layer of the defensive circle, in particular, were trembling with fear, dreading becoming the next sacrifice. Shi Feng was simply too fast. Not only were his appearances sudden, but even his attacks were impossible to detect. Moreover, by the time they began launching their counterattacks, Shi Feng had long since disappeared. Yet, they also weren''t allowed to give chase. These Guild elites and experts finally came to understand what an expert really was. Compared to Shi Feng, those experts that boasted the ability to go up against ten or a hundred opponents by themselves were simply weaklings. If faced against those kinds of experts, Blackwater''s members could still put up a modicum of resistance. Shi Feng, however, instilled so much fear into their group of several hundred players that they did not even dare to move. Moreover, when he was attacking them, the only thing they could do was await their impending doom. Time passed by quickly. Due to the defensive formation, Abandoned Wave and the others advanced at a crawl. Consequently, Shi Feng managed to gradually whittle the team of several hundred players down to just 100 or so. Right now, however, the group was only 100 yards away from the sealing crystal ball. Upon seeing the gigantic crystal at the peak of the tower, everyone with Abandoned Wave revealed expressions of joy and relief. As long as they shattered the crystal ball, the barrier surrounding the town would disappear once again. They could then find a hiding place and use their Return Scrolls instead of just quietly waiting for their deaths here. "Good! We''re close enough! All Assassins and Rangers, charge forward and destroy the crystal! Everyone else, continue advancing in the defensive formation!" Abandoned Wave, who had been in Stealth all this time, commanded softly. Previously, they had been too far away from the crystal ball. Shi Feng would''ve wiped them out long before anyone could even enter within attack range of the crystal ball. Now that only 100 yards separated them from the crystal ball, if Shi Feng stayed back to try to target Abandoned Wave, the crystal ball would undoubtedly be destroyed. However, if he chose to target those Assassins and Rangers instead, those in the defensive formation could speed up their advance. Abandoned Wave could even use the opportunity to sneak away himself. Currently, Zero Wing''s members had already surrounded the Obelisk. If not for the other members of Blackwater incessantly trying to charge into the Obelisk, the other Zero Wing members would''ve long since rushed up here. Immediately, over a dozen Assassins and Rangers raced madly for the crystal ball. Having no other choice, Shi Feng could only chase these players. Fortunately, the path towards the crystal ball was not very wide. Before the Assassins and Rangers even entered within 40 yards of the crystal ball, Shi Feng had already disposed of them all. However, this situation also allowed Abandoned Wave and the others to advance a significant distance. Right now, the group was only 60 yards away from the crystal ball. We won! At this moment, Abandoned Wave was ecstatic. Although they were still 60 yards away, ranged players had an attack range of 40 yards. Hence, realistically, they only needed to cross another 20 yards. There was no way Shi Feng could wipe out their team of nearly 100 elite and expert players before they crossed these 20 yards. As long as the magic barrier was gone, Abandoned Wave could immediately bring the loot back to Star-Moon City. Although he had suffered massive losses in this war, the loot from Lancelot should offset a considerable amount of his losses. Previously, he had browsed through the items they obtained. Several among them would be of massive help to a Guild''s development. At the very least, Blackwater would be much better off than Zero Wing. After all, the latter had lost Stone Forest Town. However, just as Abandoned Wave was jubilating, divine swords suddenly began raining down on his group, damage of over -10,000 appearing above everyone''s heads. This move was none other than Shi Feng''s Skywheel Sword, a Skill capable of sealing all enemies within a 20-yard radius for four seconds. As a result of this attack, Abandoned Wave was also revealed. At this moment, Abandoned Wave stared at Shi Feng, who stood 40 yards away from the crystal ball, in shock. Impossible! How can he use Skills again?! Ten minutes shouldn''t have passed yet! Abandoned Wave was filled with confusion. Peerless and Singular Burial were similarly dumbfounded at this situation. However, Shi Feng did not give them much time to react. He immediately raised Killing Ray and executed Lightning Edge. Although Abandoned Wave was correct in that less than ten minutes had passed since Shi Feng was Silenced, he had forgotten that players had their own natural resistances. Shi Feng''s Magic Resistance could give even magical class NPCs a headache. Magical Resistance not only reduced the magic damage players received but also weakened the side effects of magic. In reality, while Abandoned Wave was focused on figuring out how to destroy the sealing crystal, Shi Feng was buying time for himself. In the end, Shi Feng made it at the last moment. One wave came after another, countless lightning bolts devouring everyone. Despite Abandoned Wave activating Wind Steps and Vanish, he still could not last through the 5-second duration of Lightning Edge. By the time the Skill ended, only Shi Feng and a pile of loot remained on the rooftop of the Obelisk. Word of Abandoned Wave''s and the others'' deaths quickly spread to everyone fighting desperately inside Stone Forest Town. The death of the commander would affect a Guild''s performance considerably. This situation also wiped out the last hope Blackwater''s members held. Their morale plummeted, making them much easier to deal with. Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself had collected all the loot Abandoned Wave''s group had dropped and began arranging them one by one. Midway, however, he noticed an item in his bag that captured his attention. The item was a square silver token engraved with the image of a lion. There were also a few words written on it. Town Promotion Order! 1100 Overlord of Star-Moon Chapter 1100 - Overlord of Star-Moon In front of a temple lined with pillars, a team of 20 players was currently resting atop the stone steps. A short distance away from these players was a two-headed bear over ten meters in height. If one paid close attention to the bear, one would discover it to be a Level 60 Grand Lord. Even a 100-man elite team of the same level would be no match for something like this. Yet, this 20-man team actually defeated it. The highest-leveled player in this team was already Level 42, with the majority being Level 41. As for the equipment they wore, even the most inferior piece was Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. This was a team that could rank at the top even in Super Guilds. However, every one of these people was an independent player; none of them belonged to a Guild. "Big Sis Endless, what happened?" a Level 41 female Cleric asked when she noticed a surprised expression suddenly appearing on Ling Jingxuan''s face. "It''s nothing. I just read an interesting message, that''s all," Ling Jingxuan replied, smiling. "An interesting message? What is it?" the female Cleric could not help but ask curiously. Very few things could catch the interest of Ling Jingxuan. Generally, anything that could do so was a considerably amazing matter. "Blackwater has just been annihilated by Zero Wing. Most likely, news of this matter will quickly spread throughout God''s Domain," Ling Jingxuan answered. The way she spoke made it seem as if this matter was none of her business. "Annihilated?!" At this time, a Level 42 Guardian Knight carrying a snow-white round shield on his back joined in on the conversation. Surprised, he continued, "There must be a mistake, right? I heard that the Blackwater Guild is considerably powerful. It even has the Blackwater Corporation backing it. How can it possibly lose so miserably?" The term "annihilated" was very rarely used for Guild wars. After all, with so many players participating in the war, not to mention annihilation, even trying to wipe out 70% or 80% of the enemy''s forces was an extremely difficult proposition. Meanwhile, "annihilated" was generally used only when more than 95% of a belligerent''s forces had been eliminated. In order to obtain such an outcome, one of the two sides in the conflict usually had to be many times stronger than the other. Shaking her head, Ling Jingxuan asserted, "Blackwater has indeed suffered total annihilation. And it was not only Blackwater but also the armies dispatched by Heaven''s Burial and Pantheon. Not a single player from those three Guilds managed to leave Stone Forest Town alive." Upon hearing Ling Jingxuan''s words, everyone on the team was stupefied. As Blackwater was merely an upstart Guild, annihilation was certainly a possibility. However, what about Pantheon? That was a Super Guild. When had it ever suffered annihilation? "Just how powerful is Zero Wing? They are simply too amazing. Even other Super Guilds have never managed to annihilate Pantheon''s armies. Just how did Zero Wing manage to do it?" "With this, Zero Wing is set for life. They will definitely cause a storm in God''s Domain." "However, I''m guessing that Pantheon won''t take this lying down. After all, Zero Wing has used them as a stepping stone. Pantheon definitely will not let Zero Wing off the hook in the future." "I wonder what rank Zero Wing will get during this year''s Virtual Gaming Guild Annual Evaluation?" "It is very likely that Zero Wing will be evaluated as a first-rate Guild. However, after this incident, I can''t say for sure. I heard that two super-first-rate Guilds have been going downhill recently. They might even get replaced at this rate." "I don''t think it will be possible for Zero Wing to become a super-first-rate Guild. However, its position in this year''s Top Five Rookie Guilds should be secure." "Right, Endless, seeing as you are paying such close attention to Zero Wing, do you have a friend in Zero Wing, perhaps?" Although everyone present was an independent player, their understanding of the inner workings of the virtual gaming world was not one bit lacking in comparison to that of members of large Guilds. They knew just how powerful Super Guilds were. It was truly rare to see an upstart Guild capable of such results. "Friend?" After giving the question some thought, Ling Jingxuan answered seriously, "Something like that. In any case, I am certainly concerned about Zero Wing." Due to Abandoned Wave''s defeat, the entire Blackwater Guild was in an uproar. Even the upper echelon of the Blackwater Corporation had asked for her to attend a meeting to plan how to quickly redeem this humiliation in the near term. After all, this was the Blackwater Guild''s first major war. It would have been fine if they had merely suffered defeat. The crucial point was that they had been annihilated. Even if they managed to destroy Stone Forest Town and inflicted immense damages on Zero Wing, this was still not an outcome to be proud of. In the public''s view, the only reason for Blackwater''s destruction of Stone Forest Town was its inability to obtain the town for itself. Apocalypse Empire, the imperial capital''s Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence: "They wiped out Blackwater?" Phoenix Rain felt somewhat skeptical when she read the message she just received. Zero Wing''s opponents this time had included 200,000 monsters, over 100,000 Blackwater elite members, 50,000 Heaven''s Burial elite members, and three core legions of Pantheon, one of which was even the famous Red Jade Legion. In the end, however, Zero Wing still managed to come out on top. No matter how she looked at it, this outcome was somewhat unrealistic. For Zero Wing to have achieved precisely this result was simply unbelievable. "Big Sis Rain, should we still make a visit to White River City?" Blue Phoenix asked. The competition for Thunder Island this time was considerably intense. Let alone the power of just the Phoenix Pavilion, even if they used the full power of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, their chances of obtaining the rights to the island would still be slim. Moreover, compared to the Town of Beginnings, which they controlled, Thunder Island was much more important. "Of course, we''re going." The more Phoenix Rain read the report in her hands, the more joyous she felt. Originally, she had not been that confident about the matter of Thunder Island. However, after seeing Zero Wing''s information, they might have a chance at victory after all. Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom, all the official forums had long since exploded. Practically every player in the kingdom was discussing the war. Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had lost miserably this time. This was especially true for Blackwater. Many Guild members were already expressing their dissatisfaction with the leadership in the war. Within just ten minutes of the war''s end, over 10,000 players had withdrawn from the Guild, many of them elite players. In addition, the fall of Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial allowed the Star Alliance, which had been suppressed all this time, to rise up once again. Meanwhile, on Zero Wing''s side, due to its massive victory, many large Guilds that initially had designs on the Guild gave up entirely. Overwhelming Smile, in particular, had already begun shifting its focus to other countries and no longer tried to develop in the cities around White River City. For a time, no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom dared make an enemy out of Zero Wing. This situation allowed Zero Wing to become the uncontested overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom. The only fly in the ointment was the loss of Stone Forest Town. This loss greatly depressed the effects of the Zero Wing''s hard-earned victory. However, just as the various large Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom were secretly celebrating Zero Wing''s loss, a surprising situation occurred in Stone Forest Town. The Evil Energy polluting the town was actually starting to weaken and dissipate gradually. 1101 Benefits after a Great War Chapter 1101 - Benefits after a Great War The dissipation of the Evil Energy quickly attracted the attention of the independent players outside Stone Forest Town. "What? Didn''t they say that Evil Energy won''t ever dissipate?" "Based on the information I found, in order to remove Evil Energy, one needs to sever the source. Could Zero Wing have secretly dealt with the source already?" "That''s not right. The Evil Energy this time should have originated from Black Ridge Town. However, Black Ridge Town is still the same right now." "How did Zero Wing do it, then?" Everyone was discussing this development. Very quickly, word of this situation spread throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Star-Moon City, Blackwater''s Residence: "Impossible! How did they manage to remove the Evil Energy?!" Abandoned Wave practically screamed when he read the report he just received shortly after resurrecting. "Zero Wing must be faking this information! I can guarantee that the Evil Energy is impossible to remove!" Unlike curses, Evil Energy could not be cleansed. It was a kind of chaotic energy. Like a contagious virus, it would automatically transform other forms of energy into Evil Energy. Without eliminating the source, removing the Evil Energy polluting Stone Forest Town was simply impossible. However, removing the source was easier said than done. Even he did not know the source''s exact location. If it was really located in Black Ridge Town, the monster-infested town was not a place current players could approach. Moreover, Evil Energy was extremely harmful to players. If players immersed themselves in Evil Energy for long periods, they would get infected and fall into a Weakened state. Players exposed to Evil Energy for too long would even turn into monsters. If that happened, they would be barred from logging into God''s Domain for a considerable amount of time. Due to these dire consequences, cleaning out the monsters in Black Ridge Town was extremely difficult. Hence, he firmly believed that Zero Wing could not remove the Evil Energy polluting Stone Forest Town. The only possibility was that Zero Wing was releasing fake news. After all, Zero Wing had previously registered plenty of members at the Battle Arena they constructed, collecting a hefty sum in membership fees. If the Battle Arena was gone, those members could seek compensation for their losses. Therefore, the intention behind the release of this fake news was undoubtedly the appeasement of those members. "Guild Leader, it''s true. Our spies in Zero Wing have already confirmed this fact. The Evil Energy inside the town is indeed gradually dissipating. At this rate, it will take less than five days for all the Evil Energy in the town to disappear completely. By then, Stone Forest Town will be able to resume its operations," Qin Muyun said, an ugly expression on her face as she took out another document. Not only had the Blackwater Guild lost a considerable number of elite members, but the Guild''s prestige in Star-Moon Kingdom had also fallen to rock bottom. Members were withdrawing from the Guild every minute. Most likely, they would have to recuperate for a long time in order to return to their previous state. Originally, with Zero Wing having lost Stone Forest Town, Blackwater would''ve been able to leverage its funds and background to quickly surpass Zero Wing. However, now that Stone Forest Town was alright, whether Blackwater could even surpass Zero Wing''s development speed was in question. This was not an outcome that the upper echelon of the Blackwater Corporation was willing to see. "This won''t do! I cannot let Stone Forest Town continue existing in this world!" Although Abandoned Wave was unwilling to accept the truth of this matter, the facts were already before him. In that case, he needed to take action right away. "Notify that man immediately! Tell him I''ll try to provide him with the players he needs. However, I want him to have his monster army thoroughly obliterate Stone Forest Town within five days!" Qin Muyun could not help but frown at these words. She never imagined that Abandoned Wave had already lost his prudence to such a degree. Nurturing all those monsters was not easy. Any players sacrificed to them would be unable to log into God''s Domain for several days. Blackwater''s elite and expert players had already lost a level from this war. If they were sacrificed again "What are you still standing there for?" Abandoned Wave glared at Qin Muyun. "Don''t forget that I am still the Guild Leader right now!" Helpless to do anything about the situation, Qin Muyun had no choice but to contact the bandaged man. "Black Flame! Just you wait! This time, I will definitely make you pay a heavy price!" Abandoned Wave laughed coldly as he looked out his window, his eyes staring in Stone Forest Town''s direction. Inside Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing had also begun cleaning up the battlefield. This war had been considerably intense. Over half of Stone Forest Town''s buildings lay in ruins. The Guild Residence was an irreparable mess. Even the Battle Arena had received significant damages and would take a considerable sum of money to repair. However, their gains far exceeded their losses. Although the army of 200,000 monsters had not dropped any weapons or equipment, they had dropped plenty of monster materials. The drops from Lord rank monsters were rare materials that could be used to make weapons and equipment. In addition, monsters at the Chieftain rank or above had a fixed chance of dropping a kind of gray crystal called the Evil Energy Crystal. To ordinary players, this item would be garbage that they would sell to NPC merchants for spare change. However, Shi Feng knew the real use of the Evil Energy Crystals. This was something a Master Forger had discovered in the past. If one added Evil Energy Crystals or Magic Crystals during the forging of weapons or equipment, there was a certain probability these crystals would give rise to magic patterns on the items produced. However, the enhancement effect was random. The enhancement might be to the item''s Basic Attributes, its Attack Power or Defense, or even its Hidden Attributes or Additional Skills. Hence, the Evil Energy Crystal was highly sought-after by forgers in the past. In Shi Feng''s previous life, there was even a case where a Dark-Gold Weapon produced using Evil Energy Crystals received Attributes nearly rivaling that of Epic Weapons. Compared to Epic items, Dark-Gold items were much easier to produce. Hence, in the past, a single Evil Energy Crystal could easily sell for 10 Gold Coins. Even at this price, obtaining one was extremely difficult because after reaching the mid-late stage of the game, many players no longer equipped the weapons and equipment they got from monsters. Instead, they would use items tailor-made for them by forgers. Players would naturally hope that the weapons and equipment produced would be strong. Consequently, players swarmed to whichever kingdom the Evil God''s Temple appeared in. Meanwhile, among the 200,000 monsters that assaulted Stone Forest Town, many were at Chieftain rank or above. As a result, Zero Wing raked in a hefty profit, gathering 2,428 Evil Energy Crystals in all. That was 24,280 Gold Coins at the very least. After including the other materials dropped by the monsters, they had earned more than enough money to repair Stone Forest Town. Not to mention, even after taking into account the weapons and equipment Zero Wing''s members lost in the war, they had netted an additional 114,633 pieces of weapons and equipment from the combined army of Blackwater, Heaven''s Burial, and Pantheon. The most inferior items were Level 35 Bronze Equipment with even Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment in the mix. Even after giving out spoils as compensation and rewards to Guild members, the amount left was still staggering. After Shi Feng read the statistics reports Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow gave him, he fell into a daze for a long time. Although he had experienced plenty of large wars in the past, none of them had been as profitable as this one. "Guild Leader, people from the Secret Pavilion are asking to meet you." 1102 Constructing a Holy Land Chapter 1102 - Constructing a Holy Land "They''re looking for me?" Shi Feng could not help but recall the offer Yuan Tiexin had made him before. He then continued, "Have them wait at Candlelight''s main headquarters for now. I''ll head over shortly." This war had damaged Stone Forest Town beyond recognition. Most likely, the town would not be able to resume normal operations for a considerable amount of time. In other words, Zero Wing would lose a major source of income. Meanwhile, reconstruction would cost a lot of Coins. However, selling the Evil Energy Crystals would undoubtedly be a very foolish move. Moreover, the function of the crystals was still unknown to everyone but himself. How could he possibly reveal it to others? Yet, just the income from the Candlelight Trading Firm was not enough to fund the reconstruction. Not to mention, he also required money to build his city. There was indeed a need to have a proper chat with the Secret Pavilion. Among the superpowers in God''s Domain, the Secret Pavilion was undoubtedly the richest. Just the income from the Expert Lists it released every week was an astronomical amount. There were also the consultation fees it earned from selling information. It would be foolish of him not to take advantage of the situation when such a wealthy client delivered themself up to his doorstep. Just as Aqua Rose was notifying the Secret Pavilion about the meeting place, Gentle Snow walked over and reported, "Guild Leader, many independent players are currently voicing their wishes for us to reopen Stone Forest Town right away, particularly the players that are members of the Battle Arena. They are asking for us to immediately reopen the town''s Battle Arena. Otherwise, they are going to ask for their Magic Crystals back. Should we prioritize the repairs of the Battle Arena first to appease these members? If they continue making a fuss, there will most likely be many players seeking to withdraw their membership." As the Vice Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Gentle Snow had some detailed information regarding Zero Wing. So, she was very clear just how poor Zero Wing currently was. In the past, she had always thought that Zero Wing was definitely the wealthiest Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, it had the Candlelight Trading Firm and Stone Forest Town providing it with income. The amount of Coins these two places raked in each day could make even the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds envious. However, when she took a look at Zero Wing''s accounts, they might as well be a blank sheet of paper. It really made her wonder just where the money Zero Wing earned was going. Gentle Snow had no idea that while Zero Wing was indeed earning a lot of Coins, it was spending even morethe expenditure of Gold Coins was in the tens of thousands. "Are they in such a hurry?" After giving the situation some thought, Shi Feng chuckled and said, "Alright, then. Tell them that they may withdraw if they want to. However, once the town is reconstructed, the membership fee for the Battle Arena will be increased to 1,200 Magic Crystals. Moreover, rental for the combat rooms will be doubled. If they wish to withdraw their membership, I very much welcome them to do so." "This" Gentle Snow could not help but stare at Shi Feng, stunned. They would practically be chasing away their customers if they did so. Previously, the membership they charged was already out of reach for most independent players. Only a fool would be willing to pay 1,200 Magic Crystals. Not to mention, if they doubled the rent of the combat rooms, it might even affect business at the Battle Arena. "Relax. Just tell them as is." Shi Feng waved his hand, not bothering with additional explanations. Previously, he had focused on running Stone Forest Town as a small town that even ordinary players could enjoy. Now, however, he had changed his mind. He intended to turn Stone Forest Town into a holy land for PvP! Now that there were three Magic Towers in Stone Forest Town, the ambient Mana density was much higher than before. Just the cost of maintaining the three towers was extremely high. Retaining the current prices was simply impossible if Zero Wing wished to keep the three towers in operation. Most importantly, he now had a Town Promotion Order in his hands. Shi Feng never dreamed that Lancelot would actually drop such an item. Although this Town Promotion Order was only Secret-Silver rank, it was enough to promote a Basic Town directly into an Intermediate Town. This was a treasure that many Guilds dreamed of obtaining. No Guild would be willing to trade it away even for 20 Epic items. Getting a town promoted was a challenging proposition in God''s Domain. It was also very time-consuming. Any slight instability or security problem might cause several days'' worth of effort to go to waste. With the Town Promotion Order, however, Shi Feng would be able to promote Stone Forest Town into an Intermediate Town, bypassing the NPC population requirement altogether. He would also be able to hire up to 2,000 NPC guards. At the same time, he could construct real defensive structures instead of basic ones like the Defense Turret. The size of the town would also increase by multiple times. With this, Stone Forest Town would be able to accommodate many more players instead of having players squeeze against each other as they walked through the streets. A larger town would definitely attract more players. He was not worried about losing visitors at all. Once Stone Forest Town was promoted, he could also level up all the structures inside it, expanding them significantly. Take the Battle Arena for example. Currently, it was only a five-story building. Once the town was promoted, however, the Battle Arena could have up to eight floors. After including the underground level, the Battle Arena would have nine floors in total. With this, the number of customers they could receive each day would increase substantially. By then, Stone Forest Town would become a true money-making machine. However, there was a prerequisite to all of this. And that was money! Moreover, it had to be a considerable sum! Upon hearing Shi Feng''s response, Gentle Snow helplessly informed everyone of the new rules in Stone Forest Town. As for Shi Feng himself, he used a Return Scroll to travel to White River City. The new rules immediately enraged many independent players. "Zero Wing is simply going overboard! Who would be willing to pay a membership fee of 1,200 Magic Crystals?!" "They are even doubling the rent now! Do they think our money grows on trees?!" "I''m going to get a refund! Only a fool would visit Stone Forest Town in the future! If I had that kind of money, I might as well spend it at the Divine Colosseum!" The spies Blackwater planted in Stone Forest Town began making a ruckus over the new rules, though many independent players did find their words reasonable. Although the Mana density in Stone Forest Town had indeed increased slightly and would be beneficial for improving their strength, the new prices were simply beyond the reach of ordinary players. Even elite players would not be able to afford to train in the Battle Arena for long periods. For a time, many Battle Arena members requested refunds, feeling that Zero Wing was trying to cheat them out of their money. While Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were grappling with this matter, Shi Feng was seated on a sofa inside a VIP room on the second floor of White River City''s Adventurer''s Association, leisurely browsing through the designs of Intermediate Towns. Players had many templates of Intermediate Towns to choose from, and each template had their strong points. Likewise, different templates had different prices. Some templates were more suited to economic development through NPCs. Such templates allowed the town''s Popularity to increase much more rapidly. Similarly, there were templates geared towards economic development through players. In addition, some templates facilitated the hiring of powerful NPC guards. In any case, many kinds of templates were available depending on the kind of a town that players wished to construct. Unlike capturing a town, promoting a town cost much less. Moreover, as Shi Feng was using a Promotion Order, the expense was even lower. He only needed to spend 3,000 Gold to promote Stone Forest Town to Intermediate Town status. After applying his identity as a City Protector, he would receive a 20% discount and need to pay only 2,400 Gold in total. This savings freed up more money, which would allow him to choose better templates. Sure enough, the templates available here are quite inferior when compared to the one dropped by Lancelot. Taking a careful look, Shi Feng noticed some templates that were only made available to him due to his City Protector title. Even so, none of them could match the Town Design dropped by Lancelot. Shi Feng then turned to the NPC beauty standing at a side and took out an ancient design from his bag. Softly, he asked, "If I wish to use this design here, how much will it cost?" 1103 Grandmaster Design Chapter 1103 - Grandmaster Design Taking a look at the design Shi Feng revealed, the NPC beauty''s eyes widened as the design demanded her full attention. Only after some time did she open her mouth and say, "Lord Protector, the quality of these construction materials and level of skill required are extremely high for this design. I cannot provide an immediate answer. I will have to ask the Association Leader to appraise the design. Would my lord be willing to wait here for a short moment?" "Even you can''t give an exact price?" Shi Feng asked the female senior administrator. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. In the Adventurer''s Association, NPCs were categorized into ordinary staff member, administrator, senior administrator, Vice Association Master, and Association Master, each catering to adventurers from one-star to five-star status. Anyone capable of becoming a senior administrator even had the insight and knowledge to rival NPC Lifestyle Masters''. "Although this design is tattered, I am certain that a Grandmaster produced it. A Grandmaster''s Town Design is outside of the scope of my appraising abilities. In our branch, only the Association Master can appraise this," the senior administrator explained, smiling bitterly. "Alright, let the Association Master appraise it, then." Shi Feng nodded. When promoting a town in God''s Domain, choosing the design was only one part of the process, while using the design to construct the town was another. The promotion process was not as simple as capturing a Basic Town. One could say that a town only truly began its operation after becoming an Intermediate Town. The Adventurer''s Association normally provided players with many template designs to choose from, their prices usually ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 Gold. The Adventurer''s Association would only offer several Master Designs to someone who enjoyed the status of a four-star adventurer, such as himself. These templates could cost anywhere from 4,000 to 5,000 Gold. Master Designs were roughly 15% better than those of normal designs. Although 15% seemed like a small difference, it would be massively effective in an Intermediate Town. For example, when that bonus was used to increase the town''s Popularity among NPCs, a town which could originally gain 100 Popularity Points each day would gain 115 points with a Master Design. Normally, a lot of manpower and resources were required to gain that additional 15 points. In addition, Master Designs attracted more quests and events that would raise the town''s Popularity, allowing the town to reach the next rank far more quickly. Of course, players could opt to produce their own Town Designs. Only, the majority of players'' designs wouldn''t come close to the Adventurer''s Association''s ordinary templates. Extremely few lucky players or genius designers could draft a Town Design better than the available templates. If a player created such a design, the various large Guilds in God''s Domain would fight over purchasing it, offering roughly 3,000 Gold. If the design reached the Master standard, the minimum price would be 5,000 Gold. However, extremely few players could create designs of such standards. These people were even rarer than Master Forgers. Among the 28 items Lancelot had dropped, twenty were Epic materials. Of the remaining eight, three were Epic Weapons and pieces of Equipment: a cloth armor headdress, a staff, and a pair of plate armor bracers. The bracers were the best among them in Shi Feng''s opinion. [Angry Tyrant] (Plate Armor, Bracers, Epic Rank) Level 40 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,200 Defense +755 (Level 40) Strength +60, Agility +32, Endurance +35 Ignore Levels +5 Ignore 20% of the target''s Defense. Increase the effect of Strength by 15%. Additional Passive Skill 1- Blood Frenzy: When the wielder''s HP falls below 50%, Strength increases by 20%, Attack Speed increases by 30%, and damage received increases by 20%. Additional Passive Skill 2- Angry Blow: When attacking, there is a certain chance to increase Strength by 100%. The bracers were a collection of violence. The increase to the effect of Strength, in particular, was rare even on Epic Weapons and Equipment. Without hesitation, Shi Feng took the bracers for himself. With this, he had a total of five Epic items and one Fragmented Legendary item on his person. After including the Level 50 Magic Light Set Equipment, his Strength was even higher than a Tier 2 Berserker of the same level. Only his physique and Skills were still somewhat inferior. As for the five remaining items, two were Tier 4 Magic Scrolls, two were designs, and the last one was the Town Promotion Order. When Shi Feng had discovered that one of the two designs was a Town Design, he had been ecstatic. Normally, Town Designs dropped in the field came from Masters. That was the equivalent of saving 5,000 Gold. Moreover, Shi Feng very much preferred this Town Design''s heavy emphasis on transportation. Transportation might not seem very important, but it had a considerably special town effect. Once the town was complete, as long as the town spent a sufficient amount of money, it would unlock the transport carriages between towns. Not only could these carriages transport players, but they could also allow NPC merchants to reach the town more quickly. It was a design capable of enhancing the town''s popularity among both players and NPCs. Now that he had confirmed that this was a Grandmaster Design, Shi Feng felt the holy land for players beckoning him. A Grandmaster Design was 30% stronger than normal templates. In the past, even an ordinary Grandmaster Design could sell for tens of thousands of Gold, much less these designs at this stage of the game. Right now, Shi Feng wouldn''t sell the design even if he were offered one million Gold. When Shi Feng thought about the carriages that would soon travel back and forth from Stone Forest Town, his heart beat madly. At this stage of the game, Mounts were extremely rare. The carriages could save players a lot of time when traveling to Stone Forest Town. Players would be far more willing to stay in Stone Forest Town. Even when Mounts became popular in the future, how could a Common Mount compete with a carriage? Moreover, the carriages'' speed was not always the same. Once Stone Forest Town became an Advanced Town, the carriages would upgrade to advanced carriages. Only with a Mysterious-Iron Mount could one match the speed of an advanced carriage. Once transportation was no longer a barrier, what player wouldn''t want to visit Stone Forest Town? Setting aside the Battle Arena, now that Stone Forest Town had three Magic Towers, independent players could enjoy double the benefit of resting in a hotel. Right now, the town''s hotels were only slightly less effective than Private Rooms in a Guild Residence. Normally, independent players could only dream of having this effect. With these three major conditions, Stone Forest Town would undoubtedly become a holy land for players. After Shi Feng waited in the room for a short while, the NPC administrator returned to the room with his Town Design. "Lord Protector, our Association Master has appraised your design and confirmed it to be a Grandmaster Design. However, as the requirements for this Grandmaster Design are extremely high, the construction fee will be many times more expensive than usual. Including all of the required materials, it will cost 30,000 Gold. Moreover, this price cannot be discounted. May I know if Lord Protector still wishes to use this design to construct your town?" "Thirty thousand Gold?!" Shi Feng frowned. He had thought the price might be quite high, but he hadn''t expected it to be this high. That was 30,000 Gold! He could build five towns with a Master Design with that kind of money 1104 Intermediate Town Chapter 1104 - Intermediate Town Shi Feng felt his head ache when he heard the administrator''s price. In reality, this was considered cheap. An Intermediate Town shouldn''t have appeared at this stage of the game. In the past, the first Intermediate Town had only appeared after mainstream players had reached Level 60. During that time, Tier 2 expert players were commonplace. Right now, however, mainstream players weren''t even Level 40. Guild mainstream players could earn money far more quickly at Level 60 than Level 40. Following which, Shi Feng gave up on constructing his town and stored his Grandmaster Town Design before leaving the VIP room. Town reconstruction was only one of the benefits of an Intermediate Town. Reconstructing the town was not necessary to reopen it to the public. Currently, Shi Feng lacked Coins. Hence, he could set this matter aside for now. In any case, Stone Forest Town had already been successfully promoted to an Intermediate Town. The Grandmaster Design wasn''t going anywhere. He could simply operate Stone Forest Town as usual. It would not be too late to reconstruct the town after a few more days of earning money. In the Candlelight Trading Firm''s second-floor lounge Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade both sat quietly inside the lounge. "Uncle Yuan, I''m afraid that we''ll have trouble completing this trade. For some reason, the Evil Energy in Stone Forest Town is gradually dissipating. It is only a matter of time before Stone Forest Town recovers. Zero Wing won''t be interested in our conditions," Purple Jade said after she finished reading the information the Secret Pavilion had sent her. Smiling, she said, "Blackwater, Heaven''s Burial, and Pantheon have suffered greatly. Not only have they failed to obtain Stone Forest Town, but they have also lost all of the members that they had dispatched. This is the first time Pantheon has suffered such a massive loss since joining God''s Domain. They definitely have a mess to clean up." The relationship between the virtual gaming world''s super powers was not as peaceful as everyone thought. If given the opportunity, these powers would be more than willing to choke their rivals to death. After all, every game''s resources were finite. If they had one less competitor, they could claim far more resources for themselves. Pantheon had lost one trump card legion and two core legions in this war; that was a total of 3,000 experts. This would be a significant blow to any Super Guild. The loss of the trump card legion was particularly severe. Any player capable of joining a Super Guild''s trump card legion could reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor at the very minimum. Such experts were considerably rare in first-rate Guilds. In the eyes of ordinary players, those who reached the fifth floor were already considered experts, much less the sixth floor. "Zero Wing is truly unpredictable." Yuan Tiexin shook his head and laughed. "No wonder they aren''t afraid of mutual destruction with Blackwater. However, this doesn''t affect our plans in any way. Even if Stone Forest Town recovers, it will take a considerable amount of time and resources. Meanwhile, Candlelight Trading Firm cannot wait that long. It is even more so for Zero Wing." He had not talked through his hat. Currently, both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms were pressuring the Candlelight Trading Firm. Although Candlelight still held considerable influence in Star-Moon Kingdom''s market and maintained its daily traffic, how long would that last? Both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms were marking down their prices and selling their items at a loss. They could also keep this up for a considerable amount of time due to their abundant funds and powerful connections. However, what about the Candlelight Trading Firm? The Candlelight Trading Firm had neither abundant funds nor powerful connections. It''s only capital was Stone Forest Town. There was no way Candlelight could win a price war against the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms. Moreover, without sufficient Coins, Zero Wing could not continue to develop. Now that Zero Wing was in the limelight, this was the perfect opportunity for the Guild to develop and widen the gap between itself and Blackwater. If Zero Wing only continued its development after Blackwater recovered, the Guild would be in big trouble. If Blackwater decided to take action against Zero Wing again, it would take more precautions and would not be caught off guard as it had been in this war. Furthermore, Zero Wing currently had an agreement with the Secret Pavilion to hand over the Bronze Mounts and Strengthening Devices. These items were considerably expensive; obtaining them would not be that easy. If Zero Wing wished to earn more Coins, working with the Secret Pavilion was undoubtedly the best decision. Just as Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were quietly discussing Zero Wing''s situation, Shi Feng, currently disguised as Black Flame, entered the lounge. "What a powerful mental oppression!" Yuan Tiexin was shocked when he laid eyes on Shi Feng. Meeting the man in person felt massively different than watching Shi Feng on the screen. Although Shi Feng had hidden his weapons and equipment''s glow effects and sheathed his aura, Yuan Tiexin, with his bountiful experience, immediately sensed the dangerous atmosphere coming from Shi Feng. This Swordsman felt like a dragon lurking in the water. "Six Epic items?" Upon closer inspection, Yuan Tiexin''s lips involuntarily twitched. In God''s Domain, the difference between Epic items and Dark-Gold items wasn''t limited to their aura effects. There was also a huge difference in the materials used to produce them. Even if Shi Feng tried to hide his items'' glow effects, players who were familiar with the materials could easily recognize the items'' quality. Yuan Tiexin had researched the various materials available in God''s Domain precisely to gauge others'' strength. After all, there were too many experts who preferred to keep a low-profile in God''s Domain. If he knew how to determine equipment quality, should he come across an independent expert, he might be able to recruit them into the Secret Pavilion. As for his enemies, he could use this knowledge to gauge their strength and respond appropriately. "Uncle Yuan, are you sure?" Purple Jade was slightly doubtful when she heard Yuan Tiexin''s words. Even their Guild Leader did not have as many as six Epic items on him. At most, he had around three Epic items were simply too rare. Even Grand Lords rarely dropped them. Hence, even now, she only had two Epic items. Even so, many of the Guild''s upper echelons were incredibly jealous of her. Of the two Epic items, one was a weapon while the other was a pair of shoes. She had obtained the shoes during a fortuitous encounter. However, that encounter had cost her a level and plenty of effort. As for the weapon, the Guild had given it to her due to her status as the Guild''s top genius. Even a genius like Cold Autumn had not received an Epic item. Yet, Shi Feng had six Epic items. Anyone would question this matter. "Do you doubt this old man''s judgment?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but roll his eyes at Purple Jade. Although he was no match for the little girl in terms of potential, he could rank among the top five in the Guild when it came to judging item quality. "Six Epic items Is this the secret to Black Flame''s strength?" As Purple Jade quietly watched Shi Feng approach, her will to challenge the man to a fight was immediately extinguished. Only those who used Epic items knew their strength. If two combatants had roughly equal combat standards, the one with six Epic items would trample over the one with only two. Furthermore, her standards were weaker than Shi Feng''s. By challenging him right now, she''d only ask for a beating. After Shi Feng took his seat and before Yuan Tiexin spoke, he received a message from his GuildStone Forest Town has been promoted to an Intermediate Town! 1105 Golden Cities Chapter 1105 - Golden Cities Yuan Tiexin fell into a daze after he read the message. An Intermediate Town! Although the Secret Pavilion had captured many towns, they were all still far from becoming Intermediate Towns. "Uncle Yuan, what happened?" Purple Jade asked curiously when she noticed Yuan Tiexin long stretch of silence despite Shi Feng''s arrival. Yuan Tiexin finally reacted, returning his gaze to Shi Feng with a perplexed look. Just when he thought that he had uncovered all of Zero Wing''s secrets, he felt as if he knew nothing about the Guild once again. Did Zero Wing truly lack a background as he had thought? Yuan Tiexin did not respond to Purple Jade''s question. Instead, he smiled at Shi Feng and said, "I really must congratulate you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Not only did you defeat Blackwater, but you''ve also promoted Stone Forest Town to an Intermediate Town." Although Yuan Tiexin smiled, inwardly, he was extremely frustrated. Now that Zero Wing ruled over an Intermediate Town, he had no choice but to place greater importance on the Guild. An Intermediate Town occupied far more land than a Basic Town. It also had more features. If one called Stone Forest Town a mountain of gold when it had been a Basic Town, then as an Intermediate Town, it was a diamond mountain. Setting aside Stone Forest Town''s proximity to the Stoneclaw Mountains, its Battle Arena alone could earn Zero Wing a fortune. Furthermore, plenty of companies would want to open their own virtual shops in the town. Previously, Stone Forest Town was as valuable as four or five Basic Towns. The town attracted many companies. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s asking price had been too high, causing many of these companies to shy away. However, now that Stone Forest Town had become an Intermediate Town, even a fool could see its value. Most likely, Zero Wing''s previous conditions would no longer deter companies'' investments. Tons of companies would definitely be willing to invest in the town regardless of the cost. Right now, Zero Wing did not lack Coins, Credits, or players. It had even earned its prestige. Zero Wing''s future was limitless at this point. The conditions he had prepared to offer Zero Wing would most likely be of little interest to the Guild now. "Thank you," Shi Feng replied politely. He then smiled and continued, "If you have come to purchase the Magic Tower Design, I''m sorry to say that Zero Wing has no intentions of selling it." "Guild Leader Black Flame, you jest. The Secret Pavilion has already given up on purchasing the design. Instead, in exchange for constructing one Magic Tower for us, we would like to offer you high-potential Lands in five major cities, each with player populations in the millions. How about it?" Yuan Tiexin asked. After giving the situation some thought, rather than trying to obtain the Magic Tower Design, he would opt for the next best thing. However, when Purple Jade heard this, she was shocked. How valuable were major cities'' high-potential Lands, exactly? The various large Guilds had already bought out these Lands. They were impossible to purchase for a reasonable price, yet Yuan Tiexin had just offered five of the Lands for one Magic Tower. "Your offer is quite tempting. However, I have to refuse," Shi Feng responded, shaking his head. These five plots of Land were easily worth thirty or forty thousand Gold in total at the moment. Moreover, their value would undoubtedly rise as time passed. Even if he rented these Lands out, rather than use them himself, he could earn a hefty sum. However, his Magic Tower Design only had two uses left. Among them, he had agreed to reserve one for the Town of Beginnings. Even if he traded the remaining Magic Tower for five high-potential Lands, the trade wouldn''t profit the Candlelight Trading Firm overmuch. Shi Feng''s straightforward rejection stunned both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade. Obtaining these five plots of Land was the equivalent of gaining an additional five million customers. Even a Super Guild''s Guild Leader would pause to consider such an offer, yet Shi Feng had rejected it without blinking Purple Jade even began to wonder if Shi Feng truly understood these Lands'' value. Why else would he refuse the offer so decisively? "May I know how much Guild Leader Black Flame wants for a tower?" Yuan Tiexin asked, gritting his teeth. The Secret Pavilion was determined to obtain the Magic Tower. The Guild Leader had specifically reiterated this in their conversations. "I want Lands in these cities. There are a total of twenty locations. I believe the Secret Pavilion should be capable of obtaining them." Shi Feng then revealed a list of several minor NPC cities. Most of these cities had populations below 100,000, with some as low as 30,000. These cities were also spread out, covering eleven kingdoms and two empires. "This" When Yuan Tiexin heard that Shi Feng wanted twenty plots of Land, he nearly cursed at the man. However, when he read the list and noticed that all of the names belonged to minor cities, he was stupefied. Even if he added all of the cities'' player populations, the total was less than two million. Moreover, the Lands in these locations did not have much potential. He could not fathom what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. However, this was good news for the Secret Pavilion. "Guild Leader Black Flame, is this all that you want?" Yuan Tiexin asked. He doubted that Shi Feng was so generous. "Of course not. I still want a 20,000-Gold construction fee." Seeing Yuan Tiexin''s skepticism, Shi Feng had no choice but to state a more ''reasonable'' price. Truthfully, his price was quite high. Even Shi Feng thought that he was ripping off the Secret Pavilion. Although these twenty plots of Land were not particularly expensive, they served a great purpose. However, even if he wanted to buy these Lands himself, he could not. Other large and small Guilds already occupied them. These Guilds would only part with the Lands at a reasonable price if an existence like the Secret Pavilion took action. In the past, these Lands'' cities had been known as ''Golden Cities.'' These cities had earned that name due to their proximity to high-level maps that provided Diamond Wood. Diamond Wood was a rare type of wood in God''s Domain. It was specifically used to produce high-ranking boats. Even if Diamond Wood were used to produce a Common Speedboat, that boat''s standards would almost be on the same level as Bronze Speedboats. Hence, Diamond Wood had been incredibly popular among the various large Guilds and seafaring adventurer teams. Unfortunately, Diamond Wood was extremely rare. Many kingdoms and empires lacked maps that provided the wood, including Star-Moon Kingdom. Now that he had his own Medium Shipyard, he had to prepare. In the past, he hadn''t had this opportunity. Now that the chance was before him, how could he miss it? Lands in these cities had sold for astronomical prices during his previous life. Back then, 50,000 Gold had been the bare minimum to purchase one plot of Land. Unlike ordinary materials, players could not store the wood meant for crafting boats in their bag space. Rather, players had to transport the wood at its full size. Moreover, even when the wood reached an NPC town or city, it was still considerably troublesome to transport the wood to its final destination. Of course, players could utilize teleportation arrays to transport the wood. Only, the price of teleporting a single log was far higher than teleporting a player. In the past, the most common transportation method had been transport carriages. However, it would be foolish to transport a single log each trip. Hence, players usually stockpiled the wood before hauling it all at once. However, NPC towns and cities did not permit players to leave piles of items on the streets. If anyone dared to do so, their items would be confiscated immediately. Due to this, the various large Guilds had needed warehouses to store the materials. To put it simply, Guilds in the past had spent 50,000 Gold to purchase warehouses for their Diamond Wood. 1106 Advanced Transport Carriage Chapter 1106 - Advanced Transport Carriage "An additional 20,000 Gold?" For a moment, Yuan Tiexin fell into deep thought. "Fine. However, once we make the payment, you need to begin the Magic Tower''s construction immediately." Although the minor cities'' twenty plots of Land and the 20,000 Gold was slightly more expensive than the five high-potential Lands in major cities, the latter''s value had far more space to grow. "That''s fine. When the deeds for those twenty plots of Land and the 20,000 Gold arrive, we will begin the tower''s construction." Shi Feng hadn''t expected Yuan Tiexin to agree to his demands so quickly. Although obtaining those Lands was a simple task for a Super Guild, collecting the 20,000 Gold was not. Yuan Tiexin''s ability to agree so readily showed that 20,000 Gold was nothing to the Secret Pavilion right now. This caused Shi Feng some regret. If he had known, he would''ve asked for 30,000 Gold. After all, Super Guilds would undoubtedly invest more than 20,000 gold into a town''s defenses. A single Defense Turret already cost 7,000 Gold, roughly the same price of constructing a Magic Tower if it were built by a Master Lifestyle player. Meanwhile, a Guild would need at least four Defense Turrets to defend a town adequately. Unfortunately, four Defense Turrets weren''t as capable as a single Magic Tower. Following which, Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin signed an agreement stating that the Secret Pavilion would complete its part of the deal within two days. At that point, Zero Wing would be required to construct a Magic Tower in Ice Crystal Town within two days. Shi Feng was surprised when he saw Ice Crystal Town''s name. He had never imagined that the Secret Pavilion would capture the town. Ice Crystal Town was a border town in the Fire Wing Empire''s southwestern region. The town had originally belonged to a dark force, and the majority of the town''s NPCs were Tier 2. There were even several Tier 3 NPCs in charge of the town. Even the Fire Wing Empire had to consider actions against the town carefully. However, this town was precisely the reason that the Fire Wing Empire had given up on evicting the dark forces in the area. One could just imagine how difficult it would be for players to raid the town. Although Ice Crystal Town appeared ordinary, it was the closest town to the neutral map, Sunset Mountain Range. As a neutral map, the Sunset Mountain Range did not fall under the influence of any kingdom or empire. The map was also roughly half the size of a kingdom. As no kingdom or empire had ever developed the map, it had far more resources than the various kingdoms and empires. Moreover, many races lived in that map. Without the many restrictions that were usually found in kingdoms and empires, many dark forces often operated in the map. Players could also find items there that were not available in kingdoms and empires. adly, players couldn''t teleport there. They could only travel to the map on their own power. Ice Crystal Town''s popularity among players would undoubtedly surpass Stone Forest Town if someone could obtain it. Pioneering the Sunset Mountain Range would be considerably convenient for a Guild. As expected of the Secret Pavilion. It actually managed to secure Ice Crystal Town so early in the game. Shi Feng was fairly envious. The Fire Wing Empire''s player population exceeded Star-Moon Kingdom''s by many times. For players, Stone Forest Town''s sole attraction was the Stoneclaw Mountains. However, the Regional Dungeon had a Level 50 limit. Once mainstream players exceeded that limit, the town would lose its appeal. On the other hand, the Sunset Mountain Range''s limit ranged between Level 50 and 120. Ice Crystal Town would be popular in the Fire Wing Empire for a long time. If a Magic Tower were built in the town, it could easily garner three to five times more players than Stone Forest Town. However, Shi Feng gave the matter little thought. Zero Wing was only starting to get on the right track. How could it possibly compete with a well-established Guild like the Secret Pavilion? Moreover, he had earned a fortune through this transaction. Only, he wouldn''t see the profits immediately. Once his Shipyard officially opened for business, those twenty plots of Land would begin to show their true value. The high-level maps near those minor cities had yet to be developed. No one had noticed the benefit of constructing boats with rare wood yet, either. Now was the perfect time to purchase Diamond Wood in bulk. Once he had trained enough Lifestyle players, he would''ve collected enough Diamond Wood to mass-produce boats. Following which, Shi Feng bade Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade farewell. White River City''s Teleportation Hall: A constant stream of independent players teleported into White River City. Among them, many immediately set out to inquire about Zero Wing''s Residence, all of them wishing to join the popular Guild. "Big Sis Rain, is this really White River City?" Blue Phoenix, who wore a Black Cloak, asked as she observed her surroundings. Elite players wandered throughout the Teleportation Hall. There were also the members of many large Guilds. Among them, there was no lack of Level 39 and Level 40 experts. Meanwhile, outside the Teleportation Hall, many players hawked their goods, and their items were just as astonishing. "Selling a Level 35 Secret-Silver plate armor chest piece! Find me for a private chat if interested!" "Selling a Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Weapon! Only Magic Crystals accepted as payment!" Watching the players sell weapons and equipment on the street, Blue Phoenix wondered if they had teleported to the wrong place. At this stage of the game, both Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment and Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Weapons were considered high-quality items. Even in empires, very few players would willingly sell them, yet so many players did just that in White River City. It was simply inconceivable. Meanwhile, the various adventurer teams present were the most shocking. Many adventurer teams recruited members to head to the Twin Towers Kingdom. The minimum requirements to join these teams were to be Level 39 and a full set of Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment. Applicants also had to be capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. Players who met these criteria would be considered experts in a large Guild. Phoenix Rain was also somewhat surprised. Even in Star-Moon City, she hadn''t encountered such a busy scene. This was the first time she had heard or seen one of a kingdom''s major cities surpass the capital. After leaving the Teleportation Hall, Phoenix Rain quickly noticed a large number of advanced carriages moving about the streets. Hailing a carriage wasn''t easy due to so many players fighting for their own. "Why is Yuan Tiexin here?" Just as Phoenix Rain was about to climb into an advanced carriage and head to the Candlelight Trading Firm, she discovered two players atop Mounts stopped before the Teleportation Hall''s entrance. Both the man and the woman wore Black Cloaks. Although the cloaks prevented others from seeing their IDs and levels, as the two did not hide their appearances, those who knew them could recognize them easily. This was especially true for Phoenix Rain. When Phoenix Rain saw Yuan Tiexin enter the Teleportation Hall in such a hurry, her expression shifted. Yuan Tiexin was one of the Secret Pavilion''s upper echelons. He was even one of the Guild Leader''s closest confidants. Very few matters warranted a personal visit from him. The only reason she could think of that would demand Yuan Tiexin''s attention was Zero Wing. How many secrets does Zero Wing have? Phoenix Rain could not help but reveal a bitter smile. Following which, Phoenix Rain dispelled the thought as she made her way to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Shortly after Yuan Tiexin left, Shi Feng called Melancholic Smile to meet him. Of the two designs Lancelot had dropped, one was a Town Design, while the other was for a Transport Carriage Design. 1107 New Product Launch Chapter 1107 - New Product Launch Over twenty Advanced Forgers and Engineers stood inside one of Candlelight''s Special Forging Rooms. These Advanced Lifestyle players had come at Shi Feng''s call. As Advanced Lifestyle players, they were highly valued and had high statuses in any Guild. However, when these twenty-plus Advanced Lifestyle players entered the room, they all fell silent, fully focused on the ancient design spread out on the table. "Guild Leader, this is" Melancholic Smile rubbed her eyes, not daring to believe what she saw. The Advanced Transport Carriage! Ordinary players might not have much use for this item, but to a manager of a trading firm, it was incredibly important. To her, the Advanced Transport Carriage was worth far more than the Bronze Engineering Locomotive. Not only could the Advanced Transport Carriage transport a large group of players, but it could also transport more goods than the ordinary carriages that NPCs sold. Many important items in God''s Domain couldn''t be stored in a player''s bag space. Players were required to carry such items by themselves. The carriages NPCs sold or rented out could only support a few players. Even a Bronze Carriage could only carry five people at a time. And while a Bronze Carriage could carry plenty of items in its bag space, it could only carry a maximum of ten items that couldn''t be stored in a bag space. Most importantly, these carriages could only travel on official trade routes, which greatly limited their uses. Transport Carriages, however, were different. As player-crafted items, they did not have many road restrictions. The Basic Transport Carriage could already hold up to 10 players. In addition, its bag space was larger than NPC Bronze Carriages, and it could carry up to 30 non-bag items. It was also faster. Normally, non-bag items were very valuable, regardless of whether the items were for an NPC or to sell to other players elsewhere. Delivering such goods was the easiest way to make a profit. Merchant players would even fight over Basic Transport Carriages if they were available on the market, much less Advanced Transport Carriages. The Advanced Transport Carriage could carry up to twenty people. Needless to say, its bag space was leaps and bounds larger than the Bronze Carriage. It could also carry up to 60 non-bag items. As for its speed, it could compete with Mysterious-Iron Mounts. If the Candlelight Trading Firm could use Advanced Transport Carriages, even if they didn''t sell products and focused on logistics, they could make a fortune. Hence, how could Melancholic Smile contain her excitement? "You''ve seen the design for yourselves. I hope that you start producing them quickly. As for the key material, I''ll try to think of a way to obtain what you need. For now, start producing whichever parts you can," Shi Feng instructed, chuckling at everyone''s dumbfounded expressions. While the Advanced Transport Carriage was amazing, its required materials were extremely rare. The Candlelight Trading Firm might be able to procure most of the required materials, but the main material, Green Ebony, was extremely difficult to acquire. Even Shi Feng could only think of a few places that produced this wood. Moreover, these locations were all very high-level maps. Even the lowest leveled location was a Level 60 map called Crying Ghost Ridge. Unfortunately, it was a neutral map, a forbidden land for current players. Only Tier 2 players would dare to grind there. However, for the Advanced Transport Carriages, Shi Feng intended to make the trip. If he had Transport Carriages, he could open trade routes from Stone Forest Town to other NPC towns sooner than he had planned. Following which, Shi Feng had the Advanced Lifestyle players research the Advanced Transport Carriage''s components, while he instructed Melancholic Smile to stay behind. After the others left, Shi Feng looked to Melancholic Smile and asked, "What''s the situation with the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms?" Before the war, both the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms had waged a crazy price war with the Candlelight, hoping to push Candlelight out of Star-Moon Kingdom''s market while they whittle down Zero Wing''s financial strength. Now that Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial had suffered such a massive defeat, the two Guilds would take some sort of action. This was especially true since Zero Wing urgently needed money. "As you''ve guessed, they have reduced their prices again. They''ve dropped their Light Stone''s prices in particular. Right now, they''re selling each Light Stone for only 30 Copper. They aren''t even trying to cover their production cost now," Melancholic Smile slowly reported. For current players, Light Stones were a must-have item. They were also the Candlelight Trading Firm''s most competitive product. Now that the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms have lowered their prices to 30 Copper, one could see how much the two trading firms hated Candlelight. At 30 Copper, Blackwater and Heavenly couldn''t even cover their production costs. Candlelight Trading Firm, however, could still make a profit due to their many Advanced Forgers. In addition, due to the Special Forging Rooms, powerful flames, and other support tools, Candlelight''s production cost for Light Stones was only 20 Copper. "Since they want to play, let''s humor them until the end. Sell the Light Stones for 25 Copper each. We''ll also start selling the Exotic Stamina Potions." Shi Feng did not feel anything in particular about this situation. He had long since prepared for the day when the Light Stones would no longer be profitable. After all, the Light Stones were a common product in God''s Domain. He was satisfied with the fortune he had already made off of them. Meanwhile, the Exotic Stamina Potion he was about to launch was different. Candlelight had exclusive rights over the Exotic Stamina Potion''s recipe. Its price was also within ordinary players'' budgets. This was definitely a must-have potion. Most importantly, this potion would become popular among gathering players. One of players'' main sources of income in God''s Domain was gathering raw materials. However, players consumed far more Stamina when gathering materials than in Boss battles. Moreover, the rarer a material was, the more Stamina players would consume. This resulted in frequent forced breaks and limited gathering times. Once they released the Exotic Stamina Potion, Shi Feng refused to believe that players, who preferred to gather materials rather than fight monsters, would pass this new product by. "I''ll get it done right away." Melancholic Smile nodded excitedly. The Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firm''s actions had irritated her. Now that they were about to launch the Exotic Stamina Potion, she wanted to see how those two trading firms planned to compete with Candlelight. Following which, Melancholic Smile reorganized the layout of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s first-floor hall, setting up a counter specifically for the Exotic Stamina Potion. The new counter immediately garnered the attention of many players. "Leader, look over there. Candlelight seems to have launched a new product." "Let''s head over and take a look." Immediately, a large crowd gathered around the first-floor''s new counter. "Crap! Isn''t this potion a little too amazing?! It can actually recover Stamina!" 1108 Ten People Chapter 1108 - Ten People When the crowd read the Exotic Stamina Potion''s description, excitement shone in their eyes. As one of the major Hidden Attributes, Stamina played a massive large role in players'' everyday lives. However, it was very limited. "Leader, we hit the jackpot this time! This Stamina Potion is perfect for the Silent Swamp! With this potion, we won''t have any problems reaching the swamp''s core!" a Level 38 Berserker exclaimed through his team chat. "Why are you in such a hurry? Let''s take a look at the price first. If it''s too expensive, I''d rather stick to grinding in the swamp''s outer region," a Level 39 Shield Warrior replied. However, although his tone was indifferent, anticipation flashed in his eyes. Inwardly, he hoped that the Exotic Stamina Potion was too expensive. The Silent Swamp was a Level 40 to Level 50 high-resource map. However, as this map was a swamp, players consumed a lot of Stamina while moving through it. Moreover, the deeper one ventured into the swamp, the more Stamina they consumed. Hence, the various large Guilds had avoided sending members there to level up. This provided an excellent opportunity for independent players like themselves to make money and level up quickly. Previously, on their team''s first trip to the Silent Swamp, they discovered that the map was a land of treasures. They frequently came across rare minerals and herbs. Although there were a lot of monsters there, if one were careful, they could walk away with a significant harvest. Unfortunately, during this period, more players headed to the Silent Swamp, causing their income from the swamp''s outer area to plummet, yet they couldn''t venture into the inner and core regions as their Stamina consumption would be too severe. If they encountered monsters with nearly depleted Stamina, they would undoubtedly suffer a team-wipe. However, if they took too many breaks, they wouldn''t get far, and their harvest would be quite small. If they could use this Exotic Stamina Potion, they could reach the swamp''s core and its abundant resources. At that time, their daily income would skyrocket. Their team would also be able to gather enough money to equip everyone with Mounts. By then, they would earn the other adventurer teams'' envy. As this Level 39 Shield Warrior was occupied with his thoughts, the other independent players surrounding the counter calculated their own potential gains and losses. "Quickly look! The pre-sale price is out!" "Did Candlelight list the wrong price?" "There must be a mistake! How can the Exotic Stamina Potion be this cheap!?" The players in the hall cried out in shock when they saw the pre-sale price. The Mana Mixture the Blackwater and Heavenly Trading Firms sold only had a duration of two hours. The Exotic Stamina Potion, on the other hand, lasted ten hours. Moreover, unlike the Mana Mixture, which only increased the user''s maximum Mana by 10%, the Exotic Stamina Potion increased the user''s maximum Stamina by 10% and increased Stamina recovery rate by 80%. One Exotic Stamina Potion was roughly the equivalent of five Mana Mixtures, yet it only cost 10 Silver Coins per bottle. It was much cheaper than the Mana Mixture. How could they believe this? However, even after some time, the NPC manning the counter did not change the price. This situation drove everyone crazy as they panted and stared at the Exotic Stamina Potion''s sales timer. There were 30 minutes until the Exotic Stamina Potion went on sale. However, none of these players showed any indication of stepping away from the counter. They lined up and waited for the potion''s sale. They also contacted their party and team members in secret to gather more money. As players continued to notify others about the Exotic Stamina Potion, news of the potion quickly spread like wildfire. Immediately, it caused a commotion in White River City. To gathering players and players who spent a long time in the fields adventuring, the Exotic Stamina Potion was a godsend. "The Exotic Stamina Potion? I never expected Candlelight to sell something like this. With this, we won''t have any problems in the ancient ruins in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Send someone to buy the potions immediately. Buy as many as you can." The various Guild elite teams preparing to head to the Twin Towers Kingdom promptly made their way to the Candlelight Trading Firm after receiving the news. The relatively calm Candlelight Trading Firm instantly boomed with business. Meanwhile, sitting in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s second-floor lounge, Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix were shocked over this situation. "Big Sis Rain, Zero Wing is amazing. Despite all the effort we''ve put into gathering information, we have yet to find any items capable of Stamina recovery, yet Zero Wing is about to put one up for sale. Moreover, it''s so cheap. With this, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial must be growling in frustration," Blue Phoenix said, giggling as she watched the players line up in the first-floor hall. One could purchase an Exotic Stamina Potion that lasted for ten hours for just 10 Silver Coins. That was the equivalent of paying 1 Silver per hour. Even ordinary players could afford this. Ordinary players earned a limited income. Aside from spending their money on necessary items, if ordinary players wished to level up quickly or gather more herbs and minerals, they could buy the Exotic Stamina Potion. However, if these players bought the Exotic Stamina Potion, they wouldn''t have any money to spend elsewhere for a while. With this, Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s price reductions to attract more customers were now useless Nodding in agreement, Phoenix Rain said, "Zero Wing has indeed grown a lot stronger. It''s a pity that we don''t have much time left. Otherwise, they could help me win the battle on Thunder Island." She had two matters to discuss with Zero Wing this time. The first regarded the Dark Arena. The Asura Battle Team''s next match had been decided, and it would be held tomorrow afternoon. Once the match was over, the Dark Arena would host a large-scale auction. Based on what she had heard so far, all sorts of precious and valuable items would be up for sale. The second matter regarded Thunder Island. Currently, the competition over Thunder Island grew more intense with each passing day. More Guilds were starting to reach for Thunder Island. In fact, Nine Dragons Emperor had even employed his family''s influence for this matter. Although she, too, had used her family''s influence, she still faced many difficulties regarding the island. Hence, she planned to borrow some of Zero Wing''s members to assist her. As Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix conversed, Shi Feng entered the lounge. What a powerful mental oppression! Blue Phoenix was shocked when Shi Feng joined them. She had always been curious about the strength of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Now that she was meeting the man in person, it would seem that the rumors about him were true. The powerful mental oppression she felt from Shi Feng made her feel somewhat strangled. Rather than a player, Shi Feng felt like a humanoid monster. Phoenix Rain, however, was not particularly surprised. She had watched the video of Shi Feng''s battle in Stone Forest Town. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have bothered with a personal trip to the Candlelight Trading Firm. "May I know why the Phoenix Pavilion Master suddenly requests my attention? Have they announced the competition''s official date?" Shi Feng asked after taking his seat, smiling at Phoenix Rain. Although the Asura Battle Team''s opponents had been decided some time ago, the competition''s date had been a mystery. This competition in the Dark Arena was incredibly important to him. As more major corporations took part in the Dark Arena, the bets on each match would increase. At this point, It shouldn''t be difficult for a winning team to walk away with twenty or thirty thousand Gold. To Zero Wing, which urgently needed funds, the Dark Arena was an invaluable source of income. "You''re half correct. The competition will take place at 10 p.m. tomorrow in the Flame Dragon Empire''s imperial capital," Phoenix Rain said, chuckling. "I''m also here to borrow ten players from Zero Wing." 1109 Holy Land at Sea Chapter 1109 - Holy Land at Sea "Borrow some of our players?" Shi Feng gave Phoenix Rain. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. The Pavilion recruited a large number of members each year, and they had tons of Guild-nurtured experts. Yet, that same Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had sought him out to borrow manpower. This was inconceivable. "That''s right. I wish to borrow ten people to help me with a task. Once the task is complete, I will pay you 5,000 Magic Crystals. If the task fails, I will pay 1,000 crystals. Of course, I will offer additional compensation should any deaths occur during my loan," Phoenix Rain said, smiling as she nodded. "May I know what Guild Leader Black Flame thinks of this?" Normally, when hiring experts to help with a quest, payment was in the form of either Credits or Coins. An ordinary expert would only cost several Gold to hire, while even apex experts only cost around 100 Gold. Meanwhile, she had offered Magic Crystals as payment. Magic Crystals were far more valuable than Coins. It was a hard currency. The various large Guilds already treated Magic Crystals as a strategic resource. They might be able to purchase ten or twenty Magic Crystals from independent adventurer teams or small Workshops, but when the numbers climbed into the triple digits, it was practically impossible to find enough on the market. Five thousand Magic Crystals was a considerable sum for any large Guild. Some large Guilds didn''t even have so many Magic Crystals in their warehouses. Now, by loaning ten of its experts, Zero Wing could potentially earn 5,000 Magic Crystals. This was definitely a tempting offer. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, can you reveal the details of the task?" Shi Feng was indeed tempted after listening to the offer. Aside from running a Guild, his goal in establishing the Zero Wing Workshop was to accept commissions. However, requests like Phoenix Rain''s were rare. "That''s fine. The task is very simple. I just need Zero Wing''s members to defend an ancient tower on Thunder Island, preventing anyone else from capturing it. As Thunder Island is a very special place, only a very limited number of players can be there at a time. When the time comes, our enemies won''t be able to dispatch much manpower. It would be a miracle if they could send twenty or thirty players. As long as Zero Wing''s members defend their assigned tower until the Pavilion''s main force captures a monster encampment, the task will be a success," Phoenix Rain explained after giving the matter some thought. News of Thunder Island had long since been spread among God''s Domain''s superpowers. It was no big secret. Currently, to secure a larger share of Thunder Island, the various superpowers were recruiting helpers from all over the place. Some had even hired extremely powerful independent players. This was all due to the unique conditions to capture Thunder Island. It was not an issue that could be resolved with a large army. Rather than quantity, one needed quality. Hence, she was asking for Zero Wing''s help. Zero Wing had performed magnificently in the Dark Arena. Its members definitely qualified to take part in the battle on Thunder Island. In addition, she had found plenty of apex experts elsewhere. Although she might not occupy Thunder Island exclusively, she should have no problems taking control of a small portion. When the initial skirmish was over, her next step would be to fight the other Super Guilds slowly. "Thunder Island?" Information about Thunder Island immediately surfaced in Shi Feng''s mind. Thunder Island was in an extremely dangerous sea zone. That zone was known as the Sea of Death. One could find plenty of treasures and fortuitous encounters in the Sea of Death. There were even numerous ancient ruins in the zone. The abundant resources in the sea zone surpassed imagination. Thus, many maritime adventurer teams often explored the Sea of Death. Meanwhile, the only location in the Sea of Death that players could reside in was Thunder Island. As for the other islands in the sea zone, players couldn''t survive on them for long periods. Once the night sky covered the Sea of Death, a large number of underwater monsters appeared. There were simply too many of these monsters for players to contend with. Thunder Island was only an exception because the island received thunder and lightning all year round. Even after night arrived, sea monsters couldn''t reach the island. Thunder Island became a safe haven of sorts in the Sea of Death. As a result, bloodbaths had been a constant on Thunder Island in the past. The various superpowers in God''s Domain all wanted Thunder Island for themselves. However, it was not that easy to occupy Thunder Island. In the past, not one of these superpowers had controlled the entire island. In the end, various superpowers jointly operated the holy land at sea. Shi Feng had visited the island many times in the past. Unfortunately, as his Guild had been too weak, they had never qualified to establish a small base in this holy land. He had been forced to travel to Thunder Island by boat each time he visited. Shi Feng had not expected the war over Thunder Island to begin so soon in this life. "This task won''t last very long. It''ll be over in a day or so," Phoenix Rain added after Shi Feng had remained silent. Capturing Thunder Island was different from ordinary towns, where things would end once the target town was captured. In order to gain authority over the town on Thunder Island, one needed to capture monster encampments. The more encampments one captured, the more authority one could utilize. If one captured all of the monster encampments on Thunder Island, they would obtain the highest authority on the island. Meanwhile, this authority contest occurred once a month, with each contest lasting eight hours. Moreover, during the day of the contest, Thunder Island would be enveloped in an ancient magic array. If one wished to set foot on the island during that time, they needed an entry pass. Without the entry pass, players would be automatically transported off of Thunder Island. Each entry pass allowed up to ten people to enter the island and could be obtained by killing Bosses in the Sea of Death. The Sea of Death was already an extremely dangerous sea zone. It was home to plenty of sea monsters, and these monsters were much stronger than the monsters found on land. The chances of a team-wipe were even highly likely when sailing through the Sea of Death, not to mention when hunting Bosses in the zone. Currently, the various superpowers were doing their best to find and kill Bosses. They had suffered immense losses as a result. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was no exception. Thus, the entry passes were exceedingly precious. These superpowers could not invite ordinary experts to take part in the contest. They would take as many apex experts to the island as they could. Only by doing so could they utilize the entry passes to their fullest potential. After pondering the situation for some time, Shi Feng looked at Phoenix Rain and asked, "May I know how many entry passes Phoenix Pavilion Master has right now?" Hearing Shi Feng''s question, both Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix were stunned. The various superpowers were keeping a tight lid on the entry passes. They had never imagined that Zero Wing would know about this as well. However, when Phoenix Rain thought back to her encounter with Yuan Tiexin, she understood. Although the Secret Pavilion was not one of the superpowers contesting over Thunder Island, the latter possessed a powerful information network. It was not all that surprising that Shi Feng knew about the entry passes. "Your information network cannot be underestimated. I won''t hide it from you. I currently have slightly over twenty passes. In other words, I can bring over 200 people to compete for prominence on the island," Phoenix Rain said, smiling. "Are you interested in a piece of this pie as well?" Although she would not underestimate Zero Wing, those involved were God''s Domain''s superpowers. They were on an entirely different level compared to Zero Wing. With how few experts Zero Wing employed, the Guild would not survive long on Thunder Island. 1110 Contesting over Monster Encampments Chapter 1110 - Contesting over Monster Encampments Shi Feng shook his head when he heard Phoenix Rain''s question. Contrary to Phoenix Rain''s assumption, he was not particularly interested in Thunder Island. Phoenix Rain found Shi Feng''s response reasonable. If Shi Feng truly understood the situation on Thunder Island, then he knew how fierce the upcoming contest would be. There were already three Super Guilds participating in the contest, not to mention super-first-rate Guilds. Moreover, the upcoming fights wouldn''t be minor. These Guilds were dispatching all of their top players. Every one of these existences wanted authority over Thunder Island. This way, they could temporarily establish a Guild transfer point and set up a foundation to explore the Sea of Death. After all, the Sea of Death was quite far from the main continent. Even if players traveled from the nearest coastal town on a speedboat, they would have to sail for over a day to reach the Sea of Death. On their way to Thunder Island, players would also have to venture through a dangerous sea zone. One also needed a sufficiently powerful naval fleet to participate in the contest. Sea monsters were more powerful than land monsters, not to mention Boss-ranked sea monsters. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had to sacrifice a large number of elites and experts to kill one such Boss. They could easily lose up to 30 ships during one of these raids. Even first-rate Guilds could not afford such a loss, yet even after so many sacrifices, they would only obtain one or two entry passes. To Zero Wing, which didn''t have a naval foundation, it would likely lose far more than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion if it tried to join this contest. "Give me twenty slots. I can help you defend two ancient towers. My price is 20,000 Magic Crystals and one temporary transfer point. If we fail, I won''t charge a single Coin. I also won''t require any compensation for deaths," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. It was very difficult to occupy the monster encampments on Thunder Island. The monsters in these encampments depended on the players on the island. These monsters were generally Chieftain rank and above. Before players reached Tier 2, the Bosses defending these encampments would be fixed as Grand Lords. Including the risk of ambushes by other Guilds, the difficulty of capturing an encampment was obvious at a glance. Most importantly, the monsters in these encampments had extremely high Defense and Magic Resistance. It was not possible to raid these encampments normally. One needed the ancient towers'' buffs to lower the difficulty. Meanwhile, the more ancient towers one occupied, the easier it would become to deal with these monsters. However, Thunder Island had a limited number of ancient towers. The various large Guilds would definitely dispatch their men to take these towers over, although they would only send a small number of players to do so. After all, the monster encampments were the most important targets. To secure an ancient tower, one would generally dispatch 15 to 20 players, and these Guilds usually attempted to occupy three or four towers. Once they did, with their experts'' strength, they could take down a monster encampment with roughly one hundred players. His offer to defend two ancient towers would undoubtedly relieve some of the burden on Phoenix Rain. She would have an additional 10 players to help her occupy a monster encampment. "You''ll secure two ancient towers?" Phoenix Rain fell into deep thought. To solidify their hold on the ancient towers, she had previously decided to dispatch 20 players to each tower. Her plan was to send 60 players to capture three ancient towers. The other 100-plus players she had would be more than enough to capture an encampment. This was her most conservative plan. Ideally, she wanted to capture two encampments. However, this was simply too difficult. If what Shi Feng said was true and he could maintain two ancient towers with just 20 players, she could save an additional 20 players for herself. If she put more efforts into expanding her fleet, she might even obtain two or three more entry passes before the day of the contest. By then, she would have a chance of obtaining two monster encampments. Only, Shi Feng''s transfer point condition was somewhat difficult to agree to. For each monster encampment one captured on Thunder Island, they would earn two temporary Guild transfer points in the town. She had already promised one transfer point to another large Guild that had agreed to assist her. If not for said large Guild, she would not have obtained so many entry passes in the first place. If she accepted Shi Feng''s offer, she had to secure two monster encampments. However, there were too many uncertainties. Moreover, Phoenix Rain found it hard to believe that Zero Wing had so many powerful experts capable of defending two ancient towers with just a team of twenty. "Is there some issue?" Shi Feng could not help but ask as he watched Phoenix Rain ponder his offer. "Guild Leader Black Flame, to tell you the truth, each captured monster encampment only provides two temporary Guild transfer points. Among them, I have already promised one to the Firmament Guild. Although Firmament is only a first-rate Guild, the Guild has been developing its maritime strength. Currently, its navy is even stronger than many super-first-rate Guilds. If not for them, I wouldn''t have obtained so many entry passes, to begin with," Phoenix Rain explained. "Firmament?" Shi Feng recalled the Guild from his past. The Firmament Guild was indeed an overlord at sea. Firmament had occupied two coastal NPC cities, which had populations in the millions, very early in the game. These two cities served as the foundation for the Guild to develop its maritime strength. In addition, Firmament had focused on developing its navy. Although overall, it was significantly weaker than super-first-rate Guilds, battles at sea did not rely on Guild experts. The quantity and quality of the Guild''s ships also played a major role. In the past, even some Super Guilds had not been a match for Firmament''s combat power at sea. It was no wonder why the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had managed to obtain so many entry passes, despite having recently begun its naval development. "When will Thunder Island''s contest begin?" Shi Feng asked. "The contest will begin in seven days. However, traveling to the island takes a full day, so we only have six days to prepare," Phoenix Rain replied as she gave Shi Feng a quizzical look. She didn''t understand why Shi Feng had asked such a question. "Seven days should be enough," Shi Feng said, laughing. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, how about I make you another offer? Give me 60 slots. As long as your side can hold three ancient towers, my side will capture a monster encampment for you. In return, I want 100,000 Magic Crystals or Lands of equivalent value in addition to one temporary transfer point. What do you think?" When Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix heard Shi Feng''s new proposal, they stared at him in shock. They both believed that Shi Feng was insane. While 100,000 Magic Crystals was not a problem for them, they simply did not understand where Shi Feng found his confidence to make such a bold claim. Based on her estimation, under the assumption that they could capture three ancient towers as planned, capturing a monster encampment required at least 100 apex experts. Although the Guild seemed full of experts to ordinary players, in the eyes of superpowers, Zero Wing only had around ten truly capable experts. How was Shi Feng going to fill the 50 remaining slots? Even if he could dispatch another 50 capable experts, it was impossible to capture a monster encampment with just 60 players. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, you originally planned to capture only one encampment, right? You should know that the likelihood of capturing a second is quite low. Even if you allow Zero Wing to fight for the second encampment, I''m sure you won''t suffer much loss. If you are still not sure, I can sign an agreement. If Zero Wing fails to secure the second encampment, we will pay 100,000 Magic Crystals. How about it?" 1111 Improving Strength Chapter 1111 - Improving Strength Shi Feng''s words stunned Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix. One hundred thousand Magic Crystals was not a small amount. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would not casually play with such a large amount. They never thought that Shi Feng would be so confident of capturing a monster encampment. However, even after watching Shi Feng for a long moment, neither of them saw any signs of anxiety. Shi Feng had remained extremely calm the entire time. After giving the matter some thought, Phoenix Rain said, "Since Guild Leader Black Flame is so confident, I will agree to your conditions." "Big Sis Rain?" Blue Phoenix could not help but turn to Phoenix Rain in shock. Setting aside Zero Wing''s confidence in capturing a monster encampment, losing 60 slots would be a major problem for the Phoenix Pavilion. They only had 21 entry passes. After deducting Zero Wing''s 60 players and the 60 players required to defend the ancient towers, they only had 90 remaining slots. Even if they were lucky and obtained another three passes in the next few days, attempting to capture a monster encampment with only 120 experts was risky. In the off chance that Zero Wing failed and their side was targeted by other Guilds, it was possible that they might end up with nothing at all. If they followed their original plan, however, they could gain at least one monster encampment. "Don''t worry. I understand the risks." Phoenix Rain did not bother to explain herself to Blue Phoenix. She signed an agreement with Shi Feng. As long as Zero Wing captured a monster encampment and secured it until the end of the contest, Phoenix Rain would pay 100,000 Magic Crystals and one temporary Guild transfer point on Thunder Island. After both sides signed the contract, Phoenix Rain left the lounge with Blue Phoenix. As they climbed into the advanced carriage, Blue Phoenix couldn''t hold it in any longer. "Big Sis Rain, isn''t this move a little too risky? Nine Dragons Emperor''s group is capable of taking at least one monster encampment down. If we end up with nothing, we won''t have leverage against Nine Dragons Emperor." Phoenix Rain was clearly able to reach a draw with Nine Dragons Emperor, yet she had intentionally chosen a more dangerous path. This was completely different from how Phoenix Rain normally operated. "Blue, what you''re saying is correct. If we follow according to the original plan, we could end in a draw," Phoenix Rain said, chuckling. "However, even if Black Flame hadn''t suggested such a risky endeavor, when the time came, I would have split our forces to capture two monster encampments. "I wonder if Black Flame suggested such a crazy plan because he prediction my intentions. In any case, I won''t lose anything by agreeing to his proposal. On the contrary, Zero Wing will share the price of failure with us, but that price is more severe for them. "Moreover, I am also very curious as to why Black Flame is so confident of taking down a monster encampment with just 60 Zero Wing members." Phoenix Rain''s words rendered Blue Phoenix speechless. Phoenix Rain had made such a risky decision simply to sate her curiosity. How was she any different from Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame? In the quiet second-floor lounge in the Candlelight Trading Firm Shortly after Phoenix Rain left, two unparalleled beauties entered the room, confusion and helplessness filling their eyes as they gazed at Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, this is a battle between God''s Domain''s superpowers. Their strength is on an entirely different level. Aren''t we taking too large of a risk for 100,000 Magic Crystals?" Aqua Rose asked, her head aching. Before encountering the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system, she had assumed that there was only a small difference between first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. However, after training in the system for some time, she finally realized that Super Guilds were in an entirely different world. Of the Secret Pavilion''s trainees currently in the simulation training system, a large number were already in the Refinement Realm. One could just imagine how many Refinement Realm experts the Secret Pavilion had, much less other Super Guilds. In comparison, excluding Shi Feng, Zero Wing only had three people in the Refinement Realm: Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Gentle Snow. While this might be a powerful force in first-rate Guilds, this was a paltry amount in the eyes of Super Guilds. Of course, aside from combat standards, other factors also affected battles with other players such as combat experience, weapons, equipment, Skills, and various tools. Why would Super Guilds'' apex experts lack any of these? In the end, the battles would come down to combat standards. Gentle Snow nodded in agreement with Aqua Rose''s views. Initially, she had been astonished. She had never imagined that not only did Zero Wing possess a close relationship with the Secret Pavilion, but even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Pavilion Master had traveled so far to seek the Guild''s aid. Superpowers'' upper echelons like these even looked down on the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds. Although only a single rank separated the two Guilds, interactions between them were unheard of. Someone of Phoenix Rain''s rank making a personal visit to anything less than a super-first-rate Guild was practically a dream. "Don''t we have seven days?" Shi Feng shrugged nonchalantly. "I just so happen to be free for the moment. I''ll help you all train for a bit." "Train?" "Really?! Guild Leader, you must keep your word, alright!?" Gentle Snow was confused. Aqua Rose, who stood beside her, however, rejoiced when she heard this. Every time Shi Feng took them out to grind monsters, not only would their levels rise rapidly, but if they were lucky, they would also get to upgrade their already-excellent weapons and equipment. The Guild''s core members always hoped that Shi Feng would lead them. "However, we can''t have too many people this time. It is very dangerous where we are going. We''ll take a team of twenty at most." "Mhm, I understand." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s instructions, Aqua Rose immediately began to contact the other members. Since Shi Feng''s goal was to help improve the Guild''s top combatants, she only contacted the top ranking players within the Guild. Among them were the ten Asura Battle Team members and the top players from Gentle Snow''s team as well as Alluring Summer. Once they formed the 20-man team, Shi Feng led the team to White River City''s Teleportation Hall, teleporting to the closest town to Ghost Forest Town near the Crying Ghost Ridge. Crying Ghost Ridge was a neutral map between the Black Dragon Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom. Although Ghost Forest Town was a border town, it was void of players. The nearby maps were all Level 60 and above. The monsters here were simply too high-leveled for current players. If one did not wield weapons or equipment that had the Ignore Level Attribute, grinding here was impossible. Furthermore, monsters past Level 50 underwent a qualitative transformation. Even Level 50 Common monsters were significantly stronger than Level 45 Elite monsters, much less Level 60 monsters. It also took nearly 14 hours to reach the Crying Ghost Ridge from Ghost Forest Town on foot. Players simply had no reason to visit the town. However, when Shi Feng''s team arrived in the town''s Teleportation Hall, they discovered another team of players. Moreover, every player within this team was very high-leveled; they were all Level 40 and above. Their weapons and equipment were also off the charts. Most frighteningly, these people were all independent players The instant Shi Feng''s group appeared, these players all shifted their gaze towards Shi Feng and his team. Their cold killing intent could be felt from over a hundred yards away. 1112 Midnight Tea Party Chapter 1112 - Midnight Tea Party "Why would anyone else come here?" A robust Guardian Knight carrying a round white shield on his back frowned when Shi Feng''s group appeared in the teleportation array. "Leader, could they be here for the Fallen Ark as well?" a female Cleric asked worriedly. A beautiful woman wearing luxurious purple robes looked towards Shi Feng''s group of cloaked players and said nonchalantly, "They shouldn''t be. We rushed over here as soon as we received the message. Moreover, without the key, going there is useless. If they have any ill intentions, we can simply wipe them out." "I guess you''re right. If they wish to take action, we can use the opportunity to test our new weapons and equipment," another member said, laughing. Shi Feng was also surprised when he noticed the team a short distance away, chatting merrily. He hadn''t expected to find other players here at this stage of the game. "Guild Leader, those players are really strong!" Fire Dance commented when she saw the independent players, a hint of caution flashing in her eyes. Although the other party only had 20 players, from their movements and auras, Fire Dance could tell that these people''s combat standards were very high. These players were no weaker than the apex experts she had previously encountered. And this team had twenty such experts Normally, only Super Guilds were capable of forming such a team, yet these players were all independent. "With such strength, why have I never heard these peoples names before?" Gentle Snow was similarly shocked. She had previously been a first-rate Guild''s Guild Leader. Naturally, her information network was vast. She had also memorized most of the apex experts in God''s Domain. However, she had never seen such a powerful independent adventurer team. The most laughable part was that she didn''t recognize a single player on that team. "From what I can remember, the only adventurer team with this level of strength has to be Owl, the team that joined us in Titan City." When Aqua Rose saw this 20-man team, she could not help but recall Owl. In her opinion, Owl was one of the most powerful adventurer teams in God''s Domain. She had never imagined that she would encounter another team of such caliber. "Guild Leader, should we make their acquaintance?" Independent teams were different from Guilds. They might be able to recruit this adventurer team to Zero Wing. Even if they failed to do so, it wouldn''t hurt to know such a powerful adventurer team. In the event that they needed more manpower in the future, they could request these independent players'' help. After all, apex experts were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Gentle Snow nodded in agreement. If they could recruit these players to Zero Wing, it would undoubtedly push the Guild to a whole new level. They would also have more confidence in the contest on Thunder Island. "Forget it. We have more important matters to deal with right now. We''ll get acquainted with them if there is a chance in the future," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. While this adventurer team might be foreign to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, Shi Feng could not be more familiar with them. This adventurer team was the famous Midnight Tea Party. The team maintained a member count of twenty players. In terms of combat power, even Super Guilds feared them. However, as the Midnight Tea Party did not bother to claim territory of their own and refused to operate under anyone, the various Super Guilds had tried to recruit the team in the past. Unfortunately, no one ever succeeded. However, what surprised Shi Feng was that he found a familiar face among the group. Endless Scars! Shi Feng had never imagined that the once-mythical existence would be a member of the Midnight Tea Party during God''s Domain''s early stages. If the public had learned of this in the past, everyone would have been shocked. Although members that left the Midnight Tea Party had gone on to their own great achievements in the past, none of them had ever been as successful as Endless Scars. Ranking as the number one player on the God''s Domain Experts List meant that Endless Scars had stood at the peak of God''s Domain. Yet, when Shi Feng thought about how Endless Scars'' status as one of the Blackwater Corporation''s representatives, his head started to ache. The Blackwater Corporation''s background was extraordinary. If Endless Scars joined Blackwater and became one of its leaders, he did not dare to imagine what kind of future awaited the Guild. However, Shi Feng had never heard of Endless Scars joining Blackwater in the past. She had gone solo throughout her entire career in God''s Domain. Following which, Shi Feng led his team into an NPC Shop to stock up on food and beverages. He also had everyone check their inventory for potions and Magic Scrolls, and he handed these items out to anyone who needed them. After everyone rested, they rode their Mounts to the neutral map Crying Ghost Ridge. The journey that typically required 14 hours only took Shi Feng and the others four. Moreover, the group didn''t encounter a single monster attack on their way, surprising them all. There were Level 60-plus monsters all over the place, and they were only Level 40-plus players. The massive level difference would allow monsters to detect them easily, yet none of the monsters attacked them during their journey. What these players did not know was that Shi Feng knew this terrain like the back of his hand. He knew which paths were safe and which were not. In reality, the 14-hour journey included the time players wasted in fights against the local monsters. If one did not have to fight, they could reach the Crying Ghost Ridge in ten hours if they ran straight there. "Stop for a minute. Before us lay the neutral map, Crying Ghost Ridge." As the team was about to enter the mountain path before them, Shi Feng halted his team. He then took a Tier 1 Group Invisibility Scroll from his bag and said, "We''ll complete the remaining journey on foot. Remember to follow me closely. The monsters here aren''t like any you have encountered before. Even the Level 60 Common monsters here could reach the Trial Tower''s third floor." "They have the combat standards to reach the Trial Tower''s third floor? Are they even monsters?" Blackie could not help his astonishment. When recruiting ordinary members, most large Guilds only required players to reach the Trial Tower''s second floor. Though, Zero Wing''s standards were slightly higher, with ordinary members needing to reach the third floor, while elite members needed to reach the fourth floor. In other words, any random monster in the Crying Ghost Ridge was as strong as Zero Wing''s elite members. However, monsters had much higher Attributes than players. If both sides had the same combat standards, monsters could easily kill players. Everyone''s relaxed expressions immediately vanished, and they began to move cautiously. At the same time, they were very curious about why Shi Feng had led them to such a dangerous location. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Group Invisibility Scroll. As long as they did not attack or receive any attacks, they would remain invisible. The Group Invisibility Scroll''s only drawback was that it would reduce the affected players'' Movement Speed to 80% and its duration was only 10 minutes. Shortly after Shi Feng''s team entered the Crying Ghost Ridge, another group of players arrived before the Ridge on their horses. "There are too many monsters on the way here. We really are lucky that leader has the Beastmaster''s Breath as a deterrent. If that other team came this way, they would be stuck fighting those Level 60 monsters for hours. By the time they got here, we''d already have the Fallen Ark." The Midnight Tea Party''s members could not help but laugh. They had only braved the journey here because their team leader had the Beastmaster''s Breath. Otherwise, they would have waited until they reached Level 50. "Huh? Something''s not right. Look at those hoof prints!" When one of the Rangers used his Investigation Skill, he discovered hoof prints around the mountain path''s entrance. He was shocked. "The prints look quite fresh, and there are a lot of them!" "What?! Could it be the team we saw in town?!" "Impossible!" 1113 Foreign Races Chapter 1113 - Foreign Races When the Midnight Tea Party''s members noticed the hoof prints, their expressions grew tense. The Crying Ghost Ridge was a Level 60 to Level 75 map. To current players, this place was a forbidden land. If not for their interest in the Fallen Ark inside the Ridge, they would not have bothered coming here at all. Even if they were trying to avoid contact with large Guilds, they would only level and quest in Level 55 or so maps. Why wouldn''t they be surprised to find hoof prints from other mounted players? Breeze Wine, the Midnight Tea Party''s leader, turned to t a delicate, pretty Assassin in white clothes and ordered, "Wave, scout ahead and see how many people they have and how far ahead they are." The Assassin class was not only skilled in the art of assassination. These players were also talented trackers. If an Assassin''s Tracking Skill were a high enough level, they could even determine general information of the other party through their footprints. For example, the white-clothed Assassin had leveled her Tracking to Tier 1, Level 9. At this stage of the game, an Assassin with the Skill at Tier 1, Level 2 was already impressive. After all, it was not a commonly used Skill. "Leave it to me." The pretty Assassin called Netherworld Wave nodded. She then jumped off her massive avian Mount and checked the hoof prints. As for the rest of the team, they also dismounted and sat to rest. Although they had ridden their Mounts the whole way here, several hours of riding was a burden on their Stamina. By sitting to rest, they could recover some of the lost Stamina. "There are twenty sets of prints. It should be a team of Level 40 and above players. The prints are less than half an hour old. However, the team''s trail disappears after reaching the path''s entrance," Netherworld Wave reported. Even after searching for other clues, she could not find a reason for the sudden disappearance. Normally, only invisibility-type Skills such as Stealth produced such effects. However, why would a group of twenty Assassins venture to the Crying Ghost Ridge? "Although we don''t know why these players are here, we should be careful. As a neutral map, there are plenty of foreign races in Crying Ghost Ridge. If the natives discover us, kill them immediately. If we can''t kill them, run. Do not engage in a drawn-out battle!" Breeze Wine instructed. "Low-ranking Mounts cannot hide their tracks. And my Beastmaster''s Breath is only effective against low intelligence monsters. It won''t be nearly as effective against the races here. From this point on, we''ll advance on foot." Following which, the Midnight Tea Party stealthily entered the Crying Ghost Ridge. However, as the team traveled down the narrow mountain path leading into the Crying Ghost Ridge, they discovered a bewildering scene. The area, which had originally been covered with gravel, now looked like the surface of the moon. Craters and corpses of various races littered the ground. There were at least 300 dead scattered in the rubble. It looked like some great war''s forlorn battlefield. "What happened here?" The female Cleric Cloud Yarn''s jaw dropped, shock filling her gaze as she stared at three Ogre corpses that were over ten meters tall, their bodies bisected. Surrounding these three were hundreds of three- and five-meter tall Ogres. [Ogre Gladiator] (High Lord) Level 62 HP 0/19,200,000 [Ogre Warrior] (Special Elite) Level 60 HP 0/1,900,000 [Ogre Shaman] (Chieftain) Level 61 HP 0/3,500,000 "Leader, these Ogres seem to have been here to ambush players. However, from the looks of it, the players who passed by earlier must have killed them," Netherworld Wave said as she handed some simple traps she had picked up to Breeze Wine. In God''s Domain, players weren''t the only ones capable of setting traps. Monsters could do so as well. As for foreign races that had higher intelligence than monsters, setting traps was common. Though, there were differences between the traps the various races set. For example, simple-minded races like Ogres were only capable of setting very primitive traps. Perceptive players could easily avoid them. "Just who are those players?" Breeze Wine could not help his joy when he saw the Ogre corpses. Among the hundreds of Ogres, there were three Level 62 Ogre Gladiators and over 30 Ogre Shamans, which were healers. Even their adventurer team would suffer casualties if they fought such a powerful force. However, he could not find a single trace of a player''s resurrection on the battlefield. "Thank goodness we arrived after those people. Otherwise, we would''ve had a hard battle," Cloud Yarn said, sighing in relief. "Leader, I found the team''s tracks. It seems like they''re heading towards the Fallen Ark as well," Dark War, a Ranger wielding a short bow, said as he pointed towards the dead forest ahead of them. "This is interesting." Endless Scars smiled faintly as she examined the sword marks on the Ogre Gladiators. "Leader, let''s move out. If we waste too much time here, the monsters might respawn." "Alright, let''s go," Breeze Wind said as he gestured with a hand. The team then followed the tracks. Meanwhile, deep in the Crying Ghost Ridge''s dead forest, Shi Feng and the others faced-off against an army of Trolls. Wave after wave assaulted the team. Meanwhile, the Troll Shamans standing in the rear continuously healed the Troll Warriors and Chieftain fighting on the frontlines. [Troll Warrior] (Elite) Level 61 HP 650,000/650,000 [Troll Chieftain] (Great Lord) Level 63 HP 42,000,000/42,000,000 [Troll Shaman] (Chieftain) Level 62 HP 3,100,000/3,100,000 "Guild Leader, if they continue calling for reinforcements, we won''t be able to hold them back!" Cola, who held back the Troll Chieftain, shouted. The pressure was intense as he fought the Great Lord. He was only Level 43. With a 20-level gap, even though he had an Epic shield and the Support Skills of the Demonic Flame Tiger, he felt as if his life were on a rollercoaster. Every one of the Troll Chieftain''s normal attacks dealt over -19,000 damage, while a Skill would deal over -26,000. Meanwhile, he only had slightly over 35,000 HP. If not for the Clerics'' Truth Shield and Oracles'' Protection on him, the Great Lord''s Skills would have killed him instantly. "Wait a little longer. Turtledove and Wumian, try to lure as many Troll Warriors away from the Chieftain as possible," Shi Feng unhurriedly instructed. "Guild Leader, there are too many Trolls here. If any more join the fray, I''m afraid that we won''t be able to deal with them." Gentle Snow felt her chest tighten as she watched more Troll Warriors join the battle. They could deal with their foes if the monsters were simply Level 40-plus Elites. However, these were Level 60-plus Elite monsters. Furthermore, aside from the abundant EXP, killing these monsters wasn''t particularly profitable; They Elite and Chieftain ranked Trolls they had already killed had only dropped Silver Coins and some materials. They hadn''t even dropped a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. "Almost. Just hold on for a little while longer." Shi Feng did not bother to explain. God''s Domain''s neutral maps were home to various foreign races. Unlike humans, foreign races were very talented. Some were good with magic, some possessed unmeasured strength, some had acute five senses, and some were natural-born warriors. To put it simply, foreign races were much stronger than humans. During ancient times, humans had consistently ranked at the very bottom among the races in God''s Domain. Humans did not have an edge in combat. However, humans'' intelligence was unmatched. The human race had only achieved the prosperity it enjoyed today by accumulating and passing on their knowledge from one generation to the next. Although humans were still no match for Archaic Species, they had become the to race on the continent of God''s Domain and occupied most of the continent''s territories. There were two foreign races in Ghost Crying Ridge: Ogres and Trolls. While Ogres wielded boundless strength, they lacked the intelligence to produce weapons that could maximize that strength. Trolls, on the other hand, were very smart. Normally, they would gather wood and stone to forge weapons for battle. Green Ebony was among the wood these Trolls harvested. Hence, when killing these Trolls, there was a chance that Green Ebony would drop. Of course, players could also search the Crying Ghost Ridge for harvestable Green Ebony. However, the process was troublesome. Moreover, to Shi Feng and the others, Crying Ghost Ridge was still too dangerous to explore casually. There were many places that they couldn''t reach yet. Thus, Shi Fent settled on killing Trolls for the wood. In fact, he was specifically waiting for the Troll Chieftain to call for reinforcements so that he would have more Troll Warriors to kill. Troll Warriors were only Elite monsters. Their chances of dropping a rare material like Green Ebony were quite low. At the very least, they needed to kill Chieftain ranked Trolls for a decent chance of obtaining Green Ebony. "Guild Leader, more Trolls have arrived!" Minor Wind reported, his expression twisting. Among the newcomers were three Lord ranked Trolls! 1114 Advanced Technique Chapter 1114 - Advanced Technique As soon as Minor Wind finished his report, the team heard crashing from the nearby forest as one tree after another fell to the ground. Suddenly, three three-meter-tall figures jumped into the clearing. These three figures were black-skinned Trolls clad in broken armor, each wielding a silver spear. Their blood-red eyes radiated an intense bloodlust. "Roar!" The instant the three black Trolls noticed Shi Feng''s group, they bellowed in rage. One of them even swung their spear at a nearby tree, felling the massive tree with a single attack. Even Shi Feng couldn''t underestimate their incredible Strength. [Petrified Troll] (Lord) Level 62 HP 8,200,000/8,200,000 Everyone on the team felt an immense pressure from the Petrified Trolls. If the Trolls were merely Level 40 Lords, they could hold the monsters back. However, a Level 62 Lord was many times more powerful than a Level 40. On their team, only their MTs could withstand an assault from one of these monsters. No one else could endure their attacks, much less pin them down. These Level 62 Lords possessed combat standards at the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. These Petrified Trolls'' Attributes also dwarfed theirs. The same held true for speed. In addition, Lord ranked monsters were generally resistant to Control Skills. If they could neither outrun nor control these monsters, just how were they supposed to fight against the Petrified Trolls? Shi Feng''s expression was just as serious as the rest of his team. What rotten luck. It''s even capable of summoning Petrified Trolls. The Troll Chieftain surprised Shi Feng. Unlike ordinary Trolls, Petrified Trolls had Petrification Runes carved all over their bodies, which made their skin harder than even steel. They were also monstrously strong. They were famous for being difficult enemies. In the past, players that encountered these Petrified Trolls generally turned and fled. The three Petrified Trolls didn''t give Shi Feng''s team much time to react. Without hesitation, they pounced on Cola, who currently held back the Troll Chieftain. "Why are they always targeting me?!" Glancing at the approaching Petrified Trolls, Cola activated his Tier 1 Protection Blessing and Last Stand, reducing all incoming damage by 50%, weakening any impact he received, and increasing his maximum HP by 40%. Instantly, his maximum HP rose to 49,530. Peng! Peng! Peng! Three silver spears struck Cola''s Dragonscale Shield, one after another. -6,717. -6,809. -6,784. Following which, the Troll Chieftain brandished its massive red greatsword and slashed at Cola. Tier 3 Skill, Stormrage. Quickly adjusting his footwork, Cola lifted his shield just in time to block the attack coming from his side. Meanwhile, the distant Violet Cloud quickly cast a Truth Shield on the Guardian Knight. Boom! When the Troll Chieftain''s greatsword crashed into the Dragonscale Shield, dazzling sparks flew as a loud boom resounded through the dead forest. Everyone felt the shockwave from the impact. As for Cola, numerous deep cuts ripped apart the ground around him. The Truth Shield on Cola shattered as the Guardian Knight was thrown, only stopping when he crashed into a large tree. The wood splintered upon impact. -19,678! "What a powerful move!" Everyone gasped at the power of the Troll Chieftain''s attack. If not for Cola activating Protection Blessing and Last Stand beforehand, he would''ve died instantly. After witnessing this assault, the team finally understood that these Trolls were far from ordinary. The Trolls could actually coordinate their attacks. It was also obvious that the Troll Chieftain had already planned this, saving its ultimate move to deal a final blow. Unfortunately for the Trolls, Cola was Zero Wing''s number one MT. He wore a Tier 1 Set Equipment and wielded the Epic ranked Dragonscale Shield. In addition, he had three Advanced Mana Armor Kits equipped. After activating his Lifesaving Skills, he was not that easy to instant-kill. However, after receiving the four Trolls'' combination attack, Cola had less than 10,000 HP remaining. Shi Feng took a Tier 2 Magic Scroll from his bag, unfurling it and reading the incantation within. Immediately, the dark blue Magic Scroll began to activate. Eighteen ice spears appeared around Shi Feng. He then controlled the frozen spears to attack the Troll Chieftain and the three Petrified Trolls. Tier 2 Spell, Ice Wheel. Every one of the eighteen ice spears was powerful. If they all hit their mark, even a Great Lord would suffer severe wounds. "Go!" However, Shi Feng did not simply use the eighteen spears to attack the Trolls. Instead, he executed Sword''s Orbit with the spears. The eighteen spears formed a beautiful star of ice and struck at the four Trolls. Boom Boom Boom The instant the spears met the Trolls, a series of crashes echoed throughout the clearing. The Trolls cried in agony. "Guild Leader, you''re too good to me! You used a Tier 3 Magic Scroll to save me!" Cola released a sigh of relief when he saw the four Trolls being pushed back. The team''s four healers hadn''t recovered half of his HP yet. If he received another round of attacks, he would have no choice but to activate his final Lifesaving Skill. Now that the four Trolls had been forced back, he had room to breathe. "Who are these people?" "A 20-man team is actually grinding monsters here! This is insane!" "That attack should have been from a Tier 3 Magic Scroll, right? That is simply extravagant!" While Shi Feng''s team fought the Trolls, the Midnight Tea Party watched the battle from above the distant forest. They were curious as they observed Shi Feng''s team of twenty cloaked players in battle. "No, that should have been an Elementalist''s Tier 2 Spell, Ice Wheel," Endless Scars said, shaking her head. She glanced at the Petrified Trolls, which had been forced back by over twenty yards, and the Troll Chieftain, which had taken six steps back, and said, "However, the Magic Scroll''s user is very powerful. He managed to incorporate the Spell with some kind of special technique, allowing the Tier 2 Ice Wheel to display the might of a Tier 3 Spell." "That''s not possible, right? We''re talking about a Magic Scroll. It is already extremely difficult to incorporate Skills with combat techniques, not to mention enhancing a Skill''s power to such a degree." The Assassin, Netherworld Wave, could not bring himself to believe Endless Scars. However, the latter was an Elementalist and far more familiar with magic-type Skills than himself. Moreover, in terms of combat techniques, Endless Scars was unmatched in their adventurer team. "That person did incorporate a combat technique into Ice Wheel. However, his technique is so advanced that even I can''t discern any clues on how he achieved it," Breeze Wine, the team''s leader, said, confirming Endless Scars''s claim. "Among the experts I''ve encountered, that player can rank in the top three." "What?! Is he even human?!" Cloud Yarn could not help but blink as she stared at the distant Shi Feng. This was the first time she had heard their team leader praise someone to such a degree. At this moment, the Ranger, Dark War, who had been paying attention to the battle, recaptured his teammates'' attention, "Look! That player is about to make a move!" The Midnight Tea Party''s players immediately returned their gazes to Shi Feng. "Fire, coordinate with Snow and lure one of the Petrified Trolls away. Leave the remaining two to me," Shi Feng commanded. 1115 Violent Team Chapter 1115 - Violent Team As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Fire Dance and Gentle Snow exploded into action. Fire Dance immediately used Shadow Steps to appear behind one of the Petrified Trolls, which was over 20 yards away. With a 360-degree spin, she thrust Thousand Transformation''s through the Petrified Troll''s armor, penetrating the Lord''s back. Backstab! A damage of -9,216 appeared above the Petrified Troll''s head, and it screamed in agony. The Troll spat a mouthful of fresh blood. Although the Petrified Troll tried to retaliate, Fire Dance quickly followed up with a light slash at its back, the sharp Thousand Transformations easily cutting through the Petrified Troll''s body like a hot knife through butter. Not only did Fire Dance''s Bisect inflict a 30-second Bleeding debuff, but the Lord was also Paralyzed, unable to fight for a short time. Following which, Fire Dance executed Absolute Strike, transforming into a streak of black light that lanced through the Petrified Troll. The instant she reformed on the other side of the Troll, she thrust Thousand Transformations at the Lord''s heart. Five-star Eviscerate! Immediately, the impact sent the Petrified Troll falling backward, two damages over -10,000 appearing above the Lord''s head. The Petrified Troll had no defense against Fire Dance''s assault whatsoever. The team was momentarily stunned by this scene. That was a Level 62 Lord! Yet, Fire Dance had rendered it helpless. Moreover, she dealt such awe-inspiring damages to the Lord. Initially, the team had assumed that Shi Feng was pushing his luck when he had only sent Fire Dance and Gentle Snow to deal with the Petrified Troll. Now, however, it would seem that Fire Dance alone was more than enough for the job. "Roar!" As the heavily injured Petrified Troll got to its feet, it bellowed with rage. It swept its silver spear horizontally, covering a range of 10 yards. The powerful Strength of its attack ripped apart the air, causing an explosion of force. In response, Gentle Snow executed Charge and appeared before the Petrified Troll, protecting Fire Dance. Although the Petrified Troll was immune to her Charge''s Fainted effect, the Skill increased her Attack Speed and Movement Speed. She followed up by meeting the Troll''s spear with a Cross Slash. Boom! As an explosion shook the air, Gentle Snow was forced to take three steps back, a damage of over -2,000 appearing above her head, but she had driven back the Petrified Troll''s spear. "She blocked it?" Everyone was stunned. "She blocked it?! No matter how I look at it, that monster''s Strength should be as high as a High Lord''s of the same level, yet a single Berserker blocked its attack and received so little damage in return?" One of the Midnight Tea Party''s muscular Berserkers stared at Gentle Snow in shock. He was one of the top Berserkers in the Midnight Tea Party, and even he did not think he could endure the Petrified Troll''s attack as easily as Gentle Snow had. He even wore the complete Violent Will Set, a Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for Berserkers. "What''s so surprising? Rather, look at how powerful that Assassin is. Although her attacks seemed ordinary, she achieved a 90% or higher Completion Rate with every skilled she used. Her Bisect and Eviscerate''s Completion Rates should be nearly 95%," Netherworld Wave said. Although Gentle Snow''s ability to withstand the Petrified Troll''s attack had surprised him as well, as an Assassin, he understood exactly how powerful Fire Dance was. "Big Sis Endless, who do you think these people are? They''re all as strong as monsters," the female Cleric Cloud Yarn asked Endless Scars curiously. Among their team members, Endless Scars had the most powerful information network. "They''re all wearing Black Cloaks. With their information hidden, even I have no way of determining their identities. However, there are not many experts at this level in God''s Domain. Although I know of a few, none of their actions or behavior match these people," Endless Scars said, shaking her head. However, what the members of the Midnight Tea Party did not know was that while Level 62 Lords might be difficult to deal with for other experts, Fire Dance and Gentle Snow were not among them. After all, one of them wielded the Fragmented Legendary ranked Thousand Transformations, while the other wore the Fragmented Legendary ranked Seven Luminaries Battle Armor. With these godly items, how could they not be capable of injuring a Level 62 Lord? As the Midnight Tea Party conversed quietly, Shi Feng launched his own assault. He activated Dragon''s Authority, inflicting the Fear debuff on all enemies within a 50-yard radius and reducing their Attack Power, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed by 40% for 1 minute. Although the Skill couldn''t reduce the Petrified Trolls'' Movement Speed, it could slightly reduce their Attack Power and Attack Speed. Moreover, the Skill affected all nearby Trolls, making it much easier for his other team members to fight these monsters. Shi Feng then activated the Aura of Wind, increasing his Movement Speed and Attack Speed significantly. He executed Wind Blade and appeared before the two Petrified Trolls before executing Sword''s Orbit, blue starlight wrapping around his body. As the starlight bloomed, not only did he force the two Petrified Trolls back, but a bloody gash also appeared across their bodies as a frightening damage appeared above both of their heads. -13,489! -27,544! Shi Feng didn''t receive any damage. Angry Tyrant''s effects sure are frightening. As expected from excellent Epic Equipment. Shi Feng was quite satisfied as he looked at the delicate bracers around his wrists. Dark red runes faintly shown on the bracers. The Angry Tyrant''s Strength bonus was above average even among Epic items. When its Passive Skill, Angry Blow, took effect, it pushed his combat power to a whole new level. If not for these Epic bracers, he would not have decided to confront the two Lords directly, opting for a safer approach instead. Although the Petrified Trolls possessed high Defense and Strength, they were slower than ordinary Lords of the same level. Even a Tier 2, Level 50 Assassin could easily outmaneuver a Petrified Troll, not to mention Shi Feng, an expert with five Epic items and a Fragmented Legendary item. Infuriated, the two Petrified Trolls howled. A blood-red haze then appeared around their spears. This move was none other than the Petrified Troll''s Tier 2 Skill, Blood Sacrificial Spear. It was a weapon-enhancing Skill that doubled their weapons'' Attack Power for 10 seconds and increased their Attack Speed by 30%. As numerous streaks of red light stabbed at Shi Feng, the latter activated Flame Burst. The Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray both released blinding lights, illuminating the gloomy forest. Sword''s Orbit! Boom Boom Boom A series of clangs rang out. Pained screams followed. The three-meter-tall Petrified Trolls transformed into two massive fireballs as the attack sent them flying; they crashed through numerous trees before they finally fell to the ground. Everyone involuntarily shivered when they saw the two monsters'' bodies. Meanwhile, the two Lord''s HP bars shrank by a small chunk. -134,858. -135,047. The two horrific damages stupefied everyone on the team. If not for Fire Dance and Gentle Snow still struggling with the other Petrified Troll, they would have doubted that the two monsters on the ground were actually Petrified Trolls. "Prioritize killing the other Petrified Troll! Blackie, Aqua, Summer, prepare your large-scale destruction Spells!" Shi Feng commanded immediately after throwing his two opponents. Now that no more Trolls had joined the battle, they no longer needed to hold back. After clearing out the Elite ranked Trolls, they could deal with the Petrified Trolls more quickly. Blackie and the others nodded and began chanting their Spells'' incantations. Time flew by. When the three of them finished chanting "Gather the monsters around the Troll Chieftain! Blackie, use Guardian of Light on Cola!" Under Shi Feng''s command, the team gathered around the Troll Chieftain. Cola activated Dragonscale Body, increasing his Defense by 200%, HP by 300%, and recovery by 500% for 30 seconds. With Guardian of Light''s effects, it was practically impossible for the Trolls to kill him. "Seal!" When Shi Feng saw that most of the monsters had been herded, he activated Skywheel Sword and limited the monsters'' movement. "Attack!" Immediately, three large-scale destruction Spells descended on the Trolls. As for Shi Feng, he switched the Aura of Wind for the Aura of Fire and activated Firestorm. Thunder and fire bombarded the monsters. By the time the Spells ended, all Elite ranked Trolls were dead. Even the Chieftain ranked Troll Shamans had less than half their HPs remaining 1116 Quadruple Jackpo Chapter 1116 - Quadruple Jackpot There had been over 500 Elite ranked Trolls on the battlefield. When they all died, a golden glow enveloped everyone on the team as they all leveled up. What astonishing leveling speed! Gentle Snow was flabbergasted as she watched her experience bar rise. When she had left White River City, she was only at 74% of Level 41. To bridge the gap and reach Level 42, she needed to grind for at least another full day or so, yet she had risen to Level 40 shortly after entering the Crying Ghost Ridge. With this leveling speed, it was definitely possible to reach Level 43 by the next day. After players reached Level 40, it was practically impossible to level up once a day. No one would believe this. However, although the team had killed plenty of Troll Warriors, the loot was pitiful, to say the least. Aside from some Copper and Silver Coins, the 500 or so Elite monsters only dropped some raw materials. Only five weapons and pieces of equipment dropped. Among them, four were Level 60 Common items, while the last was a piece of Level 60 Bronze Equipment However, Shi Feng was not surprised. After reaching Level 50, the drop-rate for weapons and equipment decreased drastically. Only Chieftain or above ranked monsters had a slightly higher chance of dropping such items. This drop-rate reduction occurred because players could begin challenging their Tier 2 class promotions after reaching Level 50. After obtaining their Tier 2 class, killing Elite monsters was as easy as taking candy from a baby. Tier 2 experts could solo Chieftains and even give Lords a run for their money. Generally, two or three Tier 2 experts working together could easily take down a Lord of the same level. Naturally, the system wouldn''t give players high-level weapons and equipment so easily. Hence, past Level 50, 6-man Party Dungeons, even in Normal Mode, usually had Lords as the Final Boss. Moreover, these Bosses had extremely powerful AOE Skills. One mistake could easily lead to a party-wipe. The same held true for Tier 2 experts. Adventurer teams and Workshops that wanted to make money by selling weapons and equipment generally needed to deal with Chieftains of the same level. If they wished to grind for Mysterious-Iron Equipment, at the very least, they had to deal with Lord ranked monsters. This resulted in the rise in popularity for Lifestyle classes capable of producing weapons and equipment. Of course, the system also restricted such Lifestyle classes by significantly increasing the production costs of weapons and equipment that were Level 50 and above. As a result, even Bronze Weapons and Equipment required many rare materials. This greatly limited the number of weapons and equipment Lifestyle players could produce and protected the market from oversaturation. "This team is simplyridiculous. They have four people capable of using large-scale destruction Spells in a 20-man team! Even our adventurer team only has two people with such Spells" "Is that Swordsman an NPC? He can actually overwhelm two Level 62 Lords." Shi Feng''s performance had astonished the Midnight Tea Party''s members. However, they weren''t shocked because Shi Feng had fought two Level 60-plus Lords by himself. After all, they were capable of that themselves. What truly shocked them was the overwhelming Strength Shi Feng had displayed. The Swordsman had managed to suppress the Petrified Trolls through brute force. "Turtledove, help tank the Petrified Troll on Fire''s side. Wumian, lure one away from me. Everyone else, prioritize killing the Troll Shamans!" Shi Feng ordered after sweeping a glance over the Troll Shamans, who had less than half their HPs remaining. "Cola, start running! Lure the Troll Chieftain as far away from here as possible! Don''t give the Shamans any chance to heal the Chieftain!" "Understood." Cola immediately dashed in the opposite direction of the Troll Shamans. Seeing this, the Troll Chieftain chased after the escaping Guardian Knight. When the Troll Chieftain moved, the Troll Shamans had no choice but to follow their leader. However, they couldn''t cast their heals while moving. As a result, the Troll Shamans couldn''t heal the Troll Chieftain. Meanwhile, the other members on Shi Feng''s team begun to bombard the Troll Shamans. After a few moments, the Troll Shamans collapsed, one after another, becoming EXP for Shi Feng''s team. Without the Shamans'' heals, the Petrified Trolls became a lot easier to deal with. "Don''t kill the Petrified Trolls! Leave them at 5% HP!" Shi Feng warned his teammates when he noticed Turtledove''s Petrified Troll only had 10% of its HP remaining. The Petrified Trolls were Lords. Although the chances of them dropping Green Ebony were high, simply killing them would be a waste. After all, he had Icarus''s Heart on him. If he killed the Lords, the chances of them dropping Green Ebony would be a lot higher. Although no one understood what Shi Feng intended to do, they followed his commands. When Turtledove''s Petrified Troll had 5% HP remaining, the team halted their attacks and shifted their focus to Ye Wumian''s Troll. Under the violent bombardment, it only took five minutes for all three Petrified Trolls to reach 5% of their total HP. "Guild Leader, can we kill them now?" Aqua Rose asked. While their team''s firepower was indeed fierce, keeping all three Petrified Trolls alive placed an extremely heavy burden on their team''s healers. Moreover, after such a long battle, their healers only had 30% of their Mana remaining. On the other hand, the Troll Chieftain had most of its HP remaining. If they delayed the Petrified Trolls'' deaths, their healers would not last. Thirty-percent Mana remaining We could give it a try. Shi Feng calculated some factors as he glanced at the Troll Chieftain''s HP and the healers'' Mana. He then said through the team chat, "Healers, use your Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions. Fire, take this Petrified Troll over for me. Remember, keep the Petrified Trolls at least 50 yards away from the Troll Chieftain. Everyone else, focus your fire on the Chieftain!" Saying so, Shi Feng activated Silent Steps and appeared behind the Troll Chieftain. He then executed Thundering Flash. Five blue lightning streaks devoured the Great Lord, causing damages of around -7,000 to appear above its head. In terms of Defense, the Troll Chieftain was even stronger than the Petrified Trolls. However, after receiving the Damage Amplification debuff from Thundering Flash, the team''s damage was slightly higher. Divine Providence had a 30-minute Cooldown. Shi Feng did not want to waste it. Although the Troll Chieftain was a Great Lord, it only had 42,000,000 HP. It also had only three main damage Skills. Among them, one was the Tier 3 Skill, Stormrage. The second one was Death Curse. It was a Spell that was guaranteed to kill one player if it landed. However, this Spell could be dodged, and players would be fine so long as the Spell missed them. The last was an AOE Skill called Whirlwind of Death. When activated, this Skill would decrease the Attack Speed and Movement Speed of all enemies within a 100 yards by 50%. Moreover, players would receive one Death debuff every ten seconds, each debuff increasing the damage they received by 10%. The Troll Chieftain would only activate this skill when its HP fell to 30%. Many teams had fallen under the Troll Chieftain''s greatsword in the past due to Whirlwind of Death. To put it simply, once Whirlwind of Death activated, it would become a competition of damage against the Troll Chieftain. However, Shi Feng was not worried. After all, their team''s firepower was off the charts. As the battle with the Troll Chieftain continued, Cola''s HP continuously increased and decreased. Every time the Troll Chieftain used Stormrage, Shi Feng landed a full-powered blow to one one of the Great Lord''s Joints, disrupting Stormrage''s trajectory slightly. This small deviation provided Cola with enough space to dodge the attack, preventing his HP from dropping to a critical level and increasing the burden on the healers. As for the Troll Chieftain''s Death Curse, Shi Feng warned his teammates to avoid the Great Lord''s front when he noticed the Boss activating the Spell. As the Troll Chieftain channeled Death Curse though its eyes, one simply needed to avoid standing before the Great Lord and wait out the Spell''s five-second duration. Ordinary players might find it difficult to avoid this Spell, but these players were experts. As long as Shi Feng notified them in time, they could dodge the Spell with little-to-no trouble. When the Troll Chieftain only had 30% HP remaining, it roared with fury. "Despicable humans, know our wrath!" the Troll Chieftain shouted. It then spun its greatsword at the sky. A black storm instantly formed, covering the battlefield and enveloping Zero Wing''s players. "Finally." Shi Feng had long since grown impatient. He activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. "Don''t hold back! Throw everything you''ve got at it!" With the addition of Shi Feng''s doppelganger and the twelve Abyssal Blade Phantoms, the team''s damage output instantly soared. The other team members similarly activated their Sure-kill Skills. The Troll Chieftain''s HP rapidly decreased. It lost over 200,000 HP every second. In the end, when it only had 1% HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and Thunder God''s Descent. Both he and his doppelganger then activated Flame Burst and went on to attack the Troll Chieftain before assaulting the three Petrified Trolls. As the four Trolls died, four golden balls of light lifted from their corpses and flew into the air. Following which, the golden balls burst and transformed into streams of light that rained on the battlefield. Everyone was rendered speechless. These players had seen something like this before. This scene occurred when they triggered a jackpot. The Midnight Tea Party''s members were also dumbfounded. Quadruple jackpots! This was utterly ridiculous! 1117 Godly Skill Chapter 1117 - Godly Skill After the Troll Chieftain and three Petrified Trolls died, a golden glow once again encased several players on the team. Killing Lords and Great Lords of a higher level definitely yielded far more EXP than killing Elite monsters of a higher level. Among those who leveled up, Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud finally reached Level 45, while Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, Minor Wind, and Shadow Sword rose to Level 44. In the Black Dragon Empire, they could all rank within the top ten on the empire''s Ranking List. Currently, the empire''s number one player was only Level 42, and still quite a distance away from Level 43. However, the team was more concerned with the loot before them. This was the first time any of them had seen four Bosses simultaneously drop jackpots. There were too many items on the ground for them to keep count. "This is insane! There should be at least a hundred items here!" Blackie gaped at the items on the ground. Previously, despite killing so many Elite monsters, they had only obtained a few decent items. However, practically every item among the four Bosses'' drops looked decent or better. "Guild Leader, your luck is simply amazing. In the future, you must join us during the large-scale Team Dungeon raids. We''ll probably get more during a single trip with you than five or six trips by ourselves." Aqua Rose could not help but look at Shi Feng, her eyes shining. It was fairly obvious that, by the look on her face, she wanted to drag Shi Feng into a Dungeon raid every day. The rest of the team expressed their agreement. With that kind of ridiculous luck, it would be a waste not to have Shi Feng raid Dungeons. "Alright, tidy up the loot first. We''ll have plenty of opportunities to raid large-scale Team Dungeons afterward." Shi Feng could not help but chuckle and shake his head in response to everyone''s expectant gazes. He had no choice but to offer an empty promise. For now, he had no intentions of revealing Icarus''s Heart. After all, this godly tool was simply too important to a Guild. The necklace could even upgrade a Lifestyle player to Master rank. Following which, everyone began to collect the loot. They had an extraordinarily abundant harvest this time. The four Bosses had dropped a total of 115 items, with 96 raw materials. Among the raw materials, 22 were Green Ebony, which surprised Shi Feng. Generally, Lord ranked Trolls only dropped one Green Ebony when killed, or two logs if one were lucky. As for Great Lords, they usually dropped three logs. Crafting a single Advanced Transport Carriage only required 15 logs. If they obtained another eight logs, they could produce a second Transport Carriage. If they had two Advanced Transport Carriages, he would have the foundation to start new trade routes to Stone Forest Town. Although the two carriages couldn''t carry a lot of players, they could increase Stone Forest Town''s Popularity among NPCs. He could also earn quite a sum in transportation fees. After organizing the materials, Shi Feng began to appraise the remaining items. In God''s Domain, after reaching Level 50, players would have to appraise the items monsters dropped if they wanted to know exactly what they had obtained. This added yet another expenditure for many players. Because of this, many players in the past had pursued the Appraiser Lifestyle class. This way, they could save money on appraisal fees. Of course, players who picked up the Appraiser class for this reason could only appraise low-rank items such as ] Bronze or Mysterious-Iron rank. For Secret-Silver rank, one needed to become an Intermediate Appraiser. However, becoming an Intermediate Appraiser was extremely difficult. One generally needed a Guild''s support to do so. Without the full support of a large Guild, it was practically impossible to become an Advanced Appraiser. To become an Intermediate Appraiser, one needed to appraise 20,000 Mysterious-Iron items. As items of Mysterious-Iron rank were not extremely rare, some Workshops or adventurer teams could afford to nurture one. Unfortunately, they had no hope of nurturing an Advanced Appraiser. This was due to the basic requirement of appraising 50,000 Fine-Gold items Even top-tier Workshops and adventurer teams could not obtain so many Fine-Gold items above Level 50. Only large Guilds had any chance of achieving this. Meanwhile, nurturing Advanced Appraisers was a benefit to a Guild. In the past, Guilds had normally only charged their members a quarter of NPCs'' appraisal fees, while non-Guild members paid three-fourths of NPC prices. By doing so, Guilds could make a fortune. NPC price for appraising a Dark-Gold item was around 10 Gold. For excellent Dark-Gold items, the price was even higher. Even if Guilds charged a lower appraisal fee, with how many players there were in a Guild, it would not be unusual to appraise several thousand items. Including the appraisal fees from non-Guild players, a Guild could easily make two or three hundred Gold a day. In the past, small Guilds with only thousands of members dreamed of this kind of pure profit. Although Zero Wing still did not have any Advanced Appraisers, Shi Feng possessed the Omniscient Eyes. Not only was the Skill a very advanced Identification Skill, but it also served as an advanced Appraisal Skill. After a short moment, Shi Feng finished appraising the remaining 19 items. "What?! Basic Soul Return actually dropped?!" Shi Feng shouted in surprise after appraising the ordinary-looking Skill Book. "Basic Soul Return?! Doesn''t that Skill allow one to resurrect other players while in battle?!" Gentle Snow asked in shock. "What?! Guild Leader, did it really drop?!" Aqua Rose looked at Shi Feng excitedly, afraid that Shi Feng was joking. Resurrection during combat would be a godly Skill in Dungeons. In Dungeons, it wasn''t uncommon for Bosses to instant-kill MTs due to mistakes. When such situations occurred, the entire team would die with the MT. However, if a team had Basic Soul Return, they could resurrect the MT and continue the raid. This Skill would undoubtedly reduce the unnecessary team-wipes in Dungeons. "Take a look yourself," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then shared the Skill''s information in the team chat. [Basic Soul Return] Resurrects one player while in combat. Player resurrected will only recover 30% HP and 20% Mana. Their death penalty will be halved. Cooldown: 30 minutes Class restriction: Cleric, Druid, and Oracle After everyone read the Skill''s Introduction, excitement illuminated their expressions. What a godly Skill! Previously, these players had only heard of Skills that could resurrect players during battle. Now, not only was one such Skill before them, but it could also reduce the death penalty!. It was very common for players to die and lose a level when fighting a Field Boss. If they could reduce their death penalty by half and only lose 50% EXP, they could save plenty of time. "What a pity. It would be great if the death penalty reduction were slightly higher," Cola said. Whether it was raiding Dungeons or killing Field Bosses, MTs were the most susceptible to death Following which, Shi Feng shared the information for the remaining loot. The items were mostly Level 60 weapons and equipment, with the best being Secret-Silver rank. However, none of them could compare to Basic Soul Return Skill. "Guild Leader, should we search for another Troll encampment?" Minor Wind asked. Even after observing their surroundings for some time, he did not notice any signs of incoming monsters. It was likely that they had cleared out all of the nearby Trolls. If they wanted to kill more, they would have to grind elsewhere. "No. First, we need to greet our friends hiding in the distance," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then turned to the dead forest on his left, shouting, "You''ve been watching for quite some time now. Why don''t you come out and meet us?" 1118 Reuniting with the Tea Party Chapter 1118 - Reuniting with the Tea Party Due to the quiet of the surrounding forest, the Midnight Tea Party''s members heard Shi Feng loud and clear. "Leader, we''ve been discovered. What should we do?" Cloud Yarn asked somewhat anxiously. It wasn''t unusual to encounter other players in the fields. However, this situation was somewhat different. This was because they bore the suspicion of banditry. Shi Feng''s team had just finished killing multiple Bosses. Although they had already obtained the loot, the items would remain ownerless for the next two hours. As long as they were killed, the loot was guaranteed to drop. Cloud Yarn did not doubt that Shi Feng''s team would be merciless to anyone who attempted to rob them. It wouldn''t have been a major issue if Shi Feng''s team were only comprised of ordinary experts. However, based on the miraculous feats she had witnessed, Shi Feng''s team was most likely just as strong as theirs. If it really came down to a fight, the outcome wouldn''t be pretty. "Guild Leader, could that guy be trying to trick us into revealing ourselves? We''re so far away. How could he possibly discover us? Moreover, we''re using Isolation Scrolls right now. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn''t be able to discover us even with Detection. How could a Swordsman like him detect us?" the Ranger, Dark War, said. Among the many classes in God''s Domain, the Ranger had the strongest perception abilities, with both Active and Passive Skills. Rangers were usually a team''s eyes. Although the Swordsman class was also an Agility-type class, it was not even a match for Assassins, much less Rangers. The rest of the adventurer team agreed with Dark War''s words. Not only were their teams separated by such a massive distance, but the player that had called them out wasn''t even a Ranger. Moreover, they were also under an Isolation Scroll''s effects. Shi Feng might have shouted to see whether or not there were nearby players waiting to ambush his team. "I don''t think so. He''s looking directly at us. Moreover, this is the Crying Ghost Ridge. This area is too dangerous for ordinary players," Endless Scars said confidently as she watched Shi Feng, who stared straight at them. "Big Sis Endless, what should we do? Should we just go over there?" Cloud Yarn asked. "What if those people misunderstand our intentions?" "Yarn, what are you afraid of? At most, we''ll have to fight them. We''ll see who regrets their actions in the end," Netherworld said, wearing an eager expression. As an independent adventurer, his favorite hobby was to push his limits. Watching Fire Dance''s performance had excited his will to fight. "Wave is right. We''re the Midnight Tea Party. Since when have we feared other players? Also, they have just finished an intense battle. They must''ve exhausted most of their abilities. If it really came down to a fight, they would be the suffering team." The other team members shared similar thoughts. "Alright, enough. Let''s go over and introduce ourselves. As for a fight breaking out, I don''t believe that it''s likely. Those players aren''t fools. They should''ve noticed our presence long ago. Since we didn''t try to attack them during a crucial moment, they should realize that we carry no ill will," Breeze Wine, the team''s leader, explained. He then approached Shi Feng''s team. Giving the matter some thought, the Midnight Tea Party''s members saw the reason in their leader''s words. They then followed Breeze Wine. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng announced the other team''s presence, the rest of Zero Wing''s members followed his gaze. However, none of them noticed the silhouette or presence of other players. "Snow, do you think the Guild Leader is being overly sensitive?" Zhao Yueru asked softly after failing to find anybody in the forest ahead. "Overly sensitive?" Gentle Snow considered the possibility. After all, they had just finished a difficult battle. Even the best failed sometimes. They were also in a dangerous neutral map. A mistake wouldn''t be unusual. However, as such thoughts began to sweep through the team, a blurry figure appeared from the dark forest ahead. Shortly after, more figures appeared. Zhao Yueru''s jaw dropped as she turned to Shi Feng in astonishment. Not only was the other party so far away, but they had also used Isolation Scrolls, yet Shi Feng still noticed them. Did he have the eyes of a hawk or something? However, the team did not know that Shi Feng''s Agility Attribute had long since broken past the threshold of Tier 1 players, 1,500 points, and reached the realm of Tier 2 players. As a result, he gained the Passive Skill, Basic Perception. The Passive Skill greatly enhanced his five senses. As a result, he could see and hear further and clearer. To Shi Feng, an ordinary Magic Scroll like the Isolation Scroll was useless. He had noticed them when the Midnight Tea Party had hidden among the trees. However, the team didn''t have much time to spend in a daze. The new arrivals were none other than the powerful independent adventurer team they had encountered in Ghost Forest Town. If they were not careful, they would suffer. "Hello. I am Breeze Wine, the leader of the adventurer team Midnight Tea Party. We have no ill intentions. We just happened to come across your team as we were passing by," Breeze Wine took the initiative to explain. "I understand. If you guys had any hostile will, you would''ve taken action as we were about to kill the Bosses," Shi Feng calmly stated. "Moreover, we''ve already met in Ghost Forest Town." "Ghost Forest Town? Are you guys that masked team?!" Breeze Wine stared at Shi Feng in shock. In God''s Domain, many adventurer teams wore Black Cloaks to hide their identities. Hence, he hadn''t humored the thought that Shi Feng and the others could be the team he had come across in Ghost Forest Town. After all, his team had the Beastmaster''s Breath, which had allowed them to reach Crying Ghost Ridge unhindered. Any other team would have been harassed by the Level 60 monsters and wouldn''t be a match for their adventurer team''s speed, yet now. Not only had Shi Feng''s team reached the Ridge ahead of them, but they had also killed two groups of foreign races. Breeze Wine could not begin to fathom how Shi Feng and the others managed this. The other Midnight Tea Party members were similarly surprised. A serious curiosity filled Breeze Wine''s expression as he looked at Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members. "Are you guys also here for a quest?" Shi Feng asked without hesitation. Players generally kept quiet about their high-level quests. This was especially true for quests in neutral maps. On the off chance that one attracts unwanted attention, they could suffer significant losses. Hence, when encountering strangers in the fields, one usually avoided mentioning quests to avoid suspicion. In Shi Feng''s opinion, however, such wariness was unnecessary here. Only a fool would believe that players in a neutral map weren''t pursuing some quest. Moreover, by taking the initiative to admit that they were also here for a quest, he could avoid appearing suspicious himself and hide the fact that they were here to grind Green Ebony. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s straightforward question, Breeze Wine could not help but laugh and admitted, "That''s right; our adventurer team is here to complete a quest. Are you, perhaps, interested? If you help us complete the quest, we will give you three pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment as a thank you gift!" "Leader?" Dark War and the others turned to Breeze Wine in confusion. They had spent over half a month to obtain this quest, yet Breeze Wine had just invited a bunch of strangers to help them. Moreover, these strangers were experts whose strength could rival their own. This was simply too risky. 1119 Fallen Ark Chapter 1119 - Fallen Ark Just as the Midnight Tea Party''s members waited for their leader''s answer, Breeze Wine''s offer had also stunned Shi Feng''s team. The man had actually offered three pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment right off the bat. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guild''s top-tier experts only wore Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment was simply too difficult to obtain. Normally, one only encountered such items by killing Field Bosses or completing quests. After all, the various large Guilds were still amassing equipment from Level 40 large-scale Team Dungeons. They still did not have good enough equipment to raid Level 45 large-scale Team Dungeons. If put up for auction, Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment could sell for at least 200 Gold. If it were an excellent piece of Dark-Gold Equipment, selling for even 500 Gold wouldn''t be surprising. Three pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment was easily worth 1,000 Gold. Presented with such an offer, even large Guilds would be willing to give everything they had to help. "Thank you for your the offer, Team Leader Breeze, but we have other matters that we need to attend to, so we cannot accept your offer." Shi Feng rejected the offer without so much as a thought. Although three pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment were quite valuable, it wasn''t what Zero Wing needed the most right now. The Green Ebony they were after would affect Stone Forest Town''s prosperity. The wood was arguably their top priority. Shi Feng''s outright rejection stunned the Midnight Tea Party. Even Super Guilds wouldn''t casually reject a 1,000-Gold offer, yet Shi Feng'' hadn''t hesitated in the least Dark War and the others, who had been opposed to the idea of Shi Feng''s team joining them, were somewhat annoyed. Their Midnight Tea Party had never asked for help before, yet in their first attempt, their offer had been tossed aside like garbage. Why wouldn''t they be frustrated? Meanwhile, Endless Scars, who stood to a side, looked at Shi Feng. Smiling, she said, "Truthfully, we don''t need much help with our quest. We simply hope that you will help us fend off any monsters while we activate a magic array. We won''t take up much of your time. One hour should be more than enough. If you feel that three pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment aren''t enough, we can pay 4,000 Magic Crystals instead. What do you think?" "Big Sis Endless?" Cloud Yarn''s pretty eyes widened as she stared at Endless Scars in astonishment. Their leader''s invitation was understandable as the man wanted to befriend Shi Feng''s team. However, she had never imagined that Endless Scars would also make an offer. Moreover, Endless Scars was offering Magic Crystals. Magic Crystal was the current mainstream currency among God''s Domain''s experts because Magic Crystals allowed players to enter the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. There were many other uses for Magic Crystals as well. It was easy to trade Magic Crystals for Coins, but the same was not true for the reverse. As for weapons and equipment, if an expert had no need for them, they didn''t have much value to said expert. Hence, apex experts were more willing to act for Magic Crystals than anything else. "One hour for 4,000 Magic Crystals? Miss Endless, your proposal is impossible to refuse." Endless Scars''s wealth momentarily stunned Shi Feng. Not long ago, Phoenix Rain had offered to hire ten of Zero Wing''s players for an entire day for 5,000 Magic Crystals. Even then, he was impressed by the woman''s wealth. If it were up to him, he''d never pay such a high price. Only now did he understood that there was always someone better in this world. However, when he thought about how the Blackwater Corporation backed Endless Scars, spending 4,000 Magic Crystals wouldn''t be much of an issue for her. "Let''s sign a contract right away, then." The smile on Endless Scars''s face grew even more charming when she heard Shi Feng''s answer. Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Breeze Wine. The system contract was assurance for both parties involved. Aside from players who were unwilling to spend five Silver Coins on the contract, players at this stage of the game generally signed one when working together. After signing the contract, Shi Feng and his team followed Midnight Tea Party''s members as they carefully proceeded down a gravel path through the dead forest. "Leader, Endless, what are you two thinking? The quest is dangerous enough already, yet you just invited a team that we know nothing about. What if they harbor some hostility once we complete the quest? Wouldn''t we suffer a massive loss?" Dark War asked, displeased, as he eyed Shi Feng and the others. This quest was extraordinary. It was the most difficult quest the Midnight Tea Party had ever undertaken. Although it was not a Legendary Quest, it could be considered a Pseudo-Legendary Quest. It was very likely that they could acquire a Fragmented Legendary item during this quest. Not even Super Guilds had a Fragmented Legendary item. If Shi Feng and his team discovered this, it would be a miracle if they did not outright betray them. The other Midnight Tea Party members supported Dark War''s opinions. They could not understand why these two people, who were usually the most level headed on their team, would make such an irrational decision about something so important. Ignoring the complaints, Endless Scars turned to Breeze Wine. Smiling, she asked, "Leader, do you want to say it? Or should I?" "Fine, I''ll say it, then." Breeze Wine shook his head and laughed. "Although you know that our quest is incredibly difficult, you guys don''t know exactly how difficult. Based on Endless''s and my estimates, our chances of success is less than 30%. Opening the entrance will be the most difficult part of our quest!" "Opening the entrance?" The team was confused. "That''s right. Although we have the key to unlock the Fallen Ark, when we begin the process, it will alert the Ark''s guards. Based on the information Endless and I uncovered, there should be five guards, one of which is a Grand Lord, while the remaining four are Great Lords. With our current manpower, it will be too difficult to maintain the magic array while dealing with one Grand Lord and four Great Lords. Originally, Endless and I had planned to use two of the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls our team obtained. Now, however, plans have changed. With these experts'' help, our chances of success will rise to 50%," Breeze Wine explained. "Moreover, befriending these experts isn''t necessarily a bad thing. We might even get to cooperate with them during high-difficulty quests in the future." Realization dawned when these players heard Breeze Wine''s explanation. It was no wonder why Endless Scars had offered such an exorbitant price to Shi Feng''s team. As everyone conversed in hushed tones, Breeze Wine had led them to a large canyon dotted with green hills and blue water. The canyon looked as if some giant sword had split the large mountain in half. Each side of the canyon radiated a powerful pressure that scared the monsters in Crying Ghost Ridge away. Isn''t this the Fallen Ark''s location? Shock colored Shi Feng''s face when he saw this scene. Is the Midnight Tea Party''s quest related to the Fallen Ark? In his previous life, the Fallen Ark had been extremely famous in God''s Domain. It was also the Crying Ghost Ridge''s greatest secret. It was rumored that the Fallen Ark had been one of the ultimate weapons in the Great Ancient War. Even Gods would perish under one of the Ark''s attacks. However, the Ark had been destroyed during the war and had fallen in Crying Ghost Ridge. Because of the Ark''s magic, the Mana flow in the ridge was quite abnormal, making the area inhospitable for humans. Hence, various foreign races had occupied the Crying Ghost Ridge instead. 1120 Special Lifeform Chapter 1120 - Special Lifeform As Shi Feng recalled information on the Fallen Ark, Breeze Wine slowly approached the canyon''s entrance and carefully took a sixteen-sided orange crystal from his bag. As soon as he revealed the orange crystal, an invisible aura pulsed from the item. Moreover, each pulse was stronger than the last. What is that?! Why does my whole body suddenly feel like lead?! Gentle Snow could not help but shift her gaze to the orange crystal. The more she looked at the crystal, the more she feared it. It was as if this crystal were Purgatory itself. Even her soul shuddered with fear. Gentle Snow wasn''t the only one shocked by Breeze Wine''s crystal. Alluring Summer and the others were similarly afraid. Only the Midnight Tea Party''s members, Shi Feng, and several Zero Wing core members remained unperturbed. Shi Feng and the core members had experienced this pressure before. It was Divine Might! There was a qualitative difference between the Life Rating of Gods and ordinary people. Gods had created this orange crystal, and naturally, their aura had tainted it. Ordinary people wouldn''t be comfortable around this aura. Around this energy, ordinary humans would feel like they had been submerged in liquid metal. Not only would they find it extremely difficult to moves, but their breathing would also become labored. As the orange crystal released one pulse after another, the canyon began to shake. A purple-gold, fivefold magic array appeared in the sky. Sure enough, their quest is related to the Fallen Ark. Have they lost their minds? They dare risk opening it at this stage of the game. Shi Feng''s expression darkened as he watched Breeze Wine lift the orange crystal above his head while chanting an incantation. Hurriedly, he shouted, "Everyone, retreat!" "Retreat?" Zero Wing''s members looked to Shi Feng in confusion. "What are you guys doing?!" Dark War and the other Midnight Tea Party members asked, enraged when they heard Shi Feng''s command to his teammates. Their teams had already signed a contract with each other. Although there were no penalties for breaking the contract, no matter how they looked at it, Shi Feng was breaking his promise. Moreover, now that they had exposed the contents of their quest, how could they possibly allow Shi Feng and the others to leave? "No time for explanations! Either run or die!" Shi Feng turned and fled. Shi Feng hadn''t expected that, while he assumed that the Midnight Tea Party''s quest was related to it, their goal was to activate the slumbering Fallen Ark. Activating the Fallen Ark had shaken God''s Domain in the past. When the Ark woke, it also roused the sleeping abyssal monsters within. Although these abyssal monsters had been gravely injured during the Great Ancient War, they were still immensely powerful. The old monsters that had woken inside the Ark were Mythic rank. Moreover, as more time passed and these monsters recovered, they grew more powerful. These monsters emergence had turned Crying Ghost Ridge into a forbidden land for players. In the past, to explore the Fallen Ark''s secrets, a few Super Guilds had dispatched an army of over a hundred thousand players. This army only consisted of Tier 2 players, and the lowest level was Level 60. Many apex experts had marched with the army as well. Such a force was normally more than enough to deal with five or six Mythic monsters, yet the army had been annihilated in the end. Not one player had made it out of the Fallen Ark alive. To make matters worse, these players'' had boosted the old abyssal monsters'' strength. It was suicidal to activate the Fallen Ark with just their two teams of Tier 1 players. "Big Sis Endless, they''re running away. What should we do? Do we stop them?" Netherworld Wave hurriedly asked Endless Scars. "No need. We''re fleeing, too," Endless Scars said, shaking her head as she watched Shi Feng. She ran. "But our leader is still here!" Cloud Yarn exclaimed anxiously as she shifted her gaze between Endless Scars and Breeze Wine. "Once the unlocking process has begun, it cannot be stopped. The situation has changed; we have no choice but to sacrifice him," Endless Scars said without hesitation. "However, this isn''t a complete loss. At the very least, we can hide and watch what happens when the magic array activates from a distance." Although Endless Scars''s words were casual, the Midnight Tea Party''s members felt chills crawl down their backs. These players were all companions and had fought through many life-or-death battles together. Their team leader was one of them, yet Endless Scars spoke of sacrificing Breeze Wind as if she were talking about the weather. Unfortunately, as their team leader couldn''t do anything, they had to listen to Endless Scars as she was the Midnight Tea Party''s second in command. Shortly after the Midnight Tea Party members escaped from the magic array''s range, five steel giants pulled themselves from the ground. [Fallen Garrison Captain] (Special Lifeform, Grand Lord) Level 65 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 [Fallen Patrol] (Special Lifeform, Great Lord) Level 63 HP 57,000,000/57,000,000 Upon seeing these monsters, both Endless Scars and Shi Feng''s teams gaped in shock. "What are these monsters!? Their HP is so high! The pressure from them is so strong, too!" Aqua Rose felt her scalp tingle as she stared at these monsters. Despite standing several hundred yards away, she still felt an intense pressure radiating from the monsters. It would certainly affect the combat power they could exert in close combat. Based on her estimates, they''d be lucky to display 70% of their usual combat powers. If it came down to a fight, they would team-wipe. The Midnight Tea Party also understood how powerful the guardian monsters were. These monsters'' Life Rating was definitely higher than theirs. The Fallen Garrison Captain, in particular, was at least two or three ratings higher than the Grand Lords they''ve previously faced. It could practically rival a Mythic monster''s strength. In front of these monsters, their preparations were rubbish. While the Midnight Tea Party members were frozen in shock, Endless Scars shifted her gaze towards Shi Feng. Did he know these monsters would show up? Endless Scars came to her own conclusions as she recalled Shi Feng''s decisive order to retreat. Although the Fallen Ark was a secret, based on the team''s performance and Shi Feng''s statement that they, too, were here for a quest, it was likely that the man knew something about the Fallen Ark. Otherwise, how could she explain Shi Feng''s decision to flee the moment he saw them activate the magic array? What Endless Scars did not know was that what Shi Feng wasn''t worried about the steel giants'' sudden appearance at all. Rather, he was afraid of the abyssal monsters inside the Fallen Ark itself. If those monsters were released, it would disrupt his plans to grind for Green Ebony. If that was their goal, he wouldn''t help the Midnight Tea Party. As the steel giants appeared, the Fallen Garrison Captain instantly killed Breeze Wine as he maintained the magic array. When Breeze Wine died, the magic array began to dissipate gradually, as did the steel giants shortly after. Peace soon returned to the canyon. When the area returned to normal, Endless Scars stopped her team before the Midnight Tea Party members could give Shi Feng a piece of their minds. She approached Shi Feng''s team herself. 1121 Inferior Legendary Treasure Ches Chapter 1121 - Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest As Endless Scars slowly walked up to Shi Feng, she sized up the man carefully. Although she couldn''t see Shi Feng''s appearance due to the Black Cloak, curiosity filled her eyes. Shi Feng similarly observed Endless Scars, one of God''s Domain''s legendary figures in the past. The woman had clear, bright eyes, curved eyebrows, and thick eyelashes. A hint of pink colored her pristine, white jade skin. Her thin, soft lips were as mesmerizing as a ruby. As she revealed a hint of a smile, she could captivate any player. Shi Feng had to admit that even Gentle Snow, who everyone called a Goddess, fell short compared to Endless Scars. "Guild Leader, that beauty seems interested in you," Blackie said, snickering softly. Instead of responding, Shi Feng rolled his eyes. Although others might strive for a beauty like Endless Scars'' attention, Shi Feng knew how costly it was. He knew all too well what kind of person Endless Scars was. Although she wore an interested expression, looking like a little girl who had just found a new toy, her thoughts were as pure as everyone assumed. It was no different than her attitude towards Breeze Wine. "If Miss Endless wants to ask why we changed our plans so abruptly, I believe you have already figured that out after seeing those five Special Lifeforms. It''s not that we want to back out of our transaction; we''re just powerless to help. If Miss Endless doesn''t have any other matters to discuss, we will take our leave." Shi Feng took the initiative to bid the woman farewell. Although he did not know what lay inside the Fallen Ark that could tempt the Midnight Tea Party, he no longer wanted to associate with the adventurer team. "Please, wait. I wish to represent the Midnight Tea Party in thanking you. If not for your command to flee, we would be dead by now. Here are 1,000 Magic Crystals. Take them as a thank you gift, and let''s part as friends," Endless Scars said. She then retrieved a gray gemstone bag and handed it to Shi Feng. Every Midnight Tea Party member was stunned. What was going on here? Not only hadn''t Endless Scars questioned Shi Feng''s intentions, but she also gave him 1,000 Magic Crystals as a sign of gratitude. She was insane! "This beautiful big sister is simply too rich!" When Violet Cloud saw the cloth bag of 1,000 Magic Crystals, even she wanted to volunteer to become Endless Scars''s little sister. Even large Guilds would hesitate before giving away 1,000 Magic Crystals, yet Endless Scars did so without blinking. Although Shi Feng wanted to say something, Endless Scars quickly followed up by saying softly, "Although our transaction has failed, I''d like to conduct another trade. We''ll enter the Fallen Ark together and split the items thirty-seventy. How about it?" Endless Scars''s offer shocked every player present. "Miss Endless, you saw the monsters guarding the entrance. At this stage of the game, we have no chance against them." Shi Feng could not understand what was going through Endless Scars''s mind. Those five Special Lifeforms were no laughing matter. Even he was not confident in taking them down. Special Lifeforms were extremely rare in God''s Domain. They were weapons the Gods had specifically crafted for war. Like puppets, they possessed eternal life. They also had the power of immortality. Even if players killed them, they would resurrect. Moreover, they would revive slightly stronger than before. Generally, it only took these Special Lifeforms ten minutes to resurrect, with some of the more powerful monsters taking up to an hour or so. In addition, these monsters did not drop any loot. Hence, players usually kept their distance. One had to admit that these Special Lifeforms were excellent guardians. "What if I tell you that there''s an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest inside?" Endless Scars asked when she saw Shi Feng''s lack of interest. Smiling faintly, she continued, "Based on what I''ve uncovered, there should be more than one Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest inside. In addition, there are plenty of Epic Treasure Chests. My map can lead us to these Treasure Chests and allow us to bypass the traps. Are you sure you''re not interested?" The Fallen Ark had been one of the final weapons in the Great Ancient War. The items inside had been left behind by the Gods before they had died. NPCs would consider even the most ordinary item a treasure, let alone players. "You have a map?" Shi Feng stared at Endless Scars, flabbergasted. He would be lying if he said he wasn''t interested in the Fallen Ark. However, obtaining these treasures wasn''t that easy. To current players, triggering any of the traps inside would result in death. Hence, even after clearing out the monsters in the Fallen Ark, very few players had been willing to explore it in the past. In fact, after the abyssal monsters had been cleared out, a large number of players and Guilds had rushed into the Fallen Ark. In the end, however, only a few had escaped with their lives. Practically 99.9% of the players that entered the Ark had died in the outer region. Even if one managed to reach the Ark''s inner region, they would have to deal with even more powerful traps. As a result, very few were capable of leaving the Ark with any of its treasures. Players had come to both love and despise the Fallen Ark. However, it would be a different story if they had a map. Aside from the awakened abyssal monsters and a few Special Lifeforms, the Fallen Ark was void of life. The traps would be their main problem after entering the Ark. A map of the Ark''s various traps was the equivalent of a free pass to its treasures. As long as they were careful to avoid the abyssal monsters and Special Lifeforms, they could obtain the Ark''s treasures unhindered. Shi Feng finally understood Breeze Wine and Endless Scars''s attraction to the Fallen Ark and why they''d be willing to spend 4,000 Magic Crystals to hire his team for an hour. "That''s right. If you don''t believe me, take a look. Although it is only a fragment, can lead us to the Fallen Ark''s inner region," Endless Scars said. She then took out a broken map with only two-fifths of the original and showed it to Shi Feng. The item''s name was Fallen Ark Map. However, if Shi Feng wished to look at it in detail, he needed the owner''s permission. "I can help you get inside. However, I have a condition." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng eventually chose to take the risk. In the past, even the most inferior item players secured from the Fallen Ark''s inner area was an Epic item. If one were lucky, they could even obtain a Fragmented Legendary item. A Fragmented Legendary item! With one such item, a player''s combat power would skyrocket. If he could obtain one, the item would greatly enhance his chances of success both in the Dark Arena and in the contest for Thunder Island. As for the abyssal monsters that would be released, they would mostly roam the Crying Ghost Ridge''s inner regions. His team could still grind Trolls in the outer region. The only drawback was a slightly lower drop-rate for Green Ebony. Endless Scars had only wanted to test Shi Feng with her offer. However, upon hearing Shi Feng''s confident reply, a small glimmer of hope shown in her flawless eyes. "As long as your conditions aren''t too outrageous, I can agree to them on behalf of our team leader," Endless Scars straightforwardly replied, smiling faintly. It was as if she had long since guessed Shi Feng''s thoughts. Pointing at the map in Endless Scars''s hand, Shi Feng said in a non-negotiable tone, "Give me a copy of the Fallen Ark Map. Once we''re inside, we''ll go our separate ways and agree to a non-aggression pact. What we each walk away with will depend on our abilities." 1122 Foundation Magic Array Chapter 1122 - Foundation Magic Array Endless Scars''s conversation with Shi Feng had been private. The other players hadn''t heard their discussion. However, when the Midnight Tea Party members saw Endless Scars''s frown, they were shocked. Endless Scars had never revealed such an expression throughout her time on the team. Even when monsters nearly wiped their team out, nothing close to a frown had appeared on her face. "Propose another. Our team cannot agree to that condition," Endless Scars said after giving the matter some thought. Looking straight at Shi Feng, she said seriously, "The map itself is a pass to the Fallen Ark. If you have it, you can enter the Ark more than once. This will undoubtedly increase our competition over the Ark''s treasure. With how important the Fallen Ark is, I believe that no sane person would agree to your proposal. Moreover, even if our adventurer team can''t enter the Fallen Ark right now, we can simply return when we''re strong enough. In any case, the key is ours. If we don''t activate the Ark, no one will be able to enter it." "What you''re saying is true. However, you don''t seem to know the Fallen Ark''s true secret," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He had long since guessed Endless Scars''s reply. The Fallen Ark Map was priceless. Naturally, he didn''t expect the Midnight Tea Party to just make a copy for him. However, the adventurer team''s understanding of the Fallen Ark was no match for his. "What are you trying to say?" Although Endless Scars had her suspicions, after hearing Shi Feng''s confident comments, she was even more certain that Shi Feng knew plenty of information about the Fallen Ark. "Well, it doesn''t really matter even if I tell you this. Although you have the key and the map, it is still impossible to obtain the items inside the Fallen Ark," Shi Feng explained as he pointed to where the five Special Lifeforms had disappeared. "You''ve seen for yourselves how powerful those guards are. However, the monsters inside are even more formidable. If you open the Ark, those monsters will escape. Moreover, those monsters will, slowly but surely, grow stronger. If you don''t deal with them properly, even the map won''t help you. Meanwhile, I have a way to deal with those monsters. "If we work together, we can reach the Ark''s inner region quickly. Even if you don''t want to cooperate with us, once you open the Ark, we can still go in ourselves. Once the Ark is open, it won''t ever close. Anyone will be able to enter." Endless Scars hesitated after listening to Shi Feng''s explanation. Although she wasn''t sure if Shi Feng were telling the truth, if he was, then her side had no way of dealing with those monsters. Their map might as well be a blank piece of paper. On the other hand, Shi Feng had a way of combating this problem. Once Shi Feng''s team entered the Ark, although their progress would be slow without the map, the Midnight Tea Party would suffer a massive loss if they came across any treasure. Most importantly, her team did not have a lot of time. After all, their quest had a time limit. Based on her estimates, even if they focused on grinding and completing their class promotions, the furthest they could reach was Tier 2, Level 55 before the quest''s time limit was up. At that tier and level, their team might have a chance of defeating the five entrance guards. Unfortunately, she was not certain that they could deal with the Ark''s monsters, which Shi Feng claimed were far stronger. She had to admit that Shi Feng''s knowledge on those monsters was invaluable. "Alright, I''ll agree to your conditions. However, you need to tell me what you know about those monsters. You also have to tell me how to deal with them. If what you say is true, I''ll make a copy of the map once we''re in the Ark. If you lie to me, you won''t get anything." Endless Scars glared at Shi Feng. This was the first time she hadn''t had the upper hand in a negotiation since she had joined God''s Domain. She was even more frustrated that she still didn''t know Shi Feng and his team members'' identities. "That won''t be a problem. Once you see for yourself, you''ll know the truth," Shi Feng laughed. After the various Super Guilds'' army had suffered annihilation, Crying Ghost Ridge had become a forbidden land for players in the past. Even then, however, many players had sought the Fallen Ark''s treasure. To deal with the incomparably powerful abyssal monsters, these players had formed a multitude of plans. Unfortunately, none of those plans had succeeded. The most ridiculous part was that players had only discovered a proper method of dealing with the monsters after they had been defeated. That method involved utilizing Mana Stones! Due to the special Mana phenomenon inside the Fallen Ark, the slumbering abyssal monsters couldn''t absorb Mana to recover. However, once the Fallen Ark was unlocked, this Mana disturbance would vanish. To recover their strength, these abyssal monsters urgently needed large amounts of Mana. Ordinary Magic Crystals would not do. To those ancient abyssal monsters, Mana of such quality did little to aid in their recovery. Only Mana Stones were suitable. When the time came, he simply needed to construct a Foundation Magic Array to display the Mana Stones. The Mana Stones would lure the abyssal monsters, and once they left, these abyssal monsters wouldn''t be able to return to the Ark for a short time. Their teams could then search the Ark relatively safely. Following which, Shi Feng and Endless Scars signed a contract. After ensuring that there were no issues, Shi Feng had Violet Cloud use Basic Soul Return on Breeze Wine. This way, Breeze Wine would not lose a level, and his combat power would be unaffected. "Wait here for now. I still need to prepare," Shi Feng said before entering the dead forest by himself and setting up a teleportation point with the Abyss Pendant. He then used a Return Scroll and teleported to White River City. As soon as Shi Feng returned to White River City, he passed the Green Ebony he had obtained to Melancholic Smile. Although they only had enough for one Advanced Transport Carriage, it took a considerable amount of time to manufacture one. Even if they had a Master Engineer and a Master Forger, they would need close to a day. Hence, the sooner they began production, the better. Inside one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Forging Room, Shi Feng retrieved the Philosopher''s Stone, which he had picked up from his Private Warehouse on his way back, and began to synthesize Magic Crystals into Mana Stones. He could synthesize one Mana Stone from 50 Magic Crystals. Without hesitation, he used all 1,000 Magic Crystals he had obtained from Endless Scars and ended up with 20 Mana Stones. That was enough to lure the abyssal monsters from the Ark twice. Following which, Shi Feng made nine Magic Array Scrolls for the Nine-star Polar Domain. Once those were complete, he used the Abyss Pendant to return to Crying Ghost Ridge. Upon returning to the Ridge, Shi Feng used ten Mana Stones to set up a Foundation Magic Array far from the canyon where the Fallen Ark resided. With this Foundation Magic Array, he could lure all the abyssal monsters from inside the Ark. After finishing that task, Shi Feng returned to his team. "You''ve finished your tasks already?" Endless Scars asked Shi Feng with a suspicious tone. Only one hour or so had passed since Shi Feng had left. That wasn''t even enough time to make a round-trip to a town or city. What could he possibly do in one hour? Originally, she had thought that Shi Feng had left to gather reinforcements. After all, with their current strength, defeating the five guardian monsters was impossible. At the very least, they needed a team of 100 experts. Yet, Shi Feng hadn''t brought even one player back with him "Endless, is this brat toying with us?!" Dark War asked through the team chat, infuriated. After Shi Feng left, Endless Scars had told her team everything about her agreement with Shi Feng. They all thought that Shi Feng''s demands were outrageous. They also thought that Shi Feng was lying about how powerful the monsters inside the Ark were and that he simply wanted to trick them for their map. Shi Feng''s speedy return only justified their assumptions. Before Endless Scars could reply, however, Shi Feng beat her to it and said, "I''ve completed my preparations. However, during the battle, everyone needs to follow my commands." 1123 Monsters’ Domain Chapter 1123 - Monsters'' Domain "You''ll take command?" The Midnight Tea Party members shot Shi Feng scornful looks. To ordinary players, a team commander''s role was not particularly important. Ordinary players wouldn''t have any choice in the matter if an expert like Shi Feng wanted to guide them. However, they weren''t ordinary players. Moreover, even the slightest mistake could result in death in the upcoming batter. If they died and lost the fight, they would''ve wasted several days of effort. If they were not absolutely confident in their commander, how could apex experts risk listening to him? Having only met him recently, Shi Feng was just a stranger. They could let Shi Feng''s request for the Fallen Ark Map slide. However, if he thought that they would listen to his commands, he was simply dreaming! Breeze Wine nodded in agreement with his teammates'' responses. He didn''t think that it would be suitable for Shi Feng to take command of the Midnight Tea Party, either. However, this was not because he looked down on Shi Feng''s abilities. Rather, for one to qualify as a commander, one needed to familiarize themselves with every player on the team. This included their various Basic Attributes, Skills, habits, and many other details. Only by knowing this information could one effectively lead and allow the everyone in the team to display their fullest potential. Shi Feng knew nothing about the Midnight Tea Party members. Although it wouldn''t be a major issue if they were raiding a simple Dungeon or Boss monster, they intended to take on a Level 65 Grand Lord and four Level 63 Great Lords. Any mistakes would definitely result in casualties. "It''s fine if you don''t want me in command. I''ll just tell you our raid strategy. When the time comes, work with us," Shi Feng said, not minding the hostile looks he received. "Only, I will not be responsible for any casualties." Five Special Lifeforms working together was no laughing matter. Based on Shi Feng''s understanding, every one of those five Special Lifeforms possessed their own ultimate moves. Alone, those ultimate moves might not be that powerful, but combined, their might increased exponentially. If those five Special Lifeforms cooperated with each other, they could annihilate a team of apex experts effortlessly. Players needed an accurate grasp on the timing of the Bosses'' Skills. Even a slight error could result in a team-wipe. Hence, he had asked to take command. "That won''t be a problem," Breeze Wine confidently replied. "If a team-wipe occurs due to a mistake on our side, we''ll compensate you correspondingly." The rest of the team members agreed with the arrangement as well. At the very least, this was far better than taking orders from a stranger. Following which, Shi Feng began to assign tasks. In reality, there was very little the Midnight Tea Party needed to do. As Breeze Wine had assumed, Shi Feng was not very familiar with the Midnight Tea Party''s members. Thus, he hadn''t assigned them any particularly important tasks. The adventurer team mainly had to supply nine magical classes to maintain the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array. Shi Feng told the other nine players to distract two of the Fallen Patrols. They did not even need to focus on damaging the Great Lords. As for Breeze Wine, he had to unlock the Ark, of course. Zero Wing would deal with the Fallen Garrison Captain and the remaining two Fallen Patrols. After Shi Feng finished assigning tasks, both teams began to inspect their weapons, equipment, potions, and scrolls. "Later, while leader is maintaining the magic array, I''ll take over command. You guys better not embarrass our team," Endless Scars said seriously as she glanced at her teammates. "Endless, rest assured. You know our standards better than anyone else. When the time comes, even if their side is annihilated, we won''t have any issues," the Ranger, Dark War, sneered as he shot a glare at Shi Feng''s team. Facing two Level 63 Great Lords might be a problem for ordinary experts. To their adventurer team, however, it was simply a somewhat strenuous task. Moreover, they only had to serve as distractions. They were not even required to fight the two Bosses head-on. On the other hand, Shi Feng''s side, which needed to confront a Grand Lord and two Great Lords directly, was the largest concern. After everyone confirmed that there were no issues, Shi Feng signaled Breeze Wine with a wave of his hand, having the latter start the unlocking process. Seeing this, Breeze Wine raised the orange crystal above his head and began to chant once more. Following which, the canyon shook as five massive figures rose from the ground. They were none other than the Fallen Garrison Captain and the four Fallen Patrols. "Activate the magic array!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted. Endless Scars gave the same command practically at the same time. Suddenly, a massive, purple-gold magic array appeared and enveloped the five Boss monsters. As an Intermediate Magic Array, the Nine-star Polar Domain could even suppress Mythic monsters. Naturally, the Garrison Captain and Patrols were no exception. Immediately, the five Bosses'' Attributes began to fall rapidly. "How is this Intermediate Magic Array so powerful?!" The Midnight Tea Party was momentarily stunned. In the blink of an eye, the Fallen Garrison Captain''s HP fell from 120,000,000 to 96,000,000, whereas the Fallen Patrols'' HPs fell from 57,000,000 to 41,000,000. The magic array''s effects even stunned Endless Scars. While they, the Midnight Tea Party, had seen Intermediate Magic Arrays before and had even collected a complete set themselves, that Intermediate Magic Array was only capable of reducing a Grand Lord''s Basic Attributes by 10%. Even then, it was already considerably powerful for an Intermediate Magic Array. Yet, the Nine-star Polar Domain had weakened the Fallen Garrison Captain by 20% and the Fallen Patrols by 30%. This was simply inconceivable. Of course, Shi Feng''s team didn''t even stop to notice the Midnight Tea Party members'' reactions. "Go!" Under Shi Feng''s command, Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove charged at own targets. As the lead MT, Cola would deal with the Grand Lord, while Turtledove and Ye Wumian would each tank the two Great Lords. Special Lifeforms'' Life Rating was slightly higher than ordinary monsters, though they were undoubtedly inferior to Archaic Species. With their Attributes suppressed, Cola and the others should be able to handle them. However, before Cola could reach the Fallen Garrison Captain, the latter swung its massive, ten-meter-long greatsword at the ground. Boom! A massive fissure ripped through the ground, extending straight towards Cola. "Cola! Activate Protection Blessing!" Shi Feng shouted upon seeing the attack. Cola activated Protection Blessing without hesitation. He then positioned his shield before his body and gripped it with both hands. Peng! Cola was thrown ten yards away on the spot. The Truth Shield and Protection on him shattered into oblivion. Meanwhile, Cola''s HP fell by over 25,000. The Troll Chieftain''s ultimate move paled tremendously in comparison to the Fallen Garrison Captain''s attack. The fissure only stopped after 50 yards. The Garrison Captain''s attack range made everyone shudder. Had Cola not activated Protection Blessing in time, he would be dead. The Garrison Captain''s attack stunned every player in the battle. Unfortunately, this wasn''t the end. In the next moment, the four Fallen Patrols moved simultaneously, abruptly raising their battle axes and slamming them to the ground violently. Boom Boom Boom The ground began to tremble. Golden jets began to spray from the ground in a 30-yard radius around the four Fallen Patrols. When the four Domains were superimposed over each other, it was practically impossible to avoid them. Meanwhile, any player that these jets struck would receive anywhere from -5,000 to -8,000 damage. These golden jets appeared without any signs or fixed patterns. The overlapping Domains doubled the attacks'' density. Although they tried their best to dodge the attacks, players occasionally slipped up and got hit, their HPs decreasing rapidly. One Level 41 from the Midnight Tea Party, unfortunately, got caught in two overlapping Domains. Without any time to respond, numerous jets struck the Berserker, and he died on the spot. 1124 Tier 4 Super Spell Chapter 1124 - Tier 4 Super Spell "Everyone, avoid the overlapping Domains!" "What kind of Skill is that?! Why is it still going on even after so long?!" The battle had just begun, yet one person had already died. Both Shi Feng''s team and the Midnight Tea Party grew anxious. Everyone had seen how the Berserker had died. The golden jets appeared suddenly and silently. Moreover, the attacks could not be blocked, only dodged. Even if they were only near one Domain, they would have to dodge three to five jets. Near two overlapping Domains, one would face seven to ten attacks simultaneously. The Berserker''s paths of retreat had been cut off. In the end, he had died before the team''s healers could help him. The Midnight Tea Party members no longer wore their previous complacent expressions. "Lure the Patrols to four corners! Do not let them near the Garrison Captain!" Shi Feng commanded. Shi Feng was not particularly familiar with the guardian Bosses'' Skills. After all, he had only learned about the Fallen Ark after it had been activated in the past. He did not even know who had activated the Ark. All he knew was that these Special Lifeforms had their own ultimate moves and that those ultimate moves would become exponentially stronger when combined. However, he hadn''t expected these ultimate moves to be Domain Skills. Among the various Skills in God''s Domain, those that posed the greatest danger were none other than large-scale destruction Spells and Domain Skills. Attacks from large-scale destruction Spells usually only lasted one or several waves. If players could endure the Spell''s duration, they would live. However, Domain Skills could stay in effect much longer. Domain Skill would gradually whittle players down until they died. Endless Scars now realized how severe the situation was. Immediately, she took a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll from her bag and shouted through the team chat, "Wave, use your Summoning Scroll with mine! We''ll use them to lure away the Patrols! Melee players, stay away from the Bosses! Use only ranged attacks!" After all was said and done, the Midnight Tea Party''s members were still experts. Very quickly, they began to move. The team''s melee players promptly distanced themselves from the Fallen Patrols'' Domains. Meanwhile, Endless Scars and Netherworld Wave each summoned a Tier 3 creature and instructed them to pounce on the Fallen Patrols. Both Endless Scars and Netherworld Wave were incredibly proficient with controlling their summoned creatures. Although they couldn''t dodge all of the golden jets, they could dodge the majority of them. With relative ease, the summoned creatures arrived before the Fallen Patrols and swiped their claws at the enemies. Peng! When the Tier 3 summoned creatures'' claws struck the stationery Fallen Patrols, the clang of metal rang out. The summoned creatures'' claws had only scratched the Patrols'' armor. They did not even manage to push the Patrols back despite both being at the Great Lord rank. The Fallen Patrols had only lost around 4,000 HP from the attacks "Why are their Defenses so high?!" "Even a Grand Lord doesn''t have this much Defense!" When the Midnight Tea Party''s members saw the damage the Tier 3, Level 60 summoned creatures had dealt with their normal attacks, their expressions grew gloomy. When they had used Tier 3 summoned creatures to fight Tier 3 Great Lords in the past, the former''s normal attacks usually dealt twenty to thirty thousand damage. Even against Grand Lords, their attacks dealt nearly -8,000 points, yet against these Bosses, their summoned creatures had only dealt around -4,000 damage. The Fallen Patrols'' Defense was ridiculous. If even a Tier 3 summoned creature dealt so little damage, then players like themselves would deal, at most, -1,500 damage to the Fallen Patrols. Meanwhile, the Fallen Patrols each had 41,000,000 HP. With their battle recovery, they could regenerate over 410,000 HP every five seconds. In other words, they would recover 82,000 HP every second. If their damage couldn''t exceed 82,000 every second, then the Fallen Patrols were invincible against them. "Big Sis Endless, how are we supposed to fight these things?" Cloud Yarn asked anxiously. She could not help but turn to the Grand Lord Shi Feng''s team fought. If the Fallen Patrols were already so difficult to deal with, wouldn''t the Fallen Garrison Captain be even more overbearing? "Forget about that for now! Lure the Bosses away!" Endless Scars ordered, shaking her head as she also glanced at Shi Feng''s team. The five Guardian Bosses were far more powerful than she had thought. Initially, she had believed that the Midnight Tea Party could deal with these monsters after they reached Tier 2, Level 55. Now, however, it would seem that even after reaching that level, they had less than a 40% chance of beating these monsters. After the Midnight Tea Party lured two of the Fallen Patrols away, Turtledove and Ye Wumian activated their Lifesaving Skills and began to lure their Patrols away from the Fallen Garrison Captain. Once the four Patrols were in four separate corners, Cola, who stood in the middle, had a much easier time dealing with the Garrison Captain. However, even after activating Protection Blessing, he still took over -10,000 damage from one of the Grand Lord''s normal attacks. Without Protection Blessing, a single attack would devour over 20,000 of Cola''s HP. Cola couldn''t imagine standing against the Garrison Captain without the Nine-star Polar Domain. Moreover, when everyone''s attacks struck the Garrison Captain, every one of them dealt less than -1,000 damage. Only Fire Dance and Gentle Snow''s normal attacks could deal over -1,500 damage to the Grand Lord, while their Skills dealt up to -5,000 damage. However, to the Garrison Captain, which had 96,000,000 HP, that damage was negligible. "Guild Leader, we won''t even scratch its HP at this rate. Sooner or later, it will wear us down. Why don''t we retreat and have the Guild''s main force meet us here?" Gentle Snow advised through the team chat. Facing a Great Lord with a 20-man team was already pushing their luck, not to mention a Grand Lord that was twenty levels above them. If not for their excellent weapons and equipment and their exceptionally high combat standards, they would have team-wiped with the first wave of attacks. "No need. Cola, keep hold of the Boss! Three seconds is long enough!" The current situation didn''t surprise Shi Feng overmuch. He was fully aware of how powerful Special Lifeforms functioned. They were only inferior to Archaic Species. Knowing this, he had prepared a method to deal with them. In the next moment, Shi Feng took a blood-red Magic Scroll from his bag. The instant the Magic Scroll appeared, a powerful Mana fluctuation occurred within the Nine-star Polar Domain. Everyone''s gazes instantly shifted to Shi Feng. "What is that Magic Scroll?" Endless Scars muttered, shocked, when she noticed the rampant Mana inside the barrier. This Magic Scroll was one of the two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls Shi Feng had obtained from killing the Awakened NPC, Lancelot. Meanwhile, the Garrison Captain noticed the Mana fluctuations immediately, the Grand Lord''s eyes similarly shifting towards the blood-red scroll in Shi Feng''s hands. It shifted to attack the Swordsman. "Don''t even think about getting away from me that easily!" Cola raised his shield and slammed it into the Garrison Captain''s foot. He then activated the Tier 1 Skill Justice Roar, his body releasing a dazzling golden glow. He instantly regained the Boss''s attention and aggro. At the same time, his Strength would double if the Boss didn''t attack him. However, even after Cola activated Justice Roar, the Garrison Captain was still focused on Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, what did you just take out?!" Cola could not help his surprise. With no other choice, Cola activated Power of Darkness, his Attributes soaring once more. He then executed the Tier 1 Skill, Righteous Punishment. Boom! With a single strike, he forced the Garrison Captain''s right foot back, causing over -10,000 damage to appear above the Grand Lord''s head. The attack had nearly forced the Garrison Captain to kneel. Yet, the Fallen Garrison Captain did not return its attention to Cola. Rather, it advanced on Shi Feng, one step after another. Seeing this, Cola continued to execute several powerful moves, every one dealing over -10,000 damage, yet the result did not change. "Guild Leader, this monster has gone nuts!" Cola was dumbfounded. As the Garrison Captain arrived before Shi Feng, before it slashed its greatsword down on Shi Feng, Shi Feng finally finished chanting the Magic Scroll''s incantation. "Disillusionment!" Shi Feng''s eyes flew open. Two extremely complex and refined, blood-red magic arrays then emerged from his eyes. The other players were astonished. Tier 4 Super Spell, Disillusioned Space! 1125 Unexpected Evolution Chapter 1125 - Unexpected Evolution The instant the Magic Scroll activated, it seemed as if space had frozen as the Garrison Captain''s descending greatsword came to an abrupt halt. Immediately after, the space within the Nine-star Polar Domain began to change, a blood-red color coating the surrounding scenery. "What''s going on? Why does my body feel so light?" "Wait, our Basic Attributes have risen!" "It''s true! My Basic Attributes have increased by 100%!" "Guys, look! The Boss seems to have slowed to a crawl!" As everyone looked at the Garrison Captain''s greatsword again, they found that they could see the weapon clearly; before, they had only seen afterimages. As the greatsword descended, the earth shattered. Over 30-meter-long fissures broke through the ground. However, the Garrison Captain had only hit the afterimage Shi Feng had left behind. The Swordsman himself had long since moved ten yards away. So fast! When did he start moving? Endless Scars was flabbergasted. Unlike the rest of the players, she had focused on Shi Feng. However, during the brief moment when she glanced at the Garrison Captain''s greatsword, which had suddenly and significantly slowed, Shi Feng had moved ten yards away. She found the matter unbelievable. "Look! Those Patrols have slowed down as well! Even the golden jets are slower!" "With this speed, even I can dodge them easily." The players finally noticed that Fallen Garrison Captain hadn''t been the only one whose speed had been affected. The Fallen Patrols in the four corners had also suffered a speed reduction. Even their Domain Skills were affected. Zero Wing''s members and the Midnight Tea Party could now dodge the golden jets easily. "Just who is he?" The Midnight Tea Party members couldn''t help but glance at Shi Feng. They usually boasted their vast understand of God''s Domain. However, even with their bountiful knowledge and experiences, they had never encountered a situation like this. Without a doubt, this phenomenon had something to do with Shi Feng''s blood-red Magic Scroll. There was no other way to explain it. Now that everyone''s Basic Attributes had been boosted while the five Bosses'' reaction speeds and Attack Speeds had decreased, the Midnight Tea Party''s members, who had previously begun to despair, brimmed with hope. Currently, the five Bosses had only landed one out of three or four attacks against their respective MTs. However, due to the significant Attribute increase, the Bosses'' damage had decreased. Take the Fallen Garrison Captain Cola tanked for example. Originally, Cola withstood over -20,000 damage from the Grand Lord''s normal attacks. Now, however, the Grand Lord''s normal attacks only dealt around -13,000 to the Guardian Knight. In addition, due to Cola having activated Power of Darkness, his HP had risen to more than 56,000. Including Disillusioned Space''s effects, his HP had risen to more than 112,000. He was practically a humanoid monster at this point. Right now, Cola wouldn''t even have issues tanking three Fallen Garrison Captains, much less one. As for Cola''s damage, due to the Strength bonus from Justice Roar, just his normal attacks dealt nearly -10,000 damage, while his Skills dealt close to -30,000 damage. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud, who stood among the healers at the rear, had similarly grown more powerful. Every one of her heals restored over 10,000 HP to Cola. If she double-cast her Spells, she could heal over 20,000 HP every time. If she were lucky and triggered a double-critical, she could instantly heal over 40,000 HP. Not only was Violet Cloud capable of keeping Cola alive by herself, but she could also handle healing Turtledove and Ye Wumian. "Guild Leader, what kind of Magic Scroll did you use?! I feel like we can even deal with a Mythic monster right now!" Cola exclaimed through the team chat. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Aside from their frightening damage, the most troublesome aspect about Boss monsters were their Attack Speeds and reaction speeds. Now that the Fallen Garrison Captain had been suppressed in all three aspects, it was only as difficult as a High Lord; it only dealt slightly more damage. However, their increased Attributes made up for that, further decreasing the raid''s difficulty. Right now, they felt like they were simply fighting a powerful Lord. "Alright, enough idling around. Use your Berserk Skills and throw everything you''ve got. We only have 15 minutes until this space disappears!" Shi Feng felt a sting in his chest. Lancelot had only dropped two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls. He had just used the more precious of the two, the Tier 4 Super Spell Disillusioned Space. Unlike Tier 4 Curses, Super Spells had been created during ancient times. They were ridiculously powerful, capable of transforming the environment. They were many times more powerful and mystical than the Spells of the current era. Even the current NPCs in God''s Domain couldn''t analyze these Spells. Thus, they were called Super Spells. After activating Disillusioned Space, it would transform the area within 200 yards of the caster into a custom world. All enemies within this world would be suppressed, decreasing their Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed by two-thirds of their totals. At the same time, this world would also enhance the caster and his allies, decreasing the Bosses'' difficulty by one tier. Take the Fallen Garrison Captain for example. It had originally been a Tier 3, Upper-rank existence. Now that its raid difficulty had reduced, it was only as strong as a Tier 2, Upper-rank. Unfortunately, Disillusioned Space''s duration was considerably short. Even so, in the past, everyone had called it the rarest Magic Scroll in God''s Domain, second to none. In the past, a Tier 4 Super Magic Scroll had been worth at least three Epic items. If a team of Tier 2 players used the scroll, they could even kill Tier 4 Mythic monsters. However, Shi Feng couldn''t care less right now. The Garrison Captain and Patrols were far stronger than he had imagined. If he hadn''t used the Magic Scroll, they would have undoubtedly team-wiped. Moreover, trading a Tier 4 Super Magic Scroll for a map to the Fallen Ark was a sure-profit transaction. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s warning, everyone promptly began to activate their Berserk Skills. Although the Fallen Garrison Captain and Fallen Patrols still possessed very high HPs, their reduced speed made them living targets. After activating their Berserk Skills, everyone easily dealt over -10,000 damage with their attacks, while Fire Dance and Gentle Snow could deal over -20,000 damage. Shi Feng didn''t hold back either as he activated Power of Darkness. He then used Silent Steps and appeared behind the Garrison Captain before activating Phantom Kill. Both he and his doppelganger activated Flame Burst simultaneously. Miniature suns appeared on both Shi Feng''s and his doppelganger''s swords. Every strike they landed on the Garrison Captain dealt over -60,000 damage, while critical hits dealt over -130,000 damage. By the time Shi Feng and his doppelganger dropped to the ground, both had landed a total of thirty consecutive attacks. The Fallen Garrison Captain lost over two million HP on the spot. The damages that appeared above the Grand Lord''s head stupefied everyone. With such high damage, Shi Feng could instantly kill a Chieftain of the same level. Time passed quickly. Under the players'' crazed bombardment, it took roughly six minutes for the Garrison Captain''s 96,000,000 HP to hit zero. Boom! When the Fallen Garrison Captain collapsed, although it did not drop any loot, Gentle Snow, Alluring Summer, and the other members of Zero Wing rose from Level 42 to Level 43. The abundant EXP exceeded everyone''s expectations. The Midnight Tea Party''s members also leveled up from 41 to Level 42. However, no one stopped to celebrate as they still had to deal with four Fallen Patrols. They had less than ten minutes left before Disillusioned Space''s duration ran out. If they could not kill these Bosses within this period, it would be much harder to do so afterward. Moreover, Shi Feng had already told everyone that Special Lifeforms were immortal existences. Until they opened the Fallen Ark''s entrance, these Special Lifeforms would continue to resurrect. Moreover, Special Lifeforms generally revived in around ten minutes. They couldn''t afford to waste any time. However, the Fallen Patrols were much easier to deal with than the Fallen Garrison Captain. Even without their Berserk Skills, the two teams could deal a lot of damage to these Bosses. In addition, they still had the support of the Midnight Tea Party''s two Tier 3 summoned creatures. Finally, fourteen minutes since Disillusioned Space had been activated, the four Fallen Patrols collapsed, transforming into piles of rubble and gifting a large amount of EXP. The Midnight Tea Party members even leveled up once more, reaching Level 43. This leveling speed astonished these players. They had actually gained nearly two full levels'' EXP in just fifteen minutes Zero Wing''s members were already high-leveled. Although they had also obtained plenty of EXP, it was not enough to reach the next level. However, the abundant EXP had helped Shi Feng reach 82% of Level 47. If he grinded Trolls, he could reach Level 48 in only half a day. As the Guardian Bosses died, the canyon began to tremble violently. Suddenly, the canyon''s center collapsed. A towering, aqua-blue temple then emerged from the ground. At the same time, the familiar sound of a system notification reached everyone''s ears. God''s Domain System Announcement: Players have successfully activated a new expansion pack in God''s Domain. The System will undergo an upgrade. All players, please prepare to log out of the game. 1126 Revealing Identity Chapter 1126 - Revealing Identity The notification about God''s Domain''s system update echoed in every player''s ears. The notification immediately earned various reactions. "Who''s the bastard that triggered a new expansion pack?!" "I''m only halfway through a Dungeon here!" "Crap! I just bought a helmet and joined God''s Domain!" Many players began voicing their dissent on the official forums. However, although many people were outraged about this update, even more people were curious about its contents. For a time, everyone made their own guesses. Meanwhile, before the temple of the Fallen Ark The sudden system notification caught Shi Feng and the others by surprise. They had only activated the entrance of the Fallen Ark after much difficulty, yet even before they had the chance to enter the Ark, the system announced an update. This was ridiculous! By now, practically everybody playing God''s Domain knew that a system update signified a major upgrade. Meanwhile, the more God''s Domain improved, the more difficult the game would become. "Guild Leader, should we log off here?" Aqua Rose and the others turned to Shi Feng. The game had given them 20 minutes to log off. It wasn''t exactly a lot of time, but it was more than nothing. If they strived hard enough, they might reach the Fallen Ark''s inner region. If they entered the Ark after the system update completed, who knew how difficult the Ark would become? After all, this system was definitely related to the Fallen Ark''s activation. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng looked to Breeze Wine and Endless Scars and said seriously, "We have decided to enter the Ark right away. Do you want to enter first, or wait until after the update?" Shi Feng hadn''t expected the system update this time. However, this helped Shi Feng recall the system''s update after the Fallen Ark had emerged in the past. The update back then had ruined many players. This was because this update would improve God''s Domain''s traps. Not only would removing the traps become twice as difficult, but the traps power and concealment effect also increased significantly. This situation caused many players, who enjoyed adventuring in the fields, many hardships. The higher difficulty of obtaining weapons and equipment for adventure-seeking independent players was also due to this update. In God''s Domain, there were three major sources for weapons and equipment. The first was Dungeons, the second was field adventures, and the third was quest rewards. In the past, due to this system update, the weapons and equipment on the market had decreased significantly. As a result, players that produced weapons and equipment became even more important in God''s Domain. The Gods from the ancient era had left behind the traps inside the Fallen Ark. These traps were incredibly difficult to remove to start with. If these traps were improved, exploring the Fallen Ark would become far more difficult. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of informing the Midnight Tea Party about this. Instead of answering Shi Feng''s question, Endless Scars turned to ask Breeze Wine, "Leader, what are your thoughts?" They had already cleared the most difficult part of their quest. However, Shi Feng had previously stated that, shortly after the Fallen Ark activated, monsters even more powerful than the five Guardian Bosses would appear. According to their original plan, they had intended to wait until the monsters had been lured away from the Fallen Ark before they dove in to explore. However, they had less than twenty minutes before they had to log off. If they entered the Ark now, they would have to risk encountering those monsters. "Let''s not enter the Ark for now. The monsters inside have yet to leave. If we die because we rushed into the Ark, it will do us more harm than good." In the end, Breeze Wine chose the safer approach instead. In his opinion, as long as he had the Fallen Ark Map, both the Fallen Ark''s treasures and quest were within their grasp. There was no need to risk their lives. "What about our map?" Blackie could not help but ask. Their previous agreement hinged on the Midnight Tea Party confirming these monsters existence and their safe entry into the Fallen Ark. Only after these conditions were met would the Midnight Tea Party give them a copy of the map, yet the adventurer team now intended to wait until the monsters had been lured away from the Ark. "Here is your copy of the Fallen Ark Map. Take it," Endless Scars said as she took a map from her bag and handed it to Shi Feng. Endless Scars stunned the other Midnight Tea Party members. They had neither the existence of the monsters Shi Feng had warned them about, nor had they confirmed the validity of Shi Feng''s method to lure the monsters away. It was simply too risky to hand over the copy right now. "Thanks." Shi Feng expressed his gratitude as he received the map. Endless Scars didn''t respond to her team''s questions. Instead, she evaluated Shi Feng carefully before revealing an intimate smile and said, "This is what we''ve agreed upon, after all. However, this is our second transaction with each other, yet I still do not know your identity. I wonder if I can have the good fortune of a true introduction?" "Certainly," Shi Feng replied before taking off the Black Cloak that hid his identity and appearance. He then introduced himself, "I am Black Flame, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader!" His first reason for hiding his and his team''s identities was that he didn''t want others to know what Zero Wing''s main force was up to. His second? He simply didn''t want Endless Scars to know who they were. After all, Endless Scars was a Blackwater Corporation representative. Even if Endless Scars did not show any particular interest in Blackwater, at the end of the day, Zero Wing and Blackwater were enemies. It never hurt to be careful. However, the Fallen Ark Map was more important. If Endless Scars found out that they were from Zero Wing, she might sever their agreement for the Fallen Ark Map then and there. However, now that the map was \ in their hands, there was no reason to continue hiding their identities. Moreover, Endless Scars spoke on behalf of the Midnight Tea Party. It would only create an unnecessary rift between their teams if they refused to reveal themselves. In addition, the Midnight Tea Party and Blackwater were utterly unrelated. "It''s you!?" Endless Scars''s eyes widened in shock. She had never imagined the group of experts before her to be Zero Wing members. Moreover, the team''s leader was even Zero Wing''s Guild Leader himself. "Thanks for the map! Hopefully, we''ll find more chances to work together in the future!" Shi Feng chuckled. He then led his team and dashed into the Fallen Ark. Meanwhile, Endless Scars was utterly dumbfounded as she stared at Shi Feng''s departing back. "Big Sis Endless, what''s wrong?" Cloud Yarn asked curiously when she saw Endless Scars''s astonishment. Although it was indeed surprising that the other team''s leader was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, this wasn''t the reason for Endless Scars''s shock. In the past, their team had encountered many surprises. However, none of them had ever earned such a reaction from Endless Scars. This was her first time seeing such an expression on Endless Scars''s face. Before today, she hadn''t even thought that Endless Scars was capable of such an expression. 1127 Arks Armory Chapter 1127 - Ark''s Armory Star-Moon City, Blackwater''s Residence: Blackwater wasn''t as prosperous as it had been. Very few players waited in front of the Guild Residence''s entrance, eager to join. If not for the Blackwater Corporation''s backing, not even these few players would be willing to join Blackwater. Not only had the Blackwater elite members that had died in the war in Stone Forest Town lost one level, but they had also lost a weapon or a piece of equipment. To make up for this loss, the elite players wouldn''t have any time to help other Guild members for some time. One of the main reasons that independent players willingly joined Guilds for the Guild experts'' help in leveling and raiding Dungeons to upgrade weapons and equipment. Practically every Guild in God''s Domain provided this benefit. Players wouldn''t want to join a Guild that did not provide such a benefit. As a result, Blackwater''s ordinary members had stagnated. They were now only capable of raiding Party Dungeons and small-scale Team Dungeons. They had no choice but to stay as far away as possible from 50-man or above Team Dungeons. Meanwhile, Qin Muyun, Laughing Drunkard, and Lethal Gale entered the Guild Leader''s office, one after another. "Guild Leader, here is the latest Guild report you asked for," Qin Muyun said as she placed a report on the table. At this moment, she wore a grave expression. The report clearly stated that over 20,000 elite members had already withdrawn from the Guild, as many as a second-rate Guild''s total count. As for the ordinary members that withdrew from the Guild, there were more than 100,000. However, when Abandoned Wave looked at these numbers, he maintained a relatively nonchalant attitude. Instead, he shifted his gaze towards Lethal Gale and asked, "How is the Blackwater Trading Firm coming along?" "The Candlelight Trading Firm''s latest product, the Exotic Stamina Potion, has been well-received. Despite having already reduced the Mana Mixture''s price to 10 Silver per bottle, ordinary players are buying the Exotic Stamina Potion instead. Right now, our Shops are only seeing one-third of our past traffic" Lethal Gale said, shaking his head dejectedly. "Although our spies have already poked around in Candlelight, looking for information about the Exotic Stamina Potion, it seems that only a select few of the trading firm''s upper echelon know about the potion. As of now, we still do not know where to find the recipe." The Exotic Stamina Potion had massively impacted the market. Setting aside how cheap it was, the Mana Mixture could not compare to its ten-hour duration. In addition, the Mana Mixture was only useful in Dungeons, whereas the Exotic Stamina Potion was useful in Dungeons and the fields. At this moment, many ordinary players had given up on the Regeneration Potions and Mana Recovery Potions in order to buy the Exotic Stamina Potion. With the Exotic Stamina Potion, players could grind monsters for longer periods. With the potion''s effects, they did not even need to rest when traveling long distances, which allowed them to save plenty of time. Even Lethal Gale could not resist the temptation and had purchased three bottles for himself. After using the potion, he had to admit that it was a miracle potion. The potion had improved his leveling speed by roughly 20% to 30%. It was no wonder why many players were even willing to empty their coffers to buy the Exotic Stamina Potion. Based on what he knew, the Candlelight Light Trading Firm had long since run out of the Exotic Stamina Potion. As soon as Candlelight restocked, players would rip them from the shelves. Many large Guild upper echelons had specifically visited the Candlelight Trading Firm to negotiate a deal for the potions. Right now, be it the Guild''s development or the trading firm''s, Zero Wing was unstoppable. "Good! Excellent!" Contrary to expectations, Abandoned Wave didn''t seem enraged. Rather, he began to laugh. "Guild Leader?" Qin Muyun and Lethal Gale were utterly confused. Young Master Jing was greatly displeased with them. Most likely, they would receive instructions from their superiors in the next few days. At that time, none of them would escape punishment. This was especially true for Abandoned Wave, yet the man that was supposed to be worried and angry was actually laughing. Was the shock too much for him to handle? However, instead of responding to Qin Muyun and Lethal Gale''s question, Abandoned Wave turned towards Laughing Drunkard and asked softly, "Drunkard, did you finish what I asked of you?" "Guild Leader, don''t you trust me?" Laughing Drunkard chuckled. Confidently, he continued, "I''ve already sent details regarding Zero Wing''s experts to the Miracle Guild. Miracle has confirmed that they will not give Zero Wing any chances of victory in tomorrow''s match in the Dark Arena." Originally, he was not particularly optimistic of Zero Wing''s loss in the Dark Arena tomorrow. However, after making a trip to the Miracle Guild and the detailed report he had provided the Guild, his confidence that Zero Wing would lose in tomorrow''s competition had grown. The odds for the upcoming competition had already been released. The odds were one-to-three, with the majority of the bets on the Asura Battle Team. However, this was simply because only a few people knew that the Evil Dragon Battle Team was backed by the Miracle Guild. They had only discovered this due to the Blackwater Corporation''s relationship with one of Miracle''s upper echelons. It was extremely rare for the odds in the Dark Arena to be as high as one-to-three. Normally, the odds were around one-to-one-point-five. Seeing such a high payout rate, the Miracle Guild intended to go all out. Moreover, the Guild aimed for a complete victory. The payout for a complete victory was one-to-seven. That was even high enough to tempt Super Guilds. A super-first-rate Guild like Miracle couldn''t afford to miss this opportunity. Miracle''s apex experts could even rival those of Super Guilds. Moreover, to guarantee their win in the competition, Miracle had secretly borrowed Epic items from other large Guilds. Even Zero Wing''s apex experts, who were famed for their heaven-defying Attributes, would be no match for the experts the Miracle intended to dispatch. Zero Wing''s members were so powerful mostly because of their Basic Attributes. As for the experts that had reached the Refinement Realm or higher, there were only five in the Guild. Among them, Black Flame would not participate in the Dark Arena. After all, the man was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. That left Ye Feng, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Violet Cloud. Among them, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Violet Cloud had only recently reached the Refinement Realm. Without the Attribute advantage, the only true fighting force on the Asura Battle Team was Ye Feng. However, the competition in the Dark Arena was a 10-man team match. "Good. Afterward, you three go and gather our Guild''s resources. When the time comes, we''ll have to watch the competition as well." Abandoned Wave had not been as affected by the previous loss as Qin Muyun and Lethal Gale had thought. On the contrary, he had calmly thought of a way to turn the situation around. The first thing he needed to do was recover the Guild''s foundations, earning back the weapons, equipment, Coins, and other items that the Guild had lost in the war. The Dark Arena served as the perfect platform to do exactly that. Moreover, Blackwater''s defeat was not without meaning. At the very least, their defeat had shown exactly how powerful Zero Wing''s various experts were, and this information would help Miracle deal with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, after entering the towering temple, Shi Feng had everyone use Isolation Scrolls before dashing through the labyrinth of empty corridors. As they had less than twenty minutes remaining, they would be hard-pressed to reach the Ark''s inner region in time. The abyssal monsters had just woken and hadn''t left the Ark yet. In the outer region''s corridors, Shi Feng''s team occasionally encountered wandering Fallen Patrols. However, as Shi Feng now had a map, these Fallen Patrols meant nothing to the team with his acute senses. Not only could Shi Feng avoid the Patrols, but he could also avoid any traps. "Mhm? So this is the armory." After nearly ten minutes, Shi Feng discovered a tightly-shut door. The words "War Armory" had been carved on the stone above the massive door. Upon seeing these words, Shi Feng''s heartbeat accelerated. The War Armory stored weapons of war specifically. And no other player had ever opened this War Armory! 1128 Difference Between Mythic Monsters Chapter 1128 - Difference Between Mythic Monsters As Shi Feng stopped to look at the War Armory, Minor Wind noticed red dots appear on his system map and reported, "Guild Leader, distant Patrols are approaching our location. If we don''t move now, I''m afraid that we''ll be discovered." After Zero Wing''s team had entered the Fallen Ark, Minor Wind had activated his Scouting Skill as he kept a lookout for any movement in their area. Although his Scouting''s search area was reduced inside the Ark, he could sense for enemies within a 300-yard radius. That was enough for the team to respond before enemies reached them. "How many?" Shi Feng asked. "Two. Moreover, they''re moving relatively quickly. They''ll reach our location in 15 seconds at most," Minor Wind reported. Fifteen seconds? We''ll be cutting it quite close Shi Feng frowned. Based on his estimates, even an Assassin with their Locksmith class at Master rank would need roughly twenty seconds to open a room like the War Armory. Unfortunately, their team didn''t have a Master Locksmith. He also fully believed Minor Wind''s estimate. A qualified Ranger was not just a ranged damage dealer. Ranger''s constant awareness of their surroundings and their judgment of various situations were their most important aspects. Although Minor Wind''s combat standards were slightly lower than Zero Wing''s other core members, his observation skills and judgment were top-notch. "Guild Leader, we don''t have much time left," Gentle Snow urged as they had less than eight seconds to prepare. Based on their location on the map, they were only two-thirds of the way to the Fallen Ark''s inner region. If they couldn''t reach the inner region before the system update began, when they logged back into the game, reaching that area would be far more difficult. They also needed to select a treasury and deal with the traps inside. Shi Feng hesitated. In the past, the Fallen Ark had been a famous treasure trove in God''s Domain. However, as the inner region''s traps were extremely dangerous, very few players were capable of obtaining any treasures whatsoever. This situation had also resulted in the various large Guilds in giving up on the Ark. However, Shi Feng never thought that he would actually come across an Armory in the outer region. An Armory might not mean much to an ordinary player, but to a Guild, some of the more advanced weapons of war were even more valuable than Fragmented Legendary items. "Forget it. We''re giving up on the inner region. Let''s take this Armory for now." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng settled for the Armory. Right now, Zero Wing still lacked overall strength. It likely did not even have the power to defend a single city. However, if they could find a few advanced weapons of war here, they might make up for Zero Wing''s lack of combat power. As long as they could construct and defend a city properly, the city''s value would easily exceed that of two or three Fragmented Legendary items. "Cola, you and Turtledove will tank the Patrols. Don''t let them near us. Everyone else, look for any nearby traps. Fire Dance, you''ll be responsible for unlocking the door," Shi Feng hurriedly commanded. "Understood!" Hearing this, everyone exploded into action. The two Fallen Patrols were similar to those they had encountered at the entrance. They were both Level 63 Great Lords with 57,000,000 HP. However, Cola and Turtledove had long since familiarized themselves with the Patrol''s attack patterns. Even without the Nine-star Polar Domain, they were capable of dealing with the Great Lords. At the same time, Fire Dance began to unlock the door to the Armory. As one of the Fallen Ark''s secret rooms, the time it took to unlock the Armory was secondary. The crucial issue was that the extremely complex unlocking method. One would have to start the process all over again if they made a single mistake. Only after removing the various locks could one finally open the secret room. Time passed quickly. After one minute, Fire Dance was only halfway through the door''s locks. "Guild Leader, two more Patrols are approaching!" Minor Wind announced anxiously. If there were only three Fallen Patrols, their team could, more or less, manage. Four, however, would be a problem. As for trying to kill the Patrols, that would be considerably foolish. Special Lifeforms were immortal existences. Even after expending a lot of time and effort, the most they would get out of the endeavor was some EXP. After ten minutes, the Fallen Patrols would be back on their feet and ready to fight once again. Moreover, with each resurrection, the Fallen Patrols would become stronger. Only a lunatic would try to kill them. "Wumian, you''ll come with me! Once Fire finishes unlocking the door, rush into the room the room! Remember; do not touch anything inside!" Shi Feng commanded. He then dashed towards the two new Fallen Patrols with Ye Wumian. Shi Feng wouldn''t try to take on one of the Fallen Patrols directly. Instead, he activated Aura of Earth while deflecting the Patrol''s attacks. This way, not only could he reduce the damage he received, but he could also alleviate the burden on the team''s healers. However, as time passed, a loud roar echoed from a distant corridor. The angry roar reverberated through the spacious corridor. Already?! Shi Feng''s expression darkened. The abyssal monsters had awakened far sooner than he had anticipated. If these monsters discovered his teams, none of them would get out of here alive. Shi Feng''s team wasn''t the only one who had heard the roar. The Midnight Tea Party''s members, who waited outside the Fallen Ark quietly, heard the deafening roar as well. "Black Flame really didn''t lie." Breeze Wine could not help but inwardly celebrate when he heard this roar. "The fact that this roar is so deep and can reach all the way out here means that this monster should be Mythic rank at the very least." Fortunately, they had made the trade with Shi Feng. Otherwise, even if they had activated the Fallen Ark by themselves after obtaining their Tier 2 classes, they''d have no way of completing their quest. The difference between Mythic monsters'' strength and Grand Lords'' was simply too massive. Even if their entire team reached Tier 2, it wasn''t likely that they could defeat a Mythic monster of the same level, much less a Mythic monster of a higher level. The other team members nodded in agreement. Despite Dark War and several other people''s opinions about Shi Feng, they had to admit that Shi Feng had helped them enormously. Meanwhile, before the Fallen Ark''s Armory, Fire Dance finally unlocked the door to the secret room. "Guild Leader, the door''s open!" "Good! You guys go in first! Cola, start slowly moving towards Armory!" Opening the tightly-shut door was undoubtedly good news to Shi Feng. Immediately, he had everyone retreat towards the Armory. As Shi Feng and the others reached the Armory''s entrance, Shi Feng, Cola, and the other MTs felt their bodies become heavy. It was as if they had been submerged in mud; it was extremely difficult to move. "Not good! Those monsters have arrived! Get inside, quickly!" Shi Feng panicked. Immediately, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and recovered his ability to move. He then took an aqua-blue Magic Scroll from his bag. This Magic Scroll was none other than his sole remaining Tier 4 Magic Scroll. The area they were in was not particularly large, but he understood how powerful those monsters were. Any players the abyssal monsters killed would not get off with just a lost level. If that were the case, players in the past wouldn''t have given up on the Fallen Ark''s treasures that easily. Rather, those abyssal monsters would extract the Immortal Souls from the players they killed. Not only would players lose two or three levels, but they also wouldn''t be able to log into the game for over ten days. "Humans? Those soulsheaven-blessed individuals? Wonderful! It''s been so long since I''ve tasted an Immortal Soul!" As Cola and the others rushed into the Armory, a cold voice reached their ears, making them shudder with fear. Suddenly, as if the Fallen Patrols had been struck, the team watched the Great Lords fly into the corridor''s walls, their powerful metallic bodies flattening like a specimen under a microscope. Aside from Shi Feng, none of the players could move. "Why is such a powerful monster her?!" The abyssal monster''s might far exceeded Gentle Snow and the rest of the team''s expectations. Before the monster had even shown itself, it had already flattened the four Fallen Patrols into pancakes. They had become fish on a cutting board. 1129 Ransacking the Armory Chapter 1129 - Ransacking the Armory Sure enough, a complete Domain is really powerful! Shi Feng was slightly stunned. The Fallen Ark''s abyssal monsters were much stronger than he had imagined. It was no wonder why God''s Domain''s various superpowers hadn''t been a match for these monsters in the past. This was definitely the first time Shi Feng had encountered a Mythic monster that wielded a complete Domain. Generally, only Tier 4 NPCs could use one. This was also the factor that provided Tier 4 NPCs the power to face Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Right now, despite him having activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, he could barely move his body. His joints even creaked as he moved. "Oh? Someone can still move?" As Shi Feng moved, a cold, deep voice reverberated through everyone''s minds. When the team members lifted their heads, they discovered that a humanoid creature, which was roughly four meters tall and covered in scales, had suddenly appeared before them. The creature had two blade-like arms and crimson eyes that were as large as an ordinary human''s fist. Two sets of jet-black wings also stretched from the creature''s back. [Soul Eater Lord] (Dark Creature, Mythic [Weakened]) Level 67 HP 210,000,000/210,000,000 Every player gasped when they saw this creature. Despite being weakened, the creature was still a Mythic monster. Moreover, the team despaired upon seeing his HP. Even a team of 1,000 experts would be cannon fodder against this monster, much less a 20-man team. We''re doomed! As Aqua Rose watched the Soul Eater Lord gradually approach them, she could already see her and her teammates'' instant death in her mind. However, Aqua Rose still did not know that any player the Fallen Ark''s ancient abyssal monsters killed would not get away with losing a single level. "What an interesting little fellow. It''s a pity that your struggling is useless. Just become my soul''s nourishment obediently," the Soul Eater Lord said as he widened his ferocious mouth. He could no longer wait to devour these players. When 30 yards separated the team from the Soul Eater Lord, Shi Feng finally finished chanting the last verse of the incantation in his heart. He abruptly unfurled the dark blue Magic Scroll in his hands. "Pointless resistance will only add to your pain and despair!" The Soul Eater Lord had already noticed the Tier 4 Magic Scroll in Shi Feng''s hands. However, he disregarded the object because he was fully capable of dealing with any Tier 4 Spells. If it were a Tier 5 Magic Scroll, he might be nervous. However, such Magic Scrolls had even been extremely rare during the ancient ara, not to mention the present era. "Oh, really?" Shi Feng smiled faintly. Immediately, an aqua-blue magic array formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Following which, with Shi Feng as the center, a faint blue barrier expanded outward. Tier 4 Curse, Water Boundary! Water Boundary was not an attack-type Curse. Rather, it was a defensive Curse. The Curse was even capable of blocking Tier 5 attacks. It was a kind of absolute defense; the Curse had a radius of 20 yards and a duration of 30 seconds. After Water Boundary formed, Zero Wing''s members immediate felt the pressure dissipate as they regained their freedom of movement. "Damn it!" The Soul Eater Lord''s expression twisted as the Water Boundary formed. It then began to assault the barrier. Boom Boom Boom The Soul Eater Lord was so fast that even Shi Feng could barely see its movements. Everyone''s hearts pounded as a series of expressions echoed throughout the Fallen Ark. They were terrified that the Soul Eater Lord would break through the seemingly flimsy, light-blue barrier. After glancing at the fluctuating, blue barrier, Shi Feng shifted his attention away from the Soul Eater Lord as he commanded, "Alright, get moving! We don''t have much time left!" As a Tier 4 defensive Curse, Water Boundary could withstand the Soul Eater Lord''s attacks, even if he were at his peak. The Soul Eater tribe''s king, though, would have no problem shattering the barrier. Unfortunately, that kind of existence, which was as powerful as Gods, was not in the current Ark. Following which, the Soul Eater Lord could only watch helplessly as Shi Feng led his team into the Armory. After entering the Armory, Shi Feng turned around and shut the door, immediately locking it. "Guild Leader, that monster can''t break in here, right?" Violet Cloud asked worriedly as she recalled how powerful the Soul Eater was. "Relax. This is the Fallen Ark, one of the final weapons the Gods created. Divine runes strengthen the Ark''s interior. Even a Soul Eater King would have a hard time destroying the interior of the Ark, not to mention a Soul Eater Lord," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. His companions could not help but release a sigh of relief when they heard Shi Feng''s reassurance. "Now that the danger has been dealt with, Fire, you and Flying will disable the traps inside the Armory. Everyone else, move carefully!" Shi Feng ordered. Looking at the time, he found that they had around six minutes before they had to log out of the game. If they could not remove the traps within the Armory during these six minutes, by the time they logged back into the game, these traps would become much harder to disable. Hearing this, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow immediately went into action. As for the rest of the team, they let their gazes wander the Armory. For a moment, they were stupefied. The Armory was a massive treasure trove. There was a variety of tools on display, and every one was extremely tempting. "Guild Leader, look over there! Mana Pulse Cannons! They''re even Intermediate rank!" During the war against the Star Alliance, Shi Feng had spent 20,000 Gold to purchase a Basic Mana Pulse Cannon. A single attack from the cannon could rival the might of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Moreover, the cannon had a range of 15,000 yards and a radius of 200 yards. Unfortunately, the cannon was very costly to use, with each shot requiring 1,000 Magic Crystals. Moreover, it had a long Cooldown of around three to four minutes. Meanwhile, upon reading the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon''s information, the team discovered that it was even more impressive than they had thought. Although its attack was roughly as powerful as a Tier 4 destruction Spell, it had a range of 20,000 yards and a radius of 500 yards. It cost 2,000 Magic Crystals to fire a single round and similarly had a Cooldown of around three to four minutes. The difference between a radius of 200 yards and 500 yards was simply outrageous. Furthermore, this Armory actually had two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons. If Zero Wing had had these two cannons and a sufficient number of Magic Crystals during its battle against Blackwater, winning the war would have been far easier. However, rather than the Mana Pulse Cannon, Shi Feng''s gaze stopped on a magical, steel car. He was quite familiar with this item. Movement-type defensive magic array. Although it was only a Basic Defensive Magic Array, it could be moved freely even after being activated. In the past, large Guilds treated it like a mobile fortress. As long as this magic array had enough Mana, it could block all Tier 3 attacks and lower. Meanwhile, its maximum radius could cover an entire Basic Town. Aside from the Mana Pulse Cannons and movement-type defensive magic array, there were a large number of Basic Mana Pulse Bombs. Every bomb possessed the might of a Tier 3 Spell and had a radius of 25 yards. They could be thrown up to a maximum of 50 yards. They were incredibly suited for individual players. To current players, these Mana Pulse Bombs were godly weapons in group battles as a single bomb could obliterate all players in a 25-yard radius. There were actually over a thousand of such bombs Shi Feng had never imagined that a single Armory would contain such a large harvest. With these items, the issue of his future city''s defense was practically settled. Seconds passed, then minutes. When there were only two minutes before the system update began, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow had disabled 90% of the Armory''s traps. Only one trap set up around a stone altar was left. "Guild Leader, this trap is too complex! Even I can''t disable it!" Fire Dance exclaimed as she examined the trap before her. "Even you can''t disable it?" Shi Feng was surprised. They were still in the Ark''s outer region. With Fire Dance being an Advanced Trap Disabler, she should be able to deal with every trap here. It was only a matter of time. However, the fact that Fire Dance was unable to disable the trap spoke volumes about the stone alter''s value. Since time was running out, Shi Feng immediately removed Icarus''s Heart from his neck and passed it to Fire Dance. Fire Dance was momentarily dazed when she saw Icarus''s Heart. She had never expected such a powerful Epic item to exist. "Hurry; use this to disable the trap!" Shi Feng instructed. Trap Disabler was a similar Lifestyle class to the Appraiser class. However, it was not a particularly popular class. The Assassin class possessed a talent bonus that allowed them to level Lifestyle classes like Locksmith and Trap Disabler far more easily. With Shi Feng''s command, Fire Dance recovered her wits and activated God''s Blessing, upgrading her Trap Disabler class to the Master rank. Immediately, Fire Dance began to disable the trap on the stone altar. However, this trap would require a considerably long time to disable. "Quick! We don''t have much time left!" Shi Feng''s anxiety grew when he saw only 30 seconds remaining. If Fire Dance failed, the next time they logged into the game, the consequence would not be limited to some lost time. Fire Dance also grew desperate. Her mind focused like never before as she frantically disabled the trap''s mechanisms, one after another. There were only ten seconds remaining. Five seconds! Three seconds! "It''s disabled!" Fire Dance finally disabled the trap with only two seconds remaining, and she could not help but sigh in relief at her success. Following which, everyone''s vision faded to black as they were sent to their individual God''s Domain Offline Rest Spaces. 1130 Talen Chapter 1130 - Talent Inside the Offline Rest Space, Shi Feng slowly opened his eyes. With this, all we need to do is wait for the system update to end and log back into the game. Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement when he thought about the stone altar. Even the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had only been protected by Advanced Traps. Whatever Master Traps protected definitely stored far more valuable treasures. Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the system interface displayed before him. The interface showed 14 hours and 40 minutes before the system update completed. From this, Shi Feng could tell that significant changes would shake God''s Domain. A nearly 15-hour-long system update It''s roughly the same duration as when the Fallen Ark had been activated in the past. Shi Feng could not help but recall detailed information about the system update in the past. Every time God''s Domain underwent a system update, it, more or less, changed Guilds'' path of development. For example, the previous few system updates had gradually increased the importance of Lifestyle classes in the various large Guilds'' eyes. Guild had even begun to invest a significant amount of resources to nurture their Lifestyle classes. Similarly, the system update this time would change God''s Domain once more. There were many Lifestyle classes in God''s Domain. They weren''t limited to Forgers, Engineers, Alchemists, Enchanters, Leatherworkers, Tailors, Chefs, and such. There were many other Lifestyle classes that players did not pay much attention to such as Diviners, Architects, Appraisers, Fraudsters, Cultivators, Tamers, Scholars, Magicians, Locksmiths, and other minor subclasses. This latest update would gradually increase the importance of these minor subclasses in the game. Before the trap mechanisms in God''s Domain had been perfected, adventurer players who explored the fields could get by financially in the game relatively easily. In the fields, their main problem when they found treasure was the guardian monsters. Rarely would any player pay attention to the traps protecting the treasure. This was because of the only two possibilities when one tried to disable a trap. The first was that the trap could be disabled, although the time required depended on the player. The other possibility was that the trap could not be disabled. One wouldn''t receive any kind of punishment for failing to disable a trap. As a result, players rarely paid much attention to the Trap Disabler class. However, after this system update, a third outcome would occur. A trap could be disabled, but failure came with a risk. If one failed to disable a trap, they would trigger the trap itself. Trap''s strengths varied. If players triggered a weaker trap, they might retain their lives. Even in the event of death, players would only suffer the normal death penalties. For stronger traps, however, players might have to pay more than a single level for their failure. Another example was the Magician subclass, one of the minor subclasses Shi Feng had learned. A Magician''s role was to produce items such as Magic Scrolls and Magic Arrays. Although the Magician subclass was not as important as the Forger subclass, it was one of the essential subclasses in God''s Domain. Moreover, as the subclass increased its rank, it would serve a greater purpose. Due to the increased importance of the various minor subclasses, the large Guilds began to nurture these subclasses to aid their Guilds'' development. It seems that I''ll have to get Melancholic to start collecting Purple Dew and Five-colored Flowers once I log back in. After some thought, Shi Feng decided to start nurturing a batch of players with minor subclasses. Minor subclasses were not as difficult to improve as major subclasses. There was no need to expend a large stock of materials for trial and error. One simply needed to achieve a certain technical standard to rise through the ranks. Take the Magician subclass for example. If a player produced a Basic Magic Array, they would become a Basic Magician. If they produced an Intermediate Magic Array, they would become Intermediate Magicians. There was no need to accumulate a large number of Proficiency Points. Promotion solely depended on a player''s technical skills. However, while there were no restrictions on learning minor subclasses, with players being allowed to learn over ten minor subclasses, due to personal talent, not everyone could level a subclass to Intermediate or Advanced rank, much less Master rank. Due to this, players should learn only the minor subclasses they were proficient at if they wished to advance to higher stages in the game. However, how was a player supposed to determine which minor subclass they were proficient at? In the past, the most popular way to test their abilities was the Talent Potion. As long as players drank the Talent Potion, the system would provide a series of tests. After completing these tests, the system would notify players about the subclass they were most suited for. This way, players would not have to waste their time researching whether they were suitable for a certain subclass or not. Of course, if players liked a particular subclass, they could learn it regardless of whether they had the talent. They just wouldn''t be able to advance quickly. Meanwhile, the main materials for crafting the Talent Potion was Purple Dew and Five-colored Flower. Shi Feng also knew where to find the recipe. As long as he went there to grind, he should have no problems obtaining a few copies. After Shi Feng finished planning his development, he decided to rest in the virtual space. Only at seven in the morning did he exit his virtual gaming cabin. After Shi Feng finished breakfast and did some light exercises, before he left to check on Zero Wing''s new internal members in the dojo, he noticed his female assistant, who currently wore black working attire, waiting for him by the lounge''s entrance. "Head Instructor, Chairman Xiao has an extremely important matter he wishes to discuss with you. He is waiting in the Chairman''s Office right now," Liang Jing reported as she walked up to Shi Feng, who wore blue sportswear. "Got it." Shi Feng nodded. In reality, even if Xiao Yu hadn''t come looking for him, he would''ve likely sought the man out himself within the next few days. During his previous expansion of the Zero Wing Workshop, he had recruited plenty of talented people. These people were all much stronger than the independent players he had recruited in God''s Domain. Although their levels in the game were still quite low, their combat standards were already higher ordinary elite players. In addition, he and Lei Bao normally trained these new recruits. It was only a matter of time before they could clear the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. Once these people reached the fifth floor, they would become experts in the eyes of ordinary players. If they could reach the fifth floor''s late stage, even large Guilds would treat them like experts. However, Shi Feng wasn''t looking for ordinary experts. He wanted apex experts capable of turning the tides of war by themselves. It was extremely difficult to nurture such apex experts. First, he needed a sufficient amount of resources such as the S-rank Nutrient Fluid. However, Shi Feng didn''t have the connections he needed to gain a large quantity. Fortunately, Xiao Yu did. The Big Dipper Tower''s 51st floor: This floor was specifically reserved for the chairman of the Big Dipper Group. It was also the Big Dipper Tower''s highest floor. From in the corridor, they could see the entirety of Jin Hai City through the glass walls. Very few people in Jin Hai City were ever invited to this floor. Even Liang Jing, Chairman Xiao''s senior assistant, had never set foot on this floor. Generally, she waited for the chairman on the 50th floor. As Liang Jing followed Shi Feng to the Chairman''s Office, she sighed ruefully as she stared at Shi Feng''s back. If not for Director Xiao allowing her to bring Shi Feng here, she would never have had the opportunity to see this floor. When Liang Jing opened the doors to the Chairman''s Office, an office the size of a basketball court appeared before her eyes. Three people sat before the room''s french windows. Shi Feng was familiar with all three. One of them was Xiao Yu; another was Gan Xingteng, the bald man who Fire Dance had thoroughly defeated, and the last Xie Qiwen, the handsome youth with a body as robust as Lei Bao''s, known as the White Tiger Dojo''s fighting genius. 1131 An Invitation that Cannot be Refused Chapter 1131 - An Invitation that Cannot be Refused Why are they here? Shi Feng frowned slightly as he eyed Xie Qiwen and Gan Xingteng, who sat on a sofa and chatted merrily with Xiao Yu. The White Tiger Dojo was currently Big Dipper''s rival. As Shi Feng walked up to the three people, Xiao Yu took the initiative to welcome him. "Instructor Shi, you''re finally here. Let me introduce you. This is White Tiger Dojo''s rising star, Xie Qiwen. As for our other guest, I believe that you''ve already met. Gan Xingteng has already been appointed the acting Head Instructor of the White Tiger Dojo''s branch in Jin Hai City." Xiao Yu introduced the men to Shi Feng. As Xiao Yu completed the introductions, Xie Qiwen stared at Shi Feng. Shi Feng currently wore dark-blue sportswear. He appeared extremely young for someone in his position. No matter how Xie Qiwen looked at Shi Feng, the latter looked like any ordinary youth. Shi Feng did not exude the aura that was usually found on martial arts experts. If not for Gan Xingteng providing him with information about Big Dipper beforehand, he would''ve assumed that Shi Feng was a new student who had recently enrolled to the Big Dipper Dojo. "Hello, Head Instructor Shi." Xie Qiwen greeted Shi Feng without getting up from his seat. He simply looked at Shi Feng, nodding slightly as he spoke with a courteous tone, "I have heard of Head Instructor Shi''s fame. Sure enough, the rumors were true." "Hello." Shi Feng gave with a brief, but polite response. As for Gan Xingteng, he did not bother saying anything to Shi Feng. In Gan Xingteng''s opinion, Shi Feng was simply one of the Big Dipper Group''s puppets and did not possess any true ability. The dojo''s true master must be the woman he had fought before, Fire Dance. In both strength and reaction capabilities, Fire Dance far surpassed him. He wouldn''t even be surprised if she turned out to be the internal force expert the Big Dipper Group had invited. Xie Qiwen stood up and turned to look at Xiao Yu before saying, "Chairman Xiao, since we''ve already told you why we are here, we''ll take our leave now. When the time comes, I will welcome your arrival." Initially, he had waited here to catch a glimpse of Shi Feng. Now that he had met the man in question and discovered that Shi Feng was exactly as Gan Xingteng had mentioned, he had no reason to stay. Following which, Xiao Yu sent both Xie Qiwen and Gan Xingteng to the door. He then had Liang Jing send them on their way. After the duo left, Shi Feng asked, "Chairman Xiao, may I know what business you wish to discuss?" "The White Tiger Dojo will be holding an opening ceremony in four days, and they have invited you and me to participate. At the same time, the White Tiger Dojo plans to hold a friendly competition during the ceremony and has invited the various training centers and dojos to participate as well. The match will involve teams of three, and participants must be below the age of 20. "The competition''s champion will win one million Credits and an invitation card to the Green God Company''s annual auction." "An invitation card to the Green God Auction? Sure enough, the White Tiger Dojo is impressive." The White Tiger Dojo''s wealth and influence surprised Shi Feng. Practically everybody in the world knew about the Green God Company. The Green God Company was the sole producer of Nutrient Fluids, which was sold in practically every town and city around the world. It was an absolute giant. In this current era, who did not pay attention to their bodies? Who didn''t want to live longer? Particularly, the S-rank Nutrient Fluid produced miraculous effects. However, as its production volume was low, it was extremely difficult to obtain. The Green God Company also held an auction once every year. In this auction, the company sold plenty of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. In addition, the company would introduce new products that were not available on the market. Only, it was extraordinarily difficult to gain an invitation. A company like the Big Dipper Group did not qualify to receive an invitation. However, this wasn''t surprising. After all, not a single person or company in Jin Hai City qualified. Most likely, only an existence like the White Tiger Dojo, which nurtured international-level fighters consistently, qualified. After all, in this era, where everyone paid attention to their physical fitness, the various international training centers and dojos were the Green God Company''s main customers. "I know, right? In previous years, we''ve offered five million to purchase an invitation card. However, we have never actually managed to buy one. Hence, Head Instructor Shi, I was wondering if you could select a few members from the Big Dipper Dojo to participate in this friendly competition?" Xiao Yu asked anxiously. Although he knew that the White Tiger Dojo wanted to flaunt its might through this friendly competition and solidify its position in Jin Hai City, the invitation card to the Green God Auction was simply too tempting to give up. This invitation card was a pass that allowed one to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids. At the same time, one would encounter people of high social standing. If he could form some kind of relationship with some of these influential people, it might help the company''s development in the future. Hence, even if he knew it was a trap, he couldn''t refuse it. "Chairman Xiao, you should know that the dojo''s members have only recently joined. Even the powerful fighters are no match for the White Tiger Dojo''s elite geniuses," Shi Feng replied as he shook his head. Since the White Tiger Dojo dared to put up such a tempting prize, it was obvious that the dojo was confident in claiming the prize for itself. During the competition, the dojo would definitely send geniuses from its main branch to participate and teach the various dojos and training centers in Jin Hai City a lesson that they would never forget. "I heard that Head Instructor Shi has several experts in your Workshop. What if they participate instead?" Xiao Yu asked eagerly. He had long since learned about the Zero Wing Workshop from Liang Jing. According to Liang Jing, the Workshop members were powerful fighting experts. The woman named Fire Dance, in particular, had even defeated Gan Xingteng in a single move. "Chairman Xiao, I understand what you are trying to say, but unfortunately, they are all over 20 years old," Shi Feng said, smiling bitterly. Of course, he wanted Cola and the others take part in the competition. However, they were all over the age limit. Only Violet Cloud met this requirement. However, the competition was a group match. If he could not fill the two remaining spots, they wouldn''t be able to take part anyway. As for the members that had recently joined the Zero Wing Workshop, although they had improved significantly, they were no match for the White Tiger Dojo''s elite members. "The White Tiger Dojo really is crafty. I never thought that they would''ve accounted for this as well." A disappointed expression dominated Xiao Yu''s face. Despite the valuable opportunity to develop the company, he had no way of grasping it. "We still have four days. It isn''t entirely impossible to find suitable experts. However, it won''t be easy." Shi Feng suddenly recalled several core members in the Guild that were younger than 20. Only, none of them had come to Jin Hai City to participate in Zero Wing''s special training. Xiao Yu''s eyes shone at Shi Feng''s words. Immediately, he said, "If Head Instructor Shi has any requirements, please, don''t hold back!" "Since Chairman Xiao has offered, things will be easier on my side." Upon hearing Xiao Yu''s assurance, Shi Feng said, "If we wish to defeat the White Tiger Dojo, I''ll need roughly ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids." Although those several core members possessed a wealth of combat experience, their physical attributes were simply too low. Meanwhile, unlike virtual combat, real-life combat relied heavily on a person''s physical attributes. If he wanted to improve their combat power in the real world quickly, the only way to do so was by pushing them past their brain''s limits and utilizing the S-rank Nutrient Fluids to recover. Only this method would rapidly improve their body''s overall strength. He could also nurture the Guild''s experts, killing two birds with one stone. 1132 Butterfly Effec Chapter 1132 - Butterfly Effect "Ten bottles?!" Xiao Yu''s heart skipped a beat when he heard Shi Feng''s request. S-rank Nutrient Fluids were not cabbages that one could purchase easily. It was difficult to buy a bottle even if one could afford it. People around the world referred to the S-rank Nutrient Fluid as the Water of Life. A bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid could easily go for one million Credits. Even Xiao Yu himself was only willing to drink one bottle per year to repair the damaged cells in his body, significantly slowing the aging process. The S-rank Nutrient Fluid was a treasure to well-known international fighters. Normally, they would only consume a bottle if they were heavily injured. Even drinking A-rank Nutrient Fluids during normal training was considered a luxury. Previously, to recruit Shi Feng into Big Dipper, he had utilized his connections and spent a significant sum to obtain a batch. No matter how he looked at it, buying another ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to obtain the Green God Company''s invitation was not a worthwhile transaction. After all, his main goal in obtaining the invitation card was to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluid and other new products the Green God Company intended to offer. He was still uncertain about how many bottles he could purchase in the auction. It was simply too risky to invest ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid right off the bat. "That''s right. I''ll need ten bottles at the very minimum." Shi Feng wasn''t lying. Void Steps placed a huge burden on the human brain. Without the in-depth healing the S-rank Nutrient Fluid provided, one would risk their life by using the technique. Hence, whenever he trained the Guild''s core members, he warned them that, if they did not have any S-rank Nutrient Fluids on hand, they were absolutely not allowed to practice Void Steps excessively. "If it is money you are worried about, I can pay half the cost. However, I want a spot on the Green God Company''s invitation card." "You''ll pay half of it?" After giving the matter some thought, Xiao Yu agreed and said, "Alright, I''ll try to find a way to get the ten bottles. However, they will cost slightly above market price." Every invitation card allowed two people to attend the auction. It did not matter if he shared one with Shi Feng. To further develop itself, the Big Dipper Group had already invested a large sum into the new dojo. They had also spent a lot on advertising. Hence, the company was somewhat tight on funds. If Shi Feng were willing to cover half of the S-rank Nutrient Fluids'' cost, investing in Shi Feng''s group was no different than their previous attempt of purchasing the Green God Auction invitation card for five million Credits. Only, unlike Shi Feng, that plan hadn''t succeeded. As for whether Shi Feng had the money to pay up, he had long since ordered Liang Jing to investigate the man''s finances. Recently, God''s Domain had become increasingly popular around the world. Many industry giants had already invested in the game. It was definitely possible to earn a lot of money through God''s Domain. Moreover, based on what he had heard from Liang Jing, Shi Feng''s Workshop was considerably large. Moreover, more companies had invested in the Workshop. At this point, the Workshop had begun mass-recruiting full-time gamers. It was obvious that Shi Feng earned quite an income from the game. He shouldn''t have any issues spending several million Credits at a moment''s notice. Now that God''s Domain was so popular, even Xiao Yu had considered establishing a Workshop. Based on what he had heard from his connections, he learned that Gaming Workshops focused on God''s Domain earned far more than they had in past virtual reality games. God''s Domain also had far more players. However, expanding the Big Dipper Group took priority. Once the Big Dipper Group had grown, it would become far more profitable than any Gaming Workshop or Guild. After all, more people had begun to take their physical training more seriously after discovering God''s Domain. Unfortunately, what Xiao Yu did not know was that Shi Feng''s Workshop was more profitable than he imagined After Shi Feng finalized his arrangements with Xiao Yu, he returned to Zero Wing''s training room. Only the Workshop''s official members had access to this room. Shi Feng had specifically instructed Liang Jing to stock the room with various training equipment. These machines would help strengthen a person''s reaction speed and evasive maneuvers. "Blackie, contact Shadow Sword and Turtledove. Have them come to Jin Hai City as quickly as possible. Report the travel expenses as a Workshop expenditure," Shi Feng instructed Blackie, who was currently occupied with basic training. Shadow Sword and Turtledove had been members of a certain dojo before they had joined Zero Wing. They were both younger than 20. However, after officially becoming Zero Wing core members, Shi Feng had both of them leave their dojos. After all, becoming a Zero Wing core member was basically a formal job. They had to make God''s Domain their main priority. After they left their previous dojos, aside from playing God''s Domain, they normally exercised at a local gym. All of their attention had shifted to God''s Domain. However, as Zero Wing had yet to establish its own company officially and the purchasing agreement for Ouroboros''s training center wasn''t finalized, Shi Feng hadn''t invited them to take part in special training with the others. "We''re having them here now?" Blackie shot Shi Feng a curious look. Suddenly, his expression shifted to one of excitement as he asked, "Is the training center ready?!" He had already heard about the matter from Shi Feng. Ouroboros''s training center specialized in nurturing gaming experts. Setting aside its numerous facilities, it had an advanced virtual system in which players could train. Of course, Ouroboros''s training center wasn''t as advanced as the Secret Pavilion''s simulated training system. However, it was far more efficient than a ton of people competing for the ten black cards. Most importantly, with the acquisition of Ouroboros''s training center, Zero Wing would finally have its own headquarters. They would no longer have to borrow someone else''s facilities. Like the core members of those first-rate Guilds, they could then walk into their luxurious training centers in the city center every day. "No," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Qingxue[1] is still negotiating the price for the training center. I want them here for another matter." Although the Blackwater''s defeat had indeed dealt a major blow to the several companies backing Ouroboros, it was not an easy task to buy the training center''s remaining shares. If they discovered Zero Wing''s true goal, they might demand a far higher price than what Zero Wing had planned on. Unless something forced these companies were forced to sell the shares in a hurry, Shi Feng had to let Bai Qingxue find a way to obtain the shares cheaply. His reply disappointed Blackie. However, he suddenly thought of something else as he said, "Brother Feng, when you went to your meeting, someone came to the Workshop asking for you. However, I told him that you''re in a meeting, so he''s been waiting in the lounge. Do you want to meet him right now?" "Who is it?" "It''s that youth that Big Sis Fire flattened. I think his name is You Ziping?" Blackie responded, somewhat uncertain. "He came on his own volition? Interesting. I just so happen to be free, so I might as well meet with him." Shi Feng thought back to the bait he cast. He hadn''t expected to hook You Ziping so quickly. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. Now that Xie Qiwen was in Jin Hai City, as You Ziping''s greatest romantic rival, how could the boy sit by and do nothing? If You Ziping remained passive, Xie Qiwen would definitely take the girl he loved. This was his last chance to do something. Only, this development had occurred sooner than Shi Feng had anticipated. The current timeline was deviating further away from the one he remembered. Following which, Shi Feng entered the training room''s lounge. You Ziping sat on the lounge''s sofa, his legs shaking slightly. He looked quite nervous. "What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng asked slowly as he examined the fighter before him. Seeing Shi Feng, You Ziping stood up abruptly, anxiety flashing in his eyes as he asked, "Didn''t you say that, as long as I join Zero Wing''s workshop, you''ll tell me how to become stronger? Is that offer still valid?" Hall Master Jiang had already announced his intentions of driving his daughter, Jiang Lingyu, closer to Xie Qiwen. If he did not achieve some sort of feat quickly, he would be too late. 1133 The Difference Brought About by Time Chapter 1133 - The Difference Brought About by Time "Of course, it''s still valid." Shi Feng provided a definitive answer. "However, didn''t your White Tiger Dojo bar you from joining any Gaming Workshops?" You Ziping fell silent upon Shi Feng''s question. He had been determined not to join Zero Wing''s Workshop. After all, he was recognized as an elite member in the White Tiger Dojo. If given enough time, he would gain Hall Master Jiang''s recognition. However, Xie Qiwen''s sudden appearance in Jin Hai City significantly reduced the time he had to make any notable achievements. Xie Qiwen was already a well-known national fighter. Now, the White Tiger Dojo''s main branch had decided to cultivate Xie Qiwen and prepare him for the international stage. On the other hand, he hadn''t to even reached the national threshold. With Hall Master Jiang''s personality, he definitely had no hopes of furthering his relationship with Jiang Lingyu. Right now, his only way of getting Hall Master Jiang''s recognition was to grow a lot stronger within a short time. At the very least, he needed to become a fighter on the national level. Only then would Hall Master Jiang even consider handing his daughter over to him. To build his strength quickly, the only way he could think of was by joining Zero Wing''s Workshop. There wasn''t actually a rule or regulation in the White Tiger Dojo that disallowed joining a Gaming Workshop, and growing stronger was far more important than violating Gan Xingteng''s rules. "If I join Zero Wing''s Workshop, how much stronger can I become within a month?" You Ziping was desperate to grow stronger. However, he was suspicious about how much stronger the Zero Wing Workshop could help him become. "I knew you would ask something like this. Since you''re curious, how about you spar with one of our Workshop''s new members?" Shi Feng suggested, chuckling. "Fortunately, you''re already familiar with this person." "Someone I am familiar with?" You Ziping gave Shi Feng a skeptical look. "Follow me." Shi Feng did not bother to explain as he left the lounge. You Ziping promptly followed him, curious about his opponent. In the White Tiger Dojo, his status was relatively high. Not only had he become an intermediate disciple at the young age of 18, but he even ranked near the top among intermediate disciples. He was only a short time from becoming an advanced disciple. If he became an advanced disciple in the White Tiger Dojo at his age, he would definitely qualify to participate in the national youth fighting competition. Inside Zero Wing''s training room Many of Zero Wing Workshop''s new members were preoccupied with their basic training. When they noticed Shi Feng lead an indifferent youth into the room, they stopped and looked at You Ziping curiously. "Who''s that? A new member?" "No, I know that guy. He was one of the fighters that came to the dojo to make trouble, but got a beating from Big Sis Fire instead." "What unfortunate fools. Big Sis Fire never shows mercy in a fight. She is exactly like Instructor Lei in this aspect" "Do you think that guy is looking to challenge Big Sis Fire again?" Everyone in the training room had their assumptions about You Ziping''s intentions. As for whether You Ziping had any chance of actually defeating Fire Dance, the thought never even entered their minds. In their eyes, You Ziping would need a miracle to survive against the woman for longer than five seconds. As for the youth defeating Fire Dance? Had anyone ever seen an ordinary human win against a monster before? After Shi Feng entered the training room, he turned to a slim youth that looked to be roughly twenty years old and said, "Lu Xiu, come over here for a second. We''ll be testing your strength today." "Understood!" Lu Xiu hurriedly responded. "Lu Xiu?" When You Ziping saw Lu Xiu walking over, the youth wore a strange expression. Previously, when they had shown up to make trouble for the Big Dipper Dojo, Lu Xiu had chosen to leave the White Tiger Dojo and take part in the Zero Wing Workshop''s test. As an intermediate disciple of the White Tiger Dojo, You Ziping was very familiar with Lu Xiu''s standards. The latter was just barely as strong as an intermediate disciple. Hence, he had been happy about Lu Xiu''s decision to leave the dojo. After all, not everyone could succeed in the world of fighting. Lu Xiu might have a better future if he joined a Gaming Workshop instead. However, when he realized that Shi Feng had selected Lu Xiu to be his opponent, he found the matter laughable. Just how much did Shi Feng underestimate him? "Alright, you two, get in the arena. Your time limit is three minutes," Shi Feng instructed, not explaining further. Shi Feng''s words instantly attracted everyone''s attention. Blackie merrily shouted, "We have a good show coming up! I''ll be the bookkeeper! The betting ratio is one-to-five! Whoever bets on You Ziping will get five times their wager if he wins! Don''t miss this opportunity!" "Alright, I''ll bet on Lu Xiu!" "I''ll bet on Lu Xiu as well!" "I''ll bet one bottle of Hundred Berry Wine on Lu Xiu''s win!" In the end, nobody bet on You Ziping. Blackie''s expression twisted. However, among those present, You Ziping had the ugliest expression. He was only a step away from becoming an advanced disciple in the White Tiger Dojo, yet in the eyes of these gamers, he seemed to be some random passerby not worth their attention. Lu Xiu felt an immense pressure on his shoulders. Similar to You Ziping''s familiarity with his strengths, he, too, understood You Ziping''s power. He had never imagined that Shi Feng and Zero Wing Workshop''s core members expected him to win. No matter how he thought about it, that was impossible. Upon seeing both fighters in their positions, Shi Feng shouted, "Begin!" "Lu Xiu, don''t hold back and show me everything you''ve got. I''m curious to see what you''ve accomplished in the Zero Wing Workshop since you''ve joined," You Ziping told Lu Xiu seriously. Lu Xiu nodded and charged at You Ziping. Lu Xiu launched a straight punch towards You Ziping, his fist pushing a strong gust of wind into the latter''s face. Lu Xiu''s punch was so fast that You Ziping barely caught a glimpse of it. So fast! You Ziping could not help his surprise. Lu Xiu''s punch was far faster and more accurate than it had been in the past. However, You Ziping was no ordinary fighter. Diverting the approaching fist with one hand, You Ziping sidestepped and rushed forward, slamming his body into Lu Xiu. As if Lu Xiu had expected the move, he quickly adjusted his footwork as his fist was redirected. Twisting his body, he circled to You Ziping''s back, avoiding the latter''s body slam. He dodged it? You Ziping was slightly surprised. You Ziping regained his composure as he turned and continued his fierce assault against Lu Xiu. Every one of You Ziping''s moves contained both deadly speed and precision, making them extremely difficult to parry. However, contrary to You Ziping''s expectations, Lu Xiu didn''t become flustered, and the attacks didn''t land; rather, with nimble movements and footwork, he systematically dodged one attack after another. After You Ziping''s barrage ended, Lu Xiu realized that You Ziping was exhausted. Immediately, Lu Xiu took advantage of the opportunity and dove in for the kill. You Ziping, knowing he was in a bad position, could only throw a punch of his own to deter Lu Xiu''s assault. However, Lu Xiu showed no signs of avoiding the hit. On the contrary, Lu Xiu continued straight towards You Ziping''s punch. As You Ziping''s fist was about to collide with Lu Xiu''s face, however, the latter abruptly tilted his head. You Ziping''s fist brushed past Lu Xiu''s cheek, leaving a bloodied cut. However, this allowed Lu Xiu to move into You Ziping''s guard. Combining his speed and strength, Lu Xiu sent an open-palm strike at You Ziping''s neck. This strike forced You Ziping to retreat by three steps, feeling a little faint. Meanwhile, Lu Xiu took this opportunity to land another palm strike on his opponent''s chest. Immediately, the attack sent You Ziping sprawling to the ground. The victor of this match: Lu Xiu. From the start of the match to You Ziping''s collapse, Lu Xiu felt as if he had been dreaming. He had the weird feeling that You Ziping had gone easy on him. Why else would You Ziping have had so many holes in his defense? Moreover, in Lu Xiu''s opinion, You Ziping''s attack methods had been monotone. It was as if You Ziping had begged him to dodge the attacks However, in Shi Feng''s opinion, Lu Xiu''s win wasn''t unexpected. Since joining Zero Wing, Lu Xiu had experienced many life-or-death battles. He also frequently attended Lei Bao''s training sessions. Both provided plenty of combat experience. Lu Xiu also used to be one of the White Tiger Dojo''s intermediate disciples. In terms of his physique, he wasn''t any weaker than You Ziping. Lu Xiu had simply lacked combat experience. However, during his time in Zero Wing, Lu Xiu had accumulated far more combat experience than You Ziping. You Ziping''s defeat wasn''t unusual. The first thing You Ziping saw after regaining consciousness was Lu Xiu. How did he improve so much so quickly? A bitter feeling swam in his heart as he looked at Lu Xiu. He knew why he had been defeated. The fight might''ve looked like a deadlock, but the difference in their combat experience was simply too vast. Right now, Lu Xiu moved like an expert that had lived through hundreds of battles. Lu Xiu may even possess more combat experience than the White Tiger Dojo''s advanced disciples. Yet, how much time had passed since Lu Xiu had joined the Zero Wing Workshop? How could he have gained that much combat experience in such a short timespan? "You''ve seen how much Lu Xiu has improved for yourself. What do you think of my place now?" Shi Feng asked, laughing. "Will you really teach me everything if I join Zero Wing''s Workshop?" You Ziping asked anxiously. He stared at Shi Feng with anticipation. Shi Feng could not help but sigh ruefully at the tense You Ziping. No one would ever have imagined that this youth before him would actually become the Tier 5 Berserker known as Silent Blade. You Ziping was just as talented as Xie Qiwen. However, Xie Qiwen was slightly older and had a far stronger family background. If one wanted to improve their physique rapidly, intense training wasn''t enough. A fighter also needed to replenish the energy they consumed. Even the most common C-rank Nutrient Fluid cost 400 Credits. Fighters who trained arduously everyday needed at least one bottle per day. That meant that one would have to spend 12,000 Credits on C-rank Nutrient Fluids in a single month. Ordinary households couldn''t afford that expenditure. There was even less need to mention B-rank Nutrient Fluids, which cost 1,000 Credits per bottle. Dojos and training centers were only willing to sign contracts with and nurture people with outstanding talent. Ordinary members wouldn''t have access to the privilege. However, even contracted members only received C-rank Nutrient Fluids. Only those geniuses would be given B-rank Nutrient Fluids. As for You Ziping, the White Tiger Dojo had only offered him an ordinary contract, providing one bottle of C-rank Nutrient Fluid each day. However, Xie Qiwen was different. Xie Qiwen did not even need the support of the White Tiger Dojo as his household provided A-rank Nutrient Fluids to finetune his body. A-rank Nutrient Fluids cost 10,000 Credits per bottle. Not only were A-rank Nutrient Fluids capable of healing injuries that normally went unnoticed, but they could also develop a person''s brain cells. Even if You Ziping and Xie Qiwen were equally talented, the difference in their strengths at the end of the day was like the difference between heaven and earth. Furthermore, Xie Qiwen''s household had invited powerful fighters and instructors to help the man gain a plethora of combat experience. Aside from talent, You Ziping was weaker than Xie Qiwen in almost every aspect. How could he possibly be a match for Xie Qiwen? Meanwhile, Jiang Tianyuan, Jiang Lingyun''s father, highly valued strength. It was only a matter of course for him to choose Xie Qiwen. 1134 Test Evaluation Chapter 1134 - Test Evaluation Noticing Shi Feng''s long moment of silence, You Ziping grew nervous. You Ziping had already seen how much Lu Xiu had improved. Despite having recently joined the Zero Wing Workshop, Lu Xiu could display strength like never before. If You Ziping told the other White Tiger Dojo members about this, nobody would believe him. In any case, he was now sure that, by joining and training in the Zero Wing Workshop, he could become strong enough to get a ticket to the national youth fighting competition before this year''s qualifiers. If he improved sufficiently, his results might even be quite good. Although he still wouldn''t be a match for Xie Qiwen, with the advantage of his age, Hall Master Jiang would, more or less, consider giving You Ziping his daughter instead of outright rejecting him. "If you join Zero Wing''s Workshop, you won''t miss out on any training. Before that, however, we have to see whether or not you can pass the Workshop''s test. Based on your performance, you''ll be offered a corresponding contract," Shi Feng explained. "Of course, Lu Xiu''s standards are already quite high. He has already become a reserve core member in our Workshop, and we''re providing various benefits to nurture him. Above that are the reserve main force member slots. If you achieve that standard, you''ll receive even heavier emphasis from the Workshop. The resources we''ll invest in you at that time will definitely surprise you. To put it simply, what benefits you receive are up to you. However, one thing to note is that the higher your position is, the greater the Workshop''s restrictions will be. "If you become one of the Workshop''s reserve main force members, you''ll need to leave the White Tiger Dojo and focus on the Workshop." You Ziping nodded in response, not particularly surprised by Shi Feng''s explanation. He had no intentions of becoming a reserve main force member. He was fine with becoming a reserve core member. This way, he could continue his development in the White Tiger Dojo. Following which, Shi Feng had Blackie lead You Ziping to take the foundation tests. The Workshop''s tests were very simple. They tested for an applicant''s reaction speed, observation, and judgment. As long as they performed well in these aspects, even if they had never received training from a Gaming Guilds before, they could get by fairly well in God''s Domain. Once Zero Wing nurtured these people, both in the game and in the real world, they could very quickly become fifth-floor experts in the Trial Tower. Shi Feng had always planned for his Guild to walk the path of the elite. Hence, he was very strict when recruiting internal members. Zero Wing''s evaluations fell into five grades: D, C, B, A, and S. Various large Guilds had created these grades in the past during their own internal member recruitment. It was a standard method. Those who earned a D grade were considered ordinary. Generally, large Guilds only picked people who earned a C when recruiting internal members. In other words, people who were slightly more than ordinary in the various aspects. This way, these Guilds'' investments had a higher likelihood of greater return. To become a Super Guild''s internal member, one generally needed to earn a B in their evaluation. Although the difference was only one rank, a B grade player could easily defeat a C grade player of the same level. This was similar to the wooden barrel theory. The amount of water a wooden barrel could contain was not determined by the longest plank of wood. Rather, it depended on the shortest plank of wood. This was also why, despite there being countless people applying to join Super Guilds as internal members each year, very few actually managed it. The internal members Zero Wing recruited were separated into two groups. To become a core member, one needed to earn a high C. Meanwhile, main force members needed a B at the very minimum. The Guild had very few members who had earned an A. Even super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds hungered for such talent, much less Zero Wing. After You Ziping completed his test, Blackie ran to Shi Feng and handed him You Ziping''s results. "Brother Feng, this You Ziping kid is really impressive. His scores are the highest I''ve ever seen. Based on your tests, he actually managed to score a high A in everything. His observational skills even earned an S," Blackie reported excitedly. "It seems that he should be quite talented in God''s Domain. However, his future achievements will depend on him." Shi Feng chuckled as he read the results the system had provided. This outcome didn''t surprise him in the least. After all, You Ziping had been a Tier 5 Berserker in the past. At his peak, he had even ranked 58th on the God''s Domain Experts List. Players who had earned such high ranks at that time were of much higher quality than present players. After all, God''s Domain had been a second world for people back then. Far more experts had competed with each other in the game. Placing within the top 60 ranks had been dozens of times more difficult than it was now. If not for the fact that You Ziping had joined God''s Domain later than others, he might''ve achieved an even higher rank. "It''s a pity that he only chose to become a core member. If he wanted to join Zero Wing''s main force, with his potential, he could reach far greater heights," Blackie sighed. Shi Feng only tested a person''s current talent, but talent wasn''t a constant. As long as one continued to develop their mind, their talent would rise as well. The fact that You Ziping was already so talented meant that his starting point was much higher than others. If he wanted to grow stronger, he still required training and resources. "Relax. Now that he has already set foot on Zero Wing''s boat, I believe that he will, sooner or later, join our main force." Shi Feng chuckled as he clapped Blackie''s shoulder. Following which, according to his daily schedule, Shi Feng proceeded with training his members. As the sun began to set, Shadow Sword and Turtledove arrived at Zero Wing''s Workshop. When Shi Feng met the two for the first time, he discovered that they both looked much younger than in God''s Domain. Moreover, they were only 19 years old, only one year older than You Ziping. However, although the two''s combat experience trampled over You Ziping''s, they were physically much weaker than You Ziping. According to the White Tiger Dojo''s evaluation standards, they were not even fit to become basic disciples. However, this wasn''t unusual. Neither Shadow Sword nor Turtledove had received much attention from their previous dojo. Their dojo hadn''t wanted to contract either of them. After the two arrived, Shi Feng split the ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, which Xiao Yu had Liang Jing deliver some time ago, between Shadow Sword and Turtledove. These S-rank Nutrient Fluids should be enough for them to train Void Steps for a considerable amount of time. S-rank Nutrient Fluids?! You Ziping gaped in shock when he saw the exquisite coolers Shadow Sword and Turtledove were carrying. He had seen the coolers used to store S-rank Nutrient Fluids many times. After all, when the White Tiger Dojo''s advanced disciples performed exceptionally well, the dojo rewarded them with S-rank Nutrient Fluids. As far as he could remember, the last time the dojo awarded S-rank Nutrient Fluids was when one of the geniuses at the main headquarters got 10th place in the national youth fighting competition. The dojo had boasted about this achievement, so much so that it had rewarded that youth two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. That youth had treated those bottles like family treasures, only using them when he was severely injured. Yet, Shi Feng had given Shadow Sword and Turtledove five bottles each without hesitation. What was this? Could the Green God Company be backing the Zero Wing Workshop? The thought hovered in the back of You Ziping''s mind. There was no other explanation. A Gaming Workshop like Zero Wing had actually given ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to two people? This was far beyond extravagant. This was simply being a spendthrift! If he had received them, those ten bottles would last him ten years. After Shi Feng finished instructing Shadow Sword and Turtledove on what they needed to do, he returned to his own room. There were less than ten minutes before God''s Domain''s system update completed. After drinking a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid, Shi Feng entered his gaming cabin and logged into God''s Domain. 1135 Resource Competition Chapter 1135 - Resource Competition "Huh? The interface changed?" When Shi Feng logged back into his Rest Space, he suddenly discovered that plenty of changes had occurred. Originally, the Rest Space was an empty space with only a massive interface display and nothing else. Now, however, the dimly lit Rest Space had a set of stone doors ten meters tall with ancient runes carved on each door, lending them an ancient ambiance. Meanwhile, at a corner of the doors was a system interface. Mind Space System. Owner: Ye Feng Mind Space: Inactive (Activation conditions: Own a private space under your own name. Private space must also be located in a city at the very minimum.) Space Size: Unknown System: Scan discovers that you own a private space in White River City. Do you wish to activate your Mind Space? "The system has already been updated to such a degree?" Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he looked at the familiar set of stone doors. The previous system update had introduced the Mind Space System but had not actually applied it to God''s Domain. Only the related files had been added into the game, so that the Main God System could gradually phase it into the game. At the same time, the addition could also attract the attention of the various international corporations and let them know about God''s Domain''s uniqueness. However, after the update this time, the Mind Space System could be said to have truly been activated. From now on, as long as players had a private space of their own in the game, they would be able to activate their Mind Space. With a sufficient number of Seven Luminaries Crystals, they could also expand and perfect their Mind Spaces. The Mind Space was different from God''s Domain. In God''s Domain, players could connect to the official forums to search for relevant information there but nowhere else. However, inside the Mind Space, players could connect directly to the internet. Whether it was for work or shopping, players could do all that through their Mind Space. Players could even contact mobile phones in the real world and engage in conversation. In addition, players could change the environment in the Mind Space to their liking, creating their own virtual world. Most importantly, the Mind Space shared the same flow of time as God''s Domain. In the Mind Space, one could enjoy twice the amount of time they had in the real world. Moreover, the flow of time in the Mind Space could also be sped up further, though at a very huge cost. In a limited life, who did not want to live longer? The official activation of the Mind Space System meant that the competition for resources in God''s Domain had also officially begun. In the future, competition in God''s Domain definitely would not be as peaceful as before. It would even become normal for everyone to fight over the Seven Luminaries Crystal while disregarding all costs. And to contest for more Seven Luminaries Crystals, everyone would definitely continuously strengthen themselves, which would intensify the competition over weapons, equipment, and tools in turn. hi Feng grew worried just thinking about what was about to come. Nevertheless, now that the era of resource competition had begun, he had no choice but to get his hands on some of the Seven Luminaries Crystals that he knew the whereabouts of as soon as possible. However, it was also not that easy to get these Seven Luminaries Crystals. Seven Luminaries Crystals were exceedingly rare in God''s Domain. Even an entire kingdom would have only a limited amount. Most importantly, unlike Magic Crystals, Seven Luminaries Crystals could not be stored in a player''s bag space, nor could they be transported via teleportation arrays. Players could only carry them by hand or by Transport Carriages. However, many variables could occur when one was conveying Seven Luminaries Crystals over long distances. Robbery by incomparably powerful NPCs would not be surprising. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals were equally important items to NPCs. However, in Shi Feng''s opinion, the most criminal setting placed by the Main God System would still have to be the fact that Seven Luminaries Crystals could not be disguised. The Seven Luminaries Crystal contained Mana of extremely high purity and density. Just its presence alone could cause a change to the ambient Mana, which allowed players and NPCs to discover it readily. Without a sufficiently powerful transport team, even if one managed to obtain some Seven Luminaries Crystals, the crystals would not reach their intended destination. Many of the transport teams Shi Feng led in the past, which carried Seven Luminaries Crystals, had been robbed by Tier 4 and Tier 5 NPCs. He had to admit that this was the pitiful aspect of small Guilds. This was also precisely the reason why apex experts had gained importance in the past, and why nurturing apex experts became essential for the various large Guilds. Following which, Shi Feng chose to activate his Mind Space. The instant he activated his Mind Space, the massive stone doors began shattering. Chunks of stone fell one after another, revealing bronze metal behind them. When all the stone was gone, a set of bronze doors had replaced the set of stone doors. Meanwhile, the divine runes carved on the doors began radiating a faint golden glow. Immediately after, a change occurred to the system interface. Owner: Ye Feng Mind Space: Active Space Level: Bronze (3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals will be required to upgrade to Secret-Silver rank.) Space Size: 0 (Every additional cubic meter will require 1 unit of Seven Luminaries Crystals.) Seven Luminaries Crystals: 0 (After scanning, it is discovered that you have no Seven Luminaries Crystals in your private space.) After taking a glance at the interface, Shi Feng promptly chose to enter God''s Domain. Although his Mind Space was already active, without any Seven Luminaries Crystals, it was equivalent to nonexistent. Currently, what he needed to do was gather Seven Luminaries Crystals and deliver it to his private space. In God''s Domain, aside from lacking powerful experts, another aspect where small Guilds were inferior to large Guilds was the amount of Land they owned. As Seven Luminaries Crystals could be stored only in one''s private space, the more Land one possessed, the easier it would be to transport the crystals. However, the Main God System had also implemented a corresponding restriction to this matter. For Bronze Spaces, the private spaces they were bound to in God''s Domain could be changed only once every twenty days. This prevented Guilds that possessed a large number of Lands from gaining too great an advantage. When Shi Feng entered the game, he found himself alone inside the Armory. Nobody else had logged back into the game yet. He expected that the others were taking a look at the officially activated Mind Space System. With all the traps in the Armory disabled, Shi Feng walked straight to the stone altar. Previously, Fire Dance had managed to disable the Master Trap only at the very last second. Everyone was forcibly logged out of the game before they could even get a glimpse at what was on the stone altar. Shi Feng was very curious to find out what exactly the trap had been protecting. Despite the rarity of Master Traps even in the inner area of the Fallen Ark, they actually found one in the Armory located in the Ark''s outer area. Without a doubt, the item on the altar was extraordinary. Walking forward, Shi Feng sent a glance at the altar. Nothing particularly remarkable lay on the altaronly a glass bottle and some scattered designs covered in dust. Following which, Shi Feng blew away the dust and carefully held up the glass bottle and designs. He was immediately stunned by what he saw. "A Small Sailboat?!" Shi Feng could not believe his eyes right now. In God''s Domain, speedboats were mainly meant for individual players. A Small Sailboat, on the other hand, was intended for teams. A Bronze Small Sailboat was even more valuable than the Swift Dragon Speedboat. In terms of maritime combat power, the Small Sailboat was far superior. Meanwhile, the Small Sailboat before him was Mysterious-Iron rank. 1136 High-end Building Chapter 1136 - High-end Building Shi Feng was dazed as he stared at the ancient bottle in his hand. He had to admit that time could erode everything. The glass bottle storing the Small Sailboat was extremely high quality, crafted of Epic ranked materials. However, the bottle had been in this Armory since the Great Ancient War. After so much time, even Epic materials would start to disintegrate. As a result, Shi Feng could only see the Small Sailboat''s information. He couldn''t actually use it [Hurricane Sailboat] (Small Sailboat, Mysterious-Iron Rank) Maximum capacity: 150 people Durability 1,000/1,000 Item storage when liberated: 8,000 bag space slots and 100 non-bag space slots. Additional Active Skill 1- Triple Shield: Absorbs up to 1,300,000 damage for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Additional Active Skill 2- Double Destruction Cannon: 2,000-yard range. Deals divine damage to a radius of 20 yards. Cooldown: 1 minute (Four cannons are currently equipped. Up to six cannons can be equipped.) Additional Active Skill 3- Hurricane Frost Field: Reduce the Movement Speed of all lifeforms and objects outside of the Hurricane Sailboat within a radius of 200 yards for 4 minutes. Cooldown: 30 minutes Each activation costs 60 Magic Crystals. Additional Active Skill 4- Mana Conversion: Converts Mana into motion, increasing Movement Speed by 40%. Every 10 Magic Crystals consumed extends duration by 20 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Passive Skill- Braving the Winds and Waves: When sailing with the wind, Movement Speed increased by 50%. When sailing against the wind, Movement Speed is unaffected. The Hurricane Sailboat has been severely damaged and cannot be used. Must repair the boat''s divine ruins before use. It seems I''ll have to get Burning Abyss to fix it. Shi Feng sighed as he stored the Hurricane Sailboat. The Hurricane Sailboat was no less valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item. It was even more valuable than the Swift Dragon Speedboat. The sailboat was especially valuable right now. Sailboats were very large. Not only could they participate in naval combat, but they were also transportation tools. Transporting cargo over sea was much faster and more convenient than on land. More importantly, transportation across the sea was much safer. This was especially true for the current God''s Domain. Naval combat was different from combat on land. While players'' role in these battles was important, the ship they used was the more so. In God''s Domain, a Mysterious-Iron Small Sailboat'' combat power made it practically invincible among current Guilds. The sailboat could even deal with troublesome sea monsters. After storing the Hurricane Sailboat, Shi Feng shifted his gaze towards the designs. Although the designs were somewhat damaged due to the passing of time, Shi Feng could discern their information. Four Towers of Elements! When Shi Feng saw these words, he froze. "So, this is the famous Four Towers of Elements!" Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement as he examined the designs, nearly losing his grip on the papers. While the Four Towers of Elements'' name seemed ordinary, in the various libraries around God''s Domain, it was also known as the Elemental Towers. The Four Towers of Elements was a defensive structure that combined four towers that harnessed the power of the four major elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. If the Mana Tower was considered a mainstream defensive building, the Four Towers of Elements was a high-end defensive building. However, in the past, he had only seen these towers in Super Guilds'' main headquarters. He had never heard of a lesser Guild owning one. In fact, only Super Guilds had known where to obtain them. However, looking back at it now, Shi Feng felt that those Super Guilds might''ve obtained the designs in the Fallen Ark. Either that, or the Midnight Tea Party had sold the designs to Super Guilds after obtaining them. Otherwise, the Four Towers of Elements would not have been so rare in the past. Shi Feng finally understood why the Main God System had activated the Mind Space System. It turned out that it was because he was about to obtain the Four Towers of Elements. As a high-end building, ordinary players could not construct the Four Towers of Elements. Only those who had learned the relevant subclasses could build them. Moreover, the relevant subclass requirements were exceptionally high. At the very least, one needed to reach the Advanced rank. With this, I won''t have any issues defending the city. Shi Feng could not help but grin at the designs. There were a total of four designs, the complete design for the Four Towers of Elements. With these designs, in addition to the Lifestyle players the Candlelight Trading Firm had already nurtured, he could definitely construct the towers. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began reading the list of required construction materials. This way, he could prepare. "What?! These towers require Seven Luminaries Crystals?!" Shi Feng grew somewhat faint after glancing through the materials. If the towers simply needed a few Seven Luminaries Crystals, he could have dealt with that. However, each tower required ten units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Constructing the entire set would cost him forty units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Constructing these four towers cost more than constructing an entire city. In God''s Domain, one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal was roughly the size of an adult''s fist. Generally, one only came across 0.1 to 0.3 units of a Seven Luminaries Crystal. One-tenth of a Seven Luminaries Crystal would sell to NPC merchants for around three to four hundred Gold. If sold to players, some had even offered 1,000 Gold in the past. However, even at such a price, nobody had been willing to sell their crystals. If Shi Feng invested forty units in his own Mind Space, he could increase it by forty cubic meters. This was enough space for one person to live in. Even though he knew of many areas where he could collect Seven Luminaries Crystals right now, collecting so many in such a short time wouldn''t be easy. Suddenly, Fire Dance came online. When she noticed Shi Feng''s sour expression, she asked curiously, "Guild Leader, what''s wrong?" "It''s nothing," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He had no intentions of revealing the Four Towers of Elements. The Four Towers of Elements were of the utmost importance. There wasn''t much benefit in revealing the information. Rather than letting everyone worry about the matter, it was better that they focus on what they needed to do right now. Shortly after, Aqua Rose also logged in. Immediately, she turned to Shi Feng and asked anxiously, "Guild Leader, what was on the stone altar?" "A Small Sailboat," Shi Feng said. He then shared the Hurricane Sailboat''s information in the team chat for everyone to see. Those that had just come online and saw the Hurricane Sailboat''s information were stupefied. Although they weren''t very familiar with naval matters, they could, more or less tell, how powerful the Hurricane Sailboat was by its Skills. The Hurricane Sailboat was practically a moving turret. If the four Double Destruction Cannons were lined up and fired together, their killing power would be absolutely terrifying. If the Hurricane Sailboat could be used on land, it would be invincible, not to mention at sea. "Guild Leader, with this sailboat, we can start developing in a coastal city. With this sailboat and our resources, we''ll definitely get our own share of the pie," Gentle Snow suggested after reading the Hurricane Sailboat''s details. "That''s right. Guild Leader, the various large Guilds have already secured most of the available resources on land. We have to waste a lot of time and effort to contest for those resources. We might as well shift a portion of our focus to the sea. There are not many cities out at sea, so the various Guilds are slow in developing their maritime strength. There are still a lot of locations free of Guilds'' control. With this Small Sailboat, we can definitely compete with the Guilds current in coastal cities." Aqua Rose very much agreed with Gentle Snow''s proposal. Both Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were members of the Guild''s management team. They possessed far more information than others. The two of them had also considered the problem of the Guild''s future development. There were simply too few resources available on land, and it was time-consuming to contest for more. As for the sea, not only were its resources abundant, but the majority of the various large Guilds in God''s Domain were in the same situation as Zero Wing when it came to competition at sea. Most Guilds were just starting to move towards the ocean at this stage of the game. One could say that they were all at the same starting point right now. Zero Wing''s acquisition of the Mysterious-Iron Small Sailboat gave it a significant advantage over the other Guilds. Zero Wing could easily suppress their competition''s fishing boats and speedboats. 1137 Introducing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Ches Chapter 1137 - Introducing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest In the canyon outside of the Fallen Ark, the Soul Eater Lord, which had previously attacked Zero Wing''s team, finally emerged. Immediately, the Soul Eater Lord''s powerful Domain enveloped a significant portion of the canyon. "How is there such a powerful monster?!" The sight of the Soul Eater Lord instilled fear and insecurity into the Midnight Tea Party''s members. They had listened to Shi Feng''s instructions and moved 1,000 yards away from the Ark, which put them outside of the Soul Eater Lord''s Domain. However, as experts, their senses were far superior to ordinary players. In addition, they normally fought high-tiered monsters. As a result, they could roughly gauge a monster''s strength based on the pressure it emitted. Meanwhile, right now, from the pressure they felt from the Soul Eater Lord, they could tell that he was the strongest monster they had encountered since joining God''s Domain. "Black Flame really didn''t lie. Even if every member in the team has reached Tier 2, Level 60, we''ll still be cannon fodder against such a powerful monster," Netherworld Wave said, finding it somewhat difficult to breathe. Even Tier 4 NPCs of the same level wouldn''t be a match for the Tier 4, Level 67 Mythic monster with a complete Domain. After all, complete Domains were what made Tier 4 NPCs so powerful and allowed them to fight Mythic monsters, which had higher Attributes, on equal footing. "Leader, are we still going to go in?" Cloud Yarn asked Breeze Wine worriedly. With such powerful monsters guarding the Fallen Ark, even sending in an army of tens of thousands of players of the same level would be meaningless. They were significantly underleveled right now. "Let''s wait for a bit," Breeze Wine said softly. "Black Flame told us his method for luring these monsters away. Let''s make our decision after watching the situation." After Breeze Wine announced his decision, the team fell silent. It would be a pity to simply leave after so much difficulty to open the Fallen Ark. While the Midnight Tea Party members waited quietly, one monster after another exited the Fallen Ark. The weakest among them was a Grand Lord, while most were Mythic monsters. The adventurer team counted 20 Mythic monsters leaving the Ark. Watching this, the Midnight Tea Party members, who had experienced hundreds of challenging battles, shuddered. If not for the monsters'' low levels, they could have easily obliterated numerous major NPC cities if they worked together. Even at Level 60, players would be cannon fodder in front of these monsters. It did not matter how many players fought them. Everyone that tried to do so would undoubtedly die. If not for their quest''s time limit and severe penalty for failure, the Midnight Tea Party members would''ve fled. "Leader, look. They seem to have discovered something," the Ranger, Dark War, reported softly. Everyone followed Dark War''s gaze, and indeed, one Mythic monster in the distant forest sniffed the air as if it had scented something. Suddenly, the Mythic monster roared, and the rest gathered to its location. The Midnight Tea Party members began to panic. "They couldn''t have discovered us, right?!" Cloud Yarn asked anxiously. If these monsters discovered them, their deaths were certain. "That shouldn''t be the case. Black Flame had returned from that direction. He should''ve set up some sort of luring magic array there," Endless Scars calmly explained. As soon as Endless Scars said so, the abyssal monsters began to rush elsewhere. Very quickly, they disappeared from the Midnight Tea Party''s sight. "They''re gone?" Everyone could not help but release a sigh of relief. A few of the team members, who had expressed their discontent with Shi Feng, began to view the Swordsman in a new light. Although Shi Feng was ridiculously greedy, they had to admit that if not for him, they would''ve been unable to enter the Fallen Ark for a long time. "We have our chance. Let''s hurry and enter the Ark!" Breeze Wine shouted as he stood. Now that the monsters were nowhere to be seen, they could sneak into the Ark undetected. Once they were inside, things would become much easier. It seems that I''ll have to learn more about this Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Endless Scars revealed a faint smile as she looked to where the monsters had flown. Even Super Guilds knew little about the secret of the Fallen Ark. She had searched everywhere for information, even utilizing the Blackwater Corporation''s power, to grasp the little she had learned about the Ark. And yet, the Guild Leader of a newly developed Guild knew far more about the Fallen Ark than she did. One could see just how extraordinary Shi Feng was. Zero Wing was definitely not as simple as she had imagined. As the abyssal monsters moved away from the Fallen Ark, Shi Feng led the Zero Wing team to the Ark''s inner region. He had finally made it into the Fallen Ark after so much trouble. He could not simply leave after looting a single Armory. Furthermore, the Fallen Ark''s truly valuable items lay in the inner region. However, as they ventured deeper, they encountered many traps. Even after the traps were disabled, new traps appeared in their place after a certain amount of time. In addition, due to the recent system update, the traps had become far more difficult and risky to disable. Any mistake could trigger the traps. It might be fine if it were weak, as triggering the trap wouldn''t result in an instant death. However, if they triggered a stronger trap, it could result in a team-wipe. As a result, Shi Feng''s group progressed very slowly through the Ark. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Fallen Ark Map. The map depicted which areas within the Ark were riddled with traps and which were not. Not only could they choose the safest path, but they would also know if they were about to walk into one. They didn''t need to be on high-alert constantly. Finally, after over an hour advancing through the Ark, the team reached the inner region. Following which, Shi Feng had everyone standby and wait for orders as traps riddled this area. Their only option was to let Fire Dance explore. As Fire Dance still held the Icarus''s Heart Shi Feng had given her, she could explore the inner region somewhat safely. Anyone else that tried to do so would only be looking to die. "Fortunately, we dealt with the traps in the Armory before the system update began. Otherwise, the stone alter''s trap would have killed us already," Flying Shadow said, his heart fluttering with fear. Previously, when he had disabled an Advanced Trap, he had very nearly lost his life when he triggered the trap by mistake. Fortunately, Violet Cloud had reacted quickly and immediately cast Truth Shield on him. In the end, the trap had only wounded him, leaving him with only 2,000 HP. "That''s right! Guild Leader is really amazing! If not for sensing that the system update would affect traps, we wouldn''t have obtained the Hurricane Sailboat!" Cola said, laughing. Shi Feng hadn''t expected to acquire the Hurricane Sailboat either. However, he agreed with Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose''s suggestion. Hence, he made some slight adjustments to his plans. Before obtaining the Hurricane Sailboat, Shi Feng had planned to develop in Ocean Viewing Town slowly. He had even intended to let Immortal Light develop in the Apocalypse Empire''s coastal towns. After all, Zero Wing was different from the other Guilds in coastal cities, where the latter had already begun to build their strength. Trying to compete with these coastal Guilds would be foolish. Even if Zero Wing were far stronger than these Guilds, naval combat relied on the ships'' quality, rather than players''. Zero Wing would not have much of an advantage by relying on the Swift Dragon Speedboat. Coastal cities were very different from coastal towns. Coastal cities possessed Large Shipyards. They also had plenty of high-ranking rare quests that could help players to obtain powerful ships. Otherwise, Phoenix Rain, the Pavilion Master of a super-first-rate Guild, would not have bothered cooperating with a first-rate Guild like Firmament. She had done so because Firmament had taken over a major NPC coastal city very early in the game. Even some Super Guilds feared its strength at sea. Hence, Shi Feng now planned to occupy a major NPC coastal city. "Guild Leader, I discovered a Forging Hall! I can see an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest inside the hall!" Fire Dance excitedly announced in the team chat. 1138 Chapter 1138 - Two Weak Points Chapter 1138 - Two Weak Points "An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest in the Forging Hall?" Shi Feng''s heart began beating rapidly when he heard this. In the past, he had never even seen an Epic Treasure Chest, only ever heard about it through rumors. As for Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests, their existence in God''s Domain was only player speculation. Nobody would say for certain that such Treasure Chests even existed in the game. After all, as long as one''s luck was not extremely bad, they could get a Fragmented Legendary item from an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Without exaggeration, a single Fragmented Legendary item could change the fate of a player in God''s Domain. In God''s Domain, the large Guilds were fully capable of obtaining Epic itemsin relatively high quantities. However, not every large Guild possessed Fragmented Legendary items. Even ten years after God''s Domain''s launch, first-rate Guilds only had a handful of such items at most. Meanwhile, Guilds would definitely dispatch a lot of players to guard their experts wielding these Fragmented Legendary items. The reason for this was very simple: fear of an ambush by other apex experts wielding Fragmented Legendary items. Although their own experts possessed extremely frightening strength, with appropriate counters, the enemy could still take them out. Hence, these Guilds would dispatch expert teams to prevent unexpected incidents from happening. Even so, many such ambushes still occurred in God''s Domain every day. One could see just how desperate the large Guilds were towards Fragmented Legendary items. Shi Feng never imagined that, shortly after entering the inner area of the Fallen Ark, he would actually come across such a harvest. The Fallen Ark was even more amazing than the rumors had made it out to be. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. Back then, some people had already entered the Fallen Ark prior to the public''s discovery of it and had definitely cleaned out the treasures inside. Moreover, the Super Guilds that had cleared out those ancient abyssal monsters must''ve looted the Ark as well. By the time other players were able to swarm into the Ark, the treasures remaining were extremely fewbut still extraordinarily amazing. Now that his team was the first to explore the Fallen Ark, it was not surprising that they came across an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, which he had never seen in the past. When everyone heard Fire Dance say so, flames of passion flared up in their eyes. Even Epic items were exceedingly rare right now. If they could obtain a Fragmented Legendary item, it would truly be a game changer for Zero Wing. Among those present, aside from Blackie, Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, and an extreme few who knew that Zero Wing possessed more than one Fragmented Legendary item, everyone else believed that the best weapons and equipment Zero Wing possessed were only of Epic rank. "What''s the situation over there?" Shi Feng asked softly after calming himself. "There''s an extremely powerful trap set up around the Treasure Chest. Furthermore, there are two statues inside the Forging Hall, and both of them are giving off a very faint pressure. They could be the guardians protecting the Treasure Chest. I don''t dare approach them right now, so I still can''t determine whether I can disable the trap." Fire Dance then took a picture of the Forging Hall and shared it through the team chat. Previously, Shi Feng had warned her that aside from traps, certain parts of the Ark''s inner area had guardian monsters. Hence, she had taken notice of the two statues set up in the Forging Hall. After scrutinizing the picture, Shi Feng nodded and said, "Your judgment is correct. Those two statues are indeed guardians. Moreover, they''re not just any normal guardians. They''re Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, an Archaic Species." Shi Feng had seen the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus in the past. Back then, a Super Guild had dispatched an army of ten thousand players, in addition to many apex experts, to kill one. In the end, although the Super Guild managed to finish off the Archaic Species, it had suffered a casualty rate of over 80%. "An Archaic Species? Isn''t that similar to the monster we encountered in Titan City''s entrance trial?" Aqua Rose asked in shock. She had personally experienced the strength of an Archaic Species. If not for the powerful magic array suppressing the King of Corrosion back then, they would not have had any chance of defeating it at all. Yet, now, there were actually two such monsters in the Forging Hall. In truth, even Shi Feng was surprised upon seeing this. According to the information he obtained, there should not be any other powerful monsters in the Fallen Ark''s inner area, aside from Special Lifeforms and those ancient abyssal monsters. The sudden appearance of two Archaic Species was completely outside of his expectations. No wonder the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest was placed in such an eye-catching location. Shi Feng felt his head start aching. Archaic Species were stronger than even Special Lifeforms. A Tier 4 Archaic Species could definitely rival those Tier 4 abyssal monsters inside the Ark in strength. If two of such Archaic Species worked together to defend an area, they would be practically invincible at this stage of the game. It might be possible to challenge them with a team of Tier 3 experts. Either that, or if they had another Water Boundary Magic Scroll to hold the two guardians back, they could use the opportunity to disable the trap and take the Treasure Chest away. Otherwise, they could only look at the Treasure Chest from the sides. "Guild Leader, with our current standards, I''m afraid that we won''t be able to get that Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Why don''t we explore other locations first?" Gentle Snow suggested. While she wanted to obtain the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest as well, the difficulty of doing so was simply too high. Rather than pointlessly throw away their lives, it would be much better if they first looked for whatever items they could get their hands on. "Alright. Fire, send over the safe route to the Forging Hall first. Afterwards, explore some other locations and take as many items as you can." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to first do whatever they could in the inner area before considering other courses of action. "Understood." Fire Dance nodded, then shared the route she took to reach the Forging Hall through the team chat. Shi Feng carefully led everyone towards the Forging Hall. The inner area of the Fallen Ark was very complex. It was like a highly diversified maze, and one could easily lose their way in here. One might even encounter the same trap several or even dozens of times. It was no wonder the players that actually managed to leave with any treasure numbered extremely few, despite players swarming the Fallen Ark. After wending their way for over an hour, Shi Feng and the others finally arrived at the Forging Hall. The extremely spacious Forging Hall was roughly the size of a sports stadium that could fit 50,000 people. There were all sorts of forging tools placed around the room as well as many books on display. However, due to the corrosion of time, none of these things seemed usable. Only the Treasure Chest and the statues placed in the center of the hall appeared in pristine condition. "Flying, find a way to disable the traps protecting the forging tools and books. Everyone else, take whatever you can away from here. Leave nothing behind," Shi Feng instructed after glancing through the hall. Since he had already arrived in the Fallen Ark''s inner area, he naturally could not let this trip go to waste. Although the forging tools and books were severely damaged, with so many tools and books here, he refused to believe that not a single one of them was usable. "Understood!" Everyone promptly spread out and went into action. As for Shi Feng himself, he was carefully observing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest and the two massive statues standing beside it. Over two hours passed very quickly. Aside from where the Treasure Chest sat, everyone had cleared out all the other areas in the hall. Although everyone was relatively tired from all the looting they did, they managed to end up with a considerable harvest. The items they obtained included dozens of complete books as well as eight forging tools. Every forging tool was Secret-Silver rank, and if placed in the Candlelight Trading Firm, they would all be top-class tools. While everyone was quietly waiting for Fire Dance to return, Gentle Snow used the time to flip through some of the books they found in the Forging Hall. Suddenly, Gentle Snow exclaimed with excitement, "Guild Leader, this book seems to have a relevant introduction to the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus!" "An introduction? Let me see!" Shi Feng demanded hurriedly. The book Gentle Snow was reading was titled Archaic Species Material Analysis. The book specifically introduced the various Archaic Species in existence as well as the materials that could be gained from their bodies. It also had a section on how those materials could be used to produce specific kinds of weapons, equipment, and other items. Among the Archaic Species recorded, the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus had over a dozen pages dedicated to it. Meanwhile, the information mentioned that the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus had two weak points. The first one was the monster''s hydrophobia. Submersion in water would inhibit the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s reactions, and its Defense would decrease significantly. The second weak point was its power core. There was a power core in the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s body. The destruction of this power core would significantly weaken the monster''s Strength Attribute. 1139 Race against Time Chapter 1139 - Race against Time At the outer area of the Fallen Ark, the members of the Midnight Tea Party moved with extreme caution. This was because shortly after their entry, they very nearly got team-wiped due to triggering a trap. Nobody could''ve imagined that the latest system update would include penalties for failing to disable a trap. With Netherworld Wave''s Advanced Trap Disabler class, it was simply impossible for him to succeed in disabling Advanced Traps all the time. As a result, the team had no choice but to exercise extreme caution while advancing. "If I had known something like this would happen, I would''ve had us enter the Ark before the system update began." Breeze Wine now felt that he had made the wrong decision before. There were still many Fallen Patrols roaming about the outer area of the Ark. With their slow progress, it was very easy for them to come across those Patrols. If they really got caught by a Patrol, they would have no choice but to withdraw immediately. Right now, whether they could even reach the Ark''s inner area was still in doubt. Had they utilized the twenty minutes logout preparation time, they might''ve already reached the inner area by now. "Leader, you didn''t make the wrong decision. If we entered the Ark before the update began, we would''ve risked encountering those dangerous abyssal monsters. Our situation at that time wouldn''t be much better than right now. Moreover, now that we''ve grasped the method to lure those abyssal monsters away, should we really fail to complete our quest this time, we can simply come back once everyone has reached Level 50 and obtained their Tier 2 classes. At that time, even if we come across the Fallen Patrols, we can still quickly finish them off or fight them as we advance deeper into the Ark," Endless Scars said after noticing Breeze Wine beating himself up. "Let''s use this chance to scout out a path in advance." Likewise, everyone else on the team expressed their agreement when they heard Endless Scars''s words. Although their quest had a time limit, they still had enough time to make appropriate preparations. Just as everyone was merrily chatting with each other, Endless Scars suddenly received a message. Seeing this message, Endless Scars smiled faintly. "Big Sis Endless, did something good happen?" Cloud Yarn could not help but ask curiously when she saw Endless Scars suddenly sporting a playful smile. "You could say that. Any of you interested in watching a competition at the Dark Arena? I''ve just received an invitation card, and I can bring five people with me," Endless Scars said, chuckling. "The Dark Arena?" Everyone lost interest when they heard this. Although those participating in the Dark Arena were much stronger than ordinary experts, to experts of their standards, the fights at the Dark Arena possessed no reference value whatsoever. "Are you all really not interested in going? I heard that the Dark Arena is even prepared to hold a grand auction this time, which apparently will include even Epic items," Endless Scars said, somewhat disappointed when she noticed the disinterest on everyone''s faces. "Moreover, the battle teams that will be fighting are very interesting. Among them, Zero Wing will be facing off with the Miracle Guild. I heard that Miracle has dispatched quite a few powerful experts this time." "Epic items? Zero Wing against Miracle?" "Big Sis Endless, I want to go!" "Hold it! I''ve never been to the Dark Arena even once before! Let me go this time!" When everyone heard Endless Scars''s words, they immediately grew interested. Setting aside how tempting Epic items were, just the fact that Zero Wing was going up against the Miracle Guild already gave them plenty of reason to go spectate at the Dark Arena. Although Miracle was only a super-first-rate Guild, the number and quality of experts it possessed were by no means inferior to Super Guilds''. If Miracle dispatched its apex experts to the Dark Arena, then the upcoming match would definitely be an interesting one. Elsewhere, after Shi Feng was done reading through the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s introduction, he fell into deep thought. "So these are the methods to raid them?" No matter how he looked at it, the two Archaic Species were invincible existences at this stage of the game. If the two worked together, even a 100-man team of Level 60, Tier 2 experts would fall very quickly. However, since the Main God System had set the difficulty of this raid as such, it would naturally provide players with some kind of hope to complete the raid. Although Shi Feng did not know how effective these two methods would be in weakening the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, it would be a criminal waste if he simply gave up on the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest without even giving it a try. Following which, Shi Feng had everyone begin making preparations to raid the two monsters. "Guild Leader, are we really going to raid these two Archaic Species?" Aqua Rose asked worriedly as she looked at the two giant statues in the center of the Forging Hall. Previously, when they went up against the King of Corrosion, they had had a team of 100 players and even the assistance of an ancient magic array. Right now, not only did they not possess such a magic array, but their team also had only 20 members in all. To make things worse, they had to go up against two Archaic Species at the same time. No matter how she looked at it, they were simply trying to get themselves killed. The outcome would be the same even if they managed to grasp the weak points of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. "I know what you''re worried about. Before we learned of their weak points, I indeed had no idea how we could get the Treasure Chest. Now, however, things are different. I have around a 30% certainty that we can get that Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest," Shi Feng laughed. "Thirty percent? So high?" Aqua Rose was quite surprised by Shi Feng''s response. She had estimated that they had less than a 5% chance of successfully obtaining the Treasure Chest. But Shi Feng was now saying he was roughly 30% sure he could pull it off. If he really did have such a high probability of success, it was indeed worthwhile to make an attempt. Currently, Super Guilds were willing to sacrifice thousands of elite members just to obtain one Epic item, let alone a Fragmented Legendary item. If the existence of this Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest were made known to Super Guilds, most likely, they would be more than willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of elite players as well as hundreds of experts. "Around that percentage. However, our main problem would still be the trap set up around the Treasure Chest. If it is a Grandmaster Trap, we''ll most likely have no chance of getting the Treasure Chest. Only if it is a Master Trap will we have a 30% chance of succeeding." Shi Feng shrugged, expressing that he was taking a gamble right now. In the past, it was a common sight for the various large Guilds to send out tens of thousands of elite players just to contest for one Fragmented Legendary item. After all, with one Fragmented Legendary item, a Guild could nurture one more apex expert. This way, not only would a Guild get another expert to lead it, but they would also have a much easier time defending the transportation of important cargo or locations in the future. Following which, everyone began taking action according to Shi Feng''s commands. To take advantage of the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s first weak point, Shi Feng armed everyonewith the exclusion of the team''s MTs and healerswith Tier 1 and Tier 2 water-type Magic Scrolls. As soon as the battle began, they would close the doors to the Forging Hall, turning it into an enclosed space. After that was done, they could easily create an environment filled with water. As for the Archaic Species'' second weak point, Shi Feng possessed the Omniscient Eyes. He should have no problems targeting the power cores. Everything else would have to depend on luck. When Fire Dance returned to the Forging Room, Shi Feng had his team shut the doors to the Forging Room. "Begin!" At Shi Feng''s command, everyone sprang into action, unfurling their Magic Scrolls one after another and launching a barrage of water-type Spells at the two statues. In the blink of an eye, a lake formed within the Forging Hall, the height of the water easily surpassing that of a player. At the same time, everyone also activated a Water Walking Scroll. The Water Walking Scroll was a commonly used Magic Scroll in God''s Domain. As its name suggested, it allowed players to walk on water for ten minutes. Each scroll sold for 20 Silver Coins, and it could be said to be one of the tools specialized for maritime combat. As the water-type Spells struck the bodies of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, both monsters immediately awoke. "Roar!" The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses let loose deafening roars, shaking up the Forging Hall. Meanwhile, the powerful aura that abruptly filled the entire hall struck fear into everyone. Now that the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses had awakened, everyone was finally able to get a glimpse at their statistics. - [Fossilized Tyrannosaurus] (Inferior Dragon, Archaic Species, Mythic) Level 65 HP 320,000,000/320,000,000 - Just as everyone was feeling shocked by the statistics of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, Shi Feng shouted, "Fire, use this chance to disable the trap!" Shi Feng knew better than anyone else present just how powerful the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were. It was also because of this understanding that he knew how valuable time was right now. If they continued daydreaming, the chances of obtaining the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest would decline. "Understood!" "Fire Dance immediately responded and activated Silent Steps, appearing behind one of the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. She then dashed straight towards the Treasure Chest. 1140 Buying Time Chapter 1140 - Buying Time When Fire Dance was only 30 yards away from the Treasure Chest, the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, which had initially been lured away by the Spells attacking them, suddenly shifted their attention to her. As if they had had their tails stepped on, they glared at Fire Dance with single-minded ferocity as though she were the only person left in the world. "Not good! Our aggro is too weak!" Shi Feng frowned. "Cola, Turtledove, use everything you''ve got to pull aggro! Have the Bosses stay as far away from the Treasure Chest as possible!" As Guardian Bosses, the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' priority was the protection of the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. To them, aggro was secondary. Only when another player''s aggro over the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses reached a sufficiently high degree would the Bosses stop paying attention to the player attempting to steal the item they protected. This was why Shi Feng previously had everyone use their water-type Magic Scrolls on the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Not only could they deal a significant amount of damage to the Bosses, but they could also increase their aggro over the Bosses. However, the effects of the water-type Spells were not as good as Shi Feng expected. "Understood!" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, Cola and Turtledove immediately activated Power of Darkness, causing their Basic Attributes to soar instantly. Both of them then charged straight at the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses and used Justice Roar, trying their best to shift the attention of the Bosses to themselves. However, the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses still kept the Treasure Chest as their priority, completely disregarding the two Guardian Knights'' Justice Roars and continuing to chase Fire Dance. Both Cola''s and Turtledove''s Justice Roars were at Tier 1. If the target they used the Skill on ignored them, their Strength Attributes would double for a short time. Their speeds would increase significantly as well. Sure enough, Cola''s and Turtledove''s Strengths immediately doubled. Both of them then followed up with a Shield of Vengeance at their respective Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Boom! Boom! The moment their shields collided with the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, sparks flew. Despite the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses having had their Defenses weakened, Cola''s and Turtledove''s attacks only left a small scratch on their scales. As for the damage the two Guardian Knights dealt, it was less than -8,000. "So this is an Archaic Species?" Gentle Snow revealed a dumbfounded expression when she saw the damage the two MTs dealt. This was her first time encountering an Archaic Species. Although she already knew their team had no chance whatsoever of winning against the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, when she saw this scene, she still could not help but be shocked. She had a general idea what Cola''s and Turtledove''s equipment standards were. If she was not wearing the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor Shi Feng had given to her, her Attributes would no doubt be inferior to theirs. Currently, not only had the two Guardian Knights activated their Berserk Skills, but they even had the Strength boost from Justice Roar. In terms of Strength, even a Tier 2, Level 60 Berserker would be no match for them. Yet, now, the both of them had dealt less than -8,000 damage to their targets. The Defense of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses was simply insane. At this moment, she wondered if Cola and Turtledove could even deal any damage to the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses if not for the submerged environment weakening the Bosses'' Defenses. "Roar!" Although Cola''s and Turtledove''s full-powered attacks had barely dealt any damage, they still managed to get the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses to shift their attention to them, which eased up the pressure on Fire Dance. "Good! Now activate your Lifesaving Skills and slowly lure the Bosses away!" Shi Feng commanded. Without hesitation, Cola and Turtledove activated Protection Blessing. If they managed to deal only such a small amount of damage, despite the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' weakened Defenses, they did not dare to imagine what kind of damage the Inferior Dragons could deal, seeing as the Bosses'' Attack Power had not weakened in the slightest. Peng! Peng! No sooner had the two Guardian Knights activated Protection Blessing than the tail swipes of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses sent them both flying away. The speed of the attacks was so fast that not a single person present had managed to react. "What happened?!" Minor Wind''s eyes widened in shock. He had only seen the tails of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses moving slightly just now. There had been no sign of the tails making their way towards Cola and Turtledove at all. Yet, before he knew it, both Guardian Knights were already in the air, their HPs decreasing by over 36,000, instantly falling below 50%. If not for Cola and Turtledove having activated Power of Darkness and Protection Blessing, which increased their HP to over 50,000 and halved the damage they received, the two of them would be meeting God by now Aside from Shi Feng, everyone present was stunned by the horrendous amounts of damage dealt by the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. With such speed and Strength, even a Tier 2, Level 60 MT would not be able to last long against the Inferior Dragons. "All healers, focus on Cola and Turtledove! We need to buy as much time for Fire as we can!" Shi Feng shouted hurriedly, not feeling any surprise whatsoever at this situation. In the past, when Super Guilds dealt with Tier 4 Archaic Species, the teams they sent had been filled with players equal to or higher than the monster''s level. Meanwhile, half of the lead MT''s equipment had to be Epic rank at the very minimum. Moreover, they needed to have three MTs simultaneously receiving the monster''s attacks. Aside from that, they would also use Intermediate Magic Arrays to suppress the Archaic Species. Otherwise, they would have had no chance of victory at all. Right now, the only thing they could do was to buy as much time as possible by relying on their Berserk Skills. As for defeating the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, Shi Feng had never even entertained the possibility. Under Shi Feng''s command, Cola and Turtledove carefully lured the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses away from the Treasure Chest, giving Fire Dance the opportunity to remove the trap set up around the Treasure Chest. However, after Fire Dance looked at the trap, a frown appeared on her face. "Guild Leader, this trap is indeed Master rank. However, its complexity is much greater than the Master Trap I disabled before. I need time if I want to disable it safely!" Fire Dance sent a private message to Shi Feng. Everyone had clearly witnessed for themselves how terrifying the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were. There was simply no chance they could win against these monsters. They could only drag the battle out as long as possible. Hence, Fire Dance was extremely anxious. "How long?" Shi Feng asked. "At leastfive minutes," Fire Dance replied helplessly. Right now, she hated herself for not training her Trap Disabler class as much as she could. Although she had forcibly increased her rank to Master right now, her technical skills were not actually at the Master rank yet. Five minutes was more than enough for everyone to die dozens of times. "Five minutes?" After giving it some thought, Shi Feng clenched his teeth and said, "I got it. I''ll try to buy as much time over here as possible. You just relax and disable the trap." This reply stunned Fire Dance. However, she knew that Shi Feng never joked around. Since he had said so, he definitely had a way to realize his words. Immediately, she nodded and began disabling the trap before her. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had also activated Omniscient Eyes and began searching for the power cores of the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Their power cores are actually in constant motion? The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses could hide no secrets from the Omniscient Eyes. Shi Feng could clearly see a glowing red dot moving about inside the body of each monster. Although the dots were very small, they were extremely eye-catching. However, while Shi Feng had guessed correctly that he could locate the power cores with Omniscient Eyes, he had no way of damaging them. Seeing how Cola and Turtledove had only managed to scratch the scales of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses before, even if Shi Feng relied on the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray, it would be very difficult for him to shatter those scales, not to mention penetrating deep into the Inferior Dragons'' bodies and striking at their power cores. Nevertheless, Cola''s and Turtledove''s HPs were rapidly decreasing at this moment. The two Guardian Knights could die at any time. If he did not destroy the power cores right now, it would be impossible for them to survive for five minutes. When Protection Blessing ended, both of them would die instantly. "It seems I have no choice but to use that," Shi Feng muttered to himself before letting out a sigh. In a battle of such level, it was just too risky to use that. However, in order to obtain the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, he had no choice but to take a gamble. Saying so, Shi Feng took out a Summon Guard Scroll and summoned his Epic Guard, Anna. Players generally would not let their Personal Guards take part in such a dangerous battle. While Personal Guards that were killed could be resurrected, the price for doing so was exorbitant. It was definitely not a price that players were willing to accept. Hence, players with powerful Personal Guards very rarely allowed their Personal Guards to take part in risky battles. "Anna, use Angel Summoning!" 1141 Valkyrie versus Tyrannosauruses Chapter 1141 - Valkyrie versus Tyrannosauruses Under Shi Feng''s command, Anna began to chant an incantation. Instantly, the Mana in the Forging Hall surged towards her. "Roar!" The two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses quickly noticed the frightening amount of Mana flowing towards Anna. Immediately, their massive, golden eyes shifted to the woman, glaring at her as if she were their greatest enemy. Anna needed time to cast her Spell. Although the Forging Room was quite large, a Mythic monster could cross it in no time at all. Before Anna finished her chant, the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses would reach her. Currently, Anna was a Tier 2 NPC. She had no hope against the two Tier 4 Archaic Species. Seeing this, Shi Feng sighed dejectedly. Hurriedly, he shouted, "Cola, Turtledove, use the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs!" Previously, they had also obtained over 1,000 Basic Mana Pulse Bombs from the Armory in addition to the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and movement-type defensive magic array. Every bomb contained the might of a Tier 3 Spell. If used properly, these bombs would be frighteningly effective in a Guild war. - [Basic Mana Pulse Bomb] Deals damage equivalent to a Tier 3 destruction Spell to a radius of 25 yards. Bomb is 100% effective against monsters and players below Level 100, and 50% effective against monsters and players Level 100 and above. Cooldown: 2 seconds - Unfortunately, they had a limited number of Mana Pulse Bombs. Once they used them, they would be gone. Yet, they were the team''s only option to pull aggro. Hearing Shi Feng''s instructions, Cola and Turtledove retrieved the fist-sized bombs reluctantly. However, seeing the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses charge at Anna, the Guardians Knights threw the bombs at the two Bosses. The Mana Pulse Bombs looked like specks of dust compared to the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. However, the instant the bombs touched the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' scales, black and white Mana surged forth, devouring the guardian monsters. The Forging Hall shook with the explosions, and for a moment, even space itself seemed as if it might shatter. The Mana Pulse Bombs'' might far exceeded everyone''s expectations. Meanwhile, Cola and Turtledove, who stood closest to the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, were blown off their feet by the resulting shockwaves. "This destructive power is even more amazing than Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells!" Cola exclaimed in astonishment. He had seen Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells before. Although their range was greater, the Spells couldn''t destabilize space. If they attacked a Grand Lord with these Basic Mana Pulse Bombs, they might even inflict severe injuries. The Mana Pulse Bombs had shocked the rest of the team as well, and they all thought it was a huge waste to use them against the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. If they used the bombs to weaken Field Grand Lords instead, the Guild could profit greatly. However, as the black and white Mana dissipated and these players could see the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses once more, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Despite such powerful attacks, the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were unharmed. The Mana Pulse Bombs hadn''t even left a scratch. All the bombs accomplished was blowing off a layer of dust that had collected on the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' scales over the years, giving the two monsters a fresh, clean appearance. As for the bombs'' damage, each had only caused around -200,000 damage. Even if they tossed 1,000 Basic Mana Pulse Bombs at the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, they couldn''t kill the monsters If they used the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs against Great Lords, each could easily deal over a million damage. The bombs would also easily annihilate players below Tier 3. However, the bombs'' damage did redirect the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' attention to Cola and Turtledove. "Excellent!" Shi Feng smiled faintly. The brief moment Cola and Turtledove had bought allowed Anna to finish her incantation. "Emerge, Valkyrie!" Anna shouted. Immediately, a golden magic array enveloped the Forging Hall''s ceiling, which caused the Mana inside the hall to rampage. A Valkyrie with pure white wings, geared in golden, divine armor slowly descended from the magic array. Compared to Anna''s previous summoning, the Valkyrie had reached Level 70 as Anna had leveled from Level 69 to Level 70 during the previous war. Every five levels was a minor turning point in God''s Domain. Hence, a Level 70 Valkyrie was significantly stronger than a Level 69 Valkyrie. This was also\n why Shi Feng was willing to risk summoning Anna into this battle. The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were Level 65. As Tier 4 Archaic Species, while they might not have complete Domains like the ancient abyssal monsters, their Attributes were far superior to the abyssal monsters. If given the choice, players would rather fight the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses than the ancient abyssal monsters. This was due to the abyssal monsters'' powerful Domains and their effectiveness against players. After all was said and done, the Tier 4 Valkyrie was only a puppet. The Valkyrie neither possessed high intellect nor did it have a complete Domain like ordinary Tier 4 NPCs. In a sense, the Valkyrie was similar to the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. However, when comparing Life Ratings, the Valkyrie was far above Archaic Species. In a head-on collision, the Valkyrie could definitely overwhelm the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. "Attack!" Shi Feng commanded. The Valkyrie could only remain for 10 seconds and could only be summoned again after one full day. Hence, he could not waste a single second. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Anna instructed the Valkyrie to take action. Suddenly, the Valkyrie disappeared as she used the Tier 3 Skill Spatial Transfer to arrive before one of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. "Attack its lower left rib!" Shi Feng commanded. After watching the bosses with Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng had grasped the power cores'' basic patterns. Although he couldn''t break through the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' scales and substantially damage the power cores, the Valkyrie could. A silver spear appeared in the Valkyrie''s hands, arcs of golden lightning dancing around the weapon. The Valkyrie then thrust the spear at the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s lower left rib. Tier 4 Skill, Thunder Sanction! The Fossilized Tyrannosaurus panicked instantly. The Valkyrie had appeared too suddenly. Even with its high Attack Speed, the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus was still caught off guard as it received Thunder Sanction in full. The golden lightning pierced through its tough scales and exited from its back, reaping nearly 3% of the monsters HP. The team immediately felt the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus grow weaker. This scene enraged the other Fossilized Tyrannosaurus as it spread its jaws. A large amount of Mana began to gather in the monster''s mouth. "Crap! It''s using its Breath! Everyone, move; don''t stand in front of the Boss!" Shi Feng hurriedly warned his team as he saw the monster charge its attack. The greatest move of any monster from the Dragon race would be its breath attacks. Among them, true Dragons'' Breath attacks were the most powerful. There were even records of how a Dragon had obliterated a major city with a single breath attack. Thus, the Dragon race represented destruction. "Roar!" The Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s roar echoed throughout the Forging Hall. Before anyone could react, a dazzling beam of light devoured the Valkyrie. The breath even shattered space itself Meanwhile, this beam of light struck one of the Forging Hall''s stone walls. If not for having been constructed by ancient Gods, no one doubted that the breath attack could have punched a hole straight through the Fallen Ark. 1142 Power to Annihilate Mythics Chapter 1142 - Power to Annihilate Mythics By the time the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s Breath ended, the Forging Hall was unrecognizable. "How is there such a powerful monster?!" The Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s breath attack had stupefied every player on the team. Everything in front of the Inferior Dragon was gone. Only a bare wall and floor remained. Over half of the accessories around the Forging Hall had disintegrated. It was not hard to realize that the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus hadn''t been taking them seriously. Had the two Inferior Dragons taken them as seriously as they had the Valkyrie, they would have obliterated the entire team. "This single blow shouldn''t have defeated the Valkyrie, right?" Aqua Rose muttered worriedly as she watched the spatial tear gradually disappear. Without a doubt, this breath attack was definitely a Tier 4 Skill. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have created a spatial tear. The Valkyrie was only a temporarily-summoned puppet. She only possessed one-twentieth of the HP ordinary summoned creatures had. It wouldn''t be surprising in the least if this terrifying breath attack had devoured her entire HP bar. If the Valkyrie were really gone, the consequences would be unimaginable. Against the enraged Fossilized Tyrannosauruses, even with their Berserk and Lifesaving Skills active, Cola and Turtledove would die instantly, much less the rest of Zero Wing''s team. As these thoughts swam through Aqua Rose''s mind, the smoke finally started to dissipate. "She''s unharmed?! How is this possible?!" Aqua Rose stared at the divine Angel flapping her wings in amazement. Not only was the Valkyrie unharmed, but not even a speck of dust tainted her body. Even the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus, which possessed some intellect, was stunned, fear surfacing in its massive, golden eyes as it gazed at the Valkyrie before it. Suddenly, Shi Feng shouted, "Attack its right arm!" Although the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s Breath was incredibly powerful, Anna''s Valkyrie was no pushover, either. Even if the Valkyrie were not at her peak due to lacking sufficient intellect, she possessed all of the Skills a Tier 4 Valkyrie should. The Valkyrie had used the Tier 4 Skill Divine Protection to defend against the Inferior Dragon''s Breath, the Skill allowing her to negate all attacks below Tier 6 for three seconds. Afterward, all of the damage she should''ve received would be converted into HP. In the past, Divine Protection had been a super rare Lifesaving Skill that many Tier 4 Guardian Knights dreamed of obtaining. Any Guardian Knights that learned it had been highly sought after even by Super Guilds. As soon as Shi Feng gave the command, Anna once more controlled the Valkyrie to attack the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus. "Roar!" The Fossilized Tyrannosaurus was now on full alert, its claws releasing a faint, gray glow. The Inferior Dragon then slashed at the approaching Valkyrie as if it were swatting a fly. Boom! Faster than the naked eye could perceive, the claws struck the Valkyrie. The players in the Forging Hall nearly lost their balance as the resulting shockwave swept over them. However, when the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s claws landed, the attack stopped as if it had collided with an immovable wall. Not only did it fail to damage the Valkyrie, but its claws had also been forced to a halt. Taking advantage of the Inferior Dragon''s brief pause, the Valkyrie threw her silver spear. The spear transformed into a streak of light that pierced the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s right arm, leaving behind a bloody hole. Good! With this, we shouldn''t have any issues! Shi Feng released a sigh of relief when he saw the red dot on the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s body fade. The Valkyrie could only remain in existence for a short period. If they could not exterminate the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' power cores within that time, they would never last five minutes. Now that the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses had lost their power cores, they were like beasts that had lost their fangs and claws. Their threat levels decreased significantly. Even when Cola and Turtledove received an attack, they only lost around 18,000 HP. The Inferior Dragons had lost at least half of their Strength. With this, even without Protection Blessing, neither of the two Guardian Knights would die instantly. They could last a long time with the aid of Power of Darkness. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of wasting the Valkyrie''s power. Immediately, he had the Valkyrie attack the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses frantically, using this opportunity to weaken the two Bosses further and reduce the burden on Cola and Turtledove. Unfortunately, ten seconds was too little time. Despite the Valkyrie doing her best, she was only able to deal some light damage to the two massive Bosses, which slowed the monsters'' attacks slightly. Unfortunately, the attacks weren''t so slow that Cola and Turtledove could evade the Bosses'' normal attacks easily. When the two Bosses used Skills, however, the brief activation time gave the MTs enough time to evade. Time passed quickly. While Fire Dance desperately tried to disable the trap, the pressure on the rest of the team grew. Their fear also grew as they continued to fight. The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses had 320,000,000 HP. They could regenerate 3,200,000 HP every five seconds. Even if they stood there, not defending themselves, they wouldn''t die. In contrast, due to the high damages Cola and Turtledove received, Zero Wing''s healers were struggling, their Mana depleting rapidly. It was impossible to make up for the consumed Mana with Mana Recovery Potions. It was only a matter of time before the healers ran out. Fortunately, the team''s goal wasn''t to exterminate the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Instead, they were simply buying time. However, both Cola and Turtledove suddenly felt that something was amiss. "Guild Leader, I''m sensing that the Boss''s Strength is growing!" Cola hurriedly reported. Initially, after Protection Blessing had ended, he had received around -36,000 damage from each of the Fossilized Tyrannosaurus''s normal attacks. However, with the aid of Protection and Truth Shield, he received less than -30,000. With his current 57,000 HP and the healer''s help, he could receive two hits without dying. Yet, even with the Oracles and Clerics'' buffs, he was now receiving more than -30,000 damage from the Boss''s normal attacks. If the damage continued to rise, he would die in two hits if the healers failed to restore his HP in time "I discovered something strange as well! It seems this the Boss''s Defense is weakening!" Gentle Snow, who was assisting Turtledove from the sides, announced. Hearing Cola and Gentle Snow''s words, Shi Feng fell into deep thought. Could they be weakening their physical bodies to generate new power cores? Although extremely few monsters had cores as weak points in God''s Domain, Shi Feng had encountered a few. A few of these monsters were capable of regenerating their destroyed cores after a certain period. The Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were an Archaic Species. It would not be surprising if they could do so. In fact, Shi Feng had already considered this possibility. However, less than two minutes had passed since the Inferior Dragons'' power cores had been destroyed. This regeneration speed surpassed Shi Feng''s initial estimates. He had assumed that the Bosses would need at least five minutes before they could regenerate their power cores. This coincided with how much time Fire Dance needed to disable the trap. Once the trap was disabled, they could simply take the Treasure Chest and leave. They shouldn''t have needed to worry about the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses regenerating their power cores. It seems we have no choice but to fight. After considering various options, Shi Feng had only come up with one method that would buy them the necessary time. Clenching his teeth, he said, "Cola, Turtledove, lure the Bosses together! Everyone, throw Basic Mana Pulse Bombs at the Bosses! Don''t hold back and use everything you have!" Now that the Bosses'' Defense had weakened, the Mana Pulse Bombs would deal more damage. Before this, it might''ve been impossible to annihilate the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses with the bombs, but things had changed. Even if they failed to kill the Inferior Dragons or injure them heavily, they could slow down the recovery speed of the Bosses'' power cores. "Guild Leader, are we really going to waste the bombs here?" Aqua Rose hadn''t expected such a crazy move from Shi Feng. They were talking about over 1,000 Basic Mana Pulse Bombs. That was equivalent to 1,000-plus Magic Scrolls that contained Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells! "Just waste them! Buying time is more important right now!" Shi Feng growled determinedly. While the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs was indeed extraordinarily valuable, the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest was far more important towards the Guild''s development. Seeing the determined look on Shi Feng''s face, everyone helplessly retrieved the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs Shi Feng had previously distributed and threw the bombs at the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Boom Boom Boom Immediately, black and white Mana flooded the Forging Hall. Just as Shi Feng had expected, not only were the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs now dealing around -450,000 damage each, but the bombs had also stopped the recovery of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses'' power cores. In fact, the Inferior Dragons were even growing weaker as they received more attacks. It took several minutes for Zero Wing''s members to finish tossing all of their bombs. Even Archaic Species could not withstand the might of over 1,000 Basic Mana Pulse Bombs as both Fossilized Tyrannosauruses collapsed to the ground, their HPs falling to zero. "We won?" Aqua Rose muttered as she watched the smoke in the hall gradually dissipate. "They''re not playing dead, right?" Before anyone could answer, the system replied. Suddenly, one golden flash after another enveloped each team member, illuminating the Forging Hall. 1143 Dragon Legacy Chapter 1143 - Dragon Legacy "They''re dead?" "What!? They''re really dead?!" Excitement bubbled in the players'' chests when they noticed the golden glow wrap around their bodies. Many could not help but cheer, with some people losing strength in their legs as they planted their butts on the ground. "We''re too amazing! We actually killed two Mythic Bosses!" "My experience bar is still rising!" They had just defeated two Level 65, Mythic ranked Archaic Species. Both monsters already gave a lot of EXP, but they also got bonus EXP for killing monsters of a higher level. Most importantly, only twenty players shared it all. In the end, not only had everyone leveled up from Level 44 to Level 45, but they progressed to Level 46 as well. As for Shi Feng, he rose to Level 48 on the spot, with his empty experience bar filling once more. Level 48, 30%... 40%... 50%... In less than two seconds, his experience bar had reached 90%. Following which, its growth slowed, increasing by one percentage after another. 95%... 96%... 97%... Just as his experience bar looked as if it would stop at 99%, another golden glow encased Shi Feng''s body. Level 49. The awarded EXP is truly extravagant. Shi Feng was surprised. He also found it difficult to suppress his bubbling excitement. He was now only one level away from Level 50. With his current weapon and equipment standards, he should have no problems passing his Tier 2 class-change quest. Once he completed his class-change quest, he would qualify to challenge quests he hadn''t dared to before. Although there was only one tier between Tier 2 and Tier 1 classes, the difference was much greater than the difference between Tier 0 and Tier 1 players. If an ordinary Tier 1 player could go up against Elite monsters of the same level, then ordinary Tier 2 players could go up against Chieftains. If a Chieftain and Elite monster of the same level fought each other, that battle would be one-sided. After all, Chieftains could serve as the final Bosses in Party Dungeons below Level 50. One could just imagine how massive the difference was between Tier 1 and Tier 2 classes. If even Shi Feng had leveled up twice, the rest of the team''s leveling was insane. Aside from those with hidden classes, the team had leveled from Level 44 all the way to Level 48. Moreover, they were only a short distance away from reaching Level 49. As for players like Violet Cloud, Gentle Snow, and Zhao Yueru, who possessed a hidden class, they only rose to Level 47. Though, they were not far from Level 48. Everyone was stunned for a long moment. Right now, they could all could easily rank at the very top of the Ranking List in any kingdom or empire in God''s Domain. Moreover, they would be at least five levels higher than the second-ranked player. "Hahaha! My HP is finally over 40,000!" After Cola finished allocating his recently acquired Free Attribute Points, he excitedly boasted, "With this, I''ll be the highest-HP MT in even the Black Dragon Empire!" He was already the highest-HP MT throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. He had nearly 5,000 more HP than the MTs in other Guilds. Although he was not particularly certain about the situation in the Black Dragon Empire, he could dare to claim that no MT in the empire could match his HP. "Forty thousand HP?" Gentle Snow, who was Level 47, looked at her own HP bar, noticing that her HP had broken past the 40,000 threshold as well Gentle Snow could not help but sigh ruefully as she looked at her own HP bar. She never imagined that one Fragmented Legendary item would make such a huge difference. Despite wielding a damage-dealing class and slightly weaker equipment than Cola''s, the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor had bridged the gap between her and the Guardian Knight. Not only had the Battle Armor upgraded her damage output by several levels, but it had also done the same for her Defense and HP. It was no wonder why Shi Feng was willing to waste the 1,000-plus Basic Mana Pulse Bombs for the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. As everyone''s excitement about their levels died down, they shifted their gazes to the corpses of the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Aside from the items inside the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, the Inferior Dragons'' loot should make up for the losses they suffered. Mythic Bosses! Moreover, the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses were Archaic Species! Their loot was definitely extraordinary. Just thinking about it ignited a passionate fire in these players'' hearts, their eyes shining. Once the dust settled, the massive Fossilized Tyrannosaurus corpses were on full display. However, when the team noticed the few items scattered beside the bodies, disappointment flashed in their eyes. Aside from a few scattered Gold Coins, one Fossilized Tyrannosaurus dropped eight items, while the other dropped seven. There were far fewer items than they had hoped for. "Why are there so few drops?! These things are even more stingy than the Trolls!" "Is it because we were unlucky? We should''ve given Guild Leader the last hit!" Everyone''s excitement faded when the saw the loot. Among the fifteen items, they ten were materials "Alright, get some rest. Violet, make sure Fire is safe." Shi Feng chuckled at his crestfallen companions. The number of items the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses dropped didn''t surprise Shi Feng in the least. After reaching Level 50, the quantity and quality of the items monsters dropped decreased drastically. Furthermore, the system had just completed a new update. The system would''ve definitely lowered the drop-rate once again. The Main God System did so to stabilize weapon and equipment prices, giving Lifestyle classes a better opportunity to develop. As players continued to level, their main source for weapons and equipment would gradually shift from monsters to Lifestyle players. In the future, 95% of the weapons and equipment players used would come from monsters and Lifestyle players. The remaining 5% would come from quests, miraculous encounters, Treasure Chests, and other such sources. However, the majority of the weapons and equipment players produced could only satisfy ordinary players and experts. The truly excellent items would still come from killing powerful monsters or completing difficult quests. Of course, players were also capable of producing weapons and equipment of excellent quality. Only, the requirement was extremely high, beyond the majority of God''s Domain''s Lifestyle players. Moreover, producing such items required super-rare materials, and these materials came from killing powerful monsters and exploring dangerous locations. Following which, Shi Feng collected the loot and began to appraise each item. "Not bad." Shi Feng revealed a joyful expression after appraising the raw materials. Among them was the Legendary material, Dragon Origin Crystal. Moreover, two Dragon Origin Crystals had dropped. Only creatures of the Dragon race could drop these items. Unfortunately, Common Inferior Dragons would drop them. At the very least, the monsters needed to be Mythic rank. This was because the Dragon Origin Crystal contained the bloodline of Dragons. If one applied the Dragon Origin Crystal when forging weapons or equipment, they could qualitatively change the item. The Dragon Origin Crystal was an excellent production material. The crystal also had an even greater purpose: producing the Dragon Soul Potion. When consuming this potion, players could class-change into a hidden class and obtain the Dragon Legacy. 1144 Hidden Class Dragon Slayer Chapter 1144 - Hidden Class Dragon Slayer Shi Feng held the two crimson Dragon Origin Crystals and carefully inspected them. Although both were Legendary material, there was a difference between them. Of course, the system wouldn''t give away this difference. Instead, players had to discover it after conducting numerous experiments. This was one of the system''s hidden attributes. Although there were deviations between players conclusions, the deviations were usually minor. Different grades of Legendary material would yield different bonus success rates when said material was used in crafting an item. According to players'' summaries regarding Legendary materials, they were generally categorized into Basic, Middle, Intermediate, and Peak grades. Basic grade materials could increase production success rate by roughly 2% to 3%. Intermediate grade materials could increase production success rate by 4% to 5%. Advanced grade materials could increase production success rate by 7% to 8%. Peak grade materials could increase production success rate by 10% to 11%. After Shi Feng clicked to open the two Dragon Origin Crystals'' Attribute Panels, he began to read their introductions carefully. Wonderful! Shi Feng smiled when he finished reading. With this, there shouldn''t be any problems producing the Dragon Soul Potions. Legendary materials had different methods of determining their grades. In the Dragon Origin Crystal''s case, its grade could be determined by the bloodline density within it. If a crystal''s bloodline density fell between 1% and 30%, it was Basic grade. Most of the Dragon Origin Crystals that dropped were this grade. A crystal with a bloodline density between 31% and 50% was considered Intermediate grade. Crystals of this grade had a much lower drop-rate. As for crystals with a bloodline density between 51% and 70%, they were Advanced grade. It was practically impossible to find Advanced Dragon Origin Crystals on the market as large Guilds cherished like their own children. Lastly, crystals with bloodline density above 71% were Peak grade. At this grade, the Dragon Origin Crystal was worth much more than an Epic item. To produce the Dragon Soul Potion, one usually needed an Intermediate Dragon Origin Crystal or better. Regardless of how many Basic Dragon Origin Crystals were used, it was impossible to produce the Dragon Soul Potion with them. Of the two Dragon Origin Crystals before Shi Feng, one was Intermediate grade, while the other was an Advanced crystal. "Guild Leader, did something good drop?" Aqua Rose asked when she noticed the smile on Shi Feng''s face. She was very familiar with Shi Feng''s personality and habits. If the dropped items were not extraordinary, he would not have revealed such a joyous smile. In response, Shi Feng nodded and looked at everyone before calmly stating, "Something good has indeed dropped. Which of you here wants a hidden class?" "A hidden class? Did we get a class-change tool?" "Guild Leader, which classes are suitable for the hidden class?" Shi Feng''s question instantly caught his teammate''s attention. None of these players were strangers to hidden classes. Various people had already posted a lot of information about hidden classes on the official forums. As a result, they all dreamed of class-changing into their own. They''d even be happy with the most common hidden class. Although the most common hidden class would not provide additional Basic Attributes, the class could provide additional Skills that their original classes did not possess. With these Skills, they''d have access to more combat methods. They would have advantages in both PvP and Dungeons. As for Advanced or Peak rank hidden classes, they did not even dare to dream of obtaining one. After all, hidden classes of such ranks were simply too rare. "Any class is fine. However, the condition is that one does not already have a hidden class," Shi Feng explained. The Dragon Soul Potion''s purpose was to give players access to the Legacy of the Dragon race. Hence, unless one already wielded a hidden class, any player could obtain the Dragon Legacy. Both magical class and physical class players could eventually become Dragon Slayers. This was also why both NPCs and players in the past had preferred to kill powerful Dragons. While they did so to gain fame and recognition, their primary reason was to obtain the Dragon Legacy and become stronger. However, the Dragon Origin Crystal''s drop-rate was considerably low. If not for the Fossilized Dragons being Archaic Species, it was unlikely that the two Mythic monsters would have dropped it. When the Zero Wing''s team heard that any class could obtain the hidden class, they were ecstatic. "Don''t get too excited just yet. The class-change quest is not easy," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shook his head. "Unfortunately, too many of you want the hidden class. I only have two slots; so let''s hold a team auction using GCPs. This Intermediate Dragon Origin Crystal''s starting bid is 200,000 points, while this Advanced Dragon Origin Crystal''s starting bid will be 500,000 points. Decide for yourselves if you want to bid on them or not." Currently, one Guild Contribution Point was worth roughly 25 Copper Coins. Two hundred thousand GCPs was the equivalent of 500 Gold. This was an extraordinarily low price to pay for the Dragon Slayer class. In the past, the various large Guilds had been willing to buy Intermediate Dragon Origin Crystals for 8,000 Gold. As for Advanced Dragon Origin Crystals, they had been practically impossible to find on the market. However, one player had put his crystal up for auction in the past. The crystal eventually sold for the insane price of 30,000 Gold The Advanced version was so much more valuable due to the fact that, depending on the quality of the Dragon Soul Potion produced, one would obtain different levels of the Dragon Legacy. The Dragon Slayer class was somewhat unique. It was not clearly ranked like other hidden classes. If a weak Dragon Soul Potion were consumed, one''s Dragon Slayer class would be the equivalent of a Basic Legacy. Conversely, it was also possible to obtain a Peak Legacy Dragon Slayer class if one used a strong potion. Of course, it was also possibles to upgrade the Dragon Slayer class gradually to Peak Legacy by consuming a several Dragon Soul Potions. Hence, Dragon Origin Crystals of different grades had different prices. The prices Shi Feng had announced were definitely low. Even so, the team sent Shi Feng scornful looks, feeling that Shi Feng was trying to rip them off. Although they were the Guild''s main force members, it was extremely difficult to collect so many GCPs. Eventually, Cola won the Advanced Dragon Origin Crystal, while Alluring Summer won the Intermediate crystal. Among them, Alluring Summer had borrowed plenty of GCPs from Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud. After all, Alluring Summer had just recently joined the Guild and had not participated in many Dungeon raids or high-level Guild Quests yet. Following which, Shi Feng passed the Dragon Soul Potion''s production method to Cola and Alluring Summer. It was impossible for players to produce the Dragon Soul Potion. They needed to hire an NPC Grandmaster Alchemist to do it. Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to find NPC Grandmasters. Fortunately, Shi Feng knew two places where they could find such NPCs. The first was Titan City. There, they could easily find a Grandmaster Alchemist. The second location was Blackwing City. However, to convince these NPC Grandmasters to help, they needed to raise their Favorability with said NPCs. Once their Favorability reached a sufficient level, they could make the Dragon Soul Potion. However, collecting the various required materials was a considerably challenging task as every material was extremely rare. Normally, only large Guilds could get their hands on all these materials. It was extremely difficult for lone players or a team to gather what they needed in a short time. After Shi Feng finished distributing the Dragon Origin Crystals, the team heard the shattering of glass from the center of the Forging Hall. Everyone spun to look. Suddenly, an orange pillar of light appeared in the Forging Hall. Did Fire Dance disable the trap? 1145 Treasure Obtained Chapter 1145 - Treasure Obtained When they saw the pillar of orange light, the team grew excited. An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest! They had never even known something like this existed. If they obtained a Fragmented Legendary item from it, their Guild could enable one player''s Basic Attributes to soar. "No, the trap hasn''t been disabled!" Shi Feng realized that something was amiss when he saw the orange magic array on the ceiling, which formed from berserk Mana. He had seen many players disable Master Traps in the past. However, not one of them ever drove Mana berserk when successfully disabled. There was only one possibility for this. Disabling the trap had failed! Fire Dance''s expression twisted with guilt. However, before she could say anything, Shi Feng shouted, "Everyone, use your Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls and withdraw! Then use your Return Scrolls to leave the Ark!" Normally, traps would enclose a certain area when triggered. However, there were also solutions to this problem. Before the trap fully activated, players could use Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls to get out of range. This had been a common method in the past. Unfortunately, it wasn''t effective against traps that activated instantaneously. Fortunately, the trap before them was not an instantaneous type. Unfortunately, divine runes had already sealed the Forging Hall''s doors, and players couldn''t leave the hall normally. Using Return Scrolls to escape was also time-consuming. On the other hand, Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls didn''t have an activation time. They could simply use the scroll to pass beyond the stone doors and leave the trap''s effective area. Once they were out of the trap''s range, they could use the Return Scroll to leave the Ark safely. As for why Shi Feng had chosen to return to White River City, it was because he was not certain of what after-effects triggering the Forging Hall''s trap would have. On the off chance that the trap would also increase the danger outside of the Ark, such as alerting the Fallen Patrols and luring them to the Forging Hall, the Fallen Ark''s inner region would become extremely dangerous. They could very easily team-wipe. Listening to Shi Feng''s commands, everyone retrieved the Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls they had prepared and left the Forging Hall. Eventually, only Shi Feng remained. This was the perfect opportunity for Shi Feng to steal the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Now that the trap had triggered, there was nothing protecting the Treasure Chest. He could simply stash it in his bag space and leave. Only, he had to deal with the trap''s mechanisms while collecting the Treasure Chest. Once the trap finished its attack, it would return to its original state, and they would have to try disabling it all over again. Shi Feng had considered simply triggering the trap and snatching the Treasure Chest, but he would have had to deal with the two Fossilized Tyrannosauruses at the same time. His chances of success would have been extremely low. Now that the guards were dead, he could easily deal with the remaining challenges. Following which, Shi Feng used Wind Blade and dashed straight for the Treasure Chest. As he was about to reach the Treasure Chest, however, the orange magic array on the ceiling activated. Suddenly, blood-red spears appeared in the air, one after another, every spear radiating a frightening aura. The numerous spears then rained down on the Forging Hall. A destruction-type trap? Shi Feng released a sigh of relief when he saw the descending spears. Immediately, he activated Defensive Blades, which allowed him to block over ten attacks. As a result, Shi Feng knocked the spears to the side before they even reached him. Meanwhile, Shi Feng placed his hand on the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, trying to see if he could take it. After all, this was the first time he had encountered an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Normally, players could simply walk away with a locked Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Only a minority of Dark-Gold Treasure Chests had fixed locations. The instant Shi Feng touched the Treasure Chest, the system replied. Although the Treasure Chest could be stored in his bag space, doing so required eight seconds of channeling. However, Defensive Blade''s block counts would, at most, last two seconds against the blood-red spears. With Absolute Defense, which had a five-second duration, he was one second shy of surviving for eight seconds. Shi Feng had no doubt that even one of these spears could kill him instantly. To hell with it! Shi Feng decided to give it a try as he began the collection process. He refused to give up after coming this far. As the spears descended on Shi Feng, as he anticipated, Defensive Blade only lasted slightly more than two seconds. Immediately after Defensive Blade''s block counts were exhausted, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Earth''s Absolute Defense. He then immediately switched to the Aura of Space. If he sensed that he no longer had hope of getting away with the Treasure Chest, he would leave instead of pointlessly throwing his life away. After all, he was one level away from the Level 50 threshold. The seconds passed quickly. The Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s loading bar advanced slowly. Sure enough, it''s not enough. When Shi Feng saw that Absolute Defense''s duration had one second remaining while the loading bar needed at least three more seconds to complete, he could not help but sigh deeply. Peng! When Absolute Defense shattered and a blood-red spear was about to collide with Shi Feng''s head, a figure suddenly appeared above him. Phantom Kill! Defensive Blade! The doppelganger summoned with the Abyssal Blade''s Phantom Kill possessed all the player''s Skills. Hence, the doppelganger had similarly learned Shi Feng''s Lifesaving Skills. Peng Peng Peng As Shi Feng listened to the crashing above him, his anxiety grew. The loading bar was two seconds away from completion. Quick! Move quickly! Shi Feng was extremely anxious. This was his final hope. Just as the doppelganger''s Defensive Blade block counts were about to expire, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: The Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest has been stored in your bag space. When Shi Feng heard this sound, for the first time ever, he found the system''s cold, mechanical voice to be extremely sweet. Shi Feng immediately activated Space Movement. A spatial tear opened before him. Although his doppelganger''s Defensive Blade block counts had been exhausted, he could still use the doppelganger as a meat shield. Only, the instant one of the blood-red spears struck the doppelganger, the doppelganger''s HP hit rock bottom. The spears were just as powerful as Shi Feng had guessed. However, the brief moment the doppelganger had bought him allowed Shi Feng to enter the spatial tear and vanish from the Forging Hall. When the Forging Hall''s trap had activated, the Fallen Ark''s inner region had descended into chaos. The Fallen Patrols in both the outer and inner regions had rushed towards the Forging Hall. Fortunately, Shi Feng had instructed his team to use their Return Scrolls as soon as they got out. Otherwise, none of them would have left the Fallen Ark alive. The Fire Dragon Empire''s imperial capital: Due to a particular match in the Dark Arena today, players had swarmed into the empire even before the match began. These players all wore dazzling weapons and equipment. Aside from spectating the upcoming match, many were here to participate in the Dark Arena''s upcoming auction. "Big Sis Rain, Miracle''s people have asked to meet with you," Blue Phoenix softly reported as she entered the VIP room. "Judging by their tone and words, it seems that they''ve discovered our relationship with Zero Wing." Phoenix Rain frowned slightly upon hearing this. Although she knew that she couldn''t hide the truth forever, she hadn''t expected it to get out so quickly. Sighing, she said, "Miracle is really quite fast with their investigations. Since they''ve found us out, let''s meet with them." 1146 Purgatory Knigh Chapter 1146 - Purgatory Knight Flame Dragon City''s Underground Arena: A group of Level 40-plus players surrounded the entrance. These players all wore pitch-black armor with a white cape draped over their shoulders. They looked like well-trained soldiers. When other players noticed these black-armored players, they promptly distanced themselves. "Who are these people? They''re blocking the Underground Arena and preventing others from entering! They''re being too unreasonable!" "You''ve just arrived in the capital, so it''s expected that you don''t know." "Could a Super Guild have laid claim over this Underground Arena?" "Far from that. Take a look at those players guarding the entrance. They''re the security teams several Super Guilds have formed. They are all equipped with the Soul of Darkness, a Level 40 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. They''re specifically tasked to guard this Underground Arena and prevent outsiders from entering." "As expected of Super Guilds. Even a casual security team is so impressive. I''ve just reached Level 40 after much difficulty, and I only have a few Level 40 weapons and pieces of equipment, yet those guys are actually wearing Level 40 Fine Gold Sets" The nearby independent players weren''t the only ones in awe. Even the members of the various large Guilds invited to the Dark Arena were shocked. God''s Domain''s mainstream players were around Level 37 right now, whereas expert players were at Level 39 or Level 40. Even large Guilds'' experts were fortunate to obtain a full set of Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment upon reaching Level 40. As for a Level 40 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, that was simply a dream. Yet, among the Super Guild security teams, every one of them wore complete Level 40 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. In God''s Domain, it was far more difficult to gather a complete Fine-Gold Set Equipment than it was to gather a set of Dark-Gold Equipment. Individual pieces of Fine-Gold Set Equipment might not be a match for Dark-Gold Equipment in terms of Basic Attributes, but certain set effects were more important than some additional Basic Attributes. Hence, many players still used the Level 30 Fine-Gold Set Equipment they had collected even after Level 40. For example, the Level 40 Soul of Darkness Set Equipment''s effects were so good that players could continue using it even after Level 50. As players admired the security teams'' equipment, two cloaked women approached the entrance, attracting everyone''s attention. Although these female players had hidden their appearance under a Black Cloak, players could tell by their elegant bodies that they were definitely beautiful. Meanwhile, when the security teams, which oozed with killing intent, saw these women, they immediately bowed and stood to the side, treating the women like queens. "Who are those women?" "They''ve hidden their appearances and IDs with their Black Cloaks. Who could possibly recognize them? However, I believe that they are at least upper echelons from first-rate Guilds. Otherwise, there''s no way those security teams would treat them with so much respect." "First-rate Guild upper echelons? You sure are overestimating first-rate Guilds. We''re talking about the elite security teams that Super Guilds worked together to form. Those people wouldn''t even bat an eye if a first-rate Guild''s Guild Leader showed up. I''m guessing that they''re the upper echelons from either super-first-rate Guilds or Super Guilds." "I guess you''re right. If I could enter the Dark Arena and get those security teams to treat me that respectfully, how wonderful would it be?" "Unless you manage to join a Super Guild and become one of the Guild''s apex experts, don''t even think about getting their respect." "..." As the crowd conversed, the two female players entered the Underground Arena. The instant these two players entered the establishment, an elegant beauty was there to greet them. This beauty wore a set of exquisite, gray mage robes and wielded a black, wooden staff. She also exuded a deathly aura. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that this beauty was a Level 42 Summoner. "Greetings, Phoenix Pavilion Master. I am Silent March, the Vice Commander of Miracle''s Purgatory Legion," the somewhat evil-looking Summoner said, smiling at Phoenix Rain. "Our Vice Guild Leader is already waiting in a VIP room on the third floor. Allow me to lead the way." Phoenix Rain nodded in response. Following which, Silent March led Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix to the Underground Arena''s third floor. "Big Sis Phoenix, that Summoner feels odd. The other Summoners I''ve met all exuded a lively aura, yet her aura feels like death," Blue Phoenix whispered to her friend. "While she is indeed a Summoner, she also possesses the hidden class, Necromancer. She is one of the upstart geniuses Miracle has nurtured internally. Roughly over a year since her debut, she has already become the vice commander of one of Miracle''s three trump card legions. You should be careful when you encounter her in the future. She might even be participating in the contest over Thunder Island," Phoenix Rain explained as she watched the female Summoner before her. Hidden classes were no longer a secret in God''s Domain. The various large Guilds already had a few experts that had hidden classes. While most Guilds kept these experts secret, Silent March''s hidden class was somewhat special, which made it practically impossible to keep hidden. Hence, the game''s various major powers quickly discovered that she wielded the Necromancer hidden class. Although Necromancers were somewhat similar to ordinary Summoners, whereby both classes utilized summoned creatures to battle, the Necromancer class could summon far more monsters. As long as a Necromancer had enough Mana, even summoning 100 Undead would not be difficult. Although the Undead were not as powerful as ordinary Summoners'' creatures, this gap could be made up with numbers. Necromancers were also stronger than ordinary Summoners when it came to individual combat power. In addition, Undead creatures had extremely high Magic Resistance. Aside from holy magical classes, Necromancers were magical classes'' natural enemy. While Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix chatted quietly, Silent March led the two into a VIP room on the third floor. A valiant man in dark-blue armor already sat in the room. Two other men stood behind him: an Assassin and an Elementalist. Both were Level 42 and exuded extremely dangerous auras. Phoenix Rain blinked in surprise when she saw the Assassin and Elementalist. These two were Miracle''s famous apex experts. The Assassin was Starstreak, while the Elementalist''s name was Cleansed Maple. Both were generals in Miracle. When the Phoenix Pavilion had clashed with the Guild, many of the Pavilion''s experts had died at the hands of these two players. They even nearly killed Martial Dragon. Based on the reports Phoenix Rain had received, these two were only a short distance away from reaching the Domain Realm. The valiant man in the chair looked at Phoenix Rain and smiled as he welcomed her, "Phoenix Pavilion Master, long time no see." This valiant man had no aura whatsoever. On the contrary, he felt calm and harmless. However, Phoenix Rain would not dare to underestimate this man. This man was Thousand Miles, Miracle''s Second Vice Guild Leader. He was also the Purgatory Legion''s commander, titled Purgatory Knight. "Spit it out. What business do you have with me?" Phoenix Rain felt nothing positive for Thousand Miles. After all, the two players had secretly clashed many times before. It was no exaggeration to say that they were mortal enemies. "Must you be so angry? I simply want to cooperate today. Are you not interested in Thunder Island, Phoenix Pavilion Master?" Thousand Miles smiled, ignoring Phoenix Rain''s aggression. Hearing the man mention Thunder Island, Phoenix Rain''s interest piqued. "Cooperate in what way?" 1147 Asura Arrives Chapter 1147 - Asura Arrives Phoenix Rain''s decisive reply slightly confused Thousand Miles. He had never expected such a straightforward answer from Phoenix Rain. Since joining God''s Domain, Miracle and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had butted heads numerous times in the Apocalypse Empire. Upon discovering Thunder Island, in particular, both sides suffered a ridiculous number of casualties as they faced each other in battle. Based on his estimates, each Guild should''ve lost two or three hundred thousand elite players. At this point, it was practically impossible for their Guilds to sit down for a proper conversation. He had prepared various arguments to get Phoenix Rain to listen to his proposal. Now, however, it seemed that his preparation had been unnecessary. Immediately, Thousand Miles revealed an agreement and handed it to Phoenix Raid, saying, "Phoenix Pavilion Master, take a look at this." Receiving the agreement, Phoenix Rain glanced through its contents. The agreement was very simple. As long as the Asura Battle Team allowed the Evil Dragon Battle Team to win the match, Miracle would agree to a non-aggression pact with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion during the contest for Thunder Island. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, what do you think about these conditions? I believe that you are familiar with the situation on Thunder Island. We are seeing more Guilds preparing for the upcoming contest by the day. Both you and I are even struggling to ensure that we secure a single monster encampment. Clashing with each other on Thunder Island wouldn''t benefit either of us. "To begin with, the Asura Battle Team has no chance of victory. You might as well had the victory to the Evil Dragon Battle Team. You can gamble on our win and earn a fortune for yourself. We''ll have the best of both worlds this way. What do you think?" Currently, in preparation for the upcoming contest on Thunder Island, the various large Guilds were tight on resources. In Thousand Miles''s opinion, this proposal would benefit both his and Phoenix Rain''s sides. While the Asura Battle Team had performed exceptionally in its previous match, in his opinion, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion must''ve contributed to the battle team''s powerful weapons and equipment. Moreover, although Battle Wolves backed the Glorious Lions Battle Team, the Guild had not placed much importance on the Dark Arena back then. Hence, the Asura Battle Team eventually defeated the Glorious Lions Battle Team. However, the Asura Battle Team''s current opponent was the Evil Dragon Battle Team, which had Miracle''s support. The Evil Dragon Battle Team received more benefits than the Glorious Lions Battle Team had. Not only were Miracle''s apex experts on the team, but Miracle had also supplied a large stock of excellent weapons, equipment, and Skill Books. The Evil Dragons Battle Team far surpassed their current opponents in both number and quality of experts and items. The Asura Battle Team had no hope of victory. Hence, rather than struggling pointlessly, it was much better if the Asura Battle Team let the Evil Dragon Team win. If Phoenix Rain bet all of her resources on the Evil Dragon Battle Team winning, she could walk away with a massive fortune. With these resources, she could hire more helpers and increase her chances of obtaining a share of the authority over Thunder Island. The two Guilds would also have a non-aggression pact. By agreeing to his proposal, Phoenix Rain could kill two birds with one stone. "This is why you called me here?" Phoenix Rain asked indifferently. "That''s right. It is very rare to see such a high payout rate in the Dark Arena. As long as the Evil Dragon Battle Team achieves a complete victory, you''ll get seven times the return. With this many resources, both our Guilds will gain a foothold on Thunder Island," Thousand Miles said confidently. "What if I refuse?" Phoenix Rain said. When she had signed the agreement with Shi Feng, she had agreed that she wouldn''t interfere with the Asura Battle Team. Shi Feng only needed to send her half of the team''s profits. Moreover, her main goal in establishing the Asura Battle Team was to compete for the position of the Dark Arena''s host. Although Thousand Miles had presented his offer casually, the consequences of suffering an utter defeat in the Dark Arena included more than just losing a match. Normally, battle teams only needed to win eight out of ten competitions to earn the right to challenge the host. However, to prevent Guilds from deliberately manipulating a competition''s results, any battle teams that suffered utter defeat were barred from the Dark Arena''s competitions for a certain period. Moreover, the battle team''s previous victories would be reset to zero. For example, after Asura had demolished the Glorious Lions Battle Team, even now, it was still banned from the competitions. Even after the ban lifted, the team''s previous two wins would not be counted. However, the Dark Arena grew more intense with each passing day. Everyone wanted the spot of the Dark Arena''s host. Moreover, due to the Mind Space System beginning its operation, the various corporations hungered for a share of the pie that was the Dark Arena. If one were only a participant, they could only take part in a competition once every few days or even weeks. Moreover, participants would only profit if they won. On the other hand, the host made a fortune on every competition, regardless of which team won. Although one could also spectate and bet resources on a competition, risks came with each gamble. Moreover, the host was no fool. For competitions with clear winners, the payout rates would be set extraordinarily low. Even if one won in a bet, they would win very little. It was far from what the winning battle team earned from their cuts of the bets. In the end, however, the host earned more than anyone. Recently, the Dark Arena had begun to hold more competitions, and the number would continue to increase. One could just imagine how profitable it would be to become the Dark Arena''s host. Hence, no battle team wished to lose; they especially wanted to avoid an utter defeat. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, do you hate money that much?" Thousand Smiles said, the warm smile on his face turning cold. "The Asura Battle Team''s loss is already set in stone. Is it really worth rejecting my offer to protect your reputation? If you refuse, I''ll have no choice but to find the Dragon Pavilion Master and negotiate with him. I believe that he would be extremely interested in cooperating with us on Thunder Island. He would also be more than willing to tell the Great Pavilion Master about the Asura Battle Team. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would not be willing to let you act so recklessly." He had already done his investigation and discovered that Nine Dragons Emperor had no relationship whatsoever with the Asura Battle Team. Phoenix Rain had established the team herself. However, while Nine Dragons Emperor could not interfere with the battle team, he could report Phoenix Rain to the Great Pavilion Master, the true ruler of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. At that time, Phoenix Rain would be forced into an awkward position. "Are you threatening me?" Phoenix Rain asked, her tone lowering slightly. "No, this is just a kind warning," Thousand Miles said, smiling. He was unfazed by Phoenix Rain''s angry reaction. "Thank you for your warning, then! I have some matters to deal with, so I''ll be leaving!" Phoenix Rain glanced at Thousand Miles before turning to leave. If the secret of her owning the Asura Battle Team were exposed, and Heavenly Dragon and Miracle agreed to cooperate, her development in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would suffer. However, the setback wouldn''t be so severe that she needed to fear the man''s threats. As long as the operation on Thunder Island succeeded, her position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be unshakable. "She really doesn''t know how to appreciate a favor." Wrathful flames burned in Thousand Miles''s eyes as he watched Phoenix Rain''s departing figure. "March, pass on the weapons and equipment we borrowed to Miracle Dragon and the others. Since this plan has failed, we''ll proceed with the original plan." Originally, Thousand Miles had intended to secure a complete victory for the Evil Dragon Battle Team without exposing their true strength. After all, this would benefit them greatly in the upcoming competitions. Now that Phoenix Rain had rejected his proposal, he had no choice but to show her how powerless the Asura Battle Team was against the Evil Dragon Battle Team, forcing her to regret her decision. "Understood!" Silent March nodded and left the room. Time passed quickly. As more people arrived in the Dark Arena, Phoenix Rain desperately worked with her subordinates to learn more about the Evil Dragon Battle Team. At the same time, she used her connections to obtain some top-tier equipment for the Asura Battle Team. As the competition was about to begin, Blue Phoenix rushed into the VIP room Phoenix Rain occupied. "Big Sis Rain, Zero Wing''s members have arrived, but" "But what?" "They''ve only sent five people this time" "Five?! Do they want to win this competition or not?!" 1148 Toy Around Chapter 1148 - Toy Around In Flame Dragon City''s Underground Arena, a large number of advanced carriages and high-ranking Mounts crowded together outside the establishment. The hundreds of black-armored security members were currently confirming the players'' invitations. "Isn''t that person the Guild Leader of the first-rate Guild, Silver Knights?" "What is that Mount? It''s so huge!" "Crap! It''s the Epic rank glow effect!" "Which battle teams are participating in the Dark Arena this time? They have actually attracted so many amazing people!" Both the independent players that had come to tour the imperial capital and the Guild players that wanted to take part in the Dark Arena were stunned by the scene in front of the Underground Arena. Normally, it was rare to see players atop high-ranked Mounts in Flame Dragon City, yet warhorses, cheetahs, tigers, lions, giant wolves, and various other powerful Mounts now packed the street. It was a dazzling sight to behold. Aside from high-ranking Mounts, players also saw various upper echelons from many of the large Guilds. However, the most popular topic among these independent and Guild players was the upper echelons'' weapons and equipment. In God''s Domain, ordinary players even considered Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment godly items. However, in this gathering of Guild upper echelons, such items were a dime a dozen. It was the Epic items that attracted attention. The true reason for the upper echelons'' visit was the Dark Arena''s first-ever auction. Even the usually uninterested large Guilds had shown up, curious about what items the auction had to offer. After all, the Dark Arena''s host had organized the auction. The host certainly wouldn''t offer inferior goods as it would soil their reputation. Moreover, the Dark Arena''s host had already announced that the auction would include an Epic item. Even first-rate Guilds had a few Epic items at most, with some only having one or two. These Guilds treasured every one of their Epic items and used them to attract new and independent players. Aside from Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds, the majority that had been invited were first-rate Guilds. There were also a select few second-rate Guilds, famous adventurer teams, and famous independent apex experts. Those who received an invitation card could also bring a few companions. In fact, many of the large Guilds'' upper echelons, who had not received an invitation themselves, had tagged along with first-rate Guild upper echelons. Hence, so many large Guilds had come to visit the Dark Arena. The Guilds without their own Epic items were eager to purchase the Epic item in the auction. Among this gathering of experts, a party of six suddenly appeared. This party was particularly eye-catching as they stood in the crowd. "Wow! Which Guild do they belong to? They are all wearing Epic items! They''re even more impressive than the Guild Leaders from first-rate Guilds!" "Wait, they aren''t from a Guild. Look; none of them are wearing Guild emblems." The players were stunned as they gazed at this party of six. Even the many upper echelons grew curious about these players'' identities. Not only did every member of the party possess Epic Equipment, but their levels were also astonishing high. All six of them were Level 43! In the Fire Dragon Empire, these people could definitely rank within the top ten on the empire''s Ranking List. Currently, only the first- and second-ranked players were Level 43. Even if one counted those who had chosen not to display their names on the Ranking List, the empire didn''t have more than five players who had reached Level 43. "Big Sis Endless, so many people are staring at us. Should we use our Black Cloaks?" Cloud Yarn asked. She felt that they were attracting too much attention. At this rate, they might be noticed by those with ill will. "No need. We''re here to build the Midnight Tea Party''s fame. With this, we can find more people to conduct business with." Paying no attention to the gazes sent her way, Endless Scars led her companions into the Dark Arena. Today, she had three goals for her visit. The first was to watch the match between Zero Wing and Miracle, the second was to take part in the auction, and the third was to find qualified superpowers to discuss business. Obviously, the Guild players crowding the Underground Arena''s entrance didn''t meet her requirements. There were simply too many people entering the Dark Arena. Hence, the host had created two paths to enter the venue. One was a VIP path for the various superpowers, while the other had been prepared for the various large Guilds. Very few representatives from the various superpowers would visit the Dark Arena, so there was no need for these people to wait in line to enter the venue. Meanwhile, the normal path for large Guilds saw a lot of traffic, so people using that path had to line up. In Endless Scars''s opinion, none of the large Guilds in line qualified to discuss business opportunities with her. Most importantly, none of them were strong enough. Naturally, she would not waste her time on these Guilds. Instead, she led the few Midnight Tea Party members that had joined her to the VIP path. Seeing the path Endless Scars''s group took, the various large Guild upper echelons, who had wanted to introduce themselves to the party, revealed bitter smiles. They also dismissed their thoughts of targeting these players'' Epic items. Those capable of entering via the VIP path had to be closely related to God''s Domain''s Super Guilds, regardless of if they were independent players or not. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have received a VIP invitation card. Meanwhile, inside a VIP room on the Underground Arena''s third floor, Abandoned Wave sat by a window. As he quietly observed the bet displayed above the arena outside, he could not help but grin. "Hahaha! Wonderful! As long as the Evil Dragon Battle Team achieves a complete victory, Blackwater will earn back all of its previous losses with interest!" Abandoned Wave said before he began to laugh. Although some people had learned that Miracle backed the Evil Dragons Battle Team, which decreased the payout rates from one-to-three to one-to-one-point-five, the payout rate for a complete victory remained one-to-eight. Suddenly, Laughing Drunkard entered the room and reported, "Guild Leader, Miss Jingxuan has arrived. Should we greet her?" "Go, greet her for me. If possible, borrow some precious materials from her. Tell her that I''ll pay her back by three-fold later," Abandoned Wave instructed after considering the matter. He did not particularly value Ling Jingxuan. After all, she didn''t possess any authority in the Blackwater Corporation. There was no need to fawn over her. However, as Ling Jingxuan was still a person of considerably high status, he had to show some respect. "Understood," Laughing Drunkard replied, bowing before taking his leave. Inside another VIP room in the Underground Arena, Phoenix Rain frowned when she saw Shi Feng''s group take their seats below the competition stage. They really only sent five people?! Phoenix Rain couldn''t believe her eyes. Just what is Zero Wing planning? She simply could not figure out what Shi Feng was trying to do. Was the man trying to provoke the Evil Dragon Battle Team? Or was he trying to conserve his team''s strength? Although other battle teams had pulled off such a stunt before, those battle teams were extremely powerful. Those battle teams were absolutely confident in defeating their opponents. Hence, they felt that there was no need to expose the identities of their other members. However, the Evil Dragon Battle Team was no ordinary team. It had the full support of Miracle. Its overall strength was much higher than the Glorious Lions Battle Team. However, it was too late for Phoenix Rain to do anything. Both teams'' rosters had already been submitted. It was impossible to make any changes now. Moreover, the first match was about to begin. Most laughably, the Asura Battle Team had decided to send Alluring Summer into the first match, someone whom Phoenix Rain had met only once before. Phoenix Rain had no information about the woman. "This Phoenix Rain really is interesting. Has she finally realized the gap between our teams?" Thousand Miles sneered as he watched the Asura Battle Team''s five members. "Unfortunately, it is too late now. March, go ahead and join the others. Also, tell Miracle Dragon and the others to toy around with the Asura Battle Team properly. Teach them how wide the gap is between our teams'' strengths." "Understood!" Silent March replied, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. 1149 Condition for Opening the Inferior Legendary Treasure Ches Chapter 1449 - Condition for Opening the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest The massive Dark Arena was packed with people, and everyone wore astonished expressions as the stared at the stage. For this competition, the Asura Battle Team had only sent five players. "What''s the Asura Battle Team trying to do?" "Could they trying for another complete victory?" "That shouldn''t be the case. Even if the Asura Battle Team has nothing but fools, they must know that the Evil Dragon Battle Team is no longer the same as it was. Miracle now leads the team. Although Miracle is only a super-first-rate Guild, it even has stronger and more experts than some Super Guilds." "I think they''re deliberately trying to lose. Now that Miracle has taken over the Evil Dragon Battle Team, the battle team''s strength has transformed tremendously. The Asura Battle Team must''ve recognized that they are no match for Evil Dragon and decided to send five members to conserve their strength for the next match." Every player in the audience had their own opinions. However, the majority was of the opinion that the Asura Battle Team intended to preserve its strength, yet they couldn''t just throw away their reputation by handing over a complete victory. Hence, they had sent five members. As long as they won one of the first three matches, they wouldn''t have too many issues. After all, the information they had collected clearly stated that the Asura Battle Team only a handful of powerful experts. This only gave the team a fighting chance in the first three matches. Once the competition proceeded to the final two matches, the Asura Battle Team had no hope of victory. More players began to place their bets on the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s victory. Because of this, the competition''s payout ratio changed again. While the payout rate for the Asura Battle Team''s victory was one-to-two, the payout rate in favor of the Evil Dragon Battle Team plummeted. However, the payout rate for either team achieving a complete victory remained the same. Meanwhile, in a VIP room on the second floor "Big Sis Endless, who do you think we should bet on?" Cloud Yarn asked hesitantly. The other Midnight Tea Party members similarly looked towards Endless Scars in hopes of predicting the victor. In their adventurer team, Endless Scars was the most capable when it came to deducing others'' strengths. Oftentimes, when their team members sparred, Endless Scars knew the outcome even before it began. They also intended on participating in the upcoming auction. It was better to have a little more money in their pockets. "Stop trying to be devious. We don''t have any concrete information about either team right now. It''s impossible to judge which team will win." Endless Scars rolled her eyes at her companions. Slowly, she continued, "Everyone must assume that Zero Wing has no hope of winning. After all, the gap between both sides is simply too massive. However, Zero Wing is not as simple as they think. Let''s just observe this battle." Had she not encountered Zero Wing at the Fallen Ark, she definitely would''ve assumed that the Evil Dragon Battle Team would win this competition. After all, Miracle had borrowed plenty of Epic items from other Guilds to secure victory. In addition, Miracle had dispatched its own apex experts to support the Evil Dragon Battle Team. It was simply impossible for Zero Wing to win. While the Asura Battle Team prepared below the stage, Shi Feng received a call from Phoenix Rain. "Team Leader Ye Feng, does Zero Wing intend to give up this competition?" Phoenix Rain asked grumpily. She had rejected Thousand Miles''s offer. She had also put her trust in Zero Wing while shouldering the pressure from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master, yet the Asura Battle Team only had five members on the stage. This made her look like a joke before Thousand Miles, Nine Dragons Emperor, and the Great Pavilion Master. If the Asura Battle Team suffered utter defeat, her plans for Thunder Island would likely be finished as well. Currently, the number of superpowers contesting over Thunder Island increased by the day. Meanwhile, the Great Pavilion Master disagreed with the idea of splitting the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s power in the contest. He believed that the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion and Phoenix Pavilion should work together to increase their chances of taking control of Thunder Island. If her performance in the Dark Arena disappointed the Great Pavilion Master, the latter would hand the Phoenix Pavilion''s management rights to Nine Dragons Emperor. She wouldn''t be in a favorable position. "Give up?" Shi Feng chuckled. He more or less understood why Phoenix Rain had asked such a question. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, we haven''t given up. We just couldn''t find enough capable experts, so we had no choice but to send five people." Shi Feng wasn''t happy with the situation, either. However, he had no other choice. When he had obtained the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, it should''ve been a cause for celebration. Unfortunately, none of them expected the strict conditions for opening the Treasure Chest. Even Shi Feng had been surprised. Opening the Treasure Chest actually required 3,000 players. The condition was very simple. One needed to send 3,000 players into the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. These players would then have to clear the trials inside. The Treasure Chest would only open after all 3,000 players cleared their trials. To ensure their success with opening the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, Shi Feng had gathered every expert in the Guild, supplementing the missing numbers with the Guild''s top elite players. However, he had never thought that, upon entering the chest, the players would be sent to separate trials. Moreover, players inside couldn''t contact those in the outside world. They couldn''t log out of the game, either. There were only two ways to leave the Treasure Chest. The first method was to clear one''s trial. The second was to wait for 48 hours. Once the time was up, players would be sent out of the Treasure Chest automatically. Unfortunately, if even one player failed their trial, they wouldn''t be able to open the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest Among those who entered the Treasure Chest, Shi Feng had performed the best. Even so, it had taken him over eight hours to clear his trial. While inside, he had fought many monsters, with each being stronger than the last. It felt as if the trial were pushing players to surpass their limits with each battle. After Shi Feng, Violet Cloud, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Alluring Summer emerged from the Treasure Chest, one after another. However, even Violet Cloud, who had been the fastest among the four, had needed over 14 hours to clear her trial, whereas Alluring Summer, who had been the slowest, had taken 16 hours. Everyone else was still stuck inside the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest As the competition in the Dark Arena was about to begin, Shi Feng had no choice but to led Violet Cloud and the others to the venue first. While Shi Feng had considered looking for substitutes on the way here, he simply couldn''t think of anyone suitable for the role. Aside from his group of five, there wasn''t even one Level 40-plus expert player in the Guild; they were all trapped inside the Treasure Chest. If he brought anyone below Level 40 to the Dark Arena, they''d become a laughingstock. Couldn''t find enough capable experts? Phoenix Rain was speechless. She even began to wonder if Shi Feng was toying with her. However, seeing Shi Feng''s serious expression, the man should not be lying. It was quite possible that Shi Feng knew how powerful the Evil Dragon Battle Team was. If that were the case, it wasn''t unexpected that he couldn''t find enough people capable of challenging the battle team. Since they had no hope of winning the final two three-versus-three matches, there was no point in leading the rest of the members here. It was safer to bet everything they had on the first three matches. "I understand. It will be alright if you don''t win this competition. I just hope that you don''t allow the Evil Dragon Battle Team to look down on the Asura Battle Team," Phoenix Rain softly advised Shi Feng. Although their chances of defeat were high, as long as they won two of the first three matches, their defeat would be glorious in the eyes of outsiders. At that time, she could better-explain herself to the Great Pavilion Master. As for achieving another complete victory In Phoenix Rain''s opinion, that was impossible. There were two monster-like experts on the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s roster. They even had the Witch of the West holding down the fort. It would be a miracle if the Asura Battle Team weren''t utterly annihilated. 1150 Absolute Combat Power Control Chapter 1150 - Absolute Combat Power Control As Phoenix Rain tried to console him, Shi Feng realized that she had definitely misunderstood something. However, he also wasn''t in a good position to explain the situation. After all, he could not reveal why he hadn''t found any suitable fighters. The Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest was of utmost importance. Although it might not make him the enemy of every Guild in the game like the City Building Order would, super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds would dispatch a large number of experts to steal the Treasure Chest. The various superpowers would repeatedly assassinate Zero Wing''s upper echelons. "This is the latest information I''ve gathered about the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Take a look," Phoenix Raid said before forwarding the files she had received from Blue Phoenix to Shi Feng. Although they hadn''t uncovered much information about the enemy battle team''s members due to time constraints, it could still help Shi Feng form a proper strategy for the competition. Hasn''t Miracle invested a little too much into this competition?! Shi Feng was speechless after looking through the files. It would''ve been fine if Miracle only sent the Sword Freak, Miracle Dragon. However, Shi Feng hadn''t expected Miracle to dispatch the Assassin Starstreak, who wielded the title Speed Star. Both players were bona fide monster-like experts. However, the name on the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s roster that confused Shi Feng the most had to be the Witch of the West, Alice. Everyone in the virtual gaming world recognized the title the Witch of the West. Currently, the Witch ranked 21st on the God''s Domain Experts List. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Martial Dragon was known as an absolute genius that only appeared once a decade. Before even reaching the age of thirty, Martial Dragon had grasped a Domain. Meanwhile, based on what Shi Feng knew, Alice held the record for the youngest person to grasp a Domain. Many Super Guilds had attempted to recruit Alice. In the end, however, Miracle had paid a high price for her membership. Aside from Miracle''s core upper echelons, no one knew exactly what conditions the Witch of the West had demanded. After Alice had joined God''s Domain, despite the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion trying its best to uncover information about her, the Pavilion had only managed to find minor, irrelevant facts. The only crucial information they discovered was that, shortly after God''s Domain had launched, Alice had successfully killed three of the Secret Pavilion''s apex experts in a row. After that incident, the Secret Pavilion had pushed Alice to the 21st position on the God''s Domain Experts List. The Secret Pavilion had only provided a brief explanation of the battle that day. The Pavilion had not released any concrete information or battle videos. Many apex experts had been displeased and felt that the Secret Pavilion''s judgment had been biased. These experts all rushed to challenge Alice. However, these challenges'' outcomes had silenced any objections. Many of these people had even decided to join Miracle afterward. The situation had sparked many Super Guilds'' curiosity. Although Shi Feng did not know what had happened, he knew that the Witch of the West was extremely frightening. In the past, the Witch of the West had been most well-known for her absolute combat power control. It was a unique combat technique that had been tailored for Alice. In the past, one had been considered an ordinary expert if they could exert 50% of their total combat power. As for second-rate experts, they were capable of exerting at least 60% of their combat power. First-rate experts could exert 70%, top-tier experts could exert 80%, peak experts could exert over 85%, and apex experts could exert over 90% of their combat power. Meanwhile, the Witch of the West could display 100% of her total combat power! Even Domain Realm experts would struggle to reach such heights With these three great experts on the Evil Dragon Battle Team, it was no wonder why Phoenix Rain doubted that the Asura Battle Team had any chance of victory. While Shi Feng plotted a strategy to deal with the enemy roster, the system announced both teams'' rosters to the audience. "Crap, the Sword Freak is here! I''ve been one of his loyal fans for a long time!" "Is the Evil Dragon Battle Team holding an all-star competition?" "Sword Freak, Speed Star, Witch of the West" "No wonder why the Asura Battle Team only sent five people! They must''ve given up, knowing that they''d lose for sure! What a bunch of cowards! They aren''t even putting up a fight!" The audience gasped in shock when they saw the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s roster. Although they had already heard rumors that Miracle now supported the battle team, they had never imagined that the super-first-rate Guild would provide so much support. The crowd could not help but shiver with excitement when they saw the names on the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s roster. Compared to the Evil Dragon Battle Team, the previous teams were simply weaklings. "Uncle Yuan, has Miracle lost its mind? It actually sent so many of its peak experts." Purple Jade frowned when she saw the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s roster. The various Super Guilds were treating the Dark Arena like a playground. They would not take the competitions here seriously and expose their experts'' strengths. However, the combatants that Miracle had dispatched spoke volumes of how seriously the Guild took the Dark Arena. It was likely that only teams with the backing of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had any chance of contending with the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Other Guild and major corporation battle teams shouldn''t even consider taking a team like that down. "Jade, don''t forget that the Mind Space System has officially activated. Miracle is most likely growing restless and trying to obtain as many resources as it can as quickly as possible. As the Dark Arena takes shape, it''s becoming an excellent source of income. Miracle will start taking the competitions here seriously," Yuan Tiexin said. Miracle''s actions hadn''t surprised him in the least. "It''s unfortunate that Zero Wing still doesn''t have enough experts and can''t participate in a competition of this level yet. "However, at least we have not wasted our trip since we''ll get to watch a few interesting matches and gain a deeper understanding of the Evil Dragon Battle Team." Meanwhile, inside a VIP room on the second floor Over a dozen people lounged in the VIP room, and every one of them was Level 41 or above. Among them, the tall, mighty man in the lead was a Level 42 Berserker and carried a pitch-black greatsword across his back. If Shi Feng saw this man, he would recognize this Level 42 Berserker as Everlasting War. Sitting around Everlasting War were the Glorious Lions'' reserve members. They all gaped as they stared at the roster over the stage. "Vice Team Leader, we specifically came all the way here to watch the Asura Battle Team in action, but at this rate, won''t the Evil Dragon Battle Team annihilate Asura?" "That''s right. If the Evil Dragon Battle Team secures a complete victory, our Glorious Lions'' reputation will plummet since the Asura Battle Team defeated us." "Alright, enough. We''re simply here to watch the competition. If the Asura Battle Team is utterly defeated, this can only mean that they aren''t improving fast enough. In that case, we simply need to defeat the Evil Dragon Battle Team to redeem ourselves." Everlasting War strictly reprimanded his team after hearing the reserve members'' concerns. The Glorious Lions had suffered a complete defeat against the Asura Battle Team. Losing that competition had dealt Everlasting War a massive mental blow. He had never imagined that Shi Feng and the others would be so powerful. Since then, he had finally understood that there was always someone better. In the past, he and his team members were too ignorant and thought of themselves as experts. Henceforth, they had trained desperately and improved themselves. Today, he and his team had come to gain a proper understanding of the Asura Battle Team. Unfortunately, they hadn''t expected the battle team to be so outmatched. Deep down, though, Everlasting War still hoped that the Asura Battle Team would win. With this, defeating the Asura Battle Team in a future rematch would have more meaning. Below the stage, in the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s resting area Miracle Dragon glanced at the Asura Battle Team''s roster before turning to look at the distant Shi Feng. When he noticed the Swordsman''s calm expression, he could not help his disappointment. "And here I thought that he would be a formidable rival. Now, it seems he''s just a coward," Miracle Dragon said contemptuously. "March, I''ll let you arrange the match-ups. There''s no reason to take an opponent that has already surrendered seriously." "Understood. Since they are sending an Elementalist into the first match, I''ll volunteer to fight," Silent March suggested. "Fine. However, I forbid you from messing around too much. Just toy with the opponent a little. Do not expose too much of your strength. We need to ensure that we''ll progress towards challenging the host," Miracle Dragon instructed. Silent March nodded in response. She then walked up the stage. 1151 Peak Class Chapter 1151 - Peak Class The moment Silent March took to the stage, cheers erupted around the arena. "They''re starting the first match with the Purgatory Legion''s vice commander? Miracle really is merciless." "I heard that she has the Necromancer class and can summon skeletons with high Magic Resistance. The Asura Battle Team''s Elementalist is in trouble." "Trouble? More like a tragedy. Magical classes fear close range more than anything. Elementalists are no exception. A Necromancer can summon dozens of Undead without much trouble. An Elementalist has no chance against an army of Undead." The audience was comprised of large Guild upper echelons and expert players. They were all familiar with various news and details in God''s Domain. Hence, they were all familiar with the Purgatory Legion''s Silent March. Not only was Silent March the vice commander of one of Miracle''s trump card legions, but she also wielded a hidden class. Due to her status, the various large Guilds had investigated the woman and had come to understand just how powerful the Necromancer class was. The Necromancer was a peak hidden class that had almost no weaknesses. The class was incredibly powerful in every aspect. A fight between a Necromancer and an ordinary class would simply be one-sided. When Phoenix Rain, who watched from a VIP room, saw the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s representative for the first match, a shade fell over her white, unblemished skin. They''re using one of their secret weapons in the first match? Thousand Miles is really taking this seriously. Phoenix Rain frowned when she saw Silent March''s gray, gemstone staff. When she had previously met Silent March, the latter had carried a blackwood staff. Based on her estimates, that blackwood staff should have only been a top-tier Dark-Gold staff, yet Silent March had changed her equipment, wielding a new staff now. Normally, this was considered a huge PvP taboo. After all, it was impossible to use an unfamiliar weapon to its fullest potential without some practice. Despite knowing this, Silent March had switched weapons. There could only be one possibility for such a decision. Silent March''s current staff must be far superior to her prior weapon. Needless to say, the gemstone staff was certainly an Epic staff. Moreover, the Necromancer had replaced more than her weapon. She had also switched out two pieces of her old equipment. Furthermore, as Silent March was the Purgatory Legion''s vice commander, Miracle should have given her at least one Epic item, to begin with. In other words, Silent March had at least three Epic items on her Phoenix Rain''s frown deepened. As the Phoenix Pavilion''s Pavilion Master, she knew full well that Epic items provided more than just a massive Attribute boost. Epic items also came with powerful Skills and effects. Although Phoenix Rain did not know how strong Alluring Summer was, in terms of equipment, the Elementalist was no match for Silent March. The fact that Silent March had earned the position of vice commander in one of Miracle''s three trump card legions showed that her combat standard was at the Flowing Water Realm at the very least, which meant she was capable of reading her opponents. Her Necromancer class only further bolstered her combat power. Even against a Void Realm expert with the same quality of weapons and equipment, Silent March had a chance of emerging victorious. As Phoenix Rain despaired over the upcoming fight, Alluring Summer approached the stage. Currently, Alluring Summer wore a Black Cloak. No one could see her current level or equipment; only her face was visible. However, many among the audience gasped upon seeing her beauty. Alluring Summer''s aura was also a stark contrast to Silent March''s. If one described Silent March''s aura as dark and deathly, then Alluring Summer''s was light and vital. "Who is this beauty? Why haven''t I seen her in the Asura Battle Team''s files before? Is she Asura''s secret trump card?" "How can that be possible? I check for any information about this beauty. She doesn''t have any battle records at all. She''s likely a newcomer that the Asura Battle Team is trying to cultivate. They might have let her tag along to gain experience." When Alluring Summer appeared, the audience''s attention shifted to her. Although the Asura Battle Team''s defeat was already certain, it was still worth taking note of the team''s members. After all, the Asura Battle Team had secured a total victory against the Glorious Lions. The battle team was still quite powerful. It just hadn''t been as lucky this time. Since a new face had joined the Asura Battle Team, it was only natural that everyone paid attention to her. Silent March smiled as she watched the Elementalist approach the stage. Giggling, she said, "I''m sure you''ve already discovered that I''m a Necromancer. Rest assured, I won''t summon a bunch of Undead to fight you. Think of it as adding a little more fun to the match." "I have to thank you for that, then. However, I advise you to go all out from the very beginning. Otherwise, this fight will be over very quickly," Alluring Summer said, smiling. Her sweet smile could even melt snow. "Is that so? I''ll listen to your suggestion, then. Very soon, I''ll show everyone what despair looks like on your face!" Silent March sneered. Originally, she had planned to toy with Alluring Summer for a bit. However, she had just changed her mind. Although the audience couldn''t hear the conversation between the two women, when they saw the smiles on the women''s faces, they somehow felt chills crawl down their spines. The timer above the stage began to count down. Five! Four! Three! Once the countdown began, the audience members focused on the stage, their heart rates increasing. Unlike a duel between ordinary players, experts would descend into a rapid battle as soon as the fight began, pushing their bodies to the limits. If one wanted to view and understand the fight clearly, one needed to pay careful attention. The instant the timer ended, Silent March took action. The Necromancer started off by chanting an incantation, her free hand writing one line of runes after another. Her writing was so fast that no one could even see her hand''s shadow. Shortly after, a gray magic array formed beside Silent March, stupefying the spectators. "Crap! Triple casting?! Is she even human?!" "As expected of the Purgatory Legion''s vice commander! Her strength is absurd!" Single casting was already difficult for ordinary players. If a Spell''s incantation and runes were not chanted and written properly, the Spell would be significantly weaker. Extremely few experts were capable of double casting. Not only did players need to get the chant and runes of both Spells correct when double casting, but players also needed to be fast. Players needed to complete the chants and runes for both Spells within a short time. Otherwise, the system would determine the Spells'' casting time to be too long, and the system would interrupt the cast. All magical class players dreamed of being able to triple cast. It wasn''t something that could be achieved through hard work alone. One needed to be talented! Once a magical class player grasped triple casting, their strength would undergo a qualitative transformation. Fighting a triple caster was like fighting three players at once. Moreover, these three players would cooperate seamlessly. While everyone was shocked by Silent March''s triple casting, Alluring Summer revealed that she could double cast. Unfortunately, the difference between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. "Cry out in despair!" Silent March revealed a sinister expression as she sneered at Alluring Summer. She then raised her staff and pointed it toward the sky. Immediately, a black magic array appeared above the fighters, covering half of the stage. Tier 1 Curse, Call of Death! A magic array had also appeared beneath Alluring Summer''s feet, with chains bones sprouting from the magic array to wrap around the Elementalist. Tier 1 Spell, Bone Imprisonment! Meanwhile, sharp spears appeared around Silent March, aimed for Alluring Summer. This was the Tier 1 Spell, White Bone Spears! "What a pity. This match is going to end as soon as it began," Silent March taunted, smiling gleefully. She then swung her staff and shouted, "Disappear!" The six bone spears shot straight for the immobilized Elementalist. 1152 Staff versus Staff Chapter 1152 - Staff versus Staff Thousand Miles, who relaxed in a VIP room on the third floor, frowned as he watched the scene on the stage. In a reprimanding tone, he muttered, "March is taking this too seriously. She should''ve at least let Alluring Summer struggle. What is the point of an instant win?" The Evil Dragon Battle Team did not simply want to defeat the Asura Battle Team. More importantly, they aimed for a complete victory. If they won the first match so easily, it would likely affect the payout rate for the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s complete victory. He had reminded Silent March to toy with her opponent, creating a misconception for the audience that a complete victory wouldn''t be so easy for them. "Maple, notify Miracle Dragon and the others right away. Have them ease up a little during the next two matches." "Understood!" The Elementalist, Cleansed Maple, immediately sent Miracle Dragon a message. When Silent March revealed her ability to triple cast, not only had she stunned the Guild upper echelons watching, but she had also shocked the experts from the various superpowers in the third-floor VIP rooms. "Is this Silent March a spellcasting genius?" Blue Phoenix couldn''t believe her eyes. Although she, too, knew how to triple cast, doing so was far more difficult than ordinary people could imagine. The higher a Spell''s tier was, the more incantations and runes its casting required. After training arduously, she could only cast two Tier 1 Spells and one Tier 0 Spell simultaneously, yet Silent March had cast a Tier 1 Curse and two Tier 2 spells at the same time. While both were capable of triple casting, the difference between them was massive. Tier 0 Spells were no threat to a Tier 1 player. Normally, these Spells were only used as a distraction. In other words, one of her three attacks was negligible. Ordinary experts could generally complete two tasks at once. Thus, defending against two attacks wasn''t difficult. Her opponents only needed to defend against her Tier 1 Spells, ignoring her Tier 0 Spell altogether. The most a Tier 0 Spell could do was deal some minor damage. If an ordinary expert fought her, as long as they were careful, they could even find an opportunity to counterattack and turn the tables. However, of the three Spells Silent March used, two were significant threats, while one could deal a killing blow! While ordinary experts could survive against her for some time, Silent March would kill them instantly. "Big Sis Endless, Silent March is amazing! Her triple casting can almost rival yours!" Cloud Yarn stated, surprised as she watched the stage. She had never imagined that anyone else could reach Endless Scars'' standards. "She is indeed. However, she is nowhere near as powerful as Endless yet," the team leader, Breeze Wine, said as he rolled his eyes at Cloud Yarn. Slowly, he explained, "Endless relies on her own abilities to cast three Tier 1 Spells. That woman, on the other hand, is relying on her staff." "Her staff?" Cloud Yarn grew confused. "That''s right. That staff is the Crimson Emperor Guild''s treasured staff, the Magician''s Scepter. This staff has a special effect that provides a 20% error adjustment when spellcasting," Breeze Wine explained as he gazed at the gemstone staff in Silent March''s hand. Enviously, he said, "Magician''s Scepter can improve a magical class''s spellcasting tremendously. In the hands of someone like Silent March, that weapon is even more magnificent. Unless that Alluring Summer can reach Endless''s standards, this fight won''t have any meaning." Meanwhile, above the stage, the six bone spears transformed into six streaks of white light that arrived before Alluring Summer instantly; every one locked on to the Elementalist''s vital points. Even without Bone Imprisonment''s restraints, Alluring Summer couldn''t escape the bone spears'' attacks unscathed. "Die!" Silent March sneered. Peng! Peng! Peng! As the spears were about to strike Alluring Summer, a layer of ice appeared around the Elementalist, encasing her. Not only had Ice Barrier removed Bone Imprisonment, but it had also deflected the bone spears. As for the Level 42 Lord ranked Skeleton Knight that Silent March had summoned, it could only watch the Elementalist helplessly. "Not a bad decision. Unfortunately, Ice Barrier is an Elementalist''s most powerful Lifesaving Skill. You can only use it once in this match. What are you going to do once the Spell''s duration ends?" Silent March asked contemptuously. She wielded the Magician''s Scepter as well as a Peak Legacy. She could even challenge a Domain Realm expert, not to mention Alluring Summer. However, as Silent March was about to cast another series of Spells, she discovered something off about the Mana flow above the stage. She tilted her head back to look. The moment she looked up, however, she was startled. A massive, blue magic array gradually formed above the stage. This array was no weaker than her Tier 1 Curse. The audience was similarly stunned by this sight. "What a decisive move!" Even a fool could tell that the magic array was a large-scale destruction Spell. Large-scale destruction Spells did not differentiate between friend and foe. Everyone within the Spell''s range was free game. However, Ice Barrier was a Lifesaving Skill that gave its user invulnerability during its duration. Alluring Summer could easily endure her own Spell. However, Summoners did not have Invulnerability Skills. If Silent March couldn''t defend herself against the large-scale destruction Spell, she would definitely die. Boom Boom Boom As one lightning strike descended after another, over half of the stage had transformed into an electric hell. Even Silent March could not escape the Spell''s range in time. After the thunderstorm had passed, the battlefield was unrecognizable. Alluring Summer finally emerged from her Ice Barrier. As everyone assumed that Silent March was dead The instant Alluring Summer''s Ice Barrier vanished, the previously summoned Skeleton Knight charged out of the smoke and slashed its longsword at the Elementalist. Instinctively, Alluring Summer used her Blink Skill and instantly appeared 15 yards away from her original position, avoiding the Skeleton Knight''s Chop. "You''re still alive?" Alluring Summer was slightly surprised when she saw Silent March reveal herself from the smoke clouds. The Necromancer appeared completely unharmed. Her expression, however, was much darker than before. "Good! You are the first person to force me to use my Legacy Lifesaving Skill! As a reward, I''ll teach you the true meaning of despair!" Silent March growled coldly as she stared at Alluring Summer. In God''s Domain, while Summoners did not possess any Lifesaving Skills that provided invulnerability, Necromancers did. The Skill''s name was Shield of Death. She had kept this trump card hidden. However, Alluring Summer had forced her to expose it. As soon as Silent March finished speaking, she began to chant once more. At the same time, she controlled the Skeleton Knight to attack Alluring Summer. Alluring Summer was forced to dodge the Skeleton Knight''s attacks while interrupting Silent March''s casting with Ice Spears. However, Silent March blocked the incoming attacks with Bone Wall. "Rise, my Undead army!" As Silent March finished the last verse, Skeleton Warriors pulled themselves from the ground before her. Some of the Warriors wielded longswords and shields, while others wielded battle axes and some had bows. In the blink of an eye, a small legion had appeared before Silent March. Although the majority of the small legion consisted of Level 42 Common ranked Skeleton Warriors, as Undead''s Magic Resistance was quite high, even cannon fodder could prove to be troublesome for an Elementalist. Furthermore, among the 60-plus Skeleton Warriors, there were even a few Level 42 Elite ranked Skeleton Warriors equipped with good equipment. This move was none other than Necromancers'' trademark Skill, Undead Legion. As Silent March''s Undead Legion was still a Tier 1 Skill, it could only summon 60 Common ranked Skeleton Warriors with a chance to summon Elites. Upon reaching Tier 2, however, the Necromancer could summon 100 Elite ranked Skeleton Warriors with a chance to summon Special Elites. Everyone fell silent as the Skeleton Warriors filled the stage. Even MT classes like Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors felt chills crawl down their spines. This numerical advantage was overwhelming! "You want to fight as a group?" Alluring Summer revealed a joyful smile as she grinned at the Undead legion before her. "Come, then!" Saying so, Alluring Summer stored her original staff and retrieved a black scythe from her bag. There were extremely intricate skulls and magical patterns engraved on the scythe. At a glance, it looked like the Grim Reaper''s signature weapon. This staff was none other than the staff that dropped from one of the Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. Death''s Sigh! 1153 One-sided Bullying Chapter 1153 - One-sided Bullying When Alluring Summer replaced her staff, her aura began to transform. If Alluring Summer had been akin to the warm sun before, then now, she was cold like the moon. Moreover, her aura wasn''t the only thing that had transformed. A faint layer of gray fog had also appeared around her, obscuring her from sight. "Is that a staff? Why does it look more like a melee weapon?" Rather than an Elementalist, the crowd thought Alluring Summer looked like a god of death. "That weapon is giving off such a powerful oppression. I bet it''s an Epic Weapon. It''s a pity that there isn''t much point to switching weapons right now. With so many Skeleton Warriors and the Skeleton Knight, she doesn''t have a chance. Silent March is waiting for an opportunity on the other side of the stage, too." "I know, right? The Necromancer class is simply broken in a one-on-one fight." Although the spectators had realized that Alluring Summer''s new weapon was quite powerful, a single weapon could not change this battle''s outcome. After all, the difference between the fighters'' strengths was simply too vast. Watching up to this point, the upper echelons from the various large Guilds finally realized just how terrifying a peak class could be. Unlike the rest of the audience, however, Endless Scars, sitting in one of the VIP rooms, carefully observed Death''s Sigh in Alluring Summer''s hands. The more she observed the weapon, the more her interest grew. Breeze Wine was also staring at Death''s Sigh, his expression growing more thoughtful. "Endless, don''t you think that weapon looks just like that weapon recorded in the ancient book?" Breeze Wine asked. The Midnight Tea Party had explored many extremely dangerous locations. During their adventures, they had found an ancient book in a secret location. Although this book did not have any powerful abilities, it had been passed down since ancient times. Many weapons had been recorded within, and players would consider every one of these weapons godly items. Alluring Summer''s current weapon looked very similar to one of the weapons in the ancient book. "It looks similar, yet quite different. However, I doubt that''s the real thing. No matter how I think about it, it is impossible for current players to get their hands on that weapon." Endless Scars denied Breeze Wine''s conjecture. Suddenly, Silent March began her attack. Immediately, the Necromancer directed her Skeleton Knight and Skeleton Warriors to attack Alluring Summer from all sides. This way, the Elementalist could neither defend herself nor Blink away. In the end, Alluring Summer would be surrounded and killed. As the Skeleton Knight and Skeleton Warriors inched closer to Alluring Summer, she responded by using the Tier 1 Spell, Blizzard. A snowstorm then enveloped an area of 10*20 yards, turning every Skeleton Warrior within range into an ice statue. A damage of over -6,000 appeared above the Skeleton Warriors'' heads. Alluring Summer frowned. These Undead monsters'' Magic Resistance was much higher than she had expected. Unless she used a large-scale destruction Spell, she couldn''t instant-kill these Level 42 Skeleton Warriors with 45,000 HP. "Stop wasting your energy. With the Skeleton Warriors'' Magic Resistance, the damage they receive from Tier 1 Spells is reduced by 70%. Even if you''ve switched to an Epic Weapon, you are still no match for them," Silent March said, sneering. "Or do you think that you can bridge the gap with one measly Epic Weapon? Don''t forget that I have my own Epic staff." As soon Silent March spoke, six White Bone Spears appeared around her once more. "You had used your Lifesaving Skill to defend against this attack. I want to see how you survive this time!" Silent March shouted and swung her staff down. Immediately, the six bone spears flew towards Alluring Summer. Seeing this, the audience assumed that this match was over. Regarding Basic Attributes or class, Silent March was greatly superior to Alluring Summer. It was impossible for Alluring Summer to secure victory by relying on one Epic staff. "It''s over!" "However, the Asura Battle Team has not lost this match in vain. Without any advantages, the loss isn''t unusual." The crowd couldn''t help but pity the Asura Battle Team. Although both battle teams had the support of a Guild, the difference between Zero Wing and Miracle was massive. In the previous competition, the Asura Battle Team had relied on their Basic Attributes, weapons, and equipment to achieve victory. Unfortunately, they were weaker than the Evil Dragon Battle Team in every aspect. Boom! As an explosion rang through the battlefield; smoke and dust flew into the air. "Hm?" Silent March frowned, confused as she looked at Alluring Summer, who stood amidst the dust and smoke. Alluring Summer had only evaded the six bone spears. The Elementalist had not bothered to use Skills to defend herself. No magical class expert would make such a simple mistake. Four bone spears had struck Alluring Summer, her HP falling below 50%. As long as she launched another volley with the White Bone Spears, she could take the Elementalist''s life. In reality, even if Silent March didn''t attack, her skeletons could defeat Alluring Summer easily. "Giving up already?" Silent March could not help but laugh. "Giving up?" Alluring Summer shook her head. Chuckling, she said, "I have not given up. On the contrary, I owe you my thanks." "Thanks?" Silent March was confused. "Thank me for suppressing you with my overwhelming strength?" "No. This Death''s Sigh is a very special staff. Only when its user''s HP is below 50% can display its true potential," Alluring Summer said, helplessness filling her voice as she gazed at the scythe in her hand. "Are you trying to say that you can defeat me once you have less than half of your HP?" Silent March could not help but grin at the Elementalist, glaring at the woman with contempt and ridicule. She had three Epic items on her right now, and every one of them had astonishing effects. She hadn''t even used one of their effects thus far. Alluring Summer was dreaming if she thought she could beat her with some Epic Staff. "No, not defeat." Chuckling, Alluring Summer said, "This will just be one-sided bullying." Silent March was instantly furious upon hearing Alluring Sumer''s confidence. Lightly waving her Magician''s Scepter, she activated one of the staff''s Skills. - [Mana Amplification] Increases the effects of all Skills used by caster by 500% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 2 hours - Now, Silent March was even strong enough to face a Grand Lord of the same level. Immediately, 30 White Bone Spears appeared around Silent March. Moreover, every one contained more power than the previous spears. The audience was flabbergasted. "Crap, this is just too overpowered!" "She''s too strong! Even ten of me couldn''t take her on!" "Is this the strength of the Purgatory Legion''s vice commander?" If these players had thought that they had any hope against an expert like Silent March, then now, she felt like an invincible monster. "Turn to ash!" Silent March waved her staff towards Alluring Summer. Xiu Xiu Xiu The 30 bone spears flew towards Elementalist, leaving her with no space to dodge. "I was waiting for this!" Alluring Summer was unperturbed in the face of the incoming spears. On the contrary, she appeared excited. Gripping Death''s Sigh tightly in both hands, she swung the weapon down towards the enemy Necromancer. Peng! The sound of glass shattering reached the spectators. The space before Alluring Summer then split like two halves of a broken window. Following which, both the incoming bone spears and the skeleton legion turned into ash and dust. Although Silent March tried to say something, she suddenly collapsed to the ground. Her vision faded to gray before she saw nothing but a black void. Before everyone could react, the system signaled the match''s end, the sound echoing throughout the arena. The victor''s name appeared above the stage. Victor: Alluring Summer! 1154 Twelve Great Legendary Staffs Chapter 1154 - Twelve Great Legendary Staffs Seeing the victor''s ID hovering above the stage, silence reigned over the competition venue. For a moment, it seemed as if this silence had blanketed the world. The match''s outcome confused everyone. No matter how they looked at it, Silent March should''ve won this match with ease. Alluring Summer simply had no hope of winning, yet she had overturned the match with a single Skill. Everything had happened so suddenly that, before they even realized it, Silent March, who had 100% of her HP remaining, was dead. "What...just happened?" "Silent March was defeated?" "What kind of attack was that?" Many people''s eyes widened in shock when they watched the replay. However, even in the end, they hadn''t seen Alluring Summer''s attack process. From beginning to end, Alluring Summer had only lightly swung her scythe. After that, the space before Alluring Summer had split in half, killing the Undead and Silent March, who had been 30 yards away, instantly. In God''s Domain, ranged attacks normally had a trajectory indicator. For example, when Silent March had fired the White Bone Spears at Alluring Smile, the spectators had seen trajectory indicators for a brief moment, allowing them to predict where the attacks would land. However, Alluring Summer''s attack hadn''t displayed any trajectory indicators. It was as if Alluring Summer had struck Silent March the moment she swung Death''s Sigh. "Big Sis Endless, I just watched the replay multiple times, and I couldn''t see any indicators. Does Alluring Summer''s Skill not use them?" Cloud Yarn could not help but ask. If she were to point out who knew the most about God''s Domain, then it would definitely be Endless Scars. If Endless Scars didn''t know something, that no one else in the team would either. "You don''t need to look for them. Her attack does not have any trajectory indicators." Endless Scars'' eyes shown with excitement as she stared at the scythe in Alluring Summer''s hands. "I really didn''t expect this. Although it isn''t the real deal, I''m shocked to see that Zero Wing has obtained such a weapon. Silent March had not lost without reason." Breeze Wine nodded in agreement with Endless Scars''s words, fear filling his eyes as he looked at Alluring Summer''s weapon. He was certain that the weapon Alluring Summer wielded was a replica of one of God''s Domain''s Twelve Great Legendary Staffs, Death''s Sigh. As for the weapon being the real deal, that was very unlikely. According to the ancient book, the real article had been destroyed long ago. Even a Blacksmith God couldn''t repair it. Thus, he was absolutely confident that the Elementalist''s Death''s Sigh was a replica. However, the imitation was considerably similar to the real thing if it could even use Dimensional Fracture. Dimensional Fracture was an unblockable Skill. Even invulnerability could not stop it. Dimensional Fracture ignored distance and all forms of protection. When activated, the Skill would even penetrate invincible defenses and attack the target directly. It was rumored that the real Death''s Sigh could instant-kill any creature below Tier 6. Of course, that was only a rumor. Moreover, Alluring Summer only wielded a replica. Even so, a replica should have no problems instant-killing a Tier 1 magical class player. "She''s dead?!" Phoenix Rain was somewhat confused after watching the match''s outcome. This win was too sudden. She hadn''t been prepared for such an outcome. Rather than calling this a PvP match, it had been a one-sided display of power. "Damn it! Damn it!" Thousand Miles''s eyes radiated killing intent as he glared at Alluring Summer. He wanted to rush onto the stage and kill the Elementalist back to Level 0. This single loss had foiled his plans to annihilate the Asura Battle Team. He had bet tons of resources on the Evil Dragon Battle Team achieving a complete victory. Now that his plan had failed, why wouldn''t he be furious? He had intended to use those resources to compete for the authority over Thunder Island. Now, however, they were gone Very quickly, Thousand Miles calmed himself down. He turned to Cleansed Maple and said, "Notify Miracle Dragon immediately! I don''t want to see them lose another match! I want them to go all out in the next two fights!" Now that a complete victory was no longer possible, they could only defeat the Asura Battle Team and recuperate their losses from the competition''s winnings. Many large Guilds had come to participate in the upcoming auction. Before the auction began, however, many of these Guilds would try their luck and bet on the competition. As long as the Evil Dragon Battle Team won, their winnings might make up for the losses they suffered. Hence, Thousand Miles was now taking the competition seriously and refused to give the Asura Battle Team any hope of victory. However, compared to Thousand Miles''s rage, Abandoned Wave had nearly gone mad in another VIP room. Abandoned Wave had bet practically all of his Guild''s resources on the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s complete victory. He could not afford for the team to lose even a single match. "Zero Wing!" Abandoned Wave''s eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Shi Feng''s group below the stage. Zero Wing had spoiled several of his plans now. He resolved himself for the final struggle. "Drunkard, notify the Beast Emperor and tell him that I''m willing to become an Evil God Apostle. Moreover, I''ll sacrifice one million players to him. However, I want both Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing annihilated!" "Guild Leader!" Laughing Drunkard panicked at Abandoned Wave''s command. The Blackwater Corporation''s upper echelons wanted to develop the Guild. If they sacrificed the Guild members, these upper echelons would not let Abandoned Wave off the hook, regardless of his position as Young Master Jing''s trusted aid. "Relax. I won''t use our Guild''s members. In any case, contact the Beast Emperor," Abandoned Wave said. Despite such a reply, Laughing Drunkard still thought that Abandoned Wave had lost his mind. The Beast Emperor was an extremely mysterious fellow. Every time they had met, the man''s face had been wrapped in bandages. They had never seen his true appearance. Even the name of Beast Emperor was a fake. The Beast Emperor had sought them out, stating that he could help them achieve great things. However, he had a condition. They must become Evil God Apostles. After hearing his deal, they researched what it meant to become an Evil God Apostle. Only after investigating the matter did they understand how horrible it would be to become an Evil God Apostle. Becoming one would make them an enemy to almost everyone in the game. Moreover, after becoming an Evil God Apostle, unless one deleted their accounts and restarted, they would remain an Evil God Apostle forever. Furthermore, if NPCs captured them, their accounts would be useless. Hence, Abandoned Wave had refused to become an Evil God Apostle, content with conducting trades with the Beast Emperor. "Enough. Just do as I say. I''ll explain things to Young Master Jing," Abandoned Wave coldly ordered as he shot the motionless Laughing Drunkard a glare. "Understood!" With no other option, Laughing Drunkard left the room, traveling to where he usually met the Beast Emperor. As the competition''s first round had come to an end, the audience quickly shifted its attention to the second round. The second round was a two-on-two battle. Unlike one-on-one matches, players could rely on teamwork to display even greater power. The instant the Evil Dragon Battle Team declared their participating members, the spectator''s expressions grew serious. "They can''t be serious, right?!" "It seems that the Evil Dragon Battle Team is pissed off now! They sent those two to fight! This trip was really worth it!" Many large Guild upper echelons and superpower members grew excited when they saw the names of the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s representatives for the second round. For the second round, the Evil Dragon Battle Team dispatched the Witch of the West, Alice and the Speed Star, Starstreak. Both these players were famous experts from Miracle. Even Super Guilds had to take these two players very seriously. 1155 Swapping Weapons Chapter 1155 - Swapping Weapons As everyone watched, Alice and Starstreak slowly walked onto the stage. Although neither spoke a word, just by standing on the stage, the audience could feel an intense pressure emanating from the two. "So strong!" "That is the Witch of the West?" Shock filled Blue Phoenix''s eyes as she stared at the confidently smiling, blonde, doll-like girl on the stage. Although Alice currently wore a Black Cloak, she had not bothered to hide her appearance or equipment. Thus, Blue Phoenix could determine that the Witch wore the Flaming Sun Set Equipment. The Flaming Sun was a Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for Elementalists. The set had a total of eight pieces. Blue Phoenix had recognized the set because the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion also possessed the chest piece. That was one of the several pieces of equipment they had obtained after killing a Level 55 Grand Lord in a temple ruin in the Apocalypse Empire, yet Alice wore the complete set. That was a Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about! Why wouldn''t she be shocked? After reaching Level 50, even Mysterious-Iron Equipment became very difficult to obtain, much less Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The Flaming Sun Set Equipment had a slightly unique effect. After gathering all eight pieces, players could equip the set at Level 45. In other words, Alice was at least Level 45! She even surpassed the first-ranked player on the Fire Dragon Empire''s Ranking List. When pairing Alice''s superb combat standards with the Level 50 Flaming Sun Set Equipment and Level 45, she was practically invincible among current players. "Miracle really is impressive. I never expected that they had secretly conquered the temple ruins." Phoenix Rain''s expression darkened as she watched Alice. She had wanted to conquer those ruins for a long time. The ruins contained a treasure called the Fire God''s Eye, something she sorely needed. Now that the Witch of the West wore the complete Flaming Sun Set Equipment, this meant that the temple ruins must''ve been cleared. Needless to say, they must have taken that treasure. She had planned to use the Fire God''s Eye as a trump card on Thunder Island. Now that Miracle had it, her chances of success had decreased. Moreover, Phoenix Rain did not doubt that Alice currently had the Fire God''s Eye equipped. If the information she had found described the item correctly, there was no point in competing in the second round. "Why haven''t you sent anyone up yet? I don''t want to wait here all day," Alice asked indifferently as her aqua-blue eyes gazed down at Shi Feng beneath the stage. Although Silent March''s defeat had surprised her as well, it had only increased her interest in Alluring Summer. As for the other members of the Asura Battle Team, she didn''t care about them at all. She only wanted a quick end to this boring farce. "Please wait a moment. We are still swapping weapons," Shi Feng said. "Swapping weapons?" Starstreak glanced at Alluring Summer, who stood beside Shi Feng, curiously. Immediately, his expression tensed. Alluring Summer had just passed her Death''s Sigh to Violet Cloud. Suddenly, a question popped into his mind. Wasn''t that staff supposed to be an Elementalist''s staff? Moreover, when he recalled the Skill Alluring Smile had used with Death''s Sigh, he grew more serious. "Damn! The Asura Battle Team is simply too cunning! They''re passing the staff they used in the first round to the person fighting in the second!" "Genius! The competition has no rules limiting weapons or equipment to one person. With this, the next match will be interesting to watch." Naturally, the audience noticed Violet Cloud receive Death''s Sigh. An excited discussion swept through the venue. They had already witnessed Dimensional Fracture''s might, and they had to admit that it was extremely powerful. If the Skill were used again, they might see a replay from the first round. When Thousand Miles saw this, his expression twisted, yet he couldn''t accuse the Asura Battle Team of cheating as there were no rules against their actions. While everyone chatted among themselves, Shi Feng and Violet Cloud approached the stage. Following which, the name list for the second round was officially announced on the floating screen above the arena. Elementalist Alice and Assassin Starstreak VS Swordsman Ye Feng and Cleric Violet Cloud. Everyone was confused about the Asura Battle Team''s choice of classes. In terms of classes, both sides had their own advantages. Both the Elementalist and Assassin class were classes with high burst damage. If Alice and Starstreak worked together, they could easily instant-kill a player. On the other hand, the combination of Swordsman and Cleric was more suited for attrition battles. With a Cleric''s support, the Swordsman could fight without worrying too much about defense. However, against a pure burst damage combination, the Swordsman and Cleric combination would be at a huge disadvantage. If Alice and Starstreak combined their attacks, the two could easily kill Shi Feng before Violet Cloud could heal him. The Asura Battle Team should''ve fielded a Swordsman and an Assassin instead. "Is the Asura Battle Team trying to rely on the move from the previous match and sending their sole remaining magical class player onto the stage?" Everyone had their guesses. Staff weapons could only be used by magical class players. Among the five members the Asura Battle Team had brought to the Dark Arena, excluding Alluring Summer, Violet Cloud was the only magical class player remaining. Taking Death''s Sigh into consideration, it wasn''t surprising to send Violet Cloud into the second round. "You can''t be hoping to rely on the move that killed March to defeat us, right?" Alice asked Shi Feng. Laughing, she continued, "I admit that the move is indeed powerful. However, its flaws are obvious. If we didn''t know about the Skill, it would certainly kill us. However, we know about it already. As long as we treat that Cleric like a melee player, we can easily disable the move. Furthermore, you have to face Starstreak and me, not March. "Or do you think that you will have an opportunity to use that Skill?" Alice hadn''t spoken quietly. Hence, the audience had heard her clearly. Some of the players who originally thought that the Asura Battle Team had a chance of victory couldn''t help but agree with Alice''s words. Although the Asura Battle Team''s plan was a good one, had they forgotten who their opponents were? They were talking about the Witch of the West and Speed Star. If the two worked together, even if they hadn''t known about Death''s Sigh, they could easily emerge victorious. "No, I believe you have misunderstood two things. First, Death''s Sigh isn''t an Elementalist-specific weapon," Shi Feng said, waving his hand. "Second, Alluring Summer didn''t loan this weapon to Violet Cloud. Rather, Violet Cloud had loaned the weapon to Alluring Summer. It has simply been returned." The venue fell silent after Shi Feng''s explanation. Nobody could believe what he had just said. Such a lethal weapon wasn''t actually an Elementalist weapon? Only a fool would believe that! "A bluff! This is definitely a bluff!" "That''s right! How could a weapon like that be meant for a Cleric?!" Everybody instinctively rejected Shi Feng''s declaration. They all knew how massive the impact would be to use a weapon not suited for one''s class. It would be impossible to exert the weapon''s full power. Looking back at the power Alluring Summer had displayed with Death''s Sigh, that weapon should be meant for Elementalists. As everyone assumed that Shi Feng had been bluffing, the competition''s timer began to count down. 1156 Inborn Witch Chapter 1156 - Inborn Witch Although Shi Feng had not spoken loudly, every word he said made everyone present shudder involuntarily. Particularly, the members of the Evil Dragon Battle Team, who had thought that they were already at the cusp of victory, now wore stiff expressions on their faces. "He must''ve deliberately said those words to disrupt Alice''s and Starstreak''s mental states. Does he really take us for fools?" "Since they''re too weak, they can only use small tricks like these to have any hopes of winning." "That''s right. It''s a pity that their opponents this time are Alice and Starstreak. Even if what he said is true, it won''t change the outcome of this match." "He''s just bluffing. Let''s see how Alice will take care of them in a moment." None of the Evil Dragon Battle Team members believed Shi Feng''s words. They all began laughing in ridicule as they looked at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. Is it really a bluff? Unlike his teammates, however, Miracle Dragon continued scrutinizing Shi Feng. However, even after observing the Swordsman for some time, he did not discover any awkwardness on Shi Feng''s face. On the contrary, Shi Feng''s eyes were practically glowing with confidence. Seeing this convinced Miracle Dragon that the Swordsman''s words were true. If Shi Feng was telling the truth and that Death''s Sigh was actually a weapon meant for Clerics, then the current Violet Cloud was definitely a very threatening Cleric. However, even after coming to this conclusion, Miracle Dragon did not bother doing anything. He only smiled as he silently watched the timer above the stage count down slowly. Everything was just as Alice said. Violet Cloud might be a threat in this match, but she wouldn''t be able to control its outcome. If the Asura Battle Team really thought they could win this match, then they were seriously underestimating the Miracle Guild. When only five seconds remained on the timer, Alice and Starstreak, who had been motionless all this while, suddenly moved. Alice directly chose to distance herself over 30 yards away from Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. Meanwhile, Starstreak circled around to Violet Cloud''s side; his motive could not be any more obviousto kill Violet Cloud first. When Alice was 35 yards away, she took out a crimson, wooden staff, which had a crimson flame burning at its tip, the flame looking just like an eye that could see through everything. The moment this staff appeared, fire-type Mana began massing rampantly around Alice, the Mana casting a faint, red glow around the Elementalist. At this moment, it was as if Alice had become the Goddess of Fire. "Although I don''t know whether your words are true or not, the fact that you''ve exposed your trump card so soon will only lead to your miserable defeat." After Alice completed her preparations, she smiled faintly at Shi Feng. Right as she finished speaking, the timer above the battlefield hit zero. At the same time, Alice began chanting. Although she was only double casting right now, her chanting and writing speeds were much faster than Silent March''s. In the blink of an eye, a massive, crimson magic array appeared before Alice. A tornado of flames then emerged from the magic array and extended rapidly towards Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. At the same time, a gigantic, dark blue magic array formed beneath the Swordsman''s and the Cleric''s feet, freezing the ground beneath them completely. Ice-cold fog then rose from the ground, enveloping a radius of 15 yards. This scene stupefied the audience members. "This is the Witch of the West? She is simply a monster!" Blue Phoenix''s eyes were wide open as she stared at the stage, her heart twinging with helplessness like never before. The two Spells Alice displayed were the Tier 1 Curse Torrent of Flames and the Tier 1 Curse Freezing Fog. Although both these Spells were extraordinarily powerful, they were extremely difficult to learn. Moreover, their casting times were also considerably long. Blue Phoenix herself needed around three seconds to cast either of those Spells. In a PvP match between experts, these Spells were simply too impractical. Nevertheless, despite double-casting two Curses, Alice had managed to complete them in less than two seconds. This casting speed was unbelievable. "As expected of the Witch of the West. To think she has managed to grasp even the technique to double-cast Tier 1 Curses!" Phoenix Rain wore a grim expression as she looked at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud, who were about to face an assault from ice and flames. Magical class players were generally countered by speed-based classes due to their weak melee capabilities and long casting times. However, in their research into the combat techniques of God''s Domain, the various superpowers had discovered a technique to shorten the casting time of Spellsspeed-castingwhich even allowed some higher-tiered Spells to be cast instantaneously. In God''s Domain, the purpose of chanting incantations and writing runes was to assist in forming an accurate magic array and hasten the gathering of Mana for a Spell. The higher the accuracy of a magic array, the higher the completion rate of the Spell cast. Meanwhile, the higher the completion rate of a Spell, the greater the power said Spell could display. At 50% Skill Completion Rate, the system would determine a Skill to be effective and allow its activation. Hence, as long as players managed to visualize a sufficiently accurate magic array in their minds, they could still use a Spell successfully, even without chanting or writing. Only, the higher-tiered a Spell was, the more complex its magic array would bewhich naturally made imaging the magic array in one''s mind more difficult. If one wished to accomplish this, they needed to go through a long adaptation process. Meanwhile, speed-casting was a technique that required players to form a prototype mental magic array of sorts while using incantations and runes to compensate for the imperfections in the magic array. By doing so, players could save up on plenty of time. Although the principle sounded very simple, in actual practice, the technique was extremely challenging, not to mention applying it in double-casting. This was no longer a feat that was achievable through hard work. Fortunately for Alice, she was wielding the Fire God''s Eye, which Phoenix Rain had been hoping to obtain all this time. The Fire God''s Eye had a passive effect that improved the Skill Completion Rate of fire-type Spells by 5% and other types of Spells by 3%. While this increase might seem very small, it could allow Elementalists that were still a step away from grasping speed-casting to grasp the technique, raising their combat power to a whole new level. At the same time as Alice launched her attack, Starstreak had entered Stealth and was waiting for an opportunity to land a fatal blow on Violet Cloud. Ice-Fire Domain? She''s using her trademark move right off the bat? The corners of Shi Feng''s mouth twitched as he looked at the approaching tornado of flames. The Ice-Fire Domain was Alice''s trademark. She would first use ice-type Spells to restrict her opponent''s movements, then follow up by attacking with a large-scale, fire-type Spell. The combination of these two opposing elements would amplify the power of both Spells exponentially. When she used this move against an MT of the same level, even if said MT had activated a Lifesaving Skill, they would either die instantly or have most of their HP taken away. "It''s up to you now," Shi Feng said softly as he looked at Violet Cloud. Nodding, Violet Cloud began twirling the scythe in her hands while chanting an incantation. Boom! When the tornado of flames came into contact with the icy fog, like a keg of gunpowder coming into contact with fire, a massive explosion ensued, releasing a torrent of blue and crimson Mana. Even Alice, who stood quite a distance away, had her mage robes blown back by the resulting shockwave. As for Starstreak, who was relatively close to the epicenter of the explosion, he nearly got swept off his feet. The power of the attack greatly surpassed that of a Tier 1 Curse. The explosion engulfed everything within 20 yards of Shi Feng and Violet Cloud, the range of the attack surpassing even that of Alice''s Freezing Fog. This range could already rival that of a large-scale destruction Spell. 1157 Speed Contes Chapter 1157 - Speed Contest As the explosion came to a roaring end, the rampant Mana also gradually began to dissipate. Meanwhile, the might of Alice''s Ice-Fire Domain had stupefied the many experts present. Everybody capable of taking part in the Dark Arena was someone of high status and position. Among them, there was no lack of powerful experts from large Guilds. At this moment, however, every one of these experts had their breaths taken away by the Witch of the West, particularly those magical class experts, who even found themselves gasping for air when they witnessed this scene. "SpellCombination!" "This is too amazing! It''s a true Spell Combination! Someone has actually managed to turn theory into reality!" "So this is the Witch of the West?" At this moment, the magical class players present could not help but want to rewatch the earlier scene several hundred times. Double speed-casting was already plenty amazing. However, using it as a base, the Witch of the West had displayed an even stronger ability, and that was Spell Combination. This was a peak technique that countless magical class players dreamed of bringing off. In God''s Domain, the sight of melee classes combining the Strength of their attacks was no longer rare. However, the difficulty of superpositioning two different types of Spells was much much greater than that of stacking the Strength of melee attacks. The reason for this was, firstly, players had less control over their Spells than over their bodies. Secondly, one''s grasp of timing needed to be extremely accurate. Due to these two reasons, Spell Combination was deemed to be an impossible technique. Yet, now, the Witch of the West had displayed that technique before everybody. "Isn''t she a little too strong? If she''s grasped Spell Combination, no player in the same tier can match her." Cloud Yarn was filled with shock as she looked at Alice, who was standing proudly on the stage right now. The other members of the Midnight Tea Party agreed with Cloud Yarn''s words. From the destructive power they saw, they could tell that the effect of Spell Combination was much stronger than that of Strength-stacking. Even just the combination of two ordinary Tier 1 Spells resulted in a power that could rival that of a Tier 2 Spell. Being able to cast Tier 2 Spells as a Tier 1 player would provide one with an overwhelming advantage over others, not to mention being capable of combining two Tier 1 Curses together. Anyone who did not possess a Defensive Skill that provided invulnerability would be killed instantly. "What a pity." Endless Scars could not help but sigh as she took another look at the Asura Battle Team. Her view of the battle was mostly the same as her teammates''. However, unlike them, she did not consider Alice invincible among those of the same tier. At the very least, among the experts she knew, there were many that could contend against Alice. One of the said experts was none other than the Sword King Black Flame, whom she had met just recently. Unfortunately, Black Flame was not participating in this competition. Otherwise, there would definitely be an interesting fight to watch if the two of them fought. Just as everyone believed that the Asura Battle Team''s members had already been killed and was waiting for the system to announce the victors, two vague figures appeared standing amid the scattering smoke. "They managed to survive even that?" Everyone could not help but grow confused. Even an MT with their Lifesaving Skill activated would most likely die when going up against that kind of destructive power, not to mention a Swordsman and a Cleric, which were inferior to MTs when it came to HP and Defense. The instant Violet Cloud''s figure emerged, Starstreak, who had been looking for an opportunity to strike all this time, activated Shadow Steps and dove straight into the smoke clouds. He then stabbed his pitch-black dagger at the back of the petite figure before him. Starstreak completed the entire process like flowing water. He made no sound whatsoever as he moved, and included no excess movements in his actions. Immediately, the pitch-black dagger struck at Violet Cloud at a speed invisible to the naked eye. Ambush! Dang! Sparks flew into the surroundings as the clangor of metal clashing resounded throughout the stage. Amid the little sparks, one could faintly see a longsword wrapped in blue lightning holding back the advance of Starstreak''s pitch-black dagger. He blocked it? Starstreak was inwardly surprised. However, as a peak expert, he would not fall back just because one of his attacks failed to land. He promptly adjusted his previous strategy as he flipped the silver dagger in his left hand into a reverse grip. In the next moment, the silver dagger began emitting cold air. He then activated the Epic ranked Frost Tooth''s strongest Skill, Frost Burst, at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. Frost Burst was a Skill that dealt a large amount of ice-type damage in a fan-shaped area before the user. At the same time, the Skill would also freeze all creatures within the affected area for five seconds. Even if one used a Control Removal Skill, they would still be affected by Frost Burst''s other effect, which reduced the Movement Speed and Attack Speed of all enemies within a 20-yard radius for 10 seconds. With this, Starstreak would have an absolute advantage throughout the Skill''s duration. Boom! The space before Starstreak immediately turned into a world of frost. Following which, he used Absolute Strike and struck at Violet Cloud once more. Peng! However, before he could reach his target, Starstreak, who had transformed into a streak of shadow, found himself stopped without warning. It was as if his entire person had crashed into a wall. What''s going on? Starstreak was thoroughly bewildered. At this moment, there was actually an invisible wall before him. Meanwhile, not only had this invisible wall stopped his Absolute Strike, but even the Ice Burst he used before had been blocked; both Shi Feng and Violet Cloud were completely unharmed. In the next moment, the invisible wall shattered, and a blue sword light suddenly struck at Starstreak. The link between the two processes was simply perfect, giving Starstreak practically no time to react. Peng! In the nick of time, Starstreak managed to move a dagger into the path of the blue sword light. However, as soon as Starstreak stopped this sword light, several more followed in rapid succession, every one of them targeted at the Assassin''s weak points. What fast swordsmanship! Starstreak hurriedly brandished his two daggers to fend off the onslaught. Each time he repulsed an attack, it felt like a hammer pounding his arms, the resulting vibrations inflicting pain. Meanwhile, watching the numerous sword lights interweaving with one another, the audience was dazzled by what they saw. Everyone could only see the afterimages of the hands of both sides. They could not see the swords and daggers clashing against one another at all. The speed of the battle had everyone holding their breath. In the blink of an eye, dozens of attacks had been exchanged. If Starstreak was careless for even a moment, he would definitely get hit. How are his attacks so fast? After receiving dozens of attacks, Starstreak was confounded. Frost Burst could reduce the speed of all enemies within 20 yards, yet the speed of Shi Feng''s attacks did not seem to have been affected whatsoever. If not for Starstreak being an Agility-based Assassin, Shi Feng''s attacks would''ve struck him by now. However, what Starstreak did not know was that the opponent he currently faced was a Level 49 Swordsman equipped with the Level 50 Magic Light Set Equipment as well as a Fragmented Legendary item. If not for Shi Feng''s speed having been reduced, he would''ve long since defeated Starstreak in their contest of speed. Seeing as Shi Feng had already secured the advantage, Starstreak had no other choice but to activate his Berserk Skill. Once he activated his Berserk Skill, he intended to force back Shi Feng and open a distance between them to prevent the Swordsman from furthering his assault. Then, he would look for an opportunity to strike. After all, an Assassin did not have many advantages against a Swordsman in a frontal clash. With this in mind, right when their weapons were about to clash once more, Starstreak activated his Berserk Skill, Phantom, his Strength and speed soaring by a large margin. In the next instant, both his daggers abruptly struck at the Killing Ray in Shi Feng''s hand. Peng! Starstreak felt like he had just attacked a steel wall, both his hands aching from the resulting vibrations. In contrast, the arm Shi Feng used to swing Killing Ray only trembled slightly. Impossible! Starstreak was stunned. 1158 Different Level of Competition Chapter 1158 - Different Level of Competition Starstreak knew full well the pros and cons of his Berserk Skill, Phantom. However, even though Phantom provided only a 50% increase to his Strength, which was lower than what some other Berserk Skills provided, when combined with his equipment, even repulsing a Berserker of the same level was child''s play to him. Yet, now, even such a huge boost to his Strength did next to nothing to change the result of his clash with Shi Feng. Thinking up to this point, Starstreak suddenly came up with an incredible thoughtShi Feng had not been going all-out at all during their previous clashes. As for the possibility of Shi Feng having activated a Berserk Skill as well, it was simply impossible. Berserk Skills would manifest on a player''s body one way or another when activated. Moreover, the strength of a player''s aura would also increase. Currently, however, Shi Feng showed no such signs. Hence, the only possibility was that Shi Feng had been hiding his strength. Thinking up to this point, Starstreak could not help but shudder. Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were actually so high that he could hold his ground even after Starstreak had activated his Berserk Skill. Although Starstreak had only briefly fallen into shock, this duration was enough for peak experts like Shi Feng to land a killing blow. "Disappear!" Illusory Shadow! Six blue sword lights struck at Starstreak from six different angles. Starstreak instinctively defended himself with his daggers. However, the instant his daggers came into contact with the sword lights, his complexion immediately darkened. The sword lights had actually moved through his daggers unhindered. It was as if these sword lights were phantoms that did not possess a physical body. Just as the six sword lights were about to land on Starstreak''s body, the Assassin gnashed his teeth and reluctantly used Vanish. His entire person then disappeared from everyone''s sight. The brief invulnerability provided by Vanish also neutralized the six sword lights. After disappearing, Starstreak did not retreat. Instead, he chose to launch another assault. This time, he used the ultimate move of the Epic dagger he wielded with his other hand, Tooth Blade. Three phantoms suddenly appeared around Shi Feng: a white eagle, a hungry wolf, and a black bear. Starstreak and the three phantoms then attacked Shi Feng from four different directions. At the same time, Starstreak himself remained in Stealth, so Shi Feng could not see what exactly he was doing. Vanish was a Lifesaving Skill that forcibly placed one into a Stealth state for three seconds. During these three seconds, so long as one did not do anything, they would remain in a forced Stealth state. In other words, not only could Vanish be used to escape, but it could also be used to attack. A majority of the information a human received from their surroundings came from one''s vision. Hence, it was extremely difficult for one to defend against an attack that they could not see, not to mention doing so while receiving other attacks. One''s vision would automatically shift their brain''s focus towards the things that they could see, and this only made it even more difficult for one to defend against an attack that they could not see. Dang Dang Dang A series of metal clashing sounds echoed throughout the battlefield. What decisiveness! Starstreak''s mouth twitched as he looked at the completely unscathed Swordsman before him. The instant he launched his attack, Shi Feng had activated Defensive Blade without hesitation, preventing Starstreak from doing any damage whatsoever. However, this was also a good outcome as Shi Feng no longer possessed any Lifesaving Skills. Furthermore, Starstreak''s Tooth Blade Skill had a duration of ten seconds. He could definitely finish off Shi Feng during this period. On the other side, Alice had also begun chanting an incantation. With a light wave of her staff, over a dozen Ice Arrows and Fireballs appeared around Alice. She then sent the attacks flying at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. At this moment, Violet Cloud was also done chanting her own incantation as she slammed the butt of Death''s Sigh on the ground. Immediately, over a hundred pitch-black blades appeared around Violet Cloud, densely circulating around her body. This scene instantly stunned everyone in the arena. "How can this be?!" Endless Scars''s eyes widened, her mind utterly confused as she looked at the scythe in Violet Cloud''s hands. "Could that possibly be the real deal?" According to the ancient book she read, these hundred-plus dark blades should be the manifestation of Shadow Rage, the strongest Skill of Death''s Sigh. The only thing different was that the information recorded regarding Shadow Rage stated that it would summon thousands of shadow blades when activated, each one possessing the power to heavily injure even Tier 5 monsters. When these blades were concentrated, they could slay even Gods. Just as Endless Scars was entertaining such thoughts, Violet Cloud controlled the shadow blades to counter the approaching Ice Spears and Fireballs. She also sent some to attack Starstreak. Upon seeing this, Starstreak immediately panicked. He hurriedly controlled his three phantom beasts to defend him from the oncoming shadow blades. Dang Dang Dang The power packed within the shadow blades was massive. Even when Alice combined the power of the Ice Spears and Fireballs, the Spells had only managed to slow down the speed of the shadow blades and weaken their power slightly. The blades still proceeded to fly towards Alice after shattering the Elementalist''s Spells. Meanwhile, on Starstreak''s side, despite him having activated his Berserk Skill already, he just barely managed to defend against the shadow blades with the help of his three phantom beasts. However, every shadow blade he blocked numbed his arms. His HP also decreased by over 200 each time. On the other hand, Alice was brimming with excitement rather than feeling anxious. Waving the Fire God''s Eye, she suddenly formed a massive, crimson magic array before her. Just as the shadow blades were about to land on Alice''s body, the ground in front of her suddenly shattered. A flaming hand then emerged from the fissure and blocked all the oncoming shadow blades. Following which, the fissure on the ground grew steadily larger. Shortly after, another hand emerged from it, the two hands appearing as if they were trying to rend the ground and clamber up. "How can this be? She can summon the Flame King all by herself?" Phoenix Rain was deeply shocked as she looked at the flame giant, which was slowly climbing into the stage right now. The reason why she wanted to obtain the Fire God''s Eye was not just its ability to improve the Completion Rate of Spells. More importantly, it could summon the Flame Monarch from Hell. However, summoning the Flame Monarch required a large amount of Manaroughly ten magical class players'' Mana. If she had the Flame Monarch''s strength, claiming two monster encampments on Thunder Island would not be impossible. Meanwhile, the fact that Alice had managed to summon the Flame Monarch by relying on only her own power was simply inconceivable for Phoenix Rain. ... The appearance of the Flame King made the audience members gasp. - [Flame Monarch] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 65 HP 60,000,000/60,000,000 - Now that the Evil Dragon Battle Team had summoned a Level 65 Grand Lord to assist them, there was no longer a need to continue this match. Not to mention two experts, even twenty experts would be cannon fodder when going up against a Level 65 Grand Lord. As a matter of fact, regardless of how Violet Cloud tried to attack Alice using her shadow blades, the Flame Monarch blocked all her attacks without any difficulty. The Grand Lord was like an indestructible wall. "That move of yours really is amazing. I never thought that I would have to use this trump card of mine. However, this match is as good as over now. Although the Flame King I summoned isn''t in its completed form, it still possesses the strength of a Grand Lord. You two have no chance of winning. You might as well give up now." At this moment, Alice''s complexion was slightly pale. As for her Mana, not a single point remained at the moment. However, the pride in her eyes was unwavering. "Flame Monarch, show them your strength!" At Alice''s order, the Flame Monarch roared, its voice echoing throughout the arena. Immediately after, the air on the stage began steaming as columns of fire shot up from the ground. The columns of fire then transformed into massive fireballs, their numbers reaching 36. Every fireball was the size of a house. One could just imagine what kind of scene would occur when these massive fireballs landed on the ground. The audience members felt their scalps tingling when they saw these fireballs. How was this a fight between players? It was more appropriate to call this a battle between NPCs. Compared to the usual PvP matches, this match was on an entirely different level. "Alright, time to end this!" Alice then pointed at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. Suddenly, the 36 massive fireballs descended on the duo. 1159 Matching Up against a Grand Lord Chapter 1159 - Matching Up against a Grand Lord "Alice, have you lost your mind?! I''m still here!" Starstreak was furious as he glanced at the descending fireballs. Violet Cloud''s shadow blades still had him pinned down. He did not have any concentration to spare for an escape. If these fireballs struck, he would get caught in the impact. With no other options, Starstreak decided to use his final Lifesaving Skill, his Epic boots'' Additional Skill, Flash Steps. The Skill allowed him to teleport to any location 15 yards away. It had a 1-minute Cooldown and three charges. Starstreak used Flash Steps twice and instantly moved 30 yards away. Meanwhile, although Violet Cloud desperately blocked the incoming fireballs with her shadow blades, the fireballs were unaffected. She also had no hope of dodging these attacks. Similar to her shadow blades, Alice controlled these fireballs. Not only did they contain massive power, but they also had a wide attack range. With so many of the fireballs, if Alice wanted to, she could even destroy the entire stage. ... Phoenix Rain, who watched the fight from a VIP room, could not help but shake her head. The Asura Battle Team had lost this competition. Although each competition in the Dark Arena had five matches, the Asura Battle Team had only brought five members. Once they lost this match, regardless of whether the battle team won the next or not, the Evil Dragon Battle Team would win the competition. After all, the final two matches were three-on-three. The Asura Battle Team did not have enough members to participate. Hence, so long as the Evil Dragon Battle Team won one of the first three matches, the competition would be over. "Sure enough, defeating the Evil Dragon Battle Team is impossible for the Asura Battle Team." Phoenix Rain was, more or less, disappointed. Although she hadn''t bet any excess resources on this competition, with how lively the Dark Arena was today, they would still earn a significant amount if the Asura Battle Team won. However, she had only considered the idea. In another VIP room, Purple Jade gritted her teeth as she watched the massive fireballs above the stage, frustration flashing in her eyes. However, that feeling wasn''t due to the match''s ending. Rather, she was frustrated with herself. The Witch of the West had made her feel like a child, new to the world. Before this match, she had believed that she was only a thread away from the virtual gaming world''s pinnacle. Looking back at it now, however, the idea was laughable. She was far weaker than Alice regarding both combat techniques and items. It was no wonder why her Guild Leader constantly told her to work on her foundations and explore the world with Yuan Tiexin more often. "Jade, do you see it now? This is a battle at the pinnacle of God''s Domain. If you wish to challenge these people, you need to grasp your own Domain," Yuan Tiexin advised Purple Jade. "But don''t feel down. You are still young. Unlike this old man, who no longer has any hope of reaching that realm, you will join their ranks one day." In the past, he had also dreamed of leading the Secret Pavilion towards the apex of the virtual gaming world. However, only after encountering people of that realm did he realize that the virtual gaming world was not as simple as he had assumed. Virtual reality games had been popular all over the world for over a century now. With the world''s population being so high, countless gaming experts from the younger generation emerged each year. Furthermore, God''s Domain gained more influence with each passing day. Meanwhile, on the stage, Shi Feng abruptly jumped towards the massive fireballs, meeting them in the air. "Guild Leader?" Violet Cloud, who was desperately trying to counter the attacks, was confused. Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his aura immediately transforming. Golden divine runes flickered across his body as if he had donned golden armor. Alice sneered when she saw Shi Feng activate a Berserk Skill. The massive fireballs were the result of the Flame Monarch''s Tier 3 Curse, Wrath of the Stars. Each fireball was powerful enough to rival a Grand Lord. Tier 1 players had no hope of defending against such attacks. The difference in power was simply too great! Even if Shi Feng had a Skill that provided invulnerability, she could simply control the 36 fireballs to attack him one after another. Invulnerability Skills generally had short durations. If she hit him once every second, she could continue her attack for 36 seconds. As Shi Feng was about to collide with a fireball, he activated Blade Liberation. Immediately, power flowed into him from Killing Ray, allowing his Attributes to soar once more. Looking at the fireballs before him, Shi Feng tightened his grip on the Sacred Sword in his right hand and swung it forward. Thundering Flash! Combat technique, Four Moon Lotus! Like a sharp blade, arcs of blue lightning sliced through the massive fireballs, one after another. All the crowd had seen were four streaks of light leaving Shi Feng''s hand. In the blink of an eye, 23 of the 36 unstoppable fireballs split in half and exploded like fireworks. Silence fell over the arena. No one had expected this shocking reversal. Even Alice was stunned. A Tier 1 player had sliced the fireballs, which contained the Strength to rival Level 65 Grand Lords, in half. No matter how she looked at it, this was impossible, yet Shi Feng had done just that. "Just how powerful is he?" Phoenix Rain''s gaze was fixed on Shi Feng, who remained in midair. She could not bring herself to believe that the man she was looking at was the same person she knew. "Just who is he?" Thousand Miles unconsciously tightened his grip on his swords as he watched the detonating fireballs. He knew full well how powerful the Fire God''s Eye''s Flame Monarch was. After all, he had handed the staff to Alice personally. Yet, a Tier 1 player had sliced one of the Flame Monarch''s team-wipe moves in half. This was simply inconceivable. If this competition had been held before Shi Feng''s visit to the Fallen Ark, he wouldn''t have been able to repel the Flame Monarch''s attacks. However, he had obtained Epic pauldrons from the killing the Mythic Fossilized Tyrannosauruses. They were called the Tough Pauldrons. Aside from Epic ranked Basic Attributes, these pauldrons only had one Skill. Moreover, it was a Passive Skill. The Passive Skill was called Power of Destruction. When the player faced attacks with higher Strength than their own, the wearer''s Strength would increase by 35%. Against weaker enemies, this Skill had no effect whatsoever. However, against stronger enemies, this Passive Skill was godly. Hence, Shi Feng''s Strength had increased by 35% as he fought the massive fireballs. In addition, he had triggered Angry Tyrant''s second Passive Skill, Angry Blow, which had doubled his Strength. It was only thanks to those Passive Skills and Thundering Flash''s effects that his plan had succeeded. However, after a brief silence in the arena, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and charged towards Alice, who was over 30 yards away. While he had neutralized the fireballs, he was still helpless against the Flame Monarch itself. Once Blade Liberation''s 20-second duration ended, he would be powerless to turn things around. "You want to kill me?" Despite seeing Shi Feng flying towards her, Alice was neither surprised nor afraid. On the contrary, she was a little excited. It had been a long time since she had faced such a challenge. "Unfortunately, that won''t be possible! Saying so, Alice merged her body with the Flame Monarch''s. Without hesitation, Shi Feng executed Chop against the Flame Monarch. However, before Killing Ray slid even one meter into the Flame Monarch, its advance halted. The Sacred Sword couldn''t reach Alice in the Flame Monarch''s core. "I''ve already told you that you have no chance of victory. I know that you can''t maintain this power for long. Unfortunately for you, my Flame Monarch can last for five hours." Alice said, shaking her head. She then controlled the Flame Monarch to attack Shi Feng. "That''s not necessarily true. Don''t forget; I''m not your only opponent," Shi Feng calmly stated. Suddenly, realization dawned on Alice as she looked across the stage. Immediately, she noticed Violet Cloud swing down Death''s Sigh in her direction. Compared to when Alluring Summer had used Dimensional Fracture, Violet Cloud used it at full HP. The instant Violet Cloud swung the scythe, the spectators faintly saw a giant phantom appear behind her; the sight was enough to make them shudder. Starstreak, who had planned to help Alice, was stunned. He felt as if his body were full of lead. "Death''s Phantom! It''s the real thing!" Endless Scars was astonished when she saw this, waves of emotion crashing in her heart. Space above the stage suddenly split apart. With its hulking body, the Flame Monarch couldn''t dodge the attack in time. In the blink of an eye, both the Flame Monarch and Alice split in half. 1160 Victory Declaration Chapter 1160 - Victory Declaration The scene of the Flame Monarch''s body splitting in half burned itself into everyone''s minds. The audience shuddered. "It died?" "How can such a powerful Skill exist!?" "He was telling the truth!" Dimensional Fracture''s power far surpassed the spectator''s imaginations. They finally realized that Shi Feng hadn''t been bluffing. Compared to Violet Cloud''s Dimensional Fracture, Alluring Summer''s was child''s play. In God''s Domain, there were many Sure-kill Skills capable of instant-killing players of the same tier. However, they couldn''t accept a Skill that could split a Grand Lord in half. Countless players would despair against a Grand Lord''s high Defense. That Shi Feng''s weapon had pierced the Flame Monarch so deeply had already been impressive. "They won?" Phoenix Rain felt as if she were dreaming as she watched Alice''s bisected body gradually transform into particles of light and disappear. That was the Witch of the West they were talking about. Moreover, Alice had controlled a Level 65 Grand Lord. No matter how she looked at it, Alice should''ve had an overwhelming advantage. None of the audience had believed that the Asura Battle Team could win this round. At most, they had expected Shi Feng and Violet Cloud to struggle as long as they could for survival. "Just how many secrets is Zero Wing hiding?" Yuan Tiexin''s eyes twitched uncontrollably when he saw the attack split the Flame Monarch in half As one of the Secret Pavilion''s upper echelons, he knew much about God''s Domain. In reality, Violet Cloud''s Dimensional Fracture had only dealt slightly over -100,000 damage. To the Grand Lord, this could barely put a dent in its 60,000,000 HP. However, splitting the Flame Monarch in half had injured it severely. There were very few means current players could employ to injure a Grand Lord. Normally, one had to rely on powerful Tier 3 Magic Scrolls to do so, yet the Cleric had done so with her weapon''s Additional Skill... As far as Yuan Tiexin knew, none of the various large Guilds possessed such a weapon or equipment. In God''s Domain, it was also common knowledge that the more powerful a weapon or piece of equipment was, the more difficult it would be to obtain. Still, an upstart Guild like Zero Wing had obtained such a powerful weapon. No matter how Yuan Tiexin looked at this matter, he found it simply inconceivable. The Death''s Sigh in Violet Cloud''s hands had also astonished the Midnight Tea Party''s Endless Scars and Breeze Wine. According to the ancient book they had found, Death''s Sigh, one of God''s Domain''s Twelve Great Legendary Staffs, had long since been destroyed; not even a Blacksmith God could repair it. However, no matter how they looked at it, the Cleric''s Death''s Sigh looked more like the real article than a replica. When she had used Dimensional Fracture, she had even summoned forth Death''s Phantom. The pressure Death''s Phantom emitted was no laughing matter. Without a doubt, that was definitely Divine Might. Otherwise, there was no way an expert of Starstreak''s caliber would suddenly freeze up under such pressure. No replica could reproduce Divine Might. When Endless Scars and Breeze Wine thought about how Violet Cloud wielded the real Death''s Sigh, they were overcome with shock. A Fragmented Legendary item! Although this term was no longer foreign to experts like them, they hadn''t heard of any Guild obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item until now. Fragmented Legendary items were godly items that experts constant strove to find. Meanwhile, such a weapon had appeared before their very eyes. Why wouldn''t this fact shock them? However, Endless Scars and Breeze Wine did not know that the Death''s Sigh Violet Cloud wielded was not, in fact, a Fragmented Legendary item. It was simply a replica. Only, this replica was slightly special. - [Death''s Sigh (Replica)] (Two-handed Staff, Epic Rank) Level 45 - Level 120 (Level 45) Equipment Requirement: Strength 400, Intelligence 700 Attack Power +1,650 Strength +120, Agility +80, Endurance +105, Intelligence +142, Vitality +161 When staff is wielded: Casting speed increased by 15%; Cast range +10; Magic damage increased by 20%; All healing effects increased by 25%; Spell critical rate increased by 10%; Mana consumption decreased by 10%; All Magical Skills +2 Levels; Ignore Levels +10. Durability 220/220 Additional Passive Skill- Death''s Harvest: Whenever a creature dies within 40 yards, wielder will regenerate 1% of their Mana. Simultaneously, wielder will receive a Death buff, reducing the death penalty by 1% when wielder dies. Buff can stack up to 30 times. Additional Active Skill 1- Dimensional Fracture: Deals absolute damage two tiers above wielder''s tier (up to a maximum of Tier 4) to an area of 20*60 yards. Attack ignores all defensive and invulnerability buffs. At the same time, the attack will inflict a Stun debuff to everyone within 40-yards of the wielder for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 10 minutes (Non-Cleric classes can only use this Skill when their HP is below 50%. All effects are halved.) Additional Active Skill 2- Shadow Rage: Use Mana to form shadow blades. Every shadow blade costs 100 Mana. Each shadow blade''s Strength is equal to 150% of wielder''s Intelligence and inflicts an additional 20% shadow damage. Wielder can produce a maximum of 300 shadow blades. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 3 hours (Non-Cleric classes can only use this Skill when their HP is below 50%. All effects are halved.) The Blacksmith God Soros crafted this replica using the fragments of the Legendary Staff Death''s Sigh. Replica can be upgraded by absorbing five God Crystals. Current crystals absorbed (0/5). - Although it was a replica, it contained fragments of the real article, making it far stronger than any ordinary Epic Weapon. When Shi Feng had appraised this weapon, he had been shocked. As long as they gathered a sufficient number of God Crystals, Death''s Sigh could evolve into Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Zero Wing really does possess a lot of secrets. As Endless Scars stared at the weapon in Violet Cloud''s hands, she could not help but cover the appearing on her face, joy and passion burning in her eyes. However, she quickly suppressed her emotions and returned to her usual calm and indifference. It seems that I need to have a chat with Abandoned Wave. Meanwhile, after Alice''s death, the summoned Flame Monarch began to disappear from the stage. Fear filled the audience''s eyes as they stared at Shi Feng and Violet Cloud in awe. Currently, Starstreak was the only member of the Evil Dragon Battle Team remaining on the stage. Unfortunately, he had no hope of defeating both Shi Feng and Violet Cloud. The match was as good as over. A recently established Guild had contended with Miracle, which had existed in the virtual gaming world for many years. No one would believe this! Although the competition''s outcome had yet to be decided, the various Dark Arena battle teams would record the Asura Battle Team''s fame, listing it as a team to take note of. After all, this competition wasn''t like the Asura Battle Team''s matches against the Glorious Lions. In the previous competition, Battle Wolves had treated the Dark Arena''s competitions like a hobby. Hence, the Super Guild hadn''t sent its full force into the competition. Meanwhile, it was obvious that Miracle took the competition seriously. Otherwise, the super-first-rate Guild would not have dispatched the Witch of the West and Speed Star. Most importantly, it had instructed the Sword Freak, Miracle Dragon, to lead the team. Indeed, as everyone had expected, Starstreak stood no chance against Shi Feng, who had activated Twofold Berserk. After a few bouts, Starstreak had exhausted his means of protecting himself. Eventually, Shi Feng killed him with Instant Strike, surprising the crowd once again. Starstreak''s defeat ushered in the start of the third round. This upcoming fight would decide the outcome. Naturally, for such an important battle, Miracle Dragon, the battle team''s leader, took to the stage himself. Miracle''s reputation was riding on this battle. They could not afford to lose this next match. With each step Miracle Dragon took, his aura grew slightly stronger. By the time the man reached the stage''s center, the audience felt as if they were staring at death itself. "It''ll be too boring to fight only one person. The rest of you just face together. I''ll end this battle in ten moves!" Miracle Dragon proudly proclaimed as he thrust his greatsword into the ground and looked towards Shi Feng and the others. The instant Miracle Dragon said so, the audience immediately broke into an uproar! 1161 Sword Freak Chapter 1161 - Sword Freak Upon Miracle Dragon''s sudden declaration, the arena boiled with excitement. "Does he want a one-on-two fight?" "As expected of the Sword Freak! He''s too domineering!" "Has Miracle lost their minds? They could''ve won this competition, yet they want to take such a risk!" "Miracle is probably trying to earn back their reputation." "That sounds about right. The Evil Dragon Battle Team has already lost two rounds. Even if they win this competition, it won''t be anything to boast about." The audience discussed the declaration fervently, each person having their own opinions. Some felt that Miracle Dragon was being a fool, while others thought that the Sword Freak wanted to show off the Guild''s strength. However, they could all agree on one thing; Miracle Dragon''s gamble was somewhat risky. The Asura Battle Team still had two players remaining. One was a Berserker, and the other was an Assassin. This class composition was somewhat disadvantageous for a Swordsman like Miracle Dragon. Berserkers had higher Strength than Swordsmen, while Assassins were faster and more nimble. Although Miracle Dragon possessed superior combat techniques, if he had to clash head-on with a Berserker while guarding against an Assassin''s interference, he would easily lose any advantage. Moreover, both Fire Dance and Gentle Snow were relatively famous experts in God''s Domain. While the Guild could redeem much of its lost reputation if Miracle Dragon won, its reputation would plummet further if the Swordsman lost. "Big Sis Rain, the Asura Battle Team actually has a chance of winning. Although Miracle Dragon is very famous, when it comes to strength, he is no match for the Witch of the West. If Fire Dance and Gentle Snow work together, they''ll have at least a 50% chance of emerging victorious!" Blue Phoenix said excitedly. Miracle Dragon was also known as the Sword Freak; almost everyone in the virtual gaming world knew of him. He had gained his fame due to the Secret Pavilion''s evaluation; he had been deemed as the expert closest to grasping a Domain. Due to this reputation, peak experts from various Super Guilds had challenged him, using the opportunity to improve themselves. After all, only Domain Realm experts were considered Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds'' true mainstays. Many had also challenged Miracle Dragon to gain an understanding of just how far they were from their own Domains. Hence, Miracle Dragon''s fame had grown with each passing day. If it came down to a one-on-one fight, neither Fire Dance nor Gentle Snow was a match for Miracle Dragon. However, if these women worked together to supplement their weaknesses, they should be able to defeat him. "Emerging victorious?" Phoenix Rain quietly observed Miracle Dragon. "I don''t remember him being a rash person." It was common knowledge that Miracle Dragon was wildly arrogant. However, this arrogance was due to his strength. While Miracle Dragon might act crazily, he almost never did anything without being confident of success. A one-on-two fight was already disadvantageous, but Miracle Dragon had also claimed that he would win in ten moves. He had forced himself onto a path with no retreat. This was no longer arrogance. He was simply seeking death. As Phoenix Rain considered warning Shi Feng, Miracle Dragon glanced at the other Swordsman, who had remained silent all this time. "What? Are you afraid? I''ve already offered you an edge in this match, a higher chance of winning the competition. If you don''t want to accept the challenge, then just send your fighter up here. But don''t say that I didn''t give you a chance." The moment Miracle Dragon finished speaking, the audience began to echo his words. "Asura Battle Team, are you a bunch of cowards?! You''re even afraid to accept this challenge!?" "You guys are even too scared to accept a two-on-one match? It seems at the rumors are true! You guys only have a few capable experts; the rest of you are just for show!" The spectators were either large Guild upper echelons or famous experts. The outcome of the competition between Asura and Evil Dragon was none of their concern. They only wanted to collect as much information as possible. They could learn far more if the Asura Battle Team sent two experts to face the Sword Freak, rather than one. "Just what is his goal?" Meanwhile, inside a VIP room, Miracle Dragon''s behavior had confused Purple Jade. Among the many Swordsmen in God''s Domain, she was most eager to challenge Miracle Dragon. There were three reasons for this. First, unlike other Swordsmen who used two one-handed swords, both of she and Miracle Dragon used greatswords. Second, Miracle Dragon was known as the closest Swordsman to achieving a Domain. If she fought Miracle Dragon, she could get a clearer view of her future goal. As for the third and most important reason, she wanted to learn Miracle Dragon''s trademark skill, weakness observation. This ability was precisely the reason Miracle Dragon had few rivals among experts of the same realm; it was also the reason he had earned the title Sword Freak. By observing his opponents, he could grasp their weaknesses and launch a series of seemingly crazy attacks. However, while he might have appeared to have gone mad, in reality, he was extremely calm. His attacks were perfectly choreographed. In the end, his insane attack method would throw his opponents off, and he usually beat them senseless. How could an expert, who had mastered such a powerful move, take such a huge risk and provoke the Asura Battle Team? "Jade, your observation is correct." Yuan Tiexin nodded, smiling. "As you suspected, Miracle Dragon does not take risks lightly. He only acts when he is absolutely confident of succeeding." "But, defeating both Fire Dance and Gentle Snow in ten moves is too difficult, even for him." Purple Jade simply could not figure out how Miracle Dragon could win in ten moves. "No, he can," Yuan Tiexin said as he caressed his beard. Chuckling, he continued, "Some time ago, he had secretly class-changed into the hidden class Magic Swordsman. Moreover, he received a Tier 3 Sure-kill Skill Book, which the Guild had only obtained after much difficulty. With the Epic Equipment the Miracle Guild has lent him, his combat power has risen significantly." "Magic Swordsman?" Purple Jade''s eyes sparkled when she heard these words, a hint of envy blooming in her heart. Magic Swordsman was a hidden class that focused on attacks. Although the class could not compare to a peak class like the Necromancer, it was one of the few advanced classes. "Do you think Miracle Dragon would be so foolish and challenge the Asura Battle Team for no good reason?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but shift his gaze towards Shi Feng. "I wonder how Ye Feng intends to respond? If it were up to me, I''d refuse this challenge. At most, I''d give up this round and leave both players to fight in a two-on-three match. This way, we''d have a higher chance of winning the competition." Although Miracle took this competition seriously, there were only four noteworthy experts on the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Although the remaining six were extraordinarily strong, there was an obvious gap between them and the former four. If the Asura Battle Team wanted to win this competition, a two-on-three match would be more advantageous. As soon as Yuan Tiexin said so, Shi Feng stood up, a serious expression on his face as he looked at Miracle Dragon. "Alright, we don''t have any issues. I hope you don''t regret your decision." "Regret? Rest assured; I will not regret it." Miracle Dragon did not take Shi Feng''s warning seriously in the least. However, he liked Shi Feng''s personality. Unfortunately, the man''s worries were superfluous. Rather, Shi Feng should focus on helping Fire Dance and Gentle Snow survive against him for ten moves. When the audience heard Shi Feng agree to Miracle Dragon''s request, they erupted into cheers. "Hah What a fool." Yuan Tiexin could not help but roll his eyes at Shi Feng. Despite knowing that it was a trap, Shi Feng decided to jump right in 1162 Madness vs Madness Chapter 1162 - Madness versus Madness When the participants for the third round had been decided, the arena''s audience began to grow restless. Part of the reason was that Shi Feng had accepted Miracle Dragon''s challenge, while another was the anticipation for the competition''s outcome. If the Asura Battle Team won this match, they would secure a complete victory! Seated in a VIP room on the third floor, Thousand Miles watched Shi Feng, who stood beneath the stage, with burning rage. "Phoenix Rain has truly done it this time! She even kept our intelligence department in the dark!" Due to the Evil Dragon Battle Team having lost two matches in a row, they had no choice but to expose the strength Miracle Dragon had kept hidden to restore some of the Guild''s reputation. Not only did this disrupt his plans, but it also lost him a lot of resources. This mess''s culprit was none other than the Guild Phoenix Rain secretly supportedZero Wing! Zero Wing was simply a recently established Guild in a small kingdom. If not for Phoenix Rain''s support, how could Zero Wing possibly obtain such a powerful weapon that could instantly kill two of Miracle''s generals? "Maple, investigate Zero Wing thoroughly. Find someone to tail every member of the Asura Battle Team as well," Thousand Miles instructed Cleansed Maple. "Understood!" Cleansed Maple promptly bowed before taking his leave. At this point, Miracle was completely helpless against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. After all, both were super-first-rate Guilds, and neither feared the other. If their Guilds started an all-out war against each other, only other Guilds would benefit. However, Zero Wing was different. It was only a subordinate Guild Phoenix Rain controlled. It would be simple to cause trouble for the upstart Guild, especially now that the Asura Battle Team had revealed that it possessed so many dazzling weapons and equipment. "Phoenix Rain, I''ll let you enjoy this situation for now." Thousand Miles could not help but shift his gaze towards Death''s Sigh in Violet Cloud''s hands, greed flashing in his eyes. The Evil Dragon Battle Team had only dared to expose their Epic items because they didn''t fear becoming targets. However, the Asura Battle Team didn''t have that luxury. Revealing such items was akin to placing a fresh piece of meat before a pack of hungry wolves. Not only would the Asura Battle Team lose this competition, but they would also lose their weapons and equipment. As the third match''s rules changed abruptly, the Dark Arena''s host adjusted the team''s payout rate. The Asura Battle Team''s payout rate for a complete victory, in particular, had risen to one-to-nine, breaking the Dark Arena''s record. "The host is quite bold!" "What''s there to be afraid of? This is the final match. In any case, we know that the Asura Battle Team has no chance of winning. Moreover, the host has earned a fortune this time. Before the competition had even begun, many had bet on the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s complete victory. This time, the host must be trying to lure even more idiots away from their money. It''s a pity that not many people here are fools. Rather than bet on the Asura Battle Team, it would be safer to bet on the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Although the returns are low, it''s better than nothing." Everyone among the audience was sorely tempted as they looked at the new payout rates. However, practically no one would bet on the Asura Battle Team''s complete victory. Instead, they all bet on the Evil Dragon Battle Team. Some of the players that had previously been reluctant to gamble had even placed bets on the Evil Dragon. Miracle had existed in the virtual gaming world for many years now. The Sword Freak Miracle Dragon was even famed for never acting without confidence. If he lost this next match, the Asura Battle Team would secure a complete victory. Yet, despite such a huge burden, Miracle Dragon still dared to do so. This could only mean that he was confident of succeeding. Meanwhile, inside another VIP room on the third floor, although four people occupied the room, an extraordinarily chill atmosphere dominated the space. "Nine Dragons, why are you here?" Phoenix Rain glanced at Nine Dragons Emperor and Martial Dragon with disinterest. When she had previously rejected Thousand Miles''s proposal, Nine Dragons Emperor had already spoken ill of her in front of Ku Rong, the Great Pavilion Master. He had even advised the Guild Elders to reduce her authority within the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, the Asura Battle Team''s performance thus far had been astonishing. As a result, those who had schemed against her within the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had no choice but to remain silent for now. "Rain, must you be so cold? At the end of the day, we are from the same Guild." Nine Dragons Emperor frowned. Very quickly, however, a kind smile formed on his face as he said, "Moreover, I am here to thank you. If not for your determination to support the Asura Battle Team, I wouldn''t have been able to cooperate with Miracle and gain the support of many of their Guild Elders." "If you''re trying to flaunt your relationship with Miracle, then let me congratulate you. Only, do you think the Great Pavilion Master will be pleased to see you work so closely with the Guild''s long-time rival?" Phoenix Rain giggled. "You..." Nine Dragons Emperor was momentarily speechless. After joining God''s Domain, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had frequently butted heads with Miracle. Recently, their Guilds had caused a huge scene due to the situation on Thunder Island. In the end, they had exposed Thunder Island, and many other superpowers had begun to intervene. Due to this, Ku Rong''s hatred for Miracle had grown more intense. "So what?" Nine Dragons Emperor said after recollecting his thoughts. Proudly, he proclaimed, "As long as I gain sufficient authority on Thunder Island, it won''t matter if the Great Pavilion Master disapproves of my methods. After all, he wants a beautiful future for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion more than anything. You, on the other hand, are in a far more pitiful state. Now that you''ve invested so much money and resources into a useless, upstart Guild, you don''t even have the resources to hire help. How do you intend to compete on Thunder Island now? "However, I can point you to a brighter path. Bet everything you have on the Evil Dragon Battle Team. This way, you can, more or less, earn what you need. At the very least, you''ll be able to hire one player. Otherwise, you will only bring shame to our Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion." Standing by the side, although Blue Phoenix wanted to say something, she was not in a good position to do so. Sarcasm tainted Nine Dragons Emperor''s words. While he seemed to be offering advice, secretly, he was sealing off their path of retreat. They had already rejected Thousand Miles''s proposal. How could they bet on the Evil Dragon Battle Team now? If news of this matter spread, Phoenix Rain''s position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would certainly be awkward. "Thank you for your kind suggestion." Smiling, Phoenix Rain turned to Blue Phoenix and said, "Blue, take this Epic mage robe and these items and bet them on the Asura Battle Team." "Big Sis Rain..." Blue Phoenix was stunned when she saw the items Phoenix Rain traded to her. Wasn''t this wager a little too drastic? Phoenix Rain had passed her the items they had prepared for the campaign on Thunder Island. If they lost these items now, they would suffer for it on Thunder Island. "Amazing! In the Guild, others often call me ruthless. However, it would seem that I am no match for you, Rain! Although I''ve bet plenty of resources and items on the Evil Dragon Battle Team, they are of little importance. You, on the other hand, actually bet the Epic mage robes the Guild obtained on the Asura Battle Team. I really must hand it to you." Nine Dragons Emperor praised the calm, composed Phoenix Rain. Inwardly, though, his heart fluttered in joy when he saw the items Phoenix Rain intended to gamble. The host was no fool if they were willing to offer a one-to-nine payout rate. If one bet a piece of Epic Equipment, they could get nine pieces if the Asura Battle Team won. Although the host wouldn''t actually hand out nine pieces of Epic Equipment, they would still offer items of equal value. However, could such an ideal situation happen? While Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor had been talking, the timer above the stage had begun to count down. The arena fell silent as everyone focused on the three people on the stage. The spectators couldn''t help but gasp when they saw the Asura Battle Team''s formation. "What are they trying to do?" Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Fire Dance walk to a corner of the stage while Gentle Snow stood within 20 yards of Miracle Dragon. These women''s intentions couldn''t be more obvious. The Asura Battle Team was trying to pick a one-on-one fight with Miracle Dragon! 1163 Swift Sword Chapter 1163 - Swift Sword Despite the timer''s clear indication that the battle would begin soon, everyone stared at Shi Feng, who stood below the stage. "They''re actually letting one person take on Miracle Dragon? Aren''t they underestimating the Sword Freak a little too much?" "That''s right. Miracle Dragon is being kind enough to give the Asura Battle Team a chance, yet they''re trying to throw that chance away! What fools!" "Has the Asura Battle Team''s leader given up on the competition?" "How boring. He accepted Miracle Dragon''s challenge, yet he''s playing such tricks at the very last minute. Does he think that he can save his team''s reputation even if they lose?" The spectators couldn''t help but glare at the Asura Battle Team with contempt. The originally exciting match had become a disappointing farce. "Hahaha! This Asura Battle Team really is interesting!" Nine Dragons Emperor could not help but laugh when he saw the formation. Turning to look at Phoenix Rain, he said, "Rain, although I know you have a lot of resources on hand, there''s no need to waste them like this, right? You might as well just give them to me if you want them gone so badly." As soon as Phoenix Rain had bet the Epic mage robes their Guild had obtained after much difficulty, the Asura Battle Team had pulled such a move. Nine Dragons Emperor even wondered if the Asura Battle Team were working for Miracle. The Great Pavilion Master had personally awarded the Epic mage robes to Phoenix Rain. If she lost the robes here, one could just imagine how angry the Great Pavilion Master would be. Phoenix Rain remained silent. However, she looked rather pale. Just what is Ye Feng trying to do? She had not bet all of the weapons, equipment, and tools she had prepared for Thunder Island due to Nine Dragon Emperor''s provocation. Rather, she had done so after carefully considering the matter. Currently, she didn''t have enough resources to hire enough capable experts. Although she had signed an agreement with Shi Feng, it was simply too difficult to occupy two monster encampments on Thunder Island. If she only managed to occupy one monster encampment, her results would be no match for Nine Dragon Emperor''s, who was working with Miracle. Her position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be no different than if she failed to occupy a single encampment. Hence, rather than wait for her inevitable fate, she''d rather go broke and gamble everything on the Asura Battle Team''s complete victory. At the very least, if the team succeeded, she''d have a higher chance of occupying two encampments on Thunder Island. Even if she failed to do so, she was confident of occupying one encampment. However, Shi Feng''s current decision had placed her in a very awkward position. Meanwhile, Blue Phoenix burned with rage. She wanted nothing more than to rush up to Shi Feng, crack his head open, and take a look at what was going through the man''s mind. Shi Feng had thrown away their chances of victory. As everyone chatted amongst themselves, the timer finally came to an end. Standing on the stage, Miracle Dragon glanced at Fire Dance in the corner. He then shifted his gaze to the valiant war goddess before him, anger burning in his eyes as he asked, "Is this the arrangement you have decided on?" Originally, he thought he would get to enjoy a good fight. He hadn''t expected the Asura Battle Team to make such a move. Gentle Snow was certainly talented. She had even led a first-rate Guild before. She was also a great beauty. In the virtual gaming world, many knew her as a peak expert and a goddess. However, none of that meant anything to players on his level. In his eyes, Gentle Snow''s only noteworthy achievement was her fight in White River City, during which she had reached the Refinement Realm mid-battle. However, with such combat standards, he could have killed Gentle Snow even before he had become a Magic Swordsman. "That''s right. I''ll be your opponent," Gentle Snow calmly declared. "Are you trying to annoy me?" Miracle Dragon asked with a frosty tone as he glared at Gentle Snow. Even the area around Miracle Dragon had frozen. "I''ll give you one last chance. Come at me together!" However, Gentle Snow and Fire Dance remained motionless. Neither of them showed any signs of changing their mind. "So be it. Don''t blame me for being merciless!" Miracle Dragon bellowed. Activating Wind Blade, he dashed towards Fire Dance. The audience barely saw his afterimages. In the blink of an eye, Miracle Dragon crossed ten yards. Less than a hundred yards separated the Swordsman and the Assassin. It would only take a few seconds for Miracle Dragon to reach his target. "So fast!" The spectators were surprised by Miracle Dragon''s speed. Even peak Assassins, who were famed for their speed, would be no match for him. However, even when less than 20 yards separated Miracle Dragon and Fire Dance, the latter refused to move as she quietly watched the Swordsman approach. "You''re looking to die!" Miracle Dragon growled. He had long since locked his killing intent on Fire Dance in hopes of forcing the Assassin to react. However, Fire Dance''s attitude was still lax. She underestimated him. Miracle Dragon no longer held back. He unsheathed the light blue greatsword from his back and swung it at Fire Dance. The instant Miracle Dragon slashed at Fire Dance, everyone heard the whistle of the blade slice through the air. No one in the audience could see Miracle Dragon''s greatsword or his hands. It was as if they had vanished. "As expected of the Sword Freak! His Swift Sword has improved once again!" Nine Dragons Emperor exclaimed as he watched Miracle Dragon. "What a pity. Fire Dance won''t even know how she died." Swift Sword was one of Miracle Dragon''s trademark moves. Although the attack with his greatsword seemed like a normal slash, that swing contained the power of every muscle in his body. With this power, he could manipulate his greatsword like a whip. His attack could exceed the normal speed limit the system had set on players. This technique''s principle was similar to that of Strength-superpositioning. However, while the theory was simple, very few peak experts could achieve it. Not a single player could employ the technique to Miracle Dragon''s level. This was the reason behind Miracle Dragon''s title of Sword Freak. Even a Void Realm expert would struggle to perceive Miracle Dragon''s attacks. They would need all of their concentration, pushing their five senses to their very limits, to barely combat the Swordsman''s attacks. Meanwhile, Fire Dance had only recently set foot into the Refinement Realm. No one expected her to see Miracle Dragon''s greatsword. This was also why the Asura Battle Team only had a chance if both Fire Dance and Gentle Snow attacked Miracle Dragon together. Dang! The clang of metal reverberated throughout the arena. Miracle Dragon''s greatsword had stopped roughly five yards away from Fire Dance. Before anyone had realized it, Gentle Snow had appeared before Fire Dance, her silver greatsword acting as an immovable wall that prevented Miracle Dragon from reaching the Assassin. "You!" Miracle Dragon was confused when he saw Gentle Snow. He simply could not figure out how Gentle Snow had appeared before him. He couldn''t understand how the Berserker had managed to stop his Swift Sword, either. As Miracle Dragon pondered these questions, Gentle Snow put some strength into her arms, using her silver greatsword to force Miracle Dragon a few steps back. The gap between their strengths was now obvious. "Can you take this match seriously now?" Gentle Snow glanced at Miracle Dragon, her voice extremely calm as she spoke, acting as if Miracle Dragon''s Swift Sword wasn''t worth her concern. 1164 Duel of Swords Chapter 1164 - Duel of Swords Miracle Dragon''s eyebrows jumped in surprise when he saw Gentle Snow''s calm exterior. The audience was similarly stunned. Gentle Snow was incredibly famous in the virtual gaming world. However, when it came to combat standards, she could only reign supreme among first-rate Guilds. Compared to the older generation''s peak experts like Miracle Dragon, however, she was greatly inferior. No one had expected her current performance. Even Galaxy Past and Purple Eye, Gentle Snow''s old rivals who had come to watch this competition, were dumbfounded. "Is that really the Gentle Snow I know?" Purple Eye balled her fists as she stared at Gentle Snow, her heart refusing to believe this. In the past, she hadn''t been very familiar with superpowers'' peak experts. She only knew that these experts were extremely powerful, and they lived in two completely different worlds. There was little chance for them to encounter each other. However, after participating in the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system, she understood how strong these peak experts were. Their combat standards were beyond her imagination. With equal equipment and levels, even ten of her wouldn''t be enough of a warm-up for one of those peak experts... Yet, the Gentle Snow, who had stood on the same stage as the Star Alliance, could now hold her ground against a peak expert like Sword Freak. How could she not find this shocking? ... "I have truly underestimated you. It''s no wonder why you had become Ouroboros''s Guild Leader," Miracle Dragon could not help but smile the Blade of Disaster, which still trembled in his hands. "However, whether or not you take me seriously will depend on your ability to block my next move!" Saying so, Miracle Dragon''s expression changed. Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and executed Swift Sword once more. This time, however, he did not settle for a single slash. Rather, he launched a series of attacks. While Swift Sword was difficult to defend against, an expert of similar standards would have no issues blocking one strike. Hence, Miracle Dragon decided to up his assault and execute multiple Swift Sword attacks. This way, even an expert of the same standards would not casually challenge Miracle Dragon head-on. Shrill, whistling sounds reached the audience''s ears. Everyone was fascinated as they watched Miracle Dragon attacks. This was especially true for the Swordsman experts among the crowd. Miracle Dragon''s swordsmanship was the peak they all aimed for. Enraptured by the flashing sword lights, even Starstreak, who was on the same team as Miracle Dragon, had goosebumps. If he stood in Gentle Snow''s shoes, he would have no choice but to activate a Lifesaving Skill against Miracle Dragon''s Consecutive Swift Swords. Just before the sword lights struck Gentle Snow, the Berserker swung her silver greatsword. uddenly, an explosion shook the arena. As Gentle Snow continued to brandish her greatsword, a series of explosions rang out from the stage. It sounded as if the stage were being bombarded. After several seconds, Miracle Dragon stopped his assault, shock plastered on his face. Even when he had faced Domain Realm experts, they had only blocked a portion of his attacks while relying on their footwork to evade the rest. However, among the fifteen attacks he had just launched, Gentle Snow had effortlessly blocked every one... This was the first time he had encountered such a situation since joining God''s Domain! However, Miracle Dragon did not know that Gentle Snow currently wore the Level 50 Magic Light Set. Although she was missing the chest piece, she still had the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor, which possessed the Passive Skill Magic Reinforcement, increasing her physique by 30%. With her superior Basic Attributes and physique, Gentle Snow had no issues blocking Miracle Dragon''s Swift Sword. "Too strong! She''s just too strong!" "Was the Snow Goddess always this strong?" "Crap! Is she the incarnation of the War Goddess?!" The skill Gentle Snow displayed flabbergasted the audience. Although many experts watched the battle, the number of people that could actually block Miracle Dragon''s consecutive Swift Swords could be counted on one hand. Everyone had assumed that the Asura Battle Team had given up and just wanted to end this match as quickly as possible. However, it would seem that this wasn''t the case. "Who is this Gentle Snow?" Thousand Miles''s expression was twisted and ugly. Even the various large Guilds had detailed information on Gentle Snow''s leadership of Ouroboros, not to mention a super-first-rate Guild like Miracle. However, no matter how many times Thousand Miles read through Gentle Snow''s files, he had not found any information that hinted at the woman''s capability of standing against Miracle Dragon. Although Gentle Snow originated from a first-rate Guild, she had never taken part in any of the superpowers'' training systems. She hadn''t been tutored by a famous expert, either, yet she now stood, toe-to-toe, against a peak expert like Miracle Dragon. Seeing Gentle Snow''s aura, Thousand Miles was even afraid that the woman would surpass Miracle Dragon at any moment. How could this happen? In another VIP room, Blue Phoenix was ecstatic. "The Asura Battle Team has won for sure this time!" If Gentle Snow alone could already put Miracle Dragon into such a bind, the duo should have a 70% chance of defeating Miracle Dragon if Fire Dance joined the battle. Phoenix Rain sighed in relief. She hadn''t expected the Asura Battle Team to have such a trump card. Damn it! How has Gentle Snow''s combat power improved so much?! Nine Dragons Emperor, who sat beside Phoenix Rain, could not help his growing anxiety when he saw Miracle Dragon at a disadvantage. "I admit that you are skilled enough for me to take seriously," Miracle Dragon congratulated Gentle Snow. Aside from shock, his gaze contained a hint of joy. "I never thought that I would meet an expert such as yourself in the Dark Arena. It seems that I haven''t wasted my time making the trip here. I''ll show you my latest creation. If you can block this, I''ll admit defeat." Saying so, Miracle Dragon activated his Berserk Skill. Suddenly, his aura exploded from his body. It felt as if a fierce beast had just woken from its slumber. The man''s Blade of Disaster instantly released a black glow. When the greatsword moved, the weapon even sliced apart space itself as it left a black line in its wake. The audience gasped when they saw the greatsword''s sharpness. "It seems that Miracle Dragon is finally getting serious." When Starstreak noticed the Blade of Disaster cut apart space, his gaze focused on the Swordsman. In God''s Domain, the Swordsman class had two development paths: the dual sword style and the greatsword style. Among them, the dual sword style was more common. As one-handed swords were lighter, they were more suited to players who pursued speed and dexterity. When fighting monsters, one could also use either or both hands to block an attack. As for the greatsword style, needless to say, a greatsword was much heavier than one-handed swords. This, in turn, made greatswords more difficult to handle. However, the advantage was obviousthey possessed great destructive power. Miracle Dragon''s talent was suited to the greatsword style. Not only could his combat technique, Swift Sword, make up for the greatsword''s lack of speed, but the weapon''s destructive power also made up for the Swift Sword technique''s lack of power. Most importantly, Miracle Dragon could use weakness observation, allowing him to detect his opponent''s weak points and exerting his greatsword''s full potential. Moreover, Miracle Dragon was a Magic Swordsman. With the magic enhancement, his attacks'' speed and power had risen to a whole new level. Even those old, Domain Realm monsters wouldn''t casually face the man head-on. "Fall! Six Extreme Slashes!" As Miracle Dragon opened his eyes, he dashed at Gentle Snow as he launched six slashes. However, his attacks were faster than his Consecutive Swift Swords. This time, he completed all six slashes in a single breath, targeting Gentle Snow''s blind spots. It was simply impossible for the Berserker to dodge all of the attacks. The instant Miracle Dragon executed Six Extreme Slashes, the peak experts in the various VIP rooms held their breath as their eyes widened, deeply afraid of missing this exciting moment. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow, the recipient of this powerful technique, could feel the pressure from Miracle Dragon''s Six Extreme Slashes. The pressure weighed down her arms and legs. How could she block such a technique? Gentle Snow had no choice but to go all out. Legacy Berserk Skill, Starlight Saint! Seven Luminaries Domain! 1165 Complete Victory Chapter 1165 - Complete Victory "She''s too strong!" "Is she an NPC in disguise?" When Gentle Snow had activated her Berserk Skill, the crowd had been startled. As Gentle Snow activated Starlight Saint, her originally pitch-black armor transformed into a white, feathery gown. Three pairs of silvery-white metallic wings, decorated with golden divine runes, stretched from her back. Golden divine runes also surfaced on Gentle Snow''s unblemished cheeks and forehead, adding a hint of divinity to her appearance. However, the players in the audience were experts. They naturally would not be frightened by a change in appearance. The real reason that they were intimidated the feeling of power Gentle Snow gave off. This feeling was different from the pressure one normally felt from stronger opponents. This was kind of like the fear they felt when facing creatures of a higher Life Rating. Normally, they only experienced this feeling when facing NPCs or monsters. Yet, they were afraid of Gentle Snow. Inside a third-floor VIP room, surprise colored Phoenix Rain''s expression as she watched. Does she have a hidden class as well? This thought surfaced in Phoenix Rain''s mind. She had already taken a look through the files of the Asura Battle Team''s members. Although the information recorded stated that Gentle Snow possessed this kind of Berserk Skill, as most Berserk Skills would alter the player''s body, she hadn''t bothered to look into the matter further. Now, however, Phoenix Rain was certain that Gentle Snow possessed a hidden class. She would never give off such a powerful feeling otherwise. The only explanation Phoenix Rain could come up with was that Gentle Snow had used one of those mysterious Legacy Berserk Skills. Meanwhile, only Peak Legacies possessed Legacy Berserk Skills. Thinking up to this point, Phoenix Rain could not help her growing curiosity about Zero Wing. She could accept the fact that the Asura Battle Team''s members exposed one Epic item after another. However, she could not fathom how Zero Wing had managed to obtain a Peak Legacy. In God''s Domain, Peak Legacies were much rarer than Epic Weapons and Equipment. Even now, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had not found a single clue leading to a Peak Legacy, much less obtaining one. As for Miracle, only after mobilizing all of the Guild''s power did they managed to obtain a Peak Legacy for the Witch of the West. As everyone was shocked by Gentle Snow''s display, Miracle Dragon''s Six Extreme Slashes descended on the female player. This Six Extreme Slashes technique was Miracle Dragon''s current limit. Even peak experts of similar standards would be fortunate if they could block two or three of the slashes. If they did not activate a Lifesaving Skill, the attack would devour their HP. As these six slashes were about to carve into Gentle Snow, three silvery-white holy spears appeared before the Berserker. Gentle Snow''s greatsword had also transformed into two one-handed swords. This instantly resolved the issue of her previous blind spots. When Miracle Dragon''s greatsword descended, a series of crisp, metallic clangs echoed throughout the arena. In the end, Gentle Snow had blocked all six slashes. Moreover, she remained unharmed even after blocking the attacks. She had not lost a single HP. "You blocked them all...?" Miracle Dragon''s expression froze. The entire venue fell silent as the crowd stared at Gentle Snow incredulously. Thousand Miles was more shocked than anyone. Miracle Dragon''s strongest technique had been neutralized. How could this happen? While Thousand Miles had considered the possibility of Gentle Snow blocking all six attacks successfully, it was with the assumption that she would use an Invulnerability Skill. However, Gentle Snow had not used anything like that. She had relied on her own techniques. "How does a little Guild like Zero Wing have such a genius?" Thousand Miles''s jealousy began to bubble up as he watched the Snow Goddess. That''s right; he envied Zero Wing. From Gentle Snow''s data, he knew that the woman had not received any training from a special system, yet with weapons and equipment on par with Miracle Dragon''s, she had suppressed her opponent. This was insane. If Gentle Snow joined Miracle, even Thousand Miles himself couldn''t imagine what kind of future lay head of the woman. Moreover, Gentle Snow was a talented manager. Rather than calling her a genius, it would be more apt to call her a prodigy. If Gentle Snow became his subordinate, it was highly possible that he could rise to Guild Leader in the future. Aside from Gentle Snow, Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud, who had taken to the stage in the previous matches, were similarly talented. In Miracle, they would definitely be considered top-class players. Yet, such prodigies and geniuses continued to emerge within a small Guild like Zero Wing. This was ludicrous! Thousand Miles suddenly had an ideapoach Gentle Snow and the others for Miracle. "This is too amazing! She actually managed to suppress the Sword Freak!" "Is this the Snow Goddess''s true strength?" "How did she block that move?!" Although many among the audience were experts, they all knew that they would die instantly under the onslaught of Miracle Dragon''s Six Extreme Slashes. However, by the looks of Gentle Snow, it was clear that she still had energy to spare after her defense. Everyone in the crowd had goosebumps. They realized that they were about to bear witness to a historic moment. Gentle Snow was going to defeat the Sword Freak Miracle Dragon. The Asura Battle Team would annihilate the Evil Dragon Battle Team! "Big Sis Snow is so amazing! I couldn''t even see those attacks, yet she blocked all of them! If I had been in her shoes, I would have been defeated." Violet Cloud watched Gentle Snow with admiration. "I wonder when I''ll reach that realm?" In response, Shi Feng simply chuckled. In reality, he wanted to reassure Violet Cloud that her combat techniques were stronger than the Snow Goddess''s. It was the gap between their equipment that made the difference. The Seven Luminaries Battle Armor, in particular, was almost a cheat against melee players. Gentle Snow would not fare so well against the Witch of the West. The Seven Luminaries Battle Armor had two Passive Skills. Among them, Magic Reinforcement could improve the user''s physique by 30%. Physique improvement in God''s Domain was not limited to increasing a player''s speed and Stamina. More importantly, a player''s five senses also improved, which allowed them to keep up with speeds they normally could not. This was the benefit of an item that had once been Legendary Equipment. Despite its fragmented state, its effects were still frightening. Miracle Dragon also felt the effects of the Seven Luminaries Domain, decreasing his speed significantly. Even if she hadn''t used the three holy spears, with Gentle Snow''s current level, Basic Attributes, and physique, she would have no problem blocking five of the six attacks. With her Battle Armor''s frightening Defense, she wouldn''t receive much damage from one strike. This was what made Fragmented Legendary items so terrifying. A single item could create a peak expert. This was also why the various large Guilds in the past had been so desperate to obtain Fragmented Legendary items. Meanwhile, on the stage, just as Gentle Snow was about to display the Seven Luminaries Domain''s might, Miracle Dragon revealed a bitter smile as he raised one hand and forfeited the match. Miracle Dragon had kept his word. Before everyone realized what had happened, the system automatically declared Gentle Snow and Fire Dance the winners of this match. Following which, the competition came to an end. The Asura Battle Team had achieved complete victory over the Evil Dragon Battle Team! 1166 Asura Becomes Famous Chapter 1166 - Asura Becomes Famous Only after the system announcement did the audience react. "The competition. It''s over, just like that?" "This is ridiculous! The Asura Battle Team has achieved another complete victory!" After these three matches, everyone finally understood what high-level PvP truly meant. The duels today were on a whole different level compared to the PvP battles they fought before. Particularly, the experts of first- and second-rate Guilds were so excited that they had forgotten to breathe as they watched the match between Miracle Dragon and Gentle Snow. However, they all had to admit that this competition had completely exceeded their expectations. Before the competition had begun, almost no one had believed that the Asura Battle Team could achieve victory, much less a complete victory. After all, the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s strength was simply overwhelming. Meanwhile, this upset had also caused many people to cry out in anguish. They all regretted not betting on the Asura Battle Team''s complete victory. That was a one-to-nine payout rate they were talking about! If they had wagered all of their Guilds'' resources, the returns would be unimaginable. After all, every player capable of entering the Dark Arena had extraordinary origins. It would not be difficult to collect several hundred pieces of excellent equipment, rare tools, and materials. If they had won the bet, they would earn back several thousand items. Just the thought gave them shivers. After the competition ended, the Asura Battle Team had officially been added to the various superpowers'' list of targets. After Miracle Dragon left the stage, Alice walked up to him and asked in a soft, but serious, tone, "Miracle, you''re the face of the Guild. Why didn''t you go all out?" She knew full well how powerful Miracle Dragon was. Others might not, but she had seen his strength with her own eyes. Miracle Dragon''s Six Extreme Slashes was far from his true power. When Miracle Dragon activated his Berserk Skill, he could execute Nine Extreme Slashes. Although there was only a difference of three attacks, he could have defeated Gentle Snow, yet the Swordsman had not done so. As a result, the Evil Dragon Battle Team had lost the competition. In addition, this wounded the Guild''s reputation. "You think too highly of me. Although I did conserve my strength, do you think Gentle Snow wasn''t doing the same?" Miracle Dragon could not help but turn to the Asura Battle Team''s Snow Goddess. Shaking his head, he smiled bitterly as he said, "Don''t forget, she, too, possesses a peak class. Rather than exposing my Nine Extreme Slashes and forcing Gentle Snow to use her Twofold Berserk in return, we''d benefit more if I saved that trump card for Thunder Island. Don''t forget; Thunder Island is our Guild''s true target." Hearing Miracle Dragon''s explanation, Alice understood. While everyone believed that the strongest aspect of peak classes was the lack of shortcomings, in reality, the true power of peak classes was their ability to use Twofold Berserk. In fact, she hadn''t bothered to use Twofold Berserk against Shi Feng and Violet Cloud because she wanted to surprise the various Super Guilds in the contest for Thunder Island. Thinking up to this point, Alice shifted her gaze to Shi Feng, her expression tensing. Could he possess a peak class as well? Alice suddenly recalled the scene when Shi Feng had sliced apart the Flame Monarch''s fireballs. Shi Feng definitely had not achieved that feat simply by relying on a single Berserk Skill. After all, he was only a Tier 1 player, not Tier 2. If this was true... Then Zero Wing really was terrifying. Despite being an upstart Guild in a small kingdom, Zero Wing had two players that wielded Peak Legacies. Even Miracle couldn''t say the same. "They won?" Inside a VIP room, Purple Jade''s eyes burned with fighting spirit and frustration as she looked at Gentle Snow. Originally, her goal was to defeat the Sword Freak Miracle Dragon. Now, however, Gentle Snow had defeated that old monster, and she was only a few years older than Purple Jade. Moreover, Gentle Snow had never experienced any superpower''s system training. This realization wounded Purple Jade''s pride. However, it also rekindled her hope. At the very least, she now knew that someone from the younger generation could defeat Miracle Dragon with a sword. "Zero Wing is truly an interesting Guild. They keep surprising everyone." As Yuan Tiexin watched Shi Feng, he recalled his first meeting with the young man. The youth, who hadn''t been worth mentioning, had grown into an expert that even he feared. It really made him wonder if he were getting old. "Jade, let''s go. The Dark Arena''s auction is likely about to start. We need to send our items over." Purple Jade nodded in response. She then followed Yuan Tiexin and left the VIP room. In another VIP room, Nine Dragons Emperor was extremely pale. He paled further when he noticed Phoenix Rain''s grin. Although the woman hadn''t said anything, he felt as if she had plunged a knife into his heart. Miracle! That bunch of trash! They made me lose so many resources! Although he had mentioned that he had only bet a small amount of unimportant resources on the Evil Dragon Battle Team, in reality, he had wagered plenty of excellent weapons and equipment. Among them, there were over 50 pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment... Currently, even independent expert players were only around Level 39 or Level 40. Despite the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion frequently mobilizing their members to kill Field Bosses of higher levels, they had a very small stock of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Yet, he had lost over 50 pieces in the blink of an eye. With 50 Level 40 Dark-Gold items, he could easily employ ten peak experts. However, what annoyed him the most was the fact that Phoenix Rain had made a fortune. Just the thought of Phoenix Rain gaining the equivalent of nine Epic mage robes was enough to drive him mad. "We''re leaving!" Without speaking to Phoenix Rain, Nine Dragons Emperor stormed out of the room with Martial Dragon. "Hahaha! Big Sis Rain, Zero Wing is simply amazing! They actually achieved a complete victory against the Evil Dragon Battle Team! Not only have we earned a fortune from out bet, but we also got a huge haul from the competition''s total bets! With this, we won''t have to worry about needing resources for the competition on Thunder Island!" Blue Phoenix exclaimed excitedly after Nine Dragons Emperor had left the room. "We have indeed won this time. However, the contest on Thunder Island is key," Phoenix Rain said, smiling faintly. This victory was only secondary to her. What truly impressed Phoenix Rain was the strength that Zero Wing had displayed today. With the resources she had obtained today, they definitely had a chance of occupying two monster encampments. However, inside another VIP room, when Abandoned Wave saw the Asura Battle Team win, he started to laugh like a lunatic. "I''ll let you celebrate for now. Soon, however, you will fall from heaven straight into hell." Abandoned Wave wore a sinister smile as he watched Shi Feng and the others. However, as Abandoned Wave was about to leave the room, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure in the Asura Battle Team''s rest area. This person was none other than the commander of Miracle''s Purgatory Legion, Thousand Miles. Thousand Miles showed no anger over the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s loss. On the contrary, he wore a friendly smile as he approached Gentle Snow. Abandoned Wave was shocked. Every time he had spoken with Thousand Miles, the man wore an indifferent expression. Thousand Miles didn''t respect him at all, yet the man smiled at Gentle Snow. No matter how Abandoned Wave looked at it, he found it odd. "Hello, I am Thousand Miles, a Vice Guild Leader in Miracle. I watched the entire competition, and I have to admit that your performance was dazzling. May I ask if you would be interested in joining Miracle? "If you are, I guarantee you that you''ll immediately be elevated to the position of Guild Elder and will be promoted to vice commander in the Purgatory Legion. In the future, you might even become a Vice Guild Leader." 1167 Impervious to Reason Chapter 1167 - Impervious to Reason Although Thousand Miles''s tone was plain, his words stunned everyone in the arena. Even the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s members, who were approaching from a short distance away, revealed stunned expressions, confusion in their eyes as they looked at Thousand Miles. "What''s the commander trying to do?" Silent March could not believe her ears when she heard Thousand Miles''s offer. She was not surprised that Thousand Miles had taken the initiative to invite Gentle Snow to Miracle. Rather, she was shocked by what he promised the Snow Goddess. Miracle was a super-first-rate Guild. When it came to number and quality of experts, Miracle was even stronger than some Super Guilds. The Guild had no shortage of newcomers each year, either. However, no newcomer had ever become a Guild Elder or vice commander of one of Miracle''s trump card legions the moment they joined. Even Silent March, a genius Miracle had nurtured internally, did not receive such a treatment. "The Vice Guild Leader really is going all-out this time." Alice simply smiled. It was extremely difficult to become an Elder in Miracle as there were a limited number of spots. Unless the Guild expanded, it would not add more Elders. As for the position of the Purgatory Legion''s vice commander, countless players vied for such an honor. Thousand Miles didn''t have the authority to give it away. Even Miracle''s Guild Leader could not make such a decision alone. Such an important matter needed to be discussed among the Guild''s upper echelons. Since Thousand Miles had spoken with such certainty, he was definitely prepared to pay a massive price to recruit Gentle Snow. Based on the woman''s performance in the last match, it was possible that he could fulfill those promises. Miracle Dragon didn''t comment on the matter at all. However, Miracle''s other experts glared enviously at Gentle Snow. He had offered her the position of one of Miracle''s Elders! They all strove for that position. Only by becoming an Elder would one have truly joined the ranks of Miracle''s upper echelons. It was like joining a company''s upper management. If they became one of Miracle''s Elders, even the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds had to treat them with respect. Thousand Miles had even promised Gentle Snow the position of Vice Guild Leader. If they could become a Vice Guild Leader, they would receive a portion of the Guild''s shares. They could also influence the Guild''s decisions. Standing by the side, Shi Feng said nothing in regard to Thousand Miles''s offer, though he did frown. Thousand Miles''s poaching method was the perfect representation of how super-first-rate Guilds operated. "Thank you for your invitation. However, I have no intention of leaving Zero Wing." Gentle Snow rejected the offer without hesitation. "Why? Is Miracle not a match for Zero Wing?" Thousand Miles frowned. He hadn''t expected Gentle Snow to reject him so straightforwardly. She hadn''t even considered his offer. This reaction irked him a little. "You are very strong. If you remain in a Guild like Zero Wing, you won''t be able to fulfill your potential. However, if you join Miracle, you''ll be able to display your abilities fully. In the future, as Miracle continues to develop, you will even have the opportunity to become a Branch Guild Leader and manage an entire kingdom or empire." Although Thousand Miles hadn''t been loud, the many expert players present could hear his words clearly, and they all gasped in shock. Many upper echelons and Guild leaders stared at Gentle Snow enviously. They all wished they were standing in her shoes. Everyone knew that God''s Domain was massive and that even Super Guilds could not single-handedly rule over the entire game. Hence, superpowers would create Branch Guilds in the various kingdoms and empires to develop and expand their Guilds as a whole. These Branch Guilds'' management would be left to the Branch Guild Leaders. Becoming a Branch Guild Leader was the equivalent of establishing a Guild of their own. Moreover, this Guild would have the support of a Super Guilds. Becoming one of Miracle''s Branch Guild Leaders was many times better than becoming a Vice Guild Leader. Even the main headquarters'' Guild Leader would have to treat them with respect. This was far better than being the Guild Leader of a measly first-rate Guild. "How about it? Won''t you consider my offer?" Thousand Miles had already investigated Gentle Snow''s situation. He knew that Blackwater had annexed Ouroboros. Ouroboros no longer existed in the virtual gaming world. However, if Gentle Snow became a Branch Guild Leader, she would be fully capable of establishing another Ouroboros. Only, said Ouroboros would bear the name Miracle''s name. He believed that this offer could tempt the Snow Goddess. It was certainly a higher honor than being Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader. "Thank you for your high evaluation, Vice Guild Leader Miles. However, I''ve already stated that I will not leave Zero Wing. If you have nothing else to discuss, I will be on my way," Gentle Snow said. She then turned and left, wanting nothing to do with Thousand Miles. Everyone in the arena was flabbergasted. Gentle Snow had tossed away such a heaven-sent opportunity. They simply could not figure out what was going through Gentle Snow''s mind. Had she lost the ambition she had when she had been the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild? Even if she had lost this ambition, she should still want to grow stronger. In that case, joining Miracle should be her best option. "Big Sis Snow, you''re so cool! I almost fell for you!" Violet Cloud''s eyes shone brightly as she tugged on Gentle Snow''s delicate arm. Shi Feng also released a sigh of relief. He was a little touched by Gentle Snow''s response. Very few could hold themselves back when faced with the temptation of reality, not to mention the conditions Thousand Miles had offered. As for Fire Dance and Alluring Summer, they simply smiled at Thousand Miles. Although they had a word or two for the man, in the end, they chose to turn and leave. Miracle might be an insurmountable existence to Zero Wing right now, but the same could not be said for the future. They believed that it wouldn''t be long before Shi Feng transformed Zero Wing into an existence that even surpassed Miracle. What a fool! She is simply impervious to reason! Wrathful flames burned in Thousand Miles''s eyes as he glared at Gentle Snow''s departing figure. Just you wait. It won''t be long before you beg to join Miracle! The struggle for dominance in God''s Domain was only beginning. Mainstream players were beginning to obtain Mounts, and various groups were beginning to occupy NPC towns. It was only a matter of time before conflict broke out between countries. Moreover, various industrial titans had begun to set their sights on the game, investing large sums. Soon, the competition between Guilds would intensify. There was a saying that "destruction pursued the great." In such a competitive environment, it would not be surprising for today''s overlord to vanish from the game tomorrow. At the end of the day, only superpowers like Miracle would continue to stand tall. Following which, Thousand Miles led his subordinates out of the arena and headed for the Dark Arena''s auction venue. Meanwhile, inside a VIP room upstairs, the Midnight Tea Party''s members had watched every second of the competition. What an interesting Guild. Endless Scars''s cherry-red lips formed a joyful smile as she looked at the Asura Battle Team members. Due to this incident, Endless Scars''s interest in the Guild known as Zero Wing had grown. Her opinion was the opposite of those who were shocked and confused. The fact that an upstart Guild could keep a former Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild from leaving showed that this upstart Guild held something even more attractive than what a super-first-rate Guild could offer. There was no other reason that someone, who had once lead their own Guild, would dismiss a rare opportunity to display their abilities on a larger stage, preferring the small state that no one paid much attention to. ... After the competition had ended, Shi Feng headed towards the Dark Arena''s exchange counter. Before the competition had begun, he had brought all of the Guild''s resources with him. Afterward, he had deliberately agreed to Miracle Dragon''s challenge to push the Dark Arena''s host to increase the competition''s payout rate. And indeed, just as he had expected, the host had eventually offered a payout rate of one-to-nine for a complete victory. After that, he had bet everything he could afford to lose on the Asura Battle Team. "Here''s my ticket. I would like to redeem my resources." Shi Feng smiled as he handed over the ticket the Dark Arena''s host had issued him to the female player manning the counter. He had bet 300-plus pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, 800-plus pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment, as well as plenty of high-tiered Magic Scrolls and rare materials. The total value of his bet easily exceeded 90,000 Gold. "Sir, this..." The woman manning the counter nearly jumped in shock when she saw Shi Feng''s ticket. 1168 Dark Auction Chapter 1168 - Dark Auction "Is there a problem?" Shi Feng asked the female receptionist. "No, the amount is just a little too high for me to handle. I''ll have to ask my superiors before I can transfer the resources," the receptionist said, smiling bitterly. The amount of resources recorded on the ticket Shi Feng produced was frightening. There were usually many bets placed in the Dark Arena, and it was not uncommon to see players gamble several hundred or even over a thousand weapons, equipment, rare materials, and tools. However, Shi Feng''s wager was completely outside of the norm. Just the Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment he had bet numbered more than 300... Various large Guilds'' mainstream equipment was still Level 35. Level 40 weapons and equipment were still rare, much less Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Normally, Guilds let their experts use these items. Very few Guilds would be willing to gamble these items. In this competition, although there were quite a few first-rate Guilds that had Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, they had only bet around twenty to thirty pieces at most. Even then, it was considered an extravagance. Overall, the majority of the Guilds'' wagers were Level 35 weapons and equipment, tools, and rare materials. Most importantly, Shi Feng had bet on the Asura Battle Team''s complete victory. The Dark Arena had to compensate him with nine times the resources he had bet. According to the Dark Arena''s rules, players would get priority over resources of the same rank when claiming their winnings. In other words, if a player had bet Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, once the competition was over and said player collected their winnings, the Dark Arena would give that player the Level 40 Dark-Gold equipment that had been wagered on the losing team. Only when the Dark Arena was out of Level 40 Dark-Gold equipment would it compensate the player with items of a lower rank. Meanwhile, this competition was unusual. Rather than relying on the system, the Dark Arena''s host was the bookkeeper. As a result, the bets did not follow the natural payout rates, which resulted in an unbalanced payout ratio. If the bets on the losing battle team were not enough to cover the bets placed on the winning battle team, the host would have to cover the rest. Shi Feng had bet over 300 Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons and pieces of Equipment. In other words, the Dark Arena had to pay him over 2,700 Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Shi Feng was also going to redeem over 7,000 Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment He was definitely going to wring the host dry. With so many weapons and equipment, one could easily arm a legion of 1,000 Level 40 experts and have plenty to spare. Even the Dark Arena''s host couldn''t collect so many items within a short time. As the Dark Arena, there was a minimum requirement of the quality of the items wagered. For example, Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment would not be accepted. The bare minimum was Level 35 Fine-Gold Weapons or Equipment. The same was true for rare materials and tools. Although many had bet on the Evil Dragon Battle Team, there were still a few players who had bet on the Asura Battle Team''s complete victory. In fact, one person had even gambled an Epic item. After considering all of the bets, the remaining resources would not be enough to pay off Shi Feng''s claim. After a moment, the receptionist finally received feedback from her superiors. Turning to Shi Feng, the receptionist awkwardly reported, "Sir, as your wager was somewhat large, so we aren''t able to transfer all of the required resources within a short period. Aside from resources of the same rank, may I know if you are willing to accept a portion of the payment in Coins or Magic Crystals?" "That''s fine. I''ll take payment in both Coins and Magic Crystals." Shi Feng nodded. He was not particularly surprised by this outcome. The host had set the payout rates too high. Even if a lot of people had gambled on the Evil Dragon Battle Team winning, there were bound to be a few who tested their luck. It was only natural that the host was in a predicament. After all, it was not that easy to procure top-tier resources. Even Super Guilds were not immune to the difficulty. In fact, the only reason he had so many items lying around was thanks to Pantheon, Blackwater, and Heaven''s Burial. If he had not trapped and killed so many of their expert and elite players, he wouldn''t have been able to collect so many items, either. After all, when he placed items of such rank in the Guild Warehouse, Guild members traded in their GCPs very quickly. Unless, of course, the host was willing to let their own Guild experts go naked. Obviously, this was impossible. Afterward, Shi Feng had Fire Dance and the others transport his winnings. In total, Shi Feng had won tens of thousands of weapons, equipment, tools, and rare materials. Even his own bag space couldn''t hold that many items. "Guild Leader, did you just rob the Dark Arena''s warehouse?" Fire Dance was breathless as she looked weapons and equipment in her bag. If it were simply Common Weapons and Equipment, she wouldn''t have said anything. Even the most inferior item was a piece of Level 35 Fine-Gold Equipment... "Our harvest is even greater than when we annihilated the Blackwater army. With this, our Guild won''t have to worry about weapons and equipment for some time." Gentle Snow''s eyes shone as she looked at Shi Feng''s winnings. "With these weapons and equipment, our Guild can start expanding again." Weapons and equipment were a Guild''s foundation. To develop a Guild, one first needed to develop the Guild''s weapon and equipment supply. Currently, Guilds'' main sources for weapons and equipment were powerful Field Bosses and large-scale Team Dungeons. This was also why the various large Guilds needed experts. Without experts taking the lead, it would be very difficult for elite and ordinary players to kill powerful monsters or raid difficult Team Dungeons. However, what Gentle Snow did not know was that their harvest from the Dark Arena not only helped prepare Zero Wing for its next expansion, but it also covered their construction fees for upgrading Stone Forest Town to Intermediate rank. Next, Shi Feng simply needed to pay the construction fees and NPCs would begin rebuilding Stone Forest Town according to the Grandmaster Town Design. "Transport these items back to the Guild for now. I''ll go and participate in the auction." When Shi Feng glanced at the time, he noticed there were less than ten minutes before the Dark Auction began. It would be a huge loss to miss out. Moreover, Shi Feng had just obtained 420,000 Magic Crystals and 50,000 Gold Coins from the host. He had practically emptied the host''s pockets. Following which, Shi Feng hurried to the auction venue. The Dark Auction was known as one of the largest auctions in God''s Domain. There were always a plethora of items up for auction, and every one of them was of excellent quality. Even Fragmented Legendary items had been for sale in the past. Although many large Guilds wanted to participate, it was extremely difficult to do so. The minimum requirement to attend the Dark Auction had been the same to enter the Dark Arena in the past. Moreover, each invitation was limited to one person. One could not bring guests. Of course, these rules hadn''t been implemented yet. Any player that had received an invitation to the Dark Arena could take part. As soon as Shi Feng reached the Underground Arena''s top floor, he noticed a sea of people. There were more than double the number of players who had watched the competition. Upper echelons from Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds that had not been in the audience had arrived here. As Shi Feng searched a place to sit, a familiar voice came from behind him. "Ye Feng?" When Shi Feng heard this voice, he could not help but turn towards its source. Immediately, he noticed Autumn Goose. She had already risen to Level 41 and wore silver armor trimmed in red. Standing beside Autumn Goose was the Wind God''s Spear''s commander, Fallen Wind. The man had already reached Level 42. His level was quite eye-catching as he stood among the crowd. A glamorous beauty stood next to these two. The woman wore deep-red leather armor and had a tattered and broken sword hanging from her waist. Although she had hidden her level with her Black Cloak, one could easily tell she was a first-class Assassin based on her sharp aura. Moreover, Shi Feng was very familiar with this beauty''s face. Almost every superpower in God''s Domain knew the woman''s nickname. She was Arrogance, one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' Seven Sins! 1169 Legacy Item Chapter 1169 - Legacy Item They actually know each other? Shi Feng was a little surprised to see these three walking together. He had never imagined that the Wind God''s Spear would have a connection with the Flower of Seven Sins... The Flower of Seven Sins was an organization that not even Super Guilds dared to provoke. Meanwhile, within the organization, the most famous players were none other than the Seven Sins. The peerless beauty standing before him wielded the title ArroganceHidden Soul! In the past, the Flower of Seven Sins had been hired to assassinate a Super Guild''s Guild Leader. Eventually, the organization completed the task. Meanwhile, Hidden Soul was among those who took part in the assassination. A Super Guild''s Guild Leader was extraordinarily strong. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have risen to that position in the first place. In addition, a large group of peak experts usually followed these Guild Leaders, making assassinations nearly impossible, yet the Flower of Seven Sins had succeeded. Due to that incident, Hidden Soul''s fame had skyrocketed. That incident had shocked the entire virtual gaming world. Noticing Autumn Goose''s excitement, Hidden Soul glanced at Shi Feng before asking softly, "Autumn, is he an acquaintance?" At this moment, Shi Feng wore a Black Cloak, so she couldn''t check his level. However, the fact that the man had been allowed into the Dark Auction House proved his status. "Mhm. Ye Feng is the expert we told you about before. If not for his help, our Wind God''s Spear would''ve suffered tremendously," Autumn Goose nodded. "That''s right. If not for Brother Ye Feng lending a hand, we would''ve been trapped inside the Trial of God," Fallen Wind said. "So, this is the guy you were talking about." Hidden Soul could not help but study Shi Feng more carefully. While Hidden Soul quietly observed Shi Feng, Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose approached him to say hello. "Brother Ye Feng, long time no see." Smiling, Fallen Wind continued, "I never thought that you''d be here to participate in the auction as well. Why don''t you join us?" He had personally witnessed Shi Feng''s strength, and he admired the man. It was also thanks to Shi Feng that he had improved his combat standards. If possible, he really wanted to spar with Shi Feng in the future. "That''s right. We came here with Big Sister Soul this time. Big Sister Soul''s invitation card allowed us to use a room on the second floor. You get to know what items are up for auction in those rooms. This way, you''ll have an easier time bidding on what you want," Autumn Goose added. Originally, Shi Feng had wondered why Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose had been surprised to see him. Logically, they should''ve seen him in the arena. However, he understood after hearing the player''s comments. Not many people were particularly interested in the Dark Arena''s competitions. After all, the various superpowers would never reveal their true strength here. However, it was a different story for the Dark Auction. Hence, it wasn''t unusual for others to be unaware of his situation. Moreover, Hidden Soul had brought Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose as her guests. It was even less likely for them to know about the Asura Battle Team. Seeing as both Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose had passionately invited him to join them, Shi Feng agreed after considering the matter. Not just anyone could enter the second-floor rooms. Only superpowers had this privilege. Meanwhile, as Autumn Goose had said, the second-floor rooms provided a preview the items that were up for auction. With this insight, one could organize their funds and plan the items they wanted to buy. It was an advantage of status and position. For people from first-rate Guilds or below, they could only wait for the items'' reveal patiently. While Shi Feng chatted with Fallen Wind as they walked upstairs, Hidden Soul pulled Autumn Goose to a side and asked softly, "Little Autumn, did you say that Rain refused to leave her Guild because of him?" "I''m not sure. I only know that Ye Feng has quested with Rain several times. After that, no matter how much I tried to persuade her, she wouldn''t leave Zero Wing. However, Zero Wing is impressive. Now that I think about it, even I envy her a little," Autumn Goose said, shaking her head. "So, that''s how it is." Hearing Autumn Goose''s words, Hidden Soul shot Shi Feng a frosty look. "It seems that I''ll have to find an opportunity to get to know him properly." The Dark Auction House''s second-floor rooms were quite spacious. Each one was roughly the size of a basketball court. Aside from the staff member stationed within, there was a table lined with precious alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Any bottle on display could easily sell for 50 or 60 Silver Coins, with some worth over 3 Gold. The fact that the Dark Arena''s host offered the guests as many of these beverages as they wanted showed just how wealthy they were. Fallen Wind gulped when he saw the alcohol. Even he couldn''t afford to indulge in alcohol worth 3 Gold per bottle. Normally, he considered wine worth several dozen Silver extravagant enough. After Shi Feng and the others took their seats, the staff member handed each of them a list of the auctioned items. "Dear guests, our auction will be split into two segments. We will host the first segment, and all of the items for sale have been recorded on that list. The second segment will be a trading session. If you have any items you wish to put up for trade, our auction house will represent you. However, to assure the products'' quality, we will charge a processing fee of 40 Magic Crystals or 10 Gold Coins for each item. In the case of raw materials, we will charge 60 Magic Crystals of 15 Gold Coins per stack." After everyone received the list, the staff member explained the Dark Auction''s general process. Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose frowned when they heard the explanation. "This is simply too fraudulent," Autumn Goose whispered. Just getting the auction house to help promote their items cost a minimum of 40 Magic Crystals or 10 Gold Coins. There wasn''t even a guarantee that their trade would be successful. This was practically daylight robbery! Even expert players had to grind for a long time to collect 10 Gold Coins. Otherwise, they wouldn''t worry about affording a Mount. Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose finally understood why the host offered so many expensive beverages in these second-floor rooms. It felt as if they had already paid for the drinks. In the auction, the crowd was more interested in the trading session than the organizer''s items. After all, there were many priceless treasures in God''s Domain. Those present generally had little need for Coins and Magic Crystals. They were more willing to spend these currencies to purchase items that weren''t available on the market. Hidden Soul simply smiled at Autumn Goose''s reaction. Anyone capable of receiving a second-floor room invitation had an extraordinarily status or position. To people like them, 40 Magic Crystals and 10 Gold Coins were nothing more than spare change. Moreover, the requirement''s purpose was to ensure the quality of players'' items. If the item were not of particular value, it wouldn''t be worthwhile to invest 10 Gold to trade it. Everyone here was wealthy. They naturally would not waste their time checking out worthless items. After the staff member finished his explanation, three people approached the auction hall''s center. Among them, two were tall, beautiful ordinary female players. These women were specifically tasked to display the auctioned items. The last person was a middle-aged man. He was obviously the auctioneer. When these three people took center stage, the venue fell silent. These players had fallen silent because the first auctioned item was simply too frightening. It was a Legacy item that allowed one to class-change into a hidden class! 1170 Difference in Wealth Chapter 1170 - Difference in Wealth "It''s really a Legacy item!" "The host is simply too amazing! They''re actually auctioning such an item as well!" "What wealth!" The auction hall was suddenly in an uproar. Even the people in the second-floor rooms could not help but pay attention to the item that was brought out. Although they had long since known that a Legacy item was going to be put up for auction, the information they had regarding the item was very vague. As a result, they could only wait for the auction house to officially announce the specifics of the Legacy item. Hidden classes were no longer a secret in God''s Domain. However, obtaining one was still extremely difficulteven more difficult than getting an Epic item. Moreover, unlike Epic items, where there would eventually come a time when they would be discarded, hidden classes could accompany players throughout their entire gaming career in God''s Domain. Currently, any Guild that obtained a clue or item leading to a hidden class would not even think of selling it. Meanwhile, seeing as the first item revealed in the Dark Auction was already so impressive, it was certain that the subsequent items would be of roughly similar quality. "I believe everyone has already seen this item for themselves. As for the item''s exact information, pardon us for not publicizing it. Consider this a security measure for the buyer. However, I can still share the basic details of this item with everyone. This is a Magic Knight''s Legacy Shield. According to the Legacy ranks, it is considered an Advanced Legacy. However, it is a defense-type hidden class. I believe everyone should know full well that its value is no less than that of Peak Legacies. "As this item is very special, the seller of this item is accepting only Magic Crystals. The starting bid is set at 20,000 crystals, and each increment should be no less than 1,000 crystals. "Let us begin!" The instant the auctioneer finished speaking, a furor broke out in the entire auction hall. The starting bid was simply too high. Everyone could not help but be shocked by it. The Dark Auction accepted payment in both Magic Crystals and Coins. However, compared to Magic Crystals, the various large Guilds preferred to pay using Coins, as Magic Crystals were truly difficult to obtain. Unlike Coins, the sources of Magic Crystals were only Dungeon Bosses or monsters in certain Regional Dungeons. There were no other reliable methods of obtaining Magic Crystals. The only bright side was that the various large Guilds had always been saving up on Magic Crystals for unexpected situations. Meanwhile, in order to successfully purchase the items they were aiming for, they had naturally brought their entire stockpile just in case. Nevertheless, just the starting bid was already 20,000 Magic Crystalsa price very few Guilds could afford. Even first-rate Guilds shuddered at this figure. However, the hidden class in question right now was a defensive-type hidden class. The various large Guilds and famous adventurer teams still had to give it a try, even if they knew the price was ridiculously high. After all, an MT was the core of a team. A team with a powerful MT would have their overall strength elevated to a whole new level. "Twenty-two thousand crystals!" "Twenty-four thousand crystals!" "Twenty-six thousand crystals!" Immediately, people all over the auction hall began shouting out bids one after another. In the blink of an eye, the price of the Legacy Shield shot past 30,000 Magic Crystals. If converted to Coins, that would be equivalent to 7,500 Gold, a considerable amount even for first-rate Guilds. Moreover, even if one had 7,500 Gold, they would not be able to purchase 30,000 Magic Crystals. Magic Knight? Shi Feng was somewhat astonished as he looked at the massive, tattered shield displayed on the stage. He had never thought that the Dark Auction House would be capable of obtaining the Legacy for the Magic Knight class. The Magic Knight class had been a very famous hidden class in the past. It significantly strengthened not only an MT''s attack capabilities but also their defensive capabilities. Most importantly, MTs that class-changed to the Magic Knight class received a massive boost to their Magic Resistance. The class was an extremely rare hidden class. If he could have one of the Guild''s MTs become a Magic Knight, he would have a much easier time raiding the Level 50 Regional Dungeon Tower of Time in the future. In the past, the Tower of Time was a place contested by all nearby kingdoms and empires. Not only did the Tower of Time produce Magic Crystals, but most importantly, it also produced Seven Luminaries Crystals. The Mind Space System had been activated a lot later in the past. Hence, by the time it was activated, mainstream players had long since exceeded the level limit of entering the Tower of Time. Even then, the battle for the Dungeon had never once stopped. With the Mind Space System having been activated this soon, Shi Feng could imagine how intense the competition over the Tower of Time would be. Meanwhile, practically all of the monsters inside the Dungeon dealt high magic damage. Needless to say, the Bosses inside were the same. Without sufficient Magic Resistance, entering the Dungeon would simply be suicide. Currently, the main forces of the various Guilds in God''s Domain were only a short distance from reaching Level 50. Hence, Shi Feng needed to make some preparations in anticipation. Before Shi Feng could even place a bid of his own, he suddenly heard Hidden Soul bidding. "Fifty thousand crystals!" Immediately, the entire auction hall fell silent, everyone turning to look at the room Hidden Soul was in. If not for the second-floor rooms concealing the occupants'' identities, most likely, the gazes from the first floor might have killed Hidden Soul several times already. Meanwhile, Autumn Goose and Fallen Wind, who sat beside Hidden Soul, were looking at their companion in shock. They never imagined that Hidden Soul could take out so many Magic Crystals. The Wind God''s Spear could be considered an extremely famous adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire. However, even they would be hard-pressed to gather up 10,000 Magic Crystals at a moment''s notice. Yet, Hidden Soul, who did not belong to any Guild, had actually placed a bid of 50,000 Magic Crystals. Moreover, players could not call out a bid if they did not possess the corresponding items. After the first-floor hall fell into a momentary silence, many people promptly gave up on the Legacy Shield. Although they wished to obtain it, they simply did not have the ability to do so. "Fifty-one thousand crystals!" "Fifty-two thousand crystals!" "Fifty-three thousand crystals!" Suddenly, the number of first-rate Guild upper echelons calling out bids on the first floor decreased drastically. At this moment, any Guild on the first floor capable of bidding was using practically every Magic Crystal the Guild possessed, prepared to break the bank in order to get the Legacy Shield. As a result, the price of the Legacy Shield continued increasing by the thousands. "Seventy thousand crystals!" This was the bid of Thousand Miles, who likewise was in a second-floor room. This price immediately silenced the first-rate Guild upper echelons on the first floor, who were still considering bidding. That was 70,000 Magic Crystals they were talking about! Converted to Coins, that would be 17,500 Gold. With that kind of money, they could even purchase a good plot of Land in the imperial capital of an empire. "Eighty thousand crystals!" At this time, a new bid came from another room. This time, the bid increased directly by 10,000 Magic Crystals. This situation stupefied the players on the first floor. Just taking out 50,000 Magic Crystals had already sunk the various first-rate Guilds present into a financial crisis. Yet, from the behavior of those in the second-floor rooms, they were just getting started. The disparity in the economic strength of both sides was like the difference between heaven and earth. "Pavilion Master, if we spend 80,000 Magic Crystals to buy this Legacy, it''ll be somewhat risky when the bidding for those two items begin," Martial Dragon reminded. In their trip to the Dark Arena this time, watching the competition was only secondary. Their true objective was two of the Dark Auction''s finale items. "It doesn''t matter. Even if we really tried to compete, it is impossible for us to get both of those items. Rather than end up getting nothing at all, it is much better if we secure this Magic Knight Legacy first. Later on, we can simply settle for competing for just one of those items," Nine Dragons Emperor replied calmly. Before the revelation that the Legacy item was for the Magic Knight class, he indeed had not been interested in it. However, a defensive-type hidden class would be of significant help to him on Thunder Island. Moreover, if he had one of the Guild''s Guardian Knights start the class-change process immediately after he returned, they could still make it to the contest in time. However, as soon as Nine Dragons Emperor placed his bid, a new one appeared in the hall. "One hundred thousand crystals!" This was a price that made even the players in the various rooms on the second floor wince. "Just what kind of background do those people in that room possess? Could they have lost their minds?" "At that price, one can even buy a Fragmented Legendary item." Everyone could not help but turn to look at the room that placed this bid. "Big Sis Soul?" Autumn Goose felt as if this was her first time meeting Hidden Soul. The price of 100,000 Magic Crystals also gave the players in the second-floor rooms pause. They all felt that this price exceeded their initial expectations. "One hundred thousand crystals going once!" "One hundred thousand crystals going twice!" Just as the gavel was about to land for the third time, a new bid appeared in the auction hall. "One hundred and twenty thousand crystals!" 1171 Solomon’s Fragmen Chapter 1171 - Solomon''s Fragment The words "one hundred and twenty thousand crystals" echoing throughout the quiet auction hall caused a sudden commotion. "Just who is it that''s so rich?! You can buy several Epic items at that price!" "This is crazy!" "One hundred and twenty thousand crystals That is already double our Guild''s stockpile" Everyone present was shocked by the price of the Magic Knight Legacy. Meanwhile, Thousand Miles, who had placed the bid, sent an anxious glance at Hidden Soul''s room. Now that I''ve raised it by 20,000, I refuse to believe you will dare to compete with me! Initially, Thousand Miles expected to get the Legacy for only 90,000 Magic Crystals. Afterwards, he would still have a goodly amount of crystals to compete for the finale items. Now, however, his plans were disrupted. In order to guarantee his purchase of the Legacy, he had no choice but to raise the price by 20,000 crystals to scare off any possible competitors. However, after a moment of silence, Hidden Soul called out a new bid once again. "One hundred and thirty thousand crystals!" She did not have even a shred of hesitation when calling out this bid. Sure enough, the Flower of Seven Sins really is wealthy. Shi Feng was astounded as he looked at the calm woman sitting close to him. Unlike Super Guilds, the Flower of Seven Sins did not have countless players collecting Magic Crystals for them. When it came to Magic Crystal gathering speed, the organization should be no match for Super Guilds at all. Nevertheless, Hidden Soul still managed to take out 130,000 Magic Crystals with ease. One could tell just how powerful the assassin organization was. "One hundred and thirty-five thousand crystals!" Thousand Miles bellowed. This price was already nearing his acceptable limit. "One hundred and forty thousand crystals!" Hidden Soul simply smiled as she placed an even higher bid. This price already deterred everyone else in the auction hall from competing for the Legacy Shield. "Damn it! Just who is trying to compete with me!?" Thousand Miles was burning with rage right now. The Magic Knight class was a hidden class perfectly suited to him. Yet, judging by the opponent''s reactions, they still possessed plenty of funds to spare. The other party also seemed adamant in obtaining the Magic Knight Legacy no matter what. "Since you wish to compete against me, I want to see just what kind of ability you have! "One hundred and sixty thousand crystals!" The instant he placed this bid, even the players occupying the second-floor rooms were taken aback. Even Super Guilds would need a long time to accumulate that many Magic Crystals. Yet, now, all these resources were being spent on just an Advanced Legacy. Instead of doing so, getting oneself an entire set of Epic Equipment would be much better. The improvements such a set could bring would definitely be much more than what the Magic Knight class could. Only when the auctioneer slammed his gavel for the first time did everyone wake up from their daze. As expected from the Dark Auction. Hidden Soul could not help but shake her head helplessly, a smile appearing on her face as she turned to look at Thousand Miles''s room. However, this is also a good outcome. At the very least, I''ll have one less competitor later on. Now that the Legacy Shield''s price had already reached this point, even she could no longer compete for it. The reason was not a lack of Magic Crystals. She had come here this time for two items, one of which was the Magic Knight Legacy that the Flower of Seven Sins had found out about in secret. However, the other item had a higher priority. If she bought the Magic Knight Legacy now, she definitely would not be able to obtain the other item. When the auctioneer''s gavel descended for the second time, the entire auction hall was still silent. Seeing this situation, Thousand Miles involuntarily breathed out a sigh of relief. He had permission to use only 140,000 of the Magic Crystals the Guild had prepared for this auction for himself. He had cleared out his own stockpile to cover the excess amount and had even borrowed a lot from Alice. If someone called out a higher bid now, he really would have no choice but to give up on the Legacy. Fortunately, however, he was finally able to achieve his goal by spending 160,000 Magic Crystals. "One hundred and sixty-five thousand!" Just as the auctioneer''s gavel was about to land for the third time, a new bid rang out again. Immediately, everyone turned to look at Hidden Soul''s room. "Damn it! Didn''t he already give up?!" A cold glint flashed in Thousand Miles''s eyes. Meanwhile, inside Hidden Soul''s room, Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose were staring at Shi Feng with dumbfounded expressions. Why does he have so many Magic Crystals? A bewildered Hidden Soul also stared at the calm Swordsman. She simply could not believe this situation was true. If a superpower had offered that many Magic Crystals for the Magic Knight Legacy, she would, at most, feel a little frustrated at her loss. However, Shi Feng didn''t belong to any superpower, yet he still managed come up with this many Magic Crystals; hence her extreme shock. After all, a first-rate Guild''s stockpile of Magic Crystals did not even amount to half of this price. Meanwhile, Autumn Goose and Fallen Wind were similarly shocked. Zero Wing was simply too wealthy! Just as everyone thought that the price of the Magic Knight Legacy would continue increasing, contrary to expectations, Thousand Miles fell silent. Although the price had increased by just an additional 5,000 Magic Crystals, this was an amount he could not come up with no matter what right now, unless he utilized the Guild''s prepared Magic Crystals. However, this was obviously not a viable option. Hence, he had no choice but to watch the auctioneer knock his gavel again and again. "Let us congratulate the guest in Room 017 for obtaining the Magic Knight Legacy!" At this moment, the auctioneer was thrilled. This was only the first auction item, yet it already sold at such a good price. The rest of the auction would no doubt be even livelier. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also gritted his teeth as he paid 165,000 Magic Crystals to the auction house. If not for the Seven Luminaries Crystals in the Tower of Time, he wouldn''t spend 165,000 Magic Crystals for the Magic Knight Legacy no matter what. Following which, auction items sold one after another. However, rarely any of the subsequent items managed to attract the attention of the players in the second-floor rooms. Those who contested for these items were mainly players in the first-floor hall. The prices of these items were naturally no match for the Magic Knight Legacy. However, they still sold for at least 200 Gold. There was even another hidden class; however, it was only a Basic Legacy. Eventually, the first-rate Guild Silver Knights purchased it for 18,000 Magic Crystals. Aside from that, a complete Level 40 Dark-Gold Set Equipment also went up for auction. The various superpowers of God''s Domain considered Level 40 Set Equipment among the best equipment currently available. When the set equipment appeared, it immediately set off another bidding war in the auction hall. Eventually, Nine Dragons Emperor bought the eight-piece Wild Claws Set Equipment for 4,450 Gold. At this price, one could already purchase an Epic item. As the auction proceeded, the finale items of the day were finally ushered into the auction hall. There were four finale items in total, every one of them posing a great temptation for Shi Feng. One was an ancient book, one was an Epic Weapon, one was an Epic tool, and the last one was a Secret Technique Tablet. When Shi Feng had seen the list of items for auction, he nearly had jumped up in fright. He could not help but admit that the Dark Auction House was really powerful. Every one of these items could only be encountered by luck. Epic Weapons were much more valuable than Epic Equipment. After all, weapons were things that could significantly improve a player''s damage output. Meanwhile, Epic tools were even rarer than Epic Weapons. Moreover, they would not occupy a player''s equipment slots. Even an Epic tool of average Attributes would be far more valuable than an Epic Weapon. All four of the finale items were simply things that usually could not be bought even if one had the money to do so. This was especially true for the Secret Technique Tablet. This was something highly sought after by all the various superpowers. As long as a Guild had a Secret Technique Tablet, they would be able to allow their experts to learn better and more powerful combat techniques. Although Shi Feng wanted to have his Guild members enter the Secret Technique Tablet he possessed, unfortunately, grasping how to produce Intermediate Magic Arrays was simply too difficult. Currently, aside from himself, only two other people had managed to do so. One of them was Violet Cloud, and the other was Alluring Summer. Sending only three people to use the Secret Technique Tablet would be a tremendous waste. Hence, Shi Feng had never bothered using it all this time. If not for the host trying to increase the Dark Auction''s fame, they definitely wouldn''t sell such a precious item. "Ladies and gentlemen, the next item up for bids will be the first finale item of today''s auction! Without further ado, let me present to you the one-handed sword Netherworld Brilliance!" Saying so, the auctioneer publicized Netherworld Brilliance''s information. Everyone''s eyes glowed when they saw the weapon''s Attributes, drool nearly flowing from their mouths. As for Shi Feng, he grew even more shocked after reading the weapon''s introduction. Solomon''s Fragment! 1172 Sword of Death Chapter 1172 - Sword of Death "The host is simply too generous! They''re actually willing to sell even a Famed Sword!?" "This weapon''s Attributes are much stronger than those of ordinary Epic Weapons!" "This is definitely the most amazing one-handed sword I''ve seen!" Everyone gasped when they saw the Attributes of Netherworld Brilliance. Players that used one-handed swords could not help but wish they could grab the weapon and give it a few swings right this instant. "They really are going all-out this time. There are only a total of 36 Famed Swords in God''s Domain. They are all unique Epic Weapons. Every one of them is a weapon that countless swordsman experts dream of obtaining." Yuan Tiexin, who was seated inside a second-floor room, was slightly astonished when he saw Netherworld Brilliance. Practically everyone in the second-floor rooms came from one of God''s Domain''s superpowers. To them, Epic Weapons were indeed rare but not entirely out of their reach. Getting one of their own was only a matter of time. However, Famed Swords were a different story. These were weapons adored by sword-wielding experts. If utilized properly, one could draw in those sword fanatics who were normally very difficult to recruit. Among the Eight Sword Meisters on the God''s Domain Experts List, three were independent players. If the Secret Pavilion used a Famed Sword as bait, recruiting one of them might really be possible. - [Netherworld Brilliance] (One-handed Sword, Epic Rank) Level 40 - Level 110 (Level 40) Equipment Requirement: Strength 700, Agility 400 Attack Power +1,340 Strength +101, Agility +72, Endurance +60 Attack Speed +15 When attacking: 20% chance to trigger Heavy Crash, increasing Strength by 30% and Attack Speed by 20%; 20% chance to trigger Blur, making the attack impossible to be parried or blocked; 30% chance to trigger Double Critical. When equipped: Strength increased by 10%; Agility increased by 5%; All sword-related Skills +3 Levels; Ignore Levels +15; All sword-related Skill Completion Rates increased by 2%. Additional Passive Skill 1- Death Devour: Any creature that dies within 200 yards will provide wielder with a Death Devour buff, increasing wielder''s Attack Speed by 1% and all sword-related Skill Completion Rates by 0.1% for 30 seconds. Buff can be stacked up to 30 times. Additional Passive Skill 2- Death''s Phantom: Wielder''s physique improves as HP decreases. Physique can improve up to a maximum of 20%. A sword of death created by Famed Smith Jax using a piece of mysterious sword fragment, Netherworld Brilliance is one of the thirty-six Famed Swords of God''s Domain, ranking 30th. Anyone that wields this sword will be enveloped in an aura of death, decreasing all their Attributes by 20% and doubling the death penalty they suffer. Can be evolved. Cannot be destroyed. - However, when everyone was finally done reading through the weapon''s introduction, they all shook their heads and sighed. Netherworld Brilliance was indeed an amazing weapon. This was especially true for the increase to sword-related Skill Completion Rates. Although it was only a meager 2%, boosting an 88% Completion Rate to 90% would allow a Skill to undergo a qualitative transformation. Unfortunately, not only did the weapon decrease its wielder''s Basic Attributes by 20%, but it also doubled the death penalty they would suffer, which was something most people wanted to avoid. Leveling up was extremely difficult in God''s Domain. Although Netherworld Brilliance would boost one''s combat power significantly, nobody could say with certainty that they would not die. If one would originally lose one level when they died out in the fields, then they would lose two levels if they were wielding Netherworld Brilliance. Moreover, practically everyone present frequently raided large-scale Team Dungeons. Dying in such Dungeons was common. Normally, they would only lose 10% of their EXP when dying in Dungeons. If this penalty doubled to 20% Just thinking about it gave everyone chills. At this moment, everyone finally understood the auction host''s generosity in putting a Famed Sword up for auction. Most likely, nobody in the host''s Guild wanted to be anywhere near the weapon at all. Hence, rather than let it sit in a warehouse and collect dust, the Guild opted to exchange it for resources. Noticing the audience''s lack of interest, the auctioneer chuckled and said, "Now that everyone has seen the weapon, I believe you all know the flaws of Netherworld Brilliance. However, at the end of the day, this is still an Epic Weapon. Moreover, this weapon can be evolved. If you manage to discover the method of evolution, this sword could become a godly weapon in the future. It might even become a Fragmented Legendary Weapon! The starting price for this weapon is 8,000 Gold! Each increment must not be lower than 200 Gold!" Hearing the starting price of the weapon, everyone inwardly cursed the auction house for being fraudulent. If not for the Famed Sword''s flaws, not to mention 8,000 Gold, even spending 18,000 Gold to obtain it wouldn''t be a problem. After all, it was an Epic Weapon that could be used all the way to Level 110. In addition, there was the possibility of evolving it. "Alright, then. I''ll get it as a collection item! I bid 8,000 Gold!" "I can attract quite a number of people if I put it on display in my Guild. I''ll bid 8,200 Gold!" "Eight thousand four hundred Gold!" The audience in the auction hall was not particularly active in bidding for Netherworld Brilliance. After a dozen or so bids, the price eventually stopped at 11,000 Gold. Shi Feng''s heart began beating madly as he looked at the weapon displayed on the stage. To others, this weapon would indeed be of little value. To him, however, it was a priceless treasure. Solomon''s Sword had been broken into five fragments. Among them, three were in locations that current players could not reach. Meanwhile, of the two remaining, Shi Feng had already obtained one of them: the Sacred Sword Killing Ray. The last fragment was none other than this Netherworld Brilliance. Originally, Shi Feng had planned on thinking of a way to obtain Netherworld Brilliance. However, he never imagined that the Dark Arena''s host had actually gotten it already. Moreover, they even put it up for auction. This was one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons they were talking about! As long as he could gather all five fragments, he could reproduce the God Sword of the past once again. Just thinking about it excited Shi Feng. "Twelve thousand Gold!" Shi Feng raised the price slightly. Obviously, no one was that interested in Netherworld Brilliance. However, as it was a Famed Sword and also had the potential to evolve, there were still some people who were willing to bet on that possibility. Hence, he would not raise the price by too much. If he suddenly raised it too high, people would no doubt become suspicious. Thus, when calling out his bid, he could not offer too high or too low. "What rich people! I don''t want it anymore." "Amazing. Someone''s actually betting 12,000 Gold on luck." Just as the other bidders were giving up one after another, a voice suddenly resounded throughout the entire hall. "Thirteen thousand Gold!" Meanwhile, the person who had placed this bid was none other than Thousand Miles. "You stole my Legacy away. Do you think I''ll let you get that weapon so easily?" Thousand Miles sneered as he looked at the room Shi Feng occupied. Although Thousand Miles did not know who was occupying the room, he could easily tell which room had placed the 12,000-Gold bid. After noticing Shi Feng''s interest in Netherworld Brilliance, he naturally could not allow him to have an easy time. "The person in that room is really vengeful," Autumn Goose growled as she looked at Thousand Miles''s room. "Brother Ye Feng, if you don''t have enough money, just say the word. I can lend you all the money I have." Fallen Wind also grew indignant at Thousand Miles''s behavior. "Thanks. I''ll definitely borrow from you if I need to," Shi Feng said. He then proceeded to place a new bid. Twenty thousand Gold! "This is madness. Even if that person is angry, there''s no need to waste so much money, right?" "The rich are really willful!" The new bid Shi Feng made stupefied everyone. Everyone present was someone of high status and position. However, none of them would treat their money as lightly as Shi Feng did, raising the bid by an additional 7,000 Gold just to let off some steam. One could already buy another Epic Weapon with that kind of money. "Wow! How rich! Alright, then. I''ll let you have it!" Thousand Miles laughed over this situation. However, he no longer dared to continue bidding as this might be a trap for him. He was already satisfied with getting Shi Feng to waste an additional 8,000 Gold. Following which, the auctioneer knocked his gavel three times. "Let us congratulate the guest from Room 017 for obtaining the Famed Sword Netherworld Brilliance!" At this moment, the auctioneer was close to laughing out loud in joy already. Originally, he thought that getting to sell the Famed Sword for 12,000 Gold was already plenty good. Now, he had actually sold it for 20,000 Gold. On the other hand, after Shi Feng paid the 20,000 Gold and obtained Netherworld Brilliance, he too was inwardly jumping for joy. He couldn''t care less about what others thought of him. He had just spent 20,000 Gold to purchase one of the five fragments of Solomon''s Swordone of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. This was an unimaginably low price. If the Dark Arena''s host knew what they had just done, they would surely faint from shock. In the past, every fragment of Legendary items put up for auction, regardless of whether they were usable or not, had readily sold for at least 50,000 Gold, not to mention the fragment of one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons! The Epic tool subsequently auctioned was roughly the same as Netherworld Brilliance in that it was somewhat useless. However, it could still be used to brew Magic Wine, which provided effects similar to the high-density Mana environment in Stone Forest Town when consumed. However, the wine required rare materials for brewing. As a result, its production was fated to be low, only enough for the members of one''s own Guild, at most. However, for Guilds that did not possess the Magic Tower, the Magic Wine was undeniably an excellent way to improve the strength of their Guild members. In the end, Phoenix Rain bought the tool for 14,000 Magic Crystals. As for the ancient book, Shi Feng spent 70,000 Magic Crystals to purchase it. "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that many among you have come here today for this last item. I won''t waste words giving you an introduction. The starting bid for the Secret Technique Tablet will be 200,000 Magic Crystals! Each increment must be at least 2,000 Magic Crystals! Let us begin!" 1173 Legacy of Ancient Gods Chapter 1173 - Legacy of Ancient Gods Two hundred thousand Magic Crystals for a stone tablet. The players in the first-floor hall clamored when they heard this. "Two hundred thousand?! I didn''t mishear, right?!" "What is this stone tablet?" "This is a joke, right?!" The majority of the players in the first-floor hall were curious about the Secret Technique Tablet. The most expensive item sold in the auction thus far was the Magic Knight Legacy. Even then, it still sold for less than the minimum price of the Secret Technique Tablet. Everyone just could not figure out what kind of godly purpose the tablet served. However, none of the players occupying the second-floor rooms was surprised by this price at all. The matter regarding the Secret Technique Tablet was something the various superpowers had kept a tight lid on all this time. Even the first-rate Guilds that knew about this secret were extremely few, not to mention other Guilds. Following which, the auctioneer revealed the appearance of the Secret Technique Tablet to everyone. This Secret Technique Tablet had a bronze color and was named the Secret Spellcasting Technique. [Secret Spellcasting Technique] The pattern engraved on this tablet is too vague and incomplete, and no information can be deciphered. However, some kind of divine power hides within this pattern. If one gathers all of the stone tablets, this vague and incomplete pattern can be restored. Current tablet count (1/12) "I knew the host wouldn''t be that generous. Sure enough, they''re just selling a Bronze Tablet," Thousand Miles said contemptuously. Based on current information, Secret Technique Tablets could be categorized into three ranks: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Among them, the Secret Techniques on Bronze Tablets were the weakest, while the Secret Techniques on Gold Tablets were the strongest. "The fact that they''re even willing to sell one is already a miracle. After all, it is still a Secret Technique Tablet. Our Guild already has a tablet for the Secret Spellcasting Technique. If we obtain another piece, we''ll be able to learn a more completed version of the Spellcasting Technique." Alice was elated at this situation. At the end of the day, a Secret Technique Tablet was still a Secret Technique Tablet. Regardless of the tablet''s rank, the techniques stored inside would be of great help to magical class players like herself. Part of the reason why she succeeded in grasping the double speed-casting technique was the Secret Spellcasting Technique. If they could gather two tablets for the Secret Spellcasting Technique, she might even be able to improve her technique. Just thinking about this filled Alice with anticipation. "I guess you''re right. If not for them trying to popularize the Dark Auction, they really wouldn''t be willing to auction such an item," Thousand Miles laughed. Regardless of the circumstances, he was going to obtain the Secret Spellcasting Technique no matter what. "Big Sis Rain, look! That''s the Secret Spellcasting Technique! Our Guild doesn''t even have a tablet for it right now!" Blue Phoenix''s eyes glowed as she looked at the Bronze Tablet. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had obtained a few Secret Technique Tablets, they all catered to physical classes. Not one of them suited magical classes. Even so, she and Phoenix Rain had still managed to benefit a lot from them. If Phoenix Rain could win the Secret Spellcasting Technique in this auction, both of them might be able to improve their combat standards. If that happened, they would have more cards to play on Thunder Island. "We have to obtain the tablet this time." At this moment, Phoenix Rain''s eyes also burned with passion as she looked at the tablet on the stage. "A Bronze Tablet?" Purple Jade could not help but sigh. "I knew they wouldn''t be that generous." She had personally experienced the wonders of the Secret Technique Tablets before and was aware of the enormous difference between Bronze and Silver Tablets. Even if one entered a Bronze Tablet two or three times, the harvest wouldn''t be comparable to a single trip into a Silver Tablet. Rumor had it that a Golden Tablet had once appeared in Blackwing City. However, an NPC stole it. "What a pity! It''s actually a tablet meant for magical classes." Yuan Tiexin was slightly disappointed when he looked at the tablet. "Never mind. Let''s bid for it first." Despite the Bronze Tablet''s introduction, the players in the first-floor hall were still confused, not understanding what was so good about this Secret Spellcasting Technique. As a result, their interest remained lackluster. Even a fool could tell that the host had no intention of selling the Secret Technique Tablet at all. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have put such a high price tag on it. Even a Super Guild would be hard-pressed to pull out this many Magic Crystals at a time. Not to mention, this was only the starting price. Just as the players on the first floor thought that the tablet would go unsold, someone from one of the second-floor rooms suddenly shouted out a bid. "Two hundred and ten thousand crystals!" Nine Dragons Emperor stated calmly. "This is insane! How rich is that guy?!" "If he wants to buy it, then just do it. Is there a need to increase the price by an additional 10,000 crystals? Does he have too much money to waste?" "As expected of a superpower. They really are wealthy." Nine Dragons Emperor''s bid shocked the players on the first floor. This amount of Magic Crystals was already more than three times what some first-rate Guilds possessed. Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor was actually spending so many Magic Crystals just for one stone tablet. Even Fragmented Legendary items wouldn''t cost so much. However, even before the auctioneer could knock his gavel for the first count, the occupants of the other second-floor rooms began calling out bids one after another. "Two hundred and twenty thousand crystals!" "Two hundred and thirty thousand crystals!" "Two hundred and forty thousand crystals!" At this moment, it was as if Magic Crystals were no different from Copper Coins. "Big Sis Endless, have these Guilds gone insane? Isn''t it just a stone tablet? Is there a need to spend so many Magic Crystals?" Cloud Yarn gaped in shock when she heard the bids. In the past, she had considered the Midnight Tea Party plenty rich. After all, just the Magic Crystals they had stockpiled numbered over 20,000. Even if they splurged at the Divine Colosseum every day, they wouldn''t be able to exhaust their stockpile within a short period. However, after arriving at this Dark Auction, she suddenly felt that the Midnight Tea Party actually seemed beggarly. "They''re not stupid. This isn''t just any ordinary stone tablet. Legend has it that these stone tablets are legacies left behind by ancient Gods. Even if you obtain just one complete set, you''ll have no problems establishing an empire in God''s Domain," Endless Scars explained as she looked at the Secret Technique Tablet on the stage. The Secret Technique Tablet was also something mentioned in the ancient book the Tea Party had. Although the information recorded about the tablets was sparse, it was enough to conclude that the tablets'' value was no less than that of Legendary items. According to the information in the ancient book, the Fire Dragon Empire, one of God''s Domain''s Four Great Empires, had managed to rise to its position today precisely because the first ruler of the empire had managed to collect a complete set. One could see just how amazing Secret Technique Tablets were. If possible, Endless Scars wanted to obtain a piece for herself as well. However, looking at its price, even if she mobilized the Blackwater Corporation''s power, it was unlikely she could get her hands on it. After all, the Blackwater Corporation''s roots in God''s Domain were still too shallow. It could not yet compete with the various superpowers of the virtual gaming world. While Endless Scars was explaining the Secret Technique Tablet, the price of the Secret Spellcasting Technique had gone up to 296,000 Magic Crystals. This was a price that even those occupying the second-floor rooms felt was a little excessive. As a result, instead of bidding in increments of 10,000 crystals, they now began raising their bids by 2,000. "It seems the other Guilds haven''t prepared much at all." Thousand Miles laughed disdainfully. "Three hundred and ten thousand crystals!" The moment the bid of 310,000 Magic Crystals was placed, the entire auction hall fell silent. Even Phoenix Rain, who had earned quite a fortune from the competition before, was helpless about this price. "It seems that Miracle has prepared plenty this time. Fortunately, the Guild Leader had anticipated this," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. "Three hundred and thirty thousand crystals!" If one were to say which Guild made the most money in the entire God''s Domain, then it would definitely have to be the Secret Pavilion. When Shi Feng heard the bids everyone was calling out, he could not help but fall speechless. Previously, he thought that after earning more than 400,000 Magic Crystals, nobody present could compete with his wealth. Now, however, it would seem that he had still underestimated the foundations of these superpowers. Had he not contested for the Magic Knight Legacy before, he might''ve been able to contend for this Secret Technique Tablet. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible. "Three hundred and forty thousand crystals!" Just as the Secret Spellcasting Technique was about to become the Secret Pavilion''s possession, Hidden Soul, who was seated not far from Shi Feng, suddenly placed a bid. "Three hundred and fifty thousand crystals!" Thousand Miles shouted, gnashing his teeth. Hearing the various Guilds occupying the second-floor rooms calling out bids in rapid succession paralyzed the players in the first-floor hall. Meanwhile, at this time, Shi Feng suddenly contacted Phoenix Rain. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, can you lend me 200,000 Magic Crystals right now? I''ll return 300,000 crystals to you in five days," Shi Feng suggested as he looked at Phoenix Rain in the screen. 1174 Legacy Secured Chapter 1174 - Legacy Secured Borrow 200,000 crystals and return 300,000? Phoenix Rain wore a surprised expression as she stared at Shi Feng on the screen. She felt as if she were getting to know the man for the first time. A first-rate Guild was already considered quite wealthy if they had a stockpile of 60,000 to 70,000 Magic Crystals. Yet, Shi Feng wanted to borrow 200,000 Magic Crystals right off the bat. Moreover, he intended to return them with a 50% interest. This was twice as high as the market interest rate. Magic Crystals were not Coins. It was impossible to purchase Magic Crystals in bulk on the market. Guilds could only purchase a small amount from Workshops or adventurer teams. Aside from that, Guilds had to rely on their own members to raid Dungeons and collect them gradually. In Phoenix Rain''s opinion, although Zero Wing owned a goldmine like Stone Forest Town and business in the town''s Battle Arena was booming, it was impossible for Zero Wing to earn 300,000 Magic Crystals within five days, yet all she saw when she looked into Shi Feng''s eyes was confidence and serenity. "Do you intend to bid for the Bronze Tablet?" Phoenix Rain could not help but ask. "That''s right." Shi Feng did not try hiding it. After all, it was easy to guess with a moment of thought. Seeing Shi Feng''s serious expression, Phoenix Rain shook her head. Chuckling, she said, "I advise you to give that thought up. Even if I lend you 200,000 crystals, you won''t outcompete them." While 350,000 Magic Crystals was an astronomical sum to even the best first-rate Guild, the Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds that had come prepared had not yet reached their limit. In her opinion, Zero Wing must''ve earned a lot of Magic Crystals in the earlier competition. With the Guild''s stockpile, they should roughly have around 180,000 or 190,000 Magic Crystals. Even if Shi Feng borrowed 200,000 crystals, he would only have 390,000 Magic Crystals or so. There was simply no way to compete against the other superpowers. By her estimates, they would only have a chance of securing the Secret Spellcasting Technique if they had 420,000 Magic Crystals. If possible, Phoenix Rain wanted to borrow 180,000 Magic Crystals from Shi Feng. After including her own 250,000 Magic Crystals, she might have a chance at competing against the other Guilds. However, she still needed to make preparations for Thunder Island, so if she did borrow the Magic Crystals, she wouldn''t be able to return it within a short time. "I still have 260,000 Magic Crystals. After including your 200,000, I think I''ll have enough." Shi Feng understood what Phoenix Rain was trying to say. Smiling, he continued, "If it truly is impossible, I can only admit defeat." Four hundred thousand Magic Crystals should be the various superpower''s limit. Even if they had more, it wouldn''t be too far from that number. While a Bronze Tablet was inferior to a Silver Tablet, it had a much lower entry requirement. Silver Tablets required players to be capable of drawing Intermediate Magic Arrays. Bronze Tablets only required players to be capable of drawing Basic Magic Arrays. As for Golden Tablets, Shi Feng assumed that players would be required to draw Advanced Magic Arrays to enter. Even someone like himself, who was quite familiar with magic arrays, could not draw an Advanced Magic Array. Even if he obtained a Golden Tablet, it would be nothing more than a paperweight. On the other hand, if he had a Bronze Tablet, his Guild members could use it. Hence, obtaining a Bronze Tablet was very important to Zero Wing right now. Even if he was not certain he could win the bid, he needed to try. "Two hundred and sixty thousand? You have that many?" Phoenix Rain gasped. She never thought that Zero Wing would have even more Magic Crystals than her. Immediately, her lips curled into a smile as she said, "Let''s do it like this: I''ll lend you 250,000 crystals. I won''t ask for any interest, either. Just pay me back in full in five days. However, I want ten slots to enter the Bronze Tablet. We''ll split the slots into two months, with five people entering each session." Secret Technique Tablets could only be used once a month. Even if she obtained one, she would only enter it once. A player would reap the most benefits from a Secret Technique Tablet during their first entry. Afterward, a player would gain less with each subsequent visit. The tablets'' greatest advantage was that players could use it repeatedly. She had bid for the Bronze Tablet mainly to improve her strength before the contest on Thunder Island began. She did not particularly care about the benefits she could obtain during subsequent entries. "Deal." Shi Feng agreed without hesitation. The Secret Spellcasting Technique was intended for magical class players. Throughout Zero Wing, there were only a few magical class experts qualified to enter the Bronze Tablet. Ten slots over two months would be enough. Following which, both sides quickly signed a contract. Phoenix Rain then had Blue Phoenix deliver the Magic Crystals to Shi Feng. While this was happening, the Secret Spellcasting Technique''s price had risen to 394,000 Magic Crystals. The various large Guilds in the first-floor hall were astounded. Although they had long since known that their Guilds were no match for super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds, they had not realized that the gap would be this massive. "Damn it! Just who is competing against me!?" Thousand Miles bellowed as he glared at two other rooms. Currently, the tablet''s price neared his limit, yet Hidden Soul and Yuan Tiexin showed no signs of giving up. Yet, Hidden Soul and Yuan Tiexin still showed no signs of giving up. After taking a look at the Magic Crystals in his bag, Thousand Miles shouted, "Four hundred thousand crystals!" "Four hundred and four thousand crystals!" Hidden Soul declared, maintaining her calm composure. "Interesting." At this moment, Yuan Tiexin laughed and yelled, "Four hundred and ten thousand crystals!" Immediately, the auction hall became a battlefield for these three people, the atmosphere growing extraordinarily chilly. "Four hundred and forty thousand crystals!" Thousand Miles no longer planned on holding back as he directly raised the price by 30,000 Magic Crystals. He hoped to scare Hidden Soul and Yuan Tiexin off. "Uncle Yuan, the price is already at 440,000 crystals. This is far above the tablet''s actual value," Purple Jade said. The Secret Technique Tablet would massively benefit players. However, the Secret Spellcasting Technique was only Bronze rank. In reality, a tablet for that technique should only be worth around 300,000 Magic Crystals. It was simply not worth 440,000 Magic Crystals. "I understand," Yuan Tiexin said. He had simply bid 410,000 to probe his opponents'' limits. In another room, Hidden Soul frowned. Let''s give it another try. If it really isn''t possible, I can only give up. Hidden Soul also felt that the price was a little too high. Immediately, she shouted, "Four hundred and forty-four thousand crystals!" "Damn it! Damn it all! Why hasn''t he given up?! We are already at 440,000!" Thousand Miles burned with rage. If not for Miracle already having a tablet for the Secret Spellcasting Technique, he wouldn''t be willing to pay the astronomical price of 440,000 Magic Crystals. However, the Guild Leader had told him to go all-out for the Secret Spellcasting Technique. Hence, he had no choice; he even had to bleed his own stash. "This must be that guy''s limit. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have risen the price by just 4,000 crystals." Even the Witch of the West herself was slightly anxious. "Four hundred and fifty thousand crystals!" Thousand Miles decided to give it one last try. This was also his limit. The moment Thousand Miles called out his bid, the venue fell deathly silent. "Just when is he going to reach his limit?! Are Magic Crystals really that easy to obtain?!" The various Guild upper echelons in the first-floor hall lost their minds over this situation. Was such desperation really necessary for this stone tablet? Hah... It seems I can only give up. Hidden Soul smiled bitterly as she shook her head. She had never imagined that, despite bringing so many Magic Crystals with her, she would walk away empty-handed at the end of the day. If she had known this would happen, she would''ve purchased the Magic Knight Legacy. Seconds ticked by. The auctioneer grew nervous on the stage. However, even after a long moment, no word came from Hidden Soul''s room. "Four hundred and fifty-four thousand crystals!" However, just as Thousand Miles thought that his opponent had given up, a new bid echoed from Hidden Soul''s room. "How is this possible?!" Thousand Miles bellowed. He simply could not believe this. Hidden Soul had been silent for so long, yet she had placed a new bid? However, Thousand Miles had nothing more to bet. He had no choice but to watch as the auctioneer''s gavel descended again and again. As the gavel descended for the third time... The auction hall exploded with noise! 1175 Preparations to Construct a City Chapter 1175 - Preparations to Construct a City How does he have so many Magic Crystals? Hidden Soul began to size the nearby Shi Feng up seriously. The man had already surprised her by buying the Magic Knight Legacy. Now, he had spent another 450,000 Magic Crystals to buy the Bronze Tablet Shi Feng had spent over 600,000 Magic Crystals in total. Even the Flower of Seven Sins needed time to prepare so much wealth. It seems that we will need to investigate this Zero Wing. Hidden Soul suspected that the Guild known as Zero Wing wasn''t as simple as Autumn Goose had described. Meanwhile, after winning the Bronze Tablet, Shi Feng quietly rejoiced. Although he had spent a lot of Magic Crystals, the Secret Spellcasting Technique was akin to the gospel for the Guild''s magical class experts. At the end of the day, he was only a Swordsman, a physical melee class. He could only offer general spellcasting technique advice. He could not guide them as thoroughly as he could the melee classes. As a result, the physical classes'' technique standards were higher than the magical classes'' in Zero Wing. Now that he had obtained the Bronze Tablet, as long as Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Alluring Summer, and the other magical class experts improved their technique standards, they could guide the other magical classes in the Guild. Inside Thousand Miles''s room The tension in the room was almost solid. "Starstreak, find out who is in Room 017 right this instant!" Thousand Miles ordered in a chilly tone. Not only had he failed to obtain the Magic Knight Legacy, but he had also failed to obtain the Bronze Tablet. He would definitely have a hard time explaining himself when he returned to headquarters. "Understood." Starstreak nodded. Immediately, he left to surveil Room 017. Although the rooms in the Dark Auction protected their occupants'' privacy and prevented others from spying, the people inside the rooms had to come out sooner or later. At that time, they would discover who occupied Room 017. Meanwhile, as the Dark Auction''s first segment came to an end, the popular second segment began. All players in the auction hall could offer their items for trade during the second segment. This bartering session was the main reason behind the various large Guilds'' visit to this auction. Normally, when the various large Guilds obtained a rare material, they wouldn''t trade it even if they had no need for it. However, oftentimes, other Guilds desperately needed these ''useless'' items. Hence, these Guilds could use this auction to barter their unnecessary rare materials for things they actually needed. "Trading three single-target, attack-type Magic Scrolls for one set of Basic Magic Arrays!" "Trading one stack of Mana Cloth for one stack of Flaming Ice Crystals!" "Trading one Stoneskin Potion Recipe for one Flame Protection Potion Recipe!" Message after message appeared on the large screen above the stage. None of the auction house''s patrons had any complaints about the exorbitant processing fee. After all, even the cheapest items they listed were worth 50 Gold or more, with some worth several hundred Gold. Just looking at the exchange messages on the screen made everyone a little jealous of the host. The minimum processing fee was 10 Gold Coins. If the host processed 100 items, they would earn 1,000 Gold. In an auction with over 10,000 people, if every person placed an item up for trade, the host would instantly receive 100,000 Gold. Furthermore, why would any of these players have come here to trade a single item? One had to admit that holding an auction like this was way more profitable than banditry. This was also inspiration for how Shi Feng could operate auctions in the Candlelight Trading Firm in the future. He might not be able to invite as many large Guilds and superpowers as the Dark Auction House had, but he could lower the standards of his auction slightly, not only allowing large Guilds to bid, but independent players as well. Suddenly, Shi Feng had an idea; he could establish a bartering site that enabled trade between players. In God''s Domain, aside from Auction Houses and Underground Arenas, player-constructed cities could offer players trading locations. Players could not purchase locations such as Auction Houses and Underground Arenas in NPC cities. However, as long as players had their own cities, they could construct their own bartering sites. The city could then allow bartering through the system. In the past, there were no such specialized bartering sites in God''s Domain. This was due to the various large Guilds. When independent players obtained rare items, if they wanted to trade them for good items, their best option was to go to a large Guild. After all, independent players were not necessarily well-connected. With this, the various large Guilds could buy rare items at a cheaper price. If a specialized trading post were constructed, however, the various large Guilds would have a hard time obtaining rare items cheaply. The lack of such locations had also been due to how rarely independent players got their hands on valuable items. In addition, due to geographical restrictions, players generally only traded in their own country. As a result, there were even less rare items available for exchange. Hence, even after the various large Guilds had established their own cities during the mid-late stages of the game, they had not bothered to construct these locations. Even if a Guild established a trading post in their city, other Guilds wouldn''t prosper overmuch. The amount of money one could earn from such a bartering location would be so pitiful that they would be better off trading with independent players privately. However, Shi Feng''s situation was slightly different. God''s Domain was still in its early stages. The various large Guilds were having a headache just trying to develop their own towns, not to mention constructing a city. Meanwhile, he had a City Building Order. This gave him with a massive advantage. If he constructed his city now, he wouldn''t have a single competitor. He could be the first one to expand the market, establishing a firm reputation like the Dark Arena. In the future, when players from other kingdoms and empires thought about trading their rare items, they would come running to his city to do so. The other Guilds would be helpless to do anything about it. Even after other Guilds established their own cities, his trading post would have grown to a considerable scale. He would have a steady supply of rare items. At that time, it would be near-impossible for newly established trading posts to compete with his. Although the large Guilds obtained plenty of rare items, the majority of God''s Domain''s player-base would forever be independent players. If these independent players gathered, they could obtain far more rare items than any Super Guild. Due to the difficulty of private trades, it was practically impossible for independent players to exchange their items with each other. Hence, they sought large Guilds to barter with. If a specialized bartering center were available, however, independent players would only need to consign their items. Other players could then purchase those items. They wouldn''t need to idiotically contact one person after another. Not only could they save a lot of time and trouble, but they could also obtain the items they wanted. Even if the teleportation fees were expensive, most likely, many independent players would make the trip to visit the trading post. Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement. However, to construct his city, he first needed to obtain a sufficient number of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Otherwise, without the Four Towers of Elements'' protection, defending the city would be too difficult. It seems that I need to put the plan into action now. After pondering over the matter, Shi Feng decided to begin collecting Seven Luminaries Crystals. While Seven Luminaries Crystals were incomparably rare and precious, there were a few locations that had them. Unfortunately, these locations were extremely dangerous, and he would need to prepare. The easiest place to obtain Seven Luminaries Crystals Shi Feng could think of was the Sea of Death''s Demon Island. Only, the journey was particularly dangerous. Demon Island was also a forbidden land for the living. Without sufficiently high Darkness Resistance, survival was impossible. Shi Feng immediately began to browse the auction house''s rare items, searching for items that increased Darkness Resistance. After searching for some time, Shi Feng finally found two good items on the list the system had provided. Both could significantly increase a player''s Darkness Resistance. One of them was a Master Darkness Resistance Potion, while the other was a Light Cloak. However, before Shi Feng could celebrate, he saw the items'' prices, and his expression darkened. "Is this person insane?! Who would use Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood to purchase these items?!" Just as Shi Feng was about to curse again, he was stunned by the trader''s name. The same person had placed these two items up for trade. Silent Wonder! One of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists! 1176 Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists Chapter 1176 - Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists "Why is she here?" Even after staring at the trader''s name for a long time, Shi Feng still could not believe his eyes. That was the Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists they were talking about! These existences stood at the peak of all Alchemist players. Even Super Guilds had to treat them respectfully. One could say that all of God''s Domain''s Guilds and players tried to suck up to such individuals. After all, the further one proceeded into the game, the more powerful the monsters became. If players wanted to defeat these monsters, they needed more than just personal strength. They also needed external items. For example, when facing fire-type Bosses, a team would burn to death without high Fire Resistance, regardless of how strong the team was overall. If every member in the team possessed a Grandmaster Fire Resistance Potion, however, they would easily defeat said fire-type Boss. Another example was Shi Feng''s new destination, Demon Island. Demon Island was already very dangerous. However, with the ever-present dark miasma, players couldn''t set foot on the island without Darkness Resistance. Aside from that, the Tower of Time similarly required high Magic Resistance. A team would need a large number of Magic Resistance Potions. However, not just any Magic Resistance Potion would do. They would, at the very least, need Advanced rank potions, or better yet, Master rank. The Guild with the most Magic Resistance Potions would obtain more Seven Luminaries Crystals. Moreover, this was only one of the many benefits of an Alchemist. There were simply too many dangerous locations in God''s Domain that required these external items. Hence, the various large Guilds normally treated Master Alchemists and Grandmaster Alchemists very respectfully. Among the Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists, Silent Wonder firmly ranked within the top three. Even the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds would have a hard time arranging a meeting with Silent Wonder, and even if Silent Wonder agreed to meet, they would still have to queue up and wait for their turn. "Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood?" Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he looked at the two items Silent Wonder wanted in exchange. Shadow Gold was an Epic ranked material. If one added a piece of it when crafting weapons and equipment, the weapons produced would deal additional darkness damage, while equipment would provide additional Darkness Resistance. It was an exceptional material specifically used for producing Darkness Resistance equipment. In the past, one ingot of Shadow Gold had easily sold for 300 Gold. However, players rarely sold the material. They were normally pieces of Lifestyle players'' private collections. As for Ancient Wood, its price was even higher. A single log could sell for 500 Gold. It was also an excellent Epic material used to produce staffs, ships, carriages, furniture, and other wooden products. The total value of these two materials greatly exceeded that of a Master Darkness Resistance Potion and a Light Cloak. "Why does an Alchemist like her want these items?" Shi Feng was incredibly curious. Neither Shadow Gold nor Ancient Wood was used in alchemy. However, Shi Feng did not think too much on the matter. Immediately, he sent Silent Wonder a message. His message was very brief: I have clues regarding the whereabouts of these two items. Current players couldn''t get their hands on Shadow Gold or Ancient Wood. Even if one reached the required level, it would still be a difficult task. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be considered rare materials. However, Shi Feng urgently needed items with Darkness Resistance. A Master Darkness Resistance Potion and Light Cloak could not be more perfect. The Light Cloak, in particular, significantly increased a player''s Darkness Resistance. As long as he equipped the Light Cloak and consumed an Intermediate Darkness Resistance Potion when he reached Demon Island, he could roam the island with ease. Shortly after Shi Feng sent his message, he received a friend invite from Silent Wonder. Shi Feng then agreed to the friend request. This way, they could discuss the matter through a video call. "Do you really have the clues leading to Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood?" Silent Wonder did not appear very old. She looked like a woman in her mid-twenties. She had an oval face and large, golden eyes. She also gave off an indescribably cold and strict feeling. "Shadow Gold can be used to craft Darkness Resistance equipment, and Ancient Wood can be used to produce a staff that possesses the power of the ancients, which amplifies the effects of the wielder''s Spells. Am I correct?" Shi Feng said, smiling. Hearing this, joy illuminated Silent Wonder''s golden eyes. Both Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood were extremely rare Epic materials. Even she had spent a long time researching to find any information about them. Now that Shi Feng had casually mentioned the materials'' functions, he proved how familiar he was with the items. "Come out with it. What must I do for you to tell me the clues?" Silent Wonder asked straightforwardly. She had spent a lot of effort in her search for these materials. She had used every connection she had, yet she hadn''t learned anything that would lead to their locations. She had simply come to the Dark Auction to try her luck. She hadn''t expected anyone to know anything about these two items. "You''re an alchemist, right?" Shi Feng responded to her question with a question of his own. "How do you know? Did you investigate me?" Silent Wonder was slightly surprised, and she could not help but grow cautious. "Why would I need to investigate you?" Shi Feng laughed as he shook his head. "Don''t you realize that you''re wearing the Advanced Alchemist''s Insignia?" Different subclasses had different insignias, and each provided certain benefits to their respective classes. The screen showed that Silent Wonder currently wore an Advanced Alchemist''s Insignia. This showed that Silent Wonder had already become an Advanced Alchemist. Shi Feng had to admit that Silent Wonder was truly impressive. Despite being an independent player, she had grown into an Advanced Alchemist so quickly. The various large Guilds had to spend a ton of resources to nurture an Advanced Lifestyle player. Even then, very few Lifestyle players actually reached the Advanced rank, yet Silent Wonder had done so without help. One could just imagine how talented she was in alchemy. Moreover, Silent Wonder had been more than just a Grandmaster Alchemist; she had also been a Tier 5 class. "I completely forgot about that." Silent Wonder could not help but laugh awkwardly as she looked at the insignia on her chest. "That''s right; I''m an Advanced Alchemist. Is there a problem with that?" "Of course, there isn''t a problem," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "You want the clues for those two materials, right? My conditions are very simple. Give me the Master Darkness Resistance Potion and Light Cloak and craft potions for me for one month. I''ll provide the raw materials." "Are you kidding me?" Silent Wonder rolled her eyes. It would''ve been fine if Shi Feng had only wanted the two items. However, he also wanted her to work for free for a month. He must be crazy if he thought she would agree to such conditions. "I never joke around." Shi Feng understood what was going through Silent Wonder''s mind. Immediately, he sent Silent Wonder a message and said, "Take a look at this. If you still think my asking price is too high, you can reject it." "Are you that confident?" Silent Wonder felt as if she had just encountered a lunatic. First, the man wanted her items. Next, he wanted her to work for free for a month. Did he really think he could get her to agree by sending a single message? Following which, Silent Wonder impatiently opened Shi Feng''s message and read it. However, only after reading a few words, her expression tensed. "Why do you have such an item?" Silent Wonder felt as if she were dreaming. Shi Feng had sent to her none other than the Records of Potions, which he had obtained shortly after joining God''s Domain. All alchemists dreamed of owning this treasure. Yet, now, it had been placed before her. The Records of Potions even tempted the brilliantly talented Silent Wonder. 1177 Reconstructing a Town Chapter 1177 - Reconstructing a Town "This is still only a part of it. How about it? Interested in my offer now?" Shi Feng smiled calmly as he quietly looked at Silent Wonder''s joyful expression. Like the Book of Forging, the Records of Potions was a treasure that could improve one''s alchemy success rate. Moreover, it contained basic information about potion crafting. With the Records of Potions, players would not have to explore basic alchemy techniques blindly; it could pave the way for becoming a Master Alchemist. As for whether one actually became a Master Alchemist, however, that depended on the player''s talent. Silent Wonder did not have the support of a Guild. According to Shi Feng''s memory, in the past, Silent Wonder had obtained practically all of her alchemy materials by herself. Also, unlike Guild alchemists, who could confide in each other regarding alchemy techniques and improve together, Silent Wonder had gained her alchemy techniques without any assistance. Moreover, ordinary NPC cities also did not possess facilities like Special Workshops. Needless to say, the various large Guilds didn''t allow non-Guild members to use their limited Special Workshops. After all, they didn''t even have enough to nurture their own Lifestyle players. Furthermore, independent players had no access to NPC cities with Special Workshops. Take the Holy City of Titan for example. Without sufficient strength and luck, reaching the city was simply impossible for an independent player like Silent Wonder. "I''ll say this first. Once I''ve fulfilled my one-month contract, I''ll leave immediately," Silent Wonder stated. With her alchemy skills, she could easily join any large Guild. Even Super Guilds would willingly accept her. However, she hated the various restrictions that came with joining a Guild and disliked doing work that didn''t interest her. Hence, she had opted not to join a Guild. "You''re overthinking things. It isn''t even certain if you are capable of remaining in my employment after a month," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shook his head. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Silent Wonder frowned. This was her first time being underestimated like this. She was a bona fide Advanced Alchemist. She would be an important member of any Guild she joined. In fact, she had gained an invitation to the Dark Auction, to begin with, because a large Guild wanted to recruit her. In her opinion, Shi Feng was trying to use reverse psychology. However, such means were useless against her. Once the month was over, she would definitely leave. Following which, Shi Feng and Silent Wonder signed a contract. The contents were very simple. Silent Wonder would hand over the Master Darkness Resistance Potion and Light Cloak. Afterwards, she would work at the Candlelight Trading Firm for a month. In return, Shi Feng would share the clues leading to the Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood with Silent Wonder. After Silent Wonder confirmed that there were no problems with the contract Shi Feng had sent her, she signed it. "You can tell me the clues leading to the materials now, right?" Silent Wonder asked coldly. If not for the Records of Potions, she wouldn''t have made such an unworthwhile trade. After all, the Master Darkness Resistance Potion and Light Cloak were both precious items she had obtained after completing a difficult quest. Trading these two items for two clues was a loss. "Only Level 70 and above Darkness-type Bosses have a chance of dropping Shadow Gold. Moreover, the Bosses must be Grand Lord rank or above. Ancient Wood can be found near the lake in the deepest parts of the neutral map Stuyak. That area is home to Elves. They aren''t fond of humans, so it won''t be easy to get past them." Shi Feng revealed the information. The two locations he mentioned were the easiest places to obtain Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood. The other places he knew about were far more dangerous, and even if Silent Wonder was quite strong, she couldn''t obtain the materials by herself. "Stuyak?" Silent Wonder checked the system map. When she found Stuyak, she was speechless. Stuyak was an ancient forest located north of the Frostwolf Empire. The forest had always been the biggest threat to the empire. You had to be at least Level 80 to enter... Moreover, the neutral map''s size rivaled that of a medium-sized kingdom. She simply did not know what to say about this. With her current strength, it was impossible for her to act on any of the information she had just received. "I''ve already told you the clues. You are to report for duty at Star-Moon Kingdom''s Candlelight Trading Firm by tomorrow night at the latest," after Shi Feng was done speaking, he immediately disconnected the call. Shadow Gold and Ancient Wood were both Epic ranked rare materials. If Silent Wonder wished to obtain them, she needed to reach Level 80 at the very minimum. Particularly, Ancient Wood was highly sought after by even Super Guilds. If Silent Wonder wished to procure some all by herself, she could not even consider doing so before reaching Level 100 and class-changing to her Tier 3 class. Hence, Shi Feng had not spoken in detail when he mentioned the clues to Silent Wonder. If he told the woman the minimum strength required to obtain these materials, she would most likely lose her mind. Afterward, Shi Feng received the Master Darkness Resistance Potion and Light Cloak, delivered to him by a staff member. Without waiting for the Dark Auction to end, he said his goodbyes to Fallen Wind and Autumn Goose before returning to White River City. Although there were many rare items up for trade in the Dark Auction, there wasn''t anything that Shi Feng was particularly interested in. So, there was no need for him to stay behind. Shortly after Shi Feng exited the room, Starstreak, who had been in a Stealth state this whole time, appeared a short distance away from Room 017. "Why is it him?" Starstreak found it somewhat unbelievable when he saw Shi Feng coming out of Room 017. In his opinion, anyone capable of spending over 600,000 Magic Crystals within a short period of time must be an upper echelon of a major power. Yet, the buyer of both the Magic Knight legacy and Bronze Tablet was actually Zero Wing. However, Starstreak did not ponder too much on the matter. Immediately, he forwarded the information to Thousand Miles. "What?! Zero Wing was the one who bought those two items?!" Starstreak was given a fright by this message. However, he quickly revealed the sneer on his face as he said, "Good! Very good! Starstreak, go and make some preparations! Get Cleansed Maple to assist you in leading the Departed Legion, and kill Zero Wing''s experts! Make sure to steal that Magic Knight Legacy, as well as those Epic Weapons and Equipment from them!" Any large Guild that obtained a Bronze Tablet would definitely store it in their Guild Warehouse. Unless they burnt down the Guild Residence storing the Bronze Tablet, it would be impossible for them to obtain it. However, it was a different story for the Magic Knight Legacy Item, and Epic Weapons and Equipment. If one wanted to obtain the Magic Knight Legacy, they would have to complete the Legacy Quest. As long as Zero Wing''s experts left their Guild Residence, there would be plenty of chance to strike at them. Starstreak was momentarily stunned by Thousand Miles''s words. Very quickly, however, he nodded and said, "Understood." The Departed Legion was Miracle''s assassination legion. It was a legion specifically formed to target the upper echelons of the various superpowers. In Starstreak''s opinion, they were simply making a mountain out of a molehill by mobilizing the legion against Zero Wing. Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom''s White River City, Shi Feng had also stealthily arrived at the Adventurer''s Association. Without hesitation, he paid 30,000 Gold to the Association to have them begin reconstructing Stone Forest Town. The moment Shi Feng handed over the 30,000 Gold Coins, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. - System: Congratulations! As Zero Wing is the first Guild in God''s Domain to have reconstructed an Intermediate Town, Guild Popularity increased by 200,000 points. You will also receive one Bronze Guild Residence Promotion Order. 1178 Promotion to a 3-star Guild Chapter 1178 - Promotion to a 3-star Guild The sudden system notification put Shi Feng into a daze for a long time. He had merely reconstructed an Intermediate Town, yet Zero Wing''s Guild Popularity had instantly soared by 200,000 points. It should be known that a 1-star Guild only needed 30,000 Popularity to promote to a 2-star Guild, while a 2-star Guild needed 100,000 Popularity to promote to a 3-star Guild. The further one progressed into the game, the more difficult it was to obtain Guild Popularity. When a Guild was still at the 1-star standard, Guild members could earn quite a lot of Guild Popularity just by completing ordinary Guild Quests. With how many players there were in a large Guild, the number of Guild Quests completed each day was plenty. It would take no time for a Guild to accumulate 30,000 Popularity. The truly difficult aspect of promoting a Guild to 2-stars lay in obtaining the Guild Residence Promotion Order. However, after a Guild reached 2-stars, Guild members would no longer obtain Guild Popularity through completing ordinary Guild Quests. They could only do so by completing advanced Guild Quests. However, advanced Guild Quests were very rare and limited in number. So, it would take a significantly longer time for a 2-star Guild to accumulate 100,000 Guild Popularity. Even Super Guilds would need a long time to do so. Meanwhile, due to various factors, Zero Wing''s Popularity accumulation rate was currently on par with Super Guilds. According to Shi Feng''s estimates, it would take another month or so for Zero Wing to accumulate 100,000 Popularity. However, now that Zero Wing had received an additional 200,000 Popularity, it had fulfilled the condition to promote to a 3-star Guild. "A Bronze Guild Residence Promotion Order?" Shi Feng looked at the bronze, diamond-shaped token that had suddenly appeared in his bag. The token was emitting a faint, golden glow. It was much more powerful than the silver Guild Residence Promotion Order he had obtained before. - [Bronze Guild Residence Promotion Order] Promotes the star ranking of a Guild Residence that fulfills the required Popularity by one star. Can be promoted up to a 4-star Guild. - "What a powerful Guild Residence Promotion Order!" Shi Feng was astonished. As far as Shi Feng knew, Guild Residence Promotion Orders were all graded. Meanwhile, different ranking Promotion Orders could be used on Guilds of different star rankings. For example, in order to promote a 1-star Guild into a 2-star Guild, a 2-star Promotion Order would be required, while promotion to a 3-star Guild would require a 3-star Promotion Order. However, the Bronze Guild Residence Promotion Order was actually capable of promoting any Guild between 1-star to 3-star status by one rank. There would be no need to search for Promotion Orders of specific rankings. Looking at the Bronze Guild Residence Promotion Order, Shi Feng considered saving it for when Zero Wing was upgrading its Residence from 3-star to 4-star status. In God''s Domain, Guild Residence Promotion Orders were not easy to obtain. Aside from a rare few that could be obtained through adventuring out in the fields or opening Treasure Chests, the normal method of obtaining Guild Residence Promotion Orders was through raiding certain large-scale Team Dungeons. However, only by procuring the First Clear of such Dungeons would one have a 100% chance of receiving a Guild Residence Promotion Order. Afterward, the cleared Dungeon would have less than a 1% chance of dropping the Promotion Order... This was also one of the reasons why the various large Guilds were adamant about competing for the First Clear of large-scale Team Dungeons. Aside from being able to raise their own Guild''s fame and influence, they could also quickly raise their Guild''s star ranking by obtaining First Clear. If the First Clear was taken away by another Guild, it would become significantly more difficult to obtain a Guild Residence Promotion Order. This was especially true for the 3-star Guild Residence Promotion Order. This was something that only dropped in the Hell Mode of Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeons. Moreover, such large-scale Team Dungeons were different from the Dungeons that dropped 2-star Promotion Orders. In the latter''s case, every major city would have one of them. For 3-star and above, however, there would only be one such large-scale Team Dungeon in every few, or even more than a dozen, major cities. If the First Clear of such a Dungeon was secured by a Guild, other Guilds would have no choice but to continuously raid said large-scale Team Dungeon for their own Promotion Orders... Thus, the 3-star Guild Residence Promotion Order would cause the competition between Guilds to become even more intense. In the future, Guilds would have to struggle with not just other Guilds in the same city, but Guilds from other cities as well. As for the 4-star Guild Residence Promotion Order, competition for it would become even more frightening as each kingdom would only have one or two large-scale Team Dungeons that dropped it. While empires had a little more, these Dungeons were still extremely limited. "Excuse me, I want to promote the Zero Wing Guild." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng immediately took out the Bronze Guild Residence Promotion Order and handed it over to the NPC administrator. The reason why players even bothered joining Guilds was because Guilds provided benefits that could help their members level up and improve their strength much more quickly. Hence, the faster a Guild was promoted, the better it would be for the Guild''s future development. "Lord Protector, may I know which Guild Residence you wish to promote to a 3-star Residence?" the administrator asked after receiving the Promotion Order. "The Guild Residence in White River City," Shi Feng said in a straightforward manner. White River City was Zero Wing''s base camp. It was also extremely safe, as it was located in a major NPC city. Moreover, it wouldn''t be long before White River City would be promoted to the next rank and bring many benefits to the players inhabiting it. Naturally, he had to prioritize promoting the Residence there. As for the Residences in Stone Forest Town and Lake Heart City, those would have to wait for another chance to appear in the future. "Alright. Promoting a 2-star Guild Residence into a 3-star Guild Residence will require a 5,000-Gold reconstruction fee," the administrator said. "However, as a City Protector, our association will offer you a 20% discount, so Lord Protector only needs to pay 4,000 Gold." Shi Feng took out another 4,000 Gold without hesitation. After the handsome administrator confirmed that there were no problems, a series of system announcements rang out in Shi Feng''s ears. - Star-Moon Kingdom System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom to own a 3-star Guild Residence! Guild Emblem upgraded to Bronze rank. Rewarding Guild with one set of Basic Defensive Magic Array, 1,500 Gold in Guild funds, and one Employment Center Building Order. White River City System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild in White River City to own a 3-star Guild Residence! Rewarding Guild with one Training Room Promotion Order. - The system announcement repeated three times, echoing loudly in everyone''s ears. "What?" "A 3-star Residence?" "That''s impossible, right? Most Guilds are just beginning to promote their Residences to 2-star. How does Zero Wing already have a 3-star Residence?" "Zero Wing is too amazing! As expected of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild! I must join Zero Wing, no matter what! The benefits of a 3-star Residence will definitely be spectacular!" The players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom were stunned by the rewards stated in the system announcement. This was especially true for the members of the various large Guilds. They were all greatly envious of Zero Wing. Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem was directly upgraded to Bronze rank! A Guild Emblem wasn''t just the symbol of a Guild. Similar to the insignia of Lifestyle classes, the Guild Emblem also possessed some functions. A Common Guild Emblem did not carry with it any functions at all. However, once a Guild Emblem reached Bronze rank, it came prepared with some functions. A Bronze Guild Emblem had two functions: The first function was a teleport ability. Even without a Guild Transfer Scroll, Guild members could directly teleport to any Guild Residence. There was no need to buy the Guild Transfer Scroll of a specific Guild Residence. Not to mention, players could only carry one Guild Transfer Scroll at a time, making it very inconvenient. The second function increased the Attributes of Guild members. As long as there were over 20 Guild members within a 100-yard radius, the Guild Emblem would increase the wearer''s maximum HP by 3% and Attack Power by 1%. Although the increase seemed minor, once players reached higher levels, even 1% could make a huge difference. This was especially true when players were raiding Team Dungeons. Less than a minute after the system announcement ended, news of Zero Wing obtaining a 3-star Guild Residence began spreading like wildfire. In just a short ten minutes, whether it were the Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom or the Guilds in the neighboring kingdoms and empires, they all held an emergency Guild meeting. At the same time, the various large Guilds currently bartering for rare items in the Dark Auction also received news about this situation. What?! Zero Wing has just obtained a 3-star Guild Residence?! Phoenix Rain''s eyes widened in shock as she read the message she just received. She simply could not believe this to be true. How could this be possible?! 1179 General Trend Chapter 1179 - General Trend "Big Sis Rain, what happened?" Blue Phoenix asked when she noticed the strange expression on Phoenix Rain''s face. "I just received news stating that Zero Wing already has a 3-star Guild Residence now," Phoenix Rain said enviously. "With this, Zero Wing is now the undisputed number one Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom." Blue Phoenix was momentarily stunned when she heard this. Quickly, she reacted and said, "How is this possible?! Didn''t they say that 3-star Guild Residence Promotion Orders can only be obtained from the Hell Mode of Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeons?" Although there was only a single rank separating a 3-star Guild Residence and a 2-star Guild Residence, there was a qualitative difference between the two. It was similar to Shops that were promoted from 2-star to 3-star status. For 3-star Shops, aside from having more Special Workshops, they also had the Basic Meditation Rooms that were very beneficial towards the development of subclasses. In the case of a 3-star Guild Residence, the Guild would receive a qualitative improvement on all its existing benefits. A 3-star Guild Residence would also be capable of constructing buildings that were not available to 2-star Guild Residences. Among them, there were two buildings of particularly significant importance. One of them was the Employment Center. Originally, the local NPCs would post quests in the quest area of the Guild Hall, and Guild players were free to pick up any of them. Meanwhile, once a Guild established its own Employment Center, all quests commissioned to the Guild in the future would be placed in the Employment Center instead. In addition, the Guild Quests in the Employment Center weren''t only limited to the local area. Certain quests would even involve other NPC cities, which would give rise to the number of advanced Guild Quests. However, these were still not the most important matters. Once a Guild possessed its own Employment Center, it would also unlock large-scale Guild Quests such as a crusade against Orcs, or assisting nearby kingdoms in battles against foreign races. The amount of EXP and Coins one could gain from these quests was extraordinary. In addition, one could also obtain plenty of rare tools, weapons, and equipment. The other building was the Training Room. Unlike the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower, which required players to blindly discover and learn combat techniques, the Training Room allowed players to receive the system''s basic combat training from NPCs. This allowed players that had just joined the Guild to grasp basic combat techniques, as well as Skill-utilization techniques, within a shorter period of time. Thus allowing them to quickly go from being a new member to an elite member more quickly. It should be known that Zero Wing was a Guild that walked the path of the elite. Currently, the Guild only had around 100,000 elite members. Over half of its members had yet to reach the elite standard. However, once Zero Wing possessed the Training Room, the remaining members would be able to promptly become elites. It wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing would have more than 200,000 elite members. With so many elite players, even first-rate Guilds would barely be a match for Zero Wing. Meanwhile, this was under the assumption that Zero Wing did not expand and recruit new members. If the Guild did a mass-recruitment, Phoenix Rain did not dare to imagine how frightening the Guild would become. However, unlike Phoenix Rain, who was feeling envious of Zero Wing, the large Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms were currently dying from anxiety. Previously, although Zero Wing was known as the number one Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom, that was only a title. Rather than Zero Wing, these large Guilds feared first-rate Guilds even more. This was because with the number of elite and ordinary members Zero Wing possessed the Guild would only be able to occupy a limited number of locations in the kingdom. Now, however, things were different. Now that the Guild had obtained a 3-star Guild Residence, whether it was the Guild''s elite member count or total member count, both would see an explosive increase soon. By then, Zero Wing would have enough manpower to occupy other NPC cities and capture more towns. Eventually, it would become a first-rate Guild in the truest sense. "Damn it! How did this happen?!" "Why did Zero Wing suddenly obtain a 3-star Residence?!" The various large Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom were each suffering from a huge headache over this matter. Previously, they had been celebrating over the fact that Zero Wing had defeated the Blackwater Guild. After all, with Blackwater having suffered such severe losses, it was unable to expand its influence and control over the various major cities at all. Meanwhile, in Zero Wing''s case, the Guild did not have the required manpower to dominate and manage other NPC cities. This had given them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Ever since the war between Blackwater and Zero Wing, various locations in Star-Moon Kingdom had become war zones, as the various large Guilds all vied to take control of their own NPC city. However, the current situation had greatly exceeded the numerous large Guilds'' expectations. Inside Overwhelming Smile''s Residence in Maple City... Due to Zero Wing obtaining a 3-star Guild Residence, Overwhelming Smile was forced to hold an emergency meeting. "Youlan, are you trying to betray Overwhelming Smile?" Feng Xuanyang screamed angrily as he smacked his desk. Just now, Youlan had actually had his subordinates transfer from Gale City and Twin Lion City to a border city on Star-Moon Kingdom''s western area. He had gone to great lengths in order to get Gale City and Twin Lion City up and running. Yet, shortly after he had built up some of his own foundations, without any warnings, Youlan had suddenly come and told him to go to a border city. Moreover, the city was a small one with a player population of around only 300,000. This was no different than stabbing a knife into his heart. "This can''t be helped. I believe you should have a greater understanding than I do on what kind of functions a 3-star Residence possesses. Gale City and Twin Lion City are simply too close to White River City. Rather than waste time fighting against Zero Wing, it will be much better for you to focus your strength in a place that you can take complete control over. "Furthermore, it is simply impossible to stop Zero Wing''s rise now. The higher-ups have already agreed on this point. Hence, they are having you go to a city on the western border. That place is very close to the Bloodhoof Empire. Currently, we have already taken control of over half of the empire. In the future, when players reach higher levels, we''ll be able to open a trade route between the Bloodhoof Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom. Youlan was not affected by Feng Xuanyang''s angry bellows at all. In reality, she even secretly felt gratitude towards Zero Wing. Due to Zero Wing''s Residence getting promoted to 3-star status this time, Underworld had finally decided to give up on taking control of Star-Moon Kingdom and instead shifted to secretly developing its economy. Meanwhile, Youlan herself was transferred to Underworld''s true headquarters, the Templar Empire, and was tasked with managing Underworld''s trading firm. She could be considered to have truly set foot into Underworld''s upper echelon now. When Feng Xuanyang heard that this was an arrangement made by the higher-ups, his whole person seemed to age several years. It was obvious that Underworld no longer wished to waste time attempting to take control of Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, aside from Overwhelming Smile, the various large Guilds based in the eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom had also made similar arrangements. They all planned on shifting their focus towards the western region of the kingdom. As for the eastern region, they were naturally going to let Zero Wing develop it. "Hahaha! The Guild Leader is simply too amazing! He''s actually managed to have the various Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom shift their focus towards the western region in just a short moment''s time. With this, Zero Wing will have a much easier time taking control of the cities in the eastern region!" Aqua Rose, who had just exited the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, was greatly excited when she received news of the latest developments. Originally, she had planned for Zero Wing to gradually whittle away at the various large Guilds based in the eastern region of Star-Moon Kingdom before eventually taking control of the cities here. However, the instant Shi Feng revealed the 3-star Guild Residence, these various large Guilds all took the initiative to withdraw their forces without putting up a fight. Inside an NPC town within the vicinity of Star-Moon City... Currently, this town had already been occupied by Evil Beasts. The town''s surroundings were filled with Level 60-plus Evil Beasts. Among them, there was no lack of Chieftain and Lord ranked monsters. Meanwhile, the town itself was also enveloped by a massive magic array, which gave off a frightening pressure. If Shi Feng was here right now, he would definitely find this pressure very familiar. This was due to the pressure being emitted by the magic array having a strand of Divine Might mixed into it. Meanwhile, two players suddenly appeared outside this town. These two people were none other than Abandoned Wave and Laughing Drunkard. "Zero Wing, enjoy your fun while you can." When Abandoned Wave received the report regarding Zero Wing, a cold smile appeared on his face. He then walked into the town enveloped by the massive magic array. 1180 Prototype Sacred Land Chapter 1180 - Prototype Sacred Land White River City, Adventurer''s Association: When Shi Feng, who hid under a Black Cloak, descended the stairs from the second floor, he was greeted by a sea of players crowding the first floors. The majority of these players shared one similarity; they were all Guild players. Moreover, these Guild were all high-leveled with good equipment. "What are these people trying to do?" a newcomer, who had just reached Level 10 and had come to report to the Adventurer''s Association, asked. "Is there even a need to ask? They''re all here to withdraw from their Guilds," a Level 30-plus Shield Warrior explained from his seat near the entrance. "Why?" The explanation only increased the new player''s curiosity. While it wasn''t unusual to see players withdraw from their Guilds, this was the first time he had seen so many people from different Guilds at the same time. "You''re new, so it''s expected that you don''t know. They''re leaving their original Guilds to join Zero Wing," the Shield Warrior said enviously as he watched the various Guild players. "Zero Wing is on a roll. Its Residence already has 3-star Private Rooms. If you rest in one of those rooms for 24 hours, you''ll accumulate 30% of Double EXP buff. Moreover, it has the Employment Center now. I heard that Zero Wing went all out, making sure it''ll be stylish. The building has two floors. On the first, players can pick up ordinary and advanced Guild Quests, and the second floor allows players to pick up large-scale Guild Quests. The large-scale Guild Quests award far more than the advanced Quests. "Even elite members have a hard time picking up an advanced Guild Quest in other Guilds. In Zero Wing, however, even ordinary members can pick one up. Once you become one of Zero Wing''s elites, you can even pick up large-scale Guild Quests. As long as Guild members have sufficient Contribution Points, they can also upgrade their Guild Emblem to Bronze rank and get some bonus Attributes. "You''re a newcomer, right? Now is the best time for you to join Zero Wing. I heard that as long as Guild members are willing to spend some Contribution Points, you can receive guidance from NPCs in their new Training Room and learn basic combat techniques and Skill-utilization techniques. Those will help you become an expert quickly." The Shield Warrior''s words immediately caught the attention of the various newcomers within the Adventurer''s Association. They were all new to God''s Domain, and they were completely new to the game''s combat styles. As a result, they had a lot of trouble against monsters. Moreover, they had to learn the combat techniques on their own. When they saw players easily solo two or three Common monsters simultaneously, they were jealous. Naturally, a location where they could improve their combat techniques would be tempting. "May I know where I can apply to join Zero Wing?" a beautiful, charming Level 10 female Cleric excitedly asked the Shield Warrior. In response, the Shield Warrior smiled as he pointed at a group of players that had just withdrawn from their old Guilds and said, "That''s simple. Just follow the players that just left their old Guilds. They''re all going to apply as well." When the several newcomers heard this, they immediately followed after the players that had just withdraw from their Guilds and left the Adventurer''s Association. Shi Feng could not help his shock. He had never imagined that a 3-star Guild Residence would be such a powerful influence. It had only been a short time since he had upgraded Zero Wing''s Residence, yet so many elite players were leaving their old Guilds to join his. What Shi Feng didn''t know was that a long line had already formed outside of Zero Wing''s Residence. These players were all there to apply for the recruitment test. Quite a few were even Guild players from other cities. The crowd made it difficult for Zero Wing''s members to enter and leave the Residence. Moreover, this situation wasn''t isolated to White River City;, the same was happening in Stone Forest Town. Only, unlike the players in White River City, the majority of those applying to join Zero Wing in Stone Forest Town were independent players. These players weren''t just applying to Zero Wing because the Guild now had a 3-star Residence. They were even more inspired by Stone Forest Town''s massive transformation. Aside from the town''s amazing Mana Density, Stone Forest Town had recently undergone major reconstruction. Far more merchant NPCs now visited the town. There was also the newly-reopened Battle Arena. The town was simply too tempting. As long as they joined Zero Wing, even as an ordinary member, they could easily travel back to Stone Forest Town. Their leveling spots would no longer be limited to the Stoneclaw Mountains. Moreover, they would have a shorter waiting time when entering the Battle Arena. To players that loved adventure and improving their combat techniques, becoming a member of Zero Wing was ideal. While Shi Feng had been in the Adventurer''s Association, he had also implemented a new option for Stone Forest TownCthe sale of Private Houses! When Stone Forest Town had been a Basic Town, it had simply been too small. Zero Wing barely had enough space for its own development, let alone selling precious land. However, things had changed. After its promotion to an Intermediate Town, Stone Forest Town grew to occupy several times more land than before. As part of his plan for the town''s development, Shi Feng had used some space to construct Private Housing. He would sell a small portion of these Private Houses to the public, while the remainder would be reserved for Guild members. It was a kind of Guild benefit. As long as one became an elite member, they would qualify to purchase a Private House of their own. Only, they would have to do so with Guild Contribution Points. Fortunately, they would enjoy lower prices than the houses sold to the public. Many of God''s Domain''s players dreamed of owning a Private House, not to mention living in a Mana-dense environment like Stone Forest Town. The Private Houses had already become a hot topic among Stone Forest Town''s players. "Zero Wing is so stingy! They''re only selling a hundred houses to the public! There are so many independent players in this town. How is this supposed to be enough for all of us?!" "I don''t know if there''s going to be enough to go around, but what I do know is that Zero Wing is too fraudulent! Even the cheapest house costs 400 Gold! This price is almost as much as an outer-area Shop in a minor NPC city! Even independent experts are lucky if they have 100 Gold on hand. How could anyone afford such expensive houses?!" "I know, right? However, our adventurer team is prepared to pool our funds to purchase one. This way, our Guild will have a gathering point. We won''t have to waste our time on hotels anymore." "Your team is going to have an awesome time, then. As long as you become 2-star adventurers, you can purchase a Fixed Teleportation Array and set it up in the house. You''ll be able to transfer directly to your house. That''s way better than joining Zero Wing!" "However, I''m betting that the large Guilds are going to purchase most of these houses." "That shouldn''t be possible. Zero Wing has already stated that other Guilds are not allowed to purchase houses. Moreover, the buyers to sign a contract with Zero Wing. Even if people from the various large Guilds try to buy a house, they can''t." As Shi Feng relaxed in an advanced carriage, heading to the Candlelight Trading Firm to store the Bronze Tablet in the warehouse, he received a call from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, Twilight Echo contacted me stating that they have something to discuss with you," Aqua Rose joyfully announced. "Don''t tell me Glorious Echo is looking for me?" Shi Feng frowned. He did not have a particularly good impression of Glorious Echo. However, he was rather grateful because, if not for him, Aqua Rose wouldn''t have joined Zero Wing. "No. The Elders have already sacked Glorious Echo. One of my uncles is managing the Guild temporarily," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. "Alright, then. I still have some matters to deal with, so have him wait in the Residence for a while." 1181 New Overlord Chapter 1181 - New Overlord Storm Empire, imperial capital Storm City: Although the sky grew darker, the imperial capital shone brightly. Players crowded the streets. Storm City''s Teleportation Hall was particularly packed. Players flooded into the city, one group after another. It was far livelier than in White River City. At this moment, a group of players appeared in the Teleportation Magic Array that was the size of half a basketball court. Although it was only a 20-man team, these players were all very high-leveled. The lowest among them was Level 42, and the highest was Level 44. As these players did not wear Black Cloaks to hide their levels, the instant they appeared, they attracted almost everyone''s attention in the Teleportation Hall. Many stared at these players with a mixture of awe and fear. Everyone was curious about this powerful group''s sudden appearance. After all, the current number one player on the Storm Empire''s Ranking List was only Level 43. Moreover, that person had only recently reached Level 43. The most unbelievable thing was that none of these players wore a Guild Emblem, proving that they were not from a Guild, but independent players If Shi Feng were here to see this, he would definitely recognize this group. This team of 20 was none other than the peak adventurer team Owl. The person leading the team was Owl''s commander, White Night. White Night was already a Level 44 Ranger. Frozen Dream, the Elementalist who stood beside him, had also reached Level 44. "Commander, this place is really lively! I think that there are as many people here as there are in Flame Dragon City!" Frozen Dream, who wielded an icy-blue, crystal staff, said, slightly surprised as she surveyed the Teleportation Hall. Flame Dragon City was the Flame Dragon Empire''s, one of the Four Great Empires, imperial capital. The player population there far outstripped other empire''s capitals. The Storm Empire wasn''t particularly powerful. It was only on par with the Black Dragon Empire. Moreover, the empire occupied a relatively remote area. Logically, the city''s prosperity shouldn''t be a match for Black Dragon City, yet the current commotion was shocking. At a glance, Frozen Dream could tell that practically every player in the Teleportation Hall was Level 38 or above. Among these players, there were even Level 40 and Level 41 experts. Aside from the players'' high levels, there were also a considerable number of Guilds. From the various Guild Emblems Frozen Dream could see, at least 100 Guilds had gathered here. Among them, quite a few were first-rate Guilds. "There should be nothing surprising about this. Have you forgotten why we have come?" White Night asked calmly, chuckling. "Did the Nature Hall invite them?" Frozen Dream quickly came to a realization. "Not exactly. Only a small portion has actually received invites. The other Guilds have simply taken the initiative to come here to express their goodwill. After all, the situation in the Storm Empire has changed. As for the independent players, I''m willing to bet that 80% of them are here to join the Nature Hall," White Night said, shaking his head. They had come here because they had received an invite from the Nature Hall, a first-rate Guild, to celebrate the Guild''s achievement of becoming Storm City''s ruler. God''s Domain didn''t have many empires. Until now, the Storm Empire''s capital had been under the rule of the super-first-rate Guild, Nine-star Family. However, nobody had expected the Nature Hall, which had an intense competition with Twilight Echo, to wage a violent war against the Nine-star Family. This war had sparked due to the mineral vein beneath a particular town. Everyone had thought that the Nature Hall had lost its mind to battle the Nine-star Family. It was madness. In the end, however, the Nine-star Family suffered a devastating defeat, and the Nature Hall had taken possession of the town. No one had expected this outcome, either. Although the Nine-star Family was a relatively weak super-first-rate Guild, at the end of the day, it was still a bona fide super-first-rate Guild. No first-rate Guild could afford to provoke it. When the war had ended, everyone believed that the Nine-star Family would exact its revenge on the Nature Hall. Shockingly, however, the Nine-star Family had withdrawn from Storm City. With the Nine-star Family''s retreat, the Nature Hall had grown stronger with each passing day. It had even shocked other first-rate Guilds. In the end, nobody could stop the Nature Hall from taking control of Storm City. Meanwhile, today was the day that the Nature Hall took full control. Today, it became the number one Guild in the Storm Empire. As Owl had done some business with the Nature Hall in the past, the adventurer team had received an invite to the Guild''s celebration. As soon as White Night and the others left the Teleportation Hall, a group of Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights wearing uniform equipment appeared before them. A strict-looking man stood at the lead of this group. The man looked to be in his thirties and had a cross-shaped knife scar across his face. He was fully geared in silver armor and carried a mountain axe that was as tall as himself on his back. The man''s level was also impressive. He was actually Level 42. "Hello, Mister White. I am Abyssal Thunder. Guild Leader Universe sent me to receive you. Your carriages have already been prepared," Abyssal Thunder said as he pointed at the advanced carriages parked beside him. The passersby on the street were stupefied by this scene. "Who are these people?" "Amazing! The Nature Hall''s security team is actually welcoming them personally! Even first-rate Guilds don''t get such treatment!" "Level 44! Could they be the overlords of some other city?" When the passersby saw White Night and the others climb into the advanced carriages, they were jealous. As the Nature Hall celebrated its success, several strangers appeared before Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City. These people were all very high-leveled, with the lowest among them being Level 41. They all wore Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, becoming the envy of those lining up to apply to Zero Wing. "Brother Spring, Zero Wing is astounding! I can''t even see the end of the line of elite players! I''m afraid that it won''t be long before Zero Wing''s elite member count even surpasses Twilight Echo," a robust, tanned Level 41 Shield Warrior exclaimed when he saw the crowd at the main entrance. "That''s right!" the middle-aged man named Spring Echo said, sighing ruefully. Nobody could''ve imagined that, within such a short time, the little girl that left Twilight Echo had managed to develop a small, unknown Guild into its current state. The family''s old bastards were particularly stupefied. To elevate the family''s strength, those old bastards had tried to force Aqua Rose into a marriage with Brilliant Wargod. Now, however, Aqua Rose was getting by even better than those old bastards. If not for Aqua Rose being Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, they wouldn''t be here to meet the mysterious Guild Leader today. Following which, Spring Echo led the four people behind him into Zero Wing''s Residence. After entering the Guild Hall, Spring Echo was flabbergasted by what he saw. The players occupying the first-floor hall were all Level 36 and above. Moreover, he could tell that the Level 36 and Level 37 players were only ordinary members. However, this was not the reason for Spring Echo''s shock. Rather, he was surprised by the equipment these players wore. The majority of these players were equipped with Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment, with the most inferior being Level 35 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As for the elite players that had reached Level 40, they actually wore Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. Not even Twilight Echo could say the same. As Spring Echo and his group quietly waited inside the reception room, Aqua Rose entered. The instant Aqua Rose stepped inside the room, Spring Echo and the others astounded once more. At this moment, Aqua Rose did not wear a Black Cloak to hide her level and equipment, so everyone saw that she had already reached Level 48! 1182 The Intimidating Zero Wing Chapter 1182 - The Intimidating Zero Wing How did she reach such a high level? Spring Echo was thoroughly shocked. Level 48! Aqua Rose could definitely rank number one on the Ranking List in any kingdom or empire in God''s Domain. The current known highest leveled player in the Storm Empire was only Level 43. In addition, Aqua Rose''s equipment was extraordinary. Ordinary experts might not recognize the woman''s equipment, but as the Acting Guild Leader of Twilight Echo, Spring Echo knew full well what Aqua Rose was wearing right now. The Tier 1 Set Equipment for Cursemancers, Evil Soul! They had recently encountered Tier 1 Set Equipment as well. It had been recognized as only inferior to Epic Set Equipment below Level 50. While a Tier 1 Set Equipment''s Basic Attributes were only slightly superior to a Dark-Gold Set Equipment of the same level, the equipment''s true power lay in its high compatibility with players, allowing the wearers to exert higher combat power. As a set equipment, its set effects were highly compatible with the class it was meant for, further enhancing the class''s strengths. However, such a good set equipment was not that easy to obtain. Even a veteran first-rate Guild like Twilight Echo had not managed to collect a complete set after investing a ton of manpower and resources. Yet, now, Aqua Rose wore one "Uncle Spring, I''m sorry for the long wait. The Guild Leader has just returned. I''ll bring you to meet him now." Aqua Rose simply smiled as she looked at everyone''s shocked expressions. She then led Spring Echo to the Guild Leader''s office. While Aqua Rose led the way, the experts behind Spring Echo spoke in hushed tones. "Brother Spring, your niece is simply amazing! I''m afraid that even Twilight Echo''s number one expert, Dark Wave, can''t match her now." "A Tier 1 Set Equipment! If those Elders knew about this, they''d die from envy. Despite investing all that effort into collecting Tier 1 Set Equipment, even now, we only have three pieces of our most complete set." Spring Echo could only smile bitterly in response to his subordinates'' discussion. What else could he say? Before coming to Zero Wing, he had prepared himself mentally. After all, Zero Wing''s battle records were incredible. This was especially true for the latest one. Not only had Zero Wing annihilated Blackwater, which had the Blackwater Corporation''s support, but it had also suppressed the Super Guild Pantheon. If Zero Wing did not have a certain background, how could it possibly defeat such powerful enemies? Now, not only did Zero Wing control the gold mine that was Stone Forest Town, but it also had a 3-star Guild Residence. Although the Guild might not be a match for Twilight Echo when it came to the number of towns and cities it controlled, in terms of potential, Zero Wing was leaps and bounds above Twilight Echo. Very quickly, under Aqua Rose''s lead, Spring Echo reached the Guild Leader''s office on the top floor. Shi Feng, Gentle Snow, and Fire Dance all waited in the office. This What kind of place is this? When Spring Echo saw the room''s interior, he froze. Shi Feng was currently wearing a Black Cloak, so he could not see the Swordsman''s level. However, Gentle Snow and Fire Dance, who stood beside him, were not wearing their cloaks. He could clearly see that Gentle Snow was Level 47, while Fire Dance was Level 48. As for the weapons and equipment the two women wore, although they had hidden the items'' glow effects, Spring Echo could tell that they were monster-like experts from the women''s frightening auras. Moreover, from the information Twilight Echo had collected on Zero Wing, he knew that both Gentle Snow and Fire Dance had reached the rumored realm and become true peak experts. Only now, upon meeting the women in person, did he realize how massive the gap was between them. Spring Echo felt as if he had just entered a monster''s nest and his life were no longer under his control. If Gentle Snow and Fire Dance wanted to kill him and his subordinates right now, Spring Echo wouldn''t bother to resist. He knew full well that experts like himself and his subordinates could not even serve as a warm-up for these women. "Please, sit." Shi Feng gestured to the chair before his desk. He was utterly satisfied with how effectively Gentle Snow and Fire Dance had shocked Spring Echo and his companions. This was an act to help Aqua Rose increase her bargaining chips and influence in her family. "I heard that Twilight Echo has some business to discuss. May I know what that business is?" "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''ll get straight to the point. Twilight Echo has discovered a mine in the Storm Empire. However, with only our Guild''s strength, I''m afraid we can''t secure that mine. Hence, Twilight Echo wishes to cooperate with Zero Wing and operate the mine together. As for the profits, we''ll split them fifty-fifty." Spring Echo understood that Twilight Echo could hold no secrets from Shi Feng. After all, Aqua Rose was here. However, it was also precisely because of Aqua Rose that Twilight Echo had sought out Zero Wing to cooperate. "This is interesting. There''s a mine that even you guys can''t handle?" Shi Feng found the revelation somewhat surprising. No matter what was said or done, Twilight Echo was a veteran first-rate Guild. The Storm Empire was already famed for its mineral production. There were plenty of mines throughout the empire, so much so that first-rate Guilds had no reason to compete with each other. "What if I tell you that it produces Energy Ore?" Spring Echo asked, smiling. "Are you sure?" The news stunned Shi Feng. Energy Ore! That was an even higher ranked material than Raven''s Manatite Ore. While players had a certain chance of obtaining Magic Crystals when mining Manatite Ore, there was an even greater chance to obtain Magic Crystals when mining Energy Ore. Moreover, Energy Ore was an extremely rare mineral that had many uses. Currently, a stack of Energy Ore could sell for roughly two Gold. If sold in an area that where minerals were scarce, one could easily sell a stack for three Gold. The high demand was due to Energy Ore''s two main purposes. The first regarded forging, since it could increase forging success rate. The second was in engineering, where it could be used to produce core components in engineering tools. Hence, Energy Ore was expensive. Normally, players could only harvest some scattered ore. No one had found a mineral vein that produced it. "I can assure of this," Spring Echo responded seriously. "I can agree to work with you. However, I want a thirty-seventy split; seventy to Zero Wing and thirty to you. Moreover, the nearby town must be placed under Zero Wing''s control." Shi Feng proposed his conditions after giving the matter some thought. When everyone inside the room heard Shi Feng''s conditions, they could not help but gasp. Even Aqua Rose hadn''t expected Shi Feng to be so demanding. "Guild Leader Black Flame Aren''t you going a little overboard?" Despite Spring Echo being a well-mannered person, even he could not help his growing anger. He felt like Shi Feng were trying to toy with him, rather than negotiate. 1183 Value of an Energy Vein Chapter 1183 - Value of an Energy Vein The rage in Spring Echo''s eyes lasted for a long while. Seeing as Shi Feng was intent on remaining silent, he could not help but take a deep breath and turned to Aqua Rose, hoping that his niece could talk some sense into her Guild Leader. If possible, Twilight Echo didn''t want anybody else having a hand in the Energy mine. However, the Energy mine was simply too eye-catching. Moreover, with the Nature Hall rapidly growing stronger and the long-time rivalry between the two Guilds, it was only a matter of time before the Hall took action against Twilight Echo. Hence, they had decided to seek cooperation with Zero Wing. The first reason for this decision was the Energy mine''s defense. The second reason was that they could pull Zero Wing onto the same boat. The Nature Hall wouldn''t go all out against the two Guilds for fear of incurring heavy losses. Spring Echo had already investigated the Energy vein and was certain it was one of the mineral veins that could produce Magic Crystals. A large stock of Magic Crystals would help improve the Guild''s overall strength. Moreover, the various large Guilds were more willing to use Magic Crystals to trade for weapons and equipment. However, before Aqua Rose could say anything, Shi Feng opened his mouth and spoke again, "These conditions are my bottomline. If you feel that they are inappropriate, you are welcome to choose other partners." "Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose hadn''t expected Shi Feng to be this determined. Not only had Shi Feng asked for 70% of the mine''s profits, but he also wanted full control over the mining town. No sane Guild would agree to that. Currently, Twilight Echo''s situation in the Storm Empire did not look too good. If properly negotiated, Zero Wing could secure 60% of the mine''s profits. Obtaining the mining town, however, should be impossible. Nobody would easily hand over a town they struggled to obtain. Aqua Rose wasn''t the only person shocked. Even Gentle Snow was somewhat surprised. Twilight Echo''s offer was a good thing for Zero Wing. Even without taking control of the town, the Magic Crystal income would boost the Guild''s development. Although Zero Wing now had a 3-star Guild Residence and the Training Room, at the end of the day, the Training Room only taught players combat basics. If one wished to become an expert, they still needed the battles in the Trial Tower. "Guild Leader Black Flame, Twilight Echo is willing to give you 70% of the mine''s profits at most. As for the town, we will not part with it." Spring Echo believed that Shi Feng wanted to intimidate him. After considering Zero Wing''s current situation, eventually, he chose to take a step back. "It seems Twilight Echo still doesn''t understand the importance of an Energy vein." Shi Feng could not help but sigh. "Forget it. If you don''t want to hand over the town, our discussion ends here. In any case, the town still has its protection period. Even if other Guilds want it, they can''t do anything against it. Return for now, and consider my offer." After saying so, Shi Feng had Fire Dance dismiss Spring Echo and his subordinates away. Even as Spring Echo left the room, he couldn''t figure out what had just happened. Despite his generosity, Shi Feng had no intentions of negotiating with him. He even doubted that Shi Feng truly understood the Energy vein''s value. After seeing Spring Echo depart, Gentle Snow asked, "Guild Leader, is the town really that valuable?" Zero Wing was already stretched thin with managing Stone Forest Town and the several NPC cities they were based in. Even if Zero Wing obtained another highly valuable town, they couldn''t do anything with it. After all, a town''s construction and development demanded a lot of manpower and resources. "The town itself isn''t particularly valuable. The true value lies in the Energy vein. Only, the vein is far more valuable than Twilight Echo can imagine. If they want to defend the Energy vein successfully, Zero Wing needs to control the town. Otherwise, even if we work with Twilight Echo, defending the Energy vein will be impossible. If that''s the case, we might as well stay out of it," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. That was an Energy vein they talking about! It was far more valuable than a Manatite vein. A single Manatite vein had already forced Raven, one of the Six Great Dark Guilds, to go all-out to defend it. Even Raven wouldn''t be able to secure an Energy vein. In the past, every Energy vein had sparked an intense war. In these wars, first-rate Guilds were little more than cannon fodder. Yet, Twilight Echo thought that they could defend an Energy vein with the strength of two Guilds. It was wishful thinking. If it were possible to obtain 50% of an Energy vein''s profits by contributing manpower and resources, Shi Feng would raise both his hands and legs to volunteer. However, God''s Domain was a far crueler place than Spring Echo assumed. He had only dared to agree with Spring Echo because he had three trump cards. The first was the Four Towers of Elements. He had the designs for the towers in his hand. As long as they had the materials, they could construct the towers to defend the town. The second was Phoenix Rain. Phoenix Rain was a Pavilion Master in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Dragging her into the fray would deter others from joining the fight. The third was the Secret Pavilion. He had worked with the Secret Pavilion frequently. Meanwhile, the Secret Pavilion was a transcendental existence in God''s Domain. It was even more of a deterrence than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. As long as the town was protected by the Four Towers of Elements and had the backing of the Dragon Phoenix Pavilion and Secret Pavilion, other superpowers and first-rate Guilds would have to think twice before moving against the town. In fact, with how much manpower and resources he would have to invest to have a chance of defending the Energy vein, he was only willing to give Twilight Echo 30% of the profits due to his consideration for Aqua Rose. Of course, if Zero Wing were sufficiently powerful and could afford to station a million elite members and over ten thousand expert players to defend the town, it might be able to occupy the vein itself. However, that wasn''t possible right now. Although Shi Feng''s comment had been simple, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose quickly understood his reasoning. Hence, they said no more. It was common knowledge that great wealth often attracted disaster. They hadn''t imagined that the Energy vein was so valuable. "Brother Spring, what do we do now?" a Level 41 Berserker asked after noticing Spring Echo''s silence. "Zero Wing''s asking price is simply too high. We can''t negotiate with them." They had come here today to negotiate cooperation. However, instead of gaining Zero Wing''s help, the Guild had chased them out... "What else can we do? We have to report to the other Elders, word for word. We''ll let them decide. In any case, I''m too lazy to bother with this. If I had known something like this would happen, I would never have agreed to become Acting Guild Leader, to begin with." Spring Echo''s mood deflated as he rolled his eyes at the brawny man beside him. Following which, Spring Echo retrieved a Return Scroll and departed from White River City. Elsewhere, Shi Feng used the Teleportation Array in the Residence''s basement to teleport to the Savage Wildland. He was prepared to set out towards the Sea of Death. He handed the rest of the Guild''s matters to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. As Shi Feng left White River City, inside Stone Ape Forest within Star-Moon City''s region, a 20-man team of Level 40 elite players fought a Level 43 Stone Ape Chieftain. "Increase your firepower! The Boss is almost dead!" the Level 41 Ranger leading the team commanded excitedly. When the Stone Ape Chieftain had less than 10% HP remaining, the team heard an agonizing scream from the back. Everyone instinctively turned towards its source. "Grand!" the Ranger shuddered when he saw at the dried mummy of his teammate. This was simply too fast! In the second between the scream and when the team had turned to look, their Cleric had died. "How did he die?" The team members couldn''t help their curiosity. "Is it the Chieftain''s Skill?" As everyone believed this to be the case, a shadow flashed past the team. Suddenly, another scream echoed throughout the area. "It''s a monster ambush! Be careful!" the Ranger warned his teammates. However, as soon as he had said so, several more shadows flashed past their group, killing his teammates, one after another. Only those who reacted quickly and activated their Lifesaving Skills managed to survive and caught a glimpse at the shadow''s true appearance. These black shadows were all humanoid monsters. However, a single horn grew from their heads, and their entire bodies were covered in pitch-black scales. Moreover, when these monsters looked at their team, they looked like hunters toying with their prey. "Run!" When the Ranger saw this, he fully understood that they were no match for these monsters. However, although he made the correct decision, they could not escape their fates. A short moment later, these one-horned monsters slaughtered everyone on the team. "Hahaha! These humanoid monsters really are astounding! I wonder if another one will emerge from these players?" After the 20-man team died, a person wandered out of the dense forest. This person radiated a sinister aura, incompatible with the surrounding environment. This person''s skin was dark gray, and a blood-red magic array had been imprinted between his eyebrows. This person did not appear human at all. If Shi Feng were here, he would definitely recognize this creature as none other than Blackwater''s Guild Leader, Abandoned Wave! 1184 Naval Empire Chapter 1184 - Naval Empire "Please don''t disappoint me." Abandoned Wave slowly walked up to one of the corpses. He then took a dark gray crystal ball from his bag. A sinister glow flashed in the crystal''s center, making it look like an eyeball. Just looking at it would give someone the creeps. Abandoned Wave then began to chant an incantation. In the next moment, blood-red mist emerged from the crystal ball, gradually seeping into the corpse. After a short moment, the player''s corpse began to move. However, as Abandoned Wave finished the final verse, the dried mummy exploded into a blood-red mist. In the blink of an eye, the crystal reabsorbed the mist. Damn it! These people are too weak! Abandoned Wave stomped his feet in frustration. He then opened his system map and looked through it carefully. "It seems that I''ll have to go elsewhere to find experts. "I recall that place being one of the high-resource maps the Star Alliance occupies. There should be quite a number of experts there. I''ll use you guys to test my new powers." Saying so, Abandoned Wave summoned a giant, two-headed wolf. He rode it towards the Sunset Hills, which was only a short distance away from Stone Ape Forest. Storm Empire, Twilight Echo''s Guild Residence: "Spring, so you''re saying that if we don''t hand over the town''s management rights to Zero Wing, Zero Wing won''t agree to work with us?" "Zero Wing is playing us for fools! Do they really think that Twilight Echo needs their help to defend a town?!" "I''ve always said that Zero Wing is unreliable. Rather than working with Zero Wing, we should invest more in the town''s defense. In any case, we have some time before the town''s protection period ends. Moreover, we have the area around the Energy vein under our control. Even if the Nature Hall wants to take it from us, it won''t be that easy for them to steal in our territory." "However, we cannot underestimate the Nature Hall, either. I''ve just received a report stating that they have recruited a large number of elite players during their celebration. They have also found many powerful independent players. I''m not sure what methods the Nature Hall has used, but they''ve convinced many powerful adventurer teams to join them as well. Even if Twilight Echo and Seventh Street work together, we are still no match for the Nature Hall." "Some major corporation must be supporting the Nature Hall from the shadows. We need to be more careful from now on." "Since the situation has reached this point, let''s give up on negotiating with Zero Wing and focus on the Energy vein. As long as we enhance the town''s defenses, with our geographical advantage, even the Nature Hall will have to think twice before they try anything." Twilight Echo''s various Elders unanimously agreed that they would not satisfy Zero Wing''s greed. Meanwhile, Shi Feng reached the edge of the Sea of Death aboard his Swift Dragon Speedboat. Players recognized the Sea of Death as a forbidden land. However, they also called it the Garden of Eden. This was due to the various opportunities that existed alongside the dangers. In the past, countless players that craved adventure had come to this sea zone. Among them, a few had become famous experts due to fortuitous encounters. Before Shi Feng entered the Sea of Death, however, he could see massive crashing waves and hear fierce roaring. He immediately knew that sea monsters were the cause of the phenomena. "The undeveloped Sea of Death really is dangerous." Shi Feng was slightly astonished as he watched the rising waves in the distance. Although he did not know the sea monsters'' appearances or numbers, judging by the water''s movement, he could tell that there were quite a few ahead. If he took the risk and continued forward, there was an 80% to 90% chance that he would die. The Swift Dragon Speedboat did not improve his chances. Unlike the monsters on land, sea monsters all had extremely high HP. They normally had three to five times more than land monsters of the same rank and level. Including the geographical advantage, even a Lord ranked sea monster could easily annihilate a team of 100 elite players. If five or more sea monsters occupied this route, it would be inaccessible for players. With so many sea monsters in one location, a Boss-rank existence must be present. A Boss in this area would be at least a Great Lord. On land, monsters of such rank shouldn''t be provoked, much less at sea. Without a fleet of ships, players would have no choice but to take the long way around. By Shi Feng''s estimation, there should be over ten sea monsters ahead. With so many, it was possible that a Grand Lord ranked sea monster was present. Although the Swift Dragon Speedboat was powerful, it would be nothing more than an appetizer for a Grand Lord. While Shi Feng plotted a different path into the Sea of Death, he discovered a fleet of ships heading towards the sea monsters. It was clear that these players were looking for a raid. A fleet consisted of at least thirty ships. Of course, fishing boats did not count. The fleet Shi Feng watched consisted of over a hundred ordinary speedboats and numerous advanced speedboats. There were even a few Bronze Speedboats in the lead. As the fleet gradually approached the sea monsters, Shi Feng got a clear view of the situation through the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s telescope. The four Bronze Speedboats in the lead had been decorated with the image of an aqua-blue spear. This image was the fleet''s symbol. These symbols weren''t just for show. They had a similar function, although significantly weaker, to a suppression magic array. Normally, players could only gain such a symbol after registering as a fleet with the Adventurer''s Association. "The Freedom Alliance?" Shi Feng was surprised when he saw that blue spear. "Why are they here?" The Freedom Alliance was not a Guild. Rather, it was an organization of various small Guilds and adventurer teams. Of course, not just any Guild or adventurer team qualified to join the alliance. They needed to meet certain criteria to do so. In such a way, the Freedom Alliance combined the powers of various naval Guilds and adventurer teams to form a superpower at sea. In the past, the Freedom Alliance had been even stronger than some Super Guilds'' naval forces. However, the Freedom Alliance hadn''t been active in the Sea of Death. Instead, it had occupied the Sea''s End. The Sea''s End was many times larger than the Sea of Death. It was even considered a naval empire. The Sea''s End housed cities and alliances that were comprised of numerous islands. The playstyle there wasn''t as intense as on land. Rather, competition between players there wasn''t particularly intense. However, the area was far more dangerous than on the mainland. Moreover, players that lived in the Sea''s End had been inseparable from naval combat since the moment they joined God''s Domain. Hence, when it came to combat at sea, players from the Sea''s End were far more powerful than even the experts of the various large Guilds. "They''re just barging in?" Shi Feng was momentarily stunned as he watched the fleet charge towards the sea monsters. 1185 Marine King Creature Chapter 1185 - Marine King Creature "What are they trying to do?" Shi Feng was at a loss when he saw the Freedom Alliance''s fleet charge into the sea monster group without hesitation. Logically, as veteran sailors, the Freedom Alliance should not have made such a rookie mistake. Sea monsters were different from monsters on land. Not only were they massive, but they were also capable of influencing the battlefield''s terrain. They also had wide-range attacks, making it very difficult for players to dodge or block. As a result, fighting sea monsters was many times more challenging than monsters on land. Normally, a fleet had to distribute tasks and prepare before battle. In battles against multiple sea monsters, the ships'' positions were very important. Players would pay for mistakes in blood. Players would be asking for a beating if they simply charged into battle. In the majority of land battles, at most, players would pay for mistakes with their lives. However, a mistake out at sea would destroy their ships. Even if the ship survived after being struck by sea monsters, the ship would lose Durability. When a ship''s Durability fell to a certain point, like weapons and equipment, it could no longer be repaired. Not to mention, the price of repairing a ship was much higher than weapons and equipment. In addition, repairing a ship was more time-consuming. However, as Shi Feng''s curiosity about the Freedom Alliance''s actions grew, the alliance''s players discovered Shi Feng''s Swift Dragon Speedboat. "Commander, there''s a speedboat starboard side. By the looks of it, the speedboat should be considerably high quality. Should we chase it away first before the battle?" a Level 41 male Elementalist in dark blue mage robes asked a robust man in a respectful tone. This robust, leopard of a man was none other than the Freedom Alliance''s Third Fleet commander, Passing Monarch. Practically everyone in the Sea''s End had heard of this man. "Ignore it. It''s just a speedboat. It won''t affect our operation. If it tries to pull something, we''ll deal with it then," Passing Monarch casually commanded as he glanced at the Swift Dragon Speedboat. "Alright, enough. We''ll proceed according to plan." They had a total of 120 ships. Among them, 24 were advanced speedboats. In addition, they had four Bronze Speedboats. A single speedboat could not disturb their operation. If they wanted to, they could sink it with little more than a thought. "Understood!" Immediately, the fleet spread out and gradually circled the group of sea monsters. "Roar!" The sea monsters soon noticed the Freedom Alliance''s fleet. They began to surface, revealing their true appearances. Among the sea monsters, one was a massive Sea Serpent King. The serpent''s head alone was the size of a three-story building. When the serpent roared, waves rose and smashed against the Freedom Alliance''s ships. Aside from this Sea Serpent King, which was hundreds of meters long, there were also many One-horned Sea Serpents, which were roughly 60 to 70 meters in length. If ordinary players saw this, they would most likely pale from fright. [Sea Serpent King] (Marine King Creature, King-class Sea Monster, Great Lord) Level 52 HP 160,000,000/160,000,000 [One-horned Sea Serpent] (Sea Monster, Chieftain) Level 50 HP 18,000,000/18,000,000 A King-class Sea Monster?! When Shi Feng finally saw the sea monsters'' true appearances, he was shocked. Sea monsters fell into different categories than monsters on land as they had additional classifications based on their Life Ratings. The higher a sea monster''s Life Rating was, the stronger they were than other sea monsters of the same rank and level. A King Sea Monster, for example, was a Boss among Bosses. Normally, sea monsters could be categorized as ordinary, Leader-, and King-class. There were also sea monsters of the legendary Titan-class. The King-class''s Life Rating could already rival that of the Archaic Species on land. Not only were such sea monsters extremely rare, but they were also insanely strong. As for Titan-class Sea Monsters, they were the equivalent of Ferocious Beasts like the Nine-headed Magic Snake, whose Life Rating was even higher than ordinary Dragons. Even Tier 6 Gods would have difficulty killing Ferocious Beasts. The Sea Serpent King before him was a King-class existence. Despite it being only a Great Lord, it was more than capable of annihilating an entire fleet by itself. That''s right, annihilation! Normally, King-class Sea Monsters only lived in extremely dangerous sea zones. They didn''t usually show up in places like this. As Shi Feng considered steering his ship away from this area, the Sea Serpent King pointed its head at the sky and roared. Dark clouds then began to gather, covering the sky. As expected of a King-class Sea Monster. It is already capable of using a Domain despite being a Great Lord? Shi Feng''s expression twisted as he watched the sky. He was familiar with the move the Sea Serpent King had just used. The Skill was called Weather Control, and as its name suggested, it allowed the Great Lord to control an area''s weather. In the blink of an eye, waterspouts formed, one after another, enclosing the area and cutting off players'' escape routes. Unless players wanted to risk their lives and sacrifice their ships, there would be no retreat. This was also one of the reasons that fleets would suffer annihilation after encountering King-class Sea Monsters. However, as if they had predicted this development, the Freedom Alliance''s scattered ships began to activate magic arrays. Together, one hundred speedboats formed a massive, blue magic array that enveloped the zone. Following which, two more similar magic arrays appeared, overlapping. In the next moment, arcs of blue lightning descended, limiting the sea monster''s movements. "What a powerful threefold magic barrier." Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the fleet suppress the Sea Serpent King''s movements. Normally, magic arrays capable of suppressing King-class Sea Monsters were Intermediate rank at the very minimum. With every additional layer a magic array possessed, its strength would be increased by one fold. As this was a threefold magic array, its strength tripled. As Shi Feng watched, the Freedom Alliance''s players began to move. Among them, 100 ships maintained the magic array, while the remaining 20 ships circled and attacking the sea monsters. Naval battles were different from land battles. Due to sea monsters'' wide-range attacks, players couldn''t dodge with their own Movement Speed. Hence, they needed to rely on their ships to avoid the sea monsters'' attacks. If an attack were truly unavoidable, the ship''s MTs would meet the attack head-on. Meanwhile, players had to rely on ranged classes and their ships'' Attack Power. This was also why ships were more important than experts at sea. The twenty ships madly bombarded the Sea Serpent King and One-horned Sea Serpents. Due to the magic array''s suppression, both the Great Lord and the Chieftains'' mobility was limited. With the Freedom Alliance''s high-quality ships, avoiding the sea monsters attacks was relatively easy. Even if an occasional attack struck their ships, the MTs on board received most of the damage, significantly reducing the ship''s Durability loss. The only troublesome foe was the Sea Serpent King. Fortunately, the Freedom Alliance''s fleet was very strong. The four Bronze Speedboats were responsible for tanking the Great Lord. Bronze Speedboats possessed a certain damage reduction capability. Only after the ship reduced the initial damage would players receive the attack. If advanced speedboats received one of the Sea Serpent King''s attacks, the MTs on board would die instantly. Under the constant stream of cannon fire and ranged attacks, the Chieftain ranked One-horned Sea Serpents quickly died off. Eventually, only the Sea Serpent King remained. However, the Great Lord still possessed over 100,000,000 HP. The more damage the Sea Serpent King received, the more powerful its attacks became. It also grew faster as the battle progressed. It was obvious that the Great Lord had adapted slightly to the magic array''s suppression. Originally, after five MTs split the damage from an attack, each MT would only lose around one-third of their HP. Now, however, the MTs would lose half of their HPs instantly. If the Sea Serpent King dealt two consecutive attacks, the MTs would be annihilated "Increase the healing! If your Mana falls below 25%, use a Mana Recovery Potion immediately! Old Wizard, hold on for a little longer! I''m going to give this little snake a big one!" Passing Monarch commanded when he realized the Sea Serpent King''s attacks were growing more aggressive. "Leave it to me," Old Wizard, the captain of the ship currently tanking the Sea Serpent King confirmed and nodded. However, as soon as he said so, the Sea Serpent King spread its jaws, a large amount of elemental Mana gathering in its mouth. In the next moment, it spat a beam, sweeping across over half of the battlefield. As the beam struck, three advanced speedboats were crippled. As for the other five advanced speedboats that were struck, their Durability dropped to below 50%. As for the two Bronze Speedboats that had received the attack, they fared slightly better as they hadn''t lost a single player. Unfortunately, the ships'' Durability had fallen by one-fifth 1186 Dragon Cannon Chapter 1186 - Dragon Cannon With a single move, the Sea Serpent King had crippled three of the twenty attacking ships, killing all twenty players aboard each ship. In addition, five other advanced speedboats would crumble if they received one more hit, while two Bronze Speedboats had suffered relatively significant damage. The Freedom Alliance members were stunned. "So, this is a King-class Sea Monster?" Passing Monarch''s expression darkened as he looked at the Sea Serpent King. "Change of plans! Tank it with the Tier 3 summoned creatures! Everyone else, attack the Boss!" The Sea Serpent King was far stronger than he had initially expected. As the Serpent King shrugged off the threefold magic array''s effects, the Great Lord would annihilate them all if it used that large-scale destructive Skill a few more times. The longer they dragged this battle out, the more unfavorable the situation became for them. Hence, they had no choice but to use their trump card. As soon as Passing Monarch gave the command, the Level 42 Summoner beside him took out a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll and activated it. The astute Sea Serpent King abruptly turned its head towards Passing Monarch''s Bronze Speedboat, a glimmer of ridicule and disdain flashing in its golden eyes. It swiped its massive tail at the speedboat. The Great Lord''s attack had a wide range and was extremely fast, making it impossible for the speedboat to evade in time. Seeing this, Passing Monarch shouted in panic, "Activate the Strongest Defense!" Suddenly, a light blue magic barrier formed around the Bronze Speedboat. At the same time, the ship''s five MTs activated their Lifesaving Skills and moved forward to receive the descending tail. Boom! The collision created a tidal wave, climbing over a dozen meters into the sky, and sent the Bronze Speedboat flying over 30 yards away. As for the five Level 41 and Level 42 MTs, they had been smashed into the deck, their HPs decreasing by 50%. As for the Bronze Speedboat''s condition, it fared slightly better as it only lost 34 out of its 400 Durability. "It''s too strong!" The players maintaining the magic array could not help but shudder when they saw this. This was definitely the strongest sea monster they had ever faced. That was a Bronze Speedboat they were talking about! Despite Passing Monarch''s speedboat having activated its defensive magic array and five MTs sharing some of the damage, the Bronze Speedboat had lost so much Durability from one of the Sea Serpent King''s normal attacks. If it an advanced speedboat had received the attack, the speedboat would''ve lost at least half its Durability... However, these players weren''t ready to give up. They still had a trump card they hadn''t used yet. As the Sea Serpent King''s attack came to an end, an over-twenty-meter-tall leopard appeared on the water''s surface. The leopard was entirely blue and arcs of electricity wrapped around its body. This was none other than the Tier 3 summoned creature Thundercloud Leopard. Although they were currently out at sea, the Thundercloud Leopard was one of the few summoned creatures that could fly. It might not be as strong as other Tier 3 summoned creatures, but its flight granted it a considerable advantage over sea monsters. This was also why Passing Monarch was confident enough to challenge the Sea Serpent King. "All speedboats, distance yourselves from the Boss! Attack with your cannons only!" Passing Monarch commanded. At the end of the day, players'' attack range was limited to 40 yards. Even with the aid of certain special tools, they could, at most, extend their attack range to 50 yards. To colossal sea monsters like the Sea Serpent King, 50 yards was nothing. However, speedboats were different. Even normal cannons had a range of over 500 yards. Even a King-class Sea Monster would have difficulty reaching targets at such a distance. As long as the Thundercloud Leopard tanked, the Boss should not target enemies that were too far away. Even if it did, with such a long distance, they would have more than enough time to defend themselves. As time passed, the battle proceeded according to Passing Monarch''s plans. Although the Thundercloud Leopard''s attacks were not particularly powerful, the summoned creature dealt around -20,000 damage with each attack. That was more than enough to hold the Sea Serpent King''s aggro. Meanwhile, when the Serpent King attacked, the Thundercloud Leopard easily dodged thanks to its flight ability. As both sides were Tier 3 Great Lords, the Thundercloud Leopard was faster than its opponent, which allowed it to kite the Serpent King while the speedboats attacked the Boss. The cannons dealt far more damage than the Thundercloud Leopard, each attack dealing over -70,000 damage. The Bronze Speedboats were even more impressive, dealing over -110,000 damage with each hit. If special ammunition were used, each attack could deal over -150,000 damage. Unfortunately, special ammunition was very expensive. Even the most common Flame Shell cost 70 Silver Coins per round. There was also the more expensive Thunderbolt Shell, which cost 1 Gold, 50 Silver and was considerably more effective against sea monsters. With how high these shell''s prices were, if the monster didn''t yield anything valuable upon death, they would suffer a major loss. Moreover, sea monsters could block cannon fire, which would drastically reduce the damage they received. It would be fortunate if the attack even dealt 10% of its original damage. Meanwhile, because the Freedom Alliance was occupied with the Sea Serpent King, they disregarded cost as they barraged the Great Lord with Thunderbolt Shells. "Quick! Attack faster!" Passing Monarch''s heart began to beat wildly when he noticed that the Sea Serpent King only had 15% of its HP remaining. They were now in a contest of speed against the Sea Serpent King. Their operation might fail if they failed to kill the Great Lord before the Thundercloud Leopard died. As the Sea Serpent King''s HP neared 10%, its pitch-black scales turned crimson. Tornadoes then began to twist down from the sky, one after another, plunging the sea zone into chaos. This sudden development hindered the Thundercloud Leopard''s movements. As a result, one of the Serpent King''s attacks struck, its HP falling by over 500,000 on the spot More tornadoes descended, moving towards the surrounding speedboats. To make matters worse, the Sea Serpent King had stopped paying attention to the Thundercloud Leopard. Rather, it turned and sped towards the nearby speedboats. Although the targeted speedboats saw the Sea Serpent King approach, the Great Lord moved as if it were unaffected by the magic array''s suppression. It was frighteningly fast, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived before an advanced speedboat. Lashing out with its tail, the Great Lord struck the speedboat twice. Instantly, a considerably valuable advanced speedboat shattered and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. None of the crew survived. As for the Thundercloud Leopard, although it tried to pin the Sea Serpent King down again, it stood no chance against the sea monster at all now that the King-class Boss had regained its full strength. As soon as the Thundercloud Leopard closed in on the Serpent King, the Boss sent it flying with an attack. The summoned creature couldn''t stop the Serpent King for even a second. "All ships, stop maintaining the magic array and attack the Boss!" Passing Monarch commanded. It was obvious that the threefold magic array was no longer effective. They had to rely on sacrifice to whittle down the Sea Serpent King. Boom Boom Boom A series of blasts rang out. Among them, the tornadoes blocked the majority of the attacks, while the Serpent King dodged. Only a small number of cannonballs actually hit the Serpent King. However, the balls only dealt around -100,000 or so damage. "Roar!" The Sea Serpent King widened its jaws once more, gathering even more Mana in its mouth than before. "Dodge! Everyone, dodge!" Passing Monarch''s expression darkened significantly when he saw the frightening amount of Mana gathering in the Sea Serpent King''s mouth. He then turned to look at a Level 42 female Elementalist beside him and said, "Joy, use the strongest defensive Spell you have!" Even without Passing Monarch''s command, the female Elementalist named Blue Joy had retrieved a blue Magic Scroll from her bag. This Magic Scroll contained the Tier 2 Defensive Spell, Purple Flame Shield. As a massive purple barrier formed around Passing Monarch''s speedboat, the Sea Serpent King launched an attack. The Great Lord fired a red beam from its mouth, the beam leaving behind a massive chasm as it sliced through the water''s surface. It looked as if the beam had split the sea in half. In the blink of an eye, over 60% of the 100-plus speedboats sank, with the remaining having suffered heavy damage. Only the four Bronze Speedboats that had used Defensive Magic Scrolls remained intact as they only lost around 40 Durability. As for the crews, each player lost over 20,000 HP. What a strong Attack Power! Shi Feng was startled by the Sea Serpent King''s attack. Fortunately, his speedboat was over 800 yards away from the Great Lord, not within range of the attack. When Shi Feng saw that the Sea Serpent King only had 1% HP remaining, he fell into deep thought. An opportunity had shown itself. If he missed it, he would regret it for a long time. Shi Feng aimed the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s Dragon Cannon at the Sea Serpent King and fired. 1187 Deterring Migh Chapter 1187 - Deterring Might "Commander, that person''s trying to steal our kill!" "Damn it! I knew we should''ve killed him earlier!" "Commander, let''s send a group of speedboats to take care of him!" When the Freedom Alliance noticed Shi Feng launch an attack at the Sea Serpent King, they burst with rage. Since joining the game, their Freedom Alliance had been responsible for taking advantage of others, and never once had others taken advantage of them. "Alright, enough. What are you all so worried about? That''s a King-class Sea Monster. Do you think a single speedboat can do anything to it? We can deal with him once we''ve killed the Sea Serpent King." Although Passing Monarch was furious, he knew full well that they could not afford to split their forces at this critical moment. If they did, they really would let Shi Feng take advantage of them. As soon as Passing Monarch finished speaking, Shi Feng fired the Dragon Cannon after aiming at the Sea Serpent King. In the next moment, a black beam flew from the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s deck, piercing through the rising waves and slamming into the Serpent King''s belly. "Roar!" The Sea Serpent King cried out in pain as its HP plummeted by 322,849. The attack dealt even more damage than the Freedom Alliance''s Thunderbolt Shells. Moreover, based on the sea monster''s pained cry, one could tell that the attack had injured the Great Lord. Even after so many attacks, this was the first time the Great Lord had cried out. "What a powerful cannon!" "Is this for real?! What kind of speedboat is that? Even when we fire the Thunderbolt Shells from the Bronze Speedboats, we only dealt around -120,000!" Everyone was shocked by the Dragon Cannon''s might. "Commander, apparently that other party is no weakling. That speedboat is definitely better than Bronze rank. It is likely that it''s a peak Mysterious-Iron Speedboat!" Blue Joy said, shock filling her heart as she looked at the swift Dragon Speedboat. She wasn''t shocked by the speedboat''s damage against the Sea Serpent King. After all, to the Sea Serpent King, that damage was far from enough to destroy the Great Lord''s remaining 1% HP. With the Great Lord''s battle recovery, it would be exceptionally difficult for Shi Feng to kill the Serpent King by himself. What had truly shocked her was the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s rank. As players of a naval empire, they had fought sea monsters ever since they had left their beginner towns. They also had a much easier time obtaining speedboats than land players. Even so, they, the Freedom Alliance''s Third Fleet, had only obtained four Bronze Speedboats. They had also relied on these Bronze Speedboats to gain a considerable amount of authority for their Third Fleet in the Freedom Alliance. Yet, the speedboat before them was Mysterious-Iron rank. Not even the Freedom Alliance had ever found a speedboat of this rank. Only the first-rate Guild based in the Sea''s End had obtained one. Due to that speedboat, said first-rate Guild had secured a considerable amount of influence in the Sea''s End, becoming a power that few would dare to provoke. After all, a fleet led by a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat was much stronger than a fleet led by Bronze Speedboats. If not for the Freedom Alliance''s absolute advantage of the number of Bronze Speedboats they had, the alliance would not stand on equal footing with the first-rate Guild. Hence, finding a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat before them right now was unbelievable. What a high Defense! As expected of a King-class Sea Monster! Shi Feng was slightly astonished when he saw the Dragon Cannon''s damage. The Dragon Cannon was even more powerful than ordinary Tier 3 Spells, yet its attack against the berserk Sea Serpent King had been insignificant. Fortunately, the cannon had injured the Great Lord, causing it to bleed and sustain a certain degree of damage. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had achieved his initial goal. In reality, he hadn''t considered killing the Serpent King by himself. A Level 52 King-class Sea Monster wasn''t that easy to kill. He had only fired the shot to display his strength before the Freedom Alliance. In God''s Domain, only the strong were respected. Without sufficient strength, nobody would be taken serious regardless of what they said. Hence, he needed to show the Freedom Alliance what he was capable of. After firing the first shot, Shi Feng stopped his assault. Rather, he sent Passing Monarch a message while waiting for the Dragon Cannon to finish its Cooldown. The Dragon Cannon''s Cooldown lasted 15 seconds, which was slightly longer than ordinary cannons. Even if the Freedom Alliance did nothing and allowed him to attack the Sea Serpent King freely, he couldn''t kill the Great Lord. After all, no single speedboat could easily take down a King-class Sea Monster. As for Shi Feng''s message, its contents were very simple. Let''s work together to kill the Sea Serpent King. Afterward, we''ll split the loot 50-50. When Passing Monarch received this message, his expression twisted. However, Passing Monarch did not reply to Shi Feng immediately. Instead, he shared the message in the team chat, letting everyone take a look before making a decision. "This person is insane!" "What kind of crap is he spouting?! We''re so close to killing the Sea Serpent King, yet he dares to ask for half the loot?!" "That''s right! Does he really think we won''t obliterate him?" "The Sea Serpent King has less than 1,000,000 HP remaining. Even if that guy tries to steal our Boss, does he think he can escape so many speedboats? Moreover, even if he does steal the last hit, he won''t be able to steal the loot right before us." "That''s right! Commander, our losses this time are so severe. We cannot split half our loot with him!" The Freedom Alliance''s members opposed Shi Feng''s offer unanimously. Even with the Swift Dragon Speedboat, Shi Feng didn''t qualify to stand toe-to-toe with them. If they were facing a fleet led by a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat, they might agree. However, the other party only had one ship. Passing Monarch shared the same opinion. In any case, the Sea Serpent King had less than 1,000,000 HP remaining. With their fleet''s remaining ships, they could take it down very quickly. Following which, Passing Monarch replied to Shi Feng, stating, "Thank you for your goodwill. However, we hope to resolve our problems by ourselves." Shi Feng simply smiled after reading the reply. There was not the slightest hint of anger in his expression. He then steered the Swift Dragon Speedboat away from the Sea Serpent King, showing no intention of stealing the kill. Killing a King-class Sea Monster with just a fleet led by Bronze Speedboats? If the Freedom Alliance succeeded, he would bow down to them in respect. "Commander, he''s leaving!" Blue Joy said, slightly confused when she noticed the Swift Dragon Speedboat sail away from the Sea Serpent King. "At least he still has a brain." The other members laughed. "He''s gone?" Passing Monarch also could not help but glance at the departing speedboat. "Is he really not interested in the Sea Serpent King?" However, Passing Monarch did not think too much about the matter. After all, they were still on a precipice. Following which, the remaining speedboats attacked the Sea Serpent King desperately. Although the Boss dodged or blocked the majority of their attacks, when their attacks landed, they dealt around -100,000 damage, shaving away the Great Lord''s HP. When a Thunderbolt Shell demolished the Sea Serpent King''s remaining 70,000 HP, the Freedom Alliance sighed in relief. They couldn''t help their growing excitement. "We killed the Sea Serpent King!" "Hahaha! Our Freedom Alliance is invincible at sea!" Everyone celebrated. Until today, not a single fleet in God''s Domain had managed to kill a King-class Sea Monster. "Huh? Something''s wrong. Why hasn''t my experience bar increased?" "Don''t King-class Sea Monsters give EXP?" Some of the Freedom Alliance members realized that something was amiss. However, before they could react, a deafening roar echoed throughout the zone. Before anyone knew it, a massive, crimson serpent broke through the water''s surface. The serpent before them was not the same as the Sea Serpent King. Not only was it significantly larger, but the serpent also had two heads instead of one. A long, pitch-black horn grew from both heads, and one could faintly see arcs of purple electricity circling the horns. As this serpent appeared, the sky turned dark. - [Sea Serpent King (Complete State)] (Marine King Creature, King-class Sea Monster, Great Lord) Level 52 HP 200,000,000/200,000,000 1188 Breaking Through the Threshold Chapter 1188 - Breaking Through the Threshold The Sea Serpent King''s sudden appearance dumbfounded the Freedom Alliance members. "What''s going on?" "Didn''t we kill it already?" "How did it get even stronger?" "This is cheating!" Despair swept through the team as they looked at the two-headed Sea Serpent King. They had already lost over half of their forces to kill the Sea Serpent King. They had even used their Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. At this point, they were both mentally and physically exhausted, yet not only had the Sea Serpent King just revived with full HP, but it also radiated a far more powerful aura than before. How were they supposed to fight the Sea Serpent King now? Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who observed from afar, wasn''t surprised by this development. This was the amazing aspect of King-class Sea Monsters, their true might. The previous fight had simply been a warm-up. Only now would the battle truly begin. In the past, many fleets had challenged King-class Sea Monsters during the game''s early stages. However, every one of these fleets had suffered annihilation. They simply hadn''t been prepared. If a fleet struggled to defeat a King-class Sea Monster in its first phase, once the Boss entered its second phase, the battle was a lost cause. Before the team members could regain their senses, both of the Sea Serpent Kings stretched their maws, one spitting flames, while the other spit purple lightning. In the blink of an eye, over half the battlefield drowned in fire and lightning. Any speedboat that encountered both turned to ash immediately. With a single attack, the Freedom Alliance lost another 16 speedboats, with another dozen or so speedboats dropping below 50% Durability... "Is it just going to end like this?" Helplessness filled Passing Monarch''s eyes as he stared at the Sea Serpent King. He now realized that challenging a King-class Sea Monster had been an incredible mistake. Tornadoes enveloped the area around his fleet. It was impossible for their speedboats to break out of this encirclement. Only a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat would have any hope of escape. When Passing Monarch thought about how the fleet he and his companions had put together after through so much difficulty was about to be destroyed due to his reckless choice, guilt gripped his heart. Those were four Bronze Speedboats they were talking about! Their Third Fleet had spent a ton of effort to obtain these Bronze Speedboats. It would take them a very long time to secure another four. Suddenly, Passing Monarch received another message from Shi Feng. "Interested in working together now?" When Passing Monarch read the new message, he was confused. Do we still have any hope of winning? Their Tier 3 summoned creature had less than one-third of its HP remaining. They had less than 40 speedboats. Even with the strength of a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat, they had no chance of defeating the Sea Serpent King. However, when Passing Monarch recalled Shi Feng''s attack against the Serpent King before it had died, he realized that it was possible that the man may have predicted this situation. Immediately, Passing Monarch sent Shi Feng a friend request. This way, both sides could contact each other with ease. "If we work together, do we really have a chance of defeating the Sea Serpent King?" Passing Monarch demanded. "We would''ve had a 50% chance of winning if we had started working together earlier. Now, we only have about a 30% chance," Shi Feng replied after considering the odds. "Fifty percent? That high?" Passing Monarch suddenly regretted his earlier dismissal. Had he known that something like this would happen, he would''ve agreed to team up with Shi Feng earlier. However, he had no choice but to give it a shot right now. A 30% success rate was better than nothing. "Alright, I promise you that, as long as we kill the Sea Serpent King, we''ll split the loot fifty-fifty," Passing Monarch said. In response, however, Shi Feng shook his head and said, "That was the previous condition. Now, I want all of the loot." He had never involved himself with the Freedom Alliance in the past. They were neither friends nor foes. He was already being generous by offering to lend a hand. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Passing Monarch''s expression turned indescribably ugly. However, he had to admit that each side''s standing had transformed. The Freedom Alliance was now at a major disadvantage as Shi Feng could swiftly leave the battlefield with his Swift Dragon Speedboat. Gnashing his teeth, "Alright! I agree!" Passing Monarch felt tears well up in his eyes. No matter what was said or done, he was a famous expert that everybody in the Sea''s End knew, yet he was at Shi Feng''s mercy. No one would ever believe this. Following which, both sides signed a system contract, agreeing that all of the Sea Serpent King''s loot would go to Shi Feng once the Boss died. Once they finished, Passing Monarch sent Shi Feng a team invite. However, Shi Feng rejected it. "We''re not forming a team?" Passing Monarch asked, confused. Normally, naval battles had strict requirements regarding the ships'' positioning. The fleet''s commander needed to issue commands constantly. Since Shi Feng had claimed to have a way to kill the Sea Serpent King, logically, he should join the team and lead it. So, how was he going to issue orders if he did not join the team? "No need. Your team just needs to focus on one thing. Maintain a distance of 500 yards and attack the Sea Serpent King at maximum range. Leave the rest to me," Shi Feng explained. Passing Monarch nearly choked. What kind of command was this? Did Shi Feng think he could hold the Sea Serpent King off with just a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat? Even the Freedom Alliance had to rely on their four Bronze Speedboats and rotate blocking attacks to pin the Boss down. However, after Shi Feng said this, he disconnected the call. With no other choice, Passing Monarch followed Shi Feng''s command and reorganized his fleet, directing their speedboats keep a distance. Shi Feng steered the Swift Dragon Speedboat to charge at the Sea Serpent King. As the Great Lord was about to target one of the Bronze Speedboats, Shi Feng fired the Dragon Cannon once more. Only this time, he used a special kind of ammunition. Basic Mana Pulse Bomb. Although Zero Wing had used most of the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs they had obtained in the Fallen Ark on the Petrified Tyrannosauruses, Shi Feng had around twenty remaining. Boom! When he fired the Dragon Cannon, a black beam struck the Sea Serpent King once more. -1,574,917! Tidal waves rose as the Basic Mana Pulse Bomb, combined with the Dragon Cannon''s might, collided with the Sea Serpent King and exploded. "What kind of attack is that?" Passing Monarch was stunned. "What is that speedboat''s rank?" A single shot had dealt over a million damage to a King-class Sea Monster. This was inconceivable. The other Freedom Alliance members were similarly stupefied. When a few considered their previous claim of annihilating Shi Feng, they felt fortunate that they had not acted on their words. If it really came down to a fight, a single shot from the Swift Dragon Speedboat was likely more than enough to sink a Bronze Speedboat. However, the Dragon Cannon''s damage didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. After a King-class Sea Monster entered its second phase, while it might seem very strong, that was only true for the surface. In reality, reaching a Complete State simply meant that a Sea Serpent King had focused its abilities on strengthening its attacks. As a result, however, its Defense and Movement Speed weakened. As long as players pinned the Boss down and had sufficient damage output, victory was in the bag. However, it was precisely because many fleets in the past hadn''t been capable of distracting King-class Sea Monsters long enough that these monsters had been so difficult to deal with. Fortunately, the King-class Sea Monster they faced right now was only a Great Lord. Against the Sea Serpent King, the Secret-Silver ranked Swift Dragon Speedboat had the advantage regarding speed. In addition, the Dragon Cannon was sufficiently powerful to hold aggro. If not for these factors, Shi Feng would''ve long since fled the battlefield. King-class Sea Monsters also tended to use Skills, and almost every Skill they had was an AOE. If a fleet couldn''t defeat a King-class Sea Monster before their overall firepower fell to the minimum requirement, it would be obliterated. After Shi Feng had fired the Dragon Cannon, the Sea Serpent King was relatively battered. The cannon fire had blown apart a large section of its scales, leaving behind a huge scorch mark. "Roar!" The Sea Serpent King glared at the Swift Dragon Speedboat. Aside from a hint of fear, its gaze radiated killing intent. Without hesitation, both its heads opened their mouths and bombarded the Swift Dragon Speedboat with fire and purple lightning. It seems that the attack was quite effective. Now that he had solidified his hold on the Sea Serpent King''s aggro, Shi Feng turned his speedboat and fled. He activated Accelerate, increasing the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s Movement Speed by 100%, easily avoiding the incoming attacks. The Swift Dragon Speedboat was already faster than the Sea Serpent King. After activating Accelerate, Shi Feng maintained a distance of 600 yards from the Sea Serpent King and attack at maximum range. This distance was also the Serpent King''s limit. With this, the Sea Serpent King couldn''t attack him, but it wouldn''t give up the chase, either. "Just who is he?" Shock filled Passing Monarch as he watched Shi Feng''s control over the Swift Dragon Speedboat and the boat''s speed. Passing Monarch finally understood why Shi Feng had told him to leave the rest to him. In such a way, Shi Feng led the Sea Serpent King in circles. All the Freedom Alliance''s speedboats needed to do was bombard the Boss and avoid the occasional AOE attack. As time went by and the Sea Serpent King''s HP decreased, the Freedom Alliance''s speedboats sank, one after another. Even Shi Feng sometimes made a mistake and received one or two of the Great Lord''s attacks. Fortunately, as a Secret-Silver Speedboat, the Swift Dragon Speedboat had frightening Defense. It only lost around 30 Durability after a direct hit. As for Shi Feng, he had deflected the damage using Defensive Blade or Absolute Defense. When the Sea Serpent King''s HP fell to 1%, it went berserk and used its strongest power. Both its heads merged the fire and lightning, launching an attack that consumed a radius of 1,000 yards. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Magic Barrier, making the Swift Dragon Speedboat immune to all Spell attacks and neutralizing the Sea Serpent King''s damage. As for the Freedom Alliance''s side, aside from the four Bronze Speedboats, which used Magic Scrolls to protect themselves, the remaining speedboats were destroyed. Meanwhile, after the Sea Serpent King used its ultimate move, it entered a Weakened state. Using this opportunity, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence. After waiting for the four Bronze Speedboats to launch a wave of attacks, he fired the Dragon Cannon, which he had loaded with a Basic Mana Pulse Bomb. -2,148,267! A massive damage appeared above the Sea Serpent King''s head, devouring its remaining 1% HP. "Roar!" After one final roar, the Serpent King crashed into the sea. Shi Feng''s experience bar rose rapidly. Sea monsters already provided far more EXP than land-based monsters as players couldn''t easily kill the average sea monster, not to mention King-class Sea Monsters. However, Shi Feng had stolen half of the Sea Serpent King''s EXP for himself. With the bonus EXP he had obtained from killing a monster of a higher level, one could just imagine how abundant the rewarded EXP was. Suddenly, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. - System: Congratulations! You have reached Level 50! 1189 Equipment Transformation Chapter 1189 - Equipment Transformation As a golden glow enveloped Shi Feng''s body, his weapons and equipment also underwent a slight transformation. Level 50 was a major turning point in God''s domain. This fact held true for players, monsters, weapons, and equipment. Among Shi Feng''s items, the Fragmented Legendary ranked Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s transformation was the most drastic. As if the power that had slumbered within the ring all this time had awakened, the ring''s Basic Attributes increased significantly. At Level 49, the ring only added 100 points to all Basic Attributes. However, upon reaching Level 50, that number had doubled. His Epic items, the Seven Luminaries Ring, Killing Ray, Angry Tyrant, Annihilation Shoulder Pads, and Icarus''s Heart had similarly received around a 30% to 35% increase to their Basic Attributes. The substantial Attribute boost made Shi Feng feel as if he had been reborn. Basic Attributes affected a player''s physique. The higher a player''s Attributes were, the better their in-game body''s physique became, allowing players to perform feats that were impossible in the real world. This was also why both ordinary players and experts were so desperate for excellent weapons and equipment. This improvement is simply amazing! Shi Feng felt quite pleased as he looked at his Attribute Panel. In terms of Basic Attributes, he was already significantly stronger than a Level 50, Tier 2 player. The only differences were his physique and Skills. These differences were why Tier 2 players could easily defeat Tier 1 players. In God''s Domain, it wasn''t unheard of for players to possess Attributes that rivaled those of a higher tier. However, due to inferior physiques, they couldn''t challenge those of a higher tier. Normally, players could only make up for the difference in physiques if their Basic Attributes far outstripped their opponent''s. As players rose to new tiers, their Life Ratings increased slightly, which would, in turn, improve their physique. For example, while her superior Basic Attributes had been part of the reason for Gentle Snow''s victory over Miracle Dragon, the main reason the 30% physique improvement granted by the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor. This effect alone bolstered Gentle Snow''s physique nearly to that of a Tier 2 player. After taking into account her Attributes, she had the physique of a Tier 2 player. At the end of the day, challenging experts of a higher tier was very difficult in God''s Domain. Few people were actually capable of doing so. Miracle Dragon was not one of them. Hence, Gentle Snow''s victory hadn''t been unexpected. This was the terror of tier suppression. In the past, Shi Feng had suffered due to this truth. Meanwhile, the Freedom Alliance members had also noticed Shi Feng''s transformation. "Commander, that person feels particularly dangerous." "Just who is he? Not only does he have such a powerful speedboat, but his personal strength is also monstrous." As everyone looked at Shi Feng, they felt as if they faced an awakened beast. Originally, they had planned to steal the Sea Serpent King''s loot. After all, only their commander had signed a contract with Shi Feng. Now, however, they gave up such thoughts. Although the tornadoes circling the area had disappeared with the Sea Serpent King''s death, with the Bronze Speedboats'' speed, how could they possibly outrun the Swift Dragon Speedboat? They had witnessed the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s agility personally. Not even the Sea Serpent King had been able to keep up with it... The ship also had that frightening Dragon Cannon. Even if they used Magic Scrolls to bolster their Bronze Speedboats'' defenses, it would take only a few shots to drain their boats'' remaining Durability. Moreover, they estimated that the Dragon Cannon''s range spanned more than 800 yards. On the other hand, their Bronze Speedboats only had a range of 500 yards. Shi Feng could easily toy with them until they died. Using Return Scrolls wasn''t possible either, either. If one picked up a sea monster''s loot, they would have to wait until the two-hour holding period was over before they could use their Return Scrolls. When Passing Monarch saw the Sea Serpent King''s loots floating on the ocean''s surface, envy flashed in his eyes. He hadn''t imagined that so many items would drop. Sea monsters already dropped roughly two or three times more loot than land monsters, yet the Sea Serpent King had dropped over 100 items... Hah... Forget it. At least we survived and gained a level. It''s better than losing our ships and lives. Passing Monarch could not help but sigh. Shi Feng wasn''t the only one who had leveled up after the Sea Serpent King''s death. The Freedom Alliance survivors had also leveled. Most importantly, all four Bronze Speedboats were still afloat. The Freedom Alliance only needed to spend a little bit of money to obtain more ordinary speedboats. As for advanced speedboats, they might need to put in some effort, but it was possible to obtain a dozen or so within a short timespan. However, Bronze Speedboats were not easy to replace. "As expected of a godly tool." Shi Feng sailed about, frantically collecting the King-class Sea Monster''s loot. Although he hadn''t triggered a jackpot, the Sea Serpent King was the first King-class Sea Monster to die in this sea zone. As a result, its loot was far more abundant than usual. Normally, a player would be lucky if a King-class Sea Monster dropped around 50 items. Moreover, over 80% usually consisted of materials. This time wasn''t much different. However, perhaps due to Divine Providence''s effect, among the 100-plus items, over 90 were rare materials used in producing advanced speedboats, Bronze Speedboats, and Small Sailboats. Among them, the most valuable was Moonlight Wood. Moonlight Wood was a rare material necessary to produce Bronze Speedboats and Small Sailboats. Fortunately, Shi Feng had obtained a total of 12 logs. Constructing a Bronze Speedboat required ten logs. After Shi Feng finished picking up the loot, he began to organize the items in his bag. "Wonderful! A design dropped!" Shi Feng grew excited as he looked at the leather book in his hands. The pages had already yellowed, and it looked as if it had been many years since anybody had read it. However, after appraising the book and discovering its name, he realized that any Guild would go crazy over this design. Flying Eagle Speedboat Design! Although the Flying Eagle Speedboat was not a Bronze Speedboat, it was an advanced speedboat. With enough Reputation, one could buy ordinary speedboats from certain NPC merchants. However, it was a different story for advanced speedboats. One could only obtain them by completing rare quests or trading special materials that sea monsters dropped. Now that he had the design for an advanced speedboat, he could build an unlimited number of advanced speedboats as long as he had sufficient materials and a Small Shipyard. Although the Third Fleet Passing Monarch commanded had become such a powerful force in the Sea''s End due to the four Bronze Speedboats, the twenty-plus advanced speedboats also played an important role. If Zero Wing could form a fleet of advanced speedboats with the Swift Dragon Speedboat in the lead, the Guild could rank at the top of God''s Domain''s naval powers. Just thinking about this excited Shi Feng. There were only a handful of Super Guilds that could rival such a naval force right now. Zero Wing could develop in a coastal NPC city without worry. Even if Super Guilds wanted to pick a fight, they would have to think twice before doing so. After all, it was far more costly to fight a war at sea than on land. Not only would their Guild members lose levels from dying, but they would also lose their ships. There was no repairing a destroyed ship. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Flying Eagle Speedboat Design and examined the other dropped items. Among the 11 remaining items in his bag, Shi Feng discovered a very familiar item. Thunder Emblem! 1190 Authority Chapter 1190 - Authority "Is this the benefit of killing a King-class Sea Monster?" Shi Feng was surprised and overjoyed as he looked at the purple-gold lightning emblem in his hand. The Thunder Emblem! As its name suggested, it was a Thunder Island emblem. One could also say that it was an authority symbol for Thunder Island. Any Guild that obtained the Thunder Emblem would have a major advantage when contesting for authority over Thunder Island. As far as Shi Feng knew, Thunder Island had a total of ten Thunder Emblems. If one obtained all ten, they would become Thunder Island''s absolute master. However, only five Thunder Emblems had ever been discovered in the past, and every Guild that obtained these Thunder Emblems had been one of the dominant forces on Thunder Island. The Thunder Emblem had three main functions. Its first was similar to the Thunder Pass. Unlike the Thunder Pass, however, each emblem allowed up to 50 players to participate in Thunder Island''s contest. Every time a contest was about to begin, a fixed number of Thunder Passes would drop from sea monsters in the Sea of Death. However, that didn''t count the Thunder Emblem''s 50 slots. If one could gather all ten Thunder Emblems, they could bring an additional 500 players to the island. The Thunder Emblem''s second function was the Thunder Domain. While on Thunder Island, players wielding the emblem could suppress all enemies within a 500-yard radius. However, this suppression effect was not particularly strong, only reducing players'' Basic Attributes by 5%. However, the suppression worked wonders against the island''s monsters as it could reduce their Basic Attributes by up to 30%. As for the third function, it granted advanced authority on Thunder Island. This Advanced authority was the Thunder Emblem''s most important function. If a Guild wanted to develop on Thunder Island, having sufficient authority was extremely important. Without enough authority, one couldn''t do anything. As players gained more authority, they could enjoy more benefits on the island. Currently, the various superpowers were vying for Thunder Island. However, even if they occupied the area, they could only gain basic authority. Ordinary players had no hope of gaining any authority whatsoever. However, one''s authority wouldn''t remain constant, either. If one wanted more, they could contribute to Thunder Island. On Thunder Island, authority was categorized into ordinary, basic, intermediate, advanced, and master controller. If an ordinary player wanted to become an ordinary controller, they needed 300 Thunder Contribution Points. Reaching the basic rank required 3,000 Thunder Contribution Points, 10,000 points to reach the intermediate rank, and 100,000 points to reach the advanced rank. After reaching the advanced rank, one could only increase their authority if they obtained all ten Thunder Emblems. As Shi Feng examined the Thunder Emblem in his hand, he began playing with the idea of occupying a part of Thunder Island himself. In the past, Thunder Island had been known as a sacred land at sea. Countless players had wanted to live on the island. After all, traveling to dangerous sea zones would be more convenient from Thunder Island than it would be from a coastal town or city. Occupying a corner of the island would do wonders for Zero Wing''s development. Zero Wing also qualified to do so right now due to the Flying Eagle Speedboat Design he had just obtained. He admitted that Zero Wing was no match for the various superpowers on land. However, the competition at sea relied on more than a Guild''s number and quality of experts. A Guild''s ships played a far greater role. Shi Feng decided that he needed to begin mass-producing the Flying Eagle Speedboats, forming a formidable Zero Wing Fleet. With his fleet''s strength and the Thunder Emblem, occupying a corner of Thunder Island could be more than just a dream. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her begin collecting Diamond Wood, the Flying Eagle Speedboat''s core material. Diamond Wood was relatively rare, specifically used to construct advanced ships. Few kingdoms and empires produced the wood. Fortunately, he had previously negotiated with the Secret Pavilion and traded a Magic Tower for twenty locations that provided Diamond Wood. Although the Secret Pavilion had yet to complete their side of the deal, he could have Melancholic Smile send people to these minor cities to negotiate prices with potential vendors. Once their bargain with the Secret Pavilion was fulfilled, they could stockpile Diamond Wood. The Sea Serpent King had also dropped five Thunder Passes, each allowing up to ten players to join the contest on Thunder Island. To the various superpowers vying for Thunder Island, these passes were incredibly tempting. To Shi Feng, however, they were not particularly useful as Zero Wing currently did not have that many experts. The Thunder Emblem''s 50 slots were more than enough. "I have wondered which items I should sell at the Candlelight Auction. These passes should work well as an attraction," Shi Feng muttered, smiling at the five passes in his hand. In reality, he could sell the passes to Phoenix Rain. However, doing so would cause her to question their origin. One needed to kill Boss-rank sea monsters in the Sea of Death to obtain the Thunder Passes. However, Zero Wing was a land-based Guild that did not possess any naval power. So, how could Zero Wing kill Boss-rank sea monsters? Zero Wing didn''t have a foundation at sea. It was still too early to contest for Thunder Island, so exposing their trump cards was not wise. Even if they wanted to reveal their strength, they needed to do so after forming their fleet of advanced speedboats. Zero Wing simply needed to sit back and watch the various superpowers fight each other while slowly building their own naval power. Moreover, the Sea of Death was still too dangerous for current players. Even if they secured a share of Thunder Island, it would be of little use. The various superpowers only contested for the island because they wanted a head start in accumulating contribution points. Since he had the Thunder Emblem, he had no need to do that. There were three Tier 3 Magic Scrolls among the remaining five items the Sea Serpent King had dropped: a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll, a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell, and a Tier 3 Defensive Scroll. Of the last two items, one was an Epic staff, Fallen Language, while the other was a Bronze-rank Small Sailboat, the One-horned Sailboat. What?! A complete Small Sailboat actually dropped?! Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the transparent crystal bottle. Previously, he had obtained a Small Sailboat from the Fallen Ark. However, even now, the Hurricane Sailboat was unusable. Although he had asked Burning Abyss to repair it, even Burning Abyss, who was a Master Engineer, was powerless. The divine ruins inside the sailboat were simply too damaged. At the very least, one needed a Grandmaster Engineer to repair the Hurricane Sailboat. The sailboat''s container also needed to be replaced. However, the Hurricane Sailboat''s container was not ordinary as it had been crafted with the rare Epic material, Space Crystal. Current players had no access to this material. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to set the matter aside for now. Otherwise, with the Mysterious-Iron ranked Hurricane Sailboat, he would be invincible at sea. Now that he had obtained a complete Bronze-rank Small Sailboat, how could he not be excited? With this Small Sailboat, he could easily deal with many of the issues plaguing him. 1191 Legacy of the Sea Chapter 1191 - Legacy of the Sea Shi Feng could not bear to put away the crystal bottle in his hands. "With this, my problems have been solved." Previously, he had struggled to figure out a way to transport the Diamond Wood needed to construct advanced speedboats. Diamond Wood could not be stored in a player''s bag space. Transporting the wood via Teleportation Magic Arrays would cost enough to choke any Guild. The only efficient way to transport Diamond Wood was to use a teleportation array to reach a border town and then rely on Transport Carriages to move the wood to another country''s border town before transporting it via teleportation array once again. While the cost was still considerably high, one could save more time than transporting the wood via carriage the whole way. However, the twenty, minor NPC cities Shi Feng had asked the Secret Pavilion for were in several different countries. Moreover, none of them were near the Apocalypse Empire. Even if he relied on Transport Carriages, it would take a very long time for the wood to reach Ocean Viewing Town. On the other hand, if he relied on maritime transportation, not only could he save a lot of money, but he could also save plenty of time. - [One-horned Sailboat] (Small Sailboat, Bronze Rank) Maximum capacity: 120 people Durability 900/900 Item storage when liberated: 7,000 bag space slots and 100 non-bag space slots. Additional Active Skill 1- Magic Shield: Absorbs up to 1,000,000 damage for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Additional Active Skill 2- Thunder Cannon: 1,200-yard range. Deals lightning damage to an area of 15*15 yards. Cooldown: 30 seconds (Six cannons are currently equipped. Cannons can be replaced.) Additional Active Skill 3- Mana Drive: Converts Mana into motion, increasing Movement Speed by 30%. Every 10 Magic Crystals consumed extends duration by 15 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Active Skill 4- Thunder Blast: Deals devastating damage to the area 500*30 yards ahead. Attack includes knockback and paralyzing effects. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Passive Skill- Braving the Winds and Waves: When sailing with the wind, Movement Speed increased by 50%. When sailing against the wind, Movement Speed is unaffected. - Although the One-horned Sailboat''s Attributes were slightly lower than the Hurricane Sailboat''s, it was one of the best ships currently available in God''s Domain. Moreover, the Small Sailboat was much faster than speedboats. Even the Secret-Silver ranked Swift Dragon Speedboat was only as fast as an advanced sailboat. The One-horned Sailboat was significantly faster than the Swift Dragon Sailboat. In addition, one could use Magic Crystals to increase the ship''s Movement Speed. This would greatly reduce transportation time. While Shi Feng admired the One-horned Sailboat, the Freedom Alliance members a short distance away stared at him. "Commander, I''ve discovered some information about that man," Blue Joy hurriedly reported. "That person is Ye Feng, and he is a core member of the Zero Wing Guild. He is also the leader of the Asura Battle Team. He is very strong. "As for Zero Wing itself, it is one of the upstart Guilds that established when God''s Domain launched. The Guild''s development speed is incredible, and Zero Wing has even suppressed veteran first-rate Guilds. Right now, Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom''s publicly-acknowledged, number one Guild. Recently, it even dared to provoke a few superpowers, but none of them can do anything about the Guild, forced to turn a blind eye." "Just what kind of backing does this Guild have? It even dares to provoke superpowers." Passing Monarch could not help his astonishment when he heard Blue Joy''s report. The Freedom Alliance consisted of small Guilds and adventurer teams. They only knew that the virtual gaming world''s various superpowers were powerful, but they did not know exactly how powerful these existences were. However, as the Freedom Alliance grew stronger, they uncovered more information. In fact, a super-first-rate Guild had previously decimated the Fifth Fleet. They had finally understood that, while their alliance might be a match for superpowers that hadn''t focused on marine strength, the Freedom Alliance was no match for those Guilds that had poured resources into their navy. Superpowers simply had too many experts. Moreover, they weren''t ordinary experts. With so many, these superpowers could get their hands on advanced speedboats and Bronze Speedboats far more quickly than the Freedom Alliance. Hence, Passing Monarch found it unbelievable that Zero Wing had provoked multiple superpowers on land and still existed. However, what shocked Passing Monarch the most was the Swift Dragon Speedboat. During the previous battle, Passing Monarch had come to understand that the Swift Dragon Speedboat was not just a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat as he had assumed. It must be a Secret-Silver Speedboat. A Secret-Silver Speedboat! Since joining God''s Domain, Passing Monarch had never seen or heard about any of the naval powers owning a Secret-Silver Speedboat. Yet, such a speedboat had shown up in the hands of a land-based Guild... This revelation excited Passing Monarch. He had come to the Sea of Death because he had heard of a low-level King-class Sea Monster in the area. In addition, he had heard that the various superpowers were purchasing Thunder Passes at astronomical prices. Hence, he had come to kill the King-class Sea Monster to earn some side income. After all, repairing his fleet was a considerable expenditure. He had also come here to recruit powerful adventurer teams or small Guilds to join the Third Fleet. In the Sea''s End, strength spoke louder than words. If one wanted to obtain more resources, they needed a powerful force. Almost everyone in the Sea''s End had already been recruited, but it was a different story elsewhere. Land-based Guilds, in particular, were just starting to extend to the ocean. He could find plenty of talent on land. Unfortunately, Passing Monarch hadn''t expected the events to unfold as they had in upon reaching the Sea of Death. Not only had he nearly lost his entire fleet, but he also failed to find any experts from small Guilds. Rather, he had encountered a great expert with a Secret-Silver Speedboat, and this expert was backed by a Guild like Zero Wing. "Commander, are you considering recruiting him?" Blue Joy asked, surprised when she saw Passing Monarch''s expression. "He won''t agree. After all, he is a member of a large Guild. He even owns a Secret-Silver Speedboat. Why would he want to join us?" "Who said that I intended to ask him?" Passing Monarch rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten the reason that we''re here?" "Do you want to invite him to Sea Dragon City''s festival?" Blue Joy''s eyes widened in shock, unable to believe that Passing Monarch was considering something so mad. "Commander, Sea Dragon City''s festival is our Freedom Alliance''s greatest secret! It is too risky to invite outsiders!" "I understand. However, you know our Third Fleet''s situation. We only have one opportunity each month. If we don''t perform well, we''ll lose our position." Passing Monarch wore a hesitant expression. In the end, however, he steered his speedboat towards Shi Feng. As Shi Feng was still occupied with his jubilation about acquiring the One-horned Sailboat, he did not take any precautions, even after noticing the approaching Bronze Speedboat. He had no reason to do so. The difference between their strengths was clear to see. Passing Monarch and the other Freedom Alliance members were aware of the fact as well. In fact, Passing Monarch''s group should feel grateful that he did not have any ill intentions. "Our contract had already been completed. What other business do you have with me?" Shi Feng asked Passing Monarch calmly as the man stood on the Bronze Speedboat''s deck. "Hello. I haven''t introduced myself yet. I am Passing Monarch, the commander of the Freedom Alliance''s Third Fleet. You might not have heard of the Freedom Alliance before, but we are considered the overlord of the Sea''s End. Brother Ye Feng, seeing as you have a Secret-Silver Speedboat, we like to ask for your help," Passing Monarch announced straightforwardly. "I think that you''ll be interested in my offer." "You have something to interest me?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. The only thing that could capture his interest was the ability to mass-produce advanced speedboats. Obviously, the Freedom Alliance didn''t have this ability as it required a large number of materials and Advanced Engineers. "What if I tell you that it''s related to the Legacy of the Sea?" Passing Monarch asked confidently. 1192 Forbidden Land Chapter 1192 - Forbidden Land "The Legacy of the Sea?" Shi Feng''s heart rate quickened when he heard these words. However, he kept his composure as he said, "Tell me, then." Simply put, the Legacy of the Sea provided a specialized hidden class. With this hidden class, players could become incredibly powerful in naval combat. However, the class had serious limitations. As long as players were not at sea, the class was no different than ordinary classes. The Legacy of the Sea was different from other hidden classes, which provided improvements in all sorts of environments. It was an extreme Legacy. However, to players who frequently sailed, it was highly sought after. After all, even if they obtained the Legacy at the Basic rank, they could display astounding power when exploring the open ocean. The Peak Legacy of the Sea could even grant the strength to face opponents of a higher tier. Hence, Guilds that wanted to develop their naval forces hungered for the Legacy of the Sea. The various large Guilds would target any player that obtained the Legacy. With such a player, maritime transportation would become far safer. They would also have an easier time fighting sea monsters. As far as Shi Feng knew, the Freedom Alliance had possessed many members with the Legacy of the Sea. This was also why the Freedom Alliance had become famous throughout God''s Domain, becoming a force that even the game''s superpowers were hesitant to provoke. Seeing Shi Feng''s interest, Passing Monarch knew that he had hope for cooperation. "To tell you the truth, our Freedom Alliance discovered the Legacy in an ancient ruin. However, obtaining the Legacy depends on the player''s abilities once they enter the ruins. Due to a barrier restricting the number of people that can enter, our Freedom Alliance only allows each fleet to take ten ships into the ruins. I''d like to invite Brother Ye Feng to join us. With your speedboat and our Third Fleet''s strength, I believe that we can secure quite the bounty. "We can sign a contract. If we obtain two Legacies, one will go to you. How about it?" The other Third Fleet members were stupefied by Passing Monarch''s offer. They had never expected their commander to be so generous. However, after giving the matter some thought, they found it reasonable. After all, Shi Feng owned a Secret-Silver Speedboat. If they did not show some sincerity, he wouldn''t bother listening to their offer. "Obtain two Legacies?" Shi Feng curiously asked, "Are there many in the ruins?" "Each time we enter the ancient ruins, there are a number of Legacy items. It just depends on whether or not we can leave with those items," Passing Monarch explained confidently. When the Freedom Alliance had first activated the ancient ruins, they had dispatched eleven fleets. Inside, they discovered several Legacy items. In the end, however, only one fleet had obtained the Legacy of the Sea. This fleet was now the strongest in the Freedom Alliance. As it had become the strongest fleet in the Freedom Alliance, it enjoyed far more benefits than its companions. The fleet was able to occupy the three Large Shipyards the Freedom Alliance managed. It was still a little too early for players to construct ships as this task required many Lifestyle players. However, a Large Shipyard could also repair ships. During an intense battle, ships usually suffered some damage. Repairing ships in a Large Shipyard not only reduced the repair costs, but it also increased the repair speed. On the other hand, the Third Fleet only possessed a Large Shipyard. There was simply no comparing their two fleets. The strongest fleet also received priority over special ammunition. It was given access to the most and the best available. The next ruin exploration was about to begin. How could he not make use of this opportunity to recruit Shi Feng''s help? "What if we obtain three Legacy items?" Shi Feng asked. "I''m afraid that will be incredibly difficult. Brother Ye Feng, you''ve never been to the ruins, but a large number of sea monsters occupy the area. Those monsters are extremely powerful. Traps litter the ruins, and there''s a time limit once you enter. We won''t have enough time to search for a third Legacy item," Passing Monarch explained, smiling. He understood Shi Feng''s train of thought. "So, that''s the case. Then, if we really obtain a third Legacy item, can I have it?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. He now had a basic understanding of the ancient ruins'' rules. "Alright. If you obtain a third one, you can have it," Passing Monarch said nonchalantly. In any case, that wasn''t going to happen. His promise was empty. "We have a deal, then. However, before we sign the contract, may I know when the ancient ruins will open?" Shi Feng asked. "I still my own matters to deal with. If there is a clash in timing, I''m afraid that I cannot help you." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Passing Monarch grew a little nervous. "It''s tomorrow..." Passing Monarch replied, feeling slightly embarrassed. He could tell that Shi Feng had something to do, and today was almost over. Shi Feng was speechless. "I understand that I am putting you in a difficult position. If there is anything we can help with, please tell us," Passing Monarch hurriedly offered. "How about this? You guys can follow me. With your help, I should be able to save a little time," Shi Feng said after considering the matter. The Demon Island he was heading to occupied the Sea of Death''s inner region. Although it was not the most dangerous location in the Sea of Death, the island''s monsters were troublesome. Normally, he would have to clear a path slowly. However, if he had an expert like Passing Monarch, who could lead a fleet with four Bronze Speedboats, he could save plenty of time. Passing Monarch and the others then followed Shi Feng into the Sea of Death. Originally, the Freedom Alliance did not think much of traversing the Sea of Death. However, as Shi Feng ventured deeper into the zone, they began to worry. They had never expected Shi Feng to lead them into the Sea of Death''s inner region... Not only did this area have many sea monsters, but the monsters were also very high-leveled. There were Level 70 sea monsters everywhere, and the slightest mistake could destroy their ships and end their lives. "Commander, what do you think that Ye Feng is trying to do here?" Blue Joy asked. When she saw the nearby sea monsters eye them like prey, goosebumps danced across her skin. Watching the Swift Dragon Speedboat steady advance and giving the matter some thought, Passing Monarch said, "It must be for a quest." The Sea of Death''s inner region was a forbidden land to current players. Aside from a quest, Passing Monarch could not fathom why anyone would come to this place. "Questing here at this level?" As Blue Joy looked at a distance Level 70 Grand Lord sea monster, a thought suddenly came to her mind as she said, "Could he be here for an Epic Quest?" Hearing Blue Joy''s words, the Freedom Alliance members paled. An Epic Quest was incomparably dangerous. Even now, nobody within the Freedom Alliance had completed one. As the Freedom Alliance members discussed Shi Feng''s goal, Shi Feng led the group to two, gloomy, twin islands. One could occasionally hear lung-tearing screams from the islands; it was enough to give one goosebumps. Surprisingly, over a dozen speedboats were docked beside the island. Based on these ships'' appearances, it was clear that they were high-quality. "Why are there people here?" Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. Because this area was a forbidden land for players, one would have to pay a massive price to get this far. He had only arrived safely due to his familiarity with the sea zone and the quality of his speedboat. Passing Monarch and the others behind Shi Feng were similarly stunned. Among the fourteen speedboats docked around the island, one was a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat, six were Bronze Speedboats, and the rest were advanced speedboats. This fleet could rank at the very peak of the Sea''s End. After Shi Feng snapped out of his momentary daze, he quickly shifted his attention to the symbol on these speedboats. The symbol consisted of seven stars arranged in a circle. Shi Feng frowned. This was the Flower of Seven Sins'' fleet symbol! 1193 Naval PvP Chapter 1193 - Naval PvP Gray fog enveloped Demon Island. Here, players'' visibility range was limited to 150 yards. Meanwhile, Demon Island''s monsters were all Level 70 and above. At such a distance, Level 70-plus monsters could easily detect players. On the other hand, players couldn''t see these monsters. However, players'' main problem wasn''t the island''s fog. The real problem was the ever-present, dark corrosive power on the island. If players did not have high enough Darkness Resistance, they would not survive. Moreover, the further one ventured, the stronger this corrosive power would become. "Boss Brute, five speedboats are approaching Demon Island," a Level 43, black-clothed Ranger reported as he watched the distant Swift Dragon Speedboat. "Speedboats are approaching?" The bald, middle-aged man on the screen, Brute Spear, sneered and said, "Since we''ve already been seen, we won''t let them leave alive. Get rid of them, but don''t destroy their ships. We can use them to make up for the losses we suffered to get here." "Great! I haven''t been on a mission for so long that I''m feeling rusty." The Level 43 Ranger licked his lips as he observed the approaching Swift Dragon Speedboat. Although the Flower of Seven Sins received requests every day, experts of their rank didn''t often receive missions. Following which, the Ranger disconnected the call and ordered the other members on the speedboat, "Get ready. Once they get here, we''ll take action. We''ll use that to prevent their escape if necessary." Hearing the Ranger''s command, anticipation filled the other Flower of Seven Sin members aboard the speedboat. "These fellows really are pitiful. They have only come this far after much difficulty, yet we''ll send them back before they even set foot on the island." "However, based on their speedboats'' quality, they should be quite strong. Hopefully, we''ll get to enjoy ourselves a bit." "Each of us will handle one person. Once you''ve killed a player, give the others a chance." The Flower of Seven Sin members aboard the speedboat chatted among themselves. Shi Feng and his temporary team weren''t important at all to these players. Even if these players encountered experts from some superpower, the outcome wouldn''t change. When Shi Feng noticed the seven-star symbol, he instructed everyone to don their Black Cloaks, hiding their identities. "Brother Ye Feng, are they your enemies?" Passing Monarch asked, curious about Shi Feng''s command. However, they had already agreed that they would follow Shi Feng''s lead. The fleet commander and his teammates did as they were told. "They''re not exactly enemies. However, it''s best if we hide our identities." Shi Feng did not bother to explain further. "It doesn''t hurt to be a little careful out in the fields, right?" Although he did not know why the Flower of Seven Sins had come to Demon Island, it was not wise to expose their identities to a group of assassins. Although Shi Feng would have preferred to approach the island from another side, Demon Island only had one entrance. Using the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement wasn''t a viable option, either. A unique power enveloped the Sea of Death, preventing all spatial movement-type Skills. Otherwise, he would not have used the Swift Dragon Speedboat to travel such a long distance. When Shi Feng and the others were only 300 yards away from Demon Island''s entrance, the Flower of Seven Sins members burst into action. "Move out!" Suddenly, five Elementalists aboard the Mysterious-Iron Speedboat each took out a Magic Scroll. As the Elementalists unfurled their Magic Scrolls, a dark blue magic array appeared on the water''s surface. The sea water instantly began to freeze, and in the blink of an eye, the space within a 1,000-yard radius was covered by a sheet of ice. As a result, Shi Feng and the Freedom Alliance''s speedboats had been forced to a halt. As if they had long since prepared for this, the Flower of Seven Sins'' members stored their own speedboats and stepped onto the ice. "Who are these people?" Passing Monarch''s expression darkened as he looked at the frozen sea surface. "Why are they attacking us all of a sudden?" Normally, when one encountered other players, particularly out at sea, one wouldn''t abruptly attack. After all, there was no benefit to fighting each other. Moreover, without any information about the other party, picking a fight in the fields wasn''t smart. One might end up throwing away their life. Due to Shi Feng''s command, they all wore Black Cloaks, so it was obvious that the other party did not know them, yet these players had attacked without hesitation. They were simply lunatics. Shi Feng was also surprised. The Flower of Seven Sins was very secretive about what it did. The organization didn''t normally take the initiative to provoke others. This was nothing like the organization''s usual operations. Do they know that Demon Island has Seven Luminaries Crystals? Shi Feng wondered as he looked at the foggy island ahead. Logically, he should be the only one who knew about the island''s Seven Luminaries Crystals. Demon Island was home to an ancient shrine, and only by entering the shrine''s inner region could one obtain the Seven Luminaries Crystals. However, it was very difficult to locate the shrine itself, much less the shrine''s inner region. Hence, the Flower of Seven Sins shouldn''t know about the shrine. However, upon closer inspection, Shi Feng discovered that every one of the players charging towards him was a Red Player. Dark Players were among the group as well. It was obvious that they were veteran PKers. "Damn it! If they want to fight, we''ll give them a fight! Ready the cannons! We''ll blast those bastards to smithereens!" The Flower of Seven Sins'' attack enraged Passing Monarch. Now that the other party had stored their speedboats, they couldn''t attack their ships. Their only option was to bombard the players. In God''s Domain, it took forty seconds to store a ship. However, there were less than 300 yards separating these players. The other party would reach them before the forty seconds were up. Furthermore, once players entered combat, they weren''t allowed to store their ships. They had to finish these players off. As the cannons rang, one cannonball after another flew at the Flower of Seven Sins members. "Foolish!" The Level 43 Ranger in the lead sneered at the incoming cannonball. Although speedboats'' cannons were immensely powerful and could kill a player in one hit, expert players like himself could easily dodge cannon attacks by relying on the projectile prediction lines the system provided. The hundred-plus Flower of Seven Sin members closed the distance to their targets rapidly. Soon, they were only 200 yards away. In front of these Flower of Seven Sin experts, the Bronze Speedboats'' cannon fire was practically useless. These experts dodged every attack easily. Seeing this, Passing Monarch and the others were frustrated. They had thought that they had escaped danger after defeating the Sea Serpent King. Now, however, they had to face a large group of experts trying to rob them of their ships. "Get ready to split up! Remember, do not damage the speedboats! Boss Brute has already laid his claim!" the leading Ranger commanded through the team chat. "Boss, relax. We won''t even give them the chance to destroy their own ships!" the other members laughed. Before the battle had even begun, they looked at Shi Feng and the others as if they were dead men. As the Flower of Seven Sins members were about to cross the 100-yard mark, a black beam flashed past them. Boom! The solid layer of ice vaporized instantly, exposing the blue sea water beneath it. The affected area spanned a radius of 25 yards. Meanwhile, six Flower of Seven Sins members died on the spot, leaving twelve weapons and pieces of equipment floating upon the water. 1194 Demons Appear Chapter 1194 - Demons Appear The Dragon Cannon''s attack had pulled a gasp from the Flower of Seven Sins'' remaining members. The previous few cannon attacks had only dented the ice, yet the Dragon Cannon had obliterated it. Moreover, its Attack Speed was at least double that of the previous cannons. Its attack range was even more impressive. Even without the high Attack Speed, with such a long range, it was extremely difficult to dodge the Dragon Cannon''s attacks. What is that speedboat''s rank? The leading, black-clothed Ranger''s expression twisted. He had seen a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat''s cannons in action many times, so he was fully aware that a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat didn''t have such fast and powerful attacks. Facing the Dragon Cannon at such a close range would be extremely dangerous. He had assumed that this fight would be nothing more than a game to kill time. He hadn''t expected an actual opponent. Meanwhile, Passing Monarch and the other members of the Freedom Alliance celebrated the cannon''s success. "Hahaha! A Secret-Silver Speedboat is truly astounding! Just a single shot is enough to stun those bastards! "I want to see if they still dare to fight us now!" The Freedom Alliance members could not help but laugh at the frozen Flower of Seven Sins members. This Ye Feng really is amazing! Passing Monarch sighed ruefully as he looked at the massive hole in the ice. He had to admit that Shi Feng was a skilled strategist. While the Flower of Seven Sins members had been over 200 yards away, they had been spread out. Even if Shi Feng had used the Dragon Cannon, he would have been lucky to kill even one player. However, as these players came within 100 yards, they clustered. Since such a short distance left them little room to react, Shi Feng able to kill six players in one hit. After such an attack, their enemy should be more cautious. The other players might even give up the fight. However, as Passing Monarch pondered these assumptions, the Flower of Seven Sins members revealed excited grins. "Brother Chen, our opponent seems to be a tough one. With this, we can finally use that move, right?" a Level 42 Assassin asked, chuckling as he looked at the black-clothed Ranger. He felt nothing in particular in regard to his fallen companions. "Alright." The Ranger nodded helplessly when he saw the eager light in his companions'' eyes. "Don''t let any of them get away. The same goes for their souls." "Brother Chen, relax. We won''t let their souls go to waste," the other members assured their leader as they licked their lips, eyeing Passing Monarch and the others. The Freedom Alliance members shuddered involuntarily. These players didn''t look at them like enemies, but food... With the Ranger''s consent, the Flower of Seven Sins members wailed painfully, dark fog swallowing their bodies. In just a short moment, they transformed. Although their weapons and equipment remained the same, their skin was now pitch-black, and they had blood-red eyes. Two curved horns grew from their heads, while a pair of pitch-black, bat wings and a tail grew from each of their backs. They didn''t look human at all. "What are these people?" Passing Monarch''s expression froze as he watched these players transform. The rest of the Freedom Alliance members were similarly stunned. There were players who could actually transform! This was definitely the first time they had seen something like this in God''s Domain. Not only had the Flower of Seven Sins'' members transformed physically, but they also emitted a terrifyingly oppressive aura. If these players had looked like a group of ferocious beasts, brandishing their fangs and claws, they now looked like monsters that no ordinary human had any hope of defeating. They all felt like humanoid Lords. Among them, the Ranger in the lead gave off the strongest aura. The Freedom Alliance members felt as if a higher being looked down upon them when the Ranger turned his gaze towards their ships. Unlike the other Flower of Seven Sins members that transformed, this black-clothed Ranger had two sets of wings growing from his back. Rather than a Lord, he felt like a Great Lord. "Go! Leave none alive!" the Ranger shouted as he pointed towards Shi Feng and the others. The Flower of Seven Sins members fluttered their wings, lifting off from the ground. However, they weren''t actually flying, only hovering above the ground. Even so, they moved much faster than players on foot. Even the Dragon Cannon would have a hard time hitting them with such speed. "Are they really players?" Blue Joy began to feel frightened. She discovered that these players'' HPs had also undergone a massive transformation, increasing from their original 20,000-plus to above 100,000. Among them, the Ranger''s HP had even reached 170,000... No wonder why they were bold enough to attack other players on sight. So, they''ve already become Demons. Shi Feng frowned at the approaching Flower of Seven Sins members. God''s Domain had more playable races beyond human. Players could turn into Demons. Only, doing so was the equivalent of turning their backs on the human race. Once a player became a Demon, they would grow stronger. The increase was roughly the equivalent of half a tier. With the exception of the Endurance Attribute, players'' Basic Attributes increased by around 15% depending on their classes. Demon players would also receive a huge boost to their HPs. Frankly, the increase couldn''t compare to a real Berserk Skill. The only reason it was referred to as a half-tier improvement was because Demon players'' Life Ratings rose, improving their physiques by roughly 15% as well. However, although the improvement was incredible, becoming a Demon also had a corresponding price. First, Demon players were humanity''s enemy, whether it be players or NPCs. If NPCs caught a Demon player, the consequences would be unimaginable. If players captured a Demon player and handed said player over to NPCs, they would receive an abundant reward. Second, Demon players needed to hunt for player souls regularly. Otherwise, they would grow weaker as time passed. Conversely, the more souls a Demon player harvested, the stronger they would become. Take the leading Ranger for example. Due to devouring so many souls, he had been promoted from a Low Demon to a High Demon. Hence, he obtained far more power when he transformed. It was obvious that the Flower of Seven Sins members already had the physiques of Tier 2 players. Meanwhile, any player that lost their soul to a Demon player was barred from the game for at least one day. Moreover, they would lose a minimum of three levels... Third, Demon players had a far more difficult time raising their tiers as Demons'' tier-promotion mechanics were different from humans. Normally, Guilds forbade their members from becoming Demons; it was detrimental to a Guild''s development, after all. Only a non-Guild organization like the Flower of Seven Sins were bold enough to do something like this. As for the fourth and most fatal aspect, Demon players suffered far more severe death penalties. If a Demon player were killed, not only would they lose at least three levels, but they would also be barred from the game for two or three days. Their Demon rank would also fall by one, and recovering the lost rank would take quite some time. As a result, most players opted against becoming Demons. "Anyone capable of using Berserk Skills, use them now! If not, use Tier 2 Magic Scrolls!" At this point, only Shi Feng had maintained his composure. "A pointless struggle! Just give up and let us devour you!" the Ranger demanded disdainfully as he snarled at Shi Feng and the Freedom Alliance members preparing for a fight. In a short moment, the Flower of Seven Sins members boarded the Freedom Alliance''s Bronze Speedboats. Members of the Flower of Seven Sins already had very high combat standards. Now that their Attributes and physique had grown so much stronger, the Freedom Alliance lost over a dozen players in just a few exchanges. In contrast, the Flower of Seven Sins suffered no casualties whatsoever. Meanwhile, aboard the Swift Dragon Speedboat, a Level 42 Berserker charged at Shi Feng, his battle axe descending towards the Swordsman. Dang! As the clang of metal echoed, this transformed Level 42 Berserker shot backward like a bullet, flying over a dozen yards away... 1195 Mistaken Calculations Chapter 1195 - Mistaken Calculations "Commander, these people are too strong. If this continues, we''ll all die here," Blue Joy said hurriedly through the team chat. "We need to find a way to leave this place." After she had activated her Berserker Skill, she might barely be able to prevail in a one-on-one; however, in a one-on-two situation, she would only be suppressed. Although she was not the best at PvP in the Third Fleet, she could still rank within the top ten. Hence, if she was already faring so poorly, there was no need to mention how the other Freedom Alliance members were doing. Right now, their only advantage was the fact that none of these Demon players could use Berserk Skills. This provided them, who could use Berserk Skills, an edge in Basic Attributes and allowed them to hold off the Demon players for now. However, the duration of Berserk Skills was simply too short. If the other side dragged out the battle long enough, their side would definitely get wiped out. "Just who are these people?" Passing Monarch was also extremely anxious right now. The members of their Third Fleet could be considered experts in the Sea''s End. He was even one of the top ten experts in the entire Freedom Alliance. Nevertheless, after he arrived at the Sea of Death, it was as if he had come to an entirely different world as he met one expert after another. There would''ve been no problem if it was just Shi Feng. Now, however, among the hundred-plus players assaulting them, every one of their opponents was an expert superior to them. He even began doubting whether he was playing the same game as he had been up to now. Despite Passing Monarch having already activated his Berserk Skill, his Strength and speed superior to the black-clothed Ranger''s, he failed to land any attacks on the Ranger at all. It was as if the Ranger had seen through all of his attacks. The Ranger could not only dodge his attacks easily but also launch attacks at his blind spots while dodging, and this left him no choice but to defend himself. Even launching counterattacks became difficult. If not for the healers at the rear line healing him, he would''ve already perished by now. Currently, less than 70 people remained in the Third Fleet. Against the Flower of Seven Sins members, not only did they not possess a numerical advantage, but they were also inferior in quality. "Everyone, gather together! Destroy all the speedboats and retreat!" Passing Monarch commanded as he gritted his teeth. Now that the outcome of the battle was already obvious, there was no meaning in them continuing this battle. Without a doubt, they would be annihilated, and their speedboats would fall into the Flower of Seven Sins''s hands. Rather than accepting such an outcome, it would be much better to destroy their speedboats. That way, neither side would end up winning. As soon as Passing Monarch said so, however, he saw a two-meter-tall Berserker blasted from the Swift Dragon Speedboat. As the Berserker''s body crashed heavily into the icy ground, his HP fell by over 3,000. "Torrent, are you alright!?" Several nearby Flower of Seven Sins members could not help but look at the Level 42 Berserker in surprise. Although Violent Torrent''s combat standard was only average for their team, he was equipped with a complete set of Level 40 Fine-Gold Set Equipment and wielded a Level 40 Dark-Gold battle axe. In terms of Strength, he could rank within the top five among their team. After Demonizing, his Strength would have increased by 17%. Even a Berserker equipped with a complete set of Level 40 Dark-Gold Set Equipment would lose out slightly to Violent Torrent in terms of Strength. Despite that, he had actually been sent flying by a Swordsman. It was simply inconceivable. "I''m fine. My hands are just a little numb. It seems his Berserk Skill should be a Strength-oriented one. You guys should be careful," the Berserker named Violent Torrent replied nonchalantly as he shook his hands. The others nodded in response to his words. They then began carefully approaching Shi Feng. After they transformed into Demons, they would lose the ability to use Berserk Skillsthe price they had to pay to become Demons. Otherwise, it would simply be too overpowered if they could stack the Attribute bonus they received from Demonizing with the effects of a Berserk Skill. The Main God System obviously would not allow this to happen. However, although their Demon transformation indeed did not provide as many Attributes as a Berserk Skill did, the 15% improvement to their physiques allowed them to dodge even attacks from opponents with superior Attributes. With this, they could slowly whittle down their opponents. At this time, a Level 42 silver-robed Elementalist said, "Since it''s a Strength-oriented Berserk Skill, we''ll attack him from a distance." "I''ll support you guys from the side," Violent Torrent said as he dashed back towards the Swift Dragon Speedboat. However, the Flower of Seven Sins members had obviously misunderstood something. Shi Feng did not have any of his Berserk Skills activated right now. His previous slash was simply a normal attack. The reason why Violent Torrent went flying was entirely the recent upgrade to Shi Feng''s equipment. He had yet to adapt himself to the changes. Hence, he had failed to control his power properly and unintentionally sent Violent Torrent flying. When Violent Torrent was halfway back to the Swift Dragon Speedboat, Shi Feng had already jumped down from the craft. He then used Wind Blade and dashed at the Berserker, his speed so fast that nobody managed to catch a clear sight of him. So fast! By the time Violent Torrent reacted, Shi Feng was already before him, the Abyssal Blade descending towards him. Peng! Violent Torrent instinctively executed Whirlwind Slash to block the Abyssal Blade. What power! The intense force pushing down on Violent Torrent nearly drove him to his knees. Fortunately, the icy ground had served to cushion some of the impact, though weblike cracks formed on the ice layer as a result. However, almost at the same time as Violent Torrent stopped the Abyssal Blade with his battle axe, Shi Feng slashed Killing Ray at the Berserker''s chest. Chop! -25,578! Instantly, Violent Torrent lost close to a quarter of his 110,000 HP. Demon players sure have high HP and Defense. Shi Feng was slightly surprised. If Violent Torrent were an ordinary Level 42 Berserker, Shi Feng could have reduced the Berserker''s HP to a critical level in one attack. Demon players didn''t just have a lot of HP. Their Defenses got a significant boost as well. Hence, it was very difficult for ordinary players to capture Demon players. Normally, one would need at least a party of players to capture a Demon player of the same level. Due to this, quite a few independent players and Dark Players would choose to become a Demon. In the past, even the expansion pack "Demon''s Return" was triggered. Meanwhile, one of the conditions for triggering this expansion pack was the number of Demon players in God''s Domain reaching a certain level. After the Demon''s Return expansion pack was triggered, a Demon empire suddenly appeared in God''s Domain. The incident back then had thrown God''s Domain into chaos. "Who is that guy? Why can he cause so much damage to Torrent?" Several Flower of Seven Sins members nearby were momentarily stunned. They were fully aware of how frightening their Defense became after transforming into Demons. Not to mention, the Berserker class was a plate armor class. A Berserker of the same level would be fortunate to deal -6,000 damage to Violent Torrent after using a powerful Skill. Despite all that, Shi Feng had inflicted over -20,000 damage on Violent Torrent with just the most basic Chop Skill. At this time, an Assassin snapped out of his daze and shouted hurriedly, "Quickly heal Torrent!" If even an ordinary Skill could already deal so much damage, then Shi Feng could kill Violent Torrent in just a few moves. If Violent Torrent did not receive enough heals in time, the Swordsman would make short work of him. "Mhm." A blue-robed Demon Cleric quickly began chanting. Meanwhile, Shi Feng sent a glance at the Freedom Alliance members, noticing that they would not be able to hold out for much longer, as they had already begun destroying their own speedboats. I need to finish them off fast. Having no other choice, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. The instant Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, a golden glow wrapped around his body. Faint golden dragon scales appeared around his body, making it seem as if he had just donned dragonscale armor. His body also exuded an invincible aura. He then sent a slash at the Berserker before him. Illusory Shadow! Before Violent Torrent could see what was going on, six streaks of blue light cut across his body, penetrating his tough armor. With a face filled with confusion, he fell to the ground as his HP reached zero. 1196 Strategic-level Expert? Chapter 1196 - Strategic-level Expert? "He died" The surrounding Flower of Seven Sins members could not help but gape in shock. Even the Demon Cleric chanting a Greater Healing stopped abruptly as he stared at Violent Torrent''s motionless body. Violent Torrent had close to 80,000 HP remaining just now! With his strength, he should''ve been able to resist for some time. Otherwise, the Demon Cleric wouldn''t have chosen to cast Greater Healing, which had a considerably long casting time. At this moment, when the several Flower of Seven Sins members turned to look at Shi Feng, a possibility suddenly occurred to them, and they could not help but shudder at the thought. That possibility was that Shi Feng had not used his Berserk Skill when he was fighting Violent Torrent before, even after the Berserker had turned into a Demon, and had activated the Skill only now. "Not good! We met a hard one! He''s a peak expert! Hurry up and contact Brother Chen!" a thinly built man said. The man felt his breathing stifled as he looked at Shi Feng. There were few peak experts even in the Flower of Seven Sins. These existences were normally part of the organization''s middle management. Shi Feng would have little trouble going up against more than a dozen Half-step Refinement Realm experts like themselves at the same time, especially now that he had activated his Berserk Skill. Currently, only Brother Chen, the Ranger leading the team this time, as well as a few others could possibly resist someone like Shi Feng for long. Just as this thinly built Assassin was done speaking, Shi Feng advanced and suddenly appeared before a Guardian Knight. Without hesitation, this Guardian Knight activated Protection Blessing. However, Shi Feng remained unperturbed by this reaction as he brandished Killing Ray. Thundering Flash! Immediately, four blue arcs of lightning struck at four different locations. Combat technique Four Moon Lotus! After the four lightning snakes pierced through the Guardian Knight, they each struck at the four magical class players behind him. The Guardian Knight instantly lost over half of his 140,000 HP, whereas the four magical classes behind him lost one-third of theirs and had their spellcasting interrupted by the impact of Thundering Flash. "Block him! Don''t let him get close to the magical classes!" Hearing this, a Guardian Knight immediately used Justice Roar on Shi Feng. The Demon Cleric at the rear also cast Truth Shield and Rapid Healing on the Guardian Knight. As for the other melee players, they each used a Control Skill on Shi Feng. At the same time, the ranged classes launched attacks to seal Shi Feng''s movements. Shi Feng could not help but admit that every member of the Flower of Seven Sins was an expert. Their coordination with each other was also impeccable. In combination with their high HP and Defense, it made dealing with them extremely difficult. If it were any other expert here, they would definitely choose to pull back first. However, Shi Feng never entertained the thought of retreating. Instead, he activated Defensive Blade without hesitation, greatly extending his attack range. At the same time, he switched the Basic Tyrant title to the Swordsmanship Master title, increasing his Attack Speed by 30%. Sword''s Orbit! Starlight immediately emerged around Shi Feng''s body. Not only did he manage to block all incoming attacks, but before anyone could react, everyone within a 15-yard radius of him also began losing HP rapidly. Despite the Demon Cleric at a distance spamming heals on the Guardian Knight, he still failed to keep the MT alive. In the blink of an eye, everyone within 15 yards of Shi Feng died. Meanwhile, the Oracle reporting to the Ranger called Brother Chen was stupefied. "Hello? Why are you contacting me at such a time? Did something happen?" the Level 43 Ranger asked as he toyed around with Passing Monarch. "Brother Chen, n-not good! There''s a mo-monster here!" the Level 42 Oracle stuttered. During the time the Oracle was giving his report, Shi Feng had used Silent Steps and appeared behind the thinly built Assassin, who had just activated Wind Steps. Shi Feng then executed Chop, the speed of his attack so fast that the Assassin did not even react, as he died instantly. "A monster? Did one run all the way out here from the island?" the Ranger asked, perplexed. "N-No There''s a peak expert on the speedboat we attacked. Torrent and the othersthey''re all dead." At this moment, the Oracle was quickly losing his ability to speak as he watched his companions die one after another. "A peak expert? Okay, I''ll head over there now." The Ranger immediately grasped the severity of the situation. Ignoring Passing Monarch, he turned towards a few of his companions, who were killing the other members of the Freedom Alliance, and shouted, "Hammer, you guys follow me! Torrent and the others are in trouble!" Every peak expert was a strategic weapon in a team battle. If not properly contained, a peak expert could easily turn the tide in a fight between hundreds of players. Violent Torrent and the seventeen others that went to the Swift Dragon Speedboat were merely Half-step Refinement Realm experts. They were simply no match for an expert of such caliber. If the Ranger delayed, they would no doubt be annihilated. Hence, he needed to hurry over there right away. He''s leaving? Passing Monarch was filled with confusion as he looked at the black-clad Ranger flying towards the Swift Dragon Speedboat. However, the Ranger''s departure was a good thing for the Freedom Alliance since the Ranger and the three companions that followed after him were the ones who had killed the most Freedom Alliance members. With the Bronze Speedboats less than 50 yards away from the Swift Dragon Speedboat, the Ranger took less than five seconds to glide across this distance. However, as soon as the black-clad Ranger descended, he was shocked by the scene before him. At this moment, none of the eighteen people sent to snatch the Swift Dragon Speedboat was alive. However, only five seconds had passed since he received the report. Eighteen Half-step Refinement Realm experts who had turned into Demons had died, just like that. The Ranger glared at Shi Feng, who stood a short distance away, and asked coldly, "Where are your companions? Or are they thinking of ambushing us while we''re fighting you?" No matter how he looked at it, one person simply could not have finished off so many demonized Half-step Refinement Realm experts within such a short time. At the very least, such a feat required several experts working together. "Companions?" Shi Feng shook his head and said, "I''m the only one here. If you ran all the way here just to ask this, can we start the fight now?" "Hammer, you and Letter deal with that guy. Scorpion and I will assist from the side and prevent others from ambushing us," the Ranger commanded hurriedly. It was obvious he did not believe Shi Feng. "Leave it to me." The Level 43 Berserker named Hammer nodded seriously as he looked at the cloaked Shi Feng. The fact that the Swordsman before them could work with other experts to get rid of Violent Torrent''s group so quickly proved that his strength was extraordinary. Not to mention, Hammer also sensed a dangerous aura coming from Shi Feng, and he could tell that he was definitely no match for Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight. However, if he coordinated with Letter, even if they could not defeat Shi Feng, it would also be impossible for Shi Feng to kill them. However, just as Hammer finished speaking, Shi Feng had already dashed towards him. "So fast!" The Assassin named Letter was shocked. At this speed, even if he activated a Berserk Skill in his human form, he would be no match for Shi Feng. If not for his Demon transformation improving his physique, he wouldn''t even be able to catch a glimpse of Shi Feng''s figure. Hammer also paled at this sight. Hurriedly, he brandished the greatsword in his hands and executed the Tier 1 Skill Death''s Harvest, which could be used only in his Demon form. Immediately, numerous streaks of black light shot forward, enveloping a cone-shaped area 20 yards before him. This Skill could not be blocked, only dodged. "Is he dead?" When the black light dissipated, there was no sign of Shi Feng''s figure anywhere. "Letter, be careful!" At this time, the Ranger, who stood ten yards behind the Assassin called Letter, suddenly noticed Shi Feng appearing above the Assassin''s head. However, his warning came too late. Shi Feng promptly used the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike, his Attack Speed increasing by 500% and damage by 400% for three seconds. The distant Ranger only saw many streaks of blue light flashing in front of him. Before the Assassin called Letter could even activate Vanish, his body was already falling to the ground. Shortly after, Hammer finally reacted to the situation. However, by the time he did, several streaks of blue light were heading towards him. Responding slightly better than Letter, Hammer executed Whirlwind Slash to defend himself. However, as the gap in speed between him and Shi Feng was too massive, before his greatsword could even start picking up momentum, he had already been struck several times. Hammer''s vision then turned gray as his body fell to the ground. "Who is he?" The Ranger shuddered when he saw this scene. The male Elementalist called Scorpion took an involuntary step back, terror surfacing on his face. Two Refinement Realm experts, each with over 100,000 HP, were actually killed instantly. How was this just a peak expert? 1197 Demon God Chapter 1197 - Demon God At this moment, fear filled the eyes of the black-clad Ranger as he looked at Shi Feng. If the opponent was only a peak expert, then after transforming into a High Demon, he could more or less resist if he teamed up with Scorpion. Once Shi Feng''s Berserk Skill was over, they could then counterattack. However, the Swordsman before them was evidently not just a peak expert. Forget the two of them working together, even if he had everyone in the team come over, they would merely be throwing their lives away. The disparity in Attributes between both sides was simply too massive. Even he, who was a High Demon, had not managed to get a clear look at Shi Feng''s attacks. High Demons received a 20% improvement to their physiques, which was 5% more than Low Demons. Their Main Attributes would also increase by 20%. Yet, even then, he still could not keep up with Shi Feng. "We''re retreating!" Saying so, the Ranger immediately extended his wings in preparation to leave. At the same time, he had also sent the command to withdraw in the team chat. "But what about the situation on Boss Brute''s side?" the Elementalist named Scorpion asked hurriedly. "Boss Brute said not to let anyone enter Demon Island." "Fool!" The Ranger sent a glare at Scorpion. Ignoring the Elementalist, the Ranger directly flew away. They were currently Demons. The death penalty they would suffer was extremely severe. If they already knew that they could not stop Shi Feng, persisting in the attempt would only be foolish. Moreover, even if they wanted to stop Shi Feng and the others from entering Demon Island, the best place to fight him was not at sea, but on Demon Island itself. They were Demons. They had very high innate Magic Resistance, particularly Darkness Resistance. They did not need to worry about the dark corrosive power on the island. However, the same could not be said for their opponents. More importantly, Demon Island was shrouded in gray fog, which significantly reduced the players'' range of vision. However, Demons like themselves were not affected by Demon Island''s gray fog at all. They would have plenty of opportunities to deal with Shi Feng and the others, whose Berserk Skills would be on Cooldown, at that time. "It''s too late to run away now!" Shi Feng did not give the Ranger and Elementalist any opportunities at all. Activating Wind Rider, he left behind an afterimage where he had stood as he instantly appeared before the two Flower of Seven Sins members. He then violently swung down Killing Ray. Thunder Flame Explosion! Lightning and fire descended on the Ranger and Elementalist, and even the ice layer beneath the two began crumbling and evaporating. "He escaped?" When the lightning and flames dissipated, Shi Feng only saw one Demon corpse floating on the water. This corpse belonged to none other than the Elementalist Scorpion. As for the black-clad Ranger, he was nowhere in sight. However, Shi Feng was not particularly surprised by this result. Unlike Low Demons, High Demons not only received more improvements to their physiques and Basic Attributes but also got to learn some powerful Demon Skills, even a Skill with a powerful escape ability. Dark Transfer! This Skill allowed one to teleport to any location within a 3,000-yard radius. Its activation required no preparation time, but it had a long 6-hour Cooldown. The existence of this Skill made killing High Demon players very difficult. The Ranger managed to escape, but the other Flower of Seven Sins members fleeing back to Demon Island were not High Demons. Without hesitation, Shi Feng immediately began chasing those Demon players. Although both sides were moving in the air, Shi Feng was able to fly freely in the sky due to Wind Rider, whereas the Demon players could only glide. The speeds of the two sides were worlds apart from each other. As for the attacks launched by the Demon players, not only did Shi Feng easily dodge them, but he even used the opportunity to shorten the distance between them. Anyone that Shi Feng caught up with got killed in just a few hits. Initially, there were over 80 Low Demons fleeing back to Demon Island. However, the ones that actually managed to reach the island numbered less than 30. Once they reached Demon Island, Shi Feng gave up the pursuit. Demon Island was rife with Level 70-plus monsters. If he was not careful, he would definitely attract the monsters'' attention. If that happened, not only would he not be able to kill the Flower of Seven Sins members, but he might even lose his life. In fact, as soon as Shi Feng stepped onto the island, he noticed more than a dozen Shadow Stalkers. - [Shadow Stalker] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 71 HP 37,000,000/37,000,000 - When Passing Monarch and the others set foot on the island as well, they could not help but gasp when they saw this scene. No sooner had they arrived than the sight of over a dozen Level 70-plus Great Lords greeted them. Moreover, these were merely the ones they could see. What about the ones in the forest that they couldn''t see? This was definitely not a place humans should come to. At this time, a deafening roar came from the middle of the island and reverberated throughout the place. Even the Shadow Stalkers took fright at this roar. Immediately after, a black-and-white light pillar shot up from the heart of the island. The instant this light pillar appeared, Passing Monarch and the others suddenly felt as if their bodies no longer belonged to themselves, so much so that they could not even twitch their fingertips. Only after a brief period did they gradually recover their mobility. "What is that?" Passing Monarch stared at the black-and-white light pillar, thoroughly shocked by the spectacular sight before him. At this moment, the skies above Demon Island began crumpling, forming a black hole. Passing Monarch could vaguely make out a gigantic eye inside the black hole. Just one glance at this eyeball gave him an appreciation of just how frightening the creature inside that black hole was. In reality, it wasn''t just Passing Monarch and the others that felt fearful. At this moment, even Shi Feng could sense an aura of death looming over him. In addition, he detected an extremely familiar aura emanating from that black holeDivine Might. However, the Divine Might he was feeling now was completely different from when he encountered it before. In previous instances, the Divine Might he felt all came from items. Moreover, as the Divine Might of these items originated from Gods, the Divine Might they could radiate was extremely weak. If Shi Feng were to compare the Divine Might from items and the Divine Might he was feeling now, the former felt as thin as air, while the latter felt as dense as mercury. How can this be possible? As Shi Feng stared at the massive, red eyeball, he was utterly confused by what was going on. Could this be an event on Demon Island? In God''s Domain, there would frequently be such events occurring. To players, these events were both disasters and opportunities. However, Shi Feng very quickly rejected this thought. According to what he knew about events, a real God simply could not appear! At this moment, he could say with absolute certainty that the massive eyeball was the eye of a God. The reason for his certainty was personal experience with this kind of pressure, so he definitely could not be wrong. At the same time, the Flower of Seven Sins members on Demon Island all revealed excited expressions one after another as they looked at the giant eyeball in the sky. "Success!" "Boss Brute''s side succeeded!" "Hahaha! The future of God''s Domain will be the Flower of Seven Sins''s era!" At this moment, the Flower of Seven Sins members were so excited that they completely forgot about their battle with Shi Feng before. Meanwhile, along with the appearance of this giant eyeball, three dazzling, purple-gold items fell out from the crumpled space. Every one of the three items radiated powerful Divine Might that could make one shudder. Immediately after, the sound of a system announcement entered Shi Feng''s and the others'' ears. - System Announcement: Some players have activated the new expansion pack "Demon God''s Disturbance." 1198 Darkness Rising Chapter 1198 - Darkness Rising The system announcement echoed in everyone''s minds for a long time. The players throughout God''s Domain who had received the news were stunned. Some players had gone directly to the game''s official website, searching for any information about this latest expansion, whereas others thought nothing of it at all. After all, this wasn''t the first expansion the game had launched. They had long since gotten used to such occurrences. However, when Shi Feng, who was on Demon Island, heard this system announcement, he was dazed for a long moment. Demon God''s Disturbance? Shi Feng watched the black hole in the sky slowly close, chaos gripping his pounding heart. Had he known something like this would happen, he would''ve done anything to stop the Flower of Seven Sins. God''s Domain had many expansion packs. Among them, some had very little influence over the game, while some would impact the world significantly. Take the Abyss Invasion expansion pack for example. The expansion pack had only affected the Twin Towers Kingdom and neighboring countries. The Demon God''s Disturbance expansion pack, however, affected all of God''s Domain... One could even say that the expansion pack''s impact was just as massive as a system update. Although the Demon God''s Disturbance expansion pack hadn''t been introduced on the official website, it wasn''t good news for ordinary players. Rather, this expansion pack benefitted Dark Players and Demon players. Due to this Demon God''s Disturbance expansion pack, the system''s restrictions on God''s Domain had loosened, possibly broken, allowing the dark forces to grow exponentially stronger. As a result, the dark forces found more areas where they could gather. These gathering points referred to NPC towns. As the dark forces occupied more towns, Dark Players could extend their reach, have an easier time killing players, and exchange the points they obtained for more power. There were also certain tools that could allow one to kill other players in an NPC town and leave safely, avoiding the NPC guards. After the Demon God''s Disturbance activated, NPC towns ceased to be safe havens for players. Moreover, if one were not careful while exploring the fields, dark force NPCs might even claim their life. NPC bandits, in particular, became more prevalent. Due to this, God''s Domain would descend into chaos. Ambushes in the fields became more frequent, and dark force NPC raids on NPC towns would become a daily occurrence. However, this was not the most important change. After triggering this expansion pack, all of God''s Domain''s monsters would gain the ability to learn and evolve. They could then increase their combat power. To put it simply, if a large number of players continuously killed a region''s monsters, these monsters would gradually grow stronger, becoming increasingly difficult to kill. Of course, this improvement was not without limits. Common monsters could, at most, grow to the standards of the Trial Tower''s second floor, while Elite and Special Elite monsters could aim for the third-floor standard. Chieftains could grow to the fourth-floor standard, Lords and High Lords to the fifth-floor standard, and Great Lords and Grand Lords to the sixth-floor standard. Fortunately, there was a way to cope with this problem; grind where few others venture. Monsters that players didn''t farm would keep their low standards. Players could also pioneer high-level maps. These places had similarly low player populations. Due to this expansion pack, the various large Guilds had grown more enthusiastic about pioneering new maps. They had no longer restricted themselves to their own territories. This, in turn, increased the intensity of the competition between Guilds. On the bright side, monsters that evolved and improved would provide more EXP, allowing players to level up much more quickly. "Brother Ye Feng, this island is too dangerous. I think we should leave," Passing Monarch anxiously advised Shi Feng. Although the giant eyeball in the sky had disappeared, the island felt even more dangerous before. His instincts told him to run. Hearing this, Shi Feng took a look at the Shadow Stalkers, which had suddenly gone Berserk. Sighing, he said, "Alright, let''s leave, then." With the situation on Demon Island as it was, it was not suitable for them right now. The Demon God''s aura had driven the island''s monsters Berserk. In this state, their combat power had risen by at least 30%. Demon Island had already been dangerous for him. Now that the monsters had gone Berserk, it was impossible to reach the ancient ruins. If he wanted to do so, he could only wait until the monsters here reverted to their normal state. As Shi Feng and the others had turned to leave, a monster''s roar reached them from within the forest. In the next moment, a Three-headed Demonic Hound that was over five meters tall barrelled out of the trees. A savage man with disheveled hair sat upon this Demonic Hound. The man stood over two meters tall, half a head taller than Cola. The man had thick, robust arms. The man carried a crimson spear on his back, the length of which was decorated with blood-red divine runes. A fiery glow swallowed the spear''s tip. At first glance, it was obvious that this spear was no ordinary weapon. A group of players followed the man atop nothing less than Bronze Mounts. These people were mostly around Level 43. "Who are these people?" Passing Monarch turned his head towards the six-man party, shocked. The other Freedom Alliance members were similarly surprised. The Three-headed Demonic Hound was very large. Rather than a Mount, it looked like a Lord ranked monster. They had never even heard of such a Mount before. Even more shockingly, the savage atop the Demonic Hound was actually Level 45! Meanwhile, Shi Feng recognized this savage the moment he laid eyes on him. Brute Spear! In the past, Brute Spear had been a relatively well-known expert of the Flower of Seven Sins. Back then, the rest of the world had referred to him as the Brute God. In God''s Domain, any player that was nicknamed a ''God'' had been a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. The reason he had been known as ''Brute God'' and not ''Spear God'' was his inhuman strength in both the game and the real world. The five others behind Brute Speat were all experts from the Flower of Seven Sins. Their combat standards were on par with the black-clothed Ranger from before, having already reached the Flowing Water Realm. Even in Super Guilds, an expert party like this was rare. One would only encounter them with some frequency in the Dark Arena. "You guys killed my men just now?" Brute Spear asked coldly as he looked down at Shi Feng and the others. Brute Spear''s voice was rough. Despite him speaking normally, his words sounded like a tiger''s roar. He was like the generals of ancient times and gave off a very scary feeling. "Fellow friend, is there some misunderstanding between us?" Passing Monarch asked hurriedly when he noticed Brute Spear and the other Flower of Seven Sins members showing signs of taking action. "We didn''t take the initiative to attack your people. They attacked us first. We were simply retaliating." "I don''t care. Right now, I''m asking whether you guys killed my men or not?" Brute Spear demanded once again, ignoring Passing Monarch''s words. 1199 Demon Gods Items Chapter 1199 - Demon God''s Items Cold ruthlessness colored Brute Spear''s words. Everyone suddenly felt the surrounding air grow heavy as an intense pressure weighed down on them, making it difficult to breathe. Freedom Alliance had the advantage in numbers, but Passing Monarch did not doubt that, if Brute Spear and the others wanted to kill them, they would be powerless to resist. The difference in strength between both sides was too obvious. Compared to the black-clothed Ranger he had fought earlier, Brute Spear and the others were much stronger. If they simply fell in a fight against Brute Spear and his companions, they could deal with the outcome. However, when the black-clothed Ranger had killed his companions, even Resurrection hadn''t revived the dead. His companions had been thrown from the game and hadn''t been able to log back in. Hence, if they died now, they would lose their monthly opportunity to obtain the Legacy of the Sea. As for relying on Shi Feng, while Passing Monarch admitted that Shi Feng was monstrously strong, the Swordsman had just used his Berserk Skill. He couldn''t use it again within a short time. His chances of defeating the six experts before them weren''t great. While Passing Monarch and the Freedom Alliance members remained silent, not sure how they should answer Brute Spear''s question, Shi Feng opened his mouth and said, "That''s right. I did it." When Passing Monarch and the others heard Shi Feng''s honest answer, they paled as they fell speechless. How could Brute Spear possibly not know that they were the ones responsible for his companion''s deaths? It was obvious that Brute Spear was toying with them. "A fight is inevitable. Flee with everything you have," Passing Monarch said hurriedly in the team chat. In reality, they were already considerably lucky. If not for Shi Feng repulsing the Flower of Seven Sins members earlier, they would have lost both their lives and their Bronze Speedboats. Now, however, even if they died, they could keep their speedboats. As Passing Monarch prepared for a fight, Brute Spear jumped down from the Three-headed Demonic Hound. However, instead of revealing killing intent, he smiled. "Hahaha! Not bad! You actually admit that you killed my men! Brat, I have to admit, you''re quite courageous!" Brute Spear laughed at the cloaked Shi Feng. "On behalf of your bravery, I''ll give you a chance to leave this place with your lives. "Of course, you guys can refuse my offer. However, you''ll have no hope of escape. Like your companions, you''ll be barred from God''s Domain for some time. Not only that, but you''ll also lose three levels when you log back in." "How is that possible? Doesn''t the death penalty only reduce one level?" The Freedom Alliance members could not help but panic. Losing one level was already a heavy punishment. If they lost three, they would need a long time to catch up. As for whether Brute Spear was lying or not, the man had no reason to. After all, the initiative was in Brute Spear''s hands. Whether they were going to battle or not was all up to Brute Spear. "What you''re going to do is have a match with me. You all can even come at me together. As long as you shave off a quarter of my HP, you win. If you win, you may leave here in one piece. On the other hand, if you lose, you''ll need to contribute a portion of your souls," Brute Spear said, smiling as he glanced at Passing Monarch and the others. "Contribute our souls?" This was the first time Passing Monarch had heard of such a thing, and he could not help but ask, "If we contribute our souls, what kind of price will we have to pay?" "It''s nothing much. You''ll just be in a Weakened state for several days. You won''t actually die," Brute Spear explained, fully understanding Passing Monarch''s worries. "After you guys contribute your souls, I''ll similarly let you all leave safely." Based on his personality, he should''ve already killed every one of these people. However, he had just received three treasures from the Demon God, and he needed someone to test them on. Otherwise, he would''ve taken action instead of wasting so many words with these people. "Brother Ye Feng, what do you think?" Passing Monarch could not help but turn to ask Shi Feng. To him, Brute Spear''s conditions seemed beneficial. Originally, Passing Monarch thought that Brute Spear would ask for their Bronze Speedboats in exchange for letting them go. However, dealing with a Weakened state for a week or so was better than losing three levels. Moreover, it also wasn''t certain that they would lose. If all of their members were allowed to attack together, their chances of victory would be quite high. Contributing souls? The name of a certain item suddenly popped into Shi Feng''s head when he heard Brute Spear''s explanation. The Soul Orb! In the past, this was a very well-known item in God''s Domain. Moreover, it had belonged to the Flower of Seven Sins. The Soul Orb had become famous due to its ability to place a player in a state of extreme serenity by sacrificing other players'' souls. The affected player''s brain activity would also increase, which would, in turn, help one learn combat techniques, improve Skill Completion Rates, or even become a Master or Grandmaster Lifestyle player much more easily. This Soul Orb was far more effective than a high-Mana density environment. As a result, when the various superpowers wanted to nurture a particular genius, they traded with the Flower of Seven Sins. The Flower of Seven Sins was also more than willing to trade. After all, just by using the souls a few players contributed, they could obtain a large amount of resources and excellent weapons and equipment. In the past, Shi Feng had heard that, to nurture Alice, the Witch of the West, the Miracle Guild had traded a Fragmented Legendary with the Flower of Seven Sins. Currently, based on Brute Spear''s description and the Demon God''s appearance, Shi Feng was 80% certain that Brute Spear had the Soul Orb in his possession currently. In God''s Domain, aside from Basic Attributes, Skills, and items, combat techniques also affected a player''s combat power. The Soul Orb was a treasure that could allow players to learn and master combat techniques quickly. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng looked at Brute Spear and said, "Don''t even think about it. We won''t agree to your condition." Shi Feng''s sudden rejection stupefied everyone. Passing Monarch gaped at Shi Feng. He could not fathom why Shi Feng would say such a thing. Was there really a need to fight Brute Spear and the others? "That means you want to die, then?" Brute Spear''s expression immediately darkened. Suddenly, the surrounding atmosphere became extraordinarily heavy, and Passing Monarch and the other Freedom Alliance members struggled to breathe. "Do you think you can kill us without paying a price?" Shi Feng asked. Before anyone realized it, two Magic Scrolls appeared in his hands. These Magic Scrolls were none other than the Tier 3 Magic Scrolls he had obtained from the Sea Serpent King. One was a Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll, while the other was a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. "Tier 3 Scrolls?!" Brute Spear''s complexion turned ugly when he saw the two scrolls in Shi Feng''s hands. 1200 Sin of Pride Chapter 1200 - Sin of Pride[1] Tier 3 Magic Scrolls were extremely rare in God''s Domain. It was nearly impossible to find one on the market. Even if one went to a large Guild to purchase Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, they would need to a close relationship with the buyer and rare items to offer in exchange. Meanwhile, Brute Spear recognized both of Shi Feng''s Magic Scrolls. One of them contained a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll, and when this Scroll was activated, even Demon players like himself, with high HP and Defense, would die instantly. The second was a Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll, and it was currently acknowledged as the best lifesaving scroll in God''s Domain. As long as the Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll was activated, current players would be helpless against it. Even a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell could not break a Tier 3 Defensive Spell. Even Tier 4 Mythic monsters could not break the Defensive Spell. If Shi Feng activated this Magic Scroll, they really wouldn''t be able to do anything to Shi Feng and his group as they left Demon Island. This was not an outcome Brute Spear wished to see. "Are you really willing to part with two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls?" Brute Spear glared at Shi Feng. He hadn''t expected Shi Feng''s group to possess such a trump card. If possible, he wanted to kill Shi Feng before the latter could activate the Magic Scrolls. However, he had already discovered Shi Feng''s standard as a peak expert. Even a Domain Realm expert couldn''t stop Shi Feng from activating those scrolls. However, whether it was the large-scale destruction Magic Scroll or Defensive Magic Scroll, both were extremely rare, valuable items at this stage of the game. He refused to believe that Shi Feng would part with them so easily. "What''s there to be reluctant about?" Shi Feng laughed. "Now that Demon Island has transformed, once we return, we can sell this information to various superpowers. I''m sure that they''ll be more than willing to compensate us for our losses." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Brute Spear and his companions'' expressions twisted; they wanted nothing more than to rip Shi Feng Apart. Currently, they still had plenty of matters to deal with on Demon Island, and it would take some time before they finished. If the other superpowers learned about Demon Island, a war would erupt. If that happened, other superpowers might snatch some of the items they were searching for. This was definitely not an outcome they wished to see. "I''ll admit that you''re pretty smart. Say it, then. What do you want?" Brute Spear growled as he suppressed his bubbling rage. Hearing this, the corners of Shi Feng''s lips raised as he said unhurriedly, "Since it''s a competition, we have to even the odds. Your conditions are simply too one-sided. If we win, we only get to leave safely, yet if we lose, we have to contribute a portion of our souls, suffering a Weakened state for a long period. If you really want a match, do it fairly. Since we have to contribute our souls if we lose, shouldn''t you offer something as well?" The items the Demon God had bestowed were different from monster drops. There was no two-hour waiting time to take ownership. Unless the items had a setting that made it so that they would drop upon death, even if he killed Brute Spear, there was no guarantee that he could get the items from the man''s bag. Even if something did drop, it was unlikely that it would be the Soul Orb he wanted. In the past, many superpowers had sought the Soul Orb and had employed many means, both honest and not, to obtain it. However, no matter what they tried, they had failed to obtain the Soul Orb and had no choice but to trade valuable treasures with the Flower of Seven Sins. "Contribute items?" Brute Spear glared at Shi Feng. Unfortunately, he currently had no means of dealing with the Swordsman. On the contrary, Shi Feng held his weakness, Demon Island, in his palm. "Fine. If you guys win, I''ll give you all a piece of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. However, you have to reduce my HP to 50% to win. You may choose whichever of the two options." Hearing Brute Spear''s words, everyone present could not help but admire Shi Feng. This was especially true for the five Flower of Seven Sins members beside Brute Spear. If not for Shi Feng being their enemy, they might even applaud the man. The fact that Shi Feng had convinced Brute Spear to take a step back, albeit it a very small one, was an amazing feat in and of itself. After all, in the Flower of Seven Sins, Brute Spear was a member of the Sin of Pride. If Shi Feng chose the first option and competed for no reward, Shi Feng''s group would only need to lower Brute Spear''s HP by 20%. As for the second option, while there was a reward, they would have to reduce Brute Spear''s HP by half. The difference was obvious. If Shi Feng''s group wanted to win, they would definitely choose the first option. In the end, nothing would change. "So, are you saying that, if we decimate all of your HP, you''ll give us an Epic item?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. "You really are a greedy bastard. Do you think you guys are worth one Epic item?" Brute Spear said in disdain. "While Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment is tempting, do you think I would lack something like that?" Shi Feng said, chuckling as he exposed the Angry Tyrant bracers'' glow effect. Immediately, the Angry Tyrant''s Epic-rank glow stunned everyone present. Previously, Shi Feng had hidden the glow effects of his weapons and equipment, making it very difficult to determine his items'' quality unless one had done their research into God''s Domain''s various materials. Obviously, nobody present could determine his items'' quality. Otherwise, they would have been astounded. Epic Equipment?! Passing Monarch was taken aback when he noticed Shi Feng''s bracers. Even the Freedom Alliance only possessed a few pieces of Epic Equipment. It was unbelievable that a lone player like Shi Feng possessed a piece as well. "It seems I really have underestimated you." When Brute Spear looked at Shi Feng''s Angry Tyrant, greed flashed in his eyes. Epic Equipment was even rare in Super Guilds. Super Guilds had far fewer Epic items than peak experts. Only peak experts that performed exceedingly well were assigned Epic Equipment. Even Brute Spear only wore two pieces of Epic Equipment. He had received one of them from the Flower of Seven Sins, while he had just obtained the other from the Demon God''s quest. He did not have any Epic bracers. If he could obtain them, they would undoubtedly increase his Basic Attributes. "If you want to do it that way, we''ll do it fairly. If I bet an Epic item, then you guys have to bet an Epic item as well," Brute Spear said, sneering. It was obviously not possible to steal Shi Feng''s Epic bracers. Even if he killed Shi Feng, the Swordsman would drop random items. The chance of obtaining those Epic bracers was simply too low. If he wanted, he had to gamble. "If you lose, you only need to hand over one Epic item, yet if we lose, we need to offer our souls and an Epic item. You call that fair?" Shi Feng smirked. "If you wish for absolute fairness, fine! You and me, one-on-one!" Brute Spear said. "If you win, I''ll give you a top-tier Epic item!" "A top-tier Epic item?" Shi Feng''s expression twisted into one of contempt. He then publicized Angry Tyrant''s Attributes for everyone to see. "If you can offer a better piece of Epic Equipment better than mine, I''ll consider it. If not, no deal!" TL Notes: [1]Sin of Pride: (Chapter 1168, 1169) Sin of Arrogance -> Sin of Pride 1201 Tier 2 Class Chapter 1201 - Tier 2 Class Initially, the Flower of Seven Sins members were about to blow up in rage at Shi Feng for looking down on them. However, when they saw Angry Tyrant''s Attributes, they were all stupefied. "How is this possible?!" "Aren''t these Attributes too overpowered!?" Everyone present was surprised by Angry Tyrant''s Attributes. Although the bracers did not possess any Active Skills, their two Passive Skills were practically tailored for Berserkers. An increase of 20% in Strength and 30% in Attack Speed when the wearer''s HP was below 50% Just thinking about this gave everyone the shivers. Not to mention, there was also a certain chance for the wearer''s Strength to double when attacking. It was practically impossible for any other Epic Equipment to surpass the Angry Tyrant bracers. Angry Tyrant was definitely the best among Epic Equipment. Only equipment at the Fragmented Legendary rank and above would be better. When Brute Spear saw the bracers'' Attributes, he could no longer hide the greed in his eyes. He was a Berserker. Moreover, he preferred Strength-oriented equipment. In fact, every piece of equipment below Epic rank that he had equipped right now focused on Strength. Strength-oriented Epic Equipment was something he always dreamed of obtaining. However, just being able to obtain Epic Equipment was already plenty difficult. Wanting to get Epic Equipment that perfectly suited him was practically a dream. How could such excellent equipment for Berserkers possibly fall into the hands of a Swordsman!? I must obtain it! Unfortunately for Brute Spear, although he wanted Angry Tyrant, just like Shi Feng said, he indeed could not produce any top-tier Epic Equipment that was equal or superior to the bracers. No matter how he thought about it, he had only two items on hand that were worth more than Angry Tyrant. One was an item that the Flower of Seven Sins wanted, while the other was the Epic-rank tool Soul Orb. Eventually, Brute Spear gnashed his teeth as he said, "Do you think I can''t take out something of even higher value? I have an Epic tool here. It is definitely more valuable than your Angry Tyrant bracers. If you can defeat me, I wouldn''t mind gifting this Epic tool to you." Epic tools were generally more valuable than Epic Weapons and Equipment because Epic tools did not take up a player''s equipment slots. Players could use an Epic tool even if it was in their bag space. Hence, the price of Epic tools was generally double that of Epic Equipment, more if it was an Epic tool with good Attributes. "An Epic tool?" Shi Feng feigned hesitation as he said so. Inwardly, however, he was extremely excited. "Alright, let''s sign a contract!" He had deliberately exposed Angry Tyrant''s Attributes precisely to bait Brute Spear. Now, he had succeeded. As for whether the tool Brute Spear would wager was the Soul Orb or not, Shi Feng was 100% sure that it was. Epic Equipment was already quite rare. The chances of Brute Spear obtaining two Epic tools at this stage of the game were lower than winning the lottery. "Brother Ye Feng, is there really a need to do this?" Passing Monarch was bewildered as he watched Shi Feng sign a contract with Brute Spear. Originally, if their whole group fought against Brute Spear, they''d had over a 70% chance of winning. Now, however, Shi Feng was going up against Brute Spear in a one-on-one. Even if Shi Feng was very powerful, in Passing Monarch''s opinion, Shi Feng would be lucky to have even a 30% chance of victory. After all, Shi Feng had already used his Berserk Skill. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was actually gambling Epic Equipment on such low odds. This was simply insane! "Hahaha! That fool really signed a contract! Boss Brute sure is lucky! Not only did he obtain an Epic tool from completing the quest this time, but he is even going to get a pair of excellent bracers for Berserkers!" "That''s right! I wonder what kind of expression that person will reveal when they see the strength Boss Brute reveals." "With the addition of these Epic bracers, Boss Brute will have three pieces of Epic Equipment in total. He will definitely become our Sin of Pride''s number one Berserker with this!" Brute Spear''s several companions began a hushed discussion among themselves as they looked at Shi Feng. They all considered Shi Feng extremely foolish to gift away such excellent equipment. As a peak expert, Shi Feng indeed possessed the qualifications to be prideful. However, Brute Spear was similarly a peak expert. In their opinion, if it were before Brute Spear had completed his quest, he would have had roughly a 60% chance of winning. The reason for this bullish evaluation was Brute Spear having been a High Demon. After he transformed, both his Main Attribute and physique would receive a 20% improvement. If both sides were almost equal in Attributes and combat standards, a 20% improvement to physique would allow Brute Spear to achieve an overwhelming victory. The only way Shi Feng could make up for this difference was through activating a Berserk Skill. However, as far as they knew, Shi Feng had already used his Berserk Skill and wouldn''t be able to use it again within a short period. This doomed Shi Feng to a lower chance of winning. Meanwhile, now that Brute Spear had completed his quest, his strength had received another considerable improvement. Even if Shi Feng''s combat standard was above Brute Spear''s, Brute Spear still had a 90% chance of victory. With the contract signed, both sides distanced themselves and provided Shi Feng and Brute Spear with sufficient space for a duel. As the duel timer began counting down, Brute Spear retrieved the crimson spear slung on his back and slammed the spear''s butt on the ground, causing an earth tremor. "As thanks for gifting me the Angry Tyrant bracers, I''ll let you have the honor of witnessing my full strength," Brute Spear sneered. "Originally, I intended to reserve this strength for competing against Bart for the position of number one Berserker in the group." Saying so, Brute Spear let out a low shout as his entire body began releasing scorching-hot, pitch-black smoke. This pitch-black smoke quickly wrapped around Brute Spear''s entire body. In the next moment, the Berserker began transforming. In the blink of an eye, he had become a Demon. However, unlike the black-clad Ranger from before, Brute Spear''s Demon form had three sets of wings. The aura he radiated was also much stronger than the black-clad Ranger''s. There was absolutely no comparison. "We''re doomed" After seeing Brute Spear''s Demon form, the last strand of hope Passing Monarch clung to vanished entirely. At this moment, Brute Spear''s companions likewise had shocked expressions on their faces, having all received a fright from Brute Spear''s transformation. "This is an ennobled Demon?" "Amazing! High Demons simply cannot compare!" "With this transformation, Boss Brute will no doubt become the number one Berserker in our Sin of Pride in the future!" After Demon players transformed into Demons, they would still have ranks, which was also the reason why Demon players were half a tier stronger than ordinary players. When players first Demonized, they would start out as Low Demons. Afterwards, they could promote to High Demons through hunting for a large number of player souls. However, further promotions after reaching the High Demon rank depended on more than just harvesting sufficient souls. One also needed to possess the corresponding status; in other words, attaining nobility. Meanwhile, after Brute Spear completed his quest on Demon Island, he had gotten promoted from a High Demon directly to a Baron. As a result, his strength had also undergone a qualitative improvement. "Hahaha! So this is the power of a Baron Demon? Truly amazing!" At this moment, Brute Spear could not help but revel in this newfound power of his. Baron ranked Demon players received a 30% increase to both their Attributes and physique when transformed. Currently, both his Attributes and his body''s physique were already at the Tier 2 standard. The only thing he lacked now was Tier 2 Skills. Aside from that, he could already be considered a Tier 2 player. The disparity between Tier 2 and Tier 1 classes was much greater than that between Tier 1 and Tier 0 classes. If a Tier 2 class fought against a Tier 1 class, even without using any Skills and under a situation where both sides were at the same level, the Tier 1 class would be powerless to resist. After Brute Spear stretched his body a little, his blood-red eyes shifted to the Swordsman before him. "Alright, I''ll let you have a taste of despair now!" 1202 Hidden Ability Chapter 1202 - Hidden Ability When the duel timer came to an end, Brute Spear walked at a measured pace towards Shi Feng. It was as if he was strolling casually through a park right now. He did not take this duel seriously whatsoever. As expected of a quest that could prompt the Demon God to emerge, it instantly promoted a High Demon to the Baron rank. Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray, his expression turning serious as he looked at the approaching Berserker. Even after ten years had passed, Demon players that managed to reach the Baron rank had still been uncommon, with the majority stuck at the High Demon rank. If one wanted to get promoted further, they needed to get the acknowledgment of the Demon God or upper-class Demons and have them willingly share a portion of their power. However, upper-class Demons and the Demon God were allowed to bestow their power on only a limited number of people. As a result, the number of Demon players that could become nobility was extremely low. Currently, Brute Spear, who was Level 45, already possessed 240,000 HP. On the other hand, even after reaching Level 50, Shi Feng''s HP was just slightly over 42,000. The disparity was nearly sixfold. Moreover, Baron Demons possessed much higher Defense and Magic Resistance than High Demons. Even ordinary Tier 2 expert players would find it hard to kill the current Brute Spear, not to mention that there was not a single Tier 2 player in God''s Domain yet. When Brute Spear was only 12 yards away, Shi Feng abruptly stomped on the ground, leaving behind an afterimage in his original position as he dashed straight at the Berserker. "So fast!" The five Flower of Seven Sins members spectating from the side were astonished when they saw Shi Feng appearing before Brute Spear in the blink of an eye. Shi Feng was definitely the fastest Swordsman they had ever seen. If it were them fighting against Shi Feng right now, they would be caught off guard if they were not careful. Moreover, Shi Feng''s movements and judgment were also considerably acute. Unlike Berserkers that used greatswords or battle axes, Berserkers that used spears had a longer attack range. Their spears could reach roughly two yards farther than the other weapons. The optimum attack range for a spear-wielding Berserker was between four and eight yards. Meanwhile, a Swordsman that used a longsword had an optimum attack range between one and three yards. Although their sword auras could reach up to five yards, enemies that were standing within four to five yards could easily dodge such an attack by retreating one or two yards. If a longsword-wielding Swordsman wanted to suppress a spear-wielding Berserker, the best way to do so was to close in and move within one to three yards of the latter. This way, the Berserker could not utilize the spear to its fullest potential. Conversely, if Shi Feng allowed Brute Spear to gradually approach him, then before he even reached his attack range, Brute Spear would''ve already begun attackinga considerably disadvantageous situation to Shi Feng. Hence, taking the initiative to attack to launch a fast attack was an extremely wise decision. "You have quick reactions; I''ll give you that. Unfortunately, you met me!" Brute Spear was indeed surprised by Shi Feng''s speed and judgment. However, while others might have difficulty keeping up with Shi Feng''s speed, he could see the Swordsman''s movements perfectly. Moreover, due to his improved physique, he had a much clearer grasp of his surroundings. Right now, he could perceive everything within a 20-yard radius. In fact, the instant Shi Feng prepared to take action, he already knew what Shi Feng would do. Whirlwind Slash! Having long since anticipated Shi Feng''s attack, Brute Spear swept the spear in his hands horizontally, his move capable of dealing a serious blow to all enemies within a 10-yard radius. An explosion rang out in the air as he swung the crimson spear, the spear moving so fast that it became invisible to the naked eye. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was currently still six yards away from Brute Spear. By the time he could start attacking Brute Spear, the Berserker''s spear would''ve long since landed on him. Although the spear was weaker than the greatsword and battle axe when it came to raw power, it was superior in terms of speed. Peng! Spear and sword collided, the impact forcing Shi Feng to take a few steps back. What a high Skill Completion Rate! Shi Feng was slightly astonished as he looked at Brute Spear, who remained unaffected by the impact. If speaking purely in terms of the Strength Attribute, he should surpass Brute Spear even after the latter transformed. After all, there was a five-level gap between them. Moreover, the quality of his weapons and equipment was also far superior to that of Brute Spear''s. Nonetheless, he still got repulsed in the end. The only explanation for such a situation occurring was Brute Spear''s Skill Completion Rate. When a player''s Skill Completion Rate reached a certain percentage, the Skills they used would generate some additional effects. For example, when the Berserker class''s Whirlwind Slash achieved a Completion Rate of 99% or above, aside from having greater destructive power, the Skill would also come with a knockback effect. A Skill Completion Rate of 99%! This was a Completion Rate that Shi Feng could only occasionally achieve when both his body and mind were in an excellent state. Despite that, the Berserker before him was able to achieve this feat casually. Is this a hidden ability of a Demon noble? Shi Feng did not believe that Brute Spear himself was capable of achieving such a high Completion Rate. After all, the Berserker had just been promoted to a Baron Demon. After transforming, the bonus Attributes he received should be much higher than when he was just a High Demon. He should have great difficulty properly controlling this newfound strength immediately. He would need some time to adapt. Hence, the only explanation was that this high Completion Rate was a hidden ability of a Demon noble. In the past, Shi Feng had never gotten the opportunity to fight against a Demon noble. Or to put it in another way, he had not possessed the qualifications to do so. As a result, he had only a little information on Demon players. As for the hidden abilities of Demon nobles, there hadn''t been any fools that revealed such a secret. "No wonder Chen Xu said that you''re powerful. Your Strength Attribute is actually so high." Looking at his still-trembling spear, Brute Spear could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng. After this brief exchange, he grew even more fond of the bracers on Shi Feng''s arms. Even after transforming into a Demon, he was still weaker than Shi Feng in terms of Strength. If he were fighting against any other Swordsman right now, such a situation would have been impossible. The only explanation for this was Shi Feng''s weapons and equipment. After saying so, Brute Spear directly used Charge at Shi Feng, the spear in his hands stabbing at Shi Feng''s heart. When Brute Spear used Charge, he became like a shooting star. He was not only extremely fast but also exerted powerful pressure on Shi Feng. However, this pressure didn''t come from Brute Spear himself. Instead, it was a deterrent effect that appeared when Charge''s Completion Rate reached 99% or above. This hidden effect reduced his opponent''s reaction speed by 20% and Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 40% for one second. When Brute Spear got to within six yards of Shi Feng, the crimson spear in his hands suddenly transformed into a streak of red light. "Boss Brute is finally using his trademark move," an Assassin familiar with Brute Spear said, chuckling. This was a combination technique Brute Spear used to gain fame for himself in the Flower of Seven Sins, merging a combat technique with a system Skill to exert even more power. Lightning Speed! Originally, Charge had already allowed Brute Spear''s crimson spear to move at a frighteningly fast speed. Then, during the time he was using Charge, he would transfer the power of his entire body to his spear, applying additional acceleration the instant it was about to reach its target. This speed made the attack practically impossible to dodge or block. Peng! At the critical moment, Shi Feng activated Parry. When the crimson spear came into contact with his swords, Shi Feng instantly felt both his arms go numb. His entire person also was forced to retreat six steps before he managed to stabilize himself. He blocked it? Brute Spear was astounded right now. Just how high is his Agility? The Lightning Speed he executed this time was the most perfect one so far. Logically, after including the suppression effect of his Charge, Shi Feng should not have been capable of executing Parry at all. "Since it is so, let''s see if your reaction speed or my Attack Speed is faster!" Saying so, Brute Spear flapped the wings on his back and began hovering in midair. His body then split into three, and all three attacked Shi Feng simultaneously from different directions. The Skill he had used was called Demon Flash, something he had learned after becoming a Baron Demon. It allowed him to attack his opponent from three directions, and each clone mirrored his original body perfectly. There was also no need for him to control his mirror images as they would carry out the same actions as he did. During the attack, he and his clones would also gain an enormous Movement Speed boost. Overall, it was a Skill many times more powerful than Charge. 1203 Difference between Trump Cards Chapter 1203 - Difference between Trump Cards After Brute Spear used Demon Flash, he and his mirror images moved faster than when he used Charge. The surrounding spectators could barely see the three Berserkers'' afterimages, much less their real bodies. Is this his true strength? Passing Monarch was deeply shocked when he saw this scene. It was no wonder Brute Spear was so confident before. With that kind of speed and destructive power, even if all of them went at him together, they would be fortunate to land an attack on him, much less shave away one-fifth of his HP. So fast! Although Shi Feng''s physique had improved a lot after reaching Level 50, in the end, he had yet to obtain his Tier 2 class, which would provide a massive boost to his physique. At this moment, his eyes could no longer keep up with Brute Spear''s speed. He could only rely on the changes in his surroundings to determine Brute Spear''s movements. "You should consider yourself fortunate to fall to this move of mine!" Brute Spear executed Lightning Speed on Shi Feng once more. Compared to the time he attacked with Charge, the speed of his spear this time had increased by a large margin. Moreover, his two clones had also attacked using the same Strength and speed. If attacked at such a speed and from three different angles, even a Domain Realm Assassin expert would not be able to evade properly. Dang! Dang! Dang! However, just as the three crimson spears were about to reach Shi Feng, they abruptly stopped in their paths, unable to proceed even an inch farther due to Shi Feng activating the Swordsman class''s strongest Lifesaving Skill, Defensive Blade. Brute Spear was not particularly surprised by this situation. After all, the Swordsman class''s Lifesaving Skills were only second to the Assassin class''s. Now that he had forced Shi Feng to use both Lifesaving Skills consecutively, he would have a much easier time dealing with the Swordsman. "So what if you blocked them?" Brute Spear sneered. In a single breath, he rapidly jabbed five times with his spear, targeting Shi Feng''s blind spots. Meanwhile, his two mirror images had also launched identical attacks. Demon Flash did not just allow him to launch a charging attack on his target. The clones conjured lasted five seconds, during which, they would carry out the same actions as the main body. Moreover, they also possessed the exact same Attributes as the main body. Overall, Demon Flash was a Skill meant to counter Defensive Skills that could block multiple attacks. As a result, a total of fifteen spears struck at Shi Feng from three different directionsand extremely fast. Even Shi Feng failed to keep up with all fifteen spears. Meanwhile, these fifteen spear attacks had already exceeded the number of attacks Defensive Blade could block. Sure enough, a Baron Demon really is difficult to handle. Shi Feng finally understood why Demon nobles were so difficult to kill. In the past, when he saw certain experts on the God''s Domain Experts List successfully killing a Demon noble, he had thought nothing of it. Now, however, it would seem that killing a Demon noble of the same tier was a very difficult task. Shi Feng immediately activated Killing Ray''s Additional Skill, Summon Lightning. Boom! In the next moment, arcs of blue lightning shot down from the sky one after another. Not only did these lightning arcs deal 400% lightning damage to all enemies within a 15-yard radius to Shi Feng, but they could also inflict a Numb effect for 5 seconds on the targets struck. Afterwards, his attack range would even increase by 20 yards for 30 seconds. However, Brute Spear simply sneered at this attack. He did not bother dodging the lightning arcs at all as he abruptly stabbed his spear at Shi Feng. He intended to compete and see who could deal more damage. While the fifteen spears struck at Shi Feng, the lightning arcs also bombarded Brute Spear''s body. The block count of Shi Feng''s Defensive Blade was instantly exhausted. As for the several spear strikes that got through, Shi Feng used his swords to deflect them, so he did not receive any substantial damage. In contrast, Brute Spear had over -13,000 damage from the lightning strikes. What high Magic Resistance! Envy sprouted in Shi Feng''s heart when he saw this damage. If a normal Level 45 player received this move of his, they would either die instantly or have very little HP remaining. However, a Baron Demon''s high Magic Resistance had greatly reduced the damage Brute Spear received. Brute Spear had over 240,000 HP. By relying on battle recovery alone, he could recover over 2,400 HP every five seconds. In addition, Summon Lightning''s Numb effect was ineffective against the Berserker. As Summon Lightning ended, Brute Spear launched five spear strikes once more. This time, however, Shi Feng no longer possessed Defensive Blade to protect himself. "What a pitiful bastard. He actually dared to challenge Boss Brute to a duel. He might have had a fighting chance if he had his Berserk Skill. Unfortunately, he''s already used it against Chen Xu." "However, Boss Brute is also amazing. I feel that the Skills he used all have very high Completion Rates." When the five Flower of Seven Sins members saw this scene, they all knew that this fight was as good as over. Originally, Brute Spear already possessed a huge advantage in HP and Defense. Now, he was even using an attack method that trumped all defenses. If Shi Feng wished to deal damage to Brute Spear, he would have no choice but to clash head-on as well. However, Brute Spear still had two clones assisting him. It was simply impossible for a melee player like Shi Feng to stop Brute Spear. From this scene, Shi Feng also understood what was going through Brute Spear''s mind. However, he also had to admit that this was a good plan, as he really did not possess any method of coping with it. Shi Feng used Silent Steps right away and appeared behind Brute Spear. He then pointed the Abyssal Blade at the Berserker. Abyssal Bind! Immediately, black chains materialized in empty space one after another, every one of them shooting straight at Brute Spear. Seeing this, Brute Spear sneered as he activated a Control Removal Skill without hesitation, causing Abyssal Bind to lose effect. He then charged at Shi Feng and launched another barrage of attacks together with his mirror images. "You want to compete using HP?" Shi Feng smiled. "Come, then!" Saying so, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragon Slash. Although his doppelganger only possessed 80% of his Basic Attributes, which made it slightly weaker than Brute Spear, it should have no problems holding off one of the Berserker''s mirror images. Meanwhile, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms summoned by Nine Dragons Slash could also easily stop the other mirror image. This way, the duel would revert to a one-on-one fight. At this time, Shi Feng activated Thunder God''s Descent, increasing his Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 150%, damage by 50%, and decreasing the damage he received by 50% for 30 seconds. Without hesitation, he charged straight at Brute Spear and executed Sword''s Orbit. Starlight suddenly filled Shi Feng''s surroundings. However, Brute Spear paid no attention to this phenomenon whatsoever as he used all his strength to send out multiple spear strikes. Immediately, both sides'' HP began falling continuously, the rate of decline giving the surrounding spectators a fright. "How is this possible?!" The five Flower of Seven Sins members were dumbfounded as they looked at Brute Spear''s plummeting HP. At this moment, Brute Spear was losing over 10,000 HP with each attack he received, 20,000 HP with a critical hit. On the other hand, although Shi Feng was similarly losing HP, he was only losing around 3,000 HP with each attack he received. Moreover, the rate at which his HP fell was much slower than Brute Spear''s. For each time Shi Feng''s HP fell, Brute Spear''s HP would fall two or three times. After just two seconds of exchanging hits, Brute Spear had less than 70,000 HP remainingdown to less than one-third of his HP. On the other hand, although they could not see the exact value of Shi Feng''s HP due to him having hidden it with his Black Cloak, the HP bar revealed above his head showed that he had lost only one-third of his total HP so far. The difference between the two sides was obvious at a glance. However, despite this situation, Brute Spear himself remained unfazed. Just when Brute Spear''s HP fell below the 30,000 threshold, a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Backtrack!" Brute Spear roared. Immediately, a blood-red magic array appeared in the air. A red light then shone out of the magic array, enveloping a radius of 30 yards around Brute Spear. This was the strongest Skill Brute Spear obtained after becoming a Baron Demon. Blood Backtrack! As long as he was not dead, the Skill would allow him to regain the HP he had six seconds before. This was the reason why he dared to exchange damage with Shi Feng. In the next moment, Brute Spear''s HP directly recovered to full. In contrast, Shi Feng had less than half of his HP right now. "Despicable! He can actually recover his HP!" Passing Monarch could not help but curse out loud when he saw this scene. Brute Spear simply sent a contemptuous glance at Passing Monarch. Sure enough, he really does have a trump card hidden. Shi Feng was not particularly surprised by this scene. In reality, he also knew about Blood Backtrack. This was a move that all Demon nobles knew. Even monsters like Great Demons had used it frequently since it was a Skill specifically used to trap others. Hence, he also held back a trump card. Suddenly, the two swords in Shi Feng''s hands released a blinding light. Flame Burst! Sword''s Orbit! One sword light after another flew at Brute Spear. "A Sure-kill Skill?" Remaining unfazed, Brute Spear activated the Additional Skill of his Epic Equipment, Magic Shield, which reduced the damage he received by 30% for ten seconds. He promptly brandished his spear to deflect the oncoming sword lights. Although Brute Spear failed to deflect all the attacks, with his body''s extraordinary physique, he still managed to deflect the majority of them. In the end, he got struck only three times. However, these three hits shocked him as each one actually took over 60,000 HP from him. In just three blows, he had lost over 180,000 HP. When Flame Burst ended and Brute Spear was preparing to counterattack, Shi Feng activated Dragon Breath. Dragon Breath was an AOE Skill that was impossible to block. Moreover, it dealt much more damage than even Flame Burst. Instantly, Dragon Breath devoured Brute Spear''s remaining HP. At the same time, Shi Feng emerged the victor of this duel! 1204 Treasure Secured Chapter 1204 - Treasure Secured After the duel was over, Brute Spear had a look of horror on his face as he looked at Shi Feng. How could he have such a high explosive power?! Brute Spear could not at all believe that he had just lost. He was a Baron Demon. He also had two pieces of Epic Equipment equipped. He himself was a peak expert in God''s Domain. With his 240,000-plus HP, even if he just stood still and did nothing, it would take a Berserker of the same level quite some time to kill him, yet he had been killed almost instantly. How could he possibly accept this loss? Nonetheless, there was no way the duel result announced by the system could be fake. It was also an inescapable fact that he only had one HP remaining right now. Unlike the duels in arenas, the system would leave players with one HP when they were defeated in a duel held in the fields, preventing them from dying. "The match is over. You can hand over that Epic item of yours now," Shi Feng said as he looked at Brute Spear, who currently had a dazed expression on his face. Although Brute Spear possessed the transformation bonuses of a Baron Demon, the difference in levels and equipment between the two of them was simply too massive. It was not something a single Demon transformation could offset. Powerful weapons and equipment not only improved a player''s Basic Attributes but also strengthened a player''s Skills. "Just who are you?" Brute Spear asked after taking a deep breath. "Anyone capable of steamrolling right over me can''t be someone unknown." In terms of HP and Defense, he indeed possessed an absolute advantage. However, Shi Feng was leaps and bounds above him in Skills and other Basic Attributes. Meanwhile, needless to say, the reason for Shi Feng''s advantage in Attributes was definitely the Swordsman''s weapons and equipment. Any player that could surpass a player like himself in terms of weapons and equipment could not be an ordinary expert. Most likely, Shi Feng was a peak expert from a superpower. Moreover, far from just any ordinary peak expert, Shi Feng was no doubt a peak expert heavily nurtured by his Guild. "What? Want to take revenge on me? Not willing to accept defeat?" Shi Feng asked. "That''s only one part of the reason." Brute Spear nodded in acknowledgment. "The other part is that I don''t want to lose without even knowing whom I lost to." He had indeed thought of taking revenge on Shi Feng. After all, the reason he lost this time was not due to techniques, but rather weapons, equipment, and Skills. This result greatly frustrated him. He was actually killed instantly by two Sure-kill Skills. If news about this spread, he would definitely become a laughingstock. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng walked up to Brute Spear and said quietly, "Fine, I can give you a chance. You can call me Frost Eye. In any case, this is a name others have given me. If you wish to have a rematch, then you must wager Epic Equipment at the very least, just like this time. As for the venue of the match, let''s set it at the imperial capital of the Fire Dragon Empire. Once you''re ready, you just need to spread the message in the Fire Dragon Empire. When the time comes, I''ll naturally find out." "You''re Frost Eye? The number one person on the Bounty List?" Brute Spear''s heart began racing when he heard this and stared incredulously at Shi Feng. Frost Eye was very famous in God''s Domain. After all, Frost Eye had managed to enter the main headquarters of the Super Guild King''s Return and kill Hell Fiend all by himselfthen escape with his life. This incident had long since become a legend in God''s Domain. Even now, King''s Return was still hunting Frost Eye. Moreover, the bounty the Guild had placed on Frost Eye had increased from the initial 20,000 Gold to the current 50,000 Gold. King''s Return was even offering a reward of several hundred Gold to anyone that could provide some clues leading to Frost Eye. This incident had also prompted the various superpowers in God''s Domain to search for Frost Eye, because of Frost Eye''s ability to enter places with heavy security like the Divine Colosseum and pull off an assassination. Since Frost Eye had killed an expert like Hell Fiend, he was naturally capable of killing other Guild upper echelons as well, perhaps even the Guild Leaders of superpowers. A Guild Leader''s assassination would deal a massive blow to the Guild''s reputation. Hence, the various superpowers in God''s Domain were searching for Frost Eye. The Flower of Seven Sins was no exception. As an organization that dealt in assassination work, if the Flower of Seven Sins could recruit such an expert, its fame would undoubtedly rise significantly. "Mhm, that''s right. Since you already have the answer to your question, you can give me my item now, right?" Shi Feng nodded. "It seems I have not lost in vain." At this moment, a trace of admiration flashed across Brute Spear''s eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. He then took out the Soul Orb from his bag and passed it to him. In reality, Brute Spear did not place any particular importance on the Soul Orb. After all, Epic items like the Soul Orb were not particularly rare. Practically every superpower possessed one or two of such items. Take the Epic tool the Dark Arena had auctioned for example. The tool could be used to brew Magic Wine that had a calming effect when consumed. The calming effect was similar to when a player was in a high Mana density environment. The Soul Orb was similar to that Epic tool. However, unlike the Magic Wine, which required rare materials to brew, the Soul Orb needed players to willingly offer up a portion of their souls to produce Soul Water. Moreover, the souls of 100 players were needed to produce one drop of Soul Water. Rather than doing something as tedious as collecting souls, gathering raw materials would be much faster. Hence, Brute Spear felt that the Soul Orb was somewhat useless; otherwise, he wouldn''t have used it as a wager. - [Soul Orb] (Epic Rank Item) An orb crafted by Demon God Paimon using the fragments of a destroyed powerful soul treasure. Additional Active Skill- Soul Water: Creates Soul Water from the souls willingly contributed by players. No Cooldown. (Every 100 souls of players absorbed will produce one drop of Soul Water.) Currently, this item has been sealed by Demon God Paimon. Item will drop upon death. Those without the power of Demons are unable to use this item. - "If you''re not interested in this Epic item, I can use 7,000 Gold to buy it back," Brute Spear said, grinning as he looked at Shi Feng. Although items like the Soul Orb were indeed rare in God''s Domain, there were still a few of them, which usually sold for around 20,000 to 30,000 Gold. However, since only Demon players could use the Soul Orb, its value was much lower. For someone like Shi Feng, who was not a Demon player, even if he obtained the Soul Orb, he would not be able to use it. In other words, it was no different from a piece of junk. "At the end of the day, it is still an Epic item. Keeping it as a decoration isn''t a bad idea, either." Although a surprised expression had indeed appeared on Shi Feng''s face after he read the Soul Orb''s Attributes, he still stored the item away. He then turned around and left. The corners of Brute Spear''s mouth twitched involuntarily when he heard Shi Feng''s words. Most likely, only the number one person on the Bounty List could say something like using an Epic item as decoration. As for preventing Shi Feng and the others from leaving, Brute Spear did not think he and his companions had this ability. If Shi Feng was capable of leaving King''s Return''s main headquarters unscathed back then, it would be child''s play to get away from the six of them. Following which, Shi Feng led Passing Monarch and the others away from Demon Island. Brute Spear and the others had failed to notice that the reason for Shi Feng''s surprised expression was not the fact that only Demon players could use the Soul Orb. After all, this was something Shi Feng had long since known. Instead, he was surprised because the instant he touched the Soul Orb, the Golden Stigmata on him had reacted. 1205 Kingdom Transformation Chapter 1205 - Kingdom Transformation The Golden Stigmata was originally a tool for Shi Feng to search for the Seven Treasures. Previously, when he went to Lake Heart City, a clue relating to one of the Seven Treasures had appeared. However, the signal had been brief, disappearing after a moment. Fortunately, he had already gotten a lock on the NPC wielding that treasure. Only, as Countess Katie Green was too powerful for Shi Feng right now, he did not want to alert the NPC any more than he already had. Since entering God''s Domain, Shi Feng had already been to quite a few places. However, he had managed to find only one clue relating to the Seven Treasures so far. Despite that, the instant he touched the Soul Orb, it had actually triggered a reaction from the Golden Stigmata. How could he not get excited over this? This was also the reason behind Shi Feng''s decision to give up on entering Demon Island for now and return to White River City first. After all, the Soul Orb was an item that dropped upon death. The ancient ruins on Demon Island were extremely dangerous. With the Demon God''s aura causing the monsters on the island to go berserk, the risk of death was simply too high right now. It was much better if he returned to White River City for the time being. Following which, Shi Feng said his goodbyes to Passing Monarch and agreed to meet up with him tomorrow at the Sea''s End. Meanwhile, on Demon Island, the black-clad Ranger Chen Xu, who had just met up with Brute Spear''s group, nearly had his eyes fall out of their sockets when he saw Brute Spear sending off Shi Feng and the others. "Boss Brute, are you letting them go, just like that?" Chen Xu could not believe this was true. "We lost a lot of men to them." As Demons, they lost three levels each time they died. Just the number of Flower of Seven Sins members killed by Shi Feng alone numbered over 70. If their superiors were to find out about this, they would no doubt receive severe punishment. After all, turning ordinary players into Demons was not an easy task. "We can only consider ourselves unlucky this time," Brute Spear replied. "Boss Brute, even you weren''t able to defeat them?!" Chen Xu asked in shock. Brute Spear was a peak expert in the Flower of Seven Sins. Moreover, every one of the five others in the Berserker''s party was stronger than Chen Xu. They should be more than capable of dealing with Shi Feng, whose Berserk Skill was on Cooldown. Moreover, Brute Spear had already been ennobled into a Baron Demon. In terms of overall strength, he could already be considered a Tier 2 player. How could he possibly not be a match for Shi Feng? Brute Spear turned around and asked, "Do you know who that peak expert is?" Chen Xu shook his head in response. Shi Feng had been wearing a Black Cloak the entire time. Hence, Chen Xu had failed to discern any information about the Swordsman. Pinpointing his identity through his class was also impossible. After all, there were just too many Swordsman experts in God''s Domain. Not to mention, many of the Swordsman experts that entered God''s Domain were not that famous. "He is Frost Eye!" Brute Spear smiled bitterly. "What?! That''s the guy the higher-ups have been searching for all this time?!" Chen Xu could not help his surprise. Ordinary players might not be familiar with Frost Eye, but he was a famous existence among the superpowers of God''s Domain. Even the old monsters of the Flower of Seven Sins had praised him endlessly, wishing to recruit him into the organization. "No wonder he was so strong!" When Chen Xu recalled the scene where Shi Feng had instantly killed Hammer and the others, he found the idea plausible. After all, Frost Eye was someone capable of assassinating the upper echelon of a Super Guild right in the middle of the Guild''s main headquarters and even getting away safely. It would be a piece of cake for someone like that to kill experts of Hammer''s standards. "Alright, go inform the higher-ups. Tell them that I already have a way to make contact with Frost Eye. Also, send in a detailed report regarding the previous battle. As for the matter regarding Demon Island, the rest of us will handle it," Brute Spear commanded. Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: After returning, Shi Feng immediately noticed that the atmosphere within the city had become slightly tense. "Those Red Players are simply too arrogant! They actually dare take action within NPC towns now! Thanks to that, the loot my team got from the Boss we killed is all gone!" "Your team is simply too careless. However, after the new expansion pack was implemented, the Dark Guilds and Red Players have indeed become more proactive. Several other teams have likewise gotten ambushed and suffered severe losses." "I wonder which bastard triggered this expansion pack. I heard that the other kingdoms and empires are in similar situations. New dark towns and cities have also been popping up one after another throughout God''s Domain, allowing Red Players to exchange for many nice items there." "Exchange items?" "That''s right. Although the exchange rates are very fraudulent, requiring three Secret-Silver Weapons to exchange for one Secret-Silver Weapon or Equipment of the same level, the exchanged weapons and equipment are more suited to oneself. Some normal players have even begun commissioning Dark Guilds and Red Players to help exchange items for them now." "Isn''t that awesome? Our team has many weapons and equipment we can''t use. Rather than sell them for money, it will be much better to exchange for items that are more appropriate for us." "Do you really think it''s that easy? So far, the only place that has such an exchange center in Star-Moon Kingdom is Evernight City as the only dark NPC city within the kingdom. Those who aren''t Red or Dark Players are prohibited entry. Moreover, if you want to exchange for high-ranking weapons and equipment, you''ll need to have enough Reputation with the city as well as fulfill certain conditions. Ordinary Red Players can exchange for Bronze Weapons and Equipment at best. I heard that only Dark Players can exchange for Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment." "It seems we''ll have to be more careful in the future. Now that these Dark Guilds and Red Players have such a convenient source for items, they will surely become more proactive in the future." "That''s right. Currently, some NPC towns are no longer safe from Red Players. I don''t know what kind of item those Red Players have managed to get, but they''re actually able to evade detection by NPC guards for a short time. Unless they''re standing very near an NPC guard, the latter won''t sense them at all." Many independent teams and players were discussing the recent expansion pack and its consequences in the open-air bar of White River City''s Teleportation Hall, and they were unanimous in hating the new expansion pack. Initially, the range of activity of Dark Players was not particularly large. After the implementation of the new expansion pack, however, new dark towns appeared in the vicinity of the various NPC cities. Moreover, these dark towns were all very powerful. The NPCs ruling them were usually above Level 100existences that current players couldn''t go up against. As a result, this situation immediately expanded the range of activities of Dark Players significantly. They''ve begun moving already? Shi Feng had never imagined that these Dark Players would take action so quickly. While the Demon God''s Disturbance expansion pack was indeed a blessing to Dark Players and somewhat of a disadvantage to ordinary adventurer players, it wasn''t as though the expansion pack was a pure liability to adventurer players. Adventurer players similarly had a way to benefit from this expansion pack: crusades! Along with the rise of the dark forces, many Dark NPCs that had previously hidden themselves would become active. As these NPCs were considered enemies of normal players, normal players could kill them without suffering any repercussions. As long as players managed to kill these NPCs, aside from being able to obtain weapons and equipment just like the loot from a Boss, there was also a certain chance for these NPCs to drop Seven Luminaries Crystals, an extremely valuable item to both players and NPCs. Unlike Field Bosses, some powerful NPCs would collect Seven Luminaries Crystals. This source of Seven Luminaries Crystals could also be considered the greatest reward to normal players from this new expansion pack. After Shi Feng was done eavesdropping on the conversations of other players, he returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm and entered a Special Forging Room before carefully taking out the Soul Orb. "Please don''t disappoint me." Shi Feng then activated Omniscient Eyes on the Soul Orb. Omniscient Eyes was one of the two Active Skills of the Golden Stigmata, and it allowed one to see through everything and discover certain things that were not visible on the surface. 1206 Treasure Fragmen Chapter 1206 - Treasure Fragment Star-Moon City: Due to the Demon God''s Disturbance, Star-Moon City''s player population exploded. The majority of these newcomers were former inhabitants of the nearby towns. With the rise of the dark forces, the surrounding NPC towns were no longer safe. The safest locations right now for normal players were NPC cities. This development also prompted many adventurer teams, which were originally active in NPC towns, to move their main base of operations to NPC cities. Consequently, the prices of Land in NPC cities also increased as a result of competition among many adventurer teams. This was especially true for Land in the outskirts of Star-Moon City. Although the Land of a capital city was much more expensive than the Land of other cities, the capital city was also much safer and more convenient. Moreover, Star-Moon City was the closest NPC city to Evernight City, the sole city controlled by the dark forces in Star-Moon Kingdom. This proximity also drew many hidden Dark Players to Star-Moon City. Players couldn''t teleport to Evernight City; Dark Players were no exception to this. If players wished to visit the city, they could only do so on foot. Meanwhile, Star-Moon City was undeniably the best place to stay for convenience in exchanging for items. For a time, the situation within Star-Moon City became very complicated. Meanwhile, inside Heaven''s Burial''s Residence, a meeting of the highest order was currently being held. "Fog, how are the contacts on your side?" Singular Burial asked as he looked at the female Elementalist standing beside him. "Those Dark Guilds have already agreed to our conditions. When the time comes, we just need to exchange some of the weapons and equipment we don''t need for those rare tools in Evernight City. At the same time, they''ve also agreed to secretly kill the players that visit Stone Forest Town," Daybreak Fog said, giggling softly. Although the new expansion pack had driven the rise of the dark forces, only minor powers like small Guilds, adventurer teams, and independent players were actually affected. Large Guilds like Heaven''s Burial were entirely unaffected by this situation. After all, if the various Dark Guilds wished to thrive in Star-Moon City, they would have to gain the permission of Heaven''s Burial. "Excellent. Now that we have the support of these Dark Guilds, we''ll have a much easier time hindering Stone Forest Town''s development. Fog, you''ll be responsible for handling our relationship with the Dark Guilds in the future," Singular Burial said with a nod. He then turned to look at the Cleric Flame Blood and asked, "How are preparations coming along on Abandoned Wave''s side?" "Guild Leader, rest assured, I''ve already covertly leaked information that a secret land has been discovered over at that place. Many strong adventurer teams and small Guilds have already begun taking action. Afterwards, if we release additional fake news about finding treasure there, even more players should head over to their deaths. It won''t be long before we hit the number Abandoned Wave needs. Moreover, due to this new expansion pack, the dark forces have already killed a large number of players. Thus, we won''t attract any suspicions even if many players die," Flame Blood explained. "However, if we supply so many players to Abandoned Wave, what if he turns his sword against us, once he is done dealing with Zero Wing?" "You don''t have to worry about this point. We''ve already signed a contract. He won''t dare go back on his word. Besides, the more sacrifices we supply Abandoned Wave, the more returns we''ll obtain from Evernight City. As long as we help Abandoned Wave achieve his target requirement, Heaven''s Burial will become the first Guild to reside in Evernight City. By then, we''ll be unstoppable." Singular Burial laughed nonchalantly at Flame Blood''s worries. He was helping Abandoned Wave because he stood to kill two birds with one stone. The first was weakening Zero Wing. Once Abandoned Wave was done dealing with Zero Wing, even if Heaven''s Burial could not become Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, it could still occupy half of the entire kingdom. The second was the position in Evernight City. As the only city belonging to the dark forces in Star-Moon Kingdom, Evernight City offered simply too many benefits. Heaven''s Burial could already make a hefty profit just by reselling the items bought or exchanged for there. Currently, the majority of the players in God''s Domain were under the impression that only Dark Players could enter Evernight City. In reality, though, that was not true. As long as one attained a certain status within the city, they could even purchase Land to construct a Guild Residence in Evernight City. Only, achieving this status was tough. However, Abandoned Wave just so happened to provide the Guild with a good way to do so. Once Heaven''s Burial entered Evernight City, they could begin reselling the city''s rarities. Meanwhile, although the various Dark Guilds could also exchange for plenty of rare items, at the end of the day, Dark Guilds were shady existences that few ordinary people wished to do business with. Not to mention, Dark Guilds thrived on killing players. If one did not possess a certain degree of strength, who would dare to trade with Dark Players? As a result, the number of channels they could sell their rare items through was limited. However, Heaven''s Burial was different. Needless to say, players would prefer to trade with Heaven''s Burial over the various Dark Guilds. In addition, Dark Guilds were usually of relatively small size, so how could they possibly compete with Heaven''s Burial? As for the threat of the Blackwater Guild, there was no need to worry about that. The Guild had already officially withdrawn from Star-Moon Kingdom not long ago and diverted its attention towards the various empires of God''s Domain. After all, the Blackwater Corporation was extremely ambitious. Abandoned Wave was but one of the corporation''s many pawns. Abandoned Wave''s current actions were simply his final struggle. If he succeeded, he might regain the Blackwater Corporation''s trust and be put to use elsewhere. If he failed, he would definitely be discarded. In either case, the outcome would not affect Heaven''s Burial. Hence, Heaven''s Burial''s operation this time would only reap benefits. At the same time as Heaven''s Burial was holding a meeting, an earth-shattering incident was also taking place in the distant White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. What a powerful aura! Shi Feng had a look of astonishment on his face as he looked at the floating Soul Orb. Currently, the Soul Orb was emitting frightening pressure. This aura was similar to what he felt from Demon God Paimon on Demon Island. However, while the aura Demon God Paimon released back then had indeed been frightening, it had also been calm. On the other hand, the aura released by the Soul Orb was berserk, as the Soul Orb contained a holy aura aside from Demon God Paimon''s aura. Meanwhile, these two auras were currently in conflict, making it seem as if two Gods were fighting each other right now. At this moment, the entire Special Forging Room was already a mess. Even the magically strengthened walls cracked at the might of the two divine auras. The strength of these two auras exceeded the Special Forging Room''s suppressive ability. As a result, the auras had leaked outside, paralyzing everyone within the Candlelight Trading Firm. "What''s going on?!" "Why can''t I move?!" "This aura... Could there be a monster inside the trading firm!?" The Lifestyle players that had been toiling in their respective workshops were all frightened. This was definitely their first time to encounter such a situation. Just sensing the two divine auras made their souls shudder in fear. Shi Feng did not doubt that the clash between these two auras would have caused a tremendous commotion in White River City if not for Candlelight Trading Firm being a 3-star Shop. This was also the reason why he had chosen to appraise the Soul Orb there. After a short moment, the two clashing auras finally weakened and eventually reached a balance. As a result, half of the Soul Orb turned black and the other half, white. Meanwhile, the Divine Might the orb was exuding right now gave even Shi Feng, who was Level 50, difficulty in moving his body. "Wonderful! It really is a treasure fragment!" Shi Feng revealed a look of ecstasy when he took a look at the Soul Orb''s Attributes once again. 1207 Treasure of Illusion Chapter 1207 - Treasure of Illusion An indescribable excitement filled Shi Feng as he held the Soul Orb. The Seven Treasures were bona fide Godly Relics. Mere Legendary items could not compare to these. Not even Ancient Gods would necessarily possess a Godly Relic, much less mortal humans. In the past, Shi Feng had never even heard of a player owning a Godly Relic. Of course, it was possible that someone had obtained a Godly Relic but had hidden the fact. After all, news of something like this would cause a huge commotion throughout the game if it got out. Hence, in the eyes of God-ranked experts, Legendary items were already considered Godly Relics. After all, Legendary items were already capable of enabling players to challenge opponents of a higher tier. If a God-ranked expert really got their hands on a Godly Relic, the outcome would be simply mind-boggling. Although the Seven Treasures were neither weapons nor equipment, they were still powerful enough to suppress Dark Abyss. However, now that Shi Feng thought about it, he found the idea reasonable. The Soul Water the Soul Orb produced helped players reach an unprecedented serenity and mental clarity. This was no longer something achievable by simply raising an area''s Mana density. How could an Epic item possibly possess such an amazing ability? Only a Godly Relic could produce something so unbelievable. - [Soul Orb] (Epic Rank Item) Originally a fragment of the Treasure of Illusion. However, due to being refined by Demon God Paimon, the fragment''s true power has been sealed. Additional Active Skill- Soul Water: Creates Soul Water from the souls willingly contributed by players. No Cooldown. (Every 100 souls of players absorbed will produce 1 drop of Soul Water.) Additional Active Skill 2- Divine Power Absorption: Absorb divine power to recover the Soul Orb itself. (There are a total of three seals. The removal of the first seal requires 10 God Crystals. Current absorbed number: 0) Currently, although the Soul Orb has been sealed by Demon God Paimon, it has been awakened by the Golden Stigmata. The seal can be removed by absorbing divine power. Item will drop upon death. Demonic power will devour non-Stigmata Bearers. - Not long after Shi Feng began to celebrate, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. - System: Demon God Paimon has discovered the Soul Orb''s awakening and has issued a recovery order to all dark force players. If more than three yards separate the Soul Orb and the Stigmata, it will be teleported back to Paimon''s hands. - Must the system be so serious? Shi Feng was speechless when he heard the system notification. This system announcement had declared that the Soul Orb could not leave his person; he had to carry it with him constantly. However, the Soul Orb dropped upon death. If he died, the orb would return to Demon God Paimon. The recovery order was also a vicious threat. ince it was a recovery order, Dark Players would definitely be given a special method to find the Soul Orb. In other words, as long as he was outside of an NPC city, his chances of encountering a Dark Player ambush were quite high. He was at a huge disadvantage. He had prioritized secrecy when moving about to prevent others from discovering his intentions. Unfortunately, the Soul Orb was a beacon for trouble, yet if he didn''t hold on to it, he would lose the treasure fragment. "Do I really have to head to the War God''s Temple?" Shi Feng felt a headache brewing. The War God''s Temple had tasked him with collecting the Seven Treasures. While he might be able to complete his quest by handing them over, he would lose the ability to use the treasures for himself. Those were the Seven Treasures they were talking about! Although they were neither weapons nor equipment, they possessed abilities that no Epic or Legendary item could compete with. Simply handing the treasures over after obtaining them wouldn''t be worth his time. As Shi Feng tried to plan his next move, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, Phoenix Rain has arrived with her people. She hopes to use the Secret Tablet right now," Aqua Rose said anxiously. "However, we haven''t decided who to send yet. Should we have them wait for a little bit longer?" She''s here already? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. The Dark Auction had only ended a short time ago, yet Phoenix Rain was already here. "Tell her that I have some issues to deal with for now and that I''ll need to have her wait three hours. Also, gather Summer, Violet, Rain, and Yueru. You five will enter the tablet first." The Secret Spellcasting Technique was a massive boost to magical class players. Although Zero Wing had quite a few magical class experts, people with great potential like Aqua Rose would have priority for learning the technique. Only, before these five entered the tablet, he needed to prepare. Now that the Soul Orb had changed, he had to put it to good use, stockpiling as much Soul Water as possible, before handing it over to the War God''s Temple. "Understood." Aqua Rose nodded happily when she heard that she had received a slot as well. If she entered the tablet, she might be able to join the ranks of Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts. After Aqua Rose disconnected the call, Shi Feng considered contacting Melancholic Smile to gather a group of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s ordinary Lifestyle players, particularly the firm''s reserve members. As long as these players were willing to part with a fraction of their souls, they would receive an official member''s benefits for five days. The Candlelight Trading Firm was the number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom. The benefits one could enjoy in Candlelight could not be found in any other trading firm in the kingdom. Hence, a large number of players wanted to join Candlelight every day. However, not everyone could become an official member. Only those with potential could become reserve members. After becoming a reserve member, players still needed to pass Candlelight''s test to become an official member. Meanwhile, reserve members did not receive any particularly valuable benefits. They were only slightly better off than certain independent Lifestyle players. Even so, droves of Lifestyle players wanted to join. Furthermore, EXP was secondary to Lifestyle players. Not being able to kill monsters wouldn''t affect them in any way, and the Weakened state only lasted four or five days. There should be plenty of reserve members who were willing to accept his offer. "How could I have forgotten about Sharlyn?" Shi Feng suddenly remembered the Tier 5 Red Official Sharlyn. Sherlyn had both extraordinary strength and status. She had even scared away the mysterious youth that had used a Super Spell. That mysterious youth had dared to steal the golden tablet right in the middle of Blackwing City. Even Tier 5 players were likely no match for him. Moreover, Sharlyn knew a lot about God''s Domain. She might have some method to help him keep the Soul Orb. Let''s give it a try. If it isn''t possible, it won''t be too late to trade it for a reward in the War God''s Temple after I''ve stockpiled some Soul Water. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her collect the required members. This way, once he returned from the library, she should have gathered enough people. Although Shi Feng wanted more sacrifices, the Flower of Seven Sins already knew about his acquisition of the Soul Orb. If he tempted fate, the Flower of Seven Sins would connect him with Frost Eye. In other words, they would learn that Frost Eye was a member of Zero Wing. If this news reached King''s Return, the consequences would be unimaginable. If that happened, King''s Return would do everything in its power to annihilate Zero Wing. After all, the Guild''s reputation was at stake. Hence, he needed to maintain a low-profile while collecting souls. Moreover, he needed to do it quickly. The longer he held the Soul Orb, the closer the Flower of Seven Sins would come to discovering his identity. After all, the Demon God Paimon had already issued a recovery order for the orb. If it were discovered on one of Zero Wing''s members, the result would still be the same. Following which, Shi Feng snuck out of the Candlelight Trading Firm and rode an advanced carriage to the library. 1208 Dark Sanctuary Chapter 1208 - Dark Sanctuary On the foggy Demon Island, Brute Spear directed the Flower of Seven Sins members to carry away blood-red broken pillars secretly. These broken stone pillars radiated a faint Divine Might, and aside from the Mana directly around the pillars, they attracted all nearby Mana, increasing the density significantly. The smaller stone pillars were roughly three meters long; a single Berserker could barely carry one. The larger pillars were seven to eight meters high, and transporting one required several players. These blood-red pillars littered the Demon Altar. "Hurry up! We need to move these before the other powers discover this place!" Brute Spear commanded. If Shi Feng were present, he would instantly recognize these blood-red pillars. In the past, these pillars had been used to form the magic array that had protected the Flower of Seven Sins'' city. This magic array was known as the Dark Sanctuary. Under the cover of the Dark Sanctuary, the Mana density within the enveloped area would reach heights that even the Tower of Four Elements could not compete with. However, this wasn''t the Dark Sanctuary''s greatest purpose. Rather, it was its ability to help players grow. Players could fight system-generated copies of themselves in the Dark Sanctuary''s core as long as they spent enough Magic Crystals. Moreover, their copies could execute Skills at 100% Completion Rate. Fighting such an opponent would help players realize their flaws and improve rapidly within a short period. Due to this magic array, countless experts had tried to join the Flower of Seven Sins. Only, the magic array Brute Spear and the others had just secured was damaged. It could not be used right away. Even so, just by gathering the blood-red pillars in a location, they could increase the area''s Mana density. As Brute Spear and the others transported the stone pillars, the Flower of Seven Sins'' members received a system notification. - System: Demon God Paimon has issued a recovery order for the Soul Orb. Anyone who kills the Soul Orb''s wielder will receive a bountiful reward from Demon God Paimon. You will need to pay 500 Magic Crystals to accept this quest. Do you wish to accept this quest? This quest is valid long-term. It can be accepted at any time and does not have a time limit. - The Soul Orb? Brute Spear was shocked when he heard this system notification. Isn''t that the item Frost Eye took from me? The Demon God Paimon had bestowed the Soul Orb to him as a treasure. Brute Spear had never thought that this treasure would be this important. Brute Spear suddenly regretted his decision to wager the orb. "Boss Brute, doesn''t Frost Eye have the Soul Orb?" "This is interesting. The Demon God''s reward will certainly be impressive. Many players will accept this quest. Frost Eye is in for a lot of trouble now." "That''s not possible, right? After all, that''s Frost Eye we''re talking about. Killing him is easier said than done." "Boss Brute, should we accept this quest?" "We know that Frost Eye has the Soul Orb. We have an advantage over the other groups." "That''s right. Even if we can''t get it, those from the Sin of Wrath and Sin of Greed will try for it. After all, there are a few among them who are close to becoming Baron Demons." The Demon God''s "bountiful reward" sorely tempted the Flower of Seven Sins'' members. They might get ennobled after completing the quest. Even if they didn''t, they would still gain a significant amount of Reputation, allowing them to reach the Baron rank more easily. This was a very rare opportunity for Demon players. "Let''s not accept the quest for now. We should tell Big Sis about this first. We''ll let her decide what we should do," Brute Spear said after giving the matter some thought. The others nodded in agreement. At the same time, the various dark forces in God''s Domain began to take action. "A bountiful reward from the Demon God?" "Just who is the unlucky fellow that provoked the Demon God? Anyways, this is good news to us." Both the various Dark Guilds and the independent Dark Players accepted the Demon God Paimon''s quest without hesitation. Dark Players had access to fewer quests than normal players. As a result, it was extremely difficult for Dark Players to raise their Reputation with the dark forces. They would likely earn a ton of Reputation Points by completing this quest, let along the potential reward from the Demon God. Elsewhere, Shi Feng arrived at the library of White River City. More players crowded the building than during his previous visits. Many magical class players were practicing their Spells in the main hall, and some were even learning from the NPC instructors to improve their spellcasting accuracy. Unlike physical classes, magical class players needed a considerable amount of training to hit monsters with their Spells. This was especially true after so many God''s Domain evolutions. Players that had recently joined God''s Domain would have a very difficult time fighting even Common monsters. Hence, they needed to practice a lot more to improve themselves. Although the various starting towns had their own combat instructor NPCs, the combat basics these NPCs taught were only useful to newcomers. If one wanted to grow more powerful, they had to enter a city. Physical class players could find their instructors in the War God''s Temple. As for magical class players, their combat instructors were in the city''s library. These locations were the easiest places for ordinary players to enter and train. After all, locations such as the Divine Colosseum cost Magic Crystals. This was a price that ordinary players could not afford. This was especially true for players that had just joined God''s Domain. Hence, ordinary players often visited both the War God''s Temple and the library. If players wished to receive guidance from a senior instructor, they had to pay 1 Silver per hour, whereas a junior instructor only cost 30 Copper per hour. Even ordinary players could afford this. Hence, most ordinary players came here to train at night while spending the day in the fields engaged in battle. By doing so, they could grow stronger faster than simply fighting monsters all day. Zero Wing''s members were far better off. As Zero Wing now had a 3-star Guild Residence, it had its own Training Room. Not only could the training room teach players to utilize their Skills and Spells, but it also taught players basic combat techniques. Neither the library nor the War God''s Temple offered as much. After entering the library, Shi Feng headed to the top floor. The guards have grown stronger again? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the two black armored Knights guarding the Star-Moon Hall''s entrance. Every time he visited the Star-Moon Hall, the Knights were stronger than before. Originally, the guards had only been Level 180, Tier 3 Knights. Now, they were Level 210, Tier 3 Knights. Even Level 180, Tier 4 NPCs would have trouble dealing with these Knights. After all, the higher one''s level was, the more Attributes one received with each level up. A gap of 30 Levels at such a high level was no trivial matter. These two Tier 3 Knights did not block Shi Feng''s path into the Star-Moon Hall. Rather, they opened the doors when Shi Feng came within 10 yards as if they had been instructed to do so. Seated on the throne in the middle of the hall was a golden-haired, saint-like woman. When this saintly woman saw Shi Feng, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. "After some time apart, you seem to have collected a lot more treasures and Coins." 1209 Promotion Ques Chapter 1209 - Promotion Quest Currently, Sharlyn wore a set of exquisite, red-white robes. Although Shi Feng did not know exactly what rank the robes were, they added a hint of divinity and charm to her appearance. They also exuded a fierce Divine Might. Divine Might! Not just any random weapon or piece of equipment possessed this kind of power. It needed to be an item once worn by a God. Moreover, the item must have absorbed some of said God''s power to radiate Divine Might. Legendary mage robes? Shi Feng guessed. Take the Seven Treasures for example. As Gods had created these items personally, the exuded Divine Might. The fact that Sharlyn''s robes radiated Divine Might proved that they were extraordinary. Most Legendary items in God''s Domain did not exude Divine Might. However, when Shi Feng saw the faint smile on Sharlyn''s face after hearing her comment, he shuddered involuntarily. Only now did he recall that Sharlyn possessed a very high-rank Identification Skill that could even observe the contents of a player''s bag space. He currently had more than 10,000 Gold on him... "Why are you giving me that look? Do you think I covet your 15,739 Gold Coins?" Contempt laced Sharlyn''s words as she spoke. "After so much time, you sure have a lot more secrets. You''ve even gotten your hands on a treasure fragment. I wonder how angry Demon God Paimon is right now. After all, he spent hundreds of years to seal that orb." Shi Feng''s heart began to pound. The War God''s Temple had been searching for the Seven Treasures constantly, yet based on Sharlyn''s tone, it seemed as if she had known the Treasure of Illusion''s whereabouts all along. "Do you think I''m working for the War God''s Temple?" Sharlyn said as if she had read Shi Feng''s thoughts. Chuckling, she said, "You''ve sought me out to find a way to prevent Paimon from taking the treasure fragment back, right? Unfortunately, I have no way of shielding the fragment from Paimon''s detection." "Is there really no way?" Shi Feng sighed dejectedly. If he couldn''t hide the Soul Orb from Demon God Paimon, then he would have no choice but to hand the item over to the War God''s Temple. Even a Demon God couldn''t reach the orb inside the War God''s Temple. However, simply handing the orb over would be a huge waste. "I never said there wasn''t a way. If the treasure absorbs a sufficient amount of divine power, you can remove Paimon''s seal. Even Paimon won''t be able to do anything about it. If you wish to keep the treasure fragment, you should find more God Crystals quickly. There is nothing else anyone can do to help you. After all, we are only mortal. We have no hope of resisting Gods," Sharlyn explained. "God Crystals?" Shi Feng smiled bitterly. He wanted to obtain a lot of God Crystals. After all, he had many items that needed divine power to evolve. However, God Crystals were extremely rare, even rarer Epic items. Obtaining a single God Crystal was extremely difficult, yet removing the first seal on the Soul Orb required ten crystals. Where was he supposed to find so many God Crystals? As if she had predicted Shi Feng''s concerns, Sharlyn giggled and said, "Others might have a hard time finding God Crystals, but for you, it shouldn''t be a difficult task." "Not difficult for me? Why?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Five thousand Gold consultation fee," Sharlyn demanded, smiling as she stretched out her hand. Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the woman, inwardly cursing her for being black-hearted. However, he still handed over the 5,000-Gold consultation fee. God Crystals were of utmost importance. Unfortunately, he had yet to discover any clues about their whereabouts. After receiving the 5,000 Gold, Sharlyn''s smile become all the more charming. "It''s very simple, actually. Don''t you have that Ancient Document[1] on you? As long as you ask the Ancient Document, you''ll find clues regarding God Crystals." Sharlyn waved her hand, and in the next instant, the Ancient Document in Shi Feng''s bag appeared before him. "Of course, this is only one of the clues you can use to find God Crystals. The other one is the most important. "Now that you''ve reached Level 50, you can consider your Tier 2 promotion quest. I suggest you complete it as soon as possible as you don''t have much time left." Initially, Shi Feng wanted to curse at the woman. Of course, he knew that the Ancient Document possessed such an ability. After all, he had bought it from the Dark Auction. However, the Ancient Document would only provide a clue to one God Crystal. He needed ten for the Soul Orb. Moreover, he had a greater purpose for the Ancient Document. It would be wasteful to use it to find God Crystals. "What does my Tier 2 promotion have to do with God Crystals?" Shi Feng asked. He simply needed to complete a quest for his Tier 2 promotion. Meanwhile, the Gods themselves had used God Crystals. The two were not related in the least. "Have you forgotten that you own of one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies?" Sharlyn smiled as she took out an ancient book. She then explained, "This ancient book contains records of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. Every time you complete a promotion quest, you''ll be sent into a different space. The Ancient Gods had left these spaces behind. Gods would have certainly stored items there. Hence, for you, it isn''t a particularly difficult task to obtain God Crystals." Hearing Sharlyn saying so, Shi Feng thought back to the Eternal Courtyard he had visited in the Origin Sword Domain. An Ancient God had indeed once lived there. Moreover, he had discovered the Holy Grail in that space. However, as his strength had been limited then, he had been restricted to certain areas. Just surviving and completing his quest had been extremely difficult. He had only obtained the God Crystal due to luck. As Sharlyn had said, the sooner he completed his Tier 2 promotion, the better. This way, he would have more time to focus on other things. Once he had his Tier 2 class, he could explore new areas and find new treasures. "Lady Sharlyn, may I know how I should go about completing my promotion?" Shi Feng asked. Previously, he had completed his class-change with the assistance of a Legacy item. However, his Legacy item had disappeared. If he had a normal class, he could simply go to the library or War God''s Temple and seek out a high-tiered instructor for his Tier 2 promotion. However, hidden classes didn''t have that option. They needed Legacy items to show the way. "I can send you there. I charged you a friendship price the last time. This time, it will cost you 10,000 Gold and an additional 188 Mana Stones," Sharlyn said, stretching out her hand as she revealed an expression that stated, "You should be thankful I am offering such a low price." When Shi Feng heard this, he very much wished to say, "Why don''t you go rob a bank or something!?" Others only needed to pay 50 Gold for their Tier 2 promotion, yet his required 10,000 Gold and 188 Mana Stones. Even if he had the Philosopher''s Stone, he still needed 9,400 Magic Crystals to synthesize that many Mana Stones. If it an independent player stood in his place, they wouldn''t even be able to afford their Tier 2 promotion after reaching Level 100. "I am giving you a great deal here. If you went to find someone else to assist you, they''ll have to be a Tier 5 magical class, and you''d need three of them. Hiring three such existences will cost you a fortune. On the other hand, I''m only charging 10,000 Gold," Sharlyn explained. "Alright, then. However, I don''t have that many Mana Stones on hand right now, and I need to prepare." When Shi Feng heard that he needed three Tier 5 magical class NPCs to help him, he understood that this promotion quest of his was nothing ordinary. Most likely, only an NPC like Sharlyn could help him. Any other NPC with the required strength would be incredibly rare. Following which, Shi Feng left the library, rushing back to the Candlelight Trading Firm. On his way, Melancholic Smile contacted him, an excited expression on her face as she said, "Guild Leader, good news! Abyss has successfully constructed the first Advanced Transport Carriage!" TL Notes: [1]Ancient Document: In Chapter 1171, ancient book -> Ancient Document. 1210 Modified Advanced Transport Carriage Chapter 1210 - Modified Advanced Transport Carriage "He''s done already?" Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he heard Melancholic Smile''s report. Advanced Transport Carriages were not that easy to construct. Even with all the required materials, it was possible that certain parts wouldn''t meet the system''s standards, which would result in failure during the final assembly. These faulty parts would need to be remade, and the carriage would have to be reassembled. These various processes were extremely taxing in both time and energy. However, as long as the Advanced Transport Carriages were complete, they would massively assist Stone Forest Town''s development. Stone Forest Town''s reconstruction was already complete. However, the Transport Carriages, the key to unlocking the Intermediate Town''s true potential, were still missing. Although it was possible to rent ordinary carriages from NPCs, those carriages could hold up to four players at a time. Moreover, the rental price was relatively high. The amount of time one could save with these carriages was also minimal as their speed was on par with Common Mounts. If ordinary players were asked to spend 40 Copper just to save five hours, they would likely choose to walk the entire way. Hence, for the moment, Shi Feng had set the fee for using the rented carriages at 30 Copper per player. With this, he may not make a profit, but he wouldn''t lose money, either. If they could have a fleet of Advanced Transport Carriages now, they could solve many problems. First, the speed of an Advanced Transport Carriage was on par with a Mysterious-Iron Mount. Second, it was capable of carrying up to twenty players at a time. With these two factors, they would make quite an income by just offering players transportation. Furthermore, Advance Transport Carriages could carry cargo. An Advanced Transport Carriage could carry up to 60 non-bag space items. In player towns, a wandering NPC merchant''s stock depended on the town''s transportation services. This was because the majority of a wandering merchant''s goods were non-bag space items. The more non-bag space items a town could transport, the more rare items wandering merchants would bring to said town. Moreover, more wandering merchants would visit. This was considered a hidden benefit. This hidden benefit had only been discovered after many Guilds had established their own Advanced Towns or Basic Cities in the past. When the news spread, the various Guilds regretted not establishing a transportation system early on. Otherwise, they would''ve attracted far more players with the wandering NPC merchants. Moreover, as a town or city attracted more wandering merchants, it would unlock another hidden benefita Mystery Shop! The Mystery Shop mainly sold Mystery Treasure Chests. As its name suggested, one had a random chance of obtaining all sorts of items from the Mystery Treasure Chest such as potions, weapons, equipment, Magic Scrolls, food, beverages, and far more. If one were lucky, they could even obtain Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. It had been very popular among players. However, while the Mystery Shop had an unlimited number of Mystery Treasure Chests in stock, players could only purchase five Mystery Treasure Chests per day at most. Each treasure chest sold for two Silver Coins. After players purchased a certain number of Mystery Treasure Chests from the Mystery Shop, they could become members of the shop. By then, players could enter the shop''s second floor, competing for a limited number of up-to-date and rare weapons, equipment, and tools. Even the most inferior among these items was Secret-Silver rank, and players had often found Fine-Gold items. While very rare, Dark-Gold items would also appear from time to time. After reaching Level 50, it would become very difficult to obtain high-quality weapons and equipment. Obtaining Level 50-plus Secret-Silver Equipment would be as challenging as finding current Dark-Gold Equipment. Hence, getting to compete for up-to-date Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment every day was a huge opportunity for most players. This opportunity did not require players to have superb combat techniques. As long as one had enough Coins, they could purchase the items they desired. Players had swarmed to any town or city with Mystery Shop. Back then, even merchant players had used these Mystery Shops to make a fortune, traveling to the various towns and cities to compete for these items, then reselling them elsewhere for a profit. After all, players rarely sold their Level 50-plus Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Upon arriving at the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng hurried to Burning Abyss''s workshop. "Guild Leader, what do you think of this Advanced Transport Carriage?" Melancholic Smile asked as she gestured to the exquisite carriage in the workshop''s center. Unlike the horse carriages gliding down cities'' streets, the Advanced Transport Carriage was not pulled by a horse. Rather, it resembled the Bronze Engineering Locomotive, a completely mechanized mode of transportation. Players could operate it simply by purchasing fuel from NPC shops. It was similar to taming Mounts. Living Mounts needed to be fed during fixed times. The higher a Mount''s rank was, the more expensive its food needed to be. "Is this a modified version?" After examining the Transport Carriage, he noticed that it was slightly different from the original design. "Mhm, Burning is an engineering genius. He modified it slightly using his research from Titan City, enhancing its performance slightly," Melancholic Smile explained. - [Advanced Transport Carriage] (Common Rank) A creation of Master Engineer Burning Abyss. Maximum capacity: 20 people Durability 200/200 Item storage when liberated: 8,000 bag space slots and 60 non-bag space slots. Additional Skill- Mana Combustion: Increase Movement Speed by 15% by absorbing the Mana of player. Each minute consumes 1,500 Mana. No Cooldown. - "Amazing!" Shi Feng said, surprised. He had seen the Mana Combustion Skill before. However, this Skill generally only manifested on Bronze rank or higher mechanical carriages or Mounts. This was his first time seeing the Skill on a Common Advanced Horse Carriage. With this 15% Movement Speed increase, the Transport Carriage would rival Secret-Silver Mounts. However, when Shi Feng looked at this Advanced Transport Carriage, he felt a little helpless. With the materials they had at hand, they could produce at most two Advanced Transport Carriages. If they could mass-produce the Transport Carriage, the Mystery Shop might open in Stone Forest Town before it even became an Advanced Town. It would be great if we could find some replacement materials. Shi Feng thought. Green Ebony was even rarer than Diamond Wood. Moreover, it could only be found in extremely dangerous maps. Procuring a large quantity would be very difficult. Right! Green Ebony only grows where normal Ebony grows, and only a small minority of Ebony in high Mana density environments grow into the tougher, harder, and more Mana-conductive Green Ebony. What if I use the Philosopher''s Stone''s Elemental Strengthening on normal Ebony? Shi Feng suddenly remembered the Philosopher''s Stone. Aside from concocting potions, alchemy could convert and strengthen items. Green Ebony was born from Ebony. It was definitely worth giving the Philosopher''s Stone a try. Ebony was not a particularly rare material in God''s Domain. One could even say that it was a very common type of wood. If he could transform Ebony into Green Ebony, he could save himself plenty of trouble. Mass-producing the Advanced Transport Carriage would no longer be a challenge. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng had Melancholic Smile retrieve some Ebony from the Candlelight Trading Firm''s warehouse while he retrieved the Philosopher''s Stone from his Personal Warehouse. 1211 Soul Water Chapter 1211 - Soul Water In the first-floor hall of the Candlelight Trading Firm Due to the Exotic Stamina Potion''s recent launch, not only had the Candlelight Trading firm become the most popular place in White River City, but it had also become a holy land for Lifestyle players. Every day, a large number of Lifestyle players visited the Candlelight Trading Firm to take its entry test. Among the kingdom''s trading firms, the Candlelight Trading Firm employed the most Lifestyle players. In addition, it was the only place that had the Basic Meditation Room. Everyone had thought little of the Basic Meditation Room when it had first appeared. However, shortly after, a large group of Advanced Lifestyle players had suddenly emerged in the Candlelight Trading Firm. Even if they didn''t acknowledge that the Basic Meditation Room had anything to do with it, it was difficult to deny the truth. How else would they explain the sudden addition of so many Advanced Lifestyle players in the Candlelight Trading Firm? Lifestyle players'' status rose with each passing day. Advanced Lifestyle players, in particular, enjoyed generous benefits. As long as one worked hard, their income could even rival that of expert players. They could easily live without having to worry about food and clothing. If they reached the Master rank, even owning a mansion and luxury cars were within reach. To become Master Lifestyle players, joining the Candlelight Trading Firm was undeniably the best option. "So, this is the Candlelight Trading Firm? Seems like a pretty nice place." As a large group of independent Lifestyle players lined up by the first-floor hall''s staircase, awaiting their turn to be tested, a female player in dark gray robes entered the trading firm and nonchalantly commented. This female player was none other than Silent Wonder, whom Shi Feng had invited to work for the Candlelight Trading Firm. Silent Wonder''s comment instantly attracted many Lifestyle players'' attention as they all turned to look at her. Very quickly, they noticed the Advanced Alchemist''s Insignia on Silent Wonder''s chest. Moreover, her level was frighteningly high, at Level 42. Not even many experts had such a high level. However, despite her level and alchemist rank, the waiting Lifestyle players glared at her contemptuously. At this moment, an Advanced Enchanter close to Silent Wonder said, "You must have come here from another kingdom, right? If you wish to join the Candlelight Trading Firm, you need to queue up for the test." "Even Advanced classes need to take the test to join this place?" Silent Wonder asked the Advanced Enchanter standing in the long queue. The various Guilds were all in desperate need of Advanced Lifestyle players. Practically every Guild treated their Advanced Lifestyle players like their own children. If an Advanced lifestyle player stated their intention to join a Guild, plenty of Guilds would welcome them with open arms, not force them to take a test. "Of course. There are at least five Advanced Lifestyle players ahead of me right now," the Advanced Enchanter said as he rolled his eyes. "This is the Candlelight Trading Firm. It isn''t like your average Guild. From I''ve heard, several Advanced Lifestyle players had failed Candlelight''s test and had to retake it three times before they managed to pass." "How is this possible!?" For a moment, Silent Wonder thought she had heard wrong. She suspected that the Advanced Enchanter before her was a prop the Candlelight Trading Firm had placed here to fool people. "Those are Advanced Lifestyle players we''re talking about!" If even Advanced Lifestyle players needed to retake the test several times, how were Basic and Intermediate Lifestyle players supposed to pass? "It''s true. This is already my second time taking the test. Candlelight''s testing is different from other Guilds. They set different requirements depending on your rank. Only by achieving their requirement are you allowed to join. The only advantage Advanced Lifestyle players have is that we don''t need to become reserve members. As long as we pass the test, we''ll be accepted as official members instantly," the Advanced Enchanter explained. Silent Wonder fell silent for a moment. She could not understand what was going through these Advanced Lifestyle players'' minds. If an Advanced Lifestyle player joined any other Guild, becoming a core member would be trivial, yet based on the Advanced Enchanter''s explanation, one would be lucky to become an official member of the Candlelight Trading Firm... Were all of these Advanced Lifestyle players somehow tricked to come here? Silent Wonder wondered about her agreement with Shi Feng. "Have you come all the way here without knowing anything?" the Advanced Enchanter asked, surprised by Silent Wonder''s behavior. In response, Silent Wonder nodded. "No wonder. In Star-Moon Kingdom and our several neighboring counties, the Candlelight Trading Firm is second to none in terms of the treatment and benefits it provides. Aside from its large number of Special Workshops, there are also the Basic Meditation Rooms that can help Advanced Lifestyle players like us reach the Master rank. I heard that Candlelight already has a Master Engineer. As long as we become Candlelight core members, we can seek guidance from that Master Engineer," the Advanced Enchanter explained. "A Master?! How is this possible?!" Silent Wonder was stunned. She could not believe her ears. That was a Master Lifestyle player they were talking about! Even God''s Domain''s empires didn''t have a Master rank Lifestyle player yet, much less a small kingdom like Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, crossing that final threshold was not a simple thing. Yet, not only did the Candlelight Trading Firm have an excellent resource like the Basic Meditation Room, but it also possessed a bona fide Master leading it. Any Advanced Lifestyle player seeking to become a Master would be more than eager to learn about a Master''s experience. So, he really wasn''t lying. Silent Wonder suddenly thought back to Shi Feng''s words mentioning how her stay in the Candlelight Trading Firm after fulfilling her contract was an unknown. She had assumed that Shi Feng wanted to provoke her. Now, however, it would seem that he had told the truth. After all, with the presence of a Master Lifestyle player and so many Advanced Lifestyle players seeking said Master''s guidance, the competition within the trading firm would be intense. Hmph! So what?! I refuse to submit! At the end of the month, you''ll be begging me to stay! Silent Wonder''s fighting spirit flared. She had relied on herself to grow from an Apprentice into an Advanced Alchemist. She believed that, as long as she remained in Candlelight Trading Firm, it would be a trivial task to become the trading firm''s Chief Alchemist. As Silent Wonder joined the queue to take the test, a large number of reserve members gathered in the fourth-floor hall. There were over 600 players present. Among these people, even the weakest were Advanced Apprentices, with the majority of them being Basic or Intermediate Lifestyle players. In any other large Guild, they would be official members at the very least. In the Candlelight Trading Firm, however, they were only reserve members. However, these reserve members were all very excited. As long as they signed a contract, they would become official members for five days. During these five days, not only could they receive guidance, but they could also utilize the trading firm''s Special Workshops. "Guild Leader, due to time constraints, I have only gathered this many people for now. It will take some more time to gather the remaining players," Melancholic Smile said. "This should be barely enough. If you have the time, try to expand the firm a little more. In any case, Candlelight will have to expand later on. Doing it a little early would be just as beneficial," Shi Feng said as he glanced at the reserve members in the hall. The number of people here barely met his requirement. Currently, there wasn''t enough Ebony in White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm''s warehouse; there were only 30 logs or so. It was hardly enough for his needs. They still needed to transfer their stockpile from the other Shops. It just so happened that he could use this time to obtain some Soul Water. After all, Phoenix Rain was in quite a hurry, and it would not help him to delay them. Following which, Shi Feng began absorbing the reserve members'' souls. The absorption process was very simple. He didn''t even need to take out the Soul Orb itself. A simple handshake and an agreement from the contributing party would do. One reserve member after another clicked "Agree" when a window appeared, asking them to contribute a fraction of their souls. When the Soul Orb eventually gathered 100 souls, a drop of dazzling, red water formed within. After a short moment, the Soul Orb absorbed 624 souls and formed six drops of Soul Water. Alright. It''s about time I meet Phoenix Rain. Shi Feng smiled in satisfaction as he stored the six drops of Soul Water in six small bottles. 1212 Respective Preparations Chapter 1212 - Respective Preparations In the Candlelight Trading Firm''s seventh-floor meeting room As soon as Shi Feng entered the meeting room, several gazes landed on him. The origin of these gazes was none other than Phoenix Rain''s group, who had waited for quite some time now. This time, aside from Blue Phoenix, Phoenix Rain had brought three cloaked men. These men hid their levels, equipment, and in-game name. Although Shi Feng could not see any information about these men, the fact that Phoenix Rain had chosen them to enter the Secret Technique tablet proved that their combat standards were extraordinary. Otherwise, Phoenix Rain wouldn''t have wasted these precious legacy slots on them. So, these are Phoenix Rain''s hidden cards. The Phoenix Pavilion sure has a powerful foundation. Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the three men. He was surprised due to the men''s calm auras. They felt more like plants than humans. Moreover, under his observation and perception, he couldn''t find any holes in their defenses. This was rare. After all, he could even spot three weak points on an expert like Blue Phoenix. There were only two kinds of people that could hide their weak points from him. The first was those who possessed a higher combat standard than he did, while the second was those who had experienced countless battles and had long since hammered out their weaknesses. Regardless of which type these three men were, they were extremely powerful experts. As Shi Feng observed these three men, these men observed him. Once they completed their evaluation, they were astonished. "Is he that Ye Feng that Rain mentioned?" "He is even more powerful than Rain said. I never expected an upstart Guild to possess such a young expert." "Truly amazing. It''s been a long time since I''ve seen a kid that felt dangerous." The three men chatted quietly as they looked at Shi Feng. As they conversed, Blue Phoenix, who noticed this, smiled and said, "Big Sis Rain, Ye Feng seems to have shocked the Elders." These men were not actually members of the Phoenix Pavilion. Instead, they were Elders on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Board of Elders. Normally, they only listened to the Great Pavilion Master. Aside from extensive contributions to the Guild, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion required sufficient strength to join the Board of Elders. Otherwise, their subordinates wouldn''t submit. However, although the Guild Elders only listened to the Great Pavilion Master, the Great Pavilion Master didn''t have any right to manage their free time. Phoenix Rain had secured these three men''s help for Thunder Island. Of course, the condition for their help was a slot to the Secret Spellcasting Technique. Phoenix Rain simply smiled in response to the Elders'' reactions to Shi Feng. While part of the reason she had brought these three Elders here was to learn the Secret Spellcasting Technique, another part was to rope them into her faction. After all, the contest over Thunder Island wasn''t limited to a single event. The contest would repeat in the future, yet these men had only agreed to help once. In terms of overall strength, the Phoenix Pavilion and Heavenly Dragon Pavilion were about equal. Hence, both sides'' chances of becoming the Great Pavilion Master were fifty-fifty. As a result, the Elders, who maintained a neutral stance in the Guild, became prime recruitment targets. Not only did they possess great individual strength, but they also had significant influence within the Guild. Every Elder would massively boost their respective factions. Naturally, these Elders understood that the future Great Pavilion Master would be one of the two current Pavilion Masters. However, while it was important to pick a side as soon as possible, it was also important that they chose the strongest. Strength came in many forms. For starters, there was the strength of collaborators. The stronger collaborators a side possessed, the more help these collaborators could be. Many elders had criticized Phoenix Rain for partnering with Zero Wing. However, after Blackwater''s defeat and the Evil Dragon Battle Team''s annihilation, some of these Elders had begun to see her in a new light. "Sorry for making you wait. I had some preparations to see to. Now that we''re here, let''s begin," Shi Feng said as he approached the meeting table. He then took the Bronze Tablet from his bag. The instant the Bronze Tablet appeared, the three Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion Elders'' eyes shone, their yearning for the Bronze Tablet overflowing. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had several Secret Technique Tablets of their own, none were for magical classes. While they could not deny the usefulness of those Secret Techniques, in terms of benefits to magical class players such as themselves, those techniques paled in comparison to the Secret Spellcasting Technique. "Team Leader Ye Feng, I believe you know about the Secret Technique tablets. If you want the best effect from the legacy, it is best if you prepare tools that can assist players in increasing their focus. This way, you can earn twice the reward with half the effort," Phoenix Rain suggested. "If your side hasn''t prepared, I have a few bottles of Magic Wine that I can share. When consumed, one experiences similar effects to being in the Trial Tower, and each bottle has a duration of 30 minutes." As Phoenix Rain said so, she removed several bottles from her bag. She had produced these bottles of Magic Wine with the Epic tool she had won in the Dark Auction. "I didn''t expect Rain to be so generous. The materials needed to brew the Magic Wine are very rare, and she has only brewed a small number. If she gives away some of her own share, she''ll miss plenty of opportunities later inside the Secret Technique space." "This can''t be helped. Tools capable of increasing a player''s focus are simply too rare. At the end of the day, Zero Wing is still an upstart Guild with weak foundations. I have heard that Zero Wing intends to participate in the contest for Thunder Island. Now that Rain is helping them, they will be more useful on Thunder Island." "Previously, I heard that Pantheon''s people had sought Rain out to discuss a partnership. If that child had agreed, she wouldn''t have to sacrifice her own resources like this." The three Elders discussed Phoenix Rain''s actions. The Secret Spellcasting Technique was the only reason they had agreed to help Phoenix Rain on Thunder Island. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have poked their noses into such a troublesome matter. Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor were equally powerful. However, the difference between their collaborators was obvious at a glance. While they did not mean to belittle Zero Wing, Nine Dragons Emperor had partnered with the Super Guild King''s Return. Moreover, recently, Miracle had also agreed to a non-aggression pact with Nine Dragons Emperor for the contest on Thunder Island. Nine Dragons Emperor''s advantages far outstripped Phoenix Rain''s. Just as Phoenix Rain was about to reveal another bottle of Magic Wine, Shi Feng shook his head and said, "Thank you for your goodwill, but we have come prepared." "You already have them?" Phoenix Rain could not help her astonishment. She hadn''t expected Zero Wing to have such a foundation. Before she had won the Epic tool that produced Magic Wine, the Phoenix Pavilion had only had a few tools that improved a player''s concentration. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose and the others, who stood by the side, weren''t surprised in the least. If one wanted to discuss tools that improved focus, nothing throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and its several neighboring kingdoms and empires could compare to the Hundred Berry Wine. The Hundred Berry Wine''s effects were simply wondrous. Unfortunately, the supply was limited. To improve their efficiency with learning the Secret Spellcasting Technique, Shi Feng had given each of them five bottles. "Aqua, you guys take these. Each person only gets one bottle," Shi Feng said before revealing five bottles of Soul Water. The crimson droplet within the glass bottles immediately attracted everyone''s attention. The instant Shi Feng took out these glass bottles, everyone present thirsted for the Soul Water. Even a fool could tell how amazing the Soul Water was. When Aqua Rose and the others held the Soul Water, they could not help but take a deep gulp, their minds practically shouting at them to consume the Soul Water. "How could such a frightening tool actually exist?" The three Elders were dumbfounded as they stared at the Soul Water in wonder. 1213 Super-sensitive State Chapter 1213 - Super-sensitive State Phoenix Rain was similarly shocked when she saw the Soul Water. There were plenty of delicacies in God''s Domain. However, those were only attractive in terms of taste and smell. However, the Soul Water was different. It emanated a powerfully attractive aura. "It seems that I really have underestimated you." Phoenix Rain chuckled as she shook her head. Previously, she worried that Zero Wing''s five members would waste the legacy slots. However, that concern seemed unfounded. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Bronze Tablet for the Secret Spellcasting Technique while everyone else began to draw a copy of the magic array that had appeared on the tablet. As the Basic Magic Arrays began taking form, they resonated with the array on the Bronze Tablet. A black hole then formed on the tablet, pulling everyone but Shi Feng into it. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng was alone in the meeting room. I''ve done all I can. How much you grow will depend on you now. Shi Feng glanced at the now empty space where Aqua Rose and the others had stood before turning and leaving the room. Elsewhere, after being pulled into the black hole, Aqua Rose and the others were transported to the entrance of a nine-story-tall, golden temple. The temple was nearly 600 meters tall, looming like a large mountain. Its appearance alone shocked Aqua Rose and the others. This temple also radiated a suffocating pressure, making everyone''s movements extraordinarily sluggish. "So, this is the Secret Technique space?" Aqua Rose and the others looked around curiously. The pair of bronze doors before them was tightly shut, and it did not seem as if they could enter the temple at the moment. Two, large words had been carved into the doors. Bronze Temple! Suddenly, the figure of an old man with a hunched back appeared before the doors. This old man wore a kind expression. However, as these players inspected the man carefully, they discovered that, despite only being a phantom, he was incredibly strong. - [Bronze Temple Guardian (Phantom)] (Grand Wizard) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? - A Grand Wizard was the Tier 5 class of an Elementalist. Even in empires, a Grand Wizard was an apex existence. Even emperors had to treat these powerhouses with respect. Although the Grand Wizard before them was only a phantom, he was still an invincible existence compared to Tier 1 players like Aqua Rose and the others. "Heaven-blessed individuals, welcome to the Bronze Temple. You are only allocated six hours of legacy time. However, you can extend this legacy time with your performance. The Bronze Temple has a total of nine floors, and each floor has numerous sets of Secret Techniques. You are only allowed to pick one set from each floor each time you enter the Bronze Temple. However, as you have come to this place through an incomplete tablet, there is only one complete set available inside the Bronze Temple. The rest are incomplete. "Of the temple''s nine floors, you have one chance to learn one aspect of the complete legacy from each floor. Although you may acquire the complete legacy on the first floor for free, you will have to defeat a predetermined opponent to obtain the complete legacies on the remaining floors. The more floors you clear, the longer you may visit the Bronze Temple. "When you pass the second floor, you will gain one extra hour inside, two hours for passing the third floor, four hours for the fourth floor, and so on. You only have one chance to learn from each floor. Regardless of how many times you return here in the future, if you cannot pass the last floor you reached, you cannot obtain more legacies. Please keep this in mind." When the Bronze Temple Guardian finished speaking, he vanished. Following which, the bronze gates slowly opened. "So, this is how it works." Realization dawned on Aqua Rose. It was no wonder why it was mentioned that the first entry into a Secret Technique Tablet was the most effective, while subsequent entries would be less so. After all, the higher a player''s skill level, the more difficult it would be to improve. This was similar to Skill Completion Rates. The closer one was to reaching 100% Completion Rate, the more difficult it would be to raise it. If a player reached the fourth floor on their first attempt, but couldn''t reach the fifth floor during their second attempt, then they wouldn''t obtain any legacies. They would''ve wasted a trip. Aqua Rose and Phoenix Rain''s group of ten entered the Bronze Temple. The Bronze Temple''s first floor had a similar setup to a football stadium. A massive, magic water ball dominated the center of this stadium. It was obvious that the players were supposed to receive their legacies from this liquid orb. As this wasn''t the first time Phoenix Rain''s group had entered a Secret Technique space, they habitually retrieved their Magic Wine from their bags and drank it. Without hesitation, they approached the water ball in the center. In the next moment, Phoenix Rain''s group of five entered the water ball and disappeared as if they had been transported to a different space. "Big Sis Aqua, let''s go, too," Violet Cloud said excitedly. The Secret Spellcasting Technique was a combat technique tailored for magical classes. If she could grasp it, she could definitely improve her techniques. "Mhm, let''s enter as well." Aqua Rose nodded. She then took out the Soul Water from her bag and drank it. - [Soul Water] When consumed, increases player''s focus for two hours. Cooldown: 10 hours - The instant Aqua Rose drank the Soul Water, she felt as if she had somehow left her body. Her mind experienced a calm like never before, and she felt physically stronger and more agile than ever. When she tried to recall the Void Steps she had previously learned, countless thoughts and inspiration bombarded her mind. Aqua Rose hadn''t been aware that consuming the Soul Water placed one in a super-sensitive state. This state was far beyond what players experienced even in absurdly high Mana dense environments. "The Guild Leader really is impressive. This Soul Water is at least ten times stronger than the Hundred Berry Wine," Alluring Summer commented in astonishment. When she had first joined Zero Wing, she had been thoroughly impressed by the Hundred Berry Wine. The beverage had helped her improve significantly within a short time, allowing her Skill Completion Rate to rise from 80% to 82%, yet after so long in Zero Wing, she had only reached an 85% Skill Completion Rate. Although this increase seemed minute, in reality, her Spells had undergone a qualitative transformation. As for Zhao Yueru, she was at a loss for words. The more she knew about Shi Feng, the more mysterious he seemed. Shi Feng was a Pandora''s Box, hiding countless secrets. When she had discovered that Ye Feng and Black Flame were actually the same person, she had been shocked. After all, she had understood what kind of background Ye Feng had started with. He had nothing to lean on, yet now, he was the Guild Leader of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. Once Aqua Rose''s team had familiarized themselves with the super-sensitive state, they entered the magic water ball. Inside one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Forging Rooms, Melancholic Smile walked in with over 2,000 logs of Ebony. Each Ebony stack contained 20 logs. Although the Special Forging Room was quite spacious, it was not enough room to store so many logs. Shi Feng had no choice but to store them in his bag space for now, leaving 300 logs out to experiment on later. "Why isn''t it succeeding?" Shi Feng wore a confused expression as he held the crimson Philosopher''s Stone and stared at the pile of ash on the floor. "Is it really impossible to transmute Ebony into Green Ebony?" So far, he had performed Elemental Strengthening on more than 200 logs of Ebony. However, every attempt either did nothing or tuned the wood to ash. If others knew that Shi Feng had wasted over 200 logs of Ebony, they would have fainted from anger. Although Ebony was not a rare wood, it wasn''t available in large quantities. Each log could sell for 20 Silver on the market, only slightly cheaper than a Magic Crystal. One could purchase a Common Mount for the price of 200-plus logs Following which, Shi Feng tried using the Philosopher''s Stone''s three other SkillsAlchemical Conversion, Elemental Refinement, and Alchemical Synthesis. However, the results were the same. Though, surprisingly, when Shi Feng used Alchemical Synthesis on 50 logs, he obtained Purple Origin Wood rather than Green Ebony. Purple Origin Wood was a rare wood. Similar to Diamond Wood, it was an excellent component for crafting ships. However, using 50 logs of Ebony to obtain one log of Purple Origin Wood was obviously not worthwhile. Each log was only worth 6 to 7 Gold, yet synthesizing it from Ebony would cost 10 Gold per log. "No, it must be that my approach is wrong." Shi Feng suddenly thought of something after seeing his repeated failures. The reason Ebony could become Green Ebony was its Mana density. Green Ebony only manifested where the Mana density was quite high. This was also why Green Ebony was so rare. "If there isn''t enough Mana, I''ll have to supply it." Shi Feng smiled. He then took a large pile of Magic Crystals from his bag and used them to fuel Elemental Strengthening. On his first try, he used one Magic Crystal. Although the strengthening failed, the Ebony remained intact. On his second try, he used two crystals; the results were the same. It''s no good even with 29 Magic Crystals?! Shi Feng was speechless. However, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue trying. He then used 30 Magic Crystals to strengthen the log of Ebony before him. As the Magic Crystals began to disintegrate, the Mana within them surged into the log of Ebony. Immediately, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. - System: Congratulations! Strengthening successful. You have obtained Green Ebony. 1214 Raising Fame Chapter 1214 - Raising Fame "Finally." Shi Feng released a sigh of relief when he saw the Green Ebony log on the stone table before him, a hint of excitement flashing across his eyes. Although the Magic Crystal cost had been high, strengthening Ebony into Green Ebony would save him a lot of time. His only other option would be harvesting Green Ebony, and he had no idea where to find the large quantity he needed. A single Advanced Transport Carriage required 15 logs of Green Ebony. Even if he sent Blackie and the others to grind Trolls in the Crying Ghost Ridge, they''d be lucky to obtain eight or nine logs per day. Furthermore, the Crying Ghost Ridge was currently home to the ancient abyssal monsters. The risk was simply too high. A single mistake could claim Blackie and the others'' lives. In Shi Feng''s opinion, trading 30 Magic Crystals and one log of normal Ebony for a log of Green Ebony was worthwhile. However, Magic Crystals are going to be a problem. I can''t mass-produce Green Ebony just yet. Shi Feng looked at the Magic Crystals in his bag and felt a headache brewing. Currently, with the 40,000-plus Magic Crystals left in his bag, he could create plenty of Green Ebony. However, if a Guild wished to develop, it needed to invest resources in various aspects. If he wanted Zero Wing to advance by leaps and bounds within a short time, he needed to invest even more. This was especially true for the Guild''s elite members. Their training in the Divine Colosseum could not be forsaken. Considering this, Shi Feng somewhat lacked Magic Crystals. Although he had made a fortune in the Dark Arena, he had already spent his earnings. Moreover, he owed Phoenix Rain a monstrous debt of 250,000 Magic Crystals, which he needed to pay off within the next five days The majority of his earnings from the Dark Arena consisted of weapons and equipment. If he traded these excellent items for Coins and Magic Crystals, he could pay back the Magic Crystals he owed Phoenix Rain with a sizable stock to spare, enough to begin his city''s construction. However, Zero Wing was expanding rapidly and in urgent need of excellent weapons and equipment. Unless he had truly run out of options, Shi Feng wanted to avoid selling those items. It seems that I''ll have to increase Stone Forest Town''s fame, Shi Feng pondered. Currently, Stone Forest Town was an Intermediate Town. Not only did it occupy a massive area, but it also had three Magic Towers, increasing the town''s Mana density significantly. Although the town had only reopened shortly after the war, far more players now occupied the town. However, if he wanted to earn a fortune from Stone Forest Town, attracting Star-Moon Kingdom''s players wasn''t enough. After all, there was a limit to how many players in Star-Moon Kingdom could afford a membership for the Battle Arena. However, there were plenty of players available in the neighboring kingdoms and empires. Unfortunately, these players either didn''t know about Stone Forest Town, or it wasn''t an attractive enough reason to make the journey. Considering his options, Shi Feng began to strengthen the Ebony he had. If he wanted Stone Forest Town''s fame to reach more players, he needed a convenient transportation system. Mass-producing Burning Abyss''s modified Advanced Transport Carriage would solve that problem. The nearest teleportation point to Stone Forest Town was roughly ten hours away on foot. If one used a Common Mount, they could reach the town in half the time. Even so, five hours was still a very long time. The Advanced Transport Carriage increased a player''s Movement Speed by 150%. It was similar to a Mysterious-Iron Mount. However, with Mana Combustion, the Transport Carriage''s Movement Speed could be increased by another 15%. Moreover, this 15% increase was based on the 150% base Movement Speed. In other words, the Advanced Transport Carriage would increase a player''s Movement Speed by a total of 172.5% when using Mana Combustion. That speed could already rival a Secret-Silver Mount. A journey that originally took ten hours on foot would now be complete in a little over three hours. To high-level players, who frequently traveled for five or six hours to reach their grinding spots, three hours of travel was acceptable. Moreover, Shi Feng intended to offer even more bountiful rewards for the Battle Arena. Top-tier weapons and equipment were not particularly attractive to powerful independent experts. Hence, if he wished to attract more people, he needed to offer items that those independent experts wanted. He might not have previously had such items, but now he did. As long as independent experts wanted them, they were fully capable of obtaining top-tier weapons and equipment. However, combat techniques were a different story. Originally, Shi Feng had thought of offering the Secret Sword Technique''s slots as a reward. However, now that he had the Secret Spellcasting Technique, he could offer those. Although he would lose two slots as a result, this reward would definitely drive God''s Domain''s independent experts crazy. Time passed quickly. Before Shi Feng had realized it, he had spent the entire night creating Green Ebony. After the long night of work, he had produced 600 logs of Green Ebony. Unfortunately, Elemental Strengthening''s success rate wasn''t 100%; he had spent over 20,000 Magic Crystals to obtain these 600 logs. Fortunately, with 600 logs of Green Ebony, they could manufacture 40 Advanced Transport Carriages for transporting goods and players too and from Stone Forest Town. With a large number of rental carriages as well, they would have more than enough carriages to meet the town''s needs. Now, he just needed to manufacture the Advanced Transport Carriages. Manufacturing the Advanced Transport Carriage was incredibly tedious. Fortunately, he had employed the help of the NPC Master Engineer Rodney. With Burning Abyss and Rodney working together, they could craft the Advanced Transport Carriage relatively quickly. As for the advanced speedboats, he would have to set that aside for now. After all, they hadn''t even dealt with the Diamond Wood issue yet. How could they possibly begin building ships? Shi Feng had also produced plenty of Magic Array Scrolls and Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Shi Feng now had two more sets of Double Protection Barrier Magic Array Scrolls and two sets of Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array Scrolls. If not for his limited materials, he could''ve produced even more. As for the Advanced Mana Armor Kit, Shi Feng had forged over 600. Aside from a fraction reserved for Guild members, he intended to use the remainder to lure customers to the Candlelight Trading Firm and as daily rewards for the Battle Arena''s tournament. "Time sure flies by. However, these Advanced Mana Armor Kits should last us for quite some time. Now, I just need to inform players in other countries," Shi Feng said as he smiled in satisfaction. The Advanced Mana Armor Kit was exclusive to Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm. It was also one of the best available armor kits currently. With the addition of the Secret Spellcasting Technique, he could already imagine the commotion Stone Forest Town would cause. Neither the Advanced Mana Armor Kits nor the Secret Spellcasting Technique could be purchased with Coins. Most likely, even independent experts would not be able to hold themselves back from joining the Battle Arena''s tournament. As Shi Feng was about to write a post on the official forums, Melancholic Smile contacted him. "Guild Leader, the Phoenix Pavilion Master has emerged from the Secret Technique space and said she wishes to discuss something with you. She is waiting in the top-floor meeting room." "She''s out already?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise. From what she had heard from Phoenix Rain, even a powerful expert could easily remain in a Bronze Secret Technique space for over 12 hours, much less an expert like Phoenix Rain, yet only ten hours had passed. Logically, she should not be out so soon. 1215 Super-large-scale Team Dungeon Chapter 1215 - Super-large-scale Team Dungeon The Candlelight Trading Firm''s top-floor meeting room: As soon as Shi Feng entered the room, he noticed the change in Phoenix Rain, who was currently sat beside a french window. If Phoenix Rain had radiated a calm, collected feeling with the aura of a superior, she now felt free and natural. Although there was only a slight change to her temperament, Shi Feng could tell that Phoenix Rain''s harvest from the Secret Technique space had been significant. No wonder why the various superpowers are desperate for Secret Technique tablets. Their effects are truly extraordinary. Shi Feng was inwardly surprised. If a Bronze Tablet was already so effective, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine what kind of effects the Golden Tablet, which the mysterious NPC youth had stolen, would have. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, you sure are early. I had assumed you would be in there for at least 30 hours," Shi Feng said as he sat down. "May I know what urgent matter you wish to discuss?" "Although this might sound a little blunt, I need to know. Do you have any of that Soul Water left?" Phoenix Rain asked, her expression stern as she looked at Shi Feng. A faint hint of anticipation glittered in her eyes. "If you still have some, I am willing to purchase it for 50 Gold per bottle or Magic Crystals of equivalent value." Shi Feng was, more or less, surprised to hear Phoenix Rain''s question. Even the most expensive consumable item that could improve a player''s focus did not exceed 20 Gold. In Zero Wing, Guild members could purchase the Hundred Berry Wine from the Dark Den for around 8 or 9 Gold. Yet, Phoenix Rain had offered to buy Soul Water for 50 Gold per bottle without hesitation. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, why are you suddenly so interested in the Soul Water?" Shi Feng asked curiously. It was impossible to determine the Soul Water''s effects based on its description. Only by testing it personally would one understand its benefits. He had obtained a total of six drops of Soul Water and had stored them in six separate glass bottles, five of which he had already given to Aqua Rose and the others. He had saved the last bottle for himself in case he needed its effects. Logically, Phoenix Rain shouldn''t have any way of knowing the Soul Water''s true value. "It''s difficult not to notice the Soul Water''s effects even if I don''t want to. Team Leader Ye Feng, you''ve never entered a Secret Technique space; so you might not fully understand the situation. Inside a Bronze-rank Secret Technique space, anybody capable of reaching the fourth floor in six hours on their first attempt should be able to comprehend the legacy they chose easily. Those with talent might even be able to reach the fourth floor in less than six hours. As for reaching the sixth floor in six hours, extremely few geniuses have ever managed the feat." Revealing a bitter smile, Phoenix Rain continued, "However, among Aqua Rose''s group, even the weakest one among them reached the sixth floor within six hours, while the other four reached the seventh floor" Although she acknowledged that Aqua Rose and the others were quite talented, the fact that the weakest among them had reached the sixth floor within six hours was something she could not accept. Throughout the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the number of people that had managed to reach the sixth floor in a Bronze Secret Technique space in six hours could be counted on one hand. Every one of these people was a monster that had already reached the Domain Realm. But what of Aqua Rose and the others? Even the strongest among them had only reached the Refinement Realm and wasn''t even close to the Flowing Water Realm, much less grasping a Domain. Yet, Aqua Rose and the others'' performance was astonishing. She would never believe that someone could rely on their own abilities to achieve such a result. The only possibility Phoenix Rain could think of was the Soul Water Shi Feng had given the girls before they entered. "So, that''s the issue." Realization dawned on Shi Feng. "I do still have some Soul Water. However, it''s far too valuable. I don''t have a lot on hand right now. If you would like some, I can trade them to you, but I want neither Coins nor Magic Crystals. Rather, I would like to borrow the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strength to help me with something. Once the task had been completed, I''ll give you ten bottles of Soul Water." Selling the Soul Water was the most foolish thing he could do. He wouldn''t even sell the liquid if someone offered him 300 Gold per bottle, not to mention 50 Gold. One hundred souls were required to make a single drop of Soul Water. This limited the Soul Water''s production. He didn''t even have enough for his own Guild members, not to mention selling it to others. Moreover, if he mass-produced the Soul Water, the Soul Orb would be exposed. "Ten bottles?" Phoenix Rain pondered. Ten bottles of Soul Water wasn''t nearly enough. She wouldn''t even be able to supply her direct subordinates. However, after giving the matter some thought, she found it reasonable. The Soul Water could enhance a player''s comprehension and allow them to reach the seventh floor of a Bronze Temple within six hours. How could such a treasure be available in large quantities? Although a Bronze Secret Technique was the easiest Secret Technique to learn, it was still extremely difficult to complete all nine floors. Not one player throughout the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had comprehended an entire set of Bronze-rank Combat Techniques. If she could get her hands on the Soul Water, however, someone in the Guild might. Comprehending a combat technique to the seventh floor would already massive boost one''s combat power. If one fully comprehended a complete Bronze Combat Technique, their combat power would soar. "May I know what you wish to use the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strength for?" Phoenix Rain asked. "It''s very simple. You just need to help me raid a Dungeon," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Raid a Dungeon?" Phoenix Rain asked, confused, "Zero Wing already has so many experts. Are they not enough?" Zero Wing indeed had a vast collection of experts. Raiding a Level 45, 100-man Team Dungeon shouldn''t be an issue. While Hell Mode might be challenging, once the team reached Level 45, even that shouldn''t pose as a problem for Zero Wing. "No, they are not enough. I want to borrow at least 100 people," Shi Feng said after considering the matter. "One hundred!? Are you trying to raid" Phoenix Rain suddenly recalled a specific Dungeon. "That''s right! The Level 50, super-large-scale Team Dungeon, Flaming Ruins!" Shi Feng nodded. In God''s Domain, the largest Team Dungeons before Level 50 were 100-man Team Dungeons. However, after Level 50, super-large-scale Team Dungeons would unlock. The minimum number of players required to enter these super-large-scale Dungeons was 200, while the maximum was 500. There was only one Level 50, super-large-scale Team Dungeon throughout Star-Moon KingdomCthe Flaming Ruins. If he wanted to turn Stone Forest Town into a holy land for players, obtaining the First Clear of the Flaming Ruins was of the utmost importance. The various large Guilds in God''s Domain were also preparing for such Dungeons. If one could obtain the First Clear of a Level 50, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon, they would obtain a 3-star Guild Residence Promotion Order. If one managed to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50, super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon, they could obtain a Town Relocation Order. The Town Relocation Order was even more valuable than a Town Building Order. It allowed players to move a town they owned to any location they desired. 1216 Stone Forest Towns Shocking Transformation Chapter 1216 - Stone Forest Town''s Shocking Transformation "The Flaming Ruins?" Phoenix Rain fell into deep thought as she looked at Shi Feng. A short moment later, she said, "Alright, I promise you. Notify me in advance when you''re going to raid the Flaming Ruins. When the time comes, I''ll ready the necessary manpower. "However, I''ll say this first. You should know that the death penalty of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon is greater than that of a large-scale Team Dungeon. If we suffer three team-wipes, I''ll withdraw my men. I also won''t return the ten bottles of Soul Water." The difficulty of a super-large-scale Normal Mode Team Dungeon could rival that of a 100-man Hell Mode Team dungeon. While she wasn''t trying to belittle Zero Wing, she believed that even if Zero Wing sent a 100-man team consisting entirely of Level 50, Tier 2 players, it would be impossible for them to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. She also had no intention of sending her own experts to their deaths. "That won''t be a problem," Shi Feng replied without hesitation. In the past, the various large Guilds had not placed much importance on super-large-scale Team Dungeons, because the items dropped in these Dungeons were basically the same as the ones obtained in 100-man large-scale Team Dungeons. Rather than waste time raiding the more difficult super-large-scale Team Dungeons, raiding several large-scale Team Dungeons was much more efficient. However, there were bound to be some players and teams that loved to challenge their limits. Eventually, after continuous efforts, a team had managed to obtain the First Clear of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Back then, many people had expressed their contempt for these people. After all, while these people were busy suppressing their levels and raiding a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon, mainstream players had long since exceeded them by over 20 levels. Even if they managed to obtain top-tier equipment from the Dungeon, such an enormous gap in levels would render the advantage of having such equipment meaningless. Only Epic items would be of any value, yet Epic items rarely dropped even in super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Hence, raiding such a Dungeon was simply not worth the effort. However, nobody could''ve ever imagined that one could actually obtain a Town Relocation Order from these seemingly worthless super-large-scale Team Dungeons. It was common knowledge that the NPC towns players captured had their locations fixed. Meanwhile, if one wished to upgrade a Basic Town into an actual city, they would have to invest an astronomical amount of resources as well as plenty of time and effort. If developing even one town was already so tedious, one could just imagine how troublesome it would be to develop multiple towns. Not to mention, the NPC towns captured would eventually become outdated. Take Stone Forest Town for example. Due to the town''s location next to a Regional Dungeon like the Stoneclaw Mountains, it became a travel destination for both players and Guilds. However, once mainstream players went past Level 50, they would no longer be able to enter the Regional Dungeon. One could just imagine the outcome of such a situation. At that time, the town would definitely lose its popularity, and its development would stagnate. Even with the support of the Battle Arena, it would be very difficult to keep the town alive. After all, the Magic Tower wasn''t something unique. As players reached higher levels, the various large Guilds would also be able to obtain its design. By then, Stone Forest Town''s high Mana density would no longer stand out. Moreover, after their NPC towns became outdated, Guilds would also have to capture a new NPC town and start the development cycle all over again, investing another considerable chunk of manpower, resources, time, money, and so on. Hence, the advantage of a Town Relocation Order immediately became apparent. With a Town Relocation Order, players could transfer a town to anywhere within the same country, allowing Guilds to retain their hard work and pool all their resources into developing a few select towns. However, the Town Relocation Order was a unique reward for obtaining the First Clear of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Once a super-large-scale Team Dungeon was cleared, no matter how many times it got raided later on, it would no longer drop a Town Relocation Order. Currently, mainstream players were approaching Level 50. Even if independent players of other kingdoms and empires found out about Stone Forest Town''s existence, they would take this aspect into account when considering whether they should migrate over or not. This was also the reason why, despite the various superpowers being greatly envious of the profits Stone Forest Town was raking in, they did not make any actual moves to take it. However, if Stone Forest Town could relocate to a map that was even more suitable for current independent players, its attraction would definitely increase exponentially. Moreover, once players found out that Stone Forest Town was capable of continuously relocating according to players'' level, this aspect would become a fatal attraction for many independent experts. At that time, just the amount of Magic Crystals Stone Forest Town could rake in through the Battle Arena would be astronomical. Hence, Shi Feng had to obtain the Town Relocation Order no matter the cost. Following which, Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain signed a contract. He used a bottle of Soul Water as the deposit with the delivery of the remaining nine bottles pending the contract''s completion. Phoenix Rain did not particularly mind this condition. After all, the Soul Water did not have a particular effectivity period; it could be used at any time. Moreover, the Spellcasting Secret Technique tablet had been used once already, so she would have to wait for a month before she could send anyone else in. By then, the ten bottles of Soul Water would''ve long since entered her hands. Inside the dense forest a short distance away from Stone Forest Town Due to the opening of the traffic route to Stone Forest Town, as well as the hiring of the temporary carriages, the number of players and NPC merchants going to Stone Forest Town had increased significantly. Right now, the traffic route itself was already a part of the Stoneclaw Mountains'' scenery. At this moment, over a hundred carriages were traveling through the dense forest. There were even advanced carriages among them, which were completely different from the temporary ones hired by Zero Wing. Meanwhile, their passengers were all very high-leveled, with even the lowest among them at Level 40. If placed in a large Guild, they all would be elites at the very least. "Vice Commander, these people are too strong. We should wait for the next batch," a Level 41 gray-clad Assassin hidden in the dense forest quietly suggested to the Level 42 Ranger carrying a Dark-Gold longbow, standing before him. "Damn it! How many groups has it been already?!" the resolute man carrying the longbow exclaimed in frustration. "If I had known something like this would happen, I would''ve swapped hunting areas with the Demon Soul Guild! We''ll lose out on making a fortune at this rate!" The various Dark Guilds mingling in Star-Moon City had already signed a contract with Heaven''s Burial, stating that they would dispatch their members to kill the players operating around Stone Forest Town, using this as an opportunity to strike down Stone Forest Town''s development. Originally, this should have been a good deal for them. After all, plenty of independent players and teams were traveling to and from Stone Forest Town. They did not lack prey at all. However, just an hour ago, Stone Forest Town had suddenly made an announcement that directly disrupted their Guild''s business. Stone Forest Town had revealed that it was going to replace its carriages with better ones as well as increase the rewards for the tournament held at the Battle Arena. For the mini tournaments held every day, anyone that managed to become the champion of the said tournament would obtain not only top-tier weapons and equipment as a reward but also Magic Crystals and Advanced Mana Armor Kits. The top three players would receive similar rewards except for the Advanced Mana Armor Kit. Most importantly, however, players that became champions of the mini tournament would get to live in a private suite on the Battle Arena''s seventh floor for ten days. The Battle Arena would also hold a large tournament once every fifteen days, and the rewards for the champion were even more terrific. Aside from being able to obtain weapons, equipment, and Advanced Mana Armor Kits, the champion would have the opportunity to inherit a combat technique as well as live in a private suite on the eighth floor, which was also the top floor of the Battle Arena, for a month. Meanwhile, the top five players would also get to live on the eighth floor for a month; the quality of weapons and equipment awarded, as well as the quantity of Advanced Mana Armor Kits, would vary depending on their rank. In addition, those that received a private suite would have complete management over their own suites. As long as they had the money, they could spend some Coins at the Adventurer''s Association and have the association construct a magic array in their suite to allow them to use Return Scrolls to teleport back to their room. This was an entirely new benefit. In the past, the rooms were only loaned to players temporarily. Now, however, players would become the contracted owners of the private suites for the entire duration of their stay. Due to the introduction of these several factors, a large number of powerful independent experts who were initially only a little interested in moving to Stone Forest Town took action right away. This development became the misfortune of Dark Players. After all, among the several groups of players that had entered Stone Forest Town so far, not a single one of them should be provoked. 1217 Naval State Chapter 1217 - Naval State Star-Moon City: Due to the appearance of Evernight City, Star-Moon City had been undergoing transformations practically every day for the past few days. The capital had become so prosperous that one could easily spot Level 40-plus players roaming its main streets. Now, however, the city bustled even more than before. Only, the players coming to Star-Moon City now were not here for Evernight City but for Stone Forest Town. While excellent weapons and equipment were indeed tempting, the allure of combat techniques was much greater. The God''s Domain Experts List had no lack of experts that possessed combat techniques. The list even had introductions on the combat techniques of certain experts. Hence, combat techniques were not foreign to independent players and were something many independent experts very much wished to learn. However, combat techniques were different from system-made Skills, which were readily obtainable as quest rewards or monster drops. Players needed to learn the techniques by themselves. Moreover, combat techniques were not easily learned. Unless one was the core member of a large Guild that possessed the legacy of a combat technique, the Guild would not be willing to teach them at all. Although one could also mimic the combat techniques of true experts from watching the latter''s combat videos, ultimately, it was just a poor imitation. Without understanding the true meaning of a combat technique''s movements, one would not be able to unlock the true potential of the said technique. And the more powerful a combat technique was, the more difficult it would be to understand it fully. As for creating their own combat technique, that was easier said than done. Even if a person had someone teaching them the legacy of a combat technique, learning it completely was not guaranteed. Meanwhile, creating an entirely new combat technique was something only geniuses among geniuses could accomplish. Hence, now that Zero Wing had publicly announced that it was using the legacy of a combat technique as the reward for the Battle Arena''s tournament, how could independent players not be tempted? Not to mention, one could also get their very own house, aside from the combat technique, through the tournament. As long as they set up a magic array in their own houses, they could easily teleport back to Stone Forest Town, forgoing many wasted hours traveling to the town. With this, even if they were leveling up in an entirely different country, their leveling speed would not be affected whatsoever. On the contrary, they could even improve their strength through the Battle Arena, killing two birds with one stone. With such excellent benefits, even players operating in another country would find it worthwhile to visit Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, at the second-floor bar of Star-Moon City''s Teleportation Hall, several cloaked players were currently observing the situation inside the establishment. "Zero Wing sure is capable. They''ve even managed to come up with such a method, generously letting outsiders learn combat techniques. Leader, if we continue letting Zero Wing develop like this, we''ll be disobeying the commander''s orders. Should we take action now?" an elegant, cloaked female Assassin asked, smiling as she looked at the refined-looking male Elementalist before her. If Shi Feng were present, he would definitely find this Elementalist very familiar, as this Elementalist was none other than Cleansed Maple, one of Miracle''s peak experts. "It is indeed about time for us to take action. Those useless Dark Players don''t pose any threat to Zero Wing whatsoever. Since we can''t locate Zero Wing''s upper echelon right now, let''s strike at their elite teams instead. However, Stone Forest Town is still a big problem for us, so let''s have the others disguise as Dark Players and hunt the players operating around the town. When the time comes, those hidden Zero Wing experts will have no choice but to reveal themselves," Cleansed Maple said slowly. "What about the Super Guilds that are paying attention to Zero Wing?" the female Assassin asked as she sent a glance at several cloaked players present in the first-floor hall. Zero Wing''s performance at the Dark Arena had simply been too eye-catching. This was especially true for the weapons and equipment the Guild possessed. Hence, the superpowers targeting the items Zero Wing''s experts wore definitely weren''t limited to Miracle alone. So far, they had already discovered three superpowers, in addition to many first-rate Guilds, targeting Zero Wing. To Miracle, though, their only opponents were still the three superpowers, as first-rate Guilds were no different from ants to them. "Don''t worry about them. The more, the merrier. When the time comes, leak some information to them. In any case, we aren''t aiming for weapons and equipment. We only want the disbandment of Zero Wing." Cleansed Maple laughed nonchalantly. Thousand Miles had already clearly stated that what he wanted were the talents of Zero Wing, not the items they wore. Of course, it would be good if they could obtain those as well. "Understood. I''ll have the others take action right away." The female Assassin nodded before activating Stealth and disappearing from the bar. "What a pity. An upstart Guild that has managed to climb up to this point will have to disappear just like that. However, if you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for being too conspicuous." A hint of pity flashed across Cleansed Maple''s eyes as he studied the reports on Zero Wing in his hands. The various superpowers in God''s Domain never really had any interest in small Guilds. They rarely even paid attention to first-rate Guilds. After all, these Guilds were negligible existences to them. It was also nearly unheard-of for a superpower to use assassination tactics to deal with such Guilds. Normally, they reserved such methods for other superpowers. However, Zero Wing had truly angered Miracle this time. Since Zero Wing had ignored their goodwill, they had no choice but to eliminate it from God''s Domain. Just as the matter regarding Stone Forest Town was causing a commotion in Star-Moon Kingdom as well as its neighbors, Shi Feng himself had stealthily arrived at the Sea''s End. The Sea''s End was like an independent empire. It had very little contact with the kingdoms and empires on the main continent. The first reason for this situation was the long distance separating them. Just teleporting from the mainland to the Sea''s End cost 5 Gold, 20 Silver per person. Hence, Shi Feng was surprised when he encountered the Freedom Alliance at the Sea of Death. Of course, there was another travel method that was cheaper, but more time-consuming, than teleportation, which was riding a Flying Ship. One would pay only 5 Silver per person to get from the Sea''s End to the NPC island closest to the Sea of Death in a little over 30 hours. However, many people disliked wasting so much time on travel. The second reason was the different attitude each region had towards the various forces in God''s Domain. On land, the various kingdoms and empires were absolutely hostile towards the dark forces. The Sea''s End, on the other hand, maintained a neutral stance in this regard. Hence, Dark Players and ordinary players were treated equally in the NPC cities located in the Sea''s End. Red Players and Dark Players would not be barred entry into NPC cities or captured by NPCsso long as they did not cause trouble within the cities. One could say that the Sea''s End was a paradise for Dark Players. The third reason was the different lifestyles players adopted. Players that were born at the Sea''s End had fought naval battles ever since they started out in the game. If they were abruptly sent to fight land-based monsters, they would have great difficulty adapting. Likewise, the opposite was also true for land-based players. Hence, players of both sides rarely associated with each other. Only after mainstream players reached Level 100 would interaction between these two sides of players begin to increase. Meanwhile, the city Shi Feng had teleported to this time was called Blue Jade City, one of the twelve major cities located within the Sea''s End. It was also one of the cities under the rule of the Freedom Alliance. The management style at the Sea''s End was different from that of the main continent. There was no concept of a country here, or rather it leaned more towards city-states. Every city was its own kingdom, and every kingdom managed a large sea zone. Moreover, unlike on the main continent, where players could not take control of an NPC city, no matter how much effort they put in, players could take over an NPC city here at the Sea''s End. In other words, players could become a city lord at the Sea''s Endfar more convenient than on the mainland, where players had to establish their own towns and cities if they wished to become a lord. 1218 Sea Gods Blessing Chapter 1218 - Sea God''s Blessing As soon as Shi Feng exited the Teleportation Hall, the sight of an azure sky greeted him. Beneath the hill that the Teleportation Hall sat on, he could see various ships docked around the island. There were also a large number of players at the port, shouting for parties. "Team looking for Level 40-plus players to hunt Giant Armored Beasts for a quest! We already have four advanced speedboats prepared! Veterans only! Noobs, stand aside!" "Forming a party to Red Reef Bay to farm Red Corals! Level 39 and below, do not disturb!" "Level 41 Shield Warrior looking for a party for the Underwater Temple! I own an advanced speedboat!" "Fleet heading to Black Mist Sea to grind for Magic Crystals! We have a Bronze Speedboat leading the fleet! We''re currently still missing two advanced speedboats! Those with advanced speedboats, come apply quickly!" Over 4,000 players crowded the port, looking to form parties. The scene resembled a lively market. Moreover, unlike land-based players, the players here put more importance on levels and the quality of the speedboats they possessed rather than combat standards when forming parties. As long as a player owned an advanced speedboat, they would be highly sought after by parties. Advanced-speedboat owners here were the equivalent of expert players on land. If one possessed a Bronze Speedboat, they would be the equivalent of a famous celebrity and become the center of attention. There sure are a lot of players who own advanced speedboats here. With a glance, Shi Feng discovered that roughly 10% of the ships docked at the port consisted of advanced speedboats. In contrast, one could rarely see even ordinary speedboats over at the Apocalypse Empire, much less advanced speedboats. Moreover, aside from the much-higher standards of the ships here, the players were also considerably high-leveled. Shi Feng could spot plenty of Level 40-plus players roaming the streets. At such a level, players would already be considered an expert in Star-Moon Kingdom. Here, however, they were only average. However, although the players here were very high-leveled, the local businesses were not very developed. As Shi Feng walked through the streets of the city, he did not spot many Shops operated by players. There were even fewer items produced by players. Instead, he sawd many players setting up stalls along the streets. The situation here was completely different from the NPC cities on the main continent, which barred players from randomly setting up stalls on the streets. On the main continent, if players wished to sell the items they had, they could only do so by shouting out the name of their products. Stalls, on the other hand, did not require players to do so, as they allowed customers to view the vendor''s products. After taking a look at several dozen stalls, Shi Feng noticed that the merchandise were either items dropped by monsters or harvested materials. There was not a single item made by Lifestyle players at all. ure enough, the development of subclasses for maritime players is much slower. Shi Feng smiled faintly. In the past, he had practically spent his entire career in God''s Domain playing on land. Hence, he was not particularly familiar with the situation at the Sea''s End. His knowledge consisted of general information. Moreover, in the past, by the time he arrived at the island cities of the Sea''s End, many of these island cities had already been developed. The island cities back then were completely different from the current impoverished state before him. After all, there were much more resources available out at sea than on land, as well as plenty of unique resources. Hence, the NPC island cities in the past had all flourished magnificently, and one could see all sorts of naval merchant fleets and luxurious Shops. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found the situation reasonable. In reality, the development of subclasses of naval players was not slower than those on land. It was just that, due to the butterfly effect from his having developed the subclasses in his Guild early on, the players on the main continent started shifting their focus towards subclasses a lot sooner than the maritime players. While Shi Feng was investigating the prices of products in Blue Jade City, a large crowd suddenly formed in the business district. Many players who saw this scene revealed excited expressions on their faces before promptly rushing into the crowd as well. Shi Feng grew curious at this situation. "Buying Runic Fragments in bulk today! Buying each stack for 6 Silver! First come, first served!" In the next moment, a slightly chubby, middle-aged man with a small mustache on his face walked out of a three-story Shop, a smile on his face as he shouted a series of words. Immediately, the surrounding players flooded into the Shop. "Damn it! We''re too late again!" "There are just too many competitors here. Can''t the House of Seas buy a little more Runic Fragments each day? I''ve already been waiting here for an entire day now, yet I still haven''t managed to sell my stockpile." "There''s no helping this. Only the House of Seas is willing to buy those fragments at a high price. If we sell the fragments to NPC merchants, we''ll only get 40 Copper per stack." "I already have 20 stacks collected. If I can sell them all, I can get 1 Gold, 20 Silver. With that money, I can buy myself a nice set of equipment." After a short moment passed, the crowd of players that flooded into the Shop called House of Seas came out, the majority of them with disappointed expressions on their faces, having apparently failed to sell their Runic Fragments. Runic Fragments? Shi Feng could not help but recall matters regarding the Runic Fragment. I remember that it should be an item dropped by sea monsters. On its own, it isn''t of any particular value. The only use it has is the synthesis of Runic Crystals. However, the synthesis rate is considerably low. Even Master Alchemists would have a success rate of only 10%. Could the House of Seas be trying to synthesize Runic Crystals? The Runic Crystal was an item unique to the sea. It was categorized as an energy crystal and was roughly similar to the Magic Crystal. Only, the amounts of Mana stored in the two types of crystal were different. The amount of Mana contained within a Magic Crystal was a lot higher. A Runic Crystal contained roughly two-thirds the amount of Mana of a Magic Crystal. However, a Runic Crystal wasn''t even worth half of a Magic Crystal. Currently, Runic Crystals should sell for 10 Silver each. The reason for this was the Runic Crystal''s much fewer uses. For example, Runic Crystals could not be used in the Divine Colosseum. If one had to point out its utility, then it would have to be in exchanges and the production of items. Out at sea, Runic Crystals could be used to exchange for many items at the Sea God''s Temple. However, as the Sea God''s Temple restocked only once a week, the number of items one could get using Runic Crystals was limited. Even so, what was available for exchange in the Sea God''s Temple was of high quality. Occasionally, there would even be Epic items up for exchange, although it was currently too early in the game for Epic items to appear in the temple. Aside from Epic items, the next best thing up for exchange in the Sea God''s Temple was a potion named Sea God''s Blessing. Five Runic Crystals were needed to exchange for one bottle, which put the potion''s price at 50 Silver. In the past, not to mention naval players, even land-based players were very fond of the Sea God''s Blessing. The reason for this was because consumption of the potion increased not only all of a player''s Basic Attributes by 10% but also all resistances by 100 points for 12 hours. Moreover, the potion did not have a Cooldown, and its effects could be stacked once. When a player consumed two Sea God''s Blessings, all their Basic Attributes would increase by 15% and resistances, by 150 points for 15 hours. The further one progressed into the game, the more important environmental factors would become. Certain maps required players to possess a specific resistance for survival. The system would prevent players with insufficient resistances from visiting many special leveling maps. A potion that was capable of increasing all resistances by 100 points could allow players to visit the majority of the locations in God''s Domain freely without having to worry about environmental factors. However, as only a limited amount of Sea God''s Blessing was put up for exchange each week, its actual value on the market was a lot higher. In the past, each bottle had sold for roughly two Gold. Moreover, this was only the price at sea. On land, each bottle had easily sold for three Gold. That''s right! Why didn''t I think of this? I can use this opportunity to make a fortune! Shi Feng suddenly thought of the Philosopher''s Stone. Others might need to waste a lot of effort into synthesizing Runic Crystals, but he had the Philosopher''s Stone. His synthesis success rate was much higher than even that of Grandmaster Alchemists. 1219 Gathering of Warlords Chapter 1219 - Gathering of Warlords Although Shi Feng had such thoughts, he did not hurry to collect Runic Fragments. The Runic Fragment was a common drop at sea; hence, purchasing a large amount from players would be straightforward. Besides, his primary objective in visiting the Sea''s End this time was not to collect Runic Crystals but the Legacy of the Sea. Following which, Shi Feng hurried towards the meeting place he had arranged with Passing Monarch. At this moment, hundreds of players geared in Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment stood guard in front of the most luxurious high-class restaurant in Blue Jade City. These players were all at least Level 42, and just by standing there, they put extremely heavy pressure on others. The passersby only sent a few glances at these players before scurrying away, nobody daring to enter this restaurant. These players standing guard at the entrance were none other than the members of the Freedom Alliance, the absolute overlord of Blue Jade City. In this city, nobody dared oppose the members of the Freedom Alliance. After all, if they provoked the Freedom Alliance, they would no longer be able to stay in Blue Jade City. Meanwhile, on the twenty-second floor, which was also the top floor, of Blue Jade Restaurant, every member of the Freedom Alliance''s upper echelon was present. Even the commanders of the Alliance''s eleven fleets were here today. At this moment, a beautiful woman dressed in luxurious, red mage robes walked up to Passing Monarch and said in a quiet tone, "Commander Monarch, our independent fleets will be depending on you this month. If we let those Guild-formed fleets surpass us, our fleets'' standings in the Alliance will definitely suffer." Although this woman''s appearance was not as flawless as Gentle Snow''s, she was the only female commander within the entire Freedom Alliance, Hundred Leaves. In response, Passing Monarch simply nodded silently. In reality, he did not fully believe Hundred Leaves''s words. Those capable of becoming the commander of a fleet within the Freedom Alliance definitely shouldn''t be underestimated. Not to mention, the rise of Hundred Leaves''s fleet had been rapid. Initially, she and her fleet had joined the Freedom Alliance as the Eleventh Fleet. Now, her fleet was already the Eighth Fleet. Her fleet''s improvement speed was simply staggering. Most likely, her fleet would reach the rank of Fifth Fleet or even Fourth Fleet before long, perhaps even surpassing his Third Fleet one day. However, Hundred Leaves''s words were also partially correct. If their fleets, which were formed by independent teams, did not perform well and failed to obtain any legacies, their standings in the Alliance would no doubt suffer tremendously. The power structure of the Freedom Alliance was very complex. Although it was an alliance, it comprised eleven groups that fell into two main camps: the fleets formed by independent adventurer teams, and the fleets of small Guilds. Normally, the two camps would compete for the resources obtained by the Freedom Alliance as a whole. However, due to the small-Guild camp managing to acquire a legacy in their previous joint expedition while the independent camp failed to get any, the independent camp''s situation deteriorated significantly. If the independent fleets could not reduce the disparity during this expedition, their position would definitely worsen in the next distribution of profits. "I heard that the Second Fleet and Fourth Fleet have joined forces and even managed to recruit the help of quite a few powerful experts. Once we enter the secret land, you''ll have to help out the Eighth Fleet, Commander Monarch," Hundred Leaves said as she sent a glance at several people seated across her. These people were none other than the commanders of the Second and Fourth Fleet and the experts they had hired to assist them this time. However, as these experts were wearing Black Cloaks, she couldn''t determine their identities. "Commander Leaves, you jest. Once we enter the secret land, I''m afraid that it''ll be us who will be relying on you for help. I''ve heard that Commander Leaves has managed to employ the help of the Super Guild Sacred Temple this time. I expect that even if we united the strength of the entire Freedom Alliance, we wouldn''t stand a chance against the Sacred Temple," Passing Monarch said, his gaze shifting to the woman standing beside Hundred Leaves. Although the woman had hidden her identity using a Black Cloak, the aura she exuded was no laughing matter. He had only ever felt such an aura on Demon Island. Moreover, his recent trip to the Sea of Death had enlightened him about many thingsthe fact that God''s Domain was massive, and that the various superpowers of God''s Domain were extremely powerful. They were far more powerful than he had previously imagined them to be. He had realized this just by watching the battle on Demon Island. When he and his companions went up against the Flower of Seven Sins members, they had been utterly powerless to retaliate. Yet, now, through some unknown means, Hundred Leaves had actually managed to get help from the Super Guild Sacred Temple. In the next fleet ranking, the fleet Hundred Leaves commanded would most likely rank second out of the eleven fleets in the Freedom Alliance. As for getting first place, that was unlikely to happen. The reason for this was the commander of the First Fleet, who was the man that personally formed the Freedom Alliance. The First Fleet was also the first one to obtain the Legacy of the Sea. Even now, Passing Monarch had yet to uncover the identity of the mysterious supporter backing the First Fleet. Just as Passing Monarch and Hundred Leaves were conversing with each other, the Second Fleet''s commander, Identical Summer, and the Fourth Fleet''s commander, Heavenly Spider, were likewise chatting together but with sneers on their faces. "Hahaha! Monarch, that fool! He actually went to the Sea of Death and got all four of his Bronze Speedboats heavily damaged! Even now, the speedboats have yet to be fully repaired. With this, Third Fleet no longer poses a threat to us. The only problem left is First Fleet and Eighth Fleet," Identical Summer laughed as he looked at Passing Monarch. "The Sacred Temple will be a troublesome foe. Not only is it a Super Guild, but unlike the other Super Guilds, the Sacred Temple also began developing its naval forces very early on. When it comes to the Guild''s naval strength, even our entire Freedom Alliance added together won''t be a match," Heavenly Spider said, shaking his head. In response, Identical Summer sent a glance at the woman seated beside Hundred Leaves and said dismissively, "What are you afraid of? Although Hundred Leaves has managed to recruit the help of the Sacred Temple, it is impossible for the Sacred Temple to lend her all of its strength. At most, she''ll get only a small portion. With the cards we have prepared, we''ll be able to deal with Eighth Fleet easily. Afterwards, our two fleets will definitely secure the position of First and Second Fleet and rule Heavenly Ocean City." The Freedom Alliance occupied a total of three major NPC cities in the Sea''s End: Blue Jade City, White Howl City, and Heavenly Ocean City. As for Sea Dragon City, it was not considered a major city, only a minor city located on a certain island. It was valuable merely because it provided access to a secret land that contained Legacies. In terms of overall value, Sea Dragon City was worth much less than the three major cities. Moreover, every one of the three major cities had a player population of over eight million. Among them, Heavenly Ocean City''s population was the highest, with over twelve million players based there. It could already rival the capital of an ordinary empire. If their two fleets could obtain Heavenly Ocean City, the wealth they could amass would greatly surpass that of the large Guilds occupying empires on land. After all, unlike the Guilds on land, which only got to live in NPC cities, naval players like them got to control their cities completely. 1220 Discovered Chapter 1220 - Discovered Inside the elegant hall, the Freedom Alliance''s various commanders all had their own plans. They were all brimming with confidence about obtaining the Legacy of the Sea this time. Just as the various commanders were conversing with each other, the female Elementalist Blue Joy led Shi Feng into the hall. Although Shi Feng''s appearance was not particularly conspicuous, as he looked just like the many other cloaked players within the hall, he still attracted everyone''s attention. "This person came in with Blue Joy. He should be the expert Monarch recruited to help, right?" "Sure enough, Monarch really did come prepared." "But why is there only one person?" The various fleet commanders began quietly discussing Shi Feng as they looked at the Swordsman walking towards Monarch. The fact that Passing Monarch managed to become the commander of the Freedom Alliance''s Third Fleet showed that his individual strength was extraordinary. Otherwise, the other fleets would''ve long since overtaken his fleet. However, seeing that Passing Monarch had invited only one helper confused everyone. "It seems Monarch has really miscalculated this time." Unlike the previous time, when the various fleet commanders had not invited even a single outsider to help out, they had all recruited plenty of helpers for the expedition this time. Even the lowest ranked among them had invited over ten people, while some had actually invited over forty people. "Brother Ye Feng, did you come alone this time?" Passing Monarch asked quietly, feeling greatly perplexed as he looked at Shi Feng walking over to him. Although he had invited Shi Feng, he never said that only Shi Feng alone could join. After all, the more people taking control of a speedboat, the more power it could display. A speedboat''s ability to endure attacks from monsters would also improve with more players on board. Hence, in God''s Domain, the more players a ship could accommodate, the stronger it would be. In fact, he had even reserved 30 slots specifically for Shi Feng. Despite that, Shi Feng had come by himself. "The others are all busy, so I didn''t bother bringing them over," Shi Feng explained. Currently, the majority of Zero Wing''s experts were still stuck in combat inside the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Only a portion of them had come out so far, and those who had were busy leading expert teams to grind for weapons and equipment. After all, Zero Wing was currently mass-recruiting new members and was in dire need of weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose and the others were inside the Secret Technique space and would not be coming out anytime soon. Rather than bring a group of elite members with him, it was much better to let Passing Monarch''s other companions, who were much more accustomed to naval warfare, enter the ruins. Passing Monarch could not help falling speechless at Shi Feng''s words. He felt that Shi Feng was underestimating the Legacy competition. Although he could have his own subordinates take up the missing slots, their coordination with Shi Feng would not be particularly good since neither side had a great understanding of each other. Meanwhile, at the same time as Passing Monarch was conversing with Shi Feng, Hundred Leaves, who sat a short distance away, had her gaze fixed on Shi Feng, shock surfacing on her flawless, white face. However, Hundred Leaves very quickly hid this reaction of hers. "Leaves, is there something strange about that person?" the cloaked woman seated beside Hundred Leaves asked quietly. "He is the person I''m looking for," Hundred Leaves said, a hint of excitement surfacing in her eyes as her lips curled up slightly. At Hundred Leaves''s words, the cloaked woman turned to look at Shi Feng despite herself and exclaimed in surprise, "How can this be? The Demon God sent the recovery order to every Dark Player in God''s Domain. How could the person holding the Soul Orb possibly appear before us so easily?" "I can''t believe it, either. However, the Detection Crystal I spent 3,000 Magic Crystals to buy cannot be mistaken. As long as the Soul Orb is within 30 yards of me, the Detection Crystal will automatically sense it. Moreover, I''ve already used Detection on him and have already confirmed that the Soul Orb is indeed on that person''s body." Hundred Leaves chuckled. "I never thought that I would be able to encounter the person holding the Soul Orb so quickly. My luck really is too good." "Then, when are we going to make a move?" the cloaked woman asked. "No need to rush. We''ll have plenty of opportunities once we enter the secret land," Hundred Leaves said as she waved her hand. "Have Scorpion secretly keep an eye on them." Once players entered the secret land, they would not be able to leave for a certain period. At that time, there would be no escape for Shi Feng. "Alright, I''ll notify Scorpion right away." The cloaked woman nodded. If Passing Monarch heard the conversation between Hundred Leaves and the cloaked woman right now, he would definitely be shocked. After all, based on the way the two were speaking with each other, the cloaked woman from the Sacred Temple seemed more like Hundred Leaves''s subordinate rather than a collaborator. However, shortly after everyone began talking about Shi Feng, the entire hall fell silent once again as it was nearly time for them to set out for Sea Dragon City. At this moment, a refined middle-aged man dressed in white robes entered the hall. Walking behind him were two robust mena Level 43 Ranger with a dark gray longbow slung over his shoulder and a Level 43 Guardian Knight with a massive, white bone shield on his back. The two could easily rank near the top of the Ranking List of any empire in God''s Domain. Not to mention, both the bow and the shield these two men carried were currently radiating the Epic glow effect. The two men looked extremely conspicuous as they entered the hall. "Since everyone has already gathered, let us begin, then," the refined middle-aged man said unhurriedly after taking a glance at everyone in the hall. "As is traditional, my First Fleet will dispatch 100 members while the other fleets will dispatch 90 members each for a total of 1,000 members. If there are no objections, we''ll start right away." Although the man''s voice sounded mild, nobody present dared to look down on him. After all, this refined man was none other than the founder of the Freedom Alliance. He was also the commander of the current First Fleet, Silent Entropy. None of the commanders present said anything in response. Instead, they each took out a tablet fragment while Silent Entropy took out two tablet fragments. When everyone present combined their tablet fragments, the fragments formed a complete circular tablet with an ancient magic array carved on it, and the instant the tablet was assembled, a spatial portal gradually appeared in midair. When Silent Entropy saw that the spatial portal had stabilized, he took back his two fragments and said, "Alright, everyone, enter according to fleet ranks now." Following which, the other commanders also stored their tablet fragments and entered the spatial portal together with their own fleets in an orderly procession. The first ones to enter were the First Fleet''s 100 members, followed by the Second Fleet''s 90 members and so on. After the 1,000th player walked into the spatial portal, the portal vanished from the hall. The instant Shi Feng entered the secret land, before he could even see where he had been transported to, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. - System: You have entered the secret land beneath Sea Dragon City. You are not allowed to leave before six hours have passed. After ten hours have passed, you will be automatically transferred out of the secret land. - When the system notification came to an end, Shi Feng was finally able to see his surroundings clearly. He was currently standing in the middle of a massive cavern with an ink-black lake encircling his location. Moreover, fog hovered above the lake. He could barely make out passages at the far end of the cavern. While Shi Feng was busy observing his surroundings, the members of the Freedom Alliance began releasing their ships onto the lake in an orderly manner. Even the weakest ship released was an advanced speedboat. There were also plenty of Bronze Speedboats, which were originally very rare in the outside world. It was an amazing sight to behold. The secret land did not place any restriction on the number of ships that could be brought in. However, the appearance of over 120 ships on the lake would immediately trigger a massive monster attack. Only after these monsters had destroyed the excess ships would they leave. Hence, the various fleets of the Freedom Alliance had agreed that each fleet could bring a maximum of ten ships each. Any fleet caught bringing more than the agreed number of ships would have their right to enter the secret land in the future taken away. Moreover, as everyone had signed a contract agreeing to this point, there was no escaping the penalty if they broke their word. At this moment, the cloaked woman, who stood beside Hundred Leaves, covertly observed the distant Shi Feng as she quietly asked, "Leaves, should we take action now?" 1221 Hidden Strength Chapter 1221 - Hidden Strength "Scorpion, take the party with you and find an opportunity to strike. Don''t attack unless you''re absolutely confident of succeeding." Hundred Leaves nodded. After entering the secret land, aside from the starting point, there would not be many places where their various fleets would encounter each other. Only those that chose to go down the same legacy path would get to meet again at the rest point, where players could escape the harassment of monsters, located in the middle of each legacy path. Aside from these two locations, there would be no other opportunity to strike at Shi Feng. Therefore, the time before the various fleets decided on the path they would take would be the perfect time to strike. Although attacking Shi Feng would also mean severing all friendly relations with Passing Monarch, she was willing to take this loss to complete the Demon God''s quest. "The party? Is there really a need for that? He is just one person. I alone am enough to kill him," the black-clad Assassin said contemptuously as he sent a glance at Shi Feng. He was a peak expert the Sacred Temple had dispatched to protect Hundred Leaves in secret. He was also a peak Assassin known to practically everyone in the outside world, as he was ranked 69th on the God''s Domain Experts List. In the entire God''s Domain, the number of peak experts capable of stopping his assassination could be counted on the fingers of both hands. Killing an unknown brat would be a piece of cake for him. There was no need to mobilize the entire security party at all. In order to ensure Hundred Leaves''s safety, the six members of the security party usually took turns protecting her. Moreover, even the weakest of them was at the Half-step Flowing Water Realm, while most of them were at the Flowing Water Realm. Having all six of them take on a random kid was akin to humiliation to them. At this time, the other five members of the security party also nodded in agreement with Scorpion''s words. Just having their party leader take action could already be considered an overestimation of Shi Feng''s abilities. After all, not a single person in the entire Sea''s End could stop their leader''s assassination tactics. "There''s no harm in being careful. This quest is very important to me. If I succeed, I might be able to improve further," Hundred Leaves said in an extremely stern tone. Immediately, Scorpion and the others shuddered as massive pressure washed over their bodies. Meanwhile, only Scorpion and the security party members felt this pressure, as it was not the result of a difference in strength but a difference in status. "I understand," Scorpion said hurriedly, realizing the gravity of the matter. The other members of the security party also nodded promptly, not daring to speak another word. Following which, Scorpion and the others activated Stealth and approached Shi Feng from different directions, clearly intending to form an encirclement, which would give Shi Feng no opportunity to escape alive. Just as Scorpion and the others were gradually closing the distance to their target, Shi Feng released the Swift Dragon Speedboat. The instant the Swift Dragon Speedboat appeared, a storm stirred up the previously peaceful waters, a massive vortex forming in the water. The entire cavern shook as if it would collapse at any moment. "What''s going on?!" Everyone automatically went on alert. Danger plagued the entire secret land. It was not uncommon for a single mistake to result in death. Now that such a huge commotion occurred in the cavern, how could everyone not feel frightened? "Look at the distant grotto!" a Ranger with good eyesight suddenly shouted. Immediately, everyone turned to look at the grotto in the distance. At this moment, the strong gusts of wind blew away the fog filling the grotto. Although the situation inside the grotto was not entirely clear, everyone could still see what had happened. The cavern, which originally had twelve grottos leading out of it, had another one added to it, taking everyone unawares. Meanwhile, the entrance of this grotto was extremely large. "What?! How can this be?!" This scene came as a tremendous shock to everyone. The Freedom Alliance had already done their research on the situation inside the secret land. It had a total of twelve legacy paths, and each entrance leading to these paths differed in size. The paths were divided into three groups, those with entrances with a diameter of 20 yards, a diameter of 30 yards, and a diameter of 50 yards. The larger the entrance of a path was, the more danger one would encounter inside that paththis was the conclusion the Freedom Alliance had drawn after their last expedition, because every fleet that had entered the 50-diameter paths had failed to set foot into the inner area of those paths. On the other hand, the First Fleet, which had chosen a 20-diameter path, had managed to pass all the way through. Meanwhile, the new entrance that appeared had a diameter of at least 100 yards. It could easily accommodate four speedboats moving in parallel. "How can this be possible?! There wasn''t such a path the previous time we were here!" Passing Monarch had a conflicted look on his face as he stared at the massive grotto. His reaction was because this new grotto might be the greatest secret of the Sea Dragon Secret Land. Only, he did not know whether he should choose this path or not, because it went without saying that this path was undoubtedly the most dangerous one. Nevertheless, if he did not enter this path, there might not be another chance to do so in the next expedition. After all, no such situation occurred during his last visit here. It was uncertain whether this grotto would appear again in the next expedition or not. A chance! Hahaha! Our chance has come! Identical Summer was inwardly ecstatic at this situation. Sending a private message to Heavenly Spider, he said, "This is our chance! If we obtain the strongest legacy in the Sea Dragon Secret Land, no matter how many times Entropy and the others enter this place, they will never be able to compete against us for Heavenly Ocean City!" "But I''m afraid the difficulty of conquering it will be quite significant," Heavenly Spider, the commander of Fourth Fleet, said somewhat worriedly. "What''s there to be afraid of? Don''t forget, we still have that," Identical Summer said nonchalantly. "If we don''t give it a try now, we might not get another chance in the future." Saying so, Identical Summer took out a glass bottle and immediately began chanting an incantation. Suddenly, a Small Sailboat with two main sails appeared on the surface of the water. Before the sailboat''s massive size, even a Bronze Speedboat looked no different from a small rowboat. "Is this Summer''s trump card?" The other fleet commanders'' jaws dropped when they saw the Small Sailboat. Until now, there had been no news of anybody in possession of a Small Sailboat. Passing Monarch and Hundred Leaves, who stood at a distance, frowned when they saw this scene, their complexions turning somewhat ugly. A Small Sailboat was on an entirely different level from a speedboat. If a speedboat could be considered a machine gun, then a Small Sailboat was akin to a tank. The latter could completely suppress the former. A Small Sailboat could even go up against a Great Lord ranked sea monster easily. The reason for this was because a sailboat could accommodate many more passengers. "Hahaha! We''ll be going ahead!" As soon as the Small Sailboat was released, Identical Summer and his crew immediately boarded it and dashed towards the largest grotto without hesitation. Although the Small Sailboat he had was only Common rank, its speed was not something speedboats could keep up with. Moreover, it could accommodate up to 100 passengers at a time, allowing them to carry a lot of MTs to tank the damage from Bosses. After including the eight Bronze Speedboats their Second and Fourth Fleets possessed, they were definitely the strongest fleet in the entire Freedom Alliance right now. "As expected of Summer. His preparation is indeed amazing," Silent Entropy laughed. He then took out a glass bottle from his bag and began chanting as well. In the blink of an eye, another Small Sailboat appeared before everyone. The commander of Eleventh Fleet boarded the sailboat together with Silent Entropy without hesitation. The Small Sailboat then promptly chased after Identical Summer''s fleet. Meanwhile, in terms of strength, Silent Entropy''s fleet was even stronger as it had nine Bronze Speedboats in total. The commanders of the other fleets were dumbfounded. Although they knew that the top-ranking fleets had hidden a lot of their strength, they had never suspected that those fleets had hidden this much. "Silent Entropy! Identical Summer!" Hundred Leaves''s eyes were filled with anger as she glared at the two Small Sailboats disappearing into the largest grotto. Originally, she had planned on directly becoming the First Fleet of the Freedom Alliance in this expedition. Now, however, those two people had ruined her plans. "Leaves, Passing Monarch and the others are also starting to move out," the cloaked woman said as she pointed at Shi Feng and the others, whose ships were already heading towards the largest grotto. "Have they lost their minds?" Hundred Leaves was filled with confusion as she looked at the five speedboats rapidly moving towards the largest grotto as well. 1222 Sea Gods Legacy Chapter 1222 - Sea God''s Legacy "Leaves, what do we do now? Give chase?" the cloaked woman asked Hundred Leaves as she watched the speedboats sail away. They had planned to set off after Scorpion''s party killed Shi Feng, but they hadn''t expected anything like this. "Give chase! We cannot let them get ahead of us!" Hundred Leaves frowned. Reluctantly, she withdrew a pitch-black crystal bottle from her bag. Unlike the others who recited an incantation to release their ships, Hundred Leaves threw the black bottle into the water. Plop! When the crystal bottle sank into the water, a massive, black magic array appeared on the surface. A Small Sailboat, even larger than Silent Entropy and Identical Summer''s, emerged from the magic array, covered in magic patterns. After the Eighth Fleet''s members boarded, the Tenth Fleet joined them on this Small Sailboat. It was clear that the Eighth Fleet and Tenth Fleet had agreed to cooperate. The remaining fleet commanders revealed bitter smiles when they saw this. "There''s no way we can compete with them. The gap is simply too vast." The various fleets had intended to compete for the third rank in the Freedom Alliance. However, after seeing one Small Sailboat after another, they had lost the heart to do so. Even obtaining the Legacy of the Sea from the other grottos wouldn''t change the outcome. A Magic Bottle? Shi Feng was somewhat surprised to see the Small Sailboat emerge from the massive magic array. The Sacred Temple''s foundations are truly impressive. A Magic Bottle could contain a myriad of items. The bottle''s value changed based on the items contained within. For example, if a Magic Bottle stored a Small Sailboat, it could easily be worth several thousand Gold. This was because Magic Bottles did not drop from monsters. Rather, they were treasures that could only be obtained by raiding ancient ruins. However, Magic Bottles had one fatal flaw; they were one-time-use items. "Hundred Leaves cannot be underestimated. She actually obtained a Small Sailboat without anyone knowing. Brother Ye Feng, let''s choose another grotto. We cannot compete with them." As Passing Monarch watched Hundred Leaves''s approaching fleet, he questioned the idea of competing for the greatest Legacy in the Sea Dragon Secret Land. Even if they had Shi Feng''s Secret-Silver Speedboat, it would be a waste of time. Moreover, now that Hundred Leaves had also entered the largest grotto, their Third Fleet had no competition in the other grottos. They could obtain Legacies more easily. Glancing at Silent Entropy and the others, who had already entered the largest grotto, Shi Feng nodded and said, "That''s fine. According to our previous agreement, the first Legacy we obtain belongs to you, while the second belongs to me. Which grotto should we choose?" "This..." Passing Monarch hesitated. If given the choice, he would never willingly forsake the greatest Legacy of the Sea Dragon Secret Land. However, with so much powerful competition in a single grotto, it was unknown whether or not he could even obtain the Legacy. He was wrought with indecision. "Why don''t we give it a try? If we think that it''s impossible, we can give up on the largest grotto," Passing Monarch decided after considering the matter further. "That won''t do. If you waste too much time before heading to another grotto, what will happen to my Legacy? Why don''t we do this? We''ll split the time in half. We''ll each take command of the fleet for five hours. We''ll keep the harvest we obtain during our command. If we do so, I don''t mind if you want to join the competition in the largest grotto," Shi Feng said as he shook his head. He was not here as free labor. After seeing the situation for himself, he was no longer interested in the Legacy of the Sea. He had remembered something about the Freedom Alliance''s Legacy of the Sea. In the past, one of the reasons that the Freedom Alliance had been able to move about God''s Domain''s seas uncontested was its large number of players who had obtained the Legacy of the Sea. Even the various Super Guilds had avoided provoking the Alliance for no good reason. Another reason was Silent Entropy''s Ancient Weather Book. The player that wielded the Ancient Weather Book could manipulate the weather in an area. When used in naval combat, one could offer their side an absolute environmental advantage. Rumors had it that Silent Entropy had obtained the Ancient Weather Book when he had obtained the Sea God''s Legacy. The Freedom Alliance obtained their Legacies of the Sea from the Sea Dragon Secret Land. After taking into account the information Passing Monarch had given him about the secret land, it was not difficult to determine that Silent Entropy had obtained the Sea God''s Legacy here. In the past, the Sea God''s Legacy had been known as one of the Four Great Legacies at sea. Now that the strongest Legacy in the secret land had appeared, the Ancient Weather Book would be available as well. While he could ignore the Sea God''s Legacy, the Ancient Weather Book was an extremely important item. When used in naval combat, it was a strategic weapon. "That''s fine. However, we''ll split our time four-to-six. I get six hours. Later, I''ll use one hour to test the waters. If it really isn''t possible, we''ll switch to other grottos. This will also give you the chance to learn the largest grotto''s difficulty," Passing Monarch said. "Alright, let''s do that, then," Shi Feng smiled before taking out a contract. Following which, the two renewed their contract. Passing Monarch released a sigh of relief as he quickly directed the fleet into the largest grotto. In reality, the secret land''s grottos were portals that would transport players to another space. As the Third Fleet''s ships entered the largest grotto, after a few minutes of drifting along a heavy current, the fleet left the grotto and appeared before a massive island. The island had a white, sandy beach and an azure blue sky above it. It looked like paradise. This island was none other than their rest point. Another island waited across from this paradise. Unlike the first island, dark, thundering clouds covered the sky above the second. One could also see plenty of massive sea monsters roaming the island. This was where the Legacies hid. Silent Entropy and Identical Summer''s fleets had already engaged these sea monsters in battle. "Why are there so many sea monsters?!" Passing Monarch was shocked when he saw the creatures. Both Silent Entropy and Identical Summer''s fleets stood against more than twenty sea monsters. These sea monsters looked like sea turtles, but unlike normal sea turtles, a long horn grew from the heads of these monsters. Their bodies also emitted arcs of blue electricity, and all of their attacks used lightning. Not only were their attacks very fast, but they also contained massive destructive power. - [Thunder Horn Beast] (Sea Monster, Lord) Level 51 HP 35,000,000/35,000,000 - Although Silent Entropy and Identical Summer''s fleets each had a Small Sailboat, their ships suffered against so many Thunder Horn Beasts. If not for their Small Sailboats taking the brunt of the attacks, they would''ve already been annihilated. Passing Monarch paled at this sight. Speedboats stood no chance against those monsters. The Third Fleet couldn''t even reach the island. If they could not get on the island, how were they supposed to obtain the Legacy? In the Sea Dragon Secret Land, all Legacies were in the center of the legacy island at the end of each grotto. The ships'' role was to transport the players through the obstacles on the way to the legacy island. However, with so many sea monsters in the outer perimeter, one could just imagine how many sea monsters waited for them around the legacy island "They sure move quickly." At this moment, Hundred Leaves had also emerged from the grotto. When she saw the ongoing battle, she simply smiled and said, "It seems this Legacy is fated to be mine!" In the next moment, the Small Sailboat and Bronze Speedboats in Hundred Leaves''s fleet sliced through the water towards the legacy island, bypassing the Thunder Horn Beasts. "Roar!" As Hundred Leaves''s fleet entered the outer perimeter, a large group of Thunder Horn Beasts broke through the water''s surface, attacking Hundred Leaves''s fleet. Peng Peng Peng A series of lightning strikes bombarded the fleet. However, Hundred Leaves''s Small Sailboat showed no intentions of dodging the attacks. Instead, it forged ahead. When the lightning strikes were 30 yards away from the Small Sailboat, they dissipated into nothing as if they had met an invisible barrier that nullified magical attacks. In a short moment, Hundred Leaves''s fleet broke past the blockade and entered the inner perimeter 1223 Who Says We Donst Have a Sailboat? Chapter 1223 - Who Says We Don''t Have a Sailboat? "They made it through so easily?" Passing Monarch''s mouth gaped as he looked at Hundred Leaves''s fleet getting past the outer perimeter. Although the outer perimeter was not large, there were still roughly 5,000 yards to cross to reach the inner perimeter. Crossing such a distance while weathering the attacks of over twenty Thunder Horn Beasts was easier said than done. Even Silent Entropy''s fleet had yet to cross half the distance and had already lost four players. It was clear that Silent Entropy''s fleet would lose over twenty people by the time they reached the inner perimeter. Of course, Silent Entropy''s fleet could use another method that would incur fewer losses, gradually killing off the Thunder Horn Beasts. However, killing the sea monsters would take a lot of time. Meanwhile, they only had ten hours inside the Sea Dragon Secret Land. If they wasted one or two hours in the outer perimeter, they would have to waste even more time in the inner perimeter. By the time they reached the legacy island, they would''ve already run out of time to search for the Legacy. Seeing Hundred Leaves''s fleet enter the inner perimeter, Identical Summer grew anxious. The Legacy on the island was on a first come, first served basis. The sooner one reached the island, the higher their chances were of obtaining the Legacy. "All MTs, take turns activating your Lifesaving Skills! We''re forcing our way through!" Identical Summer commanded, gritting his teeth. A group of six MTs stormed the Small Sailboat''s deck, receiving the Thunder Horn Beasts'' attacks. The ship blasted away any monsters in their way with cannon fire. Silent Entropy''s side fared far better than the other fleet. Silent Entropy had used a Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll to receive the Level 51 Lords'' attacks. By the time both fleets had reached the inner perimeter, the difference between Silent Entropy and Identical Summer''s fleets was obvious at a glance. Silent Entropy''s fleet hadn''t lost a single player. On the other hand, Identical Summer''s fleet had lost 17 players, with five of them being MTs. The players that died would automatically resurrect on the rest island. They would not be able to rejoin the main force and would have to wait for their companions to retrieve them or be sent out of the secret island once time was up. Fortunately, the death penalty in the secret land was similar to that of Dungeons. Hence, players that died would only lose a small portion of their EXP. "Commander, are we still waiting?" Blue Joy asked Passing Monarch, a hint of worry in her eyes. It was obvious that she was not optimistic about their chances of breaking past the outer perimeter. "Forget it. It''s too difficult. There''s no need for us to waste our speedboats'' durability here," Passing Monarch said, sighing deeply. In the end, he decided to give up on the greatest Legacy as this area was far more challenging than he had imagined. With their fleet''s strength, they had no hopes of reaching the legacy island. "Hold up," Shi Feng said suddenly. "If you really want to reach the island, we''re not entirely out of options." While the Thunder Horn Beasts were terrifying, after watching them for some time, Shi Feng could tell that the majority of the Lords'' attacks were magical. Others might find it difficult to defend against magical attacks, but to Shi Feng, it was a simple task. "Brother Ye Feng, you have a plan?" Passing Monarch asked curiously. These Thunder Horn Beasts was extremely fast. Even Bronze Speedboats could not outrun them. If they were surrounded, they would be utterly helpless. They would need a Small Sailboat to force open a path. "I''ll attract these sea monsters'' attention while your speedboats use the opportunity to get past them," Shi Feng explained. Passing Monarch was surprised by Shi Feng''s words. He had never thought that Shi Feng would willingly sacrifice his speedboat as bait. However, since Shi Feng was willing to do so, he would not object. Meanwhile, Hundred Leaves and the others, who were currently resting at the edge of the inner perimeter, noticed Passing Monarch''s fleet speeding towards the outer perimeter. "They''re overestimating themselves," Identical Summer sneered. "Do they really expect to get past those Thunder Horn Beasts without a Small Sailboat to open a path?" "Do they really need to waste time here?" Hundred Leaves rolled her eyes as she watched Passing Monarch. There was no way to repair one''s ship inside the Sea Dragon Secret Land. If the Thunder Horn Beasts bombarded Passing Monarch''s fleet, even with players splitting the damage, the speedboats'' durability would deplete rapidly. Once a ship''s durability reached zero, it would be useless. Even if Passing Monarch''s fleet escaped with their speedboats intact and proceeded to the other grottos, their chances of obtaining a Legacy would decrease due to the lost durability. Though, looking at it from another perspective, the fact that Passing Monarch and the others were willing to attempt reaching this legacy island benefitted Hundred Leaves. This way, she would have an opportunity to kill Shi Feng and complete the Demon God''s quest. At this time, Shi Feng steered the Swift Dragon Speedboat into the outer perimeter. Thunder Horn Beasts immediately emerged from the water, one after another, rapidly encircling the Swift Dragon Speedboat. At the same time, electricity gathered at their horns as they prepared to attack. However, Shi Feng paid no attention to these monsters as he continued towards the group of sea monsters before him. Seeing the numerous arcs of lightning arcing towards him, Shi Feng activated Magic Barrier, making the Swift Dragon Speedboat immune to magic damage and reducing the physical damage it received by 60% for ten seconds. After blocking the attacks, the Swift Dragon Speedboat arrived before the group of Thunder Horn Beasts, letting the sea monsters surround it. "It''s over..." Passing Monarch could not help but sigh. If the massive Thunder Horn Beasts surrounded a speedboat, there was no hope of escape. "What a fool! He sacrificed a speedboat for nothing!" Identical Summer laughed. In the past, he had always seen Passing Monarch as his rival. After all, the two had fought for a long time, and the man had caused him plenty of trouble. Now, however, Passing Monarch was no longer a threat. His only competition now was Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves. As more Thunder Horn Beats gathered around the Swift Dragon Speedboat, the likelihood of Shi Feng breaking through the encirclement grew smaller and smaller. Rather than worrying, however, a smile appeared on Shi Feng''s face. It''s about time to make a move! Shi Feng observed his surroundings and noticed that practically 80% of the Thunder Horn Beasts had gathered around him. Energy Pulse! Dragon Cannon! Suddenly, a blue ripple spread out from the Swift Dragon Speedboat, paralyzing the surrounding Thunder Horn Beasts. At the same time, a black-white beam shot out from the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s bow. In the next moment, three Thunder Horn Beasts that blocked the Secret-Silver Speedboat''s way had been blasted back. At the same time, the three Lords lost over 2,000,000 HP each. The surface of the water caved in at the might of the black beam. Suddenly, an empty path opened up before the Swift Dragon Speedboat. Shi Feng activated Accelerate, increasing the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s Movement Speed by 100%. Before the Thunder Horn Beasts could react, the Swift Dragon Speedboat had already sped away from the encirclement and made its way to the inner perimeter. Meanwhile, Passing Monarch and the others tore across the water to the inner perimeter from another direction. As only five Thunder Horn Beasts chased after Passing Monarch''s group of four Bronze Speedboats, they were able to get away with minimal damage, their speedboats'' durability decreasing only slightly. As for the remaining sea monsters chasing the Swift Dragon Speedboat, due to the paralyzation, their Movement Speeds had reduced to less than half of their original. As a result, the distance between them and the Secret-Silver Speedboat rapidly increased. By the time the paralysis effect wore off, the Swift Dragon Speedboat was over 300 yards away. By then, all the Thunder Horn Beasts could do was watch as the Swift Dragon Speedboat entered the inner perimeter. "What rank is that speedboat?" Hundred Leaves blinked in astonishment as her gaze followed the unharmed Swift Dragon Speedboat. "So, this is the expert Passing Monarch recruited? Not bad." The Swift Dragon Speedboat''s performance had also surprised Identical Summer. The speedboat''s main cannon was strong enough to throw three Thunder Horn Beasts. Even his Small Sailboat wasn''t capable of such a feat. "However, they won''t get much further. They''ll never reach the island." Identical Summer''s words earned the agreement of those around him. The difference between the inner and outer perimeter''s difficulty was like the difference between heaven and earth. Although one had to face fewer sea monsters in the inner perimeter, these monsters were obviously stronger. Moreover, the condition to cross the inner perimeter was different. After entering the inner perimeter, they noticed a magic barrier around the legacy island. It was obvious that they were required to kill the guardian sea monsters before they could dock. However, the sea monsters guarding the inner perimeter included one Level 55 King-class Sea Monster and two Great Lords. Without a Small Sailboat, it was simply impossible to defeat such a powerful force. "What a pity, Brother Monarch. Even if you make it here, it''s all for nothing. Without a Small Sailboat, you are doomed to remain in the inner perimeter," Identical Summer laughed. "However, rest assured; you''ll at least rank seventh. Only, you will no longer be able to use the Large Shipyard." When Passing Monarch noticed Silent Entropy''s fleets fighting a Level 55 King-class Sea Monster, his jaw dropped as he lost heart. The King-class Sea Monster guarding the inner perimeter was far stronger than the one they had previously fought. That had only been a Great Lord, while the this was a Grand Lord. Moreover, the current one was an even higher level Shi Feng''s Secret-Silver ranked Swift Dragon Speedboat could never tank it. Furthermore, the King-class Sea Monster was accompanied by two Great Lord ranked sea monsters. "Who says we don''t have a Small Sailboat?" Shi Feng suddenly asked. 1224 Combat Power Assessmen Chapter 1224 - Combat Power Assessment "You have a Small Sailboat?" Identical Summer stared at Shi Feng as if the man had told the funniest joke in the world. Although Identical Summer had not said anything else, there was no doubting the contempt in his eyes. The other Freedom Alliance members smirked at Shi Feng''s words. "That brat sure knows how to boast. Even our Sacred Temple hasn''t obtained a Small Sailboat until recently. How could an independent adventurer team with no background possibly have one?" The cloaked woman from the Sacred Temple chuckled softly. The Sacred Temple was one of the Super Guilds that had begun to develop its naval strength early in the game, yet even now, it had only found a Magic Bottle containing a Small Sailboat, not an actual Small Sailboat. They had obtained this Magic Bottle from an ancient ruin in the Sea''s End. For this Magic Bottle, the Sacred Temple had sacrificed dozens of experts and thousands of elites. As for Silent Entropy and Identical Summer, while both had only acquired a Small Sailboat due to luck, they also had the support of powerful backers. The power supporting Silent Entropy, in particular, was intense enough that even the Sacred Temple avoided casually provoking it. Passing Monarch was merely an independent player with great individual strength. The naval adventurer team he had formed lacked the support of any major power. It was a miracle that he had led his team to become the Freedom Alliance''s Third Fleet. Obtaining a Small Sailboat was impossible for Passing Monarch. "Brother Ye Feng, do you really have a Small Sailboat?" Passing Monarch stared at the Swordsman in shock. He had already investigated Zero Wing and learned that the Guild didn''t possess any particular naval power. The Guild hadn''t even begun to develop its naval forces. Zero Wing had focused on competing with the various large Guilds on land all this time. Just the fact that Zero Wing possessed a Secret-Silver Speedboat was astounding. Even now, no one throughout the Freedom Alliance possessed a Secret-Silver Speedboat. Blue Joy, who stood by a side, blinked in astonishment. She wondered if Shi Feng had simply made the claim to save the Third Fleet from humiliation. "You''ll know once you see it," Shi Feng said as he looked around him. He could clearly feel the doubt and contempt everyone aimed his way. Following which, he took a delicate crystal bottle from his bag and began to chant an incantation. With each verse Shi Feng chanted, black mist emerged from the crystal bottle, shrouding a large section of the sea water before the Swift Dragon Speedboat. Suddenly, a silver sailboat appeared before these players. This silver sailboat was no smaller than the sailboat Hundred Leaves had summoned with the Magic Bottle. Moreover, magic runes decorated every inch of the silver sailboat. At first glance, it was obvious that the silver sailboat was a higher rank than the Common Sailboats Silent Entropy and Identical Summer had summoned. This Small Sailboat was none other than the Bronze ranked One-horned Sailboat he had obtained from the King-class Sea Monster he previously killed. "Impossible!" "When did Small Sailboats become so common?!" Everyone was stupefied. None of them could believe their eyes. "Just who is that man?" Hundred Leaves shifted her gaze to Shi Feng when she saw the One-horned Sailboat. First, the man had earned himself a bounty from the Demon God. Then he revealed a very high-rank speedboat. Now, he revealed a Small Sailboat. If someone claimed that this man wasn''t supported by a major power, she wouldn''t believe it. "I have really underestimated you, Monarch. I never thought you would recruit such an expert. However, you''ll never get to the island. At the end of the day, passing the inner perimeter''s test depends on one''s strength," Identical Summer snorted. He then steered his sailboat towards the legacy island to challenge the inner perimeter''s sea monsters. Passing Monarch''s fleet might have crossed the outer perimeter with some trick, but the inner perimeter required them to face the joint attacks of a Grand Lord ranked King-class Sea Monster and two Great Lords. Without defeating these monsters, they would not be allowed to dock on the island. Although Passing Monarch''s fleet now had a Small Sailboat, the fleet''s disadvantage was still obviousthe fleet lacked manpower. The Third Fleet was only allowed to bring 90 members to the secret land, while Identical Summer, Silent Entropy, and Hundred Leaves''s fleets each had over 100 people. Not only could they employ their Small Sailboats, which could accommodate 100 passengers, to their fullest potential, but they also had extra men to control multiple Bronze Speedboats. On the other hand, Passing Monarch''s fleet did not even have enough players to exert its Small Sailboat to its full potential. How could Passing Monarch''s fleet possibly defeat a King-class Sea Monster? At the same time, the members of Third Fleet gazed at Shi Feng with admiration. "Brother Ye Feng, thank you, truly. However, I still intend to give up on this grotto." Passing Monarch was extremely grateful to Shi Feng. In reality, Shi Feng could''ve easily decided not to help him. After all, both had already agreed that they would determine each other''s harvest based on time. However, when Passing Monarch had seen the distant King-class Sea Monster, he had decided to relent. - [Magic Whale] (Marine King Creature, King-class Sea Monster, Grand Lord) Level 55 HP 200,000,000/200,000,000 [Razorshark] (Marine King Creature, Sea Monster, Great Lord) Level 55 HP 80,000,000/80,000,000 - Seeing these sea monsters'' statistics, even a naval expert like Passing Monarch felt powerless. Just one Great Lord ranked Razorshark was already a difficult foe, not to mention two and the Magic Whale. Without dozens of speedboats attacking at the same time, it was practically impossible to defeat all three sea monsters. Meanwhile, the fleets Silent Entropy, Identical Summer, and Hundred Leaves commanded had some hope of victory as they each had around seven or eight Bronze Speedboats to assist them. For example, Silent Entropy''s Small Sailboat was currently tanking the Magic Whale while two other Bronze Speedboats dealt with the Razorsharks. As for the remaining speedboats, they focused their fire on the Razorsharks. Although each Bronze Speedboat only inflicted around -200,000 damage, the total damage from six or seven Bronze Speedboats still surpassed the sea monsters'' battle recovery. It was only a matter of time before the speedboats dealt with the two Razorsharks. Once those two sea monsters had been dealt with, Silent Entropy''s fleet would slowly, but surely, whittle down the Magic Whale''s HP. On the other hand, they couldn''t even exert the maximum combat power of their Small Sailboat. How were they going to whittle away the sea monsters'' HP? Hence, rather than waste time here, exploring the other grottos would be more beneficial. With their fleet''s strength, they wouldn''t have any issues obtaining two Legacies. "Brother Monarch, since you wish to give up, why don''t you let me command the fleet for the first four hours?" Shi Feng asked. Passing Monarch''s decision hadn''t particularly surprised him. After all, assessing an opponent''s combat power was the basics of being an expert. If Passing Monarch couldn''t even do that much, he would not have become an expert at all. Only, Passing Monarch''s assessment was slightly different from his. "Brother Ye Feng, is there really a reason to waste time here?" Passing Monarch could not figure out what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. It was already clear that they had no hope of victory, yet this Swordsman insisted on jumping into the jaws of death. However, when Passing Monarch saw the determination in Shi Feng''s eyes, he had no choice but to nod, saying, "Alright, then. We''ll follow your command for the next four hours. Once these four hours are up, we''ll leave immediately." Following which, both sides renewed their contract yet again. From the next four hours, the Third Fleet would be under Shi Feng''s command. After finding nothing wrong with the contract, Shi Feng stored it away in satisfaction. "Let''s go." Shi Feng smiled at the distant Magic Whale. Others might not know the One-horned Sailboat''s might, but he did. While King-class Sea Monsters were quite powerful, a Bronze Sailboat could not be underestimated, either. Following which, Shi Feng allocated tasks to the Third Fleet''s members. The Swift Dragon Speedboat and one of the Bronze Speedboats had a 20-man crew each, while each of the remaining three Bronze Speedboats had a party of six. The remaining fleet members would board the One-horned Sailboat and deal with the Magic Whale. "This is nuts. We''ll only have 32 people on our strongest ship? How are we going to hold back the Magic Whale?" When Passing Monarch and the others saw Shi Feng''s distribution, they were confused. The other fleets had three full MT parties each, splitting the Magic Whale''s damage. Those fleets also had the other crew members on their Small Sailboats sharing the damage. Only then could they minimize the damage to their sailboats. Otherwise, before their respective fleets even finished off one Razorshark, their sailboats would be reporting for duty in Davy Jones'' Locker. However, Shi Feng insisted on this setup, and Passing Monarch had no choice but to agree. After all, Shi Feng now held authority over the fleet. Moreover, the sailboat belonged to Shi Feng. As the One-horned Sailboat approached the island, a Magic Whale and two Razorsharks emerged from the water. Their massive frames resembled large mountains, blocking the legacy island from view. "Begin!" Shi Feng fired the Thunder Cannon at the Magic Whale. 1225 The Might of a Bronze Small Sailboa Chapter 1225 - The Might of a Bronze Small Sailboat "Leaves, this Magic Whale''s attack range is too wide. We won''t hold at this rate. We need to use Magic Scrolls," the cloaked woman from the Sacred Temple said, frowning at their sailboat''s remaining durability. The Razorsharks were only Great Lords. Moreover, their Skills were monotonous, making their attacks easy to dodge. Bronze Speedboats were more than enough to cope with the Razorsharks. The problem was the Magic Whale. Although the Grand Lord was clumsy and slow, and its attack patterns were not particularly complex, it was still a powerful foe. Aside from ruthless headbutts, the Magic Whale''s main attacks were Ice Meteor and Icicle Rain. When casting Ice Meteor, the Magic Whale would call down a massive globe of ice. Even with six MTs sharing the attack''s damage, all six would lose over two-thirds of their HPs. Furthermore, the Grand Lord used Ice Meteor frequently. Only when all eighteen MTs took turns blocking could they keep up with the attacks. The burden on the healers was also massive as one mistake could spell the end for a party of MTs. However, this was not the team''s greatest challenge. The Magic Whale''s Icicle Rain was what left everyone speechless. When the Magic Whale cast Icicle Rain, countless icicles would rain down from the sky. Although each icicle only dealt around -10,000 damage and could easily be blocked by any player, they could not keep up with how many icicles bombarded their ships. One could say that this Skill specifically targeted ships. By the time Icicle Rain''s duration ended, their Small Sailboat would''ve lost roughly three or four points of durability. If they continued this battle of attrition, their Small Sailboat''s 700 durability would have long since bottomed out before they could shave away the Magic Whale''s 200,000,000 HP. "Sure enough, a King-class Sea Monster is not an easy foe." Hundred Leaves frowned as she watched another batch of icicles form in the sky. She then said to the cloaked woman, "Use the Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Have the summoned creature share part of Icicle Rain''s damage." The cloaked woman nodded before retrieving a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll and chanting the incantation. With a Tier 3 summoned creature sharing the damage, the Small Sailboat only lost one point of durability by the time the Skill ended. At the same time, the cloaked woman redirected a portion of the sailboat''s cannon attacks towards one of the distant Razorsharks, assisting the Bronze Speedboats in whittling down the Great Lord''s HP. As a result, the Razorshark''s 80,000,000 HP decreased at a visible rate. 95%... 94%... 93%... "Leaves, Passing Monarch and the others seem to be taking action." As the cloaked woman controlled the summoned creature, she noticed the One-horned Sailboat moving deeper into the inner perimeter, and an odd feeling rose in her chest. Passing Monarch''s fleet only had 90 members. Even with a Small Sailboat, such a small team was not enough to defeat the Magic Whale. Any expert worth his salt should know this, much less a fleet commander like Passing Monarch. "They''re actually pushing forward?" Hundred Leaves glanced at Shi Feng, who stood aboard the One-horned Sailboat. Smiling, she muttered, "What an interesting person." She was very familiar with Passing Monarch. While Passing Monarch''s individual combat standards were not particularly high, his leadership abilities and assessment for monsters'' strengths were first-class. He would never take such a risk. The only possibility was that Shi Feng had persuaded him to do so. Silent Entropy and Identical Summer had also noticed the One-horned Sailboat''s approach. "They''re not giving up?" Identical Summer asked contemptuously. "I want to see just how long they can last." Currently, his fleet barely held its ground against the three guardian monsters. He still didn''t know if his team could kill the Magic Whale. In the case of Passing Monarch''s fleet, however, just killing the two Razorsharks would be a huge challenge. As such thoughts ran through the various commanders'' minds, a golden beam exploded from the One-horned Sailboat''s bow, slamming into the Magic Whale''s thick hide. Boom! As it struck, the golden beam carved out a small wound from the Magic Whale''s side, blue blood spilling into the water. "How can it possess such power?!" Hundred Leaves was shocked. No matter how many times her Small Sailboat attacked the Magic Whale, they had only taken a fraction of the Grand Lord''s HP. The sailboat''s attacks could not cause any substantial injuries to the Grand Lord. "How can this sailboat possess such a high-rank cannon? Could it have been modified?" As Identical Summer stared at the wound on the Magic Whale''s body. In God''s Domain, no ship was static. They could all be modified. Only, there was a limit to how much a ship could be modified and strengthened as the ship''s construction materials were a limiting factor. Furthermore, it was very difficult to modify and strengthen a ship. The task required Lifestyle players of considerably high rank. To modify a ship, one also had to risk reducing the ship''s quality or destroying it altogether. Hence, even now, nobody actually dared to modify their precious ships. "Aaarrooooooo!" Enraged, the Magic Whale beat its tail fin violently and propelled itself towards the One-horned Sailboat. The two Razorsharks followed after the Magic Whale. A Bronze Small Sailboat''s cannon fire is really quite impressive. Shi Feng was very satisfied with this outcome. Seeing the Magic Whale and Razorsharks swimming closer, he activated Thunder Blast, the One-horned Sailboat''s strongest move. This attack was many times stronger than the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s Dragon Cannon. Immediately, several snakes of golden lightning surged forward, dealing devastating damage to the area 500*30 yards ahead of the One-horned Sailboat. As the golden lightning snakes slithered towards the Magic Whale and Razorsharks, the three sea monsters revealed a hint of fear, trying to avoid the incoming attack. Unfortunately, Thunder Blast was not cannon fire. Rather, it was a magical attack channeled from a magic array. It was many times faster than cannon fire. The arcs of golden lightning had crossed several hundred yards in the blink of an eye. Boom Boom Boom When the golden lightning streaked past the Magic Whale and Razorsharks, all three sea monsters screamed in agonizing unity. The Magic Whale and Razorsharks were all in a miserable state. The Magic Whale was covered with wounds with fresh, blue blood coloring the water. A damage of over -900,000 had appeared above its head. As for the Razorsharks, many areas of their bodies had scorched black. The two Great Lords had clearly suffered serious injuries, significantly affecting their combat powers. Each had lost over 2,000,000 HP in the attack. Thunder Blast''s might stupefied everyone present. "Thisis impossible!" The watching players instinctively refused to accept this reality. They had lived in Sea''s End throughout their career in God''s Domain. They had lost count of how many times they had fought sea monsters. Hence, their naval understanding ranked at the peak of God''s Domain. However, the One-horned Sailboat''s attacks were unbelievable. "Brother Ye Feng, justwhat rank is your sailboat?" Passing Monarch gulped audibly as he looked at the heavily injured Razorsharks. Only now did he understand why Shi Feng was so confident. With such firepower, it was no wonder why Shi Feng wasn''t worried about killing the Magic Whale. "What do you think?" Shi Feng smiled mysteriously, not offering a concrete answer. Players still assumed that Small Sailboats were similar to speedboats, which had only a small gap in power between each rank. They had not yet realized how vast the divide was between a Common ranked Small Sailboat and a Bronze rank. In terms of firepower, a Bronze Small Sailboat could rival a Fine-Gold Speedboat. This was the reason that Passing Monarch''s assessment of each side''s combat power was incorrect. "Brother Monarch, you guys deal with the Razorsharks. Make sure you lure them away from each other. Leave the Magic Whale to me," Shi Feng instructed after noticing the Magic Whale and Razorsharks approach. "You''re going to deal with that thing with only one ship? This. Won''t we be cutting it a little too close?" 1226 Hidden Effect of the Bronze Small Sailboa Chapter 1226 - Hidden Effect of the Bronze Small Sailboat Shi Feng''s commands confused Passing Monarch and the others. The One-horned Sailboat might possess frightening killing power, but when all was said and done, the Magic Whale was still a King-class Sea Monster. It was still a terrifying foe. Although Silent Entropy and the other Fleets relied on their Small Sailboats to tank the Magic Whale, they constantly had two or three Bronze Sailboats assisting from the side. The speedboats occasionally shared some of the Magic Whale''s damage, giving the Small Sailboats a break. Furthermore, the One-horned Sailboat only had a 32-man crew on board. In terms of endurance, it was far weaker than Silent Entropy and the others'' Small Sailboats. Without a doubt, sending the One-horned Sailboat to deal with the Magic Whale alone was mad. If it were up to Passing Monarch and the others, they would''ve refused the idea. After all, it was nothing more than gambling with a Small Sailboat. A Small Sailboat''s value went without saying. One wouldn''t even necessarily trade such a ship for a Fragmented Legendary item. However, it was too late for Passing Monarch and the others to argue as Shi Feng had steered the One-horned Sailboat directly towards the massive Magic Whale. Meanwhile, the two Razorsharks had swum around to launch a pincer attack against the One-horned Sailboat from the sides. "Commander, are we really not going to help him?" Blue Joy asked Passing Monarch worriedly. "He is the commander now. We''ll only stop him if it truly seems impossible." Passing Monarch could not help but sigh. He did not know what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. Normally, anyone who obtained a Small Sailboat would treat it like a priceless treasure, avoiding anything reckless that might destroy it. Shi Feng, however, pitted his Small Sailboat in a dogfight against a Grand Lord ranked King-class Sea Monster. Looking at this situation, Passing Monarch could not help but feel sorry for the One-horned Sailboat. Following which, under Passing Monarch''s command, all speedboats took action. With the four Basic Mana Pulse Bombs Shi Feng had provided them, they fired two bombs at each of the Razorsharks, each bomb dealing over -1,000,000 damage. Instantly, the Razorsharks'' aggro split between the One-horned Sailboat, the Swift Dragon Speedboat, and one Bronze Speedboat. As the Razorsharks were about to reach the One-horned Sailboat, the MTs on board the Swift Dragon Speedboat and Bronze Speedboat used Crowd Mock, securing the Great Lords'' aggro. Immediately, the two speedboats split up and moved away from the Magic Whale, the Razorsharks following closely after them. The timing of Passing Monarch''s commands was extremely accurate. Meanwhile, the Magic Whale bellowed when it noticed the One-horned Sailboat approaching. Three Ice Meteors then appeared in the air. "Hahaha! Now you''ve done it! I want to see how you intend to clean up this mess!" Identical Summer smirked when he saw the three Ice Meteors. When his and the other fleet''s Magic Whales used Ice Meteor, they only summoned two attacks. Thunder Blast has surprised him; he was even somewhat jealous. However, it was obvious that this frightening firepower had angered the Magic Whale. Even his fleet would suffer against three Ice Meteors at the once, not to mention the One-horned Sailboat, which faced the Magic Whale one-on-one. "Leaves, look at the Small Sailboat in Passing Monarch''s fleet!" the cloaked woman from the Sacred Temple called out in surprise and pointed at the One-horned Sailboat. "There are less than 50 people on board!" "Less than 50?" Hundred Leaves, who commanded her own battle, turned to look at the One-horned Sailboat upon hearing this, her brows rising in surprise. "They actually did something like that?" This was ludicrous! She had a 100-man crew aboard her sailboat to deal with the Magic Whale''s attacks, yet her sailboat still lost a significant amount of durability. If the One-horned Sailboat had less than 50 players on board, its durability would fall several times faster. The sailboat would likely sink to the bottom of the ocean before the two Razorsharks were dealt with. "Aaarrroooo!" the Magic Whale bellowed as it controlled the Ice Meteors, aiming for the One-horned Sailboat''s blind spots and making its attacks difficult to dodge. In terms of speed and angle of attack, this Magic Whale used faster and more accurate Ice Meteors than the others. When the three Ice Meteors were less than 30 yards away from the One-horned Sailboat, Shi Feng activated Mana Drive, increasing the sailboat''s speed by 30%. This allowed the sailboat to dart out of the Magic Whale''s attack trajectory in the nick of time. After dodging the Ice Meteors, the One-horned Sailboat''s four Thunder Cannons rang out simultaneously. Four golden beams struck the Magic Whale, tearing a pained cry from the Grand Lord''s throat as a series of damages appeared above its head. -471,847. -482,187. -471,974. -472,079. The four cannons instantly devoured nearly 2,000,000 of the Magic Whale''s HP. Sure enough, it won''t be possible to kill it with the One-horned Sailboat''s firepower alone. Shi Feng felt a headache brew as he looked at the Magic Whale''s HP. It seems we''ll have to kill the Razorsharks first and then focus fire on the Magic Whale. Although the One-horned Sailboat was quite powerful, the Magic Whale could recover 2,000,000 HP every five seconds. With the Thunder Cannons'' long Cooldown, it was impossible to kill the Magic Whale without help. Following which, Shi Feng readjusted the One-horned Sailboat''s course, circling the Magic Whale while waiting for the Thunder Cannons'' Cooldown to finish. When the enraged Magic Whale saw that its first wave of attacks had failed to land, it used its AOE attack, Icicle Rain. Even with the One-horned Sailboat''s increased speed, it couldn''t avoid this attack. "All members, prepare to block the icicles!" Shi Feng shouted. Although Shi Feng had issued the command, he knew it was unrealistic to expect 32 people to block so many icicles. As the icicles began to descend, Shi Feng took a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll from his bag. Immediately, a massive Golden Gorilla appeared, joining the defense. Dang Dang Dang Under Shi Feng''s control, the Golden Gorilla executed Sword''s Orbit, using its arms in place of swords. This was another method of utilizing combat techniques. Only, doing so required considerably fine control and a great understanding of a combat technique. Although Shi Feng could not execute Sword''s Orbit through the Golden Gorilla as freely as with his own body, with the summoned creature''s massive frame and wide attack range, it easily protected over half the One-horned Sailboat from the icicle attacks. The players blocked the majority of the icicles, protecting the remaining half. Overall, less than one-tenth of the icicles had actually struck the sailboat. This outcome was on par with Hundred Leaves and the others. "This" "How did he do that?" The players watching from afar were flabbergasted. Despite having similarly summoned Tier 3 summoned creatures, their summoned creatures could only block around one-third of the Magic Whale''s Icicle Rain. Their summoned creatures even lost over 1,500,000 HP with each wave of attacks, yet the Golden Gorilla had blocked half of the Icicle Rain, losing less than 500,000 HP. This was simply inconceivable. It wasn''t just the Golden Gorilla that had received less damage than expected. Even the players on the One-horned Sailboat had only lost around 7,000 HP when struck, 3,000 less HP than their players. This allowed the One-horned Sailboat''s crew to endure many more attacks. However, what everyone did not know was that Bronze Small Sailboats had a hidden effect. The runes lining the hull weren''t just for decoration. They possessed a damage mitigation ability. The runes could reduce an attack''s damage by 10% to 30% based on the attack''s might. Although the Icicle Rain was a powerful Skill, the individual icicles did not pack a lot of power. Hence, their damage was reduced by 30%. In addition, a Bronze Small Sailboat''s Defense was superior to that of a Common Small Sailboat. Despite receiving roughly the same amount of attacks, the One-horned Sailboat had not lost a single point of durability after the last wave of attacks. This was also the reason that Shi Feng dared to challenge the Magic Whale with a crew of fewer than 50 people. Time passed quickly. While keeping the Magic Whale distracted, the One-horned Sailboat launched attacks at the distant Razorsharks. In less than 15 minutes, both Razorsharks were dead, fueling the team''s EXP bars. In contrast, each of the other fleets had only dealt with one Razorshark so far. The difference between them was obvious instantly. Now that only the Magic Whale remained, Shi Feng''s side had a much easier time. Although it took a long time just to reduce the Magic Whale''s HP by 1%, they slowly, but surely, depleted the Grand Lord''s HP. When the Magic Whale''s HP fell to 10%, it spread its colossal jaws, and a frightening amount of Mana began to concentrate in its mouth. "All speedboats, hide behind the sailboat!" Shi Feng shouted hurriedly. All King-class Sea Monsters possessed powerful team-wipe moves. The Magic Whale was no exception. The King-class Sea Monsters inside secret lands might not be as powerful as those elsewhere, which possessed second lives, but it still shouldn''t be underestimated. "Aaaarrrrooooooo!" An evil glint appeared in the Magic Whale''s eyes. The Magic Whale snapped its mouth shut. Its body then began to release dark blue beams of light that directly devoured Shi Feng and the others. As the light show ended, the sea around the One-horned Sailboat and the Magic Whale had transformed into a frosty world. "This" Everyone gasped at this sight. The Magic Whale was simply too fierce. This last move could rival the power of a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. As a result of the Spell, the Magic Whale had lost 5% of its HP. As the icy fog surrounding the One-horned Sailboat dissipated, it received significant damage as the blue barrier protecting the ship crumbled and disappeared. This was none other than the One-horned Sailboat''s Lifesaving Skill, Magic Shield. When activated, it would create a barrier capable of absorbing up to 1,000,000 damage for five minutes. Although the barrier couldn''t mitigate all of the damage, at the very least, it had prevented many of the crew''s deaths. After sharing the damage, 19 people were still alive on the One-horned Sailboat. As for the speedboats behind the One-horned Sailboat, only the Swift Dragon Speedboat and the Bronze Speedboat with a full crew had half their original crew members. The other Bronze Speedboats had lost their entire crews, leaving behind ghost ships "The Magic Whale has entered a Weakened state! Throw everything you have at it!" Shi Feng had less than half of his HP remaining. Although he had prepared for this, the move had shocked him. Even after activating Magic Shield, everyone on board had still received so much damage. Although only the One-horned Sailboat, Swift Dragon Speedboat, and one Bronze Speedboat remained, the Magic Whale''s Defense was crippled. Moreover, it had lost its ability to recover in battle. It was nothing more than a living target for Shi Feng and his crew now. 4%... 3%... 2%... 1%... "Die!" Shi Feng activated Divine Blessing and used Thunder Blast. Countless arcs of golden lightning devoured the Magic Whale''s remaining HP. In the end, the Magic Whale released an agonized cry as its body disintegrated into particles of light. Immediately after, a large group of golden dots descended towards the water. 1227 Upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring Chapter 1227 - Upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring "It''s dead?!" Silent Entropy, Identical Summer, and Hundred Leaves''s crews were dazed for a long time after watching Shi Feng and his team kill the Magic Whale. Even now, they had only whittled down their respective Magic Whales to 30% HP, and both their Small Sailboats and their member count had suffered significant losses. Their healers, in particular, were nearly out of Mana. They were barely holding on by relying on Mana Recovery Potions and special tools. Needless to say, the longer they continued this battle, the greater their losses would become. "Damn it! Why are they the ones to kill the monsters first?!" Identical Summer''s eyes were bloodshot when he saw the golden orbs of light floating above the water''s surface. When he noticed that only a few members remained on Passing Monarch''s fleet, he smiled coldly as he said, "Change our course! As long as we get the item to dock, we can get to the island without killing the Magic Whale!" At this moment, Passing Monarch''s fleet was a remnant of its past glory. On the other hand, his fleet was still in considerably good shape. With the numerical advantage, they should have no problems stealing the Magic Whale''s loot. As Identical Summer''s fleet took action, Silent Entropy commanded his fleet to charge at Passing Monarch and the others as well. The Freedom Alliance had not set any rules or signed any contracts forbidding them from attack each other in the secret land. After all, with so many Legacies, it wasn''t very likely that two fleets would find the same Legacy. "Leaves, should we go as well?" the cloaked woman asked Hundred Leaves. "Not only can we steal the item to dock on the legacy island, but we can also kill that person and finish the quest." The fact that Passing Monarch''s fleet had managed to kill the Magic Whale first had given it an advantage over the other fleets. Unfortunately, the nail that stuck out was usually hammered down first. None of these players were good people. Why would they let this opportunity escape? Hundred Leaves did not reply immediately. Instead, she looked towards Shi Feng, who stood aboard the One-horned Sailboat, various emotions flashing in her eyes. After giving the matter some thought, Hundred Leaves said, "Let''s wait." If it were only Passing Monarch, she would''ve joined in the fray without hesitation. Now, however, there was the unknown factor named Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng was only one person, she felt that something was off. Silent Entropy and Identical Summer did not know Shi Feng''s secret. The Soul Orb was important enough to drive even the Demon God frantic, and Shi Feng currently carried this item. He had also revealed priceless treasures like the Swift Dragon Speedboat and One-horned Sailboat. Moreover, Shi Feng had displayed his skills in controlling a summoned creature, allowing the beast to exert extraordinary combat power. Most likely, not even the Sacred Temple''s old monsters could accomplish such a feat. No matter how she looked at it, Shi Feng wasn''t a simple character. It was unwise to take action against him right now. "But" The cloaked woman grew anxious as she watched Identical Summer''s and Silent Entropy''s fleets sail closer to the Magic Whale''s loot. "Enough. I''ve made my decision. Let''s concentrate on dealing with our own Magic Whale. If there is an opportunity, I won''t let it get away," Hundred Leaves commanded indifferently. Meanwhile, as soon as the Magic Whale had died, Shi Feng steered the One-horned Sailboat towards the dropped items'' location, completely ignoring the fact that the Magic Whale had provided enough EXP to net him one whole level. Currently, he was at 24% of Level 51. Meanwhile, Passing Monarch and the other members of the Third Fleet had leveled up twice, reaching Level 45. Perhaps due to Divine Providence, the Magic Whale had dropped over 30 items. This was a considerable harvest for a monster in a secret land. The monsters in secret lands were mainly there to test players'' worthiness of the final treasure. Hence, while they provided higher EXP than normal, their drop-rate was generally low. Take the two Razorsharks for example. Both had only dropped four items in total Although the Magic Whale''s 30-plus items were scattered, Identical Summer''s and Silent Entropy''s fleets were too far away. Even if they sailed at full speed, it would be quite some time before they arrived. Shi Feng had more than enough time to pick up all of the loot. "Hand over the loot, and I''ll let you all off the hook!" Identical Summer, who arrived first, shouted at Shi Feng and Passing Monarch. "If you don''t hand it over, none of you will leave this place alive. I''ll have my men kill you until you drop all of the loot!" "Summer, you''re too shameless! Didn''t we agree to rely on our own skills once we enter the secret land?! We killed this Magic Whale!" Passing Monarch surveyed his surroundings and noticed that Identical Summer''s fleet had already surrounded them. They would have to fight their way out now. After entering the Sea Dragon Secret Land, players couldn''t leave the secret land during the first six hours. So far, only one hour or so had passed. With the number of players in Identical Summer''s fleet, he definitely had the power to kill them multiple times. "Hahaha! Monarch, while we did agree to rely on our own capabilities, we never said that we aren''t allowed to plunder each other''s ships!" Identical Summer sneered. "I don''t have that much patience right now. I''ll count to three. If you don''t hand the loot over, don''t blame me for being ruthless! "One! "Two!" Both he and Silent Entropy intended to plunder Passing Monarch''s loot. As his fleet was closer to the One-horned Sailboat, he got there first. However, if Silent Entropy joined the battle, the situation would become even more complicated. If there was going to be a battle, he needed to end it quickly. Passing Monarch also understood that Identical Summer was fully capable of acting on his words. He had no way of buying more time. He turned to Shi Feng and said quietly, "Brother Ye Feng, rest assured; even if I have to put my life on the line, I won''t let Identical Summer get away with this. Later, I''ll distract Identical Summer while you get to the island. Once you''ve entered the island, he won''t be able to touch you." Hearing this, Shi Feng was moved. Even in such a dire situation, Passing Monarch placed friendship above all else. If it were anyone else, they would''ve long since advised him to hand over the loot. After all, according to their contract, the Magic Whale''s loot belonged entirely to him, not Passing Monarch. "It''s fine. I''ll fight with you. Worst case scenario, it''ll just be one death," Shi Feng said, laughing. While Passing Monarch was also moved by Shi Feng''s response, he sternly insisted, "Don''t be stupid! The island houses the strongest Legacy in the Sea Dragon Secret Land! If you clash with Identical Summer, you might even lose your Small Sailboat!" "Since you have no intentions of abandoning me and are treating me like a brother, I, Ye Feng, will treat you as a brother as well! I would never abandon a brother!" Shi Feng shook his head as he glanced at Passing Monarch. "Besides, if it really comes down to a fight, we don''t know who will win or lose." "Three!" Identical Summer''s expression twisted as Shi Feng and Passing Monarch showed no signs of giving up. "Annihilate them! Don''t let a single person get away!" As Identical Summer issued his command, numerous cannons rang, all of them bombarding the One-horned Sailboat. To Identical Summer''s fleet, speedboats were no threat. As long as the players on board the One-horned Sailboat were annihilated, the battle would be over. "Since you want a fight, come!" Shi Feng simply smiled as he watched cannon balls fill the sky. He then rapidly leveled up the Seven Luminaries Ring. The Seven Luminaries Ring was the best Epic ring Shi Feng had seen thus far. It provided immense help to any player that wore it. Shi Feng hadn''t leveled the ring for quite some time. Due to the Seven Luminaries Ring'' high demand for EXP, he hadn''t bothered doing so until now. Now that he was Level 51, he could start leveling the ring once again. Immediately, Shi Feng upgraded the Aura of Fire, Aura of Wind, and Aura of Earth to Tier 1, which in turn upgraded Firestorm, Wind Rider, and Absolute Defense to Tier 1. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng fell to 2% of Level 50. 1228 One Strike Chapter 1228 - One Strike Sure enough, the Skills have grown significantly stronger after reaching Tier 1. Shi Feng smiled faintly as he looked at the newly improved Seven Luminaries Ring. The instant the three Skills reached Tier 1, they had undergone massive changes. Originally, Absolute Defense only granted immunity to all damage for five seconds. After reaching Tier 1, it also gave immunity to all allies within 15 yards for three seconds. Meanwhile, the Skill now had a Cooldown of 1 minute 30 seconds. As for Wind Rider, the Movement Speed increase it provided had risen from 220% to 300%. The Skill also increased the damage of his next attack by 500%. As for the duration, it increased from 24 seconds to 30 seconds. The Cooldown hadn''t changed, remaining at two minutes. Lastly, Firestorm, which had dealt 1,200% damage to an area of 45*45 yards for six seconds, now dealt 1,500% damage to an area of 50*50 yards for six seconds. As for its Cooldown, it still lasted five minutes. After Shi Feng finished upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring, he steered the One-horned Sailboat towards the incoming cannon balls. At the same time, he activated Absolute Defense. Boom Boom Boom Although the cannon balls were fast, the One-horned Sailboat had still dodged a portion of them, while Absolute Defense blocked the remaining attacks. The sailboat itself did not receive any damage whatsoever. "They dare make their way over here. They must want to die." Identical Summer sneered. "All speedboats, scatter and attack! Don''t let them get away!" If Shi Feng and the others gave it their all to escape to the outer perimeter, they had some faint hope of getting away. Now, however, they charged straight for his Small Sailboat. He had several times more players than Shi Feng. Moreover, every one of them was extraordinarily skilled. The One-horned Sailboat took only three seconds to cross the distance of 150 yards. When it arrived before Identical Summer''s Small Sailboat, before it sailed past, Shi Feng jumped to the other ship''s deck. "What is he trying to do?!" Passing Monarch, who watched from a distance, was stupefied. Shi Feng had safely arrived before Identical Summer''s Sailboat. As long as he continued forward, he could''ve shaken off the enemy sailboat and docked on legacy island, yet the Swordsman had boarded the enemy sailboat alone for a melee battle. This was insane! Unlike the fight on Demon Island, they still bore the damage from the fighting the Magic Whale for so long. In fact, Shi Feng''s HP bar was not even half full right now. On the other hand, Identical Summer''s crew was only slightly battered. "You''ve arrived just in time. In any case, I had thought of taking your sailboat for myself." Seeing Shi Feng board his sailboat, Identical Summer looked to the fifteen cloaked players around him and said, "Get rid of him. Everyone else, collect the sailboat." Nodding, these fifteen cloaked players slowly approached Shi Feng. Although these fifteen players'' footsteps were casual, their positioning was far from it as they had sealed off Shi Feng''s path of retreat. "Brat, you really are unlucky to have crossed us. But don''t you worry. We won''t come at you together." At this moment, a man that was as robust as an ox stepped away from the formation and said, "I''ll be your opponent now." As soon as this man said so, he threw off his Black Cloak and revealed his steel-like muscles and the two short swords hanging from his waist. Both swords bore a delicate flame engraving, the marks giving off a light blue flame. The weapons were clearly a pair. Although the robust man''s figure was abnormal for his Assassin class, when everyone present saw this man''s face and game ID, they realized that it was only natural. "Why is Mad Beast here?" Passing Monarch was surprised when he saw the robust Assassin. The Assassin''s name was Residual Innocence. Although not many people were familiar with this name, the Assassin had another name that was famous throughout Sea''s EndMad Beast. Mad Beast was known as one of the top five Assassin experts in Sea''s End. Aside from his robust form, Residual Innocence had earned the title Mad Beast in Sea''s End due to a fight in which he had overwhelmed the seventh-rank Berserker with his Strength alone. Mad Beast was not a Guild player, but an independent player. He was also a member of the House of Seas, the number one adventurer team in Sea''s End. There were countless adventurer teams in Sea''s End, yet the House of Seas had been publicly acknowledged as the number one adventurer team in the area. Not only did the adventurer team possess many experts, but it also operated several popular Shops. Passing Monarch and his fleet members weren''t the only ones surprised. Hundred Leaves and the others hadn''t expected to see Mad Beast, either. They had never imagined that Identical Summer would join hands with the House of Seas. "This makes things a bit tricky. If Identical Summer has joined hands with the House of Seas, it could cause some trouble for our plans to take over the Freedom Alliance," the cloaked woman from the Sacred Temple said, frowning. Although the House of Seas was merely an adventurer team, it was backed by an extraordinary power. During the Sacred Temple''s investigation, it discovered that the House of Seas had secured the support of a certain major corporation from overseas. If the Sacred Temple wanted a hand in the Freedom Alliance''s First Fleet, it would likely have to compete with that corporation in the future. "The Freedom Alliance''s top-ranked fleet commanders cannot be underestimated. Let''s get ready. We cannot let Identical Summer monopolize the loot," Hundred Leaves said, smiling. Originally, she had worried that Identical Summer would not be a match for Shi Feng. However, it would seem that both sides were equally matched. It was likely that they would enter a stalemate. If that happened, she would have a golden opportunity to rake in a fortune. However, as Hundred Leaves considered such thoughts, Shi Feng exploded into action. Instant Strike! In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared before Mad Beast and executed Sword''s Orbit. Instant Strike increased his Attack Speed by 500% and damage by 400%. Even someone like Mad Beast was caught off guard. Before the Assassin could even activate Vanish, Shi Feng''s sword bit into him. Only after Shi Feng''s second slash descended did he successfully activate Vanish. However, it was too late. -39,486! A terrifying damage devoured all of Mad Beast''s 30,000 HP. Even after his death, Mad Beast could not figure out how a normal attack had taken his life. "How is he so fast?!" Mad Beast''s companions suddenly wore serious expressions. Mad Beast had literally died in the blink of an eye. This had to be a joke. Mad Beast could rank third among their group of fifteen. Although there were players who could defeat Mad Beast in Sea''s End, his survivability was incredible due to his Assassin class. If he focused on escape, very few could kill him. There wasn''t even one expert in Sea''s End who could kill him instantly. Yet, now "Mad Beast lost?! This can''t be possible!" Identical Summer''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he saw this. While he had considered the possibility of Shi Feng defeating Mad Beast, he had never expected Mad Beast to die instantly. "Who is that man?" Hundred Leaves was stunned as she stared at Mad Beast''s lifeless body. Based on her investigation, Mad Beast was a Flowing Water Realm expert. Although he was no match for her guard, Scorpion, he wasn''t an easy target. "Who''s next?" Shi Feng licked his lips as he glanced at the remaining experts from the House of Seas. 1229 Glory and Collapse Chapter 1229 - Glory and Collapse Shi Feng''s taunt instantly enraged his enemies. However, due to Shi Feng''s frightening performance and chilling killing intent, nobody dared to rush at him casually, either. "We''ve got ourselves a tough one. Melees, distract him! Ranged players, assist from the sides! I refuse to believe that we can''t take him down!" a thin Elementalist behind the group shouted. The heavy pressure these players felt from Shi Feng vanished the moment the Elementalist finished speaking. Five melee players then charged at Shi Feng. A Guardian Knight used Justice Roar. A Berserker used Flame Slash; a Shield Warrior used Shield Bash; a Swordsman used Wind Blade, and an Assassin used Stealth and circled to Shi Feng''s back. All five were Level 43 and equipped with Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. In terms of weapons and equipment, they were not the least bit inferior to Mad Beast. Moreover, these five had excellent coordination. While the Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior were distracting Shi Feng, the other three launched attacks from Shi Feng''s blind spots. Even peak experts would have to retreat temporarily in the face of such an attack. After all, if hit, Shi Feng would definitely be at a disadvantage. At the same time, the slim Elementalist waved his staff and double cast, sealing off Shi Feng''s only path of retreat with an Ice Wall as well as sending five Great Fireballs following the Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior. Amazing! Identical Summer was inwardly impressed by the timing and execution the House of Seas'' experts displayed. Whether Shi Feng tried to run or fight after repelling the Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior, the five Great Fireballs would strike the instant he pushed the two MTs back. If Identical Summer had to face such a well-planned assault, he would die. Contrary to expectation, however, Shi Feng smiled as the five melee players moved towards him. Immediately, he used Silent Steps and vanished. He reappeared behind the slim Elementalist and swung down his sword. Dang! However, before Shi Feng''s Killing Ray could strike the Elementalist, a layer of ice stopped it in mid-swing. Impressive reaction time. The Ice Barrier before him surprised Shi Feng slightly. He would not underestimate Mad Beast and the other House of Seas'' experts. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have used Instant Strike right from the start. The House of Seas had been one of the six major maritime trading firms in the past. The wealth it amassed was unimaginable. Meanwhile, To grow one''s business to such an extent, one first needed enough strength to protect it. In fact, Mad Beast and the others represented the House of Seas'' strength. They were all incredibly strong, and every one had been an apex expert that had reached Tier 5. Even on land, the House of Seas had been strong enough to challenge Super Guilds. After Shi Feng''s attack met the Elementalist''s Ice Barrier, the other House of Seas members reacted and bombarded Shi Feng with attacks. Dozens of arrows and Spells flew at Shi Feng, giving the Swordsman no other choice but to retreat momentarily. "Be careful. This bastard as quite a few Instantaneous Movement Skills," the Elementalist warned his companions. "Don''t hold back." If not for Shi Feng''s previous display against Mad Beast, even he would have been slow to react. He was second-in-command in the House of Seas, nicknamed the Frost Saint. He had also been born with faster reactions than most ordinary people. Even so, Shi Feng had nearly caught him off guard and killed him. This proved that Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes and combat standards were extraordinary. "I really never imagined that we would one day meet an opponent that could force all of us to activate our Berserk Skills and work together." The Shield Warrior sighed as he looked at Shi Feng, who remained unharmed. However, he did not take the situation lightly as he activated his Berserk Skill. Immediately, his HP doubled, soaring past the 70,000-threshold. His Strength and Agility Attributes had also improved significantly. Charge! "This guy''s too nimble! I''ll try to restrain him!" a distant Ranger announced as he took five silver arrows from his bag. "Savage, you''re so generous!" the Shield Warrior chuckled as he glanced at the silver arrows. The Ranger named Savage treasured these silver arrows, each worth 10 Gold Coins. Crafting the arrows required many rare materials. Aside from dealing with Grand Lords, he had never seen Savage use the arrows on anything. Just one of those silver arrows packed enough power to injure a Grand Lord, not to mention five of them. Even if he activated a Lifesaving Skill, he couldn''t avoid the Ranger''s treasures. "He should be proud to die under my arrows," Savage boasted as he activated his Berserk Skill and released his bowstring. Xiu! All five silver arrows flew towards Shi Feng simultaneously. As the silver arrows sliced through the air, they twisted the space around them. Gravity Arrows? Shi Feng frowned when he saw the incoming arrows. Originally, he had intended to preserve some of his Skills, but he scrapped that idea. Without hesitation, he activated Thunder God''s Descent, increasing his Movement Speed and Attack Speed 150%, damage by 50%, and decreasing all damage received by 50% for 30 seconds. He then charged straight at the Shield Warrior and five Gravity Arrows. As Shi tightened his grips on his two swords and brandished them, starlight sparkled around him. Sword''s Orbit! Peng Peng Peng Shi Feng''s blades repulsed the Shield Warrior instantly, forcing the man to take several steps back. As for Shi Feng himself, he was knocked back by roughly eight yards, his blades emitting a low hum. "He blocked them!?" Savage''s mouth twitched. Sure enough, fighting so many Refinement Realm and above experts is taxing. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he glanced at his trembling hands. He had lost 10,000 HP when he had blocked the five Gravity Arrows. Without Thunder God''s Descent, he would''ve lost double that. He only had around 10,000 HP remaining. Normally, killing any one of these players in a one-on-one would be a piece of cake with his level, weapons, and equipment. However, even he couldn''t end this battle in a short time with these fourteen players working together. His best option was a battle of attrition, slowly wearing down his opposition. Unfortunately, it was obvious that he didn''t have that luxury. Currently, Identical Summer''s men had already begun to clash with Passing Monarch and the others. It was only a matter of time before so many enemies annihilated Passing Monarch and his fleet. It seems that I don''t have the option of holding back any longer. Shi Feng sighed. He then activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. He had yet to reach the legacy island. Nobody knew what would happen once they docked. In addition to the time limit, Shi Feng had wanted to conserve some of his strength in case of emergency. However, now that the House of Seas experts had already their Berserk Skills, he had lost his advantage of higher Basic Attributes. The slim Elementalist felt a chill crawl down his spine when he saw this situation. He immediately shouted, "Careful. He has used his Berserk Skill." "Damn it! How is he so strong?! Frost, find an opportunity to use a Tier 3 Magic Scroll!" "We''ll pay for this trade." The House of Seas'' members wore serious expressions. They glared at Shi Feng was as if he were their greatest enemy, focusing on the Swordman''s every move. Meanwhile, Shi Feng no longer held back. Wind Rider! In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared before the slim Elementalist, who had been 16 yards away. He swung down his sword. It was a simple and straightforward slash. However, despite such a simple attack, the Elementalist couldn''t dodge in time. He was forced to use Blink, instantly appearing 15 yards away. Too close! Although Shi Feng''s sudden appearance had shaken the slim Elementalist, he had use Blink in time. With this, Shi Feng couldn''t close in on him again so easily. "Be careful!" As the Elementalist refocused his attention on Shi Feng, he heard his companion''s warning. Unfortunately, the warning came too late as Shi Feng already stood before him The upgraded Wind Rider increased Shi Feng''s Movement Speed by 300%. With the Movement Speed and Agility buff from the Aura of Wind, Shi Feng could easily cross a dozen yards or so in the blink of an eye. His speed might not be comparable to Blink or Instantaneous Movement, but in such close quarters, he was not very far behind. How?! Although the Elementalist tried to retaliate, Killing Ray had already sliced open his neck, draining all of his HP. 1230 Horrific Difference Chapter 1230 - Horrific Difference "So fast!" Everyone on the sailboat glared at Shi Feng as if he were a powerful enemy. Despite Shi Feng being alone and having less than 25% of his total HP, they somehow felt as if they were at a disadvantage. However, Shi Feng did not plan to give the crowd around him time to react. Advancing, he dashed towards his next target. "Everyone, attack! Do not let him leave here alive!" Identical Summer shouted. "Summer, if everyone attacks him, who will deal with Passing Monarch''s fleet?" Heavenly Spider asked as he watched their fleet members currently engage Passing Monarch''s fleet. "Ignore them! This brat is our most important target!" Identical Summer snapped, rolling his eyes at Heavenly Spider. Passing Monarch was but a fish on a chopping block. Shi Feng was different. If they didn''t stop him quickly, his frightening combat power would cost them dearly. Under Identical Summer''s command, his fleet members shifted their focus to Shi Feng. Only a small number of players remained to distract Passing Monarch and the other Third Fleet members. Identical Summer''s assumptions were correct. Even a peak expert would be hard-pressed to avoid every attack if surrounded by plate armor classes and over a hundred melee players. More melee players waited on the side as well, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Even an Assassin with high survivability would not escape death. Unfortunately, Shi Feng wasn''t what they expected. With Wind Rider''s Movement Speed increase, it would be very difficult for ranged classes to get a lock on the Swordsman. Moreover, Shi Feng''s range wasn''t limited to the ship''s deck. He could also fly through the air. He could easily throw off his opponents and dodge attacks with abrupt turns and stops mid-air. Furthermore, fighting on the Small Sailboat was convenient for Shi Feng. In the cramped space, he didn''t need to chase his enemies. He could easily arrive before another player with a few steps. Shi Feng slaughtered one player after another. Every time he swung one of his swords, one of Identical Summer''s fleet would lose their life. The Shield Warriors with over 35,000 HP were no exception. There was already a massive gap between their levels. After Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Strength had also increased by 150%. In addition, he had Angry Tyrant''s Passive Skill, Blood Frenzy, which increased his Strength by another 20%, Attack Speed by 30%, and reduced damage received by 20% when his HP was below 50%. He could even kill Shield Warriors with high HP and Defense instantly if the latter did not activate Shield Wall in time. In ten short seconds, Shi Feng had killed eleven people, yet his HP had not decreased. Rather, it had begun to recover Heavenly Dragon''s Power increased his HP by 500% and Defense by 300%. This put his maximum HP at over 210,000. With his battle recovery, he could regenerate 1% of his HP every five seconds. When normal arrows struck, Shi Feng only took around -400 damage. In the case of Frost Arrows or Fireballs, due to Shi Feng''s high Magic Resistance, they dealt even less, with each attack dealing around -200 to -300 damage During the ten seconds of combat, Shi Feng had been struck three times. However, these three hits had been extremely expensive. Each attack had cost the House of Seas a Refinement Realm expert How is this possible!? How is his HP increasing without a healer?! Identical Summer felt his skin grow cold as he watched Shi Feng eliminate his fleet members. What kind of monster is he?! Every member of his fleet that he had brought with him to the secret land was an expert, yet against Shi Feng''s blades, they were no little more than thin sheets of paper. "This transaction has cost us. Morning, help me pin that guy down! I''ll use the Space Shattering Arrow to finish him off!" the Ranger named Savage whispered to the Guardian Knight before him. "One second. I just need him to stay still for one second!" "One second?" The Guardian Knight, First Morning, hesitated. He could hold down any other expert for ten seconds easily, much less one. However, Shi Feng was simply too strong. Even with his Berserk Skill, he was not confident in holding Shi Feng down for that long. "I''ll give it a try." Savage did not say anything in response. Instead, he retrieved a crimson arrow from his bag, removing the seal placed upon it. The Ranger class wasn''t like other classes. Aside from the player''s Attributes and bow, their arrows played a major role in how much damage they dealt. With a powerful arrow, a Ranger could even display several times more combat power than usual. "I refuse to believe that you can block this Space Shattering Arrow." Savage smiled confidently after removing the seal. The Space Shattering Arrow was not a craftable item. Rather, he had obtained it from an ancient ruin. It was the strongest arrow he had ever seen. As soon as he removed the seal, the arrow exuded a pressure on par with that of a Great Lord. Even injuring a Grand Lord wouldn''t be an issue with his bow''s effects. "Savage, now!" First Morning shouted. The instant he noticed Shi Feng kill one of his companions, he launched himself forward and tackled the Swordsman. Even if Shi Feng used a Control Removal Skill, there was no escape. Shi Feng could only break free with brute force. "Nice job!" Savage released the Space Shattering Arrow. Xiu! The crimson arrow flew towards Shi Feng; space itself cracked as the arrow passed. Even a Tier 4 Skill paled in comparison to the Space Shattering Arrow''s power. Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he noticed the rapidly-approaching crimson arrow. If he were struck, even with Heavenly Dragon''s Power active, he would sustain heavy injuries. Shi Feng took a deep breath and used Dragon Breath on the arrow. A silver beam of light clashed with the Space Shattering Arrow. Unfortunately, Dragon Breath had only delayed it for a brief moment before the Space Shattering Arrow shattered the counterattack. However, the brief moment was just enough time for Shi Feng to break free from First Morning''s hold. Almost instinctively, he executed a complicated, mystical footwork technique before vanishing. Void Steps! "He disappeared?!" First Morning cried out in confusion. Although he searched for Shi Feng, the Space Shattering Arrow had already pierced his heavy armor. Not only had the arrow killed the Guardian Knight instantly, but it had also punched a hole in the Small Sailboat. "How is this possible?!" Savage couldn''t believe his eyes. The Space Shattering Arrow was extremely fast. While Shi Feng''s speed was frightening, he shouldn''t be able to dodge the arrow, yet. Shi Feng had used Dragon Breath to stop the Space Shattering Arrow temporarily. He had then used the brief delay to break free from First Morning''s hold and dodge the Ranger''s attack. This was the first time he had ever seen such a fine, bold strategy. "Where is he?" Identical Summer muttered in confusion. Even after searching the deck, he didn''t catch a glimpse of Shi Feng. However, after Identical Summer had finished his three words, a blue longsword emerged from his chest. "You" Identical Summer tried to turn his head. Before he had noticed, Shi Feng had stood right behind him. Although he couldn''t see Shi Feng''s appearance due to the Black Cloak, he could somehow tell that Shi Feng had flashed him a ridiculing smile. All this time, he had thought himself the hunter, but in reality, he was the prey. Only after Identical Summer''s HP reached zero did he finally realize that he had fallen into a monster''s den without knowing it. Identical Summer''s death had frozen every member of his fleet in shock. Despite an assault from so many people at once, not only hadn''t Shi Feng''s HP dropped in the slightest, but the man had also taken their commander''s life. How were they supposed to defeat such a monster? "Retreat!" No one knew who had shouted this word, but everyone instinctively followed the command. "You want to escape? Do you think it''ll be that easy?" Following which, Shi Feng raised Killing Ray high and activated Lightning Edge against the fleeing players. As Lightning Edge had a 0.5-second channeling time, it had limited effects against expert players. As he had previously stood in the center of the deck, he wouldn''t have been able to hit as many players. Now, however, he stood at the tip of the stern. Lightning Edge''s range was more than enough to cover the entire Small Sailboat. In addition, as these players turned their backs to him and fled, they had lowered their guard against the attack. Countless arcs of lightning shot forth from Killing Ray. Although some experts reacted quickly and dodged in time, over half of the team, consisting of over a hundred players, died instantly. As for those who survived the attack, they had already jumped ship. "Let''s go!" After Identical Summer, the Small Sailboat''s captain, had died, Shi Feng smiled in satisfaction. Now, even without Identical Summer''s permission, any player could simply steer the sailboat away. Following which, Shi Feng sailed towards the legacy island. As for Passing Monarch and the others, they followed closely after on the One-horned Sailboat and Swift Dragon Sailboat. Only now did Silent Entropy''s fleet arrive. "Commander, are we going to chase after them?" an indifferent man in blue mage robes asked as the fleet commander. "Forget it. The battle is over. If we fight that person, we''ll likely let that little girl take advantage of us. Let''s head back and finish off the Magic Whale." Silent Entropy shook his head as he watched the distant Shi Feng. 1231 Hidden Reward for the First Kill Chapter 1231 - Hidden Reward for the First Kill "It''s over?" Disappointment flashed in Hundred Leaves''s eyes when she saw Silent Entropy''s fleet turn back. Originally, she had thought that she could get to understand Shi Feng more through Silent Entropy and the others. In the end, however, the outcome wasn''t what she had hoped for. After watching Shi Feng''s battle with Identical Summer''s fleet, she ended up with even more questions than before. "Leaves, your prediction was quite accurate. Fortunately, we didn''t intervene. Otherwise, we would''ve suffered severe losses as well," the cloaked woman said as she watched Shi Feng''s departing figure in shock. Not only had Shi Feng wiped out over half of Identical Summer''s fleet by himself, but he had also taken a Small Sailboat from his enemies. Even in the Sacred Temple, there were only a few people capable of such a feat. When Shi Feng had dodged the crimson arrow, in particular, he had displayed perfect timing and Skill usage. Had his aim with the Skill been off, he would''ve lost his life then and there. "Could he bea Domain Realm expert?" The cloaked woman suddenly thought of this possibility and shuddered. Domain Realm experts were peak existences even in the Sacred Temple. The Guild would host an all-day celebration if such an expert joined. The cloaked woman also knew how fearsome a Domain Realm expert was as she had once fought one. Despite both parties having the same level and Attributes, the battle had been completely one-sided. She had not even injured her opponent before her HP dropped to nothing. The fact that Shi Feng had kept up with the crimson arrow was already impressive, not to mention counterattacking the arrow with a Skill of his own. Without sufficient understanding and perception of physics, the feat would have been impossible. She was a Void Realm expert the Sacred Temple had nurtured. Although she had only recently reached the Void Realm, she knew that she was not capable of using a Skill to strike an incoming arrow. "A Domain Realm expert?" Hundred Leaves fell into deep thought. She felt both fortunate and frustrated. If Shi Feng really was a Domain Realm expert, then it would be impossible to kill him with their forces. After all, the previous fight had shown her that Shi Feng was a true monster when it came to Basic Attributes. With both the advantage in Basic Attributes and combat standards, how were they supposed to defeat him? Currently, there were only two known methods to deal with Domain Realm experts. The first method was to catch the Domain Realm expert in an ambush and supplement the lack of quality combat standards with quantity of experts. However, for this method to work, certain conditionssuch as the expert being unable to escapeneeded to be met. The second method was to use a special tool to catch the other party off guard. Similarly, however, certain conditions needed to be met for this to work. Dealing with Domain Realm experts gave the various superpowers headaches. Not only were they extremely powerful, but they were also very hard to kill. Hence, the various superpowers normally avoided provoking Domain Realm experts, trying to recruit and befriend them as much as possible. Understanding Hundred Leaves''s worries, the cloaked woman suggested, "Leaves, why don''t I use that?" They had the full support of the Sacred Temple for their operation. Hence, the Sacred Temple had provided a considerable amount of assistance. Aside from experts, the Temple had supplied extremely powerful tools. This was also why they were so confident in obtaining the greatest Legacy of the Sea Dragon Secret Land. "Forget it. Even if they dock, it won''t be that easy to obtain the Legacy." Sighing, Hundred Leaves said, "Let''s get rid of the Magic Whale for now." Shi Feng and the others rested on legacy island''s shore. After the battle with the Magic Whale and Identical Summer''s fleet, the team members were badly battered. Meanwhile, dangers plagued the island. They had to recuperate before searching for the Legacy. What a huge harvest. Shi Feng was ecstatic as he smiled at the crystal bottle in his bag. This crystal bottle contained none other than Identical Summer''s Small Sailboat. Although it was only a Common Small Sailboat, its value far outstripped that of Epic items. With the addition of this Small Sailboat, Zero Wing''s naval power would increase significantly. Moreover, the Magic Whale had dropped a plethora of relatively valuable items. Although its loot could not compare to that of King-class Sea Monsters in the outside world, every item among the 30-plus that had dropped was a treasure in its own right. The Magic Whale Skin, in particular, could strengthen ships. Shi Feng even regretted not killing a few more Magic Whales. - [Magic Whale Skin] (Dark-Gold Rank Tool) Improves a ship''s Defense by 10%, Movement Speed by 3%, and Durability by 10 points. (A maximum of three Magic Whale Skins can be used to strengthen a ship.) - While players could modify their ships in God''s Domain, the risk was quite high. A single mistake could ruin the ship entirely. However, there was also a risk-free method to strengthen a ship by using certain precious tools. In the past, the best ship-strengthening tool Shi Feng had seen was only Secret-Silver rank. Said tool was only capable of increasing a ship''s Defense by 5% and Durability by three points. Even then, it could have easily sold for 500 Gold on the market. One might consider the price steep, but many had fought over the item like crazy. If one used a ship-strengthening tool on an advanced speedboat, it wouldn''t be worth the 500 Gold. However, if used on a Bronze Speedboat or above, one could easily earn back their investment. Now, a total of eight Magic Whale Skins had dropped. Just looking at them excited Shi Feng. The Magic Whale had also dropped two items that Shi Feng valued above the rest. One of them was a Growth-type support tool called the Alchemy Pot. The Alchemy Pot could increase a player''s alchemy success rate. To alchemist players, this item was worth no less than an Epic item. As for the other, it was the map of Sea God''s Island, which was the name of the legacy island they rested on. The map recorded all of the island''s secrets, and it allowed players to reach the Legacy without wasting a lot of time with exploration. Is this the benefit of getting the first kill of a Magic Whale? Shi Feng smiled at the Sea God''s Island Map in his hands. No one would have imagined that getting the first kill on the Magic Whale would offer such a benefit. Otherwise, Silent Entropy and the others would''ve used everything they had to kill their Magic Whales first. "Brother Ye Feng, you are incredible! You wiped out so many experts all by yourself! You are the strongest player I''ve ever seen!" Reverence filled Blue Joy''s eyes as she praised Shi Feng. The Third Fleet had clashed with Identical Summer''s second fleet in the outside world frequently. She knew full well how powerful Identical Summer and his subordinates were, yet Shi Feng had not only defeated them so easily, but he had also killed the House of Seas'' Mad Beast with a single hit. Finally, Shi Feng had even stolen Identical Summer''s Small Sailboat. Identical Summer was most likely dying inside right now. "Blue, don''t just praise Brother Ye Feng. Didn''t you see my heroic performance? I faced Heavenly Spider and three of his experts at the same time," Passing Monarch boasted. "Commander, Brother Ye Feng only used one move to annihilate over half of Identical Summer''s experts. When you can defeat dozens of experts of Identical Summer''s caliber by yourself, I''ll praise you as well," Blue Joy retorted, giggling. "This" Passing Monarch fell silent. While he wished that he could accomplish such a feat, he was not a monster like Shi Feng. "Now that we''ve rested, let''s set out." Shi Feng simply smiled in response. In reality, his performance was average at best. In the past, the experts that had become legends in God''s Domain were the truly amazing players. One expert had defended an entire city by himself. Moreover, said expert''s opponent had not been an ordinary Guild, but a Super Guild. Watching the expert face off against hundreds of the Super Guild''s top forces had been spectacular. There was also one instance where an expert had held their ground against three God-ranked players. That battle had been truly breathtaking. Blue Joy and Passing Monarch had experienced too few battles in God''s Domain, particularly between famous experts. While the legacy island seemed small from afar, in reality, it was massive. Its size could rival a regional map. The island was also home to many powerful monsters; the weakest of which were Chieftain rank, while the strongest were Grand Lords. Fortunately, the maximum level was Level 55. However, the most troublesome part about getting through the island would be the many fatal traps that waited for them. Fortunately, under Shi Feng''s lead, the group had managed to reach the heart of the island after only two hours. The Tower of Falling Stars! 1232 Citys Management Rights Chapter 1232 - City''s Management Rights "This should be where the Legacy is." Excitement flashed in Passing Monarch''s eyes as he looked at the tower hidden in the gorge. He was impressed by how fast Shi Feng had found the greatest Legacy of the Sea Dragon. On his last visit to the secret land, the Third Fleet had taken over four hours to clear the trials. Afterward, they spent the remaining time searching legacy island. However, they failed to find the Legacy and lost some of their members to the islands various traps. Yet, Shi Feng had located the Legacy in less than three hours. It was a miracle. Although Passing Monarch was a little frustrated that Shi Feng would be the one to obtain the greatest Legacy, after giving the matter some thought, it was much better than letting it fall into Silent Entropy or the others'' hands. Moreover, if he had Shi Feng''s help later, he should have no problems obtaining the Legacies in the 50-yard grottos. He could then stabilize his fleet''s position as Third Fleet in the Freedom Alliance. Had he not cooperated with Shi Feng, his fleet would''ve likely fallen to Seventh or Eighth Fleet after this expedition. If that happened, his fleet would no longer qualify to use the Freedom Alliance''s Large Shipyard. When Shi Feng saw the Tower of Falling Stars, although he was slightly excited, he did not hurry to approach the tower. Rather, he turned to Passing Monarch calmly and quietly asked, "Brother Monarch, are you interested in a trade?" At this point, he practically had the Sea God''s Legacy in the bag, fulfilling his initial goal in coming here. However, Zero Wing currently lacked both money and resources to develop. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s income was not enough to sustain Zero Wing. If he wanted to increase the Candlelight Trading Firm''s income, he needed to expand. Meanwhile, the Freedom Alliance occupied three of the twelve major cities in the Sea''s End. If he could set a Shop up in each of these three cities, the trading firm''s income would skyrocket. However, setting up Shop in these major cities would not be as easy as it was on land, where all he needed was a sufficient amount of Reputation and Coins. When purchasing a Shop in Sea''s End''s NPC cities, one did not require any Reputation. Instead, a player needed the approval of the city''s manager. This was similar to how player-constructed towns and cities operated. Due to this, Sea''s End''s businesses hadn''t developed overmuch. After all, to get the city manager''s approval, one normally needed to sign a profit-sharing agreement. While some kind-hearted managers only asked for 30% of the profits, some black-hearted managers went as far as to ask for 50%. This was why most players in Blue Jade City had opted to set up street stalls to sell their items as that method did not require them to split profits; they only needed to pay a small fee. "A trade? What do you have in mind, Brother Ye Feng?" Passing Monarch asked, curiosity gripping his heart. "Are you interested in becoming First Fleet''s commander?" Shi Feng asked, laughing. "First Fleet''s commander? Brother Ye Feng, are you joking? You know what kind of foundations Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves possess. Even if I obtain a Legacy this time, I''d be lucky to keep the third seat," Passing Monarch said, shaking his head. "That''s why I''m offering a trade." Suddenly, Shi Feng grew serious as he said, "You''ve seen my strength. You also know that I have the Zero Wing Guild behind me. If you have Zero Wing''s full support, how confident are you in becoming the First Fleet''s commander?" Shi Feng''s words rendered Passing Monarch speechless. If not for Shi Feng''s help, the Third Fleet would''ve suffered in this operation. "Although I don''t know exactly how strong Zero Wing is, in my opinion, I''d be lucky to have a 20% chance of becoming the First Fleet''s commander. Silent Entropy is not as simple as you assume," Passing Monarch answered. "Twenty percent?" Shi Feng chuckled. "Not bad. At the very least, it''s more than nothing. If I help you become the First Fleet''s commander, I want management rights for the city under your rule. We''ll split the profits evenly. What do you think?" The Freedom Alliance was not a Guild. Becoming the First Fleet''s commander did not mean that one would gain control over all three major cities under the Freedom Alliance. However, one could gain control over Heavenly Ocean City, which had the largest player population out of the three. The commanders of the remaining ten fleets commanded the two other cities. This was also why the Sacred Temple meddled in the Freedom Alliance''s affairs. By becoming the First Fleet''s commander, one could monopolize a major NPC city. If managed properly, the riches one could obtain would be staggering. "The city''s management rights?" After giving the matter some thought, Passing Monarch said, "Alright, I agree to your conditions. I can deal with that as long as I become the First Fleet''s commander." An adventurer team had formed the Third Fleet. To them, a city''s management rights were of little importance. As long as they received sufficient resources and Coins, they''d be satisfied. "However, contesting for the position of First Fleet will be difficult. The sea monster invasions we have to deal with test a fleet''s overall strength. It isn''t something that can be handled with just two Small Sailboats and several high-quality speedboats." Passing Monarch understood that Shi Feng was in possession of powerful ships. However, those ships would not be of significant help when contesting for the position of First Fleet. Once a month, a competition would be held for the management rights of Sea''s End''s various cities. During these competitions, sea monsters would invade these cities. The fleet that defended the most locations in a particular city would become said city''s manager. The Freedom Alliance''s fleets also used this competition to compete for the various seats in the Alliance. Silent Entropy was able to hold the First Fleet position due to the scope of his unmatched defense. Although Shi Feng appeared confident about the situation, Passing Monarch was not. "I understand. I will think of a way to increase your overall strength," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Let''s sign a contract." He more or less understood the Freedom Alliance''s seating competition. After all, the Freedom Alliance had been one of the overlords at sea in the past. Following which, Shi Feng established a contract with Passing Monarch. The contents were very simple. Shi Feng would help Passing Monarch become the commander of First Fleet. In return, Passing Monarch would hand over all management rights of the city he controlled to Shi Feng. As for the profits city''s profits, they would split them equally. While Shi Feng managed the city, Passing Monarch also had to provide assistance in maintaining it. After they signed the contract, Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction. He then led Passing Monarch and the others towards the Tower of Falling Stars. The tower had a total of three floors. According to the Sea God''s Island Map, the rewards on the first floor were available to all players that reached this place. Players would have to fight for the rewards on the second and third floors. Moreover, the rewards on the second and third floor were unique; only the first player to clear the floor could walk away with them. Any players that cleared the floor afterward would obtain nothing. As Shi Feng and the others arrived before the Tower of Falling Stars, Shi Feng stopped the team abruptly. This confused Passing Monarch and his sailors. A moment later, however, a familiar voice reached everyone''s ears. "We''ve been discovered already?" Several figures suddenly emerged from the nearby forest. The person speaking was none other than Hundred Leaves. Silent Entropy stood by her side casually. "How did you guys get here so quickly?" Passing Monarch was shocked to find Hundred Leaves and Silent Entropy here. The Magic Whale was not an easy opponent. The final, team-wipe move was particularly threatening. Even if Hundred Leaves and Silent Entropy defeated their respective Magic Whales, it should take their fleets quite some time to do so, yet they were here as soon as his group had reached the Legacy''s location. No matter how he thought about it, this shouldn''t be possible. Understanding Passing Monarch''s thoughts, Hundred Leaves chuckled and said, "There''s nothing to be surprised about. I simply formed a temporary alliance with Commander Entropy and established a 200-man team. We then sacrificed my Small Sailboat and Commander Entropy''s two Bronze Speedboats to get here quickly. Although we sacrificed a lot, fortunately, we caught up to you. Otherwise, the Legacy really would have fallen into your hands." Passing Monarch could not help his astonishment. He had never dreamed that Hundred Leaves would sacrifice even a Small Sailboat. "Commander Leaves, your subordinate is truly amazing. Even in such a situation, he managed to track us," Shi Feng offered his admiration as he glanced at the cloaked Assassin beside Hundred Leaves. On their way here, he had tried to hide their tracks as much as possible. To track them, one needed to have leveled their Tracker subclass to Master rank at the very least. "Well, enough talk. Since we''re here, we should conclude this matter." Hundred Leaves smiled at Shi Feng and the others. 1233 Breaking a Magic Array with One Sentence Chapter 1233 - Breaking a Magic Array with One Sentence Hearing this, Passing Monarch''s expression darkened as he prepared for an attack. He had less than thirty people. In contrast, Hundred Leaves and Silent Entropy had a force of over 150. Aside from the numerical disadvantage, his men had already used their Berserk Skills to deal with Identical Summer''s men. Without their Berserk Skills, they were even less of a match for Hundred Leaves and Silent Entropy''s people. However, what Passing Monarch had not realized was that Hundred Leaves''s subordinates had long since taken action. Suddenly, a crimson barrier appeared around Shi Feng''s group, enveloping them. "Commander Monarch, I''ll have to ask you and your crew to wait here while we go ahead," Hundred Leaves said, giggling as she glanced at Shi Feng, who stood beside Passing Monarch. There was no limit to the number of people that could enter the Legacy''s location. However, the sooner one entered, the higher their chances were of obtaining it. If not for witnessing Shi Feng''s combat power personally, she would''ve killed Passing Monarch and the others instead of wasting a magic barrier. "Hundred Leaves, you''re despicable!" Blue Joy gnashed her teeth, glaring at the female commander. If the other party had simply wanted to fight, they could have accepted that. After all, they could have found an opportunity to escape into the Tower of Falling Stars. Once inside, they would enter a separate space. By then, Hundred Leaves and the others would not be able to touch them, and they could compete for the Legacy fairly. However, they wouldn''t escape this trap for some time. If they were stuck in the barrier for too long, Hundred Leaves and the others might secure the Legacy before they broke free. "Don''t worry. I have a Tier 3 Magic Scroll. It should not be difficult to break this magic array." Passing Monarch shot Hundred Leaves a glare. He hadn''t expected the woman to waste a magic array willingly. He couldn''t help but smile bitterly as he turned to Shi Feng. After saying so, Passing Monarch took out his only Tier 3 Magic Scroll, Storm Spear. As Passing Monarch activated the Magic Scroll, a blue magic array appeared behind him. Several spears, shaped like tornadoes, bombarded the crimson barrier. The attack struck the barrier six times. However, after trembling slightly, it quickly returned to its original state. Meanwhile, the fifteen players maintaining the magic array only lost 1% of their Mana. "Don''t bother. Although this is only a Basic Magic Array, it is among the best. Even Grand Lords of the same level need some time to break out," Hundred Leaves explained when she saw the grim look on Passing Monarch''s face. In reality, she had been reluctant to use the magic array. However, with the possibility that Shi Feng might be a Domain Realm expert, she could not afford to be careless. ilent Entropy glanced at Shi Feng as well, before chuckling and said, "Commander Leaves, our agreement ends here. Once we enter the legacy location, we''ll compete with our own abilities." As the first person to have obtained a Legacy from the Sea Dragon Secret Land, he was familiar with how these locations operated. Everyone believed that obtaining a Legacy upon reaching the location was easy. In reality, that was not true. One first needed to pass the location''s trials. Now that they had trapped Shi Feng, who possessed frightening combat power, they had one less serious competitor. Now, he only had to worry about Hundred Leaves. After speaking, Silent Entropy led his men into the Tower of Falling Stars. "That old fox really moves quickly." Hundred Leaves clicked her tongue. She commanded, "Let''s go in. We can''t let that old fox get ahead of us." After Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves entered the Tower of Falling Stars with their subordinates, only Shi Feng''s group and the players maintaining the magic array remained outside. However, shortly after Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves left, Shi Feng, who had been silent all this time, grinned. "Brother Ye Feng, you''re still in the mood to smile?! If we don''t get out of here quickly, they will get the Legacy!" Passing Monarch complained anxiously. Despite their efforts to take down the magic barrier, the players maintaining the array hadn''t lost much Mana. At this rate, they would need an hour of constant attacks before they could escape. "Relax. We''ll be able to get out of here quickly," Shi Feng consoled, chuckling. "With just you? Maybe in another hundred years," one of the Elementalists maintaining the array laughed when he heard Shi Feng''s boast. "This magic array is a Six-star Crimson World, an extremely rare Basic Magic Array. It can even hold Grand Lords for a short time. Am I right?" Shi Feng chuckled as he asked the Elementalist. "How do you know this array?!" the Elementalist cried out in surprise. Before Hundred Leaves had given them this magic array, they had neither heard of it nor seen one before. "What do you think?" Shi Feng did not bother answering. Instead, he offered a sophisticated smile. In the past, the Six-star Crimson World had been the Sacred Temple''s trademark magic array. The Temple had frequently sold the magic array for a steep price. Just one Magic Array Scroll had cost 5 Gold Coins. To complete the set, one needed 15 scrolls. The magic array had been used in Dungeon raids specifically. As players progressed to the game, encountering two Bosses at once in large-scale Team Dungeons became common. To cope, players had normally trapped one Boss while dealing with the other. He couldn''t possibly tell them that he had purchased the magic array in the past "So what if you know about it? Do you think you can escape just because you know its name?" the Elementalist asked contemptuously. The other players maintaining the array nodded in agreement. They considered Shi Feng''s words to be nothing more than baseless arrogance. "You guys, attack the six corners." Immediately, Shi Feng commanded his group. In God''s Domain, all magic arrays had weak points. Only, players didn''t usually know them. Had his enemies used a relatively rare magic array to trap him, he wouldn''t have known how to break it. However, he was very familiar with the Six-star Crimson World. If Hundred Leaves had to blame anyone, she should blame the Sacred Temple for selling so many Basic Magic Arrays in the past. Following which, under Shi Feng''s command, the team ruthlessly attacked the array''s six corners. The magic barrier, which had been unshakable, began to tremble violently. Their combined efforts were even more effective than Passing Monarch''s Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Meanwhile, the players maintaining the array watched their Mana deplete rapidly. Each wave of attacks stole 2% of their Mana. After several dozen waves, the 15 magical class players'' Mana fell below 50%. "Brother Ye Feng, you''re too amazing!" Blue Joy and the other members of Third Fleet gushed. They had already been impressed after watching Shi Feng slaughter so many experts. Now, he had dealt with a powerful magic barrier with a single sentence. "How is this possible?!" the players maintaining the magic array were going mad as they watched their Mana plummet. The Six-star Crimson World was even capable of trapping a Grand Lord, yet it faltered in the face of a small team of Tier 1 players. "Here''s the final hit." As Shi Feng made the announcement, he activated Firestorm. After reaching Tier 1, Firestorm''s might had become extraordinary. In the next moment, little butterflies of fire landed on the magic barrier''s corners. When these little butterflies touched the barrier, the resulting impact resembled that of a high-speed truck crashing into a wall. After a mere three seconds, the Six-star Crimson World crumbled as the players maintaining it ran out of Mana. Without Mana, magical class players were little more than Berserkers without weapons. Very quickly, Passing Monarch and the others massacred them. "Let''s hurry inside," Passing Monarch ordered. Although they had been only stuck inside the magic barrier for several minutes, those minutes might give Hundred Leaves and the others'' a lead in the race for the Legacy. Meanwhile, inside the Tower of Falling Stars, Hundred Leaves received a notification from a subordinate, which included a video of Shi Feng breaking the magic array. "Just who is this guy?" Confusion swirled in Hundred Leaves mind as she stared at Shi Feng in the video. 1234 Secret Footwork Technique Chapter 1234 - Secret Footwork Technique After Hundred Leaves watched the video of Shi Feng taking command, her expression grew grim. The Six-star Crimson World was unique to the Sacred Temple as they had the only magic array design. Even now, they had never announced this to the public. No matter how she looked at it, Shi Feng couldn''t have located the Six-star Crimson World''s weak points coincidentally. "It seems I''ll have to report this to the Guild Leader." Hundred Leaves''s gaze remained fixed on Shi Feng in the video. Originally, the Guild had planned to make a fortune with the Six-star Crimson World. The fact that someone had discovered the array''s weak points was no trivial matter. Hundred Leaves immediately contacted her superior. "Interesting. There''s actually someone capable of locating the Six-star Crimson World''s weak points," the handsome man wearing exquisite blue robes in the video replied, a faint smile appearing on his face. "This person is a problem. We need to teach him some humility. I''ll send Uncle Li and the others over. Keep an eye on that player." "You''re sending Uncle Li?" Hundred Leaves could not help her growing joy. "This is great! With Uncle Li''s help, this guy is doomed!" The Sacred Temple was a Super Guild that recruited a large number of new talent every year. Various outstanding players rose within the Guild each year as well. However, those who truly withstood the test of time and became the Sacred Temple''s mainstays were the Guild Elders. Uncle Li was one of these Guild Elders. He was an old monster that had grasped a Domain many years ago. Even if Shi Feng were a monster that had reached the Domain Realm, he was no match for Uncle Li. Furthermore, Uncle Li wasn''t coming alone. His party members would be joining him. Following which, Hundred Leaves notified her security party and had a few of them split up and head towards the rest area. As long as Shi Feng appeared, they would keep a close eye on him. Inside the Sea Dragon Secret Land, whether one obtained a Legacy or not, they would be automatically transferred to a rest area once their time in the secret land was up. Players were then required to return to the starting point to leave the secret land. Otherwise, they''d be stuck here; not even Return Scrolls could be used to escape. At that time, even if Shi Feng wore a cloak, they could simply use a tracking tool to mark Shi Feng. For a certain amount of time, they''d be able to find him even if he ran to the ends of the world. And here I thought I wouldn''t get the chance to kill you. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for knowing too much. Hundred Leaves smiled after disconnecting the call. She then took a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll from her bag as she shifted her gaze to the Great Lord that had appeared on the second floor. Now, all I have to do is obtain the Legacy as quickly as possible. There were only rewards awaiting players on the Tower of Falling Stars'' first floor. Only after reaching the second floor would the trial truly begin. The second floor''s trial required players to defeat the monsters that appeared before them. They would have to face a total of three monsters. The first monster was a Chieftain, the second was a Lord, and the last was a Great Lord. All three were set at the same level as the challengers, and each one was stronger than the last. However, to experts of her standards, soloing these monsters wouldn''t be a problem if they had come prepared. The real problem was how quickly they could defeat these monsters. Although the Six-star Crimson World had not trapped Shi Feng for very long, these several minutes had been long enough to remove him from the competition. This is the space inside the Tower of Falling Stars? Shi Feng quietly examined the tower''s interior. Although the Tower of Falling Stars appeared massive on the outside, he found himself in an empty space no larger than a basketball court after he entered the building. Aside from the various carvings on the walls, the room only contained a lone staircase leading to the second floor. So, this is the reward. Shi Feng''s expression was serious as he investigated the carvings on the walls. The owner of this tower is truly generous. The carvings were none other than the Secret Technique that many expert players current sought. Unfortunately, the Secret Technique was incomplete. With Shi Feng''s standards, a single glance was all he needed to tell that this Secret Technique resembled Phantom Steps. However, compared to the Phantom Steps he had seen performed in the past, the version here was more simple and refined. If he could learn this footwork technique, it would definitely benefit him in PvP. Following which, Shi Feng recorded a video of these carvings. This way, his Guild members could learn it as well. Phantom Steps was not a particularly complex technique. It was simpler than Void Steps. With enough effort, one could easily grasp the technique to a certain degree. "Hm?" When Shi Feng activated the video recording mode, he noticed that something was amiss. Smiling bitterly, he said, "Sure enough, the Main God System won''t let players obtain a Secret Technique so easily." When he tried to record the images on the walls, the video contained nothing but darkness. It was clear that the system did not allow players to record the technique. "What a pity." Shi Feng gave the carvings on the walls one last glance before heading reluctantly to the second floor. If given enough time, he could get a general gist of the technique very quickly. However, he didn''t have that luxury right now. After all, he had other competitors ahead of him. If he spent several hours trying to learn Phantom Steps, he would be offering up the Legacy on a silver platter. Upon reaching the second floor, Shi Feng noticed that the space here was roughly three times larger than the first floor. A three-meter-tall, muscular, black-skinned Orc stood inside the room, waiting for him. The Orc wielded a stone cleaver that was as tall as itself. - [Blackstone Orc] (Chieftain) Level 50 HP 4,300,000/4,300,000 - A magic barrier sealed off the staircase to the third floor. It was obvious that he had to defeat this Blackstone Orc before he could proceed. Shi Feng glanced at the stone monument beside the staircase. The requirement to proceed to the next floor had been recorded on the stone, as well as a list. Although the list didn''t name any players, it did display the progress of the top five players on the second floor. Currently, the first ranking player was fighting against a Great Lord, which still had 96% of its HP remaining. The second-ranked player was also facing a Great Lord, and the boss still had 97% HP remaining. The third was going up against a Lord with 12% HP remaining. So, this is the situation. It seems I''ll have to move a bit faster. After reading the introductory text, Shi Feng took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 2 Battle Demon. Shi Feng had also activated the Ice-Blue Devil Flame, Phantom Kill, and Nine Dragons Slash. To ordinary experts, fighting a Chieftain of the same level might be very difficult. However, neither he nor the others challenging the second-floor trial were ordinary experts. To put it simply, the second-floor trial was a contest of damage. With the Battle Demon tanking, Shi Feng and his doppelganger focused on DPS. In less than 40 seconds, the Blackstone Orc fell. Shi Feng''s damage was off the charts The Blackstone Orc''s death only provided a small amount of EXP. It didn''t take long before a Lord ranked Blackstone General appeared before Shi Feng. Elsewhere, Hundred Leaves and Silent Entropy fought the Great Lord before them frantically. Although neither possessed the Bible of Darkness, both had used Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls and relied on their summoned creatures to whittle down the enemy Great Lord''s HP. "That old fox sure is quick." Hundred Leaves smirked as she glanced at the monument beside the staircase leading to the third floor. Currently, she still ranked first in terms of progress, with 71% of her Blackstone Chieftain''s HP remaining. Silent Entropy''s had 72% HP remaining. There was only a difference of 1% between them. If this continued, she would be the first to clear the second floor. As Hundred Leaves thought of a way to finish the Blackstone Chieftain off sooner, the fifth place on the progress list changed. Previously, No. 72 of the Tower of Falling Stars had occupied fifth place, and that player''s Great Lord had 94% of its HP remaining. Now, the occupant of the fifth position was entrant No. 141, and their Great Lord had 93% HP remaining. When Hundred Leaves saw the entry number, she knew it was Shi Feng. However, instead of panicking, she chuckled as she said, "How fast. Unfortunately, you are too late." Had they entered the tower at the same time, Shi Feng would''ve definitely posed a threat. But before Hundred Leaves could use another Skill on the Blackstone Chieftain before her, the progress list changed once again. This time, No. 141 had jumped to third place, with his Great Lord at 87% HP. Immediately, the Great Lord''s HP fell from 87% to 82%, its HP decreasing at a frightening rate 1235 Is He Hacking? Chapter 1235 - Is He Hacking? "What''s going on?" Hundred Leaves couldn''t believe her eyes as she looked at the progress list on the stone monument. A Great Lord was the equivalent of a Team Dungeon''s Final Boss. Not only did they possess very high Defense, but they also possessed potent Skills. Take the Blackstone Chieftain for example; Hundred Leaves had already seen it use three Skills. The first was a Passive Skill called Stoneskin; the lower the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP fell, the higher its Defense and Magic Resistance would rise. The second was an Attack Skill called Flame Charge. When activated, the Boss would randomly attack one target on the battlefield. During this Skill''s duration, the Boss''s Movement Speed would increase. If not dealt with properly, it could easily kill players instantly. As for the third, it was an AOE Skill called Stone Shower. When this Skill was activated, players had to deal with falling stones from above. If struck, players would lose at least 10,000 HP. When alone, without the support of a healer, players would have an extremely difficult time fighting the Blackstone Chieftain. Due to these three Skills, staying alive was a challenge. It was even more difficult to deplete the Boss''s HP quickly. As such thoughts ran through Hundred Leaves''s mind, another change occurred to the progress list. This time, No. 141''s Great Lord dropped from 82% to 78% of its HP; Shi Feng had nearly caught up to Silent Entropy, who''s Great Lord was at 72% HP. "Seeing the Boss''s HP fall so rapidly, he should''ve used a powerful Magic Scroll." Silent Entropy had also noticed the change on the progress list. However, he wasn''t particularly worried. On the contrary, he smiled and said, "How unfortunate. Young people really are quite brash. The Blackstone Chieftain isn''t an easy Boss. Wasting your trump card so early in the fight will only make things difficult for you later." He had his own methods of dealing explosive amounts of damage as well. The same could be said for Hundred Leaves. Only, neither of them had chosen to use those methods yet. The proper way of dealing with a Boss like the Blackstone Chieftain, which became harder to deal with as its HP dropped, was to wear it down slowly before finishing it off with a bang. The less time they had to spend fighting the Boss in its final phases, the easier clearing the second-floor trial would be. However, to quickly catch up to them, Shi Feng had used plenty of precious tools. On the surface, it might seem as if he had made up for the lost time, but in reality, he was doing more harm than good, so much so that he might even fail to kill the Boss in the end. After all, practically every Boss entered a berserk state when its HP fell to a certain point. If one couldn''t cope with the Boss then, they would be annihilated. Seconds, then minutes, flew by. Although Shi Feng devoured the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP at a staggering rate, the longer the battle continued, the less HP the Boss lost. From the initial 4% to 5% decreases, it gradually slowed to 2% decreases before falling to 1% decreases. By the time the Boss had 42% HP remaining, its HP no longer fell at a visible rate. "Your drive to win has doomed you." Hundred Leaves smiled as she glanced at the progress list. Although she was somewhat annoyed that Shi Feng had overtaken her progress, pushing her to second place, when she saw Shi Feng''s progress bar grow stagnant, she felt a little gleeful. According to her plan, she would only go all-out when the Boss''s HP fell to 20%. The Level 44 Blackstone Chieftain had 36,000,000 HP. After taking into account its later Defense and Magic Resistance, it wasn''t time to make her move just yet. Moreover, this was only the second floor. The Legacy was on the third floor. She needed to save enough trump cards. This way, she could secure the second floor''s reward and the third floor''s Legacy. As expected of a Guardian Boss. It''s HP has fallen to 40%, yet its Defense has increased by 50% and Magic Resistance by 70%. Shi Feng analyzed the Blackstone Chieftain''s Defense and Magic Resistance growth while controlling the Battle Demon. It''s time to make my move. To catch up with Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves, he had used all of the Tier 2 and Tier 3 Attack-type Magic Scrolls he had brought with him. He had used the Magic Scrolls to deal with the Boss to buy time while he waited for his Skills'' Cooldowns to finish. Following which, Shi Feng activated Power of Darkness, increasing all of his Basic Attributes by 60%. Nine Dragons Slash! Abyssal Curse! The Level 50 Blackstone Chieftain had a total of 44,000,000 HP. It was far more powerful than the Blackstone Chieftains Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves faced. However, after Shi Feng activated his Berserk Skill and taking into account Abyssal Curse, which decreased the Blackstone Chieftain''s Attributes by 10% for five minutes, his Strength was on par with the Great Lord''s. "Die!" Shi Feng activated Firestorm. A raging inferno rose from the ground. Immediately, the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP fell by 150,000 every second; 300,000 if it received a critical hit. The Battle Demon had also used its ultimate move, the Tier 2 Skill Purgatory Assault. The Demon launched six attacks in quick succession, each taking over 120,000 HP from the Great Lord. At the same time, Shi Feng controlled the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms to attack the Blackstone Chieftain, each dealing over -5,000 damage. A wave of the phantoms'' attacks easily dealt over -60,000 damage. In six short seconds, the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP fell by 8%. After Firestorm ended, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill, both he and his doppelganger striking the Great Lord. Thundering Flash! Thunder Flame Explosion! With the Battle Demon as a shield, Shi Feng rapidly chipped away at the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP. Although his current damage output couldn''t compare to the Magic Scrolls'', the Great Lord''s HP still fell rapidly. After a short moment, the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP dropped below 30%. On the other hand, Hundred Leaves, who was in second place, had just managed to reduce her Boss''s HP to 56%. "How is he still so fast?" Hundred Leaves could not help her shock when she saw Shi Feng''s progress bar. "Does he plan to give up the third floor?" "This little lunatic!" Silent Entropy''s anxiety grew when he saw Shi Feng''s progress bar. He had to admit that Shi Feng had interrupted his plans. As the Legacy''s location in the Sea Dragon Secret Land, the second-floor reward should be considerably valuable. If Shi Feng was truly going all-out on the second floor, he might really obtain the floor''s reward. After all, there was a huge gap between them right now. If this gap continued to grow, Silent Entropy would lose the second-floor reward. Silent Entropy hesitated on whether or not he should try to compete with Shi Feng. "Damn it! To think you would dare to spoil my plans!" Since joining God''s Domain, this was the first time Silent Entropy had lost control of a situation. His expression turning frosty, he declared, "You''re ten years too early if you think you can compete with me!" Saying so, Silent Entropy took out two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. One was his prized Domain-type Magic Scroll, while the other was a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. With two Tier 3 summoned creatures and a Tier 3 Domain attacking the Blackstone Chieftain simultaneously, the Boss''s HP began to plummet. Shortly, Silent Entropy overtook Hundred Leaves and dominated second place. "This old bastard must''ve lost his mind! Since you want to fight, let''s see who has a sturdier foundation!" Hundred Leaves gnashed her teeth. She then retrieved an orange crystal ball and multiple Magic Scrolls. As Hundred Leaves began to chant an incantation, the crystal ball shattered and disappeared. A magic array then formed around the Blackstone Chieftain, rapidly decreasing its Attributes. Very quickly, its Attributes fell to 70% of their original values. Moreover, its Defense and Magic Resistance had weakened significantly. In the blink of an eye, ten Tier 2 summoned creatures appeared around Hundred Leaves, every one frantically assaulting the Level 44 Blackstone Chieftain. Now that neither Silent Entropy nor Hundred Leaves were holding back, their progress bars swiftly increased. When Shi Feng''s Boss had 15% HP remaining, Hundred Leaves and Silent Entropy''s Bosses had 25% and 26% HP remaining, respectively. "How fast." Shi Feng smiled at the two''s progress bars. He then took several Basic Mana Pulse Bombs from his bag and tossed them at the Blackstone Chieftain. Every bomb contained the might of a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell. The bombs could even injure a Mythic monster. Against a Great Lord, one was enough to inflict heavy injuries. Shi Feng threw six Basic Mana Pulse Bombs in a row. Before the Blackstone Chieftain had the opportunity to use its ultimate move, its HP fell to 1%. Shi Feng then used Silent Steps to appear behind the Boss, both swords radiating a scorching heat. Flame Burst! Of the fifteen consecutive strikes, every strike devoured at least 60,000 HP from the Blackstone Chieftain. In the blink of an eye, the Blackstone Chieftain''s remaining HP vanished. Meanwhile, Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves only saw Shi Feng''s progress bar jump, his Boss''s HP reaching 0% instantly "Impossible!" "How is his Boss dead already?!" "Did he hack the game?!" 1236 Dragon Knigh Chapter 1236 - Dragon Knight The Blackstone Chieftain''s sudden death had stunned Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves momentarily. "How did he do it?" While 15% HP was not much, it wasn''t a small amount, either. The Blackstone Chieftain''s special characteristics made it tougher as its HP decreased. However, Shi Feng had stolen the Great Lord''s remaining HP almost instantly. "Did he use several Tier 3 Magic Scrolls at once?" Hundred Leaves suddenly thought of this possibility. There was no other explanation for how quickly Shi Feng had killed the Boss. "What a crazy bastard. Does he think the third floor''s trial will be easier than the second? "Or does he know that he can''t get the Legacy on the third floor, so he decided to use all of his cards on the second floor?" Hundred Leaves had only guesses at this point. After all, it was extravagant to use various tools to defeat a Great Lord of the same level. Such resources were generally difficult to obtain, only dropping after a large number of Bosses or several difficult quests. They were precious resources. If not for a particularly important goal or something incredibly profitable, one normally avoided using these tools. However, if Shi Feng understood that he didn''t have sufficient foundations and that he could not compete for the Legacy on the third floor, he may simply aim for the second floor''s rewards. Silent Entropy entertained similar thoughts. Although he was frustrated, he continued to whittle away the Blackstone Chieftain''s HP, trying to get to the third floor as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, due to soloing the Level 50 Blackstone Chieftain, Shi Feng''s EXP bar had risen significantly. However, the greater harvest was the three rewards that had appeared after he had defeated the Boss. Three dazzling crystal balls rested in the center of the second-floor room, and each one of these crystals contained one item within. - System: Congratulations! You have cleared the Tower of Falling Stars'' second-floor trial. You may choose two of the three items as your reward. - Sure enough, the system wouldn''t be that generous. Shi Feng quietly clicked his tongue. To kill the Blackstone Chieftain as quickly as possible, he had invested a considerable amount of resources, yet he had only been awarded two items for his efforts. Shi Feng approached and investigated the items. "Amazing!" After looking through the items carefully, Shi Feng''s eyes shone with excitement. Every one of the three rewards was extraordinary. It was no wonder why the system only allowed him to choose two. The items included the Ancient Weather Book, Time-space Herb Garden, and Secret Body Technique. Any of the various large Guilds would covet each of these items. Even Shi Feng had a hard time choosing which to take and which to abandon. - [Ancient Weather Book] (Epic Rank Item) The Ancient Weather Book allows its wielder to control the weather of an area. However, due to damage during the war between Gods, it can only exert a fraction of its original power. Additional Active Skill 1- Weather Control: Changes the weather in a 2,000-yard radius for two hours. Cooldown: 10 hours Additional Active Skill 2- Reshape Nature: Concentrates the Mana within a 200-yard radius, increasing the Mana density within a 15-yard radius by 100%. Can be used even if the Ancient Weather Book is stored in a bag space. No Cooldown. The Ancient Book has sustained significant damage. Initial restoration will require 100,000 Magic Crystals. (Current absorbed number: 0) - [Space-time Herb Garden] (Epic Rank Item) There is an independent space inside the Space-time Herb Garden which can be used to cultivate herbs. Current rank: Basic (Upgrading to Intermediate rank requires 70,000 Magic Crystals.) Cultivation space: 500*500 yards Flow of time: Twice of that of the outside world Survival rate increased by 10% - [Secret Body Technique] (Bronze Rank Tablet) - The Ancient Weather Book''s importance went without saying. After all, the Ancient Weather Book was Shi Feng''s main goal. Aside from its Weather Control Skill, which could be a significant advantage in naval combat, the book could also be used to train and improve oneself. It was an excellent Epic tool. Meanwhile, the Space-time Herb Garden could help trading firms massively. In God''s Domain, while scavenging in the fields was most Guild''s main herb source, there were other methods players could use to obtain herbs; they could cultivate them themselves. However, having a town of one''s own was the prerequisite. It was practically impossible for independent players to cultivate their own herbs. Generally, only Guilds could accomplish such a thing. As town''s had a limited amount of space, Guilds rarely made this a priority. Normally, Guilds that wanted to do so would only try it after occupying a considerable number of towns with plenty of space to spare. Moreover, cultivating herbs was not an easy task. Not only was it time-consuming, but it also required a lot of manpower to manage. Most importantly, herbs survival rate wasn''t high. More often than not, the cost of cultivating a herb was higher than its market value. However, the Space-time Herb Garden was different. Although it didn''t offer a lot of space, it could increase the flow of time as well as survival rate. These effects put the Space-time Herb Garden''s value on par with the Ancient Weather Book. Moreover, the Herb Garden was only Basic rank right now. It could be improved. If managed properly, it could become a goldmine. Lastly, the Secret Body Technique. According to Shi Feng''s current understanding of Secret Technique tablets, the Secret Body Technique was considerably rare. It was useful to both magical and physical class players. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion did not possess a single tablet of this type. Despite this Secret Body Technique being only Bronze rank, it was no less valuable than a Secret-Silver rank tablet. After considering all three items, Shi Feng realized they were equally valuable to a Guild. He wished he could walk away with all three. However, as the system had determined the regulation, he wouldn''t get that third item even if he offered to pay a greater price. The Ancient Weather Book indispensable if I wish to develop a naval force. I have to choose that one no matter what. Then, there is the Space-time Herb Garden and Secret Body Technique. Shi Feng''s gaze moved back and forth between the two items. The Herb Garden can earn more money for the Guild, whereas the Secret Body Technique can increase the combat power of the Guild''s experts. Should I go for money, or combat power? The seconds passed by as Shi Feng fell into deep thought. "Forget it. I''ll choose this one." After much contemplation, Shi Feng eventually chose the Ancient Weather Book and Space-time Herb Garden. While improving the combat power was important, developing the Guild''s financial strength was a priority right now. Zero Wing needed to invest funds in several aspects. Some of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s potions, in particular, required rare herbs. Purchasing these herbs in bulk was difficult as doing so would inflate their prices. Rather than give others the profits, it was more beneficial to cultivate the necessary herbs themselves. Now that players were inched ever closer to Level 50, they would experience severe environments in future maps. Players would need more potions as they explored and leveled up. If he prepared for that eventuality properly, he could make a fortune. Most importantly, Shi Feng recalled a certain matter. In the past, the Freedom Alliance''s trading firm had risen to an impressive height. This was especially for its potions. Despite not having any outstanding Master Alchemists, the Freedom Alliance''s trading firm had contended with many powerful maritime trading firms. Now that Shi Feng looked at it, the Freedom Alliance''s success had resulted from Silent Entropy obtaining the Space-time Herb Garden. Although many resources were available at sea, there was a severe shortage of herbs. With the Space-time Herb Garden, one could easily compensate for this. Following which, the system placed both items into Shi Feng''s bag space. At the same time, the barrier surrounding the staircase to the third floor dissipated. "This is the third floor?" After Shi Feng emerged from the staircase, he was stunned by what he saw. He stood at the top of a large mountain, a sea of clouds drifting below. A middle-aged man in silver armor stood in the center of this ''room.'' After taking a close look, Shi Feng discovered that the middle-aged man was actually a Tier 4 NPC. Moreover, the man had the peak class, Dragon Knight. 1237 Challenging a Tier 4 NPC Chapter 1237 - Challenging a Tier 4 NPC The trial can''t be a duel against this NPC, right? Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at the silver-armored Dragon Knight. As a peak class, the Dragon Knight''s Defense and Strength were superior to both the Guardian Knight and Berserker classes. Furthermore, the NPC before him was a Tier 4 class, on par with a Mythic monster. Even if he had a bag full of powerful tools, he was no match for the NPC in a one-on-one fight. Unlike monsters, NPCs possessed very high intellect. Their ability to deal with tools was beyond any monster. A group of ordinary players using special tools might be able to challenge, and even defeat, a Mythic monster. If these players'' opponent were a Tier 4 NPC, however, they wouldn''t even have a shred of hope. This was also why some players might be capable of defeating Mythic monsters in Dungeons, but were helpless if a Tier 4 NPC decided to rob them in broad daylight. The Dragon Knight class was no ordinary class, either. - [Rhinebeck (Vice Knight Commander of the Sea God''s Temple)] (Human, Tier 4 Dragon Knight) Level 50 HP 19,000,000/19,000,000 - In God''s Domain, divine temples such as the War God''s Temple and Sea God''s Temple normally had their own knight divisions. Even these divisions'' normal members would be highly influential people in a kingdom, not to mention a vice commander; even the King had to show respect to these individuals. Following which, Shi Feng began to search for clues relating to the third floor''s trial. Yet, even after examining the room for a long time, he couldn''t find an introductory monument like the one on the second floor. There was no progress bar, either. There was only a massive magic array carved into the ground and Rhinebeck standing in the middle of it. It seems that I''ll have to take this one step at a time. Failing to find any hints, Shi Feng decided to face-off against Rhinebeck. The instant Shi Feng stepped into the magic array, a powerful aura washed over him, making it difficult to take another step forward. He felt as if he had stepped into a muddy swamp, his advance slowing to a crawl. When Shi Feng was within 20 yards of Rhinebeck, the NPC finally turned his gaze towards Shi Feng, a faint killing intent flashing in the man''s eyes. Suddenly, Shi Feng found it even more difficult to move. "Adventurer, you should not have come to this place. If you do not wish to die, turn back," Rhinebeck said sternly. "Not just anyone can obtain the Sea God''s Legacy." "Lord Dragon Knight, I wish to take the challenge even if I cannot succeed," Shi Feng replied earnestly. He had come so far. How could he leave after just a few words? "Are you sure you wish to take the challenge?" Rhinebeck said, a hint of mockery in his tone. "Even if you are a heaven-blessed individual, you will have to pay the price in blood for failure. You won''t get away with a single death. Think this through carefully. This Legacy is extraordinary. Luck will not help you obtain it. You are not permitted to use any external factors to assist you, either. You must rely on your own strength. Are you sure you wish to take the challenge?" There''s another price to pay for failure? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He hadn''t heard any of this in his past life. According to Passing Monarch, players only had one chance to obtain the Legacies in the Sea Dragon Secret Land, and failure had only resulted in a single death. Moreover, as they were in a secret land, the death penalty was considerably light. However, based on Rhinebeck''s warning, it would seem that he would have to pay a high price if he failed the challenge. "Enough. Adventurer, turn back. Those who know not the truth cannot obtain the Legacy." As Rhinebeck waved his hand lightly, Shi Feng felt as if he had been hit by a truck. Before he could react, he had been sent flying out of the magic array. What amazing control over his Domain. Shi Feng was shocked as he stared at Rhinebeck, who returned to his motionless vigil. It was common knowledge that Tier 4 was a colossal turning point in God''s Domain. The biggest difference that separated a Tier 4 and a Tier 3 class was their ability to control a Domain. However, Tier 4 NPCs could, at most, suppress their enemies with their Domains, making it difficult for their enemies to move, yet Rhinebeck had sent Shi Feng, a player who was very close to obtaining their Tier 2 class, flying with a wave of his hand. Rhinebeck''s control over his Domain could already rival that of the ancient abyssal monsters in the Fallen Ark. Even the weakest among those ancient abyssal monsters had reached Tier 5 during their prime. Their tiers had only fallen due to their severe injuries. Determined, Shi Feng approached Rhinebeck once more. The consequences for failure might be severe, but he needed to know the "truth" Rhinebeck had mentioned. What did the NPC mean by "those who know not the truth cannot obtain the Legacy"? No matter what, he had to try. "Lord Dragon Knight, I wish to continue with the challenge!" Shi Feng declared. "Young adventurer, since you are so determined, I will not stop you," Rhinebeck said, smiling. "Don''t you wish to obtain the Legacy?" Shi Feng nodded. Why was he here if not for the Legacy? "I shall be your opponent. As long as you defeat me, you will obtain the Legacy tablet. If you lose, not only will you die, but you will also receive the Sea God''s curse. "However, you should rejoice. As you are so weak, I will not use all of my strength against you. As long as you are able to walk up to me, you will be victorious." Once Rhinebeck finished explaining the rules of this challenge, the magic array''s atmosphere changed. It was as if space itself had frozen, and Shi Feng even struggled to breathe. Suddenly, wind blades flew at Shi Feng, one after another, moving nearly too fast for Shi Feng to dodge. Seeing this, Shi Feng had no choice but to unsheath his swords and defend himself. Dang Dang Dang After a series of metal clangs, Shi Feng was forced to take five steps back. He had almost been forced to the edge of the magic array. So, this is how it works. Shi Feng suddenly understood how challenging the trial was after experiencing the wind blades. The attacks inside a Domain were omnipresent. Moreover, Rhinebeck had proper control of his own strength. These wind blades were just slightly stronger than Shi Feng. Every time Shi Feng blocked a wind blade, he was forced to take a step back. Of course, if he were struck directly, the attack would throw him from the magic array. Moreover, he couldn''t use any of his Skills or tools. He couldn''t rely on any external factors. He had to use his own strength to approach Rhinebeck. In the next moment, a new wave of wind blades bombarded him. This time, however, Shi Feng moved towards the wind blades. Sword''s Orbit. While his Skills and tools were unavailable, his combat techniques were not. The wind blades vanished, one after another, as they collided with Sword''s Orbit. This time, Shi Feng didn''t retreat by a single step. Following which, Shi Feng slowly advanced. The closer Shi Feng got to Rhinebeck, the more pressure he felt. Similarly, more wind blades flew towards him. From the initial five, Shi Feng began to face six and seven with each wave. By the time Shi Feng was halfway there, he had to protect himself from ten wind blades at once. However, this still wasn''t anything he couldn''t handle. "Hm, not bad. Unfortunately, your movements are too rigid and mechanical. You are still far from comprehending the truth. You should return and train more." Rhinebeck chuckled. With a light wave of his hand, the attacking wind blades increased from ten to fifteen. Moreover, these wind blades were much faster and more powerful than before. The instant a wind blade encountered Sword''s Orbit, Shi Feng felt as if his hands had been struck by a steel hammer, the vibrations aching to the bone. With each wind blade Shi Feng deflected, he moved ever closer to the edge of the magic array. 1238 Technique Evolves Chapter 1238 - Technique Evolves What precise control over his attacks! The more wind blades Shi Feng blocked with Sword''s Orbit, the more he understood how amazing Rhinebeck was. As soon as he had started executing Sword''s Orbit, he had become capable of executing more attacks containing more Strength, yet Rhinebeck had responded with more wind blades containing more of his own Strength. He attacked with just slightly more than Shi Feng could endure, forcing the Swordsman to retreat. So, this is the third-floor trial. It really is a mystery how Silent Entropy had managed to walk away with the Legacy in the past. Shi Feng glanced at the outer edge of the magic array. He would be forced out of the magic array in a dozen steps at most, yet the wind blades showed no signs of letting up When Silent Entropy had obtained the Sea God''s Legacy in the past, the man had only been at the Flowing Water Realm. In terms of combat techniques, Silent Entropy was far weaker the current Shi Feng, yet he had succeeded where Shi Feng was about to be blasted out of the magic array. Shi Feng simply could not wrap his mind around it. Could the so-called truth be unrelated to a player''s combat standards? Shi Feng guessed. Just as Shi Feng was about to be blasted out of the magic array, he executed Void Steps and vanished from Rhinebeck''s sight. "An interesting footwork technique." A small smile graced Rhinebeck''s face. He then turned to look at Shi Feng, who had appeared elsewhere, and said, "How long can you keep that up?" Saying so, Rhinebeck launched another fifteen wind blades, while Shi Feng executed Void Steps once more to avoid them. A Domain is truly impressive. Void Steps'' effect is limited against him. Although Shi Feng dodged the incoming wind blades, he couldn''t move beyond the array''s border and approach Rhinebeck. He could only move along the edge. Void Steps was a special footwork technique that forced others to actively ignore the user''s presence. Although Void Steps was effective against Rhinebeck, the technique only distracted the NPC for a brief moment to determine Shi Feng''s exact location, preventing the NPC from sealing Shi Feng''s movements completely. Suddenly, Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves ascended to the third floor as well. "This" The moment the two players reached the third floor, they were stupefied by the scene before them. Unlike the first and second floors of the Tower of Falling Stars, all challengers converged on the same location upon reaching the final floor. Hence, they had been greeted by the sight of Shi Feng appearing and disappearing in the magic array, dodging countless wind blades. They then turned to Shi Feng''s opponent, but when they realized that his opponent was a Tier 4 NPC, their expressions soured. "We''re required to fight that Tier 4 NPC for the third floor''s trial?" Seeing Rhinebeck standing proudly in the array''s center, Hundred Leaves demanded furiously, "How are we supposed to clear this?!" "No. I don''t think we''re required to defeat the NPC. Otherwise, that brat would''ve died already," Silent Entropy said as he shook his head. Fear filled his eyes as he stared at Rhinebeck. Tier 4 NPCs were top-class existences even in Sea''s End''s twelve major cities. Rhinebeck was also the vice commander of the Sea God''s Temple''s knight division. "I don''t think we''ll be passing the trial this time. It is impossible for magical class players like us to dodge so many wind blades at a time. Moreover, it seems that we can''t cast Spells or use tools here." As Hundred Leaves watched Shi Feng struggle, she relaxed. "However, this is acceptable. Although we won''t get the Legacy, he won''t, either." However, as Hundred Leaves tried to reassure the other commander, Silent Entropy approached the magic array. The instant Silent Entropy entered the magic array, Rhinebeck turned his gaze towards the man. "Another one that doesn''t fear death?" Rhinebeck chuckled. "Are you sure you wish to face the challenge?" Stealing another glance at Shi Feng, Silent Entropy turned towards Rhinebeck and nodded seriously. "Very good. However, as you are so weak, I won''t go all-out against you. You''ll pass so long as you arrive before me," Rhinebeck explained. As soon as he finished his explanation, two wind blades shot towards Silent Entropy, giving the Elementalist no time to prepare. Unlike the wind blades Shi Feng faced, the two wind blades Silent Entropy faced were much slower. In response, Silent Entropy began to double cast, countering the wind blades with two Ice Arrows. Boom! After a brief pause, the wind blades shattered the Ice Arrows and continued towards Silent Entropy. Meanwhile, Silent Entropy took the opportunity to move out of the wind blades'' attack trajectory, taking two steps towards Rhinebeck. "That old fox!" Realization immediately dawned on Hundred Leaves. As the first person to obtain a Legacy from the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land, Silent Entropy knew far more secrets than she did. Clearly, the trial before her didn''t treat all challengers equally. Rather, it varied depending on the player''s strength. Magical classes had an advantage in this trial. After all, a physical class like Shi Feng had to counter fifteen powerful wind blades at once, whereas magical classes only had to face two. Moreover, after Silent Entropy entered the magic array, he could still use Spells. If that were the case, it blocking two wind blades would be a piece of cake. Sure enough, Silent Entropy approached Rhinebeck, step by step, by blocking the wind blades with his Spells. After realizing the nature of the trial, Hundred Leaves dashed into the magic array to challenge the trial. However, despite Hundred Leaves also defending herself with Spells, she couldn''t proceed. She could only move left or right to dodge the incoming wind blades. What''s going on? Hundred Leaves was confused as she glanced at Silent Entropy, who had already taken over a dozen steps forward. Are my wind blades stronger? She had similarly grasped double casting and assaulted the wind blades with her Spells, yet she was forced to dodge left and right, not forward. If she advanced recklessly, both wind blades would strike her. Seeing Shi Feng and Hundred Leaves, Silent Entropy smiled as he said, "You youngsters are impressive. It''s a pity that you''ve experienced too few hardships. I''ll accept the Legacy on your behalves." Silent Entropy took another step forward and finally reached the halfway point. "Not bad. It seems you have an initial understanding of the truth, adventurer. What shall you do with this, then?" Saying so, Rhinebeck smiled and waved his hand lightly. Suddenly, Silent Entropy had to face three wind blades rather than two. The wind blades had also grown slightly faster. Damn it! They''ve gotten stronger! Silent Entropy''s expression darkened. Hurriedly, he used two Ice Arrows to block two of the wind blades. Unfortunately, he had no choice but to dodge to the right to avoid the third; he was no longer able to advance. Hundred Leaves could not hide her grin. She had worried that Silent Entropy would really snatch the Legacy. "It seems that none of us will get the Legacy this time. Since that is the case, I won''t waste my time here." After seeing this outcome, Hundred Leaves lost interest. However, as Hundred Leaves was about to give up and leave, Shi Feng, who had quietly observed the other two from the side, made his move. "I see. It''s no wonder why I couldn''t get through them before," Shi Feng muttered in a self-mocking tone. "Have you learned something?" Hundred Leaves asked when she noticed Shi Feng laugh for no obvious reason. However, Shi Feng did not bother with answering her. Instead, he moved forward to welcome the oncoming wind blades before executing Sword''s Orbit. Dang Dang Dang After a series of clangs, he leaped forward, rather than being knocked back. "How is this possible?!" Hundred Leaves was astonished, unable to understand what had just happened. "Impossible!" Silent Entropy was similarly shocked. "How could you have grasped it so quickly?!" "I have you to thank for that. I wouldn''t have figured this out without you." At this moment, Shi Feng felt exhilarated. He finally understood why Rhinebeck had said his movements were rigid and mechanical. He hadn''t been thinking outside the box. Both his combat style and his technique utilization had been stiff and clumsy. He only knew how to learn the techniques, not how to make the techniques his own. Silent Entropy could both defend and advance because he hadn''t stopped moving while he had cast his Ice Arrows. On the other hand, Hundred Leaves had only moved after she finished casting her Spells. As she started moving later, it was only natural that she hadn''t had enough time to advance. Now that Shi Feng understood this "truth," he could block the wind blades far more easily. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng crossed the halfway point. At the same time, Rhinebeck increased the number of wind blades he sent at Shi Feng. However, the NPC had only added one wind blade this time. To Shi Feng, who had already reached the Void Realm, this minor increase was no problem. By deflecting the attacks while moving, he had broken through the wind blades'' blockade. Upon seeing Shi Feng cross the halfway mark, Silent Entropy muttered incredulously, "Is he a monster?" After a short moment, Shi Feng stood before Rhinebeck. 1239 Strongest Legacy Obtained Chapter 1239 - Strongest Legacy Obtained "Good! Excellent!" A hint of praise flashed in Rhinebeck''s eyes as he looked at Shi Feng, unlike the previous indifference. He looked down at Shi Feng as if he were an excellent junior. "Who is he?" Silent Entropy wore an incredulous expression as he watched Shi Feng, unable to calm his pounding heart. He had learned to make a combat technique his own after clearing a legacy trial the last time. However, achieving that was easier said than done. Many of the techniques in God''s Domain were extreme and contrary to humans'' natural movements. The brain programs fixed signals to manipulate the body''s muscles based on a person''s habits, which allows them to perform actions faster and more efficiently. If one wished to execute God''s Domain''s extreme combat techniques swiftly, they needed to alter their brain''s signals. Silent Entropy had spent an entire month reshaping his habits to get to where he was now. Yet, after watching his performance for a few moments, Shi Feng had executed the same to a skillful degree. "Since someone has passed the trial, the rest can leave!" Rhinebeck announced, waving his hand once more. Suddenly, both Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves were teleported out of the Tower of Falling Stars. In the blink of an eye, both players appeared in the rest area. "Commander, why are you out so earlier?" Scorpion, who had stood guard by the Resurrection Temple, asked in surprise when Hundred Leaves appeared. Hundred Leaves had just completed the second-floor trial. With the third-floor trial''s difficulty, logically, it should take her even longer to clear, yet she had only reached the third floor a few minutes ago and was out already. "That person has already obtained the Legacy," Hundred Leaves said, frowning. When she thought about Shi Feng''s performance in the magic array, she warned her subordinate, "It won''t be long before he comes out. Keep a close eye on him once he does. He isn''t an ordinary player." "Commander, rest assured; I''ll use the Soul Lock Scroll on him the moment he appears. Even if he is more powerful, he won''t escape my tracking for five hours," Scorpion said, laughing. In God''s Domain, there were many methods of tracking a player. However, there were only a handful of expert trackers like himself. Not only was his Tracker subclass at Master rank, but he had also obtained the design to produce the Soul Lock Scroll in an ancient ruin. The Soul Lock Scroll allowed the user to keep a lock on a player''s soul. No matter where the targeted player went, he could find them on the system map. Its only flaw was its low accuracy. The map would only tell him the target''s general location. However, he could easily deal with this flaw with his Master Tracker subclass. "I''ll leave this to you. I have to head to the other locations and obtain the Legacies there as quickly as possible." Hundred Leaves nodded, considering that she worried a little too much. No matter what was said or done, Scorpion was one of the Sacred Temple''s peak Assassins. With his skills and the various tools, it was impossible for anyone to escape his pursuit. When Uncle Li and the others eventually arrived, it would be very difficult for Shi Feng to get away, even if he could grow wings and fly. Following which, Hundred Leaves led her subordinates to another cavern. Silent Entropy''s fleet did the same. After all, the Sea Dragon Secret Land had more than one Legacy. As long as they still had time, they could obtain as many Legacies as they wanted. Back on the Tower of Falling Stars'' third floor, after Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves teleported out of the tower, Rhinebeck led Shi Feng through the magic array to a dazzling, golden temple. Numerous crystal pillars had been situated around the temple, and every pillar had an item on top of it. Every item, whether they be tools, weapons, or equipment, was top-tier in the current God''s Domain. Shi Feng even saw the Secret Body Technique, which he had not taken from the second floor. As expected of the Freedom Alliance''s lifeline. The Sea Dragon Secret Land is really extraordinary. Shi Feng''s eyes shone as he looked at the various items before him. If he could take everything here with him, Zero Wing''s strength would skyrocket. Rhinebeck led Shi Feng to a stone monument inside the temple. All sorts of divine runes and images had been carved into the stone, depicting ancient history. The entire monument radiated Divine Might, so Shi Feng knew it was extraordinary with a single glance. "You have passed the legacy trial, so you can now obtain the Sea God''s Legacy. However, whether or not you inherit the Legacy will depend on your own abilities," Rhinebeck said. He then began to chant an incantation, which caused the massive stone monument to shrink. Eventually, it became a tablet that was only the size of a palm. "This is the Sea God''s Legacy item. How you use it depends on you. Aside from this legacy tablet, you will be awarded 10,000 Sea God''s Temple Points. You may use these points to trade for items in any Sea God''s Temple. Likewise, you can trade for items here. However, once you leave this temple, you will not have access to these items in the future. You can only use your points in the Sea God''s Temples elsewhere. You may now choose. If you wish to leave this place, step into the magic array." After saying so, Rhinebeck transformed into a streak of light and disappeared. What a pity. If I knew something like this would happen, I would''ve earned some Sea God''s Temple Points before coming. Like the War God''s Temple, the Sea God''s Temple had a point system that allowed players to earn points. Take the Runic Crystal for example. Each crystal could be traded for 10 points. It was one of the fastest means of earning Sea God''s Temple Points. The only other method of earning points was to complete special quests from the Sea God''s Temple. The reward of 10,000 points was a huge windfall. He would have to spend 1,000 Runic Crystals to obtain so many. Forget it. Let''s see what items are available first. Shi Feng walked up to each of the crystal pillars, one after another, investigating the items. There were 88 crystal pillars in the temple. Unfortunately, some were empty. Currently, there were only 82 items available for trade. The cheapest item among them cost 5,000 points: a Mysterious-Iron pick that would make it easier to mine ores. The pick also increased the chances of obtaining high-ranking ores. If auctioned off, it could easily fetch over a hundred Gold. The most expensive item cost 111,000 points. Naturally, Shi Feng wanted this item more than any of the others as it was a Fragmented Legendary item. It was the sole Fragmented Legendary item in the temple. The item was called the Sea God''s Shield. It could also be restored to Legendary rank. An excellent shield''s value to a team went without saying. Without a powerful MT, defeating a powerful Boss would be very challenging. If an MT used a Fragmented Legendary shield, killing powerful Bosses would become a lot easier. However, Shi Feng could only drool over the shield; he didn''t have nearly enough points to obtain it. Let''s go with the Secret Body Technique first. Shi Feng immediately retrieved the Secret Body Technique, which he had failed to obtain before, from its pillar. The Secret Body Technique cost 3,600 points. With how valuable the technique was, it was definitely worth the price. The Secret Spellcasting Technique had sold for several hundred thousand Magic Crystals, yet this technique, which was more valuable, only cost 360 Runic Crystals. What should I pick with my remaining points? After obtaining the Secret Body Technique, Shi Feng considered his options. Every item here was powerful. There was no lack of Epic Weapons or Equipment. He could even trade for rare Intermediate Magic Array Designs. Unfortunately, with his remaining points, he could only choose three more items. 1240 Three Items Chapter 1240 - Three Items Of the three items that caught Shi Feng''s eye, every one of them was worth as much as the Space-time Herb Garden he obtained. The three items were the Mystic''s Necklace, the Basic Enchantment Design, and the Arcane Lightning Design. Although he could also choose an Epic Weapon, at the end of the day, an Epic Weapon could help improve only one player''s strength. On the other hand, the three aforementioned items could increase the overall strength of an entire Guild. The Mystic''s Necklace, which cost 6,150 points, was a Dark-Gold necklace. It did not possess any level restrictions and was not meant for combat. Instead, it was a necklace for Lifestyle players. Upon equipping the Mystic''s Necklace, a Lifestyle player would receive a 5% increase to their production success rate as well as a 30% increase to production speed. Setting aside the 5% higher success rate, the 30% increase to production speed could enable Burning Abyss to produce Advanced Transport Carriages at a much faster pace. In turn, this would allow Stone Forest Town to develop much more quickly. Moreover, the Mystic''s Necklace would come in handy when manufacturing advanced speedboats in the future. Meanwhile, the Basic Enchantment Design, which cost 6,000 points, allowed Enchanters to learn how to produce Runestones. Similar to armor kits produced by forgers, Runestones strengthened weapons and equipment. However, unlike armor kits, they were consumable items. Like potions, they had effectivity periods. Moreover, players could only strengthen one item at a time with them. Even so, Runestones were still highly sought-after items and had been one of the must-have items when raiding Dungeons in his past life. Back then, a Basic Runestone sold for 20 Silver. Nevertheless, players had still fought to purchase them. After all, a Basic Runestone could strengthen an item by 10% for ten hours. If used on a player''s weapon or an MT''s shield, it would bring about considerable results. As for the Arcane Lightning Design, it was similarly extraordinary. It cost 6,300 points and was an extremely rare item that required an Alchemist and an Engineer. Arcane Lightning possessed extreme destructive power that was superior to even ordinary Tier 2 Magic Scrolls and had an effective range of 15*15 yards. In the past, wealthy players that entered God''s Domain after the game had been launched for quite some time would frequently use Arcane Lightning to grind for levels. However, while their levels indeed skyrocketed, the amount of money they spent was also ridiculous, as a single Arcane Lightning was even more expensive than an Advanced Frost Grenade; each one sold for roughly six Gold. Moreover, even if one made the Arcane Lightning themselves, the expenditure remained considerably high. Just the materials needed to produce one cost one Gold. Depending on the people producing them, each Arcane Lightning could cost anywhere from two to four Gold. All three items could make Guilds drool over them. Even Shi Feng found it difficult to choose between them. If I have to pick one, it will have to be something that can help the Guild in the near future. While the Arcane Lightning is a nice item to grind monsters and do PvP with, it''s a pity that it takes too much time and money to make. Moreover, producing it would require a Master Engineer and a Master Alchemist for it to be cost-efficient. Shi Feng shook his head as he looked at the Arcane Lightning Design. After deciding to give up on it, he shifted his gaze to the Mystic''s Necklace and Basic Enchantment Design. The Mystic''s Necklace will be of great help to only one Lifestyle player, and within the short term, its usefulness would be limited to accelerating the production of the Advanced Transport Carriage. In the end, it seems the Basic Enchantment Design is the better choice. The Basic Runestone would be a boon to both ordinary and elite players. It was a very beneficial item for large Guilds. Currently, the various large Guilds in God''s Domain should not have obtained the Basic Enchantment Design yet. If he could mass-produce Basic Runestones, they would definitely sell like hotcakes. Moreover, the cost of making the Basic Runestone was not very high: only around seven Silver. Its production difficulty and production time were also relatively low; even Advanced Enchanters could produce them at a reliable rate. This was a good opportunity to extend the Candlelight Trading Firm''s fame further. Moreover, the Basic Enchantment Design was different from regular production designs, where each design normally allowed only one player to learn it. Up to five Enchanters could learn the Basic Enchantment Design. Hence, there was no need to worry about the production volume being too low. Following which, Shi Feng chose to exchange for the Basic Enchantment Design. His remaining points immediately fell to just 400. Now that I''ve already obtained everything that I should get, it''s about time I leave this place. Shi Feng stored the Basic Enchantment Design with satisfaction before turning around and walking to the teleportation magic array. At the rest area of the Sea God''s Legacy, Passing Monarch and the other members of Third Fleet were currently lingering on the island. Although they had not cleared the second-floor trial of the Tower of Falling Stars, they had gained a considerable harvest from the Secret Footwork Technique taught on the first floor. Even though they hadn''t managed to master the footwork, they could still use it for reference. Unlike players on land, players at the Sea''s End focused mainly on naval battles. Players had never attempted to incorporate personal combat techniques into naval battles. However, after learning the Secret Footwork Technique, they realized that such a thing was possible. "Commander, look at Identical Summer''s side. They don''t seem to be showing signs of leaving at all. Do you think they''re planning to steal the Legacy?" Blue Joy asked worriedly as she looked at Identical Summer''s group, who were currently resting at a distance. In the previous naval battle, Identical Summer and Heavenly Spider had both suffered grievous losses. Particularly, Identical Summer had forfeited his Small Sailboat to Shi Feng. Only a gullible fool would believe that he did not have any ulterior motives right now. "Ignore him. If they couldn''t take advantage of us before, it is even more impossible for them to do so now. Rather than camping here, it would be much better for them to simply search for Legacies in the other caverns," Passing Monarch said, chuckling. He did not mind Identical Summer and Heavenly Spider''s actions at all. "Once Ye Feng returns, we''ll immediately head for another cavern." Previously, their battle against the Magic Whale had lost them over half their members. The survivors had also been in a battered state. Even then, they had still managed to win against Identical Summer''s and Heavenly Spider''s fleets. Now that everyone from Third Fleet had regrouped and recovered back to their peak state, with the inclusion of an expert like Shi Feng, what could Identical Summer and the others possibly hope to achieve? On the other side, Identical Summer was currently glaring at Passing Monarch and his crew. "Enjoy it while you can. You all will get to feel complacent for only a little bit longer," Identical Summer sneered. "Brother Summer, are you really going to sever all pretenses with Passing Monarch?" Heavenly Spider asked worriedly. "You''ve already seen that person''s strength for yourself. Even Mad Beast and the other House of Seas experts were no match for him. If we continue fighting against him, we might end up not getting a single Legacy at all this time." "What are you worried about? I have naturally taken this point into consideration. While Mad Beast and the others aren''t a match for them, even if Passing Monarch and the others are more powerful, do you think they can overpower every fleet in the Freedom Alliance?" Identical Summer asked, a crazed look in his eyes. "You couldn''t have" Heavenly Spider suddenly thought of a possibility, and he couldn''t help but shudder. "That''s right. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. I notified the other fleets regarding Passing Monarch obtaining the greatest Legacy as well as two Small Sailboats," Identical Summer said, laughing. "The other fleet commanders have already agreed to cooperate with us for the sole purpose of preventing Passing Monarch from ruling over the Freedom Alliance with an iron fist in the future. "Whether it is the two Small Sailboats or the strongest Legacy of the Sea Dragon Secret Land, Passing Monarch should not even think of keeping either one. "Out at sea, we might not be able to do anything against Passing Monarch now that he has two Small Sailboats. However, on land, only death awaits them. The experts of the other fleets have long since hidden themselves on the island. Once that person comes out, it will be doomsday for Passing Monarch and his crew," Identical Summer said, laughing maniacally. The operation this time involved not only the Second and Fourth Fleets but also every other fleet aside from Third Fleet. Even Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves had dispatched some of their subordinates to help out. Even if Passing Monarch doubled his fleet''s member count, he would have no chance of victory at all. At this moment, an Assassin, who was sneaking around the Resurrection Temple, suddenly reported, "Commander, that person just came out from the Resurrection Temple." 1241 Taking Action without Hesitation Chapter 1241 - Taking Action without Hesitation News of Shi Feng''s exit from the Resurrection Temple spread like wildfire. Practically every fleet commander of the Freedom Alliance received the word at the same time. "He''s finally out?" Silent Entropy smiled as he read the message his subordinate had just sent him. "Although you''ve managed to obtain the Legacy, it won''t be that easy for you to take it away." Compared to the other fleets, he had a much greater understanding of the Sea Dragon Secret Land. After all, he had been the one to discover the secret land in the first place. How could he possibly let someone else obtain the Sea God''s Legacy so easily? "Leaves, are you really going to cooperate with them?" the cloaked woman asked as she looked at Hundred Leaves, who was currently commanding a battle. The Secret Temple had long since made arrangements for such situations. They didn''t need to cooperate with the other fleets to deal with Shi Feng. As long as Shi Feng exited the secret land, whether it was obtaining the Sea God''s Legacy or completing the Demon God''s quest, they could easily achieve both by themselves. "Cooperate?" Hundred Leaves could not help but giggle. "How could I possibly cooperate with them? I simply wish to see what kind of trump cards that person still has. Previously, whether it was his fight against Identical Summer or his performance inside the Legacy land, I kept feeling that he was still holding back a lot of his strength. Now that Identical Summer has banded together with the experts of the other fleets, I believe that even that man won''t be able to continue holding back. If Identical Summer and the others do have some way to kill that man, I''ll have Scorpion hinder them when the time comes. After all, that is the Sea God''s Legacy we''re talking about. We absolutely cannot afford to let the other fleets have it." When the cloaked woman heard this, she immediately came to a realization. She had never thought that Hundred Leaves had actually taken such factors into consideration. This way, Shi Feng really was doomed. As long as he left the secret land, there would be no escape for him. Outside the Resurrection Temple, as soon as Shi Feng came out, Passing Monarch walked up to him excitedly. "Brother Ye Feng, you truly are amazing! Despite all the efforts Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves have put in, you still managed to snatch the Legacy from them. I''m guessing that they''re bursting with rage right about now," Passing Monarch said, his gaze filled with admiration as he looked at the Swordsman. After all was said and done, the Freedom Alliance was an overlord at the Sea''s End. Meanwhile, the foundations of both Silent Entropy and Hundred Leaves were among the best in the Freedom Alliance. Nonetheless, Shi Feng had actually managed to steal the Legacy from those two by relying on his own strength. "Sorry for the wait. Let''s set out for the other caverns now." Shi Feng simply smiled in response to Passing Monarch''s words, not commenting on the Legacy he obtained. He had already seen the Sea God''s Legacy for himself, and it was definitely one of the most incredible Legacies he had seen. The reason for this was the Legacy tablet allowing not only one player to obtain a Legacy but ten. This was an incredible matter. After all, even obtaining one Legacy in God''s Domain was already quite a challenge, not to mention ten in one go. Meanwhile, among these ten players, one could obtain the Sea God''s Legacy, while the remaining nine could obtain the Sea God''s Protector''s Legacy. Players who inherited these Legacies would receive a portion of the Sea God''s strength. Moreover, the player who inherited the Sea God''s Legacy would receive greater power from the Legacy the more Sea God''s Protectors they had. "Alright. Let''s move out right away." Passing Monarch nodded. However, as soon as Passing Monarch said so, Identical Summer suddenly appearedwearing a smile on his face as he looked at Passing Monarch and Shi Feng. At the same time, a large group of players came out from the forest one after another, their numbers reaching close to 400. These players surrounded Shi Feng''s group completely. "Brother Monarch, why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Identical Summer said, laughing. "Look at how pitiful we are. Even after we entered the secret land, we still ended up obtaining nothing at all. You, on the other hand, have made a fortune. Shouldn''t you make a gesture of goodwill?" Passing Monarch''s complexion turned incredibly grim as he observed his surroundings. Currently, it wasn''t just Identical Summer''s men that were present. He could also see well-known experts of First Fleet to Eleventh Fleet here. "Our Third Fleet has already obtained the Legacy. Are you still thinking of stealing it from us?" In a deep tone, Passing Monarch said, "Could you have forgotten about the contract we signed before we entered this place?" "What you say is indeed true. Our various fleets did sign a contract barring us from stealing the Legacies others have obtained. However, we have no plans on stealing your Legacy right now. We only want those two Small Sailboats of yours. Of course, you can also choose not to give them. However, you''ll have to die several times until you are forcefully teleported out of the secret land," Identical Summer sneered. They dared not violate the conditions of the contract. Otherwise, they would receive a severe penalty from the system. However, the contract they signed back then was not perfect, including many exploitable loopholes. Everyone had deliberately ignored these loopholes in order to prevent one fleet from gaining too large of a monopoly. Otherwise, they would''ve long since signed a contract that barred all aggression against each other while inside the secret land. "Despicable." Passing Monarch''s complexion paled in anger. However, he was also helpless about this situation. Although he, too, had known about the loopholes in the contract, he never thought that a day would come when every other fleet would join hands to target him. "Well? What''s your decision? Are you going to hand over the Small Sailboats, or do you wish to die in here time and again?" Identical Summer laughed in ridicule. "How about we give it a test? In any case, we have plenty of time right now. Although we won''t be able to have every one of you sent back to Level 0, we should have no problems getting a few of you there." Players couldn''t leave the Sea Dragon Secret Land within six hours of entry. Only after six hours had passed could players teleport out of the secret land through the starting point. Either that, or get forcibly kicked out of the secret land after ten hours had passed. There was a Resurrection Temple in the various rest points of the secret land, and any player killed within a cavern would get resurrected at the rest point of that particular cavern. Meanwhile, unlike the outside world, players that died here would get resurrected immediately. Although players would not lose one whole level after dying, killing a particular player back to Level 0 would still be a piece of cake. One could say that this was the risk of entering the Sea Dragon Secret Land. Hearing Identical Summer''s words, the expressions of the Third Fleet''s members turned grim, a hint of fear flashing across their eyes. They had spent a lot of time and effort to reach their levels. Getting killed back to Level 0 was unthinkable. At this time, Tyrant Dynasty, the commander of Seventh Fleet, shouted, "Why are we still wasting words with them?! After they die a few times, they''ll naturally become obedient!" From the very beginning, they had no intention of letting Passing Monarch''s fleet leave here in one piece. The reason for this was the sheer number of fleets in the Freedom Alliance. There was simply not enough resources to share with everyone. Hence, their condition for cooperating with Identical Summer was the expulsion of the Third Fleet from the Freedom Alliance. In the past, their various fleets had banded together to form the Freedom Alliance because they were too weak individually. Now, however, the situation had changed. The Freedom Alliance currently occupied three of the twelve major cities at the Sea''s End. They had both wealth and manpower. If they kicked a fleet out of the Freedom Alliance, they would obtain much more resources for themselves. However, as soon as Tyrant Dynasty finished speaking, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before him, the Sacred Sword lightly cutting across the Seventh Fleet''s commander. Two blue flashes enveloped Tyrant Dynasty. Before anyone could react to what was going on, Tyrant Dynasty was already lying motionless on the ground. So fast! Passing Monarch had an incredulous look on his face as he looked at the corpse of the Level 43 Berserker lying at Shi Feng''s feet. Compared to the attacks Shi Feng had displayed in the previous battle, despite these two sword slashes being of equal speed, these attacks gave off an indescribably natural and sharp feeling. Everyone was also stunned by this situation. Shi Feng had actually taken action without the slightest bit of hesitation. Glancing at the corpse at his feet, Shi Feng smiled as he said, "I very much agree with your opinion. Once you all die a few times, you''ll naturally learn to be obedient." 1242 Strategic Skill Chapter 1242 - Strategic Skill "You" Identical Summer had an astonished look on his face as he stared at Shi Feng. He simply could not figure out what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. He had clearly placed Shi Feng at an absolute disadvantage. Normally, the Swordsman should''ve tried to delay for as much time as possible. Yet, before their side had even made a move, Shi Feng had already taken action. "What an interesting person. He actually dares to take the initiative to attack even in such a situation." Scorpion, who was watching from afar, was slightly surprised by this situation. The people Identical Summer had on his side this time were completely different from before. Among the 400 or so players, over half were experts dispatched from the other fleets, and even the weakest among them could reach the fifth floor of the Trial Tower. Scorpion himself would have no choice but to flee if he faced so many experts. Even if he really had to fight, he would''ve chosen to do so in favorable terrain and conduct a battle of attrition to whittle down his opponents one by one. Despite that, Shi Feng had chosen to start a fight in a wide-open area. If a battle occurred in such an open area, the side with numbers would naturally possess a greater advantage. After all, every player on the battlefield could launch an attack, allowing a team to exert its strength fully. At this moment, Passing Monarch felt like weeping. Now that Shi Feng had made a move, peace was off the table. "Attack! Slaughter them!" Identical Summer shouted, pointing at Shi Feng. Immediately, the team of nearly 400 players swarmed towards Shi Feng and Passing Monarch''s crew. Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors charged at the forefront, followed by the other melee and ranged classes. The healers promptly cast Truth Shield or Protection on the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors. With these buffs, coupled with the HP these MTs possessed, they could easily endure over -40,000 damage. Those, in combination with their innate damage reduction and the fact that they were experts, would guarantee that they would not be killed instantly, even under a bombardment of numerous Fireballs from powerful Elementalists. What a powerful defense. Passing Monarch felt his scalp tingle as he looked at the approaching MTs. Ranged players would be helpless against such this iron wall-like defensive formation. Even when Blue Joy, one of the strongest ranged DPS in the Third Fleet, worked together with several other ranged players, she could not reduce the frontmost Guardian Knight''s HP below 50% before said Guardian Knight got healed back to full HP. Right now, they could not even escape to the distant forest. Just as Identical Summer''s group moved increasingly closer and the enemy ranged players were about to enter attacking range, Passing Monarch took out a Tier 2 Magic Scroll and began chanting. uddenly, golden spears shot at the enemy MTs. "A useless struggle," Identical Summer ridiculed. The current battle was different from the one on his Small Sailboat. Every player here could fully exert their combat power instead of being hindered by a narrow battlefield. In the next moment, the various MTs all activated their Lifesaving Skills one after another, halving the damage they received. Even when struck by the golden spears, they only lost around 10,000 HP. Moreover, these MTs had also managed to dodge the majority of these spear attacks. Each one of them received only two or three spears at most. The forty or so healers standing at the rear needed to cast only one or two heals to bring the MTs back to full HP. Passing Monarch''s Tier 2 Magic Scroll posed no threat whatsoever. Following which, Identical Summer''s group continued to close in on Passing Monarch''s crew. Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield, the 30-plus experts from the House of Seas had immediately surrounded Shi Feng as soon as the fight began. "You are very strong. This time, however, we will no longer be careless," Mad Beast said, his gaze fixed on Shi Feng. Previously, the House of Seas experts had fought Shi Feng without knowing his true strength. They also had no clue regarding his Skills. As a result, he caught them off guard and eventually annihilated them. This time, however, they had come fully prepared. In the next moment, three Level 43 Summoners each took out a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll and promptly activated the scrolls. Tier 2 summoned creatures were equivalent to Lord ranked monsters. Whether it was in terms of speed or Strength, these creatures were much stronger than the current Tier 1 Assassins and Berserkers. Moreover, the Tier 2 summoned creatures were all above Level 50, which made their Basic Attributes far superior to those of current players. At the same time as the three Summoners were activating their Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls, five Elementalists standing at a distance each took out a Tier 2 Magic Scroll and activated an AOE Attack Spell that cast anywhere from one to two dozen attacks. These Elementalists then controlled the attacks to bombard Shi Feng simultaneously. They acknowledged that they were no match against Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight. However, even if Shi Feng was more powerful, faced with numerous attacks coming from all sides, how many could he possibly dodge? Even if the Swordsman were struck only once or twice in each attack wave, without the support of a healer, he would eventually succumb to death. Meanwhile, Mad Beast and the other Assassin experts also entered Stealth and approached Shi Feng. "Leaves, that person is dead for sure this time," the cloaked woman said as she watched the livestream from Scorpion. "Even Scorpion and the others won''t be able to save him in time." Against Tier 2 Spells coming from all directions and three Lord ranked monsters, current players simply had no way to survive, unless they possessed invulnerability. "Identical Summer really is ruthless." Hundred Leaves also frowned at this situation. She never thought that Identical Summer and the others would be willing to waste so many Magic Scrolls to kill Shi Feng. "It seems we have no choice but to have Scorpion use a Tier 2 Defensive Magic Scroll." Just as Scorpion had received his orders and was about to take out a Tier 2 Defensive Magic Scroll from his bag, a silver magic array suddenly appeared in the sky, covering everyone present. The Tier 1 Absolute Time sure is scary. Its effective range has actually increased by so much. Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the silver magic array in the sky. This magic array was the result of Shi Feng activating the Tier 1 Absolute Time, which he had just sacrificed a ton of EXP to level up. Mad Beast and the others'' performance had exceeded his expectations. In such a flat and open terrain, even he would not be able to handle the attacks of so many Tier 2 Magic Scrolls and expert players. Hence, he had no choice but to use his strategic Skill, Absolute Time. Previously, at Tier 0, Level 7, Absolute Time could only prevent enemies from using any Skills, Spells, and tools within an area of 100*100 yards for 24 seconds. After it reached Tier 1, Level 1, however, its effective area had expanded to 200*200 yards. Now, not only could the strategic Skill cover the entire battlefield, but its duration had also increased to 30 seconds. The only downside of the Skill''s level-up was that its Cooldown had increased from 2 minutes, 30 seconds to 3 minutes. This situation had cost Shi Feng the EXP from killing the Blackstone Chieftain and completing the Legacy trial. However, due to Absolute Time, the Tier 2 Spells flying towards Shi Feng simultaneously vanished into nothingness. It was as if the Spells had never been cast. The magic arrays maintaining the Tier 2 summoned creatures had also been abruptly shattered. Identical Summer and the others, who were currently fighting Passing Monarch''s crew a short distance away, found themselves unable to use any of their Skills, Spells, and tools. "Not good! This is an AOE Silencing Skill! Everyone, quickly leave the Spell''s range!" Mad Beast, who was forced out of his Stealth state, shouted hurriedly. In God''s Domain, both ordinary players and expert players were heavily reliant on Skills and Spells in combat. Suddenly preventing them from using Skills and Spells was akin to robbing a tiger of its fangs and claws; their combat power would fall by more than half. However, even as Mad Beast''s words entered everyone''s ears, Shi Feng activated Silent Steps and appeared behind Identical Summer, using Chop to kill the latter instantly. At the same time, Shi Feng also switched the Aura of Time to the Aura of Fire and promptly cast Firestorm over Mad Beast. Scorching flames rose from the ground, killing more than 30 experts on the spot. Only those with quick reactions had managed to avoid the raging inferno in time. Following which, Shi Feng turned around and used Lighting Edge on the players assaulting Passing Monarch''s team. Unable to use any of their Skills, the players targeting Passing Monarch and the others fell helplessly to the innumerable arcs of lightning. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred players collapsed, weapons and equipment scattered around their bodies. Shi Feng turned the tables on Identical Summer''s group in an instant. Faced against expert players barred from using their Skills, Passing Monarch and the Third Fleet members possessed an overwhelming advantage. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had an even easier time slaughtering players. He was practically killing one player with each attack. By the time Identical Summer''s group had escaped Absolute Time''s effective range, less than 30 members remained alive. In contrast, not a single one had died on Passing Monarch''s side. "Is this his hidden trump card?" Hundred Leaves''s expression darkened considerably when she saw the livestream Scorpion sent her. 1243 Harvesting Equipmen Chapter 1243 - Harvesting Equipment After escaping Absolute Time''s effective area, the other fleets had less than 30 members alive. If they continued fighting Passing Monarch''s team of 90 players, there was no doubt that they would be annihilated. Right now, their only option was to flee. However, for Shi Feng, who greatly surpassed them in Basic Attributes, hunting them down was a piece of cake. While the sturdy Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors could endure a few hits, the other classes couldn''t even last a moment against Shi Feng''s swords; almost every time Shi Feng swung his blades, a player died. "What fast swordsmanship." Scorpion unconsciously gulped as he observed the battle from his distant hiding spot. Every one of Identical Summer''s survivors was incredibly powerful. They would definitely be considered top-class experts in any large Guild, yet not one of these experts had managed to block Shi Feng''s attacks. Watching from afar, it seemed as if these players'' reactions were slightly delayed, only lifting their weapons to block after Shi Feng''s swords had bit into them. As a peak Assassin, Scorpion knew very well that this result wasn''t due to these players being slow. Rather, Shi Feng''s attacks were simply too fast. However, the speed Shi Feng displayed was different from his previous fight against Mad Beast on Identical Summer''s Small Sailboat. Back then, Shi Feng''s speed had been the result of his high Attack Speed. His current speed, however, was due to his amazing reaction speed. It is fortunate that we didn''t try to ambush him before. The consequences would have been unimaginable. Scorpion was relieved when he thought back to how his party had prepared to ambush Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s extraordinary Basic Attributes made it impossible to fight him in a melee battle. One had to fight him from a distance. Mad Beast and the others'' decision to use Tier 2 Summoning Scrolls and Tier 2 Magic Scrolls was wise. Unfortunately, nobody could''ve expected that Shi Feng had saved an AOE Silencing Skill. This Skill instantly increased the difficulty of killing the Swordsman. Unless these players could surpass Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes and techniques, or surround him with a large group of peak experts with similar Basic Attributes, killing Shi Feng was practically impossible. "Scorpion, did you get a lock on him?" Hundred Leaves asked. "I''ve locked onto his soul. No matter where he goes, I''ll find him," Scorpion reported confidently after checking the tracking system. "Good. Continue keeping an eye on him and make sure you do not arouse any suspicion. Keep updating Uncle Li about his situation." Hundred Leaves smiled in satisfaction. Thanks to Identical Summer and the other fleets working together to deal with Shi Feng, Uncle Li and his team had a greater chance of killing him. An AOE Silence was indeed a troublesome Skill. However, if one knew about it beforehand, they could find a way to cope. "Commander, relax. He won''t discover me," Scorpion said, grinning. The Soul Lock Scroll kept a record of the aura released by the target''s soul, and it would not display any status effects on the targeted player. There was no way for the targeted player to find out that they were being tracked. While Scorpion had given his report, Shi Feng had finished with the reaming fleet experts. Corpses and items littered the sandy beach. "Big Brother Ye Feng, you are simply too amazing! Now that Identical Summer and the others have been annihilated, I want to see they try to stand in our way!" Reverence lit Blue Joy''s eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Whether it was the previous battle against Identical Summer''s fleet on the water or the current battle against the combined expert team the fleets had formed, Shi Feng had easily turned the tide of battle by himself. If this tale were retold, nobody would believe it. Shi Feng was practically a living myth. Although Identical Summer and the others would not lose an entire level from one or two deaths, players killed inside the secret land would drop a weapon or piece of equipment. The items Identical Summer and the others had donned the best items they had before the fight. It would be nearly impossible to find suitable replacements in a short time. They could only use their back-up items. This would significantly impact their combat powers. Worse, if they had not prepared any back-up items, their combat powers would fall even further. Identical Summer would have to think twice before picking a fight with them now. "Brother Ye Feng, before Identical Summer and the others hurry back, let''s use this opportunity to get out of here," Passing Monarch suggested. Players that died inside the secret land would automatically resurrect in the nearest Resurrection Temple. It would be very easy for Identical Summer and the others to regroup. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s AOE Silencing Skill was not without a Cooldown. If Identical Summer and the other surrounded them once again, their chances of victory would drop. "No. Let''s ambush them at the Resurrection Temple," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "If we leave for another cavern, by the time we get out, they will be prepared to take us on again. We have to strike while the iron is hot. We''ll ambush them before they can prepare. Once we cripple them, they''ll be powerless against us even after we obtain other Legacies." "This" Although Passing Monarch had considered the same option, they had only defeated Identical Summer and the others so easily due to Shi Feng''s AOE Silencing Skill. Without it, what were they going to use to ambush Identical Summer? "Relax. Take these. One for each person. When the time comes, throw them at my command." Shi Feng understood Passing Monarch''s concerns. Immediately, he retrieved the last 22 Basic Mana Pulse Bombs he had from his bag and handed them to Passing Monarch and his team. When Passing Monarch saw the Basic Mana Pulse Bomb, an excited expression appeared on his face. With so many of these bombs, they could even annihilate a 1,000-man team, much less Identical Summer and the others. Outside the Resurrection Temple, Identical Summer and the others have already begun to reorganize their team. "Damn it! I lost a pair of top-tier bracers! Just you wait! I''ll make sure you lose every item you have!" Identical Summer burned with rage. The first time Shi Feng had killed him, he had lost his top-tier pauldrons. Fortunately, he had a replacement in his bag. However, he did not have a back-up for his bracers. While Identical Summer and the others rested, someone shouted in the team chat. "Passing Monarch and the others are heading this way!" Everyone immediately searched their surroundings and quickly spotted Shi Feng charging towards them with Passing Monarch''s group. "Good! Good! Good! You dare to seek me out on your own!" Identical Summer''s blood rushed as he watched Shi Feng and his team run towards him. "Kill them all and take back our weapons and equipment!" The other experts excitedly expressed their agreement. Compared to the previous battle, they had even more motivation to wipe out Shi Feng and the others. Quickly, everyone too up their positions. The Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors moved forward, and the ranged players prepared for combat. As soon as Shi Feng and the others were within range, the opposing experts bombarded them with attacks. Unsatisfied with the situation, Identical Summer even activated a Tier 2 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. Boom Boom Boom A series of explosions shook the grotto, throwing dirt and dust into the air. "Identical Summer really is ruthless. He''s even used a large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. That should have mostly wiped out Passing Monarch and his men," Scorpion, who observed the battle from a distance, muttered. However, as soon as Scorpion had said so, a group of people burst forth from the dust clouds. These people were none other than Shi Feng and the Third Fleet. Every player was unharmed as Shi Feng''s Absolute Defense had absorbed all of the damage. With sufficient distance between the combatants, Shi Feng shouted, "Kill them!" Immediately, seven players tossed out the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs, the bombs'' radius enveloping Identical Summer''s joint team. Boom Boom Boom After a series of explosions, only weapons and equipment remained. "Second wave, get ready! Everyone else, deal with the survivors! Make sure you collect all of the dropped weapons and equipment!" Shi Feng commanded when he saw a few dozen people still alive. With Shi Feng''s command, Passing Monarch''s people set out to hunt down the survivors. Four players carrying Basic Mana Pulse Bombs charged into the Resurrection Temple, executing another round against the recently resurrected 1244 Shattering the Alliance Chapter 1244 - Shattering the Alliance The Resurrection Temple was not very large. Four or five Basic Mana Pulse Bombs were more than enough to cover the area. As a result, Identical Summer and the others died again and again. Although they had not lost any levels, they had each lost five or six weapons and pieces of equipment so far; that was practically half of their items. Needless to say, their combat powers had decreased tremendously. Despite their numerical advantage, they were no longer a threat to Passing Monarch''s fleet. "Passing Monarch, you''re going too far! At the end of the day, we are still members of the Freedom Alliance!" Identical Summer shouted at Passing Monarch and Shi Feng, who currently stood in the Resurrection Temple''s entrance. "Are you trying to make an enemy of all ten of our fleets?!" If these members were only from the Second and Fourth Fleets, Passing Monarch could pay them no heed. However, the players present included experts from every fleet, with the exception of Third. If Passing Monarch made enemies of all ten fleets, he couldn''t remain in the Freedom Alliance. The Freedom Alliance was comprised of the independent faction and the small Guild faction. Meanwhile. Passing Monarch had only risen to the third seat in the Alliance due to the support from the other independent adventurer fleets. If Passing Monarch lost that support, with his fleet''s current strength, he could easily be knocked down to the bottom of the Freedom Alliance. If Passing Monarch made enemies of everyone, he wouldn''t even receive scraps in the future. If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before Passing Monarch and his fleet were forced out of the Freedom Alliance. Passing Monarch''s expression darkened upon hearing this, glaring at Identical Summer. Although he was frustrated, he whispered to Shi Feng, suggesting, "Brother Ye Feng, if we continue this fight, every fleet here will become an enemy. If that happens, our future plans will be affected." Part of the reason that he had become the Third fleet''s commander was that he had worked with the other independent adventurer fleets during past city defenses. If he broke all pretenses with the other fleets here and were kicked out of their circle, it would become far more difficult to contest for the Freedom Alliance''s first seat in the future. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded. Seeing Passing Monarch and his people halt their attack, Identical Summer chuckled and said, "Monarch, it''s good that you are aware of the situation. Let''s forget about this matter altogether. However, you must return the items our member lost. After all, they were originally ours." He had suffered severe losses in this visit to the secret land. Not only had he lost his Small Sailboat, but he had also lost half of his equipment. His subordinates had suffered severe losses as well. Recovering from these battles would take a long time. With the situation now in his favor, he had to ask for the items back. "Identical Summer is too shameless! He clearly attacked us first! Now that he knows he can''t beat us, he''s using the masses to pressure us!" Blue Joy was furious. However, she was also powerless to do anything about Identical Summer''s shamelessness. As Passing Monarch hesitated over his decision, Shi Feng used Silent Steps and appeared behind Identical Summer once more, his Sacred Sword slashing down on the Elementalist. A streak of blue light bisected Identical Summer''s body. "You!" Only after Killing Ray had cut through his body did Identical Summer realized what had just occurred. He could not fathom why Shi Feng would dare to make an enemy of practically every fleet in the Freedom Alliance. Although Identical Summer wanted to say something, his vision had already darkened, and his body no longer reacted as it collapsed to the ground. Without hesitation, Shi Feng picked up the Dark-Gold staff the man had dropped. Everyone was stunned. Passing Monarch''s jaw hit the ground. Passing Monarch even wondered if Shi Feng had understood his prior words. "If you wish to leave this place, it is very simple. From now on, I''ll give you three minutes. After three minutes, the 50 players still standing in this Resurrection Temple may leave. You can keep your spoils of war. Any who linger best prepare themselves." Shi Feng warned, smiling as he glanced at every enemy expert. He then walked towards the temple''s entrance, checking the system clock. Identical Summer might know how to use the masses to his advantage, but the Elementalist was ten years too early if he thought he that he could use an unstable alliance like this against Shi Feng. "You''re looking to die! Don''t listen to him! He wouldn''t dare move against us!" Identical Summer, who just resurrected, shouted. However, as soon as Identical Summer finished speaking, another chaotic battle raged in the Resurrection Temple. There was no longer an alliance to speak of. Nobody present wished to lose the weapons and equipment they had struggled to obtain. Moreover, when they thought about Shi Feng''s demonic prowess, they stop caring about what was right or wrong. Finishing off the members of the other fleets was far more important right now. Watching everyone kill each other, Mad Beast turned to the slim Elementalist beside him and asked, "Saint, what should we do?" "Kill. We can''t bet our fate on that lunatic, hoping he''s not so bold as to provoke the other fleets," Frost Saint said, sighing. "Moreover, we can, more or less, make up for some of our losses in this slaughter." "Alright." Mad Beast licked his lips. Immediately, he joined the fray. As for making a break for the temple''s entrance, that was definitely not an option. Shi Feng instantly killed the few players that tried. He could only hope that Shi Feng would keep to his word. Time passed quickly. Everyone inside the Resurrection Temple grew frenzied as they slaughtered each other. As soon as a player died and resurrected, they rejoined the battle. Players died just as fast as they had against the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs. Watching the bloodbath, Passing Monarch and Blue Joy were shocked. When they looked at Shi Feng, who sat by the temple''s entrance, cold sweat dripped down their backs. They inwardly celebrated the fact that they stood on this man''s side. Otherwise, the consequences would be truly horrific. With just a few words, Shi Feng had shattered the ten fleets'' temporary alliance and turned them all against each other as he watched their strength wane. A demon! He was definitely a demon! After three minutes, silence descended upon the Resurrection Temple. Some rejoiced, while others despaired. Those who rejoiced stood in the center of the main hall. These people were the 50 survivors after the three minutes. As for those that resurrected after the time limit, they stood in the back of the temple, hatred shining in their eyes as they glared at the 50 survivors. "As promised, you may leave." Shi Feng addressed the victors. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, these people breathed a sigh of relief. Fearing that Shi Feng would change his mind, they dashed out of the Resurrection Temple. The remaining players were a miserable sight to behold due to the lost equipment and levels. Inside the secret land, players would lose 5% of their EXP each time they died. Even so, these players had lost more than one level. The majority of the items they currently wore were no more than temporary replacements. Some even wore Level 30 Bronze Equipment As these players watched Shi Feng approach, fear filled their eyes. They all regretted participating in this operation. "Aside from Identical Summer, everyone may leave after contributing a portion of your souls," Shi Feng announced after meeting each player''s eyes. Although they weren''t sure what Shi Feng intended, after hearing that they could leave this demon''s den, they agreed to his demands without hesitation. After all, a temporary Weakened state was far better than dying back to Level 0. "Just you wait! I will not let a single one of you get away!" Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Identical Summer''s expression twisted. He then logged out of the game, ignoring the severe penalty the system would impose as a result. Elsewhere, the other fleet commanders had received news of this situation, and every one of them was flabbergasted. 1245 Making Everyone an Enemy Chapter 1245 - Making Everyone an Enemy "Has Passing Monarch lost his mind? He actually dared to pull a coup?" Silent Entropy''s expression turned frosty as he listened to his subordinate''s report. Not only had the ten fleets'' various experts lost one or two levels each, but they had also lost the majority of their weapons and equipment. The loss was significant. Each fleet had entered the secret land with their top experts. Every piece of equipment they wore was considered top-tier at this stage of the game. They had invested a lot of time and effort to obtain these top-tier weapons and equipment. It would take a very long time for these experts to recover to their peak. It would''ve been fine if they had only lost one or two pieces of equipment. Now that they had lost more than half of what they owned, Passing Monarch had undoubtedly made enemies of the ten fleets. Although Silent Entropy admitted that turning the fleets against each other in the end had been ingenious, it was also a fact that none of the Freedom Alliance''s fleets would cooperate with Passing Monarch in the future. This would not benefit Passing Monarch when he competed for the Freedom Alliance''s first seat. Meanwhile, in the Resurrection Temple, everyone was shocked by Identical Summer''s ruthless action. "Identical Summer is quite bold. He actually dared to log out inside the secret land." "What''s so impressive about that? If it were up to me, I''d say that that monster is the amazing one. He had actually forced Identical Summer down this path. If I were in Identical Summer''s position, I probably would''ve done the same." "Now that Identical Summer has made such a decisive move, he will not let this matter rest until one of them has been destroyed." Everyone chatted quietly as they stared at Identical Summer''s previous location. They could not help but feel a chill crawl down their spines when they recalled the hatred and madness in Identical Summer''s eyes as he forcefully logged out of the game. In the outside world, if players forcefully logged out of the game, the system would impose a penalty, which was slightly more severe than the usual death penalty. If one did the same thing inside the secret land, the penalty would multiply by several times. Players would also be barred from logging into God''s Domain for a considerable amount of time. At this stage, even losing one level would drive a player mad. If they forcefully logged out inside the secret land, not only would they lose multiple levels, but they would also lose several items. That was on top of being barred from logging in for some time. No one would be so bold as to accept such a penalty willingly. However, Identical Summer had no other choice. After all, the system''s penalty was slightly less damaging than staying. On the top floor of the Ferris Skyscraper, the cover of a virtual gaming cabin slowly opened. Once the cabin opened fully, a man climbed out. The man wore a grim expression, his chilling gaze forcing a shudder from anyone it fell upon. This man was Xia Tianqi. He was also known as Identical Summer, the commander of the Freedom Alliance''s Second Fleet. Nobody would''ve ever imagined that the commander of Second Fleet was actually the young master of the Xia Corporation. Although the Xia Group was not a powerful international corporation, it was one of the country''s first-rate corporations. "Passing Monarch! And that damnable brat as well! I won''t let either of them off the hook!" Xia Tianqi slammed his palm on the wooden desk before him in rage, shattering the desk. The strength he displayed was not one bit inferior to a professional fighter''s. Immediately, he tapped the quantum watch on his wrist and called a particular number, "Hello? Viper? Look into two people for me. Both are God''s Domain players. I''ll send the information I have on them to you in a moment. If you help me discover their true identities, there will be no lack of benefits." "Young Master Xia, what a rare occurrence! Since you''ve made the request, I''ll get it done right away. Rest assured; no one can hide from me," the person called Viper responded, laughing. Nodding, Xia Tianqi disconnected the call. He revealed a sinister grin. "Just you wait. Anyone who dares to oppose me will not find a pleasant ending." Xia Tianqi laughed. Although the Main God System protected every player''s information, and players normally modified their appearances, making it very difficult to learn their true identities, Xia Tianqi rather trusted Viper''s capabilities. After all, this was not the first time Viper had completed such a task. Meanwhile, inside the Resurrection Temple, Shi Feng collected one soul after another. With the number of players present, he could collect enough to produce three drops of Soul Water, and he planned to stockpile the Soul Water for learning the Secret Body Technique. The Secret Spellcasting Technique he had previously obtained catered mainly to magical class players. To Shi Feng, the Secret Technique was negligible. However, the Secret Body Technique was suitable for all players. Since he didn''t need to share the slots this time, he had to prepare more Soul Water. He was currently in Sea''s End. He had also hidden his identity under his Black Cloak. Aside from Passing Monarch and a few other trusted players, nobody knew his exact identity. Unlike in the Star-Moon Kingdom, he did not have to worry about implicating Zero Wing. Right now, the most he had to worry about was an ambush from Dark Players. Shi Feng quickly collected over 300 souls, producing three drops of Soul Water in the Soul Orb. Now that I don''t have to worry about exposing my identity in Sea''s End, I can use this opportunity to collect more Soul Water. Many ideas swam in Shi Feng''s mind as he gazed at the Soul Orb in his bag. In the past, the Flower of Seven Sins had made a fortune with the Soul Orb. With it, the organization had nurtured plenty of peak experts. With no concerns to hold him back, he needed to use this opportunity to collect Soul Water. It''d be very difficult to obtain once he returned to Star-Moon Kingdom. After obtaining the Soul Water, Shi Feng led Passing Monarch and the others to another grotto to search for Legacies. Aside from the grotto that contained the Sea God''s Legacy, there were twelve grottos in the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land. Among them, the entrance to three grottos had a diameter of 50 yards. The Legacies in these grottos was only second to the Sea God''s Legacy. With two Small Sailboats, it would be a piece of cake for Shi Feng''s group to obtain a Legacy from one of the 50-yard grottos. Without suspense, Shi Feng helped Passing Monarch obtain a Legacy in their ninth hour in the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land. This time, however, there were no other fleets to contest for the Legacy, and everything went relatively smoothly. "Commander, Passing Monarch''s fleet has returned to the starting point. By the looks of it, they seem to have obtained another Legacy and are preparing to leave," Scorpion, who hid at the starting point, reported when he saw Shi Feng''s group approach. "Good. Uncle Li and the others are already outside. You should take off, too," Hundred Leaves said, nodding. She had waited for this moment for a long time. Although the Legacy items weren''t guaranteed to drop upon death, Uncle Li was a Dark Player. He had tools and methods of increasing the drop rate for players he killed. As long as Shi Feng did not store the Sea God''s Legacy in his warehouse, it would only take a few extra kills before they obtained the Legacy. For now, she needed to regroup with Uncle Li''s team. Once Uncle Li killed Shi Feng, since she was on the same team, she would complete the Demon God''s quest. As long as she obtained both the Sea God''s Legacy and the Demon God''s reward, the Freedom Alliance''s first seat was hers for the taking. After that, she would gradually take control of the] Freedom Alliance and rule over the three major NPC cities. Every one of Sea''s End''s twelve major NPC cities had a larger population than any land kingdom''s capital city. The player population of Heavenly Ocean City, in particular, could rival an empire''s imperial capital. At the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land''s entrance, after Shi Feng stored the two Small Sailboats, he followed Passing Monarch and the others into the Teleportation Magic Array. - System: Do you wish to leave the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land? - Shi Feng chose "Yes" without hesitation. Immediately, a beam of white light descended upon him. He then vanished from the secret land. Shortly after, Shi Feng returned to Blue Jade Restaurant''s top-floor hall. However, more players were present than before. Every player was a member of one of the Freedom Alliance''s fleets. They all stared at Shi Feng and Passing Monarch with looks that could kill. 1246 Miniature Holy Land Chapter 1246 - Miniature Holy Land "Why are so many people here?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he looked around. "They''re not thinking of taking action here, right?" He was not surprised by the hostile gazes he received from the various fleets. What Shi Feng found odd was the fact that so many players had gathered in the hall. At a glance, he could see at least 2,000 people, taking up nearly half of the entire hall. They were currently in an NPC city. Attacking another player here would be detrimental unless these players were absolutely confident of escaping the NPC guards. The arrest of so many members would definitely wound the various fleets. "That''s not it. They''re just following routine," Passing Monarch said, shaking his head. He then explained, "Whenever we come out from the secret land, we reorganize the distribution of resources the Freedom Alliance controls based on our performance and gains in the secret land. "Although, the redistribution of resources isn''t as drastic as when our rankings change. Based on our rank in the secret land, we are assigned different leveling resources. For example, previously, the Third Fleet was only able to grind in Locke''s Cemetery and Black Altar. Since the Third Fleet has come out on top this time, we might get assigned to the Silent Lumberyard and Stormwind Shelter to level up. "You''re seeing so many members of the various fleets present right now simply because the party leaders of the various fleets are interested to know which leveling maps they''ll be assigned to this time." As Passing Monarch spoke, his eyes shone with excitement. Obtaining a Legacy was only part of the reason that Passing Monarch had recruited Shi Feng''s help. The main motivation was to obtain better leveling resources for his fleet. In God''s Domain, it was common knowledge that an area''s resources were limited. This was the case in every virtual reality game. Whether it was Guilds or organizations such as the Freedom Alliance, due to such high member counts, they could not allow all their members level up in a single area. Otherwise, the amount of resources each member could obtain would be pitiful. Hence, it was necessary to assign the various fleets in the Freedom Alliance to different leveling areas. In high-resource maps, not only were there plenty of Field Bosses, but there were also plenty of advanced and rare quests. The same was true for Treasure Chests. If the Third Fleet were assigned to one such high-resource map, it would ease in their struggle for the position of First Fleet. Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he heard Passing Monarch''s reasoning. He finally understood why these people gave them hostile looks. These players'' hostility was likely due to more than just the lost top-tier weapons and equipment. The significant effect on their leveling spots was the main reason for their anger. "The Freedom Alliance controls Stormwind Shelter as well?" Shi Feng could not help but ask as he recalled a particular matter. In the past, as the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, his access to information even surpassed that of peak experts. Although his knowledge was mostly limited to Star-Moon Kingdom, he was familiar with plenty of famous locations and incidents relating to the various kingdoms and empires in the game. On average, the Lifestyle players in Sea''s End were no match for those on land. However, they would catch up eventually. While they would do so due to the development of naval transportation, the dozen or so miniature holy lands in Sea''s End had a greater impact. Stormwind Shelter was one of these holy lands. Only, in the past, the Freedom Alliance hadn''t controlled Stormwind Shelter. Instead, it had been controlled by the House of Seas. "Mhm. Stormwind Shelter is a new, high-resource map the Freedom Alliance recently occupied. Previously, only the First Fleet''s members got to level up there. I heard that there are plenty of rare quests in the area and that it is even possible to obtain Bronze Speedboats through those quests. Moreover, the map has roughly triple the Field Bosses of Locke''s Cemetery. It''s currently the best leveling map the Freedom Alliance has. It is also much easier to obtain top-tier weapons and equipment there." Passing Monarch nodded in excitement. "So, that''s the case," Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. "If Brother Monarch''s fleet gets to grind there, I''d like to ask for a little help. I am willing to offer you 10,000 Gold as compensation." "Ten thousand Gold?!" Passing Monarch nearly jumped when he heard this. "Brother Ye Feng, you''re joking, right?!" He was the Third Fleet''s commander; he had tens of thousands of subordinates. He received 20% of Blue Jade City''s profits, yet even he couldn''t collect 10,000 Gold with a moment''s notice. His fleet member''s repair fees alone cost tons. He also needed to compensate the members who suffered losses during their struggle with the other naval powers. At the same time, he needed to visit other kingdoms and empires to purchase rare tools for exploring the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land and raiding Bosses. Currently, he had less than 10,000 Gold on hand. If Shi Feng truly gave him 10,000 Gold, he would have enough to purchase quite a few advanced speedboats, restoring the Third Fleet''s strength quickly. "That''s right, 10,000 Gold. However, this matter must first be done the payment. I will only pay a deposit of 500 Gold," Shi Feng said, nodding. "That won''t be a problem. If it is possible to accomplish, I''ll give it my all." Passing Monarch agreed without hesitation, deeply afraid that Shi Feng would change his mind. At this moment, his eyes glowed with excitement. "My request is very simple. If Stormwind Shelter falls under your control, I want Stormwind Town''s Stormwind Emblem," Shi Feng said, chuckling. The NPC towns within Sea''s End were different from those on land. Rather, they were somewhat similar to Thunder Island. The higher a player''s status was in a town, the more authority they would possess there. Only, unlike the Thunder Emblem, where only ten existed, there was no limit to the number of Stormwind Emblems one could obtain. The only real limit was its abysmally low drop-rate. As long as a player obtained a Stormwind Emblem, they would be granted authority over Stormwind Town, capable of performing acts that normal players could not. There would be no need for players to accumulate Reputation Points gradually to increase their authority. "The Stormwind Emblem?" Passing Monarch pondered. Although he had never leveled in Stormwind Shelter before, if he assumed control over the Stormwind Shelter, according to the Freedom Alliance''s rules, the First Fleet''s members would have to hand over the town emblems to him, allowing him to manage the area''s town. Giving away one of those emblems wouldn''t affect his operations in any way. At most, he simply needed to use the emblems he obtained to compensate for the missing one. "Alright, that won''t be a problem. I''ll get it done as soon as possible." Following which, Shi Feng signed a new contract with Passing Monarch and paid 500 Gold upfront. Time passed quickly. While Shi Feng and Passing Monarch waited for the secret land expedition to end and the map redistribution to be announced, six cloaked players stared at Shi Feng from a corner. "Scorpion, is he the one Leaves spoke about?" a middle-aged man sporting a gray beard and two snow-white daggers sheathed by his sides asked as he glanced at an empty corner. "That''s right. He is the one the commander wants dead. Here is the latest information we have on him," Scorpion, who was in Stealth, responded respectfully. When one spoke about the strongest player in the Sacred Temple, they didn''t talk about Uncle Li. However, when it came to assassination, Uncle Li was the most powerful. Even the Sacred Temple''s Guild Leader had declared that there was a 50% chance of him losing his life if Uncle Li wanted to assassinate him. While a 50% success rate might not seem very high, that was against the Sacred Temple''s Guild Leader. Throughout the virtual gaming world, very few could boast such a high success rate. "What an interesting little fellow." Uncle Li caressed his beard as he watched Shi Feng''s battle video. "It is too much of a waste to fight him right now. Forget it. Scorpion, go and get ready." "Understood!" Scorpion nodded hurriedly before departing. 1247 Receiving the Holy Land Chapter 1247 - Receiving the Holy Land After Scorpion left, the middle-aged man called Uncle Li shifted his gaze towards the Ranger beside him. The Ranger carried a gray, double-string bow on his back. Although the Ranger hid his appearance under a Black Cloak, his large stature made it difficult for others to miss him. If not for the ancient bow, most would assume that he was a Shield Warrior or Guardian Knight. "Ghost, when the time comes, you''ll strike first. Remember to use all of your Black Arrows," Uncle Li said in a deep tone. "I know you''re normally very stingy, but we cannot afford to be careless this time." "Uncle Li, I still have four Black Arrows on me. Are we really going to use all four on that kid?" the Ranger, Hungry Ghost, asked reluctantly. The Black Arrows were not your ordinary arrows. They had been passed down from ancient times, and each possessed the power to rival Tier 4 Skills. Current players and NPCs had no way of reproducing them, so each arrow used depleted the finite number in God''s Domain. One could only obtain more Black Arrows by raiding ancient ruins. "Yes. We''ll need at least that many to take him down," Uncle Li said as he glanced at Shi Feng, who sat quietly across the room. Smiling, he continued, "Although he has yet to achieve a Domain as Hundred Leaves said, he is not far from it, either. With his frightening Basic Attributes and powerful Skills, killing him will be slightly more difficult than killing actual Domain Realm experts." "No wonder why Hundred Leaves requested assistance from the Guild Leader. I guess I can use him as a guinea pig." Hungry Ghost''s interest grew upon hearing Uncle Li''s explanation. "He clearly hasn''t reached the Domain Realm, yet, he''s even more difficult to kill than Domain Realm experts?" a petite female Elementalist beside Uncle Li muttered as she followed his gaze to Shi Feng. Licking her lips, she continued, "In that case, he should have quite a few Epic Weapons and Equipment on him. We should be able to make a fortune." "Uncle Li, seeing as you''ve appraised him so generously, are you thinking of making a move personally this time?" a Shield Warrior asked excitedly. Every time Uncle Li made a move, they learned a lot from him. Unfortunately, very few assassinations required Uncle Li''s involvement. The other members of the team were usually enough for the job. If Uncle Li really joined the fight, their long trip here would be worth it. "Mhm. Although you have a high chance of killing him if you all work together, this mission is very important. To make sure we complete the mission, I will have to take action as well." Uncle Li nodded. Hearing that Uncle Li intended to join the fight, the team members turned to Shi Feng, pity in their eyes. If only they, Uncle Li''s subordinates, struck, Shi Feng would have some chance of surviving. However, if Uncle Li took action, then Shi Feng had no hope whatsoever. While Uncle Li''s team chatted amongst themselves, more players joined the gathering in the hall; some arrived from the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land, while others came from elsewhere. By the time the Sea Dragon''s Secret Land closed, the hall was packed with players. As expected of one of Sea''s End''s overlords. Its foundation is incredible. Shi Feng was a little surprised as he surveyed the room. Among the players present, the lowest was Level 42. As for the weapons and equipment they wore, the most inferior was Level 40 Fine-Gold rank. There were over 2,500 such players. Even a first-rate Guild didn''t have these bragging rights. It was not hard to imagine how the Freedom Alliance had become one of the naval overlords in Shi Feng''s previous life. God''s Domain was still in its early stages, yet already the Freedom Alliance was so strong. With the assistance of the three major NPC cities the Freedom Alliance controlled, first-rate Guilds couldn''t compare to its income or number of players it could recruit. As Shi Feng silently observed his surroundings, the clamor quieted. In the next moment, Silent Entropy, the First Fleet''s commander, slowly walked up the stage in the center of the hall. "Now that everyone is here, let us begin." Loudly, Silent Entropy continued, "According to the rules, we will reorganize the leveling maps for each fleet based on their performances and losses in the secret land. I''ll announce the results now." The present Freedom Alliance members were tense. Although the Alliance''s leveling areas were all high-resource maps, there were also huge differences between them. "I''m sure everyone already knows this, but the fleet with the best performance this time is our Third Fleet. Hence, from today on, Third Fleet will take over Stormwind Shelter and Silent Lumberyard." "Placing in second is the Eighth Fleet. It will take over the Silent Canyon and Reef Sea." "First Fleet came in third. It will occupy the Black Altar and Locke''s Cemetery." As Silent Entropy announced the various fleets'' ranks, silence reigned over the hall. Nobody could''ve imagined such a massive transformation. While everyone already knew that the Third Fleet had placed first this time, the fact that the Eighth Fleet had placed second came as a big surprise. Meanwhile, the Third Fleet''s members were ecstatic. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief as well. With this, his plans could come to fruition. In the past, Stormwind Shelter had become a miniature holy land due to the Sea God''s Temple in Stormwind Town. Like the War God''s Temples on land, the Sea God''s Temples offered various quests. At the same time, players could accumulate points with the Sea God''s Temple and trade them for items. However, the Sea God''s Temple in Stormwind Town was slightly special. Not only could players trade their points for rare items, but they could also trade for Laboratories. To combat players, the Laboratory wasn''t worth anything. To Lifestyle players, however, it was a treasure that allowed them to improve rapidly. Although the Sea God''s Temple''s Laboratories could not compare to Titan City''s Research Rooms, they were superior to the Basic Meditation Rooms in a 3-star Shop. Although Laboratories contained dense Mana, players could also research information about the various Lifestyle classes. Although the information available was basic, it saved Lifestyle players time as they didn''t have to rely on trial and error. They could rapidly familiarize themselves with the various materials and production methods available in God''s Domain. They could then create new products more easily and become Master Lifestyle players. In the past, it was precisely because of these Laboratories that the ranks of Sea''s End''s Lifestyle players had skyrocketed, eventually catching up with Lifestyle players on land. However, although the Laboratories offered many benefits, they were not easy to enter. Players needed to spend Sea God''s Temple Points to gain access. Moreover, the price was fraudulent. One day inside a Laboratory cost 100 points. Sea God''s Temple Points were harder to obtain than Coins. Normally, one could only obtain them by completing the Sea God''s Temple''s quests. Players also had the option of trading in rare items such as the Runic Crystals, with each worth 10 points. Unfortunately, Runic Crystals'' drop rate was extremely low. Normally, only Boss-grade sea monsters had a reliable chance of dropping them. Yet, renting a Laboratory for a day cost ten Runic Crystals. Hence, very few Lifestyle players could afford to use them. Of course, as players'' level increased and the supply of Runic Crystals became more abundant, more Lifestyle players could gain access. However, that wouldn''t happen for quite some time. However, Shi Feng possessed the Philosopher''s Stone. As long as he collected enough Runic Fragments, he could easily synthesize Runic Crystals. Moreover, if he had the Stormwind Emblem, it would grant him advanced authority in Stormwind Town. With that, he would receive a 20% discount when trading for items or services in the town''s Sea God''s Temple. Most importantly, he could purchase Stormwind Town''s Land. With all of these factors in hand, growing the Candlelight Trading Firm would be easy. "Commander, now that Passing Monarch has taken over Stormwind Shelter, this will impact our ability to contest for the first seat. Should we cause some trouble for Passing Monarch?" a cloaked Oracle asked Silent Entropy quietly. "No need. Even without our involvement, Passing Monarch will face plenty of challenges from Stormwind Shelter. With the strength of Passing Monarch''s fleet, just holding the area will be difficult. We don''t need to waste our manpower on this. Locating other leveling spots right now takes priority," Silent Entropy said, chuckling as he glanced at Passing Monarch and Shi Feng. Although the Stormwind Shelter was the best leveling spot the Freedom Alliance currently possessed, various other powers fought over the map. Keeping these other powers at bay would require a lot of manpower and resources. In his opinion, handing over Stormwind Shelter to Passing Monarch wouldn''t strengthen the Third Fleet, but weaken it. "Commander, should we still give the Stormwind Emblems to Passing Monarch, then?" 1248 Shop Expansion Chapter 1248 - Shop Expansion "The Stormwind Emblems?" Silent Entropy frowned. He then asked, "Shephard, how many emblems do we have right now?" Town emblems were extremely rare. Although they could not be used to take full control of a town, they did make it easier for players to pick up quests and develop in the area. With Stormwind Shelter being a high-resource map, the Stormwind Emblem''s value went without saying. It could even rival an Epic item. "Two," the Oracle named Shepard answered softly. "Only two? Why do we have so few?" Silent Entropy could not help but grow curious. "Haven''t we been exploring Stormwind Shelter?" Normally, when they explored a new map, they easily obtained eight or nine town emblems, even more if they were lucky. The First Fleet had put everything they had into exploring the area. It was inconceivable that they had only obtained two Stormwind Emblems so far. "Commander, Stormwind Shelter is different. In other maps, the first kill of Boss-grade sea monsters has a higher chance of dropping town emblems, but the Bosses in Stormwind Shelter have an extremely low drop-rate. Thus far, we''ve obtained the First Kill of more than 20 Field Bosses. We have also been farming the map''s monsters. Even then, we have only obtained two emblems so far." "The drop-rate is that low?" Silent Entropy was surprised when he heard Shepard''s explanation. "It seems the Stormwind Emblem is worth quite a lot. However, if we don''t hand them over to Passing Monarch, he will leverage the Alliance''s rules against us. Let''s do this, then. Give him one of the emblems. While you''re at it, tell him about the low drop-rate, lest he comes looking for trouble." "Understood." Shepard bowed before leaving. Meanwhile, as the various fleets conducted the handover process for their respective leveling spots, Shi Feng, sitting quietly in a corner, received a message from Melancholic Smile. The contents were very simple. At this point, the Secret Pavilion had handed over the 20 plots of Land they had previously agreed upon, and they could reconstruct the buildings on these Lands into the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Shops and begin purchasing Diamond Wood. The only thing holding them back was the lack of reconstruction funds. As they intended to purchase and stockpile Diamond Wood, they needed a very large warehouse to store it. Hence, they needed to construct the best Shop available. Calculating conservatively, they would need to spend 1,000 Gold on each plot of Land; 20,000 Gold in total. Even Shi Feng couldn''t collect that much money at a moment''s notice. After paying Sherlyn the 5,000-Gold inquiry fee, he had a little over 10,000 Gold left on him. After receiving a portion of White River City''s teleportation house profits, he now had 12,114 Gold in total. Even if he emptied his wallet, he would not have enough to reconstruct the Shops, much less purchase Diamond Wood in bulk. Most importantly, he had already signed a contract with Passing Monarch. As long as the latter gave him the Stormwind Emblem, he would pay 10,000 Gold. Once this sum was paid, he would only have around 2,000 Gold left Considering his financial status, Shi Feng''s stomach cramped. Passing Monarch approached quietly, excitement and joy plastered across his face. "Brother Ye Feng, here is the Stormwind Emblem you requested. Don''t lose it. For some reason, the emblem''s drop rate in Stormwind Shelter is extremely low. I only have one. Replacing this will be very difficult," Passing Monarch warned his companion softly. He then traded the Stormwind Emblem to Shi Feng. - [Stormwind Emblem] Once equipped, player will enjoy advanced authority in Stormwind Town. - "I''ll be careful." Shi Feng nodded as he stored the emblem. The Stormwind Emblem''s rarity didn''t surprise him in the least. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have offered to buy it for 10,000 Gold. In the past, many people had offered to purchase the Stormwind Emblem, and their starting bids were usually above 20,000. The emblem was far more valuable than Epic items. However, even at that price, players rarely sold their emblems due to the abysmal drop-rate. Aside from the higher drop-rate for a first kill, subsequent Field Boss kills had a drop-rate of roughly 0.1%. On average, the map only produced one Stormwind Emblem per month. As a result, Lifestyle players had no choice but to invest a large amount of time, slowly raising their Reputation and authority in Stormwind Town. Currently, Stormwind Shelter was still in its exploration period as it was a large Level 40 to 65 map. This increased the Stormwind Emblem''s value further. After all, the sooner one obtained the Stormwind Emblem, the sooner they could truly garrison themselves in Stormwind Town. If Shi Feng headed out to farm the Stormwind Emblem himself, even if he relied on Divine Providence, he would likely need to spend two or three days grinding. This was the best-case scenario. At this point, the various naval powers had likely monopolized the majority of Stormwind Shelter''s Field Bosses. He would be lucky if he even got his hands on a handful of Bosses. If that were the case, he would have to waste even more time grinding in Stormwind Shelter. Hence, the 10,000 Gold he spent to obtain the Stormwind Emblem was a worthwhile expenditure. Following which, Shi Feng handed over the remaining 9,500 Gold to Passing Monarch, completing the contract between them. After receiving the Coins, Passing Monarch sincerely offered, "Brother Ye Feng, why don''t you join us in the grind in Stormwind Shelter? I''ve recently received some information on the map from Silent Entropy. We''ll split the loot from the Bosses we kill. You''ll also have priority over Swordsman equipment. How about it?" Hearing this, Blue Joy, who stood beside Passing Monarch, gaped in shock. She had never expected Passing Monarch to extend such generosity to Shi Feng. Normally, the most he offered peak experts in Sea''s End was first pick of one weapon or piece of equipment, yet he had just offered to split the loot equally. Moreover, he intended to give Shi Feng first pick! If news of this spread, it would shock every player in Sea''s End. However, after considering it for a moment, Blue Joy wasn''t terribly surprised. Passing Monarch wouldn''t be so generous to just any peak expert. Shi Feng was an exception simply because they had already witnessed his strength. With Shi Feng''s aid, they could take on even more powerful Bosses. Although they would only be obtaining half of theses Bosses'' loot, their harvest would likely be more abundant than monopolizing the weaker Bosses'' loot. "Thanks for the offer, but I still have many matters to attend to," Shi Feng rejected the kind offer. "We''ll raid Bosses together if there is another chance in the future." While killing powerful Boss-grade sea monsters was very profitable, he was the leader of a Guild. There were many matters that required his attention. If a Guild wished to grow powerful, it needed to be managed carefully. Zero Wing would not grow stronger if he neglected his responsibilities as the Guild Leader. If something like that were possible, so many Guilds wouldn''t vanish each day. Blue Joy was slightly disappointed by the Swordsman''s response. However, she knew it was reasonable. Shi Feng was both a powerful expert and a member of Zero Wing. How could he possibly spare the time to level with them? "What a pity. Until next time, then. During the next contest for the seating positions, we''ll have to trouble you again," Passing Monarch said, sighing. Following which, Shi Feng said his goodbyes to Passing Monarch and the others before leaving the Blue Jade Restaurant and hurrying to Stormwind Shelter. As soon as Shi Feng left the restaurant, Scorpion, who had hidden in the alleyway beside the building, followed after him. "Uncle Li, the target has left Blue Jade Restaurant. By the looks of it, he seems to be heading to the Teleportation Hall to leave Blue Jade City," Scorpion reported as he followed Shi Feng. "What a busy man. Follow him. The moment he steps out of an NPC city will be the moment he loses his life," Uncle Li said, chuckling. It was unwise to attack another player in an NPC city. Although the security in Sea''s End''s NPC cities was not as strict as the cities on land, it could not be underestimated. Against an expert like Shi Feng, in particular, they needed a more suitable environment. "Understood!" Scorpion then quickly followed Shi Feng into the Teleportation Hall. 1249 Nameless Shop Chapter 1249 - Nameless Shop As a golden glow rose from the teleportation array, Shi Feng disappeared from Blue Jade City to arrive in Stormwind Town. Stormwind Town was the only safe location within Stormwind Shelter. While it was called a town, it was not one bit inferior to the NPC cities in Star-Moon Kingdom with a player population of 500,000 or so. Moreover, the NPC guards garrisoned here were all Level 120 and above. The town''s security was only second to Sea''s End''s twelve major cities. Not many have come here to level up yet. Shi Feng examined his surroundings after leaving the Teleportation Hall. He saw fewer players on the street than NPCs. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found the situation reasonable. After all, Stormwind Shelter was a Level 40 to Level 65 map. At this stage of the game, only a minority of players were capable of reaching past Level 40. Even if players in Sea''s End leveled up more quickly than those on land, there shouldn''t be too many players capable of reaching Level 40 and beyond. Not to mention, Stormwind Shelter was far more dangerous compared to maps of similar levels. As a result, fewer players were willing to visit this place. In fact, Stormwind Town possessed such high-level NPC guards due to the dangerous environment. Not only did players have to watch out for sea monsters when they left the town''s protection, but they also had to be wary of Sahuagin ambushes. Stormwind Shelter was home to the foreign race known as Sahuagins. Leveling here was at least twice as challenging as in similar maps. Even if elite players from Sea''s End formed a team, they would find it very difficult to survive here. A team would need expert leads at the very least. This was because Sahagins were not stupid like sea monsters. They were capable of jumping onto players'' ships to engage in melee combat. At the same time, they would command sea monsters to attack ships, attacking players from all sides. As a result, players seeking to level in Stormwind Shelter needed high-quality ships and high combat standards. This was a trial for those living in Sea''s End. Although very few players currently resided in Stormwind Town, correspondingly, players who had consistently grinded in Stormwind Shelter were stronger on average. Most of the players around town were Level 41, with many having already reached Level 42. In Star-Moon Kingdom, only experts were Level 40 or higher As for the weapons and equipment Stormwind Town''s players wore, even the most inferior was Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment. "Forming a team to grind in Corrosive Cave! I already have an advanced speedboat! Applicants must be Level 41 or above and must have at least four pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment!" "One-day trip to Sahuagin''s Nest! Only recruiting Level 41 and above experts! Must have six pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment! Those with Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons get priority! We''ll hold an internal auction for any loot!" As soon as Shi Feng stepped onto the main street, he was greeted by the sight of players attempting to recruit team members. Their minimum requirements were astounding. However, Shi Feng paid little attention to these players as his goal was in the business district by the town''s main entrance. The business district was Stormwind Town''s most lively location. The players there were preoccupied with setting up stalls and selling wares. "Selling this Fine-Gold ranked Blast Bow at a low price! Interested buyers come quickly!" "Selling Sahuagin''s Journals, 12 Silver per page! Want to complete the quest? Don''t miss out on this opportunity!" "Purchasing Silver Tears for 3 Silver each! Only purchasing 100 drops!" Unlike in Star-Moon Kingdom, players residing in Sea''s End''s towns would not sell their items at the Auction House. Instead, they set up stalls in their respective business districts. There were two main reasons for this. The first was that Auction Houses were only available in the twelve major cities. Due to the large distance between each island, teleportations fees were exorbitant. For example, it cost Shi Feng 52 Silver to teleport from Blue Jade City to Stormwind Town. Normally, players would teleport to District town, rather than Stormwind Town, crossing the remaining distance on their speedboats. Although this path took a lot of time, it was much cheaper to teleport to District Town. The second reason was that fees in Sea''s End''s Auction House were much higher than on land; the fee was roughly 20% of the item''s total value. It was a fraudulent amount. However, one had to admit that the services one obtained in return for such an exorbitant fee were worthwhile. When using one of Sea''s End''s Auction Houses, a player''s item would display in all twelve major cities. One would not have to worry about their items not selling. However, for mundane, low-value items, players generally had to rely on their own stalls. Either that, or they would accumulate those items for some time before selling them in bulk in an Auction House. Very quickly, Shi Feng arrived before an NPC grocery store in the business district. "Dear customer, may I know what you are looking for? Our Shop offers a wide range of fine products at affordable prices," the shopkeeper, a chubby, middle-aged man with a short beard, said as he greeted Shi Feng. "I''d like to rent your Shop," Shi Feng announced, wearing the Stormwind Emblem. He had already inspected the business district and was rather fond of this grocery store''s location. Using it as a secret Shop for the Candlelight Trading Firm would be ideal. Although he preferred to purchase the Shop, he didn''t have much money to spare at the moment. Hence, he settled with renting the Shop for now. Unlike in Star-Moon Kingdom, players did not have to negotiate with the Town Hall to purchase town Shops in Sea''s End. Players simply needed to negotiate a price with the Shop owner. Of course, players had to possess sufficient authority within the town as a precondition. Even renting a Shop required a certain level of authority. However, while renting a Shop was much cheaper than outright buying one, there were two risks to consider. The first risk was that Shops were rented to the highest bidder. Once a Shop''s rental period ended, players would have to outbid each other if more than one wanted the Shop. The other risk was that, if another player bought the Shop while it was being rented, the tenant would be deprived of their ownership once the rental period ended. Hence, renting was only a temporary solution. When taking long-term profits into account, it was better to purchase a Shop. "Dear customer, you have good eyes! Our Shop has existed for more than a hundred years. We also have the best location in town. As you are a valued guest, I can offer you a 10% discount. You can rent this Shop for 900 Gold per month," the shopkeeper said, joy lighting up his eyes as he rubbed his hands together. "Alright, I''ll rent a month." Shi Feng was slightly astonished when he heard this price. However, it was reasonable as this would become a miniature holy land in the future. The price to purchase the Shop was certainly ten times higher than the rental fee. Following which, Shi Feng paid the 900 Gold and obtained the lease for the grocery store. Shi Feng had no intentions of refurbishing the Shop, and he didn''t intend to replace its staff. He simply hung a signboard beside the Shop''s entrance. Our shop is purchasing Runic Fragments in bulk for 5 Silver Coins per stack! We are only purchasing a limited number each day! Although it was only a small, wooden signboard, when the passersby saw it, they were stunned. "Crap; am I hallucinating? An NPC is actually purchasing Runic Fragments for 5 Silver Coins per stack?!" "Did the House of Seas open this shop?" "Hahaha! Wonderful! I was just thinking of returning to a city to sell my Fragments to the House of Seas. Although the price is slightly lower here, if I sell my stock, I can save on teleportation fees!" Many players grew ecstatic as they looked at the two-story-tall grocery shop. Throughout Sea''s End, only the House of Seas'' Shops purchased Runic Fragments in bulk for a high price. No one else dared to do so. As for NPCs, they only purchased Runic Fragments for 40 Copper per stack. Rather than selling Runic Fragments to NPCs, players made more profit by stocking up and looking for an NPC Master Alchemist to synthesize Runic Crystals. Although the synthesis success rate was only 10%, the synthesized Runic Crystals sold for at least 10 Silver each. If one were lucky, they could get one Runic Crystal for every five Runic Fragment stacks. It was the equivalent of selling Fragments for 2 Silver per stack. Unfortunately, raising one''s Favorability with an NPC Master Alchemist was somewhat difficult. Synthesizing Runic Crystals also cost time and money. As a result, ordinary players rarely choose this option. Hence, now that an NPC Shop wanted to purchase Runic Fragments at 5 Silver per stack, why wouldn''t they be excited? This was a great opportunity for them to make a fortune! Immediately, players swarmed the grocery store, dashing straight towards the NPC staffs manning the Shop and tapping open their trade windows. Initially, these players placed one stack in the trade window. After confirming that the purchase price was indeed 5 Silver per stack, they placed every Runic Fragment they had into the window and clicked ''Trade.'' The entire process as smoothly as flowing water. These players'' trades were far faster and more accurate than dodging Boss monsters'' attacks. In the blink of an eye, the grocery store had purchased over 200 stacks of Runic Fragments. Meanwhile, the 1,000 Gold Shi Feng stored in the Shop dropped by around 10 Gold. "Damn it! I still have a ton of Runic Fragments in my Warehouse! Please wait for me!" Aside from the crowd that had rushed into the store, a larger crowd dashed to the Bank on the main street. Some players had even gone as far as to leave their own stalls unattended. Meanwhile, news of the nameless Shop''s request for Runic Fragments spread very quickly throughout Sea''s End. 1250 The Herb Garden’s Magical Effec Chapter 1250 - The Herb Garden''s Magical Effect "Why are there so many people in that Shop?!" "Is that Shop selling something special?" "That can''t be right. I''ve visited this town multiple times and have been in every Shop. If I recall correctly, that Shop should be a grocery store, only selling common goods. It shouldn''t have anything special to offer!" "Let''s take a look. In any case, we are on break right now." Teams that had just returned from the fields grew curious when they saw the grocery store packed with players. Although Stormwind Town was quite large, elite players would investigate every new town or city to avoid missing some hidden or advanced quest. This was simply one of the basics of being an elite. By now, they had already explored Stormwind Town. However, the grocery store had never once been this popular. Naturally, they were curious. "What?! The Shop is buying Runic Fragments at five Silver per stack?!" "Impossible!" "If this is true, can''t our team earn 45 Gold if we sell the 900 fragment stacks we''ve accumulated?!" The curious players were surprised when they read the sign hanging beside the entrance. These players immediately dashed into the Shop for fear that they would miss the opportunity to sell their Runic Fragments. At the same time, they had swiftly contacted their companions and had them retrieve all of the fragments they had stockpiled in their Warehouses. "It seems that this has been quite effective." Shi Feng, who quietly watched the crowd through the grocery store''s second-floor window, nodded in satisfaction at the flow of players entering the Shop. After a short moment, the grocery store had purchased over 7,000 stacks of Runic Fragments. He couldn''t even store so many fragments in his bag. However, he hadn''t only spent so much money on rent just to purchase Runic Fragments. If that were the case, he could simply set up a street stall. Rather, he had done so to build a sturdy foundation here for the Candlelight Trading Firm. In the past, the Stormwind Empire had become a miniature holy land due to the area''s Sea God''s Temple. Not only did the Sea God''s Temple give players access to the wondrous Laboratories, but it also allowed players to trade for the Sea God''s Blessing. When one spoke about the most profitable item produced in Sea''s End, it was none other than the Sea God''s Blessing. While this item might not be particularly valuable in Sea''s End as players here relied on their ships in combat, it was a different story for players on land. Faced with severe environments, sufficient Resistances were necessary for players. Not only did the Sea God''s Blessing increase all of a player''s Resistances by 100 points, but it was also capable of increasing a player''s Basic Attributes by 10% for twelve hours. Moreover, the potion did not have a Cooldown, and its effects could stack. Whether one raided a Dungeon or adventured in the fields, the Sea God''s Blessing was a must-have potion. Time passed quickly. As Shi Feng had nothing better to do, he decided to fiddle with the Space-time Herb Garden. The grocery store sold plenty of items, including herb seeds. Although the herbs were common, they were enough for Shi Feng. Shi Feng wasn''t an alchemist, but he knew what kind of potions players would need during particular times. He also knew which herbs were necessary to craft these potions. Around Level 40, I recall that the various large Guilds had focused on exploring ancient ruins. The various Guilds had been desperate for Lunar Potions. The Lunar Potion''s main material is the Moonlight Flower. Planting Moonlight Flowers isn''t a bad option right now. Shi Feng thought to himself. Normally, ancient ruins were located underground. Because of that, it was usually very dark inside. Even if players used Spells, they would only illuminate a small area. This made their progress difficult and dangerous. Avoiding monster ambushes was particularly challenging. Hence, the Lunar Potion had become very popular around this stage of the game in the past. The Lunar Potion allowed players to see in the dark. In addition, the potion had a long duration, making it suitable for exploring underground ruins. It wasn''t hard to find the Lunar Potion''s recipe, and any Advance Alchemist could easily produce it. Only, Moonlight Flowers, the potion''s main material, was considerably rare, and this resulted in a low supply of the potion on the market. If he could obtain a large quantity of Moonlight Flowers, he could mass-produce Lunar Potions. Making a fortune would be a piece of cake. Currently, as the various large Guilds had already begun to raid ancient ruins, the Lunar Potion''s market price had already reached 6 Silver per bottle. This price was already rivaled that of the Intermediate All-recovery Potions. Meanwhile, crafting the Intermediate All-recovery Potion nearly cost 3 Silver, whereas one could craft the Lunar Potion for less than 80 Copper, 50 of which were spent on obtaining Moonlight Flowers. However, due to the rise in the Lunar Potion''s price, Moonlight Flowers'' prices had also increased. Right now, each flower could sell for around 2 Silver, significantly increasing the cost of the Lunar Potions. Following which, Shi Feng purchased a large quantity of Moonlight Flower Seeds and filled the Space-time Herb Garden. Each Moonlight Flower needed 2*2 yards to grow. Overall, the Herb Garden allowed Shi Feng to plant 62,500 flowers. Each Moonlight Flower Seed cost 5 Copper, costing a total of 31 Gold, 25 Silver. While 62,500 flowers seemed excessive, when taking into consideration the flowers'' survival rate, he would only end up with a small harvest in the end. Normally, the various large Guilds didn''t bother to nurture any less than hundreds of thousands of herbs. Fortunately, the Space-time Herb Garden was an Epic tool. Shi Feng didn''t need to invest too much time or money to grow the flowers. After Shi Feng finished planting the seeds in the Space-time Herb Garden, he received a communication request from Fire Dance. "Guild Leader, I''ve arrived," Fire Dance reported softly. "Good. I''ve given you access to the second floor, so come up," Shi Feng nodded. While he fiddled with the Space-time Herb Garden, he had also sent for Fire Dance to bring him the Philosopher''s Stone. With Fire Dance''s equipment and strength, she could come and go without anyone noticing her. "Guild Leader, here is the Philosopher''s Stone you asked for," Fire Dance said as she entered the second-floor room. She then took the Philosopher''s Stone from her bag before looking around curiously. By now, Runic Fragments filled the room. Rather than a room, it looked like a warehouse. "Thanks." Shi Feng excitedly received the Philosopher''s Stone. "With this, I can finally begin my work." "Guild Leader, the Candlelight Auction is tomorrow. Melancholic and the others are preparing for it right now. Aqua is still stuck inside the Secret Technique Space, while Snow is managing things on Stone Forest Town and Lake Heart City''s side. They don''t know what has happened in the Guild," Fire Dance said. "Some time ago, many experts with hidden identities attacked our Dungeon-raiding teams, causing significant losses." "Experts with hidden identities? Could they be Dark Guild members?" Shi Feng asked. After the Dark Guilds their previous lesson, they should''ve been weak. He hadn''t expected them to strike again. "That shouldn''t be the case. According to the reports from our members who fought these experts, they are all highly skilled. There were also quite a few Refinement Realm experts among them. I believe that they are from a Super Guild," Fire Dance said, shaking her head. "They wouldn''t dare attack in the open, so they''re trying to start a secret war of attrition?" Shi Feng frowned. "Since they want to play, we''ll entertain them." When the various superpowers in God''s Domain wished to target a particular Guild, they generally used such hidden tactics. Eventually, they would wear the targeted Guild to death. After all, in such battles of attrition, the members of both Guilds would lose levels, as well as weapons and equipment. Without sufficient strength and background, surviving a war of attrition was impossible. "Right, one more thing! Guild Leader, our members have passed the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s trial. I brought the Treasure Chest with me. Now, all that''s left is for you to open it!" Fire Dance said as she excitedly took a massive chest from her bag and set it before Shi Feng. 1251 Treasure Appears Chapter 1251 - Treasure Appears "Everyone has passed their trials already?" Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement as he gazed at the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest before him. Even in his previous life, he had never heard of an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Initially, he had expected conquering the Treasure Chest to take a long time. After all, the trial inside the Treasure Chest wasn''t easy to clear. Clearing it with enough people would be even more difficult. I wonder what kind of items are inside? It''d be great if a Fragmented Legendary Weapon appeared. The Guild could give birth to another peak expert. In God''s Domain, weapons provided a much higher boost to a player''s combat power than equipment. Take Fire Dance for example. Although she was only a Refinement Realm expert, with Thousand Transformations'' abilities, she had a high chance of defeating Void Realm experts of the same level. Please let there be several items inside! Shi Feng suppressed his excitement as he activated Divine Providence. He then activated the Treasure Chest. The Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s loading bar began to fill slowly. It took much longer than opening an Epic Treasure Chest. Five seconds Ten seconds Fifteen seconds Fire Dance, who stood beside Shi Feng, struggled to settle her nerves as she watched the loading bar. After 20 seconds, a clear "click" resounded throughout the room. Immediately, both Shi Feng and Fire Dance held their breath as they watched the lid open, a myriad of colors slipping through the gaps. The Treasure Chest also radiated an aura that weighed on Shi Feng. As for Fire Dance, she had unconsciously taken a step backward. What an intense feeling! Shi Feng was inwardly surprised. If the Shop were not strengthened by magic arrays, both the dazzling light and the powerful aura would attract everyone''s attention in Stormwind Town. As the lights gradually dissipated, the items inside the Treasure Chest were revealed. When Shi Feng and Fire Dance saw the Treasure Chest''s contents, however, they were flabbergasted. The Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest only contained two items. There was nothing else. One of these items was an exquisite, black and white cape, while the other was a design. There were fewer items inside the Treasure Chest than they had expected. Normally, a Treasure Chest had between three and five items, yet this one only had two. This was even after Shi Feng had activated Divine Providence It seems it really is unrealistic to ask for two Fragmented Legendary items from an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. However, these two items are an impressive bounty, Shi Feng thought, smiling as he picked up the items for inspection. - [Nightwalker''s Cape] (Fragmented Legendary Rank, Cape) Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,500, Agility, 1,200 When equipped: All Resistances increased by 100%; All damage received reduced by 30%; Strength increased by 40%; Agility increased by 50%; Endurance increased by 30%; Ignore Levels +20; Movement Speed increased by 30%; Attack Speed increased by 30%; Reaction speed increased by 30%. Additional Passive Skill 1- Nightwalker: When the cape is equipped, no information about the player can be examined. Physique improved by 10%. Additional Passive Skill 2- Divine Speed: Player''s starting Movement Speed increased to 30% of player''s maximum Movement Speed. Additional Active Skill 1- Divine Steps: Summons ten doppelgangers before a maximum of ten targets for five seconds. Doppelgangers do not possess any attack capabilities. Throughout this duration, player is invulnerable. Player can switch positions with any doppelganger freely. Maximum cast range of 100 yards. Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Active Skill 2- Void Shield: Forms a shield that has an HP of ten times the player''s maximum HP for two minutes. As long as shield exists, player''s HP recovery speed increased by 500% and Movement Speed increased by 100%. Cooldown: 30 minutes The Blacksmith God Bayer crafted this cloak for the Tyrant of Destruction, but it was damaged in the battle against the God Slayer. However, as the divine runes remain intact, it can be repaired with seven God Crystals. Current number of absorbed God Crystals (0/7). - Although it wasn''t a weapon, the Nightwalker''s Cape was undoubtedly rarer than a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Shi Feng immediately fell in love with the Nightwalker''s Cape as soon as he laid eyes on it. Although the cape''s Attributes could not compare to the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor, it happened to be exactly what Shi Feng needed. Unlike other classes, Swordsmen relied on normal attacks to do damage in both combat against players and monsters. Hence, reaction speed was very important for a Swordsman. Meanwhile, the Nightwalker''s Cape instantly increased its wearer''s reaction speed by 30%. In high-speed battles against experts, the cape would be wondrously effective. Furthermore, after equipping the cape, he would obtain the Passive Skill, Divine Speed. In God''s Domain, players'' Movement Speed and Attack Speed accelerated from zero. As in the real world, players had to build momentum. Divine Speed allowed players'' Movement Speed to start from 30% of their maximum, allowing them to reach maximum speed far more quickly. Although the time one could save with this was minuscule and barely perceptible by ordinary players, in the eyes of experts, this small amount was extremely valuable. Because it wouldn''t take as long to reach their maximum speed, players could dodge attacks that were normally unavoidable. However, it was the other item that truly surprised Shi Feng. The Void Bomb Design! Void Bombs were similar to the Basic Mana Pulse Bomb. It was a tool of war with astounding power. However, although the Void Bomb was as devastating as the Basic Mana Pulse Bomb, the Void Bomb had a larger effective area; each bomb could cover an area of 20*20 yards. In the past, the Void Bomb had been in high demand but practically nonexistent as normally, one could only obtain them by completing quests, exploring ancient ruins, and opening Treasure Chests. Shi Feng had never considered that players could actually craft such an item. If he could mass-produce the Void Bomb, the consequences would be inconceivable. Sure enough, it will be very difficult to mass-produce. When Shi Feng glanced at the required materials, he found that every material was extremely rare. Crafting this bomb required a total of five rare materials. Among them, the most valuable was a type of metal called Void Iron. Few kingdoms produced this type of ore. Currently, Void Iron sold for 2 Gold per ingot, and the Void Bomb required five. Without taking into account the production success rate, based on his initial estimate, crafting the Void Bomb would cost at least 25 Gold. Even a first-rate Guild would go bankrupt if it attempted to mass-produce these bombs. However, it wasn''t exactly impossible to mass-produce so long as Zero Wing took control of a Void Iron vein. According to Shi Feng''s memories, six Void Iron veins had been found in the past, and every one of them had been controlled by either Super Guilds or super-first-rate Guilds. Any Guild that attempted to wrangle control of these veins met utter annihilation. Void Iron veins produced more than just Void Iron. They also produced Magic Crystals. There was even a tiny chance to mine Seven Luminaries Crystals. This minuscule chance was precisely the reason that the various superpowers had fought over Void Iron veins desperately. Some of these superpowers had even been wiped out in these struggles 1252 Lively Town Chapter 1252 - Lively Town Void Iron? Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he examined the Void Bomb Design. Thus far, only he knew the secret that Void Iron veins could produce Seven Luminaries Crystals. Hence, the current superpowers shouldn''t be so desperate to secure the veins yet. Even so, the fact that a Void Iron vein could produce Magic Crystals was tempting enough. Void Iron was also far more valuable than Magic Crystals. If a Void Iron vein were discovered, many of the superpowers would rush into the competition for it. Fortunately, it was not completely impossible for Zero Wing to occupy a Void Iron vein. There were very few Void Iron veins in God''s Domain, and they were all located in very dangerous areas, the lowest of which were above Level 60. Among them, one Void Iron vein could be found in the Storm Empire. If we can occupy a Void Iron vein, with the Candlelight Trading Firm''s strength, we''ll be capable of mass-producing the Void Bomb. They''ll be very useful against Dungeon Bosses or in Guild Wars. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng''s eyes shone with excitement. If even the Basic Mana Pulse Bombs could be so beneficial, mass-producing the Void Bombs would elevate the Guild''s strength to a whole new level. It would be a huge waste to pass up mass-production. If there''s an opportunity, we''ll have to make a trip to the Eye of the Storm. The Storm Empire''s Void Iron vein was located in the Eye of the Storm, which also happened to be the largest canyon in the empire. Due to the area''s steep terrain, it wasn''t a suitable place for humans to build their homes. Hence, foreign races had ruled over the Eye of the Storm for many years, making it a very dangerous place for humans. As for the map''s Level range, it was between Level 60 to Level 90. Players below Tier 2 would surely die if they explored the map carelessly. Due to these risks, it impossible that any current players or Guilds had discovered the vein. It was even less likely that anyone had claimed it. Just knowing this gave Shi Feng a huge advantage. "Guild Leader, you''re so unfair. How can you admire the items without me?" Fire Dance whined at Shi Feng, who had been grinning silently into the Treasure Chest. Although she had watched and waited to see what items the Treasure Chest spawned, she couldn''t see how many had appeared. Shi Feng had just opened an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Since there were two items inside, they must be extraordinary. "Here you go. But let''s keep this between us; don''t tell anyone." Shi Feng finally remembered that Fire Dance was waiting beside him. He then shared the item''s statistics with her. Upon seeing the information, Fire Dance was dazed. Both the Nightwalker''s Cape and the Void Bomb Design were astounding items. If they could mass-produce the Void Bombs, in particular, they wouldn''t have any issues dealing with Mythic monsters in the future. However, the fact that Shi Feng could equip the Nightwalker''s Cape right now was even more shocking than the items themselves. Her Thousand Transformations only had an Equipment Requirement of 700 Strength and 700 Agility, yet the Nightwalker''s Cape required 1,500 Strength and 1,200 Agility! Even Level 50, Tier 2 players would be hard-pressed to meet such high requirements. "Guild Leader, what level are you right now?" Fire Dance asked curiously. "Level 50," Shi Feng responded nonchalantly. He had no intention of hiding the truth from Fire Dance. Hearing this response, Fire Dance was speechless. She knew that Shi Feng possessed a hidden class. Moreover, leveling up his class required double the EXP of a normal class. Meanwhile, she had been trying desperately to level up. She had even taken down so many Bosses with Shi Feng. Even so, she was only Level 48. Although she was only two levels away from Level 50, with her leveling speed, she would roughly need another five or six days before hitting that milestone. "Alright, snap out of it. I''ll send the Void Bomb Design back with you, but first, make a few trips to the Sea God''s Temples," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He needed to synthesize a large quantity of Runic Crystals. He did not have the free time to travel to and from the Sea God''s Temple. Meanwhile, Fire Dance was both stealthy and swift. As long as she held the Stormwind Emblem, she could convert the Runic Crystals into Sea God''s Temple Points before converting those into Sea God''s Blessings. Following which, Shi Feng rapidly synthesized one Runic Crystal after another. A stack contained one hundred individual Runic Fragments, and each synthesis required 50 fragments. Fortunately, the Philosopher''s Stone had a synthesis success rate of 100%. In just a few seconds, Shi Feng finished synthesizing a Runic Crystal. As Shi Feng synthesized Runic Crystals and Fire Dance moved the Runic Fragments from the Shop''s warehouse to the second floor "Damn it! Why is that bastard still inside the Shop?! How many does he intend to buy?!" Scorpion muttered in annoyance as he glared at the grocery store opposite of the open-air bar he watched from. As he did not want to alert Shi Feng of his presence, he did not dare move too close to the Swordsman. After all, experts of their standards were extremely sensitive to their environments. If he accidentally leaked the slightest killing intent, Shi Feng was likely to discover him. When stalking targets of Shi Feng''s caliber, he maintained a distance of over 200 yards. Stormwind Town''s security was much stricter than Blue Jade City''s. Although these guards'' levels were lower, there wasn''t much difference to players of his level. They would die instantly either way. He couldn''t afford to strike inside Stormwind Town. It would only be time to make his move after Shi Feng left the town to grind or quest. Time passed quickly. Before Shi Feng realized it, the 1,000 Gold he had set up to purchase Runic Fragments had depleted. In the end, the Shop had purchased 20,000 fragment stacks in total. With this, he had bought out nearly every player in Stormwind Town. However, news travels quickly, and players from other cities had discovered that a grocery store in Stormwind Town was purchasing Runic Fragments. They had rushed in from nearby towns and cities. Even now, a long line of players still waited by the Shop''s entrance. "Crap! Why aren''t they buying anymore?! I just arrived for god''s sake!" "Are you guys buying fragments tomorrow?" "I still have 30 stacks here!" The players outside of the Shop grew flustered, afraid that they had missed their chance to make some money. "Dear customers, please rest assured that our store will purchase a large quantity of Runic Fragments every day. However, as we have already reached our quota for today, please come back tomorrow," one of the female NPCs managing the store formally announced as Shi Feng had requested. Hearing the announcement, everyone outside the Shop relaxed. Many reluctant players even decided to spend 2 Silver Coins to set a stall up beside the store. They intended to wait until the next day to sell off their Runic Fragments. The business district had grown quite lively. As more time passed, even more players rushed to the area as some set up stalls and others visited bars to chat while they passed the time. In less than half an hour, the crowd had doubled. "Guild Leader, have these people lost their minds? They''re actually willing to wait until tomorrow to sell their Runic Fragments?" Fire Dance was confused as she watched the players crowd the street outside the shop. Rather than waiting here, doing nothing, it would be much more profitable to grind or quest. "It isn''t that easy to make money in God''s Domain. These players have particularly larger expenditures," Shi Feng explained, smiling bitterly in response to Fire Dance''s question. Fire Dance was a considerably powerful expert. After joining Zero Wing, her strength had even increased by leaps and bounds. Meanwhile, the Guild paid for most of her costs, including her repair fees and the cost of her usual consumable items. In addition, she wore a set of top-tier equipment. Her equipment needs were met. Even if they weren''t, her weapons and equipment were not easy to obtain for players or Guilds. She was oblivious about the suffering independent players faced in God''s Domain. Most elite players in Sea''s End only made 10 Silver or so each day and that was if they teamed up. They earned even less if they operated solo. Both land and sea monsters rarely dropped Coins. They mainly dropped materials, and NPCs usually purchased these materials for very little, yet selling one''s stock to payers would require a lot of time. For the majority of these players, quests were their most profitable source of income. Unfortunately, very few players actually got their hands on high-quality quests. To these players, an opportunity to sell their Runic Fragments for 5 Silver per stack was like a gift from heaven. If they had stockpiled fragments, they could easily make several Gold. How could these players possibly bypass such a golden opportunity? "Alright, now that we''ve traded for all of the Sea God''s Blessings we can, it''s time we leave this place." 1253 Money-earning Tactic Chapter 1253 - Money-earning Tactic "Guild Leader, are we returning to the Guild?" Fire Dance asked. She had already made multiple trips to the Sea God''s Temple, trading points for a total of 8,000 bottles of Sea God''s Blessing. She had also seen the potion''s effects, and she had to admit that it was a miracle tool for grinding and raiding Dungeons. If players could increase their Attributes by 10%, Dungeons would become at least 10% easier. This way, players could lower the equipment and weapon requirements, and they could dispatch more players to difficult Dungeons. The Sea God''s Blessing also increased players'' Resistances by 100 points, making it even easier to raid Bosses that dealt magical damage. Moreover, the potion had a duration of 12 hours. That was more than enough time for a 50-man team to raid a large-scale Team Dungeon. If they offered the Sea God''s Blessing to their Guild members in exchange for Guild Contribution Points, their members could level up and upgrade their weapons and equipment much faster. "No. We''re heading to the Fire Dragon Empire," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Sea God''s Blessing was precious. If not for the Philosopher''s Stone, it would not have been possible to obtain so many within such a short time. While it was not a bad idea to put it up for trade in the Guild, doing so would expose his identity. Moreover, earning money was far more important right now. In the past, the Sea God''s Blessing had sold for a maximum of 2 Gold in Sea''s End and 3 Gold on land during its peak. Land players hadn''t discovered the Sea God''s Blessing yet, making this an excellent opportunity to make a fortune. If he waited until more players in Sea''s End realized how important this potion was, and news of the potion spread to the mainland, he would lose the opportunity to sell it for a high price. Fortunately, there were a limited number of Sea God''s Temples available, and each temple only stocked 50,000 bottles of Sea God''s Blessing each week. It wasn''t even enough to satisfy Stormwind Town''s players. So, the price shouldn''t be affected overmuch. In any case, he had to earn as much as he could while he didn''t have any competition. The Fire Dragon Empire was one of the Four Great Empires. The empire stood at the peak of God''s Domain in both quantity and quality of experts. The empire was home to plenty of powerful adventurer teams. Thus, it was an ideal place to sell the Sea God''s Blessing. He also had the option of selling the potions in Blackwing City. However, as the Sea God''s Blessing was relatively affordable, more players would fight over it in the Fire Dragon Empire. Although he would have to spend quite a bit on teleportation fees, compared to the potential profits, the expenditure was negligible. Following which, Shi Feng descended the stairs. As for Fire Dance, she activated Stealth and followed as they traveled to the Fire Dragon Empire together. ince Fire Dance had picked up 8,000 bottles of Sea God''s Blessing, Shi Feng''s bag couldn''t store them all. He needed help transporting the potions. "Hm? He''s finally leaving?" A hint of excitement flashed in Scorpion''s eyes when he saw Shi Feng exit the Shop. Quickly, he finished the glass of liquor he had just ordered. Overall, he had waited several hours for Shi Feng to leave the Shop. Although it was common for assassination experts like himself to wait several hours at a time on a mission, stakeouts were tiresome. However, before Scorpion could celebrate, he saw Shi Feng head towards the Teleportation Hall. "After traveling all the way here, he doesn''t plan to go out and level?" Scorpion was confused as he watched Shi Feng leave the town via the Teleportation Hall. Suppressing his bubbling frustration, he called out the system map and checked Shi Feng''s current location. "Flame Dragon City?" Scorpion nearly cracked his teeth when he saw the location on the map. Flame Dragon City was the Fire Dragon Empire''s imperial capital. The security there was several times higher than Stormwind Town''s. It was even more difficult to take out a target there. "Excellent! I refuse to believe you won''t head out to level or quest at some point!" Scorpion ground his teeth as he paid 7 Gold, 20 Silver to teleport to Flame Dragon City as well, his hatred of Shi Feng growing ever stronger. A single teleportation fee had lightened his pockets by 20%. Sea''s End was already quite far from the Fire Dragon Empire. Meanwhile, the fee for teleporting out of Sea''s End was more expensive than elsewhere. Very players chose to travel to the mainland to level. Even if they did decide to do so, they would travel via a Flying Ship, which was much cheaper. Flame Dragon City: As the imperial capital of one of the Four Great Empires and the venue for the Dark Arena, the player population surpassed the other empires'' capitals. Moreover, the Fire Dragon Empire had a treaty of alliance with the several neighboring kingdoms, which resulted in 40% cheaper teleportation fees between these countries, attracting even more players. One could see plenty of player trading firms as they wandered through the capital''s business district. Many independent adventurer teams also sold rare items monsters had dropped. It would be great if White River City were even half as impressive as this city. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he gazed upon Fire Dragon City''s business district. Two-star Shops were still extremely rare. Generally, only first-rate Guilds had the capacity to set one up. However, as he walked through the business district, he saw plenty of 2-star Shops. Moreover, Fire Dragon City had long since activated the flying transportation feature, allowing players to travel to leveling spots that could not be reached with teleportation arrays. The various trading firms displayed even more impressive merchandise. Even Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment was available for purchase. Only, the prices for such items were much higher than market value. It was clear that the Shop owners did not want players to buy these items, intending to keep them on display. Only Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment and below sold normally. Even so, this was astounding. In Star-Moon Kingdom, one typically only found Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment in the Auction Houses. After all, God''s Domain''s mainstream players had yet to reach Level 40. Meanwhile, it was because these trading firms sold the best equipment available that adventurer teams visited so frequently. After all, they might come across weapons or equipment that suited them. However, Shi Feng wasn''t here to visit these Shops. Rather, he was bound for the Auction House. The Fire Dragon Auction House was the largest Auction House in the Fire Dragon Empire. The empire itself ran the establishment. Players throughout the empire''s various major cities could view every item sold here. As long as an item was of sufficient quality, one would not have to worry about it not selling. Only, the processing fee was somewhat expensive, as high as 15% of the final selling price. In addition, the Auction House charged a storage fee. The longer an item lingered in the Auction House, the higher the fee would be. If one sold an item that was not particularly attractive, they might actually lose money. After arriving at the Fire Dragon Auction House, Fire Dance was amazed by the breathtaking view. The Fire Dragon Auction House was humongous. It was even larger than Blackwing City''s Blackwing Auction House. It easily took up an area of three or four stadiums with a 50,000 capacity. Moreover, the Auction House had 100 floors and was over 700 meters tall. A sea of players drifted in and out of the Auction House. Independent players, members of Small Guilds, as well as members of large Guilds were here to purchase materials. Shi Feng wasn''t particularly moved. After all, he had seen the Fire Dragon Auction House when Flame Dragon City had been at its peak. Far more players had visited the Auction House back then. After entering the Auction House, one could see a large number of NPC waiters and administrators standing around the main hall. If players were lost, they could simply ask these NPCs for directions. These NPCs would then provide them detailed explanations of the Auction House. Once inside the building, Shi Feng approached the item sale area. As there were many players seeking to sell their items, despite so many NPCs, Shi Feng had to wait for some time before his turn. "Sir, may I know what item you wish to sell today?" the female NPC staff member asked, smiling. "I wish to sell this item. Please appraise it," Shi Feng said as he handed a bottle of Sea God''s Blessing to the NPC receptionist. The Fire Dragon Auction House operated somewhat differently from the Auction Houses in other kingdoms and empires. Normal items were not accepted here. Only items of Bronze rank or above could be sold here. Furthermore, players weren''t allowed to set any random price. They had to abide by the NPCs'' minimum price. Of course, players could set higher prices. "Sir, the starting price for the Sea God''s Blessing is set at 1 Gold, 20 Silver. Storage for 24 hours will cost 3 Silver, or you can store the item for 48 hours at 6 Silver," the NPC receptionist reported once she finished appraising the potion. "I''d like to set the starting price at 1 Gold, 60 Silver and store the item for only 24 hours. I will sell 3,000 bottles in total. Sell 150 bottles every one hour," Shi Feng said as he retrieved one bottle of Sea God''s Blessing after another. Seeing so many bottles of Sea God''s Blessing, the NPC receptionist was momentarily stunned. However, she recovered quickly and accepted the 3,000 bottles. 1254 Taking the Empire by Storm Chapter 1254 - Taking the Empire by Storm After commissioning the 3,000 Sea God''s Blessing bottles to the Fire Dragon Auction House, Shi Feng left the Auction House with Fire Dance and hurried back to the Teleportation Hall. "Guild Leader, with the capabilities of the Fire Dragon Empire''s players, they shouldn''t have any problems using 8,000 Sea God''s Blessings. Why are we setting out for another empire?" Fire Dance asked, confused. "We are too poor right now. With our limited stock of Sea God''s Blessings, we have to employ hunger marketing if we want greater profits," Shi Feng explained, smiling bitterly. If given the choice, he would sell all the potions here in one-go rather than waste time running about. However, he had too many aspects that required funds. This was especially true for fees to reconstruct the 20 Shops he had recently acquired from the Secret Pavilion as well as the Diamond Wood cost. Naturally, he had to try to earn as much as possible. Although there were a lot of players in the Fire Dragon Empire and plenty of first-rate Guilds, he couldn''t place all of his eggs into one basket if he wanted the Sea God''s Blessing to fetch a high price. After all, despite the potion''s affordable price, it was still easily affordable for ordinary players. Normally, only Guilds and powerful adventurer teams could buy the potion in bulk. Yet, there was a limited number of such adventurer teams and Guilds in the Fire Dragon Empire, limiting how high the Sea God''s Blessing''s price could rise. Hence, he had decided to test the waters with 3,000 bottles first. Very quickly, Shi Feng and Fire Dance traveled to the Beast Empire''s Beast City. Meanwhile, Scorpion, who had been tailing Shi Feng in secret, fumed with rage. Shi Feng had arrived in Flame Dragon City less than an hour ago, yet he was leaving already. It wouldn''t be so bad if Shi Feng''s destination were outside the city. However, of all the places Shi Feng could''ve chosen, he chose the faraway Beast Empire. A one-way trip there from Flame Dragon City cost 3 Gold, 74 Silver! Not only had Scorpion failed to find an opportunity for his allies to ambush Shi Feng, but he had also wasted over 10 Gold. This was hard-earned money that he had saved to purchase a new weapon. While he was one of the Sacred Temple''s peak experts, he had obtained most of his weapons, equipment, and skills himself. He was only slightly better off than the Guild''s elite members in that he could purchase top-tier items cheaply with Coins or Guild Contribution Points. Yet, now, he had spent nearly one-third of his savings just to follow Shi Feng around. He even began to consider attacking Shi Feng outright. Shortly after Shi Feng left the Fire Dragon Auction House, the Sea God''s Blessing appeared in the Auction House''s potion window. "Who''s this seller?! He''s actually selling a potion for 1 Gold, 60 Silver! Has he lost his mind?!" "Crap! Does he think he''s selling Dragon Blood?!" The various Guilds and adventurer teams'' logistic members, who had come to purchase potions, were astonished when they saw the Sea God''s Blessing. The Intermediate Regeneration and Intermediate Mana Recovery Potions they usually purchased only cost several Silver per bottle. Even the Mana Mixture, which was slightly more valuable, only cost a dozen or so Silver Coins. Meanwhile, the Mana Mixture could temporarily increase a player''s maximum Mana by 10%. Yet, someone was actually selling a potion that no one had ever heard of for 1 Gold, 60 Silver. Moreover, that was only the potion''s starting price. However, these logistics members quickly calmed themselves as they clicked to check the Sea God''s Blessing''s Attribute Panel and read its introductory text. As logistics members, their task was to purchase all sorts of useful potions. Whenever a new potion appeared, they were required to investigate it. If they missed an opportunity to obtain a particularly precious potion, they would be severely reprimanded. However, as these players read the Sea God''s Blessing''s introduction, their mocking laughter died as an excited madness took its place. "Leader, I discovered a super potion that increases all Basic Attributes by 10% and Resistances by 100 points for 12 hours! If every member of our Royal Thunder Team drinks this potion, we won''t have any issues raiding Hell Mode Team Dungeons!" "A potion can do that?! Buy them all! Quickly!" "But the potion isn''t cheap." "Not cheap? How much is it? As long as it isn''t too outrageous, we''ll take them all." "The starting price is 1 Gold, 60 Silver per bottle." "..." The various logistics members contacted their superiors. If the potion had simply cost 20 or 30 Silver per bottle, they could make the decision on their own. However, the Sea God''s Blessing''s starting price was too high. They did not have the authority to approve such a large purchase. When they learned of the potion''s starting price, the superiors in both the large Guilds and the adventurer teams were stunned into silence. However, after a moment of silence, every one of these upper echelons issued the same command. Buy them all! While the price was indeed very high, its effects were astonishing. If used properly, it could easily elevate a team''s strength to a whole new level. The potion might even enable a team to raid a Dungeon of a higher difficulty, allowing access to higher quality weapons and equipment. Immediately, the various logistics members bid on the Sea God''s Blessing. From the initial 1 Gold, 60 Silver, the price quickly rose to 1 Gold, 61 Silver, before rising again to 1 Gold, 62 Silver. The potion''s price soared. At the same time, news of the Sea God''s Blessing shocked many first-rate Guilds and superpowers. "How can such a potion actually exist?!" "Investigate this potion''s origin and the method to obtain it immediately!" Unlike ordinary large Guilds and adventurer teams, these first-rate Guilds and superpowers were more interested in the Sea God''s Blessing''s origin. Immediately, they began to research the potion. At the same time, they sent their logistics members to purchase every available bottle. At most, the 150 available bottles would cost several hundred Gold. Ordinary large Guilds might hesitate to make such a large expenditure, but this amount of money was negligible to first-rate Guilds and superpowers. As long as they could raid Level 45 Hell Mode large-scale Team Dungeons, obtaining two or three pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment, they would make up for the loss with money to spare. "Have these people lost their minds?! It''s already at 2 Gold, 60 Silver per bottle, yet they''re still bidding?!" The first-rate Guilds and superpowers'' intervention caused the price of the Sea God''s Blessing to skyrocket, instantly exceeding the various adventurer teams'' budget. "Leader, the potion''s price has already reached 2 Gold, 65 Silver. By the looks of it, the price will continue to rise. I no longer have enough Coins on hand to buy all of the potions." "Damn it! This is definitely those first-rate Guilds'' doing! But this is our best opportunity to take down a Hell Mode Team Dungeon! We cannot miss this chance! I''ll have someone send you some money later. We don''t need to purchase all of them; 50 bottles should be enough!" "Understood." At the end of the day, an adventurer team could not compete with a large Guild''s financial strength. Fortunately, adventurer teams didn''t need all 150 bottles. They could manage with one-third of that. Unfortunately, while the various adventurer teams discussed their options, none of the large Guilds intended to let the potions fall into anyone else''s hands. Very quickly, the price of the Sea God''s Blessing broke past the 4-Gold threshold, exceeding the record high in Shi Feng''s previous life. Once the auction for the 150 Sea God''s Blessing bottles concluded, Shi Feng was stunned. - System: The Sea God''s Blessing you placed in the Auction House has sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 5 Gold, 16 Silver has been sent to your bag. System: The Sea God''s Blessing you placed in the Auction House has sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 5 Gold, 24 Silver has been sent to your bag. System: The Sea God''s Blessing you placed at the Auction House has sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 5 Gold 19 Silver has been sent to your bag. - A series of 150 system notifications bombarded Shi Feng. In the blink of an eye, he had gained nearly 800 Gold. 1255 Competitors Chapter 1255 - Competitors "Guild Leader, what happened?" Fire Dance asked when she noticed Shi Feng''s joyful smile. "It''s nothing. I just made a small profit, that''s all," Shi Feng replied, chuckling. In the past, the Sea God''s Blessing had only sold for 3 Gold during its peak. Now, he had managed to sell the potion for an average of 5 Gold, 20 Silver. That was nearly double the price back then. Moreover, this had only been the first batch. As the potion''s fame spread, its price would continue to rise. The only problem was the attention from the various large Guilds. By now, the various large Guilds should''ve begun their investigation into the potion. With a little effort, it wasn''t hard to learn about the Sea God''s Blessing. After all, the Sea God''s Blessing was one of the basic items available for trade in the Sea God''s Temple. Once the various large Guilds discovered the potion''s origins, they would try to obtain it for themselves by any means necessary, rather than purchase the bottles from the Auction House. After all, it was much cheaper to obtain the potion from the Sea God''s Temple. With enough Runic Fragments, they could hire an NPC Master Alchemist to synthesize Runic Crystals. Employing a Master Alchemist might be difficult for ordinary players, but that was not the case for large Guilds. Even if a Master Alchemist only had a 10% synthesis success rate, with each stack of Runic Fragment only costing 5 Silver, the potion''s total cost wouldn''t exceed 1 Gold, 50 Silver. It was much cheaper than buying the potion from Shi Feng. With the potion''s growing popularity, I need to hurry. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng rushed back to Stormwind Town with Fire Dance. Now that the various Guilds had caught wind of the Sea God''s Blessing, they would find a way to obtain them in Sea''s End. However, the Sea God''s Blessing was not available indefinitely. Each Sea God''s Temple only stocked 50,000 bottles each week. If he secured all of the available Sea God''s Blessings, even if the other Guilds had the required points, they wouldn''t be able to trade for the potion. Meanwhile, throughout Sea''s End, players had only discovered ten Sea God''s Temples. As long as he had the funds, it wasn''t impossible to clear the temples'' stock. After all, he had already earned some funds from the first batch of Sea God''s Blessings. However, when Scorpion realized Shi Feng was returning to Stormwind Town, he very nearly lost consciousness. After traveling around the continent, he returned to where he had begun In total, he had spent more than 24 Gold on teleportation fees. Scorpion wanted nothing more than to rip Shi Feng apart with his own hands. Stormwind Town: When Shi Feng returned to the grocery store, he discovered far more players in the business district. These players watched the grocery store like hawks, waiting for the NPCs to hang the wooden signboard that announced the purchasing of Runic Fragments. The Shop really has become quite famous. I should be able to collect a lot of fragments. Shi Feng smiled as he entered the grocery store. Upon his return, Shi Feng also received the profits from the first round of sales in other empires. Although the potions were not as popular as they were in the Fire Dragon Empire, each bottle still sold for 5 Gold or more. Overall, the 600 bottles that had sold in four other empires had earned Shi Feng an additional 3,000-plus Gold. Without hesitation, Shi Feng equipped the grocery store with 3,000 Gold and began to purchase Runic Fragments once more. Meanwhile, Fire Dance headed out to purchase the Sea God''s Blessing. "Quick, look! The signboard is up again!" "Hahaha! I knew it wasn''t a waste of time to wait! I''ve purchased a ton of Runic Fragments from other cities. I''ll make a fortune!" When the waiting players saw the signboard, they charged into the Shop. Among them, there were a few Merchant players trying to make a profit through the price spread. After purchasing Runic Fragments in other NPC cities, these Merchant players would come running to the grocery store to sell the fragments for 5 Silver per stack. Even if they only earned 1 Silver per stack, selling five or six hundred stacks would earn them five or six Gold. Even experts couldn''t earn that much money in a single day. He had offered to purchase each stack of Runic Fragments for 5 Silver precisely to inspire these Merchant players to do the dirty work for him, purchasing fragments from other cities and saving him plenty of time. In just ten minutes, the grocery store had purchased over 6,000 Runic Fragment stacks. This was far faster than before. Unfortunately, Shi Feng''s synthesis speed remained constant as the Philosopher''s Stone could only synthesize one Runic Crystal at a time. Time passed quickly. Despite players'' rush to sell their fragments, Shi Feng''s funds didn''t decrease in the slightest. On the contrary, he continued to gain more Coins. Very quickly, Shi Feng had accumulated 20,000 Gold. Meanwhile, Fire Dance had purchased the remaining 42,000 bottles of Sea God''s Blessing in Stormwind Town''s Sea God''s Temple and stored them in the grocery store''s warehouse. Following which, Shi Feng sent the 20,000 Gold he earned to Melancholic Smile, contacting her and saying, "Melancholic, I just sent you 20,000 Gold. Once you receive it, start the new Shops'' reconstruction." The sooner those twenty Shops were complete, the sooner they could purchase Diamond Wood. After all, if the other Guilds learned about the Diamond Wood''s value, it would become extremely difficult to purchase even if Zero Wing had the funds. "Twenty thousand?! Guild Leader, how did you get so much money?!" Melancholic Smile was momentarily dumbfounded. She had been managing both the Candlelight Trading Firm and Zero Wing''s finances all this time, so she was very aware of their financial situation. Both the Guild and the trading firm continued to expand. As a result, the cost of the Guild''s benefits rose each day. They also had to continue purchasing more materials. There was also the fact that Stone Forest Town had recently become an Intermediate Town, so they had plenty of buildings to construct. Practically all of the Guild''s funds had already been allocated. The Guild simply had no money to spare right now. "I just made some money selling potions. I''ll send the money for the Diamond Wood a little later," Shi Feng said, chuckling. His current earnings were only the tip of the iceberg. If he could monopolize the Sea God''s Blessing before the other Guilds gathered enough points to trade for it, he could easily make several times more than his current profits. It was for this reason that he had sent Fire Dance to visit the other Sea God''s Temples to exchange their points for Sea God''s Blessing. While Fire Dance visited the various Sea God''s Temples, Shi Feng wandered throughout God''s Domain, selling the Sea God''s Blessings. Although he could only carry 4,000 bottles with him at a time, the potion''s prices continued to increase. Excluding the Fire Dragon Empire, the Sea God''s Blessing''s maximum price had risen from 5 Gold, 20 Silver to 5 Gold, 60 Silver. The potion was far more popular than Shi Feng had expected. However, by the time Shi Feng was on his fourth visit to the various empires, the potion''s popularity had calmed, the maximum price decreasing to roughly 5 Gold. While Shi Feng had expected the drop, he was surprised to see others selling the Sea God''s blessing in the various Auction Houses. He hadn''t expected competition this early. Moreover, their starting prices were even lower than his, only 1 Gold, 30 Silver. Their sales volume was also quite significant. It was also because of this that the potion''s prices had fallen so much. "Guild Leader, the Sea God''s Temple I''m in only has a little over half its stock remaining. There are less than 20,000 bottles left. The previous temple I visited had already traded a few thousand bottles as well," Fire Dance reported. "Should I purchase what''s left of this temple''s stock?" 1256 Tyrant versus Lunatic Chapter 1256 - Tyrant versus Lunatic I''ve really underestimated them this time. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he shook his head. He had worried about the various empires'' Guilds, yet he had completely forgotten about the various naval powers in Sea''s End. The Sea God''s Blessing cost a considerable number of Sea God''s Temple Points. Regardless of how powerful the empires'' Guilds were, it was impossible for them to afford so many Sea God''s Blessings in 30 hours or so. After all, an NPC Master Alchemist''s synthesis success rate was very low. It could take anywhere from ten to a few dozen attempts to succeed once. Factoring in the time it required to synthesize fragments, any Guild would need a miracle to purchase a few hundred bottles within 30 hours, even with half a dozen NPC Master Alchemists. Even if the empires'' powers worked together, it was impossible for them to obtain more than ten thousand bottles. After all, there were only so many NPC Master Alchemists available. The only people capable of obtaining so many Sea God''s Temple Points were the local superpowers. For Sea''s End''s superpowers, it was not difficult to obtain the Temple Points. They could obtain the points either through quests or trading items such as Runic Crystals. Not only could one obtain Runic Crystals through synthesis, but they could also obtain them by killing Boss-grade sea monsters in Sea''s End. "Guild Leader, should we continue to purchase the potion?" Fire Dance asked as she watched Shi Feng on the screen. They had rushed to purchase the Sea God''s Blessing in the first place to avoid competition, limiting others'' access to the potion. Now that the Sea God''s Temple she was in had already traded over 30,000 bottles, this would impact their ability to sell the potion for a high price. "Of course. Why wouldn''t we? At worst, we''ll earn a little less profit," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although competition would decrease the price, they could still earn Coins at a frightening rate. Moreover, he had the Philosopher''s Stone to synthesize Runic Fragments. Even if the potion sold at its minimum price, he would still make a profit. Furthermore, he had already met his initial goal. The Sea God''s Blessing''s price had surpassed his expectations. After repeated sales, he had over 60,000 Gold on hand. It was enough to deal with matters such as his Tier 2 promotion, purchasing Diamond Wood, and reconstructing Stone Forest Town. They also had nearly 140,000 bottles in the grocery store''s warehouse. Even if he sold the potion for 2 Gold per bottle, he would have more than enough money to construct his city. "Understood." After giving the matter some thought, Fire Dance understood Shi Feng''s reasoning. She also felt that she had been a little too greedy. Stormwind Town: After returning to the grocery store, Shi Feng discovered that the crowd around the Shop had disappeared. Now, there were only a few dozen people around. Every one of these players radiated an imposing aura, their very postures threatening anyone who dared to approach. Just as Shi Feng neared the Shop, a robust, middle-aged man called out to him, "Friend, are you trying to sell off your Runic Fragments?" Shi Feng nodded, pretending to be just another adventurer trying to make some Gold. "I''d advise you to go elsewhere, then. The House of Seas has quarantined this grocery store. Anyone who enters the Shop will be declared an enemy of the House of Seas. It isn''t worth provoking them for a few dozen Silver," the robust man explained. "A few players had tried to go in, but the House''s members had used a Tier 2 Magic Scroll and killed them as soon as they left the Shop. Not only had the players lost a piece of equipment, but they''ve also become targets for the House of Seas. The player from the organization that used the Scroll is only Level 30. He''s not worried about the NPC guards killing him or losing a few levels in jail." "How tyrannic!" Hearing the middle-aged man''s warning, Shi Feng glanced at the 20-man team standing in front of the Shop and indeed, there were five Level 30 players among them. These Level 30 players, in particular, wore ordinary equipment. As for the other team members, they were either Level 42 or Level 43 players equipped with Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. A few of them even wore two or three pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. It was clear that these expert players were here to scare off ordinary and elite players. If an ordinary expert disregarded the warning, these House of Seas members would finish them off with a Tier 2 Magic Scroll. With this, the House of Seas had successfully bared Stormwind Town''s players from selling their Runic Fragments to the grocery store. As long as players stopped selling their Runic Fragments, Shi Feng would lose his source of Runic Crystals. Although he could travel around cities to purchase Runic Fragments himself, his acquisition rate would be many times slower. "The House of Seas has always been tyrannical. There are only a few powers in Sea''s End capable of competing with them. If independent players like us provoke them, we won''t survive in Sea''s End," the middle-aged man said, sighing. "The House of Seas is searching madly for the shopkeeper. They''ve announced that the shopkeeper will have to operate under their management if they wish to continue in Sea''s End. I feel bad for the guy. Just by opening a Shop, he earned the ire of the House of "Huh?! You''re going in?! Don''t be stupid! Several people have already tried and failed!" The middle-aged man suddenly noticed Shi Feng approach the grocery store. "If they target you, your life here will be over!" "Target?" Shi Feng chuckled. "They''ve wanted me for a while now." "You''re already a target?" the middle-aged man suddenly realized a possibility. His eyes widening, he stammered, "Could you bethe person they are" "That''s right. I''m the player you ''feel bad for,''" Shi Feng nodded, grinning. He then continued towards the Shop, leaving the middle-aged man behind. "Has he lost his mind?" the middle-aged man muttered, stunned. The House of Seas had searched frantically for the grocery store''s shopkeeper, yet this shopkeeper decided to reveal himself It wasn''t long before Shi Feng reached the Shop''s entrance. Immediately, several House of Seas members blocked Shi Feng''s path. "Brat, this store under the House of Seas'' control! Get lost!" a Level 43 Shield Warrior shouted. "What if I don''t?" Shi Feng asked, smirking. "Kid, do you want to die?! You dare to challenge the House of Seas'' authority?!" the Shield Warrior bellowed. He then turned to the several Level 30 players beside him, ordering, "Kill this kid! I want to see who would dare approach this Shop after watching this one die!" A Level 30 Cursemancer revealed a Tier 2 Magic Scroll and began to activate it. Immediately, a black magic array appeared behind the Cursemancer. Twenty pitch-black blades then surfaced from the array and shot at Shi Feng. Although a Tier 2 Magic Scroll was ineffective against Great Lords of the same level, it could kill current players, who had yet to reach Tier 2, instantly. Unless the target used an Invulnerability Skill of some sort, there was no escaping death. Boom Boom Boom When the pitch-black blades collided with their target, the resulting impact threw dust and dirt into the air for several yards. The players wandering about the business district were stunned. "What a fool." The Level 43 Shield Warrior wore a contemptuous expression as he watched the cloud of dust and dirt. However, as soon as the Shield Warrior finished speaking, a familiar voice reached his ears. "Are you sure about that?" The Shield Warrior spun towards the voice''s source. Before anyone had realized it, Shi Feng had moved behind the Level 30 Cursemancer. His blue longsword, which emitted arcs of electricity, protruded through the Cursemancer''s heart. Although the Cursemancer tried to speak, his HP had already fallen to zero. His head rolled to the side as his body collapsed to the ground. A pair of Level 30 Bronze boots dropped beside his corpse. 1257 Declaration of War Chapter 1257 - Declaration of War "Impossible!" The bystanders watching from afar were shocked when they saw the. They couldn''t believe what they had just seen. Even an agile Assassin couldn''t dodge so many of those pitch-black blades. Not only was Shi Feng unharmed, but he had also appeared behind the Level 30 Cursemancer, killing the player instantly. It was unbelievable! "This can''t be real, right? Is he an NPC?" the middle-aged man, who had warned Shi Feng, muttered. The House of Seas members surrounded Shi Feng while everyone recovered from their shock. "Kid, you really do want to die!" The Level 43 Shield Warrior assumed Shi Feng must''ve used a Skill to avoid the incoming spell, surprised by the Swordsman''s performance. He turned to the Level 30 players beside him and said, "You four, attack together! I refuse to believe that this kid has any more Skills to save himself!" The four Level 30s promptly took Tier 2 Magic Scrolls from their bags and activated them. Two of the four Tier 2 Spells were single-target Spells; the others were AOEs. All four Spells bombarded Shi Feng, leaving him no room to dodge. "Let''s see how you dodge these attacks!" the Shield Warrior sneered. They had long since familiarized themselves with the rules of combat inside towns and cities. The system wouldn''t deem an attacking player''s Spell channeling to be aggressive until it locked onto a specific target. If the target retaliated, attacking first, the system would deem them the aggressor. The target had to wait until the Magic Scroll locked on before counterattacking. Normally, players would have no choice but to dodge, block, or use a Lifesaving Skill to protect themselves. Shi Feng had already used his Lifesaving Skill. He would die, facing four Magic Scrolls, if he didn''t have another. "Want to run? I don''t think so," Shi Feng said, smiling when he noticed the players around him slowly back away to avoid the incoming assault. These people were ten years too early if they thought they could use the game''s rules against him. He sheathed Killing Ray and leaned forward to grab the retreating players, pulling them to his position. The retreating crowd gathered around Shi Feng once more, forming a human shield. Damn it! He wants us to perish together! The Level 43 Shield Warrior had never expected Shi Feng''s Strength to be so high. No matter how they struggled, Shi Feng still drug them to his sides, using them as shields. It was already too late for them to dodge. They had no choice but to activate their Lifesaving Skills to survive the incoming Tier 2 Spells. Boom Boom Boom Eleven House of Seas experts died as the series of explosions echoed throughout the district. All of the survivors'' HP had dropped to critical levels. "What''s going on?" Everyone was dumbfounded. "Am I hallucinating? Friendly fire?" The House of Seas members had used a similar strategy to attack other experts that had tried to enter the grocery store. They would surround the disobedient expert before attacking with Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. They would back away quickly after launching the Spells. The experts were utterly helpless as they died. Now the House of Seas members hadn''t retreated once the Spells had been launched as if they had developed Alzheimer''s. On the contrary, they had moved closer to the target. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had moved over a dozen yards away from his original position. He looked like a spectator, quietly observing the commotion. The Nightwalker''s Cape''s effects really are impressive. As expected of a Fragmented Legendary item. Shi Feng gazed at the battered House of Seas members with satisfaction. The increase to his physique, reaction speed, and starting speed had felt pleasant as he moved. "Who are you? Why are you trying to go against the House of Seas?" The Level 43 Shield Warrior had lost his previous arrogant demeanor. All that was left was solemnity and fear. With a threatening tone, he asked, "Are you not afraid of the House of Seas hunting you down?" As an expert, he knew full well what had happened even if the spectators didn''t. Shi Feng had actually managed to grab every one of them as they attempted to retreat, and drug them back to him. He had swiftly retreated a dozen yards away afterward. He had never even heard of this level of skill or reaction speed. He even wondered if it were something players could achieve. "You''re asking for my identity even after searching for me for so long?" Shi Feng laughed. He had no intention of hiding his ownership of the grocery store. If someone used their brain, they''d know only a player would purchase Runic Fragments in bulk at a high price. It would hurt his development in Stormwind Town if he did not respond properly now that the House of Seas had come all the way to cause trouble. "So, you''re the shopkeeper." Realization dawned on the Shield Warrior. "That makes things easier. Our Guild Leader has stated that your Shop may continue to purchase Runic Fragments in bulk. However, you must hand over 80% of your profits! Don''t even think about running a Shop in Sea''s End in the future otherwise! Our House of Seas will hunt you to the ends of God''s Domain!" The fear on the Shield Warrior''s face faded when he spoke of the Guild Leader''s command, reverting to the prideful, confident expression he had before. It was as if the Guild Leader''s command was a system rule, and no player could challenge it. None of the Sea''s End players present doubted the validity of those boastful words no matter how laughable they seemed. The House of Seas was one of Sea''s End''s overlords. It was the number one ranking overlord. Even the mighty Freedom Alliance, not to mention the other powers at the Sea''s End, had to show respect to the House of Seas. The House of Seas also possessed a Shop in all twelve major cities in Sea''s End. It was obvious just how powerful the Guild was. The House of Seas could easily stop the players in Sea''s End from entering a particular Shop if it wanted to. The players in Stormwind Town proved this point. How was a shop going to buy or sell items if it didn''t have any players visiting it? In other words, the Shop was useless. "Hahaha! Interesting! This is too interesting!" Scorpion, who had been watching since the beginning, was ecstatic when he heard the Shield Warrior''s words. The frustration from spending so much money on teleportation fees instantly vanished. "Not only will you become the Sacred Temple''s target, but you''ll also be the House of Seas'' target! I want to see how you''re going to survive on your own strength in the future!" The House of Seas'' strength wasn''t comparable to that of a super-first-rate Guild, but it was still a veteran first-rate Guild[1]. The House of Seas'' current strength was extraordinary because it had focused its development in Seas End and had the support of major corporations. Identical Summer had sought cooperation with the House of Seas for this same reason. If the House of Seas wanted to deal with Shi Feng, the Sacred Temple would have a much easier time assassinating him. If he couldn''t run a shop in any town or city in Seas End, he would have to explore and do quests to procure weapons, equipment, and other resources. They would have plenty of chances to strike. "The House of Seas really is ruthless to ask for 80% of the profits." Scorpion was curious about how Shi Feng was going to respond. In his opinion, Shi Feng would most likely give up on the shop altogether. At least he could avoid provoking the House of Seas that way. The likelihood of agreeing to the House Seas'' demands was very low. It would be no different than working for the House of Seas for free if he gave them 80% of his profits. "Is this all your Guild Leader has to say?" Shi Feng asked. "That''s right. You need to give a reply today. Otherwise, we''ll take your silence as a refusal to our invitation, and a declaration to make the House of Seas your enemy," the Shield Warrior said proudly. "You want a reply today?" Shi Feng smiled. "Alright, then. Go back and tell Tyrant Serpent that if he wants to play, I''ll play with him until the end!" TL Notes: [1]veteran first-rate Guild: I think the author forgot that he had mentioned the House of Seas being an adventurer team. 1258 Disturbance at Sea Chapter 1258 - Disturbance at Sea Although Shi Feng''s tone had been casual, the entire business district had fallen silent when they heard his words. The spectating players stared at Shi Feng with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. "A lunatic! He''s a lunatic! He actually dares to challenge the House of Seas by himself!" "Does he know what he just said?!" The bystanders started excitedly chatting about the situation. The House of Seas was one of Sea''s End''s overlords. Only a handful of powers in Sea''s End were bold enough to provoke the organization, yet now, a lone player had declared war against this overload. This was the first time such an incident had occurred in Sea''s End. Normally, the most they had heard was certain expert players killing an elite or expert member. Even so, such incidents became hot topics, independent players revering the player in question. Now that someone had openly declared war on the House of Seas, the various spectators commended him, even if it were just a boastful declaration. It was enough to shock players throughout Sea''s End. Meanwhile, news of this matter quickly spread to Sea''s End''s official forums. Mysterious expert openly declares war on the House of Seas! The instant this post published, it sent waves throughout Sea''s End. "Does this guy want to die? Or does he plan to delete his account and start a new one?" "After receiving such a challenge, the House of Seas will never live this down if they don''t kill that player back to Level 0." "I heard that the House of Seas is trying to take 80% of that player''s profits. Anybody in their position would retaliate." "He''s still a fool. The House of Seas has plenty of members and influence. They even have ways of hunting down Assassin players. Since he''s just a Swordsman, he will have a hard time going out to level up from now on." "That shouldn''t be the case. The player has hidden his identity and appearance. Causing trouble for him won''t be so easy." "What do you know? Don''t you know that the various large Guilds have tracking experts? There are also a few tracking tools available. Not even wearing a Black Cloak will help this guy. After all, the Black Cloak can only hide a person''s basic information and appearance. It can''t hide a person''s figure and class. With how many members the House of Seas has, they can easily send a few Assassins to keep an eye on him." "This guy is simply too amazing. Even if he dies back to Level 0, his achievement will be recorded in God''s Domain''s history." None of the players on the official forums had an optimistic view of Shi Feng''s foolish actions. However, they were happy to see such an incident. At the very least, the event would spark conversations during their daily visits to the bar. Meanwhile, back in Stormwind Town''s business district, the several surviving members of the House of Seas were dazed for a long moment upon hearing Shi Feng''s reply. They even wondered if they had heard wrong. What a joke! They were the House of Seas, one of Sea''s End''s overlords. Only a handful of superpowers in Sea''s End would dare to declare war against them. Even if they wanted to, they''d have to spend a long time considering the consequences before making a decision. They would avoid war unless it was absolutely necessary. Yet, now, the proprietor of a measly grocery store had declared war on the House of Seas. This was simply a mockery. "This is your reply?" the Level 43 Shield Warrior asked in a chilling tone. "That''s right. No matter how many times you ask, my answer will be the same. If you want a war, then let''s do it," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. While the House of Seas possessed an extraordinary background, unfortunately, Sea''s End was simply too far away from Star-Moon Kingdom. Even if his identity were exposed, Shi Feng would not be afraid to declare war. Moreover, he needed to rely on the Sea God''s Blessing as a long-term source of income. He also planned to stock some of the potions for the Guild. Hence, he intended to purchase Runic Fragments long-term. If the House of Seas were just a business competitor, he wouldn''t mind a fair competition. However, since the House of Seas dared to hinder his path to riches, he did not mind giving them a broken nose. "You have a death wish!" The Level 43 Shield Warrior revealed a sinister expression. He then waved his hand. Immediately, 200 players suddenly surged onto the street. These players all wore the House of Seas'' Guild Emblem, and they were all Level 41 and above. Quite a few had even reached Level 43. The most inferior equipment they wore was Level 40 Fine-Gold rank, while quite a few had four or five pieces of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Every one of these players radiated killing intent. They were clearly one of the House of Seas'' expert teams. Without paying heed to the NPC guards that had already reached the business district, they formed a tight circle around Shi Feng. Unlike the House of Seas members that had blocked off the grocery store''s entrance, these experts had originally been leveling and questing around Stormwind Town; they were not originally tasked to deal with Shi Feng. Only, after Shi Feng''s declaration of war, they had no choice but to take action. Meanwhile, Scorpion, who watched from afar, was overjoyed. Hahaha! Now that this concerns the Guild''s reputation, the House of Seas won''t let you get away even if they have to sacrifice their expert team! Scorpion was thrilled as he watched at Shi Feng. Immediately, he contacted Uncle Li and said, "Uncle Li, I''ve found an opportunity to strike. The target is currently in Stormwind Town''s business district and is surrounded by the House of Seas'' expert team." If Uncle Li''s party tried to assassinate Shi Fent normally, the battle would likely drag on. If the fight drug on for too long and the NPC guards arrived, killing Shi Feng would become even more difficult. Moreover, they wouldn''t be able to escape, perishing along side Shi Feng. Although they might''ve achieved their objective, their side would similarly suffer heavy losses. This was not a trade they were willing to make. After all, they were at least peak experts, not ordinary experts. Even if they had to die, at the very least, they had to make it worth it, trading one life for another rather than an entire party for one unknown player. Now, with the House of Seas members serving as a shield, not only would they distract the NPC guards, but they could also help expose Shi Feng''s weakness, giving Uncle Li and the others an opportunity to strike a fatal blow. "No need to tell me. I''ve already seen the video on the forums. We''re making our way there right now. If you see an opportunity and are confident, don''t wait for us to take action," Uncle Li instructed. "Uncle Li, rest assured. That brat has made me waste over a hundred Gold. If I get a chance, I will take his life," Scorpion said. So far, he had toured the continent of God''s Domain with Shi Feng four times. To continue his mission, he had even been forced to borrow over 100 Gold from Hundred Leaves. If he could not complete his mission, he would be saddled with debts. How could he possibly miss a chance to kill Shi Feng? Despite Shi Feng being a peak expert, against 200 experts from the House of Seas, he would undoubtedly lose his life. And in the event that he survived, he''d be forced to flee. As for the Swordsman''s powerful AOE Skills, he couldn''t use them easily inside the town. If he accidentally attacked any bystanders, the NPC guards would pounce. When the battle began, Shi Feng would definitely be forced to exercise caution, preventing him from using many of his Skills. Even a Domain expert would expose gaps in their defense. As Scorpion contemplated the situation, the 200 House of Seas experts were finally in position. Three Level 43 Shield Warriors at the forefront immediately activated Charge, rushing at him from three directions and giving Shi Feng no room to dodge. 1259 First Strike Chapter 1259 - First Strike "Melees, distract him! Ranged players, get ready to attack!" the black-clad Ranger leading the House of Seas expert team commanded as he glared at Shi Feng, who remained motionless. "Use a magic array to suppress the NPC guards! Do not give him any chances to escape!" Almost immediately after the Ranger issued the command, a golden magic array appeared in the business district. Thirty-six magical class players maintained the array, and it instantly enveloped the ten or so NPC guards that had been making their way towards the battle. Like a steel wall, the golden barrier only trembled slightly when the NPC guards attacked it. The barrier showed no signs of cracking. Seeing this, the spectating players revealed solemn expressions. While they were shocked by the magic array''s performance, they were even more afraid of the House of Sea''s capabilities. The NPC guards in Stormwind Town were all Level 120. To players like them, these NPCs were invincible. A single hit was all these NPCs needed to finish them off. These NPCs also safeguarded independent players like themselves. It was because of this that they dared to relax and rest in Stormwind Town. Yet, now, a single magic array had trapped these invincible NPCs. They suddenly realized how easily the House of Seas could deal with independent players. "Is this the House of Seas'' true strength? They are actually capable of taking out a magic array that can suppress the NPC guards'' movements!" "What a powerful magic array! Even if that guy tries to buy time, he won''t last long enough for the guards to save him." Seeing the trapped NPC guards, everyone became even more afraid of the House of Seas. Many inwardly celebrated the fact that hadn''t made an enemy of the House of Seas. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. Meanwhile, Scorpion, who had stealthily approached the center of the battlefield, was similarly shocked. He hadn''t expected the House of Seas to possess such a powerful foundation. However, the magic array also overjoyed Scorpion. Without the NPC guards, killing Shi Feng and getting away safely would be even easier. Meanwhile, in the center of the battlefield, three Level 43 Shield Warriors charged towards Shi Feng from three different directions. As Scorpion watched the three Shield Warriors, he assumed Shi Feng would counter or dodge the attack, but contrary to his expectation, Shi Feng didn''t move. However, when the Shield Warriors were only eight yards away, starlight suddenly glittered around Shi Feng. Peng Peng Peng Three crisp clangs resounded. Immediately, the three Level 43 Shield Warriors flew backward, their bodies slamming into the ground. Their HPs fell at a rate visible to the naked eye as well, only stopping after reaching the halfway point. "What did he do?" The players observing the battle from a distance were stunned. None of them could comprehend what had just occurred. In the next moment, several streaks of blue light spread out from Shi Feng''s body, striking the three Shield Warriors and sending them flying again, critically injuring them. "Just how much Strength does he possess?" Scorpion, who waited for an opportunity to strike, could not help his astonishment. Others might not have seen what had just happened, but he, as a peak expert, barely perceived what Shi Feng had done. Just as the three Shield Warriors were about to close in on Shi Feng, the latter had brandished his two swords. Without activating any Berserk Skills, Shi Feng had sent each of the Shield Warriors flying with a single hit. Ordinary players wouldn''t necessarily understand what this meant, but Scorpion, who had experienced many battles, understood. Shi Feng''s Strength was already on par with a Level 45 Great Lord! Although he had already known that Shi Feng possessed frightening Attributes after watching the man''s previous battles, he never imagined that it would be this high. "Just who is he?" Fear flashed in Scorpion''s eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. He no longer believed that he was capable of killing the Swordsman on his own. If Shi Feng were only a player that possessed the Strength of a Level 45 Great Lord, he might not fear the Swordsman this much, but Shi Feng also had the combat standards of a peak expert. It would not be a trivial matter overcoming the combined factors. Such a high Strength Attribute! The black-clad Ranger leading the House of Seas team was also surprised. This was the first time he had encountered a Swordsman capable of sending a Shield Warrior flying. After repelling the first attack, Shi Feng did not hurry to launch a counterattack. Instead, he silently evaluated his current Strength. After all, he had recently donned the Nightwalker''s Cape. He still did not have a concrete idea of how much he had improved. Only through actual combat would he understand his current capabilities. A normal attack is now enough to throw a Level 43 Shield Warrior wearing top-tier equipment 15 yards. My Strength should roughly be at the same level as a Level 45 Great Lord. In the case of Level 50 monsters, I should be at the standard of a High Lord. As expected, the Nightwalker''s Cape really is frightening. Shi Feng was astonished. He hadn''t expected his Strength to rise by so much. Before equipping the Nightwalker''s Cape, his Strength had only been on par with a Level 50 Lord. Although there was only one rank between a Lord and a High Lord, Level 50 was a major turning point for monsters. A Level 50 Lord was significantly stronger than a Level 49 Lord. Normally, only Level 50, Tier 2 Berserkers wearing full sets of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment could rival a Level 50 Lord''s Strength. The only reason he achieved a similar result was the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath and the numerous Epic Weapons and Equipment he possessed. Hence, it was truly inconceivable that he possessed the Strength of a Level 50 High Lord without activating a Berserk Skill. Fragmented Legendary items are truly amazing. Just by equipping two, I have grown so much stronger. It really makes one wonder how terrifying those fellows with a Legendary item and numerous Fragmented Legendary items were. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as this thought ran through his mind. If his Strength is so high, he must''ve activated a Berserk Skill. But why don''t I see any signs of one? The black-clad Ranger was confused as he stared at Shi Feng. However, he quickly shook the thought from his mind. Forget it. Even if he has ridiculously high Strength, at the end of the day, he is still only one player. He can''t fend off our attacks too many times. "The second MT group, advance! Coordinate your movements with the first group to pin him down! Activate all of your Lifesaving Skills and Berserk Skills! Healers, focus everything you have on them! Ranged players, start attacking! I want to see just how long he can last!" Immediately, three Guardian Knights stepped forward. Joining the three Shield Warriors, all six MTs activated their Berserk Skills and Lifesaving Skills as they executed a joint attack from multiple directions. Simultaneously, the dozens of ranged players standing in the distance launched their attacks, blotting out the sky with Spells and arrows. Now that I''ve completed my initial evaluation, it''s about time to this battle. Shi Feng glanced at the six MTs, whose HPs exceeded 50,000, as he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Immediately, his Strength rose by 150%, HP by 500%, and Defense by 300%. He then took a step forward and vanished. "Where did he go?" The black-clad Ranger looked around. However, despite his efforts, he failed to find any traces of Shi Feng. The rest of the players wore similarly blank expressions as they wondered how a living, breathing human had disappeared without a trace. As the crowd searched for Shi Feng, the six MTs suddenly collapsed, numerous bloody roses blooming across their bodies. "How?!" The black-clad Ranger was flabbergasted when he saw Shi Feng reappear and the MTs collapse. His mind failed to process what had just happened. Just what did he do?! 1260 Key to the Abyss Chapter 1260 - Key to the Abyss While everyone struggled with their confusion, Shi Feng advanced and dashed for the attacking ranged players. "Don''t stop attacking him! Absolutely do not let him approach!" the black-clad Ranger shouted. He then retrieved the longbow from his back and pulled it into a full moon, firing a series of five arrows at Shi Feng. The other ranged players continued to fire various Spells and arrows. Although they had clustered their attacks, Shi Feng continued forward while executing Sword''s Orbit to defend himself. Not only had he avoided every attack, but he had also swiftly arrived before a group of magical class players. Suddenly, a blue flash escaped Shi Feng''s right hand. Two Elementalists, each with nearly 20,000 HP, collapsed instantly. Following which, Shi Feng took another step forward and appeared before a Cursemancer. He struck again. In such a way, the House of Seas member fell, one after another. Not even one lasted a brief moment against Shi Feng. The Swordsman dodged or blocked every attack against him. Despite the enemy''s Control Skills, due to the Aura of Space, they failed to slow Shi Feng down. At this point, the House of Seas looked like a joke. Despite watching one ally collapse after another, the House of Seas members were utterly helpless. "How can this be possible?!" The Level 43 Shield Warrior, who led the initial 20-man team, was stunned. He had expected Shi Feng to die, yet Against a single player, the House of Seas'' experts were powerless. The Shield Warrior even wondered if Shi Feng was, in fact, a player. Compared to the House of Seas members, the surrounding spectators were truly dumbfounded, their eyes nearly falling from their sockets. The House of Seas was one of Sea''s End''s overlords. Not only did the Guild have plenty of experts, but many of these experts were ridiculously strong; any one of them could easily slaughter the crowd. Yet, in front of Shi Feng, these experts were little more than balloons. With a single poke from Shi Feng''s blades, these experts popped "Sure enough, it is too much to ask the House of Seas to defeat him." Scorpion could not help but sigh and shake his head as he watched the House of Seas'' members die. The gap in Attributes between both sides was simply too vast. One needed more than numbers to bridge this gap. Shi Feng fought like a humanoid Great Lord. Moreover, he was a Great Lord that had reached the Void Realm. With his sharp senses, Shi Feng could easily predict the movements of those around him and counter in time. In contrast, none of the players surrounding Shi Feng could cope with his attacks. In this battle, the House of Seas'' members basically faced a Great Lord of the same level that could prevent them from blocking, dodging, or parrying. All they could do was throw their lives away. Among those present, who could possibly receive a direct attack from a Great Lord of the same level and live to tell the tale? Furthermore, Shi Feng had activated his Berserk Skill. Scorpion was relieved that he hadn''t joined the fray earlier. Otherwise, he really would''ve pointlessly thrown his life away as well. In a short moment, the House of Seas'' expert team had lost over 30 members. Against Shi Feng''s relentless momentum, some of the House of Seas members had lost their courage, losing strength as they slumped to the ground, paralyzed. The difference between their strength and their opponent''s had taught them the meaning of despair. How can such a player exist?! The black-clad Ranger wore an ugly expression. His was an expert team from the House of Seas. Even against a Grand Lord, they would not end up in such a miserable state. Moreover, their Guild''s prestige was on the line. If they allowed Shi Feng to have his way today, the House of Seas'' influence in Sea''s End would plummet. The Ranger even regretted coming to Stormwind Town. Had he gone elsewhere, he wouldn''t have been dragged into this mess. With things as they are now, I can''t hold anything back. As the black-clad Ranger watched Shi Feng massacre his allies, he reluctantly took an ancient, gray scroll from his bag. He then unfurled it and began to chant the activation incantation. This Magic Scroll contained a Tier 3 Curse, which he had saved for an important quest in the future. The Curse was called Heaven''s Punishment Blade. It was even capable of severely injuring Mythic monsters. Even with invulnerability, the Curse could not be avoided. The Curse also deal physical and magical damage. "Die!" the Ranger shouted as he activated Heaven''s Punishment Blade. Immediately, a pitch-black magic array formed above Shi Feng. A massive, pitch-black sword gradually emerged, exuding a peerless aura. Heaven''s Punishment Blade?! Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he saw the pitch-black sword in the sky. The Heaven''s Punishment Blade was a famous Spell in God''s Domain because it could penetrate invulnerability. It was a super-rare scroll specifically used to kill Abyssal Guards. As the name suggested, Abyssal Guards defended the Abyss Passages. If outsiders opened a passage to the Abyss and tried to enter, they would encounter the Abyssal Guards. Not only were the Abyssal Guards extremely strong, but when their HP fell to a critical level, they also became invulnerable. If one could not remove their invulnerability, they wouldn''t have any hope of defeating these monsters. Hence, Heaven''s Punishment Blade had become the key to the Abyss. The Curse was the equivalent of an entry ticket to the Abyss. The Abyss had a harsh environment and very few resources. However, while the Abyss lacked most resources, two items could be found in abundance. The first was the Seven Luminaries Crystal! It was an item that any Guild or major corporation that invested in God''s Domain sought desperately. The second item was the Magic Crystal. However, due to the violent Mana ever-present in the Abyss, one could not just obtain Magic Crystals from the Abyss. Instead, one had to obtain Demonic Stones, which were common, and refine them with alchemy. After refining Demonic Stones, one could obtain Magic Crystals and other precious byproducts. Countless Guilds had tried to enter the Abyss because of these two items. Shi Feng had never expected the black-clad Ranger to be insane enough to expend such a precious tool just to kill him Very quickly, the pitch-black sword finished taking form. Without any flare, it descended on Shi Feng, leaving no opportunities to avoid it. Shi Feng could only receive the attack. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated the Nightwalker''s Cape''s Void Shield. A protective barrier instantly formed around Shi Feng''s body. At the same time, Shi Feng met Heaven''s Punishment Blade with a counterattack. Boom! An explosion shook the business district as a deep crater formed under Shi Feng''s feet. "What kind of Spell is that?! The impact created such a massive hole in the ground! Even Tier 4 Spells shouldn''t be that powerful!" "The House of Seas used a Tier 3 Curse on a single player! They are shameless!" "In the end, it seems that even a monster-like player can''t survive against the House of Seas." The crowd involuntarily gasped when they saw the crater in the middle of the business district. Although Shi Feng had lost, he had lost with dignity. After all, he had forced the House of Seas to use such a powerful trump card. If not for the Heaven''s Punishment Blade, the House of Seas would have been powerless against Shi Feng. As everyone believed the battle to be over and the House of Seas members released sighs of relief They suddenly saw a familiar figure standing before the black-clad Ranger. "H-How are you still alive?" the black-clad Ranger stuttered, blood draining from his face as he gaped at Shi Feng, who looked a little worse for wear. The Heaven''s Punishment Blade could even rival a Tier 4 Spell. Even Mythic monsters would suffer heavy injuries, not to mention a Tier 1 player. Logically, Shi Feng shouldn''t have survived. However, what the black-clad Ranger did not know was that, due to Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Shi Feng''s maximum HP had risen to over 200,000. Meanwhile, Void Shield created a barrier that had ten times his maximum HP. Factoring in his Defense and Magic Resistance, Shi Feng survived Heaven''s Punishment Blade with a little over 60,000 HP remaining. He had very nearly died. However, Shi Feng did not offer the Ranger an explanation as he swung Killing Ray. Although the Ranger tried to defend himself with his bow, Shi Feng adjusted Killing Ray''s trajectory mid-swing, as if he had expected the Ranger to defend himself, avoiding the bow, piercing the Ranger''s heart, and eliminating the player''s HP. When the black-clad Ranger, who had commanded the team, died, the House of Seas members'' spirits finally broke, and they scattered. Shi Feng didn''t bother to chase down these players. After all, the NPC guards would hunt down anyone that had attacked him. If he attacked those that hadn''t attacked him, the guards would hunt him instead. Chasing these players down was no longer important. As Shi Feng looked for a place to sit and recover, he discovered that he couldn''t remove any items from his bag. He couldn''t access any of his Skills, either. Suddenly, a silent figure appeared behind Shi Feng. Even with Shi Feng''s sharp senses, he failed to detect the figure''s arrival. It was as if this figure had melded with the environment. After the figure appeared, a silvery-white dagger thrust into the back of Shi Feng''s head, moving with incredible speed. "Young lad, you really are something. You are the first person I''ve found that''s so difficult to sneak up on." 1261 Expert Companion Chapter 1261 - Expert Companion Although Shi Feng had sensed someone behind him, everything had happened too quickly. He couldn''t use any of his Skills or tools, and it was too late to turn around and defend himself. Instinctively, Shi Feng bent his knees and leaped forward in an attempt to avoid the swiftly approaching dagger. However, no matter how hard Shi Feng tried to avoid it, the weapon tracked his movements. In the end, he could only watch as the dagger closed in. Why is a Domain Realm expert here? After attempting to dodge, Shi Feng realized that his attacker was an extraordinary expert; the discovery shocked him. If his opponent were merely a Void Realm expert like himself, even without his Skills, he could avoid the sneak attack. However, his opponent could predict his movements and force him into a corner. It wasn''t the dagger itself that was so fast. Rather, it was his enemy''s reaction speed. Shi Feng had encountered a similar situation against Ouroboros''s Soaring Snake. Due to his innate talent, Soaring Snake''s reaction speed was far beyond ordinary people. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s current attacker was twice as fast as Soaring Snake Based on Shi Feng''s understanding, only mysterious Domain Realm experts had such fast reaction speed. When the silver dagger struck, Shi Feng''s vision darkened as he fell into a Fainted state. This move was none other than the Assassin class''s Ambush Skill. It could force its target into a Fainted state for two to four seconds. Immediately after, another dagger bit into Shi Feng''s back. Backstab! -10,249! What a tough nut. Uncle Li was slightly surprised when he saw the damage above Shi Feng''s head. Both of his daggers were Epic Weapons. He had already activated his Berserk Skill as well. Even against a Shield Warrior or Guardian Knight with high Defense, his Backstab could easily deal over -20,000 damage, yet this attack had dealt a little over -10,000 damage to the Swordsman before him. A short distance away, five cloaked players watched the fight. "No matter how many times I see Uncle Li''s Vanishing Cloud or Agile Thunder God, they both feel so awe-inspiring," the cloaked Ranger named Hungry Ghost said, sighing ruefully. "That''s to be expected. They are Uncle Li''s trademark moves. They might not seem special, but even Domain Realm experts can''t sense Uncle Li''s presence when he uses Stealth and Vanishing Cloud. As for Agile Thunder God, the Secret Technique is exclusive to Uncle Li. With that technique, he can launch instinctive attacks without having to process his enemy''s actions on a conscious level, resulting in an inhuman reaction speed. How else do you think Uncle Li became the Guild''s number one assassination expert?" a petite Elementalist explained as she excitedly watched Uncle Li work. Countless experts dreamed of grasping Agile Thunder God. Unfortunately, even now, Uncle Li was the only player throughout the Sacred Temple that had learned the technique. Despite Uncle Li''s vigorous training, none of the Guild''s geniuses had learned it. The Berserker wielding an aqua-blue spear said, "Ghost, it''s about time to make your move. We don''t have much time left." "Relax, Frostbite. That guy won''t be able to move for at least two seconds. I can kill him twice with that much time." Hungry Ghost nodded, chuckling. Following which, he retrieved four Black Arrows from his bag, aiming for Shi Feng and firing. "With this, our mission is complete." Yet another explosion shook the district as the Black Arrows broke the sound barrier. In the blink of an eye, the Black Arrows crossed the distance of 30 yards and reached their target. Hungry Ghost had aimed for Shi Feng''s blind spots; even if the Swordsman could move, he couldn''t avoid these four arrows. "It''s finally over," Scorpion, who was in Stealth, said, chuckling. Although he was disappointed that he did not get to finish Shi Feng off personally, witnessing Uncle Li''s attack made the time he spent tracking Shi Feng worthwhile. Uncle Li retreated to the side and took a silver Magic Scroll from his bag. This was the Rapid Teleportation Scroll that only peak Dark Players could obtain. Unlike Return Scrolls, which had a ten-second activation time, the Rapid Teleportation Scroll only required two seconds. Moreover, the activation process could not be disrupted. At the same time, the scroll would form a magic barrier around the user that could both protect the user and prevent NPCs from sensing them. Right now, he needed to retrieve the items Shi Feng would drop on death and leave Stormwind Town as fast as he could. As the four Black Arrows were about to slam into Shi Feng, however, a black figure appeared before him. This figure had taken the hits. Surprisingly, the Black Arrows hadn''t killed the figure instantly. Instead, they vanished upon coming into contact with them. This black figure was none other than the cloaked Fire Dance. Even before Shi Feng had picked a fight with the House of Seas, he had asked Fire Dance to return to Stormwind Town. He had instructed her to watch from stealth as he tested the Nightwalker''s Cape''s effects. Moreover, he didn''t want others to know that anyone else was related to the grocery store unless absolutely necessary. Only, he hadn''t been expected to be ambushed by a Domain Realm expert. What?! He has an Assassin companion?! Scorpion, who was in Stealth, could not help his surprise. While the Black Arrows were frightening, Assassins possessed Wind Steps and Vanish. Both Skills provided momentary invulnerability. No matter what kind of attacks they faced, they would not receive any damage during the invulnerability period. The Assassin had used those two exact Skills to protect Shi Feng from the Black Arrows. "Damn that Scorpion! What has he been doing all this time?!" Hungry Ghost cursed. "Didn''t he say the target has been alone?!" Now that this Assassin had disrupted their plans, it would become significantly harder to assassinate Shi Feng in the future. Uncle Li, who stood a short distance away from Shi Feng, remained extremely calm despite the unexpected development. Without hesitation, he dashed forward, his daggers ready to end Shi Feng. Although they had to change their plan, it did not change the fact that Shi Feng was still in a Fainted state and unable to move. Even without the Black Arrows, he had other means of taking Shi Feng''s life. After all, Shi Feng only had around a quarter of his HP remaining. The Black Arrows were only overkill. Meanwhile, Hungry Ghost and the others regained their composure and assaulted Shi Feng from all directions. Although Shi Feng now had an Assassin protector, the Assassin class specialized in single targets; against so many attackers at once, she couldn''t protect the Swordsman. However, as Uncle Li and his teammate were about to reach Shi Feng, five more figures appeared around him. "Why does he have so many companions?!" Hungry Ghost and the others were stunned. Six players now surrounded Shi Fenga full party. At this point, Scorpion''s surveillance was a joke. What Hungry Ghost and the others did not know was that this was one of Thousand Transformations''s Additional Skills, Phantom. It allowed Fire Dance to create five copies of herself. However, Fire Dance had not activated Phantom to shock her opponents. She used the Skill to cope with so many enemies. Phantom allowed her to switch places with any of her doppelgangers without a Cooldown. Even without moving, Fire Dance could protect her Guild Leader from any direction. Moreover, thanks to Illusory Power and Thousand Transformations itself, Fire Dance''s Strength was only inferior to Shi Feng''s. Dang! Dang! Dang! Following which, Fire Dance easily blocked the incoming arrows and Spells. Against Uncle Li''s lightning-quick Assassinate, Fire Dance countered with her Fragmented Legendary short sword. Peng! On her own, Fire Dance should not be capable of blocking Uncle Li''s Assassinate, which he empowered with Agile Thunder God. However, thanks to Thousand Transformations''s hidden effect, she parried the attack in time. Fire Dance had only been forced to retreat by half a step even after receiving the attack. In contrast, Uncle Li had been forced two steps back, his HP falling by over 200. 1262 Fire Dances Sword Chapter 1262 - Fire Dance''s Sword "She blocked it?" Hungry Ghost and the others were momentarily stunned. Not only had Shi Feng''s companions blocked all of their attacks, but one of his companions had even parried Uncle Li''s Assassinate. Even Domain Realm experts had a hard time against Agile Thunder God. After all, not only did the technique massively increase attack speed, but it also prevented the opponent from predicting the attack''s trajectory. The technique was impossible to react to. Throughout the Sacred Temple, there were only a handful of people that could block Uncle Li''s Agile Thunder God. Moreover, that was only if their mental clarity were at its peak, yet this Assassin had blocked the old man''s attack effortlessly. Why wouldn''t they be surprised? "Just who are these people?" Scorpion was flabbergasted as he watched from a safe distance. It wouldn''t have been terribly surprising to see an expert like Shi Feng in Sea''s End, but he had been joined by an expert capable of blocking Uncle Li''s attacks. No one would believe that these two weren''t backed by some superpower. After all, experts of such standards were rare even in Super Guilds. Meanwhile, Fire Dance focused on Uncle Li, who stood before her, her mind clear like never before. Her instincts constantly warned her that, against this expert, the slightest slip up would cost her life. If not for Thousand Transformations''s hidden effect, she would''ve fallen prey to Uncle Li''s Assassinate. "Interesting." Although Uncle Li was slightly surprised that Fire Dance had blocked his attack, his resolution to kill Shi Feng had not wavered in the slightest. Immediately, Uncle Li used Shadow Steps and appeared behind Shi Feng, his dagger aiming for the Swordsman''s kidneys. Because he didn''t use any Skills this time, he could attack with both daggers simultaneously. With this, he drastically reduced the likelihood of Fire Dance blocking the attacks. Despicable! Although Fire Dance knew that Uncle Li had used Shadow Steps, she reacted a moment too late. By the time she switched places with one of the doppelgangers and arrived behind Shi Feng, neither her superior Attributes nor her speed could help her block the attacks. With no other choice, Fire Dance twirled the dagger in her left hand and slashed downwards, activating one of the Petrified Thorn''s Skill. Petrification Domain! Immediately, all enemies within 50 yards were dealt 500% weapon damage and had their Movement Speed reduced by 50%. At the same time, Fire Dance''s Attributes rose based on the number of targets the Domain had affected. However, as if Uncle Li had been prepared for this, he used Wind Steps, becoming momentarily invulnerable and negating Petrification Domain''s damage. Meanwhile, his two daggers struck Shi Feng. -2,718! -2,259! To Shi Feng, who still had over 50,000 HP remaining, those two attacks only took around 10% of his HP. ure enough, normal attacks are not enough to kill him. Uncle Li frowned, frustrated with Shi Feng''s Defense and HP. As Uncle Li was about to use the 5-star Eviscerate he had accumulated, Fire Dance, who was faster, slashed Thousand Transformations at the man. Although Uncle Li sensed the attack coming, he didn''t want to waste a Skill to block it. Quickly adjusting his footwork, he tilted his body slightly to dodge the incoming short sword. However, Uncle Li''s expression changed when Fire Dance swung her blade, multiple afterimages appearing around Thousand Transformations. How?! Uncle Li may have been surprised, but he was a Domain Realm expert. With the help of Agile Thunder God, he defended himself instinctively. Dang! A clang pierced the air when Uncle Li''s daggers collided with Thousand Transformations. Meanwhile, Uncle Li was forced to retreat by three steps, a damage of over -500 appearing above his head. After landing the first strike, Fire Dance brandished Thousand Transformations once more, giving Uncle Li no time to react. Although Fire Dance''s reaction speed was slower than the old man''s, she had an absolute advantage when it came to Attack Speed. Against countless sword lights, even Uncle Li had to be careful. As a result, Fire Dance forced him back farther. Uncle Li tried his best to counterattack, brandishing both daggers simultaneously, but Fire Dance simply responded by swinging Thousand Transformations. Innumerable sword lights flickered around the combatants, blocking the daggers. Again, the resulting impact forced Uncle Li to retreat. "Impossible!" Hungry Ghost and the others, who were about to launch another wave of attacks, were stunned. To them, Uncle Li was an unparalleled expert, yet that expert was at a disadvantage against Fire Dance. If news of this reached the Sacred Temple, it would cause an uproar in the Guild. While Fire Dance and Uncle Li clashed, Shi Feng finally recovered from his Fainted state. Seeing Shi Feng regain consciousness, Uncle Li knew that it was no longer possible to kill the man. He abruptly retreated to a distance before turning to Fire Dance, saying, "Little missy, you really are astounding. Despite having not obtained a Domain, not only did you block my attacks, but you also suppressed me completely. Among the many non-Domain Realm experts I''ve fought thus far, you rank third. Might I ask if you are interested in joining us? If you do, I promise that you''ll become one of the best Assassins in God''s Domain. You''ll reach heights that you haven''t even imagined yet." Fire Dance was taken aback by Uncle Li''s sudden offer. She could not figure out what the man before her was thinking. They were currently engaged in a battle, yet the latter had extended a recruitment offer. Hungry Ghost and the others also heard Uncle Li''s offer. Their jaws dropped, and they stared at Fire Dance with envy and admiration. Uncle Li was a Domain Realm expert. He was also the Sacred Temple''s number one expert. His evaluations were harsh. He only ever praised the Guild''s geniuses for their potential, yet he had just claimed that Fire Dance could become one of the best Assassins in the game Not even the Sacred Temple''s top genius had enjoyed such praise. One could see just how much Fire Dance had impressed Uncle Li. "Forget it. I will never join you." Fire Dance rejected Uncle Li''s offer without hesitation. "I doubt that I''ll become God''s Domain''s number one Assassin by joining your measly Guild." Fire Dance''s words instantly infuriated and frustrated Hungry Ghost and his companions. They sorely wished they could take the woman''s place. They were talking about an offer for exclusive training under Uncle Li. The Sacred Temple''s geniuses hungered for such an opportunity, yet Fire Dance treated the offer as if it were an insult. "Alright. If you change your mind, you can contact me with this. We will welcome you at any time." Uncle Li could not help but sigh at Fire Dance''s reply. He tossed her a Communication Scroll before turning to leave, vanishing. The Communication Scroll was a common tool in God''s Domain. Even if without being friends, they could communicate through the scroll. Only, it needed to be bound to someone first, then the wielder could contact the initial owner at any time. The scroll was mostly intended for players that wished to hide their identities. In Uncle Li''s opinion, Fire Dance was still too young. She had only replied in such a way because she had yet to understand just how powerful the experts at the top of the world were. Only after Fire Dance had fought those experts would she learn how vast this world truly was. At that time, she would seek him out. Meanwhile, upon realizing that Shi Feng had recovered, Hungry Ghost and his team used their Rapid Teleportation Scrolls and left Stormwind Town. Sea''s End, Dark City Yasland: After using the Rapid Teleportation Scroll, Hungry Ghost and the others arrived in Yasland, a lawless city. Even if one killed other players inside this city, the NPC guards paid no attention to the crime. The only reason these NPC patrols existed was to defend the city itself from those who sought to harm it. "Uncle Li, the target is stronger than we expected. Moreover, he has companions following him in secret. Should we ask for the Punishment Legion''s help during our next attempt? We''ll have a greater chance of eliminating the target," Hungry Ghost asked Uncle Li, who had just teleported into the city. The Punishment Legion was the Sacred Temple''s assassination legion. The legion had specifically been formed to deal with other superpowers'' key figures. Although the legion''s members were weaker than their party members individually, they had the advantage of numbers. They also had gear that gave them an advantage against other players. "No need. We''re giving up on this mission," Uncle Li said, shaking his head. "As for the Guild Leader and Hundred Leaves, I''ll explain the situation to them personally. You guys can go level up and upgrade your gear for now." 1263 Becoming Famous at Sea Chapter 1263 - Becoming Famous at Sea The Reef Sea, famed for its coral reefs, pearls, and other precious materials, was a Level 40 to Level 55 high-resource map. A short distance away from Reef Island, dozens of speedboats attacked a massive, Level 53 sea monster. Unlike normal sea monsters, this was a Bossa Chieftain rank sea monster. It was also one of Reef Sea''s overloads. Right now, this overlord had very little HP remaining. "It''s HP is at 20%! Advanced speedboats, back away! Let the Bronze Speedboats tank it!" Hundred Leaves commanded through the team chat. After the Freedom Alliance redistributed the leveling maps, the Eighth Fleet''s members traveled to the Reef Sea and Echo Canyon to level. The first thing they needed to do was kill the maps'' Field Bosses. The first reason was to guarantee their ships'' safety when exploring these maps, allowing their members easy access to towns and leveling spots. The second reason was to obtain the weapons and equipment these Bosses dropped. Each map had a limited number of Field Bosses. Once these Bosses were killed, they could take anywhere from one to three days to respawn. Each time players killed these Bosses, they dropped fewer top-tier weapons and equipment when they respawned. Hence, when the area''s major powers discovered a Field Boss, they swarmed to kill it immediately. This was also why conflict was so common in leveling maps. As independent players passed, they watched the Eighth Fleet with shock and envy. "The Freedom Alliance''s Eighth Fleet is so strong! They''re actually challenging a Nineclaw Squid so soon after arriving! Even the Freedom Alliance''s Second Fleet never dared to challenge this Boss!" "Haven''t you heard? There''s been a huge shift in the Freedom Alliance''s ranks. The Eighth Fleet currently ranks the second strongest. As for the Second Fleet, it''s ranked tenth." "We really got lucky this time. If they kill the Nineclaw squid, it''ll be easier to get to Reef Island." The passing players chatted as they watched the battle. Not only was the Nineclaw Squid one of Reef Sea''s overlords, but it was also Reef Island''s gatekeeper. Reef Island was a valuable location due to its ancient ruins. One could obtain plenty of treasures and top-tier items in those ruins. However, players had to get past the Nineclaw Squid before they could reach Reef Island. Some time later, the Nineclaw Squid shrieked as its body slammed into the water. A large number of items then dropped around its body. The spectators drooled when they saw the loot. As this was the first time the Nineclaw Squid had been killed, it had dropped plenty of items. They could count at least 50 in total. Moreover, every item was top-tier. If put up for auction, the items would easily sell for large sums. Of course, the Eighth Fleet had also paid a considerable price for these items. In total, they had lost three advanced speedboats and eleven ordinary speedboats. The fleet''s Bronze Speedboats also received varying amounts of damage. The repairs would be costly. Repairing ships was far more expensive than repairing weapons and equipment. Even an ordinary speedboat with half of its durability would cost around 2 or 3 Gold to repair. Advanced Speedboats could cost anywhere from 10 to 20 Gold. Needless to say, Bronze Speedboats were even more expensive. Moreover, Advanced Ship Shipwright. "Someone collect the loot. Everyone else, rest up. We''ll dock on Reef Island soon," Hundred Leaves instructed. She then noticed the communication request from Uncle Li. Revealing an excited expression, she accepted the call and asked, "Uncle Li, have you dealt with the issue?" As far as she was concerned, once she dispatched Uncle Li''s party, Shi Feng had no hope of survival. Uncle Li must have contacted her to report his success. "No. The assassination failed," Uncle Li said, shaking his head. "Failed?" Hundred Leaves was momentarily stunned. Quickly, she reacted and asked, "Is he that strong?" Uncle Li was the Sacred Temple''s number one assassination expert. Both Vanishing Cloud and Agile Thunder God were advanced techniques that even Domain Realm experts struggled to learn. Agile Thunder God, in particular, allowed one to become practically invincible in melee combat, giving the player the upper hand in every exchange. "That''s not the case. When we attacked, his companions showed up to protect him." When Uncle Li thought about Fire Dance, he was disappointed that he couldn''t recruit the woman. "Uncle Li, whatever you need for the next assassination attempt, just ask. I can even hire other assassination experts to help you." After hearing about Shi Feng''s companions, Hundred Leaves had a rough guess as to what had happened. Usually, assassination attempts were carefully planned. An unexpected factor would significantly decrease the chances of success. Unfortunately, now that the first attempt had failed, Shi Feng would be on guard, making it even more difficult to kill the Swordsman. "I''ve already discussed this with the Guild Leader, and we have agreed to give up this mission for the moment," Uncle Li said. "Give up? Why?" Hundred Leaves demanded. "The target and his companions are all extremely powerful. I believe that they are supported by some superpower. Although we still don''t know which superpower is moving in secret, our Sacred Temple has other matters to attend to. We don''t have enough energy to fight another superpower," Uncle Li said seriously. "My Guild Leader had decided to ignore them temporarily. We''ll decide what to do after we take control of the Freedom Alliance." "The Guild Leader said that?" Although Hundred Leaves was hesitant, she had to obey the Guild Leader. "I understand. I''ll make sure to secure the First Fleet position in the next siege battle." "Ah, right. Also, the target has declared war on the House of Seas. Don''t poke your nose into this matter. Let them wear each other down," Uncle Li warned her before disconnecting the call. "He declared war on the House of Seas? Why? Has he lost his mind?" Hundred Leaves gaped, wondering if she had heard wrong. The House of Seas was even stronger than the entire Freedom Alliance. It also had the support of a major corporation. It had both financial strength and manpower in abundance. Moreover, although it wasn''t as powerful as a super-first-rate Guilds, due to the situation in Sea''s End, it was much stronger than veteran first-rate Guilds. Yet Shi Feng had openly declared war against the Guild She wasn''t sure if Shi Feng was brave or just foolish. Immediately, Hundred Leaves launched an investigation into the matter. Before, she had focused on commanding the battle against the Nineclaw Squid, so she had been oblivious about anything outside of the battle. "Who is this guy?" When Hundred Leaves received the information her subordinates had collected, she was astonished. Shi Feng was simply overbearing! He actually intended to fight the House of Seas to the bitter end. Meanwhile, a storm brewed in the House of Seas'' main headquarters in Meteorite City. "Great! A single player dares to declare war against the House of Seas! Now, we''re a laughingstock in Sea''s End! Pass the word! Use everything we have to take down Stormwind Town! I want him obliterated! Send the Blood Drinking Legion to keep an eye on him as well! If he sets foot outside of the town, kill him! I want everyone in Sea''s End to know that no one gets away with provoking the House of Seas!" Tyrant Serpent, the House of Seas'' Guild Leader, laughed in anger after watching the declaration of war video on the official forums. "Since he wants to sell the Sea God''s Blessing, I''ll give him a chance! From now on, sell our Sea God''s Blessings in our Shops! Sell them at 1 Gold per bottle! Didn''t he recently purchase a large stock? I want to see just how much money he can afford to lose!" 1264 Number One at Sea Chapter 1264 - Number One at Sea Inside the House of Seas'' meeting room Tyrant Serpent''s orders shocked the Guild''s upper echelons in the room. This was the first time they had seen their Guild Leader so enraged, angry enough to make rash decisions. "Guild Leader, isn''t that a little too far? We''re already spending 1 Gold for each Sea God''s Blessing we obtain. If we sell the potion for 1 Gold, won''t we be working for nothing? Moreover, our stock is limited. If we don''t sell enough potions, that player will continue to make a profit, yet if we sell too many, we might not have enough for our members. It could hurt our exploration of Death''s Waterfall." The House of Seas had stumbled upon the secret land, Death''s Waterfall, by coincidence. The area''s resources were beyond abundant. It was even home to quite a few ancient ruins. The small corner of Death''s Waterfall they had explored thus far had already boosted the Guild''s strength significantly. Among their initial harvest, they had obtained over a dozen Bronze Speedboats. They had also obtained a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat. There was even less need to mention the number of top-tier weapons and equipment they had found. The areas of Death''s Waterfall they had explored thus far were only the tip of the iceberg. The farther they ventured, the more frightening the treasures they encountered. However, the secret land''s environment was severe. If players did not possess sufficiently high Magic Resistance, survival was out of the question. Hence, the House of Seas had purchased the Sea God''s Blessing in bulk. Fortunately, the House of Seas had met an NPC Grandmaster Alchemist, which allowed them to synthesize Runic Crystals at a much higher success rate. However, while the cost of synthesizing the Runic Crystals had decreased significantly, it still wasn''t cheap. To explore Death''s Waterfall, the House of Seas invested tons of Coins and resources each day. Moreover, the Guild increased its investments by the day. The more players they could send into the secret land, the faster they could explore the area. Naturally, they would send as many players as they could. This was also why their Guild was in short supply of Coins. However, after seeing the popularity of the Sea God''s Blessing in the various empires, they had found a solution to their money problem; they could sell some of their stock to fund the exploration. But selling the Sea God''s Blessing at cost would gain them nothing. "Don''t worry. Previously, we only purchased Runic Fragments for 6 Silver per stack to prevent others from synthesizing Runic Crystals. If we purchase the fragments in bulk for 4 Silver per stack, that brat won''t have any hope against us," Tyrant Serpent said, chuckling. "You just need to focus on finding an opportunity to kill that player." Hearing this, realization dawned on the upper echelons. After all was said and done, Stormwind Town was only a town. The teleportation fees to get there weren''t cheap. Meanwhile, the House of Seas had Shops in all of the twelve major NPC cities as well as numerous NPC towns in Sea''s End. If players only planned to sell a small number of fragments, they could earn far more by selling them for 4 Silver per stack rather than traveling to Stormwind Town to sell them for 5 Silver per stack. By doing this, not only could they hinder Shi Feng''s financial progress, but they could also lower their cost of obtaining the Sea God''s Blessing, killing two birds with one stone. They doubted that Shi Feng had the assistance of a Grandmaster Alchemist. If this competition persisted long-term, Shi Feng would eventually fail to make any money with the Sea God''s Blessing, suffering losses instead. "Guild Leader is the best. If that brat had agreed to cooperate from the very beginning, he could have kept 20% of his profits. Now, he''ll be kicked out of the competition and hunted endlessly." Following which, the House of Seas upper echelons left to fulfill Tyrant Serpent''s orders. As the House of Seas had discussed Shi Feng''s situation, players also discussed the matter on Sea''s End''s official forums. Someone had long since uploaded Shi Feng''s declaration video against the House of Seas. No one had ever expected this outcome. Despite the House of Seas sending hundreds of experts at Shi Feng, the Guild suffered a miserable defeat, its experts either dying or running away with their tails between their legs. Shi Feng''s battle video had also mesmerized many independent players. Whether it was his positioning, dodges, or attacks, compared to the other expert battle videos they had seen, this video was worlds apart. In prior battle videos, they had seen experts take on twenty opponents at most. Moreover, those crowds usually consisted of ordinary players with poor equipment and low levels. The higher quality videos usually only recorded a single expert taking on three or four elite players. Even so, the videos were educational and helped them to learn many combat techniques. However, Shi Feng''s battle video showcased a fight against the House of Seas''s 200-man expert team. Even if some were not true experts, they were not that far off from it, either. Just one of these players could easily overwhelm multiple independent players like themselves, yet Shi Feng had suppressed all 200. If these players were distracted in the slightest while watching the battle video, they''d miss how the House of Seas members had died. Some of them had even opted to play the video in slow motion. Their eyes couldn''t keep up with Shi Feng''s speed, after all. Such a mythical battle completely redefined their definition of "expert.". Compared to Shi Feng, the usual experts were nothing than a joke. "The boss of this grocery store is invincible! He actually killed close to half of the House of Seas'' 200 experts by himself! I wonder if he''d accept an apprentice? I have to ask him to teach me his ways!" "I wonder if that shopkeeper plans to establish an adventurer team or Guild? If he does, I have to join even if I go bankrupt!" "How can he move so fast? Is he even human?" "He''s a monster! There isn''t a single player in Sea''s End that''s a match for him. Even those famous experts can''t block one of his attacks." "Hahaha! The House of Seas is in trouble this time. They''ve provoked such an expert. If this expert wants revenge, the House of Seas members will have to be careful." "The House of Seas has indeed knocked on the wrong door this time. However, it won''t be easy for this expert to cause trouble for the House of Seas. After all, the Guild has nearly a million members. Even if he can kill a player each second, it would take him days to annihilate the Guild. Even if he goes out of his way to hunt them down, what about his level and equipment? At the end of the day, one man''s power is limited. At most, this player can annoy the House of Seas and damage its reputation." "Even so, he''s still pretty impressive. The House of Seas is one of Sea''s End''s overlords. Have you ever seen the House of Seas suffer such a miserable defeat before?" The forums buzzed with conversation regarding Shi Feng. The most debated topic was about who would emerge victorious. Would it be Shi Feng? Or would the House of Seas triumph? Although the outcome was unknown, everyone agreed on one thing: the grocery store''s proprietor was undoubtedly the number one expert in Sea''s End. For a time, many players dreamed of being Shi Feng''s students. Because of this, the grocery store''s popularity skyrocketed. By now, practically everyone in Sea''s End knew about it. In just half an hour after Shi Feng''s battle with the House of Seas experts, Stormwind Town was packed with players, the town''s player population increasing by several times. Many had come out of admiration, while some had come to convince Shi Feng to teach them. There was also a portion that had come to sell their Runic Fragments. Players swarmed the Shop. Even getting through the entrance was now a problem. "Guild Leader, too many players are trying to sell their Runic Fragments. The grocery store''s warehouse is nearly at full capacity. Why don''t we start renovating the Shop? We can bring in some of Candlelight''s products," Fire Dance excitedly suggested after entering the second-floor room. While she had been out purchasing Sea God''s Blessings, she had gained a general understanding of Sea''s End. She had to admit that the business standards here were significantly inferior to the Star-Moon Kingdom''s. The area''s Lifestyle players were also low-quality. If they sold the Candlelight Trading Firm''s merchandise here, the items would definitely be in high demand. 1265 Town Manager Chapter 1265 - Town Manager Promote Candlelight''s merchandise? Fire Dance''s sudden suggestion tempted even Shi Feng. However, he quickly came to a decision and shook his head, saying, "It''s not time for that yet." "Why?" Fire Dance was confused. "The House of Seas can''t touch us in Stormwind Town for now. Even if we sell our merchandise here, all they can do is watch." "They might not be able to touch us, but that''s not the case for everyone," Shi Feng said as he glanced out the window. He pointed at the large group of players wearing the House of Seas'' Guild Emblem that had appeared on the street below. "Speak of the devil." Fire Dance curiously followed his gaze. Immediately, she noticed 100 House of Seas members outside the grocery store. These players had blocked off the Shop''s entrance, preventing anyone from getting close. "From now on, anybody that enter this grocery store will be an enemy of the House of Seas! Anybody that ignores this warning will reap the consequences as soon as they leave the town! The House of Seas will also start purchasing Runic Fragments without limit for 5 Silver per stack!" the leading House of Seas member announced. The representative instantly had the attention of every player in the business district. They hadn''t expected the Guild to adopt the stick-and-carrot approach. Rather than provoking the House of Seas, they''d be safest to sell their fragments to the Guild. Fire Dance also realized what Shi Feng had meant. The House of Seas might not be able to do attack them, but the Guild could easily deal with other players. As Fire Dance considered the situation, several more groups appeared on the street. These players were all House of Seas members, and they were all Level 41 and above. They were decorated with excellent weapons and equipment, the most inferior of which was Level 40 Secret-Silver rank. After making their appearance, these players marched towards Stormwind Town''s entrance. It was obvious they intended to grind in Stormwind Shelter. "The House of Seas sure moves quickly." Shi Feng smiled faintly as he watched the House of Seas elite teams leave town to grind. "It seems we need to hurry." "Guild Leader, leave this to me. Even if the House of Seas bars players from selling us their fragments in Stormwind Town, I can set up stalls in other towns and cities. I refuse to believe they can corner us completely," Fire Dance said confidently. She was an Assassin. She was also incredibly strong. It would be very difficult for the House of Seas to keep track of and assassinate her. Although it would be tiresome running about numerous towns and cities, and she could only carry so many Runic Fragments in her bag space, they could still purchase quite a few Sea God''s Blessings with 4,000 fragment stacks. The House of Seas was dreaming if it thought it could stop them from purchasing Runic Fragments. "No. We''ll stop collecting Runic Fragments temporarily. Our priority is to secure ownership of Stormwind Town," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Secure ownership?" Fire Dance was surprised. "That''s right. The towns in Sea''s End are slightly special. If we want to develop a Shop here, we need to manage the town," Shi Feng said, nodding. "The town managers wield powerful authority. Although they cannot banish players from the town, they can prevent players from setting up Shops. Players would have to sign a contract with the town manager before doing so. This is why there are so few shops in Sea''s End and why the business development here is so poor. "Currently, Stormwind Town isn''t under any player''s control. If we want to establish a Shop, we need to take control of Stormwind Town quickly. If we let the House of Seas get there first, we''ll be doomed." This was also why the House of Seas had dispatched several elite teams to grind in Stormwind Shelter. To become a town''s manager, one first needed to have the most Contribution points of any player in that town. They would then have to take the manager''s test and pass it. Only then could they become the town''s manager for a single month. Once the month ended, if the player still had the highest Contribution Points, they could continue to serve as the town''s manager. If not, they would be replaced. It was a brutal competition. In contrast, the player towns on land did not have time limits. As long as no else conquered the town, they could hold the position. "Should I summon the Dark Gods Legion to help?" Fire Dance asked. If they wanted to obtain Contribution Points quickly, they needed more manpower. Currently, the Dark Gods Legion was only second to Zero Wing''s main force. Although the members were not as high-leveled as Sea''s End''s experts, when it came to combat standards, they could easily triumph. If it came to a fight, the Dark Gods Legion members would have no problems taking on three of the House of Seas'' experts. "No need. We''re more than enough for this," Shi Feng said, waving his hand. While having the Dark Gods Legion wasn''t a bad idea, this problem couldn''t be resolved with more manpower. After all, the requirement to become a town''s manager depended on an individual player''s Contribution Points, not the Contribution Points of a Guild or team. Part of the reason that he had spent 10,000 Gold to purchase a Stormwind Emblem was to obtain Stormwind Town. Only, the House of Seas had given him no choice but to accelerate his plans. With the Stormwind Emblem, players were granted authority within Stormwind Town. With this authority, players could accept advanced town quests, which would allow them to gain Town Contribution Points far more quickly. After all, a large fraction of the TCPs players obtained came from quests. Moreover, the higher a quest''s rank, the more TCP''s it awarded. This was why the various powers fought for town emblems. "Synthesizing Runic Crystals is boring. Let''s pay a visit to the Sea God''s Temple," Shi Feng said as he stood. In the past, Stormwind Town had been a miniature holy land, which God''s Domain''s various superpowers had fought over. War had been common here, each conflict reaping easily over 500,000 lives. To take control of the town, these powers first had to grind for Contribution Points. Aside from the daily town quests, plenty of hidden advanced quests and rare quests were available. However, only players with the town emblem or a particular level of authority could accept these quests. In the past, the Sacred Temple had obtained Stormwind Town in part due to a rare quest. Players could accept this quest repeatedly as long as they could pay the price. Every time players completed it, it awarded more Contribution Points. Many players with authority had known about this quest. However, almost all of them had disregarded it as a waste of both time and manpower. To them, the Contribution Point reward wasn''t worth the price. For a while, no one had accepted it. However, one player from the Sacred Temple had persevered and stubbornly completed the quest, again and again. After his ninth completion, he had more Contribution Points than any other player in Stormwind Town. This was a shortcut to collecting Contribution Points. Although everyone eventually learned the truth about this quest, no one else had ever completed it nine times. Stormwind Town''s Sea God''s Temple: Shortly after Shi Feng entered the main hall, he noticed quite a few players following him. The crowd even included a stealthed Assassin. Although none of these players wore a Guild Emblem, it was obvious that they were from the House of Seas. They sure are diligent. Well, continue following, then. That is, if you can. Shi Feng simply smiled as he noticed the House of Seas members. He walked up to an NPC receptionist and said, "Hello. I wish to meet with Vice Temple Master Arnold." "Sir, please follow me." Upon seeing the Stormwind Emblem on Shi Feng''s chest, the NPC receptionist nodded before leading Shi Feng to the second floor. Fire Dance waited for him in the first-floor hall. As Shi Feng saw to his business in the Sea God''s Temple, a sudden discovery shook the various empires on land. Some Shops were actually selling the Sea God''s Blessing! Moreover, the potion only cost 1 Gold per bottle! 1266 Dragons Blood Chapter 1266 - Dragon''s Blood Apocalypse Empire, Deathwhisper Hill: An army of over a hundred thousand Undead guarded the Deathwhisper Fortress. A legion of 1,000 players clashed with the constant stream of Undead. These Undead wore tattered armor and wielded swords and shields. Their movements were organized, and even the weakest among them was a Level 42 Elite, while the strongest included Level 46 Lords. If a normal, 1,000-man legion faced this army, they would be terrified. However, this 1,000-man legion killed the Undead with a militaristic efficiency, acting as if this situation were just a matter of course. Several hundred MTs raised their shields as they held the Undead back, none of them even attacking the monsters as they focused on defense. With the limited space, the MTs maneuvered their shields and displayed impressive technique as they prevented the Undead from breaking past their line. As for the DPS players behind the shield wall, they launched an unrelenting assault. Occasionally, they used AOE attacks, dealing high amounts of damage to a cluster of monsters. "Good. DPS, prioritize Chieftain rank and above monsters. Healers, keep an eye on your Mana. If it falls below 30%, retreat, switch players with a back-up healer, and recover." Phoenix Rain commanded her legion while attacking a Lord ranked monster. She remained wholly unperturbed despite facing down an Undead army led by 100 Lords. It seemed as if this battle were completely under her control. As Phoenix Rain was commanding the battle, Blue Phoenix, who wielded a dark blue crystal staff that radiated the Epic rank glow and wore a complete Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for Elementalists, walked up to her leader''s side. Blue Phoenix then reported quietly, "Big Sis Rain, we just received news that a Shop in Chaos Rock City is selling the popular Sea God''s Blessing. Moreover, the potion only costs 1 Gold per bottle." "What? Why is it so cheap?" When Phoenix Rain heard Blue Phoenix''s report, a hint of surprise slipped through her calm exterior. "Is the information reliable? Or is that Shop just trying to become famous, selling a small number for such a low price?" The Sea God''s Blessing had become a strategic resource, which God''s Domain''s superpowers competed over. Its effects were wondrous for exploring secret ruins and raiding Dungeons. Among the Sea God''s Blessings sold in the Apocalypse Empire, Phoenix Rain had only obtained a little over 500 bottles. Miracle and Battle Wolves had snatched the majority of the potions. Meanwhile, she was saving these Sea God''s Blessing as a trump card to raid large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons and the competition on Thunder Island. Previously, the cheapest Sea God''s Blessings in the Apocalypse Empire''s Auction House had sold for 6 Gold. Even after deducting the processing fees, the players selling the potion would get over 5 Gold per bottle, yet someone had decided to sell it for 1 Gold. No matter how she looked at it, this felt like fake news. he had long since investigated the Sea God''s Blessing. The potion could only be purchased from the Sea God''s Temple. The only way to obtain a large quantity in a short time right now was to trade in Runic Crystals. However, Runic Crystals were even rarer than Magic Crystals. Other than defeating Boss-grade sea monsters, the only reliable way of obtaining them was to synthesize Runic Fragments. Unfortunately, the synthesis was expensive. Initial estimates put the cost of one bottle of Sea God''s Blessing at a minimum of 1 Gold, 50 Silver. If unlucky, the potion might even cost 2 Gold. Although her people had tried that method, the results had been disappointing. After all, they knew very few NPC Master Alchemists. Moreover, unless they achieved a certain level of Favorability with these NPCs, they would not receive any help. Most importantly, each Sea God''s Temple had a limited number of Sea God''s Blessings. By the time they had amassed a large number of Runic Crystals, the Sea God''s Temple they had visited had run out of stock "I thought the same thing. But according to our reports, the Shop has already sold more than 1,000 bottles. Many large Guilds have given up on purchasing the potion in the Auction House. Only independent teams with flimsy information networks are bidding on the potions," Blue Phoenix explained. "This is interesting. Have you found out who runs that Shop yet?" Phoenix Rain asked, chuckling softly. "Yes. The House of Seas owns the Shop. It is a warehouse-type Shop that the House of Seas operates to collect materials and potions that cannot be found at sea." Blue Phoenix then sent Phoenix Rain the related information. Chaos Rock City ranked in the 10s among the many NPC cities in the Apocalypse Empire. It was insignificant compared to the imperial capital. With enough money early in the game, anyone could obtain land in the NPC cities ranked beyond 10th place; none of the superpowers would pay any attention to these small cities. Taking advantage of this fact, powers such as the House of Seas, that were not based in the Apocalypse Empire, had purchased the Lands. One of the reasons for doing so was to set up a foundation for any potential development. They could also set up a Shop to serve as their eyes in the empire while they used it as a warehouse of sorts. "Their competitor must be quite strong to force the House of Seas to this," Phoenix Rain chuckled. "Since the House of Seas wants to stomp its competition by lowering the potion''s price, we''ll use this opportunity to buy as many as we can. However, we cannot let the House of Seas''s competitor die off too quickly. Have someone contact the competitor and tell them that we wish to have a chat." "Understood." Blue Phoenix promptly began to contact her subordinates. While Phoenix Ran and Blue Phoenix had conversed, the other major powers had sent their people to investigate the situation. After all, they all knew that the House of Seas had a very strong backer. They were curious to know who was capable of forcing the House of Seas into this corner. Moreover, whoever was responsible was capable of securing a large quantity of Sea God''s Blessings. If the other party were strong enough, they could consider forming a partnership. If not, all the better. Stormwind Town, Sea God''s Temple''s second-floor reception room: After waiting in the reception room for some time, Shi Feng watched a stern, gray-robed, old man nearing his 70s enter the room. Although this old man''s hair was fully white, he brimmed with spirit. Moreover, the instant this old man appeared, Shi Feng felt the space around him radiate an immense pressure. He felt as if he would be turned into meat paste if he made any sudden movements. This old man was none other than Arnold, the Vice Temple Master of Stormwind Town''s Sea God''s Temple. On the surface, the NPC''s information showed that he was a Level 160, Tier 3 Great Mage. In reality, however, he was a Tier 4 Great Wizard. Only, due to his last battle, he had fallen ill, falling a tier as a result. This was the beginning of the rare quest chain. "Young adventurer, what business do you have with me?" Arnold asked indifferently as he watched Shi Feng. As the Sea God''s Temple''s Vice Temple Master, his status was extremely high. If not for Shi Feng''s Stormwind Emblem, he would not be worth this NPC''s time. Arnold''s cold greeting didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Smiling, he answered, "Lord Arnold, I''ve heard that, to protect this town in the past, you fought a desperate battle against an abyssal monster. In the end, you used a Curse to kill the monster. However, you suffered a backlash as a result. I have an Advanced Healing Potion with me. I hope that it can be of some help to your injuries." Saying so, Shi Feng took an Advanced Healing Potion from his bag. "Thank you, young adventurer," Arnold said, his tone no longer cold and indifferent. He then shook his head and said, "However, you are better off saving this Advanced Healing Potion for yourself. I know full well what kind of wound I suffer. It is not that easy to treat. Even the Water of Life cannot help me." "May I know what may help you recover, Lord Arnold?" Shi Feng asked. "Young adventurer, I do not wish to belittle your strength, but curing my wounds is too difficult. If you really wish to help me, you must first collect a drop of Dragon''s Blood," Arnold said, chuckling. He then turned and left the reception room. - System: Rare Hidden Quest "Hero''s Past" triggered. Do you wish to accept? - Shi Feng accepted the quest without hesitation. Sure enough, the quest is the same as it was in the past. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief. After all, he did not have a deep understanding of Sea''s End. Much of his information contained falsehoods. Fortunately, the information regarding this quest had been true. The first item this chain quest required was the super-rare herb, Dragon''s Blood. When consumed, players would permanently gain anywhere from 10 to 20 Strength. Very few players were willing to trade such a precious item for a few TCP. Following which, Shi Feng left the reception room and headed downstairs. Fire Dance, who was in Stealth, approached with an anxious expression and reported, "Guild Leader, this isn''t good. The House of Seas is selling a large number of Sea God''s Blessings in Shops throughout the various empires. Moreover, they are selling them for 1 Gold per bottle. Everyone has stopped buying the potion from the Auction House. In addition, the House of Seas is purchasing Runic Fragments without limit in the various towns and cities for 4 Silver per stack. I''m afraid that it won''t be long before they buy out all of the Runic Fragments other players have accumulated. If that happens, it won''t be easy to purchase fragments in bulk anymore." 1267 Frightening Influence Chapter 1267 - Frightening Influence "The House of Seas is quite bold," Shi Feng muttered, revealing a bitter smile when he read the information Fire Dance had given him. "Aren''t they afraid that they''ll go bankrupt?" Selling the Sea God''s Blessing for 1 Gold per bottle was simply foolish. It was the equivalent of harming oneself to damage the enemy. By doing so, neither side would profit. While the House of Seas could recover from the losses if it endured, if it lost the competition, its efforts would go to waste. Unlike the House of Seas, which could sell the potions in its Shops through the various empires, Shi Feng was at a disadvantage. He could only sell the Sea God''s Blessing for a minimum of 1 Gold, 2 Silver in the Auction House. In this case, he only sold a very small number of Sea God''s Blessings each day. He would make barely any money. "Guild Leader, are we still going to sell the Sea God''s Blessing?" Fire Dance asked. "Of course, we are. Since the House of Seas wants to fight to the bitter end, I''d like to see how long they can keep this up," Shi Feng said, smiling nonchalantly. "Get a group of trustworthy Assassins from the Guild over here and have them sell our Sea God''s Blessings in the various empires. We''ll sell the potion for 60 Silver per bottle. Limit the sales volume to 3,000 bottles per empire per day. Have them work in three-man groups and rotate. Instruct a few others to split up and head to Sea''s End''s cities to purchase fragments in bulk. Since the House of Seas will buy the fragments at 4 Silver per stack, we''ll buy the fragments at 5 Silver per stack. Keep our prices 1 Silver higher than the House of Seas." To any other player, selling the Sea God''s Blessing for 60 Silver per bottle would result in a loss. Fortunately, that wasn''t the case for Shi Feng. If he purchased Runic Fragments at 5 Silver per stack, it would only cost him 12 Silver, 50 Copper for each bottle of Sea God''s Blessing. By selling the potions at 60 Silver per bottle, he didn''t get as much profit. Even so, profit was profit. The House of Seas could only blame itself for picking a fight with the wrong player. "Understood." Fire Dance smiled. Had the House of Seas chosen to challenge them properly, both sides would''ve made a profit. Now, however, the House of Seas had shot itself in the leg. Following which, Fire Dance contacted the Guild''s elite Assassins and had them hurry to Stormwind Town. Meanwhile, Shi Feng brought 4,000 bottles of Sea God''s Blessing back to White River City. He planned to store them in the Guild Warehouse and let the Guild''s core members trade GCP for the potions. At the same time, he intended to search for Dragon''s Blood. Dragon''s Blood was also known as Draconic Herb. It was extremely rare. Even if one scoured Sea''s End, they wouldn''t find it. Normally, it was a treasure that only bloomed in kingdoms and empires that produced herbs. To obtain the herb, a player needed luck. Even Shi Feng would have a hard time finding the herb. Hence, he would rely on the Candlelight Trading Firm to purchase it for a high price. Otherwise, he''d never move to the next part of the quest chain. White River City''s Teleportation Hall: As soon as Shi Feng returned using the Return Scroll, he discovered a flood of players teleporting into the city. There were at least twice as many players than before. Among them, there were members of large Guilds belonging to other kingdoms and empires. He easily counted members of 14 first-rate Guilds in the Teleportation Hall. There were also a large group of Battle Wolves'' members. For a moment, Shi Feng wondered if he had mistakenly teleported to the Beast Empire''s capital. What''s going on? Shi Feng was surprised as he observed the Teleportation Hall. Before Shi Feng could figure out what was happening, he heard players discussing the Candlelight Auction. "There sure are a lot of people going to the Candlelight Auction this time!" "No kidding. Not only will the auction offer slots to enter the Holy City of Titan, but they''re also selling Bronze Mounts and personal houses. The popularity of the Holy City''s slots goes without saying. And every player wants a personal house. Not only can you train in a high Mana density environment, but you can also take advantage of the NPC Shops selling rare items. It''d be so convenient to travel to and from Stone Forest Town and the nearby leveling maps." "That''s right. Aside from large Guilds, plenty of famous adventurer teams have come to participate in the auction. I have heard that they are all here to get one of Stone Forest Town''s personal houses." "It''s a pity that the starting bid for the houses is 300 Gold. I would''ve tried to buy one for myself if it were cheaper." "That''s already considerably cheap. Stone Forest Town is the number one player town throughout Star-Moon Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms." Practically every player in the Teleportation Hall chatted about the Candlelight Auction and Stone Forest Town. When they talked about Stone Forest Town, they wore yearning expressions. Has Stone Forest Town become so popular? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. While he acknowledged that Stone Forest Town was a valuable location, he hadn''t thought that it would attract so many players from other kingdoms and empires. After all, Stone Forest Town''s location was gradually growing less profitable. By the time mainstream players were over Level 50, the town would lose its competitive edge. The only advantage the town would have at that time would be its Mana density and the NPC Shop''s rare items. White River City, Candlelight Trading Firm: Players crowded the seven-story-tall building''s entrance. Originally, only players with 10 Gold or more could enter the Shop. However, due to the high number of participants, the trading firm had been forced to raise the requirement to 100 Gold. Even then, the designated auction venue, which could accommodate 10,000 people, was full to the brim. Even the VIP rooms were not enough. Originally, only those carrying over 2,000 Gold qualified to use the VIP rooms. Now, only those with 10,000 Gold or those from superpowers could use the rooms. Most first-rate Guilds didn''t have 10,000 Gold lying around, yet the 30 VIP rooms were occupied. The Candlelight Auction was more popular than anyone had expected. Melancholic Smile, the auction''s host, was stupefied. She found it truly hard to imagine that a mere auction, held by a player-operated Shop, could attract so many superpowers and famous adventurer teams. Melancholic Smile wasn''t the only one surprised. Even the various powers that had come to attend the auction were shocked to discover so many competitors. Normally, only superpowers'' auctions attracted so much attention, yet an upstart Guild had achieved the same results. Moreover, these powers had all come of their own volition. None of them had been invited Meanwhile, in a VIP room on the second floor "Guild Leader, I''ve already checked. Seven Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds are in attendance. Practically every first-rate Guild from the neighboring kingdoms and empires are here as well," Purple Eye reported to Galaxy Past. "There really is no competing with Zero Wing." Galaxy Past smiled bitterly as he watched the sea of players in the first-floor hall. Only after many years had Galaxy Past developed the Star Alliance into a first-rate Guild. However, if the Star Alliance held an auction right now, they''d be lucky if even five or six first-rate Guilds attended. In contrast, Zero Wing had only begun its development after God''s Domain launched, yet it had surpassed his many years of effort. Galaxy Past had to admit that the comparison was odious. "What kind of reaction will Singular Burial have if he finds out about this?" Galaxy Past muttered. Some time ago, Heaven''s Burial had announced that it would hold an auction at the same time as the Candlelight Trading Firm. However, Heaven''s Burial had become a laughingstock. 1268 Foundation that Exceeds Expectations Chapter 1268 - Foundation that Exceeds Expectations The Candlelight Auction''s turnout exceeded everyone''s expectations. As everyone waited quietly for the auction to begin A stalwart-looking man seated in a second-floor VIP room and carrying a greatsword across his back exclaimed, "Boss Sirius, the Candlelight Trading Firm is awesome! Despite this being its first auction, it can already compete with the Dark Auction." "Indeed. Although the Candlelight Auction is no match for the Dark Auction, in terms of the number of major powers participating in this auction, I''m afraid that it is already nearing the level of Super Guild''s auctions." Sirius, who sat beside the stalwart man, nodded. He, too, was surprised. After his defeat against Shi Feng in the Dark Arena, he had investigated Zero Wing thoroughly. However, while he knew that Zero Wing''s overall strength could rival that of a first-rate Guild, he had never imagined that the Guild would be this powerful. From the moment he had set foot in White River City, practically every one of his expectations had been surpassed. Whether it was the business district or the standards of the players in the city, White River City was superior to many kingdom''s capital cities. In God''s Domain, a Guild''s capabilities weren''t determined by its strength alone. The status of its main city was also important. Oftentimes, the prosperity of a city determined the development of a Guild. Currently, White River City''s prosperity was not one bit inferior to Star-Moon City. If not for the new expansion pack, which caused Dark Cities to appear near various kingdom''s capitals, White River City'' would''ve most likely surpassed Star-Moon City by a large margin. If not for the Candlelight Trading Firm''s intention of selling the slots to enter Titan City, he really wouldn''t have discovered that Zero Wing had already developed to such a degree. Meanwhile, in another room, a handsome man glared, displeased, at the crowded first-floor hall. "Pavilion Master, my people have finished the investigation into the situation. So many people are attending this auction to bid for Stone Forest Town''s personal housing and the Advanced Mana Armor Kits," a dignified young man reported. Although this young man simply stood there, he seemed like the center of the universe. Moreover, he radiated a terrifying aura. Even the man''s companions, who were Level 42 experts, wouldn''t get within 10 yards of him. This young man was none other than the monster of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion that had grasped a Domain at a very young ageMartial Dragon! "Zero Wing is actually capable of such a grand auction. No wonder why Rain has such an optimistic view of this Guild. It''s a pity that, even after attracting so many customers with the Holy City''s slots, Zero Wing only has such pitiful items to sell," Nine Dragons Emperor sneered when he saw Melancholic Smile walking up to the stage. If this auction were organized properly, it could attract so many more major powers in the future. It would massively boost Zero Wing''s development. After all, these major powers had money. Anyone else would only have spare change. Zero Wing would never have attracted the true major powers if not for the Holy City''s slots. As Nine Dragons Emperor fell silent, the auction officially began. Under the crowd''s attentive gaze, Melancholic Smile, who wore a luxurious, blue dress, approached the front of the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Candlelight Auction. This auction will have two phases. During the first phase, we will sell items that have been carefully selected by our own auction house. The second stage will be a bartering session with the auction house as an intermediary. However, to ensure the quality of the items offered for trade, we will collect a processing fee of ten Magic Crystals or 3 Gold Coins for each item. For materials specifically, we will charge 15 Magic Crystals or 4 Gold Coins per stack." As Melancholic Smile finished explaining the auction''s flow, a commotion swept through the crowd. "Crap! This is fraud! Even a first-rate Guild''s auction wouldn''t dare charge ten Magic Crystals for every item!" "That''s right! How can you be this greedy?!" Players in the first-floor hall shouted their indignation. Although many of the major powers present had attended the Dark Auction before and knew about these bartering sessions, Candlelight''s high price was ludicrous. The Dark Auction only dared to charge a high price because it was the best auction throughout God''s Domain. Only extraordinary existences were invited. "Hahaha! Zero Wing sure is interesting!" Nine Dragons Emperor could not help but laugh when he heard Melancholic Smile''s explanation. "However, this is a good opportunity to earn some money from the major powers. After all, a few of the superpowers here have come to bid for the Holy City''s slots. Whether it is the adventurer teams, independent players, or Guilds, none would miss such a golden opportunity to trade high-value items." Such a shameful behavior would earn the various major powers'' ire. Needless to say, the Candlelight Auction wouldn''t happen again. Even Phoenix Rain''s reputation in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be soiled for supporting Zero Wing. "Just what is Black Flame thinking?" Yuan Tiexin stared at Melancholic Smile in confusion. "Is he so desperate for money that he''s willing to abandon his reputation?" The first auction was always the most important. Asking for such an unreasonable price would only incur the wrath of the various major powers. None of these powers would likely visit the auction house in the future. Purple Jade, who sat beside Yuan Tiexin, was also confused. Based on her understanding of Black Flame, he wouldn''t make such a noobie mistake. Meanwhile, as Melancholic Smile saw the attendees'' reactions, she revealed an expression that seemed to say, "As expected." Originally, she had planned to set the processing fees at one Magic Crystal or 30 Silver Coins per item. This way, they could more or less guarantee the quality of the items while avoiding such a negative reaction. After all, the Candlelight Auction was relatively small compared to something like the Dark Auction. Players weren''t likely to offer high-quality items for trade. The Candlelight Auction had only attracted so many superpowers and first-rate Guilds due to the Holy City''s slots. Yet, Shi Feng had insisted on increasing the price. It was obvious he was treating the various attendees like fools. However, now that things had already developed to this point, Melancholic Smile could only endure the complains while starting the auction. "We will now begin the auction. The first item we are offering is a Magic Whale Skin!" Melancholic Smile said as she gestured to the semi-transparent screen above the stage. The screen displayed an image of the Magic Whale Skin as well as its Attribute Panel. Suddenly, the venue fell silent. "What?!" Everyone was stunned after reading the item''s introduction. The various major powers, particularly the superpowers, had already begun to develop their naval forces. Hence, they understood just how important ships were and were madly investing manpower and resources into obtaining high-ranking ships. These major powers wanted to upgrade their high-ranking ships to ease the fights against sea monsters. These organizations were even purchasing Bronze rank strengthening items at astronomical prices. However, such strengthening items were extremely rare, no less than the high-ranking ships themselves. Even if one obtained such an item, they''d refuse to sell it. After all, if one could strengthen their own ships, their power at sea would increase by a large margin. Yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm was actually auctioning off a Dark-Gold ranked strengthening item 1269 Crazy Star Chapter 1269 - Crazy Start "The Candlelight Auction has even obtained a Dark-Gold strengthening item?!" "These Attributes are ridiculous! I''ve heard that Bronze strengthening items can only increase a ship''s durability by 2 points, yet the Magic Whale Skin can increase a ship''s defense by 10% and durability by 10 points. It can even increase Movement Speed by 3%!" The various Guilds'' upper echelons in the first-floor hall panted as they stared at the Magic Whale Skin. Ordinary players might not yet understand the game''s ships, but the various large Guilds present understood them very clearly. If an item like the Magic Whale Skin were used to strengthen a Bronze Speedboat, it could improve the speedboat''s performance significantly. Meanwhile, a speedboat could be enhanced to a total of five times. If one fully enhanced a Bronze Speedboat with Magic Whale Skins, the speedboat''s performance might even exceed Mysterious-Iron Speedboats. However, strengthening a Bronze Speedboat with a Magic Whale Skin would be the epitome of luxury. At the very least, only Mysterious-Iron ships would qualify for such a powerful strengthening item. "Black Flame is quite generous. He has decided to use such a valuable item to open the auction." Yuan Tiexin was slightly astonished when he saw the Magic Whale Skin. The various major powers had spared no effort to get ahead of others at sea, yet Zero Wing was giving such a wondrous item away. In another VIP room, Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes shone as he stared at the Magic Whale Skin. There were still a few days until the contest on Thunder Island began. If he could purchase the Magic Whale Skin, he could upgrade one of his Bronze Speedboats. With this, he would have an easier time killing Boss-grade sea monsters and obtaining Thunder Passes. When Melancholic Smile saw the crowd''s excitement, she quietly released a sigh of relief. "Now that everyone has seen the Magic Whale Skin''s Attributes, let us proceed to the bidding. We will sell three sheets at a time. The starting price is 10,000 Magic Crystals, and each increment must not be lower than 500. Let us begin!" As soon as Melancholic Smile announced the starting price, many players gasped. According to the current market price, 10,000 Magic Crystals was the equivalent of 2,500 Gold. With that amount of money, one could purchase a relatively good plot of Land in an NPC city. Moreover, Magic Crystals were far more precious than Coins as they were more difficult to obtain. However, the high price wasn''t the only reason these players were shocked. What surprised them more was Candlelight''s ability to offer three Magic Whale Skin sheets at a time. After all, a single sheet could not qualitatively transform a ship. However, three sheets could. "What a ruthless price." Sirius chuckled as he shook his head. "It seems Candlelight is going to take our money today." The competition at sea grew more intense with each passing day. If his Guild could increase a high-ranking ship''s performance by a rank, it would raise the Guild''s naval strength to new heights. While Sirius sighed, the price of the Magic Whale Skins rose rapidly. "Ten thousand five hundred crystals!" "Eleven thousand crystals!" "Twelve thousand crystals!" In just ten seconds, the price had soared to 15,000 Magic Crystals. One could purchase Epic Equipment with that kind of money. "Big Sis Rain, what should we do? We have already lent our Magic Crystals to Zero Wing. We have less than 5,000 crystals on hand," Blue Phoenix asked anxiously as she watched the price of the Magic Whale Skin continuously increase. She also felt that Zero Wing was too insincere. Rather than offering such a valuable item to them, Zero Wing had chosen to auction it. Phoenix Rain could only reveal a bitter smile in response. She had been wracking her mind to figure out a way to increase her fleet''s strength. She had even led a team of experts to the Deathwhisper Fortress personally to obtain ship-strengthening items. Only after many sacrifices had she gotten her hands on a Mysterious-Iron strengthening item. On the other hand, without anybody noticing, Zero Wing had Dark-Gold strengthening items. Immediately, Phoenix Rain called up her Friends List and contacted Shi Feng. "Team Leader Ye Feng, I wish to use the Magic Crystals I lent you to purchase the Magic Whale Skins that are currently on auction. Will that be possible?" Phoenix Rain asked. "Of course! That won''t be a problem. I''ll notify the auctioneer right away. However, your maximum limit will be the 250,000 Magic Crystals you lent our Guild. I can''t make the decision if the price is higher than that," Shi Feng said earnestly. One of the reasons that he had generously offered the Magic Whale Skins for auction was to show everyone Zero Wing''s foundations. In any case, he had eight sheets in total. He only needed five to strengthen the Hurricane Sailboat. Using the remaining three on speedboats or Common Small Sailboats would be a waste. It would be more beneficial to sell them. The second reason was to pay back his debt. After all, he had yet to return the 250,000 Magic Crystals he had borrowed from Phoenix Rain. If he tried to offer her the top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons or Equipment that he had obtained from the Dark Arena, it was unlikely that Phoenix Rain would be interested. Only something like the Magic Whale Skin, which could increase one''s naval strength, would garner Phoenix Rain''s attention. Hearing Shi Feng saying so, Phoenix Rain relaxed. There were still five days until the debt was due. Zero Wing could easily reject her request. "Twenty thousand crystals!" Phoenix Rain instantly placed a frightening bid. "As expected of the players in the VIP rooms. They can afford to place such insane bids casually." Both independent players and Guilds in the first-floor hall were astonished by Phoenix Rain''s bid. Even first-rate Guilds were fortunate if they had a stockpile of 60,000 Magic Crystals. After all, there were too few sources. Moreover, their daily consumption was considerably high. It was impossible to stockpile so many. Spending 20,000 Magic Crystals just to strengthen a single ship was simply too much of a luxury. Only super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds were capable of such a thing. "Twenty-one thousand crystals!" Nine Dragons Emperor frowned as he placed a new bid. The Holy City slots were his main goal. Hence, he hadn''t prepared many Magic Crystals. He currently had 24,000 crystals on hand. After all, a small Guild like Zero Wing should not be capable of offering anything worth his while. Now, however, it was too late for him to send his subordinates to collect more Magic Crystals. "Hahaha! It seems the other powers haven''t come prepared." Yuan Tiexin chuckled. Following which, he shouted, "Thirty thousand crystals!" The Secret Pavilion had prepared plenty of Coins and Magic Crystals for the Candlelight Auction. After all, the Secret Pavilion had done business with Zero Wing many times before, so they knew that Zero Wing possessed strong foundations and had many items that could even tempt the Secret Pavilion. However, Yuan Tiexin had never expected to find such an opportunity. "Thirty-one thousand crystals!" Phoenix Rain placed a new bid, but she didn''t raise it by much. While the Magic Whale Skin was valuable, its price was already high. Any higher and one could afford a Bronze Speedboat. "Thirty-five thousand crystals!" Yuan Tiexin said without hesitation. "Thirty-six thousand crystals!" Phoenix Rain frowned as she glanced at Yuan Tiexin''s room a short distance away. This was the highest she was willing to go. Although she had plenty of Magic Crystals, she could not waste them. The other audience members were stupefied. The cost of three Magic Whale Skins could already rival half of a first-rate Guild''s Magic Crystals. "It seems that they have reached their limit." Yuan Tiexin smiled. "Forty thousand crystals!" They other superpowers might only want the Magic Whale Skin to fortify a Bronze Speedboat. However, the Secret Pavilion was in possession of a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat. Three Magic Whale Skins could almost put their ship on par with a Secret-Silver Speedboat. A Secret-Silver Speedboat! He wouldn''t even blink at spending 100,000 Magic Crystals on such a ship, much less 40,000. The instant he placed his 40,000 crystal bid, the venue fell silent. After Melancholic Smile knocked the gavel three times and confirmed the sale, a gasp echoed throughout the auction house. The major powers that had scolded the Candlelight Trading Firm for fraud had run out of comments. The first auction item had sold for 40,000 Magic Crystals. They had to admit that the Candlelight Auction was high-quality. Only, they still thought that the processing fees for the bartering session were somewhat expensive. However, not long after these major powers had such thoughts, the second auction item was revealed above the stage. Every one of these major powers stared in silence. Even the various superpowers were no exception. The reason for such a reaction was that the second item was none other than the Thunder Pass! 1270 The Cost of Arrogance Chapter 1270 - The Cost of Arrogance Thunder Island was no longer a secret among the various major powers. Even some second-rate Guilds with powerful information networks knew about the island. Various superpowers were frantically collecting Thunder Passes, but these weren''t easily obtainable, requiring a lot of manpower and resources. Each additional Thunder Pass would allow them to bring ten more experts to Thunder Island. When the contest for Thunder Island''s authority began, the superpower with the most Thunder Passes would have a greater advantage. Hence, the various superpowers constantly offered to purchase Thunder Passes at a high price, attracting plenty of adventurer teams to sail the Sea of Death and kill sea monsters. Only, there had been no news of any adventurer team obtaining passes even now. Nevertheless, the Candlelight Trading Firm was selling a Thunder Pass. It was truly hard to imagine that an upstart Guild''s auction could consecutively offer two treasures that could tempt the various superpowers. Moreover, they had already announced the final item: the Holy City''s slots. How could these major powers not be shocked? "Now that everyone has seen our second auction item, without further ado, we will begin the bidding at 3,000 Magic Crystals. Each increment cannot be lower than 100 crystals! Begin!" Melancholic Smile announced the starting price. This price surprised many of the players in the first-floor hall. They all thought it was outrageously high. However, the various superpowers on the second floor made nothing of it. On the contrary, they all felt it was considerably cheap. After all, they normally offered 1,000 Gold per pass. "Four thousand crystals!" "Four thousand, three hundred crystals!" "Five thousand crystals!" As soon as Melancholic Smile opened the floor for bids, the various superpowers, which initially had little interest in the Candlelight Auction, contested madly for the Thunder Pass. These superpowers gave the players in the first-floor hall no opportunities to intervene, raising the price again and again. Even the participating second-rate Guilds felt out of their league in this auction. As for the players and Guilds that had scolded the Candlelight Trading Firm for being fraudulent, none of them dared to make a peep. Eventually, Phoenix Rain won the Thunder Pass for 8,300 Magic Crystals. "Pavilion Master, are we letting Phoenix Rain have the pass just like that?" Martial Dragon asked curiously. "It doesn''t matter. Any higher and the pass wouldn''t be worth it. In any case, Rain has ten extra slots. They''re not enough to make a difference," Nine Dragons Emperor growled, sneering. After giving the matter some thought, Martial Dragon agreed with his Guild Leader. They had far more slots than Phoenix Rain. Even if she had ten more, the increase wouldn''t be enough to affect the big picture. Following the end of the second item''s bidding, Melancholic Smile gestured to the image above the stage once more. However, the image remained the same as before. Smiling, she said, "Let''s begin the auction for the third item! The third item is another Thunder Pass! Like before, the starting price is 3,000 Magic Crystals! Begin!" "What?! There''s more!?" Gasps echoed throughout the venue. Thunder Passes were extremely difficult to obtain. Obtaining one was already an amazing feat, yet Zero Wing had another to offer. Even Phoenix Rain was surprised. Of course, she was also elated. Although it was only one more entry pass, there was a huge difference between ten and twenty. Fortunately, among the superpowers present, she had the most Magic Crystals to spend. As soon as the auction began, the Thunder Pass''s price instantly rose to 8,000 Magic Crystals. Unlike before, the various superpowers paid more attention to the Thunder Pass this time. They, too, realized what kind of consequences they would suffer if another power had twenty additional slots. The competition for the second Thunder Pass intensified. Eventually, however, Phoenix Rain obtained the second Thunder Pass for 15,400 Magic Crystals. Although the price was astoundingly high, Phoenix Rain felt that the money had been well spent. Just when everyone believed that the competition for the Thunder Passes had ended, Melancholic Smile pointed at the Thunder Pass''s image once again. "This is insane! Just how many Thunder Passes do they have?!" The players in the auction venue involuntarily shuddered. This was especially true for the various superpowers in the second-floor VIP rooms. They could tolerate a single power obtaining one or two passes as it wouldn''t significantly impact the outcome. However, if the Candlelight Trading Firm sold too many Thunder Passes, the balance would change, affecting the contest. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Melancholic Smile did not immediately start the next round of bids. Instead, she took three Thunder Passes from her bag, stupefying everyone present. "How?! How do they have so many passes?!" Nine Dragons Emperor shook as he stared at the three Thunder Passes in Melancholic Smile''s hand. He found it truly unbelievable that Zero Wing had obtained so many passes. Despite the scarcity of Thunder Passes in the Sea of Death, Zero Wing had five. The Dragon Pavilion Master previously had only 60 slots more than Phoenix Rain. He could ignore losing the two Thunder Passes, as he still had a considerable advantage over Phoenix Rain even then. However, if Phoenix Rain won these three Thunder Passes as well, the difference between their teams would be negligible. This won''t do! I must obtain these passes! Nine Dragons Emperor commanded, "Notify Bell and have him send all our Magic Crystals immediately!" "Pavilion Master, I''ve already notified him. However, it will take at least ten minutes before they arrive," Martial Dragon reported. "Ten minutes?! Damn it! Why so long?!" Regret and anger filled Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes as he stared at the three Thunder Passes. "Notify Zero Wing''s auctioneer. Tell her that we request a delay!" Had the Candlelight Trading Firm stated beforehand that such items would be sold, he never would have been caught off-guard. In reality, Nine Dragons Emperor wasn''t the only person to react that way. Even Guilds such as Pantheon, Miracle, King''s Return, Battle Wolves, and Sacred Temple were caught flat-footed. After all, nobody would''ve imagined that there would be such frightening items offered at the Candlelight Auction. They had prepared only the Lands required to purchase the Holy City slots. Almost at the same time, the representatives of the various superpowers all reported back to the upper echelons of their respective Guilds, having their Guilds send Magic Crystals over. Aside from this, they also contacted the Candlelight Trading Firm asking for a delay in the auctioning of the Thunder Passes or permission to use other items as collateral. This scene stunned the various major powers and adventurer teams present. After all, asking for a delay in the auctioning of an item was a relatively humiliating thing to do, as this would show that one had insufficient funds. Despite that, the various superpowers of God''s Domain were actually willing to cast away their reputation. It was truly inconceivable. "Guild Leader, are we going to delay the auction of the Thunder Passes?" Melancholic Smile asked after contacting Shi Feng. Currently, five superpowers had requested a delay, something not commonly seen. If it were any other first-rate Guild holding this auction right now, they would definitely acquiesce without hesitation. "We can delay the auction, but tell them that they need to compensate us for the time lost. Every minute''s delay will cost them 300 Gold. They are welcome to delay the auction for as long as they want," Shi Feng replied nonchalantly. "Guild Leader, this" Melancholic Smile''s heart skipped a beat when she heard his answer. "Don''t worry about it. Just tell them as is," Shi Feng said, chuckling. There were only a few days left until the contest over Thunder Island. At this point, practically all Boss-grade sea monsters that could be killed had already been killed once before. Even if one killed the Boss-grade sea monsters that respawned, the likelihood of a Thunder Pass dropping would be very low. After all, only a limited number of Thunder Passes could drop during each contest cycle. The only reason he had managed to obtain so many Thunder Passes was the King-class sea monster he had killed. If he did not make a killing off these superpowers now, he would be doing that King-class sea monster a disservice. Melancholic Smile fell speechless at Shi Feng''s words. Her Guild Leader was a little too good at earning money. However, since it was a command from her Guild Leader, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to repeat Shi Feng''s words to the five superpowers. 1271 Frantic Struggle Chapter 1271 - Frantic Struggle "Pavilion Master, Candlelight is clearly trying to extort us." Martial Dragon''s expression darkened when he heard Melancholic Smile''s reply. They would have to pay 3,000 Gold if they wanted to delay the auction of the Thunder Passes for ten minutes. Such a sum was enough to purchase a considerably good plot of Land in an ordinary NPC city. Although 3,000 Gold was nothing to the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion, they would be fools to accept this offer. At this moment, Nine Dragons Emperor also had an ugly expression on his face. "This damnable Zero Wing!" Nine Dragons Emperor pounded his fist on the armrest of his chair. In a chilling tone, he said, "Let them have it! Isn''t it just 3,000 Gold? I''ll have Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing pay it back a hundredfold in the future!" If he did not stop Phoenix Rain from obtaining the remaining three Thunder Passes, the struggle on Thunder Island would undoubtedly become more troublesome. Meanwhile, the other four superpowers also paid the 3,000 Gold without hesitation. After all, acquiring the three Thunder Passes would greatly bolster the forces they could send to Thunder Island. In just a brief moment, Shi Feng earned 15,000 Goldenough money for him to buy a golden Land in a major NPC city. While the bidding for the Thunder Passes was on hold, Melancholic Smile continued auctioning one item after another. Meanwhile, every one of these items was highly contested by the players in the first-floor hall. Some of these items were on commission from other players, while some were Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment from Zero Wing''s Warehouse. The Fine-Gold rank Magic Light Set Equipment that was auctioned managed to garner the attention of those on the second floor. The various major powers knew full well how difficult it was to obtain such high-level set equipment. Despite all their efforts in challenging Level 50-plus monsters, they had yet to get even a piece of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment, much less Fine-Gold Set Equipment. In the end, the Secret Pavilion bought the Magic Light Set Equipment for 4,000 Gold. Meanwhile, each one of the 100 Advanced Mana Armor Kits offered sold for roughly 150 Gold. After the auction of the Advanced Mana Armor Kits came to an end, the sale of the Bronze Engineering Locomotives began. Nowadays, the various major powers in God''s Domain were frantically collecting high-ranking Mounts as well as equipping their elite members with Common Mounts. They all understood that the era of Mounts had already arrived. If they did not quickly equip their Guild members with Mounts, they would end up trailing the other Guilds before long. After all, once players had Mounts, they could save up on plenty of travel time. High-ranking Mounts even possessed combat capabilities. Now that the Candlelight Trading Firm was selling Bronze Mounts, the various major powers naturally wouldn''t let this opportunity get away. "I believe everyone has seen the Bronze Engineering Locomotive''s Attributes already. The starting price will be 150 Gold, and each increment must not be lower than 10 Gold! Begin!" The moment Melancholic Smile announced the start of the auction, whether it was the various large Guilds or adventurer teams, they all began placing bids fervently. "One hundred and sixty Gold!" "One hundred and seventy Gold!" "One hundred and eighty Gold!" In the blink of an eye, the price of the Bronze Engineering Locomotive reached 350 Gold. Just as everyone believed that the price of the Mount would stop at 400 Gold, a new bid came from one of the second-floor rooms. "Six hundred Gold!" Yuan Tiexin declared. "It''s just a Bronze Mount, yet the guy in that room is actually offering 600 Gold? He might as well use the money to buy a top-tier Dark-Gold Weapon." Everyone was astonished by Yuan Tiexin''s bid. While they understood that Bronze Mounts were extremely rare, they were definitely unwilling to spend 600 Gold to obtain one. "Uncle Yuan, we could''ve gotten the Mount for just 500 Gold. Why did you offer 600?" Purple Jade asked curiously. After the price reached 400 Gold, the representatives of first-rate Guilds no longer showed much interest. It would have even been possible to obtain the Engineering Locomotive for just 460 or 470 Gold, yet Yuan Tiexin had offered 600 Gold. Even if the Secret Pavilion was rich, they should not be wasting their money in such a way. "This is an order from the Guild Leader. He has tasked us with purchasing every Engineering Locomotive that comes up. If I only bid 500 Gold this time, other people will still harbor some hope of purchasing it later on. If I offer 600 Gold at once, they will give up on trying for the Mounts that come up later on in the auction," Yuan Tiexin explained, chuckling. "What? Didn''t we already obtain plenty of Engineering Locomotives from Zero Wing before? Moreover, many of our experts frequently raid ancient ruins to collect high-ranking Mounts. We shouldn''t be lacking in Bronze Mounts, right?" Purple Jade asked, confused. "It is precisely because we have obtained so many Engineering Locomotives from Zero Wing that we have even more reason to purchase every one of them that appears today," Yuan Tiexin replied, smiling. "Originally, I also thought that there was nothing special about the Bronze Engineering Locomotives. Their base Attributes are even weaker than those of other Bronze Mounts. However, when 50 Engineering Locomotives are gathered within a certain range, they will gain a buff called Mechanical Heart. The buff increases the Mount''s Movement Speed by 15% and both the rider''s and Mount''s Defense by 20%. This buff will greatly assist teams in both travel and battle." "They actually have such an effect?" Purple Jade was shocked. She immediately understood why the Guild Leader wanted to purchase all of the Bronze Engineering Locomotives. Large Guilds often conducted team operations. If they could fully equip a 50-man team with Bronze Engineering Locomotives, the team''s efficiency would increase considerably. Following which, the Secret Pavilion instantly purchased every Bronze Engineering Locomotive that went up on auction. Although some first-rate Guilds tried to compete for the Mount, the Secret Pavilion shut them down with a significantly higher bid. None of them got any chance whatsoever. In the end, the Secret Pavilion purchased all ten Mounts that were offered. Consequently, people also started recognizing the standard of the Candlelight Auction. At the same time, the atmosphere in the auction venue grew increasingly heated. When Melancholic Smile revealed the three Thunder Passes before everyone once again, the entire hall went into an uproar. The reason for such a reaction was everyone''s desire to see the various superpowers going all-out in bidding for the passes. "Let us begin bidding for the next auction item! The starting price for these three Thunder Passes will be 10,000 Magic Crystals! Each increment may not be lower than 1,000 crystals! Begin!" As soon as Melancholic Smile finished speaking, the struggle between the various superpowers present began. Only, before the crowd on the first floor could enjoy the pleasure of watching this auction, they heard a bid that made even the various first-rate Guilds present shudder involuntarily. "Fifty thousand crystals!" Nine Dragons Emperor shouted. With the bid rising to 50,000 crystals right off the bat, the first-rate Guilds present that were entertaining thoughts of competing for the Thunder Passes were immediately disqualified. Meanwhile, everyone present was also shocked by Nine Dragons Emperor''s wealth. Just to obtain three entry passes, Nine Dragons Emperor had bid the equivalent of a first-rate Guild''s entire stockpile of Magic Crystals. "Fifty-three thousand crystals!" "Fifty-five thousand crystals!" "Sixty thousand crystals!" Phoenix Rain called out a new price. Now, just one Thunder Pass cost 20,000 Magic Crystals. "Have these superpowers lost their minds?" The players on the first-floor hall were stupefied. Melancholic Smile was also shocked. She could not comprehend why the various superpowers were going so crazy over a few entry passes. However, Melancholic Smile and the others did not realize Shi Feng''s intent in selling three Thunder Passes at once. The difference in the number of Thunder Island slots each superpower currently possessed was not particularly large. At this point, the number of slots each superpower wielded also wouldn''t undergo any massive changes. The addition of these 30 slots might very well become the straw that broke the camel''s back. Hence, the various superpowers naturally wouldn''t give up on competing for them so close to the contest for Thunder Island''s authority. Otherwise, wouldn''t all their previous efforts in obtaining Thunder Passes go to waste? 1272 Growth of the Guild Chapter 1272 - Growth of the Guild Just as everyone was feeling shocked at the wealth of the various superpowers, a new bid appeared once again. "Seventy thousand crystals!" "Are Magic Crystals rocks?!" The players in the first-floor hall felt their minds going numb when they heard this price. The bids were actually rising in increments of 10,000 Magic Crystals. In the past, they only knew that the superpowers of the virtual gaming world were existences that should not be provoked, as the disparity was simply too big. Now, however, it would seem that the gap between both sides was far larger than they imagined it to be. "Eighty thousand crystals!" Sirius shouted without hesitation. Too much profit was at stake on Thunder Island. At this crucial moment, the Battle Wolves naturally could not afford to fall behind. Hence, the Guild had mailed 300,000 Magic Crystals to Sirius in order to obtain the last three Thunder Passes. In reality, though, obtaining the additional 30 slots was only secondary to the Battle Wolves Guild. The crucial point was that these 30 slots must not fall into the hands of another power. Shortly after Sirius placed his bid, the representative from Miracle raised the price by another 10,000 crystals. In less than a minute, the price for the three Thunder Passes had already reached an astronomical sum of 250,000 Magic Crystals. They sure are desperate. Shi Feng was greatly surprised when he heard this figure. Although he had long since known that the Thunder Passes would fetch a high price, he had never imagined that they would be this valuable. Just three Thunder Passes would already allow him to settle his debt with Phoenix Rain. "Big Sis Rain, what should we do? We don''t have that many Magic Crystals left anymore," Blue Phoenix said anxiously. The person who placed the 250,000-crystal bid was Nine Dragons Emperor. If Nine Dragons Emperor obtained the three passes, he would definitely suppress their side during the contest on Thunder Island. Phoenix Rain also frowned at this scene. She never thought that the situation would develop in this manner. If it were the other powers that obtained the passes, she wouldn''t have minded it that much. However, if Nine Dragons Emperor got the passes, she would lose her chance to become the Great Pavilion Master. After a moment of silence, Phoenix Rain''s lips curled up into a bright smile. However, her smile also carried a hint of bitterness. She immediately contacted Shi Feng once again. "Team Leader Ye Feng, I wish to borrow 300,000 Magic Crystals from Zero Wing," Phoenix Rain said, smiling. "Of course, I won''t be borrowing it for nothing. I will use two golden Shops in two of the Apocalypse Empire''s top three NPC cities as collateral. If I cannot return 400,000 Magic Crystals in seven days, those two golden Shops will become the Candlelight Trading Firm''s possession." "Big Sis Rain!" Blue Phoenix jumped up in fright when she heard Phoenix Rain''s words. "Those two golden Shops are the foundations of the Phoenix Pavilion!" Although the Apocalypse Empire was very large with a high player population, it had only eight NPC cities that had a player population of over five million. Meanwhile, the two golden Shops Phoenix Rain mentioned were located in two of the seven other major NPC cities, aside from the imperial capital. Currently, the value of these two golden Shops was not one bit inferior to the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City. How could they possibly use such important assets as collateral? "I understand what I''m doing," Phoenix Rain said determinedly. Hearing this response, Blue Phoenix fell speechless. With the Phoenix Pavilion''s current state, how could they possibly collect 400,000 Magic Crystals in just seven days? As expected of the Demon Queen. The actions she takes are truly flawless. Shi Feng was inwardly surprised by Phoenix Rain''s offer. Although using the two golden Shops as collateral might seem greatly disadvantageous to Phoenix Rain, in reality, that wasn''t entirely the case. After all, whether Phoenix Rain managed to repay her debt or not, she would not make a loss. If she succeeded in redeeming her debt, she could simply retrieve her Shops. Even if she failed, the Shops would become the Candlelight Trading Firm''s possessions, not Zero Wing''s. There was a huge difference between the Shops falling into the Candlelight Trading Firm''s hands and Zero Wing''s. After all, Phoenix Rain owned 20% of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s shares. If the Candlelight Trading Firm grew stronger through the addition of those two Shops, the profits Phoenix Rain received from her shares would increase as well. Moreover, if converted to Coins, 300,000 Magic Crystals would be equivalent to 75,000 Gold, a sum that already exceeded the startup costs of those two Shops. While this might seem like a risky deal for Phoenix Rain, in reality, the loss she would make would be minimal. "Team Leader Ye Feng, what is your decision?" Phoenix Rain asked, smiling. When Shi Feng looked at Phoenix Rain in the screen, he suddenly felt as if he was the one borrowing money from her. From beginning to end, it was as if the initiative in this trade was in her hands, not his. "Alright, you have a deal. However, the Magic Crystals will be left with the Candlelight Trading Firm for now. Once the auction is over, I''ll hand over the remainder to you." Shi Feng nodded. Phoenix Rain''s conditions were indeed difficult to refuse. If the Candlelight Trading Firm could branch out to two cities with populations rivaling that of White River City, the potential profits were simply frightening, particularly now that the various large Guilds were placing more focus towards exploring ancient ruins. He had even more need for the golden Shops of the Apocalypse Empire''s major NPC cities, to sell the Lunar Potion. Following which, Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain signed a contract through the system. When Blue Phoenix watched Phoenix Rain signing the contract, she suddenly realized an extremely important matter. Despite its extreme importance, her mind had in fact automatically forgotten about this matter every time it occurred, treating it as if it was only natural. Before coming into contact with Zero Wing, the latter had been only a small Guild that received help from them secretly. Yet, after some time, the Guild was now a source of significant income. Zero Wing had even become a Guild that could actually be of help to them. When Blue Phoenix thought of Zero Wing''s growth speed, she could not help but have goosebumps. Even a Guild supported by a major corporation could not compete with Zero Wing in development speed. Meanwhile, during this time, the price for the three Thunder Passes had already reached 280,000 Magic Crystals. This price caused many superpowers to give up on bidding. Of course, if powers like Miracle, Sacred Temple, King''s Return, and Battle Wolves wanted to, they could still compete for the Thunder Passes. However, letting Nine Dragons Emperor obtain the three Thunder Passes would not have any effect on their performance on Thunder Island. Hence, rather than waste a ton of Magic Crystals, these superpowers came to a silent agreement not to increase the bid any further. "Pavilion Master, with this, we will definitely have a huge lead over Phoenix Rain on Thunder Island. Not only will we be able to send more men to harass her group, but we can also dispatch more men to carry out our original plans." Hearing Melancholic Smile''s gavel land for the second time, Martial Dragon sneered as he looked towards Phoenix Rain''s room. "Although I''ve spent quite a lot this time, as long as I can surpass Phoenix Rain on Thunder Island, all of this will be worth it." A smile appeared on Nine Dragons Emperor''s face. Although he had prepared quite a lot, he only had a total of 330,000 Magic Crystals on hand. If the other powers continued contesting for the Thunder Passes, he would not be able to put up a struggle. Just as the gavel was about to land for the third time, however, a new bid appeared in the auction venue. "Three hundred thousand!" "Didn''t she run out of Magic Crystals already?" Nine Dragons Emperor was confused as he looked at Phoenix Rain''s room. However, a possibility very quickly occurred to him. "Damn that Zero Wing! They actually lent Magic Crystals to her!" "Three hundred and ten thousand!" However, Nine Dragons Emperor was also helpless to do anything about this situation. He had no choice but to continue bidding. As for the other superpowers, they had already given up on fighting over this bottomless pit, because regardless if Phoenix Rain or Nine Dragons Emperor obtained these three Thunder Passes, the two of them would not be able to affect their results on Thunder Island at all. "Three hundred and twenty thousand!" "Three hundred and thirty thousand!" "Three hundred and forty thousand!" Phoenix Rain continued increasing her bid without hesitation. When the price reached 340,000 crystals, Nine Dragons Emperor was thoroughly defeated. He could only watch as the gavel in Melancholic Smile''s hand landed one time after another. In the end, the three Thunder Passes fell into Phoenix Rain''s hands. Seeing this outcome, the various major powers grew exceedingly envious of Zero Wing. Zero Wing had managed to earn 340,000 Magic Crystals just by selling three Thunder Passes. This was practically even more profitable than robbing a bank. After the auction for the Thunder Passes came to an end, the remaining items that came up did not garner much interest from the various superpowers. Only the players seated in the first-floor hall bid for them. Although the prices of the items were not particularly high, the quantity was much higher. Time passed quickly. As one item after another sold for a high price, one of the highly anticipated finale items finally appeared before everyone. The personal houses of Stone Forest Town! 1273 Enviable Zero Wing Chapter 1273 - Enviable Zero Wing The moment the image of Stone Forest Town''s personal houses appeared, the players in the first-floor hall grew restless. Apart from the Holy City slots, these players had come to the Candlelight Auction to see Stone Forest Town''s personal housing. The various major powers might ignore the personal houses, but to independent players, these houses were extremely important. "If I can get a house, I can easily travel to Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena! I can definitely surpass those other experts!" "Using the houses in Stone Forest Town as a training ground isn''t a bad idea, either." Many independent experts and adventurer teams'' eyes shone with excitement when they saw the personal houses'' introduction. Stone Forest Town had undergone a qualitative transformation since the last war. Not only was the town''s Mana density much higher, but the number of wandering merchant NPCs visiting the town continued to increase. Most importantly, more expert players had been attracted to the town. Every day, Stone Forest Town hosted hundreds of duels between experts, and anyone was free to watch. One could also participate in the Battle Arena''s tournaments, fighting for the chance to learn the rumored combat techniques and enjoy more benefits in the establishment. However, traveling to and from Stone Forest Town was somewhat inconvenient as the town didn''t have any teleportation arrays for public use. If they could purchase a personal house, traveling to and from Stone Forest Town would be a lot easier. "Now that everyone has seen the personal houses, the starting price is 300 Gold per unit, and each increment must not be lower than 10 Gold. Begin!" As Melancholic Smile finished speaking, the first-floor''s players shouted one bid after another. "Three hundred and ten Gold!" "Three hundred and twenty Gold!" "Five hundred Gold!" The price''s rise was simply staggering. With 500 Gold, one could purchase a considerably good house in an NPC town. However, it was obvious that the price had yet to reach its limit. Only after the price reached 610 Gold did it finally stop. After watching the first house sell, the various major powers grew envious. Constructing a house in a player town was extremely cheap, with the cheapest only costing 20 Gold and the pricey houses costing up to 100 Gold. However, the more expensive a house was, the more space it occupied. Needless to say, to maximize their land use, Zero Wing would''ve constructed the 20-Gold houses rather than the 100-Gold houses. Now, every one of these 20-Gold houses sold for more than 600 Gold. The Candlelight Auction sold a total of 50 houses, but it was nothing compared to the number of adventurer teams and independent players present. The following houses sold for much higher prices than the first. Among the 50 houses, the most expensive had sold for 740 Gold. On average, the houses had sold for 650 Gold. By auctioning the 50 houses, Zero Wing had made 32,500 Gold. Although this was spare change to superpowers, to first-rate Guilds, it was a massive sum of money. It was enough to equip many of their elite members with Common Mounts. "Guild Leader, this is a rare opportunity; why don''t we sell a few more units?" Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and suggested after seeing the players'' disappointment. It was clear that the number of houses they had offered was far from enough to satisfy the demand. "No. We''ll stick with our original plan. We want them to learn about the benefit of Stone Forest Town''s houses first. In the future, we''ll be able to sell the houses for a higher price." Shi Feng instantly rejected the proposal. Although Stone Forest Town could accommodate many more houses, he had other plans for the town, Stone Forest Town''s migration plan in particular. By the time that plan came to fruition, they would attack far more players, and the houses would fetch a much higher price. He had simply offered these 50 units to introduce everyone to the benefits of owning a house in Stone Forest Town. When the auction for the personal houses came to an end, the various superpowers in the second-floor rooms focused on the stage. The next auction item was the reason they had come to the Candlelight Auction. The slots to enter the Holy City of Titan! To ordinary Guilds, these slots were not of much use. However, it was a different story for superpowers like themselves. The slots could help some of their famous Lifestyle players become true Masters. A Master Lifestyle player had the power to transform their trading firms. Their trading firms would earn ample profits. Naturally, this would increase their Guilds'' development as well. "So, this is the Holy City of Titan?" a white-bearded, old man muttered, his eyes glowing as he read Titan City''s introduction. "Sirius, you must get me a slot to the Holy City as per our agreement." The screen above the stage did not explain the Holy City slots. Rather, it displayed information about the Holy City itself. One such detail was the Titan Lifestyle Association. The information revealed that the establishment''s workshops, which players could rent, had a Mana density far greater than the Basic Meditation Rooms''. Moreover, the floating island contained Research Rooms, and players could use these rooms to study various materials. There were also plenty of Master-rank production videos. There were even Grandmaster-rank production videos available. However, players were required to enter the Advanced Research Room to gain access. Only, entering these Research Rooms was very costly. The Basic Research Room alone cost 200 Gold per day, the Intermediate versions costing 500 Gold per day, and the Advanced versions costing 1,200 Gold per day. The various superpowers gasped when they saw these prices. Moreover, both the Intermediate and Advanced versions required a certain amount of Reputation in Titan City to rent. "Master Fire, rest assured; the Battle Wolves always stick to our word. We will definitely obtain a slot for you," Sirius responded respectfully. At the same time, the other powers'' fighting spirit roared to life as they swore to obtain slots for themselves. "Now that everyone has seen the Holy City slots, the starting price is 500 Gold, and each increment must be no lower than 100 Gold. If you don''t have enough money, you may offer cities'' Lands as collateral. However, we will only evaluate the Lands at market price. Begin!" After Melancholic Smile announced the next round''s rules, the venue''s atmosphere reached its boiling point. "Five hundred Gold!" "Six hundred Gold!" "Eight hundred Gold!" In the blink of an eye, the price had reached 3,000 Gold, shocking every player present. The first-rate Guilds soon gave up on the Holy City slots. They could already purchase a relatively good plot of Land in an ordinary NPC city with that kind of money. The only players remaining in the competition were the second-floor superpowers. The Holy City slots were similar to the Thunder Passes. To those who needed them, they were worth a ton of money. To those who didn''t, however, they were utterly worthless. Every superpower had a batch of Lifestyle players who were so close to their Master ranks. Unfortunately, these Lifestyle players weren''t familiar enough with God''s Domain''s materials and production techniques, unable to cross that final hurdle. As long as they obtained the Holy City slots, these superpowers were confident in nurturing a Master Lifestyle player and improving their respective trading firms. They would easily rake in far more than this investment. "Five thousand Gold!" Sirius instantly increased the price by 2,000 Gold. "That lunatic! It seems he''s hellbent on getting this slot." The other superpowers shook their heads and gave when they heard this price. While they could afford it, it had exceeded their initial expectations. Although they were rich, their money did not grow on trees. Moreover, the various superpowers were preparing for the contest on Thunder Island. They did not have that much money to waste. Hence, they decided to let Sirius have the first slot. In any case, there were ten slots up for grabs. Even if split equally among their seven superpowers, they could each obtain at least one slot. They didn''t have to rush. They could watch the Battle Wolves whittle away their funds and wait until they dropped out of the competition. Following which, the bidding for the second slot began. "Five thousand Gold!" Sirius shouted once more. 1274 Frightening Wealth Chapter 1274 - Frightening Wealth Sirius''s bid silenced the venue. "Is that guy nuts? Wasting 5,000 Gold once isn''t enough for him?" Sirius''s generosity stunned the players in the first-floor hall. With 5,000 Gold, one could purchase considerably high-quality Epic Equipment Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile, who stood above the stage, revealed an excited smile. She had never expected the Holy City slots to sell for such a high price. Although she wouldn''t receive a single Coin from the sales, Zero Wing could earn so more money. They would have enough for the Guild''s development, reconstructing Stone Forest Town, and purchasing Diamond Wood. Like the first round of bidding for the Holy City slots, none of the superpowers contested for the second. Following which, Melancholic Smile started the bidding for the third slot. "Five thousand Gold!" Sirius shouted yet again. "Have the Battle Wolves gone mad?" Nine Dragons Emperor frowned. "Do they really think we won''t challenge them?" This time, the superpowers refused to let Sirius have his way. "Five thousand, one hundred Gold!" "Five thousand, three hundred Gold!" "Five thousand, five hundred Gold!" Both Nine Dragons Emperor and Phoenix Rain raised the price again and again. In the end, however, Sirius still won the third Holy City slot for 6,500 Gold. As another purchased the first three slots, the various superpowers began to grow anxious, bidding even more fervently. In the end, among the seven remaining slots, the cheapest had sold for 6,100 Gold, while the final slot sold for 7,000 Gold. The players in the venue were stunned. Meanwhile, the various first-rate Guilds turned green with envy. "Zero Wing made 62,400 Gold by selling ten slots If Singular Burial knew about this, he would go mad." Galaxy Past smiled bitterly as he watched the Candlelight Auction''s first phase come to an end. "I''m afraid that it won''t be long before Zero Wing becomes Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. It seems we''ll still have to shift the Star Alliance''s development to other kingdoms." A Guild''s strength was reflected not only in its expert and elite players, but also in its financial prowess. Although Zero Wing had been acknowledged the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, it had far fewer elite players than first-rate Guilds. Zero Wing was only superior regarding tools of war and peak experts. In terms of management and deterrence force, wasn''t in the same league. The Guild''s range of influence, in particular, couldn''t compare to Blackwater''s, for example. After Blackwater''s withdraw from Star-Moon Kingdom, Heaven''s Burial and the kingdom''s second-rate Guilds had rushed to take control of the abandoned territory. Even the Star Alliance had gotten in on the action in hopes of replacing Zero Wing as the kingdom''s overlord. The Dark Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom had also harbored such thoughts as they frequently killed Zero Wing''s members and the players heading into Stone Forest Town. Zero Wing had always walked the path of the elite and as a result, lacked manpower. However, now that the Guild had obtained so much funding during the Candlelight Auction, it wouldn''t be long before the Guild could recruit a large number of high-quality elite members, compensating for its flaws. If any Guild wanted to challenge Zero Wing Star-Moon Kingdom, they had to think twice. After all, with so much money, Zero Wing would not fear a battle of attrition. Once the auction''s first phase ended, the second phase quickly began. Fortunately, no one had anything more to say about Zero Wing''s processing fees, obediently retrieving their prepared treasures and putting them up for trade. Due to the 10-Magic-Crystal or 3-Gold processing fees, only items worth at least 10 Gold were accepted for trade. This guaranteed the item''s quality and made it easy for players to find what they wanted. Even the various major powers on the second floor found quite a few items they needed. As the event died down, everyone''s final evaluation of the Candlelight Auction was quite high. The Candlelight Auction could definitely stand on the same stage as superpowers'' auctions. Shi Feng similarly browsed the trade list in the hopes of finding the Draconic Herb. Players from numerous countries had attended the Candlelight Auction. Among those present, many were either major powers'' representatives or independent experts. The likelihood of finding the Draconic Herb here was much higher than searching for the herb elsewhere. After all, to obtain the Draconic Herb, one needed both sufficient luck and sufficient strength. Players of this caliber weren''t necessarily willing to sell the Draconic Herb they obtained. Instead, they usually traded such super-rare herbs for items that could benefit their development. What?! Is this for real?! Shi Feng suddenly discovered a very familiar item as he read through the list. The Hero''s Chapter! Although this item was a tattered piece of parchment, not particularly useful to ordinary players, it was a treasure highly sought after by the various large Guilds. Moreover, the Hero''s Chapter did not consist of a single page. Rumors had it that if one completed the Hero''s Chapter, it would be more valuable than a Legendary item. In reality, a single page was already worth more than an Epic item. In the past, one page easily sold for 15,000 Gold. The Hero''s Chapter had only one purposeCto summon a Hero to defend a town or city. The summoned Hero functioned like Guardian NPCs in an NPC city. In the past, Shi Feng had obtained a page and summoned a Hero to defend Shadow''s main city. Shi Feng had never imagined that the Hero''s Chapter would show up in the Candlelight Auction. The owner sure knows how to drive a hard bargain. Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the players'' price. The other party requested a top-tier, Level 45 Dark-Gold greatsword and top-tier, Level 40 Dark Gold plate gauntlets and boots. Aside from Epic and Growth-type Weapons, Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons were the best available. As the various large Guilds'' players had yet to reach Level 45, it was very difficult to obtain Level 45 weapons, not to mention top-tier, Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons. Such a weapon could easily fetch over 1,000 Gold on the market. As for the Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, each piece could easily fetch over 400 Gold. Shi Feng even began to wonder if the seller knew the Hero''s Chapter''s true value. The Hero''s Chapter''s introductory text was very simple. It only stated that one could recruit a Hero that was Tier 3 and ten levels higher than the summoner to defend a town or city. From the introduction, one could surmise that the Hero''s Chapter was on par with a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. Only, this Summoning Scroll did not have a duration. However, it could only help protect towns or cities, not help players grind or raid Dungeons. Hence, the chapter''s value should be limited. At this stage of the game, it''d be surprising if it could sell for 600 Gold. If it were an actual Tier 3 Summoning Scroll, though, it could go for a little more as it could help fight powerful Bosses. What the introductory text had not mentioned was the fact that the Tier 3 Hero could grow. The introductory text only revealed the Hero''s base Attributes. Moreover, unlike Personal Guards, it was much easier to level Heroes. Even the weakest among them could grow to Level 180, Tier 4, while the more powerful Heroes could grow to Level 200, Tier 5. Forget it. I''ll just have Melancholic smile trade for it. Shi Feng then contacted Melancholic Smile. Shortly after, Shi Feng found the Draconic Herb. Similarly, the other party had asked for the high price of a piece of Level 45 top-tier Dark-Gold Equipment. Fortunately, this wasn''t an issue for Shi Feng. There was plenty of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment in Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse. Time passed quickly. Soon, the auction''s second phase ended as well. Although each player had not put up many items for trade, a lot of players had attended. Shi Feng earned over 2,000 Gold and 150,000 Magic Crystals during the second phase. Only, as Phoenix Rain had borrowed quite a bit, he hadn''t earned as much as he would have liked. After the auction ended, news of Candlelight Auction''s wealth spread to the various major powers. "Damn it! How could this have happened?!" Singular Burial, in the distant Star-Moon City, felt himself age by several years when he read the report. He hadn''t thought that the Candlelight Auction would be such a huge success. Star-Moon City''s auction was a joke in comparison. Moreover, now that Zero Wing had earned a fortune, Heaven''s Burial''s development was at risk. Following which, Singular Burial contacted Flame Blood and asked, "Blood, how are things going on your side?" "Guild Leader, I''ve tried my best to lure the small Guilds and adventurer teams over. Although some of them have started to wise up and grow suspicious, things on Abandoned Wave''s side are developing smoothly. I don''t believe it will be long before Heaven''s Burial owns Star-Moon Kingdom," Flame Blood said excitedly. "Notify Abandoned Wave that Zero Wing has secured a lot of funding. If we don''t hurry, the Guild will be even more difficult to deal with in the future," Singular Burial commanded sternly. "Also, think of a way to help Abandoned Wave hasten his progress. I don''t care if you''re exposed in the process." "Understood." Hearing Singular Burial saying so, Flame Blood could not help his surprise. Just how far has Zero Wing developed to make the Guild Leader so nervous? Meanwhile, Shi Feng had stealthily reached White River City''s city hall. "Sir, how may I be of service to you today?" the female receptionist asked as she approached Shi Feng. "I''d like to construct a city," Shi Feng responded. 1275 Building a City Chapter 1275 - Building a City In a VIP reception room on the city hall''s second floor A middle-aged man in exquisite clothing slowly opened the door and entered the room. A high-ranking Identification Skill would tell someone that this butler-like man was actually a Level 180, Tier 3 NPC named Jarvis. "Lord Protector, I hear that you''d like to build a city. May I see your City Building Order?" Jarvis asked. "Here." Shi Feng took out a tattered parchment. "This is indeed a City Building Order that the royal family gave out over a century ago. May I know where you wish to construct your city to give you an accurate estimate, my lord? However, I have to remind you that the high-level locations require higher construction fees," Jarvis explained. He then presented a Magic Scroll and allowed Shi Feng to choose the location for his city. "Understood. I wish to construct it in Witch''s Hill." Shi Feng pointed to Witch''s Hill on the scroll. The Witch''s Hill could definitely lure plenty of players as a Level 50 to 70 large map. It was also close to the Mournful Ruins. The Mournful Ruins was a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon, and like the Stoneclaw Mountains, it produced an abundance of Magic Crystals. Witch''s Hill itself had the entrance to an Otherworld. Witch''s Hill had still been popular among players even a decade after the game launched. "Alright. May I know exactly where you want to build your city?" Jarvis asked. He tapped on the Magic Scroll, and a miniature 3D model of Witch''s Hill appeared before him. "The exact location?" Shi Feng carefully examined the model before him. He had only asked about the cost to construct a city during his last visit. Even if he had decided to construct his city then, his map choices had been limited due to his status. The system would have randomly decided the city''s exact location. Now that he had the City Protector title, not only did Jarvis, the third most powerful NPC in the city hall, serve him, but he could also choose his city''s exact location. This privilege also had its own downsides. The construction fees would fluctuate depending on the terrain of the location he chose. If the system decided the location, however, ease of construction was generally prioritized over surrounding scenery. "I''ll pick this location." Shi Feng pointed to the top of a mountain that was near a large waterfall. Sightseeing players would enjoy the wonderful scenery, and the terrain made the city difficult to attack. The only inconvenience one would face was ascending and descending the mountain. Level 50 players and above, however, generally had their own Mounts, so traveling the distance would not be a problem. "Lord Protector, you''ve chosen a location with complicated terrain. The manpower and resources required will cost at least 60% more to build here. It will also take longer to construct. Are you sure you wish to build here?" Jarvis asked. "Mhm. Build it there." Shi Feng nodded. He would save a lot of money by building the city on a flat plain, but it would be a lot harder to defend as enemies could attack from all sides. He couldn''t afford to be stingy. "Alright. I''ll calculate the total cost. Please wait a moment." After Jarvis confirmed that there were no issues, he calculated the construction costs. A short moment later, he handed Shi Feng a list and said, "Initial estimates put the price at 152,000 Gold. We will charge additional fees if the city is attacked. You''ll also need to pay an additional 30,000-Gold registration fee. As a second-generation city, a monthly 30,000-Gold management fee will also be required. Do you wish to dispatch additional guards? You can ensure the city''s security after its constructed. You may hire guards to defend your city for up to 21 days. Every group of 100 Tier 1 guards will cost 100 Gold per three days, while each group of 10 Tier 2 guards will cost 100 Gold per three days." Sure enough, building a city is quite expensive. Shi Feng was astonished as he read the quote. He had only received a general price during his previous visit. Now that he was constructing his city, including the guards, the final price was over 190,000 Gold. This excluded the fees that he would incur when monsters attacked the city Originally, he had planned to build the city after he finished collecting the required Seven Luminaries Crystals to construct the Four Towers of Elements. Now that he had the Hero''s Chapter, he could repel possible invaders even without the Four Towers of Elements. Naturally, he had to construct the city as soon as possible. "I wish to hire 1,000 Tier 1 guards, and 100 Tier 2 guards for 21 days," Shi Feng said. "Alright. Your total bill comes to 192,000 Gold!" Jarvis excitedly announced. This was his first large transaction. "It will take roughly six to ten days to construct the city depending on the local situation." Shi Feng handed over 196,000 Gold. He had earned quite a bit with the Sea God''s Blessings, but he had only decided to take 30,000 Gold with him. He had left the remaining funds with Fire Dance for purchasing Runic Fragments and teleportation fees. Meanwhile, Shi Feng made a fortune during the Candlelight Auction. After deducting the various costs, he had earned over 210,000 Gold. The major powers in Star-Moon Kingdom felt as if a noose had been placed around their necks. Even a first-rate Guild couldn''t compete with Zero Wing with such abundant funds. Trying to fight Zero Wing would be a death wish. "Lord Protector, here is the deed to your land. From now on, you are one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s lords and will enjoy the status of Count," Jarvis said respectfully. - System: Congratulations! You are the first player to become a lord in Star-Moon Kingdom. Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity, one City Teleportation Magic Array Design, and "Star-Moon Kingdom''s Count" title. - The position of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Count was completely different from a cities Count. The difference was like the difference between heaven and earth as one could possess land of their own, while the other could not. With this, I''m broke again. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the deed in his hands. He only had a little over 40,000 Gold on hand now. He would barely have enough to purchase Diamond Wood and reconstruct Stone Forest Town after deducting the funds for his promotion quest. He had nothing left for the Guild''s development right now. However, Shi Feng didn''t mind. At the moment, it was far more important to obtain a city than to focus on Zero Wing''s development. Earning enough money wouldn''t be a concern if Zero Wing had a city. The city could provide far more profits than Stone Forest Town. The rewards are astounding. There''s actually a City Teleportation Magic Array Design. Shi Feng was shocked as he looked at the design in his bag. The City Teleportation Magic Array was far more advanced than the Teleportation Magic Array he possessed. It could accommodate more people at a time with a significantly lower operating cost. Its only flaw was that it only allowed one to teleport between Guild towns and cities. It wasn''t possible to teleport to NPC cities. Even so, the City Teleportation Magic Array Design was a treasure worth tens of thousands of Gold. Normally, one could only obtain the design from super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons. However, the drop-rate was only 2%. Moreover, the design only dropped from the Dungeon''s Final Boss. Getting the design now saved him a lot of trouble. He could link the city directly to Stone Forest Town once it was constructed. This would drastically increase the value of both the town and city. Now that I''ve dealt with everything, it''s about time to challenge my promotion quest, Shi Feng thought as he gazed at the Soul Orb in his bag. It was practically a ticking time-bomb. He needed to deal with it as soon as possible. 1276 Upgrading the Magic Sword Chapter 1276 - Upgrading the Magic Sword Star-Moon City, Shadowblade Ruins: The Shadowblade Ruins was the nearest Level 40 to Level 50 high-resource map to Star-Moon City. Every day, tons of players would travel to this map. However, the players currently there were in a panic. The reason for this was the sudden assaults of powerful monsters all over the map. Moreover, among these monsters'' numbers were the highly intelligent one-horned humanoid monsters, whose combat standards were significantly higher than elite players and whose Attributes were likewise high. These humanoid monsters were like wolves ravaging a flock of sheep as they charged into the various elite teams in the map. Every one of their attacks easily bypassed the defenses of players, directly landing on vital points on the latter''s bodies. Even healers could not keep up with the damage. Only the experts leading these elite teams could keep up against these humanoid monstersand just barely at that. "Leader, our Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls aren''t working!" a Level 40 Swordsman wearing light-blue armor reported anxiously. "How can this be? Weren''t there a few guys that used the scroll to escape from danger an hour ago?" The robust Level 41 Shield Warrior holding back a humanoid monster frowned when he saw the number of monsters attacking his team increasing. Currently, the Shadowblade Ruins was still a very dangerous map for players. Hence, when exploring it, every team would prepare some Tier 0 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls in order to escape any traps or monster encirclements they encountered. Meanwhile, hundreds of monsters had already surrounded their 100-man team right now. If the team were up against only several hundred Elite monsters led by Chieftains, they could still manage somehow. Now, however, the monster army they faced had three Level 50-plus Lords and over a dozen Level 50-plus Chieftains. In addition, there was a Level 51 one-horned humanoid monstera greater threat than even the Lord ranked monsters. Meanwhile, standing on high ground a short distance away from this elite team, two players were observing the entire battle. One of these players was an Assassin wielding a pitch-black crystal. This Assassin''s skin was entirely gray, save for a blood-red mark imprinted between his eyebrows, his body giving off a dark aura. If Shi Feng were present, he would definitely recognize this Assassin to be Abandoned Wave, Blackwater Guild''s ex-Guild Leader. Meanwhile, the cloaked Cleric with a white-jade staff, who was standing beside Abandoned Wave, was Flame Blood. "These Evil Beasts sure are terrifying. Just one of them is already enough to force an expert Level 41 Shield Warrior to activate both his Lifesaving Skill and Berserk Skill just to cope with it," Flame Blood exclaimed in astonishment as he looked at the distant Shield Warrior being pushed back by the one-horned humanoid monster. "This is nothing," Abandoned Wave said, smirking. "That''s just a recently created Evil Beast. Since we now have the entire Shadowblade Ruins locked down, let''s stop toying around with these people." Saying so, Abandoned Wave tapped on the pitch-black crystal he wielded. Immediately, five Level 55, Lord ranked Evil Beasts appeared before him. Compared to the Level 51, Chieftain ranked Evil Beast, these five Evil Beasts were not only larger in size but also had a trace of cunning in their eyes. It was clear that these Lord ranked Evil Beasts were much more intelligent. So strong! Flame Blood shuddered involuntarily as he looked at the five Lord ranked Evil Beasts. He was one of the peak experts of Heaven''s Burial, and his senses were telling him very clearly that just one of these Evil Beasts could kill him in two or three moves. Meanwhile, five such monsters in total were present. If such a force charged into a group of elite players, the consequences would be unimaginable. "Get rid of them all!" Abandoned Wave commanded as he pointed towards the 100-man elite team ahead. In the blink of an eye, all five Evil Beasts disappeared before Abandoned Wave as they charged at the elite team currently locked in bitter combat. When the five Evil Beasts entered the battlefield, the leading Level 41 Shield Warrior gasped. "We''re doomed" The Shield Warrior despaired when he saw one of the Lord ranked Evil Beasts killing a teammate with one blow. After just a short moment, the 100-man elite team led by an expert was annihilated. Not a single player managed to escape alive. Abandoned Wave walked over to the battlefield and began a ritual. Suddenly, the corpses of these elite players started transforming into monsters one after another. The expert Shield Warrior''s corpse became a thinly built Special Elite ranked Evil Beast. Aside from this expert Shield Warrior, two other players'' corpses turned into one-horned Evil Beasts. Only, they were Elite ranked Evil Beasts. "Hahaha! Guild elite teams really are great! I managed to obtain three Evil Beasts from annihilating a team! Zero Wing, just you wait. It won''t be long before I make you all taste despair." Abandoned Wave laughed in satisfaction as he looked at the three newly created Evil Beasts. "Alright, let''s head to the next location. The battle there should be ending soon as well." The difference between killing an adventurer team and a Guild elite team was simply massive. Previously, he had managed to create only one Evil Beast, despite killing three adventurer teams. Now, however, one Guild elite team had given him three new Evil Beasts. Among them, one was even an Evil Beast with high potential. After a few more days at this rate, not to mention flattening Stone Forest Town, even raiding an NPC town would be a piece of cake for him. Elsewhere, after Shi Feng finished dealing with the construction of his city, he contacted Melancholic Smile and had her find five trustworthy Advanced Enchanters to become the Candlelight Trading Firm''s core enchanters as well as have them sign a strict contract. His Tier 2 promotion quest was extraordinary and would definitely take a long time to complete. Hence, Shi Feng wanted to deal with all Guild and trading firm-related matters first. Only then would he be able to focus on his quest. At this point, the Candlelight Trading Firm was already the publicly acknowledged number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom. It also possessed a 3-star Shop. As a result, plenty of Lifestyle players were applying to join the trading firm every day. Even Basic and Intermediate Lifestyle players did not have much of an advantage when they sought to join the trading firm; they could only become reserve members after passing the trading firm''s test. Only Advanced Lifestyle players got to become official members immediately upon passing the test. Despite such strict requirements, a flood of applicants would still come to the trading firm. Hence, while it might be difficult to find Advanced Enchanters in other trading firms, the Candlelight Trading Firm boasted quite a few. "Whichever one of you is willing to become a core Enchanter of the Candlelight Trading Firm, come register with me!" Melancholic Smile shouted in the lounge for Advanced Lifestyle players. Immediately, the various Advanced Lifestyle players inside the lounge perked up their ears in interest. However, when they heard that the offer was only for Enchanters, many of the Lifestyle players present turned to look at the Enchanters among them with envy. "Hah it''s actually Enchanters this time. I wonder when it will be us Forgers'' turn?" an Advanced Forger said, sighing dejectedly. Silent Wonder, who was also resting in the lounge, grew confused when she saw the downcast expressions the crowd in the room was wearing. What was there to feel envious about? Becoming a core member of the trading firm meant signing a strict contract and losing much of their freedom. On the other hand, non-core members only needed to make a certain amount of items each day. Once they hit their daily quotas, they could do whatever they wanted. If they decided to quit the Candlelight Trading Firm, they only needed to pay a small severance fee as well as forget all the recipes and designs they learned from Candlelight. As for core members, if they wished to leave the trading firm, they had to not only pay a massive severance fee but also clear their Masteries to zero and forget all the recipes they had learned before. They would have to start all over again from scratch. "Silent, you might not know this since you''re new, but the Candlelight Trading Firm has the precious slots to enter the Holy City of Titan. That is a great opportunity for us to become Masters. However, only core members and Advanced members may contest for those slots, with the majority of the slots allocated to core members. Hence, everyone here hopes to become a core member of Candlelight. Unfortunately, that depends heavily on luck," the female Alchemist seated beside Silent Wonder explained patiently when she saw the dazed look on Silent Wonder''s face. "Candlelight still has more Holy City slots?" Silent Wonder could not help but be surprised by this revelation. She had already gained an understanding regarding the Holy City slots through the recent auction. She knew that the Holy City could greatly help Lifestyle players in reaching the Master rank. However, she had thought that Candlelight had already sold all of the Holy City slots it had during the previous auction. This revelation tempted Silent Wonder. However, when she remembered the words Shi Feng had said to her before, she quickly dismissed the notion from her mind. She had very nearly reacted the way Shi Feng had said she would. Inwardly, she thought to herself, Hmph! With my abilities, I refuse to believe that I won''t be able to earn a Holy City slot myself! Just you wait! You will definitely be the one begging me to stay in Candlelight later on! Inside a Special Forging Room on the Candlelight Trading Firm''s sixth floor: Five Advanced Alchemists followed Melancholic Smile into the room and immediately grew nervous. Seated before them was a legendary existence who was both the Guild Leader of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild as well as the kingdom''s number one expert. "I''ve asked you to come here for a very simple reason. Learn this Basic Enchantment Design. Afterwards, focus on making Basic Runestones. Don''t worry about the materials. In addition, the one who manages to make the most Runestones within a certain period will have a Holy City slot with their name on it." Shi Feng then placed the Basic Enchantment Design he obtained from the Sea God''s Temple on the table. The Basic Runestone was something none of the current major powers possessed. However, it was a common consumable in God''s Domain. Not only was it cheap, but its effects were prominent as well. As long as the Candlelight Trading Firm could produce it, there would be no need to fear a lack of demand for it. Currently, he had already spent most of the income from the Candlelight Auction. Meanwhile, he needed a lot more money to develop his future city. Hence, he needed to plan for the future right away. Now that the Candlelight Trading Firm had obtained the twenty Shops from the Secret Pavilion as well as the two golden Shops mortgaged by Phoenix Rain, he definitely had a good opportunity to sell the Basic Runestones and increase Candlelight''s fame in God''s Domain. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, the five Advanced Enchanters immediately grew excited at the opportunity to learn the design for such a precious item as well as the chance to visit Titan City. Without hesitation, the five players clicked to learn the design and promptly left the Special Forging Room to research the production method of the Basic Runestone in the hopes of increasing their success rate. Meanwhile, after Melancholic Smile and the others left the room, Shi Feng took out thirty Level 45 Fine-Gold Weapons and ten Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons. The Tier 2 promotion quest was already a tough challenge in the first place, all the more the promotion quest for one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. Even if he possessed frightening combat power, he still needed to further improve himself in order to be certain of completing his promotion. Hence, he naturally could not leave the Abyssal Blade sitting at Level 40. After all, he had already reached Level 50. A Level 40 weapon was no longer suitable for him. "Start devouring!" 1277 Swords to Dus Chapter 1277 - Swords to Dust Inside the quiet forging room, the entire space started trembling as soon as Shi Feng had the Abyssal Blade devour the weapons on the table. His heart ached as he watched the top-tier weapons turn into dust one after another. Currently, Level 45 weapons were extremely rare in God''s Domain. With many expert players only at Level 41 or Level 42, Level 45 weapons were worth a lot of money. A Level 45 Fine-Gold Weapon could easily sell for over 400 Gold at the moment, just slightly cheaper than a Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapon. As for Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons, even one with average Attributes could sell for more than 1,000 Gold. However, even at such a price, nobody was willing to sell these weapons. Yet, now, Shi Feng had sacrificed thirty Fine-Gold Weapons and ten Dark-Gold Weapons. Their total value easily exceeded 20,000 Gold. Even the upper echelons of Super Guilds would not dare to carry out such an extravagant upgrade. They would definitely choose to do so only after mainstream players had passed Level 45. However, Shi Feng could not care less right now. His Tier 2 promotion was of utmost importance. Just challenging the promotion quest once would already cost him 188 Mana Stones and 10,000 Gold. With the funds Zero Wing currently had, he could not afford to fail. When the Abyssal Blade was done devouring the essence of the weapons, Shi Feng felt an unprecedented pressure descend on him, preventing him from moving at all. Meanwhile, the space around the newly transformed Abyssal Blade also began to crack as if the surrounding space couldn''t support the Abyssal Blade''s existence. "Roar!" A dragon''s roar resounded throughout the room. Immediately, the space inside the room disappeared into the void as darkness enveloped Shi Feng''s surroundings. Shortly after, streams of pitch-black smoke started flowing out from the dark void and into the Abyssal Blade. Then, as if the black dragon carved onto the hilt of the sword had gained life, the carving actually climbed up the blade, leaving blood-red runes in its wake. Once the entire blade of the sword was covered in runes, the miniature black dragon returned to its original position at the hilt and stopped moving. Although the surrounding space had also calmed down, the Abyssal Blade, which was hovering before Shi Feng, had an extraordinarily evil presence. The entire sword emitted a faint, black fog. The runes shone with a bloody radiance as well, lending the weapon an extra hint of eeriness. The Abyssal Blade really is getting increasingly dangerous. If I''m not absolutely confident, I definitely must not upgrade it to Level 50. When Shi Feng held the hovering Abyssal Blade, he could distinctly feel it pulsating as if he gripped a living creature. He could not help but shudder at this sensation. Level 50 was a major turning point. Although he was unsure if a Backlash would occur if he upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 50, he still needed to be extra careful about it. Otherwise, he might lose his life without even knowing how he died at that time. Meanwhile, after being upgraded to Level 45, the Abyssal Blade received a significant improvement to its various Basic Attributes. Upon seeing the Magic Weapon''s Attributes, Shi Feng felt even more confident in tackling his promotion quest. - [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +1,510 All Attributes +105 Attack Speed +22 Ignore Levels +15 Attacks have: 65% chance to cause 200% damage. 35% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 20%. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +4. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 45. Can be upgraded (Devour fifty Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons and twenty Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 45). Equipment Tier 1. Can be evolved (Devour ten Mana Crystals to evolve to Tier 2). Additional Active Skill 1: Phantom Kill (Tier 1). Instantly creates a doppelganger under the wielder''s control. Doppelganger has 80% of the wielder''s Attributes and all Skills. The wielder can swap positions with the doppelganger at any time. Duration: 1 minute, 10 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (Tier 1). Binds enemies and prevents movement, reducing Defense by 100%. Duration: 4 seconds Cooldown: 50 seconds Additional Active Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash (Tier 1). Instantly creates twelve phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder''s use; each phantom sword deals up to 60% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (Tier 1). Prevents all targets within a radius of 30 yards from moving or attacking for 6 seconds and reduces their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Effect doubles if there is only one target within range. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Passive Skill: Abyssal Will. Improves wielder''s physique, depending on the surrounding Mana density. The higher the surrounding Mana density, the greater the improvement provided. Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor (Tier 1). When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack can be used to increase all Attributes by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 10 seconds or to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 3 seconds. Maximum of 33 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 10 hours The Famed Smith Olysses personally created the Abyssal Blade using the Black Dragon King''s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six Famed Swords, ranking 31st. However, the Black Dragon King himself has cursed this sword. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. However, after Jack had remodeled the Abyssal Blade with a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been reduced greatly. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. - Its Basic Attributes sure have increased significantly. Just its Attack Power can already rival that of an Epic two-handed weapon. Its heavy weight is also amazing. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished as he casually swung the Abyssal Blade a few times. Compared to a lightweight one-handed sword like Killing Ray, Shi Feng personally preferred one-handed swords that were heavy. In his previous battles, due to his constantly rising level, he had gradually relied more on Killing Ray, which dealt more damage. As a result, he had mostly kept the Abyssal Blade, which had a higher compatibility with him, on reserve. Now that the Abyssal Blade had risen to Level 45, he could now use it as his main weapon again. Following which, Shi Feng went to his Warehouse and stored some items that he would not need for the promotion quest, clearing out the clutter in his bag. At the same time, he also retrieved some Magic Scrolls and necessary potions from the Guild Warehouse. After that, he hurried to the library. On his way to the library, Shi Feng suddenly received a call from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, quickly take a look at the official forums! Something big has happened over at Star-Moon City!" Aqua Rose said urgently. "Just a while ago, the Shadowblade Ruins got sealed, and none of the players that entered the map managed to escape. They can''t even be contacted. Many Guilds have already sent out their own teams to investigate this incident. Moreover, aside from the Shadowblade Ruins, a few Level 30-plus high-resource maps were also sealed." "A field map was sealed? And even communications have been blocked?" Shi Feng grew a little confused. He then opened Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Normally, sealing a map only prevented players from using teleportation-type scrolls. Meanwhile, such large-scale sealings were only possible with a Guild War Order. However, if the seal was capable of blocking even communication methods, it was definitely something extraordinary. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, there were only three ways to carry out this kind of seal. After opening the official forums, he found that discussions regarding the sealed field maps dominated the entire forum. Shadowblade Ruins sealed! Over 100,000 players cannot be contacted! Large groups of Chieftains and Lords suddenly appearing in Bloodmaul Camp! Unable to teleport to Red Ridge Town! Every post was about the sealed field maps or missing players. 1278 Tier 2 Promotion Ques Chapter 1278 - Tier 2 Promotion Quest "This seems like a good opportunity." Shi Feng''s lips hooked up after he finished reading through the related posts on the forum. "An opportunity?" Aqua Rose looked at Shi Feng in the screen in confusion. Currently, the entire Star-Moon City had already fallen into turmoil with many large Guilds wrestling with this matter. After all, nobody was sure whether this weird phenomenon would spread to the surrounding areas. If it did, Stone Forest Town might even get dragged into the mess. "That''s right. This is a good opportunityan opportunity to upgrade White River City," Shi Feng said, smiling. NPC cities did not remain static. They could similarly be upgraded. However, this depended on the population and standard of the players residing in the city. Star-Moon Kingdom had only so many players. Meanwhile, Star-Moon City was generally a player''s first choice when choosing a city to develop themselves in. Hence, despite White River City''s various advantages, it just barely surpassed Star-Moon City to become the most populous NPC city in the kingdom. As for the other NPC cities within the kingdom, the player population there would mostly remain constant for the foreseeable future. It would be very difficult to attract players from other cities and countries to migrate to White River City. After all, everyone had long since familiarized themselves with the towns and cities they started in. Now that a problem had occurred at Star-Moon City, if this problem continued festering, many players would no doubt consider developing elsewhere. If they could lure these players to White River City, they might be able to upgrade White River City. Upgrading an NPC city brought with it many benefits. One such example was the flying transportation feature, which enabled players to gain additional leveling spots. In White River City''s case, the additional leveling spot was the Eclipse Gate. Not only did the Eclipse Gate have plenty of advanced and military quests, but the leveling speed and resources available there were also extraordinary. Moreover, the Eclipse Gate was a Level 40 to Level 70 leveling spot. If White River City could activate the flying transportation feature, the leveling speed of Zero Wing''s members would undoubtedly increase. They could also start collecting the Energy Essence required to nurture their Guild Mounts. "Upgrade the city?" Aqua Rose could not help but grow excited. She understood, more or less, the ramifications of upgrading NPC cities. If they could upgrade White River City, not only would it allow Zero Wing''s members to accelerate their leveling speed, but it would also lure more players from other cities to develop in White River City. This situation would greatly benefit both the Guild''s and trading firm''s development. "Immediately announce to the public that we are recruiting members. Also, during this time, discount all daily consumable items sold at White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm by 20%," Shi Feng instructed. Regeneration and Mana Recovery Potions were a must for all players that wanted to level up in the fields. Certain Magic Scrolls were also necessary as these items could save one''s life during a crucial moment. However, purchasing these consumable items was a large expenditure. Normally, offering discounts on such items would have minimal effect in luring players to White River City. Now, however, it would definitely yield excellent results. After all, it was now extremely dangerous to go out and level up at Star-Moon City. After considering safety, as well as the reduced cost of consumables, players of Star-Moon City would naturally choose to develop in White River City. "A 20% discount? Guild Leader, isn''t this a little too much?" Aqua Rose frowned. Basic consumable items were originally fiercely competitive and had a small profit margin. If they sold them at a discounted price now, they would only break even. "Relax. We''ll earn it back sooner or later," Shi Feng laughed. He understood Aqua Rose''s worries. However, she did not know what kind of effects would accrue with White River City''s upgrade. Compared to the benefits they could gain when White River City was upgraded, a small loss like this was not worth mentioning whatsoever. "Understood. I''ll get it done right away." Aqua Rose could not help but sigh. Most likely, only Shi Feng would be crazy enough to use his own Guild''s money to spur the upgrade of a city. Following which, many posts relating to Zero Wing''s recruitment appeared on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. At the same time, everyone also discovered a shocking matter: White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm was actually selling daily consumables at a 20% discount. "Crap! This is insane! With this 20% discount, I''ll be able to save up enough money to get a Mount much more quickly!" "A 20% discount? If this is true, developing at White River City might not be a bad idea." Previously, the players of Star-Moon Kingdom kept discussing the sealed maps. Now, however, these players all talked about Zero Wing, instead. Many independent players also showed great interest in the 20% discount on daily consumables. "Damn this Zero Wing! They''re actually using this opportunity to poach our population!" Singular Burial gnashed his teeth in anger when he browsed the various discussion threads on the official forums. However, he very quickly calmed down. Sneering, he said, "I''ll let you all feel joyful for now. When the time comes, both Stone Forest Town and White River City will become mine!" Currently, the various large Guilds still did not know that Abandoned Wave was slaughtering the players inside the sealed maps. Meanwhile, the Evil Beasts and monsters under Abandoned Wave''s command were also growing at a rapid pace. As long as they managed to wipe out the players inside these maps and were further trained for a certain period, Stone Forest Town would eventually change ownership. "Guild Leader, are we just going to let them continue poaching the players here?" Daybreak Fog asked. "Of course not." Chuckling, Singular Burial said, "Since everyone feels that Star-Moon City is in chaos, we can''t let White River City remain peaceful, either. Immediately notify all the Dark Guilds. Tell them to stop killing players around Stone Forest Town and shift to White River City, instead. They can kill however many players they want. Just make sure to make a mess over at White River City. I want to see just how long Zero Wing can continue poaching players. "Understood." Daybreak Fog then bowed and left the room. ... White River City''s library: As soon as Shi Feng stepped into the Star-Moon Hall, he immediately felt as if he had stepped into a muddy swamp, his movements becoming extremely sluggish. "You''ve come." Sharlyn''s gaze shifted from her book to Shi Feng. Smiling, she said, "It seems you''ve made quite a lot of preparations. Have you decided to challenge your promotion?" "Mhm." Shi Feng then took out 188 Mana Stones and 10,000 Gold from his bag. Seeing this, Sharlyn waved her hand. By the time Shi Feng reacted, the Mana Stones and the bag of 10,000 Gold in his hands had already disappeared, reappearing in Sharlyn''s hands, instead. Meanwhile, the sound of a system notification also entered Shi Feng''s ears. - System: Congratulations, you have accepted the Blade Saint class''s Tier 2 Promotion Quest. - "Alright, since you''ve already decided to take the challenge, I''ll tell you some of the risks," Sharlyn said as she jiggled the bag of money in her hand a few times. Smiling, she continued, "Your promotion is somewhat special. If you fail, it won''t be as simple as dying once. You also won''t be able to challenge it again for another twenty days. Most importantly, I can only send you there. I cannot guarantee whether you can return or not." Sharlyn''s words rendered Shi Feng speechless. Something like this should have been explained before he accepted the quest, yet Sharlyn actually did so only now, after he had accepted. "I''m helpless about this as well. After all, the location you are heading to is the former residence of a God. Due to the disturbance caused by the magic arrays there, Return Scrolls also cannot be used. This could also be considered a very normal situation." Sharlyn rolled her eyes at Shi Feng when she noticed the ugly look on his face. She then smiled and continued, "Right, I forgot to ask which place you wish to go. You have three options, each of which has its own difficulties: Hell, Asura, and God. Which one do you plan on choosing?" Upon hearing Sharlyn''s words, Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. From what he remembered of the past, the difficulty options for promotion quests for Tier 2 and above were only Normal, Hard, and Hell Modes. There were no Asura and God Modes. This was the same even for peak classes. As long as one was an expert player, they had a high chance of clearing a Normal Mode Tier 2 Promotion Quest as long as they had made sufficient preparations. However, even expert players would have trouble clearing Hard Mode. Needless to say, Hell Mode was even more difficult. Shi Feng had never heard of anyone in Star-Moon Kingdom successfully conquering a Hell Mode Tier 2 promotion. Moreover, this was only in the case of ordinary classes. The promotion quests for hidden classes were far more challenging. Yet, now, even the lowest grade was Hell Mode. 1279 Selecting Difficulty Chapter 1279 - Selecting Difficulty Sure enough, the Blade Saint class''s promotion quest is quite extraordinary. Shi Feng pondered his options. He had attempted his Hell Mode Tier 2 promotion in the past. After all, he had been one of Shadow''s top-class experts. He had been very confident in his abilities back then. Moreover, to increase his chances of success, he had spent a lot of time collecting top-tier equipment. By the time he had challenged his Tier 2 promotion, even his most inferior piece of equipment had been Level 50 Fine-Gold rank. He had even worn two pieces of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. That wasn''t an easy feat. After all, after reaching Level 50, players were lucky to get their hands on Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, much less Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. However, he hadn''t expected his challenge''s outcome. He hadn''t even past the starting area before failing, much less completing his promotion. The Hell Mode Promotion Quest''s difficulty was simply inhuman. In this life, though, both his combat standards and his items were more powerful than they had been in the past. Hence, Shi Feng was confident in conquering Hell Mode. However, the same could not be said for Asura and God Mode. After all, he had only attempted Hell Mode before. He did not know how difficult these two modes were. Should I challenge God Mode? Shi Feng wondered. After all, he was already a Void Realm expert. He also possessed two Fragmented Legendary items and numerous Epic items. He even dared to challenge Legendary Quests. A God Mode Promotion Quest should not be a problem. Sharlyn smiled as she watched Shi Feng and said, "You''re considering challenging God Mode, right?" Shi Feng nodded. "Lady Sharlyn, may I know what my chances are of clearing God Mode?" Shi Feng tried asking. He was utterly unfamiliar with the God Mode difficulty, but that wasn''t the case for an NPC like Sharlyn. She might be able to offer clues that would help him prepare for what was to come. "You really are brave. You dare ask if you have a chance of passing it." Sharlyn cast him an admiring look. Slowly, she said, "If you ask me, with your current power, you will die. It won''t matter how many times you try. Just like its name suggests, God Mode is not a realm for mortals. This trial catered to the Ancient Gods. If you think that you can defeat a new God, you might have a chance of clearing God Mode." "Defeat a new God?" Shi Feng gasped. There were two types of Gods in God''s Domain. The first was born naturally, while the second ascended to Godhood of its own power. The majority of the Gods in God''s Domain consisted of the latter. As for natural-born Gods, they did not start out at Tier 6; they had to ascend from Tier 0. Only, they would not encounter a bottleneck in their growth. Even if they did nothing but breathe, they would reach Tier 6 eventually. Moreover, even at Tier 0, natural-born Gods had extraordinary combat power. In terms of Life Rating, natural-born Gods were even superior to Dragons. Not even a Domain Realm expert could stand against such an immensely powerful being, even if both had the same level, tier, and Attributes Fighting any Tier 6 God required at least a full party of Tier 6 players. "Then, what about Asura Mode?" Shi Feng asked. "Asura Mode?" Sharlyn carefully evaluated Shi Feng. After pondering for some time, she said, "Asura Mode represents mortals'' limits. Unfortunately, you still have some time before you reach that standard. However, you might have a fighting chance with such high-quality weapons and equipment. Unfortunately, that chance isn''t very high. I''d say that you''d die nine out of ten attempts. In my opinion, you''re better off challenging Hell Mode. The trials the Ancient Gods left behind are outstanding. Passing even the easiest trial is already an impressive feat." So 10%? Shi Feng smiled bitterly. He was 100% confident in clearing the Hell Mode promotional quest. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have challenged his promotion quest so soon. However, he never imagined that there would be such a massive gap between Hell Mode and the other two. "Consider this carefully. You know that the more difficult your quest is, the more severe the punishments for failure will be," Sharlyn somberly reminded Shi Feng. "I''ve decided. I want to challenge Asura Mode!" After weighing his options for some time, Shi Feng gave his answer. Developing in God''s Domain was akin to sailing against the current; if one were not moving forward, they would drift backward. He had already reached his limit. If he wished to improve, he needed to take risks. Challenging Hell Mode wasn''t a risk; it wouldn''t help him. But he couldn''t choose God Mode either, as that was beyond a challenge. By choosing God Mode, he''d just be asking for a beating. If he cleared Asura Mode, he would be handsomely rewarded. The rewards would certainly boost his development. This was why so many expert players were adamant about challenging Hard Mode and risking failure. Some experts had even gone as far as to delay their progress, challenging Hell Mode until they passed it. Otherwise, they would have a more difficult path after their promotion. "Fine. Don''t regret your decision." Sharlyn sighed. She then used the Mana Stones to form a magic array. All 188 Mana Stones hovered in the air, creating an artificial star-scape. However, while the scene was beautiful, the pressure the seven-colored magic array radiated was terrifying. Moreover, this pressure grew as time passed. As Sharlyn chanted her incantation''s final verse, a black hole manifested in the middle of the hall. Arcs of silver lightning circled the black hole''s edges, crackling. Suddenly, a pair of golden doors descended from the black hole. Although the doors were not particularly large, roughly six meters tall, they radiated powerful Divine Might, instantly rendering Shi Feng immobile. The floor started to crack beneath the doors as if it couldn''t withstand the weight. The doors began to sink. Impossible! This is the library! Shi Feng was stunned. Powerful magic arrays strengthened the library. Even Tier 4 NPCs couldn''t damage the building, yet a pair of doors crushed the floor. It was clear that the floor wouldn''t last long as it began to give out and crumble. "Divine Strengthening!" Seeing this, Sharlyn quickly started to write divine runes in the air. The divine runes merged with the ground, creating a magic array. Only after the magic array appeared did the doors stopped sinking. The Divine Might filling the hall also weakened, allowing Shi Feng some freedom of movement. However, after summoning the golden doors, Sharlyn had significantly paled. Sweat beaded on her forehead. As Sharlyn had said, it was not easy to summon these doors. This task normally required three Tier 5 magical classes to accomplish. Once the doors stabilized, Sharlyn started chanting another incantation while she drew more divine runes. After writing over a hundred lines, she opened her eyes. Two golden magic arrays then surfaced from her eyes. "Space-time Connection!" Sharlyn sent one line of golden runes into the doors after another. After a minute, the doors finally started to open. Through the gap between them, Shi Feng could see a path through a silver vortex. The path itself radiated Divine Might, while the rest of the space was pitch-black. He could not see the path''s end. Shi Feng finally understood why Sharlyn had said that she could not guarantee his return once he entered the trial. "Go, quickly. I can''t maintain it for long," Sharlyn hurriedly commanded. Her complexion was deathly pale, and sweat covered her face. Not daring to delay a moment longer, Shi Feng dashed into the silver vortex, vanishing. Sharlyn slowly closed off the path. As she watched the golden doors fade, she whispered tiredly, "I pray for your success." 1280 Super Treasury Chapter 1280 - Super Treasury What''s going on? Am I trapped inside this spatial tear? As Shi Feng entered the silver vortex, his surroundings remained dark. However, due to the Divine Might radiating from the path, he couldn''t move. Normally, when he teleported to another location, even with the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement, he would reach his target two or three seconds after entering the spatial pathway. However, looking at the system clock, Shi Feng noticed that three minutes had already passed since he stepped through the doors. He could have traveled across God''s Domain a dozen times with a spatial path by now. "This" After another five minutes, Shi Feng noticed a light at the end of the path. Soon, he could faintly see mountains and rivers. He could also see beasts wandering on the ground and flying through the blue sky. A short moment later, Shi Feng found himself on the top of a mountain. - System: You have discovered the Dark Canyon. While you are here, you cannot use the system communication function or Return Scrolls. System: Asura Mode Promotion Quest activated. Quest content: Collect Seven Luminaries Source Stones and seal Demon King Storas. Rewards unknown. - "Sealing a Demon King?" Shi Feng''s face twitched when he heard the system''s expressionless explanation. Although he had known that this quest would be difficult, he hadn''t expected it to be quite this hard A Demon King was the equivalent of a Tier 5 Legendary monster. It could wipe out entire cities. Current players were no match for such power. If Asura Mode was this difficult, it was no wonder Sharlyn had said that he would die if he challenged the God Mode Promotion Quest. If he had chosen God Mode, he would have likely died the instant he entered the quest area. However, after seeing Asura Mode with his own eyes, he knew he had no chance of completing the quest. He was only a Tier 1 Swordsman. Even if he had a thousand copies of himself, he would be no match against a Tier 5 Demon King. This was how God''s Domain worked. The higher the tier, the greater the gap. Hence, the various large Guilds in the past had come up with all sorts of method to nurture powerful experts. During the game''s later stages, quality was far more important than quantity. A Tier 5 player was more useful to a Guild than 100,000 Tier 2 players. Not only could the Tier 5 player defend a city without help, but they could also lead teams to raid Tier 5 Legendary monsters. Normally, one needed at least a 100-man team of Tier 3 players to raid Tier 5 monsters. Moreover, the players needed to know the monster''s weak points and target them appropriately with various tools and items. Otherwise, such monsters were impossible to raid. Asking him to deal with a Tier 5 Demon King alone was asking for the impossible. Fortunately, the quest content mentioned something about gathering Seven Luminaries Source Stones. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief after he read the quest content again carefully. Shi Feng knew a little about the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. It was even more precious than the Seven Luminaries Crystal. The stored Mana was much more refined. However, unlike the Seven Luminaries Crystal, which contained every type of elemental Mana, the Seven Luminaries Source Stone was limited to one type. As a result, its usage was limited. It could only be used for special situations such as powering up certain sealing magic arrays. Since I''ve confirmed the quest contents, next up will be the search for the Seven Luminaries Source Stones. Shi Feng gazed down at the massive canyon below him. The canyon was poorly illuminated. However, he could hear faint roaring and sounds of battle. A tall tower had been erected in the canyon''s center. This tower reached into the clouds, and it was several times taller than the mountain he currently stood on. A large number of flying monsters circled the tower. - [Nine-headed Vulture] (Demonic Beast, High Lord) Level 60 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 - With so many Nine-headed Vultures circling the tower, it was impossible to approach the building from above. Since flying isn''t possible, I''ll have to head down the mountain and investigate the canyon. Shi Feng then activated Wind Rider and rapidly descended the mountain. The mountain path leading to the peak was very narrow. There were also plenty of powerful Demonic Beasts lying in wait, hoping to ambush unsuspecting prey. Seeing this, Shi Feng sighed in relief. Fortunately, he hadn''t chosen to walk down the mountain path. Otherwise, he would have fallen into these Demonic Beasts'' trap and died. After Shi Feng dove into the canyon''s depths, silence and darkness wrapped around him. Although he hadn''t seen it from the mountaintop, the darkness hid a large courtyard, in the heart of which stood the tower. From above, Shi Feng spotted all kinds of high-tiered Demonic Beasts roaming the courtyard. Some of these Demonic Beasts even fought each other for territory. "Hm?" As soon as Shi Feng entered the massive courtyard shrouded in darkness, he felt his body grow heavy. At the same time, Wind Rider''s effect was forcefully removed, and he plummeted. The gravity acting on his body grew stronger as he neared the ground. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Ring of Gravity. Activating Gravity Liberation, he freed himself from the pull. The speed of his fall also decreased. In the end, he landed on the courtyard''s stone tiles safely without attracting the surrounding monsters'' attention. - System: You have discovered the Moonlight Courtyard. - "The Moonlight Courtyard?" Shi Feng was stunned when he heard the system notification. "So, this is where the rumored Moonlight Courtyard is located." The Moon God had built this courtyard. The Moon God loved gardening, as well as alchemical and magic array research. For example, the Moon Drip magic array was one of the Moon God''s creations. It could break any curse in the world. Meanwhile, the Moon God had frequently used the Moonlight Courtyard to conduct research. "Sure enough, Sharlyn did not trick me. I should be able to find a few God Crystals." A hint of excitement flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he read the system notification. As the Moon God''s favored research location, there were bound to be many items the Moon God had left behind. Regardless of how powerful these items were, they would contain divine power if the Moon God had used them frequently, and could be used in place of God Crystals. In any case, he needed the God Crystals to feed to the Soul Orb. If he came across a powerful treasure, he would reluctantly absorb it with the Soul Orb. Following which, Shi Feng stealthily moved through the courtyard. There were plenty of powerful monsters in the courtyard, and even the weakest among them was a Level 60 Chieftain. To avoid trouble, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to deal with his visibility problem and an Invisibility Potion to remain undetected. With his current strength, Shi Feng had no problems against a Level 60-plus Chieftain in a one-on-one fight. However, as soon as the battle began, the commotion would attract the attention of nearby monsters. If that happened, only death would await him. As for using Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls and Skills like Space Movement, Shi Feng had already tested them and found that he had access to none of them. In addition, this area barred flight. If he were surrounded, he would die. He needed to be very careful. After wandering around the courtyard for over two hours, Shi Feng finally got through the courtyard''s outer area and entered the middle ground between the outer and inner areas. The inner area is so luxurious! Shi Feng wore a wistful expression as he gazed at the distant inner area. He could spot a herb garden in the inner area. Although the herb garden had existed since ancient times, due to magic arrays and divine ruins bolstering the garden, all of the herbs were healthy. Unfortunately, the Demonic Beasts were eating these herbs. Shi Feng noticed that many of the plants had already been devoured. Furious, Shi Feng even considered cooking these Demonic Beasts for his own meal. It would''ve been fine if the beasts had only devoured the ordinary herbs, but the garden also contained super-rare herbs such as the Flower of Life. The Flower of Life had a similar effect to the Water of Life and could heal an NPC of all their injuries. Shi Feng could also see Exotic Grass, which could dispel the majority of God''s Domain''s curses. Even in herb-rich kingdoms and empires, one would be hard-pressed to find these kinds of herbs, and unfortunately, no one knew how to grow them either. Yet, these extraordinarily precious herbs were nothing but food for the area''s Demonic Beasts. It was no wonder why the Demonic Beasts here were so fat. "Hm? Moonlight Fruit?!" Shi Feng suddenly noticed a tree that was roughly 30 meters tall. Hanging from the silver tree''s branches, Shi Feng noticed a translucent fruit. When he saw this translucent fruit, his heart began to pound. In the past, the Moonlight Fruit had sold at one of the superpowers'' auctions. After that auction, not a single player throughout God''s Domain had forgotten the fruit''s name. However, this wasn''t because the fruit had sold for an astronomical price. Rather, it was due to the fruit''s effects. When consumed, the Moonlight Fruit would permanently improve a player''s physique. 1281 Exploring the Herb Garden Chapter 1281 - Exploring the Herb Garden In God''s Domain, the Moonlight Fruit was one of the very few treasures that could permanently improve a player''s physique. Although each fruit could only improve a player''s physique by 2%, it was exceedingly valuable. Moreover, each player could consume a maximum of five fruits. In other words, players could improve their physiques by up to 10%. While 10% might not seem like much, the boost to a player''s combat power would be astounding. There were two main reasons for the massive gap between Tier 1 and Tier 2 players. The first reason was the tier of Skills they could learn. The other reason was the difference in physique. Tier 2 players'' physique was 40% stronger than Tier 1 players. Although physique would not increase a player''s damage or Basic Attributes, it could enhance a player''s five senses and improve their body''s flexibility. Players would be able to predict attacks that were originally impossible to spot and perform actions that were normally impossible to execute. This was why Tier 2 players could easily defeat Tier 1 players even if both sides possessed the same Attributes and combat standards. In the past, a Moonlight Fruit easily sold for 3,000 Gold. Regardless, countless experts had fought over it. As Shi Feng stared at the large, silver tree, a massive figure beneath the tree stirred. The figure was an eight-meter-tall bear with thick, snow-white fur. Its claws were razor sharp, and a silver horn grew from atop its head. Currently, the bear slept peacefully beneath the tree. Occasionally, it would rub its back against the silver tree. - [Silvermoon Bear] (Demonic Beast, Great Lord) Level 65 HP 74,000,000/74,000,000 - Shi Feng spotted a total of six Silvermoon Bears resting beneath the tree. He also saw a large number, easily over a thousand, Silvermoon Rats roaming the garden. Moreover, these monsters moved relatively close to each other. - [Silvermoon Rat] (Demonic Beast, Lord) Level 62 HP 18,000,000/18,000,000 - It doesn''t seem possible to sneak my way there. Shi Feng observed his surroundings, but he couldn''t find an opportunity to get past the monsters to take the Moonlight Fruit. I guess that I''ll have to clear out the area, taking the monsters down slowly. If I obtain the Moonlight Fruits, it''ll help Fire Dance and the others get through their promotion quests. With Fire Dance and the others'' strength, they would likely clear their Hard Mode Promotion Quests. However, the likelihood of them clearing Hell Mode was relatively low. Although there was only a one-grade difference between the two, the rewards would impact their development. However, if he could improve their physiques, then they could clear the Hell Mode Promotion Quest more easily. Moreover, he had another reason to eliminate the Demonic Beasts in the garden. He needed to reach the courtyard''s inner area safely. On the off chance he caused a commotion and were surrounded, he would undoubtedly die. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng quickly went into action. As a preventive measure, let''s summon a Demon. Thinking so, Shi Feng took the Bible of Darkness from his bag. Although he was confident in defeating these Lord ranked Silvermoon Rats, it would take too much time and energy by himself. He needed some help. Originally, Shi Feng had considered summoning his Personal Guards. However, as this was a special space, he would die from regret if they couldn''t be unsummoned and died here. Unlike Mounts and pets, Personal Guards could not be easily resurrected. Oftentimes, players chose to search for new Personal Guards rather than resurrecting their guards after death. Resurrection was simply too expensive. It cost even more than Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Guards. Even Shi Feng couldn''t afford to resurrect a dead Personal Guard. Hence, unless absolutely necessary, he would not dispatch his Personal Guards. On the other hand, he would not mind even if the Demons he summoned died. In any case, they would disappear after five hours. Following which, Shi Feng summoned a Level 60, Tier 2 Tomahawk Demon. The Demon could be both a meat shield and DPS. Almost After waiting for some time, the five Silvermoon Rats standing around the herb garden''s outer edge finally moved away. Immediately, Shi Feng drank two bottles of Sea God''s Blessing, increasing his Basic Attributes by 15% and all Resistances by 150 points for 15 hours. Afterward, he activated an Isolation Scroll to reduce the chances of detection. He then executed Void Steps and quickly reached an ancient tree near the outer edge. With a light jump, he made it to the top of the tree, over 70 yards away from the five Demonic Beasts. At this distance, due to the Isolation Scroll, these Level 62 Demonic Beasts couldn''t detect Shi Feng. As for the Tomahawk Demon, due to it being Level 60, it would not be detected easily even if it stood only 60 yards away from the Demonic Beasts. When Shi Feng noticed the Silvermoon Rats turning around again, he took out Blazing Meteor and attacked a rock near the Demonic Beasts. The throwing weapon shattered the rock instantly. The scattered rubble just so happen to collide with one of the wandering Silvermoon Rats. Although the rubble hadn''t caused any damage, the Silvermoon Rat was enraged. Looking around furiously, its round, beady eyes quickly locked onto the shattered rock. The rat then carefully walked over. Seeing one of its companions wander off, another nearby Silvermoon Rat followed curiously. Demonic Beasts were slightly smarter than ordinary monsters. However, they had less intelligence than humanoid monsters. If something suddenly changed, they''d react instinctively. In the case of humanoid monsters, they''d likely gather a group of five or so before investigating the shattered rock. Shi Feng simply took advantage of this. Very quickly, the two Silvermoon Rats arrived beside the shattered rock. As soon as they did, however, they sensed the Tomahawk Demon standing in the nearby tree. Sensing outsiders, the two Silvermoon Rats charged towards the Tomahawk Demon without hesitation. The other three Silvermoon Rats were over 15 yards away, and they did not react at all as they continued their mindless wandering. They did not even notice that two of their companions had left them. Good! Shi Feng released a sigh of relief. He had only found this advantageous terrain after observing the herb garden for a long time. If he accidentally attracted all five Silvermoon Rats, he would be finished. However, despite seeing the two Demonic Beasts inch closer, Shi Feng did not have the Tomahawk Demon attack them. Instead, he had the Demon retreat. There were too many Silvermoon Rats throughout the herb garden. Many among them wandered randomly. If he fought inside the herb garden, the battle would easily attract the other rats. After luring the two rats roughly 50 yards away from the herb garden, Shi Feng controlled the Tomahawk Demon to use the Tier 2 Skill Flying Death Axe. Immediately, the Tomahawk Demon threw the massive battle axe in its hands, the weapon transforming into a streak of black light as it flew towards the two Silvermoon Rats. -61,845! -62,078! The attack ripped an ear-piercing screech from the Silvermoon Rats. Their screeching could be heard clearly from 50 yards away. In a panic, Shi Feng turned his gaze back to the herb garden. Immediately, he noticed another Silvermoon Rat charging out of the herb garden. Shi Feng suddenly felt a brewing headache. However, after another moment, no other rats charged out of the herb garden. That was close. This chain reaction is dangerous. Fortunately, none of the other Silvermoon Rats were alerted. Sighing, Shi Feng shifted his gaze back to the approaching Silvermoon Rat. He decided to lure the three Demonic Beasts further away from the herb garden. Only after they were 100 yards away from the herb garden did Shi Feng allow the Tomahawk Demon to fight the Demonic Beasts again. Although the Tomahawk Demon only had 13,000,000 HP, which was less than what the Silvermoon Rats possessed, in terms of combat techniques, the Tomahawk Demon was stronger than the Demonic Beasts. If the Tomahawk Demon focused on defense, it would take a long time for the three Silvermoon Rats to kill it. After the Tomahawk Demon stabilized its aggro, Shi Feng used Skywheel Sword to seal the area followed by Firestorm. The raging inferno immediately caused the three rats to screech in pain, their HPs falling by around 90,000 every second. Occasionally, they would even receive a frightening damage of around -180,000. By the time Firestorm ended, the Silvermoon Rats had each lost over 700,000 HP. The Tomahawk Demon used the Tier 2 Skill Demon''s Voice, forcing every enemy to focus on the Tomahawk Demon. At the same time, the Tomahawk Demon''s Defense and Attack Speed increased by 40% for 30 seconds. With the Tomahawk Demon as an MT, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill, Nine Dragons Slash, and the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and launched a rampant assault. Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger dealt around -4,000 damage with their normal attacks, while their Skills dealt anywhere from -10,000 to -20,000 damage. When the Tomahawk Demon was close to death, Shi Feng immediately switched to the Aura of Water and used Life Bloom on it, healing it back to full HP. After fighting for nearly 20 minutes, the three Silvermoon Rats collapsed. However, aside from gaining some Skill Proficiency, Shi Feng did not receive any EXP from the Demonic Beasts. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt that the system was very black-hearted. He had just killed three Level 60 Lords for crying out loud! In the outside world, it would take a party of Level 60 players to take down such a monster, yet the three Lords'' deaths hadn''t yielded any EXP or equipment "Huh?" Suddenly, Shi Feng noticed a translucent, nail-sized grain beside one of the Silvermoon Rats. He picked it up and took a closer look. Seven Luminaries Shard! "What?! These monsters drop Seven Luminaries Shards?!" Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he stared at the translucent grain in his hand. 1282 Growth-type Set Equipmen Chapter 1282 - Growth-type Set Equipment As expected of a God''s home. This place is even more amazing than the Tower of Time. Shi Feng shifted his gaze towards the Demonic Beasts in the herb garden as he held the Seven Luminaries Shard tightly. The Tower of Time was one of the two most famous towers in the Twin Towers Kingdom as it was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. Although the Dungeon was a similar rank to the Stoneclaw Mountains, there was a huge difference between the two. The Tower of Time''s Bosses dropped Seven Luminaries Crystals. However, the Moonlight Courtyard was even more astounding. He had a chance to obtain Seven Luminaries Shards by killing the numerous Silvermoon Rats here. On their own, Seven Luminaries Shards weren''t particularly useful. However, they could be sold to NPCs for a high price. NPC merchants would be more than willing to purchase each shard for 1 Gold. However, players weren''t likely to sell their Seven Luminaries Shards to NPCs. Players could synthesize Seven Luminaries Crystals from the shards. However, this task required a Master Alchemist at the very least. A Master Alchemist''s synthesis success rate was roughly 30%; it was neither high nor low. Even independent players would attempt to synthesize their shards rather than sell them. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals could upgrade a player''s Mind Space. Nobody would foolishly sell such an important resource and give up on constructing their own private space for rest and entertainment. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng was suddenly motivated to wipe out the Demonic Beasts in the herb garden. He wouldn''t find an opportunity like this elsewhere. Normally, one had to venture to extremely dangerous secret lands and kill the area''s Bosses to obtain Seven Luminaries Shards or Crystals. Now, however, he only needed to kill Tier 2 Lords. This was like a bargain bin for Seven Luminaries Shards. After a short rest, Shi Feng began to lure the Silvermoon Rats once again. His second attempt was much easier than his first. Moreover, he only lured two rats this time. Although he could take on three at once, fighting so many placed a heavy burden on the Tomahawk Demon. He needed to use Life Bloom constantly to keep the Tomahawk Demon alive. By fighting two at a time, however, the Tomahawk Demon did not need to defend itself constantly and could launch counterattacks from time to time. This increased the total DPS. Shi Feng attacked the Silvermoon Rats'' weak points relentlessly. Like before, he healed the Tomahawk Demon with Life Bloom when its HP was low. Like this, Shi Feng cleared out wave after wave of Silvermoon Rats, each wave taking over a dozen minutes to defeat. Shi Feng cleared out over twenty waves without rest. Although the repetition was boring, the more Shi Feng fought, the more smoothly he defeated the Silvermoon Rats as he became increasingly familiar with the Demonic Beasts'' attack patterns and weak points. As a result, he needed less time to defeat the rats each time he lured a wave over. Moreover, his harvest was considerable. After killing 47 Silvermoon Rats, he had obtained 21 Seven Luminaries Shards. The shards'' drop-rate was much higher than he had initially expected. Others'' synthesis success rate was only 30%. However, Shi Feng had the Philosopher''s Stone. As long as he collected 50 Seven Luminaries Shards, he could synthesize a Seven Luminaries Crystal with a 100% success rate. If he continued to grind the Demonic Beasts here, he might collect all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals he needed to construct the Four Towers of Elements. Why is combat here so taxing on Stamina? After killing another wave of Silvermoon Rats, Shi Feng felt a little tired. In God''s Domain, when a player''s Stamina had decreased to a certain point, they would start feeling tired, affecting their combat power. If they continued to consume Stamina, their combat power would continuously decrease. By the time players exhausted their Stamina, they would not be able to move a single finger. Hence, when players fought in the fields, they would take breaks after fighting for a certain time. One of the reasons for doing so was to maintain their strength. Another reason was to avoid having insufficient Stamina should they encounter anything unexpected. Shi Feng had considered this before he had started fighting. Hence, he had been using the Basic Tyrant title. Not only did the title provide him with 30 Fortitude, but it also increased his maximum Stamina by 20%, yet even after fighting around two dozen battles, his Stamina had fallen to a critical level. He hadn''t expected his Stamina consumption to be this high. I''ve only killed forty-seven Silvermoon Rats after such a long time. This promotion quest is extraordinarily difficult. After consuming a drop of Life Essence, Shi Feng turned to the distant Silvermoon Rats, a bitter smile appearing on his face. It seems I''ve miscalculated. Fortunately, the promotion quest doesn''t have a time limit. It would take a long time just to clear a path to the courtyard''s inner area, not to mention killing every Demonic Beast here. Thinking about time, Shi Feng glanced at the system clock displaying the time in the real world. He felt that it should be about time to log out and rest. After all, he had been playing for quite some time. This would not benefit his real body. "What''s going on here?" Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise when he saw the time. After some quick calculations, it should be around half past seven in the morning. Yet, the system clock told him that it wasn''t even six a.m. in the real world. "This can''t be right. I remember entering this place at roughly five in the morning. I''ve been grinding the rats for five hours now, so two and a half hours should''ve passed in the real world. Even if my calculations are slightly off, it should still be past seven o''clock," Shi Feng muttered in confusion. Following which, Shi Feng looked at the system clock displaying the in-game time. As he thought, he had been grinding for over five hours. Could the flow of time here be different from God''s Domain? Shi Feng suddenly thought of a possibility. In fact, this wasn''t something new in the game. Although rare, when one entered certain secret lands, the flow of time was different. Following which, Shi Feng started comparing the time flow in the Dark Canyon and the real world. The moment he did, however, he was shocked. Time in the Dark Canyon flowed ten times faster than in the real world! Shi Feng was stunned. After all, he had only ever heard about a one-to-ten time dilation in the past. He had never experienced it before. The greatest time dilation he had experienced was a one-to-six ratio; one hour in the real world had been six hours in the game. On the continent of God''s Domain, the time dilation was only double that in the real world. Now, however, he experienced a one-to-ten time dilation. Shi Feng finally understood why, after coming here, the system prevented access to the communication system and Return Scrolls. Contacting the outside world while experiencing such a high time dilation would be an impressive feat. This is wonderful! I won''t have to worry about spending too much time in here! Shi Feng was ecstatic. However, although he was not in a hurry, he couldn''t spend too much time on his promotion quest. After all, the contest on Thunder Island was rapidly approaching. He needed to prepare. He also needed to search for sufficiently powerful Mysterious Flames to extend the time he had left before he became a puppet. After Shi Feng rested, he grinded the Silvermoon Rats once again. With the Life Essence''s Stamina recovery, his Stamina consumption rate decreased to one-third of its original. He could now fight for much longer. While he fought the Silvermoon Rats, Shi Feng summoned his second Tier 2 Demon. Hidden Thorn Demon! This type of Demon was similar to an Assassin. It possessed explosive power and control capabilities. This made killing the Silvermoon Rats much easier for Shi Feng. Now, he could defeat two Silvermoon Rats in eight minutes. As Shi Feng grinded Silvermoon Rats, he also discovered that, aside from dropping Seven Luminaries Shards, the Silvermoon Rats dropped equipment, though at a very low probability. However, the low drop-rate was justified as the Demonic Beasts dropped Growth-type Set Equipment for Level 50 to Level 60 players. The set equipment could be upgraded from Bronze to Dark-Gold rank. These items were far more valuable than ordinary Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The Silvermoon Rats dropped two variants of Growth-type Set Equipment. One was the Magic Moon Set Equipment, meant for magical classes, while the other was the Shadowmoon Set Equipment for physical classes. Both were seven-piece sets. After grinding for over a dozen hours, Shi Feng had only obtained three set pieces; two for the Magic Moon Set and one piece of the Shadowmoon Set. Meanwhile, he had collected 91 Seven Luminaries Shards. As Shi Feng was about to enter the herb garden and lure more monsters, every one of the Silvermoon Rats in the garden started to tremble. Shortly after these Silvermoon Rats started trembling, the Mana in the herb garden was pulled to a single point. Immediately, Shi Feng turned to the epicenter of this phenomenon. "An evolution?" Shi Feng''s jaw dropped in astonishment. A Silvermoon Rat, significantly larger than its counterparts, stood in the center of this phenomenon. The Silvermoon Rat''s eyes had turned blood-red, and all of its fur stood on end. The Silvermoon Rat''s body also released a faint red glow, making it extremely eye-catching. 1283 Bloodline Evolution Chapter 1283 - Bloodline Evolution The glowing Silvermoon Rat screeched in agony. The other Silvermoon Rats stared at the evolving rat as if it were a king as they trembled and distanced themselves. They were deeply afraid of angering their king and dying under its claws. In fact, over a dozen rat corpses surrounded the evolving Silvermoon Rat. Impossible! It''s undergoing a Bloodline Evolution?! Shi Feng had a bad feeling about this. Like players, monsters could reach higher tiers. Only, in the case of monsters, the upgrade was known as evolution. God''s Domain''s Field Bosses didn''t come from nowhere. Instead, when a Field Boss was killed, the land it had governed would be left without a ruler. In such a situation, the region''s monsters would engage in an intense battle, constantly evolving. Only after a new ruler emerged would these monsters cease their fighting. Hence, every time a new Boss appeared in a region, the region''s monsters would grow more powerful due to their evolutions during the intense competition. The Silvermoon Rat before him was similarly evolving. Only, its evolution was somewhat different, known as a Bloodline Evolution. Many Demonic Beasts were members of powerful monster bloodlines from ancient times. Hence, when they evolved, they had a chance of triggering their bloodline. If that happened, not only would their tier improve, but their Life Ratings would also rise. In the past, Shi Feng had encountered Demonic Beasts that undergone Bloodline Evolution. A particular Demonic Beast had evolved from Tier 4 to Tier 5 and successfully triggered its bloodline. As a result, it had evolved into an incomparably powerful Tier 5 Archaic Species, transforming its governed area into a forbidden land for players. Only after a long time had a Super Guild manage to kill this Tier 5 Archaic Species. The Silvermoon Rat was currently a Tier 2 Lord. If it evolved normally, it would only become a Tier 3 Great Lord. If it triggered its bloodline, however, it would become a Tier 3 Archaic Species. At that point, escape would be impossible, much less victory. Even if Shi Feng could run away, with a Tier 3 Archaic Species guarding the herb garden, he wouldn''t be able to get in. I have to give it a try. Shi Feng gritted his teeth and retrieved his only Tier 3, large-scale destruction Magic Scroll and Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. He activated them immediately. A monster''s evolution wasn''t instantaneous. They needed time to absorb enough Mana. Moreover, the more powerful the evolution, the more time it would take. The Silvermoon Rat''s Bloodline Evolution had just begun. It was the perfect time to strike. Suddenly, a massive, blue magic array appeared above the evolving Silvermoon Rat. This array absorbed a large portion of the Mana the Silvermoon Rat had gathered. Snowflakes started to descend from the magic array, and anything they touched froze instantly. In the blink of an eye, a radius of 50 yards had transformed into a winter wonderland. Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell, Frosty Day! Not only could the Spell cause a lot of damage, but it could also freeze all targets within the affected area for ten seconds. Even if the freezing effect were negated, enemies would receive a debuff which reduced their Movement Speed and Attack Speed 50% and double their Stamina consumption rate for ten minutes. This one move had frozen all of the rats around the evolving Silvermoon Rat. As for the Silvermoon Rats that were outside of Frosty Day''s range, due to the Silvermoon Rat that was undergoing its Bloodline Evolution, they didn''t dare approach the area. Instead, they turned tail, and fled for their lives, giving Shi Feng an opportunity to attack the evolving Silvermoon Rat. As for the evolving Silvermoon Rat itself, the Spell had taken over 1,000,000 of its HP. Although its HP had only decreased slightly, it was severely injured, and as a result, its Mana absorption rate had decreased significantly. "Roar!" The evolving Silvermoon Rat bellowed and glared at Shi Feng, killing intent radiating from its eyes. It then charged at Shi Feng. "Good!" Shi Feng smiled. Immediately, he activated Windwalk before he turned and fled. It was too risky to fight the rat in the herb garden. Had the Silvermoon Rat continued to absorb Mana to evolve even after the initial attack, he would have been helpless. The fact that it had given chase couldn''t be a better outcome. However, although the Silvermoon Rat had yet to complete its evolution, its Movement Speed was still higher than Shi Feng''s even after he activated the Aura of Wind and Windwalk. Bloodline Evolutions are terrifying. Shi Feng was inwardly shocked as he turned to look at the Silvermoon Rat chasing him. Originally, over 70 yards had separated him and the Silvermoon Rat. Now, the distance had shortened to 50 yards. Moreover, as the Silvermoon Rat ran after him, it absorbed Mana and continued its evolution. Fortunately, it wasn''t evolving as fast as it had been. This was the outcome Shi Feng had hoped for. As long as the Silvermoon Rat continued to evolve, the other Silvermoon Rats would not approach it. If the other Silvermoon Rats tagged along, he really would die here. Following which, Shi Feng dashed out of the herb garden, only stopping when the Silvermoon Rat caught up to him. After catching up to Shi Feng, the Silvermoon Rat slashed its razor-sharp claws at Shi Feng''s back. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng spun around and used Parry, blocking the attack. Peng! The single attack threw Shi Feng over twenty yards away. Although Shi Feng had been sent flying because he had used the impact to put some distance between him and his adversary, the fact that he had been thrown so far told him that the Shadowmoon Rat now had the strength of a Level 62 Great Lord. Shi Feng refused to imagine how terrifying the Silvermoon Rat''s Strength and speed would be once it completed its evolution. This should be far enough. Shi Feng glanced at the distant herb garden. He then controlled his Tier 3 summoned creature and two Tier 2 Demons to attack the Silvermoon Rat. Dragon Breath! Suddenly, a beam of white light shot towards the Silvermoon Rat. Seeing this, the Silvermoon Rat revealed a humanlike sneer. It turned sharply, dodging Dragon Breath. Its intellect has improved by so much? Shi Feng frowned. Although a Bloodline Evolution would improve a Demonic Beast''s intellect, he hadn''t expected this level of intelligence from the Silvermoon Rat. The Silvermoon Rat''s combat standards already rivaled that of an elite player. As the Silvermoon Rat gleefully charged at Shi Feng, the two Tier 2 Demons had circled to its sides, and each launched an attack at its blind spots. Arrogance flashed in the Silvermoon Rat''s beady eyes. It then backflipped, dodging the Demons'' attacks. The outcome didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng as he maintained a calm expression. Meanwhile, the Silvermoon Rat, which was still in the midst its backflip, discovered an eight-meter tall, Level 65, Tier 3 Shadow Lion behind it. The Shadow Lion brandished its claws at the rat. Boom! The lion slapped the Silvermoon Rat to the ground, the impact ripping an agonized screech from the Demonic Beast. Its HP decreased by over 700,000. This move was none other than the Shadow Lion''s Tier 3 Skill, Shadow Assault. This move was similar to the combination of the Assassin class''s Shadow Steps and Ambush. Moreover, it was an AOE attack, so it was impossible to dodge at a close range. By using Dragon Breath, Shi Feng had determined the Silvermoon Rat''s combat standards. After determining its combat standards, he used the two Demons to launch a feint, leaving room for the Silvermoon Rat to dodge. He responded by directing the Shadow Lion to injure the rat. After his plan succeeded, Shi Feng switched to the Aura of Fire and activated Firestorm. As the Silvermoon Rat''s body had been embedded in the ground, it couldn''t dodge the raging inferno in time. The Silvermoon Rat screeched again as the scorching flames engulfed it, its HP decreasing rapidly. Suddenly, its blood-red eyes turned pitch-black. Despite the raging inferno, the surrounding temperature dropped. "Roar!" The Silvermoon Rat suddenly released a deafening roar. It began to transform. Not only did it grow larger, but its dark-gray fur had also turned silvery-white. Its single tail split into three, and it now had four front legs rather than two. A pitch-black horn protruded from its forehead. This is insane! It''s forcing its evolution?! Shi Feng frowned. 1284 Soloing an Archaic Species Chapter 1284 - Soloing an Archaic Species After completing its evolution, the Silvermoon Rat had more than doubled in size. Now, it was six meters tall and loomed like a two-story house. Its aura had also grown more intense, making it difficult for Shi Feng to breathe. Meanwhile, its statistics had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. - [Silvermoon Rat King (Weakened)] (Archaic Species, Great Lord) Level 64 HP 90,000,000/90,000,000 - As Shi Feng stared at the information, the Silvermoon Rat King vanished. In the blink of an eye, the Rat King appeared before Shi Feng, its four front paws transforming into streaks of light as they slashed at Shi Feng. So fast! Shi Feng believed that in terms of speed, no player was his match in God''s Domain. However, compared to the Silvermoon Rat King, he was slow. Not to mention, the Rat King attacked with four limbs. Even if he could move faster, he couldn''t dodge all four attacks. Defensive Blade! Peng Peng Peng Over a dozen streaks of light slashed at Shi Feng again and again. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng heard his defensive barrier shatter. In a single round of attacks, the Silvermoon Rat King had exhausted Defensive Blade''s block counts. As soon as the Silvermoon Rat King ended its first barrage, it launched another. However, black mist now extended from its paws, forming four shadow whips that lashed at the Swordsman. As if the Rat King were an expert with the weapon, the four shadow whips sealed off every one of Shi Feng''s paths of retreat, preventing him from dodging the attacks. It clearly forced its evolution, but why has its intellect improved by so much? Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he saw the four incoming whips. If a monster tried to force its evolution, not only would it receive a backlash, but it would also suffer a Weakened state for some time, their Attributes decreasing significantly in all aspects. Naturally, its intellect would be affected. Only after its Weakened state faded would it recover to its peak. Although Shi Feng''s exchange with the Silvermoon Rat King had been brief, he could tell that the Rat King had the combat standards of a player that had reached the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. Shi Feng found this truly inconceivable. If the Silvermoon Rat King had evolved normally, what kind of combat standards would it have had? The Trial Tower''s fifth floor? Or the sixth floor? With such high Attributes and superb combat standards, the Silvermoon Rat King would be an utter nightmare. Not even an entire team of experts would be a match for the Silvermoon Rat King, much less a 100-man team of Level 60, Tier 2 players. It was much different than the Tier 5 Archaic Species Shi Feng had faced in the past. Due to the lack of weaknesses, players had been forced to take the Tier 5 Archaic Species head-on. In the end, the Tier 5 Archaic Species had only died after a Super Guild had dispatched a team led by a Tier 6 God-ranked player. Against the Silvermoon Rat King''s Skill attack, Shi Feng activated Divine Steps without hesitation. Immediately, ten doppelgangers appeared around him. The instant the shadow whips descended, Shi Feng switched places with one of the distant doppelgangers. In the end, the four shadow whips passed through Shi Feng''s doppelganger unhindered and struck the ground, slicing the packed dirt apart as if it were a cake. The grooves were roughly six-yards deep and extended up to 50 yards. The attacks'' range and power rendered Shi Feng speechless. After the Skill ended, Shi Feng swapped positions with another doppelganger and appeared beside the Silvermoon Rat King, the Abyssal Blade descending on the Great Lord. Chop! -16,748! The Silvermoon Rat King reacted as it turned and snapped two shadow whips at Shi Feng. Shi Feng once more switched positions with a doppelganger on the other side of the Rat King and quickly followed up with Thundering Flash. Four arcs of blue lightning passed through the Silvermoon Rat King''s body. -7,950! -10,748! -29,601! -20,007! Although the Rat King''s Defense hadn''t risen by much, it had 90,000,000 HP. Shi Feng''s damage was nothing. Fortunately, while Weakened, the Silvermoon Rat King couldn''t use its combat recovery. Hence, any lost HP was permanent. By constantly switching positions with his doppelgangers, Shi Feng suppressed the Rat King for a moment. Meanwhile, Shi Feng controlled the Shadow Lion and two Tier 2 Demons to join the battle. However, the Silvermoon Rat King promptly responded when it noticed the Shadow Lion and Demons approach by lashing its four shadow whips. It aimed two for the Tier 3 Shadow Lion while the other two dealt with the Tier 2 Demons. The Rat King''s attacks were extremely accurate, forcing the Shadow Lion and Demons to defend themselves. However, the shadow whips'' Attack Speed was quite high. Before Shi Feng could direct his creatures to dodge, the whips struck. The Shadow Lion was knocked back by over ten yards, two damages of over -170,000 appearing above its head. Each of the Tier 2 Demons had lost over 300,000 HP and been thrown over 30 yards What high Strength! Shi Feng was surprised. The Silvermoon Rat King''s Strength could rival a Grand Lord of the same level. Fortunately, he had avoided the Rat King''s attacks, using Divine Steps to defend himself. Otherwise, if he had failed to block the four shadow whips and were struck, he would have died instantly. Even if he blocked all four whips, he would have very little HP remaining. Once Shi Feng understood how powerful the Silvermoon Rat King was, he changed his attack methods. Now, instead of issuing the Shadow Lion vague commands, he chose to control it himself. He directed the two Demons to attack from the sides. Like the Silvermoon Rat King, the Shadow Lion was a Tier 3 monster. Although the Shadow Lion''s Strength was no match for the Silvermoon Rat King, its speed should be on par. With Shi Feng''s control, it would not be difficult to block the Rat King''s attacks with the Shadow Lion. After all, the Silvermoon Rat King only had combat standards at the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. To ordinary and elite players, this combat standard might be considered very high. To him, however, it was not even passable. Even if he had to split his attention between controlling his body and the Shadow Lion, he could exhibit combat standards at the Half-step Refinement Realm with the Shadow Lion. Once the Shadow Lion was under Shi Feng''s complete control, it easily dodged three of the Silvermoon Rat King''s shadow whips. The Shadow Lion countered the last whip with a swipe of its claws, negating the attack. It then used its other paw to cast the Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Claw, raking four bloody slashes across the Silvermoon Rat King''s face. The impact slammed the Rat King''s head into the ground. -438,749! The Shadow Lion''s attack dazed the Silvermoon Rat King. The rat stared at the lion in confusion. It had sent the stupid lion flying earlier, yet now the beast had dodged its attacks and slashed its face. The Silvermoon Rat King pushed Shi Feng to the back of its mind and focused its attention on the monstrous cat, lashing one whip after another at the Shadow Lion. Against this furious assault, Shi Feng directed the lion to defend itself. Although the Shadow Lion couldn''t damage the Rat King, Shi Feng and his two Demons could attack the Great Lord from its blind spots, taking tens of thousands of the Rat King''s HP every now and then. For a time, they fought a battle of attrition. The Silvermoon Rat King''s HP decreased slowly. Only after a long time did its HP fall by 1%. As for the Shadow Lion, it lost HP at roughly the same rate. Thank goodness for its Weakened state. After getting a general grasp of the situation, Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. If the battle continued like this, he could kill the Silvermoon Rat King before the Shadow Lion''s duration ran out. If the Silvermoon Rat King weren''t in a Weakened state, however, he wouldn''t be able to kill it, even if he had days, due to its battle recovery. In fact, the reason that most experts in God''s Domain couldn''t solo powerful Bosses wasn''t due to weak combat standards. Rather, they couldn''t deal enough damage to overcome the Boss''s battle recovery. Without battle recovery, the Silvermoon Rat King''s HP steadily decreased. 95%... 90%... 80%... After fighting for nearly an hour, the Silvermoon Rat King''s HP finally fell to 10%. Fortunately, the Shadow Lion still had 60% of its HP. Throughout the battle, whenever the Shadow Lion''s HP fell to a critical level, Shi Feng had cast Life Bloom on it. As a result, the Silvermoon Rat King watched helplessly as the Shadow Lion recovered to full HP. "Roar!" The Silvermoon Rat King finally went berserk. Black magic arrays suddenly appeared before its four paws, rampantly gathering the surrounding Mana. The Rat King then slammed its paws on the ground, and streaks of black light shot from the ground in a 100-yard radius. When the Tier 2 Tomahawk Demon accidentally stumbled into one of the streaks of light, it instantly lost over 600,000 HP. As the seconds ticked by, more streaks of light broke through the dirt. As this attack continued, even Shi Feng had no choice but to use Defensive Blade and Absolute Defense to defend himself. By the time these streaks of black light finally stopped, the two Tier 2 Demons had less than 30% of their HP remaining. As for the Shadow Lion, it only had 40% HP remaining As expected, an Archaic Species won''t go down so easily after all. Even in a Weakened state, this Skill is more than enough to annihilate an expert team multiple times. Shi Feng was greatly shocked as he stared at the exhausted Silvermoon Rat King. If the Rat King were at its peak, only death would await him. There was no other outcome. After all, despite the Rat King''s current Weakened state, Shi Feng hadn''t found a single weakness. If he wanted to defeat it, he had to face it head-on. If the Rat King were at its peak, he wouldn''t have any hope of victory without several Tier 3 tanks or Summoning Scrolls and an Intermediate Magic Array to suppress the Demonic Beast. The Silvermoon Rat King was exhausted after using such a powerful Skill. It couldn''t even move a muscle. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Phantom Kill, and Nine Dragon Slash and started a merciless assault. If he waited for the Silvermoon Rat King to recover and use that powerful AOE Skill again, he would die. 9%... 7%... 5%... 1%... When the Silvermoon Rat King only had around 100,000 HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and Flame Burst. In the blink of an eye, the Silvermoon Rat King''s HP hit rock bottom, its body collapsing to the ground. "Success, finally!" Shi Feng fell flat on his back in exhaustion, taking one deep breath after another. He had focused on controlling the Shadow Lion while assisting the battle from the side. The fight had been both mentally and physically exhausting. Had the battle gone on any longer, Shi Feng might have collapsed before killing the Silvermoon Rat King. Suddenly, Shi Feng realized that his previously stagnant experience bar, which hadn''t moved when he killed the other Shadowmoon Rats, was rising. Moreover, it rose at a rate visible to the naked eye. 10%... 20%... 30%... Only after reaching 69% of Level 50 did his experience bar finally stop. Meanwhile, upon its death, the Silvermoon Rat King had dropped a mound of shiny items. 1285 Upgrading the Demonic Tiger Chapter 1285 - Upgrading the Demonic Tiger The Silvermoon Rat King''s loot was astounding. It had even dropped 16 Seven Luminaries Shards. It had also dropped five pieces of equipment. The Magic Moon Robes, the most important part of the Magic Moon Set Equipment, lay among them. There were also two pieces of the Shadowmoon Set Equipment: the chest piece and bracers. If he could complete the seven-piece sets, they would be the best set equipment available in God''s Domain right now. Besides that, the Silvermoon Rat King had dropped the Level 60 Fine-Gold Moonlight Shield and Level 50 Dark-Gold necklace, Shadow Talisman. Any of the various large Guilds would drool over the items. Quite a few tools had dropped as well. These tools included a Tier 3 Domain Scroll and Tier 3 Defensive Scroll. Shi Feng considered these items compensation for the Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll and Summoning Scroll he had used. Shi Feng had also obtained seven Tier 3 Attribute Gemstones. "Hm? What''s this?" Shi Feng had thought that he had collected all of the loot, but he suddenly noticed a nearly transparent stone beside the Silvermoon Rat King''s corpse. Although this stone rested there quietly, the surrounding Mana surged towards it. Curious, Shi Feng picked up the stone and examined it. However, he discovered that he couldn''t see its information. This left him with no choice but to use Omniscient Eyes. I struck gold this time. After the ten-second appraisal process completed, Shi Feng revealed an excited expression as he read the item''s description. - [Bloodline Essence] (Dark-Gold Rank Item) This item contains a trace of a Ferocious Beast''s bloodline. It can give a Mount a trace of the Ferocious Beast''s bloodline. - Although specific items could upgrade Guild Mounts, there were very few items in God''s Domain that could upgrade a Mount''s strength. A Mount''s strength was not static. It could be improved. However, upgrading a Mount was far more difficult than nurturing Personal Guards. Shi Feng had never thought he would be so lucky as to obtain a Dark-Gold strengthening tool for Mounts. Although his Demonic Flame Tiger was a Dark-Gold Mount, it was only as strong as a Chieftain of the same level. It was not even a match for a Tier 2 Lord. Against experts of his level, the Demonic Flame Tiger wouldn''t be of much use. At most, it could cast a few buffs. If he could upgrade the Demonic Flame Tiger to the standard of a Lord, however, the Mount would be of significant help. After all, a Lord was the equivalent of a Tier 2 player. Moreover, unlike Personal Guards, Shi Feng did not have to worry about the Demonic Flame Tiger dying as it was much cheaper to resurrect. The only downside was that, after its resurrection, the Demonic Flame Tiger would enter a Weakened state for a certain period. Following which, Shi Feng summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger. When the tall, mighty Demonic Flame Tiger manifested, it obediently lay down beside Shi Feng and rubbed its furry head against his arm. "How much you strength you get from this depends on you now." Shi Feng then placed the Bloodline Essence before the Demonic Flame Tiger''s mouth. Seeing the translucent stone, the Demonic Flame Tiger''s shone with hunger like a cat staring at a fish. Without hesitation, it licked the Bloodline Essence off of Shi Feng''s hand and gulped it down. When the Bloodline Essence entered the Demonic Flame Tiger''s stomach, blood-red patterns began to appear across the feline''s body. The surrounding Mana surged into the Demonic Flame Tiger. The flood of Mana wasn''t one bit inferior to the Silvermoon Rat King''s evolution. As it succumbed to the change, the Demonic Flame Tiger wailed in agony. Following which, the blood patterns released a brilliant glow as they devoured the tiger''s body. As the surrounding Mana density reached its peak, the Demonic Flame Tiger''s form began to change. The Demonic Flame Tiger had stood five meters tall. Now, however, its body shrank, reducing to three meters. A pitch-black horn grew from its forehead, and arcs of silver electricity crackled around its four paws as black flames licked up its legs. The Demonic Flame Tiger appeared more ferocious and majestic than before. Its aura, in particular, had undergone an earth-shattering change. So strong. The Bloodline Essence''s effect is impressive. Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he checked the Demonic Flame Tiger''s Attributes. Despite its current, Lord rank standard, its Basic Attributes were much higher than a Lord of the same level. It could nearly rival a High Lord. A Mount that was almost as strong as a High Lord Just thinking about it excited Shi Feng. The strongest Mount he had seen in the past had been on par with a Great Lord. It had belonged to a superpower''s upper echelon and had been carefully nurtured. Countless resources had been spent on the Mount''s growth. Shi Feng had been jealous. After all, that player who had owned the Mount had only been as strong as he had been, yet that player had such an impressive mode of transportation Now that the Demonic Flame Tiger was as strong as a High Lord, as long as he nurtured it properly, it might become as strong as a Great Lord by the time he reached Tier 3. It would be a powerful ally. After all, his tiger now had a strand of a Ferocious Beast''s bloodline. It was much stronger than monsters of the same rank. "It''s about time to log off and get some rest." Taking a look at the real-world clock, Shi Feng thought that this would be a good time to take a break. Following which, Shi Feng called up the system interface and logged out. As soon as Shi Feng exited God''s Domain, a series of notifications bombarded his virtual gaming cabin. "Why are there so many messages?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. As his virtual gaming cabin had an anti-disturb mode, the system would temporarily block any messages from the real world. Only after he logged out of God''s Domain and woke from his slumber would the messages reach him. He had only been in God''s Domain for three days, yet he had over a dozen messages waiting for him. Some were from his assistant, Liang Jing, and some were from Big Dipper Group''s Chairman, Xiao Yu. He had also received an invitation from the White Tiger Dojo. Shi Feng glanced through one message after another. He quickly discovered that these messages focused on a single matter, the friendly competition that the White Tiger Dojo intended to host tomorrow. Xiao Yu''s messages inquired about the participants'' conditions, while Liang Jing''s messages talked about the White Tiger Dojo''s friendly competition. The White Tiger Dojo has splurged on the event. Shi Feng was slightly astonished as he read the competition''s announcement. Not only had the various dojos and training centers in Jin Hai City been invited to the competition, but the White Tiger Dojo had also involved five other nearby cities. Anybody could apply to join the competition; the participants weren''t limited to the invited dojos and training centers. As long as one passed the qualifiers, they could take part. As a result, this competition was even more ambitious than Jin Hai City''s annual fighting competition. In addition, the White Tiger Dojo had changed the competition''s rewards. Now, anyone who placed within the top five would receive prize money; first place would receive five million Credits; even fifth place would receive 500,000 Credits. To the various dojos and training centers, this prize money was negligible. Rather, these organizations had their sights set on the Green God Company''s invitation card. To the majority of the participants, however, the reward money was considerable. According to Liang Jing''s report, there were already more than ten thousand applicants. While Shi Feng was stretched, Xiao Yu called him, anxious. 1286 Competition Preparations Chapter 1286 - Competition Preparations Big Dipper Tower''s fifty-first floor, Chairman''s Office: Currently, two people sat in a large office by the french windows. Upon closer inspection, one would discover that these two people looked somewhat similar. Only, their auras were different. One radiated the energy that was unique to a martial artist, while the other''s aura spoke of a high societal position. These two were none other than the Big Dipper Group''s Xiao brothers. "Big Brother, I''ve looked it up already. To attract enough attention, the White Tiger Dojo has dispatched three experts from its main branch to participate in the competition. Are you sure we won''t have any issues?" Xiao Yan asked worriedly. The White Tiger Dojo was a titan in the fighting industry. The main branch''s talents were all rising stars. Take Gan Xingteng, who had defeated Chen Wu, for example. Despite being one of the White Tiger Dojo''s advanced disciples, he didn''t even qualify for the main branch''s nurturing. It was clear how impressive the main branch''s experts were. Moreover, the competition had an age restriction that barred those over 20, cutting out organizations such as the Big Dipper Dojo. He wouldn''t have been worried if the age restriction had been set to 25. After all, Shi Feng would be able to participate if that were the case. Moreover, they had Fire Dance, who had defeated Gan Xingteng in a single move. With those two, the Big Dipper Dojo could easily secure first place, yet neither could participate this time. Xiao Yan was very familiar with the Big Dipper Dojo''s members. Only a few among them could be professional fighters. Moreover, even if they participated in the city''s annual fighting competition, they wouldn''t rank within the top 100. How could these members possibly contend with the White Tiger Dojo''s elites? To put it crudely, even in a three-on-one fight, their opponent would win in three moves or less. If they signed their members up for the competition, it wouldn''t be a matter of winning or losing. It would be a matter of how badly they were humiliated. If they embarrassed themselves during such a grand event, it would impact the Big Dipper Dojo''s future. "Shi Feng''s people have assured me that everything is in order. I''ve tried to ask the person himself, but he is still in the game, and it wouldn''t be wise to interrupt him. After all, he has already guaranteed success," Xiao Yu responded with a concerned expression. Big Dipper''s future was at stake. He had tried to ask Liang Jing, but she had no information on these matters "Big Brother, I think we should try to get an answer from him. The competition is tomorrow. If we can''t win, I''d rather be absent than humiliate ourselves. If that happens, we won''t have any chance against the White Tiger Dojo," Xiao Yan said. "Alright. Once Shi Feng leaves the game, I''ll ask him." Xiao Yu agreed with his brother''s logic. The White Tiger Dojo was obviously serious about branching out to Jin Hai City and the several neighboring cities. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have dispatched its elites to take part in the competition. After all, the qualifiers for national fighting competition would begin soon. Its elites should be either resting or preparing for that event. Taking part in this sudden competition would affect them. As Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan chatted, Xiao Yu noticed that the do-not-disturb mode on Shi Feng''s communication system had been removed. Immediately, he called the man. "Chairman Xiao, what''s with the early call? Has something urgent come up?" Shi Feng asked curiously when he saw Xiao Yu''s nervous expression on his quantum watch''s display. "The White Tiger Dojo''s friendly competition is tomorrow. May I inquire about Instructor Shi''s preparations? If you need any help, just say the word. We will do our best to assist you," Xiao Yu said. Currently, his gaze was fixed on Shi Feng, hoping to determine the young man''s confidence of winning the competition by his expression and tone. He had been a part of the business world for some time, so he could easily read the truth and lies on a person''s face. If Shi Feng didn''t have the confidence, Xiao Yu would give up on the competition. After all, the dojo''s honor was at stake. If others learned that the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples defeated theirs in a single move, the Big Dipper Dojo would go of business. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng replied, "Thank you for your concern, Chairman Xiao. Since you''ve offered, I could use your help with something. The answer disappointed Xiao Yu. However, after considering the matter, he found it to be reasonable. After all, just how long had the Big Dipper Dojo been in operation? Even if they invested a ton of resources in their members, they wouldn''t see the results for a long time. How could a few days of training possibly transform their members? "Can you think of a way to obtain a few more bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid? I''m willing to purchase them for a high price," Shi Feng asked, somewhat embarrassed. He had already troubled Xiao Yu for ten bottles. However, he had given all ten to Shadow Sword and Turtledove. He had nothing left for Fire Dance, Cola, Ye Wumian, Flying Shadow, or the other core members. The Guild''s main force members were nearly ready to challenge their Tier 2 promotion. However, challenging their Hell Mode Promotion Quests would be very difficult unless they improved their combat standards. If he could get his hands on more S-rank Nutrient Fluids, he could help the others grow stronger. "This" Xiao Yu was speechless. Obtaining the previous ten bottles had taken a lot of effort, yet Shi Feng wanted more. Shi Feng was practically treating the S-rank Nutrient Fluid as if it were water. "Instructor Shi, I''ve already used my connections to obtain the previous bottles. I cannot get any more." "I see" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng understood. If that were the case, he had no choice but to look for other methods to help his companions grow stronger. "Then, Chairman Xiao, I still have matters I need to deal with. I''ll speak with you later." "Wait" Although Xiao Yu still had something to say, Shi Feng had already disconnected the call. "Big Brother, how was it?" Xiao Yan asked. "I don''t know," Xiao Yu said, smiling bitterly. "Shi Feng is quite mysterious. If not for him being Ruoxi''s classmate, I might even suspect him to be an old man that has lived through countless trials and tribulations. Despite his hundreds of weak points, I can''t seem to find a way to strike." "What? Even you couldn''t see through him?" Xiao Yan asked in shock. Xiao Yu had experienced countless battles in the business world while developing the Big Dipper Group. Many knew him to be a sly old fox. His ability to see through a facade was top-class, yet he couldn''t see through Shi Feng. How could this not be shocking? "Forget it. We''ll participate in the competition tomorrow. If we don''t, the White Tiger Dojo will have an excuse to slander our names. We just need to avoid losing too badly. In any case, we can redeem ourselves during the city''s annual competition," Xiao Yu said after giving the matter some thought. "The city competition?" Xiao Yan nodded in agreement. There was no doubt that the White Tiger Dojo would win in the friendly competition. However, it was a different story for the city''s annual competition as they would have the assistance of a great expert like Shi Feng. Meanwhile, back in the Greenwater Villa, Shi Feng''s basic training, he logged back into God''s Domain. It would take a lot of effort to clear the Silvermoon Rats from the herb garden. The sooner he completed this task, the better. He couldn''t predict when the other Silvermoon rats would evolve. Compared to his prior grind, Shi Feng had an easier time killing the Demonic Beasts with the help of the Lord ranked Demonic Flame Tiger. Now, not only did he and his summoned Demons receive the tiger''s buffs, but the Demonic Flame Tiger''s own combat power was even greater than the Tier 2 Demons''. Fortunately, the Dark Canyon''s monsters did not respawn. After grinding away half a day, Shi Feng finally cleared out the Silvermoon Rats. Although the grind was boring, he had collected a total of 714 Seven Luminaries Shards. If he used the Philosopher''s Stone, he could synthesize 14 Seven Luminaries Crystals. He was now much closer to his goal of obtaining 40 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. He also had five unique pieces of the Magic Moon Set Equipment. He had four duplicates as well. As for the Shadowmoon Set Equipment, he had collected six unique pieces with two duplicates; he only needed the belt now. As Shi Feng set his sights on the Silvermoon Bears, several figures flew down from the distant tower. As these several figures grew closer to the herb garden, the Demonic Beasts in the Moonlight Courtyard panicked. Even the Great Lord ranked Silvermoon Bears covered their heads with their paws and shuddered in fear, not even daring to glance at the distant figures. This is insane! Why are Magic Light Dragonlings here!? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the three massive figures fly over him. 1287 Dark Shaman King Chapter 1287 - Dark Shaman King The Magic Light Dragonlings'' were pitch-black and shrouded in a layer of black mist. Their skin sparkled faintly from time to time, resembling the night sky. The Dragonlings'' wingspan stretched over twenty meters, and a single flap was enough to create a strong gust of wind, the whistle echoing throughout the courtyard. Seeing the Magic Light Dragonlings rapidly approach the garden, Shi Feng turned and fled. The Magic Light Dragonlings were bona fide Dragons. Although they were infants and only at the Tier 3 standard, they were much stronger than an Archaic Species of the same tier. And three of these Level 65 Magic Light Dragonlings were flying towards him. If they discovered him, his fate would be sealed. Fortunately, the Dragonlings were quite far away, so Shi Feng had more than enough time to get out of the herb garden. Shi Feng wasn''t the only one trying to leave the herb garden. The Silvermoon Bears lazing around the Moonlight Fruit did not dare linger either. It wasn''t long before the three Magic Light Dragonlings landed in the center of the herb garden. As soon as they landed, three figures jumped off of their backs. Among them, two were Level 70, Tier 3 Demons wearing exquisite armor, and one was a black-robed elder wielding a crimson staff. Although this black-robed elder did not exude any kind of aura, Shi Feng, who watched from a distance, did not even dare to move a single muscle, deeply afraid of attracting this elder''s attention. This elderly man was far more terrifying than the Magic Light Dragonlings. Shi Feng had heard this man''s name before. Dark Wizard Raymond was a legendary Tier 5 Grand Wizard. He had been a marshall that commanded the Apocalypse Empire''s Mage Corps. However, to pursue the essence of magic, he had betrayed the human race and dealt a severe blow to the empire. Now, he was a wanted man in God''s Domain. In Shi Feng''s previous life, Raymond had been the Final Boss of the "Dark Shaman King" expansion pack. Back then, the various superpowers had suffered countless casualties to exterminate the Dark Wizard Raymond. In the end, it had taken two Super Guilds working together to take him down. Shi Feng had never expected his promotion quest to lead him to such a terrifying Boss. It was no wonder why the Magic Light Dragonlings were treated like Mounts. Only a legendary Grand Wizard like Raymond could accomplish such a feat. This promotion quest really is deadly. Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he quietly watched Raymond. If he were discovered, he would die here. There was no way for he could escape a Tier 5 Grand Wizard. If Raymond guarded the herb garden, Shi Feng''s promotion quest was as good as over. After Raymond dismounted, he began to collect herbs in silence. Meanwhile, the two Tier 3 Demons stood guard. Seeing this, Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. Raymond was also a Grandmaster Alchemist. He had most likely come to the garden to collect herbs for his research. As Raymond harvested the plants, Shi Feng hid in a bush and remained motionless. A Tier 5 NPC''s perception was incredibly powerful. Even though he was 500 yards away from Raymond, there was no guarantee that the NPC wouldn''t detect his movements. He could only wait until Raymond left the herb garden. Time passed quickly. After harvesting herbs for nearly ten minutes, Raymond finally stood and prepared to leave. Suddenly, however, Raymond retrieved a fist-sized, seven-colored rock from his bag and started chanting an incantation. What?! The Seven Luminaries Source Stone is in Raymond''s hands?! When Shi Feng saw the seven-colored rock, he suddenly felt as the system had conned him. His quest was to seal a Demon King. Normally, this would be impossible for him at this stage of the game. Hence, the system had given him a hint to use the Seven Luminaries Source Stone to suppress the Demon King before sealing it. Yet, now, it was revealed that Raymond possessed the Seven Luminaries Source Stone, and the Grand Wizard was most likely stronger than a Tier 5 Demon King As Shi Feng agonized over how he would obtain the Seven Luminaries Source Stone, a magic barrier formed around the herb garden. In the next moment, Shi Feng saw Raymond retrieve some seeds from his bag and plant them in the garden. In the blink of an eye, these seeds started to sprout. Their growth rate was astonishing. Moreover, the herbs were extraordinary. They were all Soul Flowers, which were no less valuable than the Flowers of Life. Soul Flowers were so valuable because they could reduce the system''s penalty when players died. The death penalty was a massive headache for all of God''s Domain''s players. If they died in the fields, they would lose one level. However, if they were resurrected with the Basic Resurrection Potion, crafted with the Soul Flower, their death penalties would be reduced by 80%. The potion could also substitute for a team''s lack of healers. However, the Basic Resurrection Potion was only effective on Level 70 and below players; it was ineffective on those who were above Level 70. Moreover, the potion had a long, one-day Cooldown. Regardless of these flaws, the Basic Resurrection Potion was undoubtedly a miracle. Unfortunately, while the recipe was very easy to obtain, the Soul Flower, the potion''s main material, was extremely rare. Normally, the various large Guilds kept the Resurrection Potions they crafted for their own use. Very few were willing to sell the potion. If any did show up in the Auction House, even if they were only Basic rank, they could easily sell for 500 Gold a piece. Aside from being used in Resurrection Potions, the Soul Flower was one of the materials required to resurrect NPCs. If players wished to resurrect their Personal Guards, they needed four things: Soul Flower, Flower of Life, Water of Life, and 3,000 Gold. Because of this, players were rarely willing to resurrect Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Personal Guards. The Soul Flower, Flower of Life, and Water of Life were all extremely rare; they were impossible to obtain even if one had the money. This was also the reason why Shi Feng avoided summoning his Personal Guards if he could help it. Shi Feng hadn''t expected Raymond to have Soul Flower seeds. He certainly hadn''t expected the man to have so many. If he could obtain these Soul Flowers, he could make a fortune. Following which, Shi Feng watched Raymond instruct the two Level 70, Tier 3 Demons before climbing back onto the Magic Light Dragonling. All three Dragonlings then flew back to the tower. The two Tier 3 Demons remained behind. They were obviously tasked to guard the Soul Flowers and prevent the nearby Demonic Beasts from eating them. Two Level 70, Tier 3 Demons? Shi Feng smiled. If Raymond had tasked the Magic Light Dragonlings to guard the Soul Flowers, Shi Feng wouldn''t have had any hope. However, it was a different story if he only had to take out two Tier 3 Demons. Following which, Shi Feng summoned his Personal Guards. He hadn''t done so early because he had worried that wouldn''t be able to unsummon them. Their deaths would cause him a lot of trouble. However, the situation had changed. Even if they couldn''t be unsummoned and died here, obtaining the Soul Flowers and Flowers of Life would be a profitable trade. Some time after the two summoning magic arrays appeared, Anna and Kite emerged. The two NPCs were an even higher level than their last summoning. Anna was already Level 72, while Kite had reached Level 70. Their weapons and equipment had also transformed. Without Shi Feng''s knowledge, Anna had gained an additional Fragmented Legendary headpiece, while Kite had obtained a Fragmented Legendary one-handed sword. Shi Feng was pretty jealous. He had to admit that dumping Coins into their high-ranking quests had been a worthwhile investment. "Go!" Although both of his Personal Guards were only Tier 2, Shi Feng didn''t hesitate to send them to deal with the two Level 70, Tier 3 Demons. 1288 Overwhelming Tier 3 Demons Chapter 1288 - Overwhelming Tier 3 Demons After hearing Shi Feng''s command, both Anna and Kite set their sights on the Demonic Hunters guarding the herb garden. - [Demonic Hunter] (Dark Creature, Demon) Level 70 HP 35,000,000/35,000,000 - Compared to monsters, Demons had less HP. In return, though, their intellect was much higher. In addition, they had many Skills at their disposal. If given the choice, players would rather fight dumb monsters than Demons of the same tier. The instant Anna and Kite set foot into the herb garden, they attracted the Demonic Hunters'' attention. "Intruders, you dare set trespass into Lord Raymond''s territory! You shall pay with your lives!" the two Demonic Hunters bellowed as they promptly retrieved the greatswords from their backs. They both charged at Anna, the Summoner. Not only were the Demonic Hunters faster than the Silvermoon Rat King, but their combat standards were also higher. Moreover, they knew how to coordinate as each of them activated Demonic Charge from two different directions, their Movement Speed increasing instantly. When the two Demonic Hunters were only 30 yards away, Anna slammed the butt of her staff on the ground and pointed a finger towards the sky. As she did so, she finished chanting her incantation''s final verse. Suddenly, a massive, golden magic array appeared before her. Silver magic arrays also appeared around Anna, one after another, surrounding the summoner. When the two Demonic Hunters were only 15 yards away, a Golden Giant emerged from the golden magic array. The Golden Giant served as a gatekeeper as it stood in the Demon Hunters'' path. This move was the Tier 2 Curse Anna had learned, Song of Summoning. It allowed her to summon a Tier 3 Golden Giant to aid her. Ten Tier 2 Rock Guardians also appeared from the silver magic arrays around Anna. In the blink of an eye, Anna had summoned a monster army. - [Golden Giant] (Elemental Being, Great Lord) Level 72 HP 77,000,000/77,000,000 [Rock Guardian] (Elemental Being, Lord) Level 72 HP 31,000,000/31,000,000 - Although the two Demonic Hunters tried to circle the summoned creatures and attack Anna directly, the Summoner had prepared for this. With a light wave of her staff, she fired several Elemental Bullets at the Demonic Hunters. Dang! Dang! Dang! The two Demonic Hunters responded quickly by blocking the bullets with their greatswords. However, the Golden Giant appeared behind the two Demonic Hunters, its fists descending on their heads. Boom! -415,797! -420,187! The impact blasted a large hole in the ground. At this point, Anna had finished writing another set of runes. She then flicked her finger at these runes. Immediately, these runes embedded themselves into the ten Rock Guardians'' bodies, who had already surrounded the two Demonic Hunters. As these runes merged with the Rock Guardians, a golden magic array formed around the two Demonic Hunters. Although the Demonic Hunters attacked the barrier, it remained intact as the Rock Guardians split the damage equally. Moreover, this magic array granted the Rock Guardians a 10% increase to their Basic Attributes and reduced the Demonic Hunters'' Basic Attributes by 15%. With this, it became even more difficult for the Demonic Hunters to kill the Rock Guardians and break free from the magic barrier. So strong! Shi Feng was quite impressed. Although he had long since known that an Epic Personal Guard had extraordinary potential, he never imagined that Anna would grow to the point of being capable of suppressing two Tier 3 Demons all by herself. If a player of the same tier fought Anna, she would overwhelm them until their death. Not to mention, Anna still had her Epic ranked Legacy Skill, Angel Summoning. Whether in a one-on-one fight or a group fight, Anna had no weaknesses. Suddenly, the Sword Master Kite charged into the magic array and slashed his Fragmented Legendary sword at one of the Demonic Hunters. The targeted Demonic Hunter responded quickly, slashing its greatsword horizontally and easily deflecting this attack. However, the instant the Demonic Hunter blocked the attack, it was forced to retreat by half a step. Immediately after, over a dozen wind blades struck the Demonic Hunter from multiple directions. -44,671! -44,598! -45,102! In the blink of an eye, the Demonic Hunter lost over 500,000 HP. Kite was clearly superior in both Strength and speed. After watching his Personal Guards'' performance for a short moment, Shi Feng joined the battle. Although both Kite and Anna could overwhelm the Tier 3 Demons, the Demons were different from the Silvermoon Rat King. Both had battle recovery, which allowed them to recover 350,000 HP every five seconds. It would take quite some time to kill them. After Shi Feng, the Demonic Flame Tiger, and the two Tier 2 Demons joined the battle, their overall damage skyrocketed. When any of his allies began to run low on HP, Shi Feng switched to the Aura of Water and cast Life Bloom. In less than half an hour, both Level 70, Tier 3 Demons fell. Once they died, Shi Feng''s experience bar had risen to 82% of Level 50. Sure enough, only Great Lords grant EXP here. Glancing at his experience bar, Shi Feng gained a general understanding on some of the Dark Canyon''s rules. He then shifted his gaze to the loot dropped the two Demonic Hunters had dropped. Due to Divine Providence, the Demonic Hunters had dropped a total of nine Seven Luminaries Shards and two pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment. They had also dropped two small pouches. Opening the pouches, Shi Feng discovered that they actually contained seeds. The two pouches combined contained a total of 27 seeds. The monsters here drop seeds? Shi Feng was somewhat confused. This was the first time he had obtained seeds after killing a monster. Normally, one could only obtain seeds from NPC merchants or opening Treasure Chests. Following which, Shi Feng curiously checked the seeds'' Attribute Panel. - [Mutated Rainbow Tree Seeds] Survival rate increased by 20%. Amount of Rainbow Fruit produced during each maturity cycle increased by 30%. There is a chance to produce Mutated Rainbow Fruit. - What?! These are Rainbow Tree seeds?! Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. Fruit trees in God''s Domain were different from herbs. They would not disappear once harvested. Instead, the tree would continue to bear fruit as long as one nurtured it properly. Only, the fruit''s maturity cycle was a little longer than herbs. One could easily purchase an ordinary fruit tree''s seeds from NPC merchants for relatively cheap. However, rare trees'' seeds were much more expensive, not to mention the Rainbow Tree''s seeds. In the past, one such seed easily sold for 400 Gold. Unfortunately, Rainbow Trees had a very low survival rate of roughly 20%. Hence, if one wished to their own, it would cost around 2,000 Gold. If one were unlucky, the seeds might cost them as much as 4,000 Gold. The Rainbow Tree seeds were so expensive because Rainbow Fruits could produce Rainbow Wine. Not only was the wine delicious, but its effects could also rival the Hundred Berry Wine. Moreover, the Rainbow Wine''s effects lasted much longer. The Mutated Rainbow Tree seeds, however, likely cost several times more than ordinary Rainbow Tree seeds. After all, the seeds boasted such a high survival rate. These trees would also produce more fruit than usual. Most importantly, they had a chance of growing Mutated Rainbow Fruit. After Shi Feng collected the loot, he chose to unsummon his Personal Guards, letting Anna and Kite return to their original locations. However, despite numerous attempts, the system notified him that he had failed to unsummon the NPCs. Sure enough, I can''t send them back. It seems that I''ll have to unsummon them after completing the quest. Shi Feng could not help but sigh. However, when he shifted his gaze to the Soul Flowers and rare herbs that filled the herb garden, his mood instantly lifted. There was even a large number of Moonlight Fruit waiting to be harvested. He had to admit that an Asura Mode Promotion Quest was wonderful. Shi Feng collected the rare herbs and Moonlight Fruits frantically while waiting for the Soul Flowers to mature. Normally, Soul Flowers needed three to four days to reach maturity. However, due to Raymond''s magic array, these only needed around six hours. Time passed very quickly. By the time Shi Feng collected the Soul Flowers, his bag space was nearly full. It''s about time for me to log off, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the real-world clock. It was almost time for the White Tiger Dojo''s friendly competition. As the Big Dipper''s Head Instructor, he couldn''t be absent from the event. He then chose to log out and disappeared from the herb garden. [1]Rainbow Fruit: Rainbow Fruit in Chapter 1005 changed to Seven-colored Fruit. 1289 Difference Caused Due to Time Chapter 1289 - Difference Caused Due to Time Jin Hai City, City Center Sports Arena: The sun shone brightly in the midday sky. At this moment, however, the glaring, scorching sun couldn''t stop the enthusiasm of the crowd gathered in front of the sports arena. A sea of people waited outside the arena, which could accommodate 50,000 people. The White River Dojo had been advertising the friendly competition for some time. Advertisements decorated the city streets. Including Jin Hai City, a total of six cities planned to participate. It was the grandest competition so far this year. In an era where everyone valued physical fitness, nothing was more popular than a fighting competition. Today was also a Saturday, and everyone had the free time to watch the competition. After all, this competition involved fighting experts from six cities. It could be considered a contest between these cities. Many had come to support their own local fighters. In order to spread the news thoroughly, the White Tiger Dojo had specifically invited many of these cities'' important fighters to spectate. Seeing luxury hover cars arrive before the VIP entrance, one after another, the people lined up in front of the normal entrance gasped. Every individual that alighted from these vehicles were even more extraordinary. "Look! Isn''t that Elder Xu?! He''s attending this event as well?!" "Huh?! Isn''t that Master Chen Wu?!" While the crowd watched in rapture, influential people entered the arena. Shi Feng had also just arrived at the sports arena by car. As he had been occupied with gathering herbs, Xiao Yu and the others, finding it inappropriate to disturb him, had decided to head to the venue first. Hence, Shi Feng had arrived alone. As soon as Shi Feng emerged from the car, he was surprised. However, his surprise wasn''t due to the number of spectators. Rather, he was surprised to see so many contestants. A line of people had queued up at the Contestant entrance. There were at least 300 people in line at the moment. It was already enough to rival a provincial-level fighting competition. As Shi Feng waited for Liang Jing to retrieve him, he noticed quite a few familiar faces in front of spectator entrance No. 5. They were none other than Zhou Yuhu and his previous classmates. "Brother Hu, you really are impressive. You even got your hands on entrance tickets. When I showed off my ticket, my classmates were so jealous," a robust youth with a long nose and beady eyes praised Zhou Yuhu. "That''s nothing to Brother Hu. Brother Hu is famous at our school. Not only did he pass the professional fighter''s test and officially become a reserve professional fighter, but he is also one of the few Shadow Guild experts in our school. It is a piece of cake for him to get a few tickets to this competition!" a youth wearing a T-shirt proudly proclaimed. "Amazing! Brother Hu has become a reserve professional fighter?! In that case, won''t he become an actual professional fighter in one or two years?!" At this moment, several tall, beautiful female students gazed at Qin Shuyu, who stood beside Zhou Yuhu, in envy and admiration. "Senior Shuyu, you really are blessed! You actually nabbed Brother Hu for yourself." It was extremely difficult to become a professional fighter. One needed talent. Becoming a professional fighter also meant earning a high income. If one became one of the top ten fighters in the city, living in a high-end residence and owning a luxury car would be possible. If one became a champion, they would gain a lot of influence and wouldn''t have to worry about money for the rest of their life. "What are you girls talking about?" Qin Shuyu, who wore a blue blouse and short skirt, pretended to get angry. However, her eyes contained a faint trace of pride. As the group chatted merrily, Zhou Yuhu noticed Shi Feng, who waited in the distance. "Huh? Isn''t that Shi Feng?" Hearing Zhou Yuhu''s words, everyone turned to look. These people more or less knew about the history between Shi Feng and Zhou Yuhu. Shi Feng had defeated Zhou Yuhu in a single move, instantly becoming famous in the university. However, it had been quite some time since they had seen Shi Feng as, shortly after his fight with Zhou Yuhu, he had vanished. Shi Feng wore a dark blue tracksuit. Compared to several months ago, he had built up quite a bit of muscle. He gave off an indescribable sense of familiarity. "Why is he here?"Qin Shuyu watched Shi Feng in confusion. After the Fellowship Party, Shi Feng had cut off all connections with his classmates. After graduating from university, she had heard that Shi Feng had joined a considerably powerful Gaming Workshop and was doing fairly well. "I suppose he''s here to watch the competition." "Watch the competition? I doubt that. If that was the case, he should be in line for one of the spectator entrances rather than relaxing on a bench." "He graduated already, yet he''s still going around wearing a tracksuit. I guess he hasn''t done that well. Sure enough, those rumors about him becoming powerful were lies." "Senior Shuyu, it seems your decision back then had been a wise one. I wish my eyes were as keen as yours." The group praised Zhou Yuhu, one after another. After all, the difference between Zhou Yuhu and Shi Feng was obvious. One was a nobody, working for some Gaming Workshop, while the other was an upper echelon in the well-known Shadow Workshop. Moreover, not only was Zhou Yuhu the envy of white-collar workers, but he was also a reserve professional fighter. As long as he could pass the city''s qualifiers within three years, he would officially become a professional fighter. Every dojo and training center in the city would offer high pay to recruit him. "Senior Shuyu, why don''t we invite him to join us? We have an extra ticket. Letting it go to waste would be a pity." "That''s right. There are people willing to buy back-row tickets for 1,500 Credits. It would be a loss to hold onto it. In any case, he must want one. We can sell it to him for 1,200 Credits. Consider it doing him a favor." Zhou Yuhu and Qin Shuyu agreed with the suggestion. Obtaining these tickets hadn''t been cheap. Even back-row tickets cost 500 Credits through official channels. Originally, they had bought just enough tickets, but one of their party wasn''t able to attend due to some urgent matter. If they did nothing with the ticket, they would have thrown away 500 Credits. By selling it to Shi Feng, they could earn a quick buck and ridicule their old classmate. "Alright, then. In any case, holding onto it would be a waste. Since we are old classmates, and we haven''t seen him for some time, we can use this opportunity to catch up." Qin Shuyu nodded. However, after taking a few steps forward, Qin Shuyu noticed a gorgeous beauty with four black-clad bodyguards in tow approach Shi Feng gracefully. This woman, wearing an exquisite business suit, even made Qin Shuyu feel ugly. She was none other than Liang Jing. "Head Instructor Shi, you finally decided to show up. Let''s hurry inside. Chairman Xiao and the others are already waiting anxiously for you. Had you been any later, they would''ve fetched your gaming cabin with you inside," Liang Jing grumbled when she saw Shi Feng''s leisurely behavior. "Aren''t I here now?" Shi Feng chuckled. "Let''s go." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Liang Jing led him through the VIP entrance. Although the several security guards at the entrance wanted to verify their identities, when they saw Liang Jing produce a gold-plated VIP invitation card, they halted their steps and stood aside respectfully. "Crap, who are those people? They have a gold invitation card! I thought the White Tiger Dojo had only given out twenty of those." As Shi Feng and Liang Jing entered the building, the security guards stated after them in surprise. If the twenty golden invitation cards were split evenly among the six cities invited, each city would only get three or four cards. Only those whom the White Tiger Dojo valued would receive one. Meanwhile, Zhou Yuhu and the others, who waited in front of the spectator''s entrance, were dumbfounded, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. 1290 Display of Strength Chapter 1290 - Display of Strength How is this possible?! Doesn''t he work for a Gaming Workshop?! Qin Shuyu stared at Shi Feng incredulously as the latter entered the VIP entrance. She couldn''t believe her eyes. Every person she had watched go in through that entrance was an influential fighter in Jin Hai City, yet Shi Feng boldly walked through the doors. Moreover, even the security guards had treated him with respect. How was he not doing well after graduating? He had risen to an entirely different level. "So the rumors were true!" Her companions'' jaws had dropped as they stared at the VIP entrance. When they thought about how they had planned to sell Shi Feng a back-row ticket, they realized the idea was laughable. Fortunately, they had not actually tried to sell him the ticket. Otherwise, they would have humiliated themselves. "Senior Shuyu, aren''t you very familiar with Senior Shi Feng? I''m very interested in gaming. If there is an opportunity, would you introduce us?" a petite girl with big, round eyes and cherry red lips asked Qin Shuyu with anticipation. "Ah Mhm If there is an opportunity I''ll introduce you" Qin Shuyu muttered, wearing an indescribably awkward expression. Meanwhile, in the sports arena''s VIP Hall Upper echelons from the various dojos and training centers, as well as influential figures from the various cities, had gathered, chatting merrily. Only, despite the sounds of laughter that filled the hall, an intense hostility snapped between them. When three of the White Tiger Dojo''s people entered, practically every upper echelon shifted their gazes to the newcomers. Among these three, the one leading the group was a middle-aged man in his mid-30s. The man gave off a peaceful aura. Of the two men beside him, one was Gan Xingteng, the representative instructor for Jin Hai City''s White Tiger Dojo, while the other was Xie Qiwen, White Tiger Dojo''s rising star. "What?! Jiang Tianyuan is here?!" "Seeing as Jiang Tianyuan is attending, this competition must be quite important to the White Tiger Dojo." When the crowd saw the middle-aged man, Jiang Tianyuan, they spoke in hushed whispers. In the fighting world, Jiang Tianyuan had been a superstar in the past. He had participated in multiple international competitions and had placed quite well. During his youth, he had been practically unrivaled among his peers within the country. The White Tiger Dojo had raised him to the position of advanced instructor at a very young age. He had even become a Hall Master, managing over a dozen branches. Jiang Tianyuan was definitely one of the White Tiger Dojo''s core upper echelons. Even the dojo''s Head Hall Master treated him with respect. The fact that such an important figure had set foot in a backwater city like Jin Hai City proved that the White Tiger Dojo intended to do anything possible to win this competition. The minor dojos and training centers clearly had no chance of winning. "Qiwen, are the arrangements for the competition complete?" Jiang Tianyuan asked quietly after he greeted the various VIPs. "Hall Master, everything is complete. Once this competition is over, the White Tiger Dojo will secure all six cities," Xie Qiwen reported, smiling. "Good, then." Jiang Tianyuan nodded. "However, I heard that the Big Dipper Dojo has a few skilled fighters. I''ve also heard that Lei Bao is now one of their instructors. Make sure our competitors do not grow complacent." "Hall Master, rest assured; we''ve investigated the Big Dipper Dojo''s situation. Among their 20-year-old and younger members, none are exceptional. I am sure that some other dojo or training center will deal with Big Dipper before we have to," Xie Qiwen said confidently. If the woman named Fire Dance, who had defeated Gan Xingteng in a single move, took part in this competition, they would have to take Big Dipper seriously. However, none of the dojo''s new members had any talent to speak of, much less strength. Compared to the Big Dipper Dojo, the other dojos and training centers posed were a greater threat. "Right, who have you chosen to be our third representative in this competition?" Jiang Tianyuan asked. "I''ve heard that both You Ziping and Liao Huajie have performed considerably well thus far. Although Liao Huajie is one of the main branch''s elites, You Ziping is nearly skilled enough to become an advanced apprentice." "After some discussion, we''ve decided on Liao Huajie as our third representative. At the end of the day, You Ziping is too young. Although You Ziping has the advantage when it comes to the basics, he doesn''t have as much combat experience as Liao Huajie," Xie Qiwen explained, smiling. "What a pity. This is a good opportunity to accumulate experience. After all, that child is quite talented." After Jiang Tianyuan considered the matter, he agreed with Xie Qiwen. The competition was extremely important. If it weren''t, he would not mind letting You Ziping take part in it instead. However, Jiang Tianyuan only played with this thought. After all, neither Liao Huajie nor You Ziping was skilled enough to attract his attention. He had only asked because You Ziping was one of his daughter''s friends. Elsewhere in the arena "Head Instructor Shi, you''re finally here." When Xiao Yu saw Shi Feng enter the room, he hurriedly welcomed the latter. Anxiously, he asked, "How is the team coming along?" The competition was about to start, yet the Big Dipper''s Chairman was utterly unfamiliar with his team''s condition. To make matters worse, quite a few influential figures within Jin Hai City were concerned and had repeatedly asked him about Big Dipper''s representatives. Meanwhile, he could only smile in response. He didn''t have any answers for them "They should be alright," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Hearing Shi Feng''s vague reply, Xiao Yu was speechless. He even wondered if Shi Feng was concerned at all. However, Xiao Yu''s requirement wasn''t overly high. As long as they didn''t lose too miserably, he''d be satisfied. After all, the White Tiger Dojo had dispatched its elites from the main branch. Although Xiao Yu tried to say something more, the bell signaled the start of the competition. Everyone immediately turned towards the arena. The large sports arena, which was capable of accommodating 50,000 spectators, was filled to the brim. The venue was extremely lively, and even some of the contestants, who participated in fighting competitions frequently, grew tense. Of all the people that had applied to join the competition, a total of 768 people had qualified. These people would be divided into 32 groups of 24. Only one person from each group would proceed to the official competition. It was a cruel elimination round. Each dojo and training center''s three contestants would be divided into different groups. Thirty-two platforms had been set up inside the arena. Hence, all 32 groups could compete simultaneously without wasting time. The audience would get their fill of exciting fights. A virtual screen had also been set up in the arena''s center, displaying the winners of each round. Naturally, the more winners a dojo or training center possessed, the more powerful they would be. The results would allow the audience to judge just how strong the various dojos and training centers were. Although the White Tiger Dojo called this a friendly match, everyone knew that it was a ploy to show off its strength and the difference between itself and the other organizations. Following which, the contestants entered the arena. They moved towards the platform corresponding to their groups. Seeing the various contestants, the audience seated grew excited. "Look! Isn''t that Gu Chen, one of the White Tiger Dojo''s geniuses?! A frequent participant in the national competition is actually taking part in this competition?!" "Huh?! Isn''t that beauty Yi Yuqing?! I heard that she is a female genius second only to Tang Jingyao in the White Tiger Dojo. If she''s here as well, there''s no need for this competition. The final match will definitely be between Yi Yuqing and Gu Chen." As the audience watched the White Tiger Dojo''s representatives approach the stages, they were stunned. Meanwhile, the various dojos and training centers'' upper echelons paled at the sight. With two of the White Tiger Dojo''s geniuses participating in this competition, how could they compete? Xie Qiwen, who watched from the VIP stands, suddenly noticed a familiar figure on Platform No. 14. This figure was none other than You Ziping. "Why is he here?!" Xie Qiwen was flabbergasted. 1291 Death Group Chapter 1291 - Death Group So, you secretly applied for the qualifiers, knowing that you wouldn''t be chosen as a representative? Xie Qiwen''s expression darkened as he glared at You Ziping on Platform No.14. You really are a resilient bastard. Xie Qiwen knew that You Ziping was chasing after Jiang Tianyuan''s daughter, Jiang Mengyun. Originally, he had planned to cause some trouble for You Ziping, forcing the boy to retreat. However, he hadn''t expected You Ziping to disregard his kindness, much less join the competition without approval. Following which, Xie Qiwen sent Gu Chen, Yu Yiqing, and Liao Huajie a message. The contents were simple: cripple You Ziping and prevent him from continuing in the fighting world. Hopefully, you don''t disqualify too quickly. Xie Qiwen sneered as he looked at You Ziping. He had to admit that You Ziping was quite lucky. Among the White Tiger Dojo''s three representatives, none were assigned to Platform No. 14. If he wished to take You Ziping out, he had to wait until the boy won the elimination round. As long as You Ziping won in the elimination round, he would be easy to deal with. Although this was only a friendly competition, injuries were common in any fighting competition. For an elite like Gu Chen, accidentally crippling You Ziping in a fight would be a piece of cake. Even if You Ziping could recover, a mere disciple with no background wouldn''t be able to afford the treatment. Suddenly, Gan Xingteng approached Xie Qiwen, respectfully handing his superior a folder. "Boss, here''s the detailed report on the dojos and training centers'' representatives that you asked for." "Good job." Xie Qiwen nodded, casually browsing through the information. He was responsible for handling the occupation of the six cities. This was the first important task the White Tiger Dojo had assigned him. Naturally, his performance had to be flawless. Although he didn''t expect anyone from the six cities to defeat his dojo''s representatives, he had Gang Xingteng investigate any noteworthy opponents. Among the six cities, there were only three noteworthy opponents: the Martial Heaven Dojo, White Cloud Dojo, and Big Dipper Dojo. Among the three, the Martial Heaven Dojo and White Cloud Dojo deserved the most attention. After all, these two were considerably famous in the past. Only, their fame had fallen considerably since then. However, they were still capable of nurturing national fighters once every few years. The martial arts master, Lei Bao, was the only reason the Big Dipper Dojo was considered a worthy foe. They also had Fire Dance, who was suspected of being a martial arts master as well. With these two masters, the Big Dipper Dojo might have some hidden trump cards. As Xie Qiwen read through the files, however, he noticed a familiar nameYou Ziping! Moreover, You Ziping was representing the Big Dipper Dojo. eeing this, Xie Qiwen was momentarily stunned. He was utterly dumbfounded by You Ziping''s foolishness. Had You Ziping joined the competition as an individual, the youth would retain his identity as a White Tiger Dojo intermediate disciple. If that were the case, he couldn''t do anything too drastic against the youth. After all, Jiang Tianyuan was watching. However, the situation had changed. By representing another organization, You Ziping had severed all ties with the White Tiger Dojo. Even if he crippled the boy, Jiang Tianyuan wouldn''t interfere. On the contrary, Jiang Tianyuan would be pleased. After all, no one tolerated a traitor. Since you''re asking for a beating, I''ll gladly give you one. Xie Qiwen sneered. However, something is off about this Big Dipper Dojo. Were they unable to find suitable candidates? They''re actually willing to work with members from other dojos. Although the information regarding Shadow Sword and Turtledove showed that both had participated in their own city''s professional qualifiers, they had never passed the elimination rounds to become official professional fighters. This year was their last opportunity to surpass their status of reserve professional fighters. Even in weaker dojos, people like Shadow Sword and Turtledove were a dime a dozen. They were only slightly stronger than the Big Dipper Dojo''s new members. I have really overestimated them. Xie Qiwen turned to look at Shi Feng and the others, who sat in the VIP stands, his sneer still plastered on his face. "It would be a pity to keep such interesting information to ourselves. Xingteng, notify the techs to switch the main screens to these three people when it''s their turn to fight. I want everyone to watch the Big Dipper Dojo''s performance." There were four virtual screens set up in the center of the arena to give the audience a better view of the fights. However, due to the number of platforms, only the interesting matches were broadcast. As the host of the competition, the White Tiger Dojo could choose any particular fight to broadcast. When choosing to join a dojo or training center, fighters usually based their selection on the establishment''s capability to nurture its members. If it was well-known that if a dojo''s members were weak, no one would join it, regardless of who the instructors were. "Boss, rest assured; I''ll make sure that they are the main focus of the competition," Gan Xingteng said. Meanwhile, in the VIP stands When Xiao Yu read the information Shi Feng had provided regarding the Big Dipper Dojo''s representatives, he very nearly fainted. He had met these three people when they had arrived at the sports arena. However, he didn''t know much about them. Now that Xiao Yu had read the reports, he regretted not holding Shi Feng back. He felt that Shi Feng had underestimated the six cities'' various dojos and training centers. After all, of the dojo''s representatives, two were not even professional fighters! They were merely reserves! Even if Big Dipper were weak, it was more than capable of hiring professional fighters to assist them, yet Shi Feng had chosen reserve fighters. Moreover, the only professional fighter was a White Tiger Dojo disciple If the two reserve fighters performed badly, and they had to rely on the White Tiger Dojo''s disciple to achieve victory, others would still assume that the White Tiger Dojo was more powerful. They would be promoting the White Tiger Dojo instead of the Big Dipper Dojo. On the other hand, if they lost, they would be slandered for misleading a White Tiger Dojo disciple with poor training. To make matters worse, both Shadow Sword and Turtledove had been assigned to death group Although none of the White Tiger Dojo''s elites were in their death group, many excellent provincial-level fighters were. Quite a few were even preparing to challenge the national competition this year. Their combat standards far exceeded city-level professional fighters. These reserve fighters had no chance against them. As Xiao Yu contemplated stopping the competition, the first match on Platform No.1 began. To Xiao Yu''s dismay, Shadow Sword, Fu Jinghong, had been chosen to fight in the first match. And to make matters worse, his opponent was the favorite to win in Platform No.1. His opponent''s name was Lu Jingshan, a genius disciple from the White Cloud Dojo. "It''s over" When Xiao Yu saw Lu Jingshan''s two-meter-tall, muscular frame walk up the platform, his expression darkened. Lu Jingshan was one of the White Cloud Dojo''s favored disciples. He had been born with extraordinary physical strength and was a talented fighter. Last year, he had secured fifth place in a provincial fighting competition and had very nearly qualified for the nationals. This year, Lu Jingshan had challenged many experts and defeated numerous people from last year''s national competition. His strength had long since reached the national level. In the White Tiger Dojo, he would easily become an advanced disciple. "So, the fight is over before it has even begun?" Xie Qiwen stifled his laughter when he saw Fu Jinghong''s opponent. Once both fighters were in position on Platform No. 1, the referee swung down both his hands and declared the start of the match. 1292 Shocking the Arena Chapter 1292 - Shocking the Arena The moment the match began, the screens above the arena began to broadcast the fight, attracting everyone''s attention. "Hahaha! Chairman Xiao, you''ve really got some bad luck. Your boy has to face our White Cloud Dojo''s genius right off the bat. This year, Little Lu has achieved a punching strength of 604 kg. He can even rank near the top in the national competition." A white-haired, old man began to laugh not far from Xiao Yu. Hearing this old man''s comment, Xiao Yu''s expression darkened further. Even Hall Master Chen Wu, Jin Hai City''s number one expert, only had a punching strength of 453 kg. The Big Dipper Dojo would be eliminated in the very first round. Xiao Yu wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. Everyone in the venue shared a similar opinion. Even Fu Jinghong thought sol. Lu Jingshan was very famous in the fighting industry; even top-class, city-level professional fighters looked up to the genius. Guild Leader, will it really be alright? Fu Jinghong could not help but glance at Shi Feng, who watched from the distant VIP stands, worriedly. He had only arrived at the Greenwater Villa four days ago, yet he was participating in such a large-scale competition, required to face off against experts from various cities. Although he had undergone three days of special training and consumed plenty of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, which significantly improved his physique, he had no confidence in winning. After all, before this, he had been a reserve fighter. Unfortunately, despite his many attempts to convince Shi Feng that he wasn''t skilled enough to participate in such a large competition, Shi Feng had told him to relax and fight like normal "Brat, are you going to get off of the stage yourself, or do I have to throw you from it?" Lu Jingshan asked, sneering at Fu Jinghong. "I''ll say this. My strength has increased again recently, so don''t blame me if I can''t control it." "Come," Fu Jinghong said, gritting his teeth. He decided to put up a fight. After all, Shi Feng had invested five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid in him. If he surrendered, he would forsake his Guild Leader''s kindness. "Oh? How courageous of you." Lu Jingshan clapped his hands in mock praise. However, a second later, he dashed towards Fu Jinghong. As he moved, he looked like a brown bear, inspiring fear in his opponent. As Lu Jingshan arrived before Fu Jinghong, he jabbed at the later''s face, his fist moving so fast that it left behind even afterimages. "Not bad. He has trained a standard punch to such a degree. No wonder even some national-level fighters aren''t a match for him," Jiang Tianyuan praised the fighter from the VIP stands. From the moment Lu Jingshan charged forward to the moment he threw his punch, he had completed the entire process like flowing water. He was fast, accurate, and ruthless. There wasn''t any excess movement to hinder his strength. Lu Jingshan threw his entire weight into the single punch. Although there was nothing special about this move, it was extremely dangerous. If not dealt with properly, the hit might finish Fu Jinghong off. Boom! An explosion echoed throughout the platform. However, Lu Jingshan''s punch didn''t reach its mark. Instead, it stopped three inches away from Fu Jinghong''s face. The audience was stupefied. "He missed?" "Lu Jingshan really loves to play around. He''s deliberately trying to scare his opponent." "That''s right. After all, the difference between them is massive. It wouldn''t be interesting if he ended the match with one punch. Lu Jingshan must be trying to spare his opponent''s reputation." "Fu Jinghong really is unlucky. Not only will he be defeated, but Lu Jingshan will scare him in the process. He won''t faint, right? If Lu Jingshan hits him accidentally, he might kill the boy." Some of the audience members, who were familiar with Lu Jingshan, chatted merrily as they watched. They could not help but pity Fu Jinghong. Meanwhile, in the VIP stands, Xiao Yu could no longer bear to watch the match. Instead, he glared at the smiling, white-haired elder hatefully. The White Cloud Dojo was clearly using the Big Dipper Dojo to gain more fame. Who would want to join the Big Dipper Dojo after this devastating fight? Suddenly, however, the white-haired elder was confused. He had assumed that the boy was a brute, all muscle and no brains, yet the boy had increased his dojo''s fame. And yet, Lu Jingshan didn''t look as gleeful as everyone had expected. Rather, he looked at Fu Jinghong with a serious expression. He was not as kind or playful as everyone thought. He had planned to finish off Fu Jinghong with one punch from the very beginning to shock his following opponents. After all, this was not your standard competition. He had to fight several matches in a row. He might even suffer injuries as a result. Although the sports arena was equipped with excellent medical facilities and could help him heal small injuries very quickly, medicines and machines couldn''t restore one''s mental state. Hence, he had intended to finish his fights as quickly as possible. However, he had never expected Fu Jinghong to dodge his punch. "Brat, you got lucky, but your luck ends here," Lu Jingshan shouted. Immediately, he executed Chaotic Arrow Strikes, his swiftest and most violent technique. He planned to overwhelm his opponent with brute force and speed. A wall of fists bombarded Fu Jinghong. "Lu Jingshan''s trademark Chaotic Arrow Strikes! That kid is doomed! It will take several months in the hospital to recover from his injuries." The audience could not help but pity Fu Jinghong when they saw Lu Jingshan''s ruthless assault. As everyone thought that Lu Jingshan would send his opponent flying, Fu Jinghong reacted, blocking every one of the incoming punches. "Impossible!" "He can actually block that?!" "Is he even human!?" The audience in the VIP stands were shocked. This was especially true for the White Cloud Dojo elder. Lu Jingshan''s punches were both swift and strong. This technique would even overwhelm national fighters, yet Lu Jingshan couldn''t even hit Fu Jinghong. What refined skills! Jiang Tianyuan''s eyes glowed as he watched Fu Jinghong''s movements. The spectators were focused on Fu Jinghong''s defense, but Jiang Tianyuan was fully aware of how difficult it was to block Lu Jingshan''s Chaotic Arrow Strikes so effortlessly. First, Fu Jinghong needed to predict Lu Jingshan''s attack trajectories accurately. Then he needed to block the attacks from the correct angle. To achieve such a feat, one required an acute awareness of the fight and a wealth of combat experience. Jiang Tianyuan found it very difficult to believe that a youngster in his late teens could possess so much combat experience. "What? I thought he was just a reserve fighter?" Xiao Yu wore an incredulous expression as he watched Fu Jinghong move across the stage gracefully, his mouth hanging open. He then shifted his gaze to Shi Feng, and all of his resentment for the man vanished. He was surprised and elated. He had never thought that Shi Feng would find such a hidden expert. At the same time, his respect for Shi Feng grew. After the fight continued for another dozen seconds or so, Lu Jingshan gradually weakened. While Chaotic Arrow Strikes could overwhelm is opponent, the move taxed his stamina. "I see that you have some hidden strength as well, brat. You nearly fooled me." Seeing the fight going nowhere, Lu Jingshan gave up on using Chaotic Arrow Strikes and pulled away from Fu Jinghong. He tried to buy himself some time to recover his stamina with words. "If dodging is the only thing you know how to do, you will never defeat me." However, before Lu Jingshan finished speaking, Fu Jinghong charged forward. He had no intention of giving Lu Jingshan time to rest. Seeing this, Lu Jingshan sneered at his opponent''s foolishness. Adjusting his stance, he responded with a horizontal kick. As Lu Jingshan''s leg was about to strike Fu Jinghong, the young fighter representing the Big Dipper Dojo slid to a stop as if he had predicted the counterattack. As a result, Lu Jingshan''s leg brushed past Fu Jinghong''s clothing. Lu Jingshan''s stance crumbled as his attack missed, revealing weak spots in his defense. Using this opportunity, Fu Jinghong launched a scissor kick at Lu Jingshan''s unguarded abdomen. Pu! Lu Jingshan spat a mouthful of blood on the spot, flying off the platform and slamming into the ground. Although Lu Jingshan tried to stand, he swayed before losing consciousness and collapsing back to the ground. As this was a friendly competition and each contestant had to participate in more matches than the standard competition, once a referee determined that a contestant was incapable of continuing, they would immediately declare the fight''s outcome. "Winner! Big Dipper Dojo''s Fu Jinghong!" 1293 Another Monster Chapter 1293 - Another Monster "He won, just like that?" The audience was dumbfounded as they stared at Platform No.1''s Fu Jinghong. Nobody had expected such an outcome. Moreover, the fight had ended so quickly. However, among those present, the upper echelons in the VIP stands were the most surprised. Although the general audience knew that Lu Jingshan was very strong, they didn''t know that he was as skilled as a national-level fighter. And such an expert had been defeated by a disciple from a dojo they had never heard of. This was unbelievable. "The Big Dipper Dojo? Didn''t that dojo recently open?" "Amazing. I thought the rumors about Big Dipper recruiting a master were lies. It seems they are actually true!" "That guy defeated Lu Jingshan so easily. Doesn''t this mean he already qualifies to join the national competition?" "After this competition is over, I have to apply for the Big Dipper Dojo!" The majority of the audience found the unexpected outcome ] inconceivable. However, after considering the matter carefully, they realized how impressive the Big Dipper Dojo truly was. After all, none of them had ever heard of Fu Jinghong before. The Big Dipper Dojo must be impressive if it nurtured such an extraordinary fighter. The audience members aspiring to become professional fighters stared at the stage with bloodshot eyes. They were all eager to join the Big Dipper Dojo. Even if they couldn''t become national-level fighters, they wouldn''t have to worry about putting food on their table for the rest of their lives if they joined the ranks of provincial-level fighters. Due to the focus on Fu Jinghong and Lu Jingshan''s fight, the spectators discussed the Big Dipper Dojo for a time. The more they talked about the dojo, the more enthusiastic they became. In the blink of an eye, the Big Dipper Dojo had garnered a lot of fame. Well, I won''t have to worry about my marketing plans. When Shi Feng noticed the heated discussions in the other audience stands, with some even expressing their intent to join the dojo, he considered this a good opportunity to advertise the Big Dipper Dojo. The White Tiger Dojo was trying to occupy the various third-tier cities because it wanted to recruit more talented fighters as leverage during its negotiations with international corporations. After all, everyone had already learned that talented fighters had an easier time becoming experts in God''s Domain. Hence, instead of blindly recruiting players in God''s Domain and hoping to find hidden gems, it was far more efficient to recruit talented fighters and train them in the game. Although the Big Dipper Dojo had already been established in Jin Hai City for quite some time now, only those in the fighting industry knew its reputation. The general public didn''t know much about the organization. If he could use this opportunity to gain some publicity for the dojo and lure more people into applying, this would allow Zero Wing to recruit talented fighters for internal nurturing. Although Zero Wing had already recruited plenty of talents, at the end of the day, the Guild had too few. Zero Wing didn''t even have enough experts to give first-rate Guilds a run for their money, much less super-first-rate Guilds. Of course, the Guild''s lack of funding was the main reason for this. It couldn''t afford to nurture a lot of players at once yet. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of selling his God''s Domain resources for Credits as it was his monetary resource in God''s Domain. In the future, these resources would become even more valuable. Selling them now would be the epitome of foolishness. Hence, he was forced to recruit talented players slowly. I thought he was just some newcomer who couldn''t even pass the city''s qualifiers? Xie Qiwen was confused. Was there an error in the report? Or did he hide his strength intentionally? The fact that Fu Jinghong had defeated Lu Jingshan proved that he was not a mere reserve fighter, yet no matter how Xie Qiwen looked at it, it shouldn''t be possible for a city-level fighter to grow to a national level within a short period. I have really underestimated the Big Dipper Dojo to think they would have such a hidden trump card. Xie Qiwen could not help but shift his gaze towards Shi Feng. Sneering, he muttered, "Although I''ve allowed you all to gain some fame, do you really think the championship will be that easy to win?" He hadn''t expected the Big Dipper Dojo to have an expert capable of defeating Lu Jingshan. However, Gu Chen and Yi Yuqing had no cause for concern. Meanwhile, Shadow Sword, Fu Jinghong, was still dazed as he remained on Platform No. 1. "I won, just like that?" Fu Jinghong muttered as he watched the medics carry away Lu Jingshan on a stretcher. He questioned his own performance. "Was that really Lu Jingshan?" He had challenged the city qualifiers twice before. However, he had been eliminated both times. Meanwhile, Lu Jingshan was an expert who actively participated in provincial-level competitions. The difference between them was like heaven and earth. Logically, he shouldn''t have been able to win. Yet, although Lu Jingshan''s attacks had been fierce and powerful, he counted plenty of weaknesses in Lu Jingshan''s stances. Most importantly, Lu Jingshan had telegraphed his attacks with his body language, which allowed him to predict his opponent''s strikes. As a result, not only had he easily avoided Lu Jingshan''s attacks, but he had also blocked Lu Jingshan''s seemingly-unblockable Chaotic Arrow Strikes. This was a basic mistake that no expert should make. Of course, he hadn''t realized his own abilities earlier, either. He had only learned about these factors after training with Lei Bao and sparring with Cola and the others. However, learning about these flaws was one thing. Putting this newfound knowledge to proper use was another altogether. To do so, he had arduously trained to execute Void Steps in God''s Domain and utilized the S-rank Nutrient Fluids to recover from the exhaustion, gradually increasing his brain activity. Only, even after his training, Cola and the other still beat him mercilessly Meanwhile, in the VIP stands, Shi Feng wasn''t surprised in the least to see this outcome. Shadow Sword was immensely talented. He could easily see this in the young man''s performance in God''s Domain. But there were a lot of differences between combat in God''s Domain and fights in the real world. If one wished to use their combat experience in the game in the real world, they needed to adapt. After all, one''s body in the real world was different from their body in God''s Domain. There were minute differences between the way one controlled these two bodies. Of course, with proper guidance, one could adapt easily. Over the past three days, Shadow Sword had trained with Lei Bao continuously. He had also received plenty of Nutrient Fluids to aid his body''s growth and repair. Most importantly, thanks to the S-rank Nutrient Fluids, his mental capabilities had evolved, allowing his five senses to become far more sensitive. Coupled with Shadow Sword''s wealth of combat experience, it was only a matter of course for him to defeat someone like Lu Jingshan, who had very little combat experience. Once the match on Platform No. 1 ended, the matches on the other platforms began. The fights here were much more exciting than the city''s annual fighting competition, so the audience''s blood boiled as they watched. After watching Fu Jinghong defeat Lu Jingshan, who had been a favorite to win, the other fighters on Platform No. 1 weren''t so desperate to win. If they didn''t think that they could defeat their opponent, they simply surrendered. After all, they still had to participate in official competitions once this friendly competition ended. Unless absolutely necessary, they would avoid injury. Aside from Platform No.1, some eye-catching experts emerged on the other platforms. The White Tiger Dojo''s three experts, in particular, struck fear in their opponents, extinguishing their plans for overcoming the elimination round. Meanwhile, the match on Platform No. 28 ended within less than five seconds. A robust man that was 1.9 meters tall was thrown from the platform, tearing a gasp from the spectators. If the person responsible were a muscular man, they wouldn''t have been surprised. However, the victor was a charming beauty with an hourglass figure. With a single punch, this beauty had sent a 1.9-meter-tall man flying over three meters away and off the platform''s edge. The waiting fighters sucked in a breath of cold air when they saw this. Suddenly, they were afraid of this beauty. "What kind of monstrous strength does she possess!?" "Crap! Just who is she?!" Everyone began to evaluate the young woman. Meanwhile, the various dojos and training centers'' upper echelons began to investigate this mysterious girl. When they discovered her identity, they nearly cried out in shock. This girl was actually one of the Big Dipper Dojo''s representatives, Turtledove, Yu Qiaoqiao. 1294 Famous Chapter 1294 - Famous "Amazing! Truly amazing!" "Are all of Big Dipper''s disciples so powerful?" Exclamations echoed throughout the spectator stands. When they discovered Yu Qiaoqiao''s identity, their interest in the Big Dipper Dojo grew. If only one of the dojo''s representatives were strong, they could chalk it up to that individual''s talent. However, it was a different story if both representatives were powerful. This showed that the dojo had excellent teaching methods. Meanwhile, the various upper echelons in the VIP stands stared at Shi Feng and Xiao Yu in shock. "Didn''t Big Dipper recently establish its dojo? How could they have nurtured such skilled disciples?" "No wonder why the White Tiger Dojo stopped challenging the various dojos and training centers after visiting the Big Dipper Dojo! It turns out that the Big Dipper Dojo is actually quite powerful!" "So, that rumor was true. The Big Dipper Group has won the lottery this time. Why can''t a powerful master stumble into our dojo as well?" Everyone in the VIP stands was a fighting industry insider, so they were all aware that the Big Dipper Dojo was a new construct. Moreover, the dojo had specifically been established for Shi Feng. However, they had neither expected Shi Feng to be such a powerful individual nor a capable instructor. With this, the Big Dipper Dojo''s fame would grow. "Hahaha! Big Brother, our Big Dipper Dojo is famous. Several people just contacted me stating that they wish to join the dojo. There are even a few professional fighters among them who have previously refused our invitations," Xiao Yan said excitedly. Since the dojo''s establishment, the Big Dipper Group had constantly searched for ways to expand the dojo''s influence. After all, a dojo wouldn''t necessarily become popular just because it had a master martial artist leading the training sessions. Before the dojo succeeded in nurturing powerful disciples, nobody would know how capable said master was. If the master happened to be inept at teaching, there was no point to joining the dojo. Hence, they had attempted to recruit some well-known professional fighters in Jin Hai City and the several neighboring cities. Unfortunately, these fighters had either refused outright or demanded too high of a price. Now, however, these professional fighters, who had acted like almighty masters, acted like children. They were all eager to join the Big Dipper Dojo. Xiao Yu nodded and smiled as well. He hadn''t realized how thoroughly Shi Feng had hidden his capabilities either. Now, they didn''t have to worry about damage to the Big Dipper Dojo''s reputation, and they could recruit a plethora of well-known professional fighters. As the audience paid more attention to the Big Dipper Dojo, the matches around the arena became increasingly intense as the various competitors fought to obtain the only advancement slot for their respective platforms. As predicted, all three representatives from the White Tiger Dojo advanced through the elimination round eventually. All three were unbelievably skilled. The other dojos and training centers didn''t fare as well. Over 40-plus dojos and training centers had come to participate. Even if the remaining slots were divided equally, not every establishment could earn a slot. Furthermore, many fighters had joined the competition independently. In the end, only the stronger dojos and training centers would advance. "The White Tiger Dojo really is impressive as expected of one of the country''s best dojos. The other dojos and training centers simply aren''t a match for it." "The Martial Heaven Dojo is also pretty strong. All three of its representatives advanced. As for the White Cloud Dojo, if Lu Jingshan hadn''t lost, all of its representatives would have advanced as well." "That Big Dipper Dojo is also quite skilled. All three of its representatives advanced to the next round, too. Moreover, I heard that the Big Dipper Dojo is relatively new. It can definitely rival the Martial Heaven Dojo and White Tiger Dojo." When the organizers displayed the list of fighters who had advanced above the stage, the audience discussed the various establishments. Among the many dojos and training centers, only the White Tiger Dojo, the Martial Heaven Dojo, and the Big Dipper Dojo would be represented by all three of their fighters in the next round. Hence, many people started comparing the three dojos. When Xie Qiwen heard the chatter, he paled. The spectators were comparing one of the country''s best dojos to third-rate organizations. If news of this reached the main branch, the higher-ups would call his management capabilities into question. Damn it! Where did Big Dipper find so many experts?! Xie Qiwen balled his fists as he glared at the distant Xiao Yu. In his opinion, the only person in the Big Dipper Group capable of such a feat was the sly old fox, Xiao Yu. As Xie Qiwen inwardly cursed Xiao Yu''s cunning, Jiang Tianyuan, asked from beside him, "Qiwen, why is You Ziping listed among the Big Dipper Dojo''s representatives?" "Hall Master, this I''m not sure." Feigning ignorance, Xie Qiwen replied, "I''ll have someone find out what is going on immediately. Once he returns, I''ll demand an explanation." "No need. Despite the White Tiger Dojo''s nurturing, he dares to represent another dojo without consent. He has already broken one of our sacred taboos. He is no longer a member of the White Tiger Dojo. Let him fend for himself," Jiang Tianyuan announced coldly. Originally, he had considered You Ziping a talented child worthy of the dojo''s attention. Hence, he had specifically asked if the boy had been chosen to represent their dojo in this competition. Even if You Ziping hadn''t been chosen, he had intended to recommend moving the youth to the main branch for better training. However, You Ziping had greatly disappointed him. "Understood." Xie Qiwen nodded. However, when Jiang Tianyuan looked away, he revealed a faint sneer. You Ziping had lost his protection from the White Tiger Dojo. It was obvious that Jiang Tianyuan''s attitude towards You Ziping had changed significantly. After this, dealing with the boy would become easier. Once the competition ended, he would report You Ziping for violating his contract with the White Tiger Dojo. Not only would You Ziping be forced to pay a massive compensation fee, but it would also deal a blow to the Big Dipper Dojo''s reputation. To protect itself, the Big Dipper Dojo might be forced to abandon You Ziping. Shortly after the elimination round, the 32 contestants that had advanced approached the sports arena''s main stage to draw lots. The main stage was far more spacious than the surrounding platforms. Moreover, the virtual screens constantly broadcast the main stage, allowing all of the spectators to watch the fights. As the 32 contestants drew lots in sequence of their platform number, a petite, beautiful girl in a blue martial arts uniform walked up to You Ziping. This girl was none other than Yi Yuqing. "You Ziping, must you do this?" Yi Yuqing asked quietly. "You know that Hall Master Jiang already plans to give Mengyun to Xie Qiwen. If you leave to join the Big Dipper Dojo now, you''ll destroy your future." In the White Tiger Dojo, very few knew that Yi Yuqing, who was only second to the goddess Tang Jingyao in terms of strength, had a friendship with You Ziping and Jiang Mengyun. "I couldn''t care less about that anymore. Xie Qiwen is only a step away from the global stage. Meanwhile, I am still a mere intermediate disciple in the White Tiger Dojo. Whether it''s strength, resources, or family background, I am inferior to him in every aspect. If I don''t fight now, I won''t have a chance once he reaches the international level," You Ziping said seriously. "Even so, you shouldn''t go about it like this!" Yi Yuqing was astonished when she saw You Ziping''s determination. "If you lose the White Tiger Dojo''s protection, Xie Qiwen won''t hesitate to strike out at you! He already told us to cripple you in this competition! If you fight either Gu Chen or Liao Huajie, you must be careful! If you can''t, surrender!" "Relax. I''ll show Xie Qiwen that I''m not just going to take his crap lying down," You Ziping said, smiling calmly. "You!" Angry, Yu Yiqing spun around and left. She couldn''t understand where You Ziping''s confidence came from. If she had to fight him, she could show mercy. However, it was a different story for Gu Chen and Liao Huajie. After all, Xie Qiwen was close with both fighters. However, now that You Ziping was determined to take this path, it was not her place to stop him. Time passed quickly. After the drawings were done, the competition resumed. The screens above the arena displayed the first match-up. First match: Liao Huajie VS You Ziping! 1295 Instant Judgmen Chapter 1295 - Instant Judgment As the first match was announced, a commotion erupted in the VIP stands. "A present White Tiger Dojo disciple fighting an ex-White Tiger Dojo disciple! This match is going to be interesting!" Those in the VIP stands were all insiders of the fighting industry. They had already investigated every fighter that had advanced through the elimination round. They were all aware of You Ziping''s background. You Ziping had been a relatively talented disciple of the White Tiger Dojo. He had become an intermediate disciple despite being so young. If he continued to work hard for another year or two, he definitely could have become an advanced disciple. Becoming an advanced disciple in the White Tiger Dojo was basically a guarantee that one could qualify for the national fighting competitions. Yet, for some inconceivable reason, You Ziping had shown up as one of the Big Dipper Dojo''s representatives. As the audience in the VIP stands discussed the matter quietly, Jiang Tianyuan wore a twisted expression. You Ziping''s actions were a slap in the face for the White Tiger Dojo. The dojo would become a laughingstock. "Hall Master, rest assured; Liao Huajie will teach the boy how wrong and foolish his decision was," Xie Qiwen said, smiling. He had waited for this day for a long time. Although You Ziping was slightly more skilled than Liao Huajie, the latter had far more combat experience. Liao Huajie could easily defeat You Ziping. With You Ziping''s defeat, they would show everyone the White Tiger Dojo''s strength while leaving a stain on the Big Dipper Dojo''s reputation. He could even cripple You Ziping in the process. This was practically killing three birds with one stone. There was no possibility of Liao Huajie''s defeat. He was very familiar with You Ziping''s skills. The teen would need another one or two years of arduous training to reach the national level. Meanwhile, Liao Huajie''s strength was not as simple as everyone assumed. Below the main stage, the various fighters watched Liao Huajie and You Ziping on the main stage. They were very curious to see the outcome of this fight. Unlike everyone else, a flash of concern appeared in Yu Yiqing''s eyes as she watched You Ziping stretch. She then quietly moved towards Shadow Sword and Turtledove, who also watched the match. Quietly, she said, "If you two are You Ziping''s friends, you must stop this fight. Liao Huajie is not as simple as you think. He is one of our main branch''s watchmen. If you don''t stop You Ziping before the match starts, he will be in danger." "A watchman?" Shadow Sword and Turtledove turned to Yu Yiqing, their expressions turning serious when they heard this. "Are you telling the truth?" Yu Yiqing was a member of the White Tiger Dojo. Although they did not know what Yu Yiqing intended by warning them, they knew that watchmen should not be underestimated. Those who weren''t familiar with the various dojos and training centers might not know what the term "watchman" implied. However, those who focused on breaking into the industry''s inner circle were familiar with the word. To put it simply, a watchman determined if a disciple was worthy of focused nurturing. After all, a dojo or training center''s resources were limited. It was not possible to provide tons of resources to every member. Hence, anyone who could defeat the designated watchman would receive the dojo''s attention and vice versa. This maintained the quality of the establishment''s best disciples. Watchmen were no weaker than those favored disciples. Rather, the opposite was true. On average, watchmen were stronger. Generally, watchmen were experts the establishment''s upper echelons had chosen unanimously. Although watchmen were forced to hide their achievements during their service, once their term ended, they would receive their dojo''s best training. Moreover, as compensation, they would have access to an abundance of resources during their service. As a result, many people aspired to become watchmen. Unfortunately, very few were ever chosen. Although not every dojo and training center had watchmen, it was normal for a peak dojo like the White Tiger Dojo. "Why would I lie to you?" Yu Yiqing rolled her eyes at Shadow Sword and Turtledove. She was one of the White Tiger Dojo''s geniuses. She didn''t need petty tricks to defeat her opponents. "Although I''m not trying to brag, Lu Huajie is no weaker than I am. You Ziping stands no chance against him. Moreover, Lu Huajie is famed for his mercilessness during fights." "He''s as strong as you are?" Turtledove asked as she evaluated Yu Yiqing. "If I fought him, I''d have a sixty-forty chance of winning," Yu Yiqing said after giving the matter some thought. Lu Huajie had been hiding his strength. Only the dojo''s upper echelons knew his true skill. Meanwhile, she was the genius Tang Jingyao''s future successor, so she was at least on par with Lu Huajie. However, to convince the Big Dipper Dojo to take Lu Huajie more seriously, she exaggerated his strength a little bit. "So, that''s the case. We shouldn''t need to notify the Guild Leader, then." Turtledove breathed a sigh of relief. Shadow Sword nodded in agreement. He, too, didn''t think this matter was worth Shi Feng''s time. "You guys" Turtledove and Shadow Sword''s response dumbfounded Yu Yiqing momentarily. Although she tried to ask if they truly understood the severity of the matter, they shut her up with a word of thanks. As a result, she could only walk away, fuming as she realized that Shadow Sword and Turtledove were just as stubborn as You Ziping. None of them could be reasoned with! As Yu Yiqing tried to think of a way to convince You Ziping to drop out of the match, the timer above the main stage began to count down. "You Ziping, I had thought you were better than this. I had believed that you could have joined the main branch after another year or two. But you crossed the line today. You betrayed the White Tiger Dojo. Today, I show you the price for that betrayal," Lu Huajie said as he stopped two meters away from You Ziping. Sneering, he continued, "Brother Qiwen has asked me to pass you a message. You are 100 years too early if you wish to compete on his level!" Suddenly, Lu Huajie moved. Executing Swimming Dragon Steps, he was instantly within attack range of You Ziping. He then launched a flying knee kick at You Ziping''s face. At the same time, his arms lashed towards You Ziping''s neck like whips. Lu Huajie''s attacks were extremely vicious. From the very onset of the match, he aimed for You Ziping''s life. Against an attack to the face, fighters instinctively go on the defensive, ignore attacks from other directions. However, Lu Huajie wanted more from his flying knee attack than You Ziping''s focus on defending himself. Martial artists frequently practiced conquering their defensive instincts. Rather, Lu Huajie wanted to distract his opponent with the initial attack, preventing You Ziping from noticing the attacks aimed for his neck. As Lu Huajie''s knee flew towards You Ziping''s face, You Ziping dashed forward, instead of retreating. "That guy is insane!" The fighters below the stage were shocked by You Ziping''s suicidal counter. If the knee struck his face, he would die. Is he trying to get himself killed? Lu Huajie was a little surprised by You Ziping''s actions. However, it didn''t distract him from his attacks. In the moment between life and death, You Ziping barely avoided the knee as he circled to Lu Huajie''s side. When their bodies interlocked, You Ziping used centrifugal force to land a powered punch to Lu Huajie''s back. You Ziping''s attack was as quick as lightning, giving his opponent no time to react. Thud! When You Ziping''s fist met Lu Huajie''s back, Lu Huajie felt as if he had been struck by a hammer. Immediately, Lu Huajie spat a mouthful of blood as the strike threw him over three meters away. By the time he hit the ground, Lu Huajie had lost consciousness. The entire process was complete in the blink of an eye. "Whatjusthappened?" Practically everyone watching the fight was stunned. Just as they thought that Lu Huajie would win, You Ziping stood on the stage alone. "The fight ended so quickly! Can somebody tell me what just happened?! I didn''t see anything!" Many of the spectators stared in shock, confused about what had just happened. 1296 Competition with Many Hidden Experts Chapter 1296 - Competition with Many Hidden Experts The various dojos and training centers'' upper echelons were even more shocked than the audience in the spectator stands, staring at the match''s victor with wide eyes. However, nobody was more surprised than Xie Qiwen. What What is going on?! How is he so strong?! He was extremely familiar with Lu Huajie''s strength. Although Lu Huajie was slightly weaker than Gu Chen, the boy could still rank among the top of the main branch''s advanced disciples. This was why the main branch had agreed to dispatch Lu Huajie for this friendly competition. Evey Xie Qiwen wouldn''t be able to defeat Lu Huajie so quickly, yet You Ziping had ended the match in the span of a breath Yu Yiqing stared at You Ziping with a stupefied expression from below the stage. "Impossible! How did he become so strong?!" Yu Yiqing thought back to what You Ziping had told her. "Could he have hidden his strength all this time?" Moreover, You Ziping wasn''t the only one behaving strangely today. The other two Big Dipper representatives, Fu Jinghong and Yu Qiaoqiao, had been extraordinarily calm despite learning that Lu Huajie was a watchman. They were both obviously confident of You Ziping''s victory. However, this only further confused Yu Yiqing. If You Ziping had revealed such strength early on, the White Tiger Dojo would have offered him focused training. If that had happened, even Xie Qiwen would have had a hard time dealing with him. "Could the Big Dipper Dojo be responsible for this?" Yu Yiqing considered the possibility, her voice shaking as she spoke aloud. She couldn''t bring herself to believe it. When the referee on the stage announced You Ziping''s victory, shrieks of excitement flooded the arena. "So strong! Is this the Big Dipper Dojo''s true strength?" "Is that guy a monster?! I didn''t see what had happened!" After this match, the audience''s admiration for the Big Dipper Dojo reached new heights. Jiang Tianyuan, however, wore a solemn expression as he watched from the VIP stands. "Hall Master, Lu Huajie must have been careless! However, Gu Chen and Yu Yiqing should be able to restore our reputation!" Xie Qiwen hurriedly explained. Although he knew that his explanation was somewhat forced, it was true that Lu Huajie had been careless. When fighting an expert of the same level, a direct, full-powered assault was foolish. If the opponent spotted a weakness, they could certainly obtain victory with a single blow. Lu Huajie''s miserable defeat was understandable. "Hopefully, that is the case. After this competition, I would also like a proper explanation for why You Ziping is suddenly representing the Big Dipper Dojo," Jiang Tianyuan responded in a deep tone as he glanced at Xie Qiwen. While it was true that Lu Huajie had been careless, not every fighter could find an opportunity to deal such a devastating blow. It a certain degree of skill. It was clear that You Ziping had already reached this standard. "Also, I want you to learn everything there is to know about the Big Dipper Dojo. Do not miss a single detail." Jiang Tianyuan could not help but shift his gaze towards Shi Feng, who sat quietly in the distance. He kept having the feeling that there was more to the Big Dipper Dojo than what met the eye. "Understood. I will look into it." Xie Qiwen repeatedly nodded, feeling a chill crawl down his spine when the heavy pressure Jiang Tianyuan gave off washed over him. Jiang Tianyuan was a legend in the White Tiger Dojo. Even the Head Hall Master treated him with respect. Jiang Tianyuan''s wrath was not someone a mere genius like himself could hope to endure. Meanwhile, on another side of the VIP stands, Xiao Yu and Xiao Yan brimmed with exhilaration. "Head Instructor Shi, you are truly astounding! You poached such a genius from the White Tiger Dojo! Now that we have defeated one of the White Tiger Dojo''s elites, I''m afraid that the crowds will trample over and destroy the Big Dipper Dojo''s entrance tomorrow." When Xiao Yu thought about the sea of people that would rush to apply for the Big Dipper Dojo, an indescribable joy bloomed in his heart. As long as the Big Dipper Dojo developed successfully, it would help the Big Dipper Group grow. The company would finally be able to branch out of Jin Hai City and enter a bigger stage. "I was just lucky," Shi Feng said, chuckling. You Ziping''s performance had been quite impressive. It was no wonder why even Lai Bao and Fire Dance had given him praise. Although You Ziping had only played God''s Domain for a short time, his level had increased very quickly. Almost every monster he fought was a higher level. In addition, his foundations had already been sound. As a result, after practicing Void Steps incessantly, he had undergone a qualitative transformation. Unlike Shadow Sword, who had used five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to reach his current level, You Ziping had only needed one. As for Turtledove, she had used four bottles. You Ziping was more fit than Shadow Sword and Turtledove. When it came to combat experience, however, You Ziping couldn''t compare to them. After all, You Ziping had never experienced a fight against God''s Domain''s peak experts. Following which, time passed quickly. One match after another ended on the main stage. The following matches were intense, and the audience''s blood boiled as they watched. Unlike the first match, however, the other matches'' outcomes weren''t surprising. The only unexpected outcome was that, among the eight contestants that made it to the quarterfinals, one was an independent contestant that had joined using the nickname Evil Fire. Despite not belonging to a dojo or training center, Evil Fire was frighteningly skilled. The strangest thing was that nobody had ever seen or heard of Evil Fire before. As a result, many dojos and training centers sent the contestant secret invitations, with some offering him astronomical incomes, yet Evil Fire refused every offer. Instead, he made a confusing counteroffer, stating that he would only join an establishment if they had a representative that could defeat him in God''s Domain. During the quarterfinals'' second match, Evil Fire faced Gu Chen. No one had expected the unknown Evil Fire to defeat Gu Chen, one of the White Tiger Dojo''s geniuses and Xie Qiwen''s future successor, in less than ten moves. During the final exchange, Evil Fire abandoned all caution as he landed a ruthless blow to Gu Chen''s chest, knocking his opponent out instantly like a wild beast. As a result of his recklessness, though, Evil Fire had broken an arm. Evil Fire''s combat method made every spectator shudder. If not for the high-quality medical care available, Evil Fire''s fighting career might have ended with that final blow. "Is that person trying to get himself killed? He''s a savage." Xiao Yan frowned when he recalled Evil Fire''s fight. It was very obvious that Evil Fire had deliberately sacrificed an arm to finish Gu Chen. No normal martial artist would''ve fought so desperately, especially not in a friendly competition. Trying to get himself killed? Shi Feng did not voice his opinion. Although the fight seemed desperate, in reality, he had made the wisest decision. The match''s outcome wouldn''t have been so clear otherwise. After all, Gu Chen clearly had the advantage regarding physique. Evil Fire had only defeated his opponent due to having more combat experience. Based on the way Evil Fire fought, Shi Feng could tell that the teen had experienced plenty of life-or-death battles. Otherwise, the teen wouldn''t have been able to maintain his calm in such an intense fight. As everyone discussed Evil Fire''s match, Xie Qiwen wore a grim expression. He couldn''t understand what was happening. This was simply a friendly competition between six third-tier cities, yet one unknown expert had shown up after another. Now, even Gu Chen had been defeated. How was this a city-level competition? This could practically be considered a national-level competition already. During the third match, Shadow Sword defeated his opponent from the White Cloud Dojo, advancing to the semifinals. The crowd cheered as the quarterfinals'' last match began. Yu Qiaoqiao VS Yi Yuqing! 1297 Limit Removal Chapter 1297 - Limit Removal Although Yu Qiaoqiao and Yi Yuqing had just approached the stage and were waiting for the match to start, the various upper echelons in the VIP stands were exceptionally excited. Nobody had expected that this friendly competition would reach this point. This should''ve been a stage for the White Tiger Dojo to display its overwhelming might. Now, however, just getting into the semifinals was a problem. Meanwhile, Xie Qiwen wore a twisted expression. He had never thought that Gu Chen would be so useless as to lose to some unknown fighter. With this, the White Tiger Dojo''s reputation was soiled. Meanwhile, as the person responsible for handling this competition, he couldn''t escape blame. "Xingteng, contact Big Dipper immediately. If they are willing to forsake the competition, I will give them the Green God Company''s invitation. We can both still benefit. If they refuse and Yi Yuqing takes the championship, they''ll get nothing," Xie Qiwen quietly instructed Gan Xingteng, who sat beside him. The current situation wasn''t in his favor. Although Yi Yuqing was very strong, at the end of the day, she was no match for Gu Chen. Gu Chen had only lost to Evil Fire because he hadn''t dared to go all out. It was difficult to guarantee that Yi Yuqing would not make the same mistake. Xie Qiwen did not want to take this risk. In any case, the dojos and training centers'' main goal in this competition was the Green God Company''s invitation card. If the Big Dipper Dojo accepted his offer, not only would they do the White Tiger Dojo a favor, but they''d also receive the invitation card. This was a heaven-sent opportunity to a small dojo like Big Dipper. Gan Xingteng immediately left the VIP stands and contacted Xiao Yu, notifying the man of Xie Qiwen''s offer. "Big Brother, did something happen?" Xiao Yan asked curiously when he noticed Xiao Yu''s hesitant expression while he was on a call. The Big Dipper Dojo had already garnered quite a bit of fame during this friendly competition. It wouldn''t have any issues expanding past Jin Hai City in the future. This should be cause for celebration, not concern. "It''s the White Tiger Dojo. They''ve offered a deal. If we forfeit, they will compensate us with the Green God Company''s invitation," Xiao Yu explained. At the end of the day, the White Tiger Dojo was still one of the best dojos in the country. If Big Dipper won the championship, while it would indeed help to further its reputation, but it would also provoke the White Tiger Dojo. The Big Dipper Dojo would have some trouble expanding into other cities, particularly first- and second-tier cities. However, if Big Dipper conceded this competition, it would benefit their expansion. "..." Even Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment. However, he shifted his gaze to Shi Feng and said, "Big Brother, rather than deciding ourselves, why don''t we let Shi Feng make the decision? After all, Shi Feng is the dojo''s manager. The dojo''s development should be left to him." "I guess that''s true." Xiao Yu smiled bitterly. After all, he wasn''t responsible for the Big Dipper Dojo''s management. Rather than having a headache over this matter, it was better to leave it to Shi Feng. While Shi Feng looked young and immature, his mind was anything but. The only reason the Big Dipper Dojo had come this far was Shi Feng. If he decided on his own, and Shi Feng disagreed, it would sour their working relationship. Following which, Xiao Yu passed Xie Qiwen''s message to Shi Feng. "Head Instructor Shi, what do you think?" Xiao Yu looked at Shi Feng, curious as to what decision the youth would make. The White Tiger Dojo''s favor wasn''t easy to earn. If the Big Dipper Dojo tried to expand to first- and second-tier cities, it would run into the White Tiger Dojo. Moreover, it was not a guarantee that they would win the championship. If they rejected this offer, they might lose the opportunity to obtain the Green God Company''s invitation. The White Tiger Dojo''s offer didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Straightforwardly, he responded, "Chairman Xiao, tell them that we can get the Green God Company''s invitation by ourselves. We don''t need their charity." The White Tiger Dojo was a frightening organization. As one of the best dojos in the country, it had branch dojos in practically every first- and second-tier city. Shi Feng understood Xiao Yu''s thoughts. If he hadn''t been reincarnated, he really would''ve been tempted to accept this offer as well. After all, getting in the good graces of a top dojo would make things easier when the Big Dipper Dojo expanded into first- and second-tier cities. Unfortunately, the future was in God''s Domain! The Big Dipper Dojo had only recently established. If he wanted to recruit talented players and quickly increase the dojo''s fame, this friendly competition was the best stepping stone available. He could not let this opportunity get away. If he waited a few more months, the other dojos and training centers would monopolize many talented players. He was in a race against time. Did he have enough to waste with the White Tiger Dojo? "This If we do this" Xiao Yu was stupefied. He had never expected such a clear-cut response from Shi Feng. This was the White Tiger Dojo they were talking about! If they humiliated the White Tiger Dojo today, the Big Dipper Dojo would suffer from its wrath later. However, seeing Shi Feng''s determination and taking into account that the youth had full management rights for the Big Dipper Dojo, Xiao Yu would not offer a differing opinion. He sighed as he had no choice but to relay the decision to Gan Xingteng. "What? They refused?" Xie Qiwen asked again, thinking he had heard wrong. "They said that they will obtain the Green God Company''s invitation by themselves" Gan Xingteng had also thought he had heard wrong. However, Xiao Yu''s answer had been definitive. "Good! Excellent!" At this moment, Xie Qiwen''s expression was as cold as ice. He had never thought that a little dojo would dare oppose him. "Let''s wait and see, then! Notify Yi Yuqing right away. The dojo''s reputation is at risk now. If need be, have her remove her limiter. I''ll cover the recovery expenses myself!" Initially, Gan Xingteng had been excited when he heard Xie Qiwen''s words. After all, he would finally get an opportunity to witness a Limit Removal, yet he began to worry as he responded, "But Boss, if we expose that move here, we''ll get in trouble with the main branch." "I''ll take responsibility for it. I want to show these no-name dojos and training centers that, no matter how much they try, their efforts are futile!" Xie Qiwen sneered as he glanced at Shi Feng. On the main stage Both Yu Qiaoqiao and Yi Yuqing eyed each other, carefully observing the other party''s movements. As soon as the referee swung his hands down and announced the start of the match, both fighters dashed forward, invading into each other''s attack range. Although Yi Yuqing''s attacks seemed soft and light, they were incredibly fierce. Every punch and palm strike sounded like an explosion, overwhelming the audience. Although Yi Yuqing was a girl, she had already achieved a 550 kg punch. Over a century ago, her punches would have qualified her for a boxing championship. She was fully capable of punching holes through concrete walls and crushing stones in her palm. She could even put an ordinary person''s life at risk with one hit. Against Yi Yuqing''s overwhelming attacks, any normal person would''ve retreated. However, Yu Qiaoqiao did not. Instead, she launched her own barrage of attacks, her hands moving like whips as they clashed with Yi Yuqing''s attacks. Her momentum was no slower than Yi Yuqing''s. Moreover, every time she blocked an attack, a loud crash would echo throughout the venue. This scene stupefied the audience at the spectator stands. Both fighters exchanged blows constantly, attacking and defending nonstop. In the blink of an eye, Yu Qiaoqiao and Yi Yuqing had exchanged numerous moves. The audience could not keep up with the two girls. This continued for over a dozen seconds without either side securing an advantage. It was obvious that neither side would have an easy victory. Seeing the fight going nowhere, Yi Yuqing backed away. With a confused expression, she then said, "I haven''t found a single weakness in your defense even after our exchange. It really is hard to imagine why an expert like you would join a small dojo that has no history." In terms of strength and speed, she was clearly a cut above Yu Qiaoqiao. However, Yu Qiaoqiao continued to find holes in her defense, forcing her to parry or dodge and preventing her from exhibiting her full strength. Rather than a teenage girl, Yi Yuqing felt as if she faced a veteran fighter who had participated in fighting competitions for over a dozen years. She even felt that Yu Qiaoqiao''s moves slightly resembled that of the savage Evil Fire. If not for witnessing Evil Fire''s attack methods earlier, Yu Qiaoqiao would have caught her off guard. Yi Yuqing suddenly caught sight of Gan Xingteng making hand gestures at her. These gestures were the White Tiger Dojo''s internal sign language, which all main branch disciples had to learn. Has Xie Qiwen lost his mind? This is just a friendly competition. Is there a need to go so far? Yi Yuqing could not help her surprise when she saw Gan Xingteng''s gestures. Noticing that her opponent''s diverted attention, Yu Qiaoqiao took advantage of the distraction and advanced, using a superficial footwork technique. Following which, Yu Qiaoqiao seemed to flicker in an out of existence. By the time Yi Yuqing snapped back to attention, Yu Qiaoqiao had already circled to her side. Yu Qiaoqiao''s fist flew towards Yi Yuqing''s defenseless side. Since she had noticed the attack too late, Yi Yuqing couldn''t dodge the fist normally. As Yu Qiaoqiao''s fist was about to hit its mark, a black shadow darted and intercepted Yu Qiaoqiao''s fist. Thud! Even the referee, who stood over eight meters away, heard the dull sound. How?! Yu Qiaoqiao looked at Yi Yuqing in shock. Her attack had been flawless. She had used the momentary distraction to circle to her opponent''s side and attack from a blind spot. Yi Yuqing shouldn''t have been able to defend herself. Yet, the palm that had caught her fist belonged to none other than Yi Yuqing. Most importantly, she had put her entire weight into that punch, yet Yi Yuqing had intercepted the hit. It felt as if she had punched a wall. It was unbelievable. "You really are amazing. If I hadn''t used Limit Removal, you might have defeated me with that blow." At this moment, Yi Yuqing sighed ruefully as she gripped Yu Qiaoqiao''s fist. "Originally, I had planned to save this move for the national competition. I never thought that I would be forced to use it so soon. However, since I have, this match is over." Saying so, Yi Yuqing squeezed Yu Qiaoqiao''s fist. No matter how much Yu Qiaoqiao struggled, she couldn''t break the hold. At this time, Yi Yuqing clenched her free hand into a fist and punched her trapped opponent. The instant she threw her punch, a loud explosion rang throughout the arena. She was both faster and stronger than before. 1298 Yousre Not the Only One Who Knows Chapter 1298 - You''re Not the Only One Who Knows Knowing that she couldn''t avoid Yi Yuqing''s fierce punch, Yu Qiaoqiao clenched her free hand into a fist and aimed a punch for Yi Yuqing''s wrist. The instant her fist met the young woman''s wrist, however, she felt as if she had punched a steel wall. Fortunately, the force behind her punch diverted Yi Yuqing''s attack trajectory slightly, the latter''s punch missing her shoulder and only tearing her clothing. When Yi Yuqing saw that her first hit had failed, she followed up with another, giving Yu Qiaoqiao no time to breathe. Limit Removal was a double-edged sword. Ordinary people could only exert up to 20% of their muscle strength, with their minds suppressing the remaining 80%. However, the White Tiger Dojo had a secret technique that allowed one to loosen this suppression with breathing techniques and mental training. Although this technique only removed a small portion of the limiter, it increased one''s strength, speed, and reaction speed tremendously. However, in return, one would damage their own muscles and weaken their internal organs. The Limit Removal technique was the equivalent of trading one''s lifeforce for strength temporarily. If one used this technique for too long, they could die. After all, human''s minds suppressed their strength to protect the body. Even though Yi Yuqing had trained constantly as a professional fighter, which made her much tougher than ordinary people, it was very risky to use Limit Removal. She wouldn''t use it unless absolutely necessary. If not for Xie Qiwen''s promise to pay for her recovery and the White Tiger Dojo''s reputation being at risk, she wouldn''t have even considered using the trump card. Yi Yuqing launched a series of rapid punches. Meanwhile, Yu Qiaoqiao tried her best to block while struggling to break free from Yi Yuqing''s hold. However, Yi Yuqing''s control grew more precise, which made it increasingly difficult for Yu Qiaoqiao to block her attacks. Yi Yuqing''s punches were like bullets from a machine gun. They were both fierce and powerful. The strong wind from her punches stirred the dirt and dust on the stage. The audience was stupefied. "So strong! Is this the genius that will succeed Tang Jingyao in the White Tiger Dojo in the future?" "Why do I have the feeling that Yi Yuqing is even stronger than Gu Chen? In Gu Chen''s fight against that Evil Fire fellow, his punches only caused some sound. Yi Yuqing''s punches are sending dirt into the air. Just how strong is she?" "Is this the White Tiger Dojo''s true strength? She''s inhuman." Compared to the audience in the spectator stands, however, the fighters below stage were truly shocked. After all, nobody knew just how strong Yi Yuqing was. "A monster!" "Thank goodness I wasn''t matched with her. She''d knock me out with a single punch." "As expected of one of the White Tiger Dojo''s geniuses. She can contend with national fighters. It seems the White Tiger Dojo will be this competition''s champion." The fighters below stage felt their skin grow cold as they watched Yi Yuqing''s violent display. Meanwhile, in the VIP stands, Jiang Tianyuan watched the battle in silence. Although he didn''t express joy, he didn''t seem dissatisfied either. Seeing this, Xie Qiwen breathed a sigh of relief. Hahaha! Good! As expected of Tang Jingyao''s future successor! Her Limit Removal''s efficiency should be at around 30% or so. Although she is still slightly weaker than Gu Chen, only experts from the other top dojos should be any match for her now. Xie Qiwen sneered as he watched Yu Qiaoqiao''s defense crumble. One of the reasons that the White Tiger Dojo had become one of the best dojos in the country was this Limit Removal secret technique. Of course, the other top dojos and training centers had their own similar techniques, though there were slight variations. This was why other dojos and training centers had no hope against the top establishments. However, this kind of secret technique was extremely difficult to learn; not everybody could master it. Both Gu Chen and Yi Yuqing were known as geniuses in the White Tiger Dojo because they had grasped this secret technique. Hence, they were showered with attention and resources in the dojo. Normally, the dojo only permitted the use of Limit Removal during national competitions as the technique took a toll on the user''s body. After all, one would need a lot of time and resources to recover. However, Xie Qiwen couldn''t care less right now. He would rather get reprimanded and compensate Yi Yuqing with S-rank Nutrient Fluids, dwindling his limited stockpile, than lose this friendly competition. Big Dipper, just you wait! I''ll repay this debt sooner or later! Xie Qiwen glared at Shi Feng and the others, plotting his revenge. Meanwhile, on Xiao Yu''s side "We''re finished Yi Yuqing has been hiding her strength all this time. With such strength, who could defeat her?" Seeing Yi Yuqing suppress her opponent, Xiao Yu began to have regrets. If he had tried to persuade Shi Feng, they might have obtained the Green God Company''s invitation card. Now, however, they would lose everything. The other upper echelons were similarly stunned. Rumors indicated that Gu Chen was stronger than Yi Yuqing. Now, however, it would seem that the opposite was true. If they compared their own disciples against this young woman, the difference between them would be like the difference between an adult and a child. Hiding her strength, huh? When Shi Feng saw the veins popping on Yi Yuqing''s arms and forehead, he realized something. The White Tiger Dojo sure is willing to splurge. They''re using Limit Removal in such a small competition. Aren''t they afraid that it would affect their performance in the national competition? At present, very few in the fighting industry knew about Limit Removal. In ten years, though, the move would be common. This was all due to God''s Domain. After all, God''s Domain had the technology to develop the human brain''s potential. With a well-developed brain, it wasn''t unusual for someone to be capable of removing their body''s limiters. It was likely that no one fully understood the pros and cons of the Limit Removal technique yet. As for Yu Qiaoqiao, who was currently overwhelmed, Shi Feng wasn''t worried. After all, Limit Removal wasn''t unique to the White Tiger Dojo. Moreover, compared to the Limit Removal technique in Shi Feng''s past, the present techniques were laughably crude. Meanwhile, on the stage, just as Yi Yuqing''s fist was about to strike Yu Qiaoqiao''s shoulder Yi Yuqing''s fist suddenly froze. What''s going on? Yu Yiqing was shocked when she couldn''t move her fist. Before she realized it, Yu Qiaoqiao had caught her wrist. Not only that, but she had broken free of the latter''s hold. It was as if her entire arm had frozen in place. 1299 Do You Dare Fight? Chapter 1299 - Do You Dare Fight? What is she trying to do? Xie Qiwen frowned when he saw Yi Yuqing''s fist stop suddenly. Yi Yuqing could''ve ended Yu Qiaoqiao right there and then, yet she had frozen. Xie Qiwen wasn''t the only person confused. The others in the VIP stands were also baffled. Why had Yi Yuqing held back? However, none of them knew that Yi Yuqing was just as shocked. Although her punch hadn''t contained her full power, her opponent shouldn''t have been able to stop it, yet Yu Qiaoqiao had done just that. "You really are impressive. You are the first person my age to stop my punch after I used Limit Removal." Yi Yuqing could not help but praise Yu Qiaoqiao. "However, you should give up. I cannot afford to lose this match. My strength is 50% higher than when this fight started. You have no chance of winning." Yi Yuqing could not help but admire Yu Qiaoqiao. If not for her being a White Tiger Dojo disciple, she definitely would not have been a match for Yu Qiaoqiao. Saying so, Yi Yuqing took half a step forward. Cracks began to appear on the stage beneath her feet. Her legs, waist, and shoulders twisting, Yi Yuqing concentrated all of her strength into her fist. Half-step Collapsing Punch! In Yi Yuqing''s opinion, Yu Qiaoqiao had only caught her punch due to luck. It was very likely that Yu Qiaoqiao had grabbed her wrist before her fist accelerated. Although Yu Qiaoqiao currently had a firm hold on her wrist, if she went all-out, Yu Qiaoqiao had no hope of stopping her. Moreover, her fist was less than ten centimeters away from Yu Qiaoqiao. At this distance, Yu Qiaoqiao wouldn''t be able to dodge the hit. Even diverting her attack trajectory would not be possible. Peng! Immediately, Yu Qiaoqiao took a step back, the stone floor beneath her feet cracking. Unexpectedly, however, Yu Qiaoqiao''s firm on her opponent''s fist was firm. She did not let Yi Yuqing''s fist get close to her shoulder. "You" Yi Yuqing was shocked. The young woman blocked her full-powered punch! "As expected of a genius from the White Tiger Dojo. It was a tough fight without Limit Removal. Let''s continue our earlier fight." Yu Qiaoqiao smiled slightly, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. Yi Yuqing was momentarily stunned. Based on the way Yu Qiaoqiao spoke, it was obvious that she, too, had grasped Limit Removal and simply hadn''t used it yet. Although Yi Yuqing wanted to respond, Yu Qiaoqiao was already moving. Yu Qiaoqiao twisted her fist and broke free from Yi Yuqing''s hold. Immediately after, her body spun as she sent a spiral kick at Yi Yuqing''s head, her leg cutting through the air like a menacing scythe. Suddenly, Yi Yuqing felt death loom over her. Not daring to be careless, she used her full strength to break free from Yu Qiaoqiao''s hold and used both arms to block the incoming kick. Thud! The instant Yu Qiaoqiao''s foot met her arms, Yi Yuqing felt a stinging pain deep into her bones. Afterward, her arms grew numb. She felt as if she had been hit by a car as she flew backward. However, reacting quickly, Yi Yuqing adjusted her posture so that she would land on her feet. In the end, Yi Yuqing only stabilized herself after retreating another eight steps. Impossible! Yi Yuqing wore an incredulous look as she stared at Yu Qiaoqiao, who now stood over ten meters away. Just by blocking one kick, both her arms were numb. She couldn''t even move them. Just how strong was Yu Qiaoqiao? Meanwhile, the audience stared with wide eyes, their gaze fixed on Yu Qiaoqiao. Just who is that girl!? Xie Qiwen nearly shouted when he saw Yi Yuqing fly through the air. Xie Qiwen could also see the blood vessels on Yu Qiaoqiao''s forehead surface slightly. After factoring in Yu Qiaoqiao''s sudden burst of strength, even a fool could tell that Yu Qiaoqiao had used Limit Removal. However, Limit Removal was one of the top dojos and training centers'' secret techniques. How could Yu Qiaoqiao have learned and grasped it? Yi Yuqing had trained arduously for two years under countless masters'' guidance to grasp Limit Removal. Yet, not only had Yu Qiaoqiao grasped the technique, but it was also obvious that she could suppress her limiters far more than Yi Yuqing. Even Jiang Tianyuan was surprised. What an amazing little girl! Just who is her master? She can control her strength so freely despite removing her limiter to such a degree. Jiang Tianyuan was curious as he watched Yu Qiaoqiao launch a relentless assault against Yi Yuqing. Although grasping Limit Removal was difficult, trying to exert the additional strength one received to its full potential was even more so. Only those on Xie Qiwen and Tang Jingyao''s level could rival Yi Yuqing''s standards. It was no longer a matter of talent. Rather, one required careful guidance and a wealth of combat experience to achieve this. Back on the stage, the match between Yu Qiaoqiao and Yi Yuqing was incomparably fierce. Every one of their actions shattered the stone floor. Yi Yuqing, who wasn''t a match for Yu Qiaoqiao''s combat experience, had become even less of a match for her opponent. Every blow Yi Yuqing exchanged with Yu Qiaoqiao hurt her to the bone. In the end, Yu Qiaoqiao found a massive weakness in Yi Yuqing''s defense as she launched a palm strike at the woman''s shoulder, shoving Yi Yuqing off the stage. Yi Yuqing realized that this was Yu Qiaoqiao''s way of showing mercy. Had she not taken pity on her opponent, Yi Yuqing would have suffered more than just a fall off the stage. A genius? Yi Yuqing looked up at Yu Qiaoqiao. Suddenly, she found that all of the praise she had received from others, calling her a genius, truly laughable. Ignoring all other aspects, Yu Qiaoqiao was leaps and bounds above her regarding her strength after executing Limit Removal. Her defeat was only a matter of course. After Yi Yuqing fell off the stage, the referee announced the match''s winner. Yu Qiaoqiao! As the referee announced the outcome, the arena fell silent for a moment. Then, loud cheering filled the venue. This breathtaking match had truly surprised every spectator. The Big Dipper Dojo''s name etched itself deeply into everyone''s mind. After all, among the four people taking part in the semifinals, three belonged to the Big Dipper Dojo. There were dozens of dojos and training centers from the six cities participating in this competition. Among them were the White Tiger Dojo and a large number of independent contestants. Sending all three representatives to the semifinals was a miracle. "The Big Dipper Dojo? I am definitely going to apply to join it tomorrow!" Many among the audience had already decided to join the Big Dipper Dojo no matter what. Even the contestants consider the option. Among those in the VIP stands, some celebrated while others worried. Xiao Yu was naturally ecstatic. With this, the Big Dipper Dojo''s fame would spread throughout the six cities. Xie Qiwen, on the other hand, felt both rage and helplessness. He had never thought that his first attempt of benefiting the dojo would end so miserably. However, Xie Qiwen hadn''t given up yet. There was still the savage Evil Fire. It was still possible that Evil Fire could secure the championship. This would be much better than letting the Big Dipper Dojo win. Now that the four semi-finalists had been decided, due to this being a friendly match, as long as You Ziping defeated Evil Fire, the Big Dipper Dojo would win the competition. Everyone very much looked forward to the first match of the semifinals between You Ziping and Evil Fire. It took roughly twenty minutes to repair the stage. Once the repairs were complete, You Ziping and Evil Fire approached the stage. However, as the referee was about to announce the start of the competition, Evil Fire stopped him and said, "Wait!" "Contestant Evil Fire, is there an issue?" the referee asked curiously. "Before the match, I have something to say," Evil Fire, who looked like a brown bear, said, grinning. "Alright, but I can only give you one minute." The referee nodded. "Ten seconds will be enough!" Evil Fire laughed. He then received the microphone and shifted his gaze to Shi Feng in the VIP stands. Emanating a dominant aura, he proudly proclaimed, "Head Instructor Shi, I have come here today for one reason and one reason only! I have heard that you are one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons, so I hope that you can convey a message to Black Flame for me! Tell him that I, Evil Fire, want to challenge him in God''s Domain! Does he dare fight me?" 1300 Black Flames Fame Chapter 1300 - Black Flame''s Fame Evil Fire? This is interesting. As Shi Feng looked at Evil Fire, he tried to remember his past. He hadn''t actually heard this name before, yet based on the skill Evil Fire displayed, Shi Feng concluded that the youth was extraordinary. Evil Fire should be someone powerful in God''s Domain. Otherwise, the youth wouldn''t have here to challenge him so confidently. Evil Fire''s words echoed throughout the sports arena. Meanwhile, everyone else in the venue had fallen silent. Everyone was stunned. Nobody could''ve imagined that Evil Fire''s goal in this competition was to challenge someone. He hadn''t even challenged someone in the real world, but someone in God''s Domain. "What''s going on?" "Crap, he''s challenging someone to a fight in a game? Why can''t he just do that in the game? Did he really have to do this here?" "What do you know? He is talking about Black flame!" "Who is Black Flame? Is he someone amazing?" "You don''t play God''s Domain, so you might not know, but Black Flame is the Guild Leader of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. The Secret Pavilion even gave him the title Sword King. He is a mythical existence, and countless experts in God''s Domain want to challenge him. However, why would someone as important as Black Flame accept every challenge? Moreover, Black Flame''s whereabouts are always a mystery. He''s incredibly hard to find. I never thought that the Big Dipper Dojo would be related to Zero Wing. This is going to be interesting. Sense Evil Fire is so strong in the real world, I wonder how strong he is in God''s Domain?" "Hahaha! This is interesting! I am definitely going to watch the fight between Evil Fire and Black Flame!" "I doubt Black Flame will agree to it. After all, he is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader." "This is where Evil Fire is smart. Big Dipper''s head instructor is one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons, so Big Dipper and Zero Wing must have a close relationship. Meanwhile, Evil Fire put his strength on display for everyone to see. Now that he has challenged Black Flame in front of so many people, he''d be hard to ignore. If Black Flame refuses the fight, not only will this smear Zero Wing''s reputation, but it might also affect Big Dipper''s reputation." Although many among the audience had no idea who Black Flame was, those who did promptly explained. Very quickly, everyone became familiar with the name. At the same time, they grew curious about how strong this Black Flame was. After all, someone as strong as Evil Fire had issued this dramatic request. For some time, this unexpected announcement boosted Big Dipper and Zero Wing''s fame for some time. This little bastard! He used my friendly competition to challenge someone in a game! Xie Qiwen glared at Evil Fire, rage burning in his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to murder the youth with his own hands. Had Evil Fire simply challenged Black Flame, he would not have minded it as much. The issue was that Evil Fire had defeated Gu Chen. Gu Chen was one of the White Tiger Dojo''s geniuses, yet Evil Fire used the fame of his victory as a stepping stone to challenge Black Flame. This was a slap in the face for the White Tiger Dojo. Meanwhile, Shadow Sword and Turtledove, standing beside the main stage, were furious. "This bastard overestimates himself! He dares to challenge the Guild Leader! Jinghong, make sure that you take care of him later!" Turtledove''s gaze burned with rage. If she didn''t have to recuperate after using Limit Removal, she''d take care of the brat herself. "Leave it to me. I''ll make sure this kid spends several months in the hospital after the competition!" Shadow Sword nodded seriously. In God''s Domain, challenging a Guild''s leader was the equivalent of declaring war on the entire Guild. They could not let such an insult slide. "Head Instructor Shi! Two days! I''ll give you all two days to prepare! When the time comes, I''ll head to White River City''s Divine Colosseum for the challenge! Hopefully, Black Flame doesn''t chicken out!" Evil Fire smiled at Shi Feng. He then tossed the microphone back to the referee before turning and leaving the stage gallantly. After catching the microphone, the referee noticed Evil Fire leaving the stage. Hurriedly, he reminded, "Contestant Evil Fire! If you step off of the stage, you will forfeit the match!" "I have already achieved my goal. Consider this match my loss," Evil Fire responded nonchalantly. Saying so, Evil Fire descended the steps. He paid no attention to the competition''s outcome. Everyone was stunned. "He surrendered? He''s not going to continue?" "Crap! He''s too cool! Doesn''t he want the 5,000,000 Credits?" "Does he need to go this far? Did he really join this competition just to challenge Black Flame?" The audience was shocked as they watched Evil Fire leave the arena, ignoring the championship prize. Not many had the opportunity to earn 5,000,000 Credits. Meanwhile, due to Evil Fire forfeit, You Ziping won the match. Naturally, the Big Dipper Dojo had secured the championship. As for the position of champion, neither Shadow Sword nor Turtledove cared as both focused on God''s Domain. They were no longer interested in the fighting world. Hence, in the end, You Ziping was crowned champion. This set off a commotion among the various dojos and training centers'' upper echelons. The normal audience might not know much about You Ziping''s background, but they did. You Ziping had been an intermediate disciple in the White Tiger Dojo. Now, however, he had left the dojo and won this competition''s championship. This would seriously wound the White Tiger Dojo''s reputation. Xie Qiwen wore an ugly expression. Although he wanted to rage and kill You Ziping personally, he had a much larger problem to deal withCJiang Tianyuan, who had been silent for some time now. "Qiwen, I believe that you know what to do. I want an explanation for this. Once we return, you will also explain yourself to the Head Hall Master. You are aware of the consequences if we''re not satisfied with your explanation!" Jiang Tianyuan glanced at Xie Qiwen. He then stood and walked away. Although he hadn''t reprimand Xie Qiwen with his words, his chilling tone stole the strength from Xie Qiwen''s legs. Jiang Tianyuan''s anger was reasonable. After all, You Ziping''s performance today had been shocking. The youth definitely qualified to join the main branch for concentrated training, yet such a talented fighter had represented the Big Dipper Dojo. Explain to the Head Hall Master? Xie Qiwen suddenly felt faint. Compared to the White Tiger Dojo''s Head Hall Master, he was nothing. Although he was one of the dojo''s geniuses, he was only a genius. He wasn''t a powerhouse. Normally, he would encounter the Head Hall Master a few times a year, yet he was told that he would have to present his case to such an important figure Xie Qiwen felt wronged. Although he had chosen Lu Huajie for personal reasons, his decision had been logical as Lu Huajie had been much stronger than You Ziping. However, You Ziping had become so powerful, so much so that he had defeated Lu Huajie. How could he possibly know what was going on? As the competition ended, the audience gradually departed the arena. As they left, they discussed Evil Fire''s challenge to Black Flame. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng and the others prepared to leave the VIP stands, Gan Xingteng stopped them. "May I know what business Instructor Gan has with us?" Xiao Yu asked, smiling. They had won the friendly match fair and square. Even the White Tiger Dojo couldn''t find an excuse to cause them trouble. They also had tens of thousands of witnesses. If the White Tiger Dojo tried to do something here, it would only humiliate the dojo further. 1301 Competition Chapter 1301 - Competition Seeing Gan Xingteng block Shi Feng''s group, the various upper echelons stopped to watch, curious to see what the White Tiger Dojo intended to do. The White Tiger Dojo had hosted this friendly competition to spread its fame throughout the six cities. Yet, the Big Dipper Dojo had benefited. It would be a lie to say that the White Tiger Dojo was not furious. Ignoring the stares, Gan Xingteng glanced at Shi Feng before turning to Xiao Yu. Displeased, he said, "Hall Master Jiang would like to invite Head Instructor Shi for tea. May I know if Head Instructor Shi is free?" "An invite from Hall Master Jiang?" Everyone who heard this was momentarily stunned. Jiang Tianyuan stood at the peak of the fighting industry. He was practically a living legend. Jiang Tianyuan had also played a large part in lifting the White Tiger Dojo to its current status. Moreover, Jiang Tianyuan''s disciples were all extraordinary. He also had influence in various other industries. Countless people dreamed of forming a connection with the man. Unfortunately, very few ever had the opportunity. And yet Jiang Tianyuan had sent an invitation. Moreover, by the looks of it, he only wished to speak with Shi Feng, not the others from Big Dipper. "ThisI''m afraid you''ll have to ask Head Instructor Shi himself." Xiao Yu frowned before turning to Shi Feng. He wasn''t afraid of the White Tiger Dojo as a business rival. However, he was afraid of the White Tiger Dojo using other methods to deal with them. One such example was poaching Shi Feng. In fact, these situations were common. The Big Dipper Dojo''s achievements were all thanks to Shi Feng. Now that Jiang Tianyuan wanted to meet with the man, Xiao Yu felt threatened. If Jiang Tianyuan poached Shi Feng, developing the Big Dipper Dojo and the Big Dipper Group further would be out of the question. The White Tiger Dojo possessed wealth and influence. Even if Shi Feng became one of its Branch Hall Masters, he would enjoy far more benefits than the Big Dipper Group could ever hope to offer. However, it also would not do to refuse Jiang Tianyuan. After all, Jiang Tianyuan had taken the initiative to invite Shi Feng. If they refused to meet with him, Jiang Tianyuan would consider it disrespect. If that happened, even if Jiang Tianyuan didn''t act personally, his followers would be more than enough to make the Big Dipper Group suffer. Hence, Xiao Yu could only leave the decision to Shi Feng. "Lead the way," Shi Feng responded calmly and without hesitation. They were bound to meet sooner or later. After all, if he wanted You Ziping to join Zero Wing, he would have to overcome the hurdle known as Jiang Tianyuan first. Following which, Gan Xingteng led Shi Feng to the arena''s top-floor lounge. "Big Brother, what do we do? If Jiang Tianyuan offers Shi Feng something that he can''t refuse, the Big Dipper Dojo will be finished," Xiao Yan asked anxiously as he watched Shi Feng walk away. He had to admit that Shi Feng had already become irreplaceable in Big Dipper. If Shi Feng left, Big Dipper would backslide. "We can''t let Jiang Tianyuan poach him. No matter what it takes, we must convince him to stay. I heard that he and Ruoxi are close. Think of a way to convince her to help us. At most, we''ll concede a slightly higher percentage of our profits when negotiating with the Zhao Group." Xiao Yu was determined to compete with the White Tiger Dojo. In the top-floor lounge As soon as Shi Feng entered the room, he sensed four piercing gazes locking onto him. The origins of these ominous looks stood beside Jiang Tianyuan. Three of these people were men, and one was a woman. All four wore black suits and appeared to be Jiang Tianyuan''s bodyguards. Although they only stood there, they radiated a chilling aura. It was very obvious that they weren''t like the pampered children, Gu Chen and Yi Yuqing. These people must''ve experienced many trials and tribulations. Moreover, their auras were even more intense than Lei Bao''s. Of course, that was not to say that these four people were stronger than Lei Bao. It was simply because Lei Bao kept his aura hidden. Shi Feng didn''t doubt that, if he showed the slightest hint of a threat, these four would immediately move to kill him. The White Tiger Dojo really is impressive. They''ve even hired such extraordinary bodyguards. Shi Feng swept his gaze across these four people, noticing that they all had falcon tattoos on the back of the hands. This mark belonged to none other than the Black Falcon Alliance. The Black Falcon Alliance was a globally-renowned mercenary alliance. Anyone who wanted this tattoo had to earn the Black Falcon Alliance''s acknowledgment first. The organization''s ordinary members simply weren''t worthy. As Shi Feng entered the room, Jiang Tianyuan smiled as he gestured to the sofa before him and said, "Sit." Only then did the four Black Falcon bodyguards relax a little. However, their gazes never once left Shi Feng. Shi Feng ignored the gazes as he approached Jiang Tianyuan. Seeing Shi Feng''s reaction, Jiang Tianyuan inwardly praised his guest. He was very familiar with his four bodyguards'' strength. If all four worked together, even an internal force expert wouldn''t walk away unscathed. Very few youngsters like Shi Feng could remain unperturbed under their attention. After emptying the teacup placed before him, Shi Feng smiled and asked, "Hall Master Jiang, may I know what business you wish to discuss?" "Young man, you are quite impatient. This isn''t your average tea. This is the Green God Company''s Harmony Tea. Savoring it properly will aid in one''s mental recovery and help expand one''s mind," Jiang Tianyuan said, his heart aching as Shi Feng downed the tea. Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise. "So, this is the rumored Harmony Tea." Shi Feng looked at the teapot on the table incredulously. The taste had been unique. However, he had not paid much attention to it. Although he had considered the possibility that it might be poisoned, it was highly unlikely. Even if the White Tiger Dojo disregarded its reputation, Jiang Tianyuan would keep his intact. Harmony Tea was unique to the Green God Company. Unfortunately, it was difficult to produce, so it wasn''t sold to the public. Although its recovery and enhancement effects were not as strong as the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, it had an aspect that the Nutrient Fluids couldn''t compare to. Unlike the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, Harmony Tea had a milder energy. One might not notice any immediate effects, but in the long run, the tea could help improve a person''s physique and extend their lifespan. It could also assist in developing one''s mental potential. It was no wonder that, despite being over 50 years old, Jiang Tianyuan only appeared to be in his 30s. As expected of the White Tiger Dojo. They can get their hands on such a rare product. Shi Feng was a little jealous. If he could obtain a large amount of Harmony Tea, he would have a much easier time nurturing Zero Wing''s experts. He had to admit that, no matter what he wanted to do, resources were very important. "Alright, I''ll cut to the chase. I don''t want to waste a youngster''s time. I''ve asked you here for two things." Seeing Shi Feng''s interest in the Harmony Tea, Jiang Tianyuan could not help but smile as he said, "The first involves You Ziping. I hope that you will allow him to return to the White Tiger Dojo. He has a lot of potential. He will have a better future if he develops in the White Tiger Dojo. "That is up to him. I cannot choose for him." Shi Feng waved his hand, showing that he had no interest in this issue. In reality, he did not care which dojo You Ziping developed in. He only cared about You Ziping''s choices in God''s Domain. "You are quite the mysterious youth." Shi Feng''s reply stunned Jiang Tianyuan. He simply couldn''t fathom why Shi Feng would willingly let go of such a talent so easily. However, he didn''t think that Shi Feng had lied. He had prepared counter arguments if Shi Feng refused, but his efforts had been wasted. "Since that is the case, I''ll have to trouble you to pass the message on. "Now that the first issue has been addressed, let''s get to the second matter." "Please speak." "The second matter involves you. I''d like to invite you to join the White Tiger Dojo." 1302 Daylight Robbery Chapter 1302 - Daylight Robbery "Join the White Tiger Dojo?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised by the offer. While it was common for dojos and training centers to poach personnel from each other, the targets were normally disciples. Instructors were rarely approached. After all, any instructor was considered a backbone of their establishment. Poaching an instructor was significantly more expensive than a disciple, not to mention a head instructor like himself. If they didn''t offer a high enough position, they couldn''t tempt him in the least. On the other hand, the White Tiger Dojo''s upper echelons would never agree to offer him a position as high as head instructor. There were a limited number of head instructor positions available, and every head instructor was a part of the White Tiger Dojo''s core. The influence they held was immense. Furthermore, he was only the head instructor of a recently-established dojo. Trying to poach him by offering a head instructor position would be ludicrous. "That''s right. I''d like you to join us. However, rather than becoming one of the White Tiger Dojo''s instructors, I''d like to invite you to become one of our combat instructors in God''s Domain," Jiang Tianyuan said. "God''s Domain has become increasingly popular. The White Tiger Dojo intends to secure a piece of that pie. However, at the end of the day, there are some differences between combat in God''s Domain and combat in the real world. Hence, we wish to recruit some God''s Domain experts to train our disciples. I heard that Zero Wing is quite capable in this aspect. Hence, I wish to hire you as one of our God''s Domain instructors. Of course, you will receive the benefits of a White Tiger Dojo advanced instructor." Although the White Tiger Dojo had many instructors, there were extremely few advanced instructors. Every advanced instructor was also an internal force expert. Even Hall Masters such as himself treated these individuals with respect. Countless experts envied them for the benefits they received. Jiang Tianyuan''s offer stunned his four bodyguards. Although they were bodyguards, they were also Black Falcon Alliance experts. Their understanding of the White Tiger Dojo was more acute than ordinary people. Hence, they knew just how powerful the White Tiger Dojo''s advanced instructors were. Even the Black Falcon Alliance''s mainstays had to treat them with respect. Sometimes, the Alliance would even request training from these instructors. It wasn''t even a guarantee that these instructors would agree It was very difficult to imagine that a youngster in his early twenties would have the opportunity to become an advanced instructor in the White Tiger Dojo. "Forget about the advanced instructor position. What other benefits can you offer?" Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He wasn''t particularly interested in becoming an advanced instructor in the White Tiger Dojo. While the fame and influence that came with the position were tempting, they were not particularly useful to him. "Other benefits?" Jiang Tianyuan gave Shi Feng an odd look. Curiously, he asked, "What do you have in mind?" The position was a good opportunity to gain some renown in the fighting industry. Countless people coveted the position, yet Shi Feng didn''t seem interested "S-rank Nutrient Fluid or Harmony Tea; both are acceptable," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "As for the exact amount, that depends on how many players you''d like me to train. My price is roughly twenty people per bottle. I can guarantee that they will reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor within a short time." Both S-rank Nutrient Fluid and Harmony Tea would significantly help his Guild''s experts. They were far more practical than the position of advanced instructor. Moreover, Stone Forest Town had the Battle Arena. It was an excellent location to nurture experts. Including the fact that the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples would start with sturdy foundations, it would not be difficult to train them to the fifth-floor standard in a short time. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, the four bodyguards rolled their eyes. Each bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid sold for 1,000,000 Credits on the market, yet Shi Feng wanted one body for training twenty experts. Even when the Black Falcon Alliance hired advanced instructors from the White Tiger Dojo to teach 300 of their elite members, it didn''t pay 1,000,000 Credits per month. Shi Feng''s demand was simply daylight robbery. "Your request is too expensive." Jiang Tianyuan frowned. He more or less understood God''s Domain. Hence, he knew just what kind of standards a fifth-floor expert in God''s Domain possessed. Furthermore, the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples were already combat experts. Even if they simply experimented themselves, they could easily reach the fifth floor. "I am willing to offer one bottle for 100 players. The first session will include 500 players. At the very least, I want them to reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor within one month." "Reaching the sixth floor within one month is too difficult. If you want all 500 to reach that standard, I''ll take no less than 50 bottles. Otherwise, you''ll have to find someone else, Hall Master Jiang." Shi Feng hadn''t expected Jiang Tianyuan to be so familiar with God''s Domain. Unfortunately, his understanding wasn''t sufficiently thorough. Reaching the Trial Tower''s sixth floor was the equivalent of being an expert in a first-rate Guild. Even with strong foundations, it would take a lot of training to reach such a standard. Of course, some players with extraordinary talent could do it in a short time. However, not everyone was so gifted. Moreover, nurturing 500 people would cost a frightening amount of resources. The Blackwater Corporation had invested an astronomical amount of manpower and resources to nurture their experts, yet the White Tiger Dojo wanted to offer a few bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to achieve the same. If he only charged one bottle per 100 people, he would very quickly go bankrupt. Seeing Shi Feng unwilling to yield, Jiang Tianyuan fell silent for a moment. "We can''t possibly part with so many bottles. I can offer ten at most. We can pay for the rest with Credits," Jiang Tianyuan said, yielding slightly. S-rank Nutrient Fluids were extremely precious, even to the White Tiger Dojo. They used a large number during every national competition, not to mention international competitions. They did not have a lot to spare. "I will only accept S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Harmony Tea. If Hall Master Jiang cannot make this decision at the moment, I can wait until you return and discuss it with your colleagues," Shi Feng said resolutely. He had other ways to obtain Credits. Moreover, he had already begun constructing his city. Once it was complete, the potential of virtual property would see explosive growth. At that time, he could easily rake in tons of Credits. "Alright, then. I''ll discuss it with the others once I return. However, I doubt that I''ll receive a positive response," Jiang Tianyuan said, sighing. Following which, Shi Feng left the lounge. After Shi Feng left, someone else entered the lounge from a connected room. This man wore black and white martial artist robes. He felt indescribably approachable. The instant he entered this room, it felt as if the world revolved around him. "Hall Master, this kid simply doesn''t know how to appreciate a favor. Not only wasn''t he grateful for your personal invitation, but his demands were also exorbitant. Should I stir up some trouble for the Big Dipper Dojo?" the man asked angrily. "Forget it. I had only asked on a whim. Even if he agrees to my offer, the final decision rests with the Head Hall Master. After all, the other Hall Masters have other recommendations," Jiang Tianyuan said as he waved off the angry man''s concern. "Jin Hai City is our problem now. With today''s outcome, our plans have been interrupted. Tianji, you''ll replace Qiwen as the branch manager here. Think of a way to restore the White Tiger Dojo''s reputation here. Also, lead the first batch of disciples in God''s Domain and introduce them to the game. Help them acclimate to the game''s mechanics. At the very least, make sure they aren''t completely clueless when their training begins." "Hall Master, rest assured; I have already seen to the necessary preparations. Every disciple has already been given an advanced virtual gaming helmet, while advanced disciples have access to virtual gaming cabins. By the time the other Hall Masters make their move, we will have gained a stable foothold in God''s Domain," the man named Tianji said, laughing. As soon as Shi Feng returned to the Greenwater Villa, he logged back into God''s Domain. He had just discovered some clues on how to proceed with his Tier 2 promotion quest. Meanwhile, Evil Fire''s challenge posed too much of a threat. If he did not deal with it properly, he would become a laughingstock in White River City. It might even affect the Big Dipper Dojo''s reputation. He had no intentions of wasting today''s results. 1303 Secret Alchemy Technique Chapter 1303 - Secret Alchemy Technique In the quiet herb garden, Shi Feng discovered quite a few Level 65, Tier 3 Demonic Guards and Two-headed Demonic Hounds in the courtyard as he logged in. Unlike the Demonic Beasts wandering about, these Demonic Guards patrolled the inner courtyard in groups of ten, with two Demonic Hounds accompanying each group. Now, it was practically impossible to reach the tower safely. - [Demonic Guard] (Dark Creature, Demon) Level 65 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 [Two-headed Demonic Hound] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 65 HP 52,000,000/52,000,000 - Even with Anna and Kite''s assistance, taking on twelve Great Lords at the same time would be suicidal. What a tight security. This quest really isn''t giving me any chances to break through. After observing the patrolling monsters'' pattern for over ten minutes, Shi Feng smiled bitterly. Because he had ransacked the herb garden earlier, Raymond wouldn''t give him a second chance Demons were far more intelligent than Demonic Beasts. Even if he attracted only one Demon''s attention, the entire squad would charge at him. They would not give him any opportunities to pick them off one by one. Moreover, several squads patrolled the inner courtyard. The moment he set foot in the inner courtyard, he wouldn''t have to face just one squad. At the very least, three or four squads would chase him down. Demons were very similar to NPCs. They were capable of cooperation. Hence, the more Demons in an area, the more combat power they could exhibit. Even a 1,000-man team couldn''t defeat so many Tier 3 Demons at the same time, not to mention one person. It is impossible to reach the tower by force. I have no choice but to find a different way. Shi Feng temporarily gave up on the idea of breaking through the patrols. He then shifted his gaze to other locations. The inner courtyard was very large. Although there was only one main entrance, there were quite a few side entrances leading to the inner courtyard. Only, these side entrances were not as convenient as the main entrance, which led directly to the tower. As Shi Feng was about to move towards one of the side entrances to take a look, a noise in the courtyard distracted him. Turning, Shi Feng noticed six massive figures moving rapidly towards the herb garden. These figures didn''t notice Shi Feng as they dashed towards the Silvermoon Tree. These six massive figures were none other than the Silvermoon Bears that had fled earlier. After returning to the Silvermoon Tree, the Silvermoon Bears lazed about. These Silvermoon Bears still dare to return? Shi Feng was slightly confused as he watched the Silvermoon Bears snooze peacefully. Although he had already killed off the Tier 3 Demonic Hunters that had guarded the garden earlier, the magic barrier Raymond had erected was still present. This magic array was a powerful deterrent against Demonic Beasts. This was also why Shi Feng could log out of the game without worry. Yet, the six Silvermoon Bears had resisted and barged into the herb garden. Shi Feng had previously assumed that the Silvermoon Bears had stayed close to the tree to protect the Moonlight Fruit. However, it would seem that was not the case. After all, he had already plundered everything the Silvermoon Tree had to offer. Hm? That''s not right. Why do these Silvermoon Bears seem a little larger than the ones I saw from before? Seeing the slumbering Silvermoon Bears, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes. - [Silvermoon Bear] (Demonic Beast, Great Lord) Level 65 HP 80,000,000/80,000,000 - These bears actually had 6,000,000 more HP than the Silvermoon Bears he had encountered earlier. Why have they grown stronger? Shi Feng was slightly confused. Monsters didn''t grow stronger unless they underwent an evolution or became a Mutant. However, it was very clear that neither scenario had happened to these bears. Could there be something special near the Silvermoon Tree? But I don''t think I felt anything different when I was harvesting the Moonlight Fruits. Shi Feng''s curiosity grew. However, no matter how he racked his mind, he could only think of one possibility. There was no other explanation for why these Silvermoon Bears would return to rest beside the Silvermoon Tree shortly after he had killed the Demonic Hunters. Shi Feng then slowly approached the Silvermoon Tree. As he walked, he surveyed his surroundings using Omniscient Eyes constantly to spot for anything hidden. Although his senses did not pick up on anything when he had harvested the Moonlight Fruit, something may have hidden from his five senses. Eighty yards Seventy-five yards Seventy yards When Shi Feng was almost within the Silvermoon Bears'' detection range, he heard the sound of a system notification. - System: You have discovered an ancient teleportation array. System: Transferrable locations: Outer courtyard entrance requires 100 Seven Luminaries Shards; Demon Sealing Tower''s first-floor main hall requires 200 Seven Luminaries Shards; Demon Sealing Tower''s research area requires 500 Seven Luminaries Shards. - So, the Seven Luminaries Shards serve this purpose as well. Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he heard the system notification. He thought the high teleportation fees were utterly fraudulent. Just teleporting to the Demon Sealing Tower''s first floor cost 200 Seven Luminaries Shards. He could synthesize four Seven Luminaries Crystals with that amount. Currently, he only had 714 shards on him. He had no other choice. Either he paid the exorbitant fee or fought his way through the horde of Demons. Shi Feng chose to teleport to the research area without hesitation. Although the price of 500 shards was high, the Moon God was famed for its knowledge in alchemy and magic arrays. Every one of the Moon God''s recipes that circulated the world was extremely valuable. The various Grandmaster Alchemists coveted every one of these items. Needless to say, the Moon God''s research area would be extraordinary. Shi Feng naturally could not pass up the opportunity to ransack the Moon God''s research room just to save some Seven Luminaries Shards. Immediately, Shi Feng''s vision blurred. In the blink of an eye, he found himself inside a spacious, crystal hall. The walls gave off a faint, blue radiance. Even without sunlight, light filled the hall. - System: You have discovered the research area. - This is the research room? Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he surveyed his surroundings. There were three paths out of the hall, and each one led to a different location. One led to the Alchemy Room, another led to the Research Room, and the last was a hallway leading out of the research area. Shi Feng was immensely excited. As a God''s private tower, there was bound to be treasure. Immediately, Shi Feng set off to explore the area. The Moon God''s Alchemy Room was like a whole new world. The room was as large as a football field, and there were all sorts of research materials and foundational books. There were also plenty of alchemy tools. Although the majority of the books and tools had been damaged beyond recognition due to the passing of time, the items that survived fascinated Shi Feng. Any random alchemy tool he picked up was at least Secret-Silver rank. If sold on the market, they could easily fetch over ten Gold. There were over 300 Secret-Silver tools. There was also a complete set of Fine-Gold alchemy tools. The set was easily as valuable as an Epic item. However, no one would be so foolish as to sell the set, regardless of the price. The alchemy tools'' value paled in comparison to the books he found. To alchemists, these books were priceless. Among the books he found, nine were introductions to Basic Secret Alchemy Techniques. There were also two books about Advanced Secret Alchemy Techniques. These tomes were similar to Secret Technique tablets, but they were much easier to learn than the Secret Technique tablets. In the past, even Shadow''s Master Alchemists had only learned two or three Basic Secret Alchemy Techniques, and the Guild had paid a massive price to do so. Among them, the best Secret Technique had cost one Epic item to learn. Of course, this price guaranteed that one would learn the Secret Technique. If the technique had only allowed one player to learn it, it would''ve only cost a few hundred Gold. If an Advanced Alchemist could learn three to five Basic Secret Techniques, their chances of becoming a Master would double at the very minimum. Anyone who learned the Advanced Secret Techniques would be guaranteed to become a Master Alchemist. "Huh? That is" Suddenly, Shi Feng noticed the surrounding Mana flowing towards a dilapidated stone table a short distance away. The Mana flow was slow and weak. If not for his improved physique after consuming the Moonlight Fruit, he would''ve been hard-pressed to notice this Mana flow. 1304 Treasure Transforms Chapter 1304 - Treasure Transforms A thick layer of dust covered the stone tablet, and Mana circulated around it. After taking a few steps towards the table, Shi Feng was assaulted by an immense pressure. "This isDivine Might!" Although the Divine Might was faint, and he only sensed it once he was within 10 yards of the table, Shi Feng could still feel himself grow a little sluggish. He was excited. Items only exuded Divine Might if they were frequently used or painstakingly crafted by a God. Needless to say, any item a God favored would be valuable. While resisting the Divine Might, Shi Feng started to tidy up the table. Although Divine Might was very powerful, the table only exuded a very faint trace of it. Shi Feng could still move normally as he stood less than a yard away from the table. Very quickly, Shi Feng removed most of the dust covering the table. Books and materials littered the table. However, due to the passing of time, these items had long since eroded. Aside from some mysterious patterns carved into the table, Shi Feng could not find anything noteworthy. "Could the table itself be exuding the Divine Might?" Shi Feng could not help but frown. He could already tell that the table before him was a treasure. The faint trace of Mana around the table would definitely aid refining and synthesis work. The table might even have other function that he hadn''t noticed yet. In any case, it was undoubtedly useful for alchemists. Only, the stone table wasn''t like other items. It could not be stored in a player''s bag space. If Shi Feng wanted to take it with him, he would have to carry it. Clearly, this wasn''t a viable option. The alchemy table was the size of a pool table. Even if he could carry it, he did not have the leeway to carry it around with him. If I can equip one of the Special Alchemy Rooms with this table, it could help the trading firm''s alchemists. Shi Feng struggled with his disappointment. Aside from alchemy tools, items such as this alchemy table were extremely precious. A good alchemy table could be as helpful as a Basic Secret Alchemy Technique. However, since Shi Feng could not take the table with him, he had no choice but to take out the Soul Orb and absorb it. Since the alchemy table radiated Divine Might, it could be considered as a God Crystal. One of the reasons he had chosen the Asura Mode Promotion Quest was to obtain a large number of God Crystals to lift the Demon God Paimon''s seal. Please let it absorb this table! Shi Feng silently prayed. He then clicked the "Absorb Divine Power" button on the Soul Orb''s interface and selected the alchemy table as the target. Currently, no one owned the alchemy table. Shi Feng wasn''t sure if the Soul Orb could actually absorb an ownerless item. After all, he had never tried. The Soul Orb immediately began to emit a dark smoke, which soon enveloped the table. However, even after several seconds, there was no indication that the smoke was devouring its target. "Don''t tell me it''s not possible," Shi Feng muttered worriedly. As soon as Shi Feng had said so, however, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. - System: Do you wish to allow the Soul Orb devour the Magic Alchemy Table? - Without hesitation, Shi Feng clicked the "Agree" button. The Magic Alchemy Table might even be more valuable than an Epic Weapon, but it was worthless if Shi Feng couldn''t take it with him. He would rather sacrifice such a treasure to lift the seal on the Soul Orb than leave it behind. As Shi Feng clicked "Agree," the Magic Alchemy Table began to radiate a golden glow. It was clearly trying to resist. Unfortunately, the Soul Orb was the fragment of the Treasure of Illusion, an item on par with a Godly Relic. How could a measly Magic Alchemy Table resist it? In the next moment, the Magic Alchemy Table melted at a speed visible to the naked eye. Streams of golden air flowed into the Soul Orb. In less than a minute, the Magic Alchemy Table had vanished. Meanwhile, the Soul Orb''s statistics had changed slightly. Aside from the absorbed God Crystal counter increasing from 0 to 1, it now only required 95 player souls to form a drop of Soul Water. Absorbing God Crystals has other effects? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. He was instantly ecstatic. If he didn''t need to absorb as many souls, he could craft Soul Water much faster. Once he finished absorbing the Magic Alchemy Table, he activated Omniscient Eyes to search the room once again. If he relied only on his five senses, it would take him a long time to find other items like the Magic Alchemy Table. He might even miss some. With the Omniscient Eyes, however, nothing within 100 yards of him could hide. Sharlyn didn''t lie to me. A God''s previous residence has plenty of God Crystals to offer. After activating Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng discovered another potential God Crystal. This one was a broken chair. Shi Feng hadn''t noticed the Divine Might radiating from it earlier due to a suppression magic array, and since it was a broken chair, he hadn''t paid any attention to it. Following which, Shi Feng absorbed this broken chair, increasing the God Crystal counter to 2. To ensure that he didn''t miss any God Crystals, Shi Feng scoured the Alchemy Room. He scanned the entire room with Omniscient Eyes again and again. This is surprising. A single room had four God Crystals. This is a huge harvest. Shi Feng''s eyes burned with excitement when he saw that the Soul Orb only needed six more God Crystals to remove Paimon''s seal. He only needed 80 souls now to produce a drop of Soul Water. The Soul Orb had been one of the Seven Treasures. However, due to Demon God Paimon, it couldn''t exert its true strength. The Flower of Seven Sins had nurtured hundreds of experts in the past, even without unlocking the Soul Orb''s full potential. If Shi Feng could use the Soul Orb without fear of repercussions, the outcome would be incredible. After sweeping through the Alchemy Room, Shi Feng made his way towards the Research Room. The Research Room was far more luxurious than the Alchemy Room as it had been used to invent high-end alchemical products. Until now, the only known location that could help players surpass the Master threshold to become Grandmasters were Titan City''s special rooms. As soon as Shi Feng entered the Research Room, he froze. Why is he here?! Shi Feng felt as if he had just fallen into a death trap when he saw the familiar figure wandering around the Research Room. This figure was none other than the Dark Wizard Raymond! Currently, Raymond was in the midst of concocting a potion. Fortunately for Shi Feng, Raymond was very focused on his task. Including the several bookshelves that served as cover and the magic arrays to prevent interruption, Raymond did not discover Shi Feng immediately. Even so, Shi Feng could feel a headache brewing. The Research Room was different from the Alchemy Room. It had been well-maintained and was in excellent condition. Needless to say, this room contained several treasures. Even without using Omniscient Eyes, Shi Feng had already noticed two potential God Crystals. If he used Omniscient Eyes, he would discover many more. He might even find enough to lift the Soul Orb''s seal and still have some to repair other items. Not to mention, the Moon God was famous for its alchemy research. Needless to say, the Moon God had spent a lot of time in this room. Should I go in, or not? Shi Feng knew that if he moved another ten yards into the room, Raymond would discover him. If he were discovered, he would die. As Shi Feng considered his options, an NPC alchemist, who assisted Raymond, began to walk towards Shi Feng. Crap! Have I been discovered?! 1305 Perfecting Swords Orbi Chapter 1305 - Perfecting Sword''s Orbit Shi Feng frowned as he watched the NPC alchemist approach. However, since this NPC alchemist didn''t seem to be in a hurry, it did not seem as if he had been discovered. Unfortunately, the fact that the NPC was heading towards him was still a problem. Although the alchemist before him wasn''t as terrifying as Raymond, it was still astoundingly powerful. - [Berenwoka] (Human, Great Mage) Level 70 HP 7,450,000/7,450,000 - NPCs might have less HP than monsters and Demons of the same level, but when it came to combat techniques and the number of Skills they possessed, NPCs were leaps and bounds above monsters and Demons. While many experts could contend with Tier 3 monsters, if they tried fighting a Tier 3 NPC, they would be snuffed out of existence. Players most hated enemies were NPCs. Although the Research Room was large, there was no place for Shi Feng to hide. Moreover, there was only one path behind him. He couldn''t avoid Berenwoka''s detection. With no other choice, Shi Feng retreated from the room temporarily. He planned to hide in the Alchemy Room while he thought of another way to loot the Research Room. However, after leaving the Research Room, Shi Feng discovered a magic barrier sealing off the path towards the Alchemy Room. Unfortunately, the hallway he was in was void of obstructions; one could see everything in it with a single glance. Should I leave the tower for now? Shi Feng glanced towards the path leading outside. However, he quickly shook the thought from his mind. The path to the Alchemy Room had been sealed off after he had explored and left it. If he left the research area now, he might not be able to get back in. If that happened, he would lose his opportunity to explore the Research Room. Aside from the God Crystals, precious alchemy tools, and research materials the Research Room contained, Raymond''s Seven Luminaries Source Stone was enough of a reason to keep Shi Feng from leaving. After all, how was he supposed to deal with the Demon King without it? It seems that I have no choice but to fight. Shi Feng''s gaze drifted back to the Research Room''s door. With the situation as it was, both of his available options would lead to his death. His only hope was to defeat Berenwoka. He''d fail his quest if he didn''t. Following which, Shi Feng summoned Anna and Kite. When he had used the teleportation array to enter the tower earlier, Anna and Kite hadn''t teleported with him. They should both still be in the herb garden, so he needed to summon them once again. Although Anna and Kite were not as high-tiered as Berenwoka, their combat power was no weaker than an ordinary Tier 3 NPC''s. Shi Feng had only wanted to avoid a fight with the NPC alchemist for fear of attracting Raymond''s attention. If Raymond noticed him, only death would await him. However, now that he had retreated quite a distance away from the Research Room, he didn''t need to hold back. Huh? I can''t summon them? Shi Feng looked at the two unresponsive Summon Guard Scrolls in his hands, his chest tightening. Suddenly, the door to the Research Room opened slowly. The hallway was less than 40 yards long. As soon as the Berenwoka left the Research Room, he noticed Shi Feng. "Despicable intruder! You dare intrude on this holy land! Guards!" Berenwoka shouted. Berenwoka was very loud, and his voice echoed throughout the research area. "Damn it!" Shi Feng hadn''t considered that Berenwoka would call for reinforcements. Not only couldn''t he summon his Personal Guards, but now, he also had to deal with more enemies. Fortunately, a magic array isolated the Research Room from the outside world. No one within the room would hear them out here. Shi Feng reacted quickly. Immediately, he activated the Aura of Time''s Absolute Time, preventing all enemies within range from using any Spells or tools. NPCs were no exception. Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Blade Liberation! Instant Strike! Shi Feng wouldn''t be careless against a Tier 3 NPC. Moreover, now that Berenwoka had called for reinforcements, he would die if he didn''t end this before more enemies showed up. He instantly activated Twofold Berserk, his Basic Attributes skyrocketing. With the buff, his Basic Attributes far surpassed any Tier 3 player of the same level. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared before Berenwoka. Sword''s Orbit! A galaxy of stars appeared around Shi Feng, resplendent and eye-catching. As Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit, he felt the technique reach new heights. After consuming five Moonlight Fruits, his physique had permanently improved by 10%. He now had the physique of a Tier 2 player. Hence, his physical control and flexibility had skyrocketed. Berenwoka drowned in starlight. However, Berenwoka was a Tier 3 Great Mage. Even though he had been Silenced, he still had the Basic Attributes of a Tier 3 NPC. His physical attacks with his staff still posed a threat. In God''s Domain, although magical classes typically bombarded their enemies with Spells, that did not mean they were incapable of melee combat. They were just not fond of it. Silencing a magical class would drastically weaken their combat power. Unfortunately for Shi Feng, Berenwoka was extremely adept with his staff, defending and attacking. It was clear that he was executing some kind of advanced combat technique. Players might not be able to predict Sword''s Orbit''s attack trajectories, but the combat technique was nothing to Berenwoka. The NPC deflected every one of Shi Feng''s attacks. What a brilliant defensive combat technique! Shi Feng was surprised. He had never thought that Berenwoka had grasped a combat technique. However, at the end of the day, Instant Strike was a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Moreover, Sword''s Orbit had grown stronger. Even if Berenwoka focused on defense, he couldn''t keep up with Shi Feng''s lightning-quick attacks. Among the six strikes Shi Feng had sent at the mage, three had found their targets. With his cloth armor and weak Defense, three massive damages appeared above Berenwoka''s head. -91,618! -184,983! -93,189! In the blink of an eye, Berenwoka''s HP bar had dropped by a sizeable chunk. After taking damage, Berenwoka''s anxiety surfaced on his pale features. Immediately, he began to retreat towards the Research Room while shouting, "Guards! Guards!" "Don''t even think about running back into the room!" Shi Feng quickly circled to Berenwoka''s back. Both the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray bit into the mage, the impact sending the NPC flying over a dozen yards away, increasing the distance between Berenwoka and the Research Room. Realizing that he was in trouble, Berenwoka wisely feld in the opposite direction. However, Shi Feng didn''t give the NPC the opportunity to get away as he pointed the Abyssal Blade at the NPC. Abyssal Bind! Suddenly, nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground and bound Berenwoka, holding him still for Shi Feng. Phantom Kill! Nine Dragons Slash! Unable to defend himself for three full seconds, Berenwoka''s HP decreased rapidly. 95%... 90%... 80%... However, despite dealing frightening amounts of damage, Shi Feng did not feel the pressure on him decrease in the slightest. When Absolute Time''s 30-second duration ran out, Berenwoka would be able to save himself. Shi Feng needed to kill the NPC before he ran out of time. Furthermore, Absolute Time was only fully effective against enemies of the same tier. Against Berenwoka, it wouldn''t be as effective. According to Shi Feng''s estimates, he''d be lucky if the Skill Silenced Berenwoka for half of the duration. Trying to kill Berenwoka in 15 seconds would test Shi Feng''s explosive power. When Abyssal Bind and Instant Strike''s duration ran out, Berenwoka sneered at his enemy. "Despicable intruder, I''m going to offer you to Lord Raymond as a guinea pig!" Berenwoka retreated while blocking Shi Feng''s attacks, which had slowed significantly. "Guards! Get over here and save me!" Berenwoka was only 20 yards away from the hallway''s exit. Shi Feng had only dealt so much damage and overcome Berenwoka''s defensive technique due to Instant Strike increasing his Attack Speed by 500% and damage by 400%. Now that the Taboo Skill was on Cooldown, Berenwoka had a much easier time defending himself. Even against Shi Feng and his doppelganger, Berenwoka easily blocked half of the attacks. When Berenwoka''s HP fell to 43% and the NPC was about to leave the hallway, Shi Feng used everything he had left. Abyssal Curse! Suddenly, as if Berenwoka had just stepped in muck, he couldn''t move or attack. Dragon Breath! Divine Providence! Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger used Flame Burst simultaneously and dealt a total of 30 devastating attacks. Every attack devoured over 100,000 of Berenwoka''s HP. Eventually, the NPC alchemist''s HP fell to zero. Berenwoka glared at Shi Feng with reluctance as he collapsed to the ground. 1306 Unforgivable Person Chapter 1306 - Unforgivable Person The instant Berenwoka''s body hit the ground, a golden glow enveloped Shi Feng''s body as his experience bar increased from 82% of Level 50 to 4% of Level 51. He obtained more EXP from the NPC alchemist than from the two Tier 3 Demonic Hunters he had killed earlier. Suddenly, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. - System: Congratulations! You have killed the Fallen Berenwoka. You may head to the Alchemist''s Association at a later time to retrieve the Hand of Alchemy as your reward. - So, he was a Fallen. No wonder why he gave so much EXP. Realization dawned on Shi Feng as he read the system notification. He was also ecstatic Fallen was a very rare title in God''s Domain as it was akin to receiving a bounty from the human race as a whole. The Fallen had committed far more severe crimes against the human race than Dark Players. Normally, one only gained this title after destroying an NPC city. Obviously, anything capable of destroying an entire NPC city had to be terrifyingly powerful. In fact, it was very easy to tell how powerful Berenwoka actually was by his defensive combat technique. If not for Absolute Time''s Silence effect, Shi Feng wouldn''t even have a corpse to speak of right now. As Berenwoka died, a pile of items had appeared around his corpse. At a glance, Shi Feng counted at least 50 items. What a rich NPC! Shi Feng was stunned. Although the majority of the loot consisted of various Attribute Gemstones, these Gemstones were extraordinary. Even the most inferior among them were Tier 3. Several rare Gemstones had also dropped. The Mana Gemstone was one example. When equipped, the Mana Gemstone increased a player''s maximum Mana by 3%. Each player could equip a maximum of three Mana Gemstones. In the past, these Gemstones easily fetched over 200 Gold on the market; they had never gone out of style. There was also the Magic Barrier Gemstone. When equipped, it would wrap players in a magic barrier that reduced all damage received by 2%. As with other Gemstones, only three could be equipped at a time. It was an amazing Gemstone for MTs MTs. In the past, each had sold for 400 Gold. Lastly, there was the Dexterity Gemstone. When equipped, it improved a player''s physique by 1%. It was also the most expensive Gemstone on the market, with each easily selling for 1,000 Gold in the past. However, it was as difficult to obtain as it was expensive. Shadow had only ever gotten its hands on a total of 11 Dexterity Gemstones in the past. Yet, Shi Feng had just obtained four Dexterity Gemstones by killing Berenwoka Shi Feng had also obtained six Mana Gemstones and five Magic Barrier Gemstones. Including the other Tier 3 Attribute Gemstones and slightly rare Gemstones, overall, Shi Feng had earned over 10,000 Gold''s worth of Gemstones by killing Berenwoka. Berenwoka had dropped three other items as well, two of which were equipment. One of the two pieces of equipment was a Level 60 Fine-Gold ring called Chanter''s Ring. Although its Basic Attributes were average at best, when equipped, it increased the wearer''s spellcasting speed by 2%. It was an effect that magic classes were desperate for. The other piece of equipment was a cape called Alchemist''s Pledge. Although it was only a Level 50 Fine-Gold cape, and its Basic Attributes were very poor, the cape had two Passive Skills that any Alchemist would want: Mental Focus and Soul of Alchemy. Mental Focus increased the wearer''s focus when carrying out a task. Although it didn''t seem like a special effect, it was even more useful than high Mana density when one crafted items. Soul of Alchemy was even more impressive. The Skill increased the wearer''s alchemical success rate by 3% and production speed by 30%. With these Passive Skills, it would be a piece of cake for alchemists to raise their Proficiency quickly. Moreover, these Skills would assist players with their promotion to Master and Grandmaster rank. I can offer the Alchemist''s Pledge as the benefit for the trading firm''s Chief Alchemist. Shi Feng smiled. Any Guild or trading firm that wanted its members to improve quickly needed to provide a competitive environment. To gain this competitive edge, they needed to offer powerful benefits as motivation. While the Candlelight Trading Firm offered various benefits, none of them were unique. Its benefits weren''t particularly tempting to the truly excellent Lifestyle players out there. However, if he offered the Alchemist''s Pledge as a benefit for becoming Candlelight''s Chief Alchemist, it would spark a burning passion in the trading firm''s Alchemists. He also had Secret Alchemy Techniques. He could similarly use these techniques as a reward for alchemists who performed well. Following which, Shi Feng picked up the last item Berenwoka had dropped. This item was an old, gray key. It was clear that it had originated from an ancient era and hadn''t truly belonged to Berenwoka. Shi Feng then clicked to check the item''s introduction. However, he discovered that the item couldn''t be appraised. Cannot be appraised? What kind of key is this? Shi Feng''s curiosity grew. Omniscient Eyes! The system reported that he would need 20 seconds to appraise the key. The duration was even longer than when he appraised Epic items. Time passed quickly. When the loading bar was finally complete, the gray key transformed. The key started to radiate a faint, golden glow. - [Moon God''s Secret Key (Unique)] Possesses the power to control all magic arrays in the Moonlight Courtyard. Can also be used to lock or unlock the Moonlight Courtyard''s rooms. - So, they could enter and leave this place freely due to this key. Realization dawned on Shi Feng. The Moon God created the Moonlight Courtyard. Even if the Moon God were no longer here, not just any entity could take up residence in the courtyard due to its many powerful traps. Even someone as powerful as Raymond would lose his life if he accidentally triggered a trap. However, it was a different story if Raymond had the Moon God''s Secret Key. With this, he could move around the Moonlight Courtyard as if it were his own backyard. Raymond must''ve asked Berenwoka to pick something up for him. This is a convenient development. Shi Feng suddenly thought of a plan to obtain the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. The Seven Luminaries Source Stone was the key component for completing his promotion quest. Without it, sealing the Demon King was practically impossible. She Feng hadn''t had a way to secure the stone as he wasn''t strong enough to take our Raymond. However, the situation had changed. With the Moon God''s Secret Key, he had full control over the Moonlight Courtyard. First, Shi Feng had to rest. Since he had activated Twofold Berserk, he was currently in a Weakened state, his Attributes having decreased significantly. With his current Attributes, he wouldn''t even have time to react to Raymond''s casual attacks, much less steal the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. With nothing better to do in the meantime, Shi Feng logged out of God''s Domain and entered his offline space. Unlike in the Dark Canyon, he still had access to his communications system in the offline space. The moment Shi Feng logged out of God''s Domain, he received a series of system notifications, all of which were messages from within God''s Domain. Overall, he had received dozens of messages and several communication requests. Why are so many people trying to contact me? Shi Feng gave the notifications an odd look. Aside from Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, Phoenix Rain had even sent him urgent messages. Moreover, she had tried to call him three times. Has something happened? Shi Feng opened his Friends List and called Aqua Rose. 1307 Qualitatively Changing a Town Chapter 1307 - Qualitatively Changing a Town Inside the dim offline space, a few seconds after Shi Feng made the call request, Aqua Rose connected to the video call. Currently, the video showed Aqua Rose out in the field, a slightly anxious expression on her face. Moreover, the sounds of an intense battle seemed to come from every direction. "Guild Leader, your communication system is finally up," Aqua Rose said, sighing with relief. Her frown relaxed slightly. "I was prepared to send Blackie to go and knock on your cabin." "Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked as he examined Aqua Rose''s tired expression. He had logged back into God''s Domain a short time ago, and before he had returned, he hadn''t received a single message, yet as soon as he logged out, so many people had tried to contact him. Whatever Aqua Rose wanted to talk about, it must be important. Otherwise, with Aqua Rose''s capabilities, she would''ve solved the problem without contacting him. Since Gentle Snow had joined Zero Wing, Aqua Rose had a much easier time managing the Guild''s affairs. This was even after taking into account the Guild''s expansion. In fact, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were so capable that they could solve many issues without his help. Hence, he had been able to challenge his promotion quest without worrying about his Guild. "Not long ago, Heaven''s Burial gained access to Evernight City. They''ve turned the Frozen Scar map into an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. Based on the information Evernight City published, a Guild can gain access to the city once they kill the Frost King, the Regional Dungeon''s Final Boss. Every large Guild is focusing on raiding the Regional Dungeon. "Quite a few superpowers have set their sights on this Dark City. The competition in Frozen Scar is intense. "I suggest that we pull Snow away from Lake Heart City and gather Zero Wing''s forces in Frozen Scar. However, Snow has reported that the situation in Lake Heart City has started to improve, and she can''t step away at the moment. I led a portion of our main forces into Frozen Scar, but we''re having difficulty competing with those superpowers. "Moreover, quite a few Dark Players have been slaughtering players around White River City, striking fear into the residents'' hearts. Some players have even migrated to Star-Moon City. We''ve dispatched quite a few experts to deal with the situation, but that means that I have even less manpower at my disposal." Evernight City was the only Dark City in Star-Moon Kingdom. It offered a few privileges that most ordinary NPC cities lacked. One of which was a teleportation array connected to Evernight City, which Guilds could gain access to once they had enough Reputation; the city would build this array in one of the Guild''s towns or cities, allowing the Guild''s players to teleport from the Guild town or city to Evernight City with ease. Moreover, as a Guild increased its status in Evernight City, it would gain access to more teleportation arrays. Ordinary NPC cities didn''t have such a privilege to offer. Not only was this convenient for Guilds, but it would also aid in their development. There wasn''t a lot of distance between Star-Moon City and Evernight City. Many players could use Evernight City as a waypoint to reach farther Guild Towns and grind in the nearby high-level maps without traveling for dozens of hours. Rather than put down roots in a particular Guild town permanently, players could treat it like a temporary rest point, moving their operations at a moment''s notice if necessary. Independent players would swarm to a Guild town tethered to Evernight City, boosting the town''s development. "Access to Evernight City?" Shi Feng immediately came to a realization. It was no wonder why Aqua Rose was so nervous. Even Phoenix Rain had tried to contact him several times. If Zero Wing could gain access to Evernight City and secure a teleportation array for Stone Forest Town, it would transform the town. Of course, this was true for other Guilds as well. It was no wonder why so many Guilds were going mad over this matter. Even the various superpowers wanted in on the action. "Guild Leader, I''d like Snow to shift her focus away from Lake Heart City for now. If the other Guilds kill the Frost King, it will become very difficult for us to gain access to Evernight City," Aqua Rose explained. "No. Snow has to keep her focus in Lake Heart," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "As for you, give up on raiding Frozen Scar for now." "Give up?" Shi Feng''s decision stunned Aqua Rose. Stone Forest Town had only become the number one town in Star-Moon Kingdom after overcoming many challenges. If they let the another Guild kill the Frost King before them, they might not be able to maintain Stone Forest Town''s position. "That''s right. Give up on raiding the Frost King. Instead, figure out a way to raid Blizzard Fortress, the Team Dungeon in the Frozen Scar. Try to get the First Clear if possible." Shi Feng nodded. "Guild Leader, that''s a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon" Aqua Rose was astonished. "By the time we obtain the First Clear, someone else will kill the Frost King." A Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon was a massive challenge to any Guild at this stage of the game. Raiding one was far more difficult than raiding the Frost King. Based on their investigation, the Frost King was only a Level 53 Grand Lord. The only reason it hadn''t been raided yet was that no one had found its hiding place deep within the Frozen Scar. Players needed to kill many monsters and Bosses in order to reach the Final Boss. Taking into account the Frozen Scar''s severe environment, which increased players'' Stamina consumption by several times, progress to reach the Frost King was quite slow. They would be crazy to ignore the Frost King, the easier raid target, to challenge the Blizzard Fortress instead. "The Frost King is an ice-type Boss. Fighting it without very high Ice Resistance is nearly impossible, but the weapons and equipment that drop in the Blizzard Fortress are somewhat unique. Almost every item offers high Ice Resistance. If we have these items, it''ll be much easier to raid the Frost King. In any case, with so many Guilds in the running, the competition won''t conclude for some time. We''ll use this opportunity to bolster our team''s strength. It won''t be too late to raid the Frost King once we''ve done so," Shi Feng said, smiling. He did not bother to explain further details. "Alright, I understand. I''ll try to raid the Blizzard Fortress as quickly as possible." In reality, Aqua Rose still had her doubts. She knew that they had tons of Sea God''s Blessings in the Guild Warehouse. The potion could significantly increase a player''s Resistances. However, since Shi Feng had given her an order, it wouldn''t be wise to insist against it. She could only try to raid the Dungeon as quickly as possible. Following which, Aqua Rose disconnected the call. Meanwhile, Shi Feng smiled wryly at Aqua Rose''s confusion. He could not reveal too much information. After all, no one had actually raided the Frost King yet. He couldn''t just come out and say that players needed a minimum of 300 points of Ice Resistance to raid the Boss. With such a high requirement, not even stacking two bottles of Sea God''s Blessing would be enough. They needed other weapons and equipment to supplement for the missing points. Otherwise, players wouldn''t stand a chance against the Frost King. Many Guilds had contested for the right to enter Evernight City in the past as well. Similarly, these Guilds had focused on clearing a straight path towards the Frost King, expending tons of manpower and resources in the process. However, only after encountering the Frost King did everyone realize how much of a nightmare the Boss truly was. In the end, despite only being a Grand Lord, the Frost King had wiped out an army of hundreds of thousands of elite players, transforming them into ice sculptures. However, the fact that Heaven''s Burial had gained access to Evernight City concerned Shi Feng. When Evernight City had surfaced in the past, over twenty days had passed before the first Guild had gained access to the city, yet it had only been a few days, and Heaven''s Burial had already entered the city. It was inconceivable. To make matters worse, the first Guild to gain access enjoyed additional benefits, which would make it far easier to gain Guild Reputation in Evernight City. It wouldn''t be long before Heaven''s Burial connected its Guild town to Evernight City. This won''t do. I need to hurry. After a two-hour nap, Shi Feng logged into God''s Domain once more. 1308 Challenging the Dark Wizard Chapter 1308 - Challenging the Dark Wizard I recovered faster than I expected. When Shi Feng logged back into God''s Domain, he inspected his status window, noticing that his Weakened state was already gone. He was back at his peak. Although the increased time flow in the Dark Canyon was part of the reason for his speedy recovery, the research area''s high Mana density, which was much higher than in the outside world, had helped. As a result, his Weakened state''s duration had decreased significantly. Following which, Shi Feng took two Sea God''s Blessing bottles from his bag and consumed them, his Resistances, particularly Magic Resistance, increasing by a total of 150 points. He then retrieved an Acceleration Scroll and gave himself the Acceleration buff. Following which, he switched his Swordsmanship Master title to the Basic Tyrant title, increasing his Fortitude by 30 points, Stamina by 20%, and all Basic Attributes by 5%. After making a series of adjustments, Shi Feng pushed his Basic Attributes and Movement Speed to his current limit. While Shi Feng had rested in his offline space, he had thought about how he would go about stealing the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. He had run through several simulations in his mind, afraid of the unexpected. A Tier 5 Grand Wizard was an extremely dangerous opponent. The slightest mistake would result in his death. While Shi Feng did not mind dying, his death would result in the loss of the Soul Orb. If he lost the Soul Orb now, he did not know how long it would take to find another one of the Seven Treasures again. He couldn''t lose the Soul Orb now. Hopefully, the system won''t try to mess with me. Shi Feng then carefully opened the Research Room door and snuck in. Raymond was still immersed in his alchemy in the room. He had blocked every distraction from his mind as he focused on his research. Meanwhile, he had placed the Seven Luminaries Source stone above a research table in the center of a small, crimson magic array not far from him. This small magic array utilized the Seven Luminaries Source Stone as a power source, supplying the Mana Raymond needed to craft his item. Shi Feng did not rush to snatch the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. Instead, he quietly examined the room''s layout and the items around the room. As a God''s Domain expert, the first thing he needed to do when encountering a foreign environment was to adapt. This way, he could exert his maximum combat potential during a fight. This time, however, Shi Feng didn''t observe his surroundings just to adapt, but to locate the Research Room''s treasures as well. He had only reached the Moon God''s Research Room, which had been excellently maintained, after many challenges. He''d do himself a disservice if he stole the Seven Luminaries Source Stone and ignored everything else. Every item in the Research Room was sorely tempting. The alchemy tools on the research tables alone were Dark-Gold rank. Even after a decade of playing God''s Domain, such tools had been incredibly precious. Every alchemist constantly hunted such treasures. Shi Feng even spotted a complete set on one of the research tables. Aside from the alchemy tools, the Research Room had quite a few items that radiated Divine Might. The Moon God must have used them all frequently. Any one of these items could easily sell for over 100,000 Magic Crystals in an auction. There were also quite a few tattered designs on an experiment table. These designs had been crafted with extremely valuable materials. Rather than the standard sheepskin parchment, the designs had been drawn on dragonskin. Only Gods would dare use a Dragon''s skin as parchment. Fortunately, dragonskin parchment would survive storage for tens of thousands of years. As he carefully analyzed the Research Room, shock bubbled in Shi Feng''s chest. The Research Room was a treasure trove. It could likely rival the Fallen Ark. If only the Dark Wizard Raymond weren''t present.... Raymond finally completed the item he had been working on. A golden ring, with a jewel radiating a seven-colored brilliance in its center, floated in the air before him. The jewel also released a frightening pressure. Even Shi Feng, who stood far outside of the Research Room''s magic array, felt a significant weight bearing down on him. What is that? Shi Feng stared at the golden ring curiously. Very few items in God''s Domain, aside from items Gods had used, emitted that kind of pressure. Every one of these items was a masterpiece. The golden ring''s pressure could even rival Divine Might. After completing the ring, Raymond''s hands stopped moving as he began to chant an incantation. A fourfold magic array then appeared above the golden ring, absorbing the surrounding Mana and forcing it into the ring. Like a massive whale taking a breath, the golden ring sucked in the dense Mana, yet despite absorbing so much, the ring showed no signs of slowing A chance! Watching the golden ring absorb Mana, Shi Feng knew that this the crucial moment to act. If he missed this opportunity, he wasn''t likely to get another. Immediately, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger stay near the Research Room''s entrance, keeping the door open. He then dashed towards Raymond. - [Raymond (Dark Shaman King)] (Human, Grand Wizard) Level 72 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? - Although Raymond was only Level 72, he was a Tier 5 NPC. He detected the fluctuations in the magic array almost immediately, which Shi Feng had caused as he ran through it. When Raymond realized that he had an intruder, his gaze turned cold. "Die!" Without hesitation, Raymond waved his wrinkled arm and gestured towards Shi Feng. Five magic arrays of different colors formed at his fingertips, overlapping. The amount of Mana around Raymond''s palm even made Shi Feng shudder with fear. This is insane! He''s using Elemental Crush, right off the bat? As soon as Shi Feng saw the five magic arrays, he recognized the Spell. Elemental Crush was a Tier 5, miniature destruction Spell. Although the attacks'' range wasn''t large, it was even more frightening than a Tier 5, large-scale destruction Spell. If struck, even MTs of the same tier and level would lose half of their HP instantly. However, the Spell had a flaw; its runes were overly complex. The chant was also quite long. Tier 5 Grand Wizards didn''t usually use this Spell in PvP. However, Raymond could forgo both the incantation and runes, casting the Spell instantly Suddenly, space around Shi Feng started to crumble. Everything around him turned dark. In the blink of an eye, everything within 30 yards had been turned to dust. However, just as Raymond thought he had dealt with the intruder and was about to return his focus to the magic array above the golden ring, a figure appeared before him. Close one! Shi Feng could not help but glance at his previous position, fear lingering in his heart. Fortunately, he had Instant Strike, which allowed him to teleport to his target. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have dodged the Spell with his Movement Speed. "Despicable mortal, die!" Realizing that Shi Feng was still alive, Raymond grew serious as he activated his Domain. In God''s Domain, there was a saying that those without Domains were nothing more than ants underfoot. As long as one activated a Domain, they could suppress their enemies. Against weaker opponents, it would be a one-sided slaughter. However, Shi Feng had prepared for Raymond''s Domain. As soon as he appeared before Raymond, he activated Absolute Time, freezing the area''s Mana. Even the Dark Shaman King couldn''t access the Mana. Raymond''s spreading Domain crumbled instantly. Shi Feng sighed with relief. He knew that Absolute Time wouldn''t Silence Raymond for more than ten seconds. He could accept that as long as it was effective against the NPC for even a brief moment. Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Power of Darkness and Windwalk before dashing towards the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. "Damnable ant!" Seeing Shi Feng run past him, flames of rage burned in Raymond''s eyes as he smashed the black, metallic staff in his other hand towards Shi Feng. Although Raymond couldn''t use his Spells, Raymond''s physique, Strength, and speed were leaps and bounds above the Swordsman''s. Even without using combat techniques, he could kill Shi Feng instantly. Peng! A metallic clang echoed when the staff crashed into Shi Feng. However, the staff stopped half an inch before Shi Feng, unable to proceed. Defensive Blade! Raymond was helpless against this move. He was a magical class. Without his Spells, he couldn''t deplete Defensive Blade''s block counts quickly. He could only smash his staff into Shi Feng repeatedly to deplete the block counts. This gave Shi Feng enough time to reach the Seven Luminaries Source Stone above the research table. With lightning-quick reactions, Shi Feng grabbed the Source Stone and stored it in his bag space. He then turned and fled to another research table. "Bastard! You bastard! You dare steal what''s mine! Do you think someone like you can last against me for long?!" Suddenly, Raymond''s white hair darkened to black. His wrinkles started to smooth as he began to appear youthful. His aura also seemed to grow more powerful. "Taste the wrath of the Dark Shaman King!" 1309 Ring of Gospel Chapter 1309 - Ring of Gospel As soon as Raymond finished speaking, a crisp shattering sound rang out inside the Research Room. The previously frozen Mana in the room promptly went berserk, surging towards Raymond. Meanwhile, Raymond began transforming from an elderly man into a dignified youth at a rate visible to the naked eye. In simple terms, the Silence effect was achieved through freezing the target''s Mana flow or retarding it considerably. For Raymond, someone who had gazed into the abyss of magic, resolving such a situation was not a difficult task. Meanwhile, one of the most effective ways to remove a Silence debuff was to forcibly break free from the restrictions placed on their Mana. This was also the reason why the Silence debuff was very weak against high-tiered existences. "Disappear from this world!" At this moment, not only was Raymond chanting an incantation, but he was also writing runes in midair. Meanwhile, both his chanting and writing speeds were beyond anything Shi Feng had ever seen before. Despite Shi Feng having activated a Berserk Skill and being under the effect of various Acceleration Skills, before he could even reach the next research table, four magic arrays had already appeared around Raymond. Meanwhile, each magic array gathered a frightening amount of Mana. If Phoenix Rain were present right now, she would definitely be stupefied by this scene. The reason for this was the technique Raymond had just displayedit was literally the ideal sought after by all magical class players. Quadruple speed-casting! Moreover, every Spell Raymond cast was a Tier 5 Spell capable of heavily injuring Tier 5 classes. If struck by all four Spells, even a Tier 5 player would die instantly. In the next moment, spatial tears formed around Shi Feng, surrounding him. Following which, flames, lightning, and ice began descending from above, sealing off Shi Feng''s paths of retreat completely. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out in the Research Room in rapid succession. If not for this room being the creation of the Moon God, it would''ve been reduced to a pile of rubble already. However, after suffering this bombardment, Shi Feng still managed to arrive at the research table safely, where he frantically grabbed everything he could. He did not pay attention to what his hands picked up as he tossed everything into his bag. He even went as far as implementing Sword''s Orbit with his arms to increase his looting efficiency. After plundering everything on the research table, he headed straight for the experiment table with the dragon skin parchments on it. "Damnable ant! Who gave you the Seven Luminaries Ring!?" Raymond shouted reflexively in both surprise and rage when he noticed the golden divine runes flowing around Shi Feng''s body. In the next instant, however, Raymond''s eyes turned red with greed and passion. "Don''t think that the Seven Luminaries Ring''s power can save you! Before me, nobody can escape! If you hand over the Seven Luminaries Ring now, I can promise to turn you into my servant and let you have the opportunity to come into contact with the abyss of magic!" However, Shi Feng did not respond to Raymond''s demand as he continued his looting operation without pause. Shi Feng knew full well that the Aura of Earth''s Absolute Defense would not last long. Moreover, even Skills that provided invulnerability couldn''t offer unlimited protection against someone like the Black Shaman King. After all, nothing was truly invulnerable. It was only a matter of whether one was strong enough to overcome a particular invulnerability effect. If the Seven Luminaries Ring he possessed right now were the real deal, needless to say, defending against Raymond''s attacks would be a piece of cake. However, the Seven Luminaries Ring he possessed was a Replica; it wasn''t a Godly Relic. Just being able to ward off Raymond''s quadruple casting was already fortunate. If Raymond really got serious, Absolute Defense most likely wouldn''t be able to stop the NPC''s attacks. "Since you''re not willing to hand it over, become my living puppet!" Raymond began chanting once again. Unlike before, however, his chanting speed was not particularly fast this time. Moreover, the runes he wrote were incomparably complex. Even Shi Feng, someone who had conducted plenty of research into runes and magic arrays, could not identify what those runes were meant for. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng started looting the items on the experiment table as soon as he arrived before it. Absolute Defense''s duration had less than two seconds remaining. Although he could not plunder the entire experiment table, he took most of the items on it. At this time, Raymond pointed his staff at Shi Feng and shouted, "Shatter!" In the next moment, a black beam of light shot at Shi Feng''s body. Immediately, the divine runes surrounding Shi Feng''s body started crumbling. It was obvious that Raymond''s attack had broken through Absolute Defense. "Become my loyal slave!" Raymond then slammed the butt of his staff on the floor. A shadow instantly formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Gray strands slowly rose from the shadow, binding Shi Feng''s body. Why does he know even the Necromancer class''s Dark Bondage?! Shi Feng frowned when he saw the gray strands wrapped around his feet. Dark Bondage was a Tier 4 Spell that could turn a living creature into one''s slave. The success rate of the Spell depended on the user''s and target''s levels and tiers. On average, the success rate was very low. Of course, this was only in the case of players. It was a different story if a powerful NPC like Raymond cast the Spell. When nearly half of Shi Feng''s body was bound, Raymond revealed a sneer on his face. Divine Steps! Suddenly, ten doppelgangers formed around Shi Feng. He then chose to switch positions with one of them. Even a Spell like Dark Bondage couldn''t stop Shi Feng from swapping places with his doppelganger. He promptly took another item from the experiment table. However, as soon as Shi Feng stored the item into his bag, he suddenly found himself as well as his ten doppelgangers appearing before Raymond. What!? He knows even the Tier 5 Curse Space Conversion!? Shi Feng was surprised as he swept a glance at his surroundings. Hurriedly, he started switching places with his other doppelgangers, which were slightly farther away from Raymond. At this time, Raymond also activated his Domain once more, directly suppressing Shi Feng and preventing him from moving whatsoever. Only Shi Feng''s ten doppelgangers, which were invulnerable like Shi Feng, could still move. However, no matter where the doppelgangers went, as long as they remained inside the range of Raymond''s Domain, even if Shi Feng switched places with them, he still couldn''t budge from there. "A futile effort." Raymond waved his staff once more, and his surroundings turned into a world of frost, trapping Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. Although the doppelgangers were invulnerable, they did not possess the ability to pass through physical objects. Without any Strength of their own, they could only remain trapped inside the ice. "Is that so?" At this moment, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he switched places with the doppelganger that stood less than a yard away from the golden ring. He had not hurried to leave and dared to take sure, bold actions all because he had suddenly recalled something about this golden ring. In the past, the alliance of superpowers had been able to kill the Dark Shaman King because they had managed to destroy one of the NPC''s items at the cost of plenty of sacrificesthat item was the Ring of Gospel. It was also the key to killing the Dark Shaman King. The item Raymond had been producing happened to have the shape of a circular ring. As a result, Shi Feng could not help but link it with the Ring of Gospel. Since he had already made it all the way here, he naturally could not let such a good opportunity get away. "Despicable rat! Die!" When Raymond saw Shi Feng grabbing the golden ring, he was like a cat that just got its tail stepped on. He literally jumped up in anger before bombarding Shi Feng with one Tier 4 Spell after another. At this point, he had lost all intentions of making Shi Feng a puppet. One after another, silvery-white Frost Lances began shooting at Shi Feng from all directions. The cold air radiated by every one of these Frost Lances made Shi Feng shudder. He could also faintly see golden arcs of electricity wreathing these Frost Lances. As they moved, even their surrounding space showed signs of shattering. Shi Feng did not doubt that even one hit from these Frost Lances would kill him instantly. I can''t stay here any longer. This time, Shi Feng knew that Raymond was no longer holding back. Immediately, he chose to switch positions with the doppelganger summoned through Phantom Kill. Boom Boom Boom As soon as he switched positions, hundreds of Frost Lances pierced his doppelganger, killing it on the spot. The doppelganger did not even have time to react. He really is too strong. Standing by the Research Room''s entrance, Shi Feng was greatly shocked by this scene. He hurriedly left the room, not daring to remain even a moment longer. Meanwhile, as soon as he exited, he sealed the door, using the Moon God''s Secret Key. The instant the room was sealed, Shi Feng felt the door shaking violently. 1310 Moon Gods Secret Record Chapter 1310 - Moon God''s Secret Record The door of the Research Room was made using a special method. Moreover, the Moon God had reinforced it with divine runes. Even a Tier 5 Grand Wizard would have difficulty leaving a scratch on it. However, the violent tremors of the door made Shi Feng doubt it could hold back the Dark Shaman King. After all, Raymond was an NPC capable of becoming the Final Boss of one of God''s Domain''s major expansion packs. He definitely was not an existence that ordinary Tier 5 NPCs could compare to. In retrospect, considering how several superpowers had needed to work together to defeat Raymond, Shi Feng could only conclude that Raymond had to be at the Demigod standard already. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt that he still wasn''t safe. He left the research area right away. When he entered the corridor leading out of the research area, he even used the Moon God''s Secret Key to seal off the corridor. Although the corridor''s seal was not as powerful as the door of the Research Room, it could more or less stop Raymond for a short while. After Shi Feng left the research area, it was as if he had entered a whole other world. When he exited the corridor, he arrived at a place filled with greenery. He could see hills and waterfalls in the distance as well as hear bird calls and smell flowers. He could also pick up the roars of many Demonic Beasts. At the same time, he spotted many demonic patrol squads making the rounds of the forest paths. Although the guards in these demonic patrol squads were not as strong as the Demons guarding the inner courtyard, each patrol still consisted of one Level 70, Tier 3 Demonic Guard and nine Level 70, Tier 2 Demonic Soldiers. To Shi Feng, who currently couldn''t summon his Personal Guards and Mount, they were extremely dangerous opponents. Immediately after, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. - System: You have discovered the top floor of the Demon Sealing Tower, Moon God''s Space. - What? This is the top floor of the Demon Sealing Tower? Shi Feng was stunned when he looked at the system notification. Based on the system map, the Demon Sealing Tower had a total of 36 floors. Meanwhile, each floor could easily fit a Small Town inside. If Shi Feng had tried climbing from the first floor to the top floor, he would have needed plenty of time. Although he had already steeled himself for a long battle, climbing all 36 floors would not have been an easy task. Previously, Shi Feng had still thought that spending 500 Seven Luminaries Shards to teleport to the research area had not been worth it. Now, however, it would seem that he had just made a huge profit. Immediately, Shi Feng found a safe location to hide before adjusting his mental state and organizing the items he looted. From beginning to end, his exchange with Raymond had lasted only seven or eight seconds. However, despite this brevity, his Stamina and Concentration had been depleted as if he had fought normally for several hours. The exchange had taken a severe toll on his Concentration, in particular. Due to the frightening pressure Raymond gave off, as well as the NPC''s Domain, every second he spent fleeing from the NPC was equivalent to fighting against an opponent of equal strength for an hour. In fact, from the moment Shi Feng started facing off against Raymond until he exited the Research Room, Shi Feng had not even taken a breath. After all, even the slightest delay in his actions could lead to his death, rendering all his efforts since entering God''s Domain useless. One could imagine just how much pressure Shi Feng felt during those short seven or eight seconds. Hence, Shi Feng wished to slowly relax his tense mental state. Meanwhile, at the Asura Mode Regional Dungeon Frozen Scar Many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s powerful and well-known Guilds were currently gathered here. There were even large Guilds from other kingdoms and empires coming to raid the Regional Dungeon. At this moment, hundreds of thousands of elite and expert players were at Frozen Scar, and the competition here was considerably intense. In just the few short hours since Frozen Scar became a Regional Dungeon, over 50,000 elite players had already died in it. This situation immediately deterred members of small Guilds and independent players from entering the Dungeon. However, in one forest filled with snow, a 1,000-man legion was calmly pressing forward. The legion easily killed off any Level 46 Lord ranked Snow Yetis and Level 45 Elite ranked Snow Giants and steadily advanced towards the location of the Frost King. When the elite legions of other Guilds came across this legion, they would hurriedly avoid it, afraid of provoking it. After all, the Guild this 1,000-man legion belonged to was none other than Heaven''s Burial, the official number two Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom. Currently, Singular Burial was even personally leading this elite legion. Among the members of this legion, even the weakest was Level 41, whereas the experts were Level 42. There were even some experts that had reached Level 43. Meanwhile, these players were all geared in Level 40 top-tier equipment, with the most inferior being Fine-Gold rank and the majority being Dark-Gold rank. The strongest among all these players was Singular Burial. Although he was only Level 43, he was equipped with the Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for Rangers, the Hundred Beasts Set, and wielded a pitch-black double-stringed bone bow that gave off the Epic rank glow effect. Despite going up against over 50 Frost Yetis and 1,000 Frost Giants, Singular Burial managed to command his team properly and keep the situation under control. In the end, Heaven''s Burial''s elite legion bombarded these monsters to death without even a break in their frontline. This situation inspired serious envy in the players from other Guilds watching from afar. Just as Singular Burial and his team were cleaning up the remnant Frost Giants, he suddenly received a communication request. "Ghost, did something happen on your side?" Singular Burial asked as he looked at the indifferent Level 43 Assassin in the screen. "Something happened over at Zero Wing''s side," Ghost Shadow reported. "For some reason, instead of advancing towards the Frost King, Zero Wing''s team has actually turned around and is currently headed towards the Blizzard Fortress. By the looks of it, they are planning on raiding the Dungeon." "Raiding the Blizzard Fortress?" Singular Burial could not help but be stunned. "Are you sure? Blizzard Fortress is a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon. Why are they even trying to raid it? For them to give up on the Frost King so willingly, could they have discovered something we don''t know?" The information regarding the Frost King was something he had released to the public himself. Meanwhile, his reason for doing so was to lure Zero Wing''s main force over and use the opportunity to weaken it. At the same time, he could also complete his quest. "I don''t know. However, the information about them heading towards the Blizzard Fortress is definitely true. As for Zero Wing''s elite members, they have also left Frozen Scar already." Ghost Shadow was similarly confused by this situation. Killing the Frost King would grant a Guild access to Evernight City, yet Zero Wing had actually given up such a good opportunity in favor of raiding a Dungeon. Moreover, it was even a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon. Even he, an expert who had fought in the virtual gaming world for many years now, could not understand what Zero Wing was trying to do. "Forget it. Ignore them for now. You and your men regroup with us as well. The number of Guilds joining the competition is growing increasingly higher, so we need to hurry up ourselves. Once we''re done with our quest, Star-Moon Kingdom will become Heaven''s Burial''s possession. Even if Zero Wing manages to raid the Dungeon, it would be useless," Singular Burial said, sneering. I''ve really lucked out this time. Shi Feng could not help sighing happily as he looked at his bag space. Previously, all of his attention had been on Raymond. Hence, when he was looting, he simply shoved everything he could get his hands on into his bag without caring what they were. Now that he got to take a closer look, however, even Shi Feng himself was stupefied by the spoils. Among the items he looted were eight Dark-Gold alchemy tools. There was also a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools made from Magic Jade called the Green Jade Set. If placed on the market, this set could easily sell for over 30,000 Gold. On its own, Magic Jade possessed the ability to absorb Mana from its surroundings. When made into an alchemy tool, it could pull out the best effects of herbs. In total, the complete set of Magic Jade alchemy tools increased alchemy success rates by 10% and alchemy production speeds by 20%. There was also a 3% chance for the created product to have its effects strengthened. In the past, even Grandmaster Alchemists had been extremely eager to get their hands on such a set. Unfortunately, even Super Guilds had a very difficult time obtaining a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools, not to mention something like the Green Jade Set. Aside from alchemy tools, Shi Feng''s bag had many sheets of ancient, tattered pages. Recorded on these pages were recipes made by the Moon God. However, as the pages were dilapidated, they could not be used. After Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to appraise one of the tattered pages, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered his ears. - System: Ancient Tattered Page discovered. Repairing it requires 100 Magic Crystals. - Dragonskin parchment sure is amazing. Even after enduring tens of thousands of years of corrosion, it can still be repaired using Magic Crystals. No wonder Gods would use dragonskin parchment to make records in ancient times! Realization dawned upon Shi Feng. Having picked up so many tattered pages, he never hoped that every one of them would still be usable; he would be fine with just one. At the very least, he wouldn''t have wasted his precious time trying to collect all these tattered pages. Hence, it was truly surprising that the pages could be repaired. Shi Feng started repairing page after page right away. As he repaired the pages, he also organized them based on the page numbers, and surprisingly, the pages actually automatically combined. After around ten minutes passed, he was finally done repairing all 31 pages he picked up. Suddenly, the combined pages transformed into a thick, ancient book that radiated a faint trace of Divine Might. Meanwhile, there were four words, written in the ancient divine language, on the cover of this ancient book. Moon God''s Secret Record! 1311 Upgrading to Fragmented Legendary Rank Chapter 1311 - Upgrading to Fragmented Legendary Rank What?! This is the Moon God''s Secret Record?! Shi Feng stared at the ancient book in his hands time and again, his heart unable to calm down even after some time. Even his breathing right now had bated. There were Five Great Alchemy Scriptures in God''s Domain. These Five Great Alchemy Scriptures were like the Holy Bible to Alchemists and were highly sought after. In the past, every Alchemist that had managed to get their hands on these Alchemy Scriptures had become famous individuals in the alchemy world. Meanwhile, one of the Five Great Alchemy Scriptures was the Moon God''s Secret Record. Legend had it that the Moon God had edited it extensively. However, many wars had also been waged between kingdoms and empires because of the Moon God''s Secret Record, and it ended up divided and scattered all over God''s Domain. Eventually, with the passage of time, the Moon God''s Secret Record had disappeared entirely. Shi Feng had never imagined that he would actually come across the Moon God''s Secret Record, and even obtain it, in the Moonlight Courtyard. Following which, he clicked excitedly to check the Attribute Panel of the Moon God''s Secret Record. - [Moon God''s Secret Record (Volume 1)] A detailed compilation of the Moon God''s experiences and techniques in alchemy. There is a total of three volumes. One can obtain the Moon God''s legacy when all three volumes are collected. - It''s actually split into three volumes? Shi Feng''s initially passionate heart cooled down immediately. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found the situation reasonable. The Moon God''s Secret Record had been contested by ancient kingdoms and empires many times before. On the other hand, it had been many years since anyone had set foot into the Moonlight Courtyard. It was clear that the Moon God''s Secret Record here did not possess any relation to the ancient wars waged on the continent of God''s Domain. The only explanation for there being a copy here was that there wasn''t only one Moon God''s Secret Record. Nevertheless, Shi Feng was already very satisfied with this outcome. Among the three volumes comprising the Moon God''s Secret Record, the first volume contained information regarding the various materials in God''s Domain. It was like an alchemy encyclopedia. With this book, players could understand the various properties of alchemy materials and establish a solid foundation for when they were trying to create new recipes. The reason why Titan City''s Research Rooms could aid players in reaching the Master and Grandmaster ranks was mainly because of the wealth of information contained within the rooms. Meanwhile, the research information of the Moon God was most likely not one bit inferior when compared to the alchemy database of Titan City. The Candlelight Trading Firm would have a much easier time nurturing Master Alchemists. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Moon God''s Secret Record and began checking the other items he obtained. Although Shi Feng had placed all of his attention on Raymond inside the Research Room, before he sprang into action, he had already planned to take away the several items that radiated Divine Might. Excellent! There are exactly six God Crystals! Shi Feng grew excited as he looked at the six items radiating Divine Might in his bag. Currently, the Soul Orb was missing only six God Crystals to remove the first seal Paimon placed. Although there were bound to be many more God Crystals, which he had not managed to discover, left inside the Research Room, Shi Feng had spotted only eight items with a high potential of being used as God Crystals. Meanwhile, as he was looting the room, he had managed to grab only seven of those items. If he had tried going for the last one, there was over a 90% chance that Raymond would have killed him. Fortunately, his insight wasn''t too bad. Of the seven possibles he picked up, after going through the Omniscient Eyes'' appraisal, six were confirmed to be God Crystals. That was just the right number to lift the first seal on the Soul Orb. This was also the reason why he had chosen to challenge the Asura Mode Promotion Quest back then. As long as he removed the first seal, the Soul Orb would become his item entirely. Even if he died, he would not have to worry about the Soul Orb being teleported back to Paimon''s hands. Even if he failed his promotion quest this time, he would not have made a wasted trip. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng took out the Soul Orb and started letting it absorb the God Crystals one after another. One crystal Two crystals Three crystals With each God Crystal absorbed, the demonic power the Soul Orb radiated weakened slightly. At the same time, the pressure it emitted also strengthened. When the Soul Orb absorbed the last God Crystal, it suddenly struggled free from Shi Feng''s grasp and flew up into the air. It then formed in the sky a sevenfold magic array covering a radius of over 1,000 yards. The amount of Mana the magic array drew was several times more than when Raymond was mobilizing the Mana in the Research Room. Meanwhile, the pressure the Soul Orb emitted also transformed into Divine Might. Like a slumbering Dragon awakening, the Soul Orb made the distant Demonic Beasts and Demons shudder involuntarily, their bodies collapsing to the ground as they became paralyzed with fear. A frightening Mana vortex then formed around the Soul Orb. A will descended from the Soul Orb with pitch-black demonic power vying to suppress this will. "Who is it?! Who dares break my seal!?" An illusory figure suddenly appeared in midair. Although Shi Feng could not get a clear look at this figure''s appearance, the way the figure looked down on all lifeforms and the aura of a ruler the figure exuded prompted Shi Feng to lower his head instinctively. Meanwhile, the rage contained in that figure''s voice made even Shi Feng''s soul shudder. Fortunately, when the Soul Orb broke through the suppression of the demonic power, this illusory figure also disappeared. With the removal of the seal, the Soul Orb''s appearance underwent significant changes. Now, faintly visible golden divine runes circulated on the surface of the orb. Meanwhile, its size also shrank. Previously, it was roughly the same size as an adult''s fist. Now, it was only half that size. When the Soul Orb landed back on Shi Feng''s palm, he no longer felt like he was under surveillance. - [Soul Orb] (Fragmented Legendary Rank Item) Originally a fragment of the Treasure of Illusion. However, due to being refined by the Demon God Paimon, the fragment''s true power has been sealed. Currently, a small portion of its power has been repaired. Additional Active Skill 1- Soul Water: Creates Soul Water from the souls willingly contributed by players. No Cooldown. (Every 50 souls of players absorbed will produce one drop of Soul Water.) Additional Active Skill 2- Crystal of Souls: Creates a Crystal of Souls through absorbing a portion of monsters'' souls. No Cooldown. (Every 30 souls of monsters at Great Lord rank or above absorbed will produce one Crystal of Souls. Monster''s level must be five levels higher than wielder.) Additional Active Skill 3- Divine Power Absorption: Absorbs divine power to recover the Soul Orb itself. (There are a total of three seals. The removal of the second seal requires ten God Crystals. Current absorbed number: 0) Although Demon God Paimon has sealed the Soul Orb, it has been awakened by the Golden Stigmata. The seal can be removed by absorbing divine power. Cannot be destroyed. Owner: Ye Feng If this item is wielded by anyone else, they will receive a backlash from both demonic power and divine power. - Amazing! These Attributes are truly amazing! Shi Feng was astounded by the text introduction of the Soul Orb. Back when the Soul Orb was still at Epic rank, it was already plenty amazing. Now that it had recovered and reached the Fragmented Legendary rank, its Attributes had become even more awesome. Not only was the number of souls required for the Soul Water halved, but now, he could even produce the Crystal of Souls. Although making a Crystal of Souls was much more troublesome than the process for the Soul Water, the Crystal of Souls was an item that could be obtained only through luck in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, the Crystal of Souls could not only raise a player''s focus like the Soul Water could but also gather Mana around itself, allowing players to remain at peak mental conditions and further increasing their focus. Moreover, the Crystal of Souls had a duration of 5 hours, while its Cooldown was 10 hours. In God''s Domain, the Crystal of Souls could rank within the top ten among the various support items for combat players. Normally, the crystal could only be found in ancient ruins. Now that the Soul Orb had gained such an ability, Shi Feng could not help but wish he could immediately set out and massacre a bunch of Great Lords. Moreover, even if he died now, the Soul Orb would not drop from his bag. He could move about without fear. At the same time, without the surveillance of the Demon God, Dark Players would have a difficult time finding out that the Soul Orb was in his hands. However, Shi Feng did not know that after he lifted the seal, a commotion erupted among all the dark forces. The original bounty Paimon had placed on Shi Feng had already tempted many people into action. Now, however, the bounty became even more lavish. - System: Demon God Paimon has sent out a recovery order for the Soul Orb. As long as one can kill the Soul Orb''s wielder and obtain the Soul Orb, Demon God Paimon will personally promote them to the Viscount rank as well as provide abundant rewards. Those who wish to accept the quest need to pay 2,000 Magic Crystals. Do you wish to accept the quest? This quest is valid long-term and can be accepted at any time. This quest does not have a time limit. - When this recovery order was released, it immediately tempted countless Dark Players into action. It was already plenty difficult to get promoted to the Baron rank. Yet, now, the Demon God Paimon was actually offering to raise them directly to the Viscount rank, which was one rank higher than Baron. How could they not be tempted? Elsewhere, Shi Feng remained ignorant of this matter. He simply sat quietly beneath a tree as he carefully admired the golden ring he had stolen from the Dark Shaman King, Raymond. 1312 Madness Among the Dark Chapter 1312 - Madness Among the Dark Dark Night Empire, Headwind Outpost: Headwind Outpost was a Level 50 to Level 70 high-resource map located close to the imperial capital Dark City. Strong winds blew here all year round, but due to the wind''s Dark Corrosion effect, very few people were willing to level up or quest here. However, a 100-man team currently fought a large group of Cyclopes in the area. The Cyclopes were Level 53 and Level 54. Some wielded swords and shields, some wielded chains, and some wielded bows. The Cyclopes standing at the rear even controlled ballistas to attack from range. These Cyclops were much more intelligent than the monsters in lower-level maps, and they were capable of fighting as a team. There were even Chieftain and Lord rank Cyclopes that issued proper commands. From time to time, they also snuck around the players and targeted the enemy healers themselves. However, the players facing these intelligent Cyclopes remained unperturbed by their enemies'' intelligence. A Level 43 Shield Warrior wielding a square, scaled shield easily blocked three Level 54 Lords as they tried to break through the frontline. Even after blocking the assault, the Shield Warrior only lost a little over 4,000 HP. Meanwhile, this HP recovered instantly as the MT received a heal from a healer in the rear. Suddenly, a Level 44 Berserker charged forward as he swung his spear horizontally. Whirlwind Slash! Immediately, a violent gale knocked the three Level 54 Cyclops Generals back, forcing them to retreat by three steps. A damage of -15,000 also appeared above each of their heads. The three Lords were enraged as they swung their massive stone axes at the Berserker from three different directions. "Scram!" Roaring, the Berserker relied on a mysterious body technique to avoid the incoming attacks. His spear spun as he reacted. Cleave! With a single attack, the Berserker threw all three Cyclops Generals to the ground, a damage of over -20,000 appearing on each of their heads. The three Cyclops Generals'' ambush attempt was thoroughly foiled. "Boss Brute is so strong! He dealt with three Cyclops Generals all by himself!" someone on the team exclaimed. "This is nothing for Boss Brute! Boss Brute is the number two Berserker in our Sin of Pride. If Boss Brute transforms, he can easily handle ten Cyclops Generals at once, much less three!" a black-clad Ranger boasted. Many of the team members looked at Brute Spear with reverent gazes. Throughout the Sin of Pride, Brute Spear was the first person to become a Demon Baron. When Brute Spear entered his demonic state, he even had the power to rival Tier 2 players. If he completed his promotion and became a Tier 2 player himself, his prowess would be unimaginable. He might even rank within the top 10 in the Sin of Pride. In a Super Guild, he would be peerless aside from those old monsters. "Stop chit-chatting and finish these Cyclops off! We''re not here to grind monsters!" Brute Spear reprimanded his people in the team chat. Hearing Brute Spear''s words, everyone refocused as they began to attack in a frenzy. Suddenly, they all heard the sound of a system notification. - System: Demon God Paimon has sent out a recovery order for the Soul Orb. As long as one can kill the Soul Orb''s wielder and obtain the Soul Orb, Demon God Paimon will personally promote them to the Viscount rank as well as reward them with an abundant amount of rewards. Those who wish to accept the quest needs to pay 2,000 Magic Crystals. Do you wish to accept the quest? This quest is valid long-term and can be accepted at any time. This quest does not have a time limit. - "Crap! Am I seeing things?! A Viscount?!" The notification stunned every member of the team. Throughout the Sin of Pride, only Brute Spear had become a Baron. There wasn''t a single Viscount among all of the players in the Flower of Seven Sins, much less the Sin of Pride. A Demon Viscount was on an entirely different power level. When they transformed, their physiques would improve by 50%. The boost was even greater than when players completed their Tier 2 promotion. Even now, no one throughout the Flower of Seven Sins was close to becoming a Viscount, yet a single quest offered the position as a reward "Boss Brute, the rewards are intense. Should we accept the quest?" the black-clad Ranger, Chen Xu, quietly asked Brute Spear. Only a few of them knew that Frost Eye currently had the Soul Orb. Previously, the Demon God had only stated that those who recovered the Soul Orb would earn a reward. At most, the quest awarded some Reputation. This was of little use to Brute Spear, who was already a Baron. However, the situation had changed. If the Sin of Pride had a Demon Viscount, it would gain an edge over the other six Sins. "A Viscount?" Even Brute Spear was tempted. Immediately, however, he shook his head and said, "We''re talking about taking on Frost Eye. I think we should inform Big Sis and let her decide." Chen Xu nodded in agreement. Chen Xu had witnessed Frost Eye''s strength personally. Frost Eye was an expert capable of killing Hell Fiend, someone who held the title of Adjudicator in King''s Return, and he had gotten away safely. Moreover, Frost Eye had defeated Brute Spear in just a few moves. He was not an expert to be underestimated. Meanwhile, on a Bronze Speedboat in the Reef Sea, Hundred Leaves, who currently led the Freedom Alliance''s Eighth Fleet, had also received the message from Demon God Paimon. When she read the system notification, she was stunned. Just what did he do to Demon God Paimon? He''s caused enough trouble for Paimon to announce one bounty after another. When Hundred Leaves saw the system notification, she could not help but recall the mysterious Shi Feng. Dark Players like herself would die to form some sort of relationship with the Demon God. However, Shi Feng was driving the Demon God mad, going as far as to offer the rank of Viscount as a bounty reward. This is going to be interesting. The Guild Leader might even decide to stop ignoring the guy. Hundred Leaves could not help but smile. She had been greatly displeased when her Guild Leader had told her to give up on pursuing Shi Feng. However, the situation had changed. If the Sacred Temple had a Demon Viscount, it would greatly help the Guild''s future plans. For a time, Demon God Paimon''s bounty tempted many Dark Experts, and many of them accepted the quest. They also began to research the Soul Orb and its wielder''s identity. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was wholly ignorant of this matter as he inspected the golden ring. The more he inspected it, the more excited he became. Everything was as he had guessed. The golden ring was indeed the Ring of Gospel. Meanwhile, it was because of this ring that Raymond had obtained the confidence to contend with God''s Domain''s various countries. In the past, the various Super Guilds had been helpless against the NPC individually. Only after working together and sacrificing tons of expert and elite players had these Super Guilds destroyed the ring and defeated the Dark Shaman King Raymond. - [Ring of Gospel (Unfinished Product)] (Epic Rank Item) Crafted by the Dark Shaman King after gathering the world''s energy, this ring contains a miniature world. The ring can suppress an area''s space, granting the wielder absolute dominance over the space. Additional Skill 1- World Projection: Suppress a radius of 3,000 yards. All enemies within the area cannot use teleportation tools or teleportation-type Skills and communication with the outside world is severed. Weakens enemies'' physiques by 30% and decreases Basic Attributes by 20%. Maintaining World Projection costs 5,000 Magic Crystals every 10 minutes. No Cooldown. (Cannot be used before binding.) Additional Skill 2- Ring of Brilliance: Improves all allies'' physiques by 10% and increases Basic Attributes by 10% within a 1,000-yard radius. Increases an area''s Mana density by 100%. Maintaining Ring of Brilliance costs 2,000 Magic Crystals every 30 minutes. No Cooldown. (Cannot be used before binding.) As the Ring of Gospel''s external divine runes and magic arrays and inner world are incomplete, the ring cannot exhibit its full strength. Only after the divine runes, magic arrays, and inner world are complete will the ring exhibit its full strength. (Current completion rate: 30%. Not bound.) - As soon as Shi Feng finished reading the statistics, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. - System: Do you wish to bind the Ring of Gospel? 1313 World Barrier Chapter 1313 - World Barrier Seeing the system notification, Shi Feng immediately thought to click the ''Bind'' button. In God''s Domain, some weapons and equipment needed to be bound before they could be used. Once bound, the item could no longer be traded, and only the player it was bound to could use it. The item''s value would reduce significantly. When bound items became outdated and players no longer needed them, they would become utterly worthless. Unlike non-bound items that could be sold to other players for a low price, bound items could only be stored in a warehouse or destroyed. However, the Ring of Gospel was clearly not in the same category. It was neither a weapon nor armor. It could even be used from within a player''s bag. Moreover, according to the description of its Skills, the Ring of Gospel was incredibly powerful. It wouldn''t become less useful as time passed. Binding it was definitely worthwhile. However, as soon as the first system notification faded, another followed. - System: Due to the miniature world''s extremely unstable nature inside the Ring of Gospel, if you wish to bind the ring, you must expend 30,000 Magic Crystals every 7 days to stabilize the miniature world. If you do not meet the requirement within 7 days, the Ring of Gospel will crumble. You will also receive a backlash, permanently decreasing your physique by 30%. - What a steep price Even current first-rate Guilds wouldn''t be able to keep this thing well-fed. Shi Feng could not help his astonishment when he saw the second system notification. Magic Crystals had already become a daily necessity for the various large Guilds. They expended a frightening amount each day despite only accumulating a small number. The majority of God''s Domain''s first-rate Guilds only had a stock of around 60,000 Magic Crystals. It had taken them a long time to accumulate so many, yet it was only enough to sustain the Ring of Gospel for two weeks The Ring of Gospel was practically a crystal-devouring beast. Armed with this new information, Shi Feng decided not to bind the Ring of Gospel for now. After all, he couldn''t feed it as needed at the moment. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Ring of Gospel. He decided to bind with the ring only after Zero Wing was capable of earning a sufficient amount of Magic Crystals. After all, Zero Wing was still in its development phase and urgently needed Magic Crystals. After a short rest, he decided to explore the Moon God''s Space. His Tier 2 Promotion Quest''s goal was to seal the Demon King. The Moon God''s Space was vast. It could even rival the game''s large-scale maps. Since Shi Feng didn''t know the Demon King''s exact location, he had to search the map bit by bit. More demonic patrol squads are showing up. Shi Feng frowned quietly observed the patrolling Demons from the treetops. He had spent several hours exploring the Moon God''s Space. Initially, he had only occasionally encountered a patrol squad in the outer edges of the Moon God''s Space. However, the deeper he ventured, the more patrol squads he came across. Now, after reaching the map''s inner area, he wasn''t able to proceed. If he advanced carelessly, he would either alert the demonic patrol squads or the wandering Demonic Beasts. Regardless of which he fought, the outcome would be the same. Aside from the demonic patrol squads, Shi Feng noticed Level 65 Magic Light Dragonlings fly past him from time to time. If they found him, he would find his death. This should be the furthest I can move while avoiding detection. From this point on, I''ll have to fight my way through. Shi Feng glanced at the wandering Level 70 Demonic Beasts. Soloing a demonic patrol squad was simply too dangerous. However, he could try to take on the Demonic Beasts that wandered alone. - [Two-headed Demonic Wolf] (Demonic Beast, Lord) Level 70 HP 22,000,000/22,000,000 - After another demonic patrol squad moved past, Shi Feng retrieved Blazing Meteor from his waist and threw it at a Two-headed Demonic Wolf that was currently sleeping on the grass. Flame God''s Fury! A dazzling explosion smashed into the Demonic Wolf''s back. -62,197! Not bad. It seems the Demonic Wolf''s Defense isn''t particularly high. With my damage, I should be able to kill it quickly. Shi Feng evaluated. The demonic patrol squads followed a specific pattern in the Moon God''s Space. However, the Demonic Beasts did not. If the fight dragged on, he would likely attract a pack of Lord ranked Demonic Beasts. At that time, even escape would be difficult. As the Two-headed Demonic Wolf whimpered, it turned to Shi Feng with a chilling gaze. It then dashed towards its attacker. Shi Feng turned and fled, luring the Demonic Beast away from the pat of the demonic patrol squads. The Two-headed Demonic Wolf was very fast. Despite activating Windwalk, it caught up to Shi Feng quickly. Its two heads then bit at the Swordsman from two different directions. Turning his feet, Shi Feng spun, his head only centimeters away from the Demonic Wolf''s right maw as the latter moved past him. With the Demonic Wolf''s side exposed, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. Working with his doppelganger, he then launched a series of attacks at the Two-headed Demonic Wolf''s soft belly, both dealing over -10,000 damage with each attack. Although the Two-headed Demonic Wolf tried to turn and retaliate, Shi Feng''s physique rivaled that of a Tier 2 player. Both he and his doppelganger remained at the Demonic Wolf''s side. The Demonic Wolf was too massive to defend itself or counter the attacks. After ten minutes or so, the Level 70 Two-headed Demonic Wolf collapsed before Shi Feng''s feet. From start to end, it hadn''t even scratched Shi Feng. Hm? This place is quite good. Not only do the monsters here award EXP, but they also drop Seven Luminaries Shards. Shi Feng rejoiced when he noticed an inconspicuous crystal shard beside the Two-headed Demonic Wolf''s corpse. Previously, to reach the research area, he had spent 500 Seven Luminaries Shards. The expenditure had been painful. Now that he knew that the Demonic Beasts gave EXP and Seven Luminaries Shards, he regained his motivation. After picking up the shard, Shi Feng proceeded to lure more monsters. Time passed quickly. While Shi Feng grinded Demonic Beasts, the battles in the Asura Mode Regional Dungeon Frozen Scar were unceasing. However, these battles were not between players. Rather, they were battles between players and Snow Giants. As more time passed, the commanders leading the teams from the various large Guilds discovered something; the Snow Giants were growing stronger. After fighting repeated fights with the players, the Snow Giants had begun to learn the players'' combat techniques, becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. This slowed the various large Guilds'' progress through the Frozen Scar. In contrast, Heaven''s Burial''s team rested leisurely in the Frozen Scar. Not a single Snow Giant could be seen. Logically, this shouldn''t be possible. This was all due to the dozen or so one-horned humanoid monsters not far from the team. Hundreds of Snow Giant corpses littered the ground around these humanoid monsters "It''s about time. Blood, tell Abandoned Wave that he can make his move now. I don''t want the Frost King to fall into the other Guilds'' hands," Singular Burial instructed after glancing at the system clock. "I''ll notify him right away. I believe he is eager to get started," Flame Blood said as he tasted his lips. The various Guilds thought that they could kill the Frost King. However, none of them knew that they were no more than a sacrifice. The Frozen Scar''s inner region was slightly special. An ancient magic array suppressed the area. Players couldn''t use teleportations scrolls here. This just so happen to provide Abandoned Wave with the opportunity to devour these Guilds'' elites. Elsewhere, Shi Feng killed Demonic Beasts in the forest relentlessly. After grinding for more than a day, his level had risen from Level 51 to 23% of Level 53. His leveling speed was astonishing. With Divine Providence''s Luck bonus, Shi Feng killed a Two-headed Demonic Wolf and obtained a Seven Luminaries Shard and a piece of equipment. Picking up the equipment, Shi Feng appraised it with Omniscient Eyes. The piece I want has finally dropped. Shi Feng''s eyes shone in excitement as he looked at the item in his hands. This piece of equipment was none other than the belt for the Shadowmoon Set that he needed. Now that he had the belt, he had finally completed the Shadowmoon Set Equipment. As Shi Feng was about to store the belt in his bag, a beam of black light shot into the air a short distance away, piercing through the clouds. Immediately after, the roar of a Dragon echoed throughout the Moon God''s Space, the resulting tremors nearly causing Shi Feng to lose his balance. One roar after another shook the area. Although these Dragon roars sounded different, the pressure they gave off was similarly powerful. "How is this possible?!" Shi Feng was stunned as he looked to the sky. A massive pathway had opened up in the air. It was as if the black beam had pierced the barrier between worlds and linked them. Five adult Dragons stood on the pathway 1314 Challenging the Limi Chapter 1314 - Challenging the Limit Why are so many Dragons here? The scene in the sky stupefied Shi Feng. Even during ancient times, Dragons had been extremely rare. Moreover, Dragons normally preferred to live alone instead of in groups. Seeing several Magic Light Dragonlings move as a group was unbelievable enough, yet now Shi Feng stared at five adult Dragons that had just appeared. If these five Dragons emerged in God''s Domain, they could easily turn an entire empire into ash. Adult Dragons were Tier 5 Legendary monsters. Including their high Life Rating, not even Tier 5 NPCs could take them down. Slaying a single Dragon would require a group of such NPCs. If five Dragons worked together, the outcome would be simply devastating. Although a path had opened across the World Barrier, it was extremely unstable. The spatial turbulence even posed a great threat to adult Dragons. It would not be so easy for the Dragons to enter the Moon God''s Space from another world. Meanwhile, the beam of black light was attempting to stabilize the spatial channel. However, this gave Shi Feng a hint. The Moon God''s Space was simply too large. Even after a full day of exploration, Shi Feng had only covered a small fraction of the map. He would have to invest a lot more time if he wanted to explore the whole thing. Now that the black light pillar had caused such a large commotion, needless to say, the light pillar must be related to his quest. Shi Feng immediately set off towards the black pillar''s origin. Although the light pillar did not seem far away, in reality, it was the complete opposite. Reaching its origin would take a very long time. Furthermore, as Shi Feng grew closer to the pillar, so did the Demonic Beasts. Many of the demonic patrol squads were also gathering towards the light pillar, making them even more difficult to avoid. As Shi Feng finished killing several Demonic Beasts, the light pillar in the sky suddenly disappeared. Following which, the spatial channel closed. Did it fail? Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the black pillar vanish. If the spatial channel stabilized, it went without saying that the five Dragons would enter the Moon God''s Space. Shi Feng reached this conclusion after watching the five Dragons attempt to barge through the spatial channel. However, due to the spatial turbulence, they had given up. The spatial currents were as strong as Tier 5 Spells, yet when they struck the Dragons, they had only left a few white marks on the monsters'' scales. It was simply due to so many spatial currents that the five Dragons had been forced out of the channel. The currents couldn''t actually damage the Dragons. If the five Dragons entered the Moon God''s Space, Shi Feng would likely fail his promotion quest. However, despite the threat of the Dragons disappearing, Shi Feng didn''t dare to be careless as he tried to find a way to kill the Demonic Beasts in his path faster. Finally, after nearly twenty hours, he reached the black light pillar''s origin. During this time, the light pillar had appeared once again. Compared to the previous appearance, though, the second spatial channel was a little more stable. However, it still disappeared without letting the Dragons through. From this, Shi Feng realized that, each time the light pillar pierced the World Barrier, the spatial channel would become more stable. It was only a matter of time before the five Dragons entered the Moon God''s Space. The black light pillar had originated from inside a large canyon. Trees and shrubbery decorated the area. A temple, neglected for many years, occupied the canyon''s center. The temple stood several hundred meters tall, looming like a large mountain. Many black, stone pillars had been erected around the temple, and every pillar was decorated with complex, demonic runes. Moreover, each black pillar automatically gathered the surrounding Mana. These black pillars had been arranged to form a massive magic array that constantly absorbed the Moon God''s Space''s Mana. The gathered Mana was then concentrated in the center of the magic array and formed a massive, floating ball of water. To Shi Feng, this floating ball of water was extremely familiar. This was none other than the Liquid Mana he had seen in the War God''s Temple''s Eternal Throne. However, the nine balls of Liquid Mana the nine lords had conjured had only been as large as a house. In comparison, the ball of Liquid Mana before him was the size of a seven-story building. Hundreds of Tier 3 Demonic Wizards stood below the ball of water, chanting incantations. A tall, large Demon with bat-like wings directed the Liquid Mana into a magic array that had been carved into the ground. As a result, the magic array gradually activated and released a frightening pressure. The Demon King really is here. Shi Feng couldn''t help but shift his gaze towards the tall Demon with two flaming horns sprouting from its forehead. This Demon was none other than his quest target, Demon King Storas. - [Storas] (Dark Creature, Demon King) Level 72 HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? - However, it wasn''t the Demon King that gave him a headache, but the hundreds of Tier 3 Demons. - [Demonic Wizard] (Dark Creature, Demon) Level 70 HP 33,000,000/33,000,000 - A single Demonic Wizard was enough a threat for Shi Feng, not to mention several hundred. If these Demons reached God''s Domain, they could raid and capture countless major NPC cities. Facing so many alone was suicidal. Shi Feng was in a bind. With the Demonic Wizards surrounding Storas, he couldn''t even approach the Demon King, much less seal the monster. No. I should still have a chance. Shi Feng suddenly remembered something as he looked at the massive array the Liquid Mana powered. In God''s Domain, Liquid Mana was even more precious than Seven Luminaries Crystals. This was because the Mana within Liquid Mana was purer. However, very few people in God''s Domain were willing to use Liquid Mana as it was too pure. Ordinary players couldn''t use it. At the very least, one needed to reach the Tier 4 standard before even thinking of using Liquid Mana. Although Storas maintained the magic array, the Demonic Wizards were only Tier 3. They should not be able to maintain the magic array for long. Once they reached their limit, they would succumb to a Weakened state for a certain period. Considering his options, Shi Feng decided to wait. If things turned out the way he assumed, then he still had a chance to complete his promotion quest. If not, he may have to give up. Time passed quickly. Soon, Liquid Mana filled the temple. Suddenly, Storas shouted and activated the magic array. Another pillar of black light then shot up from the temple and pierced the World Barrier. After this phenomenon continued for half an hour, the magic array deactivated, and the light pillar disappeared. Immediately after, the Demonic Wizards slumped to the ground, their backs covered in sweat. It was obvious that maintaining the magic array had taken a huge toll on their bodies. Good! It''s just as I expected! Shi Feng revealed his excitement as the Demonic Wizards dropped. These Demonic Wizards suffered from a debuff called Magic Backlash. - [Magic Backlash] All Attributes decreased by 95%. Unable to use any Spells for a short time. - Even Demon King Storas suffered a weaker version of Magic Backlash, his Attributes decreased by 95%. Though, unlike the Demonic Wizards, Storas could still use Spells. However, Shi Feng did not hurry to attack. Instead, he continued to watch from afar. Six seconds Seven seconds Eight Seconds Shi Feng''s gaze was fixed on the Demons'' every action as he inwardly counted the debuff''s duration. Magic Backlash''s description did not state how long it lasted. He would only have one chance to seal a Tier 5 Demon King. He needed to be prepared when he took action. There''s only a 10-second gap? This quest is harsh Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he watched the system clock. After ten seconds, the Demonic Wizards began to stand up. Although they were still in a Weakened state, their Attributes had recovered to 50% of their totals. Moreover, they could cast Spells again. The Demon King Storas had already fully recovered. Before sealing Storas, Shi Feng needed to damage him severely. However, even if a Tier 5 Demon King only had 10% of its Attributes, he was still a frightening existence. Even if Shi Feng could weaken Storas further with the Seven Luminaries Source Stone, wounding the Demon King in ten short seconds was impossible. After all, Shi Feng was aware of how frightening a Tier 5 existence could be. It seems I can only use the Ring of Gospel and give it a try. Shi Feng retrieved the Ring of Gospel and bound it to himself. The Ring of Gospel''s two Activatable Skills could suppress the Demon King and boost Shi Feng''s power. This was the strongest card he could play. Again, time passed quickly. After another dozen or so hours, the temple''s magic array was fully charged once more. Another pillar of black light pierced the sky. "Activate!" The instant the light pillar faded, Shi Feng activated World Projection and Ring of Brilliance before charging towards Demon King Storas. 1315 Asura VS Demon King Chapter 1315 - Asura VS Demon King The instant the black pillar disappeared, the Demonic Wizards and Demon King Storas breathed a sigh of relief. In the next moment, however, a powerful pressure descended on them. The Demons, weakened from the ritual, succumbed to yet another Attribute decrease. In the blink of an eye, the Demonic Wizards, who originally had 33,000,000 HP, only had 1,320,000 HP remaining. In terms of Basic Attributes, they were not even a match for Level 70 Common monsters. The Demon King Storas'' HP was still unknown, and his aura was still considerably powerful. Any normal player bathed in this aura would feel as if they had just stepped into a muddy swap as their movements grew sluggish. A Tier 5 Demon King really is powerful! Shi Feng inwardly celebrated the fact that he had the Seven Luminaries Source Stone. If he had only relied on the Magic Backlash debuff and the Ring of Gospel''s Skills, Storas would''ve killed him. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Source Stone, the stone releasing a dazzling, red glow. Miniature, golden magic arrays began to form around Storas. Golden chains then emerged from the magic arrays, the chains sapping away the Demon King''s power. Now, Shi Feng no longer saw Storas as an unreachable opponent. "Despicable human! Why do you have that!?" Storas''s blood-red eyes turned to Shi Feng in rage. However, upon seeing Shi Feng''s tier, a human-like sneer appeared on his face. "Do you think that a puny Tier 1 Swordsman like you can kill me just by suppressing my power? "Foolish mortal, you''ll pay for your foolishness!" Storas stretched out his hand and summoned a bone spear. He then lightly tossed the weapon at Shi Feng, who was still over 40 yards away. Xiu! The spear shot towards Shi Feng like a meteor, so fast that Shi Feng could barely see it. So fast! Shi Feng was surprised. Storas had been weakened three times over. World Projection alone had reduced his physique by 30% Normally, this was a massive disadvantage for both high-tiered monsters and players. Yet, even after such severe debuffs, Storas was still frighteningly strong in all aspects. With no other choice, Shi Feng immediately activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation before executing Parry. Peng! The instant his swords collided with the bone spear, Shi Feng lost all sensation in his arms. He was also forced to take four steps back. His strength is still at the peak of Tier 3? Glancing at the vanishing bone spear, Shi Feng gained a general understanding of Storas''s current prowess. The realization shocked him. Normally, only Grand Lords with unique bloodlines could exert strength at the peak of Tier 3. Or they were Grand Lords who had gone berserk. This was also the maximum power he achieved in his previous life. Only now did Shi Feng understand why Sharlyn had said that Asura Mode represented mortals'' limits. Fortunately, his quest didn''t require him to kill Demon King Storas. Following which, Shi Feng activated Absolute Time and Instant Strike before appearing in front of Storas. Storas maintained his calm as if he had prepared for this. Immediately, another bone spear formed in his hand, forming a white arc as it swept towards Shi Feng. The white arc was accompanied by a faint, black line, proof that the attack had cut through space itself. Although Storas couldn''t use Skills or Spells, he was still capable of executing advanced combat techniques. Instinctively, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit. In the blink of an eye, countless sparks flew around Storas and Shi Feng. As the weapons met, the clash sounded like an explosion, echoing throughout the temple. Although Shi Feng had an advantage with his speed, Storas easily predicted Shi Feng''s movements, reacting nimbly to every attack by either blocking or dodging. The difference between the combatants'' physiques was obvious at a glance. Shi Feng couldn''t inflict even the slightest damage. "Mortal, you''re doing pretty good! You''ve actually forced me to dodge! You are a first among mortals!" Storas was very calm as he looked at Shi Feng. He even had the leisure to praise his enemy. "Unfortunately, you''ve reached your limit. In just another few seconds, I will give you a taste of true despair!" "My limit?" Shi Feng smiled at the calm Demon King. "Who said this was my limit?" Shi Feng had expected such a stalemate. After all, this was not his first time against a Tier 5 monster. He knew just how terrifying such an existence was. He then activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. As soon as Shi Feng''s doppelganger appeared, it, too, activated Instant Strike. With the attacks from the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms, even with peak, Tier 3 strength, Storas was forced to defend himself. The Abyssal Blade phantoms even landed the occasional hit. Unfortunately, the phantoms'' damage was abysmal. -1! The phantoms had only dealt an obligatory one damage. Storas''s Defense hadn''t weakened in the slightest. His Defense was still at the Tier 5 standard. Just scratching Storas was impossible, much less inflicting heavy injuries. "Stop wasting your energy. A measly mortal like you can''t harm me even if I stand here and do nothing." Ridicule filled Storas''s gaze as he looked down at Shi Feng. No! That''s not right! As Shi Feng began to despair, he realized something. If Storas had the Defense of a Tier 5 existence, why had the Demon King defended himself? If his attacks had been useless to begin with, Storas wouldn''t have had to dodge or block his attacks. The Demon King could''ve stood there as he waited for ten seconds to pass. Moreover, his promotion quest''s clear condition was to seal Storas. This showed that Storas had some sort of weakness. As long as he found that weakness, he could seal Storas. Hence, Storas defended himself. Omniscient Eyes! Sure enough, there is a weakness! Shi Feng immediately discovered a hidden magic array over Storas''s heart. Currently, some kind of power suppressed the magic array. It resisted the golden chains around Storas''s body, preventing the chains from exhibiting their greatest power. Damn it. Has he found it? Storas''s gaze turned chilly when he noticed the magic arrays surface in Shi Feng''s eyes. Hurriedly, he pulled away from the Swordsman. As long as he survived for ten seconds, he could deal with this pest even with the magic array''s suppression. "You want to run?" As Storas retreated, the Demon King confirmed Shi Feng''s suspicion. Divine Steps! Immediately, ten doppelgangers surrounding Storas. With Shi Feng in the lead, the ten doppelgangers swung their swords at the Demon King, their target being the magic array over his heart. "Die!" Suddenly, Storas went berserk as he thrust his spear at Shi Feng and his doppelgangers. The spear had a longer reach than one-handed swords. Before Shi Feng''s swords could reach the magic array, his spear would penetrate Shi Feng. With Shi Feng''s Attributes, he only needed one attack to kill the Swordsman. Very quickly, Storas stabbed Shi Feng and all ten of his doppelgangers, revealing a vicious smile. However, the doppelganger directly behind Storas, which had already been stabbed numerous times, revealed a smile, the Killing Ray in its hand abruptly piercing Storas''s heart. Illusory Shadow! Killing Ray passed through Storas''s heart and destroyed the crystal that suppressed the sealing magic array. 1316 Tier 2 Promotion Chapter 1316 - Tier 2 Promotion When the crystal in Storas''s heart shattered, the power, which had been suppressing the sealing magic array, started to dissipate. At the same time, the golden chains grew stronger, sapping away Storas''s power. "No! No!!" Storas desperately tried to break free from the chains'' bindings. However, no matter how hard he struggled, the golden chains remained. On the contrary, they dragged Storas into the pitch-black portal that had appeared behind him. Eventually, Storas vanished into the portal. As the seal contained Storas, the Demonic Wizards were forced out of the map as if the Moon God''s Space had rejected them. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng stood alone in the temple. He then heard the sound of a system notification. - System: Congratulations! You have cleared the Asura Mode Promotion Quest. Rewarding 60 Legacy Skill Points. Activating Tier 2 Legacy Skill Menu. System: Congratulations! You have been promoted to a Tier 2 Blade Saint. All Attributes +150, all Resistances +30, Attack Power and Attack Speed increased by 20%, all Attributes increased by 50%, and physique improved by 50%. System: Congratulations! You have completed your Tier 2 Promotion Quest. Please head to the Adventurer''s Association to complete the Tier 2 promotion procedures. System: Congratulations! You have completed your Tier 2 Promotion Quest. If you wish to leave, you may head to the teleportation array in the Moon God''s Temple''s main hall and exit the Dark Canyon. - It''s finally over? Shi Feng slumped to the ground powerlessly. He was both physically and mentally exhausted. When he saw the system notifications, though, joy bloomed in his heart. The instant he was promoted to Tier 2, his Basic Attributes and physique improved significantly. Even if he wore Secret-Silver Equipment, he could easily take out a Tier 2 Lord. This was the frightening part of Tier 2 classes. Their strength was on an entirely different level compared to Tier 1 classes. Moreover, because the Blade Saint class was one of the Ten Great Saint Classes, his Tier 2 boost was even greater than normal classes. Normally, hidden classes only provided some extra Basic Attributes. On the other hand, the Blade Saint class provided an extra 10% to his physique. In the past, Shi Feng could have been considered an expert, yet during his Tier 2 Promotion Quest, he had only cleared the Hard Mode difficulty. Now, however, he had completed the Asura Mode Tier 2 Promotion Quest. The difference between his present and past self was like heaven and earth. In God''s Domain, expert players attempted to complete higher difficulty promotion quests due to the potential rewards. This was especially true when it came to Legacy Skill Points. Normally, players only obtained one Legacy Skill Point every three levels. One could also obtain some by completing special quests. However, these special quests were extremely rare, and they didn''t award many Legacy Skill Points. Accumulating Legacy Skill Points was typically very difficult. Depending on the promotion quest''s difficulty, it would award a different number of Legacy Skill Points. In the past, Shi Feng had only received 20 Legacy Skill Points after completing his Hard Mode Promotion Quest, yet he had received 60 points after completing this Asura Mode quest. The additional 40 points were the equivalent of 120 levels. After including the points he had accumulated previously, Shi Feng now had a total of 72 Legacy Skill Points. He could easily learn several powerful Tier 2 Legacy Skills. There sure are a lot of Tier 2 Legacy Skills unlocked. Shi Feng''s eyes shone as he opened the Legacy Skill Menu. When he had been Tier 1, he had only had 6 Tier 2 Legacy Skills available. Now, however, he had 17 Tier 2 Skills to choose from. However, Tier 2 Skills required far more Legacy Skill Points to unlock. Even the most ordinary Skill cost six points to unlock. That was three times more than ordinary Tier 1 Skills Among the 17 Tier 2 Skills, 11 required six points to unlock. Among the remaining six, two were Tier 2 Berserk Skills; one was an option to upgrade Blade Liberation to Tier 2, and another was called Blade Awakening. These two Berserk Skills each had their own specialties. Blade Liberation improved the user''s Basic Attributes. As for Blade Awakening, although it provided a much lower bonus to the user''s Basic Attributes, the Skill improved the user''s physique. Both were undoubtedly precious. As Shi Feng had already learned Blade Liberation, he didn''t have to spend as many points to upgrade it to Tier 2, only requiring 20 Legacy Skill Points. Blade Awakening, on the other hand, required 40 points Most players wouldn''t have 40 points even after completing their Tier 2 promotion. Only someone like him, who had cleared the Asura Mode Promotion Quest, could possibly afford such an expenditure. Without hesitation, Shi Feng learned both Berserk Skills, spending all 60 Legacy Skill Points he just earned instantly. Legacy Berserk Skills were extremely rare even among hidden classes. Not many hidden classes possessed such Skills. Moreover, Legacy Berserk Skills could stack with non-Legacy Berserk Skills. They were must-have Legacy Skills as they could save his life during crucial moments. Blade Liberation had already saved his life many times. He had decided to spend the points to upgrade it due to how much time it took to increase his Proficiency with the Skill. He did not have the time to wait for the Skill to reach Tier 2. As for Blade Awakening, needless to say, an additional Berserk Skill was an additional trump card. Although Blade Liberation and Blade Awakening couldn''t be used at the same time, they were interchangeable, further increasing his survivability. - [Blade Liberation] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 2 (Proficiency needed to upgrade to Tier 3: 0/50,000) Grants player unparalleled strength for 24 seconds. Effect varies based on the weapon''s unlocked potential. Player is Weakened once the duration ends. All Attributes decrease by 70% for 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Cooldown: 7 hours [Blade Awakening] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 2 (Proficiency needed to upgrade to Tier 3: 0/50,000) Improves the player''s Attributes and physique for 24 seconds. Effect varies based on the weapon''s unlocked potential. Player is Weakened once the duration ends. All Attributes decrease by 70% for 2 minutes, 30 seconds. Cooldown: 7 hours - Aside from these two Berserk Skills, Shi Feng spent his remaining Legacy Skill Points to unlock Sword of Shadows, a Skill that needed exactly 12 points. - [Shadow Blade] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 2 (Proficiency needed to upgrade to Tier 3: 0/30,000) Every attack can invoke shadows to attack the target. Every shadow possesses 120% of user''s Strength and causes 100% darkness damage. Accumulate one shadow every three seconds. Can hold a maximum of nine shadows. Cooldown: 3 seconds - Although it was not as powerful as a Sure-kill Skill, it had its own power in how often it could be used. Now that I''ve finished learning my Skills, I should head back and deal with my Tier 2 promotion procedures. Shi Feng was quite satisfied with the Tier 3 Skills he had learned. Without waiting for his Weakened state to end, he impatiently activated the teleportation array in the Moon God''s Temple and left the Dark Canyon. Although he had already completed his promotion quest, he wouldn''t officially be a Tier 3 class and wouldn''t have access to the privileges that came with it until he updated his status in the Adventurer''s Association. Only after becoming a Tier 2 class officially would he have crossed the new milestone. 1317 White River City Promoted Chapter 1317 - White River City Promoted White River City, Teleportation Hall: Shortly after Shi Feng arrived in the Teleportation Hall, the system notified him of a communication request from Blackie. "Guild Leader, you''re back! Have you completed your promotion quest?!" Blackie asked eagerly. Only a few people in the Guild knew that Shi Feng had challenged his promotion quest. Blackie was one of those people. Currently, Tier 2 was still an unknown realm to players like him. Moreover, Shi Feng had constantly told them that only by reaching Tier 2 would they emerge in God''s Domain as a true adventurer player. Tier 1 was only a warm-up phase to help them familiarize themselves with the game''s combat. Unlike the Tier 1 promotion, not every player would complete their Tier 2 promotion. The fact that Shi Feng''s class was a hidden class meant that his Tier 2 Promotion Quest would be all the more difficult. Although Blackie trusted Shi Feng''s strength, the Guild Leader had previously mentioned that he would need at least five days to complete his quest. However, Shi Feng had emerged long before those five days were up. Hence, Blackie was surprised to see his friend so soon. "I just need to register with the Adventurer''s Association," Shi Feng said, nodding. "But since you''ve contacted me, has something urgent happened?" "Yesterday, a particular group of people showed up in the Battle Arena, and they''ve been challenging various experts constantly. Even now, those players are undefeated. They even defeated the previous champion. The group then issued a public challenge against Zero Wing''s experts. But we''ve run out of qualified experts already" Blackie awkwardly explained. "Run out of qualified experts?" Shi Feng asked, "Did you lose as well?" "Mhm. The group''s Assassin defeated me. That player was too fast. Even I had trouble keeping up with him. Eventually, the Assassin whittled me down," Blackie said reluctantly. "This is interesting. Do you know their in-game IDs?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Blackie might not have much combat talent, but after training for so long, he had become extraordinarily strong. With his powerful weapon and equipment, ordinary peak experts should not be a match for Blackie, yet he had been defeated. Clearly, their opponents couldn''t be underestimated. The Assassin must be a well-known expert in God''s Domain. "We only found out one of their IDs. You''ve met the player before. It''s that Evil Fire kid that fought in the friendly competition. His in-game ID is also Evil Fire. He''s the group''s leader. As for the others, they''ve been wearing Black Cloaks, keeping their names hidden," Blackie said. "Evil Fire?" No matter how hard Shi Feng racked his mind, he couldn''t remember an expert named Evil Fire from the past. However, the fact that even Evil Fire''s companions could defeat Blackie proved that they weren''t a bunch of noobs. "I got it. Notify Aqua and have her deal with the group for now. I''ll head over once I''m done here." "Understood." Blackie then disconnected the call and contacted Aqua Rose. Meanwhile, Shi Feng rode an advanced horse carriage to the Adventurer''s Association. - Adventurer''s Association: As more leveling maps were discovered around the White River City region, the Adventurer''s Association had become one of the four most frequented spots in White River City. Countless players gathered in the Association every day to pick up quests that increased their Reputation with the Association and offered high rewards. Upon entering the splendorous building, Shi Feng was greeted by the sight of long lines of players queuing up for the quest counters. Plenty of players also loitered as they formed parties or drank and chatted in the Association''s bar. Among these players, there were quite a few Level 40 expert players wearing impressive equipment. Even the most inferior piece these experts wore was Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment, with the majority being Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. Normally, one only encountered such a commotion in the Adventurer''s Associations in empires'' capitals. "The quests in the Eclipse Gate this time are awesome! Did you know; my party made a huge profit from a single quest. It''s a pity that the team from the Rhine Kingdom snatched the rare herb stalks. Otherwise, every member of our party would''ve earned at least 50 Silver Coins." "That much?" "Of course! The Eclipse Gate is awesome. You can easily find rare herbs and ores. Moreover, the monsters provide above average EXP. And that''s only the tip of the iceberg. I''ve heard that some teams even got their hands on Energy Essence! It can nurture Guild Mounts! Several Guilds are offering to purchase Energy Essence in bulk. I hear that each essence can sell for 45 Silver. If we can grind ten a day, after including other random loot, each of our party members can earn 1 Gold per day!" "Is the Eclipse Gate really that good? We have an expert leading our party, and we''re doing quite well, but even then, we''re only making around 30 Silver per day. Who knows how long it will take me to save up for a Mount? You sure are lucky. At this rate, you should be able to buy a Mount within a month, right?" "Hehe. Didn''t I already ask you to join my party? If you do, you can get your own Mount within a month, too." The majority of the players in the hall were talking about the Eclipse Gate. They all yearned to head to the Eclipse Gate and earn enough money to buy a Mount as soon as possible. At this stage of the game, plenty of powerful elite players had already reached Level 40. It was only a matter of time before mainstream players reached Level 40 as well. After reaching Level 40, Mounts would become the dividing factor between ordinary players and elites. The difference in leveling efficiency between players with Mounts and players without would be as vast as the difference between heaven and earth. Moreover, thanks to Mounts, players could explore further within a certain amount of time. This, in turn, would increase players'' daily income. In God''s Domain, ores and herbs weren''t concentrated to specific locations. However, they weren''t usually found near cities. Hence, a player''s daily income largely depended on how much distance they could cover in a given time. As the majority of players hadn''t obtained their Mounts yet, distant locations would have less competition. As a result, players could obtain even more profit. The sooner one obtained a Mount, the sooner they could pull ahead of the pack and enjoy more resources. One could say that Mounts were irreplaceable in determining how fast players leveled up and increased their strength. Hearing the players in the hall talk about the Eclipse Gate, Shi Feng understood why so many Level 40 and above players had gathered in the Adventurer''s Association. According to his original estimates, White River City still needed at least ten days before it could be promoted. However, he had never imagined that White River City would fulfill that requirement while he had been in the Dark Canyon. This was definitely an unexpected surprise. With a high-resource map like the Eclipse Gate, Zero Wing wouldn''t have to worry about its development in White River City. They could send a large group of players to the Eclipse Gate to level up instead of crowding in the limited, high-resource maps in the White River City region. In addition, Guild members could level up far more quickly at the Eclipse Gate. Most importantly, however, this was a huge opportunity for Zero Wing to make a fortune. The Eclipse Gate''s outer area might be bearable for most players, but the farther players ventured, the more severe the environment would become. At the same time, players would encounter more resources and Bosses. The drop-rate for Energy Essence would also increase. If players wanted to obtain these resources easily, they first needed to increase their Ice and Fire Resistance. After activating the Eclipse Gate, Star-Moon Kingdom descended into madness in the past as players delved farther into the area. The various large Guilds had frantically purchased various potions and equipment that increased Ice and Fire Resistance. These items'' prices had inflated crazily. When they appeared in the market for a reasonable price, they were purchased instantly. Shortly after Shi Feng reached the Adventurer''s Association''s second-floor VIP lounge, an elegant NPC senior administrator entered the room. "Lord Protector, how may I serve you today?" the middle-aged man asked Shi Feng respectfully. "I wish to complete my Tier 2 promotion procedures," Shi Feng quietly announced. 1318 SSS-Rank Reward Chapter 1318 - SSS-Rank Reward When the NPC administrator heard that Shi Feng was there to complete his Tier 2 promotion procedures, he retrieved a crystal ball and placed it atop the table. "Lord Protector, we need to test your power first. Please place your hands on the crystal ball," the administrator said respectfully. Without hesitation, Shi Feng did as he was instructed. Although the system would upgrade players'' Attributes and physique once they completed their Tier 2 Promotion Quest, players wouldn''t get access to all of the Tier 2 benefits right off the bat. Players first needed to register and get themselves tested at the Adventurer''s Association. Only after proving that they had completed their promotion quest would players be recognized officially as Tier 2 players. As Shi Feng placed his hands on the crystal ball, golden sparkles flew from the orb. "It is confirmed that your physique has reached the Tier 2 standard. Lord Protector, please follow me." The administrator nodded after confirming Shi Feng''s upgrade. He then led Shi Feng out the lounge''s back door. Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised. The crystal ball was only a tool to check whether a player''s physique had reached Tier 2 without the bonus of weapons or equipment. The next part was key and would determine what kind of benefits players received after reaching Tier 2. Only after players had officially obtained their Tier 2 class would they be recognized as an adventurer in God''s Domain and qualify to receive personal commissions. This was one of the major differences between Tier 1 and Tier 2 players. To independent players, this gap would determine how successful they would be in God''s Domain. The administrator led Shi Feng to the Adventurer''s Association''s arena. The arena wasn''t particularly large, with less than a 30-yard radius. However, numerous magic arrays enveloped the arena, and dense Mana choked the area. Shi Feng''s Weakened state even subsided temporarily, his Attributes recovering to their peak. "Lord Protector, we will test your strength next to determine which rank you can reach. This will also help determine which commissions are most suitable for you. Please display your strongest abilities," the administrator explained. "Alright. Let''s begin." Shi Feng nodded. This wasn''t the first time he had taken the test. After officially becoming a Tier 2 player, players could accept private commissions from the Adventurer''s Association. There were many Tier 2 commissioned quests. However, players could only accept a limited number of such quests each week. This limit was relative to one''s adventurer rank. To put it simply, the stronger one was, the more quests they could accept. They could also accept more difficult quests. The first strength assessment was the most convenient for players when they became high-ranking adventurers. If one wished to raise their adventurer rank later, they would have to fulfill certain conditions first, and doing so would take a considerable amount of time. Even after completing their promotion quests, many players in the past had chosen to train for some time before taking their first strength assessment. Overall, six ranks divided adventurer players: Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, and Epic. Once mainstream players reached Level 50, players would start determining strength based on this adventurer rank. This was just like how players judged each other''s combat standards based on their achievements in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. However, unlike the Trial Tower, which only judged one''s combat techniques, the adventurer ranks were determined by a player''s overall strength. Commission quests would also vary based on players'' adventurer ranks. Bronze rank adventurers could accept F-rank and E-rank commissions, Mysterious-Iron adventurers could accept up to D-rank commissions, Secret-Silver up to C-rank, Fine-Gold up to B-rank, and Dark-Gold up to A-rank. Meanwhile, Epic adventurers could accept all commissions, including kingdom-level quests and S-rank commissions. There was no limit to the number of people who could qualify for the first five ranks. However, each kingdom could only have a maximum of ten Epic adventurers. Once these ten slots had been filled, players who wanted to rise to this rank needed to pass the Epic rank assessment. The Adventurer''s Association would also hold a competition each month. In this competition, players that passed the Epic assessment could challenge any one of the ten reigning Epic adventurers. If they won, they would take that person''s place. The Epic adventurer that lost would be demoted to Dark-Gold rank. If the challenger failed, however, they would have to wait another month before issuing another challenge. In the past, the names on this short list had changed practically every month, aside from those monster-like players. By becoming an Epic adventurer, players received the highest benefits the Adventurer''s Association had to offer. They could accept the highest number and difficulty of Tier 2 commissions. This was why Shi Feng had rushed to the Adventurer''s Association as soon as he had completed his quest. Three SSS-rank commission quests would be available in every kingdom''s Adventurer''s Association in the beginning. Once these quests were accepted, they would no longer be available. Even if the player that accepted the quest failed it, no other players could pick up the quest. Moreover, these quests offered astonishing rewards; the rewards of these first three SSS-rank quests could practically rival that of Legendary Quests. Fortunately, these three SSS-rank quests weren''t as difficult as Legendary Quests; they were roughly on par with Epic Quests. This was a kind of bonus offered to the players who became Epic adventurers before the rest of the player population. By the time Shi Feng had completed his Tier 2 Promotion Quest in the past, plenty of players had already obtained their Tier 2 class. However, none of those players had become Epic adventurers. Even the most powerful player in Star-Moon Kingdom had only achieved Fine-Gold rank. Only after some time had someone reached Epic rank and discovered the three SSS-rank commission quests. However, Shi Feng had only reached Secret-Silver rank. He had watched enviously as others got to challenge the SSS-rank quests. But he was much stronger than his past self. He had to try for Epic rank. As Shi Feng reached the arena''s center, the senior administrator activated a magic array. The instant the magic array activated, a humanoid monster appeared before Shi Feng. The monster wore pitch-black armor, and through the monster''s helmet, Shi Feng saw glowing, blood-red eyes staring right at him. - [Dark Knight] (Illusion, Lord) Level 53 HP 2,000,000/2,000,000 - "Lord Protector, you may begin," the administrator said. As a Tier 2 strength assessment, Shi Feng needed to be capable of taking down at Tier 2 monster at the very least. If he couldn''t even kill a Tier 2 monster, he would not qualify to become a Tier 2 class. As soon as the administrator finished speaking, Shi Feng took a step forward and vanished. Void Steps! Compared to Shi Feng''s previous status as a Tier 1 player, his physique was terrifying. In the blink of an eye, he had crossed a distance of 20 yards and appeared beside the Dark Knight, the Abyssal Blade in his hand lightly slicing at the monster. Shadow Blade! Before the Dark Knight could defend itself, nine pitch-black sword lights descended on it. Immediately, the Dark Knight''s HP fell rapidly. -11,049! -10,918! -21,849! Suddenly, the Dark Knight lost nearly one-tenth of its HP. Only now did the Dark Knight react and brandished its greatsword at Shi Feng. Cross Slash! Two slashes crisscrossed as they flew at Shi Feng. However, rather than dodge, Shi Feng countered the attack with a simple swing with Killing Ray. Boom! Shi Feng instantly sliced apart the Dark Knight''s Cross Slash. The Swordsman''s momentum didn''t slow in the slightest as it struck the Dark Knight''s helmet. The strike forced the monster to retreat by three steps. The difference between the opponent''s Strength was obvious. There was simply no comparison. In less than 30 seconds, the Dark Knight transformed into particles of black light and disappeared. From beginning to end, it hadn''t even been able to counterattack. "Congratulations, Lord Protector. You have passed the Bronze rank assessment and officially become a Tier 2 Sword Master. Do you wish to continue the strength assessment?" the NPC administrator congratulated. "Continue!" Shi Feng roared. 1319 Epic Adventurer Chapter 1319 - Epic Adventurer "Lord Protector, if you wish to continue, I must warn you," the administrator said as he adjusted the magic array and created another Dark Knight. "The last test was only meant to determine if you have reached the Tier 2 standard. "The following tests will determine your rank as an adventurer. This will also determine the rank of the commission quests you''ll be allowed to accept. The next tests will be far more difficult. If the Dark Knight kills you inside the magic array, your soul will be damaged, and you will suffer a Weakened state for some time. Moreover, the stronger the Dark Knight is, the longer the Weakened state will last. Are you sure you wish to continue?" "Continue!" Shi Feng answered without hesitation. He was very familiar with the consequences. The Bronze assessment was the lowest rank for Tier 2 players. The following assessments were the real challenge. Completing the Tier 2 Promotion Quest was already difficult. Most experts were only capable of passing the Mysterious-Iron assessment. One could say that the Mysterious-Iron assessment was a dividing line between expert and elite players. As soon as Shi Feng gave his answer, the administrator injected a stream of Mana into the Dark Knight. Immediately, the Dark Knight''s eyes released a bright, red glow, its aura growing stronger. - [Dark Knight] (Illusion, Lord) Level 53 HP 3,000,000/3,000,000 - This time, rather than wait for Shi Feng to attack, the Dark Knight took the initiative to use Charge at Shi Feng. Upon arriving before Shi Feng, the Dark Knight swung its silver greatsword. This Dark Knight was far superior to the last in both speed and Strength. Boom! As it landed, the greatsword created a crack in the ground that extended for over ten yards. However, this frightening, destructive power hadn''t hit Shi Feng. The silver greatsword had only landed beside Shi Feng''s feet. Meanwhile, a blue longsword pierced through the Dark Knight''s heart, causing a critical damage of -25,274. The crimson radiance from within the Dark Knight''s helmet brightened. Tightening its grip on its greatsword, the Dark Knight twisted as it swung its weapon horizontally. Whirlwind Slash! Dang! A crisp clang echoed throughout the arena. The Abyssal Blade had stopped the silver greatsword in its tracks, holding it away from Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the Sacred Sword in Shi Feng''s other hand descended on the Dark Knight once more. Shi Feng had easily been capable of killing a Lord of the same level when he had been a Tier 1 player. Now that he had been promoted to a Tier 2 Sword Master, killing such an opponent would be a piece of cake. In less than a minute, the Mysterious-Iron rank Dark Knight faded into particles of black light and disappeared. Another Dark Knight quickly took its place. However, this monster was slightly different. Instead of a greatsword, it wielded two double-edged axes. Its aura was also far more violent. - [Dark Warrior] (Illusion, High Lord) Level 53 HP 4,000,000/4,000,000 - "Lord Protector, do you wish to continue?" the administrator asked again. "Continue." Shi Feng nodded. He was very familiar with the Dark Warrior before him. When he had become a Tier 2 player in his previous life, he had faced this Dark Warrior during his first assessment. Afterward, he had spent a lot of time and effort to improve his weapons, equipment, and techniques before he had defeated the Dark Warrior and became a Secret-Silver adventurer. As Shi Feng declared his intent, the Dark Warrior roared and dashed towards Shi Feng like a wild beast. When only ten yards separated the two combatants, the Dark Warrior threw one of its axes at Shi Feng. An explosion shook the arena as the axe tore through the air, flying straight for Shi Feng''s heart. Death Throw! Immediately after, the Dark Warrior raised its other axe before pushing off of the ground. The monster shot forward like a bullet and followed closely behind the axe it had thrown. It was clear that the Dark Warrior intended to take advantage of the moment Shi Feng dodged its axe to strike. In terms of combat techniques, the Dark Warrior was undoubtedly stronger than the prior Dark Knights. Only, before the thrown axe could reach Shi Feng, a blue streak of light struck the weapon and sent it flying off course. The Dark Warrior was stunned. Shi Feng then used his Abyssal Blade to block the Dark Warrior''s axe. Meanwhile, with Killing Ray now unoccupied, Shi Feng lightly slashed the Sacred Sword across the monster''s massive form, leaving behind one deep furrow after another on the latter''s armor. "This" The senior administrator, who watched quietly from a safe position, was stunned. He hadn''t been surprised to see Shi Feng overwhelm the Lord ranked Dark Knights with his Strength. However, Shi Feng achieved the same feat against a High Lord of the same level To Shi Feng, however, this was only a matter of course. Currently, he wielded numerous Epic items as well as two Fragmented Legendary items. He also had the Blade Saint class, one of the Ten Great Saint Classes. If his Strength couldn''t rival that of a High Lord of the same level after reaching Tier 2, that would be strange. According to Shi Feng''s estimates, his current Strength and speed should be equal, if not close, to a Great Lord of the same level. Even without using his Skills, he could easily deal with a High Lord of the same level. Only, it would take some time to finish off his opponent. After a minute and a half, without suspense, Shi Feng defeated the Dark Warrior. Then, the Fine-Gold rank Dark Warrior appeared. It was similarly a High Lord, though it possessed a few more Skills than the Secret-Silver rank Dark Warrior. Its Basic Attributes were also slightly superior, and its combat standards could rival a player who had reached the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. It also had 5,000,000 HP. In the past, only a handful of Star-Moon Kingdom''s players had defeated this terrifying monster in their first assessment. However, against Shi Feng, who had an advantage in terms of Strength, speed, and techniques, the Dark Warrior only lasted two minutes before collapsing to the ground. As the Fine-Gold rank Dark Warrior died, a Dark General wielding a spear took its place. The Dark General also had a longsword hanging from its waist. - [Dark General] (Illusion, Great Lord) Level 53 HP 6,000,000/6,000,000 - This was the gatekeeper that had prevented every player in Star-Moon Kingdom from becoming a Dark-Gold adventurer during their first assessment. "Come," Shi Feng invited the Dark General as he activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. This time, Shi Feng chose to use his doppelganger to distract the Dark General while he dealt damage from the sides. Although his doppelganger lost some HP each time it blocked an attack, the Dark General lost HP at a much faster rate. Eventually, when the doppelganger was almost out of HP, both Shi Feng and his doppelganger used Flame Burst. After receiving 30 devastating strikes, the Dark General lost of its remaining HP. With its final struggle, the Dark General took Shi Feng''s doppelganger with it the grave. As the Dark General disappeared, the magic array covering the arena went berserk as it devoured Mana from its surroundings and diverted it to the center of the arena. Gradually, a three-meter-tall knight decked out in golden armor and dual-wielding two, crimson greatswords formed. - [King of Darkness] (Illusion, Grand Lord) Level 53 HP 8,000,000/8,000,000 - Although Shi Feng had known about the Epic assessment''s difficulty, he was a little shocked as he met the King of Darkness for the first time. Were this not an assessment, but an actual Grand Lord of the same level, he could simply turn tail and run. After all, a Grand Lord''s HP and battle recovery alone were enough to overwhelm him. After Shi Feng rested, he started the challenge. Immediately, the King of Darkness waved its two greatswords. Three Level 53, Lord rank Dark Knights then appeared by its side. Though, unlike the previous Dark Knights, these only had 800,000 HP each. However, as these Dark Knights died, the King of Darkness could summon them again. Moreover, each Dark Knight''s death would heal the King of Darkness for 400,000 HP. To ordinary players, the King of Darkness was an unreasonable opponent. However, Shi Feng had prepared for this fight. Immediately, he stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground. Abyssal Curse! Suddenly, the ground transformed into a dark swamp that trapped the King of Darkness and the Dark Knights. But contrary to Shi Feng''s expectation, Abyssal Curse hadn''t decreased the King of Darkness''s Attributes. Shi Feng no longer held back as he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. His Strength Attribute instantly surpassed that of the King of Darkness. He then activated Instant Strike and appeared before the Grand Lord. Phantom Kill! Nine Dragons Slash! His doppelganger also activated Instant Strike the moment it appeared, its Attack Speed and damage skyrocketing. Shi Feng and his doppelganger then launched a barrage of attacks at the King of Darkness. Shi Feng dealt over -90,000 damage with each strike; -200,000 with a critical hit. As for his doppelganger, it dealt nearly -80,000 damage. Sword lights descended on the King of Darkness like rain, the Grand Lord''s HP vanished at a rate visible to the naked eye. In three short seconds, the King of Darkness''s HP fell to 50%. It raged as it broke free from Abyssal Curse''s binding, brandishing its twin greatswords. In response, Shi Feng cast Abyssal Bind on the King of Darkness, not giving the Grand Lord a chance to counterattack. Although Abyssal Bind couldn''t restrict the King of Darkness for four full seconds, Shi Feng only needed one or two seconds. Thundering Flash! Thunder Flame Explosion! Dragon Breath! Flame God''s Fury! One Skill after another mercilessly collided with the King of Darkness. Once the Grand Lord had one-third of its HP, any additional damage Shi Feng dealt caused a part of its golden armor to turn black. At the same time, the Grand Lord''s aura seemed to grow stronger. The nine pitch-black chains that bound the King of Darkness began to shatter. It was obvious that the King of Darkness had a Passive Skill that boosted its Attributes as it lost HP. The King of Darkness was already life-threatening. The Grand Lord''s frightening, destructive power even shocked Shi Feng. When the King of Darkness was nearly free from its bindings, Shi Feng and his doppelganger used Flame Burst simultaneously. Four miniature suns illuminated the arena. Although the King of Darkness eventually freed itself and blocked some of the 30 devastating strikes, each of Shi Feng''s strikes that hit dealt over -200,000 damage; -400,000 for critical hits. Even though the Grand Lord had blocked a fraction of the attacks, Shi Feng finished off the King of Darkness by the time Flame Burst ended. As the King of Darkness died, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. - System: Congratulations! You have become Star-Moon Kingdom''s first Epic rank adventurer. Your name will be known throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Please retrieve your reward from the Adventurer''s Association''s Association Leader. 1320 A Quest that Determines the Fate of a Country Chapter 1320 - A Quest that Determines the Fate of a Country Retrieve a reward from the Adventurer''s Association''s Association Leader? Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he read the system notification. The Association Leader was the highest position in the Adventurer''s Association. The Association Leader of White River City''s Adventurer''s Association wasn''t the same as the city''s Magistrate. Normally, a city Magistrate couldn''t leave the city under their management. In contrast, the Association Leaders left their cities frequently, so they were extremely difficult to meet. Although it had been referred to as a reward, in reality, it was a considerably high-difficulty quest. Once the King of Darkness vanished, Shi Feng heard another system notification. - System: Do you wish to leave your name on the Epic List? - Shi Feng instantly clicked "Yes." However, he altered the name he registered with, using "Black Flame." Once he entered his name, it appeared on the massive pillar at the edge of the arena. Any player that came to the Adventurer''s Association for their Tier 2 assessment would see it. The senior administrator excitedly approached Shi Feng, holding a dark purple emblem. This was proof that he had become an Epic adventurer in Star-Moon Kingdom. There were only ten such emblems in the entire kingdom, and it was definitely an honor to receive one. "Lord Protector, congratulations on becoming an Epic adventurer. This Purple Star Emblem is proof of your identity. You can accept any Tier 2 commission quests without restrictions as long as you reveal it." The senior administrator carefully handed the emblem to Shi Feng, reverence filling his gaze as he looked at the Swordsman. Only ten Epic adventurers could exist in Star-Moon Kingdom at a time. The position could practically rival the Association''s 4-star adventurers. As Shi Feng received the emblem, emotion overwhelmed him. In the past, even the Dark-Gold ranked emblem had been far out of his reach, much less the Purple Star Emblem. The Purple Star Emblem provided more than access to quests. He would also have access to many other privileges in the Adventurer''s Association. For example, when players accepted commission quests, they needed to pay a deposit fee. Players with the Purple Star Emblem enjoyed a 50% discount on these fees. The Adventurer''s Association would also prepare one S-rank quest for Epic adventurers once a week. The Tier 2 commissioned quests were available throughout the country, but there was a limited number. As players accepted these quests, fewer would be available. Multiple players couldn''t accept a single commission quest unless it were specifically a team-based quest. Moreover, depending on the difficulty ranking, the number of available commissioned quests would change. For example, Fine-Gold adventurers were allowed to accept a maximum of B-rank commission quests. However, there were very few quests available to Fine-Gold adventurers. They''d be lucky if they got their hands on a C-rank commission. It was even more difficult for Dark-Gold adventurers. In addition, the Adventurer''s Association did not update the commission quests at regular intervals; the updates were random. Hence, nobody knew when high-rank quests would resurface. As a result, the competition between high-ranking adventurers became even more intense. Epic adventurers were the only exception as they would be granted a designated S-rank quest each week. Commission quests were different from public quests. Take Epic and Legendary Quests for example. If the players who accepted these quests failed to complete them within the stipulated time frame, they would suffer a severe penalty, but players wouldn''t be punished for failing the Adventurer''s Association''s commission quests. Players only needed to pay a deposit before accepting a commission quest. This deposit was generally in the form of Coins or Magic Crystals, and the more difficult a quest was, the higher its deposit would be. When a player completed a commission quest, their deposit would be returned to them alongside the corresponding rewards. On the other hand, if a player failed, they wouldn''t get their deposit back. One could say that the deposit replaced the punishment for failure. Hence, players generally preferred to challenge a high-difficulty commission quest as the most they would lose was some Coins or Magic Crystals. Compared to the potential rewards, the loss was nothing. "I wish to accept a commission. May I see a list of the available quests?" Shi Feng asked the administrator. "That won''t be a problem. Please follow me." The administrator nodded. Following which, the administrator led Shi Feng to the second floor''s VIP reception room and retrieved a list of commissions, handing it to Shi Feng. There sure are quite a few high-rank quests available. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished. When he had come in search of commissions in the past, he had rarely found D-rank commissions, much less C-rank. Even when some had been available, they had generally been very difficult. However, he was now the only person in Star-Moon Kingdom to complete a Tier 2 promotion. He had no competition. The number of available quests was staggering. There were 22 S-rank commissions available at the moment, which only Epic adventurers could accept. As for A-rank commissions, which only Dark-Gold adventurers and higher could accept, there were 458 available. B-rank commissions numbered 5,163. As for the commissions below B-rank, needless to say, there were far more. All of these commissions were available throughout the various cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. Shi Feng was simply amazed. B-rank commissions already offered bountiful rewards. Even the most common B-rank commission would award a piece of Secret-Silver Equipment of the same level, with more difficult quests awarding Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment of the same level. After reaching Level 50 and beyond, it would be extremely difficult to obtain Secret-Silver Equipment, not to mention Fine-Gold Equipment. However, these factors weren''t the most important aspect of commission quests. Once players completed a commissioned quest, the Adventurer''s Association would award a corresponding number of Contribution Points. Although players could exchange these points for weapons and equipment, players could also purchase valuable Tier 2 Skill Books. When players reached Tier 2 in God''s Domain, they would no longer be able to learn basic Tier 2 Skills from their class instructors as they had during Tier 1. Normally, players could only obtain Tier 2 Skills by completing quests or from loot and Treasure Chests. One of the most frequently used methods to obtain Tier 2 Skill Books was through the Adventurer''s Association. Tier 2 Skills were much stronger than Tier 1 Skills. Whenever Tier 2 players obtained a Tier 2 Skill or upgrading their Tier 1 Skill to Tier 2, their combat power would increase significantly. Many players had rushed to the Adventurer''s Association to compete for commission quests every day in the past. As the game progressed, the Adventurer''s Association would become even more popular. Sure enough, these three quests are still the available SSS-ranked commissions. Shi Feng quickly located the three most difficult quests available throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Normally, S-rank commissions were considered kingdom-level quests. In other words, success and failure could affect an entire kingdom. Needless to say, these were incredibly difficult quests. Only powerful Epic adventurers could hope to challenge them. SS-rank quests were obviously more important than S-rank. Normally, these quests could affect two or three kingdoms or an empire. SSS-rank commissions could determine a country''s rise or fall. Normally, encountering such a quest heavily relied on luck. Now, however, three of these quests were available, and they were Revenge of the Fallen, Undead Resurrection, and Ancient Orc Empire. These three quests had been very well-known in Star-Moon Kingdom in the past. However, not a single player had completed any of these quests. It had been one of the Star-Moon Kingdom''s regrets as any one of these quests could lift the kingdom to prominence. In the past, there had been a country called the Golden Sands Kingdom. Due to the kingdom''s Epic adventurers completing the first three SSS-rank commissions the system offered, the kingdom had grown to become the Golden Sands Empire. Not only had the kingdom annexed its two neighbors during its promotion, but it also grew to occupy several massive, neutral maps. This incident had shocked God''s Domain. Nobody had ever thought that Epic adventurers had that kind of ability. Of course, those Epic adventurers had only completed the SSS-rank commissions due to them being as difficult as upper-rank Epic Quests. One of the reasons that Shi Feng wanted to become an Epic adventurer so quickly in this life was that he wanted to promote Star-Moon Kingdom to Star-Moon Empire. 1321 National Weapon Chapter 1321 - National Weapon The three SSS-rank commissions were crucial to Star-Moon Kingdom''s upgrade. If Star-Moon Kingdom were upgraded to an empire, as the kingdom''s number one Guild, Zero Wing would rise with it. This developmental method was much easier than contesting with other Guilds for territory. There were many other benefits to be had when a kingdom upgraded to an empire as well. One of them was the acquisition of the neutral maps surrounding the kingdom. God''s Domain''s neutral maps occupied more area than all of the empires and kingdoms combined. Every one of these neural maps was a high-level area. Many among them were also high-resource maps. Once players reached Level 50, they would gradually migrate to these neutral maps. Maps above Level 100 were extremely rare in kingdoms. Empires did not fare much better in this regard. Hence, it was only a matter of time before players turned towards neutral maps to continue their development. Meanwhile, when a kingdom upgraded, it would annex these maps, and the new empire would claim the areas. It would then become much easier to level in these maps due to the NPC cities that would emerge. In the past, every NPC city constructed in a neutral map had a minimum player population of 3,000,000. Among them, the NPC city in the Shallow Hills, one of the neutral maps the Golden Sands Empire had claimed, had reached a player population of over 10,000,000 during its peak. This gave the Epic adventurer Guilds, who completed the SSS-rank commissions, a massive windfall. This was due to the new cities'' Lands. To purchase those Lands, players needed a certain amount of Reputation in the former kingdom or noble status in the new NPC city. It had become impossible for non-native Guilds to purchase the Lands within a short amount of time. Meanwhile, due to the neutral maps'' high-level environment, the new city''s Lands had been far more valuable than Lands in cities near low-level maps. Shi Feng had been planning this since he joined God''s Domain in this life. "Lord Protector, there is a very large variety of commissions available. If you are unsure of which to choose, I can offer a recommendation based on your preference and requirements," the senior administrator suggested after Shi Feng''s long moment of silence. "Thanks for the offer, but I''ve made my decision. I''ll choose the Ancient Orc Empire," Shi Feng said as he pointed to the quest name on the list. Although Star-Moon Kingdom''s past players had known about the three SSS-rank commission quests, no one had known about the quests'' contents aside from the player who accepted them. After carefully reading through the quests'' contents, Shi Feng concluded that the Ancient Orc Empire was the easiest among the three. Based on his current abilities, completing the other two would be impossible. Revenge of the Fallen required him to kill five Fallens that hid within Star-Moon Kingdom. The Fallen within Star-Moon Kingdom would not be as easy to deal with as Berenwoka. The system wouldn''t suppress them. A Fallen at its peak had the strength to destroy an entire city. Moreover, these Fallens hid all over Star-Moon Kingdom. Just finding them would be a difficult task. It was no wonder why nobody had completed the commission in the past. Undead Resurrection wasn''t easy either. He needed to gather three extremely rare items: the Book of Undead, the Bone Staff, and the Ancient Contract. Of these items, Shi Feng had only heard of the Book of Undead. However, this item was located in the Level 80 neutral map, Slumbering Tomb. It was the gathering place for Undead. The Book of the Undead was even guarded by the Tier 4 Mythic rank Skeleton King. Shi Feng had no hope of obtaining the book. And he had never heard of the other two items before. He did not even know where to start looking for them That only left the Ancient Orc Empire. Once, the powerful Orc Empire had its imperial capital in the Level 75 neutral map, Mourning Battlefield, which was situated between Star-Moon Kingdom and Purple Thorns Kingdom. However, after countless wars, the imperial capital had become a battlefield. Powerful Orcs currently gathered in the ruins, hoping to restore the glory they once enjoyed and conquer the several surrounding kingdoms. These Orcs had been a thorn in these kingdoms'' sides for a long time now. The Ancient Orc Empire commission''s task was to destroy the alliance between the various Orc tribes. In order to destroy this alliance, Shi Feng was required to locate the Orc Empire''s founding emperor''s weapon, the Disintegration Axe, and prevent it from falling into Orc hands. If the Orcs got their hands on this weapon, they would be able to gather the Orcs scattered across God''s Domain. If they succeeded, God''s Domain''s various kingdoms and empires would be in trouble. Fortunately, the Disintegration Axe had been very famous in the past. Shi Feng knew the weapon''s whereabouts. Otherwise, he would have been forced to choose the Undead Resurrection commission instead. "Lord Protector, this commission will require a 6,000 Gold deposit. However, as you are an Epic adventurer, you are only required to pay half. Are you sure you wish to accept this commission?" the senior administrator asked. Shi Feng handed 3,000 Gold over without hesitation. As a result, however, he was almost broke. Although Stone Forest Town had earned quite a lot of money while he had been busy, most of that money had been reinvested in the town and Guild''s development. Part of the money had also been used to purchase Diamond Wood. There wasn''t much left. He also needed to save funds for his future city''s development and construct the Four Towers of Elements. After his rampant slaughter of Demonic Beasts in the Moon God''s Space, Shi Feng had a total of 989 Seven Luminaries Shards. Although he had wanted to grind a little more, as he obtained more shards, their drop-rate decreased. Fortunately, he had enough to synthesize 40 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals and construct the Four Towers of Elements. Once the towers had been constructed, his city would be safe from players. However, constructing a high-end building like the Four Towers of Elements cost an astronomical number of Coins. Based on Shi Feng''s initial estimates, the other materials alone would cost around 90,000 Gold Once Shi Feng accepted the commission and was about to return to the Candlelight Trading Firm, Blackie contacted him. "Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Blackie''s grim expression. "Guild Leader, we lost again" Blackie replied quietly. "What? Even Aqua and Summer were defeated?" Shi Feng was slightly stunned. He had sent Aqua Rose and the others to the Battle Arena. He had a very clear understanding of Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer''s strengths. Both were fully geared in top-tier equipment. In addition, not only were they Refinement Realm experts, but the two women had also grasped a portion of the Secret Spellcasting Technique. With their strength, no one throughout Star-Moon Kingdom should be their match. Only the superpowers'' peak experts should be able to offer a challenge. Restoring Zero Wing''s reputation should be a piece of cake for them. "Well, no. The other side suddenly asked to change the rules of the competition and is now seeking to melee combat. Skills, Spells, and tools are not permitted. So, only Cola, Shadow Sword, and Flying Shadow were able to fight. However, all three were defeated. That Evil Fire kid still hasn''t made a move either" Blackie explained. "Currently, the people in the Battle Arena are starting to badmouth us, saying that Zero Wing doesn''t have any capable experts. Many Guilds have sent spies to rub salt in our wounds. If we don''t stop those guys now, the prestige we''ve worked so hard to gain will most likely "Guild Leader, what I''m trying to say is that we should send in Big Sis Fire. She can definitely defeat those punks." "This is interesting. Even Cola and Flying Shadow''s techniques were no match for them?" Shi Feng''s lips curled up, his interest in Evil Fire growing. First, Evil Fire had challenged him, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, publicly. He then went to Stone Forest Town a day before the competition to make a name for himself. With this, Shi Feng would have no choice but to accept Evil Fire''s challenge. "Guild Leader, should I ask Big Sis Fire for help?" Blackie asked anxiously. Fire Dance had been busy dealing with important Guild affairs. Moreover, Shi Feng had already stated that without his permission, nobody was to disturb Fire Dance. However, they had no choice but to involve Fire Dance, the number two melee expert in Zero Wing, to teach those challengers a lesson now that trouble was knocking on their door. Unfortunately, involving Shi Feng wasn''t an option. If their Guild Leader fought a bunch of nameless challengers, it would humiliate Zero Wing and its members. After all, Zero Wing was no longer some small, upstart Guild. It was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. "No. I''ll make a trip myself." Shi Feng smiled as he shook his head. 1322 Unlocking a New Function Chapter 1322 - Unlocking a New Function Stone Forest Town: When Shi Feng stepped out of the Guild Residence, the sight before him was foreign. Rows of one- and two-story houses had stood before the Guild Residence previously. Now, various virtual shops occupied both sides of the street. There were also advanced hotels, restaurants, bars, and other establishments. The street was now as busy as White River City''s most popular areas. There was no lack of expert players that had exceeded Level 40. Some players even roamed the street atop Mounts. Aside from adventurer players, quite a few Lifestyle players chatted merrily on the street. Many wandering merchant NPCs hawked their wares from temporary stalls along the main street. The NPC traffic was just as shocking as the number of players. The lively scene made Stone Forest Town look like a city rather than a town. Shi Feng was surprised. After just a few days, Stone Forest Town had undergone such a massive transformation. If the town continued to develop at this rate, it wouldn''t be long before it could be promoted to an Advanced Town. If Shi Feng hadn''t already started his city''s construction, Stone Forest Town could have served as Zero Wing''s main headquarters. As Shi Feng slowly made his way to the Battle Arena, he eavesdropped on the conversations throughout Stone Forest Town. "More experts are gathering in the Battle Arena each day. Before this, I could have easily ranked among the daily tournaments'' top 100 and earned the consolation prize. Now, I can''t even get within the top 300" "That''s right. Only our team leader can hold his rank in the top 100 now. However, I heard that Zero Wing plans to extend the consolation prizes to cater to the top 300 soon. The top 100 contestants will get priority in purchasing Exotic Stamina Potions from the Candlelight Trading Firm. They''ll even get a 10% discount. But they will be limited to three bottles." "Priority in purchasing the Exotic Stamina Potion? That''s great! Candlelight only sells a limited number each day, and the various large Guilds and secondhand dealers usually claim them." "That''s right. Fortunately, we have our team leader. We''ll be able to buy three Exotic Stamina Potions every day. As long as we stockpile, we''ll be able to explore those high-level maps. Our income will be amazing. I heard that the Sharp Edge adventurer team went on an expedition earlier, venturing into the core of the Ghost Ruins and making a fortune. I''ve also heard that they''re already preparing to buy their second private house in Stone Forest Town. All that''s left is to wait until Zero Wing sells more." "They made that much money? I heard that the private houses auctioned for more than 600 Gold. I''m guessing that they''ll be far more expensive during the next auction." "Of course. They came across a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest during their expedition and obtained a Secret-Silver ranked combat boots design from it. They sold it in the Auction House for a fortune." "The Exotic Stamina Potion is awesome. Practically nobody explores those distant maps. I wish we could get a private house in Stone Forest Town. We''d be able to participate in the Battle Arena''s daily tournament everyday. We could also purchase special tools from the wandering merchants." "That''s right. Unfortunately, our leader is still hesitant. He''s unsure of whether or not we should equip each team member with a Mount first." The players'' eyes sparkled as they discussed Stone Forest Town''s private houses. No one had thought much of the town''s private houses previously. After all, there were Transport Carriages that traveled to and from other NPC towns, saving them plenty of time. However, these players realized that there was a world of difference between the teams that owned a private house those that did not. Not only could the teams that owned private houses send their strongest expert to the Battle Arena, but they could also purchase various items from the wandering merchants when the NPCs restocked. Most importantly, team members could accumulate the Double EXP buff. They also had the option of using their private houses as warehouses. It seems people are starting to realize the benefits of private houses. However, this is only the beginning. Shi Feng''s confidence in his plans grew as he listened to the public''s growing interest in Stone Forest Town''s private houses. In reality, private houses offered more than just easy teleportation for their owners. Their companions could also utilize this function. Unfortunately, only a small number of players could teleport at a time. Moreover, the Cooldown between each teleport was considerably long. In addition, private houses needed to reach a certain rank before this function would be available. To put it simply, private houses could be upgraded like Guild Residences'' private rooms and Shops. In fact, player-constructed private houses were much easier to upgrade. It simply depended on whether or not the house''s town had reached the required standard to unlock the group teleportation function. This was also why players preferred to purchase private houses in large Guilds'' towns and cities. First, it granted them some security. Players wouldn''t have to worry about other Guilds invading and capturing the town. Second, large Guilds'' towns tended to develop quickly. This, in turn, meant that the private houses could be upgraded very quickly. Currently, Stone Forest Town was an Intermediate Town. Owners could already upgrade their private houses. Unfortunately, the town had yet to unlock the group teleportation function. Two conditions needed to be met to unlock this function. The first condition was a player population of over 300,000. For Stone Forest Town, meeting this requirement was a piece of cake. The second condition was the town''s security. This condition was a little more complex. The town needed a sufficient number of defensive structures and a certain quality of the NPCs guarding the town. Once these conditions were met, the town would unlock the group teleportation function. Stone Forest Town had already met the requirement for defensive structures. The only problem remaining was the quality of the NPC guards. Although the Guild could recruit NPC guards, it couldn''t nurture them. Hence, the quality of the NPCs depended on the town''s standard and luck. It would take time to meet the requirement. Fortunately, things had changed. Shi Feng had intended to use the Hero''s Chapter in his new city. After reviewing the situation, though, Shi Feng decided that this was a good opportunity to develop Stone Forest Town. Before Shi Feng had realized it, he had already reached Stone Forest Town''s most popular locationthe Battle Arena! A large crowd of players was trying to squeeze into the Battle Arena, now the size of Jin Hai City''s City Center Sports Arena. The scene wasn''t any less lively than the White Tiger Dojo''s friendly competition. Meanwhile, in the Battle Arena''s fourth-floor tournament hall, players filled the stands as they constantly cheered on the fighters on the stage. Among them, many were Level 40 and above experts. At this moment, the fight on the stage reached its conclusion. The victor was a cloaked Berserker. However, the spectators hadn''t cheered because the match was so exciting. Rather, their cheers were due to another Zero Wing expert''s defeat "Sure enough, Turtledove isn''t a match for them." Blackie sighed as he watched the stage. Both Rampant Blade and Ye Wumian had fought as well. However, their opponents had been too strong. Neither had lowered their opponents'' HP below 50%. Only Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword had reduced their opponents'' HP to nearly half. The unknown challengers were ridiculously strong. "Hahaha! It seems Zero Wing''s experts only amount to this much! They are only slightly stronger than those first-rate Guild peak experts we challenged before. Zero Wing, just send whatever expert you''ve got. I''ll accept the loss if you can get my HP below 50%!" a two-meter tall, cloaked Berserker said, laughing. "Damn it! They''re looking down on Zero Wing!" Shadow Sword slammed his palms on the guardrail, wrathful flames burning in his eyes. "If Big Sis Fire were here, she would beat them to a pulp!" Zero Wing''s other members nodded in agreement. Fire Dance was the undisputed number two melee expert in Zero Wing. Only the Vice Guild Leader Gentle Snow could put up a fight against her. No one else could even offer a challenge. Suddenly, a familiar figure slowly approached the stage. When Blackie and the others saw this figure, their jaws dropped. "Guild Leader!" 1323 Overwhelming Chapter 1323 - Overwhelming Blackie, Aqua Rose, and the other core members of Zero Wing in the spectator stands blinked in surprise. "Guild Leader, you''re going to fight?" Turtledove, who stood by the stage, could not help but ask in surprise as Shi Feng walked towards her. Shi Feng wasn''t wearing his Black Cloak, his appearance on display for all to see. However, even with an Identification Skill, players would only see his name, nothing else. "Mhm. I want to see their true strength for myself." Shi Feng nodded. Although Blackie had sent him some of the opponents'' battle videos, Flying Shadow and the others hadn''t been able to force them to exhibit their true strength. They hadn''t used anything unique, so it wasn''t easy to relate them to God''s Domain''s past experts. "Guild Leader, you need to be careful. When I fought him, I had the feeling that I couldn''t exert my full power. It was as if all of my attacks had struck a ball of cotton. The technique he used to finish me off was particularly mysterious. When I watched the battle videos of when he had used the same technique during the previous rounds, I only saw him move. There were no afterimages or anything. But when I had faced him myself, it felt as if he had been everywhere around me." Ghost Steps? Hearing Turtledove''s experience, the only combat technique that came to Shi Feng''s mind was Ghost Steps. Like Void Steps, Ghost Steps was an advanced footwork technique. The technique made it difficult for opponents to predict the user''s attack trajectory. In the past, very few people in God''s Domain had used this technique. However, of the players Shi Feng could remember, none resembled the man on the stage. "Ye Feng? It seems that Zero Wing is finally taking us seriously," Evil Fire, who sat in the VIP stands, said, smiling as he watched Shi Feng. According to his knowledge, after Black Flame, the next strongest experts were Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Ye Feng, and Violet Cloud. "Is he strong?" the menacing-looking man carrying a blood-red shield on his back and holding a hammer asked curiously. "Unwavering, based on Evil''s reaction, he must be. It''s a pity that it is still Tiger''s turn to fight. If that player had just waited a little longer, it would''ve been my turn," a gorgeous, graceful woman said as she toyed with the pitch-black dagger in her hand. The woman wore the Light of Darkness Set Equipment, a Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for Assassins. Sighing, she continued, "Watching from the sidelines is really boring." "Flower''s right. We shouldn''t have agreed to such long intervals. Thanks to that, Tiger''s getting all the good fights." The other group members nodded in agreement. They were fully aware of how strong the Berserker, Mighty Tiger, was. He was already Level 44. He could easily rank among the top 10 on an empire''s Ranking List. Although he didn''t wear Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, he had two pieces of Growth-type Equipment on him and had already upgraded both to the Dark-Gold rank. They were much stronger than ordinary Dark-Gold Equipment. Their Attributes were also suitable for Berserkers. Recently, Mighty Tiger had also his Growth-type Weapon, Howling Tomahawk, to Epic rank, raising his combat power to a whole new level. Even their team leader had said that, with Mighty Tiger''s standards, he could already challenge the top 200 experts on the God''s Domain Experts List. Moreover, that was without using Ghost Steps. But what about Star-Moon Kingdom? Aside from Black Flame, who ranked 51st on the God''s Domain Experts List, the kingdom didn''t have a single player in the top 200. If anything, only Fire Dance, who had risen to the 215th position in the latest update, was worth their attention. "As long as Tiger defeats Ye Feng, we just need to defeat Fire Dance or Gentle Snow. After that, I doubt that Black Flame will be able to just stand by. He''ll be forced to accept your challenge tomorrow, Evil." Unwavering Hand said as he shifted his gaze to Aqua Rose and the other Zero Wing core members. "Evil, make sure to give it your all. The leader has a very favorable view of you. You will be representing our adventurer team in its debut fight. You can''t lose." "Big Brother Unwavering, I thought you were aware of my abilities. Just sit back and enjoy the fight tomorrow," Evil Fire said, smiling. He paid no attention whatsoever to Black Flame''s title of Sword King. He only had one goal: to rank among the top 10 on the God''s Domain Experts List. Meanwhile, an uproar shook the spectator stands. "Crap, isn''t that Ye Feng, Zero Wing''s Honorary Elder?" "After losing so many matches, it seems Zero Wing had finally decided to get serious. That Berserker''s winning streak will come to an end." "That''s not certain. The previous Zero Wing experts were defeated so easily. Although the rumors about Ye Feng''s feats are impressive, that doesn''t mean he can defeat that Berserker." "That''s right! None of Zero Wing''s experts could reduce the Berserker''s HP to below 50%. This is also a melee battle; they can''t use any Skills, Spells, or tools. This shows how high the Berserker''s combat standards are. Even if he is going up against Ye Feng, I''m willing to bet that he has more than a 60% chance of winning. If anything, I don''t think anyone but Black Flame and Fire Dance can put up a fight." "I guess that''s true. Although the rumors about Ye Feng say that he is very powerful, his battle records are old. Now that everyone''s been playing God''s Domain for so long, their combat standards have improved significantly. I don''t think that Ye Feng can win that easily." The audience discussed the upcoming fight headedly. Meanwhile, members of the various large Guilds were eager to watch the fight. They hoped to watch Zero Wing humiliate itself. Meanwhile, on the stage, Mighty Tiger glared at Shi Feng. He asked, "What? You wanna be my opponent?" "That''s right," Shi Feng answered calmly, nodding. "The previous fights were over before I could even warm up. They were boring. Hopefully, you don''t disappoint me as well." Mighty Tiger laughed as he glanced at Flying Shadow and the others, who sat in the spectator stands. He had gained some insight about Shi Feng from Evil Fire. Rumored to be as strong as Fire Dance, who was ranked 215th on the God''s Domain Experts List, he should serve as a decent opponent. Flying Shadow and his companions gritted their teeth when they heard Mighty Tiger''s comment. However, they couldn''t do anything about it. Despite having the advantage in terms of Basic Attributes, they had been defeated. This proved that Mighty Tiger''s combat techniques were superior to theirs. "How do you want to set the rules of the match?" Shi Feng asked calmly, unperturbed by Mighty Tiger''s provocation. "Same as before. No Spells, Skills, or tools are allowed. We''ll compete using only our techniques." Mighty Tiger set the duel''s rules and sent Shi Feng a duel request. "If you''re not used to melee battles, I can only use 70% of my HP against you. You''ll win if you take me down to 30%." Hearing Mighty Tiger''s terms, the spectators gasped. They hadn''t expected Mighty Tiger to be so bold. However, Mighty Tiger earned his arrogance. After all, none of Zero Wing''s experts had reduced his HP to below 50%. "That''s fine. Let''s begin," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. Once both sides had agreed to the duel, a timer appeared above the stage. 5 4 3 2 1 Start! "Let''s see how strong you really are." As the duel began, Mighty Tiger retrieved the two axes from his back and dashed towards Shi Feng like a tiger pouncing on its prey. Shi Feng could feel the Berserker''s icy killing intent lock onto him. It was clear that the Berserker wasn''t like the players who only fought in games. When Mighty Tiger was 10 yards away from Shi Feng, his footwork changed. Sure enough, he''s using Ghost Steps, Shi Feng thought when he saw Mighty Tiger''s body suddenly split into two identical clones, both moving in different directions. Very quickly, the two clones split into four and so on. It was as if Mighty Tiger had used a Skill to create doppelgangers or illusions. To players who could not use Skills or Spells, this was an extreme disadvantage. "Tiger is taking this too seriously. He''s using Ghost Steps right off the bat. Ye Feng won''t even have a chance to display his skills," Unwavering Hand said, shaking his head. From the audience''s viewpoint, it seemed as if Mighty Tiger had approached Shi Feng head-on before turning abruptly and circling to his opponent''s side. When Shi Feng and Mighty Tiger collided, a blue light flashed on the stage. As Mighty Tiger turned to launch a follow-up attack, his vision started to grow dark. He then noticed a flower of blood bloom across his chest. Before he had realized what had happened, he collapsed to the ground behind Shi Feng. "What just happened?" Everyone was confused as they stared at Mighty Tiger''s corpse, none of them knowing what had just happened. Following which, the victor''s name appeared above the stage. Ye Feng! 1324 Sword Gods Weapon Chapter 1324 - Sword God''s Weapon "Tiger lost!?" "What just happened?! How did Tiger die so quickly?! Was Tiger even attacked?! He used Ghost Steps! How could he get hit in a melee battle?! Can someone explain to me what just happened?!" Falling Flower stared at Mighty Tiger''s corpse in astonishment from the VIP stands. She was practically shouting as she questioned the companions who sat beside her. From start to end, her eyes hadn''t left the stage. She had been focused on the combatants. However, when Mighty Tiger had circled to Shi Feng''s back and was about to land a blow, he died instead. Just what had Shi Feng done during that brief moment? Meanwhile, the players in the spectator stands were even more confused. Mighty Tiger had already been so fast that they couldn''t keep up with him. Now, the battle had ended before they could understand what had happened. "An act? Is Zero Wing trying to hype up the competition?" "No, that''s not right. Even if this is an act, the system recognized it as an official duel. It won''t declare a victor until one of their HPs hits zero. But, how could anyone eliminate over 30,000 of a Berserker''s HP in an instant?" The match confused every spectator, so much so that they had forgotten to cheer. The tournament hall was utterly silent as everyone stared at the stage. "What did the Guild Leader do?" Blackie had to ask. With his eyesight, he had barely been able to keep up with Mighty Tiger''s movements. He hadn''t seen anything when Shi Feng had attacked. "Is this a Tier 2 class?" Aqua Rose was stunned as she looked at Shi Feng. "Big Sis Aqua, do you know what happened?" Flying Shadow asked eagerly. "No, I just reacted. When that Berserker circled the Guild Leader, I saw a flash of blue light. The Guild Leader must''ve attacked him. It seems that the Berserker failed to react in time. After watching the recording in slow motion, I saw Guild Leader use a standard slash. His Attack Speed wasn''t on part with his Instant Strike. This speed isn''t due to high Attack Speed. He just used his reaction speed. The Guild Leader''s reaction speed has already surpassed the level that our eyes can keep up with," Aqua Rose explained after giving the matter some thought. "The Guild Leader really is a monster." Realization dawned on Flying Shadow when he heard Aqua Rose''s explanation. He had thought that after training arduously for so long, he had shortened the distance between Shi Feng and himself. However, the gap had continued to widen. Meanwhile, after the duel, Mighty Tiger resurrected below the stage. When he looked up at Shi Feng, fear, respect, and confusion filled his gaze. Rather than bewilderment, he was surprised that Shi Feng had seen through his Ghost Steps. His team leader had told him that even the top 100 experts on the God''s Domain Experts List wouldn''t be able to see through his Ghost Steps, much less Shi Feng, who had never seen the technique before. However, Mighty Tiger couldn''t believe that was true. Shi Feng must have seen Ghost Steps many times. Ghost Steps was a special technique that combined footwork, killing intent targeting, and aura concealment to create the illusion that enemies surrounded the opponent, while in reality, only one of those enemies was real. It was a combat technique that specialized in dealing with experts. Experts had very sharp senses, and they would often react instinctively. It was an amazing technique. Against an ordinary player, however, the technique''s effects would be minimal. Aside from being a peak expert, Shi Feng was a Tier 2 Sword Master. His physique far exceeded Mighty Tiger''s. When dealing with abnormal speed, Shi Feng only needed to focus, and Mighty Tiger''s movements would play in slow motion in his mind. Yet, Mighty Tiger had dared to come within five yards of him. The Berserker had been asking for a swift ending. In the end, Shi Feng had triggered Killing Ray''s Lightning effect, which allowed him to kill Mighty Tiger instantly. "Who else wants to fight? That boring battle wasn''t even a good warm up," Shi Feng quipped, smiling as he glanced at Evil Fire''s group. "You" Mighty Tiger nearly choked when he heard Shi Feng''s comment. Unwavering Hand and the others also wore grim expressions, hesitation lingering in their eyes. Shi Feng''s performance had thoroughly stunned them. Sure enough, the rumors about Ye Feng weren''t credible in the least. How was this supposed to be an expert on Fire Dance''s level? Ye Feng was practically on the same level as Black Flame. He might even be superior to the Guild Leader. "Zero Wing has truly earned its fame. No wonder it became Star-Moon Kingdom''s mythical Guild." Evil Fire''s fighting spirit soared as he watched Shi Feng. "Evil, you need to think this through. If you fight Ye Feng, you''ll most likely have to expose your trump cards. You''ll have a tough time when you head to the Black Dragon Empire to challenge the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion," Unwavering Hand warned his companion. "I understand. Don''t worry. In any case, I have a match with Black Flame tomorrow. It''ll be a fair contest if he knows about my abilities." Evil Fire smiled nonchalantly. He then approached the stage with long strides. Evil Fire wore a suit of black scale armor. He also carried a dark-purple greatsword that was as tall as he was. Blue runes decorated the sword''s blade. The surrounding Mana flowed towards the greatsword automatically, causing arcs of blue electricity to dance around the blade and crackle from time to time. Overall, Evil Fire looked like a Demonic Beast, his aura pulling an involuntary shiver from the audience. With each step Evil Fire took, his aura grew slightly more intense. The audience felt a heavy pressure weigh down on them. Moreover, he had removed the concealment on his weapon and equipment''s glow effect, as well as his level. "Level 45?! How is this possible?! Even the number one player on the Black Dragon Empire''s Ranking List is only Level 44 right now!" "Strong! So strong! No wonder why these people dared to challenge Zero Wing! Zero Wing is in trouble!" "Why does it feel like I should be running for my life when I look at him?" "Crap! He has three pieces of Epic Equipment on him! The glow effect on his greatsword looks unique as well! What rank is that weapon?!" The audience gasped when Evil Fire removed the concealment. Evil Fire''s items hadn''t only stunned the independent players watching. Blackie and the others from Zero Wing were astonished as well. Evil Fire''s equipment could already rival that of Fire Dance and Gentle Snow. Shi Feng, however, didn''t pay any mind to his opponent''s equipment. Rather, the Berserker''s dark-purple greatsword attracted his attention. Why does he have the Storm Warblade? Shi Feng could not help his growing confusion. The Storm Warblade was one of God''s Domain''s 36 Famed Swords. Moreover, it was a higher rank than the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. The two-handed weapon ranked 14th among the 36 Famed Swords. This greatsword had been very famous in the past. The weapon was the reason that the Sword God, Celestial Pole had become so famous. The weapon had made its debut when Celestial Pole had been a Tier 3 player. Celestial Pole had only switched to a different weapon after reaching Tier 6. The fact that Celestial Pole had used the Storm Warblade until Tier 6 showed that the greatsword''s Attributes were frighteningly high. Yet, now, a player whom Shi Feng had never heard of wielded the Storm Warblade. It was baffling. "Do you want a melee battle as well?" Shi Feng asked as he asked as Evil Fire stepped onto the stage. "No. You are quite strong, strong enough to face me in an official duel," Evil Fire said, shaking his head. Proudly, he continued, "I don''t want you to hold back. Otherwise, the battle will end too quickly." Although Shi Feng had already displayed overwhelming power, it didn''t affect Evil Fire. Evil Fire was still confident that it wasn''t possible for him to lose. "Sure." Shi Feng then sent Evil Fire a duel request. Following which, the timer above the stage began to count down. 1325 Difference in Tiers Chapter 1325 - Difference in Tiers Above the stage, the duel''s timer counted down, second after second. Tension gripped the audience in the spectator stands. Their focus was glued to the stage. It was the first time a match of such high standards had occurred in Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. Not even the major tournament, which was held once every fifteen days, could hold a candle to this upcoming match. After all, Shi Feng, who had killed today''s undefeated champion instantly, stood on one side. On the other side stood Evil Fire. Although Evil Fire had yet to fight, his weapon, equipment, and frightening aura were enough proof of his strength. There was also the fact that Evil Fire''s group treated him like a leader. All these factors suggested that Evil Fire was far stronger than Mighty Tigers. However, while nobody knew what kind of outcome to expect, they knew that they would miss the clash between these two players if they didn''t pay close attention. When the timer reached zero, Evil Fire unsheathed the Storm Warblade from across his back and shouted. Arcs of blue electricity danced across his body. The intensity of his aura increased considerably. Right now, he seemed like a ferocious, prehistoric beast. Evil Fire had just used his Berserk Skill, Lightning Beast''s Rampage. It was a super-rare Berserk Skill that increased its user''s Strength, Attack Speed, Movement Speed, and HP by 100% for 90 seconds. "Let us begin!" Evil Fire''s gaze sharpened as his near-tangible killing intent enveloped Shi Feng. It seemed as if Shi Feng was the only person in Evil Fire''s world. In his mind, the audience members below the stage and crowding the building didn''t even exist. Why is his killing intent so powerful?! The approaching Berserker surprised Shi Feng. His mind constantly warned him of an imminent threat, and he couldn''t help but focus on his opponent. With his current strength, he could even go toe-to-toe against a Grand Lord. Only Tier 4 Mythic monsters might be able to give him a challenge, yet Evil Fire achieved the same by activating a Berserk Skill. For a moment, Shi Feng even felt as if Evil Fire had surpassed a Tier 4 Mythic monster. It was unbelievable. Even the audience struggled to breathe, their expressions becoming indescribably grim. "So strong! His aura alone is so powerful! Zero Wing''s in danger." Many expert players looked at Evil Fire with fear in their eyes. Meanwhile, Evil Fire left an afterimage behind him as he used Charge against Shi Feng, his speed increasing tremendously as he approached his opponent like a violent gale. When Evil Fire was only ten yards away from Shi Feng, he adjusted his footwork. Like Mighty Tiger, Evil Fire turned and circled around Shi Feng. He used the same strategy as Mighty Tiger. Only, this time, not even the experts in the audience could keep up with Evil Fire''s speed. Mighty Tiger, who had returned to the VIP stands, could not help but laugh. "Hahaha! Ye Feng must be stunned! I''m not the only one who knows how to use Ghost Steps! And Evil is way better than I am! Even our team leader had to be careful against Evil!" He could only mesmerize his enemies with his Ghost Steps. However, Evil Fire''s Ghost Steps could force his opponents to focus on him and nothing else, causing his enemies to make all sorts of mistakes. It did not even matter if his opponent''s Attributes were higher than his. After all, one''s Attributes were only useful if they hit their target. If they couldn''t land a hit, all the Strength in the world would be useless. Furthermore, Evil Fire had activated his Berserk Skill. His Strength and speed were both superior to Shi Feng''s. The duel would end the moment Shi Feng made the slightest error. When Evil Fire was within eight yards of Shi Feng''s side, his footwork changed once more. Unlike Mighty Tiger, Evil Fire didn''t circle to Shi Feng''s back. Instead, he charged at Shi Feng''s side, swinging his greatsword and sending a purple arc towards the Swordsman''s neck. Beheaded! Suddenly, Killing Ray appeared in the Storm Warblade''s attack trajectory. So fast! Evil Fire was stunned to see the Sacred Sword. He had not even noticed Shi Feng swing his blade. Although Shi Feng''s reaction speed surprised him, he didn''t falter. On the contrary, Evil responded with a sneer. While Evil Fire found it surprising that Shi Feng had seen through his Ghost STeps and executed a proper defense, Shi Feng hadn''t activated his Berserk Skill when the match had begun. Even if Shi Feng activated a Berserk Skill now, he would still have an absolute advantage in terms of Strength over the Swordsman. Even if Shi Feng blocked the attack, the impact would knock back the Swordsman. He could then continue his fierce assault and force Shi Feng to use his Lifesaving Skills. Once Shi Feng expended the Skill, he could easily kill the Swordsman. Dang! However, the instant the two Famed Swords collided, Evil Fire''s expression changed. How?! Did he use a Berserk Skill?! Evil Fire was surprised to feel the sensation in his arms. As his greatsword struck Killing Ray, it felt as if he had hit an indestructible wall. Rather than forcing the Sacred Sword back, the impact. His hands tingled, nearly numb. His HP had also fallen by over 100 points. In contrast, Shi Feng remained unharmed, still standing in his original position. However, before Evil Fire could understand what had happened, Shi Feng''s Abyssal Blade was already moving towards Evil Fire''s ribs. "Scram!" When Evil Fire noticed the Abyssal Blade''s approach, he knew that he couldn''t block the attack. Despite his awkward posture, he forcefully executed Whirlwind Slash, using the AOE Skill to block the attack. He had already upgraded his Whirlwind Slash to Tier 1, Level 10, and it was only a level away from Tier 2. The Strength he could exhibit while using the Skill was 50% higher than his normal attacks. This time, Shi Feng was forced to take a step back as he received the attack. Seeing this, Evil Fire immediately pulled away from Shi Feng. He had been forced to move awkwardly when he had executed Whirlwind Slash. Although he had managed to deflect Shi Feng''s blade, he was not in a good position to launch another attack. He needed to readjust his stance before doing so. Ten yards separated Shi Feng and Evil Fire once more, both fighters observing each other quietly. Although both sides had already clashed twice, the encounter had only lasted a brief moment. The clash had occurred so quickly that both fighters were ten yards away from each other before the audience could react. The tournament hall fell silent. "Impossible! He saw through Evil''s Ghost Steps and blocked the attack?! Is he even human?!" Mighty Tiger''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets as he looked at Shi Feng. Previously, after activating his Berserk Skill, Evil Fire had relied on this same attack strategy to kill a superpower''s peak expert, yet Shi Feng had deflected the move effortlessly. The Swordsman had even forced Evil Fire to use Whirlwind Slash. Excitement filled Evil Fire''s gaze as he watched Shi Feng. He felt as if he had just found a worthy rival. "You really can''t trust rumors. I never expected Zero Wing to have such an impressive expert. Since you blocked my previous move, you must rank within the top 100 on the God''s Domain''s Expert List," Evil Fire could not help but praise his enemy. "However, I told you that this duel would end very quickly if you hold back. This is my last warning. This will be the first time I try this next move. I had planned to save it for Black Flame, but I''ve decided to test it out on you first." Saying so, silver divine runes began to surface on Evil Fire''s arms and forehead, giving the Berserker a sacred feeling. Evil Fire''s aura also grew stronger. Divine Warrior? Shi Feng was shocked to see the silver divine runes on Evil Fire''s forehead. In God''s Domain, aside from the Ten Great Saint Legacies, which he had only learned about in this life, there were the Sixteen Great Peak Legacies. These were the strongest among Peak Legacies. One of them was the Divine Warrior! As Evil Fire used Ghost Steps once more, more clones appeared around Shi Feng. To the audience, Evil Fire had just left long-lasting afterimages behind him. Before anyone had realized it, Evil Fire arrived a short distance away from Shi Feng''s side. It seemed as if two Evil Fires graced the stage. "Die!" Evil Fire tightened his grip on the Storm Warblade as he swung it at Shi Feng. The greatsword created a powerful gale as it sliced through the air. It seemed as if the greatsword had split the air as it descended on Shi Feng. 1326 A Moment of Splendour Chapter 1326 - A Moment of Splendour So fast! Although Evil Fire''s Ghost Steps hadn''t confused Shi Feng, Evil Fire moved so fast that he could only catch a glimpse of the Berserker''s afterimage. In the blink of an eye, Evil Fire had reached his side. While under the effects of Twofold Berserk, Evil Fire''s Strength was on par with a Great Lord. Moreover, he had surpassed an ordinary Great Lord. As the purple glow descended on him, Shi Feng intercepted it with Abyssal Blade. Although Shi Feng''s Attack Speed could not outstrip Evil Fire''s, his Tier 2 physique gave him godlike reaction speed. Before Evil Fire had begun to swing his greatsword, Shi Feng had already started swinging the Abyssal Blade. Parry! When the Storm Warblade collided with the Abyssal Blade, a loud boom shook the tournament hall, the resulting impact scattering the dust on the stage. Suddenly, a figure flew out of the dust cloud and slammed into the ground over ten yards away. This figure was none other than Shi Feng. The Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s hand still vibrated from the impact. Sure enough, he has the Strength of a Strength-based Great Lord of the same level, Shi Feng thought when he felt his hand numbed. No wonder why he is so confident against me. Meanwhile, the audience members in the spectator stands were stupefied. "Is he a monster?" "What kind of Strength is this?! Was his Strength just as high as Ye Feng''s?!" Due to Evil Fire''s attack, the air above the stage seemed as if it had split in half. It looked like a cracked mirror. "What?! He can use Twofold Berserk as well?!" Blackie''s jaw dropped. "Just who are these people?" As far as they knew, Twofold Berserk was Shi Feng''s trademark move. By activating Twofold Berserk, he could gain the strength to fight opponents of a higher tier for a short time. Against players without Twofold Berserk, he had an overwhelming advantage. Throughout Zero Wing, no one, aside from Shi Feng and Gentle Snow, could block Evil Fire''s attacks. Even Fire Dance was no exception. Blackie found it truly hard to imagine that a group of independent players would not only possess so many skilled fighters, but also have someone in possession of a Peak Legacy. Not even most first-rate Guilds had players with Peak Legacies. The majority of those Guilds'' Legacies were limited to Basic and Advanced rank. "Ye Feng is doomed. Evil''s Divine Warrior hidden class is a Peak Legacy famed for its destructive power. Not only does its Legacy Berserk Skill increase Strength, Agility, and Endurance by 120%, but it also boosts the user''s reaction speed and Movement Speed by 100%. It''s one of the strongest Berserk Skills available. Even if Ye Feng has the Attributes of a Great Lord of the same level, this is still a one-sided fight." Falling Flower''s words were tinged with admiration as she watched Evil Fire. After their team leader had obtained the Divine Warrior Legacy item, everyone in the team had attempted to obtain the Legacy. Unfortunately, only Evil Fire had succeeded in the end. As long as players with Peak Legacies had a little talent, they would qualify to reach the peak of God''s Domain. Whether or not the player in question succeeded would depend on luck and effort. Once the dust settled on the stage, Evil Fire charged at Shi Feng again. However, he didn''t use Ghost Steps this time. Instead, his dash was straightforward, without techniques. He also completely disregarded his defenses. As he reached his opponent, Evil Fire used Cross Slash, which could even injure a Tier 3 Great Lord, against Shi Feng. Against one of the publicly-acknowledged strongest Peak Legacies in God''s Domain, Shi Feng couldn''t be careless. Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Suddenly, golden scales covered Shi Feng''s body. Dragon''s Authority! Suddenly, Shi Feng exuded an aura that froze the space above the stage, creating an eerie silence. The change forced Evil Fire to slow slightly. However, he quickly reacted by activating a Control Removal Skill. Although he couldn''t dispel Dragon''s Authority''s suppression, holding it off for two or three seconds would be enough. With only eight yards separating the fighters, Evil Fire adjusted his attack method abruptly, changing his Storm Warblade''s trajectory. In the next moment, four purple arcs flew at Shi Feng. All four arches moved at the same pace and targeted Shi Feng''s blind spots. This is Four Extreme Slashes! Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw this move. The Extreme Slash was Miracle Dragon''s trademark move, unavailable to outsiders. Although Evil Fire used the same technique as Miracle Dragon, who could easily execute Six Extreme Slashes, executing Four Extreme Slashes was impressive. Sword''s Orbit! Dang Dang Dang Shi Feng blocked all four slashes perfectly before they were within five yards. Stunned, Evil Fire stopped his advance. How is this possible?! How is his Strength higher than mine?! Evil Fire stared at Shi Feng in shock. Not only had his slashes failed to damage Shi Feng, but he had also lost over 800 HP. Although he had more than 150,000 HP in total, the fact that he had lost in a direct confrontation was unbelievable. However, Shi Feng did not intend to give Evil Fire any time to think as the Abyssal Blade soared towards the Berserker''s neck. Shadow Blade! Suddenly, nine shadow weapons appeared around Evil Fire, surrounding him. Each shadow could exert 120% of Shi Feng''s Strength. The attack was already close to that of a Grand Lord. As Evil Fire realized the precariousness of his situation, his gaze turned serious, and he shouted. Suddenly, countless wind blades formed around Evil Fire''s body. The wind blades then flew out in all directions, shattering Shi Feng''s shadows. The Swordsman was forced to stop his assault as he used Defensive Blade to protect himself. Even so, Defensive Blade''s block count was insufficient to stop all of the wind blades. Once the block counts were exhausted, each wind blade dealt around -3,100 damage. In total, Shi Feng had been struck 11 times, his HP decreasing by over 34,000. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had lost one-tenth of his HP. Is this the Storm Warblade''s Storm Assault? What a terrifying weapon. Without Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s Defense and HP boost, I would''ve been forced to activate Absolute Defense. Evil Fire, who was enveloped in flowing, purple-hued air, had surprised Shi Feng once again. The Storm Warblade had two major Skills. The first was Storm Assault. When activated, the Skill created hundreds of wind blades that the user could control to attack any targets within 30-yards. Each wind blade possessed 110% of the player''s Strength. However, they could only cause 50% of the player''s damage. The Skill had a duration of 5 seconds and a Cooldown of 15 minutes. However, the current Storm Warblade before Shi Feng was incomplete. Evil Fire couldn''t control hundreds of wind blades yet. Though, controlling dozens of wind blades wasn''t a problem. The second major Skill was called Storm Domain, and it was the cause of the purple whirlwind enveloping Evil Fire. When activated, the Skill allowed the user to suppress any target within a 50-yard radius using powerful wind. Moreover, the closer the target was to the storm''s epicenter, the stronger the suppression would become. Due to these two Active Skills, players who wielded the Storm Warblade were extremely powerful in melee combat. "I had never thought that I''d be forced to use my final trump card before my match with Black Flame." Admiration filled Evil Fire''s gaze as he looked at Shi Feng. He hadn''t only dared to challenge the top ten experts on the God''s Domain Expert List just because of his Twofold Berserk. Another important reason the Storm Warblade in his hands. "Fortunately, since I''ve used that trump card, this battle is over!" Saying so, Evil Fire dashed towards Shi Feng and executed Four Extreme Slashes yet again. At the same time, over 50 wind blades flew at Shi Feng from all directions. However, when Evil Fire was still twelve yards away from Shi Feng, the latter vanished and reappeared before Evil Fire. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! Sword''s Orbit! Even with Storm Domain''s suppression, Shi Feng created a beautiful galaxy around him and bombarded Evil Fire with one star after another. Not only had Shi Feng shattered Evil Fire''s Four Extreme Slashes, but the resplendent stars also pierced Evil Fire''s body, each star devouring over 90,000 HP. Before Evil Fire could react, his vision darkened and his body collapsed to the ground. The screen above the stage revealed the victor''s name. Ye Feng! 1327 Impossible Competition Chapter 1327 - Impossible Competition As the system announced the duel''s victor, silence fell over the tournament hall, followed by the gasps. "What''s going on? Hadn''t the Berserker, Evil Fire, had the advantage?" "Are those two monsters? They are so fast! I didn''t even have time to react!" "Is this a fight between peak experts?" The sudden reversal and end of the duel befuddled the ordinary players present. However, some of the experts who had watched the match had a rough understanding of what had happened. Although it was impossible for the naked eye to keep up with Shi Feng and Evil Fire''s fight, they could watch the recording in slow motion, gaining a clear view of what had occurred. "Evil Fire''s Attributes can definitely rival that of a Tier 3 Great Lord. If we fought, he''d most likely annihilate our 100-man team, yet he couldn''t block Ye Feng''s attacks. Just how strong is Ye Feng?" "Is Zero Wing a Guild of monsters?" Unlike ordinary players, expert players could judge a player''s strength accurately. Hence, they were aware of how powerful Evil Fire was. The Berserker was definitely a peak expert, an existence they looked up to and sought to become. Yet, Ye Feng so easily defeated such an expert. The spectating experts even began to wonder if they had made a mistake in their judgment of Evil Fire''s strength. Meanwhile, among those present, no one was more excited about the outcome than Zero Wing''s members. Zero Wing''s members looked at Shi Feng with reverence. The Guild''s many consecutive losses had frustrated them. However, they hadn''t been able to do anything about it. After all, the fighters they had dispatched were Guild experts. If not even the Guild experts were a match were Evil Fire''s group, then what hope did the elite and normal members have? However, as soon as Shi Feng had ascended to the stage, he had turned the situation around. First, he had killed Mighty Tiger, today''s reigning champion, in a single move. Then, he destroyed a monster like Evil fire in the blink of an eye. Zero Wing''s members were both stunned and exhilarated. Meanwhile, the other Guilds'' members, who had bad-mouthed Zero Wing, had fallen mute. "Just who is this guy?! Even our team leader has to dodge Evil''s attacks when he uses Twofold Berserk and the Storm Warblade''s Skills, yet that guy faced him head on! Is he even a player? He can''t be an NPC in disguise, right?" Falling Flower stared at Shi Feng with wide eyes. No matter how many times she looked at the Swordsman, she could not believe the match''s outcome. She had experienced Evil''s Storm Domain personally. Even ten yards away from Evil Fire, the tremendous pressure had suppressed her. If she moved any closer, she''d be lucky if she could use 50% of her Attack Speed and reaction speed. "It seems Zero Wing is not as simple as we had thought. We''ll need to adjust our plans," Unwavering Hand said somberly as he glanced at Shi Feng. "But first, we need to notify the team leader." The other group members nodded, wearing morose expressions. They had planned to challenge the number one Guilds in the various kingdoms and empires to increase their adventurer team''s fame, yet before they had even challenged Zero Wing to an official match, Shi Feng had shut them down As soon as Evil Fire resurrected below the stage, he ran up to Shi Feng, who was descending the stairs. "Do you have some business to discuss?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. If Evil Fire had fought him before he had completed his Tier 2 promotion, he would have likely been forced to use Twofold Berserk and many of his trump cards. After all, despite looking like an unrefined savage, Evil Fire was a bona fide Flowing Water Realm expert. Zero Wing didn''t have a single expert, aside from himself, that had a chance of defeating the Berserker. Reaching the Flowing Water Realm by the age of 20 was a miraculous feat. He would definitely be considered a genius in any superpower. If given enough time, Evil Fire could reach the apex of God''s Domain. "I''d just like to say a few things. I lost this match. I won''t challenge Black Flame until I can defeat you. It won''t be long before I issue another challenge. I will win, and then I''ll challenge Black Flame to an honorable duel!" Confidence shown in Evil Fire''s eyes as he spoke with Shi Feng. While he had suffered a miserable loss, he had gained just as much. He had only recently obtained the Storm Warblade. He hadn''t had a lot of time to get used to the weapon. Most importantly, he was close to completing the fourth phase of an Epic Quest. After he visited the secret land and obtained the Skill that could counter Shi Feng''s godlike speed, he could definitely put up a good fight against the Swordsman. "Challenge me?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "Allow me to refuse. I don''t have that much time on my hands." "What? Are you afraid?" Evil Fire ridiculed the Swordsman. "You don''t have to provoke me. I really don''t have that much time," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shook his head. "If every person were like you and challenged me once every two or three days after their defeat, I might as well stop playing this game. If you really want to challenge me, I''ll make you a deal. Defeat either Flying Shadow or Shadow Sword. If you succeed, I''ll accept your challenge. How about it?" "Are you kidding me? Although they are skilled, they can''t even beat Mighty Tiger, who''s just at the Refinement Realm. How could they possibly defeat me?" Evil Fire growled angrily. "I don''t mean right now. Seven days. In seven days, you can challenge either one of them. As long as you defeat one, I''ll accept your challenge," Shi Feng said, laughing. "If you don''t feel up to it, you can always give up. It''d be easier for me." "Seven days?" Evil Fire gave Shi Feng a cold look. "You think they can grow strong enough to defeat me in just seven days? What a joke." "Since you don''t believe me, why don''t we make a bet?" Shi Feng offered as he turned to the distant Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword. "If you defeat either of them in seven days, you''ll win. If not, I will. If you win, you can tell me to do one thing. If I win, you''ll have to do something for me. What do you think?" "If I win, I''ll make you leave Zero Wing. Are you willing to do that?" Evil Fire said, scoffing. "Of course." Shi Feng nodded seriously. "Fine. You better not regret this." Evil Fire glanced at Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword. Although he did not know what kind of tricks Shi Feng was trying to play, those two wouldn''t be able to defeat him in God''s Domain even if they had another ten years to train. As Evil Fire left, Aqua Rose walked over to Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, have you lost your mind?" Aqua Rose said, clearly angry. In her eyes, Shi Feng was simply too irresponsible. He had actually agreed to such a bet. What if he lost? "You are fully aware of how strong Evil Fire is. Snow is likely the only one, aside from you, with the strength to fight that man. Even Fire would be forced to run and dodge if he used Twofold Berserk. Although Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword have improved very quickly, they are still a long way from reaching the Refinement Realm. How can they possibly defeat Evil Fire in seven days?" "Relax. God created the world in seven days; I should be able to do this much," Shi Feng said, chuckling at Aqua Rose''s wrath. Evil Fire was a bona fide genius. Although he had not heard about the Berserker in the past, with Evil Fire''s status as an independent player, it would be a huge waste not to poach such a talent. If he wanted to recruit a prideful expert like Evil Fire, this was the quickest and most effective method. It might''ve been impossible to train Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword to defeat Evil Fire in just seven days before, but the situation had changed. Seeing Shi Feng''s confident smile, Aqua Rose could not help but sigh and give up her attempt to persuade him. All she could do now was assign as many resources as possible to Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword, helping them improve as much as possible. Once the duel had ended and everyone prepared to leave the tournament hall, Shi Feng walked onto the stage once more. Immediately, he attracted everyone''s attention. "What? Is there going to be another match?" "The money I spent to watch today''s fights were worth every Coin!" Everyone grew excited when they saw Shi Feng on the stage. Although the majority of these players couldn''t keep up with battles between experts of Shi Feng''s level, such fights were an eye-opener. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming to watch the competition today. On behalf of Zero Wing, I have two announcements. Starting tomorrow, Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm will sell a limited number of Stone Forest Town''s private houses each day. Zero Wing has also activated the Private House Upgrade System. From now on, owners can upgrade their houses!" The players in the venue gasped and cheered like raving lunatics. Many of those present contacted their companions to convey the shocking news. The news spread like the plague, causing a commotion throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. 1328 Kingdom in an Uproar Chapter 1328 - Kingdom in an Uproar Shortly after Shi Feng had made his announcement, a commotion erupted on the Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums. "What? Zero Wing is selling private houses again?" "Even when I offered 1,000 Gold, no one was willing to sell their houses. Now that Zero Wing has finally decided to sell more, I have to get one." "Stone Forest Town will most likely become even more popular. I''ve heard that the adventurer teams with private houses have improved considerably since the purchase. These teams have almost cleared out the rare tools sold in Stone Forest Town." "Wonderful! Our adventurer wasn''t able to attend the previous auction. This time, we''ll get our own private house!" "Players are going to fight over Stone Forest Town''s houses. I hadn''t expected Zero Wing to activate the Private House Upgrade System. It really makes you wonder how Zero Wing did it." "I''ve looked it up. Currently, Stone Forest Town''s private houses are only 1-star. After one upgrade, each house can register another ten players. These ten players can then teleport to and from the house, although it does have a one-day Cooldown. The house''s owner can teleport without a Cooldown." "This won''t do! I need to go borrow some money right away!" Initially, everyone was overjoyed to hear that Zero Wing had decided to sell more of Stone Forest Town''s houses. However, after gaining a clearer understanding of the Private House Upgrade System, many adventurer teams began to look at the houses as potential gold mines. After the upgrade system activated, these private houses seemed tailor-made for the various adventurer teams. Now, by owning one of these private houses, an adventurer team could explore further and return an entire team to Stone Forest Town at a moment''s notice, enjoying the town''s various benefits. Stone Forest Town wasn''t the least bit inferior to Red Iron Town, which Heaven''s Burial developed with everything it had. Ever since Heaven''s Burial had gained access to Evernight City, it had established Evernight City''s teleportation array in a high-resource map not far from Red Iron Town. Now that a Guild had gained access to Evernight City, it was much easier for players to venture to the city. Players only needed to complete some corresponding quests to gain access themselves. Later, they could travel between Red Iron Town and Evernight City easily. Players would be able to reach high-level and high-resource maps relatively quickly. The only downside was that, unless one was a member of Heaven''s Burial or owned a private house in Red Iron Town, they could only teleport from Evernight City to Red Iron Town, not the other way around. Even so, Red Iron Town grew steadily. Wandering merchants had already begun to visit the town. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial''s private houses were much cheaper than Stone Forest Town''s. This tempted many independent experts and adventurer teams to invest. As long as they bought a house in Red Iron Town, their development would be reliant on Heaven''s Burial. Furthermore, Heaven''s Burial would undoubtedly construct teleportation arrays connected to Evernight City in other towns in the future. Using Evernight City as a waypoint, players could then freely teleport to any of Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Towns. This would be very convenient. Many players considered purchasing a house in Red Iron Town. However, after Zero Wing''s announcement, the various adventurer teams in Star-Moon Kingdom changed their minds. After all, Stone Forest Town was now far stronger than Red Iron Town. For a time, even adventuring teams in Star-Moon Kingdom''s neighboring kingdoms and empires were tempted as they secretly collected funds. Only two players occupied a secluded bar in the Apocalypse Empire''s capital. One was a man, and the other was a woman. The man had a dignified appearance, and although he seemed young and well-groomed, there was a look in his eyes that spoke of a variety of life experiences. He was clearly older than he looked. As for the woman, to put it simply, she was an absolute beauty. She had long, flowing hair that fell to her thin waist, and her every action could easily mesmerize both men and women. Two glasses of purplish-red wine had been placed before these players. Despite being untouched, Mana constantly gathered around the purplish-red liquid. The liquid also gave off a faint red glow, giving it an attractive appearance. Its aroma could make anyone salivate, tempting them to drink it. If Shi Feng were present, he''d be shocked to see this wine. The wine within the two glasses was none other than one of the Apocalypse Empire''s Five Great Wines, Tears of Purgatory. Not just anyone could obtain this beverage. It would only be awarded to those who obtained the key to the Purgatory Barrier and cleared it. Although Tears of Purgatory wasn''t as effective as Soul Water, it wasn''t far off either. In the past, wine collecting players had even been willing to pay 1,000 Gold to purchase a single bottle. However, Shi Feng would be more surprised to see the woman at the bar, the Midnight Tea Party''s vice commander, Endless Scars. "Old Ghost Heartless, why did you come looking for me so suddenly?" Endless Scars asked the man looking to be in his thirties across from her. Smiling faintly, she continued, "Or are you here to tell me that your apprentice has lost?" "Little girl, why do you insist on calling me Old Ghost? Am I really that old?" Heartless Sword rolled his eyes. "Well? I''m right, aren''t I? Zero Wing isn''t as simple as you assume." Endless Scars paid no attention to Heartless Sword''s grumbling. "Since your apprentice, Evil Fire, has lost, according to our agreement, I am allowed to invite Black Flame to join our operation, yes?" "This doesn''t count. Ye Feng defeated Evil Fire, not Black Flame," Heartless Sword said, shaking his head. "Old Ghost, do you really think that your apprentice can defeat Black Flame, Star-Moon Kingdom''s publicly-acknowledged, number one expert?" Endless Scars said, chuckling. "Or do you think that one defeat isn''t enough?" Heartless Sword turned pale when he heard Endless Scars''s comment. He had seen the battle video himself. The gap between the fighters'' strength was incredibly massive. Even if Black Flame weren''t as strong as Ye Feng, they couldn''t be that different. "Forget it. I give up. I won''t continue to argue with you. I''ll agree to your request," Heartless Sword helplessly gave in to Endless Scars''s demand. "However, I''m not the only one involved. You''ll have to get the others'' approval as well. Although, I doubt that they''ll agree." "You don''t have to worry about that. As long as you agree, I can easily convince the others to fall in line," Endless Scars said, smiling. She then finished her Tears of Purgatory before leaving the bar. Meanwhile, in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence in Star-Moon City, an uproar shook the Guild. "Damnable Zero Wing! They dare to ruin my good fortune!" Singular Burial cursed as he read the latest statistics report on Red Iron Town. He could''ve made a fortune by selling Red Iron Town''s private houses. He could then use the money to support the Guild''s development. Now, however, Zero Wing had ruined his plans. Initially, he had over 400 interested buyers. Now, less than half remained "Guild Leader, should we lower the price a little?" Daybreak Fog suggested. Currently, they sold the town''s houses for between 300 and 400 Gold. If they dropped the price to between 200 and 300 Gold, they should attract more buyers. After all, Stone Forest Town''s private houses had already climbed to 1,000 Gold. "No need! I had intended to let Zero Wing survive for a bit longer, but I''ve changed my mind! Notify Abandoned Wave immediately! We are going to teach Zero Wing who truly owns Star-Moon Kingdom!" 1329 Rank Upgraded Chapter 1329 - Rank Upgraded The round table meeting room fell silent after hearing Singular Burial''s command. "Guild Leader, although Abandoned Wave has created more monsters in the Frozen Scar, they''re not fully grown yet. They will need at least two or three more days before they reach maturity. If we declare war on Zero Wing now" Everyone attempted to persuade Singular Burial to be patient and wait a little longer. "What''s there to worry about? You''ve witnessed these Evil Beasts'' strength for yourselves. Even before reaching maturity, they''re terrifying creatures. The only reason that we''re helping Abandoned Wave create Evil Beasts is to prevent every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom from working together against us. We''ll just use the Evil Beasts to raid Stone Forest Town. It''ll be a piece of cake. "We won''t even need to dispatch our forces to the raid. Abandoned Wave can take care of it easily without our help. At most, the other Guilds will suspect that we''re related to Abandoned Wave and his beasts. Without concrete proof, they won''t work together to challenge us. "When Abandoned Wave captures Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing''s members and the independent players in the town will become sacrifices for the army. Abandoned Wave can then nurture even more Evil Beasts. Even if the various Guilds discover our relationship, it will be too late to do anything about it. "Alright, see to the necessary preparations right away!" Everyone grew excited as they listened to Singular Burial''s reasoning. If Heaven''s Burial secured Stone Forest Town, the two towns would provide a stable source of Coins and Magic Crystals for the Guild. With the help of the monster army, it would only be a matter of time before they took control of Star-Moon Kingdom. At that point, only God''s Domain''s various superpowers would pose any threat. Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons exploded into action. Meanwhile, in Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng discreetly returned to Zero Wing''s Residence after the competition in the Battle Arena. In the Guild Hall''s basement, Shi Feng carefully took the Hero''s Chapter from his bag. He placed it on the magic array in the center of the hall and began to chant an incantation. As the Hero''s Chapter sat within the array, the hall''s Mana surged towards it. Suddenly, balls of light appeared in the center of the array. These balls of light began to gather and form a humanoid shape as if they were constructing a body. Once the shape was complete, the Hero''s Chapter transformed into divine runes that entered the body. Hopefully, the Hero isn''t too weak, Shi Feng silently prayed as he watched the body gradually take shape inside the magic array. The Heroes summoned with the Hero''s Chapter shared the same starting point. However, their Growth Potential varied like Personal Guards. Only, Heroes typically had very high Growth Potential. Even the weakest among them could reach Level 180, Tier 5, while some could climb as high as Level 200, Tier 5. Even in the past, Shi Feng had never heard of a Hero reaching Tier 6 God rank. However, it was rumored that if one gathered a sufficient number of Hero''s Chapters, they could summon a Tier 6 Hero to defend their town or city. Unfortunately, nobody had succeeded, so Shi Feng did not know if the rumor were true. Time passed quickly. After the balls of light vanished, a robust man in black robes and wielding a blood-red greatsword appeared before Shi Feng. It seems my luck is still quite good. At least I didn''t summon the weakest kind of Hero. Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief after he checked the Hero''s Attribute Panel. There was a 60% chance to summon the most common Hero when using the Hero''s Chapter. Such Heroes growth was limited to Level 180, Tier 4. There was a 30% chance to summon a Hero with good potential. The combat power of such Heroes could reach the peak of Tier 4. They could also reach Level 200. Only 10% of the Heroes summoned could reach Tier 5. The Hero standing before Shi Feng was among the 30% with good potential. It also had the Barbarian hidden class. The Barbarian was an advanced class. Its Strength was even higher than Berserkers. Amongst the many advanced classes, its Strength ranked among the top three. - [Gilbert] (Hero, Great Lord, Barbarian) Level 63 HP 40,000,000/40,000,000 Growth Potential: 84 - In God''s Domain, Heroes were not actually considered human, although they were. They had human parents but had received the Gods'' blessings, which increased their Life Ratings. Hence, they were far more powerful than ordinary human NPCs. They could even rival Archaic Species of the same tier Every large Guild that had obtained a Hero''s Chapter in the past hadn''t hesitated to summon one to protect their Guild cities. After summoning Gilbert, Shi Feng designated him as the commander of Stone Forest Town''s army, giving him control of the 2,000 NPC guards the town employed. Aside from their personal strength, Heroes were powerful managers. One Hero was more than enough to manage every NPC guard in an Advanced Town, not to mention an Intermediate Town like Stone Forest Town. With this, players wouldn''t have to be responsible for the town''s security. Shortly after summoning Gilbert, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. - System: Congratulations. Stone Forest Town, which is under your management, has achieved C-rank security. Activating Private Space Upgrade System. Once a private space has been upgraded, players can enjoy even more benefits. System: Stone Forest Town is the first town to achieve C-rank security in Star-Moon Kingdom. Do you wish to allow the Adventurer''s Association to enter and garrison the town? - There is also such a reward? Shi Feng was ecstatic. Players couldn''t construct the Adventurer''s Association, Lifestyle Association, War God''s Temple, Library, or the Bank. Similarly, there were no designs for these establishments. Only after a player town reached a certain rank would these establishments occupy the town. Practically every player in the game visited the Adventurer''s Association, for example. Normally, the Adventurer''s and Lifestyle Associations would only occupy a town after it upgraded to Advanced rank and B-rank security. As for the War God''s Temple, Library, and Bank, they would only occupy Small Cities or above with B-rank security. These five establishments had an even greater function in player towns and cities than in NPC cities. Take the Adventurer''s Association for example. As long as the establishment occupied a player town, players would be able to accept commission quests unique to the kingdom and commission and rare quests unique to the town. As the town flourished, more quests would become available. The chance of high-ranking commissions appearing would also increase. Some players had even received SSS-rank commissions in a particular player city in the past. However, that player city hadn''t been just any city. It had been the Secret Pavilion''s main city. If Stone Forest Town could attract the Adventurer''s Association now, it would become far more popular with players. Independent players would no longer have to return to NPC cities to turn in their quests. They could simply do so in Stone Forest Town. Following which, Shi Feng agreed to allow the Adventurer''s Association to occupy Stone Forest Town. He only needed to choose a location for the building. As for the construction fees, the system covered it fully; he didn''t have to pay a single Coin. Without hesitation, Shi Feng placed the Adventurer''s Association near both the Candlelight Trading Firm and the private housing area. The players that had purchased private houses in Stone Forest Town also received a corresponding system notification. Suddenly, a three-story building rose in Stone Forest Town''s crowded central district. The building took shape as players watched. "What is Zero Wing constructing this time?" "That can''t be it. If it were a player-constructed building, it wouldn''t complete so fast. The system must be generating this. Could it be a Shop for wandering merchants?" "That might be the case. Based on my research, once a town reaches a certain point in its development, it''ll gain a Mysterious Shop. I hear that it offers plenty of valuable items." "Isn''t that just another benefit for the players who own houses in Stone Forest Town? How are we supposed to compete with them now? Normally, I have to waste hours traveling to and from Stone Forest Town when I go out to grind. Anyone that owns a house can simply teleport back!" After discussing the possibilities for about ten minutes, the players stared at the finished building. A signboard hung near its door, advertising two words. Adventurer''s Association! 1330 Number One Town Chapter 1330 - Number One Town The construction of the Adventurer''s Association, which had three floors and took up the area of a large football field, stunned players in the central district. "The Adventurer''s Association?" "Why would the Adventurer''s Association be here? I''m not seeing things, right?" Everyone shuddered when they saw the Adventurer''s Association. None of them were able to believe what their eyes were seeing was true. The Adventurer''s Association was becoming more important to God''s Domain''s players. The Association''s daily quests were many players'' main source of income. This was the main reason that players couldn''t venture too far from NPC towns and cities. Now that an Adventurer''s Association occupied Stone Forest Town, many of these players could break free from this restriction. They could now level up and earn money far more conveniently. Thinking up to this point, many players curiously entered Stone Forest Town''s Adventurer''s Association. "Crap! It''s real!" As the crowd entered the first-floor hall, they discovered that the hall''s furnishings were exactly the same as the Adventurer''s Association in NPC towns and cities. Many NPCs were busy, publishing new quests on the quest board. The only difference was the number of quests available. There were far more quests available here than in other towns and cities'' Adventurer''s Associations. "Quick, look! There are daily town quests and several high-ranking quests!" a player that had immediately checked the quest area exclaimed. These words attracted a lot of attention, and many players headed towards the quest boards for a closer look. "This is awesome! The daily town quests'' rewards are even better than daily quests in NPC towns and cities! Moreover, the quest locations are all near Stone Forest Town! We can easily complete these quests in two hours, even faster if we had Mounts!" Everyone''s eyes shone as they read the daily town quests. Normally, the daily quests in NPC towns and cities required more than three hours to complete. Of course, the main reason for this was the long distance between quest objectives. Completing the quest itself only took half an hour or so. Most players would pick up local quests while completing their dailies to increase their leveling efficiency. Only after they completed the local quests would they return to hand in their daily quests. News about Stone Forest Town''s Adventurer''s Association spread through the town quickly. As a result, many players who had intended to return to their respective NPC cities to turn in their daily quests surged towards Stone Forest Town''s Adventurer''s Association instead. Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums were in an uproar. "Players with houses in Stone Forest Town are going to have an even easier time! With the Adventurer''s Association located beside the residential district, they can pick up and turn in quests easily!" "Hopefully, when the private houses go up for sale tomorrow, the price won''t be too high. Our team has only managed to gather 1,000 Gold after much difficulty" "That can''t be certain. The private houses in Stone Forest Town were already quite valuable thanks to the town''s high Mana density. Even while resting in a private house, players can accumulate the Double EXP buff faster than in 1-star Guild Residence private rooms. Now, not only can Stone Forest Town''s private houses be upgraded, but there is also the Adventurer''s Association nearby. Don''t forget about Stone Forest Town''s current development speed either. With the Adventurer''s Association, it won''t be long before Stone Forest Town becomes an Advanced Town. At that point, the town''s private houses may cost as much as those in major NPC cities." "Indeed. If we fail to get a house now, by the time Stone Forest Town becomes an Advanced Town, purchasing one will be even harder" Due to the Adventurer''s Association, many adventurer teams that originally held a wait-and-see stance promptly sold off all their unnecessary rare materials, weapons, and equipment to collect money. Some teams even purchased Coins in bulk with Credits, deeply afraid that they wouldn''t have enough money to buy Stone Forest Town''s private houses when they became available. At the same time, many of the hesitant adventurer teams in the neighboring kingdoms began to take action, swarming towards Stone Forest Town. After all, Stone Forest Town had massive advantages over other player towns. It could definitely be considered the number one town in Star-Moon Kingdom and the several neighboring countries. If they could enjoy the benefits Stone Forest Town had to offer, migrating across counties would be worthwhile. Meanwhile, back in Zero Wing''s Residence in Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng charged Gilbert to manage the town''s NPC guards after summoning him. He then used a Return Scroll and returned to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Every Intermediate and above alchemist in the Candlelight Trading Firm had gathered in the top-floor''s Special Alchemy Room. In any of Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds, even the Guild''s upper echelons would treat these alchemists like VIPs. Meanwhile, 150 such players had gathered. Among them, more than half of the Advanced Alchemists in the kingdom were present. These alchemists had already waited for over twenty minutes, but they didn''t show the slightest sign of anger or resentment. In fact, they brimmed with excitement and joy. "Hahaha! This is wonderful! The Guild had always called upon the forgers and engineers. Now, it''s finally the alchemists'' turn!" "I wonder why Big Sis Melancholic has called us here? Does the trading firm plan to select alchemists for Titan City?" "That''s possible. The last group that entered Titan City should return soon. This gathering might be to select the candidates for the next batch. Based on what I''ve heard from those that entered the Holy City of Titan, it is a holy land for experience. You can gain tons of knowledge in Titan City. There are even tutorial videos and instructions from Masters and Grandmasters. One round trip can almost guarantee a promotion from Intermediate rank to Advanced rank. The insight that Advanced Lifestyle players gain in the Holy City can also help one reach Master rank." "It''s that amazing?" "Of course. Just look at the last Candlelight Auction. The Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds went crazy just to get a single slot. I wonder how many slots have been allocated for alchemists?" As the various alchemists conversed, the room''s door abruptly opened. A man and a woman then walked into the room. Immediately, everyone in the Alchemy Room snapped to attention, anxiety and reverence filling their gaze as they looked at the man who had just entered. "What''s going on?" "Guild Leader Black Flame is here in person?" "Is Candlelight searching for alchemists to cultivate?" Everyone was astonished to see the cloaked man. Despite this man''s lack of aura, these players couldn''t help but shudder in his presence. When the alchemists realized that Blake Flame had made a personal trip to meet them, anticipation gripped their hearts. Not only was the man before them Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert, but he was also the kingdom''s number one forger. Although it had been a long time since he had displayed his forging skills, his abilities were obvious based on the Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment that had sold during the previous auction. In the Candlelight Trading Firm, even Cream Cocoa and a handful of other Advanced Forgers who were approaching their Master rank promotion could only forge Level 50 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. The other Advanced Forgers couldn''t even produce Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Set Equipment. Moreover, the man before them was the Guild Leader of the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. With even a sliver of his resources, these Advanced Lifestyle players would be set for life. If the trading firm nurtured them, they''d have an even higher chance of becoming Master Alchemists in the future. Not to mention, the Candlelight Trading Firm had already set a standard. "I''ve asked Melancholic to gather you here today for two reasons. The first is that I will be changing the benefits alchemists are offered. I also want to help several talented alchemists become Master Alchemists!" Although Shi Feng hadn''t been very loud, every one of his words caused these players'' hearts to pound. When these alchemists had heard that Shi Feng wanted to help them become Master Alchemists, they felt as if they had heard the word of god. If any of Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds, and even those in the several neighboring kingdoms, had said this, they would assume it was a joke. But it was a different story if these words came from Shi Feng''s mouth. 1331 Frightening Candlelight Trading Firm Chapter 1331 - Frightening Candlelight Trading Firm Every player in the room grew restless upon hearing Shi Feng''s announcement. Countless alchemy players in God''s Domain dreamed of becoming Master Alchemists. Even Super Guilds would try desperately to poach a Master Alchemist. Nowadays, more players flooded to God''s Domain. A portion of those players, who found themselves unsuited for combat, began to develop their Lifestyle classes instead. In addition, as quite some time had passed since God''s Domain'' launch, the game already had a considerable number of Advanced Alchemists. As a result, Advanced Alchemists weren''t as valuable as they had been. In fact, their value would continue to decrease as time passed. Even Super Guilds, which had always been a hub for talented players, had never viewed Advanced Alchemists as important. Meanwhile, based on their knowledge, although more Advanced Alchemists emerged in God''s Domain each day, even now, there wasn''t a single player who had become a Master Alchemist. If they could reach Master rank, they would enjoy instant fame and glory. From then on, they wouldn''t have to worry about money. They could even find an opportunity to climb to the peak of life, becoming an upper echelon in a powerful Guild. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Any of the upper echelons would receive a salary that could even rival a major company''s upper management. In fact, as Zero Wing continued to develop, their salaries would increase. After all, God''s Domain was becoming more popular throughout the world. The virtual gaming industry was already quite large, and now that countless corporations were investing in God''s Domain, it could grow to become one of the top few global industries. Just the thought of becoming an upper echelon in Zero Wing excited these alchemist players. "I''ll talk about the new benefits first." Shi Feng smiled when he saw the excited expressions. "This new benefit should motivate you to work harder and improve faster; hence, only Candlelight''s top-ten alchemists will enjoy these benefits. "First off, the fourth to tenth ranking alchemists will have access to Secret-Silver alchemy tools provided by the Guild." Saying so, Shi Feng retrieved pile after pile of alchemy tools. He had obtained these tools from the Moon God''s Alchemy and Research Rooms. Unfortunately, he hadn''t obtained an equal number of each tool. As a result, while the fourth place would receive a complete set of Secret-Silver alchemy tools, lower ranks would receive incomplete sets. Even so, the tenth-ranked alchemist would receive three Secret-Silver tools. Meanwhile, when everyone saw these Secret-Silver alchemy tools, they gasped, their eyes nearly falling from their sockets. "Guild Leader, did you rob several large Guild warehouses?" Melancholic Smile could not help her shock when she saw the large pile on the table. Even Bronze alchemy tools were rare on the market, each selling for more than 50 silver. Moreover, these tools would be purchased immediately. Mysterious-Iron alchemy tools were even rarer. On average, alchemy tools of such rank sold for more than 3 Gold. As for Secret-Silver rank, they sold for more than 10 Gold. However, it was practically impossible for one to find any Secret-Silver alchemy tools on the market. They normally only appeared in auctions, and oftentimes, they would sell for 25 Gold or more. Even the Candlelight Trading Firm had fewer than ten Secret-Silver alchemy tools. The Guild had only obtained them after completing various large-scale quests or from Fine-Gold rank and above Treasure Chests. Yet, Shi Feng had over forty tools As the alchemists still reeled from the sight before them, Shi Feng revealed the Ocean''s Glow Set, a set of dazzling, Fine-Gold alchemy tools that gave off a faint blue light. "Relax. This Fine-Gold rank Ocean''s Glow Set is only for the third-ranked alchemist," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the alchemists'' drool. These players were speechless. Third place would get an entire set of Fine-Gold alchemy tools? "As expected of our Guild Leader! You are so awesome! If the other trading firms knew about this, they would faint!" "I doubt that even Super Guilds have an entire set of Fine-Gold alchemy tools." Excitement overwhelmed these Lifestyle players. If they could get their hands on the Ocean''s Glow Set, it would increase their chances of becoming Master Alchemists considerably, yet this was only the benefit for the third-ranked alchemist In God''s Domain, players needed to invent new items of a certain quality to become Master Lifestyle players. Unfortunately, inventing a Master rank potion had a much lower success rate than simply crafting one. It was extremely important to have a good set of alchemy tools if one wished to become a Master Alchemist. A set of Fine-Gold alchemy tools was more than enough to change their fate. As everyone dreamed of using the Ocean''s Glow Set and reaching life''s peak, Shi Feng revealed another pile of alchemy tools. "My eyes aren''t playing tricks on me, right!? Those are Dark-Gold rank?!" "No! They aren''t just Dark-Gold alchemy tools! Look! Those two sets share the same motif! Those tools are clearly a set!" Some of the players with sharp eyesight quickly noticed these alchemy tools'' specialty, and they nearly cried out in shock. If everyone had been surprised by the Candlelight Trading Firm''s foundations before, they were now devastated. They had never even heard of a single Dark-Gold alchemy tool in Star-Moon Kingdom before. If one had to estimate such a tool''s value, it wouldn''t even be worth several pieces of top-tier, Dark-Gold Equipment. No one would even be willing to trade such a set for several pieces of Epic Equipment. A set of Fine-Gold alchemy tools could already help an Advanced Alchemist reach Master rank. A set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools, however, could increase an alchemist''s chances by at least 10%. A few Epic Weapons and pieces of Equipment could never rival the value of such a set. If word of these two sets of Dark-Gold alchemy tools got out, alchemy enthusiasts would swarm the Candlelight Trading Firm. After all, alchemy tools were alchemists'' weapons. A quality weapon could increase a person''s strength significantly, not to mention a top-tier weapon. "Second place will get to use a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools. As for Candlelight''s Chief Alchemist, they will get to use the Green Jade Set. These are the new benefits every alchemist in the trading firm will be offered," Shi Feng explained. "As for the second reason I wanted to talk to you today, it is to provide help to a few talented alchemists reach Master rank. However, before I do so, I will need you to sign a core member''s agreement. I''m sure you''re aware of the standard agreement, so I won''t go into detail. "If you want the opportunity to gain the Guild''s full support, you can register with Melancholic. Once you sign the agreement, you will be tested. Whether or not you''re accepted depends on you." As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, dozens of alchemists crowded around Melancholic Smile to register for the test without hesitation. As these alchemists fought over the core member contracts, a woman, who had listened from a corner, approached Shi Feng. The woman was a classical beauty and gave off a serious vibe. She also wore the golden, five-leaf-shaped Advanced Alchemist''s Insignia. This classical beauty was none other than Silent Wonder. Melancholic Smile had already told Shi Feng that Silent Wonder''s standards could rank among the top three in Candlelight. Not only was she fast, but her success rate was also quite high. The girl had a very high chance of becoming a Master Alchemist in the future. If not for Silent Wonder''s insistence on retaining her freedom and retaining her official-member status, Shi Feng would have sent her to Titan City with the last batch of Lifestyle players. "Guild Leader Black Flame, can I ask you a question?" Silent Wonder asked. "Of course." Shi Feng nodded. "Are official members eligible for the top ten spots as well?" When Silent Wonder posed this question, anxiety was clear in her eyes. She had already realized how extraordinary Candlelight''s foundations were. However, she had never imagined that they were quite this frightening. Even Super Guilds'' trading firms couldn''t compete with Candlelight. Both the Dark-Gold tools and the Fine-Gold set tempted her. With access to one of those sets, she was confident that becoming a Master Alchemist was only a matter of time. However, not even a Super Guild would share such treasures with an official member, much less Zero Wing. But she had to ask. If she really had no hope, she was prepared to trade one of the treasures she had obtained from a secret land. 1332 There is No Strongest, Only Stronger Chapter 1332 - There is No Strongest, Only Stronger Hearing Silent Wonder''s question, many of the other alchemists shifted their gazes towards Shi Feng, concern flashing in their eyes. The Candlelight Trading Firm constantly expanded, increasing the number of Lifestyle players it recruited. Among them, many Advanced rank and talented alchemists preferred freedom over restriction. Now, however, the Candlelight Trading Firm had suddenly offered benefits that could even tempt Master Alchemists, much less Advanced Alchemists like themselves. "Official members are also Candlelight members, so of course they are included," Shi Feng said, smiling. He was fully aware of everyone''s concerns. However, the alchemy tools he had revealed were only the tip of the iceberg. They were only meant to lure more alchemists to join Candlelight. Previously, he hadn''t had the capital to do so, but things had changed. Meanwhile, to foster more talented alchemists, he could not limit the competition to the trading firm''s senior and core members. Hearing this, Silent Wonder released a deep sigh of relief. She hadn''t expected Zero Wing to be so generous. "As expected of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm! Candlelight is incredible! Other trading firms simply can''t compare! It seems that my decision to join Candlelight was the right one after all!" "The competition between alchemists will become more intense." Many of the other Advanced Alchemists grew excited. At the same time, though, they felt a significant amount of pressure. If news of how even official members qualified to compete for the top ten spots went public, even alchemy fanatics who valued their freedom would join the Candlelight Trading Firm. After all, they would only be required to complete the firm''s daily tasks as official members. They were not required to do anything else. When they wanted to leave, they only had to pay a small severance fee. The number of alchemists rushing to join the Candlelight Trading Firm would be staggering. "I heard that your alchemy standards are quite good. Are you sure that you''re not interested in taking part in the core member selection?" Shi Feng asked Silent Wonder quietly. "Thank you for your kind intentions, Guild Leader, but I am quite satisfied with my current situation." Silent Wonder understood what Shi Feng had meant. However, she rejected the offer without hesitation. Now that she had the opportunity to compete fairly, she was confident of obtaining one of the top three positions. Even if the other Advanced Alchemists had the trading firm''s full support, this outcome wouldn''t change. Once she had the help of those alchemy tools, she could become a Master Alchemist. Hearing Silent Wonder''s response, Shi Feng said nothing more. He was very familiar with the woman''s personality. Practically every upper echelon in the various large Guilds in the past had known about God''s Domain''s Top Great Grandmaster Alchemists. Despite Super Guilds relentlessly sending invitations, offering tempting promises, Silent Wonder had given the same reply. "Guild Leader, why don''t we make some changes to the new benefits?" When Melancholic Smile saw Silent Wonder and several other Advanced Alchemists'' lack of interest in becoming core members, she had a suggestion. "Let''s only offer the Green Jade Set as a benefit for core members. This way, we should be able to convince more Advanced Alchemists to truly join Candlelight." Although giving every one of Candlelight''s alchemist a chance to compete for a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools was effective in attracting capable alchemists to join the firm, it wasn''t an incentive to become a core member. Melancholic Smile''s suggestion was a wise one. If they tweaked the new benefits now, it would encourage the previously hesitant alchemists to sign the core member contract. After all, even a Master Alchemist would be hard pressed to refuse access to a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools. "Relax. Do you think the benefits I''ve set will be easy for official members to obtain?" Shi Feng responded, chuckling. "If they can get their hands on the set, it''ll be my loss." "They can''t obtain them?" Melancholic Smile was confused. Since Shi Feng had already promised that official members could participate in the competition, that meant that everyone would be competing fairly using their alchemy abilities. Currently, Silent Wonder and several other alchemy fanatics, who had not signed up to become core members, were considerably skilled. Melancholic was certain that Silent Wonder, in particular, would rank among the top three. If Silent Wonder worked harder and got lucky, it would not be impossible for her to obtain first place. So, how could she possibly not gain access to the new benefits? However, Shi Feng did not bother to explain. While talent was important, resources couldn''t be overlooked. Although players valued their resources, they did not truly understand just how important external resources were to their development. Following which, Shi Feng held the alchemists that had signed the agreement back while the rest returned to their work. A total of 96 alchemists had chosen to stay behind. Among the 54 alchemists that left, the ratio of Advanced Alchemists was considerably high. Fortunately, more Advanced Alchemists has signed the agreement than Shi Feng had expected. "Since everyone present has decided to fight for the opportunity to become a Master, let''s start the test." Shi Feng then took a thick book from his bag and placed it on the table. Immediately, everyone felt the Mana in the room flow towards the book. "What is that?" These players were surprised as they looked at the tome on the table. They had all seen powerful items before. However, this was the first time they had seen a book cause such a phenomenon. "This test is slightly unique. I''m not going to test your alchemy success rates. Rather, I''m going to test your learning capabilities," Shi Feng said, smiling as he gestured to the book on the table. "Learning capabilities?" Everyone was confused. Even Melancholic Smile could not figure out Shi Feng''s intentions. Was he trying to test everyone''s memory? "I believe you''ve all learned many basic alchemy techniques from Candlelight''s database, so you should have a clearer understanding of those techniques than I do." Shi Feng then held up a slightly tattered book and displayed its Attribute Panel. "This book holds the record for a somewhat unique alchemy technique. You can call it a Secret Alchemy Technique. This Secret Alchemy Technique is several times more effective than the basic techniques you''ve already learned. If you can learn this technique within a fixed time, you''ll pass the test. "Anyone who passes the test will qualify to read this Moon God''s Secret Record." Saying so, Shi Feng revealed the Moon God''s Secret Record. "The Moon God''s Secret Record? Isn''t that one of the legendary Alchemy Scriptures?" Everyone''s jaws dropped when they saw the ancient tome in Shi Feng''s hand; none of them could believe their eyes. These players were all alchemists that frequently read various materials about alchemy in God''s Domain. They were all familiar with the items known as the Five Great Alchemy Scriptures. However, these items were nothing but dreams and legends to these players. They had assumed that they would never get to read one. How could they not be shocked when Shi Feng took out the Moon God''s Secret Record? The Moon God''s Secret Record could help one reach the pinnacle of alchemy. Even Grandmaster Alchemists dreamed of obtaining such a treasure. Only now did everyone understand why they had been required to sign the contract before taking the test. If news of such a treasure leaked, it would shake the very foundations of the alchemy world. Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile, who stood to a side, was utterly speechless. Only now did she understand why Shi Feng had been generous enough to let every alchemist in Candlelight compete for those alchemy tools. Compared to the Secret Alchemy Techniques and Moon God''s Secret Record, those tools were worthless. "Now that you''ve seen the Moon God''s Secret Record, whether or not you qualify to read it will depend on you." 1333 Appearance of Guild Moun Chapter 1333 - Appearance of Guild Mount Everyone''s eyes shone as they stared at the Moon God''s Secret Record, having completely forgotten about the Secret Alchemy Technique. Following which, under Melancholic Smile''s management, everyone lined up to learn the Secret Alchemy Technique. Learning a Secret Alchemy Technique was different from reading other books. As long as players clicked to learn the technique, the system would automatically download a copy of the module while providing explanations and image tutorials. However, players could only go through the learning module once. Once they have done so, the system would automatically delete it. If players wished to go through the module again, they would need to click to learn the Secret Alchemy Technique once more. It was a considerably convenient learning method. "You have three days and only 12 chances to read the Secret Alchemy Technique. Whoever learns the technique in that time will pass. You may then borrow the Moon God''s Secret Record from Melancholic Smile." As everyone stood in line to learn the Secret Alchemy Technique, Shi Feng explained the test''s rules. "Three days?" The alchemists gasped when they heard their time limit. "Guild Leader, isn''t this test a little too difficult?" Melancholic Smile blurted out in surprise. They had collected all sorts of basic techniques from the Holy City of Titan, and currently, these techniques were available to all of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s official members. However, Candlelight''s alchemists, on average, needed one or two days to learn each of these basic alchemy techniques, while some needed three or four days. Meanwhile, the Secret Alchemy Technique was far more difficult than those basic techniques. If the basic alchemy techniques were considered individual musical notes, then the Secret Alchemy Technique would be considered a complex movement. One could just imagine how difficult it would be to play such a movement skillfully Yet, Shi Feng had only given these alchemists three days to learn the Secret Alchemy Technique. Even if they spent all three days online, many would likely fail. "I know that this is considerably difficult, but if you can''t even accomplish this, why should the Guild invest in you? Moreover, this test''s venue will be the Basic Meditation Room. I believe you are all very familiar with that room. You will be allowed to use it for the next three days, so work hard." Saying so, Shi Feng left the alchemists'' test to Melancholic Smile while he took an advanced horse carriage to Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City. This time, he had only revealed one Basic Secret Alchemy Technique. Any alchemist with some skill could master it in time. It was only a matter of how fast they could accomplish the task. As God''s Domain had developed in the past, various Secret Lifestyle Techniques had been discovered. As a result, players had encountered far more opportunities to learn these techniques. The discovery of these techniques also changed the way Lifestyle players were judged as rank and number of learned recipes grew less important. Rather, Lifestyle players were judged by the number of Secret Lifestyle Techniques they had grasped. Even a slightly capable Lifestyle player had learned at least two or three Basic Secret Techniques. As far as Shi Feng could remember, the dividing line had been a three-day learning period. Any player that could learn a Basic Secret Technique in three days had been considered talented. Their chances of reaching the Master rank had also been considerably higher than others. Hence, he had set the test''s time limit to three days. White River City''s streets bustled with activity. Due to the activation of the flying transportation feature, allowing players to travel to the Eclipse Gate, more players rushed to White River City to level up. As Shi Feng glanced out of the carriage window, he saw plenty of players riding various Mounts. Although the majority of these players rode Common Mounts, which NPC merchants sold, it was still an enviable sight for ordinary players. After all, NPC merchants sold Common Mounts for 40 Gold each. It was not a price ordinary players could afford. In the case of independent players, only experts could afford a Mount at this stage of the game. It seems I''ll have to hurry things up a little. A sense of urgency welled within Shi Feng as he watched players atop their Mounts. Mounts were a powerful leveling tool for players. God''s Domain''s maps were simply too massive. As players reached higher levels, they would have to travel farther to grind monsters and level. As a result, travel would take up most of their time in the game. Even a Common Mount could save players at least half of their travel time. Naturally, this allowed players to increase their leveling speed. Although he had already become an Epic adventurer and had accepted an SSS-rank commission, he was still a long way from upgrading Star-Moon Kingdom to an empire. Moreover, the initial three SSS-rank commissions were the Adventurer''s Association''s gift to every country. Encountering another SSS-rank commission would depend on one''s luck. He had to complete as many commissions as possible right now. If other Epic adventurers in Star-Moon Kingdom claimed the other SSS-rank commissions, it would be a massive loss for him. The first thing he needed to do was complete the Ancient Orc Empire commission. He could also use this opportunity to help the main force members to level up. When Shi Feng reached the Guild Residence, he was greeted by a long line of players queued up outside the entrance. Taking a quick glance, he noticed quite a few Level 40 and above expert players. There were even some relatively strong adventurer teams in the mix. Not long ago, Shi Feng wouldn''t have even dared to dream of such a thing happening. Any of the various large Guilds would target capable adventurer teams in Star-Moon Kingdom for recruitment. However, these adventurer teams had their pride and usually refused to join a Guild. These adventurer teams might not have abundant resources like Guilds, but by raiding large-scale Team Dungeons and completing various rare quests, these adventurer teams could get their hands on valuable weapons and equipment that even made large Guilds'' normal members jealous. Since Shi Feng had announced the sales of Stone Forest Town''s private houses, more than 1,000 players had joined the Guild. This significant increase had surprised even Shi Feng. To other large Guilds, this number might not be substantial. In Zero Wing''s case, however, it was astounding. Zero Wing was famous for having the highest recruitment standard in Star-Moon Kingdom. Anyone that joined the Guild had either great potential or was stronger than other large Guilds'' elite members. Hence, an increase of 1,000 members in Zero Wing was the equivalent of a large Guild suddenly gaining over 1,000 elite members. At this rate, Zero Wing would have an extra 10,000 elite members by the end of the day. Even for first-rate Guilds, this was unthinkable. After all, a first-rate Guild normally only had 100,000-plus elite members. By gaining 10,000 elite members in a single day, Zero Wing would catch up to a first-rate Guild''s elite member count within two weeks. Of course, this situation wouldn''t continue for so many days, but Zero Wing shouldn''t have a problem gaining an extra 30,000 elite members in a short amount of time. At that time, Zero Wing would finally have enough elite members to truly rival a first-rate Guild. With so many elite members, not only could Shi Feng alleviate the pressure on the Branch Guild in Lake Heart City, but he would also have enough manpower to defend his new city. He wouldn''t need to reallocate manpower from Stone Forest Town. As Shi Feng was about to enter the Guild''s Warehouse to clear out his bag and prepare the necessary items for his trip to the Mourning Battlefield, he received two system notifications. - System: Congratulations! You have finished taming the 5-star Mount, Thunder Wolf. Please visit the Stable. System: Congratulations! Master Tamer Owen, who is under your employment, has been promoted to Grandmaster Tamer. 1334 Flocking To Zero Wing Chapter 1334 - Flocking To Zero Wing The two system notifications momentarily stunned Shi Feng. "The taming''s done already?" Shi Feng was confused. A 5-star Mount was not easy to tame. Even Owen had estimated that he would require 25 days to complete the task. However, the Mount had been tamed much sooner than expected. Now that the Thunder Wolf had been tamed, Zero Wing could finally activate the Guild Mount System. Guild members could start purchasing the Thunder Wolf from the Guild Stable. Unlike the Mounts NPCs sold, Guild members only needed to pay 25 Gold for a Guild Mount. With the price difference of 15 Gold, not only could Guild members obtain their Mount sooner, but the Thunder Wolf''s Movement Speed also rivaled that of Bronze Mounts. Zero Wing''s development speed would even surpass first-rate Guilds with abundant funding. The most surprising news, however, was Owen''s promotion to Grandmaster Tamer. Although the Tamer class was not a particularly popular one, even Star-Moon Kingdom''s King would have to treat a Grandmaster Tamer with respect. Grandmaster Tamers would also become targets for countless Guilds seeking their employment. Unlike Master Tamers, Grandmaster tamers could strengthen the Wild Beasts they tamed, and they required far less time to complete the task. At the same time, they could help players upgrade their Guild Mounts much more easily. If a Master Tamer had a 15% chance of upgrading a Guild''s Common Mounts to Bronze rank, a Grandmaster Tamer''s success rate was at least 30%. Immediately, Shi Feng hurried to the Guild Stable. The Guild Stable hadn''t changed. As Shi Feng hadn''t activated the Guild Mount System yet, Guild members had no reason to approach the Stable. There were only a dozen or so NPCs managing the place. The only difference was that right now, Owen stood guard before a large cage, inside of which obediently lay the Thunder Wolf. However, the Thunder Wolf was much smaller than when Shi Feng had captured it. But this wasn''t unexpected. After all, the Thunder Wolf had been a Lord, while the current Thunder Wolf was a Common monster. Now, it was only a means of transportation. "Lord Count, I have tamed the Thunder Wolf as you requested. The process also gave me a lot of experience and insight, so I wish to return and examine what I''ve learned. I hope that Lord Count will allow this." Owen was extremely excited. He was clearly ecstatic over his promotion to Grandmaster Tamer. He wanted to return to his workshop immediately and take note of his experiences and insight. "Of course. Grandmaster Owen, if you need any help in the future, just say the word," Shi Feng said, nodding. The request didn''t particularly surprise him. Owen''s promotion to Grandmaster rank had surprised him, though. It had never happened in his previous life. Fortunately, Shi Feng had established a contract with Owen early on. Hence, the NPC would not leave Zero Wing due to his promotion. Only, Owen''s monthly compensation had changed drastically. Initially, Owen''s monthly salary had only been 200 Gold. Now, it had increased to 3,000 Gold. Moreover, unlike a Master Tamer, a Grandmaster Tamer wouldn''t regularly visit a Guild Stable to check on the Mount it had teamed. Instead, Shi Feng was required to pay Owen a visit if he wanted the NPC to do something for him. Fortunately, players could easily take care of small matters, such as upgrading a Guild Mount, via the Stable''s front counter. Owen wasn''t required to visit. The NPC Tamers managing the stable would follow Owen''s procedures during the upgrade process. Hearing Shi Feng''s reply, Owen immediately turned and left, leaving Shi Feng and the caged Thunder Wolf to their own devices. After Owen left, Shi Feng clicked on the cage, and line after line of data appeared before him. Shi Feng then chose to set the Thunder Wolf as the Guild''s Mount. In God''s Domain, not any tamed Mount could become a Guild Mount. A Guild could only possess a limited number of Mounts. This limit would increase as the Guild rose in rank and upgraded its Stable. Currently, Zero Wing could only own one type of Guild Mount. Even if it tamed others, it could only select one while the remaining would be kept in reserve. After Shi Feng set the Guild Mount, the system announced another notification. - System: Do you wish to open the Stable to the Thunder Wolf Mount? - Shi Feng accepted without hesitation. He had waited for this moment for a long time now. The sooner he allowed the Thunder Wolf into the Stable, the more of an advantage Zero Wing would have. Once Shi Feng opened the Stable to the Thunder Wolf, NPC Tamers began to appear outside of the Stable, each NPC leading one lively Thunder Wolf after another. These Thunder Wolves'' appearances differed slightly in the color of their fur, eyes, and such. Overall, though, they were all majestic. As these Thunder Wolves appeared, they attracted the attention of nearby players. "What''s going on? Why are there monsters going into the Stable?" "Are those our Guild Mounts?" These players couldn''t help their growing curiosity as they watched the majestic Thunder Wolves enter the stable, and they started to discuss their various guesses. After all, it had been quite some time since Zero Wing''s Stable had been built. However, no one had seen any activity in the Stable. Naturally, these players would wonder now that so many Thunder Wolves occupied the building. Immediately, curious Guild members entered the Stable to find out what was happening. As soon as they heard the NPCs answer, they were shocked. "Those are Guild Mounts!" "Crap! This Guild Mount is awesome! Its base Movement Speed is 120%! It''s much stronger than the Common Mounts in the city! It can practically rival a Bronze Mount''s speed!" "Hahaha! Our Guild Mount looks so cool! If the players from other Guilds find out about this, they will die from envy!" "My patience has finally paid off! I''ve long since saved up 25 Gold! I''m going to get that purplish-black Thunder Wolf! Its color scheme will match my weapons and equipment perfectly!" "Scram! I''ve got my eye on that one!" For a time, the Stable exploded with activity. The Guild members that had already saved 25 Gold to purchase a Mount, afraid someone would snatch the Thunder Wolf they had set their sights on. News of the Thunder Wolf immediately spread throughout Zero Wing. This information also reached Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Zero Wing''s Guild Mount makes its first appearance! Pictures and videos available! "Crap! That Mount looks so cool! It only costs 25 Gold, too! This won''t do! I must join Zero Wing!" "Zero Wing is so amazing! I just looked it up in the library. It turns out that the Thunder Wolf is an extremely rare, high-ranking Wild Beast in God''s Domain. How did Zero Wing get its hands on this Mount?" The forums were in an uproar over Zero Wing''s new Mount. Expert players who had already purchased a Common Mount envied and admired Zero Wing members. Some of the adventurer teams and independent experts that had hesitated to join Zero Wing changed their minds immediately, determined to join the Guild. Not only was the Thunder Wolf cheap, but it also had superior Attributes and an impressive appearance. Moreover, the Mount could be upgraded. Before anyone knew it, the line of players outside of Zero Wing had doubled. More players joined the line by the minute. The Guild recruiters were stupefied. However, in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence in Star-Moon City, when Singular Burial received the news, he felt an indescribable pressure weigh down on him. "Zero Wing!" Singular Burial fumed. If not for his collaboration with Abandoned Wave, Heaven''s Burial wouldn''t be a match for Zero Wing. "What a pity. Even if you release your Guild Mounts now, it is too late to change anything. "Relay my commands! Instruct Ghost Shadow to lead the Ghost Shadow Legion to White River City! As soon as Abandoned Wave''s people take action, have them destroy Zero Wing''s Stable!" 1335 Darkness Strikes Chapter 1335 - Darkness Strikes Inside the Guild Leader''s office Daybreak Fog and Heaven''s Burial''s several other upper echelons were stunned by Singular Burial''s command. They hadn''t expected Zero Wing''s Guild Mounts to inspire such a firm decision. In God''s Domain, the Guild structures inside NPC cities could be destroyed. If one wished to rebuild a structure, they would require a new design to do so. However, these structures were generally protected by defensive magic arrays. They weren''t easy to destroy. Normally, a Guild structure''s defensive magic array could absorb up to 15,000,000 damage. As for a crucial structure like the Stable, the Guild would employ a far more powerful magic array to protect it. Inside a 2-star Guild Residence, the strongest magic array one could establish to protect its Stable could absorb up to 30,000,000 damage, while the weakest magic array in a 3-star Guild residence could absorb up to 40,000,000 damage. Taking into account the Stable''s own durability and Defense, it would take a considerable amount of time to destroy the building. In addition, White River City was a major NPC city. An attack at night might have a chance of success, but now, they had been ordered to attack the Stable during the day. The NPC guards patrolling the city were incredibly diligent. Even the slightest disturbance would attract a large number of these NPC guards. White River City was also Zero Wing''s main headquarters. There were now fewer than three or four thousand members stationed in Zero Wing''s Residence at a time. The Guild had also hired tons of NPC guards to defend the Residence. If they attacked, these players and NPCs would respond immediately. Unless they invested several times the number of players Zero Wing had, it would be impossible to destroy the Stable under such tight security. The Ghost Shadow Legion only had 2,000 members. Although these players were all elites or experts, there were plenty of elites and experts defending Zero Wing''s Residence. "Guild Leader, although Zero Wing''s Guild Mount poses a threat, we''re talking about an assault in White River City. Even if we dispatch the entire Ghost Shadow Legion, it won''t even be enough to get through Zero Wing''s main entrance," Daybreak Fog persuaded. "I suggest that we follow the original plan and take things one step at a time. First, we''ll secure Stone Forest Town. Then, we''ll kill the Frost King. Even with their Guild Mounts, we can whittle Zero Wing down. Such a forceful assault isn''t necessary." The other upper echelons expressed their agreement. Zero Wing had a massive advantage over the other large Guilds, which did not possess Guild Mounts. As time passed, this gap between Zero Wing and its competitors would only widen. It was wise to deal with this situation as quickly as possible. However, Heaven''s Burial was an exception. With the Evil Beast army, Heaven''s Burial could flatten any Guild town it wanted. To a large Guild like Zero Wing, losing a town meant losing an important income source. It would impact the Guild''s development. If Zero Wing lost its Guild town, how could it possibly compete with Heaven''s Burial? "I understand your concern." Singular Burial could not help but laugh. "Sending the Ghost Shadow Legion into action isn''t profitable, but aren''t you jealous of Zero Wing''s Stable?" "Of course, we are, Guild Leader, but so what? Constructing a Stable requires a design, yet we haven''t even found a lead to the Stable Design." "We might not have had the opportunity to build a Stable in the past, but now we do." Saying so, Singular Burial revealed a thick, ancient tome and displayed it before everyone. - [Book of Replication] (Consumable) Saves a copy of a building for ten days. When used, creates an exact replica of the building. (Cannot be used if copied building exists.) - After Daybreak Fog and the others read the introduction text, they wore shocked and ecstatic expressions. With this Book of Replication, they could copy and destroy Zero Wing''s Stable, obtaining one for Heaven''s Burial. "When Abandoned Wave attacks, Zero Wing''s members will flock to Stone Forest Town''s defense. As a result, the Guild''s main headquarters will be left unguarded. That''s our opportunity," Singular Burial said, smiling. "Don''t we have eight Gnome Cannons? Give them all to the Ghost Shadow Legion. With eight Gnome Cannons, the magic array protecting Zero Wing''s Stable can only last a few volleys at most, regardless of how powerful it is." Hearing this, the upper echelons'' eyes shone with excitement. It wasn''t possible for the Ghost Shadow Legion to destroy the Stable by itself. However, employing the Gnome Cannons against Zero Wing''s defenses wouldn''t be a problem. Although they would undoubtedly lose all eight cannons and many members of the Ghost Shadow Legion, the losses would be worth stealing Zero Wing''s Stable. "However, as a preventive measure, lead the Third Legion to White River City, Fog. You can hand the eight Gnome Cannons over to Ghost Shadow while you''re at it. Destroy Zero Wing''s Stable once Ghost Shadow copies it. I want to see how Zero Wing intends to hold its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild after losing both Stone Forest Town and its Stable." "Understood. I''ll see to it right away." Daybreak Fog turned and left the office. Zero Wing might have many experts, but after today, it would be Heaven''s Burial''s era in Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, many adventurer teams and Guild players lay siege to the Bloodring Bandit Group at the border between the Stoneclaw Mountains and the Limestone Hills. The Bloodring Bandit Group was one of the dark forces residing in this area. The group consisted of Level 45 and above Half-orcs. Among them, powerful Chieftains and Lords ambushed passing players and NPCs. Occasionally, even Great Lords patrolled the area. However, due to the Bloodring Bandit Group''s frequent robberies against NPC merchant fleets, NPC merchants had placed a high bounty on their heads. Including the fact that the Bloodring Bandits had a chance of dropping the Bloodring Set, a Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, and the recipe for the Mad Demon Potion, many players had joined the crusade against the Bandit Group. Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment might not be considered top-tier equipment to first-rate Guilds, but independent players dreamed of such equipment. Moreover, Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment generally only dropped in large-scale Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Raiding the Bloodring Bandit Group was much easier than raiding a large-scale Dungeon. Moreover, the Mad Demon Potion was a powerful concoction that, when consumed, allowed players to enter a Berserk state, increasing all Attributes by 30% for 20 seconds. It also only had a one-hour Cooldown. Hence, the recipe was highly sought after by the various large Guilds. If the Mad Demon Potion Recipe dropped, it could even sell for enough to make powerful adventurer teams and Guild teams jealous. Because of these reasons, the various adventurer teams and Guilds around Star-Moon City had targeted the Bloodring Bandit Group. However, even now, not a single Guild or adventurer team had defeated One-eyed Clyde, the Bloodring Bandit Group''s commander, a Level 49 Grand Lord. But one of Zero Wing''s 50-man teams had arrived. "Leader, One-eyed Clyde''s resting place is ahead." "Good. This time, we have the magic array we purchased from the Guild to suppress Clyde. If we coordinate our AOE Skills and Spells properly, we''ll kill him. If the recipe drops, we''ll all be riding Thunder Wolves tomorrow!" a Level 41 Ranger said. Hearing this, everyone grew excited. Following which, under this Level 41 Ranger''s command, the team of 50 slowly approached One-eyed Clyde''s stone house. Just before the team reached the house, however, numerous figures exited the building. "Why are other monsters here?" The team was surprised to see the one-horned humanoid monsters emerge from the house. However, the Ranger team leader, who had extremely sharp eyesight, paled when he saw these monsters. Inside the dimly-lit stone house lay a three-meter-tall, armored corpse. This corpse belonged to none other than One-eyed Clyde. Fresh blood still flowed from his body. However, the Ranger couldn''t detect any other players within his Eagle Eye''s range. The Ranger also detected traces of green blood on these humanoid monsters. It was Half-orc blood. Seeing this, the Ranger thought back to the frightening monsters he had encountered during Stone Forest Town''s last siege. "Crap! Everyone, retreat!" 1336 Stormy Stone Forest Town Chapter 1336 - Stormy Stone Forest Town The sudden command to retreat confused the members of Zero Wing. Only eight one-horned humanoid monsters stood before them. Although their levels were a little high, all above Level 50, even the strongest among them was only a Lord. They also had less HP than monsters of the same rank and level. Taking these monsters on wouldn''t be impossible for this team from Zero Wing. Even so, everyone listened to their team leader and immediately retreated. "Do you actually think you can escape?" A cloaked figure suddenly emerged from the stone house. This cloaked man''s entire body had been wrapped in bandages. Sneering, the man said, "Just stay here and sacrifice yourselves!" Although the cloaked man hadn''t been particularly loud, everyone had heard him clearly, and they shuddered involuntarily. The team''s rangers were more shocked than their companions. They had kept Eagle Eyes active, which allowed them to perceive all players and monsters within a certain range, yet they had failed to detect the one-horned monsters and the cloaked man even as he stood before them. Before the team could put some distance between themselves and these new enemies, the humanoid monsters smiled sinisterly as they dashed forward. They were so fast that they left afterimages in their wake. With just a few steps, the Evil Beasts had crossed 30 yards and caught up with the retreating Zero Wing members. "So fast!" "Do you really think we''re afraid of you?!" Realizing that they couldn''t outrun these Evil Beasts, three Level 40 Shield Warriors and one Level 41 Guardian Knight turned to stop the monsters'' approach. Voice of Anger! Justice Roar! With their AOE Taunt Skills activate, the eight Evil Beasts couldn''t attack other players for a short time. "Foolish!" the cloaked man sneered. In the next moment, the Evil Beasts'' claws emitted a faint, gray fog. The Evil Beasts then launched a barrage of attacks against the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knight. The instant the Evil Beasts'' claws collided with the four MTs'' shields, the sharp claws passed through them as if they didn''t exist and slashed the MTs helmets. These MTs instantly lost over 13,000 Hp, a large fraction of their totals, after a single attack. Before the healers in the rear could react, these MTs took several more hits. In the blink of an eye, four MTs, each with nearly 40,000 HP, died Their companions were stunned. However, several calm Elementalists and Rangers had reacted quickly and responded with attacks of their own. Immediately, dozens of arrows and Spells flew towards the eight Evil Beasts. However, like agile Assassins, the Evil Beasts dodged most of the attacks and blocked the rest. As a result, they survived the volley, remaining unharmed. Most surprisingly, the distance between these monsters and the team had shortened. uddenly, a Level 54, Lord ranked Evil Beast jumped into the crowd of players. It brandished its claws at the nearby healers, the gray fog extending and transforming into sharp blades. A gray arch, extending to 15 yards, tore through Zero Wing''s rear line. With a single attack, the cloth armor classes with low Defense, aside from a few Elementalists that had responded quickly and used Blink to escape, died instantly. In the blink of an eye, nearly half of the team of 50 had died. The Level 54 Lord''s strength made the surviving Zero Wing members tremble. "Run! Scatter and run!" the Ranger serving as the team''s leader shouted in the team chat. Hearing this, these players gritted their teeth as they split up and ran. With this, the eight Evil Beasts wouldn''t be able to catch them. However, the Evil Beasts were incredibly fast. Despite splitting up, most of the team died. Only a few Assassins and players with Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls escaped death. "Brother Wave, are you just going to let them get away?" Flame Blood, wearing a Black Cloak and wielding a blackwood staff, approached from the nearby forest. Glancing at the fleeing Zero Wing members, he could not help but ask, "If you let them get away, they will warn Zero Wing. Capturing Stone Forest Town will become more troublesome." "That''s exactly what I want," Abandoned Wave, who was covered in bandages, said, sneering. "I want Zero Wing to amass its combat power in Stone Forest Town. Only then will Stone Forest Town be worth destroying. Right, how are the preparations going?" "The Evil Beast army has gathered. They are standing by not far from here," Flame Blood said, smiling. "Is it really necessary to dispatch all of them? We''re talking about 500,000 Evil Beasts, and that''s not including the Evil Demon army under your control. With this army, we can annihilate two or three Stone Forest Towns simultaneously." Not many Evil Beasts had taken part in the prior battle for Stone Forest Town. However, this time was different. Not only were more Evil Beasts participating in the siege this time, but each one was also stronger than before. Even the weakest Evil Beast was a Level 60 Elite. Their army had nearly 40,000 Level 60-plus Chieftains, 3,000-plus Lords, 200-plus Great Lords, and 40-plus Grand Lords. However, this wasn''t the most important factor. To ensure Zero Wing''s destruction and avoid any mishaps, they had even dispatched five Level 70, Mythic ranked Evil Beasts. In the face of such a force, Stone Forest Town''s defenses were a joke. They also had the Evil Demon army, which Abandoned Wave and spent his time carefully nurturing. Although the army was not particularly large, with only 6,000 or so Evil Demons, the threat it posed could likely rival that of the 500,000 Evil Beast army. "Good. We''ll make our way to Stone Forest Town and show Zero Wing''s people what despair tastes like," Abandoned Wave said, laughing. He had waited for this moment for a very long time. Zero Wing was the reason his plan to take control of Star-Moon Kingdom had failed. This time, however, he wouldn''t give Zero Wing a chance. As long as he annihilated Stone Forest Town and proved his strength to the corporation, he could reclaim his position in the Blackwater Corporation. Elsewhere, the sudden appearance of the Evil Beast army had attracted the attention of Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers. After all, the numbers and strength of this Evil Beast army were not to be taken lightly. The army could easily trample any Guild town. If players weren''t careful, they could get caught in the devastation. This was especially true for the Guilds based in Star-Moon City. Although they had been aware of quite a few Evil Beasts operating near the city and had suffered many losses as a result, they had never imagined that the threat would be so great. "What? You''re saying these Evil Beasts are marching towards Stone Forest Town?" "This is interesting. Against so many monsters, even Zero Wing could fall." "Hahaha! Even the heavens are helping us now! If Zero Wing loses Stone Forest Town, their Guild Mounts will mean nothing." After the various powers investigated the Evil Beast army''s movements, they celebrated. Now, the threat of Zero Wing would vanish. Meanwhile, the players in Stone Forest Town were panicking. "Why are these monsters heading hear?! Damn it! What should we do?! Our adventurer team just spent a ton of Gold to buy a house! Are we going to lose it, just like that?" "Thank goodness! Zero Wing won''t start selling houses until tomorrow. If we had rushed it, buying a house would''ve been worthless." "What a pity. Such a good town is going to be destroyed, just like that." "I wonder if Zero Wing can protect the town against so many monsters?" "I highly doubt it. You should''ve seen the monster army. Any player that it comes across will die. One of my Assassin friends tried to record the monster army''s march. In the end, however, the monsters discovered and killed him. They are ridiculously strong. Moreover, any player they kill can''t log into God''s Domain for some time. My Assassin friend is dying with regret." The town''s players discussed the situation heatedly. Many had already prepared to flee. There were also some that considered staying behind, and others who wanted to watch the upcoming battle. After all, monsters didn''t often siege a town. The atmosphere in Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City was tense. The Guild''s upper echelons had gathered in the Residence''s meeting room to discuss the current situation, trying to figure out how to deal with the Evil Beast army. There were simply too many monsters this time. Although Stone Forest Town had far more powerful static defenses than before, protecting the town against such a massive army would still be difficult. However, they were hesitant to mobilize the Guild''s members as any player those Evil Beasts killed would be barred from logging into God''s Domain for a short time. Meanwhile, the Evil Beast army moved ever closer to Stone Forest Town. If they weren''t prepared, Stone Forest Town would be doomed. Yet, their Guild Leader had instructed them to stay here. One could just imagine how anxious they were. Suddenly, the doors to the solemn meeting room swung open, and Shi Feng slowly entered. 1337 Unfathomable Guild Chapter 1337 - Unfathomable Guild Noticing Shi Feng''s entrance, the players in the meeting room began to calm down. Shi Feng was followed by a man and a woman. This situation confused everyone present. Most of the people in the room were unfamiliar with the man behind Shi Feng. They could tell he was a Lifestyle player of high standards based on his attire. As for the woman, they knew her well as she was none other than the Candlelight Trading Firm''s manager, Melancholic Smile. Thus far, Shi Feng hadn''t invited Candlelight''s people to take part in any of Zero Wing''s meetings. Hence, everyone was surprised to see these representatives. However, with the situation as it was, they weren''t in the mood to welcome these two to Zero Wing''s upper-echelon meeting. Instead, they focused on Shi Feng, who sat in the Guild Leader''s seat. "Guild Leader, the situation in Stone Forest Town is quite dire "Based on our investigation, we are likely facing more than 500,000 monsters. Many of which are Chieftains and Lords. Even if we dispatch all of our Guild''s forces, the likelihood of fending off these monsters is slim. I suggest that we offer a reward to the town''s adventurer teams and independent players and request their help. This way, we can make up for the numbers we lack. Our chances of winning will also increase considerably." Aqua Rose''s suggestion earned the approval of many of her comrades. Stone Forest Town''s player population far exceeded 500,000. Moreover, the average standard of the players in the town was considerably high. If Zero Wing offered an appropriate reward and offered players a small discount on the town''s houses in exchange for their help, they would likely tempt many players into action. With so many players in addition to Stone Forest Town''s defenses, they may be able to protect the town. At most, they would have to pay a huge price to do so. It was likely that the Guild''s development would stagnate for a considerable amount of time. However, paying such a price was better than losing Stone Forest Town entirely. After all, Zero Wing had invested too much into the town to lose it now. Suddenly, Gentle Snow spoke up, "Guild Leader, we''ve discovered some hidden ruins in the Black Dragon Empire and obtained over 600 Intermediate Thunder Bombs. Although they are not as powerful as the Mana Pulse Bombs, they can rival Tier 3 Spells. They have an effective radius of 20 yards and can paralyze the targets they hit for a short time. They can also amplify the effects of the Defense Turrets. Aside from these Thunder Bombs, we have also obtained two Advanced Gnome Cannons that are roughly equal to the Defense Turrets'' firepower. Originally, I had planned to use these items to capture a town, but defending Stone Forest Town must be our priority." The other upper echelons were astonished to hear Gentle Snow''s report. Tools of war were extremely useful and highly sought after by the various large Guilds. However, they were also extremely rare, and very few Guilds actually got their hands on them. They had never imagined that Gentle Snow would secure so many of these items. They had assumed that Gentle Snow had been struggling in Lake Heart City. After all, there were plenty of first- and second-rate Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire. It was even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s territory. Without the home-ground advantage, stabilizing a Branch Guild in the empire would be miraculous. However, it seemed that they had severely underestimated Gentle Snow. Shi Feng was similarly surprised. He hadn''t expected Gentle Snow to be capable of capturing a town in the Black Dragon Empire so soon. Moreover, based on her expression, it would seem that she was very confident in succeeding. "Guild Leader, give us the command! We can''t stand to just sit still! We''re all determined to stop these monsters from stepping foot into Stone Forest Town, even we''re slaughtered!" Many of the other upper echelons voiced their desire to join the fight. At this point, requests to take part in the upcoming war flooded the Guild chat. Even the Guild''s normal members, who were not required to take part, wanted to defend the town, with some already forming their own teams. Zero Wing had defeated many Guilds to become Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. How could it abandon Stone Forest Town and accept defeat at the hands of a mere monster army? "I understand your sentiments." Shi Feng could not help but laugh when he heard everyone''s opinions. "However, Zero Wing has not fallen so far that we need to resort to such methods. I''ve only called you here to tell you to continue your duties. The 40,000 elite and expert members stationed in Stone Forest Town are enough to defeat the monster army." "But" Before everyone could argue, however, Shi Feng stood and continued, "Let me introduce you. This is Melancholic Smile. I believe you are familiar with her by now. This gentleman here is Candlelight''s Chief Engineer, Burning Abyss. He has had a hand on many of our precious engineering tools. Both will participate in our Guild meetings from here on out. Whenever I''m not around, Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm will be able to work together." Shi Feng''s announcement confused his commanders. They couldn''t figure out what he was trying to do. The monster army was quickly approaching Stone Forest Town, yet Shi Feng''s goal for this meeting was to tell them to continue their tasks and introduce Candlelight''s managers? "First, Melancholic, tell everyone about your recent results," Shi Feng said as he implied that the others stay silent. He then let Melancholic Smile take charge of the meeting. "After Candlelight obtained the Miniature Ballista Design, we invested a lot of time into manufacturing Miniature Ballistas each day. Thus far, we have manufactured 73 Miniature Ballistas. We have also successfully researched the Exploding Arrow. The arrows rival Tier 2 Spells and any Engineer[1] can craft them. Moreover, both the arrows'' production success rate and speed are considerably high. "Thus far, we have produced 200,000 Exploding Arrows. We''ve secretly moved these arrows to Candlelight''s warehouse in Stone Forest Town. They can be retrieved and used at any time. In addition, if Candlelight''s 200-plus Engineers, who have learned the Exploding Arrows'' design, produce them quickly, they can craft 4,000 arrows per hour." As everyone listened to Melancholic Smile''s brief report, they were stunned into silence. Even Aqua Rose, who was very familiar with the ins and outs of Zero Wing, was dazed when she heard this. It was obvious that she struggled to process the information. Seventy-three Miniature Ballistas! Two hundred thousand Exploding Arrows that could rival Tier 2 Spells! These players began to doubt that their Guild was actually Zero Wing. Not even Super Guilds had this kind of weaponry. Apocalypse Empire, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence in the imperial capital: Over a hundred players had gathered in the Residence''s top-floor lounge. Every one of these people was a Level 43 or above expert. They were the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s core upper echelons. Among these people, there were some that even Pavilion Masters like Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor couldn''t command and had to treat with respect. Normally, these people were scattered across the various Branch Guilds. Today, however, the Great Pavilion Master had summoned them here. Although many of these players were pleased to be here, Phoenix Rain, who sat in a corner, wore a serious frown. "Why would so many monsters attack Stone Forest Town?" Phoenix Rain''s expression darkened as she read the latest report her subordinates had sent. Stone Forest Town had only begun to develop properly after many challenges. Even leisure players had begun to move into the town, while real-world companies'' virtual stores had begun to rake in profit. If Stone Forest Town were destroyed now, all of Zero Wing''s effort would go to waste. Nine Dragons Emperor, who had also heard the news, strode over to Phoenix Rain with a smug look. Laughing, he said, "What a pity! All of your investment in Zero Wing was for nothing! I''m sure the Guild Elders will also be very interested to hear about this!" "The outcome has yet to be decided! Don''t celebrate so soon!" Phoenix Rain snapped. Ignoring Nine Dragons Emperor, she turned and left to contact Shi Feng. The Great Pavilion Master had ordered her to complete a particular quest, so she couldn''t mobilize too many players to assist Zero Wing. However, she could lend Zero Wing seven or eight Gnome Cannons and a large stock of special ammunition. 1338 Defensive Siege Battle Chapter 1338 - Defensive Siege Battle After Phoenix Rain left, Nine Dragons Emperor returned to quietly sipping wine from his glass. Martial Dragon, the burly man exuding chilling aura from behind Nine Dragons Emperor, asked quietly, "Pavilion Master, should I use this opportunity to send some people to destroy Zero Wing''s Residence in Lake Heart City?" "The quest is about to start. There''s no need to waste the manpower. In any case, it is only a matter of time before Zero Wing crumbles," Nine Dragons Emperor replied, smiling faintly as he watched Phoenix Rain''s departing figure. With so many monsters assaulting Stone Forest Town, he wasn''t even certain that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s full force could protect the town, much less Zero Wing''s. Without Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to help Phoenix Rain. Meanwhile, standing in another corner in the lounge, Phoenix Rain waited a while before contacting Shi Feng. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Shi Feng asked. He could not help but poke fun at Phoenix Rain when he saw the woman''s anxious expression. Due to Phoenix Rain''s sudden call, he had been forced to end the meeting early and find a reception room to remove his Black Flame disguise. Only then did he accept the call. "Do you really have to ask?" Phoenix Rain rolled her eyes. Getting straight to the point, she retorted, "Who doesn''t know about Stone Forest Town''s situation right now? Although I can''t supply any manpower, I can lend you a few war weapons." "War weapons?" Shi Feng hadn''t expected Phoenix Rain to be so generous. All of the large Guilds treated war weapons like priceless treasure. They wouldn''t even think of using these items if they could avoid it, much less lending them to someone else. They only put these items to use during crucial moments. "Let''s forget about the weapons. How many Magic Crystals do you have on hand?" "You don''t need the weapons?" Phoenix Rain was slightly surprised. She couldn''t understand what Shi Feng was thinking. War weapons could be a saving grace during a monster siege, yet based on Shi Feng''s reaction, it was obvious that he wasn''t interested. "I''ve already spent most of the Magic Crystals that I borrowed from Zero Wing. Right now, I only have around 50,000 or so left. If you need them, I can have Blue send them over right away. But that''s all I have." "Fifty thousand?" After pondering for a brief moment, Shi Feng said, "That should be barely enough. Thank you for the help, Phoenix Pavilion Master. Regarding the 300,000 Magic Crystals that you''ve borrowed, we''ll write off the interest." Phoenix Rain had wanted to respond, but as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, he disconnected the call. Blue Phoenix walked over and asked, "Big Sis Rain, how did it go? Should I send some people to retrieve the Gnome Cannons from the Guild Warehouse?" "No. Just take 50,000 Magic Crystals to Stone Forest Town," Phoenix Rain said, waving her hand. "No?" Blue Phoenix was surprised. "We''re talking about tools of war. They can definitely help defend the town. Is Zero Wing really so confident of protecting Stone Forest Town against so many monsters?" "I doubt that Zero Wing would fool around with Stone Forest Town," Phoenix Rain said, uncertain. "Hopefully Zero Wing can defend it. As a preventive measure, take the Gnome Cannons and special ammunition with you." Zero Wing was going up against more than 500,000 monsters, and even the weakest among those monsters was a Level 60 Elite. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion wouldn''t be able to guarantee the town''s safety. She found it truly hard to believe that all Zero Wing needed was a few Magic Crystals. "Understood." Blue Phoenix nodded before leaving the lounge. A horde of Evil Beasts had surrounded Stone Forest Town. Looking at these monsters, the Zero Wing members stationed atop the town''s ramparts felt their knees grow weak. The players that had come to watch the battle were just as shocked. There was a great discrepancy between the information they had received and what lay before them. While the reports had stated that the weakest monsters within the monster army were Level 60 Elites was true, these Level 60 Elites did not make up the majority of the army. They weren''t even a quarter of the enemy''s forces. Rather, most of the monsters in the army were Level 60-plus Special Elites. Even from afar, one could easily find one Level 60-plus Chieftain out of every ten monsters. Such a beast could serve as a Party Dungeon''s Final Boss. As for the number of Tier 2 Lords in the army, that was even more frightening. The enemy also had hill-sized Great and Grand Lords. "It''s over. Stone Forest Town is beyond salvation now. Even from here, I can count more than 200 Great Lords" "The Great Lords are nothing. They can be defeated. You should be worried about the Level 65-plus Grand Lords and Mythic monsters. I''m pretty sure those monsters can obliterate Stone Forest Town without help." "How does such a powerful monster army exist? Even if every player in the town joins the fight, we can''t stop these monsters." Upon seeing the enemy''s forces, some players who had intended to stay to watch the war dismissed the notion. With such a massive gap in strength, this was no longer a war. It would simply be a one-sided slaughter. If they didn''t leave now, they wouldn''t even get the opportunity to flee once the battle began. "Hahaha! Abandoned Wave''s army is truly impressive! Even if Zero Wing sends in every member, its struggle will be futile!" Singular Burial was elated as he watched the live stream a subordinate had sent from inside Stone Forest Town. With such power, they could proceed to take control of the Star Alliance''s towns once they finished with Stone Forest Town. After that, Heaven''s Burial wouldn''t have any competition in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Guild Leader, I just received news that Zero Wing isn''t taking any action against the monster army. The elite members that were already in the town are the only ones stationed there. There are only 40,000 players," the subordinate recording the live stream reported. He then shifted the camera angle towards Stone Forest Town''s interior. Zero Wing''s members crowded atom Stone Forest Town''s ramparts. However, there weren''t many. No matter how one looked at it, they didn''t even have nearly 100,000 players. "They''re giving up?" Singular Burial roared with laughter when he saw this. "What a pity. I had hoped to use this opportunity to deal a blow to Zero Wing. As expected, Black Flame''s decision is a bold one. It''s no wonder how he developed Zero Wing to its current glory." If it were up to him, he would defend his town with everything he had. However, from a logical viewpoint, giving up the town was the best decision. Otherwise, the Guild would suffer additional losses while reaching the same outcome. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Players realized that Zero Wing intended to give up on the town. No one dared to linger as they used their Return Scrolls to flee. "How boring! So Zero Wing doesn''t even have the courage to put up a fight!" Abandoned Wave clicked his tongue when he saw the lack of reaction in Stone Forest Town. He had really wanted to watch Zero Wing''s final struggle. "Since that''s the case, let''s end this!" Following which, Abandoned Wave swung his hand forward. Immediately, the Evil Beast army surrounding Stone Forest Town began their assault as they surged towards the town. Seeing the Evil Beast army approach, the Zero Wing members on the ramparts grew nervous. With just 40,000 elite players, just how were they supposed to face an army of 500,000 monsters? However, just as the Evil Beast army was 3,000 yards away from Stone Forest Town''s walls, one Miniature Ballista after another appeared on the ramparts, three players controlling each weapon. Atop the Magic Tower, Shi Feng smiled as he looked at Stone Forest Town''s defenses. Following which, he commanded, "Let''s kick their asses!" 1339 Slaughtering the Monster Army Chapter 1339 - Slaughtering the Monster Army A sea of Evil Beasts surrounded Stone Forest Town. The monster army stretched out as far as the eyes could see. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial''s members, hiding in Stone Forest Town, secretly live-streamed the siege. This allowed the players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom to watch the battle in real-time. "There are so many monsters! This is the first time I''ve seen so many in one place! Can Zero Wing really face these monsters with so few people?" "By the looks of it, Zero Wing should be giving up on Stone Forest Town. After all, these monsters are simply too strong. Guild towns have no way to fend of such a horde at this stage of the game. The players who bought houses in the town and applied for membership to the Battle Arena are out of luck." "Zero Wing is just going to sacrifice such a large town? They''re not even going to try to defend it? If that''s the case, who would be dumb enough to invest in their towns in the future?" "You have a point. In any case, I won''t be buying a house in Zero Wing''s towns in the future. The Guild is too unreliable!" The spectacular sight of the monster army shocked the players watching the live-stream. At the same, they voiced their discontent about Zero Wing''s decision to give up on Stone Forest Town. Despite being Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, Zero Wing wasn''t even brave enough to face the monster army. The players who had wanted to join Zero Wing began to hesitate. Some Zero Wing members even began to withdraw from the Guild. "Did you think you can reduce your losses just by giving up Stone Forest Town?" Singular Burial sneered as he read the recent forum posts. "I want to see just how long you all can endure." Zero Wing''s determination had put a wrench in his plans. However, if he uploaded the live-stream of the siege battle to the forums, he could force Zero Wing into making a decision. Either Zero Wing chose to conserve its strength and give up Stone Forest Town, or it would try to defend the town with all its might at the cost of reducing the Guild''s overall strength. While the former option was a good choice, it would also damage the Guild''s carefully built reputation. Most likely, the results would halt the Guild''s development for some time. If Zero Wing wanted to continue developing, its only choice was to protect Stone Forest Town with everything it had. He did not hope that Zero Wing would mobilize all of its members to protect the town. It would be enough if the Guild moved a portion of its members in White River City. At that time, Zero Wing would lose both Stone Forest Town and its Stable. If that happened, Heaven''s Burial would take Zero Wing''s place as the number one Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom. Just as the players discussed the live-stream on the forums, the Evil Beast army began its assault. The earth trembled as the monsters swarmed towards Stone Forest Town. The players watching were stunned. They finally understood what zerg-tactics truly were. With so many monsters, even Stone Forest Town''s Defense Turrets and Magic Towers were utterly inadequate defenses It was no wonder why Zero Wing had given up Stone Forest Town. The Guild might''ve expected this outcome. "Huh? What are Zero Wing''s members bringing out?" "Aren''t those Miniature Ballistas?" "It seems that the Guild did prepare." "So what if they are prepared? The Defense Turrets and Magic Towers can''t even slow down the monster army. What could a few Miniature Ballistas do?" When the monster army was less than 3,000 yards away from Stone Forest Town, some of the spectators noticed quite a few Miniature Ballistas emerge atop the ramparts, and they couldn''t help but laugh. Although the Miniature Ballistas were easy to move, their power was subpar at best. Moreover, their AOE wasn''t as large as the Defense Turrets. The Miniature Ballistas might be useful against players, but against so many high-HP monsters, they were simply a joke. However, before these people could finish their words, something else occurred on the ramparts that stunned the watching players. There were nearly 20 Miniature Ballistas on each wall. With all four walls, Zero Wing had almost 80 Miniature Ballistas protecting Stone Forest Town "How is this possible?! Those are Miniature Ballistas we''re talking about!" The large number of Miniature Ballistas stupefied the spectators. The various large Guilds watching the live-stream were particularly shocked. Ordinary players might not understand how precious war weapons like the Miniature Ballistas were, but the major powers understood their importance well. Although the Miniature Ballista could not rival the Gnome Cannon''s firepower, it wasn''t easy to obtain. Not even Super Guilds could collect nearly 80 Miniature Ballistas, yet Zero Wing had. Before everyone could recover from their shock, Zero Wing''s members began to load the ballistas with two-meter-long arrows. Crimson runes danced across these arrows'' shafts. It was obvious that these weren''t arrows you could purchase from NPC merchants. Following which, explosions filled the air around Stone Forest Town. In the next moment, flaming arrows flew from the town''s ramparts, raining down on the approaching Evil Beast army. Boom Boom Boom Rings of fire erupted among the monster troops as the arrows struck, each covering a 15-yard radius. The Miniature Ballistas'' attacks were no less devastating than the Defense Turrets. The explosions forced back the Evil Beasts on the front line as they received heavy injuries. The Elite ranked Evil Beasts had lost over one-third of their HPs. After the first volley of arrows, the Defense Turrets and Magic Towers launched their attacks as well. When the Magic Towers attacked, the seven-colored beams they fired struck the heart of the monster army. The attack, which could rival Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells, instantly killed all of the monsters below Lord rank. As three seven-colored beams cut through the Evil Beast army, over 8,000 Evil Beasts died instantly, tearing large holes in the enemy formation. Due to the Miniature Ballistas'' short Cooldown, another volley of Exploding Arrows rained down on the Evil Beasts as soon as the Defense Turrets and Magic Towers finished their attacks. Before the army had even reached 2,500 yards of Stone Forest Town, over 30,000 Evil Beasts had died. Stone Forest Town''s frightening defenses stupefied the spectating players. "This is insane! These are Stone Forest Town''s defenses?" "Zero Wing is amazing! They have so many Miniature Ballistas! If not for these monsters'' numbers and strength, the Guild might annihilate the monsters before they even reach the walls!" "How is this possible!? Why does Zero Wing have so many Miniature Ballistas?!" Singular Burial balled his fists as he glared at the live-stream. However, although he was very surprised and confused, he quickly recovered as he sneered and said, "Although I didn''t expect such a trump card, so what? This army isn''t like the last one you faced." While the Miniature Ballistas had claimed many of the Evil Beasts below Lord rank, this war would be as good as over once the monsters reached the ballistas. "Interesting! And here I thought you had given up! Let''s see how you deal with this!" Abandoned Wave, who stood at the very rear of the Evil Beast army like a coward, sneered. He then waved his hand, and immediately, another large wave charged forward. This time, however, there were far fewer Evil Beasts in the charge. However, these were higher-quality monsters, with the majority being Chieftain rank and above. Even the Grand Lords had joined in the charge. These monsters were too large to have taken part in the initial charge, but now that less of their companions occupied the field, the Grand Lords could easily dodge the attacks from the town''s static defenses. As these Chieftain rank and above Evil Beasts inched closer to Stone Forest Town Before anyone had realized it, two Mana Pulse Cannons had appeared above one of Stone Forest Town''s Magic Towers. Larger than the Basic Mana Pulse Cannon, these two weapons were none other than the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons Shi Feng had obtained from the Fallen Ark. "Target the densest areas of the monster army! Fire!" 1340 The Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon’s Migh Chapter 1340 - The Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon''s Might The instant the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons activated, two pitch-black, magic arrays formed above the Magic Tower as they absorbed the surrounding Mana. The intense Mana fluctuation immediately attracted attention. "What''s that?" "What an intense feeling. What''s Zero Wing trying to do?" Players in town were shocked by the pressure they felt from the Magic Tower. This was especially true for magical class players, who were far more sensitive towards elemental Mana. Currently, the magic arrays above the tower felt like black holes as they devoured a massive amount of Mana. "Is this another attack from the Magic Tower?" Abandoned Wave was not particularly surprised to see this. In response, he gestured with a hand. Immediately, the Evil Beast army charging forward began to spread out. He had long since familiarized himself with the Magic Tower''s attacks. After all, these defensive structures were the reason he had suffered in the previous war. However, he had full control of the Evil Beast army this time. Although the Magic Tower''s AOE was vast, if the monsters spread out, the Magic Towers wouldn''t be as much of a threat. As the players on the ramparts watched, they shook their heads and sighed. "These monsters'' reaction time is too fast. Although the Magic Towers'' attacks are powerful, they won''t be very effective with how spread out the monsters are." As the players discussed their thoughts, the two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons finished their channeling time. In the next moment, the cannons fired two black beams, reaching the center of the Evil Beast army in the blink of an eye. As the beams struck the ground, two pillars of black light shot into the sky, piercing the clouds. This phenomenon was nothing like the Magic Towers'' prior attacks. As the black pillars rose, they expanded. Radius of 100 yards 200 yards 300 yards The pillars of light devoured more Evil Beasts as it spread. The pillars only stopped after achieving a 500-yard radius. Any monster below Chieftain rank was turned into ash instantly. Although the Chieftain ranked Evil Beasts survived initial contact with the pillars, the attack''s DoT eventually claimed their lives as well. Only Lord ranked Evil Beasts and above survived the attacks. "What were those attacks?! They even killed Chieftains in one move! This is insane!" "So, this is Zero Wing''s foundation?" Everyone''s jaws dropped as they stared at the armageddon before them. Shocked by the black pillars'' destructive power, even the Evil Beast army had halted its advance. "Just what did Zero Wing do?! How did the AOE grow so large?!" Abandoned Wave stared at the pillars of black light, which had yet to fade, with wide eyes. Despite having spread out, the two attacks had killed over 15,000 Evil Beasts. Among them, over 2,000 Chieftains had died, while the Lords had less than half of their HP remaining. Although the higher-rank Evil Beasts hadn''t lost a significant amount of HP, they were severely injured, reducing their combat power drastically. uch frightening, destructive power was simply unheard of Such attacks could deal a devastating blow to his Evil Beast army. If he allowed several more of those attacks to land, the consequences would be unimaginable. Singular Burial wasn''t the only one shocked. Every major power witnessing this was astonished. With such frightening war weapons, who would dare attack Stone Forest Town in the future? Fortunately, the town''s current enemy was a monster army. No amount of players would be enough to capture Stone Forest Town. "This won''t do! I won''t be able to sustain the losses if this continues!" Abandoned Wave had lost his complacent attitude. Immediately, he took a dark-gray crystal ball from his bag and started chanting. "Go! Destroy the Magic Towers!" In the next moment, the five Level 70, Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons'' crimson eyes began to glow. With large strides, they approached Stone Forest Town rapidly. Although the Evil Beast army was relatively easy to create, Chieftain ranked Evil Beasts and above were difficult to produce. Not only did their creation depend on luck, but he also needed to sacrifice monsters of a sufficiently high rank and level. Moreover, he only had a chance of created Mythic ranked Evil beasts by killing high-ranked Evil Beats. It was utterly impossible to nurture a Common Evil Beast to Mythic rank. He wouldn''t have minded losing these high-rank Evil Bests in a normal slugfest, but it was a different story if Zero Wing simply slaughtered them. The moment the Evil Earth Dragons moved, Stone Forest Town''s players felt death loom over them. At this stage of the game, one Mythic monster was more than enough to destroy a Guild town, much less five. Although Zero Wing had protected the town against Mythic monsters before, it had only faced three during that battle. They had also only been Level 65. Even so, those three Mythic monsters had ravaged the Guild. It had come very close to losing Stone Forest Town. - [Evil Earth Dragon] (Dark Creature, Mythic) Level 70 HP 210,000,000/210,000,000 - Currently, the Evil Earth Dragons weren''t suppressed as they had been during the previous war. Not only were their Attributes terrifyingly high, but they also had a higher intellect and were easily capable of evading the Miniature Ballistas'' attacks. Moreover, the Evil Earth Dragons could shake off the Exploding Arrows as if they were nothing. Their battle recovery alone was enough to dishearten even the strongest player. Although Stone Forest Town launched a constant stream of attacks, these attacks only eliminated the Evil Beasts below Great Lord rank. To Great Lords and above, the Magic Towers and Basic Mana Pulse Cannons were a minor concern. And the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had a long, three-minute Cooldown. Three minutes might not be long in a player-fought war, but it was more than enough time for Great Lords and above to end this battle. In the end, before the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' Cooldown ended, the 200-plus Great Lords, 40-plus Grand Lords, and five Evil Earth Dragons stood before Stone Forest Town''s walls. Although Stone Forest Town had already upgraded to Intermediate rank and was protected by very tall walls, these walls weren''t half as tall as the Evil Earth Dragons. Before the Mythic monsters, Stone Forest Town''s ramparts were easily-crossed hurdles "It seems Zero Wing is truly finished. There are so many powerful monsters. This is insane." "Even a 500-man elite team is unlikely to stop a Level 65 Great Lord. If those 200-plus Great Lords work together, Zero Wing''s 40,000 members won''t even serve as a warm-up." When the spectators had watched Zero Wing reveal so many powerful war weapons, they had held onto some hope of success. However, they realized how futile Zero Wing''s attempts were as the Evil Beast stood before the town''s walls. "Hahaha! Go, my servants! Sacrifice every lifeform in the town for the Almighty Evil God!" Abandoned Wave commanded, laughing. He had been worried about the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons, but now that the monster stood before the ramparts, the war was as good as over. "Roar!" Deafening roars filled the air as the Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts leaped towards Stone Forest Town''s ramparts. "I''ve been waiting for this! You will be excellent test subjects!" Standing atop the Magic Tower, Shi Feng casually retrieved the movement-type, defensive magic array he had obtained from the Fallen Ark. He then inserted 5,000 Magic Crystals into the array and cranked it up to maximum. Immediately, a crystal-like barrier expanded and enveloped Stone Forest Town. Boom Boom Boom Suddenly, these Evil Beasts slammed into an invisible, steel-like wall 10 yards from the ramparts, unable to proceed farther. "What''s this?" "A magic barrier?" Zero Wing''s members, who had prepared for an arduous battle, were confused when they saw the Evil Beast army stop. Not even the five Evil Earth Dragons were able to move an inch closer to the town 1341 Trump Card Appears Chapter 1341 - Trump Card Appears "The barrier managed to block Mythic monsters?!" "Impossible! What kind of barrier is this?!" "How much strength has Zero Wing kept hidden!?" Everyone''s jaws dropped when they saw the beasts halted. Every large Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom had a few trump cards. They obviously had something as important as a defensive magic array. However, it was unheard of for a player-owned magic array to stop a Mythic monster attack. The combined attacks of all five Evil Earth Dragon''s claws barely shook the crystal-like barrier. There wasn''t a single crack on the barrier. The array''s strength rivaled those used in NPC cities. In God''s Domain, even the most ordinary NPC city had a magic array that could stop Tier 4 monsters. Every major NPC city like White River City had a defensive magic array that could even hold off Tier 5 monsters. This was also the reason that, aside from special circumstances, monster sieges against the NPC cities were almost certain to fail. Monsters could only successfully siege NPC towns. Why wouldn''t they be surprised to see that Stone Forest Town had an array that could rival an NPC city''s? The Zero Wing members breathed a sigh of relief when the magic barrier appeared. If they faced these Evil Beasts head-on, they would die instantly. "All members, prioritize killing Great Lord rank monsters and below!" Aqua Rose barked out commands through the Guild chat. When she read the description of the movement-type defensive magic array, she thought it could only block the Great Lords'' attacks. She had never thought that it could hold off a Tier 4 Mythic monster. Due to the presence of the defensive magic array, Zero Wing''s members started to regain their confidence. They began to bombard the Evil Beasts before them. Level 40 players might not normally pose a threat to Level 65 Great Lords, but the three Magic Towers boosted their Basic Attributes by 30%. God''s Domain''s recent system upgrades also continuously weakened the effects of level suppression. Zero Wing''s members still managed to deal several hundred damage to the Level 65 plus Great Lords even with a gap of over 20 Levels. Those with equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute dealt -1,000 damage on average. Several hundred damage might not be much to the Great Lords, which had over 60,000,000 HP. The accumulated damage of hundreds, or even thousands, of players attacking at once was frightening. The Great Lords were taking hundreds of thousands of damage every second, greatly exceeding their battle recovery. It was definitely possible to kill all the Evil Beasts attacking Stone Forest Town, given enough time. There were also the Miniature Ballistas and Tier 2 NPC guards pitching in from the sides. All these factors combined reduced the Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts'' HPs at a rate visible to the naked eye. Evil Beasts below Great Lord rank were even easier to deal with. They could be finished off with a brief burst of concentrated fire. "Damn it! How did Zero Wing get such a powerful defensive magic array!?" Abandoned Wave gnashed his teeth as he looked at the scene. The magic barrier remained completely intact even after numerous attacks from so many Evil Beasts. At this rate, the Evil Beasts he nurtured were simply EXP for Zero Wing. He reluctantly manipulated the dark-gray crystal ball in his hands once again. "You might be able to block normal Tier 4 attacks, but what about Tier 4 destructive Spells?!" The five Evil Earth Dragons abruptly stopped attacking the magic barrier as the crystal ball glowed. Then they widened their mouths. The Mana around the Evil Earth Dragons started rampaging as it gathered in front of their mouths. Five black beams shot out of the Evil Earth Dragons'' mouths shortly later. Tier 4 Spell, Evil Energy Roar! The blacks beams shook the barrier violently. The other Evil Beasts attacking the barrier backed away from the powerful impact momentarily. "It blocked the attacks?" Abandoned Wave was shocked by what he saw. The Evil Energy Roar rivaled the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon''s might. Its AOE was much small, though. "Hm? No, there are cracks on the barrier." Once the Evil Energy Roars ended, Abandoned Wave could clearly spot numerous cracks on Stone Forest Town''s barrier. But the cracks were being repaired quickly enough to see with the naked eye. "As expected of a Tier 4 Spell. Its might is truly frightening." Shi Feng took a look at the movement-type defensive magic array beside him. The five Evil Energy Roars had depleted its energy by more than half. That was only one wave of attacks. All defensive magic arrays needed to be supplied energy. The more damage the magic array absorbed, the more energy it consumed. The magic array''s endurance limit was the other important factor affecting the energy depletion rate. The movement-type defensive magic array he had obtained from the Fallen Ark had a Tier 3 endurance limit. As long as an attack''s standard exceeded Tier 3, the energy depleted from such an attack would increase exponentially. Each of the Evil Earth Dragons'' normal attacks had already depleted the magic array''s energy by a frightening rate of 1%. This 1% was enough to hold off the combined attacks of the 200-plus Great Lords for a considerable amount of time. After the Evil Energy Roars, the magic array''s energy had decreased by nearly 70% Restoring the magic array''s energy cost 5,000 Magic Crystals each time. Currently, he only had around 60,000 crystals on hand, and that was including the 50,000 crystals Phoenix Rain had returned. In addition, firing the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons cost 2,000 Magic Crystals per shot, while the Basic Mana Pulse Cannons cost 1,000 crystals per shot. He could only restore the magic array''s energy a limited number of times. "Sure enough, it isn''t invincible! I want to see just how long you last!" Seeing the cracks on the magic barrier, a sinister smile appeared on Abandoned Wave''s face. He then controlled the Grand Lords to assault the magic barrier with their most powerful Skills. Although he did not have a good understanding of Stone Forest Town''s magic barrier, he could guess the barrier''s limit based on the cracks. Normally, a barrier would only show signs of damage when an attack exceeded its limit. When that happened, the defensive magic array would lose a significant amount of energy. Once the magic barrier''s energy had been depleted, his Evil Beast army would storm Stone Forest Town and slaughter the players in it. As Abandoned Wave controlled his Grand Lords, they rampaged, hurling one high-tiered Skill after another at the barrier before them. The magic array lost energy with each hit. For a moment, it even began to show signs of shattering. Seeing this, the Zero Wing members on the ramparts grew increasingly nervous. Once the magic barrier broke, their lives would be on the line. "Sure enough, using such a method to fight Mythic monsters is a little far-fetched." Shi Feng sighed when he saw the magic array''s energy levels fall below 10%. He then contacted Blackie and asked, "Blackie, how are the preparations on your side?" "We''re ready! We''re just waiting for your command!" Blackie said, grinning. "Although it is a little wasteful to use them here, it''s about time we show our enemy that they aren''t the only ones with Tier 4 forces!" Shi Feng then commanded, "Summon the Divine Beasts! It''s about time we refresh their memory!" Following Shi Feng''s command, three massive, golden magic arrays appeared above Zero Wing''s Residence, each array enveloping nearly half of the town. Immediately, three golden Dragons that were over a hundred meters tall emerged from these magic arrays. The Divine Dragons hovered in the sky as they flapped their massive wings. They released deafening roars that echoed throughout Stone Forest Town and its surrounding area as they overlooked all lifeforms like kings. 1342 Divine Dragons Power Chapter 1342 - Divine Dragon''s Power As the three Divine Dragons appeared, silence descended on the battlefield. Any who bathed in the Divine Dragons'' aura, including both Stone Forest Town''s players and the Evil Beasts attacking the magic barrier, looked up at the creatures as if they were staring at Kings. "Impossible!" This definitely can''t be real!" "Three golden Dragons? How much power has Zero Wing hidden?" "Zero Wing is too strong! It seems that the dragon summonings during the previous war hadn''t just been due to luck after all. "Sure enough, Zero Wing isn''t Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild for nothing. Which Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly be a match for Zero Wing''s foundations?" "Damn it! Why did I leave Stone Forest Town so quickly?! I threw away the chance to watch such an interesting battle!" Although the players who watched the live-stream couldn''t experience the battlefield''s atmosphere personally, they were still shocked to see three Divine Dragons hovering over Stone Forest Town. To current players, Tier 4 Mythic monsters were invincible. Not many had been optimistic about Zero Wing''s chances of protecting Stone Forest Town. However, now that Zero Wing had summoned three of its own Mythic monsters, it had a fighting chance. "How is this possible?" Singular Burial was momentarily stunned when he saw the three Divine Dragons. He couldn''t believe his eyes. He, too, had been present during the last war. During that battle, he had assumed that Zero Wing had obtained a Summoning Scroll for the Divine Dragon by chance, only allowing the Guild to summon it once. As a precaution, he and Abandoned Wave had prepared for the possibility that Zero Wing could summon another Divine Dragon. Yet, Zero Wing had just summoned three of them Before everyone could react, the three Divine Dragons flapped their wings, creating a strong gale. They then vanished, transforming into streaks of golden light as they reappeared above Stone Forest Town''s ramparts. Spreading their massive jaws, each of the Divine Dragons created a golden magic array. Divine Dragon''s Breath! Immediately, three golden tornadoes swept across the Evil Beast army. As these tornadoes encountered three of the Evil Earth Dragons, they threw the creatures hundreds of yards away. Any Evil Beast below Lord Rank died instantly. "This is so awesome! This attack must''ve killed at least a thousand Evil Beasts!" Blackie, who controlled one of the Divine Dragons, was astonished when he saw the destruction the golden tornado left in its wake. As the tornadoes danced across the battlefield, only death followed. This phenomenon continued for 500 yards. After watching Alluring Summer control the Divine Dragon during the last siege, he understood that the Mythic monster was very powerful, but he only realized just how powerful the Divine Dragon was after controlling one for himself. eeing five Level 65 Great Lords charging towards him, Blackie sent a tail swipe at them. Peng! The attack sent the five Great Lords flying over 30 yards away, a damage of over -1,000,000 appearing above each of their heads. Blackie''s Divine Dragon then lashed out with its claws, turning over a dozen Elite Evil Beasts into dust. The Divine Dragon''s power was simply devastating. Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud controlled the other two Divine Dragons. Arriving before two Evil Earth Dragons, the Divine Dragons swiped their massive claws. Reacting quickly, the Evil Earth Dragons responded in kind. Boom! The instant the claws collided, the impact pushed the nearby Elite Evil Beasts back. As for the two Evil Earth Dragons, they were forced to take two steps backward. It was clear that the Divine Dragons surpassed them in terms of Strength. Immediately, Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud attacked their respective opponents'' abdomens with tail swipes. The collision threw the Evil Earth Dragons over 40 yards away Although Blackie, Alluring Summer, and Violet Cloud couldn''t control the Divine Dragons as they did their own bodies, their combat techniques and experience far surpassed the Evil Earth Dragons. In a one-on-one fight, they could easily suppress their opponents. The Divine Dragons'' overwhelming display of power stirred a blood-lust in Stone Forest Town''s players. Every one of the Mythic monsters'' actions could destroy the surrounding terrain. Monsters below Lord rank couldn''t even approach to the Divine Dragons. Although the Divine Dragons'' combat standards were not high, they caused a much larger common than a player-fought battle. If not for the defensive barrier protecting them, no one doubted that the resulting shockwaves would be more than enough to destroy the town By summoning the three Divine Dragons, Zero Wing had turned the tide of war. "Is this our Guild''s power? This is too amazing!" "All hail Boss Blackie! Victory will be ours!" Every Zero Wing member was ecstatic. They had never realized how powerful their Guild was. Seeing this, the players that had chosen to withdraw from the Guild turned pale. "Use this opportunity to kill the Great Lord monsters and above! Don''t let any of them get away!" Shi Feng commanded. Although the Divine Dragons were very powerful, each one cost 88 magic array scrolls to summon. The materials required to create the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array Scrolls were also extremely precious. Each scroll cost over 10 Gold to produce. However, the production cost was secondary. To produce the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array Scrolls, on needed a special material called Mana Essence. It only dropped from 50-man or more Team Dungeons. It was a precious item to every large Guild, and creating a set of Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array Scrolls required 88 Mana Essences. Even though Zero Wing now had a lot of members, it had barely collected enough Mana Essence for three sets. Zero Wing had invested everything in this war. Hence, it was of utmost importance that they recuperate some of their losses through these Evil Beasts'' deaths. Unfortunately, Evil Beasts did not drop weapons or equipment. They only provided some EXP and materials. The most valuable loot, the Evil Energy Crystal, only dropped from Chieftain rank and above monsters. Compared to the cost of the three sets of Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array Scrolls, these items were barely worth anything. The only consolation was the Soul Orb, which allowed him to absorb souls from Great Lords and above. He could absorb the souls from any of the Great Lords his Guild team killed. With so many Great Lord ranked monsters in a single location, this was a rare opportunity. "Three Divine Dragons?" Abandoned Wave''s mouth twitched as he watched the Divine Dragons slaughter his Evil Beasts. It had taken a log of effort to obtain each of his Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts, yet Zero Wing''s members were farming them for EXP. "Good! Very good! I want to see just how many you can kill! Once your magic barrier shatters, Stone Forest Town will meet its doom!" Abandoned Wave steeled his heart. Now that he had revealed so many Evil Beasts to the public, the various large Guilds would undoubtedly prepare countermeasures against the creatures. If he failed to destroy Stone Forest Town this time, it would be very difficult to nurture another large army. Although Zero Wing''s prowess exceeded his expectations, the town''s weakness was obvious. As long as he shattered the town''s defensive barrier, the Evil Beast army would storm the town. Abandoned Wave commanded his monsters to attack the town''s defensive barrier. He even instructed his five Evil Earth Dragons to ignore their divine cousins, intending to trade the dragon''s HP for the magic barrier''s energy. Following which, the magic barrier''s energy drained. At the same time, Shi Feng replenished that energy. At the rate at which he poured Magic Crystals into the array, he didn''t dare use the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons again. The intense slugfest stupefied every spectator. While the Evil Beasts assaulted Stone Forest Town''s barrier and ignored their enemy''s attacks, the latter threw everything it had at the Evil Beasts. Under Zero Wing''s fierce assault, the army continued to lose monsters. The initial 500,000 decreased to 400,000, and then to 200,000. Even two of the five Evil Earth Dragons had died When the Evil Beast army had less than 100,000 monsters remaining, Stone Forest Town''s magic barrier shattered under three remaining Evil Earth Dragons'' Evil Energy Roars. 1343 Town Battle Chapter 1343 - Town Battle "It''s shattered?" Abandoned Wave released a sigh of relief when he saw the magic barrier disappear. Stone Forest Town''s defenses had truly exceeded his expectations. To destroy the defensive magic array, he had lost over 400,000 Evil Beasts. Had he expected such losses, he would have waited to attack. At the very least, he would have only moved after readying six or seven Evil Earth Dragons. "Finally! Success!" Singular Burial, who watched the Stone Forest Town battle from Heaven''s Burial''s main headquarters, wiped sweat from his forehead as he watched the magic barrier shatter. Had the barrier lasted a few more minutes, the operation may have failed. Although the Evil Beast army had attacked the barrier madly, their numbers had continued to decrease as the fight drug on. Even the three remaining Evil Earth Dragons had less than one-third of their HPs remaining Had the Evil Earth Dragons all died before the barrier broke, the threat of the Evil Beast army would have decreased drastically. Such a sturdy defensive magic array was simply unheard of. Fortunately, the Evil Beasts attacking the array had high HP and Strength. If it were up to players to take the barrier down, the army would pay a horrific price to deplete the magic array''s energy. After seeing this magic array, Singular Burial''s desire for Stone Forest Town grew. A Guild town''s key element was its security. It would only attract interested investors if it had powerful defenses. No one-time-use magic array scroll could conjure such a powerful defensive magic array. The source was likely a defensive structure or tool. Based on the images he had received from his subordinates in Stone Forest Town, it was obvious that this defensive magic array had originated from the massive machine atop one of the Magic Towers. "Letting a Guild like Zero Wing hold on to such a tool is too much of a waste." Singular Burial turned to Broken Flow, the Level 43 Berserker in dark purple armor beside him, and said, "Teleport to Stone Forest Town''s private house with your men. I don''t care what it takes; steal that tool. If necessary, I''ll permit you to expose the Dark Contract." Zero Wing was Heaven''s Burial''s greatest competitor in Star-Moon Kingdom. Naturally, Heaven''s Burial had planted plenty of spies in the Guild. They had even purchased two private houses in Stone Forest Town as a preventive measure. This was the perfect moment to put those houses to good use. With the magic barrier shattered, Zero Wing would try to hold back the Evil Beast invasion. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial could use the opportunity to strike. The Evil Beasts might be a threat to other players, but Heaven''s Burial had special tools that prevented Evil Beasts and Evil Demons from actively attacking them. "I can use the Dark Contract?" Excitement flashed in Broken Flow''s eyes. He glanced at the movement-type defensive magic array atop the Magic Tower and said, "Guild Leader, destroying that Magic Tower shouldn''t be a problem, right?" "If it''s necessary, then fine. But only as a last resort." Singular Burial nodded. "Understood. Guild Leader, wait for my good news." Broken Flow chuckled before leaving the Guild Leader''s office. Meanwhile, every Zero Wing player on the ramparts wore a solemn expression. In the end, they had failed to kill all the Evil Beasts before the magic array had run out of energy. Although there were less than 100,000 Evil Beasts remaining, the leftover monsters were mainly the stronger ones. Weaker monsters such as the Elite Evil Beasts had long since been wiped out. The weakest remaining were Special Elite rank, while over 70 Great Lords and nearly half of the Grand Lords remained. There were plenty of High Lords left as well. "Magic array teams, prepare to trap those Grand Lords! Ranged classes, support the NPC guards and prioritize killing the Great Lords! All MTs, distract the Evil Beasts below the Great Lord rank! Do not let any Evil Beasts enter the town or destroy the Miniature Ballistas!" Aqua Rose commanded. Zero Wing had invested tons of Coins to raise Stone Forest Town to its current state. If they let the Evil Beasts invade and destroy it, the consequences would be unimaginable. If these monsters captured the Guild Residence, in particular, Zero Wing would lose Stone Forest Town. Following Aqua Rose''s commands, Zero Wing''s members burst into action. The numerous magic array teams promptly activated the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array Scrolls they had been given, trapping the Grand Lords that rushed into the town. At the same time, the Level 75, Tier 2 NPC guards charged towards the Great Lords. Meanwhile, due to the Magic Towers'' buff, Zero Wing''s Level 40-plus MTs were more than capable of blocking the Evil Beasts below the Great Lord rank. Although the battle was intense, it was not beyond salvation. Moreover, Zero Wing had the strongest combatants with its three Divine Dragons. These creatures suppressed the Evil Earth Dragons, preventing them from truly entering the town. "Despite having no financial support, Zero Wing sure has hidden a lot of tricks up its sleeves. But it''s too late!" Despite watching both sides sustain casualties and Zero Wing having the upper hand, Abandoned Wave was very calm. He raised the dark gray orb in his hand and began to chant an incantation. In his opinion, this war had been over the moment the magic barrier had shattered. As Abandoned Wave chanted, a massive, pitch-black, twofold magic array appeared above him. When Abandoned Wave finished his chant, Evil Demons began to descend from the sky. In total, more than 3,000 Evil Demons had appeared. The weakest among these Evil Demons was a Level 50 Special Elite, with the stronger being Level 61 Great Lords. A total of 19 Great Lords had joined the battle. These Evil Demons were the result of his merciless hunt of Guild and independent teams. Although there were very few demons, they radiated an intensely terrifying aura. These Evil Demons'' aura resembled that of high-tiered NPCs. Wisdom and intelligence were evident in their blood-red eyes. "Why are there are so many Great Lords?" Flame Blood, who stood beside Abandoned Wave, could not help his surprise when the 19 Great Lord ranked Evil Demons dropped to the ground. Although Flame Blood had guessed that Abandoned Wave had not revealed all the Evil Demons he had nurtured, he hadn''t expected the man to hide so many. Based on his estimates, the man should be lucky to have nurtured seven or eight Great Lords after killing the various Guild elites and experts. After all, it was far more difficult to upgrade an Evil Demon than it was to upgrade an Evil Beast. Correspondingly, an Evil Demon was much stronger than an Evil Beast of the same rank. Against players, in particular, Evil Demons had an overwhelming advantage. A Chieftain ranked Evil Demon would have no problem slaughtering even an expert player with an active Berserk Skill. There was no need to mention the Lords and Great Lords. They were practically living nightmares! "My servants, it is time to devour some souls!" Abandoned Wave sneered as he pointed to the distant Stone Forest Town. "Your target is the town before you! Gorge to your hearts'' content!" He hadn''t dared risk his Evil Demons while the magic barrier had been in place; each one was just too precious. They could only be created from the corpses of powerful players. Nurturing them was even more difficult. In addition, they had much lower HP than their Evil Beast counterparts. Even the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons would likely die if they received an attack from the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons. However, the situation had changed. Without the magic barrier, the Evil Demons could easily hide in the player crowd and infiltrate the town. Due to their small stature and high reaction speed, Zero Wing would not casually target them with its AOE war weapons. Without this issue, slaughtering the Zero Wing members in Stone Forest Town would be a piece of cake. Following Abandoned Wave''s command, the highly intelligent Evil Demons left afterimages as they dashed towards Stone Forest Town. 1344 One-star Adventurers Association Chapter 1344 - One-star Adventurer''s Association As the large group of Evil Demons descended, they attracted the attention of Stone Forest Town''s players. "Why are there still monsters?" "There doesn''t seem to be a lot of time. Stopping them shouldn''t be a problem." "Why do these monsters feel even more dangerous than the Evil Beasts?" When the Zero Wing members, who were busy fending off the Evil Beast army, noticed another group of monsters approaching the town, they promptly turned to look at the new arrivals. Although fear gripped their hearts for a moment, they relaxed and returned their attention to the the Evil Beasts before them when they realized how small the approaching group was. However, Aqua Rose''s expression darkened when she noticed the approaching Evil Demons. Hurriedly, she commanded, "Miniature Ballistas, prioritize the approaching monsters! Do not let them get close to the town!" They had seen Evil Demons during the previous siege war as well. Although there had been very few, their combat power had been incredibly frightening. They had also been far more intelligent than ordinary monsters. There were more of these monsters this time. If these Evil Demons infiltrated Stone Forest Town, the consequences would be unimaginable. Although the players controlling the Miniature Ballistas did not understand, they followed Aqua Rose''s command. Fortunately, these Evil Demons were within range. Immediately, dozens of arrows flew towards the approaching Evil Demons. Boom Boom Boom A series of explosions shook the battlefield. "What?!" The players controlling the Miniature Ballistas were stupefied by the results of their assault. The Evil Demons had dodged the dozens of Exploding Arrows they had fired. Although they were firing at near-maximum range, not even elite players could dodge the arrows at that distance. In addition, the Exploding Arrows were AOE attacks. The Zero Wing members manning the Miniature Ballistas weren''t'' the only ones stunned. Many of Stone Forest Town''s players were also astonished. "A meaningless struggle." Abandoned Wave wasn''t surprised in the last. Even the Special Elite Evil Demons had a higher reaction speed than elite players. Furthermore, these demons'' Attributes were much higher than players of the same level. Dodging the small AOE attacks was a piece of cake for these monsters. The Evil Demons would only be at risk against large AOE attacks like those from the Magic Tower. Moreover, these Evil Demons possessed considerably high intellect. After learning about the town''s defensive and offensive capabilities, they spread out as they advanced. Even if the Magic Towers attacked, the damage would be minimal. "They''re sending so many Evil Demons at is. The Evil God''s Temple sure is determined." Shi Feng was also astonished when he saw the Evil Demons surge towards Stone Forest Town. Although he did not know much about the Evil God''s Temple, he knew that these Evil Demons weren''t easy to create. Every Evil Demon required blood and sweat from Evil God players. Whoever was attacking Stone Forest Town must be very determined to send over 3,000 Evil Demons against the town. "Guild Leader, those Evil Demons are extraordinarily strong. If they enter the town, the situation will take a turn for the worst. Should we have Snow send 20,000 elites from headquarters?" Aqua Rose suggested anxiously as she watched the Evil Demons grow closer to the town. "Have everyone retreat to the town, and let as many of those Evil Beasts and Evil Demons enter," Shi Feng instructed. "Let them enter the town?" Aqua Rose''s jaws dropped. She had no idea of what Shi Feng was thinking. "Guild Leader, if we let these monsters in, they''ll destroy the town. Moreover, the Magic Towers will also have trouble targeting them. We''ll be at a massive disadvantage." "We can''t hold them back, so it doesn''t matter. We''ll see who is truly at a disadvantage," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Just get it done. Let me deal with the rest." If the enemy had attacked before the Adventurer''s Association had occupied Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng would have even mobilized the entire Guild to keep these monsters out. However, the situation was different now. In God''s Domain, a monster army besieging a town wasn''t like that carried out by players. When players sieged a town or city, neutral NPCs would not participate in the war. However, it was a different story against monsters. After all, neutral, human NPCs and monsters were enemies. A neutral organization like the Adventurer''s Association wouldn''t occupy a large plot of land in a player town for free. When monsters attacked the town, the Adventurer''s Association would lend a hand to defend it. Shi Feng hadn''t resorted to this option simply because he wanted to keep it secret. Moreover, the town''s Popularity would decrease significantly if the Adventurer''s Association took action, which was a steep price as Town Popularity was crucial to promoting a town. Unfortunately, since they couldn''t stop the monsters approaching the town, they didn''t need to continue to exhaust the Guild''s strength. Although Shi Feng''s decision confused Aqua Rose, she had no choice but to organize a retreat into the town. Due to the town''s various buildings, the massive Evil Beasts would struggle to maneuver through it. As a result, they would become easier to deal with. Some players even used the buildings as cover. Unfortunately, although more players survived, they''re prowess had decreased as well. "Has Zero Wing lost its mind? Why are they retreating just because of an extra 3,000-plus monsters?" "What is Zero Wing thinking? Aren''t they afraid that these monsters will destroy the town''s buildings?" For a time, the spectating independent players and major powers were dumbfounded. By letting these monsters invade the town, the town itself would take a lot of damage and it''s war weapons would be less effective. For example, if the Magic Tower attacked a target inside the city, not only would it damage the monsters, but it would also damage nearby buildings. "What quick reactions! But so what if you switch to guerilla tactics? Do you think this will change anything?" Abandoned Wave sneered. "What foolishness! Nobody in Star-Moon Kingdom can stop my Evil Demon army! This will only lead to a quicker death!" Following which, Zero Wing''s members retreated to the town''s center, taking out far fewer Evil Beasts as they did so. If not for the three Divine Dragons pinning down the three Evil Earth Dragons outside of Stone Forest Town, the streets of the town would''ve been devastated. Upon entering the town, the Evil Demons dashed through the streets, rushing to the town''s core. "Alright, time for you to take action!" After seeing the entire Evil Demon army enter Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng smiled. He then clicked to approve the Adventurer''s Association''s request to help defend the town. - System: You have agreed to let the Adventurer''s Association assist in defending the town. Calculating the number of monsters inside the town System: Current number of monsters - 94,347. Strongest monster detected - Level 70 Grand Lord. System: Current Adventurer''s Association is a 1-star Association. A minimum of 500 NPCs must be dispatched. A maximum of 1,000 NPCs can be dispatched. Every additional NPC adventurer will decrease Stone Forest Town''s Popularity by 20 points. Please choose the number of NPC adventurers to mobilize. - "Twenty points?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the system notification. It didn''t actually cost as much to mobilize these NPC adventurers as he had assumed. In the past, every additional NPC adventurer had cost 100 Town Reputation. However, after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found the situation reasonable. After all, Shadow''s towns had fought had been Tier 4, Level 100-plus monsters. Naturally, that Guild had been forced to dispatch more powerful NPC adventurers. As a result, they had cost more. "Let''s mobilize 1,000 NPCs." Shi Feng then chose to mobilize the maximum number of NPCs. 1345 Reversal Chapter 1345 - Reversal With the entire Stone Forest Town embroiled in the battle, many streets had already been destroyed. "Is it finally starting?" The corners of Singular Burial''s mouth curled up when he saw the Evil Demons charging at Zero Wing''s members. "Slaughter them! Kill every Zero Wing member inside the town!" Evil Demons were different from Evil Beasts. The players killed by Evil Beasts would suffer only the normal death penalty. However, players killed by Evil Demons were not as fortunate. When killed by an Evil Demon, not only would players suffer double the death penalty, but their Immortal Souls would also be devoured, preventing them from logging into God''s Domain for a certain period. Such an outcome was a nightmare for Guild elites and experts. Recovering from such a loss would be very difficult. Meanwhile, standing in front of a Magic Tower, Aqua Rose was currently commanding the Dark Gods Legion members and a large number of NPC guards to prevent the Evil Beasts from destroying the Magic Tower behind them. At this time, a larger group of Evil Demons joined the fray as well. "Sure enough, their targets are the Magic Towers." When Aqua Rose saw the Evil Demon army charging at her group, she hurriedly commanded, "Everyone, prioritize killing the Evil Demons! Activate your Berserk Skills as soon as the fight begins! Let the Tier 2 NPCs be the main attackers while you all assist from the sides!" Seeing the Evil Demons entering their attack range one after another, the ranged classes of the Dark Gods Legion promptly went on the offensive. Tier 1 Spells and Skills rained down on the Evil Demon army. However, aside from the Special Elite ranked Evil Demons, the other high-ranking Evil Demons dodged the attacks easily as if they were expert players. Moreover, they were also able to keep advancing as they avoided the attacks. Only when an attack was unavoidable would they retaliate. As for the Tier 2 NPC guards, although they held the advantage when going up against Chieftain ranked Evil Demons, the Lord ranked ones easily overwhelmed them. If not for the healers at the rear line, it was only a matter of time before these NPCs got killed. "Such high intellect!" "Are these things really monsters?" "How can there be such powerful monsters?! Their combat standards are already on par with expert players!" The players spectating the battle through the livestream could not help but gasp. They never thought that monsters were capable of achieving such a high combat standard as well. Even the weakest Special Elite ranked Evil Demons had combat standards rivaling the current expert players of God''s Domain. Meanwhile, there were actually over 3,000 of such monsters. "With this, Zero Wing really won''t have any hope of a reversal. Even an army of 200,000 elite players would be no match for this army of Evil Demons. Everyone could not help but shake their heads and sigh as they watched Zero Wing''s members continuously retreating. Currently, Zero Wing''s experts were barely holding their own against the Lord ranked Evil Demons. If the players had not activated their Berserk Skills, they would''ve been killed already. Not to mention, the Lords weren''t the strongest Evil Demons present. There were still High Lord and Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Against these Evil Demons, even when the Level 65, Tier 2 NPC guards worked together, they still did not have a chance to retaliate. The NPC Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights could not at all keep up with the high-ranking Evil Demons'' Attack Speed, receiving blow after blow. If not for them having activated their Lifesaving Skills and Berserk Skills, as well as rapid healing coming from the rear line, these NPCs would''ve long since met their makers. Once the duration of their Berserk Skills ended, the battle would also end entirely. Meanwhile, hidden at a corner a short distance away from the Magic Tower was a party of six cloaked players. Currently, these six players had their eyes focused on the entrance of the Magic Tower. "Boss Broken, should we take action now? Zero Wing''s Magic Tower doesn''t seem like it''ll be able to hold on for much longer. If they complete the disassembly of the defensive tool and teleport away, we''ll have wasted a trip here," a pale and slim Level 37 Assassin asked as he looked at Broken Flow standing beside him. "No hurry. We have the Tier 3 Space Freeze Magic Scroll. Stopping them from teleporting away will be a piece of cake. Let these monsters whittle down Zero Wing''s members further first. We''ll then have an easier time snatching the tool later on," Broken Flow replied calmly. "Speaking of which, has your Skill locked on to that item yet?" "Boss, rest assured, I''ve already locked on to the item. No matter who picks up that tool, as long as we kill that person, we can get it to drop at a 100% success rate!" the slim Assassin said with confidence. He was originally a very inconspicuous member of Heaven''s Burial. However, he had fortunately learned a special Skill called Plunder. At Tier 0, this Skill only allowed him to steal some money from players'' bags. Moreover, it needed him to loot players within five seconds of their death. It had been a very useless Skill. However, when the Skill reached Tier 1, it had undergone a heaven-defying change. The Skill now allowed him to lock on to a specific item, and if this item was placed in a player''s bag, then after the said player was killed, the targeted item would drop with 100% certainty. Due to this godly Skill, Heaven''s Burial directly promoted him into a core member and invested resources into his development. "Excellent." Broken Flow nodded. "Listen to my commands later on." During the time Broken Flow was speaking, the Zero Wing members defending the Magic Tower kept retreating towards the defensive structure, the battle becoming increasingly disadvantageous for them. Numerous Level 50-plus one-horned humanoid Evil Demons could be seen easily dodging the Spells and arrows sent by players. At the same time, a Level 61 Great Lord ranked Evil Demon leaped abruptly into the air, both its claws emitting gray fog that promptly transformed into a massive greatsword as it descended into a crowd of players. The frightening might exuded by the greatsword made even Aqua Rose feel the threat of death. "Not good! It''s a Tier 3 Skill! Everyone, avoid it!" Aqua Rose reminded hurriedly. However, Aqua Rose''s warning was still a step too late. The players within the attack range of the gray greatsword could only watch as the massive weapon descended towards them. Just as the greatsword was about to crash into the nearest player, a spear of light suddenly struck this Great Lord ranked Evil Demon. The instant the spear of light came into contact with the Great Lord, it sent the latter flying 20 yards away, the Evil Demon''s HP decreasing by over 1,600,000. Meanwhile, when this Great Lord hit the ground, the spear of light piercing its body suddenly transformed into golden chains that bound the Great Lord, preventing it from budging even an inch. Immediately after, hundreds of Spells descended accurately on this Great Lord ranked Evil Demon. In the blink of an eye, the Level 61 Great Lord, which had 22,000,000 HP, turned to dust. "It died?" Aqua Rose, who was prepared to make a last stand against the Evil Demon army, was momentarily stunned. She had fought Evil Demons before, during the previous siege war. Although the Evil Demons back then were only at the Lord rank, if not for Anna and Kite''s assistance, even a team of experts of the same level would most likely have been annihilated. Nevertheless, now, a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon was actually killed almost instantly. At this moment, Aqua Rose wasn''t the only person stunned by this situation. Even Singular Burial and Abandoned Wave, who were watching the livestream of the battle, were stupefied, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. Nobody had a clearer understanding than they did of just how powerful a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon was. Yet, such an existence was actually killed instantly, so suppressed that it did not even have the power to retaliate. Before anyone realized what was going on, a group of NPCs suddenly appeared behind the Evil Demon army. Unlike the town''s NPC guards, these NPCs wore all sorts of attire. The classes they possessed were also diverse. The only thing these NPCs had in common with each other was that every one of them sported the Adventurer Emblem. In addition, these NPCs were all Level 70, and even the weakest among them was Tier 2. Among these NPCs, there were even ten Tier 3 NPCs. 1346 The Horror of Tier 3 NPCs Chapter 1346 - The Horror of Tier 3 NPCs "NPCs?" "Why are there so many NPCs here?" Zero Wing''s members, who had been fending off the monster army, grew confused when they saw so many powerful NPCs appearing one after another. However, compared to the surprise Zero Wing''s members felt, the players and various major powers watching this scene through the livestream were even more shocked. "What?! There are actually Tier 3 classes among these NPCs!" "Tier 3 NPCs!? How is this possible?! Tier 3 NPCs are already considered overlords in minor NPC cities! Just how did Zero Wing manage to get these ten Tier 3 NPCs to defend Stone Forest Town!?" The players on the forums were momentarily dumbfounded by the appearance of the ten Level 70, Tier 3 NPCs. As for the various major powers, they felt both confused and afraid when they saw this scene. Ordinary players might not understand how strong Tier 3 NPCs were, but they had a clear appreciation of this. Although only one tier separated Tier 3 and Tier 2 NPCs, this was a massive gap. Not only was there a huge disparity in Basic Attributes, but there was also a massive difference in combat standards. Even in a situation where both sides had equal Basic Attributes, a Tier 3 NPC could easily beat up a group of Tier 2 NPCs. This difference was the reason Tier 3 NPCs were usually tasked with ruling and safeguarding minor NPC cities. Yet, now, Stone Forest Town actually had ten Tier 3 NPCs guarding it. Moreover, NPCs were different from monsters. NPCs were capable of coordinating their movements to display superior combat power, only their coordination was still not as good as players''. If ten Tier 3 NPCs worked together, not to mention dealing with a Grand Lord of the same level, even thrashing a Mythic monster of the same level would be child''s play. While everyone was shocked by the appearance of these NPCs, a large number of NPCs also turned up at the other two Magic Towers and Zero Wing''s Residence. Although these NPC adventurers were not as numerous as the town''s NPC guards, even the weakest among them was Level 70, Tier 2. They were far stronger than the majority of Stone Forest Town''s Tier 1 NPC guards. Moreover, every one of these locations was also graced by the presence of Tier 3 NPC adventurers. If one counted the Tier 3 NPC adventurers, one would discover a total of 30 of them in Stone Forest Town. They were even more numerous than the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. "Damn it! Just where did Zero Wing find so many Tier 2 and Tier 3 NPCs from?!" Abandoned Wave felt his heart bleeding out when he saw the NPC adventurers assaulting his Evil Demons. These NPC adventurers were ridiculously strong. Their fights with Lord ranked Evil Demons were no different from child''s play. Although Lord ranked Evil Demons could overwhelm Tier 2 NPCs in a one-on-one, there were simply too many Tier 2 NPCs. Moreover, the NPCs were skillfully cooperating with each other. As a result, a single Tier 2 party could easily finish off a Lord in just a few moves. However, this was still not the worst part. When those Tier 3 NPCs faced off against Evil Demons and Evil Beasts below Lord rank, they would almost always eliminate their opponents in a single move. Whenever the NPCs used a Tier 3 Skill, the death of a large group of monsters would followthe Tier 3 Great Mages were killing monsters below Lord rank as quickly as the Magic Towers were. One could practically hear explosions echoing throughout Stone Forest Town at every passing moment. As for the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons, which were practically invincible, they were rendered utterly helpless under the coordination of just two or three Tier 3 NPCs. Meanwhile, whenever a Great Lord got pinned down, the other Tier 3 NPCs would use the opportunity to attack it together, bombarding it with Tier 3 Skills and Spells, one after another, and killing it in the blink of an eye. Seeing the Evil Beast army''s and Evil Demon army''s numbers plummet, Abandoned Wave immediately commanded all the monsters to give up on attacking the Magic Towers and shift their focus towards Zero Wing''s Residence. Previously, Abandoned Wave had commanded his monsters to attack the Magic Towers merely to kill more Zero Wing members. However, the current situation no longer permitted such an action. If the battle continued, although he could inflict more losses on Zero Wing, the monster army he built up with great difficulty would also suffer annihilation. Now, the only thing he could do was destroy Zero Wing''s Residence. This way, he would''ve at least achieved his main goal. In the next moment, the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons inside Stone Forest Town began surging towards Zero Wing''s Residence in a frenzy. "Black Flame, I admit that your Guild''s strength and foundations have greatly exceeded my expectations. Unfortunately, you are fated to lose Stone Forest Town in this war." Abandoned Wave smiled faintly when he saw his monster army surrounding Zero Wing''s Residence. His losses this time had indeed exceeded his initial estimates. However, with the destruction of Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing would lose its foundations. Meanwhile, he could still obtain more Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. At most, he would have to spend a little more time doing so. "They really are nuts. Do they plan on attacking the Guild Residence''s magic array at all costs?" When Shi Feng saw the monster army focused on assaulting Zero Wing''s Residence, he immediately had everyone gather back at the Residence. At this moment, aside from attacking the Guild Residence''s defensive magic array, these Evil Beasts and Evil Demons were doing nothing else. They did not even bother defending against or avoiding the attacks sent at them. However, Shi Feng also could not help but admit that these monsters'' plan was working, as the Guild Residence''s defensive magic array was rapidly weakening. Most likely, the magic array would shatter in less than a minute. At that time, these monsters would be able to charge into the Guild Hall and destroy the Guild Flag. A town siege carried out by monsters was different from that of players. Players needed to obtain the Town Token in order to capture the town. Meanwhile, monsters only needed to destroy the Guild Flag to do so. As long as the Guild Flag was destroyed, Stone Forest Town would be finished, becoming a town controlled by monsters. If that happened, all players within the town would be forcibly expelled from Stone Forest Town''s vicinity. Meanwhile, Shi Feng would also lose his authority over Stone Forest Town, and for the following one month, his Guild would be barred from raiding Stone Forest Town. However, it would be a different story for other Guilds. Instead of a month, they would only need to wait 15 days before they could start raiding Stone Forest Town. During this 15-day grace period, most likely, every Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom would attempt to raid Stone Forest Town. After all, as long as they succeeded, they would get a ready-made Intermediate Town. "Kill! Go ahead and kill as many as you can! I want to see just how many of my monsters you all can kill!" Abandoned Wave laughed involuntarily when he saw the cracks on the Residence''s magic barrier. At this moment, there were still 50,000 Evil Beasts and Evil Demonsmore than enough to last until the monsters invaded Zero Wing''s Residence and destroyed its Guild Flag. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s members were desperately trying to stop the monsters'' attacks. Boom! When a Level 70 Grand Lord bombarded the magic barrier with a Tier 3 Skill, the Guild Residence''s defensive magic array finally gave, crumbling upon itself. "Everyone, move forward and block those monsters! Do not let them set foot in the Guild Hall no matter what!" Aqua Rose shouted urgently. Zero Wing''s members understood the severity of this matter. Immediately, all the MTs charged forward to block the advance of the monsters. At the same time, the magic array teams also activated one magic array after another to trap the approaching monsters. Very quickly, chaos fell upon the entire Guild Residence. "Idiots. Do you think the entrance is the only way to enter?" Abandoned Wave sneered. In the next moment, a Lord ranked Evil Demon leaped high in the air and landed at the side of the Guild Hall. It then sent a fierce punch at the wall and opened a huge hole in it. Immediately after, over a dozen small, Chieftain ranked Evil Demons dashed into the breach. "Not good!" Aqua Rose also noticed this situation from the corners of her eyes. Although they were blocking the larger Evil Beasts, they couldn''t stop the nimble and smaller Evil Demons. Not to mention, Zero Wing''s Guild Hall was also very large. It was simply impossible to defend all the sides completely. At this moment, Zero Wing''s members also felt a deep sense of powerlessness and despair. "Hahaha! Everything''s over!" Abandoned Wave could not help laughing madly when he saw the Evil Demons surging into the Guild Hall. There might be a lot of players and NPC guards inside the Guild Hall, but the dozen or so Evil Demons were both agile and skillful. Their target, the Guild Flag, was also prominently displayed inside the Guild Hall. Destroying it would be a piece of cake for them. However, in the next moment Boom Boom Boom The dozen or so Evil Demons that charged into the Guild Hall actually went flying back out through the same hole they entered from. However, before these dozen or so Chieftain ranked and one Lord ranked Evil Demons could even land, their bodies had already transformed into ashes and disappeared from everyone''s sight. "How?!" Abandoned Wave''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s members also became slack-jawed at this scene, unable to comprehend what had just happened. When everyone turned to look at the hole in the wall, they could faintly make out a muscular man in black robes standing before the Guild Flag. With both hands, the man gripped a blood-red greatsword that was stabbed into the ground before him. Even when just looking at this man from afar, everyone could clearly feel their souls shuddering in fear. This man was none other than Gilbert, the Hero Shi Feng had summoned! 1347 Hero Time Chapter 1347 - Hero Time Currently, Gilbert stood quietly inside the Guild Hall with both his eyes shut. His three-meter-tall body was unmatched by the other NPCs. As he stood before the Guild Flag, he looked just like a god of war preventing all enemies from approaching the Guild Flag. Is this the Hero the Guild Leader was talking about? Aqua Rose was somewhat astonished as she looked at Gilbert. What a powerful aura! Although the Tier 3 NPCs she encountered before were terrifyingly strong, she had not felt suffocating pressure from them. As for Gilbert, rather than calling him an NPC, he was more like a prehistoric beast. "Damn it! Why does Zero Wing still possess a Tier 3 NPC?!" Abandoned Wave''s expression darkened considerably when he spotted Gilbert standing inside the Guild Hall. In order to prevent the Tier 3 adventurer NPCs from coming to assist in the defense, he had mobilized all the surviving Grand Lord ranked Evil Beasts in a desperate effort to pin down those NPCs. He had even stationed several Great Lord ranked Evil Demons nearby to find an opportunity to attack. Only with this did he manage to block all 30 Tier 3 NPC adventurers from reaching Zero Wing''s Residence. He never imagined that Zero Wing would still be hiding a trump card even at such a crucial moment, allowing Stone Forest Town to gain a moment of reprieve. One hit! He needed his monsters to land only one hit to destroy the Guild Flag! Once the Guild Flag was destroyed, Stone Forest Town would become a monster town. "If it were 30 Tier 3 NPCs working together to defend the Guild Flag, I might really need to put in some more effort. However, Black Flame, you are overestimating yourself if you think one Tier 3 NPC is enough to defend the Guild Flag!" Abandoned Wave sneered. He then manipulated the gray orb in his hand and started chanting an incantation. Suddenly, over a dozen figures hidden in the monster army leaped forward, leaving afterimages trailing behind them. By the time Zero Wing''s members noticed these figures, the latter had already broken through the blockade and appeared in the Guild Residence''s surroundings. They then smashed through its walls and dashed straight towards the Guild Hall. The true identity of these figures were Evil Demons. However, unlike the Evil Demons that attempted to assault the Guild Flag before, this group of Evil Demons was much stronger. "Not good! There are Great Lord ranked Evil Demons mixed in among them! We need to stop them!" Aqua Rose, who was defending inside the Guild Hall, hurriedly activated the Power of Darkness and used the Tier 1 Spell Shadow Vines. Suddenly, hundreds of blue vines emerged from around Aqua Rose''s feet and slithered rapidly towards the approaching Evil Demons. "A futile struggle!" Abandoned Wave sneered upon seeing this. The sixteen Evil Demons were the strongest force he had remainingeleven High Lords and five Great Lords. Even a party of Tier 3 NPCs would have a hard time facing such a force, not to mention a measly Tier 1 Cursemancer like Aqua Rose. In the next moment, the Evil Demons could be seen dodging all the oncoming Shadow Vines. What quick reaction speeds! Aqua Rose was surprised. She had aimed all her Shadow Vines at the blind spots of these Evil Demons. Yet, as if they had long since sensed her attack, not only did the Evil Demons perfectly avoid being bound, but they had even managed to close the distance between them and the Guild Flag even further. "Finish it!" Through the eyes of one of the Evil Demons, Abandoned Wave could see the Guild Flag that was just 30 yards away. In the next moment, the sixteen Evil Demons charged at the Guild Flag from various directions. With this, even if two or three Tier 3 melee NPCs worked together, they wouldn''t be able to stop every one of the Evil Demons. "Are we going to lose, just like this?" Aqua Rose''s eyes were filled with frustration as she looked at the Evil Demons approaching the Guild Flag. The town they had invested plenty of resources into was going to disappear, just like that The sixteen Evil Demons could be seen rapidly closing in on the Guild Flag. Twenty yards Fifteen yards At this moment, the Evil Demons had even stopped evading the attacks sent at them by the players inside the hall, focused solely on reaching and destroying the Guild Flag. Just when the Evil Demons were only ten yards away from the Guild Flag, Gilbert, who had his eyes shut all this time, opened them and let loose a deafening roar. Even the people outside the Guild Hall heard his roar very clearly. In the next moment, the sixteen Evil Demons involuntarily turned towards Gilbertas if nothing but Gilbert existed in their world at this moment. The Barbarian class''s Tier 3 Legacy Skill Barbaric Roar! The Skill immediately enveloped a radius of 50 yards. Unlike other Taunt Skills, Barbaric Roar was more of a Domain Skill. All enemies caught within the range of the Domain would find their minds filled with only Gilbert''s existence. At the same time, due to the deterrent effect of Gilbert''s voice, all enemies within range would have their Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed reduced by 50%. Following the activation of Barbaric Roar, Gilbert pulled out his blood-red greatsword, which he had stabbed into the ground, and lightly swung it at the approaching Evil Demons. If one was watching from afar, one would think that Gilbert''s Attack Speed at this moment was very slow. However, if one paid close attention, they would realize that Gilbert''s Attack Speed was not slow at all. Instead, the extreme speed and fluidity of his attack had merely given rise to a misconception. Although the sixteen Evil Demons tried to block the approaching crimson streak of light, they suddenly found their bodies unable to move. The only thing they could do was watch as the streak of light landed on their bodies. Tier 3 Legacy Skill Barbaric Blade. Although the Skill executed an extremely normal slash, it rendered all the surrounding enemies immobile. Meanwhile, pitch-black spatial tears would appear one after another wherever the crimson light passed. The might of the attack was so powerful that it even sliced space itself. After the greatsword passed through the Evil Demons, all sixteen Evil Demons left behind afterimages as they went flying out of the Guild Hall like cannonballs. The High Lord ranked Evil Demons lost over one-third of their HPs on the spot. The destructive power of the attack made everyone present gasp. So strong! The power of this attack should be practically Tier 4 standard! Aqua Rose wore an incredulous look on her face as she stared at Gilbert. Even Tier 3 NPCs were just barely able to cope with a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon in a one-on-one; at least two of such NPCs were needed to suppress a Great Lord. Yet, now, Gilbert had managed to send five Great Lord ranked Evil Demons flying with a single blow. This was simply unbelievable. "He stopped them?! How is this possible?! How can there be such a powerful Tier 3 NPC in existence?!" Abandoned Wave nearly fainted when he saw this scene. He had been watching through the eyes of one of the sixteen Evil Demons, so he had clearly seen the speed and power of Gilbert''s attack. Not to mention dodging the attack, even blocking it was utterly impossible. Gilbert was far stronger than the Tier 3 NPCs from before. They were on entirely different levels. Before Abandoned Wave could react, Gilbert took a step forward. In the next moment, he disappeared from where he stood. Immediately after, he appeared in front of one of the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Before anyone realized it, Gilbert had already thrust his greatsword through the Great Lord''s body. Meanwhile, only after its body was stabbed did the Evil Demon realized it had been attacked. Gilbert''s strength was simply overwhelming. As for the other Evil Demons, due to the effects of Barbaric Roar, they couldn''t approach the Guild Flag at all without killing Gilbert first. As time passed, although many more monsters entered the Guild Hall, due to the effects of Barbaric Roar, these monsters had no choice but to fight Gilbert. However, not only was Gilbert himself frighteningly strong, but there was also a Tier 2 NPC Cleric healing him from the side. The monsters failed to pose any threat to Gilbert whatsoever. In regard to this situation, Shi Feng did not feel particularly surprised. There naturally was a reason why the various large Guilds had coveted Heroes in the past. Back then, towns and cities under a Hero''s protection had rarely fallen to enemy invasion. Although a Tier 3 Hero could not compete with an Archaic Species of the same rank and tier in terms of Basic Attributes, in terms of combat standards, a Tier 3 Hero was many times superior to the ordinary experts of God''s Domain. After taking into account the Legacy Skills they grasped, a Hero was the most suitable kind of NPC to defend a Guild Residence. Over time, the number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons could be seen decreasing continuously. "Is this Zero Wing''s true strength? This town''s defenses are simply too strong! Such a powerful monster army actually failed to capture it! With this, which Guild could possibly threaten Stone Forest Town?" Everyone was filled with astonishment as they looked at the rapidly thinning monster army. After this war, most likely, no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare have designs on Stone Forest Town. At the same time, Stone Forest Town would also enter a new era of prosperity. "We lost?" Abandoned Wave''s eyes were filled with mixed feelings as he looked at his servants decreasing precipitately in number. At this moment, whether it was the Evil Beast army or the Evil Demon army, the top combatants of both had already been annihilated. Right now, even without the presence of NPCs like Gilbert or the Tier 3 adventurers, Zero Wing''s remaining members were more than enough to defend the Guild Flag. "I''ll give this win to you, Zero Wing. However, don''t get excited too soon. Although I''ve lost my Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, I can still make more. You all, on the other hand, won''t be as fortunate next time." Abandoned Wave knew that he had been thoroughly defeated this time. However, he was confident that with enough time, he could create a monster army that was several times stronger than the current one. Meanwhile, as long as Zero Wing lost Stone Forest Town, it would decline into a second-rate power. "Flame Blood, I''m afraid Heaven''s Burial will have to get busy for the upcoming period." "Rest assured, although Star-Moon City''s resources have nearly dried up, there are still plenty of resources available in other cities and kingdoms." Flame Blood smiled and nodded. Although Zero Wing''s performance today was indeed shocking, Heaven''s Burial remained in the shadows while Zero Wing stood in the light. Heaven''s Burial could easily help Abandoned Wave create more Evil Beasts and Evil Demons while Zero Wing could only wait for its impending doom. The reason for their loss this time was their lack of understanding of Zero Wing as well as their lack of preparation. However, it would be a different story next time. Following which, Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood turned around and left. Meanwhile, standing inside one of Stone Forest Town''s Magic Towers, Shi Feng was quietly observing the image displayed on the massive crystal ball before him. "I''ve finally found you. An Evil God Envoy?" Shi Feng muttered, his lips curling upwards as he looked at the image of the bandaged Abandoned Wave. "No. The Evil Energy surrounding him is too thin. An Evil God Envoy has received the blessing of the Evil God. Even if he used a treasure to suppress the Evil Energy, it should not be this thin. Perhaps an Evil God Apostle developed by an Envoy? Forget it. Let''s just go and take a look." Saying so, Shi Feng locked in the coordinates and used Space Movement. Suddenly, he vanished from the top of the Magic Tower. 1348 Black Flame Appears Chapter 1348 - Black Flame Appears With the death of the high-tiered Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, the war in Stone Forest Town gradually entered its final stage. Previously, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers had celebrated this sudden war, but their expressions had turned solemn. Fear of Zero Wing filled their hearts. An army of 500,000-plus high-level, high-ranked monsters Who in Star-Moon Kingdom could possibly stop such a powerful force? Zero Wing had done just that. Moreover, Zero Wing had displayed horrific strength. Aside from the Tier 3 NPC army, the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and Miniature Ballistas were more than enough to dishearten the kingdom''s major powers. If these weapons were aimed at their Guild towns, the consequences would be dire. Before this battle, the major powers had only felt a little threatened by Zero Wing''s number of experts and high-quality items. However, those aspects couldn''t threaten their lifeblood. If worse comes to worst, they would fight a war of attrition, competing with wealth and resources. But things had changed. Zero Wing had already revealed that it had the power to destroy any large Guild''s foundation in Star-Moon Kingdom. A battle of attrition wasn''t necessary. Zero Wing could simply cripple their Guilds. "Zero Wing How much of your strength have you hidden?" Singular Burial felt as if he had aged several years as he stared at the live-stream, especially when the Hero Gilbert had made his appearance in the war''s final moments. Singular Burial admitted that Heaven''s Burial''s development was quite fast. However, compared to Zero Wing The difference between them was like heaven and earth. Now, the only thing worth celebrating was that Heaven''s Burial had gained access into Evernight City before the other Guild. There was also the fact that Abandoned Wave could continue to create monster armies. Only, now that they had revealed the threat of the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, Abandoned Wave wouldn''t be able to continue developing in the Star-Moon City region. Meanwhile, across the street from Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City, Ghost Shadow and Daybreak Fog scouted the building from their seats in a restaurant''s fifth-floor room. As the two watched Zero Wing''s Residence, they wore helpless expressions. The original plan had involved the Ghost Shadow Legion and the Third Legion working together to assault Zero Wing''s Residence, doing whatever it took to destroy the Guild''s Stable. However, due to the war over in Stone Forest Town, the Zero Wing members that had been grinding monsters and raiding Dungeons had returned to the Residence. As a result, the building was protected by more than three times the members they had expected Hence, they could only watch the building, waiting for these Guild members to leave for Stone Forest Town. However, since the war had started, the number of players in the Residence had increased rather than decrease. Moreover, now that victory was in sight for Zero Wing, more players had swarmed to the Guild to apply. Among them were plenty of famous adventurer teams that both Ghost Shadow and DAybreak Fog recognized. Meanwhile, in the wilderness outside of Stone Forest Town, Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood quickly made their way towards the Dead Soul Forest atop their Mounts. "Brother Wave, you''re saying that I qualify to join the Evil God''s Temple?" Flame Blood asked excitedly, his eyes practically glowing as he looked at Abandoned Wave. "Of course. Although it is very difficult for players to join the Evil God''s Temple, and there are very few lost available, Beast Emperor has declared that players with sufficient strength and a powerful backer will have the opportunity to join. However, the final decision rests in Beast Emperor''s hands. He only has a few slots remaining. Fortunately, since you are one of Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons, you should have a high chance of getting one of those slots," Abandoned Wave said, nodding. "I refuse to believe that we can''t take Zero Wing down if we work together once you become an Evil God Apostle as well." "Then I''ll have to thank you for recommending me, Brother Wave. As long as I become an Evil God Apostle, the Guild Leader won''t hesitate to give us his full support. We might even be able to take down the Black Dragon Empire, much less Star-Moon Kingdom," Flame Blood said excitedly. Before this, he hadn''t been particularly interested in becoming an Evil God Apostle and joining the dark forces. After all, the cost to do so was high. Joining the dark forces meant joining humanity''s enemy. Henceforth, it wouldn''t be so easy to enter an NPC city. He''d also forsake the lifestyle ordinary players enjoyed. Moreover, if the various large Guilds discovered him, they''d hunt him to the ends of God''s Domain. If he died, the consequences would be unimaginably severe as well. If he were caught, the result would be worse. His only option would be to delete his account and start over. However, after coming into contact with Abandoned Wave and witnessing the power of an Evil God Apostle, he had begun to reconsider his position. It might even help him achieve heights that were previously out of his reach. Unfortunately, Abandoned Wave had tactfully rejected his previous request to join the Evil God''s Temple. He hadn''t expected the man to change his mind. "Relax. I now have a clear grasp of Heaven''s Burial''s foundations. Moreover, I just received a message from Beast Emperor requesting to meet you, stating that he has sent a subordinate to fetch you," Abandoned Wave said, chuckling. While Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood chatted, a spatial tear appeared above them. It quickly widened, forming a black hole, and a figure emerged. "Black Flame!" "How is he here?!" Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood starred at the figure. They were extremely familiar with this player as he was their main target. "I''ve finally found you. Why are you in such a rush to leave?" Shi Feng asked as he softly landed on the grassy ground. He wore a smile as he pinned Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood with his gaze. Both wore Black Cloaks, so he couldn''t get a clear view of their appearances and Levels. However, he could sense their tension. This was especially true for the bandaged Abandoned Wave. He knew that the previous monster invasion had been the Evil God''s Temple''s doing, but even after using the Magic Tower, he hadn''t been able to locate the person responsible. This time, however, he used the Magic Tower to search for the culprits during the entire battle. Thanks to the magic array that had summoned the Evil Demons, he had gained a general idea of the culprit''s location. Honestly, Shi Feng had been shocked to learn of the Evil God''s Temple''s appearance in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Evil God''s Temple might not be a threat early on, but if it were not exterminated in time, not even two or three Super Guilds would be able to take it down, much less Zero Wing. Now that he had found a clue leading to the Evil God''s Temple, he couldn''t ignore it. "I had never expected the almighty Guild Leader, Black Flame, to grace us with his presence. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Abandoned Wave asked, trying to look like a passerby. At the same time, he sent the Beast Emperor a message, notifying him of Shi Feng''s arrival and requesting reinforcements. Black Flame''s strength was known throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. He was the kingdom''s bona fide, number one expert. Although Abandoned Wave was confident of his own strength, he knew that he was far from powerful enough to defeat someone on Black Flame''s level. Working with Flame Blood wouldn''t change that. Of course, were his high-tiered Evil Demons still alive, he''d have no reason to fear Black Flame. He''d even be confident of killing the man. "Are you trying to suggest that you''re not connected to the Evil God''s Temple with how dense the Evil Energy surrounding you is?" Shi Feng demanded. "Well? Are you going to reveal the temple''s headquarters? If not, I can simply drag you to the War God''s Temple. I''m sure you don''t need me to tell you about the consequences of being captured." Although the Evil God''s Temple''s followers had far more power than any ordinary player, they had to pay a corresponding price. One death was enough to drive these followers mad. If the War God''s Temple captured them, their life would be hell." Abandoned Wave''s heart sank as he listened to Shi Feng. He hadn''t expected this man to know Evil God''s Temple players'' true fear. It''s over! It''s over! What should I do?! Sweat dripped down Abandoned Wave''s forehead as he watched Shi Feng''s gradual approach. Neither keeping silent nor exposing the location of the Evil God''s Temple''s main headquarters was an option. Abandoned Wave had never expected that some minor character he had once looked down on would force him into such a situation. When Shi Feng was less than 30 yards away from Abandoned Wave, a spatial tear formed before the bandaged player. Suddenly, someone emerged from the tear. It was none other than the Beast Emperor, Abandoned Wave''s leader. 1349 Black Flame and Beast Emperor Chapter 1349 - Black Flame and Beast Emperor "Beast Emperor!" Abandoned Wave grew ecstatic as the towering figure appeared before him. As per usual, Beast Emperor wore a Black Cloak and bandages that covered his entire body. However, Beast Emperor''s aura and radiating Evil Energy were much stronger than the last time Abandoned Wave had met the man. Despite the lack of malice, Abandoned Wave couldn''t help but feel an indescribable fear as he stared at Beast Emperor''s back. Of course, he was also relieved. Now that Beast Emperor had arrived, he was safe from Shi Feng. "This is Beast Emperor?" Meanwhile, Flame Blood, who stood beside Abandoned Wave, stared at the man before them with a dumbfounded look. Although Abandoned Wave had told him that Beast Emperor was strong, Flame Blood hadn''t realized just how strong. The man''s aura was on par with that of a Great Lord. The instant Beast Emperor had arrived, he had felt his body grow heavy. This was the first time he met a player that didn''t feel like a human, but some kind of terrifying creature. Beast Emperor''s arrival had also halted Shi Feng''s steps. With such dense and powerful Evil Energy surrounding him, is he an Evil God Envoy? The cloaked man shocked Shi Feng. The instant Beast Emperor had appeared, the evil energy he exuded tainted the surrounding area. If normal players spent too much time in this pollution, they would undoubtedly become Demonkin. Even Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons could only pollute an area of 20 to 30 yards, yet Beast Emperor polluted a radius of over 50 yards. With the Evil God''s blessing, his Evil Energy was also denser than normal. If Evil Beasts and Evil Demons'' Evil Energy were akin to air, then the Beast Emperor''s Evil Energy was like liquid. "Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Beast Emperor asked Shi Feng in a gravelly voice. "Sure enough, you''re as strong as the rumors say. No wonder those old fellows are talking about you. Let me introduce myself. I''m called Beast Emperor. I am also the Apostle that activated the Evil God''s Temple in Star-Moon Kingdom. May I know if Guild Leader Black Flame would be so kind as to pardon my two friends? I can assure you that the beasts and demons will not bother Stone Forest Town again." "If I let them go, those Evil Beasts and Evil Demons will leave Stone Forest Town alone? Is this some kind of humble threat?" Shi Feng asked. "You can think of it that way," Beast Emperor acknowledged. In his opinion, God''s Domain had fewer threats to offer as time went on. A measly kingdom''s number one Guild was not one of them. Abandoned Wave was one of the Basic Evil God Apostles under him. Abandoned Wave could only control a maximum of 600,000 Evil Beasts, which couldn''t be more than 30 levels higher than his own. The strongest Evil Beast he could control was only Tier 4 Lower-rank, and he could only control up to ten at a time. As for Evil Demons, Abandoned Wave could only control a maximum of 5,000, and they could not be more than 20 levels higher than him. The strongest Evil Demon Abandoned Wave could control was only Tier 3 Middle-rank, and his maximum was 20 at a time. If Abandoned Wave could push Zero Wing to the brink of destruction with a half-baked army, what could an Evil God Envoy such as himself accomplish? "If I say no?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. He then vanished. "You''re rejecting my goodwill?" Beast Emperor''s gaze turned frosty when he heard Shi Feng''s reply. Immediately, he searched his surroundings for the enemy player. As if Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood faced a powerful foe, one focused on their surroundings while the other activated Truth Shield to protect himself. However, before any of the three could react, Shi Feng appeared beside Abandoned Wave, turning both Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray against the man. Shi Feng could easily cross 30 yards with a few steps. By the time Abandoned Wave realized what was happening and attempted to use Vanish, the seemingly slow swords had passed through his body. Only after he had been hit did his body begin to disappear. However, the two attacks had devoured over 35,000 HP, dropping it into the red. He had nearly been thrown over the River Styx. How are his reactions so fast!? Flame Blood was stupefied. Shi Feng''s slashes were not indefensible. Only, Shi Feng''s reaction speed was simply too quick. He had executed the two slashes as if he had moved on instinct. The instant Abandoned Wave disappeared, Shi Feng retrieved a dark-blue, crystal ball from his bag and shattered it. "No! You can''t do that!" From Stealth, Abandoned Wave practically screamed when he saw the shattered crystal ball. The crystal ball Shi Feng had shattered was a Mobile Jail specifically designed to capture Dark and Red Players. If a Dark or Red player had less than 10% of their HP, the capture would be successful. Mobile Jails had the same effects as jails in NPC cities. This wasn''t an item that ordinary players could afford. The War God''s Temple sold Mobile Jails that could hold a single player for 50 Gold each. Mobile Jails that could hold up to ten players cost 300 Gold. Even wealthy players wouldn''t purchase such an expensive tool without a specific reason. Although Abandoned Wave had considered using a Skill to resist capture, once the Mobile Jail activated, it would capture any player within 15 yards that fit the requirements and stop them from using Skills or tools. They wouldn''t even be able to move. Not even an invulnerable state could save them. In the blink of an eye, a black hole devoured Abandoned Wave, and he vanished as if he had never existed. Meanwhile, the crystal ball Shi Feng had shattered had recovered, but instead of dark-blue, the crystal ball was now black. "Black Flame! You bastard!" Beast Emperor glared at Shi Feng, Evil Energy overflowing from his body. His aura also began to increase. "Release him now! Otherwise, don''t even think of leaving this place alive!" Although he was an Evil God Envoy, someone who enjoyed a high position in the Evil God''s Temple, he was only granted five Apostles. Even if one of his Apostles died, he wouldn''t get another. Hence, he was extremely careful when selecting Apostles. After all, players without enough strength and resources weren''t likely to be of much help. Although Abandoned Wave had lost the Blackwater Corporation''s support, he had already given Abandoned Wave one of his five Apostle slots. Losing Abandoned Wave was the equivalent of losing 600,000 Evil Beasts and 5,000 Evil Demons. "Leave here alive?" Shi Feng turned to Beast Emperor. Chuckling, he said, "Are you joking? Or do you think I can''t tell that you''re just a mirror image?" "You saw through it?!" Beast Emperor was stunned. He did not have any Skills that allowed long-distance teleportation, but he could dispatch a mirror image, sending it to command his own army and that of his Apostles. Not only did this Skill guarantee his safety, but it also allowed him to keep his subordinates in check. Although his mirror image was invulnerable, it couldn''t attack, either. The mirror image was only a replica that lasted 30 minutes. "A doppelganger?" Flame Blood looked at Beast Emperor in confusion. Both Beast Emperor''s aura and Evil Energy far exceeded Abandoned Wave''s. At the end of the day, a doppelganger was only a doppelganger. Everyone knew that, although they looked like the real deal, doppelgangers didn''t have the aura of the original player. Yet, no matter how he looked at Beast Emperor, the man should be real. But what Beast Emperor and Flame Blood didn''t know was that Shi Feng had activated Omniscient Eyes. He could see the truth of everything within 100 yards of himself. The instant Beast Emperor had appeared, Shi Feng had activated Omniscient Eyes to avoid an ambush. After all, if one enemy appeared suddenly, others were likely nearby. If Beast Emperor really wore a Black Cloak, though, even Omniscient Eyes wouldn''t reveal his identity. However, as this Beast Emperor was only a mirror image, the Black Cloak could only hide his appearance. It did nothing to hide the mirror image''s data from Omniscient Eyes. Moreover, as the mirror image was invulnerable, it couldn''t attack. It was similar to his Divine Steps. Despite his ruse failing, Beast Emperor showed no signs of panic or worry. On the contrary, he laughed and said, "As expected of the player the Secret Pavilion dubbed the Sword King. Ordinary peak experts are no match for your strength and insight. However, did you think I''ve spent so much time talking to you just for fun?" As soon as Beast Emperor had said so, a black figure descended from above. The figure hovered above Beast Emperor as it gazed down at Shi Feng. - [Evil Demon] (Dark Creature, Grand Lord) Level 70 HP 35,000,000/35,000,000 1350 Full-powered Assaul Chapter 1350 - Full-powered Assault As the Evil Demon appeared, the area''s atmosphere changed. Dense Evil Energy polluted the area, and shadows clustered around the Evil Demon. However, the more frightening aspect was the Evil Demon''s aura. Even an expert like Flame Blood could not help but shudder, his movements becoming sluggish. So, this is a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon? Flame Blood was both shocked and afraid as he stared at the hovering Evil Demon. His fear wasn''t due to the demon''s aura. Rather, the Evil Demon before him felt almost human. Its condescending gaze and sneer made it look like a player in an Evil Demon''s skin. Flame Blood had never realized that there was such a massive difference between a Great Lord and a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. To upgrade an Evil Demon to the Great Lord rank, Abandoned Wave had to devour many players'' souls. Of course, the demon had to have enough potential to evolve. Otherwise, absorbing souls would only increase its level, not its tier. Every time an Evil Demon was promoted, it would require several times more souls to reach the next rank. One could just imagine how difficult it was to produce a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. Yet, Beast Emperor intended to use such a creature to lead the way If they had had the help of a Grand Lord during their siege against Stone Forest Town, the battle might have ended in their favor. "Black Flame, I have given you your one chance. Since you''ve refused, I''ll show you what it feels like for a demon to devour your soul." Beast Emperor smirked at Shi Feng. "If an expert like you turns into an Evil Demon, I''m sure it will have a lot of potential." Peak experts'' corpses were very valuable to Evil God''s Temple players. Such corpses had a much greater chance of becoming Evil Demons with high growth potential. The Evil Demon created would have a better chance of becoming a high-tiered creature. As Beast Emperor finished speaking, the Evil Demon above him vanished as it dashed towards Shi Feng with lightning speed. In the blink of an eye, the Evil Demon arrived before its target, slashing at Shi Feng''s head with claws wrapped in dark-gray fog. However, mid-swing, the Evil Demon abruptly changed its attack trajectory, creating a silver arc that split away from the gray fog and moved towards Shi Feng''s neck. Meanwhile, the gray fog retained its form as it continued towards Shi Feng''s head. Rapid Switch? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. He hadn''t expected the Evil Demon to have grasped such a superb technique. Moreover, the transition was so smooth and sudden that even a Void Realm expert like himself had failed to detect warning signs. It was as if the demon''s cells had altered from attacking his head to swiping at his neck. In this crucial moment, one of Shi Feng''s blades, which he had employed to counter the fog-shrouded claws, changed directions. While the Abyssal Blade continued to block the descending claws of gray fog, Killing Ray turned to block the Evil Demon''s real claws. Boom! Boom! As the blades and claws met, the collision scattered dazzling sparks. The ground beneath Shi Feng''s feet sunk slightly. The impact then threw Shi Feng, and he landed over 20 yards away. He instantly lost over 10,000 HP Is this a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon''s strength? When Shi Feng struck the ground, both of his hands were numb. His blades vibrated, releasing a low hum. Sure enough, its Strength and speed far exceed an ordinary Grand Lord. If not for his quick reaction and diverting Killing Ray, he would have likely died. Even so, since he had pulled Killing Ray away from his Parry, he hadn''t been able to mitigate the damage completely, causing him to lose one-sixth of his total HP. At this rate, even if he blocked every one of the demon''s attacks, he would only last six attacks He had only been saved due to his Tier 2 Sword Master class, one of the Ten Great Saint Classes, and his excellent equipment. If a Tier 2 MT of the same level had received that last attack, they''d most likely lose a minimum of 20,000 HP. "He''s not dead?" Beast Emperor was momentarily stunned when he saw Shi Feng stand up with most of his HP intact. He knew just how powerful a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon was. Even the current strongest MT in God''s Domain would die instantly if they didn''t activate a Lifesaving Skill in time. Upon reaching the Grand Lord rank, Evil Demons'' combat standards underwent a qualitative transformation. Players had no hope against these Grand Lords'' transition speed. After factoring in the Grand Lord''s frightening, destructive power, any player that attempted to solo such a creature would die instantly. He even blocked that attack? Sure enough, Black Flame''s strength has improved significantly yet again. Flame Blood was also surprised to see Shi Feng so lively. Even against a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon of the same level, an MT would be forced to activate a Lifesaving Skill to survive, not to mention against a Level 70 Grand Lord. If not for the NPC guards and various magic arrays, Zero Wing would have been easily annihilated during the siege. Yet, even without any support, Shi Feng blocked the Grand Lord''s attack. This was simply inconceivable. "Sure enough, you are quite impressive. But how many attacks do you think you can block?" Although Shi Feng had surprised Beast Emperor, the situation hadn''t changed. As he said so, the Evil Demon darted forward once more. This time, the gray fog around its claws transformed into a dark gray greatsword. It brandished the weapon at Shi Feng, sending five streaks of gray light towards the Swordsman''s blind spots. Just as the five streaks of gray light were about to devour Shi Feng, golden dragon scales and divine runes began to envelop his body. His aura transformed as well, resembling that of a prehistoric beast. A stream of blue energy flowed from Killing Ray and into Shi Feng''s palm. Arcs of blue electricity danced across his body. Suddenly, Shi Feng looked like a God that had descended to the mortal world. Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Tier 2 Blade Liberation! This was the first time Shi Feng had used Twofold Berserk after completing his Tier 2 Promotion. Even against the King of Darkness, Shi Feng had only used Heavenly Dragon''s Power. However, against the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless as even the slightest mistake could end his life. Following which, Shi Feng lightly swung Killing Ray towards the Evil Demon. Shadow Blade! Immediately, one streak of blue light and nine streaks of black light sliced at the Evil Demon. The instant Shi Feng''s Sacred Sword and the Evil Demon''s greatsword collided, the ground they stood on shattered from the resulting impact. Even Flame Blood, who stood 30 yards away, nearly lost his footing. The five streaks of gray light were repelled back, carving several long grooves into the dirt. After repelling the Evil Demon''s attacks, all ten of Shi Feng''s attacks landed. The streaks of light easily bit into the Evil Demon''s steal-like body, green blood spewing from its wounds as the impact threw the creature over a dozen yards backward. At the same time, the Evil Demon''s HP plummeted. -161,267! -323,497! -160,916! Since Killing Ray dealt double damage against Dark Creatures, the Evil Demon''s HP dropped by over 2,000,000 in the blink of an eye. 1351 Monster-like Player Chapter 1351 - Monster-like Player As the dust settled, it revealed the three-meter-tall Evil Demon half-kneeling on the ground. Cracks broke the dirt for over a dozen yards beneath the demon. "What?!" Flame Blood''s eyes nearly fell from his sockets when he saw the injured Evil Demon. A Tier 3 NPC would barely be a match for a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon, yet Shi Feng had sent the creature flying Beside Flame Blood, Beast Emperor stared at the demon with a solemn expression. He found it inconceivable that Shi Feng could contest and surpass a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon''s Strength. "You, heal the Evil Demon! I''ll have it protect you! Black Flame''s Berserk Skill won''t last long! Once it ends, he will die!" Beast Emperor roared at Flame Blood. He had lost his previously complacent expression. "We just have to buy enough time for the reinforcements I''ve sent to arrive!" Although he thought that it was almost impossible for Shi Feng to kill the demon, he instructed Flame Blood to heal the creature as a precaution. Even if Shi Feng could suppress the Evil Demon, he wouldn''t kill it. He had only ordered the fastest Great Lord ranked Evil Demon to separate from the main contingent to save Abandoned Wave. It would take some time before the rest of his forces arrived. Once the follow-up forces arrived, Shi Feng would lose any hope of escape or survival. Flame Blood nodded and immediately went into action. First, he cast Recover on the Evil Demon, healing it for over 2,300 HP every 1.5 seconds. He followed up with a Truth Shield, which could absorb over -11,000 damage. Although these Spells were almost negligible compared to the Evil Demon''s HP, the Truth Shield and Recover would heal the creature''s injuries. At the very least, it would be able to fight at peak condition. Flame Blood began to chant an incantation. As Heaven''s Burial''s best Cleric, Flame Blood had double-cast right off the bat. He had chosen to cast the Tier 1 Spell, Life Recovery, and the Tier 0 Spell, Healing Light. Not only was Flame Blood''s chanting very fast, but he was also accurate. He was only slightly less efficient than Violet Cloud. Of course, there was a massive gap between his brain activity and hers. Shi Feng didn''t sit idly by while Flame Blood healed the Evil Demon. Without hesitation, he activated the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike, vanishing and reappearing before the demon in an instant. Sword''s Orbit! Suddenly, a glittering galaxy formed around Shi Feng''s body. Dazzling stars bombarded the Evil Demon, one after another. Both Flame Blood and Beast Emperor were shocked. Despite the stars appearing slow, in reality, they moved so quickly that they could barely react to the attacks. The stars they saw were simply residual images their brains had created. Fortunately, the Evil Demon possessed godlike reaction speed. With a physique that surpassed that of ordinary players, it reacted immediately and blocked the incoming attacks with its claws. However, as Shi Feng had activated Twofold Berserk and Instant Strike, both his Strength and Attack Speed exceeded the Evil Demon''s. The Grand Lord couldn''t keep up. The brilliant stars continued to bombard the monster, each collision ripping pained screams from the Evil Demon''s throat. The Evil Demon''s agonizing screams echoed across the grassland, causing all who heard it to shudder. If other players saw this, they''d likely confuse Shi Feng for the monster, while assuming that the Evil Demon was some innocent player. Each star that penetrated the Evil Demon''s Body dealt devastating damage. -431,571! -435,197! -871,054! For a moment, Flame Blood had even forgotten to chant his Spells as he stared at the screaming demon with a dumbfounded expression. "Is he a monster?" Flame Blood had intended to mitigate some of Shi Feng''s damage with his heals, but after seeing the Swordsman''s devastating power, he realized that his efforts would be utterly futile. Only now did Flame Blood understand why Shi Feng hadn''t prioritized killing him, a healer. It wasn''t because Shi Feng didn''t want to kill him. Rather, he didn''t need to. Since he was negligible, the Swordsman didn''t need to waste time on him. After all, Berserk Skills'' durations were extremely limited. The Evil Demon''s HP bar continued to plummet. Every hit Shi Feng landed reduced it by 1%; 2% with a critical hit. The demon''s HP rapidly decreased from 93%. 90%... 80%... 70%... By the time Instant Strike''s 3-second duration ended, the Evil Demon had only 64% HP remaining. However, as soon as Instant Strike''s effects wore out, Shi Feng''s Attack Speed and damage dramatically decreased. Seeing this, Beast Emperor released a sigh of relief. Had Shi Feng continued dealing such horrific damage, the Evil Demon would have lost all of its 35,000,000 HP and died in less than 20 seconds. Now that Shi Feng''s Attack Speed had decreased, the Evil Demon could finally keep up with the attacks, blocking them. In fact, the demon launched powerful counter attacks with the dark fog it had summoned, forcing Shi Feng to dodge and waste time. It was only a matter of time before Shi Feng''s Berserk Skill ended. Sure enough, one person''s Strength isn''t enough, Shi Feng thought as he was forced into a corner. The Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon''s superb physique was even more powerful than a Tier 3 player''s. Players of the same tier might have some difficulty blocking his slashes, but to the Evil Demon, doing so wasn''t difficult in the least. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng retrieved two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag. Although he was strong enough to suppress a Grand Lord for a short time, whether it was an Evil Demon or a normal monster, players had one disadvantageHP. This was why it was so difficult to solo monsters of the same or a higher tier as players progressed in the game. When Shi Feng finished chanting, two golden magic arrays appeared beside him. Kite and Anna emerged from the arrays. Although it hadn''t been long since Shi Feng last saw his Personal Guards, the two NPCs had leveled up considerably. After completing his Tier 2 Promotion Quest and returning to White River City, Shi Feng hadn''t immediately resummoned his Personal Guards. Instead, he left them in the Dark Canyon to continue leveling. Compared to the time flow in God''s Domain, time passed five-times faster in the Dark Canyon. Moreover, the canyon''s environment was far more suitable for training. The last time Shi Feng had seen Kite, the NPC was Level 70. Now, Kite had reached Level 74. As for Anna, she was already Level 75. She was undoubtedly the highest-level Personal Guard in the game right now. The instant these two NPCs appeared, Kite swung his greatsword down. Countless wind blades surrounded the Evil Demon, sealing its movements completely. As for Anna, she waved her staff and chanted an incantation, summoning forth ten Level 75, Lord ranked Rock Guardians and a Great Lord ranked Golden Giant. Under Anna''s control, the Rock Guardians positioned themselves to form a magic array, lowering the Evil Demon''s Basic Attributes by 15%. Unless one of the Rock Guardians died, the array would remain active. Without wasting time, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. At the moment, his doppelganger''s Attributes were even higher than Kite''s. Each Abyssal Blade phantom also dealt as much damage as the Lord ranked Rock Guardians. With his doppelganger and Kite''s support, Shi Feng overwhelmed the Evil Demon. Although Kite''s and Anna''s damage output was no match for Shi Feng''s individually, when combined, they dealt even more damage than their master. Time passed gradually. Although Shi Feng''s Berserk Skills were running out, the Evil Demon''s HP decreased at a rate visible to the naked eye. 60%... 45%... 30%... When the Evil Demon''s HP fell below 20%, it finally went Berserk as it shrank and its skin turned crimson. Its entire body began to release more gray fog. Evil Energy Outbreak was a desperate Skill that only Grand Lord ranked demons and above could use. When activated, the Skill would increase the user''s Strength, Movement Speed, and Attack Speed by 30% and physique by 15%. However, the Skill was a double-edged sword that would also decrease the user''s maximum HP by 30%. Only 2 seconds remained of Shi Feng''s 24-second Twofold Berserk state. His aura had already begun to weaken. As if it had realized that Shi Feng couldn''t hold out much longer, the Evil Demon''s lips curled up as it formed a sharp spear with the gray fog surrounding its body. With the slightest movement, the spearhead sliced space itself and created a spatial tear. The Evil Demon then threw the weapon at Shi Feng. As the spear flew through the air towards Shi Feng, a loud boom shook the area. Responding quickly, Anna directed the Golden Giant to block the attack. Surprisingly, however, the dark-gray spear passed through the giant without causing any harm. As the spear was about to find its target, Shi Feng instinctively used Divine Steps, summoning ten invulnerable doppelgangers around the Evil Demon, switching positions with one of these doppelgangers. Instinctively, Shi Feng turned his blades on the Evil Demon. Flame Burst! Divine Providence! At this time, his Phantom Kill doppelganger activated Flame Burst and attacked the Evil Demon in tandem. Although the Evil Demon responded very quickly, Shi Feng switched positions with another doppelganger after every slash, not giving the demon a chance to block his attacks. By the time Shi Feng landed his 15th hit, his sword''s scorching flames had devoured the demon''s last strand of HP. When the Grand Lord collapsed, it transformed into innumerable light particles like shattered glass and disappeared. Shi Feng''s experience bar rose madly, his level instantly increasing from 53 to 54. He had earned even more EXP from killing the Evil Demon than from soloing an Archaic Species. It had given him nearly as much EXP as a Level 70 Mythic monster Shi Feng was astonished. If he could kill a few more of these Evil Demons, his level would skyrocket. "Hm? This is an Evil God Crystal?" As the Evil Demon disappeared, the gray fog condensed to a single point. The gray fog then formed a crimson crystal that hovered quietly in the air, releasing an intensely mighty aura. 1352 Auction House Design Chapter 1352 - Auction House Design It died?! Flame Blood froze when he saw the Evil Demon inside the magic array disappear. Even a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon of the same level would require a team of hundreds of elite players, led by dozens of experts, to take down. They had learned this lesson during their experiments in the Frozen Scar. In the end, the Great Lord had more than two-thirds of its HP remaining after wiping out the entire elite team. Yet, Shi Feng killed a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon by himself Beast Emperor wore an indescribably grim expression. Not only had Abandoned Wave been captured, but he had also lost a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. It had taken a lot of effort to nurture five Evil Demons. Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons were not easy to produce. It all depended on an Evil Demon''s potential. He had killed many peak experts to obtain five Evil Demons capable of reaching the Great Lord rank. After his momentary rage, the crimson crystal, which had formed after the Evil Demon''s death, drew Beast Emperor''s attention. How is this possible?! How could a mere Grand Lord possibly drop an Evil God Crystal?! Shock, excitement, and greed flashed in Beast Emperor''s eyes as he stared at the crystal. It was highly unlikely that players outside of the Evil God''s Temple would understand how valuable the item was. However, to Evil God''s Temple players, the Evil God Crystal was an absolute treasure. It was even too valuable to trade for a Mythic ranked Evil Demon. Shi Feng grabbed the Evil God Crystal and shoved it in his bag before Beast Emperor could get a closer look. His eyes became bloodshot with fury as he wanted nothing more than to kill Shi Feng with his own hands. Unfortunately, he was only here as a mirror image. He could not touch Shi Feng. Beast Emperor quickly calmed himself. Turning to the somewhat feeble Shi Feng, he smiled and praised, "Guild Leader Black Flame, you''re truly capable. Even the strongest Evil Demon under my command wouldn''t be a match for you. As expected of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert." "What? Trying to persuade me with sweet words after failing with brute force?" Shi Feng sneered as he glanced at Beast Emperor. Although he suffered a Weakened state, decreasing his Attributes by 70%, he was easily strong enough to kill Flame Blood and drag Abandoned Wave back to the War God''s Temple. He knew that an Evil God Envoy could only create a limited number of Evil God Apostles. Losing even one Apostle would undoubtedly weaken Beast Emperor. Beast Emperor''s expression darkened, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He was the Evil God''s Temple''s sole Evil God Envoy. He was fated to become an overlord, establishing the Evil God''s Empire in God''s Domain, yet a Guild Leader from a measly kingdom stood before him, ridiculing his failure. If only he were here physically, he would give Shit Feng a taste of despair. "Black Flame, let''s not waste time talking. Why don''t we make a trade?" Beast Emperor said after suppressing his rage. "You''ll gain at most some Merit Points for handing an Evil God Apostle over to the War God''s Temple, but I can offer your Guild resources others dream of and access to Dark Cities. Zero Wing desperately needs these." The Evil God''s Temple was one of God''s Domain''s strongest dark forces. It had branches throughout numerous kingdoms and empires. He couldn''t help Zero Wing gain access to every NPC Dark City, but getting access to a few shouldn''t be a problem. This was also why Heaven''s Burial was willing to help Abandoned Wave gather so many Evil Beasts and Evil Demons in such a short time. "Sure, I might get some measly Merit Points for handing over an Evil God Apostle, but ridding God''s Domain of an Apostle is just as good," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although he was interested in access to multiple Dark Cities, getting rid of an Evil God Apostle that had been persistent in picking fights was a better option. If not for the Adventurer''s Association''s assistance in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing might have failed to protect it. Shi Feng would have been forced to accept mutual destruction, using a method to prevent anyone from claiming the town. Beast Emperor nearly popped a vein when he heard Shi Feng''s refusal. Taking a deep breath, he tried again, "How about this? I have an Auction House Design in my possession. I also have a Secret Land Key that can open the Secret Land Door, allowing you to send 1,000 players through at a time. Aside from the resources the secret land has to offer, you can gain far more Magic Crystals there than in the Stoneclaw Mountains. I will also help Zero Wing gain access to five Dark Cities. In return, you just need to hand over the Mobile Jail and the crimson crystal." The Auction House Design might not be useful for a Basic Town, but it was a different story for Stone Forest Town. Once a player town had an Auction House, it would lure more players, and the ruling Guild would make a profit from the handling fees. Of course, the Secret Land Key was obviously quite valuable. If a Guild periodically harvested the resources from the secret land, it wouldn''t need to fight other Guilds for resources. With these items, Zero Wing wouldn''t need much time to improve by leaps and bounds. A measly ten or twenty thousand War God''s Temple Merit Points couldn''t compare to these benefits. Beast Emperor''s offer stunned Shi Feng for a moment. The Auction House Design was extremely rare in God''s Domain. It was any less rare than the Teleportation Magic Array Design. However, while the Teleportation Magic Array Design could be used multiple times, the Auction House Design was a one-time-use item. He had never expected Beast Emperor to offer up such an item. The Secret Land Key was also extremely valuable. It was only slightly less valuable than mineral veins that produced Magic Crystals. Shi Feng had to admit that Beast Emperor''s offer was incredibly tempting. Meanwhile, Flame Blood, who overheard the offer, was also dumbfounded. Heaven''s Burial dreamed of obtaining both items, especially the Secret Land Key. He would never have dreamed that Beast Emperor would offer such items and access to five Dark Cities in exchange for Abandoned Wave and the crimson crystal. Not even Super Guilds would refuse such an offer. "How tempting! But I still refuse!" Shi Feng responded, smiling. "I''m not in the habit of breeding troublemakers!" If an Evil God Apostle had only attacked his town by chance, he might consider letting them go. However, the Apostle in his hands had intentionally picked a fight. Truth be told, even if he released this troublemaking Apostle, he wouldn''t be afraid for his future. After all, once Zero Wing reinforced its foundations, its development speed would only continue to increase. Furthermore, an Evil God Apostle required a large amount of resources to create Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. If Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds were cautious, creating more underlings wouldn''t be easy. However, he had no interest in fighting siege wars for no good reason. Moreover, he still had plenty of things he needed to attend to. He did not have enough time to waste in Star-Moon Kingdom. Again, Beast Emperor was stunned. However, he demanded in a chilly voice, "Do you really intend to fight me to the bitter end?" 1353 Crazy Black Flame Chapter 1353 - Crazy Black Flame Beast Emperor''s deep voice echoed throughout the grassy plains. The surrounding temperature dropped. Flame Blood couldn''t help but shudder. This Beast Emperor was only a mirror image. It didn''t have any offensive ability. Beast Emperor wasn''t even backed by a superpower. However, no Guild would dare to underestimate his strength. The various superpowers were no exception. Although Flame Blood didn''t know how much power Beast Emperor truly wielded he had learned that Beast Emperor still had two other Evil God Apostles. They had been Apostles much longer than Abandoned Wave and had considerably powerful backers. Unlike Abandoned Wave, the other two Apostles operated in secret in other kingdoms. They weren''t like Abandoned Wave, acting boldly in the open in Star-Moon Kingdom. Abandoned Wave''s actions were part of the reason he had gathered such a large army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons so quickly. After a moment of silence, Shi Feng shook his head and laughed. "Do you really believe that I''m afraid of your Evil Beasts and Evil Demons?" Shi Feng asked calmly. He didn''t know much about the Evil God''s Temple, but he knew that Evil Beasts and Evil Demons weren''t easy to produce. Unlike Evil Beasts, Evil Demons couldn''t be summoned. Evil Beast''s could only travel on foot as well. This was also why Evil God''s Temple players paid more attention to Evil Demons. It was practically impossible for the Evil God''s Temple to amass another army of that size with Abandoned Wave''s army annihilated and the resources around Star-Moon City mostly exhausted. If it were possible to create Evil Beasts and Evil Demons without limit, Evil God''s Temple players would''ve long since become invincible. Of course, Beast Emperor might summon his own Evil Demons against Stone Forest Town, but with how rare they were, sending an army of demons to capture the town would be a waste. When Flame Blood heard Shi Feng''s reply, he thought he had heard wrong for a moment. Has Black Flame lost his mind? Flame Blood stared at Shi Feng incredulously. He simply could not figure out what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. Not only had Shi Feng refused a profitable business proposition, but he had also gone out of his way to provoke someone who shouldn''t be pushed. He was a lunatic! "Good! Very good! I had thought you were an intelligent man, Black Flame, but it would seem that you''re just a frog in a well with no idea of how vast heaven and earth are!" Beast Emperor''s expression darkened as several veins popped across his forehead. "Since you want war, I''ll give it to you!" Saying so, Beast Emperor disappeared, his voice echoing across the grassy plains for a long time. He left? Flame Blood was stupefied. He had assumed that Beast Emperor had been trying to buy time while waiting for his forces to arrive. However, it would seem he had been wrong. What Flame Blood did not know was that, although Beast Emperor had considered buying time, he had dispelled the thought after Shi Feng had summoned Kite and Anna. After all, of the Evil Demons he had sent to fetch Abandoned Wave and Flame Blood, only three Great Lords remained. If those Great Lords had worked together with the demon that had died, they could suppress Shi Feng and wear him down until he died. Unfortunately, now that the Grand Lord was dead, he knew that he had lost his chance of defeating Shi Feng with the two Personal Guards by his side. The ten Rock Guardian''s magic array alone could suppress his three Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Shi Feng could even kill Flame Blood before his eyes. If Zero Wing had sent reinforcements, they might even claim the Great Lords'' lives. Hence, there was no reason to linger. While Flame Blood was dazed, Kite appeared before him, the NPC''s greatsword forming a blue arc as it sliced the Cleric''s throat. Before Flame Blood had realized what had happened, he died and dropped a piece of equipment. "Start a war?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle as he stared at the Beast Emperor''s previous location. He then picked up the equipment Flame Blood had dropped before returning to Stone Forest Town. In reality, Shi Feng looked forward to Beast Emperor''s war. He had already activated Star-Moon Kingdom''s Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest and was required to extract the Evil God''s Temple from the kingdom. Since Beast Emperor was the Evil God Envoy that had activated the Evil God''s Temple in Star-Moon Kingdom, their fight was only a matter of time. Rather than let the Evil God''s Temple quietly develop in Star-Moon Kingdom, it was more beneficial to incite Beast Emperor to increase the temple''s activity in the kingdom. This way, he could locate the Evil God''s Temple''s base of operations faster and complete his quest. Moreover, it was thanks to Beast Emperor that he had thought of a plan to develop Stone Forest Town while earning a lot of money. Others might not know where to obtain the Auction House Design, but he recalled a certain location that would guarantee the acquisition. The neutral map, Mourning Battlefield! Once the Ancient Orc Empire''s capital, the area hid plenty of treasure. This was especially true for the imperial palace''s hidden treasury. The treasury contained rare items that the empire had obtained by conquering other nations. The Auction House Design was one of those treasures. Moreover, it wasn''t just any ordinary design. It was a Grandmaster''s Advanced Auction House Design. Ouroboros had obtained the design in the past. In the end, the Guild had constructed the most gorgeous Auction House in Star-Moon Kingdom. It had caused quite a commotion. Even after ten years, it had still been the number one Auction House in the kingdom. Beast Emperor''s appearance had also given Shi Feng a massive windfall. The Evil God Crystal! Ordinary players might disregard the Evil God Crystal, throwing it away. The item''s introduction only stated that it contained a horrific amount of Evil Energy, after all, and those who carried it would be cursed to encounter disaster and misfortune. While this introduction was correct, it did fail to mention a particular aspect. The Evil Energy the Evil God Crystal radiated had a corrosive effect on normal players. It had a similar effect to residing in areas polluted with Evil Energy for too long. However, the Evil Energy within Evil God Crystals was also incredibly pure. It could help Evil Demons or Beasts to evolve. Doing so would also increase the monster''s growth potential. This was why Beast Emperor had wanted it so badly. It had another, more frightening purpose as well; it could become a power core for a city''s magic array. Although the Evil God Crystal wasn''t as effective as the Titan''s Heart, it was still an extremely precious power core. If used to power a city''s magic array, it would upgrade the array to a whole new level. Both the city''s defenses and its Mana density would increase significantly. Various large Guilds had desperately sought after the crystal in the past. Shi Feng hadn''t expected a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon to drop the item. Normally, only Mythic ranked Evil Demons and above had a small drop-rate. In the past, the Super Guild ruling the Lionheart Empire had annihilated the Evil God''s Temple, which had destroyed nearly half of the empire in the process. It had only obtained tow Evil God Crystals after slaughtering dozens of Mythic ranked and above Evil Demons. In the end, the Guild had used the two crystals to power two of its cities. Both cities had eventually grown to become the number one and number two Guild cities in the empire. After seeing the Evil God Crystal''s wonderful potential, God''s Domain''s various large Guilds had searched for and hunted down the temple''s Evil Demons to obtain Evil God Crystals of their own. When Shi Feng saw the crystal drop from the Grand Lord, he even wondered if his eyes had played a trick on him. 1354 Town Changes Chapter 1354 - Town Changes In Stone Forest Town, the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army gradually scattered. As a result, the intense battle had become a good opportunity to grind EXP. It was not very often that one came across Chieftain rank and above monsters. Even when they did, fights between players might ensue. On average, both the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons provided more EXP than monsters of the same rank and level. Although more than one-third of the Zero Wing members had died in this siege war, the surviving members'' levels had increased significantly. Most of them had leveled up at least once, while some had even gained two levels. As the siege war ended, Zero Wing had obtained a large number of Level 40-plus elite members "This is just too scary! Even those powerful monsters failed to conquer Stone Forest Town!" "With this, Zero Wing''s position in Star-Moon Kingdom is as stable as a mountain. Both the Star Alliance and Heaven''s Burial have lost their chance to become the kingdom''s number one Guild. If I had known this would happen, I would''ve joined Zero Wing sooner! I might have been a core member by now!" "Tch, you think becoming core member in Zero Wing is that easy? I''ve heard that the first condition to become a core member is to reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. Although everyone''s combat standards have improved significantly since the game''s launch, those capable of reaching the sixth floor are still considered experts in first-rate Guilds. On the other hand, you''re stuck on the fifth floor. How could you possibly have a chance of becoming a core member?" "If Zero Wing can protect Stone Forest Town from such a large army of monsters, setting up our headquarters there might not be a bad idea after all. Tomorrow, we''ll head to Stone Forest Town and purchase a private house!" "You want to get a private house with your standards? Don''t make me laugh. One of my brothers is an upper echelon in a small Guild. He''s told me that several small Guilds have decided to purchase the town''s houses. Your adventurer team only has a hundred or so members. Do you think you can compete with small Guilds that have several thousand players?" Stone Forest Town''s victory over the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army was a hot topic among many players on the official forums. The strength Zero Wing displayed flabbergasted everyone. After this battle, no one in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare challenge Zero Wing''s position. Many of the previously hesitant independent players changed their minds, determined to join the Guild. Many of these independent players hadn''t considered applying to Zero wing due to the Guild''s extremely high recruitment standards. If they joined other first-rate Guilds, they would also receive far more benefits than if they joined Zero Wing. However, now that Zero Wing had proven how much stronger than other first-rate Guilds it was, its high requirements made sense. "Is this Zero Wing''s true strength?" Blue Phoenix, who had remained in White River City, was surprised to see peace returning to Stone Forest Town as she watched the live-stream. Despite facing an army of 500,000-plus monsters, not only had Zero Wing annihilated their enemy, but it had also only suffered a little over 10,000 casualties. However, although Blue Phoenix was shocked by the large number of high-tiered NPCs defending Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing''s revelation of its Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and fleet of Miniature Ballistas frightened her. After all, while NPCs could not be dispatched outside of the town or city they belonged to, it was a different story for the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and Miniature Ballistas. These war weapons could be employed against cities or to defend strategic locations. Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could compare to Zero Wing''s firepower. Blue Phoenix had been prepared to lend Zero Wing the Gnome Cannons and special ammunition she had brought with her as a back-up, but she was grateful that she hadn''t. Both she and Phoenix Rain would''ve been laughingstocks. "It seems I need to report this to Big Sis Rain." After giving the matter some thought, Blue Phoenix decided to report this situation immediately. Back in Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng discovered a long line of independent players outside of the Guild Residence after using a Guild Transfer Scroll to return. These players were all considerably high-leveled. Even the weakest among them was Level 38, while some had reached as Level 41. Their equipment was equally impressive, with the most inferior being Secret-Silver rank. With a quick glance, Shi Feng estimated that at least 200 such players waited outside the Residence. Shi Feng also spotted quite a few Level 20-plus players in line. "Guild Leader, you''re finally back," Aqua Rose said, smiling when she saw Shi Feng emerge from the Residence''s Teleportation Hall. "Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked curiously when he saw Aqua Rose''s excited expression. "After we finished clearing out the monsters close to the Residence, some of the players that bought Stone Forest Town''s private houses teleported to the town and offered to cooperate with our Guild. After a quick search, we discovered that most were representatives of well-known adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires. There were also quite a few adventurer team representatives from Star-Moon Kingdom and merchant players. "Now that they feel certain of Stone Forest Town''s security, they want to cooperate. Those adventurer teams have also stated that they''re willing to sell us their rare materials for 70% market price in the future. However, they''ve requested that Zero Wing build more private houses suitable for adventurer teams. As for the merchant players, they''d like to see us sell a few Shops in town. Of course, they''re willing to pay for these structures." As she spoke, Aqua rose gestured to the various adventurer team representatives and merchant players. In God''s Domain, adventurer teams and merchant players generally didn''t invest in smaller Guilds'' towns. There were two reasons for this. First, Guild towns had a lack of player traffic. Second, these independent players were concerned about a town''s safety. In Guild wars, there were no guarantees that rival Guilds wouldn''t capture or destroy a Guild town. A few adventurer teams had only decided to purchase Stone Forest Town''s private houses because of the tempting benefits the town offered. Several hundred Gold Coins might be astronomical to ordinary players, but it was affordable to the kingdom''s top adventurer teams. However, setting up a main base of operations in a Guild town was a different story. To adventurer teams with hundreds of players, it was clear that private houses, which could only accommodate a small number of players, were not suitable. Such teams needed the ruling Guild to construct houses that catered to their activities, but Guilds generally refused to construct such massive structures for no good reason. Moreover, purchasing such a large house would cost more than just a few hundred Gold Coins. Hence, both sides needed to compromise. But no adventurer team would risk such an investment until a Guild town was stable. After this siege war, Stone Forest Town had proven that it was just as secure as an NPC town, allowing players to develop in the area without worry. Because of this, many well-known adventurer teams and merchant players hurried to Stone Forest Town, afraid that their competition would steal their opportunity. Not even Aqua Rose could make the decision to allow so many players into Stone Forest Town. She had to wait for Shi Feng to return. "Guild Leader, would you like to meet with them?" Aqua Rose asked. 1355 Adventurer House Chapter 1355 - Adventurer House God''s Domain had plenty of adventurer teams. Aside from a few lone rangers, independent players with similar goals usually formed teams that were exempt from Guild restrictions. Some of the top adventurer teams in the game were even as strong as some of the game''s Guilds. Take the Midnight Tea Party for example. It explored various dangerous locations in God''s Domain, constantly challenging its limits. The adventurer team was little more than a power group of lunatics. When these people gathered, even Super Guilds feared their prowess. Owl was another well-known adventurer team, just as famous as the Midnight Tea Party. However, Owl had more members than the Midnight Tea Party, and they weren''t as addicted to battle. Rather, Owl consisted of players that enjoyed challenging all kinds of quests. In the past, Owl had even completed a few quests that Super Guilds had failed. Due to these top adventurer teams'' fame, the Guild towns and cities they occupied would become instantly popular as countless like-minded players swarmed to these locations. However, the Midnight Tea Party had been an exception in the past. The adventurer team had never set up a fixed base, and the team member''s whereabouts had been a mystery, making the team nearly impossible to locate intentionally. Meanwhile, when a large number of adventurer teams occupied a Guild Town, the ruling Guild would rake in considerable profit long-term, and these teams would help defend the town if it were attacked. Other Guilds typically avoided targeting Guild towns and cities that had multiple top adventurer teams. After all, not only would these guilds make an enemy of the defending Guild by attacking the town, but they''d also make enemies of the adventurer teams. It simply wasn''t a wise decision. Adventurer teams setting up in a Guild town always benefited the ruling Guild. "They sure moved quickly." Shi Feng was slightly confused as he watched the various adventurer team representatives outside of the Residence. He had assumed that it would take some more time before these teams made a decision. After all, the battle in Stone Forest Town had just ended, and investing in a Guild Town was an incredibly important decision that would affect the team''s development. They needed to consider their options carefully. "When I first saw them, I had assumed that they were experts some Guild had sent to snatch the Town Token," Aqua Rose said, giggling. "However, after listening to what they had to say, it seems that they were already interested in setting up in Stone Forest Town. Only, they were hesitant due to concerns over the town''s safety. After seeing Zero Wing''s foundations, they rushed over." "Tell them that Stone Forest Town still needs repairs, so we won''t be selling any adventurer houses just yet. Once we''ve repaired the town, we''ll construct five adventurer houses. When the time comes, the houses will be available in the Candlelight Auction and will go to the highest bidder," Shi Feng decided after giving the matter some thought. "This" Aqua Rose was at a loss for words when she stared at Shi Feng''s serious expression. Normally, Guilds hoped to house as many adventurer teams as possible in their towns to increase the town''s overall strength. Some large Guilds even sold their adventurer teams for a low price to attract these teams. Yet, not only had Shi Feng decided to sell a limited number of these adventurer houses, but he also intended to sell them off to the highest bidders. Such a bold decision was likely to chase away these adventurer teams. "Just convey my decision. A town''s development is never dependent on how many adventurer teams it has. As long as they are strong enough, two or three teams will be enough," Shi Feng said. A town''s land was limited, and adventurer houses easily took up enough space for 20 private houses. Rather than increasing the town''s security with a few measly adventurer teams, they''d benefit from more independent players visiting the town for rest and relaxation. "Understood. I''ll let them know." Aqua Rose could not help but sigh. Although she, understood Shi Feng''s reasoning, not even powerful adventurer teams were likely to pay a high price to occupy a Guild town. After all, these teams would serve as free guards after investing in the town. Although Stone Forest Town offered considerable benefits, these benefits meant little to powerful adventurer teams. At most, they''d buy one or two private houses over competing for an adventurer house. Sure enough, once Aqua Rose informed the various teams of Shi Feng''s decision, it caused a commotion among the various players. This incident immediately hit the kingdom''s official forums, dissuading a few well-known adventurer teams from occupying Stone Forest Town. "They''re only selling five adventurer houses?! Do they want us to pay to sever as the town''s bodyguards?!" "Zero Wing is dreaming! There are tons of Guild towns that want us! Only an idiot would compete for those five slots!" "Zero Wing is too arrogant! Do they think that our only option is to set up in Stone Forest Town!?" Zero Wing''s announcement came as a shock to ordinary players. They had never expected such a boastful stance from the Guild. Of course, these players had never considered setting up a base in the town. After all, they could only afford a private house in Stone Forest Town in their dreams, much less an adventurer house. To Star-Moon Kingdom''s various adventurer teams, however, Zero Wing was just trying to scam them. Meanwhile, inside an ancient ruin in the Apocalypse Empire, a 20-man team rested in its temple. Corpses of Level 55-plus monsters littered the ground around them. The weakest of their enemies had been a Chieftain, while the strongest had been a Great Lord, yet this 20-man team had slaughtered them. Moreover, not one member of the team had died. "Hahaha! Black Flame, you really are an interesting man!" Endless Scars laughed when she heard about Zero Wing''s announcement. "Big Sis Endless?" Cloud Yarn, the Cleric sitting beside her, was confused by Endless Scars''s smile. Cloud Yarn wasn''t the only one; the other team members also turned to look at their leader. Even the other members of the team could not help but turn to look at Endless Scars. Endless Scars had actually laughed. They could count the number of times they''ve seen her laugh since they had joined the team on their fingers. "It''s nothing. Zero Wing intends to auction off adventurer houses, and they''re only selling a handful," Endless Scars explained. "They''re auctioning houses in limited quantities? What powerful adventurer team would be foolish enough to garrison in Stone Forest Town?" Everyone was surprised to hear about Zero Wing''s latest announcement. No matter how excellent Stone Forest Town''s conditions were, the Stoneclaw Mountains was a Regional Dungeon with a level cap of 50. Many adventurer teams had already begun to purchase Mounts for their members, and it wouldn''t be long before they were over Level 50. There weren''t any other high-level and high-resource maps near Stone Forest Town. Powerful adventurer teams'' priority was to level up and upgrade their weapons and equipment; everything else was secondary. Even with the town''s high Mana density, there was no point to occupying Stone Forest Town. What sane adventurer team would possibly be willing to pay a huge price to set up a base in the town? "Foolish, is it?" As Endless Scars read the report about the siege war in Stone Forest Town, her interest in Zero Wing grew. After all, the Guild had abandoned the opportunity to strengthen its town and used a completely different approach than the other Guilds. Endless Scars found the Guild''s actions both confusing and intriguing. While Star-Moon Kingdoms various major powers discussed the matter, Shi Feng, the perpetrator of this commotion, returned to White River City. After leaving the Teleportation Hall, he took an advanced horse carriage to the War God''s Temple. 1356 Abandoned Waves End Chapter 1356 - Abandoned Wave''s End Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: After the battle in Stone Forest Town, many merchant players from neighboring kingdoms and empires gathered in the city. Three out of ten players that arrived in the Teleportation Hall were low leveled merchant players in ordinary equipment. Normally, such a scene could only be found in imperial capitals. Upon arriving at Star-Moon City, the merchant players teleported to the closest NPC town to Stone Forest Town. The long line at one of the departure teleportation arrays stupefied players. "Why are all these merchant players heading to Stone Forest Town?! Isn''t it just a measly Guild town? Why make such a huge fuss over it?" "Don''t you know? When Zero Wing announced that it would auction adventurer houses, it had also declared that it would sell all kinds of Shops to outsiders. These merchant players are heading to Stone Forest Town to get a better idea of the town''s situation. The Shops in NPC cities are too expensive. There''s also a lot of competition with the various large Guilds'' Shops on top of the high property tax every month. It''s simply impossible for ordinary merchant players to afford. "The Shops in Guild towns, on the other hand, are much cheaper. The monthly property tax is also much lower. Most importantly, Stone Forest Town''s player traffic rivals an NPC city''s. Due to the Battle Arena, expert players have gathered there, and they generally have plenty of precious resources. Merchant players will be able to buy and sell their items more conveniently if they had a Shop in Stone Forest Town. Everyone knows that Stone Forest Town has near-impeccable security now. Naturally, merchant players are eager to move into Stone Forest Town." "In that case, wouldn''t it be amazing if we developed in Stone Forest Town!?" Independent players quickly started making preparations to shift their base of operations to Stone Forest Town. Originally, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s presence already made Stone Forest Town a good place to develop. Unfortunately, NPC cities sold a much more diverse selection of items than the Candlelight Trading Firm. Now that so many merchant players were planning to invest into Stone Forest Town, with some even coming from other kingdoms and empires, Stone Forest Town would sell a greater variety of items. Stone Forest Town''s variety of merchandise might rival, or even surpass, Star Moon City''s. Unlike Shops in NPC cities, players could construct simple teleportation arrays in Guild town shops. Merchant players could teleport directly to their Shops without passing through Star-Moon City or spending hours traveling by carriage. This encouraged merchant players to sell more products in Stone Forest Town, facilitating the transfer of merchandise. Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons had gathered in the Residence''s meeting room. The meeting room was silent as everyone stared at Singular Burial, who wore a solemn expression. Despite foolishly throwing away the opportunity to invite famous adventurer teams to occupy Stone Forest Town, even more independent players were attracted by the mass of merchant players. Both Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing would develop rapidly. As a result, the gap between Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing would expand. "Our only hope is to take down the Frost King as soon as possible. Although the rewards won''t help us overtake Zero Wing, we can put up a fight," Singular Burial said helplessly. Not only was Zero Wing undamaged by Abandoned Wave''s, but it had helped increase Stone Forest Town''s fame. He wouldn''t have let Abandoned Wave take action so soon if he''d known this would happen. To make things worse, Abandoned Wave had been captured. With Abandoned Wave finished, there was no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom capable of stopping Zero Wing from becoming the kingdom''s overlord. "Guild Leader, I just received good news," Daybreak Fog said. "Good news?" Singular Burial inquired, "What kind of good news could there be at a time like this?" "Didn''t Black Flame kill Flame Blood? Broken Flow had brought his team to resurrect Flame Blood after failing at his task. Although Flame Blood had suffered grievous losses, he got to meet Abandoned Wave''s leader, Beast Emperor. Beast Emperor had even secretly added Flame Blood as a friend," Daybreak Fog explained. "Beast Emperor took the initiative to contact Flame Blood, stating that he wishes to have a personal chat with you. Beast Emperor also said that he''s willing to help Heaven''s Burial annihilate Zero Wing!" "Abandoned Wave''s leader, is it?" Singular Burial smiled. "Alright, tell Flame Blood to send Beast Emperor a reply. Say that I''m willing to have a proper discussion with him." Daybreak Fog conveyed Singular Burial''s response to Flame Blood. Shi Feng alighted from the advanced horse carriage and came face to face with White River City''s War God''s Temple. The War God''s Temple served as a waypoint for teleporting to the Abyss Battlefield. There were more players entering and leaving the War God''s Temple now than the Adventurer''s Association. Players would visit the War God''s Temple at least once a day. If the Adventurer''s Association was a good place for individual players to earn money, then the War God''s Temple was a good place for players to level up and improve their foundational strength. If the Abyss Battlefield didn''t limit players to just one life per day, every player in the game would likely stay cooped up there and refuse to leave. Although the Abyss Battlefield''s monsters didn''t drop Coins, they dropped weapons and equipment as well as gave Honor Points. Honor Points could be used to purchase tools, top-tier weapons, and equipment from the War God''s Temple. It was extremely difficult to survive inside the Abyss Battlefield. Moreover, the higher level one reached, the more difficult the monsters would be. Expert players below Level 50 could stay in the Abyss Battlefield for an entire day as long as they didn''t go anywhere too dangerous. Though their income would be lower if they didn''t take risks, after a few days of grinding, they could still accumulate enough points to purchase good equipment. The weapons and equipment for sale at the War God''s Temple were more suited towards PvP. The items'' effects and Basic Attributes would be inferior to the items dropped by Field Bosses and Team Dungeons. Even so, the Abyss Battlefield was still a paradise for solo players. After Level 50, however, surviving in less dangerous maps would be even more difficult for expert players. Level 50-plus weapons and equipment cost substantially more Honor Points. Eventually, rather than a place for farming items, the Abyss Battlefield become a training ground for expert players and a place for ordinary players to grind for the Double EXP Potion. When Shi Feng arrived at the War God''s Temple''s third-floor hall, a Level 150, Tier 3 Great Mage greeted him. "Sir, how may I help you?" Casting a glance at the NPC, Shi Feng noticed that it was a senior administrator at the War God''s Temple named Roland. "I''ve captured an Evil God Apostle, so I''m here to claim the bounty." The first-floor hall of the War God''s Temple dealt with all matters relating to the Abyss Battlefield. The second floor was the War God''s Temple''s quest area, where players could accept quests or turn in their completed quests. Players were awarded Merit Points for completing War God''s Temple quests. Similarly, players could spend Merit Points on items here. Players were allowed to freely enter the War God''s Temple''s first two floors. The third floor was different. As it was a place that specifically dealt with matters relating to the dark forces, players wouldn''t be allowed to set foot onto the third floor if they didn''t have any related matters. "An Evil God Apostle?!" Roland''s old face twitched. With a slightly suspicious look on his face, he looked at Shi Feng and said, "Can you allow me to confirm your claim''s validity?" "Sure." Shi Feng took out the Mobile Jail and handed it to Roland. After Roland received the Mobile Jail, he chanted an incantation and tapped his finger on the crystal ball. An image appeared above the Mobile Jail. The image displayed Abandoned Wave trapped inside a dark space. Abandoned Wave was continuously hurling attacks at the surrounding space. He radiated Evil Energy, and his eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious that he had already fallen into madness. "It really is an Evil God Apostle!" Shock flashed in Roland''s eyes. The War God''s Temple and the Evil God''s Temple had a hostile relationship. Meanwhile, Evil God Apostles had received the Evil God''s blessing. They were rare in God''s Domain. Roland returned the Mobile Jail to Shi Feng and said respectfully, "Esteemed adventurer, please follow me. I''ll bring you to meet with the Vice Temple Lord. I believe the Vice Temple Lord will be very happy to meet you." 1357 War Gods Temples Reward Chapter 1357 - War God''s Temple''s Reward In the Triumphant Hall on the War God''s Temple''s fourth floor, Senior Administrator Roland led Shi Feng to one of the hall''s Astrology rooms. The Astrology Room was as dark as night, while the circular ceiling glittered like the night sky. From time to time, shooting stars streaked by. The room''s beauty was mesmerizing. As Shi Feng entered the room, Roland closed the doors from the outside. Instantly, Shi Feng felt an indescribably pleasant sensation run through him. With the fascinating scenery, he couldn''t help his desire to remain in this room for the rest of his life. Why is the Mana density in here so high? Shi Feng was curious about the incredibly dense Mana surrounding him. This was the first time he had ever set foot in an Astrology room. The War God''s Temple''s Astrology rooms were forbidden to players. If not for having captured an Evil God Apostle, Roland wouldn''t have led him here. Before entering the room, Shi Feng hadn''t sensed any usual Mana density from inside. Yet, as soon as Roland left and shut the doors, Mana started pouring filled the space. It was three times as dense as Stone Forest Town''s Mana, which had the support of three Magic Towers. If players could duel other experts or practice their Skills and Spells in such an environment, their growth would be astonishing. "Young adventurer, you''ve arrived." A deep voice echoed throughout the entire Astrology Room. Shi Feng could not help but turn to the voice''s origin. He spotted an old man in dark-blue mage robes and wielding a staff. The old man manipulated a magic water ball as if he were searching for some kind of new Spell. This old man was none other than Capra, one of the three Vice Temple Lords in White River City''s War God''s Temple. He was a Level 180, Tier 3 Great Mage. He could be considered the oldest NPC in White River City; not even Magistrate Weissman was as old. Capra should be the most knowledgeable NPC in White River City. After all, not only was Capra a Tier 3 Great Mage, but he was also a Magic Array Master[1]. However, due to Sharlyn''s occupation of White River City''s library, he ranked second. "I hear that you''ve captured an Evil God Apostle?" "Yes, Lord Capra." Shi Feng immediately retrieved the Mobile Jail from his bag. As soon as he revealed the crystal ball out, it vanished and reappeared in Capra''s hand. "Not bad. This is indeed an Evil God Apostle." Capra nodded lightly. Suddenly, the Mobile Jail began to crumble. Following which, a cloaked, bandaged figure appeared before the old man. The moment Abandoned Wave appeared, the Black Cloak and bandages covering him were destroyed, exposing his true appearance. "Abandoned Wave?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised to see this man. Although his appearance had changed significantly, Shi Feng easily recognized him. hi Feng hadn''t expected Abandoned Wave to be the Evil God Apostle that attacked Stone Forest Town. However, after considering the matter, it seemed reasonable. The Blackwater Corporation had given up on Abandoned Wave. With his connection to the Evil God''s Temple, becoming an Evil God Apostle was a matter of course if he wanted vengeance against Shi Feng. "I''m free?" Abandoned Wave was ecstatic when he realized that he had emerged from the Mobile Jail, but after looking around him, his mood plummeted. Not only did Shi Feng, disguised as Black Flame, stand before him, but a Level 180, Tier 3 NPC also stared at him. Abandoned Wave''s first thought was of escape. Immediately, Abandoned Wave ruffled through his bag space, trying to retrieve a Tier 1, Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll. Shi Feng had caught him off guard earlier, so he hadn''t had the opportunity to use it. As long as he could reach the scroll, he could flee. The instant Abandoned Wave got his hands the Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll, he glanced at Shi Feng with a sinister smile. "Black Flame, just you wait! I''ll give you a taste of despair the next time we meet!" Following which, Abandoned Wave unfurled the Magic Scroll and activated it. Abandoned Wave''s elated expression returned the instant the scroll activated. It was as if he could already see Shi Feng''s tragic ending. However, after a few seconds, Abandoned Wave realized that he hadn''t moved. And since he had activated the scroll, the Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll faded from his hands. "Despair?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh and shake his head when he saw the confusion on Abandoned Wave''s face. "Don''t you realize that you''re in the War God''s Temple?" In God''s Domain, all teleportation tools and Skills were useless inside a War God''s Temple. Players could only use these items after leaving the building. This was basic knowledge to God''s Domain''s players. Hearing the words "War God''s Temple," fear twisted Abandoned Wave''s expression. He was fully aware of the consequences should the War God''s Temple capture him. Beast Emperor had warned him about this. When the War God''s Temple captured an Evil God''s Temple player, it signified the end for said player. The captured player''s only option would be starting a new account. Moreover, they wouldn''t be allowed to rejoin the game immediately. They would have to wait one month before they could create the new account. After experiencing the joy God''s Domain had to offer, being unable to play for an entire month would be unbearable for players. Moreover, by the time Abandoned Wave rejoined the game, God''s Domain would be a different world with how fast it was developing. "Black Flame!" Abandoned Wave practically screamed Shi Feng''s name. Although he wanted to say more, Capra had already begun to chant an incantation. In the next moment, dozens of golden chains appeared around Abandoned Wave, piercing his body. He screamed in pain as he started to burn. Eventually, he turned to ash and vanished from the Astrology room. Abandoned Wave''s hatred for him hadn''t particularly surprised Shi Feng. Even a peak expert would struggle to catch up if they were banned from the game for a month and had to start from scratch. The Blackwater Corporation had also given up on Abandoned Wave long ago. With Abandoned Wave''s standards, they were not likely to meet again. Furthermore, Beast Emperor had lost an Evil God Apostle slot. Following which, a series of system notifications reached Shi Feng''s ears. - System: Congratulations! You have captured an Evil God Apostle. Rewarding 10,000 War God''s Temple Merit Points, Reputation with the War God''s Temple increased by 500 points, 100,000,000 EXP, 50 Free Mastery Points, and 5 Legacy Skill Points. System: Congratulations! You are the first person to have eliminated an Evil God Apostle. Rewarding "War God''s Warrior" title. System: Capra''s Favorability has increased by 300 points. - What an abundant reward! Shi Feng''s excitement grew as he read the notifications. This was especially true when he saw the War God''s Warrior title and his increased Favorability with Capra. He had only heard of the War God''s Warrior title in the past. He didn''t know much about it. Although this title wouldn''t benefit a player''s strength, it elevated players to one rank below the temple''s Vice Temple Lords. With this benefit, he could easily purchase items that required extremely high Reputation in the War God''s Temple''s exchange center. He wouldn''t need to complete numerous high-difficulty quests, slowing increasing his Reputation. However, the title was slightly less valuable than his Favorability with Capra. Capra was a Magic Array Master. If he could earn enough Favorability with Capra, he would gain access to all sorts of magic arrays. He might even get to purchase the rumored Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array, which could double the Mana density in a 500-yard radius. Not only was this array''s effective area vast, but it also increased the Mana density by so much. One could just imagine how much it could benefit a Guild. Countless players had tried all sorts of methods to gain Favorability with this NPC. Unfortunately, doing so was extremely difficult and would become even more so after every 100-point increment. Very few players had gained 100 points of the elder''s Favorability in the past. Only a handful had ever earned 200 points. Shi Feng had never even heard of any players earning 300 points. 1358 Lost Magic Array Chapter 1358 - Lost Magic Array With such high Favorability and Merit Point rewards, it''s no wonder why those Guilds had hunted Evil God''s Temple players in the past. Shi Feng couldn''t help his growing elation as he looked at his rewards. Although the 10,000 Merit Points was a lot, without the corresponding Reputation and Favorability, they were useless. Even after challenging the Twelve Trials, he had only been awarded 6,800 Merit Points. The items he could purchase were extremely limited. With 10,000 Merit Points, he had a greater variety available to him. Moreover, he could purchase items from Capra. "Lord Capra, I''ve heard that you are a Magic Array Master. I have always been very interested in magic arrays. May I know if I can purchase a few from you?" Shi Feng asked. Purchasing items from Capra required a minimum of 100 Favorability. Although 300 points were far from the maximum Favorability one could earn with Capra, Shi Feng had never heard of a single player with such high Favorability in the past. "You are interested in magic arrays?" Capra''s elderly eyes shone with an excited light when he heard the words "magic array." He continued, "Of course, you can. Very few youngsters are so studious. Come here. This magic water ball holds all of my records on magic arrays. If you wish to learn one, you can use this. However, the War God''s Temple rules still apply. To learn a magic array, you''ll need to pay the corresponding Merit Points." "Learn them from the magic water ball?" Shi Feng was slightly confused, though he nodded and approached the magic water ball. He had come to purchase magic arrays from Capra in the past as well, but the old man had been in a workshop instead of an Astrology room. All of his magic arrays had been displayed on a bookshelf. He hadn''t expected that he would get to choose an array from a magic water ball. Magic arrays were not as easy to learn as most players assumed. The process was extremely complex. Learning a magic array from a book was troublesome and difficult. Learning from a magic water ball was much easier. Players could practice the production steps through the water ball without wasting precious materials. This would greatly help improve one''s learning speed. As Shi Feng tapped on the floating water ball, an exchange list appeared before him. Amazing! There are so many Advanced Magic Arrays available! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he read the exchange list. If one had to point out the most difficult item to obtain in God''s Domain, it would definitely be magic arrays. Magic arrays also provided the most assistance. For example, there were suppression magic arrays, summoning magic arrays, defensive magic arrays, and many more. Unfortunately, obtaining a Basic Magic Array was incredibly challenging for the various large Guilds, not to mention Intermediate and Advanced rank. hi Feng now had access to more than thirty Basic Magic Arrays, eight Intermediate Magic Arrays, and three Advanced Magic Arrays. In the past, Capra had only given Shi Feng one Advanced Magic Array option: the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array. Now, however, there were three. Of course, they were also frighteningly expensive. Basic Magic Arrays only cost between 500 and 1,500 Merit Points, while Intermediate Magic Arrays cost between 3,000 and 5,000 Merit Points, and the three Advanced Magic Arrays cost between 8,000 to 15,000 Merit Points. Among the Advanced Magic Arrays, the cheapest was the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array. It was worth as much as the Seven Luminaries Ring he had purchased long ago. These are Celestial Magic Arrays! Glancing at the three Advanced Magic Arrays, Shi Feng was stunned. Celestial Magic Arrays weren''t like the arrays players commonly stumbled upon. These had survived since ancient times, lost in God''s Domain for many years. Every Celestial Magic Array was incredibly powerful, and because they borrowed power from the stars, they didn''t consume as much Mana as ordinary magic arrays. Celestial Magic Arrays had been very popular in God''s Domina, but for some unknown reason, they had vanished. Yet, those magic arrays had appeared before Shi Feng. Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that he could actually purchase Celestial Magic Arrays from Capra. He had only ever heard rumors of such a thing. In his previous life, very few Guilds had possessed Celestial Magic Arrays. - [Purgatory Star Magic Array] (Advanced Celestial Magic Array) Suppress all enemies within a 200-yard radius, weakening their Basic Attributes by 70% if they are Tier 3, 50% if they are Tier 4, and 20% if they are Tier 5. Required Merit Points: 15,000 [Starlight Gathering Magic Array] (Advanced Celestial Magic Array) Creates an enclosed space with a 500-yard radius, increasing the Mana density within the enclosed space by 300%. Required Merit Points: 12,000 - Although the introductions were brief, Shi Feng read them with bated breath. The Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array could only increase the Mana density in a 500-yard radius by 200%, but the Starlight Gathering Magic Array increased the density by 300%. Although there was only a 50% boost to player''s performance, it was a qualitative difference. As for the Purgatory Star Magic Array, even challenging Tier 4 Mythic monsters would become easier with its power. After all, the majority of the Advanced Magic Arrays available in God''s Domain could only suppress Tier 4 Mythic monsters by 30%. For a time, Shi Feng was fraught with indecision. He had initially planned to purchase the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic array, saving his remaining points for special tools that could aid him in the Mourning Battlefield. However, the Starlight Gathering Magic Array just too tempting. He had experienced such a powerful array in a Super Guild''s main city in the past, and he had to admit that the magic array had been wonderfully effective. When he had practiced his combat techniques inside the magic array, his training efficiency had risen by leaps and bounds. Even the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower could not compare to that magic array''s effects. Only the Holy City of Titan could surpass it. However, to reach locations such as the Holy City, one''s status needed to be extremely high, and they needed to pay an exorbitant price. Very few large Guilds could afford such a price. Forget it! Let''s just pick it! Shi Feng gritted his teeth and chose the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. It was extremely difficult to obtain War God''s Temple Merit Points. If he purchased the Advanced Mana Gathering Array, it would be a long time before he gathered enough points to purchase the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. Now that Stone Forest Town had stabilized, and he had begun his city''s construction, setting up the Starlight Gathering Array in both locations would further reinforce their popularity. - System: The Starlight Gathering Magic Array requires 12,000 Merit Points. You have 3,500 War God''s Temple Reputation Points. You may pay 20% of the Merit Point cost in Coins. Do you wish to use Coins? System: Based on the system''s analysis of the current market, each Merit Point is worth 2 Gold Coins. Do you wish to proceed? - "Purchase!" Shi Feng agreed to the transaction without hesitation. Four thousand eight hundred Gold for 2,400 Merit Points wasn''t particularly expensive. Fortunately, the required currency wasn''t Magic Crystals. He wouldn''t have been able to fork over a single crystal. Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised that the cost of Merit Points had increased. In the future, he would likely have to part with an exorbitant amount of Gold Coins in exchange for Merit Points. After all, as players reached higher levels, their income would continue to increase. The game''s player population was also increasing. As a result, more Coins would become available in God''s Domain. It was only natural for their value to depreciate. Of course, the Main God System constantly worked to lower inflation by reducing the number of Coins in the market. Suddenly, Capra asked curiously, "Young adventurer, you have chosen a Celestial Magic Array?" "Yes. I am very interested in learning the magic arrays that have been passed down since ancient times," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding. Practically every God''s Domain player had been interested in Celestial Magic Arrays in the past. "I won''t stop you from purchasing it. However, I need to remind you that Celestial Magic Arrays aren''t like your conventional magic arrays. Producing them requires extremely rare materials. They are impossible to mass-produce," Capra reminded. "Thank you for the information, Lord Capra," Shi Feng responded respectfully. He had already been aware of the Celestial Magic Arrays'' flaws. However, even the Advanced Mana Gathering Magic Array''s materials were exceedingly difficult to obtain. Since both arrays'' materials were challenging to collect, it was wiser to choose the more powerful array. Following which, Capra chanted an incantation. Suddenly, a palm-sized water ball separated from its massive counterpart. The ball of water then landed in Shi Feng''s hands. After obtaining the Starlight Gathering Magic Array and leaving the War God''s Temple, Shi Feng received a communication request from Aqua Rose. "What''s the rush? Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw the woman''s anxiety. "Guild Leader, check the official forums! Some time ago, Heaven''s Burial signed an agreement with several top adventurer teams and dozens of well-known adventurer teams. These adventurer teams have officially occupied Heaven''s Burial''s town. News of this has already reached the various large Guilds," Aqua Rose hurriedly reported. 1359 Pioneering the Ancient Empire Chapter 1359 - Pioneering the Ancient Empire "Top adventurer teams have occupied Heaven''s Burial''s town?" The report confused Shi Feng. In God''s Domain, adventurer teams fell into various ranks, just like Guilds. When referring to Star-Moon Kingdom''s adventurer teams, the well-known teams'' overall strength could compare to a first-rate Guild''s elite teams. As for the kingdom''s top adventurer teams, every one possessed several dozens of experts. Among these expert players, a small portion could rival first-rate Guilds'' peak experts. When it came to raiding Team Dungeons, they were even stronger than some large Guilds'' main forces. Normally, these top adventurer teams ventured to dangerous maps that even Guild elite teams avoided. Their leveling speed was no slower than Guild elite players'' that occupied high-resource maps. This was also why these top adventurer teams paid no attention to the benefits most Guild towns offered, so much so that they even ignored invitations from large Guilds. Based on Aqua Rose''s report, however, it seemed that more than one top adventurer team had set up a base in Heaven''s Burial''s town. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be surprised? He immediately checked the official forums, getting a detailed idea of the situation. Heaven''s Burial and three top adventurer teams have reached an agreement! These adventurer teams will occupy Red Iron Town and will explore the Frozen Scar alongside the Guild''s forces! Good news! Red Iron Town will soon open the Red Iron Mine to the public! Players will gain access to the mind for a 30% harvesting fee! These two messages caused an uproar on the Star-Moon Kingdom forums as everyone talked about the town. "This is going to be awesome! I''ve heard that the Red Iron Mine is a small-scale Regional Dungeon. Not only do the mine''s monsters have higher drop-rates, but you can also harvest all sorts of ores! We''ll make a killing! Why is Heaven''s Burial being so generous?" "Three of Star-Moon Kingdom''s top adventurer teams and many well-known teams have garrisoned in Red Iron Town! The town''s security will likely only be second to Stone Forest Town. And there are so many high-resource maps nearby. There is even a teleportation array very close to the town. Developing in Red Iron Town might not be a bad idea." "It seems Heaven''s Burial has finally gotten serious. This is going to be interesting. I wonder which town will take the position of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number-one Guild Town? Stone Forest Town or Red Iron Town?" "Stone Forest Town is definitely the number one town right now, but it might not stay that way. After all, Heaven''s Burial is quite powerful. With the assistance of three top adventurer teams, it won''t be long before they explore the Frozen Scar''s entire map. Red Iron Town''s players will be able to teleport to any of Heaven''s Burial''s towns from Evernight City. Transportation to and from Red Iron Town will become far more convenient than traveling to and from Stone Forest Town." "I guess that''s true. There really aren''t any Level 50-plus high-resource maps near Stone Forest Town, either. It''s only suitable to players below Level 50. Considering long-term development, Red Iron Town is the better option. Moreover, with three top adventurer teams based in the town, it''ll be easier for adventurer teams to contact each other in the future." The new changes in Red Iron Town tempted many players. While it was important to increase one''s individual strength, leveling and upgrading equipment was more so. More players were reaching Level 40, yet despite having met the level requirement to gain a Mount, most were too poor to purchase one and had to continue their travels on foot. Red Iron Town was also attractive due to how easy it would be to earn Coins. "Heaven''s Burial is even willing to part with such a goldmine?" Shi Feng was astonished as he read the forum posts. It was not easy to open a mine. First, a team needed to defeat the mine''s Boss. Otherwise, the monsters inside would continue to respawn quickly. The monsters would also scale to the highest-leveled player that entered the mine. As the Boss respawned periodically, players were also required to defeat it each time they encountered it. Furthermore, the mine''s ore deposits were limited and would only respawn when the Boss did. When a Guild occupied a mine, they generally only allowed their own people inside. Yet, Heaven''s Burial was generous enough to open the mine to the general public after clearing its monsters and Boss. Although Iron Ore wasn''t particularly valuable, not many towns in God''s Domain had access to an ore vein. Hence, the various large Guilds would prioritize towns with the most common ore veins as they offered a plethora of riches. "Guild Leader, once it secured the adventurer teams'' assistance, Heaven''s Burial dispatched a 1,000-man elite team to pioneer the Frozen Scar. They also sent their 100-man main force. Even the main force''s weakest player is Level 42. They''ll clear the map much faster than their previous exploration," Aqua Rose said helplessly. "On the other hand, we just survived a massive war. Although we didn''t have many casualties, we had lost many of our experts and main force members. During the final stand at the Guild Residence, in particular, we lost a significant number of our main force members and core members. "While weapons and equipment aren''t a problem, the players who were killed by Evil Demons suffered double the usual penalty. Our main force and core members that had died lost two levels a piece. This has significantly slowed our progress in the Blizzard Fortress and with the Frost King. "Moreover, the Dark Guilds around White River City are growing bolder. We''ve had to dispatch our experts to deal with them from time to time. "Guild Leader, should we recall Snow''s forces and prioritize killing the Frost King?" It had never been wise to underestimate Heaven''s Burial''s main force. And now that so many top and well-known adventurer teams had joined Heaven''s Burial''s exploration team, the team''s overall strength had increased. In contrast, Zero Wing had been forced to dispatch its main force and experts to various locations to expand the Guild''s influence. As a result, their exploration team''s strength had fallen. If they let Heaven''s Burial get the Frost King''s first kill, Heaven''s Burial''s position in Evernight City would become unshakable. Meanwhile, Zero Wing would lose the best opportunity to gain access to Evernight City. If that happened, Stone Forest Town''s popularity would plummet by the time mainstream players reached Level 50. In fact, Red Iron Town had nearly caught up to Stone Forest Town. "Forget it. We can''t recall Snow. If we don''t have a team of experts there to defend the Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire, the empire''s large Guilds will take the opportunity to strike," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. This was why he had refused to ask Gentle Snow for help to protect Stone Forest Town. He then said, "This is a golden opportunity! It''s been a while since Zero Wing had a large-scale Guild operation. Aqua, see to the necessary preparations. Round up 1,000 people. Aside from the main force members and core members, do not select any elite players below Level 40. After you''ve finished, have them gather in Dark Lake Town. We''re going to pioneer the Ancient Orc Empire!" "Guild Leader, you''re going to lead the operation?" Aqua Rose''s excitement grew as her Guild Leader issued orders. Normally, the Guild Leader would organize Guild operations as their main purpose was to increase the Guild''s prestige and motivation. However, Shi Feng was usually too busy. Normally, he was impossible to find. Hence, Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders, such as herself and Gentle Snow, organized these events. Although nobody in the Guild had complained, practically every player that joined Zero Wing knew of Black Flame, and they were all dying to meet him. The Guild''s main force and core members were particularly eager to quest and raid Dungeons with their Guild Leader. "Mhm. I''ll take command this time." Shi Feng nodded. He had initially intended to head to the Frozen Scar, but the environment was simply too harsh. Without sufficient preparation, the Frost King was impossible to raid. Moreover, his current goal was to help his people level up. Naturally, they had to travel to a higher-level map. "The Guild members will go crazy when they hear this!" Aqua Rose responded, smiling. She immediately disconnected the call and began to address the necessary arrangements. 1360 Shocking Everyone Chapter 1360 - Shocking Everyone White River City, Zero Wing''s Residence... After disconnecting her call with Shi Feng, Aqua Rose published an announcement in the Guild chat. The Guild Leader will be leading a Guild operation personally. All main force members and core members in Star-Moon Kingdom, gather in White River City immediately. Elite members Level 40 and above may apply to join by contacting me. Priority will be given to those with Guild Mounts. The instant the announcement published, the Guild chat exploded with comments. "Vice Guild Leader, this isn''t a trick, right?! Boss Black Flame is really going to lead us?!" "What?! The Guild Leader is leading a Guild op himself?! Are we going after some Guild?! This is awesome! I need to apply!" "Big Sis Aqua, can''t you relax the requirements a little bit? I''ve just reached Level 40 after many difficulties. I can''t afford a Guild Mount right now." "Hahaha! This is great! I''ve been saving up and bought a Guild Mount as soon as they were available!" For a time, Zero Wing''s members were frenzied. This was especially true for the main force and core members. They were all fully aware of what benefits a Guild Leader-led operation would offer. Not only could they level up incredibly fast, but they''d also get to see the Guild Leader in action up close as they gained combat experience. Less than a minute after the announcement, Aqua Rose received over a thousand applications. At the same time, plenty of members had were disappointed. After all, despite such a rare opportunity to join a large-scale operation, led by their Guild Leader himself, they didn''t qualify to join because they had already spent their GCP and Coins on upgrading their weapons and equipment. They did not have any money to purchase a Guild Mount. While Aqua Rose selected participants from her elite members, the various Guild experts scattered across Star-Moon Kingdom returned to the Residence in White River City. Very quickly, the overall mood in the Residence lifted considerably as the Guild members'' excitement grew. Meanwhile, the players lined up outside the Residence''s entrance hoping to join Zero Wing were stunned as they watched Zero Wing''s experts return. Not only were these experts above Level 40, but they were also ridiculously well-geared, with even the most inferior piece of equipment being Level 40 Fine-Gold rank. Many of these experts even wielded Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons. Meanwhile, the number of such experts returning continued to increase. The most incredible sight was the tall, mighty Thunder Wolves traveling next to these experts. After entering the Guild Residence, these experts lined up outside of the Guild Hall, yet despite their quiet stances, they all radiated an indescribably heavy pressure. "What''s Zero Wing planning?" "Their Guild Mounts are so cool!" "Why do I get the feeling that I couldn''t even defeat one of those Guild Mounts in a fight?" Everyone was utterly stupefied. Although many players had already reached Level 40, very few had Mounts, yet hundreds of Thunder Wolves stood before them. Players who didn''t know any better might assume that this was an NPC army. Moreover, everyone could see around 50 different types of mounts aside from the Thunder Wolves. Every Mount was Bronze rank or above. Not everyone had a clear grasp of Zero Wing''s power, but after this display, they finally understood why Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. While other Guilds struggled to get Common Mounts, Zero Wing had already popularized the Thunder Wolf. Shortly after Zero Wing''s 1,000-man legion had gathered, with Aqua Rose in the lead, the legion departed for White River City''s Teleportation Hall. As the 1,000-man legion rode their Mounts across White River City, players unconsciously made way as the legion''s imposing momentum swept over them. When Zero Wing''s legion stopped in front of the Teleportation Hall, the adventurer teams and Guild teams visiting from other kingdoms, confused and curious about what was happening. A thousand Mounted players stood before the Teleportation Hall''s entrance. The various Guild teams, who had stopped in White River City on their way to the Twin Towers Kingdom to level, were afraid of leaving the Teleportation hall, concerned that their lives might be at stake if they did. "Which Guild are these players from?" a burly man with silver hair in the Teleportation Hall asked in shock. "You don''t know? Are you new to God''s Domain?" a Level 31, simple-looking Swordsman asked. "I am new, actually. I''ve just reached Level 10 today and came to White River City." The silver-haired man nodded. "No wonder," the Swordsman said as he took a look at the level of the silver-haired man and his companions. Indeed, they were all Level 10 players. "They are all Zero Wing members. Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom''s bona fide number one Guild. It''s a pity that I''m not strong enough. Otherwise, I''d join Zero Wing as well." "Zero Wing?" The name was somewhat familiar to this silver-haired. "Big Brother Tian Ji, isn''t Zero Wing the Guild that Hall Master Jiang wanted to work with?" a bald man asked quietly. "What?! That''s the Guild that kind belonged to?!" Tian Ji was stunned. "How is that possible?!" Before he led the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples into God''s Domain, he had to establish a firm understanding of the game. After all, they had learned that competent fighters would have an edge in God''s Domain. To fighting experts like himself, combat was commonplace. Hence, battles in a virtual world would be trivial. However, as he encountered the game''s virtual combat, he quickly realized that the combat in God''s Domain wasn''t very different from combat in reality. Although he and his subordinates had an advantage, there were some slight differences between virtual combat and real-life combat. Their advantage was limited. After playing the game for some time, he also gained a general understanding of various NPC towns'' Guilds. Surprisingly, these Guilds were far more impressive than he had assumed. At one point, he had dueled an expert from a small Guild. Even with his skills, the expert had defeated him. The experience had taught him how impressive God''s Domain truly was. Of course, he was confident of surpassing these small Guild experts sooner or later. After all, he had only begun playing the game a few days ago. With the White Tiger Dojo''s strength and enough disciples, he was confident that they could establish a Guild and raise it to third-rate status quickly. If they wanted to contest with second-rate Guilds, the dojo would be required to invest a large amount of resources and time. As for contesting against first-rate Guilds, it was too soon for the dojo to aim so high. After all, first-rate Guilds were backed by major corporations. They also had dozens of years'' worth of history in the virtual gaming world and had long since established their own training systems. The White Tiger Dojo had no hope of catching up to first-rate Guilds in a short time unless they annexed second-rate Guilds or purchased shares of a particular first-rate Guild. Investing in a first-rate Guild would depend on whether or not the Guild was willing to sell shares. After all, these Guilds didn''t lack willing investors. Tian Ji never thought that Shi Feng, some no-name dojo''s Head Instructor, directed such a power Meanwhile, as Zero Wing''s members left White River City through the teleportation arrays, news of the legion''s mobilization reached Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers. "Why is Zero Wing dispatching such a massive force?" "With so many experts, has Zero Wing targeted some Guild?!" "Could Zero Wing be planning to exterminate the Dark Guilds?" Normally, these major powers ignored a 1,000-man elite team. However, they couldn''t ignore such a legion from Zero Wing. After all, every one of those players was an expert. If Zero Wing had targeted a particular Guild, even a 10,000-man elite army would not be able to stop this legion. For a time, the various major powers discussed their guesses about Zero Wing''s intentions. They also recalled their own members to their respective cities. 1361 Ancient Orc Empire Chapter 1361 - Ancient Orc Empire Inside a snow-dusted gorge in the Frozen Scar The air was cold enough to fog players'' breath. Ice-covered plants glittered like ice sculptures, littering the ground. A 1,000-man legion advanced through the gorge with Level 42 and above Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors guarding the forefront, creating an iron wall that blocked the narrow path. Level 46 and 47 Violent Frost Bears, Strength-type High Lords, crashed into this iron wall relentlessly. - [Violent Frost Bear] (Elemental Creature, High Lord) Level 47 HP 31,000,000/31,000,000 - Even with a successful block, ordinary MTs would lose over 10,000 HP with each of these Frost Bear''s normal attacks. Not only did these attacks contain an immense amount of the Violent Frost Bears'' Strength, but their attacks also had the Freezing Penetration effect. Freezing Penetration halved the target''s reaction speed, Attack Speed, and healing received. Moreover, shields couldn''t completely block the effect. Factoring in the Violent Frost Bears'' high Attack Speed and their Tier 2 Skill, Snow Trample, the frontline''s MTs could die in an instant if the healers lost focus. This was why so many teams had been stuck in this snowy gorge, unable to proceed into the Frozen Scar. However, when this legion''s Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors received the Violent Snow Bears'' attacks, they never received more than -7,000 damage. Even when the High Lords used their Skills, the MTs didn''t sustain more than -20,000 damage. To these MTs, who had over 40,000 HP, these bears were little more than pests. "Guild Leader, the Frozen Heart is quite impressive. It seems that Beast Emperor hadn''t lied. With the Frozen Heart, our chances of raiding the Frost King have increased by at least 20%," Daybreak Fog commented as she looked at the pulsing crystal heart in her hand. "This is only the beginning," Singular Burial said, chuckling. "Each of the top three top adventurer teams working with us have their own specialties. Due to their participation, our team is considerably stronger. It is only a matter of time before we kill the Frost King." Zero Wing had just experienced a great war. Although the monster army hadn''t damaged the Guild''s overall strength, it had made a mess of Stone Forest Town. Zero Wing had also lost nearly half of its main force and core members. It would take the Guild a considerable amount of time to recover to its peak. Moreover, Zero Wing was currently expanding its influence on multiple fronts. Its enemies weren''t limited to Heaven''s Burial. The Black Dragon Empire''s various Guilds also eyed Zero Wing, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Based on the reports he had received, he knew that various minor conflicts had broken out between Zero Wing and the empire''s large Guilds. Furthermore, the shadow of a certain superpower seemed to loom behind many of these Guilds. If Zero Wing wanted to stabilize its position in the Black Dragon Empire, it would need a large number of experts to defend it. Now that Zero Wing needed to recuperate, Heaven''s Burial had an opportunity to catch up. With the Frozen Heart, their leveling efficiency in the Frozen Scar was exceptional. As an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, these monsters provided far more EXP than monsters elsewhere. Once Heaven''s Burial''s core members reached Level 49, they could challenge Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeons before other Guilds and secure the Frost King''s first kill. At that time, Red Iron Town might even be on par with Stone Forest Town. Heaven''s Burial also had Beast Emperor''s secret support. As Singular Burial sketched out his plan in his mind, Daybreak Fog suddenly paled. "Guild Leader, this is bad! Apparently, Zero Wing had dispatched a legion of 1,000 experts. Every member of the legion has a Mount, and Black Flame himself is in command. Although we still don''t know their intentions, everyone suspects that the Guild has targeted someone. Guilds throughout the kingdom have begun to recall their main forces and ordered their other teams to spread out. Should we do the same?" Daybreak Fog asked worriedly after reading the message she had just received. A 1,000-expert legion was no trivial matter. Moreover, Black Flame himself led this group "Do our spies in Zero Wing know where the legion is going?" Singular Burial asked. "Our spies'' ranks aren''t high enough for the Guild operation," Daybreak Fog replied, shaking her head. Although she had wanted to send experts into Zero Wing, the Guild''s management was incredibly strict. The Guild actively used the Main God System''s contracts to restrict members in ways they didn''t normally pay attention to. Daybreak Fog found it hard to imagine that Zero Wing had only established a few months ago. Not even first-rate Guilds could compare to Zero Wing''s set up. The Guild investigated every expert they accepted, making it very difficult to spy on Zero Wing. They had been forced to send a few players with potential, having them gradually grow stronger. However, what Daybreak Fog did not know was that Shi Feng had been a Guild Leader in God''s domain for nearly a decade. Meanwhile, the Guild systems in ten years would be far more complex. He had various ways to deal with spies. Although he couldn''t eradicate all of the spies among the middle- and lower-echelon members, he could contain the Guild''s important secrets. "As a precaution, scatter the Ghost Shadow Legion''s Assassins throughout the Frozen Scar. Have them report back as soon as they discover Zero Wing''s legion!" Singular Burial commanded after giving the matter some thought. In reality, though, Singular Burial doubted that Zero Wing would pick a fight with Heaven''s Burial. After all, both Guilds had a neutral stance with each other on the surface, focusing on their own development. Zero Wing had no reason to deal with Heaven''s Burial. Abandoned Wave had led the monster army against Stone Forest Town. Flame Blood had also reported that his identity hadn''t been exposed. Moreover, if their Guilds fought, other Guilds would take advantage of the situation. After all, God''s Domain had already entered the era of Mounts. The various large Guilds were developing rapidly. However, Singular Burial decided to be careful due to Shi Feng''s penchant for the unexpected. Meanwhile, in Dark Lake Town, which most players avoided, Shi Feng configured his team and issued their tasks. "Alright, let''s set out!" Once the team was ready, they left the town. "Big Sis Aqua, there aren''t any high-resource maps nearby. Since he''s gathered so many of us, does Guild Leader plan to raid one of the dark forces'' towns?" Blackie asked curiously as he gazed at the wilderness around him. Dark Lake Town was located near Star-Moon Kingdom''s border. The town''s surroundings were bleak, without any resources to speak of. Even though the local maps were suitable for Level 40-plus players, no one was willing to go this far to level. Only the nearby Dark Towns were worth any attention. The dark forces tended to operate in this area since it was so close to the kingdom''s border. Not only could a crusade against these Dark Towns increase the Guild''s Popularity, but they could also gain access to the treasure these Dark Towns hid. Only, the Dark Towns in this area were extraordinary and would be very difficult to raid. "I''m not sure. The Guild Leader has said that we''ll understand once we arrive," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. She didn''t know Shi Feng''s intentions either. Based on what she knew, Level 65 to 40 NPCs guarded these Dark Towns. Raiding such a town was still beyond their abilities. However, as everyone considered the possibilities, Shi Feng led the legion across Star-Moon Kingdom''s border and into the neutral map, Mourning Battlefield. For the most part, everyone was familiar with Star-Moon Kingdom''s maps, but they knew very little about the maps outside of the kingdom. However, that did not prevent them from sensing the danger in their surroundings. "Whatis this place?" When the legion entered the Mourning Battlefield, many shuddered involuntarily as they felt a dense killing intent wash over them, their minds alerting them to the danger. Suddenly, they noticed three- to four-meter-tall, green Orcs. These Orcs wielded spears, bows and arrows, and wore simple armor. Around 500 Orcs patrolled a short rampart. Although far fewer, some Orcs wielded massive war axes, wearing slightly better equipment. Even so, everyone on the team felt a massive pressure radiating from the war axe-wielding Orcs. - [Orc Sentinel] (Humanoid Creature, Chieftain) Level 75 HP 8,400,000/8,400,000 [Orc Captain] (Humanoid Creature, Great Lord) Level 77 HP 78,000,000/78,000,000 - Humanoid Creatures possessed considerably high intellect. Escaping these monsters'' pursuit along would be challenging, not to mention killing them. "Guild Leader, are we here to grind these monsters" Sweat dripped down Shadow Sword''s forehead as he stared at the Orc Captains on the ramparts. From where he stood, he counted at least 20 Orc Captains, and this wasn''t Stone Forest Town; they didn''t have the assistance of the Magic Towers and NPC guards. Charging at these monsters would be suicidal. "Relax." Shi Feng smiled nonchalantly. He then removed Miniature Ballistas and Exploding Arrows from his bag, one after another. The Mourning Battlefield was an excellent grinding map. Unfortunately, it wasn''t suitable for ordinary player teams. These Orcs moved in large groups and were incredibly strong individually. In general, only Tier 2, 100-man teams had any hope of safely grinding here. Although his players hadn''t reached Tier 2 yet, they could compensate with the Miniature Ballistas. 1362 Team Skyrockets Chapter 1362 - Team Skyrockets "Miniature Ballistas?! Are we?" As Zero Wing''s players watched Shi Feng reveal one Miniature Ballista after another, their jaws hit the floor as the considered a possibility. Miniature Ballistas were war weapons that most Guilds treated like their own children. No Guild would use them outside of a Guild war or siege. Yet, Shi Feng intended to use such precious weapons to grind monsters If other Guilds learned about Zero Wing''s extravagant grinding method, they would most likely try to strangle Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, isn''t this a little too wasteful?" Even Aqua Rose was astonished as she stared at the Miniature Ballistas. The other Guild members might not realize where these Miniature Ballistas had come from, but she did. Although players could craft these Miniature Ballistas, each one was considerably expensive to make. The materials alone cost more than 100 Gold. Even with a Master Engineer like Burning Abyss and the Basic Meditation Room, the production success rate wasn''t particularly high. As a result, each ballista cost around 500 to 600 Gold to produce. As for the Exploding Arrows, each cost roughly 3 Silver to craft. Aside from risking the Miniature Ballistas'' destruction in battle, their durability would decrease from repeated use. The repair fees would also be a painful expenditure. Using these weapons to level Guild members was too extravagant. "Don''t mind that. Resources are meant to be used. Rather than collecting dust in the Guild Warehouse, they can help strengthen our Guild members. As our members grow stronger, the Guild can earn even more resources. Using these weapons isn''t a waste at all," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Alright, have our people set these Ballistas up quickly." When he had been Shadow''s Guild Leader in the past, he, too, had treated war weapons like precious treasure, not daring to use them casually. After all, those weapons had been irreplaceable. However, that wasn''t the case now. Since they could produce these war weapons, there was no reason to stockpile them in the Guild Warehouse. Using them to strengthen the Guild was a wiser decision. Particularly, now that Zero Wing''s core members were over Level 40, with some of the Guild''s upper echelons so close to Level 50, they could challenge their Tier 2 Promotion Quests sooner if the Guild helped them level quickly. As Tier 2 players, they''d be more help to the Guild than these Miniature Ballistas. For a moment, everyone felt touched by Shi Feng''s words. While other Guilds'' upper echelons wrung their members dry, Shi Feng used the Guild''s most precious resources to help them grow stronger. A short moment later, a row of 50 Miniature Ballistas were lined up a short distance away from the tattered ramparts. Even capturing a city would be easy with so many war weapons. Then, Shi Feng summoned a Demon with the Bible of Darkness. Now that Shi Feng had been promoted to a Tier 2 Sword Master, he could summon a Tier 3 Demon without the assistance of items or Skills. He no longer needed to force the Demon into becoming a mindless puppet either. After the massive Demon Gate appeared, an eight-meter-tall Demon emerged. Two crimson horns grew from its forehead, and it carried a spear covered in emerald fire. - [Purgatory Demon] (Dark Creature, Demon) Level 64 HP 24,000,000/24,000,000 - "As expected of our Guild Leader! He can even summon a Tier 3 Demon! Summoners would die from envy if they knew about that item!" Zero Wing''s members were further awed by Shi Feng after watching him summon the Tier 3 Purgatory Demon. Generally, large Guilds reserved Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls as trump cards. They wouldn''t even sell these scrolls for thousands of Gold. Shi Feng hadn''t actually used a scroll, of course. Rather, he had used an ancient book. Tools were different from Magic Scrolls. While Magic Scrolls were one-time use items, tools could be used repeatedly. Hence, tools of the same rank and category were worth dozens of times more than their Magic Scroll counterparts. "The Purgatory Demon will attract the Orcs'' attention! Healers, keep the Purgatory Demon alive! As for those responsible for controlling the Miniature Ballistas, prioritize the Orc Captains! MTs, protect the Ballistas!" Shi Feng commanded once his team was almost ready. If he sent Level 40-plus players to face these Orcs, their attacks would only annoy the creatures without the Magic Towers'' buff. The only way they could deal enough damage was to employ the Miniature Ballistas. If not for the Miniature Ballistas, he wouldn''t have dared to lead this team here. Suddenly, the Purgatory Demon flapped its massive wings and in the blink of an eye, hovered above the ramparts. It then used the Tier 3 Skill, Flame Shower. Among the demon''s Tier 3 Skills, Flame Shower had largest AOE range. Although it wasn''t particularly effective against monsters, it was enough to pull the Orcs'' aggro. Fire rained down in a 100-yard radius. The Orc Sentinels only received around -20,000 damage, while the Orc Captains sustained half that. The damage was negligible to these Orcs. The Orcs on the ramparts raised their bows and fired at the Purgatory Demon. "Fire!" Shi Feng commanded. Immediately, the 50 Miniature Ballistas fired a volley of Exploding Arrows from 500 yards away from the ramparts. At this distance, Zero Wing''s members would still receive EXP as the monsters died and the Great Lord ranked Orc Captains would have difficulty dodging the attacks. Xiu Xiu Xiu A series of fiery lights bombarded the ramparts. Damages of up to -160,000 appeared above an Orc Captain that attacked the Purgatory Demon. In the blink of an eye, this Orc Captain lost nearly 8,000,000 HP. Moreover, due to the arrow''s armor penetration, the Orc Captain sustained severe injuries, decreasing its combat power. Although the damage was impressive, each volley cost 1 Gold, 50 Silver. Even for experts, it was as much as two or three days'' net income. Meanwhile, Shi Feng controlled the Purgatory Demon to use the Tier 3, single-target Skill, Onslaught against the Orc Captain, dealing over -400,000 and reclaiming its aggro. As the Orcs retaliated, the Purgatory Demon flew about, dodging over 90% of the attacks. Even when struck, the dozens of healers, who had moved close to the bottom of the ramparts, responded immediately, maintaining the demon''s HP above a safe threshold. Following which, Zero Wing''s members launched volley after volley of Exploding Arrows. The first Orc Captain soon fell from the wall. A Level 77 Great Lord was already worth a frightening amount of EXP. Including the bonus EXP from defeating a higher-level opponent, everyone''s experience bars increased by a noticeable amount despite sharing it among 1,000 players. "It gave so much EXP!" "This is amazing! I''d have to grind for dozens of minutes to get this much EXP!" Everyone was elated. Normally, it took a long time to kill a Great Lord of the same level, but they had taken 30 seconds or so to defeat the Level 77 Great Lord. Moreover, once the Orc Captain died, it dropped several items. However, as they were still engaged in battle, no one moved towards the loot. After killing the first Orc Captain, the team focused their fire on the other Orc Captains. In such a way, one Orc Captain after another fell from the ramparts. By the time they had annihilated the 20-plus Captains, many Level 42 players had leveled to 43. As for Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, and the other upper echelons, they had reached Level 49; they were only one level away from Level 50 now. 1363 Dispute Between Towns Chapter 1363 - Dispute Between Towns Now that they had eliminated the Orc Captains on the ramparts, dealing with the Orc Sentinels had become much easier. They didn''t even need a full volley of Exploding Arrows to kill a Sentinel. The team on had to watch from afar. Only the healers were a little worn out as they had focused on healing the Purgatory Demon from time to time. With the Miniature Ballistas firing one volley after another, it took less than half an hour to clear out the Orcs on the wall. Although the Orc Sentinels hadn''t given as much EXP as the Captains, everyone''s experience bars rose by a sizeable chunk. Their leveling speed was dozens of times faster than normal. "This leveling speed is amazing!" "At this rate, we''ll level up again in a few more hours." Zero Wing''s members were ecstatic. They hadn''t experienced such astounding leveling speed since obtaining their Tier 1 classes. Only, sustaining this leveling speed required a large number of Exploding Arrows. Of course, EXP wasn''t the only thing the Zero Wing legion had obtained. There was also the items scattered above the ramparts. Following which, Shi Feng jumped onto the wall to collect the loot while the rest of his Guild members pushed the Miniature Ballistas forward. The benefits of pioneering a new map are wonderful. The drop-rate is much higher than usual. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished as he picked up the loot. After reaching Level 50, monsters'' drop-rate in God''s Domain would decrease drastically. A Level 50-plus Chieftain might not drop as much as Elite monsters right now. However, contrary to expectations, the loot dropped by the Orcs was considerably good. Over 8 Gold had dropped in Coins alone. There were also 20-plus Level 70 Common Weapons and pieces of Equipment, which could be dismantled for raw materials. Three Level 70 Bronze Weapons and pieces of equipment and various ordinary materials had dropped as well. All of those items were only the Level 75 Orc Sentinels'' loot. The Orc Captains'' loot was far more impressive. In total, the Orc Captains had dropped over ten Level 70 Mysterious-Iron Weapons and pieces of Equipment. If sold, each piece of equipment could easily fetch 5 Gold or more, while the weapons could go for at least 10 Gold; they were far more valuable than Mysterious-Iron Weapons and Equipment below Level 50. The Orc Captains also dropped two pieces of Level 70 Secret-Silver Equipment: a pair of mage boots and a pair of plate gloves. Each of these items could easily fetch over 100 Gold. The Orc Captains had also dropped high-ranking potions and Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Overall, the loot''s value, more or less, made up for the Exploding Arrows'' cost. Hm?! An Advanced Recipe Fragment?! As Shi Feng organized the Orc Captains'' loot, he noticed half of a tattered a piece of paper. When he clicked to check its description, he could not help his elation. Magic Soul Potion Recipe Fragment! In God''s Domain, Advanced rank recipes and designs weren''t easy to purchase. Moreover, most Advanced Recipes and Designs dropped as fragments. Players rarely found complete recipes and designs. On the market, Advanced Recipes and Designs generally sold for a minimum of 500 Gold, though this was only in the case of ordinary recipes and designs. Players couldn''t even buy valuable ones with Coins, and people generally wanted items of equal value. Shi Feng had never expected to obtain the Magic Soul Potion Recipe, which was an extremely rare drop in the Mourning Battlefield. The Magic Soul Potion was a rare potion. It was an Advanced Potion that increased the user''s Basic Attributes by 10% and Magic Resistance by 100% for one hour. Unlike the potions that gave a fixed amount of Magic Resistance, the Magic Soul Potion would never become outdated. Even after players had reached Level 200, the potion had been incredibly popular in the past. Hence, many large Guilds had often grinded in the Mourning Battlefield. Unfortunately, the recipe''s drop-rate was abysmal. In the end, very few Guilds had obtained the complete recipe. Could this be a benefit of pioneering the map? Shi Feng wondered. If he could obtain a complete Magic Soul Potion Recipe, it would be a great help to Guild members when raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. Moreover, they wouldn''t need to prepare as much to raid the Frost King with the Magic Soul Potion. They could start raiding the Boss once the team''s Basic Attributes met the requirements. "Guild Leader, has something good dropped?" Aqua Rose asked when she saw Shi Feng''s smile. "It''s certainly not bad." Shi Feng then shared the loot information in the team chat. When the legion members saw the list, they couldn''t help but gasp. "We killed all those Great Lords and Chieftains, yet we got so few items in return?" "Guild Leader, why don''t we go somewhere else? We''ll only lose money if we stay here." Blackie and the others suggested. If they continued at this rate, although their levels might increase very quickly, the Guild would suffer for it. "While it is true that we''re not compensating for our losses, if we can gather four more Magic Soul Potion Recipe Fragments, we''ll earn back everything we''ve lost and more," Shi Feng said, chuckling nonchalantly. He proceeded to lead everyone deeper into the Mourning Battlefield. In reality, their losses hadn''t been that great. After all, he also had the Soul Orb, which allowed him to absorb souls from Great Lord rank monsters and above. He could turn every 30 souls he absorbed into a Soul Crystal. He had obtained one from their first slaughter, lessening their losses considerably. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, the legion regained its motivation as they silently swore to complete the Magic Soul Potion Recipe. As the team ventured farther into the Mourning Battlefield, they encountered far more Orcs. Their strength continued to increase as well. Unlike the first Orc army, which had only consisted of Great Lords and Chieftains, the following armies included Lords and High Lords as well. Fortunately, Shi Feng could summon an additional Tier 3 Demon after three hours. This time, he had called forth a magical class Demon. With one melee and one magical class Demon, the demons could barely weather the Orc armies'' attacks, buying Zero Wing''s members enough time to kill the high-tiered Bosses. After grinding for nearly nine hours, Shi Feng and the others finally left the Mourning Battlefield''s outer region, reaching the inner area. Throughout their expedition, the previously Level 42 and 43 players had gained one or more levels. Now, most of the legion''s members were Level 45. If they chose, they could monopolize all top 100 spots on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Ranking List. Aqua Rose and the others who were Level 49 hadn''t gained any additional levels due to the massive amount of EXP they needed to cross the hurdle. Even so, they were not too far from Level 50, either. As for the Magic Soul Potion''s recipe fragments, due to Shi Feng''s continuous use of Divine Providence, the team had gathered four fragments by the time they reached the inner region. While the legion explored the Mourning Battlefield, Stone Forest Town''s repairs had almost completed. The Battle Arena had resumed its normal operation, and more players than ever before had gathered in the town. The town''s player population had already passed the 1,000,000 threshold. Among these players, many were merchant players and adventurer teams originating from other kingdoms and empires. All of these players had come to attend the Candlelight Auction tomorrow, which would include Zero Wing''s private houses and Shops as the main attractions. Overall, Stone Forest Town''s prospects were impressive. In fact, Phoenix Rain, Zero Wing''s collaborator, had reaped a massive profit from the situation. Currently, all the virtual products[1] in her virtual store sold like hotcakes. Among the products, the most popular were the furniture and fashion coats made from wood and cloth in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, Red Iron Town had also attracted a lot of attention in Star-Moon Kingdom. Red Iron Town was home to the first player-operated Auction House in Star-Moon Kingdom. The town''s Popularity among NPCs had risen considerably due to its Auction House, so much so that Red Iron Town had been promoted to Intermediate rank. Now, Heaven''s Burial even surpassed the Star Alliance. Moreover, Heaven''s Burial had recently announced that it would hold an auction for Red Iron Town''s private houses and Shops at the same time as the Candlelight Auction. Almost everyone on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums discussed the situation. Which town would they decide to develop in? After all, both towns had advantages. With Red Iron Town''s rise to glory, many players who had been interested in Stone Forest Town''s houses and Shops began to hesitate. At this time, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and asked, "Guild Leader, should we hold the auction earlier than planned? If we hold it at the same time as Heaven''s Burial, it''ll be difficult to encourage high bids." Interesting. So, they''ve already started working with Beast Emperor? When Shi Feng saw Red Iron Town''s Auction House, he instantly understood what was happening. After all, the Auction House Design wasn''t easy to obtain. Shi Feng could not help but laugh at the situation as he said, "Fine. Since they want a competition, let''s give it to them." 1364 The Price of Playing with Fire Chapter 1364 - The Price of Playing with Fire "Guild Leader, you intend to compete against them?" Melancholic Smile was startled when she heard Shi Feng''s words. Before this, Red Iron Town had become quite popular among the kingdom''s players due to its strategic location and its connection to Evernight City. Once Heaven''s Burial opened the Red Iron Mine to the public, it had attracted even more players and adventurer teams. Now, the town also had an Auction House, allowing players to sell their items there while paying a cheaper processing fee than in the Auction Houses in NPC cities. Furthermore, the town had received its promotion to Intermediate rank, able to accommodate even more players. If they truly wanted to compete with Red Iron Town, they''d have to lower their asking prices for Stone Forest Town''s private houses and Shops. The other Zero Wing upper echelons might not know the Guild''s top secrets and current financial state, but Melancholic Smile, who managed a large portion of Zero Wing''s affairs and transactions, did. Right now, Zero Wing urgently needed 35,000 Gold to cover the additional expenses incurred while constructing the Guild''s new city. Without the reimbursement fee, the city''s construction would halt. Moreover, the longer they delayed paying off this debt, the higher the fee would become. This was the true reason for auctioning off Stone Forest Town''s private houses and Shops. Now that Stone Forest Town had lost its advantages over Red Iron Town, competing with Heaven''s Burial wasn''t wise. "Since Heaven''s Burial wants to play, as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, Zero Wing cannot back down!" Shi Feng declared, laughing. "However, since they want to play, let''s raise the stakes. Announce to the public that any player or adventurer team that purchases a private house or Shop from Heaven''s Burial will be banned from all of Zero Wing''s towns and cities!" "Guild Leader! This Isn''t that going a little too far?!" Shi Feng''s words shocked Melancholic Smile. Such a declaration was tantamount to declaring war against Heaven''s Burial. Now that Stone Forest Town didn''t have a clear advantage, such a move was far too risky. "Relax. Just announce it. I''ll have someone bring you the recipe for the Magic Soul Potion soon. Have the Guild''s alchemists produce them as quickly as possible. Craft as many as you can," Shi Feng instructed calmly. "Magic Soul Potion, hmm? Alright" Melancholic Smile nodded helplessly. Since Shi Feng had given the command, she could only manage Stone Forest Town to the best of her ability. Although she was somewhat opposed to Shi Feng''s decision, she, too, was a little miffed at Heaven''s Burial. It wouldn''t be a bad idea to use this opportunity to put the Guild in its place. This way, Zero Wing would secure its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. Following which, Melancholic Smile disconnected the call and organized her subordinates to see to the necessary preparations. She also posted Shi Feng''s declaration on the kingdom''s official forums. The announcement flabbergasted the players that heatedly debated the two towns. "This is crazy! Zero Wing has lost its mind!" "Heaven''s Burial is merely provoking the Guild. Does Zero Wing need to take things this far?" "All hail Zero Wing! This is what you get for provoking Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild for no reason! Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons will cry with regret!" "I agree. When Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons see this message, they''ll regret their provocation. Of all the things they could do, they had to steal traffic from Stone Forest Town. Not only will they fail, but they might have spelled doom for their town." "This is going to be interesting. I wonder which of them will survive in the end?" Shortly after Melancholic Smile created her post, it had been upvoted to the top of the forums. Ordinary players were more than happy to watch such an interesting development. After all, neither the Guild town''s private houses nor the Shops had anything to do with them. The various adventurer teams and merchant players, however, had a different reaction to the news. This was especially true for the various adventurer teams that had already garrisoned in Red Iron Town. When they saw the post, they turned deathly pale. "Zero Wing is insane!" "Why are they being so desperate?" Although they had already set up in Red Iron Town, they still visited Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena to train and improve their combat techniques. Moreover, if they obtained the championship in the Battle Arena''s tournament, they''d have the opportunity to learn a Secret Technique. But Zero Wing''s announcement had destroyed their chances. After all, even large Guilds'' core members had a very low chance of learning a Secret Technique, much less adventurer teams'' independent players. They would also lose the opportunity to purchase the items from the town''s wandering merchant NPCs The various adventurer teams that had garrisoned in Red Iron Town began to resent Heaven''s Burial. Of all the things the Guild could do, it had to play with fire and provoke Zero Wing. Now, their adventurer teams had been caught in the crossfire. Five short minutes after Melancholic Smile announced Zero Wing''s intentions, over a dozen well-known adventurer teams in Red Iron Town declared their intent to withdraw. The merchant players who had considered purchasing Shops in the town had begun to hesitate as well. Although Red Iron Town was prosperous, it was no match for Stone Forest Town. Most importantly, Stone Forest Town had the money-making machine, the Battle Arena. With the Battle Arena, the town attracted countless experts. The top adventurer teams in Red Iron Town also began to panic. "Zero Wing! Do you really think we need your Battle Arena to improve!?" "Zero Wing thinks too highly of itself. Such tactics are only useful against well-known adventurer teams." Although the post had somewhat shaken the three top adventurer teams, they were still confident of their own strength. Even without the Battle Arena, they could find areas to train their combat standards. Moreover, they were confident that with their assistance, Heaven''s Burial could nurture Red Iron Town to surpass Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, in the Mourning Battlefield, Aqua Rose, Alluring Smile, Blackie, and the other upper echelons had reached Level 50 while Shi Feng had conversed with Melancholic Smile. "Wonderful! I''ve finally reached Level 50!" Blackie laughed when he saw the golden glow envelop his body. "I can finally challenge my Tier 2 Promotion Quest!" The rest of these core members were also excited. Currently, every expert''s goal was to obtain their Tier 2 class. This was especially true for Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other upper echelons, as they knew Shi Feng had already completed his. They had also witnessed Shi Feng''s battle against Evil Fire, so they were fully aware of how powerful a Tier 2 class was. It was on a completely different level from a Tier 1 class. "Since you''ve reached Level 50, you can go and challenge your Tier 2 Promotion Quests now." When Shi Feng saw that Aqua Rose and some others had reached Level 50, he took a fist-sized stone tablet from his bag. It was none other than the Sea God''s Legacy, which Shi Feng had obtained in the Sea Dragon Secret Land. Smiling, he said, "I have a special Legacy. I''m sure you''re all aware of hidden classes'' flaws, so I won''t go into detail. Whoever wants to class-change into a hidden class can apply with me. There are a total of 10 slots available." "Ten slots?" Shi Feng''s words rendered Aqua Rose and the others speechless. Every player in God''s Domain sought to obtain a hidden class. God''s Domain''s various superpowers constantly tried to obtain high-rank Legacies. Unfortunately, even they had only gotten their hands on a few. Yet, Shi Feng had ten Legacy slots Moreover, the instant Shi Feng had revealed the Sea God''s Legacy, it seemed as if the space around them had frozen. They felt the tablet radiate an intense pressure, so much so that they felt a bit sluggish. One could easily imagine how extraordinary the stone tablet was. The Legacy was definitely a high-rank. 1365 Extravagant Assaul Chapter 1365 - Extravagant Assault "Who''s up to the challenge?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at Aqua Rose and the others. Although he had held onto the Sea God''s Legacy for a while, he had kept it hidden in his bag due to its Level-50 requirement. Now that Aqua Rose and the others had reached Level 50, this was a good opportunity for them to take the challenge and obtain the Legacy. Other players would likely need to improve their equipment after reaching Level 50, but Aqua Rose and the other upper echelons already wore complete Tier 1 Set Equipment. Moreover, Aqua Rose and the others had consumed the Moonlight Fruit, their physiques improving considerably. At their current standards, improving their combat power would take a lot of time and effort. Hence, this was the best time for them to attempt the class-change. If one of them obtained the Sea God''s Legacy, Zero Wing would have another peak expert. During naval combat, the Sea God''s Legacy player''s performance would be even more impressive. "Guild Leader, what rank is the Legacy?" Aqua Rose asked curiously. "Among the ten Legacy slots, nine are for the Sea God''s Guard Legacy. At its weakest, its an Advanced Legacy. The last slot is the Sea God''s Legacy. It''s the strongest, even superior to Peak Legacies. Whether or not you obtain these Legacies depends on your strength," Shi Feng explained. "Even superior to Peak Legacies?" Everyone gasped, their eyes shining as they gazed at the Legacy tablet. Even Advanced Legacies were beyond most players'' reach, yet among Shi Feng''s ten Legacy slots, the weakest was Advanced rank, and the strongest was superior to a Peak Legacy. If news of this went public, it would cause a huge commotion throughout God''s Domain. It might even tempt superpowers to move against Zero Wing. Thoughts of obtaining these Legacies flooded these players'' minds. As for Alluring Summer and Cola, they glanced at each other and smiled bitterly. If not for the Dragon Soul Potion, they, too, could''ve tried for the Sea God''s Legacy. Since Violet Cloud already had the Astromancer hidden class, she didn''t mind missing the opportunity to obtain the Sea God''s Legacy. Following which, Shi Feng sent Aqua Rose and the others, who were up to the challenge, into the Legacy space. As for Violet Cloud, Alluring Summer, and Cola, Shi Feng gave them the Magic Soul Potion Recipe and sent them back to White River City for their Promotion and Class-change Quests, respectively. Once Aqua Rose and the others completed their class-change, Shi Feng intended to claim the Manatite Mine in the Sea of Death, solving Zero Wing''s Magic Crystal problem. The crystals from the Stoneclaw Mountains, the Battle Arena, and Team Dungeons simply weren''t enough for the Guild''s expenditures. He also had the Ring of Gospel, which he needed to give a frightening number of Magic Crystals each week. hi Feng had considered securing the Manatite Mine earlier, but the island it was on was too dangerous. Current players simply couldn''t contend with the monsters there. Hence, he had put the matter on hold. However, if Aqua Rose and the others obtained the Sea God''s Legacies, they could claim the mine. Only the various superpowers had qualified to hold the Manatite Mine in the past. If Zero Wing had their own, it would boost the Guild''s development by leaps and bounds. Quickly, Shi Feng suppressed the excitement in his heart. Completing the Ancient Orc Empire quest was his current priority. It was the reason he had led this legion to the Mourning Battlefield. Following which, Shi Feng led Zero Wing''s members and cleared out the Orc armies in their path, slowly advancing towards the Ancient Orc Empire''s capital. Once in the Mourning Battlefield''s inner region, the legion encountered far more, stronger Orcs. On average, these Orcs were above Level 80. If not for the Miniature Ballistas, they wouldn''t have been able to continue. After another three hours or so grinding, Shi Feng and the others finally reached the ancient city''s ruins. As the capital of an empire that had once shaken the God''s Domain continent, one could still feel the city''s might even after the corrosion of time. The city walls alone were 50 meters tall, and the main gates depicted over a dozen, massive, divine figures. Numerous high-rank buildings filled the city. Among them, the most awe-inspiring was the Ancient Orc Empire''s palace. It loomed like a massive mountain, and one could easily overlook the entire capital from the top of the palace. Despite having fallen to ruin, the capital''s mana was far denser than elsewhere. Even from outside, Zero Wing''s players could feel it. However, compared to those factors, the number of Orcs inside the city was shocking; the legion was stupefied. The ancient city should''ve been lost to history, yet Zero Wing''s members felt as if they had just walked into a current Orc city. Orcs constantly passed through the city''s main gates, and those that entered the city seemed like well-trained soldiers. Their auras and levels were far superior to the Orcs the legion had encountered on the way here. Even the lowest-leveled Orc was Level 80. Chieftain ranked Orcs were everywhere as well. From time to time, these players also spotted Level 85 Grand Lords leading squads as they patrolled the walls. Their eyes shone with wisdom. "Guild Leader, you don''t intend to attack this city, right?" Zero Wing''s members gulped as they stared at the ancient city before them. They were the elite among Zero Wing''s elites, and even the weakest among them could reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. They were quite confident in capturing a Dark Town with 50 Miniature Ballistas, but as they stared at the scene before them, they couldn''t help but panic. They could already see tens of thousands of Orcs, including at least twenty Level 85 Grand Lords and more than 200 Great Lords. There was doubt that more Orcs lay beyond the city walls. This wasn''t a place for current players. Moreover, Orcs weren''t like Wild Beasts. These monsters possessed a certain degree of intellect. If they attacked even one of these Orcs, they might aggro every Orc in sight. Even with two Level 64, Tier 3 Demons on their side, they had little hope against these powerful Orcs. Why are so many monsters here? Shi Feng, who stood at the foot of a mountain, was similarly stunned as he stared at the imperial capital before him. Is this because of the quest? When he had come here in the past, only a few Orc tribes had lived in the area. Now, however, the ancient city had a large Orc Population. But after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found the situation reasonable. After all, this was an SSS-rank commission. The system wouldn''t make it easy to obtain the Disintegration Axe. Otherwise, Star-Moon Kingdom wouldn''t have failed all three of the freebie SSS-rank commissions. "We won''t be able to force our way through the front gates. We''ll have to lure the Orcs out." Glancing around the ancient city, Shi Feng discarded his plan of a direct assault. Unless he had a team of 3,000 Level 80 elite players and a large stock war weapons, clearing out the Orcs on the city walls would be impossible. With their current combatants, they had no chance of defeating these Orcs. However, after going through great lengths to reach the city, Shi Feng refused to give up without a fight. "Lure the Orcs?" When everyone heard of Shi Feng''s crazy plan, they wondered if they had misheard him. Whether or not they could lure these Orcs without dying, how were they supposed to enter the city if they succeeded? However, Shi Feng didn''t offer an explanation as he began to distribute tasks. The imperial capital had four entrances, all of which were heavily guarded. Forcing their way in would be suicidal. Even the Tier 3 Demons would die instantly in a head-on charge. After all, the level gap was too massive. There were also so many high-tiered monsters defending the entrances. If they wanted to lure these Orcs out of the city, they had to use the Miniature Ballistas. The Miniature Ballistas had a maximum range of 3,000 yards. Even Level 85 Grand Lords would need some time to cross such a distance. Shi Feng would have Zero Wing''s members use the Miniature Ballistas to lure the Orcs from all four entrances. However, they wouldn''t target the Orcs on the walls, but the Orcs inside the city. Fortunately, he had the Seven Luminaries Ring. As long as he input the correct coordinates, he could use Space Movement to infiltrate the imperial capital. He would never use such a strategy to enter a normal capital, but the Ancient Orc Empire''s main city had long since fallen into ruin. It was no longer protected by magic arrays. Aside from the Orc Palace, which was strengthened by divine runes that would prevent him from teleporting into the building, he could teleport anywhere within the city. The Orcs inside the city were the only problem. Even if he were familiar with the terrain, he would undoubtedly die if he teleported into a group of Orcs. He needed them to leave the city first. Only then would he have an opportunity to infiltrate the Orc Palace. Following which, Shi Feng selected 16 Miniature Ballistas with the least amount of Durability remaining, stationing them near the four entrances. He then gave the players manning the Miniature Ballistas Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Scrolls. This way, these players could leave the battlefield as soon as the Orcs left the city. They could then find a safe location and use a Return Scroll to leave the Mourning Battlefield. He had the rest of his legion take the remaining Miniature Ballistas back to Stone Forest Town and rest. Although this plan would sacrifice 16 Miniature Ballistas, it would be a worthwhile trade if he successfully entered the Orc Palace. When Zero Wing''s members heard Shi Feng''s crazy plan, they thought it was extravagant. Shi Feng wanted to trade 16 Miniature Ballistas for a single opportunity. Throughout God''s Domain, Shi Feng was likely the only player mad enough to do something like this. The other superpowers'' Guild Leaders would never make such a gamble. Time passed quickly. Under Shi Feng''s command, the sixteen Miniature Ballistas moved into position. "Guild Leader, our side is ready." "Alright! Begin!" Once everyone was prepared, Shi Feng adjusted his position and gave the command. Immediately, the sixteen Miniature Ballistas launched Exploding Arrows at the ancient capital''s walls. The Exploding arrows passed through the walls easily. Before the Orcs on the walls could even react, the Exploding Arrows exploded inside the city. Boom Boom Boom! A series of explosions shook the air. Deafening roars then echoed from beyond the city walls. What?! Mythic monsters are inside the city?! Shi Feng inwardly rejoiced when he saw three figures appear above the city and charge towards the Miniature Ballistas. Had he snuck into the city recklessly, he would''ve lost his life. Shortly after these Mythic ranked Orcs left the city, the Orcs inside the capital went into a frenzy, too, surged out of the city. There''s my chance! Seeing the Orcs pour out of the city and the three Mythic Orcs more than 200 yards away from its walls, Shi Feng activated Space Movement and leaped into the spatial tear that formed before him. After vanishing from the foot of the mountain, he appeared before the Orc''s Palace''s main entrance. 1366 Ancient Treasure Ches Chapter 1366 - Ancient Treasure Chest The instant Shi Feng appeared before the towering palace, he immediately sensed two sources of killing intent locking on to him. If an ordinary player were standing in his place, the pressure definitely would''ve suffocated them. Sure enough, the game won''t let players enter the palace so easily. Shi Feng glanced at the two stone statues situated on each side of the palace''s main entrance. The killing intent he felt came from none other than these two statues. Originally, he thought that once he had lured away the Orcs surrounding the palace, he could enter the palace undetected. However, his distraction attempt had failed to draw these two Gargoyles from their stations, as they simply stood guard before the palace''s entrance. - [Gargoyle] (Demonic Beast, Great Lord) Level 85 HP 90,000,000/90,000,000 - The instant these two Gargoyles awakened, they let loose an angry roar that echoed throughout the entire ancient city. Their cries immediately notified the Orcs, which had left the city to deal with the invaders, that there was an intruder at the palace. The Orcs promptly turned around and raced back. Damn it. Shi Feng promptly activated Wind Rider and dashed into the palace. The terrain inside the Orc Palace was complex. Moreover, the interior was slightly cramped. There, he would not have to take the full brunt of the Orc army. In the next moment, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of light as he disappeared into the inner section of the palace. As for the awakened Gargoyles, they flapped the wings on their backs and chased after him. "Guild Leader, not good! The three Mythic ranked Orcs returned to the city right away after destroying the Miniature Ballistas!" a Zero Wing member, who was hiding at the foot of a mountain, reported hurriedly in the team chat when he saw the Mythic Orcs flying back to the city. Already? Shi Feng frowned slightly. He then replied, "I got it. You guys should leave this place now." Although the Gargoyles were currently chasing after him, after he activated Wind Rider, he was much faster than they were. Moreover, now that he had entered the palace, with the interior of the palace akin to a maze, even if he couldn''t throw the Gargoyles off his trail, the Gargoyles wouldn''t be able to do anything to him within a short period. The only problem was the three Mythic Orcs. If they spotted him, he definitely wouldn''t even have a chance to escape. He needed to locate the Disintegration Axe before those Mythic Orcs discovered him. If he failed in his attempt this time, the difficulty of his next attempt at entering the palace would no doubt be much higher. Fortunately, Shi Feng was still relatively familiar with the palace''s terrain. Without faltering, he rapidly wound closer and closer to the palace''s underground treasury. "Roar!" As Shi Feng neared the underground treasury, the two Gargoyles grew enraged, continuously letting out one roar after another while also spitting out gray breaths. Everything that came in contact with this breath was immediately petrified. Players could not block this move, only dodge. When Wind Rider''s duration was close to running out, Shi Feng was still more than halfway to the underground treasury. Meanwhile, like navigators, the two Gargoyles constantly reported their exact locations to the Orcs inside the city. If I don''t get rid of these two Gargoyles, those three Mythic Orcs will most likely find me in short order. A deep frown formed on Shi Feng''s face as he looked at the two Gargoyles dogging his heels. He finally understood why nobody managed to complete this commission in the past. Anyone who wished to complete it needed sufficient combat power to capture the ancient city. However, doing so was easier said than done. Although he had managed to get into the palace using a trick, if he did not kill the two Gargoyles chasing after him, it would be only a matter of time before he had to face off against the three Mythic Orcs. However, even if the two Gargoyles simply stood still and did nothing, he wouldn''t be able to kill either one of them due to their ridiculously high HPs. Just as Shi Feng was trying to think of a way to deal with the Gargoyles, he suddenly discovered a forked path ahead of him. Meanwhile, the two branches headed in opposite directions. A forked path? Shi Feng''s lips curled up slightly when he saw the fork ahead. Although killing the Gargoyles was beyond him, throwing them off his trail would be sufficient to achieve his goal. As long as he could escape the Gargoyles'' perception range, the two Great Lords would no longer be able to locate him. Following which, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill. He and his doppelganger then split up, each of them taking one of the paths ahead. However, the path Shi Feng himself chose did not lead to the palace''s treasury but to the underground library. The Gargoyles had long since locked on to Shi Feng''s presence, so they completely ignored the doppelganger as they continued in pursuit of the real body. Soon, the distance separating Shi Feng and his doppelganger widened. One hundred yards Three hundred yards Five hundred yards When Wind Rider''s duration ended and Shi Feng landed back on the ground, the two Gargoyles immediately moved to surround him. They then revealed sinister expressions as they stalked up to Shi Feng step by step. Seven hundred yardsthis should be enough. Looking at the Gargoyles that were already preparing to assault him, Shi Feng silently guessed the distance between him and his doppelganger. In God''s Domain, different monsters had different perception ranges. According to statistics, setting aside those with very high intellect, monsters at the Great Lord rank generally had a maximum perception range of 500 to 600 yards, while Mythic monsters'' was between 1,000 and 1,500 yards. Thus, when players were targeted by Mythic monsters, escape was generally impossible. As for the Gargoyles, due to them being Demonic Beasts, they could be considered relatively sensitive monsters. Hence, their maximum perception range should exceed 500 yards. As a precaution, Shi Feng chose to put at least 700 yards between himself and his doppelganger before swapping positions. In the next moment, the two Gargoyles let loose angry roars as they spat out gray whirlwinds from their mouths. In this cramped space, it was practically impossible for Shi Feng to avoid the whirlwinds. Replace! Shi Feng directly used his Doppelganger Replace Skill, switching positions with his distant doppelganger. At the same time, he also had his doppelganger activate Defensive Blade to buy him as much time as possible. "You guys have fun with my doppelganger." Shi Feng smiled faintly when he appeared in the other pathway. He could tell that the killing intent locked on him had already disappeared. He then activated Windwalk and dashed towards the underground treasury. Although there were no longer any monsters on his tail, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless. He immediately activated Omniscient Eyes to constantly scan his surroundings. The reason he had done so was the increase in density of traps as one got closer to the palace''s treasury, and accidentally triggering even one of them might result in death. When Shi Feng had come here in the past, the Orc Palace had long since been explored by other players. Back then, the traps inside the palace were mostly disabled already. He had only visited it to try his luck and see if he could come across any Treasure Chests. After all, Treasure Chests spawned randomly. Meanwhile, the chances of stumbling across a Treasure Chest in a location like a palace was much higher than elsewhere. Hm? What?! There really is a Treasure Chest! Shortly after Shi Feng headed off to the treasury, he discovered a small, secret room in a corridor leading to a small courtyard, and placed inside the secret room was a Treasure Chest. I don''t think I saw this secret room in the past. However, the magic barrier set up to protect this room really is complex. I wonder what rank the Treasure Chest stored inside is? Omniscient Eyes only allowed him to perceive the shape of the Treasure Chest. He could not determine the quality and color of the materials used to create the Treasure Chest itself. Following which, Shi Feng walked over to the secret room. Fortunately, no traps were set up inside the secret room. There was only a magic barrier that concealed the room from the eyes of players, so there was no danger whatsoever. If he did not take away such a Treasure Chest, then he really would be doing a disservice to himself. "The concealment technique used is really brilliant. Not only is there a magic barrier to hide the room''s presence, but there is also a physical mechanism hiding it. Even an expert in cracking traps would not be able to notice this room. No wonder nobody managed to discover this place in the past," Shi Feng muttered in astonishment. Unfortunately, even if the room was skillfully hidden, such trickery was no use against Omniscient Eyes. Breaking through the magic barrier was a piece of cake. Shi Feng just activated Flame Burst and sent ten or so attacks at the wall concealing the room. Once the barrier was shattered, the real wall appeared before him. He then pulled the chain hidden by the foot of the wall. In the next moment, the wall slowly rose, revealing the secret room. The instant the secret room was opened, Shi Feng felt a dense wave of Mana washing over him, giving him a pleasant feeling. His mind also felt refreshed. In the next moment, however, a terrifying aura enveloped his body, making even movement difficult. After Shi Feng saw the true nature of this Treasure Chest, he could not help his surprise. An Ancient Treasure Chest! 1367 Gods Possession Chapter 1367 - God''s Possession Shi Feng''s breathing grew short as he looked at the pitch-black Treasure Chest, which was covered in a thick layer of dust, sitting inside the room. An Ancient Treasure Chest! This was something he had only heard about in rumors, but an Ancient Treasure Chest was a Treasure Chest handed down from the Ancient Gods. Although the Treasure Chest seemed to be made of black iron, in reality, it was made of Obsidian Crystal, one of the materials that were second to only the Seven Luminaries Crystal. Every Ancient Treasure Chest was worth an unimaginable amount of money in God''s Domain because they contained the possession of Gods. Rumors had it that even the most inferior item one could obtain from an Ancient Treasure Chest could rival those from an Epic Treasure Chest, while better ones could rival even the items from Legendary Treasure Chests. Meanwhile, the rarity of Ancient Treasure Chests was on par with Epic Treasure Chests. Shi Feng had only ever heard about them and never personally seen one before. According to rumors, one could come across an Ancient Treasure Chest only in extremely dangerous ancient ruins. He never imagined that he would actually find one in the Ancient Orc Empire. So this is an Ancient Treasure Chest? It really is amazing! When Shi Feng arrived before the Ancient Treasure Chest, he felt as if his entire body was about to be crushed. As the Ancient Treasure Chest was an item personally created by a Godin addition to the divine runes carved by a God on the Treasure Chestthe closer Shi Feng approached the Ancient Treasure Chest, the stronger the Divine Might he experienced. Now that he was standing right in front of the Ancient Treasure Chest, it felt as if the blood inside his body had turned to lead. Right now, his body was so sluggish that even a Lord ranked monster of the same level could kill him easily. If a Tier 1 player were standing in his place right now, they would''ve already collapsed to the ground and become paralyzed. However, this was also the reason why the Ancient Treasure Chest was not locked. The Divine Might the Treasure Chest exuded was the best protection. The instant Shi Feng activated the Ancient Treasure Chest, the divine runes carved on it started glowing. Immediately, the Mana inside the secret room rampaged as the Treasure Chest sucked it in. This phenomenon continued for several seconds before ceasing. By the time the Treasure Chest stopped absorbing the ambient Mana, the pressure it exuded had also grown significantly. Only one item? Shi Feng could not help falling speechless as he looked at the pitch-black ring floating inside the Treasure Chest. The Ancient Treasure Chest''s size was equivalent to a large wardrobe, yet the space inside the Treasure Chest was only the size of a basketball. However, Shi Feng did not pay heed to this contradiction for too long as he picked up the pitch-black ring and inspected it. "Cannot be appraised? "So this is an item left behind by a God?" No matter how he tried to examine the ring, as if the ring was just a stone on the side of the road, it revealed no information whatsoever. This was the first time Shi Feng had come across an item that could not be appraised in God''s Domain. Even when he obtained the Destroyer of Immortality before, when he first tried appraising the item, he had at least managed to get a name from it, albeit an extremely vague one. If not for the shabby ring in his hands being stored inside the Ancient Treasure Chest just a moment ago, he might''ve treated it as garbage and tossed it aside. After all, the pitch-black ring was simply too ordinary; there was nothing special about it whatsoever. However, although he was unable to appraise it, he had no intention of giving up. After waiting for ten minutes, he activated Omniscient Eyes and started appraising the ring once more. What?! It still can''t be appraised?! Just what is this ring?! Shi Feng could not help being surprised when he saw the system''s response. Until now, Omniscient Eyes had never failed to appraise an item. Even someone as powerful as Sharlyn had praised the Omniscient Eyes before. Yet, now, Omniscient Eyes was actually ineffective on the pitch-black ring. Meanwhile, there was only one possibility for Omniscient Eyes to give a response of "Cannot be appraised," and that was because Omniscient Eyes'' appraisal rank was still insufficient. He required a stronger Appraisal Skill. Shi Feng could only think of one Appraisal Skill that surpassed Omniscient EyesEyes of Truth! This was something he had learned from Sharlyn. However, as to how he could obtain the Eyes of Truth, that, he did not know. He could only try asking Sharlyn about it later on. But before then, he couldn''t do anything about the pitch-black ring. Following which, Shi Feng stored the ring and left the secret room. Compared to identifying the pitch-black ring, completing his quest was more important right now. There were many traps on the way to the underground treasury, and any trap could easily end a player''s life. Even a peak Assassin would lose their life here if they were not careful. Hence, for Shi Feng, who was a Swordsman, reaching the treasury was even more difficult. The only choice he had was to rely on Omniscient Eyes to avoid the traps. If he came across an unavoidable trap, then he would use Absolute Defense to tank it. In the end, Shi Feng took several times longer to complete the journey, which originally should''ve taken only ten minutes or so. As he neared the treasury, he suddenly received a message from Melancholic Smile. The message was very simple. Some time ago, many Evil Demons started appearing around White River City and Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, the Evil Demons that appeared were all Lord rank and above. Moreover, these Evil Demons moved with great caution. As soon as they executed an attack in one location, they would immediately move elsewhere, giving the Zero Wing members dispatched no opportunity to surround them. This situation suddenly depressed the number of players wishing to travel to Stone Forest Town significantly. Although Stone Forest Town itself was safe from the invasion of monsters, ordinary players and adventurer teams that did not possess a private house in Stone Forest Town could only get to Stone Forest Town from the nearest NPC town via horse carriage. Meanwhile, although horse carriages were fast, they did not possess any offensive capabilities. Hence, the only fate awaiting ordinary players assaulted by Evil Demons was death. With the journey to Stone Forest Town so dangerous, many players would naturally give up on going to Stone Forest Town. "So Heaven''s Burial is no longer even trying to hide that it''s colluding with the Evil God''s Temple?" Shi Feng''s complexion darkened. This situation left him with no choice but to complete his quest quickly and return. Even ordinary experts would be no match for Lord ranked Evil Demons. Only experts on Aqua Rose''s level had a chance against such monsters. However, Aqua Rose and the others were currently challenging their class-change quests and Promotion Quests, so there were no powerful experts stationed in Stone Forest Town right now. Hence, the only way to deal with the Evil Demons was to surround and kill them in groups. However, the Evil Demons would flee as soon as they launched an assault, giving no opportunities for Zero Wing''s members to do anything. Now, only he could do something about this situation. As soon as an Evil Demon appeared, if he was notified of the coordinates of the assaulted players, he could go to the scene immediately using the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement. However, he had just managed to enter the Orc Palace after going through so much trouble. If he returned before completing his quest, it would be much more difficult to get into the palace again on his next attempt. Following which, Shi Feng sent Melancholic Smile a message, telling her to have Zero Wing''s members form patrol squads and patrol the routes leading to Stone Forest Town for the time being. Although doing so required a lot of manpower, they would be able to suppress the Evil Demons to a certain extent and prevent them from casually attacking the merchant routes. Time passed quickly. After spending another two hours or so traveling inside the palace, Shi Feng finally arrived at the hall before the palace''s treasury. Inside the spacious hall, which was strengthened by divine runes and magic arrays, an armored Orc with its eyes shut sat quietly before the treasury''s doors. From afar, the Orc looked just like a statue. I was wondering why no Orcs came searching for me at the Underground Treasury after such a long time had passed. So there was still such a guard here. Shi Feng could not help but frown as he looked at the armored Orc while hiding in a dark corner of the corridor. Although the Orc guarding the treasury was not very largeit could even be described as thin and oldany player that crossed it at this stage of the game would definitely die. The reason for this was this Orc being none other than the chieftain of a tribe. - [Orc Chieftain] (Humanoid Creature, Mythic) Level 85 HP 320,000,000/320,000,000 - Against this monster, even a 100-man elite team of Level 85, Tier 2 players would be annihilated. Shi Feng knew this because he had led a team to raid an Orc Chieftain before, except that he had already been promoted into a Tier 3 Sword King back then. In terms of strength, the Orc Chieftain was much more powerful than the three Mythic ranked Orcs that had charged out of the city. Moreover, its intellect could rival even that of an NPC; it was like a sage among Orcs. Even a 1,000-man elite team of the same level would wipe unless they had a tool that could target the Orc Chieftain''s weakness. Just as Shi Feng was thinking about how to get past the Orc Chieftain, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from behind him. Moreover, the sound was also growing louder. 1368 Mythic Orc Chapter 1368 - Mythic Orc Upon hearing the footsteps, Shi Feng instinctively activated Omniscient Eyes. Immediately, he could see everything happening within 100 yards. A patrol squad? With Omniscient Eyes'' perception, he sensed a group of six Level 85 Orc Warriors moving towards his position, every one of them a Great Lord. If not for the Orc Warriors having to disable the various traps, they would''ve long since reached his position. After watching the Orc Warriors disable the traps one after another, Shi Feng made a rough estimate. His guess was that these Orc Warriors needed roughly 20 seconds to disable each trapwhich meant they would take a maximum of only three minutes to reach him. Moreover, the corridor leading to the treasury did not have any forks. Once the patrol squad disabled the traps and entered the corridor, he would have nowhere to hide. The security here is really tight. It seems I can only give that thing a shot. Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the Orc Chieftain resting before the treasury. Now that his goal was already before him, there was no way he would simply retreat without doing anything. Besides, these Orcs were highly intelligent. Who knew what sort of changes would occur on his next attempt at entering this place? Also, judging by the earlier sight of Orcs continuously entering the city gates, he could tell that the number of Orcs in the ancient city would most likely become even more frightening in the future. Following which, Shi Feng took out a Summon Guard Scroll from his bag and summoned Anna. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. Although a Level 64, Tier 3 Demon was no different from a fly to a Level 85, Mythic ranked Orc, right now, every second counted. When he had visited the Orc Palace in his previous life, there had been no Orc Chieftain defending the treasury. However, there had been a magic barrier, and the toughness of this magic barrier could even rival the magic array protecting White River City. Even Tier 4 Mythic monsters would be helpless against it. In order to enter it, players needed to use one Mana Stone to disable the barrier temporarily. While he had already prepared the Mana Stone required, disabling the magic barrier was time-consuming. To be precise, it took 30 seconds to disable the barrier. Thirty seconds might not be a long time, but surviving against a Level 85 Mythic Orc for 30 seconds would be an extremely challenging feat for Shi Feng''s current self to accomplish. After Anna appeared, she summoned ten Level 75 Rock Guardians and one Level 75 Great Lord ranked Golden Giant. Although these summoned creatures were nothing in the face of the Orc Chieftain, they could buy him some time. "Good! Let''s begin!" Shi Feng commanded. Anna promptly controlled the Golden Giant to dash forward, the Great Lord making the ground shudder as it ran. Almost immediately, the Orc Chieftain, who was still over 200 yards away from the Golden Giant, discovered the Great Lord''s presence. Upon opening its eyes, the Orc Chieftain gave the Golden Giant a look of contempt. In the next moment, a wave of crimson energy flooded out into the surroundings from the Orc Chieftain''s body. The instant this energy wave enveloped the Golden Giant, the Golden Giant''s movements turned sluggish as if the Great Lord had just run into a muddy swamp. Even its Basic Attributes fell by 20%. Impossible! An Orc has actually grasped a Tier 4 Domain?! Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the crimson domain that had formed around the Orc Chieftain. Even Tier 4 NPCs would not necessarily possess a Tier 4 Domain Skill. Any monster or NPC that managed to grasp a Tier 4 Domain would have their strength categorized as Tier 4 Peak. Unless one had a sufficiently powerful magic array, defeating such monsters and NPCs was practically impossible for player teams below Tier 4. After all, not only could a Domain suppress its user''s enemies, but it could also strengthen its user. Unless one possessed a Domain of their own to serve as a counter or had overwhelming power, they would definitely be killed. Although the Orc Chieftain''s Domain was not very powerful and had a range of only 200 yards, even a 1,000-man elite team would not be able to defeat it without the aid of an Advanced Magic Array''s suppression. The Golden Giant had only crossed a distance of 10 yards or so when the Orc Chieftain already appeared before it. In terms of size, the Orc Chieftain looked no different from an infant as it stood before the Golden Giant. However, when the Golden Giant, a Strength-based Great Lord, sent a punch at the Orc Chieftain, the latter easily stopped the blow with just one hand. In the next moment, too lazy to even use its weapon, the Orc Chieftain countered with a punch of its own at the Golden Giant''s body. Along with a loud boom, a strong gust of wind enveloped the entire hall as the Golden Giant went flying over 30 yards. Its body got embedded deep inside a wall while its HP instantly plummeted over 1,000,000 as well. The Orc Chieftain''s Strength surprised even Shi Feng. Whether it was in terms of speed or Strength, the Orc Chieftain was simply not an opponent that players at this stage of the game could go up against. Just one attack would be more than enough to kill a Tier 2 MT of the same level with their Lifesaving Skill activated. The Orc Chieftain was an existence that was far superior even to the Evil Earth Dragons that appeared during the siege war. When the Orc Chieftain appeared before the Golden Giant once more and was about to swing its fist at the Great Lord again, Anna quickly had the ten Rock Guardians rush forward and form a magic barrier, trapping the Orc Chieftain in it. Unless the Orc Chieftain killed the Rock Guardians, it would not be able to escape the barrier. Meanwhile, with the barrier activated, not only did the Rock Guardians'' Basic Attributes increase, but the damage they received would also be shared equally among themselves. Hence, it would take the Orc Chieftain some time to whittle down the Rock Guardians'' combined HP of over 200,000,000. "Good!" Seeing the Orc Chieftain trapped, Shi Feng activated Wind Rider and dashed towards the doors of the treasury without hesitation. "Despicable thief!" The Orc Chieftain immediately noticed Shi Feng approaching the treasury''s doors, the originally playful look on its face turning serious. It then retrieved the greatsword slung on its back and sent a fierce slash at the magic barrier. The Orc Chieftain''s slash opened a crack in the magic barrier, nearly slicing the barrier in two. For a moment, Shi Feng even thought that the magic barrier would fail to contain the Orc Chieftain. Fortunately, the Orc Chieftain''s attack did not reach the magic barrier''s shattering limit, and the barrier mended itself rapidly by absorbing a portion of the Rock Guardians'' HPs. However, in the blink of an eye, each Rock Guardian lost over 100,000 HP. After seeing its first attack fail, the Orc Chieftain shifted its target from the magic barrier itself to one of the Rock Guardians. Scorching flames enveloping its greatsword, the Orc Chieftain swung the weapon down on its new target. Immediately, every one of the Lord ranked Rock Guardians lost over 300,000 HP. Their destruction was only a matter of time. As for the Golden Giant, that was similarly trapped inside the magic barrier. Although it tried to interfere with the Orc Chieftain''s attacks, the latter paid no attention to the Golden Giant whatsoever. The Orc Chieftain simply focused on attacking the Rock Guardians, chipping away at their HP. Moreover, the rate at which the Rock Guardians were losing HP kept rising. "Quick! Move quickly!" After arriving before the treasury''s doors and starting the disabling process for the magic barrier, Shi Feng could not help but grow anxious as he looked at the loading bar that appeared before him. At the rate at which the Orc Chieftain was dealing damage, the Rock Guardians would die in less than 30 seconds. Meanwhile, while Shi Feng was disabling the magic barrier, he could not suffer any interruption at all. As long as he came under attack or tried using a Skill or tool, he would have to start the disabling process all over again. Five seconds Ten seconds Twenty seconds When two-thirds of the loading bar was filled up, the sound of an explosion entered Shi Feng''s ears. All ten Rock Guardians were annihilated. Moreover, right now, the Orc Chieftain''s body was covered in flames. It was obvious that the Orc Chieftain was no longer pulling its punches. Letting out an angry roar, the Orc Chieftain dashed straight at Shi Feng. Gnashing his teeth, Shi Feng shouted, "Anna!" Just in time, Anna finished chanting the last verse of her incantation. In the next moment, a golden magic array formed at the ceiling of the hall. A silver-armored Valkyrie then appeared covering Shi Feng''s back. 1369 Empires Rise Chapter 1369 - Empire''s Rise Angel Summoning! This was the strongest trump card Shi Feng could use right now. Although he knew that the ten Rock Guardians couldn''t hold off a Mythic ranked Orc for long, he hadn''t expected them to die so quickly. Only 22 seconds had passed since he had started the disabling process. To make matters worse, he wasn''t allowed to receive damage or use Skills to defend himself. Doing so would reset the disabling process. "Human! You have angered me! You dare come and steal the King''s treasure?! You will pay for this transgression with your life!" The Orc Chieftain''s wrathful bellow echoed throughout the hall, shaking the very stone. The Orc Chieftain''s eyes were bloodshot, and its muscles had expanded significantly. Flames danced across its body. As a result, when it dashed towards Shi Feng, it looked like a flying meteor. Even with over 100 yards between them, Shi Feng couldn''t help but shudder when he felt the Orc Chieftain''s violent killing intent wrap around him. Since he was so close to disabling the magic barrier, the Orc Chieftain had entered its berserk state, both its Strength and speed receiving significant buffs. Although Anna could summon a Tier 4 Valkyrie, she was only Level 75. The Valkyrie she summoned would be the same level. A Level 75 Valkyrie was already at a disadvantage against a Level 85 Mythic Orc, not to mention while that Mythic Orc was in a Berserk state. As the loading bar was nearly full, the Orc Chieftain stood less than 30 yards away from Shi Feng. "Turn to dust!" the Orc Chieftain shouted as it swung its greatsword, the flames around the weapon descending on Shi Feng. The Valkyrie finally moved as the flaming pillar was about to smash into Shi Feng. Before anyone noticed, a golden lightning spear had appeared in the Valkyrie''s hand, and she threw the lightning spear at the flaming pillar. Boom! As the lightning spear left the Valkyrie''s hand, a thundering boom echoed throughout the hall. The instant the spear encountered the pillar of fire, the flames scattered as the lightning spear continued towards the Orc Chieftain. However, despite the lightning spear''s astonishing speed, moving so fast that even Shi Feng didn''t have time to react, the Orc Chieftain struck the incoming spear down with its greatsword, diverting the attack trajectory. Boom! When spear and greatsword collided, brilliant sparks scattered around the impact. The resulting shockwave of the collision was so powerful that even Shi Feng, who was quite far away from the Orc Chieftain, felt it. Following which, the Orc Chieftain, who was in a Berserk state, flew over 20 yards backward, fear surfacing on its face as it stared at the Valkyrie. So strong! Shi Feng''s gaped at the scene. Although he knew that the Valkyrie was quite strong due to being a member of the Angel race, he had never expected her to overwhelm a Mythic monster with a Tier 4 Domain. Furthermore, the Valkyrie was ten levels below the Orc Chieftain. If not for Angel Summoning''s ten-second duration, the Valkyrie might even kill the Chieftain. Shi Feng''s excitement grew as he thought about killing a Level 85, Tier 4 Peak monster. If he killed the Orc Chieftain, he could obtain loot that was even more extraordinary than what ordinary Mythic monsters dropped. After all, every Tier 4 Peak monster was an overlord in God''s Domain. Every one of these creature''s deaths would send tremors throughout God''s Domain. After landing her first attack, the Valkyrie''s wings trembled slightly. In the blink of an eye, she arrived before the Orc Chieftain wielding another golden lightning spear. This time, she thrust the spear forward, moving so fast that even Shi Feng''s eyes couldn''t keep up. However, the Orc Chieftain wasn''t phased as he took a step forward and met the spear with his greatsword. In an instant, the Valkyrie and Orc Chieftain exchanged several blows, the two Tier 4 existences filling the hall with lightning and fire. The battle''s residual power alone prevented anyone from approaching. However, the numerous exchanges pushed the Orc Chieftain back, one step after another, increasing the distance between him and Shi Feng. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief as the Valkyrie suppressed the Orc Chieftain. In the meantime, the loading bar gradually continued to fill. When the loading bar was full, the magic barrier protecting the treasury disappeared. "Damnable human!" Seeing the magic barrier vanish, the Orc Chieftain''s eyes turned bloodshot as he glared hatefully at Shi Feng. "Die!" Suddenly, the hall''s Mana grew violent as a gray, threefold magic array formed at the tip of the Orc Chieftain''s greatsword. The crimson flames dancing over the weapon also faded to a dark-gray, radiating a deathly aura that even Shi Feng was wary of. Suddenly, the Orc Chieftain swung its greatsword in Shi Feng''s direction nine times, sending nine, gray fire pythons towards the Swordsman. Although the Valkyrie tried to block the attacks with her lightning spears, she could only toss seven spears in a single breath, striking down seven fire pythons. The remaining two continued towards Shi Feng unhindered. Watching the two fire pythons approach, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless as he activated Absolute Defense while trying to open the doors before him. Although the treasury doors were massive, Shi Feng pulled one open without much force. Although the gray fire had wrapped around him, they couldn''t do any harm. "Success!" Shi Feng was ecstatic. The Orc Chieftain watched helplessly as Shi Feng disappeared into the treasury with Anna at his heels. The treasury contained a teleportation array connected to a special space. The special space was similar to a Dungeon. Once players entered, monsters and players outside wouldn''t be able to reach them. Upon entering the treasury, Shi Feng stood before a large, golden shrine. Various treasures had been put on display inside the shrine, and every one of these items was extremely valuable to current players. "It''s here!" Shi Feng was elated to see the pitch-black war axe inside one of the shrine''s Magic Crystal Pillars. The war axe inside the Magic Crystal Pillar was none other than the Disintegration Axe, the weapon which had once belonged to the Orc Empire''s founding emperor. Legend had it that this axe possessed boundless power, and a single hit could destroy a city. The Disintegration Axe had been the reason the Orc Empire had prospered and been feared by God''s Domain''s various empires. However, for some unknown reason, the Disintegration Axe had been shattered, resulting in the Orc Empire''s eventual downfall. The Disintegration Axe before him was merely one of the larger fragments. Although the Disintegration Axe''s fragment was right before him, Shi Feng didn''t hurry to grab it. Instead, he slowly checked the shrine''s other treasures. If the Orc Palace''s treasury were a unique Dungeon, then these treasures were its loot. Only, while some of the items on display were available in unlimited quantities, some items would disappear forever once they were claimed. However, whether or not players could claim these items would depend on their abilities. Every team that entered the palace treasury only had two chances to pick an item. The higher-quality the items they chose were, the stronger their opponent would be. Only after killing these monsters would players be granted their chosen item. After the two attempts, players would have to wait five days before reentering the treasury. Shi Feng had long since familiarized himself with the monsters that could appear in the treasury, including their level of difficulty. Only, he wasn''t sure if his quest would trigger any changes. After confirming the Disintegration Axe''s location, the sound of a system notification reached his ears as he scanned through the nearby items. - System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack "Empire''s Rise." The System will undergo an update. The estimated duration is 10 hours. Please prepare to log out. 1370 Weapon of Legends Secured Chapter 1370 - Weapon of Legends Secured The system announcement immediately caused a commotion among God''s Domain''s players. "What?! Why is the system starting an update now?! I just joined a party for a Dungeon!" "Who''s the bastard that triggered a new expansion pack this time?!" "Ten hours? This update is so long! I wonder what will have changed the next time I log in?" For a time, the players heatedly discussed the announcement. Everyone was interested to see what the new expansion pack would bring. This was especially true for the game''s various major powers. After all, every new expansion pack represented a new opportunity. If they could take advantage of the new opportunity, they might secure certain benefits. The expansion pack "Demon God''s Disturbance" was one such example This expansion pack had spawned Dark Cities in the various kingdoms and empires, giving many Guilds an opportunity to rise to prominence. The Ancient Orc Empire''s rise has such a massive effect? Shi Feng was slightly astonished as he read the system announcement. As far as he could remember, normal expansion packs hadn''t triggered updates in the past. Only large-scale expansion packs would do so. Moreover, the Empire''s Rise expansion pack had triggered a 10-hour long system update. Such a lengthy system update could rival a system upgrade. But Shi Feng didn''t give it too much thought as he decided to log out and rest. No one would know the new expansion pack''s contents until after the system update finished. It was currently 5 am in the real world. As soon as Shi Feng logged out of God''s Domain and opened his eyes in the virtual gaming cabin, a series of messages and voicemails bombarded his screen. It seems that I have a lot to do since winning the friendly competition. Shi Feng briefly glanced through the messages and voicemails. Liang Jing had sent the majority of these messages, while a small portion were invitations, inviting him, the Big Dipper Dojo''s Head Instructor, to participate in various companies and corporations'' events. He hadn''t been this popular before the White Tiger Dojo''s competition. Due to the fact that the White Tiger Dojo had gone to great lengths to promote the friendly competition, the Big Dipper Dojo had become incredibly popular after defeating the White Tiger Dojo. People came every day to join the dojo, including a few local, professional fighters. In addition, based on a report from Blackie, Zero Wing had recently recruited nearly 100 newcomers for internal nurturing. Blackie had also stated that if they continued recruiting internal members at this rate, the Greenwater Villa would soon reach maximum occupancy. Shi Feng had also considered this issue. However, Gentle Snow''s negotiations had not been favorable as those several companies still refused to let go of Ouroboros''s training grounds. All she could do now was wait. They would sell the training ground, sooner or later, since its upkeep was quite expensive, and they wouldn''t be able to afford it for long. However, Shi Feng had also considered constructing his own training ground since he had received a massive amount of funding from Phoenix Rain some time ago. He had only avoided this option thus far simply because it was so time-consuming. After going offline, Shi Feng began his busy day. Not only did he need to train, but he also needed to instruct Blackie and the others. When Shi Feng saw how cramped the Greenwater Villa was becoming, the need for his own training ground grew even stronger. That the afternoon, Liang Jing contacted him and reported, "Head Instructor, a representative from the White Tiger Dojo has arrived with a message. It seems that Hall Master Jiang has invited you to the White Tiger Dojo for a drink. Would you like me to prepare for your departure?" "The White Tiger Dojo wants to meet with me?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. Jiang Tianyuan had already rejected his proposal, only offering a vague reply. Now, the man wanted to speak with him again. "This is interesting, but I don''t have time for that right now. God''s Domain''s system update will finish soon. Tell them that I''m very busy, and we''ll talk next time." "Next time?" Liang Jing was dumbfounded. They were talking about an invitation from Jiang Tianyuan. Even Chairman Xiao would obediently meet the man, yet Shi Feng rejected the invitation However, since Shi Feng had given his reply, Liang Jing could only follow his instructions accordingly and reject the White Tiger Dojo''s invitation. Meanwhile, Xie Qiwen, who waited in the Big Dipper Dojo, was momentarily stunned when he received Liang Jing''s reply. Shortly after, however, a sneer twisted his expression. This punk is quite bold! He even dares to reject the Hall Master Jiang''s invitation! Xie Qiwen had worried that Shi Feng might become a threat to his position seeing as Jiang Tianyuan had actually sent the man a personal invitation, but he was more than happy to help Shi Feng dig his own grave. "Alright, I''ll report to the Hall Master, word for word." After Xie Qiwen left, Shi Feng returned to his room and drank a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluids before logging back into God''s Domain. When Shi Feng logged back in, nothing had changed. He couldn''t find anything different about the shrine. He was a little confused. Such lengthy updates normally generated some change, yet nothing was different Forget it. I''ll worry about it after I get my hands on the item. Shi Feng promptly gave up on searching for the system update''s changes and began to search through the shrine''s items. He was very familiar with the monsters inside the Orc Palace''s treasury. He knew this area''s rules like the back of his hand. After players selected an item, a monster between Level 50 and 100 would appear. Normally, the monster would only be five levels higher than the player. The monster''s rank depended on the selected item, ranging between Grand Lord and High Lord. A different number of monsters would also appear. This number depended on how many players had entered the treasury. The treasury allowed up to a maximum of 20 people to enter at a time, and NPC guards would be included. If a 20-man team entered the treasury, three challenge monsters would appear per item. If it were a six-man party, though, only one challenge monster would appear. For Shi Feng, who had Dark-Gold and Epic guards, this area was no more of a challenge than his own backyard. He just needed to select his prize. He could leave the rest to Anna and Kite. Shi Feng already knew what he was looking for: the Advanced Auction House Design! In this treasury, the Advanced Auction House Design was only second to the Disintegration Axe. It was a reward for the first player to infiltrate the treasury; it was only available once. It wasn''t long before Shi Feng found the Advanced Auction House Design and accepted its challenge. After all, he did not know what kind of enemy to expect when he selected the Disintegration Axe. On the off chance that he was no match for the challenge monster, he would also lose his chance to obtain the Advanced Auction House Design as well. Suddenly, a nine-meter-tall, Level 59 mechanical giant appeared in the middle of the shrine. Similar to Anna''s Rock Guardians, which were made entirely of stone, the mechanical giant was a mechanical lifeform. - [Guardian Warrior] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 59 HP 80,000,000/80,000,000 - Shi Feng instantly had Anna summon a Level 75 Golden Giant to tank the Guardian Warrior, while Kite and Anna attacked from the sides. While Shi Feng attacked the Guardian Warrior, he also paid attention to the Golden Giant''s HP, healing it with Life Bloom whenever its HP fell to a critical low. Although the Level 75, Great Lord ranked Golden Giant didn''t have an overwhelming advantage against the Level 59, Grand Lord ranked Guardian Warrior, it had no problems facing the Guardian Warrior on equal footing. In less than 15 minutes, the Guardian Warrior collapsed at Shi Feng''s feet, allowing Shi Feng to obtain the Advanced Auction House Design. "With this, this trip hasn''t been in vain." Shi Feng smiled at the Advanced Auction House Design. Due to the Advanced Auction House, Ouroboros had been the envy of many superpowers in the past. The income of the Advanced Auction House alone had been a considerable portion of Ouroboros''s total income. Moreover, this was only the result of constructing the Advanced Auction House in one of the Guild''s towns. If the Advanced Auction House occupied a superpower''s main city, it could generate several times more wealth. After obtaining the Advanced Auction House Design, Shi Feng had Kite and Anna retreat. He would decide whether or not to involve his Personal Guards in the fight after he saw the challenge monster. He then waited another three hours for the Bible of Darkness''s Demon Summoning Skill to finish its Cooldown, only accepting the Disintegration Axe''s challenge after summoning a Level 64, Tier 3 Demon. As soon as Shi Feng chose to take the challenge, he heard the sound of a system notification. - System: You have discovered the Disintegration Axe. Do you wish to collect the weapon? - Confused, Shi Feng chose to collect the weapon. Suddenly, an extra item appeared in his bag; it was none other than the Disintegration Axe, which had previously been inside the Magic Crystal Pillar. "I got it, just like that?" After seeing the Disintegration Axe in his bag, he glanced around him, searching for monsters. He then heard another system notification. - System: You have selected two items from the treasury. You will be teleported to the nearest NPC city in 3 seconds. - Before Shi Feng could even inspect the Disintegration Axe''s Attributes, his body transformed into a streak of light as he vanished from the treasury. 1371 Kingdom Changes Chapter 1371 - Kingdom Changes Purple Thorns Kingdom, Rock Sand City: Before Shi Feng could react, the system had teleported him here. Hm? Why did it teleport me to this city? Shi Feng was little confused as he looked at his current location the system displayed. In the past, he had always been transported to Star-Moon Kingdom''s Dark Lake Town after leaving the Orc Palace''s treasury, yet he had been sent to the Purple Thorns Kingdom this time. The Teleportation Hall bustled with activity. Shi Feng could even hear many independent teams recruiting members in the hall. "Recruiting a team to grind Orc Bosses in Lakefront Town for Honor Points! Level 40-plus experts only! We already have a healer!" "Recruiting for an escort quest, delivering resources to the frontline! Need two more players! Level 38 and above! Must have in Level 35 Secret-Silver Equipment or above! We already have MTs and healers!" Practically every independent team wanted elite players or better. Shi Feng found such a scene hard to imagine in a border city like Rock Sand City. However, how fast these independent teams filled their slots was even more shocking. What is up with this city? After glancing at the players in the Teleportation Hall, he discovered that practically every player was at the elite standard or above. There were even quite a few Level 40-plus independent experts. The activity in this city''s Teleportation Hall could even rival White River City''s. Although Rock Sand City was a major NPC city in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, it was close to the kingdom''s border. The region didn''t have particularly abundant resources, either. Hence, finding so many players developing in Rock Sand City was unusual. Expert players should be an even rarer sight. Yet, not only was Rock Sand City''s player population surprisingly high, but the quality of its players was also stunning. Before Shi Feng could get a grasp of the situation, one of the larger-sized Teleportation Magic Arrays lit up. A team of Level 40-plus players then emerged. Every one of these players wore a Guild Emblem belonging to none other than the first-rate Guild, Star Alliance. Upon arriving, the Star Alliance members quickly left the Teleportation Hall. They summoned their Mounts and made their way towards Rock Sand City''s main entrance. By the looks of it, they seemed to be in a rush. Shortly after the Star Alliance''s team arrived, teams from other large Guilds began to teleport in. Like the Star Alliance''s teams, these teams also hurried towards the city''s entrance. After watching this, Shi Feng connected to the official forums to get a better idea of what was happening. The fact that so many large Guilds had dispatched their expert and elite teams suggested that something big was going down. So, this is the case. Realization quickly dawned on Shi Feng after he read through the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s official forums. Due to the "Empire''s Rise" expansion pack, Orcs had begun to occupy areas near the Mourning Battlefield. Although they had yet to occupy a large area, they were expanding. Meanwhile, the Mourning Battlefield was now beyond recognition. The Orcs had already claimed several neutral maps nearby. Thus far, four kingdoms had been affected by the Mourning Battlefield''s expansion. Orcs all over God''s Domain were becoming more active. Some had even captured NPC towns. To deal with these Orcs, the continent''s various countries had issued high-ranking quests. Although these quests were quite difficult, the remuneration was considerably abundant. Because of this, the areas these Orcs had claimed became excellent locations to grind money and items. This was also a good opportunity for the game''s various Guilds to increase their Popularity. These Guilds had begun to receive team quests in their respective Residences, each quest requiring them to hunt Orcs. However, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The best part about this expansion pack was that players who reclaimed captured towns would obtain a Town Building Order and Town Reputation Order. These two rewards were precisely the reason that the large Guilds were going crazy. The Town Building Order allowed a Guild to construct a town wherever they desired. Of course, the town could only be built in the country they had obtained the Building Order from. However, this wasn''t a problem for the various large Guilds, particularly for the first-rate Guilds and above. Large Guilds generally developed in multiple kingdoms and empires simultaneously, and they generally had a considerable amount of power in each location. So, supporting the development of one Guild town wouldn''t be a problem. The Town Reputation Order had an even greater purpose. It could increase a town''s Popularity, which would hasten a town''s promotion speed. The further a Guild town developed, the more Popularity it required to reach its next promotion. This was the main limit to Guild town promotions. Meanwhile, the Town Reputation Order could help solve this problem. Why wouldn''t the various Guilds go mad over this? Hence, many Guilds had organized crusades against the Orcs. Some had even organized armies of hundreds of thousands to raid captured towns. Unfortunately, the Orcs defending these captured towns were extraordinarily powerful. These Orcs were generally Level 60 and above, making the towns very difficult to reclaim. Moreover, the more players that were dispatched to reclaim a town, the more monsters a town would contain. After watching others'' failed attempts, the various large Guilds had grown docile. Now, they only dispatched 100-man expert teams to complete the issued Guild team quests instead of trying to reclaim towns. After reading through the discussions of players on the forums, Shi Feng was greatly shocked. He had to admit that this expansion had a massive impact on God''s Domain''s various major powers. If dealt with properly, it would not even be surprising to see a Guild instantly rise to become a country''s overlord. It was no wonder why the system update had taken so long to complete. As Shi Feng considered investigating these Orc town incidents, he received a call from Melancholic Smile. "Guild Leader, how is your quest coming along?" Melancholic Smile asked, slightly anxious. "I''ve just finished it. I just have to turn it in," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Why? Has something happened?" "Nothing has changed. Only, the Evil Demons around Stone Forest Town and White River City are becoming increasingly active. Moreover, Great Lord ranked Evil Demons have begun to appear. The Evil Demons are growing so bold that they have even begun to ambush the teams we''ve dispatched to patrol the trade routes. We''ve already incurred significant losses. Meanwhile, the player traffic visiting Stone Forest Town has decreased by more than half. At this rate, Red Iron Town''s player population will surpass Stone Forest Town''s very quickly," Melancholic Smile reported helplessly. "Beast Emperor really is bold." Hearing that Great Lord ranked Evil Demons had begun to show up, Shi Feng could not help but chuckle as he said, "Isn''t he afraid that his Great Lords won''t make it back home?" Even Abandoned Wave had only employed a few Great Lord ranked Evil Demons due to the difficulty of nurturing them. Yet, Beast Emperor had dispatched a large number of Great Lords to attack players. "Although we thought about killing those Great Lords as well, sending the Guild''s main force to lead a 1,000-man team to hunt them down, they''ve evaded us constantly as if the Evil Demon knew about our team''s locations. As a result, our members have just wasted a lot of their time," Melancholic Smile said, shaking her head. "In that case, have everyone return to Stone Forest Town. Split up the Guild''s Assassins to monitor the trade routes. Notify me the moment they spot a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Order a retreat?" Melancholic Smile was stunned. "Guild Leader, if we do that, those Evil Demons will become even more daring!" If they allowed those Evil Demons to slaughter the players visiting Stone Forest Town, even fewer players would make the trip. "It''ll be fine," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "However, tell our Assassins to be careful. They mustn''t be discovered." "Understood." Melancholic Smile could only nod helplessly. She didn''t understand the benefit of such a thing. She then started to recall the teams patrolling the various trade routes. As for Shi Feng, he retrieved a Return Scroll from his bag and teleported to White River City. First, he needed to turn in his commission quest. 1372 SSS-rank Commissions Rewards Chapter 1372 - SSS-rank Commission''s Rewards Star-Moon Kingdom, Frozen Scar: Below a snow-laden mountain, the legion of experts under Singular Burial''s command cleared out Frost Giants that surged down the mountain Although these Frost Giants were not particularly strong, only Level 47 Special Elites, their environment worked in their favor. Not only did the snowy environment drastically reduced players'' Movement Speed and reaction speed, but it also increased their Stamina consumption by at least six times. However, Frost Giants weren''t Heaven''s Burial''s only opponents. The team also had to face High Lord ranked Violent Frost Bears and Great Lord ranked Frost Pythons. The Frost Pythons, in particular, posed a threat to large player groups. Unlike the Violent Frost Bears, which had powerful single-target attacks, the Frost Pythons had powerful AOE attacks. If players were not careful, a single breath attack could annihilate an entire team. However, while the Frost Pythons might be difficult foes for other teams, they weren''t much of an issue for Singular Burial''s legion. As long as monsters were within a certain range, even the Frost Pythons'' breath attacks could only do so much damage with the Frozen Heart; it protected players from the Frozen state. In turn, it protected them from falling to the Frost Giant''s mercy. The Frozen Heart would also slow players'' Stamina consumption to only two or three times the normal rate as the freezing temperatures gnawed at players'' bodies. Although players would still be affected, at least they could last through a single battle. "Good! Lure the Pythons to the side and prioritize killing the Frost Giants and Violent Frost Bears!" Singular Burial commanded as he fired arrows at the Frost Pythons, luring them away from the other monsters. Commanded by several experts, Heaven''s Burial''s team quickly lured the Frost Pythons away, allowing the other team members to kill the incoming Frost Giants. "Guild Leader, news just came in from Zero Wing. The Guild has withdrawn its various elite teams from patrolling the trade routes. They''ve only kept their Assassins on the roads to monitor the situation," Ghost Shadow reported. "They''ve retreated?" Singular Burial was stunned. He then smiled as he said, "It seems that I have overestimated Zero Wing." The war between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial was limited to a battle of attrition. However, Heaven''s Burial had the Evil Demons to exhaust their opponent''s manpower and resources. Moreover, the Evil Demons could affect Stone Forest Town''s operation. Singular Burial had assumed that Zero Wing would hold on for quite some time or dispatch an army of tens of thousands to lock down the Stoneclaw Mountains. He had even prepared for an all-out field battle with the other Guild. After all, a field battle was different from a siege battle. In a siege battle, Zero Wing had an advantage with the surrounding terrain and the assistance of NPC guards. But the Guild wouldn''t have these advantages in the field. With a large number of Evil Demons on their side, Heaven''s Burial could deal a heavy blow, even if Zero Wing had a large fleet of Miniature Ballistas. Furthermore, Zero Wing had yet to recover from the previous war. He had never expected Zero Wing to give up so quickly. "That''s right! Zero Wing likely regrets starting a war with us without understanding the Evil Demons capabilities! Not only are the Chieftain rank Evil Demons quite powerful, but they also possessed superior intellect and stealth capabilities. Even sending an Assassin to track them would be useless. Furthermore, these Evil Demons are much faster than players. Even if Zero Wing''s Assassins discover them, the Guild''s members won''t be able to catch up," Ghost Shadow said, nodding. "This is a good opportunity. Take some people with you and notify Flame Blood in person. Tell him that out plan''s initial phase has come to fruition. You and Flame Blood will then execute the next phase, crippling Stone Forest Town''s trade routes!" Singular Burial instructed, smiling. "Once Beast Emperor is ready, we''ll be ready to raid the Frost King. I can''t wait to see how Zero Wing intends to compete with us!" "I''ll notify Flame Blood right away," Ghost Shadow said, excited. Beast Emperor''s strength was more frightening than they had imagined. Even someone like Abandoned Wave couldn''t compare to such an existence. Moreover, his strength wasn''t reliant on Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. He had many more tricks up his sleeves. Meanwhile, in a second-floor VIP room in White River City''s Adventurer''s Association, a tall, beautiful woman in white mage robes entered the room before Shi Feng had even taken his seat. This female NPC was Renee, one of the Vice Association Leaders of White River City''s Adventurer''s Association. She was a Level 180, Tier 3 Illusionist. "Lord Protector, I have heard that you''ve completed the Ancient Orc Empire commission? May I confirm the validity of this statement?" Renee asked. "Certainly." Shi Feng then retrieved the Disintegration Axe from his bag and placed it on the table before him. If not for the wooden table''s magic array enhancement, the Disintegration Axe would''ve shattered it. This wasn''t to say that the weapon was particularly heavy. Rather, the Disintegration Axe contained frightening, destructive power. Despite remaining idle, one would notice the space around the Disintegration Axe show signs of collapsing. Moreover, this was only a result of the damaged Disintegration Axe. If the weapon were whole, there was no telling what it could achieve. If the Disintegration Axe were used in battle, one could just imagine how horrific of a scene it would create. "This really is the Disintegration Axe the commission described!" Renee could not help her surprise when she saw the weapon. "Lord Protector, you really are impressive. It''s been dozen of years since the commission was first issued in Star-Moon Kingdom, but until now, no one has ever completed it. The Association Leader will be pleased to hear of your success. "Now that I''ve confirmed the validity of the Disintegration Axe, Lord Protector, please follow me to turn in the commission." Renee led Shi Feng out of the VIP room and up to the Adventurer''s Association''s third floor. She then led him to the Association''s treasure room. There were four Level 180, Tier 3 Puppet Guards stationed before the treasury. The room was also protected by a fivefold magic array. The security was extremely tight, and even Tier 5 players shouldn''t consider attempting to break in. However, as Renee was a Vice Association Leader, she had no issues leading Shi Feng into the treasury. "Lord Protector, please wait here for a moment." Renee left Shi Feng at a counter inside the treasury. She then approached the rows of display cabinets to retrieve an item. Shi Feng was a little confused. Normally, players turned their commission quests in at one of the first-floor counters or VIP rooms on the second floor. This was the first time Shi Feng had entered the Adventurer''s Association''s treasury. From what Shi Feng could see, he had to admit that the treasure room was a magnificent sight to behold. From the outside, the treasury appeared to be quite small, but it was bigger on the inside. The interior was roughly the size of two basketball courts with all sorts of items on display, some of which players could purchase from the Association. Shi Feng had even spotted the Association''s prized Seven Luminaries Crystal. The crystal was as large as the VIP room''s wooden table. God''s Domain''s various superpowers would be shocked to see such a large chunk of crystal. Even after ten years, Shadow had never collected so many Seven Luminaries Crystal. If he could get his hands on that crystal, he could instantly upgrade his Mind Space by several ranks. "Lord Protector, I apologize for the wait." Renee walked towards Shi Feng while carrying a wooden box carved with divine runes. Smiling, she said, "In light of you being the first adventurer in Star-Moon Kingdom to complete an SSS-rank commission, the Adventurer''s Association has decided to offer you a choice. You may turn the quest in and obtain the reward item that has been entrusted to us, or you may accept the reward the Adventurer''s Association has to offer." "The original reward or the Association''s reward?" Shi Feng was slightly confused. This was the first time he had heard about the Adventurer''s Association offering a different reward. "That''s right. The Disintegration Axe itself is the original reward. The current Disintegration Axe is completely unusable as it would harm both the user and others. However, the person that issued the commission has a way to recast the axe. As for the Adventurer''s Association''s reward, we''d like to offer this wooden box." 1373 Ring of Legends Promoted Chapter 1373 - Ring of Legends Promoted "The Disintegration Axe or the wooden box?" Shi Feng''s gaze traveled between the Disintegration Axe in his hand and the wooden box Renee held. Currently, he was both confused and elated. He was also slightly hesitant. He hadn''t expected the commission''s reward to be the Disintegration Axe itself. He had to admit that the reward for an SSS-rank commission was truly frightening. There was no doubting the Disintegration Axe''s power. Although he couldn''t see the weapon''s information, based on the power he felt from holding it, he could tell that if the weapon were repaired and given to a Berserker, said Berserker would become a God of Destruction. Meanwhile, the wooden box in Renee''s hands had been decorated with ancient, divine runes. It even radiated a faint trace of Divine Might. It was obvious that the wooden box''s origin was not ordinary. Otherwise, the Adventurer''s Association wouldn''t offer it as a replacement reward. "Lady Renee, may I know the contents of this wooden box?" Shi Feng asked. "Of course," Renee answered, giggling. "Although I cannot let you open the box, I can tell you that the item inside is called the Sacred Stone. It''s not that I don''t wish to show you the item, but the Sacred Stone is somewhat special. Once the wooden box has been opened, the Sacred Stone will vanish if it''s not used within three hours. "The Sacred Stone has a variety of uses. I would say that it''s greatest purpose is reinforcing a weapon or piece of equipment. However, as we only have one stone, the highest-rank it can upgrade an item to is Fragmented Legendary rank. Moreover, the item''s base materials must be of sufficiently high quality. Otherwise, the upgrade will fail. If you wish to reinforce the item further, you''ll need to collect more Sacred Stones. Unfortunately, Sacred Stones were even difficult to come by in ancient times, much less now. "You don''t have to choose immediately. When you''ve made your decision, you may come to me to retrieve your reward." Hearing Renee''s explanation, Shi Feng stared at the wooden box in shock. He had never imagined that the Adventurer''s Association would be so generous as to offer such a treasure. Shi Feng had heard about the Sacred Stone in the past. Indeed, as Renee had explained, it was an extremely valuable item. It was even rarer than your average Fragmented Legendary item. God''s Domain had extremely few Fragmented Legendary items. As a result, obtaining just one was excruciatingly difficult, not to mention finding an item that was suitable for oneself. Meanwhile, the Sacred Stone could upgrade a suitable item to Fragmented Legendary rank. It was common knowledge in God''s Domain that the more compatible one was with a weapon or piece of equipment, the more benefits one would gain from said item. Hence, rather than using a weapon or piece of equipment with powerful Attributes, expert players preferred to use items that they were compatible with. This was also why after reaching the later stages of the game, many experts would turn down weapons and equipment from Dungeons, searching for customized items instead. In the past, one Sacred Stone had been worth two Fragmented Legendary items. As Renee had said, he only had this opportunity because he was the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to complete an SSS-rank commission quest. "Lady Renee, I''ve made my decision. I will choose the Sacred Stone," Shi Feng said without hesitation. Although the Disintegration Axe was quite powerful, the weapon would be limited to Fragmented Legendary rank after its recasting. Repairing it fully would likely be even more challenging than repairing the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. Who knew how long it would take to repair the weapon? Moreover, Rampant Blade, Shadow Sword, and Gentle Snow, Zero Wing''s top three Berserkers, didn''t use war axes. They wouldn''t be able to utilize the weapon to its fullest potential. Since that was the case, he might as well select the more valuable Sacred Stone. - System: Congratulations! You have completed the SSS-rank commission quest Ancient Orc Empire. Rewarding one Sacred Stone, Adventurer''s Association Reputation +1,000, Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation +1,000, Humanity Reputation +100, Legacy Skill Points +15, and Free Attribute Points +60. - When the sound of the system notification reached his ears, a golden glow wrapped around Shi Feng''s body as he leveled from Level 54 to 79% of Level 55. The quest awarded an abundant amount of EXP. If not for the nature of Shi Feng''s hidden class, he would''ve reached Level 56 with the awarded EXP. The rewards are astounding. I actually got 15 Legacy Skill Points. The quest''s rewards astonished Shi Feng. At his level, 60 Free Attribute Points was nothing. At Tier 1, players would gain 8 Free Attribute Points with each level up. At Tier 2, that number increased to 20. In other words, the 60 points were on par with three levels for a normal player. However, the Legacy Skill Points were a different story. Players only gained one point for every three levels, yet he had just earned 15 points. Following which, Shi Feng allocated his Free Attribute Points to Strength and Agility, increasing each by a considerable amount. For Tier 1 players, this many Attribute Points was the equivalent to an additional piece of Level 35 Mysterious-Iron Equipment Shi Feng had to admit that this was the frightening part about Tier 2 classes. Tier 1 classes simply couldn''t compare. The sooner players completed their Tier 2 promotion, the more benefits they could gain. If they only completed their promotion quest after Level 60, they would have 120 Free Attribute Points less than players who completed their promotion at Level 50. Unless they intentionally died and returned to Level 50, recovering those points was impossible. Shi Feng didn''t take the time to learn a new Tier 2 Legacy Skill after he finished allocating his Free Attribute Points. Fifteen points simply weren''t enough to purchase a useful Skill. He intended to save them, instead. He then fetched the Sacred Stone from his bag. Shi Feng already knew how he would use the Sacred Stone; he would upgrade the Seven Luminaries Ring! The Seven Luminaries Ring was, by far, the best Epic item he had ever seen. Not even the Sacred Sword Killing Ray could compare. Unfortunately, the Seven Luminaries Ring was a Replica. It couldn''t be repaired as he had with the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. The Sacred Stone was his only hope of upgrading the item. The Seven Luminaries Ring was a perfect choice. The Seven Luminaries Ring Replica''s creator had attempted to craft a Fragmented Legendary ring, so one could imagine the quality of the materials used in its production. Unfortunately, the ring had been Epic rank. In fact, he should be able to upgrade the ring to Legendary rank with enough Sacred Stones. However, Shi Feng only played with the thought of upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring to Legendary rank. Quite a few God-rank players had attempted to upgrade their weapons and equipment to Legendary rank with Sacred stones, but even after ten years, not one of these players had succeeded. The reason for their failure was simple. Upgrading an item to Legendary rank required far too many Sacred Stones. Even God-ranked experts with Super Guilds'' support hadn''t been able to gather enough. As for exactly how many Sacred Stones were required, no one knew. However, there was a rumor that one God-ranked expert had failed to upgrade their item to Legendary rank even after investing over a dozen Sacred Stones Let''s see how much potential you have! Shi Feng then opened the wooden box and picked up the white, palm-sized Sacred Stone. He then chose to use it on the Seven Luminaries Ring. Suddenly, the Sacred Stone radiated an incomparably intense power. Golden energy streamed from the stone, flowing into the Seven Luminaries Ring in Shi Feng''s other palm. A moment later, the Sacred Stone turned to dust while the Seven Luminaries Ring underwent an earth-shattering transformation. Seven different streams of light flowed out of the ring, giving it a mesmerizing look. Moreover, the ring now emitted a faint trace of pressure. It was hard to imagine that this item was only a ring, not a weapon. So strong! When Shi Feng called up and read the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Attribute Panel, he could not help but gasp. 1374 Humanoid Great Lord Chapter 1374 - Humanoid Great Lord Staring at the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Attributes, even Shi Feng could not believe that it was merely a Fragmented Legendary item. The ring had already been the most powerful Epic ranked ring he had ever seen. Now that he had upgraded to Fragmented Legendary rank, not only had its physical appearance undergone a massive transformation, but its Attributes had as well. - [Seven Luminaries Ring (Replica)] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,200, Agility 1,000 Attributes will be adjusted according to user''s level. Strength +130, Agility +115, Intelligence +102, Endurance +105, Vitality +106 (Current Level: 55) When equipped: Increase Strength by 40%, Agility by 40%, Intelligence by 40%, Endurance by 30%, and Vitality by 30%; All negative environmental effects weakened by 50%; Ignore Levels +15; All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Skill- Seven Luminaries Aura: There are seven different Auras: earth, water, wind, fire, time, illusion, and space. Only one Aura can be used each time, and there will be a Cooldown of 20 seconds when changing between Auras. [Aura of Earth] (Requires 2,000,000,000 EXP to level up) Defense increased by 100%; Damage taken reduced by 50%. Activatable Skill- Absolute Domain: Become immune to all damage for 10 seconds. All allies within a 50-yard-radius become immune to all damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Aura of Water] (Requires 2,000,000,000 EXP to level up) Healing effects increased by 100%; Cast Consumption reduced by 50%. Activatable Skill- Life Domain: Heals all allies within a 50-yard radius for 10% of their HP every second for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Wind] (Requires 2,000,000,000 EXP to level up) Movement Speed increased by 80%; Attack Speed increased by 60%; Reaction speed increased by 20%. Activatable Skill- Gale Domain: Enables temporary flight and Movement Speed increase of 300% and reduces the Movement Speed of all enemies within a 100-yard radius by 50% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Fire] (Requires 2,000,000,000 EXP to level up) Damage increased by 50%; Target''s Defense reduced by 80%. Activatable Skill- Flame Domain: Inflicts 1,500% damage within a 60-yard radius for 7 seconds. Damage upscales by 20% every second. Cooldown: 5 minutes [Aura of Time] (Requires 3,000,000,000 EXP to level up) Cooldown of all Skills reduced by 50%; Enemies within a 200-yard radius will have their Movement Speed and Attack Speed reduced by 40%, and Cooldown of Skills increased by 50%. Activatable Skill- Forbidden Domain: Prevents enemies within a 500-yard radius from using any skills or tools for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Illusion] (Requires 3,000,000,000 EXP to level up) All Attributes increased by 40%; Enemies within a 200-yard radius will have all their Attributes reduced by 40%. Activatable Skill- Fantasy Domain: Immunity to all Magic Damage and 20% of Magic Damage received will be converted to healing to recover player''s HP for 20 seconds. For 180 seconds, all negative effects within a 100-yard radius will be removed. Cooldown: 3 minutes [Aura of Space] (Requires 3,000,000,000 EXP to level up) Immunity to all control and restricting effects. Activatable Skill 1- Space Movement: Instantly move to any location within a radius of 600,000 yards. Cooldown: 3 minutes Activatable Skill 2- Spatial Gate: Opens a Spatial Gate that allows players to go through it. Spatial Gate can be connected to any location within a 300,000-yard radius. Spatial Gate will stay open for 1 minute. Cooldown: 20 minutes - Although the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Basic Attributes were sub-par for a Fragmented Legendary item, even inferior to the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, all players dreamed of using its Activatable Skills. The Skills were useful in nearly all aspects of battle. Most importantly, these Skills wouldn''t only benefit the user as they also benefited one''s allies. The Aura of Space''s new Skill, Spatial Gate, was particularly useful as it could allow the ring''s user to take a player team with them wherever they wished. With this Skill, traveling to dangerous maps to farm Bosses would become much easier. After all, 300,000 yards was the equivalent of an average leveling map. Spatial Gate? Shi Feng''s lips curled into a smile as he read this new Skill. I had thought that claiming the Manatite vein was going to be troublesome. It seems I''ve just saved myself a lot of time. The Sea of Death''s Manatite vein was not that easy to obtain. He had planned to secure a Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll, but it seemed that he no longer needed to. When Shi Feng re-equipped the Seven Luminaries Ring, it felt as if the power of an ancient beast welled within him. Moreover, his mind became much clearer and more active than before. Is this the ring''s hidden effect? Shi Feng was surprised to notice the surrounding Mana converge towards him. Although the affected area wasn''t large, only two yards around his body, the Mana density was roughly 30% higher than normal. Despite such a low percentage, it shouldn''t be taken for granted. In a high Mana density environment, the results would be staggering. Following which, Shi Feng''s fist shot out in a mock punch. Peng! He heard an explosion as his fist created a gust of wind that extended up to ten yards away. My Strength and speed can match a Great Lord of the same level now. Shi Feng balled his fist as he estimated his current Strength. Previously, he had nearly had as much Strength as a Great Lord of the same level. Now, he was certain that his Strength was on par with a Great Lord''s. Although there did not seem to be a huge difference between the two, the gap was massive. If his Strength were only close to rivaling a Great Lord of the same level, he''d receive a lot of damage in a head-on confrontation. Without a healer''s support, it was only a matter of time before the monster whiddled him down as monsters had far more HP than players. However, if he had truly reached the Great Lord standard, his battle recovery could make up for the damage he took in a one-on-one fight. He could fight until he ran out of Stamina. Meanwhile, as long as he dealt enough damage, he could solo a Great Lord without any special tricks. He could now fight foes of a higher tier. In the past, he had envied apex experts and their frighteningly high Attributes, yet now, he stood among them upon reaching Tier 2. If the apex experts in his past knew about this, their jaws would hit the ground. Now that I''ve completed my quest, it''s about time to visit Sharlyn. Shi Feng smiled, satisfied. Before he left the Adventurer''s Association, though, he hid the Seven Luminaries Ring''s hidden effect. Otherwise, he would attract a lot of attention even with a Black Cloak. As soon as Shi Feng left the Adventurer''s Association, he received a call from Melancholic Smile. "Guild Leader, the Assassins I''ve dispatched have discovered a large group of Evil Demons. There are three times as many as those that assaulted our patrol teams. By the looks of it, their target seems to be an NPC merchant fleet," Melancholic Smile anxiously reported. When she had taken over Stone Forest Town''s management, she had learned just how important the NPC merchant fleets were to the town. Without these NPC merchant fleets, Stone Forest Town would lose all sorts of special merchandise. If NPC merchants stopped visiting the town, the town''s Popularity growth would slow to a crawl. To put it simply, the NPC merchant fleets were crucial to Stone Forest Town''s promotion. However, these NPC merchant fleets normally hired both NPC and player guards, making them difficult to mug. They simply weren''t opponents current players could go up against. However, with so many Evil Demons participating in the assault, these NPC merchant fleets could suffer defeat. "They''re targeting the NPCs already?" Shi Feng smiled faintly. "Good. I can use this opportunity as a test." "Guild Leader, do you really intend to solo all of those Evil Demons?" Melancholic Smile was stunned. The idea was simply too reckless! The opponent consisted of over a hundred Evil Demons, including Great Lords. Even a 100-man expert team would risk extermination, much less a single player. "Relax. Send me the coordinates. Also, tell the Assassins to be a little more careful and avoid discovery at all costs. Those Evil Demons have very sharp senses," Shi Feng said as he tried to soothe Melancholic Smile''s panic. He then disconnected the call and retrieved a Guild Transfer Scroll from his bag. He then transformed into a streak of light before vanishing. 1375 Display of Strength Chapter 1375 - Display of Strength Star-Moon City region, in one of the forested valleys in the Stoneclaw Mountains A fleet of carriages rolled along the gravel road as it passed through the valley. From the top of a mountain, one could easily spot over 50 carriages. Among them, the most inferior carriage was an Advanced Transport Carriage pulled by two horses. Meanwhile, the carriages carried all sorts of large crates containing rare merchandise to be sold in Stone Forest Town. Due to Stone Forest Town''s Adventurer''s Association, the town had attracted far more wandering merchants. Moreover, Saimu Town was no longer the only town connected to Stone Forest Town. A total of three towns now had roads leading to the Guild town. However, the two new trade routes weren''t as lively as the road linked to Saimu Town since the other two towns were further away. Regardless, due to the increase of wandering merchants traveling to Stone Forest Town, the three NPC towns began to receive more high-rank escort quests. Although escort quests did not award a lot of EXP, they did offer plenty of Coins. To independent players, these quests offered a considerable income. Moreover, players who just so happen to plan on heading to Stone Forest Town could rake in some additional income while they were at it, killing two birds with one stone. However, such a profitable opportunity was not available to everyone as escort quests had a minimum strength requirement. Moreover, the larger a merchant fleet was, the higher the requirements were. As for how these NPC merchants determined if a player were strong enough, said player would be required to spar with the fleet''s NPC guards. The Main God System would automatically lower the guard''s strength to the standard of elite players at this stage of the game. If the player defeated the NPC guards, they could accept the escort quest. If a player wanted to become the merchant fleet''s vice leader, receiving greater pay, they needed to defeat an NPC guard adjusted to the standard of current expert players. In the Stonclaw Mountains'' valley, over a hundred players accompanied this merchant fleet. Even without t the NPC guards'' aid, the escort players easily defeated any monsters the fleet came across. Even monster groups led by a Level 45 Great Lord were no match for these players. "Commander, are we really going to buy a private house in Stone Forest Town this time?" a gray-robed woman with long, crimson hair asked the man with disheveled hair seated next to her in one of the Transport Carriages. This charming woman''s question quickly attracted the attention of the other players in the carriage. These players weren''t only focused on the woman because of her beauty. Rather, it was because this woman was a Level 43 Summoner. She was also the vice commander of Firecloud Fox, a well-known adventurer team from the Black Dragon Empire, and one of the empire''s top 100 Summoners. Graceful Moon! Many of the Black Dragon Empire''s large Guilds wanted to recruit Graceful Moon. Unfortunately, none of them had ever succeeded. As for the disheveled, cool-looking man, his identity was even more astounding. His name was Remnant Cloud, the Firecloud Fox''s commander. Similarly, he was one of the top 100 Shield Warriors within the empire. It was due to such a powerful MT that Firecloud Fox had grown into a large-scale adventurer team with over 500 members and a reputation known throughout the Black Dragon Empire. "I plan to look around first. If Stone Forest Town is as impressive as the rumors make it out to be, buying a house wouldn''t be a bad idea," Remnant Cloud said, chuckling. Stone Forest Town was considerably famous in the Black Dragon Empire. One of the main reasons for its popularity was the Battle Arena. Recently, quite a few experts had earned themselves a spot among the top 100 on the Black Dragon Empire''s various class ranking lists. After some research, many other players discovered that these newcomers shared one similarity; they all trained in Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. Moreover, these players'' ranks in the empire continued to rise. Because of this, Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena had become quite popular in the Black Dragon Empire. To improve his team members'' strength, Remnant Cloud had decided to make the trip and investigate the town himself. "Commander, it''s fine if you just want to look around, but if you decide to purchase a private house, I suggest otherwise. I''ve heard that a war has recently broken out between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial, and the latter seems to have the advantage. Furthermore, Heaven''s Burial''s Red Iron Town has more potential. Not only are there plenty of high-level and high-resource maps nearby, but players will also be able to use Evernight City as a transfer point between the Guild''s other towns in the future. Investing in Red Iron Town will be more convenient than investing in Stone Forest Town. "As for the Battle Arena, currently, other Guilds have already begun to construct Battle Arenas in their own towns. It is only a matter of time before they catch up with Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena." Graceful Moon did not view Stone Forest Town''s future in a particularly positive light. In her opinion, the town only had a few minor advantages at the moment. However, as time passed, the various large Guilds'' towns in the Black Dragon Empire would undoubtedly catch up. After all, the Black Dragon Empire was far more prosperous than Star-Moon Kingdom. Even if their adventurer team wanted to purchase a private house in Star-Moon Kingdom, considering their long-term development, purchasing a house in Red Iron Town was the wiser choice. "I guess you''re right. But since we''re already here, let''s go take a look." After giving the matter some thought, Remnant Cloud saw the reasoning in Graceful Moon''s words. Various Guild towns were already prioritizing their Battle Arenas. As for the Mana density, these Guilds were doing their best to find solutions. They would deal with the problem sooner or later. While Graceful Moon and Remnant Cloud conversed, they heard a commotion in the forest on both sides of the gravel road. Suddenly, easily over a thousand pitch-black figures darted out of the dense woods. Not only did these figures block the merchant fleet''s path, but they had also surrounded the carriages. Upon seeing these monsters, the escorting players prepared for battle. These monsters were nothing like the wild monsters they had faced on the road thus far. Every one of these monsters radiated a frightening aura, their eyes containing human-like wisdom. Moreover, their levels were shockingly high. These monsters were all Level 70, roughly 25 levels higher than the monsters the merchant fleet had previously encountered. "How is this possible? Didn''t they say that these Evil Demons only assaulted passing players? Why are they targeting the merchant fleets?" Some escort players from Star-Moon Kingdom recognized the Evil Demons immediately. After all, they had seen these Evil Demons siege Stone Forest Town. These monsters'' attacks on Stone Forest Town''s players was nothing new, either. What surprised these players was that these Evil Demons actually dared to assault an NPC fleet. Aside from the escort players, a large number of NPC guards protected the merchant fleet. Each one of these guards was Level 80, and among them were three Tier 3 guards, over 60 Tier 2 guards, and over a hundred Tier 1 guards. They were not existences current players could easily defeat. Before these players could recover from their shock, the Evil Demons surged forward. "Hahaha! Go! Destroy the merchandise!" Ghost Shadow, hiding amongst the trees, laughed as he watched his legion surround the merchant fleet. To ensure the fleet''s destruction, Heaven''s Burial had dispatched the Ghost Shadow Legion''s elites, and Beast Emperor had sent them an Evil Demon army to assist. Two Level 70, Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons led the army. Given enough time, they could certainly eliminate the NPC merchant fleet. Although the Evil Demons'' levels were lower than the NPCs, they had the numerical advantage. Moreover, they didn''t'' need to kill the NPCs; their goal was simply to kill the players and destroy the cargo. "Damn it! Why are there so many powerful monsters?!" Graceful Moon''s eyebrows rose in surprise. Not only did the Level 70 Chieftain ranked Evil Demons easily defeat her summoned creatures, but they also dodged her Spirit Bullets. If not for Remnant Cloud activating a Berserk Skill and Lifesaving Skill to hold the Evil Demons back, the monsters would''ve long since closed in on her. The other players weren''t as lucky. Despite the battle beginning only a brief moment ago, over a dozen players had already died On this kind of battlefield, these players were utterly useless. They were slaughtered like ants. "Moon, get out of here! I''ll hold them back!" Remnant Cloud barked. He could tell that only death awaited them should they stay. They couldn''t win a battle of this level. "But" Although Graceful Moon wanted to argue, when she saw a High Lord overwhelm her commander, she took out an Instantaneous Movement Scroll and activated it. "A futile struggle!" Ghost Shadow growled disdainfully when he noticed several players removing Instantaneous Movement Scrolls from their bags. Before they had taken action, he had used a tool Beast Emperor had given him to seal the area, making it impossible for players to escape via Return Scrolls or Instantaneous Movement Scrolls. "Why did it fail?" Graceful Moon''s expression darkened when she realized that she was still on the battlefield even after the Instantaneous Movement Scroll had disintegrated. As for Remnant Cloud, despite barely holding on thanks to a healer''s help, it would only be a matter of minutes before he died as more Evil Demons descended on their prey. When Remnant Cloud had less than 20% HP remaining, a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon circled the man, swinging its claws at the Shield Warrior. Remnant Cloud was already doing everything he could to block the Evil Demons'' attacks from the front. He did not have any spare power to protect his back. "Commander!" Graceful Moon gasped. "Am I going to die, just like this?" Remnant Cloud understood that there was no escaping death when he noticed the Great Lord behind him. Suddenly, a spatial tear appeared between Remnant Cloud and the Evil Demon, and a figure leaped onto the battlefield. However, despite the spatial tear''s abrupt appearance, the Evil Demon''s attack did not falter in the least. "Be careful!" Remnant Cloud shouted. He could faintly tell that the figure behind him was a player. Unfortunately, only three yards separated this figure and the Evil Demon. Not even an expert could react in time to block such an unexpected attack from a Great Lord with so little distance between them. However, when the Evil Demon''s claws were less than one yard away from the newcomer, a blue glow blossomed on the Evil Demon''s body. Like a cannonball, the Great Lord ranked Evil Demon shot backward, crossing a dozen yards before crashing into a large tree. A second after the impact, the towering tree fell to the ground. As for the figure that emerged from the spatial tear, he remained where he had stood, his calm composure making it seem as if nothing had happened 1376 The Seven Luminaries Rings Power Chapter 1376 - The Seven Luminaries Ring''s Power When the Great Lord ranked Evil Demon''s body hit the ground, the battlefield fell silent. "How is that possible!?" Graceful Moon wore an incredulous look as she stared at the Evil Demon sprawled in the dirt. Turning her gaze towards Shi Feng, she muttered, "Just what did he do?" Without using any special tricks or magic arrays, contending with a Level 70 Great Lord was impossible for current players. Even if Remnant Cloud, Firecloud Fox''s commander, activated his Berserk Skill and Lifesaving Skill, he''d be lucky to survive even a moment against such an advisory, much less throw such a monster over a dozen yards. Graceful Moon wasn''t the only one shocked. Every player that had witnessed the scene was stupefied. "That can''t be a player, right?" "What is going on?" "No, that''s not right. There''s a green marker above his head. He must be a player." "Who is that?!" Everyone''s gaze fixed on Shi Feng. For a moment, they tried to guess the man''s identity, both curious and surprised. "Fellow friend, hurry and leave this place. There are too many monsters here," Remnant Cloud advised as he turned to Shi Feng, who stood behind him. Although he hadn''t seen how the Even Demon had been thrown, not one of the experts he was familiar with were capable of sending a Level 70 Great Lord flying. With such strength, Shi Feng could definitely shatter the Evil Demons'' encirclement. "You want to leave?" Ghost Shadow, still hiding in the forest, sneered as he asked, "Do you think you can?" Although Shi Feng''s counterattack had surprised him, that was all. Since Shi Feng had already joined the battle, he shouldn''t cling to any hope of leaving alive. After all, Shi Feng had only used some special method to knock back the Great Lord; the Swordsman was not truly capable of defeating one. Moreover, more than ten Great Lords participated in this operation. If one was not enough, he simply needed to send two more at the newcomer. As Remnant Cloud was about to warn Shi Feng of this, one of the nearby Great Lords and five Lord ranked Evil Demons dashed towards the Swordsman, dark fog wrapping around their claws as they swiped at Shi Feng. To make matters worse, the Evil Demons coordination was only slightly inferior to expert players. Seeing this, Remnant Cloud frowned. Even as a Shield Warrior, he could only stand against three Evil Demons at once. No Swordsman could block six Evil Demons simultaneously without activating a Lifesaving Skill. However, just as the six Evil Demons were about to land their attacks, a galaxy of stars appeared around Shi Feng, radiating a brilliant blue glow. Compared to Shi Feng''s previous executions, his current Sword''s Orbit was more complete and beautiful. Peng Peng Peng When the blue glow illuminated the area, the six Evil Demons were instantly sent flying by over 20 yards. They hadn''t even managed to reach the edge of Shi Feng''s cloak, much less deal any damage. Meanwhile, each of the six Evil Demons had instantly lost over 20,000 HP, with some losing nearly 50,000 HP due to a critical hit. As Evil Demons had much less HP than ordinary monsters, their HP bars had decreased significantly. "This" Remnant Cloud was dumbfounded. Shi Feng''s previous feat of throwing a Great Lord could have been brushed off as a powerful Skill. Now, however, Shi Feng had launched six Evil Demons with a single move. Even an experienced expert like Remnant Cloud could not help his surprise. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who remained in his original position, glanced down at the Abyssal Blade, astonished. After upgrading the Abyssal Blade, the Magic Weapon had gained the Passive Skill Abyssal Will, which improved his physique depending on the surrounding Mana density. Due to the Seven Luminaries Ring, the Mana density around him had increased considerably, which, in turn, improved his physique further. If not for the combination of these factors, he would not have executed such a perfect Sword''s Orbit. I wonder how this move will fare? Shi Feng suddenly vanished. Void Steps! "He disappeared?" "Where did he go?" "Did he leave?" "That''s not right. He was using two one-handed swords. He should either be a Berserker or a Swordsman. How could he possibly be an Assassin?" "Was he a ghost?" Before everyone could recover from their shock, Shi Feng''s sudden disappearance surprised them once more. "Impossible! I''ve already sealed the area! Players can only enter, not leave!" Ghost Shadow''s eyes widened in surprise. Quickly, he turned to look around the battlefield, trying to locate the Swordsman. But no matter how he searched, he couldn''t find the player. As players began to wonder if they had hallucinated, a figure appeared behind the three Evil Demons that Remnant Cloud faced. Fresh blood fountained from the three Evil Demons'' bodies as they curled like shrimp and flew over 20 yards away. "So fast!" By the time Remnant Cloud realized what had happened, the three Evil Demons before him had disappeared. When he tried to get a good look at his savior, he realized that the figure before him was only an afterimage. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng reappeared over a dozen yards away. Once again, four Evil Demons were struck and sent flying. In such a way, Shi Feng''s figure vanished and reappeared all over the battlefield. Each time he appeared, his attacks sent several Evil Demons through the air. He seemed like a deadly ghost on the battlefield. "Commander, just whois that?" Graceful Moon could not help but ask as she watched Shi Feng''s afterimages flood the road. She had encountered and fought many experts in the Black Dragon Empire. She had even sparred with the empire''s top ten experts. Although she hadn''t been a match for those players, she could estimate how much of a difference separated them. However, as she watched Shi Feng, she couldn''t fathom how vast the gap was between this man and herself. She felt as if she were staring into a bottomless abyss. "I don''t know, either." Remnant Cloud smiled bitterly. Once Shi Feng had thrown over 300 Evil Demons, he stopped 50 yards away from the battlefield. He seemed like he had just casually strolled through the area, coming and going with ease. My physique should''ve improved by nearly 10%. Shi Feng rejoiced as he glanced at his Abyssal Blade. Although the burden of using Void Steps so many times consecutively was great, it wasn''t intolerable due to his high Attributes and physique. Moreover, executing Void Steps was now easier than ever before thanks to the high Mana density encasing his body. His current location''s average density was the only limiting factor. If he fought in a high Mana density environment, the effects would be unimaginable. After a short pause, the 300-plus Evil Demons that he sent flying charged at him like maniacs. The weakest among these Evil Demons was a Chieftain, and the charge included eight Great Lords. He''s insane! He aggroed so many Evil Demons! Remnant Cloud''s eyes twitched as he watched the Evil Demons stampede towards Shi Feng. He could not fathom what Shi Feng intended to accomplish by luring so many monsters. When the Evil Demons were within 30 yards, Shi Feng smiled faintly as he thrust the Abyssal Blade into the ground. Abyssal Curse! A pitch-black light pillar emerged from within the Evil Demon group, extending into the sky. The pillar then expanded to a radius of 30 yards, preventing all Evil Demons within range from moving. Even the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons felt as if they had just stepped in mud. No matter how hard they struggled, they couldn''t break free. Moreover, their Attributes were rapidly reducing. Following which, a frightening amount of Mana gathered around one of Shi Feng''s hands, a crimson magic array forming above his palm. He then directed the magic array at the army before him. Flame Domain! A twofold, crimson magic array formed in the center of the Evil Demon army, crimson shockwaves radiating from the center. Before everyone could figure out what was happening, a towering pillar of fire rose up from the ground, forming a mountain of flame as it enveloped every Evil Demon that had charged at the Swordsman. The scorching fire ripped pained screams from the Evil Demons'' throats as their HP plummeted. Initially, the Evil Demons had lost around 350,000 HP. In the next second, they lost over 400,000 HP. Then, they lost another 500,000 HP. By the time the flames scattered, the Lord ranked Evil Demons had less than half their HPs remaining. The Chieftains had been utterly annihilated. The fire''s horrific damage had stupefied the witnesses. However, before these players could recover their senses, Shi Feng followed up Flame Domain with Lightning Blade, dealing another a heavy blow. Following which, he took out two Tier 3, large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls and used them consecutively against the remaining Evil Demons. In the end, all 300-plus Evil Demons turned to dust. Suddenly, a golden glow flashed on Shi Feng''s body as he rose from Level 55 to Level 56. 1377 He is Black Flame Chapter 1377 - He is Black Flame "Amazing! Just who is this guy!?" The players still fighting the Evil Demon army gaped when they saw Shi Feng turn over 300 Evil Demons to dust in just a few moments. A single Chieftain ranked Evil Demon could easily kill any one of them. If not for the Level 80 NPC guards, they would''ve long since been annihilated. Yet, the mysterious, cloaked Swordsman before them had slaughtered these Evil Demons as if he were grinding Common monsters It was an extravagant grinding method! Evil Demons weren''t like ordinary monsters. They did not drop any loot, only offering slightly higher EXP. Setting aside the fire Spell Shi Feng had used, the two Tier 3, large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls could easily sell for over 1,000 Gold. With that kind of money, a player could purchase a valuable plot of Land in an NPC city. Moreover, even with enough money, Tier 3 Magic Scrolls weren''t easy to purchase, much less large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls. In reality, however, Shi Feng hadn''t wasted the two scrolls. Chieftain rank Evil Demons had a considerably high chance of dropping Evil Energy Crystals. In Shi Feng''s previous life, a single crystal had sold for 10 Gold on the market. Among the Evil Demons that he had killed, over a hundred had dropped Evil Energy Crystals. Not only had he earned back the money for the scrolls, but he had also made a profit. "Damn it! Where did this person come from?!" Ghost Shadow frowned, his expression grim as he stared at the distant Shi Feng. Evil Demons feared large-scale destructions Spells almost more than anything. Unlike ordinary monsters, although Evil Demons had very high combat power, they didn''t have a lot of HP. Even a Level 70, Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon only had 35,000,000 HP, not to mention the Great Lords and below. "Commander, what should we do? We''ve lost nearly one-third of our Evil Demons. At this rate, it will be difficult to destroy the merchant fleet," a Level 42 Assassin, clad in blue, asked worriedly. Powerful magic barriers protected the NPCs'' carriages. Breaking a single barrier would take some time. In addition, the magic barriers buffed the nearby NPC guards. With these buffs, the three Level 80, Tier 3 NPC guards were ridiculously powerful. They needed only a short time to kill Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Only the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons were a threat. Yet, Shi Feng had eliminated nearly one-third of their forces. This wasn''t in the plans. "He must be sick of living! He dares to treat Heaven''s Burial''s Evil Demons as EXP! Use our trump cards. Have the two Grand Lords prioritize that player. Lead three parties and assist the monsters from the side. Do not let him get away!" Ghost Shadow growled, sneering. "Understood!" the blue-clad Assassin immediately went into action. The Ghost Shadow Legion members, who had been hiding in the forest, snuck towards the Tier 3 NPC guards with bluish-purple scrolls. When they were less than 30 yards away from the Tier 3 NPCs, they revealed themselves and unfurled the scrolls. Suddenly, three purplish-gold magic barriers, each manned by 36 players, appeared and trapped the three Tier 3 NPCs and a large number of Tier 2 NPCs, freeing the Evil Demons from their opponents. No matter how these NPC guards struggled against the barriers, the purplish-gold walls didn''t waver in the slightest. As for the two Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, which suddenly found themselves without an opponent, they promptly left behind afterimages as they darted for Shi Feng. The sudden development inspired despair in the defending players. The Evil Demons alone were more than they could handle. Now, hundreds of Assassin players had joined the battle. Even Remnant Cloud, someone who had experienced many fierce battles, could not help his bitter smile. The fact that several hundred players had emerged to attack them proved that someone was in command of these Evil Demons. There was a huge difference between monsters under a player''s command and those that were not. After factoring in the several hundred Assassin players, his people had no chance of surviving this fight. As for their savior, Shi Feng, he needed to face-off against two Level 70 Grand Lords. Unfortunately, the Swordsman would be lucky to keep his own life, let alone help them. The Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons were incredibly fast. Upon reaching Shi Feng, they swiped their fog-clad claws at the player. These Grand Lords were far superior to their Great Lord cousins in terms of both Strength and speed. In addition, they executed Rapid Switch while coordinating with each other. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, increasing his Strength by 150%, Agility by 60%, Defense by 300%, and HP by 500%. Instantly, his maximum HP shot past the 400,000 threshold. He then executed Sword''s Orbit, creating a perfect defense around himself. Boom Boom Boom As blades and claws clashed, explosions rang out across the battlefield. With each collision, the ground beneath Shi Feng and the Grand Lords'' feet trembled. Even players 30 yards away from the fight could feel intense shockwaves. Both sides exchanged attacks so rapidly that it was impossible for the naked eye to keep up with them. All anyone could see was the ground sink as the impacts formed a crater. The residual power of Shi Feng and the Grand Lords'' attacks also left numerous furrows in the dirt around them. Seeing this, the nearby Assassins, who had intended to ambush Shi Feng, hesitated, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. For a moment, the scene stupefied every player on the battlefield. How was this even a battle between a player and monsters? This was practically a monster-on-monster fight. "How is that possible?!" Ghost Shadow, who had lain in wait to ambush the Swordsman, could not believe his eyes when he saw Shi Feng holding his ground against the two Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. Despite being just a player, Shi Feng could fight two Level 70 Grand Lords to a standstill. No one would ever believe this. In reality, Shi Feng was rather proud. After upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring, he only needed to activate one Berserk Skill to raise his Strength to a Level 70, Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon''s level. Factoring in his reaction speed and physique, he could contend with two Grand Lords with only Sword''s Orbit. However, continuing the fight at this rate was not an option. Shi Feng could feel his Stamina and Concentration depleting. Even though his battle recovery could mitigate the Grand Lords'' damage, it did nothing to recover the lost Stamina and Concentration. Before Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s duration ended, he''d run out of Stamina and Concentration. Following which, Shi Feng activated Divine Steps and switched positions with one of his doppelgangers, temporarily distancing himself from the two Evil Demons. He then retrieved two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag and began to summon Anna and Kite. Although the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons were relatively fragile compared to ordinary monsters of the same rank, each still had 35,000,000 HP. With their incredible reaction speed, they could also dodge or block a large portion of his attacks. If this were a one-on-one fight, he might have a chance to kill the Evil Demon using only Heavenly Dragon''s Power. In a two-on-one situation, however, he had no hope of defeating the Evil Demons with a single Berserk Skill. Shortly after, Anna, Level 75, and Kite, Level 74, appeared beside Shi Feng. Anna and Kite''s appearance immediately attracted everyone''s attention. "Crap! Am I seeing things?! That guy actually has a Level 75 Personal Guard?!" When they saw Anna''s level, the players gasped. The highest-leveled Personal Guard they knew of was only Level 69. They had never even heard of a Personal Guard reaching Level 70, much less Level 75. Moreover, both NPCs wore brilliant equipment. When Ghost Shadow saw Anna and Kite, a familiar sensation struck him. After going through his memories, these two NPCs seemed very similar to the two powerful Personal Guards that had appeared during Heaven''s Burial''s first assault against Stone Forest Town. Only the NPCs'' weapons and equipment were different. Ghost Shadow''s calm expression changed abruptly. "Commander, what happened?" the blue-clad Assassin asked curiously. "Crap! He is Black Flame!" Ghost Shadow exclaimed. 1378 Kill Chapter 1378 - Kill "Black Flame?" When the other Ghost Shadow Legion members heard their leader''s realization, they could not help but shift their gazes on to the distant Shi Feng, their mouths falling wide open as a chill crawled down their backs. Black Flame''s fame had long since spread throughout the kingdom. Many players even treated his battle records like classics. He was Star-Moon Kingdom''s undisputed number one expert! However, Black Flame''s tracks were always a mystery. Even Zero Wing''s inner members did not know Black Flame''s whereabouts. They had only heard of Black Flame''s strength, that he was akin to a monster. They had thought the rumors were just exaggerations. However, it would seem that the real deal was even greater than the rumors had made him out to be. After all, Black Flame could actually hold his ground against two Level 70, Great Lord ranked Evil Demons by himself. This was simply too terrifying. "Commander, isn''t this a good chance to kill Black Flame?" the blue-clad Assassin asked with a smile. "We haven''t received any reports of Stone Forest Town mobilizing forces. Black Flame must be acting on his own this time. Although Black Flame is monstrously strong, at the end of the day, he is only one person, and we still have many Evil Demons. We can use them to wear him down. His death will be far more meaningful than destroying an NPC merchant fleet." Hearing this, everyone''s eyes suddenly glowed with excitement. They all agreed with the blue-clad Assassin. If they were here without their demonic support, it would be impossible to deal with Black Flame, but the Ghost Shadow Legion was backed by the Evil Demon army. They even had two Grand Lords. This was a heaven-sent opportunity to kill Black Flame. If they defeated Black Flame, the blow to Zero Wing''s reputation would be far more severe than simply destroying an NPC merchant fleet. "Indeed, this is a golden opportunity." Ghost Shadow nodded his agreement. "Notify everyone to gather at our location immediately. Order the Lord ranked Evil Demons and above to keep an eye on Black Flame, as well! Do not let him get away!" Black Flame had already used his Berserk Skill. Once the duration ended, with the Evil Demon army attacking head-on and the Ghost Shadow Legion assisting from the sides, they would take the Swordsman''s life. Upon receiving Ghost Shadow''s command, the Ghost Shadow Legion members assisting the Evil Demons in destroying the fleet left their positions and stealthily surrounded Shi Feng. The 100-plus Lord ranked Evil Demons remaining also shifted their focus towards the player. Remnant Cloud and the other defending players sighed with relief. "What''s going on? Are they giving up?" As she watched the Ghost Shadow Legion''s Assassins withdraw, Graceful Moon was confused. Had those Assassins continued their assault, they would''ve been defeated. he watched as hundreds of Lord ranked Evil Demons and above charged for Shi Feng, shock and lamentation filling her heart. Given enough time, she was confident in becoming one of the top 10 Summoners in the Black Dragon Empire, yet it was obvious that their attackers didn''t view her or the other guard players as important. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have switched targets so suddenly at such a crucial moment. She was a little frustrated at being looked down on. Moreover, was it really necessary to send so many players and Lords against a single player? "Good! All Great Lord ranked Evil Demons, distract Black Flame''s Personal Guards while the other Evil Demons focus on Black Flame! Everyone else, find an opportunity to land a killing blow!" Ghost Shadow gave out the command to attack once his people were in place. Unlike the prior attack, the Evil Demons put more space between themselves. Even if Shi Feng had more large-scale destruction Spells, he couldn''t put them to good use. Furthermore, he wouldn''t have another opportunity to use a Magic Scroll with the two Grand Lords distracting him. "Roar!" With Ghost Shadow''s command, over a dozen Great Lord ranked Evil Demons charged at Anna and Kite, while the other Evil Demons dashed for Shi Feng. The Level 40-plus Assassin experts nearby stealthily approached their target as well. "Black Flame, today will be your funeral!" Ghost Shadow exclaimed as he watched the Grand Lords force Shi Feng into a defensive position. Quite a few superpowers had attempted to kill Shi Feng, but none had succeeded. Today, however, he would put an end to Zero Wing''s legend. "Crap, everyone''s coming for me?" Shi Feng, who had activated Omniscient Eyes to scout for ambushes, discovered countless Evil Demons and players around him. Moreover, these Evil Demons and players aimed for his life. Dealing with the two Grand Lords had only become easier after he had summoned Anna and Kite. If so many Evil Demons and players joined into the fight right now, he''d be in trouble. Seeing the Evil Demon army and player army inch closer, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Fire to the Aura of Time. Forbidden Domain! A silvery-gray space formed in a 500-yard radius around him. The Skill prevented all enemies in range from using Skills or tools for 30 seconds. It also decreased enemies'' Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 40% within 200 yards of him. Due to this Forbidden Domain, the stealthed Assassins were promptly exposed. The dark fog that shrouded the Evil Demons'' claws also disappeared. The Ghost Shadow Legion panicked when they realized they had lost their ability to use Skills and tools. Assassins were powerful was because of their Skills'' damage and control effects. If they couldn''t use their Skills, they were practically crippled. They wouldn''t even be able to exhibit 30% of their true combat power. "What are you afraid of?! This Silencing Skill will only last a short moment! Charge! No matter what, he mustn''t escape!" Ghost Shadow shouted arrogantly. While not being able to use Skills and tools was a disadvantage, they wouldn''t get another opportunity like this to kill him again if they failed. Hearing Ghost Shadow''s words, the panicked Assassins calmed quickly as they tightened the encirclement around Shi Feng. They might not be able to exhibit their full strength right now, but the same wasn''t true for the Evil Demons. Even if the Evil Demons couldn''t use their Skills, it would only affect their combat power slightly. There were more than enough Evil Demons to whittle Shi Feng down They could leave the offense to the demons while they contained Shi Feng. "Escape?" Shi Feng formed a sinister smile as he surveyed his surroundings. That smile made the Ghost Shadow Legion members shudder involuntarily as they realized that something felt off. However, before they could react, Anna, who stood beside Shi Feng, finished reciting her incantation. Immediately, a massive, golden magic array appeared in the sky, its imposing appearance visible to anyone within 500 yards. Following which, a golden-armored Valkyrie descended from the array. The moment the Level 75 Valkyrie appeared, a powerful aura washed over the battlefield like a tidal wave. The Ghost Shadow Legion felt an unprecedented pressure weigh them down. "Crap! Everyone, retreat!" When Ghost Shadow saw the Valkyrie, he instantly understood the meaning behind Shi Feng''s sinister smile. Shi Feng hadn''t used a Silencing Skill to escape. Rather, he had used the Skill to prevent them from escaping. Even without Ghost Shadow''s warning, the Ghost Shadow Legion members had already turned and fled. Unfortunately, the Valkyrie already held a Spear of Thunder. She then swept the spear towards her targets. Countless arcs of golden lightning streaked forward, dealing devastating damage to everything within 150 yards in a cone-shaped area. The Valkyrie used the Tier 4 Skill, Roaring Thunder. She also dealt double damage against Dark Creatures. As a result, the fragile Lord ranked Evil Demons died on the spot. Only the High Lords and above barely survived. As for the players within range, not even their bodies remained after the attack 1379 Unstoppable Chapter 1379 - Unstoppable As the golden lightning dissipated, it revealed a large clearing on the road. Despite the Ghost Shadow Legion members having spread out, over one hundred members had died instantly under the Valkyrie''s merciless assault. As for Ghost Shadow, who hid a short distance away, he turned deathly pale upon seeing the devastation. Over forty Lord ranked Evil Demons had died. Even Level 80, Tier 3 NPCs would require quite some time to kill one Level 70 Lord, yet the Valkyrie had done so in one hit Although the High Lords caught in the attack hadn''t died, they weren''t far from death''s door. Four Great Lords had also sustained severe injuries, each one with a little over a third of their HP remaining. This frightening damage and destructive power were simply unparalleled. Ghost Shadow had never witnessed such an attack. The Valkyrie''s strength stupefied everyone. For a moment, many of the surviving Ghost Shadow Legion members stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do. Attempting to escape was meaningless. Even if they tried to run, the Valkyrie would likely kill them before they reached the Forbidden Domain''s boundaries. "Don''t panic! Spread out! The Valkyrie won''t last very long! Such a powerful Skill has to have a long Cooldown! Maintain your distance and buy as much time as possible!" Ghost Shadow hurriedly commanded. While the Valkyrie''s combat power had exceeded Ghost Shadow''s expectations, he was no ordinary player. He had fought countless battles to reach his current standards. Naturally, powerful Boss monsters were among his many foes. Not only could he calm himself quickly, but he could also devise a plan to deal with the Valkyrie. After all, this wasn''t his first time against the summoned creature. When the Valkyrie had joined the first siege battle in Stone Forest Town, her pros and cons had been revealed. As long as they were far enough apart, she couldn''t wipe them out during the short time she could remain on the battlefield. Hearing Ghost Shadow''s orders, his Assassins exploded into action. They maintained a certain distance from the Valkyrie and each other. They sure reacted quickly. The Ghost Shadow Legion''s reaction time surprised Shi Feng slightly. If the enemy players had simply scattered, running for their lives like a chaotic mob, they would''ve been easy to slaughter. However, by deliberately maintaining a fixed distance from the Valkyrie and attracting her attention, the summoned angel could only kill a small number of their forces. However, the development didn''t worry Shi Feng. Instead, he commanded Anna indifferently. The NPC then changed another incantation and summoned ten Rock Guardians. The Rock Guardians formed a magic barrier around the two Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, trapping them within. Meanwhile, the Valkyrie vanished and reappeared before the two Grand Lords, sweeping her Spear of Thunder horizontally. Before the two Evil Demons could react, they were sent flying over 20 yards away, slamming into the magic barrier. Their HP bars lost another large chunk. Crap! He''s aiming for the Grand Lords! Ghost Shadow''s expression darkened as he watched the summons trap his two Grand Lords. Hurriedly, he shouted in the team chat, "Quick! Everyone, attack the magic barrier!" Every Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon was incredibly precious. Nurturing one was highly dependent on luck. Beast Emperor had only given Heaven''s Burial two Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons as trump cards to deal with Zero Wing. Each Grand Lord could easily annihilate a 100-man expert team on their own. If not for Singular Burial''s demand that he destroy the NPC merchant fleet, he wouldn''t have mobilized the two Grand Lords at all. "It''s too late!" Shi Feng smiled. He then activated Phantom Kill, Nine Dragons Slash, and Divine Providence. Shi Feng, his doppelganger, and the Abyssal Blade phantoms attacked the Grand Lords together. In front of the Valkyrie, the two Grand Lords were utterly powerless. Hence, Shi Feng could attack to his heart''s content. As the Valkyrie dealt double damage to Dark Creatures, each of her attacks caused over -1,000,000 damage. When she used the Tier 4, single-target Skill, Judgment Spear, she could eliminate over one-third of the Grand Lords'' HP. As for Shi Feng, he possessed the Sacred Sword Killing Ray, which also dealt double damage to Dark Creatures. Factoring in Heavenly Dragon''s Power, each of his strikes easily dealt over -100,000 damage. After exhausting all nine Shadow Blade attacks, he instantly devoured over 1,000,000 HP from one of the Evil Demons. Although Shi Feng''s doppelganger only had 80% of his Basic Attributes, its damage shouldn''t be underestimated, either. Anna and Kite also bombarded the Grand Lords. In less than six seconds, one of the two Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons collapsed as its 35,000,000 HP fell to zero. As it fell, it dropped several items and contributed an astronomical amount of EXP, pushing Shi Feng very close to Level 57. "Quick! Destroy the barrier!" Ghost Shadow''s stomach churned with anxiety as he watched one of his Grand Lords die. However, despite both players and Evil Demons assaulting the magic barrier unhindered, the barrier remained intact. The Rock Guardians maintaining the barrier only lost a small amount of HP. It was clear that it would take some time to bring this barrier down. As a result, Ghost Shadow and the others watched helplessly as the other Grand Lord rapidly lost its HP. Of course, as time passed, the Valkyrie''s summon duration dwindled. When the duration had only one second left, the Valkyrie began to fade. Meanwhile, the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon still had over 17,000,000 HP remaining. Seeing this, Ghost Shadow breathed a sigh of relief. Without the Valkyrie suppression, Shi Feng would have a difficult time dealing any significant damage to the Evil Demon. His two Personal Guards wouldn''t change that. Shi Feng would need a long time to kill the Grand Lord. His subordinates should break through the barrier before that happened. "Die!" Suddenly, Shi Feng shouted as his two swords released a blinding light. A similar phenomenon occurred on his doppelganger''s blades as well. Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger then brandished their swords at the Evil Demon''s back. Flame Burst! Every strike dealt over -800,000 damage, with some doubling that due to a critical hit. By the time Shi Feng and his doppelganger landed all thirty strikes, the Evil Demon''s remaining 17,000,000-plus HP had fallen to zero. "Impossible!" Ghost Shadow was stunned. Ghost Shadow wasn''t the only one shocked. Shi Feng''s burst damage flabbergasted everyone on the Ghost Shadow Legion. He had wiped out over 17,000,000 of a Grand Lord''s HP in the blink of an eye. This kind of explosive power was simply unheard of for a player. Upon killing the second Grand Lord, Shi Feng had also risen to Level 57. Although both Grand Lords had dropped plenty of valuable loot, as Shi Feng was still in the midst of a battle, he swept the items into his bag without sparing them a second look. "Commander, what should we do now?" the blue-clad Assassin asked worriedly as he watched Shi Feng inside the magic barrier. When he saw the man''s smile, he could not help but shudder. If Shi Feng could instantly kill a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon with half of its HP, who could possibly stop him on this battlefield? "Retreat! This place is no longer safe for us." Ghost Shadow sighed helplessly. Although the Valkyrie was no more, they had lost their only combatants capable of contending with Shi Feng. If they stayed and fought, they''d be nothing more than EXP and loot. Based on the strength the Swordsman had displayed here, it was clear that attempting to kill him was futile. 1380 Fame Spreading throughout Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 1380 - Fame Spreading throughout Star-Moon Kingdom Hearing Ghost Shadow''s order to retreat, the Ghost Shadow Legion members breathed a sigh of relief. They had lost the courage to face Shi Feng. Shi Feng had stood against a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon in a direct confrontation. Killing them would be child''s play. It hadn''t been easy for them to reach their current level, and if they died here, recovering their lost progress would be even more difficult. With Ghost Shadow''s command, the Evil Demons and Ghost Shadow Legion fled, not daring to linger in this land of death for a second longer. "Don''t even think of escaping so easily!" Seeing his opponents run, Shi Feng pointed the Abyssal Blade at the sky and activated Skywheel Sword. Suddenly, golden, divine swords descended, one after another. All Assassins caught in the rain of divine swords died instantly. Three Great Lords and over a dozen Lords were also within range of the AOE, unable to leave the area. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s Personal Guards and doppelganger launched an assault on the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. Evil Demons were not easy to produce, particularly the Grand Lords and above. Evil God''s Temple players treasured every one of these high-ranking Evil Demons dearly. Hence, Shi Feng had prioritized the strongest Evil Demons first. As for Shi Feng, he charged at the escaping players. While inside the Forbidden Domain, all enemies would receive a Movement Speed penalty. With his superior Attributes, Shi Feng could effortlessly catch the felling players. Taking these Assassin''s lives, who couldn''t use Skills or tools, was like taking candy from a baby. Every time he swung his sword, a player died. Moreover, Shi Feng had already activated Omniscient Eyes, so he knew the situation within a 100-yard radius like the back of his hand. This made it much easier to track down the players that had escaped into the dense forest. Following which, Shi Feng transformed into a black shadow as he darted around the battlefield, player screaming in agony as he passed before they transformed into particles of white light and vanished. The fleeing players paled with fear when they saw the horrific scene, shuddering uncontrollably. Their opponent was nothing like a player, but a Death God harvesting lives as he listened to his prey''s screams. Even the guard players'' blood ran cold. Despite facing an Evil Demon army and hundreds of Level 40-plus Assassins by himself, Shi Feng had actually forced his opponents to run for their lives after such a short battle. "So strong! Who is that?" "So, this is a true expert player?" Everyone stared in shock as they watched Shi Feng chase down the last Ghost Shadow Legion members. They felt as if they were looking at a whole new world. The Ghost Shadow Legion members were all Level 40-plus Assassins and equipped with top-tier weapons and equipment. To ordinary players, they were definitely experts, yet hundreds of these experts did everything they could to flee from a single player "Black Flame! Don''t get too full of yourself! Do you really think we''re afraid of you?!" Ghost Shadow, who stood in the distance, could not help but shout at Shi Feng as he watched the Swordsman slaughter his subordinates. The Ghost Shadow Legion members he had brought with him were the elite among elites. Nurturing each one of them had cost a lot of resources. Watching them fall, one after another, Ghost Shadow wanted nothing more than to charge in and kill Shi Feng himself. However, he knew that he wasn''t a match for the Swordsman right now. He could only use the Lord ranked Evil Demons to buy as much time as possible for his people to get away. "Full of myself?" Shi Feng laughed. "You''re the ones who came to Stone Forest Town to rob our merchants. Do you really think that I''ll let you leave alive?" Shi Feng''s words echoed throughout the forest, the cold, killing intent lacing his words causing the escaping Ghost Shadow Legion members to shiver. Shi Feng stopped holding back as he switched to the Aura of Wind and activated Gale Domain, increasing his Movement Speed as he decreased enemy Movement Speed within 100-yard radius by 50%. Suddenly, several players in the forest transformed into light particles and disappeared. The Lord ranked Evil Demons couldn''t even slow Shi Feng. Although the escort players were some distance away from the fight, both Shi Feng and Ghost Shadow had been quite loud. When they overheard the conversation, their jaws dropped. Practically everybody in Star-Moon Kingdom had heard of Black Flame]. But they had never imagined that he was so powerful. They had heard that Black Flame was only slightly stronger than first-rate Guilds'' top experts. However, he was clearly more than slightly stronger. "What?! That is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?!" "I don''t think it''s a mistake. After all, he even admitted it." "No wonder why he''s so powerful! As expected of the Sword King, Black Flame! He sent hundreds of experts running for their lives by himself! He''s too awesome!" "I have to join Zero Wing after this!" "Right, has anyone recorded the battle? I''ll pay 10 Silver for a copy!" "I recorded parts of it, but forget about the money. I''m going to upload it to the forums, so you can watch it later." "What a pity. I should''ve snuck over and watched the fight between Black Flame and the two Grand Lords." For a moment, the players escorting the merchant fleet brimmed with excitement. They had never expected to witness Star-Moon Kingdom''s mythical character in action personally. Moreover, they got to watch this mythical character create another legend. Graceful Moon turned to Remnant Cloud and asked, "Commander, why don''t we garrison our adventurer team in Stone Forest Town?" "What? You''ve changed your mind already?" Remnant Cloud teased when he saw the glimmer in Graceful Moon''s eyes. In truth, he had the same thought. After all, Shi Feng''s battle had allowed him to witness a whole new world, and as an expert, he desperately wanted to learn more. He finally understood why the experts that had recently entered the top 100 class rankings in the Black Dragon Empire fixated on Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. "Of course," Graceful Moon responded without a shred of shame. On the contrary, she righteously declared, "If Black Flame is this powerful, Zero Wing''s other experts shouldn''t be weaklings even if they''re not as strong as he is. If we garrison in Stone Forest Town, we must sign a partnership contract with Zero Wing. We might even get to know those experts and get to spar with them." "If we want to occupy Stone Forest Town, we''ll have to prepare. I heard that the adventurer houses are not cheap." Remnant Cloud nodded, agreeing with Graceful Moon''s reasoning. However, he had to consider how they would earn enough money. "Once we complete this quest, we should return to the empire and start preparing immediately." Firecloud Fox was more than capable of affording a private house in Stone Forest Town, but it was a different story if they wanted an adventurer house. They''d likely need several times more Gold than what they currently possessed. Moreover, Stone Forest Town''s houses would certainly become more expensive after this battle. Fortunately, he learned about the change early. If he had only discovered this after news hit the Black Dragon Empire, it would be more difficult to prepare enough Coins. News of the battle quickly spread to Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums, and everyone who watched the battle video was astounded. Without any backup, Black Flame had killed two Level 70, Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. Hundreds of Evil Demons and expert players had even fled from this terrifying player 1381 Town Competition Chapter 1381 - Town Competition As Shi Feng''s battle video spread on the forums, the news shook Star-Moon Kingdom. The battle''s outcome particularly affected the various major powers based in the kingdom. Zero Wing''s position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild had been unshakable, but no one had expected Heaven''s Burial to rise so quickly. Red Iron Town''s development had exceeded everyone''s expectations. Although players understood that Red Iron Town would develop quickly due to its Auction House, they hadn''t expected this level of speed. In just one day, the cheap fees had lured over 300,000 players to consign and purchase items in Red Iron Town''s Auction House. Many super-rare items had even been placed on auction, attracting more independent experts and members of the various large Guilds. At this point, the town''s Auction House was far more popular than those in ordinary NPC cities. If Red Iron Town''s Auction House continued to develop at this rate, it wouldn''t be long before it rivaled Star-Moon City''s Auction House. Heaven''s Burial''s income from processing fees alone would be astronomical. Heaven''s Burial''s financial strength might even grow to rival, or even surpass, Zero Wing. Rather than a single party ruling over the kingdom, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers would prefer two powerful forces vying for lordship. This way, weaker powers like themselves could thrive in secret. However, after witnessing Shi Feng exterminate so many powerful Evil Demons, they were at a loss. "Not only is Black Flame powerful, but he even has a long-distance teleportation tool! This is ludicrous!" "Heaven''s Burial will be in trouble after losing so many Evil Demons. I''ve heard that these Evil Demons are incredibly difficult to nurture. Since Black Flame can also teleport over long distances, Heaven''s Burial will find it much more difficult to cause trouble in Stone Forest Town." "That''s right! Some players had given up on Stone Forest Town thanks to the Evil Demons, but now that Black Flame has devastated their numbers, Heaven''s Burial won''t attack so casually in the future. People will start visiting Stone Forest Town again to train in the Battle Arena." As the various major powers recovered from their shock of seeing Shi Feng''s strength, Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons, who were in the distant Frozen Scar, received the news. "Guild Leader, the Ghost Shadow Legion has suffered grievous losses. Among the 600 members dispatched, less than 300 made it out alive. The Evil Demon army that Beast Emperor gave us suffered even greater losses. Of the two Grand Lords and dozen or so Great Lords we received, Black Flame killed them all" Daybreak Fog reported, an ugly expression on her face. The Ghost Shadow Legion was one of Heaven''s Burial''s trump card legions. Now that so many of its members had died, the lost weapons and equipment would burden the Guild''s finances. Moreover, it would take quite some time to catch up those members'' levels. "I really underestimated Black Flame, but he won''t be able to stay complacent for much longer. As long as we take down the Frost King, so what if Stone Forest Town recovers to its peak? Moreover, Beast Emperor has nearly completed his quest. Just ignore Zero Wing for now," Singular Burial said nonchalantly. "I guess you''re right. It''s already too late for Zero Wing to do anything." Daybreak Fog giggled as she directed her gaze towards the giant on the frozen throne inside the shrine. This giant was none other than the Boss Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers vied for. The Frost King! Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng received a call from Melancholic Smile shortly after returning to the Guild Residence. "Guild Leader, you must be crazy! You dealt with all those Evil Demons by yourself! If Vice Guild Leader Aqua finds out about this, she''ll give me a lashing!" Melancholic Smile complained, glaring at Shi Feng with resentment. "Vice Guild Leader Snow has even called to ask me about the matter." The Guild Leader had gone into such a dangerous situation by himself. On the off chance that something had happened to Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s reputation would be wounded. "Haven''t I returned?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. "They would have noticed if I mobilized a large group. We would never have achieved such results." Although Shi Feng had considered taking reinforcements with him, when he recalled the spies in the Guild, he decided to go alone. He had also wanted to see how much he had improved. Melancholic Smile saw the reasoning in Shi Feng''s explanation. Now that Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, it would be a lie to say that the other Guilds within the kingdom had not sent spies to infiltrate their Guild. In fact, even Zero Wing had sent its own spies to some of the noteworthy large Guilds. Even if Zero Wing''s management were secure, it was impossible to contain all information. It was also precisely because of Shi Feng''s ambush that Zero Wing once more stood in the limelight, becoming a hot topic on the kingdom''s official forums. Moreover, Stone Forest Town had begun to show signs of revitalizing, the tense atmosphere left over from the siege evaporating. Many of the town''s players discussed the event, livening up the town. The Candlelight Trading Firm also saw a significant increase in the number of players inquiring about Stone Forest Town''s private housing. "Right, how are the private houses and Shops I asked you to build coming along?" Shi Feng asked. Before he had left for the Mourning Battlefield, he had tasked Melancholic Smile with managing Stone Forest Town''s affairs. This way, Blackie and Aqua Rose could take care of their Promotion Quests without worry. "They''re complete. However, we''ve constructed them so far away from the central area. Will players really want to purchase them?" Melancholic Smile asked, confused. Logically, one would construct private houses and Shops near a town''s business district. Yet, Shi Feng had told her to build them very far away from the Candlelight Trading Firm and the Adventurer''s Association. To adventurer teams and merchant players, this would be inconvenient. "It''ll be fine." Shi Feng nodded. "Guild Leader, regarding the surveillance you requested on Heaven''s Burial, based on the information we''ve received, it seems that the Guild is making progress in the Frozen Scar. We''re not sure how far they''ve reached, but based on our estimates, they''ll read the Frost King in the next few days. And due to their Auction House, Red Iron Town has attracted many players. "I''ve heard that quite a few top adventurer teams from neighboring kingdoms have agreed to garrison in Red Iron Town. "I''m afraid that it won''t be long before Red Iron Town''s popularity surpasses Stone Forest Town" Melancholic Smile felt powerless as she watched Red Iron Town''s development speed. Due to the town''s potential, many merchant players had allied with the town. "Auction House?" Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. He then told Melancholic Smile, "This is a good opportunity. Send me 100 architects. It''s about time Heaven''s Burial had a wake-up call." 1382 Evil Gods Table Chapter 1382 - Evil God''s Tablet "One hundred architects?" Melancholic Smile was stunned and couldn''t imagine why Shi Feng wanted so many. However, she did not give the matter too much thought, either. She disconnected the call and began to make arrangements for the necessary architects. Architects were considered a minor class among subclasses. Only after Guilds had secured their towns had players chosen to become architects. Since the architect subclass was so specialized, few large Guilds possessed large reserves of architect players. Generally, each Guild would only have one or two dozen architects. Even the Candlelight Trading Firm only had around 80 architects. The trading firm only has so many due to their preparation for Zero Wing''s soon-to-be-constructed city. If they wanted to gather 100 architects, they would need to recruit more. Meanwhile, Shi Feng entered one of the Guild Residence''s lounges, organizing his harvest from the previous battle. Aside from the weapons and equipment from killing the Ghost Shadow Legion members, he had obtained over 200 Evil Energy Crystals from the Evil Demons. He also had the loot from the two Level 70 Grand Lords. Although the weapons and equipment that the Grand Lords dropped were only Level 70 Secret-Silver rank, the materials they dropped surpassed Shi Feng''s expectations. He had obtained 11 Epic rank materials, each of which could be used to craft Dark-Gold rank and higher weapons and equipment. In addition, several rare Gemstones had dropped. "Hm? What''s this?" Shi Feng muttered as noticed the addition of an ancient, dilapidated stone tablet in his bag. The tablet had an ordinary appearance, no different than the stone slates that were normally used as street signs. There was nothing amiss or special about it. However, upon picking it up, Shi Feng noticed something extraordinary. Despite the stone tablet only being the size of a washbasin, it weighed as much as the stone table in Forging Rooms. Following which, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and inspected the item. - [Third Fragment of Evil God''s Tablet] (Epic Rank Item) Created by the Evil God, this tablet can be used to form an Illusory Space within a 50-yard radius. The Illusory Space will create a Bronze rank copy of any player that enters. Players can then fight their own copies. The Bronze Illusory Creature has all Skills of the copied player and can achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. Duration: 15 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour (Requires 500 Evil Energy Crystals to upgrade.) - "An Illusory Space?" Excitement brightened Shi Feng''s expression as he red the text. This Evil God''s Tablet Fragment was undoubtedly his greatest harvest from the battle. Not even an Epic Weapon would be worth as much. This tablet was the equivalent of having a unique land to train in. In God''s Domain, even peak experts had an extremely hard time achieving a Skill Completion Rate of 100%, not to mention weaker players. Meanwhile, the tablet fragment could create an exact copy of a player to serve as an opponent. The copy could even achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. If players could spar with such an opponent long-term, their improvements would be astounding. By fighting the illusory creatures, players could learn how to better-execute their Skills and raise their Skill Completion Rates. Shi Feng had never imagined that the Evil Demons would drop such a precious item. The tablet fragment''s only downside was its short duration. Fifteen minutes would pass in the blink of an eye. "It can be upgraded using Evil Energy Crystals?" Shi Feng''s mood rose even higher. Shi Feng knew that Evil Energy Crystals could be useful when crafting weapons and equipment, but he hadn''t expected the crystals to have this purpose. Although Evil Energy Crystals only dropped from Chieftain rank and above Evil Demons, he had accumulated quite a few from the two siege battles in Stone Forest Town. He hadn''t used a single crystal thus far as he hadn''t wanted to waste them just to produce weapons and equipment. As a result, over 5,000 Evil Energy Crystals sat in Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse. Although the Evil God''s Tablet''s upgrade cost was a bit steep, upgrading the Illusory Space would be a worthwhile trade. Following which, Shi Feng retrieved all of the Evil Energy Crystals from the Guild Warehouse. Upon returning, he let the Evil God''s Tablet devour 500 Evil Energy Crystals. Immediately, the tablet started transformed, the originally blurry images on the tablet becoming clearer. At the same time, the tablet''s weight tripled. If not for his frighteningly high Strength, carrying this tablet would''ve been a taxing endeavor. The tablet''s introduction had also changed slightly. Initially, it would only create a Bronze Illusory Creature. Now, it would manifest a Mysterious-Iron Illusory Creature. Most importantly, the duration and Cooldown had changed considerably. The Illusory Space''s duration had risen from 15 minutes to 20 minutes, and the Cooldown had decreased to 55 minutes. If he wanted to upgrade the tablet fragment further, he would need to feed it another 1,000 Evil Energy Crystals. "That''s quite an improvement." After giving the matter some thought, he decided to upgrade the Evil God''s Tablet again. There wasn''t much use for Evil Energy Crystals at the moment. Upgrading the Illusory Space was much wiser than letting the crystals collect dust in the Guild Warehouse. After spending another 1,000 crystals to upgrade the tablet a second time, Shi Feng proceeded to spend 3,000 more crystals to upgrade yet again. Unfortunately, the fourth upgrade cost 10,000 crystals. Even if Shi Feng wanted to, he didn''t have enough of the resource. After upgrading the tablet two more times, the Illusory Space could generate Fine-Gold Illusory Creatures. The Illusory Space''s duration had also increased to 30 minutes, while its Cooldown had decreased to 45 minutes. Thirty minutes was neither too long nor too short of a time for players. Moreover, players would only have to wait 15 minutes after one session before beginning the next. Once Shi Feng finished upgrading the Evil God''s Tablet, he left the Guild Residence and headed to the Battle Arena. Although Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena had been popular among players thus far, it still struggled to attract experts. The more powerful an expert was, the less inclined they were to visit the Battle Arena. After all, experts of such high caliber were generally quite rare, which made it practically impossible to find these experts proper opponents that could help them improve in the Battle Arena. However, now that the Battle Arena had the Illusory Space, Shi Feng had solved this problem. Noobs and experts alike all desired a method to raise their Skill Completion Rates. This was especially true for expert players. After achieving an 80% Skill Completion Rate, every 1% increase required a lot of time and effort, let alone after reaching 100%. 1383 Advanced Combat Room Chapter 1383 - Advanced Combat Room Stone Forest Town, Battle Arena: Nowadays, the Battle Arena was the heart of Stone Forest Town. Almost every player that visited the town visited the arena. As soon as Shi Feng entered the central hall, he was greeted by the sight of over 400 players in the rest area, waiting for their turn in the combat rooms. Several times more players lined up for the payment counters. Although the traffic in the Battle Arena was no match for the number of players that had visited during its peak, it still raked in over 1,000 Gold of pure profit per day. It was enough to cause even first-rate Guilds to feel envious. Of course, first-rate Guilds earned more than just 1,000 Gold each day. However, the larger a Guild was and the more members it had, the greater its expenditure would be. This was especially true after a Guild obtained a town of its own. Developing a Guild town was not unlike throwing money into a bottomless pit. Normally, first-rate Guilds had to invest a large majority of their funds to develop a town properly. There was very little left each day. Moreover, this was only possible because of first-rate Guilds'' firm backgrounds and financial support from major corporations. Otherwise, supporting the initial cost of managing a town would be impossible. In Stone Forest Town''s case, however, the Battle Arena''s earnings largely made up for the town''s development costs. Hence, the other large Guilds had begun to construct their own Battle Arenas. It was thanks to this income, and the income from both the Candlelight Trading Firm and the teleportation house, that Zero Wing dared to develop multiple fronts, investing in both Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire and Immortal Light. However, once Zero Wing''s city was complete, the Guild would have another bottomless pit to fill. If they did not prepare, Zero Wing''s funds would quickly dry up, and funds were already quite tight. After observing the situation in the Battle Arena for a short moment, Shi Feng made his way to the top floor. "Guild Leader, you''ve come." As soon as Shi Feng arrived, a charming woman in a light-blue dress greeted him. This woman''s name was Judy, and she was one of the ten advanced NPC managers Shi Feng had hired. She had 76 points in Wisdom, even higher than an ordinary Tier 3, magical class NPC. In God''s Domain, she was an extremely rare NPC manager. The Battle Arena''s smooth operation, despite how large it had grown, was all due to advanced NPCs like Judy. No player would''ve been able to produce the same results. "Help me retrieve the blueprint for the seventh floor. I want to reorganize the layout," Shi Feng said and nodded a greeting. Although he wore a Black Cloak, he had personally contracted the arena''s ten advanced managers. They could recognize him even under the cloak. "Understood." Judy bowed and left. NPCs were incredibly efficient. After just a short moment, Shi Feng, who had waited in a VIP reception room, obtained the blueprint for the Battle Arena''s seventh floor. A portion of the seventh floor was allocated for tournament grounds, while another portion had been allocated for private rooms. However, after Stone Forest Town''s upgrade to Intermediate rank, the Battle Arena had grown. As a result, there were quite a few vacant private rooms. It just so happened that he could modify these rooms, creating advanced combat rooms. Originally, the Evil God''s Tablet had only covered a 50-yard-radius area. However, after its upgrades, it now covered a 100-yard-radius area. As long as he remodeled the seventh floor''s layout, he could easily fit multiple combat rooms within the Evil God''s Tablet''s coverage and allow players to train against the illusory creatures. "Guild Leader, if you wish to remodel the seventh floor in such a way, not only will it involve a lot of work, but it will also waste a lot of space. The remodel will cost 1,000 Gold. Are you sure you want to do this?" Judy asked upon seeing Shi Feng''s new layout. Minor modifications to large buildings in God''s Domain didn''t cost extra. A large-scale modification, however, required the appropriate modification fees. "It''s fine. Just get someone to see to the necessary changes." The high reconstruction cost didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Although he would be wasting a lot of space by trying to maximize the Evil God''s Tablet''s efficiency, he could squeeze in nine combat rooms around the tablet by doing so. Overall, it was a worthwhile trade. With this, he could maximize the number of players who could train against the illusory creatures. When Shi Feng had observed the first-floor hall, he had noticed that the majority of experts there were only Level 41 or 42, and they mainly wore Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. There were very few expert players in Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. This was due to the limited benefits for experts of that caliber, yet those were the players with a lot of resources to spend. Now that he had the Evil God''s Tablet''s illusory space, this was a good opportunity to lure more top experts to the Battle Arena. Although Shi Feng had thought of limiting the illusory space to Guild members, a Guild needed more than just experts to develop. If he could lure to experts to the Battle Arena and secure the resources in their possession, he could push the Guild''s development speed to a whole new level. Shortly after Shi Feng started the seventh floor''s remodel, news of the matter spread throughout Stone Forest Town. "Huh? They''re not letting people on the seventh floor? What''s going on?" "No idea. I''ve heard that some of the experts resting on that floor were requested to leave for a while. It seems that Zero Wing is remodeling the area." "Remodeling the seventh floor? Are they constructing more combat rooms?" "That might be possible. Members hadn''t needed to line up for combat rooms in the past, but that had changed. If Zero Wing constructed more member-only combat rooms, it could reduce the time members have to wait in line." The players waiting in the Battle Arena began to discuss the new changes. While everyone chatted about the situation, the seventh-floor remodel completed. Remodeling too far less time than constructing a building as the task was completed by NPCs. Altogether, only ten minutes had passed since Shi Feng had paid the fees. Curious players rushed to the seventh floor to inspect the changes. Upon taking a look, however, they were shocked. While it was true that Zero Wing had constructed more combat rooms, the number had surprised everyone. The Guild had only constructed nine combat rooms Moreover, these nine rooms occupied as much space as 20-plus combat rooms on the sixth floor. In addition, players could choose a new type of combat room at the first-floor counters: the advanced combat room. Moreover, only Battle Arena members had access, and the rental price was ridiculously high. Renting one advanced combat room for 30 minutes cost two Magic Crystals! Players had already griped about the 4 Silver per hour rental fees for ordinary combat rooms, yet Zero Wing had created a room that cost two Magic Crystals for a single half hour. Currently, each Magic Crystal cost 25 Silver on the market. However, players normally had to spend 26 or more Silver to purchase one. "Is Zero Wing trying to rob players?!" "Crap! This is fraud! Only an idiot would rent such a combat room!" "Zero Wing is insane! If I had that kind of money, I''d rather spend it in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower!" 1384 Empire Ranking Chapter 1384 - Empire Ranking Players in the main hall of Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena voiced their dissent. Many complained about the advanced combat room''s price. They all felt that Zero Wing was asking for too much, and only a fool would willingly rent these rooms. Independent players weren''t the only ones upset. Even Zero Wing''s members gasped when they saw the price. Two Magic Crystals could only get them 30 minutes inside the advanced combat room! Even Zero Wing''s core members were reluctant to pay such a price, much less the elite and normal members. Everyone thought that this price was simply outrageous and no one wanted to rent the rooms. While PvP and training combat techniques in a high Mana density environment was beneficial, there was a limit to how much one could actually gain. When Shi Feng heard the conversations in the Guild chat, he simply chuckled. He then took a Return Scroll from his bag and activated it, intending to return to White River City for now. While his asking price of two Magic Crystals was astonishingly high, and even he thought it was expensive, the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower only charged one Magic Crystal. However, his illusory space offered a stronger training ground than the Trial Tower. Not only was the Mana density much higher, but players could also spar with an illusory creature that possessed the same Skill set. The illusory creature could also execute said Skills with a 100% Completion Rate. No matter how he looked at it, the illusory space was far better than the Trial Tower. He planned to take the gamble. If no one wanted to rent the advanced combat rooms after realizing the benefits, he could lower the price to one Magic Crystal. He had left the Evil God''s Tablet and advanced combat rooms'' management to Judy. She would automatically activate the Illusory space when players entered the combat rooms. Thirty seconds later, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light and left the Battle Arena. A man and woman entered the Battle Arena''s lively first-floor hall. Both were exquisitely dressed, Level 43 players. As they entered the hall, they immediately attracted a lot of attention. "Hm? Aren''t they Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon, the commander and vice commander of Firecloud Fox?" A Level 41 Shield Warrior in silver armor immediately recognized the two people that just entered the building. "What''s an adventurer team from the Black Dragon Empire doing here?" "It shouldn''t be so surprising. After all, several experts from the Black Dragon Empire have trained in the Battle Arena before. Those experts are pretty high ranked in the empire, some even ranking among the top 100. Those two are probably here to prepare for the empire''s ranking battle tomorrow," a Level 42 Elementalist wearing purple robes said. "I see!" Realization dawned on the Shield Warrior. "If I remember correctly, Firecloud Fox barely got into the top 50 adventurer teams in the Black Dragon Empire''s last ranking battle. It''s a pity that the team wasn''t quite strong enough. If Remnant Cloud could rank among the top 50 of his own class, he might be able to push Firecloud Fox into the top 50 this time." "That''s highly unlikely. Various superpowers recently debuted newcomers that they''ve been nurturing internally to contest for the top ten newcomers in God''s Domain. First-rate Guilds will also dispatch some of their geniuses for the competition. Since the ranking battles are such a good opportunity to gain combat experience, why would these new talents pass it by?" the purple-robed Elementalist said, shaking his head. "Just keeping their spot among the top 100 will already be impressive, let alone the top 50." "Developing in an empire is awesome. The Secret Pavilion only holds these battles from time to time in the empires. Players residing in these empires get to watch the battles, too. On the other hand, the Secret Pavilion hasn''t once hosted such a competition in Star-Moon Kingdom," the silver-armored Shield Warrior said, sighing. "It can''t be helped. God''s Domain is just too big. Keeping up with the various empire''s statistics is already challenging. Moreover, hosting such competitions costs a lot of resources. Even the Secret Pavilion can''t afford to keep track of experts in the various kingdoms. Though, that might not be the case in the future." While the purple-robed Elementalist sighed in dejection as well, he also held a hint of hope. Generally, only local players got to watch the Secret Pavilion''s ranking competitions. After all, the competition venue could only hold a limited number of people. The Secret Pavilion usually only invite active, well-known players, adventurer teams, and large Guilds within the hosting empire. Adventurer teams and players from other countries weren''t invited. "The advanced combat room''s rent is so expensive! And only one person can use it at a time! Commander, let''s just settle for the ordinary combat rooms," Graceful Moon exclaimed when she saw the prices. Although she could afford the room, two Magic Crystals for 30 minutes of training was ridiculous no matter how she looked at it. "Let''s give the advanced combat rooms a try. In any case, we''re just here to test out the effects of the town''s Mana density. If we go for the ordinary combat rooms, I''m afraid we''ll have to wait a long time before our turn. We don''t have that much time to waste right now," Remnant Cloud said, shaking his head. He turned to the NPC behind the counter and said, "I''ll rent two advanced combat rooms." "Alright. The total cost is 4 Magic Crystals," the NPC beauty responded with a smile. Following which, Remnant Cloud paid four Magic Crystals and received two purple crystals in return. The purple crystals were keys to the corresponding combat rooms. After receiving the keys, Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon approached the staircase. Unlike other players, they didn''t need to wait in the rest area for their turn, and many players looked on with envy. Only, when these players remembered the 2-Magic-Crystal cost, they shook their heads and gave up on the notion of renting an advanced combat room. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had arrived in White River City. After leaving the Teleportation Hall, he made his way to the library. Due to an unexpected situation, he had been forced to delay his plan of asking Sharlyn about the pitch-black ring. Now that the Evil Demon problem plaguing Stone Forest Town had been dealt with, he had to visit the woman. After all, if not even Omniscient Eyes could appraise the pitch-black ring, the ring''s origin must be extraordinary. After riding an advanced horse carriage for ten minutes or so, Shi Feng reached White River City''s library. However, the scene before the library had changed drastically. Due to White River City''s promotion, the library''s appearance had become far more majestic. The guards standing by the main entrance had also been upgraded, now Level 180, Tier 2 Knights. Upon entering the library, Shi Feng felt a distinct change to the building''s Mana density. It would now be far easier to learn and train Spells here than outside. Hence, far more magical-class players occupied the building. Shi Feng did not waste too much time in the first-floor hall, quickly making his way to the library''s top floor. Upon reaching the top floor, like his previous visit, Shi Feng felt as if he had just sunk into a muddy swamp. He wasn''t comfortable. When he entered the Star-Moon Hall, Sharlyn sat at a table, quietly reading an ancient book as she usually did. She gave off an indescribable sense of intimacy and tranquility. "It seems your promotion has gone smoothly. You''ve made it back so quickly." When Sharlyn saw Shi Feng enter the hall, she scrutinized him. A moment later, she smiled and said, "Well? Out with it. Why have you come this time?" "Lady Sharlyn, I''d like your help in appraising an item," Shi Feng answered straightforwardly. "This item is very special, and I cannot even inspect it with my Omniscient Eyes." "Even your Omniscient Eyes appraise it?" Sharlyn was slightly astonished. Setting her book on the table, she continued, "That is interesting. Let me have a look." Following which, Shi Feng revealed the pitch-black ring he had obtained from the Ancient Treasure Chest. 1385 Repairing the Bible of Darkness Chapter 1385 - Repairing the Bible of Darkness The pitch-black ring was simple and unadorned. Even if a player picked it up, it wouldn''t be surprising if they sold it to an NPC as trash. However, when Shi Feng took out the ring, Sharlyn was stunned for a moment while Shi Feng felt the previously calm Mana in the hall rampage. Very quickly, however, peace returned to Star-Moon Hall. This was the first time Shi Feng had seen Sharlyn lose her composure. "Where did you get this?" Sharlyn asked, her joy and excitement lighting up her eyes as she stared at the pitch-black ring in Shi Feng''s hand. "A secret room in the Orc Palace," Shi Feng answered truthfully. Seeing Sharlyn''s reaction, he could tell that she recognized the item, and he could not help his growing excitement. If even Sharlyn hadn''t known the ring''s identity, it would have likely collected dust in his Warehouse for a very long time. After all, unless he obtained an Identification Skill that was even more powerful than Omniscient Eyes, he wouldn''t learn more about the ring. Such a Skill wasn''t easily obtained. However, if an NPC recognized the item, he could learn about it even if he couldn''t analyze it. "So, that''s the case. That old bastard really did have it." Sharlyn smiled. With a wave of her hand, the pitch-black ring flew out of Shi Feng''s palm and to Sherlyn''s. Slowly, she said, "This is the Ring of Eternity. It had originally belonged to the God Slayer, but looking at it now, it seems to be damaged beyond repair." "Damaged beyond repair?" Shi Feng''s heart sank. He had hoped that this ring was something amazing, yet it turned out to be beyond salvation. It was no wonder why Omniscient Eyes couldn''t analyze it. After all, it was only natural that he couldn''t appraise a worthless item. "Don''t be too disappointed. Although it is useless now, the ring''s materials are quite special," Sharlyn said. She couldn''t help but giggle when she saw the dejected expression on Shi Feng''s face. "After all, this ring used to be a Godly Relic. The Heart of the World had been its core material. I believe many people will be interested in this ring if you can get a Craftsman Forger to make a new one." When Shi Feng heard the words ''Heart of the World,'' his breathing quickened slightly. The Heart of the World was the foundation of a world. Many of God''s Domain''s Otherworlds, for example, had evolved from a Heart of the World. "If you don''t have a use for this ring, I''d be willing to buy it. I can offer you 200 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals or the Eternium Mine that''s near White River City," Sharlyn said, smiling as she toyed around with the Ring of Eternity in her hand. Sharlyn''s offer was sorely tempting. He had never expected the woman to be so generous and wealthy. Two hundred units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was no small amount. It would take a first-rate Guild months, if not years, to gather so much. Meanwhile, the Eternium mine close to White River City was also quite famous. hi Feng hadn''t thought that the mine actually belonged to Sharlyn Eternium Ore was a very rare supportive ore. It was also used to forge Magisteel Ingots, which could increase one''s success rate when forging weapons and equipment. Many Guilds had thought of claiming the mine for themselves in the past. Unfortunately, the mine was under the kingdom''s supervision. The NPCs guarding it were all Level 180 and above. It was impossible to claim. If he could obtain the Eternium mine, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s forgers would have a much easier time when crafting weapons and equipment above Level 50. "Lady Sharlyn, if I wish to make a new ring, must I get the help of a Craftsman Forger?" Shi Feng asked. Although Sharlyn''s offer was tempting, the Heart of the World was similarly precious. Encountering the material again in the future would be nearly impossible. "It doesn''t have to be a Craftsman, but Craftsman Forgers are the only ones who can use the material to its fullest potential. If you asked a Master or Grandmaster Forger to craft the new ring, the final product will be very low quality. It might not even be worth 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals," Sharlyn said, smiling at Shi Feng. "You need to think this through. How about I make you another offer? The power of darkness in your body has already become considerably dense. In exchange for this ring, I''ll help you partially restore the Bible of Darkness. It''ll become a little easier to retrain Moloch''s Ring''s devouring effect." "Help me repair the Bible of Darkness?" Shi Feng was slightly astonished. He had never imagined that Sharylyn would be so interested in the Ring of Eternity, so much so that she''d offer to help him repair the Bible of Darkness, albeit partially. Immediately, he answered, "Alright. I''ll have to trouble you to help me repair the Bible of Darkness, then." He had rushed to complete his Tier 2 promotion precisely because he was worried about Moloch''s Ring''s devouring effect. Now that a solution to this problem had presented itself, he had to take advantage of it. After all, he still had other matters to deal with. He didn''t have the spare time to quest and repair the Bible of Darkness. Meanwhile, he had other methods of obtaining Seven Luminaries Crystals. As for the mine, Manatite veins were far more valuable than Eternium veins. After all, Manatite Ore could be used to produce the Elementium Ingot, another item that could increase forging success rates. Moreover, Manatite veins produced Magic Crystals. As for forging a new ring, there were only a few Craftsman ranked Forgers throughout God''s Domain. Finding one and convincing them to help was simply impossible for a player of his level. Even if he got the chance, it wouldn''t happen for a long time. Rather than letting the Heart of the World collect dust in his Warehouse, he might as well benefit from it now. It would also save him the trouble of completing a quest that was at least Epic rank. "You''ve made a wise decision. Otherwise, you''d have to travel to the Broken Canyon," Sharlyn said, chuckling as she stored the Ring of Eternity. She then said, "Follow me." Hearing Sharlyn mention the Broken Canyon, Shi Feng shuddered. He hadn''t realized that he''d have to go to such a dangerous map to repair the Bible of Darkness The Broken Canyon was a Rank 2 forbidden land for humans, only second to the Ruined Mountain Range. In the Ruined Mountain Range, players were guaranteed to die, while in the Broken Canyon, they might survive one out of ten visits. Moreover, they''d only have such hope after reaching Tier 3. Countless peak experts had visited the Broken Canyon in the past. While some had grown stronger, the majority of these peak experts had returned with their characters crippled. Just being able to walk out of the Broken Canyon alive made them experts among experts. As for obtaining something from inside the Broken Canyon, only peak experts had any hope of achieving such a feat. Under Sharlyn''s lead, Shi Feng quickly arrived before a Teleportation Magic Array inside the Star-Moon Hall. When the teleportation array activated, Shi Feng''s vision blurred. In the next moment, he found himself inside a hall that resembled the night sky. The beautiful view was mesmerizing. "This isthe Stargazing Tower?!" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He hadn''t expected White River City''s library to have a teleportation array connected to the Stargazing Tower. The Stargazing Tower was in Blackwing City. Without an entry pass, entering the city was impossible. Under Sharlyn''s lead, Shi Feng returned to the Weeping Moon Pavilion once again. He suddenly felt far more limber. "The Weeping Moon Pavilion has a powerful suppression effect on the power of darkness. If we repair the Bible of Darkness here, the Demon Kings won''t discover the change," Sharlyn explained. "Alright, take out the Bible of Darkness and place it on the magic array below the water mirror." Nodding, Shi Feng retrieved the Bible of Darkness from his bag and set it on the carved magic array beneath the water mirror on the ceiling. The magic array in the center of the Weeping Moon Pavilion looked ancient. Despite the being inactive, Shi Feng could feel its archaic aura. As Sharlyn walked up to the magic array, a dazzling staff suddenly appeared in her hand. She pointed the staff at the magic array and commanded, "Space-time Source, activate!" Suddenly, the Mana density in the Weeping Moon Pavilion began to grow restless. The magic array then lit up, and horrific amounts of Mana surged towards the array, stealing the strength from Shi Feng''s legs as he fell on his rear. How is this possible?! Shi Feng was stupefied as he stared up at the sevenfold magic array that formed beneath the water mirror. This magic array was many times more powerful than any Tier 6 God-ranked Spell he had seen before. Abruptly, the Bible of Darkness started to flip around as layer upon layer of pitch-black chains appeared around the book, binding it. However, as if time had begun to rewind, the chains began to vanish. When only five chains remained, the magic array froze as a violent surge of Mana exploded in a shockwave. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng activated Absolute Domain, becoming immune to all damage. When the shockwave struck Shi Feng, although he did not receive any damage, he grew faint for a moment. Meanwhile, in the center of the magic array, the originally tattered Bible of Darkness seemed newer as it hovered in the air. The surrounding Mana density pulled a shudder from Shi Feng. 1386 Demon Ruler Chapter 1386 - Demon Ruler What powerful Mana! Shi Feng was astonished as he stared at the floating Bible of Darkness. Although the Bible of Darkness had previously exuded a powerful pressure, there was a world of difference when compared to the pressure it radiated now. Moreover, a layer of thick, black fog shrouded the book. The power of darkness was now so dense that he could see it with the naked eye Meanwhile, Sharlyn, who was very pale, lightly waved her hand. In the blink of an eye, the floating Bible of Darkness appeared in Shi Feng''s hands. "Alright, I can only repair it to this extent. Whether or not you can repair the Bible of Darkness to its peak will depend on your luck and tenacity. As for Moloch''s Ring, try not to use it unless absolutely necessary as it will only accumulate more power of darkness." After saying so, Sharlyn waved her staff. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s world spun. Before he knew it, he had appeared in the plaza outside of the Stargazing Tower. His abrupt appearance attracted a lot of attention. Isn''t she too quick to chase people away? Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he surveyed his surroundings and noticed hundreds of people staring at him greedily. Fortunately, he was wearing a Black Cloak, so his identity remained a secret. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Bible of Darkness and took out a Guild Transfer Scroll. In Blackwing City''s plaza, the players watching Shi Feng easily recognized the Bible of Darkness as an extraordinary item. However, when they saw Shi Feng''s Transfer Scroll, they ground their teeth in anger. Since attacking a player in Blackwing City would result in extremely severe punishment, they could only watch as this mysterious player departed from Blackwing City. Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing''s Residence: As soon as Shi Feng returned, he found an empty room to inspect the Bible of Darkness. - [Bible of Darkness] (Fragmented Legendary Item) The Bible of Darkness had been destroyed during the Great Destruction. However, the Bible contains an extreme amount of Power of Darkness. If one can gather the other fragments, they can restore the Bible''s power, gaining dominance over all Demonic Creatures and become the Lord of Demons. Skill 1: Demon Summoning: Summons the Demon Gate with the Power of Darkness, calling forth a random Demon that is no higher than 1 Tier and 15 Levels than the summoner (Maximum Tier cannot exceed Tier 5). Holder of the Bible of Darkness can command the summoned Demon for up to 6 hours. Cooldown: 2 hours 30 minutes Skill 2: Gate of Darkness: Allows teleportation to the Dark Den. Can also be used in the Dark Den to teleport to the outside world. Can teleport a maximum of 20 people at a single time. Cooldown: 1 day Skill 3: Light of Darkness: Strengthen a player with the Power of Darkness, allowing said player to wield the Power of Darkness. Can strengthen up to a maximum of 1200 people. Every player strengthened provides one Source of Darkness to the wielder of the Bible of Darkness. kill 4: Power of Darkness: Fill your body with the Power of Darkness, increasing all Attributes by 100%, decreasing Cooldown of all Skills by 30%, and increase damage by 50%. Duration will be equal to number of Source of Darkness*0.5 seconds. (Power of Darkness cannot stack. Can only strengthen players up to a maximum of Tier 5 classes) Cooldown: 6 hours Skill 6: Demon Ruler: Passive effect - Increases the Attributes of Demonic Creatures under user''s control by 30%. Forcibly decreases the Attributes of all enemy Demon Creatures within a 1,000-yard radius by 30%. Active effect - When activated, there is a 10% chance to control a Demon Creature that is no higher than 2 Tiers and 30 Levels than the user for 2 hours. Can control up to Tier 5 creatures. Can control up to a maximum of three creatures at a time. Cooldown: 5 minutes - This book can truly give its user the power to rule over Demons. Shi Feng was ecstatic as he read the tome''s Attribute Panel. With these Attributes, the Bible of Darkness was on par with a Legendary item, yet it was only Fragmented Legendary rank. With the shortened Cooldown for Demon Summoning, it was now possible to summon three Demons at a time. This would be of great help on his future quests. Meanwhile, with the Demon Ruler Skill, he could potentially control up to six Demons at a time. If he could restore the Bible of Darkness to its peak, he could form a powerful Demon army. His army would be no weaker than Beast Emperor''s Evil Demon forces. Moreover, he''d still be an ally of the human race. Now that the maximum number of people I can grant Power of Darkness to has increased from 600 to 1,200, I can use this opportunity to expand the Dark Gods Legion. Shi Feng thought as he read the Light of Darkness Skill. As Zero Wing continued to expand, its number of experts continued to increase. However, due to the previous limit of Light of Darkness, he couldn''t have more than 500 people in the Dark Gods Legion. Now, however, he could have a true 1,000-man legion. Moreover, the Bible of Darkness''s repair had also upgraded the Berserk Skill, Power of Darkness''s effects. When he thought about arming a 1,000-man legion with Berserk Skills, he could not help but shiver with excitement. Even ten years after God''s Domain''s launch, Berserk Skills had been incredibly rare. Not every expert would have a chance to learn one. It''d be impressive enough if a first-rate Guild had a 100-man berserk team. Not even Super Guilds could form a 1,000-man berserk legion. As Shi Feng was about to select new members for the Dark Gods Legion, he received a call from Gentle Snow. "Guild Leader, I''ve just received an invitation from the Secret Pavilion. The Secret Pavilion has requested that you and several core upper echelons spectate tomorrow''s ranking competition in the Black Dragon Empire. Moreover, the Pavilion has given Zero Wing five participation slots. We can join the official competition without going through the qualifiers," Gentle Snow reported before forwarding the invitation to Shi Feng. "They''ve invited Zero Wing to participate in the ranking competition as well?" Shi Feng was slightly astonished. The Secret Pavilion''s ranking competitions had been the most famous competitions throughout God''s Domain in the past. They were one of the few major competitions that players had access to and could watch. However, the organization wouldn''t invite just any Guild to participate. The Secret Pavilion only invited large, local Guilds. Moreover, due to the venue''s capacity, a limited number of Guilds were invited to spectate. Usually, the Secret Pavilion only prepared slots for 100 Guilds. Among the Guilds invited, the weakest were second-rate Guilds. Other local Guilds would then contest for the leftover slots. As this ranking competition was the best opportunity for a Guild to increase their renown in an empire, an intense competition among the local third-rate Guilds would break out before every event. Unfortunately, as both God''s Domain''s size and player population were too massive, it was unrealistic to hold the ranking competitions in every country. Hence, during the game''s early stages, the Secret Pavilion only limited the ranking competitions to the various empires. However, as the Secret Pavilion continued to develop and grow stronger, it would host a few events in some of the more powerful kingdoms. These ranking competitions were also why Shi Feng knew about various experts in Star-Moon Kingdom and the various empires. Shi Feng had never thought that his Guild would be invited as well. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. Zero Wing already had a Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire. In addition, Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. It wasn''t unusual for the Guild to receive an invitation. "Guild Leader, this is a good chance for Zero Wing to increase its fame in the Black Dragon Empire. As this is our first invitation and you''re our Guild Leader, you have to attend," Gentle Snow said seriously. There were too many large Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire, and quite a few first-rate Guilds would be participating in the competition. The first-rate Guild, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would also attend. Developing in the Black Dragon Empire wasn''t easy for Zero Wing. Now that the various top-ranking Guilds in the empire would gather in one location, this was a good opportunity to display Zero Wing''s strength. Although the Guild Leader couldn''t participate, he was still the symbol of strength for a Guild. It would be a huge waste if Shi Feng missed the event. 1387 Advanced Auction House Chapter 1387 - Advanced Auction House "Got it. I''ll definitely be there." Shi Feng chuckled before disconnecting the call. While Zero Wing might be famous in Star-Moon Kingdom, in the Black Dragon Empire and other countries, only large Guilds would have a clear understanding of it. Ordinary players and the like would at most have only heard Zero Wing''s name. After all, God''s Domain was very large with many Guilds in it. There were Guilds rising to and falling from prominence every day. Just keeping up with the latest news within one''s own country was already a difficult task, not to mention news in other kingdoms and empires. One could only do so by devoting all of their time to researching the various kingdoms and empires and nothing else. However, the consequence of doing something like this was a halt in their progress in the game, something unacceptable to most players. If one spoke about Zero Wing''s popularity among the players of the Black Dragon Empire, it might not even be comparable to that of a second-rate Guild in the empire. After all, the majority of the players in God''s Domain would not leave the country they belonged to at this stage of the game. Moreover, the official forums were also region-based. One could access only the forums of the country they were in. Hence, the only way one could access the forums of another country was by personally traveling to said country. As a result, the knowledge that ordinary players and a large majority of elite players had regarding other kingdoms and empires was limited to the various ranking lists created by the Secret Pavilion. In fact, before becoming the Guild Leader of Shadow, Shi Feng had also been in a similar situation. If not for the Secret Pavilion hosting ranking competitions in the various countries, he wouldn''t have been able to find out about the experts of the many kingdoms and empires or the well-known Guilds and adventurer teams. Following which, Shi Feng pulled up the relevant data for Guild members and began choosing the new members for the Dark Gods Legion. Previously, as there were too few slots available in the Dark Gods Legion, he had set in place an elimination system to replace underperforming members. Now that the Power of Darkness slots had doubled in number, he needed to select new members for the Dark Gods Legion properly. After all, becoming a member of the Dark Gods Legion was already equivalent to becoming one of Zero Wing''s core members. The benefits they enjoyed were second only to what the main force members received. Fortunately, Aqua Rose had already compiled a list of reserve members for the Dark Gods Legion and would frequently update it. The members on this list normally had excellent performances in the Guild and displayed rapid improvement. Their individual strength ranked near the top among elite members as well. Moreover, Aqua Rose had also carried out a detailed investigation into their backgrounds. Hence, the likelihood of them being spies from other Guilds was very low. "Hm? These people have actually joined Zero Wing too?" As Shi Feng was going through the reserve member list, he suddenly discovered the names of a few players that had been peak experts in Star-Moon Kingdom in the past. The Elementalist Carefree Wind, nicknamed the Magic Breaker. He was once an independent expert ranked within the top 30 of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Elementalist rankings. Carefree Wind always operated solo. Despite many large Guilds'' attempts to recruit him, none of them had ever succeeded in doing so. The Assassin Cool Breeze. He was similarly an expert on Star-Moon Kingdom''s Assassin rankings. At his peak, he had managed to get within the top 15. Shi Feng could not help but sigh ruefully when he noticed that various peak experts of Star-Moon Kingdom in his previous life had actually joined Zero Wing. It was no wonder people often said that Zero Wing was rife with experts. When he looked at this list now, those words really were true. Given enough time and opportunities, these people would definitely become peerless experts in the future. At that time, nobody would dare say that Zero Wing was lacking in peak experts. Just as Shi Feng was going through the reserve member list, he suddenly received a call from Melancholic Smile. "Guild Leader, I''ve already gathered the 100 architects you''ve asked for at the Guild Residence''s first-floor reception room. They can start working at any time," Melancholic Smile said. The Architect class was originally a very unpopular subclass. Even though the Candlelight Trading Firm had already recruited quite a number before, trying to gather 100 architects was not an easy task. With so many architects, they could already reconstruct Stone Forest Town all over again. "Okay, I''ll head over right away." Shi Feng nodded. Inside the first-floor reception room, 100 architects had gathered. Currently, some of them wore nervous expressions, while others looked excited. After all, this was the first time their Guild Leader, Black Flame, had asked to meet with them directly. Black Flame was someone everybody in Star-Moon Kingdom knew about. He was a living legend. Just before this, he had even single-handedly defeated a small army of Evil Demons as well as sent Heaven''s Burial''s experts running for their lives. "I wonder what the Guild Leader has called so many of us here for?" "I suspect that the Guild might be planning on nurturing a few architects. I heard that some time ago, the Guild decided to nurture some alchemists. As a result, during this period, those alchemists in the trading firm have been practicing like crazy. They''ve all locked themselves up in their workshops and have declared they would get within the top 10 of some competition." "I also heard about that. Moreover, I heard that it triggered a frenzy among the alchemists in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Right now, many capable Alchemists are trying to join the Candlelight Trading Firm to compete for the top 10 rankings for that competition." "I''m not asking for much. As long as I can become a core member, I will be able to rely on God''s Domain to earn a stable income in the future." "Stop dreaming. It''s very difficult for Lifestyle players to become core members in Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wing''s core members all receive a considerably high fixed monthly salary." "Hehe. I''ve just managed to get promoted to Advanced Architect. There are only a few Advanced Architects in the entire Candlelight Trading Firm. Even if I can''t become a core member, as long as I work hard enough, I should still have a great chance to become an internal member. Unlike the forgers, alchemists, and engineers of the trading firm, I don''t have to break my back to become an internal member. Even after reaching the Advanced rank, those guys can become only official members of the trading firm." "I knew I should''ve become an architect sooner. If I did, I would''ve also become an Advanced Architect by now." While everyone was chatting, Shi Feng entered the reception room. Immediately, the architects inside the room rose to attention. The room also fell dead silent as everyone looked speechlessly at Shi Feng, anxiety apparent on their faces. They had reacted this way not because they wanted to. Rather, their bodies had responded instinctively to Shi Feng entering the room. After Shi Feng upgraded the Seven Luminaries Ring, his Basic Attributes soared significantly, so much so that he had yet to adapt to the change fully. Hence, if he wasn''t paying attention, his aura would flow out freely. Moreover, now that the Bible of Darkness was partially repaired, the book added a layer of darkness and coldness to his aura. As a result, when everyone looked at Shi Feng, they felt as if they were going up against a Great Lord ranked Demon. Even elite players, who were fond of combat, would feel a significant amount of pressure from Shi Feng''s aura; what more low-leveled Lifestyle players like themselves? "So strong!" "So this person is our Guild Leader?" "Why do I feel my legs going soft?" Previously, everyone had only ever seen Shi Feng through videos. Now that they were looking at him up close, the reverence they felt towards Shi Feng grew even greater. "Sit," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. Immediately, like well-trained soldiers, everyone sat down in unison with serious expressions. Seeing this scene, Shi Feng could not help but smile bitterly. Was he really that frightening? "The reason why I''ve gathered you all here today is to build a large structure. However, before I tell you the exact details, you''ll need to sign an agreement. By signing this contract, Basic and Intermediate Architects will directly become official members of the Candlelight Trading Firm, while Advanced Architects will become internal members," Shi Feng explained. "Crap! Even Basic Architects get to become official members?!" "Hahaha! My decision to become an architect was the right one after all!" Hearing Shi Feng''s words, nearly everyone in the room cried out in shock. The Candlelight Trading Firm was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm. It was also a holy land for Lifestyle players. The benefits it offered was at the top of the industry. Hence, countless Lifestyle players wanted to join the trading firm. However, because of this popularity, becoming an official member of the trading firm was extremely difficult. Normally, when an Advanced Lifestyle player joined another Guild, they would almost always receive the treatment of a core member. In Candlelight, however, Advanced Lifestyle players would only qualify as official members. One could just imagine how difficult it was to become an official member of the Candlelight Trading Firm. Meanwhile, if an Advanced Lifestyle player wished to become an internal member of Candlelight, they would have to top all sorts of competitions. Yet, now, they could become internal members just by being Advanced Architects. It was simply inconceivable. Immediately, everyone signed the agreement without hesitation. With the contracts dealt with, Shi Feng nodded and said, "Since no one has any problems, let''s move to today''s main topic." Saying so, he took out a very large construction design from his bag. Compared to ordinary construction designs, this one was nearly three times bigger. Moreover, the design consisted of a thick stack of papers. When everyone read the words written on the construction design, they gasped. The Advanced Auction House Design! 1388 Inheriting Secret Runes Chapter 1388 - Inheriting Secret Runes Melancholic Smile, who was also in the reception room, could not help but rub her eyes as she looked at the design placed on the table in astonishment. The Auction House Design was one of the items the various large Guilds were all searching for right now. Just from looking at Red Iron Town''s current situation, one could tell how much of a help an Auction House could be to a Guild town. Many superpowers had even begun offering astronomical prices to purchase the Auction House Design, as it was something that could only be obtained through luck and not effort. However, even now, nobody had gotten any information regarding the Auction House Design. "Guild Leader, are you some kind of treasure box? You actually managed to take out an Auction House Design as well. If Heaven''s Burial were to find out about this, they would definitely faint from anger," Melancholic Smile said as she looked at Shi Feng excitedly. Currently, the various major powers and players in Star-Moon Kingdom were all optimistic about Heaven''s Burial''s Red Iron Town. They all believed that it was only a matter of time before Red Iron Town surpassed Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, one of the main contributing factors for their rosy outlook was the presence of the Auction House. Now, however, Zero Wing also possessed an Auction House Design. If Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelon were to find out about this matter, their reactions would no doubt be priceless. At this moment, Melancholic Smile finally understood why Shi Feng had said that it was about time to give Heaven''s Burial a wake-up call. As soon as Stone Forest Town''s Auction House was constructed, all hopes for Red Iron Town surpassing Stone Forest Town would be dashed. After all, aside from the Auction House, Stone Forest Town still possessed many other attractions. It held an absolute advantage over Red Iron Town. Shi Feng simply chuckled in response to Melancholic Smile''s question. He then started assigning tasks to everyone for the construction of the Advanced Auction House. Once the Advanced Auction House was constructed, let alone Red Iron Town''s Auction House, even Star-Moon City''s Auction House might not be a match for it. However, the construction of the Advanced Auction House was very difficult and required a lot of rare materials. Just the construction cost alone was over 5,000 Gold. In addition, the construction procedures were extremely complex, needing some special Secret Runes to complete the building. Hence, the design itself included a complete set of Foundational Secret Runes for players to learn. Each player could inherit this kind of technique only once, and only a maximum of 100 players could inherit this set of Foundational Secret Runes. To architects, this was a massive opportunity to improve themselves. How much they could learn would depend on their individual standards. However, even if they managed to learn only half of the technique, it would be a great help in their pursuit of Mastery in the future. If one could fully grasp the Foundational Secret Runes, they would have no problems becoming Master Architects. Although Shi Feng did not know how much the 100 architects present could grasp, at the very least, he would increase their chances at becoming Master Architects. Even if only one out of 100 of these people managed to become a Master Architect, it would be a matter worth celebrating for Zero Wing. At this stage of the game, not much importance was placed on architects. However, as God''s Domain continued developing and the number of Guild towns and cities in the game increased, the status of architects in the game would also rise rapidly. Particularly, at the later stages of the game, the treatment Master Architects received from Guilds would not be the slightest bit inferior when compared to Master Forgers, Master Alchemists, and Master Engineers. After all, Advanced Construction Designs were extremely rare. However, Master Architects had a chance at creating an Advanced Construction Design of their own. Moreover, every Advanced Construction Design was worth much more than the advanced designs of alchemy, forging, and engineering, because buildings constructed using Advanced Construction Designs possessed distinctive abilities. Take the Advanced Auction House Design for example. In the case of an ordinary Auction House, it was only capable of letting players consign and purchase items through it. There was not much difference between it and NPC Auction Houses. However, it was a different story for Advanced Auction Houses. An Advanced Auction House possessed two more features than an ordinary Auction House. The first feature was the bartering function. This bartering function did not require any intervention from players. The system would automatically complete the transaction of items for players. It was an extremely convenient system for independent players and adventurer teams. After all, a large portion of God''s Domain''s player base consisted of independent players and adventurer teams. There were bound to be some people that would be lucky enough to obtain items that the various large Guilds could not. Just this bartering function alone allowed the Advanced Auction House to surpass ordinary Auction Houses by far. The second feature was a weekly NPC auction, which was similar to the auctions held at Blackwing City. At this NPC auction, NPCs would put their own items up for bids. Naturally, players would be allowed to purchase these items so long as the bids they placed were sufficiently high. This feature definitely could not be found in an ordinary Auction House. Due to these two features, the Advanced Auction House Ouroboros operated in the past became the number one Auction House in Star-Moon Kingdom as well as neighboring kingdoms. Back then, even superpowers were envious of Ouroboros. Inside the reception room, under Shi Feng''s guidance, all 100 architect players managed to inherit the Foundational Secret Runes. "Crap! There''s actually such a construction method as well?! These Foundational Secret Runes are simply amazing!" "If my friends were to find out that I''ve joined Zero Wing and have even learned a set of Foundational Secret Runes, they would definitely die of envy." "Amazing! If I manage to learn these Secret Runes, I feel that I''ll have a greater chance of becoming a Master Architect." Everyone could not help but exclaim when they obtained the Foundational Secret Runes. The loyalty and reverence they felt towards Zero Wing also strengthened even more. Recently, there were all sorts of rumors flying about stating that Heaven''s Burial would surpass Zero Wing sooner or later. From the situation now, however, not to mention surpassing Zero Wing, Heaven''s Burial would be fortunate if it could touch Zero Wing''s shadow. While Shi Feng was watching everyone learning the Foundational Secret Runes quietly, Melancholic Smile''s expression suddenly sank. "What''s wrong?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "I just received news from an informant inside Heaven''s Burial. It seems that Heaven''s Burial has already begun raiding the Frost King," Melancholic Smile explained. "However, something seems to have gone wrong with the Frost King. It displayed a strength that was completely different from our investigations. Even Heaven''s Burial was caught off guard. After losing some men, the legion Heaven''s Burial dispatched promptly retreated. Now, in order to deal with the Frost King, Heaven''s Burial has formed a 20,000-man elite legion to deal with the Frost King. Currently, the legion has already set out for the Frozen Scar." "Its strength is different from previous investigations?" Shi Feng also felt somewhat surprised at this situation. The NPCs of Evernight City had long since mentioned the Frost King''s strength. No mistakes should have occurred. "Do you know how strong the Frost King currently is?" "Exactly how strong the Frost King is, that person does not know. However, he heard that the Boss''s name had an additional Mutant label. When fighting, the Boss exhibited combat standards that are slightly superior to even ordinary experts''. It was as if a player was wearing the skin of a Boss," Melancholic Smile reported. "Currently, the Frost King has left his original habitat. Many large Guilds have also found out about this situation already and are currently dispatching their own elite armies to hunt down the Frost King." "A Mutant?" Shi Feng was surprised when he heard about the Frost King turning into a Mutant. A moment later, however, a smile appeared on his face. "They''ve all gone to compete for it? This is interesting." Mutants were no different from natural disasters. The last Mutant he encountered in Star-Moon Kingdom was a Level 50 High Lord. If not for the immaturity of that Mutant''s intellect, to the point where it actually dared to barge into White River City, it definitely would have grown into a disaster for Star-Moon Kingdom. Had Weissman not taken action, it would''ve been utterly impossible to stop the Mechanical Slayer with just the Level 150, Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards in the city. Meanwhile, the Mechanical Slayer back then was only a High Lord. On the other hand, the Frost King was a Grand Lord. However, the precondition for Mutants becoming a disaster was that they managed to grow up. Currently, the Frost King had just transformed into a Mutant. Now was definitely an excellent time to kill it. In God''s Domain, risks and opportunities came hand in hand. It was very obvious that the various large Guilds were also aware of this principle. Moreover, the fact that the Frost King had left its original habitat was good news for players. After all, the greatest hindrance preventing players from raiding the Frost King was not its strength but the Boss''s environment. "Melancholic, notify the main force members and Dark Gods Legion members as well as the people on this list here. Have everyone gather at the Guild Residence. It''s about time we let these Guilds know about Zero Wing''s strength." 1389 Gathering from All Sides Chapter 1389 - Gathering from All Sides After Shi Feng gave his command, Melancholic Smile promptly began contacting the relevant players. When everyone heard that they were being called upon by Shi Feng, they immediately dropped what they were doing and rushed back to the Guild Residence. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also took out a Return Scroll and traveled back to Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City. If it were simply an ordinary Mutant, Shi Feng would not have bothered gathering so many players. After all, a newly born Mutant would only receive a small boost to their intellect and combat power. Given the minor level difference this time, he would only require a little effort to kill it. However, the Frost King was a slightly special Boss. As the Final Boss of the Frozen Scar, the Frost King possessed the Innate Skill Frozen World that no other monster possessed. Although Frozen World was only a Tier 3 Domain Skill, due to it being the Innate Skill of a Final Boss, it possessed effects rivaling that of a Tier 4 Domain Skill. The Skill covered a 1,500-yard radius, and players caught within range of Frozen World would have not only their Basic Attributes but also their Skills and Stamina forcibly weakened. Moreover, the more players there were fighting against the Frost King, the greater the Boss''s strength would become. Due to these reasons, despite being only a Grand Lord, the Frost King''s raid difficulty was not one bit lower than a Tier 4 Mythic monster''s. After factoring in the severe environment, the Frost King might even be more difficult to raid than a Mythic monster. Players who did not possess the appropriate countermeasures would definitely get annihilated by the Frost King. After returning to the Guild Residence in White River City, Shi Feng quickly made his way to the Guild''s Warehouse. Without hesitation, he retrieved 1,000-plus bottles of Sea God''s Blessing as well as the Ancient Weather Book. With these items, he would have the qualifications to raid the Frost King. Right then, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and said, "Guild Leader, everyone''s already assembled at the Residence. They are ready to move out at any moment." "Okay." Shi Feng immediately left the Warehouse. Currently, Zero Wing''s main force, the Dark Gods Legion, and the selected reserve members were gathered inside Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City. Even the lowest-leveled player among them was Level 43, while the majority were Level 45. Meanwhile, even the most inferior piece of equipment found on these players was at the Level 40 Fine-Gold standard. As for the main force members, practically every one of them was fully equipped in Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. To ordinary players, this could already be considered a set of divine equipment. As the thousand-plus players waited before the Guild Hall, the intense aura they radiated stupefied the prospective applicants lined up outside the Residence as well as the passersby on the street. When Zero Wing''s members saw Shi Feng walking over, they immediately dropped their conversations and stood at attention, looking at Shi Feng with eyes filled with excitement. Although they had yet to hear the reason why Shi Feng had called them here, they could mostly guess that it had something to do with the suddenly mutated Frost King. By this time, information about the Frost King was no longer a secret, as many large Guilds had already organized their own armies and were hurrying over to the Frozen Scar. "All of you, come collect your Sea God''s Blessing from me! Each person gets one bottle!" Shi Feng said as he sent a glance at everyone. "Also, send your personal data to me." The combat method of a 1,000-man team was different from that of a 100-man team. Hence, before starting an operation, one needed to reorganize the team''s formations. Otherwise, it would be very easy for chaos to ensue in battle. Following which, Shi Feng spent roughly 20 minutes assigning specific roles to everyone in the team. As for the newly minted Dark Gods members, he also granted them the Berserk Skill Power of Darkness. Now, Power of Darkness had already become much stronger than an ordinary Berserk Skill. "Alright, everyone, move out! Our destination is the Frozen Scar!" Shi Feng said after seeing everyone already ready to go. Following which, everyone got on their Mounts and followed Shi Feng''s Demonic Flame Tiger to the Teleportation Hall. When the players on the street saw this lineup, they promptly stepped aside to give way to Zero Wing''s members. Meanwhile, when the members of other Guilds looked at the majestic Thunder Wolves Zero Wing''s members rode on, they could not help growing envious. At an open plain at the Frozen Scar, a horde of players was currently gathered, their numbers easily exceeding 100,000. These players were all members of various large Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom. As for independent players, they could only look at these Guild players from the Frozen Scar''s entrance. They did not dare to approach these Guilds at all, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire of the competition between these Guilds. After all, among the Guilds present, even the Guild that dispatched the fewest members to this place had over 2,000 members, while some of the more powerful Guilds had sent over 6,000 members. In front of these Guilds, the 100-man teams formed by independent players like themselves were like specks of dust. "Is there a need to mobilize such a force just to take down one Boss?" Many independent players were perplexed as they watched the constant stream of Guilds entering the Frozen Scar. Previously, the various large Guilds had not been particularly enthusiastic about raiding the Frost King. Only a few powerful Guilds had been seen actually trying to reach the Frost King. Yet, now, after word spread that the Frost King had become stronger, rather than decrease, the number of Guilds aiming for the King''s head had increased instead. "Don''t you know? The various large Guilds did not try to raid the Frost King before because the Boss lived at the central area of the Frozen Scar. You need very high Ice Resistance if you want to survive there. However, the Frost King has already left the central area. Based on what I''ve heard, it seems that the Frost King is currently headed in our direction. Now that the raid difficulty has decreased significantly, the various large Guilds naturally won''t let go of this opportunity," a player knowledgeable about the situation explained. Just as everyone was having a hushed discussion among themselves, another large group of players arrived at the Frozen Scar''s entrance. The players numbered so many that they very nearly clogged up the entire entrance. "Quick, look! The Star Alliance and Heaven''s Burial have arrived! They''ve brought along so many members!" "They must''ve dispatched at least 10,000 members!" "Ten thousand? What a lowball! From what I heard from one of Heaven''s Burial''s internal members, it seems that Heaven''s Burial has dispatched 20,000 members to take down the Frost King this time. As for the Star Alliance, they''ve dispatched 24,000 members. I really wonder, which Guild will get the Frost King in the end?" "Guild Leader Galaxy, what a rare opportunity to meet you here. I never thought that you would take charge of the legion sent to raid the Frost King this time," Singular Burial said, feeling slightly surprised as he looked at Galaxy Past, who rode on a large war bear. At this moment, Galaxy Past was geared in silver armor engraved with golden, divine runes, and carried a purple, lightning-clad greatsword on his back. He also did not bother hiding the Epic glow effects of his breastplate and greatsword. As for Galaxy Past himself, he had already reached Level 45, and his body radiated a chilling aura. Compared to the Galaxy Past Singular Burial knew before, the current Galaxy Past was like a completely different person. Previously, as Singular Burial had been entirely focused on surpassing Zero Wing, he had neglected to pay attention to the Star Alliance. In addition, the Star Alliance had kept a low profile for quite a long time, only developing itself peacefully and not participating in any Guild battles. Singular Burial never expected that after not seeing Galaxy Past for some time, the latter would actually become so powerful that even Singular Burial himself felt threatened by him. Moreover, Galaxy Past wasn''t the only person that had changed. The Elementalist Red Feather, the Ranger Flourishing Willow, and the Elementalist Purple Eye had all become a lot stronger. Like Galaxy Past, they were also Level 45, and every one of them gave off a very dangerous feeling. "Haven''t you personally come here as well, in order to gain Evernight City''s Reputation and status, Guild Leader Burial?" Galaxy Past countered, chuckling as he glanced askance at Singular Burial. "Why don''t our two Guilds join hands and clear out the other Guilds present? Afterwards, we''ll rely on our own capabilities to compete for the Frost King. How about it?" Singular Burial suggested as he looked at the other Guilds in the distance that were currently getting ready to tackle the Frost King. "Guild Leader Burial, while your suggestion indeed sounds good, allow me to refuse on behalf of the Star Alliance. In my opinion, the more, the merrier." Galaxy Past immediately turned down Singular Burial''s offer. "If Guild Leader Burial doesn''t have anything else to say, we''ll go ahead to start making our own preparations." Saying so, Galaxy Past led the Star Alliance''s members towards the plains. "Guild Leader, what''s up with Galaxy Past? Why do I feel as if he has transformed into a completely different person?" Daybreak Fog asked, surprise coloring her face as she watched Galaxy Past and the other members of the Star Alliance walk away. "I don''t know. However, we''d best pay more attention to the Star Alliance in the future," Singular Burial said, shaking his head. Although the Star Alliance had transformed remarkably, Singular Burial was still confident of claiming the kill on the Frost King. His previous offer to clear out the other Guilds was simply an attempt to probe the Star Alliance''s strength. In reality, it did not matter to him whether the other Guilds took part in the competition or not. "Alright, let''s go get ready ourselves." Daybreak Fog nodded in response and commanded the army forward. Just as the various large Guilds were quietly waiting for the Frost King''s arrival, another batch of white lights appeared at the entrance of the Regional Dungeon, signifying the arrival of yet another group of players. The moment these players appeared, the many independent players crowding the entrance could not help but turn around to take a look at these newcomers. The reason for such a reaction was the powerful aura they felt coming from these players. Every one of these players exuded an aura that made the onlookers shudder. Meanwhile, the exquisiteness of these players'' equipment was also off the charts. Moreover, every one of these players sat on Mounts, and they moved like a well-trained army. Compared to them, the previous Guild armies seemed more like a bunch of rabble. "It''s Zero Wing! Zero Wing has come as well!" 1390 Settling a Deb Chapter 1390 - Settling a Debt Upon Zero Wing''s arrival, the Guild attracted a lot of attention from the independent players crowding the entrance. One team after another appeared, surprising the spectating players more with each arrival. "Level 45?! How are Zero Wing''s members so high-leveled?! The top 10 players on the Ranking List are only Level 45. By the looks of it, Zero Wing should have at least 400 Level 45 members" "Crap! Zero Wing has so many members in Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment!" Zero Wing''s appearance was truly eye-catching. The Thunder Wolf Guild Mount and six-winged emblem had become famous as Zero Wing''s symbols. As the crowd watched the massive Thunder Wolves, they could not help but drool. At the moment of purchase, the Thunder Wolves'' Attributes rivaled that of Bronze Mounts despite their Common rank. Although nurturing Guild Mounts was very difficult, it was obvious that the Thunder Wolf''s growth potential was very high, which would make it easier to nurture. Meanwhile, players could obtain items from the Eclipse Gate that could accelerate their Guild Mount''s growth. Zero Wing''s members were practically guaranteed to nurture their Thunder Wolves to Bronze rank. Even for elite players, a Bronze Mount was a luxury. They''d have to be lucky to find one. "Hm? What''s that Mount? Its aura is so powerful!" "How can such a powerful Mount exist?!" As Zero Wing''s members continued to arrive, everyone quickly noticed a ferocious, three-meter-tall beast. A pitch-black horn protruded from its head as arcs of white electricity danced around its body, and black flames surrounded its four paws. It was distinctively different from the Thunder Wolf Mounts. Players could even feel this beast''s aura from over 100 yards away. A single glance from this creature made them shudder. This ferocious beast was like a king among Mounts. The moment it appeared, every other Mount submitted as it stepped aside. "Wait, look at the rider! The player on that Mount seems to be Black Flame!" "It really is Black Flame! I never thought he would lead an army here personally. The competition for the Frost King is about to become more interesting." "Crap! As expected of the Sword King! He even managed to get his hands on such a Mount. I wonder what rank it is? Since it''s so powerful, could it be an Epic Mount?" "Black Flame''s capabilities are ridiculous. With such a powerful Mount, he won''t even need to take action to kill an expert player. He can simply let his Mount take care of it." Everyone stared at Shi Feng in shock. A Dark-Gold Mount could, at most, rival a Chieftain of the same level. Although Chieftains were powerful, they were not insurmountable to the players here. However, Shi Feng''s one-horned Mount was clearly more powerful than a Lord ranked monster. At this point, the only explanation was that this Demonic Flame Tiger was an Epic Mount. An Epic Mount! Even Super Guilds dreamed of obtaining such a creature. Unfortunately, the highest rank they had managed to secure was a Dark-Gold Mount These players'' awe for Shi Feng continued to reach new heights. Of course, these players didn''t know that Shi Feng''s Demonic Flame Tiger had only become this terrifying after he had fed it a Ferocious Beast''s Bloodline Essence. Although Shi Feng had only brought around 1,000 members to the Frozen Scar, the army''s aura was even more imposing than the Star Alliance and Heaven''s Burial''s forces. Zero Wing''s appearance had also caused a commotion among the various large Guilds waiting in the plains. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" "Zero Wing has dispatched so many experts. On the off chance that they decide to move against us" The various large Guilds'' upper echelons and players began to panic as Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s army approached. The Guild Leaders were also on edges. None of them had expected Zero Wing to join this competition. After all, the Guild hadn''t shown any interest in the Frost King before. Hence, they had come to try their luck and compete for the Frost King''s kill. None of them were concerned with encountering Heaven''s Burial and the Star Alliance. But it was a different story if Black Flame showed up He had fought in one major war after another, always emerging alive. He was even strong enough to instill fear in experts and an Evil Demon army as both had fled for their lives. For this man, taking a particular player''s life while surrounded by an army of tens of thousands of players was a piece of cake. Furthermore, 1,000 experts accompanied Black Flame. Against such a force, an army of 10,000 elite players was little more than cannon fodder. "Don''t panic! We have dozens of large Guilds here right now. Zero Wing wouldn''t dare attack any of us if we join hands." "That''s right. After all is said and done, a Boss is a public resource. Moreover, we were here first. We should do this on a first-come, first-served basis. Although Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, I don''t think it will interfere." As Zero Wing approached, the various Guilds began to form temporary alliances. In reality, though, they understood that such an alliance wouldn''t pose any threat to Zero Wing. This was especially true after witnessing Black Flame single-handedly defeat the Evil Demon army. They all knew that attempting to deter Black Flame with numbers was a futile effort. "Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am the Assassin''s Alliance''s Guild Leader, Cruel Sword. I am a friend of Zero Wing''s Elder, Ye Feng," Cruel Sword said as he took the initiative to greet Shi Feng, anxiety and respect filling his voice. Honestly, Cruel Sword did not want to greet the man. Although he was the Guild Leader of the Assassin''s Alliance, a second-rate Guild, it was nothing compared to Zero Wing. Moreover, the Assassin''s Alliance mainly operated around White River City. If Zero Wing wished to do so, it could annihilate the Assassin''s Alliance at a moment''s notice. However, as Cruel Sword had formed a connection with Zero Wing''s Ye Feng some time ago, the various large Guilds had pushed him forward as their representative in any negotiations with the monstrous Guild. Cruel Sword didn''t know whether he wanted to laugh or cry. "Relax. I won''t do anything to you guys. If you want to compete for the Frost King, do it. Everyone will rely on their own abilities to secure the kill." Seeing Cruel Sword''s tension, Shi Feng understood why the man had approached him. In this situation, he didn''t mind what the various large Guilds decided to do. After all, getting the Frost King''s first kill was much easier said than done. However, Shi Feng couldn''t help a rueful sigh when he saw Cruel Sword at Level 43 with a set of silvery armor. The Assassin''s Alliance had been a towering existence to him in the past, but the tables had turned. Shi Feng found the situation reasonable after giving it some thought. After all, Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. Its elite member count alone was over 100,000. The Guild also had more than 1,000 expert players. Their members wore the best weapons and equipment throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. A second-rate Guild simply couldn''t compare. "Many thanks to Guild Leader Black Flame!" Cruel Sword thanked the man. If Zero Wing intended to chase these Guilds away, they''d have no choice but to leave obediently. Hearing Shi Feng''s reply, the many upper echelons released a sigh of relief. "However, I''d like to ask you all to step aside as Zero Wing has a debt to settle with Heaven''s Burial," Shi Feng added indifferently as he glanced at the Guild''s distant army. 1391 Monstrous Army Chapter 1391 - Monstrous Army As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence descended upon the snowy plains. "Madness! This is madness! Are they really going to start a fight right now?!" "This can''t be, right? Does Zero Wing intend to take out all of Heaven''s Burial''s members?" "Zero Wing isn''t aiming for mutual destruction, right?" For a moment, these players wondered if they had heard wrong. None of them dared to believe that Zero Wing would actually try to deal with Heaven''s Burial right now. The Guild only had a thousand or so members here. Although Zero Wing''s members possessed extraordinary combat power, Heaven''s Burial had plenty of experts as well. A large number of the Guild''s elite members had also tagged along. Fighting in such an open field was very disadvantageous for the smaller army. If it really came down to a fight, even Zero Wing would suffer grievous losses. "Guild Leader, what is Black Flame thinking? Is he actually planning to take on Heaven''s Burial here?" Purple Eye, wearing a set of luxurious mage robes, revealed a confused expression as she looked at the distant Shi Feng. "He''s not joking, right?" Although the Zero Wing was very powerful, she did not think that the Guild could defeat Heaven''s Burial''s 20,000 members with only 1,000 experts. Not everyone was as powerful as Black Flame. There was a limit to their strength. "I don''t know, but Singular Burial must be pretty frustrated right now," Galaxy Past said, smiling faintly as he glanced at the Guild Leader. "Of course, we''ll benefit most from their mutual destruction. Warn our members to stay away when they start fighting. Do not let us get dragged into this." "Understood. I''ll notify them right away." A smile similarly appeared on Purple Eye''s face. If Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial started to fight, regardless of who won or lost, neither would be able to compete for the Frost King. As everyone quietly discussed the situation, Shi Feng turned towards Heaven''s Burial and loudly announced, "Everyone, charge! Leave none of those Heaven''s Burial bastards alive!" As Shi Feng gave the command, he activated a Guild War Order, locking down the Frozen Scar and preventing anyone from using a Return Scroll. If one wanted to leave the Regional Dungeon, they''d have to walk out with their own power. "Wonderful! We finally get the chance to teach those Heaven''s Burial punks a lesson!" Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Zero Wing''s members shifted their gazes towards Heaven''s Burial, excitement flashing in their eyes. Like ferocious beasts released from their cages, they ushered their Mounts forward in unison. "Has Black Flame lost his mind?" Singular Burial''s expression turned ugly as he watched Zero Wing''s members charge towards his own. He had never expected Zero Wing to start a fight like this. All 1,000-plus of these Zero Wing members were experts. Their overall combat power was most likely superior to a 10,000-man elite army. He had expected some friction between their Guilds before he had arrived in the Frozen Scar. As a preventive measure, he had led an army of 20,000 elites. However, he hadn''t expected Zero Wing to be so reckless to pick a fight at the risk of mutual destruction. Daybreak Fog frowned as well as she turned to Singular Burial and asked, "Guild Leader, what should we do?" "Prepare for battle! I refuse to believe that Zero Wing can take us out with only 1,000 members!" Singular Burial was enraged. Now that Zero Wing had made the first move, the Guild would become a laughingstock in the kingdom if Heaven''s Burial fled despite its overwhelming numbers. Upon Singular Burial''s command, Heaven''s Burial''s members prepared for battle. Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights quickly moved to the front and formed a human wall. As for the ranged classes in the back, they had also readied themselves to attack at a moment''s notice. The Assassins instantly entered stealth, circling to the enemy army''s sides. The distance between the armies rapidly vanished. Three hundred yards Two hundred yards One hundred yards "Begin!" Shi Feng shouted in the team chat. Suddenly, Zero Wing''s members retrieved bottles of Sea God''s Blessing from their bags, downing the potions and increasing their Basic Attributes and Resistances. They then activated Power of Darkness, increasing their Basic Attributes by another 100%. Zero Wing''s main force members and Dark Gods Legion members'' Attributes were already impressively high. Now that every one of them had activated a Berserk Skill, their auras resembled those of Lord ranked monsters. "This How is this possible?!" "What?! All of these people have Berserk Skills?!" The distant spectating players gasped. Berserk Skills were extremely rare in God''s Domain. A large Guild would be fortunate if they secured a few dozen Skill Books. Even first-rate Guilds generally had around 200 or 300 Berserk Skill Books. These players would be shocked to see Zero Wing have four or five hundred members with Berserk Skills, but all 1,000-plus members had activated these rare buffs. Moreover, it was obvious that these Berserk Skills were extraordinary based on the Guild members'' auras. While everyone stared in shock, Shi Feng used Space Movement to appear among Heaven''s Burial''s rear-line. He then switched the Aura of Space to the Aura of Fire before turning Flame Domain on Heaven''s Burial''s healers. Suddenly, a crimson ripple devoured the healers. A towering pillar of fire rose from the ground, flames enveloping a large portion of the enemy''s healing force. Even from the Frozen Scar''s entrance, everyone could see the burning pillar. The instant the fiery pillar appeared, Heaven''s Burial''s healers turned to ash. They hadn''t even had a chance to flee. In the blink of an eye, over half of Heaven''s Burial''s healers had died "Black Flame!" Wrathful flames burned in Singular Burial''s eyes as he glared at Shi Feng. With uncontrolled rage, he shouted, "Everyone, kill him!" In just one move, the army had lost 1,000 healers. Singular Burial''s heart bled at the sight. As soon as Flame Domain ended, Shi Feng executed Lightning Edge with his Killing Ray, aiming for the dazed magical class corps. Immediately, countless arcs of lightning left the Sacred Sword, devouring hundreds of magical class players. Only a few expert players reacted quickly enough to activate their Lifesaving Skills, keeping themselves alive. In just two moves, Shi Feng had killed over 1,500 players "This is insane!" "So, this is Black Flame?" The jaws of the distant spectating independent players hung as they watched, none of them able to believe their eyes. The battle had just begun, yet Shi Feng had devastated Heaven''s Burial''s army As for the various Guild players, cold sweat drenched their foreheads as they watched the slaughter. They inwardly celebrated the fact that they hadn''t made an enemy of Zero Wing. Black Flame alone would be more than enough to annihilate their Guilds. "Kill him, quickly!" Singular Burial bellowed as he retrieved the longbow and arrows from his back. Reacting to Singular Burial''s words, the other members recovered their senses and peppered Shi Feng with a rain of arrows and Spells. In response, Shi Feng executed Void Steps, vanishing instantly. In the end, none of the attacks had even scratched the man''s cloak. Shi Feng then reappeared beside the healers that had survived the previous AOE attacks. Even without a Berserk Skill, Shi Feng''s Strength was as high as a Great Lord of the same level. As a result, every swing of his blade claimed the life of another healer. Due to Shi Feng''s interference, Zero Wing''s 1,000-man army reached Heaven''s Burial''s unhindered. These experts proceeded to massacre the other Guild''s members. Despite Heaven''s Burial''s MTs activating their Lifesaving Skills, they only survived two or three hits before transforming into light particles and disappearing. Like a meat grinder, Zero Wing''s army devoured Heaven''s Burial''s people. Not even the enemy healers could keep up with their damage. The other Guilds were stupefied. How was this even a battle? This was no more than a one-sided massacre. 1392 Hand Over Your Life Chapter 1392 - Hand Over Your Life "So, this is the strength of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild?" "Just how high are their Attributes?! They killed MTs with over 40,000 HP in just two or three moves" The spectating independent players and those from the various Guilds had goosebumps as they watched equipment litter the battlefield. In their eyes, the Star Alliance and Heaven''s Burial were only second to Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom, and both were only slightly weaker than Zero Wing. However, it seemed that those assumptions had been a joke. Although Heaven''s Burial''s 20,000 members were quite strong and were experts in the eyes of ordinary players, Zero Wing''s 1,000 members shredded these players as easily as paper dolls. "Guild Leader, at this rate, Zero Wing will annihilate our men very quickly," Daybreak Fog, who had taken command of the battle, reported. Her expression darkened as she watched the slaughter. Heaven''s Burial had suffered over 4,000 casualties since the battle had begun. Even when five or six Berserkers had changed at Zero Wing''s MTs, they had failed to block the MTs advance and lost over 10,000 HP in the attempt. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s MTs only lost around three or four thousand HP as the enemy bombarded them with spells and arrows. The majority of these MTs had blocked the attacks, further reducing the damage they received. The Guild''s healers easily kept up with the small amounts of damage. "Zero Wing! You asked for this!" Fury burned in Singular Burial''s eyes as he watched Shi Feng take out his healers. Gnashing his teeth, he growled, "Send in Lightning Blade and Broken Flow! At worst, we''ll give up on the Frost King for now!" "You want to use that now?" Daybreak Fog was momentarily stunned. She had never imagined that they would use their trump card to deal with Zero Wing. "That''s right. I want to see if Black Flame can keep his composure as we murder his experts!" Singular Burial sneered. He had to admit that Zero Wing''s army was indeed frightening. Even Heaven''s Burial had only collected 200-plus Berserk Skill Books thus far. There was no competing with Zero Wing''s 1,000-plus members. Anyone without a Berserk Skill in this battle was nothing but cannon fodder; at most, they could slow the enemy''s advance. They''d be lucky to kill 100 Zero Wing members before they were eliminated. However, Heaven''s Burial had not been sitting on its hands. "I''ll notify them immediately." Daybreak Fog understood Singular Burial''s reasoning. If they could deal a heavy blow to Zero Wing''s expert army, they could deal a blow to Zero Wing itself. After all, it was not easy to nurture experts. If those experts lost their weapons and equipment, it would take a long time to find suitable replacements. "Blade, orders from the Guild Leader. We''re to take action," Broken Flow said. He wetted his lips in anticipation as he watched Zero Wing''s members approach. "We''re actually using it against Zero Wing?" The Guardian Knight, Lightning Blade, frowned. Suddenly, every member of Broken Flow and Lightning Blade''s 100-man expert team pulled a purplish-gold potion from their bag and drank it. As the potion took effect, these players'' eyes became bloodshot, and their muscles bulged. Their auras also intensified. A vicious bloodlust overtook every player. These players promptly activated their Berserk Skills, increasing their Attributes further. "Kill him! Teach Black Flame the meaning of despair!" Singular Burial grinned wickedly as he watched the expert team rushed to meet Zero Wing''s army. After their previous fight with the Frost King, they had realized how powerful the Mutant Grand Lord really was. There was a reason that they had dared to return and challenge the Frost King once more. The Secret Potential Potion Broken Flow and his team had just consumed was precisely that reason. This potion had been crafted from an ancient recipe they had found in an ancient ruin. Unfortunately, as the recipe required extremely rare and valuable materials, with each attempt to brew the potion costing over 20 Gold, they had only produced a little over 100 bottles. When consumed, the Secret Potential Potion increased the user''s Strength by 120% and other Basic Attributes by 60% for five minutes. Although the duration was short, the potion had no side-effects. Moreover, its effects would stack with Berserk Skills. When combining the Secret Potential Potion with a Berserk Skill, the results rivaled peak classes Twofold Berserk state. Although Broken Flow''s team had only 100 members, every one of their Attributes was nearly on par with a Great Lord of the same level. This was why Singular Burial had dared to challenge the Frost King again. Unfortunately, he had been forced to use this trump card to teach Zero Wing a lesson. "Die!" The Level 44 Berserker, Broken Flow, used Charge and arrived in the midst of Zero Wing''s army. Tightening his grip on his greatsword, he executed Whirlwind Slash. Immediately, a storm brewed within a 12-yard radius, sending eight Zero Wing members flying. One Shield Warrior that failed to defend himself in time instantly lost over 30,000 HP. The other experts from Heaven''s Burial joined the charge, penetrating Zero Wing''s army like a sharp blade. As the two forces met, these players forced the enemy assault to a halt, pushing back and kill Zero Wing''s Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights leading the army. "Crap, are these players from Heaven''s Burial monsters?" "They''ve dealt over -30,000 damage in a single attack Even a Level 40 MT couldn''t survive such a hit." "It''s no wonder why Heaven''s Burial dared to provoke Zero Wing. If Zero Wing''s members don''t have anything else in store, Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man expert team may take them down." The spectating players stared in shock as Heaven''s Burial''s expert team stopped Zero Wing''s progress. Zero Wing''s members had displayed astonishing Attributes, yet Heaven''s Burial''s experts were stronger. In a single exchange, Zero Wing had suffered dozens of casualties. The difference between the forces was clear. "Guild Leader, I''m fairly sure that the potion Broken Flow and his men just used is the Secret Potential Potion the Secret Pavilion''s report mentioned. Based on the report, Heaven''s Burial had only gotten its hands on a little over 100 bottles after a lot of effort. Now that they''ve used this potion against Zero Wing, they must intend to give up on raiding the Frost King," Purple Eye commented when she saw Heaven''s Burial turn the tides of battle. Smiling faintly, she said, "Zero Wing is in trouble. If this battle were in a jungle, they could buy some time until the potion''s duration ends, but they don''t have that option here." Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial''s mutual destruction would be the best possible outcome for the Star Alliance. Although that wasn''t likely, Heaven''s Burial had dropped from the contest for the Frost King''s first kill. "Black Flame has underestimated Heaven''s Burial. After all is said and done, Heaven''s Burial rose to its position in such a short amount of time. Why wouldn''t it have a few trump cards? However, we''ll have to thank Zero Wing for this. If not for Zero Wing, we wouldn''t have seen this trump card," Galaxy Past chuckled. "Purple, tell Red Feather and the others to prepare. Once Heaven''s Burial''s Berserk Skills run out, send them into the fight." "Guild Leader, rest assured. We''ll collect the weapons and equipment they drop," Purple Eye said, giggling. Back in the battlefield, the tables had turned on Zero Wing, and they began to retreat to buy as much time as possible. After all, Power of Darkness had a very long duration. Ordinary Berserk Skills were no match for it. If they could endure until Heaven''s Burial''s Berserk Skills ended, they could reclaim the fight. Suddenly, Shi Feng turned his attention towards the enemy''s 100-man expert team. Heaven''s Burial''s trump card had surprised him. If not dealt with properly, Zero Wing could lose this fight. "Black Flame, you dare face me?! I''ll take your head!" After killing a Level 45 Berserker, Broken Flow shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng as the man charged for him. Grinning, he led a dozen or so players to surround Shi Feng. 1393 Might of the Number One Exper Chapter 1393 - Might of the Number One Expert As Broken Flow took action, several Elementalists close to him began to chant their incantations, using Ice Spears and Ice Walls to hinder Shi Feng and allow Broken Flow and the other melee experts could surround the Swordsman. At the end of the day, Shi Feng was still Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert. Even if their Attributes rivaled that of a Great Lord of the same level, they weren''t certain that they could kill Shi Feng with brute force alone. "Good! Surround him! Do not let him escape!" Singular Burial had also activated his Berserk Skill, a silvery glow wrapping around his body. He then unfurled the Magic Scroll in his hands. Suddenly, one silver arrow after another manifested in his hand, flying towards Shi Feng as he dodged the incoming Ice Spears. Dozens of silver arrows formed silvery streaks of light as they shot towards their target. Not only were they astonishingly fast, but they cut off Shi Feng''s escape path. The Guild Leader must be really angry. He''s even using his precious Tier 3 Curse. Even if Black Flame survives the attack, he''ll be severely injured. Broken Flow was slightly astonished as he watched the arrows bombard Shi Feng. The Magic Scroll Singular Burial had just used contained the Tier 3 Curse, Light''s Guidance. When activated, it would allow the user to fire 30 arrows per second, each arrow containing the might of a Tier 3 Spell. Not only could these arrows repulse a Great Lord, but they also dealt divine damage; all damage reduction effects were useless against this attack. Even Mythic monsters would receive significant damage if the arrows hit, not to mention players. Meanwhile, Light''s Guidance had a duration of 10 seconds. In other words, Singular Burial could launch a total of 300 arrows. With damage reduction effects nullified, a Tier 3 Spell could kill current players instantly. Of course, dodging all 300 arrows was impossible. Even if Shi Feng had an Invulnerability Skill, it wouldn''t last him through all ten seconds. To make matters worse, when Rangers used this Magic Scroll, the arrows would receive a 30% speed boost. The arrows would move so fast that even Great Lords of the same level would not be able to react in time. As the arrows were about to hit their target, Shi Feng adjusted his footwork and executed Sword''s Orbit. Immediately, a galaxy of stars danced around his body, striking down one arrow after another and causing a series of explosions. The resulting shockwaves were so powerful that even Broken Flow, who stood over 20 yards away, nearly lost his footing. The resulting white flashes blinded those watching, but even after a few seconds of this attack, not a single arrow had struck Shi Feng. The most these silver arrows did was push Shi Feng back. The ground shattered with each retreating step Shi Feng took. By the time Light''s Guidance''s 10-second duration ended, craters pocked the ground where the arrows had landed. When the dust settled, Shi Feng was still in one piece, with silver arrows decorating the ground around him "How is this possible?!" Seeing this scene, Heaven''s Burial''s experts were stupefied. Even Broken Flow, the expert team''s leader, was speechless. While Broken Flow had considered the minute possibility of Shi Feng successfully blocking Light''s Guidance, he had never expected the man to do so without using a single Skill. Shi Feng had negated the Tier 3 Curse relying solely on his swordsmanship. It was truly inconceivable. The silver arrows even packed enough power to knock back a Tier 3 Great Lord. If Broken Flow had to face 30 of those arrows per second, even with the Secret Potential Potion and a Berserk Skill, he was only confident in blocking a dozen or so. The arrows were simply too fast. Yet, out of the 300 arrows Singular Burial had launched, not a single one had struck Shi Feng. They hadn''t even torn the Swordsman''s cloak. No matter how Broken Flow thought about it, the feat should''ve been impossible, yet he had just witnessed it. Sure enough, using Sword''s Orbit to block that attack really pushed the envelope, Shi Feng thought to himself as he looked at his own HP. Currently, he only had a little over 30,000 HP remaining. He had lost over half of his HP from countering the attack. Those silver arrows'' power could rival even that of a Grand Lord. Despite blocking them successfully, he still received damage. Had the assault continued for several more seconds, he would''ve been forced to use Absolute Domain. "He''s not dead?" Singular Burial was dazed when he saw Shi Feng standing. He was more familiar with Light''s Guidance''s power than anyone. Most players only knew that the attack was powerful. They didn''t realize that the arrows'' strongest aspect was their speed. Keeping up with the arrows'' speed visually was already a challenging feat, not to mention keeping up with them physically. "Just how fast are his reflexes?" Daybreak Fog''s eyes widened. She hadn''t even been able to follow the arrows with her eyes, yet Shi Feng had casually deflected every one. If she allowed this player to get too close, the consequences would be unimaginable. If this battle had taken place before Shi Feng had upgraded the Seven Luminaries Ring, he would''ve failed to block all of the arrows. He had only dodged and countered the fast, powerful attacks thanks to the physique bonus he had received from the Fragmented Legendary ring''s hidden effect and the Abyssal Blade''s Passive Skill. "He''s a monster! Is this the Sword King''s true strength?!" The spectating crowd was flabbergasted. Shi Feng had countered such a devastating Spell with only his weapons. This was simply unheard of. "Quick! Kill him! He doesn''t have much HP left! Don''t give him a chance to recover!" Singular Burial hurriedly shouted after regaining his composure. Although his Tier 3 Curse had failed to kill Shi Feng, the latter had less than half of his HP remaining. As Singular Burial gave the order, he retrieved another Tier 3 Magic Scroll from his bag and activated it. Suddenly, multiple small magic arrays formed around Singular Burial. Meanwhile, Broken Flow and the other experts of Heaven''s Burial recovered their senses as well and charged at Shi Feng, not giving him an opportunity to move closer to Zero Wing''s healers. In the blink of an eye, 36 spears of dark fog appeared behind Singular Burial, each spear radiating a deathly aura. "Die!" Singular Burial sneered at Shi Feng. This Spell was called Soul Sanction. Although it was not as powerful as Light''s Guidance, the 36 spears were not physical; they could not be blocked, only dodged. Soul Sanction? Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he noticed the Soul Spears appear behind Singular Burial. An unstoppable Spell was far more dangerous than a powerful one. Immediately, he executed Void Steps and disappeared. "Don''t even think of running away!" Broken Flow reacted quickly and used Charge, aiming for Shi Feng''s previous location. Upon arriving, he stomped the ground powerfully. Tier 1 Skill, Thunderclap! When activated, the Skill dealt 20% physical damage to all enemies within a 20-yard radius and inflicted a numbing effect for five seconds. As Void Steps was a combat technique, not a Skill, the slightest interference could easily disrupt the technique. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s appeared a short distance away from Broken Flow. Meanwhile, Singular Burial had locked onto Shi Feng the moment latter reappeared. He then controlled the 36 Soul Spears, sending them flying towards the Swordsman. In the blink of an eye, the spears appeared before Shi Feng, giving him no time to react. The split second before the attack landed, however, Shi Feng activated Divine Steps and switched positions with one of his doppelgangers. He dodged the spears and appeared beside Broken Flow. Reacting quickly, Broken Flow used Beheaded, his greatsword splitting into three identical copies as it slashed towards Shi Feng. Elusive Strike! In response, Shi Feng ignored the three incoming attacks as he swung Killing Ray at an empty space. Dang! Suddenly, a greatsword appeared out of thin air, Shi Feng''s Sacred Sword forcing the massive blade to a halt. Impossible! Confusion twisted Broken Flow''s expression as Shi Feng blocked his attack. Although the three greatswords appeared real, all three were fakes. The true attack was hidden in a corner. Broken Flow had created this technique personally and had yet to use it in battle, yet Shi Feng had stopped the attack without hesitation However, Broken Flow didn''t know that Shi Feng had seen Elusive Strike hundreds of times. He had long since familiarized himself with the technique. "You''ve made your move. Now, it''s my turn." 1394 Killing Heavens Burials Guild Leader Chapter 1394 - Killing Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Leader The moment Shi Feng spoke, three Assassins emerged from behind him. The Assassins had appeared swiftly and without a sound. Immediately, they thrust their daggers at Shi Feng''s back from three different directions with excellent coordination. "You won''t have the chance!" Seeing his companions, Broken Flow grinned. His biceps bulged as he swung his greatsword towards Shi Feng''s throat. Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Mountain Splitter! The Taboo Skill instantly increased Broken Flow''s Strength by 120% and Attack Speed by 100% for 3 seconds. With attacks from both sides, Shi Feng had nowhere to flee, and due to the close proximity, he had no time to dodge. As the four players'' weapons were about to bite into their target, Shi Feng emitted a dark aura. Four sword lights then bloomed around him. Power of Darkness! Four Moon Lotus! Dang Dang Dang A series of clangs rang out, and dazzling sparks appeared around Shi Feng''s body. Among the four that had attacked him, the three Assassins had been thrown backward, slamming into the ground. Broken Flow had fared somewhat better, only forced to take three steps back. The difference between their Strengths was clear. "You" Broken Flow glared at Shi Feng, who remained standing, in astonishment. He couldn''t figure out how Shi Feng had blocked those attacks. Mountain Splitter had increased his Strength by 120%. With his current Attributes, he could even contend with a Great Lord of the same level for a short time, yet this player before him had blocked all four attacks and pushed him back. Even now, Broken Flow''s arms were numb from encountering Shi Feng''s defense. As Broken Flow stared at Shi Feng, his mind still trying to come up with a way to defeat the Swordsman, the Swordsman vanished. Crap! Broken Flow was taken aback when Shi Feng disappeared. Hurriedly, he executed Whirlwind Slash. However, Shi Feng had appeared behind him before he knew it, and fresh blood poured from his body. The Magic Weapon, Abyssal Blade, had stopped his Whirlwind Slash. Before Broken Flow could react, two more sword lights, one blue and one white, cut across his body, devouring his remaining HP. Although Broken Flow tried to say something, his vision had already begun to darken. As his body collapsed, he dropped a pair of combat boots. From the moment that fight had begun to its ending, Broken Flow''s nearby companions hadn''t been able to offer their leader any support. They only saw Shi Feng vanish and reappear beside Broken Flow. Following which, one sword light after another cut through the Berserker, and before they even realized it, Broken Flow fell. The fight had ended so quickly that even the nearby healers had not managed to cast Truth Shield on the Berserker in time. "Damn it!" Singular Burial paled at this scene. Broken Flow was the strongest Berserker in Heaven''s Burial. Not even Ghost Shadow or Singular Burial himself were a match for the Berserker''s techniques, yet even after the man had consumed the Secret Potential Potion, Shi Feng had effortlessly taken his life. Meanwhile, the spectators watching from a distance were dumbfounded. "This is a trick, right?" "Broken Flow died, just like that?" "Can someone tell me what just happened?!" The distant spectators were confused to see Broken Flow fall. After a single exchange, Broken Flow had died Silence reigned over the battlefield. Shi Feng''s swordsmanship had astonished every player watching. Before anyone could react, Shi Feng disappeared again and emerged before the three Assassins that had attacked him as they stood up. He then swung Killing Ray lightly at the three Assassins. Shadow Blade! One streak of blue light, accompanied by nine streaks of black light, flashed around the three players. The three Assassins were experts, so they instinctively activated Vanish to block Shi Feng''s attack. However, when they tried to do so, they suddenly discovered that their Skills were unusable. They then noticed that the light around them had dimmed. This was the Aura of Time''s Forbidden Domain. For 30 seconds, all enemies within a 500-yard radius couldn''t use any of their Skills or tools. The three Assassins could only watch as the numerous sword lights descended. Without time to defend themselves, all three Assassins died instantly, their bodies transforming into particles of light and disappearing. At the same time, they dropped three pieces of equipment. After killing the three Assassins, Shi Feng set his sights on Heaven''s Burial''s melee experts a short distance away. These several melee experts, who had brimmed with confidence previously, felt chills crawl down their spines. The turned and fled as if they had just seen the Devil himself. Run! A single word etched itself into their minds. Even Heaven''s Burial''s number one Berserker could not stop Shi Feng. And now that they couldn''t use any of their Skills, even if they worked together, they''d be throwing away their lives if they tried to face that monstrous player. "Everyone, retreat! Get out of the silencing domain''s range!" Singular Burial shouted in the Guild chat. Although the Guild Leader had given the command, Forbidden Domain covered a 500-yard-radius area. It would take quite some time to escape. Zero Wing''s members excitedly chased after the fleeing Heaven''s Burial experts. Now, they only needed a little effort to kill an opponent. In seconds, the battle had turned to Zero Wing''s favor. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Purple Eye frowned as she watched Heaven''s Burial''s members hit the ground, one after another. She had originally thought that, once Zero Wing was wounded and Heaven''s Burial had used up its trump cards, the Star Alliance could sweep in to harvest the top-tier equipment. Now, however, Zero Wing dominated over Heaven''s Burial. The Star Alliance had no hope of reaping the rewards from the two Guilds'' destruction. "Forget it. Recall the others." Galaxy Past could not help but sigh as he watched Heaven''s Burial''s members run for their lives. If Zero Wing had suffered some grievous losses, the Star Alliance would have had an opportunity to take action once Heaven''s Burial''s Berserk Skills ended. Not only would Zero Wing owe them a favor, but they''d also deal a heavy blow to Heaven''s Burial. The Star Alliance could also pocket some of the weapons and equipment the two Guilds had dropped. It had been a perfect plan, killing three birds with one stone. And yet, Black Flame alone had disrupted that perfect plan. Until now, it had been unheard of for a single player to turn the tide of battle, but Black Flame had done just that. Only now did Galaxy Past understand why the Secret Pavilion had warned him not to provoke Zero Wing. Not even the Secret Pavilion could guarantee the Star Alliance''s survival in Star-Moon Kingdom. He now realized that in God''s Domain, quality was vastly more important than quantity. This was no longer a virtual reality game that one could rule over with a large enough army. After killing a few more melee experts, Shi Feng shifted his attention to Singular Burial, his gaze containing a chilling killing intent. Even though Shi Feng hadn''t said a word, Singular Burial could sense the Swordman''s intent. "You wish to kill me? How arrogant!" Singular Burial''s expression darkened. He was less than 100 yards away from Forbidden Domain''s edge, and Shi Feng was over 200 yards away from him. After consuming the Secret Potential Potion and activating a Berserk Skill, his Movement Speed was higher than an ordinary Great Lord''s. Shi Feng could never catch him. Once he was outside of the Forbidden Domain, he had plenty of escape routes. The spectators in the distance could also feel Shi Feng''s intentions. "This can''t be, right? He''s trying to kill Singular Burial?" "He''s insane!" Everyone''s excitement grew as they watched. Over 10,000 surviving Heaven''s Burial members protected their Guild Leader. A few experts even stood by his side. Including the fact that Singular Burial himself was a skilled player, Shi Feng was just too far away to kill the man. Boldly, Shi Feng advanced towards Singular Burial. "Stop him!" Daybreak Fog commanded. Losing this battle was a huge hit to Heaven''s Burial''s reputation. If their Guild Leader died, standing among an army of over 10,000 players, the Guild would suffer even greater embarrassment. They would become the laughingstock of Star-Moon Kingdom. The other Guild members understood the severity of the situation as well. The fleeing members stopped and turned to face Shi Feng. Although they could not do any damage to him, they could buy some time. Despite the tidal wave of players surging towards him, Shi Feng showed no signs of retreating. Instead, he activated Thunder God''s Descent, increasing his speed and damage significantly. He then activated Dragon Breath. Shi Feng then fired a beam of white light from his mouth. The beam devoured the approaching players, creating a wide, open path for Shi Feng before he charged into the crowd. Heaven''s Burial''s members disregarded their own safety as they attacked the Swordsman desperately. Only, before they got close to Shi Feng, their bodies transformed into particles of light and disappeared. As Shi Feng passed by players, sparks of light danced in the air. The distant players were stupefied. However, the swarm of players had slowed Shi Feng''s approach. When Shi Feng was 50 yards away from Singular Burial, the latter finally left the Forbidden Domain and could use Skills and tools again. "Black Flame, you are ten years too early if you think you can kill me!" Singular Burial sneered at Shi Feng, who was surrounded by a sea of players. He then took out a Tier 1 Instantaneous Movement Scroll from his bag, intending to leave the battlefield. Once he left, Shi Feng wouldn''t be able to reach him. "Is that so?" However, as soon as Singular Burial finished speaking, a deep voice reached his ears. Before Singular Burial could turn around to see the voice''s owner, a streak of blue light cut across his body. Everyone was stunned. Like magic, Shi Feng had appeared behind Singular Burial, dragging his blade across the man''s body. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! Despite the Secret Potential Potion and an active Berserk Skill, Singular Burial couldn''t keep up with the enemy Guild Leader, whose Attack Speed had increased by 500%. Before Singular Burial could even activate his Instantaneous Movement Scroll, several streaks of light had blossomed across his body, devouring his HP 1395 Uproar in Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 1395 - Uproar in Star-Moon Kingdom When Singular Burial collapsed, everyone on the battlefield was dazed. "He died" "How is this possible?!" "They can''t even escape?" Everyone''s gaze shifted to Shi Feng. As they looked at the cloaked figure standing among thousands of enemies with one blue and one white sword in hand, they were filled with a sudden reverence. Shi Feng had charged into the enemy ranks by himself, yet his advance never faltered. Moreover, everywhere he passed, life ceased to exist. Even when he took the life of Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial''s members could only watch, powerless Now, this this was a real expert. He even killed Singular Burial in such a predicament? Galaxy Past could not help his astonishment as he watched Singular Burial''s body hit the ground, still holding the Instantaneous Movement Scroll. Unlike Return Scrolls, Instantaneous Movement Scrolls could be used without an activation process. Yet, not even Singular Burial had reacted in time to save his own life. One could just imagine how fast Shi Feng was. If it Galaxy Past had been in that position, he had no doubt that he would''ve suffered a similar fate. "Kill him!" Daybreak Fog bellowed. Now that quite a few people had already escaped the Forbidden Domain, they could naturally use Skills and tools against Shi Feng. Moreover, Shi Feng stood in the heart of Heaven''s Burial''s army. He had also just used several Skills consecutively, so they should be on Cooldown. They still had a chance to kill this man. Moreover, Shi Feng had less than half of his HP remaining, which increased their chances of killing him. Hearing Daybreak Fog''s command, many of Heaven''s Burial''s experts recovered their senses. Some immediately launched powerful Skills and Spells, while some used Magic Scrolls. Watching these attacks rain down on him, Shi Feng activated Void Shield before dashing towards the nearby experts. Shi Feng was already fast enough to dodge the majority of the Spells and Skills. Even when targeted by some rare, unavoidable attack, he could rely on his extraordinary senses to block them. Meanwhile, Void Shield created a shield that had ten times its users'' maximum HP. After activating Power of Darkness, Shi Feng''s HP had broken past the 160,000 threshold. In other words, the shield could absorb over 1,600,000 damage in addition to increasing Shi Feng''s HP recovery rate by 500% and Movement Speed by 100%. Shi Feng bobbed and weaved, avoiding the ranged attacks. Not only hadn''t his HP decreased, but it had begun to recover at a visible rate. As Shi Feng passed, the players in his path promptly faded in a shower of sparkles. None of these players could survive his hits. Even the expert players died by the time Shi Feng was within melee range if they didn''t activate a Lifesaving Skill in time. After a brief moment, hundreds of weapons and equipment joined the battlefield, dropping from Heaven''s Burial''s elites and experts that Shi Feng had killed. The bloodlust Shi Feng radiated was many times stronger than that of Heaven''s Burial''s experts after they had consumed the Secret Potential Potion. His bloodlust was so intense that Heaven''s Burial''s members shuddered, unconsciously backing away. They now realized that they hadn''t trapped Shi Feng. Rather, they had jumped into the tiger''s den as an offering. "Impossible!" "Is he the incarnation of a God?" The distant spectating players were stupefied. As Shi Feng took a step forward, Heaven''s Burial''s members took a step back. They maintained a distance of over 20 yards away from Zero Wing''s leader, not daring to move an inch forward. Heaven''s Burial''s army consisted of over 10,000 elite members, yet not one of these players dared to charge at Shi Feng Seeing this, the various large Guilds in the distance inwardly celebrated. They were thankful that they had never provoked Zero Wing. "Big Sis Fog, what should we do now?" a core member from Heaven''s Burial asked Daybreak Fog, who currently wore a grim expression. "Do we continue fighting?" "Fight?" When Daybreak Fog watched Shi Feng walk through Heaven''s Burial''s army as if he were strolling through is own backyard, she could not help but shake her head and order, "Have everyone retreat." Shi Feng''s horrific combat power had long since frightened these players; they had lost any will to fight. If Heaven''s Burial continued this battle, it would only result in more casualties. When Daybreak Fog gave the command to retreat, Heaven''s Burial''s members breathed a sigh of relief as they fled from the battlefield. However, Shi Feng had no intention of letting Heaven''s Burial go. He led his Guildmates in the continued slaughter. He only gave up the chase after the enemy players left the Frozen Scar. Meanwhile, recordings of this battle were instantly uploaded to the official forums, the outcome causing an uproar throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. "Crap! Zero Wing is too strong! It exterminated over half of Heaven''s Burial''s 20,000-man army with just a team of 1,000 players! Who would dare doubt Zero Wing''s strength after this?" "Now, that is what I call a Swordsman! As expected of the man nicknamed the Sword King by the Secret Pavilion!" "This won''t do! I must join Zero Wing right away!" For a time, the names ''Black Flame'' and ''Zero Wing'' became the focal point of Star-Moon Kingdom once again. Black Flame''s newfound fame inspired many independent players to join Zero Wing, eager to learn some of these combat techniques. One player had repelled an entire Guild by himself! No one had ever thought it was possible. Without a doubt, the Sword King Black Flame was the perfect role model for independent experts. Why wouldn''t they want to join Zero Wing? After the battle in the Frozen Scar ended, all kinds of weapons and equipment decorated the spacious battlefield. Every one of these items was enough to drive an ordinary player mad. These items would even tempt Guild elites, yet despite so many precious items laying on the ground, not a single player dared to approach them. They stood by quietly as Zero Wing''s members looted the battlefield. "Zero Wing struck gold this time. Those are all items from over 10,000 elite players!" Purple Eye watched Zero Wing''s members jealousy as they collected the weapons and equipment. Weapons and equipment were vital to a large Guild''s development. Due to the lack of available weapons and equipment in a large Guild, ordinary members were sometimes forced to stay that way despite having combat standards of an elite member. Now that Zero Wing had received so many weapons and equipment from Heaven''s Burial, it could nurture another large batch of elites, growing even stronger as a Guild. "Heaven''s Burial''s members sure are wealthy!" Shi Feng couldn''t help his astonishment as he read the item list his subordinates had compiled. 1396 Frost King <p>Chapter 1396 - Frost King</p><p>"Guild Leader, we''ve struck gold!"</p><p>"Why are Heaven''s Burial''s weapons and equipment such high quality?"</p><p>The several core members tasked with compiling the list of the harvested weapons and equipment could not help but gasp when they saw the final numbers, excitement flashing in their eyes.</p><p>In this battle, Heaven''s Burial had suffered over 10,000 casualties, and Zero Wing had lost over 300 experts.</p><p>Fortunately, they had won the battle, so they could retrieve the majority of the weapons and equipment their companions had dropped. The lost levels were the only real loss. Of course, after considering the 10,000-plus weapons and equipment Heaven''s Burial had dropped, Zero Wing had come out making a profit.</p><p>But they hadn''t expected so much profit.</p><p>Even Shi Feng was surprised by how wealthy Heaven''s Burial''s members were as he read the item list. Overall, the quality of Heaven''s Burial''s equipment nearly rivaled Zero Wing''s. Some of Heaven''s Burial''s core experts had even better equipment than Zero Wing''s main force members.</p><p>The four Epic Weapons and Equipment pieces Heaven''s Burial''s experts had dropped was the proof of this. They had also dropped over 400 Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Normally, players only dropped one item upon death. Hence, the likelihood of a player dropping their best weapon or piece of equipment was very low, likely less than 10%.</p><p><em>I really underestimated Heaven''s Burial''s foundations.</em> Shi Feng was inwardly astonished as he gazed at the four Epic Weapons and Equipment.</p><p>The various large Guilds had been enthusiastically collecting Epic Weapons and Equipment, but they weren''t easy to obtain. Even Grand Lord ranked Field Bosses had very low chances of dropping them. Normally, players could only obtain an Epic item from high-rank quests or opening Dark-Gold Treasure Chests.</p><p>Hence, most large Guilds had very few Epic items at this stage of the game. Even first-rate Guilds were lucky if they had five or six, yet Heaven''s Burial had dropped four such items. One could just imagine how many Epic items the Guild actually had.</p><p>What Shi Feng didn''t know was that the majority of Heaven''s Burial''s Epic items had come from Beast Emperor, who had gone to great lengths to obtain these items for the Guild. He wanted to help Heaven''s Burial''s main force grow stronger. Unfortunately, he had only benefitted Shi Feng.</p><p>Among the four Epic items were a single weapon and three pieces of equipment. The weapon was a greatsword meant for Berserkers called Thunder Blade. The greatsword''s Attributes were superior to Fire Dance''s Epic ranked Petrified Thorn. The other Epic items included two cloth armor pieces and a piece of plate armor. One of the cloth pieces was a headpiece called the Eye of Arnos, while the other was a set of robes named the Fluctuation Robee. Both pieces of equipment focused on increasing the user''s Basic Attributes. As for the plate piece, it was a breastplate for Shield Warriors and Berserkers called the Indestructible Breastplate.</p><p>With these four Epic items, his top-tier experts would have an easier time with their Tier 2 Promotion Quests.</p><p>"Quick, look! The Frost King is coming!"</p><p>While Zero Wing had rested after the battle, a commotion shook the forest some distance away from the snowy plain. Agonizing cries filled the chilly air, startling the Guild and independent players as they shuddered.</p><p>A moment later, a five-meter-tall figure burst through the trees. The figure was a frost giant in crystalline armor and wielding two frost sabers. This monster was none other than the King of the Frozen Scar, the Frost King.</p><p>-</p><p>[Frost King] (Elemental Creature, Mutant Grand Lord)<br>Level 54<br>HP 260,000,000/260,000,000</p><p>-<br>Everyone''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when they saw the Frost King''s stats.</p><p>"How is this possible?! The Frost King has leveled?!"</p><p>"Crap! He has 260,000,000 HP! How can a Grand Lord have so much?! He''s even tankier than a Mythic monster of the same level!"</p><p>"Why does it feel like the temperature has dropped?"</p><p>"Can a team of a thousand players really defeat a monster like that?"</p><p></p><p>Once they saw the Frost King''s stats, fear tore through the crowd. Even the various large Guilds that had come to raid this monster panicked as the Frost King''s stats were far beyond their expectations.</p><p>As the Frost King approached the massive crowd of players, some Guild experts felt an invisible pressure weigh down their bodies.</p><p>Some Guilds began to hesitate, reconsidering the raid.</p><p>Based on their reports, they could only raid the Frost King using 1,000-man teams. If more than 1,000 players were within 1,500 yards of the Frost King, the Boss''s stats would increase substantially. The more players there were nearby, the greater the Frost King''s self-buff would be. He would very quickly grow beyond players'' capabilities.</p><p>Staring at the Frost King''s current information, however, many of these players didn''t know if it was even possible to take the monster down with only a 1,000-man team.</p><p>The pressure radiating from the Frost King was just too strong; this Boss might even be able to suppress Mythic monsters. This pressure would significantly hinder players'' combat power in a fight.</p><p>"What a powerful pressure! No wonder why Heaven''s Burial planned to use zerg tactics against him." Purple Eye also felt the Frost King''s pressure bear down on her as it approached. However, rather than worry, excitement and anticipation made her eyes sparkle.</p><p>Based on the prior reports, they knew that the Frost King was very powerful. As a preventive measure, the Star Alliance had dispatched over 20,000 members and intended to use the most common strategy to deal with Field Bosseszerg tactic.<br> <br>Only, the Star Alliance intended to use a tactic that was slightly different from those in other virtual reality games. Since God''s Domain''s Field Bosses grew stronger when a certain number of players was within range, it wouldn''t be wise to dispatch all of one''s forces during the raid. Instead, they would send in a limited number of players, keeping the remaining forces on standby. When someone died, they''d send in another player to the fallen player''s place. This way, a team could continue the raid with the optimum number of players, slowly whittling the Boss down.</p><p>As one of the most common strategies the various large Guilds used to raid Field Bosses, it was the reason that these Guilds preferred to kill Field Bosses over Dungeon Bosses.</p><p>If they lacked quality, they could make up for it with quantity!</p><p>Furthermore, the more powerful a monster was, the better loot it would drop.</p><p>For a horrifically powerful monster like the Frost King, needless to say, his loot would be awe-inspiring. The Frost King''s first kill would also grant access to Evernight City.</p><p>"It seems that the Frost King belongs to us this time." When Galaxy Past saw how powerful the Frost King was, he began to laugh.</p><p>He had worried that Zero Wing would be a powerful opponent for the Star Alliance, but the Guild didn''t seem capable of raiding the Frost King at this point. Zero Wing had only sent a little over 1,000 members to the Frozen Scar. The Guild''s few reinforcements weren''t enough to take down the Frost King.</p><p>Even if Zero Wing called for more reinforcements now, the Star Alliance would''ve long since defeated the Frost King by the time those players arrived.</p><p>Suddenly, the Frost King, who was 2,000 yards away from the nearest group of players, released a low, wordless shout, and a human-like sneer appeared on his face as he stared at the players from the various Guilds. Then, he vanished. By the time he reappeared, he was less than 500 yards away from the Guilds. Since well over 1,500 players were now within range, the Frost King''s Basic Attributes instantly skyrocketed.</p><p>The Frost King raised his sabers and swept them at the players before him.</p><p>Two energy beams shot forth from the sabers, devouring the army of players. Everything in the beams'' path froze instantly. In the blink of an eye, frost covered the world in a 1,000-yard cone before the Boss. Every player caught in the attack had transformed into an ice sculpture. Even MTs who had activated their Lifesaving Skills had lost their lives. Only a few players with quick reactions and Invulnerability Skills had survived.</p><p>In just one move, the various large Guilds had suffered over 2,000 casualties</p><p>"Impossible! How is the Frost King''s perception range so wide?!"</p><p>"How are we supposed to withstand such destructive power?!"</p><p>Everyone was astonished. The Guilds that had intended to defeat the Frost King with zerg tactics, in particular, felt faint.</p><p>Abruptly, the Frost King charged into the nearest crowd, massacring the players. Despite so many players desperately trying to hinder and attack the Boss, the Frost King''s Movement Speed was simply too high. Not only did the mutant easily dodge the incoming attacks, but he also dealt horrific damage. With a single stroke of his saber, the Frost King could create a groove in the ground that extended for over 50 yards, killing dozens of players instantly.</p><p>Even when the occasional player''s attack struck the Frost King, they couldn''t deal more than -500 damage. The Frost King''s Defense was almost more powerful than Mythic monsters of the same level.</p><p>In contrast, the Frost King''s HP had increased to 500,000,000. Now, its battle recovery alone could heal 5,000,000 HP every five seconds</p><p>After a short moment, the various large Guilds had been wiped out, suffering extreme losses. Only a small number of lucky players had escaped the Frost King''s wrath.</p><p>"Guild Leader, are we still going to raid it?" Purple Eye asked, her expression darkening as she watched the various large Guilds fall.</p><p>"Damn it! Why did things end up like this?!" Galaxy Past frowned as he watched the Frost King''s unstoppable rampage. The Boss had actually taken advantage of the Guilds'' plans to use zerg tactics to strengthen itself. That was simply unheard of. "Retreat! Pull away from the Boss!"</p><p>Immediately, the Star Alliance''s members fled from the battlefield, not daring to linger.</p><p>After a few more moments, only a small number of players occupied the previously crowded plains as most had fled to the Frozen Scar''s entrance.</p><p>"Everyone''s gone?" Shi Feng muttered as he glanced at the crowd by the Dungeon''s entrance. He then swept his glance towards the Frost King, who had calmed. Smiling, he then said in the team chat, "Alright, let''s move out."</p><p>He had guessed that this would happen. After all, even he had only dared to come this far after thorough preparation. It was only natural that the various large Guilds, which had very little understanding of Mutants, would end up like this.</p><p>Hearing Shi Feng''s words, his Guildmates'' excitement grew. They followed after Shi Feng and slowly approached the Frost King.</p><p>The Guilds and independent players at the entrance noticed the movement.</p><p>"What''s Zero Wing trying to do?"</p><p>"They''re insane! They''re going to fight that thing?!"</p> 1397 Zero Wing Takes Action <p>Chapter 1397 - Zero Wing Takes Action</p><p>The players near the Frozen Scar''s entrance were confused as they watched Zero Wing''s members approach the Frost King.</p><p>Every one of these players had seen for themselves how powerful the Frost King was.</p><p>Not only did the Boss have a Domain that could suppress his enemies'' Attributes, but he also possessed frightening, destructive power. Current players had no hope against this monster. Not even the most common zerg tactics had any effect on the Frost King, much less a measly army of 1,000 players.</p><p>Even Level 44 Shield Warriors with over 40,000 HP had died instantly after activating Shield Wall.</p><p>If none of their MTs could tank the Frost King, how were they supposed to raid this Boss?</p><p>Although Zero Wing''s 1,000-man team was incredibly powerful, that strength was nothing more than a joke before the Frost King.</p><p>"Guild Leader, they''re not really trying to raid that thing, are they?" Curiosity overtook Purple Eye as she watched Zero Wing''s army inch closer to the Frost King.</p><p>"I don''t know, but Black Flame should be fully aware of the Frost King''s might. He shouldn''t be foolish enough to challenge that Boss. Perhaps he''s trying to gather some intel to prepare for a future raid attempt," Galaxy Past said, shaking his head. He didn''t understand Zero Wing''s actions, either.</p><p>In his opinion, they''d likely need a 1,000-man team of Tier 2 players to kill the Frost King. Trying to raid the Boss with anything less would be futile. Players simply couldn''t fill the gap in strength with numbers.</p><p>As everyone''s attention shifted towards Zero Wing, Shi Feng waved his hand. Suddenly, Miniature Ballistas began to appear within the Guild''s army. In the blink of an eye, 50 Miniature Ballistas were organized into five rows. Following which, Zero Wing''s members began to assemble the war weapons.</p><p>"Crap! Zero Wing''s using siege weapons to deal with the Frost King?!"</p><p>"That''s way too extravagant!"</p><p>"Madness! This is madness!"</p><p>"Are they not afraid that the Frost King will destroy the Miniature Ballistas?"</p><p>The spectating players could not help but gasp as they saw the rows of Miniature Ballistas, unable to believe their eyes. The various large Guilds'' upper echelons were particularly dumbfounded.</p><p>Zero Wing was using siege weapons to raid a Field Boss! Not even Super Guilds would dare to be so wasteful. It was just too much of a risk. Even if they killed the Boss with the siege weapons, the losses would far exceed their gains.</p><p>Every siege weapon was extremely valuable. Moreover, since these weapons posed a greater threat, monsters almost always targeted them first.</p><p>Yet, not only had Zero Wing brung siege weapons to a Field Boss raid, but they had brought 50 Miniature Ballistas in total</p><p>"Just what does Zero Wing intend to do? They''re mobilizing their Guild''s foundations to raid a Boss. Aren''t they worried that other powers will take advantage of the fight and try to rob them?" Purple Eye gaped when she saw the Miniature Ballistas.</p><p>While the potential profit of killing the Frost King was quite valuable, it was likely less valuable than 50 Miniature Ballistas. If Zero Wing lost those weapons in battle, it would severely impact the Guild''s overall combat power.</p><p>"Do you think that any power remaining in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare steal or destroy those weapons?" Galaxy Past asked, smiling bitterly.</p><p>In reality, Zero Wing''s revelation of their siege weapons in this raid was a declaration that it wasn''t afraid of a theft attempt. It was proof of the Guild''s strength.</p><p>They had already witnessed Zero Wing''s power, particularly Black Flame''s strength. Black Flame had killed Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Leader amidst an army of thousands of elites. The other members from Heaven''s Burial had only been able to watch helplessly as he took their Guild Leader''s life.</p><p>With such strength, who would possibly dare pick a fight with Zero Wing?</p><p>To put it bluntly, doing so was suicidal.</p><p>It was much different from the attitude Zero Wing had adopted when the weapons and equipment Heaven''s Burial had dropped littered the battlefield. Despite so much precious loot before them, none of the various large Guilds or independent players had dared to claim them.</p><p></p><p>Along with the Miniature Ballistas, Shi Feng had used Demon Summoning and called forth a Level 72, Tier 3 Inferno Demon. Due to Demon Ruler''s effect, the Inferno Demon''s Attributes received a 30% buff, becoming significantly stronger than a normal Tier 3 Demon.<br>-</p><p>[Inferno Demon] (Dark Creature, Demon)<br>Level 72<br>HP 33,800,000/33,800,000</p><p>-<br>Shi Feng also summoned Anna.</p><p>As a Grand Lord ranked Mutant, the Frost King was even stronger than a Mythic monster of the same level. As a Mutant, its intellect was also quite high. Zerg tactics wouldn''t be effective against this Boss. If they were, the various large Guilds of the past wouldn''t have suffered so many losses to deal with a single Mutant, even going as far as mobilizing siege weapons to exterminate the creature. Not even an army of hundreds of thousands of players could defeat it.</p><p>Of course, the Mutants back then had grown over a considerable amount of time. They weren''t like the Frost King, who had just become a Mutant and hadn''t had much time to increase his strength. However, as the Frost King''s initial tier was high, it could even annihilate a 1,000-man team of Tier 2 players if not dealt with properly.</p><p>"Guild Leader, the Boss is coming!" a Ranger scout announced.</p><p>"Good. Main force, prepare to move. Dark Gods Legion, protect the Miniature Ballistas. Exterminate anyone that dares to approach!" Shi Feng instructed.</p><p>"Guild Leader, rest assured; if any Guild or player tries to pull something, we''ll wipe them off the map!" the Dark Gods Legion members guaranteed as they patted their chests.</p><p>Saying so, the Dark Gods Legion members spread out around the Miniature Ballistas. A few members took out Magic Array Scrolls for the Double Protection Barrier, constructing a magic barrier around the siege weapons.</p><p>Meanwhile, the main force members spread out and charged towards the Frost King.</p><p>Due to the Frost King''s Domain, the main force members'' Attributes fell significantly upon entering the Boss''s sphere of influence. Upon sensing the approaching players, the Frost King swung one of his sabers at the crowd.</p><p>A streak of blue light swept towards Zero Wing''s MTs.</p><p>Just before the blue light struck, a shadow descended from the sky and stood before the MTs. Holding its flaming spear before it, the Inferno Demon blocked the streak of light.</p><p><em>Boom!</em></p><p>The impact immediately threw the Level 72 Inferno Demon over 30 yards, its HP decreasing by over 100,000. The distant spectators gasped when they saw the Frost King''s display of Strength.</p><p><em>What Strength!</em> Shi Feng was similarly astonished.</p><p>Despite blocking the attack, the Inferno Demon had still received so much damage from one casual attack. If not for the Bible of Darkness''s buff, it wouldn''t have lasted long against the Frost King.</p><p>Noticing the Boss prepare to launch his second attack, Shi Feng took out the Ancient Weather Book and used Weather Control.</p><p>Suddenly, the chilling atmosphere began to warm rapidly as a scorchingly hot sun dominated the sky.</p><p>While the Ancient Weather Book didn''t seem to have any practical effect against monsters, the exact opposite was true.</p><p>In God''s Domain, players weren''t the only ones affected by their environment. The same was true for monsters. If a monster fought in an environment that ran counter to its nature, the monster''s combat power at least would decrease by half. This was also why the various large Guilds had searched for any Skills or Spells that could affect weather in the past. However, Skills and Spells of this type were even rarer than Curses and Taboo Skills of the same tier. Generally, only superpowers could get their hands on one.</p><p>Suddenly, the snowy plains transformed into a burning hellscape. Although players didn''t prefer this fiery environment either, Zero Wing''s members had consumed the Sea God''s Blessing. They could adapt to hot or cold adequately.</p><p>In contrast, the Frost King, an ice elemental, was exceedingly uncomfortable. Disregarding Zero Wing''s members, the Frost King turned and attempted to flee the hellscape.</p><p>"Stop him! Don''t let him get away! All Ballistas, attack!"</p><p>Upon Shi Feng''s command, the assembled Miniature Ballistas launched Exploding Arrows simultaneously.</p><p><em>Xiu Xiu Xiu</em></p><p>A rain of fire descended upon the Frost King, the scene far more spectacular than normal Boss raids.</p> 1398 Tier 4 Strength <p>Chapter 1398 - Tier 4 Strength</p><p>The 50 Exploding Arrows rained down on the Frost King like meteors.</p><p>"Roar!"</p><p>Noticing the incoming attacks, the Frost King roared. It then brandished its twin sabers, cutting down the Exploding Arrows before they could land.</p><p>The Boss knocked the majority of the Exploding Arrows off course. As for the remaining arrows, the Frost King simply took a step forward and dodged most of them, while blocking a small portion with his sabers. In the end, only three Exploding Arrows had connected with their target.</p><p>-32,964!</p><p>-33,157!</p><p>-32,849!</p><p>"Such high Defense!" Zero Wing''s members could not help their surprise.</p><p>On its own, an Exploding Arrow was as powerful as a Tier 2 Spell, but with the Miniature Ballista''s damage modifier, these arrows could compete with the strongest Tier 2 Spells. Overall, a single Exploding Arrow could deal over -100,000 damage against a Great Lord of the same level, yet the few that had struck the Grand Lord ranked Frost King had only dealt a little over -30,000 damage. One could imagine how pitiful their damage would be if players relied on Tier 1 Skills and Spells to take down this Boss.</p><p>Everyone finally understood why Shi Feng wanted to utilize the Miniature Ballistas. With the minute damage players'' attacks would deal, even a 1,000-man team was unlikely to overcome the Frost King''s battle recovery. If more than 1,000 players fought the Frost King at the same time, the Boss would become even stronger, his Strength and Defense reaching new heights. The Grand Lord would be unstoppable.</p><p>"As expected of a Mutant. Despite such an uncomfortable environment, its reaction speed is still so fast," Shi Feng commented, smiling slightly as he watched the Frost King, who still attempted to flee the hellscape.</p><p>In truth, Shi Feng hadn''t expected three of the fifty arrows to hit the Frost King. After all, he was very familiar with how terrifying a Mutant was. Tier 2 attacks would have a limited effect on this creature.</p><p>Finally, Anna finished her incantation.</p><p>With a wave of her staff, a Level 75, Tier 3 Golden Giant and ten Level 75, Tier 2 Rock Guardians appeared before her. The Rock Guardians immediately formed a magic barrier to trap the Frost King. However, the Frost King was simply too powerful. Despite the barrier, his Basic Attributes remained unaffected.</p><p>Fortunately, the Rock Guardians'' barrier created an opportunity for the 50 Miniature Ballistas to bombard the Boss.</p><p>Following which, the Miniature Ballistas launched another volley at the Frost King. This time, due to the limited space the Frost King had to maneuver, he dodged and blocked significantly fewer arrows. In the end, over a dozen Exploding Arrows found their mark, damages over -30,000 appearing above the Boss''s head, one after another.</p><p>Suddenly, the Inferno Demon descended from the sky and activated the Tier 3 Skill, Macropyre.</p><p>Ice elementals like the Frost King feared fire-type attacks over all else. With a single attack, the Frost King lost over 1,000,000 HP instantly.</p><p>Upon receiving such a significant amount of damage, the Frost King retaliated, swinging one of his sabers at the Inferno demon with lightning speed. Although the Inferno Demon had used its flame spear to block the attack, it still lost over 100,000 HP. Fortunately, Zero Wing''s healers supported the summoned Demon from a safe distance, granting the creature the ability to fight the Frost King for a long time.</p><p>With the Inferno Demon and Golden Giant tanking the Frost King, Zero Wing''s members could freely attack the Boss from the sides. Although their damage was insignificant at best, they could, more or less, hinder the Frost King''s movements by attacking his joints.</p><p>For a time, the Frost King engaged in a fierce battle against the Inferno Demon and the Golden Giant, the sounds of weapons clashing echoing throughout the plains. At the same time, the Miniature Ballistas continued to fire one Exploding Arrow volley after another, whittling down the Frost King''s HP.</p><p>Meanwhile, Shi Feng switched to the Aura of Fire and circled to the Frost King''s back before activating Flame Burst.</p><p>The Frost King released an agonizing cry as he received Shi Feng''s fifteen consecutive strikes.</p><p>-61,574!</p><p>-123,487!</p><p>-61,746!</p><p></p><p>In total, Shi Feng''s fifteen attacks dealt over -1,000,000 damage.</p><p>"Is he a monster!?" The watching upper echelons from the various large Guilds were stupefied.</p><p>Even their Guilds'' top-tier experts had only dealt several hundred damage to the Grand Lord with their Skills, yet Shi Feng''s normal attacks dealt over -5,000 damage, while his Skills dealt over -10,000.</p><p>Aside from Shi Feng''s individual performance, these upper echelons winced as they watched Zero Wing''s members waste the precious Exploding Arrows. This situation showed them how truly powerful Zero Wing''s foundations were.</p><p>Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, only Zero Wing would dare to raid a measly Field Boss with such an extravagant method.</p><p>Following which, the Frost King''s HP rapidly decreased under Zero Wing''s combined assault.</p><p>99%... 95%... 89%...</p><p>As time passed, the originally peerless Frost King''s maneuverability suffered as his HP decreased.</p><p>When the Frost King had only 30% HP remaining, he finally seemed to realize that his life was in danger. Suddenly, the Frost King stomped his foot, causing the ground beneath him to sink slightly. Following which, pillars of ice rose from the dirt, surrounding the Grand Lord. The cage of ice rendered the Miniature Ballistas and players'' attacks ineffective.</p><p>After another five seconds, the Frost King split into two identical clones. However, both Frost Kings only had 15% of their total HPs.</p><p>"Is this a joke?!"</p><p>The distant spectating players gaped when they saw two Frost Kings.</p><p>One Frost King was frightening enough, yet now Zero Wing had to face two of them. Just how were players supposed to defeat such a Boss?</p><p>The large Guilds'' members weren''t the only ones horrified; Zero Wing''s members'' hearts sank at the sight. For a moment, they were at a loss.</p><p>The Inferno Demon and the Golden Giant had already struggled to tank the Mutant. Moreover, after such a long fight, the healers'' Mana was close to depletion. The healers couldn''t possibly keep up with the damage if they had to face two Frost Kings simultaneously.</p><p>After all, not even the Tier 3 Inferno Demon and the Golden Giant could defend themselves and the players against two Grand Lord Mutants'' attacks properly. Any attack they failed to block would instantly deal over -1,000,000 damage, while Skills would deal two to three million damage. At this rate, the Inferno Demon and Golden Giant would die very quickly. Without these two summoned monsters in the way, the Frost Kings wouldn''t need long to annihilate Zero Wing''s team.</p><p>Suddenly, one of the Frost Kings threw the Golden Giant from the magic barrier, leaving the Inferno Demon alone to deal with the two Boss''s pincer attack. Both Frost Kings revealed sinister smiles, their sabers releasing a frosty aura that dropped the surrounding temperature sharply. They then swung their sabers down at the Inferno Demon.</p><p>"All living creatures must die!" the two Frost Kings bellowed as one as they sent four arcs of blue light at the Inferno Demon.</p><p>When struck, the Inferno Demon''s HP, which had been at 50%, plummeted to zero, its body transforming into particles of light and disappearing.</p><p>"How is that possible?!" Everyone was stunned.</p><p>The two Frost Kings had killed a Tier 3 Inferno Demon instantly</p><p>"It''s over. Zero Wing''s loss is inevitable." Galaxy Past was indescribably shocked as he watched the Inferno Demon vanish from the battlefield. He hadn''t dreamed that the Frost King was this powerful.</p><p>However, after using this powerful Skill to execute the Inferno Demon, each of the Frost Kings had lost 5% of their HPs. Now, they only had 10% HP remaining.</p><p>After dealing with the Inferno Demon, one of the Frost Kings moved to deal with the Golden Giant, while the other attacked the Rock Guardians. Before they could, however, a figure appeared before the Frost King that targeted the Rock Guardians.</p><p>This figure was none other than Shi Feng.</p><p>Despite noticing the Swordsman, the Frost King didn''t even spare him a glance. Instead, he swatted at Shi Feng as if he were a fly. Despite such a casual attack, a black spatial tear ripped along the saber''s trajectory.</p><p>"Guild Leader!" Zero Wing''s members panicked.</p><p>The attack could even send a Tier 3 Great Lord flying; no player could possibly avoid it.</p><p>But as they watched, the spectating players were astonished yet again.</p><p>Activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, a golden glow swallowed Shi Feng. He also activated Blade Liberation. Immediately, he swung Killing Ray to meet the Frost King''s saber. The instant the two weapons collided, the saber was thrown back as if it had been struck by a cannonball.</p><p>"Impossible!"</p><p>"He repelled the Boss?!"</p><p>The various large Guilds in the distance could not believe their eyes. While they had considered the possibility that Shi Feng might use a Lifesaving Skill to block the attack, they had never expected the man to repel the Frost King''s attack with one of his own.</p><p><em>My Strength is already on par with a Mythic monster of the same level?</em> Shi Feng glanced at the Sacred Sword in his hand in confusion.</p><p>This was the first time he had activated Twofold Berserk since upgrading the Seven Luminaries Ring to the Fragmented Legendary rank.</p> 1399 Horrific Outbreak Chapter 1399 - Horrific Outbreak "He blocked the attack by himself?" An indescribable shock filled the watching players when they saw Shi Feng emerge from the clash unharmed. They had experienced the Frost King''s Strength personally. The Grand Lord had killed players with activated Berserk Skills as if they were a joke. Yet, Shi Feng had repulsed the Frost King with a single blow. Although the Frost King had weakened slightly after finishing off the Inferno Demon with that powerful Skill, players had no hope against its Strength. "I wonder what Heaven''s Burial''s reaction will be if Zero Wing takes down the Frost King?" Purple Eye mused, smiling bitterly at the repulsed Frost King. She had hoped that the Star Alliance could use the Frost King to elevate its status in Star-Moon Kingdom. Unfortunately, that plan was no longer feasible. However, the setbacks the Star Alliance suffered were nothing compared to those of Heaven''s Burial. After overcoming so many challenges to gain an advantage over Zero Wing, not only had Heaven''s Burial failed to hurt the Guild, but it would also lose the advantage of its link between Red Iron Town and Evernight City. "We can''t underestimate Heaven''s Burial. Although they''ve suffered a miserable defeat here, based on the Secret Pavilion''s report, the Guild has Beast Emperor''s backing. That Beast Emperor fellow has already taken control of several large Guildsincluding the top first-rate Guild Overlord Dynastyand is the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s undisputed ruler. It won''t be so easy for Zero Wing to defeat Heaven''s Burial," Galaxy Past said, shaking his head. Before the Secret Pavilion had secured ownership of the Star Alliance, his ambitions had been great. He had dreamed of becoming an overlord in God''s Domain one day. However, after joining the Secret Pavilion, he had come to understand one thing: God''s Domain was unlike any other virtual reality game that had ever existed. Without the foundations of a super-first-rate Guild or Super Guild, ruling over a kingdom was easier said than done. The opponents on the surface were far from the only ones vying for dominance. Many powers lurked in the darkness, developing in secret. If these powers decided to take action, even a first-rate Guild might not withstand their might. However, the fact that Zero Wing managed to become the ostensible overlord of Star-Moon Kingdom was already plenty amazing. "The Guild Leader is so awesome!" "He even blocked that kind of attack?" Shi Feng''s performance had rekindled hope in Zero Wing''s Guild members whose confidence had begun to waver. They immediately resumed their bombardment, using the Miniature Ballistas to attack the Frost Kings madly. Although the Golden Giant was having great difficulty in dealing with one of the two Frost Kings, now that the Frost Kings had weakened slightly, the Level 75 Great Lord ranked Golden Giant would not fall that easily, either. Not to mention, the Frost King Shi Feng was dealing with had very little HP remaining. Zero Wing definitely had a chance to emerge victorious in this raid. "We don''t have much time left! Everyone, prioritize attacking my Frost King!" Shi Feng instructed hurriedly after repulsing the Frost King before him. While he indeed possessed the strength of a Tier 4 player right now, he could maintain Twofold Berserk for only 24 seconds. If they did not finish this battle within that time, annihilation would be inevitable. Shi Feng dashed at his Frost King, who was forced to retreat four steps. Abyssal Bind! Phantom Kill! Nine Dragons Slash! At this moment, Shi Feng no longer dared to hold anything back. Suddenly, nine pitch-black chains emerged from the ground and bound the Frost King. Although Abyssal Bind had little effect on the Frost King, the Skill had still managed to freeze the Frost King''s movements momentarily, allowing Shi Feng and his doppelganger to arrive before the Frost King in tandem. Flame Burst! The swords carried by both Shi Feng and his doppelganger transformed into dazzling, miniature suns that assailed the Frost King''s body. Among the 30 consecutive strikes that landed on the Grand Lord, each one dealt over -300,000 damage; critical hits dealt over -600,000 damage. In addition to Shi Feng and his doppelganger, the twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms also danced around the Frost King''s body, cutting at it. Not to forget, there were still the Exploding Arrows coming from a distance. Although the Frost King managed to block most of the attacks sent at him, the Grand Lord''s HP still plunged to 8%. Shi Feng''s explosive power thoroughly stupefied everyone once more. Sure enough, a Grand Lord ranked Mutant really is tough to deal with. Shi Feng''s head ached when he looked at the Frost King maintaining its defense against the attacks sent at him. The difference in physique was simply too massive! If Shi Feng were up against an ordinary Grand Lord, he could easily overwhelm the monster''s defenses with his combat techniques and strike directly at its body, dealing substantial amounts of damage to it. However, despite the highly disadvantageous environment, the Frost King''s reaction speed and Attack Speed remained terrifying. It was just too difficult for Shi Feng to land an actual blow on the Grand Lord. Even when Shi Feng and his doppelganger struck simultaneously, the Frost King was still able to cope with both of their attacks. If this situation dragged on, even after Twofold Berserk''s duration ended, they still wouldn''t be able to kill one Frost King, much less both of them. "A futile struggle!" At this time, the Frost King suddenly changed the trajectory of one of his sabers, switching from defense to offense and striking at Shi Feng from an angle. Dang! Fortunately, Shi Feng managed to protect his side abdomen in the nick of time, using Killing Ray. In return, however, he had to take two sidesteps before he could stabilize his body. He''s starting to recover his Strength already? Shi Feng''s complexion darkened as he looked at the vibrating Sacred Sword. Although he was aware that the Frost King would recover from his weakened state very quickly, he never thought that it would happen this quickly. However, the Frost King had no intentions of giving Shi Feng any opportunities to react. The Boss promptly brandished his sabers and forced Shi Feng into a defensive state. Now, even Shi Feng''s doppelganger had difficulty finding an opportunity to land an attack. This situation panicked Zero Wing''s members. They were all aware that Shi Feng was currently using Twofold Berserk, and that the combination Berserk Skill only had a short duration. However, the Exploding Arrows'' power was simply too mediocre. Each arrow dealt only a little over -30,000 damage. Even if they landed 20 arrows per volley, they would deal just over -600,000 damage to the Frost King. With that kind of damage, it was simply impossible to defeat the Grand Lord within a short period. As Shi Feng was starting to get pushed back, he abruptly stabbed Killing Ray into the ground. Suddenly, a blue pulse of energy spread out into his surroundings. Chilling Field! In the next moment, nine frost spears appeared around Shi Feng and stabbed madly at the Frost King. Although each frost spear carried only 90% of the Skill user''s Strength, Shi Feng was able to superimpose the Strength of three spearsthe current limit of his capabilities. His technique might not be as refined as Sirius''s, but by combining three spears into one, he could still roughly double the Strength of each attack. Meanwhile, 180% of his current Strength was more than enough to suppress the Frost King. Following which, each time the frost spears clashed with the Frost King''s sabers, the resulting impact would create an opening for Shi Feng''s doppelganger to land a few attacks. This situation chopped chunk after chunk from the Frost King''s HP. When the Frost King only had 3% of his HP remaining, he became thoroughly enraged. Suddenly, his snowy-white body turned pitch-black, and the aura he gave off was replete with an indescribable sense of evil. "Despicable living beings! You all have truly angered me now!" The enraged Frost King''s HP abruptly fell by a sizable portion. Following which, the Frost King suddenly abandoned the sabers he held. He then raised one hand into the air and began chanting an incantation that was absolutely foreign to the players on the battlefield. A moment later, a massive, threefold magic array covering a 500-yard radius appeared in the sky. This is Heaven Splitter? Shi Feng''s complexion darkened as he looked at the dense and violent Mana gathering overhead. From time to time, he could also see blue arcs of lightning flashing across. Heaven Splitter was a Tier 4 super-large-scale destruction Spell. Its result was complete and utter destruction. At this moment, Shi Feng went into a frenzy as he controlled Chilling Field to execute Sword''s Orbit, launching a relentless stream of attacks at the Frost King. As the Mana in the skies grew increasingly violent, the Frost King''s HP likewise declined. 2% 1% "Die!" Shi Feng bellowed as he activated Divine Providence and Dragon Breath. Immediately, a white beam of light devoured the Frost King, reaping the final strand of his HP. 1400 Kings Loo Chapter 1400 - King''s Loot When the HP of one of the Frost Kings reached zero, both Frost Kings suddenly turned into ice and shattered. At the same time, the heavy pressure on Zero Wing''s members lifted, and they collapsed wearily to sit down on the ground. "That was so close!" Everyone from Zero Wing breathed out a sigh of relief when they noticed the magic array in the sky disappearing gradually. Had the magic array been allowed to gather Mana for even a moment longer, this battle would definitely have ended in their annihilation. After the Frost King''s death, everyone received a generous amount of EXP. Although not everybody managed to level up, their experience bars still increased by a sizable portion, equivalent to one day''s worth of grinding. However, compared to the EXP they received, everyone paid much more attention to the loot of the Frost King. The reason for this was the loot''s abundancethe Frost King actually dropped over 100 items when it died. Even the Final Bosses of leveling maps would not drop such a large number of items. Usually, one would be fortunate to get one or two dozen items. Yet, now, there were actually over 100 items dropped. Just looking at the loot made everyone''s heart race. "What?! So many items actually dropped?!" Envy suddenly filled the eyes of the distant spectating large Guilds and independent players, many of them wishing they could charge forward and steal some of the items for themselves right now. However, the onlookers simply left their fantasies as fantasies. Setting aside how much time they would need to cross the long distance separating themselves and the loot, just getting through Zero Wing''s experts to reach the loot would already be a near-impossible feat. "Crap! I bet there are going to be plenty of Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment among the loot!" "Dark-Gold rank? Aren''t you underestimating the mutated Frost King a little too much? I recall that the last Mutant that appeared in White River City had dropped Epic items after it died. Since the Frost King was much more powerful than that previous Mutant, most likely, there are going to be many Epic items among the loot." "Even until now, our Guild has only managed to obtain one Epic item. Moreover, it was even taken by the Guild Leader. If I could have one as well, I''d definitely be willing to leave my Guild and join Zero Wing!" Everyone speculated on the Frost King''s loot. What frightening loot! With merely a glance at the items dropped, Shi Feng already spotted more than ten weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, the majority of the loot consisted of various Attribute Gemstones and Magic Crystal Treasure Chests. Attribute Gemstones were one of the hard currencies in God''s Domain. No matter what level players reached, Attribute Gemstones would not become obsolete. Meanwhile, the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was something only Grand Lord ranked Bosses and above had a chance of dropping, starting from Level 50. Depending on the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest''s quality, the number of Magic Crystals it rewarded would also vary. This could be considered a relatively good way for expert teams to obtain Magic Crystals. Common Magic Crystal Treasure Chests gave between five to 20 Magic Crystals, and on the market, they sold for roughly three Gold each. Bronze Magic Crystal Treasure Chests gave between 30 to 50 Magic Crystals and sold for roughly 12 Gold each. Mysterious-Iron Magic Crystal Treasure Chests gave between 100 to 150 Magic Crystals and sold for roughly 37 Gold each. Secret-Silver Magic Crystal Treasure Chests gave between 300 to 500 Magic Crystals and sold for roughly 120 Gold each. Fine-Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chests gave between 1,000 to 2,000 Magic Crystals and sold for roughly 450 Gold each. Dark-Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chests gave between 3,000 to 5,000 Magic Crystals and sold for roughly 1,200 Gold each. Meanwhile, the Frost King had dropped a total of five Magic Crystal Treasure Chests: three Secret-Silver rank, one Fine-Gold rank, and one Dark-Gold rank. After another ten minutes or so, Shi Feng was finally done organizing the Frost King''s loot. As he was doing so, he could not help but grow ecstatic. Among the loot, there were two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls. These things were extremely valuable treasures in God''s Domain. Not to mention, one of these two scrolls was even a Summoning Scroll. The value of this scroll was simply incalculable. Aside from those, there were also various Advanced Recipes and Designs for the various Lifestyle classes. The one Shi Feng loved the most was the Titan Device Design, which ranked near the top even among Advanced Designs. Or to put it in another way, the Titan Device was one of the consumable items all players dreamed of obtaining. Like the Strengthening Device, the Titan Device was similarly a consumable item. Only, unlike the Strengthening Device, which was used to extend the durability of equipment, the Titan Device was used to increase the Mana density around players. It allowed players to exert even more of their own strength. Of course, the increase in Mana density provided by the Titan Device was not as significant as that of the Fragmented Legendary ranked Seven Luminaries Ring. It was roughly at the level of a town or city with five Magic Towers, higher than the Mana density currently available in Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. However, the duration of the Titan Device was considerably short, lasting only three hours. Even so, it was still exceedingly popular among the players of God''s Domain in the past. As long as Titan Devices appeared in an Auction House, the various large Guilds and adventurer teams would immediately buy them out. Unfortunately, the Titan Device Design was extremely rare. Even after ten years had passed, very few Guilds had managed to get their hands on one. Only super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had several of the designs, while first-rate Guilds would have been fortunate to have even three or four pieces. As a result, the Titan Devices these Guilds produced were rarely ever sold to the public and were generally kept for internal consumption. Aside from the Titan Device Design, the Frost King had also dropped two Epic items and one Fragmented Legendary item. The quality of the loot dumbfounded even Shi Feng. Of the two Epic items, one was a necklace called Magic Devouring Charm. The necklace''s level range was between 45 and 100. Unfortunately, the necklace''s Basic Attributes were average at best. Moreover, the necklace had only one Passive Skill. In Shi Feng''s opinion, though, this necklace was definitely a top-tier necklace for magical classes. The reason for this was the Passive Skill Mana Body. Mana Body increased the wearer''s Spell Completion Rate by 3% and Spell effectiveness by 30% while decreasing spellcasting time by 20%. This could be considered a godly Skill for magical class players. Aside from the Magic Devouring Charm, the other Epic item was a Spatial Bag. The value of this item exceeded even the Magic Devouring Charm''s. Although the Spatial Bag did not provide any Attributes or Skills to players, it could be stored inside a player''s bag space and be used to store 12,000 slots'' worth of itemsnearly double the available slots in Shi Feng''s current bag space. Meanwhile, the most amazing aspect of this Spatial Bag was its Built-in Warehouse. Players could store non-bag space items such as Diamond Wood and Seven Luminaries Crystals inside this warehouse. Moreover, the Spatial Bag could store up to 300 non-bag space itemstriple the amount the Hurricane Sailboat could carry. If put up for auction, it could easily sell for over 50,000 Gold. With this, transporting Diamond Wood will become much more convenient. As Shi Feng looked at the Spatial Bag, he quickly thought of many more ways of making money. Non-bag space items were generally very precious in God''s Domain. Due to the trouble of transporting them, these items generally sold for very high prices. Hence, maritime adventurer teams were able to make a fortune by transporting items. As long as one transported some popular non-bag space items to a location that did not produce them, one would be able to sell the items for astronomical prices. Now that Shi Feng had the Spatial Bag, he could travel to various countries to purchase their local non-bag space items for a low price and resell these in other countries. After he was done looking at the two Epic items, he could not help but shift his sights to a dazzling staff. Despite the two Epic items earlier being worth tens of thousands of Gold, the total value of these two items was not even worth one-tenth of this staff. The reason being, this staff was a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. 1401 Advanced Garrison Order Chapter 1401 - Advanced Garrison Order To current players, Epic items were already godlike existences that were unobtainable, what more Fragmented Legendary items? Even until now, there had been no news of any Guild or player that had managed to get their hands on a Fragmented Legendary item. Although there was the possibility that the ones who had done so were keeping it a secret like Zero Wing, the odds of it happening were very low. After all, in addition to Fragmented Legendary items being extremely rare, the difficulty of acquiring one was also exceedingly high. In the past, Shadow, which had been a second-rate Guild, had never obtained a single Fragmented Legendary item. From this, one could imagine just how rare Fragmented Legendary items were. Meanwhile, the fact that the Frost King had dropped a Fragmented Legendary staff could definitely be considered exceptional luck. Compared to equipment and accessories, weapons were the foundations for improving a player''s combat power. As expected of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, its Attributes really are terrifyingly strong. - [Frostflame Wrath] (Two-handed Staff, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 600, Intelligence 1,500 Attack Power (220% of Intelligence) All Attributes (Increases according to user''s level) When equipped: Strength increased by 30%, Agility increased by 50%, Intelligence increased by 60%, Endurance increased by 50%, Vitality increased by 50%; Casting speed increased by 30%; Cast range +20; Magic damage increased by 30%; All Spell effectiveness increased by 30%; Spell critical rate increased by 30%; Spell cost decreased by 10%; Completion Rate of all ice- and fire-type Spells and Skills increased by 5%; Ignore Levels +20 Additional Passive Skill 1- Frostflame Origin: Increases the power of ice- and fire-type Spells cast by user by 1 tier. (Can be increased up to Tier 5) Additional Passive Skill 2- Elemental Shield: Reduces all magic damage received by 50% and physical damage by 30%. Additional Active Skill 1- Frostflame Hell: Deals ice- and fire-type damage to all enemies within a 50-yard radius for 10 seconds. Spell effectiveness will be one tier higher than user''s current tier. (Can be increased up to Tier 5) Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Active Skill 2- Frostflame Space: With the user as the center, decreases the Attributes of all enemies within a 100-yard radius by 30%. Increases user''s Attributes by 80% and physique by 50%. Also creates an ice-type doppelganger and a fire-type doppelganger. Doppelgangers will have 100% of user''s Basic Attributes but can use only their corresponding type of Spells. While inside Frostflame Space, as long as either user or one doppelganger survives, user will not die. When Frostflame Space''s duration ends, user will recover back to peak condition. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 3 hours Additional Active Skill 3- Summon Mount: Summons a Frostflame Cheetah that has 300% Movement Speed and is one tier higher than user. (Mount''s tier cannot exceed Tier 5) Duration: 3 hours Cooldown: 3 hours This staff was once owned by Irene Jacques. However, the core runes have been damaged. The staff needs to absorb ten God Crystals to recover. Current number of absorbed God Crystals (0/10). - To Elementalists, the Frostflame Wrath was simply a divine weapon. Moreover, obtaining this staff was equivalent to obtaining a Dark-Gold Mount as well. The Mount summoned could also serve as an MT, making up for the disadvantages of an Elementalist. Only, the staff''s equipment requirements were somewhat high. Normally, magical-class players rarely ever invested their Free Attribute Points into Strength. Moreover, magical-class equipment rarely ever provided Strength bonuses. A Level 45 magical-class player would be fortunate to have even 300 Strength. The 1,500 Intelligence required was similarly a hard target to achieve for current players. At this stage of the game, magical-class players that had 1,000 Intelligence could already rank near the top among their class. However, as long as he could arm one of the Guild''s Elementalist experts with the Frostflame Wrath, they would immediately soar to become a peak expert. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Frostflame Wrath and began going through the other items dropped. Huh? This is Very quickly, Shi Feng discovered a crystal token inside his bag. Meanwhile, there was the word "City" carved on the token. His eyes immediately glowed at the sight. What?! An Advanced Garrison Order!? The reason why the NPCs of Evernight City had mentioned that Guilds could garrison Evernight City if they killed the Frost King was the Garrison Order the Frost King would drop. With the Garrison Order, a Guild could garrison a city and enjoy various benefits. Every NPC city possessed different levels of authority. Meanwhile, an Advanced Garrison Order allowed a Guild to have advanced authority right off the bat. Could the Basic Garrison Order have transformed into an Advanced one due to the Frost King turning into a Mutant? Based on Shi Feng''s memories, the Guild that killed the Frost King in the past had obtained only a Basic Garrison Order. - [Advanced Garrison Order] Owner of this token may allow one Guild to permanently garrison Evernight City and enjoy advanced authority in the city. - The Basic Garrison Order of a Dark City allowed the connection of a Guild town to said Dark City. As the amount of Reputation a Guild possessed in a Dark City increased, the amount of authority it had within the city would increase as well. Greater authority allowed a Guild to connect multiple towns with the city. Meanwhile, if a Guild possessed advanced authority in a Dark City, not only could it connect multiple Guild towns to the city, but it could also purchase Land in the central area of the city. In God''s Domain, Dark Cities were much more popular among players compared to ordinary NPC cities. However, players needed to complete certain quests before they could enter a Dark City. Either that, or become a Red or Dark Player. Despite the various weapons and equipment available for exchange inside Dark Cities being limited to Red and Dark Players, that did not stop normal players seeking items suitable for themselves from exchanging for these items. Normal players just needed to commission a Red or Dark Player to act as a proxy for them in exchange for compensation. Hence, trade within Dark Cities was very active. Particularly, after players reached Level 50 and high-quality weapons and equipment became increasingly rarer, such Dark City exchanges would become even more popular in God''s Domain. In the past, the population of Dark Cities had, at one point, even exceeded that of capital cities of kingdoms. One could just imagine how many players were conducting trades in Dark Cities. Of course, Red and Dark Players could not freely exchange for high-quality weapons and equipment in Dark Cities. Not only did they need a sufficient amount of Reputation, but they also needed to spend Contribution Points of the corresponding Dark City when exchanging for items. Without sufficient Contribution Points, Red and Dark Players could not exchange for items, either. Meanwhile, upon inspecting the Advanced Garrison Order, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. - System: Do you wish to bind the token? - Without hesitation, Shi Feng chose to bind the token to himself. After all, one of his goals in coming to the Frozen Scar this time was the Garrison Order. - System: You have bound the token to yourself. Please visit Magistrate Magrence at Evernight City''s City Hall. - After binding the Advanced Garrison Order, Shi Feng continued looking through the remaining loot. These were Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. If sold, each one of them could easily fetch over 1,000 Gold. Overall, more than 10,000 Gold''s worth of Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment had dropped. Once he had organized the loot, he did not share any details with the team. He merely gave all participants the GCPs they deserved so that they could exchange for the weapons and equipment they wanted once they returned to the Guild. After all, a 1,000-man team was different from a 100-man team. There just wasn''t enough equipment to share with everyone. If a team auction were held, it would definitely consume a lot of time. Hence, he might as well place all the dropped Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment in the Guild Warehouse and let everyone make their choices. As for the Epic items and above, they were the Guild''s secrets and should not be displayed or put up for exchange casually. I should make a trip to Evernight City and open up the transfer path. Shi Feng then removed the Guild War Order and took out a Return Scroll to leave the Frozen Scar. Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing successfully raiding the Frost King had spread throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. 1402 Popular Battle Arena Chapter 1402 - Popular Battle Arena The news of the Frost King''s defeat immediately caught the attention of many adventurer teams and independent players. "This is a lie, right? I heard that many people got annihilated by the Frost King. Even the allied forces of the various large Guilds, consisting of over 100,000 elite players, were helpless against the Frost King. Just how did Zero Wing succeed?" "Zero Wing''s killing the Frost King means that it can now directly garrison Evernight City. With this, Stone Forest Town will also be connected with Evernight City." "Previously, I avoided going to Stone Forest Town since I felt it was too much of a hassle. However, if there''s a teleportation array connecting the town to Evernight City, it might not be a bad idea to pay the town a visit." "Now that Stone Forest Town has a link to Evernight City, it will definitely remain the number one town of Star-Moon Kingdom even in the future. I wonder what kind of actions Heaven''s Burial will take?" The various adventurer teams and independent players were overjoyed over the fact that they could travel directly to Evernight City via Stone Forest Town. Previously, Stone Forest Town was already very popular for the many rare items being sold there as well as having a training location like the Battle Arena. Only, due to the inconvenience of traveling to Stone Forest Town, many players in Star-Moon Kingdom had given up on the endeavor. Now that Stone Forest Town was connected to Evernight City, visiting the town became much more convenient. Star-Moon City, Heaven''s Burial''s Residence: "Damn it! Zero Wing actually succeeded!" Broken Flow''s complexion darkened after watching the video showing Zero Wing''s raid of the Frost King. "Guild Leader, what should we do next?" Heaven''s Burial had suffered tremendous losses this time. Not only did over 10,000 elite members die, but they even lost the kill of the Frost King. Now, Zero Wing''s prestige in Star-Moon Kingdom was as dazzling as the midday sun. Meanwhile, as soon as the various adventurer teams and independent players received news of Zero Wing''s success, they all started thinking about teleporting from Evernight City to Stone Forest Town and taking a look around. One could just imagine how bustling Stone Forest Town would become once it was actually linked with Evernight City. "We''ll let Zero Wing enjoy its success for now. It has merely opened a teleportation channel between Stone Forest Town and Evernight City right now. In God''s Domain, levels and resources are the truly important things. What we truly need to focus on this time is the Empire''s Rise expansion pack. Moreover, Beast Emperor has just sent a message for our side to start preparing soon," Singular Burial said, sneering. "However, we can''t let Zero Wing off too easily, either. Notify the personnel at the Auction House. Tell them to increase the number of rare items we''re putting up for sale as well as lower the processing fees a little. I want to see just how many merchant players and adventurer teams are really willing to go to Stone Forest Town." "Guild Leader, if we do that, Red Iron Town''s income will dwindle to nothing," Daybreak Fog said worriedly. With the current income of Red Iron Town''s Auction House, not only were they able to support the town''s development, but they also had funds to spare for Heaven''s Burial''s own development. However, if they lowered the processing fees they collected, they would only be able to sustain the town''s development. To Heaven''s Burial, which was currently in dire need of funds, this was not a beneficial situation. "It''s fine. As long as Beast Emperor and we can deal with the matter over at the neutral map, Red Iron Town and Stone Forest Town will be meaningless to us," Singular Burial said, laughing. "Alright, just go and get the necessary arrangements done." He and Beast Emperor were fully aware of how powerful Zero Wing was. Since the very beginning, they never intended to rely on Red Iron Town to compete with Zero Wing. They simply wanted to use the town to hinder Zero Wing''s development somewhat. "Understood." After giving the matter some thought, Daybreak Fog found Singular Burial''s decision reasonable. She then made her way to Red Iron Town. The first-floor hall of Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena: Currently, there was a long line of players waiting in the hall to get into the combat rooms. Although duels held in the combat rooms had minimal effect for top-tier experts, they were very effective for the general masses. After all, players could maintain a calm state of mind while in a high Mana density environment. For ordinary players, the effectiveness of fighting inside a combat room for one hour was equivalent to fighting PvP battles in the outside world for ten hours or more. "Huh?! What''s up with those two people?! How many times have they entered the advanced combat rooms already?! Do they have too much money to waste?!" A few players could not help their surprise at seeing Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon trying to rent the advanced combat rooms for the ninth time. Initially, Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon were already quite eye-catching as they stood inside the first-floor hall due to their levels and equipment. Adding on the fact that they would return to the first floor once every half an hour to rent the advanced combat rooms, they naturally would garner attention. Renting two combat rooms each time meant spending four Magic Crystals. Doing so eight times meant spending 32 Magic Crystals. On the market, 32 Magic Crystals could easily fetch eight Gold or more. Many expert players did not even earn one Gold a day. Although adventurer teams were generally wealthier than individual expert players, no matter how the waiting players looked at it, spending eight Gold in such a short time was simply extravagant. Yet, now, both Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon were actually planning on renting the advanced combat rooms again. That was simply ludicrous. "Sir, I''m very sorry, but as per our Battle Arena''s rules, non-members are allowed to rent the advanced combat rooms only eight times per day. If you wish to increase your number of entries, you''ll have to become a member of the Battle Arena. In that case, you get 16 entries per day. If you become an advanced member, you can rent the advanced combat rooms without limit," the female NPC receptionist said, smiling as she looked at Remnant Cloud. "I get to use the advanced combat rooms 16 times a day if I become a member?" Remnant Cloud fell into deep thought. "That is correct." The female receptionist nodded. "If you wish to become a member of our Battle Arena, you''ll have to deposit 1,200 Magic Crystals into your individual account." Having just arrived at Stone Forest Town recently, the players lining up at the counter next to Remnant Cloud''s were startled when they heard the prices quoted by the NPC receptionist. "Has Zero Wing gone mad?! There''s someone willing to rent the expensive advanced combat rooms, yet Zero Wing has actually gone and limited the number of entries? Do they hate getting Magic Crystals that much?" "That''s right! Only adventurer teams on Firecloud Fox''s level would be willing to pay such a high price. If it were me, I would rather spend my Magic Crystals at the Trial Tower." Just as everyone was ridiculing the Battle Arena''s regulations, Remnant Cloud suddenly opened his mouth and asked, "What are the conditions to become an advanced member here?" He dumbfounded everyone. "What''s going on?" "Is Firecloud Fox that wealthy?" Everyone could not help but be shocked by Remnant Cloud''s question. Although this was their first time hearing about the advanced membership, needless to say, the advanced membership fee would definitely be much higher than the basic membership fee. "If you wish to become an advanced member directly, you have to deposit 3,000 Magic Crystals into your personal account. If you become an advanced member, not only will you be able to rent the advanced combat room without limit, but you''ll also receive a 20% discount when using the normal combat rooms," the NPC receptionist explained. "How fraudulent! If I had that many Magic Crystals, I would rather stay cooped up inside the Trial Tower than come here." "Zero Wing is insane. Is there really someone who would be so foolish?" A commotion broke out when the onlookers heard the NPC receptionist''s explanation. Previously, the price of the Battle Arena''s basic membership was already pretty fraudulent. However, the price of the advanced membership appeared utterly ridiculous. "Three thousand crystals?" A tight frown formed on Remnant Cloud''s face. After a moment of deliberation, he said, "I just need to have a total of 3,000 Magic Crystals stored inside my personal account, right?" "That''s right." The receptionist nodded. "If that''s the case, carry out the basic membership procedures for the two of us for now," Remnant Cloud said, gritting his teeth as he paid 2,400 Magic Crystals to the NPC receptionist. This amount was already close to one-third of Firecloud Fox''s stockpile of Magic Crystals. Of course, if it was possible, Remnant Cloud very much preferred to become an advanced member, instead. That way, he could keep improving himself inside the advanced combat room. However, he had brought less than 3,000 Magic Crystals this time. Hence, he could only settle for basic membership for now. "Understood." The NPC receptionist received the 2,400 Magic Crystals and started the membership procedures of the Battle Arena with Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon. After completing the procedures, Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon immediately turned around and dashed towards the staircase, apparently planning on entering the advanced combat rooms again. "Is this a joke?" "Is he some actor hired by Zero Wing?" The surrounding players wore a look of confusion on their faces as they watched Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon leaving hurriedly for the seventh floor of the Battle Arena. They simply could not believe this situation. The two players were actually willing to become members of the Battle Arena just so that they could have more chances to enter the advanced combat rooms. "Just what kind of magic does this advanced combat room possess?" "Wait a minute! I''m not renting a normal combat room anymore! I want to rent an advanced combat room, instead!" Quite a few expert players that were about to pay their rental fees suddenly changed their minds. They were intensely curious about what was so special about the advanced combat room that it could mesmerize experts like Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon to such a degree. 1403 Sacred Training Ground Chapter 1403 - Sacred Training Ground Due to Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon''s actions, many expert players inside the first-floor hall of the Battle Arena grew interested in the advanced combat rooms. They immediately began applying to rent a room for themselves one after another, curious to find out just what was so special about the advanced combat rooms. "I want to rent an advanced combat room! Here are two Magic Crystals!" "Just what is so special about the advanced combat room? I want to give it a try." Just a short moment after Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon left, over a dozen players expressed their intentions to try the advanced combat rooms. However, as there were only nine advanced combat rooms available, the others had no choice but to wait for their turn. The expert players that got to use the advanced combat rooms entered their respective rooms while filled with skepticism. However, as soon as they entered their rooms, they immediately received a surprise as an Illusory Creature that looked like their doppelganger appeared before them. Upon fighting with these Illusory Creatures, the players found out that not only were the Illusory Creatures capable of using the exact same Skills they themselves did, but the Illusory Creatures even executed the Skills perfectly, like second nature. There was no sense of awkwardness in their movements whatsoever. Moreover, the might of the Skills the Illusory Creatures executed were much more powerful than the players'' own. After just a short clash, the players found themselves completely suppressed by the Illusory Creatures. Their defeat took less than 30 seconds. If not for the weapons and equipment they wore possessing powerful Skills, they might not even have lasted 10 seconds. "So strong!" "Is this for real? Can I really exhibit that kind of combat power?" "Why is there such a huge gap between the Skill he used and the Skill I used?" Upon reviving, the players looked at their respective Illusory Creatures in shock. Originally, they could already exhibit greater combat power in the Battle Arena due to the high Mana density here. However, they never imagined that they had the potential to elevate their combat power to such a degree. The Illusory Creature''s grasp on timing and Skill Completion Rates, in particular, captivated them completely. Before they knew it, their respective Illusory Creatures had already killed them. Following which, the expert players inside the advanced combat rooms fully indulged in the wonders of the room. Even after 30 minutes had passed and they were ejected from their respective rooms, they still wore a dazed look on their faces. "What?! Didn''t I just enter recently?!" "It''s over already? Why do I feel like only a few minutes passed?" The expert players looked at the advanced combat rooms they were just kicked out from with great reluctance. However, as their time limit was up, they could only accept their fate and dash downstairs to get in line and rent the advanced combat room once more. "Huh? What''s going on with these people?" The next batch of players queued up to use the advanced combat rooms stared in confusion at the last batch of players coming out from the rooms. They could not understand why these players were in such a hurry to go downstairs after leaving the advanced combat rooms. "Commander, it seems that more and more people have found out about the secret of the advanced combat room. Should we continue queuing up for the rooms, or should we head to the Divine Colosseum instead?" Graceful Moon frowned when she saw another batch of experts coming up to the seventh floor. She and Remnant Cloud had intended to keep the functionalities of the advanced combat rooms to themselves and monopolize the rooms for as long as possible. After all, only nine advanced combat rooms were available. If other players found out about the wonders of the rooms, the advanced combat rooms would definitely be heavily contested. The spars held inside the advanced combat rooms had inspired her greatly, so much so that it was much more effective to train inside the advanced combat rooms than spar against an opponent of equal or superior standards. After just nine training sessions, she had already managed to improve the Completion Rate of one of her Tier 1 Skills by 3%. Although 3% did not seem like much, since the Completion Rate of this Skill had increased from 82% to 85%, both the might and effect of the Skill had undergone a qualitative transformation. Moreover, by fighting against the Illusory Creature, she had managed to get a grasp on when would be a good time to use her Skills. The advanced combat room was so beneficial that she and Remnant Cloud had even delayed their plans to train at the Divine Colosseum in preparation for tomorrow''s ranking competition. "Not many people have discovered it yet, so the wait should not be that long. Let''s continue queuing up for now. We''ll return to the Black Dragon Empire only after the queue gets too long," Remnant Cloud said after giving the matter some thought. Previously, he had planned on heading to the Divine Colosseum to train after testing the advanced combat room once. However, just one try had gotten him addicted. Compared to the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower, the advanced combat room could provide him with much greater aidespecially when it came to the improvement of Skill Completion Rates. Meanwhile, details regarding the advanced combat rooms quickly spread, causing a huge commotion on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Amazing advanced combat rooms appear in Stone Forest Town! Shortly after this post appeared, it was already upvoted to the top ten positions on the forums. This allowed everyone to find out about the advanced combat rooms. "Is this a scam? Is the advanced combat room really that miraculous?" "Why would I need to lie to you? Right now, the advanced combat rooms are already in great demand. Just the number of players currently queued up for the rooms is already close to 300. Many people are regretting the fact that they did not rent a room for themselves before, when nobody was using them." "I heard that due to the high demand, the Battle Arena amended the regulations for the advanced combat rooms. Now, non-members get only one entry per day, while basic members get four entries. Only advanced members have no limit. Moreover, the rental price has also increased from the previous two Magic Crystals to four now." "Zero Wing is so fraudulent! They actually dare to charge four Magic Crystals?!" "This is insane! Who would be willing to rent something so expensive?!" "Expensive? You can''t rent one right now even if you want to. Moreover, it is precisely because of this price hike that there are currently only around 300 people lined up. If Zero Wing kept the previous price, you might not get a room even after waiting ten days." "Forget four Magic Crystals! If I can get into a room right away, I''m even willing to pay ten Magic Crystals!" For a time, everyone was filled with anticipation towards the advanced combat rooms of Stone Forest Town. This was especially true for expert players. Previously, the only attraction for them in the Battle Arena was the monthly tournament held there. At most, they would use the normal combat rooms to spar with friends. They had no particular need for the Battle Arena. However, with the appearance of the advanced combat rooms, these experts became entranced with the Battle Arena. Meanwhile, inside Evernight City Shi Feng had arrived before the City Hall. The City Hall of a Dark City was much stricter than White River City''s City Hall. Moreover, just standing before the building itself, Shi Feng could already feel a dense power of darkness coming from it; he could even see the power of darkness in the form of dark fog encircling the building. Even Dark Players would feel uncomfortable when subjected to such a dense power of darkness. However, to Shi Feng, who wielded the Bible of Darkness, this power of darkness was practically nonexistent. As a result, he arrived inside the courtyard of the City Hall with relative ease. However, the farther he got into the City Hall, the denser the power of darkness present in the atmosphere. The pressure he felt grew increasingly heavier as well. "This is a restricted area of the city. Non-related personnel are forbidden entry!" As soon as Shi Feng arrived before the City Hall''s main entrance, four Level 200, Tier 3 Dark Knights blocked his path, exuding a threatening aura. If Shi Feng made any sudden movements, they would promptly take action. They were much crueler when compared to the guards in ordinary NPC cities. "I have come to meet with Lord Magrence," Shi Feng said as he revealed the Advanced Garrison Order. "An Advanced Garrison Order?" The Four Dark Knights were momentarily stunned when they looked at the crystal token in Shi Feng''s hand. Their attitude instantly became much more respectful as one of them said, "Please wait here for a moment. I''ll notify the Lord Magistrate immediately." The Advanced Garrison Order was like the proof of one''s status. Wielders of this token were equivalent to the major nobles of Evernight City. Let alone guards like themselves, even the Magistrate of Evernight City had to treat the owners of Advanced Garrison Orders with respect. Very quickly, the Dark Knight that went to report Shi Feng''s arrival returned. The NPC then stopped before Shi Feng and said respectfully, "The Lord Magistrate has already been notified of your presence. Please follow me." After saying so, the Dark Knight led Shi Feng into the City Hall. "Crap! Who''s that?! He''s actually able to enter the City Hall!" "That''s not possible, right? I heard that one needs to reach at least Baron rank in order to enter the City Hall. How can someone have reached that rank already?" "Could that person be Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame? I heard that Zero Wing has killed the Frost King and can directly garrison Evernight City." "Black Flame?" "The rumor is actually true?" "If it''s true, we''re in luck this time. If we want to go to Stone Forest Town in the future, we can simply teleport there." Several players got goosebumps when they saw Shi Feng entering the City Hall. Meanwhile, news of this situation also spread rapidly throughout Evernight City. 1404 Advanced Auction House Appears Chapter 1404 - Advanced Auction House Appears After entering the City Hall, the Dark Knight led Shi Feng to an office on the fifth floor. Even before Shi Feng entered the office, though, he could already feel an aura of death leaking out of the room and shuddered involuntarily at the aura''s intensity. As the doors to the office opened, an aura several times stronger than even that of a Tier 4 Mythic monster washed over him. For a moment, it felt as if the space around him froze. "Come in." A deep and chilling voice came from within the room. Upon entering the room, Shi Feng was immediately greeted by the sight of the deep voice''s owner sitting behind an office table. The owner of the voice was a hunched middle-aged man with skin as pale as snow. The man wore a set of dark robes and held a stack of parchment in his hands. If not for the faint tinge of life in the aura the man exuded, one would even think that they had come across the God of Death. Meanwhile, this man was none other than Magrence, Evernight City''s Magistrate! Magrence was the overlord of Evernight City. At the same time, he was also a Tier 5 Dark Magus, an existence that even Star-Moon Kingdom feared. Magrence was the reason why the kingdom''s army did not dare take action against Evernight City. Facing an NPC of such caliber, Shi Feng did not dare waste time playing around with words. He immediately took out the Advanced Garrison Order and placed it on the table. "Lord Magistrate, I wish to have my Guild garrison this city. I hope that you can permit it," Shi Feng said respectfully. "This is indeed my city''s Advanced Garrison Order. Alright, I permit your Guild to garrison Evernight City." Magrence nodded after glancing at the crystal token on the table. He then took out a piece of parchment and a map of Evernight City and said, "Write down your Guild''s name on this parchment. You may then pick one of the empty spots on the map to site your Guild''s Residence." After receiving the parchment and map, Shi Feng wrote the words "Zero Wing" on the parchment without hesitation. He then started browsing through the available locations for a Guild Residence. Is this the privilege of having an Advanced Garrison Order? Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw the available locations on the map. Evernight City was different from ordinary NPC cities. There was a huge difference between its normal, inner, and central areas. The privileges that a Guild got to enjoy within the city was dependent on the location of its garrison. The members of a Guild garrisoned in Evernight City''s normal area were allowed entry into Evernight City even without doing the city''s entry quest. Those of Guilds that garrisoned the city''s inner area were also qualified to take part in the Dark Auction, which was held once a week at the city''s Auction House. Usually, players would need to have a certain amount of local Reputation and complete a series of quests in order to participate in the weekly Dark Auctions. Lastly, the central area was where all Guilds within Star-Moon Kingdom wished to garrison. As long as a Guild managed to set up a Residence in the central area, its Guild members could exchange for weapons and equipment in Evernight City without having to become a Red or Dark Player; the quality of the weapons and equipment its members could exchange for would depend on the Guild''s Reputation within the city. The only downside to this was that, unlike the items exchanged by Dark Players, the items exchanged by Guild members who were not Red or Dark Players were bound to themselves. However, the number of spots available in the central area of Evernight City was extremely limited. In addition, as there was no fee for garrisoning Evernight City, the ten available spots would be distributed via an elimination system. Guilds would be ranked according to the number of City Contribution Points they accumulated each month, and those qualified to garrison the central area could compete for the ten spots each month. With the Advanced Garrison Order, Zero Wing could directly garrison the central area. On the other hand, Heaven''s Burial only managed to garrison the inner area. "Lord Magistrate, I have already made my decision." After Shi Feng made his selection, he returned the parchment and map to Magrence. "Excellent. From now on, Zero Wing will be one of the Guilds garrisoned in Evernight City. You may go and take a look at your Guild Residence now," Magrence said, nodding after he took a look at the contents of the parchment. He then waved his hand, signaling permission for Shi Feng to leave. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. - Evernight City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild to garrison Evernight City''s central area! Rewarding 1,000 Evernight City Guild Reputation and 3,000 Evernight City Guild Popularity. - The system announcement repeated three times, notifying every player within Evernight City of its contents. Many large Guilds reacted enviously to this situation. Setting aside the Guild Reputation awarded, just the Guild Popularity awarded was already enough to make the various large Guilds go crazy. After all, the quality and quantity of Guild Quests a garrisoned Guild could receive in Evernight City varied depending on the amount of Popularity it had. This would also have a significant impact on the amount of Contribution Points the Guild members accumulated. "Crap, Zero Wing is amazing! I heard that, even until now, Heaven''s Burial has only managed to get into the inner area, after going through many difficulties. With this, Zero Wing''s members are going to have an awesome time. As long as they collect enough Contribution Points, they can exchange for weapons and equipment suitable for themselves at any time." "I heard that the benefits a Guild receives for garrisoning the central area aren''t limited to just that. It seems that Guild members also receive a 30% discount when using the teleportation arrays of Evernight City." "If that''s the case, then I must join Zero Wing! I can save money and exchange for suitable weapons and equipment without having to rely on Dark Players!" For a while, practically every player in Evernight City was discussing Zero Wing. This situation also frustrated the various Dark Players and Dark Guilds of Evernight City, who lost their opportunity to make a fortune. Generally, normal players paid at least double the original price of an item when getting Dark Players to act as proxies for them. Now, however, normal players could just join Zero Wing and gather a sufficient amount of Evernight City Contribution Points to exchange for items themselves. With such an option available, only a fool would continue purchasing Evernight City''s products from them. Back in Evernight City''s City Hall, Shi Feng spent 1,000 Gold to establish a teleportation channel between Evernight City and Stone Forest Town. This matter immediately attracted the attention of many players. "Guys, look! The teleportation array has two available destinations now!" "This is great! We can actually teleport directly to Stone Forest Town now! With this, I won''t have to waste hours traveling to the town anymore!" "I previously did not bother visiting Stone Forest Town, due to the long distance. This is a good opportunity to visit it." "I heard that Stone Forest Town opened a new kind of combat room. We can go there and give it a try now." In just a few short minutes, thousands of players had transferred to Stone Forest Town via teleportation array. Although it cost 80 Copper to teleport to Stone Forest Town, it was much more convenient than traveling there from the nearest NPC town. As a result, many independent experts and adventurer teams began feeling that garrisoning Stone Forest Town was not a bad idea. After all, with Evernight City serving as a transfer point, they could save up on plenty of time. Meanwhile, the activation of the teleportation channel also caused the player population of Red Iron Town to decrease drastically. "Black Flame, I''ll let you have your fun for now. However, you''ll soon know that all your efforts are in vain," Singular Burial sneered as he read the report he just received. He then looked at Daybreak Fog on the screen before him and said, "You all can begin operations now." "Guild Leader, leave it to us." Daybreak Fog smiled, her eyes filled with confidence. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who was surveying Zero Wing''s Residence in Evernight City, got a sudden call from Melancholic Smile. "Guild Leader, the Advanced Auction House has been constructed. Should we open it to the public now?" Melancholic Smile asked, her face tinged with excitement. 1405 Zero Wing Auction House Chapter 1405 - Zero Wing Auction House Hearing Melancholic Smile''s report, Shi Feng could not help but grow joyful. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time now. "Good! Send a few advanced NPCs from the Battle Arena to manage the Auction House''s affairs right away. Afterwards, announce to the public that we are only collecting a 1% processing fee. If one becomes a member of the Zero Wing Auction House, they can have the processing fee for the first five items they consign each day waived. Meanwhile, those wishing to become a member only need to pay a one-time fee of ten Magic Crystals," Shi Feng said. "It''s about time we kick Red Iron Town out of the competition." "Guild Leader, isn''t this going a little too far?" Melancholic Smile was somewhat astonished by Shi Feng''s declaration. The Auction Houses of NPC cities generally charged a minimum processing fee of 15%; those in capital cities charged at least 20%. On the other hand, Red Iron Town''s Auction House charged a 10% processing fee. Although a 5% difference seemed small, that was far from being the case. For example, if one were to sell an item that was worth one Gold, they would end up earning an additional five Silver Coins if they sold their items in Red Iron Town rather than an NPC city. Moreover, items that were put up for sale in Auction Houses were generally of high value. A 5% reduction in processing fees could allow the seller to save a large sum of money. Meanwhile, if Zero Wing''s Auction House were to collect only a 1% processing fee, it would be lucky to earn enough to maintain its operations. After all, there were only so many players in a town; thus, there was a limit to the number of items that would be put up for sale each day. Besides which, the Advanced Auction House itself was a very large building requiring hundreds of NPCs to manage. Although they could oppress Red Iron Town by doing so, Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to earn any money, either. "Don''t worry about it. Just get it done," Shi Feng said, chuckling, not bothering with explanations. He then took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to Stone Forest Town''s Guild Residence. In God''s Domain, the building that brought a Guild town or city the most profits would always be the Auction House. Even the income of a Battle Arena could not compete with that of an Auction House. This was also the reason why the various major powers and many independent players believed that Heaven''s Burial would one day surpass Zero Wing. After all, financial strength and resources were a Guild''s foundations. Without those, a Guild would not be able to develop whatsoever. While collecting only a 1% processing fee might seem very little, and with Stone Forest Town''s player population, Zero Wing would indeed be very fortunate to break even, it did not possess only Stone Forest Town. The Guild still had a Small City that was soon to be completed. Luring more players to Stone Forest Town would also help attract more players towards Zero Wing''s new city. At that time, Zero Wing''s overall income would naturally increase. Not to mention, as more Guild towns started obtaining their own Auction Houses, their Guilds would also lower the processing fees charged in order to be more competitive. What Shi Feng was doing was simply accelerating the inevitable. Unfortunately for Heaven''s Burial, while he could afford to take such an action, the latter could not. It would definitely deal a fatal blow to Red Iron Town''s Auction House. Hence, making this move was equivalent to killing two birds with one stone. "Understood." Melancholic Smile could only reveal a bitter smile as she disconnected the call. If Heaven''s Burial were to find out about this, the upper echelon of the Guild would most likely faint from anger. Meanwhile, inside Red Iron Town''s Auction House, Daybreak Fog announced the new regulation of the Heaven''s Burial Auction House. The original 10% processing fee was lowered to just 5% now. This change immediately caused a commotion among the players inside the Auction House. "Heaven''s Burial is so generous! They actually halved the processing fee they''re charging! It seems Heaven''s Burial is trying to put pressure on Zero Wing." "Hahaha! My timing is simply impeccable! With this, I get to save a few more Silver Coins!" "Isn''t this processing fee a little too cheap? Even if I import items from cities other than Star-Moon City, as long as I sell them at a sufficiently high price, I can still make quite a profit." "Red Iron Town''s rise is definitely unstoppable now." Many players inside the Heaven''s Burial Auction House were surprised at Heaven''s Burial''s crazy move. Meanwhile, news of the change also quickly entered the ears of the various powers of Star-Moon Kingdom. "Have the higher-ups of Heaven''s Burial lost their minds? Are they not afraid of not making money by pulling such a stunt?" "It seems Zero Wing has truly angered Heaven''s Burial this time. Although Heaven''s Burial will lower their profits by doing so, the number of players visiting Red Iron Town will definitely reach scary heights in the future. The town''s player population might even exceed Stone Forest Town''s. With this, Stone Forest Town''s position as the number one town will no doubt get stolen very quickly." "Hahaha! This will most likely put Zero Wing in a predicament. Heaven''s Burial has actually played such a move right before the start of the Candlelight Auction. The number of players willing to purchase Stone Forest Town''s private houses and Shops will surely decrease significantly. Zero Wing must be fuming right about now." The various major powers within Star-Moon Kingdom were greatly shocked by Heaven''s Burial''s crazy actions. However, they also felt joyous about this development. Currently, the players selling items at Red Iron Town mainly consisted of Star-Moon City residents; very few players from other NPC cities were willing to visit Red Iron Town just to utilize its Auction House. The main reason for this situation was the expensive teleportation fees. With the processing fees charged by the Heaven''s Burial Auction House halved, the money saved could be used to cover the teleportation fees. This change would definitely attract large groups of players from other NPC cities. Hence, it was only a matter of time before Red Iron Town surpassed Stone Forest Town. Once the independent players and adventurer teams based in the various NPC cities of Star-Moon Kingdom received this information, they started organizing their items, prepared to make a trip to Star-Moon City. In less than half an hour since the announcement was made, Red Iron Town''s player population increased by over 50,000. Now, the town''s total population was only a little over 100,000 away from catching up with Stone Forest Town''s. "Big Sis Fog, the rare items the Guild Leader had us send over have arrived. Moreover, based on the reports we''ve received, many merchant players in Stone Forest Town have already begun leaving the town. By the looks of it, they are planning on going to Red Iron Town," a Level 30-plus female Assassin reported. "Good. Put the items up for sale in batches. After this, I want to see if there are still people willing to purchase the private houses and Shops of Stone Forest Town," Daybreak Fog said, nodding. Although Heaven''s Burial would not earn much by lowering the processing fees to such a level, being able to lure away the merchant players of Stone Forest Town was already more than enough, as doing so would decrease Stone Forest Town''s popularity in turn. Meanwhile, in front of Stone Forest Town''s Advanced Auction House, the massive size of the building had attracted the attention of many players. "What a huge building! It''s practically as large as the Battle Arena. Could Zero Wing be planning on setting up another Battle Arena?" "That shouldn''t be the case. Towns and cities are limited to only one Battle Arena each." "Quick, look! The magic barrier hiding the building is starting to disappear!" Just as the passersby were discussing the newly constructed building in Stone Forest Town, the gigantic barrier shrouding the entire Advanced Auction House began shattering. A moment later, a building that could rival Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena in grandeur appeared before everyone''s eyes. Meanwhile, at the entrance of this majestic building, the words "Zero Wing Auction House" were carved in large letters. 1406 Dominating Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 1406 - Dominating Star-Moon Kingdom "An Auction House?!" "What?! Zero Wing built an Auction House as well?! Isn''t the design for it supposedly very rare?!" "What a big Auction House! I recall that the Heaven''s Burial Auction House only has three floors. This one should have at least five!" "Come on! Let''s go in and take a look!" "Nice timing. I was originally planning on a trip to Red Iron Town to sell my items. Now, I can save myself the effort." The passersby were momentarily stupefied by the appearance of the Advanced Auction House. For a time, they all thought that their eyes were playing tricks on them. As for the Guild spies stationed in Stone Forest Town, they were utterly dumbfounded when they saw the Zero Wing Auction House. Ever since Heaven''s Burial constructed an Auction House, the various large Guilds and superpowers had gone nuts searching for an Auction House Design of their own. Unfortunately, the design was simply too rare. Even now, there was no news of any Super Guild, or any Guild for that matter, successfully constructing another Auction House. Shortly after the appearance of the Zero Wing Auction House, the nearby players rushed into the building. As soon as everyone entered the Auction House, they were stupefied. The reason for their reaction was the space inside the building being much larger than what they had seen from the outside. The size of the first-floor hall alone could already rival that of a sports arena. The various decorations adorning the hall also made them feel like they had just entered a palace. The Zero Wing Auction House was much more luxurious than even the Auction Houses in most NPC cities and was only slightly inferior when compared to the Auction House in Star-Moon City. Moreover, the Zero Wing Auction House had a total of seven floors. The first floor was meant for consigning items, the second floor for purchasing items, the third floor for bartering, the fourth floor for NPC Basic Auctions, the fifth floor for NPC Intermediate Auctions, the sixth floor for NPC Advanced Auctions, and the seventh floor for large-scale private auctions. "Isn''t the Zero Wing Auction House a little too amazing?! There''s actually a bartering function available as well!" "That''s nothing! There are even NPC-hosted auctions here! The Basic Auctions are held once every three days, the Intermediate Auctions are weekly, and the Advanced Auctions are every fifteen days! This is simply insane!" "I''ve been to the Heaven''s Burial Auction House beforeand it is far inferior to the Zero Wing Auction House." "The requirements for participation in the NPC auctions are very stringent, though. Just the Basic Auction alone requires a minimum transaction amount of 150 Gold at the Zero Wing Auction House every week. Even expert players like ourselves would have difficulty meeting this requirement, let alone the 800-Gold per fifteen days and 5,000-Gold per month requirements for the Intermediate and Advanced Auctions. Zero Wing is simply too ruthless." "I don''t think that these requirements are high at all. Powerful adventurer teams should have no problem trading that much. If an entire adventurer team puts in the effort, it should be possible to sell 5,000 Gold''s worth of items within a month. These requirements are impossible only for individual players. In any case, it is pointless for individual players to participate in the Advanced Auction since they''re too poor to afford anything there, to begin with." After entering the Zero Wing Auction House, everyone could not help but discuss the establishment with gusto. To independent players, bartering was undoubtedly their preferred method of carrying out transactions. The same was true for players belonging to the various adventurer teams. Very quickly, news regarding the Zero Wing Auction House spread throughout the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. "What? Zero Wing actually has such an amazing Auction House?" "This is wonderful! I have a few items I wish to barter. With this, I won''t have to worry about getting taken advantage of by the various large Guilds." "The Heaven''s Burial Auction House simply isn''t on the same level as the Zero Wing Auction House!" "Hopefully, the Zero Wing Auction House''s processing fees aren''t too expensive. For the bartering function, I''m willing to pay as high as 15%." Posts about the Zero Wing Auction House went viral on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums, completely overshadowing the news of the Heaven''s Burial Auction House lowering its processing fees. Or to put it in another way, nobody was talking about the Heaven''s Burial Auction House anymore. "How is this possible?" Daybreak Fog had a complicated expression as she read the latest report sent to her by her subordinates. At this moment, she was filled with shock, rage, and a little bit of helplessness. The Heaven''s Burial Auction House was Red Iron Town''s foundation. Originally, they had been prepared to use the Heaven''s Burial Auction House to put pressure on Zero Wing. Now, however, the tables were turned. With the appearance of the Zero Wing Auction House, all their previous efforts had instantly gone to waste. Shortly after news of the Zero Wing Auction House started spreading, Red Iron Town''s player population quickly decreased by 20%. Moreover, this number was still climbing steadily. One could not help but admit that the bartering function was simply too attractive to the majority of players. Meanwhile, after the Zero Wing Auction House''s existence became public, Melancholic Smile followed Shi Feng''s request, releasing an announcement that the Zero Wing Auction House would charge only a 1% processing fee on all transactions. In addition, players who became a member of the Auction House would have the processing fee for their first five items sold each day waived. Soon after, this announcement triggered another uproar on the official forums. "Has Zero Wing lost its mind? It''s only charging such a small processing fee despite having such a great Auction House? Is Zero Wing not afraid of making a loss?" "Such ruthlessness! Originally, I thought that Heaven''s Burial was already plenty ruthless. Turns out, Zero Wing is even more ruthless! With this, the Heaven''s Burial Auction House is definitely a goner!" "Is Zero Wing planning on dominating Star-Moon Kingdom''s Auction Houses?" At this moment, whether it was the independent players, adventurer teams, or large Guilds, they all could not help but gasp when they saw Zero Wing''s announcement. Now, not only did Stone Forest Town have a teleport channel with Evernight City, but it also boasted an Auction House with a built-in bartering function. Moreover, the Auction House was charging only a 1% processing fee on all transactions. To players who frequently sold their items at Auction Houses, the Zero Wing Auction House was practically heaven. With such benefits available, players from the various NPC cities of Star-Moon Kingdom would definitely surge to Stone Forest Town. At this rate, Zero Wing would truly dominate Star-Moon Kingdom. "Big Sis Fog, what should we do now?" one of the players managing the Heaven''s Burial Auction House could not help but ask as she looked at Daybreak Fog. Shortly after Zero Wing''s announcement, the number of players visiting the Heaven''s Burial Auction House had more than halved. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the establishment lost all its customers. "Zero Wing!" Daybreak Fog practically shouted every syllable at the top of her lungs when she saw Zero Wing''s announcement. With this, not to mention relying on the Heaven''s Burial Auction House to sustain Red Iron Town''s development, they would already be fortunate to get back their investment in the Auction House. Aside from Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelon, the adventurer teams garrisoned in Red Iron Town were also filled with regret when they heard about the Zero Wing Auction House. So long as they remained garrisoned in Red Iron Town, they would not be able to set foot into Stone Forest Town. Like many other adventurer teams, they possessed plenty of rare items. Meanwhile, it would be a colossal waste to simply convert these rare items into Coins. However, they also did not normally have an opportunity to barter for other items, unless they were prepared to get taken advantage of. Yet, now, despite such a good opportunity having presented itself to them, they had crushed it with their own two hands. Meanwhile, due to the appearance of the Zero Wing Auction House, Stone Forest Town''s player population had suddenly increased by over 50%. Currently, the streets were packed with players. Among them, the visiting merchant players inundated Melancholic Smile with offers stating their willingness to sign all sorts of unbalanced agreements. Right now, she was already having trouble keeping up with the incoming calls and messages, much less do anything else. "Guild Leader, I''ve just received the latest statistics! Currently, over 3,000 players have become a member of the Zero Wing Auction House! Moreover, this number is still rising rapidly! The transactions made at the Auction House have also far exceeded our initial expectations! Just the processing fees we''ve collected thus far have already exceeded 200 Gold!" A big smile appeared on Melancholic Smile''s face as she read through the report. Despite the Zero Wing Auction House opening for business just recently, the results were already so overwhelming. At this point, it was already safe to say that the Zero Wing Auction House would definitely surpass the Candlelight Trading Firm and Battle Arena in future income generation. "Guild Leader, it''s about time. Can we hold the auction now?" 1407 Manatite Mine Chapter 1407 - Manatite Mine Upon hearing Melancholic Smile''s reminder, Shi Feng nodded in agreement. He, too, felt that now was a good time to hold the auction for Stone Forest Town''s private houses and Shops. Although the Zero Wing Auction House was currently raking in money at a frightening pace, it would not be enough money to cover the various maintenance and construction costs of Zero Wing''s future city. Moreover, Zero Wing''s Guild Branch over at the Black Dragon Empire and Immortal Light over at the Apocalypse Empire both required considerable funds. As the era of Mounts had already arrived, they needed to equip Guild members with Mounts as soon as possible to improve their leveling speeds. Fortunately, Zero Wing had a Stable, allowing it to save plenty of money on Mounts. Only, with Zero Wing''s current funds, the number of Mounts it could afford was like a drop in the ocean when compared to the number of members in the Guild. Following which, Shi Feng left the matter regarding the auction to Melancholic Smile to manage, while he returned to White River City to make preparations for claiming the Manatite Mine in the Sea of Death. Currently, although Zero Wing was capable of earning a lot of Coins, its supply of Magic Crystals was grossly inadequate. Now, Shi Feng also needed to supply Magic Crystals to the Ring of Gospel, in addition to the three Magic Towers in Stone Forest Town. The number of Magic Crystals that the Battle Arena was currently raking in was just not enough to sustain such enormous expenditures. Not to mention, once Zero Wing''s city was completed, the Guild''s Magic Crystal consumption would definitely become even more frightening. In God''s Domain, the various large Guilds all wished to construct as many cities as possible. After all, a city represented the generation of a massive amount of wealth, both Coins and Credits. However, constructing a Guild city was easier said than done. To put it simply, while constructing a city was easy, maintaining it was quite difficult. The reason for this was a Guild city''s consumption of extraordinarily frightening quantities of Magic Crystals. Hence, in Shi Feng''s previous life, even first-rate Guilds could construct only a very limited number of cities. Only the various superpowers that had occupied ore veins capable of producing Magic Crystals could easily maintain multiple Guild cities. Ordinary large Guilds would already be fortunate to be able to maintain a Small City. Now that Zero Wing''s city was nearing completion, Shi Feng naturally had to make some preparations ahead of time. White River City, Candlelight Trading Firm: When Shi Feng arrived before the Candlelight Trading Firm''s entrance, he noticed that the situation at the trading firm had changed quite remarkably. Currently, there was a long line of Lifestyle players queued up outside the trading firm, many of whom had reached Intermediate or Advanced rank. Meanwhile, of the various Lifestyle classes present, alchemists numbered the most. "The Candlelight Trading Firm''s test is simply too terrifying! Even an Intermediate Alchemist was disqualified!" a Level 10 player lining up to apply for Candlelight''s test exclaimed in surprise when he saw an Intermediate Alchemist walking out of the trading firm wearing a disappointed expression. Although Intermediate Alchemists were not as popular as Advanced Alchemists among the various large Guilds, if they wished to join a Guild, the various large Guilds would still welcome them with open arms. After all, nurturing an Intermediate Alchemist was neither easy nor cheap. Nevertheless, the Candlelight Trading Firm had actually rejected an Intermediate Alchemist without hesitation. "Based on your level, you must''ve just recently entered White River City, right?" a Level 28 Basic Alchemist standing behind the Level 10 newcomer said. Chuckling, he continued, "There is nothing surprising about an Intermediate Alchemist getting disqualified. Previously, there were even Advanced Alchemists that got disqualified." "This can''t be true, right? Those are Advanced Alchemists we are talking about." The Level 10 newcomer revealed a dubious expression when he heard the Basic Alchemist''s words. "You better believe it. Ever since the Candlelight Trading Firm revealed the new benefits it is offering to alchemists, it has become a sacred land for alchemist players. For your info, if you manage to become the tenth most-skilled alchemist in Candlelight, you will get to use Secret-Silver ranked alchemy tools. These are tools that very few Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom possess. Moreover, this is the benefit provided to just the tenth ranking alchemist. "If you manage to reach fourth place, you will get to use an entire set of Secret-Silver alchemy tools. Meanwhile, the first ranking alchemist gets to use an entire set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools. "Due to these benefits, alchemists from all over Star-Moon Kingdom as well as from several neighboring kingdoms have come to join Candlelight. As a result, Candlelight''s criteria for alchemists have also increased significantly. You should feel fortunate that you are not an alchemist. Otherwise, as an Apprentice, I''m afraid you won''t even get through the first test." When the Level 28 Basic Alchemist spoke about the Candlelight Trading Firm, his eyes were filled with yearning. Inwardly, however, he also felt a sense of helplessness. While the alchemists of the Candlelight Trading Firm received excellent benefits, the requirements to join Candlelight were proportionately difficult. It seems that those alchemy tools are working quite well as promotional tools. Shi Feng could not help but smile when he overheard the conversation between the two Lifestyle players. I should find an opportunity to obtain high-ranking forging tools and engineering tools as well. While the importance of Lifestyle players had grown during recent times, it had not reached a point where Lifestyle players were indispensable in the game. However, once mainstream players reached Level 50, the need for Lifestyle players would thoroughly reveal itself. At that time, the Guilds that controlled the most top-tier Lifestyle players would be able to dominate the trade market of God''s Domain. Following which, Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm and went straight to his personal Special Forging Room. He then took out the Titan Device Design from his bag and started examining it. The Manatite Mine located on the island in the Sea of Death was very special. Originally, Shi Feng planned on capturing it only after Zero Wing''s entire main force had obtained their Tier 2 classes. However, there was no need to do so now. The Manatite Mine was located on an island called Karna Island, which had powerful monsters and an unusual environment. Not only was the island covered in the corrosive power of shadows, but the Mana density was also abysmally low. Due to this reason, initially, no Guild had attempted to capture Karna Island in the past. Nobody could''ve imagined that such a low Mana density environment actually housed a Manatite Mine, something the various large Guilds had dreamed of obtaining. An environment with extremely low Mana density would have a drastic impact on players'' combat powers. On Karna Island, players would be fortunate to be able to exert even 20% or 30% of their combat powers. The monsters on Karna Island were already terrifyingly strong, to begin with. With the low Mana density environment factored in, even a team of Tier 2 experts would have minimal odds of capturing the island, much less a team of Tier 1 experts. However, the Titan Device could be used to counter the problem of low Mana density, making it possible for Tier 1 experts to capture the island. An Advanced Forging Design really is complex. No wonder even Master Forgers did not dare to casually attempt to produce the items recorded on one. Shi Feng could not help but take a deep breath after examining the contents of the design. Originally, the success rate of producing an item recorded on an Advanced Forging Design was already very low. Meanwhile, the complexity of the Titan Device''s production method was above average even among Advanced Forging Designs, which would depress the production success rate further. Based on Shi Feng''s initial estimates, if he tried producing the Titan Device as an Advanced Forger, his success rate would be only around 10%; he would be lucky to succeed once out of twenty tries. Fortunately, he had upgraded Icarus''s Heart to Epic rank, so he could temporarily promote himself into a Master Forger. Following which, Shi Feng used God''s Blessing and sacrificed 500 Life Force to extend God''s Blessing''s duration from one hour to two hours. After activating God''s Blessing, Shi Feng did not waste time, taking out the Book of Forging and the necessary materials, which he had tasked others with preparing for him beforehand. He then began carefully forging the Titan Device. Meanwhile, the auction over at Stone Forest Town had officially commenced. 1408 Horrific Auction Chapter 1408 - Horrific Auction Inside the seventh-floor auction hall of the Zero Wing Auction House: Previously, everyone had thought that very few people would attend the auction this time since only Stone Forest Town''s private houses and Shops were up for sale. Yet, now, the hall, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, was actually at capacity. Moreover, this was despite Zero Wing having limited entry into the auction to only members of the Zero Wing Auction House and those that carried more than 2 Gold on their persons. Usually, only expert players would have such a large sum in their pockets. "Commander, look! There are so many adventurer teams participating in the auction this time, not only from the Black Dragon Empire but also from other kingdoms." Graceful Moon was slightly shocked when she looked at the familiar figures around her. She had never thought that the Zero Wing Auction would hold such a huge influence. However, after further consideration, she found it reasonable. After all, the current Stone Forest Town was simply too excellent. The town had a Battle Arena with advanced combat rooms, which allowed experts of her caliber to improve rapidly, as well as a high-class Auction House, which had a system-operated bartering function. After finding out about these facilities, adventurer teams would be crazy not to want to develop here. "Let them be. I''ve already had Flying Fox prepare quite a lot of funds. We don''t need to fear being outbidden by them," Remnant Cloud said, chuckling as he glanced at several well-known adventurer teams he was familiar with. These adventurer teams all ranked within the top 50 in the Black Dragon Empire. His original plan was to compete for the adventurer houses that were going up for auction at the Candlelight Trading Firm in a few days'' time. However, after taking into account the current state of Stone Forest Town, he concluded that Firecloud Fox''s financial strength was no match for that of top adventurer teams. Not to mention, Zero Wing was planning to sell only five adventurer houses. Hence, he had decided to settle for buying two or three private houses in Stone Forest Town instead, enough to accommodate their adventurer team''s main forces. Meanwhile, in order to surely obtain those private houses, he had mobilized the entirety of Firecloud Fox''s forces and raised a total of 5,000 Gold. With that kind of money, he could already purchase a relatively large private house in the Black Dragon Empire''s capital. Just as everyone in the auction hall was discussing the Zero Wing Auction, Melancholic Smile came out from behind the main stage and announced the start of the auction. Since only the private houses and Shops of Stone Forest Town were being sold this time, Melancholic Smile did not bother with providing much of an introduction. Instead, she directly displayed the locations of the private houses and stated that the minimum price was 800 Gold. She then allowed everyone to start bidding. "Eight hundred and fifty Gold!" "Nine hundred Gold!" "One thousand Gold!" In the blink of an eye, the price of the first private house shot up to 1,200 Gold, stupefying the various independent players present. Meanwhile, the adventurer teams that had only several dozen members fell into despair. At this price, one could already purchase a relatively good private house in an ordinary NPC city, yet this amount of money still wasn''t enough for a private house in a player town. "One thousand six hundred Gold!" Remnant Cloud shouted, gritting his teeth. However, as soon as Remnant Cloud made his bid, a Level 45 female Elementalist clad in aquamarine mage robes, who sat a short distance away from him, shouted, "Two thousand four hundred Gold! The FFF adventurer team will be taking this house!" The female Elementalist''s bid immediately attracted everyone''s attention, the people inside the hall turning to look at her one after another. "What?! Even a top adventurer team from the Black Dragon Empire has come to join the competition?!" "Isn''t she Princess Ilo, FFF''s vice commander?!" The female Elementalist''s declaration immediately dispelled many adventurer teams'' notions of competing against her. An adventurer team capable of rising to the status of a top adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire naturally possessed extraordinary strength and wealth. Most likely, even third-rate Guilds were no rival for the empire''s top adventurer teams. In terms of financial strength, a top adventurer team of the empire could even compete with an ordinary second-rate Guild. Not to mention, FFF was one of the Black Dragon Empire''s top five adventurer teams. It was simply impossible for ordinary Guilds and well-known adventurer teams to vie with an existence like that. "Two thousand six hundred Gold!" At this time, a handsome man wearing silver armor raised the price once more. "This first house belongs to the Lonely Drinkers adventurer team!" When everyone heard the adventurer team mentioned by this man, they received another shock. Lonely Drinkers was a top adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire. Although its influence was not comparable to the FFF adventurer team''s, in terms of strength, it was not far from rivaling FFF. "Three thousand Gold!" Princess Ilo frowned as she placed a higher bid. "Three thousand two hundred Gold!" The handsome man did not give up, either. For a time, the auction became a competition between these two top adventurer teams, leaving no room for the other adventurer teams present to intervene. In the end, the first private house went to Princess Ilo for 4,500 Gold. Among the private houses on sale this time, it was the closest to both the Zero Wing Auction House and the Adventurer''s Association. However, this outcome still made the players present gasp involuntarily. Nobody had thought that two top adventurer teams from two different empires would actually come to contest for Stone Forest Town''s private houses. If they were to relate this incident to others, most likely nobody would believe them. "Now that even the top adventurer teams of empires are coming to compete for Stone Forest Town''s private houses, the adventurer teams that previously garrisoned Red Iron Town are most likely dying with regret right now." "These top adventurer teams are simply too rich. If I had that kind of money, I would definitely use it to purchase a Shop in a major NPC city, instead." "What do you know? In the future, Stone Forest Town will become even more amazing than major NPC cities. There is no loss in buying the town''s private houses now. In the future, the houses will most likely go for even higher prices." No one had ever thought that the private houses of Stone Forest Town would be so popular. The Guild members of the various large Guilds present were stupefied by this scene. In such a way, a total of twenty private houses were sold in the Zero Wing Auction with the most expensive for 4,500 Gold and the cheapest for 1,500 Gold. Throughout the auction, many more top adventurer teams and well-known adventurer teams had revealed themselves, driving home to everyone present just how frightening Stone Forest Town actually was. Meanwhile, the Shops were even more hotly contested. Of the ten Shops sold, even the cheapest one had gone for 3,500 Gold, while the most expensive one, which was located between the Zero Wing Auction House and the Battle Arena, had gone for 9,000 Gold. Meanwhile, the majority of the merchant players competing for these Shops possessed either the support of a large Guild or a top adventurer team. Ordinary merchant players had no chance of getting a Shop for themselves at all. When the auction concluded, Zero Wing had earned a total of 113,000 Gold. Now, Zero Wing possessed enough funds to cover not only the follow-up construction costs of its city but also the establishment of a Guild town by Zero Wing''s Branch Guild over at the Black Dragon Empire. After the auction ended, word about what happened during the auction also spread like wildfire. Upon receiving this news, the various adventurer teams and merchant players that were still undecided were rendered utterly speechless. They also regretted the fact that they did not try to compete for the private houses and Shops. Meanwhile, throughout all this, Shi Feng had been fully focused on forging the Titan Device in White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. After actually attempting to make the Titan Device, he had to admit that the difficulty of doing so was exceedingly high. Despite him having been promoted to a Master Forger, his success rate was only around 25%, though he was fortunate to succeed two out of ten tries during the actual production. Meanwhile, the cost of each attempt was roughly 2 Gold. Overall, each Titan Device cost 12 Gold to produce. Without sufficient funds, even a large Guild would not dare to spend so much. After all, the Titan Device simply improved the combat state of a player. It did nothing for a player''s Basic Attributes. While Shi Feng was forging a Titan Device, the system notified him of an incoming call. When he turned his head to glance at the caller ID, he could not help but be stunned to discover that the person calling him was actually the vice commander of the Midnight Tea Party, Endless Scars. 1409 Promotion to Master Chapter 1409 - Promotion to Master "Why is she calling me all of a sudden?" Shi Feng was somewhat confused as he looked at Endless Scars''s ID. Endless Scars had been a legendary existence in the past. In addition, Midnight Tea Party, the adventurer team she was currently in, had been an existence that even Super Guilds feared. However, neither Endless Scars nor the Midnight Tea Party had shown any interest in Guilds. Hence, Shi Feng didn''t bother keeping in touch with Endless Scars and the Midnight Tea Party. He never imagined that Endless Scars would take the initiative to contact him now. However, Shi Feng did not put too much thought into the matter. He immediately put down his work and accepted the call. "Guild Leader Black Flame, congratulations. I heard that even the various superpowers are feeling envious over the current Stone Forest Town," Endless Scars said sincerely, a faint smile on her face. "That''s nothing to brag about. Vice Commander Endless is the one who''s amazing. You''ve managed to obtain such a powerful weapon and equipment since I last saw you," Shi Feng said as he looked at the dark purple mage robes Endless Scars was wearing in the screen. Currently, although Shi Feng could not see Endless Scars''s level, the Mana surrounding her was actually visible to the naked eye, flickering in and out of existencewhich was definitely not an effect that ordinary Epic items could create. One could just imagine how powerful the weapon and equipment Endless Scars carried on her body were. "To what do I owe this sudden call?" "It''s nothing important, really. I just wish to invite Guild Leader Black Flame to join me on a quest," Endless Scars said, giggling. "As long as you help me complete this quest, I am willing to compensate you with a Secret Technique Tablet. Even if we fail to complete the quest, I''ll still compensate you with 5,000 Magic Crystals." "A Secret Technique Tablet?" Shi Feng was shocked. Secret Technique Tablets were extremely rare items that the various superpowers in God''s Domain desperately competed for, as these allowed players to grasp all sorts of powerful combat techniques. Under normal circumstances, nobody would trade away their Secret Technique Tablet. Shi Feng found it very hard to imagine that Endless Scars would be willing to use such a rare item as remuneration. Even a Bronze Secret Technique Tablet was still quite shocking. If she used it to employ the help of a Super Guild''s peak experts, said Super Guild would no doubt agree to the request without hesitation. "That''s right. However, unless you agree to help me, I cannot tell you the exact information of the Secret Technique Tablet." Smiling, Endless Scars prompted, "How about it? Are you willing to help me with this small problem, Guild Leader Black Flame?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng asked, "Right now?" "No." When Shi Feng did not agree to her offer right away, Endless Scars could not help but grow confused. Most likely, even Super Guilds would immediately agree to her request if they were offered a Secret Technique Tablet, yet he was actually hesitating. "A lot more preparations need to be done before we embark on the quest. It won''t be possible to do so within a short period of time." "Alright, then." Shi Feng currently had many tasks he still needed to deal with. In addition, there was the ranking competition tomorrow over at the Black Dragon Empire. Gentle Snow had already requested his presence at the event. If he went to help out with Endless Scars''s quest now, he was almost guaranteed not to make it back in time for the competition. After all, a quest that forced someone like Endless Scars to ask for help, in addition to using a Secret Technique Tablet as payment, would surely not be a simple one. It would no doubt be impossible to complete quickly. "Good. We have an agreement, then. I''ll contact you once my side is ready." At Shi Feng''s reply, a hint of joy appeared in Endless Scars''s eyes, her lips curling up slightly. "Oh, right, as a bonus, I''ll let you in on something. The ranking competition being held in the Black Dragon Empire this time is slightly different. I''ve heard that the top three Guilds will receive an invitation to the Secret Pavilion''s main headquarters to take part in the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction." "The Secret Pavilion''s internal auction?" Shi Feng could not help but grow a little excited upon hearing this. As a transcendental existence in the virtual gaming world, the Secret Pavilion possessed countless rare in-game items. However, this was still only the tip of the iceberg. What was truly amazing about the Secret Pavilion was its ability to procure items in the real world that were of great help to a Guild''s development, such as training slots, data of expert players that could be used in a simulation system, S-rank Nutrient Fluids, Harmony Tea, virtual gaming cabins, and other products. Even first-rate Guilds would have a very difficult time procuring these things in large quantities, what more other large Guilds? However, the Secret Pavilion only sold these items in its internal auction. Moreover, the auction was not held in the virtual world of God''s Domain, but in the Secret Pavilion''s main headquarters in the real world. In the past, those qualified to participate in the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction were first-rate Guilds at the very minimum. Guilds of lower status had had no chance of participating in the event whatsoever. Of course, in order to obtain these items, the various large Guilds would also have to pay a significant price. The currency used during these internal auctions was not Credits but top-tier weapons and equipment as well as precious in-game items that were generally not sold to the publiceither that or Magic Crystals at the bare minimum. Even Coins were not accepted. The internal auction was equivalent to using real-world resources to exchange for resources in God''s Domain. To Zero Wing, this was indeed an excellent opportunity. S-rank Nutrient Fluids and virtual gaming cabins were generally not things that could be purchased even if one had the money to do so. Yet, these items were paramount to a Guild''s development. Even if one was reluctant to part with their resources in God''s Domain, they would still be willing to part with a considerable portion if it meant obtaining these items. To Shi Feng, however, this was wonderful news. Currently, he had plenty of resources in God''s Domain, such as the Advanced Mana Armor Kits, Magic Devices, and various Exotic Potionsand now the Titan Devices. He also possessed advanced speedboats, which were important to the various superpowers at this stage of the game. If push came to shove, he could even use the Miniature Ballistas, Soul Water, and Soul Crystals, items that a superpower like the Secret Pavilion would definitely want, to trade. Not to mention, he could also produce all of these items without limit so long as he had the materials. He was more than willing to convert these items into real-world resources[1]. "I heard that the Secret Pavilion has put in quite a lot of effort into its internal auction this time. Participation in it offers plenty of benefits for an up-and-coming Guild like Zero Wing. It''s best if you make some preparations for the auction." Endless Scars gave a reminder before disconnecting the call. "There is indeed a need to make some preparations." Shi Feng nodded in agreement. The items sold at the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction were not cheap. Based on what he had heard, a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid could go for three to four million Credits'' worth of rare items, which really wasn''t a price that ordinary Guilds could afford. If he did not stockpile some resources ahead of time, he might end up being a spectator at the auction. After his call with Endless Scars ended, Shi Feng resumed forging Titan Devices. In order to increase his success rate, he had even taken out his precious Magical Gold as well as 100-plus Magisteel Ingots, which the Guild had collected, raising his success rate to roughly 35%. As Shi Feng continued forging Titan Devices, he became increasingly proficient at it. Moreover, when he recalled the scene where Seliora remolded and repaired Thousand Transformations, particularly how she utilized magic arrays to condense materials together, he could not help trying to condense materials using magic arrays himself, especially since he had the Seven Luminaries Ring to increase the ambient Mana density. After all, as long as he learned to condense materials using magic arrays, not only would his production speed increase, but his success rate would also increase significantly. The first attempt failed The second attempt failed After experiencing numerous failures, Shi Feng started recalling and experimenting with the various magic arrays he had produced before. Suddenly, the Celestial Magic Array came to mind. Out of curiosity, he tried using a foundational Celestial Magic Array to condense the materials. As the materials took shape, the amount of Mana gathered in the magic array became increasingly terrifying. Five minutes later, a Titan Device appeared before his eyes. However, unlike the previous Titan Devices he made, the color of this Titan Device was silver instead of a dull gray. "Did it succeed?" Shi Feng carefully inspected the Titan Device''s Attribute Panel. Suddenly, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have created a new Advanced Item. System: Congratulations! You have been promoted into a Master Forger. 1410 All-rounded Device Chapter 1410 - All-rounded Device "I got promoted into a Master?" Shi Feng could not help his confusion as he looked at the system notification. He had long since maxed out his Forging Proficiency. However, he had not created any new item since becoming an Advanced Forger, so he had remained stuck at the rank all this time. It never occurred to him that creating a new Advanced Item would directly promote him into a Master Forger. With this, he would save a lot of time. Now that Shi Feng had truly been promoted into a Master Forger, he could retrieve the Master Forger''s Insignia and further improve his production success rate. He could also start learning Foundational Forging Skills, which were reserved for Master Forgers. These Foundational Forging Skills were of great help to Master Forgers in creating new items. For example, there was Material Analysis, which allowed Master Forgers to analyze material to get a better idea of what materials would complement it. Aside from that, there was also Attribute Analysis, which allowed Master Forgers to produce weapons and equipment tailored to a particular player, allowing the said player to exert more of their actual strength. Due to the existence of these Skills, Master Forgers enjoyed a much higher status than Advanced Forgers. There''s no reward notification for becoming a Master Forger? Could someone else have become a Master Forger already? Shi Feng felt slightly surprised as he took a look at the system notification once more. Reaching the Master rank was not easy for Lifestyle playersespecially in the top three most popular Lifestyle classes. A lot of effort was needed to do so. Even Cream Cocoa and the others, people supplied with all sorts of precious resources, had yet to become Master Forgers. Meanwhile, he had only managed to become a Master Forger so quickly due to his luck. He never imagined that there would actually be someone who had become a Master Forger even sooner than he did. However, Shi Feng did not dwell on the matter. There were plenty of talents in God''s Domain. There was nothing strange about someone becoming a Master Forger ahead of him. After his joy from becoming a Master Forger faded, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the silver device sitting atop his workbench. Before, due to his excitement, he had completely neglected to inspect his creation. What amazing Attributes! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he looked at the Attribute Panel displayed before him. Not only did the silver device increase the user''s surrounding Mana density by an additional 20% when compared to the Titan Device, but it also amplified Basic Attributes. Although it only increased the user''s Basic Attributes by 5%, this was still a rare bonus. After all, the Titan Device was originally a tool specifically meant to counter low Mana density environments. Now that it also increased all of its user''s Basic Attributes by 5%, using it was equivalent to equipping an additional Advanced Mana Armor Kit. - System: Please give the Advanced Item a name. You may also leave your personal mark on this item. - Since it increases both Attributes and the environmental Mana, let''s call it the All-rounded Device. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng wrote down the new name for his creation. With this, he could make as many copies of the forging design as he wished. However, he would allow only those who had become Master Forgers to attempt forging the All-rounded Device. After all, the difficulty of forging his creation was slightly higher than that of the Titan Device. It would be a miracle if an Advanced Forger could attain even a 10% success rate. After becoming a Master Forger, Shi Feng did not immediately continue forging All-rounded Devices. Instead, he made a trip to the Forging Association to collect his Master Forger''s Insignia. While he was at it, he also spent 20 Gold to learn Material Analysis and Attribute Analysis. - [Master Forger''s Insignia] (Dark-Gold Rank Item) Increases production speed by 20% and production success rate by 3%. User restriction: Ye Feng Cannot be dropped. - With the Master Forger''s Insignia, not only did he take less time to forge the All-rounded Device, but his forging success rate also increased considerably. In addition, due to him being the creator, he also received a slight bonus to his production success rate. Now, even without the support from materials like the Magical Gold, he still achieved a 40% success rate. On average, he could produce two All-rounded Devices out of five attempts. With this, the cost of the All-rounded Device was directly halved to only six Gold. Moreover, the EXP awarded for successfully forging an All-rounded Device was much higher than that for the Titan Device. Each success awarded EXP equivalent to a Chieftain of the same level. Meanwhile, Shi Feng took roughly 15 minutes to successfully produce one All-rounded Device, essentially spending 15 minutes to kill a Chieftain of the same level. Although the efficiency was slightly poor, he could keep producing the All-rounded Device as long as he had sufficient materials. This would be equivalent to him continuously killing Chieftains of the same level, something rarely possible out in the fields. Overall, Shi Feng''s experience bar skyrocketed. Following which, Shi Feng forged one All-rounded Device after another, passing more than half a day unawares. Meanwhile, he also reached 76% of Level 57. As long as he continued forging the All-rounded Device for another day, he would reach Level 58. In the eyes of other players, this would definitely be an astonishingly fast leveling speed. Just as Shi Feng was about to start forging another All-rounded Device, Gentle Snow suddenly contacted him. "Guild Leader! The ranking competition is about to start soon! Why aren''t you here yet? Don''t tell me you''ve forgotten about it?" Gentle Snow asked, a frown on her face. "It''s starting already?" Shi Feng automatically checked the time and discovered that he had actually unknowingly spent close to an entire day cooped up inside his Special Forging Room. "Alright, I''ll head over immediately." His harvest today was considerably good. Due to his increasing proficiency with the forging process, he managed to forge a total of 131 All-rounded Devices and over 100 Titan Devices. Not only did he have enough for his trip to Karna Island, but he also had some leftovers he could sell or use as a Guild benefit. Although the Titan Device only improved the Mana density around its user, if it was used appropriatelysuch as in the exploration of low Mana environmentsits value would increase severalfold. In reality, there were quite a few low Mana environments in God''s Domain, many of them locations that Guilds and adventurer teams wished to explore. Only, due to the environments severely affecting one''s combat power, players were generally forced to give up on ranging through these areas. Take the Dragon''s Graveyard, a well-known forbidden land in the Black Dragon Empire, for example. Due to a certain incident, many Dragons had died in that location in the past. Now, it was a forbidden land for the livinga Level 50 to Level 100 super-large-scale leveling map that had practically no Mana present, such that players could not use Tier 1 Skills and Spells there. If players entered the map, their combat power would be reduced to less than 10%. As luck would have it, the Bosses located at the inner and core areas of the Dragon''s Graveyard had quite a significant chance of dropping the Stable Design and all sorts of Advanced Designs and Recipes. However, this was still just the tip of the iceberg. If one managed to get the First Kill on the Dragon''s Graveyard''s Final Boss, they would be awarded their choice of weapon at Black Dragon City. Moreover, this weapon would be a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Hence, in the past, the various large Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire had put in a lot of effort into searching for tools that could help raise one''s ambient Mana density. Only after gathering sufficient tools did they succeed in raiding the Dragon''s Graveyard. Meanwhile, back then, the Titan Device had been one of the best tools available for the purpose. In the past, a single Titan Device had easily sold for 50 Gold. One could just imagine how desperate the various large Guilds were back then. Of course, compared to the value of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, this price was not worth mentioning whatsoever. Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City: As soon as Shi Feng appeared inside Black Dragon City''s Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of a massive crowd of players. After he exited the Teleportation Hall, the players were still packed like sardines. Normally, one could see such a street scene only in small but popular places like Stone Forest Town. Even the imperial capitals of the Four Great Empires were far from comparable to Black Dragon City right now. The streets teemed with not only Level 40-plus players but even the rarely seen expert players. Players riding Mounts were also a dime a dozen at the moment. It was as if every expert player in the Black Dragon Empire had gathered at Black Dragon City. One could just imagine how lively the ranking competition this time was going to be. Following which, Shi Feng summoned the evolved Demonic Flame Tiger and made his way towards Black Dragon City''s Underground Arena. 1411 Initial Appearance in Empire Chapter 1411 - Initial Appearance in Empire Black Dragon City, Underground Arena: Currently, the street outside the arena was crowded with players. However, the players that could actually enter the facility numbered extremely few. Players who wished to enter the Underground Arena needed an invitation from the Secret Pavilion or to have passed the qualifiers for the official competition. Everyone else could only stand outside the arena. Of course, catering to the general public''s interest, the Secret Pavilion would also livestream the competition on the large screens outside the Underground Arena, allowing people on the streets to watch the matches. This was a privilege available only to players that had rented the entire Underground Arena. However, it cost around 15,000 Gold to rent the Underground Arena of an imperial capital for an entire day. Most likely, only the Secret Pavilion was capable of carrying out such a feat. Other superpowers would balk at spending so much money just to host a competition. Aside from playing on the screens outside the Underground Arena, the livestream of the competition would also be uploaded to the official forums, allowing all players in the Black Dragon Empire to watch it as well. Hence, a player who achieved a good battle record in the competition could definitely become famous throughout the empire. Meanwhile, the members of Guilds that received an invitation from the Secret Pavilion were currently entering the Underground Arena one after another. "Quick, look! Those players in that group seem to be from the first-rate Guild Undefeated Dynasty! Their levels are so high! They''re all actually above Level 45." "Look! Those people seem to be Fantasy Shrine''s members! The equipment they''re using is so good! Every one of them is actually geared with one or two pieces of Epic Equipment!" The bystanders were stunned by the five first-rate Guilds that were entering the Underground Arena. The weapons and equipment worn by the expert players they normally saw were already plenty amazing. However, now they were looking at the representatives of the five first-rate Guilds whose levels and items surpassed those of expert players by leaps and bounds. Meanwhile, each of the five first-rate Guilds attending the competition this time had sent between eight and twelve representatives. Even the most inferior piece of equipment these representatives wore was Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. As for Epic Weapons and Equipment, although not everybody was equipped with one, each first-rate Guild boasted at least seven or eight. Let alone the ordinary players on the street, even the second-rate Guilds attending the competition were shocked at the robust foundations these first-rate Guilds displayed. "Snow, is the Guild Leader not here yet?" Zhao Yueru asked as she walked out of the Underground Arena. Currently, she was dressed in a set of dazzling crimson robes and held a blue crystal staff in her hand. Meanwhile, the instant Zhao Yueru appeared, she immediately attracted the attention of many players on the street. However, while part of the reason why so many players had their attention stolen by her was the contrast between her devilish body and angelic countenance, the greater reason was her personal fame. Just recently, Zhao Yueru had annihilated the expert team of Corpse Soul all by herself. Meanwhile, Corpse Soul was an infamous Dark Guild in the Black Dragon Empire. The top-tier experts of the Dark Guild were existences that gave the various large Guilds headaches. Many second-rate Guilds, and even first-rate Guilds, had to treat the Dark Guild cautiously. Yet, due to one of Corpse Soul''s experts provoking Zhao Yueru, the latter had annihilated the entire 20-man team said expert belonged to. Enraged by this situation, Corpse Soul had dispatched several of its top-tier experts to assassinate Zhao Yueru. However, not only did those top-tier experts fail to accomplish their mission, but a few of them had even fallen at her hands. After news of this matter spread, Zhao Yueru''s nickname of Flame Witch became famous across the entire Black Dragon Empire. "He should be here soon," Gentle Snow said as she looked at the time. Grinning, she said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Could it be that you can''t wait to show Ye Feng the results of your latest training?" The Guild''s core upper echelon knew that Ye Feng and Black Flame were the same person. Back when Gentle Snow found out, she had been stunned. She had never imagined that Ye Feng could create such a powerful Guild, one capable of rivaling even veteran first-rate Guilds, all by himself. "Hehe! Of course! I want to see what kind of reaction he''ll make when he finds out that I''ve already reached the Refinement Realm!" Zhao Yueru giggled. Ever since joining Zero Wing, she realized that there would always be someone better than herself. Previously, she had been one of Ouroboros''s top-ranking top-tier experts. Yet, after entering Zero Wing, she had failed to rank even within the top 10 of the Guild. However, now that she had become a Refinement Realm expert, she was confident of entering the top 10 of Zero Wing and instantly reaching the level of peak experts like Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose. While Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru were chatting, another team of players walked out of the entrance of the Underground Arena. These players all sported a crimson flame emblem, the symbol of the Crimson Castle Guild, one of the Guilds that frequently clashed with Zero Wing''s Branch Guild, which Gentle Snow managed. Although Crimson Castle was only a second-rate Guild, Nine Dragons Emperor secretly supported it. Crimson Castle had also allied with a few other second-rate Guilds; hence, the Guild''s strength was not one bit inferior to that of first-rate Guilds. "Guild Leader Snow, long time no see. I never thought that you would be interested in the ranking competition as well. It seems the competition this time is going to be interesting," Crimson Fox, the Guild Leader of Crimson Castle, said, smiling as he walked up to Gentle Snow. "Aren''t you here as well, Guild Leader Crimson?" Gentle Snow said. She could not help but feel a little surprised as she looked at Crimson Fox and his entourage. Currently, Crimson Fox had already reached Level 45, and the majority of his equipment were Dark-Gold rank. As for the weapon he carried and the top he wore, Gentle Snow could not determine their quality due to their glow effects having been hidden. However, she could tell that they were either Epic rank or Epic Growth-type Weapons and Equipment. Meanwhile, similar to Crimson Fox, the other members of Crimson Castle were all Level 45. The weapons and equipment they possessed nearly rivaled Crimson Fox''s. Aside from these players, Gentle Snow had also spotted two cloaked players among Crimson Castle''s team. Although she could not see the levels and equipment of these players, the pressure she picked up from them was much greater than even the pressure Crimson Fox exuded. "Guild Leader Snow, neither of our Guilds were able to achieve a clear victory in our previous war with each other. Are you interested in settling our dispute through the ranking competition this time?" Crimson Fox said, a sly smile on his face. "How do you want to compete?" Gentle Snow asked. "We''ll compete using our Guild rankings in the competition this time. Whoever places higher will be the winner. Meanwhile, whoever loses will give up on Hidden Fog Town. How about it?" Crimson Fox suggested. As Crimson Fox had deliberately spoken in a very loud voice, everyone on the street heard his words. "What''s going on? Is Crimson Castle planning on competing with Zero Wing?" "As expected of large Guilds, they''re actually using a town as a wager." "I wonder if Zero Wing will dare to accept the challenge?" "If Zero Wing is afraid of accepting even such a small challenge, what qualifications does it have to participate in the ranking competition?" At this moment, everyone could not help but turn to look at Gentle Snow and Crimson Fox. In regard to this situation, Gentle Snow also hesitated to decide. Hidden Fog Town, a Dark Town located in the vicinity of Lake Heart City, had a Mithril vein. Conquering Hidden Fog Town was equivalent to obtaining the Mithril vein, which would greatly help in a Guild''s production of weapons and equipment. Only, due to Zero Wing and Crimson Castle''s inconclusive war over this Dark Town, neither Guild had managed to capture it thus far. While Gentle Snow was hesitating, a deep voice resounded throughout the entire street before the Underground Arena. "Okay, Zero Wing agrees to your conditions!" Immediately, every player on the street shifted their gaze to the source of the voice. In the next moment, a majestic monster with its paws covered in flames and lightning stalked into the crowd, radiating an indescribably heavy pressure. This monster was none other than the evolved Demonic Flame Tiger. In terms of strength, it surpassed even a Lord of the same level. Not to mention elite players, even expert players would have to run for their lives if they encountered the Demonic Flame Tiger as an opponent. Meanwhile, upon seeing the Demonic Flame Tiger, the players standing in its path moved to the side automatically, wearing dumbfounded expressions. "What kind of Mount is that? How is it giving off such intense pressure?" "Who is that person?" 1412 All Parties Alarmed Chapter 1412 - All Parties Alarmed "And you are?" Crimson Fox could not help but grow confused as he watched Shi Feng approach his location. Currently, Shi Feng was wearing a Black Cloak, so Crimson Fox could not see his appearance and level at all. However, based on the deadly threat Crimson Fox sensed from the Demonic Flame Tiger, he could tell that Shi Feng was definitely not your run-of-the-mill expert. Everyone present similarly shifted their gazes to Shi Feng, curious to find out Shi Feng''s identity. In the next moment, Shi Feng removed his Black Cloak, displaying his disguise as Black Flame. Currently, he was fully garbed in black, light armor sporting dark-blue magical patterns. At his waist hung two exquisite longswords. The Mana enveloping his body was also much denser than the ambient Mana. Meanwhile, those within range of Shi Feng''s aura felt as if they were standing before a humanoid beast right now. "He''s Black Flame!" "You mean the Black Flame with the nickname of Sword King?" "Yes! I am absolutely sure of it! I''ve watched his battle videos before. I never imagined he would actually come to spectate this competition." "Crap! Just what kind of equipment is he wearing?! The Mana surrounding his body feels so dense!" A few players familiar with Black Flame immediately recognized Shi Feng''s identity. A huge commotion promptly broke out on the street as everyone started discussing Black Flame. In Star-Moon Kingdom, everyone was familiar with Black Flame''s name. However, aside from merchant players, most players rarely paid attention to matters relating to other kingdoms and empires. If not for the God''s Domain Experts List having recorded Black Flame''s name, ordinary players would most likely have no idea who Black Flame was. "Guild Leader!" At this moment, Gentle Snow''s eyes were filled with surprise as she looked at Shi Feng. Although she had long since known that Shi Feng improved rapidly, she never imagined that it would be this fast. It had only been a short time since the last siege war at Stone Forest Town ended. Yet, compared to the pressure she felt from Shi Feng back then, the pressure he gave off now was superior by leaps and bound. Meanwhile, the upper echelons of the various large Guilds present on the street were likewise shocked by the pressure from Shi Feng. "So this is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?" "It seems the rumors about him are true after all! He really is a monstrous existence!" "Fortunately, the ranking competition forbids Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader characters from participating. Otherwise, Zero Wing would definitely be the dark horse of this competition." The upper echelons of the various large Guilds inwardly celebrated as they looked at Shi Feng. If the Secret Pavilion allowed someone like Black Flame to participate in the ranking competition, Zero Wing would be unstoppable. In the entire Black Dragon Empire, most likely only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion possessed experts capable of contending against Black Flame. As Shi Feng approached the members of Crimson Castle on the Demonic Flame Tiger, the aura he exuded also grew increasingly powerful. Even the space around him started to stagnate. Meanwhile, those subjected to his aura felt an indescribable pressure bearing down on them, discomfort overwhelming their bodies. Sword King Black Flame? Initially, Crimson Fox also revealed a shocked expression at his taste of Shi Feng''s presence. Very quickly, however, he calmed down and smiled, saying, "Since Guild Leader Black Flame has already said so, whichever one of our two Guilds ranks lower in this competition will have to give up on Hidden Fog Town." "Naturally." Shi Feng nodded. "With Guild Leader Black Flame''s word, I can rest assured now. I still have other matters to attend to, so I will not take up your time, Guild Leader Black Flame." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s answer, Crimson Fox revealed a delighted smile. He immediately turned around and walked back into the Underground Arena. Meanwhile, the two cloaked players in Crimson Fox''s entourage could not help but send a few additional glances at Shi Feng before reentering the arena. "Boss, that person is Black Flame. He might have prepared some trump cards for the competition. Is it really all right to proceed with our original plan to compete with Zero Wing?" a Level 45 Shield Warrior standing beside Crimson Fox asked worriedly. "What''s there to worry about? The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has long since investigated everything there is to know about Zero Wing. While the top-ranking experts of Zero Wing are indeed scary, none of those experts are among the representatives Zero Wing has dispatched for the competition this time. Zero Wing''s representatives consist solely of the experts that originally belonged to Ouroboros. There is no need to be fearful of them," Crimson Fox sneered. "Even if Black Flame does have some kind of backup plan, do you think our side doesn''t possess one as well?" "Boss, what do you mean?" the Shield Warrior asked in confusion. "The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has always found Zero Wing to be an eyesore. Do you think they would secretly send only two experts to help Crimson Castle?" Crimson Fox whispered. "Rest assured. Zero Wing has no chance of winning against us. Most likely, even getting into the top 10 will be a problem for them. After all, among the participants in the competition this time, many are newcomers nurtured by superpowers." After the Shield Warrior gave the matter some thought, he found his Guild Leader''s words reasonable. In order to ensure its conquest of Hidden Fog Town, Crimson Castle had made plenty of preparations. The Shield Warrior then unconsciously turned to look at the two cloaked men some distance behind him. His body shuddered involuntarily when he felt the killing intent the two were radiating. He had personally witnessed the strength of these two players before. Even when these two players went up against five of Crimson Castle''s top ten experts all by themselves, they had easily emerged victorious, not even losing one-tenth of their HPs. Moreover, this was while the two players were keeping many of their trump cards hidden. If those two players went all out, they could trounce all ten of Crimson Castle''s strongest experts, even if the latter teamed up. "Guild Leader, you shouldn''t have agreed to their bet so hastily," Gentle Snow said helplessly as she looked at Shi Feng. "It is obvious that Crimson Castle has come prepared this time. The two cloaked experts following behind Crimson Fox have never appeared in our investigations of Crimson Castle before. It is highly possible that they are Crimson Castle''s trump cards this time." Although those two experts had hidden their levels and equipment, the killing intent they radiated was no laughing matter. They must''ve experienced countless battles to have gained that kind of killing intent. Moreover, she could tell that those two experts were already actively restraining their killing intent. Only, as the killing intent they cultivated ran bone-deep, they couldn''t conceal it completely. She had no doubt that those two experts were frighteningly powerful. Otherwise, Crimson Fox would not have so willingly agreed to such a risky bet. "That''s right! Guild Leader, the pressure I felt from them is much stronger than even what the top-tier experts of Corpse Soul gave off. There is a high chance that those two players are Refinement Realm experts. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have felt such intense pressure from them," Zhao Yueru said, nodding in agreement with Gentle Snow''s words. "Far from just Refinement Realm experts, those two people have already reached the Flowing Water Realm. They are capable of making the best response through observing their opponents," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. When he was walking towards Crimson Castle''s group, he could clearly feel how powerful those two cloaked players were. Or to put it in another way, their presence was right in his face. Hence, he had deliberately released his aura in order to test the two cloaked players'' reactions. And indeed, just like he had guessed, both of them were definitely experts! The instant he directed killing intent towards Crimson Castle''s group, only these two players had prepared to retaliate straight away. It was obvious that they had perceived and reacted to the subtle actions he made. As for Crimson Fox and the others, they had not shown a single reaction whatsoever. "Guild Leader, why did you agree to the bet, then?!" Gentle Snow could not help but grow anxious. Going up against two Flowing Water Realm experts was no joke. In a situation where both sides possessed similar levels and Attributes, either one of these Flowing Water Realm experts could easily annihilate all five members that Zero Wing had dispatched. With these two players taking the field, Crimson Castle had a sporting chance of contesting for the top three positions. If the first-rate Guilds taking part in this competition did not dispatch any powerful experts, it might even be possible for Crimson Castle to win the championship. As for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, a super-first-rate Guild like itself would not take such a ranking competition seriously. At most, it would only field some of the newcomers it nurtured to let them gain some experience. "Won''t it be interesting that way?" Shi Feng retorted, laughing. "Not to mention, if even Crimson Castle has some trump cards, do you think Zero Wing doesn''t?" 1413 Shi Fengs Trump Cards Chapter 1413 - Shi Feng''s Trump Cards "Trump cards?" Gentle Snow stared at Shi Feng in confusion. Zero Wing had already decided the five members who would be participating in the ranking competition; changing representatives at the last minute was impossible. She had also geared them with the best weapons and equipment available to her. Currently, even the most inferior piece of equipment these five players wore was Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. Zhao Yueru was even equipped with the Tier 1 Set Equipment for Elementalists, in addition to a piece of Epic Growth-type Equipment. The weapon Zhao Yueru wielded was even an Epic staff. In terms of equipment, Zhao Yueru could definitely rank near the top among those participating in this ranking competition. Hence, it would be very difficult to further upgrade the weapons and equipment of Zero Wing''s representatives. As for their techniques, those were not something that could be improved within a short period. "This isn''t the place to talk about them. Let''s go to our Guild''s designated room first," Shi Feng said as he sent a glance at their surroundings. Currently, members of various large Guilds were focused on them. It was obvious that these Guilds were starting to grow cautious of Zero Wing in this competition. Gentle Snow nodded in agreement with Shi Feng''s words. Shi Feng was currently too eye-catching. He also didn''t have his aura concealed. Although it was impossible to make out his level and the quality of his weapons and equipment, judging by the increased Mana density around Shi Feng, an expert could readily tell that Shi Feng was incredibly powerful. After Shi Feng and the others entered the Underground Arena, the members of the various large Guilds stationed outside the arena to keep an eye out for noteworthy opponents immediately reported back to their superiors. Meanwhile, over a dozen people were currently seated inside one of the Underground Arena''s luxurious VIP rooms. Even the lowest leveled player among these people was Level 45, while the highest even reached Level 46. The Dark-Gold Equipment they wore were also of a style; these were obviously set equipment. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds had trouble collecting one set of Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, yet there were actually six sets here. Seated in the front of this group of players were a man and a woman. These two people were none other than Nine Dragons Emperor and Phoenix Rain. Although both of them were representatives of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, they sat on different sides of the room, each of them leading a group of newcomers they''d cultivated on their own. The newcomers of each side also faced their counterparts as if they were mortal enemies. They looked nothing like members of the same Guild. To the various large Guilds, the ranking competitions hosted by the Secret Pavilion were a good opportunity for them to raise their fame. To the various superpowers, however, these competitions were merely amusements. After all, even without doing any publicity, everyone was already familiar with their Guilds. Hence, during every ranking competition, the various superpowers in God''s Domain would field their internally nurtured newcomers instead of their mainstays. One of the reasons for doing so was to allow the newcomers to gain some combat experience. The second reason was to let the public know just how powerful the newcomers they nurtured were. "Interesting. Zero Wing''s Black Flame has come as well?" Nine Dragons Emperor''s lips curled up slightly when he read the report that just came in. "He actually agreed to Crimson Castle''s wager? It seems he''s pretty confident in his own Guild members." "Pavilion Master, should we supply a few more Epic items to Crimson Castle?" Martial Dragon whispered. "No need. The helpers and items we''ve provided Crimson Castle are already enough to defeat Zero Wing," Nine Dragons Emperor said, shaking his head. Sneering, he continued, "However, tell the others to go all out against Zero Wing''s members. Make sure to give them a beating. Let the players of the Black Dragon Empire know just what kind of Guild Zero Wing is." He hated Zero Wing down to the bone. If not for Phoenix Rain''s partnership being known by all in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, which prevented him from publicly mobilizing the Pavilion''s forces against Zero Wing a second time, he would''ve long since trampled Zero Wing''s Branch Guild. He wouldn''t have let the Branch Guild survive until now. However, as long as Crimson Castle won its bet and secured Hidden Fog Town, Zero Wing''s Branch Guild''s days would be numbered. Hidden Fog Town did not only possess a small Mithril vein but was also located in Sky Fog Valley, a resource-rich map as well as the most important Level 50 to Level 70 map in the Lake Heart City region. As long as Crimson Castle obtained Hidden Fog Town, it would have absolute control over Sky Fog Valley. Moreover, the several second-rate Guilds Crimson Castle was allied with could easily gather at the Guild town. Then, as long as Zero Wing''s members dared to set foot into Sky Fog Valley, they would not get out alive. Furthermore, without the resources of Sky Fog Valley, Zero Wing''s development at Lake Heart City would definitely slow down. Sooner or later, Crimson Castle would surpass Zero Wing and chase it out of Lake Heart City. Meanwhile, even if the upper echelon of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion were to find out about this matter, they would not say anything about it. After all, Nine Dragons Emperor did not personally take action. "Understood." Martial Dragon nodded. He then proceeded to make the necessary arrangements. Inside one of the rooms that the Secret Pavilion prepared for the various invited Guilds: "Guild Leader, the competition is about to start soon. Just what do you want to show us?" Zhao Yueru asked curiously. At this point, it was already impossible for them to further increase their combat powerunless they took the equipment of Aqua Rose and the Guild''s other peak experts. However, that was obviously out of the question. Aside from that, Zhao Yueru could not think of anything else that could possibly increase their strength within such a short time. "First, eat these," Shi Feng said as he took out one Moonlight Fruit after another from his bag. The Moonlight Fruit was a treasure he had harvested from the Dark Canyon. When consumed, it would permanently improve the user''s physique by 2%. A player could consume a maximum of five Moonlight Fruits, permanently improving their physique by 10%. He had only obtained a little over 100 Moonlight Fruits from the Dark Canyon. After distributing some to Aqua Rose and the others who had reached Level 50, he had only 83 left. "Guild Leader! How did you manage to get your hands on these things?!" Shock filled Gentle Snow''s eyes when she read the Moonlight Fruit''s introductory text. She had never even heard about a fruit capable of permanently increasing a player''s physique, much less seen one. Such a fruit could easily sell for thousands of Gold. Nevertheless, Shi Feng took out 30 Moonlight Fruitsincluding a portion for her. "I got them from the secret land my Promotion Quest transported me to. Make sure not to tell anyone about them." Shi Feng did not hide the origin of the Moonlight Fruit, as everyone present was a trusted aide of Gentle Snow. Moreover, he was also familiar with their personalities. In the past, these top-tier experts of Ouroboros were all very famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. Besides Zhao Yueru, the others participating in the ranking competition this time were Fierce Snake, Wind Mill, Wild Bone, and Negative Life. Fierce Snake was a Level 45 Berserker while Wind Mill was a Level 45 Summoner, both of them former members of Ouroboros''s Twelve Apostles. As for Wild Bone, he was a Level 45 Shield Warrior and was previously Ouroboros''s third-ranking Shield Warrior. Lastly, Negative Life was a Level 46 Ranger. In terms of talent, he was inferior only to Soaring Snake, the leader of the Twelve Apostles. Only, as he had entered the virtual gaming world a lot later than Soaring Snake, his combat standards had been inferior to Soaring Snake''s. However, after receiving various resources from Zero Wing, his combat standards had improved rapidly. Right now, he was already close to rivaling Minor Wind in terms of combat standards. These people had stayed by Gentle Snow''s side all this time, so Shi Feng was not afraid word of the Moonlight Fruit would leak out. "These Moonlight Fruits are amazing! I can already feel my combat power increasing by at least 10%," Zhao Yueru exclaimed in surprise after consuming five Moonlight Fruits and carefully sensing the changes to her body. As for everyone else, due to their deficient standards, their combat power had only increased by 5% or so. "Alright, don''t get too excited yet. Just a 10% increase to your physique won''t be enough to make up for the gap in techniques. Next up, wear these," Shi Feng said as he began taking out Epic items from his bag one after another, placing a total of six on the table. A portion of these Epic items was loot from Heaven''s Burial, while the rest came from Boss drops and quests. "Guild Leader, did you rob a kingdom''s treasury?" Zhao Yueru''s eyes widened when she saw the Epic items on the table. The others were likewise stupefied by this scene. While they all knew that Zero Wing''s foundations were extraordinary, they had never thought that the Guild could still bring out so many Epic items for them to use. "Right, Yueru, how much Intelligence and Strength do you currently have?" Shi Feng asked. "My Intelligence is at 1,370. As for my Strength, it''s at 400," Zhao Yueru stated proudly. These Attributes were considerably high for an Elementalist of her level. "That should be barely enough," Shi Feng muttered after some mental calculations. He then started taking out Attribute Gemstones and a Skill Book for a Tier 1 Passive Skill that increased the user''s Strength Attribute. "First, equip these Tier 3 Gemstones. After you''re done, wear the Magic Devouring Charm and Eye of Arnos." Zhao Yueru was rendered speechless when she heard Shi Feng''s comment that her Attributes were barely enough. However, she still obediently equipped the Attribute Gemstones and the two pieces of Epic Equipment and learned the Tier 1 Skill. "How are your Intelligence and Strength now?" Shi Feng asked. "My Intelligence is at 1,590, and my Strength is at 614," Zhao Yueru replied, feeling greatly elated. "Good! Then temporarily set aside that staff of yours and use this one for the competition," Shi Feng said as he handed Frostflame''s Wrath to Zhao Yueru. 1414 Competition Starts Chapter 1414 - Competition Starts "This is" As Zhao Yueru gazed at the staff with a red-and-white glow, its beauty captivated her. As a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, Frostflame''s Wrath radiated an intense powerful the moment it appeared, making ordinary players feel quite uncomfortable. The surrounding Mana inadvertently flowed towards Frostflame''s Wrath, and it instantly became the focal point of the room. At this moment, Zhao Yueru wasn''t the only one to notice how unique Frostflame''s Wrath was. Even Gentle Snow and the others had noticed the weapon''s extraordinary features. Could that be Gentle Snow had deja vu when she saw Frostflame''s Wrath. A possibility surfaced in her mind, but she quickly shook the thought away, refusing to believe it was feasible. When Zhao Yueru accepted Frostflame''s Wrath and checked its Attribute Panel, she was stunned. How is this possible?! This isa Fragmented Legendary Weapon?! Zhao Yueru couldn''t believe her eyes. To obtain a single Epic item, a large Guild would have to invest countless resources and manpower. At this stage of the game, a first-rate Guild would be fortunate to have seven or eight Epic items. Even the various superpowers had very few Epic items. However, even now, no one had heard of any of the superpowers obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item. First-rate Guilds and below could only fantasize of wielding such items. Yet, Shi Feng had just handed her a Fragmented Legendary staff She even began to wonder if Shi Feng had a few hidden backers. "You need to keep this staff a secret. You should be aware of the consequences should others discover this matter," Shi Feng whispered a warning. Although he had revealed Frostflame''s Wrath, not just any player could inspect it. Only the wielder could check its Attribute Panel. Hence, aside from Zhao Yueru and himself, nobody knew that Frostflame''s Wrath was a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. However, since Gentle Snow had her own Fragmented Legendary item, could likely guess the staff''s identity. Other players would, at most, assume it was a top-tier Epic Weapon. After all, Fragmented Legendary items were truly too rare. Even after ten years in God''s Domain, Shadow had never obtained a single Fragmented Legendary item. "Mhm." Zhao Yueru nodded seriously. She had never expected Shi Feng to let her use such a precious weapon. She wouldn''t expose the Guild''s secrets. "Alright, before you enter the competition field, use these All-rounded Devices. How far you go in the competition will depend on you." Shi Feng then took out ten All-rounded Devices and handed them to Zero Wing''s five representatives. Each All-rounded Device lasted four hours, one hour more than the Titan Device''s duration. Two All-rounded Devices should be more than enough to last until the end of the ranking competition. Although players weren''t allowed to use Magic Scrolls and items such as Berserk Potions and Frost Grenades in the Secret Pavilion''s ranking competitions, they could use anything else. The Underground Arena''s large-scale arena in the Black Dragon Empire could accommodate 100,000 people. Currently, players filled the space. The venue was even livelier than the competitions in the Dark Arena due to the ranking competition''s lower restrictions. This time, the Secret Pavilion had invited all of the local second-rate Guilds and above. The local well-known players and adventurer teams had received an invite as well. It wasn''t hard to fill the Underground Arena''s largest venue. "So many players are participating in the competition this time!" "I know, right? The last one only included the players from the Black Dragon Empire, but I''ve heard that quite a few superpowers have sent their newcomers to gain some experience in this competition. In addition, famous experts from the neighboring kingdoms have come to join the fun. The Secret Pavilion has doubled the number of official slots in the competition. Now, a total of 6,400 people can take part. Many of the top 100 players from the previous competition will likely lose their spots." "Hahaha! Our Hundred Beast adventurer team''s commander and vice commander will definitely rank among the top 200! We''ll be able to rank among the top 30 adventurer teams in the Black Dragon Empire!" "Top 200? Your commander only ranked 40th during the last competition. He''ll be lucky to make it into the top 500 this time. I heard that even the FFF adventurer team is only aiming to get two people into the top 100. After all, the newcomers from the various superpowers are terrifying. Furthermore, several hundred top and well-known adventurer teams from the neighboring kingdoms have also sent participants." "That''s right. Don''t forget; this competition isn''t just a contest between adventurer teams. The Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds are also participating. Those Guilds'' foundations are far more powerful than adventurer teams. One top-tier expert from a second-rate Guild could easily trample an expert from a well-known adventurer team. Only representatives from top adventurer teams have a chance of securing a top position in this competition." The crowd in the spectator stands engaged in heated discussions regarding the competition. Generally, they only got to watch such a large-scale competition once a month. It was the highest standard competition ordinary players had access to. Most ordinary players envied those who got to watch the competition in person. However, these players were even more jealous of the players in the 30 VIP rooms. From these rooms, players could see the ten stages as if they stood next to them. The difference between the experience of sitting in a VIP room versus sitting in the spectator stands was like the difference between heaven and earth. Unfortunately, there was a limited number of VIP rooms available. After prioritizing the superpowers, the Secret Pavilion handed these rooms to the first- and second-rate Guilds before dividing the rest among the top five adventurer teams in the Black Dragon Empire. Everyone else could only look upon these rooms in envy. While players chatted, Yuan Tiexin, the host of this ranking competition, appeared on the main stage. Immediately, cheers erupted throughout the venue. "Ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you to watch the Black Dragon Empire''s monthly ranking competition. As there are a lot more participants this time, we''ve modified the competition slots and rules slightly. First, there are 6,400 official participants this month. These participants will be categorized into ten stages. Each participant will fight in 30 matches. The system will randomly determine these matches competitors. Each victory will grant one point. In the end, the top 100 participants of each stage will move on to the competition''s main phase. "During the main phase, Guilds and adventurer teams that rank within the top three of their respective categories in terms of average strength will receive an invitation to the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction. I won''t continue to waste everyone''s time; so let the competition begin!" The moment Yuan Tiexin announced the start of the competition, the audience cheered once more. At the same time, the various participants felt a heavy pressure weigh them down. They hadn''t realized that the first phase alone would eliminate 5,400 players. Every one of the 6,400 participants was an expert, yet so many people would be eliminated so quickly. This competition would be far crueler than the previous events, which had only included 3,200 players. After Yuan Tiexin finished speaking, the system began to distribute the 6,400 participants randomly into ten groups. Each group had 640 participants. However, only 100 players would proceed to the final phase. The various Guilds and adventurer teams'' ranks would be determined based on their average results during this final phase. "Hahaha! Zero Wing is pretty lucky! All five of its representatives have been selected for the competition''s two death groups! Ranking among the top 50 won''t be a problem, not to mention ranking among the top 10 Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire!" Crimson Fox could not help but laugh when he saw the system generated lists, sneering as he glanced at the VIP rooms above him. 1415 Who has Bad Luck? Chapter 1415 - Who has Bad Luck? The screens above the ten stages displayed the participants'' numbers in each group. Of course, the various major powers had already investigated the noteworthy participants. The moment the system finished forming each group, they located the noteworthy participants'' stages. "The participants for the third and fifth group are amazing!" "Isn''t No. 29 Falling Flowers, the 10th ranked Swordsman in the Purple Thorns Empire?" "Crap! Thorny Language, one of the experts that ranked within the top 100 in the previous competition, is No. 1,514!" The spectators talked among themselves when they saw the name lists on the screens. Group Three and Five received the most attention. These two groups contained one-third of the players who had been predicted to rank among the top 100 this time. The battles in these two groups would be very intense. When Gentle Snow saw the lists from her VIP room, her expression darkened. Among Zero Wing''s five representatives, two had been assigned to Group Three, and three were in Group Five. It wouldn''t have been a problem if these groups had slightly more experts than the others, but that clearly wasn''t the case. Among the superpowers'' newcomers, 13 were in Group Three, and 19 had been assigned Group Five. These two groups alone included more than half of the noobies from the various superpowers. In addition, each of these two groups had over a dozen representatives from first-rate Guilds. They also consisted of many players from the various top adventurer teams. Overall, these people had taken roughly 90 slots among the two groups. There were also the various independent experts from the Black Dragon Empire and the neighboring kingdoms. Who knew if dark horses hid among these independent experts? Group Three and Five were death groups. Aside from Zhao Yueru, Zero Wing''s representatives would have a difficult time qualifying for the competition''s final phase. If they encountered one of the seeded participants or one of the superpowers'' newcomers, they would have to endure an arduous battle. Points would be awarded to Guild representatives who made it into the final phase. These points would be used to calculate each Guild''s rank. Aside from superpowers, which wouldn''t be included in the Guild rankings, each Guild had five representatives. Naturally, the more qualified representatives a Guild possessed, the greater its advantage would be. Unless three or more of Zero Wing''s representatives made it to the final phase, it would be at a disadvantage against Crimson Castle. Furthermore, Crimson Castle had two Flowing Water Realm experts. Those two experts were almost guaranteed to rank quite high during the final phase. "Relax. None of them should have any problem qualifying for the next phase," Shi Feng reassured, chuckling when he noticed Gentle Snow''s worried look. While there were many experts in Group Three and Five, Zhao Yueru and the others were no weaklings. Their weapons and equipment ranked among the best in this competition. In addition, they had equipped the All-rounded Device. They had no reason to fear anything less than a Refinement Realm expert. Shi Feng''s confidence rendered Gentle Snow speechless. If this were an ordinary competition, she wouldn''t mind losing. In fact, this was a good opportunity for Zhao Yueru and the others to gain combat experience. However, the development of Zero Wing''s Branch Guild was on the line. If they succeeded, it would further the Branch Guild''s progress in the Black Dragon Empire, enabling it to contend with the five first-rate Guilds in the empire. If they failed, however, the consequences would force her into an awkward position. After all, she was the Branch Guild''s manager. She had no wish to see it fail. As Shi Feng spoke, the competition began. Following which, the system randomly selected participants for the first fight. In the blink of an eye, the list of match-ups appeared on the screen above their respective stages. These participants simply needed to enter their respective stages to begin the match. Group One - No. 4,187 VS No. 712! Group Two - No. 1,714 VS No. 6,024! Group Three - No.584 VS No. 5513! Matches occurred simultaneously on the ten stages. While the audience could watch all ten stages at the same time, the large screens outside the Underground Arena would only stream the most noteworthy match. "That Shield Warrior with the crimson shield is so amazing! He actually killed that Level 43 Berserker after losing less than one-tenth of his HP!" "He is pretty powerful. He either blocked or dodged every one of the Berserker''s attacks. The Shield Warrior''s defense is impeccable. By my guess, he should rank among the top 100 Shield Warriors." The players crowding the open-air bars outside the Underground Arena heatedly discussed the players as they watched the live-streamed matches. Most of the matches ended quickly. Generally, each match lasted less than one minute. Even in a stalemate, the match would end after a certain amount of time as this was the competition''s initial phase. The victors of these matches would be determined by how much remaining HP each participant possessed. As one match after another came to an end, Fierce Snake, who was in Group Three, was called to the stage. His first opponent was a Level 45 Guardian Knight. "That Berserker, Fierce Snake, really is unlucky. He has to face Flaming Arm, the 37th ranking Guardian Knight in the empire, in his first match." "He can only blame himself for such poor luck. After ranking 37th in the class rankings during the previous competition, Dragon''s Abyss, one of the top five top adventurer teams in the empire, recruited Flaming Arm immediately. With the Guild''s nurturing, Flaming Arm must have improved quite a lot. He shouldn''t have any issues ranking among the top 30 in his class rankings." When Flaming Arm appeared on Group Three''s stage, many among the audience shifted their attention to his stage. After all, he was an expert capable of ranking 37th among the Black Dragon Empire''s Guardian Knights. In a first-rate Guild, he could become one of the Guild''s core MTs. Moreover, when comparing classes, Guardian Knights had an advantage over Berserkers. The match''s outcome was obvious. "Hahaha! Zero Wing is actually going to lose its very first match!" Crimson Fox laughed as he glanced at Fierce Snake. During the initial phase, each participant had to fight 30 matches. Among the 640 participants in each group, only the top 100 would qualify for the final phase. Based on previous ranking competitions and the intensity of this competition, player''s likelihood of qualifying for the final phase was quite low, even if the won 26 of their 30 fights. Only those who win 27 matches were guaranteed to qualify. If Fierce Snake lost his very first match, he would have to win 27 of his 29 remaining matches. Such a feat would be ridiculously difficult. Crimson Fox was also quite familiar with Fierce Snake''s strength since he was one of the top-tier experts in Zero Wing''s Branch Guild; Crimson Castle had investigated the Berserker thoroughly. Based on the reports, Fierce Snake would only rank among the top 70 Berserkers in the empire. Normally, he wouldn''t have any trouble qualifying for the final phase. Unfortunately, too many experts were participating in the competition this time. Fierce Snake had also been assigned to one of the two death groups. Now, he had to face Flaming Arm in his very first match. As a result, his chances of qualifying for the final phase had dropped. On Group Three''s stage, Fierce Snake and Flaming Arm stared each other down. "You must have crap luck to encounter me in your first match! Well? Are you going to leave the stage willingly? Or do you want me to throw you out?" Flaming Arm snickered at the stern-looking Fierce Snake. Any ordinary expert would normally forfeit a match against him to save their strength for the following matches. If they fought him and revealed their trump cards, only to suffer defeat in the end, they''d pay for it in the following matches. "Our luck hasn''t yet been determined," Fierce Snake said, chuckling. "You overestimate yourself!" Flaming Arm''s gaze sharpened when he heard the bell signal the start of the match. Without hesitation, he activated his Berserk Skill, growing significantly larger. Raising his shield, he charged at Fierce Snake. 1416 Initial Appearance Chapter 1416 - Initial Appearance When Flaming Arm was less than 10 yards away from Fierce Snake, he shouted abruptly. Suddenly, his body released a golden glow. Divine swords began to appear around him, rotating as he moved. Tier 1 Skill, Divine Storm! When activated, the Skill would deal divine damage to all enemies within an 8-yard radius three times. Each attack contained 130% of player''s Strength and dealt 200% weapon damage. "Flaming Arm is merciless! He''s using his signature move right off the bat." "Signature move?" "While it looks like he''s trying to finish his opponent off with Divine Storm, in reality, he''s only using it to trick his opponent into defending themselves or dodging his attack. When his opponent has lost the power to resist, he''ll finish them off with Divine Adjudication. Divine Adjudication is an unavoidable Skill, and Flaming Arm has relied on it to pass the initial phase during previous competitions." A few participants who were familiar with Flaming Arm could not help but pity Fierce Snake. Although Flaming Arm was a Guardian Knight, he had dumped the majority of his Free Attribute Points into his Strength. Moreover, his Gemstones were all Strength-based. He operated more like a DPS player than an MT. Flaming Arm''s Strength could even rival top-tier Berserkers of the same level. Even his Berserk Skill was Strength-based, increasing his Strength by 100%. Not even a top-tier Berserker of the same level could compete with Flaming Arm once the Guardian Knight activated his Berserk Skill. Seeing the enemy Guardian Knight charge towards him fearlessly, Fierce Snake activated Power of Darkness, and faint layers of dark fog swirled around his body. He then rotated as he swung his greatsword horizontally. Whirlwind Slash! Immediately, a black tornado dominated Group Three''s stage. What a fool! Flaming Arm sneered as he put even more power into his charge. When the black tornado and the golden tornado clashed, a powerful shockwave tore through the stage. When the tornados scattered, everyone watching was stupefied. "Impossible! He blocked Flaming Arm''s attack?!" "How high is Fierce Snake''s Strength?!" Flaming Arm was a Guardian Knight famed for his Strength. Very few players had ever blocked his signature move, but if an opponent could block the first assault and retain their stance, Flaming Arm would lose his opportunity to follow up with Divine Adjudication. Flaming Arm''s expression hardened as he glared at his opponent. During the previous collision, Fierce Snake had only been forced to retreat by one step. On the other hand, he had taken three steps back. He had also lost over 500 HP. The difference between their Strengths was obvious. How is his Strength so high? Flaming Arm refused to accept this. To help him score well in the competition, his adventurer team had lent him a set of Epic bracers, which boosted his Strength considerably. With these bracers equipped, he was even confident of securing one of the top 100 positions. Yet, he had lost to an unknown Berserker''s Strength. This All-rounded Device the Guild Leader had me equip is amazing! Fierce Snake couldn''t help his shock when he saw his Skill Completion Rate. In truth, his Strength Attribute was only slightly higher than Flaming Arm''s. The main reason behind the outcome of that clash was his Whirlwind Slash''s Completion Rate. He had achieved a 90% Completion rate with his counterattack. This was the first time he had executed Whirlwind Slash so smoothly. As long as a Skill''s Completion Rate rose past 85%, every 1% increase would boost the attack''s power. Upon reaching 90%, the Skill would undergo a qualitative transformation. It was only natural that Flaming Arm had difficulty blocking his attack. Since I can''t overcome his Strength, let''s see who lasts until the end! Flaming Arm calmed very quickly. Immediately, he activated Protection Blessing. Then, while disregarding his defense, he attacked Fierce Snake ruthlessly, intent on exchanging blow for blow. Protection Blessing halved the damage he received. Even if there was a difference in Strength, he had the advantage in an exchange of blows since Berserkers didn''t have any Skills that reduced incoming damage. As everyone assumed that Fierce Snake would dodge Flaming Arm''s attacks, the man rushed forward to meet the Guardian Knight in battle rather than retreating. "Is his brain broken?! He clearly has the advantage in this fight. He could easily win if he just waited out Flaming Arm''s Protection Blessing, yet he''s charging towards his death." Fierce Snake''s behavior confused the spectators. Fierce Snake and Flaming Arm engaged in a vicious battle, attacking and defending. However, a Guardian Knight had a much easier time defending against attacks than a Berserker. With a slight adjustment of his shield, Flaming Arm could easily guard a large portion of his body. In contrast, Fierce Snake could only protect a limited space even with large swings of his greatsword. The difference between their damages was also clear. Even when Fierce Snake''s greatsword struck his opponent, his normal attacks only dealt around -3,000 damage. On the other hand, Flaming Arm''s normal attacks dealt over -6,000 damage. Meanwhile, Flaming Arm had over 80,000 HP, while Fierce Snake only had around 70,000 HP. When Fierce Snake''s HP fell to 50%, Flaming Arm still had over two-thirds of his HP left. However, the more Flaming Arm fought Fierce Snake, the more afraid he became. As the battle dragged on, he could sense his opponent''s combat standards improving. Moreover, the more Fierce Snake fought, the more natural the Berserker''s actions became. As a result, it became increasingly difficult to land an attack. On the other hand, Fierce Snake had an easier time hitting him. After another five seconds, Fierce Snake had only one-third of his HP remaining. However, Flaming Arm had the same. "What?! Flaming Arm is losing?!" No one could believe their eyes as they watched Flaming Arm''s HP Fall below Fierce Snake''s, the gap between them growing wider as the seconds ticked by. How is his combat standard so high?! Has he been toying with me all this time?! When Flaming Arm saw his HP drop to a critical level, he knew that he had lost his chance of winning. Not only was the difference between their combat standards so great, but his Protection Blessing''s duration was running out. What Flaming Arm didn''t know was that due to the sudden increase of Mana density around Fierce Snake, he couldn''t fight at his peak, but as the match progressed, Fierce Snake adapted to the increase brought about by the All-rounded Device. Honestly, Fierce Snake could''ve ended the battle already. However, fighting a top-tier expert like Flaming Arm was inspiring. Hence, he hadn''t bothered to use any of his Skills, toying with the enemy Guardian Knight. When Fierce Snake eventually eliminated the final strand of Flaming Arm''s HP, gasps of amazement echoed from the crowd. "Zero Wing''s Fierce Snake is so amazing!" "I never thought that, aside from the several well-known peak experts, Zero Wing had someone like this. I''ve underestimated Zero Wing." "It seems we''ll have to be more careful of this Berserker later on. His melee combat abilities are too strong." After the match, the various major powers'' representatives were a little afraid of this Berserker, Fierce Snake. After all, Fierce Snake had relied on normal attacks to defeat the Black Dragon Empire''s 37th ranking Guardian Knight. If he had used his Skills, he would''ve wiped the floor with Flaming Arm. After Fierce Snake''s match, Wind Mill, Wild Bone, and Negative Life completed their matches. Without suspense, they won their respective battles. Moreover, they also won their matches without any Skills. No one had seen the true depth of their prowess. As the ranking competition grew more intense, Zhao Yueru''s turn eventually came. Group Five - No. 918 VS No. 29! "What?! The Flame Witch is going up against Falling Flowers?!" "Both are experts capable of qualifying for the final phase. To think the system would pit them against each other" "This is going to be interesting. Falling Flowers is one of the top ten Swordsman experts in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. I''ve heard that some time ago, she even defeated Whistling Sword, the 394th ranked player on the God''s Domain Experts List. On the other hand, even the Dark Guild, Corpse Soul, is helpless against the Flame Witch. This will be an intense fight." Everyone grew excited as they watched the two women approach Group Five''s stage. As soon as the match began, both sides activated their Berserk Skills. Upon doing so, Zhao Yueru executed triple-casting. Although she had only cast two Tier 1 Spells and a Tier 0 Spell, both her spellcasting speed and her Spell''s power shocked the audience. Fireballs, Flame Spears, and Flaming Chains shot towards Falling Flowers in rapid succession. Despite being a Refinement Realm expert, Falling Flowers couldn''t keep up with the attacks. After exhausting of her Lifesaving Skills, the dozens of Fireballs and Flame Spears killed her instantly 1417 Shocking the Empire Chapter 1417 - Shocking the Empire From the moment the bell signaling the start of the match rang until the moment the system displayed its end, less than five seconds had passed. The match was so overwhelmingly one-sided that Falling Flowers hadn''t even had time to scream before she transformed into particles of light and disappeared from the stage. At this point, Group Five''s stage had become a smoldering mess "Huh?" Looking at the stage, Zhao Yueru was momentarily dazed. She struggled to believe that it had been her doing. "What just happened?" The audience watching Group Five''s battle wore dumbfounded expressions, their minds unable to process the unexpected outcome. Originally, everyone had assumed that the fight was between two players of equal strength; they had never expected this outcome. "Triple-casting! Just who is she?!" Blue Phoenix stared at Zhao Yueru in shock. Current peak magical-class experts were just barely learning to triple-cast, and Zhao Yueru could already triple-speed-cast. Even Blue Phoenix had yet to grasp that level of the technique. Even after entering the legacy space of Zero Wing''s Secret Spellcasting Technique, she had only grasped double speed-casting. Moreover, based on the power of Zhao Yueru''s Spells, it was obvious that her Skill Completion Rates were very high. "How many secrets is Zero Wing hiding?" Phoenix Rain couldn''t help but glance at Zero Wing''s room from her seat next to Blue Phoenix. Zero Wing had previously revealed that it had powerful magical-class experts such as Violet Cloud, Aqua Rose, and Alluring Summer. Now, the Guild had revealed Zhao Yueru. Due to Zhao Yueru''s astonishing performance, the audience began to pay more attention to Zero Wing. "How strong is Zero Wing?! It even has such a powerful Elementalist expert!" "I had thought that Zero Wing''s only capable expert was the Sword King, Black Flame. Now, it turns out that the Guild has such a magical-class expert." After this match, the Black Dragon Empire''s players began to look into the Guild known as Zero Wing. The moment they did, however, they flabbergasted. They had never thought that Zero Wing would be Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. "The this ranking competition is going to be interesting!" "So, Zero Wing is pretty strong. We''ll likely see a change to the Black Dragon Empire''s top-ten Guild list." "Zero Wing should have no problems ranking among the top ten. However, getting into the top five will probably be a challenge. After all, the five first-rate Guilds in our empire have many powerful experts. Why would it be easy to surpass them?" While everyone discussed Zero Wing, the various large Guilds turned their attention towards the Guild as well. They began to search for a method to deal with Zhao Yueru. Although Zhao Yueru''s ability to triple-speed-cast was powerful, she wasn''t undefeatable. Following which, the spectators'' astonishment grew as they watched one match after another, Zero Wing''s five representatives improving their battle records. Fifteen consecutive victories Twenty consecutive victories Thirty consecutive victories It seemed as if no one could stop Zero Wing''s representatives. Not even top adventurer reams and first-rate Guilds'' top-tier experts were a match for them. In the end, all five qualified for the final phase. Zhao Yueru, in particular, had displayed overwhelming power from start to finish. On the other hand, some of the representatives from first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams, who had been expected to make it to the final phase, were disqualified "Zero Wing is too awesome. All five of its representatives made it. Even the five first-rate Guilds couldn''t accomplish the feat." "I''ve heard that the Zero Wing Guild developing in the Black Dragon Empire is only a Branch Guild. If even the Branch Guild is this powerful, how much stronger is the main branch?" "I think I heard that Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in Lake Heart City has been recruiting members. Once the competition is over, I must go and apply to join the Guild!" Before anyone had realized it, Zero Wing had become a rival for the Black Dragon Empire''s top five first-rate Guilds. Its fame in the empire skyrocketed. "Guild Leader, are you sure about giving them so many All-rounded Devices?" The outcome of the competition had shocked Gentle Snow. She was very familiar with the standards of Zero Wing''s five representatives. Although their combat power had increased thanks to the weapons and equipment Shi Feng had provided, the improvement was limited. I wasn''t possible for them to achieve such exaggerated results. She might have understood if only Zhao Yueru had been victorious, yet despite their assignment to the death groups, the other four representatives had won their matches as well. This was unbelievable. Fierce Snake and Negative Life''s performances were particularly shocking. They had contended with Refinement Realm experts. In the end, they had relied on superior Basic Attributes and high Skill Completion Rates, barely defeating their opponents. Gentle Snow had found this outcome incredible. After all, she was fully aware of just how powerful a Refinement Realm expert was. Such experts should have no issues defeating non-Refinement Realm experts, even with 30% higher Basic Attributes. Furthermore, Fierce Snake and Negative Life''s Basic Attributes weren''t much higher than their Refinement Realm opponents. The only explanation for their unexpected performances was the All-rounded Device. Gentle Snow hadn''t expected such amazing results from the All-rounded Devices. They were so effective that they allowed Fierce Snake, someone who wasn''t even a Half-step Refinement Realm expert yet, defeat a Refinement Realm expert. "Relax. While the All-rounded Device''s production is somewhat costly, we can make as many of it as we want." Shi Feng hadn''t expected the item to be so effective either. After fighting so many matches, Fierce Snake and the others had obviously improved. If they could continue fighting different Refinement Realm experts, it wouldn''t be long before then entered the Refinement Realm as well, becoming cornerstones for Zero Wing. "As many as we want?" Gentle Snow was at a loss for words as she stared at Shi Feng''s calm expression. She felt as if this was the first time she had met the man. If it were possible to mass-produce the All-rounded Device, then with Zero Wing''s current foundations, they could nurture a batch of Refinement Realm experts in a short time. She would never have dared to dream of such a thing in the past. After the competition''s initial phase ended, the true ranking competition that everyone had looked forward to began. Unlike the initial qualifiers, participants that lost a match during the final phase would be eliminated, while those that won would proceed to the next round. Meanwhile, to prevent the various large Guilds and adventurer teams'' representatives face off against their own, the system would try to assign them to different matches as often as possible. This assured that the various large Guilds and adventurer teams could collect the maximum number of points possible. Aside from Zhao Yueru, Fierce Snake and the others were strong enough to rival Refinement Realm experts. In the end, they easy passed the first three rounds and ranked among the top 150 in the competition. However, three had lost the fourth round due to Refinement Realm expert opponents with Epic items. In the end, only Zhao Yueru and Negative Life had won their fourth matches in the final phase. During the fifth round, a Refinement Realm expert with more than one Epic item had eliminated Negative Life. He had lost with little resistance. "Guild Leader, Zero Wing is far more powerful than we had expected. What should we do now?" the Shield Warrior named Lonely Castle asked Crimson Fox worriedly in Crimson Castle''s VIP room. Although the two experts Nine Dragons Emperor had sent had made it to the fifth round, the other three representatives had been eliminated in the second match. "What''s there to worry about? Didn''t you see Zhao Yueru''s next opponent?" Crimson Fox asked unhurriedly as he pointed to the virtual screen above the center stage. "What?!" Lonely Castle was stupefied when he saw the names on the screen. He was instantly elated. Zhao Yueru''s opponent for the fifth round was Yi Luofei, the FFF adventurer team''s vice commander. She had the nickname Frost Empress and was one of the Black Dragon Empire''s Four Great Elementalists. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had even offered her the position of vice commander over its main force to recruit her. 1418 You Still Aren’t Qualified Chapter 1418 - You Still Aren''t Qualified As the current match on the main stage was about to end, everyone shifted their gaze to the screen hovering above the stage, excitement and joy sparkling in their eyes. "The next match is going to be awesome!" "The Frost Empress and Flame Witch? How unfortunate. Both clearly have the strength to rank in the top 30, yet they have to face each other in the fifth round." "I wonder who''s strongest?" "Do you even need to ask? It''s definitely Yi Luofei. After all, she is the third-ranked Elementalist in the Black Dragon Empire. She even ended in the top 20 during the previous competition." In the Black Dragon Empire, practically everybody knew about FFF''s Frost Empress. She had soared to fame during the previous ranking competition. Her beautiful face and graceful body had made it into everyone''s hearts. Although she hadn''t left many battle records in the Black Dragon Empire after the competition, the battle records she had left were terrifying. In one instance, she had annihilated a Dark Guild by herself. In another instance, she had fought the fifth-ranked player on the Black Dragon Empire''s Red List, the Assassin Hell Prison. To be more specific, Hell Prison had ambushed Yi Luofei. In the end, however, she had defeated the Assassin, and he had been forced to retreat. Hell Prison had killed sever second-rate Guild Leaders. Although he had never killed a first-rate Guild''s Leader, he had come very close to succeeding several times. This had earned the various large Guilds'' hatred. However, they were powerless against the Assassin expert, yet after a single failed attempt, Hell Prison had declared that he had given up targeting Yi Luofei. No one knew why he had done so, but the fact that Yi Luofei had forced an Assassin like Hell Prison to give up showed how powerful she was. The assassination attempt had been a while ago; Yi Luofei had certainly grown stronger since then. "Big Sis Rain, it seems that Zero Wing may be in trouble. Yi Luofei is highly talented. The Secret Pavilion has even labeled her as a monster-level genius. Based on the information we currently have, she has grasped at least two combat techniques. Moreover, one of them is an advanced combat technique. The Secret Pavilion has tried to recruit her, but she rejected their offer. Based on our reports, it seems that the Flower of Seven Sins has contacted her as well," Blue Phoenix whispered when she saw the combatants for the next round. "If Zero Wing is defeated here and loses its bet with Crimson Castle, Nine Dragons Emperor will use the opportunity to crush Zero Wing''s Branch Guild." "The Flower of Seven Sins didn''t just contact her in secret," Phoenix Rain said, smiling bitterly. "The Great Pavilion Master informed us to give up on recruiting Yi Luofei and to avoid provoking her. She''s already become one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' reserve upper echelons. The Flower of Seven Sins values her." "What?! She''s already a reserve upper echelon?!" Blue Phoenix was shocked, staring at Yi Luofei below the main stage. Although the Flower of Seven Sins was a mysterious organization, the various superpowers had a certain amount of information on it. Like the Secret Pavilion, it was considered a transcendental power; none of the superpowers would dare underestimate it. The requirements to become one of the Flower of Seven Sins''s upper echelons were even stricter than those to become a Super Guild''s upper echelon. As the Flower of Seven Sins was an organization of assassins, strength meant everything. If one wished to become one of the organization''s upper echelons, they needed to have the strength to back up the ambition. Every one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' upper echelons was an absolute monster. Now that Yi Luofei was a reserve upper echelon, this proved that the Flower of Seven Sins had acknowledged her strength. The organization had clearly deemed that she could become a monster-level expert as well. When the waiting participants saw the next pairing, a commotion rippled through the crowd. "Luofei, it seems you''ve encountered a proper opponent this time," a slim Assassin in dark-gray leather armor said from beside the woman, smiling. "A proper opponent?" Yi Luofei glanced at Zhao Yueru, who sat a short distance away. She responded indifferently, "Commander, please stop joking. She''s still not worthy of being my opponent. Someone on Phoenix Rain''s level might be, but not her." "Well, in any case, don''t take the match too seriously. Just defeat her casually. Save some cards for the rest of your opponents. Otherwise, you''ll have trouble fulfilling your agreement with the Flower of Seven Sins," Yan Tianxing, the FFF adventurer team''s commander, said as he glanced at the several cloaked players beside the stage. "Commander, rest assured; I''ll claim the championship and leave those upper echelons speechless," Yi Luofei confidently declared before walking towards the stage. When the Flower of Seven Sins had tried to recruit her, she had given the organization a condition. She required that they turn FFF into one of the top adventurer teams in God''s Domain, not just the Black Dragon Empire. However, a large amount of resources would be required to do so. Although the Flower of Seven Sins had agreed to her condition, the organization had offered one of its own. She must secure the championship in this ranking competition. Yi Luofei didn''t think too much about the condition. After all, not only had the Flower of Seven Sins given her a top-tier Epic staff upon her joining, but it had also sent her into two legacy spaces, allowing her to improve tremendously. She had even broken through to the Void Realm, pushing her five senses to their very limits. When Yi Luofei and Zhao Yueru stepped onto the stage, cheers erupted throughout the venue. Not only were they gorgeous, but they were also highly venerated experts. "I''ve always heard that Zero Wing is a one-man Guild. I never thought that it would have an expert such as you. I had planned to challenge your Guild Leader during my previous trip to Stone Forest Town, but I never actually met him. After this match, please convey my request to Guild Leader Black Flame. Tell him that I''d like to challenge him. The time and location are up to him," Yi Luofei spoke to Zhao Yueru softly. The Flower of Seven Sins had actually given her two conditions. If she completed one of them, the organization would agree to her condition, pushing FFF to the heights of God''s Domain. Obtaining the championship was the first condition. The second was to kill Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. Moreover, the second condition was available long-term. She had watched Black Flame''s battle videos. While he was a monster, she was confident of defeating him. The moment Yi Luofei finished speaking, an uproar shook the arena. "What''s this?! Yi Luofei just publicly challenged Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?!" "This is interesting! I wonder if Black Flame will accept the challenge? If he does, I have to watch it!" "As expected of the Frost Empress! She dares to challenge the Sword King!" Everyone here was quite familiar with the name ''Black Flame.'' After all, he ranked among the top 100 on the God''s Domain Experts List. The Secret Pavilion had even given him the nickname Sword King. When he had received it, it had caused quite a stir throughout God''s Domain. However, while the crowd cheered over the matter, Zero Wing''s members wore ugly expressions. Fierce Snake and the others, who sat below the main stage, were furious. A measly vice commander of an adventurer team had dared to issue their Guild Leader a challenge! Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. Luo Yifei''s blatant challenge was no different than spitting on Zero Wing''s reputation; she simply wasn''t taking Zero Wing seriously in the least. "Hahaha! Nicely done! As expected of someone the Flower of Seven Sins has acknowledged!" Nine Dragons Emperor laughed in his VIP room. "Black Flame really is famous everywhere," Phoenix Rain muttered, sighing as she looked at Zero Wing''s room. Although she did not believe that Yi Luofei could defeat Black Flame, this challenge humiliated Zero Wing, Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. If Yi Luofei defeated Zhao Yueru, the challenge would deal an even greater blow to the Guild''s reputation. "You wish to challenge our Guild Leader?" Zhao Yueru''s gaze chilled as she glared at Yi Luofei. "Unfortunately, you still aren''t qualified!" 1419 Difference in Equipmen Chapter 1419 - Difference in Equipment As soon as Zhao Yueru finished speaking, she released Frostflame''s Wrath''s aura. As a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, Frostflame''s Wrath could exude a frightening pressure. Once a player equipped it, they could actively suppress this aura, making the staff look like an ordinary item. At the same time, this aura could strengthen the player''s aura. With the liberation of Frostflame''s Wrath''s aura, Zhao Yueru''s aura underwent a sudden transformation. Fire- and ice-type Mana surged towards her in a frenzy, causing the surrounding space to tremble. "How can a player have such a powerful aura? Is she really the Flame Witch I''ve heard about?" "Why does it seem like the space around her is darker?" The participants below stage felt a powerful pressure weigh them down when Zhao Yueru released Frostflame''s Wrath''s aura. Some participants had even taken an unconscious step back. The waiting participants weren''t the only ones surprised. The various large Guilds'' upper echelons in the VIP rooms were shocked as well. If a player''s aura could be so powerful, ordinary players would find it taxing to endure, not to mention fighting while under the aura''s pressure. "Guild Leader, the staff you gave to Yueru Could it be?" Although Gentle Snow suspected that Frostflame''s Wrath might be a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, she wasn''t certain. After all, Fragmented Legendary items were simply too rare in God''s Domain. Even now, no one had heard of any of the superpowers obtaining one. Hence, the likelihood of Shi Feng possessing a second Fragmented Legendary item should be abysmally low. "That''s right. It is indeed a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Moreover, it is a top-tier Fragmented Legendary staff suitable for Elementalists," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding. Gentle Snow was speechless as she processed Shi Feng''s nonchalant explanation, overwhelmed by shock. Very few people likely had a better idea of how powerful a Fragmented Legendary item was than her. After all, her current armor was Fragmented Legendary Equipment. It was due to the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor that she could contend with peak experts. At the moment, she was only a Refinement Realm expert. She was worlds apart from Super Guilds'' peak experts, yet with the power of Fragmented Legendary Equipment, she compensated for the difference in their combat standards. Meanwhile, the Fragmented Legendary item Zhao Yueru wielded was a weaponthe item that provided the largest boost to a player''s combat power. Only now did Gentle Snow understand why Shi Feng had agreed to Crimson Fox''s bet without hesitation and why he had remained so calm throughout the competition. If peak experts from Super Guilds participated in this ranking competition, it''d be no different than adults bullying children. Thus, the various superpowers only sent in their noobies that they had nurtured internally. Otherwise, all the players from the various large Guilds and adventurer teams would be able to do little more than watch from the sidelines. Meanwhile, although the match had begun on the main stage, neither side hurried to attack. Rather than the expected indifference, surprise colored Yi Luofei''s face. She had never expected to feel such an intense pressure from a Refinement Realm expert like Zhao Yueru. This was the first time something like this had ever happened. "I''ve really underestimated Zero Wing...to think the Guild had hidden an expert like you," Yi Luofei commented seriously as she watched her opponent. After getting a good look, however, Yi Luofei smirked as she continued, "However, you can only rely on this empty aura. It might be effective against ordinary experts, but it is useless against me!" Saying so, Yi Luofei activated her Berserk Skill. She then began to chant incantations as she wrote runes in the air. Yi Luofei''s chanting speed was extremely quick. She wasn''t slower than Zhao Yueru in the least. Moreover, compared to Zhao Yueru''s chants, Yi Luofei''s pronunciation was more accurate. Furthermore, not only did she draw her runes as easily as a graffiti artist, but she also had no inconsistencies. "What precise triple-speed-casting!" Blue Phoenix was shocked as she watched the terrifying amount of Mana gather around Yi Luofei. Unlike Skills, Spells had additional variables known as incantations and runes. Meanwhile, due to these two aspects'' special characteristics, one could determine the Spell''s Completion Rate based on the amount of Mana that gathered around the caster even before the spell fully activated. The fact that more Mana gathered around Yi Luofei despite both combatants'' triple-speed-casting proved that her Skill Completion Rate was higher. Naturally, her Spells would be more powerful. Not one to be outdone, Zhao Yueru had activated Power of Darkness at almost the same time as Yi Luofei activated her Berserk Skill, increasing all her Basic Attributes by 100%. Similarly, Zhao Yueru followed-up with triple-speed-casting. A moment later, both Elementalists completed their Spells. Waving their staffs simultaneously, they gestured to their opponents. Three magic arrays suddenly formed behind both Elementalists. Normally, Zhao Yueru was limited to double-speed-casting; she could only triple-speed-cast due to Frostflame''s Wrath. However, she was limited to the most basic Tier 0 Spells for her third cast. This time, she had chosen Flame Barrage. As for her other two Spells, she went with the Tier 1 Flame Spear and Tier 1 Flame Chains; the former possessed extreme destructive power, while the latter had a certain degree of destructive power while allowing her to restrict her enemy. On the other hand, Yi Luofei, who had relied on her own abilities to triple-speed-cast, had chosen Tier 1 Spells for all three casts: Frozen Web, Frost Prison, and Ice Blast. Despite both being Elementalists, one woman controlled fire, and the other manipulated ice, creating a dazzling scene on the stage. "Although you''re very strong, it''s a pity that your Skill Completion Rates are too low. Your triple-speed-casting is a mere facade compared to the real deal." Yi Luofei smiled calmly as she watched Zhao Yueru''s flames. She then controlled her ice-type Spells to meet Zhao Yueru''s Spells. Unlike melee players, a clash between magical class players did not rely on one''s control of their body. Rather, it relied on one''s control over an external object. Many of God''s Domain''s Spells were ranged. If a magical class player lacked control of their Spell, it would be very difficult to hit a moving target. When fire and ice collided, a series of explosions erupted across the stage. Half of the stage transformed into a flaming hell, while the other half had become an icy nightmare. The results were extraordinarily spectacular. However, when their Spells clashed, Yi Luofei, who had been confident of her victory, revealed a grim expression. She currently wore two pieces of Epic Equipment: a shirt and a pair of shoes. Her staff was also Epic rank, increasing her Completion Rate with ice-type Spells to a certain degree. She could almost achieve an 80% Completion Rate with all three of her Spells. No matter how she looked at it, Zhao Yueru''s Completion Rates shouldn''t exceed 70%, yet when she pitted her Spells against her opponent''s, her Spells were crushed, and Zhao Yueru''s Spells maintained a significant amount of their power as they continued towards her. This outcome was simply inconceivable. What Yi Luofei didn''t know was that Frostflame''s Wrath improved ice- and fire-type Spells by one Tier. Although Zhao Yueru had used Tier 1 and Tier 0 Spells, they instantly became Tier 2 and Tier 1 spells with Frostflame''s Wrath''s buff. Even if her Skill Completion Rates were no more than 70%, Tier 2 Spells far surpassed Tier 1 Spells with 80% Completion Rates. Facing the incoming flames, Yi Luofei had no choice but to dodge them with Blink. After all, magical-class players weren''t like melee players; their Attribute Point allocation was different. Dodging multiple attacks at once was very difficult for magical-class players. Following which, Yi Luofei ran around the stage, becoming a more difficult target for her opponent. Unfortunately, this meant that she couldn''t triple-speed-cast. She could only rely on double-speed-casting. In contrast, Zhao Yueru could stand still and attack Yi Luofei freely. Occasionally, she was forced to dodge an unavoidable Spell with Blink, but otherwise, she could easily triple-speed-cast. Very quickly, Yi Luofei found herself running on fumes, finding fewer opportunities to retaliate. At the same time, Zhao Yueru shaved away her HP with her Spells'' residual damage. After 15 seconds, Yi Luofei''s HP fell to 50%. On the other hand, Zhao Yueru, who had only occasionally failed to dodge an attack, still had over 90% of her HP. The difference between these fighters was obviously at a glance. "I''ll admit that your combat standards are higher than mine. Unfortunately, if you can''t defeat me despite that advantage, how are you qualified to fight my Guild Leader?" Zhao Yueru quipped as she stopped her attacks suddenly. Seeing Yi Luofei''s sorry state, she smiled as she continued, "I''ve grown bored of exchanging Spells with you, and I believe that my Guild Leader has grown impatient with our fight. How about we end this match now?" Saying so, Zhao Yueru lightly tapped the butt of Frostflame''s Wrath on the ground. Immediately, a blue and red dual-colored magic array formed on the ground as an astonishing amount of Mana surged towards it. Following which, a four-meter-tall cheetah emerged from the magic array. Crimson fire covered the cheetah''s head, paws, and tail, while a frosty mist radiated from its body. This cheetah was none other than the Frostflame Cheetah summoned by Frostflame''s Wrath''s third Activatable Skill! 1420 Overwhelming Power Chapter 1420 - Overwhelming Power The tall and mighty Frostflame Cheetah''s appearance stupefied everyone in the arena. "What? Aren''t Magic Scrolls banned? How did she summon such a powerful monster?" "That''s not right. The system should''ve imposed the correct restrictions on the stage. She must have summoned the monster with an item''s Skill." "Crap! Even an Elementalist can summon such a powerful monster?! How is this supposed to be a fair fight?!" The Mount Frostflame''s Wrath summoned was one tier higher than the player that summoned it. Since Zhao Yueru was a Tier 1 player, the Frostflame Cheetah she had summoned was a Tier 2 Lord. Normally, soloing a Lord ranked monster of the same level wasn''t a problem for peak experts like Yi Luofei, but if one summoned a Lord ranked monster during a one-on-one, PvP battle, their opponent would be at an overwhelming disadvantage if they couldn''t do the same. Furthermore, Zhao Yueru had already proven that she had an advantage over Yi Luofei. Now that she had gone a step further and summoned the Frostflame Cheetah, Yi Luofei''s chances of winning were nonexistent. However, Yi Luofei had no intentions of giving up just yet. She immediately responded by casting the Tier 1 Curse, Extreme Frost Waterfall and the tier 1 Spell, Frost Barrier. Walls of solid ice began to form around Zhao Yueru, trapping her within. Meanwhile, a massive, blue magic array appeared above her, gusts of cold air blasting down from the array. Zhao Yueru didn''t attempt to dodge the incoming cold air. Instead, she waved Frostflame''s Wrath and used the Tier 1 Spell, Flame Dragon''s Dance. Immediately, a crimson magic array formed beneath Zhao Yueru''s feet. Two serpentine dragons of fire then emerged, intertwining as they flew to meet the frost gusts of air. Boom Boom Boom When ice and fire tangled, white mist filled the space above Zhao Yueru. Not only did Flame Dragon''s Dance crushed Yi Luofei''s Extreme Frost Waterfall, but the high temperature also melted the ice walls trapping Zhao Yueru. In the end, Yi Luofei''s Spells failed to deal even a single point of damage. Even a Tier 1 Curse is useless? Yi Luofei was dazed for a brief moment after watching her Extreme Frost Waterfall fail. A Tier 1 Curse rivaled Tier 2 Spells. Such a Spell could even injure Lord ranked monsters, yet such a powerful attack had been utterly useless against Zhao Yueru''s Tier 1 Spell The various Guilds'' upper echelons in their VIP rooms were stunned. "A Tier 1 Spell crushed a Tier 1 Curse? Just how wide is the Attribute gap between these two?" Blue Phoenix stared at Zhao Yueru incredulously. There was only one possible explanation; the gap between the women''s Attributes was just massive, enough to make up for the difference in tiers. Yet, based on the reports, Yi Luofei should have at least three Epic items on her. With her high level, the woman''s Basic Attributes should be near the peak of God''s Domain. Even if some players had higher Attributes, there should be a limit to how high those Attributes could go. After all, Epic items were not cabbages that could be purchased at the local market. Sure enough, weapons provide a higher buff than a piece of equipment. Gentle Snow could not help but sigh as she watched her friend''s incredible performance. If it were up to her, she''d have a difficult time defeating Yi Luofei without activating Twofold Berserk, yet Zhao Yueru easily triumphed despite having a single Berserk Skill. Of course, the fact that both women were Elementalists was part of the reason. When both combatants were of the same class, the difference between their strength depended on the individuals'' combat standards, Attributes, and Skills. However, the main reason for such a gap was the massive difference between their equipment quality. Moreover, Zhao Yueru currently had three Epic items on her. Among the players in this ranking competition, one could count the number who had three Epic items on one hand. Hence, Yi Luofei''s defeat was natural. As everyone recovered from their shock of seeing Zhao Yueru''s attack, the Zero Wing representative commanded her Frostflame Cheetah to pounce on Yi Luofei. Although the Frostflame Cheetah was only a Lord ranked monster, it still posed a significant threat to Tier 1 experts. This was especially true for magical classes, who were not fond of speed-type monsters. Yi Luofei was forced to turn her spells against the Frostflame Cheetah while keeping an eye on Zhao Yueru''s movements. Seeing the cheetah distract Yi Luofei, Zhao Yueru revealed a smile and waved Frostflame''s Wrath before pointing it to the sky. A large magic array then covered over half of the stage as it manifested above the fighters. The waiting participants gasped. Despite being below the stage and knowing that they were safe from the current battle, the participants felt the threat of death loom over them. Even a fool could tell that Zhao Yueru had cast a large-scale destruction Spell. "Die!" Zhao Yueru abruptly swung down her staff. Immediately, the entire stage trembled as the area''s ice- and fire-type Mana went berserk. This move was none other than Frostflame Hell, one of Frostflame''s Wrath''s Activatable Skills. When activated, it dealt a combination of ice- and fire-type damage to all enemies within a 50-yard radius every second for 10 seconds. With the Frostflame Cheetah keeping her busy, Yi Luofei had no hope of escaping the AOE in time. Noticing the wave of fire and cold air surge towards her, Yi Luofei activated Frost Barrier, becoming invulnerable to all attacks for a short time. However, despite having upgraded the Spell to Tier 1, it would only last for eight seconds. She was simply delaying the inevitable. The seconds ticked by quickly. When the eight seconds were finally up, the Frost Barrier shattered, and the rampaging ice- and fire-type Mana killed Yi Luofei instantly. As Frostflame Hell dissipated, the spectators could see how miserable a large portion of the stage looked. Silence filled the waiting area below the stage. Although the system had announced the victor, none of the waiting participants cheered. Watching this match had inspired a deep despair in every one of them. They all thought that Zhao Yueru had simply been too cruel. First, Zhao Yueru had summoned a Tier 2 Lord to distract her opponent. Then she used a large-scale destruction Spell to end the match. Even with a Skill that provided invulnerability, Zhao Yueru''s Spell would eliminate any opponent unless their Lifesaving Skill lasted for more than 10 seconds. As for closing in on Zhao Yueru and facing her in close quarters, such a strategy would be suicidal with the woman''s ability to triple-speed-cast. The closer one was to the spellcaster, the harder Spells were to dodge. Players would also have to deal with a Lord ranked monster harassing them. Who could possibly beat Zhao Yueru in a one-on-one? Her power was overwhelming! To deal with someone like Zhao Yueru, one would need an ally or the ability to summon a powerful monster with their weapons or equipment. Otherwise, the woman was nearly invincible. "She lost?" Yan Tianxing could not help his bitter smile as he watched Zhao Yueru on the stage. He had never imagined that a monster like Zhao Yueru occupied the Black Dragon Empire. When she got serious, she could even render a peak expert like Yi Luofei utterly powerless. When Yi Luofei resurrected below the stage, her gaze shifted to her previous opponent. Her declaration to challenge Black Flame was nothing more than a joke now. She still found it hard to believe that she had been defeated so easily. Now, she more or less understood why the Flower of Seven Sins'' second condition was long-term. She had assumed that the second condition would be easier to fulfill than the first, but looking at it now, it was obvious that the second condition was, by far, the more challenging. In the Flower of Seven Sins'' opinion, she wouldn''t be capable of defeating Black Flame for some time. Hence, the organization had set this condition. 1421 Dragons Graveyard Chapter 1421 - Dragon''s Graveyard As Zhao Yueru descended from the stage, the waiting participants instinctively stepped aside, opening a path for her. They had heard that she had killed a Dark Player twice after some Dark Guild had provoked her, dealing a heavy blow to the Guild. While experts like themselves had assumed that had been a joke, they''d have to rein in their courage to stop trembling if Zhao Yueru even glanced their way. They had to be careful around her. Should they accidentally annoy the woman, they might die the moment they left the city. "The Flame Witch is too awesome! She might even secure one of the top ten spots!" "Top ten? More like top five! The combination of that Lord ranked monster and the large-scale destruction Spell is invincible in a duel! Only a handful of participants may be able to close in on the Flame Witch before she activates the combination attack. Aside from those few, she can likely blast everyone to smithereens." "The Frost Empress was pretty unlucky this time. If she hadn''t come across the Flame Witch, she might''ve ranked among the top 15, yet now she won''t even stand among the top 50" "With the Flame Witch on Zero Wing''s side, Zero Wing should get a spot among the top five Guild rankings." Unlike the participants below the stage, the audience in the stands fell into a heated discussion about Zhao Yueru. They were all curious to see what the woman''s rank would be in this competition. As for Yi Luofei, who had been defeated, they couldn''t help but lament for her misfortune. "Damn it! Why did things end up like this?!" Crimson Fox cursed as he watched Zhao Yueru step down from the main stage. "To think they''ve hidden a trump card like Zhao Yueru all this time! Zero Wing is quite cunning!" "Guild Leader, what should we do now?" Lonely Castle, the Shield Warrior beside Crimson Fox, asked anxiously. The higher one ranked in the competition, the more points they would receive. Moreover, the point scale was steep. Players that ranked between 1,000th and 501st would receive 5 points. Players'' points would double if they ranked between 500th and 249th, increasing to 10 points. Meanwhile, players that made it to the third round would be awarded 20 points, 50 points if they reached the fourth round and 100 points for the fifth round. Although both experts Nine Dragons Emperor had sent to assist Crimson Castle had made it to the fifth round, Nine Dragons Emperor had stated that the two players would be lucky to make it into the top 16, the seventh round. Reaching the seventh round only awarded 300 points, yet if Zhao Yueru ranked among the top four players, she would receive 600 points. Her points alone were more than the total those two experts could earn. If Zhao Yueru were lucky and made it into the finals, she would be awarded 1,000 points. She could earn more points than Crimson Castle''s five representatives together "For now, hand the Epic items Nine Dragons Emperor loaned us to those two experts. Our priority is to ensure that both reach the seventh round. As for Zero Wing, it is still unknown whether or not Zhao Yueru makes it to the semi-finals. If she encounters one of those few melee experts, she could lose. If she faces Yan Tianxing, her success will immediately come to a halt," Crimson Fox said as he glanced at Yan Tianxing, FFF''s commander. Before Yi Luofei had risen to prominence, the FFF adventurer team had stood at the top in the Black Dragon Empire due to Yan Tianxing. Even before God''s Domain launched, Yan Tianxing had been a famous peak expert in the virtual gaming world for many years. Now, he was the number two Assassin in the Black Dragon Empire. Hell Prison, who had attempted to assassinate Yi Luofei, only ranked fourth on the Black Dragon Empire''s Assassin ranking list. Hell Prison alone was capable of rendering the empire''s various large Guilds helpless. Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing was even more powerful than the Assassin. Hence, the empire''s Guilds feared and respected the FFF adventurer team. "Understood." Lonely Castle saw the reasoning in Crimson Fox''s words. Although it was possible that Zhao Yueur could rank among the top five, it was only a possibility. If she were unlucky, she might encounter an expert that could counter her combat method in the next round and eliminate her. Unfortunately, while Crimson Fox''s hope was nice, the reality was far from it. As the competition progressed, Zhao Yueru secured impressive victories during her sixth and seventh matches, making her way into the quarter-finals. She was only one round away from ranking among the top four competitors. In contrast, Crimson Castle''s progress halted in the seventh round. In the end, the Guild only racked up 630 points. With that score, Crimson Castle could easily rank among the Black Dragon Empire''s top ten Guilds. To Crimson Castle, it was a result worth celebrating. However, Crimson Fox, Crimson Castle''s Guild Leader, felt no joy. After all, as long as Zhao Yueru won her next match, Crimson Castle''s fate in Hidden Fog Town would meet its end. If Crimson Castle couldn''t take control of Hidden Fog Town, the threat it posed to Zero Wing would decrease drastically. If that happened, Nine Dragons Emperor would turn away from the Guild. Without Nine Dragons Emperor''s support, Crimson Castle''s dream of becoming a first-rate Guild would remain a dream. After all, Crimson Castle was relatively weak among the second-rate Guilds. A titan like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion only offered support due to its threat to Zero Wing. Please, don''t let her pass! Crimson Fox silently prayed as he watched the screen above the stage. At the end of each round, the system would randomly generate pairings for the new fight. Seeing the player IDs flicker on the virtual screen, Crimson Fox''s heart began to pound. Once the quarter-finals'' pairings were determined, he was ecstatic. "Wonderful! The heavens haven''t forsaken Crimson Castle!" Crimson Fox was overjoyed when he saw that the first match was a fight between Zhao Yueru and Yan Tianxing. As long as Crimson Castle won its bet with Zero Wing, its status as a first-rate Guild was guaranteed. A first-rate Guild! Countless Guilds dreamed of achieving such glory. "The Flame Witch is in danger now. Yan Tianxing ranks second among Assassins and is known for his speed. The Flame Witch won''t be able to execute her combination attack so easily against him." "Even if the Flame Witch loses, she''ll have nothing to be ashamed of. After all, she has a class disadvantage." "But Yan Tianxing''s win isn''t certain. It isn''t so easy to close in on an Elementalist who can triple-casting. If his timing isn''t right when he closes in on the Flame Witch, he might die instantly. The Flame Witch''s damage is no laughing matter. She even instant-killed a Shield Warrior will full HP and Shield Wall active. Killing a glass cannon like Yan Tianxing would be a piece of cake for her." Everyone cheered and chatted as they watched Zhao Yueru and Yan Tianxing approach to the main stage. As the timer above the main stage began to count down, Yan Tianxing turned towards Zero Wing''s VIP room and announced, "Guild Leader Black Flame, this humble man has heard that your Guild intends to auction adventure houses in Stone Forest Town! If I win this match, would you allocate a slot for the FFF adventurer team? Of course, if I lose, I will hand over 10,000 Magic Crystals and a treasure map for the Dragon''s Graveyard!" When Yan Tianxing finished speaking, the venue fell silent, dumbfounded by his bet. Everyone''s first reaction was to question his intentions. Shouldn''t he be trying to avenge Yi Luofei? Shouldn''t he have made some valiant remark about defeating Zhao Yueru? Yet, the FFF''s commander, one of the Black Dragon Empire''s famous top adventurer teams, had just publicly declared his intention of garrisoning in Stone Forest Town Garrisoning in Stone Forest Town wouldn''t have been overly surprising. A top adventurer team occupying a Guild Town was always good news for the Guild, yet based on Yan Tianxing''s request, it seemed as if the right to garrison in Stone Forest Town was extremely precious. He had even bet 10,000 Magic Crystals and a treasure map for the right!. The treasure map he had gambled was even related to the Dragon''s Graveyard! This was just ludicrous! 1422 Forbidden Lands Treasure Chapter 1422 - Forbidden Land''s Treasure "What''s going on?" "Has Yan Tianxing lost his mind?" "If I recall correctly, Stone Forest Town has a relatively effective Battle Arena. Some of the top ranking participants in the previous competition had gone there as well. But what''s so good about the town?" "Does he really have to go this far? Isn''t it just a Guild town? FFF is one of the top five adventurer teams in our empire. Even first-rate Guilds would beg FFF to occupy their towns. I''m pretty sure FFF can gain access to Stone Forest Town just by asking." "What? Don''t you know? Many experts are trying to train in Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. I''ve heard that the advanced combat rooms are super amazing. They can create a perfect replica of the player that enters the room. The replica can even execute all of the player''s Skills and Spells at 100% Completion Rate. Those rooms are more effective than fighting an expert of the same caliber." "That''s right. Firecloud Fox''s Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon visited Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena and used the advanced combat rooms multiple times. Both managed to rank among the top 500 in this competition. Their performance was significantly more impressive than last time. Remnant Cloud''s combat power has improved so much that he even beat his old rivals." "Stone Forest Town doesn''t only have its Battle Arena. It also has an Advanced Auction House with a built-in bartering function. Due to the Battle Arena and the Advanced Auction House, Stone Forest Town has become Star-Moon Kingdom''s undisputed number one Guild town." "I''ve heard about that, too. Many top and well-known adventurer teams in Star-Moon Kingdom and several neighboring kingdoms are trying to garrison in Stone Forest Town. Unfortunately, Zero Wing only plans to open five adventurer houses to the public. The various adventurer teams are frantically collecting funds. When the time comes, the competition for those adventurer houses will be intense. Though, it is surprising that even an adventurer team like FFF is interested in the town." For a time, many people, both in and outside of the arena, discussed Zero Wing''s Stone Forest Town. Many of the empire''s players began to gain some understanding of the Guild town. When the advanced combat rooms, in particular, came up in conversation, many expert players'' eyes shown with excitement. Players were more interested in improving their Skill Completion Rates than fighting experts of the same caliber. Most layers of their standards plateaued around 80% Skill Completion Rates. Only after achieving an 85% Skill Completion Rate could they truly exert 100% of their Skill''s power and effects. Now that they knew they had an opportunity to improve their Skill Completion Rates, why would they ignore it? While the players in the spectator stands discussed Stone Forest Town, the various Guilds'' upper echelons in the VIP rooms glared at Yan Tianxing. "Has Yan Tianxing lost his mind?! He''s using the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasure map as a wager! Doesn''t he know what the Dragon''s Graveyard is?!" When the upper echelons heard the proposed bet, their eyes became bloodshot with anger. While the majority of the Black Dragon Empire''s Guilds didn''t know about the Dragon''s Graveyard, first- and second-rate Guilds such as theirs had investigated the area. Naturally, they had some understanding of the treasure map. One of the reasons for the Black Dragon Empire''s names was the Dragon''s Graveyard within its territory. According to legend, the Dragon''s Graveyard had been home to the Black Dragon tribe. However, for some unknown reason, that location had become a Dragon graveyard. Dragons were known for their love of treasure. Needless to say, Dragons'' habitats would contain unimaginable treasures. Although the Black Dragon Empire had embarked on several expeditions into the Dragon''s Graveyard, the empire had eventually given up on the map and labeled it a forbidden land due to the severe losses it suffered during such expeditions. If one had a treasure map for the area, they could gain frightening wealth. To solidify this assumption, their Guilds had secured an astonishing bounty after exploring the Dragon''s Graveyard''s outer region. Upon reaching Level 50, drop-rates from monsters decreased drastically. The quality of dropped weapons and equipment also decreased. When killing Level 50 Great Lords, players generally only obtained a single piece of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. However, it was a different story in the Dragon''s Graveyard as its Level 50 Great Lords dropped Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Meanwhile, a treasure map was akin to a Treasure Chest, but unlike Treasure Chests, players had to hunt down their prize after obtaining the map. Fortunately, the extra step meant greater rewards. Treasure maps weren''t differentiated by rank, either. Rather, the value of a treasure map was based on the danger of its location. As a forbidden land, the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasure map would likely lead to more than one Epic item. Why wouldn''t they be jealous? The only problem was the graveyard''s severe environment. Upon entering the map, players'' combat power would fall below 10%. Players would also find it difficult to activate Tier 1 Skills and Spells. Generally, they were limited to Tier 0 abilities. Players had to pay a hefty price to deal with a Level 50 Great Lord. Furthermore, Great Lord ranked monsters were common in the Dragon''s Graveyard. There were also quite a few Grand Lords. Commander? Yi Luofei, who watched from below the main stage, stared at Yan Tianxing with confusion. Did you really have to expose that item just for an adventurer house? The FFF adventurer team had been on many adventures. It had uncovered many opportunities as well. Among the various opportunities, the greatest had been their acquisition of an Epic ranked item called the True Orb from an ancient ruin. With this orb, Yan Tianxing even had a high chance of defeating the Black Dragon Empire''s number one Assassin. They had obtained the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasure map from a Dark Gold Treasure Chest in the same ruin. One could just imagine how valuable it was. Yi Luofei couldn''t understand Yan Tianxing''s decision. Even if their adventurer team wanted to occupy Stone Forest Town, they could compete for the opportunity in the auction. With the FFF adventurer team''s financial strength, they were likely to win a slot. This gamble was just unnecessary. "Guild Leader, the Dragon''s Graveyard is a super-large-scale map in the Black Dragon Empire with extremely abundant resources. The treasures in the area are extraordinary. However, due to the harsh environment, most large Guilds have struggled to pioneer the map," Gentle Snow explained. "Yan Tianxing is quite generous." Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "He must know that the competition for the garrison slots is going to be intense. But by using the treasure map as bait to convince me to agree to the bet, isn''t he worried about losing it?" Naturally, no one in God''s Domain understood the Dragon''s Graveyard better than him. According to his memories, there were a total of three treasure maps for the Dragon''s Graveyard, which corresponded to the outer region, the inner region, and the map''s core, respectively. Meanwhile, the treasures in each of these areas were better than the last. The wealth one could gain in the outer region was the equivalent of several Dark-Gold Treasure Chests. It was rumored that the items one could find in the inner region were the equivalent of two or three Epic Treasure Chests. As for the core, the treasures there were the equivalent of one or two Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests. Although Shi Feng had no idea of which treasure map Yan Tianxing possessed, the items in the outer region were already hard to come by, much less those in the inner and core regions. "Since he wants to gamble, I have no reason to reject his offer." Shi Feng then contacted Zhao Yueru and ordered, "Agree to the bet." "Understood." Zhao Yueru nodded. "This match is very important. You don''t need to hold back," Shi Feng added. "Can I really use that move?" Zhao Yueru was confused. However, a hint of anticipation flashed in her eyes. Before the competition had begun, Shi Feng had forbidden her from using all of her strength in battle. His reasoning was very simple. Every additional trump card she had was an advantage. Their priorities in this competition were to defeat Crimson Castle and earn enough points to rank among the top three Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire. "Yes. He is very strong. If you hold back, you might lose," Shi Feng confirmed. Hearing that she could go all-out, Zhao Yueru''s eyes sparkled with excitement as she shifted her gaze towards Yan Tianxing. "My Guild Leader has agreed to your conditions so long as you don''t regret making them later on," Zhao Yueru said, smiling. "I have never gone back on my word before. Besides, I made the bet in front of so many people," Yan Tianxing responded, smiling. "Since we have an agreement, let us begin." Saying so, Yan Tianxing activated his Berserk Skill and vanished as if he had never existed in the first place. 1423 Flame Witch Chapter 1423 - Flame Witch The instant Yna Tianxing activated Stealth and disappeared, Zhao Yueru summoned the Lord ranked Frostflame Cheetah beside her. She then proceeded to double-speed-cast. Tier 1 Spell, Flame Orb! Tier 1 Spell, Flame Rain! Both Spells were AOE attacks and among the best Zhao Yueru had to locate a stealthed Assassin. As long as a player could reveal an Assassin, the stealthed player''s combat power would decrease by half. An Assassin''s most powerful advantage was its assassination capabilities. The first strike was particularly powerful. In a confrontation, however, they were even weaker than Berserkers and Swordsmen. In the blink of an eye, a sea of fire swept across Yan Tianxing''s previous location. But even after the two Spells decimated the stage, the Assassin was nowhere to be seen. "The Flame Witch reacted so quickly, but she still couldn''t expose Yan Tianxing! How fast is he?!" "As expected of the second-ranked Assassin in the empire. His concealment technique is amazing. Despite seeing him the moment he disappeared, I still can''t lock onto his aura." "I even activated Enhanced Five Senses, yet I can''t detect him either." The participants below the stage were shocked as they watched the sea of fire engulf the stage. By the time the match began, Zhao Yueru had already begun casting her Spells. There had only been a two-second delay before her attacks struck Yan Tianxing''s starting location, yet neither AOE had revealed the Assassin. What shocked these players even more was the man''s concealment technique. The magic barrier around the main stage contained attacks within. Meanwhile, Observation and Perception Skills wouldn''t be affected. Despite the waiting participants activating their Perception Skills, no one could detect Yan Tianxing. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation. These Skill''s specific purpose was to counter the Stealth Skill. Zhao Yueru had also activated her own Perception Skill, which allowed her to detect all stealthed players within a 40-yard radius. Generally, if magical-class player allowed a stealthed Assassin to ambush them, they''d die instantly. Only plate armor classes with high HP and Defense could survive an Assassin''s first barrage. She could not allow her opponent to close in. "A futile struggle." Yi Luofei, who stood below the stage, smiled as she watched Zhao Yueru. The True Orb Yan Tianxing had obtained improved Assassins'' strength tremendously. The commander wouldn''t have challenged Shadow Light, the number one Assassin in the Black Dragon Empire, without it. Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could do anything against that man. Meanwhile, one of the True Orb''s effects increased stealth related Skills by 100%. This halved the effectiveness of other players'' perception-related Skills. As a result, Perception Skills with a 40-yard range would only detect Yan Tianxing when he was within 20 yards. Although the difference was only 20 yards, it could determine whether or not a player died. Within that range, Assassins could use Shadow Steps, appearing directly behind a player. Yan Tianxiang quietly circled to 25 yards behind Zhao Yueru, but he didn''t rush in to attack. Although Shadow Steps allowed him to appear behind Zhao Yueru instantly, Zhao Yueru was an Elementalist. If she reacted quickly enough, she could use an Invulnerability Skill or Blink to escape. He needed to find her blind spot, leaving her no opportunity to defend herself. However, Zhao Yueru was no greenhorn. Every player had weak points and blind spots, and it was especially true for their backs. Hence, Zhao Yueru had stationed the Frostflame Cheetah behind her. Not only would this hinder Yan Tianxing''s vision and boost her defense, but she could also launch a powerful counterattack on the off chance Yan Tianxing attacked or stunned her. For a time, all anyone could see was Zhao Yueru standing in the center of the stage with the Frostflame Cheetah watching her back as she launched one Tier 0 Spell after another. Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing continued to circle his opponent, searching for an opportunity to strike. After nearly three minutes, Yan Tianxing could not help but admire Zhao Yueru''s tenacity. The Elementalist left him no openings. The Frostflame Cheetah, in particular, posed a huge problem. It seems that I''ll have to use that move. Yan Tianxing smiled bitterly as he examined Zhao Yueru''s impeccable defense. Suddenly, Yan Tianxing split into two identical copies with the same Attributes. The two clones were impossible to differentiate. Both copies remained Stealthed. This move was one of the True Orb''s Skills, True Phantom. It allowed the user to summon a doppelganger that had 100% of the player''s Attributes and every skill the user had learned. The Skill had a three-minute duration. If either the doppelganger or the main body survived the duration, the user would as well. When Yan Tianxing had activated True Phantom, Zhao Yueru had ceased her bombardment. Taking a deep breath, she examined her surroundings. "Since you don''t want to come out, I''ll force you to!" Zhao Yueru waved Frostflame''s Wrath. With Zhao Yueru as the center, a translucent barrier ballooned outward. In the blink of an eye, the barrier enveloped a radius of 100 yards, half of the stage. This was Frostflame''s Wrath''s second Active Skill, Frostflame Space. When activated, its effects would resemble that of a Domain. Yan Tianxing immediately felt his Attributes decrease. In the blink of an eye, he only had 70% of his total Attributes remaining. In contrast, Zhao Yueru''s aura had grown significantly more powerful. "What?!" Yi Luofei stared at his enemy in shock. Suddenly, two more Zhao Yuerus appeared on the stage. One of them wore flaming-red robes, while the other was clad in icy-blue. These two doppelgangers possessed 100% of the caster''s Attributes, and both radiated a terrifying aura of their own. "Die!" Yan Tianxing quickly realized how severe his situation was. If Zhao Yueru and her two doppelgangers bombarded the stage randomly, they would find him. Immediately, Yan Tianxing responded with Shadow Steps, appearing behind Zhao Yueru''s real body. He thrust his silver daggers towards the woman''s head and back. His actions were utterly silent and without a hint of killing intent. So fast! Despite her five senses pushed to their limits, the Flame Witch only noticed that she was under attack after the Assassin''s daggers were moving. However, when Yan Tianxing''s daggers were only an inch away from reaching Zhao Yueru, the latter vanished and reappeared 15 yards away. Close one! Zhao Yueru breathed a sigh of relief as she saw Yan Tianxing, whose figure had finally appeared. If not for this being a match and her heightened senses, she would''ve fallen prey to the man''s daggers. However, as soon as relaxed her guard a little, another Yan Tianxing appeared behind her. Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Hidden Blade! The Yan Tianxing vanished again before immediately reappearing before the Elementalist. Before Zhao Yueru could react, six black shadows flew towards Zhao Yueru''s heart, each attack dealing over -30,000 damage. The woman''s HP instantly plummeted to zero. "What?!" Everyone in the arena was dumbfounded when they saw Zhao Yueru hit the ground. Who could possibly avoid such an attack? Despite everyone''s belief that the match was over, the bell never signified its end. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yueru''s doppelgangers smiled from beside her ''real'' body. Both responded by waving their staffs. 1424 Cataclysmic Spell Chapter 1424 - Cataclysmic Spell "She''s not dead?!" "This is a lie, right?! Didn''t he kill her main body?!" When the two Zhao Yueru''s raised their staffs on the stage, the audience looked as if they had seen a ghost. When they saw the clones'' smiles, chills crawled down their backs, and they couldn''t help the thought that she really was a witch. God''s Domain had many Doppelganger Skills to offer, but they had never heard of one that allowed the doppelgangers to continue moving after the main body had died. "Impossible! Could she also" Yi Luofei''s stared at the Elementalist clones in red and blue in shock. The situation had also caught Yan Tianxing off guard. Two magic arrays appeared behind each of the two Zhao Yuerus and immediately, the ice- and fire-type Mana on the stage went berserk as it formed a tornado of frost and flame. Like a whale inhaling water, the four magic arrays devoured the Mana. Four walls of ice trapped the Assassin clone that had killed Zhao Yueru''s original body. At the same time, flames emerged from the ground and swept down from the sky, completing Yan Tianxing''s confinement. Without warning, the Frostflame Cheetah pounced on the other Yan Tianxing. Since the man had already left Stealth, his combat power had decreased by half. Although the Frostflame Cheetah couldn''t kill Yan Tianxing, it was more than enough to distract him for a moment. Realizing the danger he was in, Yan Tianxing hurriedly controlled his copy within the walls of ice and used Wind Steps, taking advantage of the brief invulnerability effect the Skill provided to block Zhao Yueru''s fire Spell. He then used Shadow Assault on an ice wall in an attempt to break free from the Frost Barrier. Yet, before his two daggers could reach the Frost Barrier, an Ice Wall appeared and blocked his weapons'' advance. When his daggers struck on the Ice Wall, they merely cracked it; they did not shatter the barrier. If he wanted to shatter the Ice Wall, he would need to attack again. Although Ice Wall was only a Tier 0 Spell, it was as strong as a Tier 1 Spell due to Frostflame''s Wrath''s buff. Ordinary players couldn''t even shatter a Tier 0 Ice Wall easily, much less a Tier 1 Ice Wall. Although Yan Tianxing was a peak expert, at the end of the day, the Assassin class didn''t specialize in Strength. If he were a peak Berserker expert, however, he might have a chance of shattering a Tier 1 Ice Wall with a single attack. After Wind Steps'' brief invulnerability ended, Yan Tianxing reluctantly activated Vanish before shattering the Ice Wall before him. But Zhao Yueru had no intention of letting the man escape. Without chants or runes, she cast another Ice Wall to block Yan Tianxing''s path. Vanish only provided 1 second of invulnerability. When that second ended, the flame-type Zhao Yueru threw two Tier 1 fire Spells into the Frost Barrier. Without any Invulnerability Skills left and his Shadow Steps still on Cooldown, Yan Tianxing had nothing left to counter the incoming fire Spells. In addition, the Flame Witch''s two Spells were AOEs and impossible to block with his weapons. As a result, the two flame Spells, enhanced by Frostflame''s Wrath to Tier 2 Spells, killed the Yan Tianxing in the Frost Barrier instantly. Now, only the Yan Tianxing the Frostflame Cheetah had pinned down remained. "What a brutish way to fight!" "Crap! Wouldn''t this be considered quadruple-casting?!" "The Flame Witch is invincible!" The way Zhao Yueru fought stunned the audience. Her two doppelgangers could actually double-cast! It wasn''t much different than if she had cast four Spells simultaneously. Moreover, all four Spells were under her full control. To make matters worse, all four Spells were overwhelmingly powerful. "A doppelganger?" Zhao Yueru muttered as she watched the Yan Tianxing in the Frost Barrier disappear before turning to the Assassin retreating from her. Revealing a smile, she muttered, "Do you think you''re safe just because you put some distance between us?" Immediately, Zhao Yueru''s ice- and fire-type doppelgangers began to double-cast again. With Yuan Tianxing''s speed, he''d be difficult to trap with Frost Barrier again. Hence, Zhao Yueru didn''t use the same approach. Instead, she switched to Tier 1 Spells that focused on crowds. In the next moment, over 70 fire arrows, fireballs, ice spears, and ice arrows formed behind the doppelgangers. These Spells then flew towards their target. "This" Everyone fell silent as they watched the ice- and fire-type Spells fill the sky. Moreover, Zhao Yueru''s control over these Spells was exceptionally precise. Despite Yan Tianxing moving so quickly that he left behind afterimages, most of the Elementalist''s spells struck the Assassin. As a result, Yan Tianxing was forced to block the incoming attacks with his weapons and had no choice but to use Wind Steps to defend himself. However, while Yan Tianxing''s speed was astonishing to ordinary players, to Zhao Yueru, whose physique had improved by 50% thanks to Frostflame Space, Yan Tianxing wasn''t particularly fast. At best, he was only as fast as an ordinary expert. She had no issues landing her attacks. Meanwhile, the Agility-specialized Assassins couldn''t easily block Spells with Tier 2 power. Yan Tianxing''s HP fell with each hit he took. It was only a matter of time before his opponent carved it all away. As they watched, the participants below the stage felt goosebumps cover their skin. How was this a one-on-one fight? It wasn''t any different than facing a 20-man magical team''s bombardment. Who could survive such ruthless attacks? In the past, these players had assumed that the Assassin class countered magical classes, but Zhao Yueru had destroyed that idea. She had actually hidden her strength during our fight? Frustration and rage burned in Yi Luofei''s gaze as she glared at Zhao Yueru. She wasn''t particularly frustrated about her defeat. After all, she had suffered countless losses before becoming famous, but this was the first time she had met someone who could best her while hiding so much of their prowess. Moreover, she and her opponent were nearly the same age On the stage, Yan Tianxing struggled to hold on and was forced to use Vanish, disappearing again. If Zhao Yueru discovered him before his Skills'' Cooldowns finished, now that he had used his trump card, he''d be powerless against the woman''s attacks. However, if he could stay hidden until his Skills were available again, he could turn the battle around. "I''ve been waiting for you to use this move!" Despite her opponent vanishing, Zhao Yueru didn''t panic. She licked her lips playfully as she said, "Let''s put an end to this match!" If the main body died after she used Frostflame Space, she wouldn''t be able to use any of her weapon or equipment''s Skills; she could only use the Skills and Spells she had learned. However, the ice- and fire-type doppelgangers didn''t have that restriction. They even had Spells she didn''t. The most powerful of these Spells was the Combination Spell, Frostflame Oblivion. Frostflame Oblivion was a Curse that was one tier more powerful than its user, though its power could not exceed Tier 5. Upon using Frostflame Oblivion, the Frostflame Space would disappear. As Zhao Yueru was a Tier 1 player, Frostflame Oblivion had the power of a Tier 2 Curse. Zhao Yueru''s doppelgangers chanted an incantation in unison while moving towards their target''s previous location. As they did, golden divine runes began to appear across Frostflame Space''s translucent barrier, illuminating the arena. The area''s ambient Mana decreased rapidly as it flowed into Frostflame Space. This increased the Mana density inside the barrier to a frightening level. The spectators outside of the main stage squirmed uncomfortably as the venue''s Mana density decreased. "What kind of Spell is that?" "What is she trying to do?" Although the audience didn''t understand the Elementalist''s actions, goosebumps covered their bodies. It felt as if Armageddon were coming for them. Moreover, this feeling grew as time passed. Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing felt the sensation intensely from inside the Frostflame Space. "She couldn''t be" A possibility suddenly dawned on Yan Tianxing. Immediately, he dashed towards Zhao Yueru. Sadly, he was already too late. The ice- and fire-type doppelgangers only needed two seconds to cast Frostflame Oblivion. By the time Yan Tianxing had felt that something was amiss, the two doppelgangers had channeled the Spell for over a second. The Assassin could never cross 50 yards and launch an attack in that time. "Let''s end this!" Both doppelgangers pointed their Frostflame''s Wraths towards the sky as a pillar of fire and a pillar of cold air shot upward, striking the magic barrier. Suddenly, the Frostflame Space cracked as the horrific power of ice and fire annihilated everything within the space. Yan Tianxing was obliterated. Cracks continued to spread across the barrier. The area within Frostflame Space only calmed after five seconds. Nothing was left. Yan Tianxing, the Frostflame Cheetah, and Zhao Yueru''s doppelgangers They all disappeared. However, after the Frostflame Space faded, Zhao Yueru''s main body reformed on the stage. At the same time, the bell signifying the end of the match rang, while the large screen above the stage displayed the victor. Zhao Yueru! 1425 Number One Elementalis Chapter 1425 - Number One Elementalist When Zhao Yueru''s name appeared on the screen above the main stage, the venue fell silent as everyone turned to the Elementalist incredulously. They wouldn''t have been so shocked if Zhao Yueru had simply defeated Yan Tianxing. But the woman had displayed overwhelmingly destructive power. If she were capable of disintegrating everything within a 100-yard radius of herself, who could ever challenge her in a one-on-one PvP match? "With that terrifying Spell, who could possibly stand up against the Flame Witch?!" "Crap! She beat the second-ranked Assassin just like that? Is she an NPC?" "With such frightening strength and Spells, the Flame Witch won''t have any issues winning the championship." "That''s right! Even if she doesn''t win, she should rank first on the empire''s Elementalist ranking list. I never thought that Zero Wing had an expert like this. No wonder Zero Wing had become Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. I''m sure it won''t be long before Zero Wing joins the ranks of first-rate Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire." Zhao Yueru had inspired shock and awe in the crowd. With such an AOE powerhouse, other Guilds would have to think twice before starting a war with Zero Wing in the fields. Zhao Yueru''s firepower alone could likely rival that of a 100-man expert team. "We lost?" Crimson Fox stared at Zhao Yueru in a daze. At this point, he truly regretted challenging Shi Feng to a bet. He hadn''t imagined that Zero Wing had hidden a trump card like Zhao Yueru. Now, Crimson Castle had lost all hope of obtaining Hidden Fog Town. Meanwhile, Zero Wing would become Lake Heart City''s undisputed overlord once it secured the town. Even with Nine Dragons Emperor''s support, Crimson Castle could never compete with Zero Wing. "Guild Leader, are we really going to give up on Hidden Fog Town?" Lonely Castle asked, reluctance coloring his face. "Give up?" Crimson Fox shook his head as he suddenly thought of an idea. Sneering, he said, "While it is true that Crimson Castle has to give up on capturing Hidden Fog Town, that doesn''t mean that other Guilds cannot try. Notify the other Guilds immediately and tell them to prepare the necessary manpower. Although we cannot offer any of our forces, we can supply information, weapons, equipment, and siege tools." "Understood." Lonely Castle smiled as he listened to Crimson Fox''s plan. Hidden Fog Town wouldn''t be easy to raid. Even if Crimson Castle couldn''t act, they could keep the town out of Zero Wing''s hands if several third-rate Guilds worked together with the support of Crimson Castle''s items and information. If they succeeded, Nine Dragons Empire wouldn''t forsake their Guild. As long as they retained the man''s support, Crimson Castle could develop into a first-rate Guild eventually. After resurrecting below the stage, Yan Tianxing glanced at Zero Wing''s VIP room. "Commander" Yi Luofei was at a loss for words as she looked at Yan Tianxing, who wore a bitter smile. It was obvious that he had valued Stone Forest Town''s garrison rights. Unfortunately, not only had he failed to obtain that right, but he had also lost 10,000 Magic Crystals and the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasure map. "I had thought that this was an opportunity, but Zero Wing really is as unfathomable as the rumors say," Yan Tianxing said as he shook his head dejectedly. He then smiled as he continued, "It seems that we''ll have to see to some more preparations." "Commander, why is Zero Wing''s Stone Forest Town so important to you? It is just a town in a small kingdom. How could it possibly be any better than Super Guilds'' towns? With our team''s strength, we shouldn''t have any problems occupying one of their towns. Why should we bother with Stone Forest Town''s five garrison slots?" Yi Luofei was astonished. She had been flabbergasted when he had sent her to compete for a private house in Stone Forest Town. Now, Yan Tianxing was adamant of obtaining Stone Forest Town''s adventurer houses "It is only natural that you don''t have a great opinion of Stone Forest Town. I only found out the truth from a friend. When the time comes, adventure teams like ours won''t be the only ones competing for those slots. Some superpowers are preparing for the auction as well," Yan Tianxing quietly explained. He had fought in the virtual gaming world for many years now, so he had many expert acquaintances. Among them, a few were upper echelons in certain superpowers. Their information networks far surpassed any first-rate Guild''s. "How is that possible?! Isn''t it just a kingdom''s town? How could it even tempt superpowers?" Yi Luofei exclaimed. "Stone Forest Town might not have attracted their attention in the past, but times have changed. Zero Wing now has the Advanced Auction House and the advanced combat rooms. The Auction House offers items that are usually very difficult to find on the market, while the combat rooms can even help peak experts grow stronger. Why wouldn''t these benefits tempt superpowers?" Yan Tianxing explained. "If not for Stone Forest Town''s nigh-impenetrable defenses and the support from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the various superpowers would''ve likely sent their forces to capture it. "Now that Zero Wing intends to auction off five adventurer houses, these various superpowers cannot miss the opportunity. Furthermore, the adventurer teams that set up in Stone Forest Town will be required to sign a contract with Zero Wing. There is no doubt that the contracted adventurer teams will receive exclusive benefits. "If these superpowers join the competition, the auction will be unimaginably intense. So, we''ll have to begin preparing right away." Realization dawned on Yi Luofei as she listened to her commander''s explanation. She was stunned. She hadn''t expected a recently-established Guild to be capable of nurturing a town that could elicit the various superpowers'' desire. Although it was hard to believe, she trusted her commander fully. After all, Yan Tianxing was the one who had introduced her to the Flower of Seven Sins. The fact that Yan Tianxing knew upper echelons of a transcendental power like the Flower of Seven Sins proved how amazing the man was. Meanwhile, in one of the VIP rooms on the second floor, Nine Dragons Emperor wore an exceedingly ugly expression. In contrast, Phoenix Rain''s group celebrated. "Big Sis Rain, Zero Wing is so full of surprises. With an expert Elementalist like Zhao Yueru, we''ll have a much greater advantage in the contest for Thunder Island. Having her defend a tower will be far more effective than sending three to five peak experts," Blue Phoenix said. "No wonder Ye Feng was so confident. Zero Wing had this trump card hidden." Zhao Yueru''s power surprised Phoenix Rain as well. Due to the limited number of slots for Thunder Island''s contest, it was very important that they brought experts who were strong individually. This was especially true for strategic experts like Zhao Yueru. A powerhouse like her would be much more effective than ten top-tier experts. While the various large Guilds recovered from their shock of watching Zhao Yueru fight, Shi Feng received 10,000 Magic Crystals in Zero Wing''s VIP room and the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasure map from Yan Tianxing. Upon receiving his winnings, Shi Feng opened the treasure map. He was very eager to learn which area Yan Tianxing''s treasure map covered. He had never heard of the FFF adventurer team obtaining treasure from the Dragon''s Graveyard in the past. Rather, the first-rate Guild, Fantasy Shrine, and the super-first-rate Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had secured the map''s treasures. Hence, Shi Feng was surprised to hear that the FFF adventurer team had obtained a treasure map for the area so soon. Treasure maps in God''s Domain were generally unique items. Each hidden treasure would only have a single corresponding treasure map. Without the corresponding treasure map, no one would find the hidden goods. These treasures were hidden in special spaces, and the map was the key to accessing them. 1426 Instant Fame Chapter 1426 - Instant Fame After unfurling the treasure map, Shi Feng inspected its Attribute Panel. "This." The information displayed confused Shi Feng. Aside from the words ''Dragon''s Graveyard,'' the treasure map didn''t have any information to display. There wasn''t even a general map for the Dragon''s Graveyard. "Guild Leader, is there a problem with the treasure map?" Gentle Snow asked curiously when she noticed the strange expression on Shi Feng''s face. "There is indeed a problem," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "This treasure map requires a Master ranked appraisal." When he tried to inspect the treasure map forcefully, the system notified him of the requirement. "Master ranked?" Gentle Snow was astonished. Although one could easily find appraisal shops in NPC cities, the NPCs working in these stores were, at best, Advanced Appraisers. It was impossible to find a Master Appraiser in these shops. Although a lot of players had taken on the Appraiser subclass, their progress was extremely slow. After all, players had to appraise a large number of top-tier items to gain Proficiency. Even the various large Guilds had only nurtured a few Advanced Appraisers. As for Master Appraisers It was very difficult for every subclass in God''s Domain to reach the Master rank. However, what truly surprised Shi Feng was not the fact that the treasure map needed a Master Appraiser, but that it had to be appraised to begin with. Based on what he had heard in the past, the maps leading to the Dragon''s Graveyard''s Three Great Treasures hadn''t needed appraisals; one could just inspect them. Could this treasure map lead to something other than the Three Great Treasures? Shi Feng''s curiosity grew. Immediately, he activated Omniscient Eyes to inspect the treasure map. Fortunately, Omniscient Eyes could rival a Master ranked appraisal. After 20 seconds, the treasure map''s information began to reveal itself. What!? Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he saw the displayed information. As he had guessed, the treasure map Yan Tianxing had given him didn''t lead to one of the Three Great Treasures. This map wasn''t even a treasure map It was a map to the Dragon''s Graveyard''s secret land, the Dragon''s Nest! This secret land was far more valuable than the Three Great Treasures. Unlike the treasures, which would disappear once someone claimed them, players could periodically enter the secret land an indefinite number of times. Like the Sea Dragon Secret Land, one could obtain all sorts of precious items in the Dragon''s Nest. Yet, funny enough, Yan Tianxing had treated this item like a typical treasure map. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng realized that it was to be expected. After all, secret lands were incredibly rare. On the other hand, treasure was common in large maps like the Dragon''s Graveyard. If a player obtained a map with the words ''Dragon''s Graveyard,'' it wouldn''t be unusual for them to assume it was just a treasure map. "Guild Leader, it couldn''t be a fake, could it?" Gentle Snow thought of a possibility when she saw Shi Feng''s surprise. There were many treasures in God''s Domain. However, there was also a large number of fakes. In fact, a large majority of the treasure maps players obtained weren''t real. "It is." Shi Feng nodded. "I knew Yan Tianxing couldn''t be that generous." Gentle Snow sighed, somewhat disappointed. If Zero Wing could obtain the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasures, it would significantly help the Guild''s development. If an adventurer team like FFF used the treasure, it might even elevate the team''s overall strength to a whole new level. How could he have been willing to gamble such a precious item? "This isn''t a treasure map. It''s a map to a secret land in the Dragon''s Graveyard," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw Gentle Snow''s dejected expression. "What?! It''s a map to the Dragon''s Graveyard''s secret land?! How is that possible?!" Gentle Snow''s eyes widened in shock. For a moment, she even thought Shi Feng was playing a trick. "Take a look for yourself," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then passed the secret land map to Gentle Snow. "It''s real! If Yan Tianxing finds this out, he''ll lose his mind." Gentle Snow''s eyes sparkled as she looked at the map. Needless to say, a secret land in a forbidden area like the Dragon''s Graveyard would be high-quality. Moreover, the reward for clearing a secret land for the first time would most likely rival, or even surpass, the Dragon''s Graveyard''s treasure. Although subsequent visits wouldn''t yield as many benefits as the first, the secret land could be raided indefinitely. In the long term, the income from exploring the secret land would exceed the Three Great Treasures. However, this map had a flaw; the secret land would be very challenging to reach. The Dragon''s Nest was located in the Dragon''s Graveyard''s inner region. Moreover, it was very close to its core. Currently, the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds were struggling to explore the outer region, much less the inner area. Before they could reach the secret land, the monsters in the inner region would likely wipe them out. However, Gentle Snow did not know that Shi Feng had already prepared to visit the Dragon''s Nest. While the other large Guilds might have trouble reaching the inner region, the same could not be said for Shi Feng. After all, he had the All-rounded Device. He didn''t need to worry about the low Mana density in the Dragon''s Graveyard. Moreover, the Dragon''s Nest only opened once a week. They still had two days until the next reset. It would be a huge waste not to visit the secret land. The only problem was that he needed more All-rounded Devices. After Zhao Yueru''s match with Yan Tianxing, the competition proceeded as usual. With each match, the audience''s passion grew. After all, aside from Zhao Yueru, the weakest players who made it to the quarter-finals had reached the Flowing Water Realm. However, faced with Zhao Yueru''s unreasonable Frostflame Space, even peak experts would succumb to death. In this competition, players'' Cooldowns would reset upon finishing a match, and this included their weapons and equipment''s Skills. As a result, Zhao Yueru could use Frostflame Space and Frostflame Oblivion in every one of her matches. If her main body remained alive, she could use Frostflame Hell as well. With the stage''s limited amount of space to move around, her opponents had no hope of dodging both of her large-scale destruction Spells. In the end, Zhao Yueru had won the championship, becoming the greatest dark horse in the competition this time around. At the same time, the Flame Witch''s name resounded throughout the Black Dragon Empire as Zhao Yueru became the empire''s number one Elementalist. As for this uproar''s main perpetrator, Zhao Yueru found this situation somewhat unbelievable. If this had been a competition of combat standards, she wouldn''t have made it into the top 30, yet she had won the competition with the help of the Frostflame''s Wrath. The strength of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon had her mesmerized. Unsurprisingly, Zero Wing had become the number one Guild in this ranking competition and obtained the invitation to participate in the Secret Pavilion''s upcoming internal auction. The Black Dragon Empire''s official forums were ablaze with activity. Nobody could''ve imagined that a previously unknown Guild would rise to become the competition''s top Guild. Zhao Yueru''s astonishing prowess fascinated the empire''s players. She was the perfect combination of beauty and violence. "Zero Wing will definitely rise in the Black Dragon Empire now!" "I heard that Zero Wing has been recruiting members in Lake Heart City. I''m going to apply when I have time." For a time, players swarmed Zero Wing''s Residence in Lake Heart City. Far more players wanted to join the Guild than Gentle Snow had anticipated. To accommodate more members in the Branch Guild, she began her preparations to capture Hidden Fog Town, using this opportunity to develop her corner of Zero Wing. "Big Sis Snow, over 10,000 third-rate Guild members, who are allied with Crimson Castle, have secretly gathered at the Guild''s residence in Lake Heart City. Moreover, this number is rapidly climbing. By the looks of it, it seems as if they intend to rush towards Hidden Fog Town. Unknown players have also ambushed many of our members grinding near the town. I suspect that this is Crimson Castle''s doing." "Crimson Fox is quite persistent. Since he can''t take action openly, he''s moving against us in secret?" Gentle Snow frowned as she listened to her subordinate''s report. Clearly, their previous agreement with Crimson Castle had been a farce. "They''re moving in secret?" Revealing a faint smile, Shi Feng reasoned, "It seems that if we don''t teach these Guilds a proper lesson, they''ll assume that Zero Wing is easy to bully. Since Crimson Fox has gone back on his word, he can''t blame me for refusing to show mercy." 1427 Causing a Storm with One Sentence Chapter 1427 - Causing a Storm with One Sentence "Snow, have someone compile a report on Crimson Castle for me. To be precise, I want information on the towns the Guild controls. The more detail, the better," Shi Feng ordered. "Detailed information on Crimson Castle''s Guild towns?" Gentle Snow couldn''t help her growing confusion. Very quickly, however, she thought of a possibility. Shocked, she asked, "Guild Leader, do you intend to raid one of their Guild towns?" "Raid one of Crimson Castle''s towns?" Shi Feng shook his head. Chuckling, he said, "No. I want to raid them all!" If this had happened earlier, Shi Feng wouldn''t have many options to deal with Crimson Castle. At most, he''d be able to weather a battle of attrition. However, things had changed. Now, he was rich! Not only had he make a killing from the Zero Wing Auction, but he had also obtained a frightening profit from Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena and Auction House. Right now, players were almost always signing up to join the Battle Arena and Auction House. Including the 10,000 Magic Crystals he had won from Yan Tianxing, he had over 190,000 on hand. During the war with Heaven''s Burial and the monster army, he only had around 50,000 Magic Crystals prepared. It had been impossible to maximize his war weapons'' power. If he had had enough Magic Crystals during those battles, he would''ve easily won the war. Now that he had over 190,000 Magic Crystals, Crimson Castle was simply trying to get itself killed by daring to provoke him. He was even confident of capturing a first-rate Guild''s town with the resources he had available, let alone a second-rate Guild like Crimson Castle. "Raid all of Crimson Castle''s towns?!" Shi Feng''s declaration shocked everyone in the VIP room. A Guild town was vital to a Guild''s development. Hence, Guild towns were generally heavily fortified with static defenses and many players, making them very difficult to capture. One would need to prepare quite a bit to capture a Guild Town, yet Shi Feng had decided to take all of the towns under Crimson Castle''s control This was insane! "Snow, get the Branch Guild''s main force members ready. And spread the news. I want every Guild in the Black Dragon Empire to know. We''ll take action as soon as you''ve gathered the information I requested!" Shi Feng instructed. "We''re not hiding our intentions?" Gentle Snow was dazed for a long moment after listening to Shi Feng''s command. When raiding an enemy Guild town, one generally kept their operations a secret. It would give a force the greatest chance of success, yet Shi Feng wanted to declare his intentions publicly. It was no different than saying, ''I''m going to raid you, so you best get ready.'' However, since her Guild Leader had given her the order, she had no choice but to follow through. Although Nine Dragons Emperor quietly backed Crimson Castle, taking over the Guild''s towns would be a piece of cake if Zero Wing got serious and mobilized all of its elite and expert players. After all, Zero Wing had an overwhelming advantage over Crimson Castle in terms of both quality and quantity. Only, doing so would strain Zero Wing''s funds. Meanwhile, before the players in the arena left the venue, Gentle Snow had tasked her subordinates to make the announcement, stating Zero Wing''s plans to raid Crimson Castle''s Guild towns in the Lake Heart City region. The news caused an uproar throughout the Black Dragon Empire. "What''s going on?! Zero Wing plans to attack Crimson Castle?!" "Didn''t Crimson Castle lose its bet to Zero Wing? Does the Guild have to be so ruthless?" "No. I''ve heard that a few third-rate Guilds allied with Crimson Castle have mobilized their forces to cause trouble around Hidden Fog Town. It is clear that they are trying to keep the town out of Zero Wing''s hands. Zero Wing''s likely infuriated." "Even so, isn''t this unwise? Guild towns aren''t that easy to raid. The majority of Zero Wing''s forces are stationed in Star-Moon Kingdom. With them so far away, it''ll be even more difficult to capture Crimson Castle''s towns." The players on the forums discussed the matter heatedly. Almost nobody was optimistic about Zero Wing''s chances. Although Zero Wing had a Branch Guild in Lake Heart City, it lacked strength in the Black Dragon Empire. The Branch Guild simply wasn''t on the same level as the main branch in Star-Moon Kingdom. Teleporting players from Star-Moon Kingdom to Lake Heart City was costly. In addition, Crimson Castle was allied with four other second-rate Guilds. Those Guilds would lend Crimson Castle aid if it were attacked. Even the empire''s first-rate Guilds would struggle to raid one of Crimson Castle''s towns. And even if success were possible, none of these Guilds would be willing to pay the price. "Hahaha! Zero Wing must''ve lost its mind! Do they think that our towns'' defenses are just for display?" Crimson Fox, who had long since returned to his Guild''s Residence, laughed when he heard the news. He had planned to fight it out with Zero Wing slowly, but it would seem that preparing for such had been a waste. Although the two towns Crimson Castle controlled were not particularly popular among the general populace, both were close to ore- and herb-rich maps, and the Guild and its four allies used them as resource warehouses. Naturally, he had invested plenty of resources in the town''s defenses. Each town had eight Defense Turrets, magic barriers, and other war weapons. Even a 200,000-man elite army wouldn''t pose a threat to the towns. Furthermore, the four second-rate Guilds had constructed temporary Guild Residences in both. Their members could reinforce the towns at a moment''s notice. Even if Zero Wing mobilized all of its elite members, it could never capture their towns. "Guild Leader, we''ve just received a message from Nine Dragons Emperor''s people. He said that he will send a 200-man expert team to protect both towns. Each team will also have six Gnome Cannons," Lonely Castle reported. "Nine Dragons Emperor has also offered to ignore our previous failure, allowing Crimson Castle to remain the five Guilds'' leader if we give Zero Wing a good beating." "Go to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s messengers, and let Nine Dragons Emperor know that he can rest assured. Unless the sun rises from the west, Zero Wing''s members should not even think about setting foot in Crimson Castle''s towns, much less capture them," Crimson Fox responded confidently. Meanwhile, in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence in the Black Dragon Empire, Phoenix Rain nearly jumped in surprise when she received the news. She had never expected such insanity from Zero Wing. She immediately contacted Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you really plan to raid Crimson Castle''s Guild towns?" Phoenix Raid asked seriously. "That''s right." Shi Feng nodded. "I beg of you to discard the idea. Nine Dragons Emperor is Crimson Castle''s backer. Moreover, he instructed his subordinates to create resource warehouses in both towns. He''s already stationed his personal Shadow Dragon Legion in the towns long-term, as well," Phoenix Rain explained. The Shadow Dragon Legion was one of the three trump card legions under Nine Dragons Emperor''s command. Among the three legions, Martial Dragon''s War Dragon Legion was the strongest. Although the Shadow Dragon Legion''s overall strength was weaker than the War Dragon Legion, it was fond of large-scale battles. Hence, Nine Dragons Emperor had sent his men to protect Crimson Castle''s two towns. Zero Wing had just made a name for itself in the Black Dragon Empire. Before accumulating sufficient strength, it was unwise to raid these two towns. "The Shadow Dragon Legion?" Shi Feng had heard of the legion before. In response, however, he simply chuckled and thanked the woman, "Thank you for your warning, Phoenix Pavilion Master. I will be careful. I still have much to tend to, so if there''s nothing else, I''ll be disconnecting the call now." Saying so, Shi Feng ended their conversation. "What is this man thinking" When Phoenix Rain had seen Shi Feng''s calm expression, she wondered if Shi Feng actually understood how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s trump card legions were. Any superpower''s trump card legions could annihilate an elite army of tens of thousands. Furthermore, the Shadow Dragon Legion specialized in large-scale combat. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow finished gathering information on Crimson Castle''s Guild towns and handed the report to her Guild Leader. 1428 Aqua Roses Class-change Chapter 1428 - Aqua Rose''s Class-change "Guild Leader, both towns have been heavily fortified. Each town has eight Defense Turrets. Normally, each town also has over 15,000 players. Including the other four second-rate Guilds'' members, there should be over 20,000 players residing in the towns. Crimson Castle has also employed high-quality NPC guards. Of the 1,000 NPCs in each town, over 60 are Tier 2. Capturing these towns won''t be easy. "Moreover, as soon as we attack, the other Guilds will send reinforcements. Based on our estimates, each town should have over 100,000 players. We''ll likely have to use everything Zero Wing has to capture them." Gentle Snow briefly explained the situation in the towns. She had been shocked to learn about their defenses. First-rate Guilds'' towns usually only had half a dozen or so Defense Turrets. After all, these defensive structures were expensive to build. Hiring high-tiered NPC guards wasn''t cheap either. Generally, a town had a mix of Tier 1 and Tier 0 NPCs. Guilds only hired stronger guards if the town were particularly important. Yet, both of Crimson Castle''s towns had impressive defenses. Zero Wing couldn''t even strike the weaker town first, using its success to damage Crimson Castle''s morale. "Good. Instruct both the main force and the Dark Gods Legion to set out. Since its closer to Lake Heart City, we''ll target Green Rain Town first," Shi Feng said and nodded after glancing through the information. "We''re only mobilizing our main force and the Dark Gods Legion?" Gentle Snow was stunned. Was this a joke? Together, Zero Wing''s main force and the Dark Gods Legion only had over 1,000 members. Even if they were experts, sending 1,000-plus players to raid a Guild town was reaching for the impossible. "Of course. Why would we need so many people just to raid a town?" Shi Feng asked Gentle Snow curiously. The woman was speechless. They were going to raid a town protected by tens of thousands of players, Yet in Shi Feng''s eyes, they were just heading out to exterminate a bunch of Common monsters However, once Shi Feng had given the order, Gentle Snow had no choice but to dispatch the two forces. As Shi Feng prepared to lead his army to Green Rain Town, he received a communication request from Aqua Rose. "Why are you out so soon?" Shi Feng asked. It had only been a few days since Aqua Rose and the others had begun to challenge the Sea God''s Legacy; none of them should''ve returned this soon. "I''m not fast. Time in the Legacy space is different from God''s Domain. Four days inside is the equivalent of one in God''s Domain," Aqua Rose explained. After entering the Legacy space, the time flow difference had shocked her. If not for the lack of EXP from the monsters inside, she would''ve leveled up a few times. Instead, she was still Level 50. "Well? How did it go?" Shi Feng asked. The Sea God''s Legacy contained ten individual Legacies. Any one of them could improve a player''s strength tremendously. "Hehe! Take a look at this!" Aqua Rose said as she waved an icy-blue crystalline staff. Streams of water rotated around it, and the staff itself radiated a faint trace of Divine Might. "Could you have" Shi Feng could not help his shock as he stared at the staff. "That''s right. I''ve obtained the Sea God''s Legacy and have officially become a Tier 2 player," Aqua Rose announced in delight. She had gone through a lot of trouble to obtain the Sea God''s Legacy. Fortunately, she had consumed the Moonlight Fruits before entering the Legacy space, slightly increasing her physique. With Refinement Realm combat standards, she was able to clear the Legacy Trial. Not only had she obtained the Sea God''s Legacy, but she had also acquired the Sea Dragon Staff, a Growth-type Weapon specifically made to amplify the Sea God''s Legacy''s strengths. Unlike ordinary Growth-type Weapons, the Sea Dragon Staff could reach Fragmented Legendary rank. It would help Aqua Rose display the full potential of the Sea God''s Legacy. Shi Feng was dazed for a moment. The Sea God''s Legacy! He had only hoped that Aqua Rose or one of the others would obtain the Sea God''s Guard Legacy. He hadn''t been terribly optimistic that one of them would actually obtain the Sea God''s Legacy. After all, the Sea God''s Legacy even surpassed Peak Legacies. It was extremely difficult to obtain. "Guild Leader, you''re going to raid a town, right? Can I join you?" Aqua Rose asked. "Of course you can," Shi Feng said, laughing. Even if she hadn''t asked, he would''ve summoned her to join the battle. He was not certain of exactly how powerful the Sea God''s Legacy was. He only knew that the Legacy''s owner would be an absolute overlord at sea, invincible among opponents of the same tier and level in naval combat. Naturally, he was curious to see how powerful Aqua Rose could become with the Sea God''s Legacy at her command. "Wonderful! I''ll head over right away!" Aqua Rose said, smiling. Lake Heart City region, Green Rain Town: Since Zero Wing had announced its intention of raiding Crimson Castle''s Guild towns, the normally lackluster Green Rain Town brimmed with players. Crimson Castle and its allies weren''t the only players in the town. A large number of independent players and members of the various major powers in the Black Dragon Empire had made the trip to watch the upcoming Guild war. The reason these spectators had gathered here instead of in Black Horn TownCCrimson Castle''s other townC was Zero Wing''s announcement that it would raid Green Rain Town before moving on. "Zero Wing is really bold. When others try to raid a town, they try to keep their movements secret, yet Zero Wing publicly declared its plan to raid Crimson Castle''s towns and which town it''d hit first!" "It''s likely that Zero Wing wants to show off its strength and frighten the other Guilds by ensuring that players are here to watch. However, doing so will make raiding Crimson Castle''s towns much more difficult." "Zero Wing is trying too hard to appear powerful. Even if Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord, it has only recently started to develop its Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire. The Branch Guild still lacks various aspects. Waging a war against Crimson Castle right now is foolish." "I''ve heard that the other four second-rate Guilds allied with Crimson Castle have dispatched 150,000 elite members to Green Rain Town. Including Crimson Castle''s 30,000 elite members, there are 180,000 elite players fortifying the town. Taking into account their terrain advantage, Zero Wing isn''t likely to succeed even if it sends every one of its members in the empire. In the end, Zero Wing will embarrass itself by attacking Crimson Castle." The players resting in Green Rain Town''s bars merrily discussed the upcoming war. Zero Wing had already become the center of attention in the Black Dragon Empire after winning the ranking competition. Following its declaration of war, even more players began to watch the Guild. Although the empire''s various Guilds frequently clashed, very few were willing to raid an enemy Guild town. After all, Guild towns were easy to defend but difficult to attack. Without an absolute advantage, no Guild would be foolish enough to raid an enemy''s town. Meanwhile, Crimson Castle and its allies'' upper echelons had gathered in a captivating room within the Guild''s Green Rain Town Residence. "Guild Leader Fox, our Guilds'' members have arrived. They will be at your command," a dignified Level 45 Shield Warrior reported to Crimson Fox, who lounged in the Guild Leader''s throne. "If that is not enough, our four Guilds can still mobilize an additional 60,000 elite members. We''ll put Zero Wing through the wringer." "Good! As long as we injure the Guild and make Nine Dragons Emperor happy, we''ll all receive even more resources in the future," Crimson Fox said, smiling. With over 180,000 elite players fortifying Green Rain Town, not even a superpower had any hope of a successful raid, much less Zero Wing. As long as they devastated Zero Wing''s army, the Guild''s development in Lake Heart City would suffer. "Guild Leader, our scouts have reported that Zero Wing''s members are on the way," Lonely Castle, who stood behind Crimson Fox, whispered in the man''s ear. "They''re finally here?" Crimson Fox smiled. He then asked, "How many are there?" "There seems to be onlya little over 1,000 players," Lonely Castle replied, uncertain. 1429 Give It a Thorough Beating Chapter 1429 - Give It a Thorough Beating When Lonely Castle finished speaking, the meeting room fell silent. Everyone stared at Lonely Castle with astonished expressions. They all thought that the Shield Warrior had to be joking. "What did you say?" Thinking he had heard wrong, Crimson Fox asked for confirmation, "They only sent 1,000-plus members?" "Mhm. The several hundred Assassins we''ve sent out to scout have confirmed this. Zero Wing hasn''t dispatched anyone beyond those 1,000-plus members. However, all of those members are rapidly approaching Green Rain Town on Mounts. They''ll likely arrive in a little over ten minutes." Lonely Castle understood that he could not convince Crimson Fox with words alone, so he played the video his subordinates had sent him on the virtual screen above the table. The recording displayed over 1,000 players atop their Mounts. However, unlike other Guilds, the majority of Zero Wing''s members rode Thunder Wolves; their charge was impeccable. Moreover, every player''s level on the team was very high. The lowest-leveled among them was Level 45. Furthermore, their weapons and equipment weren''t the least bit inferior to the upper echelons'' in the meeting room. A single one-horned, black tiger lead this team of players. Black flames and arcs of blue electricity danced around the tiger''s paws. Despite only watching a video of the creature, every one of these powerful players felt an indescribable pressure weigh them down. As for the man atop this black tiger, he was none other than Zero Wing''s famous Guild Leader, Black Flame. Crimson Fox stared at the screen, dazed for a long moment. While he had seen arrogant Guilds before, he had never seen a Guild as arrogant as Zero Wing. They treated the 180,000 elite players fortifying Green Rain Town as nothing more than a paper tiger. "How is this possible? Zero Wing only sent 1,000-plus members?" "Has Zero Wing lost its mind?" "This is the siege battle that Zero Wing promised us? They dare come at us with such a small force? Are they tired of living?" These players couldn''t help but laugh as they watched the video. The contingent Zero Wing had dispatched might consist of nothing but expert players, but siege battles were different from field battles. The power an expert could exert was considerably limited. Not to mention, every Guild town had a large number of NPC guards. NPC guards weren''t monsters. If an ordinary expert player tried to take on a Tier 1 NPC, they''d suffer a one-sided beating. Furthermore, Green Rain Town''s NPCs were all Level 70 and above. The town even had Level 70, Tier 2 NPCs. Even without the 180,000 elite players and the town''s defensive structures, the 1,000 NPC guards could easily annihilate Zero Wing''s small force. "Zero Wing is pretty bold. They dare to attack Green Rain Town with just so few players. Don''t they know what ''death'' means?" At this moment, a burly man wearing silver armor stood up and said, "Guild Leader Fox, leave this to Immortal Dynasty! There''s no need for Crimson Castle to bother with this small group from Zero Wing. It''s about time we teach Zero Wing that the Black Dragon Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom are not the same!" "Brother Bright House doesn''t need to dirty his hands! Let the Shadowlight Tribe deal with this! We''ll finish Zero Wing''s members off before they even get close to Green Rain Town," the handsome man beside Bright House said, laughing. Before Crimson Fox could comment, the four second-rate Guilds'' upper echelons voiced their enthusiasm to take the lead against Zero Wing''s force. As Crimson Fox attempted to reply, a black-clad man beside him spoke up, "None of you need to get involved. Leave these people to the Shadow Dragon Legion." The moment this black-clad man spoke, the upper echelons fell silent. On the surface, Crimson Castle was in charge of this war. In reality, however, this black-clad man was in command. The man was none other than Shadowtooth, the commander of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Shadow Dragon Legion. He was also known as the War Dragon. Not only had Shadowtooth risen to fame much earlier than Martial Dragon, but he had also left plenty of intense battle records in multiple large-scale virtual reality games. This man had participated in hundreds of Guild wars, and every time he took the field, he secured overwhelming victories. Hence, he had earned the nickname ''War Dragon.'' Individually, he wasn''t any weaker than Martial Dragon, although the latter was more well-known due to his status as an up-and-coming monster in the virtual gaming world. Since Shadowtooth had declared his intentions, the upper echelons surrendered the fight for the prestige of defeating Zero Wing. "I''ll have to trouble Brother Shadowtooth, then." Crimson Fox repeatedly expressed gratitude after listening to the commander''s declaration. The Shadow Dragon Legion was very famous in the virtual gaming world. The legion''s experts had fought in countless battles alongside Shadowtooth. Although these players were only top-tier experts individually, they could exert tremendous power on the battlefield. With only a handful working together, they could easily take down peak experts. This was also the reason that the virtual gaming world''s various superpowers disliked dealing with the 1,000-man legion. Meanwhile, news of Shi Feng''s 1,000-plus contingent quickly spread throughout Green Rain Town, causing an uproar. "Is Zero Wing trying to be funny?" "And to think they made such arrogant claims earlier! Now that they realized that Green Rain Town is impossible to raid, they''ve only sent 1,000 members to try to gloss over their insults" "I had thought that Zero Wing was some awesomely powerful Guild, but it seems that it has nothing more than this." "This could be their wisest move. If Zero Wing truly tried to raid Green Rain Town, it''d suffer heavy losses." "How boring. I''m heading back to level up." The spectating players in the town were disappointed. They had hoped to watch an interesting battle, but this was just a farce. At the same time, Zero Wing lost the prestige it had earned in the Black Dragon Empire. As players prepared to leave Green Rain Town, Shi Feng''s group reached a hilltop 15,000 yards away. "Snow, have the main force members guard the mountain pass below us. Everyone else, secure this area. Do not let anybody reach this position. You have my permission to kill any disobedient players," Shi Feng instructed as he gazed down at the distant town. Shi Feng''s instructions confused his party members. They were still so far away from Green Rain Town. What was the point in securing such a distant location? Once Zero Wing''s members spread out and surrounded the hill, Shi Feng took two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and a movement-type defensive magic array from his bag and began to set them up. "Guild Leader, you''re not thinking of...decimating Green Rain Town?" Aqua Rose could not help her surprise when she saw the two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons. Abundant resources were available near the town, but if they turned these massive cannons against it, they''d cripple Green Rain Town. "Although Green Rain Town is a strategic location, Zero Wing does not have much use for it. Moreover, with the town''s powerful defenses, this is the perfect opportunity to test how effective the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons are in a siege. Why else would I have deliberately announced our intention to attack Green Rain Town?" Shi Feng asked seriously. Hearing Shi Feng''s explanation, Gentle Snow was speechless. The reason behind his announcement had been to test the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon''s effects If Crimson Castle''s upper echelons knew about this, they''d likely have a heart attack. A moment later, Shi Feng finished setting up the two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons and the movement-type defensive magic array, filling them with Magic Crystals. Once he had confirmed that everything was in place, Shi Feng issued his command, "Aim for Green Forest Town and beat the hell out of them!" 1430 Destroying the Towns Defenses in One Hi Chapter 1430 - Destroying the Town''s Defenses in One Hit A large number of Guild players had been stationed atop Green Rain Town''s ramparts. At the base of the walls, the Shadow Dragon Legion stood in neat, orderly rows. "As expected of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s trump card legion. Its members are so strong. Just looking at them makes me shudder." "Guild Leader Fox, with them here, you won''t have to lift a finger. The Shadow Dragon Legion will bring a swift end to Zero Wing''s force." "That''s right! It''s a pity that we won''t get to join in. I''d like to show Zero Wing how powerful our Guilds truly are!" The various upper echelons on the ramparts chatted merrily as they gazed down at the Shadow Dragon Legion. Even if there weren''t 180,000 elite players protecting Green Rain Town, Zero Wing''s 1,000-man army would fail. After all, the NPC guards weren''t just for display. Unfortunately, since the Shadow Dragon Legion had wanted the frontline, their Guilds had lost the chance to use Zero Wing as a stepping stone to improve their reputations in the empire. Suddenly, Lonely Castle walked up to Crimson Fox and reported, "Guild Leader, a report just came in. For some reason, Zero Wing''s members have stopped their advance and fortified a hill some distance away from the town. They''ve locked down the area around the hill. We sent several Assassins to investigate, but they''ve all died." Hearing this, Crimson Fox and the other upper echelons were stunned. "Why are they fortifying that hill?" The same question floated in everyone''s minds. This was the first time they had encountered such a shameless Guild. Zero Wing had boldly announced its plan to raid Green Rain Town, yet after such claims, it had only dispatched a little over 1,000 members. Now, for some unknown reason, Zero Wing''s members had decided to halt their advance halfway. "They''re not approaching?" Crimson Fox''s lips curled. "It seems Zero Wing''s upper echelons still have some brainpower. They realized that charging into the town would be suicidal, so they''ve decided to wait for us to come to them?" "Guild Leader, should we send some of our people?" Lonely Castle asked. "No need. We''ll let the Shadow Dragon Legion deal with it. We can save ourselves from the trouble of being called out for bullying," Crimson Fox said, laughing. Although he did not know what Zero Wing was trying to do, in front of absolute strength, all trickery was useless. At the end of the day, Crimson Castle would win this war, and Zero Wing''s reputation in the Black Dragon Empire would be ruined. However, as the Shadow Dragon Legion prepared to set off for the hill, two spiraling, black and white beams appeared in the distance. Both beams struck the magic barrier around Green Rain Town a split second after they appeared, tearing through it as if it were paper. Boom! In the end, the two massive beams plowed through the town''s center. Two towering pillars of light rose from the craters, expanding until each covered a 500-yard radius. One could see these pillars even from tens of thousands of yards away. Both pillars gradually dissipated, leaving two 40-meter-deep craters. Everything that had been caught within the light pillars had disappeared. "What" For a moment, every player in Green Rain Town was dumbfounded as they stared at the void the light pillars had left. The various Guild upper echelons stared with wide eyes. What had happened? Was the sky falling? Not even Crimson Fox knew what had just transpired. Although the defensive magic array protecting Green Rain Town was only Basic rank, it could survive Tier 3 attacks, yet it failed to resist the two beam attacks. "I-Investigate that attack immediately!" Crimson Fox bellowed. Crimson Fox''s heart bled over the buildings the attacks had just destroyed, not to mention the number of players that had died. Crimson Castle''s members exploded into action. "Guild Leader it seems that those two beams came from the hilltop Zero Wing occupies," Lonely Castle said as he pointed towards the hill. "So you''re sayingthat is Zero Wing''s doing?" A chill ran down Crimson Fox''s spine as he stared at the hilltop, astonishment flashing in his eyes as he muttered, "How is this possible?" He had investigated Zero Wing thoroughly, so he knew that Zero Wing possessed powerful war weapons. However, the hill Zero Wing occupied was over 10,000 yards away from Green Rain Town. According to the reports, Zero Wing''s war weapons should only have a maximum range of around 3,000 yards. What Crimson Fox did not know was that the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' range was actually 20,000 yards. However, although the cannons could cover so much distance, the beams were straight-line attacks. Hence, the height of these cannons'' location would determine their actual range. From the top of Stone Forest Town''s Magic Tower, they could cover around 3,000 yards. Meanwhile, the hill Shi Feng had chosen was far taller than his Magic Tower, increasing the cannon''s range significantly. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Lonely Castle could not help but shudder when he learned that Zero Wing was responsible for the attack. With that kind of range and destructive power, the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons were a Guild town''s nightmare. If they allowed Zero Wing to fire those weapons a few more times, Green Rain Town would fall. "Kill them Send everyone to slaughter Zero Wing''s members! Do not let Zero Wing fire those cannons again!" Crimson Fox shouted, paling with anger. Regret tore at his heart. Had he known that Zero Wing possessed such frightening tools of destruction, he would never have let things go this far. With such weapons, destroying a town would be a piece of cake for Zero Wing. "Understood!" Lonely Castle immediately organized Crimson Castle''s forces to set out towards Zero Wing''s position. When the other upper echelons saw the two craters that defiled Green Rain Town and thought about Zero Wing directing those weapons towards their own towns, they shuddered with fear. "This Guild Leader Fox, something urgent has come up in our Guild that requires our immediate attention; I''m afraid we must go." "Guild Leader Fox, our Guild Leader has found a rare Boss and is in need of manpower. Since you have things under control here, we''ll be taking our leave." Immediately, the four second-rate Guilds'' upper echelons took out Return Scrolls and fled. A moment later, all of the allied Guilds'' members vanished from Green Rain Town, leaving only Crimson Castle''s members and a bunch of confused independent players. "You " Crimson Fox nearly had a stroke as he watched the crowd disappear. Hadn''t they declared that he wouldn''t have to take action himself? 1431 Aqua Rose Takes Action Chapter 1431 - Aqua Rose Takes Action When the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had struck Green Rain Town, the resulting devastation hadn''t only shocked the various second-rate Guilds'' members. The spectating players retrieved their own Return Scrolls to flee the town as well. Everyone was afraid that the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons would strike again. They might not be so lucky in the next assault. None of them were willing to throw their lives away just to watch a battle. "Active the Guild War Order! Seal off that hill! I don''t want to see any of Zero Wing''s members leave this place alive!" Crimson Fox lost his composure as he glared at the distant hilltop. In the next moment, Crimson Castle locked down Green Rain Town''s map. Return Scrolls were rendered ineffective, and players were forced to rely on other means to escape. Once Crimson Fox had issued his orders, he led an army of 10,000 players in a charge towards their enemy. This was his only option left. If he continued to do nothing, he would be slaughtered. With the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' power, Green Rain Town would only last a few more hits, yet the town''s Defense Turrets couldn''t reach Zero Wing. He had no choice but to lead his own forces to stop Zero Wing. However, the Shadow Dragon Legion had reacted long before Crimson Fox. Shortly after the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had attacked, Shadowtooth had led the Shadow Dragon Legion in its own charge. "Guild Leader, a team of 1,000 players are approaching. They''re less than 1,000 yards away. They are very well-equipped, and although they aren''t wearing a Guild Emblem, they don''t look like independent players," a Ranger, Negative Life, reported as he used Eagle Eyes to scout. "A strong 1,000-man team without a Guild Emblem? Could it be the Shadow Dragon Legion?" Shi Feng suddenly recalled Phoenix Rain''s warning. The Shadow Dragon Legion might not be as strong as Nine Dragon''s Emperor''s War Dragon Legion, but it was far more famous. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had once dispatched the Shadow Dragon Legion to capture an Intermediate City under a top-tier, first-rate Guild''s control. Naturally, said Guild had the support of powerful corporations and plenty of powerful experts. Although it hadn''t been a super-first-rate Guild, it had been beyond ordinary first-rate Guilds'' reach. Yet, the Shadow Dragon Legion had single-handedly captured the Intermediate Town. Cities and towns were different. Both Basic and Advanced towns lacked defenses, but as soon as they became cities, their defenses would undergo a qualitative transformation. With a Core Magic Array, not only could Guilds suppress their enemies, but they could also enhance their own forces. The Core Magic Array''s buff was even more powerful than the Magic Towers. Moreover, the various large Guilds generally put everything into their cities'' development. The defensive structures one could build in an Intermediate City were far beyond that of a town. A Guild could construct hundreds of Defense Turrets in its city, as well as all sorts of advanced defensive structures. Furthermore, well-funded, first-rate Guilds generally protected their Intermediate Cities with powerful magic arrays. It would take several shots from an Advanced Mana Pulse Cannon to break such a barrier. If the magic array had adequate energy, it might even be beyond an Advanced Mana Pulse Cannon''s power. Yet, the Shadow Dragon Legion had captured the Intermediate City. News of the successful siege had shocked the various large Guilds. During that time, only a few of God''s Domain''s first-rate Guilds had Intermediate Cities, while most Guild cities were Basic rank. As a result, the various first-rate Guilds had been terrified of the Shadow Dragon Legion. "The Shadow Dragon Legion? Isn''t that one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s trump card legions?" Gentle Snow asked curiously when she heard Shi Feng''s comment. "Nine Dragons Emperor has been secretly using Green Rain Town as a resource warehouse, so he has probably stationed the force there to protect the town," Shi Feng explained. "Guild Leader, I don''t think it''ll be easy to take on the Shadow Dragon Legion and Crimson Castle''s forces at the same time. Shadowtooth, the Shadow Dragon Legion''s commander, is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s number one Assassin. Based on our information on him, he has a top-tier Epic short sword called Magic Breaker. It can cut through magic barriers like a hot knife through butter. Our magic array isn''t likely to hold the legion back," Gentle Snow said worriedly. They had considered the possibility of Crimson Castle''s forces charging to meet them, but as long as they had enough Magic Crystals, their movement-type defensive magic array shouldn''t have any issues holding back Tier 4 attacks. Unfortunately, it was a different story if Shadowtooth''s Magic Breaker got involved. Without the defensive magic array''s protection, they wouldn''t survive an army of tens of thousands of elite players. "Guild Leader, leave Shadowtooth to me," Aqua Rose suddenly suggested. "As long as I take him down, we can proceed with activating the defensive magic array." "But" Although Gentle Snow tried to argue, Shi Feng beat her to it, saying, "Alright. I''ll leave him to you. Send everyone else to stop the Shadow Dragon Legion''s advanced. Don''t let anyone near the cannons." The Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons might be powerful, but they had obvious weaknesses. First, they could be moved freely. Second, like all war weapons, their Defense was paper-thin. Even a Tier 0 player could easily destroy them. Hence, the various large Guilds usually avoided using war weapons offensively. "Guild Leader, this" Shi Feng''s decision astonished Gentle Snow. Shadowtooth was an old monster with many years of fame. Even Nine Dragons Emperor treated the man with respect. His title as the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s number one Assassin wasn''t just for show, either. Even a peak expert like Yan Tianxing would struggle to survive a handful of moves against Shadowtooth. Yet, Shi Feng had just sent Aqua Rose to deal with the Assassin alone. She''d be lucky to survive, much less kill the man. They''d only have a small possibility of defeating Shadowtooth if she, Aqua Rose, and Zhao Yueru worked together. "Relax. If Shadowtooth reveals himself, leave him to Aqua. You all should focus on the Shadow Dragon Legion''s other experts. At the end of the day, that is still one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s trump card legions. The force has plenty of Refinement Realm experts. Even with our Berserk Skills, we don''t have much of an advantage," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Not only was Aqua Rose a Tier 2 player now, but she also had the Sea God''s Legacy. Since she had offered to take on Shadowtooth, she was confident in defeating him. If her victory weren''t possible, it wouldn''t be too late to send Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru as reinforcements. Suddenly, Negative Life announced, "Guild Leader, Crimson Castle has sent an army of over 10,000 players. The Shadow Dragon Legion''s members are also spreading out. By the looks of it, they plan to split into four groups." "They sure reacted quickly. Alright, let''s fire a round at Crimson Castle''s members first," Shi Feng ordered when he noticed the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon''s Cooldown coming to an end. "Aqua, Snow, Yueru, Negative, lead teams of 200 players and intercept the Shadow Dragon Legion. It''s about time we teach this legion that Zero Wing''s shouldn''t be provoked!" "Understood!" Zero Wing''s members couldn''t help their growing excitement. Fighting a trump card legion from a super-first-rate Guild would be far more fun than fighting a bunch of elite players. The Shadow Dragon Legion soon reached the foot of the hill after splitting into four groups. In the next moment, a black-clad man dashed ahead of the groups towards the magic barrier protecting the hill. Upon reaching his target, the man swung the dull-gray short sword at the barrier. Peng! Instantly, he shattered the movement-type defensive magic array, the stored energy within dissipating. In addition, the magic array was forced into a five-minute Cooldown. "The commander''s Magic Breaker really is impressive. Zero Wing''s members must be stunned. Not only will they die here, but we''ll also claim their two war weapons." As the Shadow Dragon Legion members discussed the vanishing barrier, a mesmerizing beauty appeared on the opposite side. This woman stood alone on the path leading up the hill. She wielded a dark-blue crystal staff and radiated an incredible aura. This woman was none other than Aqua Rose. 1433 Overwhelming Power Chapter 1433 - Overwhelming Power Just before Shadowtooth''s Magic Breaker bit into Aqua Rose''s back, layers of water began to peel away from the woman like a blooming lotus flower. When Magic Breaker encountered the flower petals, not only did its advanced halt, but it also bounced off. She blocked it? Shadowtooth was slightly surprised to see the water curtain before him. Magic Breaker was designed to do just that, destroy magic barriers. It also weakened Spells by 50%. Even an Elementalist''s strongest Tier 1 Defensive Spell, Frost Barrier, would only last one hit against his weapon. Yet, when he slashed at the thin layer of water, it felt as if he had hit rubber. He couldn''t pierce the water curtain no matter how hard he tried. With Aqua Rose in the center, the Spell formed a pool of water with a 70-yard radius. Although the water was only knee-deep, Shadowtooth could feel it restricting his movements. Although he struggled, he couldn''t adapt to the watery environment. It was as if the pool rejected his existence. Not only did his Basic Attributes immediately decrease by 30%, but his physique also visibly weakened. This move was none other than Aqua Precinct, a Tier 2 Legacy Domain Spell Aqua Rose had learned. However, since she was using the Spell on land, it couldn''t display its full potential. Even so, the Spell would reduce all enemies'' Basic Attributes by 30%, physique by 20%, and Movement Speed by 30%. However, the truly impressive effect wasn''t its ability to weaken enemies. Rather, it was perfectly suited to both offense and defense. Unlike Ice Wall or Frost Barrier, which required incantations, Aqua Rose could easily form a maximum of three water curtains to protect herself with just a thought. Each water curtain had the properties of a Tier 2 defensive Spell. With all three layers, the water curtains could even block Tier 3 Spells. Aqua Precinct''s offensive capabilities were even more impressive. Although the attacks weren''t AOEs, Aqua Rose could control a maximum of 12 water snakes to strike her opponents. Each water snake''s Strength was the equivalent of 140% of the caster''s Intelligence. "Let''s take this fight seriously." Standing on the water''s surface, Aqua Rose smiled at Shadowtooth. As she spoke, 12 eight-meter-long water snakes manifested around the caster. From afar, it looked as if Shadowtooth were facing twelve Great Lords. Aqua Rose''s Intelligence Attribute had already been extremely high, but after obtaining the Sea God''s Legacy and the Sea Dragon Staff, each of her water snakes possessed Strength on par with a Great Lord of the same level. Moreover, unlike a Great Lord, the water snakes didn''t have HP HP. As long as Aqua Rose was alive and her Aqua Precinct was in place, they would fight. If this were a naval battle, the twelve water snakes would have double the Strength. Even a Tier 2 player with an active Berserk Skill would struggle to defeat one. "Impossible?!" "What kind of Spell is that?!" "Just who is she?!" The watching Shadow Dragon Legion members were stupefied. The sight of these twelve serpents was petrifying. How was this a PvP fight? Shadowtooth was practically trying to solo a Boss! "Die!" Aqua Rose showed no mercy as she controlled the twelve snakes to strike at Shadowtooth. As the water snakes flew towards him, Shadowtooth felt as if he were watching a massive waterfall pour down on his head. Immediately, Shadowtooth activated his Berserk Skill and tried to avoid the approaching attacks. However, the water snakes were astonishingly fast. They crossed a dozen yards and reached the Assassin almost instantly. As a Domain Realm expert, Shadowtooth had a perfect grasp of the snake''s trajectories, but he wasn''t fast enough to move out of harm''s way in time. In the end, one of the snakes slipped past his defenses. Fortunately, Shadowtooth reacted quickly enough to block the attack with Magic Breaker. Due to Magic Breaker''s passive, Spell-weakening effect, the water snake''s attack wasn''t nearly as powerful. In the end, its attack was slightly weaker than a High Lord''s of the same level. Although Shadowtooth''s Basic Attributes had diminished, his Strength after activating his Berserk Skill could still rival that of a Lord ranked monster of the same level. He didn''t have much of an issue blocking the attack. Though the impact had slid him backward, he had only lost around 400 HP. It wasn''t a considerable amount to an Assassin with 44,000 HP in total. For a time, the two combatants engaged in a battle of attrition. Aqua Precinct was unlike other Spells, where one only needed to invest Mana when they cast the Spell. Rather, the Domain spell fed off of the user''s Mana to sustain itself. In exchange, the Spell did not have a Cooldown or duration. Players could turn it on and off freely. That wasn''t to say that Aqua Rose could maintain the Aqua Precinct indefinitely or a long time. The Spell consumed a frightening amount of Mana every second. Based on her remaining Mana, Aqua Rose had about three more minutes with the Spell. Of course, she could drink an Advanced Mana Recovery Potion to restore her Mana during the battle. Shadowtooth was in a similar situation. Although he continued to lose HP throughout the battle, each attack only devoured three or four hundred HP. He could easily replenish the lost HP with an Advanced Regeneration Potion. As a result, the battle was locked in a temporary stalemate. "I didn''t expect to find an expert like you in Zero Wing as well. No wonder that little girl is trying to recruit your Guild." Shadowtooth constantly tried to close in on his opponent. While the battle raged between Aqua Rose and Shadowtooth, the fight stunned Zero Wing''s members atop the hill. In their eyes, both players were absolute monsters. If any one of them had to face Aqua Rose or Shadowtooth, they''d likely die in an instant. "Sure enough, a Domain Realm expert isn''t easy to deal with." Shadowtooth''s prowess even surprised Shi Feng. Aqua Rose was a Tier 2 player and wielded the Sea God''s Legacy, yet the Assassin bridged the gap between their levels, tiers, and classes with his techniques. Aqua Rose only had a minor advantage. "However, Aqua should''ve exhausted a lot of Mana by now. It''s about time she took things seriously." Unfortunately for Shadowtooth, while techniques could supplement for one''s flaws, there was a limit to how much they could help. Not even Domain Realm experts were an exception. "Take things seriously? The Vice Guild Leader isn''t fighting with everything she''s got?" Fierce Snake was confused when he overheard Shi Feng''s muttering. He had only ever witnessed a fight of this level when Zhao Yueru had faced Yan Tianxing. In fact, Shadowtooth was much stronger than Yan Tianxing. The fact that Aqua Rose, who didn''t have a cataclysmic Spell like Zhao Yueru''s Frostflame Oblivion, could suppress a monster like Shadowtooth was astounding. Yet, Shi Feng had indicated that she wasn''t using her full strength. Even if he heard it from Shi Feng, Fierce Snake found it hard to believe. As Fierce Snake struggled over the revelation, Aqua Rose took a deep breath. Suddenly, dark fog began to surround her body. The intensity of her aura skyrocketed. "Could it be She hasn''t activated a Berserk Skill?" Shadowtooth''s expression darkened when he sensed Aqua Rose''s rampaging aura. During Shadowtooth''s brief moment of surprise, a water snake managed to slip his notice. By the time Shadowtooth snapped out of it, he had no choice but to block the attack with Magic Breaker. Boom! The impact threw the Assassin over a dozen yards away, his HP decreasing by over 4,600. The water snake''s Attack Power had exceeded the limit he could block. In God''s Domain, players could reduce incoming damage by blocking the attack, but one the opponent''s Strength was significantly higher than one''s one, it could break through one''s block threshold. If that happened, players would receive a considerable amount of damage despite their defense. 1434 Power of a Tier 2 Class Chapter 1434 - Power of a Tier 2 Class After the water snake had sent him flying, Shadowtooth had been forced to take six steps back when he landed even after readjusting his posture in the air. His Magic Breaker hummed as it vibrated. From that one attack, Shadowtooth had lost over 10% of his HP on the spot. The snakes'' Strength had clearly increased. "Commander!" "How is she suddenly so strong?!" "Has she been hiding her strength!?" The Shadow Dragon Legion members were shocked as they watched Aqua Rose approach Shadowtooth. Despite having activated his Berserk Skill, Shadowtooth had failed to block an attack. If they told the other members from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, they''d be called raving lunatics. Yet, it had just happened "Is this the difference between tiers?" Gentle Snow was slightly surprised to see Shadowtooth in such a miserable state. Although she had known that there was a fairly large gap between Tier 1 and 2, she had never imagined that the gap would be this large. With Tier 2 Attributes and Spells, in addition to a Legacy that even surpassed Peak Legacies, Aqua Rose overwhelmed the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s number one Assassin, rendering the latter utterly powerless. However, Aqua Rose had no intention of giving Shadowtooth time to catch his breath. Immediately, she controlled the twelve water snakes to continue their assault. "Shit!" Seeing the incoming water snakes, Shadowtooth felt his scalp tingle. Previously, he had been able to defend himself with Magic Breaker, but now, he couldn''t even block an attack. Dodging the snakes was also impossible. After another brief exchange, Shadowtooth lost over 9,000 HP to two more water snakes. Now, he had less than 50% remaining. It would only take a few more hits to send him to the afterlife. "Everyone, charge!" Shadowtooth gnashed his teeth and issued the command. He turned to a slim Assassin in dark-gray leather armor and shouted, "Speeches, find a way to silence her!" At this point, he knew that he was no match for Aqua Rose. But this wasn''t a competition; it was a real battle. He couldn''t order a retreat just because he couldn''t defeat the woman. Since one player wasn''t enough to deal with Aqua Rose, they needed to fight as a unit. When Shadowtooth ordered the attack, the Shadow Dragon Legion members were shocked. Although this was not the first time their commander had asked for help dealing with a lone opponent, he generally only did so when they faced monster-level existences. This was the first time he has requested assistance against an unknown expert. In other words, Shadowtooth had acknowledged Aqua Rose''s strength. While the Shadow Dragon Legion members were shocked, they still joined the fight without hesitation. The healers in the back immediately responded by casting Truth Shield on their commander. They sent a couple of Healing Spells at the same time, raising Shadowtooth''s HP to full. Meanwhile, over a dozen Assassins snuck around to Aqua Rose''s back. The remaining ranged classes began to launch their attacks. Although the hillside path was narrow, there was enough room for dozens of ranged players to move within range while maintaining some distance from the Cursemancer. "You''re finally sick of watching?" Rather than panic as dozens of Spells and arrows rained down on her, Aqua Rose revealed a calm smile as she said, "Unfortunately, you are too late." Before anyone knew it, Aqua Rose had finished drawing several dozen lines of runes in the air. She then stabbed her staff into the ground and twisted it. Responding to her command, a massive magic array covered the ground, covering a 100-yard radius. During her fight with Shadowtooth, she had subtly moved closer to the other Shadow Dragon Legion members. However, she hadn''t expected Shadowtooth to help her out, calling his allies to join him within her attack range. After gaining the Sea God''s Legacy, she had learned three Tier 2 Spells. The strongest among them was Aqua Precinct. Aside from that, she had the Tier 2 Curse, Annihilation Torrent. With the Sea Dragon Staff''s buff, Annihilation Torrent could rival a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell. "Crap! Everyone, retreat!" Shadowtooth had a bad feeling when he saw the magic array under his feet. Unfortunately, it was too late. Suddenly, a torrent of water descended from the sky. Not only did the waterfall shatter all of the attacks against Aqua Rose, but it also formed a massive tidal wave once it crashed to the ground. The tidal wave spread out in a ring, devouring everything in range. In the blink of an eye, the wave swallowed Shadowtooth and his allies. Although some players had reacted quickly enough to activate Invulnerability Skills, Annihilation Torrent lasted for ten seconds. Not even those Skills could save them. After ten seconds, none of the 200-plus Shadow Dragon Legion members were anywhere to be seen. Instead, weapons and pieces of equipment, which could even tempt top-tier experts, had taken their place. "Is the Vice Guild Leader also a monster?" The Zero Wing members watching from the hilltop stared in shock as they watched Aqua Rose wipe out a quarter of the Shadow Dragon Legion by herself. Originally, they thought that Zhao Yueru was the strongest trump card Zero Wing had hidden. They hadn''t expected Aqua Rose''s power. Not only had she killed over 200 of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s experts, but she had also claimed the life of its number one Assassin. With such an impressive battle record, she could easily rank among the top 100 of the God''s Domain Experts List. While these players cheered for their Vice Guild Leader, a figure suddenly appeared in the devastation her Annihilation Torrent had left. This figure was none other than the Shadow Dragon Legion''s commander, Shadowtooth. "What?! He''s still alive?!" Everyone was astonished to see the man. They had all seen Aqua Rose''s large-scale destruction Spell hit Shadowtooth, and they had watched the attack take his life, yet he stood before them. "I never expected to find an expert like you in Zero Wing. I give up. The Shadow Dragon Legion will withdraw. However, you won''t be so lucky next time," Shadowtooth declared as he glanced at Aqua Rose. Immediately, he activated Vanish and disappeared. Aqua Rose''s Annihilation Torrent had, in fact, killed him. However, he carried a super-rare Resuscitation Scroll, a treasure he had obtained in an ancient ruin. The scroll would automatically revive a player and restore their HP to full upon death. The Scroll also spared the player from the typical death penalty. He had hoped to save the Scroll for the contest on Thunder Island. He had never thought that he would have to waste it in a place like this. He only had a total of three Resuscitation Scrolls. Among them, he had given one to Nine Dragons Emperor. Now that he had used one here, he only had one left. He couldn''t afford to continue this battle with Aqua Rose. After all, the Resuscitation Scroll activated passively. It would activate as soon as the player carrying it died. It would not care about the player''s desires. If she killed him a second time, he would lose this lifesaving trump card. Shortly after Shadowtooth fled, the rest of the Shadow Dragon Legion followed. It was obvious that they had given up on this siege. When Crimson Fox and his army, who had just reached the battlefield, saw the Shadow Dragon Legion''s retreat, confusion flashed in their eyes. What was happening? 1435 Slaughter Chapter 1435 - Slaughter "Why is the Shadow Dragon Legion retreating?" "Look! The Shadow Dragon Legion is missing a lot of members!" "What?! The Shadow Dragon Legion actually lost to Zero Wing!?" Crimson Castle''s members were stupefied as they watched the fleeing Shadow Dragon Legion. After all was said and done, the Shadow Dragon Legion was one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s trump card legions. Although it only had 1,000 members, even a 10,000-man army from a first-rate Guild would be powerless against the legion. Particularly in narrow terrains such as this, a 1,000-man legion could exert its strength to its full potential. Yet, Zero Wing''s 1,000-plus army had defeated this legion "Guild Leader, the Shadow Dragon Legion has retreated. What should we do?" An indescribable sense of shock gripped Lonely Castle''s heart. "Useless garbage! Didn''t they tell us to leave everything to them?!" Crimson Fox ground his teeth as he glared at the distant Shadow Dragon Legion. "Since we can''t rely on the Shadow Dragon Legion, we''ll deal with this problem ourselves! I refuse to believe that Zero Wing can take on an army of 10,000 elites!" There were always rumors in the virtual gaming world about superpowers'' trump card legions of 1,000 men slaughtering 10,000-men armies from first-rate Guilds. But they were just that, rumors. When it really came down to a fight, the victor was never guaranteed until the end. "Advance! Surround the hill! Do not let a single Zero Wing player leave this place alive!" Crimson Fox commanded. Immediately, all 15,000-plus Crimson Castle elites surged towards Zero Wing''s hill. However, when Crimson Castle''s army was only 1,000 yards away from the hill, two beams of light descended from above. Before these players could react, the black-and-white beams slammed into Crimson Castle''s army. Following which, two pillars of light rose into the sky. Even Green Rain Town''s players could see the spectacle. When the two light pillars faded, they revealed two large, empty clearings in the middle of the army. Despite the fact that Crimson Castle''s members had spread out, the two attacks had claimed over 6,000 lives Although these two shots had cost Shi Feng 4,000 Magic Crystals, he considered the exchange worthwhile since he had killed so many players. "ZeroWing!" Crimson Fox''s eyes turned bloodshot when he realized how many of his Guild members had vanished. However, although Crimson Fox was furious, his companions didn''t share the same sentiment. Rather than rage, fear flashed in these players'' eyes. With just two shots, Zero Wing had annihilated one-third of their forces. If Zero Wing fired the cannons a few more times, their army would be devastated. Elsewhere, when the Shadow Dragon Legion saw the fading light pillars, they were relieved to escape the attacks. If not for their commander ordering the retreat when he had, the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons would''ve claimed their lives. They finally understood how pointless it was for a Guild to focus on quantity over quality. Collecting war weapons was far more important. "Commander, are we really abandoning Green Rain Town?" a Shadow Dragon Legion member asked Shadowtooth. Nine Dragons Emperor had personally tasked them with Green Rain Town''s protection. If they packed up and left now, they would most likely have to face the man''s wrath. "What else are we supposed to do? Fight them?" Angrily, Shadowtooth snapped, "The only person to blame here is that fool, Crimson Fox! If he hadn''t resorted to petty tricks to stop Zero Wing from capturing Hidden Fog Town, Zero Wing wouldn''t have decided to make an example of Crimson Castle. Zero Wing isn''t what it was in the past. Notify the other Guilds under our control; tell them that unless they have a way to deal with those cannons, they should keep their heads down." He hadn''t wanted to interfere with the arrangement between Zero Wing and Crimson Castle in the first place, but since the Guild had come knocking on Green Rain Town''s door, it had forced his hand. In the end, not only had he failed to stop Zero Wing, but he also lost over 300 Shadow Dragon Legion members in a few minutes. It had been a heavy blow to the legion. "What are you all afraid of?! These kinds of attacks have a long Cooldown! Zero Wing only has 1,000 players. If we finish them off quickly enough, they won''t have a chance to fire those cannons again!" Crimson Fox bellowed. Although the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons were powerful, he had a rough estimate of their Cooldown. Four minutes and thirty seconds had passed between the first attack and the second. In other words, the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' Cooldown should be four to five minutes long. This was more than enough time for a 10,000-man army to wipe out 1,000 players. Crimson Fox''s reasoning shook his players from their frightened daze. Reclaiming their confidence, they dashed for the hillside paths. "Guild Leader, they''re advancing again," Negative Life reported through the team chat. "Good. Everyone, maintain your positions! Hold the enemy off for as long as possible!" Crimson Fox''s determination didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. The man had no more paths of retreat. If he let Zero Wing attack unhindered, he''d lose Green Rain Town and his army. The Guild Leader had to fight. However, climbing the hill wasn''t so simple. Zero Wing''s main force and Dark Gods Legion members were stationed around the hillside paths. With the terrain, they had the advantage. As for trading the established paths for the steep slopes, doing so was suicide. This was also Zero Wing''s main reason for choosing this hill. Otherwise, he would''ve chosen a farther location. After all, the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had a maximum range of 20,000 yards. With Aqua Rose and the others guarding the four available hillside paths, the hill was like an impenetrable fortress. The path Zhao Yueru''s team guarded was especially atrocious. With MTs at the forefront, Zhao Yueru could attack freely. Even when Crimson Castle''s MTs activated their Lifesaving Skills, receiving all sorts of damage absorption buffs, the Flame Witch''s powerful fire-type Spells killed them instantly, giving Crimson Castle''s healers no time to help their companions. With each volley, Zhao Yueru claimed two or three dozen lives. All Crimson Castle''s members could do at this point was trade blow for blow. However, both Zero Wing''s main force and the Dark Gods Legion had consumed Sea God''s Blessings, increasing all of their Resistances by 100 points. With their inherent Defense and Magic Resistance, they didn''t even lose more than 4,000 HP from a direct hit. Furthermore, the MTs blocked the majority of the incoming attacks with their shields. The blocked attacks were lucky to deal over -100 damage to Zero Wing''s MTs. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow fought like a literal war goddess as she faced Crimson Castle''s members. After receiving a Truth Shield from one of the Clerics in the rear, she dashed into the group of MTs on her path and started a massacre. With Whirlwind Slash, she sent over a dozen MTs flying. Although Crimson Castle''s ranged players tried to bombard the Snow Goddess, she dodged the majority of their attacks. Even if she failed to dodge an attack, none of them dealt more than -2,000 damage thanks to her Seven Luminaries Battle Army and the Sea God''s Blessing. After activating Seven Luminaries Domain, she was even more of a juggernaut. Aqua Rose''s path was a simpler scene. The twelve water snakes she summoned with Aqua Precinct were practically invincible. No matter how many Crimson Castle members came at her, she sent them all flying. Her Mana was the only problem, but the Guild''s Oracles and Druids easily solved the problem, supporting Aqua Rose by replenishing her Mana. Including the Advanced Mana Recovery Potions, she should have no problems maintaining Aqua Precinct until the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' Cooldown completed. Time passed very quickly. After a few minutes, Crimson Castle had lost nearly 3,000 members, with 80% of the army''s MTs dead. With most of its meat shields gone, Crimson Castle had to rely on their melee players to break Zero Wing''s blockades. In contrast, Zero Wing had only suffered around 20 casualties thus far. "It''s about time we give Crimson Castle a taste of Zero Wing''s true power." When Shi Feng saw more reinforcements from Crimson Castle coming from Green Rain Town, he retrieved the Bible of Darkness and a large number of Miniature Ballistas. 1436 Everlasting Momen Chapter 1436 - Everlasting Moment "Charge! Keep moving forward! Their healers should be running out of Mana! Once they run out, we''ll take the hill!" Crimson Fox shouted, his eyes bloodshot. At this point, he had completely disregarded the potential losses. However, as Crimson Fox had said, Crimson Castle''s ruthless charge was a huge burden on Zero Wing''s healers. The healers relentlessly cast every Healing Spell they had available. Their Mana consumption rate was even greater than during a Boss raid. In a normal Boss fight, they only needed to focus on the team''s MTs. Now, however, they had to heal everyone. If they lost their focus, their companions could die. In fact, the 20-plus casualties Zero Wing suffered so far were the result of something distracting the healers. Seeing Zero Wing''s healers running low on Mana, Crimson Castle''s members grew even more fervent with their attacks. Zero Wing''s members struggled. Fighting 10,000 pigs would be a challenge, not to mention 10,000 players with Skills. If not for their superior combat techniques, weapons, and equipment, Crimson Castle''s members would''ve already overrun the hill. "Guild Leader, although we have 20,000 more members on the way, are we really going to duke it out with Zero Wing?" Lonely Castle asked. His heart ached as he watched his guildmates die in droves. These players were all elite members from the Guild. Even if they defeated Zero Wing, Crimson Castle would likely suffer grievous losses. It would be utterly helpless if Zero Wing decided to attack again. "We don''t have a choice. If we lose Green Rain Town, Crimson Castle will be in an even worse position," Crimson Fox said as he looked towards the hilltop, helplessness gripping his heart. If he had known that Zero Wing was capable of this level of warfare, he would never have played such petty tricks. Unfortunately, it was too late for his regret. If Crimson Castle won this battle, although it would damage the Guild''s morale, it would still have a chance to make a comeback. In contrast, if Crimson Castle lost, the Guild would forever lose its position in Lake Heart City. It wouldn''t even be surprising if the Guild disbanded as a result of losing Green Rain Town. He was certain that Zero Wing wouldn''t last much longer. After all, their enemy had only dispatched a 1,000-man team. Zero Wing must be dreaming if it thought it could triumph over an elite army of tens of thousands with such a small force. However, as soon as Crimson Fox finished speaking, two more black-white beams of light descended from the hilltop. With the chaos of battle as a distraction, the two Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons had finished their Cooldowns before anyone had realized it. The two beams struck Crimson Castle''s army once again. Although the attacks weren''t as effective as last time, the two beams still erased nearly 3,000 Crimson Castle members. The rampaging survivors instantly fell silent. Compared to the cannons'' physical destruction, the mental blow was devastating. "Endure it! More reinforcements will arrive soon!" Crimson Fox tried to placate his Guild members. "Once they''re here, we''ll prepare Zero Wing for its funeral! None of the drops from their members need to be reported or handed over to the Guild! And I''ll award any player who kills a Zero Wing member 1,000 GCPs! Killing an upper echelon will earn you 50,000 GCPs!" Crimson Castle''s members cheered when they heard the potential rewards. Although Crimson Castle''s GCPs weren''t particularly valuable, 1,000 points were still the equivalent of a little over 1 Gold. Fifty-thousand points were worth around 50-plus Gold. It was enough money to purchase a Common Mount or a piece or two of top-tier equipment. However, following the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' attacks, dozens of flaming arrows cascaded down from the hilltop. These were the Exploding Arrows from the Miniature Ballistas. Although the Exploding Arrows were much weaker than the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons, there were far more of them, and they had a shorter Cooldown. To ensure the fall of Green Rain Town, Shi Feng had prepared 50 Miniature Ballistas. Following which, explosions shook the ground amid Crimson Castle''s army. The Guild''s members transformed into streaks of light. A single volley had claimed over 500 lives. As they watched their comrades die, the survivors also noticed a magic barrier spread out from the hilltop. The barrier blocked every attack from Crimson Castle''s members, protecting Zero Wing. In contrast, Zero Wing''s members easily attacked the players beyond the barrier. However, this wasn''t the worst part. Without warning, a Level 72, Tier 3 Demon with fiery wings had appeared over Crimson Castle''s army. Gathering Mana in its palms, the Demon created a fireball the size of a small mountain before hurling it at unsuspecting players. Instantly, over a hundred players vanished. "Impossible!" Crimson Fox couldn''t believe his eyes. "How could Zero Wing be so strong?" With such overwhelming offensive and defensive capabilities, not even a 100,000-man army could defeat Zero Wing''s 1,000 players, much less his 10,000 players. The last attack had shocked Crimson Castle''s members so badly that they had forgotten to continue their attacks. They all knew how powerful magic barriers were. As long as a magic barrier had enough Mana, and none of the attacks exceeded its endurance limit, it would remain in place indefinitely "Zero Wing dares to take the Shadow Dragon Legion so lightly!" Watching from afar, fear and rage flashed in Shadowtooth''s eyes. He had led one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s bona fide trump card legions against the Guild, yet Zero Wing hadn''t even bothered to use everything it had during their fight. It felt as if their enemy had only been playing with them. "It''s about time we end this battle." Shi Feng smiled when he saw Crimson Fox in the distance. He then activated Phantom Kill and Space Movement. He stepped into the spatial tear. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared above Crimson Fox. "The sky split?" "That''sBlack Flame!" "What is he trying to do?" Crimson Castle''s members were surprised to see the figure emerge from the spatial tear. They couldn''t help but gasp when they got a clear view of the man. "Black Flame!" Although Shi Feng''s appearance surprised Crimson Fox, he reacted quickly and retrieved two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls from his bag. Sneering, he growled, "You dare stand before me?! You must be trying to die!" Over 15 yards separated the two Guild Leaders. Crimson Castle''s top-tier experts surrounded them. He even had a Tier 3 defensive Scroll and Tier 3 single-target attack Scroll. Killing a peak expert should be a piece of cake. "Die!" Crimson Fox unfurled the Tier 3 single-target attack Scroll. However, Shi Feng responded immediately by using Instant Strike, appearing before his enemy and brandishing Killing Ray. Shadow Blade! Suddenly, a single streak of blue light, surrounded by nine streaks of black light, shot through Crimson Fox, who still wore his sinister smile, and devoured all of the man''s HP. Crimson Fox hadn''t even activated the unfurled Magic Scroll. Everyone who saw Shi Feng''s Attack Speed gasped. As Crimson Fox collapsed to the ground, he dropped a pair of gloves and a stone fragment that emitted a faint pressure. Without hesitation, Shi Feng pocketed both items. He then switched position with his doppelganger and canceled Phantom Kill, disappearing as if he had never existed in the first place. Meanwhile, Crimson Castle''s nearby experts stood there in a daze. It was as if time had frozen for these experts. 1437 Black Dragon Empire Shocked Chapter 1437 - Black Dragon Empire Shocked "This is a lie, right?!" "He actually disappeared?!" "Is he a ghost?!" Crimson Castle''s members stared in shock at their Guild Leader''s motionless body. Everything had happened too quickly! Shi Feng had appeared and taken Crimson Fox''s life before anyone had realized it. He then vanished without a trace. After Shi Feng had left, these players were silent for a long moment. When they finally snapped out of their daze, their complexions turned deathly pale as they looked towards Shi Feng, who had returned to the hilltop. Fear dominated Crimson Castle''s members. They had stood over 1,000 yards away from the mountain to avoid getting caught in the shockwaves from the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons'' attacks. Originally, they had assumed that they were safe. However, Shi Feng only needed a moment to teach them how foolish that hope was. If Shi Feng could easily kill an expert like their Guild Leader despite over a thousand yards between them, killing them all would be child''s play. Today, they finally learned what a real expert was. They could never use numbers to overwhelm this level of strength. "Vice Guild Leader, do we continue the battle?" The Guild''s experts turned to the Shield Warrior, Lonely Castle. Now that Crimson Fox, their commander and Guild Leader, was dead, the army fell into disarray. They still hadn''t destroyed Zero Wing''s magic barrier, and a constant stream of Exploding Arrows still rained down. Even with 20,000 reinforcements, they would be marching to their deaths. "Weretreat," Lonely Castle said, shaking his head dejectedly as he stared at Shi Feng, who stood at the top of the hill. The strength Zero Wing had displayed was simply mind-boggling, and with their Guild Leader dead, Lonely Castle wasn''t confident of defeating the enemy Guild. Hearing Lonely Castle''s order to retreat, Crimson Castle''s members breathed a sigh of relief. They abruptly scattered, fleeing the battlefield like madmen. When Crimson Castle''s reinforcements caught wind of the order, they, too, fled into the surrounding wilderness, not daring to set foot in Green Rain Town again. The Guild members in Green Rain Town began to evacuate, afraid that the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons would obliterate them if they weren''t fast enough. Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing''s victory spread throughout the Black Dragon Empire. Although Guilds fought each other every day in the empire, large-scale siege wars were rare. After all, no Guild wanted to lose an advantage. These Guilds avoided all-out wars unless absolutely necessary. Many of the empire''s players had been watching the battle between Zero Wing and Crimson Castle. Not even the latter''s tens of thousands of elite members in Green Rain Town were a match for Zero Wing''s 1,000-man team. No matter how they looked at it, the outcome was incomprehensible. Hence, news of the war had spread much quicker than usual. "Did you hear? Crimson Castle was defeated." "What''s going on? Crimson Castle actually lost? Didn''t Zero Wing only dispatch 1,000 players?" "That can''t be possible, right? After all, Crimson Castle has an elite army of tens of thousands. They weren''t a match for Zero Wing''s 1,000-man team? Are Crimson Castle''s members idiots?" "You guys might not realize it since you weren''t there, but I watched the battle personally. Zero Wing had used some kind of war weapon to shatter the town''s defensive magic array in a single hit and kill several thousand players instantly. The second-rate Guilds that had allied with Crimson Castle pulled their forces from the town on the spot. Although Crimson Castle sent its army to meet its enemy, Zero Wing''s war weapons wiped out one-third of its forces before Crimson Castle could even reach the Guild. "Zero Wing even used a fleet of Miniature Ballistas to bombard Crimson Castle''s forces with flaming arrows. Against so many war weapons, not even several hundred thousand elite players would have a chance, much less tens of thousands." The Black Dragon Empire''s official forums burned with conversation. Some people had even uploaded battle videos of Zero Wing''s assault on Green Rain Town. Everyone who saw the two massive craters in Green Rain Town was stupefied. At the same time, they also understood why Crimson Castle had lost. What a joke! With a few more attacks of that scale, Green Rain Town would fall to ruin. Crimson Castle hadn''t had any hope of winning. In fact, that battle couldn''t be called a fight. This had simply been one-sided bullying. The number of Miniature Ballistas Zero Wing had employed in the end had been particularly ridiculous. How was a player army supposed to stand against so many war weapons? Meanwhile, the recording of Crimson Fox''s death at Shi Feng''s hands showed the Black Dragon Empire''s players what a Sword King truly was. "So, that is Zero Wing?" Everyone''s eyes glowed when they watched Zero Wing''s overwhelming power. Although Zero Wing''s performance in the ranking competition had been frightening, it had only proven that the Guild had powerful experts. To the Black Dragon Empire''s players, Zero Wing had a long way to go before it could compare to the other large Guilds'' foundations. However, after watching today''s battle, everyone believed that Zero Wing deserved the rank it won in the competition. With so many weapons of war, who would possibly dare provoke the Guild? For a time after the momentous battle, more of the empire''s players tried to join Zero Wing. Now that they were certain of Zero Wing''s rise in the empire, they knew that it''d be far more difficult to join the Guild if they didn''t do so now, if they did not join now, it would become much more difficult to do so in the future. At the same time, the empire''s various large Guilds held emergency meetings. The goal of these meetings was simple: notify everyone to avoid provoking Zero Wing under any circumstances. At the same time, they began to reorganize their priorities, focusing on exploring ancient ruins to obtain more war weapons. Shi Feng had no idea that due to this war, he had taught these Guilds an important lesson. The number of members a Guild had would no longer be important in Guild wars and siege battles. Defensive magic arrays and war weapons would decide victory. With these armaments, even a 1,000-man team could easily capture a Guild town. Meanwhile, every player had fled Green Rain Town. Only the town''s NPCs remained. "Guild Leader, are we going to take over Green Rain Town now?" Gentle Snow''s excitement grew when she saw the defenseless Guild town. From the time they had arrived, the battle had only lasted a little over ten minutes, and they had captured a Guild town while only suffering minor losses. Moreover, Green Rain Town was in a resource-rich area. With this town, Zero Wing would have a much easier time collecting herbs and ores. "No. We''re going to destroy it," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "But Guild Leader, it''s a ready-made town. If we claim it, we can save on construction costs," Aqua Rose hurriedly advised when she heard Shi Feng''s plan. What a joke! It was clear that Crimson Castle must have invested at least several tens of thousands of Gold. Moreover, Green Rain Town was a high-resource town. Many Guilds would love such an opportunity. If not for Nine Dragons Emperor''s secret support, the empire''s first-rate Guilds would''ve long since tried to raid the town and claim it for their own. Yet, Shi Feng wanted to abandon it! This was insane! "There''s no need to get caught up in this town. We have a much better option," Shi Feng said, smiling. He then took a blood-red stone that radiated a faint pressure from his bag. This was the stone that had dropped from Crimson Fox''s body. 1438 Frightening Harves Chapter 1438 - Frightening Harvest "A better option?" Gentle Snow looked at the blood-red stone in Shi Feng''s hand curiously. The stone was the size of a fist. If not for the faint pressure radiating from it, it would be easily mistaken for an ordinary red gemstone. "This isn''t just an ordinary stone. It''s actually made of Red Luminaries Stone." Seeing the doubt on Gentle Snow''s face, Shi Feng smiled and explained, "You know what Red Luminaries Stone is. It''s far more valuable than Magic Crystals. It''s also a superconductive ore, only second to the Seven Luminaries Crystals." "But what does this stone have anything to do with a resource town?" Gentle Snow asked curiously. "I haven''t finished. This stone is made of Red Luminaires Stone, but it''s not complete. Originally, the Black Dragon Empire had created teleportation gates leading to 33 neutral maps outside of the empire''s borders. These locations were the reason the empire had flourished during the past. However, the teleportation gates had been destroyed during a rebellion, and the teleportation cores that powered the gates had gone missing. This stone is one of those cores. "With this teleportation core, we can construct a stable teleportation gate in a Guild town within the Black Dragon Empire as long as we collect a bottle of Temporal Sand and 200,000 Magic Crystals. We can use the teleportation gate to travel to the neutral map recorded within the core." Shi Feng explained the teleportation core in detail as he gazed at the stone in his hand. During the Black Dragon Empire''s early days, the empire had stood shoulder to shoulder with the Four Great Empires. If not for the rebellion and the teleportation gates'' destruction, the Black Dragon Empire would''ve been the fifth strongest empire in God''s Domain. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had obtained seven of the 33 teleportation cores in the past. As a result, the Pavilion had secured an abundance of resources and eventually grew to rival veteran Super Guilds. Shi Feng had never expected to obtain one of these cores by killing Crimson Fox. There were only 33 of these teleportation cores in the Black Dragon Empire, each one linked a high-resource, neutral map. Due to the nature of these maps, teleportation arrays couldn''t reach them. Players usually had to rely on their own two feet to travel to these areas. If one had a means to teleport to a particular map, they''d have a monopoly on the map''s resources. Shi Feng had considered capturing Green Rain Town, but the town''s resources paled in comparison to the teleportation core. As long as Zero Wing captured Hidden Fog Town and constructed a teleportation gate, it''d have access to a large amount of resources, focusing a fraction of those resources into the town''s development. They didn''t need Green Rain Town; it would just be an additional expenditure for the Guild. They didn''t need to worry about fending off other major powers contesting for the town either. "Teleport to a neutral map? Guild Leader, are you joking?!" Gentle Snow stared at the stone in Shi Feng''s hand in shock. She had been playing God''s Domain for quite some time now. As a member of the Guild''s upper management, she kept up on various information about the game. Naturally, she had an acute understanding of the importance of neutral maps. Neutral maps were not under human control. They weren''t suitable for human settlements, either. However, these locations shared a similar aspect; they had a ridiculous amount of resources, far beyond those found in empires and kingdoms. One could find rare and valuable resources in practically every corner. However, neutral maps were extremely dangerous. They were also far from any civilization. Traveling to and from these areas was troublesome. Furthermore, it was difficult for players to remain in these maps for long periods. As a result, players'' harvest was limited. A teleportation gate connected to a neutral map was as good as taking control of that map. One could send players through the gate freely. Not only was it convenient, but it would also help Guild towns attract players and the resources they had to offer. One could just imagine how frighteningly valuable the core was. Not even five Green Rain Tows would be worth as much as a single teleportation core. Once Zero Wing set up the teleportation gate, it could develop in the Black Dragon Empire without worry, even if it had to face fierce competition from the empire''s other large Guilds. "Take a look at it yourself." Shi Feng then shared the teleportation core''s introductory text with Gentle Snow. The text referred to the stone as a teleportation core as Shi Feng had explained. However, there was no mention of its connected location. It only stated that it could be used to construct a teleportation gate leading to an unknown location. After reading the introductory text, Gentle Snow began to search through Zero Wing''s database. She quickly found information regarding fallen teleportation gates that had existed within the empire. These gates had led to 33 different neutral maps. This discovery rendered Gentle Snow speechless. She even wondered if Shi Feng were some kind of robot. It was astonishing how much information he knew. The information about the Black Dragon Empire''s teleportation gates was fragmented. If not for Shi Feng''s explanation, she wouldn''t have learned anything about these gates. Although the teleportation core was a wonderful item, there was a major problem: the bottle of Temporal Sand and the 200,000 Magic Crystals. She had never even heard of the Temporal Sand. Without the Temporal Sand, the teleportation core was just a paperweight. "Leave the teleportation gate to me. You just need to worry about securing Hidden Fog Town and completing your Tier 2 promotion as soon as possible. You''ve seen the gap between Tier 1 and 2 for yourself. The sooner you complete your Promotion Quest, the easier leveling up will be," Shi Feng said. He was fully aware of the teleportation core''s flaws. The required 200,000 Magic Crystals were enough to choke a first-rate Guild. It was already difficult to make ends meet, much less save up. A Guild would require a tremendous amount of time to collect so many crystals. The other problem was the Temporal Sand. Temporal Sand was counted by the grain, and each bottle contained 500 grains. Every grain was extremely valuable. Each had sold for 20 Gold or more in the past. During its peak, these Temporal Sand grains had even sold for over 50 Gold each. Moreover, there wasn''t nearly enough supply to keep up with demand. Aside from its relation to the teleportation gates, Temporal Sand gains were also used as valuable materials in crafting various Epic items. When one used Temporal Sand in an item''s production, not only could it increase the success rate, but it could also enhance the item''s Attributes. Moreover, the more Temporal Sand the crafter used, the greater the final product''s enhancements would be. Hence, Temporal Sand had been highly sought after in God''s Domain. However, he only knew of two methods to obtain Temporal Sand in the Black Dragon Empire. Fortunately, he was considerably familiar with one method; he could purchase them from Countess Katie Green in Lake Heart City. "It seems like it''s time to pay another visit." 1439 Revisiting the Countesss Mansion Chapter 1439 - Revisiting the Countess''s Mansion Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City: People crowded the streets in the city''s prosperous Trade Area. Level 42 and 43 experts were everywhere. Players atop Mounts were also a common sight. In the luxurious Shops lining the streets, one could easily find Level 40 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. A few Shops even had Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment on display in their windows. Although more players in God''s Domain reached Level 40 by the day, Level 40 Weapons and Equipment were still extremely rare. Many players that had reached Level 40 had to continue using Level 35 Equipment. Players who obtained even a piece of Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment were overjoyed. As for Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, such items were even hard to find in kingdoms'' Auction Houses. Hence, seeing Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment on display in the Shops here was incredible. Only, the Level 40 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment were ridiculously expensive. Their prices were at least three times higher than the market price. It was obvious that these Shops had no intentions of selling the items, only using them for promotion. Meanwhile, an eight-story-tall Guild Hall dominated the center of the Trade Area. From the building''s top floor, a player could gaze upon the city as if they were its emperor. In the Guild Hall''s top-floor hall, Nine Dragons Emperor read a report he had just received from a subordinate. The players next to this intense player felt an intense pressure weigh on their shoulders. They felt as if they had been submerged in water as they even struggled to breathe. "Zero Wing!" Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes were icy as he read the report. "Does Black Flame think he can afford my enmity just because he has Phoenix Rain backing him up?" Not long ago, Zero Wing had utterly destroyed both of the towns under Crimson Castle''s control. Although most players didn''t know that he, in fact, controlled both of the towns from the shadows, the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds were fully aware of the fact. Destroying these resource towns was the equivalent of a slap to the face. Yet, Nine Dragons Emperor couldn''t do anything about it. Both towns had belonged to him personally, not his Guild. If he tried to mobilize the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s power against Zero Wing, Phoenix Rain would certainly get in his way, but sending his personal forces against the offending Guild was dangerous. Zero Wing was no longer a monster to be taken lightly. Without the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s foundations, neither the Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannons nor the movement-type defensive magic array would be easy to deal with. The Guild had items that could cope with Zero Wing''s war weapons, but they were under the Great Pavilion Master''s control. Unless he became the next Great Pavilion Master, he wouldn''t have access to these items. "Martial, tell Beast Emperor that I accept his offer, but I have one condition. He must help us destroy Zero Wing!" Nine Dragons Emperor instructed his general in a frosty tone. "Pavilion Master, if you agree to Beast Emperor''s conditions, it will likely affect the situation at Black Dragon City. On the off chance that the Great Pavilion Master investigates the matter" Martial Dragon could not help his surprise to hear the order. "It doesn''t matter. Beast Emperor needs some more time to deal with issues on his side. By the time he''s ready, the contest on Thunder Island will be over. By then, I could be the Great Pavilion Master. Who could possibly stand in my way?" Nine Dragons Emperor said, smiling confidently. "Alright, enough. Just pass my answer on to that old man." "Understood!" Martial Dragon immediately left the hall. Meanwhile, a mysterious man in black robes and bandages was in the middle of a ceremony in a canyon surrounded by Evil energy. As he led the ritual, the Mana density around the man was several times higher than when Stone Forest Town''s Obelisk had activated. Flame Blood, whose skin had turned dark-gray, suddenly approached the black-clad man. "Temple Master, we just received a message from Nine Dragon Emperor''s men. The Dragon Pavilion Master has agreed to our conditions. However, in return, he wants us to eliminate Zero Wing," Flame Blood said with a smile. "Hahaha! Interesting! Truly interesting!" Beast Emperor stopped chanting when he heard the news. He continued, "I will gladly accept this condition! Tell Nine Dragons Emperor that, as long as I complete my quest, neither Zero Wing nor his rival, Phoenix Rain, will be a problem." He already bore a deep-seated hatred for Zero Wing. Due to Black Flame, not only had his Evil Demon army suffered a massive loss, but he had also lost an Evil God''s Apostle slot. If given the opportunity, he''d make the Guild pay. Only, he hadn''t expected Zero Wing to infuriate Nine Dragons Emperor to such a degree. Despite his numerous attempts to ally with Nine Dragons Emperor, the man had refused his offers. The refusals put in him a bit of a predicament. Although he was an Evil God''s Envoy, he hadn''t accumulated enough power to be a threat to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. He had never dreamed that Zero Wing would inevitably lend him a hand. With Heaven''s Burial helping him in Star-Moon Kingdom and Nine Dragons Emperor supporting him in the Black Dragon Empire, he now had over a 70% chance of completing the quest he had received from the Evil God''s Temple''s Great Temple Master. Meanwhile, Lake Heart City''s main street was quite lively. It was no less active than Black Dragon City''s Trade Area. This was all because Zero Wing had destroyed Crimson Castle''s two Guild towns. This thorough and spectacular victory proved Zero Wing''s prowess to every player in the city. It was obvious that given enough time, Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire would grow to stand on equal footing with, or even surpass, the empire''s first-rate Guilds, becoming the second most powerful Guild in the Black Dragon Empire. Many independent players and experts in the empire had rushed to Lake Heart City in hopes of joining Zero Wing and it''s prosperous future. Even some of the empire''s well-known adventurer teams wanted to join the Guild. Not only was the Guild frighteningly powerful, but it also had the Battle Arena in Stone Forest Town. At this point, due to the ranking competition''s results, Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena had become famous throughout the Black Dragon Empire. According to the statistics some players had compiled, the public had discovered that many of the empire''s top-ranking experts had trained in the Battle Arena. To be precise, they had trained in the Advanced Combat Rooms. The Advanced Combat Room was a sacred training grounds that all expert players dreamed of accessing. Among the players that had trained in the Advanced Combat Rooms, Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon had displayed the greatest improvements to their combat standards. During the previous ranking competition, Remnant Cloud had only risen to the top 100 of his class, yet he had ranked among the top 50 in the latest competition. Furthermore, this last ranking competition had included far more powerful experts than those in the past. Many of the previous top 100 experts didn''t even make it into the top 200. Graceful Moon''s performance had also been surprising, ranking among the top 100 of her class. Due to these two players'' performances, Stone Forest Town''s popularity in the Black Dragon Empire had skyrocketed despite Zero Wing''s lack of effort to promote the town. As Shi Feng strolled down Lake Heart City''s main street, he wore a new appearance thanks to the Demon Mask. With his Nightwalker''s Cape''s concealment, not even high-tiered NPCs he had encountered before should be able to recognize him. During his previous visit to Countess Katie Green''s mansion, the Countess had thrown him into a Trial of God. Now that he had the Nightwalker Cape, he should be able to visit the Countess again. As Shi Feng approached the Countess''s mansion, the Golden Stigmata''s pulsing grew more intense. It reached a peak when he finally stood before the building. She shouldn''t be able to notice it, right? Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng stepped through the mansion''s main entrance. 1440 Tier 5 Sacred Magic Knigh Chapter 1440 - Tier 5 Sacred Magic Knight "Sir, this is the Countess''s mansion. Outsiders are prohibited from entering." As soon as Shi Feng set foot in the compound, an elderly man in a black suit appeared before him. "Outsiders are prohibited?" Shi Feng was curious as he looked at the old man. - [Milton (Countess''s Steward)] (Human) Level 140 HP 55,000,000/55,000,000 - Although this was a Countess''s mansion, Countess Katie Green was the proprietress of many of the empire''s blackmarket Shops. She often had business with many NPC merchants. Hence, she never restricted entry to her mansion. He hadn''t encountered a single servant during his previous visit, yet entry was now restricted. It was clear that the Countess had grown cautious. If he did not deal with this situation properly, he might further agitate the Countess. She might even move her base of operations elsewhere. Fortunately, he had the Nightwalker''s Cape. The Countess wouldn''t easily see through his disguise. "Hello. I''ve heard that the Countess is interested in Mana Stones. I have quite a few on hand. May I know if I can speak with her ladyship?" Shi Feng said as he revealed his Demon Hunter title. The Demon Hunter title granted him the authority of a World Noble. As such, he enjoyed the status of a noble throughout all of God''s Domain''s human territories. With this title, he could even gain access to a Duke''s home. "So, you are Lord Demon Hunter. Please, follow me." Milton immediately adopted a respectful attitude upon seeing Shi Feng''s title. The old man then led Shi Feng into the mansion. In the past, Countess Katie Green had been quite famous in the Black Dragon Empire. There were two reasons for her renown. The first reason was Countess Katie Green''s ownership of the blackmarket in Black Dragon Empire''s Abyss City. Abyss City was like Star-Moon Kingdom''s Evernight City in that it was also a Dark City. Countess Katie Green''s blackmarket Shop in the city offered players a variety of high-quality items, some of which could even tempt Super Guilds. However, it was not easy to purchase the items from this Shop. To gain access, one first needed sufficient Favorability with the Countess. Players would only be able to purchase items after becoming members of the Shop. Meanwhile, the Shop didn''t accept Coins or Magic Crystals as payment. Rather, one had to haggle and offer items of equal value. The second and most important reason for the Countess''s fame in the empire was related to her stock of Temporal Sand. Temporal Sand was incredibly rare. Normally, players only had a chance of obtaining a few grains from super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Depending on the Dungeon''s difficulty, the drop-rate would vary. However, even Normal Mode super-large-scale Team Dungeons were no walk in the park. These Dungeons were generally reserved for large Guilds and a small number of well-known and top adventurer teams. Due to its rarity and many uses, Temporal Sand was an extremely valuable commodity. Normally, the various large Guild reserved it as a strategic resource. Fortunately, one could purchase Temporal Sand from Countess Katie Green, but there was a limit of 100 grains per day. As for the exchange rate, a single grain of Temporal Sand cost one Mana Stone. This price was a testament to the grain''s value. When players had realized this in the past, it had caused a commotion that had shaken God''s Domain. Eventually, though, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had monopolized this privilege. Since no one knew about Temporal Sand yet, this was a good opportunity for Shi Feng to build up his stock. Luckily, he had accumulated quite a few Mana Stones thus far. As for the Seven Treasures, he would cautiously investigate the matter. After all, as a Countess in the Black Dragon Empire, her status was extraordinary. The Countess was a more powerful individual than he was. Naturally, one couldn''t just open a Shop in Abyss City without enough strength. Countess Katie Green was capable of rivaling Weissman, White River City''s Magistrate. Her combat power was at the peak of Tier 4. A measly Tier 2 player like Shi Feng had no chance against the woman. A short moment later, under Milton''s lead, Shi Feng arrived before a quiet, elegant indoor garden on the mansion''s third floor. A beautiful woman in a luxurious, crimson dress relaxed in the garden''s center. She sipped from a teacup as she read an ancient tome. The woman gave off a peaceful aura. As the aura swept over him, Shi Feng felt as if nature itself had embraced him. The feeling was intoxicating. Why is she so strong? Shi Feng stared at Countess Katie Green in shock. He had met the Countess many times in his previous life. However, the Countess had always been a Level 180, Tier 4 Sky Knight. Now, however, her statistics revealed that she was a Level 180, Tier 5 Sacred Magic Knight. Although only one tier separated the two, the difference was like heaven and earth. If a Tier 4 NPC could dominate and protect a major NPC city, then a Tier 5 NPC could move through a kingdom''s capital unhindered. A Tier 5 NPC was an absolute overlord. Normally, one only encountered such existences in imperial capitals. Encountering one in other major NPC cities would rely entirely on luck. Yet, this Countess had become one such mythical powerhouse When Shi Feng thought about the Seven Treasures'' fragment in this woman''s hands, a hint of despair gripped his heart. Even if he became a Level 180, Tier 5 player, he still couldn''t defeat the Countess, much less at Level 57. NPCs and players were on different levels; NPCs had a far more difficult time reaching new tiers. When they succeeded, their strength would undergo a qualitative transformation. Moreover, the higher the tier they reached, the more strength they would acquire. Right now, well-equipped Tier 2 players might be capable of defeating an ordinary Tier 2 NPC of the same level. However, after reaching Tier 4, only peak experts and above could face Tier 4 NPCs. Moreover, a peak expert must be equipped with at least one or two Fragmented Legendary items to have a chance. Otherwise, fighting one-on-one with a Tier 4 NPC would be suicidal. Unlike players, NPCs had an easier time obtaining top-tier equipment. Players had to struggle for every piece of Epic Equipment they wore, but NPCs could get what they needed as long as they had enough money. Tier 5 NPCs typically wielded at least one Legendary item. If a Tier 5 player didn''t have the same, they could never stand against an NPC of the same tier. Hence, Tier 5 players had usually formed parties to deal with a Tier 5 NPC. "I hear that you have a lot of Mana Stones?" Katie Green asked softly as she set her book down and turned to Shi Feng. "Yes, your ladyship." Shi Feng nodded. At the same time, he celebrated the fact that he had obtained the Nightwalker''s Cape. Thanks to its effects, the Countess had failed to see through his disguise. She didn''t seem to detect the Golden Stigmata''s aura on him either. If he were discovered, the consequences would be unimaginable. "How many do you have?" Katie Green asked. "If you have enough, I am willing to offer a generous trade." Shi Feng was slightly confused to hear Katie Green''s interest. He hadn''t expected her to want Mana Stones so fervently. She had never shown such interest in the past. Could my previous visit have caused this change in her? The only explanation Shi Feng could think of was the revelation of his identity as the War God''s Temple''s representative during his previous visit. After giving the matter some thought, he stated, "I currently have 100 Mana Stones. Will that be enough?" He had prepared the 100 Mana Stones to purchase the Temporal Sand. He hadn''t brought any extra with him. It seemed as if he had blundered. "One hundred? Alright, what do you want for them?" Katie Green nodded, clearly satisfied with the amount. "If you don''t know what items you''re looking for, I can offer a few valuables for you to consider. Of course, I will only accept Mana Stones for these items." Saying so, Katie Green gestured with a hand. Suddenly, a stone table rose from the ground, covered in all sorts of dazzling items. Every item radiated a faint pressure. 1441 Treasure of Time Chapter 1441 - Treasure of Time Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the items on the table. In the past, the only item the Countess had offered for trade was the Temporal Sand, yet now she had offered over ten items. Moreover, none of these items were any less valuable than the Temporal Sand. As expected of the proprietess of Abyss City''s blackmarket Shop. She even has an item like this. Shi Feng''s gaze couldn''t help but drift to a leaf of lambskin parchment. Although the Temporal Sand was very valuable, players could obtain it from other sources. However, encountering the lambskin parchment on the table depended on luck. This parchment was none other than the Magic Thruster Design. The various large Guild would go crazy over this item. The Magic Thruster was capable of increasing a ship''s Movement Speed by 30%. To naval players, this item was a godsend. Unlike on land, there were far fewer teleportation points available out at sea. If players wished to travel to a particular island to level, they generally had to travel by boat. A 30% increase to Movement Speed would undoubtedly save players a lot of travel time. Moreover, there were many sea monsters in the ocean. If an ordinary boat encountered a Boss-grade sea monster, escape was practically impossible. With the Magic Thruster, however, even an ordinary boat had a high chance of getting away safely. Players were even more likely to escape if they had an ordinary speedboat or better. Hence, Magic Thrusters were highly sought after. Even players with cheap ships would be desperate for one. The Magic Thruster''s only drawback was that it was a Consumable item; it would disappear after being used for a certain amount of time. Moreover, depending on how much Mana it uses, the Magic Thruster''s duration would differ. The smaller a ship was, the less Mana it would cost to enhance its Movement Speed and vice versa. As an example, on an ordinary speedboat, the Magic Thruster could last for 48 hours. However, the Magic Thruster was not cheap. Even once the price had stabilized on the market, each thruster had sold for 1 Gold, 50 Silver in the past. It wasn''t an item ordinary players could afford. Generally, only powerful adventurer teams and Guilds had purchased the item to augment their high-quality ships. With the speed boost, they could travel to more dangerous locations and reap greater rewards. Shi Feng had never thought that Countess Katie Green would willingly offer such a precious design for exchange. Only, the price was slightly high. The Countess wanted 1,000 Mana Stones for the design Even though Shi Feng could synthesize Mana Stones with the Philosopher''s Stone, it wasn''t a cheap endeavor. Each Mana Stone required 50 Magic Crystals. In other words, that design would cost him 50,000 Magic Crystals. Although he had accumulated quite a sum recently, he had spent a lot of his crystals during the fight against Crimson Castle. After taking into account his personal expenditures, he only had enough Magic Crystals to purchase two designs. For a moment, Shi Feng wasn''t sure what to do. Magic Crystals were invaluable to Zero Wing. Without them, it''s war weapons would be useless. If he spent all of the Guild''s reserves to purchase the Magic Thruster Designs, he would regret the decision should the Guild come under attack. "Oh, right. I have another item for sale." Seeing Shi Feng''s hesitation, Katie Green smiled. She then retrieved a dark-gray bracelet and placed it on the table. "I happened to come across this treasure by chance. However, it''s no longer useful to me. If you can afford it, this item can be yours." "This is" Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the dark-gray bracelet. The bracelet looked ordinary, like nothing more than a string of dark-gray beads. However, the Golden Stigmata indicated that it was one of the Seven Treasures. Unfortunately, due to severe damage, it was only an Epic item. - [Bracelet of Time] (Epic Rank Item) This bracelet had once possessed the frightening power of time. Unfortunately, it has sustained heavy damage. Additional Active Skill- Temporal Sand: Can produce Temporal Sand by absorbing Mana Stones. No Cooldown. (Each Mana Stone produces two grains of Temporal Sand.) After sustaining damage and being tainted by Evil Energy, the Evil Energy within will taint the item''s wearer as well. Drops on death. - This is one of the Seven Treasures? Shi Feng stared at the Bracelet of Time in shock. Although Mana Stones were expensive and difficult to obtain, Temporal Sand was far more valuable. It also had far more uses. Practically every Lifestyle class could use it. Meanwhile, by using the Bracelet of Time, one only needed to invest one Mana Stone to obtain two Temporal Sand grains. It was certainly a profitable exchange. He had always wondered how the Countess got her hands on so much Temporal Sand. It turned out that it was thanks to one of the Seven Treasures. However, it seemed that his previous visit had interrupted Katie Green''s plans, forcing the Countess to collect a large number of Mana Stones and convert them into Temporal Sand as quickly as possible. However, the Countess''s asking price was exorbitant. She wanted for 100,000 Mana Stones for the bracelet Even if he had the Philosopher''s Stone, synthesizing 100,000 Mana Stones would cost him 5,000,000 Mana Stones. With Zero Wing''s current net income, it would take months to save up that many Magic Crystals. As for stealing the Bracelet of Time, even if Shi Feng had 100 lives, he would not dare do so. "Countess, may I know if I can trade Mana Stones for these items if I visit you in the future?" Shi Feng asked. If Countess Katie Green had only offered this Bracelet of Time on a whim, it would be out of his hands. If she were selling it long-term, however, he would have a chance to purchase it. As long as he obtained the Manatite vein on Karna Island and maintained his hold on the rapidly developing Stone Forest Town, he could collect 5,000,000 Magic Crystals given enough time. He was only afraid that the Countess''s offer was a one-time chance. Hearing Shi Feng''s question, Katie Green fell silent for a moment. Following which, she replied, "The other items will be available in the future, but I don''t want to hold onto this bracelet for long. I am prepared to sell it on the blackmarket to the highest bidder in a month. If you can gather 100,000 Mana Stones before the auction, I''ll sell it to you instead." "A month, huh?" Shi Feng frowned. Although it was good news that the Countess wasn''t only offering the bracelet right now, the time limit wasn''t. Aside from giants like Super Guilds, collecting 5,000,000 Magic Crystals in a month was a dream. The various large Guilds spent a large amount of Magic Crystals every day. Even powerful first-rate Guilds could only save four or five thousand crystals per day. Unless he could save up around 170,000 Magic Crystals each day, gathering 5,000,000 in one month would be impossible As Shi Feng racked his brain for a solution, Katie Green smiled and said, "If you are interested in the Bracelet of Time, I can give it to you even if you don''t have 100,000 Mana Stones. You see, I''ve recently encountered a little trouble. If you help me deal with this problem, I am willing to offer the bracelet as compensation." 1442 Another Method Chapter 1442 - Another Method "I just need to help you with this problem?" Shi Feng gave the Countess a confused look. He hadn''t expected another option to be available. Honestly, even a Super Guild would be hard-pressed to collect 5,000,000 Magic Crystals within a month. Even with the Manatite vein, it would be a challenge. Sadly, it''d be impossible to obtain 100,000 Mana Stones any other way. After all, not everyone was lucky enough to have a fragment of the Philosopher''s Stone. Without the Philosopher''s Stone, a Guild''s main source of Mana Stones would be Bosses in 100-man Dungeons. Having their alchemists synthesize Mana Stones would be impractical, as well; doing so would even bankrupt a Super Guild. "That''s right. I need someone to help me retrieve an item. However, the item is in a somewhat special location. The higher a visitor''s tier is, the more dangerous the location is. Since you are only Tier 2, you should have a chance of securing the item," Katie Green said, nodding. Suddenly, however, she chuckled softly and said, "But before you go, you''ll have to past a test of strength." "Countess, I am willing to give it a try." Shi Feng agreed without hesitation. This was an opportunity to obtain one of the Seven Treasures. Naturally, he couldn''t afford to turn it down. Besides, the quest was far more reliable than affording the unrealistic price of 5,000,000 Magic Crystals. Throughout their conversation, Shi Feng had understood one thing; the later he discovered Countess Katie Green''s ownership of the Bracelet of Time, the harder it would be to obtain it. She had already stated that the quest would become more dangerous as one reached higher tiers, lowering the player''s chances of success. "Good. Follow me." Katie Green then stood and walked towards a dark corridor in a corner of the indoor garden. The corridor was narrow, and the only light came from candles set in intervals. As they ventured further down the corridor, the air became colder. After walking for about ten minutes or so, they arrived in an empty hall. A set of locked, steel doors loomed at the end of the room. The steel doors were entirely covered in frost. Even though Shi Feng''s Ice Resistance was high, he was still cold. If a player with lower Ice Resistance came here, they''d freeze to death. "Not bad. You''ve endured this far without my help. You have passed the first test." Katie Green nodded in approval when she noticed the cold barely affect Shi Feng. "You''re second test is next, a test of your combat power." As Katie Green spoke, a silver Magic Scroll appeared in her hands. She unfurled it and began to chant an incantation. Suddenly, a silver magic array appeared before the Countess, gathering the surrounding Mana. A moment later, a three-meter-tall humanoid creature manifested in the middle of the array. This humanoid figure wore silver armor and carried a greatsword that radiated frosty air. Unlike ordinary humans, dark-green flames danced in the figure''s eyes. - [Hell Knight] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 57 HP 15,000,000/15,000,000 - "Kill this Hell Knight, and you will pass the second test," Katie Green said as she gestured towards the Hell Knight. - System: You have accepted Katie Green''s second test. Quest content: Clear the second test. Your reward will vary depending on your evaluation. - Before Shi Feng could even read the system notification, the Hell Knight roared and unsheathed the greatsword from its back. It dashed straight for Shi Feng, giving him no time to prepare. The Great Lord ranked Hell Knight crossed the 20 yards separating them in the blink of an eye. Upon arriving before Shi Feng, the Hell Knight brandished its greatsword, the weapon transforming into three streaks of silver light as they flew towards the Swordsman. The Hell Knight had completed the entire process as smoothly as flowing water. The Hell Knight moved like an expert with years of combat experience. There were no excess movements in its actions. High intelligence! Shi Feng was surprised to see the sword lights moving towards him. He had assumed that he''d have to face a weakened Great Lord, but the Hell Knight''s combat techniques were clearly superior to ordinary Great Lords. The Great Lord had obviously reached the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. In response, Shi Feng countered with Killing Ray. Dang Dang Dang Sparks scattered as a series of clangs echoed throughout the empty hall. Shi Feng was forced back by five steps before he could stabilize his body. Meanwhile, three damages of over -1,500 appeared above his head. In contrast, the Hell Knight remained unharmed. Shi Feng''s counterattack had only paused the Great Lord''s attack. After the initial clash, Shi Feng knew that he was no match for the Hell Knight''s Strength. In fact, there was a large gap between them. What power! Shi Feng began to take this fight seriously as the Hell Knight charged towards him once again. He immediately executed Void Steps, vanishing. Although Shi Feng had only clashed with the Hell Knight for a moment, he had gained a rough prediction of the monster''s standards. Not only did the Hell Knight have the Strength of a Grand Lord, but its reactions and speed also ranked near the top among Great Lords of the same level. If not for his three Fragmented Legendary items, it would''ve already killed him. "Not a bad technique. Unfortunately, it is useless against the Hell Knight." When Shi Feng had disappeared, Katie Green had been slightly surprised. However, she shook her head and chuckled. The Hell Knight wasn''t a living being, and although it could see, it could also rely on its ability to detect living beings during a fight. Even if Shi Feng''s footwork technique removed him from his opponent''s sight, he couldn''t erase his aura as a living creature. Unless he entered a different space entirely, the Hell Knight could keep track of him. Indeed, even after Shi Feng had vanished, the Hell Knight showed no signs of hesitation. The massive creature thrust its greatsword into the ground. Suddenly, dozens of ice swords rained down from above, targeting a seemingly-unoccupied location. Peng! Peng! Peng! Before the ice swords struck the ground, their trajectories diverted as if they had encountered an invisible wall. At the same time, Shi Feng reappeared. Each ice sword carried 100% of the Hell Knight''s Strength. As a result, Shi Feng lost a little bit of his HP each time he deflected an ice sword. In less than a second, he had lost over 20,000 HP. While Shi Feng dealt with the descending ice swords, the Hell Knight pulled its weapon from the ground and ran at the Swordsman. As it reached Shi Feng, it swung its greatsword skillfully, matching the timing of its swings with the final eight ice swords. Each of the monster''s swings targeted Shi Feng''s blind spots. "This must be his limit. Not bad. His score should be above 70." Seeing Shi Feng''s HP near zero, Katie Green prepared to cast a buff. There was no doubt that the Hell Knight was strong. Even a peak, Tier 3 NPC of the same level would struggle in a fight against it, much less a Tier 2 player. She hadn''t wanted to lend Shi Feng a hand until now because she wanted to see how long the player would hold his ground against the Great Lord. As for her requirement for killing the Hell Knight? She had merely said that to ensure that Shi Feng would fight with everything he had. Actually killing the Hell Knight would take a miracle. After all, the Hell Knight was an Advanced Combat Servant she had obtained after plenty of trials. Every Count and Countess in the Black Dragon Empire longed for one themselves, but only she had control of an Advanced Combat Servant. Just before Katie Green stopped the battle, a blue light flashed before the Hell Knight''s descending greatsword. Suddenly, the Hell Knight flew through the air. Its remaining eight ice swords shattered instantly. Golden, divine runes wrapped around Shi Feng''s entire body, and his aura had undergone a heaven-defying transformation. This was none other than the Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Shi Feng hadn''t intended to use Heavenly Dragon''s Power so soon, but the Hell Knight was far more powerful than he had expected. If he continued to hold back, he would only get himself killed. "Alright, let''s begin the second round!" Shi Feng shifted his gaze towards the Hell Knight, which had finally regained its footing, and advanced. 1443 Advanced Combat Servan Chapter 1443 - Advanced Combat Servant After upgrading Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, not only did Heavenly Dragon''s Power increase Shi Feng''s Strength, but it also increased his Agility. Shi Feng reached the Hell Knight almost instantly, brandishing Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray as he executed Sword''s Orbit. A galaxy of stars glittered around Shi Feng, intertwining as they bombarded the Great Lord, which had just gotten back on its feet. Although the Hell Knight''s combat standards were at the Half-step Refinement Realm, it was a child in Shi Feng''s eyes. He easily grasped the monster''s blind spots and attack trajectories. Shi Feng could''ve easily dodged the Hell Knight''s attacks, but he had chosen to repulse them instead. Now that he had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Strength was slightly higher than a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Hence, he was stronger than the Hell Knight. If he chose to dodge the incoming attacks, he would only reduce his opportunities to deal damage. Boom Boom Boom One sword light after another clashed with the Hell Knight''s greatsword, the resulting impacts forcing the Great Lord back and preventing it from stabilizing its posture. After six consecutive attacks, the Hell Knight lost its grip on its weapon as the greatsword flew from the monster''s hands. "Die!" Shi Feng activated Flame Burst, a blinding glow enveloping his blades. He assaulted the defenseless Hell Knight with a series of devastating blows. -164,878! -331,478! -332,015! All 15 attacks found their marks, causing the Great Lord''s HP decrease at a tremendous rate. In an instant, the Hell Knight had lost 20% of its HP. Meanwhile, Flame Burst''s terrifyingly destructive power sent the Hell Knight crashing into the frozen, steel doors, and they shuddered upon impact. Taking advantage of the Hell Knight''s incapacitated state, Shi Feng hurriedly activated Lightning Edge. He couldn''t normally use the attack in a high-speed battle due to Lightning Edge''s 0.5-second channeling time, but the injured Hell Knight had collapsed to the ground. He had more than enough time to activate the Skill. Numerous silver sword lights danced before Shi Feng, the forming a silver river that flowed towards the Hell Knight. -244,678! -243,167! Lightning Edge''s powerful assault incapacitated the Hell Knight once more. The Great Lord was defenseless as the countless sword lights bit into its flesh. After five seconds, the Hell Knight only had two-thirds of its HP remaining. Despite dealing two successful blows, Shi Feng had no intentions on relaxing his offense. The moment Lightning Edge ended, Shi Feng appeared before the Hell Knight and swung the Abyssal Blade down towards the Great Lord. However, the Hell Knight quickly responded. At a critical moment, it reclaimed its greatsword and used it as a shield, blocking Shi Feng''s blade. Unfortunately, while it had held off the Abyssal Blade, it couldn''t do anything about the nine sword shadows that had appeared around it. Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Blade! In the end, all nine shadows carved into the Hell Knight, devouring the Great Lord''s HP at a rate visible to the naked eye. "He''s overwhelmed it?" Surprise flashed in Countess Katie Green''s eyes as she watched Shi Feng dominate her Hell Knight. She had never thought that a mear Tier 2 player of the same level could surpass her Advanced Combat Servant. Not even she could''ve done so when she had been Tier 2. Soloing a Great Lord of the same level was difficult for a Tier 2 class. Great Lord''s HP was simply too high. These monsters'' battle recovery alone was enough to overwhelm a Tier 2 player. However, Katie Green didn''t recognize Shi Feng for the monster he was. Despite only being a Tier 2 player, Shi Feng wielded three Fragmented Legendary items. Although none of them were weapons, their overall effects were astonishing. Moreover, the Hell Knight wasn''t actually a Great Lord of the same level. After all, it only had 15,000,000 HP. An ordinary Level 57 Great Lord should have at least 40,000,000 HP. If not for the Hell Knight''s Strength and high combat standards, Shi Feng could''ve easily defeated it without a Berserk Skill. Now that he had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, suppressing the Hell Knight was a piece of cake. "Interesting. Truly interesting. He had held back so much of his strength." Katie Green''s lips curled into a smile as she watched Shi Feng shave off the Hell Knight''s HP. "However, I''m afraid that the unstable power of a Berserk Skill isn''t enough to defeat my Hell Knight." When the Hell Knight''s HP fell to 30%, it released a sudden and deafening roar. It''s silver armor shattered, causing such a powerful shockwave that even Shi Feng had to step back. As the silver armor fell away, it revealed the Hell Knight''s crimson skin. Shi Feng also noticed dark-blue, divine runes all over the Hell Knight''s tough hide, radiating a daunting pressure. The green flames in the monster''s eyes also turned dark-blue, its chilling gaze causing Shi Feng to shudder. "It''s gone berserk?" Shi Feng went on the defensive as he watched the Great Lord transform. This monster was like a completely different being compared to the Hell Knight from a second ago. "Berserk?" Katie Green smiled. Shaking her head, she said, "This is not some kind of Berserk Mode. It is merely liberating its power. I specifically make the creature wear the armor to suppress most of its power." Advanced Combat Servants weren''t like monsters and puppets. They fought their way to victory in the black market''s Death Arena. Servants that won 20 consecutive matches in the arena became Basic Combat Servants, while those that won 50 consecutive matches were Intermediate Combat Servants. A Combat Servant would only rise to Advanced rank after winning 100 consecutive matches. Hence, Combat Servants were generally stronger than beings of the same tier. Needless to say, a Tier 3 Advanced Combat Servant was extraordinarily powerful. This was why the other Counts and Countesses in the Black Dragon Empire wanted their own Advanced Combat Servant. However, Advanced Combat Servants were incredibly expensive. Every one was a combat genius. Most nobles couldn''t afford one. They generally settled for a few Intermediate Combat Servants. After the Hell Knight removed its armor, its Attributes underwent a qualitative transformation. Its rank had also increased from Great Lord to Grand Lord. Without the armor, the Hell Knight''s mobility increased as well. Now, its combat standards had reached the Refinement Realm. "I wonder how long you''ll last against it?" Katie Green chuckled. So far, Shi Feng had displayed more strength than she had expected. He had earned 100 points in his evaluation just by forcing the Hell Knight to abandon its armor. However, this had only fed the Countess''s curiosity, and she wanted to see how far this player could go. So, this is the test to obtain one of the Seven Treasures? Shi Feng could not help his bitter smile as he watched the Hell Knight slowly approach. Having the power to solo a Grand Lord of the same level was ridiculous. Moreover, this Grand Lord''s combat standards were on par with Refinement Realm experts When the Hell Knight raised its greatsword, Shi Feng took in a deep breath. "Come!" Shouting, Shi Feng activated Tier 2 Blade Liberation, his Attributes skyrocketing once more. He then swung the Abyssal Blade to meet the incoming greatsword. When the two weapons collided, sparks illuminated the dark hall. The resulting shockwave sent dust and debris into the air. "What?" The Countess''s mouth twitched when Shi Feng blocked the Hell Knight''s attack. "He was still holding back?" After the clash, the Hell Knight was forced to take five steps backward. In contrast, Shi Feng hadn''t moved an inch. He then dashed at the Grand Lord. Although Shi Feng''s Strength wasn''t as high as Mythic monster''s of the same level after activating Twofold Berserk, he wasn''t far from it. The Hell Knight, which was only a Grand Lord, was no match for him. Without using any Skills, Shi Feng effortlessly broke through the Hell Knight''s defenses with only Sword''s Orbit. As slash after slash split the Hell Knight''s iron-like skin, the monster''s HP plummeted. When only 1% of the Hell Knight''s HP remained, a golden light enveloped the monster. The Hell Knight transformed into a stream of blue smoke that flowed back into the Magic Scroll in Katie Green''s hands. System: Congratulations! You have completed Katie Green''s second test. 1444 Rewards of SSS-rank Evaluation Chapter 1444 - Rewards of SSS-rank Evaluation Following the system notification of the test''s completion, Shi Feng received another system notification. - System: Test evaluation - 200 points. Test evaluation rank - SSS-rank. Rewarding 20 Free Mastery Points, 5 Legacy Skill Points, 300,000,000 EXP, and Countess Katie Green''s Favorability increased by 30 points. - It''s just a test, yet it awarded so many Legacy Skill Points? The system notification astonished Shi Feng. Generally, players were lucky to get one or two Legacy Skill Points after completing a high-rank Hidden Quest, yet he had received five points after qualifying for the quest. One could easily imagine the bountiful rewards from the quest itself. "To think you would actually defeat my Hell Knight, you really are a shocking adventurer," Katie Green, who stood some distance away, said with satisfaction. "I''m even more confident that you can get the item for me. "Since you''ve passed my test, take this as a gift." Saying so, the Countess revealed a blue gemstone with a chilling aura. The moment this gemstone appeared, the already chilly temperature dropped further. The surrounding Mana gathered to the stone in a frenzy, forming a vortex. "Is thatthe Azure Source Stone?!" Shi Feng exclaimed when he saw the mesmerizing gemstone in Katie Green''s hand. God''s Domain had many kinds of Attribute Gemstones. However, the Attribute Source Stones were a rank above. Attribute Source Stones were worth thousands of Gold, but unlike Attribute Gemstones, players could only equip one of each kind of source stone. Although Attribute Gemstones only increased a specific Attribute, Attribute Source Stones could increase two or more. Take the Azure Source Stone for example. Not only did it increase physique by 5% when equipped, but it also increased Ice Resistance by 20%. An Azure Source Stone could''ve easily gone for six or seven thousand Gold in the past, but only a fool would sell one. Normally, one would have traded an Azure Source Stone for a piece of Epic Equipment with high Attributes. "It is, indeed. Moreover, it''s an Intermediate Azure Source Stone," Katie Green said, nodding. "With this item, you''ll have an easier time fetching my item. You don''t have enough Ice Resistance right now to survive the area." "An Intermediate Azure Source Stone?" Shi Feng could not believe that Katie Green was actually so generous. Attribute Source Stones were divided into four ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Peak. Basic Attribute Source Stones alone were incredibly valuable. In the past, a top-tier expert would be lucky to equip one or two Basic Attribute Source Stones. Even after ten years in God''s Domain, Shadow had only acquired a single Intermediate Attribute Source Stone. Unlike gemstones, one couldn''t increase an Attribute Source Stone''s rank by synthesizing lower-ranked stones. These treasures could only be obtained from Grade 1 forbidden lands. As for Basic Attribute Source Stones, they could be found in Grade 2 forbidden lands. Though, only Dark-Gold Treasure Chests and Mythic ranked Bosses and above had a chance of dropping them. Yet, Katie Green was generous enough to give him an Azure Source Stone - [Intermediate Azure Source Stone] Only one can be equipped at a time. Equipment requirement: Level 50 All Attributes +120; Increases physique by 8%; Increases Ice Resistance by 30%. - The Attribute bonus from one Azure Source Stone was already higher than that of top-tier, Level 50, Dark-Gold Equipment. Furthermore, it boosted physique and Ice Resistance. After receiving the Intermediate Azure Source Stone, he replaced one of his Tier 3 Strength Gemstones without hesitation. What Shi Feng didn''t know was that the Countess had intended to give him the Basic Azure Source Stone before he had surprised her with his performance. Not only had Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes increased after equipping the Source Stone, but his five senses sharpened as well. When he had first entered the hall, he had felt slightly cold, but now he didn''t feel it at all. "Very good. Now, I''ll send you to the Ice Crystal World. Once you''re there, collect ten Eternal Ice Crystals for me. Bring them back, and the Bracelet of Time is yours," Katie Green explained, nodding in approval as Shi Feng relaxed, no longer affected by the room''s temperature. - System: You have accepted Countess Katie Green''s Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Ice Crystal World." Quest content: Collect ten Eternal Ice Crystals from the Ice Crystal World. Quest reward: Bracelet of Time. - Why is this an Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest? A frown pulled at Shi Feng''s lips when he read the system notification. Main Storyline Quests could significantly affect a kingdom or empire. These effects could be beneficial, but they could also be damaging. They were far more difficult than other quests of the same rank. Although the quest location wasn''t a forbidden land on the God''s Domain continent, the Ice Crystal World was a forbidden land Only now did Shi Feng understand why Katie Green had told him that the higher one''s tier was, the more danger they would face in the quest location. The Ice Crystal World was a world of its own and highly opposed to visiting lifeforms. The stronger the lifeform was, the more rejection they would face. Upon entering the world, various aspects would attempt to suppress the newcomer. At the same time, foreign lifeforms entering this world would possess unique auras. Meanwhile, the stronger this aura was, the easier it would be to attract the old monsters of the Ice Crystal World. Not even Tier 5 NPCs were a match for those old monsters. Tier 6 Gods weren''t even allowed to enter. "Alright, I''ll open the teleportation gate now. I can only maintain the gate for one or two seconds, so you need to be fast. Otherwise, you''ll have to wait another month before I can open the gate again," Katie Green warned Shi Feng. In other words, Shi Feng only had one opportunity to challenge her quest. If he failed, he would have to earn 5,000,000 Magic Crystals to purchase the Bracelet of Time. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded. Inwardly, though, he felt some contempt towards the Countess. Other players might not know what Eternal Ice Crystals were, but he did. It was rumored that the Eternal Ice Crystal contained Eternal Power. Eternal Power was crucial in helping NPCs reaching Tier 6. In the past, many players with Dark-Gold Personal Guards had only been able to upgrade their NPCs to Tier 5. It was due to the lack of Eternal Power that these guards had never crossed that final hurdle. Hence, items containing Eternal Power like the Eternal Ice Crystal had been priceless in the past. One could only have traded rare materials or items of equal value for them. Yet, this woman wanted him to obtain Eternal Ice Crystals from the Ice Crystal World. How could they possibly be that easy to acquire? Moreover, she wanted ten of them! But Shi Feng couldn''t care less right now. Zero Wing simply wasn''t equipped to collect 5,000,000 Magic Crystals. He had no other choice. If he succeeded, he would obtain one of the Seven Treasures, and with the Golden Stigmata, he could use the item better than Katie Green. Once Shi Feng had prepared himself, Katie Green began to chant an incantation. Immediately, Mana surged towards the shut, steel gates, slowly forcing them open. A stable, spatial tunnel formed beyond the open doors. "Hurry!" Katie Green shouted. Ignoring his Weakened state, Shi Feng activated Windwalk and jumped into the spatial tunnel, departing the icy hall. 1445 Ice Crystal World Chapter 1445 - Ice Crystal World Inside a snow-capped canyon, a party of six fought a Level 48, High Lord ranked Ice-toothed Tiger. - [Ice-toothed Tiger] (Elemental Creature, High Lord) Level 48 HP 31,000,000/31,000,000 - A Level 45 Shield Warrior wielding a crimson longsword and aqua-blue buckler stood before this five-meter-tall monster, and despite its size, it was powerless against the player. Regardless of how the Ice-toothed Tiger tried to attack the Shield Warrior, the latter block the blows and found gaps to strike, using his Skills to deal six to seven thousand damage per hit. The Shield Warrior''s party members were also quite capable. Not only were they all Level 44 and above, but their Skills and Spells also dealt over -10,000 damage. Their normal attacks alone dealt over -3,000 damage. "Everyone, the Boss is almost dead. Increase your damage output. Make sure you dodge its AOE Skill," the Shield Warrior named Solitary Nine said calmly as he blocked another of the Ice-toothed Tiger''s attacks. "Commander, relax; this isn''t our first time killing an Ice-toothed Tiger," a Level 44 white-clad Summoner a short distance away scoffed. The rest of the party members nodded. When the Ice-toothed Tiger''s HP reached 30%, its snow-white fur turned vermilion as it went berserk. Its size and Attack Speed increased as well. A moment later, icicles began to rain down from the sky, covering a 50-yard radius around the Ice-toothed Tiger. Seeing this, Solitary Nine shouted as he activated Shield Wall. He then skillfully dodged the descending icicles and focusing on defense. Despite the boost to the Ice-toothed Tiger''s Strength and speed, it was still couldn''t break through Solitary Nine''s defense. In the end, all of its attacks met the Shield Warrior''s round shield, significantly reducing its damage. At the same time, the female Druid in the back waved her dark-green staff as she cast Healing Wind. Although the Shield Warrior was her main target, the rest of her party received a healing buff, gaining over 1,500 HP every second. This kept everyone''s HP above a safe level. Every player in the party launched a fierce assault. As a result, the High Lord''s HP decreased rapidly. From 30%, it very quickly dropped to 15% When the High Lord''s HP reached 10%, these players launched every Skill they had. When the Ice-toothed Tiger only had 2% of its HP remaining, several scorching Flame Spears flew in from a distance, striking the High Lord and devouring its remaining HP. As the Ice-toothed Tiger collapsed, it dropped five items. Confused, the party members turned towards the Flame Spears'' origin. A 20-man team stood in the snow some distance away. A male Elementalist wielding a Tier 2 Magic Scroll seemed to be its leader. This Elementalist smiled at the six party members. "Feather Wind, what is the meaning of this?" Solitary Nine demanded with an ugly expression. "What is the meaning of this?" the Elementalist named Feather Wind chuckled. "Isn''t it obvious? I''m kill-stealing! What else would I be doing? Our Guild Leader admires you and has invited you and your adventurer team to join our Matchless Family. If you decline, the Aurora Sword adventure team will never again find any success in Cold Wind City!" The female Druid named Yan ya growled from behind Solitary Nine, "You guys are going overboard! Since Big Brother Solitary has already determined that we won''t get involved with the struggle between your Guilds, we won''t join either side!" Because of Matchless Family''s harassment, their adventurer team had ventured to this deserted area to level, yet these people had followed them so far from Cold Wind City to steal their Boss. "Overboard?" Feather Wind laughed. "Winner takes all in this place. Now that the competition over Cold Wind City has reached its peak, our Guild Leader will not allow any mishaps. Of course, our Guild Leader highly values experts like Brother Nine. If Brother Nine joins our Guild, he''ll at least become the lead MT for one of our main forces. "Yet our Guild Leader has waited for so long, and still Brother Nine refuses. Since we can''t recruit you, we''ll make sure no one can have you. "This is your last invitation. Brother Nine, will you join us or not?" "You How can you do such a thing?!" Anxiety tightened Yan Ya''s chest. The Matchless Family was one of Cold Wind City''s two large Guilds. It had plenty of experts under its command. If it really decided to move against their Aurora Sword adventurer team, the consequences would be unimaginable. "Brother Nine, before you answer, think this through carefully. Otherwise, the people around you might have some unexpected ''accidents.'' Who knows? If they''re not careful, they might even fall back to Level 0," Feather Wind threatened, smiling. Yan Ya and the other party members'' expressions darkened. Although they were strong, Matchless Family had too many experts. If they were ambushed, they would definitely die. But they couldn''t leave Cold Wind City. In the end, this merciless Guild would pick them off. "Aren''t you afraid that we''ll just join Centurion Dynasty?" Solitary Nine asked, his tone as cold as the snow beneath his feet. One of Cold Wind City''s two large Guilds was Matchless Family, while the other was Centurion Dynasty. It was due to the competition between these Guilds for control of the city that the Aurora Sword suffered. "You''re free to join those bastards, of course, but don''t think that you''ll leave this place alive." As Feather Wind finished speaking, he waves his hand. At the same time, he pulled an ancient, pitch-black scroll, which radiated a heart-rending evil, from his bag. Suddenly, over 100 players from Matchless Family began to appear around Solitary Nine''s party. These players had concealed their presence with a Group Invisibility Scroll. However, the Shield Warrior was far more afraid of the Magic Scroll in Feather Wind''s hand than he was of the players surrounding them. "To think you even prepared a Dead Soul Scroll You people from Matchless Family think too highly of me," Solitary Nine said, smiling bitterly as he stared at the black scroll. The Dead Soul Scroll was a special Magic Scroll that could curse a target player. If the player died within a certain amount of time, their death penalty would multiply, and they would lose between three and five levels. Most Guilds saved the super-rare scroll for important targets. "Of course. I''ve already told you how important you are to our Guild Leader. As proof, he personally ordered me to use this scroll," Feather Wind said, chuckling. "Well? What is your decision, Brother Nine?" However, as Solitary Nine contemplated his options, a black vortex appeared in the sky above him. A black shadow shot down from the vortex, landing between the Aurora Sword party and Matchless Family''s tyrants. This shadow was none other than Shi Feng. This is the Ice Crystal World? Shi Feng could not help but glance around him. Immediately, he discovered the players engaged in a confrontation. Every one of these players stared at him in shock. Although Shi Feng had heard about the Ice Crystal World, he had never visited it. However, he wasn''t surprised to find players here. After all, it wasn''t unusual to find players in other worlds. Take the Dark Den for example. Despite being home to Demons, many players lived there. What did surprise Shi Feng were the players'' levels. All of these players were at least Level 44. There were even quite a few Level 45 players. "Who are you? Don''t you realize that Matchless Family is trying to conduct business here?" Feather Wind haughtily demanded. 1446 Instant-kill Chapter 1446 - Instant-kill Hearing Feather Wind''s question, Shi Feng turned to look at the man. Although Feather Wind was a Level 45 Elementalist, his equipment was ordinary for his level. Only half of his equipment consisted of Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, while the other half consisted of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. As for the other Level 44 players, only a small number possessed one or two pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment, while most didn''t even have one. It was astounding to see. At this stage of the game, at least half of the equipment worn by the various large Guilds'' experts should be Level 40 Dark-Gold rank. It wasn''t even surprising to see an expert in a full set of Dark-Gold Equipment. After all, God''s Domain''s mainstream players were still some distance from Level 40, so the demand for better equipment wasn''t that high yet. Could the drop-rate for Level 40 Equipment be low here? Shi Feng guessed. God''s Domain had many Otherworlds. Generally, expert players started to encounter these worlds after reaching Level 40. Each world had a different development model. In the Dark Den, for example, players used different play styles from those in God''s Domain. Leveling up must be easier in the Ice Crystal World. In return, though, the drop-rate for equipment was lacking. Shi Feng glanced around him again. Although he had just arrived, he easily inferred what was going on. Banditry was common everywhere, after all. Although, large forces fighting over a measly Level 48 High Lord were still considerably rare. Of course, Shi Feng was more interested in the Ice-toothed Tiger''s loot than he was in the situation before him. Not a single weapon or piece of equipment lay among the Boss''s loot. In fact, four of the five items that had dropped were materials, while the last was a Tier 2 Magic Scroll. Most players would curse their bad luck for such drops, but the High Lord''s loot was shockingly attractive to a Master Forger like Shi Feng. The four materials were extremely valuable, and the most valuable among them was the Arctic Manatite. This treasure was even difficult to obtain from a Manatite vein. A single ingot of Arctic Manatite would''ve sold for over 50 Gold in the past. It was a necessary material for producing Epic ranked weapons with ice effects. Shi Feng was also surprised to find that his Weakened debuff from activating Twofold Berserk was gone, though his Berserk Skills were still on Cooldown. "What? Didn''t you hear what I just said?" Feather Wind''s gaze turned frosty as he glared at Shi Feng. He had only asked for the Swordsman''s identity due to his sudden appearance. Even with his Observation Skill, Shi Feng''s data listed as ''Unknown.'' Since he was dealing with an unfamiliar player, he had mentioned his Guild''s name to gauge Shi Feng''s reaction. Matchless Family was one of Cold Wind City''s two major Guilds. Everyone in the region recognized the name. The only power capable of competing with the Guild was Centurion Dynasty. However, Shi Feng seemed unaffected. The man even ignored him, Matchless Family''s Vice Guild Leader. This was the first time he had encountered this situation since joining God''s Domain. Let alone Solitary Nine, Aurora Sword''s commander, even Sky Slicer, Centurion Dynasty''s Guild Leader, would not dare to disregard his existence. "Is this guy a fool? Or is he scared senseless? He actually dares to ignore our Vice Guild Leader?" "This guy is dead. After angering our Vice Guild Leader, he''ll probably have to delete his account." Matchless Family''s members watched Shi Feng with ridicule and pity. They still remembered the adventurer team that had refused to leave their Guild''s leveling spot after Feather Wind had warned them not to linger. In the end, Feather Wind had led a force to slaughter the adventurer team over a dozen times. Those players had only lingered for about ten seconds Now, the mysterious man before them ignored Feather Wind entirely. Not even the heavens could save him now. Suddenly, Solitary Nine sent Shi Feng a whisper, "Friend, you best reply to his question and get out of here. He is the Vice Guild Leader of Matchless Family. He can easily eliminate anyone in Cold Wind City." Cold Wind City? The Vice Guild Leader of Matchless Family? Shi Feng turned to Feather Wind in surprise. Hearing Solitary Nine''s warning, he realized that this world wasn''t like the Dark Den. This world had NPC cities, and by the looks of it, this Matchless Family Guild seemed to rule over Cold Wind City. However, the fact that a large Guild''s Vice Guild Leader wore such poor equipment shocked Shi Feng. Even the upper echelons in Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds were fully geared in Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment, much less the Vice Guild Leaders. It seemed that the equipment standards here were far more than a little inferior to those in God''s Domain. "It''s too late for you to realize your mistake." When Feather Wind saw Shi Feng''s surprise, he sneered and said, "I''ll bury you alongside Solitary Nine and the others!" Saying so, Feather Wind activated the Dead Soul Scroll. Suddenly, a magic array appeared above Shi Feng and the party from Aurora Sword. They all felt an evil presence wrap around them, and a special debuff appeared in their status windows. - [Soul Lock] Death penalty multiplied. Effect will persist after player has died. Duration: 12 hours - The Dead Soul Scroll? Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes once again when he saw his status window. The Dead Soul Scroll was a super-rare Magic Scroll and the best tool to destroy an enemy. Not only did the scroll lack side-effects, but it was also an AOE, which made it impossible to dodge. If players died within the 12 hours, they would suffer a far more severe death penalty than normal. Meanwhile, the more times a player died during the debuff''s duration, the heavier the penalty would become. Targets weren''t even safe in NPC cities, and when they logged out of the game, the duration would pause until they logged back in. Only after 12 hours in God''s Domain would players be free of the debuff. Hence, the Dead Soul Scrolls were even as valuable as Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. Most players avoid using them unless they had a deep hatred for their target. "Friend, I truly apologize for this. I did not expect to drag you into my mess with Matchless Family. I''ll do my best to open a path for you. Try to escape," Solitary Nine hurriedly said. He then turned towards his teammates and said, "You guys have to try to get away, too." He was a Shield Warrior. He could never escape so many players without some special tool. He could only help his allies get away. "Commander!" "Big Brother Solitary?!" The other five party members worried for their commander. They were very familiar with Solitary Nine''s strength. If he focused on getting away himself, he had some hope, but he had given that up to help them escape. Should Solitary Nine die, it would take a very long time to recover the lost EXP and equipment. "Escape?" Shi Feng smiled and shook his head. He then slowly approached Feather Wind. "What is he trying to do?" Yan Ya watched this newcomer in confusion. "He''s not trying to beg for mercy, is he?" "What a fool! That''s Feather Wind! If begging for mercy worked, he wouldn''t have killed so many players in Cold Wind City." Aurora Sword''s members were flabbergasted as they stared at Shi Feng. Feather Wind was well-known for his ruthlessness in Cold Wind City. He was a vicious person that never accepted apologies. "What? You want to beg for mercy?" Feather Wind sneered at Shi Feng as the man moved closer. As everyone waited for the Swordsman''s reply, Shi Feng vanished. "Where is he?" Feather Wind searched his surroundings. Everyone was stunned. They had never seen a Swordsman disappear like an Assassin. In the next second, however, Shi Feng reappeared beside Feather Wind. Before anyone realized it, two sword lights blossomed on Feather Wind''s mage robes. The man''s vision darkened as his lifeless body dropped to the ground 1447 Monster-like Mysterious Exper Chapter 1447 - Monster-like Mysterious Expert Silence dominated the area as every player stared at Feather Wind''s motionless corpse. Although Shi Feng had not used any impressive techniques or Skill, everyone was petrified. They even forgot to breathe. "What just happened?" "The Vice Guild Leaderis dead?" "Just what did he do?!" Everything had happened so quickly that by the time they reacted, Feather Wind, a top-tier expert and Matchless Family''s Vice Guild Leader, was already dead "He died?" "This is impossible! That''s Feather Wind we''re talking about! He might not rank among the top ten in Cold Wind City, but he is still a top-tier expert in the top 20! How could an expert like that die so quickly?! Even Lifeless Thorn, Cold Wind City''s number one expert, couldn''t achieve such a feat!" "Could he be Lifeless Thorn?" "Lifeless Thorn is a Berserker; that guy is a Swordsman. There''s no way he''s Lifeless Torn." "Commander, do you know who that guy is?" Even Aurora Sword''s members were astonished. One of Cold Wind City''s top 20 experts had died in one hit. If news of this matter got out, it would shock everyone in the city. Solitary Nine stared at Shi Feng in confusion, his mind spinning to figure which expert in Cold Wind City this man was. As for the possibility of Shi Feng being from somewhere else, that was practically impossible. The only way in or out of the Cold Wind City region was through the Snow Rift, a forbidden land for players. Current players couldn''t even enter the map, much less cross through it. This was why the city''s players were so afraid of Matchless Family and Centurion Dynasty. Should they provoke either power, their life in Cold Wind City would become a living hell or end completely. However, no matter how Solitary Nine racked his brain, he couldn''t match any of the city''s experts to Shi Feng. Even Cleansing Whistle, the strongest Swordsman in Cold Wind City, was only ranked sixth. Moreover, Cleansing Whistle was a woman, not a man, making it impossible for her to be the mysterious Swordsman expert before him. "I''m not sure, either. But you should get ready. We''ll use this opportunity to escape in a moment," Solitary Nine said in the team chat after pondering the situation for some time. Now that Feather Wind was dead, the 100-plus experts from Matchless Family had lost their commander. Hence, they had a high likelihood of escaping. Moreover, they had an expert like Shi Feng to hold the line, which further increased their chances. Feather Wind had over 30,000 HP. Although he was an Elementalist, the fact that Shi Feng had killed him without using Skills meant that he could kill an MT of the same level with a handful of attacks. If Shi Feng''s Attack Speed was high enough, he could even finish off an MT before the enemy healers could react. As long as no one could pin the Swordsman down, their party could safely retreat. Suddenly, Matchless Family''s members snapped out of their daze. Their leader had died, yet they had stared blankly at the killer for so long They all discarded their fear and pounced on Shi Feng. "Die!" "Brat, you''re dead! You dare kill our Vice Guild Leader?! From today on, we''ll hunt you to the end of the world!" The Matchless Family''s experts charged at Shi Feng. They were so focused on killing the newcomer that they ignored Aurora Sword''s members. They all understood that if news of this reached Cold Wind City, they could kiss their lives goodbye. If they let Shi Feng escape after killing Feather Wind in front of them, what hope did they have of mingling in Cold Wind City? Fireballs, Frost Arrows, and arrows flew towards Shi Feng from all directions. Watching from a distance, Solitary Nine''s expression darkened. Not even a Shield Warrior like himself could block so many attacks at a time. He''d be lucky to block 60 or 70% of the attacks. If dozens of attacks hit him at once, he''d only last a few seconds even with Shield Wall active However, a galaxy of stars suddenly formed around Shi Feng. These stars crushed the various Spells and arrows as they came within 10 yards of the Swordsman. It was as if the stars had formed a magic barrier around Shi Feng. No matter how many attacks flew towards Shi Feng, none of them hit their mark. In fact, the bombardment hadn''t even reduced Shi Feng''s HP by a single point. "What kind of Skill is that?!" Every player watching was stupefied. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng had deflected a volley, Matchless Family''s dozens of melee players moved in to strike. Charge! Chop! Shadow Assault! Flame Slash! One Skill after another collided with Shi Feng''s Sword''s Orbit. Peng Peng Peng The moment these melee players encountered Sword''s Orbit, they were thrown backward like cannonballs. Some nearly lost their grip on their weapons from the powerful impact. Moreover, these melee players had lost a visible chunk of their HPs. Even the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors lost over 2,000 HP, and they had only received the damage from assaulting Shi Feng with their shields. The other classes lost around 4,000 HP. Four thousand damage would even reduce an MT''s HP by one-tenth "How is this possible?" Solitary Nine and his companions watched, dumbfounded. "Don''t be afraid of this trash! We have healers to recover our HP! I refuse to believe his Skill can last forever!" a member from Matchless Family shouted to his team. The other members nodded in response. They eyed Shi Feng from the sidelines, waiting until the duration of whatever Skill he was using came to an end. "What? You don''t want to play anymore?" Shi Feng shook his head and chuckled when he saw his opponents'' hesitation. "Since you won''t come to me, I''ll come to you!" He had simply focused on defense to get a better idea of these players'' combat standards. He had only instant-killed Feather Wind to instill shock and fear into these players. Now that the enemy commander was dead, the remaining 100-plus experts were little more than test subjects to help him understand players'' standards in the Ice Crystal World. Following which, Shi Feng advanced and instantly appeared before a Level 44 Shield Warrior, the Sacred Sword in his hand smoothly descending from an angle that the Shield Warrior couldn''t evade. "So fast!" The Shield Warrior raised his shield in a panic. At the same time, his feet also unconsciously took a step back. The instant Killing Ray met the Fine-Gold ranked shield, it left a scar in the metal, and the resulting impact threw the player over a dozen yards away. The Shield Warrior''s HP fell by over 2,400. Following which, Shi Feng brandished his swords at the nearby MTs. Without exception, he sent every MT flying. "Monster" "He isn''t a player! He''s a monster!" Matchless Family''s members were petrified as they watched Shi Feng toss about their MTs. Normally, they were lucky to land blocked attacks that dealt over -100 damage during duels with these MTs, yet they received over -2,000 damage from Shi Feng''s attacks. It was easy to imagine how horrifying the man''s damage would be if they failed to block an attack It seems the Ice Crystal World''s players don''t just have inferior equipment, but their combat standards are lower than players in God''s Domain as well. After clashing with Matchless Family''s members several times, Shi Feng gained a general understanding of these players'' combat standards. Following which, he stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground and glanced at the frightened players before him, saying, "My experiment is over! Let''s start the real battle!" Abyssal Curse! Skywheel Sword! Suddenly, a dark fog bound every player within 30 yards of Shi Feng. As these players tried to activate their Control Removal Skills, countless divine swords descended from above. Shi Feng then followed up with Killing Ray''s Summon Lightning, dealing 400% lightning damage to all enemies within a 15-yard radius. In the blink of an eye, almost every player within Summon Lightning''s range turned to ash and disappeared, leaving weapons and equipment scattered across the battlefield. Only a few MTs and the players who had fled the attack''s radius had survived 1448 Shocking Cold Wind City Chapter 1448 - Shocking Cold Wind City "Who is he?" "An expert like this guy was hidden in Cold Wind City all this time?" The Aurora Sword''s party members, who had been about to flee, were stupefied by the scene before them. They had never seen such a massive gap between players'' strength. Even zerg tactics would crumble against Shi Feng. A second ago, over a hundred players from Matchless Family had Shi Feng surrounded. Now, however, only a dozen or so players were still standing. These players were only alive because they had reacted quickly enough, activating their Lifesaving Skills upon realizing the severity of the situation. Otherwise, they, too, would''ve been electrocuted and turned to ash with their dead companions. "Monster" "Run!" No one knew which player had shouted, but upon hearing the word ''run,'' every surviving Matchless Family member turned and fled as if a pistol had gone off to sign the start of some race. They all knew that if they fled as a group, none of them would get away, but Shi Feng couldn''t catch them all if they ran in different directions. However, contrary to expectations, Shi Feng didn''t immediately run after the feeling players. He simply sheathed his two swords and activated Chilling Field. Chilling Field covered a 50-yard radius. Upon activation, the Skill enveloped every fleeing player. Nine, dark-gray swords appeared above the Guild players. As Matchless Family''s members focused on escape, they did not manage to react to the incoming attacks in time. As a result, the dark gray swords pierced their hearts with zero resistance, plundering the little HP they had remaining. After two waves of attacks, the last of Matchless Family''s players transformed into particles of white light and disappeared, leaving only weapons and equipment in their places. "Is hereally a Swordsman?" Solitary Nine was thunderstruck as he watched the instantaneous slaughter. Among the dozen or so survivors, the closest had been 20 yards from Shi Feng, while the farthest had been over 35 yards away, yet even from such a distance, Shi Feng obliterated them effortlessly. With such attack capabilities, could anyone escape this man''s wrath? Solitary Nine''s party members stared at Shi Feng, shock and fear dancing in their eyes. Although they had encountered plenty of experts before, they had never felt so powerless before one. It had taken Shi Feng only a few moves to wipe out over a hundred experts from Matchless Family When they had first seen the Swordsman, they hadn''t thought much of him. However, chills crawled down their spines as they watch Shi Feng calmly collect the loot littering the snowy ground. It was as if the thing walking towards them was some prehistoric beast, not a player. As Shi Feng collected the dropped weapons and equipment, each item surprised him more than the last. Only a small fraction of the loot was system-made. Most of the weapons and equipment were crafted items The lowest rank among these items was Secret-Silver, while the highest quality items were Dark-Gold rank. Every weapon and piece of equipment was Level 40. Currently, even Zero Wing''s prided Candlelight Trading Firm could only mass-producing Level 40 Mysterious-Iron Weapons and Equipment. Only the top-ranking Lifestyle players were capable of crafting Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Moreover, they could only craft a limited amount. One of the reasons for the low production volume was material rarity. Another reason was the low success rate, which resulted in high production costs. Rather than waste time trying to procure rare materials, most players simply purchased their weapons and equipment in the Auction House. The fact that the majority of the weapons and equipment Matchless Family''s members had dropped were player-made was inconceivable. The development of weapon and equipment production on God''s Domain''s continent was already quite fast, yet it was nothing compared to Ice Crystal World. While Shi Feng collected the scattered items, Solitary Nine took the initiative to approach the man. "Friend, thank you for earlier. If not for you, Matchless Family''s members would''ve killed us. I am Solitary Nine, the commander of the Aurora Sword adventurer team," Solitary Nine introduced himself. "If you have any problems in Cold Wind City, please feel free to contact me." Although Aurora Sword wasn''t one of Cold Wind City''s top adventurer teams, it was relatively well-known. The team had over a hundred members in total, and although they were strong enough to make major changes in the city, they could deal with minor issues. The other party members nodded eagerly. They both feared and revered Shi Feng. If they spread the news about what had happened here, it would cause chaos in Cold Wind City. Matchless Family was a peerless organization in Cold Wind City, yet Shi Feng had slaughtered over a hundred of its experts by himself. He was a monster-like existence. Countless players dreamed of befriending an expert like him. "Cold Wind City?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng asked, "Can you tell me a little about the situation in Cold Wind City?" He had practically no understanding of the Ice Crystal World, let alone any clues leading to Eternal Ice Crystals. Now that Katie Green had sent him here, if he did not acquire the required Eternal Ice Crystals within a month, he would have a far more difficult time obtaining the Bracelet of Time. The first thing he needed to do was learn about the situation here. Once he did, he''d have an easier time searching for the Eternal Ice Crystals. "Tell you about Cold Wind City?" Solitary Nine was taken aback. He quickly recovered from his surprise and asked, "Could it bethat you''re not a player from this region?" The others were similarly dumbfounded. Everyone knew that unless one crossed the Snow Rift, it was impossible to leave or enter the Cold Wind City region. "That''s right. I''m not from this area." Shi Feng nodded, feeling no particular need to hide the truth. After all, players in Otherworlds didn''t always stay there. As they reached higher levels, the system would gradually integrate them into the rest of the game. Besides, it''s not like they could do anything about his origin. Realization dawned Solitary Nine and the others. It was no wonder why they had never seen a monster like Shi Feng in Cold Wind City. However, Solitary Nine and his companions couldn''t help their rueful sighs. Solitary Nine was one of the top three MTs in Cold Wind City. He should rank near the top in other regions as well, but they had never imagined that other regions would have experts like this Swordsman. It was easy to surmise that the expert standards in other regions were much higher than in Cold Wind City. This revelation was a mental blow. At the same time, though, they were eager to leave their city and explore other maps. Only, Solitary Nine and the others did not know that Shi Feng was not from a different region in the Ice Crystal World. Rather, he had come from God''s Domain''s continent. Even in his home region, Shi Feng only ranked among the top 100 on the God''s Domain Experts List. Following which, Solitary Nine explained some basic details and the general situation in Cold Wind City. Meanwhile, an uproar shook Cold Wind City. Matchless Family''s failed attempt to annihilate the Aurora Sword adventurer team had already reached the public. Not only had the Guild member failed to kill a single player from the group, but hundreds of its experts had also been eliminated by some passing Swordsman. 1449 Becoming Famous in Cold Wind City Chapter 1449 - Becoming Famous in Cold Wind City Cold Wind City, Matchless Family''s Guild Residence: Over a dozen upper echelons occupied the Residence''s meeting room and extraordinarily tense atmosphere. A middle-aged man on the Guild Leader''s throne was the cause for this tension. This middle-aged man wore a suit of azure armor. Although he said nothing, the pressure he radiated chilled the room. Even a passing glance from this man felt like that of some ferocious beast. This middle-aged man was none other than Thundering Sky, Matchless Family''s Guild Leader. In Cold Wind City, one word from him could easily decide whether a player lived or died. Right now, Thundering Sky''s blood boiled with rage. "Can someone tell me where this person came from?" Thundering Sky frowned as he watched Shi Feng''s battle video. "It''s been so long since the incident, yet none of you know anything about him?" "Guild Leader, we''ve launched a full investigation on the player. However, we have yet to uncover any information about him," one of the upper echelons answered, cold sweat chilling his forehead. Immediately after Feather Wind died, the Elementalist had sent them an offline message, ordering them to focus all of their resources on investigating Shi Feng. However, no matter how hard they searched, they found nothing about the Swordsman. It was as if the man had suddenly appeared. "This player has already killed over a hundred of our members, but we don''t even know his name?! Garbage! Every one of you!" Thundering Sky bellowed. "Continue searching! Mobilize everyone! I want this person found! Since he dares to disrespect Matchless Family, then he shouldn''t even dream of surviving in Cold Wind City!" "Understood!" Everyone nodded and notified the Guild''s members to search for the Swordsman. For a time, every member of Matchless Family hunted for Shi Feng, killing intent igniting their hearts. Centurion Dynasty also held a meeting to discuss the situation. "Interesting! Truly interesting! That person actually annihilated Feather Wind''s expert team! I don''t think even Lifeless Thorn could do that," Sky Slicer, Centurion Dynasty''s Guild leader, said, laughing as he watched Shi Feng''s battle video. Matchless Family had been humiliated. Not only had the Guild failed to kill Solitary Nine, but it had also lost over a hundred experts. Most importantly, a single player was responsible for all 100-plus deaths. This had dealt a huge blow to Matchless Family''s reputation. After all, winning a one-on-five expert battle was impressive. Even an expert like Lifeless Thorn should only be able to handle a dozen or so experts at a time. Yet, Shi Feng had faced over a hundred experts, and his victory had been overwhelming. Naturally, anyone who watched Shi Feng''s battle video would realize that the man was very powerful. However, those who had only heard about the massacre would assume that Matchless Family''s experts were nothing but paper tigers. Suddenly, a female Elementalist in white mage robes asked, "Guild Leader, what should we do next?" "Since the Matchless Family wants to kill this player, we have to do the opposite," Sky Slicer said, laughing. "Rain, find him. Tell him that the Centurion Dynasty would like to welcome him with open arms." "What if he refuses?" Swirling Rain asked. "Refuses?" Sky Slicer snorted. "That''s not an option. We''re talking about Matchless Family, after all. Even if he is strong as an individual, he can''t take on the whole Guild. He''ll only be safe if he joins us." "Understood." Swirling Rain then bowed and left the meeting room. Both of Cold Rain City''s large Guilds began their search for Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the city''s players were dumbfounded. "What''s going on?" "This person is awesome! Both large Guilds are actually offering a high price for information about his whereabouts! Not even Lifeless Thorn has ever elicited such a reaction." "There''s no helping it. Although Lifeless Thorn doesn''t belong to any Guild, his adventurer team, Wave Heart, is a top adventurer team with over 3,000 members. It has over 300 experts. Three of the city''s top ten experts belong to the adventurer team, as well. The Guilds would have to weigh their options seriously before moving against Lifeless Thorn." "That''s right! This player is doomed. He killed so many of Matchless Family''s players. The Guild won''t rest until they kill him back to Level 0." "Both Guilds are offering such a high price. Their already offering 2 Gold for any information about the man''s current location." The independent players on Cold Wind City''s streets quietly discussed the new player, every one of them admiring Shi Feng''s courage. In Cold Wind City, no one, aside from Centurion Dynasty, dared to provoke Matchless Family. Independent players often resented the two large Guilds. Unfortunately, since both Guilds were so powerful, they had no choice but to endure their suffering. Hence, when they had heard the news of Shi Feng slaughtering over a hundred experts from Matchless Family, they quietly celebrated. As the city''s players chatted about the recent events, seven players arrived in the Teleportation Hall. These players were none other than Shi Feng and the party from Aurora Sword. After Solitary Nine had offered a general explanation of Cold Wind City, Shi Feng had decided to pay the city a visit. Hence, Solitary Nine had given Shi Feng a few Return Scrolls for Cold Wind City so that he could return via teleportation alongside his people. Cold Wind City was the only NPC city in this particular zone. The city''s player population exceeded 2,000,000, and each of the large Guilds had over 100,000 members. It was why the two Guilds were able to rule over Cold Wind City. If Shi Feng wanted to find more information about the Eternal Ice Crystals, Cold Wind City''s library was undoubtedly the best place to do so. All of God''s Domain''s libraries collected information about their home locations. As soon as Shi Feng''s group left the Teleportation Hall, gasps erupted from the players outside of the building. "Crap Isn''t that the expert that killed the Matchless Family''s experts?" "What?! Does he not know that the Guilds have mobilized their forces to find him?!" "He must be insane! He actually ventured into the city! Does he think Matchless Family is afraid of attacking him within the city walls?" "That might be the case. Unfortunately, he''s underestimated the Guild. Some time ago, some guy had provoked a few of Matchless Family''s members. In the end, they killed him over ten times inside the city. The matter was only resolved after he paid the Guild 10 Gold and every weapon and piece of equipment he had." "Quick Notify Matchless Family!" These players were stupefied as they watched Shi Feng stroll down the street, admiring the scenery. From time to time, Shi Feng even entered a Shop to browse its merchandise. After so recently provoking Matchless Family, this man dared to show his face in Cold Wind City. From a certain perspective, Shi Feng deserved to be called Cold Wind City''s number one player Shortly after Shi Feng''s arrival, news reached both large Guilds. "What?! He''s shopping in the Trade Area?! Are you sure?!" Sky Slicer could not help his shock upon hearing the latest report. "I''m absolutely sure. I''ve compared his face to the person in the video," the Assassin confirmed, nodding seriously. "I''ll head there immediately! Notify the main force members and tell them to gather in the Trade Area as soon as possible!" Sky Slicer hurriedly instructed after digesting the information. Meanwhile, in Matchless Family''s Residence, when Thundering Sky received the news of Shi Feng''s appearance, he nearly shattered his desk. "Daring bastard! After killing my subordinates, he still dares show his face?! Notify every expert in the Guild and tell them to hurry over! Halt all operations and quests temporarily!" Thundering Sky bellowed. 1450 City of Crafters Chapter 1450 - City of Crafters Cold Wind City, Trade Area: "Commander, more people are tailing us now. Matchless Family''s probably found out about our return already. Should we notify Big Brother Ye Feng about?" Yan Ya asked worriedly as she glanced at the players stalking them. News of the slaughter of Matchless Family''s members had already spread throughout the city. Yet, now, the main culprit boldly walked down the city streets without a care in the world. It was a slap in the face to the Guild. Once the Matchless Family''s members arrived, they would not leave without a fight. Thousands of players from Matchless city resided in the city. Killing a single player would be child''s play for the Guild. Furthermore, their group still had the Soul Lock debuff. Solitary Nine nodded in response to Yan Ya''s question. Based on his understanding of Matchless Family, the Guild would seek revenge for the smallest of grievances. It wouldn''t hesitate to take action against Shi Feng even in the city. Although he trusted in Shi Feng''s strength, Matchless Family had the home-ground advantage. Regardless of how powerful the man was, he was at a disadvantage. Solitary Nine walked up to Shi Feng and whispered, "Brother Ye Feng, why don''t we head to the library? I''m afraid that if we linger around here any longer, Matchless Family''s members will find us. Dealing with them will be troublesome." "Troublesome?" Curious, Shi Feng asked, "Do players have full power over the city?" Solitary Nine hadn''t gone into the management style in the Ice Crystal World''s NPC cities. If these cities were like the Dark Den''s Shelters, where players had full authority to determine a city''s rules, they would indeed have some trouble to deal with. "That''s not the case. Matchless Family just has a lot of members inside the city," Solitary Nine said, shaking his head. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Solitary Nine''s reply. He then pointed at the Cold Wind Auction House a short distance away and said, "That''s alright, then. I''ve already visited most of the Shops, so let''s make a trip to the Auction House before we head to the library." "This" Solitary Nine was speechless. The man even wondered if Shi Feng understood what he meant by ''a lot of members.'' Cold Wind City was the Matchless Family''s main headquarters. The Guild could easily gather over ten thousand players at a moment''s notice. Centurion Dynasty was the only existence capable of contending with the Guild in the city. "Commander, what should we" "Forget it. We''ll just accompany him until the end. Hopefully, Thundering Sky can keep his cool and avoid doing anything rash" As Solitary Nine watched Shi Feng leisurely approach the Auction House, he struggled with various complex feelings. He could not understand what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. However, since Shi Feng had saved his and his teammates'' lives, he could not escape by himself. He could only pray that Matchless Family did not do anything too reckless. After all, they were currently standing in the heart of the city. Patrolling NPC guards were everywhere. If it really came down to a fight, Matchless Family would not have too much of an advantage, either. Upon entering the Auction House''s main hall, the sight of players hawking their items greeted Shi Feng. "Selling cheap, top-tier Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons! Ten Gold per item! Get a 5% discount if you buy two!" "Selling Refined Meteorite Copper for 3 Gold per stack!" "Selling Frost Steel Ore for 1 Gold per stack!" The players selling items in the hall outnumbered the shopping players. The items these players were selling shocked Shi Feng. On the God''s Domain continent, even the cheapest Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapon could sell for 15 Gold or more, yet players here were offering the same for 10 Gold each. Moreover, they were all player-made weapons With how high current demand was for Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons in his world, he could easily turn a massive profit if he bought and resold these player-made weapons. As for the Refined Meteor Copper, the rare forging material currently sold for 30 Silver per ingot. Moreover, it was very difficult to purchase. Each stack, containing 20 ingots, sold for 6 Gold, yet these players were selling each stack for half that. The various forging materials sold in the hall were all significantly cheaper than those in God''s Domain. In addition, this world had an abundance of forging resources. Even empires famous for producing ores paled in comparison to the Ice Crystal World. This place is really impressive. It''s a pity that I don''t have a way to return once I leave. I guess I have no choice but to stock up on rare materials before I depart. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked through the various items these players offered. If he could travel between the Ice Crystal World and the God''s Domain continent, he could earn more income from reselling items than what he earned from Stone Forest Town. Moreover, he could rely on the large quantity of materials to nurture the Candlelight Trading Firm''s forgers. If luck would have it, he might nurture a few Master Forgers. After all, creating new items required experimentation with various materials. With so many rare materials in the Ice Crystal World, one could experiment to their heart''s content. This was most likely the reason that the standard of Cold Wind City''s forgers was far above those in the Candlelight Trading Firm. Based on Solitary Nine''s explanation, the Ice Crystal World should have other NPC cities. As players reached higher levels, Cold Wind City''s Guilds began to prepare to challenge the Snow Rift. It was only a matter of time before Cold Wind City''s players encountered cities in other regions. At this point, Shi Feng suspected that the Ice Crystal World had birthed the game''s first Master Forger. However, purchasing a large amount of materials required a lot of Coins, but he hadn''t been carrying many when he had come to the Ice Crystal World. His only option was to make money by selling the Matchless Family''s Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold items for a low price. Unfortunately, the Dark-Gold items were precious to Zero Wing, so Shi Feng intended to hold on to them for now. After Shi Feng finished putting the loot from Matchless Family for up for sale, he left the Auction House and made his way to the library. Seeing Shi Feng finally willing to leave this risky location, Solitary Nine and the others breathed a sigh of relief. However, as soon as they left the Auction House, they were greeted by a shocking scene. Players crowded the street, and every one of them wore Matchless Family''s Guild Emblem. With a rough glance, they easily counted over 10,000 players Matchless Family''s members radiated killing intent as they glared at Shi Feng''s group, scaring off any unrelated players. "What''s going on?" "Does Matchless Family plan to monopolize the Auction House?" "You don''t know? Some expert killed a bunch of their members. They''ve come to deal with him!" "Do they need to go to such lengths, though? Why would the dispatch so many people just for one player?" The domineering display frightened the independent players on the street. Among the Matchless Family members present, the lowest-leveled member was Level 43. Their equipment was awe-inspiring, as well. "This Has the Matchless Family lost its mind?" Solitary Nine felt an unprecedented pressure. He had thought that, at most, Matchless Family would send around 1,000 experts. He hadn''t expected Thundering Sky to be mad enough to dispatch a 10,000-man army. Not even Lifeless Thorn, Cold Wind City''s number one expert, could elicit such a reaction. However, after Matchless Family''s members had gathered in front of the Auction House, another commotion shook the street. Another player army slowly approached from the other end of the street, and although this army was smaller than Matchless Family''s, it still included around 3,000 players. These new arrivals wore Centurion Dynasty''s Guild Emblem. For a time, experts from both of Cold Wind City''s large Guilds stood before the Auction House''s entrance. Following which, both Guilds'' Leaders pulled away from the crowd. Both men looked at Shi Feng. "You''re the expert that killed Feather Wind?" Thundering Sky and Sky Slicer asked in almost perfect unison. The spectating players were stupefied. 1451 Obliterated Chapter 1451 - Obliterated "That guy is so amazing! Both Guild Leaders actually came looking for him! Just who is he?!" The distant spectating players were shocked to see the two men. Solitary Nine, who stood behind Shi Feng, was at a loss for words. Both Thundering Sky and Sky Slicer were top-tier existences in Cold Wind City. Normally, they were very difficult to meet, yet these two had gathered here due to Shi Feng. "That''s right. What business do you have with me?" Shi Feng calmly replied to the Guild Leaders'' question. An army of ten thousand players might be shocking to ordinary players, but not even a million-player army could surprise Shi Feng. Besides, they were still inside an NPC city. "Good! I never thought you would have the guts to admit it!" Thundering Sky''s face twitched in anger as he glared at Shi Feng''s calm composure. "I am Thundering Sky, the Guild Leader of Matchless Family. Since you admitted to killing my Guild''s experts, that makes things simple. Hand over every item and piece of equipment you have and let me kill you once; then we''ll consider the matter settled. Otherwise, bear the consequences at your own risk." "Guild Leader, aren''t you letting this brat off too lightly?" The Guild Leader''s demand confused his upper echelons. They had assumed that Thundering Sky wouldn''t rest until he forced this newcomer to delete his account, he had just offered to let Shi Feng off with such a light punishment. "Enough! I have my reasons!" Thundering Sky shot his subordinates a withering glare, immediately silencing them. What these Guild upper echelons did not know was that Thundering Sky was far more interested in Shi Feng''s weapons and equipment than he was in avenging Feather Wind. After watching the Swordsman''s battle video, he realized that the man''s Basic Attributes were ridiculously high. Not even Thundering Sky was confident of killing Feather Wind in one hit. After all, Feather Wind''s weapons and equipment were considerably good. The Elementalist''s HP was also over 30,000. PVP battles were different from those with monsters. A player''s damage would scale down when they struck another player. Killing expert players of the same level was very difficult. Yet, Shi Feng had done it. Moreover, he had thrown Level 44 and 45 Shield Warriors with his normal attacks. His Strength could definitely rival that of a Great Lord of the same level. With such powerful Attributes, Shi Feng had to have more than one top-tier weapon or piece of equipment. He might even have something Thundering Sky could use. However, if they killed this man while the Soul Lock debuff was active, Shi Feng would only drop a few pieces of equipment. On the off chance that he had stored his items in the Bank, they would lose any chance of obtaining them. "Hahaha! Fellow friend, ignore this man''s foolish demands! If you join Centurion Dynasty, I guarantee that no harm will come to you within the Cold Wind City region," Sky Slicer said as he sent a contemptuous glance at Thundering Sky before turning back to Shi Feng. "In addition, I''d like to offer you the position as our Guild''s main force vice commander." "Insane! This is madness!" "I didn''t hear wrong, right?! Sky Slicer actually offered so much to an unknown expert?! They haven''t even been that generous to Lifeless Thorn!" Sky Slicer''s voice had been quite loud, so the spectating crowd had heard every word. The offer confused them. A Guild''s main force was a Guild''s core of power. The main force generally only answered to the Guild Leader; not even Vice Guild Leaders had the authority to mobilize the main force. Hence, the main force''s commander was even more important than the Vice Guild Leader. Although the vice commander wasn''t as important, it was still a crucial role. Sky Slicer had offered Shi Feng such an important position right off the bat. "Slicer! Do you intend to make an enemy of Matchless Family?!" Thundering Sky shouted, enraged. Although he had expected Sky Slicer to oppose him, he hadn''t expected the man to be so brazen about it. "Have our Guilds ever been friendly?" Sky Slicer sneered. Their two Guilds had fought countless battles against each other, and neither feared their rival. Now that he had an opportunity to suppress his rival''s momentum and recruit a powerful expert, he couldn''t miss the chance to kill two birds with one stone. "Good! I''ll take care of your Centurion Dynasty as well!" Thundering Sky''s expression darkened. Immediately, he commanded, "Everyone, attack!" "Yes! Let''s see who is afraid of whom!" Sky Slicer also commanded his Guild members to fight. For a time, the Matchless Family and Centurion Dynasty''s members slaughtered each other inside the city. Due to so many players involved, the NPC patrols couldn''t quell the incident quickly. They could only clear out the fighting players, little by little. Both Guilds'' members fought with everything they had, fully intent on annihilating their enemy. Now that players were reaching higher levels, it was only a matter of time before they could raid the Snow Rift. To compete with Guilds in other NPC cities, they first needed to deal with Cold Wind City''s problems. Otherwise, they would have to face enemies on both fronts. The entire street had transformed into a battlefield. Spells and arrows blotted out the sky, and explosions and screams filled the air. Unfortunately, as Centurion Dynasty had brought fewer members, Matchless family quickly suppressed its players. As a result, the former Guild''s members were forced to retreat. Of course, Matchless Family couldn''t eliminate their rival''s members as Centurion Dynasty''s reinforcements began to arrive. All Matchless Family could do was push the other Guild back. Shortly after the battle had begun, the dead players'' weapons and equipment littered the street. Even experts were forced to use their Lifesaving Skills. The weaker players died before they could even react as numerous attacks struck. The spectators were stunned. This fight helped them realize just how weak an individual was compared to a Guild. Even the well-known adventurer teams were nothing. Very quickly, Sky Slicer was forced into a corner. Meanwhile, Matchless Family''s members surrounded the Auction House. "Hmph. Do you think that we can''t touch you just because Centurion Dynasty wants to lend a helping hand?" Thundering Sky sneered at Shi Feng, who had not participated in the battle. "I guarantee you that no one can protect you in the Cold Wind City region. If you hand over all of your weapons and equipment now, I can still let you off the hook. If you try to retaliate, I''ll eliminate you, Solitary Nine, and his group hiding behind you!" The watching crowd gasped when they heard Thundering Sky''s threat. They all knew that Thundering Sky was a man of his word, but they hadn''t expected him to be ruthless enough to target Solitary Nine''s group as well. However, as soon as Thundering Sky finished speaking, Shi Feng, who had maintained a relaxed posture, unsheathed Killing Ray. He then casually walked towards Thundering Sky, who stood 50 yards away from him, as if he were just taking a stroll through his own backyard. "What?! He actually dares to defy Thundering Sky?!" "Is he insane?!" Even Matchless Family''s members were stunned. Setting aside Thundering Sky''s individual prowess, the man was surrounded by hundreds of his experts. These subordinates would likely kill the Swordsman before he got close to their Guild Leader. "You asked for this!" Thundering Sky frowned. He hadn''t thought this newcomer would be so foolish. He gestured with a hand and ordered, "Kill him!" The instant Shi Feng was within the ranged players'' reach, over a hundred Spells and arrows flew towards him, forming a tight wall that left no room for Shi Feng to dodge. However, Shi Feng raised the Sacred Sword and swung it forward. Lightning Edge! Suddenly, countless arcs of blue lightning streaked towards the incoming Spells and arrows. In the blink of an eye, the lightning destroyed everything in a 50-yard cone. "I am only one person. However, you can''t just kill me because you want to," Shi Feng calmly stated as he watched Thundering Sky and his numerous subordinates transform into particles of white light. 1452 Overwhelming Difference Chapter 1452 - Overwhelming Difference Silence! It seemed as if time had stopped. The fighting players from both Guilds froze as they stared at the particles of light that had once been Thundering Sky and his subordinates. All of a sudden, a large, empty space had opened on the crowded street. Even now, faint arcs of electricity flickered around the clearing. In a single move, Shi Feng had killed hundreds of Matchless Family''s players. Thundering Sky, who ranked among Cold Wind City''s top 10 players, had died before their eyes. He hadn''t even put up the slightest fight before he had died. It was hard to believe that an ordinary-looking Swordsman with a blue longsword had been responsible for this. When Solitary Nine and the others, who stood behind Shi Feng, saw this, they could not help but gasp, the corners of their lips twitching slightly. They already knew that Shi Feng was very powerful, but it now seemed that Shi Feng hadn''t taken his fight with Feather Wind seriously. "Just who is this guy?" The corners of Sky Slicer''s eyes twitched as he stared at the empty clearing a short distance away. He wouldn''t have been so surprised if Shi Feng had been a magical-class player. However, this was the first time he had seen a Swordsman in God''s Domain possessing such a powerful Skill. Moreover, this Skill had such a short channeling time, giving the Skill''s targets no time to react. "How is this possible? The Guild Leader died?" Matchless Family''s members were at a loss. Everything had happened too quickly. "He killed our Guild Leader! We can''t let him get away!" "That Skill must have a long Cooldown! He can''t use it again anytime soon! Kill him!" Suddenly, Matchless Family''s members turned their attention away from Centurion Dynasty as they charged at Shi Feng. A Guild Leader was directly connected to the Guild''s reputation. The fact that this man had killed their Guild Leader instantly humiliated every one of them. If they did not kill Shi Feng right now, Matchless Family''s reputation would suffer. This would severely impact their Guild''s development. "Damn it! Matchless Family''s players have lost their minds!" Tension gripped Solitary Nine as he watched the players swarm towards him. However, before the Matchless Family''s members reached their group, Shi Feng pointed Killing Ray at the approaching crowd. Dragon Breath! Suddenly, a beam of white light shot forth. The white light vaporized any player it touched. In the blink of an eye, several hundred more players had died After using Dragon Breath, Shi Feng followed up with Dragon''s Authority, inflicting the Fear debuff on all enemies within a 50-yard radius, reducing their Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 40% for one minute. Everyone within the Skill''s range felt as if they had plunged into a muddy swamp. Following which, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade, increasing his attack range. He then took a step forward and vanished. "Where is he?" As the crowd recovered from the shock and fear Shi Feng''s Dragon Breath had inflicted, the man had disappeared. They could not help their growing confusion. However, before anyone had realized it, Shi Feng had reappeared among Matchless Family''s members. He lightly swung his two swords at the nearby enemies. Boom! A tornado formed around Shi Feng. Following which, all players within 15 yards of Shi Feng collapsed, staring at their empty HP bars in a daze. Not even the MTs with high HP had escaped Shi Feng''s wrath. Following which, Shi Feng advanced once again. This time, however, he didn''t execute Void Steps. Instead, he left numerous afterimages trailing behind him as he moved forward. At the same time, he brandished his swords without a care in the world, slaughtering every player that came within 15 yards. None of the players within his range escaped death''s embrace. In fact, they couldn''t even block or dodge the Swordsman''s attacks. One after another, Matchless Family''s members transformed into particles of light. Shi Feng looked like a god of death as he claimed these players'' lives. Nobody could even slow him down. Although the Guild''s ranged players tried to stop Shi Feng, their attempts were little more than a joke. They couldn''t even keep up with Shi Feng''s movements with their eyes, much less land an attack. They could only watch as particles of light floated in the air "He can''t be a player! He must be a Demon in disguise!" "He''s a monster! A monster in human skin! We need to run!" After a brief moment, Shi Feng had killed another several hundred players. Panic overwhelmed Matchless Family members as they watched Shi Feng reap their allies'' lives. At this point, they had forgotten about avenging their Guild Leader and restoring their Guild''s reputation. They could only think of getting as far away from Shi Feng as possible. They had never seen such a terrifying player before. Compared to Shi Feng, the strongest Boss monster they had ever faced looked cute. After all, they had some hope of damaging a Boss. Against Shi Feng, however, they couldn''t even resist. How was this supposed to be a PvP battle? This was just a one-sided massacre. Like frightened rats, the thousands of Matchless Family members scattered and fled in all directions. The players watching from a safe distance were stupefied. Before today, they had seen thousands of players pursue a single person. They had never watched one player chase after a 10,000-man army. This scene had shattered everything they had thought they knew about God''s Domain. "Isn''t he a little too strong? Just who is he?" Solitary Nine was beyond shocked. An individual having the power to suppress an entire Guild only ever happened in his dreams, yet he watched as that dream became a reality. What Solitary Nine did not know was that, while Cold Wind City''s players might be stronger than those in God''s Domain as forgers, their weapons and equipment were nothing in comparison. To prove this point, not one player from Matchless Family dropped an Epic Weapon or piece of equipment. The best they had was Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. On the other hand, Shi Feng wielded three Fragmented Legendary items. He was also a Tier 2 player. With both advantages, the difference between Shi Feng and his opponents was horrifying. As the other players from Aurora Sword watched Shi Feng''s massacre, an indescribable excitement bloomed in their chests. They were fully aware that Shi Feng was a player. They fully intended to boast to their friends that they had met such a powerful expert. After around 30 seconds, the originally clogged street was empty of players. Only Shi Feng and a bunch of weapons and equipment remained. The survivors from Matchless Family had long since fled the battlefield. Despite so many items covering the street, none of the spectators moved forward to steam them. On the contrary, they distanced themselves from the loot, making sure that at least a hundred yards lay between them and the nearest item. As for the NPC guards, they spared Shi Feng little more than a glance before pursuing Matchless Family''s surviving members. In NPC cities, the NPC guards would target the side that attacked first. Matchless Family members had teamed up before surrounding Shi Feng. If any member of the team attacked, they would implicate the entire team in the crime. Hence, within a fixed amount of time, Shi Feng could kill as many members of the team as he wanted without receiving any punishment from the system. Even if this mechanic hadn''t existed, Shi Feng could''ve simply found a secluded location and altered his appearance with the Demon Mask. With Nightwalker Cape''s passive concealment effect, not even high-tiered NPC guards could touch him. After crushing Matchless Family members, Shi Feng didn''t hurry to collect his loot. Instead, he smiled as he turned to Sky Slicer, who stood a short distance away, saying, "Guild Leader Slicer, now that the problem has been dealt with, may I know what business you have with me?" 1453 Unexpected Harves Chapter 1453 - Unexpected Harvest As Centurion Dynasty''s members watched Shi Feng walk towards them, their breath caught, and cold sweat drenched their backs. It felt as if a prehistoric beast approached, not a player, and they desperately wanted to turn and flee. One man had inspired thousands of Matchless Family''s members to run like frightened rats. If someone had told them of such a thing happening in the past, they would have laughed it off. Now, however, they could not find it in themselves to laugh. They had clashed with the other Guild many times, and both were roughly on the same level. Since Shi Feng could suppress Matchless Family by himself, naturally, he wouldn''t have any issues doing so to Centurion Dynasty. Sky Slicer wore an ugly expression. Had he known something like this would happen, he would not have poked his nose into the situation "Brother Expert, I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I only came here to recruit you because I have a grudge against Matchless Family. If I had known that Brother Expert was so powerful, I would not have meddled in your affairs. For this offense, I am willing to pay 10,000 Magic Crystals as compensation," Sky Slicer respectfully told Shi Feng. His previous pride had faded like smoke. "What a generous offer!" Solitary Nine quietly exclaimed. In his opinion, Sky Slicer was insane to offer 10,000 Magic Crystals as an apology. Even a well-known adventurer team like Aurora Sword had only accumulated 2,000 Magic Crystals thus far. Meanwhile, Magic Crystals were an indispensable resource in Cold Wind City. For example, Lifestyle players needed the crystals when producing weapons and equipment. To increase their production success rate, they would spend Magic Crystals on renting special workshops in their respective Lifestyle Associations. There was also the Divine Colosseum, and training there cost a lot of crystals. Magic Crystals were nearly impossible to save. Although there were quite a few ways to obtain Magic Crystals in Cold Wind City, handing over 10,000 Magic Crystals would deal a considerably painful blow to Centurion Dynasty. However, Solitary Nine wasn''t a Guild Leader, so he couldn''t understand Sky Slicer''s thought process. If an expert of Shi Feng''s caliber decided to target Centurion Dynasty and randomly ambush its main force or elite members, the Guild would break under the loss. Moreover, Centurion Dynasty couldn''t do anything to Shi Feng. If such a situation lasted for a long time, it could cripple the Guild. The 10,000 Magic Crystal offer also served to put some distance between Centurion Dynasty and Shi Feng. "Ten thousand Magic Crystals?" Shi Feng was slightly confused. The resources in Cold Wind City were far more abundant than he had assumed. Both Centurion Dynasty and Matchless Family would only be third-rate Guilds on God''s Domain''s continent. Giving away 10,000 Magic Crystals would likely bankrupt the Guild. However, based on Sky Slicer''s expression, he only felt a slight pang at the lost. When the Guild Leader saw the small frown forming on Shi Feng''s face, he realized that the other party wasn''t particularly satisfied with the compensation. Gritting his teeth, he said, "If Brother Expert doesn''t find the compensation satisfying, I can include this map as well?" Saying so, Sky Slicer took out an ancient, tattered animal skin. Although the hide was quite old, it emitted a faint pressure. Although there was only a trace of this pressure, everyone seemed to fear it. This isDivine Might? Shi Feng stared at the animal hide in Sky Slicer''s hands in surprise. Divine Might was an aura unique to Gods. Any item that radiated the energy wouldn''t be ordinary. Furthermore, this item had manifested in the Ice Crystal World. Although this Otherworld''s rank was quite high, it could only accommodate up to Tier 5 creatures. Tier 6 Gods were barred from this world. The fact that such an item, once used by God, had manifested here made it even more valuable. "Brother Expert, what do you think?" Sky Slicer asked, smiling when he saw Shi Feng''s interest in the animal hide. He had obtained this animal hide some time ago, but although he recognized it as valuable, he had no way to reveal its secrets. Using it to appease Shi Feng and improve his relationship with the man wasn''t a bad trade. "Deal!" Shi Feng nodded. His goal in traveling to the Ice Crystal World was to obtain Eternal Ice Crystals, not to dominate Cold Wind City. He had no reason to clash with the local Guilds. If not for Matchless Family''s determination to pick a fight, he wouldn''t have bothered with them. Hearing Shi Feng''s reply, Sky Slicer breathed a sigh of relief. He then handed over the 10,000 Magic Crystals and the animal hide. As for the weapons and equipment littering the street, Shi Feng decided to sell the items to Sky Slicer for Coins and various rare materials. Weapons and equipment took up an entire slot by themselves in a player''s bag space. However, materials didn''t; one slot could hold multiple articles of the same item. By selling the weapons and equipment for materials, Shi Feng could maximize the number of items he brought back to God''s Domain. Naturally, Sky Slicer was more than happy to accept Shi Feng''s offer. The Matchless Family members that had cornered Shi Feng earlier consisted of the Guild''s elites and experts. Most of the players that had fallen to Shi Feng had been experts. Hence, the weapons and equipment they had dropped were considered top-tier in Cold Wind City. Through this transaction, Shi Feng had obtained close to 8,000 Gold in rare materials. If he resold these materials in his home world, he could easily earn over 20,000 Gold. However, Shi Feng wouldn''t sell all of the materials even for a single payment of 20,000 Gold. These rare materials could help the Candlelight Trading Firm''s forgers improve quickly. The trading firm might even manage to nurture a Master Forger. After obtaining the materials, Shi Feng quickly made his way to Cold Wind City''s library. Meanwhile, news of Shi Feng''s triumph over the Matchless Family quickly spread throughout Cold Wind City, shocking the resident players. "That guy is so awesome! Not only did he suppress Matchless Family by himself, but even Centurion Dynasty treated him with respect! I wish I had half his strength!" "After this, Lifeless Thorn will have to relinquish his position as Cold Wind City''s number one expert." "I wonder if this expert is accepting disciples? If he is or plans to start an adventurer team or Guild, I''ll be the first to apply!" For a time, Cold Wind City''s players heatedly discussed this newcomer. Meanwhile, a man wearing ice-blue armor and wielding a purple spear faced off against a Level 54, Great Lord ranked Demonic Frost Wolf in the Snow Rift, Cold Wind City''s forbidden land. Despite the Frost Wolf''s upper hand in speed and Strength, it was helpless against this indifferent man. On the contrary, the player repeatedly restricted its movements. Because of this one man, the 20-man team following him easily dealt with the Demonic Frost Wolf. Less than a minute after the fight had begun, the Demonic Frost Wolf collapsed and dropped several items. The team members watched as their experience bars rose quite a bit. While the team rested, a heroic-looking female Swordsman turned to the indifferent man, who rested with his eyes closed. Giggling, she said, "Lifeless, didn''t you say that you''re the strongest player in Cold Wind City? It seems that you have a rival now." "A rival?" Lifeless Thorn''s eyes opened when he heard these words. Shaking his head, he said, "Cold Wind City''s experts are clueless. They''re nowhere near being a suitable rival for me." "I''m not talking about them," the female Swordsman, Cleansing Whistle, responded. Revealing a leisurely smile, she said, "Weren''t you boasting about how powerful you are? Do you think you can stand against 10,000 elites from Matchless Family?" "You''ve got to be kidding. You''re talking about 10,000 elite players." Lifeless Thorn rolled his eyes. "Then why do you claim to be invincible in Cold Wind City? Here; take a look at this. Not long ago, a Swordsman expert single-handedly suppressed Matchless Family''s army. Centurion Dynasty even offered him a gift as an apology," Cleansing Whistle said, giggling as she sent a copy of Shi Feng''s battle video to Lifeless Thorn. "This is" Although Lifeless Thorn wanted to refute Cleansing Whistle''s words, he couldn''t help his shock as he watched the battle video. "How can there be such a powerful expert in the city?" "Well? Hadn''t you said something earlier about the Swordsman class being crap? Now you know how powerful Swordsmen are!" Cleansing Whistle said, feeling a little proud when she saw the man''s shock. "He is powerful. He is on an entirely different level than I am," Lifeless Thorn straightforwardly admitted. The Assassin''s admission stunned Cleansing Whistle. She had thought the news would shake Lifeless Thorn''s confidence, allowing her to get some payback for his insults towards her class. Before Cleansing Whistle could say more, Lifeless Thorn stood and took a Return Scroll from his bag. "What are you doing?" Cleansing Whistle asked curiously. "Do you really have to ask? I''m going to look for that expert," Lifeless Thorn said, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Are you mad?! We wasted all that time to get here, yet you''re going back, just like that?!" Cleansing Whistle was astonished. However, ignoring her words, Lifeless Thorn activated the Return Scroll. He then transformed into a streak of light as he left the Snow Rift. Seeing this, Cleansing Whistle and the other team members had no choice but to take out Return Scrolls and head back as well. Meanwhile, in Cold Wind City''s Noble''s District, Shi Feng impatiently took out the animal hide Sky Slicer had given him and carefully inspected as he traveled in an advanced carriage. 1454 Treasure that Surpasses Epic Rank Chapter 1454 - Treasure that Surpasses Epic Rank It''s no wonder why Sky Slicer couldn''t do anything with this. When Shi Feng tried to inspect the hide, he was only able to learn its nameTattered Animal Hide. The item displayed no further information. Although this animal hide radiated a faint trace of Divine Might, due to time, it was damaged beyond recognition. The images and words that had been inscribed on the item were nearly impossible to discern. Fortunately, Shi Feng was confident that he was even more skilled at analyzing items than a Master Appraiser. I wonder what this item is, exactly. Shi Feng then activated Omniscient Eyes and inspected the hide once more. The moment he tried to do so, a loading bar appeared above the item. Watching the loading bar, Shi Feng was astonished. How is this possible?! Just what kind of item is this?! When he used Omniscient Eyes to appraise Dark-Gold items, the process took no more than 10 seconds, yet this scrap of hide requited 30 seconds. Not even Epic items took so long to appraise. As the seconds ticked by, the process restored the images and words on the animal hide. By the time the loading bar was full and disappeared, the originally tattered hide seemed as if it had regained its vitality as it began to restore itself. In the blink of an eye, the tattered animal hide looked brand new. This isan Ancient Shrine? Shi Feng gave the leather an incredulous look. "Big Brother Ye Feng, has something happened?" Yan Ya asked from beside Shi Feng. Everyone in the carriage was curious, looking to Shi Feng for an explanation. This man had remained calm even when he stood against an army of 10,000 players, yet he stared at the hide Sky Slicer had given him in surprise. "It''s nothing. I''m just satisfied with the transaction with Sky Slicer," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although Shi Feng had brushed the matter off verbally, inside, he was ecstatic. Ancient Shrines were considerably old and mysterious locations. No one knew who had built them, yet every large-scale Otherworld had them. Ancient Shrines were extremely dangerous, guarded by powerful monsters. They were also crowded with traps. Even so, players residing in large-scale Otherworlds swarmed to these Ancient Shrines like madmen. This was because Ancient Shrines housed the passage to travel from their Otherworlds to God''s Domain''s continent. As Otherworld''s experts grew more powerful, they would find clues leading to these Ancient Shrines. They would then search for the shrines'' locations before exploring their interiors. Eventually, they would find God''s Domain. However, this process normally only started after players reached Level 100. The maps that contained these Ancient Shrines were generally high-level areas. Moreover, the Ancient Shrines themselves were very well-hidden. The animal hide Sky Slicer had given him was a record of all of the locations of and information about the Ice Crystal World''s Ancient Shrines. This item would save players a lot of time. Only now did Shi Feng understand why it had taken an unusual amount of time to appraise the animal hide. There was no doubt that the Ancient Shrine Map in his hand was worth far more than a measly Epic item. After all, whoever possessed this map would have full access to the Ice Crystal World. As long as he developed the path to one of the Ancient Shrines, he could freely transfer resources between the Ice Crystal World and his home world. The benefits of reselling these items could even tempt Super Guilds. The sooner he opened this path, the more benefits he''d obtain. According to the Ancient Shrine Map, the easiest Ancient Shrine to reach was in a Level 50 to 70 map. This map was a forbidden land that connected the various NPC cities in the Ice Crystal World. For Cold Wind City, this map was the Snow Rift. Only, the map indicated that the Snow Rift''s Ancient Shrine lay under its core region, so it would be extremely difficult to locate. By the time anyone discovered the hidden map, Ice Crystal World''s mainstream players would have exceeded the recommended level. With this map, my trip here has certainly been worth it. Shi Feng began to formulate numerous plans as he inspected the Ancient Shrine''s location. He had come to the Ice Crystal World because of a quest. Originally, he would''ve had to wait until someone from the Ice Crystal World activated an Ancient Shrine''s teleportation gate to return to this world after finishing his quest. Moreover, that was dependent on whether or not the player who discovered the shrine would publish the teleportation gate''s location. After all, he wouldn''t be able to return to the Ice Crystal World unless he found another teleportation gate on God''s Domain''s continent. However, things had changed. If he could activate an Ancient Shrine before he left, he would travel between worlds unhindered. This would give Zero Wing an advantage. Moreover, unlike the Dark Den, where he could only take one person with him, the Ancient Shrine''s teleportation gates wouldn''t have such a restriction. Of course, he''d have to pay the teleportation fee. Incredibly powerful NPCs guarded Ancient Shrine''s teleportation gates, and each of these NPCs determined the fees based on how much distance separated the two worlds. Generally, the fee ranged between 20 and 50 Magic Crystals per person. Although Shi Feng had once encountered a gate that charged one Mana Stone per person Usually, only independent elite and expert players could afford to travel back and forth between worlds. However, the cost was nothing compared to the potential profits Guilds could gain. After all, every Otherworld had its own specialty resources that were extremely rare in God''s Domain. If Guilds had to pay a small teleportation fee to obtain these precious resources, they would be more than happy to part with the cost. Right now, opening a path to the Ancient Shrine was far more important than obtaining Eternal Ice Crystals to Shi Feng. As long as he activated the Ancient Shrine, he''d accept failing the quest and losing his chance to trade Eternal Ice Crystals for the Bracelet of Time. He could simply rely on the Ice Crystal World''s resources to earn 5,000,000 Magic Crystals within a month and purchase the Bracelet of Time for the originally stated price. It seems I''ll need to make a trip to this Ancient Shrine later. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng carefully inspected the information on the animal hide. No one should ever underestimate an Ancient Shrine. Based on his memories, an Ancient Shrine required a considerable amount of time to raid and conquer. And he was alone in the Ice Crystal World. It wouldn''t be easy to clear a path. As for the Eternal Ice Crystals, Shi Feng intended to visit the library before making his decision. If he could find a way to obtain the ten Eternal Ice Crystals, he would save a massive amount of Magic Crystals. After looking at the Ancient Shrine Map for some time, Shi Feng felt his head ache. The Ancient Shrine in question would be extraordinarily difficult to raid. Only now did he understand why the various Otherworld''s large Guilds required a month to clear out a single shrine. Even a low-level Ancient Shrine, like the one located below the Snow Rift, was guarded by a Level 70 Mythic monster. Even the Snow Rift''s final Boss was a Level 70, Grand Lord ranked Nine-headed Earth Dragon. Although only one tier separated the two, the difference in strength was like heaven and earth. Alone, he could never defeat a Level 70, Mythic ranked Boss. When Shi Feng finished examining the Ancient Shrine Map, he turned to Solitary Nine and asked, "Brother Nine, would you to help me with something?" "Help you?" Solitary Nine asked, confused. "Yes. I wish to establish an adventurer team in Cold Wind City," Shi Feng stated. 1455 Adventurer Team Established Chapter 1455 - Adventurer Team Established "Establish an adventurer team?" "Big Brother Ye Feng, are you joking?" For a moment, everyone in the advanced carriage looked at Shi Feng in surprise, wondering if they had misheard. Shi Feng had previously expressed his lack of interest in establishing his own force. He had only come to Cold Wind City from another region to complete a quest. Yet, this man had just stated that he wanted to establish his own adventurer team. They were both confused and excited to hear this. If Shi Feng formed an adventurer team, it would undoubtedly flourish. In addition, during the previous battle, Shi Feng had made a name for himself in Cold Wind City. He wouldn''t have any issues establishing a Guilds, much less an adventurer team. They could already see players lining up to apply. "What do you need our help with?" Solitary Nine asked, practically glowing. He had already decided to join any force this man established. After all, Shi Feng''s strength and combat standards were far more impressive than his own. Watching Shi Feng''s battle had opened the doors to a completely new world for him. Unfortunately, Shi Feng hadn''t shown any interest in setting up his own force, so he hadn''t asked the Swordsman about it. He had only hoped to form a close relationship with the Swordsman and find an opportunity to seek Shi Feng''s guidance. Now, however, he didn''t need to do so. He could simply join Shi Feng''s adventurer team. His goal in establishing an adventurer team was to improve his combat standards by delving into God''s Domain''s various ruins and Dungeons. He did not like participating in the struggles between Guilds. Most importantly, he had always hated the way Matchless Family and Centurion Dynasty had operated. Hence, he had established the Aurora Sword adventurer team. He had thought that he and his companions could join Wave Heart, Cold Wind City''s number one adventurer team, if the Guilds put too much pressure on Aurora Sword. Fortunately, he didn''t have to worry about that anymore. "I''d like to ask your help in advertising and organizing the adventurer team''s recruitment." After giving the matter some more thought, he continued, "I don''t need a lot of people for the team. Three or four thousand members will be enough. Official members will have to reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor at the very least, though the requirement will increase as time goes on." Cold Wind City had its own Divine Colosseum, and although it wasn''t connected to those in other cities, it wouldn''t affect players'' evaluations. "The fifth floor?" Yan Ya''s jaw dropped. "Big Brother Ye Feng, very few people in Cold Wind City will be able to meet that requirement. Most experts can only reach the fourth floor." Yan Ya was one of Aurora Sword''s top-ranked experts, but even she had only recently made it to the fifth floor. "Quality is more important than quantity. Of course, we could let players take another set of tests before joining the adventurer team," Shi Feng said. He then took out the list of Zero Wing''s test criteria when recruiting members, displaying it for Solitary Nine and his party. Not all talents in God''s Domain were powerhouses. Rather than only recruiting those who were already strong, they could also look for players with potential. Players with potential would become reserve members for the moment. Reserve members would then be tested and judged based on their improvement speed. They could become official members once they reached a certain standard. If not, they would have to resort to the primary test, reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Although this two-stage process was tedious, it helped Zero Wing avoid missing out on potential experts. Of course, there was a minimum requirement to become a reserve member; players had to reach the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. At this stage of the game, the Trial Tower''s fourth floor was still a fairly difficult hurdle for players. However, as player standards continued to improve, more of them would reach the fourth floor. If a player could not even reach the fourth floor, there was no point for them to take the test to become a reserve member. Even so, Shi Feng''s requirements stunned Solitary Nine and his companions. In Cold Wind City, players who could reach the Trial Tower''s fourth floor were generally recruited to become elite members in one of the two major Guilds, yet they would only be reserve members in Shi Feng''s adventurer team. Once the city''s players found out about this, they''d call him a madman. After all, how could an adventurer team offer more benefits than a Guild? Convincing 1,000 people to join this man''s adventurer team would be immensely difficult, much less 5,000 people "Brother Ye Feng, what do you intend to call your adventurer team?" Solitary Nine asked. "The adventurer team''s name?" Shi Feng thought about how others had called him an Asura. Being intensely uncreative, he replied, "Let''s call it the Asura adventurer team." At first, he had considered simply calling it the Zero Wing adventurer team. After all, he had planned to use this adventurer team as reinforcements for Zero Wing''s core members. However, after giving the matter some thought, he gave up on the idea. After all, many of God''s Domain''s experts disliked the restrictions Guilds imposed on their members. Instead, he could invite the experts that refused to join Zero Wing to his Asura adventurer team. This way, the Asura adventurer team could collect independent experts who disliked Guilds, forming a symbiotic relationship with Zero Wing. "Then, Brother Ye Feng, can my Aurora Sword adventurer team join yours?" Solitary Nine asked anxiously after taking a deep breath. "Of course! It''ll help me out quite a bit if you join. As long as your team members can meet one of the two requirements, they are welcome," Shi Feng said, smiling. He already had a rough estimation of Solitary Nine''s strength. He had also listened to Yan Ya''s comments on the matter. Not only was Solitary Nine one of Cold Wind City''s top three MTs, but he had also reached the last stage of the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. He was only a step away from the seventh. Although he didn''t know any advanced combat techniques, he was not that far from the Half-step Refinement Realm. In Zero Wing, he could easily rank among the Guild''s top 10 MTs. It was quite impressive. Furthermore, Solitary Nine hadn''t received any official training like Zero Wing''s core members had. The man had reached that standard of his own power. If Solitary Nine were offered sufficient training and guidance, he could easily reach the Half-step Refinement Realm. Given enough time, reaching the Refinement Realm wouldn''t be much of an issue. As such a capable expert, why wouldn''t he welcome Solitary Nine into his adventurer team? Unfortunately, he''d have no choice but to let go the Aurora Sword members who couldn''t meet the recruitment requirements. It was important than an organization adhere to its own rules. Otherwise, the organization would lose its members'' trust. "I understand." Solitary Nine replied. The Asura adventurer team wanted experts. He''d have no choice but to compensate the Aurora Sword members who didn''t make the cut. Following which, Shi Feng and his new companions drew up a list of benefits that the Asura adventurer team would offer its members. With such a high recruitment requirement, not many players would apply if they didn''t offer appropriate benefits. Before they realized it, their advanced carriage had arrived before Cold Wind City''s library. What a marvelous library! As soon as Shi Feng alighted from the carriage, he could not help but stare at the mountainous building before him. Compared to White River City''s library, Cold Wind City''s was a giant. The building was well over 300 meters tall. It was large enough to fill three sports arenas. At the same time, the library felt ancient like some long-lost ruin. Following which, Shi Feng activated his Demon Hunter title and approached the entrance. The four NPC guards by the doors glanced at Shi Feng as he passed by, showing no intention of stopping the Swordsman. Elsewhere, Solitary Nine published the recruitment information for the Asura adventurer team on Cold Wind City''s official forums. At the same time, Yan Ya and the others saw to the necessary arrangements to spread the news throughout the city. Very quickly, news about Shi Feng''s an adventurer team reached every player in Cold Wind City. "What? He''s actually trying to establish an adventurer team?" When Thundering Sky, who had recently resurrected, received the news, his expression darkened. 1456 Adventurer Teams Benefits Chapter 1456 - Adventurer Team''s Benefits "Guild Leader, quite a few of our members have withdrawn from the Guild as soon as they heard the news. If we don''t do something to stop this, I''m afraid that we''ll lose more of our members," Feather Wind cautiously reported to Thundering Sky. The battle at the Auction House dealt a massive blow to Matchless Family''s reputation, and because of that, the Guild had lost over a thousand elites and experts. Yet, despite such huge losses, Matchless Family couldn''t do anything about them. After all, the Guild was utterly helpless against Shi Feng. To make matters worse, Shi Feng had decided to establish his own adventurer team. They couldn''t afford to provoke Shi Feng when he stood alone, but they could still avoid the man. Matchless Family had over 100,000 members. Even if Shi Feng were more powerful, he wouldn''t be able to damage the Guild''s foundations if their members spread out. If he had an adventurer team under his control, however, Matchless Family would likely have to face thousands of players in the future. It''d become even harder to deal with this expert. "Damn it! Just who is he?! Why haven''t we heard of this guy before?!" Thundering Sky''s expression twisted as he read the latest report. If not for Shi Feng''s sudden appearance, their plans wouldn''t have been interrupted, and he would have secured his hold on Cold Wind City. "Guild Leader, should wecontact those people?" Feather Wind asked softly. "It can''t be helped. At this rate, Cold Wind City will either end up in Centurion Dynasty''s hands or the Asura adventurer team''s. Since they''ve taken Cold Wind City from me, I won''t let them have it, either," Thundering Sky growled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "Contact them. Tell them that Matchless Family is willing to join their Guild. However, we require that they destroy Centurion Dynasty and the Asura adventurer team!" Although Cold Wind City''s players couldn''t travel to other NPC cities right now, they could communicate with players in these cities offline. An upper echelon from Hecate, a large Guild in another NPC city, had contacted Matchless Family, stating Hecate''s interest in purchasing the Guild. Initially, Thundering Sky had hesitated. After all, Hecate was far more powerful than Matchless Family, controlling more than five NPC cities. Hecate even ruled over Ice Crystal City, the Ice Crystal World''s largest NPC city. Thundering Sky wasn''t confident of Matchless Family''s survival should it insult this massive Guild. He had hoped to solidify his control over Cold Wind CIty before anyone cleared the Snow Rift. Even if his city were connected with other NPC cities, he''d more or less have the power to withstand outside forces. Now that he had lost any hope of becoming his city''s overlord, joining Hecate was his best choice. Once the passage opened, with Hecate''s secret support, Matchless Family would send both Centurion Dynasty and Shi Feng to meet their maker. "Understood. I''ll see to it right away." Feather Wind then logged out of the game and disappeared from the office. Elsewhere, after splitting up, Solitary Nine and the others took the 3,000 Gold Shi Feng had given them to purchase a considerably large plot of Land from the City Hall. They then visited the Adventurer''s Association to begin their Residence''s construction. Although the Residence was not as luxurious as a Guild Residence, it could easily accommodate 1,000 people at a time. Hopeful applicants had already surrounded Asura''s Residence. Over 4,000 players waited for their evaluation, and this was only the beginning. "As expected of the adventurer team established by Cold Wind City''s number one expert! Asura''s Residence is even larger than Wave Heart''s!" "That''s right! I bet it won''t be long before Asura becomes the number one adventurer team in Cold Wind City!" While the crowd waited for the application process to start, Solitary Nine emerged and posted the recruitment requirements at the entrance. As Asura''s recruitment standards went public, many players were shocked. "Is the Asura adventurer team crazy? Only those who reached the Trial Tower''s fifth-floor qualify to join? Do they not know what it means to reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor?" "What?! Even those who can reach the fourth floor have to deal with further testing!? If I had that kind of strength, I would''ve joined a Guild as a core member! Why would I even bother joining an adventurer team?!" "Is this really an adventurer team? Why do I feel like its recruitment requirements are harsher than a large Guild''s?" "With these standards, I doubt that Asura will even recruit 1,000 members. No, it might not even get 500 members!" "Is the Asura adventurer team toying with us?" "Crap! Isn''t this just an adventurer team!? Who would be desperate enough to deal with this crap?!" When the players outside Asura''s Residence saw the requirements, some laughed, some cursed, and others simply turned and left. Everyone thought that the Asura adventurer team was mad. As far as they knew, Asura''s recruitment requirements were even higher than a first-rate Guild''s, not to mention Cold Wind City''s Guilds. With such high requirements, only a small number of players throughout the Ice Crystal World would bother to join the adventurer team. After all, Asura was merely an adventurer team. It couldn''t offer any significant benefits. An adventurer team just existed to give players an easier time forming teams and parties to raid Dungeons and explore ruins. Expert players never needed to worry about finding party members. Furthermore, the Asura adventurer team had only recently been established. Even with an expert like Shi Feng, without Dungeon raid or ruin exploration results, expert players were less inclined to consider an adventurer team. "Commander, players have stood outside our doors for quite some time now, yet only a few have applied. What should we do?" Yan Ya stated at the crowd outside in frustration. "Yan Ya, stop calling me commander. Now that we''ve joined the Asura adventurer team, Ye Feng is the commander. I am simply one of Asura''s party leaders," Solitary Nine said. "Regarding the recruitment issue, the commander has stated that if people don''t apply, we''ll reveal this benefit to the public." He had mentioned the possibility of this awkward situation to Shi Feng, and after giving the matter some thought, the man had decided to raise the team members'' benefits. Any official member of the Asura adventurer team could use Contribution Points to purchase Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment as well as the opportunity to learn various combat techniques. "What?! Co-Commander, is that true?!" Yan Ya exclaimed when she heard this. Being able to purchase Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment from the adventurer team was already impressive. Even Cold Wind City''s experts only had a few Dark-Gold items on them. Usually, only Guilds'' core members had any access to such items, yet the Asura''s official members could bid on these items. However, the Dark-Gold items paled in comparison to the combat techniques. Most players knew something about combat techniques, mysterious techniques that could significantly improve one''s combat power. Unfortunately, very few players actually knew any of these techniques. In fact, neither of Cold Wind City''s two large Guilds had any players that had learned a combat technique. Yet, the Asura adventurer team offered to teach its members various combat techniques. This felt like a dream! "Mhm. The commander made the decision, so don''t worry about it. In any case, publish the information outside." Solitary Nine nodded. He, too, had been surprised when he had heard Shi Feng''s decision. Following which, Yan Ya ran to the notice board outside the Residence''s entrance and published this shocking announcement. 1457 Clue to Evolution Chapter 1457 - Clue to Evolution Cold Wind City''s library: As soon as Shi Feng entered the library, he felt as if he had just stepped into a different world. The library didn''t contain any books whatsoever. Instead, the hall included a starry sky and organized shrubbery. Creeks and bridges snaked through the main hall. From time to time, one caught sight of glittering, translucent balls of water rising from the creeks before they dispersed into tiny drops. All of these creeks originated from a single location, the massive water ball hovering in the center of the hall. Not even Star-Moon City''s library was this beautiful. What an amazing library. It''s fully automated with the use of magic water balls. The Mana density is double that of outside. If players could practice their Spells in here, their learning efficiency would double, maybe triple. Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he sensed the building''s Mana. However, Shi Feng was surprised to see only a few magical-class players in the library. At a glance, he only counted two to three hundred players. It was an abnormally small number for a library. What he didn''t know was that one had to become a Baron before they could enter Cold Wind City''s library. If not for Shi Feng''s the Demon Hunter title, the Level 180 NPC guards at the entrance would''ve chased him away. He didn''t give the matter too much thought, though. He approached the central water ball and began to search for information on the Eternal Ice Crystals. It was far more convenient to search through the magic water ball than it would be to leaf through numerous books. There sure is a lot of information here. Shi Feng was astonished when his search for the Eternal Ice Crystal came back with over a hundred results. Normally, he''d be lucky if he got ten or so results for a particular search. Fortunately, it was usually enough information to find the item they wanted, yet hundreds of entries mentioned the Eternal Ice Crystals. This almost guaranteed that he could find the crystals'' location. Following which, Shi Feng browsed through the information. How is this possible?! What Shi Feng found shocked him. The Eternal Ice Crystal was actually a Mana Crystal. Only, due to the Ice Crystal World''s influence, the power of frost tainted these Mana Crystals, transforming them into Eternal Ice Crystals. These crystals could be found in the Ice Crystal World''s various forbidden lands, but only Great Lord ranked Bosses and above had a chance of dropping them. Unfortunately, these Bosses wouldn''t drop complete Eternal Ice Crystals. Rather, they had a very low chance of dropping Ice Crystal Fragments. One had a 50% chance of successfully synthesizing ten Ice Crystal Fragments into one completely Eternal Ice Crystal. No wonder she gave me a month for this quest. It''s certainly not going to be easy. Shi Feng frowned. Although the Snow Rift was a forbidden land, it didn''t have many Field Bosses. Considering the low drop-rate and the 50% success rate, it would take a long time to obtain one Eternal Ice Crystal, much less ten. I guess I need to hurry. Now that he knew that Eternal Ice Crystals were actually Mana Crystals, he had even more reason to obtain them. He also needed Mana Crystals to evolve the Abyssal Blade. Although the Tier 1 Abyssal Blade was plenty powerful, particularly when it came to compatibility rate, its Basic Attributes weren''t quite on the level of top-tier Epic Weapons. He wanted to evolve the Abyssal Blade, but he hadn''t found any Mana Crystals, so he had been forced to set the matter aside for some time. If he could evolve the Abyssal Blade once more, he''d be more confident of defeating the Ancient Shrine''s Guardian Boss. Armed with this new information, Shi Feng was glad he had decided to establish an adventurer team in Cold Wind City. He wouldn''t have had any hope of collecting enough Eternal Ice Crystals in time if he were alone. Following which, Shi Feng left the library and hurried towards Asura''s Residence. Shortly after the Asura adventurer team had published the new benefits, the crowd outside the team''s Residence went into an uproar. "What?! Members can trade Contribution Points for combat techniques?!" "Asura is actually willing to teach combat techniques! Not even the city''s two large Guilds offer that benefit!" Although Cold Wind City had many experts, only a handful had learned combat techniques. These experts treated these techniques like family heirlooms, refusing to teach any outsider. But the general public knew how powerful combat techniques were. A player with a combat technique could easily defeat one without. Moreover, unlike Skills and Spells, players could improve their combat standards while they learned a technique. This was yet another reason that experts refused to teach others their techniques. They adamantly refused all sorts of payment for the training. Yet, the Asura adventurer team wanted to teach its members various combat techniques. The news stunned countless players. None of them doubted the validity of Asura''s offer. As Cold Wind City''s number one expert, Shi Feng certainly knew many combat techniques. There wasn''t anything surprising about him teaching his members one or two of these techniques. Moreover, the more powerful an expert was, the more they would value their promises. After a short moment, players crowded the previously empty registration area. The crowd even included players who had yet to reach the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. These players begged Solitary Nine to give them a chance and let them become reserve members. For a time, Solitary Nine and the other players manning the registration area were incredibly busy. More players had come to apply than they had expected. Even fifth-floor experts were rushing to put in their applications. Among these experts, many had been main force members from well-known adventurer teams or experts from the two large Guilds. In less than 30 minutes, Asura had over 100 official members and 500 reserve members. Unfortunately, Solitary Nine rejected every player who hadn''t yet reached the Trial Tower''s fourth floor, telling these players to return after they did so. News of the Asura adventurer team''s offer to teach its members combat techniques quickly spread throughout the city. It became a hot topic among these players, and many expressed their intention to join the organization. The city''s two large Guilds suffered headaches because of this. They had planned to ridicule Asura for its high recruitment requirements, but now, they were only frustrated over the new adventurer team. If Asura gathered enough experts and taught them combat techniques, there was no doubt that the adventurer team would become Cold Wind City''s overlord "Guild Leader, I''ve notified Hecate. However, more than 500 players have already joined Asura. At this rate, Asura will rule the city long before Hecate opens a path to Cold Wind City," Feather Wind said, shocked as he overlooked the statistics he had recently received. "This won''t do. Go and No We''ll go and find Wave Heart. Even if we have to pay a high price, we have to form an alliance with the adventurer team and convince them to deal with Asura," Thundering Sky said as he stood. He had hoped to avoid allying with Wave Heart to deal with Asura, but it''d be enough if the adventurer team helped Matchless Family survive until Hecate arrived. "Guild Leader, a report just came in. Wave Heart''s Lifeless Thorn has led a team to Asura''s Residence. By the looks of it, Lifeless Thorn plans to take action," Feather Wind said, smiling coldly at the latest report. Lifeless Thorn was a battle maniac. Since his debut in Cold Wind City, not a single expert he had challenged had lasted more than five moves. Eventually, he had become Cold Wind City''s publicly acknowledged, number one expert. Not even the city''s main Guilds could do anything against the man and were forced to ignore his existence. "He''s making a move?" Thundering Sky could not help but laugh. "This is going to be interesting. Let''s go. We''re heading to the Residence to watch this play out." 1458 Demigod-ranked Exper Chapter 1458 - Demigod-ranked Expert Cold Wind City, Asura adventurer team''s Residence: As soon as Shi Feng stepped out of the advanced carriage, he was greeted by a sea of people crowding around the Residence''s entrance. It was even more lively than an imperial capital''s Auction House. Why are so many people here? Shi Feng was confused to see such a large crowd. Around a dozen people stood before the registration area, the leader of which was a man in icy-blue armor, holding a purple spear in his right hand. Although this man stood in silence, the surrounding players had distanced themselves from him, creating a wide, open space clearing. Aside from this man''s companions, no player dared to move within 20 yards of him. "I hadn''t expected Lifeless Thorn to visit. Why do you think he''s here?" "Do you really need to ask? He''s here to issue a challenge. Lifeless Thorn was Cold Wind City''s number one expert. Now that someone has usurped his position, he must be here to reclaim his status." "Indeed. I''ve heard Wave Heart members talk about how bored he is because he hasn''t been able to find someone who can put up a decent fight. He''s been spending time in the forbidden land to open a path to other NPC cities so he can find new experts to challenge." "This is going to be interesting. I wonder which of the two experts will win the duel." "You can''t figure that out on your own? Lifeless Thorn is definitely going to win. He''s invincible in Cold Wind City. On the other hand, the mysterious Swordsman has only made a name for himself recently." "I wonder if that Swordsman will accept Lifeless Thorn''s challenge?" The spectating crowd discussed the potential duel between Shi Feng and Lifeless Thorn. They all anticipated the fight between these two powerful experts. "Guild Leader, Lifeless Thorn has grown stronger again. He''s replaced his old weapon, too. His last weapon was a top-tier, Level 45, Dark-Gold spear called Meteor Spear; it had been crimson red, and I''ve heard that Lifeless Thorn had found it in a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. It seems that he had earned quite the harvest from the Snow Rift," Feather Wind said, smiling as he gazed at the purple spear in the Berserker''s hand. "That damnable Swordsman is in trouble." "Indeed. If Lifeless Thorn gets serious, not even Sky Slicer and I would have any hope against him. That''s why Hecate''s been urging us to do everything we can to recruit him. It''s a pity that he isn''t interested in joining a Guild. I doubt he even would have joined Wave Heart if not for the help in obtaining better weapons and equipment," Thundering Sky said as he tried to sort out a tangle of complex emotions. He had always treated Lifeless Thorn like the biggest thorn in his side, but even Hecate had warned him not to provoke the man. Now, Lifeless Thorn would finally be of some use to him. "Lifeless, I already told you that our commander isn''t here! Standing here is pointless! If you want to challenge the commander, I''ll let him know once he''s finished his tasks and returns!" Solitary Nine growled, frustrated with Lifeless Thorn obstructing the registration area. Solitary Nine had personally experienced this man''s power. The gap between them was massive. Despite being one of the top three MTs in Cold Wind City, he had only lasted three moves against Lifeless Thorn. From start to end, he had been powerless to retaliate. Moreover, their duel had been over a month ago. Now, Lifeless Thorn radiated an even more frightening feeling. With a single glance from the man, Solitary Nine felt as if he trudged through a muddy swamp, his movement growing sluggish. On the surface, the two large Guilds ruled over Cold Wind City. In reality, however, these Guilds only operated as they wished because of Lifeless Thorn''s disinterest in struggles over power and resources. Since the Berserker blocked off the registration area, who would be bold enough to come forth to apply to Asura? "That won''t be a problem. I have plenty of spare time. If I can''t face him today, then you can contact your commander and inform him of my challenge," Lifeless Thorn said, smiling. "He can choose the time and place. It doesn''t matter to me." "Nine, you know that Lifeless is a battle maniac. Once he has made a decision, nothing can stop him. Just contact your commander," Cleansing Whistle advised. In reality, she, too, was curious to see who would win a fight between Shi Feng and Lifeless Thorn. Lifeless Thorn might''ve claimed that he wasn''t a match for the newcomer, but he was simply being humble. She was fully aware of the man''s true power. Not only had he obtained the top-tier, Epic Weapon, Thunder Spear, but he had also obtained the Lightning Saint''s Legacy, a Peak Legacy. Even throughout the Ice Crystal World, Lifeless Thorn could rank near the top. How could he possibly lose to some unknown Swordsman? "You guys" As Solitary Nine struggled with his frustration, a deep voice reached him from down the hall. "Alright, I accept your challenge." Everyone immediately turned towards the voice. "Commander!" Solitary Nine gave Shi Feng a confused look as he approached. Shi Feng had told him that he needed to concentrate on finding certain information, and they shouldn''t disturb him unless it were of the utmost importance. Hence, he had avoided contacting the commander. "Hahaha! You''ve finally shown yourself!" Lifeless Thorn smiled at Shi Feng, who hid his name and appearance. His eyes shining with fighting spirit, he said, "I knew an expert like you wouldn''t refuse a challenge!" The crowd had gasped when they heard Shi Feng''s answer. They hadn''t expected the Asura adventurer team to accept the challenge. "I''ll agree to your challenge, but a simple duel would be too boring. Why don''t we place make a bet?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. Even during his previous life, he had heard of this man. One of the Twelve Sacred Berserkers, Lightning Warrior! Lifeless Thorn had only been a step away from becoming a Tier 6 Berserker God. This player had become so famous in the past because he had provoked the Super Guild, King''s Return. Although the Guild eventually killed him, his defeat had been glorious. During the final battle, King''s Return had dispatched three Tier 5 players to suppress Lifeless Thorn, yet he had killed one of the of these Tier 5 players before he had fallen. In the end, a Tier 6, God-ranked expert had joined the fray, and Lifeless thorn had faltered and died. Lifeless Thorn''s rise to prominence had been extremely fast. Although he had been incredibly famous in his own Otherworld, he had only become truly renown after venturing to God''s Domain''s continent. Once there, he had caused quite the commotion as he had challenged and defeated one expert from the God''s Domain Experts List after another. It hadn''t taken him long to rank among the top 50 on the list. If not for the fact that he had remained a solo player, refusing to join any organization, he wouldn''t have been stuck at Tier 5. If he hadn''t been so stubborn and simply joined some random, first-rate Guild, he would''ve likely become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Shi Feng had never thought that he''d encounter Lifeless Thorn in the Ice Crystal World. He was truly blessed. In the past, Lifeless Thorn had never joined a Guild, but now that Shi Feng had established his own adventurer team, he could attempt to recruit the Berserker. It''d be almost as good as convincing the man to join Zero Wing. If Shi Feng succeeded, he''d have yet another powerful supporter. 1459 Battle for Number One Chapter 1459 - Battle for Number One "A bet?" Smiling, Lifeless Thorn responded without hesitation, "That won''t be a problem. Even if you hadn''t offered, I would have. I just wonder if you''re brave enough to accept my wager." When they heard Lifeless Thorn''s reply, Wave Heart''s members sent Shi Feng provocative glances. At the same time, their gazes contained a hint of pity. They acted as if they already knew this bet''s outcome. Solitary Nine finally realized what was happening. Quickly, he whispered to Shi Feng, "Commander, you must not agree to his bet! He wants your combat techniques. Not long ago, he had challenged every expert in Cold Wind City who had their own combat technique and forced the defeated to teach him. That''s why he''s become so powerful." "Combat techniques?" Realization dawned on Shi Feng. He had been confused by how fast Lifeless Thorn had accepted his offer. Now, he knew why the man was so eager. He had proposed the bet to create an opportunity where he could recruit Lifeless Thorn into the Asura adventurer team; he hadn''t expected this Berserker to have designs on him as well. Combat techniques were precious in God''s Domain. The various large Guilds that had their own only taught their most important members. Everyone else would have to rely on others'' battle videos, either mimicking those with combat techniques or creating their own Shi Feng now understood why Lifeless Thorn had risen so quickly on God''s Domain''s continent. "You''re the one who suggested a bet. Are you chickening out?" Lifeless Thorn ridiculed as he glanced at Shi Feng. "I have no issues. I''ll accept your wager as long as it is within my capabilities to fulfill. Every core member in Zero Wing could learn the Guild''s combat techniques. Even if Lifeless Thorn didn''t want to gamble combat techniques, if he joined Asura, he could easily purchase them with enough Contribution Points "Good!" Hearing Shi Feng''s reply, Lifeless Thurn hurriedly said, "My request is simple. If I win, you teach me that special footwork technique you used earlier. If you win, you can ask for whatever you want." Ordinary players would have watched Shi Feng''s battle against Matchless Family as entertainment; they wouldn''t have examined the Swordsman''s skills. However, he had realized that Shi Feng''s disappearing act wasn''t the result of a Skill, but due to the man employing a special footwork technique to fool his opponents'' eyes. He had never even heard of such powerful footwork before. Compared to this combat technique, those he had learned were garbage. Although Asura had declared that its members could purchase combat techniques with Contribution Points, he was fully aware that there were differences between techniques. This Swordsman would never let his adventurer team''s members trade CP for such an effective footwork technique. "This guy really has a big appetite! He''s actually aiming for Big Brother Ye Feng''s unique combat technique right of the bat! He is shameless!" Yan Ya stared at Lifeless Thorn with contempt. Solitary Nine and the others nodded in agreement. They had a rough understanding of combat techniques, as well. For example, offensive combat techniques were the most common, while defensive combat techniques were much rarer. Footwork and breathing techniques were the rarest, capable of enhancing a player''s maneuverability. If a player learned one of those, their combat power could reach a whole new level. Yet, despite understanding the value of such a technique, Lifeless Thorn shamelessly asked for it. "That''s all?" Shi Feng asked. "Yeah, that''s all I want. Do you accept?" Lifeless Thorn nodded, curious about Shi Feng''s calm reaction. "I don''t have any problems with that. My request is pretty simple as well. If I win, you have to join the Asura adventurer team," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Deal. I''ll join Asura if you can defeat me," Lifeless Thorn agreed without hesitation. However, he continued, "To ensure that our duel is fair, we''ll use Balance Mode." An uproar ripped through the crowd when they heard this. "Lifeless Thorn, aren''t you asking for too much?! Not only have you asked for a powerful combat technique if you win, but you dare to ask for Balanced Mode?! You''re Cold Wind City''s number one expert! How is this ''fair?!'' " Solitary Nine cursed. In a Balanced Mode PvP, the opponent''s Basic Attributes would equalize, and any level or tier suppression would be rendered useless. Normally, players only used this mode if they wanted to compare their techniques. "Although I like PvP, I have no interest in one-sided oppression," Lifeless Thorn declared righteously. After watching Shi Feng''s battle video, he realized how high the Swordsman''s Basic Attributes were. He definitely wasn''t a match for the Swordsman. Although he was proud of his strength, he wasn''t blindly confident. "Alright. Let''s use Balanced Mode." The suggestion didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. If Lifeless Thorn could not tell the difference between their Basic Attributes despite watching his battle video, he wouldn''t want to recruit the man for the Asura adventurer team. "Good. Let''s sign a contract, then." Hearing Shi Feng''s consent, Lifeless Thorn pulled out a contract he had prepared earlier. All it was missing was Shi Feng''s signature. After reading through the contract, Shi Feng signed it. With the Main God System as the judge, no one could deny the duel''s outcome. Following which, Shi Feng and Lifeless Thorn headed to one of the Divine Colosseum''s combat rooms. The combat room, which could accommodate up to 10,000 spectators, was full. The large screen in the main hall would live-stream the duel. Almost every player in Cold Wind City with nothing better to do made their way to the Divine Colosseum to watch the match. This duel would determine Cold Wind City''s true number one expert. No one wanted to miss this. "Asura''s commander is pretty arrogant. He dares to face Lifeless Thorn in Balanced Mode. He''ll humiliate himself," Cleansing Whistle stated, smiling faintly at Shi Feng, who stood in the arena. "That''s right! Brother Lifeless''s Split Spear is no laughing matter. Even Shadowless, the city''s second-ranked expert, couldn''t evade it after activating a Berserk Skill. Now that Brother Lifeless has the Thunder Spear, his Split Spear is even stronger. He can probably instant-kill Shadowless now," a Level 45 Shield Warrior said, nodding. While Wave Heart''s members merrily chatted, the timer above the stage began to count down. As if he had become someone completely different, Lifeless Thorn began to release a bone-chilling killing intent. The look in his eyes had changed as well. He felt like a ferocious beast. Tension gripped the stage as the seconds ticked by, and the players in the stands felt stifled. The moment the timer reached zero, Lifeless Thorn activated Twofold Berserk, his aura becoming explosively intense. The Berserker knew he couldn''t afford to be careless against Shi Feng. If this fight had happened before he had obtained the Lightning Saint''s Legacy, he would have hesitated to challenge Shi Feng. The Swordsman''s combat techniques were clearly superior to his. He would''ve been asking for a beating if he had challenged the man to a Balanced Mode duel. However, Peak Legacies granted Legacy Berserk Skills, which could be used in conjunction with ordinary Berserk Skills. If he activated Twofold Berserk, his Basic Attributes would exceed Shi Feng''s by leaps and bounds. Even if Shi Feng''s combat standards were superior, the Swordsman could never make up for the gap in Attributes. "I have a hidden class! Don''t blame me for hiding it! You only have yourself to blame for being careless! I''ll gladly take that footwork technique now!" Lifeless Thorn smiled at Shi Feng before activating Charge and advancing. 1460 Complete Suppression Chapter 1460 - Complete Suppression After activating Charge, it took only an instant for Lifeless Thorn to cross the 20-plus yards separating him and Shi Feng. As soon as Lifeless Thorn reached his opponent, he thrust Thunder Spear at the other player, sending over 20 afterimages at Shi Feng from different angles. It was impossible to find the real weapon among the fakes. "How has his Split Spear become so much stronger?!" Solitary Nine could not help but gasp. When he had dueled Lifeless Thorn, the Berserker had only produced over a dozen spear images. Even with his shield, he hadn''t been able to block every spear image, forced to rely on luck and hope he blocked the real weapon. Yet, the Berserker could now produce over 20 images, nearly double what he had previously been capable of. Just watching the images was confusing, not to mention trying to block the attack. "Brother Lifeless''s Twofold Berserk is impressive. Not even an MT can block so many images." The attack surprised Wave Heart''s members. "Lifeless is taking this too seriously." Cleansing Whistle revealed a helpless smile as she watched the Berserker fight with everything he had. "His opponent is doomed." Throughout her time raiding Dungeons and adventuring with Lifeless Thorn, this was the first time she had seen him go all-out. Moreover, in a Balanced Mode duel, the player with higher Basic Attributes would be suppressed to match the opponent''s. Since Lifeless Thorn''s Attributes weren''t affected, he wouldn''t feel awkward as he moved. In contrast, Shi Feng would need some time to get used to the lower Attributes. It was clear that Lifeless Thorn realized this, yet he refused to give Shi Feng any time to adapt. With so many advantages, the Berserker would have an easy time winning this duel. As the numerous spear images were about to devour Shi Feng, a blue light flashed before him. Following which, a loud explosion shook the arena, followed by a powerful shockwave radiating across the stage. Lifeless Thorn''s Thunder Spear had stopped an inch from Shi Feng''s neck. "Impossible!" Cleansing Whistle shot up from her seat, shock flashing in her eyes. "Lifeless''s Split Spear Why did it stop?" "What?! Brother Lifeless messed up?!" The other Wave Heart members were similarly stunned. Lifeless Heart had rarely ever failed to hit his target with Split Spear. His opponent could only block the attack if they were lucky. Of course, nobody was more surprised than Lifeless Thorn. However, the Berserker didn''t give up after his first attack had failed. Immediately, he executed Split Spear again, sending another 20-plus spear images thrusting at Shi Feng. Before the spear images reached Shi Feng, another blue light flashed. This time, the Thunder Spear stopped several centimeters away from Shi Feng''s right shoulder. There was more distance between the weapon and the Swordsman than before. "Did it hit? What''s going on?" Wave Heart''s members watched Shi Feng in confusion, realizing that golden scales covered the man''s body. "He He actually deflected Lifeless''s Split Spear! Is he some kind of monster?!" Cleansing Whistle''s expression darkened as she watched the fight. Split Spear was so impressive because it was nearly impossible to pinpoint the real weapon, which confused the opponent as they tried to defend themselves. But in the brief moment before Lifeless Thorn''s weapon reached Shi Feng, the Swordsman located the real Thunder Spear and properly deflected it. His grasp of Strength and timing was simply godlike. Before Cleansing Whistle could overcome her shock, Shi Feng took a step forward and disappeared. He vanished? Lifeless Thorn immediately responded by executing Whirlwind Slash, his spear sweeping horizontally to slice everything within 10 yards of the Berserker. Dang! A loud clang echoed throughout the venue. Following which, Shi Feng reappeared as he flew over a dozen yards backward before landing. Despite being knocked back so far, Shi Feng hadn''t lost a single HP. He had nullified Lifeless Thorn''s Horizontal Slash with Parry. As expected of the Lightning Warrior! His reactions are so fast! Shi Feng smiled faintly as he glanced at the still-vibrating Killing Ray. Split Sword was Lifeless Thorn''s trademark combat technique. He had used it plenty of times against the experts on God''s Domain Experts List. However, the technique was still immature right now. Although he could create over 20 spear images, his attacks were monotone. Against Shi Feng, who was capable of pushing his five senses to their very limits and had a perfect grasp over his environment, the immature technique was useless. Moreover, although Balanced Mode would equalize the combatants'' Basic Attributes, it wouldn''t affect the players'' physiques. To Shi Feng, whose physique exceeded that of an ordinary Tier 2 player, Lifeless Thorn''s Split Spear was a joke. Meanwhile, the Berserker felt an unprecedented pressure weigh down on him as he watched his opponent. In a clash of techniques, the player that used a Skill first would lose. Although this duel wasn''t a pure exchange of techniques, it was the first time he had encountered a player who could treat his Split Spear like a normal attack. "You are incredibly strong!" Despite the minor loss, Lifeless Thorn wasn''t discouraged. Instead, he smiled as he said, "I admit that I am no match for you in terms of technique. However, combat techniques aren''t the only factor that determine a player''s strength. One must also take into account Attributes and Skills." Saying so, Lifeless Thorn''s Thunder Spear shuddered slightly. Suddenly, six golden replicas of the weapon appeared around him. This move was Adjudication Spear, one of Thunder Spear''s Skills. Every Adjudication Spear carried 100% of Lifeless Thorn''s Strength. Moreover, he had complete control over the weapons and could use them alongside his Split Spear. The only downside was its 10-second duration. However, in a fight between experts, it was more than enough time. "Guild Leader, Lifeless Thorn is really scary. Asura''s commander will definitely lose," Feather Wind excitedly announced. "Good! As expected of the publicly-acknowledged, number one expert!" If Shi Feng lost, Lifeless Thorn would be Cold Wind City''s undisputed, number-one expert. The Asura adventurer team''s reputation would plummet, and although it would still pose a threat to Matchless Family, it wouldn''t rule over Cold Wind City. As the upper echelons of Cold Wind City''s large Guilds sighed with relief, Shi Feng walked towards his opponent. "You are correct. A player''s strength doesn''t solely depend on their combat techniques. Attributes and Skills do play a factor," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then activated Tier 2 Blade Liberation and Nine Dragons Slash. Suddenly, the intensity of Shi Feng''s aura skyrocketed. At the same time, twelve Abyssal Blade phantoms manifested around him. "You You havea hidden class as well?" Lifeless Thorn was dazed as he felt the power of Shi Feng''s aura, his heart pounding madly. Suddenly, he lost his previous confidence. Twofold Berserk was his biggest trump card. With absolute power, he could easily overwhelm his opponents, even if his techniques were inferior. However, based on the man''s aura, Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were now much higher than his. His opponent''s twelve phantom swords even outnumbered his prided Adjudication Spears As Lifeless Thorn stared, Shi Feng appeared before him and lightly swung Killing Ray. Tier 2 Legacy Skill, Shadow Blade! Although Lifeless Thorn tried to defend himself, he was too slow, and ten streaks of light, one blue and nine black, struck him. Instantly, Lifeless Thorn''s HP vanished, his body transforming into particles of light as he disappeared. As if time had frozen, silence dominated the combat room. Lifeless Thorn, Cold Wind City''s number one expert, had been defeated! 1461 Abyssal Blade Evolves Chapter 1461 - Abyssal Blade Evolves Only after the system had announced the duel''s outcome did the audience react. "He won, just like that?" "So fast! I couldn''t even see what he did!" "Is this really a Balanced Mode PvP duel? Why do I feel like that guy is much stronger than Lifeless Thorn?" Most people weren''t surprised by the battle''s outcome. After all, both Shi Feng and Lifeless Thorn gave the city''s large Guilds headaches. It wasn''t surprising to discover that one was stronger than the other. Rather, they were shocked over the battle''s process. After watching the duel, the expert players that had hesitated over joining the Asura adventurer team swore that they would join. "Just who is this guy?" Despair tore at Thundering Sky''s heart as he watched Shi Feng descend from the stage. He had hoped that even if Lifeless Thorn weren''t a match for the Swordsman, the difference between them wouldn''t be so great. However, that clearly wasn''t the case. Even an amateur could tell that Shi Feng and Lifeless Thorn were on completely different levels. Thundering Sky could already foresee the Asura adventurer team lording over Cold Wind City within a short time. His only choice was to rein in his members, avoiding provoking Asura''s members as he bided for time until Hecate arrived. He had no other options. "The commander is so amazing! I want to see what Wave Heart intends to do now!" Yan Ya and the other Asura members were ecstatic. They had personally watched as Lifeless Thorn''s undefeated legend was shattered, and a new legend was born in Cold Wind City. Asura could become one of the top adventurer teams in the Ice Crystal World, not to mention becoming Cold Wind City''s overlord. Below the stage, Lifeless Thorn wore a blank look as he resurrected. "I lost?" He couldn''t help but recall the final scene of the battle. Although Shi Feng had used the opportunity to attack while he had been stunned, he wasn''t sure that he could have blocked all ten attacks as they aimed for his blind spots even if he hadn''t been dazed. Even with his Adjudication Spears, he would''ve been lucky to block half of those attacks. In the end, nothing would''ve changed. He would''ve died all the same. He now realized that, aside from inferior Basic Attributes and combat standards, he didn''t even have enough combat experience to stand against Shi Feng. The man had the kind of combat experience that only came from risking one''s life in one battle after another. Taking a few deep breaths, Lifeless Thorn approached Shi Feng. "I sincerely accept my defeat. I will adhere to my promise and join Asura. However, I''d like to ask you about something. Of course, you may also refuse to answer," Lifeless Thorn said. "Ask away. I''ll answer as best as I can," Shi Feng offered. "If I''m not mistaken, you should bea player from another region, correct?" Lifeless Thorn asked, a hint of excitement coloring his voice. "That''s right. I''m not from the Cold Wind City region," Shi Feng acknowledged, not bothering to hide the truth. The conclusion was easy to reach if one watched carefully. God''s Domain had launched some time ago, and experts who were capable of becoming famous had already made a name for themselves. Even if they weren''t well-known, there should be some news of their achievements. It simply wasn''t possible for such a terrifyingly powerful, unknown expert to pop in out of nowhere. The only explanation was that he had come from another region. If an ordinary player''s arrival from another region were discovered, it could cause the player a lot of trouble. Shi Feng, however, wasn''t worried. Cold Wind City didn''t have a player who would dare cause him trouble. "I knew it!" Eagerly, Lifeless Thorn asked, "Are there a lot of experts where you come from?" "A lot. Too many to count," Shi Feng responded after giving the matter some thought. Shi Feng realized what Lifeless Thorn was trying to say. To put it simply, the Berserker wanted to know if there were a lot of experts who were stronger than him. In reality, Lifeless Thorn was a Refinement Realm expert. However, he lacked combat experience. There weren''t enough experts in Cold Wind City to spar with. As a result, his combat style was monotonous. Although it was effective against weaker players, experts of the same caliber could easily overcome his attacks. Of course, Lifeless Thorn wasn''t the only person in such a predicament. Solitary Nine and the other experts faced the same problem. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it due to the Ice Crystal World''s unique rules. Fortunately, if Lifeless Thorn and the others were trained properly, they could increase their strength in a short amount of time. Currently, Zero Wing was expanding on two fronts. Although the Guild seemed strong on the surface, it sorely lacked experts. Recruiting Lifeless Thorn and these other experts would be of great help. "Then, can you take me there? I promise that I''ll fully devote myself to the Asura adventurer team; I won''t join any other power." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, fighting spirit burned in Lifeless Thorn''s gaze. He wanted to rush out of the Ice Crystal World and face those experts as soon as possible. "Not now. I still have some matters that I need to deal with. Once I''ve finished, I''ll lead the top-ranking experts in Asura to develop elsewhere," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. In reality, he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible as well, but he couldn''t return to God''s Domain until he collected the Eternal Ice Crystals. And unfortunately, he didn''t have a strong enough team to raid the Snow Rift''s Ancient Shrine yet. "We''ll leave once you finish your task?" Lifeless Thorn''s excitement grew. "Commander, just tell me what you need. My team will accomplish it for you!" "I need to collect a sufficient number of Ice Crystal Fragments. The more, the better. Only the Snow Rift''s Boss monsters, Great Lord rank and above, have a chance of dropping them," Shi Feng explained. "Understood. I''ll lead a team and kill those Bosses right away." Lifeless Thorn nodded, turning to prepare to depart. "Hold on a minute. Before you go, take a look at these." Shi Feng snatched the impatient Berserker''s collar. First, he added Lifeless Thorn as a friend. He then sent the man a tutorial video for Void Steps. "This is only a tutorial. How much of it you learn depends on you." Void Steps was an advanced footwork technique, which Shi Feng taught Zero Wing''s core members. Even if a player failed to learn the full technique, they could grow stronger by studying it. Now that Lifeless Thorn had officially joined Asura, it was best that he learn the technique as quickly as possible. "This is" Shock colored Lifeless Thorn''s face as he watched the tutorial video. He had never expected Shi Feng to give it away so nonchalantly. His heart warmed, and his respect of this Swordsman grew. After the duel, Cold Wind City''s experts surged towards Asura''s Residence. In a few short hours, Asura''s member count shot past 5,000. Although only 1,000 or so were official members, the rest became reserve members. Even so, so many experts made it easier for Shi Feng to kill the Snow Rift''s Field Bosses easily. He split the 5,000-plus Asura members into 50-man teams and sent the teams to various locations of the Snow Rift. Any team that encountered a Great Lord or higher Boss was to contact him immediately. This way, he could use Space Movement to transport Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and the others help. Their grinding efficiency was leaps and bounds above what Shi Feng could accomplish on his own. In addition, he activated Divine Providence before landing the final blow, using the Skill to increase the drop-rate for Ice Crystal Fragments. He had to admit again that Icarus''s Heart was a godly tool. With Divine Providence, he claimed one Ice Crystal Fragment from every six or seven Great Lords. He also obtained a fragment from every three or so Grand Lords he killed. Unfortunately, Snow Rift had a limited number of Grand Lord ranked Field Bosses. On the bright side, since no one had pioneered the Snow Rift yet, plenty of Bosses were available in the forbidden land. Their spawn rate was incredibly fast as well. As a result, Shi Feng constantly slaughtered Bosses. Shi Feng only gathered 100 Ice Crystal Fragments after three days of grinding. By relying on Divine Providence, he transformed those 100 fragments into 10 Eternal Ice Crystals. During this period, Shi Feng had also risen from Level 57 to Level 58. Naturally, Lifeless Thorn and the others'' levels skyrocketed, rising from Level 45 to Level 48 in just three days, pulling far ahead of Cold Wind City''s other experts. Although Shi Feng had achieved his goal, he didn''t rush to turn in his quest. Rather, he ventured to a deserted location and took out the Abyssal Blade. He then attempted to evolve the Magic Weapon with the Eternal Ice Crystals. "I hope this will work." Shi Feng took in a deep breath and clicked the "Evolve" button on the Abyssal Blade''s Attribute Panel. He chose the Eternal Ice Crystals as the evolution material. 1462 Tier 2 Magic Weapon Chapter 1462 - Tier 2 Magic Weapon Even after Shi Feng selected the evolution material, the Abyssal Blade didn''t react. "Must it be Mana Crystals or nothing?" Shi Feng frowned. The last time he had found a Mana Crystal, it had been a coincidence. They were practically impossible to hunt down. As Shi Feng was about to give up, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Replacement evolution material detected - Eternal Ice Crystal. Do you wish to abandon the power of frost contained within the Eternal Ice Crystals and evolve the Abyssal Blade? "Abandon the power of frost?" Although he was confused, Shi Feng ecstatically clicked ''Continue.'' Suddenly, the ten Eternal Ice Crystals in Shi Feng''s hands shattered, two clouds of smoke, one black and one white, emerging from their remains. Following which, the black smoke entered the Abyssal Blade. In response, the Abyssal Blade leaped from its sheath and hovered before Shi Feng, trembling as it released dragon roars that echoed throughout the wilderness. At the same time, blood-red runes began to surface around the weapon. When the blood-red runes covered the sword entirely, the weapon began to release a rapidly growing pressure. Rather than a sword, Shi Feng felt as if he stood before an angry Dragon. The pressure was so great that he even struggled to breathe. The phenomenon only began to weaken after about ten seconds. Eventually, the Abyssal Blade returned to its peaceful state. After evolving, the Abyssal Blade''s appearance had transformed slightly. Now, the sword was entirely pitch-black. It also radiated a faint trace of black miasma. A black dragon coiled around the sword''s hilt, and blood-red runes had carved themselves into the blade. Overall, the Abyssal Blade''s new appearance looked evil. "What powerful Attributes!" Shi Feng exclaimed when he inspected the Attribute Panel. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +1,720 All Attributes +130 Attack Speed +24 Ignore Levels +18 Attacks have: 60% chance to cause 220% damage. 37% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 20%. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +5. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 45. Can be upgraded (Devour one hundred Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons and thirty Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 45). Equipment Tier 2. Can be evolved (Devour 100 Mana Crystals or Eternal Ice Crystals to evolve to Tier 3). Additional Active Skill 1: Phantom Kill (Tier 2). Instantly creates a doppelganger under the wielder''s control. Doppelganger has 90% of the wielder''s Attributes and all Skills. The wielder can swap positions with the doppelganger at any time. Duration: 1 minute, 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (Tier 2). Binds up to 3 enemies simultaneously and prevents movement, reducing Defense and Magic Resistance by 100%. The higher tiered the target is, the weaker its the effect will be. Duration: 5 seconds Cooldown: 40 seconds Additional Active Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash (Tier 2). Instantly creates 16 phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder''s use; each phantom sword deals up to 80% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (Tier 2). Prevents all targets within a radius of 50 yards from moving or attacking for 6 seconds and reduces their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Effect doubles if there is only one target in range. Cooldown: 20 minutes Additional Passive Skill: Abyssal Will. Improves wielder''s physique depending on the surrounding Mana density. The higher the Mana density, the greater the improvement. Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor (Tier 2). When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack can be used to increase all Attributes by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 12 seconds or to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 4 seconds. Maximum of 30 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 8 hours The Famed Smith Olysses personally created the Abyssal Blade using the Black Dragon King''s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six Famed Swords, ranking 31st. However, the Black Dragon King himself has cursed this sword. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. However, after Jack had remodeled the Abyssal Blade with a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been reduced greatly. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. After evolving to Tier 2, both the Abyssal Blade''s Basic Attributes and Skill effects had become much stronger than an Epic Weapon''s. The Abyssal Bind''s strengthening made it particularly effective against Tier 3 Bosses. Although it would be weaker against Tier 4 Bosses, the Skill would at least be somewhat effective now that it had reached Tier 2. With this, my chances of clearing the Ancient Shrine have increased by 10%. Shi Feng was very satisfied with the Abyssal Blade''s upgrade. As for upgrading the Abyssal Blade to Tier 3, he decided not to worry about it for now. Even with Icarus''s Heart, gathering 100 Eternal Ice Crystals would require more than a month of effort. Besides, it was only a matter of time before more players raided the Snow Rift. Their grinding efficiency would fall. Now, all he had to do was collect the required ten Eternal Ice Crystals for his quest. Once he had them, he needed to help his adventurer team''s members level quickly to prepare them for the raid on the Ancient Shrine. After Shi Feng returned the Abyssal Blade to its sheath, he noticed that the white smoke had gradually crystallized, eventually becoming a shard of clear crystal. When Shi Feng held the crystal, he felt a chill passing through him. He began to lose 1,000 HP each second. "What is this thing?!" Shi Feng was shocked. Hurriedly, he stored the crystal in his bag. Despite the brief moment he had held the crystal, his right arm had completely frozen. Had he held it for a few more seconds, the ice might have consumed his entire body. Fortunately, only his arm had frozen. Without the crystal present to absorb heat from his body, his arm quickly recovered. What a strong frost power! Fortunately, my Ice Resistance is high. Anyone else might have frozen to death instantly. Shi Feng looked at the crystal in his bag. He then clicked to inspect the item. Although Shi Feng could not say for certain if he had the highest Ice Resistance of any player in God''s Domain, there was no doubt that he was close. Moreover, he had an Intermediate Azure Source Stone equipped. Tier 1 ice-type Spells and Skills shouldn''t affect him whatsoever. Only Tier 2 ice-type attacks should harm him. Yet, this measly crystal had nearly turned him into an ice sculpture, devouring 1,000 HP every second. An ordinary player would likely lose over 10,000 HP per second just by touching the crystal. If held for four or five seconds, even a Level 45 MT with 100% of their HP would freeze to death. After Shi Feng clicked to inspect the crystal''s Attribute Panel, a loading bar appeared, notifying him that he needed to wait for 10 seconds to inspect the crystal. After the loading bar filled, one system notification after another reached his ears before Shi Feng could even glance at the Attribute Panel. System Announcement: A player has activated the new expansion pack ''Ice Crystal Awakening.'' System Announcement: This new expansion pack requires a system upgrade. Please prepare to log out. The estimated duration is 4 hours. System: You have five minutes to log out. Please prepare to log out. "What is this item?" Shi Feng was stunned. No matter how he looked at it, this new expansion pack had to be related to this strange crystal. There was no way for the system to announce a new expansion pack the moment he tried to inspect it otherwise. Moreover, this expansion pack required an offline update. However, Shi Feng didn''t give the matter too much thought. He then clicked to inspect the item''s Attributes, hoping to discover what kind of amazing item this crystal was. 1463 Origin Weapon Chapter 1463 - Origin Weapon When Shi Feng tapped on the crystal, a brief introduction opened before him. As he read the text, Shi Feng was stunned. "This is an Elemental Source?!" Shi Feng couldn''t believe his eyes. [Source of True Frost] Contains the purest frost power. Although the introduction was simple, almost everyone had known about Elemental Sources in the past. Any Elemental Source was valued more than an Epic item; in fact, most people offered two Epic items for a single crystal. However, players almost never sold them. The elemental Mana within Elemental Sources was even purer than Seven Luminaries Crystals, and these items had a wide variety of uses. They could be used in forging, alchemy, engineering, magic arrays, and so on. If one used an Elemental Source while crafting a weapon or equipment, said item would obtain the power within the Elemental Source. Not only would this strengthen the item''s Attributes, but it would also carry a powerful Original Skill. If one could produce an Epic Weapon or Equipment with an Origin Skill, its value would only be second to Fragmented Legendary items. Fragmented Legendary items were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Even first-rate Guilds were lucky to have a handful, much less second- and third-rate Guilds. Hence, in the past, Epic Origin Weapons and Equipment became some of the best the various large Guilds could procure in large quantities. The Epic Weapon Shi Feng had used in the past had been refined by a Grandmaster Forger who used an Elemental Source. To obtain the weapon, he had spent more than half of the wealth he had accumulated throughout playing God''s Domain. Although hiring a Master Forger would''ve been cheaper, it was much safer to hire a Grandmaster. He had never expected to get his hands on an Elemental Source this early. Shi Feng now understood how he had activated a new expansion pack that would require a four-hour-long update. When Elemental Sources had made their appearance in the past, it had started a new era for Lifestyle players. That had been due to the various uses for these crystals. Elemental Sources could even help Lifestyle classes improve their abilities. Hence, a lot of changes had to happen to the game. After the first Elemental Source had appeared in the game, the crystals became more common. If one were lucky, they could even obtain one from a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. No one knows the Elemental Sources'' true value yet. I can use this opportunity to send Melancholic Smile to purchase them. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng realized that he had to purchase the crystals in bulk. At first, everyone would treat the Elemental Source as some kind of rare material, selling it for several hundred Gold a piece. By the time they realized its true value, they''d regret selling the items. Conversely, many large Guilds would make a huge profit from hoarding the Elemental Sources. Shi Feng then found a safe location and logged out of the game. The new expansion pack had been too sudden. When Shi Feng opened his eyes inside the virtual gaming cabin, the sun outside the window was just beginning to set. Before Shi Feng had the chance to climb out of the gaming cabin, a series of notifications bombarded his senses. They only stopped after the notification sound repeated several dozen times. Taking his time, Shi Feng left to get something to eat and drink. He only read through the messages after settling down to eat at the table. Contact between the Ice Crystal World and the continent of God''s Domain was not possible. Hence, he had instructed Melancholic Smile and Gentle Snow to keep him up to date via offline messages. However, to obtain the required Elemental Ice Crystals as quickly as possible, he had remained in the game for three days straight. "They''re finally willing to let go, huh?" Shi Feng smiled as he read a message from Gentle Snow. Recently, nothing major had occurred in God''s Domain. The most noteworthy development was that Gentle Snow had finally captured Hidden Fog Town. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire had recruited 70,000 additional members. The number might not be significant for a first-rate Guild, but it was a different story for Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wing''s recruitment requirements were quite strict. Players capable of passing the entrance test would be elite players in the public''s eyes. It was impressive that a Branch Guild had recruited so many members so quickly. But Shi Feng wasn''t surprised. What made him smile was the news that the companies that had supported Ouroboros had finally agreed to sell the training center to Gentle Snow. She had already begun the price negotiations. Once both sides finished signing the necessary contracts, Ouroboros''s training center would become Zero Wing''s main headquarters. In the future, Zero Wing could recruit large batches of internal members without worrying about space. As Shi Feng browsed through the other messages, his virtual gaming cabin''s offline communicator rang. The caller ID belonged to Phoenix Rain. Shi Feng reconnected to the game and entered his Offline Rest Space. After doing so, he accepted the call. Immediately, a virtual screen appeared before him. The screen showcased Phoenix Rain, who currently wore a set of exquisite, blue mage robes. She had already reached Level 48, and excluding Zero Wing''s members, she could hold the top position on the Black Dragon Empire''s Ranking List. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, to what do I owe the pleasure? Has something urgent happened?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Indeed, something has happened. I''ve been competing with Nine Dragons Emperor on a quest, but for some reason, something has changed on his side. Not only did he complete the quest before I did, but he''s also completed the quest much sooner than expected. Many of the Guild Elders have begun to side with him. Now, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion just so happens to be activating some ancient ruin. I hope that Guild Leader Black Flame can lend me a few experts on the raid," Phoenix Raid said straightforwardly, not bothering to hide anything from Shi Feng. "As for the remuneration, I''ll sell you a high-potential Shop in the Apocalypse Empire''s capital. What do you say?" She had an acute understanding of Zero Wing''s experts. This was especially true for Zhao Yueru, who had participated in the Black Dragon Empire''s ranking competition. There was also Aqua Rose to consider, who had put on a shocking performance during the siege war in Green Rain Town. If experts like these women joined her team, she''d have a much higher chance of successfully raiding the ancient ruin her Guild had found. Shi Feng was surprised to hear Phoenix Rain''s offer. He had never thought that this woman would be generous enough to sell an imperial capital Shop for a handful of experts. Such Shops were incredibly hard to come by. Many organizations offered two or three times the market price for them, but only a fool would willingly sell an imperial capital Shop so early in the game. "Ancient ruins? Can you tell me which ancient ruins you intend to Raid?" Shi Feng asked after calming down. "We''ve activated the Apocalypse Empire''s Sunset Forest," Phoenix Rain answered, confused as to why he''d ask such a question. "I see." Realization immediately dawned on Shi Feng. After giving the matter some thought, he said, "If you wish to borrow some manpower, then you shall have it. However, I have a better proposal. I''ll help you clear the ruins. In return, I want 20% of the resources we obtain during the raid." God''s Domain had countless ancient ruins, many of which stored various items and materials that had been hidden since before the Great Destruction. Normally, these items wouldn''t surface on the market. Meanwhile, the Apocalypse Empire''s Sunset Forest had been particularly famous in the past due to its Ancient Origin Wood, a top-tier material used in ships'' construction. Phoenix Rain couldn''t help but frown when she heard Shi Feng''s counter-offer. Seeing the man''s confidence, she had to ask, "That''s a Level 50 to Level 60, Grade 1 ancient ruin. Are you confident in clearing it?" "Will you believe me if I say that I''m 60% confident?" Shi Feng understood that she had many questions, but he had no solid explanation. After all, he couldn''t possibly tell her that he had learned about the Sunset Forest during his previous life, or that he knew certain tricks to raid the ruin. 1464 Mutated Magic Array Scroll Chapter 1464 - Mutated Magic Array Scroll Phoenix Rain hesitated for a moment after hearing Shi Feng''s answer. Nine Dragons Emperor had activated the quest for the ancient ruin before she could, so he had a considerable advantage in the raid. Hence, she had decided to borrow experts from Shi Feng. After all, the resources inside the ancient ruin would be of considerable help to the contest on Thunder Island. An ancient ruin was like a land of treasure. It was a type of secret land. By completing special quests, one could obtain a key to open the secret land''s gates. Since Nine Dragons Emperor had completed the activation quest, he had obtained the first key. As a Grade 1 ancient ruin, the Sunset Forest only allowed each team to enter with 1,000 members. In addition, there was a time and level limit. The ancient ruin hid bountiful treasure, and one could obtain as many items as they wanted within the allotted time. Players raiding the ancient ruin for the first time would gain the most. Only, Shi Feng''s asking price was a little too high. She had already invested a lot of manpower and resources, yet this man wanted 20% of the harvest Most importantly, the Sunset Forest was a Grade 1 ancient ruin. It would be far more difficult to raid than a 100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeon of the same level. She wasn''t confident that Zero Wing had the strength to raid the ancient ruin. "Take some time to consider the matter. In any case, Sunset Forest will activate on the same day as the contest for Thunder Island, with one in the morning, and the other at night. There''s still some time," Shi Feng said. "You know the activation time?" Phoenix Rain asked, confused. Sunset Forest''s activation time was a secret. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had only learned about it after obtaining the secret land key. The activation time was also the reason that she was so anxious. If she could claim the ruin''s treasures, she could boost her forces'' combat power, increasing her chances of success on the island. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be in such a rush to gather experts. "I''ve read about it in an ancient tome. The tome also mentioned something about the final Guardian Boss," Shi Feng said casually. In reality, he had never read about the ancient ruin in any book, but certain ancient tomes did mention various ruins in the game. He had used the lie as a way to convince Phoenix Rain that he had a method to raid the Sunset Forest. "An ancient tome?" Realization dawned on Phoenix Rain. The Great Pavilion Master had learned about the Sunset Forest from some ancient book, as well. Only after his research had the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion investigated the ancient ruin and its activation quest. It wasn''t unusual to learn that Shi Feng had learned about the Sunset Forest in the same way. "Alright, I agree to your offer. However, the precondition is that you can actually raid the Sunset Forest." "That''s only natural." Shi Feng nodded. "Alright. We''ll meet up tomorrow in Apocalypse City," Phoenix Rain responded before disconnecting the call. Following which, Shi Feng started to prepare. First, he sent Melancholic Smile a message, getting her to send some people around the continent to purchase Elemental Sources, through they couldn''t spend more than 300 Gold per item. That price was the equivalent of an Epic ranked material item. If the price exceeded that amount, others could become suspicious. After taking care of that, Shi Feng notified Aqua Rose to lead a team to a neutral map, the Flaming Rain Mountains to grind for Flame Potions. The potion was necessary to raid the Sunset Forest. As Shi Feng finished delegating and waited patiently for God''s Domain''s system update to finish, a call came in from Liang Jing. "Head Instructor, the White Tiger Dojo has sent someone to see you again. The representative has stated that the White Tiger Dojo has agreed to your conditions and would like to invite you to discuss the details," Liang Jing reported. "They''ve agreed?" Shi Feng suddenly remembered his conversation with the White Tiger Dojo''s Jiang Tianyuan regarding his price for nurturing their experts. He then revealed a smile and said, "Tell the representative that I''ve doubled my price. They can take it or leave it." Even if the White Tiger Dojo had talented members, training them to take on the Trial Tower''s sixth-floor wouldn''t be a simple task. Nurturing 500 sixth-floor experts for 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid wasn''t a worthwhile trade. Had the White Tiger Dojo agreed to his offer earlier, he would''ve stayed true to his word. However, times had changed. "Understood." Liang Jing nodded. Following which, Liang Jing conveyed Shi Feng''s decision to Xie Qiwen, who had waited in a reception room. "What?! Double the price?!" Xie Qiwen was dumbfounded when he heard the decision. He shouted, "Why doesn''t he just rob a bank instead?! Does he really doubt that the White Tiger Dojo can train its own experts?!" "I apologize, but this is our Head Instructor''s will. I can''t do anything about his decisions," Liang Jing said. In reality, she was curious about what business Shi Feng had with the White Tiger Dojo to warrant one visit after another from a genius like Xie Qiwen. "Good! Just wait! He''ll regret this decision!" Xie Qiwen then left in a fit of rage. After four hours, Shi Feng returned to his virtual gaming cabin and logged back into God''s Domain. Upon entering God''s Domain, Shi Feng contacted Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and the others, having them select experts from the adventurer team to form a 100-man team. He then used a Return Scroll to teleport to Cold Wind City. He had planned to help Lifeless Thorn and the others level up some more before raiding the Ancient Shrine, opening the teleportation channel. But Phoenix Rain''s request had forced him to move his plans up a few days. While he had been out killing the Snow Rift''s Field Bosses, he has sent some people to the Library to research the Ancient Shrine. Because of them, he now had a better understanding of the area. After returning to Cold Wind City, Shi Feng returned to the adventurer team''s Residence and retrieved a large amount of materials. He then began to produce the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array. He and his team had zero chance of defeating the Guardian Boss in a head-on confrontation. He had planned to use magic arrays to suppress the Boss and rely on zerg tactics to distract it while damaging it with Miniature Ballistas. However, the situation had changed. He now had the Source of True Frost, which was also why he had made his promise to Phoenix Rain. Elemental Sources contained a purer energy than that in Seven Luminaries Crystals. Naturally, said energy was useful in many aspects, the most beneficial of which was in forging weapons and equipment. Similarly, Elemental Sources could be used in crafting magic arrays. A magic array would receive a massive power boost if crafted with an Elemental Source. Unfortunately, they were one-time use items, and using such a rare material was the epitome of extravagance. But Shi Feng couldn''t care less. The sooner he opened the teleportation channel, the sooner he could open trade between God''s Domain''s continent and the Ice Crystal World. Doing so would be far more profitable than Stone Forest Town. In the quiet workshop, Shi Feng retrieved one material after another. He then began to produce Magic Array Scrolls. Very quickly, Shi Feng had a stack of nine Magic Array Scrolls. When he reached the final step, adding Magic Crystals to the scrolls, Shi Feng stopped abruptly and took a deep breath. Rather than selecting the Magic Crystals, he retrieved the Source of Extreme/True Frost from his bag. The moment Shi Feng did so, his arm froze solid. He very quickly placed the Elemental Source in the center of the scrolls. The Source of Extreme/True Frost gasified rapidly. Streams of cold mist flowed into the stack of Magic Array Scrolls. Following which, the scrolls'' power began to increase. By the time the Magic Array Scrolls absorbed every drop of power from the Elemental Source, the workshop''s temperature had dropped drastically. Even with his high Ice Resistance, Shi Feng couldn''t help but shiver. The originally dark-purple Magic Array Scrolls lightened to an icy blue. Had Shi Feng not been prepared, using Earth Dragon Skin as the scrolls'' base material, the Magic Array Scrolls would''ve exploded from so much energy. Shi Feng waited until the turbulent power within the Magic Array Scrolls calmed before storing them. "Magic Array Scrolls produced with Elemental Sources are pretty impressive. I wonder how the effects have changed?" Shi Feng clicked to inspect the new Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array Scrolls. 1465 Top-tier, Eight-piece Se Chapter 1465 - Top-tier, Eight-piece Set "So, this is the power of an Elemental Source?" Shi Feng stared at the icy-blue scroll''s Attribute Panel in shock. The Nine-star Polar Domain was an Intermediate Magic Array. Normally, it had no problems containing and suppressing Great Lord ranked monsters. It was even somewhat effective against Grand Lords. Of course, Mythic monsters could easily break free with a few attacks. However, after improving the Nine-star Polar Domain with the Source of Extreme/True Frost, the magic array had undergone a heaven-defying change, although it still required nine players to activate and maintain it. Now, it could suppress trapped enemies'' Attributes by 70%. It could even weaken a Mythic monster by as much as 50% Most Advanced Magic Arrays could barely suppress a Mythic monster''s Attributes by 30%. Now, the Mutated Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array could rival a Master Magic Array. It''s a pity that it''s only a one-time-use item. It would be great if I could use it a few more times. Shi Feng was slightly disappointed. With such a powerful magic array, he could lead Zero Wing''s main force to a neutral map, hunting its various Mythic ranked Field Bosses. The harvest they could gain from securing the First Kills would be beyond imagination. However, Shi Feng only played with the idea. He knew full well that the Main God System would not permit such a thing. After he finished the scrolls, Shi Feng hurried to Cold Wind City''s Forging Association, intending to upgrade his team''s equipment. The Forging Association in Cold Wind City was different from those on God''s Domain''s continent. Similar to Cold Wind City''s library, the Forging Association was ancient. It was likely older than Star-Moon Kingdom itself. However, it was due to this Forging Association that the Ice Crystal World''s crafting standards were significantly higher than in his home world. At first, Shi Feng had assumed it was due to the abundance of rare materials in the Ice Crystal World, but in truth, that was only part of the reason. The real reason for these players'' success was the Forging Association! The Forging Association here could rival Titan City''s Lifestyle Association. Only, it lacked the massive databank and high Mana density. In addition, the Forging Association in Cold Wind City had the Forging Guidance System, which allowed players to purchase one-time-use forging designs with Magic Crystals. For Level 45, Fine-Gold Forging Designs, the prices ranged between 10 and 50 Magic Crystals. For Level 45, Dark-Gold Forging Designs, the prices ranged between 100 to 150 Magic Crystals. Although these one-time-use designs were expensive, they gave players an advantage that wasn''t available to those who learned from the real forging designs. These players could increase their success rates with Magic Crystals. For Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, players could increase their success rate to a maximum of 25%. As for Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, players could increase it to 15%. This was a considerable boon to Advanced Forgers. With the 15% bonus on top of their original success rate, an Advanced Forger could easily achieve an overall success rate of 30% or above when forging a Dark-Gold item. If one avoided mistakes during the forging process, they could craft one Dark-Gold Weapon or piece of Equipment for every three tries. However, while mass-producing Fine-Gold items was easy, the same couldn''t be said for Dark-Gold items. It was far more difficult to obtain the necessary materials, which generally dropped from high-level Great Lords and Grand Lords. Not every team could kill monsters of such caliber. It was also more difficult due to the required amount of Magic Crystals. To increase one''s forging success rate with Dark-Gold Weapons or Equipment by 15%, they''d have to pay an additional 100 Magic Crystals. Including the cost of the forging design, each attempt could easily cost anywhere from 200 to 250 Magic Crystals, and that was excluding any Magic Crystals required to produce the item itself. While Coins were easy to earn at this stage of the game, Magic Crystals were not. Although Cold Wind City''s players had an abundance of Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, they lacked Dark-Gold ranked items. Only the city''s two large Guilds had a substantial stock. Fortunately, Shi Feng wasn''t concerned about either issue. During the last three days, he had spent his time killing Level 50-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords, obtaining a large stock of materials. As for Magic Crystals, he still had over 30,000 on him. That was more than enough to produce weapons and equipment. "Hello, sir. How may I be of service?" an NPC receptionist greeted Shi Feng sweetly. "I wish to rent a Special Mana Forging Room for two hours," Shi Feng stated. The Mana Forging Rooms had greater Mana density than the average Forging Room. Though they weren''t on the level of a Meditation Room of the same Rank, they could improve a player''s concentration. "Understood, sir. That will be 50 Silver," the NPC receptionist said as she offered Shi Feng a key. Handing over the 50 Silver Coins, Shi Feng grabbed the key and went to the Forging Association''s top-floor. The Ice Crystal World''s Forging Guidance System is amazing, Shi Feng thought as he opened the Forging Guidance System for the Special Mana Forging Room. Previously, he had thought that the Forging Guidance System only offered Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapon and Equipment Designs. Now, he discovered that it also sold Set Equipment Designs. As Shi Feng wondered why he hadn''t seen anyone in Cold Wind City wearing Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold Set Equipment, his eyes fell on the designs'' price-tags. The designs for Level 45, Dark-Gold Equipment only cost 100 Magic Crystals. To purchase the designs for six pieces, one would have to spend 600 Crystals. However, the design for a six-piece, Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment cost 1,800 crystals; 2,500 crystals for an eight-piece version. Moreover, the design was a one-time-use item; it would disappear regardless of the player''s success. Not even a first-rate Guild''s Leader would mess around with so many Magic Crystals, much less Guilds like Centurion Dynasty and Matchless Family. Based on Magic Crystal''s market price, each attempt to forge an eight-piece, Dark-Gold Set Equipment would cost over 700 Gold. Moreover, the forging success rate for Set Equipment was much lower that of individual items of the same level and rank. Even the Forging Guidance System only allowed players to temporarily increase their forging success rate by 7% for a price. An Advanced Forger would be lucky if their base success rate reached 8% with Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Most would have a total success rate of only 15%. With such a low chance, it''d be a miracle if a forger succeeded once with every ten tries. Even wealthy Guilds and players wouldn''t dare waste their money so extravagantly. With this, my trip has definitely been worth the trouble. Shi Feng''s eyes glittered as he gazed at the various Dark-Gold Set Equipment Designs the Forging Guidance System displayed. It would be very difficult for an Advanced Forger to produce a Dark-Gold Set Equipment, but to a Master Forger such as Shi Feng, it''d be easy. His base success rate had already reached 20%. Including the Book of Forging, the Mysterious Flame, the Master Forger''s Insignia, and the Blacksteel Insignia, he could easily achieve a success rate of more than 35%. With the Forging Guidance System, that would put his forging success rate at over 42%. Following which, Shi Feng bought the design for an eight-piece, Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment for Shield Warriors and began to craft. Shi Feng started to refine and shape one material after another. Due to the Abyssal Blade, the density of the ambient Mana rose even higher, increasing his concentration. Before Shi Feng knew it, he had produced the Protector Set. This set''s Attributes are really powerful. No wonder it costs 2,500 Magic Crystals per attempt. Shi Feng was astonished as he inspected the Protector Set''s Attributes. The set''s Basic Attributes could already rival that of individual Level 50, Dark-Gold Equipment. The set effects would greatly enhance a Shield Warrior''s Skills as well. Following which, Shi Feng forged one of each of the following sets: Burning Fire Set, Courage Set, and Icicle Set. All three were eight-piece, Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment and were meant for the Berserker, Guardian Knight, and Swordsman classes, respectively. After producing the four sets, Shi Feng couldn''t bear to push his luck. Producing the four sets had already cost him over 15,000 Magic Crystals. If he tried to forge more, he''d run out of Magic Crystals. He could only select a few Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment to craft at this point. After forging over 40 items, Shi Feng noticed that his two-hour session was almost over. He packed up and hurried to the Snow Rift to meet up with Lifeless Thorn and the others. The Snow Rift''s core was in the middle of a mountainous region. Solitary Nine, Lifeless Thorn, and the other team members had gathered there. "Commander, I''ve selected the required members. We are ready to move out on your command," Solitary Nine reported upon seeing Shi Feng approach. "We have also investigated the cave entrance''s Guardian Boss. It is a Level 67 Grand Lord. Its speed, Attack Power, and perception are extraordinary. We sent one of our scouts ahead, and the Boss discovered him before he was within 150 yards of the monster. He died instantly. Even though our MTs tried to tank it, we only lasted two hits. With our team''s current strength, I''m afraid" Fear filled everyone''s hearts. The strongest Boss they had ever fought was only a Level 60 Grand Lord, and they had already witnessed this Level 67 Boss''s power. To put it simply, its destructive power was terrifying! "I understand," Shi Feng said after watching the battle video Solitary Nine had sent him. He then took the weapons and equipment he had forged from his bag and said, "For now, put these on. We''ll raid the Boss once you''ve gotten used to them." "We''re replacing our equipment?" Every member of the team stared at Shi Feng in confusion. They didn''t understand why he wanted them to replace their equipment. The already wore the best in Cold Wind City, and they were used to their old weapons and equipment. "These are" "Commander, how did you get these?!" However, when these players saw the items Shi Feng had given them, their eyes widened in shock. 1466 First Kill Jackpo Chapter 1466 - First Kill Jackpot "How is this possible?" Both Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine were stupefied by the items Shi Feng had brought them. If Shi Feng had revealed a bunch of Level 45, Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, they would''ve only been surprised at how many Dark-Gold items he had obtained. But when they saw the four Dark-Gold Sets. As far as they knew, Cold Wind City didn''t have a single, available Dark-Gold Set, not to mention Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Not even Centurion Dynasty or Matchless Family had succeeded to forge a full set, yet Shi Feng had brought four. Moreover, they were all eight-piece sets. "Nine, Lifeless, Whistle, and Madness, you four will be the team''s main force, so put these sets on," Shi Feng instructed his players after glancing over the team. After the Asura adventurer team had developed for some time, Lifeless Thorn had finally persuaded Dark Madness, Wave Heart''s commander to join. As a result, the rest of the Wave Heart adventurer team had followed his lead, helping Asura become Cold Wind City''s bona fide number one adventure team. At this point, Asura had over 2,000 official members with over 10,000 reserve members. Not even Centurion Dynasty or Matchless Family had so many experts. Moreover, due to Dark Madness becoming a member, they had solved the problem of Asura''s main force lacking MTs. Dark Madness, the city''s number one Guardian Knight, was the reason Wave Heart had become Cold Wind City''s number one adventurer team. Due to his presence, Wave Heart had easily raided one powerful Dungeon and Field Boss after another. Hearing Shi Feng''s orders, the four nodded enthusiastically before joyfully replacing their old equipment with the eight-piece sets. No one on the team complained. After all, these four players'' strength was irrefutable. If their team wanted to get the most out of the Dark-Gold ranked Sets, the best players among them should use the items. "Don''t be jealous. I will reward whoever reaches the Refinement Realm with even better Dark-Gold Set Equipment," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the other team members'' envious expressions. "Commander, are you serious?" Everyone breathlessly turned to Shi Feng. These eight-piece Dark-Gold Sets were the best available in Cold Wind City. They dreamed of obtaining such a set, not to mention even better equipment. "Of course. I always keep my word. As long as you reach the Refinement Realm, you can come to me directly," Shi Feng said, nodding. He wasn''t lying. The sets he had given to Lifeless Thorn and the others were merely Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Meanwhile, he could head to Titan City and purchase the Level 50, Dark-Gold ranked Magic Light Set Equipment Design. In the past, he had only been an Advanced Forger, so it would''ve been very difficult to forge the set, but no he was a Master Forger. It''d be easy as long as he had enough materials. When the team member''s heard Shi Feng''s confirmation, an intense fighting spirit burned in their eyes. They were even more inspired to reach the Refinement Realm. After a quick break to switch out the old equipment with the new, Shi Feng prepared his team to raid the Three-headed Frostwolf, the cave entrance''s Guardian Boss. [Three-headed Frostwolf] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 67 HP 130,000,000/130,000,000 Despite the upgrade to better weapons and equipment, these players stared anxiously at the Three-headed Frostwolf, standing over 20 meters tall, as their hearts began to pound. Although their Basic Attributes had increased, defeating a Grand Lord that was over 20 levels higher than they were was unrealistic. "Nine, Dark, you''ll be on support. Everyone else, spread out alongside the Boss," Shi Feng commanded the team as he watched the sleeping Frostwolf. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and activated Demon Summoning. With the team''s current strength, it was impossible to raid the Ancient Shrine. However, he had the Bible of Darkness, so he could, more or less, make up for the lack. Following which, a massive Demon Gate appeared before Shi Feng. A Tier 3 Demon wielding a dark-blue greatsword then emerged. [Fear Demon] (Dark Creature, Demon) Level 73 Hp 23,500,000/23,500,000 When the Fear Demon arrived, Lifeless Thorn and his companions gasped, wary of the human-like creature. Although the Fear Demon wasn''t as powerful as the Three-headed Frostwolf in terms of Attributes, its intellect was much higher. To players, a high-intellect monster with low Attributes was far more frightening than a dumb monster with high Attributes. "Don''t be afraid. This Demon is under my control," Shi Feng hurriedly explained. "The Fear Demon will tank the Frostwolf. You just need to deal as much damage as possible." "Commander, this is your summoned creature?" Solitary Nine and the others were astonished. Shi Feng had already impressed them when he had defeated Matchless Family''s 10,000-man army by himself, and now they found out that he could summon such a powerful demon. These players only recovered their wits after some time. They then moved into position. Once everyone was where they needed to be, Shi Feng commanded, "Charge!" Suddenly, the Fear Demon''s wings shuddered. It moved within the Three-headed Frostwolf''s perception range in the blink of an eye. Taking advantage of the opportunity while the Frostwolf woke, Shi Feng''s directed the Fear Demon to use the Tier 3 Skill, Darkness Blade. Three massive blades of shadow appeared above the Guardian Boss, smashing into the drowsy Grand Lord''s heads a moment after. -1,576,487! -1,754,374! -1,945,344! Each subsequent blade dealt more damage than the previous, slamming the Boss, who had just stood up, back to the ground. "So powerful!" "Why does it seem like the commander doesn''t need us to deal with this Three-headed Frostwolf?" The team members gasped when they saw the damages above the Frostwolf''s heads. In a single attack, the Boss had lost nearly 5% of its HP "Awoo!" The Three-headed Frostwolf opened its eyes after it hit the ground, revealing three pairs of menacing, crimson eyes. Glaring at the Fear Demon, the Guardian Boss spread its jaws. Each of the Three-headed Frostwolf''s mouths fired a beam of frost simultaneously, freezing everything before the Grand Lord. The Fear Demon froze instantly, losing over 2,000,000 HP. To Demons, who possessed very high Magic Resistance, the damage was horrific. The Three-headed Frostwolf then advanced, quickly reaching the Demon and swiping its claws. Boom! As the dust cleared from the explosion, it revealed a massive crater where the Fear Demon had stood. The Frostwolf''s attack had shaken the Asura member''s willpower. Fortunately, the Fear Demon had broken free from the ice and used its greatsword to defend itself in time, only receiving several tens of thousands of damage. Seeing this, Asura''s members grew nervous. Compared to the battle before them, their previous fights had been child''s play. Only a few players on the team had remained calm. Lifeless Thorn had even made his way to the Three-headed Frostwolf''s rear, using Chop with his Thunder Spear. As Lifeless Thorn attacked, one instance of over -10,000 damage appeared above the Grand Lord''s head after another. Meanwhile, Solitary Nine, Dark Madness, and Cleansing Whistle dealt around -8,000 damage with their attacks. Although they couldn''t compare to the Fear Demon''s damage, theirs was better than their companions, who only dealt around -4,000 damage. Meanwhile, Shi Feng arrived by the Three-headed Frostwolf''s side. Thundering Flash! Thunder Flame Explosion! Shadow Blade! Flame Burst! Shi Feng landed a series of Skills, each of his attacks dealing over -100,000 damage. His damage was only second to the Fear Demon''s. For a time, the Three-headed Frostwolf and Fear Demon fought fiercely. Although the Fear Demon was no match for the Grand Lord, it received constant healing from the healers at the rear and could continue to tank the Guardian Boss, allowing everyone else to chip away at the Grand Lord''s HP. 70%... 50%... 30%... Time passed quickly. From the beginning of the battle to its end, the Fear Demon kept the Three-headed Frostwolf occupied, preventing the Grand Lord from dealing any significant damage to the rest of the team. Even when the Boss entered its Berserk state, the team easily coped, with the Guardian Knights casting Protection Blessing on the Fear Demon. When the Three-headed Frostwolf had less than 1% HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and ended its life with Flame Burst. When the Three-headed Frostwolf''s HP reached zero, its three heads released agonizing wails that echoed throughout the canyon. The Boss then disintegrated into countless particles of light, leaving behind over a hundred items in its place. The Grand Lord''s death also granted more EXP than Shi Feng had expected, and several team members leveled up on the spot. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Kill of the Three-headed Frostwolf, the King of the Ice Fields. Rewards doubled. 1467 Skill that Overcomes Tiers Chapter 1467 - Skill that Overcomes Tiers "The Boss dropped so many items!" "We hit a jackpot!" "Is this for real!? This is the first time I''ve seen a jackpot!" "Look! There are weapons and equipment among the loot!" "Centurion Dynasty and Matchless Family will die from envy when they hear about this." Everyone gaped at the miniature mountain of items. Although they were shocked that they had actually killed the Three-headed Frostwolf, its loot was even more astounding. In God''s Domain, monsters at level 50 and above would have drastically reduced drop-rates. Even the monsters in forbidden lands like the Snow Rift usually dropped four or five items. Moreover, the majority of those items were materials. When they had farmed Level 60 Grand Lords, they had only obtained ten or so items from each Boss. Yet, this Grand Lord ranked Three-headed Frostwolf had dropped over 100 items. Why wouldn''t they be surprised? "Everyone, rest up. We''ll enter the cave soon," Shi Feng said. He could not help but shake his head and chuckle when he saw his team members'' excited expressions. The weapons and equipment a Level 67 Grand Lord were about as tempting as a Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment. It was common knowledge that monsters beyond Level 50 rarely dropped good weapons or equipment. This was particularly true for the Ice Crystal World. Although the Forging Guidance System offered forging designs for Level 50-plus items, they were far more expensive than the Level 45 variants. Most importantly, one''s forging success rate would drastically decrease when attempting to craft such high-level items. It was already far more difficult to forge Level 50, Fine-Gold Equipment than it was to forge the Level 45 version, much less Level 50-plus, Dark-Gold Equipment. Among the 100-plus items, over 60% consisted of materials for forging Level 50-plus weapons and equipment. There were also over a dozen Master Mana Recovery Potions, Master Recovery Potions, and Attribute Gemstones of various kinds, five Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, and two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. One of the Tier 3 Magic Scrolls was a Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll, and the other was a Defensive Magic Scroll Five pieces of Level 60, Fine-Gold Equipment and two pieces of Level 60, Dark-Gold Equipment had also dropped. However, among these dropped items, one caught Shi Feng''s eye: a thick, golden book. The book''s cover didn''t offer any clues about its contents. However, when Shi Feng examined the book, he was ecstatic. What a surprise! I never thought that a mere gatekeeper would drop this thing. My trip to the Ice Crystal World has been pretty profitable. Shi Feng''s eyes shone as he gazed at the golden book. The book was neither a design nor a recipe. It wasn''t some sort of treasure map or special item, either. It was only a Skill Book. However, despite being only a Skill Book, it was even more valuable than the super-rare Berserk Skill Books. Players had collectively referred to this kind of book as a Combination Skill Book in the past. Combination Skill Books had been as valuable as Epic items. Shi Feng had tried to bid for a Combination Skill Book in the past, but in the end, a first-rate Guild had won the book for 50,000 Magic Crystals. Shadow had only saved 30,000 Magic Crystals Shi Feng had never expected to obtain a Combination Skill Book from killing the Three-headed Frostwolf. Multiple players could learn from a single Combination Skill Book; some only allowed two players to learn the Skill, while three to five players could learn from others. If players activated a Combination Skill with the specified number of players, they could exert frighteningly destructive power with the Skill. In the past, this had been the various large Guilds'' main method of dealing with powerful Bosses. After all, God''s Domain had many incredibly powerful monsters. Even with the aid of magic arrays, players were no match for these Bosses. During these situations, Combination Skills worked wonders. However, Combination Skills'' strength and effects varied. For example, Combination Skill Books that could sell for tens of thousands of Magic Crystals generally contained Skills that required four or five players to activate. With such Combination Skills, even Tier 1 players could severely injure Mythic monsters, becoming far more powerful than Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. Generally, one could only obtain Combination Skill Books from Mythic monsters or Dark-Gold Treasures found in Level 60 maps and above. He never thought that he would actually get one from a Grand Lord. Following which, Shi Feng inspected the Skill Book. [Triple Frostmoon] (Combination Skill) Requires three melee classes to activate. A single-target, attack Skill that requires three players? Shi Feng''s excitement grew after reading the introduction. Normally, two-man Combination Skills only allowed players the power to overcome a single tier. Meanwhile, Tier 1 players could even injure Grand Lords with a three-man Combination Skill. Based on the market prices in Shi Feng''s previous life, the Triple Frostmoon Skill Book could easily sell for over 20,000 Magic Crystals. Combination Skills were different from Magic Scrolls in that they were not one-time-use items. They could be used indefinitely, although they did have a Cooldown. Three Tier 1 players using a Combination Skill were as powerful as a Tier 3 Spell. The Skill could even be used multiple times during a Boss battle. A Skill like this could significantly increase a team''s overall combat power. However, Shi Feng had no intention of learning this Combination Skill himself. Instead, he gave it to Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Dark Madness. "Commander, if we learn this Skill, what about you?" After Solitary Nine read the Triple Frostmoon''s introduction, he realized how powerful the Skill was. It was the equivalent of Tier 1 players being able to use Tier 3 Skills limitlessly. If Shi Feng took the lead during the activation process, he could exert even more power with the Skill. "I have a Tier 3 Demon. Moreover, I can''t always accompany you in Dungeon and Boss raids. If you three learn the Skill, the team will be even stronger. So, it''s better if you learn it," Shi Feng explained. The Triple Frostmoon needed three people to activate; it wouldn''t work if one of the players were missing. Meanwhile, he frequently operated solo, which made it impossible for him to exhibit the Combination Skill''s true potential. He had no choice but to pass the Skill up. Lifeless Thorn and the others were already considerably strong. Their lack of suitable weapons, equipment, and combat experience were the only things holding them back. However, after spending time under his guidance and watching his demonstrations over the past few days, Lifeless Thorn and the others had significantly improved their monotonous attack methods, raising their combat standards by leaps and bounds. Right now, Lifeless Thorn''s combat standards were nearly on par with Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow''s. With a Combination Skill, his ability in Dungeon raids might surpass the two women''s. Hearing Shi Feng''s explanation, Solitary Nine and the others finally agreed. To someone who could summon a Tier 3 Demon, a three-man Combination Skill was superfluous. After everyone in the team had rested, Shi Feng led them into the cave and followed the map towards the Ancient Shrine. The shrine''s exact location was hidden. Although the map indicated that it was within the cave, the cave''s interior was complex. The cave system was like a natural maze. If not for the map, Shi Feng might not have found the Ancient Shrine''s cave in the first place, much less locating the shrine itself. The team frequently ran into frenzied monsters that attacked without hesitation after they entered the cave. They even ran into the occasional Grand Lord. Although these Grand Lords weren''t as strong as the Three-headed Frostwolf, they weren''t easy to deal with. The team had to bide their time as they slowly whittled down the Bosses'' HPs. After ten hours of exploring the cave system, Shi Feng and the others finally reached a dark cavern. During their journey, they had killed eight Level 65 Grand Lords and countless Chieftains and Lords. These monsters had done nothing but provide an abundance of EXP. At this point, Lifeless Thorn and a few others were Level 50, and Shi Feng was only a step away from reaching Level 59. However, this was all due to the team securing these monsters'' first kill. Disappointingly, these monsters hadn''t dropped as much loot as the Three-headed Frostwolf. They had only dropped Level 60, Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Combined, these items'' total value was nothing compared to the Guardian Boss''s loot. A towering, purple-gold shrine sat in the center of the dark cavern. It radiated a sacred aura, and as players gazed up at the shrine, the shuddered. When Shi Feng and his companions moved within 500 yards of the shrine, they heard the sound of a system notification. System: You have discovered an Ancient Shrine. As they were alerted of the system notification, a magic array appeared on the ground in front of the shrine, illuminating the cavern. Following which, a 10-meter-tall, humanoid robot emerged. The instant this humanoid robot appeared, everyone, including Shi Feng, felt a stifling pressure weigh them down. Even an expert like Lifeless Thorn paled under this pressure. The weaker team members nearly lost their footing. [Titan Warrior (Ancient Shrine Protector)] (Mechanical Lifeform, Mythic) Level 70 HP 360,000,000/360,000,000 1468 Raiding a Mythic Chaptering 1468 - Raiding a Mythic "Mythic" Before they even checked the Titan Warrior''s statistics, the pressure it radiated overwhelmed the team. Now that they had seen it''s information, they were shocked. No one throughout Cold Wind City, not even an expert like Lifeless thorn, had ever seen a Mythic monster. Now that they stood before one, they were terrified to stand within 500 yards of the Titan Warrior, not to mention attempt to fight the thing. This was the first time they had felt anything like this since they joined God''s Domain. Their minds screamed at them, warning that if they proceeded, they would dance with death. "Commander, this monster is too powerful. We can''t afford to provoke a monster like this yet. Do we have to fight it?" Solitary Nine asked, his complexion ashen. Before he had encountered the Titan Warrior, he had thought that it might be possible for their team to defeat a Mythic monster. However, after experiencing the Titan Warrior''s near-tangible killing intent and absolute power, he knew that Tier 1 players had no hope against it. The Titan Warrior''s battle recovery alone would regenerate 3,600,000 HP every five seconds. If their team couldn''t deal over 720,000 damage each second, their team would never kill it, even if the Titan Warrior stood there and watched them try. This wasn''t a battle. This was a suicide mission. A Mechanical Lifeform? Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he watched the Titan Warrior. Although he had known that the final Guardian Boss would be a Mythic monster, he hadn''t expected it to be a Mechanical Lifeform. Mechanical Lifeforms were famed for their high Defense, Strength, and Magic Resistance. Because of these stats, they were known to be the best guard monsters available. Even Super Guilds struggled against Mechanical Lifeform Bosses since they couldn''t take advantage of their collection of high-tiered Magic Scrolls and Mana Pulse Cannons. Even magic arrays had little effect against these creatures. Players could only defeat a Mechanical Lifeform with brute strength; there simply weren''t any loopholes. "Commander, are we still going to fight that thing?" Lifeless Thorn asked hesitantly. Before they had come here, Shi Feng had told Asura''s upper echelons that they could travel to another world if they finished this quest. They wouldn''t have to stay cooped up in Cold Wind City, but as they faced an insurmountable Mythic monster, even Lifeless Thorn felt helpless. This wasn''t some random Dungeon. If they died in this cave, they would lose an entire level. At their level, recovering the lost EXP would take a lot of time. "Let''s make an attempt," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "The attempt?" Lifeless Thorn and the others were slightly confused. Shi Feng took a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll from his bag and summoned a Tier 2 Gale Cheetah. He then used Phantom Kill, sending his doppelganger forward while he directed the Gale Cheetah to circle the Boss. He wanted to test the Titan Warrior''s reaction and turning speed. Although Mechanical Lifeforms had high Defense and Strength, they also had a glaring weakness: slow reaction and turning speed. Of course, this was only compared to monsters of the same rank. A Mythic ranked Mechanical Lifeform''s reaction and turning speed should be higher than a Grand Lord''s of the same level. As his doppelganger approached the Titan Warrior, Shi Feng sat down and focused on controlling his summoned twin. Four hundred yards Three hundred yards When the doppelganger moved within 200 yards of the Guardian Boss, the previously immobile Mythic monster abruptly opened its eyes, revealing two dazzling, crimson orbs. It advanced on the doppelganger so quickly that by the time the watching crowd reacted, the Boss had crossed 40 yards. When the Boss had moved, it had created a massive crater where it had originally stood; it looked like a cannon had bombarded the area. "So fast!" Upon seeing the Titan Warrior approach, Shi Feng immediately had his doppelganger activate Defensive Blade. In the blink of an eye, the Boss reached the doppelganger, swinging its colossal greatsword down at the invader. The moment the greatsword began to descend, the doppelganger jumped out of from the weapons'' path. However, the Titan Warrior nimbly adjusted its attack trajectory halfway through the swing, slicing at the doppelganger, who had yet to land. Boom! Immediately, a deep gash over 30-yards-long tore through the ground. Although Shi Feng''s doppelganger had nullified the attack with Defensive Blade, the Boss''s strength was overwhelming. The impact threw the doppelganger over 20 yards away. Asura''s members gasped. Even Lifeless Thorn wore a grim expression. It was just too fast! His eyes couldn''t keep up with the Titan Warrior''s speed. Even against the Three-headed Frostwolf, Lifeless Thorn had been able to keep up with the Grand Lord''s attacks, but he couldn''t even see the Titan Warrior''s afterimages. He had no doubt that he wasn''t capable of dodging an attack if he were on the receiving end of that Mythic monster''s greatsword. Its reaction speed is quite impressive. At the very least, our reaction speed will have to be on part with a Grand Lord to block and dodge its attacks. The outcome hadn''t particularly surprised Shi Feng, and he continued to analyze the Titan Warrior. After he tested the Boss''s reaction speed, he controlled the Gale Cheetah to attack the Mythic monster from behind with the Tier 2 Skill, Gale Blade. Numerous blades of wind assaulted the Titan Warrior''s backside, each dealing over -10,000 damage. The Guardian Boss instantly shifted its attention to the Gale Cheetah. The Titan Warrior spun around in less than half a second. It raised its weapon, cleaving down at the summoned creature. Although Shi Feng had tried to direct the Gale Cheetah to circle the Titan Warrior as soon as it finished its attack, he was too late. He couldn''t even control the feline to defend itself in time. In the next moment, a streak of white light struck the Gale Cheetah, throwing it and devouring several millions of HP Shi Feng''s doppelganger then appeared behind the Titan Warrior, activating Shadow Blade. After landing a barrage of attacks, the doppelganger reclaimed the Boss''s aggro. After a split second, the Boss tossed the doppelganger again. After reaping this process several times, the Titan Warrior killed both the doppelganger and the summoned creature. After killing the trespassers, the Titan Warrior calmed and returned to its original position. Everyone was stunned speechless. The Titan Warrior was too fast and too powerful. Even with their Lifesaving Skills active, this Guardian Boss would likely kill Solitary Nine and Dark Madness instantly... We''ll need to be roughly as fast as a Grand Lord to avoid its counterattacks? After watching the monster for some time, Shi Feng had analyzed all of the Titan Warrior''s aspects. He then turned to his team. "Although raiding this Titan Warrior will be dangerous, our chances of defeating it aren''t nonexistent." He then pulled ten Miniature Ballistas from his bag. Unfortunately, since the war weapons were precious to his Guilds, he hadn''t brought too many with him. "War weapons?" The Asura team members were dumbfounded to see the Miniature Ballistas. Guilds generally reserved these weapons for Guild wars, yet Shi Feng intended to use them to kill a monster. He had even brought ten of these war weapons with him "Let my Demon tank the Titan Warrior. The rest of you will attack from 500 yards away. Try to move around and attack from behind it as much as possible," Shi Feng said. He then pointed to a group of magical-class players and instructed, "You nine, come to me. Each of you will take one of these scrolls and stand in these locations. When the fight begins, move within 100 yards of the Boss and activate the magic array." Following which, each player began to prepare for the battle. As for Shi Feng, he used the Bible of Darkness to summon a second Demon. The Mutated Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array should significantly lower the Titan Warrior''s Attributes. With two Tier 3 Demons keeping it busy, they might just be able to kill the Mythic monster. Of course, it was only a theory. Whether or not they actually succeeded would depend on the magic array''s effect. If the Titan Warrior were still too powerful, he''d have no choice but to give up and wait until his team members completed their Tier 2 promotions. A moment later, everyone moved into position. Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng controlled the two Tier 3 Demons to charge at the Titan Warrior from different directions. In response, the Titan Warrior charged towards the first Demon that entered its perception range as quickly as a violent gale. "Move out!" Shi Feng commanded. Following his commands, the nine magical class players closed in on the Titan Warrior. 1469 Godly Control Chapter 1469 - Godly Control As soon as the summoned Tomahawk Demon moved within the Titan Warrior''s perception range, the Mythic monster rushed up to meet the Demon, its greatsword rapidly descending. Even though Shi Feng saw the weapon through the Tomahawk Demon''s vision, it was too fast to evade. He could only direct the Demon to lift its battle axe to block the greatsword. Peng! The impact instantly threw the Tomahawk Demon over 30 yards away, and although it had blocked the attack, it still lost tens of thousands of HP. Before the Demon could land, the Titan Warrior had appeared behind it, swinging its greatsword once again. Although Shi Feng had tried to maneuver the Demon to defend itself, it suffered a brief numbness from the first impact. As a result, its reaction speed had fallen considerably, and it couldn''t keep up with the Titan Warrior. As the greatsword descended, the weapon tore through space itself. Tier 4 Skill, Spatial Rend! This time, the Titan Warrior''s attack struck the Tomahawk Demon squarely. In a single attack, the Tomahawk Demon, which had over 25,000,000 HP, lost nearly one-fifth of that total. The watching players were stupefied to see such destructive power. Even a Tier 3 Demon was powerless against the Titan Warrior. If they fought the Mythic monster, the consequences would be unimaginable Only Shi Feng remained unfazed. A battle between monsters wasn''t like one between monsters and players. When monsters fought players, their attacks would deal less damage to make up for the difference in HP. However, there was no such dampening effect during a battle between monsters. Naturally, the Titan Warrior dealt horrific damage to the summoned Demon. It was a system mechanic that prevented players from using summoned creatures or NPC guards to toy with powerful Bosses. Moreover, the Tomahawk Demon was only Tier 3, whereas the Titan Warrior was a Tier 4 Mythic. Due to the tier suppression, the Titan Warrior''s attacks were enhanced to a certain degree. There was also the fact that Demons generally had much lower HP than monsters of the same rank. So, he really wasn''t surprised to see a Tier 4 Skill destroy one-fifth of the Tomahawk Demon''s HP. Following which, the Titan Warrior dealt one blow after another. Despite the Tomahawk Demon''s attempts to defend itself, its HP fell rapidly. In seconds, the Demon had less than 50% of its HP remaining. Fortunately, the nine magical-class players had surrounded the Titan Warrior. "Begin!" Shi Feng shouted. With Shi Feng''s command, the nine players unfurled the Magic Array Scrolls and began to chant the required incantations. Suddenly, an icy-blue magic array appeared above all, enveloping the Titan Warrior inside it completely. The cavern''s Mana rampaged as it surged towards the array''s core. Following which, a blue magic barrier manifested, enclosing the Titan Warrior within. Boom! The instant the barrier took shape, a layer of mist wrapped around the Guardian Boss''s body. Its joints began to freeze, and its Basic Attributes rapidly decreased. 90%... 80%... 70%... So, this is the power of an Origin Magic Array? Shi Feng could not help his surprise at seeing how much the barrier weakened the Mythic monster. In the blink of an eye, the Titan Warrior''s Basic Attributes had fallen to 60%. Although it wasn''t as high as the stated 50%, it was impressive. After all, Mechanical Lifeforms had very high Magic Resistance. In fact, Shi Feng hadn''t expected to reduce the Titan Warrior''s Attributes by as much as 40%. Even better, the magic array''s freezing effect had slowed the Boss''s movements. Unfortunately, despite the suppression, the Titan Warrior still overwhelmed the Tomahawk Demon. Only, its HP didn''t fall as fast. "That didn''t even do much?" Lifeless Thorn and the others stared at the Boss, dumbfounded. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Tomahawk Demon died. As expected of a Mythic monster. Even with the suppression, a Tier 3 Demon still can''t put up much of a fight. Shi Feng smiled bitterly. However, this wasn''t unexpected. Following which, he took out the Ring of Gospel and fed it 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate World Projection. The Ring of Gospel''s Skills were not considered magic arrays and could stack with the Nine-star Polar Domain. The Titan Warrior''s Attributes fell further. However, the decrease wasn''t as significant as the first. In the end, the Titan Warrior still had 50% of its original Attributes. [Titan Warrior (Ancient Shrine Protector)] (Mechanical Lifeform, Mythic) Level 70 HP 180,000,000/180,000,000 Continuing its assault, the Titan Warrior brandished its greatsword, sending several sword lights at the Tomahawk Demon. Suddenly, the Fear Demon flew into the fray, meeting the Titan Warrior''s greatsword with its own. Dang! Dang! Dang! A series of clangs shook the cavern. Although both the Tomahawk Demon and the Fear Demon were forced to retreat over a dozen yards, they had blocked the Boss''s attacks. The two Demons had only lost a few tens of thousands of HP, which wasn''t considerable when their maximum was over 20,000,000. "They blocked every attack?" Shocked gripped Solitary Nine as he watched the battle between the Demons and the Mechanical Lifeform. Logically, the two Tier 3 Demons shouldn''t be able to keep up with the Mythic monster, even if the Titan Warrior''s Attributes had been suppressed by 50%, yet they had blocked every one of its attacks. "The commander is awesome!" Lifeless Thorn glanced at Shi Feng in shock, watching him control the two Demons from afar. The other team members might not have realized what had just happened, but he had caught a glimpse. Although the Tier 3 Demons weren''t a match for the Titan Warrior and even began to show signs of momentary paralysis after blocking the attacks, Shi Feng had controlled them to alternate. Doing so had allowed the paralyzed Demon a split second to recover. Although the technique sounded simple, without a precise grasp of the Titan Warrior''s timing and perfect control of the two Demons, it was impossible to perform. Shi Feng''s control was godly! Lifeless Thorn had neither seen nor heard of such a combat technique. After training under Shi Feng and improving drastically, he had thought he was close to reaching the Swordsman''s standards, but seeing the man in this fight, he realized that the gap between them was much larger than he had expected. What he didn''t know was that blocking the Titan Warrior''s attacks was impossible for the Demons if they simply alternated. Their performance had only been possible due to World Projection weakening the Mythic monster''s physique, slowing its reaction speed. If not for World Projection, the Demons would''ve been defeated despite working together. Once the Demons secured the Titan Warrior''s aggro, Shi Feng commanded, "Everyone, attack!" Immediately, Lifeless Thorn and the others, who operated the Miniature Ballistas, fired one Exploding Arrow after another at the Guardian Boss. Xiu Xiu Xiu The arrows crossed the 500 yards between the Miniature Ballistas and the Boss in a breath. In the end, all ten Exploding Arrows pierced the Titan Warrior''s back and sides. Damages of over -100,000 appeared above the Titan Warrior''s head, significantly reducing the Mythic monster''s HP. Although the sight overjoyed Asura''s members, Shi Feng couldn''t bring himself to celebrate the outcome. Even after losing 50% of its Attributes, the Titan Warrior''s battle recovery restored 1,800,000 HP every five seconds. Although the Miniature Ballista attacks had dealt more damage than that, it hadn''t been by much. At this rate, it would take the team hours to whittle down the Titan Warrior''s HP. Meanwhile, World Projection only lasted ten minutes While Shi Feng tried to think of a solution, the Titan Warrior didn''t wait around. Abruptly, it thrust its greatsword into the ground. Four-meter-tall figures then began to rise, one after another. [Earthen Spirit] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 70 HP 10,000,000/10,000,000 In seconds, four Earthen Spirits stood before the team. "Crap! How is this even fair?!" "Is this a joke?!" "We''re doomed!" Asura''s members gaped when as the Boss summoned reinforcements. The Titan Warrior was already terrifying on its own, yet it could summon four Grand Lords. Suddenly, the four Earthen Spirits dashed for the Miniature Ballistas 500 yards away. Sure enough, the Main God System won''t let players easily exploit a loophole. Shi Feng frowned at the Earthen Spirits. Gritting his teeth, he took two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag. 1470 Slaying a Mythic Monster Chapter 1470 - Slaying a Mythic Monster Anna and Kite appeared shortly after Shi Feng activated the Summon Guard Scrolls. Although it had been some time since Shi Feng had last summoned the NPCs, neither Personal Guard had leveled up much. Anna was only Level 76, whereas Kite was Level 75. "Kill those Earthen Spirits!" Shi Feng commanded. Although Anna and Kite were only Tier 2 NPCs, one was an Epic guard, and the other was Dark-Gold rank. On their own, they were more than capable of soloing a Great Lord of the same level. Although the Earthen Spirits were Grand Lords, with the Nine-star Polar Domain and World Projection''s suppression, they were only as strong as ordinary Great Lords. Neither of his Personal Guards should have any issues dealing with the Earthen Spirits. Following their master''s command, Anna began to chant an incantation while Kite dashed towards the closest Earthen Spirit. While inside the Nine-star Polar Domain, the Earthen Spirits were trapped. They could only bombard the magic barrier, but even the Titan Warrior would struggle to destroy the strengthened Nine-star Polar Domain, much less these weakened elementals. When he arrived before an Earthen Spirit, Kite swung one of his longswords. Dozens of wind blades bombarded the Earthen Spirit, each dealing -40,000 damage. By the time Kite''s attack ended, the elemental had lost one-tenth of its HP. As a result of this attack, all four Earthen Spirits shifted their attention to the NPC. Although Kite''s combat standards were superior to the Earthen Spirits'', the latter had the advantages of higher Attributes and numbers. Kite had no choice but to focus on defense. As he was forced to retreat one step after another, Anna finished her chant. Suddenly, a Tier 3 Golden Giant and ten Tier 2 Rock Guardians appeared around Kite. These summoned creatures easily pulled two of the Earthen Spirits'' aggro, alleviating the pressure on the NPCs. With both guards working together, they quickly got the upper hand in the fight. It was only a matter of time before the four Earthen Spirits died. "Just what rank are those Personal Guards?! They can actually suppress four Grand Lords!" "How are those NPCs'' levels so high?" "Just who is the commander?" Asura''s members, who had begun to despair, were dumbfounded. Although they had seen players with Personal Guards in Cold Wind City before, those NPCs had been very weak and of little use to players. They couldn''t compare to Anna and Kite''s strength. "Everyone, prioritize the Earthen Spirits! We''ll deal with the Titan Warrior afterward!" Shi Feng hurriedly instructed as he glanced at the elementals. "Lifeless, move your group forward and use your Combination Skill from the side!" Tier 1 Skills and Spells were almost no threat to the Earthen Spirits and the Titan Warrior, but the Combination Skill was a different story. If Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Dark Madness used Triple Frostmoon, the Skill would be as powerful as a Tier 3 Spell. It should be able to deal a considerable amount of damage to the weakened Mechanical Lifeform, let alone the elementals. The players manning the Miniature Ballistas turned the weapons towards the Earthen Spirit Kite tanked, launching a volley of Exploding Arrows at the Great Lord. When the Exploding Arrows struck, the Earthen Spirit instantly lost one-fifth of its HP. Meanwhile, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Dark Madness led three healers as they advanced. Unlike ordinary Skills, a Combination Skill had an optimum formation. The closer the users were to that formation, the stronger the Skill would be. Lifeless Thorn''s group were among Cold Wind City''s top experts. The trio quickly reached Kite''s Earthen Spirit, forming a triangle around it. They then activated Triple Frostmoon simultaneously. Immediately, three crescent beams of light converged on the Earthen Spirit. Boom! The moment the three beams collided, they created a towering pillar of silver light that extended to the cavern''s ceiling, devouring the elemental. The Earthen Spirit, which had less than a quarter of its HP remaining before the attack, transformed into particles of light and disappeared. Every player that saw the attack was stunned by its power. Lifeless Thorn''s group was no exception. Only Shi Feng remained unfazed. In fact, he had expected the result. Combination Skills were extraordinarily rare. If a team had one, it would elevate the team''s damage output to a whole new level. Needless to say, the effects of such a Skill against the Earthen Spirit, which had been suppressed to a Great Lord''s standard, would be marvelous. However, although Combination Skills were very powerful, their Cooldowns were long. These Cooldowns generally lasted a minute or longer. The Earthen Spirit''s death granted the team members a large amount of EXP. Unfortunately, the Grand Lord hadn''t dropped any items. On the bright side, with one Earthen Spirit down, it became much easier to deal with the remaining three. Less than one minute had passed between the first elemental''s death and the last. When the team saw their overall damage, they felt as if they were dreaming. "Everyone, focus your on fire the Titan Warrior!" Shi Feng shouted once the Earthen Spirits were gone. "Lifeless, only jump in after Triple Frostmoon''s Cooldown has ended!" "Understood!" The team turned towards their last, and largest, target. With Anna and Kite''s help, the team''s overall damage output increased by a large chunk. As a result, the Titan Warrior''s HP steadily fell. 98%... 95%... 90%... Time passed quickly. Throughout the battle, Shi Feng focused on controlling the two Demons, distracting the Titan Warrior. When the Demons'' HP fell below 30%, he moved forward and activated Life Domain, healing all allies within a 50-yard radius by 10% every second for 30 seconds. The rest of the team bombarded the Mechanical Lifeform with attacks. While Triple Frostmoon was on Cooldown, Lifeless Thorn''s group used Tier 2 Magic Scrolls to attack. By the time World Projection''s duration ended, the Titan Warrior only had 63% of its HP remaining. Shi Feng then fed the Ring of Gospel another 5,000 Magic Crystals and activated the Skill once more. However, with this investment, Shi Feng ran out of Magic Crystals. When the Titan Warrior''s HP reached 30%, the Mythic monster bellowed and tossed its greatsword away. It then retrieved the two crimson sabers from its back and changed its attack pattern. Although its Attack Power had declined, its attack rate had doubled. Shi Feng had already struggled with maneuvering the two Demons to block the Titan Warrior''s attacks, but the sudden change overwhelmed him. As a result, the Demons'' HPs began to plummet. Even when Kite and the Golden Giant tried to help, they only slowed the draining HP slightly. When one Demon''s HP fell below 50%, and the other fell below 30%, the Titan Warrior merged its twin sabers. It pointed its weapon at the Demon with less than 30% of its HP. Suddenly, a scorching, red beam of light shot forward, tearing through the Demon and only stopping after it crashed into the magic barrier. Even the magic barrier trembled when the beam struck. The Fear Demon died on the spot The Tomahawk Demon received some damage from the resulting shockwave as well, its HP falling to 31%. With only one Demon remaining, Shi Feng had a harder time blocking the Guardian Boss''s attacks. The Tomahawk lost 2% of its HP or more every second. Seeing this, Shi Feng realized that this fight had reached a critical moment. He immediately turned to Anna and commanded, "Activate Angel Summoning!" The NPC didn''t hesitate to start the incantation. When the Tomahawk Demon''s HP fell below 10%, a white-winged Valkyrie descended onto the battlefield. Her wings shuddering slightly, she arrived before the Titan Warrior, her golden spear sweeping towards the Mythic monster. A golden flash blinded the players, and the impact threw the incomparably powerful Titan Warrior over 30 yards away, a damage of over -1,000,000 appearing above its head. Before the Titan Warrior could react, the Valkyrie stood before it again, thrusting her Spear of Thunder into the Mythic monster''s heart, devouring a large chunk of its HP. "Attack with everything you have!" Shi Feng shouted in the team chat. Abandoning his control over the Tomahawk Demon, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Blade Liberation before dashing towards the Titan Warrior. Following suit, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Dark Madness also activated their Berserk Skills and charged towards the Boss. With the Valkyrie as the team''s MT, they overwhelmed the Titan Warrior. The Mythic monster couldn''t even defend itself, much less retaliate. The Valkyrie could only join the fray for ten seconds. Hence, holding nothing back, she used one powerful Skill after another against the Guardian Boss. Shi Feng and the other Asura members used every Skill and Spell they had alongside her. The Titan Warrior''s HP fell rapidly. 20%... 15%... 10%... By the time the Valkyrie disappeared, the Titan Warrior had 3% of its HP remaining. Lifeless Thorn''s trio then executed Triple Frostmoon, destroying a little over 1% of the Mythic monster''s HP. Following which, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence before he and his doppelganger activated Flame Burst and Shadow Blade. By the time Shi Feng''s attacks ended, the Titan Warrior had stopped moving, its HP gone. 1471 Mythic Monsters Loo Chapter 1471 - Mythic Monster''s Loot "Success!" "We won?" "We actually killed a Mythic monster!" Despite their miserable state, when these players looked at the Titan Warrior''s corpse, excitement welled within in them. For a moment, they even felt as if they were dreaming. Even the Snow Rift''s gatekeeper had only been a Level 70 Grand Lord. Even so, it was invincible to Cold Wind City''s players. Yet, they had just defeated a monster even more powerful than that gatekeeper. Why wouldn''t they be excited? Shortly after the Titan Warrior''s HP reached zero, it collapsed to the ground before transforming into numerous, large particles of light. As the light faded, they revealed many dazzling items. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Kill of the Ancient Shrine Protector. Rewards doubled. Rewarding "Shrine Warrior" title. After the announcement, the team members'' experience bars rapidly increased. What bountiful EXP! Shi Feng was astonished at how much his experience bar grew. After all, he had already reached Level 58. He needed a tremendous amount of EXP to level up, yet even after it had risen from 95% of Level 58 to Level 59, it continued to increase. Level 59, 10%... 30%... 60%... His experience bar only started to slow after it passed 85% of Level 59. It gradually increased until he eventually reached Level 60. Shi Feng wasn''t the only one to experience the sensation. Everyone else had leveled up at least twice. Both Solitary Nine and Dark Madness had reached Level 53, whereas Lifeless Thorn, who had a peak hidden class, had only reached Level 52. After so many evolutions in God''s Domain, a team''s EXP distribution had changed. If high-level players attempted to powerlevel low-level players, the newer players would receive a much smaller share of the EXP. Even with this new system in place, the Asura adventurer team members, who were ten levels lower than Shi Feng, still received so much EXP. However, Shi Feng was more interested in the Titan Warrior''s loot and the title from securing the First Kill than he was in the EXP. Shrine Warrior? Shi Feng then clicked to inspect the title. [Shrine Warrior] Grants wielder the Ancient Shrines'' favor. Reputation gain increased by 20%, and teleportation fees halved. It halves teleportation fees and increases Reputation gain by 20%? No wonder so many Guilds had eagerly hunted Ancient Shrines'' guardians in the past. Shi Feng was slightly astonished. In Shi Feng''s previous life, Ancient Shrines had been very popular as many players loved to visit Otherworlds. Otherworlds had a lot of money-making potential since they all had their own unique resources. Unfortunately, Ancient Shrines'' teleportations fees had been quite high. Not even elite players could afford to teleport to and from Otherworlds frequently. However, traveling to an Ancient Shrine was typically more troublesome than the teleportation fees. Although Ancient Shrines had teleportation gates, these teleportation gates only allowed teleportation between a specific Otherworld and the continent of God''s Domain. They wouldn''t teleport players to specific locations like the local NPC cities. Players couldn''t travel to the teleportation gates from the cities'' Teleportation Halls, either. If players had wanted to visit or leave an Otherworld, they had to travel to an Ancient Shrine by foot. However, these shrines were usually tucked away in remote locations, and players had to face many monsters on the way. As a result, getting to a shrine had been very time-consuming. But there was a solution. Players could increase their Reputation with specific Ancient Shrines. When a player earned 1,000 Reputation Points with a particular Ancient Shrine, they could purchase its Ancient Shrine Emblem. Players could then use this emblem to teleport directly to the shrine, saving a lot of time. Because of this, many players had tried to grind Reputation with Ancient Shrines. Unfortunately, doing so was no easy feat. Most players had been lucky to earn 500 Reputation Points after one or two months of hard work. Meanwhile, the Shrine Warrior title could increase players'' Reputation gain by 20%. Closing off the title''s Attribute Panel, Shi Feng began to organize the loot. As a Mythic monster, the Titan Warrior dropped far better items than a Grand Lord of the same level. Moreover, the loot was even more impressive since they had gotten the First Kill. With a quick glance, Shi Feng spotted over 150 items. Seeing the small mountain of treasure, passion burned in Lifeless Thorn and his companion''s eyes. They all wanted to dive into the pile. How bountiful! Even a Super Guild would be tempted to trying robbing us. Shi Feng''s excitement grew as he looked at the items in his bag. Although he had killed a lot of Mythic monsters in his previous life, the difference between their loot and that of the Titan Warrior was like heaven and earth. Generally, Mythic monsters had a high chance of dropping Epic items. Some special Mythic monsters could even drop Fragmented Legendary items. For example, the Final Boss in the Dragon''s Graveyard, a forbidden land in the Black Dragon Empire, had a chance of dropping a Fragmented Legendary item. Although the Titan Warrior wasn''t as powerful as the Dragon''s Graveyard''s Final Boss, it''s loot was quite impressive. The majority of the 150-plus items were rare materials for crafting Epic Weapons and Equipment, all of which could easily fetch over 100 Gold on the market. Among them, a particular item was an important component for forging the Epic ranked Broken Steel Set Equipment. Nucleus of Life! Epic Set Equipment had been out of Shi Feng''s reach in the past. The best he had equipped were individual Epic Weapons and pieces of Equipment. It was common knowledge that Set Equipment was half a rank stronger than individual pieces of the same rank. If he had worn an Epic Set Equipment back then, he would''ve had an 80% chance of completing his Tier 4 promotion. If he could forge the Broken Steel Set now, he would become invincible. Although he had thought of doing so, the materials required to forge the Broken Steel Set were simply too rare. Aside from the required Mana Stones, he had no way to collect the Titan Ore or the Flame, Water, Wind, and Earth Source Crystals. And then there was the Nucleus of Life. One could only obtain a Nucleus of Life if they were lucky. There was no set method to obtain it. One could say that it was the most difficult material to obtain among the various required materials. Shi Feng had never expected a Nucleus of Life to drop. Although he knew where he could obtain the rest of the materials, he wasn''t strong enough to reach them yet. The Titan Warrior had also dropped plenty of Master ranked potions and Magic Scrolls of various tiers. Among the most precious scrolls was a Tier 4 Magic Scroll, Titan''s Wrath, a Tier 4, large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. In a Guild war, it would be a nightmare for the enemy. There were also quite a few Tier 2 Skill Books for various classes. The system only allowed players to learn low-tiered Skills from NPCs during the early stages of the game to help them adapt to the game''s environment. Players could only learn Tier 2 and above Skills or Spells from loot or purchasing them with Legacy Skill Points. Skill Books containing Tier 2 Skills were incredibly rare, and many players in the past had only found a handful after reaching Tier 2, obtaining most from completing their promotion quest. As a result, those players hadn''t been able to exhibit the true strength of their Tier 2 classes. The Titan Warrior had dropped over a dozen Tier 2 Skill Books. It had even dropped the popular Tier 2 Spell for healers, Combat Resurrection. With this Skill, healers could resurrect a fallen companion even while still in combat. It also reduced the normal death penalty by 40%. The only downside was the Spell''s 12-hour-long Cooldown. There were also two Combination Skill Books. However, one particular item had caught Shi Feng''s attention: a shield radiating a faint trace of Divine Might. It was the most eye-catching item among the loot. A shield? Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and began to appraise the item. 1472 Titan Guard Chapter 1472 - Titan Guard In God''s Domain, any item that radiated Divine Might was extraordinary, even more so were the weapons and equipment pieces that emitted the energy. After Shi Feng scanned the shield with Omniscient Eyes, the system informed him of appraisal time. Twenty seconds? Shi Feng rejoiced. Normally, Epic items only took a dozen or so seconds to appraise. Since the shield had a 20-second appraisal time, it must be particularly high-quality. Shields were very important to a team. If a team''s MT had a powerful shield, the team would have a much easier time against Boss monsters. Because of their importance, they were hard to find on the market. Furthermore, these shields were generally worth twice as much as a weapon of the same level. Once Omniscient Eyes finished appraising the crescent shield, the shield''s Attribute Panel revealed itself to Shi Feng. What an awesome Growth-type shield! Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the shield''s statistics. [Titan Guard] (Shield, Bronze Rank [Can grow]) Minimum Equipment Level: 50 Equipment Requirement: Strength 800 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Defense +3,550 (Level 50) Block Rate: 32% Strength +33, Endurance +47, Agility +29 Defend Skill +1 Levels When equipped: All magic damage received reduced by 30%; Reaction speed increased by 20%; Paralysis effects reduced by 30%. Additional Passive Skill 1- Guardian Shield: Automatically generates a layer of Guardian Energy, which can block an attack, every 30 seconds. Additional Passive Skill 2- Iron Wall: Reduces the impact from incoming attacks by 30% and damage received by 10%. Additional Active Skill 1- Titan''s Heart: Generates a layer of Protective Energy that absorbs damage equivalent to five times of wielder''s maximum HP for 30 seconds. During this time, player''s battle recovery improved by 500% and healing received increased by 50%. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2- Titan''s Will: Becomes immune to all control effects. Reduces all damage received by 80%. Increases Attack Speed by 50% and Movement Speed by 20%. Starting Movement Speed set at 70% of maximum Movement Speed. Duration: 15 seconds Cooldown: 3 minutes (Cannot stack with other Defensive Skills.) Additional Active Skill 3- Titan''s Domain: Every non-friendly target within a 30-yard radius will increase wielder''s Basic Attributes by 1%, reduces damage received by 1%, and heals wielder by 0.1% HP every second. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 2 hours (Maximum number of targets: 50.) This shield can grow to Fragmented Legendary rank. Currently at Bronze rank. Growing to Mysterious-Iron rank requires 1,000 Magic Crystals. This was the first time Shi Feng had ever seen a Growth-type shield that could reach Fragmented Legendary rank. Although the Titan Guard was a Bronze ranked shield right now, its Skills were even more powerful than a Dark-Gold shield of the same level. And these Skills would become even more formidable as the shield''s rank rose. Just thinking about how powerful the Titan Guard would become once it reached Fragmented Legendary rank made Shi Feng shudder with anticipation. Fragmented Legendary shields were extremely rare, arguably more so than Legendary items. Any team with a shield of that rank would become famous throughout God''s Domain. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the team would be akin to an unkillable cockroach in Boss raids. A Tier 1 MT wielding a Fragmented Legendary shield could easily tank a Mythic monster ten levels lower than them. After reaching Tier 2, said MT could even solo a Mythic monster five levels higher. With an MT of that caliber, raiding a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon would be a piece of cake even if the team''s DPS and coordination were lacking. It might even have a chance of raiding high-difficulty, super-large-scale Team Dungeons With this, we won''t need to worry about raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Shi Feng''s lips curled into a grin as he gazed at the Titan Guard. Following which, Shi Feng examined the other weapons and equipment that had dropped. The next best item was an Epid ranked Cape, the Titan Mantle, which focused on Strength. There were also eight pieces of Level 60, Dark-Gold Equipment. Since Shi Feng already had the Nightwalker''s Cape, he gave the Titan Mantle to Lifeless Thorn. Now, the Berserker''s equipment could rival that of peak experts in God''s Domain. "Commander, what about you?" Lifeless Thorn asked, giving Shi Feng a concerned look. If he had claimed not to be excited about obtaining the cape, he would''ve been lying. Every expert dreamed of Epic items, after all. "Mine''s even better. Besides, this is a loan. It''ll only truly be yours after you''ve accumulated enough ACPs," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Nurturing powerful experts was more important than some Epic cape right now. Had Solitary Nine or Dark Madness reached the Refinement Realm, he might have given them the item. "I understand. I won''t disappoint you." Lifeless Thorn nodded, not arguing. Shi Feng then awarded the rest of his team with the corresponding Contribution Points, which they could use to purchase various weapons and equipment from the Asura adventuring team. Now that the Titan Warrior was dead, Shi Feng could finally breathe. Once the team had rested, they proceeded to the Ancient Shrine itself. When the team entered the shrine, they felt as if they had just stepped into another world. The shrine''s interior was resplendent, a stark contrast to the bleak cavern. They spotted Elves and mechanical NPCs going about their business. The place looked nothing like a desolate location. Aside from NPCs, the Ancient Shrine had various Shops selling all sorts of items. There were even places for players to rest and repair their weapons and equipment. Asura''s members excitedly looked around, but Shi Feng didn''t give his team time to digest their new environment. Instead, he led them to the Teleportation Hall on the shrine''s second floor. When the team reached the Teleportation Hall, they were greeted by rows of mechanical NPCs guarding the Space-time Teleportation Gate. These NPCs were all Level 200, and the weakest among them was Tier 3. Anybody that dared to cause trouble here would die instantly. "Hello, sir. If you wish to leave the Ice Crystal World, each member of your party must pay one Mana Stone or 100 Magic Crystals," the NPC Elf standing before the teleportation gate explained, smiling when he saw Shi Feng''s group. "However, since you are one of our Ancient Shrine''s Shrine Warriors, your travel will only cost 50 Magic Crystals." How expensive. Shi Feng frowned slightly. Among the various Otherworlds he had visited in the past, the most expensive had cost him 80 Magic Crystals, yet leaving the Ice Crystal World cost 50 after his 50% discount Asura''s members, who had been elated to leave Cold Wind City''s region, were stupefied by the price. Although they could afford it, they would only have a few Magic Crystals left. "Here''s 50 Mana Stones." Shi Feng didn''t hesitate to hand over the Mana Stones he had prepared to trade for the Temporal Sand. As for the Countess''s quest, he could send the Asura adventurer team to grind for the remaining Ice Crystal Fragments. He still had enough time before the deadline. After Shi Feng paid the teleportation fees for 100 people, the Space-time Teleportation Gate slowly opened. Under Shi Feng''s lead, the team entered the gate and vanished from the Ancient Shrine''s Teleportation Hall. 1473 Shocking Wealth Chapter 1473 - Shocking Wealth Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City: Inside the congested Teleportation Hall, a constant stream of players appeared and vanished via the teleportation arrays. With every passing moment, new players arrived in Black Dragon City. The city''s population grew by the day. As one of the teleportation arrays lit up, a 100-man team emerged. "Why are so many people here?" "So, this is Black Dragon City? The players here really are well-equipped. Cold Wind City is no match for this place." These new arrivals stared at the gorgeous and spectacular Teleportation Hall as if they had just arrived in a new world. These people were none other than the Asura adventurer team''s members, who had just crossed over from the Ice Crystal World. "You must be tired after grinding for so long. We''ll disband, for now, so get some rest. You can also use this opportunity to explore. I''ll notify you through the team chat when it''s time to meet back up," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he watched his curious teammates. After leaving the Ice Crystal World''s Ancient Shrine, their group teleported to an Ancient Shrine in the Great Thorn Forest, a neutral map not far from the Black Dragon Empire. Although that shrine had lacked a Guardian Boss, players couldn''t teleport while in the Great Thorn Forest. They had no choice but to fight their way out of the map. Fortunately, the Great Thorn Forest was only a Level 60 to Level 80 map, so the enemies they encountered hadn''t been ridiculously powerful. Even so, they had fought for over ten hours before they reached the empire. The team then arrived in a border town in the Black Dragon Empire with the help of Shi Feng''s Space Movement. From the border town, they teleported to Black Dragon City. After such a long fight, every team member was mentally exhausted. Since there was still some time before his agreement with Phoenix Rain, Shi Feng let his adventurer team get some rest. Besides, he still had a few matters to see to, and moving as a group was too troublesome. "Alright, we''ll do that." "I wonder how many experts are here? I''m going to the Divine Colosseum to take a look." After Shi Feng''s dismissal, the team members excitedly left the Teleportation Hall. Lifeless Thorn, in particular, dashed straight towards Black Dragon City''s Divine Colosseum. After the team split up, Shi Feng hailed an advanced carriage and made his way to the city''s Auction House. During his time in the Ice Crystal World, he had purchased many of the Otherworld''s unique, rare materials. Including the items his Asura adventurer team had gathered, his bag space and Epic ranked Spatial Bag were full to the brim. Although he had been absent from God''s Domain''s continent for some time, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had sent him regular reports. The various large Guilds had been busy trying to equip their members with Mounts by offering their elite and expert members subsidies. Mounted players could explore distant resource maps, gathering more resources for their Guilds. They could also level up faster due to fewer competitors. Naturally, Zero Wing couldn''t fall behind. Although Zero Wing earned a lot from Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena and Auction House and White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm and teleportation house, it didn''t have much to spare to purchase Mounts for its elites due to its expansion on two fronts. Hence, this was a good opportunity to earn a quick buck from selling the Ice Crystal World''s rare materials and set some aside for Guild Mounts. Many of the materials he had gathered during his trip were ice-type items. Not only could they be used to craft weapons and equipment, but they would also be useful in brewing potions that increased Ice Resistance and ice-type damage, both of which God''s Domain''s continent sorely lacked. Mainstream players had already begun to encounter leveling maps with various environments, and as a result, increasing one''s Resistances had become a necessity. Without those Resistances, players'' leveling speed and combat power would suffer. Frost Steel Ore, in particular, was the main material to produce Ice Resistance Armor Kits and Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver with Ice Resistance. In the Ice Crystal World, a stack of 100 Frost Steel Ore only sold for 1 Gold. In God''s Domain, a stack could go for more than 5 Gold. Shi Feng had intentionally collected a large stock of the material. He had planned to sell the materials in Zero Wing''s Auction House, but at the end of the day, Stone Forest Town didn''t see enough traffic. It was no match for Black Dragon City. Moreover, only a high-population city like Black Dragon City could exhaust his stock. If he tried to sell the materials in Star-Moon Kingdom, he''d saturate the market, and the prices would eventually fall. Half an hour later, Shi Feng arrived before the Black Dragon Auction House. He saw far more players than his visit a few days ago. There were several times more merchant players from other kingdoms and empires specifically. These merchant players hawked their wares outside the building in an intense competition. After entering the Auction House, Shi Feng found a secluded corner and took a seat. He then called up the Auction House''s system interface and began to place various items up for sale. He had bought almost every ingot of Frost Steel Ore Cold Wind City had to offer, collecting over 5,000 stacks. Aside from the Frost Steel Ore, Shi Feng had over 3,000 stacks of Ice-capped Grass, a required component for brewing Intermediate Ice Resistance Potions. Each stack had sold for 60 Silver in Cold Wind City, but in the Black Dragon Empire, they could sell for 3 Gold Overall, Shi Feng had over 16,000 stacks of materials. Among them, over 13,000 stacks were common materials in the Ice Crystal World. For now, he only sold the common materials, saving the more valuable items for the Candlelight Trading Firm. "Someone''s selling Frost Steel Ore for 5 Gold per stack?! That''s so cheap!" "I finally found the Ice-capped Grass I''ve been looking for!" It wasn''t long before players bought out the first batch of materials Shi Feng had scheduled in the Auction House. Due to the intense competition for the items, Shi Feng made more than the market place even after deducting the processing fees. Overall, just the first batch of materials had earned Shi Feng a net profit of over 3,000 Gold. At this rate, he should be able to earn over 30,000 Gold. And this was his profit after a single visit to the Ice Crystal World If the various Super Guilds learned his secret, they''d pop a blood vessel in envy. After he finished dealing with the common materials, Shi Feng used a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to Stone Forest Town. He stored the remaining materials in the town''s Candlelight Trading Firm. He also collected the Magic Crystals the town had stockpiled while he had been gone to upgrade the Titan Guard. He had spent most of his Magic Crystals during the battle with the Titan Warrior, so he only had a few hundred crystals on hand. It wasn''t enough to upgrade the Titan Guard. The number of Magic Crystals Stone Forest Town''s Advanced Auction House and Battle Arena had earned stunned Shi Feng. Even after deducting the town''s expenses, Stone Forest Town had earned over 60,000 Magic Crystals in just three days. However, upgrading the Titan Guard wouldn''t be cheap. After spending 1,000 Magic Crystals to upgrade the shield from Bronze to Mysterious-Iron rank, he spent another 3,000 crystals upgrading it to Secret-Silver rank, 6,000 to Fine-Gold rank, 10,000 to Dark-Gold rank, and 18,000 to Epic Rank. Unfortunately, upgrading the shield to Fragmented Legendary rank would cost 100,000 Magic Crystals. In the end, Shi Feng could only afford to upgrade the Titan Guard to Epic rank. He''d have to save the last upgrade for the future. "Guild Leader, you''re finally back! I bought a large stock of Flame Potions as you asked. Do you want me to send them over?" Aqua Rose asked, smiling. Aqua Rose and her team had grinded for Flame Potions in the Flaming Rain Mountains while Shi Feng had been gone. Since it was a neutral map, it had an abundance of extremely powerful monsters. If not for her leadership, they might not have completed their task. Furthermore, due to the map''s difficulty, she had leveled up, reaching Level 51. "Good." Shi Feng nodded and glanced at the time. It was almost time for his appointment with Phoenix Rain, and he said, "Let''s meet up in Black Dragon City. And notify Snow to pick a team of experts. We''re going on a trip to Apocalypse City!" "We''re heading out on another excursion? Alright." Aqua Rose was instantly overjoyed. She then disconnected the call and contacted Gentle Snow. 1474 Zero Wings Auction Chapter 1474 - Zero Wing''s Auction Shi Feng didn''t hurry to return to Black Dragon City after the call disconnected. Instead, he left the Candlelight Trading Firm and headed to the Zero Wing Auction House. The Titan Guard would be of immense help when the Guild raided Dungeons. If he upgraded the shield to Fragmented Legendary rank in time, it could also help them capture the Manatite vein on Karna Island. However, 100,000 Magic Crystals were not easy to come by. So, he decided to sell some of the more valuable materials he had obtained in the Ice Crystal World in Zero Wing''s Auction House. Coins were the main currency in NPC Auction Houses, but Zero Wing''s was an Advanced Auction House. Players were allowed to use other currencies in their transactions, including Magic Crystals. This was also the reason that the various major powers in the past had sought their own. As expected of an Advanced Auction House. The place has developed quickly. It''s no wonder why Ouroboros rose to power so quickly in the past. Before Shi Feng reached the building, he spotted massive crowds wandering in and out of the Auction House. It was far more lively than Black Dragon''s Auction House. Based on Aqua Rose''s reports, Stone Forest Town''s player population had stabilized at over 1,000,000 due to Zero Wing''s Auction House. It was enough to rival a major NPC city. Such a high number of players also allowed the various large Guilds'' spies to investigate the establishment. Some had even tried to bribe Zero Wing''s core members to learn how their Guild could obtain an Advanced Auction House. Among the Guilds trying to probe for information, Aqua Rose had discovered a few shadows from Super Guilds. Unfortunately, although these players'' bribes were tempting, not even Aqua Rose knew how they had obtained the Advanced Auction House Design, much less the core members. In the end, these spies had returned empty-handed. As soon as Shi Feng entered the Auction House, several Level 20 to 30 merchant players stepped into his path before he reached the counter. Moreover, he wasn''t the only player they had interrupted. These merchant players in luxurious, non-Attributed clothing approached any player that tried to enter the Auction House. "Fellow friend, do you intend to sell items here?" a female Oracle in a light blue dress asked after approaching Shi Feng. Softly, she continued, "I can help you sell and purchase items. If you have items to sell, I''ll help pay a portion of the processing fees. If you''re looking for items, depending on the item''s value, I''ll help cover the cost up to 1 Gold." Shi Feng had intended to ignore the woman, but upon seeing the Oracle''s name, he paused. Why is she here? Shi Feng stared at the smiling player in shock. The female Oracle''s name was Susie. She wasn''t a fighting expert or some upper echelon from a Guild or top adventurer team. Rather, she had been a famous merchant in the Black Dragon Empire and its neighbors. Shi Feng had conducted various business deals with Susie in the past. Through her, he had secured a steady supply of various Resistance Potions, which had been very rare at the time. The potions had helped Shadow pioneer a neutral map and encounter plenty of opportunities. Unfortunately, Susie hadn''t had a powerful background. After amassing immense wealth for herself, some of the large Guilds had targeted her. In the end, they plundered her Coins and resources. Although Susie had tried to take revenge, she hadn''t had any influence or strength. Eventually, she had been forced elsewhere to develop. After that incident, Shi Feng had lost track of the woman. Shi Feng had never thought that he''d run into her here. "What benefits do you offer for helping foot a portion of the processing fees?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "I''m trying to join Zero Wing''s Auction. To do so, I need to meet a certain transaction quota. I''d like to use your items to meet that quota," Susie explained without withholding anything. Hearing this, realization dawned on Shi Feng. An Advanced Auction House would periodically hold NPC auctions. During these auctions, players could bid on all sorts of precious items. However, not just any player could participate. Players needed to complete a specified number of transactions first. Fulfilling these quotas might be easy for adventurer teams and Guilds, but they were quite demanding of individual merchant players. "How many are you missing?" Shi Feng asked. Susie frowned at the question, but she offered an answer. "I''m roughly 500 Gold away from qualifying for the Intermediate Auctions." Although she put up quite a few of her own items in Zero Wing''s Auction House, many of them hadn''t sold due to the intense competition. She was forced to resort to other methods to fulfill her quota. "Alright. Help me sell these items, then. But I''ll only accept Magic Crystals." Shi Feng handed the woman ten ingots of the absurdly rare Arctic Manatite. The market price for Arctic Manatite was over 50 Gold per piece, and even then, no one willing sold theirs. "Arctic Manatite?!" Susie''s jaw nearly hit the ground when she saw the material this Swordsman intended to sell. Ordinary players might not know recognize Arctic Manatite, but merchant players were very familiar with the material. Many of the various large Guilds were preparing to pioneer neutral maps, and they all needed various materials to craft Resistance items. Arctic Manatite was one such example. One ingot could easily sell for 180 Magic Crystals or more. Meanwhile, Magic Crystals'' current market price had climbed to 30 Silver each. Even at such a high price, Guilds would fight over the metal, yet Shi Feng wanted to sell ten ingots "Are you sure you want to consign them with me?" Susie asked, giving Shi Feng a surprised look. She understood what it meant for a player to so easily collect ten ingots of Arctic Manatite. With Shi Feng''s wealth, he likely wasn''t worried about processing fees. "Mhm. Every Coin counts," Shi Feng said, nodding. Susie had, more or less, helped in him the past. Since he had encountered her in this life, he didn''t mind returning the favor. Upon hearing the Swordsman''s agreement, Susie stopped wasting time talking with the man. She pulled a pre-prepared contract from her bag and began to fill in some of the blank areas. Since this was a consignment, the consignor would have to receive the materials to put them up for sale in the Auction House. To protect both parties, they''d sign a contract. Within minutes, both players signed the contract. Once the arrangement was complete, Shi Feng turned and headed up to the second floor. Meanwhile, Susie was ecstatic as she looked at the two copies of the contract. Once she sold the Arctic Manatite, she would complete her quota. All she would need to do then was prepare for the Intermediate Auction. However, when Susie read the consignee''s name, she was dumbfounded. How is this possible?! He''s Zero Wing''s Ye Feng? Susie spun around, spotting Shi Feng as he walked toward the staircase leading to the second floor. Everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom knew about Zero Wing. It was, without a doubt, the kingdom''s number one Guild and overlord. The names of the Guild''s upper echelons was engraved on every player''s mind. Although Ye Feng wasn''t as famous as Aqua Rose and Fire Dance, everybody knew that he was one of Zero Wing''s core upper echelons. It was rumored that even Aqua Rose, one of the Guild''s Vice Leaders, had to follow the man''s commands from time to time. To an insignificant player like her, Ye Feng was far out of her reach. She could only ever gaze up at someone like him. When she thought about how she had engaged such a man for a business transaction, she was speechless. 1475 Gathering of Experts Chapter 1475 - Gathering of Experts On the Auction House''s second floor, Shi Feng followed an NPC to a VIP reception room. He had treated his transaction with Susie as an investment. Aside from her keen business sense, Susie had made a name for herself in the Black Dragon Empire as a merchant due to her resource channels. The various first-rate Guilds in the past had struggled to secure a steady supply of various Resistance Potions, yet she had succeeded where they had failed. It was hard to imagine a merchant player with no background obtaining so many Resistance Potions. Moreover, she had also sold various rare items that had tempted the large Guilds. Hence, forming a connection with this merchant player was a wise move. "Boss, do you wish to sell all of these items?" the advanced manager NPC asked as he examined the large pile of materials on the table. "Yes. Sell them in batches. Only accept Magic Crystals as payment." Shi Feng nodded. An Advanced Auction House offered two methods for selling items. With the first, players could manually decide when their items went up for sale, while the second option allowed them to leave that up to NPCs. NPCs would then sell the items based on the player''s requirements and the current demand, putting them up for sale when they could generate the most profit. However, only the Auction House''s advanced members had access to the second method. Every player dreamed of accessing this option; not only would it save them the hassle, but their items would also sell at an appropriate time. Usually, players increased their profits by at least 10% with this method. Ten percent might not make a difference for a transaction worth dozens of Silver Coins, but it was a different story for those worth hundreds or thousands of Gold. This was one of the Advanced Auction House''s trump cards. However, Shi Feng had no intention of offering this function to the public just yet. Otherwise, the various superpowers would become even more eager to obtain their own establishment. They might even attempt to steal the building. After all, God''s Domain had certain tools that could return a building to its design even after its construction, but doing so was difficult and costly. Although the rare materials he wanted to sell wouldn''t earn 100,000 Magic Crystals, he should be able to earn around 60,000. Including the income from the Auction House fees and the Battle Arena, he should have enough to upgrade the Titan Guard. Once he finished in the Auction House, Shi Feng glanced at the time. He then used a Return Scroll to travel to White River City before making his way to Black Dragon City. Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City: The Teleportation hall had fallen silent due to the arrival of a particular player group. "What?! They''re actually from Zero Wing?!" "They''re so strong!" "Aren''t they Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose? Why are Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders here?" "Is that the Flame Witch? I''ve heard that she recently taught the Dark Guilds lurking around Lake Heart City another lesson. With no way to deal with her, they had been forced out of the city." "Why are so many people from Zero Wing here? Are they going to declare war on some Guild?" When Gentle Snow and the other core members of Zero Wing arrived in the Teleportation Hall, everyone turned towards the party. Every player in the area felt an immense pressure weigh down on them the moment the group arrived. Many people unconsciously stepped out of the way, opening a path for Zero Wing''s members. The Black Dragon Empire''s players hadn''t been particularly familiar with Zero Wing several days ago, but after the ranking competition and the siege war, it had become one of the most popular Guilds in the empire, with countless players attempting to join. However, after the ranking competition and the siege war, Zero Wing had already become one of the most popular Guilds in the empire, and many players desperately wanted to join. With such a large group of the Guild''s experts before them, why wouldn''t they be surprised? In the past, almost no one knew how strong Zero Wing was, but looking at these members, every player in the Teleportation Hall sighed with admiration. Not only were Zero Wing''s members sitting atop their Mounts, but their levels were also awesomely high. The lowest-leveled among them was Level 48. Even the number one expert on the Black Dragon Empire''s Ranking List was only Level 48 "Guild Leader, everyone''s arrived. We can set out at any time," Gentle Snow said when she noticed Shi Feng approach. "Good." Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction at the strict, orderly 100-man team before him. "Take a quick break. The others will arrive shortly. We''ll head over once everyone''s here." "There''re more?" Gentle Snow was a little confused. As far as she knew, they were here to help Phoenix Rain raid the Sunset Forest. She hadn''t heard of the woman asking for other reinforcements. As soon as Gentle Snow finished her question, a team entered the Teleportation Hall, approaching her group. Every player on the team wore a Black Cloak, hiding their levels, but she felt the threat of death around all of them. When Gentle Snow looked a particular Berserk with a dark-purple spear across his back, she felt as if she were looking at a ferocious beast that had been released from its cage. The Berserker''s aura was also as sharp as a blade. For a moment, Gentle Snow sensed the thread of death radiating from this Berserker. A peak expert? Gentle Snow was surprised and alert as she quietly examined the Berserker. In fact, Gentle Snow wasn''t the only one who felt it. Aqua Rose and Zhao Yueru were also aware of this particular player. This Berserker was none other than Cold Wind City''s number one expert, Lifeless Thorn. Lifeless Thorn also felt a great deal of pressure from Zero Wing''s team. Although he had never fought any of these players, his senses as an expert told him that few were strong enough of rivaling his strength among Zero Wing''s 100-man team. "Let me introduce you. These two are Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders. This is Lifeless Thorn, who hails from the Ice Crystal World," Shi Feng said. He could not help but chuckle as the players eyed each other. "Both of your teams will be involved in this undertaking." "Guild Leader?" "Commander?" All three players turned to Shi Feng in unison, confused. Shi Feng then patiently explained Zero Wing''s Guild and the Asura adventurer team to both sides. The news shocked all of them, and both teams struggled to digest the information. "Guild Leader, just how many secrets are you hiding" Shock overwhelmed Gentle Snow as she watched Asura''s members. Although the Black Cloaks prevented her from gauging the adventurer''s strength, based on their movements, she could tell that every member of the team was an expert. The various large Guilds would offer insane prices to recruit such experts, and even then, they had only succeeded in convincing a small number to join them. Yet, Shi Feng revealed one ally after another. Now, he even had a top-tier adventurer team. For a moment, Gentle Snow wondered if the man was backed by some Super Guild. What other explanation was there for the continued emergence of so many experts in Zero Wing? Once Shi Feng confirmed that everyone had arrived, he smiled and announced, "Since we''re all here, let''s head out to Apocalypse City." 1476 Zero Wing Arrives Chapter 1476 - Zero Wing Arrives Apocalypse Empire, Apocalypse City, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence: As the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s main headquarters, the Residence was lively as members often came and left. At this moment, however, tension gripped the Residence''s front courtyard. Both Pavilion Masters and their respective forces stood in the courtyard, each occupying one side with a clear divide between the two. The smell of gunpowder wafted between the forces. Most of the uninvolved Guild members were too afraid to enter the Residence. It was common knowledge in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion that Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor were in a constant struggle for the Great Pavilion Master''s position. At this point, neither side held anything back. If players weren''t careful, they could get caught in the crossfire and die without know what killed them. "What''s going on? Why are both Pavilion Masters here?" "Don''t you know? I''ve heard that a Historical Site is going to open today, so they''ve gathered here before setting out. Look, some of the Guild''s more elusive experts are among them, too." "Our Guild''s experts aren''t the only ones here. Look at those players. They aren''t wearing our Guild''s emblem. They must be hired help." "I''ve heard that the Historical Site they plan to raid is particularly powerful, a Grade 1 ancient ruin. The treasures in the ruin will definitely help whichever side gets them first." "The Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Ninth Floor Master raided a Grade 2 Historical Site. Nobody knows what items he found, but the Elders promoted him to Eighth Floor Master. It caused quite a commotion in the Guild. It''s no wonder why our Pavilion Masters are so desperate to compete for the ancient ruin." The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members chatted quietly as they watched the Guild''s two major factions stare each other down. The requirements to become the next Great Pavilion Master had already been announced to the Guild as a whole. Now, all they had to do was wait and see which Pavilion Master completed the requirements first. Since they had found a Grade 1 Historical Site, the two factions would spare no effort in obtaining the First Clear. After all, this competition over the ruin might affect the outcome on Thunder Island. "Big Sis Rain, those people seem to be from Bloody Paradise," Blue Phoenix said, her expression darkening as she watched the several dozen players behind Nine Dragons Emperor. One thing separated these players from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members: a blood-red pattern on the back of their hands. Bloody Paradise was not a Guild, but a famous adventurer team in the virtual gaming world. Although Bloody Paradise was only an adventurer team, it had outlasted many large Guilds. However, Bloody Paradise was powerful because, to the adventurer team, strength was everything. The adventurer team had become famous in the gaming world due to its history of provoking Super Guilds. The adventurer team had even foiled these Super Guild''s attempts to eliminate the team. Bloody Paradise would do anything for money. For a high enough price, they''d even strike out against a Super Guild. "Nine Dragons Emperor really has gone all-out." Phoenix Rain could not help but frown as she watched a black-clad, middle-aged man chat merrily with Nine Dragons Emperor. She was very familiar with Bloody Paradise. Although it wasn''t a Super Guild, its experts were no less powerful than many of those in the various superpowers. This was especially true for the adventurer team''s current commander, Undead. Undead had ranked 18th on the God''s Domain Experts List, but he had recently risen to rank 11. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s old monsters were afraid of the man. The black-clad man beside Nine Dragons Emperor was none other than the monster known as Undead. Phoenix Rain also noticed quite a few familiar experts among her competitor''s team. Only, these great experts were not as famous as Undead. Although she had recruited quite a few experts herself, even inviting Quiet Melody, the Vice Temple Master of the Super Guild, Sacred Temple, they were insignificant compared to Nine Dragons Emperor''s recruits. Furthermore, Quiet Melody was only helping as a good friend. Phoenix Rain hadn''t been able to borrow the Sacred Temple''s true strength. Nine Dragons Emperor flashed Phoenix Rain a gleeful smile. He could already see the Sunset Forest''s treasure in his bags. "Nine Dragons Pavilion Master, your opponent seems quite formidable. She''s invited quite a few exciting experts to help her," Undead said, smiling as he glanced at the people beside Phoenix Rain. "True, she has recruited a good number of experts, but how can any of them compare to you, Commander Undead? Your team will likely have an easy enough time defeating them," Nine Dragons Emperor responded. He had already investigated Phoenix Rain''s allies. Only Quiet Melody and the few experts she had brought with her were worth any concern. Moreover, this was a Historical Site raid, not a PvP battle. "Once we enter the ruin, I''ll rely on you to take the lead." The team Undead had brought with him was leagues above Quiet Melody''s. Bloody Paradise was precisely the reason that the Nine Heavens Pavilion''s Ninth Floor Master had secured the First Clear of a Grade 2 Historical Site. On his own, the Ninth Floor Master would have failed. "Rest assured; I''ve already collected quite a bit of information on the Sunset Forest and seen to ample preparations," Undead stated. "However, Nine Dragons Pavilion Master, you have to fulfill your promise as soon as possible." "Of course." Nine Dragons Emperor nodded. As the Sunset Forest''s activation time approached, both sides completed the final groundwork for the raid. A Historical Site was far more dangerous than a Dungeon. Multiple team-wipes were normal. Players would also go through resources such as Stamina, Concentration, and Mana far faster than outside of the ruin. Without preparing, a team could easily waste the opportunity. "Big Sis Rain, it''s almost time to depart, but Zero Wing isn''t here yet. Should we contact them?" Blue Phoenix asked anxiously. Although every team entering the Historical Site would have the same amount of time, the sooner they entered the ruin, the sooner they could secure the First Clear. Glancing at the time, Phoenix Rain noticed that they only had 15 minutes before the Sunset Forest opened. "Alright. Give them a call," Phoenix Rain said. Just as Blue Phoenix pulled up her communication interface, a large group of players rode through the Residence''s entrance. The moment these people arrived, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members in their way instinctively parted to open a pat as the pressure the team radiated swept over them. "Zero Wing?" A cold glint flashed in Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes when he saw Shi Feng at the head of the group. Due to Zero Wing, the resource towns he had invested in had been destroyed. Although Zero Wing hadn''t captured the two towns, they had flattened them. They would be incredibly expensive to rebuild. Even if he had the funds, Zero Wing could simply destroy them all over again. As a result, he had been forced to watch as those two resource towns had gone to waste. Nine Dragons Emperor wanted nothing more than the Guild''s extermination. "Zero Wing''s members are so high-leveled!" "Crap! Isn''t that the Flame Witch?!" "Look! She''s Aqua Rose! Didn''t she defeat the Shadow Dragon Legion?!" "The Phoenix Pavilion Master is amazing! She actually hired Zero Wing''s members! The competition for the Historical Site''s First Clear will be interesting." The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members in the courtyard erupted into a fevered discussion as Zero Wing''s members walked into their Residence. Everyone had heard of Zero Wing''s experts. 1477 Unknown Adventurer Team Chapter 1477 - Unknown Adventurer Team Not only had Zero Wing''s arrival attracted the Guild members'' attention, but the experts Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor had hired also turned towards these experts. Most of God''s Domain''s ordinary players hadn''t heard of Zero Wing''s experts. After all, God''s Domain had only launched a few months ago, and countless Guilds rose and fell each day. Most players were only familiar with the veteran large Guilds that had been founded many years ago. But it was a different story for players of their caliber. They were privy to far more information than ordinary players, and they were all familiar with what kind of Guild Zero Wing was. Not only had Zero Wing become Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild early in the game, but it was also one of the Black Dragon Empire''s top six Guilds, excluding the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Some time ago, a rumor had spread about Zero Wing''s victory over the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Shadow Dragon Legion. The Shadow Dragon Legion was one of the Guild''s trump card legions and very formidable in large-scale battles. The fact that Zero Wing had defeated such a powerful force proved its extraordinary combat power. "Big Sis Melody, what is the Phoenix Pavilion Master thinking?! We''re raiding a Grade 1 Historical Site, yet she invited so many players from Zero Wing? Is she so desperate for manpower?" a male Summoner named Lonely Fantasy asked, dissatisfied as he watched the 200 players Shi Feng led. It was common knowledge that a Grade 2 Historical Site was more difficult than a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon of the same level. Needless to say, a Grade 1 Historical Site would be a greater challenge. If that hadn''t been the case, Phoenix Rain wouldn''t have recruited so many experts. Meanwhile, the Sunset Forest only allowed each team 1,000 members per raid, yet Zero Wing had dispatched 200 members, taking one-fifth of the available slots "I doubt that. Rain might have her own ideas on the matter." Quiet Melody could not help but reveal a playful smile when she saw Zero Wing''s members. "But the Guild is interesting. Despite knowing how important this is, it didn''t dispatch most of its main force members." Most players didn''t have a clear idea of Zero Wing''s structure, but she did. She had thoroughly investigated the Guild, memorizing almost every face in Zero Wing''s main force. Although Zero Wing had sent a lot of players, Fire Dance, the main force''s commander, Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove, the three top MTs, were absent. Other important individuals such as Violet Cloud, Flying Shadow, Shadow Sword, Rampant Blade, Black Cloud, Minor Wind, and Alluring Summer weren''t here either. Without these experts, Zero Wing''s main force would be nothing but a joke in the various superpowers'' eyes. "You''ve finally arrived." Phoenix Rain frowned as Shi Feng''s group approached. "Team Leader Ye Feng, do you plan to bring all of these members to the Historical Site?" She could ignore the fact that Zero Wing hadn''t mobilized all of its top experts, but the Guild had gone a little too far if they expected to bring all 200 players to the Sunset Forest. It was not that she doubted Zero Wing''s strength. Rather, it was impossible for the Guild to gather so many players who qualified to challenge a Grade 1 Historical Site with its current capabilities. All of the players participating in this operation were top experts in their Guilds or adventurer teams. In her opinion, only Zero Wing''s main force members were qualified to stand beside them. This operation was of utmost importance. She couldn''t afford to lose because of such a minor issue. Moreover, she had long since prepared the 1,000 members required for the raid. Zero Wing''s members were nothing more than reinforcements. "Of course. I wouldn''t have brought them otherwise." Shi Feng could hear the ire in Phoenix Rain''s tone. Immediately, he explained, "Let me introduce you. This is Lifeless Thorn, the vice commander of the Asura adventurer team. I specifically invited Asura to help us." "Hello." Lifeless Thorn nodded in greeting, confusion gripping his heart. Since when was he Asura''s vice commander? Lifeless Thorn wasn''t the only confused player. Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose shot Shi Feng disdainful looks. "The Asura adventurer team?" Phoenix Rain examined Lifeless Thorn before glancing at the cloaked players behind him. She had assumed they were from Zero Wing, but upon closer inspection, she realized that their appearances were foreign to her. She had never heard of an adventurer team called Asura. Yet, Shi Feng had invited this unknown adventurer team to join such a crucial operation. For a moment, she was at a loss for words. "Relax. I can vouch for their strength." Shi Feng was fully aware of the questions plaguing Phoenix Rain''s mind. He chuckled and said, "Moreover, Asura will be absolutely necessary if we want to raid Sunset Forest." When he had established the Asura adventurer team, his goal had been to recruit the various independent experts that detested Guild restrictions. Since he didn''t want others to realize how closely tied the team was to Zero Wing, he had named it Asura. After all, any adventurer team that had a Guild behind it would struggle to recruit members. In addition, Zero Wing''s enemies might target Asura, which would be a detriment to the adventurer team''s development. He intended to develop Asura separate from Zero Wing. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s operation was a good opportunity for Asura to make a name for itself in God''s Domain, creating a foundation for the adventurer team to grow. With this, he could save himself the trouble of trying to promote the team secretly. Since they had Shi Feng''s vote of confidence, Phoenix Rain sized up the Berserker before her. Although the Black Cloak hid Lifeless Thorn''s name and level, it did nothing to conceal his killing intent. Even she felt slightly threatened when subjected to this stranger''s aura. As for the purple spear on Lifeless Thorn''s back, although he had hidden the weapon''s glow effect, she guessed that it was at least Dark-Gold rank based on the design on the shaft and the small arcs of electricity dancing around it. It was very likely that the spear was, in fact, an Epic Weapon. The Black Cloak hid most of the Berserker''s equipment as well, but after a close look, she noticed that every piece had a unified theme. In addition, a distinct pattern flowed from one piece to the next. Its glow proved that it was Dark-Gold rank, proving that Lifeless Thorn wore a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Moreover, it was an eight-piece Set. The Level 40, eight-piece Barbarian Set? Phoenix Rain guessed. No The Barbarian Set is silver. This one is crimson. Could it bea Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment? When Phoenix Rain considered the possibility of this man wearing an eight-piece, Level 45, Dark-Gold Set equipment, the gaze she gave the Berserker changed. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment as well, the Guild had only collected a dozen or so six-piece sets. Naturally, they weren''t as strong as an eight-piece set. The fact that an adventurer team had obtained such a set, in addition to an Epic Weapon, proved Asura''s prowess. "Fine, have it your way. We''ll enter the Sunset Forest together." Phoenix Rain still questioned Shi Feng''s claim, but when she thought about her agreement with the man, she gave in. "However, we need to finish the raid as soon as possible. Nine Dragons Emperor has invited Bloody Paradise. I''ve heard that they helped the Nine Heavens Pavilion raid a Grade 2 Historical Site, they should know what they''re doing." "Bloody Paradise?" Hearing this, Shi Feng could not help but turn towards Nine Dragons Emperor''s group. He quickly spotted Undead, Bloody Paradise''s commander. Bloody Paradise had been a top adventurer team in his previous life. Although it hadn''t achieved as much as the Midnight Tea Party had, the adventurer team had been absurdly powerful. This was especially true for the adventurer team''s commander, Undead. He had been a madman who had dared to kill a Super Guild''s leader and countless players from the Midnight Tea Party. Eventually, however, the various Super Guilds and Midnight Tea Party had hunted the man down, removing him from God''s Domain entirely. "In any case, we need to raid the Sunset Forest as fast as possible. If you need recovery items, let me know," Phoenix rain offered as she glanced at the time. Only a few minutes were left before the Sunset Forest opened, and even though Shi Feng now knew about Bloody Paradise''s participation, nothing had changed. All they could do was rest up and prepare for the raid. When Nine Dragons Emperor''s players saw Zero Wing''s members join Phoenix Rain''s forces, the laughed. "Phoenix Rain has lost her mind. She actually let Zero Wing bring 200 members!." Blood Dragon, the Guild Leader of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire, could not help but laugh when he looked at the opponent''s team composition. "Have you looked into these 200 members yet?" Nine Dragons Emperor asked as he glanced at Shi Feng''s group. Although he didn''t think that Zero Wing could make much of a difference, there was no harm in being cautious. After all, this raid was incredibly important. "I sent someone to probe for information. Among those 200 players, 100 belong to Zero Wing, while the other 100 are from an adventurer team called Asura. Unfortunately, we don''t know anything about this adventurer team. My guess is that they''ve only recently established. Many of Phoenix Rain''s experts aren''t happy about the situation," Blood Dragon reported, chuckling. "A new adventurer team?" The news stunned Nine Dragons Emperor, but after a moment, he laughed uncontrollably. "Phoenix Rain is trying her best to sabotage herself. Have someone leak the information to those obstinate Elders. Let them know who they should truly support." "Understood." Blood Dragon began to compile the information and sent his subordinates to spread rumors. The last few minutes passed quickly. When the Sunset Forest activated, both Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor retrieved a silver crystal ball from their bags at almost the same time, shattering it. The crystal balls then opened a spatial tunnel that allowed Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragon Emperor''s teams to enter. Very quickly, 2,000 players entered their respective spatial tunnels, vanishing from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. A breath later, the spatial tunnels also disappeared. 1478 Asuras Edge Chapter 1478 - Asura''s Edge When Shi Feng entered the spatial tunnel, a glaring light blinded him for a moment. When his vision recovered, he noticed that he stood in a familiar, yet foreign, location. System: You have discovered the Historical Site, Sunset Forest. System: You will be teleported out of the Sunset Forest automatically after 8 hours. It seems we''ve gotten pretty lucky. We were actually teleported to the Werewolf zone. After taking a quick look around him, Shi Feng had a general grasp of their location. A Historical Site was like a special secret land. It only opened at certain times. Players had to complete the key quest each time they wanted to enter a particular Historical Site. In addition, players would be teleported to different locations every time they entered. The Sunset Forest was massive, no smaller than a leveling map. The map was divided into eight zones, and each time players entered the Historical Site, they''d be teleported to one of the areas randomly. Naturally, each area''s danger would also differ. Among the eight areas, the Werewolf zone was considered the easiest to get through. Each of the Sunset Forest''s eight zones offered varying challenges. For example, the Swamp zone would drag players down, drowning those who weren''t careful. In the Stone Forest zone, players weren''t able to use Spells. The Darkness and Hail zones were the most dangerous. Random orbs of ice would rain down in the Hail zone, claiming players'' lives. In the Darkness zone, players could only see eight yards around them, making them easy targets for monster ambushes. The reason the Werewolf zone was considered the easiest was that its main threat came in the form of a larger monster population. The zone''s monsters were also quite organized. All eight zones had one thing in common; they eventually led to the Sunset Forest''s center. However, players didn''t often get that far. Once the team was accounted for, they adjusted the team''s formation. Phoenix Rain sent scouting parties of Assassins and Rangers ahead to determine their next move. Unlike Dungeons, players didn''t have access to a system map in Historical Sites. They had to explore the available routes. This was also why the system gave them eight hours to clear the ruin. If a team wasn''t careful, they could venture into a different zone, bypassing the Historical Site''s core. After 15 minutes or so, the scouting parties reported back with what they had discovered. When Phoenix Rain read the reports, she was astonished. "So, this is a Grade 1 Historical Site." Phoenix Rain frowned deeply at the reports. Their current location was extremely dangerous. Based on the scouting parties'' investigation, they were surrounded by Werewolf caps. Moreover, a large number of Werewolves patrolled the various paths leading to the Sunset Forest''s core. If they tried to advance, they''d march straight into these Werewolves'' den. Thirty Werewolf squads patrolled the straightest path to the core, and each patrol consisted of around 100 monsters, led by at least one Great Lord. The more powerful patrol squads were commanded by Grand Lords. Even the weakest Werewolf in the zone was a Chieftain, and they were all Level 52 and above. Dealing with one Werewolf patrol squad would be difficult and time-consuming, much less dealing with 30. Furthermore, if they weren''t careful and disturbed any of the nearby camps, they''d be overrun. Each Werewolf camp had at least 11 Grand Lords, including a specialized Grand Lord. Attempting to face such a force would be suicidal. After several evolutions to God''s Domain, even monsters of the same rank had varying levels of strength. Monsters that failed to evolve properly tended to upgrade a portion of their Basic Attributes first, such as their Strength, Agility, and Defense. These monsters were known as specialized Bosses. They were much stronger than Bosses of the same rank and level, but they were extremely rare. Once they knew what they were up against, even Quiet Melody was shocked. She had raided a Grade 2 Historical Site in the past, but compared to this Grade 1 ruin, that experience had been child''s play. Even extremely rare specialized Bosses were common here. Although players would only lose 20% of their EXP if they died in the ruin, it would add up after multiple deaths. "I see why they say that Historical Sites are even more difficult than 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. This Grade 1 Historical Site really knows how to render players powerless." Phoenix Rain smiled bitterly. She then turned to Shi Feng and asked, "Team Leader Ye Feng, do you have a way to break through?" "I don''t have any ideas, either. We''ll have to fight our way through," Shi Feng stated. Players in other areas might be able to rely on their wit to overcome the zone''s challenges, but the Werewolf zone didn''t offer that option. The only way to the core was to kill their way there. "Fight our way through?" Phoenix Rain rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. She had asked him precisely because that wasn''t possible. "Since we don''t have other options, I guess we have no choice but to use the four Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls earlier than expected." To raid the Sunset Forest, she had prepared plenty of trump cards. However, she hadn''t expected to use them so soon after entering the Historical Site. No one else on the team voiced an opinion, either. With their team''s strength, fighting 30 Werewolf patrol squads was pushing it. They''d have to face over 20 Level 55 Great Lords and several Level 55 Grand Lords. There were thousands of weaker monsters as well. If they had four Tier 3 summoned creatures to hold off the Grand Lords while they defeated the rest of the monsters, they might have a chance of making it through. "It''s too wasteful to use Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls right now," Shi Feng commented as he stopped Phoenix Rain. "That''s easy for you to say. How are we supposed to get past the Grand Lords if we don''t use the Tier 3 summoned creatures to distract them?" Lonely Fantasy snapped, clicking his tongue when he heard Shi Feng. However, Quiet Melody quickly silenced Lonely Fantasy, turning to Shi Feng, "May I know if Elder Ye Feng has a different plan?" "We''ll just force our way through," Shi Feng stated. For a moment, the team fell silent. If they could force their way through, they wouldn''t need to use the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, yet when they saw the look in Shi Feng''s eyes, they knew he was serious. They were stunned. "Team Leader Ye Feng, what about the Grand Lords?" Phoenix Rain asked when she saw the man''s expression. "The Asura adventurer team will distract the Grand Lords in our path. Everyone else can worry about the other monsters as we advance," Shi Feng explained. "Leave them to Asura?" Phoenix Rain shot Lifeless Thorn a glance. Based on the scouts'' reports, four Grand Lords guarded the easiest path. A measly 100-man team could never deal with four Grand Lords at once. Besides, other monsters littered the area. "We don''t have any problems with it," Lifeless Thorn declared. Initially, he had wanted to veto the idea, but Shi Feng had sent him a whisper, instructing him to agree. With no other choice, he did as he was told. Hearing Lifeless Thorn''s lack of hesitation, Quiet Melody and the others were stunned. None of them had ever heard of the Asura adventurer team before today, yet the team claimed that they could distract four Level 55 Grand Lords. This was simply inconceivable. After some reluctance, Phoenix Rain eventually agreed and said, "Alright, then. Let''s try it. If we fail, I''ll use the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls to assist you." Following which, the team prepared to move out. Meanwhile, Shi Feng made his own secret arrangements. "Nine, you''ll tank two Grand Lords. Madness, you''ll tank one of the remaining two, and I''ll take the last. Healers, focus on the two MTs," Shi Feng whispered to Asura''s members. "I''m dealing with two?" Solitary Nine was beginning to grow nervous. "Relax," Shi Feng said, chuckling. After all, he had lent Solitary Nine the Epic ranked Titan Guard. The man was also a Level 53 Shield Warrior wearing an eight-piece, Level 45, Dark-Gold Set Equipment. If he couldn''t hold his ground against two Grand Lords, he didn''t deserve the equipment. A moment later, the 1,000-man team moved out under Shi Feng''s command. First, he sent the scouting parties to lure Grand Lords'' Werewolf patrol squads to Asura''s members. He instructed the rest of the team to focus on moving towards Sunset Forest''s core. Every player in this raid was an expert. They had long since grown used to luring powerful Bosses. It wasn''t long before the scouts ran back with four Werewolf patrol squads behind them. "Go!" Shi Feng commanded when he saw the oncoming monsters. Taking the lead, Solitary Nine ran up to one of the Grand Lord ranked Werewolf Captains and executed a Shield Bash. He then activated Charge on another Werewolf Captain. In seconds, he had aggroed two Werewolf Captains. [Werewolf Captain] (Humanoid Creature, Grand Lord) Level 55 HP 72,000,000/72,000,000 "Awoo!" The two Werewolf Captains howled in anger as they swung their clubs at the Shield Warrior. Peng! Peng! Both clubs struck Solitary Nine''s shield, emitting two loud, buzzing sounds. Two damages of over -10,000 appeared above the Solitary Nine''s head, devouring nearly two-fifths of the man''s HP. Fortunately, the four healers in the rear restored him back to full. "How is this possible?" As Phoenix Rain and the others fought their way towards the distant core, they were stunned when they saw the scene. 1479 Brutish Team Chapter 1479 - Brutish Team "How did he do that? Did he activate a Lifesaving Skill?" Lonely Castle gaped at the recovered Solitary Nine. Everyone who had underestimated the Asura adventurer team was stupefied. Normally, the strength of a team''s MT was synonymous to the team''s overall strength. Solitary Nine''s performance proved that Asura''s claim of being a powerful adventurer team was clearly more than just arrogance. Even the game''s current top-tier MTs would lose more than 15,000 HP against a casual attack from a Level 55 Grand Lord. It was the equivalent of one-third of most MTs'' HP, yet Solitary Nine had only sustained a little over -10,000 HP from each Werewolf Captain''s attack, which totaled less than two-fifths of his total HP However, their shock after seeing the damage Solitary Nine had received was nothing compared to what they felt after watching the man block both attacks with his shield. While their respective Guilds'' top-ranking MTs could block a Level 55 Grand Lord''s attacks as well, it normally took several MTs working together. If they sent a single MT to tank the Grand Lord, they''d send the player to his death. Even when a peak Mt blocked an attack from a Grand Lord of the same level, they''d stiffen momentarily from the impact. The outcome was the same when the MT used a defensive technique. If MTs didn''t deal with the momentary stiffness properly, the Grand Lord could use its high Attack Speed to break through their defenses, landing a direct hit. Even with a group of dedicated healers, most MTs wouldn''t survive the hit. Hence, teams usually sent in multiple MTs to manage the Boss''s attacks and dampen the resulting impacts. Yet, Solitary Nine had blocked attacks from two Werewolf Captains, and by the looks of it, he had energy to spare. It was inconceivable! However, Solitary Nine was more surprised than anyone. Isn''t this shield a little too powerful? Solitary Nine could not help but glance at the crescent shield on his arm. He couldn''t believe that he had just blocked two Great Lord''s attacks without slowing in the least. Elsewhere, Dark Madness had secured his own Werewolf Captain. Although he had a harder time than Solitary Nine, with his eight-piece, Dark-Gold Set Equipment, he held his ground as he focused on his defense. Naturally, Shi Feng had little trouble with his Boss. Although he wasn''t an MT, his Attributes rivaled a Grand Lord''s of the same level. At Level 60, distracting a Grand Lord that was five levels lower than him was a piece of cake. With the four Werewolf Captains distracted, the rest of the team had an easier time dealing with the remaining Werewolves. Every player that Phoenix Rain had recruited for the operation was a top-tier expert. The MTs were more than capable of holding their ground against a Level 55 Great Lord, let alone High Lord ranked monsters and below. With the MTs forming a wall around the team, the various DPS classes launched frenzied attacks at the Werewolves in their way. Hundreds of Spells and arrows rained down on the Werewolves, killing a few Chieftain ranked Werewolves instantly. As the patrol squads thinned, the team slowly advanced. "Melee players, assist the MTs! Ranged players, prioritize the Werewolves directly in front of us! Don''t waste your attacks! Healers, coordinate and make sure there aren''t any long breaks between heals on the MTs!" Phoenix Rain commanded hurriedly as more Werewolves converged on their location. "Don''t! Prioritize the Werewolf Captains and ignore the mobs!" Shi Feng interjected. "The mobs are increasing by the minute. If we don''t clear them out soon, we won''t be able to move forward," Quiet Melody snapped as she glanced at the approaching Werewolf squads. She strongly disapproved of Shi Feng''s plan. It would take too long to kill the Grand Lords. They simply had too much HP. Rather than targeting the Grand Lords, they should focus on killing the weaker monsters. That way, they could break through the blockade sooner than later. "I have a plan to deal with the mobs. For now, prioritize the Werewolf Captains," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Even the weakest of these Werewolves have several million HP. If they swarm us, the MTs won''t be able to hold them back," Quiet Melody growled when she saw the Swordsman''s calm expression. His plan wouldn''t be an issue if they were fighting Common or Elite monsters, but the Werewolves coming at them were Chieftain rank and above. Even if they bombarded those monsters with one AOE Spell after another, it would do little to thin their numbers. Only large-scale destruction Spells would be useful. Even then, the Spells would be of limited help. If they didn''t get rid of these monsters soon, the Werewolves would overwhelm the team. But before Quiet Melody could respond, Phoenix Rain got ahead of her and said, "Alright. You have command of the team now, Ye Feng." "Rain! This is too risky!" Quiet Melody spun towards her friend in confusion and shock. "I know. But I want to see what tricks he''s got up his sleeve. If things go south, I have a back-up plan," the Phoenix Pavilion Master softly explained. While Quiet Melody had been correct about needing to deal with the weaker monsters first, there was an issue with her plan. If they ignored the four Grand Lords and advanced, the pressure on the team would only increase as they moved forward and more Werewolf patrol squads joined the fight. On the off chance that they came across another Grand Lord''s squad, the team would be annihilated. Hence, prioritizing the Werewolf Captains was a sound idea. In addition, she could use the opportunity to gauge Zero Wing''s strength. Once Phoenix Rain handed Shi Feng the leadership rights, he instructed the team to focus their fire on the Werewolf Captain in front of him. Although the Werewolf Captain had 72,000,000 HP, its HP steadily decreased as hundreds of players bombarded the monster. Most of the team members dealt around -5,000 damage, occasionally dealing double that due to critical hits. Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, Zhao Yueru, and Lifeless Thorn, however, dealt over -10,000 damage on average. They even dealt several times that every now and again. Aqua Rose''s damage was particularly frightening. She was already a Tier 2 player, and after she gained the Sea Dragon Staff, her Tier 2 Spells had gained the power of Tier 3, each capable of dealing several hundred thousand damage. Zhao Yueru had a similar benefit with her staff. Despite only being a Tier 1 player, her Spells were on par with Tier 2 Spells. With Shi Feng distracting the Werewolf Captain, both women could attack freely, dominating the team''s damage output ranking and leaving the rest of the players in their dust. "Crap, this is insane! Their combined damage is more than the next seven players'' combined." "So, this is Zero Wing?" Aqua Rose and Zhao Yueru''s damage stupefied many of the team''s experts. Even Lifeless Thorn and his companions from Asura were surprised. They had never dreamed that Zero Wing was this powerful. It wasn''t long before one Werewolf Captain after another fell. However, a tremendous number of Werewolves had converged on the team''s location. The monsters had already blocked the path head, making advancement impossible. "Good! Aqua, Yueru, you two can begin!" Shi Feng shouted as he glanced at the clogged path ahead. He then switched the Aura of Wind for the Aura of Fire. Aqua Rose and Zhao Yueru exchanged smiles as they cast the Tier 2 Spells, Rising Flow and Frostflame Hell simultaneously. Meanwhile, Shi Feng activated Flame Domain. Suddenly, the Werewolves blocking the path screamed in pain as their HPs plummeted. In seconds, they turned to dust. When the Spells dissipated, only a small portion of the Werewolves remained. Every Chieftain ranked Werewolf had been eliminated, and the Lord ranked Werewolves had less than half of their HPs remaining. For a moment, both players and Werewolves had fallen silent. 1480 Historical Sites Treasure Chapter 1480 - Historical Site''s Treasure "What destructive power!" "Am I seeing things?! All of the Chieftains are dead?!" An indescribable shock overwhelmed the team members as they stared at the clearing in the enemy lines. Moreover, after the deaths of so many Werewolves, everyone''s experience bars had risen by a significant chunk. "They still have three large-scale destruction spells of such power despite so many of their main force members missing?" Quiet Melody stared at Shi Feng on the frontline in confusion. The various large Guilds constantly searched for large-scale destruction Spells, but such Spells were extremely rare. Even a Super Guild like the Sacred Temple only had 30-plus players who could wield such power, and she was one of them. Players and Guilds who didn''t fully understand large-scale destruction Spells treated them like war weapons or powerful tools to use when grinding monsters. Only players who had large-scale destruction Spells knew that there were differences even among them. An ordinary large-scale destruction Spell might be useful against players, but even three of such Spells might not be enough to kill Level 50-plus Chieftain ranked monsters and above. Only Curse-grade large-scale destruction Spells could achieve the feat. However, such Curses were even harder to find. In the Sacred Temple, only six players possessed such Curses, and the Guild''s upper echelons fought over every one of them. Quiet Melody found it hard to believe that, despite the majority of Zero Wing''s main force missing, the Guild could still employ three Curse-grade, large-scale destruction Spells. "It''s no wonder why Ye Fang claimed that we can clear the Sunset Forest. It seems'' he had hidden his Guild''s true power." Phoenix Rain shook her head and smiled bitterly at the empty plot of land before her. Curse-grade large-scale destruction Spells were extremely useful when raiding a Dungeon. It was especially true as players took on the Dungeon Bosses. Although she had prepared her own Curse, that was it. None of her subordinates wielded such a Spell. She had never expected to see three players from Zero Wing use one. "The path ahead is clear! Everyone, charge! Ranged players, use your Control Skills on the monsters! Don''t let them fill the gap!" Shi Feng shouted in the team chat. If Tier 1 players tried to grind all of the Werewolf zone''s monsters until they reached the Sunset Forest''s core, they''d never reach it. The only way through this zone was to run, avoid as many battles as possible, and only stop when they came across a Grand Lord. The Werewolf patrol squad respawned very quickly. Moreover, their hunting range extended throughout the zone. If they discovered players, the Werewolves would chase them to the ends of the earth. Fortunately, Shi Feng''s command snapped everyone out of their daze, and the team began to advance. With the team''s MTs on the frontlines, and everyone following closely behind, the team soon broke through the Werewolves'' blockade. Although the team had encountered plenty of Werewolves as they moved, they hadn''t run into any Grand Lords. Hence, the MTs had remained within their block limits. Including their mobile turrets, such as Zhao Yueru and Aqua Rose, the team knocked aside the Grand Lord ranked Werewolves that had stood in their path. This allowed everyone to approach the ruin''s core relatively easily. After a little over four hours, Phoenix Rain''s team reached the isolated area separating the Werewolf zone and the center of the Sunset Forest. Some players had even leveled up during the past four hours. Those who hadn''t had seen a 30% rise in their experience bars. These players were a little reluctant to leave the Werewolf zone after realizing their leveling speed. "Big Sis Melody, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has pretty good luck. Although the Sunset Forest is a Grade 1 Historical Site, it''s much easier than the Grade 2 Historical Site we previously raided. Even after gathering so many experts, the Sacred Temple had only reached the core after using all of our allotted time," Lonely Fantasy enviously commented as he gazed at the dense forest before them, which was currently protected by a magic barrier. Unfortunately, despite all of the EXP they had obtained, the Historical Site''s monsters hadn''t dropped any loot. To secure a Historical Site''s treasure, they had to search its core. With over three hours remaining, they could recover some of the Sunset Forest''s items, even if they failed to clear it. In contrast, when the Sacred Temple had raided the Grade 2 Historical Site, they hadn''t returned with anything. To top it off, they had team-wiped twice. "Easy?" Quiet Melody glanced at the Werewolf army standing near the edge of the isolation area before turning towards Shi Feng, who had sat down to rest. "It seems I''ll need to report to the Guild Leader." Their journey might''ve seemed easy, so much so that Phoenix Rain hadn''t had to use a single trump card she had prepared for this trip, but they had only come this far due to Shi Feng''s efficient command and Zero Wing''s incredible DPS. If the Sacred Temple hired Zero Wing to raid Historical Sites in the future, their chances of success would increase tremendously. After the team rested for a bit, they marched towards the protected forest ahead of them. The moment they pushed through the magic barrier, they felt as if a great weight had dropped on their shoulders. They also struggled to concentrate. "Everyone, be careful when we face the monsters in this area! The Mana here is very thin, and the gravity is three times that of other zones," Shi Feng warned his companions in the team chat. "Scouting parties, be wary of traps as you explore ahead. Report back immediately if you spot monsters!" The Sunset Forest''s Mana was paper-thin. After factoring in the high-gravity, players would struggle to display their full combat power in this area. Even experts would be fortunate to exhibit 60 or 70% of their total combat power. Ordinary players might not even display 30%. Fortunately, the core didn''t have many monsters. Each group the team encountered only consisted of several hundred Forest Dryads. Meanwhile, the strongest among these Dryads was a Level 58 Grand Lord, whereas the weakest were Level 55 Lords. While exploring the Sunset Forest, the team annihilated over a dozen Dryad groups. They had discovered three Dryad nests as well, each of which was like a miniature treasure trove. Although numerous Dryads protected these nests, the strongest fortified nest they had found only had six Grand Lords and a single specialized Grand Lord. Seeing the potential harvest she could obtain from these nests, Phoenix Rain used all six Tier 3 Summoning Scroll she had prepared. Each Summoning Scroll had a three-hour duration, just long enough to last them until their time in the Sunset Forest came to an end. With the six Tier 3 summoned creatures, Solitary Nine, and Dark Madness tanking the Grand Lords, the team swiftly cleared out the Dryad nests, taking roughly 30 minutes to do so. Meanwhile, each of the nests they found had contained over 30 Treasure Chests, the lowest rank of which was Secret-Silver, while the best they had found thus far was a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. After raiding three Dryad nests, the team had obtained 11 Dark-Gold Treasure Chests and 43 Fine-Gold Treasure Chests. In addition, the team had found various materials the Dryads had collected. Among the materials, they had found precious Ancient Origin Wood. Even Quiet Melody was a little jealous. The Sunset Forest was a Level 50 to Level 60 Historical Site. Needless to say, its Treasure Chests would drop Level 50 to 60 weapons and equipment. At this stage of the game, Level 50-plus, Fine-Gold Equipment was still incredibly rare, much less Dark-Gold rank. "Commander, we''ve discovered something," a scouting party suddenly reported. "It looks like a Dryad nest, but there''s a shrine inside it. A lot of Dryads are patrolling the nest, too. I don''t think we can investigate further without being detected." "Good! We''ll make our way there right away!" Shi Feng was ecstatic. The scouting party had found the Sunset Shrine! The Sunset Shrine hid most of the Sunset Forest''s treasure, but its location wasn''t static. The shrine''s location would differ each time the Sunset Forest activated. Every time players teleported to the Historical Site, they''d have to search for the Sunset Shrine all over again. Shi Feng quickly led the team to the Sunset Shrine, but when they arrived, they gasped at what they saw. "How is this possible?! Didn''t the records say that Grade 1 Historical Sites'' Final Boss is supposed to be a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species?!" Phoenix Rain unconsciously balled her fists when she saw at the gigantic, living tree blocking the distant shrine. When everyone saw this massive treant, they could not help but shudder. The giant tree was the Sunset Forest''s Final Boss, but its rank wasn''t what they had expected; rather than a Grand Lord, the treant was a Mythic monster. The King of Trees! 1481 Challenging the King of Trees Chapter 1481 - Challenging the King of Trees "Why is it a Mythic monster?!" "Is the system toying with us?!" When everyone saw the colossal tree looming over 100 meters above them, their relaxed, confident expressions vanished. Even Quiet Melody, a Vice Temple Master from the Super Guild, Sacred Temple, could not help her grim expression. [King of Trees] (Plant Lifeform, Mythic) Level 60 HP 600,000,000/600,000,000 Just looking at the King of Trees sent shivers down her spine. Even before the fight began, the pressure of King of Trees'' intense aura weighed down on her. This was only the tip of the iceberg. What truly made her feel powerless was the thick tendrils extending from the treant''s body. The Grand Lord ranked Dryad they had previously faced had only wielded four tendrils, each possessing 60% of the Dryad''s Strength, yet the King of Trees has 12 tendrils She wouldn''t have worried if the tendrils had 60% of a Grand Lord''s Strength, but against 60% of a Level 60 Mythic monster''s, even Tier 3 summoned creatures would be defenseless, much less players. Moreover, a large number of Dryads accompanied the King of Trees. At a glance, Quiet Melody counted over 200 Dryads, including six Grand Lords and 60 Great Lords. All of the Dryads were clustered together, so attacking one might lure the whole group. Even Phoenix Rain and Quiet Melody, who had survived countless raids and battles, couldn''t help their despair. "Rain, let''s give up on the King of Trees. It''s simply too powerful. We can''t raid that Boss right now," Quiet Melody advised her friend, who had been silent all this time. "We still have plenty of time left. We can raid other Dryad nests. We don''t need to waste our time here." The best part about Historical Sites was their plethora of treasure-laden locations. Although the quantity and quality of treasures they would find in other Dryad nests couldn''t compare to those in the Sunset Shrine, they''d walk away with far more than what''d they''d find in a 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. "I understand," Phoenix Rain responded, reluctance filling her eyes as she watched the King of Trees; she knew that trying to fight that thing would be suicidal. Not even the numerous trump cards she had prepared would help her against the Mythic ranked King of Trees. Immediately, she issued a command in the team chat, "Everyone, rest up. Scouting parties, continue your search for other Dryad nest." Just as the scouting parties prepared to head out in search, Shi Feng shouted, "Hold on a minute!" "Does he have a plan?" Phoenix Rain could not help but turn towards the Swordsman. "How can he? The surrounding, high-tiered Dryads will be difficult enough to clear out, not to mention the King of Trees. Not even six Tier 3 summoned creatures can hold up against the Boss''s tendrils. Without anyone tanking the tendrils, it''ll only be a matter of time before we''re annihilated," Quiet Melody argued. While she acknowledged that they had only made it this far so easily thanks to Shi Feng''s leadership and ingenuity, she couldn''t bring herself to believe that they had a chance against the King of Trees. Compared to the three Dryad nests they had already exterminated, raiding the King of Trees would be a nightmare. The Boss wasn''t a foe that they could defeat with good leadership and strategy. They also needed to be strong enough, and it was obvious that their team wasn''t. "I''ll admit, I didn''t expect the King of Trees to be a Mythic monster. However, it isn''t exactly impossible to defeat. I just need to adjust my original plan," Shi Feng explained. He, too, was surprised to see the Boss''s Mythic rank. When he had come here in his previous life, the King of Trees had only been a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species with a unique bloodline. This time, however, the raid would be twice as difficult. The King of Trees was also set to face a team of 1,000 players. Although its Strength was no match for the Titan Warrior''s, it had far more HP. It would undoubtedly be more difficult to raid just due to its battle recovery, which would heal it for 6,000,000 HP every five seconds. The Boss is a Mythic monster, yet he only needs to adjust his plan to defeat it? For a moment, Quiet Melody wondered if she had heard wrong. She had encountered Mythic ranked Bosses before, and she was certain that they were invincible to current players. Without siege weapons and disregarding all cost, the team had zero chances of defeating a Mythic Boss. Unfortunately, Historical Sites were similar to Dungeons in that siege weapons were prohibited. Otherwise, the various large Guilds wouldn''t suffer such massive headaches when dealing with 100-man Hell Mode and super-large-scale Team Dungeons. "Whatever plan you have in mind, tell us. If we have any hope, we''ll give it a try." Although Phoenix Rain doubted their chances of defeating the King of Trees, she knew Shi Feng''s personality. The man had never lied to her, so she was inclined to listen to him before dismissing his ideas. In any case, it was better than outright giving up. "Rain! You!" Quiet Melody was at a loss for words when she saw the slightly excited expression on Phoenix Rain''s face. "Fine! Do whatever you want! But we''re only giving it one try! If we fail, we''ll search for other Dryad nests." How could a Mythic monster possibly be an easy foe? Even the various superpowers in God''s Domain were utterly helpless against these monsters. They were all forced to take the long way around when they found one. If it were possible to raid Mythic monsters, they would''ve started their raids on the super-large-scale Team Dungeons already. "Mhm, thank you," Phoenix Rain offered. Quiet Melody was only helping her as a good friend and hadn''t asked for any payment for the work. If the woman didn''t want to do something, she wouldn''t force her. Unfortunately, if Quiet Melody decided not to participate in the fight against the King of Trees, the team would lose a large fraction of its firepower. "Before this, I''d like to sign a new contract, Phoenix Pavilion Master. Our previous agreement didn''t include a Mythic ranked Final Boss," Shi Feng said as he handed Phoenix Rain a new contract. Most of the contents hadn''t changed. Zero Wing would still obtain 20% of the harvest. The only difference was that after the raid, Zero Wing would have priority when choosing five items from the Sunset Shrine. While Shi Feng could ignore the treasures a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species guarded, it was a different story for items under a Mythic monster''s protection. "Renew our contract?" Phoenix Rain read through the new contract. Shortly after, she said, "I don''t have any problems with this as long as we clear the Sunset Shrine." Although Shi Feng''s demands were high, it was much better than leaving empty-handed. Each of the three Dryad nests they had already raided had contained over 100 precious items, excluding the material stashes in each nest. Needless to say, the Sunset Shrine hid far more items of even higher quality. Following which, the two players signed the contract. Once Shi Feng ensured that everything was in order, he began to pull Flame Potions from his bag. Normally, players had very little use for these potions. Moreover, they weren''t meant to be consumed. Rather, they acted as a type of chemical bomb. The Flame Potions only had one purpose: weakening Plant Lifeforms. The effects could also stack up to 100 times, reducing the targeted Plant Lifeform''s Attributes, Defense, and Resistances by 30% and increasing the damage from fire-type attacks by 100%. After two days of grinding, Aqua Rose and the others had gathered 100 Flame Potions. The Flame Potions hadn''t been particularly valuable in the past, but once the public had discovered the Sunset Forest, their prices had skyrocketed. They had become a priceless tool for dealing with Plant Lifeforms. After distributing the potions, Shi Feng had everyone lure the Dryads around the King of Trees, quickly eliminating the mobs. Without the threats around the Boss, Shi Feng delegated tasks. "Assassins, when the raid begins, toss these Flame Potions at the Boss. For those controlling the six summoned creatures, try to block as many of the Boss''s tendrils as possible. Ranged players, use your Spells and Skills instead of normal attacks as much as possible. Melee players, stay away from the summoned creatures and find opportunities to strike. MTs, split into six-man groups. Each group will tank one main tendril and should have only two MTs with active Berserk and Lifesaving Skills at a time," Shi Feng instructed. After a few minutes of planning, the Assassins and MTs nervously moved into position. Lifeless Thorn and his companions from Asura were particularly anxious. They were already familiar with a Mythic monster''s prowess. Without a magic array to weaken the Boss, it could instant-kill any player. "Team Leader Ye Feng, everyone is in position," Phoenix Rain reported. "Good! Nine, begin the raid!" Shi Feng commanded. 1482 Frightening Tier 4 Spell Chapter 1482 - Frightening Tier 4 Spell Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Solitary Nine took another look at the towering treant before him before lifting his shield and charging at the creature. "Is it really okay to let him start the raid by himself?" Phoenix Rain asked worriedly as she watched Solitary Nine approach the King of Trees. "Shouldn''t we send someone to assist him and split the damage?" Solitary Nine looked like an ant before the King of Trees, and the difference between their Attributes was just as massive. Even a Tier 3 summoned creature would sustain heavy injuries and lose a good portion of its Attributes if struck by all twelve of the Boss''s tendrils, not to mention a peak MT. "No. Nine is more than strong enough for this task," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although the King of Trees'' rank had changed, its Skills and attack pattern wouldn''t differ. This Boss always used the Tier 3 Skill, Thorn Smash, on its first target. This move could even wound a Tier 3 summoned creature of the same level, much less a player. Tier 3 summoned creatures were a precious source of combat power for the team right now, so they couldn''t afford to risk them needlessly. In the past, teams had usually sent a player sacrifice to take on Thorn Smash before sending the MTs in. Fortunately, Solitary Nine wielded the Epic ranked Titan Guard; they didn''t need to waste combat power by sacrificing a player. The moment the Shield Warrior moved within the King of Trees'' 200-yard perception range, the Mythic monster''s twelve tendrils transformed into sharp spears and shot towards Solitary Nine. The spears were so fast that they looked like twelve streaks of green light as they moved. Thorn Smash! So fast! The sudden attack surprised Solitary Nine, but Shi Feng had warned him to activate Titan''s Will the moment he was within range. When Titan''s Will activated, golden, divine runes swam across Solitary Nine''s body. The Shield Warrior''s eyes had turned a dark-gold as well. Once Titan''s Will took effect, Solitary Nine was able to shake off the King of Trees'' mental pressure as he received a significant boost. Due to the upgrade to Epic rank, Titan''s Will now reduced the damage he received by 90%. The Skill also increased his Attack Speed by 100% and Movement Speed by 30%. His starting Movement Speed was set to 80% of his maximum Movement Speed, and the Skill now lasted 20 seconds rather than 15. Before the King of Trees'' main tendrils reached Solitary Nine, he skillfully maneuvered his shield, leaving afterimages as it shifted before the Shield Warrior. Despite its relatively small size, the shield felt like a wall, enclosing Solitary Nine within. In the end, he fended off all twelve strikes. Boom Boom Boom A series of explosions echoed throughout the forest, making the distant players'' scalps tingle. "He''s still alive? How is this possible?!" "He actually survived?!" As the dust settled, it revealed Solitary Nine; the man hadn''t moved an inch, and he still had roughly 10% of his HP. What destructive power! Solitary Nine gasped when he realized that he still had 6,000 HP. Sure enough, current players have no hope against a Mythic monster. Despite blocking every attack with his shield and the 90% damage reduction from Titan''s Will, he had lost over 50,000 HP Even if he had activated a Lifesaving Skill, the attack would''ve killed him instantly if he hadn''t activated Titan''s Will. Meanwhile, the King of Trees followed up with another tendril attack. "Crap! Heal him!" Phoenix Rain hurriedly shouted. Unfortunately, the team''s healers were a little too slow; before they had begun to cast their spells, the tendril had reached Solitary Nine. However, with Titan''s Will still in effect, Solitary Nine''s shield moved is if it could teleport, appearing between the tendril and the Shield Warrior almost instantly. Peng! A crisp clang reverberated as Solitary Nine was forced to retreat by three steps before stabilizing himself. His HP decreased once again. -3,208! "Even after another hit, he''s still alive?" The watching players gaped at Solitary Nine. Surviving a Mythic Boss''s Skill was already impressive, yet he had only received a little over -3,000 damage after blocking a normal attack. His Defense was ridiculous. Finally, the healers in the back responded and restored Solitary Nine to half of his total HP, yanking him out of the danger zone. "Good! Everyone, move in!" Shi Feng commanded. The six Tier 3 summoned creatures dashed forward. The Assassins, who had been in Stealth all this time, also dashed at the King of Trees. Once they were within 40 yards of the Boss, they threw their Flame Potions at the Mythic monster. When the potion bottles shattered and coated the King of Trees'' trunk, its sturdy bark ignited. By the time all 100 Flame Potions struck the King of Trees, the Mythic monster had transformed into a bonfire. "Groar!" The King of Trees bellowed and groaned as its Basic Attributes rapidly fell, and the pressure on Solitary Nine decreased. Now, he only received around -2,000 damage when blocking the Mythic monster''s normal attacks. Now, he could even withstand an attack from all twelve of the King of Trees'' tendrils simultaneously. The six Tier 3 summoned creatures and five MTs groups ran forward, each tanking one of the Boss''s main tendrils, further reducing the pressure on Solitary Nine. However, the King of Trees was enraged, its Attack Speed increasing. Hundreds of smaller tendrils extended from its trunk, attacking everything in range. Each of the minor tendrils carried 35% of the Mythic monster''s Strength, more than enough to suppress a Great Lord of the same level. The summoned creatures and the MT groups were in danger. When the MTs blocked the minor tendrils, they received nearly -8,000 damage. On average, each MT had to face three or four minor tendrils. Even with their Lifesaving Skills active, the MT groups were starting to falter, and the healers struggled to keep up with the plummeting HP. Phoenix Rain''s team finally understood how terrifying the King of Trees was. As expected of a Mythic monster. Relying on the Flame Potions isn''t enough. Shi Feng sighed helplessly. He then used 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate the Ring of Gospel''s World Projection. When World Projection activated, the King of Trees'' Attributes decreased once more. The debuff was just enough to help the MT groups hold on. "Everyone, attack!" When Shi Feng issued the command, he activated Phantom Kill and dashed for the King of Trees. Due to the Flame Potions, the King of Trees'' Defense had weakened significantly. When Spells and arrows bombarded the Boss''s trunk, damages ranging from -2,000 to -3,000 appeared above the Mythic monster''s head. The fire-type Skills and Spells did the most damage, each dealing over -5,000 damage on average. Zhao Yueru''s attacks stood out from the rest. Wielding Frostflame''s Wrath, she bombarded the King of Trees with one fire-type Spell after another, each dealing nearly -30,000 damage. Just how high is her magic damage? Blue Phoenix, who stood a short distance away from Zhao Yueru, was rendered speechless. She was an Elementalist and was already Level 48, yet despite wielding an Epic staff, robe and a pair of gloves, her Tier 1 fire-type Spells only dealt around -12,000 damage. She couldn''t even manage half of Zhao Yueru''s damage. As everyone continued their bombardment, watching the King of Trees'' HP steadily decrease. 90%... 70%... 50%... However, as the Mythic monster''s HP fell, more tendrils gradually joined the fight. These minor tendrils no longer focused on the summoned creatures and the MTs, occasionally sprouting from the ground to attack the ranged DPS and distant healers. Although the minor tendrils only carried 35% of the King of Trees'' Strength, they packed enough power to instantly kill the cloth-armor classes, steadily reducing the team''s numbers. By the time the King of Trees'' HP fell to 20%, the 1,000-man army had around 700 players remaining. "Despicable intruders! You will only help me grow!" the King of Trees bellowed. Suddenly, six more main tendrils joined the fight. Now, each of the main tendrils dealt nearly -20,000 damage to the MTs with active Berserk Skills. Before anyone could react, the six new tendrils killed off six MTs. As the MT group fell, the Boss''s aggro management descended into chaos. "Attack with everything! Use every Skill and Spell you have!" Shi Feng shouted. The sudden loss of an MT group made it impossible for the team to defend against 18 main tendrils. Their only hope was to throw everything they had at the Boss and hope they could outlast it. Solitary Nine, Dark Madness, and Lifeless Thorn no longer dared to hold back. Immediately, they activated their Berserk Skills. At the same time, Solitary Nine activated Titan''s Heart, creating a protective shield around him that could absorb damage equal to ten times his maximum HP. The three of them quickly moved into position and activated Triple Frostmoon. Suddenly, three dazzling arcs of light struck the King of Trees, pulling a pained scream from the Mythic monster. At the same time, the King of Trees lost over 2,000,000 HP, its HP bar decreasing by a sizable chunk. Likewise, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power before using one Skill after another. Across the battlefield, Phoenix Rain activated one Tier 3 Magic Scroll after another as well. As the King of Trees'' HP decreased, it launched frenzied attacks, swiftly claiming players'' lives. Although Shi Feng wanted to summon his Personal Guards, players were prohibited from doing so in Historical Sites. He could only summon a Tier 3 Demon to assist. Eventually, the King of Trees'' HP fell to 2%, but only a little over 100 players were still alive. Only a dozen or so MTs still stood against the Boss, and over 70% of the team''s healers had died. At this rate, the team would fall before they could kill the King of Trees. "Everyone, retreat!" Shi Feng shouted when he realized the hopelessness of the situation. Grinding his teeth, he took the Tier 4, large-scale destruction Magic Scroll from his bag and unfurled it. "Die!" As the Magic Scroll unfurled, the space around the Sunset Shrine froze. The surrounding Mana surged towards the Scroll in Shi Feng''s hand before a golden magic array formed beneath the Boss. Boom! Suddenly, a golden pillar of light rose from the ground, enveloping the Mythic ranked Guardian Boss and piercing through the magic barrier around the Sunset Forest. The King of Trees'' tendrils, both main and minor, disintegrated. Its remaining 2% HP fell to zero instantly. By the time the golden light pillar dissipated, nothing had remained of the King of Trees. The surviving players only saw a scorched, empty plot of land 1483 Obtaining the First Clear of the Sunset Fores Chapter 1483 - Obtaining the First Clear of the Sunset Forest "The Boss is dead?" "What tier was that Spell?! How is it so powerful?!" As the Tier 4 Spell, Titan''s Wrath, dissipated, the surviving team members regained their senses. Even then, they couldn''t bring themselves to believe that the King of Trees was dead. By the time the team had taken the King of Trees down to 2% of its HP, it had deployed well over 1,000 minor tendrils on the battlefield. With the remaining 100-plus members on the team, it would have been impossible to wipe out the Boss''s remaining HP before the Mythic monster annihilated the rest of the team. And yet, just as the team was about to wipe, someone bombarded the King of Trees into oblivion. Why wouldn''t they be shocked? Was that some sort of trump card Zero Wing had kept hidden? Phoenix Rain stared at the empty plot before her in shock. She had never expected Zero Wing to have a Tier 4, large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. At this stage of the game, Tier 3 Magic Scrolls were extremely precious. With just one of these scrolls, an ordinary player could make a fortune overnight with enough funds to purchase a powerful set of equipment. Among the various Magic Scrolls available, large-scale destruction Spells and Summoning Spells were the most valuable and highly sought after by the various large Guilds. Both types of Magic Scrolls were powerful enough to turn the tide in battle. But Shi Feng had actually used a Tier 4, large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had gotten their hands on such a scroll The King of Trees'' death contributed a tremendous amount of EXP to the surviving players. Phoenix Rain had even risen from Level 48 to Level 49. They had obtained more EXP than anyone had expected. Meanwhile, after the King of Trees'' death, the barrier enveloping the Sunset Shrine gradually disappeared. System: Congratulations! You are the first team to raid the Sunset Forest successfully. Rewards in the Sunset Shrine doubled. You will be teleported out of the Sunset Forest after one hour automatically. "Healers, resurrect the dead. Everyone else, rest up," Shi Feng commanded before entering the Sunset Shrine with Phoenix Rain to inspect the treasures inside. The other players couldn''t help their envy, curious about what treasures the shrine held, but they knew that they''d have to wait. Historical Sites typically offered far more treasure than Dungeons, some of which could be used as Guilds'' trump cards. Naturally, these Guilds would have more of an advantage if fewer people knew about these items. As for Shi Feng, not only was he Phoenix Rain''s ally, but he had also signed a contract with the Phoenix Pavilion Master. He had also contributed the most during the raid. Thus, he qualified to enter the shrine alongside the Guild Leader. Zero Wing and the Asura adventurer team, huh? Quiet Melody could not help but watch Shi Feng''s departing back before glancing at Asura''s resting members, curiosity and intrigue dominating her thoughts. It seems that I really will need to report to the Guild Leader. Despite all of the effort the Sacred Temple had spent raiding various Historical Sites, the Guild had failed to raid a single Grade 2 ruin, yet Phoenix Rain''s temporary team had secured the First Clear of a Grade 1 Historical Site. If other Guilds discovered this, it would cause a commotion. On the journey here, Quiet Melody had carefully observed everything that had happened. Based on what she had seen, she was absolutely certain that without Zero Wing and Asura''s help, Phoenix Rain''s team would''ve failed. In fact, they would''ve been lucky to reach the Sunset Forest''s core within the allotted time, much less kill the Mythic ranked King of Trees. She had never imagined that a recently-established Guild like Zero Wing could become so powerful in such a short amount of time. While Historical Sites were very rare in God''s Domain, Super Guilds like the Sacred Temple had discovered quite a few already. The only thing preventing them from harvesting these ruins'' treasure was their lack of strength. Although she did not know what the conditions of Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing''s agreement, the Sacred Temple was capable of any price she could afford. Elsewhere, with the magic barrier gone, Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain easily entered the Sunset Shrine. The interior was luxurious. It looked more like a palace than a shrine. Meanwhile, the two found a large pile of items in the center of this palace. "This is the Sunset Forest''s First Clear reward?" Even Phoenix Rain, who had seen plenty of treasure before and had her own significant wealth, was surprised to see the mound before her. Among the small mountain of items, she easily counted more Treasure Chests than what they had looted from the three Dryad nests they raided earlier. She even saw a few Epic Treasure Chests among them. Aside from Treasure Chests, there were all sorts of Master ranked potions, high-tiered Magic Scrolls, special Gemstones, and many other valuable items. As she gazed at the items, Phoenix Rain felt as if she were dreaming. At least I didn''t waste that Tier 4 Magic Scroll. Shi Feng spotted three Epic Treasure Chests in addition to Elemental Treasure Boxes and Seven Luminaries Treasure Boxes, which contained Elemental Sources and Seven Luminaries Crystals, respectively. He had thought that the Flame Potions would be enough to raid the Sunset Forest, but in the end, he had been forced to use a Tier 4 Magic Scroll as well. But after seeing the Sunset Shrine''s treasure, he was satisfied with trading a Tier 4 Magic Scroll for the first pick of five of the shrine''s items. Neither the Elemental Treasure Boxes nor the Seven Luminaries Treasure Boxes were any less valuable than the Epic Treasure Chests. An Elemental Treasure Box would drop one to three Elemental Source Stones when opened, while a Seven Luminaries Treasure Box would drop three to six units of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Both Treasure Boxes had been highly sought after by the various Guilds in his previous life. Moreover, Shi Feng spotted various materials, designs, Skill Books, and other precious items that could easily drive the various large Guilds mad with envy. It took Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain over half an hour to organize the loot. "According to our agreement, I''ll choose five items first," Shi Feng said as he glanced at Phoenix Rain. "Alright, take your pick." Phoenix Rain nodded. She was extremely satisfied with the Sunset Shrine''s treasure. Even if Shi Feng claimed all three Epic Treasure Chests, she wouldn''t be disappointed in the least. After all, among the treasures here, over ten were just as valuable. Seeing Phoenix Rain nod, Shi Feng began to select his prizes. However, the man hadn''t pocketed the three Epic Treasure Chests as Phoenix Rain had expected. On the contrary, Shi Feng didn''t even glance at the Treasure Chests. Instead, the first items he claimed were the two Elemental Treasure Boxes. While current players might realize how valuable Elemental Sources were, he did. In fact, Elemental Sources could be strategic tools in Mythic monster raids. Hence, he had to prioritize these items. After selecting the Elemental Treasure Boxes, Shi Feng chose the Sunset Potion Recipe, an Advanced Alchemy Recipe unique to the Sunset Forest. The recipe usually had a very low chance at appearing in the Sunset Shrine. When consumed, the potion would halve the penalty of a single death. It was a super-potion with a 24-hour Cooldown. Avoiding death was incredibly difficult in God''s Domain. Each time a player died in the field, they''d lose an entire level. Hence, the Sunset Potion had been highly regarded in the past. Only, very few Guilds had been able to brew the potion, contributing to its rarity on the market. The Potion had only cost 10 or so Silver to produce, yet it had sold for around 1 Gold. Now that the Sunset Potion Recipe had dropped, he had no reason not to claim it. Shi Feng also selected the Basic Mana Bomb Design, an Advanced Engineering Design. Although the necessary materials to craft the item were rare and expensive, each Basic Mana Bomb was as powerful as a Peak Tier 2 attack. When used in conjunction with Defensive Turrets, the Mana Bombs could rival a Tier 3 attack. The design was far more valuable than an Epic Weapon. For Shi Feng''s fifth choice, he selected the only Epic item throughout the hall. The Seven Luminaries Bible! 1484 Seven Luminaries Bible Chapter 1484 - Seven Luminaries Bible "These are the five items that you want?" Phoenix Rain was a little confused as she saw Shi Feng''s choices. Setting aside the Seven Luminaries Bible, although the recipe and design for the Sunset Potion and Basic Mana Bomb were valuable, both were very difficult to produce. There was no doubt that the items'' production would be slow and limited. The rare materials for the Basic Mana Bomb were particularly expensive. A single crafting attempt would cost around 2 Gold, while the final product could cost 6 Gold or more. Most importantly, unlike Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, the Mana Bombs had a 70% reduced effect against players. This impacted how useful the Mana Bombs could be. Generally, players would only want such an expensive tool to deal with enemy players. Unless necessary, most players avoided using such costly items against monsters. Even if Zero Wing crafted the Basic Mana Bombs, the Guild would only make a small profit from them. It would take ages before Zero Wing could earn enough money to make up for the loss of an Epic Treasure Chest. The various large Guilds'' experts were already reaching Level 50 and obtaining their Tier 2 classes. Because of that, most Guilds were focused on converting their resources into items that would increase their experts'' combat power, helping them overcome their promotion quests, yet Shi Feng did the exact opposite by investing his resources in items that wouldn''t yield short-term profit He had even chosen two Elemental Treasure Boxes, which only confused her further. "Mhm." Shi Feng simply chuckled at Phoenix Rain''s question. Others might have a hard time using these items to increase a player''s strength, but he wouldn''t have any issues. This was especially true for the Basic Mana Bomb. Although the production cost was high and it wasn''t particularly useful against players, its effects would be miraculous against certain monsters. Moreover, he had chosen the Seven Luminaries Bible, the most valuable item the Sunset Shrine had to offer. He was more than satisfied with his share. [Seven Luminaries Bible] (Epic Rank Item) Contains the records of magic arrays the Gods had left behind. Sacrifice a sufficient amount of Mana to activate the recorded magic arrays. The Seven Luminaries Bible would, at most, amount to some Epic toll or magic array with indefinite uses to other large Guilds. Moreover, even the strongest magic array within the bible was Intermediate rank. It could barely suppress a Grand Lord, yet it required a tremendous amount of Mana to activate. Activating one of the Seven Luminaries Bible''s Intermediate Magic Arrays cost 2,000 Magic Crystals. The Basic Magic Arrays cost 500 Magic Crystals to activate. Honestly, one could easily purchase a stronger array with so many Magic Crystals. The only benefit of the Seven Luminaries Bible was its variety. Players wouldn''t need to search high and low for a specific kind of magic array. There was nothing else special about the item. What everyone didn''t know was that the Seven Luminaries Bible didn''t consist of a single volume. Rather, there were a total of seven books. Only after gathering all seven volumes could one display the Seven Luminaries Bible''s true power. The various superpowers had clashed often to obtain more of the bible''s volumes in the past. They had discovered that one could use Advanced Magic Arrays once they had collected two volumes. While Intermediate Magic Arrays were rare, players could find them if they put in a little effort. However, the same could not be said for Advanced Magic Arrays and above. In addition, the materials needed to craft Advanced Magic Array Scrolls were exceedingly expensive. Meanwhile, these arrays could even suppress Mythic monsters, which would, in turn, increase players'' chance of obtaining precious items. One could just imagine how valuable an Advanced Magic Array could be if they could use it indefinitely for the cost of Magic Crystals. God''s Domain''s current superpowers hadn''t discovered this secret yet. Otherwise, Phoenix Rain would''ve mourned the item''s loss. Once Shi Feng had chosen his five items, Phoenix Rain organized her harvest. They had obtained far more than she had expected. After opening the three Epic Treasure Chests, she had gained three Epic items and one Epic ranked, Growth-type shield. She was ecstatic over the outcome. With an Epic shield, the raids on the various Team Dungeons would be much easier for her team. She had also gained a large number of Level 50 Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Since Level 50 was a major turning point in the game, Level 50 equipment Attributes were two ranks higher than that of Level 45 equipment. Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment could rival Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. She now had enough Level 50 Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, and Dark-Gold Equipment to fully arm a 100-man team. As long as she gave these pieces to players who had items that reduced level requirements, they could improve their equipment right away. The shrine had also contained a large number of rare Gemstones, all of which could visibly improve players'' combat power. Meanwhile, the contest on Thunder Island prohibited the use of magical tools. This included items like the Bible of Darkness. Players had to rely on their own strength during the contest. This was also why Nine Dragons Emperor had spent so much money to gain Bloody Paradise''s help in the Sunset Forest. When Phoenix Rain tried to hand 20% of the harvest to Shi Feng, Shi Feng refused the items. Instead, he requested Ancient Origin Wood as his share of the bounty, which was the equivalent of every log they had found during the raid. With the Ancient Origin Wood, Zero Wing could begin producing advanced speedboats. Since Phoenix Rain needed the weapons and equipment, she saw no reason to refuse him. Once they had finished distributing the loot, Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain called everyone into the shrine, leaving the Sunset Forest through the teleportation array inside. They then split their party to prepare for the contest on Thunder Island. However, Shi Feng planned to make his way to Ocean Viewing Town with his cargo of Ancient Origin Wood, intending to begin the advanced speedboat''s production. By the time Shi Feng and the others had returned to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s courtyard, news of their success in the Sunset Forest spread to the various superpowers. Although the system wouldn''t announce a Historical Site''s First Clear to the local region, it was difficult to keep a lid on the matter with so many participants. Besides, Phoenix Rain had borrowed experts from a few other Guilds for the raid. "What?! You''re saying that Phoenix Rain obtained the First Clear of a Grade 1 Historical Site?!" "Since when had the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion grown so powerful?! That''s a Grade 1 Historical Site we''re talking about!" "Zero Wing and the Asura adventurer team?" "Where is this Asura adventurer team from? Why haven''t I heard of it?" "Go! Send someone to investigate this Asura adventurer team!" When the various superpowers'' upper echelons read their subordinates'' reports, they turned their attention to Zero Wing and the Asura adventurer team, particularly Asura. Zero Wing''s prowess was no longer news to these superpowers. If they were familiar with the Dark Arena, they had heard of Zero Wing''s experts. There was also the old news of Zero Wing''s 1,000-man army defeating the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Shadow Dragon Legion, proving that Zero Wing had an incredibly powerful team. However, the Asura adventurer team was a different story. With the adventurer team being so powerful yet unknown, it had become a target for recruitment. Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team cleared out a Dryad nest in the Sunset Forest''s core. Of the original 1,000 team members, less than 700 players remained standing. The survivors fought desperately to hold back a Grand Lord ranked Dryad. "Quick! Take these Dryads down! We don''t have much time left!" Nine Dragons Emperor anxiously shouted. He had used many of his trump cards just to get his team to the central area. Even then, he had spent more than six hours doing so. Once there, they had spent quite some time exploring the area before they had found a Dryad nest, but they hadn''t expected the Dryads to be so difficult to deal with. In addition, the nest they had found had been guarded by multiple Grand Lords. Even after activating all of their Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, they were at a disadvantage. "Pavilion Master, a report just came in from Sun Dragon," Blood Dragon announced. "What is it now?! Out with it!" Nine Dragons Emperor frowned. They had very little time remaining. If they didn''t eliminate these Dryads in time, they wouldn''t return with a single treasure. "Sun Dragon has informed us that...Phoenix Rain has already obtained the Sunset Forest''s...First Clear," Blood Dragon replied, struggling to believe the report. 1485 Taking Shape Chapter 1485 - Taking Shape Blood Dragon''s response stunned Nine Dragons Emperor on the spot. "Impossible!" Nine Dragons Emperor shouted. "I know what Phoenix Rain''s team is capable of! She''d be lucky to reach the forest''s core! How could she possibly obtain the Sunset Forest''s First Clear?!" They were from the same Guild, so he knew practically everything about Phoenix Rain''s capabilities. Even if she had some unknown trump card, she could never defeat the Historical Site''s Final Boss. He was only confident in doing so because he had an Advanced Magic Array and the aid of Bloody Paradise. As far as he knew, Phoenix Rain didn''t have an Advanced Magic Array. "Sun doubted the information as well, so she used multiple sources to verify the claim. She even obtained a video recording of the raid, so there is no mistaking the information," Blood Dragon explained. "One of the reasons for her success was a tool called the Flame Potion, which significantly reduced the Boss''s Attributes. In addition, the Asura adventurer team has a super-powerful MT that tanked the weakened Boss by himself. In the end, Zero Wing used a Tier 4 Magic Scroll to finish it off." "Lucky bastards! They actually found a way to weakened the Boss!" Nine Dragons Emperor fumed when he saw the video Blood Dragon had sent him. A trace of envy flashed in his eyes. However, he sneered and growled, "Just you wait. You may have secured the Sunset Forest''s First Clear, but I''ll teach you that your struggles are futile soon. Blood, notify Sun and tell her that she proceed with the plan. Contact Beast Emperor as well and tell that old bastard that I''m running out of patience. I don''t want to see Zero Wing prance about any longer." "Understood!" Blood Dragon shuddered when he heard the cold determination in Nine Dragons Emperor''s voice. Elsewhere, Shi Feng arrived in Ocean Viewing Town via a teleportation array. The town''s player population had increased significantly since his first visit. He saw countless players forming teams and parties as they prepared to set sail for the islands to grind and level. He also spotted a few merchant fleet representatives conducting their maritime transportation business. "Transport from Ocean Viewing Town to Sandy Bay Town! Special price right now! Only charging 15 Silver per person! Less than 1,000 slots of bagspace free of charge! Five Silver for every additional 1,000 slots! Three Silver for each non-bagspace item!" "Transport from Ocean Viewing Town to Coral Harbor! Only charging 20 Silver per person! Less than 1,000 slots of bagspace free of charge! Seven Silver for every additional 1,000 slots! Five Silver for each non-bagspace item!" Many independent merchant and adventuring players crowded around the merchant fleet representatives, trying to haggle down the prices. Players who preferred to use the merchant ships were generally trying to avoid exorbitant teleportation fees. Cross-national teleportation fees were particularly expensive. Even teleporting to a neighboring country cost more than 1 Gold. It wasn''t unusual to pay 2 or 3 Gold when traveling farther. It was cheaper to hire a ship. This was especially true for players transporting non-bagspace items. Although the maritime transportation system in Ocean Viewing Town wasn''t yet perfect, it had begun to take shape. These people sure are taking action quickly. Glancing at the various merchant players, Shi Feng easily spotted over five merchant fleets. It seems that I''ll need to produce the new type of cargo ships as soon as possible. Maritime transportation had been very well-developed in the past. It had also generated a frightening amount of wealth for players. Hence, the various large Guilds had established their own merchant fleets and contested over territory at sea. Initially, Shi Feng had been satisfied with the development of his naval forces, but there were plenty of capable players in God''s Domain. In the end, many players had quickly discovered this business opportunity. At the moment, these merchant fleets were renting ordinary cargo ships from NPCs. Each ordinary cargo ship could only carry 35 people, and the cargo ships'' item space was limited. Each ship could only carry 30 non-bagspace items at a time. He had previously spent 30,000 Gold to purchase a special Medium Shipyard. As long as he had sufficient materials and engineers, he could begin constructing the new cargo ships immediately. Not only were the new cargo ships 15% faster than ordinary cargo ships, but they could also carry up to 40 people at a time. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had both engineers and materials available to him. He could start producing the ships as soon as he desired. Once these new cargo ships were built, he''d make a fortune off of them whether he rented them out or used them himself. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her dispatch a large number of engineers to Ocean Viewing Town. Previously, the Candlelight Trading Firm had lacked both quantity and quality of engineers, but now they had become a holy land for Lifestyle players in Star-Moon Kingdom. Since the trading firm constantly recruited Lifestyle players, they had a large collection of engineers. Right now, even if the trading firm only dispatched a small fraction of these players, they would be more than enough to operate a Large Shipyard, not to mention a Medium Shipyard. "Guild Leader, do you really intend to use such a precious material to construct the Flying Eagle Speedboats and new cargo ships?" Burning Abyss was astonished as he gazed at the Ancient Origin Wood Shi Feng had placed before him. As a Master Engineer, he had researched the various materials available in God''s Domain. This was especially true for the materials useful to engineers. He knew that Ancient Origin Wood was a top-tier material meant for ship construction. Using it to construct Bronze Speedboats would be a waste, much less constructing an advanced speedboat. The new cargo ship was even less valuable than an advanced speedboat. "Just use it for now. I don''t have any higher-ranked designs on me at the moment." Shi Feng was just as reluctant to use the wood. After all, Ancient Origin Wood was a precious material that could only be obtained from the Sunset Forest. When used to construct ships, not only would it increase the production success rate, but it also had a chance of strengthening the ship with the Power of Ancients, enhancing the ship''s quality. It was incredibly extravagant to use it to construct a ship that wasn''t even Bronze rank. However, he couldn''t care less at the moment. Ship designs were extremely rare. He had been fortunate enough to obtain the design for the Flying Eagle Speedboat and the newly-developed cargo ship. Following which, Shi Feng handed Burning Abyss the Basic Mana Bomb Design and instructed him to produce the bombs. He was happy enough to let the Advanced Engineers take charge of producing the speedboats and the cargo ships. There wasn''t a need to involve a Master Engineer like Burning Abyss in the project. The Basic Mana Bomb was a different story. Despite only being Basic rank, the design an Advanced Engineering Design. If he left it to the Advanced Engineers, their success rate would at most reach 30%. If Burning Abyss crafted the bombs, however, his success rate would be at least 50%. Letting Burning Abyss produce the bombs would save on cost and materials. After all, the required materials were both rare and expensive. "What an intricate design! I never knew magic arrays could be used in such a way!" After glancing at the Basic Mana Bomb Design, Burning Abyss was captivated. "I''ll leave the shipyard''s management to you. As for this design, you''ll learn it. If you have time, try to produce as many of the bombs as you can. I have an important use for them," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the engineer''s starstruck expression. "Guild Leader?" Burning Abyss was stunned when he heard Shi Feng''s instructions. However, he was instantly overjoyed and excited. Even after becoming a Master Engineer, he had only been promoted to Chief Engineer in the Candlelight Trading Firm. In the end, he was only one of Zero Wing''s core members, but it was a different story if he were allowed to manage the Shipyard. It was the equivalent of becoming one of the Guild''s upper management. Countless Lifestyle players dreamed of such status. Following which, Shi Feng handed a portion of the Shipyard''s authority to Burning Abyss. He then paid Rodney a visit, calling in on the agreement with the Master Engineer to assist in the Shipyard. Not only would Rodney''s presence increase production success rate when crafting ships, but production speed would increase as well. As Shi Feng finished with the Shipyard''s matters and prepared to lead Gentle Snow and the others to Thunder Island, Aqua Rose gleefully walked up to him, whispering, "Guild Leader, Summer just contacted me. She says that she''s successfully class-changed into a Dragon Slayer. Moreover, Cola has also completed his class-change. Should I have them head over?" 1486 Assembly of Experts Chapter 1486 - Assembly of Experts "They''re done already?" Shi Feng was a little confused. As far as he could remember, the Dragon Slayer Class-change Quest wasn''t an easy one. "Alright, tell them to hurry and join us." Honestly, he had been somewhat worried about having sufficient strength for the contest on Thunder Island and had even considered recruiting Owl''s help. However, it seemed that wouldn''t be necessary. Cola''s success in becoming a Tier 2 Dragon Slayer Knight alone would boost the team''s overall strength, not to mention Alluring Summer, who was now a Tier 2 Dragon Slayer Mage. Both Basic Attributes and Skills would undergo a qualitative transformation when players reached Tier 2. Cola also had the Epic ranked Dragonscale Shield. Had he been present during the King of Trees'' raid, the raid definitely would''ve been a lot easier. He wouldn''t have needed to waste an incomparably precious Tier 4 Magic Scroll. Hearing Shi Feng''s answer, Aqua Rose immediately contacted Alluring Summer and Cola, telling them to gather in Ocean Viewing Town. "Guild Leader, if we don''t leave soon, I''m afraid we won''t make it in time" Gentle Snow said worriedly as she looked at the time. It would take quite some time to travel from Star-Moon Kingdom to the Apocalypse Empire. Thunder Island was located in the Sea of Death''s inner region, very far away from the Apocalypse Empire. There weren''t any teleportation arrays connected to the island, so players had to rely on other means to reach it. In fact, the various major powers participating in the contest for Thunder Island''s authority had long since set out. Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor had only delayed their departure to obtain the weapons and equipment from the Sunset Forest. As soon as Phoenix Rain had cleared the Historical Site, she and her subordinates rushed towards the island. Since Shi Feng had wanted to begin producing advanced speedboats as soon as possible, he had made a trip to Ocean Viewing Town with the Ancient Origin Wood. Otherwise, they would''ve left for Thunder Island with Phoenix Rain''s group. As a result, their group was far behind schedule. Furthermore, the Swift Dragon Speedboat could only accommodate 30 people, half of their planned 60-man team. The rest of the members would have to sail on advanced speedboats. If they left right this instant, they would barely make it in time for the contest. If they waited for Cola and Alluring Summer, they''d likely be late. "Relax. We have enough time," Shi Feng consoled her, smiling. Following which, Shi Feng led everyone to Ocean Viewing Town''s harbor. Half an hour later, Cola and Alluring Summer finally reached the harbor atop two majestic Thunder Wolves. The moment Cola and Alluring Summer arrived, they attracted a lot of attention from the players at the harbor. They were difficult to miss. Both of these players radiated intense auras from atop their Mounts. "Guild Leader, we''re sorry for the wait," Cola apologized as he stopped before Shi Feng. "It''s fine. It''s about time to set out," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then invited Cola and Alluring Summer to the team. When Lifeless Thorn and his companions from the Ice Crystal World saw Cola and Alluring Summer, they were astounded. They had already been shocked to by the strength Zero Wing''s members displayed. They hadn''t expected the Guild to have even more experts. "Lifeless, how confident are you of defeating those two?" Cleansing Whistle whispered as she looked at Cola and Alluring Summer. Personally, Cleansing Whistle doubted that she was a match for Cola or Alluring Summer. Just by standing so close, she felt an intense wave of danger from them. "The guy? Maybe. The other one? I don''t know. I''d have to fight her to find out," Lifeless Thorn said, fighting spirit illuminating his gaze as he watched Alluring Summer. He had struggled to find anyone who could offer a good fight back in Cold Wind City. When Shi Feng had said that God''s Domain''s continent had plenty of experts, he had assumed the claim was meant to excite him. But looking at it now, it would seem that the Swordsman hadn''t lied. "What? Even you aren''t confident of winning?" Cleansing Whistle could not help but turn to look at Alluring Summer in shock. Based on her observations during the raid in the Sunset Forest, she knew that Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and Zhao Yueru were powerful. Although other experts from Zero Wing had been present, it was obvious that they were significantly weaker than the three women. Hence, Cleansing Whistle had assumed that Lifeless Thorn would rank among the top five in Zero Wing. Unfortunately, it didn''t seem like that was the case When she thought about how Zero Wing had at least five experts who were even stronger than a monster like Lifeless Thorn, her shock was natural. However, Cleansing Whistle felt pretty lucky about the situation. She had been Cold Wind City''s number one Swordsman. With no suitable rivals, she had to rely on herself to improve. Now, however, she met a group of people who were much stronger than her. They also had an expert Swordsman like Shi Feng. If she fought alongside these powerful people and leeched off of their experiences, she could grow stronger far more quickly. Cleansing Whistle wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. Solitary Nine and Dark Madness were just as pleased. As Asura''s members subtly watched Cola and Alluring Summer, Shi Feng arrived beside the harbor and pulled a crystal bottle from his bag. He then began to chant an incantation. Runes lit up and danced around the crystal bottle. A short moment later, dark fog surged forth, expanding to cover a large area of the water before Shi Feng. The scene attracted a lot of attention. "What''s going on? Is that guy summoning a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat?!" "That shouldn''t be possible. No speedboat is that big. It must be a cargo ship." "I''ve seen someone release a cargo ship before, and it definitely wasn''t that large." While everyone discussed the disturbance, the cloud of dark fog expanded up and out. Soon, the fog dissipated, revealing Shi Feng''s ship. This ship was a silver sailboat, double the size of ordinary cargo ships. While it was docked, it dwarfed the nearby ordinary and advanced speedboats. "What?!" "That''sa sailboat!" "How is this possible?!" Everyone was stupefied when they saw the One-horned Sailboat. As naval players, they had spent most of their gaming career in God''s Domain at sea. Although they weren''t well-known experts, they understood ships just as well, if not better, than the various large Guilds. A sailboat could send tremors throughout the Apocalypse Empire. It could definitely overturn the current hierarchy of the empire''s naval powers. Even a Bronze Speedboat was no more than a fly to be swatted in the face of a sailboat. "Guild Leader, since when do you have a sailboat? Could it be Have you already repaired the sailboat we got from the Fallen Ark?!" Aqua Rose''s eyes glowed as she stared at the monstrosity of a ship before her. Although Zero Wing had the Swift Dragon Speedboat, at the end of the day, a speedboat was just a speedboat. Without a large number of support ships, it would be very difficult to exert the Swift Dragon Speedboat''s maximum potential. At most, Zero Wing would be a minor threat to the Apocalypse Empire''s various naval powers. However, it was a different story if Zero Wing had a sailboat. A sailboat would allow Zero Wing to contest for the empire''s port cities. If they had their own port city, they wouldn''t have to operate in the dark. They could simply steamroll over any opposing forces. Even Gentle Snow was speechless. Despite being one of the Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders, she still didn''t have a clear idea of how many secrets Zero Wing had. It wasn''t unlike the Asura adventurer team''s sudden appearance. "I haven''t repaired the Storm Sailboat yet. I obtained the One-horned Sailboat from a sea monster I helped kill," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Alright, we don''t have much time. Get on the boat!" 1487 Shocking All Sides Chapter 1487 - Shocking All Sides Due to the dark clouds that shrouded the Sea of Death all year round, it was always dusky. However, contrary to the islands in the Sea of Death, lightning constantly struck around Thunder Island, illuminating the area. As Thunder Island could be found in the Sea of Death''s inner region, permanent storms assailed the water. In addition, a large number of powerful sea monsters lived in the area, preventing sea-faring adventurers from casually approaching the island. At this moment, however, ships of various kinds had dropped anchor around Thunder Island, forming a tight circle around the landmass. The naval adventurer teams that had come to spectate the upcoming contest were shocked. "Pantheon''s fleet is amazing! It dispatched 14 Bronze Speedboats and one Mysterious-Iron Speedboat!" "That''s nothing! Look at the Sacred Temple! Now, that''s what I call amazing! The Sacred Temple has sent over 100 speedboats! Among them, 23 are Bronze Speedboats, and over 50 are advanced speedboats. There are even two Mysterious-Iron Speedboats in the fleet! The Sacred Temple''s navy is definitely the strongest of them all!" "I''m not so sure about that. Miracle has been rapidly developing its navy. Although the Guild doesn''t have any Mysterious-Iron Speedboats, it has 21 Bronze Speedboats and the Sea Dragon Mark, a Secret-Silver Speedboat. You should see how fast that Secret-Silver Speedboat is." "I wonder who will win the contest?" The spectating players brimmed with anticipation as they discussed the participating superpowers'' navies. Originally, only a few superpowers had focused on the contest for Thunder Island, but as time passed, more Guilds began to realize how important sea''s resources were. This was especially true for the treasured area known as the Sea of Death. In the end, more Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds had joined the fray. Moreover, Thunder Island was the only safe haven in the Sea of Death. Any player that wanted to develop in the Sea of Death would have to dock on Thunder Island to restock and repair. Otherwise, traveling to and from the Sea of Death would be incredibly time-consuming. Whoever controlled Thunder Island would become the Sea of Death''s unofficial master. Naturally, the contest on Thunder Island concerned every player''s development in the Sea of Death. They had to pay attention to it. After all, every Guild had a different management style. Besides, it was not often that they got to watch God''s Domain''s superpowers have a go at each other''s throats. Although they didn''t have an entry pass for Thunder Island, they had all purchased an Intermediate Magic Mirror, which cost 8 Gold Coins. The Intermediate Magic Mirror allowed players to spy on a 100*100-yard area within a 10,000-yard radius for four hours. Fortunately, the Thunder Island contest only lasted eight hours. Sixteen Gold might be expensive to an ordinary adventure team, but the naval adventurer teams capable of reaching Thunder Island were extraordinarily strong. Spending 16 Gold Coins was nothing to them. After all, each of their adventurers yielded several to over a dozen Gold. They could easily earn back the spent Coins by exploring dangerous areas. Players didn''t get to see matches between the superpowers'' peak experts every day. Who knew when they would get another opportunity? Furthermore, the various large Guilds highly valued Thunder Island. They would definitely go all-out in the upcoming contest. While everyone waited for the barrier around the island to open, speedboats continued to arrive. Among these speedboats, some belonged to the various expert teams the superpowers had hired. "Amazing! Isn''t that the Shadow Knight Order, a top adventurer team in the Beast Empire?! They''re joining the contest as well?!" "Look! That person looks like Undead, Bloody Paradise''s commander!" Many of the ships sailing towards Thunder Island belonged to well-known experts and adventurer teams in God''s Domain. However, as everyone watched the famous expert teams A gigantic, silver sailboat suddenly broke through the waves. As the sailboat pushed forward, the speedboats in its path inadvertently moved aside, opening a path as if their king had arrived. The silver sailboat soon arrived before the magic barrier enveloping Thunder Island. Everyone watched the ship, questions dancing in their minds. "Crap! That''sa sailboat!" "It''s so fast!" "Who owns it?" "That''s a sailboat? Speedboats are nothing but pests in comparison!" The One-horned Sailboat''s arrival earned a round of gasps from the watching players. Both the independent players here to watch the contest and the various superpowers'' members were surprised to see it. "March, which power do those people belong to? They actually got their hands on a sailboat. Why haven''t I received a report about this?" Thousand Miles, Miracle''s Second Vice guild Leader, asked the long-haired beauty beside him as his expression turned grim. "I don''t know. There''s no mention of it in the information we collected on the superpowers," Silent March said, shaking her head. She was similarly shocked to see the One-horned Sailboat. Miracle had focused on developing its navy since the game had launched, yet they had only found a few clues about acquiring a sailboat. They were still far from actually obtaining one. It was truly hard to imagine that someone had found one before they had. "Send someone to investigate this matter immediately! I want to know everything there is to know about that sailboat!" Thousand Miles barked, greed flashing in his eyes. "Also, send someone to keep an eye on those people. Do not let them slip past us!" "Understood!" Silent March began to make the necessary arrangements. Miracle wasn''t the only Guild to notice the One-horned Sailboat. Pantheon, Battle Wolves, King''s Return, Nine Heavens Pavilion, Sacred Temple, and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion watched the ship closely. They were all hungry to know which power that sailboat belonged to. Shortly after these Guilds'' upper echelons ordered their investigations, cloaked figures began to arrive on the deck. Almost all of these players wore six-winged emblems. A few of these players were particularly familiar to the superpowers'' upper echelons. "How do they have a sailboat?" "Zero Wing?" Everyone''s jaws dropped when they saw Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, who hadn''t bothered to hide their appearances. All of these superpowers were very familiar with the two women. However, they didn''t just recognize these women because of personal fame, but they also knew them as Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders. Since both were present on the One-horned Sailboat, the ship must belong to Zero Wing. No matter how hard they tried to wrap their minds around the idea, they couldn''t bring themselves to believe that Zero Wing, a rising Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, had acquired a sailboat, something they had failed to do thus far. Furthermore, Star-Moon Kingdom wasn''t anywhere near the sea. "Big Sis Rain, look! It looks like that sailboat belongs to Zero Wing!" Blue Phoenix''s stared in shock when she saw Shi Feng on the One-horned Sailboat''s deck. Rather than responding, Phoenix Rain was dazed. Suddenly, she realized why, after emerging from the Sunset Forest, Shi Feng had taken his sweet time to deal with some other matter rather than rushing to Thunder Island. It turned out that he had hidden yet another trump card. The One-horned Sailboat gradually came to a halt beside Phoenix Rain''s fleet. The various superpowers, who had been watching the sailboat, shifted their gaze to the Phoenix Pavilion Master. Phoenix Rain stared back, at a loss for words. 1488 Struggle for Thunder Island Chapter 1488 - Struggle for Thunder Island When everyone saw the One-horned Sailboat park beside the fleet Phoenix Rain commanded, they couldn''t help their wariness of the woman. It was true that the struggle for Thunder Island relied on players'' strengths, with external tools being prohibited. However, one had to obtain Thunder Passes to participate, and to do so, they needed to kill the Sea of Death''s Bosses. With a sailboat, Phoenix Rain would have an easier time defeating those Bosses. In turn, she could collect more passes. The more Thunder Passes one possessed, the more players they bring to the contest. Although each Guild was allowed a fixed number of Thunder Passes, the same couldn''t be said for future contests. Now that Phoenix Rain had a sailboat, she would pose a huge threat during the next contest. "Zero Wing sure has a lot of secrets." Quiet Melody, who stood on the deck of one of the Sacred Temple''s speedboats, turned to look at Phoenix Rain, envy gripping her heart. The various superpowers had struggled to recruit naval powers, trying to bolster their forces so they could obtain more Thunder Passes. Yet, despite Phoenix Rain only recently focusing on her navy, she had recruited a powerful ally like Zero Wing, which had its own sailboat. Phoenix Rain had cooperated with Zero Wing before it had risen to greatness. Needless to say, Zero Wing would help her grind for Thunder Passes if she asked. However, unlike Quiet Melody, who had a strong friendship with Phoenix Rain, the other superpowers'' upper echelons had far more nefarious thoughts. The various superpowers were preparing to aim their spearheads for the threat known as Phoenix Rain. "Damn it! How did Zero Wing get that sailboat?!" Nine Dragons Emperor glared at the One-horned Sailboat with intense jealousy. Although it was a single sailboat, its combat power was far beyond any speedboat. While they had explored God''s Domain''s oceans, the various superpowers had learned one thing: ships were more important than players in naval combat. If a ship weren''t of a certain quality, it wouldn''t be able to contend with the Boss sea monsters. Needless to say, these powerful Bosses would drop weapons, equipment, and various tools that could help improve one''s naval strength. With these tools, a team could explore farther and more dangerous regions, obtaining even better equipment and tools, creating an endless, positive cycle. As for Nine Dragons Emperor, he had spent a lot of money and resources to recruit rising naval powers. He had only amassed a sizable fleet after many challenges. This fleet was why he was confident in surpassing Phoenix Rain. However, the appearance of Zero Wing''s One-horned Sailboat had instantly made a joke of his effort "Pavilion Master, if Phoenix Rain has the help of a sailboat, she''ll be a huge challenge in future struggles over Thunder Island," Blood Dragon worriedly commented. There was no doubting that neither Phoenix Rain nor Nine Dragons Emperor would dominate Thunder Island this time. At most, each side would occupy a small corner of the island, slowing growing their navies until they could dominate the island as a whole. Now that Phoenix Rain had a sailboat on her side, there was no doubt that she had a massive advantage of Nine Dragons Emperor in future contests. "Phoenix Rain will be a problem during future struggles for Thunder Island. However, she has to last until the next contest, first," Nine Dragons Emperor hissed once he calmed down. Sneering, he continued, "Contact the other Guilds. Tell them that I''d like to discuss cooperation. I''m sure they''ll be willing to work with us to annihilate Phoenix Rain!" The various superpowers had been wary of each other thus far. They''d be fortunate not to make more enemies, let alone participate. However, now that they all faced a future threat like Phoenix Rain, they would be willing to cooperate. "Understood. I''ll contact them right away." Realization dawned upon Blood Dragon. He then turned towards Phoenix Rain''s group, smirking. "How are things coming along on Sun''s side?" Nine Dragons Emperor asked. "Pavilion Master, rest assured; everything has been dealt with. All you need to do is sit back and watch the show," Blood Dragon reported with a smile. "Excellent. I want to see Phoenix Rain''s expression when she finds out." Nine Dragons Emperor nodded in satisfaction. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain was shocked to learn that Zero Wing had its own sailboat. "Team Leader Ye Feng, Zero Wing''s entrance was certainly grand," Phoenix Rain said, smiling bitterly as she sensed malice from all directions. "Once we enter Thunder Island, I''m afraid many parties will target our team." "Phoenix Pavilion Master, don''t you see the opportunity?" Shi Feng retorted, chuckling. While Zero Wing''s frightening potential was a threat to their competitors, it also made the Guild the best choice for an alliance. It was impossible for a single superpower to monopolize Thunder Island. Everyone understood this, and it was precisely why the various superpowers sought allies. After all, the profits one could gain with a single supporter versus two or more differed greatly. The various superpowers might''ve looked down on Phoenix Rain, thinking themselves above cooperating with her, previously, but now that her side had such potential, she could be a formidable ally. When the Phoenix Pavilion''s members heard Shi Feng''s reasoning, realization dawned. They were in awe of the Swordsman''s foresight. In reality, Phoenix Rain had considered seeking an alliance with a few other superpowers and had sent Blue Phoenix to negotiate. Unfortunately, although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild, the Guild''s strength was split three ways. Among them, the Great Pavilion Master was the strongest within the Pavilion. As a result, she couldn''t convince the other superpowers to cooperate with her in the contest. As expected, every one of them had refused her offer. However, with the addition of Zero Wing''s sailboat, the other superpowers might reconsider. "Big Sis Rain, both the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple have stated that they are willing to cooperate. However, we will only get 20% of the profits while their Guilds will share the remaining 80%," Blue Phoenix reported angrily. "Those despicable, old foxes." Phoenix Rain frowned. "They know that I''m competing with Nine Dragons Emperor, so they''re using the opportunity to hike up their prices!" "I have a suggestion. Would you be interested in hearing it, Phoenix Pavilion Master?" Shi Feng suddenly asked. "A suggestion?" Phoenix Rain gave the man a curious look. "May I know what sort of plan Team Leader Ye Feng has in mind?" "I''ll represent Zero Wing in this alliance. Negotiate with the Battle Wolves and the Sacred Temple for 40% of Thunder Island''s profits," Shi Feng said. "Forty percent?!" Blue Phoenix was astonished. She thought that Shi Feng had completely lost his mind. It was obvious that the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple had discussed the situation beforehand and only intended to offer Phoenix Rain 20%, yet Shi Feng wanted to ask for twice that. If the two Guilds heard this, they''d laugh themselves to death. "Team Leader Ye Feng, are you serious?" Phoenix Rain asked earnestly. 1489 Terrifying Potential Chapter 1489 - Terrifying Potential "Guild Leader?" Shi Feng''s proposal surprised both Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. Both women thought the idea was ludicrous. The 20% the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple had proposed included Zero Wing''s cut, yet he wanted to double the price. Neither Guild would ever agree. After all, both were bona fide Super Guilds. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, do you really think that our two Guilds aren''t worth 40% of Thunder Island''s profits?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. "This" For a time, Phoenix Rain did not know how to answer Shi Feng''s question. Her forces were, in no way, inferior to Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple''s. She just didn''t have as many people. However, it was a different story if she included Zero Wing''s sailboat. Zero Wing''s sailboat could make up for the naval combat power the Phoenix Pavilion lacked. If both Guilds worked together in the future, they''d be able to secure far more Thunder Passes than the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple. Hence, asking for 40% of the profits was in no way excessive. Only, the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple knew that other Guilds would target her if she didn''t cooperate with them. All sides might even turn against her as soon as they entered Thunder Island. "If you don''t feel that we''re worth that much, then you should see this." Shi Feng understood Phoenix Rain''s concerns. He sent her a trade request, placing one of the crystal bottles from his bag into the trade window. This isa Small Sailboat! How?! Phoenix Rain shot Shi Feng an astounded look when she saw the item. In God''s Domain, items currently in use couldn''t be placed in a trade window. The fact that she was staring at a Small Sailboat proved that Zero Wing had more than one. She found it truly hard to believe that, while the various superpowers frantically searched for sailboats, Zero Wing had acquired at least two without anyone noticing She even wondered if her eyes were playing a trick on her, but when she clicked on the glass bottle, the Attribute Panel that appeared proved its existence. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, what do you think of my proposal now?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. The Small Sailboat he had just revealed was none other than the ordinary Small Sailboat he had liberated from the Freedom Alliance''s Identical Summer. Although it was only an ordinary Small Sailboat, its combat power far surpassed any speedboat. He also had the Mysterious-Iron ranked Storm Sailboat, which he had yet to repair. Unfortunately, the Storm Sailboat wasn''t usable combat power right now. Hence, he had only decided to reveal the ordinary Small Sailboat. "I understand. I''ll notify the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple about your proposal," Phoenix Rain said after taking a deep breath. When she looked at Shi Feng, she felt as if the man were foreign to her. "Big Sis Rain?" Blue Phoenix gave her friend a confused look. She could not figure out what Shi Feng had shown Phoenix Rain to change her mind about such a huge risk so quickly. "Don''t try to persuade me. Just do as he says," Phoenix Rain commanded. With no other choice, Blue Phoenix transmitted the new offer to the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple''s upper echelons. She no longer dared to think of what their reply would be. "Interesting. Phoenix Rain is bold enough to make such an offer despite her current predicament?" Eternal Dead, the Sacred Temple''s Guild Leader, could not help but laugh when he saw Phoenix Rain''s counteroffer. On the other hand, Quiet Melody was dazed for a moment when she read the new message. Only one thought came to her mind. Has Phoenix Rain lost her mind? If Phoenix Rain had the authority to mobilize all of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s forces and Zero Wing''s sailboat, she might have a chance of convincing the Battle Wolves and Sacred Pavilion to agree with her conditions. Unfortunately, with her current strength, the Super Guilds would never agree. Based on Quiet Melody''s knowledge, Phoenix Rain had only obtained 270 slots for the contest. That was barely on par with Nine Dragons Emperor''s slots, but the Sacred Temple had 710. Ignoring the standards of the Guilds'' experts, the severe difference in numbers put Phoenix Rain at an overwhelming disadvantage. "Melody, tell Phoenix Rain that her condition lacks sincerity, and the Sacred Temple will need time to consider her offer properly," Eternal Dead said, smiling. "Understood." Quiet Melody nodded. Elsewhere, the Battle Wolves'' upper echelons prepared a similar answer. "Big Sis Rain, both Guilds gave the same reply. They have said that they need more time to consider," Blue Phoenix helplessly reported. Obviously, the Battle Wolves and the Sacred Temple wanted to watch them make a fool of themselves and take advantage when the other superpowers targeted their forces on Thunder Island. If they went crawling to the two Guilds then, they''d be lucky to get 20%, much less 40% of the islands'' profits. "As expected It seems that we can only take this one step at a time." The outcome didn''t surprise Phoenix Rain whatsoever. All she could do was try her best in the contest. As long as she could occupy a spot on the island, nothing could stop her in the future. While the various superpowers had negotiated alliances, the magic barrier around Thunder Island turned from blue to crimson. Furious roars echoed from the island, and despite being so far away, everyone heard them clearly. "Has the contest begun?" As more of the island''s monsters voiced their rage, the spectating adventurer teams took out their Intermediate Magic Mirrors and began to observe the landmass. "Move out!" In response, the various superpowers stored their ships and retrieved their Thunder Passes. They used the passes to leave a Thunder Mark on their members, each pass imparting ten marks. Any player with a Thunder Mark could teleport to Thunder Island at any time. Shortly after, the various superpowers'' members disappeared almost simultaneously as they teleported to Thunder Island to contest for the ancient towers. During the contest, players were prohibited from using any tools. They could only rely on their own power to compete. In addition, all of the island''s monsters had frighteningly high Magic Resistance and Defense. Players had to occupy as many ancient towers as they could, reducing these monsters'' Magic Resistance and Defense, or raiding the encampments would be very difficult. Meanwhile, teleportation to Thunder Island wasn''t completely random. Generally, players who were close to each other would teleport to the same location. As long as they gathered before teleporting to the island, they could take action as a team as soon as they arrived. "It seems that we got a good location." After arriving on the island, Shi Feng inspected the system map. Currently, their group was north of Thunder Island''s outer region, very close to a monster encampment and three ancient towers. As long as they secured these ancient towers, they could clear out the monster encampment. Following which, Phoenix Rain and Shi Feng began to rearrange the team. They were prepared to split into three groups, prioritizing the ancient towers. Only after they solidified their hold would they head towards the nearest encampment. However, as Shi Feng and the others prepared to head out, a group of nearly 300 players approached. Leading this group was none other than Nine Dragons Emperor. "Nine, what is the meaning of this?" Phoenix Rain demanded in a chilling tone as she glared at the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master. "What else could this be? We''re here to eliminate a future problem," Nine Dragons Emperor said, sneering. "We have nearly the same number of players. You know that a fight between us will only benefit our mutual enemies." Although Phoenix Rain had suspected that Nine Dragons Emperor might attempt to take action, she hadn''t expected him to do so this quickly, even neglecting the contest for the ancient towers. "Equal numbers, huh?" Nine Dragons Emperor responded playfully. "I don''t think so." As soon as Nine Dragons Emperor finished speaking, she heard an anguished scream from behind her. Turning around, she discovered that the 50 Firmament members on her team had turned traitor, attacking her other team members. In seconds, over 20 players had died. By the time she reacted, Firmament''s members had pulled away from her team. "Lonely Heaven!" Phoenix Rain bellowed, dense killing intent lacing her gaze as she glared daggers at Firmament''s smiling Guild Leader. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, if you have to blame someone, blame yourself for making the wrong decision. You actually invested so much into a no-name Guild like Zero Wing," Lonely Heaven paid no attention to Phoenix Rain''s killing intent. "Now, prepare to pay the price for your mistake!" "Well said! Rain, since you made a wrong decision, you should pay the corresponding price!" Nine Dragons Emperor then commanded, "Everyone, attack! Leave none of them alive!" Initially, both his team and Phoenix Rain''s had about the same number of players, but now that Firmament had mutinied and killed 20 of Phoenix Rain''s players, she had less than 200. On the other hand, he now had 350. With nearly double the numbers, he could easily eliminate Phoenix Rain''s team. 1490 Bloodhand Yama Chapter 1490 - Bloodhand Yama As soon as Nine Dragons Emperor gave the command, his experts marched forward in formation. With Martial Dragon and Blood Dragon on the frontline, the melee players charged at Phoenix Rain''s team. Meanwhile, the ranged players spread out to encircle her players, providing their melee teammates cover fire. The healers in the back began their incantations immediately. With Firmament''s members behind them, Phoenix Rain''s team had nowhere to go. "Everyone, concentrate your attacks on Firmament''s members! We''re breaking through! Avoid prolonged fights!" Although Phoenix Rain was furious about Lonely Heaven''s betrayal, wanting nothing more than to murder the bastard herself, she quickly recovered her calm and decided to save as much of her team''s strength as possible. After all, the contest for Thunder Island had just begun. Both sides had plenty of Refinement Realm and above experts. If Refinement Realm experts worked together, their overall combat power would increase tremendously. When fighting foes of the same level, even at a numerical disadvantage, they''d be impossible to annihilate quickly. Unfortunately, defeating Nine Dragons Emperor''s team was impossible. Although she had Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s other peak experts, Nine Dragons Emperor had his own. The Shadow Dragon Legion''s Shadowtooth and Martial Dragon were the best examples. Both were Domain Realm experts and more than capable of posing a problem for her team. In addition, Nine Dragons Emperor had other experts under his command and the help of Bloody Paradise. Although the Phoenix Pavilion and Heavenly Dragon Pavilion on part in overall strength, the trump card legions under each banner weren''t under the full control of their respective Pavilion Master. Rather, these trump card legions prioritized the Great Pavilion Master''s commands. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain had only been the Phoenix Pavilion''s Master for a short time, and as a result, the Phoenix Pavilion''s trump card legions still maintained their loyalty to the previous Master. Like Shadowtooth''s case, she wasn''t allowed to order them around and had to result to persuasion. This was why her powerbase was significantly weaker than Nine Dragons Emperor''s. Now that he had persuaded Shadowtooth to fight for him, and Martial Dragon, whom Nine Dragons Emperor had nurtured, had become a Domain Realm expert, the gap between them had widened. With fewer players on her team, she had no chance of victory. She could only avoid a clash with Nine Dragons Emperor. Like in other maps, players that died on Thunder Island would lose a level and drop a piece of equipment. This gave her even more of a reason to avoid a fight with Nine Dragons Emperor. If her team were weakened further, she''d have no hope of capturing the ancient towers and monster encampments. "You wish to break through?" Nine Dragons Emperor sneered as he watched Phoenix Rain lead her team towards Firmament''s group. "Lonely! It''s about time we give our lady Pavilion Master a taste of despair!" Hearing this, the distant Lonely Heaven grinned and nodded. He then turned to one of his cloaked Guild members and said, "I''ve done my part. I''ll leave the rest to you." "Relax. We''ve accepted your payment and will complete the mission." At this time, a robust man emerged from Firmament''s team. The man removed his Black Cloak, revealing a mass of muscle. With the Black Cloak gone, his horrific bloodlust was no longer contained, and even players standing over 30 yards away could sense it radiating off of him. This robust man wasn''t the only one to remove his cloak. The 40-plus members Lonely Heaven had brought with him discarded the items as well, every one of them emanating a dense bloodlust. Every player''s ID was pitch-black, revealing their statuses as Dark Players. With one look at these players, Phoenix Rain''s teammates shuddered. "Bloodhand Yama!" Phoenix Rain was shocked when she realized who the robust man was. Bloodhand Yama might be a foreign name among ordinary players, but it was very well-known among the various superpowers. The man was one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' representatives. He had killed numerous superpowers'' upper echelons in the past. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, your life is mine!" Saying so, Bloodhand Yama gestured with a hand. Immediately, the Flower of Seven Sins members around him split into multiple parties and dashed towards Phoenix Rain and the others. He then raised his gray, diamond shield and tightened his grip on his double-headed, one-handed axe before charging like a berserk beast. Although Bloodhand Yama''s team had very few members, the majority of them were Shield Warriors and Berserkers. His team only had five healers. Because of the narrow canyon they occupied, the Flower of Seven Sins'' members easily formed a human wall that prevented anyone from passing. Meanwhile, the spectators watched the battle from the waters around Thunder Island. As a result, news of the battle spread quickly to the various superpowers on the island. "Nine Dragons Emperor really is ruthless. Despite being from the same Guild, he is trying to annihilate Phoenix Rain''s forces." Eternal Dead, who currently commanded the Sacred Temple''s members as they captured an ancient tower, couldn''t help but chuckle when he saw the video. "Fortunately, after this battle, Phoenix Rain should realize that without our help, she won''t accomplish anything on Thunder Island." "How rich. In addition to Bloody Paradise, he invited the Flower of Seven Sins to help him? He''ll likely put Phoenix Rain down for good this time." When the Battle Wolves'' Sirius watched the video his subordinate had transmitted, he could not help his rueful sigh. In the virtual gaming world, both the Flower of Seven Sins and Bloody Paradise were organizations that were moved by money. The Flower of Seven Sins, in particular, was famous for its high prices. Even Super Guilds would lament the cost of assassinating a Vice Guild Leader-level player. However, Sirius had to admit that the Flower of Seven Sins'' services were worth every penny. As long as one could afford their prices, the organization would guarantee any player''s death. Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, the Flower of Seven Sins'' members slammed into Phoenix Rain''s group. Bloodhand Yama easily made his way through the blockade of Phoenix Pavilion members. As if he could predict the future, he dodged or blocked every attack sent his way. When his double-headed axe descended, it always found its mark. As a result, Bloodhand Yama slaughtered the Phoenix Pavilion''s Refinement Realm experts and slowly, but surely made his way towards Phoenix Rain. "So strong!" Solitary Nine, who was also a Shield warrior, was shocked by Bloodhand Yama''s strength. The man''s display was completely different from Shi Feng''s in Cold Wind City. Shi Feng had relied on overwhelming Attributes to defeat his enemies, whereas Bloodhand Yama used techniques. It seemed as if the Shield Warrior could block every attack and break every defense before him. However, Phoenix Rain was no ordinary player, either. Although her performance in the Sunset Forest hadn''t been jaw-dropping, she was by no means weak. In fact, it seemed as if the Phoenix Pavilion Master had become an entirely different person as Solitary Nine watched her fight. Every one of her Spells seemed to have a life of their own, avoiding shields and landing solid blows. Her attack method had plenty of variations. Sometimes, her Spells descended from the sky, while other Spells seemed to manifest from their surroundings. When some of her Spells missed their mark, they seemed to make an abrupt U-turn, striking at the target''s back. Due to her varied attack patterns, Phoenix Rain''s targets struggled to defend themselves. The Flower of Seven Sins suffered numerous casualties at Phoenix Rain''s hand. She had even killed two party-leader-level experts. Meanwhile, Blue Phoenix seamlessly executed triple-casting, using her powerful Spells to disperse the attacking formation. The level of combat dumbfounded the players watching from safety. Countless players used a variety of combat techniques, which they rarely got to see. Moreover, they watched as players used Skills in unheard-of ways. At the end of the day, however, Phoenix Rain''s team was wedged between two forces. In addition, Nine Dragons Emperor''s side had an absolute advantage in numbers. It was only a matter of time before the Phoenix Pavilion Master''s team fell. "It seems we have no choice but to expose our trump card." Shi Feng, who was fended off the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion''s members, could not help but sigh. He then commanded through the team chat, "Cola, Summer, open a path! Aqua and I will bring up the rear!" "Understood!" Cola and Alluring Summer nodded before dashing towards Bloodhand Yama. 1491 Experts Clashing Chapter 1491 - Experts Clashing Just as Shi Feng finished issuing orders, a figure appeared behind Cola. "Assassin! Be careful!" Lifeless Thorn shouted to warn the Guardian Knight when he saw the figure. He stood only five yards away from Cola, and at that distance, he could even sense movement in the grace, yet despite pushing his senses to their limits, he failed to detect the approaching figure. Only after this figure had revealed himself had he noticed the enemy Assassin He had never heard of such a high-level concealment technique. Although Lifeless Thorn tried to stop the Assassin''s attack, the latter was simply too fast. A split second after the Assassin had appeared, a steak of black light sliced across Cola''s back. "Do you really think you have any hope of leaving this place alive?" Shadowtooth, who wore a black mask, hissed after appearing behind Cola. Assassinate! Peng! When the black light descended, nearby players heard the sound of shattering glass. Before anyone had noticed, a transparent barrier had manifested behind Cola. Shadowtooth''s attack sliced the barrier in half, but Cola remained unharmed. Someone blocked my attack? Shadowtooth was caught off guard. He turned to search his surroundings, intent on finding the player that had blocked his blade. The Assassin''s gaze soon found Alluring Summer, who wore pitch-black mage robes and wielded a blue, wooden staff. She actually stopped Shadowtooth''s ambush? Just who is that female Elementalist? Nine Dragons Emperor, who commanded the battle from afar, shot Alluring Summer a glance. Shadowtooth was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s number one expert. Both his skills and items ranked among the best in the Guild. Even Martial Dragon, who had grasped a Domain, could not always fend off Shadowtooth''s ambushes. Nine Dragons Emperor wouldn''t have been terribly surprised to see a melee player with fast reactions fend off Shadowtooth''s strike, but it had been an Elementalists. It was unbelievable. "Young lady, your reaction speed is quite impressive. But all you''ve done is called death upon yourself!" Shadowtooth said in a chilling tone, narrowing his eyes at Alluring Summer. He then transformed into a shadow, dashing towards the Elementalist as he ignored Cola. Once an Assassin failed an ambush, they''d have a very difficult time killing an MT of the same level. On the other hand, killing a cloth-armor class was easy. This was especially true for Shadowtooth, who had recently obtained the Epic ranked Shadow Boots. These Epic boots increased his initial acceleration to 20% of his maximum Movement Speed, boosting his dexterity to a whole new level. The greatest difference between expert and ordinary players was typically their dexterity. Even with the same Attributes, experts seemed faster when they moved. In contrast, ordinary players typically looked like robots, their actions dull and predictable. This was due to a lack of dexterity. Player''s dexterity mainly manifested in their acceleration, how quickly one could go from 0% of their maximum speed to 100% and vice versa, not one''s maximum speed. The more dexterous one was, the shorter the interval. Players would then be capable of accomplishing feats that were normally impossible. If a player could begin accelerating at 20% of their maximum Movement Speed, the change would undoubtedly increase their dexterity by a large margin. Shadowtooth dodged one Spell after another. Even when numerous melee experts blocked his path, he easily maneuvered his way through the gaps without getting caught. Lifeless Thorn even executed a perfect Split Spear, but the combat technique was utterly useless against the Assassin. Not only had Lifeless Thorn failed to hit Shadowtooth, but he had even been struck by the man''s counterattack. Despite Shadowtooth countering with an ordinary attack, the impact threw Lifeless Thorn over a dozen yards away, his HP instantly falling by one-sixth of its maximum. "How is that guy so fast?!" The outcome stunned Cleansing Whistle and the other Asura members. They never thought that Lifeless Thorn could be repelled so easily. Fortunately, all of the players on Thunder Island were prohibited from using Berserk Skills. The consequences would''ve been unimaginable if Lifeless Thorn had been struck by an empowered Shadowtooth. After removing the Berserker from his path, Shadowtooth quickly reached Alluring Summer, slashing Magic Breaker at the Elementalist''s throat. "Die!" Shadowtooth activated the Tier 1 Skill, Dark Blade without hesitation. Not only was this Skill impossible to block, but it also ignored the target''s Defense. Most importantly, the Skill would Silence the target for five seconds when struck. Even an ordinary expert could easily defeat a magical class player who couldn''t cast Spells for five seconds. However, just before the Assassin''s blade bit into Alluring Summer, several arcs of golden electricity wrapped around him and sealed his movements. What accurate judgment! Shadowtooth was slightly surprised to see the arcs binding him. Restriction-type Control Skills and Spells weren''t usually instantaneous. As a result, players had to predict a moving target''s progress and react accordingly. Although Shadowtooth had expected Alluring Summer to attempt to stop him with a Control Skill as he approached, he had not expected the woman to use herself as bait, taking advantage of the instant he paused to attack. However, Shadowtooth had reacted quickly as well. When he realized that he couldn''t move, he used a Control Removal Skill to break free. He then swung Magic Breaker at the Elementalist once more. However, Alluring Summer had prepared for this, taking half a step back. Since she had stopped Shadowtooth a second beforehand, he had lost his momentum. As a result, Magic Breaker''s speed had decreased significantly, giving Alluring Summer enough time to retreat and barely avoid the short sword. "Amazing!" When Lifeless Thorn, who stood in the distance, saw this, he was astounded by Alluring Summer''s control over the battlefield. Alluring Summer waved her staff after dodging Shadowtooth''s attack. Suddenly, numerous blue, basketball-sized Lightning Balls appeared around the Elementalist. A moment later, all 30-plus Lightning Balls bombarded Shadowtooth from multiple different directions. The Assassin had no choice but to retreat temporarily. But as if the Lightning balls had locked on to him, they moved towards his blind spots. In the end, even a Domain Realm expert like Shadowtooth was forced to activate Wind Steps, utilizing the moment of invulnerability to retreat. Why does Zero Wing have so many experts? Nine Dragons Emperor was stunned. He had never expected Zero Wing to have more people capable of forcing Shadowtooth back. Elsewhere, Cola arrived to help Phoenix Rain, charging at the approaching Bloodhand Yama. Despite this, the man showed no signs of avoiding the Guardian Knight. Instead, he raised his shield and increased his speed. One was a Shield Warrior, while the other was a Guardian Knight. Both players had high HP and Defense. Neither of them was afraid of a head-on collision. Boom! When the two shields collided, a powerful shockwave shook their surroundings, causing nearby players to shudder involuntarily. Bloodhand Yama, who had been unstoppable thus far, had taken a step back. In contrast, Cola actually remained steady. The difference between their Strengths was obvious at a glance. "Is this for real?! Someone actually stopped Bloodhand Yama?!" The various superpowers watching the fight with their Magic Mirrors were shocked by Cola''s Strength. None could believe that someone had stopped the famous Bloodhand Yama. Bloodhand Yama was famous for his violence in the virtual gaming world. He had always been a Shield Warrior and pursued brute strength. Unlike ordinary MTs, Bloodhand Yama focused on Strength when allocating his Free Attribute Points and selecting weapons and equipment. Moreover, in addition to his shield and double-headed axe, his chest piece, helmet, and gloves were Epic rank. The man didn''t bother to hide his gear''s glow effects. Yet, despite such excellent gear, he had lost a battle of Strength. It was simply inconceivable! 1492 Dragon Slayers Power Chapter 1492 - Dragon Slayer''s Power After getting repulsed by Cola, Bloodhand Yama did not evince even the slightest bit of anger or frustration. On the contrary, he licked his lips and revealed an excited expression. Immediately after, he raised his shield and charged at Cola again. This time, however, he did not go for a frontal assault. Instead, just when Bloodhand Yama was about to clash with Cola, he suddenly changed his footwork, generating an afterimage in his original location as he circled around and avoided Cola''s charge, leaving the Guardian Knight to hit only air. Immediate after, Bloodhand Yama appeared on Cola''s right, the double-headed axe in his hand striking down at Cola''s side-abdomen, which was not protected by the Guardian Knight''s shield, with lightning speed. Dang! Following which, a crisp clang resounded in the surroundings. Dazzling sparks flew as well. At the critical moment, Cola had managed to shift his body sufficiently to allow his one-handed sword to block Bloodhand Yama''s attack. Meanwhile, as a result of this clash, Bloodhand Yama staggered back a step. Bloodhand Yama''s Doppelganger Slash actually got blocked? Phoenix Rain, who had initially been preparing to help Cola, could not help but be surprised by this scene. Just how much strength is Zero Wing hiding? She originally thought she had a very clear understanding of Cola''s strength. Meanwhile, as far as she knew, Cola was definitely not strong enough to go up against Bloodhand Yama, even though he was the lead MT of Zero Wing''s main force and possessed quite respectable Basic Attributes. However, with the facts placed before her, she had no choice but to admit that her understanding was inadequate. In reality, Phoenix Rain wasn''t the only person surprised by this outcome; the Flower of Seven Sins members and Nine Dragons Emperor were similarly shocked. Right now, two of their most powerful members were actually stopped. Moreover, Bloodhand Yama''s distraction gave Phoenix Rain and the others an opportunity to focus on dealing with the other members of the Flower of Seven Sins. Only Shi Feng found this outcome to be natural. After all, Cola and Alluring Summer had both obtained the Dragon Slayer Legacy. The Dragon Slayer Legacy was a relatively special Legacy. Unlike other Legacies, it did not provide players with any elaborate Skills or Spells. However, it was a Legacy that was upgradable. If the Legacy were fully upgraded, it would not be the slightest bit inferior to a Peak Legacy. The reason for this was the Dragon Power players received when obtaining the Dragon Slayer Legacy. The denser the Dragon Power inside a player''s body was, the greater the power they would be able to exhibit. Legends had it that the power of the strongest Dragon Slayer in history surpassed even that of Dragons. Now that Cola and Alluring Summer had become Dragon Slayers, their Life Ratings were superior to that of Tier 2 players. Hence, their Basic Attributes, physiques, and reaction speeds were not something players of the same level and tier could compare to. These Attributes would only become increasingly stronger as Cola and Alluring Summer obtained more Dragon Origin Crystals. At that time, their Life Ratings would be able to reach the same level as Dragons. In God''s Domain, Dragons were the symbol of death and destruction. If players could achieve a Life Rating equal to Dragons, one could just imagine how strong they could become. They could easily overwhelm even players that had Demonized. Meanwhile, on Thunder Island, which prevented players from using Berserk Skills, Cola''s and Alluring Summer''s Basic Attributes were most likely inferior to only Shi Feng''s own. As for their physiques, theirs were even slightly superior to his own. This was the reason Shi Feng had tasked the two of them with opening up a path for the team. In terms of techniques, Bloodhand Yama and Shadowtooth indeed possessed an overwhelming advantage over Cola and Alluring Summer. However, the difference in tiers and the power of the Dragon Slayer class were more than enough to offset the difference in techniques and allow Cola and Alluring Summer to just barely surpass the two Domain Realm experts. With Bloodhand Yama tied down, Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix were able to coordinate their attacks with each other and relentlessly reduce the member count of the Flower of Seven Sins. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Phoenix Rain''s team broke out of the encirclement. "Dragon Pavilion Master, Zero Wing has really hidden a lot of its power. With Phoenix Rain''s capabilities, I''m afraid it''ll take only another minute or two for her team to escape the encirclement," Undead said, chuckling as he looked at the distant Flower of Seven Sins members fighting. "Are you really sure you don''t need my help?" Hearing Undead''s words, Nine Dragons Emperor gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! As long as you can pin down Phoenix Rain''s team here, I''ll give that item to you!" Although he had managed to invite Bloody Paradise to aid him, getting Undead to personally take action was a whole other story. However, with the situation having reached this point, he couldn''t care less about paying the additional cost right now. If he failed to get rid of Phoenix Rain in this favorable terrain, doing so would become much more difficult afterwards. "Thanks a lot," Undead said, smiling faintly. He then started pacing slowly towards the battlefield. Upon Undead''s entry into the battlefield, the Bloody Paradise members suddenly underwent a change. As if they had entered into a frenzy, they disregarded all costs to open up a path for Undead. As for Undead himself, he chanted an incantation as he walked forward. Suddenly, a pitch-black magic array appeared in the sky, enveloping half of the battlefield. The ambient Mana then began surging towards the magic array, forming numerous pitch-black spears. Tier 1 Curse, Dark Feathers! "Disappear!" Undead swung down his staff. Suddenly, several hundred pitch-black spears descended from the skies. As if they possessed a life of their own, these pitch-black spears all struck at the defensive blind spots of the enemy players. Each spear carried the power of a Tier 1 Peak attack. Even MTs with high Defense and Magic Resistance lost over 6,000 HP when struck. As for the other classes, they received over -10,000 damage from each spear. In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black spears killed over a dozen players, who failed to defend themselves properly. Even Solitary Nine, who possessed the Titan Guard, could not repulse every spear sent at him and ended up getting struck eight times. If not for him activating Titan''s Heart, his HP would''ve long since ended up at a critical level. "Who is that man?" Cleansing Whistle''s expression darkened considerably when she stared at Undead. She felt that Undead was simply too terrifying. After all, the man had actually managed to control hundreds of pitch-black spears simultaneously, making the spears move as if they were alive. Fortunately, she stood quite a distance from Undead and got struck by only three spears. Had she been any closer to the Elementalist, she might''ve lost her life already. So this is the 11th ranking expert on the God''s Domain Experts List? Gentle Snow''s expression turned grim as she looked at Undead moving slowly in her direction. With her Basic Attributes and combat standards, she would be able to handle a dozen or so of those pitch-black spears simultaneously at most. If she had to go up against more than a hundred of those spears, however, she would most likely have to activate the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor''s Active Skill, Sky God''s Glory, in order to survive. Not to mention, Undead had only used one Spell thus far, yet he had already wreaked so much devastation. If they allowed the Elementalist to continue casting Spells freely, the consequences would definitely be unimaginable. Phoenix Rain, who was currently fending off the Flower of Seven Sins members, also wore a grim expression when she saw Undead entering the battlefield. Undead was nicknamed the Devil''s Hand. The man was capable of exhibiting any Spell or Skill to its fullest potential. Moreover, his ability to control the situation of a battlefield was peerless. He was most suited to group battles. Individually, he was also much stronger than old monsters like Bloodhand Yama and Shadowtooth. It was precisely because of Undead that even Ku Rong, the Great Pavilion Master of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, feared Bloody Paradise greatly. "Rain, stop your futile resistance and just obediently accept your fate!" Nine Dragons Emperor said mockingly when he saw the tides of the battle turning in his favor. He was fully aware of just how powerful Undead was. Even Martial Dragon, who had grasped a Domain, could survive against Undead for only a short time. Moreover, both sides were currently intermingled, making it impossible for anyone to use large-scale destruction Spells without resulting in friendly fire. In such a situation, Undead, an Elementalist capable of freely controlling his Spells, was practically a godlike existence. "Guild Leader, should I head over there?" Aqua Rose suggested. At the moment, she was going up against more than three Refinement Realm experts simultaneously. However, seeing Undead and Bloody Paradise''s members getting out of control, she decided it was more important to deal with them first. "No need. Your Spells have too much AOE. They''re not suitable for this narrow and chaotic battlefield. I''ll deal with him," Shi Feng said, shaking his head before dashing towards Undead. 1493 One-on-Two Chapter 1493 - One-on-Two On the chaotic battlefield, although Bloody Paradise''s members numbered only around 60, the presence of Undead elevated the overall strength of the team by a significant margin. The reason for this was Undead''s ability to aid his allies during their time of need. At the same time, he was also capable of creating gaps for these allies to strike at their opponents. He was like the overlord of the battlefield, and even Shi Feng could not help but feel admiration for Undead''s capabilities. Undead could not only achieve absolute control over the battlefield with his Spells but also freely manipulate his enemies on the battlefield. It was precisely because of this talent of his that the Secret Pavilion had nicknamed him the Devil''s Hand. When Shi Feng entered within 60 yards of Undead, over twenty Fireballs and Ice Spears suddenly flew at him. To Shi Feng, however, attacks of this degree did not even warrant him blocking them. Making a slight change to his footwork, he easily maneuvered his way out of the attack trajectory of these Spells. While he was swiftly making his way towards Undead, three sword lights suddenly cut at him. Not only were these three slashes angled so that they sealed off Shi Feng''s path of advancement, but they also prevented him from evading them, leaving him with no choice but to receive them with his swords. Dang! Dang! Dang! Shi Feng promptly blocked the three slashes before they could even get within five yards of him. Immediately after, the shadow of a figure descended from the sky. At the same time, a towering pillar of flames also descended directly towards Shi Feng. Flame Slash! However, Shi Feng, who was capable of pushing his five senses to their very limits, had long since noticed this attack. Twisting his body, he executed an upward Chop, sending three black arcs of light to counter the descending Flame Slash. Boom! When the intense flames collided with the three converging slashes of Shi Feng''s Chop, a powerful shockwave spread to the surroundings. As the shockwave spread, it also repulsed the descending figure, which landed roughly six yards away from Shi Feng. "Is there a need for the almighty commander of the War Dragon Legion to make such petty little moves?" Shi Feng glanced at the figure before him. This figure belonged to none other than Martial Dragon, the commander of the War Dragon Legion. He was also Nine Dragons Emperor''s most trusted aide. At this moment, Martial Dragon wielded a silver greatsword engraved with crimson runes and wore silvery-gray battle armor. He had also reached Level 49 already and was not one bit inferior when compared to Phoenix Rain. Moreover, if one paid close attention to Martial Dragon''s body, they would notice that the number of Epic Equipment he possessed was not one bit inferior to Bloodhand Yama''s. Notably, the greatsword Martial Dragon wielded, which was named Silver Snow, was the 17th ranking sword among God''s Domain''s 36 Famed Swords. At the same time, it was also Martial Dragon''s trademark in Shi Feng''s previous life. Despite Silver Snow being ranked only slightly higher than Killing Ray, due to it being a two-handed sword, it possessed significantly more power than Killing Ray. "As expected of Zero Wing''s Honorary Elder. You''ve managed to block my attack even under such circumstances." Martial Dragon was not the slightest bit agitated by Shi Feng''s mocking words. On the contrary, he laughed and said, "However, with me here, nobody will be able to approach Undead." If anybody else spoke these words, they would definitely be laughed at for their foolishness. However, when Martial Dragon said them, nobody on the battlefield felt anything wrong with them. Since Martial Dragon was a Domain Realm expert of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, no player or power dared to look down on him. "Then, you''ll have to be able to stop me first." Saying so, Shi Feng executed Void Steps and disappeared from everyone''s vision. Undead''s presence was like a Berserk Potion. If he did not stop the man now, the damage that Undead and Bloody Paradise''s members could cause would be no laughing matter. Originally, Shi Feng had thought to use a Silencing Skill. However, the uniqueness of the battlefield on Thunder Island did not just prevent players from using Berserk Skills. Silencing Skills were similarly ineffective on Thunder Island. Hence, he had no choice but to personally take action now. "Don''t even think of getting past me so easily!" At the same time as Shi Feng disappeared, Martial Dragon''s greatsword seemingly extended itself as a silver beam of light shot out from the weapon and landed at a location roughly ten yards away from Martial Dragon. When the beam struck, it left behind a deep gash on the ground. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had also suddenly appeared before this gash. Sure enough, Void Steps is utterly useless against Domain Realm experts. Sending a glance at Martial Dragon, who remained standing in his original position, Shi Feng decided to give up on dealing with Undead first. Domain Realm experts were capable of not only pushing their five senses to their very limits but also observing their surroundings from a third person''s perspective. Void Steps was footwork specifically meant to trick the opponent''s sense of sight only. Hence, fooling Martial Dragon with Void Steps was simply impossible. The only reason Shi Feng had even tried executing the footwork was in the hopes that it would delay Martial Dragon''s reaction by even a moment. Now, however, it would seem that Void Steps was incapable of doing even that. "What? Giving up already?" Martial Dragon chuckled as he looked at his motionless opponent. In response, Shi Feng simply continued silently observing Martial Dragon. Compared to the fact that Martial Dragon was a Domain Realm expert, Shi Feng was more wary of the greatsword in the Berserker''s hands. As one of the 36 Famed Swords of God''s Domain, Silver Snow possessed special hidden effects, just like the Abyssal Blade did. While the Abyssal Blade could gather the surrounding Mana around its user, Silver Snow could extend the range of its attacks. Of course, this extension was not without limits. However, it still gave Martial Dragon a maximum attack range of 15 yards. Although this hidden effect could be maintained for only extremely short intervals, it was already more than enough for an expert player. When experts fought, they would always gauge their opponent''s attack range before going in for an attack. If the other side could suddenly extend their attack range, one could just imagine the effect it would have on a battle. Meanwhile, being able to extend his attack range up to 15 yards allowed Martial Dragon to cover more ground in his defense. This was also the reason why the Berserker had spoken such boastful words earlier. Moreover, this attack extension was still not the most powerful aspect of Silver Snow, which instead lay in its ability to execute two-stage attacks. The Famed Sword was capable of saving up to ten cuts made before for 15 seconds. Any enemy that came into contact with these cuts would receive damage. This was also the only Skill Silver Snow possessed, Broken Mark. Aside from Broken Mark, Silver Snow possessed no other Skills. Meanwhile, it was also precisely due to this Skill that Silver Snow ranked 17th among God''s Domain''s 36 Famed Swords. In other words, Martial Dragon could set up invisible traps anywhere within 15 yards of himself. Hence, not only did Shi Feng need to be careful of Martial Dragon''s attacks while fighting, but he also needed to avoid stepping anywhere the Berserker had cut before. "Since you''re not coming, I''ll head over to you instead!" Martial Dragon had no intention of dragging out this fight. Upon seeing his opponent remaining unresponsive, he immediately activated Charge on Shi Feng. At this moment, Undead, who was slowly making his way towards Phoenix Rain, also took notice of Shi Feng. He immediately began chanting incantations, summoning an Ice Wall to help Martial Dragon block off Shi Feng''s path of retreat and at the same time sending a Tier 1 Flame Barrage at Shi Feng''s defensive blind spot. Both Martial Dragon and Undead were Domain Realm experts, and both were capable of clearly perceiving every one of Shi Feng''s movements. Hence, when facing the attacks of these two experts, Shi Feng would have no choice but to receive their attacks, as dodging was simply impossible. How despicable! Those two actually have the gall to work together! When Gentle Snow saw Martial Dragon and Undead ganging up on Shi Feng, she wanted to move in and help Shi Feng. However, Blood Dragon and two other Refinement Realm experts had her thoroughly pinned down. As for Shi Feng, his two opponents were similarly extraordinary players capable of going up against a Great Lord of the same level. Despite Shi Feng having the advantage in Basic Attributes, if he was not careful when dealing with their attacks, they would kill him very easily. Just when Martial Dragon''s Silver Snow and Undead''s barrage of fireballs were about to descend on Shi Feng, Shi Feng tightened his grip on his two swords and executed Sword''s Orbit. Suddenly, the Ice Wall behind him and the sword lights and fireballs before him were all shattered by Sword''s Orbit. "What powerful Attributes!" Undead was slightly surprised when he saw his Ice Wall shattered. Very quickly, however, he switched his attack method and executed triple-casting. Smiling faintly, he said, "Let''s see how you deal with this move!" Suddenly, several magic arrays appeared around Shi Feng. From the ground, an Earthen Spike emerged. From the sky, a Lightning Strike descended. From his surroundings, numerous Ice Spears stabbed at Shi Feng simultaneously. Meanwhile, Martial Dragon also did not hold back as he executed the Berserker class''s strongest Tier 1 Skill, Indiscriminate Slash. Suddenly, numerous streaks of silver light interweaved, forming a wall that pushed towards Shi Feng. This overwhelming attack pattern made the scalps of everyone present on the battlefield tingle. Just when these attacks were about to land on Shi Feng, however, Shi Feng abruptly stabbed Killing Ray into the ground. Summon Lightning! Suddenly, arcs of lightning spread out to Shi Feng''s surroundings, instantly obliterating the attacks of Undead and Martial Dragon. "What a powerful Skill!" Martial Dragon was somewhat surprised by this outcome. He had never thought that Shi Feng would possess a Skill capable of wiping out other Skills. Nevertheless, he laughed in the next moment and said, "However, I''m sure you can use this Skill of yours only once." He and Undead were capable of executing their coordinated attack again after a short Cooldown. They could even switch the Skills and Spells they used and execute other attack patterns. They did not need to rely on powerful Skills like Shi Feng did to defend and attack. "While it is indeed true that I can only use this Skill once within a certain period of time, if the two of you can''t coordinate with each other again, then it doesn''t really matter," Shi Feng retorted, smiling calmly. He then activated Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash. 1494 One-hit Kill Chapter 1494 - One-hit Kill The instant Shi Feng activated his Skills, the doppelganger created from Phantom Kill immediately activated Wind Blade and made its way towards Undead, while the sixteen Abyssal Blade phantoms summoned by Nine Dragons Slash shot towards Martial Dragon, giving the two no opportunities to react at all. Domain Realm experts were already difficult opponents to deal with, in the first place. With Martial Dragon and Undead now working together, dodging their combination attacks was simply impossible. Undead''s Spells, in particular, accurately targeted the weaknesses in Shi Feng''s defenses. After including Martial Dragon''s assistance, the combined assault had already exceeded Sword''s Orbit''s defensive capabilities. Hence, the only thing Shi Feng could do now was have his doppelganger distract Undead while using ranged attacks to deal with Martial Dragon, who was fond of melee combat. "A doppelganger?" Undead simply smiled when he saw Shi Feng''s doppelganger moving towards him. Immediately, he started triple-casting again. Earthen Spear! Ice Blast! Flame Imprint! All three Spells were Tier 1 Spells. Earthen Spear was meant to limit the target''s movements, Ice Blast served as a frontal attack and inflicted a Movement Speed debuff, and Flame Imprint was an aerial attack aimed at the target''s defensive blind spot. Under Undead''s control, the combination of the three Spells became an ultimate move that would kill Undead''s target with almost absolute certainty. Meanwhile, players usually needed to personally control their doppelgangers. If the player did not devote full concentration to controlling their doppelgangers, said doppelgangers would not exhibit their full potential. Moreover, doppelgangers normally had weaker Basic Attributes than the main body. Hence, in Undead''s opinion, it was simply a joke for Shi Feng to send his doppelganger at him. Elsewhere, the sixteen Abyssal Blade phantoms were like nonexistent when going up against Martial Dragon. Despite Shi Feng executing Sword''s Orbit with the sword phantoms, Martial Dragon managed to evade the attacks sent at him while maintaining a fixed distance from Shi Feng, keeping Shi Feng within the attack range of his Silver Snow. "Do you really think you can kill Undead with just a doppelganger? You''ll just get yourself killed even quicker by splitting your attention!" Noticing Shi Feng''s attention wavering slightly, Martial Dragon took advantage of this opportunity to advance abruptly. Suddenly, Martial Dragon disappeared from where he stood, the ground that the Berserker had been standing on shattering from the thrust of his feet. In the next moment, twelve doppelgangers of Martial Dragon formed around Shi Feng, all twelve of them stabbing their greatswords at the surrounded Swordsman. Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Dragontooth! If Shi Feng were currently going up against an ordinary expert, even if he split his attention between himself and his doppelganger, he would not have any problems dealing with the said expert. However, his opponent right now was Martial Dragon. Splitting his attention right now resulted in him exposing even more weak points. Dragontooth?! Shi Feng was surprised. He never thought that Martial Dragon had actually learned the Berserker class''s Dragontooth Skill. Dragontooth was the fastest Tier 1 Skill for Berserkers. Moreover, every attack dealt by the Skill carried double the Strength of the user. If this Skill struck Shi Feng, the consequences would be unimaginable. "Die!" Martial Dragon shouted. If Shi Feng had been going all-out, with his superior Attributes, he could easily dodge the majority of Martial Dragon''s attacks. However, doing so was much more difficult now that he was splitting his attention between himself and his doppelganger. Just when the twelve attacks were about to land on him, Shi Feng instinctively activated Defensive Blade. In the next moment, the twelve streaks of silver light rapidly approaching Shi Feng stopped abruptly an inch away from his body. However, Martial Dragon had long since anticipated this move. He promptly leaped high up into the air before slamming his greatsword downwards, his entire person seemingly having transformed into a meteor as he plunged towards Shi Feng. Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Falling Star! This move was the sole Tier 1 AOE Skill available to Berserkers. Although the Skill had a modest radius of only 10 yards, any enemy within that 10-yard radius would be dealt a devastating blow. Moreover, all players struck would have their Movement Speed reduced by 80% and reaction speed, by 50%. After Falling Star descended, the ground Shi Feng stood on immediately cratered. The surrounding players shuddered involuntarily as they looked at the fiery and smoky pit. "So strong!" Lifeless Thorn, who was fighting a short distance away, was indescribably shocked when he saw this scene. Martial Dragon had completed his two-pronged attack so quickly and smoothly that it looked as if it was just one, big attack to Lifeless Thorn. There was no lag in between the two attacks whatsoever. "Rain, now that Zero Wing''s Ye Feng has been killed, I want to see just how long you will continue struggling!" Nine Dragons Emperor sneered when he saw Shi Feng disappearing completely. In Phoenix Rain''s team, Ye Feng was undoubtedly the strongest player. He was also one of the few players capable of going up against Martial Dragon. Now that Ye Feng had already been killed, Phoenix Rain''s team would have a hard time stopping Martial Dragon. However, as soon as Nine Dragons Emperor was done speaking, Shi Feng''s doppelganger, whose HP had previously fallen to a critical level from Undead''s relentless attacks, suddenly recovered back to full HP. How is this possible? Did he switch places with his doppelganger? Undead was slightly confused when he saw Shi Feng''s doppelganger recovering back to full HP. However, he very quickly realized what had happened. He immediately swung his staff and summoned an Ice Wall to block Shi Feng, then smiled and said, "Although you managed to find your way over, you are simply throwing your life away. Without your Lifesaving Skill, how are you going to block this move of mine?" As Undead said so, a pitch-black magic array formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Pitch-black barriers then emerged from it. In the next moment, these barriers began twisting and constricting the space Shi Feng was in. This move was not a Spell Undead had learned. Rather, it was an Additional Skill, Dark Illumination, of Hell King''s Eye, the staff he wielded. When activated, the Skill would freeze the space around the targeted area, preventing players caught within its range from moving. Afterwards, the frozen space would be obliterated. Although the Skill''s AOE was not particularly large, it was much stronger than ordinary large-scale destruction Spells. "Turn to dust!" Undead tapped the butt of his staff on the ground. Boom! Suddenly, the space Shi Feng was in shattered like a mirror. "Why bother?" Martial Dragon sighed when he looked at the shattered space. Although he had not sensed Shi Feng switching positions with his doppelganger, a frontal confrontation with an Elementalist like Undead was pure suicide. Even Martial Dragon himself did not dare to approach Undead in a fight. The reason for this was because the closer the range, the shorter the distance Undead''s Spells needed to travel. With Undead''s perfect control over his Spells, even Martial Dragon would find himself overwhelmed if he stood within 10 yards of the Elementalist. After the space around Shi Feng was utterly obliterated, just as Undead turned his focus towards Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer, a playful voice suddenly entered his ears. "That''s it?" Undead whirled back to look at Shi Feng''s original location, a grim expression suddenly appearing on his face. At this moment, Shi Feng could still be seen actually standing in the shattered space. Moreover, he was entirely unscathed. Even his HP remained at 100%. "How is this possible? Is it invulnerability?" Undead''s gaze turned serious as he studied the faint, golden barrier enveloping Shi Feng''s body. Invulnerability Skills with long durations were exceedingly rare in God''s Domain. Even the various Super Guilds had only a few people with such Skills. He had never thought that Shi Feng would actually have one. "That''s right," Shi Feng said, laughing. He then moved straight towards Undead. Although Undead tried to cast a Spell to stop Shi Feng, the latter had already disappeared from where he stood. Then, Shi Feng popped up right in front of Undead. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! Although Undead reacted rapidly and had immediately used Blink to distance himself from Shi Feng, the moment before he disappeared, a blue flash cut across his body. In the next moment, Undead''s body appeared at a location 15 yards away. At this time, however, a flower of blood had already bloomed on Undead''s chest. As for Undead himself, he was like a puppet that had its strings cut, his body collapsing powerlessly to the ground. "So fast!" "Commander?!" "How is this possible?!" The members of Bloody Paradise were stupefied when they saw Undead''s HP bottoming out. 1495 Twelve Firmaments Chapter 1495 - Twelve Firmaments Without Instant Strike, Shi Feng would definitely have a hard time killing Domain Realm experts. This was especially true on a chaotic battlefield where he couldn''t use any of his Berserk Skills. With the support of expert healers, his enemy could easily retreat and recover if he didn''t finish the enemy off quickly enough. In the end, they would fight an endless battle of attrition. This wasn''t the outcome Shi Feng wanted. His team lost members with each passing second; in a drawn-out battle, he would lose. Meanwhile, Instant Strike had a limited range and a very long Cooldown. With how far apart Martial Dragon and Undead stood from each other, Shi Feng could only use the Skill to finish one of them off. Between the two Domain Realm experts, Shi Feng had decided to deal with Undead, who posed the greatest threat to his team. In fact, he had sent his doppelganger to harass Undead precisely to set up an opportunity to use Instant Strike against the Elementalist. However, Undead was quite intelligent. The Elementalist had maintained a certain distance from his doppelganger, attacking from his maximum range. However, when Undead had assumed Shi Feng had died, he had relaxed, giving Shi Feng the opportunity he needed. Even so, he had nearly allowed Undead to get away. Fortunately, he had triggered Killing Ray''s Lightning effect, increasing his initial Attack Speed to 50% of the maximum. When Undead collapsed, Bloody Paradise''s members were dumbfounded. Undead was the adventurer team''s pillar of strength. Now that this pillar had fallen, the remaining members had lost their will to fight. All that was left was horror. They were especially afraid of that Swordsman''s frightening strike. Before they had realized what was happening, their commander had lost his life. Although Undead was only an Elementalist, he had more than 30,000 HP. Yet, Shi Feng had devoured every hit point in one hit. In other words, this Swordsman could instant-kill any cloth-armor class on the battlefield. He could even take out MTs with high HP and Defense in two or three hits How is he so fast?! Nine Dragons Emperor, who watched proudly from a distance, wore a grim expression as he watched Shi Feng. Most of the experts on the battlefield might not have understood what had just happened, but he had caught a glimpse. The instant Shi Feng had appeared before Undead, the latter had activated Blink to escape, yet not even the Skill''s instantaneous activation could take full effect before Shi Feng completed his slash. This godlike Attack Speed was simply unheard of. If he allowed Shi Feng to get close to him Nine Dragons Emperor felt a chill crawl down his spine. "This is the commander''s true strength?" "How strong is he?! Not even such a powerful Elementalist could escape the commander after activating Blink!" Solitary Nine and the other Asura members were shocked when they saw Shi Feng''s enemies afraid, keeping their distance from the Swordsman. Asura''s members dreamed of achieving such a feat. However, while everyone watched Shi Feng in shock, Nine Dragons Emperor finally made his move. A dark-gray longbow, engraved with magical patterns, appeared in his left hand. The Mana around Nine Dragons Emperor surged towards the weapon. At the same time, Nine Dragons Emperor retrieved an arrow covered in magical, crimson patterns from his bag. The magic patterns on the longbow and arrow seemed similar. It was obvious that they were a part of a set. "Pavilion Master?!" Martial Dragon was surprised as he watched his Pavilion Master pull out the weapon and ammo. The longbow in Nine Dragons Emperor''s hand was called Star Shatterer, a very special Magic Weapon. When used with its paired arrow, the longbow would gain the Additional Skill, Twelve Firmaments. When activated, the Skill would launch twelve attacks simultaneously, each of which had enough power to wound a Grand Lord of the same level. Moreover, the twelve attacks were impossible to dodge. The attacks would even break through invulnerability. It was an ultimate move that could only be used once every ten hours. Not even the Great Pavilion Master knew about Nine Dragons Emperor''s Star Shatterer. He had initially planned to save this trump card for Thunder Island''s powerful Guardian Bosses. Martial Dragon had never expected the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master to use the longbow against Shi Feng. "Die!" Nine Dragons Emperor pulled back Star Shatterer''s bowstring, stretching the weapon into a full circle. He aimed for Shi Feng, who stood nearly 100 yards away, before activating Twelve Firmaments. The Ranger class already had the longest attack range of all of the various ranged classes. However, even after reaching Tier 1, Rangers only had a maximum attack range of 52 yards, yet Twelve Firmaments could double that range, locking onto targets up to 104 yards away. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Suddenly, the crimson arrow Nine Dragons Emperor had knocked split into twelve streaks of dark-blue light that flew towards Shi Feng. As these arrows moved, they tore through space as if tearing through paper, leaving one spatial rip after another in their wake. After killing Undead, Shi Feng had planned to take advantage of the shock to take down a few more enemies around him, but when he caught sight of Nine Dragons Emperor''s longbow from the corner of his eye, a chill crawled down his spine. Star Shatterer had been incredibly famous in his previous life. The longbow ranked 28th on the Magic Weapon Ranking List in God''s Domain. In the hands of a Tier 2 player, the weapon would even injure a Mythic monster of the same level. Only, Shi Feng hadn''t realized that Nine Dragons Emperor had obtained Star Shatterer so early in the game. Upon seeing the twelve arrows flying from Nine Dragons Emperor''s longbow, Shi Feng instinctively activated Void Shield, a protective barrier capable of absorbing damage equal to ten times his maximum HP. He then executed Sword''s Orbit to deflect the incoming arrows. Once the attack had locked on, Twelve Firmaments would follow him wherever he went; he had no choice but to take the attacks head-on. Fortunately, Instant Strike was still in effect. Immediately, a galaxy of stars formed around him, clashing with the twelve streaks of dark-blue light. Boom! Boom! Boom! Each attack pushed Shi Feng several yards back. By the time he blocked the twelfth attack, he was 60 yards from where he has started, and his Void Shield had shattered. Shi Feng''s HP fell like there was no tomorrow. 90%... 70%... 50%... When he eventually stopped sliding backward, his HP bar stabilized. He''s not dead?! How is that possible?! Nine Dragons Emperor flashed Shi Feng an incredulous look. He simply could not believe that his attack, which could even wound a Grand Lord, had failed to kill Shi Feng. Moreover, although Shi Feng looked fairly miserable, even sporting a cut on his cheek from the pressure of the attack, he still had over 20% of his HP. The Twelve Firmaments is really no joke. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he glanced down at his numb hands. If not for his Strength, which even exceeded a Great Lord''s of the same level, Void Shield, and sufficient reaction speed that attack would''ve taken his life. "Everyone, pay attention! Miracle''s forces are heading this way! If we can hold out for a little while longer, victory will be ours!" Nine Dragons Emperor declared. "Anyone who kills Phoenix Rain will receive a piece of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment! I''ll also reward anybody who kills Ye Feng 1,000 Magic Crystals and a piece of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment!" Nine Dragons Emperor hadn''t thought that he''d encounter anyone who could threaten his life, but after watching Shi Feng take Undead''s, he no longer felt safe. If he did not get rid of Shi Feng now, and the man''s Skills finished their Cooldowns, the consequences would be unimaginable. He had to prioritize the Swordsman''s death, forcing him to lose a level and a piece of equipment. If an expert of Shi Feng''s caliber lost a piece of equipment that he was particularly compatible with, his combat power would plummet. Only then would Nine Dragons Emperor''s mind be at peace. Of course, killing Shi Feng multiple times would be the best outcome. "Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment?!" "All hail the Pavilion Master!" Hearing Nine Dragons Emperor''s announcement, many of the players on his team turned towards Shi Feng, eager to earn the rewards. When Phoenix Rain''s team members heard the declaration, they were confused. They weren''t surprised by the bounty on Phoenix Rain''s head, but he had also placed an even higher bounty on Shi Feng''s. The Phoenix Pavilion members didn''t understand why Nine Dragons Emperor would prioritize the Swordsman''s death over Phoenix Rain''s. However, what truly made Phoenix Rain''s team members despair was the news that Miracle''s members had almost reached the battlefield, coming to assist their enemy. He''s already colluded with Miracle? Shi Feng felt pressed for time as he watched his enemies'' morale recover. He shifted his gaze towards Bloodhand Yama and the other Flower of Seven Sins'' members. It seems that I can''t afford to hold back any longer! As Shi Feng made his way towards Bloodhand Yama, he activated Divine Steps to nullify the incoming attacks from the enemy experts around him. Both of his hands were still numb, and the best he could do was maintain his grip on his weapons, much less deflect an attack. A moment later, Shi Feng reached Phoenix Rain''s section of the battlefield. He stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground and activated the evolved Abyssal Curse. 1496 One Move, One Kill Chapter 1496 - One Move, One Kill As Abyssal Curse activated, a large, pitch-black magic array appeared beneath the Flower of Seven Sins'' members. Black fog rose from the array, tangling around the expert players and restricting their movements. Moreover, they received a debuff that reduced their Basic Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Although the Flower of Seven Sins members had reacted very quickly and immediately activated their Control Removal Skills, breaking free of the fog, the 20% reduction to their Basic Attributes decreased their combat power significantly. The Flower of Seven Sins'' MTs, in particular, watched their HPs drain as they tried to protect their DPS experts. Even with the support of numerous healers, their HP bars steadily fell. Even Bloodhand Yama, who had been overwhelming Cola, found himself on the defensive. What a powerful Control Skill! Phoenix Rain shot Shi Feng a glance after seeing the assassin group''s combat power decrease drastically. She had never thought that Shi Feng still had such a trump card. In one move, Shi Feng had turned the tide of battle. In reality, he hadn''t wanted to reveal this move. Abyssal Curse would work wonders in a large battle where players couldn''t use tools, Berserker Skills, or Silencing Skills, but there were many superpowers fighting for control of Thunder Island. The designated contest area wasn''t particularly large, so it was easy for the different powers to encounter each other. Meanwhile, Abyssal Curse had a 20-minute Cooldown. If his team met another superpower during the Cooldown, he''d have one less trump card. When Nine Dragons Emperor saw the results of Shi Feng''s attack, his expression darkened. The Flower of Seven Sins members already had a numerical disadvantage against the Phoenix Pavilion''s team. They had to rely on their MTs and healers to hold on. Now that their Basic Attributes had decreased, they would have a much harder time holding back Phoenix Rain and her people. "Martial, take some men to help Bloodhand! Do not let Phoenix Rain''s group break free of the encirclement!" Nine Dragons Emperor commanded. Thanks to Shi Feng''s move, the Flower of Seven Sins suffered one casualty after another. At this rate, Phoenix Rain''s team would escape in less than a minute. If that happened, it''d become much harder to take her team down. "Understood!" Upon receiving his orders, Martial Dragon led 30-plus melee players, who still had a fair amount of their HP, to the Flower of Seven Sins'' corner of the battlefield. Although Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru tried their best to stop Martial Dragon when they tried to move across the field, Martial Dragon easily evaded the Skills and Spells sent his way. When he couldn''t dodge an attack, he blocked it with a casual swing of his greatsword. The healers in the rear quickly replenished any HP he lost. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain''s team put everything they had into assaulting the Flower of Seven Sins'' members, who were on the defense, hoping to break free of the battlefield as quickly as possible. "Don''t even dream of getting past us!" When Bloodhand Yama saw that less than 30 players remained on his team, he gritted his teeth and activated the Tier 1 Taboo Skill for Shield Warriors, Iron Fortress. Suddenly, with Bloodhand Yama in the center, a silver glow enveloped all of his teammates within a 30-yard radius. The affected players instantly received a buff that decreased incoming damage by 30% and increased their maximum HP by 15%. As for Bloodhand Yama, he received a buff that decreased incoming damage by 40% while increasing his maximum HP by 20%. Both buffs had a 12-minute duration. Not only did Iron Fortress alleviate some of the pressure on the healers, but the affected players'' HPs also began to increase despite the bombardment they received. "Good! As expected of Bloodhand Yama!" Nine Dragons Emperor, who helped Martial Dragon open a path, rejoiced when he saw the Flower of Seven Sins'' members recover. Suddenly, a shadow appeared before Bloodhand Yama''s teammates. A scorching streak of light then sliced through the flank of a Level 47 Guardian Knight. Although the Guardian Knight had sensed the incoming attack, he hadn''t been able to respond quickly enough. Peng! The Level 47 Guardian Knight, who had more than half of his HP remaining, lost every point instantly, shock coloring his features as he stared at the figure before him. The figure was none other than Shi Feng. After a few seconds of rest, his hands had recovered, and the allied healers had restored his HP. Before the Guardian Knight had hit the ground, Shi Feng appeared before a Level 48 Berserker. Although the Berserker tried to hack at the Swordsman with his battle axe, Shi Feng easily blocked the weapon with the Abyssal Blade. Killing Ray, which radiated a scorching heat, mercilessly pierced the Berserker''s heart, Flame Burst''s power turning the player into a pile of smoldering ash instantly. Shi Feng then attacked a nearby Shield Warrior. By the time Shi Feng used all 15 attack counts, he had killed eight Flower of Seven Sins members, instantly reducing the organization''s survivors to 19 The players nearby gasped at the scene. Even the weakest Flower of Seven Sins member present was a Refinement Realm expert. In a first-rate Guild, these experts would easily rank among the best, yet before Shi Feng, they seemed as if they were made of paper. "Ye Feng!" Bloodhand Yama glared at Shi Feng with bloodshot eyes as he watched the man tear through his teammates. Immediately, he shook off Cola and charged at Shi Feng. Before he reached the Swordsman, he leaped into the air and swung his double-headed axe down at Shi Feng''s head. Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Lightning Blast! In the next moment, a lightning bolt descended from the sky and struck Bloodhand Yama''s one-handed axe, enhancing its power and speed tremendously. Despite that, Shi Feng casually swung Killing Ray to deflect the attack. Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Blade! Boom! When Killing Ray clashed with the double-headed axe, brilliant sparks flew from the weapons. The ground beneath Shi Feng''s feet cracked and sunk, extending ten yards away from the Swordsman. "He blocked it?!" "Is he even human?! That''s the commander''s strongest move!" The Flower of Seven Sins members were stupefied. Not only did Lightning Blast increase its user''s Strength by 330% and Attack Speed by 300% for one attack, but it also dealt additional lightning damage. Not even an expert of the same level could block the attack, not to mention dodge it. Yet Shi Feng had blocked Bloodhand Yama''s Lightning Blast, and he had only lost around one-fifth of his HP in doing so How?! Bloodhand Yama stared at Shi Feng with a dumbfounded look. He had executed his attack with absolute perfection. Not even a Domain Realm expert should be able to block the attack in time, dying instantly, yet Shi Feng had kept up with his speed. When Lightning Blast''s effects dissipated, something even more shocking happened. Bloodhand Yama collapsed to the ground, his HP mysteriously decreasing at an astonishing rate What was happening? Everyone was stupefied. Bloodhand Yama had attacked Shi Feng, but he had died instead of the Swordsman? "What just happened?" The nearby crowd was confused. "Big Sis Rain, did you see what Ye Feng did just now? Why did Bloodhand Yama die instead of him?" Blue Phoenix asked. "Bloodhand Yama had focused on killing Ye Feng, but he failed to realize that Ye Feng aimed for his life as well. Although Ye Feng lost the exchange, Bloodhand Yama lost his life," Phoenix Rain explained in a daze. Once she fully processed what had happened, she took a deep breath as she exclaimed, "He really is a madman!" Phoenix Rain found it truly hard to imagine that, despite blocking a full-powered attack from an expert like Bloodhand Yama, Shi Feng had the gall to launch a simultaneous attack at the Shield Warrior''s blind spot. Had Shi Feng made the slightest miscalculation, he might have fallen alongside Bloodhand Yama. 1497 Heroic Stand Chapter 1497 - Heroic Stand When Bloodhand Yama had died, silence had blanketed the battlefield. The Flower of Seven Sins'' members had nothing but fear in their eyes as they looked at Shi Feng. Suddenly, the Flower of Seven Sins members scattered, fleeing from Shi Feng in all directions as none of them dared to stand in the Swordsman''s way. "What amazing reaction speed!" "Bloodhand Yama died, just like that?" "Just what did Ye Feng do?" Meanwhile, the various spectating superpowers were stunned. Their peak experts, in particular, watched Shi Feng with grim expressions. Bloodhand Yama had been incredibly fast, yet not only had Shi Feng kept up with the man despite swinging his blade a moment after Bloodhand Yama began his attack, but he had also had the attention to spare while defending himself to use Shadow Blades against the Shield Warrior, catching him off guard. It would''ve been fine if the counterattack had simply caught Bloodhand Yama off guard. What truly shocked the various peak experts was that Shi Feng had killed Bloodhand Yama instantly, despite the Shield Warrior having activated Iron Fortress and having two-thirds of his HP remaining. Iron Fortress reduced the damage that Bloodhand Yama took by 40% and increased his maximum HP by 20%. In addition, the Shield Warrior class had other Passive Skills that reduced incoming damage by a large margin. With Bloodhand Yama''s remaining 30,000-plus HP, not even a Berserker of the same level should be able to kill him instantly, yet Shi Feng had done just that. The watching experts wondered what would have happened if they had stood in Bloodhand Yama''s place. Would they be able to survive? Or Shi Feng''s blades claim their lives as well? What everyone didn''t know was that, although the counterattack seemed reckless, Shi Feng had calculated the whole encounter. Tier 2 players had a much stronger physique than Tier 2 players. Furthermore, Shi Feng had multiple Fragmented Legendary items. There was also the fact that he had reduced Bloodhand Yama''s Basic Attributes with Abyssal Curse. Moreover, Bloodhand Yama was a Strength-focused Shield Warrior. To Shi Feng, who had the Strength and speed of a Great Lord of the same level, defending against and killing Bloodhand Yama was no trouble. Shi Feng didn''t bother to chase after the fleeing Flower of Seven Sins'' members. Instead, he picked up the plate-armor cuisses Bloodhand Yama had dropped. Although the cuisses weren''t Epic rank, they were Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment. The piece could easily fetch a few hundred Gold on the market. After collecting up his loot, Shi Feng turned and dashed towards Martial Dragon. Although no one stood in their path of retreat now, they''d still sustain heavy casualties if they allowed Martial Dragon and his people to pursue and attack. As the battle drug on, Phoenix Rain''s team had less than half of its original 200 or so members. In contrast, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team still had over 200 players. The gap in both side''s strength continued to grow. If they did not stop Martial Dragon, he''d cripple their team, even if they escaped in the end. "Don''t even think of getting away so easily!" At this point, Nine Dragons Emperor knew that he couldn''t stop Phoenix Rain''s team from retreating. Immediately, he moved to work alongside Martial Dragon, slaughtering the fleeing players. However, rather than dealing with the moderately skilled players, Martial Dragon and Nine Dragons Emperor targeted Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru. Suddenly, numerous arrows rained down on Gentle Snow, cutting off her path of retreat. At the same time, Martial Dragon leaped into the air, arriving beside the female Berserker. He then ruthlessly brandished his greatsword at the Snow Goddess. Tier 1 Skill, Flaming Cross Slash! As the raging flames approached Gentle Snow, several blue lightning bolts surged towards her from a short distance away, striking down Martial Dragon''s Flaming Cross Slash. "Ye Feng?!" As his attack was nullified, Martial Dragon turned towards the lightning''s origin. He had previously thought that he could easily take on Shi Feng, but he had learned that he''d have to keep his guard up against the Swordsman. The man had already proven his strength when he had killed Undead and Bloodhand Yama. If he wasn''t careful, the Swordsman might take his life as well. When Gentle Snow noticed that Martial Dragon had been distracted, she breathed a sigh of relief and promptly retreated. "Everyone, stop fighting and flee!" Shi Feng shouted when he saw his allies fighting desperately. "I''ll bring up the rear!" "How bold! Do you really think you can stop us all by yourself?!" A cold gleam flashed in Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes as he glared at Shi Feng. Although he acknowledged that Shi Feng was quite powerful, the man would be fooling himself if he thought he could stop more than 200 experts by himself. Nine Dragons Emperor and his teammates stopped holding back as they bombarded Phoenix Rain''s team with their strongest attacks. However, when the Spells and Skills were midway through their course, a powerful ripple radiated from the center of the battlefield. Chilling Field! When the ripple collided with the enemies'' Spells and Skills, they shattered instantly. In addition, Nine Dragons Emperor and his people, who stood within Chilling Field''s range, grew cold as their Attributes and Movement Speeds swiftly decreased. Suddenly, icicles bombarded the melee players chasing after Phoenix Rain''s team. Although these melee players tried to defend themselves, the icicles were far more powerful than they had imagined. Each icicle carried as much Strength as a Great Lord. Tier 1 players had no way of blocking the attacks. Nine Dragons Emperor''s people were forced out of Chilling Field''s effective area. Suddenly, Phoenix Rain''s team stood on one side of a massive divide, while Nine Dragons Emperor''s people stood on the other. Even an expert like Martial Dragon could only stand within Chilling Field''s range for a short moment before he, too, was forced out. This isa Domain Skill? How does he have one? Nine Dragons Emperor''s watched the frost-covered battlefield with a dark expression. In God''s Domain, large-scale destruction Spells were undoubtedly the strongest in pure power, but these Spells didn''t differentiate between friend and foe. Normally, they were only effective in battles that consisted of tens of thousands of players. Domain Skills followed closely behind large-scale destruction Spells. Domain Skills combined both offense and defense. Not only could they suppress one''s enemies, but they were also effective against specific targets. However, players normally had to reach Tier 3 before they would find Domain Skills. The watching players outside of Thunder Island were stupefied. "Is this a joke?! He actually stopped Nine Dragons Emperor''s team by himself!" "Just who is this Ye Feng?" For a time, everyone talked about Shi Feng. First, he had killed Undead, who had the nickname the ''Devil''s Hand.'' Then he had killed Bloodhand Yama, one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' representative experts. Now, he stopped 200-plus experts by himself. This was simply inconceivable. None of the 200-plus players fighting for Nine Dragons Emperor were ordinary experts. This small force was more than capable of annihilating an army of several thousand elite players, yet they were helpless against Shi Feng. All they could do was watch as Phoenix Rain''s team moved farther and farther out of their grasp. 1498 Capturing Ancient Towers Chapter 1498 - Capturing Ancient Towers "Damn it!" Nine Dragons Emperor''s glare was frosty as he watched Phoenix Rain''s team pull away from his own. Arranging this ambush to eliminate Phoenix Rain had taken a lot of effort, yet Shi Feng had ruined his plans. With Shi Feng maintaining Chilling Field in the narrow valley''s center, his team couldn''t pursue Phoenix Rain. Even if they launched ranged attacks, Shi Feng would have no trouble dodging them with his speed and techniques. He didn''t have the option of using a large-scale destruction Spell either. Shi Feng could easily pull away from the caster while the Spell activated. In addition, Nine Dragons Emperor had already used Twelve Firmaments, his strongest trump card. He would not be able to use it again for the next ten hours. After time passed, Shi Feng took a look at his system map. When he noticed that Phoenix Rain and the others were far enough away, he turned and sped away from the battlefield, no longer worried about distracting Nine Dragons Emperor and his people. "Pavilion Master, should we give chase?" Martial Dragon asked after watching Shi Feng depart. Although Phoenix Rain''s team had escaped, Shadowtooth had placed a marker on Alluring Summer during their previous fight. Hence, it was entirely possible to chase after Phoenix Rain''s team. "No need. They''ve gotten lucky this time. You and Shadowtooth will go and occupy the ancient tower. Once we group up with Miracle''s team, we''ll have plenty of opportunities to deal with Phoenix Rain," Nine Dragons Emperor calmly stated as he shifted his gaze to the nearby ancient tower. The main goal in this contest was to occupy Thunder Island''s various monster encampments. However, there were a limited number of encampments on the island. With so many superpowers participating in the contest, he''d be putting the cart before the horse if he chased after Phoenix Rain. Moreover, not only had Phoenix Rain lost the chance to capture the ancient towers as a result of this battle, but her team had sustained heavy damages. After such a painful setback, Phoenix Rain would have a very difficult time turning things around. Although this outcome wasn''t what he had planned, he had achieved part of his goal. "Understood!" Martial Dragon took one last look at Shi Feng''s retreating figure before containing his killing intent. He then led a 20-man team towards the ancient tower on the side of a nearby hill. Meanwhile, the various watching superpowers had gained a new understanding of Phoenix Rain''s team. This was especially true for Zero Wing''s Ye Feng. Although it had only been a moment, Shi Feng had held back over 200 experts by himself. Even the superpowers'' Domain Realm experts would struggle to replicate the feat. "Ye Feng is really unlucky. Had he joined a superpower instead of a small Guild like Zero Wing, his future would''ve been limitless." "Send someone to investigate Ye Feng. I want to know his background." "Nine Dragons Emperor is ruthless. Although Phoenix Rain still has her core combatants, over 70% of the island''s ancient towers have already been captured. She''ll have no choice but to wait until the next contest." After the battle between Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor''s teams, the various superpowers returned their attention to capturing ancient towers and raiding monster encampments. While some teams pitied the Phoenix Pavilion Master, some celebrated her misfortune. The first few minutes were the most important in the contest. Thunder Island''s ancient towers were easily defensible. Once players captured an ancient tower, other players would have a challenging time trying to steal it. Without dispatching a force that was several times stronger than the defenders, the ancient towers were impossible to take. Hence, the participating superpowers'' final achievements were usually decided during the first few minutes. Moreover, among the various superpowers, Phoenix Rain''s overall combat power ranked the weakest. After all, unlike the other superpowers, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had split its forces. After Phoenix Rain and her companions escaped, they searched for an unoccupied ancient tower while waiting for their dead teammates to resurrect. Finally, after ten minutes or so of searching, one of the scouting Assassins found an unclaimed tower at the edge of a bay. Phoenix Rain immediately led her team to capture it. The team spent around ten minutes clearing out the dozen or so Level 55, Lord ranked Savage Orcs before they captured the ancient tower. "Big Sis Rain, I''ve just received news from our men outside of Thunder Island. All 39 ancient towers have been captured. I''m afraid we''ve lost our chance to secure a second tower," Blue Phoenix reported helplessly. "What''s the situation on Nine Dragons Emperor''s side?" Phoenix Rain asked, frowning. She hadn''t expected the other superpowers to take action so quickly that she wouldn''t even have the opportunity to capture a second tower. Thunder Island''s monster encampments were no trivial matter. Without tools or Berserk Skills, taking down ordinary Grand Lords of the same level would be extremely difficult, not to mention Thunder Islands'' Grand Lords. The Defense and Magic Resistance a single tower provided wouldn''t likely be enough to help them capture a monster encampment, even if they worked together. They needed the weakening effects of two ancient towers. "With the help of Miracle, Nine Dragons Emperor has captured three ancient towers. His team is already preparing to raid a monster encampment," Blue Phoenix said. She then sent Phoenix Rain a statistics chart and continued, "These are the forces he has guarding the three towers. He''s allocated 102 players in total. Forty-two people are guarding the tower closest to us." "Nine Dragons Emperor isn''t taking any chances." Phoenix Rain revealed a bitter smile as she read the information. She had planned to attack one of Nine Dragons Emperor''s ancient towers after she recovered her forces, but it seemed that was no longer possible. They would have to run for nearly 15 minutes to reach the closest tower. Although only 42 people defended the tower, the party included Blood Dragon, the Branch Guild Leader of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Black Dragon Empire Branch Guild. With the defender''s advantage, her team wouldn''t be able to take the tower unless it attacked with everything it had. If they wanted to attack the second closest ancient tower, they''d need roughly 23 minutes to reach it. Moreover, they''d have to pass by Blood Dragon''s tower during the run. They wouldn''t be able to avoid Nine Dragons Emperor''s detection. He''d easily be able to send reinforcements to the second tower before they reached it. No matter what they did, they wouldn''t be able to steal one of Nine Dragons Emperor''s ancient towers. And taking a tower from another superpower was impossible. All of the other competitors already knew her team''s predicament. Hence, they had intentionally dispatched more manpower to defend the towers close to her team, strengthening their fortifications beyond what Nine Dragons Emperor could manage To put it simply, her team had lost any chance of securing a monster encampment during this contest. As he read the collected information, Shi Feng suddenly commented, "We''re not completely out of options." "We still have a chance?" Phoenix Rain took another look at the report in her hands, but even after reading through it again, she couldn''t find an ancient tower that her team could raid. "What about this tower?" Shi Feng said as he pointed to one of Nine Dragons Emperor''s ancient towers, the farthest from their current location. "That one?" Phoenix Rain had initially been excited to hear that they still had a chance, but after seeing the ancient tower Shi Feng had pointed at, she was speechless. "Although only 25 players are defending that tower, it''ll take us 30 minutes to reach it. By the time we arrive, Nine Dragons Emperor''s reinforcements would''ve beaten us there. We''ll never be able to capture the tower." "No. We won''t just target one tower; we''ll capture two of his ancient towers simultaneously," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shook his head. "Capture two towers?" Phoenix Rain looked at Shi Feng''s grin in confusion. For a moment, she wondered if the man had lost his mind after Nine Dragons Emperor''s provocation. "Big Brother Ye Feng, you know the advantages players get after capturing a tower. Not only will allies near the towers receive a buff to their Basic Attributes, but they''ll also receive a damage reduction buff. With our current combat power, we''ll be fortunate to capture one tower. We just don''t have the power to capture two at once," Blue Phoenix stated as she pointed at the magic barrier around each of the ancient towers. "How will we know if we don''t try?" Shi Feng said, chuckling. To accomplish the contest''s objectives, one had to have a lot of team members. At this stage of the game, it was likely that no one understood Thunder Island''s contest better than he did. Furthermore, he had a strategic tool to capture the ancient towers. He had wanted to avoid using it, but since Nine Dragons Emperor had ruined his plans, he didn''t mind teaching the man the cost of doing so. 1499 Siege Tactic Chapter 1499 - Siege Tactic After listening to Shi Feng''s proposal, Phoenix Rain fell silent for some time. Trying to capture two ancient towers simultaneously was pushing the envelope with their current team. If they failed, their team''s overall combat power would decrease once again, and capturing a tower later would become even more difficult. However, without three ancient towers, they had no guarantee of capturing a monster encampment. For a moment, Phoenix Rain was wrought with indecision. "If we don''t make a move soon, it''ll be even more difficult to capture an encampment," Shi Feng reminded her when he saw the hesitation in Phoenix Rain''s eyes. Like the ancient towers, there were a limited number of monster encampments on Thunder Island. There were only 17 encampments in this contest. Now that the various superpowers had occupied the ancient towers, the encampments would be their next target. If they remained idle, doing nothing and allowing the other superpowers to capture and occupy the encampments, they''d lose any chance they currently had. Once a team captured a monster encampment, NPCs would manifest to help the players defend it, making it many times more difficult to raid than an ancient tower. "Alright. I''ll pass you the team''s leadership. I''ll do everything I can to assist you," Phoenix Rain said, gritting her teeth. In the end, she decided to gamble on her fate. Moreover, she was curious about how Shi Feng planned to wrestle control of two ancient towers from Nine Dragons Emperor. When Phoenix Rain agreed, Shi Feng began to prepare. Any team that secured an ancient tower on Thunder Island would receive a stackable buff that decreased monsters'' Defense and Magic Resistance in the encampments when attacked. At the same time, allies within 100 yards of the captured tower would receive an extra buff that increased their Basic Attributes and reduced incoming damage by 30%. Hence, defending players were very difficult to deal with. In addition, every team in the contest had allies outside the island to help them keep track of enemies'' movements. If an enemy team showed any intention of attacking a particular tower, the team would bolster its defense and dispatch reinforcements. This made it even more difficult to steal an occupied ancient tower. Fortunately, these hurdles were nothing to Shi Feng. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, you''ll lead 80 players to assault Nine Dragon Emperor''s nearest ancient tower. Try to avoid fighting within 100 yards of the tower. You just need to keep the defenders busy. I''ll lead a team of 100 to circle the tower and ambush the tower in the forest. The remaining 40 players will stay here and defend this area. If you''re alright with this plan, we''ll move out right away," Shi Feng said. His teammates were speechless when they heard Shi Feng''s plan. They had assumed that he''d reveal some heaven-defying idea that would allow them to capture both towers at once. But his plan seemed overly simple. "Big Brother Ye Feng, I''m afraid that Nine Dragons Emperor will discover our members too quickly. He''ll almost certainly dispatch reinforcements to the forest tower. Capturing the tower will likely" Blue Phoenix said worriedly. "Relax. Since Nine Dragons Emperor is busy capturing an encampment, he won''t have many players to send if he sends any at all. Stealing the towers won''t be an issue," Shi Feng said. "But" Everyone fell silent. The towers'' terrain advantage was no laughing matter. They couldn''t overcome the hurdle with a small numerical advantage. "Alright, since no one else has any arguments, let''s move out. Time waits for no man." Shi Feng then formed a 100-man team and made his way towards his target. "Big Sis Rain, if we go along with this plan, I''m afraid that" Blue Phoenix said anxiously as she watched Shi Feng depart. "Let''s see what he has in mind for now. If it isn''t possible, we can always join up with his team and concentrate on a single location," Phoenix Rain said, sighing. She had handed Shi Feng authority over the team. She couldn''t reject his plan without trying it. "I understand," Blue Phoenix said after giving the matter some more thought. At this point, they had no choice. Following which, Phoenix Rain led a team of 80 players towards the nearest ancient tower under Nine Dragons Emperor''s control, hoping that her team could cause enough commotion to distract the man and luring as many players as possible. This way, Shi Feng''s side would have a greater chance of succeeding. After Phoenix Rain and Shi Feng''s teams moved out, Nine Dragons Emperor, who was busy raiding a monster encampment, received news of their movements from his scouts outside of Thunder Island. "Phoenix Rain is finally making a move?" Nine Dragons Emperor muttered when he received the report. After reading it, however, he was confused. "What is she trying to do? She dares to split her forces? Does she really think that I won''t notice?" Nine Dragons Emperor wasn''t surprised in the least to learn that Phoenix Rain aimed to capture the ancient towers under his control. After all, among the nearby towers, his were the least fortified. He had done that on purpose. He had 350 players on his team. With the buffs from the three ancient towers, he only needed 100 players to capture a monster encampment, leaving the remaining 250 to defend the towers. He had only left 102 players to defend them to give Phoenix Rain the illusion of hope. Once she took his bait, he''d send the remaining 148 players to form a pincer attack, eliminating Phoenix Rain from the contest. However, he had never imagined that she''d split her forces, thinning her already low combat power. "Pavilion Master, shall I lead a team to the towers?" Martial Dragon suggested. "No. Let''s wait for now. Contact Miracle and tell them to get ready. Once Ye Feng''s team reached the other tower, you''ll meet up with Miracle''s forces to surround them. I refuse to believe they can get away this time!" Nine Dragons Emperor growled, sneering. "Understood." Martial Dragon nodded. He then contacted Miracle''s upper echelons. Time passed quickly. While Phoenix Rain''s team tried to attract Nine Dragons Emperor''s forces to the first tower, Shi Feng''s team inched closer to the tower hidden in the forest. "Ye Feng, Nine Dragons Emperor has dispatched a force to your tower! Some of Miracle''s members are heading your way as well! Overall, 300 players are marching towards the forest tower! They should reach the tower in roughly five minutes! You need to get out of there!" Phoenix Rain warned the Swordsman, her anxiety written all over her face. Even if they fought in the forest, Nine Dragons Emperor and Miracle''s over 300p players could easily annihilate Shi Feng''s 100-man team. "Nine Dragons Emperor''s done sitting still, huh?" Shi Feng responded, revealing a calm smile. "Guild Leader, you''re still in the mood to smile? We''re talking about 300-plus experts. If it comes down to a fight, we''ll suffer heavy losses even with a few Tier 2 players," Aqua Rose said, flabbergasted when she saw Shi Feng''s calm. "Since Nine Dragons Emperor is finally taking us seriously, we should do the same," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then activated the Aura of Space''s second Activatable Skill, Spatial Gate. His destination was none other than the farthest ancient tower under Nine Dragons Emperor''s control. It was also the tower with only 25 players defending it. "Everyone, get in the gate. It''s time we teach Nine Dragons Emperor the price of targeting us." While tools were prohibited during the contest, weapons and equipment''s Teleportation Skills were not. Hence, he could freely teleport around Thunder Island. In fact, he could even teleport off of the island. Unfortunately, he''d need a new Thunder Pass to reenter if he did so. Seeing the Spatial Gate, realization struck Aqua Rose and the others. Since tools were prohibited, players had to rely on their own capabilities to travel around Thunder Island. A Skill like Teleportation Gate was godly in this contest. Upon Shi Feng''s command, the 100-man team entered the Teleportation Gate. In the next moment, they appeared before an ancient tower on the edge of a cliff. When the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion members defending the tower saw Shi Feng''s team, they were stupefied. "Crap! We''re being ambushed! Quickly notify the Pavilion Master!" a Level 47 Ranger, who reacted very quickly, shouted. However, as the Ranger finished speaking, towering pillars of fire rose up from the ground, enveloping a large fraction of the defending players. The instant the flames touched the players, their bodies fell to ash. This move was none other than Shi Feng''s Flame Domain. When the Flame Domain dissipated, less than 10 of the 25 players remained standing 1500 Unstoppable Ye Feng Chapter 1500 - Unstoppable Ye Feng In one of the monster encampments on Thunder Island The team Nine Dragons Emperor led cleared out the Savage Orcs in the encampment''s outer region. There were far more Orcs in the monster encampments than in the ancient towers. The encampment Nine Dragons Emperor raided easily had over 2,000 Savage Orcs, and they all wore armor and carried both a spear and bow. Walls of stone and wood protected the encampment, and dozens of watchtowers with ballistas were stationed at regular intervals along the walls. Moreover, all of the Orcs were Level 55 and above, and the weakest among them was Chieftain rank. A Level 60 Specialized Grand Lord even stood in the center of the encampment. The quantity and quality of the monsters even forced Nine Dragons Emperor''s expert team to move carefully lest they attract too many monsters at a time. While Nine Dragons Emperor commanded his team to attack a watchtower, a shout suddenly came through the team chat. "Pavilion Master, we''re in trouble! Someone''s ambushed our tower! We need reinforcements!" "An ambush?! Who is it?! How many people do they have?!" Nine Dragons Emperor''s expression darkened. Angrily, he shouted, "Didn''t any of the scouts warn of the attack?!" To guarantee the safety of his towers, he had tasked over a dozen people outside of Thunder Island to scout for movement around the towers. Yet, despite his scouts, his least defended tower had been ambushed. He wanted nothing more than to crack open his scout''s heads to see what occupied their empty skulls. "Pavilion Master, the team appeared suddenly. Ye Feng is the team''s leader. We''re outnumbered. We can''t hold on for much longer." "Ye Feng?! How?! Wasn''t his team heading for the forest tower?!" Nine Dragons Emperor''s expression was dubious when he heard the news. However, he saw the truth of it when he watched the live-stream that his subordinate had sent. Before Nine Dragons Emperor could say more, Shi Feng appeared before the reporting Ranger, the Swordsman''s two blades easily slitting the Ranger''s neck. Although the Ranger had unsheathed a short sword to defend himself, Shi Feng was simply too fast. The Ranger had been struck numerous times before he could even raise his short sword. Following which, the live-stream disconnected and the screen faded to black. It was obvious that Shi Feng had killed the reporting Ranger "How did Ye Feng get all the way over there?" Questions plagued Nine Dragons Emperor''s mind as he stared at the dark screen. He had recently sent Martial Dragon to surround Shi Feng at the forest tower, yet the Swordsman had appeared at the cliff tower, over ten minutes away, a few minutes later. This sudden development was inconceivable. However, the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master quickly snapped out of his daze, realizing the severity of the matter. Hurriedly, he contacted Martial Dragon and commanded, "Martial, head to the cliff tower immediately!" "Why? Weren''t we supposed to surround Ye Feng''s team?" Martial Dragon asked. "Don''t ask! Just hurry over there! Ye Feng is leading an assault on that tower! The defenders there won''t hold on much longer!" Urgency and anxiety tore at Nine Dragons Emperor. He had only stationed 25 players at the cliff tower. Shi Feng could easily capture it with 50 to 60 players. "Understood." When Martial Dragon saw Nine Dragons Emperor''s panic, he realized the severity of the matter. He immediately commanded his team to change course for the cliff tower. However, a few seconds after Martial Dragon gave the command, everyone on Nine Dragons Emperor''s team lost one stack of their tower buffs, leaving them with only two. Nine Dragons Emperor''s expression twisted in rage. The thread of hope he had clung onto had been destroyed. What Nine Dragons Emperor did not know was that, among the 25 players defending the ancient tower, Shi Feng''s Flame Domain had killed over 15 instantly. Meanwhile, Shi Feng led a 100-man team. Even if the defenders had the 30% buff to their Basic Attributes and damage reduction, they were outnumbered. Furthermore, Shi Feng had multiple Tier 2 players on his side. Even with the buff, the tower defenders'' Basic Attributes were nothing compared to Shi Feng and his companions''. "Ye Feng!" Nine Dragons Emperor bellowed as the live-stream replayed in his mind. He knew every trump card Phoenix Rain possessed, and none of those trump cards allowed players to cross such a large distance in such a short amount of time. The sudden arrival of Shi Feng''s team had to be the Swordsman''s doing. Without the team''s three tower buffs, it would become extremely difficult to capture a monster encampment. It might even be impossible. Aside from the Specialized Grand Lord in the heart of the encampment, they also had to deal with four ordinary Grand Lords beside it. Without the three stacks of Defense and Magic Resistance weakening, his team couldn''t deal enough damage to the Bosses with their Attributes. "Everyone, listen up! Aside from the players defending the ancient towers, all of you will follow me to the cliff tower!" Nine Dragons Emperor announced after taking in a deep breath. "Martial, notify Miracle''s members and have them gather there as well! I refuse to believe that Ye Feng can face us all!" Although he had lost the ancient tower, he still had the numerical advantage. Even if Shi Feng had over 100 players, he could still recapture the tower. Elsewhere, when Phoenix Rain, who currently distracted Nine Dragons Emperor''s subordinates, saw her tower buff increase by a stack, she was stunned. What?! He actually succeeded?! Phoenix Rain could not believe her eyes when she saw her status window, but when she read the latest update on Nine Dragons Emperor''s movements, her joy fell away. Hurriedly, she warned her companion through the team chat, "Ye Feng, Nine Dragons Emperor is furious. He''s gathering all available manpower to your location. Miracle''s members are heading your way as well. We estimate that around 400 players are moving towards you. You can''t defend the tower. You need to retreat." Although Shi Feng''s achievement delighted her, the difference between the two sides'' strength was massive. She had to admit that little tricks like this were meaningless in the face of absolute power. "It''s fine. Let them come," Shi Feng said, smiling faintly when he read the report. "Right, your side should get ready." This situation might be troublesome if he weren''t on Thunder Island, but players couldn''t achieve victory here with a larger army. "Get ready for what? Is there some way we can help?" Phoenix Rain asked. "No. Prepare to capture your tower," Shi Feng stated indifferently. "This" Phoenix Rain was speechless. The tower before her was defended by 42 players. Moreover, Blood Dragon led the defense. Although she had 80 players, they could never capture the tower before Nine Dragons Emperor''s reinforcements arrived. "Relax. I''ll help you with it," Shi Feng said. "Help us?" Phoenix Rain was stunned. For a moment, she even thought she had heard wrong. Shi Feng had enough issues on his side. How could he help her? Although she found Shi Feng''s words hard to believe, a part of her couldn''t just dismiss them. Of the man''s multiple insane declarations thus far, he had never once failed to carry them out. "When I tell you to attack, strike with everything you''ve got. Leave the rest to me," Shi Feng instructed. "My side still needs to prepare. Try to lure as many people out of the tower as possible in the meantime." Phoenix Rain had no response. There simply wasn''t anything she could say about his simple approach, yet the way Shi Feng had spoken about the plan made it seem as if the decision had been obvious. After a moment of silence, she sighed and said, "I understand. I''ll have my men lure them out." The minutes flew by. While Nine Dragons Emperor and Miracle''s combined team of 400-plus players rushed towards Shi Feng''s ancient tower, he took his sweet time resting. Once Flame Domain''s Cooldown finished, he told Phoenix Rain, "Attack!" Not giving the matter much thought, Phoenix Rain led her 80-man team in a charge against Blood Dragon''s tower. "Phoenix Rain, you are courting death!" When Blood Dragon saw Phoenix Rain''s team dash towards him, he prepared his team for battle. At the same time, he opened a communication window to contact Nine Dragons Emperor. Just as Blood Dragon was about to report this new development, a figure appeared in the sky. The figure was none other than Shi Feng, who had appeared using the Aura of Space''s first Activatable Skill, Space Movement. Before anyone could react, Shi Feng used Flame Domain once again. The towering pillars of fire burned over half of the defending team to death. Only a dozen or so players, who had reacted quickly, escaped the AOE in time. After using Flame Domain, Shi Feng appeared before Blood Dragon. Phantom Kill! Flame Burst! Using Flame Burst alongside his doppelganger, even the skillful Blood Dragon was powerless against Shi Feng. Although Blood Dragon had instinctively activated his Lifesaving Skill, each attack from Flame Burst dealt tens of thousands of damage. In the blink of an eye, Blood Dragon''s corpse sprawled at Shi Feng''s feet. The enemy players were stupefied. Their chain of command descended into chaos. Very quickly, Phoenix Rain''s members annihilated their enemies. When Nine Dragons Emperor and his people were roughly ten minutes from the cliff tower, they noticed that they had lost another tower buff stack. "What is going on? What happened?" Confusion colored Nine Dragons Emperor''s expression as he looked at his status window. "Pavilion Master, Ye Feng appeared and attacked Branch Guild Leader Blood Dragon''s tower a moment ago" one of the scouts outside of Thunder Island cautiously informed him. 1501 Reversal Chapter 1501 - Reversal Nine Dragons Emperor''s expression darkened when he heard the scout''s report. He had wanted to deal a devastating blow to Phoenix Rain and eliminate her from the contest, yet not only had he lost two of his three ancient towers, but his team had also suffered over 60 casualties. If the other superpowers knew this, he''d become a laughingstock. Good! Very good! Killing intent flashed in Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes as he watched a battle video his scout had recorded. Since you want to play, let''s play! I''ll teach you the meaning of digging your own grave! "Pavilion Master, should we send a team to recapture Blood Dragon''s tower?" Martial Dragon asked when he saw the fury on Nine Dragons Emperor''s face. "No! We''ll head to the cliff tower! We''ll reclaim that tower first; then we''ll take care of Phoenix Rain''s team. Tell our resurrected members to gather at the forest tower. I won''t let Ye Feng steal another!" Nine Dragons Emperor commanded. He had to admit that Shi Feng''s Teleportation Skill was heaven-defying on Thunder Island, and the fact that he had a large-scale destruction Spell only complemented his ability to teleport. At the end of the day, however, there was still a massive difference between their teams'' strength. As long as he approached the situation slowly and steadily, Shi Feng wouldn''t have an opportunity to steal another tower. Meanwhile, the various superpowers on Thunder Island were shocked to hear that Nine Dragons Emperor had lost two ancient towers in a row. "What? Nine Dragons Emperor actually lost two of his towers?" "Could this be a ploy to lure Phoenix Rain into a trap?" The contest for Thunder Island had many restrictions. There were also the tower buffs and the scouts outside of the island to consider. Stealing one occupied tower was incredibly difficult, yet Phoenix Rain''s team had stolen two of Nine Dragons Emperor''s towers in a row. When the various superpowers received this news, they wondered about the information''s validity. "Guild Leader, Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing have obtained three ancient towers. They should have no problems securing a monster encampment. Should we contact Phoenix Rain and reopen negotiations?" Quiet Melody suggested to Eternal Dead after receiving the shocking report. "It seems that I''ve really have underestimated them. However, the battle has just begun. Nine Dragons Emperor is no easy opponent, and Miracle''s been poking its nose into the matter. They''ll only qualify to negotiate with us if they can hold a monster encampment until the contest ends," Eternal Dead said, showing his lack of interest with a wave of his hand. Phoenix Rain only controlled a portion of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s combat power, and even the Guild''s combined strength was no match for the Sacred Temple. There was no need to mention Zero Wing. It was merely a Guild that occupied a single kingdom. To the Sacred Temple, Zero Wing was no different than ordinary large Guilds. "They still don''t qualify?" After giving the matter some thought, Quiet Melody agreed with Eternal Dead''s estimation. Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing''s performance was indeed shocking. But that performance only proved that they had potential. Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing had yet to display sufficient value. There was no way that the Sacred Temple and Battle Wolves would treat Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing like potential partners. Only when Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing could survive on Thunder Island would they qualify to negotiate with the two Super Guilds. As the various superpowers watched, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team finally reached the cliff tower, sealing off all paths leading to it. Overall, 400 players surrounded the tower. Not only did the team include Nine Dragons Emperor''s experts, but Miracle''s experts had joined them as well. The leader of Miracle''s team was none other than the Sword Freak, Miracle Dragon. He had already reached Level 49 and wore the Hellfire Set, a six-piece, Level 50, Fine-Gold Set Equipment for Swordsmen. He was eye-catching among the crowd. Level 50, Secret-Silver Set Equipment was incredibly rare in God''s Domain, not to mention Level 50, Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Even Martial Dragon and Shadowtooth gazed at Miracle Dragon''s Hellfire Set in envy. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had yet to secure a complete Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Miracle''s prowess was obvious. Upon these players'' arrival, Gentle Snow and the other who had stayed behind to defend the cliff tower felt a significant pressure. Although the tower increased their Basic Attributes and reduced incoming damage by 30%, they were at an overwhelming numerical disadvantage. They were about to face so many more enemies than they had in the previous ambush. Suddenly, Shi Feng appeared in the top of the tower with Space Movement. As Spatial Gate was still on Cooldown, he couldn''t transport other players to or from the cliff tower. Not only had his return calmed Zero Wing''s nervous members, but it had also caused a stir among Nine Dragons Emperor''s troops. "Ye Feng! You dare to stand before me again?! You might have gotten away last time, but you won''t be so lucky again!" Nine Dragons Emperor bellowed when he saw Shi Feng in the top of the tower. He then commanded, "Everyone, attack!" Hearing the order, all 400-plus team members charged for the ancient tower. Occupying a tower was simple. As long as none of the original occupants were within 100 yards of the tower, control would fall to whichever team was in range. Hence, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team didn''t need to break into the tower. They just needed to eliminate Shi Feng and the other players from Zero Wing. In the seconds before both sides clashed, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Space to the Aura of Illusion. He also equipped the Thunder Emblem. Suddenly, Nine Dragons Emperor and the others felt an indescribable pressure weigh down on them before their Basic Attributes began to decrease rapidly. Very quickly, their Attributes fell from 100 % to 85%. The abrupt change confused Nine Dragons Emperor and his people. "Kill them! Annihilate them all!" Shi Feng commanded as the enemies'' Attributes fell. As long as the Aura of Illusion was active, the ability would reduce all enemies'' Basic Attributes by 40% within a 200-yard radius. However, since players had some resistances to the effect, the decrease was limited. Fortunately, the Thunder Emblem also reduced nearby enemies'' Basic Attributes. Only after combining the abilities was he able to reduce his enemies Basic Attributes by 15%. Normally, this 15% reduction might not offer much of an advantage, but his team also had the ancient towers'' buff. The new difference between the two sides'' Attributes was the equivalent of his players using Berserk Skills against players without. "Damn it! Everyone, move back; get 100 yards away from the tower!" Nine Dragons Emperor urgently commanded through the team chat, his expression darkening when he realized the situation. This had effectively created a 50% difference between his team members'' Attributes and Zero Wing''s. To make matters worse, his enemy already had a few players with monstrously high Basic Attributes. However, Nine Dragons Emperor''s warning was too late as the two sides had already slammed into each other on the battlefield. The difference between the two teams was immediately apparent. Aside from Martial Dragon, Shadowtooth, Undead, Bloodhand Yama, Nine Dragons Emperor, and Miracle Dragon, Zero Wing and Asura''s experts quickly suppressed the enemy players. Even Cleansing Whistle, an expert who had yet to reach the Refinement Realm, could easily overwhelm a Refinement Realm expert of the same level. She could even hold her own against three Refinement Realm experts simultaneously. As for Refinement Realm experts like Lifeless Thorn, they easily killed enemy experts of the same caliber in three to five moves. Aqua Rose, Cola, and Alluring Summer, players who had completed their Tier 2 promotion, finished enemy players off in two moves; one move to break through the enemy''s defenses and a second to deal the finishing blow. It wasn''t a battle; it was a one-sided massacre. At this point, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to Nine Dragons Emperor''s retreating figure. He jumped down from the tower and dashed towards the Ranger. His actions almost immediately attracted Nine Dragons Emperor and his people''s attention. "Crap! He''s trying to kill the Pavilion Master!" 1502 A Momentary Strike Chapter 1502 - A Momentary Strike When Shi Feng joined the chaotic battlefield, he vanished, seeming as if he had never existed in the first place. The abrupt change made everyone on Nine Dragons Emperor''s team nervous. "Elementalists, use Flame Orbs and Ice Walls around the Pavilion Master! Cursemancers, cast Dark Thorns! Druids, use Quagmire! Do not let him near the Pavilion Master!" Martial Dragon shouted when he realized Shi Feng''s intentions. Nine Dragons Emperor was the center of command and the team''s absolute pillar. They could not afford to lose him. Fortunately, many of their experts guarded Nine Dragons Emperor. If they still allowed Shi Feng to assassinate him, they would become the laughingstock of God''s Domain. In addition, this wasn''t the first time he had seen Shi Feng''s Void Steps. Although the footwork technique was sophisticated and unpredictable, it wasn''t impossible to counter. Generally, a concealment footwork technique like Void Steps would lose effect when its user received damage or altered their course, exposing themselves. As long as they bombarded the area around Nine Dragons Emperor with weak, but sustainable attacks, they could prevent Shi Feng from approaching their Pavilion Master without being detected. The Elementalists, Cursemancers, and Druids cast as Martial Dragon had instructed, covering the battlefield in AOE and Control Spells. Sure enough, Shi Feng reappeared. However, the moment Shi Feng reappeared, he shoved off of the ground and shot forward, transforming into a shadowy streak as he maneuvered around the bombardment of Spells and made his way towards his target. Shi Feng already wielded the Strength and speed of a Great Lord of the same level. With the tower''s buff, even a ranged expert would struggle to spot the Swordsman''s afterimages, much less land a Spell or Skill. When Shi Feng was within 50 yards of Nine Dragons Emperor, numerous Spears of Darkness descended from the sky. As if they had a life of their own, these Spears of Darkness thrust themselves at Shi Feng''s flying form while cutting off his path. Undead, huh? Shi Feng glanced at the Elementalist in black robes, who controlled the Spears of Darkness. Faced with these accurate attacks, he was forced to retreat temporarily while he defended himself. As Shi Feng retreated, a black-clad figure appeared behind him. Two streaks of light, one black and one silver, sliced at Shi Feng''s head and back simultaneously. "Die!" Shadowtooth smiled at Shi Feng. Sneak Attack! Assassinate! As Shadowtooth launched his attacks, Martial Dragon fell from above, his greatsword swinging down on Shi Feng''s head and cutting off the man''s chance of escaping upward. Indiscriminate Slash! Broken Mark! As the trio''s attacks were about to land, the Swordsman split into eleven identical copies. Divine Steps! When the attacks struck Shi Feng''s main body, it seemed as if they had hit air. All of their attacks lacked the feeling of encountering a physical object. After activating Divine Steps, Shi Feng promptly switched positions with one of his doppelgangers and appeared beside Shadowtooth. He then brandished Killing Ray against the Assassin. A streak of blue light, followed by nine shadows, struck Shadowtooth, giving the Assassin no time to react. Shadow Blade! At the moment of imminent peril, Shadowtooth activated Wind Steps, instantly nullifying the incoming attacks. At the same time, he thrust Magic Breaker at Shi Feng''s heart. However, when his weapon sunk into Shi Feng''s body, his expression twisted into something ugly. He knew he had failed to hit the Swordsman''s real body, just a doppelganger. Damn it! He tricked me! The moment Shadowtooth realized he had been tricked, he activated Vanish. Suddenly, a blue sword sliced across the Assassin''s previous position, but the only reaction Shi Feng''s attack had earned was a loud clang. Realizing his attack had failed, Shi Feng tightened his grip on the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray before brandishing his blades at his surroundings. One sword light after another cut the air around him, looking like a lotus flower in bloom. Tier 1 Skill, Omnislash! Before the sword lights could spread farther, Martial Dragon''s greatsword transformed into a pillar of fire as the Berserker swung at Shi Feng. Tier 1 Skill, Flaming Cross Slash! Since Shi Feng was in the midst of activating a Skill, the Swordsman had revealed plenty of holes in his defense. He had no way of blocking Martial Dragon''s Flaming Cross Slash. Boom! When Martial Dragon''s Flaming Cross Slash struck Shi Feng, the ground beneath his feet cracked. Shi Feng had forcefully stopped his Omnislash, using his two swords to block Martial Dragon''s attack. What kind of insane reaction speed does he have? Martial Dragon frowned at the unharmed Swordsman before him. His coordination with Shadowtooth and Undead was seamless. While he and Shadowtooth attacked Shi Feng''s main body, Undead bombarded the Swordsman''s ten doppelgangers, preventing Shi Feng from switching positions with any of his clones. The only thing Shi Feng could do was block his Flaming Cross Slash. However, since Shi Feng had been in the midst of activating a Skill, he shouldn''t have been able to react in time. Normally, when players prematuring deactivated a Skill, they''d freeze for a brief moment, yet Shi Feng had protected himself successfully. This was simply inconceivable Moreover, Flaming Cross Slash dealt both physical and fire-type damage. Even if one blocked the attack, they''d still receive a significant amount of damage. Yet, Shi Feng had not taken any damage What Martial Dragon didn''t know was that Shi Feng''s Fire Resistance was even higher than an ordinary player''s after consuming an Advanced Fire Resistance Potion. The additional burn affect when blocking the Skill was useless against Shi Feng.[1] While Martial Dragon momentarily marveled at Shi Feng''s performance, the Sacred Sword in Shi Feng''s hand sliced at the Berserker with lightning speed. Martial Dragon instinctively executed Whirlwind Slash to block the attack. Peng! However, when Martial Dragon''s greatsword met Killing Ray, the resulting impact threw him over a dozen yards, the Berserker''s HP decreasing by a huge chunk. For a moment, Martial Dragon had nearly lost his grip on Silver Snow. Martial Dragon and his companions had realized that their prey possessed heaven-defying Attributes during their prior clash, and they understood that they should avoid facing the Swordsman head-on as much as possible. When they saw Martial Dragon in such a state after blocking one of Shi Feng''s attacks, both Bloodhand Yama and Miracle Dragon wore heavy expressions. By the time they recovered their wits, Shi Feng had activated Wind Blade, dashing straight for Nine Dragons Emperor. Since his Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike, was still on Cooldown, the only way he could kill Nine Dragons Emperor was to deal the final blow face-to-face. "Ye Feng! Don''t even think about getting near me!" Nine Dragons Emperor bellowed. He then pulled several dark-green arrows from his back and fired at Shi Feng. Magic patterns decorated these dark-green arrows, and before they had even been fired, faint arcs of electricity danced around them. These arrows were the product of the Legacy Skill, Magic Mark, which Nine Dragons Emperor had obtained after class-changing into the hidden class, Spell Breaker. The Magic Marked arrows would enhance an attack by one tier to a maximum of Tier 2. If used in tandem with a Tier 1 Skill, he could exert the power of a Tier 2 Skill. Nine Dragons Emperor had wanted to hide the fact that he had a hidden class, but he no longer had that option. In quick succession, Nine Dragons Emperor fired nine Magic Marked arrows. When the arrows left his bow, they transformed into arcs of lightning that flew towards Shi Feng. At the same time, Undead cast Ice Wall and Flame Barrage from a distance, hindering Shi Feng''s movement as much as possible. In response, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Illusion to the Aura of Wind, skyrocketing his Agility and Attack Speed. Instead of retreating, he ran towards the incoming Spells and arrows. Sword''s Orbit! Neither Undead''s Flame Barrage nor Nine Dragons Emperor''s arrows could come close to Shi Feng before they drowned in a galaxy of stars around the Swordsman. Neither experts'' attacks had dealt the slightest damage. In the end, Nine Dragons Emperor could only watch as Shi Feng approached. Despite Nine Dragons Emperor continuous retreat, the distance between him and Shi Feng did not decrease. An unprecedented fear tore at Nine Dragons Emperor''s heart. When he realized that he was almost out of the ancient Tower''s 100-yard range, he revealed an excited expression. Once Shi Feng was out of range of the tower''s buff, the Swordsman would have a much harder time killing him. But the moment Nine Dragons Emperor stepped out of the tower''s buff radius, Shi Feng, who was less than 20 yards from him, received a sudden boost to his Movement Speed. Gale Domain! In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared before Nine Dragons Emperor. The Pavilion Master felt as if time had frozen as he watched the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray cut down his body. Flame Burst! Nine Dragons Emperor then felt burning pain devour his body before his vision darkened, and his consciousness separated from the world. All the players outside of Thunder Island saw was Shi Feng pass by Nine Dragons Emperor. In the next moment, Nine Dragons Emperor transformed into a pile of smoldering ash topped with a piece of equipment. Everyone on the battlefield was stunned into silence; they even forgot the fight around them as they stood there in shock. Nobody would have imagined that, despite so many expert guards, Shi Feng would take Nine Dragons Emperor''s life in an instant 1503 Shocking Thunder Island Chapter 1503 - Shocking Thunder Island After Nine Dragons Emperor died, everyone turned towards Shi Feng with blank looks. Everything had happened too quickly! Only a few short seconds had passed between the moment Shi Feng began his charge to the moment Nine Dragons Emperor had died. Shi Feng''s speed when he had landed the killing blow had been particularly ridiculous. Before any of them had even noticed, Shi Feng had already moved past Nine Dragons Emperor, taking the Ranger''s life. "Ye Feng" Martial Dragon stared at Nine Dragons Emperor''s ashes in a daze. Although he had considered the possibility of Shi Feng killing Nine Dragons Emperor, he had never thought that the Swordsman would achieve the feat so quickly. Just seconds after Shi Feng had broken past his blockade, he had taken the Pavilion Master''s life. Even Undead had failed to save their leader. "Martial, the Pavilion Master is dead! We are no match for Zero Wing while we''re within the tower''s range! We need to retreat!" Shadowtooth shouted when he noticed that Martial Dragon hadn''t moved. Now that Nine Dragons Emperor was dead, the team had fallen into chaos. Even if he and Martial Dragon took command of the battle, the outcome wouldn''t be in their favor with Zero Wing''s absolute advantage in Attributes. Furthermore, Shi Feng was still alive. Shadowtooth didn''t think any of them had the power to contend with the Swordsman while in range of the ancient tower. "Everyone, split up and retreat! We''ll regroup at the forest tower!" Martial Dragon shouted as he shot Shi Feng, who had turned towards him, a glare. Despite the fact that the man wasn''t particularly muscular or tall, he felt as if he were looking at a giant. When Martial Dragon recalled Shi Feng''s last attack, he felt stifled. That final attack had been so fast that he hadn''t had time to react. If he had been on the receiving end of that attack, he doubted that he would''ve fared any better than Nine Dragons Emperor. In the end, he, too, would''ve died. When Martial Dragon gave the command, the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion and Miracle''s members made a hasty and disorderly retreat, making it difficult for Zero Wing''s members to kill them. "Don''t even think of escaping that easily!" However, Shi Feng refused to let such a profitable opportunity get away. After picking up the Level 45 Dark-Gold belt Nine Dragons Emperor had dropped, he dashed towards the retreating crowd. Rather than going after Domain Realm experts like Martial Dragon and Shadowtooth, he opted for the Refinement Realm experts. After all, it was far easier and less time-consuming to kill Refinement Realm experts. The Refinement Realm experts practically died as he reached them. By the time Martial Dragon and the others had made it out of the tower''s 100-yard radius, Shi Feng had killed another dozen or so players. As Martial Dragon and his companions breathed a sigh of relief, a pillar of fire descended from the sky. At the same time, the ground beneath their feet froze solid. A short distance away, a massive tidal wave surged forward, devouring another group of retreating Heavenly Dragon Pavilion members. The devastation looked as if Armageddon had begun. These attacks were the result of none other than Zhao Yueru''s Frostflame Hell and Aqua Rose''s Annihilation Torrent. In seconds, another 100-plus players had died, reducing the 200-plus players that managed to escape the ancient tower''s range by half. "ZeroWing!" Martial Dragon''s heart bled when he saw how few of his teammates remained alive. The damage they had suffered from the assault was simply too massive. Thunder Island didn''t have a special death penalty; players suffered the same fate when they died in the field. Hence, any players that were killed would lose one level and a piece of equipment. Meanwhile, every player the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion had dispatched was an expert. Every piece of equipment they lost would be extremely difficult to replace, and when these players resurrected, they would suffer a significant drop in their combat power. Meanwhile, as the battle ended, the various superpowers on Thunder Island received news of its outcome. "What did you say? Zero Wing defeated an army of over 400 with only 100 players?" "Impossible! How did they manage it?!" "Attribute suppression?" "Zero Wing has such an ability?" For a time, the news of Nine Dragons Emperor''s defeat stunned the various superpowers. Not only had he died as everyone had watched, but the army he had led to reclaim the tower had also suffered grievous losses, losing three-quarters of their forces. In contrast, Zero Wing had only lost around ten or so players. None of the various superpowers could believe it was true. They were fully aware of the ancient towers'' abilities. Although the towers could enhance defending players'' combat power, the effect wasn''t overwhelming enough to help the outnumbered defenders achieve a one-sided slaughter. Meanwhile, the name ''Ye Feng'' spread across Thunder Island. Despite multiple Domain Realm experts standing in his way, this man had single-handedly slain Nine Dragons Emperor. No one had ever achieved this kind of battle record before. Although the result was due to the ancient towers'' buff, that didn''t make it any less terrifying. The various superpowers began to treat Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing with caution. Normally, they could use certain tools to deal with Attribute suppression, but Thunder Island didn''t allow the use of tools. Although the suppression only reduced Attributes by 15%, it was more than enough to make the various superpowers pay attention. Beyond that, Shi Feng had a Skill like Spatial Gate, allowing him to transport a massive number of players across long distances. This was a serious threat to the other competing Guilds. If they lost the ancient towers'' buff, raiding the monster encampments would be impossible. For a time, the various superpowers were forced to strengthen their towers'' defenses due to Zero Wing''s presence. Now, they stationed at least 60 to 70 players in each tower as a precaution. This turn of events dumbfounded the uninvolved spectators outside of Thunder Island. Nobody could have imagined that an inconspicuous Guild like Zero Wing could make the various superpowers nervous. No one would ever believe this. Even Phoenix Rain, Zero Wing''s collaborator, had mixed emotions over the matter. She had never thought that Shi Feng''s borderline insane plan would succeed. "Damn it! Damn it! Zero Wing! I won''t let you all get away with this!" Nine Dragons Emperor, who had just resurrected, bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the forest he was currently in. The Heavenly Dragon Pavilion members were scared into silence. He had spent so much money and resources to hire both the Flower of Seven Sins and Blood Paradise to crush Phoenix Rain, yet all of his efforts were for nothing. At this point, even capturing another ancient tower would be incredibly difficult, not to mention capturing a monster encampment. This was the first time he had suffered so much humiliation. "Good! Very good! Since you won''t let me have my way, I won''t let you claim a single encampment, either!" After Nine Dragons Emperor finished venting his rage, he growled, "Send someone to keep an eye on their three towers! If they try to raid an encampment, we''ll attack their towers! I refuse to believe they can afford to keep so many people at the towers at all times!" "Understood!" Martial Dragon''s eyes shone with realization upon hearing Nine Dragons Emperor''s order. If Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing wished to capture a monster encampment, they needed all three ancient towers under their control, and to capture a monster encampment, they''d have to dispatch at least 130 players. However, Phoenix Rain''s team only had 220 players. If they dispatched 120 players to a monster encampment and left 100 players to defend the towers, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team would have the opportunity it needed to steal back the towers. Even if Shi Feng had a Teleportation Skill, his team could never defend all three towers against the full force of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion''s team unless they gave up on capturing an encampment. If Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing failed to capture an encampment, neither Phoenix Rain nor Nine Dragons Emperor would have an advantage for the Great Pavilion Master''s position. Saying so, Martial Dragon sent his subordinates to survey the three towers under Phoenix Rain''s control. At the same time, he had his team prepare to raid the towers at a moment''s notice. "Big Brother Ye Feng must''ve angered Nine Dragons Emperor beyond reason. He actually has the nerve to do something so shameless." When Blue Phoenix read the report she received from her subordinates, she didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. This was the first time she had seen anyone push Nine Dragons Emperor to this point. He had never even reacted so insanely when facing down other superpowers. Phoenix Rain, who stood beside Blue Phoenix, felt a headache brew over the matter. With Nine Dragons Emperor keeping a close eye on them, they didn''t have the manpower to guard the towers and raid any encampments. She had to admit that, sometimes, having more manpower was a good thing. Even when one wasn''t a match for their opponent, they could afford to employ such shameless tactics to limit their opponent''s options. "Guild Leader, things will be troublesome if this continues. If we keep wasting time with Nine Dragons Emperor, we''ll waste this trip to Thunder Island," Aqua Rose said, frowning as she looked at the arrangement of Nine Dragons Emperor''s forces. "It isn''t going to be easy." Shi Feng didn''t have any helpful ideas, either. "Right, what''s the situation on Blackie''s end?" "They''ve already completed their promotions and are dealing with the Tier 2 promotion procedures in White River City," Aqua Rose said. "They''ve succeeded?" Shi Feng grinned. He then said, "Tell them to form a team of 49 players and gather in Ocean Viewing Town immediately. I''ll head out to fetch them." He had yet to use the Thunder Emblem''s available slots, so he could easily bring another 50 people to the island. 1504 Unfathomable Zero Wing Chapter 1504 - Unfathomable Zero Wing "Have them come over?" Shi Feng''s decision excited Aqua Rose. After all, Blackie and the others were now Tier 2 players. They''d be powerful reinforcements on Thunder Island. However, she quickly realized the problem and commented, "Guild Leader, they''ll need entry slots to enter Thunder Island. Moreover, with how much time we have left, I''m afraid it''ll be too late to do anything by the time they arrive." Even if they had the available slots, it took a considerable amount of time to travel from Ocean Viewing Town to Thunder Island. Even if they used the One-horned Sailboat, the contest would likely be over by the time Blackie and the other arrived. "Relax. I still have a few available slots, and we can use the Spatial Gate to make the trip. Although it will take some time to get here, the contest has just begun. If we hurry, we should have enough time," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Wonderful! If Blackie and the others can make it, they''ll definitely be a great help! We''ll even surprise the other superpowers!" Aqua Rose was ecstatic. She could already imagine what would happen once Blackie and the others arrived. Hurriedly, she contacted Blackie''s group, telling them to set aside their registration at the Adventurer''s Association for now and make their way to Ocean Viewing Town. Meanwhile, Shi Feng called up his system interface and chose to leave the island. As Thunder Island prevented the use of tools, he could only use a Return Scroll after he left. When Shi Feng left the ancient tower, Nine Dragons Emperor''s subordinates, who kept an eye over the situation around Phoenix Rain''s three ancient towers noticed his disappearance. "Pavilion Master, I just received a report stating that Ye Feng suddenly vanished from the cliff tower," Blood Dragon reported. "Vanished? Did you know where he went?" Nine Dragons Emperor demanded as he thought about Shi Feng''s Teleportation Skill. Martial Dragon, Blood Dragon, and Shadowtooth oversaw the three towers'' surveillance. Among the three towers, Blood Dragon kept watch over the cliff tower, which Zero Wing occupied. It was also the tower Nine Dragons Emperor wanted back the most. Nine Dragons Emperor had to admit that Shi Feng''s Teleportation Skill was heaven-defying. The Skill allowed him to transport reinforcements and ambush his enemies at a moment''s notice. It was also how the man had forced him into such a passive state. If he moved recklessly, Shi Feng could ambush and steal his final tower, at which point, he would lose all hope in this competition. "No," Blood Dragon said, shaking his head. "But from the reports we''ve received from our spies in Phoenix Rain''s team, it doesn''t seem like they are executing any sort of operation. Moreover, Phoenix Rain is struggling over her plan to capture a monster encampment." "Since he is acting by himself, ignore him. We just need to keep track of their team''s movements," Nine Dragons Emperor instructed. At the end of the day, they were on Thunder Island. Shi Feng could never raid a monster encampment by himself. As long as they kept an eye on the three ancient towers, the Swordsman''s independent actions wouldn''t change the result. "Pavilion Master, we''ve just received a reply from Miracle. They''ve agreed to merge teams and share their tower buff, but they want half of the temporary teleportation arrays we get from the encampments," Blood Dragon reported. "That greedy old fox! He dares to ask for such a high price?!" Nine Dragons Emperor frowned slightly. Each monster encampment on Thunder Island only provided two temporary teleportation arrays. He just wanted to borrow Miracle''s tower buff, yet the other Guild wanted half of the slots he obtained. "Then, do we" Blood Dragon also felt powerless about the situation. However, it was Nine Dragons Emperor''s decision to make. Had they known they would struggle this much, they would''ve prioritized capturing an encampment before picking a fight with Phoenix Rain. "Fine. Agree to their conditions." As the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master gave the order, he felt as if he had aged by several years. With their team''s current prowess, capturing another ancient tower was impossible. Unfortunately, capturing a monster encampment with only one tower was also impossible. They''d only have a chance in this contest if they could merge with Miracle''s team. That way, they could dispatch some players to raid an encampment while maintaining their surveillance on Phoenix Rain''s towers. Otherwise, he''d have to continue wasting time with the Phoenix Pavilion Master. Although doing so would earn him the same result as Phoenix Rain in this contest, she had Zero Wing''s help. She could definitely obtain a large collection of Thunder Passes for the next contest. Competing with Phoenix Rain would become far more difficult. Hence, he needed to secure at least one encampment and gain as much advantage as he could over the other Pavilion Master, ensure that he''d have some options in the next contest for Thunder Island. "Understood! I''ll lead a team and integrate with theirs." Blood Dragon left the ancient tower and led his team to one of Miracle''s towers. As time passed, the various superpowers began to raid their first monster encampment. There were far fewer encampments on Thunder Island than ancient towers. Only 17 monster encampments were available, yet there were more than six superpowers participating in the contest. Needless to say, every superpower was trying to capture as many monster encampments as possible to achieve a higher rank in the contest. The competition for these encampments was intense. Fortunately, the monster encampments were not that easy to raid, and not all of them were equal. The weaker encampments were only guarded by one Specialized Grand Lord and a few ordinary Grand Lords. Meanwhile, Archaic Species guarded the stronger encampments. Although the tower buffs helped weaken the Bosses'' Defense and Magic Resistance, it did not do anything about their Basic Attributes and Skills. Without tools, even the superpowers'' peak experts would find dealing with Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species difficult. These teams even risked team-wipes. Hence, all of the participants were extremely careful when they took action. "Big Sis Rain, this is bad. Nine Dragons Emperor has just merged with Miracle''s team. He has led a team of 120 experts to an encampment. What should we do?" Blue Phoenix reported anxiously. "What about the players keeping an eye on us?" Phoenix Rain asked somberly. "Now that he has Miracle''s help, he has spared 230 people to watch our towers. One hundred of those players are watching this tower, while the remaining 130 are scouting the cliff tower. They''ll likely attack if they notice the slightest movement on our side," Blue Phoenix said in frustration. If they wanted to raid an encampment, they''d have to dispatch at least 100 players. Otherwise, they''d have almost no chance of succeeding. However, if they dispatched 100 players, they''d only have 120 players to defend the towers. Trying to defend all three towers with so few people would be incredibly difficult. If Miracle sent reinforcements to help Nine Dragons Emperor''s surveillance teams, he might succeed in recapturing at least one of their towers. With only two towers, they could never capture a monster encampment with 100 players. Phoenix Rain could not help her frown. She hadn''t expected Nine Dragons Emperor to resort to a merger. The other superpowers had already begun their raids. As more time passed, the struggle for the monster encampments would grow viciously intense. If her side remained idle, her chances would drastically decrease once the other teams raided their second encampment. After a moment of silence, Phoenix Rain contacted Shi Feng. "Nine Dragons Emperor has merged with Miracle''s team and begun to raid a monster encampment. At this rate, our chances of success will plummet as time passes. Should we try to negotiate with the Sacred Temple or Battle Wolves again?" "Nine Dragons Emperor sure is moving quickly. However, it''s too soon to consider an alliance," Shi Feng said, smiling calmly. "But if we continue to drag our feet, it will become far more difficult to capture an encampment." Phoenix Rain understood Shi Feng''s perspective. If they contacted the Sacred Temple and Battle Wolves now, they''d be at a disadvantage in the negotiations, but if they failed to obtain a single temporary teleportation array, their development in the Sea of Death would slow to a crawl. Even the advantage of their two sailboats would be limited against their competition. "Since that''s the case, let''s prepare to raid an encampment," Shi Feng said. "We''re raiding one now?" Phoenix Rain''s eyes shown with excitement. "Do you have a plan to deal with Nine Dragons Emperor''s team?" "No, I don''t," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "But it shouldn''t be a problem if we increase our manpower?" Phoenix Rain didn''t know how to respond. Naturally, she wanted to increase her team''s manpower, but they needed Thunder Passes to do so. Was she just supposed to magically summon more allies? "Leave the manpower issue to me. First, send 20 of your people to the cliff tower," Shi Feng said, smiling as he brushed off the contemptuous look Phoenix Rain gave him. "Do you really have a way to bring in more people?" Phoenix Rain asked, surprised. Judging by her companion''s serious expression, she knew Shi Feng''s claim hadn''t been a joke. "Mhm, but I need some time to do so," Shi Feng said, nodding. He had already met up with Blackie and the others. They just had to make their way to Thunder Island. "Alright, I''ll send them people to the tower right away." Although Phoenix Rain was excited, she felt as if she were looking at a stranger as she watched Shi Feng on the screen, or rather, Zero Wing as a whole felt foreign. A few months ago, Zero Wing had been nothing more than a fledgling Guilds that had only begun to flourish, yet now the Guild could accomplish feats that were even beyond her capabilities. It was incredible. 1505 Arrival of Powerful Reinforcements Chapter 1505 - Arrival of Powerful Reinforcements Thunder Island, Orc encampment: Level 55 and above Armored Orcs constantly patrolled the encampment, each wielding a spear with a bow slung over their shoulder. There were also four Orcs on lookout in each of the dozens of watchtowers, who also manned the affixed ballistas, ready to assist the patrols at a moment''s notice. "Martial, you and your group will destroy that watchtower. Everyone else, spread out; don''t stand too close to each other! Be careful not to get dragged into the ballistas'' AOEs!" Nine Dragons Emperor commanded as he watched the ballistas fire at his team. The Orcs guarding the encampment had ridiculously high Basic Attributes and combat standards. Even a patrol squad could pull his 120-man team into a bitter battle. The watchtowers'' cover fire was even more of a pain. The ballistas'' fire would kill any player it struck instantly, even MTs with activated Lifesaving Skills. To succeed, the team would have to avoid the ballista attacks at all times. Despite starting this raid over an hour ago, they had yet to clear out the Orcs in the perimeter. "Pavilion Master, Phoenix Rain has dispatched 20 players to the cliff tower. By the looks of it, they seem to be planning something. Should we put some pressure on her team?" Blood Dragon reported. "They''re finally making a move?" Nine Dragons Emperor sneered. "What''s the situation at the cliff tower?" Raiding the monster encampment was already more difficult than he had expected. Even after merging with Miracle''s team and armed with five stacks of the tower buff, they still struggled. Needless to say, Phoenix Rain''s team, which only controlled three towers, would have an even harder time with the encampments. If Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing had dispatched a 100-man team to raid an encampment, he could ambush towers. Moreover, Miracle had offered to send reinforcements if he attempted to steal her towers. With this development, he might be able to take all three towers for himself, rendering all of Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing''s effort useless. "There doesn''t seem to be any movement at the cliff tower so far. However, there is something strange," Blood Dragon said. "Based on our spies'' reports, Zero Wing seems to have found a way to bring in reinforcements. But even now, we don''t know which superpower has agreed to cooperate with their team." "Reinforcements?" Nine Dragons Emperor sneered. "So what if they found reinforcements? If they try to raid an encampment, we''ll ignore the towers and attack their raid team instead. I want to see how they plan to secure a monster encampment with dead players! Tell our scouts to continue watching them for now. Report back if anyone moves." It was incredibly risky to attack an ancient tower. This was especially true if Phoenix Rain''s team had truly found reinforcements. However, ambushing a raid team outside of the towers'' range would be easy. Without the towers'' Attribute buff, taking out Phoenix Rain''s team would be a piece of cake. Even if he failed to annihilate Phoenix Rain''s raid team, getting rid of a few dozen players would be more than enough to destroy Phoenix Rain''s chances of securing a monster encampment. "Understood!" Blood Dragon couldn''t help his grin when he heard this. In fact, he even hoped that Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing had found reinforcements. This way, they could proudly defeat Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing''s team and restore their lost reputation. As the various superpowers frantically raided monster encampments, Phoenix Rain''s anxiety grew as she waited for the reinforcements Shi Feng had mentioned. The other superpowers were also watching the situation carefully. They hadn''t expected Nine Dragons Emperor to be so ruthless. "Phoenix Rain is finished. Not only did Nine Dragons Emperor deal a heavy blow to her team, but he''s also limited her options of taking action. She''ll likely fail to claim a single encampment." "But the situation is strange. I never thought that Miracle would be willing to help Nine Dragons Emperor. What did Phoenix Rain do to provoke the Guild?" "Don''t you know? Phoenix Rain didn''t provoke Miracle, but Zero Wing did. Remember the Dark Arena some time ago? Miracle''s battle team suffered a miserable defeat at Zero Wing''s hands. I''m sure that the Guild wants to teach Zero Wing a lesson and restore its reputation." "Phoenix Rain sure is unlucky. If not for her cooperation with Zero Wing, she might have had a chance to secure a monster encampment. Now that Miracle is helping Nine Dragons Emperor, she has lost all hope." "I know, right?" The various superpowers expressed their sympathy for Phoenix Rain. With the woman''s tenacity, she should''ve been able to claim at least one encampment, but due to Zero Wing, Firmament had stabbed her in the back, and Nine Dragons Emperor allied with Miracle. The events gave the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master an overwhelming advantage. "Big Sis Rain, I''ve just received a report stating that the Sacred Temple, Battle Wolves, Miracle, King''s Return, and Nine Heavens Pavilion have captured their first monster encampments and are preparing to raid their second. If we don''t hurry, it''ll be too late to do anything," Blue Phoenix said anxiously. Based on the information they had gathered, the monster encampments were far more challenging than they had anticipated. Meanwhile, the contest was nearly half over. If they didn''t take action soon, with only three ancient towers under their control, they might not have enough time to capture a monster encampment. Even Nine Dragons Emperor had begun his fight with the final Guardian Boss in his first encampment. "I understand, but we don''t have the power to make a move before the reinforcements arrive," Phoenix Rain said, sighing helplessly. Nine Dragons Emperor had a huge numerical advantage, and he was even willing to give up some of his manpower to station teams on standby to steal their towers. If they tried to raid a monster encampment, she had no doubt that Nine Dragons Emperor would attack without hesitation. Thinking up to this point, Phoenix Rain contacted Shi Feng once more. "Team Leader Ye Feng, what is the situation?" Phoenix Rain asked. "Quite a few Guilds have begun to raid their second encampment." "We''re almost there," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he noticed Phoenix Rain''s anxiety. "Give me another ten minutes, and we''ll have 49 more players." "Forty-nine?" At first, Phoenix Rain celebrated the news of Shi Feng''s return, but her joy faded after hearing Shi Feng''s final statements. Although he was returning with quite a few players, an additional 49 team members wouldn''t change their situation. Even with these 49 players, there was still a massive gap between her manpower and Nine Dragon Emperor''s. "Relax. The people with me are quite powerful," Shi Feng assured Phoenix Rain. "I''ll leave it to you, then." Although Shi Feng had tried to reassure her, Phoenix Rain didn''t have much hope for Shi Feng''s plan, but she was resigned to see it through. If they failed, she''d have no choice but to grit her teeth and negotiate with either the Sacred Temple or Battle Wolves. After Shi Feng disconnected the call, Blackie snickered and said, "Guild Leader, she doesn''t seem to have much confidence in you." "That''s normal. After all, our current situation is problematic," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. "When we arrive, make sure you give it your all." "Rest assured, Guild Leader! Not even capturing two or three encampments will be a problem, let alone the first!" Shadow Sword confidently declared. After entering the Legacy Space, Shadow Sword had pushed through numerous trials and finally reached the Refinement Realm. He was also a Tier 2 player now. He itched to display is newfound prowess. Fire Dance, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, Violet Cloud, Flying Shadow, Rampant Blade, Minor Wind, and Zero Wing''s other core members couldn''t help but laugh. As the team chatted merrily, the One-horned Sailboat finally reached the edge of Thunder Island. The One-horned Sailboat''s reappearance shocked the surrounding players, but Shi Feng ignored the stares as he stored the sailboat and used the Thunder Emblem to teleport the team to Thunder Island. 1506 Sixteen Tier 2 Players Chapter 1506 - Sixteen Tier 2 Players "What''s going on?" "People can still enter Thunder Island?" "Doesn''t that sailboat look like Zero Wing''s?" When the spectating players around Thunder Island saw Shi Feng and his team suddenly disappear, they erupted into conversation. None of them had thought that Zero Wing would have yet another trump card at this stage of the contest. The various superpowers'' scouts outside of the island reported the incident immediately. Nine Dragons Emperor''s scouts, in particular, had recorded the entire process and sent their commander the video. "Pavilion Master, by the looks of it, Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing plan to capture a monster encampment. Should we notify Miracle and have them send some reinforcements?" Blood Dragon asked. "Fifty people?" Nine Dragons Emperor sneered as he watched the recording. "It seems Zero Wing has quite the means to bring in another fifty people at this point. Unfortunately, the contest''s duration is already half over. What can they possibly accomplish with just 50 people? Let''s not contact Miracle lest we scare Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing into inaction. We can make our move once they leave the towers. Just keep an eye on those 50 players." "Understood!" Blood Dragon disconnected the call and reorganized his scouts to look out for the newcomers'' locations. Meanwhile, inside a forest of stone on Thunder Island, Shi Feng led Blackie and the others to the cliff tower. "This is Thunder Island? There are a lot of experts," Fire Dance, who wore crimson leather armor, stated as she observed her surroundings. From her position, she could sense quite a few Assassins hidden around the area. In the past, she might not have discovered the Assassins, but after her Tier 2 promotion, both her physique and her senses had improved significantly. Without much effort, she could now get a clear idea of her environment. "Guild Leader, should I go and deal with them?" "No need. They''re merely the other superpowers'' scouts. Even if we deal with them, the scouts outside of the island will report our actions," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. At the same time, he shot Fire Dance a surprised look. Although it had been some time since he had last seen her, he hadn''t expected her senses to be so acute. The closest scout he could detect was over 40 yards away, and every one of these players was an expert in the art of concealment. Moreover, he only barely sensed these scouts due to his extraordinarily high Basic Attributes. Although Fire Dance possessed the Fragmented Legendary ranked Thousand Transformations, her Attributes were quite lower than his. By the looks of it, Fire Dance had also replaced quite a few pieces of her equipment since they had last met. Although she had hidden their glow effects, Shi Feng could tell, with his bounty of experience, that these new pieces were all Dark-Gold rank or higher. However, Shi Feng didn''t give the matter much thought. The stronger Fire Dance became, the more she benefited the Guild''s development. After running for roughly 20 minutes, Shi Feng''s group reached the cliff tower. "Guild Leader, you''re finally back. Can we move out now?" Aqua Rose asked, smiling when she saw her Guildmates. Among the 49 players Shi Feng had brought with him, twelve were Tier 2 players. Including Shi Feng, Cola, Alluring Summer, and herself, they had a total of sixteen Tier 2 players on the island now. With such a powerful team, they could even challenge Mythic Field Bosses if they had a strong enough magic array. "Mhm. Rearrange a new team of 50. We''ll set out in ten minutes!" Shi Feng nodded. He had wasted a lot of time to transport Fire Dance and the others to the island. As a result, he had sacrificed a lot of opportunities for the other participating teams. If he did not hurry, claiming a monster encampment would become far more difficult. "Okay! Leave it to me!" Aqua Rose immediately began to select players for the new team. "Fifty people? Guild Leader, is that really enough?" Gentle Snow asked curiously. At this point, the situations in the monster encampments were no longer secret. Trying to capture an encampment with only 50 players and the support of three ancient towers was aiming for the impossible. "Relax. We''re pretty strong." Shi Feng chuckled. "Could they all have" Gentle Snow suddenly considered a possibility. In response, Shi Feng gave a silent nod. Immediately, Gentle Snow found herself both shocked and excited. She had already witnessed the prowess of a Tier 2 player though Aqua Rose, Cola, and Alluring Summer. Even absolute experts like Bloodhand Yama and Shadowtooth could only rely on their techniques in combat, avoiding a head-on clash as much as possible. Just thinking about a group of Tier 2 players made her shiver. Very quickly, Aqua Rose organized a 50-man team. Aside from Zero Wing''s core members like Fire Dance, Aqua Rose had included Lifeless Thorn and his companions. Meanwhile, aside from Gentle Snow, Zhao Yueru, and a few others with slightly lower levels, everyone was Level 50 or above. If the public learned of this force, everyone would be terrified. "Guild Leader, we can move out when you''re ready," Aqua Rose stated. "Phoenix Rain already sent us information on every monster encampment available on Thunder Island. She suggests that we go for Undead''s encampment some distance south of us. None of the Guilds have targeted that area yet, and even if Nine Dragons Emperor sends his forces to harass us, his nearest team is 40 minutes away from the encampment. We should have plenty of time to react if he tries to pull something." "No, we''re not going there." Shi Feng shook his head. "We''re not going there? But that''s the closest monster encampment available. If we go elsewhere, we''ll risk provoking the other superpowers. Multiple enemies might even attack at once." Aqua Rose tried to dissuade Shi Feng. "Isn''t there a closer encampment?" Shi Feng asked as he pointed to a valley on the map. "But that''s the encampment Nine Dragons Emperor is raiding right now. He also has detached forces nearby, and Miracle''s forces aren''t far either. By the time we get there, they''ll be prepared to surround us," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head as she looked at the Orc encampment Shi Feng had indicated. "It''s impolite not to reciprocate a gift. Since Nine Dragons Emperor has organized his men to keep us at bay for so long, why don''t we give him a surprise? Besides, he''s already cleared out the monsters in the encampment''s perimeter. We can save a lot of effort if we take his encampment," Shi Feng said. "This" Hearing Shi Feng''s plan, Aqua Rose looked at the man as if he had gone mad. In contrast, Fire Dance and her companions'' eyes shown with excitement. "Guild Leader, let''s march over!" Shadow Sword was already more than eager to head out. "No, we''ll teleport directly there," Shi Feng said as he activated Spatial Gate. Suddenly, a spatial tear opened inside the ancient tower. The spatial tear gradually widened into a perfect circle before the Spatial Gate stabilized. The teleportation coordinates were none other than the Orc encampment. Before Zero Wing and Asura''s members entered the Spatial Gate, they could see the fight on the other side of the gate. Nine Dragons Emperor''s team was engaged in a battle against a Level 60 Specialized Grand Lord and two Level 60 Grand Lords. Dazzling fireworks illuminated the entire encampment. "Let''s head out!" Saying so, Shi Feng stepped through the Spatial Gate with his team close behind him. When they emerged on the other end, they caught the attention of Nine Dragons Emperor''s team. Miracle''s members, who kept watch beside the encampment, were stupefied to see Shi Feng''s people. None of them had expected Shi Feng to take the initiative, turning around to harass Nine Dragons Emperor. Nine Dragons Emperor''s subordinates and Miracle''s members surrounded the Orc encampment. Coming here was simply suicidal! Initially, Nine Dragons Emperor stared at Shi Feng in shock. However, he recovered in seconds and bellowed, "Ye Feng!" 1507 Seeking Ones Own Destruction Chapter 1507 - Seeking One''s Own Destruction Shi Feng''s appearance didn''t only stun Nine Dragons Emperor''s team. The spectating players watching the Orc encampment from outside of Thunder Island were stupefied as well. "What? They sent 50 players to ambush an opponent?" "Just what is Ye Feng trying to do?" "They''re crazy! They actually decided to ambush Nine Dragons Emperor under such circumstances! Are they not worried about annihilation?!" The monster encampments were a key factor in the contest for Thunder Island. While the various large Guilds raided their encampments, they would take preventive measures to avoid leaving themselves open to attacks from other superpowers. Of course, Nine Dragons Emperor was no exception. Only, Nine Dragons Emperor had left the guard duty to Miracle. Moreover, the players Nine Dragons Emperor had sent to keep an eye on Phoenix Rain''s ancient towers weren''t far from the encampment. They could join the main force in less than ten minutes. Once Nine Dragons Emperor''s forces gathered, Shi Feng and the others would not be trapped even if they sprouted wings. "Has Nine Dragons Emperor angered Ye Fent past the point of madness?" Phoenix Rain was also stunned when she heard the news. Raiding a monster encampment with a 50-man team was already dangerous enough. Rather, it was impossible, yet Shi Feng went a step further and intended to steal Nine Dragons Emperor''s encampment while he raided it. Sending players to ambush another team during the contest was incredibly foolish. When players left a monster encampment on Thunder Island, the monsters would give up their chase and return to the encampment. If players were ambushed by an enemy team, they could simply retreat from the encampment until they wiped out the attackers before resuming their raid. At worst, players would have to waste a little bit of time. However, if Shi Feng and the others died, their team''s overall combat power would plummet. Needless to say, this would affect their ability to raid monster encampments later on. Phoenix Rain couldn''t fathom why Shi Feng would do something so thankless. Before anyone could react to their arrival in the Orc encampment, Shi Feng gave the order to attack. "Attack as one! Once we chase them out, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian, prepare to tank the Bosses!" "Understood!" As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, his team charged into the Orc encampment, giving their enemies no time to shake off the Bosses. "Pavilion Master, they''re charging towards us. Should we give up on the Bosses?" Martial Dragon asked, wrath coloring his features as he watched Shi Feng''s people charge into the encampment. It had taken them a lot of effort to whittle down the three Bosses to around 20% HP. If they gave up now, they would have to waste a lot more time to deal with the Bosses. "Retreat! We''ll just fight them again! Recall our teams from Phoenix Rain''s towers! While you''re at it, tell Miracle''s nearby players to gather to our location! Do not let any of these bastards get away!" Although Nine Dragons Emperor was reluctant to give up, he knew that they couldn''t deal with the Bosses and Shi Feng''s team at once. However, although Nine Dragons Emperor had given the order to retreat, none of the three Orc Bosses intended to let his team get away so easily. As a result, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team had no choice but to fight the Bosses while fleeing from Shi Feng''s team. What fast reactions! Shi Feng had never thought that Nine Dragons Emperor would be decisive enough to give up on the nearly dead Bosses. It seems I have no other choice. Shi Feng immediately used Wind Blade, leaving an afterimage behind as he advanced. In the blink of an eye, he had pulled a great distance away from Cola and the other MTs leading the charge. The Orc encampment was massive. Even at top speed, it would take some time for a player to reach the encampment''s perimeter from its core. Nine Dragons Emperor''s team was also relatively close to an exit. By the time they caught up, the enemy team would''ve escaped. Just as Nine Dragons Emperor''s team was about to leave the encampment, Shi Feng caught up to the three Orc Bosses. "Don''t even think of getting away so easily!" Shi Feng activated the Aura of Fire''s Flame Domain without hesitation. Suddenly, a crimson magic array covered the ground, enveloping Nine Dragons Emperor''s entire team. "Damn it! It''s a large-scale destruction Spell! Get out of the AOE!" Upon seeing the magic array, Nine Dragons Emperor activated Air Vault, a Tier 1 Skill for Rangers. He leaped backward, instantly crossing 20 yards and escaping from the magic array. His experts also activated their Lifesaving Skills to get out of the attack''s range. However, Flame Domain''s was a large AOE. Despite all of these players being experts, some failed to get out of range in time, and the colossal pillar of fire that eventually rose turned some of these players into ash. In just one move, Nine Dragons Emperor had lost 20 players. A dozen or so players had also died as they fled. After a short moment, the difference between the team''s numbers had shrunk. "YeFeng!" Nine Dragons Emperor ground his teeth in anger as he glared at Shi Feng. After escaping the encampment, he fired one engraved arrow after another at the Swordsman. Reacting quickly, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit, striking the arrows down before they came within five yards of him. Suddenly, the three Bosses burst out of Flame Domain''s range, bloodlust filling their eyes as they turned towards Shi Feng. Among them, the Level 60, Specialized Grand Lord ranked Orc Chief raised its battle axe and pounced on the Swordsman. As if he had predicted the reaction, Shi Feng adjusted his footwork and effortlessly circled the descending battle axe, arriving before the Orc Chief and swinging Killing Ray. Thundering Flash! Immediately, four blue lightning snakes tore through the Orc Chief and two Orc Generals, causing damages of around -20,000 to appear above their heads. Nine Dragons Emperor and his people were shocked to see the high damage. They had fought tooth and nail against the Orc Bosses, fortunate to deal -6,000 damage even with their five stacks of the tower buff, yet Shi Feng, who only had three, dealt over -20,000 with each hit. After executing Thundering Flash, Shi Feng ignored the Bosses, running back to his teammates. "Crap! Pavilion Master, we aren''t Ye Feng''s target; the three Bosses are!" When Martial Dragon saw Shi Feng retreat, he realized that something was amiss. On Thunder Island, if the team holding a Boss''s aggro left the battle, the Boss would return to its non-combat state, resetting its HP and Skills, but if another team intercepted the Boss and stole its aggro, the Boss wouldn''t reset. The three Orc Bosses currently had 20% of their HP remaining. Zero Wing''s team could finish them off with much less effort. If Zero Wing''s team took down the Orc Chief, the encampment would belong to them. "Has this kid lost his mind?" The corners of Bloodhand Yama''s lips twitched when he saw Shi Feng attack the three Orc Bosses. Even in the Flower of Seven Sins, he was known as a madman, but he had to admit that Shi Feng was far crazier than he was. Although this was a good opportunity to steal the low-HP Bosses, doing so would mean that Shi Feng had to deal with all three and Nine Dragons Emperor''s team. Doing so was little more than seeking his own destruction. Shi Feng simply wasn''t taking them seriously. "Ye Feng! Do you really think that this will play out like our last battle?! Since you are so eager to die, I''ll grant your wish! Everyone, charge! Eliminate them!" Nine Dragons Emperor''s face twitched with fury. The various spectators and Phoenix Rain were stunned. Shi Feng was playing with fire. Only Zero Wing''s members remained calm. They stood in formation as they waited for their commander to kite the Orc Bosses and the enemy team, who brimmed with killing intent. "Since everyone''s in position, attack!" Shi Feng nonchalantly ordered as he glanced at the approaching Bosses and Nine Dragons Emperor''s players. 1508 Team Strength Chapter 1508 - Team Strength "Big Brother Ye Feng isn''t really going to fight the Bosses, is he?" Blue Phoenix muttered in disbelief as she watched the live-stream a subordinate had sent. Shi Feng''s team only had 50 players, yet they were about to face a Level 60 Specialized Grand Lord, two Level 60 Grand Lords, and Nine Dragons Emperor''s remaining 80 players. The Zero Wing team stood in a monster encampment, not a captured ancient tower; they didn''t have the Basic Attribute buffs. They had no hope of success. "I don''t know, but I don''t think he''s that foolish. He might have a plan in mind," Phoenix Rain said. She didn''t understand what he was trying to do, either. Shi Feng could''ve easily captured the Undead encampment, yet he wanted to steal the Orc encampment from Nine Dragons Emperor. Even if his team fended off Nine Dragons Emperor''s remaining team while holding back the Orc Bosses, the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master had plenty of reinforcements on the way. In around ten minutes, another 300-plus experts would reach the Orc encampment Meanwhile, in the Orc encampment, after Shi Feng gave the command, Zero Wing''s and Asura''s members burst into action. Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian each took one of the three Orc Bosses, with Cola and Turtledove using the Tier 2 Skill, Vengeful Judgment, and Ye Wumian using the Tier 2 Skill, War Sanction. Peng! Peng! Peng! Three heavy thumps echoed throughout the encampment. Stunned, the three Bosses slid to an abrupt halt. At the same time, a damage of over -18,000 appeared above each of their heads. Among the three MTs, Cola dealt the most damage, inflicting over -20,000 damage as he stopped the Specialized Grand Lord''s pursuit of Shi Feng. "Amazing!" Solitary Nine and Dark Madness could not help but gasp when they saw this. If it were up to them, they would likely need several moves to stop a Level 60 Grand Lord, yet Cola and the others had done so with a single attack, instantly dominating the Bosses'' aggro. Moreover, all three MTs had accurately struck the Bosses'' joints, enhancing their Skills'' impact. The three Orc Bosses promptly turned towards the three MTs and brandished their weapons, the Orc Chief swinging its battle axe and the Orc Generals swinging their greatswords. Seeing this, the MT trio calmly raised their shields and received the incoming attacks. Boom! Loud clangs reverberated in the watching players'' ears. Although Cola and the others were forced back by two or three steps, none of them showed any signs of stiffness. As the three Bosses'' chain attacks continued, the MTs continued to slide backward, damages of over -10,000 appearing above their heads. By the time the Bosses'' chain attacks ended, the three MTs had lost around 40,000 HP each. "This Boss''s Strength is so high!" Turtledove said as she released her shield for a second and shook her wrist, but contrary to her statement, she appeared relaxed. After her Tier 2 promotion, her HP had increased to over 65,000. Hence, -40,000 damage was within an acceptable range. Violet Cloud, who had been triple-casting from the rear-line, released her Spells. Immediately, a Healing Light touched each of the three MTs, restoring over 10,000 HP. At the same time, a Healing Aura enveloped the players, restoring a little over 3,000 HP every 0.65 seconds for 10 seconds. Following which, a faint, golden aura descended on every team member, increasing their maximum HP by 20% for 15 minutes. Immediately, Turtledove and Ye Wumian''s HPs shot past 70,000, whereas Cola''s exceeded 80,000. The buff also increased healing received by 30%. This move was none other than the Tier 2 Spell, Holy Light, which Violet Cloud had learned after her Tier 2 promotion. After casting Holy Light, the team''s survivability skyrocketed. However, that wasn''t all. Afterward, Blackie used the Tier 2 Spell, Song of Darkness, increasing the team''s damage by 20% and Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 30% for 10 minutes. In the blink of an eye, the battle with the three Orc Bosses became much easier. Nine Dragons Emperor and his experts, who rushed towards Zero Wing''s members, suddenly had a bad feeling. However, before they could figure out what had changed, Shi Feng activated Thunder Domain and switched the Aura of Fire to the Aura of Illusion, reducing the enemies'' Basic Attributes by 15%. Shadow Sword and Rampant Blade then charged into the incoming crowd, knocking multiple players in their path down. They spun, swinging their greatswords in wide, horizontal slashes. Berserker''s Tier 2 Skill, Blade Storm! Suddenly, two tornadoes rose amidst Nine Dragons Emperor''s team, and every player caught within 18 yards of the two Berserkers was sent flying as they lost over -10,000 HP per second. Blade Storm was similar to an AOE Spell, so once it activated, Shadow Sword and Rampant Blade could move about freely. In addition, their Movement Speeds increased by 20% during the Skill''s 5-second duration. The two Berserkers'' assault caught Nine Dragons Emperor''s team off guard. Aside from a few players that had escaped the Blade Storms, most of the team was caught in the attack, their HPs falling so quickly that their healers couldn''t keep up. Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, Blackie, and Su Qianliu followed by bombarding Nine Dragons Emperor''s team with Tier 2 Spells. Although every player on Nine Dragons Emperor''s team was an expert, Zero Wing''s casters were powerful and accurate. Plate-armor classes might survive their attacks for some time, but cloth-armor classes would die after two direct hits. In seconds, Nine Dragons Emperor''s formations were decimated, and only around 50 players remained. Now, they barely had a numeric advantage over Shi Feng''s team. Just as Nine Dragons Emperor''s team was about to retaliate, Fire Dance and Flying Shadow appeared beside their healers. Without so much as a sound, they thrust their gleaming daggers into the healers'' backs, giving the experts no time to react. After killing their first targets, they promptly vanished and reappeared behind another nearby healer, repeating the process. Tier 2 Skill, Phantom Walk! When activated, the Skill allowed the user to execute four consecutive attacks, each carrying enough power to rival Absolute Strike, the strongest Skill available to Tier 1 Assassins. Eight of Nine Dragons Emperor''s healers died on the spot. Although the four remaining healers tried to run, Fire Dance ran them down. After Fire Dance''s promotion to Tier 2, her Movement Speed could rival Shi Feng''s. Ordinary players had no hope of keeping up with her. At most, they''d see the afterimages she''d leave behind. "Don''t get too cocky!" Martial Dragon bellowed as he activated Charge at Fire Dance. After appearing before the four healers, he brandished Silver Snow. Indiscriminate Slash! Fire Dance simply smiled and casually brandished Thousand Transformations. She instantly cut down the dozen or so sword lights moving towards her. At the same time, Fire Dance activated Thousand Transformation''s Phantom Skill, and five of her doppelgangers appeared beside her. Four of these doppelgangers dashed at the four remaining healers as the last joined Fire Dance in a charge towards Martial Dragon. The doppelgangers possessed 100% of Fire Dance''s Attributes. Although they couldn''t attack, their speed was not affected in the slightest. In addition, the doppelgangers couldn''t take damage. Hence, they easily crossed the dozen or so yards between them and the enemy players. When Fire Dance split into six identical copies, Martial Dragon was momentarily stunned. All six clones radiated similar auras and possessed the same Attributes. Not even Martial Dragon could tell the real deal from the fakes. "Scram!" Martial Dragon shouted as he executed Whirlwind Slash to repel the Fire Dance clones, but the Assassin refused to give him the chance as she hacked at the Berserker''s greatsword with Thousand Transformations. Tier 2 Skill, Broken Shadow! Broken Shadow was the fastest Tier 2 Skill for Assassins. Before Martial Dragon''s Silver Snow could build up momentum, Thousand Transformations abruptly stopped and repelled the weapon. The collision''s impact forced Martial Dragon back five steps. He flashed his opponent a dumbfounded expression. Meanwhile, the four doppelgangers reached the last of the enemy healers. Although they tried to react, and their allied ranged players provided cover fire, the attacks were ineffective against the doppelgangers. After stopping Martial Dragon, Fire Dance swapped places with the four clones, devouring the healers'' remaining HP with one strike after another. Each of her attacks dealt over -15,000 damage, -30,000 with a critical hit. She even triggered Critical Point, which had a 20% chance of triggering, killing the enemy healer instantly. Although Martial Dragon tried to intervene, Fire Dance simply switched positions with another doppelganger before the man could hit her. In the end, Martial Dragon had to watch helplessly as the four healers died 1509 Steamrolling Chapter 1509 - Steamrolling When the Nine Dragons Emperor''s four last healers died, silence descended on the team. How has she become so strong? Shock overwhelmed Martial Dragon as he stared at the healers'' fading bodies. He still had a relatively clear impression of Fire Dance as he had fought her personally during the assault on Zero Wing''s Residence. She had been insignificant then, yet after some time, she had become powerful enough to suppress him. How does Zero Wing find so many experts?! Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes were bloodshot as he watched Fire Dance move across the battlefield unhindered. Although the fight had been brief, it had been enough time to realize that Martial Dragon was no match for the Assassin in a head-on confrontation. The Skill she had used was particularly troublesome. It was impossible to differentiate Fire Dance''s doppelgangers from the real player, and attacks against the clones were ineffective, yet the doppelgangers seemed more than capable of inflicting damage. If they could not attack all six copies at the same time, Fire Dance would be practically invincible. However, Fire Dance''s prowess wasn''t the biggest issue; his team had just lost all of their healers. This had placed his team in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position. In contrast, not only were Zero Wing''s experts capable of dealing frightening amounts of damage, but they were also swift and nimble. Every one of Nine Dragons Emperor''s team, not including Martial Dragon, Shadowtooth, Undead, and Bloodhand Yama, were little more than living targets for Zero Wing. They couldn''t even slow the enemy players for a few seconds "Dragon Pavilion Master, we can''t let this continue. When will the reinforcements arrive?" Undead asked as he attempted to keep Flying Shadow and Blackie at bay. Because of these two experts, he couldn''t cast any of his large-scale destruction Spells, which had long casting times; he was too preoccupied with dodging and defending himself with Instantaneous Spells. He was incredibly frustrated. In terms of combat standards, he was leagues ahead of Flying Shadow and Blackie, but the two experts from Zero Wing were leaps and bounds above him in Basic Attributes and reaction speed. Now that the team''s healers were dead, it was only a matter of time before Flying Shadow and Blackie whittled him down to nothing. Undead wasn''t the only player eagerly awaiting the reinforcements. The rest of the team wanted to know when they''d arrive as well. Without reinforcements, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing annihilated their team. "Weretreat!" Nine Dragons Emperor reluctantly shouted when he noticed that Zero Wing''s team remained intact while he continued to lose members. Now, he didn''t even have enough players to stop Zero Wing from stealing the Orc Bosses, not to mention defeating the enemy players. Nine Dragons Emperor couldn''t figure out why there was such a massive difference between their teams. To make matters worse, Zero Wing had only sent around a dozen or so experts to fight his team, while the remaining 30-plus players faced the three Orc Bosses When the team heard Nine Dragons Emperor''s command, its members began to retreat. "Hahaha! Guild Leader, we''ve scared them away!" Blackie was delighted as he watched Nine Dragons Emperor''s team flee. The members of Nine Dragons Emperor''s team were no ordinary experts. Any one of them could easily rank among the top in a first-rate Guild. Moreover, players like Nine Dragons Emperor and Martial Dragon stood at the apex of the virtual gaming world. He had only ever been able to look up to such players, yet now, he and a few of his teammates forced these apex experts to run with their tails between their legs. "Guild Leader, should we give chase?" Unlike Blackie, Fire Dance was unfazed. In fact, a hint of dissatisfaction danced in her eyes. She''d prefer to eliminate these players, rather than watch them flee. "No. Our goal is to take this encampment. If we take too long, their reinforcements will arrive," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then shifted his gaze to the Orc Bosses and ordered, "For now, prioritize the Bosses!" "What if they come back?" Fire Dance asked as she watched Nine Dragons Emperor. Based on the Ranger''s expression, he wasn''t happy about the retreat. He wouldn''t just sit still and watch them claim the encampment. "If they come back, we''ll wipe them out!" Shi Feng said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Now, their team had far more Tier 2 players than in the previous battle. In addition, these players covered the three main roles: MT, DPS, and healers. Following which, everyone turned towards the three Orc Bosses. After a short but intense battle, Lifeless Thorn and his team barely dealt enough damage to stop the Bosses from recovering HP. Although the Bosses still had around 20% remaining, they still had over 100,000,000 HP. Among them, the Orc Chief still had 130,000,000 HP, and this was after including Thunder Domain''s suppression. "What?! Nine Dragons Emperor was forced to retreat?!" "Zero Wing is amazing! They actually pushed Nine Dragons Emperor back with a dozen or so players!" "Just how many more of these experts is Zero Wing hiding?" The various spectating superpowers were shocked by Zero Wing''s combat power. This situation also forced these superpowers, who had thus far paid little attention to the Guild, to take Zero Wing seriously. Before this display, they could''ve afforded to ignore the fact that Zero Wing had an expert like Ye Feng. After all, no Guild could rely on a single player to grow stronger. This was especially true when raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. One player wasn''t enough to clear these Dungeons. But things had changed with the appearance of Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Cola, Ye Wumian, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Alluring Summer, and others. "Big Sis Rain, he did it! Big Brother Ye Feng actually did it!" Blue Phoenix could not help but cry out when she saw Nine Dragons Emperor''s team flee from the Orc encampment. "Zero Wing is a truly unfathomable Guild." Phoenix Rain sighed as she watched Zero Wing''s members raid the three Orc Bosses. She had to admit that the decision to ally with Zero Wing early on had been a wise one. Had she become the Guild''s enemy, she would''ve likely suffered the same fate as Nine Dragons Emperor. Meanwhile, outside the Orc encampment, once Nine Dragons Emperor realized that Zero Wing''s members had stopped their pursuit, rage and humiliation tore at his heart. If some Super Guild had decimated his team, he could''ve accepted it, but he couldn''t accept losing to a Guild like Zero Wing. The most infuriating part was that Zero Wing was using him as a stepping stone to build its fame. If he did not pay back this insult, how was he supposed to survive in the virtual gaming world in the future? "Martial, contact Miracle and have them send over a 100-man team," Nine Dragons Emperor commanded coldly. "Tell our nearby teams to gather and block the encampment''s entrances as well. I refuse to let any of Zero Wing''s members escape!" The Orc Bosses still had over 20% of their HP remaining. It would take Zero Wing''s 50-man team at least 20 minutes to defeat the Bosses. Meanwhile, he could gather his reinforcements within 10 minutes. He refused to believe that Zero Wing could come out victorious if he attacked alongside 400-plus players while the enemy team was distracted with the three Bosses. "Understood!" Martial Dragon sensed the dense killing intent radiating off Nine Dragons Emperor. Hurriedly, he contacted Miracle and requested the 100 players. While Nine Dragons Emperor called for more reinforcements, the battle between Shi Feng''s team and the Orc Bosses reached full swing. "The Orc Chief''s HP is below 20%! Cola, activate your Lifesaving Skill!" Shi Feng shouted as he glanced at the Orc Chief and Orc Generals. Hearing Shi Feng''s warning, Cola activated Protection Blessing. Once its HP fell below 20%, the Orc Chief went berserk and tore off its armor. Its body enlarged slightly as its muscles bulged. Both the Orc Chief''s Attack Speed and damage increased significantly. Peng Peng Peng Following which, the Orc Chief brandished its battle axe at Cola, every attack forcing the MT back. Damages of over -20,000 appeared above the Guardian Knight''s head one while the healers frantically healed Cola. Fortunately, Cola received just enough heals to keep his HP above 50%. "What destructive power! Too bad you''re not quite strong enough!" Cola quipped as he took a look at his HP. He then smiled and launched his counterattack. Tier 2 Skill, Retaliating Sanction! Instantly, Cola''s Defense increased by 50%. In addition, any attack he received from the front had a 20% chance to trigger an automatic counterattack, a ranged holy attack, which carried 240% of Cola''s Strength, for the next 20 seconds. Due to the Orc Chief''s rapid assault, Cola''s one-handed sword repeatedly released dazzling beams of light that struck the Boss, each dealing around -40,000 damage. Shi Feng and the other DPS players weren''t falling behind in their damage output either. Due to Thunder Domain''s suppression, their normal attacks dealt over -10,000 damage, whereas their Skills dealt around thirty or forty thousand each. The Orc Chief''s HP fell visibly. It was obvious at a glance that Zero Wing''s damage output was far higher than Nine Dragons Emperor''s team. 20%... 10%... When the Orc Chief fell to 1%, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and arrived before the Boss. He followed up with Flame Burst and Dragon Breath. When the earth-shattering explosions ended, the Orc Chief roared in anguish as it collapsed and dropped a bunch of items. 1510 First Kill Reward Chapter 1510 - First Kill Reward After the Orc Chief collapsed, Zero Wing''s members watched as their experience bars increased by a large margin before they head the sound of a system notification. System: Congratulations! You have defeated the Orc Chief with less than 100 players. Rewarding 10 Thunder Island Reputation and 500 Thunder Island Contribution Points. What an abundant reward! It''s no wonder how the various superpowers secured such a massive advantage in the past. There were two important things on Thunder Island, both of which the various large Guilds and players hungered after. The first was Thunder Island Reputation, while the second was Thunder Island Contribution Points. A player''s Reputation determined their authority and status on Thunder Island. Like the Sea God''s Temple, players could use Contribution Points to purchase unique items on Thunder Island such as the Thunder Potion. For players on the main continent, the Thunder Potion was utterly useless. To players exploring the Sea of Death, however, it was a godly potion. The Thunder Potion did not provide additional Basic Attributes, but it did give players the Power of Thunder buff. With this buff, not only could players deal 20% more damage to sea monsters or monsters on islands, but it was also a deterrent, causing monsters to avoid them and reducing their chances of encountering an ambush. The potion also weakened monsters'' perception of players. When teams had recruited members to explore the Sea of Death in the past, they had almost never accepted players without Thunder Potions. There might not be many sea and island monsters in the Sea of Death''s outer region, but the number of monsters increased exponentially in the inner region of the sea zone. If one weren''t careful, they could be surrounded and killed. The Sea of Death''s inner region also contained most of the opportunities and treasures in the sea zone. Hence, if players wanted to reap a bountiful harvest from the Sea of Death, they''d have no choice but to venture to its inner region. Meanwhile, not only could the Thunder Potion allow safer passage in the inner region, but it also increased players'' combat power, which was why the potion was a must have item at sea. Players could only purchase the Thunder Potion with Thunder Island''s Contribution Points, but they were considerably difficult to earn. Generally, players could only obtain a small number of CPs from completing the island''s local quests. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, there weren''t many of these quests. Not everyone could get their hands on one. Players would only receive high-ranking quests once they reached a certain status on Thunder Island. These high-ranking quests awarded more CPs than the daily quests, each granting around 10 to 20 CPs. Meanwhile, each Thunder Potion cost 10 CPs, and each potion had a 10-hour duration. It also lacked a Cooldown. Players could even consume two Thunder Potions at once, gaining two stacks of Power of Thunder and increasing their damage by 30% while lowering their chances of being detected for 15 hours. Now, Zero Wing''s team members had obtained 500 CPs after killing an encampment''s Guardian Boss. The 10 Thunder Island Reputation Points they had earned were also precious. After obtaining 100 Reputation Points, players could accept more daily quests and a few high-ranking, hidden quests, increasing the amount of Reputation they could earn each day. Unfortunately, aside from Shi Feng, the team members were likely more interested in the Orc Cheif''s loot than the system''s rewards. However, no one dared to focus on the items since the two Orc Generals were still alive. Though, after the Orc Chief died, Phoenix Rain''s team officially took control of the Orc encampment. As proof of the team''s successful occupation, a magic barrier enveloped the encampment after the main Boss''s death. The surrounding Mana gathered inside the barrier, increasing the encampment''s Mana density. As a result, the two Orc Generals'' Basic Attributes plummeted. It was clear that the barrier was suppressing the Orcs. At the same time, a teleportation channel also opened inside the encampment. Level 60 NPCs began to emerge from the channel. In total, 100 NPC guards had teleported to the encampment, 10 of them at Tier 2, and the rest were Tier 1. The first thing these NPCs did after their arrival was turn to attack the two Orc Generals. NPCs dealt far more damage than players. Needless to say, they finished off the Orc Generals in a brief moment. Meanwhile, every watching superpower on Thunder Island was dumbfounded by the battle''s outcome. None of them had thought that Zero Wing would actually take down an encampment with only 50 players. In fact, Zero Wing''s members had defeated the Orc Chief so quickly that the battle had ended before Nine Dragons Emperor''s reinforcements had arrived "Big Sis Rain, Big Brother Ye Feng really succeeded! We now have an encampment!" Blue Phoenix cheered as she watched the Orc encampment on the screen before her. Phoenix Rain couldn''t help her building excitement, either. A miracle! She had to admit that Shi Feng was a miracle-worker. With a small team of 50 players, he had defeated Nine Dragons Emperor''s 120-man team and occupied the Orc encampment before the enemy reinforcements arrived. This spectacular feat would go down in Thunder Island''s history. Now that Shi Feng occupied the Orc encampment, other players would have a very difficult time trying to steal it from him. Not only would the encampment''s magic array suppress enemy players, but the defending players would also have the aid of the NPCs in battle. A few hundred players simply weren''t enough to steal an encampment. They were almost guaranteed to hold an encampment throughout the contest. With a monster encampment, they would obtain two temporary teleportation arrays on Thunder Island. They would also qualify to compete with the other superpowers during the next contest. In addition, they now qualified to negotiate with Super Guilds like the Sacred Temple and Battle Wolves. Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor''s team and the players from Miracle stared at the magic barrier around the Orc encampment in silence. "Pavilion Master, what should we do now?" Martial Dragon asked. "Weretreat," Nine Dragons Emperor stated, clearly livid. For a moment, he even looked as if he would faint from anger. Shi Feng had taken the Orc encampment he had spent hours clearing in ten short minutes. He''d like nothing more than to eat Shi Feng''s heart raw. However, he knew that he couldn''t take the encampment back even if he had 400-plus players on his side. Aside from the fact that Shi Feng could transport reinforcements to the encampment, the current 50 players in the barrier were a massive threat. Furthermore, if his team members entered the encampment, their Basic Attributes would plummet. After considering the Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards, his team had no hope of taking back the encampment. Watching Nine Dragons Emperor silently turn and walk away, Martial Dragon gave the encampment one last glance. This was the first time he had met someone who could push Nine Dragons Emperor this far. Not even the various Super Guilds had ever done so, yet Shi Feng had. Moreover, Shi Feng had rendered Nine Dragons Emperor powerless to retaliate. Back inside the Orc Encampment, everyone''s experience bars rose by a significant chunk as the Orc Generals died. However, unlike the Orc Chief, the two Orc Generals hadn''t dropped a single item. Blackie and the others were confused, but Shi Feng remained unfazed. On Thunder Island, only the Guardian Bosses dropped any loot. After finishing off the two Orc Generals, Shi Feng made his way towards the pile of items the Orc Chief had dropped. He then began to appraise the items, and the watching Zero Wing members grew nervous. Suddenly, Shi Feng received a call from Quiet Melody. Confused, Shi Feng accepted the call. "Congratulations. With this victory, Zero Wing will have an easy time traveling to and from Thunder Island," Quiet Melody congratulated. "Vice Temple Master Melody, have you contacted me just to offer congratulations? Please get to the point," Shi Feng said calmly. "Elder Ye Feng is quite straightforward. Since that is the case, I won''t mince words. My Guild Leader wishes to speak with you in private. May I know if you are interested?" Quiet Melody said. 1511 Thunder Gods Charm Chapter 1511 - Thunder God''s Charm "Speak with me privately?" Shi Feng''s confusion grew. He had never expected Eternal Dead to seek a private conversation. The Sacred Temple was a bona fide Super Guild. It was in a completely different league than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion; not even the super-first-rate Guild, Miracle, could stand up against the Sacred Temple. This was why Phoenix Rain had wanted to work with the Sacred Temple and Battle Wolves. Had she gained the two Super Guilds'' cooperation, she could''ve easily suppressed Nine Dragons Emperor and Miracle. "That''s right. My Guild Leader is very interested in Zero Wing." Quiet Melody nodded. In truth, Quiet Melody was also confused as to why Eternal Dead wanted to speak with Shi Feng. Not even Phoenix Rain had elicited such a reaction from her Guild Leader as he usually sent a Vice Temple Master for such discussions. Only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master qualified to speak with Eternal Dead personally. "Alright. When will he contact me?" Shi Feng agreed. He had assumed that the Sacred Temple would wait until after the contest to contact him, but the fact that Eternal Dead had reached out now was a good thing. After all, it wasn''t easy to wrestle control of Thunder Island. Despite so many superpowers struggling to claim the island for themselves, they had been forced to share its management in the past. The island had a total of 17 monster encampments. A Guild could only dominate Thunder Island after they captured all 17. Currently, the various superpowers would be fortunate to claim two or three encampments. Attempting to monopolize the island right now was unrealistic. As soon as Shi Feng asked his question, he received a friend request. It was from none other than Eternal Dead. How fast. Shi Feng immediately clicked ''Agree.'' In God''s Domain, players couldn''t call each other directly until after they added each other as friends. At most, players could send messages. However, the majority of the game''s players generally blocked incoming messages from outsides, only accepting missives from friends. "Guild Leader Eternal, to what do I owe this unexpected call?" Shi Feng asked, smiling at the somewhat-stern, middle-aged man in the screen. During Shi Feng''s previous life, Eternal Dead had achieved many feats throughout his ten years in God''s Domain. One of his crowning achievements had been his decision to focus on developing the Sacred Temple''s navy early in the game. It had given the Sacred Temple a massive advantage over the other superpowers, becoming one of God''s Domain''s top-ranked navies. Take the present Thunder Island contest, for example. During this contest, the Sacred Temple had dispatched 710 players, forming the largest team in the contest. From the very onset, the Sacred Temple had split its forces to fight on two fronts. No one dared to provoke the Guild. While the other superpowers were just beginning to raid their second monster encampment, the Sacred Temple was almost ready to move on to their third. "Elder Ye Feng, I''ve watched Zero Wing''s battle, and I''m impressed by the Guild. Including the fact that Zero Wing possesses a sailboat, the Battle Wolves'' Guild Leader and I have agreed that you qualify to negotiate a partnership with us. We''ve also decided to give Zero Wing 20% of Thunder Island''s profits should you agree." As Eternal Dead spoke, his face had remained expressionless. He didn''t reveal a hint of joy or sadness. Even the man''s voice was neutral as he praised Zero Wing, yet his words ingrained themselves into any listener''s mind. Even Shi Feng could not help but admire Eternal Dead''s regal aura as the man spoke. It was no wonder why the Sacred Temple''s management was so unified, with none of the Guild''s upper echelons dissatisfied with Eternal Dead''s leadership. "May I assume that Guild Leader Eternal Dead has agreed to Zero Wing and Phoenix Rain occupying 40% of Thunder Island''s profits?" Shi Feng said, still smiling. "Thunder Island will play an important role in naval development in the future. I''m sure you are aware of this. Although Phoenix Rain has potential, she hasn''t shown enough to stand as a partner. Meanwhile, if Zero Wing has 20% of the profits, I doubt it will be long before your Guilds becomes an overlord in God''s Domain''s seas," Eternal Dead responded softly as he shook his head. "So, Guild Leader Eternal, are you suggesting that only our three Guilds will cooperate?" Shi Feng asked, frowning. "If Zero Wing wishes to split its 20% with Phoenix Rain, the Sacred Temple and Battle Wolves will not refuse her participation in the alliance," Eternal Dead said, chuckling. "I see." Realization dawned on Shi Feng. After all that talk, the Sacred Temple and Battle Wolves still had no intention of parting with additional profit. Shi Feng chuckled and said, "Since that is the case, please allow us to consider your offer properly and reply at a later date. Is that acceptable?" "Alright. In any case, there is still a month before the next contest. It would be wise to take your time in considering our offer." Confusion bubbled in Eternal Dead''s mind as he watched Shi Feng, who appeared quite calm. He had never expected this man to refuse such a profitable offer. After Eternal Dead disconnected the call, a playful smile appearing on his face. "Guild Leader, did he agree?" Quiet Melody could not help but ask. "No. He rejected it. It seems Phoenix Rain has a good eye for allies," Eternal Dead said, smiling. "However, he is foolish to pass up an opportunity to cooperate with our Guilds for the sake of a partner." The struggle for Thunder Island was more complex than he had anticipated. With the various superpowers in once place, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was insignificant, much less the Phoenix Pavilion. If it had been that simple, he wouldn''t have allied with Battle Wolves. Now that Zero Wing had rejected his offer, it might not even secure 5% of the island''s total profits. Quiet Melody was stunned. She was surprised to learn that Shi Feng was so daring and straightforward. If it were up to her, she might have agreed without hesitation, yet Shi Feng had calmly rejected it. Although she was happy for and envied Phoenix Rain as the woman''s good friend, neither Phoenix Rain nor Zero Wing would obtain any profits on their own. Following which, Quiet Melody related this news to Phoenix Rain. "Big Sis Rain, Eternal Dead is really despicable. He actually tried to poach our ally midway through the contest. Fortunately, Big Brother Ye Feng refused the offer." Blue Phoenix couldn''t help but curse Eternal Dead when she heard about the deal. "Although Eternal Dead''s offer was underhanded, he wasn''t wrong about us lacking naval strength." Phoenix Rain smiled bitterly. At the same time, she also felt lucky and touched. If not for Zero Wing, she would''ve been eliminated from this contest. Meanwhile, in the Orc encampment, Shi Feng didn''t react to the previous conversation with Eternal Dead, continuing to appraise the Orc Chief''s loot. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers had been so eager to obtain the Guardian Bosses'' loot in the past. They drop quite an abundance of good items. Shi Feng excitedly gazed at the items in his bag. The Orc Chief had dropped 32 items, twenty of which were various rare materials. Seven of the remaining twelve were Level 55 and 60 weapons and pieces of equipment, and the weakest of which was Fine-Gold rank. The Orc Chief had also dropped the Tier 2 Skill Book, Holy Prayer, a Skill for healers. Holy Prayer was one of the rare Tier 2 AOE Healing Spells. It could easily go for several thousand Gold on the market. The loot also included a Bronze Speedboat and two Dark-Gold ranked tooks: the Magic Rain Gun and Thunder Beast Skin. The Magic Rain Gun could replace a speedboat''s weapon and would display the power of a peak Tier 2 attack. The gun''s Attack Speed was very high, and its attacks would inflict the Poisoned debuff, causing targets to lose HP over time and reducing Movement Speed. As for the Thunder Beast Skin, it was similar to the Magic Whale Skin. When used on a ship, the Thunder Beast Skin increased the ship''s Magic Resistance by 10%, Movement Speed by 4%, and durability by 10 points. These items were all worth a fortune. However, even added together, they weren''t worth as much as the simple necklace the Guardian Boss had dropped. The Thunder God''s Charm! 1512 Strategic Tool Chapter 1512 - Strategic Tool "Guild Leader, what did the Boss drop?" When Aqua Rose and the others saw Shi Feng''s joy, they knew that something amazing had dropped. "The loot consists mainly of materials and equipment, but we also got lucky enough to obtain a Bronze Speedboat and a Skill book for the Tier 2 Healing Spell, Holy Prayer," Shi Feng said, smiling. "On top of that, the boss dropped something that will help us take another monster encampment." Everyone gasped when they heard Shi Feng''s reply. They could not believe that the loot would be so frightening. Not even the various superpowers had a Bronze Speedboat yet, but they did. If this matter went public, the other Guilds would die with envy. As for the Tier 2 Holy Prayer, it could rival a dozen or so Healing Spells when used in a team. It could easily sell for several thousand Gold on the market. But none of these items were worth the attention compared to an item that could help them secure another encampment. Although they were confident of claiming another encampment with their 50-man team, that was assuming they had enough time. With less than half of the contest''s duration remaining, it would be very difficult for them to finish another raid in time. This was because their opponents wouldn''t be limited to monsters, but players as well. The various superpowers had already begun to raid their second encampments. Meanwhile, Thunder Island only had 17 monster encampments available. This limited how many they could raid. Moreover, as time passed, the superpowers that successfully secured a second monster encampment would try for a third. If their team could not clear out an encampment fast enough, the other teams on the island would target them. They''d face far more powerful opponents than Nine Dragons Emperor. Yet, despite knowing this, Shi Feng had determined that they could secure another encampment with the help of a particular item. One could just imagine how valuable this item was. "Alright, we''ve had enough rest. Aqua, contact Phoenix Rain and tell her to send 50 players to defend the Orc encampment. We''ll prepare to secure another encampment in the meantime," Shi Feng hurriedly instructed. He had no intentions of explaining the Thunder God''s Charm in detail. The Thunder God''s Charm was an extraordinary item. Shi Feng didn''t expect them to be lucky enough to obtain it from their first Guardian Boss kill. Even after raiding the encampments numerous times, only a few superpowers had secured a Thunder God''s Charm in the past. Meanwhile, the superpowers that had Thunder God''s Charms had banded together and monopolized Thunder Island. After which, only superpowers with Thunder God''s Charms qualified to join the island''s co-managers. Unlike the Thunder Emblem, the Thunder God''s Charm would not suppress enemies'' Basic Attributes. In fact, it was a Dark-Gold necklace without any Basic Attribute bonuses. The necklace only had one SkillThunder God''s Blessing. When activated, Thunder God''s Blessing would give all allies within a 30-yard radius the Thunder God''s Power buff, allowing everyone''s attacks to deal 100% lightning damage to the island''s monsters. At the same time, monsters would receive a stackable Electrified debuff when struck. Each debuff stack would reduce monsters'' reaction speed, Attack Speed, and Defense by 3% for 6 seconds, stacking a maximum of 10 times. The Thunder God''s Blessing had a 2-hour duration and 4-hour Cooldown. With the Thunder God''s Charm, a team''s overall combat power would rise to a whole new level when raiding monster encampments. This was also why the superpowers with Thunder God''s Charms had an absolute advantage over those who did not. Now, Shi Feng had both the Thunder Emblem and the Thunder God''s Charm. Even if he had a small team and had wasted a lot of time earlier, he could secure another encampment with these two items. "You still want to raid another monster encampment?" Phoenix Rain was stunned when Aqua Rose contacted her. For a moment, she did not even know how to react. "There are only two monster encampments left, but they''re pretty far away from your location. Those monsters are also the most difficult of any of the island''s encampments. Are you really intending to raid one of them?" In her opinion, Shi Feng''s successful procurement of one encampment was already a miracle. She was satisfied with the result. As for securing another encampment, she didn''t even dare to consider the option. "Mhm. Phoenix Pavilion Master, please tell your players to hurry. If we wait any longer, other Guilds might try to raid those two encampments," Aqua Rose said, nodding. She then disconnected the call. "Big Sis Rain, isn''t this a little too risky? Ignoring the fact that they''ll disrupt the other Guilds, those two encampment''s Guardian Bosses are Level 60 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species; they''re impossible to raid. In addition, each of the Guardian Bosses has the protection of two Specialized Grand Lords. With a 50-man team" Blue Phoenix said worriedly. The difficulty of dealing with those two encampment''s Guardian Bosses was precisely the reason that the other superpowers, even those who had spawned close to the encampments, had decided to save them for last. It was one thing if Shi Feng''s team wasted a lot of their time trying to raid the encampments, but there would be consequences if they gave the other superpowers an advantage. "I don''t know. But there isn''t much we can do since Zero Wing had made its decision. Let''s just send some people over for now. The more time we waste, the more difficult their raid will be," Phoenix Rain said, shaking her head. She simply could not understand why Shi Feng tried so desperately. Immediately, Phoenix Rain led 50 of the Phoenix Pavilion''s core combatants to the Orc encampment. After the ten minutes or so it took Phoenix Rain''s group to arrive, Shi Feng opened a Spatial Gate and transported his team to the Rock Giant encampment. Among the various monster races on Thunder Island, the Rock Giants had the highest Defense. The various Guilds'' scouts outside of Thunder Island quickly detected the movement and related the news to their superiors. "Zero Wing''s members are wildly arrogant. Just because they defeated Nine Dragons Emperor, they think they can raid an encampment that the superpowers have hesitated to challenge?" "They want to take on the Rock Giant encampment with only 50 players? Do they really expect the raid to be so easy?" "Once we secure our second encampment, we''ll teach Zero Wing a lesson." The various superpowers merely laughed at Zero Wing''s attempt to raid the Rock Giant encampment. A Level 60 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species was no laughing matter. Even with the five ancient tower buffs, it was impossible to raid the Guardian Boss without a 200-man team. Furthermore, two Specialized Grand Lords protected the Guardian Boss. In other words, raiding the Rock Giant encampment would require at least 300 players. Rock Giants possessed immense Strength, HP, and Defense. If one wished to raid the encampment safely and swiftly, they''d require a minimum of 400 players. This was also why the various superpowers had left this encampment for last. The various superpowers welcomed the news of Zero Wing attempting to clear out the monsters around the Guardian Boss. It would save them a lot of time. Meanwhile, when Eternal Dead received the news, he could not help his sneer. As far as he was concerned, Shi Feng was simply trying to prove Zero Wing''s strength to their Super Guilds in hopes that they''d change their minds. This was undoubtedly a childish move. It was a joke to think that Zero Wing could raid an encampment that even the various superpowers found challenging with only 50 players. Meanwhile, inside the Rock Giant encampment, Shi Feng activated the Thunder Domain upon arriving. He then equipped the Thunder God''s Charm and activated Thunder God''s Blessing. Suddenly, a dark-blue magic array formed beneath everyone''s feet. The Thunder God''s Power then infused every player in range, arcs of blue electricity flicking around their bodies. "Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, you three will lure everything except the three Bosses! We''ll finish them all in one go!" Shi Feng ordered after glancing at the time. 1513 God-speed Clearing Chapter 1513 - God-speed Clearing "Everything?" When the team heard Shi Feng''s strategy, they stared at the monster encampment before them. As they watched the Rock Giants in the encampment, they hoped they had misheard their commander. Although the Rock Giant encampment wasn''t protected by watchtowers like the Orc encampment, the Rock Giants were difficult enough to deal with. They became even more powerful when they gathered. The weakest Rock Giant was a Level 55 Chieftain, while the majority of the were Level 56 and Level 57 Lords. There were also quite a few Level 58 High Lords and Level 59 Great Lords. All of these Rock Giants had high HP and Defense. In addition, their attacks had a chance of triggering Armor Break, allowing their attacks to ignore their target''s Defense. Though, depending on their ranks, the chances to trigger Armor Break varied. Even without Armor Break, the Rock Giants could deal a significant amount of damage to players. If they happened to trigger the effect, a Lord ranked Rock Giant could likely kill an MT of the same level in two or three hits, not to mention the High Lords and Great Lords. If they just charged into the Rock Giant encampment, it wouldn''t take long for the monsters to pummel them to death. "Mhm, that''s right. We''ll get rid of the surrounding Rock Giants altogether. Although the Rock Giants have high HP, Defense, and Armor Break, their Movement and Attack Speeds are quite low. As long as we don''t let them too close, they won''t pose much of a threat. The main problem is how much aggro you three can hold," Shi Feng said as he looked at Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian. "As for the rest of you, wait for my command to attack." He had chosen the Rock Giant encampment because of the monsters'' slow reactions. These monsters would struggle to hit moving targets, and with the Thunder Emblem and Thunder God''s Charm, the Rock Giant''s HP and Defense wouldn''t be an issue. Furthermore, without the aid of archers or ballistas due to the lack of watchtowers, the Rock Giants, which were melee attackers, would have to face players'' DPS and Stamina. However, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian were now Tier 2 players. Both their Stamina and their reaction speed had undergone qualitative transformations. They could last much longer in battle than Tier 1 players. The MT trio quickly realized what Shi Feng wanted them to do. Rather than clashing with the Rock Giants head-on, they just needed to hold the monsters'' aggro. For them, that was considerably easy. Following which, the three MTs separated and ran around the encampment, luring the monsters. As Elemental Creatures, the Rock Giants'' perception range exceeded ordinary monsters''. The instant Cola and the other two set foot in the encampment, a patrol squad of Rock Giants noticed them and charged into the MT trio. However, Cola and the others didn''t change their course. Instead, they charged deeper into the encampment to lure the other patrol squads. The MT trio moved very quickly. Despite the numerous blockades, the three of them maneuvered through the crowds easily. A few times, they took a wrong path and came within attack range of a few Rock Giants, but they reacted quickly enough and defended themselves with their shields. Even when a Great Lord landed a hit, they only received around -5,000 damage. To these three players, that was nothing. Very quickly, the three MTs lured the encampment''s 700 or so Rock Giants to the perimeter in a single, massive mob. The scene of hundreds of Rock Giants in a single group was even more terrifying than an army of 10,000 players. When they moved, the earth shook beneath their feet. "Alright, everyone with a large-scale destruction Spell, get ready!" Shi Feng moved his team into position when he saw the Rock Giant army approach. However, when his teammates saw the monsters, a sliver of fear pierced their hearts. Even the Chieftains had 4,500,000 HP, whereas the strongest Great Lords had 50,000,000 HP. This was definitely not an army that they could defeat with a few large-scale destruction Spells. When the Rock Giants came within 30 yards of Shi Feng, who stood at the forefront of the team, their HPs suddenly plummeted thanks to the Thunder Domain. These monsters'' Basic Attributes had fallen by 30%. Now, the Great Lords had only 35,000,000 HP, the High Lords had 21,000,000, the Lords had 13,000,000, and the Chieftains had 3,150,000. "Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, hold their aggro! Attackers, on my mark!" Shi Feng commanded. "Understood!" Immediately, the MT trio turned and faced the approaching Rock Giant army. They then used the Guardian Knight''s Tier 2 Skill, Punishing Light and the Shield Warrior''s Tier 2, Skill War Rage. Both Skills were AOE Taunts and would temporarily force monsters to ignore everything but the Skills'' user. At the same time, the Skills increased the user''s Defense. The MT trio used the Taunts in three different locations. Although they could not pull every Rock Giant''s aggro, they held the majority of the monsters. Seeing the MTs stabilize their hold, Shi Feng followed up with Flame Domain. Towering pillars of fire rose from the ground, devouring every monster in the Rock Giant army. Arcs of electricity also danced around the flaming pillars. Not only did the first attack deal over -400,000 damage to each of the Rock Giants, but it had also inflicted the monsters with four stacks of the Electrified debuff, decreasing their Defense and reaction speed. By the time Flame Domain''s 7-second duration ended, quite a few Chieftain ranked Rock Giants were dead. Shi Feng then followed up with Lightning Edge, dealing over -300,000 damage to the remaining Rock Giants every second for five seconds. None of the Chieftain ranked Rock Giants had survived the two AOEs, reducing the monster army''s numbers by half. As a result, Cola and the others had an easier time gathering the remaining Rock Giants in a single location. "Good! DPS, attack!" Shi Feng commanded. Zhao Yueru, Blackie, Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, and Violet Cloud immediately released their large-scale destruction Spells. Although none of their attacks did as much damage as Shi Feng''s, when combined, the damage was astounding. Moreover, the Rock Giants now had ten stacks of the Electrified debuff, which eased the burden on Cola and his fellow MTs. After the wave of large-scale destruction Spells, the battlefield was void of Lord ranked Rock Giants. Now, only 40-plus half-HP High Lords and six Great Lords with two-thirds of their HPs remained. With this, the ''impossible'' task of clearing the encampment became a reachable goal. "Everyone, prioritize the High Lords! All MTs, separate them! Kite them, and don''t let them near you!" Shi Feng commanded. With ten stacks of the Electrified debuff, even Tier 1 MTs could easily evade the Great Lords'' attacks. As long as they maintained the ten stacks, they could kite the monsters without issue. Solitary Nine and Dark Madness dashed forward and pulled some of the Rock Giant''s aggro, which was currently chaotic due to the previous bombardment. They then kited their monsters around the team, allowing the ranged players to attack. Zero Wing and Asura''s members were treating the Rock Giants, which other teams had deemed impossible to defeat, like target practice. After suppressing the Rock Giants Defense, they were no more difficult than Orcs of the same level. In addition, with Aqua Rose and the others'' Tier 2 Skills, the team took less than 30 seconds to finish off a half-HP High Lord. Time passed quickly. Every five minutes, Shi Feng would cast Flame Domain. Every ten minutes, Shi Feng executed Lightning Edge and the others used large-scale destruction Spells like Frostflame Hell. In less than 30 minutes after the battle had begun, the Rock Giants in the encampment''s perimeter had been annihilated, feeding the team members'' EXP bars. Tier 1 players like Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru had even gained a full level from the abundant EXP. Meanwhile, the various superpowers who were raiding their second encampment finally eliminated the monsters in their encampment''s perimeters 1514 Powerful Combination Chapter 1514 - Powerful Combination After Zero Wing''s team swiftly cleared out the Rock Giant encampment''s outer area, news of its success soon reached the various superpowers. "They took out the outer area''s Rock Giants in less than half an hour?! How is that possible?!" "They kited everything in the perimeter at once? Aren''t they just a 50-man team? How is their DPS so high?" "I''ve really underestimated Zero Wing''s members. They might actually capture the Rock Giant encampment." The various superpowers were shocked. These superpowers had unanimously agreed that the Rock Giant encampment would be the most difficult to deal with. The Rock Giants'' Armor Break ability, in particular, posed a huge threat. If MTs tried to tank the monsters, they''d likely die. Hence, when fighting these monsters, the players would need to dodge as many attacks as possible. However, the Rock Giants were massive, which gave them a larger attack range than ordinary monsters. This made it very difficult for MTs to dodge the Rock Giants'' attacks. Even if a player were a Refinement Realm expert, constant evasive maneuvers would tax their bodies, yet if one relied on small evasive maneuvers, they''d fail to escape the monsters'' attack range. Relying on large evasive maneuvers for a short period wouldn''t be a problem for heavily armored MTs, but as fate would have it, the Rock Giants had both high HP and Defense. It would take a considerable amount of time to kill them. On the off chance that the MTs ran out of Stamina midway through the fight, the team would have to flee and start all over again The amount of time a team would waste in dealing with the Rock Giants was only a small part of the problem. The bigger issue was the levels players would lose when they died. If players lost too many levels, they might not be able to use their current weapons and equipment, forced to use old items or retire from combat completely. Unlike in Team Dungeons, MTs could only afford to die a very small number of times on Thunder Island. Compared to the other superpowers, when Nine Dragons Emperor, who was in the middle of an encampment raid, heard the news, his expression twisted with fury. First, Zero Wing had stolen his Orc encampment, wasting the time and effort his team had put into their first raid. Now, before he had even cleared out the new encampment''s perimeter, Zero Wing had cleared out the Rock Giant encampment''s perimeter. If this news reached the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Elders, their estimation of him would plummet. "Pavilion Master, now that Zero Wing''s team has cleared the perimeter, we can organize a team to harass them. Even if we can''t eliminate Zero Wing''s team, we can at least prevent them from securing a second encampment," Martial Dragon suggested. There was a huge difference between a monster encampment''s inner region and its perimeter. Although more monsters patrolled the perimeter, the monsters in the inner region were, on average, much stronger. Take the Rock Giant encampment, for example. The weakest Rock Giant in the inner area was a Lord. Although there weren''t as many of them, they were more difficult to defeat. If they sent a force to the Rock Giant encampment now, it''d arrive within 30 or so minutes. It was highly unlikely that Zero Wing would reach the Guardian Boss before the force got there. They definitely had a chance of disrupting the troublesome Guild''s raid. "No, we can''t afford the risk. Don''t forget that they still have a teleportation gate that allows them to travel across the island instantly. If we split our forces, they might come to steal our encampment again. Besides, do you really think that the Rock Giant encampment is that easy to raid? Don''t forget that the Guardian Boss is a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species." Although Nine Dragons Emperor hated to admit it, his current team could not afford to provoke Zero Wing. "For now, tell all of our available forces to gather here. We''ll use everything we have to raid this encampment." "Understood. I''ll notify them right away." As Martial Dragon listened to his commander''s reasoning, he remembered Zero Wing''s trump card. It was precisely because of that trump card that their team had suffered one defeat after another and had yet to capture a single encampment. Nearby, Lonely Heaven, Firmament''s Guild Leader, wore a solemn expression when he heard of Zero Wing''s success. How can this be? When Lonely Heaven heard that Zero Wing had begun to raid the Rock Giant encampment''s inner region, regret gripped his heart. He had been displeased with Phoenix Rain''s actions. After all, Firmament was a bona fide first-rage Guild that had focused on developing its navy, yet Phoenix Rain considered Zero Wing more important, even providing the Guild with various benefits and a ton of Credits. By doing so, Phoenix Rain had silently expressed her opinion that Firmament couldn''t compare to a Guild like Zero Wing. Hence, he had decided to join Nine Dragons Emperor''s side instead. By doing so, not only would Firmament secure a temporary teleportation array on Thunder Island, but Nine Dragons Emperor would invest in the Guild, allowing Firmament to develop far more quickly. Yet, his decision had backfired. Even if Nine Dragons secured a monster encampment, Firmament wouldn''t get a temporary teleportation array. On the other hand, Zero Wing, whom he had assumed was unfoundedly arrogant when the Guild had promised Phoenix Rain two monster encampments, was close to fulfilling that promise Without the temporary teleportation array on Thunder Island, Firmament would not have the foundation to develop in the Sea of Death. As Lonely Castle regretted his decision to betray Phoenix Rain, Shi Feng''s team rapidly cleared out the Rock Giant encampment''s inner region. Shi Feng was more careful in the inner area than he had been in the perimeter. He had Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian only lure three or four patrol squads as each was led by a Great Lord. While Cola''s group kited the Rock Giants, Solitary Nine and Dark Madness pulled the stragglers'' aggro. Like so, the team steadily reduced the number of patrol squads around the Guardian Boss. As the team faced fewer monsters, they had a much easier time killing the Rock Giants. Each wave only took around ten minutes or so to finish off. After fighting for around an hour, they had dealt with all 200-plus Rock Giants in the encampment''s core. The only monsters remaining were the Level 60 Rock King and two Level 60 Rock Guards in the center of the encampment. [Rock King] (Elemental Creature, Archaic Species, Grand Lord) Level 60 HP 200,000,000/200,000,000 [Rock Guard] (Elemental Creature, Specialized, Grand Lord) Level 60 HP 150,000,000/150,000,000 Zero Wing and Asura''s members shuddered when they saw the three Bosses'' HPs. Each Rock Guard had three HP bars. Meanwhile, the Rock King had five. Players HP bars were an indicator of how much HP they had at any time. HP bars had a different meaning for monsters. Each HP bar a monster possessed signified their combat standards; a monster with more than one had higher combat standards than a monster of the same rank and level with a single bar. A monster with three HP bars could exhibit combat standards on par with players who could reach the Trial Tower''s third-floor, while a monster with five HP bars could reach the Trial Tower''s fifth-floor. Although this evaluation method was not necessarily accurate, it was not that far off the actual numbers. Reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth-floor meant that one had the standards of an expert. No matter how they looked at it, fighting an expert with 200,000,000 HP was suicidal. Besides which, their team only had 50 players. "Guild Leader, how should we fight it?" Aqua Rose asked as she watched the Rock King. She had no idea how they should raid this Guardian Boss. "Cola, Ye Wumian, and Solitary, switch shields with each other. Cola will use Solitary''s, Ye Wumian will use Cola''s, and Solitary will use Ye Wumian''s. Cola will tank the Rock King, and I''ll support you from the sides. Turtledove and Ye Wumian will tank the two Specialized Bosses with Solitary and Dark''s support. When the fight begins, lure the two Specialized Bosses away. Everyone else, focus your attacks on the Rock King! "If no has an issue with that plan, let''s begin!" Although Shi Feng had never raided any of the monster encampments on Thunder Island during his previous life, he had watched plenty of raid videos. Hence, he, more or less, knew how to raid the Rock King. However, at the end of the day, the Rock King was an Archaic Species. For safety''s sake, it would be best if Cola used the Titan Guard. "Switch shields?" Cola was confused. He currently had the Epic ranked Dragonscale Shield equipped, yet Shi Feng wanted him to use Solitary Nine''s shield. 1515 Oppressing an Archaic Species Chapter 1515 - Oppressing an Archaic Species When Gentle Snow and the other Zero Wing upper echelons heard Shi Feng''s command, they gave him confused looks. Since Cola would tank the Rock King, he should use the best items they had, yet Shi Feng didn''t want him to use the Dragonscale Shield. This would undoubtedly make raiding the Rock King even more difficult. Moreover, they were more surprised to hear that Shi Feng would support Cola. Aside from high HP and Defense, the Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior classes also had Passive Skills that reduced the damage and paralysis effect they suffered from attacks. The Swordsman class did not possess such Skills. Meanwhile, the more powerful a Boss was, the longer a player would be paralyzed after receiving one of its attacks. If the paralysis remained for too long, the MT could fail to keep up their defensive cycle and die. Hence, teams rarely relied on non-MT plate armor classes to support lead MTs, generally relying on Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. However, after Cola received the Titan Guard and checked the shield''s Attributes, his jaw dropped. For a moment, he even wondered if his eyes were playing a trick. "What amazing Attributes!" Cola stared at the Titan Guard with wide eyes. Originally, he had been somewhat reluctant to part with the Dragonscale Shield, but he fell in love with the Titan Guard at first sight. Fragmented Legendary items were practically myths in God''s Domain. Although the Titan Guard was an Epic item right now, he could upgrade it to Fragmented Legendary rank once he gathered 100,000 Magic Crystals. He''d even dare to provoke a Mythic monster with the shield equipped, not to mention a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Furthermore, even at Epic rank, Titan Guard''s Attributes and Skills were far more impressive than the Dragonscale Shield''s. A moment later, everyone moved into position and prepared to deal with the Rock King and its Rock Guards. Even from over 100 yards away, the team members could feel the Rock King''s terrifying aura. Their breath quickened. This was especially true for the melee players. The Rock King''s massive frame, 30-meters tall, loomed like a tall building. They did not doubt that they could die instantly should they fail to cope with its attacks appropriately. "MTs, start the raid!" Shi Feng shouted once everyone was ready. With Shi Feng''s command, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian exploded into action, charging at the Level 60 Rock King and Rock Guards separately. The moment the MTs were within the monsters'' 100-yard perception range, the three Bosses, which stood at the altar in the center of the encampment, opened their crimson eyes. The instant the three Bosses opened their eyes, Shi Feng activated Thunder Domain to suppress the Rock Giants. However, the ability wasn''t as effective, only suppressing the Rock King and Rock Guards'' Basic Attributes by 20%. Even after Thunder Domain activated, the Rock King had 180,000,000 HP. Thunder Domain''s suppression enraged the Rock King. The Guardian Boss bellowed and flexed its arms. It then slammed its fists against the ground. Boom! Upon impact, the ground shattered and a powerful shockwave radiated away from the Rock King. Like a tidal wave, the ground around the Rock King rose over ten meters high as it surged towards Cola and the others; the earth tsumani''s length was impossible to avoid. Tier 3 Spell, Earth Pulsation! Seeing this, the MT trio did not dare to be careless as they immediately activated their Lifesaving Skills. Protection Blessing! Shield Wall! The healers on the rear-line instantly began to cast magic shields and HoT (heal-over-time) Spells on the three MTs. Upon colliding with the Rock King''s Earth Pulsation, the magic shields protecting Cola and the others shattered, and the three MTs were thrown over a dozen yards backward. When their bodies slammed into the ground, their HPs began to decrease rapidly. Only after falling past the 50% threshold did their HPs stop. Seeing this, Gentle Snow and the others gasped. A single hit had devoured over half of their three MTs'' HP. Moreover, this was after they had activated their Lifesaving Skills. Without their Lifesaving Skills, the MT trio would have died. Fortunately, Shi Feng had only sent these three first. "MTs, secure aggro! Healers, use everything you have on the MTs! Everyone else, only attack after the MTs have the aggro!" Shi Feng remained unfazed. After all, this was merely the Rock King''s opening attack. Although he had never raided the Rock King personally, he had watched recordings of numerous Thunder Island contests. He was very familiar with the island''s Guardian Bosses. He knew all of their Skills and weaknesses. Two factors made the Rock King a particularly challenging foe: Meteor Bombardment and Life Division. Both were powerful team-wipe moves. If these not dealt with appropriately, these Skills would annihilate a team. Players would not even have a chance to escape. Compared to those two moves, the Tier 3 Earth Pulsation was child''s play. Otherwise, the Rock King would not have been publicly acknowledged as one of the three strongest Bosses on Thunder Island. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, everyone went into action. Cola secured his aggro on the Rock King and started to kite the Guardian Boss in circles, while Turtledove and Ye Wumian lured the two Rock Guards far away from the Guardian Boss. Meanwhile, Solitary Nine and Dark Madness assisted Turtledove and Ye Wumian in kiting the Rock Guards. However, a Grand Lord was still a Grand Lord at the end of the day. Even if Thunder Domain weakened the Rock King and Rock Guards, their Movement Speeds and Attack Speeds were still superior to the Great Lord ranked Rock Giants''. When the three Bosses attacked the MTs with their palms, it looked as if they were swatting flies. Each of their palms was easily eight yards across. Despite Cola and the others'' promotions to Tier 2, they struggled to dodge the Bosses'' attacks and were hit from time to time. Turtledove and Ye Wumian were somewhat lucky. Due to their Lifesaving Skills still being active, they only received around -8,000 damage when they blocked the Rock Guards'' normal attacks. Cola, however, was not as fortunate. When the Rock King slapped him, Cola angled his shield, forcing the Rock King''s palm to slide off as he deflected the attack, but he still received over -12,000 damage. Fortunately, Cola''s HP had risen to 73,000 after switching to the Titan Guard, which allowed him to nullify an attack every 20 seconds. Thank goodness I switched to the Titan Guard. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be able to tank this thing. The more Cola employed the Titan Guard, the more he fell in love with it. In his opinion, the extra HP and damage nullification were secondary. The paralysis reduction effect was the shield''s true power. The 30% paralysis reduction allowed him to dodge and block the Rock King''s attacks more easily. Without that effect, he wouldn''t be able to react in time to block the second attack even if he blocked the first and reduced its damage. He''d have to receive the full brunt of the Rock King''s attacks, and if that happened, he wouldn''t be surprised to suffer -30,000 damage with a successful block. The Rock King was no pushover, either. The Archaic Species'' bloodline gave the Rock King higher Attack Speed and reaction speed than the other Rock Giants. As a result, it could strike Cola twice, worsening the paralysis effect the Guardian Knight suffered. When the Rock King''s third attack descended, Cola couldn''t move into position to deflect the attack in time, having no choice but to block the attack with the full breadth of Titan Guard. Suddenly, a blue flash struck the Rock King''s descending palm. Boom! The impact deviated the Rock King''s attack trajectory, its palm strike landing half a yard away from Cola. "Guild Leader!" Aqua Rose and the others were shocked. Shi Feng had dealt the blow that deviated the Rock King''s attack, yet despite taking a hit, he had only lost a little over 10,000 HP. He had received less damage than Cola when the MT deflected an attack. The most impressive aspect of the counterattack was that Shi Feng didn''t show any signs of suffering paralysis. The Sacred Sword he wielded only trembled slightly. Players had to rely on their own Attributes on Thunder Island, prohibited from using any Berserk Skills, yet Shi Feng had still accomplished such an astounding feat 1516 Slaying the King Chapter 1516 - Slaying the King What tremendous Strength! Shi Feng glanced at the vibrating, humming Sacred Sword in his hand. His teammates were amazed that Shi Feng had only received a little over -10,000 damage from deflecting the Rock King''s attack. However, only Shi Feng understood how high the damage truly was. Currently, he was a Level 60, Tier 2 Blade Saint. In addition, he had multiple Epic Weapons and pieces of Equipment on top of three Fragmented Legendary items. Although rings and capes provided a much lower boost than weapons, they were still precious Fragmented Legendary items; Epic items simply couldn''t compare. He also had the Aura of Earth, which increased his Defence and decreased incoming damage, activated, yet despite these factors, he still took over -10,000 damage from just redirecting the Rock King''s attack. Had he received the Guardian Boss''s attack head-on, the consequences would have been dire. After Shi Feng deflected the Rock King''s attack, the latter swung its other arm, attacking Cola again. However, since Shi Feng had bought Cola a moment''s peace, he had recovered from the paralysis effect. He immediately turned and leaped backward, his shield angled to defect the Guardian Boss''s attack while using the resulting impact to propel himself towards the Rock King. When Cola returned to the ground, he stood next to the Rock King''s feet. He then brandished his sword, a streak of golden light smashing into the Boss''s massive foot. Tier 2 Skill, Divine Strike! Suddenly, a high amount of damage appeared above the Rock King''s head. -52,497! But Cola wasn''t satisfied. The Tier 2 Divine Strike was his strongest Skill, and Thunder God''s Power added lightning damage to his attack, yet he only dealt a little over -50,000 damage. If he were fighting any other Boss, he would deal over -80,000 damage. However, due to this attack, Cola had stabilized his aggro on the Boss. "Everyone, focus your fire on the Rock King!" Shi Feng commanded. Immediately, the ranged classes launched one attack after another. Unfortunately, most of the damages weren''t particularly high. On average, Tier 1 Skills only dealt around -14,000 damage to the Guardian Boss, whereas Tier 1 players'' normal damage hovered between five and six thousand. Moreover, this was including the bonus damage from Thunder God''s Power "Just how high is this Rock King''s Defense?" Everyone winced when they saw their meager damages. Their damage and levels currently ranked at the very peak of God''s Domain, yet against this Boss, their damage was pitiful. The Rock King''s current maximum HP was 160,000,000. It could regenerate 1,600,000 HP every five seconds, 320,000 HP every second. Meanwhile, their team only included 35 DPS players. If everyone only dealt an average of -10,000 damage per second, they''d barely do any actual damage to the Guardian Boss Fortunately, they had the damage increase from Thunder God''s Power. Otherwise, they''d have no hope of defeating this Guardian Boss. Only now did Zero Wing and Asura''s experts understand why the various superpowers had saved the Rock Giant encampment for last. It wasn''t just because of how challenging the ordinary Rock Giants were to clear out, but because of the difficulty of raiding the Rock King. However, when Aqua Rose and the other Tier 2 ranged players made their move, damages over -20,000 began to appear above the monster''s head. Some attacks even dealt over -40,000 damage. After the first wave of ranged attacks, Fire Dance, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Rampant Blade, and Gentle Snow and the other Tier 1 melee players finally assaulted the Boss. Tier 2 Skill, Successive Shadowsteps! Tier 2 Skill, Blade Storm! Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Frozen River! When the Tier 2 players'' numerous Skills struck the Rock King, the rest of the team was astonished. -56,487! -124,678! -58,037! -42,054! -31,675! Massive amounts of damage appeared above the Rock King''s head, one after another, swiftly reducing the Guardian Boss''s HP. Fire Dance''s attacks, in particular, were absurdly strong. Her normal attacks alone dealt over -13,000 damage each, nearly -30,000 damage with a critical hit. When she used her Skills, she could easily deal over -50,000 damage, over -100,000 damage if she achieved a critical hit. Fire Dance alone dealt more damage than five Tier 1 melee players combined. "Big Sis Fire really is too fierce. Even though I''m going all-out, I can''t deal half as much damage as she can" Blackie''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he saw the team''s damage ranks. Despite both of them being Tier 2 players, there was such a massive gap between them. So, she is one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons? Lifeless Thorn was at a loss for words as he looked at Fire Dance''s consistent damage. Cleansing Whistle and the other Asura members were similarly stunned. Back in Cold Wind City, Lifeless Thorn''s DPS had ranked at the very top. Now, however, they encountered so many players that far surpassed his DPS. They had even met a player like Fire Dance, whose DPS was simply monstrous. However, the most impressive player among them was still Shi Feng. Despite helping Cola fend off the Rock King from time to time, he ranked first on the team in total damage dealt. Moreover, there was a massive gap between him and the second-ranked Fire Dance. With a casual swing of his sword, Shi Feng dealt over -20,000 damage to the Rock King, over -50,000 with a critical hit. When he used the Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Blade, each of the nine shadows dealt over -60,000 damage. When he used Flame Burst, each of the fifteen attacks dealt over -200,000 damage. In addition, Shi Feng had the doppelganger he summoned with Phantom Kill. Although the doppelganger only wielded 90% of Shi Feng''s Attributes, it still dealt about the same amount of damage as Fire Dance. The team continued to chip away at the Rock King''s HP. Even after Cola''s Protection Blessing ran out and the Guardian Knight began to take around -26,000 damage when deflecting the Rock King''s attacks, he was able to keep his HP above a safe threshold with Shi Feng''s timely help in deflecting attacks. Time passed quickly. When the Rock King''s HP fell to 50%, its body abruptly curled. A magic array with a 500-yard radius appeared beneath its feet, and the surge of Mana moving towards the array gave everyone a moment of discomfort. A second later, crimson meteors began to rain from the sky. This move was none other than the Rock King''s team-wipe move, Meteor Bombardment! "Everyone, gather to me!" Shi Feng shouted when he saw the descending meteors. Although none of them knew what Shi Feng intended to do, they did as they were told. Just before the meteors struck the team, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Earth''s only Activatable Skill, Absolute Domain! When activated, the Skill gave Shi Feng immunity to all damage for 10 seconds and his allies within 50 yards immunity for 5 seconds. Suddenly, a golden glow enveloped the team. Even when the two Rock Guards bombarded Turtledove and Ye Wumian with attacks, the MTs took no damage. As the first wave of flaming meteors crashed into the ground, towering mushroom clouds rose up around the Rock King. The ground shook as if Armageddon had come. Not even the Rock Guards were spared as a meteor struck each of them, shattering their bodies into countless fragments Unfortunately, the Rock Guards were Elemental Creatures. Even after they had shattered, they quickly gathered the broken pieces and reconstructed themselves. Only, as soon as they reformed, another wave of meteors crashed into them, shattering them once again. Each meteor wave dealt millions of damage to the two Grand Lords. In the end, the Rock Guards'' bodies had been destroyed nine times throughout Meteor Bombardment''s 4-second duration. When the smoke and dust settled, it revealed the utter disaster the Rock Giant encampment had become. Massive craters littered the encampment. Meanwhile, the Rock King had lost over 10,000,000 HP in its own attack. Seeing this, the players nearly lost their footing. Fortunately, they had been protected by Shi Feng''s Absolute Domain. Otherwise, they would have all died. "Good! The meteors have forced the Boss into a Weakened state! Attack with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng commanded when he saw the Rock King, who remained immobile after its Spell had ended. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, everyone quickly resumed with their assault, bombarding the Rock King with every Skill and Spell they had. The Weakened Rock King''s Defense was at an all-time low, doubling everyone''s damage. Since the Rock King was immobile, they didn''t need to worry about it blocking their attacks, either. A series of damages appeared above the Rock King''s head, draining its HP like flowing water. In less than a minute, the Rock King''s HP fell to 20%, at which point the Guardian Boss stood and bellowed in rage. Cracks formed across its body before numerous fragments began to fall off. These fragments then formed Lord ranked Rock Giants, the exact same number as the team''s players - 50. This sudden change also decreased the Rock King''s HP to 10%, but it had entered a defensive state, significantly increasing its Defense. Now, the team members'' attacks dealt less than 20% of what they did originally. This was the Rock King''s other team-wipe move, Life Division. If players couldn''t defeat the Lord ranked Rock Giants in time, these Rock Giants would be reabsorbed and restore the Rock King''s HP, each Rock Giant healing the Guardian Boss for 1% of its HP. Meanwhile, if the Rock King''s HP recovered to 50%, it would use Meteor Bombardment again The team nearly succumbed to despair at this turn of events. The only thing preventing them from thoroughly falling into despair was the fact that the 50 Lord ranked Rock Giants only had 9,000,000 HP each. After including the 30% suppression from Thunder Domain, each Rock Giant only had 7,200,000 HP. Shi Feng, however, had long since prepared for this moment. Relaxed, he commanded, "Cola, aggro the mobs! Blackie, give Cola a Guardian of Light! Everyone with large-scale destruction Spells, use them!" Hearing the command, Cola dashed into the monster crowd and used the Tier 2 AOE Taunt, Punishing Light. Immediately, all 50 Rock Giants set their sights on Cola. At the same time, Blackie cast Guardian of Light, rendering the Guardian Knight immune to all magic damage and reducing incoming physical damage by 80%. At the same time, the Skill healed Cola for 5% of his HP every second for 20 seconds. With Cola''s Defense and Guardian of Light''s damage reduction, he only took around -300 damage from the Level 60 Lords'' attacks. Even when he received a direct hit, he only took -1,000 damage. With Guardian of Light''s healing, he easily endured the Rock Giants'' attacks. After Cola used Tier 1 Devotion, another AOE Taunt, Shi Feng, Blackie, Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, and Zhao Yueru simultaneously cast their large-scale destruction Spells. Despite the numerous Spells raining down on him, Cola received no damage, but the same could not be said for the Rock Giants. By the time every large-scale destruction Spell ended, the 50 Rock Giants were no more. Once the team annihilated the Rock Giants, the Rock King was forced out of its defensive state and sustained another 20-second Weakened period. "Attack with everything you''ve got! Don''t let it split a second time!" Shi Feng shouted. Shadow Blade! Phantom Kill! Nine Dragons Slash! Dragon Breath! As Shi Feng executed these Skills, he sacrificed 20 units of Life Force and activated the strongest Divine Providence. When the Rock King''s HP fell below 1,000,000, he followed up with Flame Burst. In the end, he only needed three hits to destroy the Rock King''s final strand of HP. 1517 Kings Reward Chapter 1517 - King''s Reward "We won!" "The Boss is finally dead!" Zero Wing cried out in excitement as they watched the Rock King crumbling into a pile of rubble. The Rock King''s death, it meant that they now owned the Rock Giant Encampment. Now that they had secured two of Thunder Island''s monster encampment, they would secure nearly one-eighth of the authority over Thunder Island, becoming one of the island''s main rulers. When the Rock King''s corpse began to fade out of existence, a pillar of light rose from it and shot into the sky. Even players outside Thunder Island could see the pillar of golden light. "What''s going on over there?" "What''s up with that light pillar?" "The light pillar seems to be coming from the Rock Giant encampment''s direction." "Quick, have our scouts investigate the area!" Players both outside of and on Thunder Island turned towards the golden light pillar almost simultaneously. When the various superpowers'' observers adjusted their Magic Mirrors to scout the situation over at the Rock Giant encampment, what they saw dumbfounded them. Only two Rock Guards were left alive in the encampment the various superpowers abandoned. The Archaic Species Rock King was nowhere to be seen "Why is the Rock King gone?" "Could they have Impossible! How can they possibly defeat it with just 50 people?!" Although no one could bring themselves to believe that Zero Wing had managed to defeat the Rock King with only 50 players, they couldn''t find any signs of the Guardian Boss''s massive figure regardless of how hard they searched the encampment. The only noteworthy thing in the encampment was the golden pillar extending from a pile of rubble. With this, they had no choice but to accept the fact that Zero Wing''s 50-man team had secured the Rock Giant encampment. The various observers reported what they saw to their superiors on the island. "What? How is that possible? Zero Wing managed to secure a second encampment before we did?" "Just what did they do?" Although Zero Wing''s clearing speed surprised them, they were still confident that they could claim their second encampment before Zero Wing was anywhere close to defeating the Rock King. Then they would be able to secure their third encampment with little effort. After all, the Guardian Boss there couldn''t be defeated easily, especially not with a 50-player team. Not only did Zero Wing manage to clear the monsters in the inner and outer areas, but it defeated the Rock King quickly. This outcome exceeded their expectations. When Phoenix Rain received this shocking news, she, too, was astonished. They actually succeeded?! Phoenix Rain looked at the Rock King''s remains with an indescribable sense of shock. At this point in the contest, the various superpowers had almost finished claiming their second encampment, and they had far more players than she and Zero Wing. However, these superpowers had many more players that she and Zero Wing did. If not for their lack of manpower and Nine Dragons Emperor''s interference early on, they could''ve secured more than just two encampments. In contrast to the reactions of Phoenix Rain''s team, Nine Dragons Emperor''s players wore grim expressions when they heard the news. "How did they defeat the Boss so quickly?" "Was the Rock King actually an easy raid?" "Right! That must be it! How else would Zero Wing''s 50-man team have cleared out an encampment faster than us?!" When Nine Dragons Emperor''s team members looked at the distant light pillar, they were envious. Despite fighting desperately, they had yet to clear out the monsters in the encampment''s inner area. On the other hand, despite starting the raid on the encampment''s inner area much later than they did, Zero Wing''s team already defeated the Rock King, a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Damn it! How did things end up like this?! Lonely Castle''s eyes were bloodshot from rage and envy. Had he known something like this would happen, he would never have agreed to cooperate with Nine Dragons Emperor. Although he wouldn''t receive any financial support from Phoenix Rain, he would have obtained a temporary teleportation array on Thunder Island at the very least. With the teleportation array, Firmament would be able to further the development of its naval forces and gain the opportunity to surpass the other first-rate naval Guilds. Now that opportunity was gone. "Pavilion Master, this will be troublesome. Now that Phoenix Rain has secured two monster encampments, the Great Pavilion Master will side with her," Martial Dragon said as he gave the light pillar a grim look. Had Phoenix Rain only secured one monster encampment, they could still, more or less, compete with her, but they''d lose their advantage if she secured two encampments. Not only could she convince more large Guilds to ally with her, but she would also gain the Guild Elders'' support during the next contest. Phoenix Rain also had a powerful ally like Zero Wing. Not only would Phoenix Rain be able to get more players to take part in the next Thunder Island contest, but she would also have many more powerful experts supporting her. "Zero Wing?" Killing intent welled up within Nine Dragons Emperor. Immediately, he commanded, "After the battle, notify Beast Emperor that I''ll support him fully. But I have one condition. I want Zero Wing eliminated from God''s Domain!" "This The Guild Elders will likely voice their opinions about this matter. After all, Zero Wing is in the same boat as Phoenix Rain. If we use the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strength to deal with Zero Wing publicly" Martial Dragon said worriedly when he heard Nine Dragons Emperor''s chilling tone. "Let them! As long as Phoenix Rain loses Zero Wing''s support, we''ll have a chance to struggle onward!" Nine Dragons Emperor stated, determined. His voice radiated killing intent. He had always treated Zero Wing as one of Phoenix Rain''s chess pieces and had never placed any importance on the Guild. Now he fully understood that Zero Wing was no mere chess piece. Instead, it was Phoenix Rain''s lifesaver. He would be eliminated from the competition for the Great Pavillion Master''s position sooner or later if he didn''t disregard his reputation and destroy Zero Wing while it was still developing. Even if he had to earn the Great Pavillion Master''s displeasure, he was determined to destroy Zero Wing thoroughly. "Understood!" Martial Dragon looked at Nine Dragons Emperor''s determination in shock. Nine Dragons Emperor would normally only place such great importance on Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds, yet he was doing the same for Zero Wing now. In fact, this was the first time he had ever seen Nine Dragons Emperor willing to go to such lengths to defeat a foe. Zero Wing''s members received a system notification while the various superpowers were shocked by their successful capture of the Rock Giant encampment. System: Congratulations! You have defeated the Rock King with less than 100 people. Rewarding 15 Thunder Island Reputation and 800 Thunder Island Contribution Points. System: Congratulations! You have defeated the Rock King during the first struggle for Thunder Island! Rewarding 20 Free Mastery Points, 5 Legacy Skill Points, and 1,000 Thunder Island Contribution Points. Two system notifications appeared consecutively, stunning the team. While they might not know the value of Thunder Island''s Contribution Points, they knew the importance of Mastery Points and Legacy Skill Points. When one had enough Mastery Points, their base damage would increase. As for Legacy Skill Points, players typically on received some when they leveled up. With the five points they just received, they could easily learn an additional Tier 1 Legacy Skill. They could even learn a Tier 2 Legacy Skill if they obtained some more points, greatly enhancing their combat power. It was true that Shi Feng''s leadership had allowed them to defeat the Rock King so easily this time, but another reason that quite a few players in the team possessed Tier 2 Skills, which allowed their team''s overall damage to exceed the Rock King''s battle recovery. After the system notifications ended, the light pillar rising from the center of the encampment began dissipating gradually. Dazzling items of various shapes and color then rained down from the sky, forming a small mountain where the Rock King''s corpse had previously lain. The brilliant glow and powerful aura the mountain of items radiated moved the team members'' hearts. The reward for the First Kill of Thunder Island''s Three Great Bosses is tremendous. Shi Feng was also quite surprised. Although he had expected the Rock King''s loot to be extraordinary, he hadn''t expected this much. The amount of loot here could already rival the loot from killing three or four Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level 1518 Magic Workshop Chapter 1518 - Magic Workshop The Rock King''s loot did not shock only Shi Feng and his team. Even the players watching the encampment from outside of the island drooled when they saw the small mountain of items. "Isn''t the Rock King only an Archaic Species? Why did it drop so many items?" "By the looks of it, there should be more than 150 items!" "If I had that loot, I could make a fortune overnight by selling them!" Everyone felt a deep jealousy of Zero Wing as they looked at the Rock Giant''s loot. The Rock King was a Level 60, Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. The most common item would drop would be at least Level 50-plus Fine-Gold Equipment. If one were lucky, it might even drop Level 50-plus Dark-Gold Equipment. Even Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds'' experts would drool over Level 50-plus Fine-Gold Equipment, not to mention Dark-Gold Equipment. Epic items were simply too rare. Not even superpowers'' peak experts necessarily had one. At a glance, they could spot over 30 weapons and pieces of equipment among the loot. One could just imagine how valuable that miniature mountain was. The various superpowers'' experts were very close to Level 50 and urgently trying to collect Level 50 top-tier equipment for the Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeons. Now that Zero Wing had all of these weapons and pieces of equipment, it would gain a definite advantage over other Guilds when raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. Meanwhile, in the Rock Giant encampment, Shi Feng began to organize the loot once he recovered from his shock. He left the remaining two Rock Guards to Turtledove, Ye Wumian, and the arriving Tier 2 NPCs. Although the Rock Guards were Specialized Grand Lords, they were no longer a threat to the two MTs under the suppression of the encampment''s magic array. It was only a matter of time before they fell. By the time two Rock Guards died, Shi Feng finished going through the loot. The abundance of the Rock King''s loot had greatly exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. In total, the Rock King had dropped 183 items. Among them, 55 were super-rare materials, 71 were Gemstones of various kinds, 24 were Magic Scrolls, and 32 were weapons and pieces of equipment. The most inferior of the weapons and equipment was Level 50 Fine-Gold rank, while the best items were three Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons. Each of these weapons could easily fetch over 1,000 Gold on the market. However, what surprised Shi Feng most were the three pieces of the Breaker Set, a Level 55 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The Breaker Set was an eight-piece set equipment for the Berserker class. Normally, it only dropped in super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Shi Feng had never expected the Rock King to drop Level 55 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Moreover, the Breaker Set was a unique Dark-Gold Set Equipment. If players collected two or more pieces of the set, the set''s level requirement would decrease by five levels. This meant that Level 50 players could equip the items. In terms of Basic Attributes, the individual pieces of the Breaker Set were only slightly weaker than Level 50 Epic Equipment. The Guardian Boss had also dropped a piece of Epic Growth-type Equipment called the Soul Robe. The Soul Robe wasn''t restricted to a specific class, although its Skills and Attributes were suited for healers. When equipped, the robe increased the potency of the wearer''s Healing Spells by 5%. The robe also offered the Passive Skill, Soul Fluctuation. This Passive Skill would recover the wearer''s Mana even when in combat. This Skill was akin to an everlasting Mana Recovery Potion during battle. With this Skill, a healer could support their allies without worrying about Mana. When Shi Feng shared the Soul Robe''s Attribute Panel with the team, it earned a round of gasps. During the game''s early stages, players didn''t place much importance on their Mana, but as they reached higher levels, their Skills and Spells increased in both quantity and quality. As a result, their Mana consumption increased as well. The higher tiered a Skill or Spell was, the more Mana it consumed. Hence, if players wanted to raid Bosses, the Soul Robe was a must-have item. Following which, Shi Feng handed the Soul Robe to Violet Cloud. Whether players were up against other players or monsters, a powerful healer on a team was of the utmost importance. Giving the robe to Violet Cloud was undoubtedly the wisest decision. Not only would it improve her healing, but she''d also have an easier time managing her Mana. She''d have more leeway when choosing Spells and could maximize the team''s survivability. However, the last item the Rock King had dropped was the only one that truly attacked Shi Feng''s attention. The Magic Workshop Design! For a moment, Shi Feng even wondered if he were hallucinating as he gazed at the thick, dusty tome in his hands. The Magic Workshop was one of the three major buildings players could construct in a Guild Residence, but only a small number of Guilds had ever constructed one for themselves in the past. The first reason was the Magic Workshop Design''s low drop-rate. Normally, only Level 60-plus Mythic Field Bosses had a sliver of a chance of dropping the design. Unfortunately, Mythic monsters were exceedingly rare in the fields. The second reason was the construction materials. The main materials to construct the Magic Workshop were incredibly rare and precious. The list even included Seven Luminaries Crystals, the design requiring 200 units. That was the equivalent of four to six hundred Seven Luminaries Crystals This was why, even after obtaining the design, most Guilds had been unwilling to construct the building. With that many Seven Luminaries Crystals, one could set up a relatively large Mind Space. However, the Guilds that had built the Magic Workshops had proven that the sooner they did so, the more beneficial it would be to the Guild''s development. The Magic Workshop had a wide range of use. Chief among them was Magic Scroll production. The Magic Scrolls on the market were generally attack, defense, or summoning scrolls. Meanwhile, the Magic Workshop could produce Support Scrolls. These scrolls were tierless and similar to players'' buff Spells and Skills. Only, the buffs didn''t increase players'' Basic Attributes, Magic Resistance, or Defense. Instead, the buffs improved aspects of a more intrinsic in nature. For example, players could see farther, hear clearer, and react faster. These buffs allowed players to exhibit more of their own strength, covertly helping them become stronger. It was similar to the difference between a Refinement Realm expert and an ordinary expert. Even if both players had the same Basic Attributes, their combat power was vastly different. The Support Scrolls fell into two main categories: individual support and team support. They were extremely useful when exploring the maps and raiding Dungeons. Unfortunately, players needed to gather the required materials before paying the Magic Workshop''s NPCs to produce the scrolls for them. But after obtaining the Support Scrolls, players'' leveling speed and survivability would improve significantly. These scrolls effectiveness depended on the Magic Workshop''s rank. The higher a Magic Workshop''s rank, it would produce a wider variety of and stronger Support Scrolls. However, it was not easy to upgrade a Magic Workshop. This was another reason that Guilds were recommended to construct the building as soon as possible. In the past, a rumor had floated around stating that the Support Scrolls from a 7-star Magic Workshop would grant an ordinary expert the temporary ability to contend with a Refinement Realm expert on equal footing. However, Shi Feng had never seen or heard of any Guild successfully upgrading their Magic Workshop to seven stars. The highest rank he had seen was a 5-star Magic Workshop. Even so, a 5-star Magic Workshop could improve Guild members'' strength by leaps and bounds. Many of the first-rate Guilds that had hesitated to construct their Magic Workshops after obtaining the design had regretted their decisions. After Shi Feng finished examining the Magic Workshop Design, he stored it in his bag, afraid that he would lose it accidentally. After dealing with the Rock Giant encampment, Shi Feng didn''t attempt to raid another encampment. He simply guarded the Rock Giant encampment while waiting for the contest to end. They simply didn''t have enough time to raid another encampment, and Thunder God''s Power was still on Cooldown. Without the Thunder God''s Charm''s Skill to assist them, it would take a very long time for their 50-man team to raid an ordinary monster encampment, not to mention the remaining encampment that had a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species as a Guardian Boss. Meanwhile, the Sacred Temple, which raided its third encampment, encountered an unexpected problem. Halfway through the raid, Miracle attacked the Sacred Temple and stole the encampment, becoming one of the only two Guilds on Thunder Island to secure three monster encampments. "Hahaha! Despite their arrogance, the bastards from the Sacred Temple ended up with only two encampments, just like us!" Blackie could not help but laugh when he heard this news. The rest of the team nodded and expressed their agreement. The Sacred Temple had looked down on Zero Wing and displayed zero sincerity in their negotiations. It would be a lie to say that they hadn''t been insulted Although the Sacred Temple wasn''t an enemy, they were still delighted over the Super Guild''s setback. While Zero Wing''s members chatted, the system eventually notified players that the contest on Thunder Island had come to an end. At the same time, the magic barrier around Thunder Island disappeared. Everyone on the island was then teleported out of the contest area to Thunder Town. Yet, even after arriving in Thunder Town, no one showed any signs of relaxing. Instead, they shifted their gazes towards the large, stone monument erected in the center of the town plaza. After the Thunder Island contest ended, the system would rank the various participants by their performances. The ranks would then determine each power''s status and authority on the island. Hence, all of the involved upper echelons were incredibly nervous. "Quick, look! The system is releasing the ranks!" Slowly, words began to appear on the stone monument. 1519 Thunder Island Rankings Chapter 1519 - Thunder Island Rankings "I wonder who will get first-place? I''ve heard that first-place gets to control the only Large Shipyard on Thunder Island. Whoever gets that Shipyard will definitely have an easier time developing in the Sea of Death." "That''s right! I''ve heard that the Large Shipyard on Thunder Island can produce unique speedboats and cargo ships. Anyone that gets the Shipyard will easily be able to expand their naval forces." "All of the rewards for the top five ranks are pretty good. The top five Guilds will share authority over a Large Repair Yard, giving them easy access to ship repairs." As words began to appear on the stone monument, players in the plaza and waiting outside of Thunder Island watched with building excitement. Even players who didn''t belong to the various superpowers were paying close attention to the ranking because the powers on the list would be in control of Thunder Island for some time. If one had a rocky relationship with the ruling superpowers, they''d likely have to avoid Thunder Island and the Sea of Death until the next contest. It was incredibly difficult to avoid damage to a ship in naval combat, and as ships'' durability decreased, players would need to repair them. If one were an enemy of the powers controlling Thunder Island''s Shipyards or Repair Yards, this contest''s results could deal a devastating blow to their naval development. Thunder Island was the only location that offered repairs in the Sea of Death, and traveling to and from this zone was troublesome and time-consuming. As for obtaining a temporary teleportation array, that was impossible. There weren''t even enough teleportation arrays for all of the participating superpowers. All minor characters like themselves could do was stand by and watch from the sidelines. As players quietly chatted, the first-place Guild''s name appeared on the monument. Miracle! "How is it Miracle? Didn''t the Battle Wolves secure three encampments as well?" "It should be because of the impromptu merge between Nine Dragons Emperor and Miracle''s teams. Don''t forget; Nine Dragons Emperor''s side also secured an encampment. With this, Miracle technically has four encampments under its control. Naturally, it secured first-place." "Wow, Nine Dragons Emperor really did that? Won''t he lose all authority over Thunder Island by merging with another team?" "It can''t be helped. Nine Dragons Emperor dug his own grave by starting a fight with Phoenix Rain. Had he not done so, he could''ve easily gained a share of authority over Thunder Island." While the watching teams were slightly surprised by Miracle''s success, they also sympathized with Nine Dragons Emperor. There was a massive difference between those who had authority over the island and those who did not. With this authority, even controlling a fraction of the island, allowed these powers to decide Thunder Island''s development model. At the same time, they would have control of a Repair Yard. Had Nine Dragons Emperor secured a monster encampment under his own name, although he wouldn''t have obtained a Large Repair Yard, he could''ve obtained a smaller Repair Yard. He wouldn''t have to borrow one from another power. With the advent of the first-place, the name of the second-place Guild soon followed. Unsurprisingly, the Battle Wolves secured second-place. It was the only other Guild that had occupied more than two monster encampments. By coming in second-place, the Battle Wolves had gained complete control over a Medium Shipyard, 25% of the shares of a Large Repair Yard, and full control of a Small Repair Yard. The various superpowers were jealous. Like the Large Shipyard, Thunder Island only had one Large Repair Yard. In addition to the Large Shipyard, first-place only received 30% of the Large Repair Yard''s shares and a Small Repair Yard. "I wonder which Guild will come in third?" "It should be either the Sacred Temple or Nine Heavens Pavilion. After all, both Super Guilds had occupied quite a number of ancient towers." "Even the reward for third-place is amazing. Not only will they obtain a Small Shipyard, but they will also enjoy 20% of the Large Repair Yard''s shares and a Small Repair Yard. Only the top three ranks won''t have to share a Small Repair Yard." While the waiting players discussed the situation, the system finally finished calculating the results and displayed the third-ranked team. Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion! When the black stone monument displayed these three words, the plaza fell silent. Everyone was speechless as they stared at the name. Players only commented after a long pause. "What''s going on? How is it the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion?" "How is the system calculating these results?" "Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion secured two encampments, it didn''t capture nearly as many towers as the Sacred Temple and Nine Heavens Pavilion. How could it rank third? The system must''ve miscalculated." The various superpowers weren''t pleased with the rank. The Sacred Temple and Nine Heavens Pavilion''s members, in particular, were furious about the result. Both of their Guilds had surpassed Phoenix Rain''s team in terms of member count and captured ancient towers. No matter how they looked at it, Phoenix Rain''s team should not have secured third-place. In fact, it should''ve been a miracle if her team even ranked fifth. "Big Sis Rain, look! We actually got third-place!" Blue Phoenix shouted excitedly when she saw their rank on the stone monument. She paid zero attention to the other superpowers'' grumbling and voices of dissent. When Phoenix Rain saw her team''s rank, she, too, was astonished. She turned her gaze on Shi Feng, curiosity filling her eyes. As far as she was concerned, she should thank the heavens if her team ranked fifth in this contest. After all, the few other superpowers participating had also occupied two encampments. Moreover, they had claimed more than just three ancient towers. Yet, her team had ranked third in the contest. This was simply inconceivable. The only possibility was that Zero Wing had done something to increase their team''s overall rank. However, Shi Feng merely shrugged his shoulders, expressing that he wasn''t sure either, in response to her curious look. Seeing his response, she decided that the matter wasn''t worth pursuing. Even so, Phoenix Rain flashed her ally a grateful look. Now that she had secured third-place in the Thunder Island contest, she had qualified to compete in future contests. Even if she had lost Firmament''s naval support, with the Small Shipyard and a Small Repair Yard on Thunder Island, she could develop a considerably powerful fleet of her own in one month. "Guild Leader, you really don''t know anything about this?" Aqua Rose quietly asked. "Of course, I know. But I don''t want to reveal this secret just yet," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then explained, "It is true that the system calculates the contest''s ranks based on the number of occupied encampments, but not all encampments are equal. Some are more difficult than others. Naturally, the more difficult a monster encampment is, the more points a team can gain by capturing it. The Rock Giant encampment we captured is one of the three most difficult encampments on Thunder Island. Naturally, we earned more points than our competition." Current players hadn''t yet discovered the matter of different encampments rewarding a different number of points. Players had only reached this conclusion in the past after multiple contests. When a team had limited strength, those who knew this information could earn a better result. Although their team had only captured two monster encampments on paper, the Rock Giant encampment awarded the most points of any encampment on Thunder Island. The encampment awarded the equivalent of 1.5 times and ordinary encampment. Hence, Shi Feng wasn''t surprised that their team had ranked third in the contest. In fact, this was precisely why he had chosen the Rock Giant encampment over an easier target. "Phoenix Rain!" Jealousy tore at Nine Dragons Emperor as he shot Phoenix Rain a nasty look. Despite all of his effort and resources, he had only obtained a temporary teleportation slot. In contrast, Phoenix Rain had secured a portion of authority over the island and ranked third in the contest. The Great Pavilion Master and previously neutral Elders would definitely give her their full support now. Meanwhile, Lonely Heaven''s stomach twisted with regret. If he had access to a Small Shipyard and Repair Yard on Thunder Island, furthering Firmament''s naval forces and surpassing the other first-rate Guilds would be easy. A heavy silence loomed over the Sacred Temple''s upper echelons. Eternal Dead, in particular, wore a solemn expression. "Guild Leaderthe Battle Wolves has stated that they want to reopen negotiations with Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing. What should we do?" Quiet Melody hesitantly asked the silent man beside her. The contest''s outcome was unexpected. Their original plan was to share control of half of Thunder Island''s sole Large Repair Yard with Battle Wolves. However, that was no longer possible. 1520 Change in Positions Chapter 1520 - Change in Positions "The Battle Wolves plan to renegotiate with Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing?" A frown appeared on Eternal Dead''s solemn face when he heard Quiet Melody''s words. "I understand. Tell the Battle Wolves that we''ll leave negotiations to them. If the Battle Wolves decide to accept Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing''s conditions, we won''t argue." He had hoped to teach Zero Wing the difference between their Guilds, but he never expected this kind of outcome. Together, Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing had actually outperformed the Sacred Temple. Now, he had no choice but to lower himself and reopen negotiations with Shi Feng. "Understood." Quiet Melody nodded. Eternal Dead''s reply didn''t particularly surprise her. After all, he had climbed to the Guild Leader''s position with the unanimous support of the previous Guild Leader and various Elders because he always kept the Guild''s best interest in mind. Rather, Quiet Melody was curious about Zero Wing. Very few existences in the virtual gaming world were capable of forcing Eternal Dead to admit defeat. It would seem that Zero Wing had become one of them. While everyone was shocked about Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing''s rank, the stone monument in the plaza continued to reveal the following ranks. In the end, the Sacred Temple ranked fourth in the contest, obtaining 15% of the Large Repair Yard''s shares and 50% of a Small Shipyard''s shares. The Nine Heavens Pavilion came in fifth. At fifth place, the Super Guild acquired the final 10% of the Large Repair Yard''s shares and 50% of a Small Shipyard. The crowd paid little attention to the remaining ranks since sixth place and below hadn''t earned any shares of Thunder Island''s Large Repair Yard. In fact, they weren''t even granted any control of a Small Shipyard. They only gained the right to vote for Thunder Island''s development path and temporary teleportation arrays. Meanwhile, after the ranks were announced, news quickly reached the ears of the various naval forces outside of Thunder Island. "What?! The Phoenix Pavilion was the dark horse in the competition and even surpassed the Sacred Temple and Nine Heavens Pavilion!?" "I recall that Phoenix Rain had secured two monster encampments. She should have four temporary teleportation arrays now. Since Firmament betrayed her, and Zero Wing only needs one, she should have two teleportation arrays to spare. If we ally ourselves with Phoenix Rain, we might have a chance of obtaining one of them!" "Thank goodness we didn''t agree to work with Nine Dragons Emperor. We would''ve lost any hope of befriending Phoenix Rain!" The various first- and second-rate naval Guilds quickly took note of Phoenix Rain''s remaining teleportation arrays. Unlike Phoenix Rain, the other superpowers had already reserved their extra temporary teleportation arrays for their allies. Some superpowers had even failed to meet their original goals and acquire enough teleportation arrays. On the other hand, one of Phoenix Rain''s partners had betrayed her, so it was entirely possible to ally with her team and obtain one of the arrays. "Big Sis Rain, several large Guilds with relatively powerful navies have contacted us, stating that they''re willing to work under you. However, they have requested a temporary teleportation array in return," Blue Phoenix excitedly announced. "In addition, several superpowers have congratulated us, stating that they would find time to negotiate cooperation in the future. The Battle Wolves have also sent a representative to reopen negotiations regarding cooperation on Thunder Island." Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild, Phoenix Rain could only mobilize a small portion of the Guild''s power. Hence, before today, very few naval forces had been willing to ally with her. The various superpowers were of a similar opinion. Now, however, first- and second-rate naval Guilds and superpowers began to pay attention to Phoenix Rain. Even the Battle Wolves wanted to reopen negotiations. Blue Phoenix had never imagined this outcome. "Ye Feng, the Battle Wolves have sent an invitation. What is your opinion on the matter?" Phoenix Rain asked Shi Feng softly, who stood beside her. She was fully aware that Zero Wing was the only reason she enjoyed such treatment. Furthermore, their relationship had long since grown past that of an employer and employee to a partnership. Since the Battle Wolves had taken the initiative to reopen negotiations, she had to seek his opinion on the matter. "Let them wait for a bit. We''re not in a hurry," Shi Feng said, smiling. He was not particularly surprised by the situation. "Instead, we should focus on recruiting strong naval forces. Only by doing so can we increase our overall strength quickly." Cooperating with the various superpowers would only benefit them on Thunder Island. On the other hand, by recruiting the naval forces that needed a temporary teleportation array, they could bolster the ships sailing under their banner. With this, grinding for Thunder Passes would become much easier. "Let the Battle Wolves wait?" Phoenix Rain was taken aback when she saw Shi Feng''s serene expression. The Battle Wolves was a bona fide Super Guild. It had also occupied three monster encampments during this contest. Many large Guilds would die for the opportunity to cooperate with the Battle Wolves, yet Shi Feng wanted to reject the Super Guild''s offer "Mhm. Once we begin operating our Small Shipyard, we''ll have a greater advantage in the negotiations," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Alright, then. I''ll let them know," Phoenix Rain agreed, finding no flaws in Shi Feng''s reasoning. To forge iron, one needed a sturdy hammer. Even if they proposed the conditions they deserved, the Battle Wolves wouldn''t necessarily agree. Once they were sufficiently powerful, the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple would offer the appropriate conditions. "What? She rejected the offer? She''s even told the Battle Wolves to wait for her answer? What is she trying to do?" When he read the report containing Phoenix Rain''s reply, Eternal Dead was confused. "Has she lost her mind?" In his opinion, the fact that he and the Battle Wolves had even agreed to reopen negotiations was incredibly generous, yet Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing had rejected the offer. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Quiet Melody asked. "We wait. If they don''t come looking for us, we won''t seek them out, either. I refuse to believe that Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing will sit by and do nothing," Eternal Dead replied seriously. While the various powers chatted about the contest, Phoenix Rain and Shi Feng''s group ventured to Thunder Island''s Town Hall and selected their Small Shipyard and Small Repair Yard. They also registered their Guilds for the respective temporary teleportation arrays. Guilds that had registered their teleportation arrays could teleport members between Thunder Island and their Guild Residences for a small fee. They wouldn''t have to waste the time traveling by ship. In addition, although the Small Shipyard and Small Repair Yard were not as effective as their Large counterparts, they were more than enough for current players. Once they finished dealing with those issues, Shi Feng used a Return Scroll, leaving Thunder Island. The most important thing he needed to deal with was the Magic Workshop''s construction. Although constructing the Magic Workshop would put a dent in the Guild''s coffers, the building would quickly pay for itself. Moreover, the Magic Workshop''s value to the Guild would grow as the game progressed. Now that he had the design for the building, he had to erect it as soon as possible. While Phoenix Rain and Shi Feng had completed the necessary procedures, Nine Dragons Emperor had watched from a short distance away, glaring daggers at the two players. After Shi Feng''s group left from the Town Hall, Nine Dragons Emperor opened his mouth and asked, "Martial, have you made contact with Beast Emperor yet?" "Rest assured, Pavilion Master; Beast Emperor has guaranteed that Zero Wing will soon be removed from God''s Domain," Martial Dragon said. "Good. Once his people are ready, we''ll take action. I can no longer stand to watch Zero Wing survive!" Nine Dragons Emperor hissed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng made his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm after returning to White River City, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! The construction of your city in Witch''s Hill is complete. Please check and ratify the construction within three days. If you fail to do so, the constructed city will be discarded. 1521 Materials of Astronomical Value Chapter 1521 - Materials of Astronomical Value It''s finally finished. Shi Feng could not help his elation when he saw the system notification. In God''s Domain, the income from a Guild town was limited to its Shops and establishments. While the money from these sources might sustain a small Guild, it was nowhere near enough to cover a large Guild''s operation costs. Furthermore, Guilds were required to pay exorbitant system management fees every month. The monthly management fee for a Basic Town was 5,000 Gold. For an Intermediate Town, it was 15,000 Gold, and for an Advanced Town, it was 50,000 Gold. If a Guild couldn''t afford the fee, the system would temporarily freeze the Guild''s authority over the town. If the Guild couldn''t pay the fees within three months, they''d lose the town. The system would then hold an auction and sell the tow to the highest bidder. Aside from the monthly management fees, the Guild was responsible for hiring the various NPCs that operated the town. Hence, when the various large Guilds considered constructing a town, they had to consider whether or not they could afford to run it. A Guild city''s expenditures were even higher. The monthly management fee alone could bankrupt an ordinary large Guild several times over. A Basic City already cost 200,000 Gold per month. No ordinary large Guild could gather that much in two or three months, not to mention one, unless it abandoned the Guild''s development and pooled all of its money for the city''s development. Naturally, a Guild city also had more income sources. Aside from the Shops and establishments, a Guild was allowed to collect tolls from players entering the city. Guild towns didn''t offer this function. As long as a Guild city attracted a sufficient number of players, the income from the tolls could easily surpass the Shops and establishments'' by several folds. Hence, site selection was extremely important when building a city. If the Guild chose poorly, the city would lose the Guild more money than it could earn. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her collect the materials to construct the Magic Workshop while he intended to visit Witch''s Hill. "Guild Leader, the various large Guilds are currently fighting over the materials you''ve asked for. They''re selling for very high prices. Some of the materials only drop from special 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. It will likely take some time to collect all of these items," Melancholic Smile said. She was astonished when she read the list of materials Shi Feng had sent. "I''m afraid Mana Ore is going to be particularly difficult to acquire." Shi Feng had only asked for 500 Crimson Fire Rocks, 500 Frost Stones, 500 logs of Purple Lightning Wood, 5,000 ingots of Mana Ore, and 100 Advanced Magic Cores, all of which were extremely rare and valuable. Mana Ore was particularly rare since it dropped randomly when mining with an incredibly low drop-rate. It was also useful in many aspects, such as construction, furnishing, forging, alchemy, and engineering. Although Zero Wing frequently purchased Mana Ore, it only had a stock of a little over 1,300 ingots. As for the Advanced Magic Core, it only dropped from the Final Bosses in 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Although the Guild had consistently raided Hell Mode Team Dungeons, it had only collected a little over a dozen cores. With the amount of money it would cost to purchase the materials Shi Feng had requested, they could buy golden Lands in multiple NPC cities "Are a lot of Guilds collecting Mana Ore right now?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "If it''s too difficult to acquire in Star-Moon Kingdom, try Black Dragon Empire or other kingdoms." Although Mana Ore was very rare, Guilds weren''t the only ones capable of acquiring the ingots. Many independent players spent their time mining ores in the fields, and a few were bound to get lucky, obtaining a few ingots. With how many independent players there were in the kingdom, it should not be very difficult to collect 1,000 pieces. Among the materials he listed, the Mana Ore should be the easiest to obtain. The list he had given Melancholic Smile hadn''t even included the Seven Luminaries Crystals. Had he added that to the list, Melancholic Smile would''ve fainted from shock. Rather than a building, it seemed like he intended to construct a display of pure gold. "Guild Leader, the ore is very difficult to acquire. Searching other kingdoms and empires won''t change that. The various large Guilds have already purchased every ingot on the market, and any new Mana Ore will be highly contested over" Melancholic Smile said, smiling bitterly. "Why?" Shi Feng asked curiously. As far as Shi Feng could remember, while Mana Ore had been rare and in high demand, Guilds hadn''t necessarily fought over it. Even in the past, Mana Ore hadn''t been cheap, each ingot selling for 30 to 40 Silver. "It''s due to the Orc Empire''s sudden rise. The Orcs have affected several kingdoms and two empires already, and these countries have dispatched their armies to hold the Orcs back. As a result, an exchange system activated on the frontlines. So far, many items are available for purchase, including the Common Mounts, which most Guilds have been searching desperately for. There are even Bronze Mounts available. "To purchase these Mounts, players have to complete all sorts of large-scale quests and earn Contribution Points. However, these large-scale quests are extremely difficult. They either required players to reinforce or capture towns. Meanwhile, not only are there a lot of Orcs, but their combat standards are also quite high. In addition, when the Orcs show up, a strange mist covers the area, driving players'' Mana into chaos and decreasing their combat power. Players are only able to stabilize their Mana with Mana Charms, a consumable tool that''s crafted with Mana Ore. "Aside from that, a lot of ancient ruins have appeared because of the fog. The monsters in these ancient ruins have very high drop-rates. There have been rumors that claim that these ruins contain siege tools from ancient times. "Hence, the kingdoms and empires'' major powers are frantically collecting Mana Ore in hopes of raiding these ruins and acquiring Guild Mounts as quickly as possible. This, in turn, has resulted in the Mana Ore shortage on the market. The ore''s price has also increased by several times" Melancholic Smile''s explanation surprised Shi Feng. Although he had known that the Orc Empire''s rise would change the game, he hadn''t expected the situation to develop like this. "I understand. In any case, try to collect as many of these materials as possible. I''ll figure out a way to deal with the Mana Ore problem," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. The Magic Workshop was of the utmost importance to Zero Wing. The sooner he constructed it, the sooner he could improve the Guild''s overall strength by a large margin. Moreover, it would help Guild members'' survivability. Currently, Zero Wing''s combat power relied on its peak experts and siege weapons. Without these factors, Zero Wing wasn''t even on par with a first-rate Guild, much less super-first-rate Guilds or Super Guilds. If he could construct the Magic Workshop, however, he could shorten this gap and attract more powerful players to join Zero Wing. He had to collect these materials. Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call and made his way to Witch''s Hill. He intended to deal with the Guild city before worrying about the Mana Ore issue. After all, once Zero Wing had its own city, the Guild would transform yet again. 1522 Initial Appearance of City Chapter 1522 - Initial Appearance of City After reaching White River City''s Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng teleported to Bewildering Forest Town. In seconds, Shi Feng arrived in another, crowded Teleportation Hall. Not only was the hall crowded, but he also noticed that all of these players were above Level 40. Many wore Guild Emblems on their chests and grim expressions on their faces. The rest of the players had already formed teams of over 20 players. Shi Feng only spotted a few solo players throughout the hall. Why are so many people here? Shi Feng watched the players around him curiously. Bewildering Forest Town was one of the more remote towns in Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, most of the leveling maps around it were below Level 30. Although it was the closest NPC town to the Witch''s Hill, even with a Mount, it would take players over seven hours to reach the map. Furthermore, Witch''s Hill wasn''t the most resource-rich map in this level range, and Star-Moon Kingdom''s largest forest separated Bewildering Forest Town and Witch''s Hill. The Maze Forest! The monsters in the Maze Forest were between Level 40 and Level 50. Although the entire forest was not particularly dangerous, its inner sanctum was a maze. Players who weren''t familiar with the terrain could easily lose their way. The only thing that even made grinding in the Maze Forest worthwhile was the Dawn Flower. The Dawn Flower was a rare material for brewing wine and the Disorienting Potion. Currently, however, neither of these items were useful to players. Logically, there should not be that many high-leveled players in Bewildering Forest Town. "Starting a 1,000-man expedition to an Orc Fortress! Players who are interested in the raid can register with me!" "Selling cheap Mana Charms! Interested players can come find me!" As soon as Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of quite a few expedition teams recruiting members. In addition, merchant players stood by the busy street, hawking their wares. Of the numerous times Shi Feng had visited the town during his previous life, he had never once seen the town this lively. The Orcs have already reached this area? Shi Feng was surprised as he watched the various players recruiting for 1,000-man team expeditions. The Orc Empire was southwest of Star-Moon Kingdom, but although Bewildering Forest Town was the closest town in the kingdom to the Orc Empire, it didn''t border the empire. Moreover, these players weren''t mobilizing 100-man teams, but 1,000-man teams. It was rare in God''s Domain, much less Star-Moon Kingdom. Normally, players would only form such large teams when venturing into dangerous Regional Dungeons. As Shi Feng turned away from the crowd, intending to head to a bar to collect some intel, he heard the sound of a regional announcement. Bewildering Forest Town Region System Announcement: An army of Orcs has broken through the defensive line of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Third Army and is currently making its way to Bewildering Forest Town. Bewildering Forest Town will enter a defensive state and garrison quests will activate in Bewildering Forest Town. The Orc army''s estimated time of arrival is 10 Hours. Please make prepare. "Crap! Aren''t the Orcs moving too quickly? They''re already heading our way?" "Hahaha! This is wonderful! I''ll be able to earn even more CPs!" Upon hearing the system announcement, a commotion broke out among the players in town. Some were excited for the event, while others were surprised. However, the one thing these players had in common was their anticipation of the Orc army''s arrival. They were clearly interested in participating in the town''s defense. It wasn''t long before the teams that had been recruiting for an expedition changed their goal to the town''s defense. Members of the various large Guilds and adventurer teams immediately contacted their superiors, notifying them of the sudden development. "Boss, Orcs are going to attack Bewildering Forest Town!" "Guild Leader, the Orc Empire you asked me to keep an eye on has broken through the defensive lines and will attack Bewildering Forest Town in ten hours." For a time, players from the various large Guilds and well-known adventurer teams in Star-Moon Kingdom hurried towards Bewildering Forest Town. It was clear that these Guilds and adventurer teams had long since prepared for this as their members flooded the town. Meanwhile, Shi Feng found a seat on the second floor of an open-air bar, and just as he was about to browse Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums for information, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, the Orc army has started its invasion of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Bewildering Forest Town. I just received the news, but it seems that many Guilds have already dispatched their armies to the town. Should we do so as well? I''ve heard that if the town is successfully defended, participating players will receive an abundance of CPs, and participating Guilds can increase their Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom." "Increase a Guild''s Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom?" When Shi Feng heard Aqua Rose''s report, he realized why the various large Guilds seemed so prepared and passionate about defending this town. In God''s Domain, kingdoms and empires wouldn''t remain the same forever. As time passed, some would disappear, while others would rise to prominence. Guilds even had the opportunity to take control of some countries. This was how the various superpowers had established their own massive kingdoms and empires during Shi Feng''s previous life. Players couldn''t simply establish kingdoms and empires by constructing numerous towns and cities. They had to take control of an NPC kingdom or empire. The oceanic kingdom, Sea''s End, was a perfect example, in which players could take control of its NPC cities. Although players wouldn''t have as much control of the cities as they would of a Guild town, it was enough. On God''s Domain''s continent, Guilds that wanted to take control of NPC cities, kingdoms, or empires needed Guild Influence. Of course, Influence wasn''t the only thing Guilds needed to take control of NPC cities and countries. There were other requirements as well. At this stage of the game, it wasn''t possible; players were simply too weak, unable to take on God''s Domain''s NPCs. However, it was important for a Guild to accumulate Guild Influence as early as possible. "Aqua, see to the necessary arrangements immediately. Since the Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds are participating in the event, Zero Wing can''t be absent," Shi Feng instructed after giving the matter some thought. Although he had several methods to increase Zero Wing''s Guild Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, it was not a bad idea to take advantage of this opportunity. It could save him a lot of time in the future. "Guild Leader, should we call in Gentle Snow''s team as well?" Aqua Rose asked. "No need. Let them finish their promotions first." Shi Feng had high hopes for Gentle Snow''s and Zhao Yueru''s Tier 2 promotions. After all, both wielded Fragmented Legendary items and hidden classes. Once the two completed their Tier 2 promotion, their combat power would be extraordinary. Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call and departed from Bewildering Forest Town. After finding a secluded location, he summoned the Demonic Flame Tiger and made his way to Witch''s Hill. With he still had ten hours before the Orc army arrived, it was more than enough time to deal with the Guild City and return to command the Guild''s army in battle. With the Demonic Flame Tiger, Shi Feng completed his journey to Witch''s Hill, which normally required over seven hours of travel time on a Common Mount, in less than four hours. As Shi Feng reached the massive waterfall near Witch''s Hill, the sight of a towering city rose before him. Unlike Stone Forest Town, soaring, magically strengthened stone walls surrounded the city. Although it wasn''t visible to the naked eye, a magic barrier also enveloped the city. Although players could enter a town from any side, players could only enter the city through its main entrance. "The construction looks quite nice." Even from afar, Shi Feng was satisfied with how his city turned out. His new city was much larger than the Basic Cities, which were upgraded from Advanced Towns, that he had seen in the past. After the brief pause, Shi Feng made his way towards the city. 1523 Power Source Improves Chapter 1523 - Power Source Improves When Shi Feng stopped before the city''s main entrance, an imposing pair of tightly shut gates greeted him. Pitch-black runes had been carved into the gates, forming multiple magic barriers that protected them. The magic barriers here were much stronger than the barrier his movement-type defensive magic array created as it could even withstand Tier 4 attacks. As for the magic barrier around the city the entire city, although it was not as powerful as the one on the gates, it wouldn''t have any issue blocking Tier 3 attacks. This city was a perfect Guild fortress. It was definitely worth spending all those Coins to build this thing. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh as he observed his surroundings. The city occupied a mountain peak, so the mountain''s scenery remained unobstructed. In addition, an impressive waterfall fell by the hillside. Occasionally, Shi Feng saw birds of various kinds fly past the mountain and below the city. He felt as if he had just arrived in paradise. Setting aside Witch''s Hill''s unique circumstances, this grand scenery would attract many Lifestyle and entertainment players. During his previous life, Shadow hadn''t even had a Guild town at this stage of the game, yet his Zero Wing already had its own Basic City. Not even Super Guilds had achieved this feat. Currently, only Sea''s End''s major powers controlled cities. Unlike Sea''s End''s major powers, however, he had complete control of his city. The city''s development path wouldn''t limit his options. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng arrived, a dozen or so NPC guards came down from their posts along the city walls to open the gates. "Esteemed City Lord, we have completed your city''s construction. If there are no issues, we may begin the transfer procedures," a middle-aged man with a cross-shaped scar on his face respectfully reported as he came forward to greet Shi Feng. The man wore a luxurious suit of armor with a white cape draped over his back. He also carried a longsword embedded with several pieces of Seven Luminaries Crystal at his waist. Although the man didn''t radiate an aura, he was a Level 180, Tier 3 Knight Captain. In a minor NPC city, he could even serve as the Magistrate. At this stage of the game, he could kill any ordinary player in a single move. "I''m fine with that. However, before we begin, I''d like to visit the city''s Core Magic Array," Shi Feng said, nodding. He had previously obtained an Evil God Crystal after killing a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon under the Beast Emperor''s command. To a Guild City, the item''s value was astronomical. The Evil God Crystal could be used as a power source for a city. Although it couldn''t compare to a Titan Core, the power source was very difficult to come by. It was definitely much stronger than the freebie power source that was included in a city''s construction. "Esteemed City Lord, please follow me," the Knight Captain Yarod said as he led the way for Shi Feng, the dozen or so Knights previously guarding the gate following close behind. As Shi Feng walked through the city, he could easily tell it was many times larger than Stone Forest Town. Not even an Advanced Town could compare to its grandeur. Despite the city''s Basic rank, it should easily accommodate over 300,000 permanent residential players. Moreover, this was assuming that he built the city''s Basic infrastructure. If he used Advanced buildings, he could double the city''s capacity, at which point the city wouldn''t even feel cramped with over a million players. In contrast, players would likely walk shoulder to shoulder in an Advanced Town with a one million player population. However, it was due to the city''s large size that it required a lot more resources to develop. Take the street Shi Feng was currently on, for example. Although the NPCs had already built quite a few essential buildings, Shi Feng passed large plots of empty land. He''d have to spend a lot more to fill these gaps. Based on Shi Feng''s initial estimates, the initial resources to construct the necessary infrastructure would be enough to drive any first-rate Guild mad, not to mention constructing buildings like the Battle Arena. The buildings in cities were allowed to have far more floors than those in towns. The Battle Arena in Stone Forest Town, for example, could only have eight floors. In a Basic City, however, a Battle Arena could have up to 16 floors. Though, players had to have enough money to build them. Under Yorad''s lead, Shi Feng quickly reached the third underground floor of the City Lord''s Mansion. "Esteemed City Lord, this is the city''s main control room. Here, you may control the magic arrays all over the city," Yorad explained as he gestured to the mammoth ball of water floating in the center of the hall. Numerous golden runes decorated the wide hall''s walls, while the water ball in the center felt like an inhaling whale as it absorbed the Mana from outside of the city, transferring the Mana to the city''s various areas. Meanwhile, a black crystal floated within the core of the magic water ball. This black crystal was the power source the system granted when players constructed their own cities. This crystal was the city''s lifeblood, created by dozens of high-tiered Wizards. It was a better power source than those that formed naturally or those the Gods had created. Without hesitation, Shi Feng went up to the magic water ball and replaced the black crystal with the Evil God Crystal. The moment he placed the Evil God Crystal in the magic water ball, the Mana in the hall rampaged. The hovering water ball began to grow. As it did, the Mana density in the hall increased. The Knight Captain and his entourage were afraid. Fortunately, after a few minutes, the hall''s Mana calmed. Everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at the evolved water ball. The previously mammoth water ball had tripled in size, and the hall''s Mana density had at least doubled. As I expected, a Basic City can only use 60% of the Evil God Crystal''s power. Shi Feng was somewhat disappointed when he saw the Evil God Crystal''s utilization rate the system had displayed. In God''s Domain, a strong power source didn''t necessarily mean that players could improve a city indefinitely. Every city had its limits. It seemed that a Basic City could only use 60% of the total energy an Evil God Crystal provided. If he wanted to increase the efficiency, he''d have to upgrade the city to Intermediate or Advanced rank. He might even need to upgrade it to the standard of a kingdom''s capital city to use the Evil God Crystal''s full power. However, 60% was enough to improve the city''s defenses by a tier and increase its Mana density by 40%. Although the city''s current Mana density couldn''t compare to Stone Forest Town''s, it would rise beyond the town''s once he constructed the Magic and Mana Towers. "Esteemed City Lord, you really know how to surprise a man. You actually got your hands on such a high-ranked power source. Your city is guaranteed to become famous in Star-Moon Kingdom," Yarod said in admiration. In Star-Moon Kingdom, one could count the number of cities with such a high-ranked power source on one hand. Only the kingdom''s capital was more powerful. After Yarod finished speaking, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: You have earned a reward. Please name your city within one hour, or the reward will be discarded. System: You have 59 minutes, 59 seconds remaining. "Thank you for your praise, Knight Captain. I am very satisfied with this city. Let''s complete the transfer procedures right away," Shi Feng said. 1524 Zero Wing City Chapter 1524 - Zero Wing City Once Shi Feng agreed to start the transfer procedures, the Knight Captain revealed a dazzling, silver token and passed it to Shi Feng. The token itself looked wasn''t ornate, but the moment the Knight Captain revealed the item, the hall''s Mana began to gather around it, forming a magic barrier around the token. The magic barrier would prevent undesignated players from touching it. "Esteemed City Lord, here is your City Lord''s Token. Once you carve the city''s name on the token and we finish the registration, the city can officially open to the public," Knight Captain Yarod explained as he admired the item in Shi Feng''s hand. The token''s owner would have absolute control over the city. Not even City Magistrates has so much authority. City Magistrates were merely representatives the kingdom tasked to manage its cities. Throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, only a handful of people controlled their cities and were acknowledged as Lords in the kingdom. These NPCs'' statuses were so high that even the King had to treat them respectfully. This wasn''t the first time Shi Feng had obtained a City Lord''s Token. As it rested in his palm, he taped on the magic array around the token. Immediately, a system window appeared before him, asking him for the city''s name. Since this is Zero Wing''s first city, let''s call it Zero Wing City! Shi Feng thought as he filled in the name box. By using the Guild''s name for the city, not only would the public know who the city belonged to, but it would also advertise the Guild. This was another benefit of constructing a city from scratch. If a Guild obtained their city by upgrading a town, the new city would retain its old name. Hence, first-rate Guilds and stronger had usually tried to construct their cities from scratch as proof of their prowess. After Shi Feng finished naming Zero Wing City, Yarod began the registration process. "Congratulations, Esteemed City Lord. You have now become the first heaven''s blessed to own your own city in Star-Moon Kingdom. The city will now enter a 21-day protection period. During this time, you may hire city guards to protect the city from harassment. You will also be responsible for a 200,000 Gold tax each month," Yarod explained. "Do you wish to hire guards now?" "Do you have a list for me to choose from?" Shi Feng asked. A city''s defense wasn''t like that of a town. The system would only allow players to hire up to Tier 2 NPCs in a town. After all, Tier 3 NPCs could serve as small cities'' Magistrates. Although he could hire Tier 3 NPC guards in a Basic City, he could only hire five. Moreover, Tier 3 NPCs had different strengths and specialties. To ease the burden of the city''s defense, it was necessary to choose the Tier 3 NPC guards carefully. "Alright. Here is a list of the Tier 3 guards we can currently provide. Unfortunately, since there are so many Tier 1 and Tier 2 guards to choose from, I am unable to provide a precise list. If you would like a more detailed list of your options, you may hire these guards from the Adventurer''s Association," Yarod explained as he handed Shi Feng a list. The list showed the general prices for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards as well as a brief introduction of the various Tier 3 NPC guards available for hire. Hiring ten Level 150 elite guards for 21 days would cost 100 Gold, 300 Gold for ten Level 150, Tier 1 guards, and 700 Gold for ten Level 150, Tier 2 guards. Each of the Tier 3 guards had different prices. There were a total of 37 Tier 3 guards available, and they cost anywhere between 800 and 1,400 Gold for 21 days. The cost of hiring one of these NPCs could already rival that of two squads of Tier 2 guards. Even for Zero Wing, the expenditure wasn''t easy to shrug off, yet Shi Feng had no choice. He hadn''t constructed Zero Wing City near any NPC towns or cities, so it could easily come under monster attack. This was especially true at night. For Zero Wing City, which didn''t have its defensive constructs yet, powerful guards were a must. Furthermore, Shi Feng hadn''t expected the rise of the Orc Empire, which had already turned its sights to Bewildering Forest Town. The Maze Forest was the only thing standing between the town and Witch''s hill. On the off chance that the Orc army decided to attack Zero Wing City, Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPC guards wouldn''t be able to fend off the attack. Only Tier 3 NPCs had enough of an advantage over the Orcs. Following which, Shi Feng chose to hire five Tier 3 guards: one healer, two MTs, and two magical classes. Among them, the magical classes were the most expensive, each costing 1,300 Gold. Each of these magical-class NPCs had two Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells and a Tier 3 Curse in their arsenal. "I''ve decided to hire these five. In addition, I wish to hire 800 elite guards, 150 Tier 1 guards, and 50 Tier 2 guards," Shi Feng said, returning the list to Yarod after making his decision. If Aqua Rose or Gentle Snow were present, they would have a heart attack over hiring so many guards. The cost of hiring NPC guards was much higher than NPC soldiers, yet Shi Feng still chose to hire 1,000 NPC guards at once But Shi Feng knew the necessity of the decision. Cities were much larger than towns, and without enough NPCs, a city would be impossible to defend, and public security wouldn''t be maintained. Moreover, as the city''s environment was more beneficial than a town''s, it didn''t cost as much to hire NPC guards. If he hired this many guards in a town, it would drop Zero Wing''s finances into the red. This was an advantage that the system provided when players constructed their own city from scratch. "Alright. The total cost for the guards you''ve chosen is 21,000 Gold. Once you''ve made the payment, the Adventurer''s Association will send them to the city," Yarod said. Without hesitation, Shi Feng handed 21,000 Gold to the Knight Captain. Fortunately, he had recently posted plenty of rare materials he had obtained from Cold Wind City in Zero Wing''s Auction House. While he had been on Thunder Island, most of the materials had sold, and after deducting his base cost, he had made a profit of 33,527 Gold. This was why he dared to hire so many Tier 1 and Tier 2 guards despite Zero Wing''s current financial situation. Moreover, that was only the profit from the first shipment. After time passed, Cold Wind City''s players would stockpile a ton of materials again. If he purchased and resold those materials, he would earn another 30,000 Gold. This money-making speed even surpassed that of Stone Forest Town and the Candlelight Trading Firm. When Cold Wind City opened a path to the other NPC cities in the Ice Crystal World in the future, he''d make even more profit. It wasn''t unlike owning his own goldmine. After Yarod confirmed the payment, he bowed respectfully to Shi Feng before leaving with the other Knights. Following which, a series of system notifications and system announcements reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You are the first player in Star-Moon Kingdom to own a city. Rewarding 300 Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation and "Lord of Star-Moon Kingdom" title. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has become the first player-city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Rewarding 10,000 City Popularity and one Advanced Restaurant Design. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has become the first city to upgrade its power source. Rewarding 10,000 City Popularity and one City Conscription Order. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming Star-Moon Kingdom''s first Guild to construct a city. Rewarding 10,000 Guild Popularity and 50 Guild Influence. 1525 Uproar Chapter 1525 - Uproar The regional announcement repeated for several times, the mechanical voice of the system echoing in the minds of Star-Moon Kingdom''s players continuously. For a moment, whether they were players currently resting in towns and cities or players out grinding in the fields, they all fell into a daze when they heard this announcement. "What''s going on?" "Constructed a city?" "How is this possible?! The various large Guilds are still working on getting their towns upgraded to the Intermediate rank. Even Super Guilds have just begun trying to upgrade their towns to the Advanced rank. How could there be a Guild city already?" "Did Zero Wing manage to upgrade Stone Forest Town into a city?" "All hail Zero Wing!" "That might really be possible. After all, the player population in Stone Forest Town right now is really insane. The population there is not one bit lower than an NPC city''s." "This is impossible! I''m standing inside Stone Forest Town right now, and nothing about the town has changed whatsoever!" Practically everyone on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums was discussing Zero Wing and the city it built right now. Although the players of God''s Domain currently did not have any concrete information about Guild cities, they could generally guess how amazing a Guild city would be just by looking at the various Guild towns currently in the game. Setting aside the various other functions a Guild city would possess, just the amount of land it occupied would definitely exceed that of a town by a large margin, which would, in turn, allow it to accommodate more players. However, compared to the fact that Zero Wing was now in possession of a Guild city, everyone was much more interested in finding out about the city itself, particularly its location. Currently, mainstream players were starting to outgrow Stone Forest Town. If Zero Wing had built its city at a high-level resource map and replicated the facilities it had in Stone Forest Town in its new city, players would both be able to complete high-level quests without traveling long distances and easily improve their combat standards inside the city, killing two birds with one stone. "Zero Wing has a Guild city now? This is a good opportunity for our adventurer team." "A new city? I wonder where it''s located. If its location is good, it might not be a bad idea to buy a Shop there and settle down." In the eyes of most independent players, Zero Wing''s new city was merely a potential rest area. To the various adventurer teams and merchant players, however, the city was a huge opportunity for them. Currently, both the private houses and Shops of Stone Forest Town were becoming increasingly valuable. Many wealthy adventurer teams and merchant players were already regretting their decision not to purchase one for themselves before. At the same time, the various large Guilds of Star-Moon Kingdom also became busy, holding internal meetings to restructure their future development plans in the kingdom. Zero Wing''s acquisition of a Guild city might be good news for ordinary players, but there was nothing good about it for large Guilds like theirs. In God''s Domain, maintaining and protecting a Guild town entailed a lot of manpower. Hence, whenever a Guild was thinking of conquering a new Guild town, said Guild would have to expand and recruit new members. Naturally, a Guild city would need even more players to maintain and protect a city. Meanwhile, once Zero Wing began increasing its member count, it would also require more resource maps for these new members to develop in. Yet, as players reached higher levels, the resource maps available in Star-Moon Kingdom also grew increasingly scarcer. As a result, competition between Guilds also intensified. In the future, there would definitely come a time when their Guilds would have to compete against Zero Wing. Hence, they naturally had to plan for such situations in advance. For a time, due to this system announcement, Zero Wing once again became the focus of the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Players within the kingdom were practically talking about Zero Wing nonstop. Meanwhile, just as Shi Feng was about to make arrangements for Zero Wing City''s further development, he suddenly started receiving mails and calls one after another. "Guild Leader, what did you do? How did we get a new city?" Gentle Snow was filled with both curiosity and excitement when she found out about the new Guild city, and she could not help but send multiple messages asking Shi Feng about the matter. Before this, she was just about to start challenging her Tier 2 promotion. However, she put it off temporarily when she received a report on this sudden development. She knew very clearly that Zero Wing currently had only two towns under its control. One of them was Stone Forest Town in Star-Moon Kingdom, while the other was Hidden Mist Town in the Black Dragon Empire. Aside from these two, Zero Wing did not own any other towns. Yet, now, the Guild had suddenly gained a brand-new Guild city. "Old pal, your Guild really knows how to hide its strength. Well? When are you free to sit down for a chat?" Yuan Tiexin had also sent Shi Feng a message. Judging by his tone, he seemed to be very interested in Zero Wing''s Guild city. In fact, the Secret Pavilion wasn''t the only Guild that sent Shi Feng a message. Even Phoenix Rain had sent a congratulatory message as well as expressed her surprise at finding out about this news. "Guild Leader, you''ve finally picked up. Right now, our Residence at Stone Forest Town is being swarmed by adventurer teams and merchant players. They all wish to partner with Zero Wing. In addition, several companies also want to meet with you to discuss investment opportunities," Aqua Rose said with a bitter smile on her face. Although Aqua Rose had known about the new city, Melancholic Smile was the one tasked with managing all matters relating to the city. Hence, Aqua Rose had not tried prying too deeply into those matters. After all, the amount of money required to construct a city would no doubt be astronomical. In her opinion, it would definitely take some time before they would accumulate enough funds to complete the city''s construction. Thus, she had never imagined that the city would be completed so soon. This sudden development had caught her completely off guard. Right now, even people from her family were frantically contacting her and asking about the Guild city. Her family hoped to be able to purchase a virtual store once the city was officially opened to the public. This situation put her at a loss on what to do, as it was not in her place to make decisions on such important matters. "Set those matters aside for now. First, have Candlelight''s architects stop what they''re doing and have them prepare the materials on the list I''ll be sending to you in a moment. Once they have everything ready, bring them to Zero Wing City. While you''re at it, bring some elite members with you as well, to deal with the management work of the city." Shi Feng could guess the situation on Aqua Rose''s side right now. After all, he was mostly facing the same. However, he had just completed the handover procedures for Zero Wing City. Right now, their priority was to have the necessary infrastructure set up in Zero Wing City. Otherwise, they would simply be inviting ridicule should they open up an empty city to the public. "Very well, I''ll get to it right away." Aqua Rose nodded. She could not help looking forward to seeing the newly constructed Zero Wing City. After Shi Feng finished assigning tasks to Aqua Rose, he quickly made his way to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City. Compared to the Guild Residence in Stone Forest Town, the Residence here was much more luxurious. Located in the central district of the city, it took up one-fifth of the available land theresomething possible only in a Guild city. In NPC cities, a Guild Residence could occupy only a small area. Normally, one would be fortunate to be able to fit ten or twenty thousand players inside the Residence. As for the Residence in Zero Wing City, even if 50,000 players were present inside the Residence at the same time, there would still be plenty of space to spare. Following which, Shi Feng took out the Guild Residence Teleportation Magic Array he had prepared beforehand and set it up inside the Guild Hall. If the Guild Residence did not possess a teleportation array, Guild members would not be able to teleport directly to the city. This was also the reason why Aqua Rose did not simply teleport to the city to meet up with Shi Feng. Currently, although everyone in the Guild had already found out about Zero Wing''s new city, they could not visit it. They could only wait until Shi Feng was done setting up the teleportation array. Once Shi Feng set up the teleportation array, he made a slight adjustment to its permissionsallowing only Guild members with a certain level of authority to teleport to the cityto avoid unnecessary trouble that would disrupt the city''s construction speed. After he settled the matters that required immediate attention, he sat down in his office to catch his breath. While resting, he opened up his bag and took a look at the Advanced Restaurant Design and City Conscription Order he received from the system. He had heard about these two items in his previous life. However, he had never personally seen either of them before. He had never thought that he would actually receive these two items just by constructing Zero Wing City. These were truly an unexpected harvest. 1526 Strengthening Players Chapter 1526 - Strengthening Players It''s no wonder these things can help a Guild improve quickly. They actually possess such effects. Shi Feng was astonished as he inspected the Advanced Restaurant Design and City Conscription Order in his bag. The City Popularity the system awarded was already quite beneficial to the city''s development, as it would lure many more NPCs to the city. However, when compared to the two items in his bag, the amount of City Popularity he had gotten paled into insignificance. Similar to the Advanced Auction House, the Advanced Restaurant was an extremely rare Advanced Construction in God''s Domain. The Guilds that managed to obtain it in his previous life numbered extremely few. There had been one instance where a top adventurer team had put up an Advanced Restaurant Design for auction. In the end, the design had sold at a price that could cause even first-rate Guilds to despairtwo Fragmented Legendary items. Even after ten years had passed in God''s Domain, Fragmented Legendary items were still extremely hard to come by in God''s Domain. Back then, most first-rate Guilds would have only two or three Fragmented Legendary items in the entire Guild, and none of them were willing to exchange any. After all, everyone back then was already fully aware of just how valuable a Fragmented Legendary item was. Yet, in the end, a superpower had still bought the design for two Fragmented Legendary items. Back then, many people had felt that the transaction was not worthwhile, and Shi Feng was no exception. After all, a restaurant would, at most, function as an attraction to lure players to a city. Meanwhile, the clientele would be spending only Coins or Magic Crystals at the restaurant. To the wealthy superpowers, Fragmented Legendary items held far greater importance compared to Coins and Magic Crystals. Nevertheless, the various superpowers back then had still gladly competed over the Advanced Restaurant Design. Now that Shi Feng saw what functions the Advanced Restaurant possessed, however, he immediately realized why the various superpowers had been eager to buy the design back then. Not only was the Advanced Restaurant much more spectacular than a Basic Restaurant in terms of size and appearance, but it also had various modes of transactions available. In addition, players could even hire Master and Grandmaster Chef NPCs for the restaurant. In God''s Domain, no matter which subclass a Lifestyle player possessed, they would have great difficulty reaching even the Master rank, not to mention the Grandmaster rank. Meanwhile, any Lifestyle player that managed to reach the Master or Grandmaster rank in their subclass would be capable of taking on a role that exceeded one''s imaginations. This was especially true for those that managed to become Grandmaster Lifestyle players; they would become existences that could single-handedly affect an entire Guild''s strength. Take a Grandmaster Chef for example. Aside from being able to cook up unimaginably delicious food and beverages, a Grandmaster Chef was also capable of producing special cuisines that could permanently improve a player''s Attributes or even physique. There was a limit to how many times a player could improve through consuming such cuisines, but, even so, the capability was already plenty amazing. After all, aside from upgrading to better weapons and equipment, players had almost no other method to improve their Attributes and physique significantly. However, a Grandmaster Chef was capable of continuously strengthening players by producing various special cuisines. Although there was a limit to how much one could improve through consuming special cuisines, according to the rumors, when a player reached that limit, the additional Attributes and physique they obtained could rival even that of a Fragmented Legendary item. Of course, the requirements to construct the Advanced Restaurant were also very high. At the very minimum, the Advanced Restaurant had to be built in a Basic City. Aside from that, the architects building the Advanced Restaurant needed to be of sufficiently high standards, as they had to inscribe various kinds of runes. Finally, the Advanced Restaurant called for many different types of rare materials in its construction, including 1,000 pieces of Mana Ore. By Shi Feng''s estimates, the total construction cost would be around 10,000 Gold. As for the City Conscription Order, it was also a very valuable item. When used, it allowed a city to recruit a powerful NPC soldier with high Growth Potential. Meanwhile, the better-developed a city was, the greater the City Conscription Order''s effects would become. In the past, there was one Guild that actually managed to recruit a Tier 4 Great Wizard through a City Conscription Order, when it was normally extremely rare for a city to manage to get even a Tier 2 NPC soldier. As for Tier 3 NPCs and above, it was practically impossible to recruit one without external aid such as the Hero''s Chapter and the City Conscription Order. Not to mention, a Tier 4 Great Wizard was much more powerful than other classes when it came to defending a city. It should be appropriate to use this thing once Zero Wing City is set up properly and the total population stays at 1.5 million long-term. Shi Feng grew a little excited as he looked at the City Conscription Order. If he really managed to recruit a Tier 4 NPC to protect the city, it would truly be perfect. Meanwhile, over at Stone Forest Town, Aqua Rose was rapidly gathering elite members and architects. When Aqua Rose announced that she would be bringing some players to garrison the Guild''s new city, the entire Guild had gone into an uproar. "Vice Guild Leader, I want to apply!" "Crap! It''s actually true! Our Guild really does possess a city!" "Fortunately, I joined Zero Wing early on. Had I waited to do so only after the Guild obtained a city, the requirements to join the Guild would definitely have been much higher." "I know, right? Previously, a friend of mine was debating on whether he should join Zero Wing or King''s Return. In the end, he chose to develop himself in King''s Return. If he finds out that Zero Wing already has a city, something not even Super Guilds like King''s Return possess, he will definitely die from regret." When Zero Wing''s members heard Aqua Rose''s announcement, they immediately started applying to join the new city''s daily maintenance workforce in a frenzy. In reality, though, they were trying to use this opportunity to take a look at the new city as well as find out where it was located. In less than ten minutes, Aqua Rose managed to gather 3,000 elite members and 200 architects. "I''ve already provided you all with the permission to transfer to the new city. After you arrive there, start the daily maintenance work and manage the NPCs that are coming into the city. If you can''t manage some of the incoming NPCs, notify the nearest NPC guard. If none of you have any problems, you may transfer over right away," Aqua Rose said after talking about the tasks everyone would be doing once they arrived at the new city. Whether one constructed a new town or city, the first thing they needed to do was deal with the influx of NPCs. After all, players were not allowed to stop NPCs from entering Guild towns and cities. Only in the event where players had managed to catch an NPC in the commission of a crime or could identify them to be wanted criminals could they expel said NPC from their town or city. Meanwhile, there would also be plenty of NPCs belonging to the dark forces mixed among the ordinary NPCs entering the city. If the Guild could properly manage the security of the city, the city''s Popularity would rise at a faster rate. Conversely, if it failed to maintain the security of the city, the city''s Popularity would decrease. Hence, maintaining the security of the city during the city''s early stages required a large number of players. Only after stabilizing the city''s security could the Guild open the city to players. After Aqua Rose was done speaking, the players she gathered inside the Guild Hall began purchasing the Guild Transfer Scroll for Zero Wing City before promptly disappearing from the hall. This scene inspired strong envy in the other Guild members present inside the Guild Hall. Although it was said to be city maintenance work, it was similarly a quest. If players could capture a Dark NPC inside the city, they would receive plenty of EXP and GCPs. Doing this quest was much more profitable than grinding monsters out in the fields. Elsewhere, when the upper echelons of the various major powers of Star-Moon Kingdom learned of the movements of Zero Wing''s members, their expressions turned indescribably grim. "Immediately have people look for Zero Wing''s City! Find out where it''s located no matter what!" To the various major powers of Star-Moon Kingdom, the whereabouts of Zero Wing''s new city was critical. If its location was somewhere close to them, they would have no choice but to shift their focus of development. At the same time, there were also some Guilds that began having designs on Zero Wing''s new city. For a time, the various major powers all began dispatching a large number of people to locate Zero Wing''s new city. Meanwhile, inside the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City, numerous flashes appeared inside the Guild Hall as a large group of players teleported into the city. "Zero Wing City?" "This place is our Guild''s city?" When everyone exited the Guild Hall, they were momentarily dumbfounded by what they saw. Although they knew that the new city would definitely be much better than Stone Forest Town, they never thought the city would be such a spectacular sight. The difference between Zero Wing City and Stone Forest Town was like the difference between heaven and earth. 1527 Guilds New Benefits Chapter 1527 - Guild''s New Benefits "This place is our Guild''s new city?" "The Mana density here is amazing! Although it''s still no match for Stone Forest Town''s, with this place being so large, at least the city won''t be as crowded as Stone Forest Town." "Wait, something''s not right! Look around! There doesn''t seem to be any Magic Towers here! The Mana present here should be something the city naturally gathered by itself!" "What?! A city is actually so much stronger than a town?! If Magic Towers are constructed inside the city, won''t the Mana density here become much higher than even Stone Forest Town''s?!" After Zero Wing''s members exited the Guild Hall and observed their surroundings, they quickly noticed a marked difference between a Guild town and a Guild city. This was especially true in the case of Mana density. Everyone was already sure that Zero Wing City would become overcrowded with players. Just how much resources did the Guild Leader invest in building this city? Aqua Rose was indescribably shocked when she looked at the city around her. Although she knew that a Guild city would be much better than a Guild town, she had never thought the disparity would be to such a degree. With the high Mana density in the city, the city would attract not only a large number of expert players to visit but also Lifestyle players. In the future, there would be no need to worry about Zero Wing being unable to recruit capable experts and Lifestyle players. After a moment of shock and awe, Aqua Rose had the elite members she brought begin accepting the city''s patrol quests. As for herself, she took the 200 architects to meet up with Shi Feng at an empty plot of land in the city. "Guild Leader, I''ve brought all the available architects in the Candlelight Trading Firm over already," Aqua Rose reported quietly as she looked at Shi Feng, who was currently surveying the terrain of the city. "They''re all here?" Shi Feng muttered to himself as he sent a glance at the architects standing some distance behind Aqua Rose. Nodding in approval, he continued, "Advanced Architects, come forward." Immediately, 40-odd players stepped forward nervously. Among them, nearly 30 were male and over a dozen were female. Although the levels of these players ranged between 24 to 35 only, if placed in a first-rate Guild, any one of these players would definitely receive VIP treatment. In the Candlelight Trading Firm, however, they were merely normal members. After all, the Candlelight Trading Firm already had Master Lifestyle players at the helm. Compared to them, Advanced Lifestyle players were insignificant existences. Meanwhile, when these Advanced Architects looked at Shi Feng, who had disguised himself using the Demon Mask, their eyes were filled with reverence and excitement. After all, the man before them was none other than Black Flame, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. At the same time, he was also the number one expert of Star-Moon Kingdom. They might have the qualifications to act proudly in front of the Guild Leaders of any other Guild. After all, those Guild Leaders were definitely no match for themselves in terms of subclass development. However, it was a different story for their own Guild Leader. Even in terms of subclass development, their Guild Leader was an existence they had no choice but to look up to. The reason for this was their knowing that their Guild Leader had already become a Master Forger some time ago. Now, one could say that he was the bona fide number one forger in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Excellent. From now on, you all will be tasked with constructing Zero Wing City''s Advanced Constructions. If any among you isn''t an inner member, you can come to me to sign the contract to become one. If any of you does not wish to become an inner member, you may return to the group behind." Shi Feng was considerably surprised at the number of Advanced Architects present. He had not expected that after not seeing Melancholic Smile for some time, the woman had actually recruited many more Advanced Architects. Moreover, among the Advanced Architects present, he managed to spot three familiar figures. One of them was a middle-aged man named Happy Mo, who looked to be in his 40s. He wore a monocle and radiated an indescribably calm feeling. The second person was a muscular youth named Boiled Fish, who carried a scimitar on his back. As for the last one, she was a short-haired beauty named Wind Chimes. In the past, all three of these players were very famous architects in Star-Moon Kingdom. To be precise, they were part of the top ten architects in Star-Moon Kingdom. Only, these three players all belonged to first-rate Guilds. Shi Feng had never imagined that these three people had actually joined Zero Wing this time. Among the three, Happy Mo was the strongest. In the past, he had constantly pushed his limits in order to become a Grandmaster. Unfortunately, the rank of Grandmaster was not easily attained. At the very least, the amount of help a first-rate Guild could provide towards reaching this rank was minimal. Happy Mo had never managed to become a Grandmaster Architect. After everyone heard Shi Feng''s words, most of the Advanced Architects that had joined the Candlelight Trading Firm recently chose to sign the contract right away. Only Happy Mo, Boiled Fish, and Wind Chimes remained hesitant, exchanging glances with each other. After a moment, as if having come to an agreement, they nervously turned to look at Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, if we become inner members, can we use our GCPs to exchange for a private house inside the Guild city?" Happy Mo, who was the eldest among the three, stepped forward and asked carefully. Although Shi Feng looked younger than himself, the feeling the man gave off was akin to that of a prehistoric beast. While standing in such close proximity, Happy Mo found himself growing breathless. In the past, when he heard others mentioning such a reaction, he had simply taken their words as jokes. Only after personally experiencing this feeling did he realize that those words were no joke. At this moment, he felt as if he would be doomed forever if he made even the slightest mistake. Upon hearing Happy Mo''s question, everyone nearby could not help but perk up their ears. They never thought that Happy Mo would be so courageous as to propose such a demand to the Guild Leader. "Are you all interested in the private houses of Zero Wing City?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at Happy Mo''s group of three. "Mhm. The environment here is quite good. I feel that if it is here, my research would be more successful," Happy Mo stated. Boiled Fish and Wind Chimes nodded their heads in agreement. Initially, the three of them had considered living in Stone Forest Town. However, after taking a look at Zero Wing City, they felt that this place was much better. Even if the Mana density in the city was not comparable to Stone Forest Town''s right now, they had a feeling that Zero Wing City would very quickly surpass Stone Forest Town as time passed. "That''s not a bad suggestion. Since you''ve already raised it, I''ll use this opportunity to talk about the new benefits Zero Wing and Candlelight will be offering. From now on, members may use their GCPs to exchange for private houses in the Guild''s towns and cities. However, there is a restriction, which is that only elite members of Zero Wing and official members of Candlelight are qualified for this exchange. As for the pricing, you can ask Melancholic about it in a while," Shi Feng said. In reality, the matter Happy Mo had raised was a problem commonly seen in the past. After all, whether it was a Guild town or city, the amount of land available was limited. Generally, Guilds would try to attract as many visitors to their towns or cities as possible. At the same time, in order to maximize the town''s or city''s income, they would construct only a small number of private houses, opting to build hotels and other facilities instead. Hence, private houses could not simply be bought just because one had the funds to do so. This was especially true for popular towns and cities. However, in order to attract and recruit independent experts and capable Lifestyle players, Guilds would still build some private houses to use as bait, making them available for exchange using GCPs only. When Shi Feng mentioned about this new benefit, cheers immediately erupted from the crowd before him. "What?! The Guild Leader is so generous!" "All hail the Guild Leader!" "Hahaha! With this, I will also have an opportunity to own a private house in Zero Wing City! When I get one, my friends will definitely die of envy!" Currently, the various large Guilds were all trying to earn as much money as possible from their Guild towns to further develop themselves. Hence, they would only construct a few private houses for show. It was simply impossible for Guilds to offer these private houses as a Guild benefit. As for the private houses in popular Guild towns, even Guild upper echelons might not be able to get their hands on one. Yet, now, Lifestyle players like themselves actually had the opportunity to exchange for private houses in Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one town and number one city. They felt as if they were dreaming right now. Although they also knew that the price would not be low, at the very least, they had a chancea much greater chance of obtaining one than if they were an outsider. If news of this matter were to spread, it would no doubt cause a commotion in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Even the neighboring kingdoms and empires might be affected. Shi Feng faked a cough to silence the excited crowd before him. He then said, "Alright, now that that''s dealt with, once you sign the contracts, you all will start researching this item together," and took out a thick book from his bag. This book was none other than the Four Towers of Elements Design, which he had obtained from the Fallen Ark. 1528 Hidden Promotion Condition Chapter 1528 - Hidden Promotion Condition When Shi Feng revealed the thick tome, the architects'' eyes glowed. "This isan Advanced Construction Design!" Ordinary players might not understand what kind of design Shi Feng had shown them, but these weren''t ordinary players; they stood at the apex of Star-Moon Kingdom''s architects. An ordinary construction design only consisted of several sheets of paper. Meanwhile, designs with enough pages to become books were Advanced Construction Designs. The thicker the book was, the more difficult the design would be to construct. Unlike the buildings in the real world, God''s Domain''s Advanced Constructions required Secret Runes and Magic Arrays. If these were imperfect in the slightest way and couldn''t connect, they wouldn''t function and would have to be redrawn. Fortunately, the entire pattern wouldn''t need to be redrawn if mistakes occurred with some runes or arrays. Players simply needed to rework the failed symbols and sacrifice a few extra materials. However, since the necessary materials were precious, the Guild would feel a slight sting in its pockets if an architect failed too many times. Meanwhile, what truly excited these architects was the fact that every Advanced Construction Design had a unique set of Secret Runes for players to learn. Learning these Secret Runes would help them when they designed their own in the future. They would then have an easier time climbing to the Master rank. "Guild Leader, while we can complete the foundation of the Four Towers of Elements, I''m afraid the magic arrays for the core part are too complex. They are at least Advanced Magic Arrays. We aren''t capable of drawing them right now" After taking a look through the Elemental Towers'' design, Happy Mo discovered the design''s most challenging aspect. Although they frequently researched magic arrays, they were only capable of completing Basic Magic Arrays at the moment. They were still some time from being able to draw Intermediate Magic Arrays. Meanwhile, the Four Towers of Elements'' core required Advanced Magic Arrays, which were used to harvest energy within the Seven Luminaries Crystals. Architects of their rank weren''t yet capable of achieving this feat. "Your task is to build the towers'' foundations. I''ll draw the magic arrays for the cores. You just need to deal with the Secret Runes and Magic Circuits," Shi Feng explained. "You''ll draw them, Guild Leader?" The Lifestyle players were stunned when they heard Shi Feng''s plan. They stared at the man as if he were a monster. Not only was Shi Feng a Master Forger, but he could also draw Advanced Magic Arrays. How were they supposed to compare to someone like this? What these players didn''t realize was that players had to learn to draw magic arrays to develop their subclasses. In the past, players had only discovered this fact after reaching Level 100. Regardless of the subclass, players would encounter magic arrays as they increased their Lifestyle ranks. Only, the difficulty varied depending on the subclass. For example, forgers, alchemists, and engineers needed to be able to draw Intermediate Magic Arrays at the very minimum if they wanted to reach the Master rank. The requirement was even higher to become a Grandmaster. When crafting a higher-quality item, the production process would require more Mana. Without a magic array to help guide the Mana to the item, the production process would fail. Because of this, the various large Guilds fought over the rare Magic Array Designs, particularly the high-ranked ones. This was also why powerful Lifestyle players preferred to join powerful Guilds. As an individual, not only was it difficult to obtain high-quality materials in large quantities, but it was also extremely difficult to collect a large variety of Magic Array Designs. Such a task required sufficient strength and a large number of players. This was the reason that the various kingdoms and empires restricted the circulation of Magic Array Designs. Aside from the Four Towers of Elements Design, Shi Feng had also revealed the Advanced Restaurant Design and instructed the Advanced Architects to research it together. With this, they could improve their Secret Rune standards far more quickly and complete the Four Towers of Elements with more precision. Seeing this, the other architects present could not help their envy. Now, they were even more eager to reach Advanced rank. After all, there was a massive difference between the amount of GCPs they could obtain from constructing an Advanced Construction and a Basic Construction. Moreover, Shi Feng had stated that as long as they qualified and had enough GCPs, they could purchase a private house in Zero Wing City. Following which, every architect went into action. While the Advanced Architects focused on the Four Towers of Elements, the other architects focused on the hotels, bars, private houses, Shops, the Battle Arena, and other Basic Constructions. Elsewhere, Shi Feng published the news of Zero Wing City on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. After all, the city wouldn''t remain a secret for long, and with how massive Zero Wing had become, the Guild certainly had quite a few spies among its ranks. Rather than letting only the other Guilds in on the secret, it was more beneficial to announce it to the kingdom, increasing the city and Guild''s fame. When the information went public, a sensation swept through the kingdom. The spectacular view from the city alone was mesmerizing, not to mention its functions. However, players were more excited about the city''s Mana density. "The city''s Mana density is so high even without any Magic Towers?" "With this, Zero Wing will definitely rise in God''s Domain. Once Zero Wing finishes constructing Magic Towers, the city''s Mana density will be even higher than in Stone Forest Town." "But why is Zero Wing City constructed in Witch''s Hill? Although the average levels of the area''s maps are quite high, their resources are average at best. They chose a far better location for Stone Forest Town." "Zero Wing might have other reasons. Just look at Witch''s Hill. It has the high-level resource map, Shadow Forest, and the hell Mode Regional Dungeon, Mournful Ruins. When players reach Level 60, Witch''s Hill will be a prime leveling spot." "I wonder when Zero Wing will open its city to the public?" "That''s right! When is Zero Wing going to open the city?!" "It would be great if our adventurer team can garrison in Zero Wing City. Hopefully, the private houses won''t be too expensive." Although Shi Feng had only released a small amount of information, it was enough to stir players'' interest. When the various large Guilds saw Shi Feng''s post, some celebrated, while others wept. Those who celebrated were the Guilds whom the city couldn''t threaten right now. After all, God''s Domain''s mainstream players were still some distance from Level 40. It would still be some time before mainstream players would head to Level 50-70 areas like Witch''s Hill to develop. Once players reached Level 50, Zero Wing City would become a disaster. "Gather more manpower immediately! We need to earn as many Contribution Points as possible during Bewildering Forest Town''s defense!" For a time, the various large Guilds assembled and dispatched their forces to Bewildering Forest Town. If their Guilds wished to develop quickly, they had to deal with their lack of Mounts as quickly as possible. Bewildering Forest Town''s defense was the best opportunity to do so. As a result, more players flooded to the already-crowded town. Among the new arrivals, the lowest level was Level 40, while the majority were Level 42 and 43. As one large Guild after another arrived with its forces in Bewildering Forest Town, many of the independent players, who were there to earn some Contribution Points, were amazed. Expert players, which were normally difficult to encounter, swarmed the town. Their equipment was simply blinding. Normally, players in full Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment attracted a lot of attention, but now, these players were a dime a dozen. In fact, they barely attracted any attention. Many of the players who had come to Bewildering Forest Town wore full sets of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment, but some even wielded weapons and equipment that radiated the Epic rank glow effect. Among the various large Guilds that had arrived, one Guild stood out. Upon this Guild''s arrival, the other Guilds in the Teleportation Hall opened a path for its members. Not only were these Guild members'' levels quite high, but the other Guilds'' upper echelons also drooled over their equipment. In addition, every one of these players sat comfortably atop their Mounts, with the majority riding pitch-black warhorses. These players also wore a black cape draped over their shoulders. As they moved, they looked like a well-trained army. The several dozen players leading this group even rode Bronze rank and above Mounts. Compared to these players, the other Guilds'' members looked like hoodlums. "What Guild is that? It''s so amazing!" "Have you never been to a neutral map outside of Star-Moon Kingdom? You don''t know about Heaven''s Burial?" "Heaven''s Burial?! How is this possible?! I remember that Heaven''s Burial suffered a devastating defeat when it tried to compete with Zero Wing for the position of number one Guild. How does it have so many high-level members? They even have Mounts!" "You must''ve never been to a neutral map before, then. After Zero Wing defeated the Guild, Heaven''s Burial shifted its focus. Now, it thrives in neutral maps. Have you heard of Bonewind Town?" "I''ve heard of it. I think it''s one of the three Orc Towns players captured after the Orc Empire''s rise." "Let me tell you, then. Heaven''s Burial is the Guild that captured Bonewind Town. Because of that, a large corporation decided to invest in the Guild. Heaven''s Burial used those investments to recruit a large number of experts and well-known Workshops from other kingdoms and empires. Now, the Guild''s strength has reached a new level. If Heaven''s Burial clashed with Zero Wing in the fields now, it might have a chance of victory." As the crowd discussed Heaven''s Burial, another series of flashes illuminated Bewildering Forest Town''s Teleportation Hall. Unlike Heaven''s Burial''s members, however, none of these players rode Mounts. But despite standing there quietly, the crowd couldn''t help but turn towards them. "Look! Zero Wing''s members are here!" 1529 War between Countries Chapter 1529 - War between Countries As Zero Wing''s members teleported into Bewildering Forest Town, their arrival caused a commotion that swept through the town. "Zero Wing''s members have arrived?" "What a powerful aura! As expected from Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild!" "What?! Black Flame is here, too?!" As Bewildering Forest Town''s players watched Zero Wing''s team approach the town''s ramparts, they unconsciously moved aside, opening a path for these experts. "Guild Leader, Zero Wing''s members are so high-leveled! They''re all Level 45 and above!" The Star Alliance''s Flourishing Willow couldn''t help but gape at Zero Wing''s team. "Wait, look! There are Level 50 players among them! Aqua Rose and the other dozen or so core members are actually over Level 50!" Flourishing Willow was a top-tier expert in the Star Alliance, and she had been leveling quickly in a neutral map, reaching Level 47. Based on her calculations, she could rank among Star-Moon Kingdom''s top 20 players, and that included the players who hid their levels. However, she had never imagined that the Zero Wing had would have several dozen players that had higher levels than hers. Among them, over a dozen players were above Level 50 "Level 50?" Galaxy Past, who stood beside Flourishing Willow, turned to look at Shi Feng and his team. This news was truly surprising. "What about Black Flame''s level?" He did not doubt Flourishing Willow''s words in the slightest. Although Zero Wing''s members wore Black Cloaks and hid their levels, Flourishing Willow had learned a super-rare Identification Skill that could see through a Black Cloak''s concealment. Level 50 was a significant threshold for players. Not only would weapons and equipment''s quality spike, but players could also challenge their Tier 2 Promotion Quests. There was no doubt that Zero Wing''s members had already begun to challenge these quests. Given enough time, they could even start raiding Level 50, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons and super-large-scale Team Dungeons. It was what all the various large Guilds focused on right now. It was relevant to their Guilds'' development due to the various special construction designs and Construction Upgrade Orders that dropped from these Dungeons. "I can''t see it" Flourishing Willow said, shaking her head. "I don''t know why, but when I try to inspect him with my Skill, all I get is an ''Unknown.'' Black Flame must have a high-rank concealment tool on him. At most, my Skill can see through ordinary concealment tools." "As expected of the individual even the Secret Pavilion takes care around, but at least we know a portion of Zero Wing''s strength." Galaxy Past could not help his rueful sigh. He truly found it hard to imagine that in just a few short months, Black Flame and Zero Wing would transform from unknown existences into Star-Moon Kingdom''s current giant. He shot Heaven''s Burial''s members a glance as they took their positions on another section of the town''s ramparts. Galaxy Past had to admit that Star-Moon Kingdom was an ominous area. Not only had it given birth to an existence like Zero Wing, but it had also been the birthplace of Heaven''s Burial. For a while now, Heaven''s Burial had enjoyed great success in the Orc Empire''s neutral maps. Now that it had the financial support of a large corporation, its overall strength even exceeded first-rate Guilds'' like the Star Alliance. With Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial fighting over Star-Moon Kingdom, Galaxy Past had been forced to give up on his endeavors in the kingdom, shifting his focus to different kingdoms. If the Star Alliance had continued to compete with these two Guilds, it might not even retain its status as a first-rate Guild by the end of the year. Meanwhile, on Heaven''s Burial''s side of the rampart "Guild Leader Singular, is that the Zero Wing you mentioned earlier?" a muscular man with a blood-red cape and a whitebone scimitar on his back asked as he watched Shi Feng and the others. "Mhm." Singular Burial nodded. "It''s no wonder why Zero Wing can thrive in Star-Moon Kingdom. It has so many Level 45-plus players. Their team can practically rival a super-first-rate Guild''s main force," the muscular man said, smiling. "Guild Leader Singular, why don''t we use this opportunity to annihilate their group?" If Star-Moon Kingdom''s players heard this muscular man''s question, he''d be labeled a fool. However, when Heaven''s Burial''s members heard the man''s words, their response was matter-of-fact. "Young Master Lei, please don''t act so rashly. The city''s defense is our current goal. We''ll have plenty of opportunities to take care of Zero Wing in the future," Singular Burial hurriedly stated. "Zero Wing won''t be able to continue prancing around for much longer." The muscular man before him was none other than Lei Jingyang, the heir of the corporation backing Heaven''s Burial. He was also the virtual gaming world''s famous Young Master Lei. Lei Jingyang had established the Thunder Workshop, one of the top Workshops in the virtual gaming world. Super-first-rate and Super Guilds even commissioned the Thunder Workshop''s help on occasion. Although the Thunder Workshop only had several hundred members, every member was an expert Lei Jingyang had personally poached from various organizations. The Thunder Workshop had also performed miracles in multiple virtual reality games and stood against Super Guilds. At one point, numerous super-first-rate and Super Guilds had even entertained the idea of taking out the Workshop. However, Lei Jingyang''s identity was extraordinary. Considering that and how powerful the Thunder Workshop was, these superpowers eventually dismissed this notion. Once Lei Jingyang had joined God''s Domain, he had become unstoppable. With the support of his corporation, he quickly increased his Workshop''s member count to several thousand and achieved plenty of feats in the Fire Dragon Empire, one of the Four Great Empires in God''s Domain. Naturally, Lei Jingyang earned his arrogance, even when facing Zero Wing. Singular Burial was absolutely certain that if he didn''t stop Lei Jingyang now, Bewildering Forest Town would become a bloodbath later. "Alright. But if Zero Wing gets too close, don''t blame me for killing a few of them," Lei Jingyang said, fighting spirit flashing in his eyes as he scanned Shi Feng''s group. Singular Burial was speechless when he saw Lei Lingyang''s excitement. He knew that this man wasn''t specifically targeting Zero Wing. He simply wanted to fight its experts. His attitude was well-known in the virtual gaming world. In fact, Lei Jingyang had even challenged a Super Guild''s Guild Leader in the past. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng led Zero Wing''s members to one of the massive ramparts around Bewildering Forest Town, he noticed Heaven''s Burial, a little surprised by what he saw. "Guild Leader, is there something peculiar over there?" Fire Dance asked when she noticed Shi Feng staring at Lei Jingyang''s group. "It''s nothing. I just realized how deep Heaven''s Burial''s roots are," Shi Feng said, chuckling. After one last look at Lei Jingyang, he stopped caring about Heaven''s Burial''s group entirely. He knew something about Lei Jingyang. In the past, the man had been known as the Tempest Wargod in God''s Domain. Backed by the corporation behind him, Thor''s Hammer, the Guild he established in God''s Domain, had gained public recognition as a super-first-rate Guild just three years after its creation. Shi Feng had never expected to find this man among Heaven''s Burial''s people. Just as everyone quietly observed the various major powers in Bewildering Forest Town, the sky above and around the town abruptly darkened. Suddenly, thousands of Orcs began to march out of the forest a short distance away from the town. For a moment, the combined bloodlust the Orcs radiated caused the players standing on the town''s ramparts to shudder involuntarily. Moreover, these Orcs were all above Level 40, with the highest at Level 65. There was no lack of Grand Lord ranked Orcs amidst the army, either. "What is this?" The scene stupefied every player watching. In this moment, the players on the ramparts finally understood what war truly meant. Even Zero Wing''s members, who had taken part in multiple siege wars, could not help their shock. The siege wars they had experienced were a joke compared to the force they were about to face. In the face of this Orc army, even 500,000 Evil Beasts would be child''s play. Unlike the Evil Beast army, these Orcs moved in well-organized rows. Even from afar, one could see the clear division between the Orcs'' frontliners, healers, and ranged attackers. More importantly, the Orcs dragged siege weapons, such as Catapults and Battering Rams, with them. At a glance, there were easily over a hundred Catapults lining up at the edge of the forest. Such a force even surprised Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other main force members, who had experienced hundreds of fierce battles. This was nothing like the monster siege they had imagined. Before the defending players could wrap their minds around the situation, sounds of warhorns rang out from the forest. Immediately, the Orcs began to surge from the forest''s edge fervently. Every one of them had gained a status buff 1530 Despairing Gap Chapter 1530 - Despairing Gap "Why are there so many monsters?" "Is this really a monster siege? Why does it feel more like a war between NPCs?" "Quick, look! The NPC soldiers'' levels have dropped!" Everyone felt their scalps tingle as they watched the tsunami of Orcs surge out of the forest. Before they realized it, the Level 100-plus NPC soldiers defending Bewildering Forest Town had fallen to Level 70. Even the guard captains fell to Level 75. Seeing this, everyone felt a chill grip their hearts. Level 70-plus NPCs would only have a small advantage over the Level 60-plus Orcs. Trying to defend the town with just a little over 2,000 NPCs would be a dream. As a result, the various large Guilds'' original plan to rely on the NPCs shattered. "Guild Leader, there are too many Orcs. It''s impossible to stop them with Bewildering Forest Town''s current defenses. Should we retreat?" Flourishing Willow''s expression darkened after she inspected the Orc army with her Identification Skill. The weakest of these Orcs was a Level 40 Special Elite. There were also a large number of Great Lord ranked Orc Warriors and Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains. Most importantly, this army was marching towards the town from three different directions, and Level 65 Mythic ranked Orc Generals led the siege on each side. This level of combat power simply could not be stopped by a weakened town''s defenses. The only defensive structures the town had were Arrow Towers, which were far weaker than Catapults. In such a situation, trying to stop several million Orcs with 300,000-plus elite players was a joke. "Let''s wait and see. If victory is impossible, we''ll retreat." Even Galaxy Past felt the building pressure. He had assumed that this battle would devolve into a struggle for Boss kills, but just defending the town against the low-ranking Orcs would be a miracle, much less trying to compete for the Mythic Bosses. Whoever tried to fight the Bosses while surrounded by so many Orcs would be begging for death. The other Guilds also adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Suddenly, over a hundred, massive fireballs began to rain down on Bewildering Forest Town. "Crap! Dodge the attacks!" the various Guilds'' upper echelons shouted, their expressions darkening when they saw the fireballs. The fireballs had come from the distant Catapults. If players were struck by the Catapults'' attacks, there would only be one outcomedeath! Although players tried to move out of the attack''s trajectory, over 300,000 players had gathered in Bewildering Forest Town. The town was so cramped that even normal movement was difficult. As a result, these players could only watch as the massive fireballs descended. Boom Boom Boom A series of explosions echoed throughout Bewildering Forest Town. Before the fireballs struck the town, the town''s defensive magic array stopped and scattered the attack. However, as a result of the explosions, the barrier shook violently and began to crack. Fortunately, due to its supply of Mana, it recovered quickly. Everyone in the town breathed a sigh of relief. Had the 100-plus fireballs landed, the consequences would''ve been unimaginable. However, as the magic barrier dealt with the fireballs, the Orcs and their Battering Rams reached the edge of the barrier outside of the town''s ramparts. They attacked. As a considerably fortified town, magic runes strengthened the town''s ramparts, and these walls could take more punishment than the magic barrier. However, the Orcs'' Battering Rams specialized in breaking down walls and gates. Sure enough, the Battering Rams'' magical pikes pierced the magic barrier and struck the wall around the town, leaving multiple marks. "Everyone, focus on the Orc''s Battering Rams! Do not let them break through the town''s magic arrays and walls!" the various upper echelons shouted. Reacting immediately, players launched their attacks from atop the town''s walls, raining down countless arrows and Spells on the Orcs below. However, as if some barrier protected the Battering Rams and reduced incoming damage, the attacks only dealt several hundred damage. Very few players dealt over -1,000 damage. This amount of damage barely affected the Special Elite ranked Orcs, who had several hundred thousand HP, much less the Chieftain, Lord, and Great Lord ranked Orcs, whose HPs were in the millions. Even when the players launched large-scale destruction Spells and AOEs, the effects weren''t ideal. At most, these attacks removed some of the Special Elites. The Chieftains and above were still alive and kicking even after the bombardment. As a result, the magic barrier''s energy reserves steadily decreased. Although the Orcs'' attacks were within the range of the defensive magic array''s endurance, the large number of Orc attacks quickly depleted the magic barrier''s energy reserves. Furthermore, the Battering Rams'' relentless attacks had already begun to crack the town''s walls. In contrast, the defending players had only eliminated a small fraction of the army despite their constant assault. The Orc army still covered the plains around the town as far as the eye could see. The Catapults constant bombardment also illuminated the night sky above Bewildering Forest Town. "Young Master Lei, at this rate, it is only a matter of time before the Orcs break through the town''s defensive magic array and ramparts. Once the Orcs enter the town, the town''s teleportation arrays will shut down. I suggest that we retreat," Singular Burial said, frowning as he watched the Orcs below the ramparts. "It is impossible for current players to complete this defensive quest." Just the Orc Warriors and Captains before them were discouraging, let alone the Mythic ranked Orc Generals who were slowing approaching. Aside from their numbers, the Orcs had a buff that reduced all incoming damage. Even if several thousand players attacked a single Great Lord together, they would need a considerable amount of time to defeat it. "Alright, let''s retreat." When Lei Jingyang noticed that the various large Guilds had begun to flee, he shook his head helplessly. He might be a battle maniac, but he was no fool. He could tell that the Main God System had never had any intention of letting players succeed in this defensive battle. Otherwise, the system wouldn''t have weakened the Level 100-plus NPC soldiers. Continuing this fight would be futile. "Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial has begun to retreat," Flourishing Willow reported. "It seems that this war is lost. Let''s leave as well," Galaxy Past said. As Galaxy Past gave the command to retreat, however, something caught his attention. "Hm?" Surprisingly, even after the various large Guilds had begun to flee, Zero Wing''s members continued their zealous assault against the attacking Orcs and Battering Rams. The team''s clearing speed was far superior to the other large Guilds as every member dealt over -1,000 damage. Some of Zero Wing''s players even dealt several thousand damage with each attack. "They''re staying?" Galaxy Past watched Zero Wing''s members in confusion. Currently, less than 100,000 players remained in Bewildering Forest Town. Moreover, more players fled with each passing second, yet Zero Wing''s members had chosen not to retreat and continued to attack even though the town''s defensive magic array and walls could shatter at any minute. "Zero Wing still acts so tough even now?" Lei Jingyang, who currently stood below the town''s walls, revealed a contemptuous sneer as he watched Shi Feng, who remained on the ramparts. "Just for the sake of keeping up appearances as the number one Guild, he''s ordered his Guild members to throw away their lives. It seems that Zero Wing isn''t as impressive as they say." In his opinion, Zero Wing was merely trying to maintain its reputation as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, being the last Guild to leave the battle. "Do they really think they can perform some miracle with just 1,000 players? Young Master Lei, let''s leave." Singular Burial laughed as he moved towards the town''s Teleportation Hall. Following which, one Guild after another left the town. In minutes, only Zero Wing remained. "Guild Leader, the other Guilds have left," Aqua Rose reported as she inspected Bewildering Forest Town''s situation. Only Zero Wing''s members occupied the town. "Good. Let''s begin." Shi Feng then turned to Cola beside him, and said, "Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, you three will be the lead MTs. We''re targeting the Orc Warlord!" Although he did not have any experience dealing with Orcs'' sieges, he had watched several videos of such in the past. The fact that the Orcs had dispatched this massive of a force to deal with Bewildering Forest Town didn''t surprise him in the least. In fact, he had expected it. After all, this was a war between countries. It wouldn''t be unexpected if the battle dragged on for several days. However, there was a method to end this war swiftly: slay the enemy commander. This method might be difficult for other Guilds, as even approaching the enemy commander was nearly impossible, but it wouldn''t be difficult for him. Following which, Shi Feng activated Spatial Gate, aiming for the Orc army''s temporary base of operations at the army''s rear. 1531 Kingdom Upheaval Chapter 1531 - Kingdom Upheaval After the various large Guilds and adventurer teams had retreated from Bewildering Forest Town, players heatedly discussed the Orc siege on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. The uploaded recordings of the siege war shocked everyone in the kingdom. Although the various large Guilds frequently clashed, with some even waging large-scale wars against each other, there was simply no comparing those battles with the Orc army''s assault. The difference between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. The recordings were enough to showcase the Orc army''s intense bloodlust. "With so many Orcs in that army, it seems Bewildering Forest Town is doomed. I wonder if the Orcs will continue on and attack another location?" "I doubt that. This should be some kind of system event. If the Orc army goes on to capture other towns in Star-Moon Kingdom and weakens those NPCs, Star-Moon Kingdom is doomed." "You can''t say that for sure. As soon as the Empire''s Rise expansion pack took effect, the Orc Empire invaded and took over a portion of the several neighboring kingdoms and empires'' land as well." "I guess so. If that is the case, the neighboring towns are in trouble. What Guild could possibly hold off so many Orcs? I''ve heard that every Guild in Bewildering Forest Town has retreated. Not even a 300,000-plus elite army can stop the Orcs now." "No, that''s not entirely true. I''ve heard that Zero Wing is still fighting in Bewildering Forest Town right now." "Zero Wing? Don''t get your hopes up. Zero Wing''s only sent a 1,000 players to the town. They''re simply trying to put on an act. There aren''t even enough of them to serve as a snack for the Orcs. Who knows? They might have retreated by now." "No. Based on what I''ve just heard from Zero Wing''s members, the team is still there. Moreover, the players Zero Wing dispatched are members of its main force." "Maybe they''re trying to grind EXP? After all, there are plenty of Orcs there. A single large-scale destruction Spell could easily damage over a hundred Orcs. Also, among those Orcs, even the weakest is a Level 40 Special Elite. From what I''ve heard, they seem to give a lot of EXP. The only problem is the buff they have that reduces the majority of the damage they receive." Some players were excited about the Orc siege, while others were anxious. On the one hand, the Orc invasion meant more opportunities to earn Contribution Points. However, to the players operating around the towns close to Bewildering Forest Town, the town''s fall meant that their towns could be the next target. If their towns fell to the Orcs, then all of the effort they''ve put into building the town''s foundations would go to waste. This was especially true for Guilds that occupied these towns. "Zero Wing''s members are still there?" Singular Burial, who had returned to Star-Moon City, revealed a confused expression when he heard the report from his subordinate. In his opinion, Zero Wing had been putting on an act. After all, the Orc siege simply wasn''t something current players could defend against. "Guild Leader Singular, just ignore Zero Wing. Although we didn''t gain many Guild Honor Points or Guild Influence, it doesn''t significantly affect our plans. Our main priority now is the recently discovered Ancient Rock City. Once we take down the Orc Empire''s Ancient Rock City, Heaven''s Burial will dominate the several neighboring kingdoms, let alone Star-Moon Kingdom," Lei Jingyang said, laughing. "Didn''t you mention that Flame Blood''s team is ready? When will we take action?" "Flame Blood''s side is ready, but we don''t have enough Guild Honor Points. With the amount we have, we can only hire 5,000 mercenaries. Had we successfully defended Bewildering Forest Town, we might''ve been able to hire 8,000 mercenaries. It would''ve been enough to guarantee our success in capturing Ancient Rock City," Singular Burial said, sighing. Due to the Orc Empire''s rise, the empire had taken over neutral maps in its neighboring kingdom. Moreover, several ancient towns and cities, which had belonged to the Orc Empire in the past, had reemerged, including Ancient Rock City. All of the Orc Empire''s towns and cities could be captured. Although players couldn''t gain complete control[1] of these towns and cities after capturing them, they could modify and develop them. Moreover, due to the Orc Empire, the various large Guilds and independent players were all grinding for Guild Honor Points and Contribution Points so that they could purchase Mounts and other rare items. Meanwhile, Ancient Rock City''s location in the Orc Empire''s inner region was a good place to grind for these points. The city was also near several ancient ruins. If they could capture the city, players from the neighboring kingdoms would flock to the city and use it as a temporary base. With the potential wealth and resources Ancient Rock City could generate, Heaven''s Burial could become the number one Guild in the neighboring kingdoms. In comparison, Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing City would be a joke. "That should be enough. We can''t give Beast Emperor 20% of the profits for nothing. That old fellow should put some effort into the siege as well," Lei Jingyang said. In reality, Lei Jingyang disliked Beast Emperor. The old man only knew how to move around like a sneaky rat. However, Lei Jingyang had to admit that Beast Emperor commanded incredibly formidable combat power. He had also secretly taken control of several large Guilds. He even had the support of several major corporations. Recently, he had gained the support of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Nine Dragon Emperor as well. Although their goals in God''s Domain didn''t necessarily align, they wouldn''t clash, either. "Alright, then. I''ll notify Flame Blood. But I''ve heard that Beast Emperor''s situation has reached a critical point. He might not necessarily come to help." Singular Burial nodded. Although he had allied himself with Beast Emperor, they focused on their own matters. Had Beast Emperor given him full support, he wouldn''t have had so much trouble gathering Contribution Points in the first place. Back in Bewildering Forest Town, Zero Wing''s members surged through the spacial tear Shi Feng had created by activating Spatial Gate. In seconds, they appeared before the entrance of a temporary camp in the middle of a forest. "Guild Leader, this" When Aqua Rose emerged from the Spatial Gate, she noticed that the Orcs inside the massive camp were Level 60-plus. In addition, they were all Chieftain rank or above. At a glance, she counted well over 1,000 Orcs. Four Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains guarded the camp''s entrance. Meanwhile, a massive Orc in pitch-black armor with a saber at his waist sat in the large tent in the center of the camp. When Zero Wing''s members saw the Orc''s statistics, their minds blanked. [Orc Warlord] (Humanoid Creature, Mythic) Level 66 HP 400,000,000/400,000,000 Aside from the Orc Warlord''s 400,000,000 HP, it had a total of five HP bars. This meant that the Orc Warlord''s combat standards could rival that of a fifth-floor Trial Tower expert. Rather than a preemptive strike, they were throwing themselves into death''s embrace. The Orcs in the base camp quickly noticed the arrival of Zero Wing''s members. They roared and sounded their warhorns, notifying the distant Orc Army that they had been ambushed and needed reinforcements. The four Orc Captains guarding the base camp unsheathed their weapons and attacked alongside the other Orcs. Meanwhile, the Orc Warlord slowly made its way towards Shi Feng and his companions, gazing at the players as if they were pests. "Cola, you three get ready to tank the monsters! Everyone, defensive formations!" The welcoming party didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. This was the Orc army''s main headquarters. It was only natural that it was well fortified. If it were so easy to ambush and destroy, the country-level wars wouldn''t have lasted several days. Fortunately, the Orc Empire''s invasion wasn''t the same as a war between NPC countries. The Orc Empire did not have players'' help, so they could launch ambush tactics without worrying about enemy players. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, the MT trio gritted their teeth and pulled the approaching monsters'' aggro. Very quickly, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian each took on an Orc Captain, while Solitary Nine and Dark Madness took on the last Orc Captain. However, since the MTs also had to dodge attacks from the lower-ranked Orcs, they struggled to dodge the Orc Captains'' attacks. Unlike the Savage Orcs on Thunder Island, these Orcs were skilled and organized as they split into groups of front-liners, ranged attackers, and healers. The Orcs also had an overwhelming advantage in terms of total damage output. Although Zero Wing''s members could deal over -10,000 damage with each attack, every Orc here had millions of HP. The Orc healers in the rear could also heal their allies for tens of thousands of HP with each Healing Spell. "Guild Leader! The Orc Warlord is coming!" Cola anxiously announced as he watched the Mythic Boss approach. For a moment, he wondered if they had bit off more than they could chew this time. Hearing Cola''s announcement, everyone on the team promptly turned to look at the Orc Warlord. Immediately, they felt a stifling sensation as a heavy pressure weighed down on them. 1532 Might of a Tier 4 Existence Chapter 1532 - Might of a Tier 4 Existence As the Orc Warlord moved closer to the team, everyone felt the pressure increase. It felt as if an invisible domain had enveloped the area. Suddenly, Zero Wing''s players felt as if something had wrapped around them, binding them and making their movements sluggish. This Orc Warlord is capable of using a Domain?! The sudden development surprised Shi Feng. Domain Skills were Tier 4 existences'' signature moves. They were extremely effective in group battles. Normally, Tier 4 monsters rarely possessed a Domain Skill, but monsters that did were players'' nightmares. The gap in Attributes between players and monsters was already vast. If players'' Attributes were suppressed even further, they would be massacred. Although the Orc Warlord''s Domain Skill was not particularly strong, and it only decreased their Movement and Attack Speeds by around 30%, in a battle that permitted no mistakes, the slightest reduction to their combat power could result in a fatality. Sure enough, Cola and the other MTs began to lose HP far more quickly after the Orc Warlord activated its Domain. The attacks that they had no issue blocking and dodging became impossible to deal with. In the end, they were only able to maintain their HP around the 50% threshold. The other melee players faced a similar situation, their HPs decreasing so quickly that the healers couldn''t keep up. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before players began to die. "Violet, use Holy Prayer! Everyone, gather the Orcs! Ranged players, focus on the Orcs that split away from the group! Don''t let them fight on separate fronts!" Shi Feng commanded. The Orcs'' HPs were already significantly higher than theirs. With the monsters'' superior healing, the team would be overwhelmed if they tried to fight the Orcs separately. Violet Cloud immediately released the Tier 2 Spell, Holy Prayer, which she had prepared ahead of time. A brilliant radiance tore through the dusky sky and shone down on Zero Wing''s members. The Spell instantly healed all allies within a 50-yard radius of Violet Cloud for over 3,000 HP per second. At the same time, all allies within range received the Holy Protection buff, removing all debuffs and decreasing incoming damage by 20%. Meanwhile, Holy Prayer had a 1-minute duration and 20-minute Cooldown. When this Spell descended on the team, these players were immediately freed from the Orc Warlord''s Domain Skill. Not only did it become easier to deal with the Orcs'' attacks, but their HPs also recovered at a visible rate. "What a powerful Healing Spell!" Aqua Rose exclaimed in surprise when she saw the team steadily gain the upper hand over the Orcs. While a 20% damage reduction might not seem like much, the buff was strikingly effective for the melee players tanking on the frontline. Moreover, as the pressure on the healers lifted, they could focus on healing the MTs. The other melee players lost their fear of insufficient healing as they herded the Orcs into a single group. "Guild Leader, we''ve gathered most of them!" Fire Dance shouted after pushing the last few Great Lords into the group. "Good!" When Shi Feng saw that his allies had cornered the majority of the Orcs at the base camp''s entrance, he used the Aura of Time''s Forbidden Domain. Suddenly, black mist covered 500 yards around Shi Feng, enveloping every Orc in the base camp. In turn, the Orcs could no longer use Skills or Spells. "Everyone, attack with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng shouted. Although the Forbidden Domain was not as useful against monsters as it was against players, Zero Wing''s team could use large-scale destruction Spells to their maximum potential as long as it stopped the Orcs from healing. However, as everyone prepared to cast their large-scale destruction Spells and AOEs, the Orc Warlord in the camp released a furious bellow. It then unsheathed the saber from its waist and swung the weapon in a downward arc. Before anyone could react, an arc of energy shot forward, extending up to 200 yards and gouging the ground. Any player in the beam''s path died instantly. "It''s too strong!" Zero Wing''s players gasped. There was no way to fight the Orc Warlord! Not only was the Orc Warlord frighteningly powerful, but it was also far faster than these players could react. "So fast!" When Cola saw two of his fellow MTs and a large number of melee players die to the Orc Warlord''s attack, he was shocked. If that attack had hit him, he had no doubt that he would''ve suffered a similar fate. He would''ve likely only survived if he had activated his Lifesaving Skill and blocked the attack with his shield in time. However, the Orc Warlord''s Attack Speed was too high. It took everything he had just to keep up with the Mythic Boss''s saber with his eyes. After the Orc Warlord''s ranged attack, it dashed towards the base camp''s entrance, leaving behind an afterimage. "Guild Leader, the Orc Warlord is coming!" Aqua Rose reported anxiously. She was still in the middle of casting a large-scale destruction Spell and couldn''t react to the Mythic Boss''s charge. If the Orc Warlord ran amuck in the middle of their team, it would do as much damage as releasing a tiger into a flock of sheep. Although Cola and the other MTs wanted to stop the Orc Warlord, they had plenty of trouble dealing with the Orcs before them. If they allowed these Orcs to get past their blockade, the consequences would be unimaginable. Sure enough, Forbidden Domain is barely effective against a Mythic monster. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he watched the frenzied Orc Warlord. Following which, Shi Feng took a Magic Scroll from his bag. The moment he did so, the surrounding Mana changed. As if the Magic Scroll were a black hole, it sucked in the area''s Mana. Sensing the change, the Orc Warlord, who had been charging into the group at the entrance, revealed a frightened expression as it turned and fled. "You want to escape?" Shi Feng smiled when the Orc Warlord turned on its heel. "I''ve been waiting for this moment for a long time now." Unlike the Skills and Spells players could learn or the Skills that came with weapons and equipment, those stored in Magic Scrolls could be activated by unfurling the paper and reciting a few basic incantations. There was no need for lengthy activation times. Shortly after Shi Feng unfurled the Tier 4 Magic Scroll, the ground started to tremble. Gray jets of air tore through the ground and rose up in the heart of the Orc base camp. Any Orc that came into contact with these jets instantly turned to stone. They could not dodge the rising attacks even if they tried. Although the Orc Warlord had a godlike reaction speed, one of the jets still grazed the Mythic Boss. Instantly, it was paralyzed as it gradually transformed into a stone statue. At the same time, its HP began to fall rapidly. Against Earthen Breath, the Chieftain ranked Orcs were nothing more than ants. Two seconds after their petrification, their bodies shattered into dust. The Lord ranked Orcs only managed to last five seconds before following their weaker companions into oblivion. By the time Earthen Breath''s 10-second duration ended, all Chieftain, Lord, and High Lord ranked Orcs in the base camp were dead. Although the Great Lords had survived, they had less than half of their HPs remaining. The Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains had only lost 20% of their HPs, but they were heavily injured. Not only had their combat power drastically decreased, but their Defense had also fallen. As for the Orc Warlord, like the Orc Captains, it had only lost around 5% of its HP, but it was in a miserable state, and its combat power had significantly weakened. Zero Wing''s members were dumbfounded. Shi Feng''s aim with Earthen Breath had been impressively accurate. The Spell''s AOE stopped just short of five yards from Cola and the other MTs, who blocked the base camp''s entrance. With just a single Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, he had turned the tide of battle. Only now did they understand why Shi Feng dared to assault the Orc army''s base camp. After Earthen Breath ended, less than 30 Orcs remained. Among them, over 20 were injured Great Lords with less than half of their HP remaining. With their 1,000-man team and without the other Orcs harassment, they could easily deal with the surviving Grand Lords and Great Lords. "Use this opportunity to clear out the Orc Warriors! Cola, distract the Orc Warlord! Solitary, help take care of Cola''s Orc Captain!" Shi Feng commanded as he spent 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate the Ring of Gospel''s World Projection. When World Projection activated, it dispelled the Orc Warlord''s Domain Skill, and suppressed all enemies within a 3,000-yard radius, reducing their physiques by 30% and Basic Attributes by 20%. This was not Thunder Island. Due to the island''s restrictions, he hadn''t been able to use the variety of tools in his possession. Moreover, he was afraid of the Orc Warlord. If he had encountered it normally, he would''ve put as much distance between himself and the monster as possible, but after the contest on Thunder Island, he had gained a few cards that could give him a chance against the Mythic Orc. 1533 Supreme Attribute Chapter 1533 - Supreme Attribute When World Projection took effect, the injured Orcs were weakened once more. The Great Lord and Grand Lord ranked Orcs promptly lost 20% of their Basic Attributes, while the Orc Warlord lost 10%. Although it was only a 10% decrease, the Orc Warlord had a maximum HP of 400,000,000. A loss of 40,000,000 HP alleviated a significant portion of the pressure the team faced. Moreover, the Orcs did not merely lose HP. Their Strength and Agility had decreased as well. With the Orcs'' injuries, Solitary Nine and Dark Madness, who were still Tier 1 players, could easily take on an Orc Captain by themselves. Although the team''s other MTs had lower attributes and weaker techniques than Solitary Nine and Dark Madness, they could still deal with the surviving Orc Warriors. When they blocked attacks, they only lost around 4,000 HP. To the MTs, who had over 45,000 HP on average, this amount of damage wasn''t a threat. As everyone thought that victory was within their reach, a blinding light illuminated the area. Cola, who had been charging towards the Orc Warlord, flew backward over 20 yards, crashing into the ground. His HP fell rapidly, only stopping when it was close to the 50% threshold. At the same time, a damage of over -30,000 appeared above his head, stupefying his companions. "Isn''t this Mythic Orc a little too strong?!" Blackie exclaimed. Despite its injuries and World Projection''s suppression, the Orc Warlord could still destroy half of Cola''s HP in a single attack. If the Orc Warlord were at its peak, wouldn''t it kill the expert MT in one hit? Before anyone could react, the Orc Warlord appeared before Cola and swung down its massive saber, giving the Guardian Knight no time to catch his breath. "Don''t think I''m that easy to get rid of!" Cola, who had just stood back up, shifted his shield before him and activated Protection Blessing. Boom! Cola was struck once again. This time, however, he was only forced back several steps and managed to stabilize his stance. His HP only fell by a little over 17,000 Seeing the MT still standing, the Orc Warlord swung its saber a second time. Just before the weapon struck Cola, however, a pale, golden glow enveloped the Guardian Knight. This was none other than Violet Cloud''s Tier 2 Healing Spell, Advanced Heal. Instantly, Cola received over 24,000 HP, providing enough to endure another blow. "Guild Leader, we can''t continue the raid like this! The Orc Warlord''s damage and speed are too high. Even if Cola activates his Lifesaving Skill, he won''t be able to hold on for very long," Aqua Rose expressed her concern as she watched Cola, whose life hung on by a thread. The Orc Warlord could already deal over -17,000 damage with a normal attack. When it used a Skill, it would devour nearly 40,000 of Cola''s HP. If not for Protection Blessing, Cola would''ve died. Even Lifeless Thorn and the other Asura members, who had raided a Mythic Boss before, paled when they saw the Orc Warlord''s frightening damage. They had been excited to take on another Mythic Boss, but after meeting this one, they were reminded of how powerful such monsters were. Their victory over the Titan Warrior had been a miracle. Moreover, the Orc Warlord was different from the Titan Warrior. The Titan Warrior had been a Mechanical Lifeform, so its reactions had been slower. In return, though, its Defense and Magic Resistance had been extraordinary. On the other hand, the Orc Warlord was a creature of flesh and blood. Although it did not have a specific strength like the Titan Warrior, it didn''t have any apparent weaknesses. A Mythic Boss with no weaknesses was not a foe for current players. It might be possible to defeat one with an army of tens of thousands, but it was beyond a 1,000-man team. The Titan Guard''s effects are really impressive. In contrast, Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction as he watched Cola''s HP rise and fall. Immediately, he took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. He wouldn''t have dared to provoke a Mythic Boss on Thunder Island, but he had plenty of tools he could use here. He was fully aware of how terrifying the Orc Warlord was. He had simply sent Cola to intercept the Boss alone to see how far the Guardian Knight could go with the Titan Guard. The results had exceeded his expectations. If any other Tier 2 MT stood in Cola''s place, one of the Orc Warlord''s normal attacks would likely kill them instantly. Even if they survived, they wouldn''t have much HP left. In the next moment, a Level 75, Tier 3 Red Demon emerged from the gates before Shi Feng. Due to Demon Ruler''s buff, the Red Demon''s maximum HP rose to 27,000,000. "Cola, coordinate with the Red Demon to distract the Orc Warlord! Everyone else, clear out the other Orcs!" Shi Feng commanded. With the Red Demon splitting the Orc Warlord''s damage, the pressure Cola faced decreased significantly. The healers also had an easier time keeping Cola''s MT above a safe threshold. The rest of the team, in response to Shi Feng''s command, kept their guard up as they bombarded the rest of the Orcs. Although the Orc Warriors were Great Lords, their injuries and the suppression dropped their overall combat power to below a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Even a team of Zero Wing''s elite members could deal with them now. In less than ten minutes, all surviving Orc Warriors died, and the four Orc Captains were little more than flickering candlelight in the wind. It was only a matter of time before they fell as well. However, when the Orc Captains were nearly dead, the sound of a warhorn echoed throughout the forest. "What?! There are reinforcements?!" Blackie''s expression darkened when he noticed a small Orc army emerge from the nearby forest. Although there weren''t as many incoming Orcs as there were in the army sieging Bewildering Forest Town, there were several thousand. A Level 65 Orc General lead the small force [Orc General] (Humanoid Creature, Mythic) Level 65 HP 330,000,000/330,000,000 "Is this a joke?" "We''re doomed How is there another Mythic Boss?" Everyone was speechless when they saw the approaching Orc General. The Orc Warlord was enough of a problem, yet now they had to deal with a Mythic ranked Orc General. They had lost any hope of victory now. "Guild Leader, let''s retreat. If the Orc reinforcements reach us, I''m afraid that we won''t be able to escape," Aqua Rose urgently suggested. "No. Their timing is perfect. Magic array team, on my mark!" Shi Feng stated as he shook his head. He had expected these reinforcements. Rather, it''d be strange if the Orcs didn''t send reinforcements after realizing that the base camp was under attack. Only, he hadn''t expected the reinforcements to arrive so quickly. "Everyone, gather around the Orc Warlord!" Although Zero Wing''s members didn''t know what Shi Feng planned, they followed his command. As the Orc reinforcements approached, the team grew nervous. They couldn''t understand what Shi Feng intended. Their Guild Leader couldn''t possibly have another Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll, right? When the Orc General was less than 50 yards away and raised its greatsword for an attack "Activate the magic array!" Shi Feng shouted. Immediately, nine magical class players at the edge of the base camp unfurled the Magic Array Scrolls in their hands. These Magic Array Scrolls, which he had produced before returning to Bewildering Forest Town, would activate the Nine-star Polar Domain. However, unlike the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Arrays he normally created, he had crafted this one with one of the four Elemental Sources he had obtained from the two Elemental Treasure Boxes from Sunset Forest. Of the four Elemental Sources, he had used the only one that included one of the Three Supreme Attributes. The Source of Illusion! In God''s Domain, the Three Supreme Attributes were superior to every other Attribute available. Elemental Weapons that had been crafted with an Elemental Source containing one of these Attributes would offer incredibly powerful Skills. On the market, such Elemental Weapons generally sold for twice the amount of a normal Elemental Weapon. Hence, this Nine-star Polar Domain was stronger than the last one, which he had crafted with the Source of True Frost. It would''ve been rather wasteful to use this Nine-star Polar Domain on a single Orc Warlord. Now that the Orc General had joined the fray, he could use this enhanced array to take out the Orc General as well. As the nine magical class players activated the Nine-star Polar Domain, space within the base camp twisted and turned. Multiple, stacked magic arrays appeared above them. As these magic arrays appeared, a tremendous amount of Mana began to gather in the base camp. The Mana was so dense that it began to condense into liquid droplets. As if space and time had frozen, no one in the camp could move. Even the peerless Mythic Orcs were petrified. When the magic arrays completed, an illusory barrier spread out from the camp''s center and encased the area. Amazing! Truly amazing! So, this is what happens when you strengthen a magic array with one of the Three Supreme Elements. 1534 Fall of Mythics Chapter 1534 - Fall of Mythics As the Nine-star Polar Domain enveloped the Orc base camp, it split the approaching reinforcements into two groups. In the end, only the Orc General and a few Orc Warriors had entered the camp, whereas the majority of the reinforcing army was stuck outside of the illusory barrier. No matter how much the Orc army outside attacked the barrier, their attacks dissipated into nothingness upon encountering it. Despite thousands of Orcs attacking the barrier simultaneously, it didn''t even tremble. This was the Source of Illusion''s true power. Tier 3 attacks and below were utterly useless against the enhanced Nine-star Polar Domain. They wouldn''t even deplete the magic array''s energy reserves in the slightest. Only Tier 4 attacks could deal any damage, and even then, their damage would be limited and well within the array''s tolerance range. As for the Orcs inside the base camp, their movements had slowed quite a bit as if they had just stepped into a muddy swamp. When the Orc Warlord tried to attack Cola, in particular, everyone could now see its movements clearly. Cola, who looked miserable, raised his shield to defend himself. Peng! After receiving the attack, Cola only needed to retreat by six steps before stabilizing his body. Despite not having any of his Lifesaving Skills active, he only lost a little over 16,000 HP. "Impossible! What kind of magic array is this?!" "What a strong magic array!" Cola''s teammates were stupefied when they saw him block one of the Orc Warlord''s attacks without a Lifesaving Skill. The Orc Warlord had long since recovered from its injured state, and Cola had only survived without a Lifesaving Skill thanks to the Red Demon sharing a portion of the Mythic Boss''s damage. Once the Nine-star Polar Domain had suppressed the Orcs, however, Cola took less damage than when he had activated Protection Blessing even when he took the full brunt of the Boss''s attacks. This was the first time they had even heard of a magic array suppressing a Mythic monster to such a degree. "Turtledove and Ye Wumian, keep the Orc General busy! The other MTs, help them deal with the Orc Captains!" Shi Feng commanded as he watched the rapidly approaching Orc General. "Everyone else, prioritize the Orc Captains before dealing with the Orc General and Warlord!" With the Source of Illusion''s strengthening, the Nine-star Polar Domain was even more powerful than a Master Magic Array. Currently, the Nine-star Polar Domain suppressed both Mythic Orc''s Basic Attributes by 50%. That was 10% more than the Nine-star Polar Domain fortified with the Source of True Frost. Not even ordinary Master Magic Arrays were capable of such a feat. With World Projection working alongside the array, the two Mythic Orcs only had 40% of their original Attributes. At this standard, they were just slightly stronger than a Grand Lord of the same level. Tier 2 MTs like Turtledove and Ye Wumian shouldn''t have any issues tanking one of the two Bosses. As for the Grand Lord ranked Orc Captains, their combat power fell below that of a Great Lord of the same level when subjected to the twofold suppression. They were just slightly stronger than High Lords of the same level. Tier 1 MTs were more than capable of tanking them. "Guild Leader, where did you get this magic array?! It''s marvelously effective!" Aqua Rose could not help but exclaim when she saw Turtledove and Ye Wumian block the Orc General''s attacks without much trouble. Normally, the various large Guilds took the long way around when they found a Mythic monster. Unless they use siege weapons and sacrificed a large number of players, they had no hope of defeating a Mythic monster at this stage of the game. Yet, their 1,000-man team was holding its ground against two Mythic Orcs simultaneously "Do you remember the two Elemental Treasure Boxes we got from Sunset Forest? Those Treasure Boxes contained Elemental Sources. Not only can these Elemental Sources be used to refine weapons and equipment, but they can also serve as a power source for magic arrays, enhancing the final product. I used one of those Elemental Sources to strengthen the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array," Shi Feng explained truthfully. "But keep this matter to yourself; we don''t want this secret getting out." The Elemental Sources'' uses were still a secret to God''s Domain''s players. They were also extremely rare. By telling Aqua Rose, he could have her take note of them and avoid mistakenly discarding any she came across, assuming they were useless. "So, that''s the case. After this battle, I''ll collect as many Elemental Sources as possible. This way, we can challenge several of the unshakeable Mythic Bosses we''ve come found thus far." Aqua Rose''s eyes sparkled with excitement. Mythic Bosses had appeared in several of Star-Moon Kingdom''s high-resource maps, and none of the Guilds had dared to challenge them thus far. As fate would have it, these Mythic Bosses happened to be guarding ancient ruins'' entrances. Now that they had Elemental Sources, they had a way to enter the ruins. Hearing Aqua Rose''s response, nervous sweat beaded on Shi Feng''s forehead. Elemental Sources were no less rare than Epic items. Not even Mythic monsters dropped them. He had only obtained two Elemental Treasure Boxes due to securing the First Clear of a Grade 1 Historical Site. Even if they obtained the First Clear for a lower-ranked Historical Site, they were unlikely to obtain another. Moreover, they needed more than just an Elemental Source to face Mythic bosses; the Ring of Gospel''s World Projection was also necessary. However, each cost 5,000 Magic Crystals. This method of raiding Mythic Field Bosses was far too extravagant. Time passed quickly. With the support of the Nine-star Polar Domain, Zero Wing''s members only needed a moment to clear out everything except for the Orc General and Warlord. After dealing with the low-ranked Orcs, the players'' experience bars rose significantly. In contrast, however, their loot was pitiful. Only the Grand Lords and above had dropped a few items, but no one paid much attention to them. After all, they were far more interested to see what the two Mythic Orcs would drop. But at the end of the day, the two Orc Bosses were still Mythic ranked monsters. Even with so much suppression, they were still a burden on the team. When the Orc General''s HP fell to 70%, it abruptly raised its greatsword. Countless motes of fire began to gather around the weapon. "Crap! Everyone, don''t stand in front of the Orc General!" Shi Feng shouted. Unfortunately, his warning came too late. Before his teammates had the chance to move out of the way, the Orc General swung its greatsword forward. Scorching fire then rained down from above. Tier 4 Skill, Infernal Prison! Any player the flames struck instantly turned into a smoldering pile of ash. Not even the Tier 1 MTs, who had activated their Lifesaving Skills, had survived the attack. In a single move, the Orc General had killed over a hundred players. Immediately after the Orc General''s attack, the Orc Warlord, who only had 50% of its HP remaining, followed up by thrusting its saber into the ground. In response, blades of light randomly shot up from the dirt 50 yards around the Boss. Due to the random attack pattern, many players failed to defend themselves in time. Anyone the blades of light hit died instantly. In the blink of an eye, another 200-plus players had fallen "Everyone, be careful of the Bosses'' attacks! Do not try to take them head-on!" Shi Feng warned his companions. Despite the Attribute suppression, a Mythic monsters'' Skills were incredibly lethal to players. Fortunately, the two Mythic Orcs were physical melee types, not magical classes. Otherwise, they could easily annihilate the Zero Wing team with one or two Tier 4 Spells regardless of the suppression. Due to Shi Feng''s warning, everyone kept a closer eye on the Mythic Orcs'' movements. If the Bosses'' movements changed in the slightest, they''d immediately distance themselves from the monsters. Even so, the Mythic Orcs'' massive AOEs continued to claim lives. 45%... 40%... 30%... 686 players 632 players 574 players When both Bosses'' HP fell to 20%, they entered a Berserk state. Seeing this, Shi Feng and the others activated their Berserk Skills. As the Mythic Orcs'' HPs fell, their attacks became more frenzied. Despite activating their Berserk Skills, the team still suffered casualties. Even the Red Demon rapidly lost HP. "Come on! Only have 5% more!" Shi Feng''s heart grew cold when he saw how many players remained standing. The Orc Warlord still had 5% of its HP, while the Orc General had 8%. However, they only had 300 members of the team remaining. Their DPS was growing weaker. As for his Personal Guards, Shi Feng wanted to avoid summoning them unless absolutely necessary. As the two Mythic Bosses continued to throw out all kinds of AOE Skills, not even his Personal Guards'' survival was guaranteed. If they died, Shi Feng would have to go to great lengths to resurrect them. When the Orc Warlord''s HP fell to 3% and the Orc General''s fell to 5%, the 200 remaining players desperately activated one Tier 1 and Tier 2 Magic Scroll after another. However, at the rate they dealt damage, there was no doubt that these Orc Bosses would have the last laugh. It seems that I have no other choice! Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and reluctantly pulled a Magic Scroll from his bag. This was the last of the two Tier 4 Magic Scrolls the Rock King had dropped. While Earthen Breath was a large-scale destruction Spell, the Shadows of Purgatory he currently held was a Tier 4 Domain Skill. Although it only had a short, 30-second duration, it would be miraculously effective in a large-scale battle. But Shi Feng couldn''t care less as he unfurled the scroll and activated it. At the same time, he sacrificed 200 units of Life Force and activated Divine Providence. When Shadows of Purgatory activated, darkness fell over the Orc base camp. Over a dozen shadowy tendrils rose from the ground, striking at the two Mythic Orcs. The Mythic Orcs had long since entered a full Berserk state, their skin having turned crimson. Their Defenses had also reached a frightening level. Even a casual attack from one of these Orcs could send Cola, who had activated his Berserk Skill, flying over a dozen yards away. Yet, when these Mythic Bosses attacked the shadowy tendrils, it seemed as if their weapons struck an indestructible wall. Not only could the shadowy tendrils repel the Orcs'' attacks, but they could also pierce the Bosses'' armor, thrusting into their bodies as the tendrils dealt hundreds of thousands of damage. Although the Mythic Orcs had focused on defending themselves after Shi Feng activated Shadows of Purgatory, of the dozen or so shadowy tendrils Shi Feng controlled, he always landed one or two direct hits during each attack cycle. As the two Orcs defended themselves, the residual energy in their attacks surged towards the surrounding players. It took everything Zero Wing''s members had to defend against these residual attacks; they had nothing left to launch attacks of their own. If they dropped their guard in the slightest, they''d die instantly. 3%... 2%... 1%... "Die!" Shi Feng abandoned all defense as he activated Void Shield and launched an all-out assault against the Mythic Orcs. He also changed the shadowy tendrils'' attack patterns constantly. Every time Shi Feng attacked one of the two Mythic Orcs, over half of the shadowy tendrils darted past the Orcs'' defenses and landed a hit. When the team''s member count fell below 100, Shi Feng finally claimed the last strand of the Mythic Orcs'' HPs. 1535 Kingdom Alarmed Chapter 1535 - Kingdom Alarmed "Success!" "We won!" The surviving team members cheered joyously as the Orc Warlord and Orc General froze and collapsed. It had an intense battle. Although the Mythic Orcs hadn''t had much HP remaining, they would''ve likely fallen to the Bosses'' attacks if Shi Feng hadn''t used another Tier 4 Magic Scroll near the end of the battle. The melee players hadn''t even been able to approach the Orcs to attack near the end of the battle, and the Orcs rapid attacks blocked most, if not all, of the ranged players'' attacks. They''re finally dead. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. Although he had activated Void Shield to cover his lack of defense in the end, the Mythic Orcs'' attacks were too powerful. They had only needed a few short seconds to deplete the Void Shield''s energy by more than half. Had he not activated Void Shield, the two Mythic Orcs would''ve diced him into mincemeat before he had a chance to strike. Meanwhile, the surviving players'' experience barse rose rapidly after the Orc Warlord and Ord General fell. Even Shi Feng, who was a Level 60 player, watched his experience bar increase. 36%... 50%... 80%... In the blink of an eye, he rose from Level 60 to Level 61. Eventually, his experience bar settled at 7% of Level 61. The rest of the survivors watched their experience bars increase by a larger margin. On average, every survivor leveled up at least twice. The players below Level 50 rose leveled up three times. The insane amount of EXP the two Mythic Bosses'' deaths had awarded stupefied Zero Wing''s players. The two Orcs had also dropped a large pile of loot. At a glance, they had easily dropped over 100 items. Although it was not a jackpot, it was a bountiful harvest for killing two Level 50-plus Mythic monsters. As everyone shifted their attention towards the loot, the sound of a system notification reached their ears. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for killing the Orc Warlord and stopping the Orc army''s invasion on Bewildering Forest Town! Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity, 100 Guild Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, and 50,000 Guild Honor Points. The system announcement repeated three times, echoing in every player''s ears in Star-Moon Kingdom. "What?!" "Didn''t they say that the Orc army in Bewildering Forest Town was unstoppable? How did Zero Wing defeat it?" "This is impossible! I just came back from Bewildering Forest Town. There were millions of Orcs assaulting the town. The army even had siege weapons and Mythic Bosses. Zero Wing must have cheated somehow!" A commotion erupted over the system announcement; no one could believe it was true. They had all witnessed the hellish scene in Bewildering Forest Town. Even if they gathered every elite player in Star-Moon Kingdom, they might fail to defend the town, let along Zero Wing''s small team. The Orc army wasn''t a force current players had hope of stopping, yet Zero Wing had succeeded. The system announcement had to be a joke. "What''s going on? What has Zero Wing been doing?" Galaxy Past, who rested in Star-Moon City, was dazed when he saw the announcement. Nobody had a clearer understanding of the situation in Bewildering Forest Town than him. By the time he had left, Bewildering Forest Town had held on by a thread. The walls and magic array protecting the town had been about to collapse, yet shortly after the Star Alliance had withdrawn, Zero Wing had defeated the Orc army. That was an army of several million Orcs they were talking about! Even slaughtering several million defenseless pigs would take more time than it took for Zero Wing defeat the army. Furthermore, the Orc army had been led by three Mythic ranked Orc Generals. Even if these three Mythic Orcs stood still and did nothing, Zero Wing''s 1,000-man team would need a very long time to kill them. "I''ve already sent some people to investigate the matter, Guild Leader, but based on our reports, it doesn''t seem that anyone saw what happened in Bewildering Forest Town. We only know that Zero Wing''s team remained in the town. Meanwhile, we still can''t reach any of our spies. By the looks of it, they must have died. We''ll need to wait for them to resurrect before we can learn more about the situation," Flourishing Willow reported, a confused look on her face. She could not figure out what Zero Wing''s 1,000 players had done. Not only had they held off an assault of several million Orcs, but they had also slain the Orc Warlord commanding the army. They felt as if the system were playing a trick on them. Meanwhile, inside Heaven''s Burial''s Residence, Singular Burial, who had been preparing to set out for the Orc Empire, fell silent when he heard the system announcement. "Could the town have hidden a secret weapon?" A complex expression surfaced on Singular Burial''s face as he read the system announcement. "We should''ve waited longer if that were the case." Regret and envy overwhelmed Singular Burial. Just the 50,000 Guild Honor Points could make him drool, not to mention the Guild Influence. Despite mingling in the Orc Empire for so long, Heaven''s Burial had only accumulated a little over 30,000 Guild Popularity, 10,000 of which had been obtained after capturing an Orc town. As for Guild Honor Points, which were required to hire NPC mercenaries, the Guild had only earned a little over 20,000. Guild Honor Points weren''t like the Contribution Points players could earn by killing Orcs and completing quests related to the Orc Empire. Generally, a Guild could only earn these points when members completed quests the kingdom commissioned. Moreover, each quest usually only rewarded one to three points. To make matters worse, there was a limited number of such quests each day, and they needed to factor in the competition from other large Guilds. If not for Heaven''s Burial''s success with capturing an Orc town, it wouldn''t have accumulated over 20,000 Guild Honor Points. Yet, by defending Bewildering Forest Town, Zero Wing had earned 50,000 GHPs With so many GHPs, he could take down Ancient Rock City even without Beast Emperor''s help. Now, however, Zero Wing had stolen the opportunity. "Zero Wing sure is lucky. They''ve even encountered such an opportunity," Lei Jingyang said, sneering. "But one cannot become an overlord in God''s Domain by relying on luck. Guild Leader Singular, let''s hurry and take action. Once we capture Ancient Rock City, Heaven''s Burial will dominate the several neighboring kingdoms." Although Lei Jingyang envied Zero Wing''s fortune, he was confident that Zero Wing couldn''t make up for the difference between their sides'' strengths with luck. "Alright. We''ll stop waiting for Beast Emperor''s reply and capture Ancient Rock City." Singular Burial nodded as he also felt a sense of urgency after the sudden development. If Zero Wing wanted to, it could hire 15,000 NPC mercenaries with its 50,000 GHPs to help raid an Orc city. Although Zero Wing didn''t have Evil Beasts or Demons, it had far more powerful siege weapons than Heaven''s Burial. Zero Wing definitely had a chance of capturing an Orc city. Before Zero Wing set its sights on the Orc Empire, they needed to secure Ancient Rock City. Even if Zero Wing targeted an Orc city, it''d have a difficult time capturing it. Among the numerous cities in the Orc empire, Ancient Rock City was the easiest to raid. The other cities couldn''t be taken down with just ten or twenty thousand NPC mercenaries and a few siege weapons. While Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds discussed the matter, Shi Feng stood in the middle of the Orc base camp outside of Bewildering forest Town, shifting through the Mythic Bosses'' loot. Meanwhile, the surviving healers resurrected the players that had died during the battle. Due to the Orc Warlord''s death, chaos descended upon the Orc army, and the Orcs fled in all directions. The Orc reinforcements were nowhere to be seen. As a result, Zero Wing''s members had a chance to catch their breath and rest. While the dead resurrected, Shi Feng, who organized the pile of loot, picked up a tattered, pitch-black piece of armor. The instant his hand touched the piece of armor, a stinging pain shot through his fingers. Even with his incredibly high Magic Resistance, his HP had fallen by 10,000 instantly. What is this thing? Shi Feng pulled his hand away from the broken armor and looked at it curiously. An ominous, crimson aura began to devour his hand. Although his HP had stopped falling once he stopped touching the armor, he had gained a debuff that weakened him for one minute. This was inconceivable He had touched the armor for a mere moment, yet he was in such a state. Had he held the armor for too long, he might have lost his life. 1536 Legendary Set Equipmen Chapter 1536 - Legendary Set Equipment The players standing close to Shi Feng noticed the sudden drop to their commander''s HP. "Guild Leader, is something wrong?" Violet Cloud asked curiously as she watched his HP bar. The battle was already over, and there were no enemies around them, yet Shi Feng had suddenly lost a large chunk of his HP. It would be difficult not to notice something so strange. "It''s nothing. I just took some damage from an item," Shi Feng said as he waved off her concern with a hand. Ordinary layers might be in danger if they suddenly lost 10,000 HP, but it wasn''t a problem for him. The issue was the Disintegrated debuff. Not only did the debuff place him in a Weakened state, reducing his Basic Attributes by 50%, but it also made him feel somewhat weary. It felt as if the debuff sapped away his Concentration. "Damage from an item?" Violet Cloud and the others'' curiosity grew. This was the first time they had heard of a dropped item hurting a player. They turned their attention towards the piece of broken armor on the ground. Even after examining it for sometime, they didn''t see anything unusual. The piece of broken armor didn''t radiate any frightening Mana or pressure. Shi Feng chuckled at their response. God''s Domain had many strange, mysterious items. Not every item could be judged by the Mana or pressure it radiated. In fact, some items appeared harmless, yet were actually fatal to players. Shi Feng had no doubt that this piece of pitch-black armor was one such item. Despite storing a frightening amount of power, it showed none of it on the surface. Leaving the item where it was, Shi Feng lightly tapped a finger on the armor to open its Attribute Panel. Even with the slightest touch, Shi Feng lost another 10,000 HP. This time, however, as he had only touched the piece of armor for a fraction of a second, only a small bit of crimson aura wrapped around his finger. Fortunately, the Disintegrated debuff only lasted ten seconds. "Impossible!" "What kind of item is that?!" Everyone gaped when Shi Feng lost another 10,000 HP after poking the black armor. They couldn''t bring themselves to believe that God''s Domain had such a deadly item. "Unknown?" Shi Feng frowned. Normally, players could, more or less, inspect an item''s introductory text even if they hadn''t picked it up yet. However, all he got from the armor''s Attribute Panel was the word ''Unknown.'' This meant that players would have to pick up the item and appraise it to check its Attribute Panel. Unfortunately, picking up the piece of black armor and storing it in his bag was too dangerous. He had already lost so much HP after his brief contact with the item. If he held onto the piece of armor for too long, he''d likely die before he could store it in his bag. "What a troublesome item." Shi Feng sighed. Immediately, he activated the Aura of Earth''s Absolute Domain, making himself immune to all damage for 10 seconds. Following which, he snatched the piece of armor and stuffed it into his Spatial Bag, completing the process with lightning speed. Although Absolute Domain prevented him from taking damage, it did nothing to stop the crimson aura from contaminating his body. By the time Shi Feng stored the piece of pitch-black armor, the crimson aura had tainted his entire body. System: You have obtained the Disintegration Armor. The Madness Aura is contaminating your body, reducing your Basic Attributes by 50% and Weakening your mind. The Disintegration Armor can only be stored in your bag space, will drop upon death, and cannot be traded. This isthe rumored Disintegration Armor? Shi Feng stared at the pitch-black armor inside his bag in shock. For a moment, he completely forgot about the weariness the armor had caused him. The Disintegration Armor was one piece of the Disintegration Set, a famous Legendary Set Equipment in God''s Domain. Like the Disintegration Axe, the set had been created by the Orc Empire''s Founding Emperor. Due to the Disintegration Axe and Disintegration Set, the Orc Empire had wielded unparalleled power. They were why the Orcs had rained chaos over God''s Domain''s continent. However, both the Disintegration Axe and the Set had been destroyed with the Founding Emperor''s death. Moreover, unlike the Disintegration Axe, whose fragment had been left in the Orc Palace''s treasury, the Disintegration Set had gone missing after its destruction. There were no clues about the set equipment''s whereabouts. Shi Feng had never expected to obtain a piece of the Disintegration Set here. A Legendary Set Equipment! Even after ten years in God''s Domain, Shi Feng had never heard of an expert wearing a Legendary Set Equipment. Even one Legendary item was incredibly powerful; it would be inconceivable for a player to collect a full Legendary Set Equipment. A Tier 5 player with such a set could likely slay a God. According to legend, the Orc Empire''s Founding Emperor had once killed an Ancient God despite not being a Tier 6 God. He had been able to do so thanks to the Disintegration Axe and Set. Because of this, the Disintegration Set had been known as one of God''s Domain''s Nine Great Legendary Sets. Shi Feng had never thought that he''d be fortunate enough to find one of the set pieces today. It was even the most important chest piece. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Omniscient Eyes to inspect the Disintegration Armor. The instant he clicked to inspect the armor, the system revealed a 30-second loading bar. The Disintegration Armor''s appraisal time was much longer than a normal Epic item. This outcome reassured Shi Feng that the Disintegration Armor in his bag was a piece of the rumored Disintegration Set. Time passed quickly. While Shi Feng appraised the Disintegration Armor, his team members watch him with surprise and curiosity. They all wanted to know what kind of item the Orc Warlord had dropped. The instant Shi Feng had stored the pitch-black chest piece, his Attributes had fallen tremendously. If an ordinary expert had suffered such a massive decrease, they''d be crippled. Once the appraisal completed, the Disintegration Armor''s Attribute Panel appeared before Shi Feng. [Destroyed Disintegration Armor] One piece of the Legendary Set Equipment the Orc Empire''s Founding Emperor had crafted. The wearer of this armor will gain even greater strength than that of Titans. They will also fall into an endless cycle of madness. However, the Disintegration Armor had been damaged beyond repair during the great war, and now leaks the Disintegration Power within. The Disintegration Power will taint any player that carries this item. What?! It''s broken beyond repair?! Shi Feng was speechless. He had thought he had gotten lucky and obtained a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. If that were the case, he could gradually restore the item to Legendary rank. He hadn''t expected the item to be beyond repair. Not only couldn''t he use the Disintegration Armor, but he couldn''t repair it, either. It was no more than a broken piece of scrap metal. But before Shi Feng closed the Attribute Panel, a series of system notifications bombarded his ears. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the Legendary Quest "Recast the Disintegration Armor." Quest content: Due to the spreading Disintegration Power, Orcs have begun to mutate. To prevent the spreading Disintegration Power, you need to recast the Disintegration Armor. Rewards unknown. System: Due to the Disintegration Armor''s Disintegration Power spreading, you will attract all mutated Orcs'' attention. System: You have become targeted for mutated Orcs. Please take care during exploration. System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack, "Orc''s Rebellion." System update required. The estimated duration is 5 hours. Please prepare to log out. "What''s going on?" "Guild Leader, did you do this?" In response to the notifications, Zero Wing''s members turned towards Shi Feng, assuming he had caused the release of this new expansion pack. 1537 Bountiful Loo Chapter 1537 - Bountiful Loot Looking at the system notifications, Shi Feng fell into deep thought. Although he knew that it wouldn''t be so easy to obtain the Disintegration Set, which had once been used by one of God''s Domain''s legendary figures, he hadn''t expected it to be this difficult. Repairing the armor was one thing, but it was a different story if he had to recast it. That was no different than asking him to forge a new Disintegration Armor, a Legendary Set Equipment. Moreover, as long as he carried the Disintegration Armor on him, mutated Orcs would randomly attack out in the fields. This would doubtlessly slow his progress. Most importantly, he was stuck in a perpetual Disintegrated state, his Basic Attributes severely weakened. It also drained his Concentration. If he did not find a solution quickly, it would severely impact his leveling and questing efficiency. It seems that I''ll have to pay Seliora a visit. Shi Feng sighed helplessly. Seliora was the only Grandmaster Forger he was familiar with. As for Master Forgers, they weren''t capable of recasting an item of the Disintegration Armor''s caliber. After all, the Disintegration Set was top-tier even among Legendary Set Equipment. As Shi Feng got his team members to settle down, preparing to log off and rest, he noticed an additional Skill in his Skill Window. I actually received a Unique Skill as a reward? Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he opened his Skill Window. Without realizing it, he had gained a Unique Skill called Disintegration Field, a Domain Skill that could only be used when affected by the Disintegrated debuff. [Disintegration Field] Disintegrates all Skills and Spells within a 50-yard radius (Skills and Spells at Tier 2 and below will be nullified, while Skills and Spells above Tier 2 will be weakened by 50%). All entities within range of the Disintegration Field will sustain a 30% reduction to Basic Attributes, physique, and Stamina in addition to a 300% increase to their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. No Cooldown. So, there is still a benefit to all of this. Shi Feng was astonished as he read the Disintegration Field''s description. Generally, only Tier 4 Domain Skills and above lacked limitations such as Cooldown and Duration. In terms of suppression, Disintegration Field was even more effective than World Projection. All players in range would have to endure a drastic increase to their Stamina and Concentration. Moreover, unlike World Projection, he didn''t have to play 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate this new Skill. The only real downside to Disintegration Field was that unlike World Projection, it did not differentiate between friend and foe. Everyone within range would be affected. Even so, it was quite impressive. At the very least, he wouldn''t have to fear group battles when he activated Disintegration Field. Unlike Basic Attributes, it was not easy to increase Hidden Attributes like Stamina and Concentration. These Attributes generally only underwent qualitative transformations when players upgraded their tiers. Without Stamina and Concentration, players wouldn''t be able to fight, even if they had full HP. They would be sheep for the slaughter. Following which, Shi Feng collected the remaining loot the Orc Warlord and Ord General had dropped. Among the 100-plus items dropped, most of the items were subpar. Aside from the Disintegration Armor, the best item dropped was merely an Epic ranked cloth armor hat named Eye of Disaster. It was a top-tier item for magical class players. When equipped, not only did the Eye of Disaster increased the wearer''s Spellcasting range by 20%, but it also increased Spell Completion Rates by 2%. Shi Feng didn''t assign the eye of Disaster to anyone specific on the team. Instead, he added it to the Guild''s Core Warehouse, setting it up for internal auction starting with a 50,000 GCP starting bid. Currently, one GCP in Zero Wing was worth 32 Copper Coins. Hence, the Eye of Disaster''s starting bid was only 1,600 Gold, which was quite cheap. There were also around two dozen pieces of Level 50 and 55 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Among them, eight were Dark-Gold rank. All of these items were top-tier weapons and pieces of equipment, which even the various large Guilds would fight over. Normally, Level 50-plus Dark-Gold items only dropped from level-appropriate, large-scale Team Dungeon, and they had an extremely low drop-rate. Aside from equipment, there were over a dozen Epic ranked materials of various kinds. Seventeen Magic Scrolls had also dropped. Although none were Tier 4, there were two Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls and three Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls. But compared to these items, Shi Feng most valued the Mana Enhancing Potion Recipe, and Advanced Alchemy Recipe. Different from the Mana Potions and Mana Recovery Potions found on the market, the Mana Enhancing Potion neither increased players'' maximum Mana nor helped players recover their Mana. Instead, it improved Spells'' effects by 100% for 20 seconds. It was a berserk-type potion that had a 10-minute Cooldown. Berserk-type potions were impossible to find on the market. Guilds that produced them generally kept them for their own use. After all, not all players had the opportunity to learn a Berserk Skill. With the Mana Enhancing Potion, a Guild''s elite teams would have a much easier time raiding Dungeons. The potion was particularly useful to healers. For 20 seconds, healers could double their healing capacity, greatly improving a team''s survivability. If the Mana Enhancing Potion could be mass-produced, it would definitely provide a significant boost to Zero Wing''s elite members for a short time. After Shi Feng finished organizing the loot, he took a look at the time and noticed that he had less than a minute before the system update began. He called up the system interface and chose to log out of God''s Domain. Elsewhere, players in the several kingdoms and two empires next to the Orc Empire were in an uproar. Everyone had their own guesses about what would happen once the new expansion pack took effect. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds hurriedly prepared to welcome the new expansion pack. Every expansion pack was an opportunity. If taken advantage of properly, a Guild could enjoy a burst of development. Inside a high-class restaurant in White River City "Send someone to investigate the power that triggered the new expansion pack immediately. The Hundred Flowers Palace must not miss out on this opportunity," Cleansed Rue, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Guild Leader, issued the command as soon as she saw the system announcement. The Orc Empire had become the focal point for many large Guilds. Previously, Heaven''s Burial had gotten the jump on the rest of the Guilds by capturing the easiest Orc town in the Orc Empire, and the benefits it had reaped thus far had left the rest of them drooling. Now that someone had triggered a new expansion pack relating to the Orc Empire, this was the perfect opportunity for first-rate Guilds like the Hundred Flowers Palace to break the current status quo. The Hundred Flowers Palace wasn''t the only Guild to react in such a way. The Star Alliance, Heaven''s Burial, and other large Guilds had launched their own investigation. Even the super-first-rate Guild, Crimson Emperor, which temporarily operated in Star-Moon Kingdom, had ordered an investigation to learn which power was responsible for the announcement. The players that triggered expansion packs usually had a certain advantage over other players. If they could partner with these players, they could share this advantage when the new expansion pack took effect. "Elder Yuan, have you learned anything?" Galaxy Past asked as he watched Yuan Tiexin on the screen. When it came to information, nobody had more than the Secret Pavilion. The Secret Pavilion had its eyes and ears in almost every corner of God''s Domain. When an expansion pack warranted an offline system update, it always dispatched its people to learn as much as it could. "I do have a little information. You should be able to guess which Guild is responsible for this expansion pack," Yuan Tiexin said as he caressed his beard. "Could it really be Zero Wing?" Galaxy Past asked, astonished. Not only had Zero Wing defended Bewildering Forest Town and acquired a large number of Guild Honor Points, but it had also triggered the new expansion pack. Zero Wing simply wasn''t giving the other Guilds any chances. In response, Yuan Tiexin nodded before disconnecting the call. "Uncle Yuan, there''s no stopping Zero Wing''s rise now. First, they helped Phoenix Rain secure third place in Thunder Island''s contest. Then, they built a city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, they''ve even triggered a new expansion pack relating to the Orc Empire. As time passes, Nine Dragons Emperor will have an even more difficult time dealing with Zero Wing," Purple Jade said, smiling as she looked through the information the Secret Pavilion had gathered on Zero Wing. "You''re right! The Guild Leader has already contacted me, instructing us to negotiate with Zero Wing for a partnership. Didn''t you intend to challenge Martial Dragon eventually? You can use this opportunity to spar with Zero Wing''s experts and get some practice," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing ruefully. Before he knew it, Zero Wing had grown from an upstart Guild into an existence that even the Secret Pavilion had to take seriously. 1538 Zero Wing in the Spotligh Chapter 1538 - Zero Wing in the Spotlight As God''s Domain''s system update began, players were forcefully logged out of the game. When the system update began, night had already arrived in God''s Domain. This meant that it was currently daytime in the real world. Hence, the system update did not particularly affect the working class players. On the contrary, they were excited. Meanwhile, inside one of the White Tiger Dojo''s secret training rooms, the lid of a virtual gaming cabin abruptly opened. A man with a stalwart body then climbed out of the cabin. As he left his cabin, he was greeted by the sight of a white-clad, middle-aged man on a sofa before him. Despite the lack of movement, the middle-aged man projected a natural dignity and power. This middle-aged man was none other than Jiang Tianyuan, one of the White Tiger Dojo''s Branch Hall Masters. "Hall Master, why are you here?" the stalwart man asked curiously when he saw Jiang Tianyuan. "For some, unknown reason, the main branch is placing more focus on God''s Domain, hoping that the various branch dojos will produce results. Tian Ji, you''ve played God''s Domain for a considerable amount of time now. Tell me about your situation in the game," Jiang Tianyuan calmly demanded as he sipped his tea. "Currently, I''m developing smoothly in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. I''ve already established a Guild and annexed several others. We''ve also taken ownership of over ten Shops in NPC cities that have player populations exceeding 500,000," Tian Ji replied. "Only, my Guild''s foundation is shakey. With our current number of experts, we have no way to contend with the various large Guilds. I will need more time before we can do so." "Haven''t you hired first-rate Guild experts to train our apprentices? Are those experts not enough?" Jiang Tianyuan couldn''t help his frown as he listened to this report. "Although we have the help of a first-rate Guild, the first batch of apprentices only began their training a short time ago. Very few have reached the Trial Tower''s fifth floor thus far. Moreover, with the difference in levels, none of the apprentices can contribute to the Guild''s overall combat power yet," Fang Tianji said, smiling bitterly. He had sorely underestimated God''s Domain. God''s Domain was clearly different from past virtual reality games. Not only was the game extremely realistic, but the complexity of its techniques and combination moves were beyond his expectations. They weren''t easy to grasp within a short time. Otherwise, the large Guilds with hundreds of thousands of members wouldn''t have so few experts. Although the White Tiger Dojo''s apprentices had solid foundations, that was all. These foundations merely provided a better starting point than ordinary players and gave the apprentices a higher chance of becoming experts. Only the truly talented apprentices could improve quickly and reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. However, since they had joined the game so late, they were far behind the mainstream players in levels. Even though the Main God System had made some adjustments, allowing new players to level slightly faster, and they had the help of high-level players, it would be a considerable amount of time before they caught up. "How about this? Visit the Big Dipper Dojo personally and attempt to persuade them again. We can renegotiate on the conditions," Jiang Tianyuan said after giving the matter some thought. Initially, Jiang Tianyuan had asked for Zero Wing''s help as a passing thought. He hadn''t really viewed the matter as important. However, he hadn''t expected Zero Wing to be so capable in God''s Domain. "Understood. I''ll see to it right away." Fang Tianji nodded. When Fang Tianji had joined God''s Domain, he hadn''t known much about the game''s internal situation. He had only realized how impressive Zero Wing truly was after fighting in the game for some time. At the very least, the current first-rate Guilds had no chance against Zero Wing. The Guild even had the sacred training ground for experts: Stone Forest Town. The first-rate Guild they had allied with frequently brought them to Stone Forest Town, and Fang Tianji had to admit that the Battle Arena was amazing. If ordinary players trained there, they would develop far faster than training in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial tower. Following which, Fang Tianji made his way to the Big Dipper Dojo. Meanwhile, in the Greenwater Villa, Shi Feng used his free time to guide the Guild''s internal members as they worked on their combat techniques. Due to Zero Wing''s growing fame, more people fought to become internal members. Despite the Guild''s strict requirements, they were now nurturing over 300 internal members. Even the massive Greenwater Villa felt a little cramped due to so many people living and training in it. "Guild Leader, the weakest of our new recruits can now reach the Trial Tower''s fourth floor, and quite a few have already reached the fifth floor. Among the various internal members, You Ziping is improving the fastest. It''s no wonder why you had such a high opinion of him. He has already reached the fifth floor''s late stage. I doubt that it''ll be long before he reaches the sixth floor," Blackie reported as he watched You Ziping and the others, who were currently training in the main hall. "It''s a pity that we can only recruit a small number of internal members right now. If we can recruit a few more, we could build an army of experts very quickly." Zero Wing shone like the midday sun in Star-Moon Kingdom. If they could sustain 1,000 internal members, they could quickly train a 1,000-man expert team. Even without relying on the Guild''s main force, they could easily raid Team Dungeons. They could also establish another Branch Guild. First-rate Guilds maintained their status for so long due to the high number and sufficient strength of the experts they nurtured. After joining God''s Domain, these first-rate Guilds could afford to develop in multiple countries at once, competing for resources in multiple locations. In contrast, Zero Wing wasn''t strong enough to do so yet. "I''m afraid we''ll have to wait for matters on Gentle Snow''s side to settle down first. However, unless those companies find another interested party, it shouldn''t be long before the negotiations conclude. After all, it is costly to maintain a training ground of that size." Shi Feng''s head ached over this issue. He had never thought that he''d have to endure such a day. Rather than a Guild limiting their training ground''s development, their training ground limited Zero Wing''s development As Shi Feng discussed the new training ground with Blackie, Liang Jing contacted him. "Head Instructor Shi, a man named Yuan Tiexin is looking for you. Should I have him wait in the reception room?" Liang Jing asked. "Yuan Tiexin?" Shi Feng was a little confused. "I understand. Have him wait in Reception Room One for me. I''ll head there now." "Alright." Liang Jing nodded. She then led Yuan Tiexin and his entourage to Reception Room One. In the Big Dipper Dojo''s lobby, the arrival of Yuan Tiexin''s group had caused a small commotion. However, this commotion wasn''t due to the crowd recognizing Yuan Tiexin, but because of his two bodyguards. Both bodyguards wore black suits with a silver shield logo embossed on the left breast. This was none other than the Guardian Group''s logo, a world-class bodyguard company. Moreover, both were 3-star bodyguards. Normally, it should be impossible to find such high-rank bodyguards in Jin Hai City as not even the city''s most powerful corporations qualified to hire them, yet these two had come here. "Big Bro Tianji, don''t tell me you''re really here to speak with that Shi Feng? The last time I came here, his behavior had been incredibly arrogant. He showed the White Tiger Dojo no respect. Is a partnership with him really necessary for a game?" He truly could not understand why Jiang Tianyuan repeatedly sought cooperation from a Gaming Guild. The White Tiger Dojo was one of the country''s top dojos. They could easily convince any Gaming Guild to cooperate with a word, yet Fang Tianji, one of the dojo''s instructors, had paid a personal visit to negotiate with Zero Wing. It was inconceivable. "Enough! The Hall Master and I have our reasons." Fang Tianji''s displeasure grew as he listened to Xie Qiwen. By chance, he noticed Yuan Tiexin''s group enter a reception room, and shock gripped his heart. "Huh? That isthe Secret Pavilion''s Yuan Tiexin? Why is he here?" After joining God''s Domain, he had investigated the game''s major powers thoroughly. Naturally, he had memorized the faces of people like Yuan Tiexin, an upper echelon of a transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion. Since the man hadn''t changed his appearance in the game, Fang Tianji easily recognized Yuan Tiexin with a glance. 1539 Super-first-rate Guild Chapter 1539 - Super-first-rate Guild "The Secret Pavilion?" Overhearing Fang Tianji''s mumbles and seeing the reverential look he gave Yuan Tiexin''s group, Xie Qiwen couldn''t help his growing curiosity. Fang Tianji was the youngest instructor in the White Tiger Dojo and Jiang Tianyuan''s personal disciple. Fang Tianji had the potential of becoming a Branch Hall Master. The man was an expert and had already participated in numerous international competitions. Moreover, both Jiang Tianyuan and the White Tiger Dojo''s Main Hall Master valued Fang Tianji, which gave his words considerable weight in the dojo. Yet, now, someone like Fang Tianji was actually revered Yuan Tiexin''s group. "It''s not surprising that you don''t recognize them. Let''s wait outside for now," Fang Tianji instructed, not bothering to give an explanation to Xie Qiwen. He was no longer a noob that knew nothing about God''s Domain. He now had a clear understanding of how deep God''s Domain''s waters were. He also knew how much potential the game had. Aside from the time acceleration function, which allowed players to enjoy longer lifespans, the game''s ability to replace many of the sports, sources of entertainment, and work in the real world displayed its frightening potential value. Hence, the various industry giants around the world were investing in God''s Domain, one after another. They all hoped to secure some advantage and resources before the eventual birth of the new era. The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental existence in the virtual gaming world and had the backing of multiple international corporations. The White Tiger Dojo simply couldn''t compare. "We''re waiting outside?" For a moment, Xie Qiwen thought he had heard wrong. They had traveled so far to visit the Big Dipper Dojo, yet not only didn''t this dojo provide the proper, grand reception, but Fang Tianji even suggested that they wait, allowing the new arrivals to conduct their business before their group. Xie Qiwen even wondered if the man before him was really the Fang Tianji he knew. However, since the man had decided, he had no choice but to wait in the lobby with Fang Tianji. Meanwhile, in Reception Room One, Shi Feng arrived a short moment after Yuan Tiexin made himself comfortable. "Uncle Yuan, I''m sorry for the wait," Shi Feng said as he greeted Yuan Tiexin and his entourage. "May I know the reason for your sudden visit?" After not seeing each other for some time, Shi Feng could clearly sense a significant change in both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade''s auras. Yuan Tiexin, in particular, felt as if his youth had been restored. However, the change didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Throughout the various adventures and battles in God''s Domain, one''s brain would work continuously. This, in turn, kept the body''s cells active. In addition, a Guild upper echelon like Yuan Tiexin had the privilege of a steady supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, keeping his body young and strong. This would become public knowledge in the future. Although it was impossible to achieve eternal life through this method, it was possible to extend one''s life. After the Mind Space System''s introduction, in particular, God''s Domain''s effect on a human lifespan would become more apparent. This was also the main reason that the various industry giants were investing in God''s Domain. "You haven''t changed at all. Can''t I visit purely to congratulate Zero Wing?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but laugh at Shi Feng''s straightforward attitude. "Congratulate Zero Wing?" Shi Feng repeated skeptically. He did not believe Yuan Tiexin in the least. The Secret Pavilion was a massive Guild. An upper echelon like Yuan Tiexin should have a long list of tasks every day. How could he possibly have enough time to come all the way here for a chat? "Alright, I''ll just get straight to the point. Our Guild Leader has expressed great interest in Zero Wing and is willing to invest in your Guild. We only want 50% of Zero Wing''s shares. In return, we''ll guarantee that Zero Wing will become a super-first-rate Guild very quickly," Yuan Tiexin said. "Fifty percent?" Shi Feng frowned. He hadn''t expected the Secret Pavilion to have such a large appetite, but he had to admit that the offer was tempting. If the Secret Pavilion made such an offer to a first-rate Guild, it would likely jump at the chance. Every first-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world dreamed of becoming a super-first-rate Guild. Although only one rank separated the two, the difference was like that between heaven and earth. "I haven''t finished. Aside from receiving capital from the Secret Pavilion, Zero Wing will receive 2% of the Secret Pavilion''s shares. This way, Zero Wing will not have to concern itself about the right to speak with the Secret Pavilion. As for Guild Leader Black Flame, he will become one of the Secret Pavilion''s Elders," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling as he saw through Shi Feng''s hesitation. "The Guild Leader is willing to offer 2% of the Guild''s shares?" Purple Jade was stunned. Although she had accompanied Yuan Tiexin to negotiate with several first-rate Guilds, they had never offered such generous terms. With 2% of the Secret Pavilion''s shares, one would be a major shareholder. The Secret Pavilion was a colossal existence. It even had the financial support of multiple international corporations. "Please allow me to refuse." Shi Feng shook his head and rejected the offer without hesitation. Both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were dumbfounded. "Our Guild Leader has only offered Zero Wing a portion of the Guild''s shares thus far. Will you not consider the offer? Or report this to your Guild Leader?" Yuan Tiexin pleaded sincerely. Although Zero Wing displayed great process in its development, the competition in God''s Domain was just beginning. As time passed, the various corporations that had invested in the game would begin to shine. Based on the Secret Pavilion''s information, several unknown Guilds and first-rate Guilds have begun to show frightening progress. Meanwhile, these Guilds had just as many and just as powerful experts as Zero Wing. Moreover, unlike Zero Wing, these Guilds had the support of major corporations. Their development speed would only grow. "There is no need. Our Guild Leader has already made his decision," Shi Feng said as he shook his head. If Zero Wing had the support of the Secret Pavilion, it could become a giant in the virtual gaming world in a short time. However, Shi Feng firmly believed that Zero Wing could do so without the Secret Pavilion''s help; it would just take a little more time. "I understand." Yuan Tiexin sighed. He felt that Zero Wing was a little overconfident. Becoming a giant in the virtual gaming world wasn''t easy. He then said, "Since that is the case, we won''t force the matter. I''ll move on to the next matter, then. The Secret Pavilion is interested in one of the Orc Empire''s cities and would like Zero Wing''s help. Once the task is complete, we will provide ten black cards and two plots of high-potential Land in the Apocalypse Empire''s main cities. We''ll also provide some information, which could determine Zero Wing''s survival." "Information that relates to Zero Wing''s survival?" Shi Feng could not help his growing curiosity. "I am not trying to scare you. Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you. Are you interested in this exchange?" Yuan Tiexin asked with a smile. "If Zero Wing agrees, it may have enough time to prepare, avoiding too many losses." In reality, Yuan Tiexin had been shocked when he had received this news. He had never thought that things would''ve developed to such severity. "Allow me to refuse." Shi Feng said again, shaking his head. "Although I don''t have a particularly clear understanding of the Orc Empire''s situation, I know that capturing its cities is very difficult. Since you have asked for Zero Wing''s help, you must be aiming for our Guild Honor Points. Ten black cards and two plots of Land are not enough." "How much do you want, then?" Shi Feng''s greed astonished Purple Jade. Shi Feng smiled in response, raising two fingers as he said, "I want 20% of the Orc city''s profits. This is Zero Wing''s bottom line." 1540 Evil Gods Temple Activated Chapter 1540 - Evil God''s Temple Activated "Twenty percent?" A tight frown formed on Yuan Tiexin''s face. "Your asking price is too high. Do you know how difficult it is to raid an Orc city? That isn''t something that can be done just by having some NPC mercenaries." The defense of any city in the Orc Empire could make a first-rate Guild despair. Setting aside the defensive magic arrays protecting the cities, just the number of Orcs garrisoning each city exceeded a million easily. The Orc cities also possessed various defensive structures. Although each city had only three Mythic Orcs protecting it, it had thousands of Grand Lord ranked Orcs. The amount of manpower and resources required to capture a city was simply impossible for a first-rate Guild to fulfill. "My asking price is not high. Moreover, I feel that Zero Wing is worth this price. If you insist on your price, I can only dispatch 10,000 NPC mercenaries to aid you. However, I will not send anyone from our Guild," Shi Feng explained. The price the Secret Pavilion offered would indeed be very tempting to a first-rate Guild. After all, having ten black cards would enable a Guild to let their expert members gain more combat experience against other expert players, which would greatly help in improving said expert members'' combat standards. As proof, Shadow Sword and the other core members of Zero Wing had reached the Refinement Realm just from training at the Secret Pavilion''s simulation training system for some time. Meanwhile, high-potential Lands in the Apocalypse Empire''s major cities were things that could not be bought even if one offered tens of thousands of Gold. Not to mention, the Secret Pavilion was actually offering two such plots of Land. As long as one opened a Shop on these Lands and managed them well, they could rake in a significant amount of income. Unfortunately, although both things were very tempting, to the current Zero Wing, the effort it would have to expend did not match up with the gains it would be receiving. Although Shi Feng did not have a clear understanding regarding the cities in the Orc Empire, he knew a lot regarding the cost of capturing the cities of foreign races. In God''s Domain, players faced a long and arduous battle of attrition if they wished to capture a city belonging to a foreign race. Many lives would have to be sacrificedespecially when it came to breaking the defensive magic array of the city. With the current standards of players, fully depleting the energy of a city''s defensive magic array would take several days of constant bombardment. Only Tier 5 attacks and above would be capable of weakening a city''s defensive magic array by a significant amount. It had taken a lot of effort to stabilize Zero Wing''s development. He naturally could not casually expend a large amount of the Guild''s combat power for the Secret Pavilion without appropriate compensation. "You''ll only dispatch NPC mercenaries?" Yuan Tiexin pondered in silence. Their main goal in this transaction, to begin with, was to gain Zero Wing''s GHPs to exchange for NPC mercenaries. If they had enough mercenaries, they could distract the Mythic Orcs and Grand Lords inside the city. As for Zero Wing''s members, the Secret Pavilion had never once thought about using them. "Alright. However, 10,000 mercenaries are too few. We''ll need at least 15,000." "That won''t be a problem." Shi Feng nodded. He currently possessed 50,000 GHPs. Hiring 15,000 mercenaries would cost him only 45,000 points. To Zero Wing, GHPs were of little use right now. After all, the Guild had to invest a significant portion of its income into the development of Zero Wing City. The Guild had neither the time nor the money to capture another town or city. Currently, its most important goal was to find a way to make a large amount of Coins and Magic Crystals. Both sides signed a contract with each other. After which, Yuan Tiexin handed ten black cards to Shi Feng. As for the two plots of Land, Shi Feng chose to have both plots located in the Apocalypse Empire''s Moon Bay City. Although the Apocalypse Empire shared an extensive portion of its borders with the sea, the cities located close to the sea numbered only four. Moon Bay City was the closest of the four to Ocean Viewing Town. In the future, if need be, he could also use the Lands in Moon Bay City as a temporary warehouse. "This here is the information I mentioned before. It is best if you all start making preparations soon. When the time comes, not only will the several kingdoms neighboring the Orc Empire be affected, but even the Black Dragon Empire will receive heavy damage. Originally, I had planned on having Jade spar with your Guild''s experts a little, but now that the contents of our transaction have changed, we have to return and make the corresponding changes," Yuan Tiexin said as he passed an envelope to Shi Feng. He then let out a sigh before leaving together with Purple Jade and his bodyguards. "Affecting several kingdoms?" Shi Feng could not help but tear open the envelope curiously. After fishing out the paper inside and reading its contents, he immediately sneered and said, "Nine Dragons Emperor really is daring! Is he not afraid of digging his own grave as well?" The message was short and to the point. It merely stated that Nine Dragons Emperor had assisted Beast Emperor in holding a sacrificial ceremony and had already activated the Evil God''s Temple in the Black Dragon Empirewhich was simply a disaster to the majority of the players in the empire. The Evil God''s Temple located in an empire was entirely different from one located in a kingdom. Its activation not only gave Beast Emperor a huge boost in status, but he would also be able to use the Sacrificial Altar, which was available only in the Evil God''s Temple in empires, allowing the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons under his control to fight against each other. Meanwhile, the victors in the Sacrificial Altar would devour the losers and have their Growth Potentials improved. With this, Beast Emperor would be able to produce powerful Evil Beasts and Evil Demons much more easily. Given enough time, Beast Emperor would even be capable of destroying an entire empire. This was also the reason why the activation of the Evil God''s Temple had nearly led to the destruction of an empire in the past. Currently, Beast Emperor was already operating in the Black Dragon Empire and the surrounding kingdoms, continuously killing players and expanding his strength. According to the Secret Pavilion''s investigations, the reason why Nine Dragons Emperor had decided to work with Beast Emperor was so that he could use Beast Emperor''s strength to annihilate Zero Wing. By doing so, he would be able to deprive Phoenix Rain of a powerful supporter in the competition for Thunder Island. "Do you think you can annihilate Zero Wing so easily?" Shi Feng smiled. He then tore the letter into pieces. If it were in the past, the activation of the Evil God''s Empire in the Black Dragon Empire would indeed have posed a significant threat to him. Now, however, the situation had changed with the completion of Zero Wing City''s construction. Whether it was in terms of offense or defense, a city greatly surpassed a town. The only problem now was Magic Crystals. The defenses of both towns and cities required a large amount of Magic Crystals to fully display their true potential. It seems there''s a need to quickly secure that Manatite vein. Shi Feng planned silently. However, the current strength of the Guild is still not enough to secure the vein. We''ll need more Tier 2 players before we can do so. I''ll have to think of a way to help more people get through their Tier 2 promotions. Karna Island, where the Manatite vein was located, was very dangerous for Tier 1 players. Only Tier 2 players could possibly serve as combat power there. However, passing the promotion for Tier 2 was easier said than done. Currently, although many players in Zero Wing''s main force had already reached Level 50, their chances of clearing the Hard Mode Promotion Quest remained dismal. Not only would they need better weapons and equipment, but they also had to improve their combat standards. "Head Instructor, representatives from the White Tiger Dojo have come to negotiate cooperation with you again. Should I invite them in now?" Liang Jing asked as she entered the reception room. "Again?" Shi Feng frowned as he thought about the White Tiger Dojo''s commission. "They really are bothersome." "Head Instructor, the White Tiger Dojo has come looking for you multiple times already. If you don''t meet with them now, I''m afraid this would be" Liang Jing hurriedly tried persuading Shi Feng when she saw that he intended to reject the White Tiger Dojo''s representatives out of hand. At this point, she was at a total loss as to Shi Feng''s behavior. If it were Chairman Xiao, he would''ve already gone out to greet the White Tiger Dojo''s representatives instead of letting the other party ask to meet him. In contrast, not only did Shi Feng show no interest whatsoever in meeting with the representatives, but he was even planning on shooing them away. The White Tiger Dojo was one of the top dojos in the country. It simply wasn''t an existence the Big Dipper Dojo could compare to. If the former wished, it could easily crush the Big Dipper Dojo. However, the more unbelievable matter was how the White Tiger Dojo was behaving. Despite receiving numerous refusals, it was still desperately sending representatives over to meet with Shi Feng. Most likely, if she told this matter to someone else, nobody would believe a word she spoke. "Alright, then. Let them come in." Shi Feng nodded helplessly at Liang Jing''s pleading. "I''ll bring them over now," Liang Jing said, breathing out a sigh of relief at Shi Feng''s words. If she were to send the White Tiger Dojo away again, Chairman Xiao would definitely have a stroke. 1541 Mysterious Zero Wing Chapter 1541 - Mysterious Zero Wing "Uncle Yuan, what happened? Is it so urgent that there isn''t any time for me to have a spar?" Purple Jade asked as she looked at Yuan Tiexin curiously. They had agreed that she would have a few sparring matches with Zero Wing''s experts. Yet, now, after speaking a few words with Shi Feng, they were already taking their leave. This situation truly confused her. She knew full well that the capture of an Orc city was not under Yuan Tiexin''s management. He had simply said those words to Shi Feng as an excuse to leave. "The Guild Leader has just messaged me that I need to return to handle something. As for sparring with Zero Wing''s experts, you can do that inside the simulation training system. Moreover, Zero Wing has just obtained another ten black cards. With this, Zero Wing''s main members will definitely log into the training system more frequently. You can spar with them at any time," Yuan Tiexin replied, smiling. "A direct order from the Guild Leader? What happened?" Purple Jade was slightly surprised upon hearing this. The Guild Leader of the Secret Pavilion rarely ever commanded a specific person directly. Generally, he would leave the selection of personnel to the Vice Guild Leaders to deal with. Only for extremely important matters would he personally assign someone to handle them. "Our men have discovered a treasure land. This location is much more precious than a single Orc city. The Guild Leader wants us to claim it as quickly as possible to avoid losing it to other Guilds. Moreover, I''m not the only one the Guild Leader has given this command. Several other Elders of the Guild are being mobilized as well. As a precaution, we should start making preparations early. As soon as God''s Domain''s system update completes, we''ll immediately lead our forces over to that place," Yuan Tiexin said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "Even the Guild''s Elders need to go?" Purple Jade was even more surprised to hear this. Since the Secret Pavilion had entered God''s Domain, this was the first time an operation had warranted the mobilization of multiple Elders and a large portion of the upper echelon. Meanwhile, inside the lobby, when Fang Tianji saw Yuan Tiexin''s group leaving, he could not help but sigh ruefully. Although the White Tiger Dojo was famous, the partners it was able to find were only first-rate Guilds. Super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds paid no attention whatsoever to the White Tiger Dojo''s request for partnership. Yet, now, the Secret Pavilion, a transcendental existence that the White Tiger Dojo currently could not even hope to have dealings with, had actually sent one of its Elders to visit Zero Wing. At the same time, Fang Tianji also felt that this was a good opportunity. Previously, Zero Wing was already the number one Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, he had even discovered that Zero Wing possessed a close relationship with a transcendental existence like the Secret Pavilion. If he could rope Zero Wing to their ship, he would definitely elevate his and Jiang Tianyuan''s positions in the White Tiger Dojo. After all, the White Tiger Dojo was currently placing considerable importance on God''s Domain, so much so that it had started paying more attention to the game than to nurturing fighters for fighting competitions. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have suddenly started a mass-expansion towards even second- and third-tier cities. "Mister Fang, Head Instructor Shi is currently waiting in Reception Room One. Please follow me," Liang Jing said in a somewhat awkward tone as she looked at Fang Tianji, who was currently pondering in silence. "Alright," Fang Tianji answered hurriedly as he snapped out of his daze. Following which, Fang Tianji and Xie Qiwen followed Liang Jing to Reception Room One. Inside the exquisite reception room, Shi Feng currently sat on a leather sofa while sipping a cup of tea. As he sat there, he gave off an indescribably quiet and peaceful feelingas if he was one with his surroundings. Meanwhile, when Fang Tianji entered the room, he could not help but be stunned when he noticed Shi Feng''s presence. Is he really a youngster in his early 20s? Such a thought suddenly popped into Fang Tianji''s mind as he looked at Shi Feng. The feeling he got from Shi Feng was something he had only ever felt coming from Jiang Tianyuan. However, Jiang Tianyuan was an expert who had experienced countless battles. Jiang Tianyuan was also the pride and legend of the White Tiger Dojo. At this point, even Fang Tianji was far from capable of melding himself with his surrounding environment. "Well? What are you here for this time?" Shi Feng said as he looked at Fang Tianji and Xie Qiwen. "Hello, Head Instructor Shi. My name is Fang Tianji, an instructor at the White Tiger Dojo," Fang Tianji said, smiling as he introduced himself. "As for the purpose of our visit this time, it is to discuss matters of cooperation." "Cooperation? What kind of cooperation? If it''s still the same as last time, I believe I''ve already stated my conditions to you very clearly." At this moment, Shi Feng was no longer that interested in the deal Jiang Tianyuan had offered him. Nurturing 500 sixth-floor experts in one month was a considerably difficult task. Right now, he did not have that much time to spare. "You!" Xie Qiwen''s complexion darkened immediately when he heard Shi Feng''s words. On the other hand, Liang Jing turned pale at this sight. She felt that Shi Feng was going too far with his actions. After all, the other party represented the White Tiger Dojo. Not even Chairman Xiao dared to blatantly reject a request from the White Tiger Dojo. If they provoked the White Tiger Dojo, the consequences would simply be unimaginable. However, before Xie Qiwen could get anything else out of his mouth, Fang Tianji immediately stopped him. "Previously, our people failed to state things clearly to you, so the fault is on our side," Fang Tianji said, still smiling. "However, this time, we have come with sincerity. As long as you can help us nurture 500 sixth-floor Trial Tower experts, you are free to state your price." Fang Tianji''s words dumbfounded Liang Jing and Xie Qiwen. Liang Jing had never imagined that the White Tiger Dojo, which normally did not take even the Chairman of Big Dipper seriously, would actually use such a polite tone with Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Xie Qiwen was feeling even greater shock than Liang Jing. Fang Tianji of the White Tiger Dojo was a true killing god. Aside from those holding the position of Branch Hall Master and above, nobody in the White Tiger Dojo dared to go against Fang Tianji''s words. "You''re letting me set the price?" Shi Feng was a little surprised. He had never thought that the White Tiger Dojo would change attitudes so quickly. "Of course, as long as it is a price the White Tiger Dojo can afford." Fang Tianji nodded. "Alright. I don''t want much, just 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids," Shi Feng stated. "This" Fang Tianji found himself in an awkward position. Although he had said that Shi Feng could set the price, he had never expected the latter to be so brazen as to ask for such a high price. "Big Bro Tianji, he is clearly toying with us!" Xie Qiwen could not help but explode in anger when he heard Shi Feng''s words. Did Shi Feng think S-rank Nutrient Fluid was tap water? Even a branch dojo would not receive 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids in an entire year. Only the main branch could take out so many bottles at once. However, these S-rank Nutrient Fluids were normally prepared for international competitions. It was simply impossible for them to spend so many just for a game. "Is 100 bottles too much for you?" Shi Feng could not help but ask when he saw the troubled look on Fang Tianji''s face. "This It really is beyond of our capabilities," Fang Tianji said, cold sweat dotting his furrowed brows. Although Jiang Tianyuan''s position in the White Tiger Dojo was very high, the man could draw only 30 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids at a time. Even if he bankrupted himself, he wouldn''t be able to gather 100 bottles. "Alright, then. Sixty bottles, and not a bottle lower!" Shi Feng said, sighing. "Otherwise, you will have to find someone better for the job." "What do you think of" Before Xie Qiwen could even finish his sentence, Fang Tianji had already placed a hand on his shoulder. His body suddenly felt heavy, and his mouth couldn''t utter any more words. "Head Instructor Shi, it is also going to be very difficult for us to get you 60 bottles. How about this? We are willing to pay you 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids in addition to 20 million Credits. This is already the limit of what we can offer. You should also know that S-rank Nutrient Fluids are not sold anywhere on the market and can be obtained only through internal channels. Even the White Tiger Dojo can get only a small amount each year," Fang Tianji said seriously after taking a deep breath. Upon hearing Fang Tianji''s words, Xie Qiwen felt as if the man sitting beside him right now was definitely an actor. There was simply no way the person beside him was the real Fang Tianji. Those were 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids they were talking about! "Fifty?" Shi Feng fell into deep thought. After some time, he said, "Alright, I can agree to your proposal. However, I will not accept payment in installments." Zero Wing was currently in urgent need of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. If he could get those 50 bottles now, they would undoubtedly help Fire Dance and the others improve much more quickly. He could also help them develop their potential early on. Fang Tianji could not help but fall speechless at Shi Feng''s words. At the same time, however, he also inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief. Following which, Fang Tianji signed a contract with Shi Feng, agreeing to deliver 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and 20 million Credits within five days. As for the 500 White Tiger Dojo apprentices to be nurtured by Zero Wing, he would send Shi Feng a list of names after he logged back into God''s Domain. With the negotiations completed, Fang Tianji left together with Xie Qiwen to report back to Jiang Tianyuan. As for Shi Feng, after taking a look at the time, he noticed that God''s Domain''s system update was already completed. He immediately returned to his room and logged back into the game. 1542 Gods Domains Changes Chapter 1542 - God''s Domain''s Changes "What''s going on?" As soon as Shi Feng logged back into the game, he was shocked by the scene that greeted him. He had been standing in the middle of a dense forest when he logged out of the game. Now, however, endless plains surrounded him. Moreover, large craters pitted the plains. Not only was the air filled with dust and yellow sand, but even the ambient Mana had become extremely thin. He even felt his reactions becoming a little sluggish due to this low Mana environment. If not for the Abyssal Blade gathering Mana around his body, his combat power definitely would''ve decreased significantly. Meanwhile, the other Zero Wing members that just logged into the game were similarly stupefied by the scene before them. "Look at the sky! What''s that?" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, pointing up at the sky. When everyone looked up, they quickly spotted the faint silhouette of a pitch-black ship hovering in the dusky sky. Due to the dark-gray clouds that served as a backdrop, if one did not look carefully, they would not notice the ship at all. "A Magic Warship?" Shi Feng could not help but be shocked. "That emblem belongs to the royal family. Why is something like that here?" A Magic Warship was an actual strategic weapon as well as one of the trump cards of Star-Moon Kingdom. Normally, the kingdom would not mobilize its Magic Warship even during a war with other countries. A Magic Warship was like a War Fortress, capable of casting Tier 5 Spells and destroying towns in a single hit. Meanwhile, the Magic Warship controlled by the royal family was even more powerful as it could use Tier 5 Curses. Only during the invasion of the Abyss would the royal family utilize this weapon of mass destruction. Yet, now, the Magic Warship operated by the royal family was currently patrolling this location. Shi Feng found this simply inconceivable. Could the invasion of the Orc Empire have already gotten that grim? Shi Feng could not help entertaining such a thought. Immediately, he had Aqua Rose send people to investigate this matter. Whenever a new expansion pack took effect, the system would provide information relevant to the expansion pack in the affected regions. Meanwhile, players could obtain this information by asking the NPCs in the affected towns and cities. At this moment, Star-Moon Kingdom wasn''t the only country in turmoil. The several kingdoms and two empires neighboring the Orc Empire were similarly in turmoil. These countries were all mobilizing their trump cards and organizing a frenzied assault on the Orcs. Very quickly, Aqua Rose collected the information gathered by members of the Guild and summarized it in a report. "Guild Leader, based on the information we''ve found thus far, the Orcs seem to be frantically searching for something. They keep sending out invasion squads to the neighboring kingdoms and empires. Moreover, many powerful Mutated Orcs have appeared among these Orcs, posing a huge headache for these kingdoms and empires. After suffering numerous defeats, these countries have finally mobilized their trump cards to push back the Orcs. "In addition, the affected kingdoms and empires have come to an agreement to remove the border teleportation fees temporarily. Teleportation between these kingdoms will be calculated similar to normal city teleportation fee rates[1]. At the same time, the allied countries have launched a unified crusade against the Orc Empire. Now, many new items have been made available for exchange using the Guild Honor Points and Contribution Points earned in the war with the Orc Empire. "In the exchange system for individual players, Level 40-plus Warrior Sets have appeared. The sets are available in Bronze rank to Dark-Gold rank. However, the sets are bound upon exchange and cannot be traded. "Meanwhile, in the exchange system for Guilds, the Guild Magic Car Lease has appeared." As Aqua Rose summarized the information she had received, she could not help her surprise at the changes brought about by the system update this time. These changes would undoubtedly shake up the current status quo between Guilds. Without the extra fees charged for teleporting between countries, players would be able to move between countries more easily. The removal of this hurdle would also increase the intensity of competition between the Guilds of the various affected countries. "Guild Magic Car Lease?" Shi Feng''s eyes glowed when he heard Aqua Rose mention this term. The Guild Magic Car Lease was a great convenience for Guilds. Meanwhile, the lease dropped only in specific super-large-scale Team Dungeons in each country. One could also say that it served as proof of a Guild''s strength. After a Guild acquired the Guild Magic Car Lease, its members would be able to rent Guild Magic Cars at the Guild''s Residences. The Magic Car was a very useful tool for teams. Unlike advanced carriages, which could travel only on the official roads built between towns and cities, the Magic Car could go to any location. It also doubled as a tent and allowed players to recover their Concentration and Stamina inside it. Overall, the Magic Car was like a mobile camp and was particularly useful to teams that preferred exploring distant and high-level locations. "Guild Leader, is there a problem?" Aqua Rose asked curiously when she saw the astonished expression on Shi Feng''s face. "How many GHPs does that Guild Magic Car Lease require?" Shi Feng asked immediately. If Zero Wing could obtain the Guild Magic Car Lease now, it would definitely help in traveling to the neutral map Boneless Land. Erecting Advanced Constructions like the Advanced Restaurant or the Magic Workshop required Mana Ore. Yet, Mana Ore was not easy to obtain. It was a byproduct that would appear at a very low chance when mining rare ores. Although Mana Ore still turned up on the market quite frequently, the various large Guilds and players were all trying to obtain Mana Ore to create the Mana Charm, due to the Orc Empire''s appearance. As a result, the Mana Ore put up for sale had been wiped clean off the shelves. In fact, even the Mana Ore of other kingdoms and empires around God''s Domain had been bought out by the various large Guilds. Right now, it was practically impossible to obtain Mana Ore in large quantities. However, Shi Feng still knew of a way to obtain a large amount of Mana Orethrough the distant neutral map Boneless Land. There were quite a few rare ore veins in the Boneless Land. In the past, the neutral map was famous as a producer of Mana Ore. Only, the Boneless Land was not a place current players could travel to. Even if players went there via the safest route, they would have to traverse over a dozen high-level maps ranging between Level 100 to Level 130. Moreover, as the Boneless Land was a neutral map, there were no nearby towns or cities for players to recuperate in. Normally, the various large Guilds would construct a town or city in a neutral map before starting their development there, which was clearly an impossible task right now. However, it was a different story if players had the Guild Magic Car. Resting inside a Magic Car was equivalent to resting inside a hotel. Although a Magic Car had a maximum capacity of 20 players, its effects were the same as a hotel''s. It could provide players with the best recovery effects for their Concentration and Stamina. Meanwhile, the Boneless Land itself was not particularly high-leveled, merely a Level 60 to Level 80 neutral map. Using the Spatial Gate, he could transport a large number of players there. After including a temporary resting place like the Guild Magic Car, it would be relatively simple for them to mine for Mana Ore. The only expenses would be the high rental fees and Magic Crystals to operate the Magic Cars. Overall, however, it would still be much cheaper and simpler than directly purchasing Mana Ore from the market. "The Guild Magic Car Lease requires 200,000 GHPs and one 3-star Achievement in exchange," Aqua Rose replied. Sure enough, the system won''t let players obtain it easily. Shi Feng could not help but smile bitterly upon hearing the cost. Even Super Guilds would need a very long time to accumulate 200,000 GHPs. As for the 3-star Achievement, that was even harder to obtain. A 3-star Achievement was like a kingdom quest. A kingdom would only award a Guild such an Achievement when said Guild had achieved significant victories in wars against other countries. Meanwhile, not only was this Achievement a symbol of honor, but it was also proof of the influence a Guild had in a kingdom. Despite a 3-star Achievement being the lowest ranking Achievement available, obtaining one was significantly more difficult than even an Epic Main Storyline Quest. One could say that the difficulty of obtaining a 3-star Achievement was no less than that of raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Hence, by introducing the Guild Magic Car Lease now, the system was merely allowing the various large Guilds to come into contact with Guild Magic Cars a little earlier. Whether the various large Guilds were actually able to take advantage of this opportunity was not a certainty. Forget it. For now, I should find Seliora first and deal with the Disintegration Armor. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng had Aqua Rose make the necessary arrangements to shift the Guild''s development direction towards the Orc Empire. As for himself, he used a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. 1543 Upgrading White River City Chapter 1543 - Upgrading White River City Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: As soon as Shi Feng exited the Teleportation Hall, he noticed that the street outside the building teemed with merchant players originating from other kingdoms, selling and purchasing items. Due to the system update this time, players from the neighboring kingdoms and empires would no longer have to transit through Star-Moon City and could teleport directly to White River City. As a result, business in White River City was flourishing like never before. Moreover, aside from merchant players, there were also plenty of foreign Guilds and adventurer teams that had come to White River City. Evidently, the reduction in teleportation fees convinced the Guilds and adventurer teams that were previously hesitating to visit White River City to make the trip. "Hm? So this is White River City? Business here is flourishing! There are at least twice as many merchants here as there are in our Northern Kingdom''s capital city!" "How are the players here so high-leveled?!" "What?! This city has already activated the flying transportation system?!" The various foreign large Guilds and adventurer teams could not help but marvel at the prosperity of White River City. Previously, they had heard talk about White River City. Although rumor had it that players were labeling White River City as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one NPC city, they had merely treated it as a joke before. After all, how could a non-capital city possibly compete with a capital city? If a situation like this really happened in a kingdom, then that could only mean one thingsaid kingdom was extremely weak. Moreover, the fact that Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild was actually a Guild recently established in God''s Domain only served as further proof that Star-Moon Kingdom was a weak kingdom. If not for the fact that the teleportation fees were much reduced and the fact that White River City possessed a teleportation house that led directly to the heart of the Twin Towers Kingdom, they would not have bothered paying a visit to White River City at all. However, now that they got to see White River City in person, the city was worlds apart from what they had imagined it to be. Every one of the merchant players hawking their wares on the street sold exquisite items. There were even some that sold Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons and Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment. Normally, such items could only occasionally be found in the Auction Houses of capital cities. Yet, now, players were selling them on the street. Moreover, the temporary teams recruiting members for Dungeon raids were even more amazing. There were actually players recruiting for Level 40, 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons raids. Although many players in God''s Domain had already reached Level 40, when raiding Level 40, 100-man Team Dungeons, Level 40 was merely the baseline limit. Moreover, that was only in the case of Normal Mode. For Hard Mode, a team would require at least ten expert players belonging to large Guilds to spearhead the raid. Either that, or a well-established adventurer team. Temporary teams should already be thanking their lucky stars if they could clear the Normal Mode of a 100-man Team Dungeon. Trying to raid a 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon was simply a dream. However, before the foreign Guild players could speak any contemptuous words about the various temporary teams, they were immediately silenced when their sights fell on the level and equipment of the recruiting teams. The members of the recruiting teams were all Level 41 and above. Meanwhile, even the most inferior piece of equipment they wore was Level 35 Secret-Silver rank, while some even wore Level 40 Secret-Silver Equipment. As for the players serving as the leaders of these teams, they were mostly geared in Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment and Level 35 Dark-Gold Equipment. Even the elite teams of large Guilds would be slightly inferior when compared to these teams. "Hahaha! Another batch of dumbfounded newcomers has arrived! They sure have guts to think of White River City as an ordinary NPC city! If they''re already reacting in such a way after just exiting the Teleportation Hall, once they reach the business district in the central area, their eyes will most likely fall out of their sockets!" "Weren''t you the same as them before?" "That''s because I knew absolutely nothing about White River City back then! Moreover, unlike them, I came here because I wanted to join Zero Wing. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s recruitment standards are a little too high. Had the standards been lowered by just a little bit, I definitely would''ve gotten in on my last attempt." "Alright, alright, that''s enough. The meeting time the team leader mentioned has already arrived. Today, we''ll definitely get through the first Boss of that 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon!" "That''s for sure. I heard that the team leader used the super-rare materials we obtained previously to exchange for three Advanced Mana Armor Kits from the Candlelight Trading Firm. With those armor kits, we should have no problems getting through the first Boss." Several players belonging to an adventurer team were currently chatting merrily while sitting inside an open-air bar. When they saw the surprised looks on the newly arrived foreign players'' faces, their hearts swelled with an indescribable sense of pride. Meanwhile, when the foreign players, both the members of large Guilds and well-known adventurer teams belonging to other kingdoms, passing by heard the words of these local players, they could not help but be shocked. At this stage of the game, very few adventurer teams, aside from those at the top, were capable of raiding Level 40, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Even the first Boss of such Dungeons was already an insurmountable hurdle. Yet, the players sitting inside the bar spoke as if being able to raid such a Boss was no big deal. This situation filled the foreign Guilds and adventurer teams that had just arrived at White River City with shock and awe. Just what kind of city was White River City? At the same time, these foreign players also began sending messages to their friends, telling them about White River City. For a time, White River City''s fame spread rapidly throughout the neighboring kingdoms and empires. More and more players also began considering moving their base of operations to White River City. It seems the new expansion pack I activated this time has brought quite a lot of benefits to Zero Wing''s development. Shi Feng could not help but smile when he overheard the conversations of players on the street. With this, even without linking a teleportation array to Zero Wing City, White River City still has a chance to become a main city. In God''s Domain, NPC cities were not static. They could similarly be upgraded. Only, many conditions needed to be met before it would happen. Chief among these conditions related to player population and trade volume. If Shi Feng wished to upgrade White River City once more, he would first need to get the city''s population to 10,000,000. Originally, this should''ve been a very difficult task to accomplish. Now, however, due to the lowering of the barrier known as teleportation fees, increasing the player population of White River City would no longer pose any challenge. Meanwhile, as long as White River City was upgraded again, it would activate the corresponding city functions. At that time, not only would the city undergo even greater changes, but more destinations would also be added to the flying transportation system, allowing players to travel to those distant neutral maps that did not boast any teleportation arrays. It seems there''s a need to have Candlelight introduce some new products. At this time, Shi Feng suddenly recalled the Mana Enhancing Potion Recipe he obtained recently. Berserk-type potions like the Mana Enhancing Potion were amazingly effective in Dungeon raids. It was a potion that the various adventurer teams and small Guilds urgently required at the moment. If he sold this potion in White River City, it would definitely cause a huge commotion and attract even more players to the city. Following which, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her select the Advanced Alchemist with the highest success rate in the Candlelight Trading Firm to produce the Mana Enhancing Potion. "An Advanced Alchemy Recipe?" Melancholic Smile''s eyes glowed upon hearing this. "I''ll get it done right away." Shortly after Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile, the advanced carriage he was riding arrived before Seliora''s smithy. Unlike other Grandmaster Forgers, Seliora had not moved to a better city. She remained inside her inconspicuous smithy, hammering away at materials in the hopes of creating a Fragmented Legendary item. This place has been discovered already? When Shi Feng arrived before the smithy, he noticed over a dozen forging players in front of the smithy. Every one of them was currently standing before the entrance of the house silently, none of them daring to make a sound in fear of disturbing Seliora, who was still working inside right now. Surprisingly, though, while around half of the dozen or so players lined up outside the building consisted of Level 33 Lifestyle players, the other half were actually expert players who were Level 46 and above. Meanwhile, standing at the head of this group of experts was a man and a woman. Although both currently had their levels hidden using a Black Cloak, they did not bother concealing their facial appearances. Why is she here? Shi Feng grew a little confused when he saw these two players. While he had no idea who the man was, the woman was someone he was considerably familiar with. After all, this woman was none other than Youlan, part of the upper echelon of the organization Underworld. From what Shi Feng remembered, Youlan should''ve long since been assigned to continue her development in another kingdom. Yet, for some reason, she had actually appeared in Star-Moon Kingdom again. 1544 First Ghos Chapter 1544 - First Ghost Before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, he suddenly felt killing intent directed towards him. Meanwhile, this killing intent came from the Level 46-plus players. At this moment, these experts were on high alert against him and wore a look that stated they would unsheath their weapons and were poised to attack. This situation threw Shi Feng into confusion. Currently, he had both his level and appearance hidden using a Black Cloak, yet the other party had tensed up just at his approach. "Alright, enough. He should be here to meet with Seliora," the man beside Youlan said as he made a waving motion with his hand. Only after hearing this man''s words did the experts relax. "Fellow friend, sorry about that. My brothers here are just a little too nervous. They have no ill intent," the young man standing in the lead apologized. "It''s fine." Shi Feng simply gave a quiet response. In God''s Domain, players would normally become alert when they came across a cloaked player that hid all information about themselves. However, very few players would react as the experts in Youlan''s group had while inside an NPC city. After all, there were many NPC soldiers patrolling the city streets, making an assassination very difficult unless the targeted player was caught entirely unaware. Of course, players who suffered frequent ambushes out in the fields would also form a habit of instinctively going into high alert when encountering cloaked players. Following which, Shi Feng stopped paying attention to Youlan''s group and walked straight towards the smithy''s door. Although he was curious as to why Youlan had suddenly reappeared in White River City, his priority right now was to deal with the Disintegration Armor. If he left the armor as it was, he would definitely have difficulty moving around. Just as Shi Feng was about to knock on the door, however, a playful voice suddenly came from behind him. "You guys really made me work up a sweat finding you! With things as they are right now, do you all still think you have a chance?" Turning around, Shi Feng suddenly noticed that a group of over a hundred cloaked players had appeared behind him. Every one of these cloaked players wore a sneer on their faces. A moment later, a middle-aged man wearing pitch-black leather armor gradually emerged from the shadows of this group of cloaked players. The instant this middle-aged man appeared, a gray fog started permeating the air around him. He gave off an indescribably chilling and creepy feeling. "First Ghost? They actually sent an expert like you after us as well?" The youth standing beside Youlan revealed a bitter smile when he saw the middle-aged man. At this moment, aside from the youth, the several other experts standing around Youlan also wore horrified expressions when they looked at the middle-aged man before them. After all, the middle-aged man was once known as the number one Assassin of Underworld. He was so strong that even if their entire group attacked him together, they would only end up getting unilaterally slaughtered. Furthermore, escaping his grasp was impossible, as the Assassin class was known to possess the highest speed among the twelve main classes. They wouldn''t particularly mind if they simply lost their lives right now. However, First Ghost and his group had consumed the Haunted potion. Anyone he and his allies killed would drop multiple pieces of equipment. "Dark Eye, I believe that the higher-ups have already stated that either you all submit or die. Since you all refuse to submit, I have no choice but to send you on your way!" First Ghost said as he unsheathed the snowy-white dagger hanging from his waist. "Taking into account the fact that we were colleagues in the past, I''ll give you a word of advice. Delete your accounts as soon as possible. The higher-ups won''t let you all keep those items. Or do you really believe you can escape our pursuit?" "Youlan, bring everyone and escape quickly. The few of us here will hold them back. Once you reach the main street, they won''t be able to take action easily," the youth named Dark Eye said quietly to Youlan. Hearing this, Youlan gritted her teeth and nodded. Although she wished to break out of this encirclement together with Dark Eye and the others, doing so was clearly an impossible feat. Setting aside the fact that they were greatly outnumbered right now, First Ghost alone was more than capable of defeating her entire group. "You guys think you can escape? As long as I am here, none of you should even think of leaving this place alive." First Ghost obviously saw through Dark Eye''s plans. Sneering, he ordered, "Go! Leave none of them alive!" Immediately, the 100-plus players behind First Ghost went into action. The melee players charged forward, the healers in the rear cast shield buffs on the melee players, and the ranged players locked on to the movements of Youlan''s group. There were also over a dozen stealthed Assassins stationed at the sidelines on the off chance that someone from Youlan''s group actually managed to get through the encirclement. At the same time, First Ghost took out a dark-gray scroll and unfurled it. As he activated it, the surrounding space suddenly turned blurry. This scroll contained the Basic Magic Array Perception Blur. It was a special scroll that could be bought only in towns and cities operated by the dark forces. So long as this scroll was activated, it would transform the surrounding space, making it difficult for NPCs within towns and cities to perceive the movements inside the affected area. Unless the affected area lay in an NPC soldier''s direct line of sight, it would be some time before the NPC soldiers would realize that a fight was going on inside the city. "Damn it! They came prepared!" Dark Eye immediately fell into despair when he saw the dark-gray magic array rising into the air. Although the magic array First Ghost used was only a Basic one, players would still need to spend some time breaking through it. During this period, First Ghost''s group was more than capable of killing them several times over. "I''ve already said that none of you should think of leaving this place alive," First Ghost said as he strolled up to Dark Eye and Youlan. He showed nary a hint of nervousness even though he was assaulting another player inside an NPC city. In fact, he did not even bother using the Assassin class''s Stealth Skill and was boldly waltzing towards his opponents. This approach was one of the reasons why the members of Underworld deeply feared the man known as First Ghost. He could not only overwhelm his opponents through martial might but also constant grind away at his opponents'' mental state. Unable to cope with the mental pressure, a Level 46 Berserker abruptly used Charge at the confident Assassin. Upon arriving before First Ghost, he immediately brandished his greatsword with all his might. Cross Slash! The Berserker smoothly entered the stance to execute Cross Slash and swung his greatsword down on First Ghost. Dang! Following which, the clash of metal rang out. Surprisingly, First Ghost''s flimsy dagger actually stopped the Berserker''s greatsword. Immediately after, the dagger had even proceeded to push aside the greatsword. First Ghost had repelled the attack so easily that he looked as if he was just swatting away a small pebble. How is this possible?! The Berserker''s face was filled with astonishment when he saw his greatsword getting shoved aside so readily. He simply could not understand how an Assassin could possess such immense Strength. Meanwhile, by the time the Berserker snapped out of his daze, First Ghost''s other dagger had already appeared before his eyes. In the end, the Berserker could only watch helplessly as the dagger slashed across his throat. Immediately after slashing the Berserker''s throat, First Ghost suddenly transformed into a streak of shadow and pierced through the Berserker''s body. Tier 1 Skill, Absolute Strike! When First Ghost''s body reformed, the Berserker''s HP began decreasing rapidly. A second later, the Berserker collapsed to the ground. In such a way, a Level 46 Berserker on Youlan''s side died as soon as the battle began. "Next up will be you," First Ghost said as he sent a glance at Dark Eye. He then started pacing casually towards the youth. After seeing the brief battle, Dark Eye and the several experts around him could not help but shudder as if they were looking at a literal ghost right now. "Come! I want to see just what Underworld''s number one Assassin is capable of!" Dark Eye knew that there was no way he was leaving this place alive. The only thing he could do now was fight to the death. He dashed at First Ghost, then activated the Berserker class''s Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Wind Slash. Countless wind blades flew towards First Ghost simultaneously. Meanwhile, Dark Eye was in control of the movements of every one of these wind blades, which completely sealed First Ghost''s movements. As for Dark Eye himself, after activating Wind Slash, he promptly sent a downward slash at First Ghost''s defensive blind spot. In the next moment, Dark Eye''s greatsword could be seen passing through First Ghost''s body. However, just as Dark Eye''s companions were about to cheer in joy, Dark Eye''s expression turned inexplicably grimbecause his attack had not struck First Ghost at all. All he had done was slash at the Assassin''s afterimage. Instinctively, he swung his sword horizontally. Whirlwind Slash! Dang! Sparks flew and scattered into the surroundings. In the next moment, Dark Eye''s silvery-gray greatsword could be seen stopped roughly four inches away from First Ghost''s body. Despite Dark Eye putting all his strength into his arms, the pitch-black dagger blocking his greatsword refused to budge by even a centimeter farther. Meanwhile, the silver dagger in First Ghost''s other hand smoothly stabbed towards Dark Eye''s side abdomen. Is it over? Dark Eye could not help but shut his eyes at this scene. The difference in strength between him and First Ghost was simply too massive. Not only was he inferior to the Assassin in terms of technical standards, but even his Basic Attributes were greatly inferior to the Assassin''s. "Die!" First Ghost promptly added even more power to his attack. Just as the silver dagger was about to stab into Dark Eye''s abdomen, however, a red flash suddenly entered First Ghost''s sight. Shocked, First Ghost hurriedly activated Wind Steps to block the attack. He then beat an abrupt retreat and turned to look towards the source of the red flash. "Who interrupted me?!" "I did." At this time, Shi Feng stepped out of the group of players standing before Seliora''s smithy. 1545 Unbearable Wrath? Chapter 1545 - Unbearable Wrath? As Shi Feng emerged from the crowd, the present players'' gazes shifted towards him. Although Shi Feng had concealed his appearance, he was obviously a Swordsman based on the two longswords hanging at his waist. "This brat must be tired of living. He actually dares to ruin the Boss''s fun!" "He must be suicidal." "He should realize that he can''t survive this; is he that eager to die?" "The Boss must be furious. That kid is definitely going to suffer for this." Although First Ghost''s team members were surprised to see Shi Feng save Dark Eye, their expressions quickly turned to that of pity and admiration. As a bystander, Shi Feng could''ve remained silent, and First Ghost would''ve given him a quick death, but now that he had spoiled the man''s fun, his death would be slow and painful. After all, First Ghost was famous for his brutality in Underworld. Other players had interrupted First Ghost in the past, and he had slowly shaved off these players'' HP with one hit after another. Sometimes, he even had his team''s healers recover his target''s HP. Experts generally set their pain sensitivity in-game to a certain percentage, and it couldn''t be altered while in battle. First Ghost''s team members could already imagine the fate that would befall this Swordsman stranger. Is he the one that saved me? Dark Eye turned to Shi Feng with a confused expression. He had never thought that a passerby like Shi Feng would actually save him. In his opinion, passersby usually tried to avoid getting involved with others'' disputes. Unfortunately, even if Shi Feng had saved him once, it wouldn''t change the outcome. First Ghost''s team members had already surrounded their team, and the Perception Blur magic array prevented NPC soldiers from detecting their fight. This person is Youlan, who stood in the back, could not help but feel a sense of familiarity as she stared at Shi Feng''s back. She seemed to have heard his voice somewhere before, as well. "Kid, you did that just now?" First Ghost didn''t hurry to attack Shi Feng. Instead, he evaluated this Swordsman carefully. A moment later, he sneered and said, "You have guts; I''ll give you that. I had intended to let a bystander like you live, but I''ve changed my mind." "Let me live?" Shi Feng laughed. "Keep that devil''s compassion to yourself." "You saw through that, huh?" Since Shi Feng hadn''t bought the lie, First Ghost admitted to it. He chuckled before replying, "Indeed. I never had any intention of letting you get away, but your actions have only earned you a more painful death. "Kid, you''re going to regret stepping in. Restless, make sure to you heal this kid and keep him alive for me! Everyone else, keep an eye on Dark Eye and Youlan!" "Rest assured, Boss. Until you say ''stop,'' I''ll make sure he doesn''t die!" With First Ghost''s command, his teammates turned their focus to Youlan''s team. If any of those players moved strangely, they''d bombard them with attacks. At the same time, a Level 47 Cleric in blue robes kept a close eye on Shi Feng''s HP, a hint of playfulness flashing in his eyes as he prepared to cast a Healing Spell. As soon as First Ghost finished speaking, he appeared behind Shi Feng. Shadow Steps! Like a venomous snake, the pitch-black dagger in First Ghost''s hand formed an arc as it curved towards Shi Feng''s flank. Kidney Strike! As the dagger aimed for Shi Feng''s blind spot, First Ghost curved his other dagger towards the Swordsman''s head, ensuring that the silver dagger was barely visible in the corner of his target''s eye. Crap! That''s First Ghost''s Double Snake Bite! Dark Eye''s expression darkened as he watched the two daggers flash towards Shi Feng from different angles. When a player noticed an incoming attack, they instinctively tried to block the attack while ignoring those they couldn''t see. First Ghost''s technique took advantage of this reaction to break past his opponent''s defense. Although this technique looked simple, finding an opponent''s blind spots in an instant and launching an attack without unnecessary movement was extremely difficult. A player would also have to execute a second attack simultaneously from an entirely different angle. Moreover, due to the attacks'' lightning speed and precise timing, the technique was nearly impossible for an ordinary expert to counter. First Ghost had killed many powerful experts with this technique. Just before the two daggers bit into Shi Feng, everyone saw a blue flash. Peng! Following which, the sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the street. Suddenly, First Ghost stumbled back two steps, his HP falling by over 200. On the other hand, Shi Feng remained steadily in his original position. His HP was also intact. "How isthis possible?" First Ghost''s companions were dumbfounded after watching Shi Feng repel the Double Snake Bite. Impossible! Even Dark Eye stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. Shi Feng had actually repulsed Underworld''s number one Assassin with one hit Moreover, judging by Shi Feng''s expression, it was clear that the Swordsman wasn''t satisfied with his counterattack. What Dark Eye did not know was that Shi Feng currently suffered a 50% Basic Attribute reduction thanks to the Disintegration Armor in his bag. Had Shi Feng been at his peak, his counterattack would''ve killed First Ghost or left the Assassin near death''s door. The outcome wouldn''t have been a mere 200 HP loss. When First Ghost noticed that his hands trembled after receiving Shi Feng''s counterattack, his expression hardened as he glared at Shi Feng and asked, "Who are you?" Even if First Ghost were stupid, he''d realize that Shi Feng was no ordinary expert. The counterattack Shi Feng had used to negate his Double Snake Bite had been so fast that his senses had barely kept up with the strike. No ordinary expert could achieve such a feat. "Who am I? I''m just an ordinary bystander that you want to kill," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "An ordinary bystander? My Double Snake Bite can instant-kill Refinement Realm experts if I catch them off guard," First Ghost snapped, annoyed as he glared at Shi Feng. He had not expected to come across a difficult opponent like Shi Feng during his assassination of Youlan''s team. "So, that''s Double Snake Bite? I don''t see anything special about it." Shifting through his memories, Shi Feng realized that First Ghost had indeed launched his attacks simultaneously. However, he did not pay any special attention to this. After reaching the Void Realm, he had a clear grasp of any movement in his surroundings. He lacked the visual blind spots ordinary players suffered. Hence, to him, it merely looked as if First Ghost had simply thrust both of his daggers at once and nothing more. "What bold words!" "Boss, let us take him on! I want to see just what kind of ability this kid has!" Shi Feng''s statement enraged the Assassin''s team members. As long as First Ghost gave the command, they''d send Shi Feng to meet his maker. However, rather than reacting rashly, First Ghost calmly and coldly declared, "Although I don''t know who you are, Underworld wants the people behind you dead. Underworld''s wrath isn''t something you can endure!" "Boss, why bother wasting words on him? Let''s just get rid of this brat! We''ll teach him the consequences of his arrogance!" All of First Ghost''s team members stared at Shi Feng as if he were already a dead man walking. "Can''t endure Underworld''s wrath?" Shi Feng chuckled. He then removed his Black Cloak and exposed his adjusted appearance. "I''m very curious to learn what Underworld can do to me." 1546 Sword King Chapter 1546 - Sword King "Black Flame?!" The battlefield fell deathly silent when Shi Feng removed his Black Cloak. Everyone here was familiar with Black Flame. Even players from outside of Star-Moon Kingdom would know of him if they examined the God''s Domain Ranking List. Recently, Black Flame''s ranking had risen; he now ranked 31st on God''s Domain Ranking List. There was also plenty of information regarding the man''s battle records. Not only could Black Flame wander through an army of thousands of enemy players as if he were strolling through his own backyard, but he was also undefeated. Even Super Guilds had to take this expert seriously. Moreover, Black Flame was the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, the current number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. Sword King Black Flame? Dark Eye felt as if he were dreaming as he gazed at Shi Feng. He was also relieved that he had stopped his teammates from attacking Shi Feng. Otherwise, this Swordsman would''ve killed his companions before First Ghost''s team had even arrived. Although Dark Eye had never personally witnessed Shi Feng in battle, he knew that this man''s Guild had caused Underworld a lot of suffering; the organization had even been forced to abandon its development in Star-Moon Kingdom. Why is he here? Youlan''s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Shi Feng. Meanwhile, when First Ghost found out about his opponent''s identity, his complexion turned indescribably grim. If his opponent had merely been a top-tier expert from a first-rate Guild, he would not have considered this Swordsman important, but that wasn''t the case for the player before him. Every player ranked among the top 100 on the God''s Domain Ranking List could strike fear in the various large Guilds, not to mention the 31st ranking expert. Even a superpower would have to dispatch numerous peak experts to deal with an expert of Shi Feng''s caliber. It would also need the terrain advantage. Otherwise, it would have no hope of defeating Shi Feng. Although First Ghost acknowledged his team''s strength, he didn''t believe that they were capable of defeating Shi Feng in a head-on confrontation. On top of that, they were still in White River City. If the fight drug on, the NPC patrols would discover them. None of them would leave this place alive. He had merely come to assassinate Youlan and her team. He had never expected to encounter the most troublesome player in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Black Flame, I admit that you are powerful. In the past, Underworld couldn''t even touch you, but do you really think that the organization hasn''t changed in all this time?" First Ghost no longer showed any intention of attacking. Instead, he sneered and said, "The Blackwater Corporation has already annexed Underworld. Not even God''s Domain''s various superpowers would dare to provoke Underworld now. The higher-ups have declared that Youlan''s team must be killed to Level 0. If you shelter them, you will endanger the Guild you''ve gone to great lengths to develop. "As long as you keep your nose out of this, you will continue to reign as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. However, if you anger the people in charge, Zero Wing won''t get away unscathed. Is it worth getting in the middle of this?" When they heard First Ghost''s warning, Dark Eye, Youlan, and their companions paled. As First Ghost had said, the Blackwater Corporation had taken control of Underworld. Even Super Guilds avoided confrontations with the corporation if they could. It simply wasn''t an existence Zero Wing could contend with. There was no reason for Shi Feng to start a war with the Blackwater Corporation over their fate. Meanwhile, when First Ghost''s team members heard their leader''s words, they regained their confidence and sneered at Shi Feng. When First Ghost finished speaking, Shi Feng glanced at the Assassin and asked, "Are you done?" First Ghost was stunned. "Do you even understand what I''m saying?! If you involve yourself, you will declare war on the Blackwater Corporation!" First Ghost reiterated. However, by the time First Ghost shut his mouth, Shi Feng had appeared before him, his Sacred Sword radiating a blue glow as it descended on the Assassin. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! Before First Ghost could use his Vanish Skill, his HP had begun to deplete rapidly. In the blink of an eye, his HP fell to zero, and his vision darkened. His body then collapsed, a piece of equipment dropping beside his corpse. "Boss!" "The Boss is dead!" "This person is insane! Didn''t he understand the Boss''s warning?!" First Ghost''s team members gaped, horror filling their eyes as they stared at Shi Feng, who wore a casual expression. "When you return, tell your higher-ups that we will not allow other powers to cause trouble in White River City as they like!" Shi Feng coldly declared as he glanced at the players around him. "If they dare, this will be their outcome!" White River City was Zero Wing''s main headquarters. If Zero Wing could not maintain the city''s safety, allowing other players to waltz in and kill whom they liked, who would possibly develop in White River City? Furthermore, First Ghost had tried to kill other players right before his very eyes. So strong! He''s even stronger than the rumors say! Dark Eye was indescribably shocked as he looked at First Ghost''s corpse. Underworld''s top Assassin had died without the chance to fight back The entire process had happened so fast that he wasn''t even sure about what had happened. He had only seen Shi Feng appear before First Ghost suddenly before a blue flash had struck the Assassin. In the next moment, First Ghost''s HP had fallen to zero, and he died. Although Dark Eye had heard about Shi Feng''s strength while he had still been a member of Underworld, he had never realized that the man was this strong. The difference between his power and Shi Feng''s was overwhelming. "He''s insane!" When First Ghost''s team members heard Shi Feng''s declaration, they felt the air around them grow heavy. They also felt a chill assault their minds. They could clearly sense the killing intent and determination Shi Feng radiated. Shi Feng was too scary! They were all very familiar with First Ghost''s power. Even if all 100-plus team members rushed at him as one, they would not kill the Assassin. First Ghost would whittle them down and annihilate them eventually, yet such a powerful Assassin hadn''t even lasted one move against this Swordsman Moreover, they realized that should they make any sudden movements, they''d share their leader''s fate. "Team Leader Restless, what do we do now?" several team members asked as they turned towards the Cleric named Restless Death. Among these, Restless Death was only second to First Ghost in terms of strength. Normally, the Cleric took command of the team when First Ghost was absent. "Weretreat," Restless Death said, clenching his jaw as he glared at Shi Feng. With Shi Feng here, he was not confident that they could kill Youlan and her teammates. First Ghost''s death was the proof of this. Hearing Restless Death''s decision, Underworld''s members breathed a sigh of relief. If they continued this fight, not only would this Swordsman before them annihilate every team member, but White River City''s NPCs would also capture and jail them all. Following which, Restless Death and his teammates used Return Scrolls and departed from White River City. 1547 Shi Fengs Invitation Chapter 1547 - Shi Feng''s Invitation "They''re leaving?" Dark Eye was dazed as he watched Underworld''s members flee from the battlefield. With just a few words, Shi Feng had sent over a hundred of Underworld''s experts packing with their tails between their legs. They hadn''t even bothered to retrieve the equipment First Ghost had dropped. Dark Eye felt as if he were dreaming. "Thank you," Youlan said as she walked up to Shi Feng. Unlike Dark Eye, her enemies'' response hadn''t particularly surprised her. "This is White River City. Naturally, I had to put a stop to this incident since I discovered it. Otherwise, no player would be willing to visit the city," Shi Feng said, surprised by Youlan''s gratitude. Although they had only met each other a few times, he could tell that Youlan was a relatively strong-willed woman. Despite the fact that Underworld hunted her, she refused to submit and delete her account. "Guild Leader Black Flame must be joking. Not every Guild in God''s Domain has the courage to stand against Underworld and the Blackwater Corporation," Youlan said, shaking her head. She was honestly very thankful for Shi Feng''s intervention. Had Shi Feng ignored the situation, she and her team would''ve been dead by now. They would''ve also lost a significant portion of their equipment. They would''ve had an even more difficult time dealing with Underworld''s pursuit. "May I know what you and your group intends to do now, Miss Youlan?" Shi Feng asked. He had witnessed Youlan''s abilities personally in the past. Not only did she wield great combat power, but her management capabilities were also top-notch. That had been obvious when she had managed Overwhelming Smile''s trading firm, Overwhelming Trading Firm, growing it until the firm nearly rivaled the Candlelight Trading Firm. By the time he had rejoined God''s Domain, he had accumulated ten years of experience in the game. If not for his Candlelight Trading Firm, Youlan''s firm might have dominated Star-Moon Kingdom. If he could convince Youlan to join the Candlelight Trading Firm, it would undoubtedly strengthen the trading firm. After all, Melancholic Smile was more suited to forging and not a particularly skilled manager. Moreover, to manage the Candlelight Trading Firm, Melancholic Smile had been forced to sacrifice her precious practice time. "Us?" Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Youlan could not help but turn to glance at Dark Eye and the others. "I had planned to complete a Hidden Quest I received and develop in a kingdom that lacks Underworld''s influence, but I didn''t expect the organization to discover us so quickly. They''ve even sent First Ghost after us. Since they clearly know where we are, we can''t stay in White River City." "How about joining Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked, considering this an excellent opportunity. "No matter how far you run, with Underworld and Blackwater''s information network, they''ll have no trouble tracking you down. It is impossible to hide forever under Black Cloaks. God''s Domain has too many high-rank Identification Skills that can see through the Black Cloak''s concealment effects." "Join Zero Wing?" Youlan was stunned. She could not help but stare at Shi Feng, confused about the man''s intentions. The Blackwater Corporation had already labeled her and her team as threats that needed to be removed. Any Guild that discovered this would do its best to distance itself from them. Accepting them into its ranks would be the equivalent of declaring war on the Blackwater Corporation. First Ghost''s death at Shi Feng''s hands could be understood as his way of protecting his Guild''s reputation. Blackwater might let the matter slide, but it would be a different story entirely if Shi Feng offered them shelter. However, it would be an entirely different story if Shi Feng were to shelter them. This would be no different than slapping the Blackwater Corporation in the face! The corporation would undoubtedly mobilize its forces against Zero Wing. At this point, the Blackwater Corporation was much stronger than when Abandoned Wave had annexed Ouroboros. Not only had its experts caught up with mainstream players'' levels, but the corporation had also secretly purchased several Guilds and Workshops. It had even partnered with a few superpowers. Now, even Super Guilds avoided any confrontation with the Blackwater Corporation. Shi Feng''s proposal both surprised and excited Dark Eye and Youlan''s other team members. To them, joining Zero Wing would be the best way to escape pursuit. Moreover, Zero Wing was famous for its collection of experts. The Guild also had astounding growth potential. Zero Wing might even become a super-first-rate Guild in the future. "That''s right. If you join Zero Wing, I can at least guarantee your safety. Your previous efforts won''t have to go to waste," Shi Feng said, nodding earnestly. "You know the consequences for sheltering us, right?" Youlan had to ask. "We''re talking about Blackwater''s vengeance. This is also a crucial time for Zero Wing. If things go awry, Zero Wing might lose its chance of becoming a super-first-rate Guild." "Relax. There are plenty of superpowers that want to destroy Zero Wing, but isn''t the Guilds still alive and kicking?" Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Moreover, if you join Zero Wing, the Guild will develop far more quickly." Currently, Zero Wing developed on three fronts: Star-Moon Kingdom, the Black Dragon Empire, and Apocalypse Empire. Hence, it was in urgent need of manpower. Now that it had Zero Wing City to deal with, Shi Feng couldn''t manage everything on his own. Hence, Youlan''s addition to Zero Wing would undoubtedly help both the Guild and the trading firm''s management. As for Dark Eye, Youlan''s ally, the youth had great potential. Based on his fight with First Ghost, Shi Feng knew that the Berserker was considerably talented. He only lacked combat experience. If trained properly, he could become one of Zero Wing''s core combatants. "I understand," Youlan said, smiling bitterly when she noticed her team member''s anticipatory looks. "In that case, we''ll have to trouble you from now on, Guild Leader Black Flame." She had never thought that she would, one day, join Zero Wing, the Guild which had been her enemy. However, she had to admit that she was relieved to join the Guild. She only prayed that the Blackwater Corporation''s fear of Zero Wing''s potential would prevent it from declaring an all-out war on Zero Wing over her. "Nonsense. Since you have now joined Zero Wing, the Guild wouldn''t let others bully you," Shi Feng chuckled at Youlan''s formality. "Wait for me here for a moment. Once I''ve finished with my matters here, I''ll bring you back to Zero Wing''s Residence to register. Of course, if you still have any matters to deal with, you can take care of them first. Once you''re done, you can meet me at Zero Wing''s Residence." "We don''t have anything in particular to deal with right now. We''re just waiting to turn in our quest. Unfortunately, Lady Seliora is still busy, so we have to wait until she finishes her task before we can hand it in," Youlan said, sighing helplessly as she turned to the smithy behind her. She was utterly helpless against Seliora. A Grandmaster Forger would be highly respected no matter where they went. Even Star-Moon Kingdom''s King had to treat the woman respectfully. Meanwhile, players could not afford to endure Seliora''s wrath, so she had no choice but to wait until the woman stopped working before she could meet with the Grandmaster Forger. "So, you''re here to turn in a quest?" Realization dawned on Shi Feng. It was no wonder why Youlan and the others had been standing outside Seliora''s house like a bunch of idiots. He then said, "Follow me, then." Saying so, Shi Feng approached the smithy, which emitted constant hammering sounds. Youlan and her companions didn''t understand what Shi Feng intended to do. When Shi Feng knocked on the wooden door, they paled. They all knew about Seliora''s temper. When they had interrupted the NPC earlier, she had used magic to reduce their Attributes drastically for an entire day. Moreover, the debuff''s duration only decreased if they were logged in. Under Shi Feng''s incessant knocking, the hammering sounds eventually stopped. Shortly after, Seliora slammed open the door, an enraged expression on her tanned face. "We''re doomed!" Youlan''s team began to regret their alliance with Shi Feng. Just as Youlan thought that Seliora would dole out their punishment, something unbelievable occurred. However, the moment Seliora''s gaze found Shi Feng, her wrathful expression softened. A joyful grin took its place. "Why are you here?" 1548 Forging Secret Journal Chapter 1584 - Forging Secret Journal When Youlan and the others saw Seliora''s friendly expression, they turned to Shi Feng in shock. Even Star-Moon Kingdom''s King had to treat Grandmaster Forger''s respectfully. Trying to raise one''s Favorability with an NPC Grandmaster Forger was exceedingly difficult, yet Seliora''s reaction to seeing Shi Feng wasn''t unlike seeing an old friend who hadn''t visited for many years "I found a treasure. I''m here to see if you can help me recast it," Shi Feng replied. "A treasure?" Seliora''s eyes sparkled. "Come in, then!" "Right, these are my friends. They''ve completed a quest you''ve handed them, so they''re here to hand it in," Shi Feng said as he gestured Youlan and the others. Seliora glanced at the players behind Shi Feng, and Youlan''s group tensed. "So, it''s you guys. Come in as well, then. I just so happen to need those materials," Seliora said, nodding before leading everyone inside. As Shi Feng stepped into the smithy, he was shocked by the sight before him. All sorts of exquisite weapons and pieces of equipment were on display in the relatively small house. Glass counters held various items that radiated powerful auras. Despite the magic array protecting the weapons, Shi Feng could still feel a fraction of the energy they radiated. One could easily imagine how powerful these items were. The most inferior item in the house was Dark-Gold rank, while most items were Epic rank. Clearly, the weapons and pieces of equipment in the display cases were the creations Seliora was proud of. They were top-tier even among Epic items. With a casual glance, Shi Feng easily counted many times more Epic Weapons and Equipment in Seliora''s small house than those Zero Wing had obtained. Even Super Guilds would go mad over Seliora''s collection. Shi Feng had to admit that a Grandmaster Forger was amazing. Seliora could craft Epic items as if it were child''s play. Even Master Forgers would be lucky to craft one Epic item every few years. Although Master Forgers could craft Epic items, their success rate was astoundingly low. Only if a Master Forger had an astronomical supply of high-ranking materials would they be able to produce Epic items. Producing Epic items was far more difficult than obtaining them from monsters and quests. This was because hand-crafted items had higher compatibility with the players they were made for, which allowed said players to exhibit greater combat power. In God''s Domain, where Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items were extremely rare, obtaining customized Epic items was one of the few methods players in full Epic gear could improve their combat power. The various large Guilds in the past had even secured their own Master Forgers to craft Epic Weapons and Equipment regardless of the cost. "Lady Seliora, here are the Ebony Stones and Moonlight Spring Water you requested." After entering the smithy, Youlan proceeded to remove some materials from her bag. Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the materials. Both the Moonlight Spring Water and the Ebony Stones were super-rare forging materials. The Moonlight Spring Water could increase the mana within other materials, which in turn, increased the production success rate and quality of the final product. As for the Ebony Stone, it was a top-tier Epic material only obtainable from high-rank Field bosses and the Dungeon Bosses in 100-man Team Dungeons. Unfortunately, the drop-rate was abysmal, and a team would have to kill multiple Bosses before one would drop. Shi Feng wouldn''t have been particularly surprised if Youlan had revealed one bottle of Moonlight Spring Water and one Ebony Stone. After all, Zero Wing had collected quite a few of these items. What shocked Shi Feng was the number of items Youlan had revealed. In total, Youlan had taken out 100 bottles of Moonlight Spring Water and 50 Ebony Stones. This already exceeded Zero Wing''s stockpile by multiple times. "Not bad. You actually gathered everything within a short time." After taking a look at the materials on the table, Seliora took out a thick, ancient book and gave it to Youlan. "This is the Forging Secret Journal I promised you. If one learns all of these techniques, they should have a much easier time becoming a Master Forger." A Forging Secret Journal? Shi Feng suddenly realized why the quest required so many precious materials. A Forging Secret Journal contained plenty of forging techniques. It was a treasure that many forgers dreamed of obtaining. However, whether or not one could learn these techniques depended on the player''s capabilities. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I still haven''t thanked you for saving us. In addition, you''ve allowed us to join Zero Wing. As a show of gratitude, please accept this Forging Secret Journal," Youlan sincerely said as she handed the Forging Secret Journal to Shi Feng. For a moment, Shi Feng was at a loss for words. He could tell that Youlan was serious. Moreover, with Youlan''s strong-willed personality, she would never accept owing others. "Alright, I''ll accept it." Shi Feng nodded. The Forging Secret Journal could definitely help the Candlelight Trading Firm''s forgers. He could also use the item as motivation for the firm''s forgers. When Shi Feng accepted her gift, Youlan breathed a sigh of relief. Her serious expression relaxed. After Youlan turned in her Hidden Quest, Seliora shifted her gaze to Shi Feng and eagerly demanded, "Well? Come on. Show me this treasure of yours." "Guild Leader Black Flame, since you still have some matters to attend to, we''ll wait outside." Youlan knew that Shi Feng was here for something very important. It was most definitely a secret. Hence, she took the initiative to remove herself. "No need. This won''t take long," Shi Feng said as he waved a hand. Since Youlan and the others would soon join Zero Wing, he had to treat them like the rest of his people. Moreover, the Disintegration Armor was not something others could easily take from him even if they knew about it. Following which, he took out the Destroyed Disintegration Armor and set it on the table for Seliora to inspect. The instant he revealed the Disintegration Armor, the space inside the room began to warp as a horrific killing intent and tyrannical aura surged out of the armor and filled the smithy. Immediately, several of Youlan''s Lifestyle players dropped to the ground, turning incomparably pale. What kind of item is this?! A frightening shock tore at Youlan as she stared at the tattered armor on the table. After playing God''s Domain for so long, she had seen countless top-tier weapons and pieces of equipment. She had even seen quite a few Epic items. But none of those items came anywhere near to comparing to the tattered chest piece Shi Feng had revealed. As she stared at the armor, she felt her soul tremble with fear. She felt as if she were looking at some horrifying creature rather than a piece of equipment. Even if she didn''t know the item''s identity, she knew that it must have an extraordinary origin. She was also certain that it was more valuable than any item she had. "What?! This is Disintegration Power! Where did you get this?!" Astonishment twisted Seliora''s beautiful face when she saw the Disintegration Armor. "I killed an Orc Warlord, and this dropped," Shi Feng honestly explained. There was no need to hide information from an NPC. In fact, if he lied to Seliora, she wouldn''t be able to determine the Disintegration Armor''s specifics and wouldn''t be able to help him. Moreover, his victory over an Orc Warlord was no longer a secret in Star-Moon Kingdom. The various large Guilds had long since learned about the incident. "So, that''s the case. No wonder this broken armor radiates Disintegration Power. It must be a piece of the Orc Empire''s legendary Disintegration Set." After a glance at the armor and Shi Feng''s explanation, Seliora realized the Disintegration Armor''s identity. "You really are something. The Disintegration Power radiating from this chest piece is incredibly dense. The Disintegration Power will taint anyone who carries it, yet despite being only a Tier 2 Sword Master, you haven''t gone mad, only suffering some loss to your Attributes. Are you really just a Tier 2 Sword Master?" In response to Seliora''s question, Shi Feng merely revealed an awkward smile. He currently carried three Fragmented Legendary items. He also wielded one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. He couldn''t be considered a mere Tier 2 player. "A Tier 2 Sword Master?" "He''s a Tier 2 player?" Hearing Seliora''s question, Youlan and her companions could not help but turn to Shi Feng, stunned. NPCs were not players. They generally didn''t lie for no good reason. Moreover, they had much keener perception than players, not to mention an apex existence like a Grandmaster Forger. 1549 Gods Power Chapter 1549 - God''s Power He''s already been promoted to Tier 2? Realization dawned on Youlan when she heard Seliora''s comment. It was no wonder Shi Feng killed an expert like First Ghost with one hit. He had even dared to chastise and threaten Underworld''s members. If Shi Feng had truly reached Tier 2, he earned his arrogance. Tier 2 was the various large Guilds'' major goal right now. Only after players completed their Tier 2 promotions would they qualify to challenge Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeons, and Tier 2 players would significantly help a team when raiding Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons. Not only would Tier 2 players receive a massive boost to their Basic Attributes, but their Skills would also undergo a qualitative transformation. One Tier 2 player could easily do the work of several Tier 1 players. As she watched Shi Feng, Youlan found it hard to believe that he was already a Tier 2 Sword Master. As far as she knew, even Underworld was still preparing for the Tier 2 Promotion Quests due to the high difficulty of these quests. Unless players made ample preparations, their chances of failure would be quite high. It was something to be avoided at all costs as players would have to wait a considerable amount of time before challenging their quests again. The Main God System intended Tier 1 to be an introductory phase for players, allowing them to adapt to God''s Domain''s combat styles. Hence, every player would be capable of completing their Tier 1 promotions. However, it was a different story for Tier 2. Only after players had achieved a certain standard in both combat standards and Basic Attributes could they complete their Tier 2 promotions. Unfortunately, reaching Level 50 required a lot of time and resources for current Guilds, not to mention completing the Tier 2 Promotion Quests. In fact, even Super Guilds'' peak experts were still desperately grinding. These experts were lucky if they were already Level 49, yet not only had Shi Feng crossed the Level 50 threshold, but he had also completed his Promotion Quest So, this is the 31st ranked expert on the God''s Domain Experts List? Dark Eye was inwardly astonished as he examined at Shi Feng. He had been considered a top-tier expert in Underworld. Although he was no match for experts like First Ghost, he was stronger than most of the organization''s other experts. Even War Wolf had praised him for his potential. Yet, when he looked at Shi Feng, he felt his horizons expand. In the past, he thought that experts like First Ghost were close to reaching the level of God''s Domain''s peak experts, but looking at it now, it seemed that that gap was far wider than he had imagined. When Dark Eye thought about how he could possibly receive guidance from an expert like Shi Feng, he could not help his growing excitement. While these players digested their surprise over Shi Feng''s tier, Seliora used an Identification Skill, inspecting the Disintegration Armor on the table. "It is no longer possible to repair this Disintegration Armor. The core magic circuits have been destroyed. The materials used to construct the armor have also been tainted and crippled by some mysterious power," Seliora said as she shook her head in pity. "Then, can it be recast?" Shi Feng asked. "Recast it?" Seliora fell silent for a moment. "It''s not entirely impossible, but it is incredibly difficult. Only the Disintegration Armor''s core is still usable. Everything else is useless. I''ll need new materials to recast it, but obtaining those materials is beyond even a Grandmaster Forger like myself. Only by mobilizing an empire''s power would you be able to gather all of the necessary materials. Are you really confident in doing something that would require the strength of an entire empire?" Youlan and her companions gasped when they heard Seliora''s explanation. The materials to reconstruct the Disintegration Armor were even out of reach for a Grandmaster Forger. Now, they were even more curious about the Disintegration Armor''s rank. "Is there no other way?" Shi Feng felt his head begin to ache. Shi Feng could easily guess that the materials Seliora had mentioned were likely rarer than Legendary ranked materials. Otherwise, there would be no need to mobilize an entire empire''s power. Although Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord, it was insignificant compared to the kingdom as a whole, much less an empire. "Not exactly." Taking another look at the Disintegration Armor, Seliora slowly said, "There is the option of removing the mysterious power inside the Disintegration Armor. In reality, there isn''t much of a problem with the Disintegration Armor itself. It''s just that its magic circuits have been destroyed. However, a mysterious power is preventing the base materials from exhibiting their original strength. Now, only the core remains untainted. If you can remove this mysterious power, the Disintegration Armor will be much easier to recast." "What must be done to remove this mysterious power?" Shi Feng asked, breathing a sigh of relief. If the system really tasked him with collecting the necessary materials, it would take him longer than one or two dedicated years to do so. After all, even a Grandmaster Forger would struggle to collect all of these materials. "If you wish to remove this mysterious power, you just have to use a stronger power to do so. Unfortunately, I''m helpless against this mysterious power. It''s likely that only the legendary God''s Power will do the trick," Seliora said after giving the matter some thought. When she mentioned God''s Power, her expression became one of longing. Only Tie 6 Gods could control God''s Power. Meanwhile, she was still far from becoming a Tier 6 God. In God''s Domain, countless emperors and peerless overlords had tried to reach that realm, including the Disintegration Armor''s creator, the Orc Empire''s Founding Emperor. "God''s Power?" Shi Feng suddenly smiled. "As long as I have God''s Power, I can remove this mysterious power?" In the past, he had been ignorant about God''s Power. Now, however, not only did he know about it, but he also knew how to obtain it. To put it simply, the system wanted him to collect God Crystals to cleanse the mysterious power inside the Disintegration Armor. Normally, it was very difficult to obtain God Crystals, but after making a trip to the Moon God''s abode, he had a source. If he wished to obtain a large number of God Crystals, he simply needed to visit places where Gods had once lived. Although it was impossible to return to the Moon God''s abode in the Dark Canyon, he had a sealed tool, which could teleport him to a God''s old residence. That item was Moloch''s Ring! Moloch''s Ring allowed him to open a Gate of Darkness that led to the Dark Den''s central area, which happened to house the World Summit, a location the Gods had created. Sharlyn had warned him not to use the Moloch''s Ring in fear of the Power of Darkness''s taint, but after repairing the Bible of Darkness, he could reduce the Power of Darkness''s erosion. If he only used Moloch''s Ring once, it should not cause too much of a problem. "I''ve never tried this method before, so I can''t guarantee that it will work, but it should be possible. If not even God''s Power does the trick, I''m afraid that nothing can cleanse this mysterious power," Seliora warned. Although Seliora was unsure, Shi Feng could tell that he had a 90% chance of removing the mysterious power with the God''s Power inside God Crystals. Otherwise, he''d have to collect the materials Seliora had previously mentioned, and that was impossible for current players. It was a far more reasonable task if he only needed to collect God Crystals. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Disintegration Armor and bid farewell to Seliora. He then led Youlan and the others towards Zero Wing''s Residence to complete the registration procedures. Due to God''s Domain evolution, the process of joining a Guild had become far more troublesome. This was especially true for Guilds with Guild Residences. Players who wanted to join such Guilds needed to register at the Residence or the Adventurer''s Association. It was no longer possible to accept an invitation from a person in power. As Shi Feng made his way towards Zero Wing''s Residence, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City''s basic facilities have been constructed, and its name is spreading throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Do you wish to allow NPCs to garrison in Zero Wing City? 1550 City Opens Chapter 1550 - City Opens They''re done already? Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the system notification. Normally, even after a Guild City''s construction finished, it would take a considerable amount of time before the city could be opened to NPCs. Only after NPCs could enter the city would it officially open to the public. NPCs were of utmost importance to a Guild City''s development. The sooner a Guild could lure NPC residents, the sooner a city could unlock its various functions. He had expected to need a few more days before NPCs could conduct business in Zero Wing City. Immediately, Shi Feng clicked ''Agree,'' allowing the NPCs, who had been attracted to Zero Wing City''s scenery, to enter the city. Shortly after Shi Feng had done so, he received a call from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, for some reason, NPCs have begun to serve into the city. Many NPC merchants have even visited the City Lord''s Mansion, requesting to purchase the city''s Shops. All of these requests have time limits. Should we approve of them all?" Aqua Rose, who currently resided in the City Lord''s Mansion, asked anxiously. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation. This had never occurred when she had managed Stone Forest Town, since all of the NPCs had long since secured their own Shops. Her job had only been the player-owned Shops'' management back at Stone Forest Town. Now that Zero Wing City was complete, every plot of Land would become incredibly valuable. If they sold these Lands to NPCs, they wouldn''t be able to take advantage of them in the future. "NPC merchants?" Joyfully, Shi Feng answered, "Of course! Sell them the Shops! The more, the merrier! But before you do, inspect the NPC merchants'' Reliability ranks and products and compile a list for me." NPC merchants were essential to God''s Domain''s players. This was because NPC merchants sold many of players'' daily necessities. Some even sold rare items that could not be found anywhere else. NPC merchants would also purchase miscellaneous items that players did not need. Once a Guild City was complete, NPC merchants would come to the city to set up their own Shops. However, the NPC merchants in Guild Cities weren''t like those in NPC cities. Not only would they sell items similar to the latter, but they also offered certain special items. Unfortunately, there was a chance that these items would be counterfeits. Hence, when purchasing these special items, players had to rely on luck and foresight. The NPC merchants that worked with Guild Cities were also differentiated based on their star-ranks. The higher a merchant''s star-rank was, the faster their Shops could be promoted. Meanwhile, the higher a Shop''s rank was, the Shop would have a greater variety and quality of items to offer. As these NPC Shops improved, they would help stir a city''s development and attract even more players and NPCs to the city. Hence, the various large Guilds in the past had tried all sorts of methods to lure NPCs to conduct business in their cities. Shi Feng had never thought that NPC merchants would seek cooperation the moment he allowed them to enter Zero Wing City. He had never encountered such a situation in his previous life. Even after Shadow had upgraded one of its Advanced towns to a Basic City, it had gone through a lot of effort to attract NPC merchants. Now, however, NPC merchants had already sought him out despite the lack of any promotional work. Is this a benefit given to the first Guild city? Shi Feng could not help but wonder. By the time Shadow had secured its first Basic City in the past, many first-rate Guilds had already secured Intermediate Cities. The Super Guilds had even been in the midst of upgrading their cities to Advanced rank. Hence, Shadow''s city had had many powerful competitors. On the other hand, Zero Wing City was the first player-constructed city in Star-Moon Kingdom. It had no competition to speak of yet. Without any better options, it was natural that NPC merchants had flocked to Zero Wing City. After speaking with Aqua Rose, Shi Feng hailed an advanced carriage and made his way to Zero Wing''s Residence with Youlan''s group. There are so many people! When they alighted from the carriage and saw the long line of players outside the Residence''s entrance, Youlan was surprised. Thousands of players had lined up outside of Zero Wing''s Residence, and most of their standards were quite high. On average, these players were above Level 40. There were even quite a few players in Level 40 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment in the queue. However, these players paled in comparison to the 100 Zero Wing members standing guard by the Residence''s main entrance. Every player in the 100-man team was Level 43 or above. The team leader was even Level 46. The most inferior piece of equipment these players wore was Level 40 Secret-Silver rank. As for the leader of the team, he wore a Level 45, Fine-Gold Set Equipment and carried a Level 45 Dark-Gold longbow. Surprisingly, despite being so well-equipped, these players only wore Zero Wing''s silver Guild Emblem, which denoted that they were elite members; they didn''t wear the purple Guild Emblem for core members. These are merely Zero Wing''s elite members? Dark Eye couldn''t believe his eyes when he saw the Level 46 Ranger guarding the entrance. Even he was jealous of the Ranger''s equipment. Wearing a full set of Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was no different than having a full set of Level 45 Dark-Gold equipment. Dark Eye only had four pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment on him, while the rest was Level 40 Dark-Gold Equipment. Unfortunately, Level 45, 100-man Team Dungeons weren''t easy to raid, and they dropped a limited amount of weapons and equipment. It had taken a lot of effort to collect the pieces he wore. The Ranger had also reached Level 46. In a first-rate Guild, the Ranger would definitely be an expert and given the position of a core member, yet in Zero Wing, the Ranger only qualified to become an elite member Youlan couldn''t help her rueful sigh when she saw the elite team guarding the entrance either. Zero Wing was no longer the Guild she had known in the past. With such foundations, it was no wonder why Shi Feng dared to provoke the Blackwater Corporation. "Hahaha! Another group of people who are dumbfounded by Zero Wing''s equipment have arrived? How many is that now?" "Why wouldn''t they be shocked? We''re talking about Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Even experts would be lucky to obtain Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment, much less Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment." "Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment would definitely be top-notch in other Guilds and adventurer teams, but it''s nothing in Zero Wing. I''ve heard that Zero Wing''s core members can even purchase Tier 1 Set Equipment. Do you even know what a Tier 1 Set Equipment is? It''s even better than Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment!" "The Tier 1 Set Equipment is old news already. Based on what I''ve heard from Zero Wing''s internal members, the core members are even allowed to purchase Epic items. Quite a few are already sitting in Zero Wing''s Warehouse waiting for players to trade in their GCPs." "What?! Zero Wing is even offering Epic Equipment?! Don''t Guilds usually assign such items to specific players?" When the players in line before the entrance saw Dark Eye and his companions, they launched into a discussion about Zero Wing. Moreover, as they spoke, they become more passionate. Their conversations even caused the players behind them and passersby to drool. Dark Eye''s team, who overheard the conversations, were at a loss for words. They had assumed that they could easily become core members after joining the Guild. After all, they had been considerably high-ranked experts in Underworld. But after seeing the Level 46 Ranger guarding the entrance, their confidence faded to nothing. "Let''s head inside," Shi Feng said, paying no attention to the players'' conversations outside. As he approached the entrance, he revealed the black Guild Emblem reserved for Zero Wing''s upper echelons. After a few hushed words with the Level 46 Ranger, he led Dark Eye and the others into the Residence. When the crowd saw the cloaked Shi Feng reveal a black Guild Emblem, they went into an uproar. "A black Guild Emblem! That is one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons!" "A Guild Emblem cannot be faked. That player is definitely a big shot in Zero Wing. I wonder who those people following him are? Could they be Zero Wing''s core members?" "That''s impossible. If they''re core members, why don''t they have Guild Emblems?" "They should be here to join Zero Wing. They seem pretty high-leveled and are fairly well-equipped." "Those people sure are lucky! They actually know one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons! They''ll be able to join the Guild without taking any tests!" The waiting players couldn''t help but envy Youlan and her companions. Shortly after Youlan and the others entered Zero Wing''s Residence, a stealthed Assassin at the street corner revealed himself. This was none other than Third Ghost, one of the Seven Ghosts Shi Feng had clashed with in the past. "Zero Wing actually dares to shelter Youlan''s group? They aren''t taking Blackwater seriously." Third Ghost sneered as he watched Youlan''s group enter Zero Wing''s Residence. "It seems that it''s time to report to the higher-ups." 1551 Gods Blood Chapter 1551 - God''s Blood Inside Zero Wing''s resplendent Guild Hall As soon as Youlan and the others entered the building, they were captivated by the scene before them. From the outside, Zero Wing''s Guild Hall was no larger than the Guild Halls in superpowers'' headquarters. Upon entering the building, however, it felt as if they had stepped into an entirely different world. No matter how they looked at it, Zero Wing''s Guild Hall was bigger on the inside. The first-floor lobby was already the size of a football field. Quite a few Guild members rested in the lobby and conversed, while several players queued up at the front desk to rent Private Rooms. A quest hall, which was even larger than the central room, was located beside the lobby. Many Guild members occupied the quest hall as they searched for suitable quests to pick up. Specifications for high-rank individual quests and high-rank team quests were displayed in rotation on the large screens hanging from the ceiling, with a stupefying number of available quests[1]. This is a 3-star Guild Residence? Youlan smiled bitterly when she saw the quest hall''s large screens. Underworld had desperately tried to increase its Guild Popularity, yet despite its effort, its best Guild Residence only provided five to six hundred high-ranked individual quests and 100 or so high-rank team quests per day. With such small numbers, not even Underworld''s core members were guaranteed to receive a high-rank quest every day. In contrast, Zero Wing was flooded with high-rank quests. Currently, there were over 2,200 individual quests and 400 team quests available. With so many, even the Guild''s elite members had an opportunity to pick up a high-rank quest. Unlike ordinary Guild Quests, which usually awarded Coins, EXP, and GCPs, players had a chance of obtaining rare items from high-ranking quests. Moreover, these quests offered a much higher monetary reward. Players could also help increase the Guild''s Popularity. If Zero Wing had such a large supply of high-rank quests, it could develop more Guild members. In the long run, the gap between Zero Wing''s members and players in other Guilds would grow. "This is where you''ll complete the registration procedures. You just need to register here, and you''ll become Zero Wing members," Shi Feng explained as he led Youlan''s group to the Guild''s registration counter. "As for your rank, you''ll all start out as normal members. You will then have to accumulate a certain amount of GCPs and pass the appropriate tests to rise through the Guild''s ranks. However, since I invited you personally, we can forgo the required number of GCPs. We''ll determine your ranks based solely on your performances in the test. "To become an elite member in Zero Wing, you''ll have to reach the early stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. As for becoming a core member, you''ll have to reach the sixth floor''s middle stage." Youlan and her companions gasped after listening to Shi Feng''s requirements. To ordinary players, a player would be an expert if they could reach the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. If a player could reach the fifth floor, they''d be publicly acknowledged as an expert, yet Zero Wing required players to reach the fifth floor to become elite members. The requirement to become a core member was even more terrifying, actually requiring players to reach the sixth floor''s middle stage Even first-rate Guilds'' main force members would barely qualify to become Zero Wing''s core members. Guilds handpicked these experts from their core members, yet this was the minimum requirement to become a core member in Zero Wing Youlan and the others felt beads of sweat slide down their skin from the embarrassment. Among the dozen or so experts in their group, only Youlan and Dark Eye met the requirements. The rest of their group was slightly weaker, with the best among them having only reached the fifth floor''s late stage. "Guild Leader Black Flame, what about Lifestyle players?" the dozen or so Lifestyle player behind Youlan asked nervously. They were Lifestyle players. Although some Lifestyle players were acceptable fighters, these players weren''t. "Relax. There''s a separate test for Lifestyle players that join the Guild. But that test is conducted at the Candlelight Trading Firm," Shi Feng explained. The dozen or so Lifestyle players breathed a sigh of relief. They were Advanced Lifestyle players that Youlan had nurtured. While they weren''t good in combat, they were top-notch when it came to subclass standards. However, they nearly choked when they heard Shi Feng''s next words. "For subclasses, those who have reached the Advanced rank will become Candlelight''s official members. To become a core member, you have to achieve a practical success rate of 30% with Advanced items." In God''s Domain, Advanced subclasses only had around a 35% theoretical success rate with Advanced Items. The practical percentage, however, was much lower. The majority of Youlan''s Advanced Lifestyle players only had a practical success rate of 25%. Raising their success rates by even 1% would require refining their technique standards quite a bit, much less a 5% increase. Even Youlan was surprised. She felt that this requirement was a little too excessive. She was no stranger to subclasses. After all, she had been supervising the Underworld''s trading firms for some time. She had a relatively clear understanding of the present state of God''s Domain''s subclasses. The dozen or so Lifestyle players who had followed her could rank among the top Lifestyle players in Underworld in terms of production standards. They were only slightly weaker than the organization''s top-ranked Lifestyle players, yet in Zero Wing, they didn''t even meet the requirement to become core members "Right, we just so happen to be running a performance assessment for alchemists today. If there are any alchemists among you that wish to participate, I''ll take you there in a bit. If you rank among the top 10, you''ll be promoted to a core member. If you rank high enough, you might even get to use a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools for a certain period. The Chief Alchemist will also have the authority to use a Basic Meditation Room long-term. These benefits will definitely help you reach Master rank. You''ll also be able to visit Titan City," Shi Feng said. When the group''s Lifestyle players heard this, a fiery passion ignited in their eyes. Unfortunately, few of them were alchemists. Otherwise, they would definitely compete in this assessment. In response, a white-haired elder stepped away from the group. He smiled at Shi Feng and said, "This is interesting. May this old man participate as well?" "Master Aspiration is going to participate" Youlan gave the old man a confused look. Silent Aspiration was very famous in the virtual gaming world. While he had resided in Star-Moon Kingdom, he had created the Fire Dragon Potion despite being an Intermediate Alchemist. The Fire Dragon Potion had allowed Overwhelming Smile to compete with the Candlelight Trading Firm. Silent Aspiration had long since become an Advanced Alchemist and was only a step away from Master rank. Silent Aspiration wasn''t normally interested in competing against others, yet this old man had actually asked to participate in this competition. His initiative had truly surprised Youlan. "Mhm. Although Zero Wing has offered us shelter, we can''t let them look down on us," Silent Aspiration whispered to Youlan as he nodded. "Of course. Once we''ve completed the test here, we''ll head over to the Candlelight Trading Firm," Shi Feng said as he looked at Silent Aspiration. He knew a little about this man, but although the man hadn''t been particularly famous during God''s domain''s early stages, practically everyone had known his name after ten years. He had been a Master Alchemist and only a step away from becoming a Grandmaster. More importantly, he had created the Master ranked potion that even Grandmaster Alchemists admiredCGod''s Blood! God''s Blood was why Silent Aspiration had become famous throughout God''s Domain. It had been an incredibly powerful Master ranked berserk potion. In addition, God''s Blood could stack with a Berserk Skill without side effects. Even Super Guilds had offered astronomical prices to purchase the God''s Blood recipe. Unfortunately, due to Silent Aspiration''s strange nature, he had only sold one recipe in the past. Moreover, he only accepted alchemy tools and materials as payment. The various Super Guilds had competed over the recipe like madmen. After Youlan and the others revealed their system results for the Trial Tower, Shi Feng led Youlan, Silent Aspiration, and the other Lifestyle players to the Candlelight Trading Firm. As for Dark Eye and the other experts, Shi Feng sent them to join the 100-man expert team under Shadow Sword and Turtledove''s leadership to grind for equipment in Level 45, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Ten minutes later, Shi Feng''s group arrived before the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Candlelight Trading Firm was housed in a much taller building than Zero Wing''s Guild Hall. One could say that it was the tallest player-owned Shop in White River City. Since the teleportation fees between countries had fallen, an unprecedented number of Lifestyle players visited the Candlelight Trading Firm. The establishment''s prosperity could now rival Star-Moon City''s Auction House. After reaching the trading firm, Youlan and her companions discovered a large number of Lifestyle players seeking to join Candlelight. Dozens of Advanced Lifestyle players had lined up to register for the trading firm''s test. This had never happened in Underworld''s trading firms 1552 Candlelights Foundations Chapter 1552 - Candlelight''s Foundations After arriving at the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng led Youlan and the others into the building. Entering the trading firm''s first-floor hall was like entering a supermarket. All kinds of products had been set up for sale in the hall. When players from other cities and kingdoms saw the trading firm''s interior, they felt as if they had just set foot in another world. Unlike the other Guilds, Shi Feng had placed heavy importance on Lifestyle classes since the beginning of the game. As a result, the Candlelight Trading Firm had plenty of Lifestyle players. This, in turn, allowed the Candlelight Trading Firm to produce a variety of items in large quantities. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm sold over a hundred different kinds of crafted items. Although most of these items weren''t particularly high-quality and they didn''t have much practical use, they still attracted customers to visit the firm. Unlike other trading firms, Candlelight also sold high-ranked weapons and equipment. Aside from the Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment, which was clearly a display and had astronomical price tags, there was plenty of pieces of Level 5 to 40 crafted equipment up for sale. The quality of these pieces ranged from Bronze to Fine-Gold rank. This even allowed the trading firm to satisfy players that had only joined God''s Domain recently. Meanwhile, players constantly crowded the counter selling crafted Level 40 weapons and equipment. Although there was quite a bit of Level 40 weapons and equipment on the market, items of Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold rank were still fairly rare. Guilds and teams usually kept these items for their own use. Even when they chose to sell these items, they usually set the price far above market value. However, the Candlelight Trading Firm was different. It consistently produced Level 40 equipment ranging from Bronze to Fine-Gold rank, most of which was Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, the trading firm sold the equipment it produced at fair prices. Although the prices were slightly higher than market value, they weren''t ridiculous. As a result, players usually bought out any Level 40 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment very quickly. "As expected of the publicly-acknowledged, number one trading firm in Star-Moon Kingdom. Its foundations are really something." Silent Aspiration nodded in satisfaction as he looked through the various products on display. Youlan''s other Lifestyle players were shocked. Shi Feng''s group quickly reached one of the Special Alchemy Rooms on the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top floor. A large crowd had already gathered in the room, and when Shi Feng''s group entered, everyone turned towards them. "Huh? The Guild Leader is here to watch the ranking competition?" "The Guild Leader is visiting us personally? Could he have some good news?" "There should be. Didn''t you hear that Zero Wing City''s construction has completed? He might be looking for people to manage the Candlelight Trading Firm there. After all, Manager Melancholic can''t handle so many locations by herself." Upon seeing Shi Feng enter the room, the crowd launched into a quiet discussion about his visit. Their excitement about the competition also grew. "Guild Leader, you''re here. I''ve arranged everything to your specifications. There are a total of 323 alchemists participating in the test this time. Among them, 244 are Intermediate Alchemists, and 79 are Advanced Alchemists. We can start the competition once you''re ready," Melancholic Smile reported after approaching Shi Feng. Youlan and her companions, who stood behind Shi Feng, gasped. The Candlelight Trading Firm has so many Advanced Alchemists? Youlan was astonished as she surveyed the crowd before her. When she had first entered the room and saw this crowd, she had assumed that every one of Candlelight''s alchemists was present, the firm housing roughly the same number of alchemists as Underworld. However, the difference was far larger than she had thought. This firm already had over 300 Intermediate Alchemists. If they included Basic Alchemists and Apprentice Alchemists, shouldn''t Candlelight have nearly 1,000 alchemists under its command? The number of Advanced Alchemists Candlelight possessed was simply horrifying. Underworld currently had nearly 20 Advanced Alchemists, yet the Candlelight Trading Firm had over four times that Hearing this, Silent Aspiration''s fighting spirit welled within him. "Alright. I have another alchemist here who wishes to participate in the ranking competition. With this, we''ll have 80 Advanced Alchemists form a group, while the Intermediate Alchemists will form their own." Shi Feng nodded. He wasn''t surprised in the least by the number of Advanced Alchemists current in the Candlelight Trading Firm. With Zero Wing''s current popularity and the benefits Candlelight offered, it was natural that the trading firm attracted so many Advanced Alchemists. In reality, the trading firm could''ve had even more Advanced Alchemists, but due to God''s Domain''s evolution changing the subclasses, it had become significantly harder for players to upgrade their subclasses. In the past, Lifestyle players had simply needed to fulfill the Proficiency requirement to be promoted. Now, however, not only did Lifestyle players had to have enough Proficiency, but they also had to pass a test at their respective Lifestyle Associations. Once they could create a specified item with a certain success rate would their rank rise. Otherwise, with how many alchemists the Candlelight Trading Firm nurtured, they would''ve had far more Advanced Alchemists. Following which, Silent Aspiration joined the competition group for Advanced Alchemists. "Right, for this ranking competition, aside from the aforementioned benefits, the top three players will have the opportunity to learn this Mana Enhancing Potion Recipe," Shi Feng said as he took a large booklet from his bag and placed it on the stone table before him. He then shared the details of the Mana Enhancing Potion to everyone in the room. When the crowd finished reading the potion''s effects, they went into an uproar. "What?! This is a berserk potion!?" "An Advanced Berserk Potion? And there''s a special alchemy technique included with the recipe! If I could learn that technique, I might have an easier time trying for Master rank. I have to fight for one of the top three positions this time, no matter what!" Every alchemist''s eyes shown with excitement. Even Silent Aspiration, who didn''t seem overly excited about the competition, showed great interest after seeing the Mana Enhancing Potion. Advanced Alchemy Recipes weren''t like ordinary alchemy recipes. Advanced Alchemy Recipes required the application of unique alchemy techniques. If one could learn these techniques, they''d have better luck when creating their own unique potions in the future. For alchemists who dedicated themselves to researching berserk potions, learning the alchemy technique for the Mana Enhancing Potion was necessary. "Wonder, this is your chance. Haven''t you been trying to create an Advanced Berserk Potion for your Master rank promotion for a while? If you can get your hands on this recipe, you''ll definitely get promoted," a female alchemist beside Silent Wonder said. "Mhm. This recipe will be of great help. If I secure first place and get the Green Jade Set as well, I''m confident that it won''t be long before I become a Master Alchemist." Silent Wonder nodded. When she looked at the Mana Enhancing Potion Recipe on the table, she knew that she had to obtain it. Moreover, she had the confidence and qualifications to do so. After all, she had constantly improved her techniques for a while now. Seeing fighting spirit fill both Silent Aspiration and Silent Wonder, Shi Feng chuckled. "Now that I''ve said everything that needs to be said, you may head to your designated Alchemy Rooms. The results will be determined based on overall success rate and production speed," Shi Feng said. "No outside items may be used during this competition. You may only use the materials and tools provided by the Guild." None of the alchemists were surprised by Shi Feng''s requirements. A few of the Intermediate Alchemists might have better technical skills than the Advanced Alchemists, but due to their late start in the game, they might not have reached the necessary Proficiency to become Advanced Alchemists yet. Hence, by having Intermediate Alchemists produce Intermediate items and Advanced Alchemists produce Advanced items, calculating the results based on overall success rate and production speed, the firm could assess the players'' technical skills, creating a fair competition between the two ranks. Following which, Melancholic directed everyone to their designated Alchemy Rooms. "Guild Leader, is this really alright?" Melancholic Smile worriedly asked after seeing watching the alchemists enter their assigned rooms. To attract alchemists to join the Candlelight Trading Firm, they had advertised that even the firm''s official members would have the right to compete for the Dark-Gold alchemy tools. Although their advertisement had succeeded, letting these non-internal members use such valuable tools was a huge waste. If they only gave internal members access to these tools, they might nurture Master Alchemists far more quickly. Instead of answering Melancholic Smile''s question, Shi Feng asked, "How are the internal members doing? What''s their progress on learning the Basic Secret Alchemy Technique?" "One-third of them have learned the designated Basic Alchemy Technique. According to the rules you''ve set, each technique they learn will grant them one chance to read the Moon God''s Secret Record. So far, the best alchemist has read the Moon God''s Secret Record four times, while everyone else has read it twice on average," Melancholic Smile answered, unsure as to why Shi Feng had asked such a question. Although the Basic Alchemy Techniques were beneficial, they were only basic techniques at the end of the day. Meanwhile, there was no lack of experts among the alchemists participating in this competition. This was especially true for Silent Wonder. Had the woman chosen to become one of Candlelight''s internal members, she might''ve become a Master Alchemist by now. "That''s enough, then." Shi Feng chuckled without explaining further. "Now, all we need to do is examine their performance." The benefits he had offered were astounding, but that didn''t mean that outsiders could easily gain access to them. 1553 Alchemy Battle Chapter 1553 - Alchemy Battle Despite the confident look Shi Feng gave her, Melancholic Smile couldn''t help her concern. However, since Shi Feng had decided, she could only watch this competition play out and hope that the non-internal members wouldn''t occupy too many of the top-ten positions. Letting internal members learn Basic Alchemy Techniques? When Youlan overheard the conversation between Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile, she could not help her smile. She had worried for Silent Aspiration since he''d be competing against so many Advanced Alchemists. Now, however, she breathed a sigh of relief. If it were only a matter of Basic Alchemy Techniques, Silent Aspiration had already learned a few. Although Basic Alchemy Techniques were indeed precious, with her position in Underworld and the resources she had collected, she had managed to help Silent Aspiration learn three such techniques. Moreover, Basic Alchemy Techniques could only help alchemists solidify their foundation. It wouldn''t help them much when improving their actual technique standards past a certain point. When comparing technical standards, there was little difference between an alchemist who had learned three Basic Alchemy Techniques and one that had learned four. The difference would only show itself when players attempted to create their own unique potions. With the Basic Alchemy Techniques Silent Aspiration had learned and the wealth of experience he had gained while dabbling in the alchemical arts, he should have a high chance of securing first place in this competition. With this, she could, more or less, prove to Zero Wing that her group could be useful. Otherwise, in the event that the Blackwater Corporation targeted Zero Wing because of her people, Zero Wing''s members would look down on her group. Meanwhile, in the Alchemy Rooms on the top floor, both the Advanced Alchemists and the Intermediate Alchemists had begun to refine the materials on their respective workstations. For the competition, every alchemist had been given 100 sets of materials. Moreover, rather than some extremely valuable potion, they only had to create commonly used potions. The Intermediate Alchemists had been asked to create Fire Potions. As for Advanced Alchemists, they had to create Frozen Soul Potions. Although the Fire Potion and the Frozen Soul Potion were common items, their production was more difficult than other portions of the same rank. They were quite suited for testing alchemists'' production techniques. Shi Feng had also chosen these two potions for the assessment due to the Eclipse Gate. Any player that visited the Eclipse Gate would need them. The Frozen Soul Potion, in particular, could grant a small amount of Ice Resistance and waken freezing. These effects were particularly useful when fighting the Eclipse Gate''s ice-type monsters. "It seems there is some level of difficulty to this assessment." Taking a look at the materials before him, Silent Aspiration realized that he had to craft an Advanced Potion. Once the alchemists were in position, Melancholic Smile announced the competition''s start through the team chat. The alchemists took action immediately. They are all quite skillful! Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction while he watched the display showing the Advanced Alchemists'' competition venue. Every Advanced Alchemist had clearly come prepared. As soon as the competition had begun, they had entered a state of total concentration, ignoring everything around them as they focused on concocting their potions. Their actions were fast and precise, without any excess movement to waste their time. Not only were these alchemists required to maintain a high success rate in this competition, but they also had to maintain a high production speed. With only one hour, it was impossible for the alchemists to go through all 100 sets of prepared materials. The main goal was to see how many potions the alchemists could produce within a fixed time and at what success rate. This way, the outcome would be obvious for all to see when the competition ended. "Master Aspiration is really impressive. He refined the materials so quickly," an Advanced Alchemist behind Youlan exclaimed as he watched Silent Aspiration''s performance. Although he, too, was an Advanced Alchemist, his rank had been average among Underworld''s Advanced Alchemists. In a competition between 80 Advanced Alchemists, he had little confidence of ranking among the top 10. However, Silent Aspiration was different. Even in Underworld, only one other Advanced Alchemist had been capable of competing against Silent Aspiration. That alchemist had also been an elder with decades of alchemical experience. Meanwhile, Silent Aspiration''s refining process was meticulous and natural. The Frozen Soul Potion''s production had very high requirements. If the refined materials weren''t sufficiently pure, the system would determine the potion''s failure, yet Silent Aspiration refined the materials nearly twice as fast as the other Advanced Alchemists in the competition and still fulfilled the system''s requirements Just where did the Guild Leader find this alchemy expert? His production speed is actually on par with Silent Wonder''s. Silent Aspiration''s performance even surprised Melancholic Smile. Silent Wonder was one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top Advanced Alchemists. She''d even rank near the very top of all of God''s Domain''s alchemists. Melancholic Smile envied the woman''s talent. Fortunately, she was a forger, but an alchemist. Yet, Shi Feng had actually found another Advanced Alchemist that could rival Silent Wonder. When Melancholic Smile thought about how the Candlelight Trading Firm had two such impressive individuals, she became even more confident of competing in the Apocalypse Empire and the Black Dragon Empire. Even the Candlelight Trading Firm''s alchemy is so strong? Meanwhile, Youlan couldn''t help but be astonished by Silent Wonder''s performance. The Candlelight Trading Firm had risen to fame due to its forging standards. It was likely that no power in Star-Moon Kingdom could surpass Candlelight in forging. Even throughout God''s Domain, Candlelight''s forging standards would rank at the very top. After all, based on the information she had collected in Underworld, she knew that the firm had at least one Master ForgerCBlack Flame. Master Lifestyle players stood at the apex of God''s Domain''s current subclasses. Based on the reports she had received, there were only three players that had been confirmed as Master Forgers in God''s Domain, including Black Flame. Moreover, among these three people, one had only been promoted recently. She had never expected the Candlelight Trading Firm to be so impressive in alchemy as well. Furthermore, Silent Wonder was still so young Although Youlan herself was not an alchemist, she could still tell that, aside from Silent Wonder, the other Advanced Alchemists'' standards were very high. If the Candlelight Trading Firm continued to grow at this pace, it would definitely become a powerful force not to be reckoned with in the future. Time passed quickly. The Intermediate and Advanced Alchemists in the Alchemy Rooms entered their own worlds as they focused on creating their respective potions. Before they knew it, the one-hour time limit ended. As an ear-piercing alarm rang in the Alchemy Rooms, every alchemist stopped what they were doing. "Time''s up?" "Please let me get into the top ten this time!" Some alchemists in the competition venues worried as the reluctantly parted with the partially concocted potions in their hands. Some players confidently set their tools down and waited for the supervisors to tally their scores. "Alright, everyone enter the venues and tally up the crafted potions and used materials. Once you''re done, send the results to me directly," Melancholic Smile instructed the NPCs outside the Alchemy Rooms'' entrances. In God''s Domain, as a Shop''s star-rank rose, the intellect of the Shop''s NPCs would increase as well. These NPCs could then help players with a larger variety of tasks. However, this improvement came with a price as the Shop would have to pay higher salaries. Fortunately, the increased expenditure was no problem for the Candlelight Trading Firm. Following which, the NPCs entered their assigned Alchemy Rooms and collected every alchemist''s results. They then transmitted the information to Melancholic Smile. A short moment later, Melancholic Smile had the results for the 244 Intermediate Alchemists and 80 Advanced Alchemists. Immediately, Melancholic Smile had the system filter the information, and she quickly obtained the competition''s final ranks. At the same time, the various alchemists left their respective Alchemy Rooms and regrouped in the Special Alchemy Room Shi Feng occupied. After entering the room, they watched Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile with hopeful expressions. "I wonder who will rank among the top ten this time?" "I''ll definitely be one of them! My performance was exceptional this time!" "I wonder who will get number one?" "It should be Silent Wonder. She''s been improving like there''s no tomorrow. I''ve heard that she has already invented a new Advanced Berserk Potion. Only, she hasn''t successfully crafted the potion thus far." Everyone was curious and confident about the competition this time, and they couldn''t help but chat quietly as they waited. "Alright, quiet down. I''ll announce the results now," Melancholic Smile declared. 1554 Hierarchical Gap Chapter 1554 - Hierarchical Gap In the crowded Special Alchemy Room, every player turned towards Melancholic Smile as soon as she spoke, eager to learn the competition''s results. Any alchemist would even envy the benefits for the tenth place, let alone the benefits the top three would enjoy. With the help of the awarded alchemy tools, these alchemists would have a smoother path to becoming Master Alchemists. Once they became Master Alchemists, they''d reach the apex of the alchemy industry, becoming a target for superpowers'' recruitment. "A total of 324 people have participated in the competition this time. Among them, 244 are Intermediate Alchemists, and 80 are Advanced Alchemists. Overall, I would say that everyone has scored fairly well. However, the final results are clear," Melancholic Smile said, smiling as she glanced at the alchemists present. "I''ll now announce the top ten rankings. "Tenth place: Floating Cloud, Intermediate Alchemist. Materials used: 59 sets. Produced 19 Fire Potions. Practical success rate is 32.2%." "Ninth place: Smiling Heaven, Advanced Alchemist. Materials used: 49 sets. Produced 16 Frozen Soul Potions. Practical success rate is 32.65%." "Eighth place: Tainted Maple, Intermediate Alchemist. Materials used: 58 sets. Produced 19 Fire Potions. Practical success rate is 32.75%." As Melancholic Smile reported the results, the crowd gasped in shock. "What?! Even Intermediate Alchemists have ranked among the top ten?!" "Crap! What kind of speed and success rate is that?! I went all-out for the whole hour, yet I only used 52 sets of materials and made 16 Fire Potions. Are they even human?" All of these alchemists were very familiar with the Fire Potion and Frozen Soul Potion''s production specifications. If an alchemist of the same rank tried to craft them without the aid of any external items, the system would set their base success rate at 35%. However, it was extremely difficult for an alchemist''s practical success rate to reach this theoretical success rate. If an alchemist only crafted a small number of potions, they might be lucky enough to achieve a practical success rate that was higher than the theoretical success rate, but that was nearly impossible when mass-producing potions. Moreover, the likelihood of such a situation would only decrease as players crafted more potions. Hence, when competing in a competition that required 50 to 100 sets of materials, one had to rely on their actual capabilities. Luck had very little impact in such competitions. Moreover, it was extremely difficult to maintain a high production speed if one wanted to maintain a high success rate. After all, the hastier one was, the more likely they were to make mistakes. This, in turn, resulted in a lower success rate. In this competition, players were first judged based on the number of potions they crafted. Their success rate was secondary. If two players produced the same number of potions, their ranks would then be determined by their success rate. This made it impossible for players to gain an advantage with trickery. Of course, this judging method was only effective among alchemists of the same rank. At the end of the day, the Fire Potion was much easier to produce compared to the Frozen Soul Potion. It didn''t require as much time to craft, either. As a result, it was natural that the players crafting Fire Potions would produce more than those crafting Frozen Soul Potions. Hence, when comparing alchemists of different ranks, for fairness''s sake, Advanced Alchemists would have a modifier of +3 potions added to their tallies. Just who are these people? Youlan was astounded as she watched the alchemists walk up to the stage Melancholic Smile occupied. When Shi Feng had stated that the practical success rate of Candlelight''s core members was around 30%, she had assumed the man had exaggerated. Looking at it now, however, it would seem that Shi Feng had told her the truth. In fact, he had understated the firm''s alchemists. There were likely only two alchemists in Underworld who could achieve such a high production speed and success rate. Ordinary Advanced Alchemists would be fortunate to achieve two-thirds of the production speed of Zero Wing''s Advanced Alchemists. They''d thank the heavens if they could reach even 20% of these alchemists'' practical success rate. As Melancholic Smile continued to announce the top-ten ranks, Silent Aspiration and Silent Wonder, who stood below the stage, were flabbergasted. They had never thought that the other alchemists in the trading firm would achieve such excellent results, only slightly inferior to theirs. Zero Wing sure has a lot of alchemy experts. But this old man will still take first place. Silent Aspiration hadn''t lost any of his confidence. He had nearly achieved perfection with his performance. While he was surprised that so many of Candlelight''s Advanced Alchemists had produced 16 Frozen Soul Potions in one hour, they still couldn''t compare to him. After all, he had crafted a total of 18 Frozen Soul Potions. Though part of the reason for his result had been his luck with his final attempt, luck was also a component of an alchemist''s strength. "Alright, next up is fifth place: Silent Aspiration, Advanced Alchemist. Materials used: 53 sets. Produced 18 Frozen Soul Potions. Practical success rate is 33.96%!" Everyone gasped when they heard Silent Aspiration''s results. The Advanced Alchemist that scored sixth place had only produced 16 Frozen Soul Potions, yet his score had increased by two. The result was frightening. Fifth?! How is this possible? Silent Aspiration turned to look at Melancholic Smile, suspicious. Even Youlan, who stood beside Shi Feng, could not believe this. Silent Aspiration had successfully crafted 18 Frozen Soul Potions in one hour, yet he only ranked fifth. However, before Silent Aspiration and Youlan could question the results, Melancholic Smile announced the fourth place winner. "Fourth place: Silent Wonder, Advanced Alchemist. Materials used: 52 sets. Produced 18 Frozen Soul Potions. Practical success rate is 34.61%!" Hearing this result, Silent Aspiration, who had intended to question the results, was at a loss for words. Someone was actually capable of producing 18 Frozen Soul Potions with a near-perfect success rate. "Next, in third place: Rain Walker, Advanced Alchemist. Materials used: 59 sets. Produced 20 Frozen Soul Potions. Practical success rate is 33.89%!" "Second place: Gentle Stab, Advanced Alchemist. Materials used: 61 sets. Produced 21 Frozen Soul Potions. Practical success rate is 34.42%!" "First place: Dormant Twilight, Advanced Alchemist. Materials used: 62 sets. Produced 22 Frozen Soul Potions. Practical success rate is 35.48%." When Melancholic Smile finished announcing the competition''s results, silence descended on the venue. Everyone turned towards the top three alchemists on the stage, skepticism filling their eyes. Were the results manipulated? Silent Wonder was confused as she read the results. Her production speed in this competition had been the best she had ever achieved, completing 52 attempts in one hour. That was basically one attempt every minute or so. Her success rate was even close to perfection. Yet, of the three alchemists who ranked above her, two had spent less than a minute on each attempt. One had even achieved a success rate that exceeded the system''s theoretical success rate. She found it hard to imagine how these people could have possibly achieved such results. The only possibility she could think of was that they had cheated and used alchemy tools that increased their production speed and success rate. Silent Wonder wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. Silent Aspiration and Youlan had reached the same conclusion. The report had even surprised Melancholic Smile. "I know that some of you will refuse to believe these results and suspect that the top three alchemists have cheated in some way. However, I guarantee you that that is not the case. This is their own strength. Do not think that the top three positions of the Candlelight Trading Firm are so easy to obtain. If you do not work hard, the gap between you will only grow," Shi Feng stated as he glanced at everyone present. "To maintain fairness, I''ll show you these top three alchemists'' refining process." After Shi Feng said so, Melancholic Smile displayed the recording of the top three alchemists'' refining process on the magic water ball in the center of the room. As this was a competition, everyone''s work had been recorded to avoid any cheating. Others would also be able to use the recordings of the high-achievers as reference. As the videos played, the crowd noticed that the top three alchemists'' production speeds weren''t particularly fast. In fact, they were slower than most of the participating Advanced Alchemists. However, while these three were refining their potions, they''d occasionally give up halfway through and concoct a new potion as if they knew that their attempt wouldn''t succeed By giving up halfway, these three alchemists saved a lot of time. As a result, they went through far more materials during the limited amount of time. When the videos ended, every alchemist in the room turned as one towards the top three alchemists, realizing where the difference lay. How is that possible? Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration were dumbfounded. It was impossible to know how a potion would turn out before it was refined. They couldn''t fathom why these three had decided to give up on certain attempts midway, yet it was precisely the reason they had achieved far better results. Could this be some kind of alchemy technique? Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration considered the thought at practically the same time. This was especially true for Silent Wonder. She was no stranger to the top three alchemists, but when it came to alchemy standards, she had no doubt that she was superior. The only way the trio could surpass her was with alchemy techniques. The trio must''ve learned a technique that she didn''t know, which was why there was such a massive difference between them. Based on the fact that all three alchemists had learned the same technique at the same time, she guessed that it must have something to do with the Candlelight''s internal member training program. "Alright, now that you''ve seen their refining processes, I''m sure you''ve realized where the difference lies. The promised benefits for the top ten winners will be delivered to your respective Alchemy Rooms. I want you three to stay behind. Everyone else, you may leave if you have nothing else to say," Shi Feng announced, chuckling as he noticed Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration, who appeared to be deep in thought. 1555 Internal Benefits Chapter 1555 - Internal Benefits After Shi Feng gave the command, everyone began orderly shuffling out of the Special Alchemy Room. Even now, though, everyone still felt a little shocked by the outcome of this competition. Originally, they all thought that Silent Wonder would be the champion this time. They had never imagined that she would actually end up failing to get within even the top three. Moreover, there was a huge difference between her results and the results of the third place winner. This was simply incredible. However, just like Shi Feng had said, they had indeed underestimated the Candlelight Trading Firm''s foundations. The difference between the support received by internal members and official members was much greater than they had expected. Only now did everyone understand why Shi Feng had declared that even official members could take part in this competition. Most likely, from the very beginning, Shi Feng had never once thought that the official members of Candlelight had the capabilities to compete for the top few positions. Hence, he had boldly allowed official members to take part in the competition without any restrictions. Although the benefits for the top ten positions were quite good, there was a qualitative difference between them and what the top three winners received. In God''s Domain, Secret-Silver alchemy tools were indeed very rare, but the various large Guilds generally had a few pieces. However, in the case of the Fine-Gold ranked Ocean''s Glow Set and the Dark-Gold ranked Green Jade Set, they were not things that just any Guild would have. Even Super Guilds would not necessarily be able to obtain these precious treasures. With the aid of these top-tier alchemy tools, one would definitely have a much higher chance of creating a new potion. Meanwhile, as everyone was leaving, Silent Wonder suddenly walked up to Shi Feng. "What''s going on? Could Silent Wonder be trying to complain about the competition results?" "That shouldn''t be the case. She must''ve seen the videos as well. There are indeed no problems with the results. Dormant Twilight and the others did indeed win the competition fair and square. Moreover, the results will most likely remain the same for the next few competitions." "It really makes you wonder how they managed to improve so quickly. I recall that Dormant Twilight and the other two were quite inferior to Silent Wonder some time ago." "How should I know? However, it should have something to do with the trading firm''s internal member training program. It''s a pity that I lack the strength to join it." Everyone could not help but start a quiet discussion among themselves as they looked at Silent Wonder. "Guild Leader, may I ask you a question?" Silent Wonder asked as she looked at Shi Feng seriously. "A question?" Upon seeing the serious expression on Silent Wonder''s face, Shi Feng chuckled and replied, "Sure, ask away." After taking in a deep breath, Silent Wonder said, "I wish to ask about the alchemy technique Dormant and the others have learned. Can the technique be learned by becoming an internal member of the Guild?" "To some extent, yes," Shi Feng replied after giving the matter some thought. Truthfully, Shi Feng was rather surprised himself by the trio''s performance. He had never thought that they would gain such a significant harvest from reading the Moon God''s Secret Journal. The Moon God''s Secret Journal was indeed an alchemy treasure. However, it was a set of three volumes, and he had obtained only the first volume of the set, which contained only information on the various materials available in God''s Domain. It was just like an encyclopedia for materials. There were no alchemy techniques recorded inside the volume. Meanwhile, among the Basic Alchemy Techniques he obtained from the Moon God''s Secret Room, none of them contained the technique Dormant Twilight and the others had used. Shi Feng''s answer rendered everyone speechless. What did he mean by "to a certain extent"? Could they, or could they not learn the alchemy technique? "Then, as long as I become an internal member of Candlelight, will I be able to learn the techniques Dormant and the others are learning as well?" Silent Wonder simply could not wrap her mind around the technique Dormant Twilight and the others had displayed during the competition. Their every action during the competition had been very normalso much so that they did not even apply any Basic Alchemy Techniques and had just concocted the potions normally. In the end, however, the results they achieved were still leaps and bounds ahead of hers. At this moment, it was as if she had seen a new world in Dormant Twilight and the others. To an alchemy fanatic like herself, it would be akin to torture for her not to study such a mysterious and amazing technique. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if this old man also becomes an internal member of Candlelight, will I be able to study such alchemy techniques too?" Silent Aspiration, who had kept his own counsel all this time, suddenly stepped forward and asked Shi Feng. "Master Aspiration?" Youlan could not help being stunned by this scene. Even back when Silent Aspiration was in Underworld, he had not yielded even once to its temptations. Nothing that Underworld tried succeeded in binding Silent Aspiration to the organization, as the old man despised being bound by restrictions. Yet, now, Silent Aspiration was actually thinking of accepting such restrictive conditions just for some alchemy techniques. Youlan truly could not help but wonder just what kind of alchemy techniques could actually inspire an obsession in a master like Silent Aspiration. "I cannot guarantee that you all will learn the alchemy technique you speak of. I can only say that how much you learn after becoming Candlelight''s internal members will depend on yourselves." Shi Feng could see the yearning these two people had for alchemy techniques. However, he truly could not guarantee that they would learn the technique they mentioned. It depended entirely on how much they could learn from the Moon God''s Secret Journal and how well they would be able to put that knowledge to use. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s reply, Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration could not help but hesitate. "Since that is the caseI''ll join!" After giving the matter some more thought, Silent Wonder still chose to become an internal member of Candlelight in the end. Although she did not know what kind of treatment internal members received, when she saw how much Dormant Twilight and the others had improved, she could not help growing anxious. After all, despite so little time having passed since the trio had become internal members, their alchemy standards had already gone from being inferior to hers to surpassing hers by a large margin. She also had to admit that the Candlelight Trading Firm was truly powerful. It possessed advantages that even Super Guilds did not. Although she was confident in herself, she was not blind. If things continued at this rate, the gap between herself and Dormant Twilight and the others would most likely continue to widen. This was not an outcome she wished to see. Moreover, she was also very curious to find out just what kind of item could help the internal members improve by so much in so little time. "Interesting. This old man will join as well." Silent Aspiration chuckled as he sent glance at Silent Wonder and Dormant Twilight''s group. Although being able to conduct experiments without restrictions was good, the competition with a bunch of alchemy experts had rekindled his long-lost fighting spirit and edge. Now, his goal had already changed. Instead of aiming to become the number one alchemist in God''s Domain, he decided he would first secure the position of Chief Alchemist in the Candlelight Trading Firm. Only afterwards would he contend for the title of "Number One Alchemist" in God''s Domain. As expected of the Guild Leader. With this, we won''t have to worry about lacking potions to sell in Candlelight. Melancholic Smile could not help but inwardly worship Shi Feng''s capabilities. After all, he had actually managed to lure alchemy experts like Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration into becoming internal members of Candlelight while barely doing anything. With the standards of these two alchemy experts, the Candlelight Trading Firm would have no trouble producing extremely complex potions. Meanwhile, Youlan was dumbfounded by this scene. Despite all the methods Underworld had tried, it had failed to rope Silent Aspiration into the organization. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had merely allowed Silent Aspiration to take part in a competition, and already the master was taking the initiative to join the Guild. If Underworld''s upper echelon were to find out about this matter, just what kind of reactions would this elicit? After Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration declared their intention to become internal members, the other Advanced Alchemists that were still on the fence about binding themselves further to Candlelight decide to join as well. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s capabilities in the alchemy industry soared once again. Following which, Shi Feng had Melancholic Smile redo the contracts of Silent Wonder and the others as well as give them a rundown on the benefits internal members enjoyed. Compared to official members, internal members not only enjoyed better benefits but also received more GCPs for the same amount of work. At the same time, they also got to learn rare alchemy recipes. Meanwhile, what surprised Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration was that internal members could learn not only Basic Secret Alchemy Techniques but also Advanced Secret Alchemy Techniques. However, both types required one to spend a certain amount of GCPs to learn. They were not things that could be learned freely. "Aside from these basic benefits, there is still this item serving as the main benefit for internal members," Melancholic Smile said as she took out a thick book from her bag and placed it on the stone table before her. "As long as you all manage to grasp a Basic Secret Alchemy Technique, you''ll gain one opportunity to read this book. If you learn an Advanced Secret Alchemy Technique, you''ll gain five chances to read it." The new internal members present stirred slightly when they saw the thick book on the stone table. However, Melancholic Smile''s words shocked them. Basic Secret Alchemy Techniques were not easy to learn, yet fully grasping one such technique granted them only one opportunity to read the thick book. This requirement was absurdly high. However, the alchemists that had already become internal members gave longing looks at the thick book, wishing they could read it for the rest of their lives. "Wait This book isthe Moon God''s Secret Journal!" At this moment, Silent Wonder and Silent Aspiration both gaped in shock involuntarily when they read the words written on the cover of the thick book, their breathing becoming much heavier. 1556 3-star NPC Merchan Chapter 1556 - 3-star NPC Merchant "The Moon God''s Secret Journal!" Everyone present was stunned momentarily when they heard Silent Wonder''s words, their eyes staring dazedly at the thick book on the stone table. As long as one was an alchemist in God''s Domain, they would generally have visited a library and read up on matters regarding the alchemy world. Most of the many introductory books on alchemy would mention the alchemy treasure known as the Moon God''s Secret Journal. Among the numerous epic wars that the continent of God''s Domain experienced before, quite a few of them were over the Moon God''s Secret Journal. Meanwhile, such a precious alchemy treasure was actually being offered as a benefit for the internal members of the Candlelight Trading Firm. No wonder the three of them could improve so quickly. Realization dawned upon Silent Wonder as she turned to look at Dormant Twilight and the others. At the same time, the benefits offered to Candlelight''s internal members also rendered her utterly speechless. Shi Feng''s confidence in allowing even official members to compete for the top ten positions was understandable. Meanwhile, Silent Aspiration''s eyes were practically glowing as he looked at the Moon God''s Secret Journal. He wished he could take a read through the book right this instant. "I''m sure you all know how valuable this Moon God''s Secret Journal is. If you wish to read it, you''ll have to rely on your own abilities to do so. Any internal member can look for Melancholic Smile to learn Basic Secret Alchemy Techniques. Also, only after learning one technique completely will you be allowed to learn another. Each time you finish learning a technique, you''ll be given one opportunity to read through the Moon God''s Secret Journal. How many times you''ll be able to read through the journal will depend on yourselves." Shi Feng could not help but chuckle when he saw the longing in everyone''s eyes. He then left the remaining matters for Melancholic Smile to deal with. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, the Advanced Alchemists that had become internal members just now immediately ran up to Melancholic Smile, fighting over the chance to start learning a Basic Secret Alchemy Technique as soon as possible. Had Shi Feng taken out the Moon God''s Secret Journal and shown it to them before the competition, they would have treated the journal as merely an alchemy treasure. They would not have had a clear understanding of its value. However, after watching Dormant Twilight and the others'' performance, they came to fully appreciate the power of the Moon God''s Secret Journal. Now, they hoped to grasp the knowledge stored inside the journal as soon as possible. Just as Shi Feng was letting Dormant Twilight and the other two top three winners learn the Mana Enhancing Potion Recipe, Aqua Rose suddenly contacted him. "Guild Leader, I just received a report stating that Heaven''s Burial has begun raiding the Orc Empire''s Ancient Rock City. Moreover, they''ve mobilized a considerable force. At this point in time, we estimate that Heaven''s Burial has mobilized over 100,000 elite members and 5,000 NPCs. By the looks of it, they are almost certain to capture Ancient Rock City," Aqua Rose reported. They dare raid an Orc city with just 100,000 elite players and 5,000 mercenaries? Hearing Aqua Rose''s words, Shi Feng could not help but fall into deep thought. Could Heaven''s Burial have some other insurance? He might not have a clear idea of how powerful the cities in the Orc Empire were, but one thing he did know was that the cities located in neutral maps were not that easy to raid. For example, even though the Secret Pavilion had obtained 15,000 NPC mercenaries from him, its chances of securing an Orc city were minimal. After all, a city possessed a defensive magic array. Meanwhile, attacks at Tier 3 and below would do very little to deplete the energy of a city''s defensive magic array. In addition, the Orcs defending the city would definitely outnumber players by a lot. There were also Mythic monsters garrisoning the city. Unlike the Mythic monsters found in Dungeons and out in the fields, a Mythic monster defending a city would receive a significant buff from the city''s defensive magic array. An army of 100,000 elite players was no different from a bunch of ants in the face of such a Mythic monster. The latter could annihilate the former with little to no effort. In fact, even if the Mythic monsters defending the city did not make a move, the Orc army stationed inside the city would most likely be able to annihilate Heaven''s Burial''s army of 100,000 elite players easily. Hence, by attempting to capture Ancient Rock City, either Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelon consisted of utter fools or the Guild had some other power they were relying on. "Guild Leader, I heard that many first-rate Guilds are sending their own forces to take advantage of the situation. Should we poke our hands into the matter as well?" Aqua Rose did not have any positive feelings about Heaven''s Burial. In other words, their two Guilds were basically enemies. Now that Heaven''s Burial was trying to capture Ancient Rock City, Zero Wing naturally could not just sit out and do nothing. "Forget it. Since Heaven''s Burial dares to take such an action, I''m sure they''ve considered this problem as well. For all we know, we might end up stepping into a trap they set up. Let the other Guilds have their fun. However, make sure to keep an eye on the situation there as well," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Right, are you done sorting through the information on the NPC merchants yet?" Beast Emperor''s shadow loomed behind Heaven''s Burial. In a field battle without the aid of defensive structures like the Magic Tower, dealing with a swarm of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons would be very difficult. At the very least, Zero Wing currently still lacked the means to contend against an army of monsters in a frontal confrontation. In fact, Heaven''s Burial''s goal in attacking Ancient Rock City might not be the conquest of the city at all. It might very well be an attempt to lure the various large Guilds into a trap and turn their members into resources for Beast Emperor to create even more Evil Demons. After all, the Black Dragon Empire''s Evil God''s Temple had already been activated. If Beast Emperor wished to nurture powerful Evil Demons, he would need a large number of sacrifices to do so. Meanwhile, hunting for players the normal way would take a very long time. If he could gather a large number of players in a single location at the same time, with the said location even being in a neutral map Just the thought of it horrified Shi Feng. Now, the only thing Shi Feng could do was improve Zero Wing''s power as quickly as possible. He was confident that so long as he developed Zero Wing City properly, be it Heaven''s Burial, Beast Emperor, or the Blackwater Corporation, none of them should even dream of shaking Zero Wing''s foundations by even the slightest. "I understand. I''ll have Flying Shadow and the others head over to take a look." Aqua Rose nodded. "As for the NPC merchants, I''ve already compiled a report on their details. I''ll send it over to you now." Following which, Aqua Rose disconnected the call and sent the statistics report on the NPC merchants to Shi Feng. Why are there so many of them?! Shi Feng was stunned as he looked through the information Aqua Rose sent to him. During the short amount of time Zero Wing City had been open, over a thousand NPC merchants had actually come seeking to do business in the city. This number exceeded even that of the NPC merchants Shadow had managed to lure in with its main city. Although the majority of the merchants had low potential and were only 1-star NPC Merchants, there were still over two hundred 2-star NPC Merchants seeking to do business in Zero Wing City. With this amount of 2-star NPC Merchants, Zero Wing City could already rival the main cities operated by first-rate Guilds in the past. These are3-star NPC Merchants?! As Shi Feng reached the end of the list, he noticed that the symbol representing the NPC merchants had transitioned from two stars to three stars. How is this possible? Zero Wing City was just constructed recently, yet 3-star NPC Merchants are visiting it already? If the Guilds in the past were to find out that 3-star NPC Merchants visited Zero Wing City almost immediately after the city''s opening, they would definitely die of envy. In God''s Domain, there was a qualitative difference between 2-star and 3-star NPC Merchants. Although there was not much of a difference when it came to the kinds of products both types of NPC merchants sold, when it came to potential, a 3-star NPC Merchant surpassed their 2-star counterparts by leaps and bounds. An NPC merchant''s star-ranking determined not only the quality of the items they sold but also the development speed of the Shop purchased by the said NPC merchant. Shops operated by NPC merchants were different from those operated by players. Players had to either complete extremely difficult team quests or obtain the corresponding Promotion Orders. In contrast, NPC merchants did not have to go through such troublesome procedures. Instead, the promotion of their Shops relied entirely on their sales volume. After a Shop achieved a certain sales volume, the Shop would get promoted automatically. Meanwhile, the higher-ranked an NPC merchant was, the greater the sales volume they were able to achieve, allowing them to get their Shops promoted much more quickly. When an NPC-operated Shop got promoted, it would start selling much more valuable itemswhich, in turn, would help attract more players to the city the Shop was located in. Meanwhile, on average, the promotion speed of a Shop operated by a 3-star NPC Merchant was double that of a 2-star NPC Merchant. If a city possessed a sufficiently large player population, the promotion speed could even be two or three times faster. Hence, the various large Guilds in the past would do everything they could to attract a 3-star NPC Merchant to their cities. In the past, Shi Feng had only ever heard of 3-star NPC Merchants taking the initiative to visit the main cities operated by Super Guildsand never for cities of lower standards. As a result, the large Guilds had to compete over the 3-star NPC Merchants found in the various major NPC cities or wandering out in the fields. Meanwhile, not just one 3-star NPC Merchant was seeking to do business in Zero Wing City right now, but two instead. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately contacted Aqua Rose. "Aqua, think of a way to have these two NPC merchants stay in the city. I''ll head over immediately." In God''s Domain, NPC merchants would stay for only a certain period of time when visiting a city. They would not remain in the city permanently unless given a positive response to their request to do business. If he were to let these two 3-star NPC Merchants get away now, the next one would be long in coming. After saying so, Shi Feng called upon Youlan and had her teleport to Zero Wing City''s Guild Residence with him. 1557 Empire Changes Chapter 1557 - Empire Changes Orc Empire, Ancient Rock City: Although Ancient Rock City had once been an abandoned city, the city had recovered to its former glory after the Orcs returned to manage it. Towering, twenty-meter-high walls surrounded the city. Magic runes also strengthened the walls. Not even players with extremely high Agility would be able to climb them. A large number of Orcs also patrolled the walls, and a defensive magic array encased the city and its stone barrier. With such tight defenses, not even a fly should think of sneaking into the city. However, over 100,000 elite players had gathered a short distance away from Ancient Rock City. These players stood at attention in orderly formations, ready to move out at a single command. Every one of these players wore Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Emblem, and even the lowest among them was Level 40. A legion of several thousand players atop warhorses stood near the head of this elite army. Even from afar, one would feel an intense pressure weigh down on them. Aside from Heaven''s Burial''s members, rows of NPC mercenaries stood among the army''s frontline. The weakest of these NPCs was Level 60, Tier 1, while the strongest were Level 70, Tier 2 NPCs. "Just what are Heaven''s Burial''s people trying to do? Do they really think they can get past Ancient Rock City''s defenses with so little strength?" The various large Guilds'' upper echelons watching from the sidelines were confused as Heaven''s Burial geared up to attack the Orc city. Although the Orcs in Ancient Rock City were not particularly high-leveled, with the majority averaging around Level 65, and the highest at Level 72, players would still have a disadvantage with the level difference. Furthermore, the city''s Orcs greatly outnumbered Heaven''s Burial''s forces. Ancient Rock City should be home to over 700,000 Orcs at least. Among them, there was no lack of Great Lords and Grand Lords. Heaven''s Burial''s 100,000-strong elite army and 5,000 NPC mercenaries would barely serve as a warm-up for the Orcs. "Guild Leader Singular, it seems our siege has attracted quite a few flies," Lei Jingyang commented, smiling as he surveyed the spectating large Guilds. Over ten Guilds had gathered to watch Heaven''s Burial siege Ancient Rock City. Together, these Guilds had dispatched over 200,000 players. The combined force already surpassed Heaven''s Burial''s numbers. If these large Guilds ambushed their army at a crucial moment during the siege, they would deal a fatal blow. "Isn''t this just as we expected?" Singular Burial asked, laughing. "That''s right. Though, it''s a pity that Zero Wing isn''t here. Otherwise, we could band together and take the Guild out," Lei Jingyang said, sighing. "Alright, it''s almost time to take action. It''s about time we teach these Guilds who rules over this neutral map!" Singular Burial coldly announced after glancing at the system clock. "Guild Leader, leave it to me! With these sacrifices, we''ll have a guarantee of capturing Ancient Rock City!" Flame Blood said as he took a black crystal ball from his bag. He then began to chant an incantation. Suddenly, violent roaring filled the surrounding forest. Even the various large Guilds watching from outside the forest clearly heard the monsters. Suddenly, ferocious monsters with sharp fangs and claws surged out of the forest and charged for the various Guilds'' armies. "Evil Beasts!" The upper echelons paled when they saw the monster tide sweep towards them. They were no strangers to Evil Beasts. After all, they had all watched as Evil Beasts had assaulted Stone Forest Town twice. During the two sieges, they had learned just how powerful Evil Beasts were. The Evil Beasts charging towards them were all Level 45 and above. Although they were not as strong as those that had attacked Stone Forest Town, they were powerful nonetheless. Furthermore, three Level 60 Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons led the Evil Beast army. "Crap! Everyone, use your Return Scrolls!" The various Guilds'' upper echelons gave the command to retreat the moment they saw the Evil Beasts. However, when they tried using their Return Scrolls, they found them ineffective. In the end, they could only watch as the Evil Beasts stormed closer. "Damn it! We''ve been tricked! Everyone, get ready to fight and pull back!" "How dare Heaven''s Burial do this?! Aren''t they afraid that our Guilds will band together to exact our revenge!?" Only now did the various large Guilds realize that this had been a trap, but all they could do was give the command to retreat from the battlefield. If they fought the Evil Beasts, they would only suffer even greater losses. Although these Guilds had a total of 200,000 members with them, the Evil Beast army, which was not suppressed by any magic arrays, had an overwhelming advantage. Even as the various large Guilds bombarded the Evil Beast army with large-scale destruction Spells, all they accomplished was clearing out the Elite and Special Elite ranked Evil Beasts. The Chieftain rank and above Evil Beasts took barely any damage. In contrast, the Evil Beasts wiped out these players The Grand Lord ranked Evil Beasts easily massacred groups of players as they moved through their enemies'' lines. Even when top-tier experts tried to pin these Grand Lords down, their efforts accomplished very little. As for the Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons, they were no different than walking disasters. A single hit could take the lives of hundreds of players. When the three Evil Earth Dragons working together, they were practically unstoppable as they mowed through the player armies. In the end, these Guilds'' upper echelons could only watch as their Guild members were exterminated. "Heaven''s Burial, our Guilds will not let you get away with this!" The upper echelons realized that there was no escape. They glared and shouted at Singular Burial''s group. "Let us get away with this?" Singular Burial could not help but laugh. "It seems like you still don''t understand your situation! Haven''t you realized that the moment you arrived here, you became a stepping stone for Heaven''s Burial? From now on, the Orc Empire will become Heaven''s Burial''s domain! Whatever we say, goes!" Previously, they hadn''t dared to massacre players openly because they had been afraid of the various large Guilds targeting them. However, they had since solidified their foundations. With over 200,000 elite players as sacrifices, they could grow their Evil Beast army to new heights. Once Ancient Rock City became Heaven''s Burial''s base of operations, not even God''s Domain''s superpowers would be a threat to their Guild. As the large Guilds'' members continued to die, Flame Blood used the dead players to create Evil Beasts and Demons. Moreover, as the Evil Beasts killed the enemy players, their levels rapidly rose. By the time the various large Guilds were annihilated, five more Grand Lord ranked Evil Beasts had evolved into Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons. The army had also doubled its number of Grand Lords on the battlefield. "Amazing! As expected of the large Guilds'' elite players! With these Evil Beasts, we''ll have no problems taking down Ancient Rock City!" Flame Blood laughed madly as he gazed at the army under his command. Without a moment to rest, Flame Blood commanded his Evil Beast army to charge for Ancient Rock City. At the same time, the eight Evil Earth Dragons roared as they launched eight Tier 4 Spells at the city''s defensive magic array. When the Spells collided with the barrier, the barrier shook violently. It was clear that the attacks had depleted a significant portion of the magic barrier''s energy. Meanwhile, back in Star-Moon Kingdom, Shi Feng and Youlan arrived in Zero Wing City''s Guild Residence. So, this is the rumored Zero Wing City? As Youlan observed the city below her from the Guild Hall''s roof, the scenery captivated her. Not only was Zero Wing City''s environment impressive, but a vitality that couldn''t be found in any town filled the streets. She spotted plenty of high-level NPCs wandering about the city. There were even plenty of wandering merchants hawking their wares from the sidewalks. Horse carriages, which towns lacked, drove down the streets as they worked. There was barely any difference between Zero Wing City and an NPC city. If she really had to point out a difference, though, it would definitely be Zero Wing City''s Mana density. Despite the lack of Magic Towers inside the city, the Mana density here was only slightly weaker than in Stone Forest Town. When considering how spacious Zero Wing City was, Youlan''s eyes could not help but light up as she imagined the difference several Magic Towers would make. With Zero Wing''s incredible potential, it was no wonder why Shi Feng even dared to provoke the Blackwater Corporation. However, Youlan was curious about why Shi Feng had led her here. "Let''s visit the City Lord''s Mansion." 1558 3-star Merchan Chapter 1558 - 3-star Merchant The City Lord''s Mansion in Zero Wing City was located in the heart of the city. Though, the building resembled more of a mountain, rather than a mansion. Tall walls surrounded the mansion. The structure was also further protected by a powerful magic array, which only allowed entry through the front entrance. Level 50, Tier 2 NPC guards were stationed the City Lord''s Mansion''s entrance. The mansion''s magic array also reinforced these NPC guards'' strength. At this stage of the game, it wouldn''t matter how many players tried to break into the City Lord''s Mansion; these NPC guards would slaughter every one of them without fail. When Shi Feng and Youlan reached the City Lord''s Mansion''s first-floor hall, they were greeted by the sight of hundreds of loitering NPC merchants. Youlan was stunned by the scene. Although she did not have a very clear understanding of NPC merchants, she knew that these NPCs were similar wandering merchants who visited Guild Towns. Only, these NPC merchants were more stable and wouldn''t abruptly appear one day and disappear the next. They allowed players to obtain a steady supply of rare items. Normally, a town was considered impressive if 20 or 30 wandering merchants visited it at a single time. Meanwhile, the important towns Underworld developed only had around 40 wandering merchants present in them at any one time. Yet, Zero Wing City had hundreds of these NPCs However, what Youlan did not know was that the NPC merchants present were only a small portion of those who had come to discuss business with Zero Wing City. Before this, Aqua Rose had rejected all 1-star NPC Merchants and sent them on their way. Now, the merchants in the City Lord''s Mansion were only 2- and 3-star NPC Merchants. "Guild Leader, you''re finally here." Aqua Rose could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when she saw Shi Feng enter the hall. "If you came any later, the two 3-star NPC Merchants would''ve left already." "What are their conditions to conduct business in the city?" Shi Feng asked. Every NPC merchant planning to do business in a Guild City had their own conditions. They would not set up their businesses in the city for nothing. Whether a Guild could keep these NPC Merchants or not would depend on a Guild''s capabilities to fulfill these NPCs demands. "One of them wants full tax exemption and their Shop to be located on the same street as the City Lord''s Mansion. The other one has requested a Large Warehouse. This NPC has also asked for his Shop to be located on the same street as the City Lord''s Mansion," Aqua Rose reported. "Their asking price sure is ruthless." Shi Feng could not help his frown. The City Lord''s Mansion was in the heart of the city. The amount of land available in the area was extremely limited. Meanwhile, NPC merchants'' Shops took up a lot of space, and the land sold to these merchants couldn''t be reclaimed. This meant that he would have to give away two valuable plots of land for free, permanently. As for taxes, they were an important source of income for the city. NPC merchants needed to play these fees to the Guild every month, and the amount was based on the Shop''s rank. It was simply absurd to ask for full tax exemption. There was even less need to mention the Warehouse. Constructing a Small Warehouse would already cost 3,000 Gold. A Large Warehouse would cost at least 10,000 Gold. However, the cost of construction was not the main issue. The crucial point was the amount of land the Warehouse would take up. Moreover, the Warehouse couldn''t be constructed too far from the Shop, which meant that the Warehouse would also have to occupy the same area as the City Lord''s Mansion. He had to admit that the two 3-star NPC Merchants'' asking prices were fraudulent. "Is there no room for negotiation?" Shi Feng asked. In God''s Domain, NPCs with higher statuses would have higher intellects. Fortunately, it wasn''t entirely impossible to convince NPC merchants to change their conditions. "I''ve tried talking to them multiple times, but both NPCs are dead set on their requirements." Aqua Rose felt helpless about this situation. She had tried her best to negotiate for better conditions, but the NPC merchants were quite determined and had remained unfazed. Suddenly, Youlan asked, "Can you let me give it a try?" "You?" Aqua Rose glanced at the cloaked woman beside Shi Feng. The woman had felt familiar, and upon closer inspection, she recognized Youlan. Curiously, she asked, "Aren''t you the manager for Underworld''s trading firms? Why are you here?" As far as she could remember, Youlan had always been a very capable woman. Not only had she managed Overwhelming Smile''s trading firm until it nearly rivaled the Candlelight Trading Firm, but she also wielded considerable combat power. "I invited her here. Youlan is now a member of our Guild," Shi Feng explained. The corners of Aqua Rose''s mouth twitched slightly as she turned to Shi Feng with an incredulous gaze. Youlan had been close to becoming one of Underworld''s upper echelons. Underworld, which was an extraordinary organization that had more strength and growth potential than most first-rate Guilds. The organization also had ample funding. As long as the organization nurtured enough experts, it could definitely rival super-first-rate Guilds in the future. Yet, rather than remain as an upper echelon in a future super-first-rate Guild, Youlan had actually joined Zero Wing, which was currently besieged by numerous powerful enemies. Aqua Rose had no idea what method Shi Feng had used to lure Youlan to Zero Wing. Following which, Shi Feng approved Youlan''s suggestion. "Alright, I''ll leave this matter to you." In any case, there was no harm in trying. Currently, Zero Wing City''s background was minimal. Attracting two 3-star NPC Merchants had been enough of a surprise already. It was only natural that these NPC merchants would have significant demands. "Mhm. I''ll try my best." Youlan nodded. She then turned to Aqua Rose and asked, "May I borrow the information you have on Zero Wing City?" "This" Aqua Rose hesitated at Youlan''s request. Zero Wing City''s information was top secret in the Guild. Others shouldn''t so easily be given access. "It''s fine; let her see it. In any case, she is already a core member of the Guild. Also, this information can''t be kept a secret forever," Shi Feng said. Now that Zero Wing City was complete, it was only a matter of time before information leaked to the public. It wouldn''t really matter if Youlan knew the city''s details. Since Shi Feng had agreed, Aqua Rose then sent Youlan the information she had on Zero Wing City. After reading the information for some time, Youlan closed the display, took a deep breath, and entered the reception room where the two 3-star NPC Merchants sat to negotiate. Meanwhile, Shi Feng began to select the 2-star NPC Merchants that the city needed. NPC merchants sold a large variety of items, and some NPCs were bound to sell similar items. In that case, he had to choose the NPC merchant with the lower conditions and disregard the NPC merchants with higher conditions that sold the same items. After all, Zero Wing City had limited space. A large amount of land was still needed to build other Advanced Constructions. He could not waste too much land on these NPC merchants. After ten minutes of reading through the list, Shi Feng selected 63 2-star NPC Merchants. Not only did these NPC merchants sell unique items with very few similarities, but their demands were also fairly reasonable. They were also willing to set their Shops up in various parts of the city, which helped to alleviate the issue of too many crowds in a single area. After Shi Feng and Aqua Rose decided the Shop locations for every 2-star NPC Merchant, Youlan emerged from the reception room. "Guild Leader, here are the two NPCs'' conditions," Youlan said. She then handed Shi Feng two contracts. "What? They actually" When Aqua Rose saw the new conditions on the contracts, she was astonished. She could not believe that the two stubborn NPCs, who had refused to budge no matter how she had tried to persuade them, had actually given in. Moreover, their conditions had loosened quite a bit. Although their demands regarding the location of their Shops hadn''t changed, the NPC that had demanded full tax exemption now only wanted a 50% tax break, whereas the NPC that originally wanted a Large Warehouse had now settled for a Small Warehouse. "I''ve tried to convince them to lower their conditions as much as possible, but both of these merchants think that Zero Wing City lacks a competitive edge, so they refuse to relent fully," Youlan said in embarrassment. "Youlan, do you have the merchant subclass?" Aqua Rose suddenly realized a possibility. If Youlan were a merchant, she might have the ability to obtain these results. In that case, though, Youlan would have to be a relatively high-ranked merchant as the 1-star Merchant players she had asked for help previously had failed. "Mhm. I just got promoted to a 3-star Merchant." Youlan nodded. "A 3-star Merchant?" Youlan''s reply astounded Aqua Rose. Now, she was even more confused as to how Shi Feng had roped Youlan into Zero Wing. Even the strongest merchant in Zero Wing was still some ways away from becoming a 2-star Merchant. Only Super Guilds likely had 2-star Merchants at this stage of the game. Meanwhile, the higher a merchant players'' star-rank was, the stronger their negotiation ability would be with NPCs. With a high-rank merchant player, a Guild could reduce prices when paying the system management fees for Shops. Whether it was the development of a Guild or a trading firm, a high-rank merchant would be a powerful asset. "Guild Leader, you really are amazing. You actually poached a 3-star Merchant from Underworld. If Underworld finds out about this, they would definitely fight us for her," Aqua Rose whispered to Shi Feng. But what Aqua Rose didn''t know was that Underworld wouldn''t be the only ones looking for trouble. Even the Blackwater Corporation, which currently backed Underworld, would be enraged. Just as Shi Feng was about to sign the contract for the two 3-star NPC Merchants, the sound of a system announcement reached his ears. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Heaven''s Burial for successfully capturing the Orc Empire''s Ancient Rock City! Rewarding 50,000 Guild Popularity, 100,000 Guild Honor Points, and 150 Guild Influence in Star-Moon Kingdom. 1559 Four Towers of Elements Arise Chapter 1559 - Four Towers of Elements Arise "Ancient Rock City has been captured?! How is that possible?!" Aqua Rose was dazed when she saw the system announcement. Hundreds of thousands of Orcs defended the Orc Empire''s cities. Each city was also protected by a powerful, defensive magic array. It would take a lot of time and manpower just to break through the array. However, this wasn''t what surprised her most. After all, God''s Domain had many powerful tools. What shocked her most was the timing. Less than two hours had passed since she had received the report about Heaven''s Burial''s assault on Ancient Rock City With how many Orcs Ancient Rock City housed, it was impossible for an army of 100,000 elite players to clear the city in just two hours. There were also various large Guilds watching from the sidelines and waiting for an opportunity to strike. Immediately, Aqua Rose began to contact her subordinates and had them look into the situation in Ancient Rock City. Capturing one of the Orc Empire''s cities was no trivial matter. Nowadays, many players from the neighboring kingdoms and empires gathered in the Orc Empire to grind and level. Unlike the three towns in the Orc Empire that had been captured thus far, Ancient Rock City was located in the empire''s inner region, rather than the outer area. If players wanted to earn Contribution Points, it was much easier to do so in the inner region due to the stronger monsters. Now that Ancient Rock City had been captured, a large number of players would swarm to the city, using it as a rest area. The money and resources one could make with the city would be frightening. With so much income and Heaven''s Burial''s background, the Guild would develop rapidly. While Aqua Rose investigated the situation, Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums were in an uproar. Heaven''s Burial trapped and killed over 200,000 Guild elite players! The various large Guilds declare their intent to wipe Heaven''s Burial from the face of God''s Domain! Heaven''s Burial controlled an Evil Beast army to siege Ancient Rock City! As these posts published on the forums, they quickly received a lot of attention and made it to the top of the list. "What?! Even something like this is possible?!" "Crap! This is cheating! Heaven''s Burial can actually control so many Evil Beasts?! Who could possibly be a match for the Guild now?!" "It is impressive. But at the end of the day, Evil Beasts stand against the human race. If NPCs discover these Evil Beasts, they will mobilize to wipe them out. Moreover, the Evil Beast army Heaven''s Burial controls has suffered significant damages. Didn''t you guys see that over 80% of the Evil Beast army was wiped out in this battle?" "However, Heaven''s Burial now controls Ancient Rock City and a town in the Orc Empire. Even without the threat of the Evil Beast army, which Guild could possibly be a match for Heaven''s Burial? I''m afraid that it won''t be long before Heaven''s Burial becomes the number one Guild in the several neighboring kingdoms. I wonder if Heaven''s Burial is recruiting?" For a time, various conversations about Heaven''s Burial filled Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums. Nobody could''ve imagined that Heaven''s Burial, a Guild which Zero Wing constantly suppressed, would rise as a dark horse. Now that the Orc Empire effectively belonged to Heaven''s Burial, everyone believed that it wouldn''t be long before the Guild stole the position of Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. As for the various large Guilds working together to take Heaven''s Burial down, everyone thought it was nothing more than a joke. Now that Heaven''s Burial had captured Ancient Rock City, even without the Evil Beasts, the Guild could turn the city into an iron fortress during its protection period, establishing an unshakable foundation in the Orc Empire. There were no teleportation arrays in the Orc Empire. Players had to rely on their own two feet to get there. If the various large Guilds engaged in a war of attrition against Heaven''s Burial inside the empire, they''d be at an overwhelming disadvantage. After all, Heaven''s Burial''s members could resurrect in Ancient Rock City. At the same time, they could teleport to the city with Guild Transfer Scrolls, providing swift reinforcements. The various large Guilds could not afford to go to war with Heaven''s Burial for some time. Meanwhile, inside Ancient Rock City, Heaven''s Burial''s members had already begun to reconstruct the city. They were prepared to turn the city into Heaven''s Burial''s main headquarters. "Hahaha! Wonderful! This is just wonderful! It won''t be long before we can open Ancient Rock City to the public! Guild Leader Singular, you and your Guild have done magnificently! With this city as our base, we won''t have to worry about a lack of funds or resources when developing elsewhere! We might even attract a few more major corporations to work with us!" Lei Jingyang said. He could not help but laugh as he watched over Ancient Rock City from the city walls. "Our success is all thanks to you, Young Master Lei. If not for your Tier 4 Domain Scroll, we wouldn''t have been able to defeat the Guardian Boss so smoothly. Had we been any slower in the fight, the Evil Beast army might''ve been annihilated." Singular Burial sighed ruefully. Although he had been confident about capturing Ancient Rock City, now that the city was actually in his hands, he felt as if he were dreaming. The Orcs defending Ancient Rock City weren''t like those in the fields. The city''s magic array had buffed these defending Orcs, and although they had a large number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, they had only held back the Orcs temporarily, failing to annihilate them completely. While most of the Orcs in the city had been distracted, they had used the eight Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons and mercenary NPCs to open a path towards the city''s Guardian Boss. Only after using a Tier 4 Domain Scroll had they managed to kill the Level 72 Orc General. In the end, they had sacrificed six Evil Earth Dragons, over 80% of the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army, and over 40,000 elite players to capture Ancient Rock City. Although the sacrifices had been great, they were insignificant compared to the potential profits they could gain through Ancient Rock City. "Guild Leader Singular, now that we''ve captured Ancient Rock City, we''ll have to expand the Guild. Are you really planning to go along with the original plan to deal with Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing?" Lei Jingyang asked curiously. Now that Heaven''s Burial could use Ancient Rock City as its foundation, truthfully, it was a huge waste of time to focus the Guild''s development in Star-Moon Kingdom. In Lei Jingyang''s opinion, the correct decision would be to focus the Guild''s development in the two neighboring empires. After all, the empires had far more players and resources compared to Star-Moon Kingdom. "Of course! It is about time we show Star-Moon Kingdom who its true overlord is!" Singular Burial snapped, a cold glint flashing in his eyes when he heard the name ''Zero Wing.'' Heaven''s Burial had been forced to abandon its development in Star-Moon Kingdom precisely because of Zero Wing. As a result, Heaven''s Burial had become a laughingstock in the public eye and had been forced to shift its focus to neutral maps. Now that Heaven''s Burial had Ancient Rock City as assurance, it had to recover its previous glory. Moreover, Singular Burial still held a grudge against Shi Feng for killing him with a single attack back in the Frozen Scar. How could he possibly shift his Guild''s development to other kingdoms and empires before getting his revenge? Meanwhile, back in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing City "Guild Leader, this is bad." Aqua Rose frowned slightly when she read the latest situation report from her subordinates. "Now that Heaven''s Burial has secured a goldmine like Ancient Rock City, although they still lack the military prowess to do anything to us, they have begun to intervene in Star-Moon Kingdom''s market. Not only have they lowered prices of the items they sold in the kingdom by 20%, but they''ve also placed a bounty on our entire Guild. They''ll pay 20 Silver for each normal member killed, 1 Gold for elite members, 10 Gold for core members, 1,000 Gold for the Guild''s upper echelons, and 20,000 Gold for you, Guild Leader. They''re clearly trying to defeat us using money." "Defeat us using money?" Shi Feng could not help his smile when he heard Aqua Rose''s report. "This is interesting." "Guild Leader, you''re still in the mood to smile? So far, many players on the forums have expressed interest in the bounty and have begun to plot against us" Aqua Rose said, flabbergasted by Shi Feng''s lighthearted response. "How''s the Four Towers of Elements'' construction going?" Shi Feng asked as he stopped messing with Aqua Rose. "The base structures have been completed. However, we can''t do anything about the core sections," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. "That''s fast! Only the cores are left?" Shi Feng was a little surprised. He had never expected to complete the towers'' construction so quickly. "Alright, then. Let''s head over to the towers." He had waited for this moment for a long time now. In the past, he had only ever visited Guild Cities that possessed the Four Towers of Elements. He had never thought that he would get to construct the towers personally in this life. 1560 Competition of Wealth Chapter 1560 - Competition of Wealth "Take a look at the Four Towers of Elements?" Aqua Rose gave Shi Feng a confused look. Although Heaven''s Burial had just placed a bounty on Zero Wing and wouldn''t be able to affect the Guild''s development for some time, the consequences would be incredibly severe if they didn''t prepare properly. In the best case scenario, the enemy would only weaken the Guild slightly. In the worst case scenario, the Guild would crumble. Players main goal in joining a Guild was to level quickly and obtain better equipment. Nobody wanted to become prey, spending all of their time avoiding other players. However, Aqua Rose had no choice but to follow Shi Feng''s orders and trail behind him towards the Four Towers of Elements. Meanwhile, Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums were in an uproar. "Sure enough, Heaven''s Burial really took action! What a generous bounty! Heaven''s Burial is actually paying 20 Silver for each normal member! I don''t even earn that much in a single day!" "I know, right? Although it won''t be easy to kill Zero Wing''s core members, it''s a different story for the Guild''s normal and elite members. If I can take advantage of this opportunity, I might earn enough money to get myself a Mount." "Forming a hunting party! Whoever''s interested in making some money, contact me quickly!" "It seems that Heaven''s Burial is serious this time. I wonder which Guild will rule over Star-Moon Kingdom in the end?" "It is definitely going to be Heaven''s Burial. Didn''t you see Heaven''s Burial''s background? Now that it has a treasured land like Ancient Rock City, it won''t have any lack of funds." "As expected of the Guild that took down an Orc city. Zero Wing is doomed. Even if Heaven''s Burial does not directly attack, it can easily whittle Zero Wing down until it crumbles." Everyone engaged in heated discussions about the bounty Heaven''s Burial placed on Zero Wing''s head. The bounty tempted many powerful players. Meanwhile, the kingdom''s Dark Players immediately set their sights on Zero Wing. Not only could they secure better equipment by killing Zero Wing''s members, but they''d also earn a significant income by doing so. Moreover, with so many players targeting Zero Wing''s members, the Guild couldn''t direct its anger at a specific group. Hence, they could kill Zero Wing''s members without worry. Meanwhile, in the Star Alliance''s Guild Residence in White River City "Heaven''s Burial has sure moved quickly, Guild Leader. I wonder how Zero Wing will respond to this. With Ancient Rock City''s income, Heaven''s Burial can definitely overwhelm Zero Wing in a battle of attrition," Purple Eye said as she read the latest report she had received. The method Heaven''s Burial employed was one of the most troublesome tactics the various large Guilds had to deal with. It was also the method that the various large Guilds avoided using. Using such a method would require a massive expenditure. Regardless of whether one won or lost the war, they''d still incur massive losses. However, Heaven''s Burial did not have to worry about such a problem now. Once Ancient Rock City opened to the public, Heaven''s Burial would rake in an astronomical number of Coins each day. It wouldn''t worry about not outlasting Zero Wing. "That''s right. Had Zero Wing agreed to the Secret Pavilion''s acquisition, it would''ve likely avoided such a perilous situation," Galaxy Past said, lamenting. Since the Star Alliance was now one of the Secret Pavilion''s subordinate Guilds, as the Guild Leader, Galaxy Past had learned many of the Secret Pavilion''s internal dealings. The Secret Pavilion''s offer to Zero Wing even tempted Galaxy Past, yet Zero Wing had rejected the offer without hesitation Had Zero Wing accepted the Secret Pavilion''s offer, Heaven''s Burial wouldn''t have dared to pull such a stunt. With the Pavilion''s support, Heaven''s Burial would likely burn out long before Zero Wing. Meanwhile, When Singular burial read the message he had just received in Ancient Rock City, he sneered. "Daybreak did a magnificent job. I can''t wait to see how Zero Wing intends to survive in Star-Moon Kingdom." Singular Burial was delighted as he read the report Daybreak Fog had sent him. When Zero Wing had declared that Stone Forest Town would no longer allow entry to merchant players and adventurer teams that visited Red Iron Town, it had caused Heaven''s Burial tremendous losses. Now, he would ensure that Zero Wing would experience the same feeling. "Guild Leader Singular, you are ruthless. Zero Wing will definitely lose its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. In the end, it might be forced to leave Star-Moon Kingdom entirely," Lei Jingyang said, laughing. "Zero Wing only has itself to blame for making an enemy of Heaven''s Burial!" Singular Burial growled. "It won''t be long before I can eliminate Zero Wing from Star-Moon Kingdom entirely!" Although it was very costly to place a bounty on every player in Zero Wing, it would be devastating to the Guild. If Zero Wing''s members had to deal with constant ambushes out in the fields, it would only be a matter of time before they withdrew from the Guild. After all, repeated deaths would impede their progress in God''s Domain. Similarly, no one would be willing to join the Guild in fear of becoming a target. Not only would Zero Wing''s development stagnate, but it would also have to spend a significant amount of its funding to compensate its Guild members'' losses. With a constant drain on Zero Wing''s numbers and funds, Zero Wing would either crumble or be forced out of Star-Moon Kingdom even if heaven''s Burial didn''t take any direct action. While the various large Guilds wondered about how Zero Wing intended to pull itself out of this mess, Shi Feng arrived before one of the Four Towers of Elements. The Four Towers of Elements occupied the city''s four corners. Each tower was 100 meters tall, looming like giants as they protected Zero Wing City. "Guild Leader, a report just came in. Players have begun to ambush many of our members. Based on our initial estimates, we''ve already suffered over 4,000 casualties" Aqua Rose frowned as she looked at the report a subordinate had sent. The Guild would have to play a lot of Coins as compensation with so many casualties. If this situation continued for a long time, not even the profits they earned from the Candlelight Trading Firm would be enough to compensate the Guild members. Moreover, this was still not the most crucial issue. The Guild''s prestige was their bigger concern. "There sure are a lot of players prioritizing money over their own lives." Even Shi Feng was a little astonished. Zero Wing''s recruitment standards were very high. Unless there was an overwhelming difference between the two sides'' combat power, players would have a very difficult time killing Zero Wing members and would doubtlessly sustain serious damage. And yet after such a short time since Heaven''s Burial announced its bounty, Zero Wing had lost over 4,000 lives. This situation somewhat exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Aqua Rose asked. "Since Heaven''s Burial wants to play, then we''ll play," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "First, have our Guild members move in teams from now on. Anyone who refuses will not receive any compensation should they die. Also, announce to the public that anyone who dares to kill Zero Wing''s members will be permanently blacklisted and barred from all of Zero Wing''s towns and cities. In addition, place a bounty on every player in Heaven''s Burial. Not only will this bounty be effective in Star-Moon Kingdom, but it will also be effective in the Orc Empire!" When the two women heard Shi Feng''s decision, Aqua Rose and Youlan fell silent. Shi Feng basically wanted to compete with Heaven''s Burial with wealth Not only would their Guild suffer tremendous losses by doing so, but if they handled this badly, they could even self-destruct. "Guild Leader, with our Guild''s current funds, I''m afraid that" Aqua Rose could not help but try to dissuade Shi Feng. To construct Zero Wing City, develop the Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire, and supply their Guild members with Mounts, they spent a massive amount of money each day. Adding yet another significant expenditure would only hamper the Guild''s development. "Don''t worry about our funds. You can only reap the benefits once you''ve paid the price. In three hours, we''ll open Zero Wing City to the public. Go and make the announcement," Shi Feng ordered with a shrug. He then walked towards the tower before him. "This" Aqua Rose felt a headache brew when she heard Shi Feng''s commands. Zero Wing City still lacked much of its infrastructure. To put it simply, the city had very little to attract players right now. Moreover, inviting players into the city now would complicate construction in Zero Wing City. As far as she was concerned, opening the city to the public now wasn''t wise. Unfortunately, since Shi Feng had made his decision, she had no choice but to follow his orders. Immediately, Aqua Rose made the necessary arrangements and posted Shi Feng''s declaration on the official forums in Zero Wing''s name. 1561 Mana Rain Chapter 1561 - Mana Rain After Aqua Rose quoted Shi Feng on Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums, the players had originally focused on Heaven''s Burial''s declaration shifted their attention to her post. The title of the post was eye-catching. If you want a fight, we''ll give you a fight! "This is insane! Zero Wing must''ve lost its mind!" "Is this for real? Zero Wing actually dares to pull something like this?" "Isn''t Zero Wing afraid of Heaven''s Burial whittling them down to nothing?" "Amazing! As expected of Zero Wing!" "Hmph, Zero Wing is just trying to save its reputation by doing something like this. Even if Zero Wing blacklists the players that target its members, what can it do if those people use Black Cloaks?" "That''s right! This also gives us more opportunities to earn money. The bounties on both sides are the same. Heaven''s Burial also has more members than Zero Wing, and they''re weaker. If you really want to earn money, killing Heaven''s Burial''s members is the way to go." Zero Wing''s response to Heaven''s Burial''s provocations shocked the players on the forums. They were also delighted. After all, they just gained another source of income. Now they could target more than just Zero Wing''s members. They could even head to the Orc Empire to level up and earn for Contribution Points while grinding for Heaven''s Burial members. When the various major powers saw Zero Wing''s reply, they laughed at Zero Wing''s foolishness. Of all the things Zero Wing could''ve chosen to compete with Heaven''s Burial in, the Guild had chosen wealth. Zero Wing was overestimating itself and seeking self-destruction! "Just what is Zero Wing trying to do? Is it really intent on duking it out with Heaven''s Burial?" Galaxy Past felt confused when he saw this message. In his opinion, Zero Wing should still have methods of dealing with Heaven''s Burial''s bounty. Although the result wouldn''t change regardless of what Zero Wing did, they could buy some time, using it as an opportunity to look for other methods, such as seeking collaborators. Although Zero Wing''s situation was perilous, with the Guild''s current foundations, there should be plenty of major corporations and superpowers willing to acquire the Guild. After all, Zero Wing''s Stone Forest Town still held the Battle Arena and Advanced Auction House, which could rake in plenty of resources for a considerable time. The Guild still had great potential for growth. Moreover, Zero Wing and Phoenix Rain, who now had control over a portion of Thunder Island, were connected. When Singular Burial received news of Zero Wing''s declaration, his expression darkened. "Guild Leader Singular, it seems that Zero Wing is aiming for mutual destruction. Do you need my Thunder Legion to pay Zero Wing a visit?" Lei Jingyang said, smiling when he read Aqua Rose''s forum post. He had commanded the Thunder Legion, a collection of experts, for many years. The legion was particularly fond of ambushes and assassinations in the field. Ordinary players might not be able to deal with Zero Wing''s 100-man teams, but they would be child''s play to the Thunder Legion. "No need. Since Zero Wing dares to make such a move, I want to see how long they can last against!" Singular Burial said, sneering. If Zero Wing had turtled, he might have needed Lei Jingyang''s help. Although Zero Wing''s bounty on Heaven''s Burial would cause him a lot of trouble, he''d also be able to remove Zero Wing from Star-Moon Kingdom much sooner than he had hoped. He also refused to believe that Zero Wing''s financial strength could surpass his. At this moment, a slightly chubby, middle-aged man approached Singular Burial and reported, "Guild Leader, the city''s basic infrastructure has been repaired. The NPC guards we hired have arrived as well. We can open Ancient Rock City to the public at any time now. Many adventurer teams and merchant players have requested to garrison and set up stalls in the city." "Good. Open the city to the public. Let the players waiting outside the city come in," Singular Burial commanded hurriedly. He was joyful when he heard that they finished the city''s infrastructure. "Gather the adventurer teams and merchant players, and I''ll go meet them." The so-called basic infrastructure referred to smithies and hotels. These buildings provided essential services to the adventurer teams grinding in the Orc Empire. With these businesses, Heaven''s Burial could collect a lot of repair fees and accommodation fees. Moreover, his people were constantly perfecting Ancient Rock City. In the future, Heaven''s Burial could sell various Consumable items as well, earning a fortune. The Orc Empire was a neutral map. Players had great difficulty traveling to and from the empire. If players wished to stay in the empire for long periods, basic Consumable items were a must. As long as Heaven''s Burial sold these Consumable items, a large number of players would come to purchase them. They wouldn''t have to worry about a lack of customers. Zero Wing''s Stone Forest Town simply couldn''t compare to the wealth Heaven''s Burial could collect from Ancient Rock City. "Understood! I''ll have them gather in Ancient Rock City immediately!" The middle-aged man then turned and left to notify the various adventurer teams and merchant players. When Ancient Rock City opened to the public, news of this spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of the neighboring kingdoms and empires in a matter of minutes. The Orc Empire had only had three Guild Towns in the past. Moreover, all three had been in the Orc Empire''s outer region, making it troublesome to grind for Contribution Points. Players had still needed to travel to the empire''s inner region due to the low number of monsters in the outer area. As a result, many players dismissed the idea of traveling to the Orc Empire entirely. However, now that a Guild City occupied the empire''s inner region, not only would players save on travel time, but they could also accept quests more easily. After all, cities offered far more quests than towns. Moreover, the rewards of these quests were more abundant. Meanwhile, in the distant Zero Wing City, Aqua Rose frowned as she read through the reports her subordinates had sent. Ancient Rock City''s popularity had far exceeded her expectations. Based on the latest reports, over 2,000,000 players were moving into the Orc Empire. Needless to say, these players would visit Ancient Rock City when they needed to recuperate. Many more players from the neighboring countries were also preparing for their trip to the Orc Empire. With so many players, one could just imagine the wealth Ancient Rock City would generate. As Aqua Rose racked her brain for a solution, she felt the space around her suddenly tremble. Moreover, these tremors steadily intensified. It felt as if the space around her would shatter at any moment. "This is" Aqua Rose lifted her head to look towards the Four Towers of Elements. The four towers seemed to be the epicenters of these tremors. Suddenly, a fourfold magic array appeared above each of the Four Towers of Elements, radiating an aura so powerful that even an expert like Aqua Rose couldn''t help but shudder in fear. A short moment later, a link formed between the four fourfold magic arrays hovering above Zero Wing City''s four corners. A towering pillar of light then emerged from each of the arrays, rising endlessly into the sky. These four light pillars represented the four main elements: earth, water, wind, and fire! As the light pillars rose, a frightening amount of Mana began to gather above Zero Wing City. The pillars gathered Mana from tens of thousands of yards around the city, and very quickly, the Mana around the city became so dense that it transformed into a white mist. As the mist gathered above the city, it began to condense into droplets and rained down, washing Zero Wing City in liquid Mana. Everyone in Zero Wing City was dumbfounded. None of them had ever felt such dense Mana before. Their minds were clearer than ever. However, this Mana Rain did not last long. The sky above the city soon returned to its normal state, and the Mana density in the city began to decrease. Even after the city''s Mana density stabilized, Zero Wing City''s Mana was far denser than in Stone Forest Town. At the very least, Zero Wing City''s Mana density was 30% higher than in the Guild Town 1562 The Power of the Four Towers of Elements Chapter 1562 - The Power of the Four Towers of Elements "What''s going on with the city''s Mana?" When the players in Zero Wing City felt the change in the Mana density around them, they felt an indescribably pleasant sensation. However, this pleasant sensation didn''t originate from bathing in high amounts of Mana, but from a power that nourished their souls. While everyone lost themselves in the sensation, a few Guild members noticed a change to their experience bars. The Double EXP buff indicator, which usually only appeared after they rested in a Private Room, had actually popped up near their experience bars "This can''t be real, right? We can actually accumulate the Double EXP buff just by staying in the city?" "That''s not all! My Stamina and Concentration recovery rates are as high as when I recover in a hotel!" Very quickly, more players inside the city discovered the peculiarities from bathing in the city''s Mana. So, this is the power of the Four Towers of Elements? Aqua Rose could not help but grow ecstatic as she stared at one of the Four Towers of Elements erected before her. She had been curious about Shi Feng focusing on an Advanced Construction like the Four Towers of Elements rather than setting up the city''s basic infrastructure. He had even decided to open Zero Wing City to the public soon. Now, she finally understood his decisions. Although Zero Wing City still lacked many basic features a city ought to have, this special Mana density was enough to secure Zero Wing''s position in Star-Moon Kingdom. No Guild Town could ever rival Zero Wing City with its advantages, whether it was in terms of Guild development or the ability to attract players. Not only would Zero Wing City''s incredibly high Mana density be helpful to combat players, but it would also benefit Lifestyle players. The city''s Mana also allowed players to accumulate the Double EXP buff and improved their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates. These benefits might not attract players seeking to adventure in the Orc Empire, but to players who wanted to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City would be a holy land. Moreover, it was considerably easy for players to travel to Zero Wing City. Zero Wing had already garrisoned in Evernight City, and they could open a teleportation channel between Evernight City and Zero Wing City at any time. "Aqua, make a trip to Evernight City and set up the teleportation array linking Zero Wing City and Evernight City. Once you''re done, announce the link to the public," Shi Feng, who had just emerged from the tower after drawing the final magic array, ordered. "Alright, I''ll head out immediately." Aqua Rose nodded, clearly excited. She then took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. Meanwhile, Youlan, who stood beside Aqua Rose, was still immersed in the city''s ambient Mana, unable to calm her pounding heart. Is this Zero Wing''s true power? Youlan could not help but raise her head and look at Shi Feng, indescribable shock filling her heart. She had to admit that Zero Wing was truly awe-inspiring. She finally understood why Shi Feng didn''t fear the Blackwater Corporation. In response to the surprised expression on Youlan''s face, Shi Feng merely chuckled. After all, this was only the beginning. Next, we''ll need to build even more hotels and Mana Towers. Shi Feng smiled at Zero Wing City''s numerous empty plots of Land. In reality, the Four Towers of Elements'' effects weren''t as simple as everyone assumed. It was an Advanced Construction that required Seven Luminaries Crystals, after all. Not only would players enjoy double the recovery rates when resting in hotels, under the towers'' influence, but the Double EXP buff''s accumulation rate would also double. With this, Zero Wing City''s normal hotels were even more effective than 1-star Private Rooms in Guild Residences. Naturally, this improved the effect of Guild Residences'' Private Rooms in Zero Wing City as well. This perk would make it far easier for players who strove to level up. Although players could only accumulate up to one level of the Double EXP buff, that was extremely valuable. Just being able to accumulate the Double EXP buff while resting was amazing. This was especially true for independent players. But this was only the tip of the iceberg. The Four Towers of Elements'' truly impressive aspect was their ability to increase the distance of teleportation. Although the teleportation distance to and from a city was determined on the city''s scale and Mana density, the towers'' minimum teleportation range was 3,000,000 yards. At such a distance, one could easily cross three or more leveling maps. It covered even more distance than the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement. The only downside was its significant cost. Teleporting every player required a significant amount of Mana, the supply of which had to be in the form of Magic Crystals. The Four Towers of Elements'' cost was nearly as much as a Teleportation Magic Array''s. However, unlike the Four Towers of Elements, the latter allowed players to teleport across extremely large distances. Even so, the various large Guilds in the past had tried everything they could to obtain this function. Naturally, this function made it extremely convenient to travel to nearby leveling maps. As long as a map was within the towers'' teleportation range, players could teleport after registering the proper coordinates, saving countless hours of travel time. Not only would players be able to level up far more quickly, but they could also explore further locations without hampering their development. According to Shi Feng''s estimates, the Four Towers of Elements should be able to teleport players up to 4,000,000 yards away with Zero Wing City''s current standards. This meant that players could travel even further away than Bewildering Forest Town in an instant. Players could teleport to the border between Star-Moon Kingdom and the Orc Empire. If he constructed a Mana Tower, the symbol of Guild Cities, in Zero Wing City, the Four Towers of Elements might even be able to teleport players into the Orc Empire. If teleporting directly into the Orc Empire were possible, players seeking to travel to the empire to level could do so via Zero Wing City. It would save players a lot of time, and they could avoid the Orc patrol squads guarding the empire''s borders. Zero Wing City''s value to the public would soar. However, constructing the Mana Tower also wasn''t easy. Unlike the Magic Tower, which was a defensive structure, the Mana Tower was a support building unique to cities. Unfortunately, despite the fact that Guild Cities could construct Mana Towers without the design, the construction required extremely rare and valuable materials. The Mana Ore, in particular, was incredibly difficult to obtain. Normally, obtaining Mana Ore wouldn''t be a problem for Shi Feng. It was entirely possible to purchase large quantities from the market. However, due to the Orc Empire, collecting 5,000 pieces of Mana Ore had become challenging. It seems that I''ll have to deal with the Disintegration Armor as soon as possible. Shi Feng could not help but glance at the Disintegration debuff in his status window. As long as this debuff remained, he''d have a lot of trouble dealing with many issues. Following which, he turned to Youlan and said, "Youlan, from now on, I''d like you to manage Zero Wing City and Stone Forest Town''s Candlelight Trading Firm. If you need any help from the Guild, you can look for Aqua Rose. I''ve already told her." "You want me to take on such an important role?" Youlan was stunned. She had never dreamed that Shi Feng considered her so important, allowing her to manage the trading firms in two integral locations. Stone Forest Town''s trading firm was one of Zero Wing''s main sources of income. As for the trading firm in Zero Wing City, there was no doubt that it would rake in even more income than Stone Forest Town. "Mhm. I trust in your abilities." Shi Feng nodded. He had seen Youlan''s management skills long ago. Moreover, Youlan was a 3-star Merchant. Youlan fell silent as she evaluated the man before her. She simply could not understand what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. Normally, no Guild would allow an outsider, who had recently joined the Guild, to take on such an important management role, yet Shi Feng had done so without hesitation "Alright, but I won''t be responsible if things go south," Youlan said, smiling. Shi Feng couldn''t help but laugh at Youlan''s reply. He then notified Aqua Rose and had the two women work out the finer details amongst themselves. He then returned to Zero Wing''s Residence and collected some Consumables and Magic Scrolls from the Guild Warehouse. He then used Moloch''s Ring to teleport to the Dark Den''s central region. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose began to spread the news of Zero Wing City opening to the public throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. 1563 Zero Wing Citys Grand Opening Chapter 1563 - Zero Wing City''s Grand Opening The resulting response to the announcement of Zero Wing''s opening paled in comparison to the announcement regarding Ancient Rock City. Due to small information leaks, players had already discovered Zero Wing City''s location in Witch''s Hill. The resource maps near Witch''s Hill were ordinary and held little attraction for the majority of Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. "Zero Wing City has already opened? This is good news." "Zero Wing must be trying to earn money to stand against Heaven''s Burial. It''s a pity that there''s nothing valuable about the city''s location. At most, the city has more space to accommodate players. It likely won''t hold up to Stone Forest Town''s performance." "I''d rather go to Stone Forest Town instead. I''ve heard that you even have to pay a 30-Copper entrance fee to get into Zero Wing City. That''s insane! Not even Ancient Rock City charges an entrance fee! What''s so special about Zero Wing City that warrants an entrance fee?!" "That''s right. If I were an expert, I wouldn''t visit Zero Wing City, either. Besides, there''s a ton of experts in Stone Forest Town. If I want to improve via duels, Stone Forest Town is undoubtedly the better choice." Although news of Zero Wing City''s opening had spread across Star-Moon Kingdom, very few players were interested in the city. Instead, the majority of the kingdom''s players focused on a way to travel to the Orc Empire so they could earn Contribution Points to purchase set equipment and Mounts. Zero Wing City would likely only be useful after they reached Level 50 or 60. "Does Zero Wing really think it can contend with Heaven''s Burial just by having a city in Star-Moon Kingdom?" Galaxy Past was confused as he read the latest report on Zero Wing. "Do they really plan to fight to the bitter end?" While a Guild City could generate more income than a Guild Town, the necessary investments were much higher. Zero Wing had only recently completed Zero Wing City, and the city''s infrastructure wasn''t yet perfected. The city still lacked the benefits of Stone Forest Town, not to mention Ancient Rock City. Ancient Rock City was an Orc City; it already had all of the essential facilities. The city only lacked a teleportation array. However, Ancient Rock City''s location was absolutely perfect. Countless players in multiple kingdoms and two empires had already set their sights on the Orc Empire''s inner region. Heaven''s Burial could make a fortune just from the repair and accommodation fees, not to mention the daily Consumable items it sold. Galaxy Past wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. When Star-Moon Kingdom''s upper echelons heard the news, they, too, thought that Zero Wing was trying to buy time. Otherwise, the Guild wouldn''t push out a half-completed Guild City. "Big Sis Aqua, although we''ve already spread the news, everyone still seems more interested in Ancient Rock City. Thus far, only a few merchant players and adventurer teams have contacted us about garrisoning in Zero Wing City," a Level 29 female Summoner reported to Aqua Rose helplessly. The female Summoner wore a light purple dress with a 1-star Merchant''s Insignia pinned above her left breast. Before the announcement of Ancient Rock City''s opening, plenty of merchant players had contacted them about conducting business in Zero Wing City. Various well-known adventurer teams had also expressed their interest in purchasing private houses. Unfortunately, before they had prepared the necessary contracts, Heaven''s Burial had opened Ancient Rock City to the public. In the end, these merchant players and adventurer teams had abandoned Zero Wing City, making their way toward the competing Ancient Rock City "It''s fine. Catching everyone''s attention is enough for now. We just need to wait." Aqua Rose had expected this situation, so she wasn''t surprised in the least by the public''s reactions. "If the merchant players and adventurer teams contact us again, tell them that these are our conditions." "This" The female Summoner was momentarily speechless as she read the list of conditions Aqua Rose had given her. They''d be lucky enough if they found any merchant players interested in renting Zero Wing City''s Shops. The new conditions Aqua Rose proposed were simply absurd. Initially, they had only planned to charge 120 Gold per week for the Shops in Zero Wing City''s outer areas. This was already expensive compared to the rental prices in Guild Towns. The high potential Shops'' rental had been set at 200 Gold per week, and those in the city''s core would''ve cost 300 Gold per week. Very few merchant players could afford such a high price. Normally, only Guilds'' trading firms could afford these Shops'' rent. Without sufficient sales, merchants might not even earn back the cost of their items after taking into account the weekly rent. Yet, Aqua Rose had raised the fees. If the merchant players were to find out about this, they would most likely choke from anger. Now, each Shop in the outer areas would cost 240 Gold per week, while Shops with high potential had risen to 400-500 Gold per week. Shops in the city''s core would cost 700 to 1,000 Gold to rent per week. These prices were insane They''d be seeking fools to rent Zero Wing City''s Shops, rather than merchant players! With 1,000 Gold, one could purchase a relatively valuable Shop in another Guild''s town, yet in Zero Wing City, one could only rent a Shop for a week. Only a fool would accept such a deal. "We''re sticking with these conditions. Whether they want to rent the Shops or not is up to them," Aqua Rose informed the hesitating female Summoner seriously. "I understand." The female Summoner had no choice but to nod. Aqua Rose was the boss, not her. As news of Zero Wing City''s grand opening spread, some curious players made their way towards the city. Once players had reached their levels, the 30-Copper entrance fee wouldn''t hamper their development too much. At worst, they''d only pay the city one visit. Evernight City, Teleportation Hall: As always, Evernight City''s Teleportation Hall was crowded with players. "Boss, are we really going to Zero Wing City?" a Level 42 male Assassin asked the mighty-looking Swordsman before him. "Barely anyone is visiting the city right now. Didn''t we come to Star-Moon Kingdom to improve our techniques? What''s the point of visiting an empty city?" "Are you dumb? Don''t you know how popular Stone Forest Town is right now? If we go to Stone Forest Town, we''ll have to wait for a long time before we can rent a combat room. Moreover, our aim is to spar with members of our team, not other experts. Zero Wing City''s environment might not be as good as Stone Forest Town''s, but no one''s there right now. We can rent the combat rooms there for special training. Once we''ve trained, we can visit Stone Forest Town," the Level 44 Swordsman said, laughing. Their adventurer team would have no trouble covering the 30-Copper entrance fee for each of their members. Time was far more precious than the small expenditure. Hearing the Swordsman''s reasoning, the other team members agreed with their commander. Right now, their goal was to train in a high-Mana environment. Following which, the adventurer team''s members followed the Swordsman as they teleported to Zero Wing City. "What a bunch of fools. They''re actually going to Zero Wing City to train. Do they not know that Zero Wing City was only recently built? How could the Mana density there possibly compare to Stone Forest Town''s? Even if they have to waste some time while they wait in Stone Forest Town, it''s better than going to Zero Wing City." When some of the players in the Teleportation Hall saw the adventurer team teleport to Zero Wing City, they could not help but laugh. However, in Zero Wing City Even after non-Zero Wing players arrived, the spacious Teleportation Hall was eerily silent despite the hundred-plus players within. Only after some time did sound echo throughout the building. "What''s going on? Why is the Mana density so high?" "It is quite high. I''ve been to Stone Forest Town before, so I know how the Mana density is there, but Zero Wing City''s Mana density is at least 30% higher." "Wait! Look! It isn''t just the Mana density that''s higher! My Stamina and Concentration recovery rates have increased significantly, as well!" "Huh?! Guys, look at your experience bars! Mine actually shows the Double EXP Buff!" "This is amazing! I had only expected to rest and train here, but I can even accumulate the Double EXP buff?! The 30 Copper Coins were definitely well-spent!" The players that had just arrived in Zero Wing City quickly noticed the city''s Mana and its benefits, and they were ecstatic. Thirty Copper Coins wasn''t even a fraction of the cost of a hotel room in Stone Forest Town, yet after spending the few coins, they could constantly accumulate the Double EXP buff regardless of where they were in Zero Wing City. They could also recover their Stamina and Concentration far faster. And these effects would last throughout their stay. They didn''t even have to rent a room in a hotel. 1564 Popular Zero Wing City Chapter 1564 - Popular Zero Wing City Following a brief moment of shock, the players visiting Zero Wing City for the first time left the Teleportation Hall. "This" When these players left the building, they were shocked by what they saw. None of them had expected anything like this. The Guild had only recently constructed Zero Wing City. Logically, it should still be relatively empty, but although there weren''t many players on the street, there were plenty of NPCs. Several wandering merchant NPCs had already set up their stalls and were busy hawking their wares, as well. These wandering merchants sold a lot more items than those in Stone Forest Town. Normally, wandering merchants had no lack of rare items for sale. Adventurer teams and independent players were often willing to wait an entire day to purchase these rare items. However, these items were usually beyond the reach of ordinary players unless they were incredibly lucky. Yet, not a single players stood before Zero Wing City''s wandering merchants The players, fresh out of the Teleportation Hall, turned to look at each other and gulped. They then dashed toward the nearest wandering merchant NPC without hesitation, terrified that other players would snatch up the rare items first. Even if they couldn''t use these items themselves, they could resell them and make a profit. The 30 Copper Coins they had spent to teleport to Zero Wing City was worthwhile. By reselling one of the wandering merchants'' rare items, they could make far more than 30 Copper in profit. The players that had just arrived in Zero Wing City burnt through all of their money. Even so, plenty of wandering merchants still had rare items in stock "Scorpion, notify the commander immediately! Tell him to bring every Coin we have! This is our chance to make a fortune!" When faced with the large number of rare items before them, everyone forgot their original goal in visiting Zero Wing City. They contacted their friends or adventurer teams to borrow enough money to take advantage of this valuable opportunity. As more players entered Zero Wing City, more people found out about Zero Wing City''s benefits. More and more players were also coming to purchase rare items. Although players had tried suppressing the news regarding Zero Wing City''s benefits, some players that couldn''t afford to purchase any of these items decided to publish information on Star-Moon Kingdom''s forums out of spite. Large numbers of wandering merchants present in Zero Wing City! Zero Wing City''s Mana density is even higher Stone Forest Town''s! Players can accumulate the Double EXP buff just by staying in the city! Pictures and videos available! "There are so many wandering merchants!" "How is this possible?! You can accumulate the Double EXP buff just by staying in the city?!" As players continued to post videos and pictures of Zero Wing City on the forums, many of the players who had been interested in visiting Ancient Rock City shifted their sights to Zero Wing City. Nothing was more important than gaining levels and equipment to current players. This was especially true for independent players, who didn''t get to enjoy Guild benefits. It was difficult for independent players to achieve a leveling speed similar to Guild players because they didn''t have opportunities to accumulate the Double EXP buff. Independent players could also enjoy a similar benefit just by paying 30 Copper. They would get more than their money''s worth. There were also plenty of wandering merchants in Zero Wing City. Zero Wing City, which was receiving very little attention from players, became the target location for many independent players and adventurer teams. The players that hadn''t had any intentions of traveling to the Orc Empire quickly made their way to Zero Wing City when they heard the news, hoping to get a good look at the city. As a result, Zero Wing City''s player population skyrocketed. Many players in Stone Forest Town rushed over to Zero Wing City. They had only remained in Stone Forest Town because they had assumed that the town''s Mana density was higher. Now that they knew that Zero Wing City was superior to Stone Forest Town in this aspect, they would train in Zero Wing City instead. Shortly after Zero Wing City''s grand opening, the player population rose from hundreds to tens of thousands. Moreover, this number continued to increase as time passed. "Big Sis Aqua, good news! Based on Zero Wing City''s current statistics, there are already over 300,000 players in the city!" the female Summoner named Yaya said joyfully. "We''ve already grown past 300,000?" Aqua Rose was also ecstatic to hear the news. A player population of 300,000 might not seem like much compared to Stone Forest Town''s player population, which exceeded 1,000,000, but the value of Zero Wing City''s player population was significantly superior. Any player that entered Zero Wing City would have to pay a 30-Copper entrance fee. Since Zero Wing City''s player population had exceeded 300,000, that meant the city had already collected over 900 Gold in entrance fees This was net profit! As more players visited Zero Wing City, the city''s income would continue to rise. It was only a matter of time before the city''s population exceeded 1,000,000. If Zero Wing City had a floating population of 1,000,000, the Guild would make 3,000 Gold in net profit every day. Even the Candlelight Trading Firm wasn''t capable of making that much net profit in a single day. There was also the income from Zero Wing City''s hotels and Battle Arena. The income from these two establishments would likely be on par with the entrance fees. They also had the rental fees from Shops. "Big Sis Aqua, several merchant players and adventurer teams have contacted us again. They''ve stated that they wish to rent the city''s Shops. Are we really going to give them the new conditions?" Yaya asked as she looked at Aqua Rose. The conditions Aqua Rose had proposed were simply ruthless. She worried that the merchant players would flee once they informed them of the changes "Of course. Once Zero Wing City''s player population hits 1,000,000, we''re going to increase this price further!" Aqua Rose said with determination. Yaya didn''t know that Zero Wing City was still an empty shelf. The many 2-star and 3-star NPC Merchants Zero Wing City had contracted hadn''t built their Shops yet. Once their Shops were complete, not only would they sell items at a more reliable rate than the wandering merchant NPCs, but they would sell even higher valued items. Even more players would be attracted to Zero Wing City then. Even a population of two or three million might not be impossible, much less one million. "I understand." When Yaya heard Aqua Rose, she could not help but pity those merchant players. Had they agreed to lease Zero Wing City''s Shops earlier, they would''ve been able to take advantage of the sudden development and made a huge profit. Now Aqua Rose would fleece them of every coin they had. Following which, Yaya relayed Aqua Rose''s conditions to the merchant players trying to conduct business in Zero Wing City. "This is fraudulent!" "Is Zero Wing that desperate for money!?" "Crap! A Shop on a plot of land with good potential costs 400 Gold a week?! I might as well just buy a Shop in a Guild Town!" The merchant players that received Yaya''s message paled and cursed Zero Wing. If they tried to rent a Shop on a plot of land with good potential, they would have to add over 57 Gold to their daily expenditures. How many items would they have to sell to earn that back? Only large-scale Merchant Guilds would possibly dare to rent such an expensive Shop. These large-scale Merchant Guilds were made up of merchant players spread across multiple countries. With their wide range of connections, they would be able to obtain many items that would be of great interest to players. Four hundred Gold for a plot of land with good potential? It seems Zero Wing is confident in its city''s development. Susie, whom Shi Feng had met in Stone Forest Town''s Advanced Auction House, smiled when she received Yaya''s reply. This is a good opportunity. I might not be able to rent a Shop on a plot of land with good potential, but I should be able to rent a Shop in the city''s outer area. Although a large number of merchant players chose to give up on doing business in Zero Wing City, there were still a few of them that decided to bite the bullet and rent a Shop in the city''s outer area. Although the rental fee of 240 Gold per week was still expensive, at least they could save on some of their cost. As Zero Wing City became increasingly popular Shi Feng had arrived at the Dark Den''s central area using Moloch''s Ring. The World Summit! This was a place created by numerous Gods. 1565 Land of Gods Chapter 1565 - Land of Gods When Shi Feng returned to the World Summit''s outer area once again, he felt that the place had changed since his last visit. More precisely, it wasn''t the World Summit that had changed, but himself. When he visited the World Summit previously, he had merely been a Tier 1 player. He had been weaker in both perception and physique. He also hadn''t had a clear understanding of what kind of place the World Summit was. This time, however, he noticed far more details. He could feel a strange power filling the area. This power gave off a cloud-like feeling. Although it felt vague, it had even suppressed the Disintegration Power''s effects in his body. The Disintegrated debuff had weakened his Basic Attributes by 50%. Now, his Basic Attributes were only 30% less than normal. This strange power''s effect was striking. Moreover, the closer he got to the World Summit, the stronger the strange power became. Sure enough, the World Summit is extraordinary. It should be quite possible to obtain God Crystals here. Shi Feng took a look at the distant mountain that pierced the clouds. He had been in a rush during his first visit. He had wanted to secure the Bible of Darkness and leave as quickly as possible. He hadn''t bothered to explore the World Summit and the surrounding areas properly. Now that he had returned, he had to research the area. After all, Gods had created this place! If he had obtained so much from the Moon God''s old residence, the harvest he could obtain from a gathering place for many Gods would be extraordinary. His goal was to obtain God Crystals. The more God Crystals he obtained, the better since he had so many uses for them. Aside from the Disintegration Armor, he needed God Crystals to repair his equipment, such as the Nightwalker''s Cape and Soul Orb. He had to search for any possible locations to obtain God Crystals. Following which, Shi Feng began to explore the World Summit. Time passed quickly. Before he realized it, he had already spent over ten hours exploring. The World Summit''s map was very large. It was like a large-scale leveling map. There were deserts, forests, and canyons around the World Summit. The map itself was like a miniature world. However, aside from the golden avenue, the other locations didn''t house a single living creature Don''t tell me that I can only obtain treasures by entering the World Summit itself? Shi Feng was speechless. While there were many treasures in the World Summit, there were quite a few problems he would have while inside. The amount of time a player could remain in the World Summit was based on the strength they displayed. Previously, he had fought desperately to gain barely enough time to secure the Bible of Darkness. Although he had grown a lot stronger since his previous visit, and he should be able to secure more time, he didn''t think that he could gather enough God Crystals to repair the Disintegration Armor. After entering the World Summit, although countless Shrines dotted the mountain, activating each Shrine would cost a corresponding amount of time. It was obvious that obtaining one or two God Crystals wouldn''t be sufficient to remove the mysterious power suppressing the Disintegration Armor, and no matter how he looked at it, he should only be able to find God Crystals in the Epic ranked and above Shrines. In that case, according to his estimates, he''d be quite fortunate if he could activate two or three Epic Shrines. Just as Shi Feng was about to give up on exploring the area and reached the golden avenue, he discovered something unbelievable. What''s going on? Shi Feng was dumbfounded as he looked at the golden avenue. Players! Other players had actually arrived in this special space! The most unbelievable part was the number of players. There were more than 20 players just within his vision range right now. These players didn''t seem to belong to a single, large team. They moved in parties of three to five people, and they were clearly on high alert despite the fact that attacks weren''t permitted on the golden avenue. Shi Feng also sensed the Power of Darkness radiating from these players. To be more precise, it was the Power of Demons. These 20-plus players were all Demon Players. When the Demon Players noticed Shi Feng, they weren''t particularly surprised. They simply glanced at Shi Feng before continuing to make their way toward the World Summit. Could there be another method of entering this place aside from Moloch''s Ring? After watching the group of players walk away, Shi Feng quickly noticed several more Demon Players approach from behind them. It was obvious that there were quite a lot of Demon Players that had arrived in the World Summit. It was also clear that the Demon Players didn''t arrive at this place using Moloch''s Ring instead. Two players wearing Black Cloaks, one male and one female, approached Shi Feng as he pondered. The man looked like a savage with his unkempt hair, while the woman was a beauty with an extraordinary body. A broken sword also hung from the woman''s waist. Shi Feng had met both these players before. One of them was Brute Spear, whom he had met on Demon Island, and the other one was Hidden Soul, the holder of ''Pride'' in the Flower of Seven Sins. He never thought that he would meet these two in the World Summit "Fellow friend, are you alone? How about partying up with us?" Brute Spear asked Shi Feng, who fully hid his appearance behind a Black Cloak. Smiling, he continued, "I believe you should know that you''ll need to have a lot of time if you want to take advantage of the World Summit. The amount of time allotted if you clear the entrance test by yourself is too limited. You won''t be able to explore much with so little time. If you challenge the test as parties of three or five, you''ll be able to obtain much more time. How much time each person will get in the end will depend on your own abilities." Among the members of the Sin of Pride, only Hidden Soul and himself had arrived at the World Summit. Most of the other players that had arrived at the World Summit had formed their own parties. Even players that had arrived alone would opt to join five-man parties rather than a three-man party like theirs. The difficulty of the entrance test at the World Summit greatly differed depending on if you were challenging the test as an individual or as a party. In the case of parties, the difficulty was no different if you were in a party of three or five. The total amount of time allotted to a party would also remain the same. Each player in a party of five would get less than a party of three. However, a party of five would undoubtedly have greater survivability and overall strength, which would allow the party to challenge a test of greater difficulty and gain more total time. Now that they had encountered Shi Feng, who looked to be alone, he naturally had to ask and see if he were interested. Otherwise, the two of them wouldn''t be able to take the party test and would have to resort to the individual test. "Challenging the test as a party gives more time?" When Shi Feng heard Brute Spear''s words, he more or less understood the gist of the situation. He then nodded and said, "Alright, I''ll join your party." Based on Brute Spear''s words, he could tell that the man was relatively familiar with the World Summit. Previously, Shi Feng had come as an individual, so he didn''t notice that there was a party mode for the test. Judging by how experts like Brute Spear and Hidden Soul were willing to accept a stranger like himself into their party before even confirming his strength, he could tell that the party test was much more rewarding than the individual test. Otherwise, Brute Spear wouldn''t bother inviting him at all. Experts on Brute Spear and Hidden Soul''s caliber were relatively prideful. If they were capable of achieving their goal on their own, they wouldn''t ask for help, especially not from a stranger. "Hahaha! Wonderful! Brother, it seems you''re quite a sensible person as well! If something can be done in a party of three, there''s naturally no need to do it in a party of five! Let''s hurry up and head for the test, then!" Brute Spear laughed when Shi Feng agreed to his invite. Hidden Soul merely glanced at Shi Feng before continuing on her way toward the World Summit silently. It was clear that she held no interest in knowing a hanger-on like Shi Feng. "Brother, don''t mind it. Our commander is always like this," Brute Spear explained awkwardly. "That''s understandable." Shi Feng didn''t say much about Hidden Soul''s response. After all, his thoughts were exactly the same as Hidden Soul''s. They were merely using each other for their own benefits and were far from being friends. There was naturally no need to act chummy with each other. Shi Feng, Hidden Soul, and Brute Spear walked along the golden avenue and made their way towards the World Summit. 1566 Epic Party Tes Chapter 1566 - Epic Party Test After reaching the altar at the World Summit''s foot, Shi Feng discovered that there were easily over 100 players. The majority of these players wore Black Cloaks, but there were some that didn''t hide their identities and levels. There sure are a lot of experts. Shi Feng looked at everyone. Has the development of Demon Players reached such an extent already? Even the weakest player present was Level 48, while some had already reached Level 49. These players could easily rank at the top of an empire''s Ranking List. These players also had the capability to transform into Demons, which would further enhance their strength. The players that hid their names and levels were likely also powerful. There were many non-human races in God''s Domain. The Demon race ranked near the top in terms of strength. However, these races generally developed slowly during the early stages of the game. On their way here, Shi Feng had learned from Brute Spear that every Demon Player capable of entering this place was a Demon Noble. This was a benefit available only to Demon Players who had become Demon Nobles. However, it was not easy to come to the World Summit, either. They not only had to pay 1,000 magic crystals, but they also had to complete many quests from a Demon King. They would only gain one chance to enter the World Summit after they had accumulated sufficient Contribution Points. There was only one opportunity to enter the World Summit every three days. In God''s Domain, it was extremely difficult for Demon Players to obtain a noble rank. There were over a hundred Demon Nobles here now. One could already imagine how many ordinary Demon Players there were in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, even at the lowest Demon Noble rank, Tier 1 Demon Players would have their physique and Basic Attributes improved enough to rival ordinary Tier 2 players when they transformed into Demons. The 100-plus Demon Players present could already be considered Tier 2 players. A party of five was just finishing their battle at the altar when Shi Feng''s group approached it. As the five players sat on the floor panting, expressions of excitement surfaced on their faces. "What a powerful party! Although just barely, they actually cleared the Dark-Gold test! They''ll have a good time inside the World Summit! Not only would they gain the key to open Dark-Gold Shrines, but they can also visit a few Fine-Gold Shrines!" "It''s a pity that they''re a five-man party. If they were a three-man party instead, they''d have enough time to visit two Dark-Gold Shrines even if their test just barely made the mark for Dark-Gold rank. If they hurry, they might even get to enter three Dark-Gold Shrines." "Even so, it''s already a good result. After all, the previous few parties have cleared the Fine-Gold test." Envy and admiration filled the players below the altar as they looked at the party on it. There were also some that pitied the party. Based on everyone''s reactions, it was clear that they were all familiar with the World Summit''s entrance test. Even without the system''s notifications, these players could guess the rank of the test the party of five undertook. No wonder they said that parties get more time. So, this is the case. Realization dawned on Shi Feng as he watched the battles on the altar. After watching several parties of Demon Players challenge the entrance test, he more or less understood how the party test worked. Compared to the individual test, the party test presented players with a considerable advantage. For the individual test, players were required to go up against 10 monsters simultaneously. For the party test, regardless of its size, players would have to go up against only 20 monsters simultaneously. Of course, there were also downsides for challenging the party test. First, the monsters'' minimum standard one could challenge in the party test was different. For the individual test, the weakest monster available for players to choose from was a Common monster, whereas the weakest monster available for the party test was a Special Elite. Second, it was far more difficult for parties to achieve the Dark-Gold rank in their tests. For example, when Shi Feng challenged the test, he was able to achieve the Dark-Gold rank just by challenging one Lord and nine Chieftains. Parties needed to challenge a minimum of one Great Lord, five High Lords, and 14 Chieftains. The difficulty for parties was considerably higher. Players were able to exhibit greater strength in a group than monsters though. If a party of five had a good class configuration, such as having one MT, one healer, and three DPS, the party would have a good chance at clearing the Dark-Gold party test. Moreover, the entrance test allowed external items. Only Summoning Scrolls and Personal Guards were barred. Hence, it wasn''t impossible to clear a Dark-Gold party test. Among the several parties Shi Feng had watched clear the Dark-Gold party test thus far, most of them had relied on Magic Scrolls and special tools. A party of three approached Shi Feng''s group while they were waiting for their turn. However, these three players didn''t pay any attention whatsoever to Shi Feng. Instead, their gazes focused on Hidden Soul. "Soul, I didn''t expect you to come here. I suggest that you give up on the quest this time. The Sin of Wrath will obtain that item. Or do you really think that you can clear the Epic test even with a hanger-on in your party?" a two-meter-tall, cloaked man carrying a massive, pitch-black broken blade said, laughing as he looked at Hidden Soul. "You are courageous to waste two slots by coming here. If not for your elder brother strongly recommending you, you''d never have obtained the position you have today. I believe that things would get interesting if your brother found out about this." Upon hearing the robust man''s words, Hidden Soul''s complexion darkened. Entering the World Summit wasn''t an easy task. There were only a limited number of quests assigned by Demon Kings. As a result, it would be very difficult for players to enter the World Summit. Demon Players would normally only use up their chance to enter the World Summit after gathering a party of three or five. The matter this time was relatively urgent. If she didn''t obtain that item, she wouldn''t be able to achieve her following goals. Hence, she had no choice but to enter the World Summit with only one of her subordinates. "Skyhawk, don''t go thinking that you Wraths are amazing! We''ll show you who''s the truly strong one later on!" Brute Spear said as he stood forward and looked at the man carrying the broken blade. "Isn''t it obvious who''s the stronger party here? Brute Spear, I advise you to join the Sin of Wrath. You''ll have a much better future here. Do you think you can achieve anything by following a new commander?" the man named Skyhawk said, glancing at Brute Spear. "It just so happens that it''s our turn to take the test now. We''ll let you take a close look at the difference in strength between us." Skyhawk and his two companions walked up to the altar and began their test. As a three-man party, it would be difficult for them to clear the Dark-Gold test. The trio had chosen to challenge the Epic test instead anyway. One Grand Lord, four Great Lords, and 15 Chieftains appeared above the altar. The instant these monsters appeared, a commotion erupted below the altar. "Who are these three?" "Crap! That''s a Grand Lord! Could those three be challenging the Epic test?!" Everyone was dumbfounded by the difficulty of the test Skyhawk''s party had challenged. Only a few of the parties that challenged the entrance test managed to clear the Dark-Gold test. Most of these parties had only just barely managed to clear the test after using all sorts of tools. This was the first time they were seeing anyone challenging the Epic test. The moment the battle began, the trio took a Tier 3 Magic Scrolls from each of their bags: a Defensive Scroll, a large-scale destruction Magic Scroll, and a Domain Scroll. The monsters that appeared above the altar had much lower HP than ordinary monsters. They also possessed monotonous Skills, making them relatively easy to kill. Before using the three Magic Scrolls, the trio simultaneously used their Berserk Skills. Then, they each took out and drank a potion. The Mana surrounding them went berserk. The Burning Mana Potion? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the potion the trio consumed. The Burning Mana Potion was a Master ranked potion. When consumed, the potion ignited one''s Mana and tripled the effectiveness of their Skills and Spells. The potion only had a short duration of six seconds; it was a very rare and powerful Berserk Potion. While Skyhawk''s group prepared, the 20 combat puppets didn''t idle around, either. However, before the combat puppets could even get close to the three, they were stopped by a magic barrier. Not even the Grand Lord combat puppet could shake the magic barrier. A Domain Skill descended on the combat puppets, reducing the monsters'' Basic Attributes by 40%. Immediately after, an arc of golden lightning descended from the sky and bombarded the combat puppets, instantly killing all 15 Chieftains. In the blink of an eye, only one Grand Lord and four Great Lords remained on the altar. Although the five remaining combat puppets only lost a small portion of their HPs, the large-scale destruction Spell injured them badly, their combat power decreasing even further after the Domain Skill weakened them. The Guardian Knight standing on Skyhawk''s right moved forward and used an AOE Taunt, instantly securing the aggro of the six combat puppets. The Cleric standing on Skyhawk''s left continuously cast Healing Spells on the Guardian Knight. Skyhawk controlled the five thorny vines summoned by his Domain Skill and continuously bombarded the combat puppets with attacks, each attack dealing tens of thousands of damage. Meanwhile, even the Grand Lord ranked combat puppet only had a maximum HP of 16,200,000 after being weakened. After a few short minutes, the remaining six combat puppets collapsed to the ground. Skyhawk''s party smoothly cleared the Epic test. "They''re too strong!" "Who are these people?!" Everyone below the stage was dumbfounded. When the previous parties had challenged the entrance test, they had ended up dead tired by the time they had completed it, yet despite challenging an Epic test, Skyhawk''s party cleared it without breaking a sweat. Standing on the altar, Skyhawk sent Hidden Soul a provocative glance before laughing and stepping down from the stage to rest. It was as if he had said, "Can you do that?" "Damn it! When did they gather such a set of Tier 3 Magic Scrolls?" Brute Spear growled in frustration as he looked at Skyhawk''s party. Envy flashed in his eyes. Although Hidden Soul didn''t comment, she didn''t look pleased. "It''ll be our turn in a moment. I''ve already stated our goal: we aim for Epic rank. If you wish to withdraw, you can do so now. I won''t try to force the matter. You''ve already seen the difficulty of the Epic test. If you wish to continue, I only have one request although I don''t know how powerful you are exactly, and that is to figure out a way to distract one Great Lord," Hidden Soul said as she turned to Shi Feng. Truthfully, the Epic test was far more difficult than she had expected. Although she had prepared, she wasn''t confident of clearing the test. Players only had one opportunity to challenge the entrance test during each visit to the World Summit. If they failed, they would have to wait until they returned. "There are no problems on my side." Shi Feng nodded. Epic Rank had been his goal all along. "Commander, you see? I knew I picked the right person!" Brute Spear said and laughed when he saw Shi Feng''s unwavering attitude. Hidden Soul simply smiled and didn''t say anything else. After another party finished their test, Shi Feng''s group''s turn to challenge it finally arrived. "Alright, let''s go!" Hidden Soul started walking towards the altar. 1567 Different Goals Chapter 1567 - Different Goals As Shi Feng''s 3-man party ascended the altar, Skyhawk and the others, who rested and recovered their Concentration and Stamina before the mountain, turned to watch. "Commander, Hidden Soul''s party is up next." "What a joke! An Assassin, a Berserker, and a Swordsman? Do they really plan to challenge the Epic Test with that kind of party configuration?" "If she really lets these slots go to waste, not even her brother can help her keep her position!" After sending Hidden Soul a contemptuous glance, Skyhawk closed his eyes and focused on recuperation, paying no attention to the upcoming battle. He had severely depleted both his Stamina and Concentration in the previous intense battle. Although the World Summit was a relatively safe place, it was not completely void of danger. He had to remain in peak condition. As soon as Shi Feng stepped on the altar, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Defeat all enemies before you, and you will be granted entry to the World Summit. System: As a three-man party, you will gain 30 minutes for every Special Elite killed, 100 minutes for Chieftains, 500 minutes for Lords, 1,000 minutes for High Lords, 2,000 minutes for Great Lords, and 5,000 minutes for Grand Lords. System: Your party must choose 20 monsters to face. If you are unable to defeat your opponents, you will die. System: As a three-man party, the party leader may choose 10 monsters, while party members may choose 5 monsters each. The chosen monsters will prioritize the players that chose them. Your party has 10 minutes to consider. Failure to do so will result in automatic forfeit. You will die if you forfeit. "Based on our previous discussion, I''ll choose one Grand Lord and Nine Chieftains; Brute, you''ll choose three Great Lords and two Chieftains; Maple Leaf, you''ll choose one Great Lord and four Chieftains. Try to buy as much time as possible. Brute and I will deal with the Chieftains as quickly as possible, and then we''ll focus on your Great Lord," Hidden Soul said as she looked at Shi Feng. "Understood." Shi Feng nodded. Shi Feng hadn''t given Hidden Soul and Brute Spear any of the names he usually used. Instead, he had given them a fake name that he had thought up on the fly. The World Summit was a paradise of treasure. It was also a hub for Demon Players. It certainly wasn''t a good idea to expose either his Ye Feng ID or Black Flame ID. Hence, he had decided to use another name to avoid complications. Moreover, he had the Nightwalker''s Cape. Even if others used high-ranking Identification Skills on him, they couldn''t see through his concealment. When Shi Feng nodded, Hidden Soul chose her monsters. However, once Shi Feng chose his Great Lord, he didn''t immediately select four Chieftains. Instead, he chose one Grand Lord and three Chieftains. Now that he had the rare opportunity of joining a party in the World Summit, he had to earn as much time as possible. After all, he needed to secure a large number of God Crystals, not just one or two. Even though an Epic party test would award a lot of time, it wasn''t enough for his purposes. Moreover, since Hidden Soul and Brute Spear were confident of dealing with their own monsters, trading one Chieftain for a Grand Lord wouldn''t matter much. By the time Shi Feng finished with his selection, Hidden Soul and Brute Spear had finished choosing their monsters. Following which, they quietly waited for their chosen monsters to spawn. When their allotted ten minutes ended, a magic array formed above the altar. Combat puppets then dropped from the magic array. Once the twenty combat puppets had spawned, gasps filled the air. "What!? More players are challenging the Epic difficulty?!" "Huh? Wait! Why are there two Grand Lords? Did they select one by accident?" "That shouldn''t be the case. How could they possibly mess up such an important decision? If they really made a mistake, they''ll lose their lives." Everyone below the altar was dumbfounded when they saw the combat puppets. In their opinion, the Epic party test was already difficult enough. Adding a single Great Lord would amplify the test''s difficulty, not to mention adding an extra Grand Lord. Although Skyhawk''s party seemed to have cleared the Epic test relatively easily, it had been the result of precise calculation. The Guardian Knight had only tanked one Purgatory Puppet and four Magisteel Puppets due to the Domain Skill''s suppression. However, had there been one more Magisteel Puppet, the Guardian Knight would not have been able to maintain his HP above a safe margin. In that case, Skyhawk''s party would''ve likely died before the combat puppets. The players weren''t the only ones who were stupefied. The sudden arrival of two Grand Lords on the altar stunned Hidden Soul and Brute Spear. [Purgatory Puppet] (Grand Lord) Level 49 HP 27,000,000/27,000,000 [Magisteel Puppet] (Great Lord) Level 49 HP 16,000,000/16,000,000 [Silver Puppet] (Chieftain) Level 49 HP 1,400,000/1,400,000 It seems that I guessed correctly. Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the combat puppets'' levels. He was currently Level 60. To current players, this was an absurdly high level, and he wanted to keep this from others. However, the World Summit''s entrance test decided the trial monsters'' levels based on the highest-leveled player in the party. Hence, Shi Feng had utilized the Growth System and temporarily lowered his level to the next highest-leveled player in the party. Although doing so would reduce his Basic Attributes, it would not affect the quality of his equipment. This mechanic had been created to allow high-level players to help their lower-leveled companions grind and level quickly, as players of significantly higher levels would take the majority of a monster''s EXP. Now, however, this mechanic had helped Shi Feng avoid exposing his level and lower the difficulty of the test. "Has Hidden Soul lost her mind?" Skyhawk was astonished when he saw the two Purgatory Puppets on the altar. He had personally experienced the power of a Purgatory Puppet. Although it didn''t have as much HP as a normal Grand Lord, its combat power was the real deal. If not for the Tier 3 Domain Skill suppressing and attacking the Purgatory Puppet, his party wouldn''t have defeated the Grand Lord. Based on his information, the Sin of Pride shouldn''t have any Tier 3 Domain Scrolls. Even if Hidden Soul had one, how could a Berserker like Brute Spear possibly hold two Grand Lords on his own? Hidden Soul''s party didn''t even have a healer. Everyone was flabbergasted. But what they didn''t know was that Hidden Soul was more confused than any of them. However, once the combat puppets appeared, they didn''t give Hidden Soul much time to consider the surprising development. Immediately, the 20 combat puppets charged at the three players before them. "Commander, what should we do?" Brute Spear panicked. "We don''t have any other choice. We''ll use our Berserk Skills[1] and the two Mana Soul Crystals! Then we''ll use Tier 3 Magic Scrolls to kill the Chieftains! Kill as many as you can!" Hidden Soul gritted her teeth as she took a crystal shard from her bag that radiated a dark-purple glow and threw it on the ground. Reluctantly, Brute Spear retrieved a similar crystal shard and did the same. When the two Mana Soul Crystals shattered, the space around the party grew stagnant. As a result, the approaching combat puppet''s movements stiffened slightly. At the same time, their Basic Attributes decreased by 20%. Unfortunately, despite being weakened, the Purgatory Puppets were still significantly stronger than Great Lords of the same level in terms of Attributes. Meanwhile, although both Hidden Soul and Brute Spear wore top-tier equipment, their Attributes could only rival a Great Lord of the same level even after they activated their Berserk Skills. They were still no match against the weakened Purgatory Puppets. Despite knowing this, however, Hidden Soul clenched her jaw and fought with everything she had. Both Hidden Soul and Brute Spear simultaneously used a Tier 3 Magic Scroll, with one containing a Control Spell, and the other containing a large-scale destruction Spell. The scrolls temporarily immobilized all of the combat puppets, but after the large-scale destruction Spell struck, the Silver Puppets still had over 50% of their HPs remaining. Seeing this, Hidden Soul quickly took out and used another large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. In quick succession, Hidden Soul used three Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls, killing all Chieftain ranked Silver Puppets. Although the large-scale destruction Spells dealt a lot of damage, their effects were no match for those that Skyhawk had used after consuming the Mana Burning Potion. As a result, Hidden Soul''s large-scale destruction Spells A moment later, both Purgatory Puppets arrived before Hidden Soul and only heavily injured the Great Lord ranked Magisteel Puppets. As for the Grand Lord ranked Purgatory Puppets, they had only lost some HP; their bodies were still intact. Brandishing their one-handed sabers against the female Assassin, each of the Purgatory Puppets had two pairs of arms, so Hidden Soul had to face eight sabers simultaneously. As the Purgatory Puppets attacked, they sealed off all paths of retreat. Seeing this, Hidden Soul had no choice but to activate Wind Steps and utilize the brief period of invulnerability the Skill granted to block the incoming attacks and retreat. She planned to kite the Grand Lords, since fighting them head-on would be suicidal. Unfortunately, before she could get 10 yards away from the monsters, both Purgatory Puppets caught up with her. One Purgatory Puppet appeared beside her and sent an energy slash to cut off her path, while the other attacked from behind. So fast! Realizing that she couldn''t advance, Hidden Soul spun around and met the Purgatory Puppet behind her. Hidden Soul gracefully avoided half of the Purgatory Puppet''s dozen or so attacks. She deflected the remaining strikes with her daggers and used the force to push her away from both puppets. At the same time, she also used the force of the attacks to push herself away from both Purgatory Puppets. As a result of deflecting several of the Purgatory Puppet''s attacks, Hidden Soul lost over 8,000 HP. After activating her Berserk Skill, Hidden Soul only had slightly more than 90,000 HP in total. Hence, she couldn''t ignore such high damage. Yet, seconds after Hidden Soul escaped from the pincer attack, the other Purgatory Puppet leaped powerfully and arrived before her, launching yet another pincer attack "And here I thought Hidden Soul was strong enough to actually challenge two Purgatory Puppets. She''s definitely going to die!" "Her party wouldn''t be able to hold its ground against one Purgatory Puppet. They don''t even have a healer. The suppression they''re using against the puppets isn''t strong enough. Even if they used Regeneration Potions to recovery their HPs, they wouldn''t last long. In the end, no matter what they do, they''ll still die." "That''s right! She has overestimated herself. Does she think she can do anything just because she has high combat standards?" The Guardian Knight and Cleric in Skyhawk''s party quietly ridiculed Hidden Soul as they watched the female Assassin desperately flee from the two Purgatory Puppets. As for Skyhawk, he no longer bothered to pay attention to the battle on the altar. The outcome of this test was already evident. Is this the end? Hidden Soul could not help her bitter smile when she saw that her HP had fallen below the 30% threshold. The two Purgatory Puppets launched another two-pronged assault against the Assassin, but just as everyone assumed the battle would end, the air above the alter rippled. Suddenly, the Purgatory Puppets, Hidden Soul, and Brute Spear felt weaker. A shadow then appeared behind one of the Purgatory Puppets, followed by a blue flash. The Purgatory Puppet was abruptly thrown over a dozen yards away, slamming into the altar as it landed "Maple?" Seeing this, Hidden Soul and Brute Spear turned to their mysterious companion with wide eyes. 1568 Mysterious Demon Exper Chapter 1568 - Mysterious Demon Expert Shi Feng''s sudden interference stunned every watching player. "Impossible! That''s a Grand Lord!" "What did he do?" Grand Lords had an overwhelming Strength advantage against Tier 1 players of the same level. At this stage of the game, aside from peak MTs, players could barely block a Grand Lord''s attack after activating a Berserk Skill. Yet, not only had Shi Feng blocked the Purgatory Puppet''s attack, but he had also sent it flying Before anyone could react, Shi Feng moved again and appeared before the other Purgatory Puppet. His Sacred Sword curved past the puppet''s four sabers and struck the Grand Lord''s chest. Like a bullet, the Purgatory Demon''s body shot backward upon coming into contact with Killing Ray, smashing into the ground after flying across over a dozen yards. At the same time, a damage of over -20,000 appeared above its head. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had successfully pulled Hidden Soul from her precarious situation. Shi Feng then used the Aura of Water''s Life Domain, recovering 10% of both Hidden Soul and Brute Spear''s HP every second for 30 seconds. Before Hidden Soul could say anything, Shi Feng got ahead of her and said, "We don''t have time. I''ll make things simple. We need to deal with these two Purgatory Puppets before our Berserk Skills end. Otherwise, they''ll whittle us down until we die. From now on, I''ll tank both Grand Lords while you attack with everything you''ve got." Although the Purgatory Puppets had far less HP than a normal Grand Lords, they still had a base HP of 27,000,000. Even after the Mana Soul Crystals and Disintegration Field''s suppression, both Purgatory Puppets had retained 60% of their Basic Attributes, putting their HPs at 16,200,000. This meant that they would recover 162,000 HP every five seconds. Even if all three players attacked the two Grand Lords with everything they had, it would take a considerable amount of time to defeat them. Furthermore, only two of them would be free to fight the Purgatory Puppets as Brute Spear was busy with the Great Lord ranked Magisteel Puppets. They had to make good use of every second they had. Fortunately, after stepping up to the altar, the Disintegrated debuff suppressing Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes had disappeared, which allowed him to fight at his peak. Even so, he needed to activate a Berserk Skill to suppress a Grand Lord of the same level. Once his Berserk Skill''s duration ended, fighting the Purgatory Puppets would become far more troublesome. Hearing this, Hidden Soul realized the severity of the situation. She nodded and mentally pushed away the questions plaguing her mind. By this time, the two Purgatory Puppets had recovered from Shi Feng''s attacks, staring at the Swordsman with emotionless, crimson eyes. The Grand Lords then released out an angry bellow, their sabers flashing as they emitted scorching, emerald flames. This move was none other than the Purgatory Puppet''s trademark movePurgatory Blade! "It seems the Purgatory Puppets are finally getting serious. It''ll be even more difficult to take them down now." When the spectating crowd saw the emerald flames dance on the sabers, they unconsciously gulped. Not only did Purgatory Blade increase the might of the Purgatory Puppets'' attacks significantly, but it also improved the Grand Lords'' attack range and Attack Speed. Skyhawk''s party had relied on their Guardian Knight''s Lifesaving Skill to stand against the Purgatory Puppet''s Purgatory Blade, and Skyhawk had used a portion of the thorny vines he had summoned with his Tier 3 Domain Skill to help block the attacks. Only after doing so had Skyhawk''s party managed to survive through the Purgatory Blade''s 20-second duration. However, Shi Feng''s party did not include an MT. It didn''t have any healers, either. Defending against the Purgatory Puppet''s Skill would be far more difficult for their party. The Grand Lords'' attack range bonus from the Skill was also terrifyingly vast, making their attacks impossible to dodge. "I''ll aggro one," Hidden Soul hurriedly declared after seeing the Grand Lords activate Purgatory Blade. "It is impossible for non-MT classes to tank both at the same time." Their party''s situation wasn''t like Skyhawk''s. Skyhawk''s party had only faced one Purgatory Puppet, whereas their party had to deal with two. When Skyhawk''s Purgatory Puppet had used Purgatory Blade, even the Guardian Knight nearly died after activating a Lifesaving Skill. Needless to say, the Grand Lords'' attacks would annihilate any other class. "No! I can hold both of them by myself! You just need to focus on dealing damage!" Shi Feng said, grinning as he dashed at the two approaching Purgatory Puppets. At the same time, he activated the Abyssal Blade''s Phantom Kill. Suddenly, Shi Feng split into two copies of himself. Each copy then moved to take on a Purgatory Puppet. "A doppelganger?" Hidden Soul was stunned when she saw Shi Feng split into two. She had never considered that he would have such a Skill. Although a doppelganger''s Basic Attributes were than the main body''s, a doppelganger''s death wouldn''t affect the player. Hence, using the doppelganger to waste a Purgatory Puppet''s Skill was definitely a wise decision. If the player controlled their doppelganger properly, it might even last through the Purgatory Blade''s 20-second duration without mishaps. As Hidden Soul pondered, she was shocked yet again. Both Shi Feng and his doppelganger brandished their swords and clashed with the Purgatory Puppets'' emerald sabers. When the opposing weapons collided, not only did Shi Feng and his doppelganger successfully block the attacks, but they also held their ground. In the end, both Shi Feng and his doppelganger blocked every one of the dozen or so attacks each Purgatory Puppet launched. Although the two Swordsmen lost some HP as the emerald fire burned them, the damage was insignificant with Life Domain''s recovery effect. Seeing this, the spectating crowd was dumbfounded. "What''s going on? Is that really a doppelganger? Aren''t doppelgangers supposed to have weaker Attributes than the main body? That doppelganger seems just as powerful as the main body!" "Crap! That guy can actually keep up with the Purgatory Puppets'' rapid attacks while controlling both his body and his doppelganger! What kind of reaction speed does he have?!" "Amazing! No wonder they dared to challenge two Purgatory Puppets!" "An expert! He is definitely one of God''s Domain''s monster-level experts! Does anyone know who that is?" "I know quite a few expert Demon Players, but I''ve never seen such a powerful Swordsman." As the battle on the altar progressed, the crowd''s interest in Shi Feng grew exponentially. This was the first time they had ever seen a Swordsman block two Grand Lords of the same level by himself. Many of the Demon Players present even considered trying to befriend Shi Feng. The competition was far more intense between Demon Players than it was between ordinary players. They placed far more value on strength. This was due to the extreme difficulty of the quests Demon Players had to complete. If they could befriend a Demon expert like Shi Feng, the man might even help them with their quests. With his help, they could rise through the demonic noble ranks. "Isn''t he the player that Hidden Soul randomly invited into her party? How is he so strong?" Skyhawk was astounded as he watched Shi Feng hold his ground against two Purgatory Puppets. The strength Shi Feng displayed was simply terrifying. "Is he some trump card Hidden Soul deliberately hid?" Experts of Shi Feng''s caliber were incredibly rare, not to mention a Demon Player of such caliber. In Skyhawk''s opinion, Hidden Soul must know Shi Feng personally. While the spectating crowd voiced their opinions of Shi Feng, the two Purgatory Puppets steadily lost HP. Once Purgatory Blade ended, Shi Feng could occasionally launch counterattacks while blocking the Grand Lords'' strikes. Every one of his ordinary attacks easily dealt over -20,000 damage, while his Skills dealt over -60,000. When he used Skills such as Shadow Blade and Flame Burst, his damage soared past -100,000 per hit. Meanwhile, Hidden Soul attacked one of the two Purgatory Puppets in a frenzy. From time to time, when most of her powerful Skills were on Cooldown, she attacked with Tier 2 or 3 Magic Scrolls. As a result, the Purgatory Puppet she targeted lost HP rapidly. Midway through the battle, though, the duration of Shi Feng''s doppelganger ran out. As a result, Shi Feng was forced to deal with two Purgatory Puppets personally. Fortunately, he had an advantage over his enemies with his Attributes, so he could still tank the two combat puppets without much issue. Only, his DPS suffered as a result. Fortunately, under Hidden Soul''s full-powered assault, the duo defeated one of the Purgatory Puppets after five minutes of continuous fighting. Defeating one also alleviated the pressure on Shi Feng. Since he used the Power of Darkness, the Attribute enhancement remained intact even after fighting for so long. In contrast, Hidden Soul''s Berserk Skill had long since ended, and she had no choice but to transform into her Demon form to increase her combat power. When Phantom Kill''s Cooldown ended, Shi Feng summoned his doppelganger once more, significantly increasing their total DPS. In the end, Shi Feng still had one minute with Power of Darkness by the time the final Purgatory Puppet collapsed. As for the remaining Great Lord ranked Magisteel Puppets, Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were far superior even without a Berserk Skill. Furthermore, his Berserk Skill was still active. Following which, Shi Feng easily pushed around the Magisteel Puppets. When the final Magisteel Puppet died, the crowd below the altar fell silent. These players only recovered from their daze after a few seconds. Shi Feng and his two companions heard the sound of a system notification. 1569 Inferior Legendary Rank Chapter 1569 - Inferior Legendary Rank As the final Magisteel Puppet''s HP reached zero, both Hidden Soul and Brute Spear breathed a sigh of relief. "Commander, we succeeded!" Brute Spear excitedly announced. They had merely intended on giving the entrance test a try. After all, they already knew how difficult the Epic party test was. Moreover, their party''s configuration wasn''t particularly favorable, which only lowered their success rate. They never thought that they would actually defeat the two Purgatory Puppets and pass the entrance test. "That''s right; we succeeded." Even Hidden Soul, who had maintained a solemn expression, could not help but reveal a joyful smile. She then shifted her gaze to Shi Feng, the questions she had previously suppressed resurfacing in her mind. Now that she thought about it, she hadn''t chosen two Purgatory Puppets accidentally. It was also unlikely that the system had made an error. Moreover, Shi Feng had been calm when he faced the two Grand Lords as if he had expected the situation. This proved that the Swordsman had chosen the extra Purgatory Puppet. Moreover, Shi Feng should have no information about her or Brute Spear''s strengths, yet he had made such a decision. This proved that Shi Feng was confident in his own capabilities to take down two Purgatory Puppets. Not only was Shi Feng such a powerful Swordsman, but he was also capable of reaching the World Summit. Based on what she knew, God''s Domain didn''t have an expert like this man. Someone so powerful wouldn''t be able to hide their identity from everyone. Meanwhile, Skyhawk''s party stared at Shi Feng and Hidden Soul in astonishment. "How is this possible?" "They actually did it!" "Commander, what should we do now? They killed one more Purgatory Puppet than we did. They definitely have more time than us." The Guardian Knight and Cleric in Skyhawk''s party panicked when Hidden Soul''s party cleared the test. Time was everything in the World Summit. Players with more time would find more opportunities to grow stronger, and this was especially true as players tried to reach the Epic Shrines. Gaining an additional 5,000 minutes would give a team enough time to enter at least four more additional Epic Shrines. "Although I don''t know where that woman found such a powerful team member, more time won''t help them find that item." Skyhawk wore a twisted, ugly expression. Immediately, he commanded, "Alright, we''ve rested enough. Let''s enter the World Summit!" Saying so, Skyhawk approached the World Summit''s entrance. "Hehe. Commander, look. It seems that Skyhawk can''t sit still any longer. He''s in such a rush to leave," Brute Spear said, laughing in delight as he watched Skyhawk''s party depart. However, unlike Brute Spear, Hidden Soul had lost interest in Skyhawk''s party as questions about Shi Feng''s identity filled her mind. As she was about to move forward and thank Shi Feng, the sound of a system notification reached her ears. System: You have completed the SS-rank difficulty test. Rewarding Inferior Legendary Shrine Key. Time awarded increased by 40%. You have received 8,480 minutes. An Inferior Legendary Shrine Key and 8,148 minutes?! Hidden Soul was stunned. Immediately, she looked at the system notification window to confirm that the announcement hadn''t been a hallucination. She had never expected such a bountiful reward. Based on her calculations, the best-performing party could only learn around 7,000 minutes after completing an Epic party test, yet despite her party''s average performance, she had earned over 8,000 minutes. Most importantly, the Shrine Key was Inferior Legendary rank. This was the first time she had ever heard of such a key. One could only open a Shrine of equal or lower rank with a high-rank Shrine Key in the World Summit. Without a key of corresponding or higher rank, players wouldn''t be able to unlock the doors to the Shrine. Even Shi Feng was ecstatic. His performance had been the best in the party, and thus, he had received more time than his companions. In total, he had earned 13,580 minutes, six times the amount he had earned during his first visit He would have ample time to search for God Crystals in the World Summit. "Brother Maple, we really have to thank you for your help! We''ll be able to proceed with our quest far more smoothly! If you run into any trouble in the future, feel free to contact me! If you want to deal with someone, my commander and I can deal with most of God''s Domain''s experts!" Brute Spear said, grinning as he walked up to Shi Feng. Hidden Soul nodded and expressed her agreement with Brute Spear''s offer. She admitted that Shi Feng was quite strong in a head-on confrontation. However, she was a professional with assassination and ambushing. She doubted that she''d lose out to Shi Feng when focusing on a single target. "Alright. If I need anyone killed, I''ll make sure to give you a call," Shi Feng said, nodding. He did not try to reject Brute Spear''s goodwill. Although the Flower of Seven Sins wasn''t yet fully developed in God''s Domain, it wasn''t an organization that ordinary superpowers had any hope against. Moreover, there wasn''t any enmity between him and the organization. Most of the encounters he had had with the Flower of Seven Sins thus far had been due to other players hiring its services. Such dealings were very normal for an assassin organization. It was unlikely that the Flower of Seven Sins had a grudge against him. Shi Feng added both Hidden Soul and Brute Spear as friends, but due to his Demon Mask, his name registered as ''Maple Leaf'' in their friends'' list. Now, if he really had to deal with someone in the future, he could ask Hidden Soul for help. Once the entrance test was over, Hidden Soul and Brute Spear decided to rest before entering the World Summit. The previous fight had taken a huge toll on their Stamina and Concentration. Shi Feng, however, had no intention of resting. Instead, he parted ways with Hidden Soul and Brute Spear before entering the World Summit on his own. Shi Feng hadn''t wanted to avoid resting, but he didn''t want others to discover his intentions. After some light conversation, Shi Feng made his way towards the World Summit''s main entrance. As he departed, Hidden Soul felt a little lost and crestfallen. "Commander, we really got lucky. If we hadn''t come across Brother Maple, we would''ve had to watch Skyhawk''s party enter the World Summit and search for the item. If Skyhawk knew that we earned Inferior Legendary Shrine Keys, he''d lose his mind," Brute Spear said, sighing ruefully as he watched Shi Feng''s departing figure. "It''s a pity that Brother Maple seems to have some business of his own. If we could''ve convinced him to enter alongside us, we''d have a far better chance of obtaining that item. Commander, you should''ve at least tried to convince him. Who knows? He might''ve agreed." "He''s already helped us quite a bit. Don''t get too greedy," Hidden Soul said as she eyed the grinning Berserker. "Commander, the Boss has been looking for an expert to help him for a while now. Why don''t we recommend Brother Maple? With his strength, Brother Maple shouldn''t have any issue catching the Boss''s eye," Brute Spear said. "Not only would Brother Maple be able to help out the Boss, but he might even be interested in that matter." "Perhaps." Hidden Soul nodded in agreement. While Hidden Soul and Brute Spear conversed, Shi Feng arrived in the World Summit. The World Summit was far more lively than it had been during his previous visit. Plenty of players even occupied the Bronze area. Some players were even fighting over Shrines. But Shi Feng had no intention of staying in the Bronze area, and he charged towards the top of the mountain. Although he had acquired a lot of time, he could still fail to find enough God Crystals to remove the mysterious power suppressing the Disintegration Armor. He couldn''t afford to waste a second on low-quality Shrines. Without any hesitation, he dashed towards the Epic Shrines. However, as Shi Feng was about to climb the staircase to the next area, an enchanting beauty with three pairs of pitch-black wings appeared before him. As the woman hovered in the air, she radiated an aura that suggested that she could triumph over all beings. This woman was none other than the Fallen Angel Serena! "Interesting! Someone has finally obtained the Inferior Legendary Shrine Key after so long?" Serena smiled as she gazed down at Shi Feng. 1570 Life Rating Chapter 1570 - Life Rating Serena''s appearance immediately attracted the attention of every player in the World Summit. In truth, it was difficult not to notice her. Serena was a Tier 5 Fallen Angel. When she wasn''t deliberately trying to suppress her aura, she could immobilize Tier 1 players with that alone. Even Shi Feng was afraid of Serena despite standing so far away from her. The Fallen Angel''s presence dominated the area as if she owned it. "Since someone has obtained the Inferior Legendary Shrine Key, activate the Divine Staircase!" Serena''s voice echoed throughout the World Summit. Every player in the World Summit could hear her clearly. "If you wish to obtain power, perform Exploits that even the Gods will acknowledge!" When Serena fell silent, the World Summit began to tremble. One pitch-black shrine after another rose from the ground. They hovered in the air and were connected by pitch-black staircases. This spiral chain of shrines extended to the World Summit''s peak. The formation of these spiraling shrines had lasted several minutes, and throughout the process, not a single player had moved from where they stood as they watched these shrines form in awe. "Why did an NPC suddenly show up?" "What is this NPC trying to do?" "Could this be an event?" "What''s the Divine Staircase?" When the spiraling shrines were complete, a grounded, pitch-black shrine manifested among the many Bronze Shrines. The various players launched into a heated discussion about what this could be. Everyone was curious about the Divine Staircase Serena had mentioned. Shortly after, quite a few players approached the first black shrine. An Inferior Legendary Shrine Key? Is Hidden Soul''s party responsible for triggering this Divine Staircase? Skyhawk, who was already relatively high up the mountain, looked at the new pitch-black shrines with shock and envy. Not only had Hidden Soul earned a large amount of time, but she had also obtained an Inferior Legendary Shrine Key. Thinking up to this point, he immediately commanded his companions, "Let''s go! We have to take a look at the new shrine!" At this point, he could do nothing about the Inferior Legendary Shrine Key. After all, it was a bound item. But he could get a clear idea of the Divine Staircase''s function. When players reached the grounded shrine, they examined the rules on the stone monument beside it. These players instantly revealed excited expressions. "God! This Divine Staircase is amazing!" "Damn it! If I knew something like this would happen, I would''ve waited to come to the World Summit!" These players gazed at the stone monument as if they were looking at a peerless treasure. How generous! Shi Feng was just as surprised when he read the Divine Staircase''s rules. Unlike the Shrines around the World Summit, the Divine Staircase''s Shrines didn''t require corresponding keys or time to unlock. Rather, players had to rely on their own power to ascend to the next shrine. Since it didn''t cost time to climb the Divine Staircase, players could explore its shrines as long as they had time remaining. However, the number of times they could climb the Divine Staircase depended on the type of Shrine Key the players carried. Players could only climb the Divine Staircase once if they had a Bronze Shrine Key, while Mysterious-Iron Keys would allow players to climb the staircase twice. Secret-Silver Keys granted players three entries, Fine-Gold Keys granted four, Dark-Gold Keys granted five entries, Epic Keys would allow players to climb seven times, and Inferior Legendary Keys allowed players access to the Divine Staircase ten times. However, once players exhausted their entries, they''d be forced out of the World Summit regardless of how much time they had remaining. Meanwhile, each time players cleared a pitch-black shrine, they would earn a corresponding number of Shrine Points. They could then use these Shrine Points to purchase various items available in the World Summit. Players didn''t need any specific qualifications to purchase these items; as long as they had the required number of points, they could buy any item they wanted. Shi Feng wouldn''t have been overly surprised if the items available were merely top-tier weapons and equipment, even Epic Weapons and Equipment. The World Summit had plenty of Epic Shrines, and as long as players cleared the Epic ranked entrance test, they could easily obtain Epic items from the appropriately ranked shrines. What surprised Shi Feng was the fact that players could use these SPs to improve their Life Rating! It was common knowledge in God''s Domain that improving one''s Life Rating was extremely difficult. Improving one''s Life Rating wasn''t just a matter of a stronger physique. Rather, it was a life transition. For example, if one compared an Archaic Species to a normal human being, the Archaic Species'' Basic Attributes would be several times higher than a human''s of the same level. This was the difference of a higher Life Rating. This was also why Archaic Species became more difficult to deal with as they rose in level. Although players could improve their Life Ratings by upgrading their tiers, the improvement was minuscule. For example, an ordinary Tier 5 player''s Life Rating was only slightly higher than an ordinary Tier 1 player''s. This was also the reason that Tier 5 players were significantly weaker than Tier 5 monsters. The Attribute difference wasn''t much during the early levels, and players could easily close the gap with top-tier weapons and equipment. However, as players rose in levels, particularly after passing Level 100, the advantage of a higher Life Rating would become apparent and would only become more evident as players progressed in the game. At which point, players might be able to kill other players of higher tiers, but they''d be dreaming if they thought they could take out monsters of higher tiers. Only after reaching Tier 6 would players truly transition. Tier 6 players'' Life Rating was worlds apart from ordinary Tier 5 players. At Tier 6, players would also qualify to challenge Tier 6 Gods. Meanwhile, players could actually improve their Life Ratings with the Shrine Points from the Divine Staircase. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be shocked? Based on his knowledge, the players that had managed to improve their Life Ratings by other means than upgrading tiers had been exceedingly rare even after ten years in God''s Domain. Even if players found some way to do so, it would be incredibly difficult, and they''d have to rely on luck and strength. In the past, God''s Domain''s various superpowers had fought frequently over such opportunities. By securing such an opportunity, they could give their players a better chance of reaching Tier 6. In fact, the benefits of improving one''s Life Rating were even more valuable than ordinary Legendary items. Shi Feng had never thought that the Divine Staircase before him would be such an opportunity. However, when he saw the price of improving one''s Life Rating, he was speechless. Even the cheapest Bloodline required 100,000 Shrine Points and one Exploit. Passing the first pitch-black Shrine only awarded 10 SPs. Although the others would award more, one still had to pass a considerable number of Shrines to accumulate enough SPs to purchase the Bloodline. Furthermore, Shi Feng had no idea of how to perform an Exploit, and the rules didn''t mention anything about it. Even if he collected 100,000 SPs, without an Exploit, he wouldn''t be able to purchase a Bloodline to improve his Life Rating. Meanwhile, players could purchase various other items, such as potions, designs, recipes, Mounts, siege weapons, God Crystals, and other precious items. There were even Fragmented Legendary items up for trade. Naturally, the Fragmented Legendary items were extremely expensive. Even the cheapest cost 70,000 SPs, while the more expensive items could cost up to 240,000 SPs and three Exploits Moreover, players had to spend the SPs they earned with each visit as their counter would reset to zero when they returned. Fortunately, Exploits were permanent and would only disappear when players spent them or deliberately deleted them. In other words, if players had a certain item in mind, they had to earn enough SPs in one visit to purchase it. Even so, the crowd before the first black shrine drooled over the prospects of treasure. After all, Fragmented Legendary items were practically illusory to current players. In fact, there hadn''t been any news of a Super Guild obtaining one thus far. Suddenly, many players dashed into the first Shrine and began their ascension. Shi Feng didn''t dawdle either, entering the shrine before him. This was a rare opportunity to secure a Bloodline for himself, and he had plenty of time. It''d be a huge waste if he didn''t attempt it. 1571 Realm Lord Chapter 1571 - Realm Lord As soon as Shi Feng set foot in the pitch-black shrine, his environment transformed. It felt as if he had just stepped through a teleportation gate and arrived in an entirely different space. A dark forest loomed before him, and the howling of wolves occasionally echoed in his ears. In the darkness of night, he faintly saw pairs of crimson eyes flicker in the treetops. This isa survival battle? Shi Feng wondered as he observed his surroundings. Although it was night here, his vision was unaffected. He could see around him as clearly as if the sun hung above him. Shi Feng spotted over a dozen Werewolves armed with crossbows and in excellent equipment standing in the trees around him. In addition, he spotted another dozen or so Werewolves with spears and greatswords beneath the trees'' cover, radiating an intense killing intent. All of these Werewolves were Level 55 or above, with the highest at Level 58. They ranged between Elites and Special Elites. If an ordinary player attempted to take all of these monsters on by themselves, they''d definitely be torn apart. As Shi Feng observed these Werewolves, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Clear this Divine Shrine to obtain a reward. When the system notification ended, a system map appeared in the corner of Shi Feng''s vision. A teleportation point had been marked on the map in the heart of the forest. It was obvious that he had to reach said teleportation point to leave the Divine Shrine. However, before Shi Feng could examine the map closely, the Werewolves in the treetops began to attack, the triple-loaded crossbows releasing their bolts at him simultaneously. At the same time, the Werewolves on the ground began to close in, forming a tight encirclement around him. How troublesome. It seems that the system banned Teleportation Skills, as well. I guess I have no choice but to run to the target. When Shi Feng had noticed the Werewolves'' attacks, he had attempted to use Space Movement, teleporting to the destination directly. Unfortunately, Teleportation Skills were prohibited in the Divine Shrine. He had no choice but to unsheath Killing Ray and retaliate. A rain of bolts from above might be troublesome to ordinary players, but to Shi Feng, the bolts were practically negligible. He easily dodged the bolts and appeared before a Level 56 Elite Werewolf in the blink of an eye. He lightly swung Killing Ray at the melee-focused Werewolf. Shadow Blade! Numerous streaks of shadows cut past the Elite Werewolf, each hit dealing several tens of thousands of damage. Like a cannonball, the two-meter-tall Werewolf''s body shot backward and slammed into the Werewolves behind it. The monster only returned to the ground after flying over twenty yards. By the time it landed, however, its HP had reached zero. Its body turned to ash and disappeared, leaving several Copper Coins in its place These monsters actually drop loot? Shi Feng was slightly confused to see the Copper Coins on the ground. He had assumed that he''d be striving for nothing here. This was a kind of test, and tests normally didn''t provide loot. However, Shi Feng did not bother to kill the other Werewolves. Instead, he swiftly maneuvered out of the circle of Werewolves, heading straight for the teleportation array in the forest''s heart. Combat players like Shi Feng were no stranger to survival battles in God''s Domain. These situations were common in Dungeons. If players focused on defeating the monsters in survival battles, they''d only get caught up in an endless cycle of combat, wasting their time. Shi Feng, of course, didn''t have a lot of time to waste, and even if he could kill these monsters easily, he''d still consume Stamina. If he ran out of Stamina midway through a battle, he''d become a sheep for the slaughter no matter how powerful he was. As he headed deeper into the forest, the Werewolves went into a frenzy, chasing after him. However, Shi Feng was simply too fast, and even the Special Elite ranked Werewolves could only watch as the distance between them and their target grew until the Swordsman eventually left their sight After a few more minutes of running, Shi Feng reached the teleportation array in the heart of the forest. However, before he could approach the array, he felt a chill crawl down his spine. The cause of this creeping sensation was none other than a one-eyed Werewolf with a massive greatsword that guarded the teleportation array. A Realm Lord? Shi Feng stared at the one-eyed Werewolf in shock. This one-eyed Werewolf was over three meters tall, and although it was only a Level 58 Special Elite, the Mana circling it was extraordinary. It felt like this land''s protected child. [Specter Werewolf (Realm Lord)] (Humanoid Creature, Special Elite) Level 58 HP 4,200,000/4,200,000 In God''s Domain, the title of Realm Lord did not represent a monster''s rank or Bloodline. Rather, it was a buff that greatly enhanced the monster''s Skills and Spells. Monsters with this title also had strengthened physiques and HPs. Basically, they were Boss-like existences among monsters of the same level and rank. Realm Lords were not particularly rare in God''s Domain, but they were usually only found in Level 50-plus, resource-rich maps. They protected these resource maps, and as long as they remained in their designated maps, they could display far more combat power than monsters of the same level and rank. Normally, player teams avoided Realm Lords as much as possible. Fighting these monsters simply wasn''t worthwhile. Despite being so much stronger than monsters of the same level and rank, Realm Lords didn''t offer additional or better loot. Is the Divine Shrine itself some sort of opportunity? After a moment of surprise, Shi Feng''s lips curled into a smile. When players had first discovered Realm Lords in the past, they had avoided these monsters as much as possible. Unfortunately, some battles were unavoidable, and players had been forced to kill certain Realm Lords. As players had killed more Realm Lords, they discovered something astonishing. The Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment! Only Realm Lords dropped this item, and there was no way to obtain the crystal fragments from other monsters. On its own, the Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment did not possess much of a function. At most, it could be used as a support material when crafting weapons and equipment, but when players synthesized the Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments into Mana Barrier Crystals, their value rose by over a hundredfold. The Mana Barrier Crystals were the various NPC cities'' main power source for their Teleportation Magic Arrays. Not only did the Mana Barrier Crystal contain a frightening amount of Mana, but it could also replenish itself by absorbing the Mana around it. Only, the Mana Barrier Crystal required a considerably long time to replenish itself. However, this replenishment time would vary depending on the Mana density around it. In an ordinary environment, for example, an empty Mana Barrier Crystal would require 48 hours to recover fully. To put it simply, a Mana Barrier Crystal was akin to an everlasting Magic Crystal. It was the perfect power source for teleportation arrays. With enough Mana Barrier Crystals, one could operate a teleportation array for no cost. It was easy to imagine how valuable these Mana Barrier Crystals were. After all, Mana Barrier Crystals were not that easy to obtain, yet the various large Guilds and players were in dire need of them. Meanwhile, the Special Elite ranked Realm Lord before Shi Feng was a walking Mana source. Without hesitation, he charged forward, showing no intentions of circling the Specter Werewolf and leaving the Divine Shrine. As Shi Feng boldly approached, the Specter Werewolf howled in anger. It raised its greatsword and swung the massive weapon at the impudent intruder. Over a dozen magical wind blades formed before the Specter Werewolf and shot towards Shi Feng. The attacks were spread out, making it impossible for Shi Feng to dodge them all. Fortunately, the Disintegration Armor wasn''t currently suppressing Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes. In other words, his Strength was even higher than a Great Lord''s of the same level. Hence, although the Specter Werewolf''s Realm Lord status enhanced its wind blades, and the attack nearly rivaled the power of a Tier 2 Spell, they were insignificant to Shi Feng. Sword''s Orbit! A galaxy of stars formed around Shi Feng, striking down the approaching wind blades. Shi Feng didn''t even pause as he continued towards the Specter Werewolf. Shadow Blade! Thunder Flame Explosion! Flame Burst! When Shi Feng reached the Specter Werewolf and began to bombard it with attacks, the Special Elite''s 4,200,000 HP drained like flowing water. Despite the Specter Werewolf''s struggles to fight back, it was powerless to change its fate. In the end, Shi Feng''s swords devoured its HP. It then collapsed, transforming into a dark mist and scattering in the wind. The berserk Mana, which had surrounded the Specter Werewolf, calmed as a result. At the same time, a pair of Level 50 Bronze plate armor boots, a dark crystal shard, and several dozen Copper Coins appeared on the ground. Although the loot was not particularly impressive, Shi Feng''s eyes glowed when he saw the dark crystal shard. This shard was none other than the Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment. 1572 Blackwater Visits Chapter 1572 - Blackwater Visits Sure enough, the Divine Shrines'' tests are also opportunities. Shi Feng smiled as he collected the Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment. [Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment] (Consumable) Can be used to increase Mana. A support tool for crafting items. Obtaining Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments wasn''t easy, and although the item had a high drop-rate, it didn''t drop from every Realm Lord. Meanwhile, Realm Lords were even rarer than Field Bosses. High-resource leveling maps only had two or three Realm Lords. In addition, these Realm Lords'' respawn time was much longer than ordinary Field Bosses. When the various large Guilds had discovered the benefits of killing Realm Lords in the past, many Guild wars had broken out over these monsters. Obtaining one Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment after killing a single Special Elite ranked Realm Lord was a huge boon from the system. Each Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment had sold for around 30 Gold in the past. Of course, most Guilds that had obtained these crystal shards had refused to sell them. When players collected ten crystal fragments, they could seek out an NPC Master Alchemist to synthesize the Mana Barrier Crystal with a 40% success rate. If the synthesis were successful, one would have an everlasting Magic Crystal. The Mana Barrier Crystal was a priceless treasure, useful in multiple aspects, such as powering teleportation arrays, Magic Towers, and other such constructions. There had even been a few Workshops that had specialized in hunting Realm Lords in distant maps, making a living from selling Mana Barrier Crystals. After obtaining the crystal fragment, Shi Feng moved towards the teleportation array and left the forest. When he opened his eyes again, he had arrived at the first Divine Shrine''s exit, and the staircase leading to the second shrine stretched before him. Many players were already running towards the second Divine Shrine. So many people are already out? Shi Feng was surprised. Over a hundred players were already approaching the second Divine Shrine. However, after giving the matter some thought, he realized that he had spent quite some time fighting the Specter Werewolf. Most, if not all, of the players before him had likely avoided fighting the Realm Lord. They had simply slipped past the Specter Werewolf to enter the teleportation array. As Shi Feng left the first Divine Shrine, the sound of system notifications reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have passed the Divine Shrine. Rewarding 10 Shrine Points. System: Congratulations! You have passed the Divine Shrine within the time limit. Rewarding 10 Shrine Points. System: Congratulations! You have killed the Guardian Boss within the time limit. Rewarding 50 Shrine Points. So many points! Shi Feng was somewhat taken aback when he saw how many points the system had awarded for killing the Specter Werewolf. Passing the Divine Shrine had only earned him 10 SPs, yet killing the Special Elite ranked Specter Werewolf had awarded 50 If these other players realized that killing the Guardian Boss would award even more points, they''d likely regret their earlier actions. Even the cheapest item available for purchase in the Divine Shrine cost 500 SPs. If one cleared the first Divine Shrine quickly and ignored killing the Guardian Boss, they would only receive 20 SPs. With that method, who knew how many Divine Shrines one would have to clear to accumulate 500 SPs? Moreover, as players climbed the Divine Staircase, the Divine Shrines would become more challenging. If players did not earn as many points as possible early on, it would only become more difficult to earn the points they needed later. It seems that I''ll have to defeat every Divine Shrine''s Guardian Boss. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng realized the fastest way to earn Shrine Points from the Divine Staircase. Following which, he proceeded towards the second Divine Shrine. The second shrine contained a gravel ridge, and its monsters ranged between Level 55 and 58. However, the second shrine had far fewer Elite monsters, and nearly half the shrine''s monsters were Special Elites. Next to the Realm Lord, a few Level 58 Elites guarded the teleportation array. To Shi Feng, however, this slight increase in difficulty was no issue. He had only spent a few minutes to defeat the Realm Lord and three Elites. This time, however, he did not obtain a Mana Barrier Crystal Fragment. He had only obtained a Level 55 Bronze mage top and some Coins Upon clearing the second Divine Shrine, Shi Feng earned 15 SPs. He also received 15 SPs for clearing the shrine within the time limit, and 70 SPs for killing the Guardian Boss. Although Shi Feng had cleared the second Divine Shrine, he was clearly lagging behind the other players. Even those who had entered the first Divine Shrine sometime after him were already on their way towards the third shrine. However, Shi Feng did not rush. Instead, he continued to ascend the Divine Staircase at his own pace. Each Divine Shrine was a little more challenging than the last and awarded 5 more SPs when cleared. When Shi Feng entered the fifth Divine Shrine, the test''s difficulty visibly increased. Now, every monster he faced was a Special Elite. In terms of Attributes, the monsters were on par with well-equipped, Tier 1 players of the same level. When facing a dozen or so of these monsters at once, even elite players would be in a bind. Even the Guardian Boss was now a Chieftain ranked Realm Lord. Not only did the Chieftain possessed 10,000,000 HP, but its Skills also carried great destructive power. Even Shi Feng did not dare to meet the Boss''s attacks head-on. Shi Feng only defeated this Guardian Boss after a dozen or so minutes of fighting. Meanwhile, as a Chieftain ranked Realm Lord, the Boss had been very generous. It had dropped two Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments, instantly increasing Shi Feng''s haul to four. Now, he only needed six more fragments to synthesize a Mana Barrier Crystal. When Shi Feng had cleared the fifth Divine Shrine, the Shrine Points he earned also undergone a qualitative transformation. The clear reward alone rose to 100 SPs, while clearing the shrine within the time limit awarded another 100 SPs, and killing the Guardian Boss within the time limit awarded 500 SPs. However, the Ranking List before the various Divine Shrines also reported that players had already reached the eighth shrine. There were over a dozen players clearing the shrines with astonishing speed. Meanwhile, while Shi Feng continued to challenge Divine Shrines, Zero Wing City''s fame in Star-Moon Kingdom had exceeded Stone Forest Town''s. The city had become a holy resting ground for many of the kingdom''s players. Due to the city''s high Mana density, the Double EXP buff accumulation, and the large number of wandering merchants, it took no time at all for Zero Wing City''s player population to break past 1,000,000. The originally empty city was now so lively that Zero Wing City could rival major NPC cities. "Guild Leader Singular, Zero Wing City''s player population has grown past 1,000,000. The city is even charging players an entrance fee. Its daily income is incredibly high. With this, I don''t think that it''ll be easy to whittle Zero Wing down anymore," Lei Jingyang reported. He currently rested in one of Zero Wing City''s restaurants, wearing a frown as he watched the crowded street outside. Initially, he hadn''t cared about Zero Wing City, but after visiting the city personally, he had to admit that it was extraordinary. "Young Master Lei, although Zero Wing City is better than we expected, Zero Wing''s celebration of the fact will be short-lived." Singular Burial chuckled; he didn''t seem to mind the fact that Zero Wing City earned considerable wealth for the Guild. "Don''t tell me you plan to fight it out with Zero Wing?" Lei Jingyang frowned at Singular Burial''s reaction. He had expected Singular Burial to finish Zero Wing off in a few more days, but clearly, that plan was no longer viable. Not only did Zero Wing City earn a considerable amount of profit for its ruling Guild, but the city improved Zero Wing''s reputation among players. At this rate, Heaven''s Burial could never destroy Zero Wing in a short three to five days. "Of course not," Singular Burial said, shaking his head. "Although Zero Wing has achieved great success, at the end of the day, its foundations are shaky. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Representatives from the Blackwater Corporation contacted me not long ago, informing me that they are willing to help us against Zero Wing." "The Blackwater Corporation?" Lei Jingyang was visibly moved when he heard this. "Why are they suddenly interested in Zero Wing?" The Blackwater Guild had changed drastically. It now had stronger forces under its command and ample funding. Just some time ago, it had even established a Guild Town in a resource-rich, neutral map. Even Super Guilds avoided any conflict with the Guild. "I don''t know why, either, but this doesn''t change our plans to take down Zero Wing," Singular Burial said, chuckling. Taking a look at the time, he continued, "Blackwater''s representatives should''ve arrived in Star-Moon City by now. I should return to meet with them." Suddenly, Aqua Rose, who was currently busy managing Zero Wing City, received a message from Yaya, stating, "Big Sis Aqua, a few people claiming to be representatives from the Blackwater Corporation have requested a meeting with our Guild''s upper echelons. Should I have them wait in the Guild Residence?" 1573 Domineering Aqua Rose Chapter 1573 - Domineering Aqua Rose "Blackwater? Why are they here?" Aqua Rose grew curious as she read Yaya''s message. It had been quite some time since Zero Wing had dealt with the Blackwater Corporation. According to her information, Abandoned Wave''s actions had only been the Blackwater Corporation''s attempt to test God''s Domain''s waters. Afterward the events with Zero Wing, Blackwater quickly gave up on Abandoned Wave, and the man had vanished without a trace. Blackwater then focused its development in the distant Iron Empire, taking control of the empire after forcing several superpowers out of the competition. Logically, Blackwater should have no reason to leave the safety of the Iron Empire and travel all the way to Star-Moon Kingdom to seek out Zero Wing. Hence, Aqua Rose found the situation strange. However, Aqua Rose decided to send Yaya to entertain Blackwater''s representatives while they waited in one of the Guild Residence''s reception rooms. She then dropped what she was doing and made her way to meet these individuals. A man and a woman waited in one of the elegant Guild Residence reception rooms in Zero Wing City. Zero Wing''s elite members, who had been sent to wait on these two, stood quietly in the corner of the room, clearly tense. These elite members weren''t tense just because of the two visitors'' extraordinary identities, but because of the chilling aura they radiated. They could not help but feel like they stood before a pair of lions as they involuntarily shuddered. Moreover, both representatives were very high-leveled; the man was a Level 49 Elementalist, and the woman was a Level 48 Shield Warrior. Even the most inferior piece of equipment these two wore was Level 45 Dark-Gold rank. The male Elementalist even wore three pieces of Epic Equipment, appearing as if he were wrapped in a constant layer of fire. In fact, due to this man''s presence, the reception room''s temperature had risen quite a bit. When Aqua Rose and Yaya entered the room, the man''s aura flared with even greater intensity. It was clear he wanted to intimidate Aqua Rose. Unfortunately for him, his biting-cold aura had no effect on the Zero Wing Vice Guild Leader. "Hello, I am Aqua Rose, one of Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders. May I know what business Blackwater has with our Guild?" Aqua Rose asked, smiling at the male Elementalist with the intimidating aura. "As expected of Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, your Guild''s reputation is well-deserved," the male Elementalist praised when he saw the lack of hesitation in Aqua Rose''s response to his intimidation. "I had thought that our Guild Leader''s decision to send us as representatives was unnecessary. However, it seems that Zero Wing indeed qualifies for such a move." "Thank you for the praise. Now, may I know what business your Guild has with Zero Wing?" Aqua Rose calmly repeated, paying the male Elementalist''s arrogance no heed. Moreover, the man before her earned his arrogance. Aside from the fact that this man was backed by the Blackwater Corporation, he radiated an aura that felt dangerous to Aqua Rose. After her promotion to Tier 2, she rarely felt such a feeling from other players, and any player who felt this way was a peak expert, capable of holding important positions in Super Guilds. "My name is Falling Fire, the vice commander of Blackwater''s third main force. I have come here with a message for Zero Wing from our Guild Leader: hand over Youlan and her companions, which you have chosen to shelter, and half of Zero Wing City''s profits. Do that, and we can ignore the previous events. Otherwise, deal with the consequences at your risk," the man named Falling Fire informed Aqua Rose. Smiling, he continued, "Although your Guild has performed well in a few major wars thus far, your strength is only effective against small Guilds. We''ll give you one day to consider our offer. I''ll be waiting for your reply." "Hand over Youlan and the others?" As Aqua Rose listened to Falling Fire''s message, she came to understand the gist of the situation. When she realized what Shi Feng had done, she was flabbergasted. It was no wonder why Youlan had seemed so worried. It turned out that she was wanted by Blackwater. "That''s right. You only have one day to consider. As for Zero Wing City''s profits, I''ll send specialists to keep an eye on your city." Falling Fire nodded. In his opinion, Blackwater had no reason to go out of its way to warn Zero Wing. With the Guild''s strength, it could easily flatten this small, upstart Guild. While Zero Wing''s past performance had been astonishing, that only held true for first-rate Guilds and smaller. To superpowers like Blackwater, Zero Wing was insignificant. Furthermore, Zero Wing was currently preoccupied with its war against Heaven''s Burial. "One day to consider handing over Youlan''s group and half of Zero Wing City''s profits?" Aqua Rose could not help but laugh when she heard Falling Fire''s words. "I see. I understand now. Since that is the case, you two may return to your Guild." "What do you mean by that?" Falling Fire''s expression darkened when he saw the woman''s smile. "What do I mean? Have I not made myself clear enough? You can return, and tell that Guild Leader of yours that he can forget obtaining 50% of Zero Wing City''s profits. As for Youlan''s group, they have already joined Zero Wing. You''re even less likely to take them from us. If Blackwater is looking for an opponent, although Zero Wing is very weak, we are more than willing to keep you company!" Aqua Rose said straightforwardly. "Watch your step on your way out. I won''t be sending you off." When Aqua Rose finished speaking, the reception room was deathly silent. Falling Fire stared at Aqua Rose in shock. He even wondered if he had heard her wrong. Zero Wing was in the middle of a war of attrition with Heaven''s Burial. Now, it dared to declare war on Blackwater Even Yaya, who silently stood beside Aqua Rose, gaped in astonishment. She had never realized that her Vice Guild Leader was so domineering! The Blackwater Corporation was a titan both in and out of God''s Domain. In the real world, it was an incredibly famous international corporation. In God''s Domain, it had successfully wrestled control of the Iron Empire from several superpowers. Zero Wing simply couldn''t compare. "Good! Very good! Since Zero Wing dares to cast aside the opportunity we''ve presented, you can wait until we remove your name from God''s Domain!" Falling Fire sneered at his host. Immediately, he and the Level 48 female Shield Warrior stood and left the room. After the duo from Blackwater left, Yaya turned to Aqua Rose with a reverent expression. "Big Sis Aqua, you''re so amazing! You even slapped Blackwater in the face! The look on that guy''s face just now was priceless!" Yaya said with admiration flashing in her eyes. "That''s right! It felt wonderful putting those bastards in their place. Howeverhow am I supposed to report this to the Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose felt a headache begin to brew. For a moment of satisfaction, she had declared war on Blackwater without consulting Shi Feng. Zero Wing City was just starting to get on the right track. The wealth the city earned even allowed Zero Wing to fight Heaven''s Burial on equal footing, but if Blackwater joined the fray, Zero Wing would be at a severe disadvantage. Meanwhile, back in the World Summit''s Divine Staircase Shi Feng had finally defeated the tenth Divine Shrine''s Guardian Boss, a Level 60, Lord ranked Five-headed Demon Snake. Before landing the killing blow, he had made sure to activate Divine Providence. When the Five-headed Demon Snake died, items rained from the sky. Normally, Level 50 monsters and above had significantly reduced drop-rates. However, the Demon Snake had dropped over 20 items. No Lord ranked monster of this level should be capable of dropping so many. "A jackpot?" Shi Feng was overjoyed when he saw the loot on the ground. He had only used Divine Providence to increase his chances of obtaining Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments, yet he had triggered a jackpot. He truly hadn''t expected such a bountiful reward. In God''s Domain, jackpots were exceedingly rare from monsters past Level 50, much less from Realm Lords. 1574 Advanced Forging Design Chapter 1574 - Advanced Forging Design Aside from weapons, equipment, and Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments, a tattered sheet of parchment rested among the many items the Five-headed Demon Snake had dropped. As the parchment itself was very high-quality, it still radiated faint pulses of Mana despite the ravages of time. Shi Feng picked up the parchment out of curiosity. This isan Advanced Forging Design! Shi Feng was elated when he realized what this sheet of parchment was. In God''s Domain, every Advanced Design was extremely rare and valuable. This was because Advanced Designs contained techniques unknown to the general public. For example, an Advanced Forging Design would contain a few different kinds of Advanced Forging Techniques. If players learned these techniques, they''d increase their chances of creating a new item in the future. The various large Guilds had cherished their Advanced Designs in the past. They had all refused to sell these designs. At the same time, the large Guilds'' trading firms had fought over these items. Zero Wing had only obtained a few Advanced Designs thus far, including Advanced Forging Designs. Moreover, the design in his hands was not just any ordinary Advanced Forging Design. [Conqueror''s Armor Forging Design Fragment] (Advanced Design, Fine-Gold Rank) When learned, you will be able to produce the Level 50 Magic Rune Armor. Every piece of crafted armor contains a magic array. Five pieces can be used to form the Basic Strength Battle Array. (Current fragment count 1/9) I never expected the Divine Shrines to drop something like this! I''ve really lucked out this time. Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he stared at the Conqueror''s Armor Design. Not only had the Five-headed Demon Snake dropped two Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments, but it had also dropped a Fine-Gold Equipment Design that came with a battle array. Killing the Demon Snake had been far more profitable than killing a Level 60 Grand Lord. A well-equipped peak expert in God''s Domain wasn''t a force to be reckoned with. In fact, despite being an individual, they were capable of playing a significant role in a Guild war. However, that did not mean ordinary players were utterly helpless against peak experts. Ordinary players still had a method they could use to fight peak experts. Battle arrays! If a certain number of players wore equipment with the same battle array, they could trigger the battle array''s effects, significantly increasing their combat power. Battle arrays provided more than just a boost to Basic Attributes; they also improved players'' physiques. Most importantly, it allowed players with the same array to share their perception. This helped players remove defensive blind spots, visibly improving their combat standards. Although a Basic Battle Array only allowed players to share a limited degree of their perception, it still elevated players'' combat standards to a whole new level. Many of God''s Domain''s small Guilds in the past had survived and thrived, even after ten years, precisely because of battle arrays. Even without peak experts, Guilds with powerful battle arrays could take down a peak expert with just a few players or a dozen or so working together. Some small Guilds had even stood toe-to-toe with large Guilds by relying on these arrays. Of course, battle arrays were not without weaknesses. In exchange for the huge boost in strength, players'' Stamina and Concentration consumption increased massively. When players activated a battle array, their Stamina and Concentration would deplete several times faster than normal. This limited the amount of time that players had when using battle arrays. However, despite such a glaring flaw, battle arrays had been highly sought after by many Guilds. Equipment with battle arrays was extremely rare, and usually only dropped from super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Monsters in the fields had no chance of dropping such items. Moreover, the higher-quality a piece of battle array equipment was, the more valuable it was. A piece of battle array equipment could easily sell for several times more than a piece of equipment of the same rank. Although he had only obtained a fragment of a Level 50 Fine-Gold Battle Array Equipment Design, it was still quite valuable. If he completed the design, its value would be immeasurable. Since the Divine Shrine''s Guardian Boss dropped a fragment, the other shrine''s Bosses should have a chance of dropping them as well. As Shi Feng examined the Conqueror''s Armor Design, he inwardly swore to complete it no matter what. Immediately, he moved towards the teleportation array and proceeded to the next Divine Shrine. By the time Shi Feng appeared on the staircase leading to the 11th Divine Shrine, players had already reached the 15th. He was far behind. System: Congratulations! You have passed the Divine Shrine. Rewarding 300 Shrine Points. System: Congratulations! You have passed the Divine Shrine within the time limit. Rewarding 300 Shrine Points. System: Congratulations! You have killed the Guardian Boss within the time limit. Rewarding 2,000 Shrine Points. However, although other players progressed faster than he did, Shi Feng contained the most SPs of any player in the World Summit. Currently, Shi Feng had already accumulated 8,960 SPs. If players ascended the Divine Staircase without defeating the Guardian Bosses, even after reaching the 15th Divine Shrine, they would not have even half of Shi Feng''s points. Time passed quickly, and the Divine Shrines became more difficult as Shi Feng climbed the Divine Staircase. By the time Shi Feng reached the 15th Divine Shrine, he had to face a Lord ranked Realm Lord with a special Bloodline. By the time he emerged from the 15th shrine, many players had been eliminated in the 20th shrine. As Shi Feng had guessed, the other shrines'' Guardian Bosses had a chance of dropping the Conqueror''s Armor Forging Design Fragment if he activated Divine Providence when he killed them. By the time he had cleared the 15th Divine Shrine, he had gained another fragment. He just needed to wait for Divine Providence''s Cooldown to end before proceeding to the next Divine Shrine. As for Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments, he now had 17. However, Shi Feng had grown a bit weary after fighting for so long. Taking a look at the time, he realized how long he had spent in God''s Domain. He then consumed a drop of Life Essence from the Blood Refining Crystal to boost his Stamina and Concentration recovery before logging out of the game. Players'' accumulated time in the World Summit only decreased when players were online; logging off to rest would not affect one''s progress. Hence, to maintain their combat efficiency, many players had long since chosen to log out. After all, challenging the Divine Staircase was a long and arduous progress, and as one climbed the staircase, they''d have to navigate larger maps in the Divine Shrines. As a result, players had to spend more time clearing the shrines. By the time Shi Feng logged out, the sun had risen high into the sky. The moment Shi Feng''s consciousness returned to his body, he was bombarded by a series of messages and call notifications. There were messages and calls from both Blackie and Aqua Rose. In fact, Shi Feng received another call from Aqua Rose before he had the chance to leave his gaming cabin. "What''s with the urgency? Has something happened?" Shi Feng curiously asked after accepting the call. "Guild Leader, you''ve finally picked up. Any later and I would''ve sent Blackie to look for you in person," Aqua Rose said somewhat anxiously. "While you were gone, Zero Wing City has developed nicely. The player population has already broken past the 1,000,000-threshold. Once we finish constructing the NPC Shops, the city will attract even more players. But some time ago, two representatives from the Blackwater Corporation sought me out. They told us to hand over Youlan and her companions and 50% of Zero Wing City''s income as compensation. Otherwise, they''ll turn the full might of the Blackwater Guild against us." "Hand over Youlan, her companions, and 50% of Zero Wing City''s profits?" Shi Feng frowned. The Blackwater Corporation''s retaliation didn''t surprise him in the least, but he didn''t expect Blackwater to take action so quickly. Moreover, the corporation''s timing couldn''t be worse, targeting them while they were in a war of attrition against Heaven''s Burial. This put Zero Wing at a considerable disadvantage. 1575 Nurturing Experts Chapter 1575 - Nurturing Experts It seems that I''ll need to speed things up, Shi Feng thought after hearing Aqua Rose''s report. He was quite familiar with the Blackwater Corporation''s power. He had witnessed its rise in God''s Domain in the past. Despite joining God''s Domain so late, Blackwater had still developed into a Super Guild quite quickly in the past. One could just imagine how frightening Blackwater''s potential was. Furthermore, the Blackwater Corporation had invested in God''s Domain much earlier in this life. Blackwater''s experts had already caught up with God''s Domain''s mainstream players. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have stood a chance against the other superpowers vying for the Iron Empire. Of course, Zero Wing didn''t have much to be afraid of if the Blackwater Corporation focused on its development in the Iron Empire. Based on what he heard from Youlan, the Guild had only recently taken control of the empire. The Guild was just starting to expand. Although Blackwater possessed plenty of experts and funding, it lacked the power to spread its influence across multiple kingdoms and empires as the various super-first-rate and Super Guilds had. While the organization might be able to deal with small Guilds right now, it couldn''t touch Zero Wing. Unfortunately, that was only true if Blackwater worked alone. If it worked with Heaven''s Burial, Zero Wing''s situation would take a turn for the worst. Blackwater could leave the reconnaissance to Heaven''s Burial while it supplied the Guild with a large number of experts. Currently, players who wanted to grind and level up had to travel to distant maps, and most of the high-level maps weren''t concentrated in a single area. Even if Shi Feng used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement, it would take a considerable amount of time to travel from one high-level map to another. "How much time have they given us to consider?" Shi Feng asked. "One daybut I let my anger get the best of me, and I rejected their offer instantly" Aqua Rose said in a subdued voice. "You rejected them?" Shi Feng stared at Aqua Rose in surprise. "Did you really reject them?" "Mhm." Aqua Rose nodded silently, knowing that she had made a huge mess of things. By outright rejecting Blackwater''s offer, she had undoubtedly created another powerful enemy for Zero Wing. "Hahaha! Good! Well done!" Shi Feng could not help but laugh when he saw Aqua Rose''s guilty expression. "Although Zero Wing is not very strong, we''re never afraid of a challenge! If they want to come, let them. We''ll fight it out." "Guild Leader" Aqua Rose felt guilty and slightly touched by Shi Feng''s words. Not only didn''t he blame her in the slightest, but he also actively encouraged her. "Alright, don''t worry about it. This isn''t the first time we''ve fought a superpower," Shi Feng said, shrugging. "But be careful this time. Keep an eye on their movement at all times. Also, we need to push our Guild members to complete their Tier 2 promotions. Every bit of help is useful. Have our Guild''s internal members focus on leveling quickly, so they can add to the Guild''s combat power." "Mhm. I''ll prepare some top-tier equipment, Magic Scrolls, and Advanced Potions for our Guild members to challenge their Promotion Quests. As for the Guild''s internal members, I''ll help them level up with Summer," Aqua Rose said, nodding. Following which, Shi Feng mentioned a few good grinding locations for Aqua Rose to use as she helped powerlevel Zero Wing''s internal members. The Guild''s internal members already had solid combat standards; they only lacked levels. Once they were brought up to speed, Zero Wing would have another batch of expert players to help defend it. When Shi Feng finished his call with Aqua Rose, he proceeded to train with the Guild''s internal members. To help them improve faster, Shi Feng even provided specific guidance to a few talented members. He even went so far as to use the ten additional black cards he had acquired from the Secret Pavilion to train You Ziping and a few others. In such a way, Shi Feng trained You Ziping and the other internal members during the day. When the sun set, he''d log back into God''s Domain and grind through the Divine Staircase. The greatest problem other players in the World summit faced was the drain on their Stamina and Concentration, but Shi Feng could rely on his Life Essence to boost his recovery rate, having no issues in this regard. The only real problem was the Divine Shrine''s increasing difficulty. As a result, Shi Feng had to take more time to clear each shrine. Initially, he had only spent 30 minutes on each Divine Shrine, though he spent most of that time waiting for Divine Providence''s 30-minute Cooldown to end. As he ascended the Divine Staircase, however, the amount of time he needed to clear each shrine gradually increased to two, then three hours After grinding for four consecutive days, Shi Feng finally defeated the 29th shrine''s Guardian Boss, a Great Lord ranked Realm Lord. He had initially assumed that he''d earn more Shrine Points from each subsequent Divine Shrine he cleared, but that wasn''t entirely the case. After the 10th Divine Shrine, the SP reward only increased once every five Divine Shrines, yet these shrines'' difficult constantly increased as he cleared the last. By the time Shi Feng cleared the 29th Divine Shrine, he had only accumulated 86,360 Shrine Points. He was still roughly 14,000 points away from affording the cheapest Bloodline. Fortunately, although he hadn''t acquired as many Shrine Points as he had hoped, he had secured a decent number of Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments. When High Lord and Great Lord ranked Guardian Bosses died, they''d drop at least one crystal fragment, but he had obtained up to three crystal fragments from a single Boss. As a result, he had a total of 43 Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments. As for the Conqueror''s Armor Design, he had collected six fragments thus far. He was only three fragments away from completing the design. He had also obtained over 100 Level 50 to Level 55 weapons and equipment. Their ranks ranged between Bronze and Secret-Silver, and although they weren''t top-tier, they were rare and valuable at this stage of the game. During this time, the White Tiger Dojo had also delivered the previously agreed 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and 20,000,000 Credits. Upon receiving the payment, Shi Feng assigned Shadow Sword to take charge of the 500 apprentices from the dojo. These apprentices would train in Zero Wing City''s Battle Arena, improve their Skill Completion Rates in Stone Forest Town''s advanced combat rooms, and level while grinding and questing each day. As a result, their combat standards steadily rose with each passing day. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s members had encountered group skirmishes with Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s experts in the fields, increasing the Guild''s expenditures. Despite the massive revenue source ZeroWing City had become, the situation took a heavy toll on the Guild''s funds. However, monetary compensation wasn''t the Guild''s biggest problem, but the loss of top-tier weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, the Guild only had a few teams capable of acquiring such items. Although Aqua Rose and the other core members had formed teams to hunt down the enemy experts, they hadn''t obtained enough Level 45 top-tier equipment to replenish the Guild''s stock. "Guild Leader, I''m afraid that our stock of Level 45 top-tier equipment in the Guild Warehouse will run out at this rate. Many of the other large Guilds in the kingdom have already surpassed our raid progress in Level 50 Team Dungeons," Aqua Rose reported, clearly frustrated. "Moreover, based on the latest reports, it seems that Blackwater has sent over 4,000 experts to target our players. Including Heaven''s Burial''s experts, our teams are suffering a massive disadvantage while grinding in the fields." If Shi Feng were present, they might be able to slaughter Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts a few times by relying on his Spatial Gate, which would, more or less, make up for the Guild''s losses. Zero Wing''s members were constantly ambushed in the fields, yet Tier 2 experts like her were limited in their ability to fend off every ambush. Unless their Guild members stopped leveling and questing, there''d be no end to this problem. Moreover, Level 45 top-tier equipment was required to raid Level 50 Team Dungeons. If the Guild Warehouse ran out of such equipment, they''d have to stop raiding these Dungeons. If this persisted, Guild members might even lose interest in earning Guild Contribution Points. If that happened, the Guild would fall apart. "Have Melancholic and the others focus on crafting Level 45 equipment, and temporarily stop sales on Level 45 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. Use some of that stock to replenish the Guild Warehouse. If worst comes to worst, have Snow send some Level 45 top-tier equipment from the Branch Guild," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. He had never expected Blackwater to be ruthless enough to send 4,000 experts. To make matters worse, that wasn''t the Guild''s full strength. Blackwater''s foundations had truly exceeded his expectations. Shi Feng jumped back into his virtual gaming cabin, ignoring the fact that it was currently daytime and he was supposed to be resting. After logging back into God''s Domain, he immediately made his way to the 30th Divine Shrine. 1576 Divine Shrines Opportunity Chapter 1576 - Divine Shrine''s Opportunity Once Shi Feng entered the 30th Divine Shrine, the space before him transformed. Currently, he faced a dark cavern. The cavern was very large, as large as a sports arena. Moreover, many tunnels led out of it. From time to time, he also spotted one or two Lizardman patrol squads moving in and out of these tunnels. Even the weakest Lizardman in these patrol squads was a Level 58 Special Elite, while the strongest was a Level 60 Lord. The raid difficulty really has increased quite significantly. Shi Feng frowned slightly as he observed the Lizardmen. It''s no wonder so many expert Demon Players had to stop after reaching the 30th shrine. Previously, even the strongest non-Boss monster in the 29th Divine Shrine was only a Level 60 Chieftain. In God''s Domain, Chieftain ranked monsters were at the Tier 1 standard. Hence, current players, particularly Demon Players, could still have a relatively easy time dealing with Chieftains. However, when a monster reached the Lord rank, they attained the Tier 2 standard and were capable of using Tier 2 Skills. It might be fine if all a Demon Player had to deal with were two or three Lords. The crucial point was that, based on what Shi Feng could see, there was a total of 30 Lord ranked Lizardmen patrolling in the cavern alone. If one entered the tunnels, who knew how many more Lords they would encounter? Against 30 Lord ranked monsters, even a Tier 2 player would get overwhelmed easily, not to mention a Tier 1 player. An ordinary Tier 1 expert would be fortunate if they could survive even ten seconds against such a large number of Lords. It was no wonder many experts in the World Summit had their progress climbing the Divine Staircase halted at the 30th Divine Shrine. Currently, based on the Ranking List Shi Feng saw before he entered the 30th Divine Shrine, only five players had successfully passed the 30th Divine Shrine. After observing the patrol routes of the Lizardmen, Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Aura of Wind and dashed towards the tunnel that the system map indicated provided access to the heart of the cave system. The patrol squads in the cavern moved in fixed patterns. From observation, Shi Feng found out that there would not always be 30 patrol squads moving inside the cavern but only around four to ten patrol squads most of the time. As long as he used the opportunity when only four patrol squads were present to enter the tunnel leading to the core area, he would attract the attention of only two Lizardman patrol squads at most. In the next moment, Shi Feng transformed into an afterimage as he dashed past one Lizardman patrol squad. By the time the patrol squad reacted, Shi Feng was already several yards beyond it. Very quickly, he zipped by the second patrol squad as well and entered the core tunnel. However, the moment Shi Feng set foot in the core tunnel, he felt the threat of death. Traps? As soon as Shi Feng entered the tunnel, dozens of small magic arrays appeared along the tunnel walls. In the next moment, these magic arrays launched magical bolts of various elements. Although these magical bolts did not seem very powerful, each one contained enough power to rival a Tier 3 Spell. Even a Tier 1 player geared in top-tier equipment would be killed instantly if struck by these bolts. In addition to these attacks, there were also two patrol squads of Lizardmen chasing after him. Sure enough, the difficulty is very high. Upon seeing the dozens of magical bolts flying at him, Shi Feng immediately understood the reason why so few Demon Players had made it through the 30th Divine Shrine. He quickly executed Sword''s Orbit, striking down the bolts one after another as he continued advancing down the tunnel. Fortunately, the activated traps were effective not just against players but the Lizardmen as well. When the Lizardmen entered the tunnel, they were promptly bombarded by magical bolts from the traps Shi Feng triggered, and sent flying back out of the tunnel. As the Lizardmen had relatively high HP, they managed to survive even after being struck by what was effectively a Tier 3 Spell. However, this situation also prevented them from pursuing Shi Feng. Thus, they could only watch as Shi Feng gradually disappeared from their sight. The path leading towards the core of the cave system was replete with various kinds of traps. From time to time, Shi Feng would also come across other Lizardman patrol squads. As a result, he progressed towards the core at a snail''s pace. After walking for over two hours, he arrived at a spacious cavern with a stone altar sitting in the middle of it. Stone pillars carved with magic runes surrounded the altar. Meanwhile, above the altar was the teleportation array leading out of the Divine Shrine. At this moment, however, Lizardmen were kneeling around the altar. At a glance, Shi Feng spotted over 300 Lizardmen. Although the majority of these Lizardmen were only Elite ranked, there were nine Lord ranked Lizardmen in the mix. However, the Lord ranked Lizardmen were no longer the strongest monsters present, which was instead the staff-wielding Lizardman standing at the stone altar. Currently, the staff-wielding Lizardman appeared to be offering a prayer of sorts. [Lizardman Chief (Realm Lord)] (Humanoid Creature, Grand Lord) Level 60 HP 42,000,000/42,000,000 Shi Feng could not help but frown as he looked at the Lizardman Chief. The Guardian Boss of the 29th Divine Shrine had been only a Level 60 Great Lord. Yet, in the 30th Divine Shrine, the Guardian Boss had actually become a Grand Lord. The increase in difficulty utterly exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Although the Lizardman Chief did not possess the HP of an ordinary Grand Lord of the same level, the enhanced Spells of a Grand Lord ranked Realm Lord was no laughing matter. Even if Shi Feng successfully blocked one of the Lizardman Chief''s Spell attacks with his weapons, there was a high chance that he would end up losing his life. Seeing this, Shi Feng could not help but hesitate whether he should bypass the Lizardman Chief and head straight for the teleportation array or stay behind and defeat the Guardian Boss. He was fully confident of directly passing the 30th Divine Shrine while keeping his life intact. However, he could not say the same if he chose to fight the Lizardman Chief. While he did not mind losing one challenge opportunityhe did have ten chances after allthe crucial point was that players would still lose a level if they died inside the Divine Shrines. Fortunately, though, no items would drop upon death. A Grand Lord was an existence that served as the Final Boss of Team Dungeons. It was practically impossible for players to solo such an existence. Just as Shi Feng was mulling over his options, the Lizardman Chief suddenly started chanting an incantation. The runes carved on the stone altar then lit up with a dark-blue glow. The space above the Lizardman Chief also collapsed, forming a tunnel of sorts into the dark void. Immediately after, a golden tablet slowly descended from this shattered space. The moment this golden tablet appeared, the Mana inside the entire cavern stirred. The tablet itself also released a powerful Divine Might that put immense pressure on the living creatures around it. This isa legacy tablet? Shi Feng''s eyes focused on the golden tablet. For a moment, he even thought they were playing tricks on him. He had acquired quite a few legacy tablets thus far. Meanwhile, every tablet was a treasure that allowed players to learn combat techniques. However, the tablets he possessed were just Bronze and Silver ranked. Thus far, he had only seen one Gold Tablet before. Moreover, the said tablet had even been stolen by a mysterious Tier 5 NPC. One could just imagine the value of a Gold ranked Secret Technique Tablet. Just as Shi Feng was feeling surprised at the appearance of the Gold Tablet, the Lizardman Chief extended his hands and received the tablet. He then started chanting another incantation. This time, the Lizardman Chief caused an even greater commotion. The Mana inside the entire cavern gathered at the stone altar and became so dense that it started transforming into white mist. At the same time, a threefold magic array also formed on the ground the stone altar sat on. This is a Space-time Teleportation Magic Array? What is he trying to do? Could he be trying to send the Gold Tablet to another location? Shi Feng was very familiar with the threefold magic array that formed beneath the stone altar. However, he did not believe that the Lizardman Chief was going to leave the Divine Shrine. Hence, there was only one other possibility why the Lizardman Chief would need a teleportation arrayto send something away. Since the Lizardman Chief had summoned the teleportation array immediately after receiving the Gold Tablet, it was highly likely that the Realm Lord was planning on sending the Gold Tablet away. This won''t do. I can''t let him send the Gold Tablet away. Shi Feng steeled his heart and started sneaking his way over to the Lizardman Chief. A Gold Tablet was incomparably valuable. It was not something that Bronze and Silver Tablets could compare to. Just a Silver Tablet was already enough to prompt the various superpowers to bloody one another''s noses, all the more a Gold Tablet. If he missed out on this opportunity, who knew how long it would take before he came across another Gold Tablet? In fact, he might never come across another Gold Tablet again. Moreover, the Divine Staircase became increasingly difficult the higher one ascended. If he could not defeat the Lizardman Chief, then it was even less likely that he could defeat the Guardian Bosses of the subsequent Divine Shrines. Just as the Lizardman Chief was about to send the Gold Tablet out of the cavern At the critical moment, Shi Feng activated the Aura of Time''s Forbidden Domain. Please work! Seeing that the Space-time Teleportation Magic Array was about to activate, Shi Feng could not help but pray for his Forbidden Domain to succeed in stopping it. 1577 Threefold Suppression Chapter 1577 - Threefold Suppression When Shi Feng activated Forbidden Domain, a layer of black mist enveloped the entire cavern, the mist freezing the flow of all the Mana inside the cavern. Meanwhile, due to the stoppage in the flow of Mana, the Space-time Teleportation Magic Array, which was still in the process of activating, failed. The Mana the teleportation array had gathered then began to leak out and scatter into the surroundings, which also caused the spatial tear above the stone altar to close. Good! Shi Feng inwardly grew ecstatic when he saw the teleportation array disappearing. The Space-time Teleportation Magic Array, which was activated using the stone altar, was frighteningly powerful. Although Forbidden Domain could suppress Mana, if a source of Mana had an insuppressible amount of power, then Forbidden Domain naturally would be of no avail. Fortunately, the enhanced Space-time Teleportation Magic Array had yet to reach a realm where Forbidden Domain was ineffective. Meanwhile, the disappearance of the teleportation array had riled up every Lizardman inside the entire cavern. Immediately, they all turned to look in Shi Feng''s direction. "Intruder! You dare interrupt this sacred ritual! Pay for your crime with your life!" The Lizardman Chief bellowed at Shi Feng, a wrathful expression on his face as he thumped his tail furiously on the ground. Every Lizardman present inside the cavern promptly charged at Shi Feng. As for the Lizardman Chief, he gathered Mana in his staff to destroy Shi Feng''s Forbidden Domain. Among the 300-plus Lizardmen charging at Shi Feng were nine Lords and one High Lord. In the face of such a force, even an ordinary Tier 2 expert would shudder in fear. However, rather than feeling fearful, Shi Feng smiled as he switched the Aura of Time to the Aura of Fire. He then unfurled a crimson Tier 3 Magic Scroll in his hands. Meanwhile, contained within this Magic Scroll was none other than the Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell Flame Prison! Suddenly, fiery pillars shot up from the ground, trapping all the oncoming Lizardmen in a prison of flames. Any Lizardman that came into contact with the scorching flames received devastating amounts of damage, losing over 1,000,000 HP every second. The Spell''s activation instantly killed the Elite ranked Lizardmen. Meanwhile, before Flame Prison''s duration was anywhere close to ending, Shi Feng took out an aqua-blue Tier 3 Magic Scroll. Ice Torrent! A torrent of water crashed down from the cavern''s ceiling and impacted the ground heavily. Any living creature that came into contact with the water turned into an ice sculpture on the spot. The Chieftain ranked Lizardmen, who had received critical damage from the initial wave of attacks from Flame Prison, had their remaining HPs thoroughly consumed, their frozen bodies shattering into tiny frost particles. Loot then scattered all over the cavern''s submerged floor. After just a brief moment, only the nine Lords and one High Lord remained of the Lizardman army. How tough! Seeing that the Lord ranked Lizardmen were already at critical HP, Shi Feng followed up with Flame Domain. Although Flame Domain was not as powerful as a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell, it was more than enough to deal with the Lord ranked Lizardmen. After the three large-scale-destruction Spells descended, only the High Lord ranked Lizardman Captain remained of the 300-plus Lizardmen that charged at Shi Feng. At this moment, though, the High Lord had less than half of his HP left. Even so, Shi Feng had no intentions of showing mercy, immediately advancing towards the Lizardman Captain. If it were during normal times, Shi Feng would pay no attention whatsoever to a High Lord ranked monster. However, he currently had to deal with the Grand Lord ranked Lizardman Chief. If he left the Lizardman Captain alone now, he might very well come to regret it later on. Currently, the Lizardman Chief was much more powerful than the Grand Lord ranked Purgatory Puppets Shi Feng had fought during the entrance test. The Realm Lord also possessed much greater HP. Moreover, Shi Feng was alone right now, and the system disallowed the use of Summoning Scrolls. Hence, it would be extremely difficult for him to kill the Lizardman Chief, and he definitely could not afford even the slightest bit of carelessness. However, just when Shi Feng arrived before the Lizardman Captain and was about to use Flame Burst to finish off the High Lord Numerous flame spears suddenly shot at him. Upon seeing this, Shi Feng retreated in surprise. Boom Boom Boom When the flame spears impacted the ground, large craters immediately formed. What power! So, this is a Tier 3 Spell cast by a Realm Lord? Shi Feng was inwardly astonished as he looked at the flaming craters. It was self-evident that the Lizardman Chief had removed the effects of Forbidden Domain. Although the Lizardman Chief had cast only a Tier 3 Spell, its power was already at the Tier 4 standard. If Shi Feng tried blocking such a Spell, he might very well lose his life in an instant. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng dodged the flame spears, flames started raining down from midair. At the same time, chains made of flames emerged from the ground and shot at him, giving him no chance to catch a breather. Whether it was the Rain of Flames or the Flaming Chains, both were Spells capable of killing Shi Feng upon contact right now. Damn it! Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. He then executed the Tier 2 Instant Strike at the Lizardman Captain. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng''s body disappeared from the trajectories of the Lizardman Chief''s attacks and appeared before the heavily injured Lizardman Captain. Phantom Kill! Nine Dragons Slash! Shi Feng held nothing back as he launched one powerful attack after another at the Lizardman Captain, who only had around 4,000,000 HP remaining. Due to Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s effect, Shi Feng''s Strength Attribute increased by 150%. His Strength was now superior to even a Grand Lord''s of the same level. There was also Instant Strike''s effects, which increased his Attack Speed by 500% and damage dealt by 400%. In the next moment, damages exceeding -100,000 appeared above the Lizardman Captain''s head one after another. Sometimes, a critical hit dealing over -300,000 damage would also occur. As Shi Feng and his doppelganger hacked and slashed at the Lizardman Captain, they also activated Defensive Blade to block the Spell attacks coming from the Lizardman Chief. The fight with the Lizardman Captain lasted only a matter of seconds. During this period, the High Lord had very little chance to counterattack. By the time the Lizardman Captain was dead, Shi Feng and his doppelganger had mostly exhausted the block counts of their Defensive Blade. Although only the Lizardman Chief remained now, Shi Feng did not dare to be careless. As a precaution, he stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground and activated Abyssal Curse. Suddenly, pitch-black shackles emerged from the ground beneath the Lizardman Chief''s feet, binding the Realm Lord completely. The Realm Lord''s Basic Attributes then began decreasing rapidly. However, the Lizardman Chief was not an easy opponent to defeat. With a shout, he shattered the restraints on his body and stopped his Basic Attributes from decreasing any further. In the end, the Realm Lord still retained 80% of his Basic Attributesremaining a nightmarish existence to current players. However, Shi Feng had long since expected such an outcome. He then activated Disintegration Field, causing the Lizardman Chief''s Basic Attributes to plummet once more. Eventually, the Lizardman Chief''s Basic Attributes fell to only 60% of their original values. However, Shi Feng was still not satisfied with this result. He took out the Ring of Gospel and spent 5,000 Magic Crystals, activating World Projection. Threefold suppression. If players in the outside world were to see this scene, their eyes would most likely fall out of their sockets. Shi Feng had actually suppressed a Realm Lord-grade Grand Lord to the point where the Boss possessed only 45% of his original Basic Attributes. Now, the Lizardman Chief was no different from a Great Lord of the same level. However, the Lizardman Chief was thoroughly enraged under Shi Feng''s threefold suppression. Waving his staff, he cast the most powerful Spell in his arsenal, Hell Pythons. Suddenly, the Lizardman Chief''s staff transformed into a bundle of flames, which then expanded and became nine massive, flaming pythons that were fully under the Lizardman Chief''s control. He still had such a trump card to play? Shi Feng''s complexion darkened when he saw the flaming pythons striking at him. Although he had yet to clash with these flaming pythons, he could already tell that they were not something a Tier 2 player like himself could hope to stop. Just when the nine flaming pythons were about to come into contact with Shi Feng, the latter suddenly split into ten identical copies of himself. This move was none other than Divine Steps. Even if he left the nine pythons alone, the latter would be able to attack only nine targets at most at any time. With the flaming pythons distracted, Shi Feng immediately made his way towards the Lizardman Chief. Thundering Flash! Flame Burst! Shadow Blade! Both Shi Feng''s main body and doppelganger attacked the Lizardman Chief in a frenzy. Although the Lizardman Chief was a Realm Lord, his Basic Attributes were now suppressed to the point where they only rivaled a Great Lord''s of the same level. Moreover, the Lizardman Chief did not excel in melee battles. As a result, the Lizardman Chief became no different from a punching bag to Shi Feng, whose Basic Attributes were currently superior to a Grand Lord''s of the same level. 99%... 95%... 90%... When Divine Steps ended, Shi Feng took out a Tier 3 Defensive Scroll, Sacred Shield of Water, and used it. The Defensive Spell was capable of blocking Tier 4 attacks even for a short moment, let alone the Tier 3 attacks of the flaming pythons. By the time Hell Pythons'' 20-second duration was over, the Sacred Shield of Water still had over a quarter of its energy remaining. Without the annoyance of the Hell Pythons, Shi Feng had a much easier time dealing with the Lizardman Chief and was able to whittle down the Realm Lord''s HP. When the duration of Heavenly Dragon''s Power ended, Shi Feng promptly followed it up by activating Power of Darkness, maintaining his Strength at the level of a Grand Lord. Meanwhile, every one of his normal attacks dealt over -30,000 damage to the Lizardman Chief and -80,000 for a critical hit. His Skill attacks dealt over -100,000 damage each and -300,000 for a critical hit. However, Shi Feng would occasionally be forced to block one of the Lizardman Chief''s Spell attacks with his weapons, losing 10,000 to 20,000 HP in the process. Fortunately, Shi Feng had Life Domain and Void Shield to help him recover and block a portion of those attacks. Hence, he had no problems keeping his HP above a safe margin. The only real challenge he faced was that the high-intensity combat was depleting both his Stamina and Concentration at a severe rate. As the minutes passed by, the Lizardman Chief''s HP steadily decreased. 50% 30% 10% "Despicable intruder! I will not let you win!" The Lizardman Chief suddenly exploded in violent fury and tossed aside his staff. He then started gathering a stupendous amount of Mana inside his body. Following which, not only did his body turn pitch-black, but it also doubled in size. Mana Madness? At this moment, when Shi Feng looked at the Lizardman Chief, he could feel the threat of death from the Realm Lord. Actually, even if his mind did not warn him about the Lizardman Chief, his eyes could see very clearly just how dangerous the Realm Lord was right now. Despite the Lizardman Chief just standing still right now, the ground beneath the Realm Lord buckled and shattered from the intense aura his body radiated. The air surrounding the Lizardman Chief had also become extremely heavy as well as scorching hot. "Roar!" The Lizardman Chief bellowed and dashed forward, appearing in front of Shi Feng in the blink of an eye. The Realm Lord then raised his massive arms and smashed down at Shi Feng. "Come!" Shi Feng had no intention of dodging the Realm Lord''s attack. Instead, he activated the Tier 2 Blade Liberation, increasing his Basic Attributes once more. Shadow Blade! Suddenly, several streaks of shadow merged with the slash Shi Feng executed using Killing Ray, the combined attack landing squarely on the Lizardman Chief''s fists. Boom! Shi Feng was forced to retreat by only half a step from the resulting impact. In contrast, the Lizardman Chief''s arms got flung away, leaving his scaly chest wide open to attack. Moreover, the counter had also forced the Realm Lord to retreat by two steps. A chance! Shi Feng used this opportunity to activate Divine Providence and stabbed the Abyssal Blade at the Lizardman Chief. Flame Burst! After launching a series of devastating attacks, Shi Feng eventually reaped the final 10% HP the Lizardman Chief had remaining. Meanwhile, like a bursting balloon, the Realm Lord''s body instantly turned into ashes and disappeared 1578 Basic Strength Battle Array Chapter 1578 - Basic Strength Battle Array He''s finally dead. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the Lizardman Chief disappearing. After going berserk, the Lizardman Chief was simply too powerful. Not only was the Realm Lord''s Strength overwhelming, but his attacks also carried the Mana Erosion effect. Every time Shi Feng clashed with the Realm Lord, although he appeared to have the advantage, in reality, his HP also decreased by a significant amount. At this moment, Shi Feng''s HP had already fallen below 25% Had the Lizardman Chief been able to endure a few more attacks, the one to die in that battle would have been Shi Feng, instead. Meanwhile, after the Lizardman Chief died, over a dozen items had dropped to the ground, including three pieces of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment, four pieces of Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment, eight rare materials, and two Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments. For a Level 60 Grand Lord, this loot was quite satisfactory. Not to mention, aside from all these items, the Realm Lord had also dropped three design fragments. When Shi Feng saw these design fragments, his eyes immediately glowed. After all, these design fragments were meant for none other than the Conqueror''s Armor Design. With this, I''ll be able to start producing Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment that has a Basic Battle Array added to it. Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the three design fragments. He then combined the nine design fragments, forming a complete forging design. [Conqueror''s Armor Forging Design] (Advanced Design, Fine-Gold Rank) When learned, you will be able to produce the Level 50 Magic Rune Armor. Every piece of armor produced will have a magic array carved on it. Five pieces of armor can be used to form a Basic Strength Battle Array. [Conqueror''s Armor] (Chest Piece, Plate Armor, Fine-Gold Rank) Level 50 Equipment Requirement: Strength 700 and Agility 700 Defense +2,150 Strength +64, Endurance +72, Agility +60 Additional Passive Skill- Life Sacrifice: The lower the wearer''s HP, the greater the power they will receive. Increases to a maximum of 10% Strength and 20% Attack Speed. Additional Active Skill- Basic Strength Battle Array: Requires five or more players wearing the Conqueror''s Armor to activate. Upon activation, increases wearer''s Strength by 25%, Agility by 15%, Endurance by 15%, and physique by 10%. Grants Basic Perception Sharing buff. Stamina and Concentration consumption rates are also increased by 400%. Maintaining the battle array costs one Magic Crystal every five minutes. The effects of this Basic Strength Battle Array sure are powerful. Shi Feng could not help his astonishment after reading through the Conqueror''s Armor''s introduction. He had seen many Basic Battle Arrays before. Meanwhile, a Basic Battle Array would be considered excellent if it increased the Attribute it specialized in by 20%. Normally, though, most Basic Battle Arrays only increased their specialized Attributes by 15%. The Conqueror''s Armor''s Basic Strength Battle Array, however, actually increased Strength by 25% and two other Basic Attributes by 15%. There was also the 10% improvement to physique. The effects of the Basic Strength Battle Array could already rival the transformation effects of Demon Players. In fact, the Basic Strength Battle Array provided even greater improvements to a player''s combat power than a Demon Player''s Demon state did. After all, the battle array''s Perception Sharing buff allowed players to eliminate their defensive blind spots. This, in turn, would improve a player''s combat standards significantly. Moreover, coordination between players wearing the Conqueror''s Armor would also become much better, and they would be able to execute much more frightening attacks. If a party of five elite players was equipped with the Conqueror''s Armor, they might be able to defeat even a party of five ordinary experts. This was the reason the various large Guilds had been extremely desperate to obtain equipment with battle arrays in the past. Moreover, the Basic Strength Battle Array was only a Basic Battle Array. If the Conqueror''s Armor had an Intermediate or Advanced Battle Array instead, it could provide even more frightening improvements to a player''s combat power. In the past, it was also because of some special battle arrays that many insignificant small Guilds had managed to survive despite not subordinating themselves to a large Guild. Currently, the value of the Conqueror''s Armor Design was worth even more than Fragmented Legendary items. After going through the Lizardman Chief''s loot, Shi Feng approached the stone altar and carefully picked up the Gold Tablet placed on top of it. Shi Feng was very curious to find out just what kind of combat technique the tablet recorded. To all players, Secret Technique Tablets were precious treasures that they could use to learn combat techniques from. Moreover, the higher the rank of a Secret Technique Tablet, the more powerful the combat technique one could learn from it. In fact, in order to obtain a Gold Tablet, an NPC had gone as far as to commit robbery in the middle of Blackwing City. After suppressing the excitement in his heart, Shi Feng clicked to inspect the Gold Tablet. [Secret Body Technique] The pattern engraved on this tablet is too vague and incomplete, and no information can be deciphered. However, some kind of divine power hides within this pattern. If one gathers all of the stone tablets, this vague and incomplete pattern can be restored. Current tablet count (1/3) A Secret Body Technique? Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he looked at the Gold Tablet. It was common knowledge that among the various combat techniques available in God''s Domain, combat techniques focused on the physical body were the most valuable. Moreover, just like Void Steps, such techniques were suitable for both physically and magically oriented classes. Even if one failed to grasp the combat technique completely, they would still be able to improve their control over their own bodies. After he finished inspecting the Gold Tablet, before he could even store it away, a golden light suddenly shone down on him. "This is" A pleasant feeling filled Shi Feng''s body as he was enveloped in this golden light. He also fully recovered all the Stamina and Concentration he had exhausted previously. System: Congratulations! You have exceeded your own limits and achieved an Exploit acknowledged by the Gods. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to have achieved an Exploit on the Divine Staircase. Rewarding 15,000 Shrine Points. "So, this is an Exploit?" Shi Feng could not help but feel joyous when he saw the proof of having achieved an Exploit appearing in his status window. "Also, 15,000 Shrine Points? The system sure is generous." Unlike Shrine Points, one''s accumulated Exploits would not reset upon leaving the World Summit. They would remain until players spent them or deleted them deliberately. Meanwhile, the more valuable items available at the Divine Staircase, such as Bloodlines and Fragmented Legendary items, all required Exploits to exchange for. Otherwise, even if one had the necessary Shrine Points, they would only be able to stare at their desired items, helpless to do anything. Moreover, due to the system reward this time, Shi Feng''s accumulated Shrine Points had finally broken past the 100,000-point threshold. He was now qualified to exchange for the cheapest Bloodline. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng could not help but quickly leave the 30th Divine Shrine. When he appeared back on the Divine Staircase, a series of system notifications entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have passed the Divine Shrine. Rewarding 1,500 Shrine Points. System: Congratulations! You have passed the Divine Shrine within the time limit. Rewarding 1,500 Shrine Points. System: Congratulations! You have killed the Guardian Boss within the time limit. Rewarding 4,000 Shrine Points. After including these rewards, Shi Feng''s total Shrine Points reached 109,360. However, he still had no intention of ending his challenge. After getting sufficient rest, he immediately proceeded to the next Divine Shrine. Although he currently no longer had enough Magic Crystals to use World Projection for the subsequent Guardian Bosses, even if he could not beat the Guardian Bosses, he was more than capable of maneuvering past them. In any case, he was not required to defeat the Guardian Bosses in order to clear the Divine Shrines and ascend the Divine Staircase. Hence, while avoiding battle with the Guardian Bosses, Shi Feng cleared one Divine Shrine after another. Meanwhile, as he was rapidly accumulating more Shrine Points, some players out on the World Summit had also started to notice something odd. Previously, the highest record on the Ranking List displayed before the various Divine Shrines was only at the 33rd Divine Shrine. Now, however, someone had already reached the 35th Divine Shrine. Moreover, this person showed no signs of slowing down as they sped through the 35th Divine Shrine and entered the 36th. "Who is this person?" Skyhawk, who had just exited the 33rd Divine Shrine, revealed a surprised expression as he looked at the Divine Shrine Ranking List. As one reached further Divine Shrines, not only would they face much more difficult Bosses, but the traps set up inside the Divine Shrines also became increasingly powerful. In fact, Skyhawk had spent two of his seven attempts on clearing the 33rd Divine Shrine. Furthermore, he had already planned on giving up trying to pass the 34th Divine Shrine altogether. As for the 35th Divine Shrine, he did not even dare think about clearing it. After all, the Divine Staircase''s difficulty increased substantially every five levels. Despite that, there was actually someone who had successfully done so already and was challenging the 36th. 1579 Redeeming a Bloodline Chapter 1579 - Redeeming a Bloodline After Shi Feng entered the 36th Divine Shrine, the monsters he came across were mostly Chieftains. Meanwhile, the monster patrol squads he encountered were mainly led by Level 60 Lords, with a few led by High Lords. Even an expert player would not dare to pick a fight if they came across such monster patrol squads; their only option would be to run away. In addition, the traps found inside the Divine Shrine had increased in both quantity and quality. Now, every trap was more than capable of killing a player instantly. If players lacked the strength to cope with the traps and patrol squads simultaneously, it was basically game over for them. To Shi Feng, however, these monster patrol squads were no problem whatsoever. Only, having to deal with both the traps and monsters at the same time consumed a lot of his time and Stamina. Fortunately, he had Life Essences to help replenish his Stamina. Hence, he still managed to arrive at the teleportation array of the 36th Divine Shrine relatively easily. From the 35th Divine Shrine onwards, the Guardian Bosses had become Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Even if Shi Feng had enough Magic Crystals to execute threefold suppression, he was not confident of defeating such a foe. A casual hit from a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species could heavily injure Shi Feng even if he succeeded in blocking the attack. If he failed, needless to say, he would be killed instantly. As a result, Shi Feng had to resort to Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Life Domain to keep himself alive. He then used the doppelganger summoned through Phantom Kill to activate the teleportation array. After the teleportation array was ready, he swapped positions with his doppelganger and promptly left the 36th Divine Shrine. Although Shi Feng failed to kill the Guardian Boss, passing the 36th Divine Shrine still granted him a total of 4,000 Shrine Points. Through this method, he smoothly ascended the Divine Staircase all the way up to the 40th Divine Shrine, causing a huge commotion among the players in the World Summit. After all, the second-ranked player only managed to clear the 33rd Divine Shrine. Meanwhile, Shi Feng directly chose to give up on the challenge after passing the 40th Divine Shrine. The reason for this decision was the Guardian Bosses no longer being Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, but Mythic monsters, instead, from the 40th Divine Shrine onwards. Whether it was in terms of Strength, speed, or combat standards, a Mythic monster surpassed a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species by a wide margin. Against a Mythic monster, Skills such as Abyssal Curse and Disintegration Field had minimal effect. Even after Shi Feng had used Heavenly Dragon''s Power, the Guardian Boss of the 40th Divine Shrine still managed to overwhelm him. Had Shi Feng made even the slightest mistake during the fight, he would''ve definitely been killed instantly. In the end, he was left with no choice but to resort to Twofold Berserk. However, even after he did so, against an unsuppressed Mythic monster, it had taken him everything he had just to keep his life. Fortunately, he was able to hold out long enough for his doppelganger to activate the teleportation array, and he succeeded in leaving the 40th Divine Shrine. However, after activating Twofold Berserk, he had also entered a Weakened state, which had a very long duration. As this method of clearing the Divine Shrines was simply too time-consuming, Shi Feng decided that it was better to give up and use his remaining time to explore the other Shrines on the World Summit. After Shi Feng chose to leave the Divine Staircase, he arrived back at the Divine Hall located at the bottom of the World Summit. There are so many people! Upon arriving at the Divine Hall, he discovered that most of the Demon Players he encountered at the World Summit''s main entrance were currently present in the Divine Hall. "Buying Demon Potions, 150 Gold per bottle! Willing to use Level 45 top-tier weapons and equipment to exchange as well!" "Purchasing set pieces for Level 50 Dark-Gold or Fine-Gold Set Equipment! Prices negotiable!" Among the players present inside the Divine Hall, very few were here to exchange for items using their Shrine Points. Instead, the majority of the players were purchasing items exchanged using Shrine Points. Rather than an exchange center, the Divine Hall looked more like a marketplace right now. At this moment, a cloaked player approached Shi Feng and asked, "Fellow friend, you just came out from the Divine Staircase, right? If you still have points remaining after you''re done exchanging for the items you want, I''m willing to purchase those points at a high price. I''ll buy 20 points for one Gold. I''ll buy ten points for one Gold if you have over 1,000 points, ten points for two Gold if you have over 3,000 points, and ten points for three Gold if you have over 5,000 points. How about it?" Hearing the cloaked player''s words, Shi Feng was inwardly astonished. The purchase price was simply too frightening. If players had over 5,000 points on hand, that meant passing the first Divine Shrine alone could already earn them six Gold Coins. If they defeated the Guardian Boss as well, they could make a total of 21 Gold from clearing the first Divine Shrine. "Sorry, but I don''t have that many points to spare," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. He then headed straight for the exchange counter, showing no intention of trading away his points for Coins. After all, he did not have a lot of Shrine Points on hand. Currently, he had accumulated a total of only 146,360 points. Given Shi Feng''s lack of interest, the cloaked player had no choice but to search for willing sellers. When Shi Feng arrived before the exchange counter, a female Demon NPC smiled at him and asked, "Hello, sir, may I know what item you wish to exchange for?" "Bloodlines!" Shi Feng replied. "Bloodlines?" The Demon NPC revealed a shocked expression when she heard Shi Feng''s answer. Very quickly, however, she nodded and said, "Alright. Here is a list of Bloodlines available for exchange." Although Shi Feng and the female Demon NPC did not speak loudly, everyone present in the Divine Hall was an expert. They also possessed considerably good physiques. Moreover, they were very familiar with the high-ranking items available for exchange at the Divine Hall. Hence, upon hearing the word "Bloodline," they turned to look at Shi Feng, who stood before the exchange counter, their ears immediately perking up. "What?! That person is actually trying to exchange for a Bloodline?! Even the cheapest Bloodline requires 100,000 points!" "Previously, I heard that the monsters that managed to pass the 31st Divine Shrine only obtained 32,540 points. They are far from reaching 100,000 points. That guy should just be taking a look at the available Bloodlines." "No, that might not be the case. I checked the Ranking List just now and saw that someone has already cleared the 40th Divine Shrine. He might be that person." "Still, even if he cleared the 40th Divine Shrine, it shouldn''t be possible for him to accumulate so many points." At this moment, everyone looked at Shi Feng with eyes filled with curiosity. After all, to them, 100,000 Shrine Points was an astronomical amount. It seems nobody else has discovered it yet? From the hushed discussions Shi Feng overheard, he couldn''t help but pity these expert Demon Players. In order to save time, these players had chosen the fastest method to clear the Divine Shrines and missed out on the opportunity to obtain the points for killing the Guardian Bosses. However, he also wasn''t so kindhearted as to announce this fact. Following which, he focused his gaze on the list of Bloodlines the NPC provided him. There was a total of 33 different Bloodlines available for exchange. Among them, 23 were Basic Bloodlines, eight were Advanced Bloodlines, and two were Peak Bloodlines. In his two lives playing God''s Domain, this was the first time Shi Feng saw so many Bloodlines gathered in one place. Meanwhile, any single one of these Bloodlines could cause any expert in the past to go crazy over it; even apex experts would have been willing to pay any price to acquire one of these Bloodlines. 1580 Hidden Benefi Chapter 1580 - Hidden Benefit Sure enough, they are all amazing! It''s no wonder so many experts were so crazy about Bloodlines back then! Shi Feng felt slightly emotional when he saw the list of Bloodlines. In the past, even superpowers had an extremely tough time getting their hands on Bloodlines. Information on Bloodlines was also heavily restricted. Even though Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, he had not possessed any detailed information on Bloodlines. All he knew was that Bloodlines improved a player''s Life Rating and that they were of great help when players got promoted to higher tiers. Meanwhile, although the list of Bloodlines the Demon NPC gave him did not reveal a lot of information, what he could see was already more than enough to thrill him. Even the most ordinary Bloodline would allow players to undergo a qualitative transformation. Take the Frost Bloodline, for example. It increased the owner''s compatibility with ice-type Skills and Spells, improving their Skill and Spell Completion Rates and base power. In addition, players with Bloodlines would gain some extra Basic Attribute Points every time they leveled up. In the case of the Frost Bloodline, its primary focus was Intelligence, while Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Vitality were secondary. Moreover, the bonus Basic Attributes gained through leveling up would further increase with each tier promotion. Eventually, as players rose in levels, the gap in Basic Attributes between players with Bloodlines and players without Bloodlines would also grow increasingly wider, to the point where the disparity could instill despair. However, looking at the cost of the various Bloodlines listed, Shi Feng could not help but frown. Of the two Peak Bloodlines available, one needed 340,000 SPs, while the other needed 360,000 SPs. In addition, both of them required three Exploits each. These Peak Bloodlines were even more expensive than the top-tier Fragmented Legendary items. As for the eight Advanced Bloodlines, they, too, were far beyond Shi Feng''s reach as even the cheapest among them cost 200,000 SPs and two Exploits, while the most expensive one cost 260,000 SPs and two Exploits. Even if he managed to kill the Mythic ranked Guardian Boss in the 40th Divine Shrine, accumulating 200,000 SPs was unlikely. It seems I can exchange for only a Basic Bloodline. Shi Feng could not help but sigh. Revealing a bitter smile, he set his eyes on the 23 Basic Bloodlines. Even the cheap Basic Bloodline, which was named Boulder Bloodline, cost 100,000 SPs and one Exploit. The Boulder Bloodline improved a player''s Defense, and the main Basic Attribute it increased was Endurance. It was a Bloodline more suited for MTs rather than Swordsmen. In the end, Shi Feng narrowed his choices to three Bloodlines. [Hurricane Bloodline] Increases compatibility with wind-type Skills and Spells. Mainly improves Agility, followed by Endurance, Strength, Vitality, and Intelligence. Requires 115,000 Shrine Points and one Exploit to exchange. [Scorching Flame Bloodline] Increases compatibility with fire-type Skills and Spells. Mainly improves Endurance, followed by Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Intelligence. Requires 122,000 Shrine Points and one Exploit to exchange. [Earth Dragon Bloodline] Increases Magic Resistance. Mainly improves Strength, followed by Endurance, Agility, Vitality, and Intelligence. Requires 125,000 Shrine Points and one Exploit to exchange. These three Bloodlines were more suitable for a melee physical class like the Swordsman class. Whether they were wind-type or fire-type Skills, the Swordsman class had a little of both. Hence, the Hurricane and Scorching Flame Bloodlines would provide significant improvements to a Swordsman''s DPS. As for the Earth Dragon Bloodline, it was suitable for practically every class in the game. As players reached higher levels, the maps available for them to grind in would have increasingly poor environments. In the past, many players would even prepare multiple sets of equipment to cope with different environments. Hence, Magic Resistance was very helpful to players. All three Bloodlines were considerably good. At the moment, Shi Feng did not know which Bloodline to choose. "Sir, should I recommend you a few Bloodlines that are suited to yourself?" the female Demon NPC asked, smiling as she looked at Shi Feng''s hesitant expression. "May I know what your recommendations are?" Shi Feng could not help but ask curiously. Recommendations from NPCs were generally very accurate. However, it was not easy for players to get one from them. Usually, a player had to be lucky or have sufficiently high Favorability with an NPC for such a situation to occur. "As you are the heaven''s blessed that has progressed the furthest up the Divine Staircase, you get to enjoy a 10% discount on all exchanges. Hence, I recommend either the Thunderblade Advanced Bloodline or the Dark Iron Basic Bloodline," the female Demon replied as she called out two displays showing the details of the Bloodlines she mentioned. "You''re saying the number one ranking player in the Divine Staircase gets a 10% discount?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised to hear this. He never thought that the Divine Staircase''s Ranking List also provided such a hidden benefit. The Thunderblade Bloodline the female Demon mentioned was an Advanced Bloodline. It improved not only a player''s compatibility with lightning-type Skills and Spells but also their Attack Speed. As for Basic Attributes, the Advanced Bloodline mainly improved Strength and Agility, followed by Intelligence, Endurance, and Vitality. However, since it was a powerful Bloodline, its cost was also frighteningly high; it needed a whopping 230,000 Shrine Points and two Exploits. Even with the 10% discount, he couldn''t afford this Bloodline. As for the Dark Iron Bloodline, it increased a player''s compatibility with melee Skills. As for Basic Attributes, the Bloodline mainly increased Strength, followed by Agility, Endurance, Vitality, and Intelligence. The Bloodline''s price was, likewise, very high, requiring 150,000 SPs and one Exploit. Currently, he had 146,360 SPs. If he included the 10% discount, he would have more than enough to exchange for the Dark Iron Bloodline. "I''ll exchange for this Dark Iron Bloodline," Shi Feng said, inwardly ecstatic as he looked at the Dark Iron Bloodline. Among the many Basic Bloodlines available, the Dark Iron Bloodline was the most suited to melee classes. Since he could afford it, he naturally wouldn''t go choosing other Basic Bloodlines. "Alright. You have to pay a total of 135,000 Shrine Points and one Exploit," the female Demon said, nodding. Immediately, a payment window appeared before Shi Feng. Without hesitation, he chose to complete the transaction. A moment later, the female Demon retrieved a pitch-black crystal bottle from a magic array beside her. She then carefully handed the bottle over to Shi Feng. So, this is a Bloodline? As Shi Feng looked at the pitch-black liquid inside the magic crystal bottle, he could sense vitality radiating from the liquid. Moreover, the liquid also contained terrifying power. "This is the Dark Iron Bloodline you''ve purchased. Please store it away properly. May I know if you have anything else you wish to exchange for?" "I wish to exchange for the cheapest God Crystal available." When Shi Feng took a look at the Shrine Points he had remaining, he saw he still had 11,360 points left. Meanwhile, the cheapest God Crystal up for exchange cost 12,000 SPs before discount, which was significantly less expensive than an Epic item. Not to mention, compared to an Epic item, a God Crystal was much more useful to him. Following which, the female Demon inserted her hand into the magic array beside her again and retrieved a God Crystal. Every God Crystal carried the remnant Divine Might of a God. Hence, the mere appearance of a God Crystal caused the players inside the Divine Hall to feel an enormous pressure bearing down on them. "What is this pressure?! It''s so strong! What kind of item can give off such a powerful pressure?!" "Who is that person? Just now, he seemed to have exchanged for a Bloodline already. Now, he''s even exchanging for such an item. Just how many points does he have?" The crowd inside the Divine Hall stared at Shi Feng in shock. The players that previously doubted him now looked at him with eyes brimming with envy and admiration. A Bloodline! That was something that could allow even an ordinary player to become an expert. If Demon experts like themselves could obtain a Bloodline, they would definitely become one of the apex existences in God''s Domain in the future. Hence, how could they not envy Shi Feng? Meanwhile, after Shi Feng obtained the Dark Iron Bloodline and God Crystal, he no longer had any reason to remain in the Divine Hall. He immediately turned around and headed towards the exit. However, before Shi Feng could leave the Divine Hall, a man suddenly stood in his way. Smiling, the man said, "Fellow friend, your performance at the Divine Staircase is amazing! May I know if you can hand over that Bloodline you have to the Flower of Seven Sins? Rest assured, the Flower of Seven Sins definitely will not mistreat you and will reward you amply." With a look, Shi Feng identified the man before him as none other than Skyhawk of the Flower of Seven Sins. 1581 Disintegration Armor Recovers Chapter 1581 - Disintegration Armor Recovers Overhearing Skyhawk''s request, the players inside the Divine Hall could not help but turn to look at him with shocked expressions. "What? That guy is actually someone from the Flower of Seven Sins?" "Sure enough, even a superpower like the Flower of Seven Sins is highly interested in Bloodlines." "I wonder if that person will agree to trade his Bloodline away?" "Why wouldn''t he agree? That''s the Flower of Seven Sins we''re talking about! It''s the strongest assassination organization in the virtual gaming world! Who would dare defy them?" The surrounding onlookers started a quiet discussion among themselves as they looked at Skyhawk. The Flower of Seven Sins was known by practically everyone in the virtual gaming world. However, the members of the Flower of Seven Sins always took action covertly, so most players had only ever heard about the organization and knew that it specialized in commissions for assassination. As long as one could afford the price, the Flower of Seven Sins would dare to take action even against Super Guilds. Moreover, every member of the Flower of Seven Sins was an expert among experts. Even Super Guilds felt fearful of some of the organization''s experts. Meanwhile, regarding the matter of Shi Feng acquiring a Bloodline, although the onlookers felt very envious of him, they also knew that any player capable of exchanging for a Bloodline was definitely no ordinary expert. Hence, there was very little chance they could steal the Bloodline from Shi Feng. However, it would be a different story if the Flower of Seven Sins was the one asking for it. The Flower of Seven Sins dared to take action against even the old monsters of Super Guilds. Although Shi Feng was someone capable of acquiring a Bloodline, the Flower of Seven Sins would still consider him an insignificant existence. Just as everyone was wondering what kind of decision Shi Feng would make, Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the arrogant Skyhawk. "I''m not interested in this transaction. You''d best look for someone else," Shi Feng said before continuing towards the main entrance of the Divine Hall. Bloodlines were limited items in God''s Domain. Although they were available for exchange at the Divine Staircase, every Bloodline was unique. Once one was taken, its listing would no longer appear at the Divine Staircase. In addition, players wouldn''t be allowed to exchange for items of similar rank and type in the future, which implied that players could exchange for only one Basic Bloodline at the Divine Staircase in their lifetime. If Shi Feng wished to exchange for another Bloodline in the future, his options would be only Advanced Bloodlines and Peak Bloodlines. The same rule applied for Epic and Fragmented Legendary items as well. Players were limited to only one such item. Hence, Shi Feng naturally wouldn''t be so foolish as to trade away his Bloodline. Moreover, even if he could exchange for an unlimited number of Bloodlines, he still wouldn''t trade the Dark Iron Bloodline away. Bloodlines were incomparably precious. Aside from the Divine Staircase, Shi Feng had no idea where he could obtain a Bloodline with absolute certainty. Hence, if he managed to get his hands on additional Bloodlines, he would naturally give it to the other members of his Guild. Only a fool would try to sell their Bloodlines away. Upon Shi Feng''s departure, Skyhawk''s complexion darkened immediately. "That guy''s dead! He actually dared offend someone from the Flower of Seven Sins!" "As expected of an expert. If it were me, I definitely would''ve chosen to trade away the Bloodline." Everyone could not help but send Shi Feng looks of pity and worship as they watched the Swordsman leave the Divine Hall. When it came to tracking and investigative capabilities, the Flower of Seven Sins could rival even the Secret Pavilion. If the organization wanted someone dead, there was almost no escaping the organization''s grasp. Hence, if given a choice, independent experts would rather provoke a Super Guild than the Flower of Seven Sins. "Commander, that person sure is arrogant! He actually dares disrespect the Flower of Seven Sins!" the Guardian Knight belonging to Skyhawk''s party said as he approached Skyhawk, shock and anger on his face as he looked at Shi Feng''s departing figure. "Since he refuses to trade it to us, we''ll just take it away from him by force." Skyhawk sneered as he looked at Shi Feng. "Did you use the Tracking Scroll?" "I did. For the next twelve hours, no matter where he runs to, we''ll be able to find him." The Guardian Knight smiled and nodded. Taking a look at his system map, he continued, "He seems to be heading for the World Summit." In God''s Domain, while it was indeed true that only Rangers and Assassins possessed tracking abilities, other players could rely on special Magic Scrolls to track players. Meanwhile, as these special Magic Scrolls did not deal any damage, even when used on a player, the said player would not notice the tracking marker and neither could they remove it. Unless the targeted player logged out of the game, they could be located regardless of where they went. The only flaw of these special Magic Scrolls was that they could not be used repeatedly on the same target. Once a player was marked, no other tracking marker could be placed on them within the next 48 hours. "What a confident person. Notify Ink Hunter and have him get ready. We''ll take action on the World Summit," Skyhawk ordered. In the World Summit, only the foot of the mountain was a safe zone. Once players ascended the mountain, the prohibition on attacking other players no longer applied. There, players could fight each other however much they wanted. Only, once a player was killed on the World Summit, although they would not lose a level, they would drop an item and be sent directly out of the World Summit regardless of how much time they had remaining. Since Bloodlines were categorized as limited items, after players exchanged for a Bloodline, they could not use it immediately. They needed to wait three hours for the restriction to end. Meanwhile, if players were killed during this restriction period, they would drop the Bloodline with a 100% certainty. "Understood!" The Guardian Knight licked his lips in anticipation as he contacted their Cleric companion. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng ascended the World Summit, he did not make a beeline for the area where the Epic Shrines were located. Instead, he found a secluded spot and retrieved the Disintegration Armor and God Crystal from his bag. Hopefully, it doesn''t require too many. Shi Feng took a deep breath as he chose the Fusion option in the system interface. In the Divine Staircase''s exchange menu, God Crystals were considered only unique items and not limited items. However, players had a cap of one God Crystal per visit to the World Summit. If Shi Feng wished to exchange for another God Crystal, he could do so only on his next visit. After he chose to fuse the Disintegration Armor and God Crystal, the magic circuits carved on the Disintegration Armor released a dazzling silver glow. At the same time, the Disintegration Power the armor radiated intensified. A short moment later, a stream of evil, pitch-black energy flowed out of the Disintegration Armor. This pitch-black energy felt as if it could corrode all items in existence. In fact, it even began corroding the ground, air, and even space around the Disintegration Armor. What a strong power! Shi Feng involuntarily retreated three steps in a hurry as he looked at this pitch-black energy, deeply afraid of getting tainted by this corrosive energy. However, shortly after this pitch-black energy started corrupting its surroundings, the space around it began trembling. The boundless energy permeating the entire World Summit actually started dispelling this pitch-black energy. In the blink of an eye, it obliterated the pitch-black energy. The World Summit truly is a place created by Gods. Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he looked at the formerly decayed grass and air that had reverted to their original states. The corrosive energy was capable of suppressing even the Disintegration Armor''s mighty Disintegration Power. Yet, when this pitch-black energy came into contact with the energy in World Summit, it got wiped out almost instantly. Meanwhile, after this pitch-black energy was removed, a small change occurred to the Disintegration Armor. The formerly dull and tattered armor was actually glowing right now. Although it still had some physical damage and the magic circuits engraved on it remained dim and powerless, the Disintegration Power it exuded had become much more resplendent than before. Even Shi Feng, the owner of the Disintegration Armor, felt intense pressure coming from it. He immediately walked up to the Disintegration Armor and checked its statistics again. What amazing Attributes! Shi Feng could not help but grow ecstatic as he looked at the Disintegration Armor''s new statistics. 1582 Domain Improves Chapter 1582 - Domain Improves Shi Feng''s desire for the Disintegration Armor was intense. After all, it was a set piece of one of the Nine Great Legendary Sets in God''s Domain. He had only heard rumors about the Nine Great Legendary Sets in the past. He knew that these nine sets were far stronger than ordinary Legendary Set Equipment; they could be considered the best among the various Legendary Set Equipment in God''s Domain. Generally, among the various pieces of a set equipment, the chest piece was the most important. As long as he could repair the Disintegration Armor, its benefits would be far beyond that of ordinary Legendary Equipment. Although the Disintegration Armor hadn''t fully recovered, its statistics were frightening. [Disintegration Armor] One piece of the Legendary Set Equipment the Orc Empire''s Founding Emperor had crafted. The wearer of this armor will gain even greater strength than that of Titans. They will also fall into an endless cycle of madness. However, the Disintegration Armor had been damaged beyond repair during the great war, and now leaks the Disintegration Power within. The Disintegration Power will taint any player that carries this item. It has also been tainted by an evil power, making it impossible to recast the armor. (At present, 75% of the armor is still tainted by an evil power.) [Disintegration Field] Disintegrates all Skills and Spells within a 100-yard radius (Skills and Spells at Tier 2 and below will be nullified, while Skills and Spells above Tier 2 will be weakened by 70%). All entities within range of the Disintegration Field will sustain a 40% reduction to Basic Attributes, physique, and Stamina in addition to a 400% increase to their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. No Cooldown. Despite removing a quarter of the evil power, the Disintegration Armor''s power had grown significantly. He didn''t dare to imagine how powerful the Disintegration Field would become once he removed the remaining evil power. Disintegration Field''s ability to weaken Skills and Spells above Tier 2 by 70% was outrageous. Such suppression would basically cripple any Skill or Spell it encountered. The Skill or Spell would likely deal even less damage than a normal attack, and that''s not even including the 40% reduction to Basic Attributes. Only three more to go. Shi Feng could not help his grin as he looked at the remaining evil power in the armor. Although he had spent more time on the Divine Staircase than any other player, he had earned a lot of time in the entrance test. He still had 5,724 minutes he could use to explore the World Summit. If he spent this time wisely, he shouldn''t have any issues acquiring three more God Crystals. Opening an Epic Shrine only cost 1,000 minutes, and excluding travel time between shrines, he could activate up to five Epic Shrines. As long as three of these Epic Shrines contained God Crystals, he could remove the remaining evil power that tainted the Disintegration Armor. Once he had a plan, Shi Feng stopped wasting his time. After storing the Disintegration Armor, he dashed towards the Epic Shrine area. Shi Feng ascended the World Summit''s mountain far faster than he had during his previous visit even though he was still suffering a Weakened state from activating Twofold Berserk. After climbing the mountain for a little over an hour, he had made it past the Bronze area and was already past the Mysterious-Iron area. During his climb, he had spotted many players who tried to make the most of their remaining time as they entered as many low-rank shrines as possible. Unlike the Dark-Gold and Epic Shrines, which cost 400 minutes and 1,000 minutes to activate, respectively, lower-ranked shrines were relatively cheap to activate. The Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Shrines, in particular, only cost 50 minutes and 100 minutes to activate. Just as Shi Feng was about to reach the Secret-Silver area, three figures moved to intercept him. Leading this trio was none other than the Flower of Seven Sins'' Skyhawk. "What a coincidence! We meet again," Skyhawk said, smiling at the cloaked Shi Feng. "A coincidence?" Glancing at Skyhawk and his two companions, who currently wore sneers, Shi Feng said, "I''m wearing a Black Cloak like many of the players in the World Summit. Quite a few of them are Swordsmen as well. Aside from using a Tracking Scroll, I don''t think you have any other methods of differentiating me from anyone else." "Such a quick and astute observation is only to be expected from the expert that earned enough SPs to purchase a Bloodline," Skyhawk praised and clapped. "You are correct. To find you, I used one of the only two Tracking Scrolls I had on hand. Are you willing to sell us the Bloodline now?" Tracking Scrolls were extremely rare and precious items in God''s Domain. They were treasures used to hunt players. If Shi Feng had merely obtained an Epic Weapon or piece of Equipment from the Divine Staircase, he would not have bothered to waste a Tracking Scroll on the Swordsman. However, Shi Feng carried a Bloodline. Skyhawk would even willingly spend ten Tracking Scrolls to hunt this Swordsman down. "What if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked. "Refuse?" Skyhawk could not help but laugh at Shi Feng''s question. "You can refuse, but the Flower of Seven Sins always gets what it wants. Or do you think that you can actually escape our pursuit?" Skyhawk''s statement had been quite loud, and his words quickly caught the attention of nearby players who came and went from the Secret-Silver area. "What''s going on?" "Members of the Flower of Seven Sins are actually robbing someone! Is this for real?!" "That person sure is unlucky." The passing players sent Shi Feng looks of sympathy. Although they weren''t certain that Skyhawk and his companions were actually from the Flower of Seven Sins, they outnumbered their target. Moreover, their weapons and equipment were exceptional. These three players definitely weren''t ordinary experts. Shi Feng would clearly be at a disadvantage if the trio decided to take action. "Commander, those people seem to think that Flower of Seven Sins'' members are robbing someone," a savage-like man, who had just descended from the Secret-Silver area, reported to the cold beauty beside him as he looked towards Shi Feng. "The other members in the World Summit should be in Skyhawk''s party. Should we go and take a look?" "There''s no need. It''s Skyhawk''s party," the woman said as she looked at the man with a broken, massive, pitch-black blade across his back. If Skyhawk weren''t preoccupied, he would notice that the cloaked savage and the cold beauty were none other than Brute Spear and Hidden Soul. "Seriously? What exactly happened? Why are they resorting to theft?" Brute Spear could not help but gape at the distant Berserker. The Flower of Seven Sins only had seven commanders. Meanwhile, Skyhawk commanded the Sin of Wrath, an existence that stood among the Flower of Seven Sins'' upper echelons. Normally, Skyhawk felt it beneath himself to attack someone for an Epic item, yet this man was trying to rob someone. If news of this reached the organization, it would cause chaos. "I don''t know, but this is quite interesting. Let''s head over and find out what''s going on." When Hidden Soul saw Skyhawk ready to take action, interest bubbled in her heart. However, this interest was not directed towards Skyhawk, but Skyhawk''s target. A player daring enough to offend Skyhawk had to be extraordinary. Immediately, these two players approached the battle to get a better grasp of the situation. Meanwhile, Skyhawk''s party burst into action. As companions that frequently fought alongside each other, the trio had long since reached an instinctual understanding of the party''s battle formation. Immediately, Ridiculous, the tall, robust Guardian Knight, charged towards Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Skyhawk took advantage of the Ridiculous''s large frame, shielding himself as he stealthily circled to Shi Feng''s side. As for the Cleric, Ink Hunter cast a Truth Shield on Ridiculous. At the same time, he used Soul Cloud to assist in battle. Instantly, the trio formed a well-coordinated, three-pronged attack. If not dealt with properly, this attack would even instant-kill a peak expert. "Die!" Ridiculous shouted as he radiated a golden glow, activating Justice Roar and forcing Shi Feng to attack him. At the same time, he swung his one-handed axe at the Swordsman, utilizing the dazzling glow from his body to hide his attack. However, as Ridiculous swung his axe, an energy pulse radiated from Shi Feng, extending across 100 yards before dissipating. Everyone within range suddenly found themselves under an intense suppression. Skyhawk, Ridiculous, and Ink Hunter''s Basic Attributes began to plummet as exhaustion settled in their bones. Disintegration Field! 1583 Mana Cutter Chapter 1583 - Mana Cutter When the Disintegration Field took effect, the three members of Skyhawk''s party visibly slowed. Meanwhile, when Ridiculous''s one-handed axe was a few inches away from Shi Feng''s face, it clanged against a blue longsword, unable to move an inch further. This isa Domain''s suppression?! When Ridiculous felt his Basic Attributes decrease, he could not help but stare at the cloaked Swordsman before him in astonishment. At this stage of the game, Domain Skills were as rare as a phoenix''s feather. Not only had Shi Feng used a Domain Skill, but it had also reduced his Basic Attributes by 40%. Only a high-tiered Domain Skill was capable of accomplishing this. Yet, since the start of the battle, he hadn''t seen Shi Feng use any Magic Scrolls During Ridiculous''s brief shock, Skyhawk approached Shi Feng''s right side and swung the broken, pitch-black blade in his hands. Indiscriminate Slash! Immediately, over a dozen black energy blades flew towards Shi Feng''s blind spots. At the same time, Ink Hunter bombarded the Swordsman with Soul Cloud, launching magic blades from above. "What exquisite coordination!" Skyhawk and Ink Hunter''s performance shocked the spectating crowd. The two players had timed their attacks perfectly, targeting every one of the Swordsman''s blind spots. Even an expert player would be forced to activate their strongest Lifesaving Skill in such a predicament. There was no way to block every attack. However, as the numerous attacks soared towards Shi Feng, the latter didn''t move to defend himself. Rather, Shi Feng slashed the Abyssal Blade towards Skyhawk, who followed his Indiscriminate Slash with a normal attack. Is he trying to get himself killed? Skyhawk was confused as he watched Shi Feng ignore both his Indiscriminate Slash and Ink Hunter''s Soul Cloud. Others might not realize how powerful his Indiscriminate Slash was, but he was very familiar with the attack. Even though his Attributes had decreased, if every one of the dozen or so energy blades struck an MT of the same level, they''d either be near-dead or lose half of their HP. Dang! Brilliant sparks scattered when the Abyssal Blade clashed with Skyhawk''s broken sword. Skyhawk''s normal attack came to an abrupt halt. As everyone expected the energy and magical blades to devour Shi Feng''s HP, something astonishing occurred. Both attacks vanished half a yard from Shi Feng. It was as if these attacks had never existed "This What is going on? Did he use an Invulnerability Skill?" "Is he an NPC?" Everyone''s jaws dropped. All of the watching players were experts in God''s Domain. They had seen countless Skills and Spells in their travels, and they had a certain understanding of Invulnerability Skills. As far as they knew, Invulnerability Skills typically formed an eye-catching barrier of sorts to protect the player, yet despite the lack of any barrier around Shi Feng, both Skyhawk and Ink Hunter''s attacks had been nullified. This was simply inconceivable. A Defensive Skill? Skyhawk remained relatively calm despite his failed attack. Sneering at Shi Feng, he hissed, "How long do you think this Skill of yours can last? Do you think it can protect you from this?!" Skyhawk immediately adjusted his footwork, and his broken blade began to gather a horrific, black energy around itself as it slashed towards Shi Feng. The black energy quickly formed a black blade over Skyhawk''s broken sword. As this black blade moved, it tore apart space itself. Meanwhile, the Guardian Knight attacked from the side. Shield of Vengeance! With Justice Roar already active, his Strength and Attack Speed had doubled. Suddenly, Skyhawk''s broken blade split into five copies, each resembling a conning, venomous snake as they attempted to strike Shi Feng''s blind spots. Advanced Combat Technique, Snake Bite! "Is Skyhawk finally taking this seriously?" Hidden Soul frowned slightly as she watched from a distance. Skyhawk''s technique standards weren''t his only monstrous weapon. The broken, black blade he wielded was also extraordinary. The weapon itself lacked a quality rank, and it''s only Attribute bonus was Attack Power. It didn''t provide any additional Basic Attributes. In exchange, however, the broken blade had two, incomparably powerful Skills. The first Skill was Mana Rebound. The second was Mana Nullification. With this effect, the weapon could even slice through Invulnerability Skills. One could say that the weapon was a magic killer. In fact, this ability suited the broken blade''s name perfectly. Mana Cutter! All Defensive Spells and Skills were useless in the face of Skyhawk''s attacks. Moreover, if melee players weren''t careful with the Skills they used to attack Skyhawk, Mana Rebound might turn their own attacks against them rather than damage Skyhawk. Because of this weapon, Skyhawk was the most formidable of the Flower of Seven Sins'' seven commanders. If one wanted to defeat Skyhawk, they had to rely on techniques or Basic Attributes. Unfortunately, Skyhawk was a monster in both regards. If Hidden Soul had to face such an offensive, even she''d have no choice but to activate Vanish, receiving Ridiculous'' attack, before putting as much distance between herself and Skyhawk as possible. If she tried to fight the Berserker and Guardian Knight simultaneously, she''d have no hope of victory. The Mana Cutter? Shi Feng felt a little jealous as he watched the broken, pitch-black blade, which had transformed into five black snakes. In the past, every player had known about the Flower of Seven Sins'' commanders. They were just as popular as Super Guilds'' Guild Leaders. Their weapons and equipment had been just as famous. Among them, countless Berserkers and Swordsmen dreamed of wielding Skyhawk''s Mana Cutter. Realizing that Skyhawk and Ridiculous'' attacks were about to hit their target, Shi Feng disregarded the idea of intercepting them forcibly. Instead, he used Divine Steps and split into eleven copies, spreading out to circle his two opponents. Shi Feng still suffered a Weakened state, and although the duration was much shorter than earlier, it still reduced his Basic Attributes by 80%. Overall, his Basic Attributes were only slightly higher than Skyhawk and Ridiculous''s, who were still suppressed by Disintegration Field. He didn''t have the ability to deflect the incoming attacks, which targeted his blind spots and weak points. Doppelgangers? The instant Mana Cutter slid through Shi Feng''s body, Skyhawk followed up with a Whirlwind Slash, giving Shi Feng no chances to escape his grasp by swapping positions with his doppelgangers. Reacting in a similar manner, Ridiculous followed up his attack with Devotion, an AOE Skill that only attacked his enemies. Based on his experience with Skills that summoned doppelgangers, he immediately determined that Shi Feng''s doppelgangers were likely invulnerable to attacks and couldn''t be differentiated from the true body. In that case, he simply needed to attack all eleven clones with an AOE to find Shi Feng. "This" However, Ridiculous was dumbfounded after he used Devotion. All eleven doppelgangers remained unharmed They''re all fakes? Skyhawk looked at each clone carefully. He had prepared to launch an attack as soon as his companion revealed Shi Feng''s real body, but since none of the copies had taken damage, he was at a loss. Using his opponent''s shock as an opportunity, Shi Feng appeared before Ridiculous and activated the Aura of Time''s Forbidden Domain. His two blades then transformed into streaks of light as the bit into the Guardian Knight before him. Tier 2 Skill, Instant Strike! Although Ridiculous noticed Shi Feng''s attack, due to his weakened physique and the Swordsman''s Attack Speed, which had been increased by 500%, he couldn''t react in time. He didn''t even have time to activate his Lifesaving Skill before Shi Feng''s attack struck. In the end, he could only watch as the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray slashed down at him in succession. Before Skyhawk could react, the Guardian Knight''s 30,000 HP had fallen to zero 1584 Wrong Opponen Chapter 1584 - Wrong Opponent As Ridiculous''s HP hit zero, silence descended on the spectating players. As they watched the battle, everyone realized that Skyhawk, Ridiculous, and Ink Hunter were definitely peak experts. The trio''s combat standards were even better than theirs, and their weapons and equipment were nothing compared to the trio''s. Yet, despite three such excellently-geared peak experts working together, Shi Feng killed one of them without receiving a single point of damage. Moreover, the Swordsman had taken out the player with the highest Defense and HP. This was simply inconceivable! How is this possible? Ridiculous stared at Shi Feng in shock as his vision began to fade to black. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn''t rationalize what had just happened. All eleven clones should have been Shi Feng''s doppelgangers; Shi Feng''s main body should not be among them. When he had used Devotion, none of the clones had been affected in the slightest. The only logical explanation was that all eleven clones were doppelgangers, yet one of these clones had killed him. Ridiculous wasn''t the only one confused. Skyhawk and Ink Hunter were just as shocked. There were doppelgangers in God''s Domain that could attack, and those that could not. Doppelgangers that could attack were generally much weaker and easier to kill than the main body. In contrast, the majority of doppelgangers that weren''t capable of attacks were invulnerable. These doppelgangers mainly served as a distraction. However, not only were Shi Feng''s doppelgangers invulnerable, but they could also launch their own attacks. This was beyond their understanding of Doppelganger Skills. "So fast! Who is that?! He actually instant-killed Ridiculous!" Brute Spear, who watched from a distance, gulped as the previous scene replayed in his mind. Ridiculous'' techniques were no weaker than his own, but the Guardian Knight was much tougher than a Berserker like him. Yet, this Guardian Knight had died without the chance to defend himself Brute Spear felt every hair on his body rise. "No, there''s something wrong with Ridiculous," Hidden Soul said, shaking her head. "Although that player''s Attack Speed is incredible, it''s so fast that Ridiculous wouldn''t have time to react and activate a Lifesaving Skill. Had Ridiculous activated his Lifesaving Skill, he wouldn''t have died so quickly. At the very least, he could''ve bought himself enough time for Skyhawk and Ink Hunter to save him. "It''s highly unlikely that Ridiculous would''ve made such a major mistake. That player must''ve done something to prevent Ridiculous from using a Lifesaving Skill in time or at all. By the looks of it, Skyhawk''s group provoked the wrong opponent." Brute Spear nodded his agreement. Hidden Soul''s deduction sounded logical. Or rather, he wanted to believe in Hidden Soul''s reasoning. The thought that someone could overwhelm a peak expert''s reactions with Attack Speed alone was too terrifying. "Damn it! It''s a Silencing Skill! Ink, we''re retreating!" Skyhawk couldn''t help but grit his teeth as he glared at Shi Feng. Decisively, he turned and fled. Skyhawk finally understood why Shi Feng had dared to ascend the World Summit before the Bloodline''s restriction period had lifted. Rather than arrogance and foolishness, Shi Feng had done so because he was absolutely confident in his abilities. While they could cope with the Basic Attribute suppression, it was an entirely different story if they had been Silenced. Aside from the fact that they wouldn''t receive any healing, the fact that they couldn''t transform into their Demon states or activate Berserk Skills put them at an overwhelming disadvantage. He was not afraid of powerful Spells or Skills, but if his opponent used a Berserk Skill, his Basic Attributes would be overwhelmed. Furthermore, his opponent was an incredibly calm, peak expert. Ink Hunter, who stood some distance away, reacted as well, fleeing. "What? Skyhawk is actually retreating?" Brute Spear gaped as he watched Skyhawk and Ink Hunter run away. Skyhawk was one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' commanders. Even when against four or five peak experts, he would likely fight until the bitter end and either wipe out his opponents or take as many lives as he could. Yet, against Shi Feng, Skyhawk had decided to flee. In fact, Brute Spear wasn''t the only one shocked. All of the spectating players were dumbfounded. Only, unlike Brute Spear, they weren''t surprised by Skyhawk and Ink Hunter''s retreat. They were shocked by the strength Shi Feng had displayed. Not only had the Swordsman killed a peak expert instantly, but he had also followed up by scaring away two other peak experts. "He''s too strong!" Is he an NPC? He actually killed a peak expert from the Flower of Seven Sins!" "I never knew that there was such a frightening expert among Demon Players. It would be great if I could get to know him." Everyone deeply admired Shi Feng. They, too, were experts in God''s Domain, and they realized how powerful Skyhawk and his party members were. Ordinary experts couldn''t compare to the trio, yet Shi Feng had overwhelmed them despite being outnumbered. These players agreed with Skyhawk and Ink Hunter''s decision to retreat. Only a fool would try to fight Shi Feng after seeing the Swordsman''s display of strength. Although players would not lose any levels when they died in the World Summit, they would dop one of their items. At their levels, every piece of equipment was worth a fortune. This was especially true for peak experts like Skyhawk. "You want to escape?" Watching Skyhawk and Ink Hunter flee, Shi Feng thrust the Abyssal Blade into the ground. Abyssal Curse! Suddenly, black mist began to rise from the ground in a 30-yard radius around Shi Feng. The mist then transformed into countless, pitch-black chains that attempted to bind Skyhawk and Ink Hunter. Reacting quickly, Skyhawk swung the Mana Cutter at the incoming chains. While in Forbidden Domain, players couldn''t use Skills or Spells, but both of Mana Cutter''s Skills were Passive. Even in Forbidden Domain, the weapon could still slice through Spells and Skills. As the crowd watched, Skyhawk shattered every one of the pitch-black chains that moved towards him. Unfortunately, although Skyhawk had escaped Abyssal Curse, the Cleric, Ink Hunter, had not. In the end, the chains bound the Cleric, and his Basic Attributes began to decrease once again. Shi Feng then left an afterimage behind him as he dashed towards Ink Hunter. "Fight me if you have the guts!" Skyhawk shouted, furious as he watched Shi Feng charge towards his companion. Ink Hunter was a Cleric. Without the ability to use Spells and Skills, he was powerless against Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s Silencing Skill was clearly a region-based Skill. As long as they moved out of the affected region, they would be free from the Silencing effect. However, if Ink Hunter died before they escaped, he''d be left without a healer to support him. He''d definitely have a difficult time against Shi Feng alone. As Skyhawk declared his challenge and before the watching players had realized it, Shi Feng had appeared before the Berserker, his Sacred Sword descending on the commander from the Flower of Seven Sins. Shadow Blade! A single slash, alongside nine shadows, struck Skyhawk from various directions. Shi Feng''s sudden appearance had caught Skyhawk off guard, but the Berserker reacted almost immediately, adjusting his footwork and wielding his blade. Advanced Defensive Combat Technique, Iron Wall. The broken blade''s trajectory seemed strange is it deflected the incoming attacks. As Mana Cutter countered more of the attacks, its speed seemed to increase. In the end, Skyhawk managed to deflect nine of the ten incoming attacks, receiving only one. When the attack struck, he had lost a little over 2,000 HP and retreated several steps. Skyhawk had basically lost one-tenth of his suppressed HP. However, Skyhawk did not pay much mind to the damage. At the very least, he had lured Shi Feng in. With this, Ink Hunter could escape the Silencing AOE. Once they were free of the Silencing effect, recovering his lost HP would be a piece of cake. However, before Skyhawk could celebrate his success, he realized that something was amiss. Originally, there had been eleven copies of the enemy Swordsman on the battlefield, but now there were twelve. The clone charging towards Ink Hunter had never deviated from its path. At this point in time, said clone had also arrived before the Cleric and activated Shadow Blade already. The Cleric, with low HP and Defense, died instantly as the ten attacks bit into his body. How is this possible?! Skyhawk shifted a bewildered look between the Shi Feng that had claimed Ink Hunter''s life and the one that stood before him. What he did not know was that Shi Feng had never intended to let any of them get away. Shi Feng had sent the doppelganger he had summoned with Phantom Kill after Ink Hunter, while his main body had used Void Steps to approach Skyhawk. 1585 Slaying Skyhawk Chapter 1585 - Slaying Skyhawk Everyone was stupefied yet again when Ink Hunter had died. They were confused about how Shi Feng had two main bodies on the battlefield and could actually attack Skyhawk and Ink Hunter simultaneously. Meanwhile, Skyhawk''s complexion darkened considerably after he recovered from his momentary shock. Not only was he still stuck in the Silencing AOE, but he had also lost his healer. If Shi Feng used a Berserk Skill now, killing him would be very easy. However, what Skyhawk did not know was that Shi Feng had recently used Twofold Berserk and was still in a Weakened state, which prevented him from using Berserk Skills. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have needed to expose trump cards like Forbidden Domain and Phantom Kill. Shi Feng didn''t give Skyhawk much time to think about his situation as he sent another quick slash at the Berserker. Flame Burst! Although he had already killed Ink Hunter, Skyhawk wasn''t an opponent he could take lightly. If he allowed Skyhawk to escape Forbidden Domain and activate a Berserk Skill, he would definitely be placed in a very passive state. Suddenly, the two swords in Shi Feng''s hands released a burning glow as they approached their target. Shi Feng didn''t bother with complex techniques, relying on bold, simple movements instead. Experts like Skyhawk had practically no weak points. Skyhawk was more than capable of countering any technique he could use against the Berserker. Hence, rather than wasting Stamina and Concentration executing powerful combat techniques, it was far more efficient to force Skyhawk to defend himself with simple movements, turning this battle into a contest of Stamina and Concentration. "Don''t even think of killing me that easily!" Skyhawk shouted. Reacting, he brandished Mana Cutter to deflect Shi Feng''s attacks. Boom Boom Boom Every time the swords clashed, the resulting impacts radiated powerful shockwaves. Even Hidden Soul and the other spectators, who stood a safe distance away, could clearly feel these shockwaves. Meanwhile, the ground under Skyhawk and Shi Feng''s feet cracked and shattered. To the watching crowd, it felt as if they were watching two, gigantic, humanoid beasts clash, rather than players. Even the terrain changed in the wake of their might. In terms of Basic Attributes, Shi Feng was just slightly superior to Skyhawk. Hence, even if Skyhawk received the full force of Shi Feng''s attacks, he wouldn''t take much damage. Furthermore, the Berserker deflected his opponent'' attacks rather than block them. However, Shi Feng''s slashes were far more powerful than Skyhawk''s with Flame Burst''s explosive power. Although Mana Cutter could slice through projectile Skills and Spells, it wasn''t effective against Skills that enhanced their user''s power. As a result, every time Skyhawk deflected an attack, he was forced back several steps. His HP fell by over 700 as well. After deflecting 15 consecutive attacks, Skyhawk''s HP had fallen to 50%. "That guy is amazing. He''s actually suppressed Skyhawk despite only having a slight advantage in Basic Attributes. Not even the other commanders are capable of something like this." Brute Spear could not help but sigh with admiration as he watched Shi Feng back Skyhawk into a corner. "It''s no wonder why the Boss always warns us to be careful in the fields. If we accidentally provoke such a hidden expert while adventuring, we''ll definitely be in for a painful lesson." Skyhawk''s combat standard was extremely high, and Mana Cutter only bolstered his strength. He had never been suppressed in a melee duel against the Seven Sins'' other commanders. Normally, he was the only one to suppress the others. Hidden Soul nodded in agreement, but as she watched Shi Feng''s figure, something about the man felt familiar. Could he beMaple Leaf? The thought drifted through Hidden Soul''s mind as she watched the battle. She thought it was unlikely that two unknown, monster-level experts had visited the World Summit at the same time. Moreover, the doppelganger Skill Shi Feng had used against Skyhawk was the same Skill he had used against the Purgatory Puppets. She also found the situation somewhat hard to believe. Every expert had strengths and weaknesses. For example, some experts focused on fighting monsters, and against monsters, they could display extraordinary strength. Meanwhile, some experts preferred to fight other players, and they could display much greater strength against players than they could against monsters. Shi Feng had previously displayed incredible combat standards against the Purgatory Puppets, proving that he put quite a bit of effort into fighting monsters. Even Hidden Soul had to admit that she wasn''t as skilled as Shi Feng in monster battles. Yet, despite facing Skyhawk''s 3-man party, Shi Feng had displayed the same extraordinary tactics and combat standards. His performance wasn''t inferior to his fight with the Purgatory Puppets in the least. This proved that he was just as familiar with PvP As Hidden Soul pondered over Shi Feng''s identity, the battle between the Swordsman and the Berserker grew more intense. They began to exchange blows so fast that even many of the watching Demon experts could no longer keep up with the battle. Damn it! Not being able to use my Skills is too much of a problem! Skyhawk was frustrated as he desperately repelled Shi Feng''s frenzied attacks. The standard of his techniques was considerably higher than Shi Feng''s. In a fight where neither combatant could use Skills or Spells, he''d have no fear of Shi Feng. Yet, Shi Feng had used a Skill that boosted his attacks'' destructive power before launching swift and straightforward attacks, forcing him to receive the attacks one way or another. Had Shi Feng relied on projectiles, he could have easily found an opportunity to use Mana Cutter to turn the tables on the Swordsman, but as if Shi Feng had known about the weapon''s abilities, he refused to give Skyhawk such an opportunity. This forced him into a passive situation, having to focus on his own defense. As a result, he could only watch as his HP continued to decrease. Moreover, Shi Feng had yet to use a Berserk Skill or his Demon state. That''s not right! Considering the events up to this point, Skyhawk suddenly realized a possibility as to why Shi Feng would bother to fight him for so long. With a sneer, he hissed, "I understand now! The reason you haven''t used a Berserk Skill yet isn''t that you don''t want to, but because something is preventing you from doing so! You''re trying to desperately to deplete my HP so you can kill me before I leave your Silencing AOE, aren''t you?!" Shi Feng didn''t bother to reply to Skyhawk''s accusation. Instead, he activated Illusory Shadow. Although Illusory Shadow''s attacks were quite weak, only dealing 40% of a normal attack''s damage, the attacks couldn''t be blocked. "Your silence only confirms my guess! Since you can''t use your Berserk Skill, I don''t have to be careful around you anymore!" Skyhawk smiled. Immediately, he executed a deceptive footwork technique, retreating at a much faster pace. He hadn''t put much focus into escaping the Silencing Skill since he couldn''t find any hope of victory. Even if he could use a Berserk Skill or transform into his Demon state, so could Shi Feng. But now, things had changed. Once he was out of range of the Silencing AOE, he could use his Berserk Skill. Killing Shi Feng would be a piece of cake. To put it simply, this battle''s outcome depended on whether or not he could escape the Silencing AOE safely. As Skyhawk inched towards the edge of the Silencing AOE, his focus sharpened. As a result, the drain on his HP began to slow. "In ten seconds, I''ll escape your Silencing Skill. It''s impossible to deplete my remaining HP in so little time. I have to admit, though, you are the first person to force me into such a position since I''ve joined God''s Domain. You should be proud of this fact. Do you have any last words?" Skyhawk asked, smiling arrogantly at Shi Feng. "Is that so?" Shi Feng grinned suddenly. In the next moment, a black figure descended from the skies and landed behind Skyhawk. This figure was none other than Shi Feng''s doppelganger. The doppelganger had already activated Flame Burst and brandished its swords at the Berserker. Seeing this, Skyhawk''s expression darkened. Hurriedly, he spun and used Mana Cutter to deflect the incoming attacks. As for Shi Feng, he activated Dragon''s Authority and executed Sword''s Orbit. Dragon''s Authority immediately inflicted the Fear debuff on Skyhawk. Not only did the debuff decrease the Berserker''s Attack Power by 40%, but it also reduced his Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 40%. With Skyhawk''s Attack Speed decreased significantly, he couldn''t keep up with both Shi Feng and his doppelganger. As a result, he had to watch, helpless, as one sword light after another sliced through his body and stole a significant portion of his already-low HP. He had only needed ten more seconds to reach the edge of the Silencing AOE, yet it now seemed endlessly far away. In the end, Skyhawk''s HP plummeted, and like a puppet with cut strings, the Berserker''s body collapsed to the ground. "You should be proud of the fact that you forced me to attack in sync with my doppelganger," Shi Feng said softly as he looked at the fallen Berserker. 1586 Demon Kings Horn Chapter 1586 - Demon King''s Horn Although Shi Feng had only spoken after Skyhawk''s HP had reached zero, players would retain their senses for a short moment after they died in God''s Domain. Only, players weren''t able to move. "You" Skyhawk nearly spat blood when he heard Shi Feng''s statement. Had he had use of his Skills, Shi Feng''s mindless, brutish attacks wouldn''t have claimed his life outright even without activating his Berserk Skill. However, Skyhawk''s HP had already reached zero. Even if he wanted to say something, he couldn''t. He could only wait, hateful, as the system gradually sent him out of the World Summit. When the spectating crowd saw Skyhawk''s corpse on the ground, they gulped audibly as they turned towards the Swordsman beside said corpse. Shi Feng was too strong! This was the first time that they, as expert players, had realized that players could dominate a battle by relying on Skills, not just Basic Attributes and techniques. Despite facing three peak experts simultaneously, Shi Feng had killed all three by relying on his Skills. Shi Feng''s Skills were so powerful that Skyhawk''s party hadn''t been able to retaliate in the slightest. First, Shi Feng had suppressed his opponents with a Domain Skill. He then used a Silencing AOE Skill and another Skill that allowed him to instant-kill a Guardian Knight. In the end, he had relied on his doppelgangers to fight a two-on-one battle. With his numerous Skills, he had crushed any advantage his opponents had possessed. After this battle, these expert players realized how important Skills and Spells actually were. Now, they understood that Skills and Spells could make up for their imperfections, furthering their combat powers. Even when struggling with an overwhelming disadvantage, they could rely on the synergy of powerful Skills and Spells to turn the tide of battle. Shi Feng was proof of this. "Skyhawk died, just like that. He''s definitely going to get an earful when he reports back to the main headquarters," Brute Spear could not help but laugh as he watched Skyhawk''s body gradually disappear. "We really have to thank this mysterious expert." As the Sin of Wrath''s commander, everyone in the Flower of Seven Sins recognized the man''s strength. He had achieved quite a bit in the organization. This was also why Skyhawk was so dissatisfied with Hidden Soul, who had recently been promoted to the Sin of Pride''s commander due to her connections. Hidden Soul faced a lot of pressure in the organization, but now that Skyhawk had died during an attempted robbery, he would lose quite a bit of influence. "Mysterious expert?" Hidden Soul could not help but shake her head. Smiling bitterly, she said, "He is no mysterious expert. In fact, you know him." "I know him?" Brute Spear was confused. "If I''m not mistaken, he is Maple Leaf," Hidden Soul said as she stared at Shi Feng''s distant figure. "Although he had hidden his appearance under a Black Cloak, one of the Doppelganger Skills he used during the fight is the same Skill Maple used in the entrance test." "He''s Brother Maple?" Brute Spear turned to Shi Feng with wide eyes, shocked. He couldn''t believe it. Not only was Shi Feng ridiculously powerful against monsters, but he was equally powerful in PvP. "Commander, if we can deepen our relationship with Brother Maple, wouldn''t we have a better chance of retrieving the item?" Brute Spear suggested excitedly. "Mhm. But this isn''t the time to ask him," Hidden Soul said after giving the matter some thought. "He has just killed Skyhawk. Even if Skyhawk can stomach this grievance, the Elders aren''t likely to turn the other way. They''ll do everything to learn as much as they can about him. It won''t be too late to contact Maple once the Elders have discovered his true identity." After giving the matter some thought, Brute Spear understood Hidden Soul''s reasoning. The Flower of Seven Sins was a mysterious organization, which everyone in the virtual gaming world feared and revered. Meanwhile, news of a mysterious player killing a commander like Skyhawk would leak, sooner or later. The other superpowers would laugh at and ridicule the Flower of Seven Sins. If the organization wanted to maintain its reputation, it couldn''t sit still and do nothing. Otherwise, the organization''s prestige would plummet. While the watching players discussed Shi Feng and the battle, the Swordsman began to collect the loot Skyhawk and his party had dropped. Skyhawk, Ridiculous, and Ink Hunter were all bona fide peak experts. Every weapon and piece of equipment they used was the best of the best. When Skyhawk had died, not only had he dropped Level 45, Dark-Gold plate-armor gloves, but he had also dropped a horn that radiated dense, demonic power. As it lay on the ground, it increased the demonic power in the air by several-fold. "What''s this?" Shi Feng picked up the horn curiously and inspected it. [Demon King''s Horn] (Epic Rank Consumable) This horn carries the power of a living Demon King. Activating the horn will allow you to execute an attack with the power this Demon King had during his life. Activating the Demon King''s power will cost 30,000 Magic Crystal. (Can be used two more times.) Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he read the Demon King''s Horn''s description. A moment later, ecstasy gripped his heart. An Epic Consumable! This item was far rarer than an ordinary Epic item, and it was obvious that Skyhawk had purchased it with his Shrine Points. However, it seemed that the Berserker had been in so much of a hurry to kill Shi Feng that he had ignored the Restriction Period. In the end, Skyhawk had dropped the Demon King''s Horn. When Skyhawk realized that he had lost this item, he would die from regret. Not even Shi Feng could help but pity Skyhawk a little. Needless to say, Skyhawk had spent most, if not all, of the Shrine Points he had earned from the Divine Staircase on this item. If Shi Feng had been in his place, he wouldn''t have spent his points on the horn. After all, it was merely a Consumable item. It would disappear once its usage counts had been spent. However, Shi Feng had to admit that the item could exert an astounding amount of power due to its limited usage counts. With it, a player could use all of the potential of an Epic item in an instant. In God''s Domain, Demon Kings were Tier 5 existences. Although their Life Ratings were lower than Fallen Angels, they were still Tier 5 creatures. On their own, they had enough combat power to devastate an entire kingdom. Quite a few Demon Kings had roamed God''s Domain in Shi Feng''s previous life. These Demon Kings had significantly changed the kingdoms they had risen in. To defeat these Demon Kings, the various local Guilds had made astronomical sacrifices. Could that fellow have intended to raid a Mythic monster? Shi Feng wondered as he gazed at the Demon King''s Horn. Since the Demon King''s Horn allowed a player to use a Demon King''s power, the player could launch an attack of a Tier 5 creature. A Tier 5 attack could even wound a Tier 5 monster severely if not dealt with properly. To current players, however, Tier 5 monsters were practically invincible. No player would be foolish enough to challenge a Tier 5 creature at this stage of the game. The only reason why Skyhawk would purchase this item was to face a Tier 4 Mythic monster. Although Mythic monsters were still insurmountable to current players, it was possible to take one down with the help of the Demon King''s Horn and a few other powerful items. Now that Shi Feng had obtained the Demon King''s Horn, he had gained another trump card, which was even stronger than the Elemental Sources, to deal with Mythic monsters in the future. He could even use it to deal with the Final Boss in a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon. The only problem was the high requirement of Magic Crystals to activate the Demon King''s Horn Not just any Guild could afford to part with 30,000 Magic Crystals. Not even Zero Wing could afford the expenditure. Many aspects demanded Magic Crystals of the Guild. Right now, Zero Wing couldn''t even afford to spend 10,000 Magic Crystals, let alone 30,000 Forget it. It''s better than not having it at all. After pondering the situation for a moment, Shi Feng decided to set the Demon King''s Horn aside for now, continuing towards the World Summit''s Epic area. Meanwhile, news of Shi Feng''s single-handed annihilation of Skyhawk''s party spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the various superpowers'' ears. 1587 Mysterious Exper Chapter 1587 - Mysterious Expert Players bustled about on the streets of a Guild Town, protected by tall walls. Quite a few of these players were architects, busily construction all types of buildings. From the top floor of an open-air restaurant in the town, a middle-aged man in dark-gray armor quietly watched these architects. A flame-shaped shield rested beside his chair. Suddenly, a young man burst into the room, running up to the middle-aged man. "Uncle Yuan, something big has happened," the young man excitedly reported. "We just received news that Skyhawk, one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' commanders, has been killed." The middle-aged man in question was none other than the Secret Pavilion''s Yuan Tiexin. He had already reached Level 50 and wore the Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked Landslide Set, a set equipment for Shield Warriors which could only be obtained from Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons. "Skyhawk has been killed?" Yuan Tiexin turned towards the young man in astonishment. "How is that possible? Did someone organize an expert team to ambush him? No, that can''t be right. We''re talking about one of the Seven Sins commanders here. The Flower of Seven Sins definitely won''t take such a blow lying down." Skyhawk was one of only seven commanders in the Flower of Seven Sins. His individual strength even ranked near the top in the assassination organization. Yuan Tiexin found it truly hard to believe that a handful of players could kill such an expert. The only possibility was that some superpower had organized a small army to ambush the man. They''d also need various powerful tools to ensure that he couldn''t escape. "Nothat''s not the case. Based on what we''ve heard, it seems that Skyhawk and two of his close aides attempted to rob another player. In the end, that player turned the tables, and the three lost their lives," the young man explained, stammering. "Skyhawk led his men to kill a player, but ended up dead instead? How is that possible?" Yuan Tiexin was even more shocked. Not only had Skyhawk died, but he had also been killed by a lone player. The man had even had the numerical advantage in the situation. No matter how Yuan Tiexin considered the younger man''s words, they sounded like a joke. "It''s true. Here''s a video of the battle," the young man said as he hurriedly relayed the recording. The video had been recorded some distance from the battlefield, so the fight''s details weren''t clear. However, Skyhawk''s Mana Cutter was. There was no doubt that the Berserker wielding the broken blade was indeed Skyhawk. "What powerful Skills!" Although Yuan Tiexin could not see the entire process of the battle clearly, he could, more or less, deduce the reason that Skyhawk''s party had lost. "Just who is that player?" "We''re already doing our best to investigate this matter. Unfortunately, we can only glean a limited amount of information from the video. Although the Flower of Seven Sins should have access to more details, our spies in the organization are too low-ranked to gain access to the information. The Guild Leader has already asked us to find this expert as quickly as possible, and he has stated that we cannot allow the Flower of Seven Sins to reach the player before we do." "I understand. I''ll do my best to look into the matter." After Yuan Tiexin finished with the video, he became interested in the mysterious expert who had killed Skyhawk''s 3-man party. He immediately ordered his subordinates to investigate the battle video. Meanwhile, God''s Domain''s other superpowers began their own investigations. ... At this point, Shi Feng, who was wholly ignorant of the commotion he had caused, reached the World Summit''s Epic Shrine area. Compared to the Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold areas, the Epic area was void of players. The majestic Epic Shrines in the area remained unoccupied. Shi Feng didn''t need to worry about any competition over the Shrines. The God Crystals aren''t as valuable as Epic items, but the Shrine''s difficulty increases with altitude. Correspondingly, the Shrines should offer more treasures. I may be able to find God Crystals in the lowermost Shrines. After a quick inspection of the Epic Shrines dotting the mountainside, Shi Feng began his mission. The lowermost region of the Epic area had a total of 21 Epic Shrines. Shi Feng did not put too much thought into the matter and approached the closest shrine. When he reached the shrine''s entrance, Shi Feng placed a hand on the doors before him. System: Inferior Legendary Shrine Key detected. You are qualified to open the doors of the Epic Shrine. Do you wish to spend 1,000 minutes to open them? Shi Feng clicked "Agree" without hesitation. Immediately, the shrine doors swung open, allowing Shi Feng to enter. The moment Shi Feng stepped into the Shrine, he felt as if he had entered a different world. He stood on a platform above the clouds, and from time to time, Shi Feng spotted flying beasts soaring by. These monsters were all frighteningly strong, and even the weakest among them was a Level 150 Great Lord. Some of these flying beasts were even Level 180 Mythic monsters Any one of these monsters could easily extinguish Shi Feng''s life. Multiple, humanoid statues had been erected in the center of the platform, and dazzling items in translucent, crystal boxes had been placed before each statue. Even from this distance, Shi Feng could tell that every one of these items was extraordinarily valuable. When Shi Feng tried to approach one of the statues to inspect the items before it, the sound of another system notification reached his ears. System: You may choose one item before the numerous statues. As long as you fulfill the requirements, you may obtain the item you desire. If you fail to complete the requirements within the given time limit, you will be teleported out of the Shrine automatically. Sure enough, the system won''t let players take these items easily. Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised. Although every Shrine in the World Summit offered its own rewards, not every shrine granted players a reward upon entry. Some required players to pass certain tests. The Shrine of the Lord of Destruction, which Shi Feng had previously visited, was one such example. If players did not choose the appropriate Shrines based on their strength, they might walk away empty-handed. A total of twelve statues occupied the platform. Among the items before the statues, four were damaged items, and there were five pieces of intact Epic Equipment, two Epic Weapons, and one Epic item. According to the acquisition difficulty in God''s Domain, the Epic item would be the most difficult to obtain, while the damaged items would be the easiest. It was relatively easy to determine the various statues'' difficulty levels. However, none of this mattered to Shi Feng. After all, he was not here for practical items. The God Crystals were his only goal. Please, let this be a God Crystal. Shi Feng then approached one of the statues with a damaged item. The moment he made his choice, the stone statue before him began to crack. The cracked stone fell to reveal a stalwart man wielding a two-handed sword and wearing golden armor. [Shrine Knight] (High Human, Tier 4 Sword Emperor) Level 100 HP 20,000,000/20,000,000 The moment the Shrine Knight appeared, Shi Feng felt an unprecedented pressure bear down on him. Normally, NPCs'' combat techniques were far stronger than monsters of the same level and tier. Furthermore, the NPC before him was a High Human High Humans were unlike the current humans populating the God''s Domain continent. High Humans had long since gone extinct in God''s Domain. Long ago, the Gods had blessed High Humans, and their Life Rating was much higher than their ordinary, current cousins. They were bona fide humanoid monsters. In fact, the legends that spoke about humans who had slain Dragons didn''t refer to current humans, but High Humans. Current humans'' Life Rating was far lower than Dragons'', and not even a Tier 5 NPC would be a match for an ordinary Tier 5 Dragon. However, High Humans could fight and defeat Dragons. As another example of how powerful High Humans were, the Tier 4 Shrine Knight before Shi Feng could easily kill Mythic monsters of the same level as if they were ants. 1588 Bloodline Improves Chapter 1588 - Bloodline Improves After the stone enveloping the Shrine Knight shattered on the platform, it started to move towards Shi Feng. As the situation developed, the pressure Shi Feng felt continued to build. Had Shi Feng not known that the Shrine''s trials wouldn''t kill the challengers, he would''ve likely used Absolute Domain to defend himself. "Challenger, you have two choices. The first is to dodge all of my attacks; the second is to surpass me in combat standards. Your time limit is three hours. You have three minutes to consider. If you do not decide in three minutes, you''ll be forced out of the Shrine automatically," the Shrine Knight mechanically explained. Dodge all of his attacks or surpass him in combat standards? Shi Feng took a closer look at the Shrine Knight before him. After a moment of consideration, he declared, "I choose the second option!" The Shrine Knight was a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Even if the NPC were the same level as Shi Feng, its attacks wouldn''t be a trivial matter. Furthermore, Shi Feng was still in a Weakened state. That would make it even more difficult to dodge every one of the Sword Emperor''s attacks. Competing against the Shrine Knight in combat standards was his only chance to clear the challenge. Normally, after NPCs reached Tier 3, their combat standards would be on par to ordinary expert players. Some powerful Tier 3 NPCs could even reach the Refinement Realm. Including NPCs'' superior Attributes, Tier 3 NPCs were generally far more powerful than Tier 3 players. Even the weakest Tier 4 NPCs'' combat standards were at the Refinement Realm, and the more powerful ones could even reach the Void Realm. Not even Tier 4 peak experts would have dared to provoke Tier 4 NPCs in the past. As for the Heroes who were summoned to protect towns and cities, those capable of reaching Tier 4 had no issue reaching the Void Realm. This was precisely why they could summon towns and cities. Although Shi Feng bore a Weakened state, his combat standards weren''t affected. Moreover, competing against a Tier 4 NPC via techniques was a rare opportunity. Unlike players, an NPC''s combat techniques were far more refined. Their application could even stun players. "Excellent. Let''s start the battle, then. During this time, my Basic Attributes will drop to match yours. I will also be set at Tier 2. Neither of us will be allowed to use any Skills or Spells during this fight. You''re also prohibited from using any tools. You will only complete the trial after depleting my HP completely," the Shrine Knight said, nodding. His aura then began to weaken as the Shrine Knight fell from a Level 100 Sword Emperor to a Level 61 Sword Master. For a brief moment, Shi Feng felt restricted. A notification then appeared, telling him that he was temporarily barred from using Skills, Spells, or tools. Shrine Knight now had 1,000,000 HP remaining. It was entirely possible for Shi Feng to end this battle quickly, even while relying on his combat techniques. Before Shi Feng could prepare, the Shrine Knight appeared before him, its golden greatsword transforming into a streak of golden light that struck at Shi Feng repeatedly in quick succession. So fast! Shi Feng promptly executed Sword''s Orbit as the Shrine Knight''s blade descended. There wasn''t a shred of hesitation in the Shrine Knight''s movements. It seemed as if the NPC moved on instinct rather than rational thought. He was unlike players, who usually thought before taking action. The near-instinctive movements allowed the Shrine Knight to execute attacks that were so fast that Shi Feng couldn''t preemptively defend himself. As a result, Shi Feng had to rely on passive defense techniques like Sword''s Orbit to protect himself from the incoming attacks. Dang Dang Dang Metallic clangs echoed across the platform as dazzling sparks lit the air. If other players saw this, they''d be dumbfounded. As time passed, both fighter''s movements became faster and smoother, and any ordinary expert would be overwhelmed by the scene. Although Shi Feng and the Shrine Knight''s swings were incredibly fast, their speed wasn''t a result of high Attack Speed. Rather, it was due to their instinctive execution. Even after exchanging blows for several minutes, neither side had dealt any damage. As expected of a Sword Emperor; if I don''t rely on Sword''s Orbit to block his attacks, he''ll likely kill me very quickly. Shi Feng could not help his bitter smile as he deflected the NPC''s frenzied attacks. Fighting the Shrine Knight reminded Shi Feng of how powerful NPCs were. Despite their equally high Attack Speeds, the Shrine Knight overwhelmed Shi Feng due to the difference in their reaction speeds. This won''t do. I can''t allow this to drag on. Realizing that none of his attacks reached the Shrine Knight, Shi Feng retreated to search for more favorable terrain. Although the Shrine Knight had the same Basic Attributes as Shi Feng, NPCs had far more Stamina and Concentration. Shi Feng did not doubt for a second that the Shrine Knight could outlast him in a battle of endurance. As Shi Feng retreated, he soon discovered a small grove of tall trees near the edge of the platform. That should work. Shi Feng immediately made his way towards the small grove. Unlike players, NPCs weren''t good at taking advantage of their surroundings. This fact even held true for Tier 4 NPCs. If he used the trees to block a portion of the Shrine Knight''s attacks, he would have more opportunities to deal damage. However, as soon as Shi Feng left the platform''s central area, the Shrine Knight stopped his attacks and leaped backward, withdrawing from the battle. The NPC then turned and walked back to his original position. Crap! Is this for real?! The system won''t even give me a chance of winning?! Shi Feng was speechless when he saw the Shrine Knight recover to his original state. If he could not fight outside of the platform''s central area, he wouldn''t be able to take advantage of the terrain. If he continued to exchange blows mindlessly with the Shrine Knight, he would exhaust himself and die before his three hours were up. Why is this trial so difficult even though it''s the lowermost Epic Shrine? Shi Feng felt a wave of frustration wash over him as he stared at the motionless Shrine Knight. Whether it was players or NPCs, as long as they reached the Void Realm, they would have a clear grasp of movement around them. In addition, the Shrine Knight could execute near-instinctive attacks. Aside from Domain Realm experts, Shi Feng doubted that anyone was capable of beating the Shrine Knight''s combat standards. Of course, there was one way that Void Realm players could defeat an NPC like the Shrine Knight. An Advanced Offensive Combat Technique. But even now, Shi Feng had only learned Basic Offensive Combat Techniques. He had only learned two Advanced Combat Techniques, one of which was Void Steps, while the other was Sword''s Orbit. Void Steps was a footwork technique, and ineffective against Void Realm NPCs and players. As for Sword''s Orbit, it was mainly a defensive combat technique. It could not be considered a true offensive combat technique. Is giving up my only choice? Shi Feng took a moment to consider the situation. Without being able to use his Skills and Spells, he had lost one of his major advantages. He couldn''t use the Soul Water or Crystal of Souls he had produced with the Soul Orb to enhance his focus, either. Without these options, he had no hope of defeating the Shrine Guard. If this continued to drag on, he''d only waste his precious time. As Shi Feng searched his bag for any items that might help him, he came across the Dark Iron Bloodline. The restriction period had already ended, and he could now use the Bloodline. Fortunately, this didn''t count as a prohibited item. That''s right! How could I forget about the Bloodline?! Shi Feng laughed as he gazed at the Dark Iron Bloodline in his bag. When consumed, Bloodlines improved a player''s Life Rating. When a player''s Life Rating in God''s Domain increased, every aspect of their being improved. Reaction speed, Stamina, and Concentration were just a few of these aspects. Shi Feng retrieved the Dark Iron Bloodline from his bag. Removing the crystal bottle''s lid, he consumed the pitch-black liquid contained within. 1589 Frightening Bloodline Power Chapter 1589 - Frightening Bloodline Power As Shi Feng consumed the Dark Iron Bloodline, the mana on and around the platform began to gather around his body. Suddenly, two threefold magic arrays appeared above and below him. It looked as if the magic arrays had formed a barrier, enveloping Shi Feng. The surrounding Mana then poured into the threefold array above Shi Feng, and golden, divine runes began to surround his body. As more divine runes appeared around Shi Feng, his aura intensified. When the divine runes covered Shi Feng entirely, a pillar of golden light emerged from Shi Feng''s body and shot into the sky. The golden pillar radiated an aura that was even stronger than the Shrine Knight''s. A few seconds later, the light pillar began to dissipate and calm returned to the platform. Once the platform returned to its original state, Shi Feng slowly opened his eyes. His previously pitch-black pupils now contained a trace of silver. Meanwhile, his aura, which he usually suppressed, overflowed. If an ordinary player saw him now, they''d assume that Shi Feng was an NPC, not a player. Not only did he radiate a domineering aura, but his gaze also carried an indescribable cold. It felt as if Shi Feng could remain calm and rational, regardless of his situation. So, this is the power of the Dark Iron Bloodline? Shi Feng was shocked as he tried to process the changes to his body. There was no doubt that he was extremely excited, but before this feeling could reach its peak, a wave of serenity assaulted his mind, giving him instant peace. Even his perception of his environment had changed. He had previously needed to allocate the majority of his mental power to monitor his surroundings if he wanted to grasp movement around him accurately. However, despite investing only a small fraction of his attention, he could now gain an acute understanding of his environment This improvement had exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Every expert capable of reaching the Void Realm in God''s Domain was capable of holding a high rank in a Super Guild. Experts that had just reached the Void Realm still had to focus on observing their environment. Even veteran Void Realm experts had to allocate a considerable amount of their mental fortitude to do so. Yet, now, Shi Feng did not even need to allocate half of his attention to achieve the same result. The boost from the Dark Iron Bloodline was truly terrifying. There was a limit to a person''s mental power in both the real world and in God''s Domain. Not everyone could multitask. Experts, however, had this skill. Of course, they were limited to simple tasks when dividing their attention. If an expert encountered a complex problem, they would struggle to multitask. Needless to say, observing every movement in one''s surroundings was a complex task. If a Void Realm expert only needed half of their focus to observe their surroundings and could allocate the other half to physical movement, their combat power would soar. Aside from the boost to his mental capacity, consuming the Dark Iron Bloodline had improved Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes. His Strength had risen by 10%, Agility by 7%, Endurance, Vitality, and Intelligence by 5%. Although these were minor improvements, his total Basic Attributes would increase exponentially as he reached higher levels and tiers. Following which, Shi Feng executed a few slashes at the empty air. As he did, his swords drew soundless, beautiful arcs of light before him. Sure enough, not only had the Bloodline improved my Basic Attributes, but it''s also improved my reaction speed! Before this, my reaction time had peaked at 0.1 seconds. Now, I should peak at 0.08 seconds. Bloodlines truly are amazing. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers were so desperate for Bloodlines in the past. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh as he watched the lingering afterimages of his blade. Although it was only a 0.02-second improvement to his reaction time, to most expert players, it was like the difference between heaven and earth. Normally, only incredibly talented experts could cross the 0.1-second limit. He had only been able to react, at most, ten times in one second in the past, but he could now react 12 times. Assuming that his physical limit wasn''t a factor and his opponents only had a peak reaction time of 0.1 seconds, the two extra reactions would allow him to outmaneuver his opponents, utterly overwhelming them. Had he obtained a Basic Bloodline in his previous life, he could have easily succeeded with his Tier 4 promotion, even if his early development had been lacking. Unfortunately, Bloodlines were even rarer than Fragmented Legendary items in God''s Domain. Following which, Shi Feng spent the next ten minutes or so getting used to the new changes. By the time he was satisfied, he was more than eager to resume his battle with the Shrine Knight. As soon as Shi Feng reentered the platform''s central ring, the Shrine Knight awakened and charged at him with his greatsword raised. "Come! Let me test the Dark Iron Bloodline''s strength!" Shi Feng could not help but grin as the Shrine Knight ran towards him. He immediately advanced to meet the NPC in battle. This time, however, Shi Feng did not execute Sword''s Orbit to deflect the Shrine Knight''s frenzied assault. Instead, he defended himself with normal swings of his blades. As the swords clashed, sparks and clangs filled the platform once more. Although Shi Feng couldn''t execute his attacks instinctively as the Shrine Knight did, he could make up for the missing attacks by relying on his superior reaction speed. As Shi Feng exchanged blows with the Shrine Knight, he gradually became comfortable with his defense. After three minutes of battle, he had gone from a passive position to fighting the Shrine Knight on equal footing. Moreover, he had a lot more energy to spare than he had during the previous encounter as he executed Void Steps to dodge a portion of the Shrine Knight''s attacks. The Shrine Knight, who had worn an indifferent expression thus far, now revealed his astonishment. It seems that this is my current limit. Although I still have energy to spare, I haven''t mastered enough combat techniques. I still can''t exhibit the Bloodline''s full power. I''ll have to find an opportunity to learn more techniques later. After fighting the Shrine Knight for some time, Shi Feng fully understood what he still needed. Now that he had reviewed his strengths and weaknesses, he adjusted his swings and began to execute Sword''s Orbit. Every attack with Sword''s Orbit was nearly instinctive. As a result, the speed of Shi Feng''s slashes had reached its limit. Suddenly, a cut split the skin on the Shrine Knight''s shoulder. The NPC''s HP fell by roughly 3,000. After the first cut, it didn''t take long for the second, third, and fourth to appear as well. As more cuts split the Shrine Knight''s skin, his HP plummeted. Before ten minutes had passed, the NPC''s 1,000,000 HP had fallen to zero. The NPC then collapsed, turned to stone, and shattered. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng was alone on the platform. Once the Shrine Knight was gone, Shi Feng moved forward to collect his reward. Fortunately, the damaged item turned out to be a God Crystal. However, when Shi Feng plucked the God Crystal from its crystalline prison, he noticed that the God Crystal radiated far more Divine Might than any he had obtained before. "An Advanced God Crystal?" When Shi Feng inspected the item, he realized why the trial had been so challenging. The Power of God in an Advanced God Crystal was far denser than in ordinary God Crystals. One Advanced God Crystal was the equivalent of two ordinary God Crystals, and naturally, it wasn''t any less valuable than a piece of ordinary Epic Equipment. Now, he only needed one more God Crystal to remove the mysterious power suppressing the Disintegration Armor. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Shrine''s trial. You now have two options. One: exit the Shrine. Two: challenge another trial at the cost of 1,000 minutes. Shi Feng chose option two without hesitation when he saw the system notification. After all, he needed another God Crystal. This time, however, the trial was much less difficult. This Shrine Knight had only reached the Flowing Water Realm, and as a result, he defeated the NPC very easily. After Shi Feng secured his third God Crystal from the Epic Shrine, he received a notification that he had reached his challenge limit for Epic Shrines and was teleported out of the shrine without having any say in the matter 1590 Shi Feng Returns Chapter 1590 - Shi Feng Returns Outside of the Epic Shrine Shi Feng had previously entered, the space before the Shrine''s doors shattered. A figure began to emerge from the spatial tear, clumsily falling to the ground. "Three challenges is the limit?" Shi Feng gave the Epic Shrine''s doors a bitter smile. "This World Summit is really stingy." He had thought that he could challenge the Epic Shrine''s trials as long as he still had enough time remaining, but it seemed that that wasn''t the case. Even if he had enough time, he could only enter three Epic Shrines per visit. In addition, there was a 10-day Cooldown after he used his three changes, which would only decrease while he was in the World Summit and included all Epic Shrines. But after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found it reasonable. The World Summit was a land of treasure. Even Fragmented Legendary items were available here, let alone Epic items. As players reached higher levels, they''d grow stronger, and in turn, they''d be able to earn more time from the entrance test. If the system allowed players to visit the Epic Shrines without limit, they''d ruin God''s Domain''s economy. It was only normal for the system to create limitations. These restrictions were particularly important when dealing with players who wielded special items. Take Shi Feng''s Moloch''s Ring for example. While Demon Players had to complete a large number of rare and challenging quests to earn visitation rights to the World Summit, Shi Feng could simply teleport here. With Moloch''s Ring, Shi Feng had to face far fewer challenges to obtain the World Summit''s treasures. Forget it. In any case, I''ve achieved my goal. It''s about time that I return, Shi Feng thought as he gazed at the three God Crystals in his bag. He then took out a White River City Return Scroll and activated it. Although he still had more than enough time to visit a few Dark-Gold Shrines, he had spent quite a bit of time away from the God''s Domain continent already. Now that he had achieved his goal, and gained an unexpected windfall, he had no reason to linger in the World Summit. It was far more important for him to complete the "Recast the Disintegration Armor" quest. Otherwise, he''d have to deal with the constant annoyance of the Mutated Orcs that would target him in the fields, restricting his movement. With a flash of light, Shi Feng vanished from the World Summit. Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: When Shi Feng opened his eyes, he stood in White River City''s Teleportation Hall. As Shi Feng moved along the city streets, he noticed that White River City had far more players than several days ago. Many of the new arrivals were merchant players, and plenty of well-known adventurer teams had traveled here from other kingdoms and empires. Players'' average level had also visibly increased. Now, many of the players exploring White River City had reached Level 45. Shi Feng even spotted Level 46 and 47 independent players. In addition, the sight of players atop Mounts had become more common in the city. During his last visit, only expert players had owned Mounts, but now, many elite players had Mounts of their own. However, with the increase of White River City''s player population, Shi Feng discovered quite a few cloaked players that stood out from the crowd. What made these players stand out in Shi Feng''s eyes was their interest in the players that wore Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem. Killing intent would flash in their eyes whenever they spotted a Zero Wing member. By the looks of it, Zero Wing''s members were just as wary of these cloaked players. It felt as if a fight would break out between them at any moment. As Shi Feng pondered the city''s new, strange atmosphere, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, you''ve finally returned." Aqua Rose was visibly excited when she saw Shi Feng''s face. "What''s going on in White River City? Why do I feel like the city is polluted with killing intent?" Shi Feng asked as he glanced around him. "That''s It''s all because of Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial. Roughly ten hours ago, they doubled the bounty on our Guild members. It''s tempted many Dark and independent players from other kingdoms and empires to take action against us. Now, everyone''s hunting our Guild members. Some have even found opportunities to strike while in White River City. At this point, other players have ambushed and killed dozens of our core members" Aqua Rose helplessly explained. While Shi Feng had been gone, Zero Wing''s expenditures had grown massively due to the war with Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing City''s construction costs. Zero Wing had spent practically every Coin it earned from the Candlelight Trading Firm, Stone Forest Town, and Zero Wing City in one way or another. The Guild had no way to keep up with the increased bounty. "How generous of Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial!" Shi Feng was astonished. By doubling the bounty, each of Zero Wing''s normal members was worth 40 Silver, while elite members were worth 2 Gold, and killing a core member could earn a player 20 Gold. Twenty Gold! Not even the majority of God''s Domain''s experts earned 20 Gold per day, yet now, one could earn that many Coins by killing one of Zero Wing''s core members. In addition, players would earn a piece of top-tier equipment when they killed one of these core members. It was no wonder why other kingdoms and empires'' Dark Players had set their sights on White River City. After all, White River City housed the highest number of Zero Wing members. Besides, these Dark Players wouldn''t have an opportunity to strike in Stone Forest Town or Zero Wing City. Without the ruling Guild''s approval, players couldn''t wear Black Cloaks in Guild Towns and Cities. The ruling Guild usually killed anyone who wore a Black Cloak without any repercussions. The only places in which these players could strike were the fields and White River City. Of the two options, it was easier to find Zero Wing members in the city. Although it was risky to attack another player in an NPC city, the potential profits were just as high. Countless Dark and independent players would be willing to take the risk. "Guild Leader, we''ve almost run out of Guild funds. We are also running out of top-tier weapons and equipment for trade. The situation had disheartened many of our Guildmates. We really cannot afford to allow this situation to continue. Why don''t we change the direction of our Guild''s development a little and send more members to the Black Dragon and Apocalypse Empires?" Aqua Rose suggested. Although Zero Wing made a lot of Coins from Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City, there was a limit to how much top-tier equipment they could purchase. Furthermore, due to the constant fighting with Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts, Zero Wing''s ability to gather top-tier equipment and rare materials from Team Dungeons had weakened. If this persisted, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing crumbled. "No! Since Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater want to increase their bounty, we''ll increase ours as well! We''ll see who will remain standing in the end!" Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Also, notify Melancholic and have her prepare these materials for me. Gather every Advanced Forger we have, as well." "But we have very little spare capital remaining. If we increase our bounty, we''ll run out of funds very quickly," Aqua Rose said worriedly. Currently, Zero Wing''s emergency funds only amounted to 22,000 Gold. This even included the rent they had received from merchant players in Zero Wing City. If they increased the bounty on Heaven''s Burial''s members, that might not even last them one more day. If Zero Wing couldn''t pay the bounties, its reputation would suffer. "Relax. I have a way to deal with the money problem. Just make the announcement." Shi Feng simply smiled in response to Aqua Rose''s question. He then disconnected the call and made his way towards the Candlelight Trading Firm. 1591 Producing the Conquerors Armor Chapter 1591 - Producing the Conqueror''s Armor After Shi Feng disconnected the call, Aqua Rose stared at the dark screen before her in stunned silence. Increasing their bounty on Heaven''s Burial''s members was easier said than done. The additional expenditure would easily reach tens of thousands of Gold. The Guild did rake in quite a bit of money from Zero Wing City. Currently, it earned more than 5,000 Gold through the entrance fees alone. However, due to the war of attrition with Heaven''s Burial, Zero Wing struggled to make ends meet. Unless the Guild gained an additional 100,000 Gold, it couldn''t feasibly afford to double the bounty on Heaven''s Burial. Where, exactly, were they supposed to get another 100,000 Gold? "Big Sis Aqua, are we really going to double the bounty?" Yaya asked carefully from beside Aqua Rose. Zero Wing only had a little over 20,000 Gold set aside for emergencies. If they used these funds, the Guild would be in an even more precarious situation should something unexpected occur. "Make the announcement," Aqua Rose said, releasing a deep, powerless sigh. "Even if we don''t raise the bounty, our remaining stock of top-tier equipment in the Guild Warehouse won''t last long. If we don''t increase the bounty, we''ll only burn through our stock. If we''re doomed either way, we might as well duke it out with Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater!" Following which, Yaya posted the increased bounty on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. As the news spread, it attracted the attention of every player in Star-Moon Kingdom. Yaya''s post quickly garnered over a million views. "Is Zero Wing is really trying to fight it out with Heaven''s burial? It actually followed Heaven''s Burial''s lead and doubled its bounty." "It seems that Zero Wing is finally getting serious!" "Heaven''s Burial has Blackwater''s support, so it''s expected that the Guild has a massive amount of funding. But how has Zero Wing secured so much money?" "Maybe Zero Wing''s putting up a final struggle, trying to scare Heaven''s Burial into backing off? Based on what I''ve heard, Blackwater mobilized a bunch of experts to help Heaven''s Burial and offered the guild an additional 200,000 Gold. With the income from Ancient Rock City, how can Zero Wing possibly beat Heaven''s Burial in wealth?" "Indeed. I''ve heard that Ancient Rock City''s player population has already exceeded 6,000,000. Although Heaven''s Burial isn''t charging entrance fees, it''s still making a ton of money through repair and accommodation fees." "Let them raise their bounties on each other! The higher, the better! That way, I can earn enough money to buy my Mount!" In the public eye, Zero Wing was at an overwhelming disadvantage in its war with Heaven''s Burial. And yet, everyone celebrated the war. It wasn''t every day that players had such a golden opportunity to make money. Orc Empire, Heaven''s Burial''s Residence in Ancient Rock City: "Guild Leader Singular, it seems that Zero Wing has quite the budget as well. Are you sure that you won''t have any issues?" Lei Jingyang could not help his frown as he read the latest forum post from Zero Wing. To whittle down Zero Wing''s strength as quickly as possible, Heaven''s Burial had doubled its bounty on the other Guild''s members. This increased the number of bounties they had to pay by several times. Each day, they had to shell out roughly 60,000 Gold in bounties. That was the equivalent of several days of Ancient Rock City''s income. Despite what the public thought, Heaven''s Burial wasn''t as secure as it seemed. "Young Master Lei, rest assured; I am very familiar with what Zero Wing is capable of. Based on the reports from my spies in the Guild, Zero Wing doesn''t have much money left. It''s already struggling to maintain its current expenditures. This is merely Zero Wing''s final act of defiance," Singular Burial said, not particularly surprised to hear that Zero Wing had doubled its bounty. "I''ve also reached an agreement with Blackwater. Not only have they invested 200,000 Gold in Heaven''s Burial, but they also intend to send another 300,000 Gold later. Five hundred thousand Gold Coins is more than enough to crush Zero Wing. Besides, we''ve also located a new mine in the Orc Empire. That mine has a Magic Iron vein and a certain chance of producing Magic Crystals. As long as we capture the mine, Zero Wing has no hope of outlasting us, even if it gains the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s full support." Magic Iron veins were one of the few ore veins that produced Magic Crystals, and the vein Heaven''s burial had discovered was only a dozen or so hours'' walk away from Ancient Rock City. Although other superpowers had discovered the vein as well, their Guild Towns were much farther away. As a result, these superpowers couldn''t compete with Heaven''s Burial. "I guess you''re right. But as a precaution, we should move up our timetable. The other superpowers have already shown interest in the Magic Iron vein, and although we have the terrain advantage, securing the vein won''t be easy." Lei Jingyang nodded his agreement. He was starting to think that he may have overestimated Zero Wing a little. Although Zero Wing was powerful, the Guild lacked the support of a major corporation. It relied on its own power. Meanwhile, in White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm As Shi Feng entered one of the Special Forging Rooms on the building''s top floor, he noticed Melancholic Smile and nearly 100 other Advanced Forgers waiting for him. "Guild Leader, I''ve withdrawn all of the materials you''ve requested from the warehouse. The Candlelight Trading Firm is also purchasing the materials in bulk," Melancholic Smile reported as she approached Shi Feng, gesturing to the various materials piled around the Special Forging Room. The materials Melancholic had gathered in the Special Forging Room were none other than the required materials for crafting the Conqueror''s Armor. The Conqueror''s Armor''s production process was intensely complex. Among the various processes, the most time-consuming were the smelting and material refinement. Fortunately, these tasks could be completed by forgers who hadn''t learned the Conqueror''s Armor Forging Design, which was precisely why Shi Feng had called upon these forgers to assist. With this, he could focus on forging the Conqueror''s Armor, saving plenty of time. However, when Shi Feng considered the materials'' purity, he decided that it''d be best if he left the smelting and refinement to Advanced Forgers. "Good! Put whatever tasks you''re currently working on on hold for now. I need all of you to smelt these materials," Shi Feng addressed the Advanced Forgers. He then turned to Melancholic Smile and asked, "How is the market for Lunar Potions right now?" "Lunar Potions?" Shaking her head, Melancholic Smile said, "Although the Lunar Potion is common, demand has skyrocketed due to the increase in players exploring ruins, yet the Moonlight Flower, the Lunar Potion''s main material, is quite rare. As a result, the Moonlight Flower''s market price has increased drastically. Now, each flower sells for 6 Silver. As for the Lunar Potion, it''s sold for 12 silver. Although we''ve tried to purchase the flowers to produce Lunar Potions, we''ve only crafted a little over 2,000 bottles thus far." The various large Guilds urgently needed Lunar Potions, but due to the Moonlight Flower''s rarity, it was impossible to acquire in large quantities. The fact that the Candlelight Trading Firm had accumulated a stock of over 2,000 Lunar Potions was impressive. So, it''s finally begun. Shi Feng smiled. The Moonlight Flower''s price was already higher than he had expected. Following which, he retrieved the Moonlight Flowers he had stored in his Epic Spatial Bag and Space-time Herb Garden. "Use these to brew Lunar Potions and sell them for now. Send all of the money to Aqua to cope with our current predicament." Shi Feng had used the Space-time Herb Garden to grow Moonlight Flowers ever since he obtained it. With the Herb Garden''s increased survival rates, the Moonlight Flowers he planted had a 25% survival rate. As a result, each harvest netted around 15,000 Moonlight Flowers. He had already collected over 350,000 in total. Since each stack consisted of 100 flowers, he had 3,521 stacks of Moonlight Flowers. When Melancholic Smile saw the stacks of Moonlight Flowers Shi Feng had revealed, her jaw dropped. It was difficult enough to purchase a few dozen Moonlight Flowers from the market, yet Shi Feng had pulled over 3,000 stacks from his bag, almost filling hers If they used all of these Moonlight Flowers to brew Lunar Potions, they''d definitely make a fortune! 1592 Frantic Purchase Chapter 1592 - Frantic Purchase After receiving Shi Feng''s instructions, Melancholic Smile promptly left the Special Forging Room and contacted every Advanced Alchemist in the Candlelight Trading Firm, passing on the order to begin the Lunar Potion''s mass-production. At the same time, Melancholic Smile retrieved the stockpiled Lunar Potions from the trading firm''s warehouse and had her subordinates sell them in Zero Wing''s Advanced Auction House and White River City''s Auction House. In addition, she sent a few other players to the Black Dragon Empire and other kingdoms to sell the potions. Not only could they sell the Lunar Potions quickly by doing so, but they could also maintain the market value. Meanwhile, in another of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Special Forging Rooms, Shi Feng took out the Philosopher''s Stone, which he had retrieved from his Private Warehouse earlier, and began to synthesize Mana Barrier Crystals from the Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments. Shi Feng had obtained a total of 45 Mana Barrier Crystal Fragments from his latest trip to the World Summit. If he had NPC alchemists help synthesize the Mana Barrier Crystals for him, they''d only have a 40% success rate, and each attempt required ten crystal fragments. He''d be lucky to end up with two Mana Barrier Crystals. On the other hand, the Philosopher''s Stone provided a 100% synthesis success rate. However, something unexpected and shocking happened when Shi Feng synthesized the first batch of crystal fragments. After placing only five crystal fragments into the Philosopher''s Stone, a complete Mana Barrier Crystal had appeared on the table before him. What?! I only need five crystal fragments to form a complete crystal?! Shi Feng was astounded as he stared at the Mana Barrier Crystal on the table. If he only needed five crystal fragments, he could synthesize nine complete Mana Barrier Crystals. Meanwhile, teleportation arrays like those in White River City''s Teleportation Hall needed five Magic Crystals for each activation. Hence, they would also need five Mana Barrier Crystals to operate normally. As for the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function, it only needed three Magic Crystals. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to activate the teleportation function only after he had gathered enough Mana Barrier Crystals. After all, it was simply impossible to sustain the teleportation arrays'' consumption with Zero Wing''s current Magic Crystal income. Now, however, it would seem that that was no longer necessary. Fortunately, he could use nine Mana Barrier Crystals interchangeably. Moreover, in addition to the Mana Barrier Crystals'' self-recovery ability, each Mana Barrier Crystal contained as much Mana as 100 Magic Crystals. Shi Feng immediately contacted Melancholic Smile and had her send Aqua Rose the synthesized crystals and a message to activate the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation functions. Once he finished with the Mana Barrier Crystals, Shi Feng took out the Conqueror''s Armor Forging Design and began to study. Unlike Basic Forging Designs, players couldn''t learn Advanced Forging Designs with the click of a button. Advanced Forging Designs also contained special forging techniques and magic arrays. Players needed to learn all of these details themselves. This thing is really complex. After looking through the Conqueror''s Armor''s production process, Shi Feng was astonished. It''s no wonder why players struggled so hard to produce equipment with battle arrays in the past. So, the process of creating the battle arrays involves Advanced Magic Arrays. Fortunately, I didn''t leave the Conqueror''s Armor''s production to Cocoa and the others. Otherwise, it''d take even longer to craft the armor. Basic Magic Arrays in God''s Domain were quite complex, and even experts needed a considerable amount of time to grasp the skills required to craft them. Needless to say, Intermediate Magic Arrays were even more complex. Otherwise, Shi Feng wouldn''t have left the Secret-Silver ranked Secret Technique Tablet in the Guild''s Warehouse instead of putting it to use. Even now, Zero Wing didn''t have enough players who could draw the Intermediate Magic Arrays. Throughout Zero Wing, only Shi Feng knew how to draw Advanced Magic Arrays thus far. Everyone else was still a long distance away from being able to draw them effectively. Fortunately, the required Advanced Magic Array isn''t too difficult to draw. I should be able to learn it in a few hours. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief after examining the necessary Advanced Magic Array. Although he could already draw Advanced Magic Arrays, there were simple and complex versions. Shi Feng could draw the simple arrays in a handful of hours, but he might not be able to learn a complex Advanced Magic Array yet with his current standards. If he couldn''t draw the required Advanced Magic Array, he wouldn''t be able to forge the Conqueror''s Armor. Although it appeared as though Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial were competing via wealth, in reality, that wasn''t the case. The true competition still lay among the Guilds'' experts. Due to Lei Jingyang''s partnership with Heaven''s Burial, the Guild had recruited a lot of expert players. Now, Heaven''s Burial also had the assistance of a large number of Blackwater''s experts. As a result, the gap between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial''s strengths had grown. Unfortunately, Zero Wing didn''t have enough Tier 2 experts to deal with the enemy''s overwhelming numbers. Even if Shi Feng took up arms personally, there was very little he could do to change the situation. But it would be a different story if Zero Wing had the Conqueror''s Armor. If five elite players wore the armor, they would immediately rise to expert status. They might even become more powerful than ordinary expert players. If Zero Wing equipped their ordinary expert players with the armor and activated the Basic Strength Battle Array, they''d be as strong as the Guild''s first-rate experts. If all five worked together, they might even display more overall combat power than five Refinement Realm experts working together. Refinement Realm experts! Even in Super Guilds, experts of such caliber were invaluable. In current first-rate Guilds, such experts would rank among the top in strength. While Shi Feng studied the Conqueror''s Armor''s Advanced Magic Array, Melancholic Smile posted every Lunar Potion she had on hand for sale in the various empires and kingdoms'' Auction Houses. She only sold 100 bottles in each location, setting the minimum bid at 10 Silver per bottle, slightly cheaper than market value. When these potions went public in the various Auction Houses, they attracted many Guilds and teams'' attention. "Someone''s actually selling so many Lunar Potions?!" "So cheap!" "This is wonderful! With these potions, our team can finally explore the ancient ruin we found!" Excited, players furiously began to bid on the Lunar Potions. To the current adventurer teams and Guilds, ruin exploration had become a golden opportunity to make a fortune, but without the Lunar Potion or something similar, exploring the dark ruins was troublesome. Every ruin had its own traps, and locating these traps in the dark was dangerous. If players triggered these traps, even an expert-led team could suffer severe damage or be annihilated. Compared to the risk of triggering these traps, the Lunar Potion''s cost was nothing. After all, players would need several days to recover a lost level at this stage of the game. As players discovered the Lunar Potions in the Auction Houses, the potion''s prices quickly skyrocketed. 10 Silver, 40 Copper! 10 Silver, 70 Copper! 11 Silver, 20 Copper! After a few short minutes, the average price had reached 12 Silver, 50 Copper. Meanwhile, this increase was just the beginning. In the end, players only stopped contesting for the Lunar Potions after the prices reached 17 Silver, 50 Copper. This was already far beyond the current market value. Although not every Lunar Potion had sold for 17 Silver, 50 Copper, on average, they had sold for 16 Silver, 40 Copper or more. After deducting the processing fees, Zero Wing still earned a considerable profit. In the end, Melancholic Smile had made a massive 262 Gold from the 2,000 Lunar Potions she had sold Fortunately, she had barely dented the market''s demand for the Lunar Potions. Two thousand potions weren''t nearly enough to quench players'' thirst in a single kingdom, much less multiple kingdoms and empires. 1593 Zero Wing Citys True Power Chapter 1593 - Zero Wing City''s True Power After the first batch of Lunar Potions had sold, none were available in the various Auction Houses. Because of this, regret ravaged the players who had failed to win the potions. "Crap! The Lunar Potions have sold out already?! I just got here!" "Damn it! I knew I shouldn''t have waited! If I had just bought two or three bottles, our team would have had enough for an expedition!" Many players had assumed that the Lunar Potions had come from some Guild or trading firm. After all, no single player would be able to sell 100 bottles at a time. If that were the case, there was a high likelihood that another batch would show up in the Auction Houses sooner or later. However, even after over half an hour, no one had posted any new Lunar Potions Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile, who was currently in the Candlelight Trading Firm, was elated. The speed at which players are buying the potions is really frightening. With this, we won''t need to worry about not being able to sell the potions in bulk. When Melancholic Smile received the proceeds from her subordinates, she brimmed with confidence regarding the large number of Moonlight Flowers in her possession. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm produced a large number of items each day, not all of these items sold the moment they were put up for sale. They needed to let the market slowly digest some of these items. In fact, some items might never sell, collecting dust in the trading firm. However, the Lunar Potion was a different story. This first round of sales had proven that, as long as the Candlelight Trading Firm crafted Lunar Potions, the market would devour their stock. Meanwhile, the Candlelight Trading Firm had almost 100 Advanced Alchemists. With enough materials, mass-producing the Lunar Potions would be a piece of cake for these alchemists. In fact, while the first batch of Lunar Potions had sold, Silent Wonder and the others had brewed over 2,000 new bottles. With this production speed, the Candlelight Trading Firm should earn around two or three hundred Gold per hour. With 48 hours per day in God''s Domain, the firm could make over 10,000 Gold per day with the Lunar Potions alone. Although this amount of money couldn''t change the war''s overall situation, it was enough to resolve Zero Wing''s current predicament. When Melancholic Smile gave the command to sell the second batch of Lunar Potions, an intense competition raged in the various kingdoms and empires'' Auction Houses. The players that had previously adopted a wait-and-see attitude discarded the notion. They did everything in their power to get their hands on the potions for fear that they''d miss this opportunity. The Lunar Potion''s prices soared once again. The highest price during the first batch had climbed to 17 Silver, 50 Copper, but now it rose to 19 Silver per bottle. By the time the 2,000 Lunar Potions sold out, Melancholic Smile had earned an additional 300-plus Gold. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose was swamped with work in Zero Wing City. "Big Sis Aqua, we''ve paid out over 1,300 Gold since we''ve updated the bounty. Including the remaining funds we have set aside, we won''t last another two days," Yaya worriedly reported as she examined the bounty claims summary in her hands. "It''s increased by so much?" Aqua Rose could not help but frown. The increased bounty claims were far higher than she had expected. She had hoped that they would last a few more days in this war with the income from Zero Wing City and the Guild''s remaining funds, but it seemed that wouldn''t be possible. Even if Heaven''s Burial didn''t mobilize its army, Zero Wing would crumble if it ran out of money. The Guild''s reputation would be in tatters. To make matters worse, Heaven''s Burial''s Ancient Rock City became more popular as time passed. Not only could players level up in the area, but they could also earn Contribution Points to purchase valuable items. In contrast, Zero Wing City''s location was only suitable for leisure right now. "Big Sis Aqua, under the Guild Leader''s orders, the Candlelight Trading Firm has sent a representative with Coins and items. Apparently, these should help us hold out for a little while longer," Yaya suddenly announced. "They''ve sent funds? Good! I''ll head over to meet them immediately!" Aqua Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Shi Feng had sent additional funds. She ran to the Guild Hall''s lobby to receive the Coins and items. Although she didn''t know how Shi Feng had obtained the additional funding, another forty or fifty thousand Gold would help Zero Wing endure this war for a few more days. During that time, they could organize an auction to sell some of Zero Wing City''s private housing. That might allow them to continue this fight with Heaven''s Burial. They might even be able to put an end to this war. Heaven''s Burial invested quite a bit of money each day as well, and no one wanted to see this drag on. However, when Aqua Rose saw the Coins Melancholic Smile''s subordinate had traded to her, she was dumbfounded. For a moment, she wondered if she had misread the total. Five hundred Gold! To a small Guild or adventurer team, 500 Gold might be a considerable amount of money, but to Zero Wing, this was nothing more than pocket change. It was far from enough to pull Zero Wing from its current predicament. Is this supposed to help me hold out for another half an hour? Aqua Rose was speechless as she stared at the 500 Gold. But when Aqua Rose noticed the nine Mana Barrier Crystals in her bag and inspected their Attribute Panels, her eyes began to glow. Everlasting Magic Crystals? Aqua Rose couldn''t believe her eyes. She immediately contacted Shi Feng and asked, "Guild Leader, just where did you get these Mana Barrier Crystals? Do you have more of them?" God''s Domain''s various Guilds and players were all in desperate need of Magic Crystals, and Zero Wing was certainly no exception, yet not only were these Mana Barrier Crystals the equivalent of 100 Magic Crystals, but they could also be used repeatedly. This was akin to having a miniature Magic Crystal vein. Furthermore, these Mana Barrier Crystals only needed 48 hours to replenish their energy. They basically gave Zero Wing a stable income of 900 magic Crystals per day. If they stored the Mana Barrier Crystals in a location with sufficient Mana density, their Cooldowns would be even shorter. Although the Mana Barrier Crystals could not be used in places like the Divine Colosseum, they were extremely valuable. "You''ve already received them?" Seeing Aqua Rose''s excitement, Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he said, "Mana Barrier Crystals are extremely rare items. Obtaining more is impossible at the moment." Naturally, Aqua Rose was a little disappointed to hear this. If they had 50 or 60 Mana Barrier Crystals, Zero Wing would be set for life. However, after giving the matter some thought, she found it reasonable. If it were possible to obtain something as valuable as Mana Barrier Crystals in large quantities, it would throw God''s Domain''s market into chaos. "Use the nine Mana Barrier Crystals to operate the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation array for now. With the Mana Barrier Crystals and some additional Magic Crystals, we should be able to sustain the teleportation array''s consumption easily." Shi Feng could sympathize with Aqua Rose''s desire for the Mana Barrier Crystals, but they simply weren''t that easy to obtain. "Let the public know that Zero Wing City will activate a teleportation function that can transport players anywhere within 4,000,000 yards of the city. The cost will be 5 Silver Coins per 1,000,000 yards per person. At the same time, set up a membership system for the teleportation function. Those who wish to become members can pay a one-time membership fee of 20 Magic Crystals. In return, they''ll get a 20% discount when using the teleportation function." Currently, Stone Forest Town and Team Dungeons were Zero Wing''s main income source for Magic Crystals, but both Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City needed a lot of Magic Crystals to operate. Furthermore, the Guild had to sustain the daily Magic Crystal allocation for its members. It was practically impossible to sustain the Four Towers of Elements''s teleportation function with the Guild''s current Magic Crystal income. Although not every player would pay 20 Magic Crystals to become a member, Zero Wing would be fine as long as it earned enough Magic Crystals to sustain the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function. "Alright, I''ll get it done right away!" Aqua Rose nodded excitedly. She had waited to launch of the Four Towers of Elements''s teleportation function for a long time. Unfortunately, Zero Wing hadn''t had enough Magic Crystals to sustain the teleportation array until now. Now that they had the Mana Barrier Crystals, they could finally show off Zero Wing City''s true power. 1594 Surging Towards Zero Wing City Chapter 1594 - Surging Towards Zero Wing City Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: Light flashed in the Teleportation Hall as a team of 20 players arrived in the lively Star-Moon City. When these players appeared, many players in the hall turned to look. All of these 20 players'' levels were impressively high, and they were well-equipped. The lowest level among them was Level 47, while the most inferior equipment was Level 45 Fine-Gold rank. The pair leading the team, a man and a woman, were even more awe-inspiring; both were Level 49 and wore nothing but Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment Not even first-rate Guilds'' experts could compare to this team. Most surprisingly, none of these experts wore a Guild Emblem, showing that they were all independent players. "What a powerful team. Who are they?" "Don''t you see the flaming fox logo sewn on their cloaks? They''re members of Firecloud Fox, one of the top 50 adventurer teams in the Black Dragon Empire. That Shield Warrior in the lead is Remnant Cloud, Firecloud Fox''s commander. He is one of the Black Dragon Empire''s top 100 Shield Warriors. I''ve heard that several first-rate Guilds in the empire have offered high prices to recruit him, but he''s refused every one." "Since they''re from an adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire, why are they here in Star-Moon Kingdom?" "Because of Stone Forest Town. The town''s Battle Arena is a perfect place for experts like them to train. I''ve also heard that Firecloud Fox plans to move its headquarters to Zero Wing City. Although Zero Wing City''s Battle Arena isn''t as effective as the one in Stone Forest Town, the city''s Mana density is much higher." When the players in the Hall saw Firecloud Fox''s members, they all fell into heated discussions. Some players, members of other adventurer teams, gazed at Firecloud Fox''s members with envy and admiration. Even first-rate Guilds fought to recruit these experts; it was an honor that few adventurer teams received. "It really is annoying to travel to and from the Orc Empire every time. Commander, can''t we grind somewhere else next time?" Graceful Moon, Firecloud Fox''s vice commander, suggested, paying no attention to the gossip around her. Turning to Remnant Cloud, she continued, "The Orcs'' invasion is getting worse, and over the past few days, we''ve come across more and higher-quality Orcs. It''ll definitely affect our leveling speed." "In your dreams. If we don''t continue questing in the Orc Empire and kill Heaven''s Burial''s members, how are we supposed to earn the money for our Mounts?" Remnant Cloud snapped. "Although the Orcs'' upgrade had affected our leveling speed, opportunities like this don''t happen often. Alright, enough complaining. Let''s head to Zero Wing City to claim our bounties." "I get what you''re trying to say, but you''ve seen the difference for yourself. Those Orcs are growing more powerful. At first, we usually only encountered Elite ranked Orcs, but now, we''ve run into Chieftains left and right. Their combat standards have improved, as well. I''m willing to bet that we''ll need to waste several more hours to cross the border the next time we try to enter the Orc Empire," Graceful Moon grumbled. Despite the short distance between Star-Moon Kingdom''s border towns and the Orc Empire''s border, their adventurer team had spent a significant amount of time crossing the border due to Orc patrol squads. To make matters worse, the quantity and quality of patrol squads continued to increase as well. Now, they spent half of their travel time on fighting the Orc patrol squads. "Alright, if they''ve grown stronger by the time we try to cross the border again, we''ll find another location to grind and quest. In any case, our adventurer team has earned quite a bit. With today''s haul, we should have enough to purchase a private house in Zero Wing City," Remnant Cloud said. After giving the matter some more thought, he saw the logic in Graceful Moon''s concerns. While earning money was important, it wouldn''t do them any good if it came at the cost of their leveling speed. If the Orcs guarding the border grew even stronger, leveling in the Orc Empire would no longer be worth it. In fact, based on what information he had, several adventurer teams, which were only slightly weaker than Firecloud Fox, had already given up on the Orc Empire and opted to grind in other maps. These other adventurer teams'' level speed was now slightly faster than his own team''s. As Remnant Cloud and his companions prepared to head to Zero Wing City, they overheard nearby players discussing their destination. "Is Zero Wing for real?! Zero Wing City can actually do that?!" "It can''t be true. How could a city possibly teleport players to any location within 4,000,000 yards? If that were possible, wouldn''t players be able to teleport to their desired leveling areas instantly?" "Zero Wing made the announcement personally. Why wouldn''t it be true? Players would see through it immediately if this were some kind of ruse. Besides, didn''t you see it? The teleportation fee is absurd. Ordinary players barely earn anything each day. If we want to use the teleportation function, we''ll have to hand over a whole day''s earnings to Zero Wing." "Zero Wing is too strong! It actually secured something like this, too! As expected of our kingdom''s number one Guild!" The players on Star-Moon City''s streets debated Zero Wing''s latest announcement. Meanwhile, the numerous adventurer teams in the city burned with excitement over the news. Zero Wing City''s location was no longer news to Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. The city wasn''t far from the frontlines of this war between the Orc Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom. For the most part, only a large forest separated the city from the frontlines. Being able to teleport to any location within 4,000,000 yards of the city would allow players to travel beyond the kingdom''s border, bypassing many of the Orc patrol squads. This would save players plenty of travel time and allow them to avoid quite a bit of danger. The teleportation''s cost was the only downside. If players teleported across the maximum range, one trip would cost 20 Silver per person However, the price was definitely worth the trip for capable adventurer teams. They could easily earn back several times the money they had spent with the time they saved. After all, Zero Wing had placed a bounty on Heaven''s Burial''s members. They could earn back the teleportation fees by killing a bunch of the Guild''s members easily. Moreover, the Orc Empire''s maps had far more resources than most of Star-Moon Kingdom''s. They''d also be able to increase their leveling speed. "Commander, it seems that we''ll have to save a bit more Coins to buy a private house in Zero Wing City," Graceful Moon said, chuckling after she read Zero Wing''s announcement. "Zero Wing isn''t giving us a chance! How wonderful would it have been if they had sold their private housing before this announcement?" While Remnant Cloud celebrated the news, he also felt a sting in his pockets. Zero Wing City had already offered amazing benefits, but now it also informed the public of its teleportation function. Needless to say, adventurer teams and experts who wanted to level in the Orc Empire would flood Zero Wing City. To players like them, the teleportation function was a major resource, and 20 Silver Coins wasn''t a significant expenditure. As long as they obtained one or two pieces of equipment to sell, they would easily earn back what they spent. Furthermore, players could purchase a membership to receive a 20% discount. In fact, Star-Moon Kingdom''s players wouldn''t be the only ones interested in Zero Wing City''s teleportation function. Players from other kingdoms and empires would likely visit Zero Wing City to travel to the Orc Empire. As it was, the Orcs guarding all of the empire''s borders were growing stronger. As Remnant Cloud fussed over how to earn enough money to purchase a private house in Zero Wing City, the adventurer teams and players in said city were in an uproar. These players, who had initially planned to walk to the Orc Empire, changed their minds immediately and made their way to the nearest Four Towers of Elements. They then spent 20 Silver to travel across Star-Moon Kingdom''s border. As more players proved the power of the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function, more adventurer teams and expert players applied for the teleportation membership. One short hour after Zero Wing announced the teleportation function, 1,042 players had become members, contributing over 20,000 Magic Crystals. In total, over 2,000 players had used the teleportation function. Naturally, not everyone wanted to pay a portion of their teleportation fees in Magic Crystals. After subtracting the maintenance and energy costs, Zero Wing had earned 12 Silver Coins off of every player that had teleported over the maximum distance. In a single hour, Zero Wing had made over 240 Gold in pure profit. However, the truly frightening result of Zero Wing''s latest announcement was the number of players who visited Zero Wing City. In just one hour, Zero Wing City''s player population had shot past the 2,000,000-threshold. Many of these players belonged to adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires, and in the end, Zero Wing had also earned a fortune from the entrance fees 1595 Upgrading the Blacksteel Insignia Chapter 1595 - Upgrading the Blacksteel Insignia The moment Zero Wing City revealed its teleportation function, the city attracted many major powers'' attention. A large number of merchant players also considered conducting their business in Zero Wing City. Some of the Guilds in the several kingdoms and two empires bordering the Orc Empire even tried to ally with Zero Wing in secret. The situation had completely exceeded Aqua Rose''s expectations. All of these Guilds offered to sell Zero Wing Level 45, top-tier equipment at below market price in exchange for the right to establish a Guild Residence in Zero Wing City and a 20% discount on the teleportation fees. These Guilds were also willing to pay a portion of the teleportation fees with Magic Crystals. Although mainstream players had already reached Level 40, they were still some time from reaching Level 45. Only the various Guilds'' elite members had reached such a high level, and because of this, Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment and above was still extremely rare. Although the equipment was available on the market, these pieces usually cost far more than market value. Moreover, there weren''t many pieces available. Even if Zero Wing were willing to purchase the overpriced equipment, it wouldn''t secure many pieces. Yet, these large Guilds had offered Level 45, top-tier equipment as payment. Aqua Rose had never expected this. If she accepted their offers, she''d solve the Guild''s shortage of funds and top-tier equipment. Furthermore, even after giving these Guilds a 20% discount on teleportation fees, Zero Wing would still make quite a bit of profit. "Guild Leader, three first-rate Guilds and 11 second-rate Guilds have expressed interest in partnering with us thus far. If we agree, replenishing our top-tier equipment in the Guild Warehouse won''t be an issue anymore," Aqua Rose said excitedly as she read the report in her hands. Rather than Coins, Zero Wing urgently needed top-tier equipment for its war against Heaven''s Burial. Every time their players died, they''d lose a piece of equipment. Occasionally, Heaven''s Burial''s members even used some special methods to force players to drop more than one piece when they died. Generally, Zero Wing compensated its members with GCPs, and these members would then trade their points for replacement weapons and equipment from the Warehouse. Because of this, Zero Wing''s members were rapidly depleting the Guild''s stock of weapons and equipment. If Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse ran out of top-tier weapons and equipment for its members, Zero Wing''s GCPs would lose their value. If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before the Guild crumbled. However, if Zero Wing could replenish its stock, Aqua Rose was confident that the Guild could continue to duke it out with Heaven''s Burial. "There are so many Guilds seeking an alliance?" Aqua Rose''s report surprised Shi Feng. He hadn''t thought that the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function would be such an effective advertisement. "Alright. However, they have to pay 25% of their teleportation fees with Magic Crystals. Otherwise, no deal!" While the Four Towers of Elements''s teleportation function was powerful, its operation cost a lot of Magic Crystals. If he allowed these Guilds to mass-teleport their members, the nine Mana Barrier Crystals would drain in the blink of an eye. Zero Wing did not have many Magic Crystals to spare. If these Guilds paid a quarter of their teleportation fees in Magic Crystals, they''d offset the additional cost. Zero Wing might even earn some Magic Crystal profit. "I understand. I''ll begin the negotiations right away." After Shi Feng agreed, Aqua Rose disconnected the call and contacted the various large Guilds'' Guild Leaders. Meanwhile, the atmosphere among Zero Wing''s members had lightened considerably due to the city''s sudden popularity. Everyone''s confidence of defeating Heaven''s Burial renewed. They could easily imagine the future that awaited their Guild City, and there was no way it would lose to Heaven''s Burial''s Ancient Rock City in any aspect. Similarly, Star-Moon Kingdom''s players had begun to change their minds about Zero Wing falling prey to Heaven''s Burial. They now thought that Zero Wing had some hope of victory. While Aqua Rose negotiated the contracts'' terms with the various Guild Leaders, Shi Feng had finally learned how to craft the new Advanced Magic Array and had begun to forge the Conqueror''s Armor. Although Zero Wing had solved its money and equipment problems, it still wouldn''t be easy to defeat Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater. Shi Feng didn''t even think that his current Guild could do anything to the two Guilds. The difference between their expert counts was just too massive, not to mention financial strength. If Zero Wing wanted to end this war of attrition, it would have to rely on the strength of its Guild members. In fact, this was God''s Domain''s infallible truth! Otherwise, Guilds wouldn''t pay so much attention to nurturing their experts. Now that I''ve learned how to draw the magic array, I need to find a way to improve my success rate. Although it is somewhat wasteful, I''ll have to upgrade the Blacksteel Insignia. When Shi Feng had tried to forge the Conqueror''s Armor and saw his theoretical success rate, he steeled himself and made his way to White River City''s bank. Forging the Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked Conqueror''s Armor would be even more challenging than forging Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. Despite his status as a Master Forger, he only had a theoretical success rate of 18%. Even with his various support tools, he only increased that success rate to around 28%. Although it seemed relatively high, he''d be fortunate to succeed once out of every five attempts to produce the armor. This was due to the Conqueror''s Armor''s complex forging process. Unfortunately, the required materials weren''t cheap, and each attempt would cost around 50 Gold. With that kind of money, he could already purchase a piece of Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment. Because the required materials were also rare and difficult to obtain, he also had a limited number of attempts. Shi Feng simply couldn''t bear to forge the Conqueror''s Armor with such a low success rate. If he had to craft the armor, he''d have to reach a 30% success rate at the very least. His only solution was the Holy Grail''s Power of Evolution, which he could only use once every ten days. Shi Feng quickly arrived in his own Large Private Warehouse and carefully retrieved Zero Wing''s greatest secret weaponthe Holy Grail. He had planned to save the Power of Evolution to upgrade items with special abilities to Epic rank, but he couldn''t care less right now. He immediately retrieved the Blacksteel Insignia and scanned it with the Holy Grail. Suddenly, purple fog leaked from the Holy Grail and enveloped the Blacksteel Insignia. The system soon notified Shi Feng of the evolution cost. System: Are you willing to permanently lose 1,000 HP to evolve the Blacksteel Insignia? What? This thing actually requires 1,000 HP? Shi Feng was astonished. The Blacksteel Insignia was currently Fine-Gold rank. Even if he evolved the item, it would only become Dark-Gold rank, yet the evolution cost was as high as the cost of evolving the Holy City''s Emblem. Losing 1,000 HP was no trivial matter. It was the equivalent of losing 50 Endurance permanently. Even a Tier 2 player would have to level a few times to make up for this loss. Moreover, the evolution''s success wasn''t guaranteed. There was still a chance of failure. But Shi Feng did not hesitate long before he clicked ''Agree.'' He might have decided against evolving the Blacksteel Insignia in the past, but now that he had the Dark Iron Bloodline, things had changed. The Bloodline provided some additional Basic Attribute points with each level-up. Moreover, the bonus would grow as he reached higher levels. He could recover the lost 50 Endurance very quickly. After Shi Feng agreed to the evolution, the Holy Grail''s purple fog wrapped around him. Immediately, Shi Feng''s maximum HP fell by 1,000. Meanwhile, the Holy Grail radiated a purple glow as it absorbed the Life Force. Following which, plumes of purple fog seeped into the Blacksteel Insignia. Suddenly, the Blacksteel Insignia released a blinding glow that enveloped the Private Warehouse. This should mean it succeeded, right? Shi Feng''s heart pounded as he stared at the Blacksteel Insignia in his hand. 1596 Budding Threa Chapter 1596 - Budding Threat The Holy Grail''s Power of Evolution did not have a 100% success rate. Moreover, the success rate would drop as Shi Feng chose higher-ranked items. The cost would also increase. Even if the evolution failed, the Holy Grail would still have a 10-day Cooldown. Although the Blacksteel Insignia was only Fine-Gold rank, it was an extremely precious support tool for forgers. It was far more valuable than ordinary Dark-Gold items. Hence, in Shi Feng''s opinion, the success rate for evolving the Blacksteel Insignia would be on par with evolving a Dark-Gold item to Epic rank. If the evolution failed, not only would he permanently lose 1,000 HP, but he''d also have to wait another ten days before he could attempt to evolve the Blacksteel Insignia again. This was not a desired outcome. Following which, Shi Feng took a deep breath as he clicked to inspect the Blacksteel Insignia''s Attribute Panel. [Blacksteel Insignia] (Dark-Gold rank) Unique Equipment User restriction: Ye Feng The Blacksteel Insignia is the highest medal of honor amongst the Blacksteel Dwarves. After equipping it, Forging success rate increased by 10%, Proficiency has a 15% chance to increase by 1 extra point. When forging, there is a 3% chance to increase the forged item''s Attributes. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Blacksteel Insignia''s Attributes. Ecstasy then gripped his heart. The Dark-Gold ranked Blacksteel Insignia is amazing! No wonder the evolution required so much HP! The Blacksteel Insignia''s upgraded Attributes shocked Shi Feng. Not only had the bonus forging success rate risen from 5% to 10%, but the chances of increasing a forged item''s Attributes had also increased from 1% to 3%. Now, he''d have a considerably higher chance of improving his crafted items'' Attributes. In God''s Domain, producing higher-rank items would become exponentially more difficult. Although it wouldn''t be a direct rank increase, the Blacksteel Insignia could raise a Fine-Gold item''s Attributes to be only slightly inferior to a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment of the same level. This meant that the Blacksteel Insignia''s wielder could forge items one rank stronger than their intended rank. After dealing with the Blacksteel Insignia, Shi Feng returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm to forge the Conqueror''s Armor. Meanwhile, an army of over 3,000 players, all Level 46 or higher, assaulted an Orc Fortress within the Orc Empires. Although the Orcs defending the fortress were around Level 60 and ranked between Elite and Grand Lord, they fell, one after another, under the players'' fierce assault. Unfortunately, the players also suffered casualties. "Focus on dodging the Boss''s Skills! Ranged players, destroy the fortress''s Defense Turrets!" Singular Burial commanded from the rear of the army. As the Orcs worked to strengthen their empire''s defenses, they had constructed temporary fortresses as resting points for the armies. Because of this, more Orcs operated around these temporary fortresses, troubling the players in the area. Meanwhile, the Orcs'' mines were usually surrounded by several temporary fortresses. If players wanted to secure an Orc Mine, they''d have to deal with the fortresses first. Singular Burial was confident that he could secure the Orc Mine, which many of God''s Domain''s superpowers drooled over, once Heaven''s Burial dealt with the temporary fortresses. Once they succeeded, Heaven''s Burial wouldn''t have to worry about Coins or Magic Crystals. Daybreak Fog, who wore a cyan mage robe, suddenly approached Singular Burial and quietly reported, "Guild Leader, our spies in Zero Wing have reported that the Guild has somehow obtained a teleportation function that allows players to teleport from Zero Wing City to the border between the Orc Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom. With this teleportation function, players can save a massive amount of time. In fact, many players have already used the service, contributing to Zero Wing''s wealth. Moreover, we''ve received news that plenty of Guilds have begun negotiations to ally with Zero Wing. By the looks of it, they plan to sell Level 45 top-tier equipment to the Guild. I''m afraid this will affect our plans severely at this rate." According to previous reports, Zero Wing should''ve been on its last leg, yet due to Zero Wing City''s teleportation function, Zero Wing had pulled itself out of its predicament. In fact, the teleportation service had become so profitable that Zero Wing was now able to continue its war of attrition against them. This was not good news. The long-term attrition war was a painful burden on Heaven''s Burial''s finances and development. They had already suffered significant casualties thanks to Zero Wing''s bounty. This had impacted the Guild members'' leveling speed. Moreover, Guild members had to stay alert for ambushes in the fields. Many players who had originally wanted to join Heaven''s Burial had begun to change their mind. If they did not deal with Zero Wing quickly, their Guild''s development would stagnate, and they wouldn''t be able to keep up with God''s Domain''s other superpowers even with Ancient Rock City. "Zero Wing is a tenacious cockroach!" Singular Burial could not help but frown. Immediately, he commanded, "Notify Young Master Lei and tell him that it''s time for his Thunder Legion to take action. Contact Blackwater as well; tell them that if they still want a share of the Orc Mine, they should send more top-tier experts and help us finish off Zero Wing quickly!" "We''re taking action now?" Daybreak Fog was stunned. She hadn''t expected Singular Burial to switch tactics so soon. Until now, their experts usually attacked in small groups, fleeing the moment they killed Zero Wing''s members and minimizing their casualties. However, if they started team battles in the fields, they would suffer more casualties even if they dealt greater damage to their enemy. That was why they had avoided doing so thus far. Now that Singular Burial had approved team battles, he had proven that Zero Wing was a major threat to their Guild. Thus, he decided to put a swift end to this war, regardless of cost, and exterminate the budding threat before it did permanent damage. "Mhm. I want to see how long Zero Wing can hold on!" Singular Burial nodded. Zero Wing''s sudden transformation had exceeded his expectations and left him with no other choice, but he also wanted to use this opportunity to show Zero Wing how wide the gap was between their expert counts. Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City, in a Special Forging Room located on the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top floor Shi Feng sat alone beside a furnace, repeatedly swinging a hammer as he forged the Conqueror''s Armor. To sharpen his focus, he had even used the precious Soul Water. The Conqueror''s Armor required a lot of materials, including over ten main materials and over twenty support materials. Every material needed to be smelted carefully. Just the smelting and refining all of the involved materials took more than half an hour. If Shi Feng had gone through the entire forging process alone, he would''ve only had time to forge a few pieces of the Conqueror''s Armor each day. Fortunately, he could rely on Candlelight''s Advanced Forgers to help him with the smelting and refining processes, saving him plenty of time. Fortunately, with the improved Blacksteel Insignia, Shi Feng''s forging success rate had broken past the 30% threshold. Fusing, stacking, fusing, stacking As he continued to fuse and shape the extracted materials, the Conqueror''s Armor began to take shape. Once the armor was perfect, Shi Feng released a deep sigh of relief and began to draw the Advanced Magic Array. Due to the Soul Water''s effects, Shi Feng was able to complete the Advanced Magic Array naturally and without pause. The instant he completed the Advanced Magic Array, the Conqueror''s Armor released a mesmerizing, crimson glow. This is the first Conqueror''s Armor I''ve forged, and I''ve already triggered the strengthening effect? Shi Feng''s excitement grew as he watched the crimson light, completely different from the usual glow on Fine-Gold Equipment. 1597 Improved Conquerors Armor Chapter 1597 - Improved Conqueror''s Armor Despite being a Master Forger, Shi Feng didn''t have a particularly high success rate with forging the Conqueror''s Armor. Although God''s Domain had plenty of support tools, these tools would become less effective with more complex items. In fact, most support tools were nullified when producing an Epic item. Only a small number of support tools could help a player craft an Epic item. Shi Feng hadn''t expected, despite having barely over a 30% success rate, he would actually forge a successful Conqueror''s Armor on his first try. Moreover, he had triggered the Blacksteel Insignia''s strengthening effect. After gazing at the armor for a moment, Shi Feng clicked to inspect its Attributes. Immediately, the system analyzed the Conqueror''s Armor''s statistics. System: Blacksteel Insignia''s effect triggered; Attributes increased. System: Conqueror''s Armor has been forged successfully. Forging Proficiency increased by 4 points. Obtained 3,000,000 EXP. [Conqueror''s Armor] (Chest Piece, Plate Armor, Fine-Gold Rank) Level 50 Equipment Requirement: Strength 730 and Agility 730 Defense +2,350 Strength +75, Endurance +84, Agility +72 Additional Passive Skill- Life Sacrifice: The wearer will receive more power as their HP decreases to a maximum of 15% Strength and 25% Attack Speed. Additional Active Skill- Basic Strength Battle Array: Activation requires five or more players wearing the Conqueror''s Armor. Upon activation, wearer''s Strength increases by 25%, Agility by 15%, Endurance by 15% and physique by 10%. Grants Basic Perception Sharing buff. Stamina and Concentration consumption rates increase by 400%. Maintaining the battle array costs one Magic Crystal every five minutes. The Blacksteel Insignia is really quite amazing. Not only did it improve the armor''s Basic Attributes, but it also boosted one of the armor''s Skills slightly. Although this Conqueror''s Armor still is not a match for Level 50 Dark-Equipment individually, it is not far from it. Shi Feng was delighted as he read the Conqueror''s Armor''s Attributes. Level 50 was a major turning point in God''s Domain. Top-tier equipment past this level would become incredibly difficult to obtain. Even Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons only dropped Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment and Set Equipment at best. Generally, players could only obtain Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment from super-large-scale Team Dungeons. On its own, the improved Conqueror''s Armor was only slightly less valuable than a piece of Epic Equipment of the same level, but if he had five pieces of the improved version of this armor, each piece would be worth as much as a piece of ordinary Epic Equipment. Unlike the improved Conqueror''s Armor, Epic Equipment only provided powerful boosts to Basic Attributes and a few powerful Skills. On the other hand, the Conqueror''s Armor''s Basic Strength Battle Array could improve players'' combat standards as well as Basic Attributes and physique. The only flaw was the armor''s level limit. At best, players could use the armor until Level 60. Most Epic Equipment, in contrast, could be used past Level 100. Gazing at the improved Conqueror''s Armor before him, Shi Feng''s passion to forge the armor ignited. If he could mass-produce the Conqueror''s Armor and equip a 1,000-man legion, the result would be mind-blowing. If he geared a legion of 1,000 expert players in the Conqueror''s Armor, he''d have a legion of Refinement Realm experts instantly! Such a legion would be unstoppable on the battlefield. He''d even dare to challenge a true super-first-rate Guild head-on with such a force, not to mention Heaven''s Burial. Dreaming of such a powerful legion, Shi Feng continued to forge one Conqueror''s Armor after another, not resting for a moment. Since Shi Feng had nearly 100 Advanced Forgers to handle the most time-consuming processsmelting and refininghe could complete each forging attempt in roughly ten minutes. As he became more familiar with the process, he was even able to work faster than that. Perhaps he had used all of his luck during the first attempt because unfortunately, the next four attempts all failed. In the blink of an eye, he had wasted over 200 Gold in materials. If any other trading firm suffered such a loss, they''d likely halt production immediately, but Shi Feng was unfazed. If equipment with Basic Battle Arrays were that easy to produce, the various Super Guilds wouldn''t have struggled so much in the past, mass-producing such equipment. However, as Shi Feng continued his forging attempts, he became increasingly familiar with drawing the crucial Advanced Magic Array. He''d even use Divine Providence to improve his success rate later. Although Luck was insubstantial, it could, more or less, affect production success rate. Before Shi Feng had realized it, he had already gone through 300 material sets. In the end, he had successfully forged 96 pieces of Conqueror''s Armor. His overall success rate was slightly higher than the theoretical success rate the system had given him, and among the 96 chest pieces, Shi Feng had forged another three pieces of improved Conqueror''s Armor, securing a total of four improved chest pieces. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s experience bar had risen steadily due to his diligent work to craft the Conqueror''s Armor. His leveling speed was three to four times faster than God''s Domain''s other peak experts. Although his leveling speed was impressive, there likely wasn''t another player in God''s Domain who would dare to replicate Shi Feng''s leveling method. The 300 material sets Shi Feng had used were worth 15,000 Gold in total, and this was only the current market value. Players would likely have to pay far more than that if they tried to purchase the materials in bulk. As Shi Feng was about to use up the remaining two dozen or so material sets, Aqua Rose contacted. "Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater have suddenly increased the force they''ve mobilized against us. They''ve organized 100-man teams to ambush our Dungeon raiding teams. Our casualty count is rising rapidly. We''ve already lost over 5,000 lives since they bolstered their forces "Although we''ve tried to retaliate, we''re too outnumbered. We simply can''t keep up with all of the attacks. Should I recall our Guild members from the Dungeon raids and grinding in the high-resource maps for now and concentrate on leveling up in a few safe maps?" Due to Zero Wing City''s rise in popularity, Aqua Rose was relatively confident that Zero Wing would survive the war with Heaven''s Burial, but now Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater had dispatched more experts to ambush their players in the various high-resource maps they occupied. The two Guilds even targeted their 100-man elite and expert teams. This had never happened before. The wisest move right now would be to gather their members in a few, specific leveling maps close to each other. Although this would limit their members'' leveling speed, it would provide more security. Zero Wing could also send their limited number of experts as reinforcements far faster. "They''re finally done sitting by, huh?" Shi Feng frowned. He hadn''t thought that Heaven''s Burial would attempt to end this war so soon. Immediately, he commanded, "I like your suggestion. We need to concentrate our forces, but move them to the targeted, high-resource maps, instead." "But the Level 40 and 50 high-resource maps are too far apart. If a battle breaks out, our reinforcements will need some time to get there." Aqua Rose had also considered the idea, but it wasn''t a wise move. Zero Wing had a limited number of experts, and they weren''t enough to cover multiple maps that were so far apart. "It''s fine. Just do as I say. Leave the rest to me." Shi Feng simply smiled, not bothering to offer any further explanation. "Select 100 skilled plate-armor classes from the Dark Gods Legion and send them my way. They have to be Level 50 or higher." "One hundred people?" Aqua Rose could not figure out what Shi Feng intended to do. Currently, only a few of Zero Wing''s players were capable of standing against Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts. If they wanted to suppress the enemy''s teams, they''d have to form a team of the Guild''s Tier 2 players. Even a 100-man expert team''s ability to turn the tide of battle would be limited. But since Shi Feng had given the command, she had no choice but to follow it. 1598 Exterminate Heavens Burial Chapter 1598 - Exterminate Heaven''s Burial Star-Moon Kingdom, Pyroxene Hills: As one of the many Level 50 maps in Star-Moon Kingdom, it housed plenty of ancient ruins, even if it weren''t particularly resource-rich. Hence, many Guilds and adventurer teams in the kingdom loved to explore the map and its ruins. The Pyroxene Hills was also home to some rare herbs and ores. Many independent players came to harvest these materials while grinding. Currently, two groups of players clashed outside one of the Pyroxene Hills'' dilapidated ruins. All of the players were high-leveled, with the lowest at Level 50, and the strongest players at Level 52. One of the two groups wore Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Emblem, while the other players wore Zero Wing''s. "Amazing! So, this is a team battle between Guilds?" The players passing by could not help but pause to watch the battle. They were captivated. Compared to the PvP battles between independent players they had seen before, this battle was on a level of its own. When independent teams clashed, the fight usually involved a dozen players or so, most of which focused on their own fights. It was more apt to call these battles free-for-alls, rather than team battles. There was no coordination between any of the players. Normally, a single expert could change the course of the skirmish. However, battles between Guild teams were a different story. These battles were akin to wars on ancient battlefields. Each team had clear leadership, and Guild teams focused on coordination among team members, seeking the enemy''s weak points to strike. In such battles, individual experts had very little effect on the outcome. For a time, Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing''s members fought. Spells and arrows flew across the battlefield as the healers in the back desperately cast one Healing Spell after another. However, as the battle drug on, Zero Wing''s frontline melee players began to fall. Despite starting with the same number of players, Heaven''s Burial clearly had the advantage due to its frightening number of experts. Generally, five or six expert players would lead a 100-man Guild elite team. Yet, Heaven''s Burial''s elite team had more than 30 experts. In contrast, Zero Wing''s team only had 15. Not only were expert players stronger than elites individually, but they also had better coordination, and they could easily find their opponents weak points. As one player from Zero Wing fell after another, the battle became more one-sided. In the end, Zero Wing''s team was forced to retreat. Unfortunately, Heaven''s Burial''s players clearly had no intention of letting their enemies get away as they chased after the fleeing players. Although Heaven''s Burial suffered around 20 casualties, the team had annihilated the players from Zero Wing. "Leader, Zero Wing''s members are a bunch of weaklings. Had the Guild Leader given the command to attack earlier, Heaven''s Burial would''ve long since dominated Star-Moon Kingdom." "That''s right! Even if Zero Wing is powerful, it can only strut before first-rate Guilds. It''s nothing to Heaven''s Burial!" The players from Heaven''s Burial laughed as they admired the weapons and equipment scattered across the ground. Zero Wing''s time as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord was over, and Heaven''s Burial wasn''t the Guild it had been in the past. Now, every aspect of the Guild was formidable. In total, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater had dispatched over 8,000 experts and spread them across multiple teams to ambush Zero Wing''s members. They had even dispatched top-tier and peak experts. With so many expert-led teams on the hunt, they would kill any Zero Wing member that dared to show up in the various leveling maps. Shortly after the team from Heaven''s Burial left, another 20-man team from Zero Wing arrived on the battlefield. "Damn it! We are too late again!" Shadow Sword cursed as he surveyed the tattered battlefield. The leveling map he had been tasked to secure was simply too large, and Heaven''s Burial had too many teams in the map. There was a limit to how many players he could save. Sometimes, the enemy ambushed far-away teams, and by the time he arrived, the fight would be over. He couldn''t help but feel powerless. Moreover, his leveling speed had sharply decreased since he had focused on hunting down Heaven''s Burial''s teams. "Commander Shadow Sword, we just received a message from Vice Guild Leader Aqua. She wants all members who want to level to gather in these four high-resource maps. She''s also ordered these specific Dark Gods Legion members to gather in White River City''s Guild Residence immediately," a Level 50 Ranger reported as he handed Shadow Sword a list. "Gather in these four maps? Is this a joke?" Shadow Sword gaped at the four specified maps. While it would make defense and reinforcement easier if they gathered their Guild members in a few select areas, the four maps were spread out. Sending their members to these maps was the equivalent of splitting the Guild''s power, making it easier for Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater to slaughter them. "The Vice Guild Leader has said that this is an order from our Guild Leader." The Ranger nodded solemnly. "An order from the Guild Leader?" Hearing this, Shadow Sword was even more confused. "I understand. We''ll head to our assigned map right away. Any Dark Gods Legion members on the list should return to the Guild Residence immediately." While Shadow Sword''s team prepared for the trip to another map, Zero Wing''s Guild members, who were scattered across Star-Moon Kingdom, followed the same orders. Naturally, such a massive shift attracted the attention of the kingdom''s various large Guilds. "What is Zero Wing trying to do?" Daybreak Fog was baffled as she read the latest report a subordinate had sent her. "Hahaha! Truly foolish! Do they think this will scare us?" Singular Burial chuckled at the report. "Notify our generals and dispatch our forces to these four maps. Tell them to move in 100-man units or less. Do not start any large-scale fights with Zero Wing. I want to see how Black Flame intends to cope with so many teams!" He had discovered Black Flame''s capabilities long ago. Not only did the man wield large-scale destruction Spells, but he also possessed a large-scale Silencing Skill. In battles involving thousands of players, these abilities worked wonders. Even if Heaven''s Burial won due to its numeric advantage, the Guild would suffer drastically, and that wasn''t something he wished to see. Had Zero Wing gathered its members in a single map, he wouldn''t have dared to send his Guild members. Of course, he''d be more than happy to see Zero Wing do just that since only so many resources were available in a single map. If every Zero Wing member cowered in one area, even if it were a high-resource map, there wouldn''t be enough resources to go around. Ultimately, it would damage the Guild members'' leveling speed. However, to ensure that its members could level normally, Zero Wing had split its players across four, high-resource maps that were fairly far from each other. With Zero Wing''s limited number of experts, it could only dispatch a few to protect each area. As long as Heaven''s Burial continued to start small-scale battles, Zero Wing would fail to keep up with the enemy Guild''s numeric advantage. If this drug on, it would only be a matter of time before Zero Wing crumbled. Meanwhile, in Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City One hundred players wearing the core members'' Guild Emblem sat in the Residence''s meeting room. The lowest level among the crowd was Level 50, while the highest had reached Level 52. All of these players could rank among the top regarding levels in any Guild. As for their combat standards, the weakest among them had reached the middle stage of the Trial Tower''s sixth floor, and the most powerful had reached the seventh floor. None of these players dared to utter a word as they watched the cloaked man before them, reverence and admiration filling their gazes. This cloaked man was none other than Black Flame, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader and an expert of his own legends. "Since everyone''s here, let''s get straight to business," Shi Feng said as he glanced at the players in the room. Once he verified that there were enough players, he continued, "From now on, I have an extremely important task for you, but before carrying it out, you''ll have to sign a confidentiality contract. If you don''t wish to sign, you may leave, and I''ll find a replacement. If you have any questions, ask now." "A confidentiality contract?" "Guild Leader, can you tell us what kind of task we''ll be doing?" Everyone stirred for a moment when they heard Shi Feng mention a confidentiality contract. They were all profoundly curious about what Shi Feng had in store for them, and not a single player among the crowd showed any signs of abstaining from the challenge. "I''m sure you are all aware that Heaven''s Burial has caused our Guild quite a bit of trouble lately. The task I have for you is very simple; you''ll annihilate Heaven''s Burial!" 1599 Count Your Deaths on Me Chapter 1599 - Count Your Deaths on Me When Shi Feng finished speaking, silence descended on the meeting room. Heaven''s Burial shone like the midday sun in several kingdoms and empires neighboring the Orc Empire. Not only had it annexed many Workshops and adventurer teams, but it had also captured Ancient Rock City. Now, the Guild had nearly as much overall strength as a super-first-rate Guild. Although Zero Wing was also powerful and had great growth potential, it wasn''t as powerful as Heaven''s Burial, which had both its own strength and the support of major corporations. In fact, as members of Zero Wing, they had prepared themselves for a long, arduous battle against their rival Guild. Yet, Shi Feng wanted them to exterminate Heaven''s Burial. He had also made the declaration as if it were a matter of course. For a moment, they wondered if Shi Feng had gone mad. However, they couldn''t help but burn with fighting spirit, knowing that Shi Feng had chosen them for this task. "Those bastards from Heaven''s Burial have always been an eyesore! Guild Leader, just tell us what we need to do!" "We finally get to start a real fight with Heaven''s Burial?" "I''ve been waiting to duke it out with Heaven''s Burial for a long time! Those cowards only know how to hit and run! If given the chance, I''ll beat them until not even their mothers recognize them!" Everyone''s blood boiled with excitement as they looked at Shi Feng. Their hatred for Heaven''s Burial was nothing new. In fact, that hatred had only increased due to the Guild''s shameless tactics. "Alright, since none of you have any issues, sign these confidentiality contracts." Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction before handing out a contract. When players signed confidentiality contracts, they wouldn''t be able to discuss the relevant information while logged into God''s Domain. Although the Main God System could not regulate information in the real world, if one found evidence of someone violating their contract in the real world, they could hand the evidence over to the Main God System. If the evidence were valid, the player would receive their deserved punishment, the severity of which would depend on the terms of the contract. Shi Feng wanted to keep the Conqueror''s Armor''s battle array a secret. Although God''s Domain''s various powers and players were bound to discover battle arrays eventually, he wanted to reserve the armor as one of the Guild''s trump cards. The later the various major powers discovered battle arrays, the better. The penalty Shi Feng had set for breaking the confidentiality contract wasn''t unusual; any player who violated it would have their account permanently suspended. In general, Guilds chose a consequence that would bar players from God''s Domain permanently if they violated a confidentiality contract regarding extremely important secrets. It would not even matter if players deleted their accounts; they''d never be able to log back in. Hence, Guilds'' core secrets hadn''t often leaked in the past. The consequences of doing so would be devastating to players who had grown comfortable with God''s Domain''s lifestyle. Permanently losing access to the game was more of a punishment than death itself. This was especially true for players who earned access to their Guild''s core secrets. Of course, there were bound to be players who would take the risk when offered an astronomical price. Once the 100 plate armor players from the Dark Gods Legion signed the contracts, Shi Feng pulled one Conqueror''s Armor after another from his bag. While Aqua Rose had gathered the necessary players, Shi Feng had successfully forged another four pieces of the Conqueror''s Armor. Among these four pieces, one was even an improved Conqueror''s Armor. This increased the count to five improved pieces, just enough for a 5-man party to activate the Basic Strength Battle Array. "What? There''s so much Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment here!" "Wait, look at the Attributes! They''re insane!" "This Basic Strength Battle Array is amazing! It''s basically a mini Berserk Skill! Moreover, it doesn''t have a Cooldown and only costs one Magic Crystal per five minutes! It can last until players run out of Stamina!" Everyone was flabbergasted over the 100 chest pieces Shi Feng had revealed. They frequently grinded in Level 50-plus maps, so they knew just how difficult it was to obtain Level 50 equipment. Even Mysterious-Iron Equipment was incredibly rare, let alone Secret-Silver rank. Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment''s Basic Attributes could easily rival those of Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment, and Level 50 Equipment provided higher Defense than lower-level equipment. However, the superior Defense wasn''t displayed in numerical value. Rather, it came in the form of impact mitigation. When players were attacked in God''s Domain, the impact oftentimes disrupted their stance, revealing flaws in their defense. Aside from damage reduction, a player''s Defense could also mitigate some, if not all, of the impact from an attack. Thus, when deciding between Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment and Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, players usually chose the latter, even if the former had stronger Skills. Needless to say, not even Level 45, top-tier, Dark-Gold Equipment could compare to Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. Unfortunately, such equipment was extremely challenging to obtain. Even when raiding Level 50, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons, the armor only had a chance of dropping; it wasn''t guaranteed. Yet, Shi Feng had just set 100 pieces of such equipment before them. Moreover, the Conqueror''s Armor had a superb Skill for large-scale combat. Every one of these players from the Dark Gods Legion felt as if they were dreaming Only a few of them had Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment, while most of them still used Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment or a combination of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment. Even in a first-rate Guild, their equipment would only be second to those who wore Epic Equipment. In response to these players'' elation, Shi Feng simply chuckled and shook his head. All of these players only had eyes for the Conqueror''s Armor''s Basic Attributes. They had no idea that the Fine-Gold ranked Conqueror''s Armor was even more valuable than Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment. "I want each of you to select one of the chest pieces. Then, I''ll split you into twenty parties of five. Each party will take a healer and head to the four high-resource maps where we''ve sent our Guild members to grind. I need all of you to continue the search for Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members. If you find a group of 100 or fewer, kill them all. If the enemy overwhelms your team with numbers or peak experts are among their teams, notify the commanders responsible for the region; then send you reinforcements. If that is the case, you just need to keep an eye on the enemy. If they chase after you, try to kite them and regroup with the reinforcements," Shi Feng strictly explained the details of their task as he eyes the players before him. By having the Dark Gods Legion members move in 6-man parties, they could move swiftly and stealthily. Although splitting these Dark Gods Legion members into 6-man parties, rather than 100-man teams, would limit the legion''s combat power, the smaller parties would seem like less of a threat to their enemies. This would make it easier for the Dark Gods Legion members to evade the enemy''s detection. When Shi Feng fell silent, everyone in the meeting room was dumbfounded. They even wondered if they had heard wrong. Shi Feng actually wanted them to form 6-man parties to take on Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man teams If they targeted ordinary 100-man teams, they''d be confident of their victory, but Heaven''s Burial''s teams were anything but ordinary. Each team was normally led by dozens of experts. If they assaulted such a force, they''d be attempting suicide, not starting a battle. "Relax! I''ll take responsibility for any of your deaths!" Shi Feng could see these players'' confusion regarding his decision. However, he simply chuckled and said, "Or don''t you have the courage for a task like this?" "So what if these 100-man teams are from Heaven''s Burial?! Guild Leader, just you wait! Even if we don''t kill them all, we''ll definitely make them suffer!" Initially, worry had gripped everyone''s hearts, but after Shi Feng had told them off in such a way, their fighting spirit began to burn anew. As Shi Feng had implied, if they weren''t even brave enough to do this, they might as well stop calling themselves experts. "Good! Also, the three parties with the highest kill counts will receive a large number of GCPs and gain one opportunity to learn an Advanced Combat Technique. Whether or not you earn the opportunity will depend on your effort," Shi Feng said, nodding in approval at everyone''s high spirits. Immediately, he organized his players into parties before sending them off to the four high-resource maps. When they had heard that they might be able to learn an Advanced Combat Technique, these players couldn''t help their growing excitement. Advanced Combat Techniques were the Guild''s core secrets. It was extremely difficult to earn the opportunity to learn one. Normally, they''d only have the chance to earn the opportunity if they achieved some impressive feat or were selected by the Guild for training, yet all they needed to do was rank among the top three for kill counts. Why wouldn''t they be excited? After Shi Feng finished with the Conqueror''s Armor and the twenty teams, he made his way towards Seliora''s smithy in White River City to repair the Disintegration Armor. 1600 Legendary Armors Power Chapter 1600 - Legendary Armor''s Power The Disintegration Armor''s existence was giving Shi Feng a huge headache right now. As he was no longer at the World Summit, the Disintegration Armor''s Disintegration Power was not being suppressed anymore. Meanwhile, with the dispelling of a portion of the evil power, the Disintegration Power leaking from the Disintegration Armor had intensified. As a result, the Disintegration Power, which initially suppressed his Basic Attributes by only 50%, now suppressed them by 60%. He didn''t dare to recklessly remove the evil power suppressing the Disintegration Armor any further. After all, if he removed the evil power entirely, the suppression on him might become even stronger. If that happened, he would definitely be doomed. Hence, as a precaution, he decided to meet with Seliora first before doing anything else to the Disintegration Armor. Upon arriving at Seliora''s smithy, things were just as usual. There were no guests before the cozy wooden house. Only the clangor of hammering came from it. There was nothing unusual about this place whatsoever. However, when Shi Feng stepped into the smithy, it was as if he had entered an entirely different world. The Mana density inside the smithy was far superior to even that of Zero Wing City. Meanwhile, at this moment, Seliora stood before a furnace smelting materials. Upon seeing Seliora''s actions, Shi Feng had to admit that a Grandmaster Forger was indeed different from a Master Forger. Master Forgers would normally use only flames when smelting and refining materials. However, Seliora was actually controlling a threefold magic array to imbue an oceanic amount of Mana into her materials first before refining them using flames, which boosted the quality of her materials. Meanwhile, upon sensing Shi Feng''s entry into the smithy, Seliora sent him a glance. Although Seliora herself was not a combat-specialized NPC, Shi Feng still felt as if Seliora saw through his soul when she looked at him. "It seems you managed to find some God''s Power to remove that evil power while you were gone. It''s a pity that the God''s Power you acquired was too little to completely remove that evil power," Seliora said, shaking her head as she looked at Shi Feng. She then demanded, "Well, out with it. What are you here for? If you''re looking for a method to suppress that Disintegration Power of yours, I don''t have any solutions. Right now, the only thing you can do is gather enough God''s Power and remove that evil power as soon as possible. Otherwise, the Disintegration Armor will only lure even more Orcs to you. Soon, it won''t even matter if you''re hiding inside a city, as those Orcs would do anything to satisfy their greed for the Disintegration Power." If things drag on for too long, even NPC cities won''t be able to stop the Orcs? Shi Feng could not help but be shocked when he heard Seliora''s words. He had never thought that removing a portion of the evil power suppressing the Disintegration Armor would have such frightening effects. If what Seliora said was true, then he really wouldn''t have any place he could hide in the future. "Lady Seliora, do you mean that if I manage to gather sufficient God''s Power, I''ll be able to break free of my current predicament?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Previously, the reason why he chose to deal with the problem regarding the Disintegration Armor quickly was the armor serving as a beacon that lured Mutated Orcs to him. This situation prevented him from taking action out in the fields freely. If he could not deal with this problem, he wouldn''t be able to do anything at all in the future. "That should be the case. After all, the only reason the Disintegration Armor is leaking Disintegration Power is the loss of its channeling abilities. If the materials making up the Disintegration Armor recover, they should be able to control this Disintegration Power," Seliora said, a hint of uncertainty in her tone. Upon hearing Seliora''s explanation, Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief. He then took out the Disintegration Armor and had it absorb the God Crystals inside his bag. The Advanced God Crystal and the Basic God Crystal there shattered and transformed into streams of golden mist that flowed into the Disintegration Armor. When the golden mist suffused the Disintegration Armor, streams of pitch-black energy started flowing out of the armor. When Seliora saw this pitch-black energy corroding its surroundings, she could not help but be surprised and hurriedly activated the magic array set up inside her house. The magic array immediately started suppressing the pitch-black energy, nullifying its corrosive capabilities. Although the pitch-black energy''s corrosive capabilities were suppressed, the energy itself showed no signs of disappearing. Instead, it actually started condensing. After five seconds passed, the mist-like energy transformed into a pitch-black energy bead that hovered quietly in midair, releasing a terrifying aura. What is this thing? Shi Feng was indescribably shocked as he looked at the pitch-black energy bead before him. The aura the bead radiated made him feel as if a gigantic beast had just opened its bloody maw before him. At this moment, he could not even move his body in the slightest and could only look helplessly at the energy bead. Aside from the pitch-black energy bead, a change had also occurred to the Disintegration Armor, which he had placed on the table. As if the armor itself had gained life, Shi Feng could clearly feel a surge of vitality from it. Rather than an inanimate object, the Disintegration Armor before him felt like it was some kind of lifeform, instead. As the evil power no longer tainted the Disintegration Armor, the magic circuits covering the surface of the armor released a dazzling glow. Aside from the house becoming brightly lit, the Mana inside the house had also frozen. Shi Feng could not sense the slightest flow of Mana whatsoever right now. However, this situation persisted for only a few short seconds, after which the entire house returned to its normal state. As for the Disintegration Armor, it was as if the armor had just received a complete makeover. Both the armor''s external appearance and aura had changed significantly. Despite the armor merely sitting atop the stone table, it radiated a power that made even Shi Feng''s soul shudder in fear. In fact, the stone table the Disintegration Armor sat on had even started disintegrating, unable to withstand the armor''s power. So, this is the Disintegration Armor''s original power? Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at the stone table decomposing at a speed visible to the naked eye. It should be known that Seliora was a bona fide Grandmaster Forger. Although the furniture placed inside her house appeared normal, in reality, that was far from the case. In fact, even the stone table before him had an extraordinary origin. From what Shi Feng could tell, the table should be made of Fire Essence Stone. Not only was Fire Essence Stone incomparably tough, but it was also one of the top-tier Magic Resistance materials in God''s Domain. Yet, now, it actually couldn''t withstand the Disintegration Armor''s power despite the armor being in a passive state right now. This was simply inconceivable. However, before the stone table could fully disintegrate, Seliora quickly made her move, line after line of divine runes appearing before her. A moment later, a fourfold magic array formed around the Disintegration Armor. With the appearance of the magic array, the stone table stopped disintegrating. However, the magic array continuously produced crackling sounds, a sign that it couldn''t withstand the Disintegration Armor''s power, either. "Amazing! Truly amazing! Even a fourfold Void Magic Array isn''t able to contain this thing! As expected of a mythical artifact created by the Great Orc Emperor!" Seliora''s eyes glowed as she looked at her crumbling magic array. At this moment, it was as if her eyes had just been opened to a whole new world. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was quite shocked as he looked at the disintegrating fourfold magic array. A fourfold magic array! That was a magic array that even Mythic monsters could not destroy. Yet, a piece of equipment in its passive state was destroying such a magic array. It was no wonder the Disintegration Set was considered as one of the Nine Great Legendary Sets in God''s Domain. Despite the Disintegration Armor being damaged, it still possessed such frightening capabilities. One could just imagine how powerful the Founding Emperor of the Orc Empire was when he wore the complete Disintegration Set. Based on this, the legends of the Founding Emperor fighting against Gods were not exaggerations at all. "I don''t have the ability to suppress the power this Disintegration Armor is releasing. Do you wish to take this armor away, or let me recast it for you right now?" Seliora asked, smiling as she looked at Shi Feng. Take it away? Shi Feng smiled bitterly. If Seliora couldn''t suppress the Disintegration Armor''s power, he would be a fool if he thought even for a second that he could. He immediately replied, "I''ll have to trouble Lady Seliora, then." 1601 Recasting the Disintegration Armor Chapter 1601 - Recasting the Disintegration Armor With Shi Feng''s permission, Seliora looked at the Disintegration Armor before her and smiled. She then stretched out her hand and grabbed the armor directly. The Disintegration Armor''s frightening Disintegration Power could destroy even a table made out of Fire Essence Stone. Yet, now, the armor had no effect on Seliora''s gloved hand whatsoever. Amazing! Sure enough, a Grandmaster Forger really is an extraordinary existence. Shi Feng was indescribably shocked as he looked at the leather gloves Seliora wore. The fact that the gloves remained unaffected by the Disintegration Power the Disintegration Armor radiated could only mean that the pair of gloves was Legendary Equipment. In God''s Domain, Legendary items were likewise items that NPCs could obtain only by chance. Even among Tier 4 NPCs, very few of them would have a Legendary item. Meanwhile, those who did were no doubt powerful individuals in kingdoms and empires. Moreover, Seliora did not have just one Legendary item. When the Disintegration Power tried spreading to Seliora''s body, a layer of invisible power blocked it abruptly. Meanwhile, the only possibility Shi Feng could think of to explain such a phenomenon was that the leather armor Seliora wore was also Legendary rank. Two Legendary items In the past, even players who obtained only one Legendary item could challenge opponents of a higher tier. Meanwhile, players that managed to acquire two Legendary items had been as rare as a phoenix''s feather in God''s Domain, and every one of them was a Tier 6 God-ranked player. Just as Shi Feng was admiring the Legendary items on Seliora, the latter picked up the Disintegration Armor and placed it in the heart of the magic array protecting the smithy. She then began drawing runes and chanting an incantation. Following which, line after line of divine runes flew rapidly to surround the Disintegration Armor. After just a short moment, hundreds of lines of divine runes encircled the Disintegration Armor. These runes then transformed into magic arrays. In the blink of an eye, a fivefold magic array formed around the Disintegration Armor. The frightening pressure that the fivefold magic array radiated made even Shi Feng extremely uncomfortable. When the fivefold magic array''s formation was complete, the magic array thoroughly suppressed the Disintegration Power the Disintegration Armor was leaking. Seeing this, Seliora took out a crystal, which glowed with a golden hue, and inserted it into the fivefold magic array. Boom! The moment the golden crystal came into contact with the magic array, the entire magic array ignited with dazzling, golden flames. Unlike ordinary flames, these golden flames gave off a sacred and gentle feeling. Meanwhile, the Disintegration Armor trapped inside the magic array started transforming. The incomparably tough materials making up the armor turned bright red and even showed signs of melting. What?! This is Sacred Fire! Shi Feng could not help but gape in shock when he saw the golden flames. Sacred Fire was something he had only seen depicted in the ancient texts of God''s Domain. This kind of flame was known as a refining treasure. However, Sacred Fire did not exist naturally in the continent of God''s Domain. It only occurred in certain special spaces. Aside from Ancient Gods, nobody else could truly control it. Meanwhile, the Sacred Fires that could be found in God''s Domain were all sealed in special crystals left behind by the Ancient Gods and could be used only once. Even so, Sacred Fire was still a flame countless forgers dreamed of obtaining. It was fervently sought after because this flame was the best flame for forging Legendary items. In Shi Feng''s previous life, a crystal-encased Sacred Fire had appeared in the Blackwing Auction House. Back then, many wealthy players and NPCs had contested over the item. In the end, though, the Super Guild Battle Wolves had purchased it for an astronomical price of 310,000 Gold, shocking the entire God''s Domain. Back then, many superpowers had ridiculed the Battle Wolves for being foolish. After all, the Super Guild had spent 310,000 Gold for a one-time use item, which was a massive expenditure even for a Super Guild. However, in the end, one had to admit that it had been money well spent. Using the Sacred Fire, the Grandmaster Forger working for the Battle Wolves had created a Legendary item. Although its performance was below average, it was still a Legendary item at the very least; Fragmented Legendary items could not compare to it. This outcome had also further whetted the various superpowers'' desire for Sacred Fire. Shi Feng had never imagined that Seliora had actually managed to get her hands on a Sacred Fire. Moreover, she even used it on the Disintegration Armor without asking for payment. If he was required to cover the cost, even if he sold himself now, he wouldn''t be able to gather enough money. While Shi Feng was lost in his thoughts, the Disintegration Armor inside the fivefold magic array had turned white-hot. Meanwhile, Seliora started writing another series of divine runes and merging them into the Disintegration Armor. Despite Shi Feng having a certain level of understanding of divine runes, his mind was a complete blank when he looked at the divine runes Seliora wrote. Five minutes later, the white-hot Disintegration Armor was covered entirely in golden runes. At this moment, Seliora stopped writing divine runes and breathed out a sigh of relief. Although her face was visibly tired, her eyes glowed with excitement. "Good! Now is the time! Use your blood to establish a contract!" Seliora suddenly shouted to Shi Feng. As soon as Seliora said these words, a system notification entered his ears. System: Do you wish to establish a blood contract and permanently contribute 200 points of every Basic Attribute to the Disintegration Armor? Two hundred points of every Basic Attribute? Shi Feng could not help being shocked as he looked at the system notification. Permanently losing 200 points in every Basic Attribute was equivalent to losing 1,000 Attribute Points. Losing so many Attribute Points was no laughing matter. If an ordinary expert were placed in such a situation, their accounts would be crippled instantly. Even Shi Feng would have great difficulty making up for such a loss. Shi Feng had never expected the price of the Disintegration Armor to be so huge. System: You have five seconds remaining to make a decision. If you refuse, you will not have another chance in the future. "Alright, I agree!" Shi Feng declared while clicking "Agree." Just like the system had stated, this was an opportunity for him. If he rejected it, who knew when he would gain another chance to obtain a Legendary item in the future? Moreover, the Disintegration Armor was top-notch even among Legendary items. In comparison, 1,000 Attribute Points was indeed an insignificant price to pay. Only, some of the advantages he had accumulated thus far would disappear as a result of this decision. After Shi Feng clicked "Agree," a blood-red magic array appeared before him. He then placed both his hands on the magic array without hesitation. He felt power leaving his body right away. At the same time, blood-red magic circuits appeared on the surface of the Disintegration Armor. Once these magic circuits covered the entire Disintegration Armor, the armor released a pulse, as if it had just gained life. This pulse of power instantly shattered the fivefold magic array. In the next moment, Shi Feng felt an even more frightening aura coming from the Disintegration Armor. However, unlike before, the aura the Disintegration Armor exuded this time did not affect Shi Feng whatsoever. On the contrary, he felt a sense of intimacy in this auraas if the Disintegration Armor was an extension of himself. Meanwhile, as the Disintegration Armor''s aura calmed down, another system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have completed the "Recast the Disintegration Armor" quest. Rewarding 20 Legacy Skill Points, 100,000 Free Skill Proficiency Points, 100 Free Mastery Points, 50 Humanity Reputation Points, two Level increases, and the "Disintegration User" title. 1602 Legendary Reward Chapter 1602 - Legendary Reward When the system notification ended, Shi Feng''s experience bar started increasing rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he went from Level 61 to Level 63. Meanwhile, his Legacy Skill Point count, which had stagnated for a long time now, also increased by 20 points. What a bountiful reward! Shi Feng could not help getting a little excited as he looked at the quest reward. Normally, aside from completing special quests, players would receive only one Legacy Skill Point for every three level-ups. To put it simply, Legacy Skill Points were extremely rare. Yet, now, he had obtained 20 points from a single questenough for him to exchange for one or two Tier 2 Legacy Skills. In God''s Domain, Skill Books for the Tier 2 standard and higher were extremely rare. Normally, players could obtain Skills and Spells at Tier 2 and above only by using Legacy Skill Points. Hence, even after reaching Tier 2, players would not have a lot of Tier 2 Skills; they would mostly use Tier 1 Skills for combat and keep Tier 2 Skills as trump cards. In other words, gaining an additional Tier 2 Skill was equivalent to gaining another trump card. Moreover, aside from Legacy Skill Points, the quest had also awarded him with 100,000 Free Skill Proficiency Points, which would allow him to fast-track leveling up his Skills. Needless to say, as a Skill''s level increased, its overall performance would improve as well. This, in turn, would enhance his combat power. Following which, Shi Feng spent all of his Legacy Skill Points to learn Purgatory Pentaslash, a Tier 2 Legacy Skill with maximum explosive power. [Purgatory Pentaslash] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 2, Level 1 Proficiency 0/30,000 Instantly execute five slashes, with each slash being stronger than the former. Each subsequent slash gains an additional 20% Strength and 10% Attack Speed. Cooldown: 20 seconds After learning the Skill, Shi Feng immediately invested 30,000 Proficiency Points to upgrade Purgatory Pentaslash to Tier 2, Level 2. Now, each subsequent attack gained an additional 21% Strength and 11% Attack Speed. Although the improvement was small, to a Tier 2 player, an addition of 1% Strength could mean an increase of 10 Strength. Not to mention, this addition would be repeated four times in total. As for the remaining 70,000 Proficiency Points, Shi Feng used them to upgrade the Tier 1 Chop. Chop was a Skill that Swordsman players could learn at Tier 0. The Skill could be upgraded only to the Tier 1 standard at maximum. However, it was a Skill that players would frequently use in battle, as it had a very short Cooldown. At the same time, the Skill also dealt a relatively significant amount of damage. Hence, as long as Swordsman players upgraded their Chop Skill, their overall DPS would improve as well. After Shi Feng invested his remaining 70,000 Proficiency Points, his Chop Skill leveled up twice, instantly going from Tier 1, Level 3 to Tier 1, Level 5. [Chop] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 1, Level 5 (Proficiency 12,612/30,000) Additional 1,600 base damage. Deals up to three consecutive hits in one second. If attacks land in the same location, damage is increased by 60%. Attack range: 7 yards Cooldown: 3 seconds Compared to when the Skill was at Tier 1, Level 1, after it reached Tier 1, Level 5, not only did the additional base damage it dealt increase by 1,000 points, but the bonus damage multiplier provided, if all three attacks landed on the same spot, had also risen from 50% to 60%. There was a significant improvement in damage. Most importantly, the attack range had also extended from six yards to seven yards, which made it even more difficult for enemies to dodge the Skill. Shi Feng felt very satisfied with this outcome. In the past, Level 60-plus Swordsmen normally managed to level up their Chop only to Tier 1, Level 2 or Level 3. Very few had been able to level up the Skill to Tier 1, Level 4, much less Level 5. After distributing his Free Skill Proficiency Points, Shi Feng set his eyes on the "Disintegration User" title. [Disintegration User] (Advanced Title) The proof of ownership for the Disintegration Power. Endow Disintegration Power to a maximum of 30 players within a 200-yard radius, increasing their Basic Attributes by 10% and damage by 20%. The magic damage and physical damage they receive will also be decreased by 30% and 15%, respectively. Reading the introduction for the Disintegration User title stunned Shi Feng. Titles were different from Domain Skills. In the case of Domain Skills, the simultaneous use of multiple Domain Skills would weaken their effects slightly; there might even be a counter-reaction. However, it was a different story for titles. The effects of titles could be stacked with the effects of Domain Skills without them interfering with one another. Although he could only endow Disintegration Power to a maximum of 30 players, it was still plenty amazing. The Disintegration User title would work wonders in team battles and Dungeon raids. Meanwhile, although the Disintegration User title''s effects were wonderful, Shi Feng had noticed an even more exciting matter. And that was the increase to his Basic Attributes. Due to the improvement of his Life Rating, each time he leveled up, he would gain more Basic Attributes than he did before. After leveling up twice in a row, not only had he acquired a large number of Free Attribute Points, but his Basic Attributes had also received a significant boost. Overall, he now gained 20 more Attribute Points each time he leveled up. So, this is the power of the Dark Iron Bloodline? Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at his improved Basic Attributes. Currently, he was still only a Level 63, Tier 2 player, yet the Dark Iron Bloodline was already providing him with an additional 20 Attribute Points with each level up. Moreover, this number would increase as he reached higher levels and tiers. He might even be able to recover the 1,000 Attribute Points he lost today before he got to Level 100. Just as Shi Feng was feeling shocked by the power of his Bloodline, Seliora turned her gaze to him. "You''re very lucky. The recasting this time was extremely successful. However, as you are too weak right now, despite having established a blood contract with the Disintegration Armor, you still cannot fully control the Disintegration Armor. Right now, all the blood contract is doing is preventing you from being affected by the armor''s power. If you wish to fully control the armor, you''ll need to become stronger," Seliora said as she turned her gaze back to the Disintegration Armor, which was still sitting in the center of her smithy''s magic array. "However, you don''t need to feel dejected. Although you cannot use the Disintegration Armor now, since you''ve already established a blood contract with it, you can utilize a small portion of its power." Although she had managed to recast the Disintegration Armor, at the end of the day, she was not the armor''s creator. She only managed to shoddily reestablish the armor''s magic circuits using her limited knowledge of divine runes. The divine runes she drew simply could not compare with those of the Disintegration Armor''s creator. The final magic circuit she ended up forming still had many problems. The flow of energy in the armor also wasn''t perfect. Without a considerable amount of power, one would not be able to control the armor at all. Upon hearing Seliora''s words, Shi Feng could not help but take a look at the Disintegration Armor''s Attributes. Indeed, just like Seliora had said, the Disintegration Armor was still considerably unstable after being recast. It needed him to reach Tier 3 before he could equip it. Aside from that, there was no other information stated in the armor''s Attribute Panel. However, the Disintegration Field Skill granted to him had strengthened considerably[1]. [Disintegration Field] Disintegrates all Skills and Spells within a 100-yard radius (Skills and Spells at Tier 2 and below will be nullified, while Skills and Spells above Tier 2 will be weakened by 60%). All entities within range of the Disintegration Field will sustain a 40% reduction to Basic Attributes, physique, and Stamina in addition to a 400% increase to their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. No Cooldown. This is the real Disintegration Field? After looking at the new Disintegration Field, Shi Feng finally understood why Legendary items could allow players to challenge opponents of higher tiers. Currently, he could use only a small portion of the Disintegration Armor''s power, yet the armor was already providing him with such great benefits. If he could equip the armor now, he would simply be invincible among the current players of God''s Domain. However, Shi Feng only toyed with this thought. Legendary Equipment was not that easy to equip, all the more top-notch Legendary Equipment like the Disintegration Armor. He should just be grateful that the Disintegration Armor no longer suppressed him and provided a stronger Disintegration Field. After storing the Disintegration Armor, Shi Feng finally shifted his sights to the pitch-black energy bead floating in midair. Although the energy bead''s aura had already disappeared, the energy bead had also formed a zone completely void of Mana around itself. Just by entering this void zone, Shi Feng felt his entire body becoming incomparably heavy. At the same time, his mind also became sluggish like never before. 1603 Destruction Crystal Chapter 1603 - Destruction Crystal What is this thing? The closer Shi Feng got to the hovering energy bead, the heavier his body felt. He even felt somewhat dizzy, his mind growing fuzzy. He felt as if his control over his own body had dulled as if it no longer belonged to him. This was the first time he had ever experienced such a sensation in God''s Domain, both in this life and the previous one. If players merely lost some Attributes, they''d, at most, feel physically powerless, but their mind wouldn''t be affected. Yet, despite his unchanged Basic Attributes, his overall combat power had decreased by at least 80%. At this point, even an ordinary Tier 2 player could easily kill him. "It''s best if you don''t get too close to this thing." When Shi Feng was less than a yard from the energy bead, Seliora raised her hand to stop him. Hearing Seliora''s warning, Shi Feng obediently retreated from the energy bead. He only regained control of his body after he had left the void zone. He couldn''t help but stare at the energy bead in shock. It was too strong! If he could wield this power, using it on the battlefield against other players, he''d become truly invincible. While the energy bead didn''t suppress Basic Attributes, it significantly reduced players control of their bodies, and regardless of how high a player''s Attributes were, they''d become a helpless child when subjected to the energy bead''s mental suppression. "This isn''t something you can withstand at your current power. If you try to touch it, you''ll lose your life on the spot. Even if you are a heaven-blessed individual, it''ll still be some time before you can resurrect," Seliora explained when she noticed Shi Feng''s dumbfounded expression. Death upon touch? And the resurrection time is so long? Shi Feng couldn''t help his growing curiosity over the bead''s identity. "Lady Seliora, what is this item?" He had heard of many items that could kill players upon contact, but he had never heard of items increasing players'' resurrection time. As far as he knew, only certain Skills and high-tiered NPCs could do such a thing. The ability to absorb a player''s soul was one such example. Yet, even after using Omniscient Eyes on the energy bead, the bead''s inscription still said ''Unknown.'' He couldn''t even get a name. "This is a Destruction Crystal, formed from the Power of Destruction. Not only can it destroy physical material, but it can also destroy souls. If even a strand of this Power of Destruction taints an Immortal Soul, it will need a long time to recover," Seliora explained as she watched the hovering, black bead. "Although the Destruction Crystal is currently inactive, even the weak energy it''s radiating is dangerous to you." After her explanation, Seliora began to chant an incantation, writing several lines of divine runes in the air as she did so. In seconds, the divine runes encased the Destruction Crystal. With a wave of her hand, Seliora sent the hovering crystal to Shi Feng. "You can consider this Destruction Crystal as an unexpected reward. Use it during a crucial moment to save your life, but be careful when you do. If not handled properly, you might sacrifice your own life during the process," Seliora gravely warned Shi Feng. "Alright, you can leave now. I''ve gained a significant boon from recasting the Disintegration Armor, so I need to rest and process the information. Since I don''t wish to be disturbed, I''ll be leaving White River City for some time." Shi Feng stored the Destruction Crystal and nodded to Seliora before taking his leave. Although it seemed as if Seliora hadn''t done much, as a Master Forger, Shi Feng was familiar with the delicacy of reestablishing the Disintegration Armor''s magic circuits. The process would even exhaust a Grandmaster Forger like Seliora. After leaving Seliora''s smithy, Shi Feng could no longer bottle his curiosity as he inspected the Destruction Crystal in his bag. [Destruction Crystal] (Consumable) Sealed by Seliora. When unsealed, unleashes the Power of Destruction in a 1,000-yard radius. A 1,000-yard AOE? Shi Feng''s jaw dropped when he read the introduction text. The Destruction Crystal''s AOE was even stronger than Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells, but unlike these Spells, which could be cast from a distance, the Disintegration Crystal would explode the moment the seal was lifted. Even if a player threw the thing when they activated it, they''d be lucky to get it 100 yards away and would still get caught in the AOE. Meanwhile, the Power of Destruction would damage both the physical body and the soul. If this power killed a player, the consequences would be even more severe than if their Immortal Soul were absorbed It was no wonder why Seliora warned him to take care when using the Destruction Crystal. I mustn''t use this unless it''s absolutely necessary. When Shi Feng recalled the feeling of standing too close to the Power of Destruction, his heart skipped a beat. However, now that he had dealt with the Disintegration Armor, his Basic Attributes were free of its suppression. Moreover, he no longer had to worry about Mutated Orcs targeting him out in the fields. He could now execute his plans without worry. As Shi Feng prepared to visit Zero Wing City to check on its situation, his system communicator rang. Phoenix Rain? Shi Feng could not help his curiosity when he saw the caller ID. Phoenix Rain had been very busy lately. After gaining control of a portion of Thunder Island, she had quickly taken advantage of the opportunity to grow her faction''s strength. In addition, she still had to keep an eye on Nine Dragons Emperor. She should be busy as hell, without a minute to spare, yet she was contacting him. Naturally, Shi Feng picked up the call. "Ye Feng, I''ve just received some important information. You should be very careful of Heaven''s Burial," Phoenix Rain said somberly. "Since Nine Dragons Emperor gained nothing on Thunder Island due to our partnership, he''s secretly colluded with Beast Emperor. From what my subordinates discovered, Nine Dragons Emperor has only made one demand of Beast Emperor: Zero Wing''s destruction. Furthermore, Beast Emperor has deep ties with Heaven''s Burial. Now that your two Guilds are at war, Beast Emperor won''t miss this opportunity." "Beast Emperor?" Shi Feng frowned. Previously, due to his focus on the war with Heaven''s Burial, he had temporarily set aside the issue of Beast Emperor and the Black Dragon Empire''s Evil God''s Temple. If Beast Emperor really got involved in this Guild war, Zero Wing would be at a disadvantage, yet Shi Feng didn''t know the Evil God''s Temple''s exact whereabouts in the Black Dragon Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom. Beast Emperor also moved like a ghost, and right now, Shi Feng had no way of dealing with the man. "You should also be careful of Heaven''s Burial''s Lei Jingyang. Although Lei Jingyang only leads a Workshop, the Thunder Legion under his command has quite a few Refinement Realm experts. Moreover, the Thunder Legion''s members are extremely adept in field combat. When Crimson Emperor tried to contest Lei Jingyang''s group over an ancient ruin, the Guild actually lost. Even Cuttlefish, the commander of Crimson Emperor''s trump card legion, died. It''s best if you avoid small-scale field battle with Lei Jingyang''s people," Phoenix Rain warned. "Even Cuttlefish lost?" Shi Feng was surprised. Crimson Emperor was a super-first-rate Guild and in no way weaker than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Naturally, Cuttlefish, who commanded the Guild''s trump card legion, was a powerful individual. Although he was not a Domain Realm expert, he had a wealth of combat experience. He was also the Guardian Knight and ranked 77th on the God''s Domain Experts List, earning the nickname ''Iron Wall.'' In a one-on-one fight, even Domain Realm experts would struggle to kill him. Furthermore, Cuttlefish was constantly surrounded by his own experts. Shi Feng found it hard to believe that Lei Jingyang had actually killed the man. "In any case, just be careful," Phoenix Rain reiterated. "If you lack manpower, I''ll send Blue and a group of experts to help. I''m sure that Heaven''s Burial will hold back from doing anything drastic with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members around." "Thank you for the offer, but we''ll handle this ourselves. After all, I''m sure that you have your own issues to deal with. I''ve heard that Nine Dragons Emperor has been causing quite a bit of trouble for you lately," Shi Feng said, smiling as he rejected Phoenix Rain''s offer. While Heaven''s Burial wasn''t an easy foe, Zero Wing was no push-over, either. "Alright." Phoenix Rain sighed. She felt that Zero Wing was too stubborn. Although Zero Wing had grown quite strong, it still wasn''t a match for Heaven''s Burial. Moreover, its enemy had the support of Blackwater and Beast Emperor. If this war weren''t dealt with properly, it might mean the fall of Zero Wing. After Shi Feng disconnected the call, he contacted Aqua Rose and instructed her to gather the Guild''s internal members and the disciples from the White Tiger Dojo in White River City''s Guild Residence. He had been preoccupied with his own matters, but now that he was free, it was time to introduce some new blood to the Guild. 1604 Raising Levels Chapter 1604 - Raising Levels "Guild Leader, do you intend to include them in the Guild''s war of attrition?" When Aqua Rose received the order to gather the experts the Guild still nurtured, she could only assume that Shi Feng wanted to use them in the war against Heaven''s Burial. Currently, Zero Wing severely lacked expert players. Moreover, both the Guild''s internal members and the disciples from the White Tiger Dojo had improved their standards considerably. Some of the more powerful players had already reached the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. Even in a Super Guild, these players would be considered experts. If they could send these players to the field, they could help make up for Zero Wing''s lack of experts. "Mhm. In any case, they need training to improve their techniques. They''ll grow much faster in live combat." Shi Feng nodded. "Although that is true, their levels aren''t high enough. The highest-leveled among them is only Level 39, while most of them aren''t even Level 35 yet. With such a huge gap in equipment and levels, their techniques won''t add to the Guild''s combat power regardless of how good they are," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. The various large Guilds'' elite members were, on average, Level 45. There was easily a 10-level gap between these elite players and Zero Wing''s internal members. Meanwhile, every five levels was a minor turning point when it came to weapons and equipment in God''s Domain. Techniques couldn''t make up for such a massive difference that easily. "I know. That''s why I''m taking them out to level," Shi Feng said, smiling. He still wasn''t satisfied with these internal members'' standards, and since he had been busy with his own matters, he had set aside the issue of helping them level. But now that their combat standards had reached a sufficient level, he had to help them level up, transforming them into usable combat power for the Guild. Zero Wing had nearly 200 internal members, and the White Tiger Dojo had sent him 500 disciples. Although the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples weren''t Zero Wing members, they were under his command while they trained with the Guild. It''d be a waste not to put them to good use. With this, he could add nearly 700 experts to the Guild''s forces as they fought Heaven''s Burial. Thus far, Zero Wing had only accumulated a little over 2,000 experts who had reached the Trial Tower''s fifth floor or beyond. Another 700 experts would increase the Guild''s overall combat power by a massive one-third. "Taking them out to level?" Aqua Rose''s eyes lit up when she heard Shi Feng''s plan. She was very familiar with Shi Feng''s leveling capabilities, knowing that his leveling speed was at least two or three times faster than other peak experts. He was also more than capable of helping others level up as quickly as he did. If he took command, it wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing had another 700 experts, which would make it much easier to defend the four high-resource maps. However, after giving the matter some more thought, Aqua Rose shook her head and said, "Guild Leader, I''m afraid helping them level up will be difficult right now. Heaven''s Burial is constantly watching our people. If we send our internal members to the fields to level, Heaven''s Burial will certainly ambush the group. They might lose levels, rather than gain them." "Relax. That is only true if Heaven''s Burial can follow us," Shi Feng said, chuckling. When he had decided to take Zero Wing''s internal members out to level, in truth, it had been a passing thought. Obtaining Mana Ore was his true goal. Although the Boneless Land was rich with ores, it was also a good leveling area. Plenty of low HP and Defense Demonic Creatures roamed the map, and their respawn rate was fairly fast. These Demonic Creatures'' high Magic Resistance and combat standards were the only issues, making them difficult to deal with for magical class players. To Shi Feng, however, these monsters were not a problem. After all, he had the Bible of Darkness, and in that map, he''d be in his element. Following which, Aqua Rose notified Zero Wing''s internal members and the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples to gather in White River City''s Guild Residence. While he waited, Shi Feng made a trip to the Candlelight Trading Firm to grab pickaxes before heading to the Residence himself. When Shi Feng arrived, the gathered crowd stirred. They had never expected their Guild Leader to take them out to level, and for a moment, they were all immensely excited. Every player who had played God''s Domain for some time knew of the title ''Sword King.'' Shi Feng''s battle records were also listed on the God''s Domain Experts List, and many Swordsman players had long since analyzed these records, using them as reference. Shi Feng didn''t bother to waste time with words. Instead, he had everyone head to the Teleportation Hall and travel to one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s border towns. He then found a relatively deserted location and activated Spatial Gate. To get to the Boneless Land, one had to cross more than ten high-level maps. If players tried to do so on their Mounts, they''d have to ride for several days and would encounter many Level 100-plus monsters during the trip. Not even Shi Feng would dare to take on such a high-level monster right now, not to mention other players. After ensuring that everyone had made it through the Spatial Gate, Shi Feng stepped through and closed it. Shortly after Shi Feng''s group had disappeared into the Spatial Gate, a few Assassins, who had hidden in the distance, revealed themselves. All of these Assassins wore Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Emblem and were Level 47. They were also fully equipped in Level 45 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. "Boss, what should we do? They left using a teleportation gate. How are we supposed to track them?" "Forget it. This is outside our abilities. Let''s just report this to the higher-ups." After the several Assassins discussed the situation amongst themselves, they returned to Singular Burial and told him of the teleportation gate. Teleportation gates did not reveal players'' destinations, and players would only discover where the gate led to after they entered. However, Shi Feng was the last person to step through, and once he had, the gate had disappeared. They had no way of tracking the group from Zero Wing. "It seems we''ve backed Black Flame into a corner. At such a crucial moment, a Guild Leader like him is taking a bunch of Level 30-plus players out to level." Singular Burial could not help but laugh when he read the report. He then turned to Daybreak Fog and asked, "Have Lei Jingyang and Blackwater''s men gathered in their designated locations?" "Most of their forces have arrived. They can take action at any time," Daybreak Fog replied. "Good! Have them activate the War Barriers to lock down the maps! It''s about time we give Zero Wing a taste of hell!" Singular Burial said, laughing madly. To crush Zero Wing swiftly, they had dispatched 8,000 experts to hunt down the enemy Guild''s members in the four high-resource maps and utilized the War Barriers to trap them within. In addition, they had dispatched 40,000 elite members to guard the maps'' entrances. "Understood!" Daybreak Fog immediately commanded the Guild members to spread out across the four maps. With Daybreak Fog''s command, Heaven''s Burial''s members went into action, activating the War Barriers and preventing every player in the four maps from using Return Scrolls. If players wished to leave the maps, they''d have to do so through the maps'' entrances. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts scoured the maps for Zero Wing''s members in 100-man teams. "Boss Flow, there''s a 6-man party from Zero Wing ahead, but they''re all wearing cloaks, so we can''t see their levels. Should we attack?" a Level 47 Assassin reported through his team chat as he watched the small party walk through the forest ahead. "A 6-man party? Are there any important players among them?" Broken Flow, who wore Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, asked quietly They knew just how powerful Zero Wing''s experts were. This was especially true for Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Cola, Flying Shadow, and the Guild''s other core members. Singular Burial had already warned them to stay as far away from these individuals as possible. Although Broken Flow wasn''t pleased with the decision, he had no choice but to follow his Guild Leader''s orders. "No. None of the six players are on the list, but they seem to have pretty good equipment. They''re likely an expert party from Zero Wing," the Assassin reported after taking a closer look. "Good! It seems that we''ve gotten lucky and come across one of Zero Wing''s expert parties! Keep an eye on them! We''ll head over right away!" Broken Flow said as he licked his lips in anticipation. Immediately, he led his team towards the Assassin''s current position. 1605 Battle Array Activate Chapter 1605 - Battle Array Activate In less than two minutes, Broken Flow''s team found a 6-man party of cloaked players walking along a small forest path. All six players wore Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem. "Go! Don''t let any of them escape!" Broken Flow shouted in the team chat as soon as he laid eyes on the six Zero Wing members. Immediately, Broken Flow''s 100-man team spread out, swiftly encircling Zero Wing''s party and cutting off any escape route. "Heaven''s Burial?" The six Zero Wing members readied their weapons as they were surrounded. "You guys sure are unlucky to attract my attention!" Broken Flow grinned at the six cloaked players. Immediately, he removed the Level 45 Dark-Gold greatsword from his back and approached the six at a leisurely pace. At the same time, he pulled a potion from his bag and drank it. He then commanded, "Everyone, guard the area. Make sure no one escapes. I want to take proper care of these Zero Wing members." When Heaven''s Burial''s members heard Broken Flow''s command, they couldn''t help their growing excitement and anticipation. "These players sure are unlucky. It seems like the commander wants to finish them off personally." "The last time the commander took action, he even gave an expert party from a first-rate Guild a miserable beating. Not only were those experts powerless to fight back, but the commander also forced them to lose multiple pieces of equipment." "I wonder if we''ll get to witness the commander''s trademark combat technique again." "Hopefully these Zero Wing members aren''t too weak and can put up a good fight. Otherwise, we won''t get a share of the loot." Heaven''s Burial''s members laughed as they ridiculed the trapped Zero Wing members. The Guild had already declared that, during this hunt, not only would they earn GCPs for killing Zero Wing members, but they also got to keep whatever loot dropped from their kills. Although Zero Wing''s members had been ambushed countless times, the Guild''s experts had suffered minimal losses. Most of these experts still had their top-tier equipment. Even if the equipment they obtained wasn''t suitable for their class, they could still sell the items and make a fortune. Despite the high demand for top-tier equipment, there was practically no supply. When ordinary players obtained a piece of top-tier equipment, they usually didn''t sell it for Coins even if they couldn''t use it themselves. Rather, most players tried to trade one piece of equipment for another that they could use. Now that they had come across six Zero Wing experts, this was a golden opportunity to walk away with massive profit. Of course, Broken Flow didn''t care about the equipment. Rather, he wanted to relieve some stress. Broken Flow had previously been defeated in a fight with Zero Wing''s top-tier experts, and he had been waiting to restore his reputation for some time. Now, however, the Guild had forbidden its members from fighting Zero Wing''s top-tier experts. Naturally, Broken Flow was annoyed. However, killing Zero Wing''s elite members was boring. Only Zero Wing''s experts could pique Broken Flow''s interest. "You don''t have to worry. Without my command, they won''t move," Broken Flow told the six players from Zero Wing, who watched their surroundings warily. With a calm smile, he continued, "If you want to leave this place alive, there''s only one way to do it; defeat me. I don''t mind if you come at me one by one or all together, but I advise you not to attempt an escape. My team includes over 60 experts from Heaven''s Burial. If we attack as one, none of you will survive. "If you don''t have any problems, let''s begin!" After saying so, Broken Flow continued towards the 6-man party before him. His lax attitude proved that he didn''t view the six experts before him as proper opponents whatsoever. "Tiger, what should we do?" the Cleric from Zero Wing asked the robust youth in front of the party in a hushed tone. "We''re too outnumbered. There''s no way we can break through this encirclement." "It seems we have no choice but to fight this Broken Flow fellow." Infant Tiger, the party''s leader, realized they their situation had taken a turn for the worst. They might not have had an issue if they''d come across an ordinary expert team, but he hadn''t expected them to encounter a team lead by one of Heaven''s Burial''s top-tier experts. "In a moment, I''ll distract him while you guys find an opportunity to strike. Don''t worry about hitting me." When the other members heard Infant Tiger''s plan, they nodded silently. Their leader''s decision didn''t surprise any of them. Although they were strong, there was a considerable gap in strength between them and Broken Flow. Only the Guild''s core members, like Ye Wumian and Minor Wind, could go toe-to-toe with such an expert. However, Broken Flow did not give Zero Wing''s party much time to consider their options. Once he was within 30 yards of the party, he abruptly accelerated and pounced like a ferocious tiger as it was freed from its cage. Broken Flow saw no value in Zero Wing''s ordinary experts. He currently wore Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment and wielded a Level 45 Dark-Gold greatsword; with his equipment standards, he''d even rank among the top in a Super Guild. As for his techniques, he had reached the Refinement Realm some time ago. He''d be a mainstay in any major Guild. If not for Singular Burial''s prohibition, he''d even challenge Zero Wing''s peak experts like Fire Dance and Aqua Rose. So fast! Broken Flow''s speed caught Zero Wing''s members off guard. By the time they reacted, Broken Flow was already within ten yards. In the blink of an eye, Broken Flow circled around Infant Tiger, who stood at the forefront of the party, and swung his greatsword. As his greatsword soared towards the enemy Berserker, it split into three copies that struck from different angles. Combat technique, Trishadow Interception! Just as Broken Flow''s three sword lights were about to bite into Infant Tiger Infant Tiger, who was at his wit''s end, decisively activated the Basic Strength Battle Array. Immediately, the Mana around Infant Tiger and the other four melee players in the Conqueror''s Armor went berserk. The five melee players felt as if their minds connected, their senses expanding in a way they had never before experienced. Despite Broken Flow''s sword lights targeting his blind spots, Infant Tiger saw all three clearly. Suddenly, Infant Tiger turned and sidestepped, miraculously evading all three attacks. Without even turning to look at Broken Flow, Infant Tiger swung his own blade, sending an arc of silver slicing through Broken Flow''s side. Broken Flow panicked. Since his attacks had missed, his stance was off balance, and his defense was riddled with holes. Instinctively, he activated Whirlwind Slash and rotated his body despite his awkward stance. Boom! When the two greatswords collided, brilliant sparks surrounded the fighters. Due to the impact, Broken Flow was forced back two steps. Infant Tiger, however, hadn''t moved. The difference between the Berserkers'' Strengths was obvious. When Heaven''s Burial''s members saw this, they were dumbfounded. They had never thought that their commander would be at a disadvantage against an ordinary expert As for Broken Flow himself, he stared at Infant Tiger with a grim expression. Although he had only exchanged two moves with the enemy Berserker, he realized that not only was Infant Tiger''s Strength higher than his, but the enemy''s combat standards were also extraordinary. No ordinary expert could evade his three accurate and fast attacks. However, the situation also confused Broken Flow. When did Zero Wing obtain an expert Berserker as powerful as he was? "Who are you?" Broken Flow shouted at Infant Tiger. 1606 Might of a Battle Array Chapter 1606 - Might of a Battle Array As Broken Flow questioned Infant Tiger''s identity, he took a huge step backward. Star-Moon Kingdom''s general masses were no strangers to Zero Wing''s top-tier experts, not to mention Heaven''s Burial. In fact, Heaven''s Burial was very familiar with the standards of the internal experts Zero Wing nurtured. However, Broken Flow had no recollection of Infant Tiger among Zero Wing''s top-tier experts. The only possibility was that Zero Wing''s top-tier experts had used disguise tools, playing the pig to eat the tiger and wound Heaven''s Burial''s expert teams. But before Broken Flow could listen to Infant Tiger''s reply, the other four melee players from Zero Wing appeared beside him, launching their attacks. Two Berserkers executed the Tier 1 Cross Slash and Flame Slash, the Guardian Knight used the Tier 1 Justice Roar and Holy Slash, and the Shield Warrior raised his shield and used the Tier 1 Crumbling Mountain. When the four melee players attacked Broken Flow, they moved like a single entity. Their various Skill flew towards Broken Flow''s blind spots almost simultaneously. Their attacks were as fast as lightning. What?! Broken Flow was shocked yet again. When he sensed the four melee players'' combination attack, he felt the threat of death looming over him. On instinct, he activated the Tier 1 Taboo Skill, Hurricane''s Descent and created a powerful hurricane around himself using his greatsword. The Taboo Skill incorporated both offense and defense in a perfect balance. Peng Peng Peng A series of clangs echoed around the fight. The four melee players that had attacked Broken Flow were forced to retreat two or three steps, but once they stabilized, they launched another uniform assault, not giving the Berserker a moment to catch his breath. This time, the Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior rushed at Broken Flow from the front, whereas the two Zero Wing Berserkers approached from Broken Flow''s sides. For a time, Broken Flow had to retreat as he desperately defended himself. While he did so, his HP continued to drain. "What?! The commander is actually" Heaven''s Burial''s members were utterly shocked as they watched Zero Wing''s party suppress Broken Flow. Their previously playful expressions had vanished. None of these players were amateurs. They knew just how powerful their commander was, and even if they formed a 6-man party to challenge him, they wouldn''t come close to killing Broken Flow. This wasn''t due to the difference between their Basic Attributes, but the difference in their combat standards. If they tried to fight Broken Flow, he''d easily find and target their weak points. By the time they realized that they were under attack, it''d be too late to react. Moreover, Broken Flow could easily dodge and block their attacks. In the end, the Berserker commander would whittle down their HP and kill them. At most, Broken Flow would lose some HP when he blocked attacks or received a few hits that he couldn''t dodge, but that''d be rare since he could use his positioning to prevent such situations. Yet, now, regardless of how Broken Flow shifted his stance, he couldn''t avoid the four melee players'' pincer attacks as they continued to shave away his HP. However, this wasn''t the most frightening aspect of this fight. What Heaven''s Burial''s members found truly shocking was the fact that Broken Flow couldn''t force his way out of the encirclement. No matter how he tried to counter the four melee players, the outcome was the same. His targets would either deflect or block his attacks, refusing to budge an inch. Broken Flow looked like some beast trapped in a steel cage. The spectating Heaven''s Burial members weren''t the only ones shocked. Broken Flow, who desperately fought for his life, was flabbergasted. Of the four melee players assaulting him, one had combat standards to rival Infant Tiger. This Zero Wing party actually had five Refinement Realm experts Even Super Guilds valued Refinement Realm experts, and they''d be top-ranked fighters in first-rate Guilds. Yet, this 6-man party had five of these experts. If he weren''t familiar with the combat styles of Cola, Shadow Sword, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, and Zero Wing''s other top-tier melee experts, he''d suspect that these four players were those experts in disguise. As Broken Flow continued to fend off the four Refinement Realm experts, whose Basic Attributes were even higher than his, a bitter taste filled his mouth. Although he had invited Zero Wing''s party to attack him as one, he hadn''t expected four Refinement Realm experts to gang up on him shamelessly. Even Infant Tiger danced around him, looking for the opportunity to land a fatal blow What Broken Flow did not know, however, was that Infant Tiger and the others were just as shocked. They had never thought that the Basic Strength Battle Array would be this powerful. Not only did the battle array provide Basic Attributes akin to a miniature Berserk Skill, but their combat standards had also improved. Meanwhile, Infant Tiger wasn''t moving around Broken Flow to land a fatal blow. Rather, he was helping his four companions by providing an additional view of the battle. By doing so, he gave his companions an accurate view of the enemy Berserker''s movements regardless of how Broken Flow retaliated. When Broken Flow noticed that his HP had fallen by two-thirds, he dismissed his previous promise as he shouted, "Everyone, attack! Do not let any of these people escape!" At the same time, Broken Flow activated his Berserk Skill to break away from the enemy encirclement. If he didn''t escape now, Infant Tiger and the other experts from Zero Wing would kill him before reinforcements arrived. Unfortunately, Heaven''s Burial''s other members were still dazed even after Broken Flow issued the command. Their minds only reacted a short moment later, commanding their bodies to move. "As expected of Heaven''s Burial! It''s members'' word is nothing more than a fart!" Infant Tiger ridiculed Broken Flow. Hearing the insult, Broken Flow''s expression twisted into something dark. Could Infant Tiger have any less shame? Although he had challenged Zero Wing''s entire party by himself, how could he have known that five of the six party members were Refinement Realm experts? Moreover, their coordination was so seamless that they moved as if they shared one body. Against such coordinated attacks, this team could even defeat a Flowing Water Realm expert, much less Broken Flow. However, Broken Flow''s call for help prompted Infant Tiger and the others to activate Power of Darkness. Once their Basic Attributes soared, they launched another ruthless assault against the Berserker. This time, however, they held nothing back. After Shi Feng had upgraded the Bible of Darkness, the Power of Darkness he granted his allies had grown stronger as well. Although Broken Flow''s Berserk Skill was powerful, it was subpar compared to the improved Power of Darkness. In addition, Broken Flow''s Basic Attributes were already lower than Infant Tiger and his companions''. When both sides had activated their Berserk Skills, the gap between them only widened. Before the healers from Heaven''s Burial could get within range, Zero Wing''s Guardian Knight and Shield Warrior slammed their shields into Broken Flow, forcing the Berserker off balance. Infant Tiger and the other two Berserkers then appeared behind their target, launching a joint assault. Chop! Flame Slash! Cross Slash! Even under normal circumstances, Broken Flow would struggle to cope with these three, simultaneous attacks. In the end, all three attacks landed squarely, draining his remaining HP. As his body collapsed, he dropped three pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment "Commander?" "How is this possible?" Heaven''s Burial''s members were dazed when they watched their commander die. They had never dreamed that a peak expert like Broken Flow could be killed so easily. Moreover, Broken Flow had been slain by a bunch of Zero Wing members they had never even heard of 1607 Difference in Teams Chapter 1607 - Difference in Teams For a time after Broken Flow''s death, Heaven''s Burial''s members were at a loss of what to do. However, Infant Tiger and his party members had no intentions of giving their enemies time to react. They immediately charged into the enemy ranks. They crossed the 30 yards to their targets in a few short seconds. Upon reaching the enemy frontline, the Shield Warrior and Guardian Knight slammed their shields into the enemy melee players, crumbling the battle formation. Meanwhile, Infant Tiger and the other two Berserkers nimbly weaved their way into the enemy lines before executing Whirlwind Slash. Three powerful tornadoes instantly engulfed Heaven''s Burial''s members. Not only did the attacks push these players back, but they also lost a significant chunk of their HPs. Following which, the Berserker trio approached the nearest enemies and finished off their weakened foes. In the blink of an eye, several members of Heaven''s Burial''s team died. "They''re trying to break out of the encirclement! Kill them!" Finally, some of Heaven''s Burial''s members reacted, moving to intercept Infant Tiger and his friends. Those with Berserk Skills promptly activated them as the healers and ranged DPS channeled and executed one Spell and Skill after another. However, Infant Tiger and the others paid the healers and ranged DPS no mind as they ruthlessly targeted players without Berserk Skills. With an overwhelming advantage in Basic Attributes and superior combat standards, they finished their targets off easily. Even half-HP MTs fell after two or three attacks. By the time Heaven''s Burial''s healers had launched their Healing Spells, their team had suffered over a dozen casualties. Moreover, the majority of the players that had died were MTs. In contrast, Zero Wing''s five melee players were mostly unharmed despite being surrounded by so many melee players. They only suffered superficial damage. When the ranged DPS''s attacks finally reached them, not only did Infant Tiger and his companions seamlessly evade the attacks as if they had long predicted the trajectories, but they also used some of Heaven''s Burial''s members as human shields. Although Heaven''s Burial''s healers did their best to keep their allies alive, Infant Tiger and the other two Berserkers'' Attack Power was simply overwhelming. Every one of the five melee players'' attacks dealt over -10,000 damage if not blocked in time. Furthermore, the three Berserkers were capable of launching multiple attacks per second. Elsewhere on the battlefield, although Heaven''s Burial''s members attempted to kill Zero Wing''s lone healer, Zero Wing''s two MTs had already moved to protect their comrade. Even when over a dozen melee players tried to corner the healer, Zero Wing''s MTs easily repelled them all. In the end, they could only watch as the healer maintained Infant Tiger and the other Zero Wing Berserkers'' HP as the human meat grinders slaughtered their allies. As time passed, Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man team continued to lose members. In the face of Infant Tiger and the other four melee players from Zero Wing, Heaven''s Burial''s numerous experts were a joke. "Just who are these people?" "When did Zero Wing find such experts?" The more Heaven''s Burial''s members fought, the more frightened they became. At this point, the difference in both sides'' strength was clear for all to see. No matter what kind of attacks they used, Infant Tiger and his companions effortlessly dodged or blocked them. In contrast, the Zero Wing Berserkers'' attacks always slipped past their defenses, landing direct hits and causing significant amounts of damage. And the more Infant Tiger and the others fought, the more familiar they became with the battle array. The battle array was too strong! Once they activated the battle array, they basically had a 360-degree view of their surroundings as long as they maintained proper positioning. Moreover, their improved physiques made it easy to cope with incoming attacks. In their eyes, Heaven''s Burial''s members were little more than children waving toy weapons. They had no problems predicting their enemies attacks. They finally understood how God''s Domain''s peak experts were so powerful. The hadn''t understood where the difference lay between them and these experts in the past, but now, they saw it clearly. They had to admit that being able to see everything around them and having control of their environment was intoxicating. It was no wonder why Shi Feng had taken responsibility for their deaths. With this improved perception and control, they would be utter fools if they let a bunch of ordinary experts kill them. Only top-tier experts and peak experts with superior strength and techniques had any hope of defeating them. After three short minutes, only 20 players remained of Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man team. The survivors were fear-stricken as they stared at Infant Tiger and the other Zero Wing members. They felt as if these people before them were demons that had crawled up from hell, not players. Despite the cooperation of over 60 of their Guild''s experts, they had done nothing to Infant Tiger''s 6-man party. In fact, they hadn''t even dropped their enemies'' HPs to below 50% throughout this fight. Meanwhile, when Infant Tiger and the others saw the corpses strewn across the ground, they couldn''t help but feel a little proud. They had dreamed of defeating a 20-man expert team from Heaven''s Burial, yet they had slain several times that. "Retreat!" "Run away!" Suddenly, the only thought Heaven''s Burial''s members had was of escape. Without hesitation, they turned and fled. Even with over 60 Guild experts, they hadn''t been able to do anything to Infant Tiger and his team. Now that they only had a bunch of elite members remaining, they were even less of a match for Zero Wing''s party. They''d only throw themselves into the jaws of death if they continued to fight. If they died, they lose a level and a piece of equipment. Although the Guild would offer compensation, it''d be far from enough to cover their loses. "Don''t think that you can get away so easily!" Infant Tiger and the others chased after their fleeing enemies. With the massive difference in Basic Attributes, Heaven''s Burial''s members couldn''t escape Infant Tiger and his companion''s pursuit even if they spread out as they ran. After another short moment, Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man team had been utterly annihilated Meanwhile, as War Barriers activated in the four high-resource maps Zero Wing''s members occupied, panic ensued among the unrelated players in the maps. They all pulled up the official forums to discuss the matter. "What''s going on? Why aren''t Return Scrolls working in the Grieving Swamp all of a sudden?" "This must be Heaven''s Burial''s doing. I''ve heard that Heaven''s Burial is going all-out to hunt Zero Wing''s members. The Guild has already dispatched over 8,000 expert members, not to mention the elites." "It seems Heaven''s Burial is finally getting serious! With 8,000 experts, they''ll have no issues eliminating Zero Wing!" "Crap! They''re really fighting each other! There''s a fight between Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing''s teams not too far from me right now! Heaven''s Burial''s 100-man team is amazing! It''s completely overwhelming Zero Wing''s 100-man team!" The public had become interested in Heaven''s Burial''s hunt. No one had expected the Guild to dispatch 8,000 experts to slaughter Zero Wing''s members. Even a first-rate Guild could, at most, field 3,000 experts. After all, the requirements to be considered an expert player in God''s Domain had become stricter than ever before. In the past, players would be considered experts once they reached the Trial Tower''s fourth floor, but now, players had to reach the fifth floor. Some stricter Guilds even required their experts to reach the fifth floor''s middle stage. Yet, Heaven''s Burial had nearly three times more experts than a first-rate Guild "Guild Leader, we''ve received a casualty report from Star-Moon Kingdom," Daybreak Fog suddenly approached Singular Burial, who commanded the battle before them. Quietly, she said, "Thus far, we''ve killed 1,809 Zero Wing members." "That many? Didn''t the battle start less than half an hour ago?" Singular Burial nodded, satisfied, upon hearing the report. "What about our casualties?" Although the direct attacks were far more costly, they could deal a more severe blow to their enemy. Hearing Singular Burial''s question, Daybreak Fog''s expression darkened as she hesitated. "Has something happened?" When Singular Burial saw Daybreak Fog''s reaction, apprehension welled within him. "We''ve lost 3,237 members thus far. Among them, 923 are expert players," Daybreak Fog said. "How is that possible?" Singular Burial was dumbfounded when he heard these numbers. Immediately, he demanded, "What happened over there?" They had sent over 8,000 experts over to Star-Moon Kingdom, and Zero Wing only had around 2,000 experts. Even if Fire Dance and Zero Wing''s other peak and top-tier experts took action, they could never make up for the massive difference. 1608 Indiscernible Zero Wing Chapter 1608 - Indiscernible Zero Wing Daybreak Fog could only shake her head helplessly in response to Singular Burial''s question. Even she had been confused when she received the statistics report, wondering if someone had made a mistake when compiling the information. However, although someone could have miscounted the enemy''s casualties, how could they do so with their own death counts? In other words, Zero Wing had indeed killed 3,237 of their members in less than half an hour. Moreover, nearly one-third were the Guild''s experts "Has no one discovered the reason behind this yet?" Singular Burial growled, his brows twitching slightly in anger. Over 10% of their 8,000 experts had died in less than half an hour. If the other major powers learned that they didn''t even know the cause of this grievous loss, they''d become a laughingstock. Unlike Guild elites, a Guild expended all of its precious resources into nurturing its experts. They were incomparably more valuable than the Guild''s elite members. A loss of one expert was a much larger impact than losing ten elites. If a first-rate Guild suddenly suffered nearly 1,000 expert deaths, the loss would be severe enough to hamper the Guild''s development. After all, experts were a Guild''s main combat power when obtaining top-tier equipment and contesting for resource maps. They were also the foundation when competing with other Guilds. "We still don''t have any information, but I''ve sent people to investigate the matter," Daybreak Fog said as she expressed her frustration over the situation. Just as Singular Burial was about to say something more, he received a call. The caller was none other than Broken Flow, one of the commanders tasked with hunting Zero Wing''s members. "Has something happened?" Singular Burial asked, curious about Broken Flow''s anxiety. When Singular Burial noticed Broken Flow''s current level, he asked in surprise, "How did you lose a level?" Singular Burial clearly remembered Broken Flow being Level 50 before they embarked on the mission, yet now, the Berserker was only Level 49. Broken Flow was one of Heaven''s Burial''s top-ranked experts, and with the Level 45 Dark-Gold Set Equipment he wore, he could contend with any of the Super Guild''s top-tier experts, yet he had lost a level. Why wouldn''t Singular Burial be surprised? "Idied" Although Broken Flow hesitated, he revealed the truth, and he did so with an incredibly grim expression. "You died?" Singular Burial was even more shocked. "Did you encounter Black Flame or the other experts I warned you about?" He had planted over 30 spies in Zero Wing, and although they didn''t have access to the Guild''s core secrets, they could discover its experts'' identities. Hence, he knew that only a few people in Zero Wing were capable of killing an expert of Broken Flow''s caliber. "No" Broken Flow''s expression darkened further. "No? Then who killed you?" Singular Burial demanded. "Has Zero Wing received reinforcements from somewhere else? That shouldn''t be possible. I haven''t heard of any powers lending the Guild aid." Zero Wing had formed a close relationship with both the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Rain and the Secret Pavilion''s Yuan Tiexin. If these two superpowers helped Zero Wing, he doubted that he could do anything to threaten the Guild. The difference between Heaven''s Burial''s background and the two superpowers was just too massive. Moreover, Heaven''s Burial lacked the home-ground advantage in Star-Moon Kingdom. He had paid close attention to the two superpowers, waiting to see if they would aid Zero Wing or not. However, he hadn''t heard any news of either organization helping his enemy. This was one of the reasons that he had dared to hunt down Zero Wing''s members. "One of Zero Wing''s expert parties killed me," Broken Flow explained after taking a deep breath. "Zero Wing''s expert parties?" Realization dawned on Singular Burial. There were some capable players among Zero Wing''s experts, and if Broken Flow were careless and underestimated them, he might get himself killed. Sighing and shaking his head disapprovingly, he continued, "You are too careless. Well? Don''t tell me that you only contacted me to tell me this?" "Mhm." Broken Flow nodded silently. Seeing Broken Flow''s response, Singular Burial felt wrathful flames burn within him. Meanwhile, when Daybreak Fog heard Broken Flow''s response from beside her Guild Leader, she noticed something odd about the Berserker''s behavior. He had contacted the Guild Leader about such a small matter. Did he think that leading a Guild was a leisurely job? But before Singular Burial could reprimand Broken Flow, the Berserker shared a battle video in the video chat. "Guild Leader, I was killed by an expert party from Zero Wing. I don''t know how it''s possible, but five of the six party members were Refinement Realm experts. Moreover, their Basic Attributes are extremely high. They were even higher than mine" Broken Flow explained. "Zero Wing still has five Refinement Realm experts we don''t know about?! How?!" Singular Burial and Daybreak Fog denied Broken Flow''s claims almost simultaneously. Only one out of several hundred players in God''s Domain could reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Among these experts, very few could overcome their limits, achieving extreme control of their bodies and entering the Refinement Realm. Refinement Realm experts were practically VIPs in first-rate Guilds right now. Even Super Guilds struggled to nurture such experts. Whenever a new player reached the Refinement Realm, the various superpowers rushed to recruit them. Yet, Zero Wing had introduced five such Refinement Realm experts to the battlefield. No matter how Singular Burial and Daybreak Fog looked at it, Broken Flow''s claim sounded more like fantasy than reality. However, by the time they finished watching the battle video, their expressions had turned grim. Indeed, as Broken Flow had said, every one of the five melee players from Zero Wing was slightly stronger than the Berserker. If five such expert formed a party, said party would wield terrifying killing power. Throughout Heaven''s Burial, only Lei Jingyang''s forces could likely stand against such a party. As Singular Burial was about to say something, Lightning Blade, the Chief MT of Heaven''s Burial''s main force, contacted him as well. "Guild Leader, look at this video! Not long ago, I encountered an expert party from Zero Wing with five Refinement Realm experts! My team was no match for them, and in the end, only a few of my brothers and I managed to escape. We need to notify everyone right away and tell them to be careful of this 6-man party!" Lightning Blade urgently reported. As they listened to Lightning Blade''s report, Singular Burial and Daybreak Fog''s expressions darkened further. A trace of shock flashed in their eyes. "What is going on?" Singular Burial was even more confused after watching the battle video Lightning Blade had sent. Daybreak Fog struggled to comprehend the situation, as well. Both Broken Flow and Lightning Blade led 100-man expert teams, but their teams operated in different maps. Although the Refinement Realm experts Broken Flow and Lightning Blade had encountered wore Black Cloaks, they hadn''t bothered to hide their appearances. The Refinement Realm experts in each party were also different classes. It was certain that Broken Flow and Lightning Blade had encountered different Zero Wing parties. This proved that Zero Wing had gained an additional ten Refinement Realm experts. If these experts were split and assigned to 100-man teams, they would pose a huge threat to Heaven''s Burial''s teams. But as Singular Burial tried to think of a countermeasure for these new Refinement Realm experts, the other commanders began to report back. All of these commanders reported the same situation that Broken Flow and Lightning Blade had encountered. Every one of these commanders mentioned a six-man party from Zero Wing consisting of five Refinement Realm experts 1609 Heavens Burial Retreats in Defea Chapter 1609 - Heaven''s Burial Retreats in Defeat Singular Burial''s expression when he finished watching the battle videos a subordinate had sent was indescribably grim. It wouldn''t be a major issue if Zero Wing had simply acquired a few more Refinement Realm experts. With Zero Wing''s capabilities, it wasn''t entirely impossible, but based on the latest reports, Zero Wing had collected 100 new Refinement Realm experts For a moment, Singular Burial wondered if he were in a dream. He couldn''t find it in himself to believe this was true, yet with the battle videos and the large number of casualties Heaven''s Burial had suffered thus far, he had all the proof he needed. If Zero Wing had unexpectedly acquired ten additional Refinement Realm experts, while it would give Singular Burial a headache, he could mitigate the problem by warning his subordinates to be careful during their hunt. However, 100 new Refinement Realm experts was a nightmare, not just a headache. Even now, veteran first-rate Guilds only had a handful of Refinement Realm experts. Even Heaven''s Burial only had 20 Refinement Realm experts right now. Moreover, this was after recruiting a large number of well-known Workshops and expert players and allying with Lei Jingyang''s Workshop. It was also the reason he dared to hunt down Zero Wing''s members. Yet, now One hundred Refinement Realm experts, whom he had never heard of before, had suddenly emerged in Zero Wing. Why wouldn''t he be terrified? "Guild Leader, whatshould we do now?" Daybreak Fog asked, pale after watching the battle videos. They had previously considered the possibility that some superpower would dispatch experts to aid Zero Wing. However, they had never expected Zero Wing to obtain 100 Refinement Realm experts on its own. One hundred Refinement Realm experts! Only Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds could dispatch such a force. She truly couldn''t figure out how Zero Wing managed to recruit so many Refinement Realm experts. Or did some hidden superpower they didn''t know about back Zero Wing? Regardless of the cause, there was no changing the fact that Heaven''s Burial''s situation was dire. If the 8,000-plus experts from Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater clashed with Zer Wing''s 100 Refinement Realm experts, there was no doubt that the former would emerge victorious, but this war focused on guerilla tactics. The Refinement Realm experts definitely had the advantage. "Issue a retreat order immediately!" After some hesitation, Singular Burial decided to withdraw his forces. "And send someone to investigate which superpower is supporting Zero Wing from the shadows!" He refused to believe that Zero Wing had nurtured 100 Refinement Realm experts on its own. The only possibility was that Zero Wing had the secret support of some superpower. "Understood!" Daybreak Fog went into action and began to notify the teams in the hunting operation to withdraw. Shortly after she issued the command, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members in the four high-resource maps began to pull out. Meanwhile, news of Heaven''s Burial''s retreat quickly spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. "What''s going on with Heaven''s Burial? Why are they retreating so soon after starting the war?" "Hehe. I have some insider information. From what I''ve heard, it seems that Heaven''s Burial has suffered severe casualties and had no choice but to order a retreat." "How is that possible?! Heaven''s Burial has over 8,000 experts! Zero Wing would even struggle to cope with such a force, much less defeat it!" Heaven''s Burial''s sudden retreat baffled everyone. In fact, the public wasn''t alone in its confusion. Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers were just as confused. They had planned to take advantage of the situation to strike at Zero Wing as well, yet Heaven''s Burial had been defeated. "Look into this matter immediately! I want to know exactly what happened!" The various major powers simply could not fathom what had transpired between Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing. Heaven''s Burial had dispatched over 8,000 experts and several tens of thousands of elites. It was even enough of a force to threaten a superpower, yet this force had lost. Moreover, it had been a decisive defeat Meanwhile, far from Star-Moon Kingdom, in a Guild Town surrounded by mountains "Uncle Yuan, your guess was wrong. We''ve just received news that Heaven''s Burial''s hunt has failed. Moreover, it seems that Heaven''s Burial has suffered significant losses; nearly 1,000 of its experts were killed," Purple Jade said, smiling as she entered the room. "Heaven''s Burial has been defeated? How is this possible?" Yuan Tiexin, who dealt with all sorts of documents on his desk, was astonished when he heard Purple Jade''s announcements. "Did Phoenix Rain send help?" He was very familiar with the force Heaven''s Burial had dispatched to deal with Zero Wing. The force had as many as 18 Refinement Realms, and Lei Jingyang led his legion of battle maniacs personally. Heaven''s Burial shouldn''t have any fewer top-tier experts than Zero Wing. Furthermore, the Guild surpassed Zero Wing by leaps and bounds in the number of its ordinary experts. Even if Black Flame and Zero Wing''s peak experts joined the fray, they shouldn''t be able to affect the outcome overmuch. In the end, Heaven''s Burial would wear down Zero Wing until it crumbled. "No. Phoenix Rain hasn''t sent them any reinforcements," Purple Jade said, shaking her head. "Based on what we''ve learned from Heaven''s Burial''s internal department, the Guild has retreated due to Zero Wing''s sudden dispatch of an additional 100 Refinement Realm experts. Not only do these Refinement Realm experts have incredible Basic Attributes, but their coordination is seamless. These Zero Wing experts have claimed the lives of many of Heaven''s Burial''s own Refinement Realm experts." "One hundred Refinement Realm experts?!" Yuan Tiexin abruptly stood. For a moment, he even thought he had heard wrong. "Are you sure Zero Wing has obtained 100 Refinement Realm experts?" "Mhm, very sure. I even have a few battle videos to prove it." Purple Jade then sent the battle videos she had received to Yuan Tiexin. "I''ve already watched all of them. These Zero Wing Refinement Realm experts are quite powerful. When they work together, they don''t even have an issue defeating Flowing Water Realm experts." "Have you found out which Super Guild or super-first-rate Guild has helped Zero Wing?" Yuan Tiexin asked after looking through the battle videos. He could tell that these experts were extraordinary. They had no blind spots whatsoever. They could even block ranged attacks, which was difficult for ordinary Refinement Realm experts. When they cooperated, they moved as if they shared a single body. Ordinary Refinement Realm experts couldn''t compare to these players. "I did. We haven''t found any news of a Super Guild or super-first-rate Guild mobilizing so many Refinement Realm experts. It''s almost as if these experts had just joined God''s Domain," Purple Jade reported seriously. "I''ve also had some of our people compare these Refinement Realm experts'' appearances to the images we have of Zero Wing''s members." "And?" Yuan Tiexin asked hurriedly. One hundred Refinement Realm experts were no trivial matter. Even superpowers like the Secret Pavilion would have to take such a force seriously. "There''s no doubt; these Refinement Realm experts were already Zero Wing members" Purple Jade said, her voice softening as even she struggled to believe it. "They''re all Zero Wing''s members?! How is that possible?!" Yuan Tiexin stared at Purple Jade incredulously. "Have we made some mistake?" 1610 Shock Chapter 1610 - Shock Yuan Tiexin couldn''t believe what Purple Jade had just told him. Even the Secret Pavilion struggled to nurture Refinement Realm experts. Before becoming a Refinement Realm expert in the Secret Pavilion, the Guild''s experts had to pass a series of stringent tests and a significant amount of training. Most people in the virtual gaming world couldn''t even fathom the effort, talent, and resources required to become a Refinement Realm expert. Although God''s Domain''s unique nature made it easier for players to reach the Refinement Realm, these players were still exceedingly rare. They were also considerably famous in God''s Domain. Zero Wing had only established a few months ago, and even if it had the support of some Super Guild or major corporation, it wasn''t capable of nurturing so many Refinement Realm experts. "There are no mistakes. All of those players are members of the Dark Gods Legion. I also read through the information we have on these players before I came here. Their combat standards were average at best before today. But for some reason, they''ve become frighteningly powerful," Purple Jade said, shaking her head. Honestly, she couldn''t believe this either. However, she had no choice but to acknowledge that Zero Wing had more than 100 Refinement Realm experts after facing the facts before her. "To think Zero Wing has hidden so much of its strength" Suddenly, Yuan Tiexin realized why Shi Feng''s reaction had been so calm when he learned that the Black Dragon Empire''s Evil God''s Temple had activated. "Jade, notify our subordinates and tell them to learn everything they can about this situation! We must learn who has backed Zero Wing!" Any superpower that could nurture 100 Refinement Realm experts so quickly was definitely extraordinary. Not even most ordinary Super Guilds were capable of such a feat, and the Secret Pavilion hadn''t heard of a superpower that could. When Yuan Tiexin thought about it, a sliver of fear penetrated his heart. Although he knew that God''s Domain''s waters were deep, he didn''t realize how deep. They had already learned of quite a few Guilds, which had only established after God''s Domain had launched, that had the support of powerful corporations. And now, there was even an organization like Zero Wing. God''s Domain was practically a bottomless swamp, with various powers hiding in its muck. The Secret Pavilion wasn''t the only superpower to discover this. Many of God''s Domain''s superpowers had learned about Zero Wing''s sudden development. After this, they all started to see Zero Wing in a new light. Although Zero Wing still had a low member count and lacked in many aspects compared to first-rate Guilds, the fact that it had nurtured over 100 Refinement Realm experts made it far more powerful than first-rate Guilds. Zero Wing had a high chance of becoming a super-first-rate Guild and one of God''s Domain''s overlords in the future. Meanwhile, in the Star Alliance''s Residence in Star-Moon City Galaxy Past read the report he had just received from the Secret Pavilion in his spacious Guild Leader''s office. When he finished with the report, his mind went blank. "Guild Leader, has something happened?" Purple Eye asked, curious about Galaxy Past''s strange expression. "Zero Wing truly is an endless abyss. If Heaven''s Burial hadn''t mobilized such a large force, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various Guilds would still be clueless about Zero Wing''s true strength," Galaxy Past said, smiling bitterly as he forwarded the Secret Pavilion''s report to Purple Eye. "One hundred Refinement Realm experts! Zero Wing must''ve been laughing at us while we made fools of ourselves!" "This One hundred Refinement Realm experts?" Purple Eye''s jaw dropped as she read the report. She wasn''t as ignorant as she had been in the past, and she was very familiar with the power of a Refinement Realm expert. Although she acknowledged her own talent, she still couldn''t cross the final threshold and reach the Refinement Realm, even with the Secret Pavilion''s help. Yet, Zero Wing had just revealed 100 Refinement Realm experts. And to think that the Star Alliance had actually worked with other Guilds to take down Zero Wing in the past Had Zero Wing utilized its true power back then, the consequences would''ve been unimaginable. Purple Eye finally realized why her rival, Gentle Snow, had chosen to join an upstart Guild like Zero Wing. Sea of Death, Thunder Island: One hundred Refinement Realm experts? Just how many secrets does Zero Wing have? Phoenix Rain was at a loss for words after reading the report. The fact that Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s experts had helped her secure a portion of Thunder Island''s control was already incredible, and now, the Guild had just revealed that it had over 100 Refinement Realm experts Although Zero Wing had nowhere near as many Refinement Realm experts as the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, a contingent of 100 Refinement Realm experts could still pose a threat to her and Nine Dragons Emperor. If Nine Dragons Emperor had known that this upstart Guild had such a background, he would never have tried to stop it out Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City: "What?! Heaven''s Burial retreated?! What happened?!" Curiosity ravaged Gentle Snow when she heard Zhao Yueru''s report. If Shi Feng hadn''t assured her that her people weren''t necessary for the situation in Star-Moon Kingdom, she would''ve returned with all of her spare forces long ago. Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater had dispatched over 8,000 experts, including a few Refinement Realm experts. Without utilizing the Guild''s full power, defeating such a force would be nearly impossible. Yet, less than an hour after Heaven''s Burial had attacked directly, the Guild had ordered a retreat. "I''ve heard that its due to various 6-man parties from the Dark Gods Legion. These Dark Gods Parties slaughtered Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s 100-man expert teams. In less than half an hour, they killed nearly a thousand Guild experts. In contrast, none of our party members have died," Zhao Yueru explained. "They''ve even killed quite a few of Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s Refinement Realm experts." "A 6-man party of Dark Gods Legion members defeated a 100-man expert team from Heaven''s Burial?" For a time, Gentle Snow couldn''t process the information. She knew just how powerful the Dark Gods Legion members were. Even the strongest among them had only reached the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Even six of these players would be lucky to defeat a 20-man expert team from Heaven''s Burial. After all, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts were no noobs; they were all experts that had experienced numerous life-or-death battles. Yet, these Dark Gods Legion members had defeated 100-man expert teams with as few as six players. To Gentle Snow, this sounded like a fantasy. "That''s right. Everyone in the Guild has been talking about it. I''ve watched the battle videos, as well. Those Dark Gods Parties are quite powerful. If not for my promotion to Tier 2, they might even be able to defeat me." Zhao Yueru nodded. "I never realized that our Guild had hidden such strength all this time. The Black Dragon Empire''s first-rate Guilds will have to think twice before turning against us." Zero Wing had lacked experts that could turn the tide of battle in the past, and because of that, the Black Dragon Empire''s large Guilds hadn''t been afraid of striking against their Guild. This was especially true for the Guilds Nine Dragons Emperor secretly backed. However, now that the public knew that the Dark Gods Legion had such powerful members, even the empire''s various first-rate Guilds would have to tread lightly when dealing with Zero Wing. While everyone raised a commotion over the defeat of Heaven''s Burial''s army, Aqua Rose relayed the shocking news to Shi Feng, who had long since left Star-Moon Kingdom. "Guild Leader, what kind of magic did you use? How did you make all of these people so strong? Every one of them feels like they can take on a Refinement Realm expert of the same level right now," Aqua Rose asked curiously. She was quite familiar with the prowess of the Dark Gods members she had sent Shi Feng, yet these players had grown so much stronger in the several hours since she had last seen them. If Shi Feng claimed that he had nothing to do with it, she wouldn''t believe him. 1611 Counterattack Chapter 1611 - Counterattack "Magic?" When Shi Feng saw Aqua Rose''s excitement, he smiled and said, "I don''t know any magic. I merely gave each of them a piece of equipment." "A piece of equipment?" Aqua Rose could not help her confusion. "How has a piece of equipment made such a huge difference?" Weapons and equipment only improved a player''s Basic Attributes. While the Dark Gods Parties'' Basic Attributes had risen since she had seen them last, the improvement to their combat standards was the key difference. They never would''ve been able to defeat a 100-man expert team with just a boost to their Basic Attributes "Here; you''ll understand once you take a look." Shi Feng then shared the Conqueror''s Armor''s Attributes with Aqua Rose. As Aqua Rose was one one of Zero Wing''s core upper echelons, he had no reason to hide the armor from her. Besides, as players reached higher levels, it''d only be a matter of time before the various large Guilds learned about battle arrays. He had only had the Dark Gods members sign a confidentiality contract to hide the information from the various large Guilds for as long as he could, but it was impossible to hide the battle arrays from the public forever. "This" When Aqua Rose read the armor''s information, she was dazed. She had never thought that God''s Domain had equipment like this. Not only did the Conqueror''s Armor improved its wearer''s Basic Attributes, but it also allowed them to share their perception with other players wearing the armor. It could basically enhance players'' perception range by a large margin, allowing these players to reach a simplified version of the Void Realm. Although ordinary experts wearing the Conqueror''s Armor still wouldn''t be able to control their bodies as well as Refinement Realm experts, their overall combat standards wouldn''t be any weaker than an actual Refinement Realm expert with the enhanced perception. "Guild Leader, where did you obtain so many pieces of this armor?" Aqua Rose inquired. How could ordinary equipment possibly compare to such powerful battle array equipment? The Conqueror''s Armor offered even greater benefits than ordinary Epic Equipment. It had to be incredibly rare, yet Shi Feng had given these chest pieces to 100 Dark Gods Legion members "I made them," Shi Feng answered truthfully. Seeing Shi Feng''s calm expression, Aqua Rose was at a loss. If Shi Feng had said that he had been grinding and collected the armor during his long disappearance, she might be able to believe him, yet Shi Feng claimed to have made all of the chest pieces. Her mind simply could not process the statement. With five pieces of Conqueror''s Armor, one could nurture five Refinement Realm experts. If they produced 1,000 pieces of the Conqueror''s Armor, they would have a 1,000-man army of Refinement Realm experts Not even Super Guilds had such an army. "Don''t overthink it. I had to deplete the Guild''s stock of rare materials just to craft the 100 pieces. It won''t be possible to mass-produce the armor in a short amount of time," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Naturally, he knew what Aqua Rose must have thought. The Conqueror''s Armor''s material cost was only secondary. The crucial issue was acquiring the materials. Although the materials weren''t super-rare, the various large Guilds frequent purchased them. Even if Zero Wing spent a fortune to obtain these items, it could only acquire a limited amount. It definitely wasn''t possible to gear an invincible legion with the Conqueror''s Armor. "What a pity. If we had a few hundred more, we could flatten Heaven''s Burial," Aqua Rose said, clicking her tongue. She had no idea how greedy she sounded. "Several hundred?" Shi Feng''s smile turned bitter. "I''ll give you a list of the necessary materials, so try to purchase as many as you can in secret. Once we have the materials, I''ll try to forge as many as I can." "I understand." Aqua Rose nodded eagerly, her eyes glowing with excitement. "But Guild Leader, what should we do next? Although Heaven''s Burial has retreated, the bounty is still in place. We really can''t afford to let this situation continue." Although Heaven''s Burial''s forces had retreated, the high bounty it had offered still tempted many unrelated players to attack Zero Wing''s members. Even though Zero Wing now had the Dark Gods Parties, there was a limit to how much area 20 parties could cover. They couldn''t limit the Dark Gods Parties to patrols, either, as it would severely impact their leveling speed. "Heaven''s Burial sure gave up quickly." Shi Feng was slightly disappointed when he read the statistics report Aqua Rose had sent. He had assumed that Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater would continue to clash with Zero Wing, relying on their numeric advantage. He hadn''t expected Heaven''s Burial to retreat so decisively. He had only managed to wear the enemy Guild down slightly. However, Shi Feng could understand their decision after giving the matter some thought. If one had sufficient understanding of Refinement Realm experts, they''d realize what kind of prowess 100 Refinement Realm experts could wield in guerilla warfare. Moreover, these 100 experts were concentrated in a few maps. This was also why the various large Guilds were so afraid of Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds. Ordinary players, elite players, and ordinary expert players With enough money, a Guild could recruit and nurture as many of these players as they wanted, but it was a slightly different story when it came to Refinement Realm experts and those who were stronger. Guilds couldn''t necessarily recruit such experts just because it had the money to throw at them. Moreover, there was a qualitative difference between the power of a Refinement Realm expert and the power of an ordinary expert. Even in equipment with similar Attributes, there would be a massive difference between the combat power Refinement Realm experts could display and that of ordinary experts. Without an overwhelming Basic Attribute advantage, several, maybe more than a dozen, ordinary experts would need to work together to take down a Refinement Realm expert. This granted Refinement Realm experts a massive advantage in field battles. Normally, Guilds could only cope with these experts'' ambushes by dispatching their own Refinement Realm experts or organizing their players into large groups. However, it wasn''t feasible to send its members out in teams of hundreds or thousands as it would negatively impact their acquisition of EXP and equipment. Not even well-funded Guilds would survive long if 100 experts interfered with thousands of its members'' development. This was precisely why super-first-rate and Super Guilds had maintained a solid footing in the virtual gaming world for so many years, finding it beneath them to bully first-rate and below Guilds. Their strength was simply on a different level. Of course, Refinement Realm experts weren''t enough to help a Guild become an overlord in the virtual gaming world. Guilds also needed a large number of members to help with other tasks, such as occupying territory and harvesting resources. "Since Heaven''s Burial has retreated, we''ll take the fight to them. It''s about time we show Heaven''s Burial that it''s not the only power that can hunt players," Shi Feng decided after giving the matter some thought. "Notify Fire Dance and the others. Have them lead the Dark Gods Parties to the Orc Empire and teach Heaven''s Burials'' members what it feels like to be prey. I want to see which of our Guilds lasts until the very end!" Due to its lack of experts, Zero Wing had only been able to defend against Heaven''s Burial''s brutal assaults, but now that it had the Dark Gods Parties, it had no reason to hold back against its enemy. In his previous life, many Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds had often used this tactic, hindering a large group''s development by sending small parties of Refinement Realm experts, when they wanted to avoid wasting resources to deal with troublesome Guilds. He didn''t mind testing this tactic on Heaven''s Burial. "Alright, I''ll let them know." Aqua Rose''s excitement built when she heard Shi Feng''s order. They had taken a one-sided beating from Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater for too long now. They hadn''t been able to counterattack, which made them all feel powerless. They simply hadn''t had enough experts to put up a fight. If they had sent ordinary experts into Heaven''s Burial''s territory, they''d send their people to the slaughter, rather than damage their enemy. Now that they had an additional 100 Refinement Realm experts, their ability to retaliate had increased several-fold, even if they couldn''t deal any lasting damage to Heaven''s Burial. 1612 Insane Guild Chapter 1612 - Insane Guild After Shi Feng had given Aqua Rose his commands, he disconnected the call and contacted Melancholic Smile. He had Melancholic Smile post an announcement on the official forums for Zero Wing, stating that the Guild had doubled the bounty on Heaven''s Burial''s members once more. The bounty for killing a normal member had already risen to 40 Silver, but they had just raised it to 80 Silver. The bounty on elite members had also risen from 2 Gold to 4 Gold per kill, while the bounty on Heaven''s Burial''s expert players had risen from 20 Gold to 40 Gold. Moreover, Shi Feng had Melancholic Smile use a provocative title for the forum post: Heaven''s Burial, do you dare to face us? Now, players could instantly earn enough money to purchase a Common Mount from NPCs just by killing one of Heaven''s Burial''s experts. Even if they already had their own Mount, they could afford an ordinary piece of Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment. Even expert players found the remuneration incredibly tempting. Even the expert players that broke their back to earn money couldn''t earn 20 Gold in a single day. Moreover, as long as they killed one of Heaven''s Burial''s experts, even their death would be a worthwhile exchange. "Guild Leader, have you lost your mind?" Melancholic Smile''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when Shi Feng told her to double their bounties on Heaven''s Burial. "Where is our Guild supposed to find that much money?" If they posted this new bounty, it would definitely inspire a lot of expert players to kill Heaven''s Burial''s members, and the number of bounties Zero Wing would have to pay out would be no laughing matter. With Zero Wing''s current income, it simply couldn''t support such a high bounty. Doubling the bounty was a self-destructive move, and Zero Wing would become a laughingstock. "Relax. I''ll figure out a source. If we really can''t afford to pay, sell a portion of the weapons and equipment the Dark Gods Party obtained," Shi Feng said. The current bounty was quite a burden on Zero Wing, but it was only a small annoyance to Heaven''s Burial. At this rate, Zero Wing''s situation would only become more disadvantageous. Unfortunately, since there were too few of them, the Dark Gods Parties weren''t enough to deal a severe blow to Heaven''s Burial, regardless of how many members they hunted down. Fortunately, the Dark Gods Parties had reaped quite a harvest for the Guild during its hunt. They had collected over 400 pieces of Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment, over 700 pieces of Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment, and over 2,000 pieces of Level 45 Secret-Silver Equipment. All of the equipment should be enough to help Zero Wing hold on for quite some time. Moreover, he had already dispatched the Dark Gods Parties to the Orc Empire. If a large number of players joined the hunt for Heaven''s Burial members, it would ease the burden on the Dark Gods Parties. In turn, the Dark Gods Parties could obtain more weapons and equipment. Aside from these factors, if they secured the Mana Ore vein, Zero Wing would have another massive revenue source. All of the various large Guilds urgently needed Mana Ore, and as a result, the market price had risen to a staggering 1 Gold, 20 Silver. Originally, the ore had only been worth around 40 Silver. Meanwhile, the Boneless Land was rich in Mana Ore. It would not be difficult to acquire a large amount of Mana Ore. "I understand." Melancholic Smile could only nod helplessly in response to Shi Feng''s command. Although she was confident in Shi Feng''s abilities, she still could not help but feel that his decision was a little too crazy this time. Following which, Melancholic Smile published the new bounties on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Star-Moon Kingdom''s players went mad over the news. "All hail Zero Wing!" "How rich! Is this Zero Wing''s true power?" "Crap! Is Zero Wing for real? Forty Gold Coins just for killing one of Heaven''s Burial''s experts?! With this much money, Heaven''s Burial''s experts might kill themselves to claim their own bounties from Zero Wing." "This is insane! Zero Wing has truly gone insane! Even top-tier experts would be tempted by this price." "This won''t do! I need to form a team to grind Heaven''s Burial''s members! Who wants to team up?!" "Amazing. Zero Wing is really bold to pull such a stunt. Heaven''s Burial is in for some pain." "Heaven''s Burial must''ve gone too far when it provoked Zero Wing this time. Even if the Guild destroys Zero Wing, they''re going to suffer for it." When everyone saw that Zero Wing had doubled its bounties, they couldn''t help but feel some sympathy for Heaven''s Burial''s members. At the same time, they were shocked by Zero Wing''s generosity. Orc Empire, Ancient Rock City: As the only Guild City in the Orc Empire''s inner region, a constant stream of players visited the city each day. Not even kingdoms'' major NPC cities could compete with Ancient Rock City''s player population. Although the city was extremely lively, silence dominated the meeting room in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence. Despite the Guild''s upper echelons filling the room, no one made a sound as they stared at Singular Burial with somber expressions. Due to the previous hunting war, Heaven''s Burial had lost a significant amount of equipment, and a large number of their experts had been killed. However, that wasn''t enough to warrant a meeting of this scale. They had gathered in this meeting room due to Zero Wing''s latest announcement. Because of that announcement, Heaven''s Burial had suffered more casualties than ever before "Lunatics! Everyone from Zero Wing is a lunatic!" Singular Burial''s brows twitched uncontrollably when he read Heaven''s Burial''s latest casualty report. Less than half an hour since Zero Wing had doubled its bounties, Heaven''s Burial had suffered over 4,000 casualties, far more than it had during the hunting war Thus far, the Guild''s loss was already worth roughly 8,000 Gold. Of course, Zero Wing hadn''t gotten off easy, either, since it had to pay at least 10,000 Gold in bounties. If this continued, Heaven''s Burial wouldn''t last long even with Blackwater''s investments and Ancient Rock City''s income. "Guild Leader, based on our reports, part of the reason that our casualty count is so high is that Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Parties have begun to operate in the Orc Empire. Although we''ve sent our forces to hunt them down, they are moving too quickly. We haven''t been able to catch them. Rather, the tables have turned on quite a few of the teams we sent out to hunt down these Dark Gods Parties," Daybreak Fog reported. "The Guild''s morale is incredibly low, and some elite members have begun to withdraw from the Guild" "Zero Wing! Black Flame!" Singular Burial gnashed his teeth as he glared at the report in his hands. "Since that is how you want to play it, I want to see which of us can last until the end!" He truly hadn''t thought that this war would develop to this point. Zero Wing''s actions had also forced Heaven''s Burial to raise its bounties correspondingly. The increased bounties added yet another significant expenditure for the Guild. Now, they were forced to spend the funds they had saved for Ancient Rock City''s development However, Singular Burial was still confident that his Guild''s foundations were sturdier than Zero Wing''s. He refused to believe that Heaven''s Burial couldn''t outcompete Zero Wing with the full support of Blackwater and the income from Ancient Rock City. Elsewhere, Shi Feng had finally reached the Boneless Land with Zero Wing''s internal members and White Tiger Dojo''s disciples. As the group arrived, they found themselves in a dusky, foggy area. They also felt an oppressive weight bear down on them, making their thoughts sluggish. Moreover, they felt an indescribably dangerous feeling from their surroundings, as if they''d die if they took a wrong step. Hidden among the fog, these players faintly saw the towering walls of a town some distance away. What''s going on? Why is there a town here? Shi Feng was confused when he noticed the distant town. He was very familiar with the Boneless Land, clearly remembering that it was home to Demonic Creatures. No NPC town should be able to survive here; the map should be a barren wasteland. Other creatures shouldn''t be able to survive in the Boneless land, not to mention human buildings. 1613 Mystery of the Boneless Land Chapter 1613 - Mystery of the Boneless Land Naturally, Shi Feng was curious about the mysterious town, and he immediately led his team towards it. This NPC town hadn''t existed during his previous life. In fact, he had never even heard of an NPC town in the Boneless Land. The various Guilds would never have spent so much effort to construct Guild Towns here in the past had this map had an NPC town. After all, the Boneless Land was not a high-resource map. It''s only benefit was its high drop-rate of Mana Ore. God''s Domain had quite a few high-resource maps that spawned large quantities of Mana Ore; the Boneless Land wasn''t unique in this aspect. Furthermore, due to the Boneless Land''s special environment, very few players had been willing to come here. Among the Guilds that had set their sights on the Boneless Land, none had been a superpower. The strongest Guild had only been a first-rate Guild. These Guilds had only bothered to build a Guild Town to ensure that their members had somewhere to rest and recover their spent Stamina and Concentration. A mysterious Fog shrouded the Boneless Land all year round, and any player that entered the map would have to endure several times the normal Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. The consumption rates were so high that players'' Stamina and Concentration would decrease even if they stood there and did nothing. Players simply couldn''t survive in the Boneless Land for long periods. And players could only recover their Stamina and Concentration by resting in a hotel or Guild Hall. Moreover, unlike in other locations where players would be immobilized if they ran out of Stamina or Concentration, players would die if they ran out in the Boneless Land! Because of this, Shi Feng had only intended to visit the Boneless Land after he acquired the Guild Magic Car. The Guild Magic Car was like a mobile hotel. With it, players could stay and mine Mana Ore in the Boneless Land as long as they needed to. If not for Zero Wing''s urgent need for Mana Ore and its increasing prices, Shi Feng wouldn''t have bothered to visit this area. As Shi Feng''s group inched closer to the fog-shrouded town, the pressure they felt increased. Their movements became stiff and sluggish, and they could feel a horrific power radiating from the town, their instincts screaming at them to avoid it. What an amazing town! Shi Feng was astonished when he finally got a clear view of the town. He was a Level 63, Tier 2 player, and very few things in the Boneless Land could threaten his life. The Boneless Land was, after all, a Level 60 to Level 80 map. It might be a dangerous map for other players at this stage of the game, but its difficulty was perfect for him. Moreover, the Boneless Land was a barren wasteland, without forests or canyons. Despite the dense fog, visibility in the map was considerably good. One could easily spot roaming monsters from a long distance away. "Guild Leader, there are a lot of monsters moving outside the town ahead. It looks like there are several thousands of them," a Level 32 Ranger, who used Eagle Eyes to scout the town''s surroundings, reported. The other team members couldn''t help but tense when they heard the Ranger. Although they had the combat standards of an expert, they were all still below Level 40, yet the monsters here were all Level 60 and above. With such a huge level difference, a handful of monsters would be more than enough to annihilate their team of several hundred. If not for Shi Feng''s presence, they would''ve likely turned tail and run by now. Why wouldn''t they be worried after learning that thousands of Level 60-plus monsters awaited them ahead? Although their levels were low, they''d still need a considerable amount of time to recover the lost EXP if they died. Several thousand monsters? Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Why are there so many? Monsters in the Boneless Land generally moved in groups of dozens; very rarely would more than 100 gather in a single location. Meanwhile, any group of over 100 Demonic Creatures would certainly be led by a Great Lord. Even Tier 2 expert players would try to avoid such a high-ranked monster. As a Demonic Creature dwelling, all sorts of Demonic Creatures lived in the Boneless land. Unlike ordinary field monsters, Demonic Creatures had much higher combat standards. Even the weakest among them would be able to reach the late stage of the Trial Tower''s second floor. Ordinary players could only reach the Trial Tower''s second and third floor with their combat standards. Meanwhile, Demonic Creatures also had much higher Basic Attributes than players of the same level. In other words, a Tier 2 ordinary player would be no match for a Tier 2 Lord ranked Demonic Creature of the same level. Only Tier 2 expert players had any hope, yet even these experts would flee from a Tier 3 Great Lord ranked Demonic Creature. Tier 2 experts would have to form a party to take one down. And now, thousands of Demonic Creatures had gathered around the town ahead of them "Guild Leader, are we still going to the town?" You Ziping, who had already reached Level 37, asked worriedly. When You Ziping saw the screenshot the Ranger had shared, littered with HP bars, even he, who had reached the Trial Tower''s sixth floor, could not help but break out in a cold sweat. He couldn''t fathom why Shi Feng had brought them here. If these Demonic Creatures accidentally discovered them, Shi Feng might be able to get away, but the rest of them would be slaughtered "Let''s head over and take a look," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some more thought. He had found an NPC town he had never heard of in the Boneless Land. It''d be a waste not to investigate. If they could use the town as a resting point, it would save him a lot of trouble. Following which, Shi Feng''s team members had no choice but to grit their teeth as they followed him to the town. When the team reached a small slope not far from the town and caught sight of the large number of Demonic Creatures around it, they were dumbfounded. Although they had experienced their fair share of life-or-death battles, their hearts began to pound with fear when they saw the Demonic Creatures ahead of them. This was especially true when they saw the gigantic, demonic snake, which was over a thousand meters long, guarding the town''s main entrance. The snake''s head alone was the size of a five-story-tall building. With a single breath, this serpent could create a powerful hurricane. Even from so far away, these players could feel the snake''s breath bush their skin. "How does God''s Domain have such a creature?!" "Is that really a monster?" As these players stared at the massive snake, fear and despair welled within them. They felt powerless, paralyzed by their fear. As they watched the demonic snake, they felt how insignificant humans truly were for the first time in their lives. Even running from the demonic snake would require a certain amount of courage, much less fighting it [Two-headed Bird Monster] (Demonic Creature, Chieftain) Level 62 HP 7,000,000/7,000,000 [Demonic Flame Hound] (Demonic Creature, Lord) Level 64 HP 15,500,000/15,500,000 [Three-headed Hellhound] (Demonic Creature, Great Lord) Level 65 HP 34,000,000/34,000,000 [Purgatory Serpent] (Archaic Species, Demonic Creature, Grand Lord) Level 70 HP 160,000,000/160,000,000 However, unlike his teammates, who were shocked by the Purgatory Serpent and its Demonic Creature companions, Shi Feng was surprised by the town beyond the Grand Lord. The town wasn''t an NPC town at all; it was mining site, operated by Demons A large number of Demons patrolled the town''s walls, and inside the town, even more Demonkin descended into and emerged from a massive hole in the town''s center. This massive hole seemed like a bottomless abyss, and Shi Feng could feel a heart-wrenching aura radiating from it. Meanwhile, among the various ores the Demonkin lifted out of the hole, Shi Feng spotted the precious Mana Ore. 1614 Leveling Holy Land Chapter 1614 - Leveling Holy Land A Demon operated mineral field? Shi Feng was flabbergasted as he stared at the massive hole in the center of the town. He had never realized that the Boneless Land had a mineral field and such a large one at that. Based on the size of the mineral field, Shi Feng estimated that it was a Medium Mineral Field. He had never heard of anything like this in the past. If people had known that the Boneless Land had a Medium Mineral Field, even Super Guilds would fight over it, not to mention first-rate Guilds. In God''s Domain, mineral fields were categorized by size. First, there were Small Mineral Fields, like the one in Heaven''s Burial''s Red Iron Town[1]. Small Mineral Fields had very small ore veins, and generally, 100 players and a full day were all one would need to mine a Small Mineral Field dry for a single cycle. Even so, Small Mineral Fields were extremely valuable. At the very least, a Guild wouldn''t lack the types of ore the mineral field spawned. The veins in Medium Mineral Fields were slightly larger, requiring 300 players and a full day to mine the veins dry for a cycle. As for Large Mineral Fields, a Guild would need to put 1,000 players to work for a full day to drain the veins. Large Mineral Fields were goldmines, and any Guild that owned one could make a fortune from it. While Small Mineral Fields in God''s Domain were common, Medium Fields were extremely rare, and Large Mineral Fields were as unique as a phoenix''s feather. In the past, the various superpowers had fought over every Medium and Large Mineral Field they had found, even those that spawned common ores, such as Iron Ore. Meanwhile, the mineral field Shi Feng stared at now clearly had more than low-end ore veins. Based on the ores the Demonkins carted out, Shi Feng knew that the mineral field housed an Ancient Bronze vein. Ancient Bronze Ore was not common in God''s Domain. However, demand for Ancient Bronze Ore wasn''t particularly high among players. This was because there weren''t nearly enough ways to use Ancient Bronze Ore. Despite its rarity, it wasn''t worth much. However, Eternium Ore, a byproduct of mining Ancient Bronze Ore, was highly sought after by forging players. Magisteel Ingots, produced with Eternium Ore, were extremely useful when forging. Not only could the ingots improving one''s forging success rate, but they could also slightly enhance the crafted weapons and equipment''s Attributes. Of course, Magisteel Ingots could only boost an item''s rank to a maximum of Fine-Gold rank. Even so, countless forgers sought the tool. Level 50-plus Fine-Gold equipment was still incredibly difficult to obtain, and after Level 50, most elite players could only equip Secret-Silver Equipment and below. Past Level 50, elite players would normally be equipped in Secret-Silver Equipment and below only. Hence, Magisteel Ingots had a considerable market. In the past, Magisteel Ingot had sold for 2 Gold per piece, yet plenty of players still fought over it. If one could lay claim to this Medium Mineral Field, they could make a fortune with the mined Eternium Ore. Considering the situation, Shi Feng couldn''t help but harbor thoughts of capturing this mineral field. Although he didn''t know why a mineral field had suddenly spawned in the Boneless land, he was sure that this was a golden opportunity. Setting the Eternium Ore aside, he could earn a fortune with the steady supply of Mana Ore this mineral field could provide. The only problem now was how to go about capturing the mineral field. There were easily several thousand monsters stationed around the town''s main entrance, and even more in the town''s surroundings. In addition, the monsters inside the town were even more powerful. The town''s Demon Supervisors were all Great Lords, and these were only the monsters on the surface. The town''s true guardians were likely far stronger. "Guild Leader, a monster patrol is moving our way. We need to hurry and leave this place," the scouting Ranger reported nervously as he watched the red dots on the system map. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. The monster patrols were a secondary issue. The main problem was the Purgatory Serpent sleeping by the town''s main entrance. This was the first time any of them had seen such a large monster since joining God''s Domain. Its aura was so strong that they even struggled to breathe. The consequences would be unimaginable if they fought the monster patrols and accidentally attracted the Purgatory Serpent''s attention. None of them wanted to stay here for a moment longer. "A patrol squad?" When Shi Feng saw the red dots on his system map, he suddenly smiled and said, "This is a good thing. For now, we''ll level up here." "Level up here?" Everyone turned towards their Guild Leader in confusion. Trying to grind and level up in such a place was suicidal. However, none of them realized that Shi Feng''s true goal was the Demons'' mineral field. Leveling up would simply be a side benefit. In Shi Feng''s opinion, they first had to defeat the monsters around the town. Otherwise, these monsters would rush to aid the Guardian Boss in the town as soon as they began the battle. If that happened, they would definitely team-wipe. Shi Feng had been pondering a way to lure the surrounding monsters in small numbers, but it seemed that the monsters had solved that problem for him. The approaching patrol squad had less than 100 monsters, led by a hill-sized, Great Lord ranked Three-headed Hellhound. Immediately, Shi Feng retrieved the Bible of Darkness and used Demon Summoning. Naturally, he had a reason for daring to lead a bunch of low-level players to the Boneless Land. If it were any other location, it''d likely be impossible for Shi Feng to protect so many players by himself, but the Boneless Land was home to Demonic Creatures. To these monsters, the Bible of Darkness was like an Achilles heel. Here, the Bible of Darkness could display its full potential. After Shi Feng summoned a Level 78, Tier 3 Tomahawk Demon, he directed the Demon to charge at the approaching patrol squad. Although one Level 78, Tier 3 Demon wasn''t enough to take out nearly 100 Level 60-plus Demonic Creatures, it could distract them for a short period. Furthermore, Demon Ruler''s passive effect increased Demonic Creatures'' Attributes under Shi Feng''s command by 30%, while also weakening enemy Demonic Creatures'' Basic Attributes by 30%. In moments, the Tomahawk Demon slaughtered the patrol squad''s weaker monsters. At the same time, its HP continued to decrease. In the meantime, Shi Feng wasn''t idle as he tried to use the Demon Ruler''s active effect, granting him temporary control of up to three Demonic Creatures, on the Three-headed Hellhound. Failure Failure Sure enough, it won''t be that easy. The outcome of his attempts to control the Hellhound didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. After all, the Skill only had a low success rate of 10%. Fortunately, he had the Tomahawk Demon to occupy the patrol squad. Demon Ruler''s active effect could only be used once every five minutes. A congratulatory prompt only popped up in his notification window after Shi Feng''s sixth attempt. System: Congratulations! You have taken control of the Three-headed Hellhound. You have two hours of control. As Shi Feng took control of the Three-headed Hellhound, thanks to Demon Ruler''s passive effect, the Hellhound''s Basic Attributes rose by 30%. Its HP also increased from 34,000,000 to 44,200,000. With control of the Three-headed Hellhound, Shi Feng had a much easier time defeating the remaining monsters in the patrol squad. When the Hellhound and Tomahawk Demon worked together, they made quick work of the Lord ranked Demonic Flame Hounds. After the first Level 64 Demonic Flame Hound died, Shi Feng noticed that his experience bar had risen by a small, but noticeable amount. He hadn''t expected the abundant EXP. The Demonic Flame Hound had granted at least three times more EXP than a Lord ranked monster of the same level. The awarded EXP also surprised the members of his team. They had never thought that they''d receive so much. Moreover, this was only the EXP from one Level 64 Lord. In the end, Shi Feng had eliminated the patrol squad within an hour. Many of his players had gained an additional level during that time. Their leveling speed was just staggering. 1615 Primordial Divine Ruin Chapter 1615 - Primordial Divine Ruin "Our Guild Leader is so awesome!" The players from Zero Wing gazed at the monster corpses before them and the abundant EXP they had received with glowing, excited eyes. At this point, they had completely forgotten about their prior fear and worry. When they had first noticed the approaching patrol squad, they had thought that they were dead for sure. Not only were the squad''s Demonic Creatures above Level 60, but the weakest among them was a Chieftain. However, as they watched Shi Feng Summon a Level 73, Tier 3 Tomahawk Demon and take control of the Level 65 Great Lord ranked Three-headed Hellhound, they were dumbfounded. They had never heard of any player being capable of such a feat. Great Lord ranked monsters generally served as Final Bosses in Team Dungeons. They were extremely difficult to defeat, not to mention control. With two Great Lord ranked monsters to assist Shi Feng in battle, eliminating all of the Level 60-plus Chieftains and Lords became child''s play. Furthermore, any of the Demonic Creatures that came close to Shi Feng suffered a decrease to their Basic Attributes. From time to time, Shi Feng had even used powerful AOEs to assist the two Great Lords. Shi Feng likely wiped this patrol squad out faster than the Guild''s main force could. However, their leveling speed was even more astonishing. They had never dreamed that it was possible to level up so quickly. They had leveled fast enough when the Guild''s main force had taken them out to power-level, but compared to traveling with Shi Feng, the difference was like heaven and earth. In a single hour, they had gained a full level. If other players heard about this, they''d laugh it off as a joke. As expected of the Bible of Darkness. It really is amazing against Demonic Creatures. Shi Feng was somewhat astounded as he glanced at the monster corpses littering the ground before him. The Three-headed Hellhound and Tomahawk Demon were only one tier higher than the Lords and Chieftains, but after the Basic Attribute buff and debuff, the remaining patrol squad was powerless to retaliate. Following which, Shi Feng began to collect the Demonic Creatures'' loot. Although the drop-rate for weapons and equipment decreased significantly after monsters reached Level 50, the Demonic Creatures in the patrol squad had all been Chieftain rank or higher. Hence, their loot was relatively generous. Overall, they had dropped over 20 Level 55 and Level 60 weapons and pieces of equipment. Most of the items were Bronze rank, while a few were Mysterious-Iron rank. The monsters had also dropped plenty of materials and potions. As Shi Feng picked up an aqua-blue potion bottle, his eyes began to glow. Death Potion! The monsters here actually drop this? Shi Feng was elated as he examined the potion. After players reached Level 50, they needed a tremendous amount of EXP to level up, and combat against monsters in the fields became increasingly difficult, making it easier to lose one''s life. The various large Guilds in the past had struggled to cope with the increased difficulty, and dealing with it gave them all massive headaches. The Death Potion had been a solution to their problem. When consumed, it halved the death penalty players would suffer. However, the potion was a one-time-use item. Once it was consumed, the potion would remain effective until the player died or logged out of the game. Hence, the various large Guilds had fiercely contested over the Death Potion in the past. Unfortunately, the potion had sold for a whopping 5 Gold due to its rarity and the fact that it only dropped in certain locations. Even so, it had become a must-have potion when hunting down powerful Field Bosses. The potion''s only downside was that only Level 50 and above players could use it. Shi Feng had never thought that these Demonic Creatures would drop such a valuable consumable. Moreover, he had obtained six Death Potions after killing one patrol squad with less than 100 monsters. This drop-rate was even higher than in the prime farming map he knew about Excited, Shi Feng controlled the Three-headed Hellhound and his Tomahawk Demon to take out another patrol squad. The Bible of Darkness''s Demon Ruler allowed him to control up to a maximum of three Demonic Creatures. Hence, Shi Feng continued to use the Skill and take control of more Three-headed Hellhounds. By the time Shi Feng finished with the third patrol squad, he had three Three-headed Hellhounds under his control, and the moment Demon Summoning''s Cooldown ended, he summoned another Tier 3 Demon. With five Great Lord ranked monsters under his control, Shi Feng could slay the Demonic Creatures far faster. Every one of his teammates was stupefied. After grinding for half a day, he had cleared out most of the Demonic Creatures around the town. Meanwhile, his team members'' levels skyrocketed despite having nearly 700 players on the team. Now, even the lowest-level member had reached Level 40, while the higher-level players had reached Level 42. Everyone had now caught up with mainstream players'' levels. They only lacked weapons and equipment. Since Shi Feng was the main DPS and his companions'' levels were much lower, he received the majority of the EXP from the monsters he had killed. However, Shi Feng did not rush to level up. Instead, he used the EXP to upgrade the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Auras. Ever since evolving the Seven Luminaries Ring to Fragmented Legendary rank, the upgrading each Aura required an astonishing amount of EXP. Even he didn''t dare to upgrade the carelessly. However, now that his level had exceeded frontline players'' by a large margin, he wouldn''t fall behind if he spent some of his EXP to upgrade the Seven Luminaries Ring. Without hesitation, Shi Feng upgraded the Auras of Fire, Time, and Space by one level. Now, instead of dealing 1,500% flame damage in a 60-yard radius, the Aura of Fire''s Flame Domain inflicted 1,800% damage in a 70-yard radius. The Skill''s Cooldown hadn''t changed, remaining at five minutes. As for the Aura of Time''s Forbidden Domain, its AOE had increased from a 500-yard radius to a 600-yard radius. Its duration was still 30 seconds. The Aura of Time''s Space Movement had increased from a teleportation distance of 600,000 yards to 700,000 yards, and Spatial Gate''s teleportation distance had increased from 300,000 yards to 350,000 yards. Both Skill''s Cooldowns hadn''t changed, though Spatial Gate''s duration had increased from 1 minute to 1 minute, 20 seconds. Although the Skills hadn''t undergone qualitative transformations, they had improved various aspects for Shi Feng. While he had killed the Demonic Creatures surrounding the town, Shi Feng had also acquired over 600 pieces of equipment. Unfortunately, the majority was Bronze Equipment, with only 50-plus pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. In addition, he had obtained three pieces of Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment and one piece of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment after he had lost control of the Three-headed Hellhounds and killed them. Although Shi Feng had secured a lot of equipment, he didn''t pay the items much mind. Rather, he was most interested in the 124 bottles of Death Potion he had obtained. He could either use them for the Guild or sell them, and either way, he''d benefit. After spending most of the day killing Demonic Creatures, Shi Feng opened a Spatial Gate and teleported his team to another map to rest. Despite the fact that his team members had simply followed him around the entire time, their Stamina and Concentration were nearly gone. If they did not leave the Boneless Land now, they''d all die here. As Shi Feng moved everyone to another map, Aqua Rose contacted, excitement and anxiety written across her face. "Guild Leader, something new has happened in the Orc Empire. I don''t know who triggered it, but a massive tower has suddenly risen in the empire''s outer region! And Elves are guarding it! Based on what we''ve learned thus far, it seems the tower is a Primordial Divine Ruin. Apparently, it contains plenty of treasure and Level 50-plus, top-tier equipment. Some players have even spotted Epic Treasure Chests. Moreover, we''ve learned from the NPCs there that if we clear the tower, we''ll receive a ticket to travel to the Primordial Battlefield. Players can learn Advanced Combat Techniques there. Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds and those from other countries are frantically gathering at the divine ruin. "Should we send some of our people over?" As Aqua Rose spoke about the Primordial Divine Ruin, her eyes sparkled. Just the fact that players could earn a ticket to the Primordial Battlefield was enough to tempt any Guild or player, not to mention the various treasure and top-tier equipment one could earn in the Primordial Divine Ruin. After all, combat techniques were extremely rare, and players created most of them. Even if a Guild had a combat technique, it wouldn''t teach its members the technique lightly. Furthermore, the Primordial Battlefield offered Advanced Combat Techniques. Even if players failed to grasp an Advanced Combat Technique in its entirety, the knowledge they gained during the attempt to learn it would still help them strengthen their combat standards. If Zero Wing missed this opportunity, it would fall behind the other Guilds in its development. Furthermore, thanks to Zero Wing''s new addition of 100 Refinement Realm experts, the various large Guilds had learned how valuable top-tier experts were. 1616 Skyrocketing Levels Chapter 1616 - Skyrocketing Levels A Primordial Divine Ruin in the Orc Empire? Shi Feng revealed a confused expression when he heard Aqua Rose''s words. How is that possible? Shi Feng was very familiar with Primordial Divine Ruins. Unlike ordinary ruins and Team Dungeons, Primordial Divine Ruins tested players'' survivability rather than their Basic Attributes and combat standards. They were similar to Regional Dungeons, only far more dangerous. But danger and opportunity stood hand-in-hand. Primordial Divine Ruins offered far more treasures than elsewhere, and even the loot in super-large-scale Team Dungeons paled in comparison. Combat techniques, in particular, didn''t drop in Team Dungeons. Among the many players that had grasped combat techniques in the past, a large majority had learned their techniques from the Primordial Battlefield. In fact, 80% of the Advanced Combat Techniques players had learned had originated from the Primordial Battlefield. Whenever a Primordial Divine Ruin had appeared in God''s Domain, bloodbaths had followed. Primordial Divine Ruins were similar to Team Dungeons as only a limited number of players could enter the ruins at a time. The number of players allowed to enter the ruins depended on the ruin''s size, which could range from several thousand to several tens of thousands. On top of that, Primordial Divine Ruins only opened once a day. Thus, to send as many of their members into the ruin as possible, the various large Guilds would try to prevent others from going in. The simplest method was to wipe out any non-allied players in the designated area. If players weren''t within the designated area when the Primordial Divine Ruin opened, they wouldn''t be allowed in. Of course, if the number of players present in the designated area exceeded the limit, nobody would be allowed into the ruin. It would only open once the player population in the area decreased to the ruin''s maximum limit. And the profits one could gain from raiding the Primordial Divine Ruin were extraordinary. The various large Guilds had done everything in their power to monopolize the Primordial Divine Ruins in the past. Many had waged war against other Guilds over the ruins, and one of these wars had even involved several Super Guilds. The Primordial Divine Ruins had only begun to spawn after the various large Guilds had cleared Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeons in Shi Feng''s previous life. He had never expected to find one so soon. "Guild Leader, based on our current information, Heaven''s Burial has turned its focus to this Primordial Divine Ruin. Singular Burial has even led Heaven''s Burial''s main force and a large number of experts to the ruin personally. By the looks of it, he seems adamant that he will secure the ruin. If we let Heaven''s Burial''s take advantage of this opportunity to learn combat techniques, they''ll become a much larger problem for us," Aqua Rose said worriedly. Currently, Zero Wing had an advantage over Heaven''s Burial in field combat due to the Conqueror''s Armor. Although the Guild exhausted a lot of its resources each day, Heaven''s Burial didn''t fare much better. However, if Heaven''s Burial obtained a large number of combat techniques and successfully nurtured Refinement Realm expert, the situation between their Guilds would change very quickly. Moreover, one could obtain plenty of Level 50-plus top-tier equipment from the Primordial Divine Ruin, with no lack of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. Usually, these items only dropped in 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons, yet they were common in the Primordial Divine Ruins. In fact, the ruin would even drop Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. Although many superpowers'' members had already reached Level 50, most of them wore a combination of Level 45 and Level 50 equipment. Zero Wing was no exception. If a Guild could gear its Level 50 members in sets of Level 50 top-tier equipment, it could increase its overall combat strength. "No. Ignore the Primordial Divine Ruin for now. Instead, start raiding Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons and improve everyone''s equipment. Also, have our members challenge their Tier 2 Promotion Quests if they can," Shi Feng said, shaking his head and rejecting Aqua Rose''s suggestion. "We''re not going to take part in the competition?" Aqua Rose frowned, confused about Shi Feng''s decision. The Primordial Divine Ruin was a shortcut that allowed players to obtain Level 50 top-tier equipment quickly, yet Shi Feng had decided to forego this opportunity, focusing on raiding Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons for the equipment instead. If they did this, Heaven''s Burial''s members would definitely have better equipment than theirs. "Mhm. Relax; we''re talking about a Primordial Divine Ruin. How could it possibly be that easy to raid? Even if we get inside, we''ll have to fight off the other Guilds. It''s more practical to grind for weapons and equipment in Team Dungeons. Moreover, securing Level 50 equipment is our priority right now. Without proper weapons and equipment, You Ziping and the others will be useless to the Guild even after they reach Level 50," Shi Feng explained, chuckling. Raiding a Primordial Divine Ruin was no less difficult than raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon of the same level. These sites focused on adventures for Tier 2 players specifically, and right now, the various large Guilds only had a small number of Level 50 players. Trying to raid a Primordial Divine Ruin with that level of power was a joke. "When they reach Level 50?" Aqua Rose was somewhat astonished. "But they''re only a little over Level 30 right now. Isn''t it too early to prepare for this?" As far as she knew, You Ziping and Zero Wing''s other internal members had yet to reach Level 40. They''d still need a considerable amount of time before they reached Level 50. Meanwhile, even if Heaven''s Burial failed to clear the Primordial Divine Ruin, it would still reap an impressive harvest. "No. Although they can''t compare to our elite members yet, they''re all past Level 40 now. By the time you finish preparing the necessary Level 50 equipment, their levels should be high enough," Shi Feng said. He then sent Aqua Rose the latest information on You Ziping and the other trainees. "Level 40?! No, this is They''ve reached Level 42?!" Aqua Rose''s jaw dropped when she saw the latest statistics on Zero Wing''s internal members and the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples. She simply could not believe it. "Guild Leader, what did you feed them? How have their levels increased so quickly?" She was very aware of Shi Feng''s capabilities. No other Guild member could compare to his leveling Speed. Even so, it''d be an impressive feat if Shi Feng could help You Ziping and his companions gain two levels in a day, yet, now She remembered that these players had been far from Level 40 the last time she had seen them. In fact, the lowest-level players among them had only been Level 31 and 32, yet every one of these 600-plus players had reached Level 40 and beyond after following Shi Feng "It''s nothing. I just found a good grinding spot. I doubt that it''ll be long before they''re Level 50. At that time, I''ll leave the equipment issue to you," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Alright, leave it to me! I''ll make sure that they all have proper sets of Level 50 Equipment as soon as they''re the right level!" Aqua Rose said, nodding enthusiastically after recovering from her stupor. You Ziping and the others were bona fide experts. A few of them were even a step away from the Refinement Realm. They only lacked levels and equipment. Once those issues were dealt with, they''d definitely elevate Zero Wing''s strength to a whole new level. Aqua Rose was excited just thinking about it. She immediately disconnected the call and contacted the Guild''s main force members, having them redirect their focus to raiding Level 50 Team Dungeons. A sense of urgency squirmed within Shi Feng as well due to the Primordial Divine Ruin''s appearance. After resting for a while longer, he activated Spatial Gate and teleported everyone back to their previous position outside of the Demon mineral field. After resting in tents for several hours, everyone''s Stamina and Concentration had mostly recovered. Shi Feng then summoned a Tier 3 Demon and began to eliminate the Demonic Creatures around the town once again. Naturally, as everyone''s levels continued to increase, their leveling speed slowed. Including the occasional breaks, the team had only cleared out the Demonic Creatures around the town after more than a day of fighting. Now, only the Purgatory Serpent remained, still guarding the town''s main entrance. As for the team, the lowest-level among them was now Level 43, while many had reached Level 45. Although Shi Feng was not satisfied with the result, the rest of the team was ecstatic. They had finally caught up with the Guild''s elite members. Now, they could participate in the Guild''s large-scale operations. However, before they could celebrate, the Purgatory Serpent, which had entrenched itself in front of the town''s entrance, opened its eyes. A resplendent glow radiated from its eyes, and mesmerizing divine ruins and curses began to cover the serpent''s long body. A moment later, the Purgatory Serpent released a furious roar, and the players suddenly felt suffocated. "How can this monster be so powerful?" "Guild Leader, is that monster" As they watched the changes overcome the Purgatory Serpent, they thought of a possibility. Evolution! 1617 Initial Display of Migh Chapter 1617 - Initial Display of Might The Purgatory Serpent''s body was starting to glow as well, its aura growing more intense. Even from over a thousand yards away, the players from Zero Wing could feel the power of the snake''s aura, and they couldn''t help but shudder. At this moment, it felt as if the Purgatory Serpent was this realm''s overlord. Everyone gulped nervously as they watched the serpent, fear flashing in their eyes. The confidence they had gained while leveling up had drowned in the Purgatory Serpent''s terrifying aura. It''s evolving? Shi Feng''s eyes twitched as he watched the thousand-meter-long Purgatory Serpent before him. Monster evolution was common in God''s Domain, particularly in field maps. In fact, players oftentimes considered themselves lucky if they ran across a monster during its evolution. Normally, the various large Guilds monopolized Field Bosses, not giving other players the chance to raid them. However, evolved monsters were a different story. Monster evolutions were random, and when a monster evolved and its tier increased, it would become the equivalent of a Field Boss. Moreover, when players killed a recently evolved monster, it would drop better loot than usual. However, an evolving Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species was no laughing matter The Purgatory Serpent''s combat standards had already been quite high originally. It was likely one of the strongest Bosses in the Boneless Land. Even a team of Tier 2 experts of the same level would struggle to defeat it, and they might even team-wipe. If the Purgatory Serpent evolved into a Tier 4 Mythic monster, it would definitely be the strongest Boss in the Boneless Land. It would become a taboo monstrosity, something that most players would avoid. As an Archaic Species, if the Purgatory Serpent reached Mythic rank, its combat power would even surpass an ordinary Mythic monster. One such incident had occurred in Shi Feng''s previous life. A Level 80 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species had suddenly evolved, and with its evolution, its map had become a forbidden land to players. The map had only been liberated from the Level 80 Boss''s tyranny after a Super Guild had sent a team of 1,000, Level 100 experts in to raid it. The team had also included over a dozen Tier 3 experts. The Super Guild had only killed the Tier 4 Mythic ranked Archaic Species after sacrificing over 70% of the 1,000-man team and nearly half of the team''s Tier 3 experts Although this Purgatory Serpent was only Level 70, if it evolved into a Tier 4 Mythic monster, it''d likely be impossible to defeat until players reached Level 100. "Guild Leader, should we retreat? Once this monster finishes its evolution, it''s perception range will definitely increase. We might not be safe here," You Ziping suggested. While he had witnessed Shi Feng''s prowess when working with five Level 65-plus Great Lords, he was no longer a noob. He knew that the most a Great Lord of the same level could do against a Tier 4 Mythic monster was buy some time. The five Great Lords under Shi Feng''s control had no hope against the evolved Purgatory Serpent. Retreat? Frustration flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he glared at the Purgatory Serpent. The Demon mineral field waited for him, and it was even a Medium Mineral Field that spawned Ancient Bronze Ore. Although the mineral field was not as valuable as a Manatite vein, it was worth enough. It would be especially helpful to Zero Wing, which currently lacked Mana Ore. However, he also had no way to defeat a Tier 4 Mythic ranked Archaic Species. This was nothing like his encounter with a Silvermoon Rate in the Dark Canyon. The Silvermoon Rat had only been a Lord ranked monster with 18,000,000 HP. Killing it before its evolution had completed had been entirely possible. However, the Purgatory Serpent was a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. It had a massive 160,000,000 HP. The Purgatory Serpent was already a challenging foe in its original state. Now that it was evolving, it had become far stronger. "Guild Leader?" You Ziping asked again after Shi Feng''s long silence. "No. We still have a chance." After watching the Purgatory Serpent for some time, Shi Feng noticed that runes on the serpent''s body progressed very slowly. Immediately, he commanded, "Everyone, get ready and follow me!" Nothing ventured, nothing gained! When he had cleared out the monsters around the town, he had felt that his mission was too easy. The monsters hadn''t been nearly as difficult as he had expected. However, now that he thought about it, the Purgatory Serpent''s evolution might not involve luck at all. Rather, it may have been organized by the system. This was an opportunity the system presented for the players. How else could he explain why the Purgatory Serpent had suddenly begun to evolve as soon as he cleared out the nearby Demonic Creatures? The only explanation was that the system wanted players to defeat the Purgatory Serpent while it evolved. If players failed to defeat the Purgatory Serpent and allowed its evolution, players would have no hope of acquiring the Demon mineral field until after they reached Level 100. "What? The Guild Leader wants us to fight the Purgatory Serpent?" As everyone watched Shi Feng dash towards the Purgatory Serpent, they began to wonder if he was a little too mad. They were only Level 40-plus players, still wearing Level 35 equipment. Starting a fight with the Purgatory Serpent would be suicidal. But since their Guild Leader had issued the command, they had no choice but to grit their teeth as they approached the Boss. In seconds, the team was within 1,000 yards from the evolving Grand Lord. The aura they felt radiating off of the Purgatory Serpent was much more intense as the players'' movements became somewhat sluggish. Meanwhile, Shi Feng retrieved one Miniature Ballista after another from his bag. In total, he took out 30 Miniature Ballistas. He had initially prepared these war weapons to help him take out troublesome, high-rank Bosses in the Boneless Field, but due to the Bible of Darkness'' amazing benefits, he hadn''t found an opportunity to use the massive siege weapons. "Split into five-man groups. Two groups will take turns manning each of the Miniature Ballistas. Leave the rest to me. Healers, follow me," Shi Feng instructed. Following which, he approached the Purgatory Serpent alongside his five Great Lords. Every monster evolution in God''s Domain took a considerable amount of time. Moreover, the higher tiered a monster was, the longer its evolution process would take to complete. In the case of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species like the Purgatory Serpent, it should need roughly 30 minutes to finish evolving. In other words, the system had only given them half an hour to eliminate the Purgatory Serpent. If they failed, they could return and challenge the Boss again after reaching Level 100. By then, however, the various superpowers would likely have discovered this area. When Shi Feng''s group was within 300 yards of the Purgatory Serpent, the evolving Grand Lord opened its amber eyes abruptly and glared at Shi Feng and the others. It roared angrily, radiating a dense killing intent that even made Shi Feng uncomfortable. However, despite its show of aggression, the serpent showed no intention of attacking. Instead, it diligently absorbed Mana from its surroundings as it continued to evolve. It seems to be focusing on its evolution. Shi Feng smiled, feeling that their chance of success had risen. Monsters could not move while they evolved. If they moved, their evolution would require more time. The process might even fail. Meanwhile, between dealing with them and continuing with its evolution, the Purgatory Serpent had obviously chosen the latter option. This gave Shi Feng enough time to prepare. "In a moment, I want every healer to focus on healing the Tomahawk Demon and pay attention to your positioning," Shi Feng commanded. Following which, he and his five Great Lords charged at the Purgatory Serpent. As the rest of the team watched the Swordsman charge towards the Boss, they couldn''t help but gape. They wouldn''t have been overly surprised if Shi Feng had used the Great Lords under his control as meat shields, but he had actually joined the assault. Moreover, he led the charge himself. He was simply insane. They were dealing with a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species here. Even the strongest MT at this stage of the game would die after two or three hits. What they didn''t know was that Demon Ruler''s passive effect only had a 200-yard range. If Shi Feng weren''t within range of the Grand Lord, he wouldn''t be able to weaken it. However, Shi Feng didn''t lead the charge due to Demon Ruler''s range. Rather, he did so because he wanted to use Disintegration Field, which only had a pitiful range of 100 yards. The Disintegration Field was also why Shi Feng thought that they had a chance of victory. He hadn''t truly witnessed the Disintegration Field''s power after recasting the Disintegration Armor. He did not know how much the Skill could suppress the Purgatory Serpent. Shi Feng stood within 100 yards of his target in the blink of an eye. At the same time, the Purgatory Serpent opened its mouth, and Mana began to gather within. It then fired a beam at Shi Feng. It''s time for you to show me your true power! Shi Feng then took the Disintegration Armor from his bag and activated Disintegration Field. Immediately, a dark-gray energy rippled from the Disintegration Armor, quickly reaching the Purgatory Serpent. Wherever the energy passed, space loosened, and Mana vanished. The ground 100 yards around Shi Feng even began to dry up and crack. 1618 Disintegration Armors Power Chapter 1618 - Disintegration Armor''s Power As the Disintegration Field activated, the gathering Mana in the Purgatory Serpent''s mouth disintegrated. The serpent''s Basic Attributes also began to decrease rapidly. So strong! Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise as he watched the Disintegration Field form. The Demon Ruler''s passive effect already weakened Demonic Creatures by 30%. Although Disintegration Field hadn''t significantly weakened the Purgatory Serpent, it had further decreased the Grand Lord''s Basic Attributes to 50% of their original values. As a result, the Purgatory Serpent''s HP had fallen from 160,000,000 to 80,000,000. The effects of Disintegration Field were even more powerful than World Projection, which cost 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate. However, the Disintegration Field''s special effect was far more frightening than the Basic Attribute decrease. It was easy to Silence someone in God''s Domain, but thinning the environmental Mana was incredibly difficult. This was something the old Disintegration Field was not capable of doing. Silencing Skills merely stopped a target''s flow of Mana. While Silencing Skills were useful against low-tiered players and monsters, most higher tiered players and monsters could remove the debuff. Although these Skills were godly during the game''s early stages, they''d become increasingly less effective as one progressed through the game. Conversely, Skills capable of decreasing Mana density weren''t much of an advantage. At most, these skills could weaken a target''s Skills or Spells and their focus. However, such Skills would play a larger role later in the game. Shi Feng had even seen Skills that could remove a target''s Mana entirely in the past. By doing so, not only could a player prevent their target from using Skills or Spells, but the Skills would also dull a target''s senses. Although the Disintegration Field wasn''t powerful enough to remove all of the Mana in range, only thinning it, it was still incredibly effective. At the very least, it was stronger than ordinary Silencing Skills against high-tiered monsters and players. "What did the Guild Leader just do? How did the Purgatory Serpent''s Mana decrease so drastically?" When they realized the Purgatory Serpent''s aura and Basic Attributes had weakened, Shi Feng''s team members were shocked. They all knew that the stronger a monster was, the harder it would be to suppress its Attributes. Even with an Intermediate Magic Array, players would be fortunate to reduce a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species'' Attributes by 20%, yet Shi Feng had suppressed the Purgatory Serpent to 50% of its Basic Attributes. Moreover, none of them had seen Shi Feng use any sort of magic array to suppress the Boss. This was simply unheard of. Suddenly, the Purgatory Serpent spat massive, emerald fireballs at Shi Feng, each the size of a small hill. They were incredibly fast, nearly impossible to dodge. "Guild Leader!" the Zero Wing players shouted as they watched the giant fireballs surround Shi Feng. Although the Purgatory Serpent''s Attributes had been significantly reduced, it was still an Archaic Species. As weakened as it was, it wasn''t an enemy low-level players like them could hope to defeat. So fast! When Shi Feng saw the incoming fireballs, he instinctively activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and Void Shield. He then brandished his swords to block the attacks. Boom Boom Boom As the fireballs descended, they shook the ground, and scorching flames filled the area. The powerful impacts formed one crater after another around Shi Feng. As the emerald flames scattered, the Purgatory Serpent revealed a human-like sneer. Zero Wing''s members paled at the sight. The power each fireball contained could rival a large-scale destruction Spell Meanwhile, Shi Feng was only a Swordsman, not an MT. He could never survive such a bombardment. As the team began to believe that Shi Feng had died, one player pointed at the team status window and shouted, "Huh?! Guys, look at the Guild Leader''s HP bar in the team window!" "What?! The Guild Leader''s HP bar is full! How is that possible?!" Everyone soon noticed Shi Feng''s HP bar in the team status window; his HP hadn''t fallen in the least. As the flames and smoke subsided, they revealed a quite figure standing among the numerous craters. This figure was none other than Shi Feng. Not even the barrier protecting him showed any signs of damage. As expected of an Archaic Species. Despite the reduction to its Basic Attributes, it can still execute such a powerful Spell. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he examined the Void Shield around him. Although it appeared unharmed, the attacks had claimed nearly a quarter of its HP. Heavenly Dragon''s Power increased his maximum HP by 500%, and Void Shield formed a protective barrier with ten times his maximum HP. In other words, the Void Shield could absorb over -4,000,000 damage, yet one of the Purgatory Serpent''s Spells had devoured nearly a quarter of that. Had he not activated Void Shield in time, the attacks would''ve burned him to ash even with Heavenly Dragon''s Power active. While the Purgatory Serpent had attacked Shi Feng, the Tomahawk Demon and the other Great Lords under Shi Feng''s control had surrounded the Grand Lord and moved outside of the Disintegration Field''s range. Without hesitation, all five Great Lords assaulted the Purgatory Serpent with one Tier 3 Skill after another. The Purgatory Serpent cried out in agony as the powerful attacks found their mark, and damages of around -700,000 began to appear above the Grand Lord''s head. In the blink of an eye, the Purgatory Serpent lost over 3,000,000 HP. What a high Defense! Shi Feng frowned when he saw the damages. Normally, Great Lords'' Tier 3 Skills and Spells should deal over a million damage to a Grand Lord of the same level, yet these attacks had only dealt around -700,000 damage. There was no doubt that the Purgatory Serpent''s Defense was extraordinary. When the Purgatory Demon had been attacked, it turned its attention towards the five Great Lords around it. With a furious bellow, the serpent rammed its head into the Tomahawk Demon. Due to the Purgatory Serpent''s massive size, the Tomahawk Demon didn''t have any time to dodge. It had no choice but to defend itself with its battle axe, and upon collision, it was sent flying over several dozen yards away, losing over 300,000 HP in the process. The difference between the monsters'' Strength was obvious at a glance. The Grand Lord''s shifting body also struck the other Great Lords, though they didn''t receive as much damage as the Tomahawk Demon. For a time, the Purgatory Serpent overwhelmed the five Great Lords, and they continuously lost HP. This snake''s Strength is really something. It can practically rival a Mythic monster of the same level. The Purgatory Serpent''s Strength astonished Shi Feng. Fortunately, not only had the Grand Lord''s Basic Attributes decreased by 50%, but it was also stuck in its position. Otherwise, defeating the five Great Lords would be child''s play with the Purgatory Serpent''s combat power. Once his five Great Lords had secured the Purgatory Serpent''s aggro, Shi Feng gave the command to the distant Zero Wing members to begin their attacks with the Miniature Ballistas. Immediately, the 30 Miniature Ballistas surrounded the Grand Lord and fired. When the Exploding Arrows, which rivaled Tier 2 Spells in power, struck the Purgatory Serpent, the Grand Lord''s HP swiftly decreased. Each Exploding Arrow dealt between -50,000 to -60,000 damage; one volley dealt over -1,500,000 damage. Shi Feng wasn''t idle, either. After commanding the attack, he charged forward and assailed the Purgatory Serpent. Although he could not deal as much damage as the Miniature Ballistas, every hit he landed claimed over 10,000 of the Grand Lord''s HP. He used every Skill in his arsenal to devour as much of the Purgatory Serpent''s HP as possible. If they could not defeat the Purgatory Serpent before its evolution completed, they''d likely die here. As time passed, the Purgatory Serpent''s HP gradually decreased. 90% 80% 70% When the Purgatory Serpent''s HP fell to 20%, it could no longer sit still. It gave up on absorbing Mana to complete its evolution and whipped around its colossal tail, sending powerful attacks at Shi Feng and the five Great Lords. At the same time, it opened its maw and began to gather a terrifying amount of Mana. As it did so, a gigantic, twofold magic array gradually formed before its open jaws. "Crap! Everyone, move away from the Boss''s front! Healers, gather together!" When Shi Feng saw this, he rushed towards the healers and activated Absolute Domain. However, Shi Feng''s warning had little effect as the Purgatory Serpent gathered Mana too quickly. By the time Shi Feng reached the core of the healer group, the Purgatory Serpent had released its Death Breath, firing a blistering, black beam from its mouth. Any player or Miniature Ballista in the beam''s way was vaporized instantly. With a single attack, the Purgatory Serpent had severely injured three Great Lords, destroyed 11 Miniature Ballistas, and killed over 200 players Everyone was dumbfounded. They never thought that the Purgatory Serpent would be so powerful despite abandoning its chance to evolve. "It doesn''t have much HP left! Attack with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng commanded, breathing a sigh of relief when he noticed that two of the Great Lords could still attack. The team''s healers were also unharmed. Although trying to pin down the Purgatory Serpent with two Great Lords was pushing his luck, they should be able to survive the Grand Lord''s attacks with the help of the healers'' Healing Spells and his Life Domain, albeit barely. However, the Purgatory Serpent''s Strength and speed had increased significantly after it abandoned its evolution. If the Tomahawk Demon weren''t careful and received a direct hit, it would lose hundreds of thousands of HP instantly, one or two million if it received a Skill or Spell attack. Despite Life Domain''s healing, the Tomahawk Demon still rapidly lost HP. In contrast, the Purgatory Serpent''s HP decreased very slowly. 15% 10% 8% 6% As the Purgatory Serpent''s HP fell to 4%, the Tomahawk Demon could no longer hold on, and it died, leaving a single uninjured Great Lord and three wounded Great Lords to tank the Grand Lord. From time to time, the Purgatory Serpent cast its Spells, instantly killing the distant Zero Wing members. Now, less than half of the team was standing, and only ten of the Miniature Ballistas remained intact When Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s duration ended, Shi Feng followed up with Power of Darkness. He used every attack method he had to whittle down the Grand Lord''s remaining HP. Yet, as if the Purgatory Serpent refused to lose any more HP, it took the team a long time to drop it to 1%. When the Purgatory Serpent only had 1% of its HP remaining, Shi Feng''s team began to lose members even faster. "Die!" When Shi Feng noticed his DPS drop, he gritted his teeth and activated Blade Liberation. He then swung Killing Ray at the monstrous Purgatory Serpent. Purgatory Pentaslash! Shi Feng landed five consecutive hits with his Sacred Sword, each stronger than the last. With all five attacks, Shi Feng had shoved the Purgatory Serpent''s massive frame back by over ten yards. The ground even trembled under the might of his attacks. Once Shi Feng''s chain-attack ended, the Purgatory Serpent''s HP fell to zero. Like a puppet with cut strings, the Grand Lord collapsed to the ground, shattering the earth beneath it 1619 Frightening Aura Chapter 1619 - Frightening Aura "It''s dead! The Boss is finally dead!" The surviving Zero Wing members breathed a sigh of relief as the Purgatory Serpent fell. Originally, they had nearly 700 players on the team, but now, less than 200 remained. Only six of the 30 Miniature Ballistas had survived the fight, as well. Had the raid lasted any longer, the Purgatory Serpent would''ve likely annihilated them. Fortunately, they secured victory in the end. After the Purgatory Serpent died, the surviving players watched their experience bars rapidly fill. In the blink of an eye, many of them leveled up. Even those that had not had gained over half of a level. However, these players were more surprised about the loot the Purgatory Serpent had dropped. Although the Grand Lord had not evolved to Mythic rank, it had been in the middle of its evolutionary state. Hence, the quality of its loot had improved slightly. Moreover, Shi Feng had activated Divine Providence before dealing the final blow. Both factors resulted in the Purgatory Serpent dropping an abundant amount of loot. Overall, the Boss had dropped over 80 items, and every one of them glowed with a dazzling light that instantly captured the players'' attention. In addition, a towering pillar of light rose for the pile of loot, lasting nearly five seconds before it faded. "Crap! What kind of loot is that? How can items cause such a phenomenon?" "Epic rank?" "No! An Epic item wouldn''t cause such a commotion. I wonder if its a rumored Legendary rank item?" "Forget Legendary items; I could become so much stronger if I could get my hands on an Epic item. My development would skyrocket. Everyone stared at the small mountain of loot, dumbfounded. They were ravaged with curiosity about the items the Grand Lord had dropped. At this point, Epic Weapons and Equipment were the strongest gear the various large Guilds had seen in God''s Domain, but everyone had already seen these items before. They knew that Epic items couldn''t cause such a phenomenon. The only thing they could think of that would cause something like this was a Legendary item. As the light pillar disappeared, the Zero Wing players fought the urge to run towards the loot. They''d have an easy future if they obtained even one Epic item, not to mention a Legendary item. With a Legendary item, they''d never have to worry about daily necessities for the rest of their lives. But despite such thoughts, none of them moved a muscle as they admired the pile of items. Nobody dared to take a single step forward. Even the outsiders, the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples, stayed where they stood. First, this was a Guild operation, and any items obtained during the operation belonged to the Guild. Furthermore, they were internal members, nurtured by the Guild. They wouldn''t even earn GCPs during this operation, much less items. Secondly, Shi Feng had basically killed the Purgatory Serpent by himself. They simply operated the Miniature Ballistas and helped deal damage. They hadn''t contributed in any essential way. Although the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples weren''t pleased about the outcome, even if they wanted to steal a few items, none of them had the courage to do so with a monstrous player like Shi Feng standing beside the pile. Although they had known that Zero Wing''s Black Flame was incredibly strong, they hadn''t realized exactly how strong before today, but after watching Shi Feng dominate a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species by himself, they realized how wide the gap was between them and their leader. "Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is inhuman! He sent a monster as powerful and massive as the Purgatory Serpent flying with a single attack! Just how high are his Attributes?" "So, this is Zero Wing''s rumored strength? The Guild is actually powerful enough to kill a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species at this stage of the game. Even Super Guilds might not be able to do so." "It''s no wonder the Hall Master wanted us to train in Zero Wing. If I had one-third of that man''s standards, I could achieve something great in God''s Domain." As the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples watched Shi Feng appraise the loot, their previous contempt for Zero Wing transformed into awe and admiration. Had they encountered such a situation when they had first joined God''s Domain, they wouldn''t have spared a glance at Shi Feng''s performance, but after playing the game for some time, they realized that God''s Domain was no ordinary virtual reality game. This game''s experts were more impressive than those in other games, especially experts like Shi Feng. Although it had seemed as if Shi Feng''s movements and attacks had been random throughout the battle, every one of his movements had been carefully calculated. Shi Feng had constantly guided the Purgatory Serpent during the battle, reducing the risk of the Grand Lord damaging the team as much as possible. Had Shi Feng not been there to guide the Purgatory Serpent''s attacks, they''d likely be lying on the ground right now. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng reached the small mountain of items, he began to collect and appraise the loot. The Purgatory Serpent had dropped a total of 84 items. Among them, 31 were precious Epic materials, such as the Purgatory Serpent''s Skin and Scales, 16 potions, 11 Tier 2 Magic Scrolls, one Tier 3 Magic Scroll, and three Tier 2 Skill Books. All three Skill Books contained considerably rare Tier 2 Skills; one offered the Tier 2 Skill, Divine Shield, for Guardian Knights, one offered the Tier 2 Skill, Fire Snake Dance, for Elementalists, and one contained the Tier 2 Skill, Titan''s Hand, for Berserkers. Titan''s Hand was the rarest of the three Skills, one which all Berserkers dreamed of wielding. The Skill was neither a damage Skill nor did it over some heaven-defying Defensive ability. Instead, it allowed players to wield two two-handed weapons for a short time, significantly improving Berserkers'' DPS and combat abilities. An additional weapon also meant an additional boost to a player''s Attributes. Moreover, wielding two weapons allowed players to use more complex attack patterns. In addition, Berserkers didn''t have to worry about a lack of Strength in their attacks like duel-wielding Swordsmen due to the nature of two-handed weapons. Hence, Titan''s Hand was a highly sought after Skill for Berserkers. In fact, the Skill''s market value was on par with Tier 3 Skills. Of the remaining loot, there were nine pieces of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment, four pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment, two pieces of Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment, one pair of Epic ranked cloth shoes, two Mana Stones, one engineering design, one alchemy recipe, and one forging design. The last item, however, was a blood-red stone engraved with glowing, golden divine runes. Sure enough, the Demon mineral field''s Guardian Boss was quite extraordinary. Shi Feng was clearly ecstatic when he saw the blood-red stone. Even he had wondered what kind of item would cause such a phenomenon, releasing such a powerful aura. But even after appraising most of the loot, he hadn''t found any particularly special items. The most powerful item was the Epic ranked cloth shoes, but no Epic item could cause such a dazzling event. Upon appraising the blood-red stone, however, Shi Feng realized that this stone had been the cause of the commotion. The stone was none other than the Bloodline every player in God''s Domain dreamed of obtaining. However, this Bloodline wasn''t like those he had obtained in the past. The Dark Iron Bloodline he had obtained during his visit to the Divine Staircase had been personally crafted by a God, but the Bloodline in his hand had formed naturally. Hence, it had taken the form of a stone rather than a gentle liquid. 1620 Natural Bloodline Chapter 1620 - Natural Bloodline "What''s up with the Guild Leader? Why is he staring at that blood-red stone?" "Is there something special about it?" "What''s so special about a stone? It''s just raw material. I wonder what kind of equipment the Purgatory Serpent dropped? It''d be insane if it dropped a piece of Legendary Equipment!" "Don''t be crazy! No matter how you look at it, a Grand Lord will never drop a Legendary item. Though, it might have a high chance of dropping a Fragmented Legendary item. If our Guild obtains a Fragmented Legendary item, the Super Guilds will go mad with jealousy!" The players from Zero Wing launched into a discussion about the Purgatory Serpent''s loot, growing particularly excited as they talked about the possibility of a Fragmented Legendary item dropping. Players in the various large Guilds had begun to reach Level 50, and some of the Guilds had already obtained a few Epic items. However, no one had heard of a Guild obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item. If Zero Wing found a Fragmented Legendary item, it would become the Guild''s prized treasure, serving as a symbol of the Guild''s strength. Such an item would definitely elevate the Guild''s reputation since it would be the first Guild in God''s Domain to possess such an item. Almost everyone who played virtual reality games paid attention to weapons and equipment. Apex weapons and equipment, in particular, were highly sought after. If news spread of Zero Wing''s procurement of a Fragmented Legendary item, even players in other kingdoms and empires would learn of their Guild, much less Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. A flood of players would visit their Guild Residences to join Zero Wing, making it much easier for the Guild to recruit experts and continue to increase its strength. A Fragmented Legendary item? Shi Feng could not help but chuckle when he overheard the hushed conversations. Zero Wing had acquired Fragmented Legendary items long ago, and the Guild actually had more than one. Although they were correct that a Fragmented Legendary item could improve Zero Wing''s reputation, great wealth brought great misfortune. Although the Guild''s fame would skyrocket if the public knew that Zero Wing possessed Fragmented Legendary items, it would also earn the Guild an endless number of enemies. Hence, he had forbidden the Guild''s upper echelons speaking about these items to the public. Moreover, the blood-red stone in his hand was far more valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item. Bloodlines were extremely rare in God''s Domain, even rarer than Fragmented Legendary items. When a Bloodline was found, even Super Guilds would use every weapon in their arsenal to obtain it, and the resulting bloodbaths would be horrendous. Obtaining a Bloodline increased a Guild''s chance of nurturing an apex expert. Moreover, as players reached higher levels, the Bloodline''s benefits would become more prominent. After a certain level, these benefits would even surpass those of a Fragmented Legendary item. Furthermore, the stone in his hand was a naturally occurring Bloodline, not an artificial Bloodline crafted by Ancient Gods. There were two types of Bloodlines in God''s Domain. The first type included the Ancient Gods'' creations, the main Bloodline source in God''s Domain. The second type involved naturally occurring Bloodlines. The first type formed by drawing on the Ancient Gods'' power, and in terms of potential, these Bloodlines were slightly weaker than their natural counterparts. Regardless, both types of Bloodline had their own advantages. Those created by the Ancient Gods catered to specific aspects. For example, Shi Feng''s Dark Iron Bloodline improved his compatibility with melee Skills, helping him increase his Skill Compatibility Rates. On the other hand, natural Bloodlines weren''t as specialized, but in return, they provided greater boons to Basic Attributes. Due to the nature of these Bloodlines, players who used them were generally known as humanoid monsters. To players who wanted to push the limits of their Basic Attributes, natural Bloodlines were invaluable. Shi Feng couldn''t believe he had actually obtained a natural Bloodline from killing a Level 70 Grand Lord. Even though it had been an Archaic Species, it shouldn''t have had a chance of dropping one, yet it had. If the Demon Players in the World Summit found out about this, they''d die of envy. Despite the various Demon Players trying desperately to ascend the Divine Staircase, they struggled to earn enough Shrine Points to purchase a Bloodline, yet Shi Feng had obtained one after killing a single monster. Moreover, the raid had been relatively easy, with one boss and no mobs. Moreover, this stone was top-tier among Basic Bloodlines. It was called the Shadow Bloodline. [Shadow Bloodline] Weakens presence and aura significantly. Effects double when in darkness. Improvements focus on Agility, followed by Strength, Endurance, Intelligence, and Vitality. Although the Shadow Bloodline''s benefits to a player''s combat power weren''t as apparent as the Ancient Gods'' Bloodlines, it would undoubtedly increase an Assassin or Ranger''s survivability. Decreasing one''s presence and aura wasn''t just effective against other players, but monsters would also struggle to notice the player. Rangers and Assassins with the Shadow Bloodline would be able to explore high-level maps with ease, and they could enter places that players normally avoided. They could enter places that players normally could not set foot into. The Shadow Bloodline alone was more valuable than the Purgatory Serpent''s combined loot. This trip was definitely worth it. Shi Feng could not help but smile at the Shadow Bloodline. Neither Epic Equipment nor precious tools could help nurture a true apex expert, but the Shadow Bloodline could. In fact, it might even help a player become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Even if he gave the Shadow Bloodline to an ordinary Assassin or Ranger in the Guild, he could instantly nurture an astonishingly powerful expert, let alone experts like Fire Dance. When Shi Feng finally finished admiring the Shadow Bloodline, he stored it in his bag. He had no intention of informing the others about the item. After he finished with the remaining loot, he instructed his team to rest up and prepare to enter the town. No one gave Shi Feng''s decision much thought. They simply did as they were told while the healers resurrected the dead. Meanwhile, the magic barrier around the town had vanished after the Purgatory Serpent''s death. Players could now enter the town without hindrance. Of course, chaos ensued in the town. The Demonkin, who had been mining the ores, ran around in a panic while the Demon Supervisors angrily suppressed the undisciplined Demonkin. [Demonkin] (Demonic Creature, Chieftain) Level 70 HP 9,000,000/9,000,000 [Demon Supervisor] (Demonic Creature, Great Lord) Level 72 HP 38,500,000/38,500,000 To Shi Feng, this chaos was an opportunity. There were easily more than ten thousand monsters in the town, and if they moved like an organized army, capturing the town''s mineral field would likely be impossible. However, he could take advantage of the fight between the Demonkin and the Demon Supervisors, slowly clearing out the monsters in the town. Shi Feng didn''t hurry to enter the town after his slain team members resurrected. Instead, he activated a Spatial Gate and sent them out of the Boneless Land to rest and recover. His team''s Stamina and Concentration had almost depleted during the previous battle, and there was no doubt that they were in for a long, arduous battle once they entered the town. They had to recover their Stamina and Concentration first. Time passed quickly. Once everyone had recovered, Shi Feng led them back to the town''s perimeter. "Everyone, get ready! Once my Great Lords secure the monsters'' aggro, you''ll attack with the remaining Miniature Ballistas! Do not let any of the Demonkin or Demon Supervisors get close!" Shi Feng ordered. He then took a deep breath before pushing open the town''s steel gates. The instant Shi Feng entered the town, a horrific killing intent washed over him, shocking him awake. A series of system notifications then bombarded his ears. 1621 Lost Town Chapter 1621 - Lost Town When the Demon Town''s rune-covered gates opened, it felt as if some seal on the town had been removed as a chilling aura of killing intent surged out of the town''s gate. "What kind of town is this? Why does it have such a powerful aura?" "Crap! My Attributes are decreasing!" As the players from the White Tiger Dojo and Zero Wing prepared for battle some distance away, they couldn''t help but shudder the moment Shi Feng opened the gates. There was a massive difference between the aura they felt as the gates opened and the aura they had felt while looking at the Demon Town from the distant hillside. If the aura they had felt before was air, the aura they felt now was as heavy and dense as sea water. Not only did the powerful aura bring with it an intense mental pressure, making it hard for them to think, but their Attributes had also begun to spiral downward. In the blink of an eye, their Basic Attributes had decreased by 30%... Shi Feng, who had already entered the town, wasn''t surprised by the sudden change. However, he was surprised by the system notifications he had received. System: Congratulations! You have discovered a Lost Town. System: Congratulations! You have triggered the Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Demon''s Nest." System: Do you wish to accept this quest? If you abandon this quest, the Lost Town will disappear due to its broken seal. You have one hour to consider. If you do not make a decision within the hour, the quest will automatically be abandoned. Why is there a Lost Town here? Shi Feng looked at the system notifications in confusion. Aside from its kingdoms, empires, and neutral towns and cities, God''s Domain had towns that had been left behind by ancient civilizations. Unfortunately, these towns didn''t have official names since their history had been lost, leaving them with the title of ''Lost Town.''. Lost Towns weren''t like ordinary towns. All of the Lost Towns contained power and abilities, which other towns didn''t have, that their ancient civilization had left behind. These abilities had different levels of strength. Some could even help a first-rate Guild develop into a super-first-rate Guild in a short amount of time, although even Lost Towns with weaker abilities could tempt a superpower into action. This was due to the abilities'' unique nature in God''s Domain. In the past, many wars had been waged between God''s Domain''s superpowers over these Lost Towns. There had even been one instance involving over ten superpowers. Shi Feng had never expected to find a Lost Town in the Boneless Land. The mineral field was nothing compared to the town itself. It''s no wonder why I hadn''t heard of a town in the Boneless Land in the past. This restriction is likely the reason that no one ever found it. Shi Feng could not help but smile bitterly at the system notification. Regardless of how powerful a Lost Town was, they were all incredibly difficult to claim. There was no turning back if one missed the opportunity. Once a Lost Town disappeared, it was gone forever. The players that had found the Boneless Land''s Lost Town had likely failed the quest, causing its disappearance. If that were the case, it was only natural that no one had ever heard of it. Of course, Shi Feng accepted the quest. Although he did not know what this Lost Town''s function was, Zero Wing would miss out on a golden opportunity to grow stronger if he abandoned it. System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest, "Demon''s Nest." Quest content: You are required to collect 100 Darkness Stones to re-seal the anchor within 10 natural days. If you fail to do so, the Demon King of a specific Planar World will hunt you endlessly. You will also permanently lose 100 points from all Attributes and 10 Levels. Quest reward unknown. Crap! Shi Feng nearly spat blood when he read the quest content. He finally understood why the players who had discovered the Boneless Land''s Lost Town had failed the quest to acquire it. This quest was beyond difficult. It was a joke! Darkness Stones were like Mana Stones. They contained a frightening amount of Power of Darkness, which Demon Players could use to improve the Power of Darkness within. In the past, Demon Players had even spent up to 500 Gold per Darkness Stone. Yet, this quest required him to gather 100 Darkness Stones within 10 natural days. This quest was asking for the impossible. Darkness Stones were immensely rare, and normally, on Mythic ranked Dark Creatures had a chance of dropping them. Even if he were extremely lucky, and every Mythic Dark Creature he killed dropped one, he''d still have to kill 100 of them With his current standards, killing one Mythic Dark Creature would be impossible, let alone 100. Not even Super Guilds could accomplish such a feat. Mythic monsters weren''t easy to find, and Mythic ranked Dark Creatures were an even rarer sight. Hunting down 100 Mythic ranked Dark Creatures in 10 days would be nearly impossible. When Shi Feng saw the penalty for failing the quest, he was speechless. The penalty was extraordinarily ruthless. While he could accept losing 10 levels and 100 points in every Attribute, dealing with a Tier 5 Demon King''s tenacious hunt was no laughing matter. Meanwhile, he wasn''t nearly powerful enough to kill a Demon King. Every Demon King had the power to engulf a kingdom in flames. Even Tier 4 players would be little more than ants before a Tier 5 Demon King, much less a Tier 2 player like Shi Feng "Guild Leader, has something happened?" Zero Wing''s members asked curiously when they realized that Shi Feng hadn''t moved for some time. Forget it. Let''s just secure the town and get the Mana Ore. Shi Feng shook his head to clear his mind. There was no point in pondering the quest since he didn''t have a solution for obtaining the 100 Darkness Stones. Following which, he commanded, "Everyone, prepare for battle!" As Shi Feng gave the command, the team members began to push the Miniature Ballistas forward, following after their leader. At the same time, Shi Feng controlled his four remaining Great Lords to lure some of the battling Demonkin and Demon Supervisors. Unlike the players, whose Basic Attributes had been suppressed when the town''s gates had opened, the Demonic Creatures within were unaffected. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Bible of Darkness, and with the Demon Ruler''s suppression, dealing with the Chieftain ranked Demonking and Great Lord ranked Demon Supervisors became easy. After Shi Feng''s Great Lords gathered some Demonic Creatures, Shi Feng activated Flame Domain while Zero Wing''s members attacked with the remaining siege weapons. After around 20 minutes, the team had cleared out a wave of Demonkin and Demon Supervisors. When the monsters died, the players'' experience bars rose by a sizable chunk. However, these monsters granted considerably less EXP than the Demonic Creatures they had killed outside of the town. In fact, they had awarded even less EXP than ordinary monsters of the same rank and level. Even so, these players'' leveling speed was multiple times faster than peak experts. As for the Demonkin and Demon Supervisors'' loot, it simply couldn''t compare to the loot the Demonic Creatures had dropped. Despite killing over a hundred Demonkin and several Demon Supervisors, the team had only obtained six pieces of Bronze Equipment and one piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment. As Shi Feng collected the loot, however, he discovered several black crystals beside the Demonic monsters corpses. What?! This is Mana Ore! Shi Feng had nearly thought his eyes had played a trick on him when he saw the black crystals on the ground. Everyone in God''s Domain knew that the monsters didn''t drop Mana Ore, but it was nearly impossible that Shi Feng, who was both a Master Forger and extremely familiar with the metal, would mistake the item. After carefully examining the corpses, Shi Feng found 17 ingots of Mana Ore, over a hundred ingots of Ancient Bronze Ore, and three ingots of Eternium Ore. Even if one mined an Ancient Bronze vein, they likely wouldn''t obtain a single ingot for every 30 ingots of Ancient Bronze Ore. And players would be very lucky to gain a single ingot of Eternium Ore for every 100 ingots of Ancient Bronze Ore, yet Shi Feng had obtained so much after killing a few Demonkin and Demon Supervisors. This was inconceivable 1622 Struggle over the Primordial Divine Ruin Chapter 1622 - Struggle over the Primordial Divine Ruin Shi Feng wasn''t the only player surprised to discover that the Demonkin and Demon Supervisors dropped Mana Ore. "Hey, do those rocks look like Mana Ore to you?" "Mhm. I''ve seen Mana Ore before. They should be Mana Ore!" "Isn''t Mana Ore a rare drop when mining? I never knew that monsters dropped it, too." None of these players was a stranger to Mana Ore. Due to the disturbance the Orc Empire had caused, the kingdoms and empires neighboring the Orc Empire had activated a contribution system that allowed players to purchase precious items. The contribution system had also lured many players towards the Orc Empire. If players wanted to ease the task of killing the empire''s Orcs, the Mana Charm, crafted with Mana Ore, was a must-have. Currently, Mana Ore sold for 1 Gold, 20 Silver per piece. Moreover, this price continued to rise, yet their team had obtained over a dozen pieces of Mana Ore after killing one Demonic Creature group. They had just made over 20 Gold in profit, and this included the cost of repairing their weapons and equipment. Even expert players were fortunate to earn 1 Gold a day. Furthermore, the various large Guilds currently viewed Mana Ore as a strategic item. With so many people eyeing the ore, it was hard to purchase even if one could afford the cost. And their profit would be even greater if they used all of the Mana Ore to craft Mana Charms. The Mana Charm was a Consumable item, and one could craft 10 charms with a single piece of Mana Ore. Currently, Mana Charms sold for 20 Silver each. "Alright, we''re moving on to the next wave!" After Shi Feng collected the loot, he had his monsters lure another wave of Demonic Creatures. In the previous fight, Shi Feng had taken control of a Demon Supervisor, and he had five Great Lords under his command once more, making it much easier to defeat the next wave of Demonkin and Demon Supervisors. With the five Great Lord tanks, Shi Feng''s Flame Domain and various AOE Skills, and Zero Wing''s members attacking with the Miniature Ballistas, the team steadily and swiftly eliminated one wave of Demonic Creatures after another. Although the battles were monotonous and boring, these players brimmed with excitement throughout the grind. With each wave of Demonkin and Demon Supervisors they killed, they earned between 10 and 20 pieces of Mana Ore and 3 to 5 pieces of Eternium Ore. The team had also become more efficient as they worked; it had initially taken them 20-plus minutes to annihilate each wave, and now, they cleared the monsters in a little over 10 minutes. With the abundant EXP, the team''s leveling speed was also astonishingly fast. After grinding for a little over a day, Shi Feng and his players finally reached the town''s inner area. At this point, these players had leveled significantly. Now, even the lowest-level player was Level 45, whereas the highest-level player was Level 47. They had nearly caught up with Zero Wing''s elite members. Meanwhile, to improve their efficiency, Shi Feng had invested the EXP he had acquired into the Aura of Fire''s Flame Domain. Now, the Skill dealt 2,400% base damage every second for eight seconds, rather than the previous 1,800% every second for seven seconds. The damage per second upscale had also risen from 20% to 25%, and the Skill now covered a 100-yard radius. The Skill could basically rival super-large-scale destruction Spells. Unfortunately, its Cooldown was still five minutes. Meanwhile, after more than a day of grinding, Shi Feng had acquired a total of 4,526 pieces of Mana Ore and 913 pieces of Eternium Ore. The monsters had actually dropped more Mana Ore than what Zero Wing had in its Warehouse by a considerable margin. While Shi Feng massacred Demonkin and Demon Supervisors, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow had kept him updated with several situation reports. Their reports mainly focused on the Primordial Divine Ruin in the Orc Empire. The various large Guilds had fought tooth and nail over the ruin after its sudden appearance. They all wanted the Level 50 top-tier weapons and equipment as well as the rumored Advanced Combat Techniques to prepare for the Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Currently, two super-first-rate Guilds and two Super Guilds were involved in the struggle. Even a transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion, which rarely took part in such struggles, had joined the fray. Naturally, plenty of first-rate Guilds joined the fight, as well. The situation at the ruin was utter chaos. Meanwhile, only 10,000 players were allowed into the Primordial Divine Ruin each day, but over a million players had gathered in the area, with the weakest on par with the Guild elite members. The war over the Primordial Divine Ruin was the most intense in God''s Domain thus far. Over 30,000 expert players had already died, not to mention the elite players. When the ruin had last activated, the five superpowers had claimed 70% of the available slots. Surprisingly, Heaven''s Burial had secured one-third of the remaining 30%. The various first-rate Guilds had shared the remaining 20%, and none of the second- and third-rate Guilds had claimed a single slot "Guild Leader, although Heaven''s Burial has suffered significant casualties while it explored the Primordial Divine Ruin, they''ve also obtained plenty of Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Their top-tier experts'' combat power has improved massively. I''ve also heard that they''ve obtained two Basic Combat Techniques and plenty of Magic Array Scrolls, designs, and recipes. "Although our Guild has suffered about the same losses as Heaven''s Burial in the field battles, I''m afraid that we''ll be in danger soon if Heaven''s Burial continues to grow stronger. Why don''t we send some of our members to explore the ruin as well?" Aqua Rose was sorely tempted to loot the Primordial Divine Ruin. Although the Conqueror Parties slaughtered Heaven''s Burial''s members, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater weren''t simple enemies. To counter the Conqueror Parties[1], the two Guilds had employed many Refinement Realm experts, sending them out to ambush Zero Wing''s members in the four high-resource maps. They had even sent some of these Refinement Realm experts to ambush the Conqueror Parties. Meanwhile, both Guilds had suffered tremendous losses. If Zero Wing hadn''t partnered with several first-rate Guilds and raked in a massive profit with Zero Wing City''s teleportation function, the Guild would have crumbled long ago. "How is the equipment collection coming along?" Shi Feng asked. "We''ve only collected a small fraction of the required amount thus far. I''m afraid that it''ll take some time before we have 700 full sets of Level 50 weapons and equipment," Aqua Rose said, sighing powerlessly. The Guild''s consumption of weapons and equipment was severely high right now. Trying to set aside Level 50 elite weapons and equipment for 700 players under such circumstances was incredibly difficult. She had even involved Gentle Snow''s main force in the task. "Disregard the Primordial Divine Ruin for now and focus on collecting weapons and equipment. Once we have the items ready, we''ll have an easier time dealing with the Guild''s issues," Shi Feng instructed. "I''ll think of a way to gather as much as possible." Aqua Rose could only nod in frustration. She had to admit that Zero Wing''s foundations were significantly weaker than Heaven''s Burial. The difference between the Guilds'' expert count and capital was like heaven and earth. Even the Conqueror Parties only helped reduce the massive gap slightly. An additional 700 experts would definitely help ease the pressure on the Guild. After Aqua Rose disconnected the call, Shi Feng led his team deeper into the town''s inner area. The inner area had far fewer monsters than the town''s outer area, although the weakest here were Level 70 Lord ranked Demonkin Warriors. The Chieftain ranked Demonkin were nowhere to be seen. In addition, there were plenty of Level 72 Great Lord ranked Demon Supervisors and Level 74 Grand Lord ranked Demon Overseers roaming about. Even with five Great Lords under his command, Shi Feng did not move casually. He needed a strategic position before he took action. "Guild Leader, Idiscovered a tower behind a magic barrier," one of the Assassins sent to scout the town reported. Stuttering, the Assassin continued, "I also spotted alarge treasure chest made entirely of M-Magic Crystals!" 1623 Towns Ability Chapter 1623 - Town''s Ability "A treasure chest made of Magic Crystals?" A light flashed in everyone''s eyes when they heard the Assassin''s report. In God''s Domain, treasure chests were reward opportunities that players frequently encountered. One could gain even higher-quality loot from a treasure chest, depending on its rank, than from powerful monsters. Normally, treasure chests were either made of wood or metal. This was even the case for Dark-Gold Treasure Chests. Making a treasure chest with Magic Crystals was just extravagant. Needless to say, the treasure chest definitely wasn''t low-rank. A Bronze Treasure Chest''s loot could already rival a Chieftain ranked monster''s drops of the same level, not to mention Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Treasure Chests. Moreover, as players explored higher-level maps, each map would contain fewer treasure chests. Even Bronze Treasure Chests were exceedingly rare in maps above Level 50. The treasure chests'' loot was part of the reason for this. Rather than containing loot on par with the drops from a Chieftain ranked monster of the same level, a Bronze Treasure Chest would contain items on par with a Lord ranked monster of the same level in Level 50-plus maps. "Magic Crystals?" Shock gripped Shi Feng''s heart when he heard the Assassin''s report. Immediately, he demanded, "What color are the runes on the chest?" God''s Domain had many different kinds of treasure chests, and although the most common were made of wood or metal, not all items in the game could be stored in wood or metal treasure chests. Certain special items needed to be stored in high Mana density environments. For these items, the system used chests made from Magic Crystals. Such treasure chests were insanely rare in God''s Domain, and naturally, they were far more valuable than ordinary chests. All of the items in such chests were unique in God''s Domain; there were no duplicates of these items. These Magic Crystal Treasure Chests also had a different ranking system than ordinary treasure chests. Their ranks were based on the color of the runes engraved on the crystal. The runes came in Silver, Gold, and Purple. Silver was at the bottom of the list, while purple runes offered the best items. "Gold!" the Assassin answered after taking a closer look. "Gold?" Shi Feng was instantly ecstatic. "Alright, we''ll head over right away." In God''s Domain, a Silver Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was the equivalent of a Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold Treasure Chest, a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was on par with an Epic Treasure Chest, and a Purple Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was the equivalent of an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest or higher. Shi Feng had only ever seen Silver Magic Crystal Treasure Chests in the past, never Gold, but he had heard rumors that Chaos Star, one of God''s Domain''s Twelve Sacred Elementalists, had opened a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. This was also precisely the reason that he had secured his position as one of the Twelve Sacred Elementalists. Moreover, unlike the other eleven, who had been replaced from time to time, Chaos Star had held his position. Unfortunately, nobody knew what he had obtained from the Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. Shi Feng and the rest of his team quickly arrived before the white tower. The tower was only five stories tall, and a pitch-black pearl that radiated a frightening aura occupied the tip of the tower. When this aura washed over the team, they felt as if some monster was watching them. Even the Mana around the pitch-black pearl seemed frozen. There was no flow of Mana around the pearl whatsoever. Numerous divine runes had been carved along the tower''s walls, and they created a light-blue defensive barrier around the tower, which seemed impenetrable. However, unlike most people, Shi Feng knew that the barrier wasn''t an ordinary defensive magic array. The magic array carved into the tower''s walls had survived since ancient times. Current magic arrays simply couldn''t compare. Moreover, based on the array''s complexity, Shi Feng guessed that it was beyond a Master Magic Array. Not even a Tier 4 existence would be able to scratch the barrier, forced to stand aside as they gazed at it. Interestingly, no monsters were anywhere near the tower. The roaming Demon Supervisors and Demonkin Warriors only stared at it for a moment before moving on. None of the Demonic Creatures dared to come within 100 yards of the white tower. Meanwhile, placed on the tower''s open-air top floor sat a Magic Crystal Treasure Chest, and as the Assassin had reported, the treasure chest was covered in golden runes. The treasure chest also radiated so much Mana that it created a white mist around it. Seeing this phenomenon, even a fool would realize that the chest was far from ordinary. All of the players on Shi Feng''s team drooled as they stared at the treasure chest. "Everyone, get ready. We''ll eliminate the surrounding monsters first," Shi Feng immediately commanded. Although he did not know why none of the monsters would approach the tower, there were still over 500 of them in the area. If they did not clear out the monsters, they''d never approach the tower without detection. Following which, Shi Feng controlled his five Great Lords and began to lure the Demon Supervisors and Demonkin Warriors, killing the Demonic Creatures with practiced organization. With the help of Demon Ruler, Shi Feng''s Great Lords could tank around 20 Demon Supervisors and Demonkin Warriors simultaneously. After gathering the enemy Demonic Creatures, Shi Feng used Flame Domain, and towering flames devoured the monsters, dealing several hundred thousand damage each second. At this point, Flame Domain was far stronger than Tier 2 Spells. In fact, it almost surpassed Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells. By the time Flame Domain ended, the Demon Supervisors and Demonkin Warriors had lost nearly 4,000,000 HP each. Immediately following, a volley of Exploding Arrows slammed into the Demonic Creatures, each arrow dealing around -300,000 damage. The Demon Supervisors and Demonkin Warriors very quickly became EXP for Shi Feng''s team. By the time the group defeated the 500 or so Demonic Creatures around the tower, some of the Level 45 players had risen to Level 46. However, the Level 47 players still needed some time before they reached Level 48. As for the loot, the team gained far more than the drops in the town''s outer area. More than a hundred Level 60-plus weapons and equipment had dropped, and among them, over 30 were Mysterious-Iron rank. In addition, plenty of Mana Ore had dropped. Killing the 500-plus monsters had netted Shi Feng nearly 1,000 pieces of Mana Ore, increasing the total count past 5,000. With this, we should have more than enough Mana Ore to construct the Mana Tower. Shi Feng could not help but smile in satisfaction as he gazed at the Mana Ore in his bag. The trip to the Boneless Land had definitely been worthwhile. The Mana Tower was one of the most important support buildings a Guild City could have. It was the defining point between a Guild City and a Guild Town. Normally, Guilds constructed their Mana Tower the moment they acquired a city, but due to the sudden demand for Mana Ore, Zero Wing City hadn''t had enough to construct its Mana Tower until now. It hadn''t been able to become a true Guild City. Now that he had enough Mana Ore, he could start constructing Zero Wing City''s Mana Tower once he returned. After dealing with the surrounding monsters, Zero Wing''s members approached the tower. However, the instant they set foot within 100 yards of the tower, the black pearl at its tip began to glow with energy. It then fired countless beams of black light at the approaching crowd. Caught off guard, the beams struck Zero Wing''s members. Not only were they thrown out of the 100-yard perimeter, but they had also lost 20% of their HPs... Although some experts, like You Ziping, had reacted quickly and defended themselves with their weapons, the impact still forced them to retreat by three steps. On the bright side, they hadn''t received any damage. After the first wave of black beams, only 100 or so players remained within 100 yards of the tower. The rest of the team had been thrown back. An instant later, the pitch-black pearl launched another wave of beam attacks. This time, the more beams targeted each player. During the first wave, each player only had to deal with three beams, but now, they had to face four. Furthermore, each player had to deal with an additional beam each time the black pearl attacked. The longer the crowd remained inside the 100-yard range, the fiercer the attacks became. When the black pearl launched more than ten beams at each player, even the experts of You Ziping''s standards were thrown out of range It''s no wonder why the monsters avoided the tower. This defensive feature is really amazing. Realization dawned on Shi Feng as he watched his teammates fly backward. At the same time, he was overwhelmed by ecstasy. Every Lost Town had its own unique ability in God''s Domain. Clearly, this defensive feature was this Lost Town''s ability. Although Shi Feng had only watched the defensive feature for a few moments, he had grasped the feature''s true purpose. In reality, the defensive feature wasn''t meant to truly meant to keep enemies away. Rather, it was a training device to help players improve their combat standards. This was an extremely rare ability, even among God''s Domain''s various Lost Towns. 1624 Gap Chapter 1624 - Gap Despite multiple attempts to approach the tower, none of Zero Wing and White Tiger Dojo''s members got within 70 yards before they were thrown out of the 100-yard range. "What a powerful trap!" "Crap! The system is definitely doing this on purpose! It put that treasure chest on display up there just to taunt us!" "This is ridiculous! It''s impossible to take on more than ten of those black beams at once with the Silencing effect within the tower''s 100-yard range! Those beams are so fast, too!" Everyone looked at the pitch-black pearl on the tip of the tower with resentment. They felt that the system was toying with them. Among their nearly 700 players, You Ziping had the best performance. However, even You Ziping had only reached the 72-yard mark before being blasted out by over a dozen black beams. You Ziping''s combat standards easily ranked among the top players in their group, yet not even he could reach the tower. When they thought about how they might have to leave the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest on the tower''s top floor, anger and frustration tore at their hearts. These kids really take things for granted. Shi Feng, who had remained motionless, shook his head and laughed when he overheard his team members grumbling. Following which, he started to make his way towards the tower. As Shi Feng approached the tower, everyone turned their gazes towards him. "Guild Leader Black Flame is going to try to reach the tower, too?" "With his level of skill, I wonder how far he''ll get?" "This trap is too difficult. Although Guild Leader Black Flame is superbly strong, I doubt that he''ll get past the 50-yard mark." "I''m not so sure about that. We already had to face over a dozen beams before we even reached the 70-yard mark. At the 50-plus range, I bet that the tower will fire over 30 beams. Even if Guild Leader Black Flame has frightening Attributes, dealing with so many attacks should be impossible. I don''t think he''ll even get past the 60-yard mark." As the White Tiger Dojo crowd watched Shi Feng approach the tower, they started a quiet discussion amongst themselves. They were curious to see the capabilities of Star-Moon Kingdom''s mythical expert. Truthfully, they had been displeased when the White Tiger Dojo had sent them to train with Zero Wing. They were bona fide fighting experts in the real world, yet they were training under a virtual expert. This was a joke. However, after spending some time in God''s Domain, they had discovered that this virtual reality game was far from ordinary. Many techniques that were impossible to perform in the real world could be easily accomplished in God''s Domain. This superhuman combat method was truly addictive. After training with Zero Wing and fighting other players in Zero Wing''s Battle Arena, they came to realize how massive the gap between their abilities and veteran players'' was. Although they hadn''t been a match for God''s Domain''s veteran players initially, however, they had grown strong enough to stand against expert players in Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. They now acutely understood God''s Domain''s combat method. Hence, they realized just how powerful Shi Feng was. After all, they had watched plenty of experts'' battle videos before, including recordings of Shi Feng''s past battles. In those battles, Shi Feng could definitely be described as a ''monster.'' After watching Shi Feng''s battles, they had begun to admire the man. However, the tower''s defensive feature tested one''s combat standard; Basic Attributes had very little to do with it. It didn''t matter if Shi Feng''s Attributes were significantly higher than theirs, and although his combat standards were awesome, he should still have his limits. "The Guild Leader is making a move personally?!" "Nice! We''re in for a treat now!" In contrast to the White Tiger Dojo disciples'' skepticism, Zero Wing''s members were clearly excited. They paid close attention to Shi Feng''s every move, hoping to get a glimpse of his true strength. Normally, they didn''t get to see this, and in the previous battles, Shi Feng had mostly relied on his five Great Lords. They barely caught a glimpse of Shi Feng''s true capabilities. Experts like You Ziping watched Shi Feng curiously, as well. They were all eager to learn how much of a gap existed between them and their Guild Leader. Shi Feng quickly arrived at the 100-yard mark, but unexpectedly, he didn''t sprint towards the towers as the previous players had. Instead, he continued leisurely even once he was within the black pearl''s attack range. "What is the Guild Leader trying to do?" "Could he be testing the waters?" Shi Feng''s actions confused his team members. They had already gotten a clear grasp of the black pearl''s attack method during their previous attempts. Not only did the strength of black pearl''s attacks increase as they moved closer to the tower, but it also launched attacks more frequently. If someone wanted a better chance of reaching the tower, they needed to move quickly. They also needed to block the orb''s attacks. Yet, Shi Feng was Before anyone could react, the black pearl began to attack Shi Feng. Suddenly, two beams of light shot towards Shi Feng''s vital points. Just when the two beams were about to hit, Shi Feng stopped abruptly and turned slightly. He didn''t bother to unsheathe either the Abyssal Blade or Killing Ray. Xiu! Xiu! Everyone watched, disappointed, as the two beams pierced their Guild Leader. However, the attacks didn''t throw Shi Feng out of the 100-yard area, and he began to pace towards the tower once more. "What''s going on? Did he dodge them?" The players'' expression twisted with confusion. Following which, the black pearl launched another wave of attacks. This time, it fired three beams. As Shi Feng moved closer to the tower, the beams reached Shi Feng much sooner than the last attacks had, giving their target less time to react. The team members watched Shi Feng with wide-eyed anticipation. What was the man going to do this time? However. To their disappointment, Shi Feng reacted the same way as before, stopping and shifting to the side. Like the prior attacks, the beams passed through his body harmlessly, striking the ground behind him. Shi Feng continuously moved closer towards the tower like so. 95 yards 90 yards 80 yards. The beams, which had beaten everyone senseless, were practically nonexistent to Shi Feng. They pierced through him harmlessly, again and again, blasting small craters into the ground behind him. Shi Feng quickly reached the 72-yard mark, You Ziping''s record distance. However, he hadn''t even used his weapons to defend himself once since he began his approach. In fact, he hadn''t even touched his weapons. "Is the black pearl broken?" "Has the system made some mistake?" The White Tiger Dojo disciples gaped in shock as they watched Shi Feng steadily move closer towards the tower as if he were strolling across his backyard. In their opinion, Shi Feng hadn''t done anything whatsoever all this time. The only explanation they could think of was that the system had made an error. They had never thought that Shi Feng would be so lucky. Seeing this, some curious White Tiger Dojo disciples decided to attempt the test again. However, when they allowed the black beams to strike, they were instantly thrown backward. "Impossible! How is the Guild Leader doing it?!" "Why aren''t the black pearl''s attacks hitting him?" The White Tiger Dojo spectators'' eyes fall from their sockets as they watched as their companions were blasted past the 100-yard mark. "So, this is the difference between the Guild Leader and me?" You Ziping revealed a bitter smile as he watched Shi Feng move past the 50-yard mark. Although he had been aware of the huge gap between him and Zero Wing''s peak experts, he hadn''t realized that the gap between them was so fast, let alone the difference between his abilities and that of Zero Wing''s mythical expert. In less than a minute, Shi Feng had reached the base of the tower, at which point the tower''s defensive magic array deactivated. 1625 Jackpo Chapter 1625 - Jackpot As the white tower''s defensive magic array transformed into particles of light and vanished, time seemed to have frozen around the tower. Both Zero Wing''s members and the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples stared with blank faces. "He passed it" "Am I dreaming? He didn''t even use his weapons!" "Yes! That must be it! We must be dreaming! How could such a thing even be possible? No player could dodge that many attacks!" "Could Guild Leader Black Flame actually be an NPC in disguise?" For a time, the players shared their guesses about Shi Feng. They simply couldn''t wrap their minds around what had just happened. They hadn''t even made it to the 70-yard mark before they had been sent flying back to the starting point, yet Shi Feng had walked through the area as if strolling through his backyard. Even when he had neared the 50-yard mark and faced over 30 beams, he slowly and steadily continued forward. Regardless of how fast the pitch-black pearl''s attack rate had become, Shi Feng''s speed was unaffected. When Shi Feng crossed the 50-yard mark, the beams had changed their attack trajectories in the middle of the attacks. After reaching the 30-yard mark, they had even begun to curve to attack Shi Feng from the sides and rear. Zero Wing and White Tiger Dojo''s members had watched the attacks in anguish. Not only did players have to worry about the black pearl changing its attack trajectories, but they also had to worry about attacks from their sides and behind them. Moreover, every attack struck simultaneously. Blocking the attacks from a single direction was already impossible, not to mention dodging or blocking every one of them. The creepier thing was that the pitch-black pearl seemed to fear Shi Feng. While Shi Feng had made his way towards the tower, every one of the pearl''s beam attacks had avoided him This was already far beyond everything they knew of God''s Domain. When the White Tiger Dojo disciples watched Shi Feng, a chill crawled down their spines. Aside from their reverence, they were afraid and excited to learn more about a real they had never discovered before. Although not everyone was willing to acknowledge that Shi Feng had cleared the test, there was no doubt that the white tower''s defensive magic array had disappeared. There was also no doubt that what has just occurred wasn''t a dream, but reality. "Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is actually so powerful?" "Is he even human?" All of the White Tiger Dojo disciples were fighting experts, and although they hadn''t seen exactly what Shi Feng had done, they knew that the vast difference between them wasn''t as simple as Basic Attributes. Shi Feng was leaps and bounds ahead of them in combat standards, as well. When they thought about Shi Feng''s power, they envied Zero Wing''s internal members. Unlike Zero Wing''s members, they were only here because the White Tiger Dojo had commissioned Zero Wing to train them. Once they were powerful enough, Zero Wing would stop their training. On the other hand, Zero Wing, and by extension, Shi Feng, would train Zero Wing''s internal members to their full potential. Shi Feng simply chuckled at his players'' hushed discussions as he stood at the foot of the white tower. He then pushed open the tightly sealed doors, curious about what lay beyond. After experiencing the black pearl''s attacks personally, Shi Feng had become even more certain that the device had been passed down since ancient times. He was also sure that it was meant to train players'' combat standards. Players had to have reached the Half-step Refinement Realm and be able to observe their surroundings constantly to pass the 50-yard mark. To cross the 30-yard mark, players had to reach the Refinement Realm. Without precise control of their own movements, players wouldn''t be able to dodge or block the varying attacks at the same time. Aside from physical control, players had to have accurate judgment of movement within their environment to continue past the 30-yard mark. The players who could reach the foot of the tower had reached the limit of the Refinement realm. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call them Half-step Flowing Water Realm experts. For the White Tiger Dojo disciples and Zero Wing internal members, who had yet to reach the Half-step Refinement Realm, reaching the tower was simply too difficult. Even Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, and Zero Wing''s other Refinement Realm experts would likely struggle to reach the tower. Shi Feng had to admit that the tower was an excellent tool to help players reach the Refinement Realm. The black pearl didn''t use the same attack method as monsters, which wouldn''t constantly target players weak points. Not even a group of Refinement Realm experts could elicit a similar result. The only downside was that the black pearl''s attacks were monotonous and couldn''t adapt to change. Even when the beams adjusted their trajectories or curved, they had fixed patterns, unlike expert players, which changed their attack patterns to fit their situation. It was also why Shi Feng had managed to reach the bottom of the tower without using his weapons. However, Shi Feng was satisfied with this result. After all, he had never heard of such a training device in God''s Domain before. If he could use this device, nurturing a batch of experts would be easy. Although, whether or not these experts reached the Refinement Realm would depend on their individual talent. At most, the training device could offer support, reducing the twists and turns players had to face as they journeyed towards the Refinement Realm. It didn''t guarantee that players would reach a certain standard. Of course, if the various superpowers learned of this training device, Shi Feng didn''t doubt that they would do everything they could to acquire this Lost Town. Although the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had their own training systems and devices, with most having higher-quality methods than the white tower, those systems and devices cost massive amounts of resources to maintain. They could also only nurture a small number of players at once. In contrast, the white tower could bombard nearly 700 players simultaneously and without strain. This alone would be more than enough to tempt the various superpowers into action. Shi Feng didn''t bother to explain how he had reached the tower. It was still too soon for Zero Wing current internal members and White Tiger Dojo disciples to take on this training device; they still hadn''t grasped many of the basics. Trying to take on so many clever attacks simultaneously was impossible for them. The system would simply beat them, not train them. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng entered the tower A spacious, ancient hall appeared before him. From outside, the white tower didn''t look particularly large. However, its interior resembled that of a stadium that could accommodate over 10,000 people. Various ancient weapons had been put on display in the hall, and it resembled an armory. Shi Feng was in awe as he gazed at the weapons around him. Every single weapon in this hall radiated a dense amount of Mana. At a glance, it was obvious that these weapons were far superior to the ordinary weapons most players used at this stage of the game. This is an armory? Shi Feng was confused as he gazed at the weapons on display. He then approached one of the weapon racks, picking up a spear to inspect. When he read the spear''s Attribute Panel, Shi Feng was instantly ecstatic. He was so excited that goosebumps began to cover his skin. Mana Weapons! Is every weapon here a Mana Weapon?! Shi Feng surveyed his surroundings in shock. There were easily over ten thousand weapons in the hall God''s Domain had many different kinds of weapons and equipment, most of which fell into three main categories. The first was the common-type. It referred to the weapons and equipment most players currently used. Players of the same class could trade and use weapons and equipment of this type. In battle, their durability would decrease, but they could be repaired out of combat. The second type was the unique-type. Specific players could use these weapons and equipment. Even if another player picked one up, the item would be useless to them. Similar to the common-type, these weapons and pieces of equipment would lose durability in combat but could be repaired and used indefinitely. The third type was the expendable-type. Like the common-type, those of the same class could trade and use expendable-type weapons. While they wouldn''t lose durability in battle, they couldn''t be repaired. Once their durability was exhausted, they would be useless. The majority of God''s Domain''s players and NPCs used common-type weapons and equipment. Most expendable-type weapons and pieces of equipment had been lost in the passing of time. This was due to the uncertainties these items created in battle. However, expendable-type weapons and equipment had one massive benefit. Absolute power! When the various races had competed for dominance over the God''s Domain continent during ancient times, the human race had been weak and insignificant. To survive their powerful enemies, humans had discovered a method to improve their strength drastically. This was how expendable-type weapons and equipment had come to be. 1626 Mana Weapon Chapter 1626 - Mana Weapon Expendable-type weapons and equipment didn''t function like their common-type counterparts. Common-type weapons and equipment were designed with both power and stability in mind. Hence, they''d only exert a certain extent of the power of the materials used to create them, nothing more. Meanwhile, expendable-type weapons and equipment were only designed with power in mind. These weapons and equipment functioned at the expense of the production materials, which meant that they couldn''t be repaired. However, this was also why they were extraordinarily powerful, allowing their users to challenge foes of a higher tier. Mana Weapons were the typical representation of expendable-type weapons and equipment. As Shi Feng gazed that the Mana Weapons in the hall, he was at a loss for words. Expendable-type weapons and equipment''s production had ceased long ago in God''s Domain, and any discovered items had survived since ancient times. Normally, players had no hope of encountering such weapons and equipment. When a Mana Weapon or piece of Equipment had surfaced in the past, players had fought fiercely over the item. After all, high-tiered Mana Weapons could grant players the power to defeat opponents of a higher tier. No player in God''s Domain could resist the temptation. Yet, over 10,000 Mana Weapons were on display before him. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be astonished? As expected of a Lost Town, it''s no wonder why the various superpowers fought over them so desperately. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he felt the flowing Mana within the spear he held. In the past, Shi Feng had assumed that the various superpowers only vied for the Lost Towns'' abilities. However, it seemed that that had only been a part of the reason. The riches these Lost Towns contained was likely another major factor. Unlike ordinary weapons, Mana Weapons did not have a level requirement, only a tier requirement. They were somewhat similar to Magic Scrolls, although Magic Scrolls couldn''t compare to the power of a Mana Weapon. Magic Scrolls were generally single-use items, but Mana Weapons could be used until their durability hit zero. Hence, these weapons'' market price had been insanely high in Shi Feng''s previous life. A Tier 1 Mana Weapon had cost at least 150 Gold in the past, far more expensive than Tier 1 Magic Scrolls. Even so, tons of players had fought for the chance to wield one. After all, only a small fraction of God''s Domain''s player population had reached the higher tiers; not all players could do so. Meanwhile, Tier 1 Mana Weapons would even be of significant help to Tier 2 players. One of these weapons could, at the very least, increase a Tier 2 player''s combat power by 20%. If a Tier 1 player used a Tier 1 Mana Weapon, their combat power would increase by a minimum of 50%. Although the boost wasn''t as impactful as a Berserk Skill, it still allowed elite players to face expert players of the same tier and level. Many wealthy elite and ordinary expert players had purchased Tier 1 Mana Weapons to use in critical situations. As for Tier 2 Mana Weapons, they had sold for at least 1,000 Gold each in the past. Tier 2 Mana Weapons would even be useful to Tier 3 players. Tier 3 Mana Weapons were even more frightening, even providing a significant boost to Tier 4 players. They were no less valuable than Tier 4 Magic Scrolls, and the various superpowers had fought desperately to claim any Tier 3 Mana Weapon that had been found. Meanwhile, the majority of the weapons in the hall were Tier 1 Mana Weapons. Even so, Shi Feng spotted over 1,000 Tier 2 Mana Weapons, and most importantly, he counted twelve Tier 3 Mana Weapons in crystal cabinets in the hall''s center If he sold all of these Mana Weapons, he''d earn enough coins to make the various Super Guilds drool. As Shi Feng prepared to store every Mana Weapon in his bag, the system''s familiar voice reached his ears. System: This item is still bound and cannot be stored in your bag. System: If you wish to remove this item''s bound status, you must take control of the Lost Town. Sure enough, the system won''t allow players to obtain such an advantage so easily. Shi Feng smiled bitterly at the spear in his hands. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. If he were allowed to walk away with every Mana Weapon in this hall, he''d make a huge profit even if he failed to secure the Lost Town itself. It seems that I have no choice but to collect the weapons after I take control of the town. Shi Feng refocused his attention and made his way towards the tower''s top floor. At the same time, he became more interested in capturing this Lost Town. If he took control of this town, not only would Zero Wing secure another method of nurturing Refinement Realm experts, but they''d also rake in a massive fortune. The Guild would then have all the manpower and wealth it needed. With these factors taken care of, it would be odd if the Guild didn''t become a major power. Soon, Shi Feng reached the tower''s second floor. The second-floor hall was visibly smaller than the first-floor hall, and ten translucent ghosts wandered the area. Some wore plate armor, some wore leather armor, and some wore cloth armor. Every one of these ghosts radiated a horrific aura, and even Shi Feng felt an intense pressure weigh down on him as he bathed in the powerful energy. [Wandering Soul] (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 80 HP 180,000,000/180,000,000 [Tyrant''s Soul] (Undead, Mythic) Level 80 HP 420,000,000/420,000,000 Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he saw all of these powerful monsters, and a frown pulled at his lips. Had he only had to face one Level 80 Grand Lord, he wouldn''t have had much of a problem, but there were a total of nine Level 80 Grand Lords before him. Moreover, the distance between each Grand Lord was practically negligible. If he attracted one of the Wandering Souls, he was guaranteed to pull the other eight Wandering Souls. However, these nine Wandering Souls weren''t his biggest problem. There was actually a Mythic ranked Tyrant''s Soul! Although Shi Feng recognized his own strength, he''d grossly overestimate himself if he thought that he could defeat a Level 80 Mythic monster. In fact, the Tyrant''s Soul could likely one-shot him I guess the system doesn''t intend to allow anyone on the third floor? Shi Feng felt his head ache as he looked at the Tyrant''s Soul, who remained motionless in the center of the hall. The spiral staircase that led to the third floor lay directly behind the Tyrant''s Soul. Shi Feng had assumed that he would be able to walk up to the tower''s top floor effortlessly, but it seemed that obtaining the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest would be more difficult than he had thought. If he had faced such a situation outside of the tower, he could likely rely on Zero Wing and the White Tiger Dojo''s members to sneak past the Tyrant''s Soul and Wandering Souls. However, they were still stuck outside of the tower, as were the five Great Lords under his control Without his Great Lords and the other players, dodging the Wandering Souls'' attacks would be extremely difficult. If the Tyrant''s Soul joined the fray, he''d likely die in an instant. Although he had an Invulnerability Skill, Absolute Domain had a short duration of 10 seconds. Dashing from the edge of the second-floor hall to the staircase and ascending to the third floor to open the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest in ten seconds was impossible. Once Absolute Domain''s duration ended, the Tyrant''s Soul would slap him down. Yet, if he gave up, he''d never retrieve the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. It was even a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. He had only heard rumors of such a thing during his previous life. Shi Feng then calmed himself and moved around the hall while observing the Tyrant''s Soul and Wandering Souls, hoping to find some angle he could take advantage of. But after watching the monsters for over ten minutes, he failed to find any opportunities. While he had been watching, the Tyrant''s Soul had stood deathly still in front of the spiral staircase. If he attempted to approach the staircase, the Mythic ranked Boss would likely discover him. With no external factors to take advantage of, Shi Feng was forced to flip through his bag, hoping that he''d find something useful. As Shi Feng began to consider giving up, he noticed that he still had a Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll. He had obtained the scroll from the Purgatory Serpent. As his gaze touched upon the scroll, Shi Feng''s hopes rekindled. A Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll could even block a Tier 4 existence''s attacks for a short time. With the scroll and his Absolute Domain, it wasn''t entirely impossible to secure the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. Now, the only problem was the Tyrant''s Soul''s exact strength. If it were too powerful, it wouldn''t need much time to break through the Defensive Magic Scroll''s barrier, and Shi Feng''s death would be certain. After considering his options for some time, Shi Feng decided that it was worth a try. If he died, he''d lose one level at most. One level was a small price to pay for a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. Following which, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger carefully cross to the opposite side of the hall. Meanwhile, Shi Feng readied the Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll before activating the Aura of Wind''s Gale Domain and charging forward. When Shi Feng was within 100 yards of the Tyrant''s Soul and Wandering Souls, a cold glint flashed in the ten monsters'' eyes. They charged at Shi Feng like ferocious beasts. The Tyrant''s Soul moved like lightning. Before Shi Feng had even crossed five yards, the Mythic monster had appeared before him. The gossamer Boss had already conjured a blue lightning blade in its right hand and swung it down towards Shi Feng. 1627 Magic Crystal Treasure Ches Chapter 1627 - Magic Crystal Treasure Chest So fast! Shi Feng''s complexion darkened when he saw the Tyrant''s Soul appear before him suddenly. Although he had long since known that he was no match for a Level 80 Mythic monster, he had never imagined that the Tyrant''s Soul would be so agile. Despite his Dark Iron Bloodline, he could only barely catch a glimpse of the Tyrant''s Soul''s moving figure. Meanwhile, the Tyrant''s Soul did not give Shi Feng any opportunity to defend himself as it gathered Mana in its right hand and molded it into a blade of lightning. It then swung the blue lightning blade down at Shi Feng. The lightning blade tore through the air effortlessly, producing not a single sound as it descended on Shi Feng. Or to put it in another way, the lightning blade moved so swiftly that even the sound it generated could not keep up with it. Shi Feng immediately understood that it was already too late for him to defend himself using his swords. Yet, if he allowed the lightning blade to land on him, he would die without a doubt. At the critical moment, he used Divine Steps, ten doppelgangers of himself splitting out from his body. Then, he promptly switched positions with one of his doppelgangers. The moment Shi Feng was done switching positions, the doppelganger he had swapped with got split in half by the Tyrant''s Soul. The lightning blade also left a thin crack beneath the doppelganger''s feet, the crack extending 50 yards. Only a brief moment later did the sound of air being torn apart enter his ears. For a moment, Shi Feng was even under the illusion that the Tyrant''s Soul''s attack had split the entire second floor in half. Right then, when Shi Feng looked at the Tyrant''s Soul, which was clad in a set of dark-gold-colored runic armor with a pitch-black crown on its head, he could not help but doubt it was actually a Mythic monster. Mythic monsters were indeed powerful and possessed superb Basic Attributes. However, in terms of combat standards, most were on par with ordinary experts, who were only capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. However, through that single attack, Shi Feng could tell that the Tyrant''s Soul was already close to reaching the Refinement Realm standard. It had no excess actions in its movements. Including the absolute speed it possessed, the Tyrant''s Soul could slaughter even a party of Tier 3 experts of the same level. If not for Divine Steps, he would''ve no doubt been killed instantly just now. Not daring to waste any time, Shi Feng immediately dashed towards the spiral staircase while having his ten doppelgangers distract the Tyrant''s Soul. Although the doppelgangers summoned using Divine Steps[1] were incapable of attacking, they were also invulnerable. No matter how the Tyrant''s Soul attacked them, they would remain unaffected. Hence, they definitely had a chance to delay the Tyrant''s Soul for a brief moment. After all, regardless of how powerful a monster was, their intellect was still far from comparable to NPCs'', much less to players''. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had shaken the Tyrant''s Soul off his tail. However, after he moved forward for just a few steps, the nine Wandering Souls reached him. Even Shi Feng would be troubled when pitted against nine Level 80 Grand Lords. Fortunately, unlike the Tyrant''s Soul, which remained basically unaffected by Shi Feng''s Gale Domain, the Wandering Souls had their Movement Speeds reduced considerably. In addition, Gale Domain boosted Shi Feng''s speed significantly. Purely in terms of Movement Speed, Shi Feng was superior to the Wandering Souls. Hence, he could evade the attack trajectories of the Wandering Souls relatively easily. For safety''s sake, though, he still activated Defensive Blade. Although the combat standards of the nine Wandering Souls were far from comparable to the Tyrant''s Soul''s, these were still at the Trial Tower''s fourth floor. Ordinary experts would still get killed instantly if they went up against the Grand Lords. Shi Feng was only relying on his advantage in speed and his grasp of his surroundings to just barely dodge the attacks of the Wandering Souls. However, as the Wandering Souls outnumbered him greatly, even he could avoid only a portion of the attacks sent at him; he had to rely on Defensive Blade to block the rest. Following which, Defensive Blade''s block count continuously decreased as Shi Feng neared the spiral staircase. Ten times Eight times Five times When Defensive Blade''s block count was close to depleted, Shi Feng was still over 20 yards away from the staircase. At this time, the nine Wandering Souls gave up on trying to engage Shi Feng in a melee and switched to Spells to attack him. Suddenly, dozens of shadow blades formed in midair. They even know Shadow Sanctions, the fastest Tier 3 Spell available? Shi Feng frowned. There were weak Spells and strong Spells. Likewise, there were slow Spells and fast Spells. Shadow Sanctions was the fastest Tier 3 Spell available in the game. Although it packed a weak punch and barely dealt any damage against monsters and players of the same level and tier, when used against a player that was inferior in terms of both levels and tiers, it could easily become a lethal Spell. Not to mention, all nine Wandering Souls were using the same Spell; even a Tier 3 player of the same level would get killed if they were careless. In the next moment, under the control of the Wandering Souls, the dozens of shadow blades flew towards Shi Feng. Xiu Xiu Xiu Just when the shadow blades were about to reach Shi Feng, he switched positions with the doppelganger he summoned using Phantom Kill and appeared on the other side of the spiral staircase. As for his doppelganger, the numerous shadow blades instantly annihilated it. Close one! Shi Feng felt extremely fortunate that he had not tried to defend against those shadow blades. The only way he could''ve blocked all those attacks just now was with Absolute Domain. However, if he wasted Absolute Domain here, even if he managed to reach the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest later, he would be powerless to do anything about it. After killing his doppelganger, the Wandering Souls charged at Shi Feng''s real body once again. However, they were too far away; by the time the Wandering Souls arrived at the spiral staircase, he was already halfway up. Since Shi Feng''s Movement Speed originally surpassed that of the Wandering Souls, despite the Grand Lords giving their all into chasing him, the distance between them only widened. Shortly after, Shi Feng arrived at the top floor of the tower. Sure enough, it isn''t locked! Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest placed in the middle of the top floor. Previously, he couldn''t determine whether the treasure chest was locked or not. From what he knew of Magic Crystal Treasure Chests, they were never locked. However, those treasure chests all had silver runes carved on them. Hence, he had not been certain that Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chests wouldn''t have locks. By the time Shi Feng got to the treasure chest, the nine Wandering Souls had just arrived on the top floor. When the Grand Lords noticed Shi Feng''s location, they let loose an angry outcry that echoed throughout the entire tower. Even the Zero Wing members and White Tiger Dojo disciples resting over 100 yards away from the tower could not help but shudder at the Grand Lords'' powerful roars. "What''s going on?" "Quick, look! The Guild Leader has already arrived before the treasure chest!" "Wait, there seem to be monsters." "What?! Those are nine Level 80 Grand Lords!" Everyone''s eyes widened when they looked at the Wandering Souls chasing after Shi Feng. Initially, they had felt excited at his obtaining the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. Now, they only felt sympathy for him. Even if their entire team of nearly 700 players went up against one Wandering Soul, they would not be able to make the Grand Lord break a sweat. Yet, now, nine of these Level 80 Grand Lords had actually appeared at the same time. Who could possibly stop them? When the Wandering Souls were less than 10 yards away from Shi Feng, his lips suddenly curled up in a smile. "Activate! Triple Flame Barrier!" In the next moment, Shi Feng unfurled the Tier 3 Magic Scroll in his hand and completed the activation chant. Suddenly, emerald flames emerged from the ground around Shi Feng and formed a pyramid that enveloped him completely. When the nine Wandering Souls bombarded Shi Feng with Spells, their Spells were all burnt into oblivion by the emerald flames. When the weapons the Wandering Souls wielded clashed against the flame pyramid, they immediately melted under the high temperatures of the flames. The might of the Triple Flame Barrier exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations entirely. Following which, Shi Feng started opening the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. The Triple Flame Barrier lasted 30 seconds. Normally, that should be just enough time to activate a treasure chest. When Shi Feng clicked on the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest, the loading bar that appeared before him showed that it would take 30 seconds to open the treasure chest. Upon seeing this, he breathed out a sigh of relief. However, three seconds into the activation process, a flash of lightning appeared at the spiral staircase. When the lightning disappeared, the figure of the Tyrant''s Soul appeared. At this moment, the Tyrant''s Soul''s eyes were releasing scorching flames, its entire body wreathed in golden arcs of electricity. As soon as the Tyrant''s Soul appeared, it immediately began chanting an incantation while writing divine runes in the air. In the next moment, a magic array with a 100-yard radius formed in the sky above the Tyrant''s Soul. Several plasma balls the size of hills started coalescing below the magic array. Under the Mythic monster''s guidance, the plasma balls then rained down on Shi Feng one after another. 1628 Tyran Chapter 1628 - Tyrant What with the appearance of the massive magic array and the hill-sized plasma balls that blotted out the sky above the tower, it felt as if Armageddon had descended. Loud crackling sounds echoed throughout the space around the white tower. The frightening pressure from the massive magic array made the hearts of the players standing below the tower palpitate, their breathing becoming somewhat stifled. When the crowd below the tower saw the Tyrant''s Soul, which hovered in midair, their mouths gaped in shock. "A Mythic!" "That''s a Mythic monster!" "We''re doomed Why is there such a powerful monster here?!" Whether it was Zero Wing''s internal members or the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples, they rarely ever raided Dungeons, much less fought against incomparably powerful Bosses. The strongest monster they''d fought against thus far was the Purgatory Serpent. Meanwhile, just the Purgatory Serpent alone had already made them despair; their reaction to the Mythic monster before them went without saying. Looking at the Tyrant''s Soul, although everyone knew that the Mythic monster''s target wasn''t them, their minds still could not help but conceive the thought of turning around and fleeing. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng looked at the descending plasma balls, his complexion darkened significantly. Although he had long since known that his doppelgangers could only delay the Tyrant''s Soul for a short time, he had not expected the Mythic monster to be ruthless enough to use Thunder Plasma, a Tier 4 Spell, as soon as it appeared. Tier 4 Spells originally already possessed frightening destructive power, but Thunder Plasma was even one of the top-ranking Tier 4 Spells available in the game. The Spell''s power was very close to rivaling that of a Tier 4 Curse. Even Tier 4 monsters would be heavily injured if struck by this Spell. At this moment, however, it was already too late for Shi Feng to do anything about the situation. While activating a treasure chest, players were not allowed to move away. As long as they shifted their position, they would have to redo the activation process. Not to mention, now that the plasma balls were already descending on him, he wouldn''t be able to escape getting struck unless he moved out of the Spell''s 100-yard-radius AOE. In the next moment, numerous plasma balls bombarded the Triple Flame Barrier one after another. Boom Boom Boom Each time a plasma ball landed on the Triple Flame Barrier, the emerald flame pyramid trembled violently. With each subsequent blast, the emerald flames also weakened. The sound of each impact echoed throughout the Lost Town; the intense shockwaves created were palpable even for the crowd standing over 100 yards away from the tower. Thunder Plasma lasted for a total of six seconds. By the time the Spell ended, cracks had appeared in the formerly sturdy Triple Flame Barrier. The emerald flames had also dimmed considerably. Upon seeing that the Triple Flame Barrier was still standing, Shi Feng could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. As expected of a Spell known for having power approaching that of Tier 4 Curses, its might really is frightening. After taking a glance at the Triple Flame Barrier''s remaining duration, Shi Feng could not help but smile bitterly. The barrier originally should''ve been able to last 30 seconds. Only a few seconds had passed since he activated it, yet after the bombardment from Thunder Plasma, the system actually notified him that the Triple Flame Barrier''s remaining duration was just 12 seconds. Despite the Triple Flame Barrier''s duration remaining completely unaffected even when receiving the assault of the Wandering Souls, a single attack from the Tyrant''s Soul had depleted the barrier''s energy so significantly. If the Tyrant''s Soul executed another attack of similar power, the Triple Flame Barrier would definitely break. Fortunately, Thunder Plasma was a Spell with a very long Cooldown. Even if the Tyrant''s Soul was a Mythic monster, it wouldn''t be able to use Thunder Plasma again any time soon. However, even while Shi Feng was having such thoughts, the Tyrant''s Soul began chanting an incantation and writing divine runes once again. Compared to when it was casting Thunder Plasma, the Tyrant''s Soul spent much more time casting this Spell; it invested a total of six seconds into it. After the Mythic monster was done chanting, a new magic array appeared in the space above the tower. Although this magic array''s AOE was not as large as Thunder Plasma''s magic array, it was a bona fide twofold magic array: a silver magic array and a pitch-black magic array. As the two magic arrays intermingled, they sucked the Lost Town dry of its ambient Mana. For a moment, everyone inside the town felt their perception and vision blur. Is there a need to be so desperate? Shi Feng was at a loss for words when he saw the twofold magic array in the sky. Tier 4 Curse, Thunder God''s Annihilation! Although the Curse''s AOE was much smaller, in terms of power, it was much stronger than even ordinary Tier 5 Spells. Even Tier 5 creatures would dread this Curse. They would definitely sustain severe injuries if struck by it. In the next moment, the two magic arrays transformed into a ball of black-and-white light. Arcs of electricity also wreathed the ball of light. As the ball of light descended, it was as if the space surrounding it froze. At this moment, the Tyrant''s Soul also abruptly revealed a human-like sneer as it looked at Shi Feng as if it was saying, "what else can you do?" At this moment, even if Shi Feng was a fool, he could tell that the Triple Flame Barrier wouldn''t be able to endure this apocalyptic attack. Gritting his teeth, he immediately took out a crimson Elemental Source and set it in the heart of the Triple Flame Barrier''s magic array. Elemental Sources had many uses, with their main purpose being the creation of Elemental Weapons. However, Shi Feng could not care less right now. If he wanted to have any chance to acquire the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest, his only choice was to use the fire-type Elemental Source. If he failed today, obtaining the treasure chest would definitely become much harder in the future. In God''s Domain, monsters, particularly high-tiered monsters, all possessed a certain degree of intellect. If he failed to obtain the treasure chest today, the Tyrant''s Soul would definitely guard the treasure chest much more strictly on his next visit. After going through so many difficulties to get to this point, Shi Feng had no intention of giving up just like that. As the refined energy of the Elemental Source flowed into the Triple Flame Barrier, the previously dim, emerald flames flared up. Moreover, the color of the flames even transformed from emerald to white-hot. Now, the flame pyramid looked more like a dazzling sun brightly illuminating the entire Lost Town. When the ball of black-and-white light crashed into the Triple Flame Barrier, the resulting impact shook the entire white tower. Even the players standing 100 yards away from the tower were sent flying over 10 yards; their bodies fell to the ground one after another. Shocked expressions filled everyone''s faces as they stared at the clash of lightning and flames above the tower. The White Tiger Dojo disciples, in particular, suddenly felt as if they were living in an entirely different world from Shi Feng. At the same time, they also came to have a new understanding of the battles in God''s Domain. Before, they thought that it was already plenty amazing that players could conduct superhuman battles in the game. However, the battle they were witnessing now could no longer be considered to be a player''s battle. Instead, it was more like a battle between two apocalyptic beasts. A simple exchange between these beasts could easily deform the surrounding terrain. As the seconds passed by, the dazzling Triple Flame Barrier began fading. The Lost Town returned to its dimly illuminated state. Fortunately, the ball of black-and-white light also started decreasing in size. After nearly 10 seconds had gone by, the ball of light disappeared. Meanwhile, the flame pyramid created by the Triple Flame Barrier had also reverted to an emerald color. Shi Feng breathed out a deep sigh of relief after seeing this situation. Fortunately, he had brought along Elemental Sources with him, which allowed him to strengthen the Tier 3 Triple Flame Barrier, letting it possess the might of a Tier 4 Defensive Spell. However, the Tyrant''s Soul''s Thunder God''s Annihilation had also depleted the Elemental Source''s energy completely. Although the Elemental Source''s power was exhausted, the Triple Flame Barrier''s duration had also recovered to its normal state; it would now last him until the activation process of the treasure chest was over. However, the Tyrant''s Soul did not stop attacking despite the failure of its second attack. It immediately started preparing another Tier 4 Spell to bombard Shi Feng with. The number of Tier 4 Spells the Mythic monster grasped astonished even Shi Feng. The Tyrant''s Soul possessed not only an extremely high combat standard but also many Tier 4 Spells. Against such a monster, even a 100-man team of Tier 3 experts of the same level would get routed. Fortunately, the Triple Flame Barrier endured the Tyrant''s Soul''s third attack without faltering. Eventually, when the emerald flame pyramid disappeared, the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest also opened. Seeing the treasure chest open infuriated the Tyrant''s Soul. Its body started to release pitch-black fog. Then, the Mythic monster charged at Shi Feng with the speed of lightning. Shi Feng activated Absolute Domain without hesitation. Without even looking, he frantically plucked items from inside the treasure chest and placed them in his bag. "Die!" The Tyrant''s Soul could not help but bellow in rage at this scene. This time, though, the Mythic monster did not gather Mana and summon a lightning blade to its hand. Instead, it unsheathed a rusted longsword hung around its waist. Although this longsword looked very ordinary, space tore apart wherever the edge of this longsword crossed. The Tyrant''s Soul swung the longsword down at Shi Feng ruthlessly. 1629 Saint Weapon Chapter 1629 - Saint Weapon Shi Feng''s complexion darkened at the sight of the rusted longsword descending towards him. Although Tier 4 existences were capable of tearing apart space with their attacks, this required a considerable amount of effort. Yet, the Tyrant''s Soul''s rusted longsword achieved this feat with seemingly no effort on the Mythic monster''s part. This meant that every one of the Tyrant''s Soul''s normal attacks would carry power equivalent to that of an ordinary Mythic monster executing an all-out attack. As the rusted longsword descended, a black seam cut at the golden barrier that appeared around Shi Feng. Boom! Along with a loud boom, a powerful gale surged into the tower''s surroundings. The players standing outside the tower lost their footing once more. "What kind of monster is this?" "Is a Mythic monster really that powerful?" Everyone could not help but gape in shock as they gazed up at the Tyrant''s Soul. Just the shockwave from one of the Tyrant''s Soul''s attacks reduced them to such a miserable state. If they fought the Mythic monster, the consequences would be unimaginable. As the dust above the tower settled, Shi Feng, who had activated Absolute Domain, emerged, apparently intact. However, the impact resulting from the attack had driven him back several steps before he could stabilize himself. What is that sword? Shi Feng wore a grim expression as he stared at the Tyrant''s Soul''s longsword. Although Absolute Domain was an Invulnerability Skill, there was no true invulnerability in God''s Domain. Even so, Absolute Domain should have no problem blocking Tier 4 attacks. Yet, against the Tyrant''s Soul''s longsword, Absolute Domain was no longer absolute. Absolute Domain created a protective barrier made up of divine runes around his body. Meanwhile, the moment the rusted longsword collided with the protective barrier, Shi Feng had clearly seen the rusted longsword moving roughly an inch into the barrier, deforming it. The intense impact had even forced him to retreat by four steps. This was something Shi Feng had never seen happen before. Not waiting for Shi Feng to make a move, the Tyrant''s Soul immediately brandished its rusted longsword again. Suddenly, several black seams extended towards him. Previously, one black seam had been enough to drive Shi Feng back by several steps already. When multiple black seams descended on him simultaneously, he suddenly felt death looming over him. Without hesitation, he activated Disintegration Field to suppress the Tyrant''s Soul. Although the Domain Skill had little effect on Mythic monsters, it could still reduce the Tyrant''s Soul''s Basic Attributes slightly. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Tier 2 Taboo Skill Instant Strike, instantly disappearing from his original location, appearing slightly closer to the Tyrant''s Soul, and narrowly avoiding the several spatial tear attacks. Although Instant Strike increased both his damage and Attack Speed drastically, Shi Feng had no intention of clashing with the Tyrant''s Soul. Instead, he turned around and continued looting the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. The treasure chest held many items. However, since he did not know which one was the most valuable, he simply picked up as many as he could. In the blink of an eye, two more items entered his bag. Upon seeing this, the Tyrant''s Soul became even more enraged and brandished its rusted sword again. The Tyrant''s Soul''s Attack Speed was extremely fast. Even Shi Feng could not dodge the Mythic monster''s attacks in time. Knowing this, he decided not to dodge and allowed the Tyrant''s Soul to attack him as it wished while he continued looting the treasure chest. Right now, every additional item he obtained counted. Boom Boom Boom Beneath the bombardment, Shi Feng got pushed aside time after time. As a result of receiving multiple powerful attacks in quick succession, the duration of the protective shield, which should''ve lasted ten seconds, decreased significantly. Regardless, Shi Feng persisted in looting the treasure chest. "Despicable thief! You dare take my family''s treasures! I will turn you into ashes!" the Tyrant''s Soul bellowed. In the next moment, the black fog its body emitted merged with the rusted longsword. Suddenly, silver divine runes started appearing along the rusted blade of the longsword. Although the blade looked very ordinary, the instant the runes on the silver blade lit up, Shi Feng, who was heading towards the treasure chest once again after being blown away, abruptly halted in his tracks. He then instinctively retreated a step. Death! Shi Feng saw his death when he looked at the silver longsword. Moreover, this wasn''t any ordinary death. For a moment, he felt that, should he take another step forward, he would thoroughly disappear from God''s Domain. Meanwhile, when the Tyrant''s Soul looked at Shi Feng now, although its complexion had paled considerably and it appeared quite fatigued, absolute confidence filled its eyes. It was as if it knew that at this moment, nothing could stop its attack. Not good! Shi Feng suddenly thought of a certain matter, his complexion turning ashen instantly. He hastily switched to the Aura of Space and activated Space Movement, opening a spatial tunnel before him. Despite Absolute Domain having another three seconds left, he jumped into the spatial tunnel without hesitation. As soon as Shi Feng jumped into the spatial tunnel, the Tyrant''s Soul arrived before the tunnel and slashed its longsword at the tunnel. When the longsword descended, the clouds a long distance away split apart. Likewise, the spatial tunnel, which the silver longsword had made direct contact with, was cut in half. "What kind of attack is that?" When the far-off members of Zero Wing and the White Tiger Dojo saw the massive tear in space that had appeared above the tower as well as the bisected spatial tunnel, their eyes nearly fell out of their own sockets. A spatial tunnel was created by opening a hole in space. Yet, the Tyrant''s Soul had actually managed to slice even the spatial tunnel in half. Meanwhile, after the spatial tunnel was cut in two, it instantly disappeared into nothingness. "Despicable thief! I will never let you get away!" the Tyrant''s Soul bellowed in rage when it saw Shi Feng escaping successfully, its voice echoing throughout the Lost Town. When the members of Zero Wing and White Tiger Dojo, who stood at a distance, felt the killing intent the Tyrant''s Soul radiated, they felt as if their bodies had petrified; they did not dare to move even in the slightest. Meanwhile, beside a flowing stream located in a map neighboring the Boneless Land, Shi Feng suddenly appeared. The moment he exited the spatial tunnel, he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. That was close! He had very nearly lost everything. As expected of the guardian of a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. It actually possesses even a Saint Weapon! When Shi Feng recalled the Tyrant''s Soul''s final attack, he could not help but shudder in fear. Previously, he had failed to detect what made the Tyrant''s Soul''s longsword so special. He simply felt that it was a very powerful weapon. However, the moment he saw the divine runes on the silver longsword lighting up as well as sensed the monstrous amounts of Mana the weapon exuded Aside from a Tier 5 Mana Weapon, he really could not figure out what other weapons could replicate such a feat. Mana Weapons were originally meant to suck dry the potential of their raw materials and exhibit power beyond one''s imagination. However, the higher-tiered a Mana Weapon was, the more difficult it was to produce it. Among them, Tier 3 Mana Weapons were labeled as Higher-order Mana Weapons, while Tier 5 Mana Weapons were labeled as Saint Weapons. Needless to say, Saint Weapons were exceedingly rare in God''s Domain, so much so that their rarity rivaled that of Legendary Weapons. In the past, he had seen the battle video of a Tier 5 expert wielding a Saint Weapon against a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. When the Tier 5 expert invested all his power into his Saint Weapon for an all-out attack, silver divine runes had appeared on the Saint Weapon. Back then, even the Tier 6 God-ranked expert had to go full-bore to repulse the Saint Weapon''s attack. One could just imagine how powerful Saint Weapons were. Had he been killed by the Tyrant''s Soul''s attack just now, he definitely wouldn''t have lost only a single level. Most likely, even his Immortal Soul would have been annihilated. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and left in time. Meanwhile, just as Shi Feng was about to celebrate, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: You have angered the Tyrant''s Soul. The Tyrant''s Soul has used Soul Pursuit on you and will send a Soul Doppelganger after you once every day. 1630 Abundant Harves Chapter 1630 - Abundant Harvest Shi Feng could not help but frown as he read the system notification. Soul Pursuit was a type of curse. It was one of the most common in God''s Domain and very challenging to deal with. Regardless of where players were, the user''s Soul Doppelganger would appear beside them. Shi Feng was already familiar with the Tyrant''s Soul''s power. The fact that it wielded a Saint Weapon put its Attack Power on par with ordinary Tier 5 classes. If it really came down to a fight, even a 100-man Tier 3 team of the same level would have to use special means to take the Mythic monster down. Current players simply had no hope against the Tyrant''s Soul. Although Soul Doppelganger wasn''t as powerful as the main body during the first few appearances, it would grow stronger with each attempt to slay the target until it eventually rivaled its user. There were two ways to resolve this type of curse. The first was to kill the main body, while the second was to kill the final Soul Doppelganger, which would be as strong as the main body. There were no other ways to stop Soul Pursuit. Clearly, the first method was impossible for Shi Feng right now, and the second would require a long, arduous battle with the Tyrant''s Soul, would only complicate his future development. As Shi Feng tried to think of a way to deal with the Tyrant''s Soul''s persistent pursuit, his head began to ache. If the Soul Doppelganger only showed up once every three or five days, he could cope, but he hadn''t expected the Tyrant''s Soul''s curse to hound him once every day. In other words, he would have to defeat the Tyrant''s Soul''s Soul Doppelganger once every day. Moreover, it would appear at random. Although he could hide in an NPC city and let the city''s guards deal with the Tyrant''s Soul''s Doppelganger, he wouldn''t accomplish anything if he did. Shi Feng could only shake his head with a bitter smile about his situation. He had never thought that looting a Magic Crystal Treasure Chest would be so problematic. The most frustrating part was that he had only managed to grab five items from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. The chest contained at least another five or six items. Had he collected all of the items, he wouldn''t have minded the Tyrant''s Soul''s hunt, yet he had to avoid the Soul Doppelganger despite only claiming half of the treasure chest''s items But Shi Feng didn''t give the matter too much thought. Instead, he instructed Zero Wing''s internal members and the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples to leave the Lost Town and wait for his arrival. Meanwhile, he examined the items he had acquired from the treasure chest. In his previous life, he had heard countless rumors about Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chests'' loot even surpassing the quality of items in Epic Treasure Chests. However, since the Twelve Sacred Elementalists'' Chaos Star had been the only known player to obtain a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest and had never divulged any information about his bounty, these rumors had been nothing more than that, just rumors. After Shi Feng inspected the contents of his bag space, an excited expression illuminated his features, quickly replaced by one of utter shock. So, this is a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest? Shi Feng was elated as he gazed at the five new items in his bag. Three of the five items were pieces of equipment. One was an Epic plate armor helmet called the Trembling Crown, and another was an Epic shield named Trembling Shield. Both pieces of Epic Equipment belonged to the Trembling Set, a bona fide Epic ranked Set Equipment. When a player equipped two pieces of this set, the user would receive a Passive Skill called Tough Body, which increased the player''s Endurance and physique by 10% while reducing incoming damage by 20%. An Epic Set Equipment! Acquiring a single Epic Weapon or piece of Equipment was already difficult for God''s Domain''s current superpowers, not to mention Epic Set Equipment. Even ten years after God''s Domain''s launch, Epic Set Equipment had been considered the best available in the game. After all, Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items were simply too rare. Even though Shi Feng only had two pieces of the Trembling Set, the effects these pieces provided would significantly improve a player''s combat power. If one of the Guild''s MTs equipped these two pieces, their combat power would definitely undergo a qualitative transformation. Needless to say, the stronger the Guild''s MTs were, the more they''d benefit the Guild''s development. Every Guild needed powerful MTs to tank Dungeon and Field Bosses, and if the Guild didn''t have an MT that could handle the task, it would never complete the raid. However, of the three pieces of equipment Shi Feng had looted, the third piece truly surprised him. The third piece of equipment was a Tier 3 Mana Weapon. Unfortunately, the Tier 3 Mana Weapon was a two-handed sword, not a one-handed sword. [Edgeless Blade] (Two-handed Sword, Tier 3 Mana Weapon) Equipment Requirement: Tier 2 Attack Power (240% of Strength) All Attributes (Increases according to user''s level and tier) When equipped: User''s body will transform into a Mana Body, gathering nearby Mana to them and strengthening their perception; Improves physique by 15%; Increases Strength by 40%, Agility by 30%, Endurance by 20%; Increases critical rate by 10%; Decreases Stamina consumption by 15%; Increases the power of all Skills by 20%; Ignore Levels +15. Durability 220/220 Additional Passive Skill- Mana Strengthening: Provides additional Basic Attributes to the user depending on the density of the ambient Mana. The higher the ambient Mana density is, the higher the Basic Attributes provided will be. Basic Attributes can increase to a maximum of 20%. Additional Active Skill- Limit Blade: By absorbing the user''s power and sacrificing a fraction of the weapon''s durability, the Edgeless Blade will increase the user''s Strength Attribute by 200% for one attack. Each attack costs one durability. As this sword is a Mana Weapon, it cannot be repaired. Weapon will automatically disappear when durability reaches 0. A Tier 3 Mana Weapon could even provide a tremendous boost to Tier 3 players, and although it was a Consumable item, it was even more valuable than Epic Weapons. The weapon''s sole Active Skill, Limit Blade, was particularly valuable. Although the 200% increase in Strength didn''t seem much compared to its significant cost, the weapon''s Attack Power was based on the user''s Strength. Hence, the 200% increase to Strength provided a formidable boost to the user''s destructive power. If a Tier 3 player equipped this weapon, they could even stand against Tier 4 opponents of the same level. Epic Weapons had no chance of achieving such a feat. However, the Edgeless Blade was only the third most valuable of the items Shi Feng had obtained. The second most valuable item was a Tier 3 Combination Skill called Fiery Thunderstorm, which required five magical class players to perform. This Combination Skill could even rival a Tier 4 Spell. Guilds wouldn''t even sell a Combination Skill of this power for 100,000 Magic Crystals. After all, the Skill that could be a trump card when challenging Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were extremely rare in God''s Domain, but Combination Skills could be used indefinitely, and such scrolls could never compare to the value of Fiery Thunderstorm. Unfortunately, Fiery Thunderstorm was a single-target Spell, not a large-scale destruction Spell. Even so, Shi Feng was quite satisfied to find this Spell in his bag. At the very least, he now had a weapon to deal with Tier 4 Mythic monsters. The last of the five items was a unique crystal. It was also what shocked Shi Feng the most. A burning, purple flame danced within this crystal, and arcs of golden electricity flickered around the flame. The purple flame radiated an intensely tyrannical aura, and Shi Feng shuddered as he gazed at it. This flame was also an item Shi Feng had been looking for for a long time now. It was a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame called the Purple Thunder Flame. 1631 Tier 3 Mysterious Flame Chapter 1631 - Tier 3 Mysterious Flame The crystal-encased, dark-purple flame was extremely eye-catching in Shi Feng''s bag space. I''ve really struck gold this time. Shi Feng was overjoyed as he gazed at the Purple Thunder Flame. This flame was easily worth more than the other items he had obtained from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest combined. Players would only encounter a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame if they were lucky enough, and even Shi Feng only knew the whereabouts of a small number of them. Moreover, every one of them was exceedingly difficult to obtain. Countless Guilds had waged war over Mysterious Flames in the past. Even Super Guilds had gone all-out to slaughter each other over Tier 3 Mysterious Flames. The stronger a Mysterious Flame was, the more it would help forger and alchemist subclasses. These tools would help forgers and alchemists produce high-rank items with ease. Shi Feng had never expected that, despite only looting half of the Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest''s items, he''d actually acquire a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame. If he looted the rest of the treasure chest''s items, how great would his harvest be? Now, Shi Feng more or less understood why the Tyrant''s Soul was so desperate to hunt him down. After all, a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame was even more valuable than Epic items, and aside from being able to refine materials, Mysterious Flames could also improve a player''s strength in combat. Why would the system let him get away with obtaining one so easily? To Shi Feng, a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame was also a life-saving item. With this Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, I can buy myself some more time. Shi Feng smiled at the Purple Thunder Flame. The curse the mysterious NPC had placed on him back in Blackwing City could only be suppressed with a Mysterious Flame. Unfortunately, the Tier 2 Ice-Blue Devil Flame was too weak, only able to delay the curse''s activation for a limited amount of time. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to take the risk and obtain one of the Tier 2 or 3 Mysterious Flames he remembered from his past when he had time. But now, he didn''t need to. As long as he absorbed the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame and merged it with the Soul Flame, he''d have better control over the Soul Flame. He would then have more time to locate the mysterious NPC and complete the quest Sherlyn had given him. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng tapped on the Purple Thunder Flame and chose to bind it to himself. The moment he did so, the crystal containing the Purple Thunder Flame shattered. The dark-purple flame entered Shi Feng''s body, and purple fire devoured his entire body. Arcs of blue electricity flickered around him as a stinging pain assaulted every inch of his body. Shortly after, a loading bar appeared before Shi Feng, displaying the fusion process. 1%... 2%... 3%... The fusion was extremely slow. If an ordinary player attempted to merge with this Mysterious Flame, their mind might crumble under the intense pain after just a short moment. While players had the option of lowering or turning off their pain sensitivity in the game, doing so would sabotage the fusion process. Fortunately, after over ten years in God''s Domain, Shi Feng had acclimated to the pain. Even so, it was barely tolerable as the fusion process continued. As time passed, the pain''s intensity increased, but something felt different about this fusion to Shi Feng. Aside from the increased pain, it felt as if the flames refined his body as they continued to burn him. There was a pleasant feeling alongside the pain. As the pain grew worse, his perception sharpened. This surprised Shi Feng. He had never heard of Mysterious Flames strengthening a player''s perception and physique. Had the players in his previous life known that Tier 3 Mysterious Flames could do such a thing, every expert in the game would have gone mad to acquire one for themselves. Stronger perception would undoubtedly improve players'' combat standards, and it would only become more beneficial as they reached for higher tiers. Otherwise, God''s Domain''s experts wouldn''t have regarded Bloodlines and Fragmented Legendary items so highly. After 20 minutes of the fusion process, Shi Feng heard a series of system notifications. System: The Purple Thunder Flame has bound to Player Ye Feng. System: The Purple Thunder Flame''s fusion has completed. After undergoing the Purple Thunder Flame''s trial, player gains +60 to all Basic Attributes, physique improved by 5%, reaction speed increased by 10%, perception range increased by 10%, Fire Resistance +70, and Lightning Resistance +70. You have also gained 100% control over the Purple Thunder Flame. Following which, Shi Feng proceeded to inspect the Purple Thunder Flame itself. When he saw its information, he couldn''t help but gasp. [Purple Thunder Flame] (Tier 3 Mysterious Flame) When activated, increases Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 30%. Increases damage dealt by fire- and lightning-type attacks by 50%. Increases destructive effect of attacks by 100%. Increases production success rate for forging, alchemy, and cooking by 15%. Shi Feng wasn''t surprised by the increase to Movement and Attack Speed, but he had never expected a 100% increase to destructive effects. Although it wouldn''t improve players'' Strength or Attack Power, the increased destructive effects would be devastating against players and monsters'' Defense. A player might struggle against a Great Lord''s Defense normally, but if their attacks had double the destructive effect, they''d be able to break through the Great Lord''s Defenses and defeat it in far less time. Likewise, such a boost would be miraculous in PvP. It was common knowledge that players mainly relied on their weapons and equipment for strength. Without weapons and equipment, a player''s Attributes would decrease drastically. Meanwhile, players would be able to deplete the durability of their opponents'' weapons and equipment more quickly with increased destructive effect. As for the 15% improvement to production success rate, it was 5% higher than the Tier 2 Ice-Blue Devil Flame. Although it was only a difference of 5%, the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame''s performance when refining high-rank materials would be leaps and bounds better than the weaker Mysterious Flame. If Shi Feng used the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame when forging Conqueror''s Armor, his success rate would skyrocket. After fusing with the Purple Thunder Flame, Shi Feng activated Spatial Gate and regrouped with the rest of his team outside of the Lost Town. Although the Tyrant''s Soul had used Soul Pursuit on him, Shi Feng discovered that the Tyrant''s Soul itself couldn''t leave the white tower after a few experiments. This outcome allowed Shi Feng to breathe a sigh of relief. At the very least, he wouldn''t have to lead his team elsewhere to grind and level up. After regrouping with his team, he continued to kill the Demonic Creatures in the Lost Town''s inner area, steadily raising everyone''s levels while grinding for Mana and Eternium Ore. After grinding for another two days or so, Shi Feng and the others finally cleared out every Demonic Creature in the Lost Town. The only place they had yet to check was the bottomless pit in the town''s center. Meanwhile, after two days of grinding, everyone''s levels had risen from nearly Level 48 to almost Level 50. As for Shi Feng, he had invested all of the EXP into leveling Flame Burst and Lightning Edge. Despite being a Tier 2 player, he only had a small number of Tier 2 Skills in his arsenal, and if he were forced to rely on Tier 1 Skills, he''d never be able to exert the full advantages of a Tier 2 class. Hence, Shi Feng leveled these two Tier 1 Skills to Tier 2. By doing so, both Skills had undergone a qualitative transformation in terms of raw power. [Flame Burst] Tier 2, Level 3 (Requires 1,800,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 2, Level 4 skill) Channeling time: 1 second Gathers the power of flames to a single point and causes 1,400% damage to the target. Attack Count: 16 times Cooldown: 3 minutes [Lightning Edge] (Action-type) Tier 2, Level 2 (Requires 1,600,000,000 EXP to upgrade to Tier 2, Level 3) Channeling time: 0.5 seconds Deals 1,200% physical and 1,200% lightning damage in a cone in front of user. Initial coverage range is 75 yards. Duration: 5 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes Tier 2 Skills weren''t just capable of dealing more raw damage than their Tier 1 counterparts; they''d also be more effective against monsters and players of the same tier. Once these Skill rose to Tier 2, they wouldn''t be bound by tier suppression. It''s about time to show everyone Zero Wing''s strength. After taking a look at his team members'' levels, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and asked, "Aqua, how''s the equipment collection coming along?" 1632 Formation of an Expert Legion Chapter 1632 - Formation of an Expert Legion Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City, Zero Wing''s Residence: A depressing atmosphere filled the massive Guild Residence. Everyone''s minds were overwhelmed by an oppressive feeling, causing them great distress. "Big Sis Aqua, we just received news that the Blackwater Corporation has invested another 200,000 Gold into Heaven''s Burial. The Guild has also hired more Refinement Realm experts to hunt us down. They''re even beginning to overpower the Conqueror Parties we''ve recalled to defend our leveling maps "Moreover, according to our spies in Heaven''s Burial, it seems that Heaven''s Burial has obtained another significant harvest from the Primordial Ancient Ruin. Apparently, the Guild has collected two sets of top-tier Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls and plenty of top-tier Level 50 weapons and equipment. At this point, they''re already preparing to raid a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon." Yaya reported as she stood beside Aqua Rose with a somber expression. Zero Wing had grown stronger over the past few days as more players gathered in Zero Wing City. However, the number of players withdrawing from the Guild also continued to increase. They had done so because Zero Wing''s members were almost guaranteed to be ambushed whenever they went to the fields to grind. They could have endured if the situation had only lasted two or three days, but this had continued for over a week already. Everyone in the Guild had long since grown tired of it. Their leveling speed and equipment acquisition rate had suffered severely, as well. To make things worse, Heaven''s Burial had grown rapidly in every aspect despite the ongoing war. Many Zero Wing members'' wills began to falter. They could no longer see any hope of Zero Wing winning this war, and so, many had given up and left while they still could. "They''re already starting a super-large-scale Team Dungeon raid?" Aqua Rose frowned. At this point, many large Guilds had already raided Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons successfully, but not one of them had raided a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Unfortunately, only these Dungeons contained Level 50 top-tier equipment and set equipment. If Heaven''s Burial obtained the First Clear of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon in Star-Moon Kingdom, the pressure its success would bring on Zero Wing''s members would be crushing, even if the Guild failed to exhaust Zero Wing. By obtaining the First Clear of a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon, not only would a Guild obtain a 3-star Guild Residence Promotion Order, but it would also obtain Level 50 top-tier weapons and equipment. What was players'' purpose of joining a Guild? Wasn''t it to help them obtain better weapons and equipment while leveling faster? As long as Heaven''s Burial succeeded, a ton of experts would try to join the Guild. After all, not even independent teams could clear a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. As she watched Heaven''s Burial grow stronger by the day, Aqua Rose gradually came to understand how frightening Guilds with major corporation support were. With an endless financial supply, a guild could attract as many experts and gain as many resources as it wanted. There was simply no way that Zero Wing, a Guild that had been built from nothing, could compete with such Guilds. It took everything Zero Wing had just to cope with Heaven''s Burial''s offensive. "Big Sis Aqua, Heaven''s Burial has stated that if Zero Wing is willing to hand over 51% of its shares, they''ll stop their assault on the Guild. If we continue to resist, however, they''ll thoroughly obliterate us from God''s Domain. They''ve only given us two days to consider their offer. Here''s a video they sent," Yaya whispered. "What?" Aqua Rose had been about to reject the proposal instantly, but after watching the video from Heaven''s Burial, her expression turned solemn. The video depicted an army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. Although the army was not particularly large, only around 30,000 soldiers, it was an unprecedentedly high-quality force. Among the monsters, the army had over five Level 72 Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and 20 Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. In addition, the force included a large number of Level 70 Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. The weakest member of the army was Lord rank. Regarding overall strength, this Evil Beast and Evil Demon army was far more powerful than the two armies Zero Wing had previously faced. If these monsters took action, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even Zero Wing City might fail to stop them. As Aqua Rose struggled to think of a plan, Shi Feng contacted her. "Aqua, how''s the equipment collection coming along?" Shi Feng asked. "We''re almost done. We''ll have everything we need in a few more hours," Aqua Rose responded dejectedly. "Alright. I''ve finished my task as well. I''ll return in a moment." Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction, surprised by Aqua Rose''s efficiency. Although he hadn''t requested Level 50 top-tier equipment, only asking for elite-grade equipment, it was still a difficult job. "They''ve already reached Level 50?!" Aqua Rose was stunned. They were talking about nearly 700 players! Before Shi Feng had taken them out to grind, Zero Wing''s internal members and the White Tiger Dojo''s disciples had only been around Level 30. They had been unimaginably far from Level 50. In her opinion, even with Shi Feng''s astonishing leveling capabilities, he''d still need two weeks or so to power-level the 700-man team to Level 50 Even the most powerful elite members in the various large Guilds were only around Level 47 right now, and only capable expert players were close to Level 50. After all, players needed drastically more EXP to level up after reaching Level 45. Yet, Shi Feng had helped nearly 700 players catch up to peak experts in less than half of the time she had assumed. "Mhm. They''ve all reached Level 50. Some have even reached Level 51," Shi Feng said, nodding. If not for the lack of Demonic Creatures around the Lost Town, he wouldn''t have had an issue getting everyone to Level 51 or beyond. Aqua Rose was dazed for a long moment after hearing Shi Feng''s answer. Level 50 was a major turning point in God''s Domain. Despite Heaven''s Burial''s massive expert count, the majority of its experts were stuck at Level 49, still far from hitting Level 50. Although the difference was only one level, the equipment quality was monumental. With the addition of so many Level 50 experts, Zero Wing''s combat power would rise significantly. However, when Aqua Rose recalled the video Heaven''s Burial had sent, her excitement cooled. "Guild Leader, here is a video Heaven''s Burial just sent. They want us to hand over 51% of Zero Wing''s shares, or they''ll proceed with even more drastic measures to destroy us," Aqua Rose said as she forwarded the video to Shi Feng. Against so many high-ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, even Zero Wing''s additional 700 expert players would be no more than throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire. "They''ve already grown so strong?" Shi Feng muttered as he watched the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons in the video. Although he had expected something like this, he couldn''t help his astonishment when he actually saw the real deal. In addition to more than five Level 72 Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and 20 Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, the monster army included more than a thousand Grand Lord ranked Evil Beasts and Great Lord ranked Evil Demons. With such a force, Heaven''s Burial would have no problems capturing any Guild Town in Star-Moon Kingdom. 1633 Intermediate Ability Chapter 1633 - Intermediate Ability "Have you found out anything new about Star-Moon Kingdom''s Evil God''s Temple?" Shi Feng could not help but ask as he watched Aqua Rose on the screen. Even he did not have any practical methods to deal with Heaven''s Burial''s monster army. However, he was not particularly worried about the army, either. The situation in Star-Moon Kingdom had changed since their last confrontation. NPC armies constantly patrolled the kingdom right now, and if these NPCs encountered any Evil Beasts or Demons, they''d quickly exterminate these monsters. Hence, Heaven''s Burial couldn''t dispatch an army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons en masse into the kingdom right now. Otherwise, the enemy Guild would''ve done it already, rather than send a video and try to threaten them. Although the monster army couldn''t march into the kingdom, it could dispatch small contingents of high-tiered Evil Demons to ambush players. Hence, Heaven''s Burial''s monsters were still quite a problem. If Zero Wing wanted to squash this problem thoroughly, it had to destroy the Evil God''s Temple in Star-Moon Kingdom. "They''ve hidden it quite well. Even now, we haven''t found any clues leading to the kingdom''s Evil God''s Temple yet," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. She continued, "Moreover, even if Heaven''s Burial doesn''t mobilize its monster army, at the rate it''s growing, it''s only a matter of time before the Guild overwhelms and crushes us. Based on our most recent information, Blackwater has recently hired another batch of Refinement Realm experts to help hunt our members. It''s taking everything we''ve got just to defend ourselves. If more Refinement Realm experts join the fight, I''m afraid that we won''t last very long. "In addition, our financial state is particularly concerning. We''ve already used all of our available funds, and we don''t have the support of any major corporation. We''re entirely reliant on Zero Wing City, Stone Forest Town, and the Candlelight Trading Firm''s profit to keep the Guild running. If something unexpected happens that require those funds, we''ll be ruined." She was also aware that Heaven''s Burial had merely sent the video to scare them. However, nothing changed the fact that Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s aggression was increasing. Furthermore, Blackwater had recruited plenty of Refinement Realm experts to help in this war using its expansive connections. Initially, Blackwater had sent over 20 Refinement Realm experts to aid Heaven''s Burial, and now it was sending an additional 30-plus experts. Although the total count was still far less than the Conqueror Parties, these Refinement Realm experts would be more than capable of keeping the Conqueror Parties busy. With the Conqueror Parties distracted, Heaven''s Burial''s other experts could attack without worry. Because of this, Zero Wing suffered severe casualties. The remuneration the Guild paid out every day was astronomical. If any other Guild had to pay such a price, it would''ve long since gone bankrupt. "I understand. I''ll have everyone return immediately, so your team should get ready to receive them. Also, notify Melancholic and tell her to host an auction in the Zero Wing Auction House in six hours. We''ll sell Zero Wing City''s private houses and Shops," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. Right now, he needed to deal with the Guild''s financial problems. Although he had tried to think of a way to increase Zero Wing''s income, these revenue sources weren''t enough to compete with Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater. "We''re selling Zero Wing City''s private houses and Shops? Butwith the current situation, I''m afraid that we''ll have trouble selling them for a high price" Aqua Rose understood Shi Feng''s intentions. In fact, she had considered the same option. However, only a fool wouldn''t see the situation of Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing''s war. With that in mind, no one would willingly spend a large amount of money to purchase Zero Wing City''s private houses and Shops. Players might not be interested in these properties at all. If a Guild Town or City changed hands, any agreements with the previous owner would be null and void. Knowing this, who would possibly want to purchase land in an unstable city? "Relax. Even if our situation is uncertain, what must be sold, will be," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to explain further. Aqua Rose was speechless. Although what Shi Feng had said was true, selling such valuable properties at a discount wasn''t worthwhile. Following which, Shi Feng disconnected the call and had his team use a Return Scroll to teleport back to White River City. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose did as she had been told. Immediately, news of Zero Wing auctioning off its City''s private houses and Shops spread like wildfire throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Even the neighboring kingdoms and empires'' major powers heard of the upcoming auction. "Hahaha! So, Zero Wing is finally selling its city''s private houses and Shops? It seems that Zero Wing really can''t hold on much longer!" "Zero Wing''s selling their real estate now? Does Zero Wing take us for fools?" When the various major powers saw Zero Wing''s announcement, they laughed, ridiculing Zero Wing for falling so low. "Zero Wing has finally hit its limit?" Singular Burial could not help but laugh when he read the report from a subordinate. "Unfortunately, it is too late. They might have found buyers had they chosen to sell the properties a few days ago, but now that Zero Wing''s position in this war has become more uncertain, who would be foolish enough to buy the deeds? Notify our subordinates and have them increase their offensive against Zero Wing''s members immediately. Also, spread a lie to the public, stating that we intend to attack Zero Wing City. I want to see just who actually attends Zero Wing''s auction." "Understood." Daybreak Fog nodded before leaving the Guild Leader''s office. Although the various major powers understood that Zero Wing was approaching its end, many would be interested in attending the Guild''s auction. Aside from Zero Wing''s in-house products, items were available from other players in Zero Wing''s auctions. There was also the convenient option of bartering. Meanwhile, after exiting White River City''s Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng made his way to the library. Although he had already bound the Purple Thunder Flame to himself, he needed the help of a special magic array to fuse it with the Soul Fire, and only Sharlyn was capable of conjuring this magic array. At the same time, Shi Feng sent his team to deliver the Mana and Eternium Ore they collected to the Candlelight Trading Firm before getting some rest. Aside from the massive amount of EXP they had earned while grinding Demonic Creatures in the Lost Town, they had gained a plentiful harvest of ores. Moreover, the closer they had gotten to the mysterious pit in the town''s center, the more ores they had obtained. In total, they had collected over 15,000 pieces of Mana Ore and over 1,000 pieces of Eternium Ore. When Melancholic Smile received the haul, she was dumbfounded. Due to the high demand for Mana Ore, prices for the ore continued to increase. Before Shi Feng had left for the Boneless Land, Mana Ore had sold for 1 Gold, 20 Silver per piece. Now, prices had risen to 1 Gold, 50 Silver per piece. However, even at such a price, very few people were willing to sell their Mana Ore. Even a large Guild like Zero Wing would be fortunate to purchase a few dozen pieces each day. Yet, Shi Feng had returned with over 15,000 pieces of Mana Ore. Even if one robbed a Super Guild''s warehouse, they wouldn''t obtain such a bounty. Even if Zero Wing used all of the Mana Ore to craft Mana Charms, it would make a massive fortune. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s request was simple; use 5,000 pieces of Mana Ore to forge Mana Charms and sell them. Not only would the Mana Charms fetch a high price, but there was also a solid market for them. With the money the Guild earned, it could construct the Mana Tower in Zero Wing City. The largest problem when constructing a Mana Tower was the required materials. It required over 5,000 pieces of Mana Ore alone, in addition to plenty of other precious materials. Fortunately, the construction cost itself was relatively cheap, only 5,000 Gold. Meanwhile, on the top floor of White River City''s library With Sharlyn''s help, Shi Feng attempted to merge the Purple Thunder Flame and the Soul Fire. It was far more difficult to merge the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame with the Soul Fire than it had been to merge the Tier 2 Ice-Blue Devil Flame since the former was more powerful. He needed more accurate control to wrap the Soul Fire around the Purple Thunder Flame. One attempt Two attempts Three attempts With each subsequent attempt, Shi Feng grew increasingly adept with the fusion process, so much so that he had improved his control over his own body and his environment. Shi Feng was somewhat surprised at this. He had never thought that he could become stronger while trying to fuse the Mysterious Flames. He had thought that he had reached his limit and would have to break through to the Domain Realm to improve further. As Shi Feng attempted his 26th fusion, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have gained rough control over the Soul Fire. You may now utilize the Soul Fire''s intermediate abilities. 1634 Soul Fires New Abilities Chapter 1634 - Soul Fire''s New Abilities Not even a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame is enough for me to gain full control of the Soul Fire? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the system notification. Tier 3 Mysterious Flames were exceedingly rare in God''s Domain. As far as Shi Feng knew, there should only be one Tier 3 Mysterious Flame in Star-Moon Kingdom. When this Mysterious Flame had appeared in his previous life, practically every large Guild in the kingdom had fought over it. Yet, despite fusing such a rare Mysterious Flame, he still didn''t have full control of the Soul Fire At this point, Shi Feng began to wonder if there was a high chance that the Soul Fire was actually a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame. Shi Feng had only ever heard of Tier 4 Mysterious Flames in God''s Domain''s legends. The power of such a flame alone would be more than enough to injure a Tier 4 existence severely. With the Soul Fire''s unique ability to burn a target''s soul to nothing, it would be a terrifying weapon against both monsters and players. This was especially true for players. The Immortal Soul was the root of players'' existence in God''s Domain. In NPCs'' eyes, players were only able to resurrect after death due to their Immortal Souls. If a player''s Immortal Soul were extinguished, that player would be finished. However, it was extremely difficult to destroy a player''s Immortal Soul. Hence, the Soul Fire should only be capable of damaging a player''s Immortal Soul. Even so, it would be more than enough to prevent the target from logging into God''s Domain for some time. It would be a nightmare for any expert player. After all, in God''s Domain, one either improved or regressed. The game had countless players, and not being able to log in for several days would cause one to fall behind their rivals. "Not bad. You''ve actually fused the Purple Thunder Flame so quickly. With your current control over the Soul Fire, you can weaken the Soul Chain''s corrosion further. Locating that mysterious individual should become much easier," Sharlyn said, chuckling at Shi Feng. "However, you must still be careful. Although you''ve extended your time limit to 108 days after fusing with a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, God''s Domain is very large. It might seem like a lot of time, but in reality, it isn''t. It is best if you locate a few more Tier 3 Mysterious Flames during this time. That way, you''ll gain better control over the Soul Fire." "I only have 108 days?" Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he heard Sharlyn''s warning. He had hoped to extend his time limit by a year or so after absorbing a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, yet the system had only given him a small extension. And just as Sharlyn had said, locating that mysterious Tier 5 NPC would not be an easy task. He had no clues leading to the NPC, either. He could only rely on the Soul Chain. Moreover, this was a Legendary Quest. In general, Quests of this rank couldn''t be completed within a short period. After pondering the situation for a moment, Shi Feng calmed down. After all was said and done, the Purple Thunder Flame had delayed his deadline by quite a bit. At the very least, he would have more time to deal with his own matters. Following which, Shi Feng tested the Soul Fire''s power. Immediately, Shi Feng''s dark pupils were consumed by silver fire. His aura also changed abruptly. If others had felt relaxed around him before, he would now feel like an icy hell. Death and cold dominated his aura. Amazing! I only have a rough control over the Soul Fire now, yet it is already so powerful? When Shi Feng examined his surroundings, he found that his environment had changed. Not only could he see the Soul Chain now, but he could also see souls'' wavelength. If he focused, he could even slow his perception of time. Shi Feng was at a loss for words. Being able to view soul wavelengths allowed him to determine his targets'' strength. The stronger a creature was, the stronger its soul would be. In addition, neither players nor monsters could hide their soul wavelengths. Regardless of whether or not a player wore a Black Cloak or hid behind an obstacle, he could inspect and locate them easily However, being able to detect soul wavelengths paled in comparison to the ability to slow one''s perception of time. Now, he could see fast-moving objects far more clearly as long as he focused. Although this ability couldn''t compare to a boost to one''s physique, which allowed players to keep up with fast-moving objects and react far more quickly, improving one''s physique was easier said than done. Just being able to slow his perception of time was astounding and would doubtlessly improve his combat power. I wonder what the Soul Fire will be capable of once I gain full control? After experiencing the Soul Fire''s new abilities, Shi Feng anticipated the day he could control it completely. He only had rough control of the Soul Fire, but it already offered such powerful abilities. If he had full control of the Soul Fire, the improvements the Mysterious Flame would offer would be even more impressive. Moreover, he''d be able to manifest the Soul Fire outside of his body as he could with the Ice-Blue Devil Flame and Purple Thunder Flame, increasing his combat power further. After dealing with the Soul Fire, Shi Feng made his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm and entered his personal Special Forging Room. Although Aqua Rose had collected plenty of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret Silver Equipment, You Ziping and the others would only become as strong as the Guild''s ordinary experts once they equipped the items. It would be very difficult for them to change the war''s overall situation. In fact, Shi Feng had never hoped for anything game-changing by having Aqua Rose collect the Level 50 equipment. He had only wanted to ensure that You Ziping and the others wouldn''t lag behind their peers regarding equipment once they caught up in levels. Even before leaving for the Boneless Land, he had tasked Melancholic Smile to purchase a large number of Emeralds from Emerald City in preparation for forging the Magic Light Sets. The Magic Light Set wasn''t like the Conqueror''s Armor, which required plenty of rare materials that weren''t often available on the market. Emeralds were the main material required for forging the Magic Light Set. Although Emeralds were also a rare material, there was plenty available on the market. At this point, Zero Wing already possessed a huge stockpile of Emeralds. As for the Mana Stone, another of the Magic Light Set''s core materials, Zero Wing had no lack of the stones. They could be produced indefinitely as long as the Guild had enough Magic Crystals. Hence, producing the Magic Light Set was much easier than the Conqueror''s Armor. Only, the cost was somewhat high, with each attempt costing 300 Gold, six times the cost of forging the Conqueror''s Armor Because of this, Shi Feng had only dared to produce a few sets for Zero Wing''s main force members. However, things had changed. Not only did he now have the Dark-Gold ranked Blacksteel Insignia, but he also had the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame. His success rate for forging the Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set had risen to 55%, but that wasn''t the most important factor. During his trip to the Boneless Land, he had acquired a large amount of Eternium Ore, which he could use to make Magisteel Ingots. Aside from increasing forging success rate, Magisteel Ingots could increase Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment''s Basic Attributes. After reaching his Special Forging Room, Shi Feng began to refine Eternium Ore with the Purple Thunder Flame, transforming the ore into Magisteel Ingots. The Purple Thunder Flame increased the Magisteel Ingot''s purity far more than an ordinary flame could. As a result, the Magisteel Ingots he created offered a much greater boost to forging success rates. Originally, the Magisteel Ingot only increased forging success rate by 5%, but the ingots Shi Feng had created could increase his forging success rate by 7%. Very quickly, Shi Feng smelted the 1,000-plus pieces of Eternium Ore into 1,000-plus Magisteel Ingots. Shi Feng then rapidly refined the materials he needed to forge the Magic Light Set Equipment. Now that his control had improved and he had the help of the Purple Thunder Flame, his refining and forging speed had visibly increased. An hour later, a complete Magic Light Set glistened before Shi Feng''s eyes, radiating a mesmerizing glow. This should be a success, right? Shi Feng wondered as he gazed at the immaculate Magic Light Set before him. He then clicked to inspect the set''s Attribute Panel. 1635 Mana Tower Constructed Chapter 1635 - Mana Tower Constructed Each attempt to forge the Magic Light Set cost 300 Gold, which meant that each failure also cost 300 Gold. Not even Super Guilds would play around with so much money. If not for his considerably high success rate, Shi Feng wouldn''t have dared to attempt the set''s mass-production. When Shi Feng clicked to inspect the Magic Light Set''s Attribute Panel, a system notification appeared. System: Magic Light Set has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 15 points. Obtained 6,000,000 EXP. Its Attributes sure have improved considerably. Shi Feng was delighted when he saw the set''s Attributes. Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was best players could hope for at this stage of the game since Level 50 Dark-Gold equipment only dropped from super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Moreover, the drop-rate wasn''t 100%. With the inclusion of the Magisteel Ingot, the Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set''s Basic Attributes had received a 10% boost. Although it didn''t seem like much, Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment generally offered over 100 points to each Attribute. A 10% increase meant at least 10 more points. Meanwhile, the Magic Light Set was a six-piece set, offering 60 bonus points to each Attribute. Furthermore, the Magisteel Ingot improved every Basic Attribute. Overall, the 10% improvement was the equivalent of an additional piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Aside from Epic Equipment and above, no equipment could rival the Magic Light Set at this stage of the game. Unfortunately, Epic items were extremely rare, and not even Guilds'' peak experts were guaranteed to wield one. If he let Zero Wing''s experts equip the Magic Light Set, they''d definitely have an overwhelming advantage over other Guilds'' experts in Basic Attributes. Although the Magic Light Set did not boost the wearer''s combat standards, it offered far more destructive power than the Conqueror''s Armor''s Basic Strength Battle Array. Rather than rely on superior combat standards to whittle down their enemies, Zero Wing''s experts could trample over their opponents by relying on the Magic Light Set. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began to forge the next Magic Light Set. Very quickly, Shi Feng went finished three more forging attempts. Among them, one was a complete failure, while two had succeeded. Shi Feng''s success rate even surprised him. As Shi Feng was about to continue, Melancholic Smile contacted him. "Guild Leader, the Mana Tower you''ve requested has been built in Zero Wing City, but it needs too many Magic Crystals to operate every day. Should we activate it now?" Melancholic Smile asked worriedly. Not only had they spent 5,000 Gold to construct the Mana Tower, but they had also spent 5,000 pieces of Mana Ore. She had assumed that the Mana Tower would bring in additional income for Zero Wing City, but once it had been constructed, she had discovered that activating it cost 3,000 Magic Crystals, and its continued operation would cost 1,500 Magic Crystals per day. This was a significant expenditure to any Guild, especially Zero Wing. Although the Four Towers of Elements''s teleportation function and Zero Wing''s Battle Arenas had earned the Guild some Magic Crystals, they couldn''t afford to squander what they had. "It''s fine. Activate it," Shi Feng said, chuckling. The Mana Tower was the symbol of a Guild City. Zero Wing City could only be called a true Guild City once it had a Mana Tower of its own. The Mana Tower increased the Mana density in a city significantly. The five Magic Towers'' increased Mana density wasn''t even the equivalent to one-third of the increase a single Mana Tower provided. Moreover, more NPCs would only reside in a Guild City once it had a Mana Tower. This was especially true for high-tiered NPCs since they had such strict Mana density requirements. "Right, once you''ve activated the Mana Tower, notify Aqua and have her raise the entrance fee to 60 Copper. Increase the prices for the Battle Arena''s services by 30% as well," Shi Feng instructed. Naturally, they needed to increase prices in various aspects with the increased Mana density. After all, the rise would offer players more benefits. "This" Melancholic Smile was stunned. It had not been easy to increase Zero Wing City''s player population to 2,000,000. It might not be an issue if they increased the prices of the city''s services a little, but players would definitely refuse such massive leaps. Zero Wing City''s player traffic would doubtlessly decrease. "Relax. Once the Mana Tower is active, Zero Wing City will be worth the price," Shi Feng explained briefly. Of course, he understood Melancholic Smile''s concerns. However, Melancholic Smile still had her doubts, but she still sent a subordinate to activate the Mana Tower. Following which, she notified Aqua Rose about the city''s price increases. When Aqua Rose received the message, she even wondered if Shi Feng were joking. Their 30-Copper entrance fee had already elicited quite a few complaints, yet Shi Feng wanted to double it At this stage of the game, ordinary players only earned several Silver Coins per day after deducting repair fees. Including the expensive teleportation fee to travel to Zero Wing City, ordinary players would likely struggle to justify playing a 60-Copper entrance fee. Furthermore, Zero Wing City wasn''t located anywhere close to Level 50 high-resource maps. Hence, the city''s Double EXP buff held little attraction to ordinary players. However, as Aqua Rose considered such issues, she felt the city''s Mana density rise rapidly. Even players who weren''t sensitive to Mana could clearly feel the increase. Naturally, they gained more mental clarity, as well. "What''s going on? Why do I feel so refreshed?" "Why has the city''s Mana density suddenly increased?" "What?! The city''s Mana density has at least doubled! What did Zero Wing do?!" "Quick, look! The Mana density isn''t the only thing that has increased! The accumulation rate for the Double EXP buff has also risen! Now, we can accumulate 20% of the Double EXP buff just by standing on the street for 24 hours!" The players resting in Zero Wing City quickly discovered the new changes, and they all fell into heated discussions about them. Naturally, some of them published the changes to the official forums. At the same time, Zero Wing announced that it had increased Zero Wing City''s entrance fee to 60 Copper, which caused a huge commotion across Star-Moon Kingdom. "Crap! Is Zero Wing that desperate for money?! They''re charging 60 Copper just to enter the city each time! That is daylight robbery!" "You can''t put it like that. Right now, you can accumulate 20% of the Double EXP buff just by standing on Zero Wing City''s streets for 24 hours. That''s just as effective as resting in a Guild Residence''s 1-star Private Rooms. Do you know how much it costs to rent a Private Room in a Guild? Sixty Copper is definitely cheap." "Indeed. I just checked into a hotel in Zero Wing City, and the new benefits are simply amazing! Not only can I accumulate 30% of the Double EXP buff in 24 hours, but I also got an Energized buff that increases my maximum Stamina by 10% for four hours. Moreover, the buff only takes effect after I leave the city!" "A 10% increase to maximum Stamina for four hours? That''s basically a free Stamina Potion! I''ve decided! I''m going to Zero Wing City to rest from now on!" "That''s not the only thing that''s changed. I''ve heard that Zero Wing City''s teleportation function can cover a larger distance now. Now, you can teleport into the Orc Empire from Zero Wing City!" At first, everyone had been disgruntled about the increased prices for Zero Wing City''s services, but after learning about the new benefits the city offered, the number of players willing to rest in Zero Wing City skyrocketed. This was especially true for the adventurer teams that planned to explore the Orc Empire. While ordinary players might consider the teleportation function expensive, the fee was no problem for adventurer teams. To them, time was more important. With the amount of time they saved, they could defeat more Bosses, complete more quests, and earn more Contribution Points. They could easily earn back their teleportation fees and more. In the end, Zero Wing City''s player population shot from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 in less than an hour after the Guild implemented the new changes. At this point, the city even felt a little crowded 1636 Zero Wing Citys Rise Chapter 1636 - Zero Wing City''s Rise The rapid increase in Zero Wing City''s player population had surprised Aqua Rose, who had assumed that it would decrease. Not only did the sudden addition of 1,000,000 players bring in another 6,000 Gold in entrance fees to Zero Wing City, but plenty of players also rushed to use the city''s teleportation function. To save on teleportation fees, the various adventurer teams visiting Zero Wing City had also bought memberships for the teleportation services, each earning Zero Wing 20 Magic Crystals. In one short hour since the Guild implemented the new changes to the city, over 4,000 players had bought a membership, bringing in over 80,000 Magic Crystals. There were even more players interested in teleporting to the Orc Empire. Due to the increased teleportation distance, non-members had to pay 30 Silver for each maximum-range teleportation. Even after deducting the teleportation cost, Zero Wing still earned 18 Silver from each traveling player. During the past hour, over 6,000 non-members had teleported to the Orc Empire, handing over 1,000 Gold to Zero Wing. Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile were stupefied. Previously, Melancholic Smile had worried that they wouldn''t be able to earn back the cost of the Mana Tower, but the city''s teleportation function alone had raked in over 1,000 Gold. The function alone made money faster than the Candlelight Trading Firm as a whole, not to mention the amount of Magic Crystals the service raked in. Moreover, the number of players using the teleportation function and registering for membership continued to increase "Guild Leader, where did you obtain this Mana Tower?! It is simply amazing!" Aqua Rose said excitedly. "With its profit speed, we can easily cover our daily expenditures! We won''t have anything to fear, even if we continue to duke it out with Heaven''s Burial for another two weeks!" She had agonized over Zero Wing''s lack of funds. The increased bounty had skyrocketed the Guild''s daily expenditures, but now, she didn''t need to worry about the issue. "This is only the beginning. Later, I''ll store the weapons and equipment I''ve recently acquired in the Guild Warehouse. Everyone can trade for the items. Since our Guild members have suffered so greatly, give our members in Star-Moon Kingdom some bonus GCPs. Normal members get 50 points, elite members get 200 points, and core members get 500 points," Shi Feng said, laughing. With the Mana Tower and the Four Towers of Elements, Zero Wing City should have no problem reaching a player population of 5,000,000 in the near future. At that time, the city should easily earn 30,000 Gold off of entrance fees alone. Furthermore, there would be profit from the Shop rentals, hotel fees, Battle Arena, and other revenue sources. "Guild Leader, won''t it be a little much to give out so many GCPs at once?" Aqua Rose could not help but gasp when Shi Feng told her to award so many GCPs to their Guild members. Although the value of Zero Wing''s GCPs had recently decreased, each point was still worth nearly 20 Copper. Giving normal members 50 GCPs would be the equivalent of handing them 10 Silver each; elite members would receive 40 Silver, and core members would receive 1 Gold. Although this didn''t seem like much, Zero Wing had a lot of members in Star-Moon Kingdom. The total cost would easily reach more than 100,000 Gold Although players couldn''t exchange these points for Coins, there weren''t many weapons and pieces of equipment in the Guild Warehouse available for purchase. "It''s fine. Our members have worked hard lately. Moreover, who says our Guild doesn''t have any weapons and equipment?" Shi Feng said, chuckling. However, he did not bother to explain further. Instead, he sent You Ziping a message, instructing him and the others to deposit the weapons and equipment they had obtained during their visit to the Boneless Land into the Guild Warehouse after disconnecting the call with Aqua Rose. They had obtained over 6,000 Level 55-plus pieces of equipment from all of the Demonic Creatures they had slain in the Boneless Land. Although the majority of the items were Bronze rank, there were several hundred pieces of Mysterious-Iron Equipment and dozens of pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s statement has confused Aqua Rose. She had no idea what Shi Feng planned to do about this situation. However, she followed his instructions and published the announcement on the Guild''s notice board. Very quickly, this announcement caused a commotion in the Guild chat. "Vice Guild Leader, is this true? The Guild is actually awarding us so many GCPs?" "Doesn''t the Guild lack funds right now? If the Guild gives us so many points, what will it do about Coins?" Many of the Guild members were surprised by Shi Feng''s generosity. Although each player only received a small reward, the total cost of giving all of them bonus GCPs, with how many members the Guild had, would be massive. In reality, the Guild didn''t need to reward its members. Many were already satisfied with the benefits the new Residence in Zero Wing City offered after the Mana Tower had been constructed. Now, due to the increased Mana density in the city, members could accumulate 25% of the Double EXP buff after resting for 20 hours in the Guild Hall, 35% if they rented a Private Room. Moreover, players would even accumulate the buff while they were offline. This sudden improvement had skyrocketed the Guild members'' morale. Their confidence in Zero Wing''s future had not only returned, but increased. The biggest problem players faced in God''s Domain was leveling up. Unfortunately, the constant fighting with Heaven''s Burial had severely affected Zero Wing members'' leveling speeds. In fact, some members were losing levels faster than they could recover them. However, now that they could accumulate the Double EXP buff so quickly, regaining their lost levels would be much easier. In contrast, Heaven''s Burial''s members didn''t enjoy such a benefit. If this war continued, Zero Wing''s members would definitely surpass Heaven''s Burial''s members in levels. "No need to worry. This is a direct command from the Guild Leader. Moreover, the Guild Leader has said that since everyone is still willing to believe in Zero Wing, Zero Wing will not mistreat any of you!" Aqua Rose explained in the Guild chat. Inwardly, though, she had no confidence in her words in the least. "All hail the Guild Leader!" "All hail Zero Wing!" Hearing Aqua Rose''s words, Zero Wing''s members cheered. After everyone received their bonus points, many players ran to the Guild Warehouse to purchase items. When they saw the available items, however, they were stupefied. All sorts of weapons and equipment had been put up for purchase in the Guild Warehouse. All of the items were at least Level 55; there were even Level 65 items available. There were easily over 6,000 items in total. Currently, even Level 50 equipment was incredibly difficult to obtain, not to mention Level 55-plus weapons and equipment. Although none of them could use these Level 55-plus weapons and equipment at present, at the very least, they wouldn''t have to worry about weapons or equipment once they reached Level 55. This was especially true for the Guild''s normal and elite members. Level 50-plus equipment were extremely difficult to obtain, and being able to purchase a set of up-to-date Bronze and Mysterious Iron Equipment as soon as they reached the appropriate level would be a dream for these players. Meanwhile, news that Zero Wing was giving away a ton of bonus GCPs and had thousands of Level 55-plus weapons and pieces of equipment spread to Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds. The various Guilds had assumed that Zero Wing had reached its limits and was close to crumbling. They had expected the Guild to play such a hand so suddenly. There was also Zero Wing City''s recent rise to fame. No matter how they looked at the situation, Zero Wing did not seem like a Guild that was nearing its end. In fact, Zero Wing grew stronger by the minute. When Singular Burial received news of this, he was stupefied 1637 Astronomical Auction Chapter 1637 - Astronomical Auction Heaven''s Burial wasn''t the only Guild caught off guard by Zero Wing''s sudden transformation. All of the various large Guilds were astonished. They hadn''t realized that Zero Wing had such a solid foundation. This was especially true regarding the Mana Tower in Zero Wing City. The construction had skyrocketed the Mana density in the city, making the already-attractive city even more popular among players. Now, the various powers and players that had originally believed Zero Wing''s downfall had been inevitable began to see a little hope for the Guild. "Who would''ve thought Zero Wing could still make such a move?" "Now, thanks to the Mana Tower, Zero Wing City''s player population has gone through the ceiling. With this, the city''s income will drastically increase. It seems that Heaven''s Burial won''t be able to wear Zero Wing down in a short amount of time." "That''s definitely true. Based on what I''ve heard, over 5,000 additional players have secured teleportation memberships in Zero Wing City since the Guild implemented the new changes." "Indeed. The number of Orcs guarding the Orc Empire''s borders continues to increase, and the borders are becoming even more difficult to cross. The distance is a huge problem as well. By teleporting straight into the Orc Empire''s outer region from Zero Wing City, players can save over ten hours of travel time. They won''t have to worry about Orc patrol squads ambushing them, either. The only problem is the expensive teleportation fee; it''s not affordable for ordinary players like us." When discussing Zero Wing City''s enhanced teleportation function, whether they were members of the various major powers or independent players, they all wore hungry expressions. At this point, the Orc Empire had become a gathering point for multiple kingdoms and two empires. However, the journey there was still a problem that plagued all of the players who wanted to visit the Orc Empire. Unlike Heaven''s Burial''s members, who could teleport to Ancient Rock City directly, other players had to travel for a minimum of ten hours just to get from their respective countries to the Orc Empire''s outer region. To make matters worse, they could only grind in the area for a limited time before they had to return to a city or town to rest due to the empire''s poor environment. Although there were Guild Towns and a Guild City within the Orc Empire, these places had a limited number of hotels. There wasn''t nearly enough accommodation for every player adventuring in the Orc Empire. This meant that the majority of the players visiting the Orc Empire were forced to return to their countries'' NPC cities to rest, spending another ten or so hours to travel back to the Orc Empire. However, Zero Wing City had changed everything. Not only could players save precious time while traveling across the Orc Empire''s borders, but they could also circle around the powerful Orc patrol squads and Mutated Orcs. Because of this, the number of players who gathered in Zero Wing City continued to increase. The only problem these players had to face was the money they''d have to spend to get to the empire. There was also the matter of traveling to Zero Wing City. Although players could teleport to Zero Wing City via Evernight City, they still had to cross quite a distance to get from Star-Moon City to Evernight City. Fortunately, this problem was practically negligible compared to the potential benefits of saving so much time during their travels. As a result, the various major powers and adventurer teams that hadn''t initially been interested in Zero Wing''s latest auction rushed to Stone Forest Town''s Zero Wing Auction House. Currently, despite there still being over an hour before the auction officially began, players already crowded into the spacious Advanced Auction House, many of which were members of the various large Guilds. There were also plenty of well-known adventurer teams from the multiple kingdoms and two empires that neighbored the Orc Empire. "Big Sis Aqua, more than 50,000 players have already arrived to participate in the auction. At this rate, we might even have 70,000 participants by the time the auction starts," Yaya said excitedly as she read the statistics report in her hands. Although Zero Wing was about to host its auction, not just anyone could take part. They had to fulfill certain conditions first. If one wished to enter the auction venue, they needed a minimum of 100 Gold in their bags. If one wished to use the VIP rooms, then they had to have a minimum of 10,000 Gold. The Advanced Auction House was even larger than the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City. Not only could the largest auction hall house 100,000 people, but it also had 100 VIP rooms. Even so, all of the VIP rooms had been claimed When Aqua Rose saw the statistics, she, too, was shocked. Even Super Guilds'' auctions had trouble attracting such a colossal crowd. Aqua Rose finally understood why Shi Feng had said that this was only the beginning. With so many people contesting for Zero Wing City''s private houses and Shops, it would be strange if these properties did not fetch a high price. Following which, time passed quickly. Under Aqua Rose''s guidance, Zero Wing''s auction began smoothly. Although this was an impromptu auction, the available items were still of considerable quality, all of which were quite valuable to Guilds and players. In fact, Zero Wing even intended to offer plenty of Level 45 Dark-Gold and Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. "Next up is our auction''s first finale itemZero Wing City''s private houses! The first private house is located behind Zero Wing City''s Battle Arena. The starting bid will be 1,500 Gold, with each increment being no less than 50 Gold!" As Aqua Rose, the auction''s host, finished speaking, the crowd stirred. The players in the VIP rooms, in particular, who had, thus far, shown no interest in the items for auction, stared longingly at the image on the large display above the stage. "Crap! Zero Wing actually dares to ask for such a price?!" "Even the private houses in major NPC cities don''t cost 1,500 Gold!" "Is Zero Wing that desperate for money?" Many of the players present were shocked by the minimum bid Aqua Rose had stated. The private houses in NPC cities with player populations in the millions only sold for around 1,000 Gold. A few of the private houses in strategic locations only sold for a little more than that. Meanwhile, players didn''t have to worry about attacks or sieges in NPC cities, but it was a different story for a Guild City. There was no telling when another major power would attempt to take the city for itself. Zero Wing was simply insane for trying to sell an unstable private house for such a high price. Honestly, even Aqua Rose considered the price somewhat high, but Shi Feng had determined the minimum bidC1,500 Gold and not a Coin lower. Hence, she had no choice but to go along with his wishes. However, after the auction''s guests discussed the private houses in hushed tones, voices began to echo throughout the auction hall one after another as they began to place their bids. "One thousand, six hundred Gold!" "One thousand, seven hundred Gold!" "One thousand, eight hundred Gold!" The rapidly increasing prices flabbergasted everyone. After a short moment, the price had risen to 2,200 Gold. The bids only slowed after reaching this point. In the end, Remnant Cloud, the commander of the Firecloud Fox adventurer team, won the first private house for 2,550 Gold. Because of the winning bid, the spectating major powers envied Zero Wing. A single private house barely took up any of a city''s land, yet Zero Wing had earned so much money from a single private house. At the same time, many of them pitied Remnant Cloud for his foolish decision. Although Zero Wing''s situation had improved significantly, its chances of defeating Heaven''s Burial were still slim. Purchasing a private house for so much money was foolish. However, as the various large Guilds'' upper echelons entertained such thoughts, the second private house sold for 2,700 Gold In total, Zero Wing had sold 15 private houses. Every one of them had sold, with the cheapest going for 2,450 Gold and the most expensive earning 2,800 Gold. The price could already rival that of high-potential Lands in NPC cities. As for Zero Wing City''s Shops, the minimum bid was a frightening 5,000 Gold, with each increment being no less than 100 Gold. In the end, of the five Shops that had sold, the cheapest sold for 7,800 Gold, while the most expensive one had gone for 8,500 Gold During this single auction, Zero Wing had gained a net profit of more than 120,000 Gold. When Aqua Rose saw the final numbers, she even wondered if she were dreaming. "Guild Leader, with this much money, we can purchase a large amount of Level 45 equipment and replenish our warehouse! We can definitely help our Guild members recover their full strength!" Aqua Rose''s eyes glistened when she saw the profits the auction had raked in. It had been a long time since she had seen so much money. "No. Set the Guild Warehouse''s replenishment aside for now. First, prioritize the NPC Shops'' construction," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He had never intended to sell Zero Wing''s precious lands just to help the Guild''s members recover their lost weapons and equipment. Although the Guild members items were quite important, they paled in comparison to the NPC Merchants'' Shops. NPC Shops were the lifeblood of a Guild City. Only after gaining NPC Shops could a Guild City start its endless cycle of development. "I understand. I''ll get to it immediately." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Aqua Rose recalled the NPC Merchants that had visited Zero Wing City to discuss business. Due to the Guild''s lack of funds, they had delayed the NPC Shops'' construction, but now that the Guild had money to spare, it was indeed time to address the issue. 1638 3-star NPC Shop Chapter 1638 - 3-star NPC Shop Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City: Since there was no need for players to construct NPC Shops personally, tall buildings began to rise in Zero Wing City as soon as Aqua Rose made the necessary payments. The Shops 2-star NPC Merchants required usually only had two or three floors, costing between 500 and 1,000 Gold to construct. As for the Shops for the two 3-star NPC Merchants, one had five floors, while the other had six floors. Each had cost over 2,000 Gold to construct. Fifteen minutes after Aqua Rose made the payments, the NPC Shops were complete. The added buildings made Zero Wing City look far more prosperous. The two 3-star NPC Merchants'' Shops, which were both located in the heart of Zero Wing City, were particularly eye-catching. The architecture of these Shops was even more gorgeous than the Candlelight Trading Firm. One could tell that these two Shops were extraordinary at a glance. Meanwhile, one of the Shops functioned as a grocery store, while the other focused on magic. "Huh? When did these two NPC Shops get here?" "These buildings are so extravagant! Quick; let''s go in and take a look!" Many passersby quickly took notice of the two NPC Shops in Zero Wing City''s central district, and they couldn''t help but take a closer look. When these players entered the Shops, they were stunned by what they saw. Each of the two Shops offered all kinds of items, some of which couldn''t even be found in kingdoms'' capital cities. Moreover, many items, which they had never seen before, were on display in crystal cabinets. "Isn''t this a complete set of Basic Magic Array Scrolls?! You can actually find something like this in a Shop?" "Crap! This is a Tier 1 AOE Attack Magic Scroll!" "Amazing! This is a Bronze Pickaxe! If I had, my mining efficiency would increase like crazy!" "What?! This Shop even has Basic Traps?!" Everyone''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when they saw the items on display in the dozens of crystal cabinets in the magic store''s first-floor hall. Basic Magic Arrays were rare on the market, mostly because it was extremely difficult to collect a complete set. Normally, only the various large Guilds were capable of collecting a complete set. To independent players and adventurer teams, Basic Magic Arrays were treasures that they could only gaze at longingly. The Tier 1 Magic Scrolls were also extremely rare and could save players lives during critical moments. The Basic Traps were also considerably effective against both players and monsters. Every one of these items was incredibly scarce on the market, yet they were actually for sale in these NPC Shops. Moreover, the items'' prices were slightly lower than market price. "Quick! Notify the commander! We must get this Basic Magic Array no matter what!" "Hello? Guild Leader? I just found some Bronze tools in a grocery store in Zero Wing City!" For a time, the players visiting the two 3-star NPC Merchants'' Shops busily contacted their companions or superiors, reporting the Shops'' available items. "What?! Zero Wing City actually has such Shops?!" "I''ll have someone bring the money immediately! Keep an eye on those items!" The various major powers'' upper echelons were wrought with desire over the new NPC Shops in Zero Wing City. They promptly issued commands to acquire these items, no matter the cost. In less than ten minutes, the two NPC Shops were overcrowded with players, becoming even more popular than the Candlelight Trading Firm. News of these NPC Shops quickly spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Many players might not regard the Double EXP buff as important or have any interest in the Orc Empire, but every player was interested in obtaining rare items. This was especially true for tools that could help players defeat powerful monsters, such as Tier 1 Magic Scrolls and Basic Magic Arrays. Usually, only Guilds had the opportunity to use such items. They couldn''t simply be purchased with enough money. After acquiring these tools, players could take down powerful monsters they previously had to avoid. "Guild Leader, now that every NPC Merchant has begun their Shops'' operation, shouldn''t we purchase some of their products for ourselves?" Although Aqua Rose had known about the NPC Shops'' products, she couldn''t ignore the temptation now that they were available for purchase. Some of the rare items in these Shops were even rare in capital cities'' Auction Houses. If they purchased these items and sold them in Zero Wing''s Auction House, they''d make a huge profit. "No need. Rather than trying to make a profit through resale, attracting more players to Zero Wing City is more important," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He could sympathize with Aqua Rose''s desire, but doing so would be penny-wise and pound-foolish. NPC Shops were a Guild City''s lifeblood because they sold rare items every day, which attracted a constant stream of players to the city, increasing its popularity. The increased popularity would then help boost the city''s various revenue sources. The resulting additional entry fees alone would outstrip the profits they could earn from reselling the NPC Shops'' items. After giving the matter some thought, Aqua Rose saw the reasoning in Shi Feng''s decision. Less than half an hour after the NPC Shops'' grand opening, they had attracted over 300,000 more players to Zero Wing City. That was more than 1,800 Gold in entrance fees. As time passed, even more players would visit Zero Wing City, and at this rate, there was no need to resell items. "Right, pull out some funds to purchase these materials. Buy as many of them as you can as long as the prices aren''t more than 10% higher than market value. Once you have them, send all of the materials to me," Shi Feng instructed after examining the materials he had left to forge the Magic Light Set. Although he had Melancholic Smile gradually collect the necessary materials, the cost was simply too high. Overall, Melancholic Smile had only managed to purchase around 100 sets of materials for him. Now that Zero Wing had funds to spare, he needed as many materials as possible. "Alright. I''ll send someone to purchase them immediately." When Aqua Rose saw the list of materials Shi Feng required, she was slightly astonished. However, now that Zero Wing City''s income soared, she was confident in acquiring a large stock. Orc Empire, Ancient Rock City: The atmosphere in the Guild Leader''s office in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence was extraordinarily tense. "What is going on with Zero Wing? Is some major corporation supporting it in secret?" Singular Burial grumbled, greatly displeased with the latest status report on the rival Guild. At the same time, he felt an immense pressure bear down on him. Not long ago, it had been obvious that Zero Wing was about to crumble. Yet, it was now full of vim and vigor. In fact, the Guild was doing so well that it had even awarded over 100,000 Gold in bonus GCPs. The large number of NPC Shops that had recently risen in Zero Wing City was even more impressive. Singular Burial couldn''t help but wonder if Zero Wing were somehow growing richer as the Guild fought Heaven''s Burial. "Guild Leader, our people are keeping a constant eye on this matter, but we haven''t discovered any major corporation supporting Zero Wing from the shadows. Blackwater has also confirmed this," Daybreak Fog said, shaking her head as she answered Singular Burial with absolute certainty. "We are sure that Zero Wing''s recent income stems from Zero Wing City" "Zero Wing City?" Singular Burial''s expression darkened when he read the statistics report on the Guild City. Although he hated to acknowledge it, Zero Wing City had far more potential than he had expected. He had never thought that a Guild City could develop so quickly, nearly surpassing Ancient Rock City. "This is interesting. It would seem that Zero Wing''s foundations are much sturdier than we imagined," Lei Jingyang, who currently sat nearby, commented, laughing. "However, this is all they can accomplish. Since they refuse to surrender, can we now take action?" "Indeed. Young Master Lei, you can use the Evil Demon army to obliterate Zero Wing!" Singular Burial nodded. Sneering, he continued, "It''s about time we show them how frightening our Evil Demon Army truly is!" 1639 Start of the War Chapter 1639 - Start of the War Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Due to Zero Wing City''s sudden rise in fame, many independent players from the neighboring kingdoms had gathered before Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City, hoping to join the Guild. Although Zero Wing didn''t fare so well against Heaven''s Burial right now, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing City surpassed Heaven''s Burial''s Ancient Rock City at the rate it was developing. Zero Wing City''s teleportation function and numerous NPC Shops were so attractive that even independent players and well-known adventurer teams considered settling down, long-term, in the city. Currently, many adventurer teams and Guilds deeply regretted not participating in the auction for Zero Wing City''s private houses. Some adventurer teams and Guilds had even offered to purchase Zero Wing City''s private houses for a much higher price, but unfortunately, no one was willing to hand over the private houses they had won in the auction. While Zero Wing gained more momentum, Shi Feng continued to forge Magic Light Sets. The Magic Light Set was a six-piece, Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Its forging procedures were extremely complex and difficult to accomplish. However, as Shi Feng completed more sets, he became increasingly familiar with the forging process. With the help of the Purple Thunder Flame, he needed even less time to complete each set. Normally, a Master Forger would need nearly an hour to complete one attempt. Shi Feng, on the other hand, only needed around 40 minutes now. Moreover, his practical success rate had risen to 60%; he could successfully forge six sets out of ten attempts. Due to Shi Feng''s familiarity with the forging process, most of the remaining 40% only had a few minor defects, coming out as either Secret-Silver or Mysterious Iron rank. Only 10% of the failures were unusable. While the Secret-Silver and Mysterious-Iron sets were considered failures, the pieces were still valuable to Level 50 expert players. Furthermore, the failures still retained their set effects, which made them half a rank stronger than ordinary equipment of the same rank. Since Shi Feng had no intention of keeping the Magic Light Sets a secret, he dropped the failures in the Guild Warehouse and only kept the successful sets on him. As Shi Feng prepared for his 27th attempt, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial has made a move. Currently, Heaven''s Burial''s Lei Jingyang is leading a massive number of Evil Beasts and expert players to attack our members in the four high-resource maps. We''re too outnumbered. We simply can''t hold them back. We''ve already lost a lot of expert members. Although I''ve already ordered a temporary retreat, it seems that Heaven''s Burial had prepared for that. Our members won''t be able to get out easily," Aqua Rose anxiously reported as she sent Shi Feng a few videos. Each of the recordings displayed Heaven''s Burial''s expert teams leading 20 to 30 Lord ranked and above Evil Demons. Although the Evil Demons did not have as much HP as Evil Beasts of the same rank, they possessed superior intellect. A single Level 70 Lord ranked Evil Demon was more than capable of cornering a 20-man team of ordinary experts, let alone 30 of them. Any of Zero Wing''s 100-man expert teams would be basically annihilated if they came across these Evil Demons. Only 1,000-man teams might have some hope of resistance. At this point, only the 100-man teams under the Conqueror Parties leadership or those led by the Guild''s Tier 2 experts could defeat Heaven''s Burial''s expert teams. However, Heaven''s Burial had sent over 5,000 Evil Demons to hunt down Zero Wing''s members. The Conqueror Parties and Tier 2 experts weren''t enough to keep the enemy teams in check. In the half an hour since the attacks had begun, Zero Wing had suffered over 5,000 casualties "Heaven''s Burial really is cautious." Shi Feng could not help his frown. If Star-Moon Kingdom''s armies discovered the Evil God''s Temple''s forces in their territory, they''d immediately move to destroy them. Due to the Orc Empire''s invasion, Star-Moon Kingdom''s armies were spread across the kingdom. It''d be very easy to take advantage of the kingdom''s power to deal with Heaven''s Burial. However, Heaven''s Burial had only sent their high-mobility Evil Demons to attack. Moreover, these Evil Demons had spread out. Even if the kingdom''s armies reached them in time, they''d only be able to kill a few before the rest of the Evil Demons escaped. It was practically impossible to deal a heavy blow to this Evil Demon army. Moreover, the Evil Demon army was particularly skilled in guerilla warfare. Players had no hope against them, let alone a single Guild. This was also why the Evil God''s Temple had very nearly wiped out an entire empire in Shi Feng''s previous life. When Zero Wing had clashed with the Evil Demon and Beast armies previously, the Guild had held the terrain advantage. It had also had the help of defensive magic arrays, Defense Turrets, NPC guards and soldiers, and other such tools, but now, Zero Wing had none of that. As long as the Evil Demon army continued to hunt players in the fields, Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t be able to grind and level up. "Hahaha! Boss Lei, these Evil Demons are amazing! Not even Zero Wing''s expert teams can hold a candle to these monsters!" a burly Ranger exclaimed, laughing as he watched the Evil Demons crush a 100-man expert team from Zero Wing a short distance away. With just 40 Evil Demons, they had forced a Conqueror Party-led expert team to retreat. He had never thought this situation would be possible. "Keep a close eye on them! Make sure none of them escape!" Lei Jingyang said, laughing. He, on the other hand, wasn''t surprised in the least. He had personally fought a Great Lord ranked Evil Demon before. Without a Berserk Skill, he was no match for the Evil Demon, barely able to defend himself. If a group of Evil Demons ganged up on him, even an expert of his caliber would quickly fall. Although Zero Wing had stood toe-to-toe with Heaven''s Burial in this war of attrition thus far, the outcome had been determined long ago. Zero Wing never had a chance of victory. Meanwhile, news that Heaven''s Burial had dispatched an Evil Demon army against Zero Wing quickly reached the major powers. Seeing the numerous Evil Demons spread across the high-resource maps Zero Wing''s members occupied, even Super Guilds'' upper echelons couldn''t help but frown. "It seems that Heaven''s Burial has gathered a powerful Evil Demon army. Even with Zero Wing City''s rise in popularity, Zero Wing''s legacy will soon end." Yuan Tiexin could not help his rueful sigh as he read the latest report on the war between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial. According to the report, Heaven''s Burial had dispatched 20 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons to Star-Moon Kingdom. Every one of these Grand Lords was an absolute nightmare for players. The Guild had also dispatched 500 Great Lords and thousands of Lord ranked Evil Demons. This army would be invincible in the fields. Star-Moon Kingdom''s NPC armies were the only hope of exterminating these monsters now. Unfortunately, by the time the kingdom''s armies arrived, the Evil Demons would have likely escaped. Had Zero Wing agreed to the Secret Pavilion''s conditions, there might be a solution to this problem, but the Guild had lost any possibility of escaping this predicament. As Zero Wing''s members retreated from the various high-resource maps, Heaven''s Burial published a post on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. Zero Wing, do you dare face us in a final stand? This sentence instantly caused an uproar in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Hahaha! It seems that Zero Wing really isn''t much after all! It''s even afraid of putting up a good fight!" "Zero Wing members, do you guys dare to come out and fight? Or are you going to continue to hide in your city?" Heaven''s Burial''s members clamored on the forums, provoking Zero Wing''s members to a fight in the fields. Naturally, Zero Wing''s members were incredibly frustrated. Although they wanted to fight, they''d be surrounded by Evil Demons if they ventured into the fields. If that happened, they''d never survive, yet if they didn''t fight, everyone in the game would look down on them. "Guild Leader, many of our members are voicing their desire to face Heaven''s Burial''s members due to the recent announcement. But if we let them" Aqua Rose trailed off helplessly. "Is there really no way to deal with those Evil Demons?" She found Heaven''s Burial''s actions truly disgusting, but if they didn''t find a solution quickly, not only would Zero Wing''s reputation plummet, but the Guild''s morale would also crumble. "Does Heaven''s Burial really think that Zero Wing is some helpless sheep? Since they want a fight, I''ll give them a fight!" Shi Feng sneered. 1640 An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth Chapter 1640 - An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth "We''re going to fight them?" Anticipation filled Aqua Rose when she heard Shi Feng''s growl. "Guild Leader, do you really have a way to deal with those Evil Demons?" She was very familiar with Zero Wing''s foundations. With the Guild''s current combat power, they had no chance of victory against Heaven''s Burial in the open fields. If they wanted to win, they needed some special strategy or a miracle. "Nope," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Then how are we supposed to fight Heaven''s Burial?" Shi Feng''s simple response dumbfounded Aqua Rose. "Who says we''re going to fight them head-on?" Shi Feng asked, revealing a faint smile. "A Guild war is a competition of wealth. If we cut off their income, how long do you think they''ll last?" Both Guilds had already set bounties on each other''s members and incurred massive expenditures each day because of it. If one side suddenly lacked the funds to pay for the massive number of bounty claims and couldn''t compensate its Guild members, that Guild would crumble under the pressure. "Cut off their income?" Aqua Rose gave her Guild Leader a confused look. Heaven''s Burial''s financial ability was frightening. Not only was it backed by the Blackwater Corporation, but it could also lean on the Orc Empire''s Ancient Rock City for funds. If it were possible to cut off these sources, Heaven''s Burial would suffer a devastating blow to its finances. However, no matter how Aqua Rose considered the situation, she couldn''t find a way to do so. Ancient Rock City was located in the Orc Empire''s inner region. Not only was it protected by Heaven''s Burial''s members, but the Guild also continued to strengthen the city''s static defenses. Every one of God''s Domain''s various superpowers eyed the city, hoping for a chance to capture it. The Guild had also stationed NPC soldiers within the city walls. Although Ancient Rock City only had around 6,000 NPC soldiers, everyone was Level 100. The majority of them was also Tier 1 soldiers, with a minority of Tier 2 NPCs and a few Tier 3 commanders. Level 100 was the second major turning point in God''s Domain. Had these NPCs been present when Heaven''s Burial had tried to capture the city, it would have failed even if it had employed thousands of Level 70 Evil Beasts. Unfortunately, cutting off the income from the Blackwater Corporation was even less possible. Blackwater had already taken control of the Iron Empire, and with Zero Wing''s current strength, attacking the Guild in its own empire would be suicidal. "In any case, have someone send me 60,000 Magic Crystals. I intend to visit Ancient Rock City and try to cut off Heaven''s Burial''s income from it. Also, inform our Guild members to stay indoors for now. If they have to level up, they can do so in the maps around Zero Wing City. Have Flying Shadow, Shadow Sword, and the others offer reinforcement if our members come under attack," Shi Feng instructed after nodding to Aqua Rose''s question. None of the others had the power to deal with Ancient Rock City. Unfortunately for Heaven''s Burial, he had obtained the Demon King''s Horn, an Epic Consumable, during his trip to the World Summit. Even Zero Wing City''s defensive magic array would shatter against a full-powered attack from a Tier 5 Demon King, not to mention Ancient Rock City''s. The Demon King''s Horn''s only flaw was its maddening requirement of Magic Crystals. Previously, Zero Wing hadn''t even had 10,000 Magic Crystals in its Warehouse, and Shi Feng couldn''t have afforded to use the Demon King''s Horn. But things had changed for the Guild. Zero Wing City alone earned more than 100,000 Magic Crystals through its teleportation services and Battle Arena, and the number continued to climb by the minute. Hence, taking 60,000 Magic Crystals would not harm Zero Wing''s daily operations too much. Since Heaven''s Burial dared pull such a stunt, Shi Feng had to return the favor. As the saying went; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. When Aqua Rose heard that Shi Feng planned to head to Ancient Rock City by himself, she panicked. Hurriedly, she argued, "Guild Leader, it is too dangerous for you to go alone. There are Level 100, Tier 3 NPCs guarding Ancient Rock City. Heaven''s Burial has long since set Zero Wing as an enemy. The moment you approach the city, the NPCs will annihilate you." Every NPC soldier in Ancient Rock City was more than capable of slaughtering current players. Going there alone was suicidal. "Relax. I know what I''m doing. If I really can''t pull it off, I won''t force the issue," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to explain further. "Then, you must be careful. I will have Yaya deliver the Magic Crystals right away," Aqua Rose repeatedly implored. Despite Shi Feng telling her to relax, she could not help but worry. Following which, Aqua Rose had Yaya deliver 60,000 Magic Crystals to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm while she dealt with the Guild members, instructing everyone to avoid going out as much as possible. Once Shi Feng obtained the 60,000 Magic Crystals, he retrieved two Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scrolls, which the Guild''s main force had acquired, from the Guild Warehouse before hurrying to Ancient Rock City. Orc Empire, Ancient Rock City: Due to the Primordial Divine Ruin''s appearance, high-level quests and powerful Bosses had begun to spawn around the ruin. Because of this, many players had gathered in the area to compete for these resources. This also increased Ancient Rock City''s player population. Though, the population increase was not as dramatic as that of Zero Wing City. Some of the new arrivals to Ancient Rock City were in awe of the city''s numerous large buildings. Ancient Rock City contained various hotels, smithies, bars, and restaurants, and the shortest of these buildings included three floors, while the tallest even had six or seven. Ancient Rock City''s prosperity could already rival major NPC cities. Moreover, the city''s defenses were incredibly powerful. The city already had 28 Defense Turrets and dozens of Arrow Towers. The center of the city even housed three Basic Mana Pulse Cannons, which Heaven''s Burial had purchased from Blackwing City Even if an Orc army attempted to siege the city, no one would expect the city to fall for even a second. When the various superpowers saw the city, they were forced to abandon the idea of capturing it. "Ancient Rock City is truly an impenetrable fortress. With this city, it is only a matter of time before Heaven''s Burial becomes a super-first-rate Guild." "That''s right. With the constant supply of funds from Ancient Rock City and the support from major corporations, many experts will likely attempt to join the Guild. All Heaven''s Burial needs now is time to develop." "I know, right? I''ve heard that the Evil Demon army attacking Zero Wing right now also belongs to Heaven''s Burial. You guys should see how powerful those Evil Demons are for yourselves. Ordinary experts are nothing before those Lord ranked Evil Demons. Just one of them can easily wipe out a 20-man expert team, and the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons'' combat standards can even rival ordinary experts. Even the various superpowers are afraid of Heaven''s Burial now. If not for the other kingdoms and empires hunting down the Evil Demons, Zero Wing would''ve been annihilated already." "Zero Wing sure is unlucky to have Heaven''s Burial as an enemy. With this Evil Demon army against them, Zero Wing is finished." "Although Zero Wing is not a weak Guild by any means, it has crap luck to have crossed Heaven''s Burial." "I''ve heard that Heaven''s Burial plans to recruit more members soon. Why don''t we join Heaven''s Burial after our meal? If we''re late, it might become even more difficult to join the Guild later." "I guess you''re right. Count me in." As the players in Ancient Rock City discussed Heaven''s Burial, many expressed their admiration and envy. Heaven''s Burial had both money and strength. It was only a matter of time before it took control of the several kingdoms neighboring the Orc Empire. Not even Super Guilds could stop the Guild''s growth now. Meanwhile, in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence in Ancient Rock City, Singular Burial wore a delighted expression as he sat in his office. When he read the latest report, an indescribable joy filled his heart. "So what if your city earns a lot of money, Black Flame? In the face of absolute power, what can you possibly do?" Singular Burial laughed maniacally. After a series of battles, Heaven''s Burial had killed over 15,000 Zero Wing members. Although most of them were normal members, it had been a significant blow to Zero Wing. At the moment, Zero Wing''s members hid in towns and cities, most not daring to leave the safety to grind. Heaven''s Burial immediately sent a team to kill any that did the moment they were discovered. Although some players had snuck past Heaven''s Burial, they couldn''t affect the overall situation. If this persisted, it wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing''s members began to withdraw from the Guild. Once that happened, Zero Wing would truly be finished. As Singular Burial prepared to meet with his Guild''s upper echelons to discuss their next moves, Shi Feng secretly snuck across Ancient Rock City''s walls. Although Heaven''s Burial had already set Zero Wing''s members as enemies, Shi Feng had the Nightwalker''s Cape equipped. If he wished to escape detection, not even Tier 3 NPCs would find him. The only problem was that he still wasn''t allowed to enter the city. Fortunately, he didn''t need to. "As expected of one of the Orc Empire''s cities. It''s certainly more prosperous than Zero wing City," Shi Feng muttered to himself, smiling as he observed Ancient Rock City through its gates. "It seems that Heaven''s Burial has improved the city''s defenses quite a bit. I wonder if it can withstand a Tier 5 large-scale destruction Spell?" As Shi Feng muttered, he activated Gale Domain and flew above Ancient Rock City. 1641 Demon Kings Descen Chapter 1641 - Demon King''s Descent Twenty-meter-tall walls surrounded Ancient Rock City, strengthened by magic runes. Even powerful players would not be able to scale these walls. Furthermore, a defensive magic array protected Ancient Rock City, so even if players managed to climb the walls, the magic array would stop them in their tracks. Normally, players could only enter Ancient Rock City through its main entrance. If players with nefarious intentions couldn''t even break past these two defenses, they''d have no hope of getting past the NPCs patrolling the city, and their attempts would be for naught. Due to the Orc Empire''s unique environment, players consumed Stamina and Concentration more quickly in the area. The only way they could recover their lost Stamina and concentration was to enter a magic array-enclosed town or city. Currently, a long line of players waited patiently outside of Ancient Rock City''s main entrance. They would only be permitted entry after they had been inspected by the city''s NPC soldiers. "This inspection is really annoying. Heaven''s Burial actually refuses to let cloaked players into the city and is adamant that we reveal our identities." "They''re likely afraid of players from enemy factions sneaking into the city. There are so many superpowers keeping an eye on Ancient Rock City, and if they decided to take action within the city''s walls, Heaven''s Burial''s losses will be no laughing matter." "They''re overly worried. Causing trouble in Ancient Rock City is easier said than done. Plenty of NPC soldiers and players constantly patrol the city. If anyone does anything odd, they''ll likely die before they can do any actual damage." "Indeed. Heaven''s Burial is just being too careful. With such powerful defenses, not even the Super Guilds can do anything to the city." As the players in line discussed Ancient Rock City''s strict security, they all agreed that Heaven''s Burial was being too sensitive. Ancient Rock City wasn''t even under players full control, and as a result, formidable NPCs guarded the city. Even if players wanted to attack the city, there was nothing they could do at this stage of the game. "Huh? Guys, look. Someone''s up there!" "Crap! Who is that? He''s actually flying!" "What''s he trying to do?" "He isn''t trying to attack the city, is he?" "Attack the city? Are you kidding me? Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array isn''t just for show. Current players can''t go up against it. He must be trying to get a better look at the city''s situation." "Who is that guy? He sure has guts! Isn''t he afraid that Heaven''s Burial will try to kill him?" When the crowd queued up to enter Ancient Rock City saw the figure in the sky, they couldn''t help their growing curiosity. The players outside of Ancient Rock City weren''t the only ones to notice Shi Feng. The players within the city''s walls noticed him as well, and his appearance instantly caused a commotion. Meanwhile, in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence "Guild Leader, someone has suddenly appeared above the city. By the looks of it, he seems to be a player," a Level 49 Ranger announced after entering the Guild Leader''s office. "Should we send the patrol squads to eliminate him?" Normally, they didn''t bother with players as long as they didn''t try to cause any trouble. However, this unknown player dared to look down on Ancient Rock City from above. This was a blatant insult to Heaven''s Burial. If they did not teach this player a lesson, it could impact the Guild''s prestige. "Someone''s looking down on the city from above?" The Ranger''s report surprised Singular Burial slightly. "Do you know who it is?" This was the first time they had encountered such an arrogant player since Heaven''s Burial had taken control of Ancient Rock City. "We''ve tried to investigate, but he''s wearing a Black Cloak, so we can''t see the player''s identity," the Ranger said, shaking his head. "Interesting. This person must be tired of life to act so wildly in Heaven''s Burial''s territory. Although I don''t know what they intend to do, I don''t want to see them leave this place alive. Notify our subordinates immediately and have them display the Guild''s strength," Singular Burial said, sneering as he looked at the cloaked image of Shi Feng. "Understood!" The Ranger left to notify the NPC and player patrol squads to take action. Normally, NPC soldiers wouldn''t take long to deal with an intruder when an enemy appeared in a city, but since this mysterious individual had hidden his identity and hadn''t done anything just yet, they''d only be prevented from entering Ancient Rock City. The NPCs would not attempt to remove the player. However, these NPCs would launch an attack if they received a direct command. Current players were little more than flies to Level 100 NPCs. Shortly after Singular Burial issued the command, the NPCs on the city walls set their sights on Shi Feng as he hovered above the city. One of the Tier 3 commanders immediately launched a Tier 3 Spell, while the Tier 1 soldiers beside him pulled out their bows and fired at Shi Feng. "It seems that Heaven''s Burial is really angry. They actually commanded the NPCs to attack. That person is in for a beating." "I know, right? It really makes you wonder what is going through that person''s mind. Does he really think Ancient Rock City''s NPC soldiers there for decoration?" As everyone watched the Tier 3 Spell and hundreds of arrows soar towards the hovering intruder, Shi Feng finished his preparations. He then unfurled the Tier 3 Defensive Scroll in his hands and activated it. Immediately, dark-blue streams of air danced around Shi Feng, encasing him. Not only did the air streams strike the incoming arrows down, but they also blocked the Tier 3 Spell. In the end, Shi Feng emerged from the volley unscathed. "What?! He''s still alive?!" Everyone was stunned when they saw Shi Feng unharmed. Against a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC''s Tier 3 Spell, even a player of the same rank and level would take significant damage. The other NPCs had also fired hundreds of arrows at Shi Feng. Yet, despite such a domineering assault, Shi Feng hadn''t taken any damage. Contrary to expectations, Shi Feng didn''t try to escape after the NPCs'' first volley ended. Rather, he pulled an item from his bag. The instant he revealed this item, the surrounding Mana surged towards Shi Feng. As he began to chant an incantation, the Mana around him concentrated into liquid. In seconds, a pitch-black magic array, covering a 2,000-yard radius, appeared above Ancient Rock City. The phantom of a Demon King then appeared beneath the magic array, radiating a terrifying aura that every player in Ancient Rock City could feel. "What a powerful Spell!" "What is that person trying to do?" "He couldn''t really be trying to siege the city, right?" "This is insane! That person is definitely crazy! This is Ancient Rock City we''re talking about! What can one player like him possibly do to the city''s defensive magic array?" Ancient Rock City''s players didn''t panic in the least as they watched the pitch-black magic array above the city. Rather, they were confused. If this player had used this Spell to attack within the city, it would decimate Ancient Rock City, but since it was outside of the city''s defenses, it couldn''t damage the city in the slightest. At most, it would expend some of the defensive magic array''s energy. As everyone questioned Shi Feng''s sanity, the black magic array in the sky completed its formation. At the same time, the Demon King released a furious bellow and summoned numerous flaming meteors, raining them down on Ancient Rock City. Tier 5 Spell, Hell Meteor! The instant the hill-sized meteors met the city''s defensive magic array, a deafening boom echoed throughout the city. As one meteor after another crashed down, cracks began to snake across the magic barrier around Ancient Rock City. As the cracks continuously spread, the defensive magic array protecting the city eventually shattered and disappeared 1642 Shocking All Sides Chapter 1642 - Shocking All Sides As the players within the city watched the defensive magic array around Ancient Rock City transform into particles of light and disappear, their expressions froze. "How is this possible?" "What''s going on here?" "Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array was destroyed?" For a time, everyone struggled to process and accept the fact that the defensive magic array had actually broken. Although they were not particularly familiar with the strength of a city''s defensive magic array, they knew that normal Spells would be utterly useless against it. Even Tier 4 Spells would barely have an effect. When Heaven''s Burial had tried to capture Ancient Rock City, the Guild had spent many hours bombarding the city''s defensive magic array. It had even employed Tier 4 Mythic ranked Evil Beasts to assault the barrier. Yet, this same, peerless magic array had crumbled under a single attack. It felt like some kind of joke. "What did that person do?" "Is he some kind of high-tiered NPC?" Curiosity filled Ancient Rock City''s players as they watched Shi Feng''s cloaked figure. Meanwhile, the eyes of the various players from visiting superpowers within the city glowed as they watched the defensive magic array fall. "A chance! This is our change!" "Quick! Notify the Guild Leader!" Thus far, the superpowers hadn''t given up on securing Ancient Rock City for themselves. Its daily income was so astronomical that not even Super Guilds could ignore the temptation. However, nobody had been able to do anything against the city; its defenses were simply too powerful. Aside from the city''s Level 100 NPCs, the city''s defensive magic array was impossible for these superpowers to overcome. They''d also have to contend with the defensive magic array protecting the City Lord''s Mansion. Now, however, Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array was gone. City''s defensive magic arrays weren''t like the defensive arrays players could summon with Magic Array Scrolls. Once shattered, the protective barrier would need a long time to reform. Depending on the Mana supply, forming another magic array could take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. During this time, Ancient Rock City would be without the protection of a defensive magic array. Aside from the city''s defensive structures, the various superpowers only had to overcome the NPCs defending the city. Not, it was entirely possible to steal Ancient Rock City out from under Heaven''s Burial. The various superpowers'' members who rested in Ancient Rock City immediately contacted their supervisors to report the city''s situation. In almost no time, everyone had heard the news of Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array shattering, causing quite a commotion among the various major powers in the Orc Empire. "What? Someone has broken Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array? How did they do it?" "Hurry up and look into it! We must know that person''s identity!" "This is a good opportunity. Heaven''s Burial has been relying on Ancient Rock City to suppress us in the Orc Empire. Now that the city has lost its defensive magic array, we definitely have a chance of taking Heaven''s Burial''s place! Mobilize all of our members in the Orc Empire and tell them to gather in Ancient Rock City! Call in all of our elite members grinding elsewhere, too! We can''t let the other Guilds get ahead of us!" For a time, the various superpowers developing in the Orc Empire began to gather their forces in Ancient Rock City. Twenty-four hours was more than enough for their forces to make it to Ancient Rock City. Without the defensive magic array in their path, they just needed to distract the NPC soldiers and destroy the City Lord''s Tablet, which was inside the City Lord''s Mansion. Once that was complete, the city would become ownerless, and a City Order would appear. If they could get their hands on that City Order, they would claim Ancient Rock City for themselves. Meanwhile, silence dominated the Guild Leader''s office in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence. When Singular Burial had initially looked out his office window and noticed the absence of the city''s defensive magic array, he had been stunned for a long moment. Once he recovered from the shock, his expression turned somber as he radiated a chilling aura that even decreased the room''s temperature. Everyone in the room shuddered as this aura overwhelmed them. "Kill Kill him! I don''t care who he is! I want him dead! Dead!" Singular Burial bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng''s figure hovering over the city. Ancient Rock City was Heaven''s Burial''s foundation. The Guild had sacrificed too much to obtain it. Now that the city''s defensive magic array had fallen, the various superpowers, which had eyed Ancient Rock City for a while, wouldn''t miss this opportunity. They would launch fervent assaults against the city, and although Singular Burial was confident that his Guild could repel these usurpers, Heaven''s Burial would suffer immeasurable losses in the upcoming battle. It might even cripple the Guild''s development. "Understood!" Finally, everyone reacted and rushed out of the office. At first, they had assumed that they were dealing with some insignificant lunatic, but that lunatic had actually shattered Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array and threatened Heaven''s Burial''s foundation. After Singular Burial issued the command, every NPC in Ancient Rock City dashed towards Shi Feng, hurling all kinds of ranged attacks. At the same time, the city''s Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers began to bombard the flying Swordsman. But despite such powerful attacks flying at him from different directions, Shi Feng didn''t try to evade them. Instead, he flew straight towards the City Lord''s Mansion. With Gale Domain active, Shi Feng''s Movement Speed was ridiculously high, and as a result, very few attacks managed to reach him. When an attack did reach him, the streams of dark-blue air revolving around Shi Feng struck it down before it could deal any real damage. "What''s that person trying to do?" "Is he not going to flee?" "He seems to be heading towards the City Lord''s Mansion. He couldn''t be" When the city''s players realized where Shi Feng was heading, they considered a possibility. Although they thought that the chance of such an occurrence was minuscule, and the action was utterly suicidal, they couldn''t help but shudder at the thought. Sieging the City Lord''s Mansion! No matter how they thought about it, no single player could achieve this feat. The City Lord''s Mansion had its own defensive magic array. Only, it didn''t require as much energy as the barrier that protected the entire city. Even so, Tier 3 or 4 attacks couldn''t easily bring it down. "Could he be capable of using that Spell again?" Everyone gulped in trepidation at the thought. The Spell Shi Feng had used was absurdly powerful. The fact that he had already used it once was impressive enough. It would simply be unfair if he could use it again. "No! He definitely can''t use that kind of Spell a second time! He must be bluffing!" Singular Burial''s eyes were bloodshot as he watched Shi Feng soar closer to the City Lord''s Mansion, refusing to believe that such a thing was possible. It wasn''t long before Shi Feng stopped above the City Lord''s Mansion. With his lips curing into a smile, he raised the Demon King''s Horn once more and sacrificed another 30,000 Magic Crystals to the item. Suddenly, the same gigantic, pitch-black magic array appeared enveloped the City Lord''s Mansion. A Demon King''s phantom then materialized beneath the array. "No! This is impossible!" Madness struck Singular Burial as he watched the Demon King cast Hell Meteor again. "Quick! Kill him! Don''t let him finish the Spell!" At this point, everyone from Heaven''s Burial realized the severity of their situation. Without hesitation, they tried to tear Shi Feng from the sky with Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. Some even used Tier 4 Magic Scrolls, hoping to kill this intruder as quickly as possible. "It''s too late!" Shi Feng smiled at the defensive magic array around the City Lord''s Mansion. Lightly, he swung the Demon King''s Horn down, gesturing at the mansion. 1643 Destroying a City Alone Chapter 1643 - Destroying a City Alone As Shi Feng swung down the Demon King''s Horn from his position above Ancient Rock City''s City Lord''s Mansion, the pitch-black magic array looming over the building released a blinding light. In response, hill-sized meteors began to emerge from the array and rain down on the City Lord''s Mansion. Unlike the previous attack, the players outside of the mansion weren''t protected by a magic array. They could clearly feel the heat waves from the blazing meteors. One meteor after another crashed into the defensive magic array protecting the City Lord''s Mansion, causing the barrier to crack. Although the array had a constant supply of energy, its recovery rate couldn''t keep up with the damage it received. As a result, more cracks began to spread across the barrier. No! The defensive magic array around the City Lord''s Mansion is slightly stronger than the one that protected the city! It''s definitely going to endure the attack! Singular Burial silently prayed as he watched the powerful bombardment. The City Lord''s Mansion was the heart of the city. Hence, the defensive magic array constructed to protect it was even stronger than the one that had protected the city. This was also why he was so confident that Ancient Rock City would never fall into the various superpowers'' hands. But as hope rekindled in Singular Burial''s heart, reality gave him a tight slap to the face. Under Hell Meteor''s continuous bombardment, the defensive magic array around the City Lord''s Mansion eventually collapsed, and the semi-translucent barrier shattered like a mirror "This" "Is this a joke?! Who is that guy?! He actually destroyed two defensive magic arrays in a row!" "How is this possible?! That''s the City Lord''s Mansion''s defensive magic array that we''re talking about! Even several Mythic monsters would need to attack it for a long time to destroy it! What kind of Spell did he just use?!" The crowd in Ancient Rock City was stupefied as they watched the spectacle before them. Even Heaven''s Burial''s members had forgotten to attack the intruder as they stared at the now-unprotected City Lord''s Mansion with dumbfounded expressions. Nobody could believe their eyes. Not even the City Lord''s Mansion''s defensive magic array could stop Shi Feng''s attack. What these players didn''t know was that the attack Shi Feng had executed with the Demon King''s Horn contained a Demon King''s full power. The attack ranked at the peak of Tier 5. A normal city''s defensive magic array would have no trouble blocking Tier 3 attacks. It could even withstand Tier 4 attacks, which would only exhaust a, albeit considerable, portion of the array''s energy reserves. However, the Demon King''s Horn''s attack far exceeded the threshold of any city''s defensive magic array. The item could even break through Zero Wing City''s defensive magic array, which had a special power source. Once an attack exceeded a defensive magic array''s threshold, its energy depletion would increase by multiple times. It wouldn''t be unusual if the array stopped functioning entirely. This was also why the various Guilds had held massive celebrations whenever they gained a Tier 5 player in Shi Feng''s previous life. Tier 5 players weren''t just capable of defending a city by themselves; they could also shatter an ordinary city''s defensive magic array without help, making it far easier for their Guild to capture a city. Even after the defensive magic array around the City Lord''s Mansion fell, Hell Meteor''s duration hadn''t ended. The brilliant meteors bombarded the mansion itself, and although the building had been reinforced with divine runes, it was no match for the incredible attack. In just a few short seconds, the City Lord''s Mansion was in shambles. As expected of a Tier 5 peak existence''s large-scale destruction Spell! Its power really is amazing! Shi Feng was astonished as he stared at the tattered City Lord''s Mansion. He had thought that the Demon King''s Horn would only be able to break through the defensive magic array, but looking at it now, it would seem that he had still underestimated the item''s power. Unfortunately, he could only use the Demon King''s Horn twice. Once the attack ended, the Demon King''s Horn gradually disintegrated, becoming no more than dust particles before it disappeared. "Die! He must die! I want him removed from God''s Domain entirely!" Singular Burial glared at Shi Feng with bloodshot eyes. If the man stood before him now, Singular Burial would eat Shi Feng alive. Heaven''s Burial could''ve relied on the City Lord''s Mansion''s defensive magic array to withstand the various superpowers'' assaults, but now that that array had shattered, Ancient Rock City had lost its last line of defense. Now, however, with said magic array shattered, this meant that Ancient Rock City''s last line of defense had also disappeared. As Singular Burial barked out commands like a madman, Daybreak Fog and Heaven''s Burial''s other members worked with the NPC soldiers to eliminate Shi Feng. In truth, though, they knew that their actions were futile. Even if they killed Shi Feng, Ancient Rock City''s two defensive magic arrays were gone, and they would need a long time to recover. Meanwhile, facing attacks from all sides, Shi Feng unhurriedly retrieved a Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll and activated it, blocking every incoming attack. "Damn it! Just who the hell is he?! What kind of feud does he have with our Guild?!" "Find out! Use whatever means it takes to discover that person''s identity!" Seeing that Shi Feng was unfazed despite so many players'' attacks, both Heaven''s Burial''s members and the players from the various superpowers wondered about the man''s identity. Even Super Guilds were helpless against Ancient Rock City, yet Shi Feng had destroyed two of the city''s defensive magic arrays by himself. It was utterly unbelievable, but with the facts before them, they had no choice but to admit it had happened. As players ran off to investigate this flying intruder, Shi Feng took the initiative to remove his Black Cloak, revealing his Black Flame appearance. "Heaven''s Burial! Didn''t you guys ask for a fight?! I''m here!" Shi Feng shouted as he looked down on Heaven''s Burial''s members. The moment Shi Feng revealed his identity, a moment of silence descended on the city. "What?! It''s Black Flame?!" "Impossible! Black Flame actually came to Ancient Rock City?! And he destroyed two of the city''s defensive magic arrays?!" "Amazing! Truly amazing!" The players in Ancient Rock City were thunderstruck when they learned Shi Feng''s identity. They had never thought that Zero Wing''s Black Flame would actually accomplish such an unbelievable feat. "Black Flame? He''s actually Black Flame? How is that possible?!" Singular Burial was dazed when he saw Shi Feng, struggling to think properly. When he had sent the Evil Demon army after Zero Wing, he had taken into account that the enemy Guild might launch some kind of counterattack, but he had never imagined that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader would be so bold as to attack Heaven''s Burial''s headquarters by himself. Meanwhile, Daybreak Fog, who commanded the battle outside the City Lord''s Mansion, took a deep breath and ordered, "Kill him! We outnumber him! We cannot let Black Flame enter the City Lord''s Mansion!" The Guild''s members only reacted and remembered to attack Shi Feng after they heard Daybreak Fog''s voice ring out. Now that the City Lord''s Mansion had lost its defensive magic array, there was nothing to protect the City Lord''s Tablet. If they allowed Shi Feng to destroy the tablet and obtain the City Order that would then appear, Heaven''s Burial would suffer unimaginable consequences. There was no way that Shi Feng, who hovered above them all, would emerge unscathed with so many attacks from both players and NPCs. However, Shi Feng had no intention of entering the City Lord''s Mansion. Instead, he swiped his right hand across the empty air before him. In response, a spatial tear appeared in front of him, blocking the incoming attacks. Before every players'' eyes in Ancient Rock City, Shi Feng entered the spatial tear and vanished 1644 Reversal Chapter 1644 - Reversal "He''s gone?" "He must''ve teleported!" "Amazing! He''s too strong!" "So, that was the Sword King?" Everyone was dumbfounded yet again as they watched the tear in space gradually mend. Shi Feng had certainly given them a shocking show. First, he had attacked Heaven''s Burial''s main headquarters by himself and destroyed two of Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays. Then, despite the fact that he had been surrounded by Heaven''s Burial''s members and Ancient Rock City''s NPC soldiers, he had left without taking a single point of damage. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial''s members had been utterly powerless during all of this. They had only been able to watch as it had all happened Not even Super Guilds could impact Ancient Rock City, yet Zero Wing''s Black Flame had flipped the city upside down on his own. The man''s capabilities were simply terrifying! "Damn it! He escaped!" Broken Flow ground his teeth in frustration as he watched Shi Feng disappear. Shi Feng had safely left Ancient Rock City as everyone had watched. If news of this spread, Heaven''s Burial''s reputation would be in ruins. "Black Flame!" Daybreak Fog''s expression darkened. She had thought that Zero Wing had run out of options and was on the path to destruction. She had never thought that the Guild would actually make such a move. Compared to what Shi Feng had just achieved, Heaven''s Burial recent success in killing over 15,000 Zero Wing members wasn''t even worth mentioning. Now that both of Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays had been destroyed, the various superpowers would attack the city with renewed fervor. Meanwhile, Singular Burial seethed with rage in Heaven''s Burial''s Residence. His eyes were bloodshot as he continuously smashed the desk before him to pieces. "Black! Flame! I! Will! Never! Let! You! Off! The! Hook!" Singular Burial bellowed from within his office, and everyone in the Guild Residence could hear his declaration. He had lost too much this time! Without the two defensive magic arrays, the various superpowers'' armies could charge into Ancient Rock City without trouble. Ancient Rock City had just begun to take shape. The Guild hadn''t even fully fortified the city yet. If the various superpowers attacked now, the city would sustain heavy damages and would be out of commission for some time even if Heaven''s Burial managed to hold on to it. "Guild Leader, what should we do now?" Daybreak Fog asked Singular Burial through a private call. "Recall everyone! Notify Young Master Lei and the others and have them return to help defend the city! We cannot allow the other superpowers to get anywhere near the City Lord''s Mansion!" Singular Burial instructed once he had calmed slightly. Although he wanted nothing more than to hunt Shi Feng down and decimate Zero Wing City, fending off the superpowers'' armies was far more important right now. "Zero Wing, just you wait! Sooner or later, I will have my revenge!" After Singular Burial finished issuing his commands, he took another look at the video before him. It replayed Shi Feng''s rain of destruction as he eliminated the defensive magic array around the City Lord''s Mansion. Shi Feng''s latest actions had caused Heaven''s Burial plenty of trouble. It would also delay Zero Wing''s destruction by quite a while. However, it didn''t change Heaven''s Burial''s overwhelming advantage over Zero Wing. After Shi Feng had destroyed the two defensive magic arrays in Ancient Rock City, news of his feat quickly spread throughout the several kingdoms and two empires neighboring the Orc Empire. "Amazing! He actually made such a mess of Ancient Rock City by himself!" Galaxy Past could not help but laugh when he read the urgent report his subordinate had sent. "The various superpowers'' armies will have a greater chance of securing the city now." "So, this is the rumored Sword King? He really is something," Cuttlefish, from the Crimson Emperor Guild, muttered, chuckling as he watched the battle video. "This has definitely created an opportunity for Crimson Emperor." Meanwhile, in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence on Thunder Island Blue Phoenix, who wore a set of elegant, dark-purple mage robes, burst into the Guild Leader''s office, wearing an excited expression. "Big Sis Rain, big news! Black Flame has single-handedly destroyed Heaven''s Burial''s Ancient Rock City! Heaven''s Burial is in turmoil!" Blue Phoenix reported as she grinned at the beauty in a black, silken dress, who currently sat behind an office table as she shifted through paperwork. "How is that possible? Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array can easily withstand Tier 4 attacks." Phoenix Rain paused, looking up from her work to give Blue Phoenix a skeptical look. "It''s true! Black Flame used some kind of tool to destroy Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays in a single hit!" Blue Phoenix said. She then sent Phoenix Rain a battle video. In the video, Shi Feng attacked Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array, casting Hell Meteor repeatedly and shattering both defensive magic arrays in minutes. "Just how many secrets does Zero Wing have?" Phoenix Rain''s eyes widened in shock as she watched Shi Feng use the same devastating attack twice in a row. With such a powerful attack and Shi Feng''s ability to move about freely, no Guild Town or City could hope to stop him. Even Super Guilds would fear the Swordsman. However, what Phoenix Rain didn''t know was that Shi Feng could only use the Demon King''s Horn twice. Once he expended those uses, it would disappear. He''d have to rely on his luck to obtain another such item. After all, tools that allowed players to cast Tier 5 Spells were as rare as a phoenix''s feather in God''s Domain. Elsewhere, Shi Feng arrived in a deserted mountain range after using Space Movement. He then took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. As he strolled down the city''s streets, he could hear countless players discussing Ancient Rock City. Because of the latest events, Zero Wing''s reputation had reached an all-time high. It seems my plan has been quite effective. Seeing that Zero Wing''s reputation had soared among the masses, Shi Feng was considerably satisfied with his latest operation. Although he had exhausted the Demon King''s Horn and spent 60,000 Magic Crystals, he had put Heaven''s Burial at risk. Even if the Guild defended their hold on Ancient Rock City, it wouldn''t see any more of the city''s profits for some time. To make matters worse, both Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing still incurred massive expenditures every day due to the ongoing war. If Heaven''s Burial wasn''t careful, the Guild might disintegrate in the next few days. As Shi Feng was about to return to the Candlelight Trading Firm to resume forging Magic Light Sets, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, you''re too ruthless!" Aqua Rose said, clearly excited as she addressed Shi Feng. "Heaven''s Burial is definitely in trouble. According to our latest reports, over ten superpowers are marching their armies towards Ancient Rock City as we speak. They have a combined force of around 700,000 elite players. Heaven''s Burial is going to have its hands full trying to defend Ancient Rock City, let alone deal with us." "Heaven''s Burial isn''t our only enemy. We still have to worry about the Blackwater Corporation. Have we seen any movement from Blackwater recently?" Shi Feng asked. Nodding her agreement with Shi Feng''s statement, Aqua Rose calmed herself and answered, "It seems that Blackwater has turned its focus to raiding the Primordial Divine Ruin. It has even reduced the number of experts hunting our members to send more players to explore the ruin." "The Primordial Divine Ruin?" Shi Feng fell into deep thought for a moment. The Primordial Divine Ruin was an excellent location to obtain combat techniques native to God''s Domain. If one collected enough of them, the result from learning them all could even rival the advanced combat rooms in Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. While Shi Feng considered the situation, the sound of a system notification attracted his attention. System Announcement: Someone has successfully triggered the new expansion pack "Primordial Trial." The Primordial Divine Ruin within the Orc Empire will undergo further activation. In ten hours, the Primordial City''s gates will open on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fifth floor. Please prepare. 1645 Primordial City Chapter 1645 - Primordial City Shi Feng wasn''t the only player to receive the system notification. Players in the Orc Empire and those in the neighboring kingdoms and empires were also notified. "A new expansion pack?" "Someone triggered an expansion pack related to the Primordial Divine Ruin? How lucky!" "What''s going on? What''s this ''Primordial City?''" The system notification stirred players in the various kingdoms and empires into an uproar. Although the new expansion pack this time did not require players to log off, every new expansion pack meant new opportunities. Every time a new expansion pack launched, the status quo in God''s Domain would change; some Guilds and players would rise, while others would fall. Meanwhile, this expansion pack was connected to the highly popular Primordial Divine Ruin, which even the various superpowers struggled to monopolize. It was clear that this expansion pack would be extraordinary. If one took advantage of this expansion pack properly, they could even experience a meteoric rise, becoming famous throughout God''s Domain. After all, the same thing had already happened multiple times thus far. Everyone immediately looked into this Primordial City the system announcement had mentioned. As soon as they had, though, they were stunned by what they had found. According to God''s Domain''s historical records, Primordial City had been a legendary city before the Great Destruction. Nobody knew exactly what kind of place this city was. They only knew that players had to travel through a specific teleportation gate to reach the Primordial City. This teleportation gate could be found throughout the continent of God''s Domain. According to the legends, the Primordial City was even grander than Blackwing City. In fact, it offered even more benefits than the Holy City of Titan. Countless opportunities awaited players, including hidden classes and Combination Skills that had been lost in time. After learning more about Primordial City, the potential benefits tempted many top adventurer teams. They began to partner with other teams to explore the Primordial Divine Rune. Since the various large Guilds had monopolized the ruin since it had appeared, adventurer teams and independent players hadn''t dared to consider exploring it. The risks far outweighed the gains. Although it was possible to obtain combat techniques within the Primordial Divine Ruin, doing so was incredibly difficult. At the very least, no lone adventurer team had any hope of survival in the ruin. It would need the strength of multiple adventurer teams. Unfortunately, even if multiple teams worked together, they''d have to address the problem of loot. No one wanted to take a loss, and because of this, it was unlikely that multiple adventurer teams would cooperate. Most importantly, a single adventurer team''s strength was insignificant in the eyes of the various superpowers. Not even first-rate Guilds would take top adventurer teams seriously. However, the situation had changed, and their only goal now was entry into the Primordial City. In that case, it was definitely possible that the various top adventurer teams could work together without incident. As for how many players each team got into the Primordial City, that would depend on them. The various superpowers were now focused on Heaven''s Burial''s Ancient Rock City, and even if they were interested in the Primordial City, they''d only be able to spare a portion of their forces to raid the ruin. This gave the top adventurer teams a greater chance of entering the Primordial Divine Ruin and proceeding towards the Primordial City. "Guild Leader, the Primordial City is amazing!" Aqua Rose was astonished when she read the report on the new city. Not only was the Primordial City''s foundations stronger than those of the Holy City of Titan, but it was also a holy ground for players who wanted to grow stronger. If players could enter the Primordial City, they would grow significantly stronger very quickly. Primordial City? Shi Feng was just as surprised by the system announcement. He had never expected the opportunity to enter the Primordial City to arrive so soon. In the past, the Primordial City had made its appearance in God''s Domain after mainstream players had reached Level 70. Everyone had known the city''s importance, and it had caused a major struggle between the game''s major powers. Even so, they had all underestimated how beneficial the Primordial City would become for players. Though, they eventually learned the truth. Aside from the ability to obtain hidden classes, combat techniques, Skills, and Spells in the Primordial City, the city''s most valued aspect was its ability to help players complete their class promotions much faster. It was common knowledge that class promotions became more difficult as players reached higher tiers. In fact, some players might never even reach Tier 2. Meanwhile, Primordial City offered a special product called a Primordial Soul. When used, it provided a buff that improved players physiques for a certain amount of time. With an improved physique, players would have a much easier time completing their Promotion Quests. As for using the Primordial Soul for PvP, that was not possible. This was because the Primordial Soul''s buff would vanish the moment any other players were within 1,000 yards of the user. Hence, players could only use the Primordial Soul when they soloed monsters or quests. Even so, the Primordial Soul had become highly sought after in God''s Domain. Unfortunately, it wasn''t easy to obtain a Primordial Soul since the city only sold a limited number each day. Once they were bought out, the item would only restock the next day. It was a limitation the system had set to avoid too many players completing their Promotion Quests too easily. Although Zero Wing had plenty of Level 50-plus players, only a small number had actually reached Tier 2 thus far. It was safe to say that, aside from Shi Feng, no one knew about the Primordial Souls yet. If he could enter the Primordial City and monopolize the Primordial Souls sold, Zero Wing could gain a new batch of Tier 2 experts in a short amount of time. If Zero Wing could form a large enough team of Tier 2 experts, defeating Mythic monsters of the same level would be possible even without powerful tools. Tier 2 experts were also the foundation to challenge super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons. "Aqua, notify Fire and Blackie and have them gather the main force and Dark Gods Legion immediately. It''s about time we make a trip to the Primordial Divine Ruin," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "Wonderful! I''ve been waiting for you to say that, Guild Leader!" Aqua Rose was ecstatic when she heard Shi Feng''s command. However, she quickly realized a problem, saying worriedly, "Guild Leader, the various superpowers are paying close attention to the Primordial Divine Ruin right now. Moreover, it''s in Heaven''s Burial''s territory. If we head to the ruin, even with the Dark Gods Legion, I''m afraid that" The Primordial Divine Ruin was near the boundary between the Orc Empire''s inner and outer regions. It was not far fetched to consider the area part of Heaven''s Burial''s territory. The location was also one of the reasons that Heaven''s Burial had always secured around one-tenth of the available entry slots into the ruin despite so many powerful competitors. Now that Shi Feng had destroyed Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays, Heaven''s Burial would give them a piece of its mind if they dispatched forces to the Primordial Divine Ruin. Even if they dispatched both Zero Wing''s main force and the Dark Gods Legion, they would only have 1,000-plus players. If they tried to face the superpowers'' elites and experts, they''d likely have a very difficult time securing enough slots. "Relax. You Ziping and the others will join us as well," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "While we''re on the topic, how is the equipment collection coming along?" "We''ve collected the necessary weapons and equipment. I''ll have someone send them over in a moment. But even if we include You Ziping and his team, our members are still" Aqua Rose said worriedly. Even if they included Zero Wing''s internal members and White Tiger Dojo''s disciples, they''d still have less than 2,000 players. Compared to the tens of thousands of elites and experts the superpowers had dispatched, such a small force wasn''t worth mentioning. However, Shi Feng remained firm on his decision. In God''s Domain, quantity wasn''t the most important. Rather, quality meant everything. 1646 Team Strengthens Chapter 1646 - Team Strengthens After receiving Aqua Rose''s answer, Shi Feng disconnected the call and focused on forging Magic Light Sets. He only had ten hours before the Primordial City''s gates opened, which coincided with the Primordial Divine Ruin''s activation time. It would not be easy to put together a powerful team in so little time, so he needed to make use of every second. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose contacted Zero Wing''s members. She also sent someone with the Level 50 weapons and equipment to White River City, instructing them to hand the items over to You Ziping and the others. With this, Zero Wing instantly gained nearly 700 powerful experts. This development, more or less, brightened Aqua Rose''s mood. Normally, large Guilds nurtured expert players very slowly, producing two or three hundred experts per month. Some Guilds'' development was even slower, losing experts rather than gaining them. More players joined God''s Domain each day, after all, and as players became more familiar with the game''s combat styles, the standards for expert players rose to greater heights. With the addition of You Ziping and the others, Zero Wing''s expert count increased drastically. If the public knew of this, countless players would be shocked. Seven hundred expert players might not be a match for a 10,000 strong elite army on a battlefield, but when it came to guerilla warfare, the experts would dominate. Moreover, expert players could adapt to far more easily than elite players. Now that Heaven''s Burial had its hands full, it and Blackwater would suffer if Zero Wing suddenly introduced another 700 expert players to their war. It was a pity that You Ziping and the others were forced to make their debut in the Primordial Divine Ruin. It would allow Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater to see to preemptive measures to cope. Candlelight Trading Firm, Special Forging Room: Controlling the Purple Thunder Flame, Shi Feng carefully smelted and combined the necessary materials to forge the Magic Light Set. Once he included the Magisteel Ingot, he began to shape the molten alloy. He had completed the entire process as smoothly and naturally as flowing water, with everyone one of his movements nearly, if not exactly, perfect. At the end of the day, however, his forging success rate was only 60% even if he followed the procedures perfectly. After successfully forging another four Magic Light Sets and increasing his total to 30, Shi Feng stopped crafting. Instead, he retrieved the Advanced Book of Magic from his bag and began to forge Advanced Mana Armor Kits. The Advanced Mana Armor Kits didn''t provide as much of a boost as the Magic Light Set, but if every player equipped three of these kits, their Basic Attributes would increase by at least 10%. This was a substantial increase for Level 50 players. The strengthened Magic Light Sets could rival Dark-Gold Equipment of the same level in Basic Attributes, but after including the Advanced Mana Armor Kits, the set equipment would be on par with Level 50 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The various superpowers currently treated Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment like precious treasure, not to mention level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment or Set Equipment. Thankfully, I made it in time. Shi Feng revealed a satisfied smile as he gazed at the Advanced Mana Armor Kits on the table before him. Due to the Purple Thunder Flame, his production speed with these kits had improved significantly. After working for five hours straight, he had successfully forged 90 armor kits, enough to equip 30 players. He had also gained an incredible amount of EXP and was now only 19% away from Level 65. Following which, Shi Feng contacted You Ziping and had the youth lead 29 other plate-armor players to his Special Forging Room. It wasn''t long before You Ziping and his companions arrived in Shi Feng''s room. They all wore a mix of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment. When You Ziping and the others entered the Special Forging Room, they were dumbfounded by what they saw. Numerous pieces of dazzling equipment littered the room. It was clear that the equipment was extraordinary at a glance. Moreover, based on the pieces'' design, they obviously belonged to a single set. However, what stunned You Ziping and his companions the most was the unique glow of Fine-Gold items radiating from the pieces. And the room actually held 30 full sets The sight was blinding. Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment? Everyone inwardly guessed the set equipment''s rank as shock overwhelmed them. "Guild Leader, I''ve brought the players you''ve requested: 15 Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights, and 15 Berserkers and Swordsmen," You Ziping respectfully announced as he walked up to Shi Feng. After seeing the sight before him, his admiration for the Swordsman had solidified. It was obvious that Shi Feng had personally handcrafted Fine-Gold Sets in the room. At this stage of the game, countless experts dreamed of equipping Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Even the various major powers would have to invest a lot of time, manpower, and resources to acquire one set, yet Shi Feng could actually forge such equipment If the various superpowers knew about this, they''d likely curse Zero Wing for cheating. With the ability to produce Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, Zero Wing would almost certainly grow stronger. "Alright, I want every one of you to pick a set and equip it," Shi Feng said as he gestured the Magic Light Sets in the room. "We''re supposed to equip them?" The 30 players couldn''t help their confusion. They currently wore Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment, which was only slightly weaker than Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment in terms of Basic Attributes. On the other hand, Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment offered higher Defense than Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. It''d be better to let the other experts, who lacked equipment, to use these pieces rather than equip the sets themselves. But since their Guild Leader had given them an order, they had no choice but to obey. "This is" As You Ziping and the others picked up the Magic Light Sets and prepared to equip them, they realized something that left them dazed. "How is this possible?!" "This is Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment?! I''m not dreaming, am I?!" Everyone''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when they inspected the Magic Light Set''s Attribute Panels. They were already impressed that Shi Feng had crafted Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, but they had never even heard of a player obtaining Level 50 Fine-Gold Set equipment. And yet, their Guild was giving each of them one of these sets. For a moment, their minds even failed to process the situation. "Wait, there''s a ''Strengthened'' label on this set. These pieces Basic Attributes should be even higher than those of Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment," a player with a keen eye suddenly exclaimed. The player''s declaration immediately caught everyone''s attention. "Crap, it''s true! The Basic Attributes on this set are even higher than the Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment I''ve seen before." You Ziping and the other players were at a loss for words as they held the Magic Light Set pieces, shuddering involuntarily. Each piece of a Fine-Gold Set Equipment was half a rank stronger than Fine-Gold Equipment of the same level, but after the enhancement, it was clear that the Magic Light Set pieces were on par with Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. A set of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment If news of this matter spread, it would definitely cause a sensation throughout God''s Domain. Before You Ziping and his fellow players could digest this information, Shi Feng gestured to the Advanced Mana Armor Kits atop a stone table in the corner of the room and instructed, "Once you''ve equipped the Magic Light Sets, I want each of you to take three armor kits and equip them as well. Take a look at the final effects." 1647 Zero Wing Appears Chapter 1647 - Zero Wing Appears When Shi Feng finished speaking, You Ziping and the others turned towards the Advanced Mana Armor Kits, their eyes bulging and bloodshot. Although they weren''t the Guild''s frontline members, they knew how valuable the Advanced Mana Armor Kits were. After all, only Shi Feng was capable of crafting these armor kits. There was an extremely limited number available, and even Guild members struggled to purchase them with GCPs. Not only did Guild members have to spend an exorbitant amount, but they also needed to be elite members or higher to purchase the Advanced Mana Armor Kits. In addition, each player was limited to three armor kits. Even now, the various major powers offered extraordinary prices to purchase Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Yet, these players had the chance to equip these armor kits. This was simply a dream. However, when they thought about how each of them had just received a Magic Light Set, they quickly recovered their senses. "Amazing! These Basic Attributes are incredibly high!" "That''s right! My Basic Attributes have risen by over 30% with everything equipped! I''m pretty sure that I can even put up a fight against a peak expert now!" Once they had equipped the Magic Light Sets and Advanced Mana Armor Kits, these players felt transformed. An indescribable sense of power filled their bodies. They couldn''t help the rising desire to spar with other experts to get a good feel for their new prowess. With a 30% increase to their Basic Attributes, their overall combat power should have, at the very least, doubled. It seems the enhanced Magic Light Sets are quite effective. Satisfaction filled Shi Feng has he examined everyone''s Attributes. You Ziping and his companion''s Basic Attributes could now rival superpowers'' peak experts, who wielded multiple Epic items. Overall, they should be even more powerful than the Conqueror Parties'' members with their battle arrays active. Even a Tier 1 MT could tank Grand Lord of the same level by himself in the Magic Light Set. Every one of the 15 MTs in the room had over 50,000 HP, and if they worked together, they''d easily form an impenetrable wall. Suddenly, Aqua Rose contacted Shi Feng and reported, "Guild Leader, everyone has gathered. We can move out at any moment." "Alright. It''s about time that we head out," Shi Feng said after glancing at the time. There was not much time left before the Primordial Divine Ruin reopened. Orc Empire, Primordial Divine Ruin: Due to the new expansion pack, the ancient tower atop a gravel hill had improved. Restaurants and hotels could now be found both within and around the tower. Now, not only could players enjoy unique dishes, but they could also recover their Stamina and Concentration by resting in the hotels. One could say that the Primordial Divine Ruin had become one of the few footholds players had in the Orc Empire. The only downside was the tower''s fraudulent prices. The price for food was somewhat acceptable, only costing around two to three times than in other NPC cities, but the hotel accommodation fees were a different story. Renting a room in the Primordial Divine Ruin''s hotels cost 40 Silver per day. Even expert players had trouble justifying such a high price, much less elite players. Even so, plenty of players had gathered in the tower. As some players, who planned to rest in the Primordial Divine Ruin, were about to enter the massive tower, an intense aura washed over them, halting their steps. When these players warily searched for the cause of such a powerful aura, they discovered a crowd of other players within the tower. The atmosphere resembled that of imperial capitals'' Teleportation Halls, but unlike those halls, every one of the players within radiated an intense killing intent as they watched each other cautiously. It seemed as if they were all enemies. The players in the tower were members of multiple groups. The smaller groups only had around five or six thousand members, while the larger ones had over 10,000. The lowest-level player in the tower was Level 47, but most were Level 48 or 49. Their equipment was also impressive, with most of them wearing at least Level 45 Secret-Silver Equipment. Meanwhile, as time passed, more teams began to gather in the tower. As one team after another entered the tower, the scene caused a commotion among the independent teams. "Quick, look! That team is wearing Crimson Emperor''s Guild Emblem!" "What? Even Crimson Emperor is trying to get in on the action?" "Crimson Emperor is nothing! Had you been here a moment ago, you would''ve seen members from the Sacred Temple arrive The Sacred Temple''s team is even led by Vice Temple Master, Quiet Melody for this operation! That team was ridiculously strong. All 5,000 members were experts, and they all wore Level 45 Fine-Gold or better Equipment. Quiet Melody herself even has three pieces of Epic Equipment on her." The independent players in the tower couldn''t help but gawk at the various superpowers'' teams as they rested. The fact that they could survive and make a living in the Orc Empire proved that they were on par with God''s Domain''s elite players. Needless to say, they were stronger and higher-leveled than ordinary players. However, these Guild players were leaps and bounds ahead of them in terms of levels and equipment. In addition, a large number of top adventurer teams had banded together to form a massive force. It seemed that these top adventurer teams were adamant about contending with the various superpowers. While one top adventurer team would struggle to gather 1,000 experts, they could form a force of six to seven thousand expert players if they worked together, and not even the various superpowers should underestimate such a force. "What a naive bunch. Do they really think that Crimson Emperor and Sacred Temple are the only superpowers participating in this struggle?" Purple Jade, who stood a short distance away from several conversing independent players, expressed her disdain as she overheard the conversations. After the release of the new expansion pack, far more powers had become interested in the Primordial Divine Ruin. Even the dark forces had begun to poke their noses into the matter, and among these dark forces, even Raven, an emerging Dark Guild that developed rapidly recently, intended to participate. Although Raven had only dispatched 8,000 members to the Primordial Divine Ruin, every one of these members was an expert. Moreover, they radiated intense killing intent. They were clearly murderous experts that had long since grown comfortable with fighting other players. Even Purple Jade felt threatened by Bloodsucker, the leader of Raven''s team. Judging by the man''s aura, his combat standards should be no weaker than Yuan Tiexin''s, who held a commander-level position in the Secret Pavilion. "A lot of powers have definitely gathered here, but when the competition for the entry slots begins, we should avoid provoking Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s members as much as possible. Do you understand?" Yuan Tiexin warned Purple Jade seriously. "Don''t provoke them? Is it because they have the home ground advantage?" Purple Jade asked. As many as three Super Guilds had gathered in the tower, including Pantheon, King''s Return, and the Sacred Temple. None of these Super Guilds could be underestimated, yet rather than taking note of these organizations, Yuan Teixin warned her to take care around Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater. She was truly surprised. "That''s not the case. Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater are still no match for Super Guilds in terms of quality and quantity of experts, but don''t forget that they still command Evil Beasts and Demons. It is best if we avoid them," Yuan Tiexin said as he glanced at Falling Fire and Lei Jingyang, who commanded Blackwater and Heaven''s Burial''s teams. "Although the destruction of Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays has forced Heaven''s Burial to station most of its Evil Beasts and Evil Demons in the city''s defense, it is best if we use caution around them." "Mhm." Purple Jade nodded. As the various powers in the tower prepared for the upcoming struggle, a team of players arrived outside of the Primordial Divine Ruin. The team was pitifully small compared to the various Guild teams, with not even 2,000 players in total. However, when this team entered the tower, silence fell. "What?! Zero Wing?!" "That shouldn''t be possible, right? Zero Wing just destroyed Ancient Rock City. Are they trying to get themselves killed by showing up in Heaven''s Burial''s territory? Or do they really not consider Heaven''s Burial a threat?" 1648 Surge of Experts Chapter 1648 - Surge of Experts As Zero Wing entered the Primordial Divine Ruin, every player in the tower turned towards its entrance. The culprit for the destruction of Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays was none other than Zero Wing. One could say that Heaven''s Burial''s hated the Guild to their very core. If the Guilds hadn''t needed to station most of its Evil Beasts and Evil Demons in Ancient Rock City to defend against the various superpowers'' invading armies, it likely would''ve launched a frenzied counterattack on Zero Wing by now. Yet, Zero Wing''s members dared to show up in the Orc Empire, Heaven''s Burial''s territory. The Guild had even gone so far as to travel all the way to the Primordial Divine Ruin. "Just how bold are Zero Wing''s members? Don''t they know that Heaven''s Burial could mobilize thousands of elite members to surround the Primordial Divine Ruin if it wanted to?" "Maybe they think Heaven''s Burial can''t touch them now that the Guild is busy fending off the superpowers'' armies." "Even so, isn''t Zero Wing underestimating the fight for access to the Primordial Divine Ruin? It sent less than 2,000 players. Does it really think that it can achieve anything with so few members?" "I wonder how Heaven''s Burial''s members will react? With how few players Zero Wing sent, the force Heaven''s Burial dispatched should be more than enough to take them out." Everyone spoke in hushed whispers as they watched Zero Wing''s members approach the tower. "Uncle Yuan, what do you think is going through Black Flame''s mind? This is the Primordial Divine Ruin. Even if Heaven''s Burial can''t use its full force right now, it still has command of the Evil Beasts and Demons. Even a small force of those monsters will be enough to put Zero Wing''s team through hell," Purple Jade wondered as she watched Shi Feng, who led Zero Wing''s team, with a confused look. One of the reasons that the various superpowers dared to invade Ancient Rock City was their significant numbers. Combined, their armies included over 700,000 players. Even if Heaven''s Burial controlled Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, how many players could those monsters possibly hold back? As long as they wished it, the various superpowers could send their forces to circle the defending Evil Beasts and Evil Demons while they charged for the City Lord''s Mansion. With the Evil Beasts and Demons'' massive forms, they couldn''t enter the mansion itself. Once the various superpowers got their members inside, not even an infinite number of Evil Beasts and Demons could stop them. Heaven''s Burial would have to rely on players and NPCs to hold the City Lord''s Tablet. Moreover, it was very difficult to protect a city with Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. At the end of the day, the human race was the Evil God''s Temple''s mortal enemy. If human NPCs encountered anything connected to the Evil God''s Temple, they''d move to exterminate it immediately. In fact, there was a very high chance that Ancient Rock City''s NPC soldiers would disregard the invading players and attack the Evil Beasts and Demons instead, accomplishing the opposite effect. This was also why the various superpowers dared to attack Ancient Rock City. However, it was a different story in the fields and the Primordial Divine Ruin. Players weren''t prohibited from attacking each other in the ruin, and Heaven''s Burial didn''t have anything to protect here, so its Evil Beasts and Evil Demons could focus on the slaughter. Even if the monsters only killed half of Zero Wing''s experts, it would deal a massive blow. "I don''t know, but the Primordial Divine Ruin is incredibly important to every Guild. It is not strange that Zero Wing is willing to take such a risk," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. As Zero Wing''s force moved closer to the tower, the players from the various superpowers and adventurer teams, who anticipated an interesting show, revealed dumbfounded expressions. "Is this a joke?! Those players are actually all Level 50 or higher!" "Crap! Didn''t someone say that Zero Wing didn''t have much equipment left? How are so many of those players wearing Fine-Gold Set Equipment?!" "What level are those Fine-Gold Sets? I can feel so much pressure coming off of them!" "Who are those players in the lead? I don''t think I''ve ever seen them before." "When did Zero Wing gain another batch of experts?" For this operation, Shi Feng did not have his team members wear Black Cloaks. Hence, both their levels and equipment were exposed for all to see. At this stage of the game, only an extremely small number of players had managed to reach Level 50. First-rate Guilds only had around 30 to 40 Level 50 players, and the various superpowers only had 300 to 500. Yet, every player in the team of nearly 2,000 that Zero Wing had dispatched to the ruin was Level 50 or higher. Some were even Level 52. This was simply unbelievable. Moreover, Zero Wing''s members wore dazzling equipment. The 30, unfamiliar players at the lead even wore the same Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The aura they radiated was akin to a ferocious beast that had just been released from its cage. Wearing the Magic Light Sets, which were even stronger than Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment, You Ziping and the others'' Basic Attributes were even higher than a Lord ranked monster of the same level. A Lord ranked monster might not be a tough opponent for the players in the Primordial Divine Ruin, but it was a different story if it were a player with the Attributes of such a monster. Such a player could easily solo an elite party. Even the superpowers commander-level individuals felt an immense pressure wafting from You Ziping''s group. Although their equipment was considered top-notch in God''s Domain, their Basic Attributes were nowhere near a Level 50 Lord''s. Suddenly, the various superpowers'' members saw Zero Wing''s players in a new light. They were all powerhouses, and they knew what this aura and pressure represented. Although these factors couldn''t be used to determine a player''s strength, they did hint at a player''s general combat standards. "Just how much strength has Zero Wing hidden? It already introduced another 100 Refinement Realm experts, and now it''s revealed so many experts with such intense auras. Could some superpower really be supporting Zero Wing in secret?" Purple Jade''s eyes widened when she saw the Magic Light Sets You Ziping and the other players wore. Currently, she had numerous pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment on her, and the weakest piece she had was Level 45 Dark-Gold rank. In addition, she carried an Epic Weapon and a piece of Epic Equipment. Overall, her line-up was among the best in the game right now. Yet, You Ziping and his companions'' Basic Attributes seemed higher than hers Her Basic Attributes ranked among the top in the Secret Pavilion. What kind of power was the Secret Pavilion? It was an organization which only a small number of Super Guilds could compare to, yet Zero Wing had just revealed 30 never-before-seen experts with even higher Attributes The situation was simply ridiculous. "It''s no wonder why Black Flame dared to lead a team here. It seems that he came prepared." Yuan Tiexin''s mouth twitched slightly as he watched Shi Feng. "Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, huh?" In his opinion, the only possible reason that You Ziping''s group had higher Basic Attributes than his and Purple Jade''s was their Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. There was no other way that these players could surpass them. "Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment?" Purple Jade couldn''t help her surprise. "How is that possible? Even our Guild has only collected two of such sets so far. How could Zero Wing possibly collect 30 sets?" Level 50 equipment was already extremely difficult to gather, let alone Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Even after investing tons of manpower and resources, the Secret Pavilion had only obtained two Level 50 Fine-Gold Sets. What means did Zero Wing, a Guild that was many times weaker than the Secret Pavilion, possibly employ to obtain 30 such sets? "Don''t forget that Black Flame is a Master Forger. It is very likely that he crafted the Level 50 Fine-Gold Sets," Yuan Tiexin said, his expression turning somber. Truthfully, even he struggled to believe it. It wouldn''t be surprising if Shi Feng were simply a Master Forger, but a Master Forger capable of mass-producing Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment held an entirely different meaning. Just thinking about how Zero Wing could deploy expert teams in Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment made Yuan Tiexin shudder. As players discussed the possible power behind Zero Wing, dense killing intent radiated from Heaven''s Burial''s team, which stood not far from Zero Wing''s members. "Zero Wing! They actually dare to show up here!" Lei Jingyang frowned, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he glared at the enemy players. "Do they really think we''ll just stand by and watch?" 1649 Power of the Magic Light Se Chapter 1649 - Power of the Magic Light Set Inside the tower, as Shi Feng''s group approached the teleportation zone, which would teleport players into the Primordial Divine Ruin when it activated, the killing intent Heaven''s Burial''s members radiated grew more intense. In fact, Heaven''s Burial''s members weren''t the only ones to react this way. Players from the various superpowers all warily eyed Shi Feng''s group as they rested near the teleportation zone. "Hahaha! This is going to be interesting! Zero Wing''s members are trying to get themselves killed!" "Don''t they know that the closer they get to the teleportation zone, the more likely it is that someone will target them?" "That might be the case. I remember that, during the previous struggle, several Guilds had waited beside the teleportation zone, ignorant of the risk. As soon as the fight began, the various superpowers took those Guilds out." "Zero Wing can''t possibly think that it will get into the Primordial Divine Ruin with less than 2,000 experts, right?" The various major powers reacted with surprise and ridicule as they watched Zero Wing''s team get closer to the teleportation zone. As the areas around the teleportation zone provided a terrain advantage during the struggle to enter the ruin, the five superpowers, which had fought for slots since the very beginning, monopolized it. Now that even more superpowers were getting involved, the competition had become more intense. The various superpowers might tolerate another superpower so close to the teleportation zone, but there was no way they''d allow anyone weaker to stand beside them. When the struggle for the entry slots began, Zero Wing would likely become their first target. If that happened, Zero Wing''s outcome would be tragic. Every superpower involved had brought a minimum of 6,000 players, all of which were experts. Some of these teams were even led by several peak experts. Being targeted by just one of these teams would be enough to make a first-rate Guild''s situation precarious. If multiple superpowers targeted the same team, they could eliminate a first-rate Guild from the competition instantly. "Boss, should we take action?" a Level 50 Assassin in silver leather armor asked Lei Jingyang as he nodded towards Shi Feng and the other players from Zero Wing. Although Zero Wing had only dispatched experts to the Primordial Divine Ruin, the team had less than 2,000 members. On the other hand, Heaven''s Burial had dispatched 3,000 experts and 10,000 elites. It had even sent the entire Thunder Legion. Annihilating one or two thousand experts would be a piece of cake for them. Furthermore, Blackwater had sent along 4,000 of its experts. With this, they had a combined force of 7,000 expert players and 10,000 elite players. Zero Wing''s team had no chance of victory. "Brother Fire, what is your opinion on the matter?" Lei Jingyang asked as he turned towards the handsome man beside him. This handsome man was none other than Falling Fire, the vice commander of Blackwater''s third main force. The man wielded a crimson staff and was enveloped in translucent flames. Just looking at him felt stifling. The fact that he was fully geared in Level 50 equipment, three pieces of which were Epic rank, only made him all the more eye-catching. However, Lei Jingyang knew that, compared to Falling Fire''s level and equipment, this man''s most impressive feat was his promotion to a Tier 2 Elementalist and the Tier 2 Spells in his arsenal. That was also why Blackwater had assigned Falling Fire to lead the team that would assist Heaven''s Burial in this endeavor. "Of course, we have to exterminate these people from Zero Wing. However, it is too soon to strike. They''d have an easier time getting away if we did so now. It won''t be too late to attack once the struggle begins. Even if Zero Wing''s members try to flee, they''ll never get away while entrenched in the chaotic battlefield!" Falling Fire said as he gestured to the various major powers behind Zero Wing''s team. The system didn''t stop players from fighting with each other inside the tower. Players could start a fight whenever they wished, and the tower had only one exit. It was relatively easy to escape the tower before the battle for the Primordial Divine Ruin''s entry slots began, but once it did, chaos would ensue. If a team weren''t careful, other teams could easily drag it into the fray. Because of this, players had a very difficult time leaving the tower once the fight began. "I guess you''re right. We''ll strike once the struggle starts, then," Lei Jingyang said, nodding as he surveyed his surroundings. He then turned to his team and said, "When the time comes, leave none of Zero Wing''s members alive, particularly those wearing Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. It''d be a massive waste to let them hold onto such precious items!" Although he wanted nothing more than to slaughter Shi Feng and his guildmates, Falling Fire''s opinion was reasonable. Many powers had come to enter the Primordial Divine Ruin this time, and among them, plenty were top adventurer teams. Once the struggle to enter the ruin began, Zero Wing would have a challenging time trying to get out of the tower. They''d be able to kill far more Zero Wing players if they waited. Earlier, Shi Feng had destroyed Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays, crippling the city. Now, the city couldn''t generate nearly as much income. Lei Jingyang was no less angry than Singular Burial about the insult. Now that he''d encountered an opportunity to take care of Zero Wing, he couldn''t let it get away. When he saw You Ziping and the others, who wore the Magic Light Sets, he was particularly tempted. If he could get his hands on a few of those sets, he could help Heaven''s Burial when the Guild began to raid super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s members could feel an intense pressure bear down on them, the majority of which radiated from the various superpowers. "The fight to claim the entry slots this time sure is intense. We''re just camping out beside the teleportation zone, yet everyone''s eyes are glued on us." Blackie was slightly astonished as he glanced at the nearby superpowers'' teams. The only other time he had seen so many superpowers in a single location was during the contest for Thunder Island. If he hadn''t fought these superpowers in the past, he''d likely tremble with anxiety. "Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members are keeping a very close eye on us. Based on their killing intent, they''ll definitely attack us as soon as the battle begins," Aqua Rose said, smiling at the players from Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater, who stood a short distance away. "Let them come," Shi Feng said, revealing a faint smile as he eyed Heaven''s Burial''s members. "It''s about time we show these major powers Zero Wing''s might. When the time comes, the Magic Light Team will open a path while everyone gathers in the center of the teleportation zone. Although the number of entry slots has increased to 15,000 after the new expansion pack, the number of powers trying to enter the ruin has increased as well. Avoid fights whenever possible." "Understood!" Zero Wing''s members nodded in response to Shi Feng''s command, their expressions hardening. This was especially true for Zero Wing''s internal members and White Tiger Dojo''s disciples, who were about to participate in such a high-intensity war for the first time. They even felt as if they were dreaming. Shortly after Shi Feng fell silent, a circular, light-blue barrier formed around the edge of the teleportation zone. At the same time, a gigantic magic array gradually manifested, encompassing the area and notifying players that the teleportation process had begun. "Excellent! Everyone, charge! Slaughter Zero Wing''s members!" Upon seeing the barrier rise, Lei Jingyang turned his gaze towards Zero Wing''s members, flashing a sinister smile. Immediately, 7,000 Level 48-plus expert players charged at Zero Wing''s team. The 10,000 elite players then split into two groups to surround the enemy players. As Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts got close to Zero Wing''s team, Spells and arrows rained down on their heads. However, like lively monkeys, these experts nimbly dodged most of the attacks, preventing Zero Wing''s ranged attacks from doing much harm. Just when both frontlines were about to clash, Shi Feng switched his title to Disintegration User and endowed the 30 Magic Light Team''s members with Disintegration Power, increasing their Basic Attributes by 10% and damage by 20%. The buff also reduced the magic damage and physical damage they received by 30% and 15%, respectively. In the next moment, the two teams collided. Boom Boom Boom The sounds of the collision resounded throughout the tower along with players'' screams. "Impossible!" Shock gripped Lei Jingyang''s heart when he saw the scene before him. He even wondered if his eyes were playing tricks. When the melee players slammed into each other, it seemed as if Heaven''s Burial''s members has crashed into an immovable wall. Meanwhile, You Ziping and his companions in the Magic Light Sets moved like sharpened blades, unstoppable. The 30 players easily dove past Heaven''s Burial''s frontline and into the enemy ranks without slowing in the slightest. Zero Wing''s other MTs were just as frightening. Each one of Zero Wing''s MTs shattered the blockades of three to five players, sending these players flying. The difference between both sides'' Basic Attributes was like heaven and earth 1650 Overwhelming Advantage Chapter 1650 - Overwhelming Advantage The scene inside the tower had transformed into something akin to an ancient battlefield. Hundreds of thousands of players fought as screams and explosions echoed throughout the tower. Many adventurer team members, who participated in this struggle for the Primordial Divine Ruin''s entry slots for the first time, were dumbfounded by the view before them. They even found it hard to move their feet. "Amazing! So, this is the struggle for the Primordial Divine Ruin?" "This battle is too fierce! Even expert players are no different than ants here!" Many adventurer teams and normal Guilds, which had planned to participate, watched the battle in a daze from the sidelines; none of them were bold enough to join the fray. They were all afraid of being devoured and annihilated in the blink of an eye. Even the expert players they normally thought were so powerful lasted less than ten seconds on this battlefield. These experts were either overwhelmed by an uncountable number of Spells or ganged up on by equally powerful experts. On this battlefield, expert players were fortunate enough to keep their lives, let alone accomplish anything significant. As for the elite players, they were pure cannon fodder. Most elite players usually died before any of the rear line healers could get to them. Of the multitude of battles across the battlefield, those near the teleportation zone were the most intense. Zero Wing''s 30-man Magic Light Team moved like a pack of ferocious beasts that had just escaped their cages. Neither the attacks from Heaven''s Burial''s melee players nor those from the Guild''s ranged players could stop the mobile, iron wall the 15 Magic Light MTs had formed. Not only did the Magic Light MTs block every incoming melee attack, but they also sent their attackers flying with their weapons and shields. Zero Wing''s rear line DPS then followed up with an intense bombardment, turning its enemies into starlight instantly. Unfortunately, as Heaven''s Burial had the numerical advantage, and not even the Magic Light MTs could block every incoming attack. From time to time, arrows and Spells broke past their defenses. However, Heaven''s Burial''s members nearly despaired when they saw the damages above the Magic Light MTs'' heads. -3,057! -2,371! Despite landing direct hits, none of their attacks dealt more than -4,000 damage. It was utterly inconceivable. Every Heaven''s Burial expert present wore top-tier equipment, and even against top-tier MTs of the same level, their direct hits dealt at least -5,000 damage. Powerful Spells could even deal over -10,000 damage, yet when a Level 50 Ranger struck one of the Magic Light MTs with a Tier 1 Heart Piercing Arrow, the Ranger had only dealt around -3,700 damage. These MTs took even less damage from Spell attacks. Meanwhile, after receiving numerous buffs and the benefits from Shi Feng''s Disintegration User title, the Magic Light MTs had over 70,000 HP each. Not even ten of Heaven''s Burial''s attacks could force their HPs below 50%. Zero Wing''s rear line healers could easily restore such little HP, making the Magic Light MTs practically invincible. In contrast to Heaven''s Burial''s DPS, Zero Wing''s DPS was overwhelming. You Ziping, for example, easily dealt over -3,000 damage to Heaven''s Burial''s MTs with his normal attacks alone. When he used Skills like Cross Slash, he dealt over -10,000 damage. Unlike Zero Wing''s MTs, Heaven''s Burial''s MTs only had around 50,000 HP. You Ziping only needed a few attacks to devour most of an MT''s HP by himself. Coupled with the ranged attacks from Zero Wing''s rear line DPS, the enemy MTs were dead before their healers could cast any Healing Spells. In the short moment since the battle had begun, Heaven''s Burial had suffered several hundred casualties, and every one of them had been an expert player Damn it! Why is there such a huge difference in our Basic Attributes?! Confusion tore at Lei Jingyang as he watched Zero Wing''s Magic Light Team move closer to Heaven''s Burial''s ranged classes and healers. He simply could not fathom how You Ziping and the others had such high Basic Attributes. Heaven''s Burial''s expert members were all geared in top-tier equipment, and even if You Ziping''s team wore Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the difference should be this massive. He even wondered if the Magic Light Team''s members had activated Berserk Skills. However, he was certain that none of them had. He was confident that Zero Wing''s members hadn''t activated Berserk Skills because all of the various major powers had silently agreed not to use such Skills in this struggle for the entry slots. There were two reasons for this agreement. The first was that every power participating in this struggle doubtlessly had some members who could use Berserk Skills. If everyone used these Skills, nothing would change. Berserk Skills long Cooldowns was the second reason. On the off chance that they''d encounter trouble in the Primordial Divine Ruin, they''d likely be annihilated if they couldn''t use their Berserk Skills. However, Lei Jingyang didn''t know that, although You Ziping and his companions appeared to be wearing Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the Magic Light Sets'' Basic Attributes could rival Level 50 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. This was the reason that the gap between their Basic Attributes was so vast. This fight was on par with a player in a full set of Secret-Silver Equipment trying to contend with a player in Dark-Gold Equipment. Such a massive gap was only natural when both sides had similar combat standards. Moreover, the Conqueror Parties'' performance was also impressive. Although the Conqueror Parties'' Basic Attributes weren''t as high as the Magic Light Team members'', their combat standards were higher. When they worked together, they could exhibit even greater combat power. Hence, the destruction the Conqueror Parties caused on the battlefield was in no way inferior to the Magic Light Teams''. Even Lei Jingyang''s prided Thunder Legion was forced back. Meanwhile, the various superpowers'' upper echelons, who had kept a constant eye on Zero Wing, were astounded. Despite Zero Wing''s less than 2,000 players, it actually overwhelmed and suppressed Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s combined army of 7,000 experts and 10,000 elite players. "Boss, we can''t hold on for much longer! At this rate, they''ll chase us out of the teleportation zone!" one of the Thunder Legion members on the frontlines hurriedly shouted through the team chat. "I know! All of you, get ready!" Lei Jingyang said, grinding his teeth as he took five dark-gray crystal balls from his bag. He had planned to save these as a trump card to surprise the other superpowers; he had never expected to need them so soon. Following which, he turned to Falling Fire beside him and said, "Brother Fire, I''ll have to rely on you for cover fire." "Relax. Although they have superior Basic Attributes, they''re all Tier 1 players. They''re nothing compared to Tier 2 players," Falling Fire said, disdain flashing in his eyes as he watched the distant Zero Wing members. "Good!" Lei Jingyang then began to chant an incantation to activate the five crystal balls. Suddenly, the five, gray crystal balls shattered, and five dark-gray magic arrays appeared around Lei Jingyang. Shortly after, five-meter-tall figures emerged from these arrays. They were humanoid creatures covered in sharp spikes and radiating dense Evil Energy. These five humanoid creatures were none other than Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. The frightening aura these Grand Lords radiated stunned everyone in the tower. Level 70 Grand Lords! Such monsters were on par with natural disasters to current players. "So, this is Heaven''s Burial''s trump card?" Yuan Tiexin''s expression darkened upon seeing the Evil Demons. When Heaven''s Burial''s members saw the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, however, excitement lit up their faces, and their morale skyrocketed. Although the combined force of Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s players appeared exceptionally powerful, it was nothing compared to the superpowers'' forces. They had only dared to contend with the superpowers because of this trump card. However, Lei Jingyang wasn''t a member of the Evil God''s Temple. He couldn''t summon Evil Demons directly and control them. He could only rely on Flame Blood, asking the Cleric to spend the Evil God''s Temple Points he had struggled to accumulate on five Evil Demon Crystal Balls. Each Evil Demon Crystal Ball allowed players to store one Evil Demon within, and even non-Evil God''s Temple players could use the crystal balls to summon and control the stored Evil Demon. However, the cost was painful. The Evil Demon Crystal Ball was a Consumable item, and once the Evil Demons were stored inside, they would become so as well. Once the crystal ball''s three-hour duration ended, the summoned Evil Demons would be permanently destroyed. Lei Jingyang had wanted to avoid using this trump card unless absolutely necessary. "Since you''ve forced me to use the Evil Demon Crystal Balls, none of you from Zero Wing should even think of escape!" Lei Jingyang revealed a sinister grin as he glared at Zero Wing''s team. He then charged at Zero Wing''s members alongside his five Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. Falling Fire followed the charge with his own team. 1651 Hidden Power Chapter 1651 - Hidden Power The appearance of the five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons immediately attracted the attention of everyone on the battlefield. If the Evil Demons summoned were merely Level 70 Great Lords, they still wouldn''t pose much of a concern. After all, current players could defeat such existencesalbeit after paying a considerable price. However, Level 70 Grand Lords were a different story. Without Berserk Skills, Level 50 peak MTs would not survive two hits from a Level 70 Grand Lord. Moreover, Evil Demons possessed superior combat standards to monsters of the same rank. Even Level 50 MTs with their Berserk Skills activated wouldn''t last very long against such a monster. Meanwhile, five of such Evil Demons had actually appeared on the battlefield. How could anyone ignore and not feel worried over these monsters? Although the various major powers had already predicted that Heaven''s Burial would make use of the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons it controlled, they hadn''t anticipated that the Guild could summon as many as five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. "Sure enough, they did bring along this trump card." "Zero Wing is doomed now. Even a Tier 3 summoned creature won''t be able to hold back a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon, much less five of them." The various major powers were delighted as they watched the five Evil Demons charging towards Zero Wing''s team. With this, they would have one less competitor to worry about. At the same time, though, a somber expression also appeared on their faces. After all, once Heaven''s Burial finished off the Zero Wing contingent, needless to say, Heaven''s Burial would have no trouble securing a large number of entry slots with the help of the five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demonsleaving other powers like them with fewer slots they could compete for. Just as everyone was thinking of how to go about competing for the entry slots, the five Evil Demons had already arrived at the frontline of the battle between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial under Lei Jingyang''s lead. "You people from Zero Wing should feel proud that you''ve forced me to use my trump card so soon! However, now that I have, you are all going to become Evil Demon food!" Lei Jingyang revealed a sadistic grin as he swept a glance at the Zero Wing members before him. He then stopped controlling the five Evil Demons and simply commanded them to slaughter Zero Wing''s members. "Roar!" Once the Evil Demons were no longer under direct control, their eyes released a bloody glow as they bellowed angrily. The Evil Energy they radiated also intensified, so much so that it clouded the perception of nearby players slightly. Even the Zero Wing members standing somewhat far away from the Evil Demons could not help but shudder at the powerful auras the Evil Demons released. Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons? Shi Feng frowned slightly as he glanced at the roaring Evil Demons. Immediately, he commanded through the team chat, "Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, you three go keep those Evil Demons busy. Everyone else, focus on wiping out Heaven''s Burial''s members!" "Evil Demons? That''s not a bad opponent." Cola licked his lips in eagerness as he looked at the Evil Demons. "It''s a good opportunity to test my new equipment." Currently equipped with the Trembling Crown and Trembling Shield, Turtledove was also brimming with fighting spirit. Before coming to the Primordial Divine Ruin, Shi Feng had distributed the weapons, equipment, and Skills he obtained from the Lost Town to Cola and the others. Among them, he had given the Trembling Crown and Trembling Shield to Turtledove, while Ye Wumian received Cola''s Dragonscale Shield, which she had been using. Cola and the others promptly dashed towards the five Evil Demons. "Keep on struggling!" Lei Jingyang sneered when he saw Zero Wing''s members trying to move out of the Evil Demons'' way. At this moment, he could already foresee the annihilation of Zero Wing''s Magic Light Team. Just when the five Evil Demons arrived before some melee players of Zero Wing, Cola suddenly appeared in front of the five monsters and raised his shield. At the same time, he activated Justice Roar. The blinding light Cola''s shield gave off instantly made him the center of attention on the battlefield. Meanwhile, the five Evil Demons involuntarily stopped their actions and turned to look at Cola. An AOE Taunt? What a suicidal bastard. Lei Jingyang''s eyes gleamed with ridicule as he looked at the glow from Cola''s shield. Even current peak MTs couldn''t last very long against a Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. Yet, now, Cola had used an AOE Taunt on five of such Evil Demons. At this moment, Lei Jingyang could already foresee the scene of Cola being killed instantly. As if summoned, the five Evil Demons instantly appeared before Cola, with one Evil Demon already swiping its right claw at the male Guardian Knight. "So fast!" The Evil Demon''s attack astonished the spectating crowd, which could just barely see the afterimage of the Evil Demon''s claw. If it were up to these players, blocking or dodging the monster''s attack would be impossible. Needless to say, if they were its target, they would no doubt be killed instantly. Peng! However, the scene that occurred a moment later was utterly different from everyone''s expectations. Not only did Cola manage to block the first attack using the Titan Guard, but he actually retreated by only two steps after receiving the attack. Moreover, he only sustained a little over -10,000 damage from doing so. "How is this possible?" "Could it be a Skill?" The nearby spectating crowd was stunned by this scene. Just as everyone was wondering what Cola did to take so little damage, another two Evil Demons launched attacks on Cola, their claws blurring. Peng! Peng! Another two crisp clangs rang out. Cola was forced to retreat by a total of four steps, and two damages above -10,000 also appeared above the Guardian Knight''s head. However, even after receiving three attacks that dealt over -10,000 damage each, he still had over half his HP remaining. Not bad. Their Strength should be roughly the same as a Level 60 Specialized Grand Lord. Cola revealed a faint smile at the faint numbness in his arms. To him, someone who possessed over 80,000 HP, attacks that dealt around -10,000 damage were entirely within his tolerance range. When Cola noticed the last two Evil Demons attacking him as well, he decided to activate Titan''s Will, the Skill reducing the damage he received by 90% and increasing his Attack Speed by 100%, Movement Speed by 30%, and starting Movement Speed by 80% for 20 seconds. When the two Evil Demons'' claws collided with Cola''s Titan Guard, two dazzling flashes appeared. This time, however, not only did Cola not retreat by a single step, but even the damage he received from each attack was just a little more than -1,000; that was practically a negligible amount. Following which, several Healing Lights fell on him, instantly replenishing his HP to full. "So, this is Zero Wing''s Chief MT? He''s so strong!" Everyone''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw Cola actually going toe-to-toe with the five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. If it were them, a single Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon would be beyond their means. Yet, despite going up against five of such Evil Demons, Cola still seemed to have plenty of energy to spare. Right now, it looked as if these five Evil Demons were actually fake Evil Demons. However, they were fully aware that this result was not because the Evil Demons were weak. Instead, Cola was simply too strong. Just the shockwaves resulting from the clashes were enough to force the nearby players to retreat involuntarily. With this, one could imagine how much Strength both sides possessed. However, before everyone could recover from their shock over Cola''s performance, two more players joined him, each one of them pinning down one Evil Demon. These two players were none other than Turtledove and Ye Wumian. The moment these two MTs appeared, they immediately used a Taunt Skill and solidified their aggro on their respective targets. Very quickly, two Evil Demons peeled away from Cola. However, this was still not the most shocking part. The crucial point was that both Turtledove and Ye Wumian actually possessed Defense that was in no way inferior to Cola''s. In fact, when the female Guardian Knight Turtledove blocked an attack from her Grand Lord, she received only a little over -8,000 damage, which was far less than the damage Cola received. This showed that her Defense was above even Cola''s. As for HP, due to the various team buffs, Ye Wumian had over 75,000 HP. Meanwhile, Turtledove, who was equipped with Epic Set Equipment, possessed over 80,000 HP, just like Cola. Meanwhile, due to Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian''s appearance, the Evil Demons, whom everyone thought would be able to create a huge ruckus, were now thoroughly suppressed. Damn it! How can their Defense be so high?! Lei Jingyang was momentarily stupefied when he saw this scene. However, a possibility that made his entire body shudder came to mind soon after. Could they have been promoted to Tier 2 as well? 1652 Tier 2 versus Tier 2 Chapter 1652 - Tier 2 versus Tier 2 Inside the teleportation zone, the five Level 70 Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons furiously attacked the MT trio from Zero Wing, their speed extremely fast. Many expert players present inside the tower could not keep up with the monsters'' movements, yet Cola and the other MTs blocked every attack of the Evil Demons using their shields. Moreover, they did so very casually. Meanwhile, any expert player that accidentally came into proximity of their battle would get killed by the battle''s shockwaves. "They''re able to stop even five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons?" Purple Jade wore an incredulous look on her face as she watched Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian going up against the Evil Demons. Even the peak MTs of the Secret Pavilion would need to activate their Berserk Skills to go up against a Level 70 Grand Lord. However, Cola and the other two MTs could actually hold back the Evil Demons without using any Berserk Skills. Moreover, they were even at a numerical disadvantage. Zero Wing is truly extraordinary. It''s no wonder Rain is so adamant in working together with the Guild. Quiet Melody, who was commanding the Sacred Temple''s members in battle, could not help her surprise when she sent a glance at the distant Evil Demons. Now, she more or less understood why Phoenix Rain had decided to partner with Zero Wing early on in the game. Phoenix Rain''s insight was indeed many times more acute than Nine Dragons Emperor''s. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s members also had their morale boosted further after seeing the MT trio''s performance. Brimming with fighting spirit, they started putting even more effort into suppressing Heaven''s Burial''s members. Damn it! How is this possible?! Lei Jingyang was filled with envy as he looked at Cola and the other two MTs. Why does Zero Wing possess three Tier 2 MTs?! Not only did Heaven''s Burial receive financial support from major corporations, but it had also managed to recruit plenty of expert players. Despite all this, the entire Guild had only three people that succeeded in their Tier 2 promotion even until now. The Guild had invested everything it had to help these three players complete their Promotion Quests after they reached Level 50. Moreover, unlike other classes, MT classes faced much more difficulty with their Tier 2 promotions. Although Heaven''s Burial had attempted to help its MTs with their promotions, all of those MTs failed. On the other hand, Zero Wing actually possessed three Tier 2 MTs. The value of Tier 2 MTs was much greater than that of Tier 2 players of other classes. After all, the majority of a Guild''s weapons and equipment came from Dungeons. If a Guild possessed powerful MTs, it would have a much easier time raiding Dungeons. "Boss, what should we do? Those five Grand Lords are all pinned down right now. We''re also still getting pushed back by Zero Wing. At this rate, we''ll be chased out of the teleportation zone," the Level 50 Ranger commanding the battle asked worriedly. Although their side had an overwhelming advantage in numbers, Zero Wing''s members were simply too powerful. Thus far, their side had already lost over 1,000 players. In contrast, Zero Wing''s death toll amounted to only a little over 100. Most importantly, the 30-man Magic Light Team had yet to suffer a single casualty. "All ranged DPS, change targets, and focus fire on those three MTs of Zero Wing! I refuse to believe that Zero Wing will have another method to stop the Evil Demons once we get rid of the three of them!" Lei Jingyang commanded through the team chat. After saying so, Lei Jingyang personally led a team of 20 experts, followed by Falling Fire''s team, and charged at Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian. Although it was indeed surprising that Zero Wing possessed three Tier 2 MTs, both Falling Fire and he were Tier 2 players as well. If they went up against the MT trio, they would not necessarily be the one to lose. Not to mention, Cola and the other two still had to tank five Evil Demons. Very quickly, Lei Jingyang and the others arrived within 40 yards of the MT trio. "Die!" Like throwing a javelin, Lei Jingyang hurled the greatsword he carried at Cola, arcs of silver electricity appearing around the weapon as it left his hand. In mid-flight, the greatsword suddenly split into a dozen serpents made out of silver lightning. Meanwhile, unlike normal Spells and arrows, which could only move in a straight line, the serpents slithered nimbly through the air towards Cola, their movement patterns changing constantly. "The Boss is getting serious! Zero Wing''s members are dead now!" The eyes of the Thunder Legion members glowed when they saw this scene. The attack Lei Jingyang had just executed was a trademark move of his, a combination of his precision control and the Additional Skill of his greatsword, Electric Serpent Bites. Each electric serpent summoned possessed 120% of the user''s Strength. They also moved ridiculously fast, so much so that even top-tier experts would have trouble coping with just one of the serpents. Going up against a dozen electric serpents simultaneously would be a struggle even for peak experts of the same level, who would have no choice but to retreat temporarily. As for Falling Fire, who stood beside Lei Jingyang, he was not one to be outdone, either. As he completed an incantation, nine crimson magic arrays appeared on the ground around him. The ambient fire-type Mana immediately began surging towards these nine magic arrays frantically. Shortly after, Falling Fire tapped the butt of his staff on the ground. Tier 2 Curse, Spark Impact! In the next moment, the nine magic arrays started launching small meteorites one after another into the air. After reaching a certain altitude, the meteorites then changed trajectories and flew straight towards Cola. The power packed within each meteorite was visibly stronger than that of Lei Jingyang''s electric serpents. Their speed was on par with the electric serpents'' as well. They''re working together to attack me? Despite seeing the electric serpents and small meteorites rapidly approaching him, Cola showed no sign of panic whatsoever. Instead, he gave the ground a mighty stomp, taking a defensive stance, and activated Titan''s Heart. The instant Cola used Titan''s Heart, a yellow, earthen barrier formed around him, shielding him from the electric serpents and small meteorites. Boom! Boom! Boom! "Let''s see how you people from Zero Wing stop the Evil Demons now." Lei Jingyang laughed in ridicule as he looked at Cola''s position. Although Cola had activated a Lifesaving Skill, Lei Jingyang''s Electric Serpent Bites possessed extraordinary Attack Power. It was not something that could be received head-on. Not to mention, the Tier 2 Curse that Falling Fire used possessed even greater power. Falling Fire likewise laughed as he looked at the dust surrounding Cola''s position. He then turned to look at Turtledove and Ye Wumian. However, as the dust settled, a figure emerged standing where the electric serpents and meteorites landed. Meanwhile, this figure was none other than Cola. At this moment, Cola''s surroundings had already been charred black. However, Cola himself remained completely unharmed. In fact, not only had his HP not decrease by the slightest, but it had even increased quite significantly. "He''s not dead?" Lei Jingyang and Falling Fire were stunned. Both of them had used their respective aces in the hole, each of which was easily capable of instant-killing a player of the same level. Yet, Cola actually managed to survive both attacks without taking any damage. In fact, aside from blocking their attacks, Cola had also fended off the attacks of three Evil Demons. What powerful attacks! They actually managed to deplete half of my Protective Energy. Cola could not help being startled when he looked at the remaining energy of his barrier, as Titan''s Heart created an Energy Shield that had an HP equivalent to ten times his own. Had he tried receiving all those attacks without Titan''s Heart, even if he activated Protection Blessing, he still would have gotten killed instantly. An Invulnerability Skill? Both Lei Jingyang and Falling Fire shared the same thought as they looked at Cola. In God''s Domain, although Invulnerability Skills were extremely rare, some still existed. Meanwhile, every one of them was extremely troublesome to deal with. However, after Lei Jingyang and Falling Fire exchanged glances, they sprang into action again, targeting Turtledove this time. No matter how strong an Invulnerability Skill was, once its duration was up, it would disappear. Hence, all they needed to do now was attack other MTs instead of Cola. They also refused to believe that all three MTs had learned Invulnerability Skills. However, when Lei Jingyang was within 30 yards of Turtledove, he suddenly felt a chill crawling down his spine. Immediately, he tightened his grip around his white-bone greatsword and activated Whirlwind Slash. Dang! In the next moment, Lei Jingyang felt as if he had just struck an impenetrable wall as his greatsword stopped abruptly, sparks flying from the edge of his greatsword. Then, a lithe figure gradually appeared before him. "Zero Wing''s Fire Dance?" Lei Jingyang sneered as he looked at the lithe figure facing him. "Are you here to get yourself killed?" He sent a slash at the female Assassin before him straightaway. An Assassin was most powerful when conducting an ambush. As long as the ambush failed and their body became exposed, their combat power would decrease drastically. In a frontal clash, an Assassin was significantly inferior to a Berserker. Dang! Dang! Dang! However, after exchanging several attacks with Fire Dance, Lei Jingyang started panicking. As a Tier 2 Berserker, his Strength should be overwhelmingly superior to most players at this stage of the game. Moreover, he was currently geared in three pieces of Epic Equipment. Despite that, not only did every one of the dozen or so attacks he had sent at Fire Dance get blocked, but his arms even started falling numb from the resulting impact. Could she be a Tier 2 player as well? Lei Jingyang could not help entertaining such a thought. However, even if Fire Dance was a Tier 2 Assassin, it should be impossible for her to be superior to him, a Tier 2 Berserker, in terms of Strength. Lei Jingyang very quickly shook the thought out of his head and calmed himself. In terms of combat standards, he was no doubt superior to Fire Dance. Since he couldn''t win using a forceful approach, he simply needed to target her weak points. He immediately activated the Tier 2 Skill Battering Slash. Battering Slash allowed him to ignore his target''s Defense and block effects. Although the damage his attacks dealt would decrease significantly, it would be more than enough to kill an Assassin, a class that had both low HP and Defense. However, when his greatsword passed through Fire Dance''s body, Lei Jingyang''s complexion immediately darkened. The reason for this was the sensation he felt coming from his greatsword; it did not feel as if he had just cut through a physical entity at all. He tried using Blade Storm right away, but before he realized it, Fire Dance had already appeared behind him, the Thousand Transformations in her hand stabbing towards his back. Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Raid! Fire Dance instantly transformed into numerous streaks of shadows that pierced through Lei Jingyang''s body. Damages ranging between 10,000 and 20,000 appeared rapidly above the Berserker''s head one after another, depleting his HP to zero. 1653 Tier 2 Galore Chapter 1653 - Tier 2 Galore "Did Lei Jingyang die?" "An instant-kill!" For a time, the players watching the battle between Fire Dance and Lei JIngyang were stunned by the sudden development. The fight had been lightning quick, and many had failed to realize what had happened before it was over. In one moment, Lei Jingyang had been alive and kicking, and in the next, he was dead The members of Lei Jingyang''s Thunder Legion were particularly dumbstruck. They all knew how powerful their commander was. Not only did he wield three pieces of Epic Equipment, but he was also one of three Tier 2 players in Heaven''s Burial. The Berserker had over 53,000 HP, as well, which was in no way inferior to Tier 1 peak MTs of the same level. If Tier 1 experts like themselves had to face Lei Jingyang, they''d never be enough to take down the Berserker even with a 20-man team. Yet, an Assassin had killed their commander with a single move. No matter how they looked at the situation, it felt unreal. Only Shi Feng knew how possible the feat truly was. After all, Fire Dance wielded a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, which no Epic Weapon could compare to. Moreover, the Assassin class was famous for its explosive damage, dealing significant amounts in a very short time Meanwhile, Shadow Raid was Fire Dance''s strongest explosive Skill. If she landed a hit with the Skill, even a Tier 2 Guardian Knight or Shield Warrior of the same level would stand on the precipice of death, if not die instantly, let alone a Tier 2 Berserker. After Lei Jingyang died, Heaven''s Burial''s members fell into a panic, confused about what to do next. Along with Lei Jingyang''s death, the five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons he had summoned had disappeared. This was like salt in an open wound to Heaven''s Burial''s members. Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian had already embedded their strength into their enemies'' minds. Lei Jingyang''s followers doubted that they had the strength to surpass a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. Useless trash! He actually died so quickly! A deep frown pulled at Falling Fire''s face as he watched Lei Jingyang''s corpse transform into particles of light. He had never expected Zero Wing to have a Tier 2 Assassin and Three Tier 2 MTs. Immediately, he shouted through the team chat, "Everyone, retreat! Leave the teleportation zone for now! We''ll reenter from another side!" At this stage of the game, it was extremely difficult for players to reach Tier 2. Even Blackwater, with its abundant resources, had only nurtured a few Tier 2 experts thus far. Yet, not only did Zero Wing have three Tier 2 MTs, but it had a Tier 2 Assassin as well. This left him truly confused. Even if Fire Dance took part in the battle, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater should''ve been able to resist Zero Wing by relying on the five Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, but now, Lei Jingyang was dead and the Evil Demons had vanished. Even if they had the numeric advantage, they had lost any momentum against Zero Wing due to the loss. Their chances of victory were now slim, regardless of whether or not they continued to fight. The wisest decision now would be leaving the teleportation zone temporarily and trying to get back in from another side. With the limited number of entry slots, Zero Wing shouldn''t bother chasing them. On the off chance that there were less than 15,000 players in the zone after Zero Wing left it, the Guild would miss the opportunity to enter the Primordial Divine Ruin. The risk of giving chase simply outweighed the gains. However, as Falling Fire ushered his team out of the teleportation zone, a snowy-white dagger appeared behind him, transforming into a streak of silver light as it thrust into the Elementalist''s back. Another Assassin?! Falling Fire panicked. But it was already too late to dodge or block the attack physically. Instinctively, Falling Fire activated Blink, vanishing from the dagger''s attack trajectory in the most critical moment and reappearing 15 yards away. He then turned towards the player that had ambushed him with a grim expression. Unlike the lithe Assassin that had ambushed Lei Jingyang, the Assassin that had attacked Falling Fire was a physically fit youth. This youth was none other than Flying Shadow. What fast reactions! Flying Shadow was astonished when Falling Fire successfully evaded the ambush. He evaded my attack despite being caught off guard. Sure enough, I''m still not on the level of peak experts like him. He had been so close to killing Falling Fire just now. In his opinion, he had already concealed himself sufficiently, and his attack had been fast enough, yet Falling Fire had avoided his dagger. Zero Wing''s Flying Shadow? Falling Fire recognized Flying Shadow instantly, feeling no less shocked than the Assassin. How is he so strong? He had detailed information on all of Zero Wing''s top-ranked experts, and Flying Shadow wasn''t wearing a Black Cloak. Even without an Identification Skill, he easily determined the youth''s identity based on his appearance. Based on the report he had read, Flying Shadow wasn''t nearly as strong as Fire Dance, Zero Wing''s number one Assassin. Yet, just now, the youth had displayed far more power than the report had mentioned. After Falling Fire had been promoted to Tier 2, he hadn''t encountered a Tier 1 Assassin that could get within 10 yards of him undetected. Only the Guild''s Tier 2 Assassins had been successful. Could he be a Tier 2 player as well? As Falling Fire looked at Flying Shadow, he felt the edges of his world beginning to crumble. Since when had reaching Tier 2 become so easy? The fact that Zero Wing had one Tier 2 Assassin was surprising enough, but he had just encountered another. Had he not reacted quickly enough, he might have fallen to Flying Shadow''s attack. Watching Flying Shadow approach again, Falling Fire began to double-speed-cast. Suddenly, stone spikes rose from the ground beneath the Assassin''s feet. At the same time, a large number of ice swords rained down on the youth. This forced Flying Shadow to focus on the attacks from above and below, which drastically slowed his advance. Moreover, he stiffened slightly each time he blocked an ice sword. Aside from Falling Fire''s attacks, Flying Shadow had to deal with the nearby Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater members. For a time, all of the incoming attacks forced Flying Shadow into a passive state. He couldn''t close the distance between himself and his target. "Your equipment is quite good, but it''s a pity your combat standards are somewhat lacking," Falling Fire said, a condescending smile spreading across his face as he watched the Assassin''s HP slowly decrease. Flying Shadow might be considered a first-class expert in a first-rate Guild, but he was still young and tender in Falling Fire''s eyes. The Assassin''s focus on dodging and blocking was particularly poor and inefficient. Even without the support of other players, he could easily kill this player. "Die!" Falling Shadow completed the final verse of his incantation and launched the Tier 2 Spell, Detonating Flame Arrows, at Flying Shadow. However, before he could release the dozens of flaming arrows that had formed above him, a dark-blue magic array had appeared in the sky, releasing a torrent of water that snuffed the arrows out. Reacting, Falling Fire used Blink again and avoided the descending water. By the time he reappeared, the force of the torrent had carved out a massive crater in his previous position, filling it with water. How is that possible? Someone actually crushed my Detonating Flame Arrows? Confusion tore at Falling Fire as he eyes the manmade pond. He had cast a Tier 2 Spell, which shouldn''t have crumbled so easily even under another Tier 2 Spell, yet not only had his Detonating Flame Arrows been eliminated, but the torrent of water had contained enough destructive power to form a massive crater. But before Falling Fire could discover his attacker, over a dozen light-blue water spears shot towards him. The spears had appeared in almost the same moment Falling Fire had reappeared after using Blink. The enemy caster''s timing and aim were incredibly precise. Dazed, Falling Fire failed to protect himself in time with an Ice Barrier, and four water spears plowed into him, each dealing over -16,000 damage. Falling Fire, who only had 40,000 HP, died instantly As the Elementalist''s HP reached zero, he was barely able to turn his head in time towards the water spear''s origin. Standing around 30 yards away was a lithe, graceful woman in a lilac robe and wielding a dark-blue crystal staff. A light-blue magic array gradually faded from beneath her feet while dense, water-type Mana surrounded her. Another Tier 2 player?! Although Falling Fire still wanted to speak, his vision had already darkened, and his body collapsed. 1654 Shocking All Sides Chapter 1654 - Shocking All Sides As Falling Fire collapsed, silence descended on Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial''s battlefield. "Commander?" "The commander actually died?" "Do they also have a Tier 2 magical class expert?" Blackwater''s members gaped at Aqua Rose, who was responsible for Falling Fire''s death. Falling Fire was both one of the scant few Tier 2 players and a top-ranked expert within Blackwater. Normally, the Elementalist killed them instantly when they sparred with him. However, they had just watched this man die after one hit. No matter how they looked at the situation, it was utterly unbelievable. The tier suppression Tier 2 players had over Tier 1 players was much greater than that of Tier 1 players over Tier 0 players. Moreover, as an Elementalist, Falling Fire had a few Passive Skills that increased his Magic Resistances, making him much tougher against Spells. Yet, Aqua Rose had annihilated Falling Fire with a single Spell. There were only two possibilities to explain the outcome. The first was that Aqua Rose had used a Berserk Skill followed by a Tier 1 Curse. The other possibility was that Aqua Rose was also a Tier 2 player. When players activated a Berserk Skill, some kind of special effect would change their bodies. Only, not all Berserk Skills generated visible indicators. Regardless, when a player activated a Berserk Skill, the intensity of their aura would increase drastically, informing others that the player had activated such a Skill. However, Aqua Rose displayed neither phenomena, so it was obvious that she hadn''t activated a Berserk Skill. There was also no way they''d miss the resulting changes. They all had keen senses as experts, and activating a Berserk Skill was akin to turning on a light in a dark room. When Blackwater''s members considered the possibility that Zero Wing also had a Tier 2 magical class, they couldn''t help but shudder. Tier 2 MTs were only powerful when tanking monsters; their DPS was lacking. However, it was a different story for Tier 2 magical classes. Magical classes already wielded extremely high DPS even at Tier 1, and they had more AOEs than other classes. After their promotion to Tier 2, magical classes attacks would grow even stronger. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call Tier 2 magical classes mobile Defense Turrets. When solely comparing combat capabilities, Tier 2 magical classes were stronger than another class by far. While everyone struggled with their shock over Falling Fire''s death, Aqua Rose used the opportunity to cast the Tier 2 Spell, Aqua Precinct. With the female Cursemancer at its center, a water domain manifested, covering a 70-yard radius. Any of Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater members caught within Aqua Precinct soon noticed the rapid drop in their Basic Attributes. In the blink of an eye, their Basic Attributes had fallen to 70% of their original values. Following which, twelve, eight-meter-long water serpents rose from the pool of water, releasing enraged bellows that echoed throughout the tower. Every water serpent possessed the Strength to rival a Great Lord of the same level. Under Aqua Rose''s control, the water serpents jumped at the players from Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater. Aqua Precinct wasn''t like normal AOEs and was categorized as a Domain Skill. When using it to attack, Aqua Rose wouldn''t harm her allies as normal AOE Spells would as long as she controlled the Spell properly. Tier 1 experts would have a very difficult time coping with a Great Lord''s attacks. Only Tier 1 MTs of the same level could block such attacks without receiving much damage. However, unlike normal Great Lords, which had monotonous attack patterns, the water serpents were flexible since Aqua Rose controlled them. Any MT that failed to block the serpents'' attacks instantly lost over 20,000 HP. Since Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s MTs had lost 30% of their Basic Attributes, the water serpents only needed two hits to finish off a Level 50 MT. In the short moment since Aqua Rose had cast Aqua Precinct, she had killed four Level 50 MTs. The rear line healers had never even had a chance to heal their allies "Monster! She''s a monster!" Heaven''s Burial''s and Blackwater''s experts stared at the female Cursemancer in utter horror. "Retreat!" "Run! There''s a monster!" With Zero Wing''s Magic Light Team and Conqueror Parties gaining the upper hand, followed by Aqua Rose''s sudden massacre, Heaven''s Burial''s and Blackwater''s members panicked. Rather than a slow, organized retreat, they turned and fled like cowards. Not only would they lose a level if they died, but they''d also lose a piece of equipment. To expert players like them, the loss was unbearably painful. Hence, now that they knew that they were no match for Zero Wing, they wouldn''t continue to throw themselves into the jaws of death. Furthermore, their commanders, Lei Jingyang and Falling Fire, had already died. "Big Sis Aqua, you couldn''t hold back a little? We''ve barely killed any enemies, yet you''ve already scared them all away. How are we supposed to earn extra income now?" Shadow Sword and Zero Wing''s other Tier 2 players sighed in frustration as they watched Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members flee. They had previously held back because they were worried about scaring off their prey. It had actually taken quite a bit restraint to drag this battle out, yet their prey had run in fear of them before they could reap the benefits and slaughter them all. This frustrated Shadow Sword and the others. "My bad. I''ll be more careful next time," Aqua Rose said, sending her companions an apologetic glance. She hadn''t expected Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s players to be so cowardly. Thus far, the battle between their Guilds had been fairly even. In fact, Zero Wing wouldn''t get off easily either if Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater continued the fight. Yet, rather than stand their ground, the two Guilds'' members had turned and fled. "This will work, too. Just kill as many as you can, but be careful to stay near the team and in the teleportation zone," Shi Feng commanded. He was not particularly surprised by their enemies'' response. Although Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s experts were no weaklings, the series of mental blows had thrown them into a panic. Fortunately, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s reaction was a good thing for Zero Wing. At the very least, Zero Wing could now secure more entry slots for the Primordial Divine Ruin. Shadow Sword, Blackie, Violet Cloud, Rampant Blade, Alluring Summer, and Zero Wing''s other Tier 2 players began to put all they had into their battles. With the overwhelming strength of Tier 2 classes, Shadow Sword and the others charged into Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s ranks like lions charging into a flock of sheep. The Guild''s magical class players, such as Blackie, Violet Cloud, and Alluring Summer, dominated the battlefield like humanoid Defense Turrets. Without anyone to hinder their progress, they each killed over a dozen players with every attack. This only encouraged Zero Wing''s other members to fight with more fervor. By the time Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members left the teleportation zone, they had littered their path with corpses and equipment. The two Guilds had lost nearly 2,000 experts since the battle had begun. The outcome was startling. If these casualties were only ordinary or elite players, the loss wouldn''t be as painful, but the players Zero Wing''s members had killed were all experts. These two Guilds had lost just as many experts as there were in an ordinary, first-rate Guild. "Amazing! So, this is Zero Wing''s strength?" "Didn''t someone say that Zero Wing was no match for Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater?" "Heaven''s Burial sure is unlucky. Not only is it in danger of losing Ancient Rock City, but entering the Primordial Divine Ruin will also be a major challenge." The various major powers had been paying very close attention to the battle between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial, and the superpowers present were no exception. However, none of them had ever imagined that this outcome was possible. Even Purple Jade, who had a high opinion of Zero Wing, had assumed that the Guild would fight its enemies to a draw at best. Yet, Zero Wing had actually chased Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater out of the teleportation zone while suffering minimal losses. This had completely exceeded her expectations. As for the various Guilds and adventurer teams, which had planned to enter the teleportation zone near Zero Wing, shrank back in fear after seeing the Guild''s prowess in battle. "Commander, are we still going to charge in?" a Level 50 Shield Warrior clad in black armor could not help but ask his commander. "Charge in? Are you suicidal? We''re retreating! We''ll go in from another side!" 1655 Ten Years Too Early Chapter 1655 - Ten Years Too Early After Zero Wing''s victory over Heaven''s Burial, the various superpowers in the teleportation zone couldn''t help but reevaluate their opinions of Zero Wing. "Sure enough, Zero Wing can be quite capable. No wonder they dared to ignore our Guild''s warning. It might not be a bad idea to consider partnering with them for the Primordial Divine Ruin raid," a middle-aged man in black armor muttered as he looked at Zero Wing''s members with an interested expression. He carried a greatsword with runes that radiated a chilling aura. The Primordial Divine Ruin was akin to a Dungeon. If one wished to progress inside the ruin, they needed a certain level of strength, whether it be Basic Attributes or combat standards. The difficulty also increased as one delved deeper into the ruin. After reaching the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fourth underground floor, players faced extraordinarily strict requirements. In fact, it was so difficult to pass from the fourth floor to the fifth floor, where the gate to the Primordial City was located, that a single Guild team could no longer clear the challenge. They would only have a higher chance of reaching the fifth underground floor by working together. The middle-aged man''s words surprised the nearby players. The middle-aged man before them was none other than Broken City, an upper echelon from King''s Return. He had been very famous in the virtual gaming world some years ago. Even King''s Return''s Guild Leader had to treat Broken City with respect. Broken City didn''t praise players or powers very often. The last player Broken City had praised had become King''s Return''s present Guild Leader. Hence, King''s Return''s members found it truly surprising that Broken City would praise Zero Wing. "Uncle Broken, aren''t you thinking too highly of them? They''ve merely repelled upstarts like Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater. Zero Wing is still ten years too early to work alongside us," the handsome youth beside Broken City said, scoffing. The youth wore dark-gray plate armor and wielded a one-handed axe engraved with beautiful runes in his right hand while holding a tower shield made of scales in his left. "Ocean, Uncle Broken must have his reasons for saying that. While not all of Zero Wing''s team members have monstrous Basic Attributes, the team''s overall strength is considerable. After entering the Primordial Divine Ruin, Zero Wing would make a good choice as a partner," Praying Lotus, who was garbed in a set of white, sacred robes, said as she shook her head. She didn''t particularly approve of Wild Ocean''s opinion. Although Wild Ocean had recently received a promotion, becoming one of King''s Return''s Adjudicators, and was one of the Guild''s few Tier 2 players, his thinking was shallow. Like Broken City, Praying Lotus felt they shouldn''t underestimate Zero Wing''s strength. Throughout the battle, she hadn''t seen Shi Feng take action at all. This proved that Zero Wing was still holding back and was far from being as simple as everyone believed. "Zero Wing is only good in PvP. We''re going to face an endless number of monsters and various traps in the Primordial Divine ruin. Just clearing the third floor would be a huge problem, let alone reaching the fifth floor. "Aside from us superpowers, no team has cleared the ruin''s third floor. You should also know that you can''t rely on powerful Attributes alone to clear the third floor. We''ll talk about cooperation after they reach the fourth floor." Wild Ocean snorted, thinking that both Broken City and Praying Lotus''s opinions of Zero Wing were too generous. Wild Ocean wasn''t the only person with that opinion. King''s Return''s other experts agreed with Wild Ocean''s thoughts. If they partnered with Zero Wing, they would have to share half their slots to enter the fifth floor. What kind of Guild was Zero Wing? What kind of Guild was King''s Return? Did Zero Wing even qualify to share half of their slots? As time passed, the struggle in the teleportation zone intensified. More powers were also joining the fight in the teleportation zone. Now, even the various powers that had hesitated to provoke Zero Wing had decided to give it a try. The struggle for the entry slots lasted for over half an hour. This time, the struggle''s intensity was unprecedented. Players'' corpses littered the teleportation zone. In the end, the various superpowers still took the majority of the entry slots, while the alliance of first-rate Guilds and the alliance of top adventurer teams only claimed a small portion. Among the various powers that had participated in the struggle, Zero Wing''s performance was the most extraordinary. Despite Zero Wing starting the fight with less than 2,000 members, they still had over 1,200 members inside the teleportation zone by the time the struggle ended. The Guild had claimed nearly one-tenth of the available entry slots, only slightly less than the various superpowers. Among the various superpowers, the Secret Pavilion had the best performance, securing exactly 2,000 slots. Although the Secret Pavilion was more than capable of gaining more than that, it had deliberately held back to avoid standing out. Every one of the other superpowers secured around 1,500 slots, which was slightly more than Zero Wing. This was also the reason why Zero Wing''s performance shocked everyone. The various superpowers had started the fight with at least 6,000 members, yet Zero Wing had achieved a near-similar result with less than 2,000 members. This battle record was a little terrifying. "Crap! I thought that with Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater out of the picture, we would get more slots. Why did we end up getting fewer slots than in previous raids?!" "That''s right! If I had known something like this would happen, I would have preferred for Heaven''s Burial or Blackwater to win." The various first-rate Guilds and adventurer teams'' upper echelons clicked their tongues in anger and jealousy as they looked at Zero Wing''s members. It was common knowledge that teams would have a greater advantage in the ruin if they entered with more players. Now that Zero Wing could send over 1,200 members into the ruin, the Guild might actually make it all the way to the fifth floor and enter the rumored Primordial City. While everyone else was shocked by Zero Wing''s strength, Shi Feng was ecstatic. Zero Wing had earned over 5,000 pieces of the current top-tier equipment in the struggle for entry slots. Although the majority was Level 45 Fine-Gold Equipment, they were still valuable. In comparison, Zero Wing had suffered practically insignificant losses. Zero Wing had suffered 600-plus casualties in the battle, with the majority of them being the White Tiger Dojo disciples. The disciples were only geared in standard Level 50 elite equipment. They had also recovered some of the lost weapons and equipment. Hence, Zero Wing had made a fortune in this battle. When there were fewer than 15,000 players in the teleportation zone, a blue glow enveloped the area. The players inside the zone disappeared a moment later, leaving an empty plot of land behind. The members of the various major powers that remained inside the tower quickly spread the news of the battle''s outcome. With the teleportation array''s help, Zero Wing''s surviving members instantly arrived a dark canyon. There were three shining, silver moons hanging in the sky. The visibility within the canyon was also very poor. At best, they could see 200 yards around them, and they couldn''t sense any other creatures, which instilled a deep fear and insecurity. "So, this is the Primordial Divine Ruin''s first floor?" Aqua Rose muttered as she curiously surveyed her surroundings. With her physique as a Tier 2 player, she soon discovered the hidden threats around them. A group of Skeleton Undead hid at the top of the canyon, carrying heavy crossbows that could launch bolts with the power to rival Tier 2 Skills. It was obvious that these skeletons had already locked onto their team and were ready to fire their crossbows at a moment''s notice. Aside from the crossbow-wielding skeletons, Aqua Rose noticed a large number of ghosts flickering in and out of existence on the path ahead. The ghosts wandered around the bottom of the canyon, and even the weakest among them was a Level 50 Chieftain while the strongest were Level 55 Grand Lords. If players accidentally provoked these monsters, the consequences would be unimaginable. As if they had long since familiarized themselves with this floor, the various superpowers'' teams quickly advanced on a predetermined path. As they advanced, the superpowers'' teams skillfully pushed away any ghosts they came across while dodging the heavy crossbow bolts. In comparison, the alliance formed by top adventurer teams quickly had their advance halted by powerful ghosts, their members peppered by the crossbow bolts from above the canyon. "Damn it! Why is it so difficult?" The various adventurer teams'' upper echelons frowned at the first floor''s difficulty. They were at a loss. Seeing this, the superpowers'' members shook their heads disapprovingly. The Primordial Divine Ruin was an extremely dangerous place, yet the various adventurer teams had believed that getting into the ruin was the most difficult part. The struggle in the teleportation zone was simply a prelude for what was to come. Before the adventurer team alliance could think of a plan, they noticed Zero Wing''s members taking large strides towards the gateway to the next floor. "Have they lost their minds?" The various adventurer teams'' upper echelons gaped as they watched Zero Wing fearlessly advance. 1656 Dauntless Zero Wing Chapter 1656 - Dauntless Zero Wing The adventurer team alliance wasn''t the only force confused by Zero Wing''s sudden advance. The several superpowers'' upper echelons and the first-rate Guilds alliance also flashed Zero Wing incredulous looks. "What''s Zero Wing trying to do?" Zero Wing''s behavior confused everyone. The dark canyon''s terrain was complex. Although there appeared to be many paths that would lead to the top of the canyon, only a few were actually viable. Moreover, timing was very important when traversing the various paths. A single mistake could easily be put an entire team in a dangerous situation. It wouldn''t be surprising if the team were even eliminated. Although players would lose only 20% of their EXP and be sent back to the starting point when they died in the Primordial Divine Ruin, multiple deaths would significantly weaken a team and increase the raid''s difficulty. For newcomers to the Primordial Divine Rin, such as Zero Wing and the adventurer team alliance, the safest way through the dark canyon was to follow the various superpowers, who were already familiar with the first floor''s trial. Of course, tagging along didn''t necessarily mean safety. Even if two teams took the same path, their timing wouldn''t be the same. In this case, it would depend on the commander''s abilities. Although, for the two superpowers that raided the ruin for the first time, this wouldn''t be a problem. The forces'' leadership had a perfect grasp of their team''s positioning and could minimize their losses as they followed the other superpowers. The adventurer team alliance''s chain of command, however, was chaotic due to its multiple leaders. As a result, the adventurer team alliance suffered many casualties as it attempted to follow after a superpower. But the alliance still fared better than if it pioneered a path of its own. Yet, Zero Wing did not even understand such a basic principle and had made a beeline for the top of the canyon. Moreover, Zero Wing''s members moved with large strides, paying no attention to the monsters in their way, unlike the other teams who carefully and steadily advanced. Suddenly, Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, and Violet Cloud rushed ahead of Zero Wing''s team, charging onto the gravel path that contained a plethora of wandering ghosts. Meanwhile, the 15 MTs of the Magic Light Team''s 15 MTs guarded the rear of the team, while the Conqueror Parties split up and covered the sides. [Ghost Knight] (Undead, Chieftain) Level 50 HP 6,000,000/6,000,000 [Ghost Berserker] (Undead, Lord) Level 52 HP 17,000,000/17,000,000 [Ghost General] (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 55 HP 85,000,000/85,000,000 As Cola and the others moved through the canyon, the wandering Ghost Knights and Ghost Berserkers quickly discovered their presence. Like hungry wolves that had just discovered meat, the ghosts surged towards the MT trio. "Are they trying to get themselves killed?" "Are they really trying to grind the ghosts as if they were Common monsters?" Everyone was stupefied as they watched Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian attract more and more Ghost Knights and Ghost Berserkers. The Primordial Divine Ruin had an endless supply of monsters, and even if players killed these monsters, the awarded EXP and loot was insignificant compared to monsters outside of the ruin. Grinding these monsters simply wasn''t worth the effort. Though, to the various powers present, it did not really matter even if a large number of Ghost Knights and Ghost Berserkers ganged up on them as they were more than capable of defeating these monsters. Instead, the canyon''s true danger came from the numerous skeletons stationed at its top. The bolts they fired from their heavy crossbows were as powerful as Tier 2 attacks. Even Level 50, Tier 1 MTs would be forced to retreat by several steps and lose around 4,000 HP if they blocked one of these bolts with their shields. If struck directly, they would be dead after two or three hits. Hence, it was important when selecting a path through the canyon to choose one with favorable terrain that could be used to block the crossbow attacks and lower the chances of encounter Ghost Generals. In the blink of an eye, over 500 Ghost Knights and dozens of Ghost Berserkers chased after Cola and the others. Moreover, the skeletons on both sides of the canyon had aimed and fired their crossbows at the MT trio. However, Cola and the others paid no attention to the countless incoming attacks and continued to advance mindlessly, attracting more monsters as they went. The commotion had even lured some of the wandering Ghost Generals. "Good! Everyone, charge! Follow Cola''s group!" Shi Feng revealed a smile when he saw the swarm of monsters charge at Cola and the others. At this stage of the game, nobody was more familiar with Primordial Divine Ruins than him. He knew that Primordial Divine Ruins were survival tests. Although it was the first time he had visited the Primordial Divine Ruin in the Orc Empire, every ruin had nearly the same tests. It had been common knowledge in his previous life that the Primordial Divine Ruin''s first-floor trial would become more dangerous as teams spent more time here. Take the various superpowers, for example. Although they had familiarized themselves with the paths to the top of the canyon and hence, could limit the number of crossbow attacks that reached their teams, it was impossible to avoid casualties completely. In fact, the various superpowers'' teams were continuously lost members as they advanced right now. Moreover, as they approached closer to the top of the canyon, their casualty rates became more severe. To make matters worse, players that died and allowed the system to resurrect them would reappear at the starting point. Once they did, they''d have no way of catching up to their main force. As for having the team stop midway to resurrect the fallen, that would only end up causing the team to suffer even more casualties. Because of this, team members that died halfway through the canyon were as good as eliminated unless a team-wipe occurred. The best way to challenge the first-floor trial was to send a player in as bait and draw the enemy fire while the rest of the team followed behind. Doing so would greatly reduce the number of attacks the team received and was much safer than following one of the more-protected routes. The only problem with this method was that the players acting as bait needed to be strong enough. The main force also had to maintain enough distance from the bait. If the main force got too close, they would pull the agitated monsters'' aggro. If the main force fell too far behind, the bait would''ve moved past the skeletons'' attack range. Fortunately, this wasn''t the first time Shi Feng had employed this strategy. His grasp of his team''s positioning was incredibly accurate. With Violet Cloud in the center, Cola''s group pushed forward. As they faced numerous attacks, their HPs steadily decreased. Fortunately, the Chieftain ranked Ghost Knights and Lord ranked Ghost Berserkers were not much of a threat. The true threat came from the Ghost Generals and the heavy crossbow attacks from both sides of the canyon, in particular. Currently, a swarm of Ghost Knights chased after Cola''s group of four, and although the situation looked dire, it worked in the group''s favor as the Ghost Generals had a hard time reaching the players. Unfortunately, the same couldn''t be said for the crossbow attacks. When Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian used their shields to block the incoming crossbow bolts, they''d stiffen slightly and lose around 1,500 HP. When the other powers noticed the damage Cola and his team received, they couldn''t help their jealousy. Unlike Cola and the others, their MTs received over -4,000 damage even when they blocked the crossbow bolts successfully. This meant that the MT trio from Zero Wing could endure three times the attacks that their MTs could. However, they still ridiculed Zero Wing for its foolish leadership. If Cola and his companions had the support of a large number of healers, they''d be practically unkillable. Yet, Zero Wing actually let these three, powerful MTs charge ahead on their own! It was a reckless waste of resources! With how the team utilized Cola and the others, it wouldn''t matter if they could endure two or three more hits than other MTs. Sure enough, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian''s HPs began to decrease rapidly. In a short moment, they had lost more than one-third of their HPs. The various superpowers'' upper echelons lamented the loss. The MT trio only had a single healer to support them, and it simply wasn''t enough to keep the three players alive. But after another moment, the superpowers noticed something strange. Despite Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian''s HPs having already fallen below the 25% mark, Violet Cloud hadn''t prepared to cast any Spells. "What''s going on? Isn''t that girl a Cleric? Or does she have some kind of grudge against those MTs?" Everyone watched Violet Cloud in confusion. However, while the spectating crowd wondered about the young woman''s hesitation, Cola took a look at his own HP bar. "Let''s begin!" Cola said. Rather than panicking, his voice contained a hint of excitement. Turtledove and the others then nodded in response. Following which, Cola shouted before releasing a blinding, golden glow. Suddenly, a golden pillar of light descended from the sky and enveloped Cola''s group, illuminating the dark canyon. Suddenly, four golden barriers enveloped each member of the group. The move Cola just used was none other than the Tier 2 Skill, Divine Shield, which Shi Feng had obtained from the Boneless Land. When activated, the Skill granted the Divine Shield buff, which lasted 30 seconds, to a maximum of ten players. The buff decreased incoming damage from Tier 3 or below attacks by 50% and attacks above Tier 3 by 20%. The buff also increased Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 20% and healing effects received by 100%. Divine Shield was a very powerful Skill, though it had a downside: a one-hour Cooldown. Violet Cloud also used the Tier 2 Spell, Holy Prayer. The Spell affected all allies within a 50-yard radius and granted them an HoT buff that healed them based on Violet Cloud''s Mana. Moreover, players affected by Holy Prayer would receive a 20% damage reduction buff. The Spell had a one-minute duration and a 20-minute Cooldown. Under the effects of these two Skills, Cola''s group members each recovered over 8,000 HP every second. The damage they received was reduced to a pitiful amount as well. This turn of events allowed Cola''s group to advance with ease while the rest of Zero Wing''s team followed behind. In less than a minute, Zero Wing''s members had reached the top of the canyon 1657 Continuous Clearance Chapter 1657 - Continuous Clearance The sounds of battle had filled the dark canyon, but as Zero Wing''s members reached the top, the various powers, which were still engaged in combat, fell silent. "That''s actually possible?" For a moment, everyone was at a loss for words as they stared at Zero Wing''s members. They had invested a ton of effort and made numerous sacrifices during their previous raids to locate the best route up the canyon, and they would still suffer before they reached the safe zone at its top. Yet, Zero Wing had run for the top of the canyon without sparing their surroundings a glance. Not only had the Guild team succeeded, but they had only lost a few dozen players, which was practically negligible. "Sure enough, Zero Wing is extraordinary," Praying Lotus muttered, her eyelashes fluttering as she watched Shi Feng, the commander of Zero Wing''s team. No other Guild would dare to be so bold. The two Skills Cola''s group had used were particularly powerful. Although they were not Invulnerability Skills, the combined effect had nullified the threat from both the ghosts and the heavy crossbows. "They only got through thanks to powerful Attributes and Skills," Wild Ocean said, clicking his tongue. "The next floors will be even more difficult, and Basic Attributes will become less important. If they try to pull another stunt like that, they''ll get themselves killed." "Mhm." Praying Lotus did not rebuke Wild Ocean''s words this time. After all, what the Shield Warrior youth had said was true. As players delved deeper into the Primordial Divine Ruin, the trials they faced would become more difficult. They would also encounter more and different traps. Rather than simply relying on raw power, players would have to rely on their technical abilities in the lower floors. The brute force method Zero Wing had used was only viable on the first floor. It wouldn''t be possible to clear the following floors with the same method. Correspondingly, though, players would have higher chances of encountering opportunities and treasure the further they explored. There was practically nothing noteworthy in the ruin''s first underground floor. One would be extremely lucky if they even came across a Bronze Treasure Chest. Although players could also find combat techniques on the first underground floor, the chances of that were extremely slim. If one wanted better loot, they''d have to reach the Primordial Divine Ruin''s third underground floor. Only the third floor and down offered Level 50-plus top-tier equipment. At the same time, the chances of finding combat techniques and other treasures also increased. Shi Feng didn''t hurry towards through the ruin after reaching the top of the canyon. Instead, he had everyone rest in the safe zone. Players'' Stamina and Concentration consumption were far more severe in the Primordial Divine Ruin than outside of it. If they did not rest, they might fail trials that should be passable. Meanwhile, the only places in which players could rest in the Primordial Divine Ruin were the system-established safe zones. Traps and monsters were present everywhere else, and if they relaxed, even for a moment, in these locations, they''d swiftly lose their lives. After Zero Wing''s members had rested for some time, the various superpowers'' teams began to arrive in the safe zone, one after another. However, unlike Zero Wing, the various superpowers only had around 80% of the 1,500-plus members they had entered the ruin with. The rest of their players had to wait for the system to resurrect them, forming teams with other players to search for opportunities and treasure on the first floor. After everyone rested, they proceeded towards the second underground floor. The second floor contained a primal forest. Visibility here was even worse than in the first floor''s dark canyon. Even Tier 2 players could only see up to 80 yards away. As players transversed the forest, they were bombarded by all kinds of Spell attacks from out of nowhere from time to time. These Spells packed a punch, and even Tier 2 MTs only survived after three or four direct hits. Tier 1 MTs were lucky to survive even two hits. If players wished to reach the next safe zone alive, they would have to rely on their individual reaction speed and decision-making. They''d have to dodge or block an attack instantly when targeted. Only by doing so would the healers have a chance of healing them. All the heals in the world wouldn''t save them if a Spell struck them directly. The ruin''s second floor was also much larger than the first, a testament to the Primordial Divine Ruin''s unique nature. As teams progressed, they''d encounter larger maps, forcing players to travel greater distances and face more danger. Shi Feng didn''t have any special strategy to get through the second floor''s trial. He could only send in the Magic Light Team and Conqueror Parties to tank as many hits as possible, limiting the number of casualties the team suffered. Overall, Zero Wing didn''t fare nearly as well as the various superpowers. Upon reaching the third underground floor, the increased difficulty was particularly evident. The necessary method to clear the third floor wasn''t like the first two. The various attacks and traps players had to face had also changed. Now, players had to collect a sufficient number of Teleportation Stones to proceed to the fourth floor. Each Teleportation Stone could only transport 100 players, and only the third floor''s Grand Lord ranked monsters would drop them. One could just imagine how difficult it would be to kill a Grand Lord ranked Boss in such a dangerous environment. It''s no wonder why only the various superpowers have only gotten through the third floor thus far, leaving the first-rate Guilds'' alliance behind. As Shi Feng stood at the third floor''s starting point and observed the barren wasteland before him, he could not help but frown. Thunderclouds covered the sky above the plain as far as he could see. Lightning frequently descended, decorating the ground with scorch marks. Not only did the lightning strikes contain a lot of power, but they were also extremely fast, significantly faster than normal Spell attacks. When facing a normal Spell attack, expert players could dodge or block as long as the Spell was cast from a certain distance, but the lightning strikes from above were incredibly fast. This trial''s difficulty increase was tremendous. Furthermore, players had to kill Level 55 Grand Lords. However, the various superpowers'' teams, which had just arrived, reacted as if they didn''t see the lightning bombarding the plain. They quickly split into two groups, leaving one behind in the safe zone while the other boldly strode into the barren wasteland in search of Grand Lord ranked Thunder Beasts and Thunder Elementals. Lightning continued to descend from the sky, but the superpowers'' members swiftly maneuvered around the strikes. Aside from a few unlucky players, who had been targeted by multiple lightning strikes, most were able to dodge the natural attacks. Even if they failed to dodge in time, their team''s healers would quickly restore their lost HP. In contrast, the first-rate Guilds and adventurer teams were unsure of how to continue. If they only had to dodge the lightning strikes, most of their members would be successful, but with the addition of monsters, chaos would ensue. They''d either fall to the lightning, or the monsters would slaughter them. "So what if they got a lot of players this far? They still won''t clear the third floor." Wild Ocean could not help but flash Zero Wing''s team, which still occupied the starting point, a ridiculing smirk. Player''s Basic Attributes were no longer the key to clearing the trial once they reached the third underground floor. Here, individual combat standards held greater importance. If a team couldn''t defeat the Grand Lord ranked Bosses while being showered by lightning strikes, it would venture no further in the Primordial Divine Ruin. "Guild Leader, the lightning strikes'' attack rate and numbers are too high. I''m afraid that no more than 50 of our members will be able to fight while dodging the strikes. Should we grind the Bosses for Teleportation Stones with just a 50-man team? Although it will slow us down, we shouldn''t have a problem collecting the necessary Teleportation Stones," Aqua Rose suggested. If any other Guild, excluding the superpowers, encountered such a situation, they''d likely be stuck here. Even Zero Wing only had a few experts who could fight in this lightning zone. Not even the Conqueror''s Armor''s battle arrays would be very effective. Meanwhile, trying to raid Grand Lords with so few experts was impossible. This was also why the various first-rate Guilds, which had reached the ruin''s third underground floor previously, had never cleared it. However, Zero Wing was different. Its team had over ten Tier 2 players and shouldn''t have a problem forming a 50-man raid team that could dodge the lightning while fighting the Bosses. Unfortunately, raiding Level 55 Grand Lords with only 50 members would take a lot of time, more time than the various superpowers'' raid teams, which had around 300 members each. "No need; we''ll all go together!" Shi Feng said, smiling as he shook his head. "Everyone?" For a moment, Aqua Rose thought she had misheard Shi Feng. "Relax. If this were any other trap, we might not have a way to deal with it, but if we only have to deal with lightning, we won''t have to worry," Shi Feng said. He then took a thick, ancient tome from his bag. This item was none other than the Ancient Weather Book! 1658 Might of the Ancient Book Chapter 1658 - Might of the Ancient Book Across the vast wasteland, the various superpowers hunted Bosses with organized precision. Meanwhile, the first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams could only watch from within the safe zone. Although these teams had a few experts who could dodge the lightning strikes, players who could dodge while fighting a Grand Lord were as rare as a phoenix''s feather. A Level 55 Grand Lord was already an extremely difficult foe, and teams lost players even during a normal raid. Hence, trying to raid one while severely handicapped would simply be suicidal. To compensate for their lack of numbers, the various first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams had tried to pool their experts to raid the Bosses. However, despite multiple attempts, they had failed. Although the alliance of the various first-rate Guilds and adventurer teams had formed allowed them to build a raid team with sufficient manpower, the environment favored the Grand Lord ranked Thunder Elementals and Thunder Beasts. The third floor''s environment enhanced all lightning-type Skills and Spells by 30%. Cloth armor classes, which had low HP and Defense, would likely die instantly if they failed to dodge the Thunder Elementals or Thunder Beasts'' Skills. Zero mistakes were allowed in battle. However, players would be hard-pressed to avoid mistakes while constantly bombarded with lightning. In the end, the alliance team-wiped after losing so many members midway through the battle. As the first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams rested, Shi Feng led his entire team into the lightning zone. It was as if he had missed their tragic downfall after fighting in the wasteland. "They''re going altogether? Have Zero Wing''s members lost their minds?" "What are they trying to do?" "Even if a single death only costs 20% EXP, do they have to be so reckless?" When the members of the various first-rate Guilds and adventurer teams saw Zero Wing head into the plains, they thought that Zero Wing''s members had gone mad. In this lightning wasteland, a player''s Basic Attributes didn''t matter as much as on the previous floors. Here, combat standards were far more important. Even if a team charged into the lightning wasteland with 1,000 members, each member would suffer the same number of lightning strikes. In fact, the players would have a higher chance of being struck. This was because players would have less space to maneuver in a larger group. Moreover, if players were not careful when they dodged, they''d likely avoid their own lighting strike only to get hit by their neighbor''s. The various powers weren''t the only ones confused by Shi Feng''s ludicrous decision. Even Zero Wing''s members were confused. They had seen how the experts from the various first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams had ended up after fighting in the wasteland. They also knew that those experts'' standards were much stronger than theirs. If they rushed into the plains, they''d doubtlessly suffer a similar fate. As Zero Wing''s members approached the safe zone''s boundary and were about to enter the lightning zone, they couldn''t help their growing nerves. Why are they here? Wild Ocean, who currently fought within the zone, was surprised to notice Zero Wing''s team enter the lighting wasteland. Are they that tired of living? Zero Wing''s team had over 1,000 members, and if it tried to enter the zone with so many players, the number of lightning strikes that would descend on the team would be staggering. Not even superpowers like King''s Return would pull such a stunt. Could Zero Wing be experimenting and trying to see how many of its members can survive a battle in the lightning zone? Praying Lotus, who was casting a Healing Spell, was just as stunned to see Zero Wing''s advance. As the various superpowers'' members wondered, one player from Zero Wing after another stepped into the zone. Watching 1,000-plus players set foot into the lightning wasteland was extraordinarily eye-catching. Almost everyone kept a curious eye on Zero Wing''s team, wondering how it planned to deal with the countless lightning strikes that would fall upon them. Three seconds passed Five seconds passed Ten seconds However, not a single strike of lightning fell on Zero Wing''s team. Every member on the team was alive and kicking, and they had an easy time defeating the multiple Chieftain ranked Thunder Elementals and Thunder Beasts that had charged at them. "Where is the lightning?" "Why do those Chieftain ranked Thunder Elementals and Thunder Beasts seem weaker than the ones we''re fighting?" The watching players were stunned as they sent Zero Wing''s team sidelong glances. They could not understand what was going on. Where were the lightning strikes that were supposed to descend? "Could the lightning strikes have stopped because they have more people?" Purple Jade was greatly confused as she watched Zero Wing''s members. The lightning was the most troublesome aspect about the Primordial Divine Ruin''s third underground floor. Without the lightning strikes, the third floor''s trial would just be a simple series of Grand Lord raids. If that were the case, the various superpowers could easily clear the floor. "That''s not possible. Other teams have dispatched even more players than Zero Wing in past raids, but this has never happened," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. He, too, wore a confused look. Even Zero Wing''s players were confused. Only Aqua Rose knew that this was Shi Feng''s doing. It seems this thing is quite effective. Shi Feng smiled at the Ancient Weather Book in his hands. The Ancient Weather Book could change the weather in a 2,000-yard radius for two hours. Removing the thunderclouds in a specific area was a small task for the item. Without the lightning strikes, the third floor''s trial posed no threat to his team members. Very quickly, Zero Wing''s team located a Level 55 Grand Lord ranked Thunder Beast. [Great Thunder Wolf] (Thunder Beast, Grand Lord) Level 55 HP 88,000,000/88,000,000 Now, the Boss, which had given the various superpowers painful headaches, was an ordinary Grand Lord to Zero Wing. With Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian taking the lead, and the Magic Light Team''s MTs tanking the nearby mobs, the rest of the team could focus on dealing damage. Moreover, without the lightning environment''s boost, the Great Thunder Wolf''s attacks were little more than tickles to Cola and his fellow MTs. The Grand Lord''s normal attacks only dealt around -8,000 damage, while its Skill attacks only dealt around -20,000. Even without Turtledove and Ye Wumian''s assistance, Cola could easily tank the Great Thunder Wolf. The other players launched frenzied attacks at the Great Thunder Wolf, each dealing several thousand damage. As the team fought, the Grand Lord''s HP visibly decreased. Naturally, this made the various superpowers jealous. The Primordial Divine Ruin''s Bosses weren''t like Field Bosses. Their Attributes wouldn''t change, regardless of how many players raided them at one time. This meant that the more members a raid team possessed, the greater the team''s advantage would be. Zero Wing''s team had over 1,000 members, which was more than triple what the other teams possessed. Moreover, Zero Wing''s members did not have to worry about avoiding lightning strikes In less than five minutes, the Great Thunder Wolf fell before Zero Wing''s members. Everyone on the team also gained a significant amount of EXP. Moreover, the Great Thunder Wolf had dropped eight items in total thanks to Shi Feng''s Divine Providence. Although this didn''t seem like much, it was above average for Grand Lords above Level 50. When the various superpowers had killed their respective Grand Lords, they only got five items. Meanwhile, upon seeing the Great Thunder Wolf''s loot, Shi Feng had to admit that the Primordial Divine Ruin''s Bosses were far more generous than the Bosses in Team Dungeons. Out of the eight items dropped, one was a Teleportation Stone, and five were Level 50 weapons and pieces of equipment, three of which were Fine-Gold rank and two were Secret-Silver rank. The last two items were pages of incomplete combat techniques. An Advanced Combat Technique? Shi Feng was ecstatic the moment he saw the two sheets of lambskin parchment. Basic Combat Techniques would drop as complete items in the Primordial Divine Ruin, but Advanced Combat Techniques and above would appear as pages. Players would have to gather every page to learn the combat technique. Excited, Shi Feng immediately inspected the two parchment sheets. 1659 Top-tier Advanced Combat Technique Chapter 1659 - Top-tier Advanced Combat Technique As Shi Feng inspected the incomplete pages, his eyes shone with excitement. [Lightning Flash] This dilapidated page belongs to a book that depicts a Secret Attack Technique, which has been passed down since ancient times. Only after gathering all incomplete pages can you read the complete book''s content. There are a total of 13 pages. This leaflet is the 3rd page. [Lightning Flash] This dilapidated page belongs to a book that depicts a Secret Attack Technique, which has been passed down since ancient times. Only after gathering all incomplete pages can you read the complete book''s content. There are a total of 13 pages. This leaflet is the 6th page. Most of the combat techniques that dropped in the Primordial Divine Ruin were Basic Combat Techniques, and most of them dropped as the complete versions. Although some Basic Combat Techniques dropped as incomplete pages, those were the extreme minority. Normally, only Advanced rank or higher combat techniques would drop as individual pages. However, there were differences between Advanced Combat Techniques and those of other ranks. Not only could players in God''s Domain improve their foundations by learning combat techniques, but they could also learn ways to exhibit their strength more efficiently, thereby raising their overall combat power. Some combat techniques even granted players the power to challenge foes of higher levels. A Basic Combat Technique might not help Half-step Refinement Realm experts fight Refinement Realm experts, but an ordinary Advanced Combat Technique could. This was also why the various Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds were so desperate to compete for slots to enter the Primordial Divine Ruin. Meanwhile, an Advanced Combat Technique''s strength could be determined by the number of pages it possessed. An ordinary Advanced Combat Technique would only include six to eight pages, a first-rate Advanced Combat Technique would possess nine to twelve pages, and a top-tier Advanced Combat Technique would possess thirteen to fifteen pages. An ordinary Advanced Combat Technique could only help a Half-step Refinement Realm expert qualify to fight a Refinement Realm expert. Meanwhile, a first-rate Advanced Combat Technique allowed Refinement Realm experts to face Flowing Water Realm experts. As for top-tier Advanced Combat Techniques, if Flowing Water Realm experts learned one, they could even pose as a threat to Void Realm experts. Even throughout God''s Domain, Void Realm experts were extremely rare. Yet, with a top-tier Advanced Combat Technique, a Flowing Water Realm expert could stand against Void Realm experts. One could just imagine how valuable such a combat technique was. There was no doubt that Lightning Flash was a top-tier Advanced Combat Technique. Shi Feng had never expected to get lucky enough to find a top-tier Advanced Combat Technique''s pages, and moreover, it was an attack-type technique. Zero Wing didn''t actually have any of these. If it were possible to collect the complete Lighting Flash Secret Technique, it would certainly help the Guild''s experts. Learning the technique would likely offer more benefits than the Conqueror''s Armor. The Conqueror''s Armor only allowed gave its wearer the power to face Refinement Realm experts temporarily, and after all was said and done, it was only a piece of Level 50 equipment. Once players leveled up, the equipment would be useless. It could not truly become part of a player''s strength. An Advanced Combat Technique was different. Once players learned it, they could put it to good use regardless of their level. It would also offer significant help when players challenged their Promotion Quests. Moreover, a complete Advanced Combat Technique was different from Secret Technique Tablets. Although the combat techniques one could learn from a Secret Technique were more powerful than Advanced Combat Techniques, very few players could learn them. It was impossible to share those techniques with a significant number of players. However, a complete Advanced Combat Technique took the form of a book. He could store the book in the Guild Warehouse, and Guild members could read it as they wished. Setting aside whether or not players could actually learn the technique successfully, at the very least, everyone would have the opportunity to learn. In the past, the reason that experts from the various superpowers had an easier time with their Promotion Quests, rising through the tiers, than experts from first-rate Guilds and below wasn''t just better weapons and equipment. Rather, it was because their access to combat techniques was superior in both quantity and quality. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng led his team in search of another Boss rather than resting. The Ancient Weather Book only had a 2-hour duration, whereas it had a 10-hour Cooldown. He might be able to wait for such a long time, but the Primordial City would not wait for him. Who knew if the Primordial City had an entry limit? If there wasn''t one, they might be alright, but if there were, he and Zero Wing''s members would lose their chance to enter the legendary city if they were too late. Hence, he had to cherish every second and minute of these two hours. Zero Wing''s members continued to hunt one Grand Lord ranked Thunder Elemental or Beast after another. When the team encountered a Grand Lord in the barren wasteland, they''d pounce like a pack of hungry wolves. They behaved nothing like the players from the various superpowers, who returned to rest in the starting area after slaying one or two Bosses. The various superpowers grew envious at seeing this. Without the threat from the lightning strikes, Zero Wing could casually slaughter these ready-made Grand Lords. Not only were the team members able to earn an abundance of EXP, but they also secured plenty of top-tier equipment. The Primordial Divine Ruin''s third underground floor had practically become a sacred leveling spot for Zero Wing. "How is this possible?" King''s Return''s Wild Ocean was at a loss as he watched the scene before him. He had assumed that Zero Wing would be stuck on the third floor, yet based its pace, it''d likely be the first team to reach the fourth underground floor. "Uncle Broken, should we contact them?" Praying Lotus whispered to Broken City, who stood beside her. Thus far, the various superpowers had only reached the fourth floor. Not one of their teams had made it to the fifth yet. The fourth floor was simply too difficult, and there was no comparing it with the third floor. With the current strength of King''s Return''s team, it could not clear the fourth floor alone. If King''s Return wished to reach the fifth floor, it would have to ally with another team. However, doing so would leave the team fewer entry slots to the fifth floor. "No. It is too soon. We''ll send them an invite once they experience the fourth floor''s wall," Broken City said, smiling as he shook his head. The third floor''s trial was child''s play compared to the fourth floor. Not only did players have to face all sorts of attacks, but the Guardian Boss was also a bona fide Level 58 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Even now, not a single superpower had dealt any damage to the Guardian Boss. Although King''s Return had prepared thoroughly this time, they had no more than a 30% chance of defeating the Grand Lord. Needless to say, Zero Wing''s chances were even lower. While the various powers grinded Bosses on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s third underground floor, news of Zero Wing''s team completing the third floor''s trial quickly spread among the participating teams. The various large Guilds and top adventurer teams from the kingdoms and empire neighboring the Orc Empire, in particular, had to reevaluate their opinions of the Guild. The various superpowers had, thus far, monopolized the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fourth floor. The fact that Zero Wing had reached that floor proved that it could nearly rival those superpowers in terms of top-tier experts. At the very least, Zero Wing was definitely superior to first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams in this regard. However, a deathly silence had fallen over the meeting room within Heaven''s Burial''s Ancient Rock City Residence due to this latest information. Nobody could''ve imagined that, in one short day, Heaven''s Burial would lose the massive advantage it had cultivated. And it was all due to Zero Wing. First, Zero Wing had shattered Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays. Then, the Guild had plundered their entry slots for the Primordial Divine Ruin. Now, Zero Wing was about to set foot on the ruin''s fourth underground floor. "Zero Wing!" Singular Burial''s expression twisted as he read the latest report. Heaven''s Burial''s reputation was in tatters. If they did not figure out a way to deal with this problem now, the Guild would likely have a rocky path ahead even if they held on to Ancient Rock City. Singular Burial spun towards Flame Blood, who sat beside him wrapped in bandages, and growled, "Flame, didn''t you say that Beast Emperor needs the souls of 400,000 elite players to display his full strength in Star-Moon Kingdom? Go; tell him that I will fulfill that request." "Guild Leader, are you planning ongiving up on Star-Moon Kingdom entirely?" Flame Blood could not help his surprise. Beast Emperor''s request was no laughing matter. It was both the last and worst option Heaven''s Burial had. "That''s right. Since we can''t have Star-Moon Kingdom, what''s the point in leaving it alive?" Singular Burial nodded, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes. Although he did not want to admit it, he had to acknowledge the fact that Heaven''s Burial had lost the struggle for Star-Moon Kingdom. Regardless of whether or not they defended Ancient Rock City, the necessary funds to repair it was still a problem. They also had to pay plenty in bounty claims each day. If they continued the battle with Zero Wing, it would only be a matter of time before the Guild was finished, even if Heaven''s Burial had the support of major corporations. If he wanted Heaven''s Burial to survive, he had to give up on Star-Moon Kingdom. "I understand. I''ll contact Beast Emperor right away." Seeing how serious Singular Burial was, Flame Blood inwardly lamented the fact that the man had become like this. He never thought that a Guild like Zero Wing could actually corner Singular Burial, a genius, to this extent. Of the many years he had followed Singular Burial, this was the first time something like this had ever happened. 1660 Lightning Flash Secret Technique Chapter 1660 - Lightning Flash Secret Technique In a certain mountain range covered with dense forests Countless powerful monsters roamed about the area. Every monster here was above Level 100, and quite a few were Mythic rank. However, none of these monsters dared to approach the forest in the mountain range''s inner regions. Suddenly, a figure appeared at the forest''s entrance. It was none other than Flame Blood. When Flame Blood appeared, several massive, humanoid creatures appeared around him, each radiating the terrifying aura only Tier 4 Mythic monsters had. Amazing. After not seeing him for some time, he''s already developed to this point? Flame Blood was stunned when he noticed the six Mythic ranked Evil Demons around him. Mythic ranked Evil Demons! Evil Demons were far more difficult to nurture than Evil Beasts. Previously, Beast Emperor had only been able to nurture a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon. Although Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons were very powerful, they were not invincible. If numerous experts worked together, they''d still be able to kill one. However, it was a different story for Mythic ranked Evil Demons. At this stage of the game, Mythic monsters were insurmountable, even to the various superpowers. Otherwise, the Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon in God''s Domain would not stand empty. Moreover, Evil Demons commanded superior intellect and could exhibit greater combat power than Evil Beasts. Most importantly, they could be summoned at any time, unlike Evil Beasts, which could only move from location to location of their own power. Now that Beast Emperor commanded Mythic ranked Evil Demons, he had the equivalent of Mythic ranked bodyguards at all times. Having Mythic ranked Evil Demons would undoubtedly increase the safety and survivability of controllers like Beast Emperor by a significant margin. He would no longer have to hide when attacking and could control his armies more efficiently. After seeing these Mythic ranked Evil Demons, Flame Blood''s desire to obtain his own grew. Being a member of the Evil God''s Temple, every race on the continent of God''s Domain hunted him constantly. Surviving in the game had become exceedingly difficult. Moreover, if players or NPCs captured him and sent him to the War God''s Temple, his character would be sentenced to death in the truest sense, and he''d be forced to start all over again. Hence, he needed to be careful when he moved about and rarely approach appear before other players. If he had his own Mythic ranked Evil Demons, though, he wouldn''t have to worry about capture unless he encountered a Tier 5 NPC. Fortunately, Tier 5 NPCs were apex powerhouses in God''s Domain, and they weren''t so easy to encounter. Normally, the strongest NPCs players would meet were Tier 4. After the Evil Demons had a chance to observe Flame Blood for a moment, they retreated back into the forest. Flame Blood then strode into the forest himself. There was a massive crater within the heart of the forest. The crater radiated an Evil Energy so dense that even an Evil God Apostle like him gasped as it washed over him. If an ordinary player bathed in this dense Evil Energy, it would likely corrupt them instantly. This crater was none other than the home of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Evil God''s Temple. As long as players were within range of the temple, its energy would cut off their communication with the outside world. They would not be able to send or receive messages. "Flame Blood?" A middle-aged man covered in pitch-black ruins sat in the severely dilapidated temple. When he noticed Flame Blood enter the temple, he sent the Cleric a glance and asked, "Why are you here? Weren''t you controlling your Evil Demon army to protect Ancient Rock City?" Although the man before Flame Blood hadn''t expressed any emotion, speaking only in a calm tone, Flame Blood''s heart palpitated in fear. This wasn''t just because Beast Emperor was one of the Evil God''s Temple''s Evil God Envoys, but also because of the horrific Evil Energy that lingered around him. The man was far more frightening than the last time Flame Blood had seen Beast Emperor. The Evil Energy Beast Emperor radiated was no weaker than the Evil Energy the temple itself radiated. This man''s Evil Energy would likely kill ordinary players before they could approach him. Moreover, as Flame Blood looked at Beast Emperor, he could not help but feel as if he stared at a ferocious beast that had just woken from a long slumber. "My Guild Leader sent me," Flame Blood said after steeling his mind. "Didn''t you say that you needed 400,000 souls from elite players? My Guild Leader says he can give them to you." "He''s finally made up his mind?" Beast Emperor asked, chuckling. "Then, return and tell him this; the day he has the players ready will be the day Zero Wing perishes." Although he was quite powerful and could easily hunt down players for their souls, the Immortal Souls he needed had to come from willing players. Unfortunately, he was still short 400,000 elite players even after exhausting his means. Otherwise, he would''ve handed Star-Moon Kingdom to the Evil God''s Temple a while ago. Flame Blood nodded in response. He had no doubt regarding Beast Emperor''s claim. Others might not know the power Beast Emperor wielded after the Evil God''s Temple had activated, but as a member, Flame Blood knew it very well. Meanwhile, back in the Primordial Divine Ruin''s third underground floor, quite some time had passed since the various superpowers had departed for the fourth floor. Only the first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams, which couldn''t defeat the Bosses, and Zero Wing''s team, which still hunted Grand Lord ranked Thunder Beasts and Elementals, remained on the third floor. "Crap. Just how many Grand Lords must Zero Wing''s members kill before they are satisfied?" "They might be grinding for Level 50 top-tier equipment on this floor. After all, opportunities like this don''t come often." "With how many Grand Lords they''ve already killed, they should have more than enough Teleportation Stones. I wonder if they''d be willing to share some with us?" "Don''t even think about it. First, the Primordial City will definitely have an entry limit. It''s only natural to let as few players as possible reach the fourth and fifth floors. Moreover, the Teleportation Stones are bound to players of the same team and can only be passed around between players on the same team. The stones can also only be used on team members. If the team''s member count suddenly increases, the Teleportation Stones they''ve collected thus far will become useless. That makes it even less likely that they''d be willing to help us." The various first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams couldn''t help but envy Zero Wing''s battling members as they searched for treasures on the third floor. When they saw the Teleportation Stones scattered across the ground, their eyes became bloodshot. Despite all of their effort, they hadn''t obtained a single Teleportation Stone, yet Zero Wing''s team didn''t even bother to pick up the stones that had dropped Meanwhile, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence as they killed another Level 55 Grand Lord ranked Thunder Beast. After he collected the loot and inspected it, his brows lifted in joyful surprise. Wonderful! With this, I finally have everything I need! Shi Feng could not help his excitement as he gazed at the last page of Lightning Flash. They had raided Bosses for nearly two hours now. They had even begun to lure two or three Grand Lords, raiding them at once, midway through their journey. Fortunately, they had collected all 13 unique pages for the Lightning Flash Secret Technique before the Ancient Weather Book''s Weather Control ran out. System: You have collected all pages for Lightning Flash. Do you wish to synthesize the complete version of it? Synthesizing the complete version will require 1,000 Magic Crystals. A thousand crystals? Why so many? Shi Feng was confused after reading the system notification. Normally, synthesizing an Advanced Combat Technique only required between 50 and 100 Magic Crystals, depending on the number of pages the technique possessed. Yet, the combat technique in his hands required 1,000 Magic Crystals. The system was clearly trying to swindle him. I want to see what kind of combat technique you''re going to give me. Shi Feng couldn''t care less about the cost, however, paying the 1,000 Magic Crystals without hesitation. After all the trouble he had gone through to collect the pages, he wasn''t going to leave them to rot just because the system wanted to rob him. Fortunately, there wasn''t much of a difference between 100 Magic Crystals and 1,000 to Shi Feng. Suddenly, with Shi Feng at its center, a pitch-black magic array appeared beneath his feet. A powerful stream of Mana surged upward from the array, and ignoring the Ancient Weather Book''s effects, thunderclouds gathered above, blocking out the sun above Shi Feng. Massive lightning bolts then descended from the clouds, striking the 13 incomplete pages that hovered above Shi Feng''s head. After hundreds of thundering booms echoed throughout the third floor, a thick, ancient tome hovered before Shi Feng. Faint arcs of blue electricity danced around the tome. 1661 Bronze Combat Technique Chapter 1661 - Bronze Combat Technique The hundreds of lightning bolts suddenly flashing in the vast wasteland immediately drew the attention of every player on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s third underground floor. Compared to the normal lightning strikes, not only were the ones just now much more powerful, but the number and rate at which they appeared were also much higher than before. The resulting thunder also echoed throughout the entire wasteland, hurting everyone''s eardrums. "What''s going on over there?" "Why did so many lightning bolts suddenly strike Zero Wing?" Everyone on the third floor turned towards Zero Wing''s location at practically the same time, their hearts bursting with curiosity. Previously, none of the lightning strikes had hit anywhere near Zero Wing. Yet, now, Zero Wing received a violent bombardment. Most likely, even a Great Lord of the same level would be reduced to ashes after eating so many powerful lightning bolts. "What''s that? A book?" "Could some kind of treasure have dropped?" Some of the players nearby quickly noticed the ancient tome hovering before Shi Feng. Although they could not make out what kind of item the ancient tome was, judging by the huge commotion that heralded its appearance, they could easily guess that it was something extraordinary. The various first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams present revealed looks of envy and greed. As far as they knew, no Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold item would create such a huge commotion when it appeared. Hence, the tome should be Epic rank at the very least. An Epic item! At this stage of the game, although powerful Guilds like first-rate Guilds would already have around a dozen or so Epic items in their possession, to the masses, Epic items were still exceedingly rare. However, everyone also understood that stealing the tome from Zero Wing was impossible. Setting aside how powerful Zero Wing''s team was, even reaching Zero Wing''s location would be a massive challenge for them. What a powerful aura. Shi Feng was indescribably shocked as he looked at the ancient tome in the air before him. He had seen the synthesis of many Advanced Combat Technique tomes before. However, none of them had ever caused such a huge commotion. Moreover, even after the Lightning Flash tome completed its synthesis, it still radiated a faint aura that attracted Mana to ita situation that Shi Feng had never encountered before. For a moment, he found it somewhat incredible that the book before him was a combat technique tome. "Guild Leader, what is that item? Is it an Epic tool?" Aqua Rose could not help but ask curiously. The other members of the team also held great curiosity about the Lightning Flash Secret Technique. Immediately, they pricked their ears up in hopes of catching wind of the tome''s identity. As for the item''s Attribute Panel, they held no expectations of catching a glimpse of it. Nowadays, Zero Wing was rife with spies of other Guilds. Meanwhile, in regard to the Epic items the Guild possessed, they were generally considered a secret. After all, Epic items served as the foundation of a Guild. If used at a critical moment, they could achieve miraculous effects. Naturally, the Guild wouldn''t reveal such an important secret unless necessary. Hence, the members of the team did not hope to find out the exact details of the tome. They only wished to know what kind of item it was. "No." Shi Feng shook his head. Smiling, he said, "This is a combat technique." "A combat technique?" Aqua Rose could not help but narrow her eyes at Shi Feng skeptically. She suspected that Shi Feng was simply messing around with her. What kind of combat technique could cause such a huge commotion? Even a Secret Technique Tablet would not create such a commotion when it dropped. Shi Feng''s words stunned everyone. Although they refused to believe Shi Feng, they all knew what kind of personality he had. He would never lie about something like this. Moreover, if he did not wish for them to know what the tome was, he could simply say that it was a Guild secret. In that case, they naturally would not pursue the matter. Yet, everyone also found it unbelievable that a combat technique could cause such a huge commotion. "Of course. Moreover, it isn''t just any ordinary combat technique," Shi Feng said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "This is a Bronze Combat Technique with a complete legacy!" Advanced Combat Techniques was something that countless expert players wished to learn. Even the various superpowers only possessed a few. In the past, Advanced Combat Techniques had also been the strongest combat techniques Shi Feng knew of. However, after finding out about Secret Technique Tablets, in addition to the relevant information Phoenix Rain had provided him, he discovered the existence of combat techniques that were even stronger than Advanced Combat TechniquesBronze Combat Techniques. Normally, Secret Technique Tablets were the only source of Bronze Combat Techniques. Meanwhile, the power one could exhibit using such a technique was beyond imagination. Even Void Realm experts would have difficulty coping against a Bronze Combat Technique. Shi Feng had never expected to obtain a Bronze Combat Technique on the third floor of the Primordial Divine Ruin. Compared to a Bronze Tablet, a tome that recorded a complete Bronze Legacy Technique was undoubtedly much better. Although a Bronze Tablet contained numerous Bronze Combat Techniques, only ten players could enter a Bronze Tablet each month, which meant that the Guild could use it to nurture a mere handful of players. However, a combat technique tome did not possess such a restriction. As long as he willed it, he could let however many players learn from it as he wished. "A Bronze Combat Technique?" Most of the Zero Wing members present revealed looks of confusion when they heard Shi Feng''s words. They did not understand what a Bronze Combat Technique was at all. As for Aqua Rose and the others who had previously entered the legacy space for the Secret Spellcasting Technique, they could not help but gape in shock. They knew what exactly a Bronze Combat Technique representedsomething much more powerful than an Advanced Combat Technique. Only players like them, who had entered the Bronze Temple of a Secret Technique space, would know about Bronze Combat Techniques. However, back then, they received only one learning opportunity for each floor they ascended in the Bronze Temple. Moreover, each floor became increasingly difficult to clear as they reached higher floors, which severely limited the number of learning opportunities they had. Now, however, they had a complete Bronze Combat Technique tome. This meant that they could learn the combat technique recorded on it at any time and without limit. "Now that we have achieved our goal here, it''s about time we headed down to the fourth floor," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then used the Teleportation Stones to send everyone to the fourth underground floor of the Primordial Divine Ruin. Zero Wing''s team of 1,000-plus players vanished from the lightning wasteland. Primordial Divine Ruin''s fourth underground floor: The setting here was a quiet valley abounding with lush vegetation. A towering set of doors could be seen situated at the heart of the valley. Even if one stood at the summit of the mountains that formed the valley, one could still see this towering set of doors very clearly. Not only were the doors 100 meters in height, but they also sported plenty of divine runes carved on them. The doors radiated a powerful aura that would probably deter ordinary players from approaching them. At this moment, however, a flashy light show could be seen taking place before the massive stone doors. At the same time, sounds of explosions kept echoing throughout the entire valley. In the next moment, a two-headed, three-tailed Earth Dragon, which stood before the stone doors, could be seen letting out a deafening roar. Meanwhile, encircling this Earth Dragon was a team of 1,000-plus experts. Currently, these expert players were attacking the monster in a frenzy, bombarding the 50-meter-tall Earth Dragon with one attack after another. However, despite the spectacular phenomena accompanying their attacks, the attacks themselves dealt only around -400 damage. From beginning to end, not a single attack inflicted over -1,000 damage to the monster. "What a powerful monster!" "An Archaic Species? Or is it a Ferocious Beast?" Zero Wing''s members could not help but stare wide-eyed at the monster guarding the massive stone doors, their hearts filled with shock. 1662 Edgeless Blade Chapter 1662 - Edgeless Blade An Earth Dragon? Shi Feng could not help but be astonished as he looked at the 50-meter-tall monster standing inside the valley. [Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon] (Archaic Species, Inferior Dragon, Grand Lord) Level 58 HP 270,000,000/270,000,000 Compared to other Archaic Species of similar rank and level, the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon was clearly stronger; its HP already rivaled that of Mythic monsters of the same level. It did not look like a Grand Lord at all. Moreover, aside from the Earth Dragon having superb Defense, the battlefield it fought in was surrounded by pools of scorching lava. From time to time, jets of lava would shoot up and rain down on random locations of the battlefield. Even MTs would be able to endure a direct hit from the lava only three or four times. Should they successfully block the lava rain, the durability of their weapons and equipment would decrease significantly. In addition to the lava rain, the Earth Dragon itself attacked with its three tails and spewed out frost or flame breaths frequently. As a result, the expert players of the superpowers currently raiding the Boss turned into streaks of light and disappeared from the battlefield one after another. In less than ten minutes, the team made up of 1,000-plus experts was annihilated. By the time the battle was over, the entire area before the massive stone doors had transformed into a world of flames and frost, the scene both mesmerizing and shocking. At this point, the spectating members of the various superpowers wore somber expressions on their faces as they looked at the Earth Dragon looming over them arrogantly before the stone doors. The Earth Dragon''s Defense and HP were both ridiculously high. In addition, players raiding the Earth Dragon had to keep an eye out for the lava that would rain down from the sky. However, after Shi Feng and the others arrived inside the valley, the various superpowers all shifted their sights towards them. When these superpowers saw Shi Feng''s group moving past them, heading straight towards the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon, none of them displayed any hostility. They simply watched quietly as Zero Wing''s team approached the Boss. Although there was only one Boss on the entire fourth floor, they were not in a hurry to fight it at all. The reason for this was their confidence in the Earth Dragon''s strength. The task of killing the Earth Dragon was no longer something a single superpower or large Guild could achieve. Multiple superpowers would need to cooperate to deal with the Boss. "They couldn''t possibly intend to take on the Boss on their first visit, right?" Wild Ocean could not help but laugh in ridicule when he saw Zero Wing''s team showing signs of wanting to raid the Earth Dragon. The team that tried raiding the Earth Dragon just now consisted of the strongest experts of two superpowers. In the end, however, they were still no match for the Boss. The Earth Dragon itself was already a massive challenge to players. The lava rain launched at random intervals from the surrounding lava pools only served to further increase the demands on players'' combat standards. Meanwhile, the standard of Zero Wing''s members was significantly inferior to that of the members of the various superpowers. Of course, it would be a different story if Zero Wing could replicate its feat on the third floor and prevent the lava attacks from occurring entirely. However, how could such a thing happen time after time? "It''s better for us if they try. Once they realize where the difficulties of the raid lie, we''ll have an easier time negotiating conditions for cooperation with them later on," Broken City said, chuckling nonchalantly. "Though, I do wonder how much of the Boss''s HP Zero Wing will be able to shave off." Zero Wing was behaving similarly to how the Sacred Temple and Crimson Emperor had before. Although both Guilds had known that the Boss was not easy to deal with, as this was their first time raiding the Primordial Divine Ruin, they had felt that they should have no problem taking down the Boss if they worked together. In the end, however, their combined forces got annihilated before they could even get the Boss''s HP below the 80% threshold. Now, the upper echelons of both Guilds were wearing exceedingly ugly expressions on their faces. "Even the combined forces of the Sacred Temple and Crimson Emperor managed to lower the Boss''s HP only to 81%. I''m guessing Zero Wing will have trouble taking away even 5% of the Boss''s HP. Just the first two lava showers will most likely wipe out over 80% of Zero Wing''s members. With the remaining members, they would be fortunate if their overall DPS exceeds the Boss''s battle recovery," Praying Lotus said, shaking her head in disapproval as she looked at Zero Wing''s team. Although Zero Wing''s previous performances had indeed exceeded expectations, the Guild''s deficient foundation would be its downfall on this floor. Meanwhile, the other Guilds present were sitting back, eagerly awaiting the start of the upcoming show. After all, as more teams fought the Earth Dragon, spectators like themselves would be able to uncover more of the Earth Dragon''s secrets, which would, hopefully, eventually allow them to defeat the Boss. "Uncle Yuan, how far do you think Zero Wing will be able to go?" Purple Jade asked curiously as she looked at Shi Feng, who stood in the middle of Zero Wing''s team. Other Guilds might not have a clear idea of Zero Wing''s strength, but the Secret Pavilion was well informed on matters regarding God''s Domain. They were quite aware that, when Phoenix Rain''s Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing obtained the First Clear of the Sunset Forest, Zero Wing had played an indispensable role in the raid. "I''m not sure. Maybe they''ll shave off around 20% of the Boss''s HP. Hopefully, they can get the Boss to enter its second phase. That way, we can get a better understanding of the Boss," Yuan Tiexin replied, shaking his head. Meanwhile, just as Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were conversing with each other, Zero Wing''s members were also looking at and discussing the Earth Dragon. "Guild Leader, let''s go!" Cola urged excitedly as he looked at the distant Earth Dragon. Truthfully, dealing with the Bosses on the third floor had not posed a challenge to him whatsoever. He had not been able to fully exhibit the Titan Guard''s capabilities when going up against those Bosses. Now that the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon was before him, he was very eager to use it as a sparring partner to improve himself. "Guild Leader, why not let me be the lead MT this time?" Turtledove eagerly recommended herself. At this moment, Cola and the other MTs weren''t the only ones itching for action. Fire Dance, Shadow Sword, and the other DPS of the team were also bursting with fighting spirit. As long as Shi Feng gave the command, they would immediately charge at the Earth Dragon without hesitation. "Hold on a moment. Shadow, take this weapon and use it for this raid," Shi Feng said after pondering for some time. He then took out the Tier 3 Mana Weapon Edgeless Blade from his bag and handed it over to Shadow Sword. Initially, Shadow Sword wanted to say that the Crimson Moon greatsword he wielded was already plenty good and that there was no need to switch weapons. However, after he accepted the Edgeless Blade, he fell into a daze. Although he had yet to equip the weapon, the instant he took it into his hands, he could feel immense power surging into his body. At the same time, his mind also gained greater clarity. Shadow Sword immediately inspected the Attributes of the Edgeless Blade. "What is this weapon?" Shadow Sword muttered blankly as he looked at the Edgeless Blade''s Attribute Panel. Crimson Moon was one of Titan City''s 31 Holy Weapons. At this point, he had already upgraded the weapon to Dark-Gold rank, and its Attributes were significantly superior to even ordinary Dark-Gold Weapons. In the future, he could even raise it to Epic rank. However, compared to the Edgeless Blade he was currently holding, Crimson Moon was no different from an iron rod. He found it truly hard to imagine that such a powerful weapon could exist at this stage of the game. Moreover, even if he eventually upgraded Crimson Moon to Epic rank, he did not think that it would be a match for the Edgeless Blade. The reason for this evaluation was the sensation he got when he held the Edgeless Blade: it felt as if he had just activated a Berserk Skill. Just equipping the weapon had increased his Strength by 40%. Moreover, the Edgeless Blade''s Attack Power was directly correlated to his Strength Attribute. Overall, the Edgeless Blade''s Attack Power was 50% higher than Crimson Moon''s. In response to Shadow Sword''s reaction, Shi Feng dispensed with explanations. He commanded through the team chat, "Alright, everyone get ready! Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian will be responsible for tanking the Boss. Everyone else, pay attention to your positioning. Make sure not to stand near the Earth Dragon''s heads and tails. "If nobody has any problem, let''s begin!" As soon as Shi Feng was done speaking, Zero Wing''s members charged into the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon''s sphere of influence like a frenzied mob. 1663 Tier 3 Power Chapter 1663 - Tier 3 Power The Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon laid before the massive stone doors with all of its eyes shut. As the Earth Dragon breathed, the area before its heads turned into a hell of frost and fire. When Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian got within 300 yards of the Earth Dragon, it stirred. When its two sets of amber eyes fell on the MT trio, it released a deafening roar that echoed throughout the valley. A horrific pressure washed over Zero Wing''s approaching members, instilling a sense of dread and turning their movements sluggish. "Hahaha! They''re really doing it! And they''re charging in as one mindlessly instead of sending a few experts to test the waters! What a bunch of brave fools!" Wild Ocean laughed when he saw the ugly expressions that Zero Wing''s members wore. He knew just how powerful the Earth Dragon was. After all, he had already fought the Boss more than once. One could only understand the Earth Dragon''s strength if they had experienced it personally. From what he had learned, he knew that ordinary Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species couldn''t compare to this Earth Dragon. The Boss had even easily overwhelmed a Tier 2 Shield Warrior like himself. Although the Earth Dragon seemed like a single entity, it should actually be treated as an amalgamation of three. This was because its two heads were capable of acting independently. Although all three tails normally moved in unison, they moved as though they had minds of their own; they could sense and attack targets that the two heads couldn''t see. The Earth Dragon also possessed tremendous Strength. Even when it was suppressed by a magic array, a single attack forced a Tier 2 MT to retreat several steps and take over -20,000 damage. This was after he had executed a technique to deflect most of the attack''s power. If he simply blocked the Earth Dragon''s attacks normally, he would take over -30,000 damage from its normal attacks. If he were careless for even a moment, the Earth Dragon would kill him instantly. Even without the constant threat of the lava showers, the Earth Dragon was a daunting foe. The Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon was the absolute gatekeeper for the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fifth underground floor. Along with the Earth Dragon''s roars, lava began to spew from the ground, creating a wall of lava around the battlefield. The ring of lava that formed sealed off Zero Wing''s path of retreat. Now, it wasn''t possible for players inside to escape or enter the battlefield. Players wouldn''t have any opportunities to attack in rotation. Only the victor would survive this lava surrounded battlefield. As the lava barrier formed, the Earth Dragon''s two mouths widened. The ice- and fire-type Mana in the environment began to surge towards the beast''s maws. "Zero Wing really is unlucky. The Earth Dragon is actually using Frostflame Breath right off the bat. The battle is likely already over." Praying Lotus sighed, watching the scene from afar. Frostflame Breath was one of the Earth Dragon''s team-wipe moves. Not only did the Skill possess a massive AOE, but it had an extremely short channeling time. As a cone-attack Skill, players normally wouldn''t have trouble dodging it if they were within 50 yards of the Boss. However, Zero Wing''s members were still over 100 yards away from the Boss. In this case, they would have to cross greater distances to move out of the Skill''s AOE, which was impossible with so little time. Praying Lotus wasn''t alone in her thinking. Everyone could already imagine the Boss wiping out Zero Wing''s team before they could land a single attack. "Seal!" Just as the Earth Dragon was about to complete its Frostflame Breath, Shi Feng raised his right hand, which wore the Seven Luminaries Ring, and cast Forbidden Domain on the Guardian Boss. Suddenly, the Mana in a 600-yard radius around the Earth Dragon froze. The Mana surging towards the Earth Dragon''s heads also stopped. In turn, the magic arrays, which Frostflame Breath had formed, began to crumble due to a lack of mana started crumbling due to a lack of Mana. "What a powerful Silencing effect!" "Zero Wing has such a powerful Silencing Skill?" The distant spectators gasped. None of them could believe that a player was actually capable of stopping the Earth Dragon''s Frostflame Breath as it activated. God''s Domain might have many players who had learned Silencing Skills, but there were differences in these Skills'' strength. Normally, Silencing Skills would have striking effects against Tier 0 and Tier 1 players, but most of the Silencing Skills they''ve seen thus far had little effect on Tier 2 players, much less Boss monsters. Silencing Skills that could affect Boss monsters were incomparably valuable, even more so than large-scale destruction Spells. Being able to Silence a Boss even for a moment could save a team from instant annihilation and turn the tide of battle, and most superpowers would offer astronomical prices to purchase such Skills. According to their knowledge, aside from Tier 3 Silencing Magic Scrolls, there had yet to be a player that had learned a Silencing Skill capable of affecting a Grand Lord ranked Boss. Even Silencing Skills that could affect Great Lords had yet to be discovered, but Zero Wing actually possessed one Zero Wing''s value rose even higher in the various spectating superpowers'' eyes. At the very least, Zero Wing now possessed an advantage none of them had against the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon. With this Silencing Skill, raiding the Earth Dragon would be considerably easier. After being Silenced, the Earth Dragon became enraged. Letting out a powerful roar, it charged towards Shi Feng. Having expected such a reaction, Shi Feng leisurely commanded, "Cola, you three will intercept the Boss." "Guild Leader, leave it to us!" Cola and the others smiled as they moved to meet the Boss in battle. To the Earth Dragon, the MT trio was little more than a group of ants. The Earth Dragon lifted one of its claws and swept it horizontally at the approaching pests. "Come!" Seeing the massive claw approach, Cola''s lips curled into a grin. He then raised his shield and charged forward. Peng! When the Earth Dragon''s massive claw swept across the uneven ground, it removed all obstacles without slowing in the slightest, yet when its claw collided with Cola''s Titan Guard, its speed sharply decreased. The claw completely stopped after another ten yards or so. What Strength! Cola was surprised when he blocked the Earth Dragon''s claw. This claw swipe had taken nearly 40,000 of his HP. The Earth Dragon''s Strength was already close to rivaling an ordinary Mythic monster of the same level. The onlooking superpowers were even more shocked. If the Earth Dragon were unsuppressed, a single attack would be enough to instant-kill a Tier 1 MT, while Tier 2 MTs would lose over 50,000 HP. Meanwhile, their Tier 2 MTs only had a little over 60,000 HP. Two hits would be more than enough to kill a Tier 2 MT, yet even after receiving the Earth Dragon''s attack head-on, Cola still had over half of his HP remaining. This proved that, at the very least, Cola could tank three of the unsuppressed Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon''s hits. This also meant that, even if the Earth Dragon weren''t subjected to any form of suppression, Cola could tank the Earth Dragon head-on if they healed him enough. This, in turn, gave his team the foundation it needed to raid the Earth Dragon. With an MT like Cola, their chances of defeating the Earth Dragon increased by at least 20%. Seeing the ant survive its first attack, the Earth Dragon proceeded to swipe its other claw. This time, Turtledove received the attack. Peng! Once again, something unbelievable occurred. The Boss pushed Turtledove a much shorter distance than Cola. She also only lost a little over 34,000 HP. Likewise, she still had over 50% of her HP. Immediately after the Earth Dragon''s two consecutive attacks, Shadow Sword, who was only a short distance behind Cola and Turtledove, leaped into the air and slashed at the Earth Dragon''s chest. After the flash of silver, the Earth Dragon''s heads screamed in agony. Shadow Sword''s greatsword had actually cut through the Earth Dragon''s adamantine-like scales, leaving a bloody gash on the monster''s chest. -10,320! An unbelievable number had appeared above the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon''s heads. 1664 Frightening Team Chapter 1664 - Frightening Team "Over ten thousand damage?! How is that possible?!" "I''m not seeing things, right?!" "How is his damage so high?" "Is he wearing a full set of Epic Equipment?" The crowd couldn''t tear their eyes off of Shadow Sword, shock and curiosity overwhelming their minds. In fact, many of them wanted to rush over and demand to know what Zero Wing had done to allow a player to deal over -10,000 damage to the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon. The majority of their members'' attacks had only dealt damage in the hundreds. Only their Tier 2 players had dealt more than that thanks to their superior Attributes. Even so, their normal attacks only dealt around -3,000 damage each, yet Shadow Sword had dealt over -10,000 with a normal attack. Even if Shadow Sword were a Tier 2 Berserker, there should be no way his damage should surpass their Tier 2 members by such a large margin. The only reason they could think of was that the Berserker must have a full set of Epic Equipment, but even then, such a thing was unrealistic. How valuable was Epic Equipment? Players would need over ten pieces to be fully geared in Epic ranked Equipment! Most of God''s Domain''s large Guilds didn''t even have that many pieces. Even Super Guilds could only afford to equip their strongest members with four or five pieces for maximum efficiency. They refused to believe that Zero Wing had the capability or generosity to gear a single player in ten or more pieces of Epic Equipment. "Guild Leader, what kind of weapon did you give Shadow? Its Attack Power is amazing!" Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other Tier 2 players could not help but ask Shi Feng after seeing Shadow Sword''s shocking damage. They knew very clearly what kind of equipment Shadow Sword wore, and they knew that none of them could deal over -10,000 damage to this Guardian Boss, especially not with a normal attack. The only explanation for Shadow Sword''s unexpected performance had to be the weapon Shi Feng had given him before the raid. However, they found it hard to imagine that changing weapons would offer such a massive boost. Even if the greatsword were an Epic Weapon, the Berserker shouldn''t be capable of so much damage. After all, the various superpowers had armed their Tier 2 DPS experts with Epic Weapons as well. "I never said that I had given Shadow the weapon. I''m only letting him use it. As for what kind of weapon it is, that is a Guild Secret!" Shi Feng said, revealing a meaningful smile. "If any of you enter the Flowing Water Realm in the future, I can help you obtain this kind of power, too." Truthfully, the Edgeless Blade''s performance had even surprised Shi Feng. He had never thought that a Tier 3 Mana Weapon would be so powerful. However, as Mana Weapons had yet to make their public appearance in God''s Domain, he did not want too many people to learn about them. If not for the Earth Dragon''s incredibly high Defense, he wouldn''t have let Shadow Sword use the Edgeless Blade. "Seriously, Guild Leader?" Flying Shadow and the others'' eyes sparkled when they heard Shi Feng''s offer. They all wanted to wield the power Shadow Sword had just displayed. "Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Shi Feng said, shrugging. Although Tier 3 Mana Weapons were extremely rare, even rarer than Epic Weapons, there were twelve Tier 3 Mana Weapons sitting in the Lost Town''s tower. If he could secure the Lost Town, those weapons would be his for the taking. Hearing Shi Feng''s assurance, everyone''s enthusiasm to improve their combat standards soared. If they raised their combat power to the Flowing Water Realm and obtained a weapon like the Edgeless Blade, they would instantly become apex experts in God''s Domain. They wouldn''t even have a problem killing a peak expert of the same level. Just thinking of the possibility excited them. The team began to vent its newfound passion in its fight against the Earth Dragon as damages in the hundreds began to appear above the Boss''s head. Only the Magic Light Team and Zero Wing''s Tier 2 players dealt over -3,000 damage, with some even reaching -5,000 damage. When Shi Feng and Fire Dance joined the fray, the spectators were shocked once more. Due to the benefits form the Shadow Bloodline, each of Fire Dance''s normal attacks dealt over -9,000 damage. Although she didn''t deal as much as Shadow Sword, she was an Assassin. Her specialty was speed rather than raw power. Naturally, Shi Feng was more impressive than both Shadow Sword and Fire Dance. His Attack Power was on a whole other level. His normal attacks alone dealt over -12,000 damage, while his Skills easily dealt between -30,000 to -50,000 damage. He was practically a humanoid Great Lord. As they attacked, Shi Feng sent nine magical class players to approach the Earth Dragon and use the Nine-star Polar Domain Magic Array to suppress the Boss. Although the Earth Dragon had extraordinary strength, at the end of the day, it was only a Grand Lord. Its resistance wasn''t on par with Mythic monsters. Hence, the Intermediate Magic Array still suppressed the Earth Dragon''s Attributes by 15%. Following which, Shi Feng spent 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate World Projection, suppressing the Boss even further. This caused the Earth Dragon''s Basic Attributes to fall to 70% of their original values. Its maximum HP decreased to 189,000,000 as well. Shi Feng had no intention of using Disintegration Field as the Skill didn''t differentiate friend from foe. Aside from himself, everyone within range would be subjected to the Disintegration Field''s suppression. Right now, his team had to attack while focusing on their positioning and the lower showers. If he used Disintegration Field, the Earth Dragon wouldn''t be the one to suffer; Zero Wing''s members would. Fortunately, the 30% decrease to the Earth Dragon''s Basic Attributes relieved some of the pressure on Cola and the other two MTs. Even when they didn''t use special techniques to block the Boss''s normal attacks, they received less than -20,000 from each hit; this damage wasn''t nearly enough to threaten their lives. To increase the team''s overall DPS, Shi Feng had ordered some of the weaker experts to activate their Berserk Skills instead of holding back. Suddenly, the Earth Dragon''s HP began to fall, the speed of which shocked the watching superpowers. However, as the battle drug on, the surrounding barrier began to spew jets of lava into the sky. The lava then rained down on everyone on the battlefield. Not even Shi Feng had a good solution for countering this massive AOE. He could only rely on Violet Cloud''s Holy Prayer, reducing the damage his teammates took while simultaneously healing them. As for Cola, he used Divine Shield to protect the MTs fighting on the frontline. When the lava shower ended, even with Violet Cloud''s assistance, Zero Wing''s team had lost over 100 members. Zero Wing''s casualty rate was significantly higher than the various superpowers'' teams. Fortunately, the lava showers did not happen too often, giving Zero Wing''s members plenty of time to damage the Boss. When the second lava shower eventually fell on the team, Zero Wing suffered evidently fewer losses. Most of the players that had died during the first lava shower had lower combat standards, while the survivors were stronger. The Earth Dragon''s HP quickly fell to 95%. 95%... 90%... 80%... When the Earth Dragon entered its second phase, it ceased its claw attacks. Instead, it began to execute AOE breath attacks, though they weren''t as powerful as its Frostflame Breath. Even so, each attack dealt considerable amounts of damage. When Cola tied to take a hit with his shield, he had instantly lost over 30,000 HP. The change in attack pattern also forced Zero Wing''s members to run constantly, evading the Boss''s AOE attacks. This development instantly reduced the team''s overall DPS. However, Shi Feng still had the situation in hand. Roughly six minutes after the battle had begun, the Earth Dragon''s HP fell to 30%. At this point, Zero Wing''s team only had 300 members left alive. Everyone else had either died to the breath attacks or the lava showers. "The Boss is entering its third phase! Whoever has a Berserk Skill, use it now!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted when he saw the Earth Dragon''s HP fall to 30%. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Cola and the other MTs activated Power of Darkness, no longer holding back and skyrocketing their Attributes. Meanwhile, the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon released a deafening roar, and the surrounding ice- and fire-type Mana concentrated around it. The Earth Dragon swiped one of its claws at Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian. Despite the boost to the MT trio''s Basic Attributes, the attack shoved them back by over a dozen yards. They had nearly lost their footing from the devastating impact. Each of them had lost over 50,000 HP on the spot Had they failed to activate their Berserk Skills in time, they would''ve died instantly. "Quick! The Boss''s Defense has weakened! Attack it with everything you''ve got!" When Shi Feng realized that the Earth Dragon had entered its berserk and saw that his attacks now dealt over -16,000 damage, he ordered his team to go all-out. With the decrease to the Boss''s Defense, Shi Feng stopped holding back himself as he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. All of a sudden, the Earth Dragon''s HP began to fall must faster. Meanwhile, the less HP the Earth Dragon had remaining, the stronger its retaliation became. From time to time, it randomly targeted a player with its tails and breaths. Although Cola and the others continued to use Taunt Skills to hold the Boss''s aggro, all their efforts were futile. 25%... 15%... 5%... When the Earth Dragon only had 3% HP remaining, fewer than 100 Zero Wing members stood on the battlefield. The situation looked dire for Zero Wing. Meanwhile, the Earth Dragon used its breath and claw attacks more often, forcing the MT trio to activate their Lifesaving Skills and focus on defense. They no longer dared to spare energy to deal damage. "Die!" Shi Feng activated Divine Providence as he charged up to the Earth Dragon. He then activated the Tier 2 Flame Burst and brandished his swords at the Grand Lord. Dazzling sword lights illuminated the battlefield. Every time these lights flashed, a scorch mark would appear on the Earth Dragon''s body. Out of the 16 slashes Shi Feng had executed, the weakest had dealt over -200,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, he had eliminated the final strand of the Boss''s HP. The Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon then unwillingly collapsed to the burned earth 1665 Everyones Targe Chapter 1665 - Everyone''s Target When the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon collapsed, the ground shook under its massive weight, and the 50-plus survivors nearly lost their footing as the earth trembled. Everyone, Zero Wing''s members and those from the various superpowers behind the lava barrier, fell silent as they turned towards Shi Feng, who stood before the Earth Dragon''s corpse. The Grand Lord''s blood had died Shi Feng''s armor, which was damaged in multiple places. The Swordsman was visibly exhausted, yet despite that, he seemed massive in the spectators'' eyes. Every player watching felt as if they gazed upon a hero of legend. "It''s dead! Zero Wing actually slew the Earth Dragon!" "This is a trick, right? They actually managed to defeat the Boss?" No one could bring themselves to believe their eyes. Even the superpowers had been utterly helpless against the Earth Dragon on their own. They likely would have had to pull their forces to defeat the Boss, yet Zero Wing''s team had accomplished the feat on its own. Immediately, the sound of a system notification reached everyone''s ears. System: Congratulations to Team Zero Wing for being the first to kill the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon. Rewarding three Fifth-floor Teleportation Stones and 10 Humanity Reputation Points. With this system notification, even those who refused to believe that Zero Wing had succeeded had no choice but to accept it as fact. Is this why Phoenix Rain has such great faith in Zero Wing? Yuan Tiexin fell into deep thought as he stared at Shi Feng''s back. Zero Wing, huh? King''s Return''s Broken City could not help but watch Shi Feng closely as well. The Guild is actually far more powerful than the rumors made it out to be. It seems that our subordinates will have to pay much closer attention to the Guild. Suddenly, the various superpowers'' attitudes towards Zero Wing changed. Now, rather than treat Zero Wing like some insignificant power, they had to view the Guild as a competitor. Meanwhile, Shi Feng remained ignorant of the attention he received from the various superpowers. He only had eyes for the items that had dropped before him. Normally, a team would be incredibly lucky if a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species dropped several dozen items, yet the Earth Dragon had dropped over 100. The size of the bounty had far exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Seeing this, the spectating superpowers'' eyes became bloodshot. In fact, many of them wanted to charge forward and steal the loot. Needless to say, the First Kill of such a powerful Archaic Species would definitely grant extremely bountiful loot. Such loot could elevate their respective team''s strength to a whole new level. Unfortunately, none of them could act on their desires with the lava barrier between them and the items. They could only watch helplessly as Shi Feng collected one item after another. Meanwhile, Shi Feng went into a frenzy, snatching up every item. At the same time, he instructed the team''s healers to resurrect their dead. Although the lava barrier stood between them and the various superpowers, it had begun to fade after the Earth Dragon''s death. At the rate it disappeared, the barrier would only last a few more minutes. Meanwhile, the rule for Boss loot in the outside world also applied in the Primordial Divine Ruin. Even if players successfully killed a Boss and obtained its loot, the items would drop if other players killed them within the first two hours. There were multiple teams from the various superpowers waiting outside of the lava barrier, and their experts weren''t ordinary. If all of these experts attacked, they could very easily annihilate Zero Wing''s players. Hence, he needed to collect the loot and leave before the barrier vanished. Zero Wing''s members quickly realized their situation, and the team''s healers rushed to resurrect their fallen companions. Sure enough, the lava barrier completely disappeared around four minutes after the Earth Dragon''s death, but before the various superpowers could take action, Shi Feng used the eight Teleportation Stones, five from the Boss and three from the system reward. Instantly, Zero Wing''s 800 living members transformed into streaks of light that faded into the massive stone doors. "They sure ran quickly!" Wild Ocean was slightly disappointed to see Zero Wing''s members vanish. A colossal fortune had just disappeared before his very eyes If not for the lava barrier, Zero Wing wouldn''t have gotten away with the Boss''s loot. "As expected of Zero Wing. They certainly react quickly." Yuan Tiexin chuckled. Everyone dreamed of obtaining items that could improve players'' strength, and superpowers were no exception. Even though Zero Wing had proven to them all that its combat power and growth potential was extraordinary, that would do little to deter them from attacking. "Uncle Yuan, what should we do? With the Boss dead, we won''t be able to move on to the fifth floor," Purple Jade said. She felt a slight headache brew as she gazed at the empty battlefield. Although the fourth underground floor had plenty of monsters, only the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon dropped Teleportation Stones. Since the only Earth Dragon on the fourth floor had just died, other players had no way of proceeding to the next floor. "Don''t worry. The Earth Dragon is both the Guardian Boss and the only monster that drops the Teleportation Stones. It should respawn shortly. However, even if we kill it, we won''t get as much loot as Zero Wing," Yuan Tiexin said, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes as he stared at the massive set of stone doors, which Zero Wing''s members had disappeared into. News that Zero Wing had secured the First Kill of the fourth floor''s Guardian Boss quickly spread past the Primordial Divine Ruin, causing a commotion among the powers interested in the Orc Empire. Nobody had expected that the first Guild to set foot on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fifth underground floor would neither be a super-first-rate Guild or a Super Guild, but an up-and-coming Guild like Zero Wing. For a time, a significant number of Guilds and adventurer teams became interested in cooperating with the Guild. Although they weren''t strong enough to reach the fifth floor and subsequently, Primordial City on their own, they could hire Zero Wing to carry some of their members. They might be able to learn all sorts of combat techniques from the Guild, as well. As for purchasing these services from the various superpowers, they had no hope of such a thing. They had nothing the various superpowers wanted, but Zero Wing was a different story. Zero Wing was a Guild with very shallow foundations. It lacked both manpower and resources. Moreover, as a developing Guild, Zero Wing definitely needed a large amount of funds and resources, which their Guilds and adventurer teams could provide. With this, they would have the basis for cooperation. Meanwhile, on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fifth underground floor After leaving the fourth floor, Shi Feng''s group was transported to a quiet lakeside surrounded by forest. "So, this is the fifth floor?" Everyone turned as they observed their surroundings. Unlike on the previous floors, they didn''t feel danger from the area around them. On the contrary, they felt comfortable and at peace. "Everyone, rest up. We''ll search for the path to Primordial City later," Shi Feng instructed as he noticed his recently resurrected team members'' exhaustion. Every fifth floor in the Primordial Divine Ruin was a milestone. The first floor would test players, while the fifth would allow them to rest. The fifth floor''s Mana density was so high that players could swiftly recover their Stamina and Concentration even as they moved about. The recovery effects on this floor were no weaker than those in NPC cities'' hotels. In the past, some Guilds had even established temporary towns on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s rest floors. These temporary towns had provided a safe haven from other players and a place for players to trade and replenish their supplies. Unfortunately, the services these towns had provided had been exceedingly expensive. But that couldn''t be helped. Once players left the Primordial Divine Ruin, not only would they have to start over with the first floor''s raid, but they''d also have to wait a full day before entering again. Just reentering the ruin would be a problem. If a team wanted to resupply inside the ruin, they had to accept the atrocious prices. Hence, the temporary Guild Towns on the ruin''s rest floors generated considerable profit each day. Moreover, the services would become more expensive as the floor numbers increased. However, only superpowers were generally capable of establishing towns on lower floors. Ordinary large Guilds could only make a profit by doing so on the fifth floor. Only, Shi Feng currently had no such plans. Locating the path towards Primordial City was far more important right now. While everyone rested, Shi Feng opened his bag and looked through the items the Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon had dropped. Since he had been in too much of a rush earlier, he hadn''t had the time to inspect the Boss''s loot, but even if the other Guilds wanted to chase his team to the fifth floor, they''d have to wait until a new Earth Dragon spawned on the fourth to do so. 1666 Insane Loo Chapter 1666 - Insane Loot The Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon had dropped over 100 items. Although the majority consisted of materials and Magic Crystals, eight weapons and pieces of equipment had dropped. The reward for First Kill is quite surprising. Shi Feng could not help but grow a little excited after appraising the weapons and equipment. Out of the eight weapons and equipment, there were five pieces of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment and two Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons, one of which was a dagger, and the other was a one-handed axe. The weapons were top-tier even among Dark-Gold Weapons, good enough to tempt Super Guild''s peak experts. Although the various large Guilds'' experts had already reached Level 50, most of them were stuck with Level 45 weapons. Take the various superpowers that had entered the Primordial Divine Ruin alongside Zero Wing, for example. Those superpowers'' Refinement Realm experts would be fortunate to wield a Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapon. Unfortunately, most were stuck with Level 45 Dark-Gold Weapons, which had both lower Basic Attributes and Attack Power than Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons. Surprisingly, the five pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment that had dropped were pieces of the Berserker class''s Mad Gale Set and the Elementalist class''s Frostflame Set. Two of the five pieces were the Mad Gale Set''s gloves and boots, and the remaining three pieces were the Frostflame''s hat, gloves, and boots. Level 50 Dark-Gold Set Equipment was only inferior to Epic Equipment. Players could use the equipment until they were Level 59 before it would go out of date. Moreover, class-specific set equipment was generally specialized for its class. Take the six-piece Mad Gale Set, for example. Its two-piece set effect increased the wearer''s Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 15%, which made up for the Berserker class''s lack of speed. The Frostflame Set was also a six-piece set, and its two-piece set effect increased Elementalists''e cast range by 10%. Although the improvement seemed small, a player could easily overwhelm ranged opponents if they took advantage of it properly. If he could complete both sets, he could even fetch 10,000 for them. However, the seven items were nothing compared to the value of the last piece of equipment. [Frostflame Ring] (Ring, Epic Rank) Level 50 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 500, Agility 400, Intelligence 1,000 Strength +55, Agility +42, Endurance +45, Intelligence +74 (Level 50) Ignore Levels +12 Ice Resistance +15 Fire Resistance +15 Additional Passive Skill- Frostflame Barrier: Creates a Frostflame Barrier around user. As long as the user is standing, the power of all ice- and fire-type Spells increases by 20% and channeling time reduces by 10%. Additional Active Skill 1- Frostflame''s Descent: Manipulate ice- and fire-type Mana to deal 700% fire damage to targets in a 40-yard cone. Targets hit will have their Movement Speed reduced by 70% for 6 seconds. Cooldown: 3 minutes Additional Active Skill 2- Frostflame Shield: Creates a protective shield that covers an area with a 15-yard radius. The Frostflame Shield is immune to all ice- and fire-type damage. The Frostflame Shield lasts 20 seconds and can absorb damage equivalent to 300% of user''s maximum Mana. Cooldown: 10 minutes Rings and necklaces were extremely rare equipment in God''s Domain. They were worth at least double that of equipment of the same quality, as well. An Epic ring was far more valuable than a piece of Epic Equipment. If an Elementalist equipped the Frostflame Ring, their combat power would increase by at least 20%. Moreover, the Frostflame Ring offered Skills that covered both AOE offense and defense. It was a treasure worth tens of thousands of Gold. "Guild Leader, what did the Boss drop?" Blackie could not help but ask curiously as he watched Shi Feng inspect the Earth Dragon''s loot. At Blackie''s question, the rest of the team members perked up, curious about the loot as well. "Take a look for yourselves," Shi Feng said. He then shared the eight weapons and pieces of equipment''s Attribute Panels in the team chat, allowing everyone to see the items. "I''ve also listed the GCPs needed to purchase them. If you''re interested in any of them, come to me." Although Epic items were precious in God''s Domain, they were no longer unattainable. Hence, it didn''t particularly matter if he revealed the Frostflame Ring. At most, the various major powers would envy Zero Wing when they found out about it. They would not go as far as to wage war over the item. Moreover, by sharing the Attribute Panels with the team, he could improve the team''s morale. "These Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment pieces are amazing!" "The Boss''s loot is insane! It actually dropped Level 50 Dark-Gold Set Equipment!" "This ring is godlike! Its Attributes alone can rival the Attributes on my Level 50 Fine-Gold gloves!" "Screw the Basic Attributes! Look at the ring''s Additional Skills! Those effects are amazing! If I had this ring, my DPS would increase by at least 30%!" Everyone drooled over the eight items. Any one of these items would easily rank among a Super Guild''s most precious treasures. Not even Super Guilds'' upper echelons wielded such items, yet Shi Feng had made them available for purchase in the Zero Wing. The only problem was the items'' price tags. Each one of the two Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons cost 500,000 GCP, which was the equivalent of 1,000 Gold outside of the Guild. Although it was incredibly cheap if purchased with Coins, it was a different story if players purchased them with GCPs. GCPs were, after all, far more difficult to acquire. The Frostflame Ring, however, cost 4,000,000 GCPs, the equivalent of 8,000 Gold. At this point, no one in the Guild had that many GCPs. However, since Shi Feng didn''t want the ring to go to waste, he lent it to Alluring Summer, who was a Tier 2 Elementalist. "I''m definitely not going to face Summer in PvP. The Frostflame Ring''s Skills are game-breaking," Cola said as he watched Alluring Summer equip the Frostflame Ring. As a Tier 2 Elementalist, Alluring Summer was already a mobile Defense Turret. If she focused on a single target, even a Tier 2 MT of the same level would fall quickly under her attacks. With the assistance of the Frostflame Ring, Alluring Summer''s firepower would rise to a whole new level. If she activated Frostflame Shield, she would be able to cast her Spells without worrying about incoming attacks for a short time. She could afford to cast powerful Spells that had long channeling times even in a one-on-one fight. After dealing with the weapons and equipment, Shi Feng didn''t share any information on the other items the Earth Dragon had dropped. Weapons and equipment would only boost the strength of an individual player, but it was a different story for the two forging designs the Guardian Boss had dropped. One of the forging designs was for the Giant Frost Axe, a Level 50 Fine-Gold two-handed axe, while the other was for the Scorching Sun Gloves, a set of Level 50 Dark-Gold plate gloves. If he allowed Cream Cocoa and the others to learn these designs, they could craft plenty of powerful weapons and equipment pieces for the Guild. The two designs were exceedingly more valuable than the seven Dark-Gold items combined. Shi Feng had also obtained a leaf of tattered parchment from the Earth Dragon. Although the words and images on the parchment had long since become indiscernible, it still radiated a faint trace of pressure. When Shi Feng felt this pressure, he was shocked. After taking a closer look at this parchment, Shi Feng was elated. The parchment was actually a Hero''s Chapter. Moreover, unlike the Hero''s Chapter he had obtained during a previous auction, this Hero''s Chapter contained information on a particular Hero and would summon said Hero when used. It was even more valuable than a Hero''s Chapter that summoned a random Hero. The name of the Hero recorded was also one that Shi Feng was extremely familiar with. It was also a name that everybody in God''s Domain had known during his previous lifethe Magic King, Craig Midlands! 1667 Magic King Chapter 1667 - Magic King The fact that the Earth Dragon had dropped a Hero''s Chapter, let alone a Hero Chapter for Craig Midlands, had truly surprised Shi Feng. In God''s Domain, there were 32 Heroes that could only be summoned with specific Hero''s Chapters. They were also the strongest Heroes players could summon using the Hero''s Chapters. In the past, these 32 Heroes had been known as the Thirty-two Pillars. Based on historical records, every one of these 35 Heros had cleared the complete God''s Trial and gained the Ancient Gods'' recognition. If nurtured properly, any one of these Thirty-two Pillars could easily become the guardian of an entire city. This was because these 32 Heroes had the potential to reach Level 200, Tier 5 at the very minimum. Moreover, because they were Heroes, their Basic Attributes were higher than players of the same level and tier. When players nurtured these Heroes to their peaks, only Tier 6 God-ranked players had any chance against them. Among the Thirty-two Pillars, the Magic King, Craig Midlands, ranked 17th. He had been a famous NPC in God''s Domain who had mastered the six major elements. No ordinary Tier 5 NPC could compare to his strength. Craig Midlands had once fended off a siege that included 20 Tier 5 players and successfully protected the city he had been tasked to guard. He had even killed 11 of the Tier 5 experts. The Hero''s display had been so impressive that it had even stupefied the Guild that had nurtured and summoned him. Nobody had expected the Magic King to be that powerful. Normally, even a Tier 5 NPC would fall if 20 Tier 5 players ganged up on him, yet the Magic King had resisted and won. However, Craig''s victory over the team of Tier 5 players was not what that shocked the world the most. Rather, players had been astounded by the Spells he had used. With his mastery over six major elements, not only did his attacks carry great destructive power, but his attack methods were also varied and complex. His attacks had basically no weaknesses. If a Tier 5 player had tried to face him one-on-one, they would''ve been beaten to a pulp. Moreover, for every element Craig Midlands grasped, he could create one Elemental Doppelganger. Although each doppelganger only had 80% of Craig''s Attributes, they were far stronger than players of the same level and tier. In other words, trying to fight Craig Midlands was on par with fighting seven Tier 5 NPCs. With this, I''ll have a capable protector for Zero Wing City. Shi Feng clearly remembered that the Guild that had acquired the Magic King, Craig Midlands in his previous life had only been a first-rate Guild. Naturally, the Guild had used Craig to protect its main city, and due to the NPC''s presence, not even super-first-rate and Super Guilds had dared to strike that city. If he used Craig to protect Zero Wing City, the city''s defensibility would rise to an entirely new level. Shortly after Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members began their rest on the fifth floor, Melancholic Smile contacted him. "Guild Leader, what did you do in the Primordial Divine Ruin? Many large Guilds have come to Candlelight to negotiate cooperation," Melancholic Smile asked inquisitively. As many as eight first-rate Guilds had approached Candlelight, seeking cooperation, not to mention the second- and third-rate Guilds. Watching these Guilds upper echelons enter White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm with their entourages has been spectacular. The scene had also caused a huge commotion throughout the city. For a moment, she had even thought that these Guilds had intended to attack the trading firm. "It''s nothing. We just got to the ruin''s fifth floor before the other Guilds," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "What kind of cooperation are they looking for?" "They''re asking to purchase some of our Guild''s Basic Combat Techniques and opportunities to learn Advanced Combat Techniques. Though, slots to enter Primordial City are their main goal. They are willing to pay with Magic Crystals and top-tier weapons and equipment," Melancholic Smile said. The bounty war between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial was still in full swing. As a result, Zero Wing burned through funds, weapons, and equipment each day. If Zero Wing could sell the services these large Guilds requested for top-tier weapons and equipment, it would help the Guild out a great deal. Unfortunately, this matter would have a massive impact on the Guild, and she couldn''t make the decision by herself. Their ideas sound quite solid. Shi Feng began to ruminate on the matter. A moment later, he said, "Alright, we will agree to their conditions. However, they can only offer payment with Magic Crystals. Moreover, we will only sell the opportunity to learn Basic Combat Techniques. Each learning opportunity will cost 1,000 Magic Crystals. This condition isn''t limited to these Guilds, either; it will stand for all players. As for the Guilds'' other requests, refuse them." Due to the appearance of the Primordial Divine Ruin, Basic Combat Techniques had become more commonplace in God''s Domain. Even so, pitifully few first-rate Guilds had secured any techniques from the ruin. The other Guilds couldn''t even make it inside. However, as players unlocked more of the Primordial Divine Ruin, the number of players allowed inside would increase. Moreover, as players continued to grow stronger, it would only be a matter of time before more Guilds secured Basic Combat Techniques. Rather than wait for such a future, it''d be better if Zero Wing took advantage of the current situation and sold learning opportunities, making a fortune. In fact, many large Guilds had openly sold learning opportunities for Basic Combat Techniques in the past. He simply executed this business strategy ahead of time. In any case, he had obtained three Basic Combat Techniques on his way to the fifth underground floor, with two from the Earth Dragon. As for the Advanced Combat Techniques, there was no way he''d sell them. Both in his previous life and in this one, Advanced Combat Techniques were a Guild''s core secret. While Basic Combat Techniques helped players build a solid foundation, they did very little to improve players'' combat standards. Only Advanced Combat Techniques had a considerable effect on players'' combat standards. "One thousand crystals per chance? Isn''t that price a little too high?" Melancholic Smile asked awkwardly. Currently, Magic Crystals sold for 30 Silver each on the market; thus, 1,000 Magic Crystals were worth 300 Gold. However, while the various Guilds might accept a price of 300 Gold, that wouldn''t necessarily be the case for 1,000 Magic Crystals. Every large Guild desperately needed Magic Crystals right now, and players wouldn''t necessarily learn a combat technique in its entirety on the first attempt. "It''s fine. Just tell them. Whether or not they accept our price is up to them. Nobody''s forcing them to learn our combat techniques," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although Basic Combat Techniques were the weakest of the bunch, they weren''t easily found. Players could not obtain one just because they wanted to. Despite the Primordial Divine Ruin activating some time ago, only a small number of Basic Combat Techniques had dropped thus far. Moreover, different Basic Combat Techniques offered different kinds of benefitsCsome improved attack methods, some improved footwork, and so on. Just because a player had learned a Basic Combat Technique, that did not mean that other techniques would be useless. On the contrary, the more Basic Combat Techniques a player learned, the sturdier their foundation would become. With a strong foundation, players would have a much easier time learning Advanced Combat Techniques. In fact, players may even be able to create their own Basic or Advanced Combat Technique. "I''ll relay the message to these Guilds and announce it to the public, then," Melancholic Smile said. After giving the matter some thought, she saw the logic in Shi Feng''s decision. Other Guilds still treated their Basic Combat Techniques like family heirlooms. Even core members had to pay a significant amount of GCPs to learn the techniques. Since they had approached Zero Wing to purchase its family heirlooms, it was only natural that the Guild demand a higher price. Moreover, there were many wealthy individuals among God''s Domain''s adventurer teams and independent experts. Generally, adventurer teams and independent experts had no opportunity to learn Basic Combat Techniques, so they''d be more than willing to pay the price. After disconnecting his call with Melancholic Smile, Shi Feng sent out a few scouts to explore the fifth floor. In less than ten minutes, Shi Feng received a report from one of the scouts. "Guild Leader, I found a gigantic magic array in the forest. There''s also an NPC in the center of the array," a scouting Assassin reported. "An NPC? Send me your coordinates." Shi Feng was instantly ecstatic. As far as he knew, there shouldn''t be an NPCs on the Primordial Divine Ruin''s rest floors. Since one of his scouts had found one, that NPC must be related to Primordial City. 1668 Primordial Citys Entrance Tes Chapter 1668 - Primordial City''s Entrance Test Shi Feng moved through the tranquil forest and proceeded towards the coordinates the scouting Assassin sent him. Very quickly, he came across a clearing that was abounding with Mana, so much that it had even condensed into a white mist that enveloped the area. What amazing Mana. Shi Feng was startled as he moved through the white mist. While he stood within the white mist, not only did his mind become much clearer than before, but even his Stamina and Concentration recovery rates skyrocketed. The recovery rates were at least four times higher than what one would experience inside hotels of NPC cities. If players were to practice combat in such an environment, the results would be wondrous. Training here would be particularly effective. In his previous life, while part of the reason why players loved places with high Mana density was the ease in exhibiting their combat standards there, a more important reason was the much greater efficiency in practicing and learning combat techniques. Although combat techniques did not consume Mana, they did take a toll on the user''s Stamina and Concentration. Meanwhile, unlike Basic Attributes, Hidden Attributes like Stamina and Concentration were not displayed using numerical values. Players could only rely on their own senses to determine how much Stamina and Concentration they had remaining. If players fought normally inside major NPC cities, their Stamina and Concentration consumption would be roughly equal to their regeneration rates. Hence, players could fight in arenas to their heart''s content without worrying about becoming exhausted. However, it was a different story if players started incorporating combat techniques in battle. Combat techniques placed a significant burden on Stamina and Concentration. Executing a Basic Combat Technique would cost roughly four to five times more Stamina and Concentration than executing a simple attack. Hence, if players continuously executed Basic Combat Techniques, even when fighting or practicing inside a city, they would very quickly exhaust their Stamina and Concentration. Needless to say, the depletion rate for executing Advanced Combat Techniques was even more severe. Hence, high-Mana density locations were extremely popular among experts of God''s Domain during Shi Feng''s previous life. In the current God''s Domain, combat techniques had yet to be popularized. If they had, though, Zero Wing City''s player population would''ve long since shot past 10,000,000. This was also one of the reasons behind Shi Feng''s decision to sell Basic Combat Techniques to the public right now. If only a small number of people are allowed to enter Primordial City, it won''t be a bad idea to have the ones left out remain here to practice combat techniques. Taking a look at the mist-covered clearing, Shi Feng figured that there was more than enough space for 1,000 players to practice combat techniques here. Places with high Mana density were extremely rare in God''s Domain, not to mention places with Mana so dense that it formed a mist. This small area was definitely a sacred training ground. Any superpower that discovered such a location would definitely do everything they could to monopolize it to nurture their own experts. "Guild Leader, the NPC is over there." After Shi Feng arrived at the designated coordinates, a blue-clad Assassin approached him. The Assassin then pointed at the old man standing inside a magic array a short distance away. The elder wore a set of white robes and held a golden staff in his right hand. Looking at this elder, Shi Feng found that the old man did not exude any kind of powerful aura and looked very ordinary. However, when Shi Feng tried inspecting him, he failed to get any information about the eldernot even the old man''s name. Everything was displayed in question marks. Following which, Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to observe the old man. [Tyrol (Primordial City''s Protector)] (Hero, Divine Mage) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ?/ ? ? ? ? ? ? A Hero? Shi Feng could not help but be stunned. He had never imagined that he would actually meet a living, breathing Hero. In God''s Domain, Heroes had long since vanished into legend. The Hero standing before him right now was something entirely different from the Heroes summoned using Hero''s Chapters. More precisely, the Heroes summoned using Hero''s Chapters were Heroic Spirits, not true Heroes. Even so, they were still incomparably powerful and more than capable of safeguarding an entire town or city by themselves. However, a true Hero was on an entirely different level compared to a Heroic Spirit. Unlike Heroic Spirits, true Heroes still retained the blessing they received from Ancient Gods; therefore, their Life Rating was even higher than that of Archaic Species. Moreover, Heroes possessed extraordinary combat standards. Hence, if one did not utilize any special techniques, even 100 Tier 5 players would not be enough to take down a living Hero at their peak. A Hero was an existence that was truly capable of turning the tide of battle with their strength alone. Although seeing a living Hero excited Shi Feng greatly, when he noticed the Hero''s identity as Primordial City''s Protector, he quickly suppressed his excitement and approached the elder. The moment Shi Feng set foot into the magic array, Tyrol opened his eyes abruptly and disappeared from where he stood. In the next moment, he appeared before Shi Feng and quietly scrutinized the youth before him. When Shi Feng felt Tyrol''s gaze on him, he felt as if his entire existence was under examination. However, he was not particularly surprised by this situation. Primordial City was a blessing of the Ancient Gods. Players belonging to forces deemed hostile by the Ancient Gods, such as the forces of darkness, should not even think of setting foot into Primordial City. If any of these players were discovered, they would be eliminated immediately. "Young man, you''ve done well to reach this place. I am Tyrol, a Protector of Primordial City," Tyrol said, revealing a faint smile and giving Shi Feng a nod of approval. "If you wish to enter Primordial City, you have to pass the entrance test. Moreover, you have only three chances to challenge it. If you fail all three, you can only try again during your next visit to the Primordial Divine Ruin." "Lord Protector, may I know the contents of the test?" Shi Feng asked respectfully. "It''s a simple test. All you need to do is defeat yourself," Tyrol replied, smiling. "Of course, there are also differences in difficulty. The more difficult the test you challenge, the more Contribution Points you will obtain once you arrive in Primordial City. "There are five different difficulties available: Normal, Hard, Hell, Asura, and God. Meanwhile, the Contribution Points you will gain from them are 1,000, 2,000, 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000, respectively. Each person has only three opportunities to challenge the test. You must cherish them." Upon hearing Tyrol''s words, although Shi Feng kept his expression indifferent, inwardly, he was bursting with joy. Similar to the city on Thunder Island, if players wished to mingle in Primordial City, they needed Contribution Points. Without Contribution Points, they could enjoy only the basic benefits the city offered and should not even think of obtaining the truly good stuff available. Meanwhile, the reason why Shi Feng was excited was the large number of Contribution Points the entrance test awarded. In his previous life, when he visited Primordial City, he did not do so by passing the entrance test but by using a teleportation ticket, which he had obtained through killing monsters. He had received only 500 Contribution Points in doing so. However, with just 500 Contribution Points, one would be no different from a beggar inside Primordial City. Of course, one''s Contribution Points would not remain the same forever. There were plenty of methods to earn Contribution Points. Completing quests was the simplest among them, though inefficient. Ordinary quests only granted around two to five points each, while high-ranking quests granted around 20 to 50 points each. However, high-ranking quests were extremely rare. Hence, collecting even 500 Contribution Points was very difficult. Yet, now, even the Normal entrance test awarded 1,000 Contribution Points upon completion. The additional 500 points would save players plenty of time. Moreover, this was also good news to Zero Wing''s members. It meant that everyone would have an opportunity to enter Primordial City. "Young adventurer, have you decided to enter Primordial City?" Tyrol asked, smiling as he looked at Shi Feng. "I am willing to accept the test!" Shi Feng nodded. "Very good. May I know which difficulty you wish to choose?" Tyrol asked with a wave of his hand. Instantly, five crystal balls of different colors appeared before Shi Feng. Aside from having different colors, these crystal balls also exuded auras of various intensities. Even the crystal ball with the weakest aura made Shi Feng shudder involuntarily, whereas the one with the strongest aura made him feel deep despair. 1669 Shadow of Trial Chapter 1669 - Shadow of Trial What powerful auras! Shi Feng tensed as he gazed at the five crystal balls hovering before him. It was obvious that these crystal balls represented the strength of the opponent he would face. These crystal balls'' auras also provided a hint to help players make the best decision. However, even the weakest crystal ball radiated considerable pressure. It was evident that entering Primordial City wouldn''t be as easy as he had expected. Shi Feng wasn''t the only player present who could sense the five crystal balls'' auras. Aqua Rose and the others, who had just arrived outside of the magic array, could sense the intense energy from the crystal balls as well. Every crystal ball felt as if it contained some horrific creature. "These crystals represent your opponents'' strengths. You may choose the one that you think you can defeat, but please remember; you only have three chances," Tyrol reminded. Three chances? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng proceeded to choose the second strongest crystal ball. "Lord Tyrol, I choose this one." Based on the aura of the God ranked test, he knew that he had no chance of completing it. In fact, he wasn''t even particularly confident of passing the Asura ranked test, but since he had three chances, he might as well give it a try. If he could clear the Asura ranked test, he could earn more Contribution Points before entering Primordial City, which would save him from having to pick up plenty of troublesome tasks. "Asura rank?" Tyrol could not help but shake his head as he looked at Shi Feng. "What a courageous young man you are. However, since you''ve made your decision, let the test begin." Saying so, Tyrol gestured with his left hand. Suddenly, the Asura ranked crystal ball shattered, and the shards transformed into three clouds of mist. These clouds gradually took on humanoid shapes, and a moment later, three creatures, identical to Shi Feng, manifested inside the magic array. Meanwhile, aside from their names, ''Shadow of Trial,'' the system revealed no information about them. Three? The corners of Shi Feng''s mouth twitched slightly. Although he could not see the Shadows of Trial''s Basic Attributes, he clearly sensed that they were higher than his. Aqua Rose and the others, who watched from outside of the magic array, gasped when they saw the three Shadows of Trial. Each of the Shadows felt like a Great Lord. No, to be more precise, the Shadows'' auras were stronger than any of the Great Lords they had faced. It would not be a stretch to call them Grand Lords. "To pass the test, you simply need to land ten hits on each of them. I must warn you; they know everything you know. Likewise, if they hit you ten times, you will be eliminated," Tyrol said. After Tyrol explained the rules, the three Shadows of Trial revealed human-like sneers. Suddenly, the vanished, leaving afterimages as they charged at Shi Feng. "So fast!" The watching crowd was shocked. The Shadows had moved so quickly that all they had seen was faint afterimages. Moreover, unlike ordinary monsters, the Shadows of Trial commanded extremely high intellect. Their fighting style wouldn''t be monotonous. Moreover, all three Shadows coordinated perfectly, each striking at Shi Feng from different directions. As soon as the Shadows appeared around Shi Feng, each launched a different attack. Illusory Shadow! Purgatory Pentaslash! Shadow Blade! The Shadows of Trial''s attacks sealed off Shi Feng''s escape paths. To make matters worse, the Illusory Shadow attacks couldn''t be blocked. Crap! Shi Feng paled as he realized his situation. Not even he dared to receive all three Skill attacks head-on. If he tried to, he would undoubtedly end up dead in the blink of an eye. Just before the attacks landed, Shi Feng activated Divine Steps, and ten doppelgangers split from his body. He immediately switched positions with a nearby doppelganger and used Shadow Blade against the nearest Shadow of Trial. However, before the Shadow Blades could reach the Shadow of Trial, ten doppelgangers split from its body. Shi Feng''s ten Shadow Blades then pierced through the Shadow of Trial''s form. However, it was evident that he had nearly struck a doppelganger. How is this possible? They have my weapons and equipment''s Skills, as well? Shi Feng was shocked when the Shadow also used Divine Steps. However, before Shi Feng could regain his senses, all three Shadows of Trial activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, their Attributes soaring. They slashed their blades at their target, the intensity of their Strength creating powerful gales. With no better plan, Shi Feng continued to switch positions with his doppelgangers to avoid the incoming attacks. Although Heavenly Dragon''s Power was strong, it was a Berserk Skill that focused on boosting Strength. It''s buff to speed was only subpar. For a time, Shi Feng was at a complete disadvantage as the three Shadows of Trial chased him relentlessly. The spectating players outside of the magic array were flabbergasted. They were literally watching three doppelgangers gang up on their Guild Leader. Moreover, the doppelgangers'' Basic Attributes were even higher than Shi Feng''s. If they had to face three of those doppelgangers at once, they''d likely die in an instant. However, Divine Steps had a limited duration. The instant those allied doppelgangers vanished, Shi Feng gritted his teeth as he also activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Upon activating the Berserk Skill, he darted for one of the three Shadows. Sword''s Orbit! Suddenly, brilliant stars bombarded the Shadow of Trial, one after another. However, before the hits landed, they abruptly halted before a protective barrier. Absolute Domain! When Shi Feng''s targeted Shadow of Trial had activated Absolute Domain, the other two Shadows also gained invulnerability. Giving Shi Feng no time to react, one of the three Shadows activated Instant Strike and swung its blade fiercely at the player. Shi Feng knew that he couldn''t dodge the attacks in time. The only thing he could do was to activate his own Instant Strike and execute Sword''s Orbit to defend himself as much as possible. Boom! Boom! Boom! Every time their weapons clashed, dazzling sparks flew around them. Loud clangs also echoed throughout the forest. It seemed as if two primordial beasts were attempting to slay one another. A moment later, however, Shi Feng slid backward. As soon as the first Shadow of Trial''s Instant Strike ended, another Shadow activated the Skill. When Shi Feng''s own Instant Strike came to an end, he lost his ability to keep up with the Shadows'' attacks. Absolute Domain! After activating his Invulnerability Skill, Shi Feng switched the Aura of Earth to the Aura of Time and activated Forbidden Domain. It might be much of an issue if only one Shadow of Trial could use all of his Skills, but the fact that all three were capable of this put Shi Feng at a painful disadvantage. If he wished to emerge victorious, he had to rely on his combat techniques. As the Shadows of Trial weren''t ones to be beaten, one of them activated Forbidden Domain as well. Suddenly, both sides were Silenced, losing the ability to use Spells or Skills. Following which, the three Shadows ganged up on Shi Feng once again. Although Shi Feng''s techniques were superior, the Shadow trio had higher Basic Attributes. Moreover, the Shadow trio disregarded their own defense as they brutally attacked. This forced Shi Feng into a defensive state. He was only one person, after all. If he tried to strike one of the three Shadows, he''d leave himself open for the other two. Meanwhile, each of the Shadows could afford to take ten hits each, but he would be eliminated after ten hits. Both sides struggled in a stalemate. Shi Feng focused on a single Shadow, using his superior techniques to create gaps in its defenses and attack. The bitter struggle inside the magic array made the spectating players anxious. But they also knew that such an intense battle wouldn''t last long. Once the Silence debuff ended, Shi Feng would be at a disadvantage once again. When Forbidden Domain''s duration had only ten seconds remaining, despite Shi Feng''s desperate attempts, he had only struck one of the three Shadows five times. He still needed to land five more hits on that Shadow to eliminate it, but he was running out of time. 8 seconds 5 seconds 3 seconds Am I going to lose? 1670 Ascension Realm Chapter 1670 - Ascension Realm As the seconds ticked by, and Forbidden Domain neared the end of its duration, Aqua Rose and the other Zero Wing members couldn''t help their growing nerves as they watched from outside of the magic array. They had never thought that even the test to enter Primordial City would be so difficult. Aside from all else, once Shi Feng and one of the Shadows of Trial''s Forbidden Domains ended, the other two Shadows could still use the Skill. At that time, Shi Feng would have to face three Shadows that could use Skills while he could not. With the huge disparity in combat power, he would doubtlessly meet his end. Not only did the Shadows of Trial have higher Basic Attributes, but their combat standards were also at the Refinement Realm; they executed every slash without any excess movement. When the three Shadows cooperated, they could even make up for the weaknesses in each other''s defenses and elevate their combat power further. I have no choice but to gamble everything on one attack! Shi Feng also knew what outcome awaited him once his Forbidden Domain ended. With no other choice, he gritted his teeth and force his way through the countless, incoming attacks, swinging his blades at the Shadow that had already taken five hits. Sword''s Orbit! If he could eliminate one Shadow before Forbidden Domain ran out, he''d still have a chance at victory, albeit a small one. If he didn''t do so, he would die the moment his Skill''s duration ended. However, as if they had predicted Shi Feng''s desperation, the three Shadows smirked as they launched attacks, aiming for Shi Feng''s blindspots. Despite noticing the incoming attacks, Shi Feng did not bother dodging. Instead, he continued to swing his swords at the Shadow before him. One slash Two slashes At this point, Shi Feng traded blow for blow with the Shadows. As a result, he was hit, again and again. Two hits Four hits Six hits Faster! I need to be faster! As Shi Feng frantically brandished his weapons, he gained unprecedented focus. The only thing on his mind was landing a hit on the Shadow of Trial before him. However, despite Shi Feng''s flurry of attacks, his target could still endure two more attacks. Shi Feng was only two hits away from elimination, himself. Just as Shi Feng''s two swords were about to bite into the targeted Shadow, the other two Shadows, one behind and one to the left, simultaneously swung towards Shi Feng''s blind spots. "It''s over." Tyrol sighed faintly. The young man before him had just barely missed the mark. If Shi Feng could have killed the Shadow of Trial before Forbidden Domain ran out, he would have had a chance of passing the Asura ranked test. Is it over? Shi Feng could sense the two Shadows'' longswords nearing his body, but he was powerless to do anything about the weapons. At most, he could take one of the Shadows of Trial down with him. As the two longswords soared closer to Shi Feng''s back and abdomen Something about the situation felt incredibly familiar. Shi Feng felt like this test was similar to the test Rhinebeck, one of the Sea God''s Temple''s Vice Knight Commanders, had given him. Before the breakthrough he had achieved during that trial, he hadn''t been able to withstand Rhinebeck''s attacks no matter what he had done. He had only been able to watch as he had repeatedly been defeated. Rhinebeck? Shi Feng''s eyes shone with realization when he recalled his battle with Rhinebeck. Right! Combat method! My combat method! Suddenly, Shi Feng put strength into his legs and made a spinning jump. Utilizing the rotational momentum, he swung Killing Ray at the Shadow attacking his abdomen, the Sacred Sword moving with remarkable speed. Dang! A crisp clang echoed throughout the forest. In that critical moment, Shi Feng had used Killing Ray to block the attack from the side while he used Abyssal Blade to slice at the targeted Shadow''s shoulder. He then utilized the force generated from blocking the attack at his side to push himself over eight yards away from the nearest Shadow. When his feet touched the ground again, he used a hand to stabilize himself, only coming to a halt after two more spins. "He survived?!" Aqua Rose and the other Zero Wing experts stared with wide eyes, utterly shocked. Shi Feng had actually executed an incredible maneuver at the last second, narrowly avoiding mutual destruction. This is Tyrol revealed an odd look as he watched Shi Feng. How is that possible?! He has already reached the Ascension Realm in the Realms of Truth?! Existences that could set foot in the Realms of Truth''s Truth Realm were exceedingly rare, with only a few throughout the kingdom. Meanwhile, experts who had reached the Ascension Realm were even rare in Primordial City. One could not simply reach the Ascension Realm by understanding the realm''s philosophy. They would also need to temper themselves and gain the experience of countless life-or-death battles to execute the proper physical response. During Tyrol''s brief moment of surprise, the three Shadows of Trial resumed their assault on Shi Feng. Like before, the three Shadows surrounded Shi Feng and attacked him from different angles. Although Shi Feng had avoided certain death, he was still at a disadvantage. He had little more than a second before his Forbidden Domain ran out, and he had only blocked the attack aimed for his abdomen. The attack from behind had still found its mark. Now, he could only afford to receive one more hit before he was eliminated from the test. "Come," Shi Feng said with a hint of excitement as he watched the three Shadows. Suddenly, over twenty sword lights surrounded Shi Feng, sealing off all escape paths. However, instead of using Sword''s Orbit to repel the attacks, Shi Feng simply adjusted his footwork, turning as he executed eight slashes, which wasn''t much compared to his earlier efforts. Yet, something surprising happened again. Despite reaching his maximum Attack Speed, these slashes continued to accelerate. The three Shadows of Trial interlocked with their target before passing by Shi Feng. The Swordsman blocked every one of the incoming attacks. "Die!" As the Shadows passed, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray, slicing the neck of the Shadow that had already received nine hits. The Shadow then vanished, leaving two remaining in the magic array. "What just happened?" Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Shadow Sword, and the other Tier 2 experts from Zero Wing were stupefied. Not only had Shi Feng blocked every incoming attack without using Sword''s Orbit, but he had also created a gap in the Shadows'' defenses and eliminated one of them. None of them could figure out how he had pulled it off. So, this is the realm above the Truth Realm that Rhinebeck had mentioned? Shi Feng felt incredible as he turned towards the remaining Shadows of Trial. Rhinebeck had only informed Shi Feng that he had just entered the Truth Realm. After undergoing Rhinebeck''s test, he had learned that one shouldn''t just focus on adapting to the changing battle physically. One could also adjust their perspective of the battle. In other words, aside from using his environment to his advantage, he could use his opponent''s attacks as well. Unlike the Realms of Refinement, which focused on sharpening one''s senses, the Realms of Truth focused on improving one''s utilization of their body and the environment. Only, Shi Feng had never realized that the Realms of Truth''s principles could help increase his combat power by such a large margin, allowing him to overcome his enemies'' Attributes and overwhelm the three Shadows of Trial. However, Shi Feng''s Forbidden Domain had ended after he had killed the one Shadow. Without hesitation, the two remaining Shadows activated Blade Liberation before one activated Forbidden Domain. Twofold berserk? Shi Feng could not help but grin as he noticed the Shadows'' auras strengthen. Before the enemy''s Forbidden Domain reached him, he activated Blade Liberation as well. Fortunately, his Skills'' Cooldowns had reset when he had first entered the magic array. So, the Berserk Skills he had exhausted during his battle with the fourth floor''s Earth Dragon were ready for him. After activating Blade Liberation, Shi Feng executed Void Steps and disappeared. Seeing this, one of the two Shadows activated Skywheel Sword, while the other activated Lightning Edge, both of which were AOEs. However, neither of the Shadows'' attacks had forced Shi Feng out of his concealment. For a time, the Shadows attacked their surroundings randomly in confusion, yet even after dozens of seconds, Shi Feng remained hidden. He only revealed himself after both Shadows had used up their Forbidden Domains, and when he did, he already stood beside them. Illusory Shadow! Suddenly, five crisscrossed slashes bombarded one of the Shadows. Although the targeted Shadow responded quickly and tried to dodge, it still received three hits. Realizing the danger they were in, the two Shadows decided to end the fight quickly, both activating Chilling Field. The Domain Skill covered a 50-yard radius and was capable of both offense and defense. The Skill''s Movement Speed reduction effect also prevented Shi Feng from moving about freely. Seeing this, Shi Feng responded in kind, activating his own Chilling Field. Suddenly, 27 icicles covered the battlefield, nine belonging to Shi Feng and 18 from the Shadows of Trial. Following which, the 27 icicles danced and clashed repeatedly and rapidly. Yet, despite outnumbering their target, the two Shadows failed to land a single hit on Shi Feng. In fact, Shi Feng only needed six of his icicles to defend himself, attacking with the remaining three. Two hits Three hits Five hits The two Shadows rapidly accumulated hits, and eventually, Shi Feng landed the tenth strike on both Shadows of Trial, killing them. 1671 City Rookie Chapter 1671 - City Rookie "He won?" "Our Guild Leader is amazing!" As the Zero Wing team watched the Shadows of Trial in the magic array gradually fade, they couldn''t believe their eyes. The battle that had just occurred had overwhelmed them mentally. If they had been distracted for a split second, they would''ve missed the instant Shi Feng and the Shadows had clashed. Both sides'' Basic Attributes were ridiculously high, and they could clash multiple times in the instant it took to blink. The several dozen White Tiger Dojo disciples that had joined the team on the fifth floor were utterly dumbfounded. They had witnessed many expert battles in the past and had even fought experts in the Battle Arena, but if they had to rank the experts they''ve seen thus far, the player before them would doubtlessly rank at the very top. It''s finally over. Shi Feng breathed a deep sigh of relief once the battle had ended. He hadn''t expected the Asura ranked test to be so difficult. If not for the epiphany regarding the Realms of Truth, which had allowed him greater use of his own body and everything around him, including his opponents, the Shadows of Trial would have defeated him. However, this experience had taught Shi Feng one thing. Aside from improving in the Realms of Refinement, which focused on one''s senses and physical control, it was very important that players climb the Realms of Truth. The Realms of Refinement were akin to the body. As one became physically stronger, they''d be able to exert more strength. However, the Realms of Truth were like a weapon. Although an individual could rely on physical strength to pose a threat, there was a limit to how much of a threat they''d become, but if that person were given a weapon to complement their strength, they could pose an even greater threat. Naturally, the better the weapon one wielded, the more power they could exhibit. This also why experts who had yet to reach the Refinement Realm were sometimes capable of defeating Refinement Realm experts with their combat techniques. Combat techniques made use of the Realms of Truth''s principles. It seems that we''ll need to increase everyone''s familiarity with the Realms of Truth in the future, Shi Feng thought to himself. There was a limit to how fast one could reach higher Realms of Refinement, and reaching higher Realms of Truth wouldn''t conflict with a player''s growth in the Realms of Refinement. In fact, the two realms would even complement each other, helping one improve their combat power far faster. Only, introducing everyone to the Realms of Truth wouldn''t be easy. First, he needed a proper training ground. It was obvious that neither the Battle Arena nor the Divine Colosseum could offer similar benefits as Rhinebeck''s test. Without such a training ground, players wouldn''t be able to comprehend the Realms of Truth''s principles regardless of how many times he explained them. Moreover, understanding theory and putting said theory into practice were two different things. Wait, that''s not right. There is one. Suddenly, Shi Feng recalled the white tower within the Lost Town. While the white tower seemed like a device designed to help players improve their combat standards and gain a better feel for the Refinement Realm, it actually operated very much like Rhinebeck''s test. Hence, Shi Feng should be able to use the tower to help his players comprehend the Realms of Truth. Furthermore, God''s Domain''s lore never mentioned the Realms of Refinement, only the Realms of Truth. The more Shi Feng thought about it, the more he felt that the white tower was a suitable training device to help players grasp the Realms of Truth. A sacred land to train in the Realms of Truth, huh? Shi Feng had begun to give up on the Lost Town, preparing to accept the system''s penalty, but now, his desire to secure the town had reignited. It''s no wonder why the quest to obtain the Lost Town is so difficult. So, this is why. Training one''s grasp of the Realms of Refinement had long since become common in the virtual gaming world. The various Super Guilds already had complete training systems for just that, while super-first-rate Guilds had partial systems. However, not one of these Guilds had a training system for the Realms of Truth. They most likely didn''t even know how to train players'' grasp of the Realms of Truth. If he could secure the Lost Town, he''d have a sacred land for players to focus on the Realms of Truth. With the help of the white tower, players would not have to waste time poking around in the dark like the Freedom Alliance''s Silent Entropy and could grasp the Realms of Truth with much greater efficiency. With the Boneless Land''s Lost Town housing such a sacred tool, it was only natural that the quest to obtain it would be insanely difficult. As Shi Feng tried to figure out how to complete the Demon''s Nest quest, he heard the sound of a system notification. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to complete the Asura-rank Entrance Test. Rewarding 3,000 Primordial City Contribution Points and one Primordial City''s City Rookie Emblem. "Young adventurer, congratulations on passing the test. As the first heaven-blessed individual to pass the Asura ranked test, this City Rookie Emblem belongs to you. Make good use of it. Who knows? It might even help you improve further within Primordial City," Tyrol said after appearing before Shi Feng. He then took out a silver emblem in the shape of a crescent moon encompassing a sun and passed it to Shi Feng. The instant the emblem appeared, the surrounding Mana gravitated towards and circled the emblem. City Rookie Emblem? After recovering from his shock over the additional 3,000 Contribution Points, Shi Feng gave the emblem a curious look. This was the first time he had heard of this item. Based on Tyrol''s tone when he had mentioned it, it should be extraordinary. Immediately, Shi Feng tried to inspect the emblem''s Attribute Panel. [City Rookie Emblem] (Dark-Gold Rank) Primordial City''s Emblem of Honor. When worn, user will enjoy the authority of a Bronze Adventurer in Primordial City. In addition, user may teleport to Primordial City from any location. Cooldown: Two natural days (96 hours) User restriction: Ye Feng Amazing! It''s giving me the authority of a Bronze Adventurer right off the bat! No wonder why he told me to make good use of it! Shi Feng was ecstatic as he gazed at the City Rookie Emblem. At this point, the term ''Bronze Adventurer'' was still foreign to God''s Domain''s players. This was because the title was unique to Primordial City. Bronze Adventurers in Primordial City were the equivalent of nobles in NPC cities. Only, as the Ancient Gods had specifically created Primordial City for adventurers, noble ranks didn''t exist within its walls. Rather, special ranks were granted to adventurers based on their contributions to the city. The available ranks included Common Adventurer, Bronze Adventurer, Silver Adventurer, and Gold Adventurer. Each subsequent rank enjoyed greater authority and treatment in Primordial City than the last. However, it was extremely difficult for players to rise through the ranks as they weren''t based on Primordial City Contribution Points. Instead, they were determined by one''s Primordial City Honor Points. One had to earn 1,000 Honor Points just to become a Bronze Adventurer. Moreover, players would be fortunate to receive one Honor Point even after completing a high-rank quest in the city. If players wanted to earn more than that per quest, they''d have to complete Primordial City''s Trial Quests, which were exceedingly challenging. Unfortunately, failing to complete the trial resulted in an unusually severe death penalty. In the past, most players had opted for the safe and reliable method of completing high-rank quests to collect Honor Points rather than challenge Primordial City''s Trial Quests. Because of this, very few players had become Bronze Adventurers, let alone Silver or Gold Adventurers. Even after ten years in God''s Domain, Shi Feng had never heard of someone becoming a Gold Adventurer. Meanwhile, not only would Bronze Adventurers enjoy a 10% discount on all expenditures that required Primordial City Contribution Points, but they''d also get to enjoy other benefits that Common Adventures had no access to. One such example was the planar teleportation function, which allowed players to travel to the various Higher Planes. Not only were the Higher Planes'' monsters much stronger, but they also dropped far better loot. It was also possible to obtain unique resources. Only, teleporting to a Higher Plane was expensive, costing 1,000 Contribution Points per teleportation. If players died in these Higher Planes, they''d be teleported back to Primordial City instantly. Without sufficient strength and preparation, only a fool would grind in these Higher Planes. Right! There''s still the Higher Planes! Shi Feng''s eyes suddenly sparkled. Other players might not know where to secure a large number of Darkness Stones, but he did. However, he hadn''t had the means to reach these locations, but now, he did. Shi Feng immediately instructed his team to challenge the entrance test and told them what to do once they entered Primordial City. Meanwhile, he made his way, with Tyrol''s help, to the city. When Shi Feng arrived in Primordial City, every player within the Primordial Divine Ruin received a system notification about it. 1672 Seven Luminaries Temple Chapter 1672 - Seven Luminaries Temple Many players were still fighting in the Primordial Divine Ruin, and the various superpowers on the fourth floor were preparing to raid the recently respawned Frostflame Two-headed Earth Dragon. However, before they could begin, they heard the crisp voice of the system. Primordial Divine Ruin Region System Announcement: A player has successfully entered Primordial City. From now onward, after 500 players have entered Primordial City, the entrance test''s difficulty will increase by 30%. After 1,000 players have entered Primordial City, the difficulty will increase by 50%. Count resets once per day. The system announcement repeated three times, its message becoming ingrained in everyone''s minds. "How did Zero Wing get into Primordial City so quickly?" "After the 500th player, the difficulty to enter Primordial City will increase?" The upper echelons of the various superpowers stuck on the fourth floor revealed somber expressions upon listening to the system notification. Based on the system notification, they discovered that Primordial City did not have an entry limit. Players only needed to pass a test to enter the legendary city. However, as many as 800 Zero Wing members had proceeded to the Primordial Divine Ruin''s fifth floor. If the entrance test were not particularly difficult, then Zero Wing would claim the first 500 slots. This meant that the tests the various superpowers would have to pass to enter would become far more difficult. Due to the increased difficulty, players who would have been capable of passing the test might fail. This, in turn, would decrease the number of players the various superpowers could send into the city. Now that they had a clearer understanding of the situation, these superpowers became even more desperate to reach the fifth floor as soon as possible. Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing entering Primordial City quickly spread outside of the ruin. "What? Zero Wing is the first Guild to send players into Primordial City? Doesn''t that mean Zero Wing will be the first to pioneer and explore the city?" "I''m afraid that it''s not that simple. I''ve heard that only the first 500 players will face the normal difficulty entry tests, whereas other players'' tests will be more difficult. The test''s difficulty will increase yet again after 1,000 players have entered Primordial City. I''ve also heard that Zero Wing led 800 players to the fifth floor. It''ll monopolize the first 500 slots. With this, the various superpowers will likely have a tough time completing with Zero Wing when pioneering the city." "With that many of its members entering Primordial City, Zero Wing will reap a huge harvest. From what I learned after looking into it, it seems like it''s pretty easy to obtain combat techniques from Primordial City. This is especially true for Advanced Combat Techniques." Suddenly, more independent players from various kingdoms became interested in Zero Wing. Both Basic Combat Techniques and Advanced Combat Techniques were out of reach for independent players like themselves. The various large Guilds treated these combat techniques like family heirlooms, and they had strict requirements for anyone who wanted to learn their combat techniques, such as becoming a core member and signing a restrictive contract with the Guild. However, Zero Wing could procure a large number of combat techniques from Primordial City, and if that was the case, Zero Wing may have looser conditions for learning the techniques it collected. It might even make the combat techniques available to all of its members, rather than just the core members. With that hope in mind, many independent players, particularly experts, began to gather in White River City and Zero Wing City from other kingdoms. As players tried to learn more about the Guild, Zero Wing posted an announcement on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. This announcement instantly caused a commotion throughout the kingdom. "How generous of Zero Wing!" "With this, even independent players like us can learn combat techniques!" "But isn''t 1,000 Magic Crystals a little expensive? Even experts will have to work hard for a long time to collect enough, let alone weaker players." "You think that''s expensive? You should see what the other Guilds with combat techniques are demanding. Take Heaven''s Burial, for example. Although the Guild has plenty of combat techniques, anyone who wishes to learn them has to sign a very strict contract. In addition, members have to pay a certain price to learn each combat technique. Their price is only slightly under 1,000 Magic Crystals. It''s better to learn the techniques from Zero Wing. At the very least, we''ll retain our freedom." For a time, a large number of independent players celebrated Zero Wing''s decision. The news excited many adventurer teams as well. Independent players might struggle to collect 1,000 Magic Crystals, but it wasn''t any trouble for an adventurer team with several hundred members. When the various large Guilds discovered the announcement, however, they fumed with fury. This was especially true for the Guilds that had acquired combat techniques of their own. They had planned to use their combat techniques to attract loyal experts and gain an advantage over their competitors, but Zero Wing''s latest announcement had ruined that idea. "Black Flame''s means truly are amazing. Heaven''s Burial is likely doomed to fall, now," Yuan Tiexin said. He could not help his rueful sigh as he read the report a subordinate had just sent. "Uncle Yuan, what happened?" Purple Jade asked curiously. "Take a look for yourself," Yuan Tiexin said as he forwarded the report to Purple Jade. When Purple Jade read the report, her eyes widened in shock. She found it truly hard to believe that Zero Wing would actually be so generous as to offer its combat techniques to other players. By doing so, it would undoubtedly deal a massive blow to the various first-rate Guilds that had acquired their own combat techniques. Naturally, Heaven''s Burial was no exception. The Guild''s upper echelons would weep and rage once they heard about this While everyone discussed Zero Wing, Shi Feng arrived in Primordial City''s Teleportation Hall. The Teleportation Hall''s main hall looked like a massive cave. The hall''s ceiling was at least 100 meters from the ground. It also seemed like some kind of miniature sun was stuck in the ceiling, illuminating the hall. As Shi Feng looked around, he discovered numerous Mana-operated elevators, which led towards various spatial junctions. NPCs could arrive and leave Primordial City through these spatial junctions at any moment. These NPCs weren''t limited to the human race, including members from other races as well. The instant Shi Feng had arrived, both his mind and body had felt energized. The Mana density here was no lower than that of Titan City. Players would definitely have an easier time practicing their combat or producing items here than elsewhere. Since Shi Feng had visited Primordial City many times in his previous life, he didn''t bother to look around the Teleportation Hall like some curious tourist. Instead, he quickly left the hall and ventured to Primordial City''s streets. Primordial City was a city of legend. The city had as many NPCs as the most populated NPC cities in God''s Domain. There were easily over four or five million NPCs within the city at all times, which was more than ten times the number of NPCs in Star-Moon Kingdom''s capital. Moreover, unlike the NPCs in ordinary NPC cities, those in Primordial City were at least Level 150. Tier 2 NPCs were insignificant here, usually serving as gate attendants. Tier 3 NPCs, which were rare in other NPC cities, strode down almost every street in Primordial City. One would even find Tier 4 NPCs window shopping. After leaving the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng summoned his Demonic Flame Tiger and made his way towards the heart of Primordial City. Although Primordial City''s layout was complex, Shi Feng knew the city like the back of his hand. After traveling for around 20 minutes, he reached a towering temple. The temple before him was over 300 meters tall and occupied enough space to accommodate 100,000 people. It looked more like a mountain than a building. This temple was also the most important structure in Primordial City. The Seven Luminaries Temple! 1673 Primordial Scroll Chapter 1673 - Primordial Scroll Two mechanical puppets at the temple''s entrance stopped Shi Feng before he could enter the building. "This is the Seven Luminaries Temple! Unauthorized individuals are not allowed entry!" The two mechanical puppets crossed their greatswords before the entrance, preventing Shi Feng from proceeding. If any other player saw these mechanical puppets, they would definitely be given a fright. Both mechanical puppets were Level 200 Mythic monsters. They weren''t ordinary mechanical puppets, either, but Magically Enhanced Puppets. Not only did they possess extremely high intellect, but they also wielded Domains. In other words, they were Tier 4 Mythic monsters with Domain Skills. Even Tier 4 NPCs with Domains would not be a match for these Magically Enhanced Puppets. Furthermore, these Magically Enhanced Puppets were only the Seven Luminaries Temple''s gate attendants. There were much stronger guards within the temple itself. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, not even Tier 6 God-ranked players would dare to act presumptuously in the Seven Luminaries Temple without losing their lives. Primordial City was one of the safest cities throughout God''s Domain. Neither monsters nor players dared to cause trouble here, and those who did were killed without question. Meanwhile, Shi Feng wasn''t surprised to find these Magically Enhanced Puppets barring his path. The Seven Luminaries Temple was one of Primordial City''s core buildings. It was also where players could exchange their Contribution Points for items. But only players who had become adventurers within the city were allowed inside; everyone else would be stopped at the door. If players wanted to become adventurers here, they had to pick up an Adventurer Quest from Primordial City''s Adventurer''s Association. After completing their Adventurer Quest, players would be granted a Primordial City Adventurer Emblem. Players would only be considered a Common Adventurer in the city once they had this emblem, and it would allow them to enjoy some of the benefits the city offered. However, since Shi Feng was in a hurry, he hadn''t stopped by the Adventurer''s Association to pick up the Adventurer''s Quest. In response to the crossed greatswords before him, Shi Feng took out his City Rookie Emblem and showed it to the guards, asking, "Can I enter now?" The City Rookie Emblem granted him the status of a Bronze Adventurer in Primordial City. Although the status couldn''t be upgraded, it was enough for now. If he had free time in the future, he could simply pick up the Adventurer Quest and obtain the real Adventurer Emblem. "City Rookie Emblem confirmed! Identity confirmed! You may enter!" After the two puppets inspected the City Rookie Emblem, they relaxed into their original stances and turned their attention away from Shi Feng. Seeing this, Shi Feng made his way into the Seven Luminaries Temple. The Seven Luminaries Temple''s lobby was a beautifully decorated plaza. The scenery was spectacular. It contained areas where people could rest and chat, and it even offered open-air restaurants and bars. The food and beverages sold here were unique to Primordial City and couldn''t be removed from the city. But the taste of these items was simply unforgettable. Even players who enjoyed delicious delicacies everyday longed to dine here, but very few players could afford to do so. Every item in the Seven Luminaries Temple cost Primordial City Contribution Points. Neither Coins nor Magic Crystals were accepted as currency. Meanwhile, a single meal here cost at least 100 CPs. Of course, players who consumed the meal would receive benefits that corresponded to the 100 CPs they paid, improving perception and focus. Unfortunately, the effects from a 100 CP meal would only last two hours. During that time, however, players could make use of the buff by renting a training room in the Seven Luminaries Temple to practice the combat techniques they had recently purchased. Likewise, the training rooms cost CPs to rent, with the Basic Training Rooms costing 10 CPs per hour, Intermediate Training Rooms costing 30 CPs per hour, and Advanced Training Rooms costing 100 CPs per hour. To most players, though, this cost was astronomical. The system only granted free CPs on players first visit to Primordial City, rewarding nothing for subsequent entries. Hence, it was very important that players carefully decide how to enter the Primordial City for their first visit. Aside from the first entry bonus, players could only obtain more Contribution Points by completing quests and through achievements in Primordial City. Shi Feng didn''t bother to look around after entering the Seven Luminaries Temple as he made his way for the exchange counter. "Sir, may I know what item you wish to purchase?" an elven beauty behind the counter asked with a smile. Although the female Elf looked like a simple administer for the exchange department, if one paid close attention, they''d discover that she was actually a Level 150, Tier 3 Great Mage. Moreover, as a member of the Elven race, her innate affinity with Mana was incredibly high, making her slightly stronger than ordinary Tier 3 Great Mages of the same level. Inside a minor NPC city, this female Elf could easily serve as the city''s Magistrate If this elven woman decided to attack Shi Feng now, he''d die instantly unless he activated an Invulnerability Skill in time. "I wish to purchase Primordial Souls," Shi Feng said. "Primordial Souls are extremely rare, so each will cost you 200 Contribution Points. We also have a daily exchange limit on Primordial Souls. Only 100 Primordial Souls are made available each day," the Elf explained. "May I know how many Primordial Souls you wish to purchase, Sir?" "Twenty," Shi Feng stated. Primordial Souls were rare tools that could help players when they challenged their Promotion Quests. They were also unique to Primordial City. Naturally, Shi Feng had to purchase as many Primordial Souls as he could afford now. Meanwhile, aside from the 5,000 CPs he had gained for clearing the Asura ranked entrance test, he had received a bonus of 3,000 CPs from the system, giving him a total of 8,000 CPs, so spending 4,000 on Primordial Souls wouldn''t put him in the red. He also wasn''t sure how many Zero Wing members would make it into Primordial City. Fortunately, unlike other players, he had the City rookie Emblem, which allowed him to earn CPs far more easily. "Alright." The Elf administrator then retrieved twenty bottles from the spatial storage unit behind her and said, "Sir, as a City Rookie, you enjoy a 10% discount on all purchases. Your total bill comes to 3,600 Contribution Points. Do you wish to purchase anything else?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and said, "I want to purchase 12 Primordial Scrolls and one teleportation stone to the Darkness Plane." Initially, he had planned to purchase Advanced Combat Techniques after reaching Primordial City, but obtaining the Boneless Land''s Lost Town was far more important right now. The Darkness Plane was one of the Higher Planes in God''s Domain, and the Power of Darkness on that plane was incredibly dense. Naturally, the monsters living in the Darkness Plane contained frightening amounts of Power of Darkness within them. When killed, they had a high chance of dropping a Darkness Stone Fragment. Alchemists could use 100 of these fragments to synthesize a complete Darkness Stone, but their success rate was an excruciatingly low 30%. However, this was, by far, the best method to obtain Darkness Stones. On the other hand, if he tried to hunt darkness-type Mythic monsters, the chance of obtaining a complete Darkness Stone was around 10%. When players in the past had to acquire Darkness Stones, they usually decided to do so in the Darkness Plane. However, as a Higher Plane, the Darkness Plane was extremely dangerous. With Shi Feng''s current strength, grinding there would be purely suicidal. He only dared to do so because he had the Bible of Darkness. If he wanted to increase his survival chances in the Darkness Plane, the Primordial Scrolls were necessary. The Primordial Scroll was a super-rare scroll that could only be used in Higher Planes. Players could use the scroll to summon Heroic Spirits to aid them in battle, and it was akin to a Tier 3 Summoning Scroll. However, Heroic Spirits summoned this way operated differently from ordinary summoned creatures. A summoned Heroic Spirit''s strength wasn''t in direct combat. Rather, they tended to focus on support. They possessed plenty of Support Skills and Spells that could significantly strengthen players'' combat power. Like the Primordial Souls, there was a daily exchange limit for the Primordial Scrolls. "Each Primordial Scroll costs 300 Contribution Points. Only Bronze Adventurers and above can purchase the Darkness Plane Teleportation Stone for 1,000 Contribution Points. Including the City Rookie discount, that puts your new total at 7,740 Contribution Points," the Elf administrator reported, smiling as she took out the items Shi Feng had requested. Shi Feng then paid his bill, instantly becoming a poor bastard. But he didn''t mind the huge expenditure. Compared to the value of the Lost Town, spending this many Contribution Points was nothing. He then mailed the Primordial Souls to Aqua Rose while he teleported to the Darkness Plane. 1674 Darkness Plane Chapter 1674 - Darkness Plane After Shi Feng activated the teleportation stone, he abruptly blacked out. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in an entirely different world. The sky was dusky in this world ruled by darkness and death. Shi Feng felt as if he had just arrived in a small, dimly-lit house, barely able to see 20 yards away. All he could see was a barren wasteland. This place didn''t seem survivable for any creature. System: You have discovered the Darkness World. System: Since you do not belong to this world, you find this world''s power oppressive. All senses weakened by 50%, Basic Attributes decreased by 30%, and gained EXP decreased by 95%. System: While in the Darkness World, you cannot make contact with the outside world. Once you die, your soul will be directly expelled from the Darkness World. Three system notifications suddenly reached Shi Feng''s ears, one after another. Even Tier 2 players are suppressed so intensively? Shi Feng frowned when he heard the system notifications. He wasn''t particularly surprised that he had been suppressed. However, what he didn''t expect was the degree of suppression. Not only were Higher Planes much larger than Otherworlds, but the discrimination within them was also more severe. His appearance in the Darkness World was akin to trespassing. Meanwhile, the stronger the creature entering a foreign world was, the greater the suppression would be. He had also visited Higher Planes in the past. Only, he had already been a Tier 3 player, so his Basic Attributes had only been suppressed by 40%. Even though he had been fully geared in Epic Equipment, his Basic Attributes had only rivaled a Great Lord of the same level. His physique had also been considerably weaker. He had even had trouble against the various Higher Planes'' Great Lords of the same level. He hadn''t expected the suppression on Tier 2 existences to be so severe. Tier 2 existences stood at the very bottom of the power hierarchy in Higher Planes. Even at the same level and tier, the Higher Planes'' monsters were much stronger than monsters on the God''s Domain continent. This was because their Life Ratings were much higher than ordinary monsters, as were their combat standards. On the continent of God''s Domain, Dragons were creatures of legend, but in the Higher Planes, monsters with Life Ratings to rival Dragons were everywhere. Hence, before reaching a certain strength, players had an exceedingly low survival chance in a Higher Plane. Even though it was common knowledge that Higher Planes offered plenty of high-rank and precious resources that were rare or nonexistent on God''s Domain''s continent, the various superpowers in Shi Feng''s previous life hadn''t casually explored these Higher Planes. Aside from the world''s oppression and its monsters'' strength, the environment was the greatest difference between the Higher Planes and the continent of God''s Domain. Take the Darkness Plane, for example. Upon arriving in this world, Shi Feng had felt his body become considerably heavier than before. It felt as if the area''s gravitational force had increased by three or four times. Moreover, the environment''s Power of Darkness continuously corroded his body. Without extremely high Darkness Resistance, the ambient Power of Darkness would slay players even if they stood in place and did nothing. Not daring to waste time, Shi Feng took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. In response, a Demon in crimson scale armor, wielding a greatsword, appeared before its summoner. [Blood Demon] (Demonic Creature, Tier 3 Demon) Level 80 HP 34,000,000/34,000,000 Demons were considered Dark Creatures in God''s Domain, so in the Darkness World, they wouldn''t be oppressed. Moreover, thanks to the Bible of Darkness''s Demon Ruler Skill, the Blood Demon had grown stronger. This was why Shi Feng had boldly visited the Darkness Plane. Every monster in the Darkness World was likely stronger than Shi Feng, and he could only see up to 20 yards away. With such a disadvantage, monsters would likely discover him before he would sense them. On the other hand, if he took control of the Demon, he could observe his surroundings through the Demon''s eyes. After giving it a try, he noticed the massive improvement to his range of vision. By seeing through the Demon''s eyes, Shi Feng could see up to 500 yards away. He discovered that he currently stood in a gravel ridge, and a group of ten four-meter-tall Dark Scorpions roamed roughly 300 yards away. Nine of the ten Dark Scorpions had three tails, and the last had five. Moreover, the five-tailed scorpion radiated a light-purple glow. [Dark Scorpion] (Dark Creature, Lord) Level 65 HP 18,000,000/18,000,000 [Mutated Dark Scorpion] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 68 HP 43,000,000/43,000,000 Had Shi Feng not come prepared, he would''ve likely ventured into the Dark Scorpion''s detection range. If the nine Lords and their Great Lord leader had ambushed him while he had been so powerfully suppressed, he would have died very quickly. Fortunately, the teleportation stones that transferred players to the Higher Planes generally sent said players to level appropriate areas. Even so, if he sent the Blood Demon to attack the group of Dark Scorpions by itself, the Demon would definitely lose that battle. The Mutated Dark Scorpion''s strength alone could rival the Blood Demon''s. As a Higher Plane creature, the Mutated Dark Scorpion had a considerably higher Life Rating, after all. Furthermore, it had the support of nine Lord ranked Dark Scorpions to surround and annihilate the Blood Demon. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of circling past the group. He then took out a Primordial Scroll and activated it. As the Primordial Scroll activated, a four-meter-tall elderly man appeared before him. The old man was semi-transparent and wielded a cane. Not bad. I actually got a Great Druid. Shi Feng was quite satisfied when he saw the old man. [Primordial Heroic Spirit] (Hero, Great Druid) Level 75 HP 15,000,000/15,000,000 Although the Primordial Soul summoned a random Heroic Spirit, all summoned Heroic Spirits were Tier 3. Unlike ordinary NPCs, Heroic Spirits wouldn''t be oppressed in foreign worlds. In addition, they commanded plenty of Tier 3 Spells and Skills. They were the perfect support for players when grinding in Higher Planes. Any team that intended to grind in a Higher Plain would always purchase Primordial Scrolls before doing so. After summoning the Heroic Spirit, Shi Feng had the Great Druid cast a series of Tier 3 Support Spells. Tier 3 Spell Forest''s Protection: Increases the Defense and Basic Attributes of all allies by 20% for 30 minutes. Does not stack with other Attribute-increasing Spells. Tier 3 Spell Nature''s Blessing: All Resistances +80, 15% damage reduction, and a 15% increase to Stamina for 30 minutes. Tier 3 Spell Thorny Vines: Protect a specified target with Magical Vines for 10 minutes. Anyone who attacks said target will receive damage from the Magical Vines. When the three Support Spells affected the Blood Demon, the Blood Demon''s Attributes rose by a large margin. Following which, Shi Feng controlled the Blood Demon and charged towards the Dark Scorpion group. When the Blood Demon was less than 200 yards away from the Dark Scorpions, it caught the monsters'' attention. Responding, the Dark Scorpions lashed their tails and hissed threateningly. Not waiting for the Dark Scorpions to attack, Shi Feng used the Tier 3 Spell, Blood Sanction. Immediately, 50-plus blades of blood flew at the ten Dark Scorpions with lightning speed. Even if Shi Feng were at his peak and activated a Berserk Skill, he would have trouble blocking all 50-plus blood blades. He would have to dodge or activate a Lifesaving Skill to avoid taking a hit. As the blood blades were about to reach the Dark Scorpions, the latter''s tails blurred. Dang Dang Dang A series of dazzling sparks lit up the gloomy environment. The nine Lord ranked Dark Scorpions had successfully struck down over 80% of the blood blades, while the weapons that had found their mark had only dealt a little over -30,000 damage. The Mutated Dark Scorpion, however, struck down all nine incoming blades, emerging from the exchange unharmed. What high Magic Resistance. The outcome surprised Shi Feng a little. A Tier 3 Demon''s Tier 3 Spell carried immense power. Just one of those blood blades could rival a Great Lord''s attack of the same level, yet they had only dealt a little over -30,000 damage after landing a direct hit. To the Dark Scorpions, who had 18,000,000 HP each, the damage wasn''t significant. During the brief moment Shi Feng had been surprised, the Mutated Dark Scorpion screeched as its tails began to glow dark-green as they lashed out at the Blood Demon. The tails had moved so quickly that Shi Feng hadn''t been able to react in time. He had only managed to tilt the Blood Demon''s body, evading three of the five attacks. When the Mutated Dark Scorpion''s two remaining tails struck the Blood Demon, its stingers slid through the Demon''s armor like a knife through paper, each dealing over -400,000 damage 1675 Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal Chapter 1675 - Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal After getting struck by the Mutated Dark Scorpion''s glowing stingers, the Blood Demon immediately gained a debuff. -22,347. When the debuff took effect, Shi Feng suddenly found it much more difficult to control the Blood Demon, the Demon''s movements becoming sluggish. What a powerful poison. Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he checked the debuff. [Paralyzing Venom] Inflicts 30,000 damage every 0.8 second for 12 seconds. While the venom is still in effect, decreases reaction speed by 40%, Attack Speed by 30%, and Movement Speed by 30%. Effects can be stacked up to 10 times. The majority of toxins in God''s Domain only caused victims to lose HP over time. Very few could inflict a paralysis effect, much less be stackable. Although the Blood Demon possessed high Magic Resistance and could mitigate a portion of the damage it received, if the toxin was stacked ten times, even the Blood Demon would fall in no time. Moreover, the toxin being stacked boosted not only the DoT but also the speed reduction debuff. If that happened, the Blood Demon would have an increasingly difficult time blocking the attacks of the Dark Scorpions, which possessed considerably high combat standards. The Mutated Dark Scorpion''s combat standard was even at the level of an ordinary expert player. In the next moment, the Dark Scorpions launched another wave of attacks at the Blood Demon. Due to the venom, the Blood Demon had great difficulty defending itself. A series of damages ranging from several tens of thousands to several hundred thousand appeared above the Blood Demon''s head, its HP plummeting. The number of Paralyzing Venom stacks also increased from one to four. Now, the Blood Demon was taking -120,000 damage from the venom every 0.8 second. Its reaction speed had also decreased by 60%, and its Attack and Movement Speed by 50%. Even though the Blood Demon was higher-leveled, it would not last very long against the Dark Scorpions at this rate. Thank goodness I prepared Primordial Scrolls. Glancing at the Mutated Dark Scorpion, Shi Feng then commanded the Heroic Spirit to cast the Tier 2 Spell Healing Wind. A light-green gale immediately enveloped the Blood Demon. In the next moment, not only did the Paralyzing Venom debuff disappear altogether, but the Blood Demon also rapidly recovered the 10% or so HP it lost. In the blink of an eye, it was already back to full HP. Once Healing Wind ended, Shi Feng had the Heroic Spirit cast the Tier 3 Spell Earthen Vine. Suddenly, vines sprouted beneath the Dark Scorpions'' legs and bound the monsters completely. Although the Dark Scorpions managed to cut and snap the vines in their struggles, new vines would always replace the broken ones, greatly restricting the mobility of the Dark Scorpions. Moreover, the Earthen Vines also dealt -50,000 damage every second to the Dark Scorpions, and the Skill lasted for a full 20 seconds. This Skill was perfect against monsters without Control Removal Skills. After the Dark Scorpions were restricted, the Blood Demon brandished its greatsword and began exterminating the Dark Scorpions. Each of its normal attacks caused around -40,000 damage, while its Skills dealt over -100,000 damage each. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also cast Flame Domain on the group of monsters. Although Shi Feng was suppressed by the world and his Basic Attributes had decreased significantly, the Sacred Sword he wielded doubled the damage he dealt Dark Creatures. Following which, damages over -200,000 appeared above the Dark Scorpions'' heads. Moreover, the damage Flame Domain dealt also increased by 20% with every passing second. By the time Flame Domain ended, the Lord ranked Dark Scorpions had lost nearly one-third of their maximum HP. Shi Feng then executed Lightning Edge and dealt each of the Dark Scorpions over -200,000 damage per second for five seconds. At this time, the Heroic Spirit standing beside Shi Feng finished casting the Tier 3 Curse Star Fury. Suddenly, streaks of starlight started raining down from the sky and bombarding the Dark Scorpions. The might of the AOE Spell was stronger than even Shi Feng''s Flame Domain, each wave of attacks dealing over -600,000 damage to the Dark Scorpions. Moreover, unlike normal AOE Spells, Star Fury aimed only at enemies within range. Hence, the Curse did not do any damage to the Blood Demon. In total, seven waves of starlight descended on the Dark Scorpions. By the time Star Fury ended, not only had the Dark Scorpions lost a significant amount of their HPs, but they also fell into a heavily injured state, their Basic Attributes, Defense, and combat power decreasing to a certain extent. This turn of events allowed the Blood Demon to deal even more damage. Now, even its normal attacks inflicted around -80,000 damage on its tough opponents. Very quickly, the first Dark Scorpion fell to Shi Feng''s group. Afterward, even after Earthen Vine''s duration ended, the heavily injured Dark Scorpions didn''t pose much of a threat. To make the battle more efficient, Shi Feng decided to have the Blood Demon focus on only dodging the Mutated Dark Scorpion''s attacks while maintaining its assault on the other Dark Scorpions. This strategy rendered the Mutated Dark Scorpion useless in the battle. The Great Lord could only watch as its subordinates got picked off one after another. Only after the disposal of all the Lord ranked monsters did Shi Feng have the Blood Demon trade blow for blow with the Great Lord, forgoing all forms of evasion and defense. Although the Blood Demon would get poisoned and receive significant amounts of damage from doing so, there was the healing provided by the Heroic Spirit. Due to the Blood Demon''s all-out offensive, the Mutated Dark Scorpion lost HP rapidly. 72% 70% 65% After roughly ten minutes had passed since the battle began, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and landed the last hit on the Mutated Dark Scorpion. Following which, the Mutated Dark Scorpion let out an agonized screech as it collapsed before Shi Feng''s feet. At the same time, the Great Lord also dropped eight items around its corpse. The monsters here are really tough. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that the Mutated Dark Scorpion was finally dead. Although Shi Feng had long since known that the monsters in Higher Planes were powerful, he had never imagined that the monsters of the Darkness World would be this powerful. Just dealing with a Level 68 Great Lord had already taken him so much effort. If not for him having summoned a healing-type Heroic Spirit, he could have come out the loser in this battle. With how powerful the monsters in the Darkness World were, if he came across a Grand Lord, he would most likely have no choice but to run away. However, while dealing with the Dark Scorpions was indeed very difficult, the loot they dropped pleased Shi Feng greatly. The nine Lord ranked Dark Scorpions had dropped a total of 37 items. Among them, fifteen were Level 60 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and eight were Level 60 Bronze Equipment. The drop-rate here was considerably better than on the continent of God''s Domain where Lord ranked monsters past Level 50 dropped only Bronze Equipment while Mysterious-Iron Equipment was dropped by only High Lords and Great Lordsand generally just one or two pieces of equipment at that. Aside from weapons, equipment, and materials, the nine Dark Scorpions also dropped three Darkness Stone Fragments. The drop-rate for the fragments was considerably better than what Shi Feng initially expected it to be. However, compared to the loot of the nine Dark Scorpions, the loot of the Mutated Dark Scorpion was much more attractive. Of the eight items dropped, three were equipment: a Level 60 Secret-Silver cloth armor robe and two set pieces for the Level 60 Secret-Silver plate armor Dark Devourer Set. Level 60 Secret-Silver Set Equipment would be considered top-notch equipment in the game when players reached Level 60. Moreover, the Dark Devourer Set was actually an eight-piece set. The set''s level requirement would be lowered to Level 55 when four set pieces were gathered, and further to Level 50 if one managed to complete the set. If players could equip Level 60 Secret-Silver Set Equipment at Level 50, just the Basic Attributes they could gain from the set alone would surpass that of Level 50 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Not to mention, the Dark Devourer Set''s other set effects were also plenty amazing. The set''s two-piece set effect reduced the damage sustained from Tier 2 Spells by 40% and Spells below Tier 2 by 70%. Meanwhile, the six-piece set effect raised the wearer''s Strength and Endurance by up to 30% when attacked. If he could allow the Guild''s MTs and Berserkers to equip the Dark Devourer Set, they would be practically invincible among those of the same level. Aside from the three pieces of equipment, the Mutated Dark Scorpion also dropped two Darkness Stone Fragments. As for the remaining three items, two of them were Paralyzing Venom Potions, which could be applied to weapons, allowing one''s attacks to inflict a weakened version of the Paralyzing Venom debuff on targets. Each potion could be used three times, and each application lasted 30 minutes. Although the debuff imposed was nowhere near as strong as the Mutated Dark Scorpion''s, it was still quite effective against both players and monsters. Following which, Shi Feng took out from his bag the last item the Great Lord dropped. This item was a crystal that gave off a black-and-white glow. When he looked at the crystal, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes. The Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal. It was one of the rarest loot available in the Darkness World. In fact, it was a treasure highly sought after by players belonging to the dark forces. This was an item that would only be dropped by darkness-type mutated monsters. 1676 Class-change to Yin Yang Sain Chapter 1676 - Class-change to Yin Yang Saint Looking at the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal in his hand, Shi Feng immediately took out a Summon Guard Scroll and activated it. The Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal contained a special kind of Power of Darkness, allowing one to gain better control over the Power of Darkness. For players belonging to the dark forces, absorbing the Mutated Dark Energy Crystal would improve their physique and Life Rating. At the same time, the Power of Darkness they could use would increase. One could say that the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal was similar to a Bloodline but with far inferior effects compared to an actual Bloodline. Even so, it was still extremely precious. Shi Feng never thought he could obtain a Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal just by killing one Mutated Dark Scorpion. Dark Players would definitely go crazy with envy if they learned of this matter. In the past, countless Dark Players had visited the Darkness World to obtain Mutated Darkness Energy Crystals. However, extremely few actually got their hands on one. Unfortunately, as Shi Feng was not a Dark Player, the crystal was not as valuable to him. However, there was another use for the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystalwhich was also considered by players as one of the most wasteful methods of using Mutated Energy Crystals like the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystaland that was to allow Personal Guards to absorb its power. Letting a Personal Guard absorb the power of a Mutated Energy Crystal gave the said Personal Guard an opportunity to awaken and assimilate that power. However, the chances of success were below 10%. In contrast, if players were to absorb the power of a Mutated Energy Crystal, they were sure to obtain that power. In the past, almost no player would waste the Mutated Energy Crystals they obtained on their Personal Guards. Of course, there were always exceptions, such as righteous players who refused to trade with Dark Players no matter what. In such rare occasions, players would choose to give the Mutated Energy Crystal to their Personal Guards instead and gamble on the small chance of success. Meanwhile, one of these exceptions had won their gamble, allowing their Fine-Gold Personal Guard to obtain the Power of Fire. The result of this successful assimilation was a massive rise in combat power for the said Personal Guard. Afterward, the Fine-Gold Personal Guard had even managed to get promoted to Tier 5. Normally, only Dark-Gold Guards had a chance to reach Tier 5 in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, after getting promoted to Tier 5, the evolved Fine-Gold Guard''s combat power was even close to rivaling that of Tier 5 Dark-Gold Guards. Back then, this incident had caused a huge commotion throughout the entire God''s Domain. Spending a Mutated Energy Crystal to obtain a Tier 5 Personal Guard was a very profitable trade. After all, most players that absorbed a Mutated Energy Crystal couldn''t even reach Tier 5. Moreover, a Tier 5 Personal Guard was much stronger than a Tier 5 player. The only downside was the difficulty of resurrecting Personal Guards that were killed. Due to this incident, the various superpowers had also reconsidered their opinions on spending Mutated Energy Crystals on Personal Guards. Meanwhile, since the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal was utterly useless to Shi Feng, he might as well gamble it on one of his Personal Guards. After Shi Feng completed the incantation for the Summon Guard Scroll, a summoning magic array manifested before him. A moment later, the lithe figure of a woman appeared in it. This woman was none other than Anna, whom he had not seen for quite some time now. At this point, Anna had already reached Level 80. Her leveling speed was simply astonishing; Shi Feng could not help but acknowledge the questing efficiency of an Epic Personal Guard. Her strength had improved considerably as well. Right now, even the Level 80, Tier 3 Blood Demon was most likely no match for her. However, as this place was the Darkness World, as soon as Anna appeared, a powerful force started suppressing her, causing her Basic Attributes to plummet. When her Basic Attributes settled, her overall combat power was no longer a match for the Tier 3 Blood Demon. Not wanting to waste time, Shi Feng immediately passed the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal to Anna. At the sight of the crystal, Anna''s eyes glowed with great interest and excitement. Without needing Shi Feng to do anything, Anna started writing divine runes and chanting an incantation. NPCs were much more proficient at utilizing Mutated Energy Crystals than players were. Hence, NPCs were capable of using every type of Mutated Energy Crystal available. Players, on the other hand, could only absorb Mutated Energy Crystals that were suitable for their alignment and class. Suddenly, a gigantic, golden magic array appeared beneath Anna''s feet. Onefold Twofold Threefold The appearance of the magic array lit up the surrounding darkness brightly. After Anna was done casting the threefold magic array, she placed the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal at its center. Suddenly, the surrounding Power of Darkness started surging towards the magic array, the massive flow of energy prompting Shi Feng to step back in fright. As the magic array collected more Power of Darkness, the aura it exuded also steadily strengthened. At some point, the aura grew so overwhelming that Shi Feng started to feel stifled. Even the monsters over 500 yards away unconsciously distanced themselves from the magic array. After the process continued for five long seconds, the magic array''s horrific aura began dissipating. The gathered Power of Darkness then started flowing into Anna''s body under the magic array''s guidance. In the next moment, pitch-black runes appeared on Anna''s body. As the number of runes increased, the feeling Anna gave off underwent a heaven-defying change. If in the past, Anna was an Angel that represented the light, then now, she was a Fallen Angel that represented darkness. After runes covered Anna''s entire body, she started giving off an unprecedented pressure. At this moment, Shi Feng felt as if he was standing before Serena, the Fallen Angel guarding the World Summit, again. If Anna willed it, she could easily kill Tier 3 and Tier 4 existences with a wave of her hand right now. However, the horrific pressure lasted for only one second, then vanished without a trace. At the same time, the threefold magic array Anna stood on also started disappearing into the void. As for Anna herself, she had reverted to her original state. The only differences now were a dark purple mark at the center of her forehead and a hint of coldness in her aura. "Did you succeed?" Shi Feng could not help but ask curiously as he eyed Anna, who looked as she normally did. In the past, he had heard that a huge commotion would arise whenever Personal Guards used Mutated Energy Crystals. However, those commotions were far from being as massive as the one that just occurred. In fact, even the casting of a Tier 5 Spell wouldn''t cause such a massive disturbance. "Lord Count, it should be a success?" Anna said as she looked at herself, uncertainty in her tone. Shi Feng could not help but fall speechless at Anna''s reply. Immediately, he called out Anna''s Attribute Panel. [Anna] (Ye Feng''s Personal Guard) Class: Tier 2 Peak Class, Yin Yang Saint Level 80 Loyalty: 97 Growth Potential: 113 Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at the updated values in Anna''s Attribute Panel. He had never imagined that Anna would not only gain control over the Power of Darkness but also class-change into a Yin Yang Saint, a peak class. Moreover, her Growth Potential had even risen from 105 to 113 points. Anna had actually improved that much just by using one Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal. This was definitely a massive jackpot. After all, every point increased in Growth Potential would allow a Personal Guard to gain considerably more Attribute Points with each level up. Now that Anna had eight more points in Growth Potential, she would no doubt become an even more terrifying existence in the future. Not to mention, Anna had even class-changed into a Yin Yang Saint. In God''s Domain, Class Legacies held much greater importance to NPCs than to players. In a situation where both sides were of the same level and tier, an NPC with a basic class had almost no chance of defeating an NPC with an advanced class, and likewise an NPC with an advanced class had no chance of defeating an NPC with a peak class. After Shi Feng was done looking at the summary of Anna''s Attribute Panel, he could not help but click to inspect her specific Attributes. Is she a monster? Shi Feng involuntarily gaped in shock when he saw Anna''s Basic Attributes. 1677 Annas Power Chapter 1677 - Anna''s Power Shi Feng was dazed for a long moment after seeing Anna''s Basic Attributes. If other players saw Anna''s statistics, they''d be surprised by how high the values were at most, but Shi Feng knew the implication these Attributes had. A normal Level 80, Tier 2 magical class NPC would only have around 3,600 Intelligence, which was already far more than what magical class players would have at Level 80, Tier 2. Even if a Level 80 player were fully geared in Epic Equipment, they wouldn''t have such a high Attribute since every Personal Guard used Epic Weapons and Equipment. Even the strongest magical class Personal Guard Shi Feng had heard of in the past had only commanded 4,200 Intelligence after reaching Level 80, Tier 2. Although there was only a 600 point difference, the difference in magic damage and maximum Mana would be massive. In God''s Domain, the power of a Spell heavily depended on the caster''s Intelligence. For example, if a Tier 1 player and a Tier 6 player cast the same Tier 1 Spell, the power difference would be like heaven and earth. The outcome was due to the difference in their Attributes. Meanwhile, high-tiered Spells and Skills only allowed one to display more of their raw power. Previously, Anna''s Intelligence had only risen to 4,346, and she had barely been able to contend with ordinary Great Lords of the same level in terms of raw magic damage. However, if she used the powerful Skills in her arsenal, she could have easily overwhelmed a Great Lord of the same level. Now, Anna''s Intelligence had risen to 5,031 points. With such high Intelligence, she could overwhelm Great Lords with ordinary Tier 2 Spells. Now, I won''t have to worry about needing sufficient help in the Darkness World. Looking at Anna, Shi Feng could tell that she could easily stomp out Great Lords of the same level. Aside from the improvements they granted players and NPCs, Mutated Darkness Energy Crystals would force the Darkness World to recognize their users. With this recognition, the world would no longer consider them an intruder and suppress them. This was why Dark Players desired Mutated Darkness Energy Crystals. Although Dark Players were members of the dark forces and contained a small amount of Power of Darkness within, the Darkness World still considered them trespassers. The world would still suppress them, although the suppression wouldn''t be as severe due to the Power of Darkness they contained. However, if they absorbed a Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal, they could proceed without any suppression. They could then explore the Darkness World as if they were in their element. Now that Anna had absorbed the Mutated Darkness Energy Crystal, she, too, had been recognized by the Darkness World. The world would accept her as one of its own, and she''d be able to exhibit all of her strength. Shi Feng then began his search for the next group of monsters. Although resources within the Darkness World were abundant, this world didn''t have as many monsters as the continent of God''s Domain. If the Darkness World''s monsters moved in large groups as they did on the continent of God''s Domain, players would have no hope of surviving here. Now that Shi Feng had the powerful support Anna offered, hunting down monsters like the Dark Scorpions was a waste of time. He needed to find stronger monsters to allow Anna to display her full potential. After searching for around 30 minutes, Shi Feng finally found a pack of Two-headed Dark Wolves resting at the foot of a mountain. There were twelve Dark Wolves in total, including one Grand Lord and eleven Lords. The Lord ranked wolves were around four meters tall, while the Grand Lord was double that size. Aside from looking like a miniature mountain, the Grand Lord ranked Dark Wolf gave off an intense pressure. [Two-headed Dark Wolf] (Dark Creature, Lord) Level 67 HP 21,000,000/21,000,000 [Two-headed Dark Wolf King] (Dark Creature, Grand Lord) Level 70 HP 95,000,000/95,000,000 Challenging a Grand Lord in the Darkness World was very dangerous, but even if Shi Feng weren''t a match for the monster, he was confident that he could retreat safely if needed. If he weren''t, and he settled for weaker monsters, he wouldn''t be able to acquire then 100 Darkness Stones he needed even after ten solid days of grinding. The Darkness World''s Grand Lords had a chance of dropping complete Darkness Stones. On the other hand, only Mythic rank or above darkness-type monsters would drop the stones on the God''s Domain continent. That being said, Grand Lords in this world had a slightly lower chance of dropping them. However, he could use Icarus''s Heart to compensate for the low drop-rate. As long as the Grand Lords had a chance of dropping the stones, it was worth a try. Shi Feng had only planned to challenge Grand Lords after he could summon three Demons with the Bible of Darkness. He''d also be able to use another Primordial Scroll in two hours. With five Tier 3 monsters and a healer, he had a considerably good chance of defeating the Grand Lords. At worst, he could always suppress his opponents with the Ring of Gospel. But now that he had a monster of a Personal Guard like Anna, there was no need to wait. "Alright, let''s begin!" Shi Feng commanded once everyone was in position. Anna instantly began to write divine runes, chanting an incantation at the same time. A short moment later, ten Level 80 Lord ranked Rock Guardians formed before Anna. A Level 80 Great Lord ranked Golden Giant had joined them. Due to the significant boost to Anna''s Intelligence, her summoned creatures had also received a boost to their Attributes. The summoned creatures were 15% stronger than they had been previously, but Anna wasn''t done yet. Following which, she cast Magic Strengthening, further increasing the Rock Guardians and Golden Giant''s Basic Attributes. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had a powerful monster army. As the eleven summoned creatures prepared to charge, the old man beside Shi Feng cast enhancement buffs on them as well, strengthening the summoned creatures even further. "Go!" Shi Feng commanded once the preparations were complete. The Golden Giant and Blood Demon led the charge with the ten Rock Guardians closely behind them. When the group of summoned creatures came within 200 yards of the Dark Wolf pack, the Dark Wolves howled with anger. The Two-headed Dark Wolf King stood and glared at the Golden Giant and Blood Demon. Emanating a low growl, it pushed its paws against the ground and shot forward. The Dark Wolf King was as fast as lightning, leaving a trail of afterimages and powerful gales of wind. The Dark Wolf King arrived before the Golden Giant almost instantly, smacking the Great Lord with one of its front paws. Peng! Under Anna''s control, the Golden Giant raised its arms to protect itself. When the Dark Wolf King''s paw collided with the Golden Giant''s arms, the ground beneath the summoned Great Lord cracked and shattered, and the Golden Giant sunk into the ground. The Dark Wolf King''s Strength was higher than Shi Feng had expected, and despite blocking the attack, the Golden Giant had lost over 100,000 HP. Realizing that its first attack had failed to get rid of its target, the Dark Wolf King turned and swiped its tail at the Golden Giant. As the Wolf King''s bushy tail moved, Power of Darkness gathered around it, turning the harmless-looking tail into a sharp blade that sliced at the Golden Giant. Tier 2 Skill, Darkness Blade. When the attack landed, the impact sent the Golden Giant flying over 20 yards back. Following which, a damage of over -2,300,000 appeared above the Golden Giant''s head. The Dark Wolf King''s Strength was on an entirely different level than the Grand Lords on God''s Domain''s continent. Fortunately, although the two attacks dealt a lot of damage, the Golden Giant had 55,000,000 HP. Losing a little over two million HP was nothing. With the Primordial Heroic Spirit healing it from a safe distance, the Golden Giant could definitely withstand the Dark Wolf King''s attacks. In contrast, the Blood Demon and ten Rock Giants completely overwhelmed the eleven Two-headed Dark Wolves that had followed their alpha. Even without any healing, the Rock Giants could dominate the Dark Wolves in a one-on-one fight. Furthermore, they had the help of the Tier 3 Blood Demon. Naturally, Anna didn''t sit idle. After becoming a Yin Yang Saint, she had gained more than just Summoning SKills. She now had powerful attack Spells in her arsenal. Anna cast Holy Light Spear, a Tier 2 light-type Spell, launching 18 holy spears at the Dark Wolf pack. Each spear carried nearly as much Strength as a Tier 3 Great Lord of the same level. Moreover, the holy spears dealt an additional 50% damage to Dark Creatures. When the holy spears found their marks, the Dark Wolves cried in agony as damages of over -400,000 appeared above their heads. In less than ten minutes, Shi Feng''s team had wiped out the eleven Lord ranked Two-headed Dark Wolves, the creatures decorating the ground with loot upon their deaths. Now, only the Two-headed Dark Wolf King remained, still fighting the Golden Giant. However, the Golden Giant looked miserable. Despite the Heroic Spirit''s constant healing, the Great Lord''s HP continued to decrease. Shi Feng had even been forced to activate Life Domain halfway through the battle to keep the summoned creature standing. Once the eleven Lord ranked Dark Wolves had been dealt with, Anna began to chant a long incantation, writing many lines of divine runes in the air before her. Suddenly, a gigantic, silver, twofold magic array appeared beneath Anna''s feet. In response, a towering pillar of light rose from the ground beneath the Dark Wolf King''s feet, enveloping the Boss. Countless chains then appeared from the void and bound the lupine Grand Lord. Despite the Dark Wolf King''s desperate struggle, it couldn''t break free. A moment later, the Dark Wolf King released a pained wail as its massive body began to shrink. Tier 3 Spell, Chains of Light! 1678 Power to Transcend Tiers Chapter 1678 - Power to Transcend Tiers She''s capable of using Spells higher than her tier? Shi Feng was at a loss as he stared at the towering light pillar. Is this the power of a peak class? In God''s Domain, whether they be players, NPCs, or monsters, all existences could generally only learn and use Skills or Spells at their tier or lower. The strongest Skills and Spells they could use were Taboo Skills and Curses. Yet, Anna had just cast a bona fide Tier 3 Spell despite only being Tier 2 herself. Shi Feng had never heard of anything like this before. Of course, one reason for his ignorance was that he had only ever heard of Personal Guards obtaining advanced classes. Even after ten years in God''s Domain, he had never heard of a Personal Guard acquiring a peak class as Anna had. Due to the effects of Chains of Light, the Two-headed Dark Wolf King, which had been over nine meters tall, had shrunk to six meters in height. The chains around its form also greatly limited its movement. This allowed the Golden Giant to block every one of the Grand Lord''s attacks. Now, the Golden Giant only lost around 80,000 HP after it received one of the Dark Wolf King''s attacks. It was clear that the Dark Wolf King''s Strength had decreased considerably. After the decrease, it was only as powerful as an ordinary Grand Lord on the continent of God''s Domain. The Heroic Spirit''s healing was now more than enough to keep the Golden Giant alive. After Anna had cast Chains of Light, she proceeded to write another series of divine runes. Under Anna''s control, the ten Rock Guardians surrounded the Dark Wolf King. The Rock Giants then transformed into ten stone pillars, and after Anna finished over two dozen lines of divine runes, she lightly tapped the but of her staff against the ground. Golden divine runes began to surface on the ten stone pillars, releasing arcs of golden electricity that lined the pillars and created a magic barrier around the Dark Wolf King. The Dark Wolf King''s Basic Attributes began to decrease rapidly. The Chains of Light had merely weakened the Dark Wolf King''s Strength and mobility, but the golden magic barrier suppressed all aspects of the Boss. In the blink of an eye, the Dark Wolf King''s maximum HP had fallen by 30%. This magic barrier could even rival a top-tier Intermediate Magic Array. After seeing this, Shi Feng finally understood why there was such a huge difference between the strength of NPCs'' classes. It wasn''t just a matter of higher Basic attributes, but a matter of superior Spells and Skills. Even without the Blood Demon and Heroic Spirit, Shi Feng was confident he could defeat a Level 70 Grand Lord with Anna''s help alone. If the party had a strong healer, Anna could even whittle down the Dark Wolf King without too much exertion. This will save me plenty of Primordial Scrolls. As Shi Feng watched the Two-headed Dark Wolf King, whose Attributes had already fallen below a Grand Lord''s standard, he realized that he wouldn''t have to rely on Primordial Scrolls to grind in the Darkness World anymore. The Heroic Spirits players summoned with Primordial Scrolls could only exist for 12 hours. Meanwhile, Shi Feng only had 12 of these scrolls. Even if he used them efficiently, they would only last him for several days. With Anna''s help, though, he could grind in the Darkness World for much longer. Due to the magic barrier, the Golden Giant had a much easier time dealing with the Dark Wolf King. The Great Lord even began to trade blows with the Grand Lord, increasing the party''s overall DPS. After including the Blood Demon, Anna, and Shi Feng''s attacks, the Dark Wolf King''s HP began to deplete steadily. Although the Grand Lord''s battle recovery and high Defense slowed their progress, it was only a matter of time before the Dark Wolf King died. 90%... 85%... 80%... When the Two-headed Dark Wolf King''s HP fell to 20%, it released a sudden, angry howl. Its two-headed body then split down the middle, each head taking on its own form. Division? Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he saw the two Dark Wolf Kings. Bosses that had grasped Doppelganger Skills in God''s Domain were extremely difficult to defeat. Unfortunately, slaying Bosses that had grasped Division Skills was even harder. With Doppelganger Skills, a Boss''s main body and its doppelganger shared HP. If either form were killed, regardless of whether or not players slew the main body, both would die. However, Bosses with Division Skills were a different story. Each copy had its own, independent HP. This essentially meant that players had to face two Bosses simultaneously. Moreover, when a Boss used a Division Skill, all debuffs on the Boss would be removed. In the next moment, the Chains of Light originally binding the Two-headed Dark Wolf King vanished. The two Dark Wolf Kings then revealed a sinister grin as they looked at Shi Feng''s group, their expressions seemingly saying: You''re dead meat now. The two Dark Wolf Kings immediately pounced on the Golden Giant and the Blood Demon. Gathering Power of Darkness in their paws, they smacked their respective targets. Both the Golden Giant and the Blood Demon attempted to block the incoming attacks, but just as they seemed to succeed, the Dark Wolf Kings'' paws transformed into shadows, piercing the Elemental and Demon''s defenses. The attacks struck their targets, and both the Golden Giant and the Blood Demon were thrown over 20 yards away, a damage exceeding -2,000,000 appearing above each of their heads. Before the two summoned creatures could regain their footing, the two Dark Wolf Kings pounced again, launching the same attacks. The prior scene replayed, with the Golden Giant and the Blood Demon flying backward and losing over 2,000,000 HP each. As expected of a Grand Lord in the Darkness World. In addition to a Division Skill, it has an unblockable offensive Skill. This Boss could even annihilate a 20-man team of Tier 2 experts of the same level. Despite realizing the seriousness of the summoned creatures'' situation, Shi Feng remained unfazed. Instead, he calmly told Anna, "Let''s see what you''ve got." Nodding, Anna''s aura abruptly changed. The dark purple mark on her forehead disappeared, transforming into runes that covered her body. After Anna obtained a peak class, she had learned two Overtier Spells and one Epic ranked Skill. Although she had displayed the Tier 3 Spell, Chains of Light, she had yet to reveal her other Overtier Spell and Epic Skill. The move Anna had just used was none other than the Epic Skill, Yin Yang Power. Not only did Anna''s Basic Attributes soar under the Skill''s power, but the strength of her light- and darkness-type Skills and Spells would also rise by one tier, to a maximum of Tier 4. This was the Berserk Skill unique to Peak Legacies. Anna''s Tier 2 Spells and Skills already had the power to rival Tier 3 attacks, but now her attacks were even more powerful than a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Furthermore, while Yin Yang Power was in effect, all of her Spells and Skills would increase by one Tier. It was by no means an exaggeration to consider Anna a Level 80, Tier 3 NPC. Anna proceeded to cast the Tier 2 Spell, Holy Light Spear once more, but unlike her previous use, the number of holy spears she summoned had doubled to 36. Moreover, each spear carried more power than before. Under Anna''s control, the holy spears transformed into streaks of white light that bombarded the two Dark Wolf Kings. While the two Dark Wolf Kings happily bullied the Golden Giant and Blood Demon, the holy spears appeared before them. Even with the Dark Wolf Kings'' incredible reaction speeds, they only blocked half of the incoming spears; the rest of the shining weapons found their marks. When the holy spears met the Dark Wolf Kings'' tough fur, the two Grand Lords howled in pain. Each spear dealt over -600,000 damage By the time the two Dark Wolf Kings had recovered from the holy spear''s bombardment, Anna had finished casting the Tier 2 Spell, Feathers of Light. Suddenly, countless white, immaculate feathers descended from the sky, decorating the area around the two Grand Lords. Anna, who stood outside of the Rock Giants'' magic barrier, grabbed at a feather that had fallen before her. She then gave the feather a gentle pinch. Boom Boom Boom The hundreds of immaculate feathers surrounding the two Dark Wolf Kings began to explode, one after another. Although each feather''s explosion was not particularly powerful and only devoured a few tens of thousands of the Grand Lords'' HPs, the total accumulated damage was frightening. After a short moment, the two Dark Wolf Kings, who had only held on by a small amount of HP, fell to Anna''s Spell. Anna had killed the two Dark Wolf Kings so quickly that Shi Feng hadn''t even had enough time to use Divine Providence and land the finishing blow 1679 Ancient Rock Citys Shocking Transformation Chapter 1679 - Ancient Rock City''s Shocking Transformation Seeing the corpses of the divided Two-headed Dark Wolf King reaffirmed Anna''s Strength for Shi Feng. Although light-type Spells had striking effects against Dark Creatures, they shouldn''t allow a Level 80, Tier 2 NPC to overwhelm the Two-headed Dark Wolf King to this extent. Not even ordinary Tier 3 NPCs of the same level were capable of such a feat. The only downside to Anna''s Yin Yang Power was its 100-second duration and a long 6-hour Cooldown. If she could use this Berserk Skill frequently, she could massacre one Level 70 Grand Lord after another. When the Two-headed Dark Wolf King had died, it had dropped a pile of loot before them. It had also granted both Shi Feng and Anna a large amount of EXP. Although Shi Feng''s EXP gain in the Darkness World had been drastically reduced, his experience bar still increased by a noticeable amount. As for Anna, although her EXP gain was no longer affected, the EXP she had gained from killing the Level 70 Two-headed Dark Wolf King was insignificant compared to how much she needed to level up since she had already reached Level 80. As expected of one of the Darkness World''s Grand Lords. Its loot is way better than an ordinary Grand Lord''s. Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise as he gazed at the items before him. Past Level 50, Grand Lords generally only dropped ten or so items. Moreover, the majority of the loot would even be materials, and one would be lucky if they got three or four pieces of equipment, even the best of which would be Secret-Silver rank. However, the Two-headed Dark Wolf King had dropped over 20 items. Although the majority of the loot was still materials, the Boss had dropped five pieces of equipment. Three of the pieces were Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment, including one pair of boots belonging to the Level 60 Secret-Silver ranked Dark Devourer Set. The last two pieces were Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment, one of which was a set piece for the Level 60 Fine-Gold ranked Fantasy Demon Set. Although the Fantasy Demon Set was only a six-piece set, players could equip the set at Level 55 instead of Level 60 once they had gathered four pieces. If the full set were given to a Level 55 magical-class player, that player would wipe the floor with other magical-class players of the same level. Only players with multiple Epic Weapons and Equipment would likely be able to contend with them. Two Master ranked potions had also dropped. Among them, one was the Mana Awakening Potion. It was a rare berserk potion that increased players'' Spell effects by 200% for 30 seconds. The other potion was a Resuscitation Potion. If players consumed the potion after resurrecting, they could recover a portion of the lost EXP. These two potions had easily sold for over 100 Gold each on the market in the past. In addition, the Two-headed Dark Wolf King had dropped a Darkness Stone and three Darkness Stone Fragments. However, what surprised Shi Feng most was a translucent crystal ball. The Detection Crystal Ball! This was a top-tier item for outdoor explorations. It was particularly useful at night, when visibility was poor. The Detection Crystal Ball could be used to detect all monsters within a certain range, which was determined by the Detection Crystal Ball''s rank. A Bronze Detection Crystal Ball had a range of 500 yards, while Mysterious-Iron ranked crystal balls could detect enemies within 700 yards, and Secret-Silver ranked ones could reach 1,000 yards. It allowed players to avoid monster ambushes. The Detection Crystal Ball the Wolf King had dropped was Fine-Gold rank, with a range of 1,500 yards. Not only could this item''s detection reach further than the Blood Demon''s vision, but it could also spot every monster within that range. It did not matter even if the monsters were camouflaged or hidden behind terrain. Unfortunately, it did cost one Magic Crystal to operate per hour. Ordinary players might not be willing to pay this price, but it wasn''t an issue for Shi Feng, and it would be of great help as he explored the Darkness World. There weren''t as many monsters in the Darkness World as there were on the continent of God''s Domain, making them troublesome to find. Since Shi Feng was looking for specific targets, his hunt was even more time-consuming. With the Detection Crystal Ball, however, he could save plenty of time and avoid unnecessary battles. This will save me a ton of time. Shi Feng smiled. Without hesitation, he spent one Magic Crystal to activate the Detection Crystal Ball and looked for his next target. Although Anna wouldn''t be able to use her Berserk Skill again for a short time, Shi Feng had summoned another Tier 3 Demon to assist him as soon as the Demon Summoning Skill''s Cooldown had ended. With the extra Tier 3 Demon, his party could slowly whittle down another Level 70 Grand Lord even without the Personal Guard''s Berserk Skill. In such a way, Shi Feng continued to hunt Grand Lords in the Darkness World. As for his Stamina and Concentration recovery, Shi Feng had used the Life Essence he had accumulated with the Blood Refining Crystal to remain battle-ready. In addition, every monster he killed in the Darkness World granted varying amounts of Blood Energy, which he could use to create more Life Essence. In the end, Shi Feng grinded monsters for a full day without rest. With the help of Divine Providence, he had collected 28 Darkness Stones and 200-plus Darkness Stone Fragments during that time. At this rate, he should be able to collect 100 Darkness Stones in no time. In addition, he had collected over 100 pieces of Level 60 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. He also managed to complete one Dark Devourer Set and now had four set pieces of the Fantasy Demon Set, only missing the helmet and gloves. Although Shi Feng was in high spirits and more than eager to continue his grind, his many years of experience in God''s Domain had taught him that it was important to balance work and rest properly. Although the Life Essence replenished his Stamina and Concentration, it was more of a stimulant than a replacement for actual rest. If he wanted to rest his mind, he had to log out of the game. After returning to reality, Shi Feng planned to see to his basic training, as usual, maintaining his physical fitness. He then planned to make the necessary arrangements to expand the Zero Wing Workshop. Now that the Zero Wing Guild was on the right track to becoming a superpower, and had acquired a city of its own, the Guild would only grow as it moved forward. Naturally, the Guild''s management would become more complex. He needed more personnel to manage Zero Wing, and so, he needed to expand his Workshop and recruit more internal members. But before Shi Feng could leave his room, the quantum watch on his wrist, which was connected to his virtual gaming cabin, rang. The display on his watch showed that the caller was Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, I finally got through to you," Aqua Rose said as soon as the call connected, sounding a little rushed. "Has something happened to the Guild?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Something big has happened," Aqua Rose stated. "While you were grinding in the Darkness World, Heaven''s Burial has been trying desperately to fend off the various superpowers surrounding it. It has even mobilized countless Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, but midway through the siege, one of the superpowers mobilized powerful siege weapons and a large number of NPC mercenaries. The battle continued for several more hours, and after suffering immense casualties, the various superpowers finally broke past Ancient Rock City''s walls and charged into the City Lord''s Mansion." "So, Ancient Rock City has been taken?" Shi Feng could not help but smile. He had destroyed Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays precisely so that he could cut off one of Heaven''s Burial''s revenue sources. If another power claimed Ancient Rock City, it was definitely worth celebrating for Zero Wing. "No," Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. "No? Haven''t they broken into the City Lord''s Mansion? With the various superpowers'' strength, they should have no issues getting to the City Lord''s Tablet even if there are Evil Demons in the building." Aqua Rose''s reply left Shi Feng slightly confused. The various superpowers were recognized as such due to the large number of experts they employed. While Refinement Realm experts couldn''t do much in a war involving tens of thousands of players, they could exhibit tremendous combat power in compact fights with a limited number of opponents. Even if Level 100 NPC soldiers were stationed inside the City Lord''s Mansion, those NPCs wouldn''t be able to stop every Refinement Realm expert from reaching the City Lord''s Tablet. "The various superpowers have stormed the City Lord''s Mansion, but some Tier 4 NPC appeared suddenly and transformed Ancient Rock City into an Evil Demon nest. Not only has the city become a forbidden land for players, but the Evil Beasts and Demons are also expanding their influence and capturing areas around Ancient Rock City. More Evil Demons and Evil Beasts are joining the force by the minute. Just some time ago, we received a report stating that the other Guilds'' Towns in the Orc Empire have fallen to these Evil Demons. "According to our scouts, the Evil Demon army is spreading towards Star-Moon Kingdom''s borders. By the looks of it, Zero Wing city is the army''s target" 1680 Evil Gods Branch Temple Chapter 1680 - Evil God''s Branch Temple "A Tier 4 NPC appeared in Ancient Rock City? And the NPC transformed the city into an Evil Demon nest? How is that possible?" Shi Feng was stunned after listening to Aqua Rose''s report. Suddenly, a possibility came to mind, and he could not help but ask, "Do you have the latest image of Ancient Rock City?" "Yes, I''ll send it now." Aqua Rose nodded. The fact that Ancient Rock City had become an Evil Demon nest had frustrated the various superpowers. Hence, they had sent plenty of scouts to investigate Ancient Rock City''s current state in the hopes of wrestling back control of the city. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had collected quite a bit of information from those superpowers. Following which, Shi Feng entered his virtual gaming cabin again and logged into his Rest Space. He could still make contact with players in God''s Domain from within the Rest Space. Once he had logged in, Shi Feng noticed the pictures of Ancient Rock City Aqua Rose had sent. In addition to that, she had sent video recordings and statistics reports about the current forces inside the city. What a terrifying number. Shi Feng was shocked as he watched the videos. Evil Demons and Evil Beasts crowded Ancient Rock City, both on its walls and inside the city itself. Several million monsters had taken control of the city, far more than any single player could control. Based on the information the various superpowers had gathered, there should be roughly 3,000,000 Evil Demons and Evil Beasts defending Ancient Rock City. Moreover, this number continued to grow as time passed. However, the number of monsters within the city wasn''t the most important aspect. It was these monsters'' levels! The lowest-leveled monster present in the city was Level 50, while the higher-leveled ones had reached Level 80. Moreover, there were Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons outside of the city. Based on current reports, there should be more than ten Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons protecting Ancient Rock City. There was also a Level 80, Tier 4 NPC stationed in the city. This NPC was the true Grim Reaper to players due to its Tier 4 Domain Skill. Based on the reports, hostile players that tried to approach this Tier 4 NPC would be transformed into Evil Demons before they could get near the NPC Sure enough Shi Feng frowned as he gazed at the towering temple in the heart of Ancient Rock City. They sure are ruthless. They actually built a branch of the Evil God''s Temple in Ancient Rock City! The only way to transform a city into an Evil Demon nest was to create an Evil God''s Temple branch temple in the city. If a branch temple descended, one could instantly teleport all of the Evil Beasts and Demons under their command to the temple, essentially fortifying the city with an army. However, it was extremely difficult to get a branch temple to descend. First, the descent''s target must not have any defensive magic arrays, and second, one would need a large number of precious materials and souls. Once a branch temple descended, the occupied city would crumble. Although it was only a branch temple, the density of the Evil Energy it exuded would be horrific. This Evil Energy would corrupt the land the branch temple occupied, and only a Tier 5 High Priest or above would be able to cleanse the corrupted land. If the land remained corrupt, ordinary players wouldn''t be able to survive there. Now that a branch temple had descended, Ancient Rock City had been undoubtedly crippled. The city''s fate as an Evil Demon nest was sealed. Becoming a Guild City again was practically impossible. "Guild Leader, what should we do? The Evil Demon and Evil Beast armies are clearly marching towards Zero Wing City. Even if we petition the kingdom''s armies to suppress these monsters at the border, there are too many of them. In addition, more Evil Beasts and Evil Demons join the march as time passes. On the off chance that the kingdom''s armies fail to hold off these monsters and they reach Zero Wing City, we''ll definitely be in trouble," Aqua Rose expressed her concern. If such a frightening number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons assaulted Zero Wing City, it would only be a matter of time before the city fell even if it had a stronger defensive magic array than Stone Forest Town. Mythic ranked creatures marched alongside the Evil Beasts and Demons towards Zero Wing City, after all. Even if Zero Wing City''s defensive magic array could stop those monsters'' attacks, there was a limit to how long the magic array could hold. Once it broke, the city''s players would quickly follow. If they did not think of a plan to stop the monster army now, Zero Wing City would be finished. Shi Feng felt a headache brew as he looked at the dense swarm of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. He had never thought that Beast Emperor and Heaven''s Burial had grown so powerful that they could summon a branch temple. It wasn''t exactly a simple task, and the price of doing so was unimaginable. This was because the branch temple was meant to hide the main temple. If Beast Emperor and Heaven''s Burial had tried to mobilize their monster armies from within Star-Moon Kingdom, even if Shi Feng had sat back and done nothing, the kingdom''s NPCs would discover the Evil God''s Temple within Star-Moon Kingdom immediately. At that time, the kingdom would doubtlessly dispatch its armies to exterminate the temple. But a branch temple was a different story. Since Beast Emperor and Heaven''s Burial teleported their monsters from the main temple to the branch temple, it was impossible to track down the main temple before these armies mobilized within the kingdom. Meanwhile, even if the branch temple were destroyed, the Evil Demon and Evil Beast armies were already outside of Star-Moon Kingdom. They would not teleport back to the main temple due to the branch temple''s destruction. "Notify Snow and have her organize the Guild''s experts to coordinate with the kingdom''s armies immediately; we need to stop as much of that monster army as possible. Also, figure out a way to collect as many Magic Crystals as possible. Before I return, have everyone put as much distance as possible between them and the monster army. That includes other Guilds'' members and independent players. Make sure they don''t become sacrifices for that army," Shi Feng ordered after giving the matter some thought. The Evil God''s Temple had been a constant thorn in the side for God''s Domain''s various major powers in the past. The main reason for this the temple members'' ability to create Evil Beasts and Demons through their defeated opponents. If a force weren''t strong enough and tried to challenge the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, they''d only become food for those monsters. There were two methods to keep its forces from spreading when the Evil God''s Temple plagued a country. The first was to exterminate every Evil Beast and Demon found with overwhelming strength, while the second was to destroy the main temple. In reality, the Evil God''s Temples across the continent of God''s Domain served as Evil Energy transfer devices. When activated, the Evil God''s Temples would send Evil Energy throughout the continent, creating a suitable environment for its Evil Beasts and Demons. As long as one destroyed the activated Evil God''s Temple, they could stop the transfer of Evil Energy. After losing its source, the Evil Energy that had spread would gradually thin until the environment became hostile for Evil Beasts and Demons once again. Some of the weaker monsters might even die as a result, while the stronger monsters would grow weaker and become easier to defeat. However, the whereabouts of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Evil God''s Temple remained unknown, and destroying the heavily-guarded branch temple in the Orc Empire was impossible. The only hope of fending off the monster army that marched towards Zero Wing City was to send expert players to work alongside the NPC armies, whittling away as many of the Evil Beasts and Demons as possible. The monster army could only grow if it had sacrifices; it couldn''t bolster its numbers without a cost. "Understood. I''ll notify Snow right away." Aqua Rose nodded before disconnecting the call. Not daring to waste time, Shi Feng immediately logged back into God''s Domain and continued to grind for Darkness Stones. Meanwhile, over 500,000 players had gathered in a forest at the border of Stone Forest Town''s map. Among them, over 100,000 wore Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Emblem. Every one of these players was Level 47 and above, and they were all very well equipped. However, every one of these players wore tense expressions. "Beast Emperor, I''ve prepared the 400,000 players you''ve asked for! I hope that you will fulfill your promise!" Singular Burial, who stood atop a hillside, told the middle-aged man beside him. The middle-aged man had ashen skin covered in runes. The man also wielded a staff made of pitch-black jade. This man was none other than Beast Emperor. However, he was no longer covered in bandages. "Relax. When have I ever broken a promise to you?" Beast Emperor laughed. Turning his sight towards the player army at the bottom of the hill, he commanded, "Alright, let''s begin!" 1681 Brute Force Chapter 1681 - Brute Force After Beast Emperor finished speaking, he immediately began writing divine runes and chanting an incantation. Suddenly, a gigantic magic array formed beneath Beast Emperor''s feet and continuously expanded outward. Only after reaching a radius of 500 yards did it stop growing. The magic array then conducted a massive amount of Mana that no single player would be capable of. When the magic array was complete, Beast Emperor stabbed the black jade staff in his hand into the center of the magic array, letting it serve as the magic array''s core. "Have them enter the magic array one by one. Make sure not to enter it too quickly. If they''re too quick, the magic array won''t be able to absorb their Immortal Souls, and they will end up hurt for nothing," Beast Emperor said as he looked at Singular Burial. "Also, during this period, no harm must come to the magic array''s core. Otherwise, everything will be for naught." "Rest assured. I''ve summoned plenty of my Guild''s experts here. There''s even an army of 100,000 elites spread across the surrounding area. Even if someone tries to launch an ambush, I still have a defensive magic array I can activate to hold them back," Singular Burial said, nodding. His gaze then shifted toward the general direction of Stone Forest Town, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he swore, "Black Flame, just you wait! Since you dared to destroy my Ancient Rock City, I will definitely let you personally witness the destruction of the Guild you created!" Due to the various superpowers'' successful invasion of Ancient Rock City, he had no choice but to turn the city into a nest for Evil Demons. The loss of this massive source of income had a considerable impact on Heaven''s Burial''s development. In fact, some of the major corporations supporting Heaven''s Burial had already withdrawn their funds, instantly shattering Singular Burial''s dream of making the Guild a superpower. As for the remaining corporations backing Heaven''s Burial, they were staying only because they believed in Lei Jingyang''s and his own abilities. If not for the two of them, these major corporations would''ve drastically reduced the funding they provided Heaven''s Burial. Hence, it was definitely not an exaggeration to say that the hatred he felt for Zero Wing could blot out the sky! Originally, the plan was to take action against Zero Wing. However, after the battle at Ancient Rock City, Singular Burial changed his mind. He also wanted Zero Wing''s members to have a taste of getting whittled down and destroyed bit by bit. First, he would take away Stone Forest Town. Next, he would deal with Zero Wing City. With these two places gone, Zero Wing would lose two of its most important sources of income. If that happened, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing crumbled. Meanwhile, all Black Flame would be able to do at that time was watch as Zero Wing dissolved into nothingness while Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City fell into the hands of Heaven''s Burial. From then on, Heaven''s Burial would replace Zero Wing as Star-Moon Kingdom''s absolute overlord! Beast Emperor no longer made any further comments. Instead, he summoned a Mythic ranked Evil Demon to secretly assist in protecting the magic array. Compared to expert players, a Mythic ranked Evil Demon provided much greater assurance. After all, he had paid an enormous price to obtain the black jade staff. Acquiring another one to hold another sacrificial ceremony would be extremely difficult. After Beast Emperor was done dealing with the matters here, he took out a Teleportation Scroll and left the area. All he needed to do now was wait for the magic array to collect a sufficient number of Immortal Souls. Meanwhile, such a large commotion naturally could not escape the eyes of Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers. "What''s Heaven''s Burial trying to do by gathering so many players over at Stone Forest Town?" "Could it be preparing to vent its anger on Zero Wing''s Stone Forest Town now that its Ancient Rock City has been destroyed?" "That shouldn''t be the case, right? That''s Stone Forest Town we''re talking about. It''s not as if we''ve never seen how strong the town''s defenses are. It is even more fortified than NPC towns. Moreover, I heard that the number of Tier 2 NPC soldiers defending Stone Forest Town has already exceeded 400. The town won''t be so easy to take down. Hasn''t Heaven''s Burial learned its lesson from its previous failure?" "Maybe Heaven''s Burial has some trump card to rely on." When the various major powers discovered Heaven''s Burial''s actions, they could not help but discuss it curiously. They all wondered what Heaven''s Burial was trying to do. "Vice Guild Leader, Heaven''s Burial seems to be trying to take action against Stone Forest Town. What should we do?" The Zero Wing members garrisoning Stone Forest Town were greatly concerned over this matter. Based on Heaven''s Burial''s actions, that Guild was obviously planning on starting a Guild war, only it had yet to make all the necessary preparations. Once it was ready, however, it would definitely launch an attack. "Everyone in the Guild is to avoid casually going out during this period, to avoid getting ambushed by Heaven''s Burial''s Evil Demons. At the same time, keep a close eye on Heaven''s Burial''s status and report back any findings immediately!" Aqua Rose fired off commands through the Guild chat. She also had Melancholic Smile strengthen the defenses of Stone Forest Town, building more Defense Turrets and moving more Miniature Ballistas to Stone Forest Town as a precaution. Currently, Heaven''s Burial''s monster army was already approaching Star-Moon Kingdom''s border. If Zero Wing did not send experts to help the NPC armies exterminate some of the monsters, the monster army''s advance into Star-Moon Kingdom would definitely accelerate. Hence, they could not afford to pull away those experts to deal with Heaven''s Burial''s player army. The only thing they could do right now was slow the advance of the monster army while strengthening the defenses of Stone Forest Town. Not to mention, the odds were that Heaven''s Burial''s player army was capable of summoning a large number of Evil Demons to aid the army in battle. If Zero Wing launched a half-hearted attack on Heaven''s Burial''s player army, Zero Wing''s members would definitely be beaten black and blue. After all, without the help of static defenses and NPC soldiers, players couldn''t contend against the powerful Evil Demons. For a time, the atmosphere in Star-Moon Kingdom turned awkward. Aside from Zero Wing, the other Guilds in the kingdom were also making their own preparations for war. After all, nobody knew for sure what Heaven''s Burial was actually trying to do. There was always a chance that the Guild would go crazy and start attacking every Guild Town in sight. Although the NPCs of Star-Moon Kingdom had already tightened its security measures against Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, if players wanted to have the kingdom''s armies mobilized to assist them in dealing with these monsters, they needed to provide concrete proof that these monsters had actually appeared. Only then would the kingdom''s armies move out. Moreover, the kingdom''s armies would need some time to get to the battlefield. If their Guild Towns failed to hold out until the kingdom''s armies arrived, then there would be no point in notifying the kingdom. Hence, the various large Guilds had all started building up the defenses of their respective towns. Meanwhile, back at the Darkness World, Shi Feng had also started grinding Grand Lords with greater urgency. Now, he had two Heroic Spirits participating in the battle simultaneously. With the help of Anna and three Tier 3 Demons, killing Level 70 or so Grand Lords became significantly easier. However, Grand Lords still weren''t available in great abundance. After half a day or so of wanton slaughter, Shi Feng had basically killed every Grand Lord present on the map he was currently in. Now, Shi Feng had a total of 52 Darkness Stones and 386 Darkness Stone Fragments, which was still some distance away from his target. Meanwhile, if he wished to find and kill more Grand Lords, he had only two options to do so. The first option was to wait for the Grand Lords he killed to respawn. However, Grand Lords generally took two or three natural days to respawn. Killing the Grand Lords too quickly had left him with no Grand Lords to grind. However, Shi Feng couldn''t do anything about this situation. Anna was simply too strong. The second option was to head to other maps. The Grand Lords of other maps remained untouched. They were all alive and kicking. The only problem was getting to other maps. The Darkness World was different from the continent of God''s Domain. On the continent of God''s Domain, players faced no hindrance when moving between maps. In the Darkness World, however, the maps had strict level restrictions preventing players from going wherever they wished. In a sense, the Darkness World was similar to the Ice Crystal World. Players needed to defeat the designated Guardian Boss in order to proceed to other maps; otherwise, they would be stuck in the same map forever. Generally, players that arrived at the Darkness World using the teleportation stones exchanged at the Seven Luminaries Temple would not think of heading to other maps, because the map they were teleported to was suitable for their level, and just surviving in the said map was already plenty difficult. They would not even have time to think about heading to other maps. Shi Feng was definitely a unique case. It seems I have no choice but to force my way through, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the 30-meter-tall monster sleeping inside the canyon ahead of him. He then advanced towards the monster together with Anna. Now that the Evil Demon and Evil Beast armies were invading Star-Moon Kingdom, he naturally could not waste time waiting for the Grand Lords he had killed to respawn. His only choice was to head to another map and hunt the Grand Lords there. 1682 High Demon Chapter 1682 - High Demon Inside the quiet canyon, when Shi Feng got within 1,000 yards of the next map, he suddenly felt a powerful pressure washing over him. The pressure he felt now was completely different from what he experienced from the monsters he encountered before. In other words, there was a qualitative change to the pressure he felt. Currently, Shi Feng had already reached Tier 2, yet the pressure still made him extremely uncomfortable. His body felt as if it was fully submerged in a pool of water. The pressure is so strong despite the 1,000 yards separating us? Shi Feng stared at the massive figure displayed on his Detection Crystal Ball in disbelief. The crystal ball showed a humanoid figure with the head of a goat sprawled across the ground before the canyon''s exit. The figure also had a massive serpent for a tail and the bat-like wings commonly seen on Demons. As the figure exhaled, flames surged out of its nostrils and scorched the ground before it. "What?! A High Demon?!" Shi Feng was dumbfounded as he looked at this figure. There were many Demonic Creatures in God''s Domain. Aside from having a difference in strength, these Demonic Creatures were also distinguished by lineage. In fact, the hierarchy among Demons was largely determined based on lineage. Demons with noble lineages ruled over Demons with ordinary lineages. Naturally, the nobler the lineage a Demon possessed, the greater their potential for growth. In God''s Domain, most Demons at the Demon King standard were High Demons. It was very difficult for a Demon with an ordinary lineage to grow into a Tier 5 Demon King, much less a Tier 6 Demon God. Demons with noble lineages were known as High Demons. In terms of Life Rating, they were superior to even Archaic Species. At the same tier, only Dragons or Ferocious Beasts would be capable of suppressing High Demons. Needless to say, the ordinary Demons Shi Feng summoned were no match for High Demons. Nevertheless, the Guardian Boss stationed at the entrance to the next map was actually a High Demon. Due to the extreme distance, the Detection Crystal Ball couldn''t detect the statistics of the High Demon. However, when Shi Feng arrived within 600 yards of the High Demon, its statistics entered his eyes. [Baphomet] (High Demon, Grand Lord) Level 73 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 "A Level 73 Grand Lord?" Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he looked at Baphomet''s statistics. Compared to an Archaic Species of the same level, a High Demon had much less HP. Even so, 120,000,000 HP was still a horrifying amount for him to deal with. Just Baphomet''s battle recovery alone allowed it to recover 1,200,000 HP every five seconds. If his DPS was lower than 240,000, Baphomet would be an invincible existence to him. The only stroke of luck was that Baphomet was a Demon. So long as his opponent was a Demon, the Bible of Darkness would be able to suppress it. Although he couldn''t use the Bible of Darkness to turn Baphomet into his subordinate, he could greatly suppress the High Demon''s Basic Attributes. Moreover, this suppression was absolute; its effects would not weaken in the slightest, unlike how magic arrays and the like did when the target monster was too strong. All the same, a High Demon was still a High Demon. Baphomet wasn''t just strong in terms of Basic Attributes. The Skills, Spells, and combat standard it possessed were beyond those of an ordinary Demon. I can only give it a try. Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng took out another Primordial Scroll from his bag and summoned a third Primordial Heroic Spirit. Although Zero Wing City''s defenses were far superior to an ordinary Guild City''s, the current situation was unlike before. The quantity and quality of the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons surging into Star-Moon Kingdom were extraordinary. If the monsters broke through the defensive network of the kingdom''s army and reached Zero Wing City, Shi Feng was unsure whether Zero Wing City could hold its ground against them. If he could secure the Lost Town before this happened, the numerous Mana Weapons stored inside the Lost Town would undoubtedly raise Zero Wing''s strength by a significant margin. At that time, the chances of defending Zero Wing City would also improve significantly. Looking at Baphomet, Shi Feng did not hurry to have his three Demons charge at the High Demon. Instead, he waited out the Cooldown of Anna''s Skills. Afterward, he had the three Heroic Spirits cast one buff after another on everyone in the group, causing their Basic Attributes to skyrocket, particularly those of the Level 80 Golden Giant, which already possessed immense Strength. After being buffed up by the three Heroic Spirits, its Strength was already close to rivaling a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Following which, Shi Feng gave the command to attack. Taking the lead, the Golden Giant and three Tier 3 Demons charged forward, the ten Rock Guardians following closely after them. If a player were to witness this scene, they would definitely turn around and flee. However, Baphomet simply yawned, paying no heed whatsoever to the approaching enemies. Only when the Golden Giant and three Demons arrived within 200 yards of Baphomet did the High Demon look at the Golden Giant. Suddenly, as if they had just stepped into a muddy swamp, the Golden Giant, Demons, and Rock Guardians'' speed decreased abruptly. Moreover, their Movement Speed wasn''t the only thing reduced; even their reaction speeds turned sluggish. Following which, Baphomet stomped on the ground and disappeared from where it stood. When Baphomet reappeared, it had moved over 50 yards from its original position. The High Demon was practically faster than even an ordinary Mythic monster. Before the Golden Giant could react, Baphomet already stood before it, the High Demon looking no different from a child compared to the Golden Giant. After appearing before the Golden Giant, Baphomet waved its hand lightly as if it were sweeping away dust. In the next moment, the Golden Giant and the Demons and Rock Guardians standing beside and behind the Golden Giant were all sent flying over 20 yards back, damages appearing above the summoned creatures'' heads. Among the group, the Golden Giant, which possessed the highest Defense, lost over 700,000 HP, whereas the Lord ranked Rock Guardians lost over 1,000,000 HP each. Sure enough, it''s very strong! Shi Feng was deeply shocked by the Strength Baphomet displayed. Baphomet was much more powerful than any of the Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species he had gone up against before. Moreover, based on the performance Baphomet just displayed, Shi Feng could tell that the High Demon''s combat standard should be at the sixth-floor Trial Tower standard. With the High Demon''s mythical speed, even a 100-man team of Tier 2 experts would be like fish on a chopping board if it went up against Baphomet. Afterward, a series of exchanges took place between both sides. Unfortunately, although the Golden Giant and three Demons retaliated, they only managed to land a few Spells on Baphomet. Relying on its mythical speed, the High Demon easily dodged every normal attack sent at it. In contrast, despite being healed by Tier 3 Heroic Spirits, the Golden Giant and Demons still continually lost HP. Although the Golden Giant and Demons tried blocking and dodging Baphomet''s attacks, their weakened reaction speeds prevented them from doing so. However, as Baphomet paid attention only to the Golden Giant and Tier 3 Demons, Shi Feng was able to get within 100 yards of the High Demon unnoticed and immediately activated Demon Ruler. Suddenly, a ripple of power left the Bible of Darkness Shi Feng held. Baphomet''s Basic Attributes promptly plummeted by 30%. The effect of Demon Ruler was remarkable. However, this was still not the end. Anna, who had long since completed her own preparations, had the Rock Giants form a magic array and suppressed Baphomet even more. However, the magic array was evidently inferior to Demon Ruler. In the end, Baphomet retained 60% of its original Basic Attributes, and it still suppressed the Golden Giant and Tier 3 Demons. But instead of dodging all of the Golden Giant and Demons'' attacks, the High Demon was now forced to parry and block instead. Nevertheless, the Golden Giant failed to inflict any significant damage on Baphomet. Seeing this, Shi Feng had no choice but to spend 5,000 Magic Crystals and activate the Ring of Gospel''s World Projection. When World Projection descended on Baphomet, the High Demon''s speed decreased once more. However, even after World Projection''s suppression took effect, Baphomet still retained 50% of its Basic Attributes and still overwhelmed the Golden Giant. "How is it so powerful?" Shi Feng was next to speechless as he stared at Baphomet. If not for the Bible of Darkness''s suppression, he would''ve long since turned around and fled by now. After thinking up to this point, he turned to look at Anna, a bitter smile on his face as he said, "It seems we can''t hold back anything at all." Following which, he commanded Anna to use her other Overtier Spell, which was also the strongest Spell Anna currently possessed. Tier 3 Curse, Yin Yang Judgment! Yin Yang Judgment''s Cooldown was one natural day. Unless absolutely necessary, Shi Feng did not wish to use the Curse at all. However, if he did not use it now, it was only a matter of time before Baphomet defeated his team. After all, World Projection had a short duration of only ten minutes, each use costing him 5,000 Magic Crystals. He did not have enough Magic Crystals to fight a protracted battle with the High Demon. 1683 First Kill Baphome Chapter 1683 - First Kill Baphomet After Anna completed the final verse of her incantation, two magic arrays, one glowing white and the other, black, appeared above Baphomet. The Mana surrounding the magic array then grew restless, blurring space around the High Demon. Such a huge disturbance attracted Baphomet''s attention, and the High Demon''s immediate reaction was to turn and flee. But Anna didn''t give Baphomet the chance to escape. Waving her staff, she activated the magic array looming above Baphomet. Suddenly, a 50-meter-long golden, holy spear descended from the sky. The instant the spear fell, space around the magic array and Baphomet froze, drastically decreasing the High Demon''s Movement Speed. Before Baphomet could attempt to defend itself, the holy spear collided with the monster. Boom! As a result, a towering, black-white light pillar rose into the air. When the pillar had manifested, the world around Baphomet shook violently, and resulting shockwave pushed the Golden Giant and the Tier 3 Demons under Shi Feng''s control back by over 20 yards After the light pillar had disappeared, it revealed a massive crater where Baphomet had stood, with the High Lord lying at the body. Scorching flames burned the High Demon, decorating it and the crater with scorch marks. Dark-blue blood seeped from the numerous wounds covering Baphomet''s body. However, compared to Baphomet''s miserable appearance, the damage it had taken was truly terrifying. -4,467,175! A damage of over four million appeared above Baphomet''s head. To Baphomet, who only had a maximum HP of 60,000,000 after multiple means of suppression, this move had taken nearly one-thirteenth of its total HP The might of Yin Yang Judgment completely exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Moreover, Baphomet had been heavily injured when the Tier 3 Curse had struck, significantly decreasing its combat power. With no intentions of letting Baphoment recover, Shi Feng ordered all of the summoned creatures to use their strongest moves, holding nothing back. Following which, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Skills and Spells bombarded the High Demon, one after another. The injured Baphomet wasn''t able to dodge any of the incoming attacks, and every Skill and Spell that had been sent slammed into the High Demont. Each attack dealt a minimum of -500,000 damage, depleting Baphomet''s HP by a significant chunk. 80%... 75%... 70%... Although Baphomet eventually recovered from its mental shock and resumed its retaliation, the Golden Giant was more than enough to keep the High Demon busy with its weakened combat power. This prevented Baphomet from blocking Anna, the Tier 3 Demons, and Heroic Spirits'' attacks. Of course, Shi Feng didn''t hold back, either. After activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, followed by Phantom Kill, he charged forward. Nine Dragons Slash! Shadow Blade! Lightning Flash! Purgatory Pentaslash! Thunder Flame Explosion! Flame Burst! Thanks to Killing Ray, every one of Shi Feng''s Skills dealt double damage to Baphomet, and damages in the tens of thousands appeared above the Boss''s head. Although his damage was no match for the Tier 3 Demons, who weren''t suppressed by the Darkness World, it was still considerable. 50%... 40%... 30%... As time passed and Baphomet''s HP continuously decreased, it continued to recover. Gradually, its reaction speed recovered, and eventually, the Level 80 Golden Giant wasn''t able to keep up with its attacks. This forced the Heroic Spirits at the rear line to shift their focus from offense to healing. Once Baphomet''s HP fell to 20%, the High Demon revealed a sinister grin. It began to swipe its claws at the air around it, sending powerful gales at Shi Feng and his team. Before Shi Feng and the others could launch another assault, Baphomet had finished chanting an incantation. The ground before the High Demon then cracked and shattered as towering, pitch-black flames spewed from the cracks. When the flames had dissipated, a crimson longsword engraved with pitch-black runes had taken their place. The moment the longsword appeared, Shi Feng felt the surrounding Power of Darkness surge towards the weapon. The concentrated Power of Darkness became a black mist that circulated the crimson blade. Releasing the one-handed sword in its right hand, Baphomet grabbed the crimson longsword. The moment the High Demon touched the weapon, black flames danced along the sword''s blade. Soul Fire? Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he saw the flames. The punishment for challenging it is actually this severe? Although he had known that a High Demon would have powerful attack methods, he hadn''t expected Baphomet to use Soul Fire in battle. This was a player''s nightmare. Soul Fire was capable of burning souls, and not even players'' Immortal Souls were immune to its effects. If players were killed by Soul Fire, not only would their death penalty increase, but they would also be prevented from logging into God''s Domain for multiple days Of course, this mechanic had likely been created to prevent players from challenging the Guardian Boss a second time within a short period. However, Shi Feng didn''t want to waste too much time in the Darkness World. If he suddenly couldn''t log into the game for several days, Zero Wing would be finished. Without waiting for Shi Feng to respond, Baphomet stomped its hoofs on the ground and vanished. It then reappeared before the Golden Giant, cutting down at the Great Lord with its flaming longsword. Failing to react in time, the Golden Giant succumbed to Baphomet''s attack, a damage over -1,300,000 appearing above its head. Pitch-black flames licked at the would the longsword had created. Seeing this, the Heroic Spirits immediately cast their Healing Spells on the Golden Giant. However, when the Healing Spells touched the Great Lord, their effects seemed to have changed. Not only did the Golden Giant still sport the wound, but the pitch-black flames also burned with their original vigor. In fact, the Golden Giant had only received 30% of the Spell''s normal healing When he saw this, Shi Feng''s expression darkened further. Reduced healing effects was still acceptable, but the fact that the wounds Baphomet had inflicted couldn''t be healed complicated the situation. As the Golden Giant accumulated more injuries, it would suffer a heavily injured state sooner or later. If that happened, its combat power would fall, and it would be helpless against the High Demon. If the Golden Giant couldn''t deal sufficient damage, it would lose Baphomet''s aggro. The High Demon would then be free to target someone else. "Quick! Attack it with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng commanded Anna. At the same time, he took two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls from his bag and activated them, one after another. Holding nothing back, Anna activated Yin Yang Power, her Mana overflowing from her body. One Tier 3 Spell after another bombarded Baphomet. However, even after noticing the incoming Spells, Baphomet simply revealed a sneer as it lightly swung its crimson longsword, sending a wave of black fire to devour the approaching Spells. The pitch-black flames corroded the Tier 3 Spells'' power relentlessly. By the time the Spells actually reached Baphomet, they were weaker than Tier 2 Spells. Baphomet then swung its longsword again and easily crushed the incoming attacks Fortunately, although Baphomet had superior strength, it couldn''t completely dodge the Tier 3 Demons'' attacks. Although its HP fell much slower than before, it still decreased at a steady rate. After using the two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, Shi Feng proceeded to activate Blade Liberation. Currently, both Baphomet''s Defense and reaction speed were recovering, and as a result, it continued to take less damage. Despite bombarding Baphomet with a series of powerful attacks, they had only reduced Baphomet''s HP to 12%. In contrast, the Golden Giant had become heavily injured after receiving ten hits from the High Demon''s crimson longsword, and it could no longer serve as a proper MT. Baphomet then turned its attention to the Tier 3 Demons. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they team-wiped. After activating Blade Liberation, Shi Feng''s Attributes skyrocketed yet again, and his Basic Attributes now surpassed the Level 80 Golden Giant''s. Following which, Shi Feng activated Instant Strike and appeared before Baphomet. Sword''s Orbit! Dang! Dang! Dang! Unfortunately, Baphomet managed to block the majority of Shi Feng''s slashes. Only the occasional slash slipped past the High Demon''s guard and dealt a little over -100,000 damage. With how much HP Baphomet had remaining, the High Demon wasn''t particularly concerned with this amount of damage. Even after Shi Feng fought for several seconds and launched dozens of slashes, the High Demon still had 5% of its HP remaining. Meanwhile, once Shi Feng had lost Instant Strike''s buff, Baphomet gained the upper hand. In fact, due to Shi Feng''s weakened state, he lacked any ability to retaliate. He could only defend himself. Fortunately, Anna finally finished her incantation. Angel Summoning! Suddenly, a Tier 4 Valkyrie dropped onto the battlefield. Taking a step forward, the Valkyrie instantly appeared before Baphomet and swung her holy spear. Despite being a High Demon, the impact still sent Baphomet flying back over 20 yards, robbing it of its defensive stance. Immediately, the Valkyrie threw her holy spear, which easily pierced through the defenseless High Demon and dealt over -4,000,000 damage. In the blink of an eye, Baphomet''s HP fell below 1,000,000. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and pointed Killing Ray at Baphomet. Flame Domain! Lightning Edge! Under Shi Feng''s command, a raging inferno and countless sword lights devoured Baphomet. Damages of over -200,000 appeared above Baphomet''s head, one after another, tearing what little remained of the High Demon''s HP away. Baphomet then died and collapsed to the ground. Following which, Shi Feng watched his experience bar increase rapidly. At the same time, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Kill on Baphomet, the Guardian Boss of Dark Sin Canyon. Rewards doubled. Acquired High Demon''s Soul. 1684 Repairing the Bible of Darkness Chapter 1684 - Repairing the Bible of Darkness After watching Baphomet die, Shi Feng breathed a deep sigh of relief. Despite the fact that the Darkness World reduced Shi Feng''s EXP gain, his experience bar had risen by 7%, pushing him to 62% of Level 65. If not for the 95% reduction in EXP gain, he definitely would''ve climbed to Level 66. With the High Demon''s death, loot rained down from above, creating a dazzling sight to behold. If the various superpowers learned of this, they''d die from envy. The Darkness World''s monsters already dropped excellent loot, and as a map''s Guardian Boss, Baphomet''s loot was far better than the map''s other monsters. Including the First Kill bonus, one could just imagine how bountiful the High Demon''s loot was. Giving the loot a rough glance, Shi Feng estimated that there should be over 100 items As items rained from the sky, a crystal, radiating a golden glow, landed before Shi Feng. His curiosity piqued, Shi Feng promptly picked up the crystal and inspected it. [High Demon''s Soul] (Epic Rank Consumable) Sacrifice Magic Crystals to create a new body for High Demon Baphomet. Spend 2,000 Magic Crystals to create a Tier 3 body that is 10 Levels higher than the user; 5,000 Magic Crystals to create a Tier 4 body that is 15 Levels higher than the user. Can be used three times. Cooldown: 5 minutes Current usage count: 0 What a powerful Epic Consumable! Shi Feng was stunned as he read the crystal''s introductory text. Epic Consumables were incredibly rare in God''s Domain, and each one was incomparably powerful. Take the Demon King''s Horn, for example. It had enabled Shi Feng to destroy a city''s defensive magic array instantly. Meanwhile, the High Demon''s Soul was similarly extraordinary. At this stage of the game, a Tier 4 High Demon was practically invincible to players. Moreover, Shi Feng could use the item three times. Also, the High Demon''s Soul was different from the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array. In the latter''s case, if the magic array''s operation were interrupted, the summoned Divine Beast would disappear. In the case of the High Demon''s Soul, the summoned High Demon would only be canceled if the owner were killed. It was a perfect tool of war. Shi Feng then stored the High Demon''s Soul and collected the loot scattered across the ground. In total, Baphomet had dropped 154 items, including 45 Epic materials and 31 Magic Scrolls. Among the Magic Scrolls, six were Tier 3 Magic Scrolls: two large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls, one Summoning Scroll, two Defensive Magic Scrolls, and one single-target attack Magic Scroll. There was also one Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. The Guardian Boss had dropped one Grandmaster and 33 Master ranked potions, as well. The Grandmaster potion was a Growth Potion that when consumed, would temporarily increase the user''s potential and forcefully elevate them by a single tier. This potion wasn''t particularly useful to Tier 1 players, but to Tier 2 players and above, this potion''s effects were even stronger than a Berserk Skill. A Berserk Skill only granted players additional Basic Attributes. However, this Growth Potion elevated players by a single tier. Not only would this increase grant players a boost to their Basic Attributes, but players'' physique would also improve. This potion would be miraculously effective in Dungeons. As for the remaining 44 items, there were ten designs and recipes of various kinds among them. There was even a Master ranked potion recipe and a Master ranked engineering design. The Master ranked potion in question was the Life Potion. Not only would this potion heal players for 70% of their maximum HP instantly when consumed, but it would also grant an HoT buff that recovered 2% of the user''s HP every second for 10 seconds. In addition, it healed any heavy injuries and replenished 10% of the player''s Stamina and Concentration. Unfortunately, the potion had a 5-minute Cooldown, so it could only be used once or twice in most battles. Even so, it was much stronger than any Advanced ranked recovery potion available on the market currently. Aside from the HP regeneration it provided, the fact that it could heal heavy injuries and replenish Stamina and Concentration made it extremely valuable. The potion would be particularly effective when players fought intense battles and when their Stamina and Concentration were nearly exhausted. The potion would also be very useful against Bosses that increased Stamina and Concentration consumption. Although the Life Potion only recovered 10% of the player''s Stamina and Concentration, it could save the player''s life or help the team defeat a powerful Boss if used during a critical moment. When the Life Potion had been introduced to the market in Shi Feng''s previous life, each bottle had easily sold for 5 Gold. However, the Life Potion Recipe was extremely rare, and even the various superpowers had only acquired a few copies after going to great lengths. Each copy of the recipe could easily sell for an exorbitant 8,000 Gold if put up for auction. As for the Master ranked engineering design Baphomet had dropped, it was the Hang Glider Design. Like its real-world counterpart, the Hang Glider allowed players to glide through the air. Moreover, the Hang Glider was much faster than any Mount. The Master ranked Hang Glider provided a 350% Movement Speed increase. Since there weren''t usually obstacles in the air, players could also traverse longer distances in a straight line. However, the Hang Glider had three flaws. The first was that players needed to take off from a sufficiently high location. The second was that the environment would affect the Hang Glider. If players tried to glide through a storm, the consequences would be severe. They might even be blown out of the sky and fall to their deaths. The third flaw was that Hang Gliders were Consumables and could not be repaired; they would disappear once their durability had been exhausted. Meanwhile, even a Common Hang Glider cost around 18 Gold to produce. They weren''t much cheaper than Common Mounts, would players could use indefinitely. However, to players who valued time and speed, these flaws did very little to stop them from using the Hang Gliders. In the past, many experts had opted to use Hang Gliders whenever they could to save on travel time. They paid no attention to the cost. As Shi Feng gazed at the Hang Glider Design, his eyes sparkled with joy. Since Mounts weren''t yet popular in God''s Domain, players demand for Hang Gliders would be intense if he sold them. At this point, the various large Guilds were starting to shift the focus of their development to neutral maps between kingdoms and empires, after all. In a situation where no one had obtained a Town Building Order or Town Migration Order, players were forced to walk to these neutral maps. In addition, neutral maps themselves were very large. Even with a Mount, players would need a considerable amount of time to explore the map fully. However, players could save a lot of time if they had a Hang Glider. If the Candlelight Trading Firm introduced the Hang Glider to the market now, it would definitely be well-received. In addition, since Candlelight would have the monopoly over the Hang Gliders, it would make a fortune off of the transportation tool. The extra funds would help Zero Wing City''s development tremendously. Meanwhile, among the other eight recipes and designs Baphomet had dropped, there was also an Advanced Hang Glider Design. Although the Advanced Hang Glider was inferior to the Master Hang Glider, it still increased players'' Movement Speed by 300%. It seems I''ll have to find some time to grind Hang Glider Recipes, Shi Feng thought to himself. Although the Master Hang Glider was super-rare, the Advanced version wasn''t. Level 70-plus Grand Lords and above all had a chance of dropping the recipe. The Field Bosses of a few particular maps even high higher drop-rates. In the past, the various large Guilds had generally opted to grind those Field Bosses to obtain more Advanced Hang Glider Recipes. Zero Wing''s main force was already considerably strong. With the help of his Bible of Darkness, they could definitely grind for more Advanced Hang Glider Recipes. After storing the Master Hang Glider Design, Shi Feng shifted his sight to a tattered page in his bag. The words on the page had long since become indiscernible. However, the page still radiated a faint trace of Divine Might. Moreover, the surrounding Power of Darkness gathered around the page when he pulled it from his bag. When Shi Feng inspected this page, he became indescribably excited. This was because this page was actually part of the Bible of Darkness. Despite repairing the Bible of Darkness''s core, it wasn''t complete. The book was still missing pages. The page before him was none other than one of those missing pages. System: You have discovered a page of the Bible of Darkness. Do you wish to spend 500 Magic Crystals to assimilate this page with the Bible of Darkness and repair it? "Repair!" Shi Feng chose to repair the Bible of Darkness without hesitation. 1685 Dark Armamen Chapter 1685 - Dark Armament When Shi Feng agreed to repair the Bible of Darkness, the book flew out of his bag space and hovered before him. The book then opened to reveal the missing page''s location. At the same time, the missing page transformed into a black mist that melded with the Bible of Darkness. Three seconds later, the page had joined the book as seamlessly as if it had never left in the first place. After the Bible of Darkness had recovered one of its missing pages, the Power of Darkness that gathered around the book became denser, and now a black mist settled over the book. The Bible of Darkness has improved by so much? After repairing the Bible of Darkness, its appearance indicated that it had become far more powerful. Although the book''s aura wasn''t much stronger than before, its control of Power of Darkness had improved. In fact, the Bible of Darkness''s control over the Power of Darkness had improved so much that Shi Feng could feel the Darkness World''s suppression weaken slightly. Originally, this world had suppressed his Basic Attributes by 30%, but now, it had dropped to 25%. The suppression on his senses had also decreased from 50% to 40%. Unfortunately, his EXP gain was still reduced by 95%. Immediately, Shi Feng inspected the repaired Bible of Darkness. [Bible of Darkness] (Fragmented Legendary Item) The Bible of Darkness had been destroyed during the Great Destruction. The core magic array has since been repaired using the Source of Space-time thus far. If one can gather the other fragments, they can restore the Bible''s power, gaining dominance over all Demonic Creatures and become the Lord of Demons. Skill 1: Demon Summoning: Summons the Demon Gate with the Power of Darkness, calling forth a random Demon that is no higher than 1 Tier and 15 Levels than the summoner (Maximum Tier cannot exceed Tier 5). Holder of the Bible of Darkness can command the summoned Demon for up to 6 hours. Cooldown: 2 hours 30 minutes Skill 2: Gate of Darkness: Allows teleportation to the Dark Den. Can also be used in the Dark Den to teleport to the outside world. Can teleport a maximum of 30 people at a single time. Cooldown: 1 day Skill 3: Light of Darkness: Strengthen a player with the Power of Darkness, allowing said player to wield the Power of Darkness. Can strengthen up to a maximum of 1,500 people. Every player strengthened provides one Source of Darkness to the wielder of the Bible of Darkness. Skill 4: Power of Darkness: Fill your body with the Power of Darkness, increasing all Attributes by 120%, decreasing Cooldown of all Skills by 30%, and increase damage by 50%. Duration will be equal to number of Source of Darkness*0.5 seconds. (Power of Darkness cannot stack. Can only strengthen players up to a maximum of Tier 5 classes) Cooldown: 5 hours Skill 5: Demon Ruler: Passive effect - Increases the Attributes of Demonic Creatures under user''s control by 35%. Forcibly decreases the Attributes of all enemy Demonic Creatures within a 1,000-yard radius by 30%. Active effect - When activated, there is a 12% chance to control a Demonic Creature that is no higher than 2 Tiers and 30 Levels than the user for 2 hours. Can control up to Tier 5 creatures. Can control up to a maximum of three creatures at a time. Cooldown: 5 minutes Skill 6: Dark Armament: By sacrificing Sources of Darkness, transform the Bible of Darkness into a weapon suitable for the user. Duration is equal to number of Source of Darkness*3 seconds. During this period, the Bible of Darkness''s other Skills cannot be used. Cooldown: 6 hours Dark Armament? The appearance of a new Skill had surprised Shi Feng. Is this what the missing page contained? He had only expected to find some minor improvements to the Bible of Darkness''s Skills after incorporating the missing page; he had never thought that the page would add a new Skill. Weapons were the foundation of a player''s combat power. Players could only wield high Attack Power with a powerful weapon. At the end of the day, Berserk Skills were unreliable. On the other hand, a powerful weapon could permanently increase a player''s combat power. Although the Bible of Darkness''s weapon wouldn''t last forever, it could still last up to 75 minutes, which was much longer than any Berserk Skill. It was enough time for players to end a large-scale battle. After examining the Bible of Darkness for a few more minutes, Shi Feng stored it and began to appraise the other items Baphomet had dropped. Of the remaining 34 items, there was one Darkness Stone and six Darkness Stone Fragments. The rest of the items were weapons and equipment, the most valuable of which was a pair of Epic ranked boots called the Trickster''s Legs. When equipped, the Trickster''s Legs would offer a significant boost to the wearer''s Movement Speed and reaction speed. It was an excellent pair of boots that only Level 50 players and above could equip. There were also five pieces of Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment, 12 pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment, and 9 pieces of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment. Among the Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment, two pieces happened to be the hat and gloves for the Fantasy Demon Set, which Shi Feng still needed. He had also completed two Dark Devourer Sets after killing Baphomet. Once Shi Feng had organized the loot, he didn''t bother to sit and rest. Instead, he drank a drop a Life Essence and continued towards the next map. After riding the Demonic Flame Tiger for around ten minutes through the canyon, Shi Feng reached a new map. Unlike the barren Dark Sin Canyon he had previously occupied, a tranquil forest dominated this map. Visibility here was also much better than in the Dark Sin Canyon. Even without using his summoned Demons, he could see up to 50 yards away. Why are the monsters here so low-leveled? When Shi Feng had inspected his surroundings with the Detection Crystal Ball, the highest-level monsters he had found nearby were only Level 60. These monsters were clearly lower-leveled than in the Dark Sin Canyon. Did I take the wrong path? The Dark Sin Canyon only had two exits. One of them had been completely blocked off, and a Guardian Boss defended the other. Since he couldn''t pass through the sealed exit, he had chosen to kill Baphomet, yet that path had led him to a lower-level map Forget it. This will do. In any case, I am only trying to grind Darkness Stones. It''ll be easier to kill Level 60 Grand Lords. Although Shi Feng hadn''t expected to reach a lower-level map, he welcomed this outcome. It was undoubtedly easier to kill Level 60 Grand Lords than it was to kill their Level 80 cousins. Furthermore, he wasn''t able to do much fighting since he was in a Weakened State due to activating his Twofold Berserk during the fight with Baphomet. For a short period, he wouldn''t be able to add adequate combat power to his team. Shi Feng then proceeded to lead Anna towards one of the Grand Lords he had discovered with the Detection Crystal Ball. With three Level 80, Tier 3 Demons and one Level 80 Golden Giant, whose Strength rivaled a Grand Lord of the same level, defeating a Level 60 Grand Lord would be a piece of cake. With Anna and the three Heroic Spirits'' assistance, the fight against the Grand Lord ended quickly. Shi Feng hadn''t even needed to do anything throughout the fight. Time passed quickly, and before Shi Feng had realized it, he had grinded in the tranquil forest for over a day and wiped out all of its Grand Lords. Now, he had 93 Darkness Stones and 847 Darkness Stone Fragments. With the Philosopher''s Stone''s 100% synthesis success rate, he would have no problems collecting 100 Darkness Stones. The full day of grinding had also pushed Shi Feng to 84% of Level 65. If not for the reduced EXP gain, he would''ve long since reached Level 66. Even so, his leveling speed was incredibly efficient. But compared to his leveling speed, the loot he had acquired from the Bosses he had killed was truly amazing. Although he had not obtained any Epic items, he had collected 17 pieces of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment, 52 pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment, and 276 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. The number of weapons and equipment he amassed by himself in a single day could almost rival a first-rate Guild''s acquisition. Of course, a large part of the reason for his success was the help of Icarus''s Heart, the monstrous Anna, and the Bible of Darkness. Without them, he never would have collected so many top-tier weapons and equipment in the Darkness World so easily. Now that I''ve collected the Darkness Stones I need, it''s about time I return. Shi Feng smiled at the Darkness Stones in his bag. With this, he had completed his quest to obtain the Lost Town. Following which, Shi Feng took out a White River City Return Scroll and activated it. After twenty seconds, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light and departed from the Darkness World. 1686 Stoneclaw Mountains Sealed Chapter 1686 - Stoneclaw Mountains Sealed Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: After Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, he immediately noticed far fewer players on the street than before. Moreover, when players noticed the Zero Wing Emblem pinned on Shi Feng''s Black Cloak, they gave him unusual looks. When independent players on the streets had noticed Zero Wing''s Emblem previously, they had gazed at the player wearing it with envy and admiration, but now, they looked at Shi Feng with sympathy in their eyes. Shi Feng was confused. He had only been away from White River City for a few days, yet the city had changed so massively. What happened here? Shi Feng began to pay closer attention to the players walking down the street. He soon discovered that independent players weren''t the only ones behaving oddly. When players from small Guilds noticed him, they revealed ridiculing expressions. This =confused Shi Feng even further. No matter what was said or done, Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s publicly-acknowledged number one Guild. Even if the Zero Wing''s development had suffered lately due to the war with Heaven''s Burial, the Guild hadn''t fallen so far that even small Guilds'' member would look down on it. Shi Feng had even dealt Heaven''s Burial a severe blow recently. Now that Heaven''s Burial had lost its income from Ancient Rock City, the Guild''s development potential had plummeted. It could no longer compete with Zero Wing''s growth. "Look, that guy''s wearing Zero Wing''s Bronze Emblem. He should be one of Zero Wing''s experts, yet he still has time to wander aimlessly." "I bet he ran back here once he realized that victory isn''t possible. Heaven''s Burial''s latest strategy is too ruthless. Zero Wing is almost guaranteed to lose Stone Forest Town, and all of the various large Guilds are fending for themselves. Heaven''s Burial even declared that any Guild that offers Zero Wing assistances will join its hit-list, and any of Zero Wing''s members that withdraw will be spared its wrath." "That''s right. Who would''ve imagined that Heaven''s Burial would close off the Stoneclaw Mountains map with such a powerful barrier? Not only has all communication been cut off, but they''ve also disabled Return Scrolls. Moreover, the barrier only has one exit. Based on what I''ve heard, a large army of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts guard that exit, and Heaven''s Burial isn''t letting any player leave the map, keeping players from notifying the kingdom''s armies. Heaven''s Burial isn''t letting any player leave the map to notify the kingdom''s armies." "The Stoneclaw Mountains map has been locked down for nearly seven hours now. With Heaven''s Burial''s strength, it should''ve already captured Stone Forest Town." "I''m not sure. Based on the information Stone Forest Town''s players are sharing via offline communication, the battle between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial has become intense, with both sides constantly losing players. But Zero Wing''s players haven''t been able to break through to the barrier''s exit. In contrast, more players from Heaven''s Burial are gathering in the Stoneclaw Mountains by the minute. The same is true for the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons." "Heaven''s Burial is amazingly capable. With their almost complete control of all information relating to the siege, Zero Wing can''t reach the kingdom''s armies to ask for help. Meanwhile, trying to get into the barrier is a suicide mission. If Heaven''s Burial wishes it, it could kill the players trapped inside as many times as it wants, and those players will have no hope of escape. Logging off inside the barrier will also incur a severe penalty. Besides, if Zero Wing''s members log out of the game, Stone Forest Town will be as good as lost." As the players who rested in the bars and restaurants along the street watched Shi Feng, they began to discuss the recent events in the Stoneclaw Mountains. They all admired Heaven''s Burial''s prowess. Although Zero Wing was impressively powerful, Heaven''s Burial was a step ahead of its rival. The Stoneclaw Mountains have been sealed? Shi Feng could not help his surprise. He had seen Guilds seal off maps before, but those seals had only blocked communication and disabled Return Scrolls. Based on what he had just heard, the seal on the Stoneclaw Mountains even prevented players from leaving on foot. This was an extremely difficult feat. Not even he could accomplish the same effect. In the past, only the various superpowers had used such seals when targeting certain apex experts or trying to capture enemy Guild Cities. Shi Feng immediately turned back towards the Teleportation Hall and teleported to Star-Moon City. He then hurried towards Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, the normally blue sky over the Stoneclaw Mountains had dulled to a dismal gray. A barrier of Evil Energy had enveloped the entire map, and while inside this barrier, players'' Stamina and Concentration would be sapped away, even if they did nothing but stand in place. Their minds also felt foggy due to the barrier''s power. In contrast, the Evil Demons inside the barrier were in their element. Both their movement and intellect had improved, as had their Basic Attributes. Standing on one of Stone Forest Town''s walls, Aqua Rose watched the swarm of monsters and players gather some distance away with a somber expression. Suddenly, a Level 50 Ranger clad in blue walked up to Aqua Rose and reported, "Vice Guild Leader Aqua, based on our scouts'' observations, another player army has entered the barrier. By the looks of it, they seem to be from Blackwater. There are roughly 20,000 players, over 6,000 of which are Level 49 or above. Moreover, they have brought eight Catapults with them." "Six thousand experts and eight Catapults?" Aqua Rose''s expression darkened further after hearing this. Currently, Zero Wing only had around 100,000 members protecting Stone Forest Town, and a large majority of them were players she had gathered and led to the town to reinforce its defenses. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial had gathered over 300,000 members before Stone Forest Town. Although only around 170,000 of them were elite members, and the rest were normal members, the normal members were not to be underestimated. Even the weakest among them was Level 45. Furthermore, Heaven''s Burial had the support of a large force of Evil Demons. Rough estimates counted over 100,000 of these monsters. Moreover, more monsters joined the force as time passed. Although most of the Evil Demons were relatively weak, with only Level 45 Elites, they continued to devour monsters around the Stoneclaw Mountains, growing stronger. In fact, Heaven''s Burial had yet to besiege Stone Forest Town because it concentrated on accumulating more strength. During this period, Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s experts had made multiple attempts to assault the barrier''s exit and send information out of the map to notify the kingdom''s armies, hoping that the NPCs would show up to exterminate the Evil Demon army. However, the Evil Demons and Heaven''s Burial''s members guarding the exits had foiled every attempt. The Evil Demons guarding the exit were simply too powerful. There was even a Mythic ranked Evil Demon among them. Even Fire Dance, who had the greatest chances of escaping the barrier, had been defeated and killed in just a few moves. She hadn''t even had the power to resist the Mythic ranked Evil Demon Now that Blackwater had dispatched 6,000 experts and eight Catapults as reinforcements, Heaven''s Burial''s strength in this siege had increased further. Although Aqua Rose wanted nothing more than to charge out there and destroy the eight Catapults Blackwater had sent, the Evil Demon army would undoubtedly assault any force she led out of Stone Forest Town. By leaving the town, they''d simply nourish the Evil Demons, ultimately helping Heaven''s Burial capture Stone Forest Town. "Hahaha! Vice Guild Leader Aqua, I suggest that you give up this struggle. Stone Forest Town will be mine! In fact, I won''t just settle for Stone Forest Town. I''ll take Zero Wing City as well! Listen up, Zero Wing members! You''d do well to abandon any hope of winning this war and withdraw from your Guild now. Staying will only spell your doom once my monster army charges into Stone Forest Town. We''ve already sealed off the Stoneclaw Mountains, so even in death, none of you will leave this place alive! You''ll only die, again and again! So, withdraw from your Guild while you still have the chance!" Singular Burial announced with a voice amplification device as he watched Aqua Rose on the town''s ramparts. "You should also know that currently, Blackwater''s army and another army of Evil Demons are on their way. Once they arrive, not even Heaven'' will be able to save you!" The players in Stone Forest Town fell silent after listening to Singular Burial''s declaration with solemn expressions. "Are we going to fall, just like this?" Everything Singular Burial had said seemed true. All they could do now was wait for death to reach them Suddenly, a figure appeared above the town before a deep voice echoed throughout the area, reaching Stone Forest Town and Heaven''s Burial''s army and ingraining its question into everyone''s minds. "Is that so?" 1687 Strong Reversal Chapter 1687 - Strong Reversal As the deep voice from above reached the players, everyone turned towards it. "Black Flame!?" "The Sword King?!" Everyone quickly discovered a cloaked man hovering in the air. The man carried two longswords at his waist and radiated a majestic aura. Upon recognizing this man''s appearance, many players gasped in surprise. This man had been responsible for so many miracles already. From killing an enemy commander whilst surrounded by an army of thousands to deterring an army of tens of thousands single-handedly, this man had repeated defied common sense. He had even slain one well-known expert after another and wounded multiple superpowers. Just recently, he had charged into Ancient Rock City alone and destroyed two of the city''s defensive magic arrays. To top it all off, he had left that city with his life. The man was definitely Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert. "Guild Leader?" "The Guild Leader''s back! He''s really here!" Many of Zero Wing''s members on Stone Forest Town''s walls were ecstatic when they saw Shi Feng''s figure in the distant sky, and the depressing atmosphere that had surrounded them lifted instantly as fighting spirit overwhelmed these players. As they gazed up at Shi Feng, a hint of fanaticism even flashed in their eyes. The Guild Leader? Has he already completed his quest? Although Aqua Rose was similarly excited to see Shi Feng, a seed of guilt sprouted in her heart. Shi Feng had entrusted her with Zero Wing''s management before he had left, Heaven''s Burial had cornered the Guild. "Guild Leader, you''re finally back!" When Blackie, Fire Dance, Cola, Shadow Sword, Turtledove, and Zero Wing''s other core members saw Shi Feng, they seemed to have grown an extra backbone as they brimmed with confidence. "Is Black Flame finally getting involved?" "Notify the higher-ups immediately; tell them that Black Flame has arrived!" The various superpowers'' spies stationed in Stone Forest Town exploded into action when they saw Shi Feng above the town. Some of these spied immediately logged out of the game to report the situation to their superiors. Although logging off would incur penalties, this information was worth the price. After all, Shi Feng''s appearance alone had changed the situation. Zero Wing''s members had already lost their fighting spirit after seeing the countless enemies around them. However, every one of these players reacted as if they were on some kind of high when they saw their Guild Leader, madness burning in their eyes. Very quickly, the major powers who watched this war received news of Shi Feng''s arrival in Stone Forest Town. "So, Black Flame has finally made an appearance? And here I thought that he had given up on Stone Forest Town. It seems he still intends to fight this out until the very end." When Galaxy Past, who rested the Star Alliance''s Residence in Star-Moon City, received the latest report from his subordinate, he could not help but shake his head and sigh. Heaven''s Burial had thrown everything it had into this last assault. The Guild had clearly stopped holding back. Even if Stone Forest Town''s defenses were very powerful, the Evil Demon army was no laughing matter. Unlike Evil Beasts, Evil Demons were intelligent. They also had faster reaction speeds. They wouldn''t succumb to the town''s static defenses as easily as the Evil Beasts. Moreover, based on the information they had collected thus far, any player killed an Evil Demon killed inside the barrier would become a sacrifice, turning into a new Evil Demon for Heaven''s Burial very quickly. Just thinking about it made Galaxy Past shudder with fear. One could not forget the reinforcements Blackwater had sent, either. Eight Catapults could inflict devastating damage to Stone Forest Town. Not only did they deal high damage, but they also had an extremely long attack range. Even Zero Wing''s movement-type defensive magic array would only last a few hits from these weapons of war. Meanwhile, in a high-class restaurant in the Black Dragon Empire "Interesting. Black Flame really is a suicidal bastard." Nine Dragons Emperor''s lips curled into a smile when he saw the video his subordinate had sent him. "Zero Wing is truly finished now. I can''t wait to see what Phoenix Rain plans to use to compete against me for Thunder Island in the next contest." In contrast to Nine Dragons Emperor''s reaction, when Phoenix Rain read the latest report on the war between Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing from her position on Thunder Island, her expression darkened. Why is he such a fool? Phoenix Rain was at a loss for words. Heaven''s Burial had obviously sealed Stone Forest Town to massacre Zero Wing''s members. It was bad enough that Zero Wing had sent most of its main force members and expert players to the town to defend it, but now, even Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, had fallen into this trap. The wisest decision would be to abandon Stone Forest Town and conserve as much of the Guild''s strength as possible to protect Zero Wing City. The city had already become the Guild''s core, but if its Guild Leader were killed while protecting Stone Forest Town, it would deal a massive mental blow to the Guild. With both its military prowess and morale wounded, how was Zero Wing supposed to defend Zero Wing City later? Standing amidst Heaven''s Burial''s army, which waited outside of Stone Forest Town, Singular Burial had his sight locked onto Shi Feng, glaring at the man with a chilling gaze. Due to Black Flame, the foundation he had built for the future Heaven''s Burial Empire had been utterly destroyed. If Black Flame hadn''t destroyed Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays, the various superpowers wouldn''t have sieged the city, forcing him to sacrifice his city to the Evil God''s Branch Temple. However, it was his turn to share the feeling of destruction with Zero Wing. "Black Flame, your words sure are bold! What can you possibly do by yourself? You dared to destroy my city''s defensive magic arrays, and today, I will take Stone Forest Town from you as compensation!" Singular Burial sneered at Shi Feng. As soon as Singular Burial finished speaking, the Evil Demon army behind Heaven''s Burial''s army loosed an earth-shattering roar. The roars of over 100,000 Evil Demons echoed throughout the Stoneclaw Mountains, and the pressure the monsters released made everyone in Stone Forest Town shudder. Some players'' legs even lost their strength. The players in Stone Forest Town were reminded of the Evil Demon army''s strength once more. If the pressure the Evil Demon army radiated were already so powerful, the consequences would be unimaginable if the monster army took action. Although Shi Feng was powerful, what could one person possibly do against so many formidable monsters? There were also Heaven''s Burial''s players to contend with. In the end, Shi Feng had only come to die alongside Zero Wing''s members by coming to Stone Forest Town! "Since you people from Heaven''s Burial like Stone Forest Town so much, then you can stay here forever!" Shi Feng immediately retrieved a pitch-black energy bead from his bag. The instant he took out this bead, Heaven''s Burial''s members below him felt their souls shudder. This bead''s power had even affected their consciousness. This energy bead was none other than the Destruction Crystal Shi Feng had obtained from recasting the Disintegration Armor. Before anyone could react, Shi Feng loosened his grip on the Destruction Crystal. The pitch-black energy bead then landed among Heaven''s Burial''s army. Boom! The moment the Destruction Crystal touched the ground, it exploded with a silver radiance. Instantly, the ground beneath the Destruction Crystal sank as the Power of Destruction spread across the land. Neither living beings nor inanimate objects were spared. Anything and anyone the Power of Destruction came in contact with vanished, leaving nothing behind. Not even the weapons and equipment players had dropped as they had died had survived the blast Everything had happened so quickly that before Heaven''s Burial''s members could even react, an empty plot of land had been created amidst their massive army. For a time, silence descended on Heaven''s Burial''s forces as if time itself had frozen. Zero Wing''s members, who stood on Stone Forest Town''s walls, were just as stupefied by the scene that had just occurred. They hadn''t expected Shi Feng to make such a sudden move, not even giving Heaven''s Burial''s members a second to react. And the results of his attack were even so horrific. 1688 Strength of One Person Chapter 1688 - Strength of One Person The Destruction Crystal had a 1,000-yard radius. The AOE could rival a Tier 5 large-scale destruction Spell. However, unlike Tier 5 large-scale destruction Spells, the Destruction Crystal destroyed everything it touched on a fundamental level. It did not rely on great power to destroy its targets, and even a small fraction of the Power of Destruction would destroy any player''s body it encountered. It would even damage their Immortal Souls and corrode them to a certain extent. Unfortunately, the Power of Destruction would weaken at the edges as it spread. Most of the players 500 yards or more from the explosion''s epicenter were still alive; some of them were even still standing. Only, they had all been contaminated to varying degrees from their contact with the Power of Destruction. This contamination had significantly decreased their Basic Attributes, and their HPs slowly depleted over time. As for their Stamina and Concentration, they steadily lost both Although these players were technically still alive, they could no longer add to the force''s combat power. In addition, every player within the radius had lost a drastic amount of their weapons and equipment''s durability. All Mysterious-Iron Weapons and Equipment had turned into dust the moment the Power of Destruction had touched it, regardless of how little or how much Power of Destruction they had come into contact with. Not even Secret-Silver Equipment would survive within 300 yards of the epicenter. Only Fine-Gold Equipment had any hope of surviving the contamination within this range. Only Dark-Gold Equipment or better would have survived the contamination within 100 yards of the epicenter. Even so, Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment within this radius had still lost over one-third of their durability All of this had happened in a mere instant, and Heaven''s Burial hadn''t had any time to react. The sudden development hadn''t only stunned Heaven''s Burials'' members, but players within Stone Forest Town also gaped at the result. Heaven''s Burial''s members were all Level 45 and above. If they died and lost a level, they''d have a challenging time recovering their losses. However, players that had been caught in the blast hadn''t only lost levels, but their equipment and weapons had been destroyed as well. This loss was far more severe than losing a single level. When Heaven''s Burial''s surviving members saw their weapons and equipment, they nearly fainted. "Zero Wing is really doomed now" The spectating players in Stone Forest Town could not help but gasp. Shi Feng''s attack had certainly been extraordinary. With just one attack, he had dealt a heavy blow to Heaven''s Burial, killing over 5,000 players and 3,000 Evil Demons. However, the fact remained that Zero Wing had no escape. Shi Feng had only dumped oil on the raging flame of Heaven''s Burial''s hatred. Singular Burial, who stood among his army, glared at Shi Feng, radiating killing intent. Even the temperature of the air around him had fallen by a few degrees. "Black Flame! You asked for this!" Singular Burial then commanded, "Activate the Magic Gnome Canons and shoot him out of the sky!" "Guild Leader, are we really going to waste the cannons on him? Weren''t we saving them to deal with Stone Forest Town''s defensive magic array?" Daybreak Fog jumped in, trying to dissuade Singular Burial after hearing his latest order. The Magic Gnome Cannons were war weapons they had acquired after capturing Ancient Rock City. Each of the cannon''s shots could rival a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell. It also dealt increased damage to defensive magic arrays and fortifications. It was a specialized weapon for siege warfare. However, the Magic Gnome Cannons had limited ammunition, and Heaven''s Burial had spent most of that ammunition while defending Ancient Rock City. Now, they could only fire twelve rounds. Using that ammo on a single target, a player at that, was unwise. "He is the one asking for it!" Singular Burial growled madly, adamant that his command be carried out. Hearing Singular Burial''s decisive tone, his Guild member realized how furious the man was. The players manning the Magic Gnome Cannons at the rear of Heaven''s Burial''s forces then aimed the weapons at Shi Feng and fired. Boom! As the first cannon went off, a beam of dark-blue light flew towards Shi Feng, reaching its target in the blink of an eye. The energy beam contained so much power that even the space around it trembled. "Crap! Singular Burial has lost his mind! He''s actually using a war weapon to deal with a single player?!" "Black Flame is dead for sure this time. That attack should have a 100-yard radius at the very minimum. No player can dodge that." The players watching from within Stone Forest Town were stupefied. War weapons generally had very long Cooldowns, and the stronger the weapon was, the longer its Cooldown would be. Hence, for efficiency, such weapons were generally used against dense crowds. It was a luxury to fire a war weapon at a single player. Just as the dark-blue energy beam was about to smash into Shi Feng, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, increasing his HP by 500%, Defense by 300%, Strength by 150%, and Agility by 60%. The intensity of his aura instantly skyrocketed, and it felt as if some primordial beast had just woken from a long sleep. Following which, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray towards the incoming energy beam. Lightning Edge! Countless arcs of lightning flew from Shi Feng''s blade, forming a long, blue river that collided with the incoming energy beam. When the attacks collided, a brilliant radiance illuminated the battlefield. While everyone was momentarily blinded, a strong gust of wind pushed at them. Heaven''s Burial''s members standing near the collision were even forced to retreat several yards. After the two attacks fought for supremacy, the Magic Gnome Cannon''s energy beam devoured the river of lightning and proceeded to devour Shi Feng. However, before Singular Burial could cry out in joyous victory, the smoke in the sky scattered and revealed Shi Feng''s still-living figure. Shi Feng was actually alive and still hovering in the air. In fact, he was nowhere near dead; he had only lost around one-eighth of his HP. "He didn''t die?" "How is that possible?!" Seeing Shi Feng alive and kicking, the players watching from Stone Forest Town were dumbfounded. The eyes of Heaven''s Burial''s members nearly fell from their sockets when they saw the result of the attacks. How is this possible? Did he use some Invulnerability Skill? No, that can''t be right; he has lost HP. But, if he didn''t use an Invulnerability Skill, why did he only lose a little HP? For a moment, Singular Burial failed to comprehend what had just happened. He had considered the possibility that Shi Feng may have a few methods to dodge the Magic Gnome Cannon''s attack. For example, the enemy Swordsman could use an Invulnerability Skill or a Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scroll to block the energy beam. He could also use the Teleportation Skill he had used many times in the past. However, of all the possibilities he had considered, none of them included Shi Feng receiving the attack head-on. "Continue firing! I refuse to believe he can endure!" Singular Burial gave out the command to attack again, gritting his teeth. The Magic Gnome Cannon had a 45-second Cooldown, but Heaven''s Burial had secured three Magic Gnome Cannons from Ancient Rock City. They still had two more they could rely on. Suddenly, another Magic Gnome Cannon fired at Shi Feng. Boom! Once more, a dark-blue energy beam threatened to devour the hovering Swordsman. This time, however, Shi Feng did not use an AOE Skill. Instead, he activated Flame Burst and used Killing Ray to block the energy beam. Once the energy beam had passed, Shi Feng had slid black nearly 20 yards before he stabilized his position in the air. He also lost close to one-sixth of his maximum HP. Although he had fared worse than before, he was still alive and well "Attack! Continue attacking him!" Singular Burial commanded, madness flashing in his eyes. The third Magic Gnome Cannon fired immediately. Seeing another dark-blue energy beam approach, Shi Feng moved forward to meet it. Boom! As the smoke scattered, Shi Feng remained in the air. He also still had more than 50% of his HP "Is that it?" Shi Feng asked as he leisurely dusted himself off. Glancing at Singular Burial, he chuckled and wondered aloud, "Are you telling me that this is all Heaven''s Burial is capable of?" Silence fell on the battlefield as everyone watched Shi Feng. 1689 Summoning a High Demon Chapter 1689 - Summoning a High Demon How is this possible? Horror filled Singular Burial''s eyes as he stared at Shi Feng. He was very familiar with the Magic Gnome Cannon''s power, and he simply couldn''t accept the fact that Shi Feng had just taken three hits head-on and survived, much less held onto more than 50% of his HP. Even a Tier 2 MT would be vaporized, even after activating a Lifesaving Skill, if they were struck by the Magic Gnome Cannons. Yet, three of these powerful weapons'' attacks had failed to kill Shi Feng. "Is he some NPC or a humanoid monster?" As Heaven''s Burial''s members looked up at Shi Feng''s proud, hovering figure, they were overwhelmed with horror and confusion. The strength Shi Feng had just displayed was beyond players'' abilities. This kind of power lingered in the realms of NPCs and monsters. When they thought about how they were supposed to fight such a monster, a chill crawled down their spines. If not even attacks that could rival Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells could deal significant damage to this Swordsman, their attacks would be raindrops pelting his skin. Shi Feng''s combat standard was also exceedingly high. He wouldn''t simply let them attack him like a common monster. If Shi Feng charged into their army''s ranks, the consequences would be unimaginable. Meanwhile, Stone Forest Town had become eerily silent after its players had witnessed the failed bombardment. "So, this is the strength of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert?" Although they knew that Shi Feng was Star-Moon Kingdom''s publicly acknowledged number one expert and that they were definitely no match for the Sword King, they had never dreamed that the man was this powerful. Being able to face weapons of war was a feat beyond players. Shi Feng, without a doubt, was a bona fide monster. After witnessing this, the experts that had planned to challenge Shi Feng and claim the title as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert, smiled in self-ridicule as they realized how comical their idea was. When Shi Feng swept his gaze over Heaven''s Burial''s members below him, noticing their shocked expressions, his lips curled into a smile. Although sufficient strength was important in a Guild war, a Guild''s morale was just as important. Players plagued by fear and worry wouldn''t be able to fight to their full potential, and they''d make senseless mistakes. In contrast, if a Guild''s morale were high, its players would exhibit their full potential and perform better than normal. Trying to defeat an enemy while outnumbered wouldn''t be entirely impossible. It seems that it was quite effective. Shi Feng was very satisfied with his performance when he saw his enemies'' overwhelmed expressions. While war weapons were indeed powerful, they were not unstoppable. Current players were simply too weak to take a hit from such weapons. Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells could certainly kill Tier 1 players, and not even Tier 2 players could normally survive such an attack. But what about Tier 3 and Tier 4 players? Once players reached Tier 3, Tier 3 large-scale destruction spells would only pose a threat; they wouldn''t be unstoppable. After reaching Tier 4, players could even shatter a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell. The reason Shi Feng had dared to face the Magic Gnome Cannons'' attacks was due to his sufficiently high Basic Attributes and Magic Resistance. In addition, Heavenly Dragon''s Power increased his HP and Defense by a significant margin. Most importantly, the Disintegration Armor''s Disintegration Field could weaken Skills and Spells above Tier 2 by 60%. With all of these factors in play, he had chosen to receive the Magic Gnome Cannons'' energy beams head-on. Even so, he had still received a considerable amount of damage. However, if anyone else stood in his place, even with the help of the Disintegration Field, they''d either die or barely cling to life after a single attack. Although it appeared that he had only lost a small fraction of his HP, he had boosted his HP by 500% with one of his Skills. Losing one-sixth of that HP was the equivalent to losing as much HP as he normally possessed. Moreover, receiving Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells head-on was a considerable burden on his equipment''s durability. After three shots from the Gnome Cannons, his Dark-Gold Equipment''s durability had fallen by nearly one-quarter. If he received another dozen or so energy beams, all of his items would be destroyed, aside from his Epic and Fragmented Legendary items. Seeing that Heaven''s Burial''s members panic, Shi Feng promptly took the Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll, which he had obtained after killing Baphomet, from his bag and activated it. Tier 4 Spell, Dark Prison! Before Heaven''s Burial''s members could recover from their shock, a pitch-black ball appeared among the army. This pitch-black ball then expanded, quickly and silently enveloping a 500-yard radius. After remaining motionless for two seconds, the black ball burst, and a towering pillar of black light took its place. Instantly, all players who had failed to activate Invulnerability Skills died as they were caught within the light pillar. With this single attack, Heaven''s burial had lost an additional 6,000-plus members "Zero Wing, heed my command! Leave town and wipe out Heaven''s Burial! Leave none of them alive! Bring the Miniature Ballistas and movement-type defensive magic array!" Shi Feng shouted from his position in the air, his voice echoing across the battlefield. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, Zero Wing''s members'' blood boiled as they roared with power. Under Aqua Rose and the other core members'' command, everyone charged out of Stone Forest Town and dashed toward Heaven''s Burial''s 300,000-strong army. Hundreds of Miniature Ballistas and the movement-type defensive magic array followed closely behind. "Damn it! How does Black Flame wield this kind of power?" "We can''t win! Black Flame is a monster! I don''t want to die!" Compared to the physical destruction from Shi Feng''s Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll, the mental blow had been crippling. After seeing so many more of their companions instantly die, many of Heaven''s Burial members turned and fled. Shi Feng had just used two large-scale destruction Spells with such horrific power in a row. Who knew if he had more in store? Moreover, seeing how miserably their Guild members had died had truly terrified them. This was especially true for the first group of players that had fallen to the Destruction Crystal. The attack had even obliterated most of those players equipment. Shi Feng was basically immortal in their eyes. They couldn''t bear to remain in this nightmare for a moment longer. "Black Flame!" Singular Burial frowned as he watched his army descend into chaos. Hurriedly, he commanded through the team chat, "Send in the Evil Demon army, now!" "Guild Leader, are we really going to attack now? Blackwater''s reinforcements haven''t arrived yet. If we start now, I''m afraid that" Daybreak Fog knew the kind of strength the Evil Demon army possessed. The majority were newly-spawned Evil Demons. While these Evil Demons might be able to slaughter players, they would be mostly useless against the NPC soldiers in Stone Forest Town. They''d struggle to break through the town''s defenses with these monsters. "It doesn''t matter!" Singular Burial understood the potential consequences of attack too early as well. However, if they did nothing to recover from the mental blow Zero Wing had just dealt, facing the enemy Guild would become even more difficult. However, very quickly, Singular Burial revealed a sneer as he said, "Zero Wing''s members have taken the initiative to leave the town. This is the perfect opportunity to annihilate them! Notify Flame Blood to send in the Mythic ranked Evil Demons and Beasts!" "Understood!" Daybreak Fog recognized Singular Burial''s reasoning. Immediately, she contacted Flame Blood and ordered him to take action. Immediately, a commotion occurred within the nearby forest. Within seconds, one Level 80 Mythic ranked Evil Demon and four Level 80 Mythic ranked Evil Beasts emerged. As they appeared, their deafening roars reached the battlefield. The pressure they exuded even stole the breath from the nearby Heaven''s Burial members. The sudden inclusion of these Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and Demon discouraged Zero Wing''s members. In contrast, some of Heaven''s Burial''s morale returned. "Black Flame, it''s time to pay for your arrogance!" Singular Burial smirked when he saw that Zero Wing''s army had already moved a considerable distance away from Stone Forest Town. With a wave of his hand, he commanded the Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demon to charge into Zero Wing''s ranks. Shi Feng then returned to the ground. Once he landed, he pulled a crystal ball with a golden glow from his bag. "Come, Baphomet!" Shi Feng shouted. At the same time, 5,000 Magic Crystals vanished from his bag space. 1690 Mythic Showdown Chapter 1690 - Mythic Showdown After sacrificing 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate the High Demon''s Soul, a gigantic magic array formed before Shi Feng. However, unlike other magic arrays, this one did not absorb Mana from its environment. Rather, Power of Darkness gushed from the array and flooded its surroundings as if it were a portal to the Darkness World. The dense Power of Darkness quickly formed a layer of dark mist around the magic array. It was so dense that it even dispersed the ambient Evil Energy. After three seconds of this process, the black mist concentrated into a colossal form. The moment the mist began to coalesce into this gigantic form, it radiated an overwhelming aura that spread into its surroundings. Moreover, as the body took shape, its aura became stronger. After another five seconds, Baphomet''s 30-meter-tall frame arrived on the battlefield. However, unlike the Baphomet Shi Feng had killed, this Baphomet was multitudes stronger. The previous Baphomet had merely been a Level 73 Grand Lord, but the monster before Shi Feng was Level 80 Mythic ranked High Demon. Moreover, due to the Bible of Darkness''s Demon Ruler Skill, Baphomet''s Basic Attributes increased by another 35%. [Baphomet] (High Demon, Mythic) Level 80 HP 324,000,000/324,000,000 When the Evil Demon army was within 100 yards of Zero Wing''s army, Baphomet stopped the ground lightly and disappeared. The High Demon instantly reappeared before the Evil Demons before swiping one of its clawed hands at the monster army. Boom! Suddenly, all Evil Demons within 20 yards of Baphomet flew backward. All Elite and Special Elite ranked Evil Demons within Baphomet''s attack range were instantly obliterated. Even the Chieftain ranked Evil Demons clung onto life with a small strand of HP "So strong!" Zero Wing''s members, who were charging into battle, could not help but gasp when they saw this. It was obvious that the swipe had been one of Baphomet''s normal attacks. The High Demon hadn''t used an AOE Skill, yet it had instantly destroyed several dozen Evil Demons. The resulting impact had even flattened the previously uneven ground before the High Demon. Naturally, Baphomet didn''t give its enemies the time to react as it swung its other clawed hand. Boom! Once more, dozens of Evil Demons died. Several Lord ranked Evil Demons flew through the air as they sustained heavy injuries For a time, Baphomet continued on an unstoppable rampage. The High Demon massacred the Evil Demons as if it were squashing on ants. Although the nearby Evil Demons had tried to retaliate, Baphomet had barely taken damage. The Chieftain ranked Evil Demons only dealt around -300 damage to the High Demon, whereas the Lord ranked Evil Demons dealt around -1,000 damage. These attacks weren''t even a scratch to Baphomet. With its battle recovery, Baphomet regained 3,240,000 HP every five seconds. Furthermore, the Evil Demons didn''t have long-ranged attacks. At most, they could launch a few mid-ranged attacks. Although Baphomet was massive, only 200 or so Evil Demons could attack it at one time. Even if Baphomet stood there and did nothing, the Evil Demons couldn''t kill it In the few seconds since Baphomet had joined the battlefield, the High Demon had killed hundreds of Evil Demons. Among them, over two dozen had been Chieftains, and one had been a Lord. Although the loss was insignificant compared to Heaven''s Burial''s 100,000-strong force of Evil Demons, Singular Burial''s expression twisted as he watched the High Demon''s slaughter. He had never expected Zero Wing to have a trump card like this. He had assumed that Zero Wing would summon Divine Dragons as it had during their previous war. If that were the case, he intended to sneak the Mythic ranked Evil Demon''s past Zero Wing''s defenses to target the magic array that summoned the Dragons directly. However, it was a different story if Shi Feng summoned a Mythic monster with an item. Dealing with Baphomet wouldn''t be easy. "Send two Mythic Evil Beasts to hold that Demon back! The Mythic Evil Demon will go after Black Flame! I want to see how Zero Wing intends to defeat us!" Singular Burial commanded. Evil Demons were best against players. Although Shi Feng was not an easy target, he was a small pest, slightly larger than his companions, before a Mythic ranked Evil Demon. Two of the four Mythic ranked Evil Beasts turned toward Baphomet, whereas the Mythic ranked Evil Demon charged at Shi Feng. However, before the Evil Demon could reach Shi Feng, a gigantic figure intercepted it. This figure belonged to none other than Baphomet. Baphomet was 30 meters tall., and the Mythic ranked Evil Demon was only five meters tall. The High Demon loomed over the Evil Demon like a building. "Do you think you can stop it?" Singular Burial sneered. A Mythic ranked Evil Demon''s combat standards were even superior to ordinary experts, and its Strength was higher than a Mythic ranked Evil Beast''s. It''s only weakness was its low, 150,000,000 HP. Against players, however, this much HP was more than enough. Without hesitation, the Mythic ranked Evil Demon brandished one of its claws at Baphomet. As its claw moved, gray mist rapidly enveloped it. Space tore as the claws passed. Tier 3 Skill, Dark Annihilation Claw! Although the attack was only a Tier 3 Skill, the Evil Demon''s overwhelming Strength and speed improved it. Seeing the approaching attack, Baphomet swung one of its own clawed hands to meet the attack, rather than try to dodge. Boom! When the two claws collided, space around them shattered. The ground below the collision sank, while nearby Evil Demons were thrown through the air. Evil Demons below Chieftain rank and within 20 yards of the impact died instantly from the resulting shockwaves After the two Demons pushed against each other for a few seconds, the Dark Annihilation Claw''s effects vanished, and the Mythic ranked Evil Demon was forced back by five steps before it stabilized itself. The difference between the two monsters'' Strength was obvious at a glance. The Heaven''s Burial members that had brimmed with fighting spirit were stupefied, especially Singular Burial. How is any of this possible? How can that thing stop the Evil Demon''s Tier 3 Skill with a normal attack? Singular Burial simply could not understand how a Demon could possess such horrific Strength that not even a Mythic ranked Evil Demon could compete with it. However, Singular Burial quickly recovered his senses. Baphomet was only one creature, and he had a total of five Mythic monsters under his command. Even if Baphomet were more powerful, it couldn''t stop five Mythic monsters at once. As long as they killed Shi Feng, Baphomet would vanish. Singular Burial immediately contacted Flame Blood, who controlled the Mythic monsters in secret, and instructed him to send all five to kill Shi Feng. He also told Flame Blood to keep the other Evil Demons away from Baphomet as much as possible, focusing on Zero Wing''s members. As Singular Burial had expected, although Baphomet was powerful, it couldn''t stop five Mythic monsters of the same level. It took everything the High Demon had to pin down one Evil Demon and two Evil Beasts. However, Zero Wing''s army had arrived on the battlefield, and the movement-type defensive magic array enveloped Shi Feng in its protection. Meanwhile, several hundred Ballistas launched their payload simultaneously. The scene of hundreds of Exploding Arrows flying towards their targets was spectacular. The explosion seven halted the Mythic ranked Evil Beasts'' advance for a moment. The weaker Evil Demons began to die in droves. A single volley of arrows had claimed several hundred Evil Demons'' lives. However, the Evil Demon army launched its own assault against the movement-type magic array. From time to time, the two Mythic ranked Evil Beasts, which had avoided Baphomet''s care, snuck past the High Demon to land one or two attacks on the magic array. Heaven''s Burial also continued to bombard the array with the Magic Gnome Cannons. With so many attacks against it, cracks began to surface on the magic array''s barrier. Fortunately, the array quickly repaired itself, and after this continued for several minutes, Zero Wing had no choice but to replenish the movement-type defensive magic array''s energy reserves. It''s still standing? Envy flashed in Singular Burial''s gaze as he watched the movement-type defensive magic array. Although it wasn''t as strong as the barrier around a city, it could be reactivated the moment after it shattered. So what if you can withstand the Evil Demon army for now? How many Magic Crystals can you afford to spend? "Heaven''s Burial, charge! Zero Wing won''t last much longer!" Singular Burial shouted. Heaven''s Burial''s members could also see that, although Black Flame''s previous performance had been stunning, Zero Wing couldn''t avoid annihilation. When Zero Wing''s members heard Singular Burial''s shout, their expressions darkened. The Evil Demon was already a formidable force. If Heaven''s Burial''s players joined the fray Sure enough, I''m pushing my luck by relying on one Baphomet. The battle''s current state didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Fortunately, Zero Wing City had accumulated quite a number of Magic Crystals lately. Following which, he retrieved the High Demon''s Soul from his bag and sacrificed another 5,000 Magic Crystals to it. Another gigantic magic array joined the battlefield, and after a few seconds, a new Baphomet manifested within the movement-type defensive magic array. "Black Flame can summon another one?!" "This is some trick, right?!" As Heaven''s Burial''s members began their charge, they slid to a halt as they gaped at the new Baphomet in utter shock. 1691 Chaotic Battlefield Chapter 1691 - Chaotic Battlefield Baphomet''s 30-meter-tall figure was eye-catching inside the movement-type defensive magic array. The players standing around it looked like ants, and the High Demon was difficult to miss. Both this new Baphomet''s aura and Basic Attributes were identical to the first Baphomet Shi Feng had summoned. "He can actually summon two such powerful monsters?" Singular Burial and Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons looked on in abject horror. They had already witnessed Baphomet''s power. Not only did the High Demon have more Strength than both the Mythic ranked Evil Demon and the Evil Beasts, but it could also tank one Mythic Evil Demon and two Mythic Evil Beasts by itself. Even the other two Mythic ranked Evil Beasts struggled to find opportunities to sneak past the first Baphomet to attack Zero Wing. To put it simply, Baphomet''s Basic Attributes and combat standard were already horrific. Yet, another monster of its caliber had joined the battle. This raised Zero Wing''s combat potential to the next level. When the second Baphomet had manifested, some of Zero Wing''s members, who had begun to despair, cheered. The two Mythic ranked Evil Beasts were the biggest problem they faced, but now that a second Baphomet had joined them, they wouldn''t need to worry about any of the Mythic monsters. With all five of Heaven''s Burial''s Mythic monsters at bay, they could rely on their defensive magic array and Miniature Ballistas to give Heaven''s Burial''s Demon army the fight of its lifetime. Suddenly, the second Baphomet vanished and reappeared before one of the two unhindered Mythic ranked Evil Beasts. Baphomet then swung its clawed hand at the Evil Beasts. Boom! The impact forced the Level 80 Mythic Evil Beast to retreat several steps. Noticing the new, powerful foe, the other Mythic Evil Beast turned and headbutted Baphomet. Rather than dodge the incoming attack, Baphomet stomped the ground and swung its other claw, easily stopping the Evil Beast''s all-out attack. The resulting impact pushed the Evil Beast back by several steps. The difference in Strength between both sides was obvious at a glance. For a time, the two Baphomets pinned down Heaven''s Burial''s five Mythic monsters, giving the monsters no opportunity to attack the movement-type defensive magic array. As a result, Heaven''s Burial''s damage against the array drastically decreased. Even with the rest of the Evil Demon army attacking desperately, the depletion of the magic array''s energy reserves slowed. Now, it would take far more time to drain the defensive magic array''s energy. Furthermore, Zero Wing''s members could replenish the reserves at any given moment. This allowed the Miniature Ballistas and ranged players in the defensive magic array to attack without restraint. Each volley from the Miniature Ballistas contained several hundred Exploding Arrows. Although a single volley was not enough to kill the Chieftain rank and above Evil Demons, the weaker Demons turned to ash instantly. "Amazing! So, this is Zero Wing''s foundation? Even if the Guild didn''t have those two Mythic monsters, Heaven''s Burial would still find its members difficult to annihilate." The spectating players inside Stone Forest Town were stunned by the spectacular sight of several hundred Miniature Ballistas launching simultaneous attacks. Meanwhile, Singular Burial, who commanded the battle from afar, glared at Shi Feng. He felt as if someone thrust a blade into his heart with each Exploding Arrow volley from the Miniature Ballistas. He had sacrificed 400,000 players to obtain these Evil Demons, and to convince his players to offer a portion of their Immortal Souls willingly, Heaven''s Burial had offered them significant compensation. Yet, in the few short minutes since the battle had begun, over 20,000 Evil Demons had fallen. In contrast, Zero Wing had yet to suffer a single casualty as the impenetrable defensive magic array protected its members. After a short moment, Zero Wing had regained the advantage. "Guild Leader, we are dealing too little damage to Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. At this rate, Zero Wing will annihilate our forces before we can even deplete the magic array''s energy reserves," Daybreak Fog said, frowning as she watched volley after volley of Exploding Arrows rain down on Heaven''s Burial''s armies. Aside from the two Baphomets, the several hundred Miniature Ballistas were plenty of trouble. Their combined attacks could rival a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell in both power and range. Even though Evil Demons were stronger than players, they couldn''t survive a bombardment of multiple Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. "Haven''t Blackwater''s reinforcements arrived yet?" Singular Burial could practically feel his heart bleed. The losses the Evil Demon army was suffering were severe, but his player army''s losses were worse. Players didn''t have as much HP as the Evil Demons, and every attack from the two Baphomets and the Miniature Ballistas could one-hit his players. Thus far, Heaven''s Burial had lost over 30,000 players. Many of them were the Guild''s elite members. Meanwhile, the Mythic Evil Demon and Mythic Evil Beasts'' performance wasn''t nearly as powerful as he had expected. On the contrary, the two Baphomets had them thoroughly suppressed, and they steadily lost HP. Singular Burial regretted his decision to begin the battle against Zero Wing so soon. Had he known that Shi Feng could summon two Baphomets, he definitely would''ve waited until Blackwater''s reinforcements had arrived. With Blackwater''s Catapults, destroying Zero Wing''s defensive magic array would be much easier. Once they depleted the Magic Crystals Zero Wing had on hand, the Guild''s members would be fish on a chopping board. "They''re almost here. They''ll arrive in six or seven minutes," Daybreak Fog reported after contacting one of Blackwater''s representatives. "Six or seven minutes?" Singular Burial made some quick calculations in his head. At the rate the battle was developing, Heaven''s Burial should have no problems lasting for another half an hour or so. "Alright, but tell them to hurry! Tell them that Zero Wing is much stronger than we had anticipated!" Daybreak Fog immediately relayed Singular Burial''s message to Blackwater''s army. Zero Wing can actually dominate the Evil Demon army? It''s no wonder why such an insignificant Guild dares to provoke Blackwater. Falling Fire, who wore a set of crimson mage robes, was surprised after he learned of Heaven''s Burial''s current predicament. However, that was all he felt. He wasn''t worried in the slightest that they would fail to capture Stone Forest Town. Singular Burial had stated that his forces could hold out for another 30 or so minutes, and his group would arrive in around seven. Meanwhile, standing at the forefront of Zero Wing''s army, Shi Feng spent another 5,000 Magic Crystals to summon a third Baphomet once the High Demon''s Soul''s Cooldown ended The instant the third Baphomet manifested, the battlefield fell silent. It was as if time had frozen. Before Heaven''s Burial''s members could react to the new Baphomet, Shi Feng had the freshly summoned High Demon charge into enemy ranks, executing one Skill after another. A Tier 4 High Demon possessed many Skills and Spells, and all of them were capable of killing dozens, even hundreds, of players. "Damn it! How is this possible?!" Shock and confusion overwhelmed Singular Burial as he stared at the third Baphomet. He could not figure out how Shi Feng had summoned such powerful monsters, one after another. However, Singular Burial quickly calmed himself and pushed this thought out of his mind as he turned to Daybreak Fog and commanded, "Fog, contact Falling Fire and tell his group to hurry. Tell him to bring the one Mythic Evil Demons and the two Mythic Evil Beasts guarding the exit." Daybreak Fog knew how precarious their situation was now, as well. She notified Falling Fire, telling him to increase his force''s speed and transfer more monsters to the battlefield. However, shortly after Daybreak Fog ended the call, Shi Feng pulled a Summon Guard Scroll form his bag and activated it. Suddenly, a lithe, captivating figure appeared before Shi Feng. Naturally, this figure belonged to Anna. Following Anna''s arrival, a Level 80 Great Lord ranked Golden Giant and ten Level 80 Lord ranked Rock Guardians joined the battlefield. This instantly elevated Zero Wing''s destructive power to a whole other level. Anna, in particular, performed as well as the Baphomets. She controlled numerous holy spears to attack the enemy players, each wave killing dozens or even over a hundred players. Any Tier 1 player these spears struck died instantly After summoning Anna, Shi Feng had the three Baphomets use their strongest Skill. Each of the Baphomets then summoned their crimson longswords enveloped in pitch-black fire. Not only did the crimson longswords significantly increase the Baphomets'' attack range, but those who fell to these weapons would also find their souls burning in the Soul Fire. In one minute, Heaven''s Burial''s 300,000-strong player army was reduced to just 200,000. Meanwhile, there were less than 50,000 surviving Evil Demons. This instilled a deep fear in Heaven''s Burial''s members. Even Singular Burial began to panic. He contacted Falling Fire personally and demanded, "Falling Fire, where are you?!" "We''re almost there. We''ll arrive in another four or five minutes," Falling Fire said. "Four or five minutes?! That long?!" Singular Burial paled as he gazed at the scorched, corpse-laden battlefield before him. 1692 Army Shattered Chapter 1692 - Army Shattered "Long?" Falling Fire was confused by Singular Burial''s comment. This was the time they had previously agreed upon. His arrival hadn''t been delayed in the slightest. In fact, he had even increased his army''s pace while disregarding their Stamina consumption. Moreover, a battle of hundreds of thousands couldn''t end in four or five minutes. These battles normally drug on for several hours before reaching a conclusion. "The battle is intense. I can buy at most five more minutes. In any case, you need to hurry over here as soon as possible. Otherwise, the battle''s outcome won''t be certain," Singular Burial said, gritting his teeth. In reality, he wanted to tell the man that if his group didn''t arrive in the next five minutes, their siege on Stone Forest Town would likely fail. Zero Wing is actually that strong? Singular Burial''s response confused Falling Fire further. Although Heaven''s Burial had incurred heavy losses while defending Ancient Rock City, its remaining combat power could not be underestimated. Heaven''s Burial also had command of over 100,000 Evil Demons. However, Falling Fire did not bother to ruminate over the matter as he nodded and said, "Alright, I''ll increase my forces'' speed to its maximum. We''ll arrive in four minutes at most." "Four minutes?" Singular Burial breathed a sigh of relief. If he organized his current forces, they should still have enough strength to defeat Zero Wing''s army and capture Stone Forest Town. Singular Burial immediately disconnected the call and commanded his armies to retreat from the battlefield slowly. At the same time, he ordered some of his players to use magic arrays to buy time. He even used the six Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls and a large number of Tier 3 Control Magic Scrolls Heaven''s Burial had gone to great lengths to collect to stop the three Baphomets rampant slaughter. Although Tier 3 Control Magic Scrolls could not stop Tier 4 Mythic monsters completely, Singular Burial could use them to limit the monster''s mobility. As the Tier 3 Control Magic Scrolls activated, one after another, magic arrays began to appear above and below the three High Demons. Barriers, vines, and chains then emerged and restricted the Baphomets'' Strength and mobility. Black Flame, I''ll admit that you are amazing to have forced me to use all of Heaven''s Burial''s trump cards, but in another four minutes, Zero Wing will meet its doom! Singular Burial shot Shi Feng a cold glare as he watched Zero Wing''s army push forward. The strength Zero Wing had displayed in this battle had greatly exceeded his expectations. Had he known that Zero Wing could summon monsters of Baphomet''s strength, he would''ve had Flame Blood mobilize every Mythic monster under his command. If the remaining Mythic monsters, which currently guarded the barrier''s exit, were here, Heaven''s Burial''s armies wouldn''t have been forced to retreat after suffering such severe losses. However, with things as they are now, he had no choice but to push his armies to resist. Now that Heaven''s Burial had lost Ancient Rock City, it must capture both Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City if the Guild wanted any hope of becoming a superpower in God''s Domain again. Otherwise, rising would become extremely difficult for Heaven''s Burial. Although Blackwater hadn''t dispatched a lot of players to help capture Stone Forest Town, many of them were experts. Blackwater''s army was even armed with powerful weapons of war. As long as they destroyed Zero Wing''s defensive magic array and regrouped with the remaining Mythic monsters, they could wipe out Zero Wing''s forces and capture Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, the battle between Heaven''s Burial and Zero Wing had thoroughly astounded the bystanders in Stone Forest Town. Strong! Too strong! This battle was no longer a simple Guild war. It looked like a war between kingdoms! All sorts of Mythic monsters had been dispatched to add to the armies'' combat power. Each side used Tier 3 and Tier 4 Magic Scrolls one after another. The experts that ordinary players like them normally looked up to were insignificant here. All of these players finally understood what a real Guild war looked like. The Guild wars they had witnessed previously were child''s play compared to this. The war between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial was no longer a simple competition between players. It had become a war in which both Guilds used everything they had to finish each other off. Both Guilds had staked their continued existence on this war. No one had expected the battle to reach these heights. Initially, everyone had assumed that Heaven''s Burial''s victory would be overwhelming due to the assistance of the Evil Demon army. However, not only had Zero Wing shattered both Heaven''s Burial''s players and its monster army, but it had also done so without losing a single player. This outcome was too frightening. The various large Guilds'' members, who had planned to take advantage of Zero Wing''s predicament to rob the Guild, abandoned that plan out of fear. Fortunately, they had not taken action alongside Heaven''s Burial. The consequences for doing so would''ve been unimaginably dire. Following which, due to Heaven''s Burial''s sudden retaliation, the battle fell into a stalemate. "Guild Leader, I just received a report that Blackwater''s forces are nearly here. Moreover, the Evil Demon army guarding the barrier''s exit are rushing towards our location," Aqua Rose hurriedly reported after hearing from one of the frontline scouts. Although the battle seemed like it was in Zero Wing''s favor now, Aqua Rose knew that her Guild couldn''t continue at this pace much longer. Since the battle had begun, Zero Wing had spent over 80,000 Magic Crystals, and they had only started with a stock of 140,000. If Blackwater and the other Evil Demon army reinforced Heaven''s Burial''s forces, Zero Wing would be in danger. "How long until they arrive?" Shi Feng asked. "Blackwater''s forces should arrive first; it''ll take them roughly four or five minutes," Aqua Rose said. She then suggested, "Why don''t we retreat to Stone Forest Town for now?" If they retreated into Stone Forest Town, they could rely on the town''s Magic Towers and Defense Turrets, which would give them an easier time against Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s combined army. The town''s NPC soldiers could also participate in the fight. "Four or five minutes?" Shi Feng smiled. That was more than enough time for them to deal with Heaven''s Burial. Immediately, he commanded, "Relay my commands! Have everyone attack with everything they''ve got! Hold nothing back!" Previously, he had let Zero Wing attack to prevent Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s forces from combining. Naturally, he couldn''t let Zero Wing''s members hide behind Stone Forest Town''s walls and focus on defense. Heaven''s Burial had already used everything it had. Its players'' morale was at an all-time low. This was the perfect opportunity to strike. Receiving Shi Feng''s command, Zero Wing''s morale increased again. Zero Wing''s members retrieved the precious treasures they had gained during their usual grinds or raids and used them against Heaven''s Burial''s members and the Evil Demons. Anna, who stood beside Shi Feng, also activated her Berserk Skill, Yin Yang Power, the intensity of her aura soaring. For a moment, even the Zero Wing members near her felt stifled. Before anyone could react, Anna used her Overtier Spell, Chains of Light. Chains of Light was already a Tier 3 Spell, but due to Yin Yang Power, its power climbed to Tier 4. Suddenly, countless chains exploded from the ground and bound the Mythic ranked Evil Demon, drastically decreasing the Evil Demon''s Strength and mobility. Now, the Evil Demon could not even compare to an ordinary Mythic monster. By the time Chains of Light had bound the Mythic Evil Demon, Anna had finished casting the Tier 3 Curse, Yin Yang Judgment, which she had double-cast alongside Chains of Light. Anna then pointed her staff at the distant Mythic Evil Demon, and two magic arrays, one glowing white and the other black, appeared in the sky above her target. Under her command, a holy spear dropped from above, sliding through the defenseless Mythic Evil Demon''s body. Boom! The world shook as a brilliant, black-white pillar devoured the Evil Demon. -7,451,374! In one hit, the Mythic Evil Demon had lost a significant chunk of its HP and was covered in wounds and scorch marks. The Evil Demon looked miserable. At the same time, it fell into a heavily injured state, reducing its combat power and Defense. Now, it was only as powerful as an ordinary Grand Lord. The scene stunned every player on the battlefield. With one strike, the Mythic Evil Demon had lost more than 5% of its HP At this point, Shi Feng commanded the two Baphomets that fought near the Mythic Evil Demon to use the Tier 4 Skill, Dimensional Slash. Two streaks of black light then cut down the heavily injured Mythic Evil Demon. -9,613,474! -9,576,174! Two frightening damages appeared above the Mythic Evil Demon''s head simultaneously, instantly lowering the Evil Demon''s HP to under the 60% threshold "Damn it! Heal it, quickly! Do not let the Mythic Evil Demon die!" Singular Burial paled when he saw the Mythic ranked Evil Demon''s HP plummet. He had never thought that Zero Wing would still have such a hand to play. Regardless of how much Singular Burial shouted at his team, the Mythic Evil Demon''s HP continued to decrease. Heavily injured, the Evil Demon even struggled to block Anna and the two Baphomet''s attacks. Meanwhile, each Baphomet easily dealt over a million damage with their normal attacks, and if the High Demons used Tier 3 or Tier 4 Skills, they''d deal several millions of damage. Heaven''s Burial''s healers simply couldn''t keep up. Nearly 30 seconds later, the Mythic Evil Demon fell to Anna''s holy Light Spear and dropped over a dozen items. When they saw the items, many players wanted to charge in and claim the loot for themselves, but with the two Baphomets standing guard, they quickly dismissed the thought. Using this opportunity, Shi Feng quickly made his way to the loot and collected the dropped items without sparing them a second glance. Once the Mythic Evil Demon was dead, the battle turned for the worst for Heaven''s Burial. Without the Mythic Evil Demon, Anna and the three Baphomets overwhelmed the remaining four Mythic Evil Beasts. They also had cover fire from the Miniature Ballistas. Despite Singular Burial''s command for the Mythic Evil Beasts to retreat from the battlefield, one of the monsters fell less than a minute after the Evil Demon had died. Seeing this, Singular Burial was unable to utter a single word for some time "Falling Fire, where are your forces?" Daybreak Fog asked desperately after contacting Falling Fire. "We''re almost there. We''ll reach the battlefield in another minute," Falling Fire replied. "One minute? That long?" Daybreak Fog could not help but sigh when she heard Falling Fire''s reply. Glancing around at the remaining Mythic ranked Evil Beasts, she shook her head and said, "Forget it. You are better off not coming. The battle here is over. We''ll regroup at the barrier''s exit." "The battle''s over? What is the meaning of this?" Falling Fire demanded, shocked. "We lost" Daybreak Fog answered after mustering her final strand of willpower. She then disconnected the call. 1693 Stay Here Chapter 1693 - Stay Here "Heaven''s Burial lost? How did it happen so quickly?" Falling Fire was stupefied when he heard Daybreak Fog''s final sentence. He simply could not fathom how such an outcome had occurred. Heaven''s Burial had sent over 300,000 players and 100,000 Evil Demons to siege Stone Forest Town. The army had even included five Mythic ranked monsters. With such a force, even capturing a Guild City should be a problem, much less a Guild Town. Furthermore, the battle at Stone Forest Town had begun and ended in less than half an hour. Even killing 400,000 Common monsters would take more time than that, yet he had just learned that Heaven''s Burial had lost in such a short time No matter how he thought about it, he simply couldn''t bring himself to believe Daybreak Fog''s claim. Moreover, Singular Burial had confidently assured him that they could last another five minutes, but only three minutes had passed since that conversation, and the battle was over. For a moment, he even wondered if Singular Burial was toying with him. However, with how much Heaven''s Burial had riding on this battle, Falling Fire doubted that Singular Burial would make such a joke. If Singular Burial were really joking, only Heaven''s Burial would suffer for it. "Should we retreat?" Qin Muyun, the woman beside Falling Fire, asked. She wore a suit of silver plate armor and carried a buckler engraved with divine runes. "No. How can we possibly just leave after spending all of that time and effort to get this far? Even if Heaven''s Burial is heavily wounded, Zero Wing shouldn''t fare much better. Let''s go and take a look. If there is a chance of victory, we can use the opportunity to capture Stone Forest Town," Falling Fire said, shaking his head. "Moreover, we have the Advanced Magic Array, Magic Dragon''s Descent. Mythic Evil Demons and Beasts can''t compare to the Magic Dragon. Not even a city''s defensive magic array can last more than a few hits against it. Capturing Stone Forest Town will be child''s play." Qin Muyun nodded her agreement. This time, their superiors had instructed them to show Zero Wing and everyone else in God''s Domain the consequences for provoking Blackwater. Although Heaven''s Burial''s swift defeat had been a surprise, it was not exactly impossible. The majority of Heaven''s Burial''s Evil Demon army consisted of recently spawned Demons, which still sorely lacked strength. Meanwhile, Heaven''s Burial''s player army only had around 170,000 elite members, while the rest were normal Guild members. As for the Guild''s experts, Heaven''s Burial had only dispatched around 5,000 due to the losses the Guild suffered in Ancient Rock City. On the other hand, Blackwater had dispatched over 6,000 experts and 10,000 elite players. In addition, the army had five Tier 2 experts: Falling Fire, Laughing Drunkard, Lethal Gale, First Ghost, and Qin Muyun. With their arrangement of one Tier 2 Shield Warrior, two Tier 2 Berserkers, and one Tier 2 Assassin, they could offer the support to allow Falling Fire to display the full strength of a Tier 2 Elementalist. In contrast, Heaven''s Burial only had three Tier 2 players, and there wasn''t a single MT among them. They had also brought with them eight Catapults. Even if they had to face two or three Mythic monsters, they had a high chance of victory. Falling Fire and Blackwater''s forces immediately increased their pace toward Stone Forest Town. After running for nearly one minute, the army arrived at the top of a slope some distance away from Stone Forest Town. However, as Falling Fire began to organize his troops and advance on the town, he heard the sound of a massive explosion. The forest ahead of him trembled with the force of the explosion, and after a moment, a towering pillar of light destroyed the blast''s surrounding terrain. Pitch-black fire devoured the nearby trees in the blink of an eye, leaving only cinders behind. When the light pillar faded, Falling Fire''s team spotted a 50-meter-tall Evil Earth Dragon laying in the ashes. The Evil Earth Dragon''s HP had already reached zero, and its entire body had burned to black. Deep cuts scored the Evil Earth Dragon''s entire body, with some so deep that one could even see the Mythic monster''s white bones. Several hundred of these deep gouges decorated the Evil Earth Dragon''s form. Blackwater''s members gasped when they saw this corpse''s miserable state. The light pillar had also killed hundreds of Evil Demons and players. However, that wasn''t the worst part. Despite these players clearly being dead, their translucent souls still occupied the battlefield. Meanwhile, these souls were in agony as the pitch-black flames continued to burn them. Seeing this, ordinary players might not realize what was happening, but the large Guilds'' upper echelons and experts understood very well. This was a soul attack, and any player the attack killed would lose more than just one level. It was very likely that these players wouldn''t be able to log back into God''s Domain for some time. Meanwhile, three gigantic figures stood beside the Evil Earth Dragon''s corpse. Each of these figures was 30 meters tall, and they all held crimson longswords in their right hands, the blades of which were wrapped in pitch-black fire. Once they saw their prey''s corpse, the three Baphomets split up and charged at the nearby Evil Demons and Heaven''s Burial members. Every time the Baphomets swung their swords, dozens of Evil Demons and players lost their lives. None of these Evil Demons or players could withstand a single hit from the High Demons The three Baphomets were like Demon Gods as they slaughtered the Evil Demons and Heaven''s Burial members. Only the half-HP Mythic Evil Beasts could hold off a High Demon for any length of time. However, despite only one Baphomet facing off against the two remaining Mythic Evil Beasts, the latter lost HP rapidly. It was only a matter of time before they died. Falling Fire and the others wore somber expressions as they watched this scene. The three Level 80 Mythic ranked High Demons even overwhelmed the Evil Earth Dragons. Before these monsters, players were a joke. Falling Fire finally understood why Heaven''s Burial had been defeated so quickly. How is Zero Wing so powerful? Falling Fire was greatly confused as he watched the three Baphomets slaughter Heaven''s Burial''s forces. Obtaining one such powerful monster was already extremely difficult, yet Zero Wing had command of three of them. Not even Super Guilds were capable of such a feat. "Blackwater''s members?" Shi Feng, who stood some distance behind the Baphomets, quickly noticed the spectating crowd on a distant hillside. "Since you''re here, you should stay here forever!" Saying so, Shi Feng instructed two of the Baphomets to charge at Blackwater''s army. The Baphomets he had summoned had a very short duration of five hours. Since Blackwater''s forces had already arrived, he didn''t mind taking them out. Fortunately, Heaven''s Burial was no longer a threat to Zero Wing. He could finish off its members after taking out the larger threat, Blackwater''s forces. "Damn it!" Falling Fire shouted. Watching the two Baphomets dash towards them, Falling Fire could easily guess what Shi Feng had in mind. Immediately, he commanded, "Summon the Magic Dragon! Activate the defensive magic array!" Agreeing with Falling Fire''s decision, Qin Muyun notified the players responsible for the two magic arrays. She had already witnessed the Baphomets'' strength. If two of these monsters were allowed to charge into Blackwater''s ranks, the consequences would be unimaginable. The only way to stop the two approaching High Demons was to summon the Magic Dragon and use their defensive magic array. Suddenly, a colossal, silver magic array appeared in the sky. A moment later, a Dragon covered in pitch-black scales and silver runes manifested before Blackwater''s army. [Magic Dragon Kland] (High Inferior Dragon, Mythic) Level 75 HP 420,000,000/420,000,000 The Magic Dragon''s aura was visibly stronger than that of ordinary Mythic monsters; it could basically rival a Mythic ranked Archaic Species of the same level. The Level 80 Evil Earth Dragons simply couldn''t compare to this monster. This was also why Falling Fire was confident in capturing Stone Forest Town despite Heaven''s Burial''s defeat. When the Magic Dragon joined the battlefield, 100 players in Blackwater''s army spread out along the army''s edges before activating a defensive magic array. A magic barrier then formed and enveloped the army. A moment after Blackwater''s army deployed its offensive and defensive measures, the two Baphomets reached the army like a powerful gale. One of the two Baphomets then leaped into the air, transforming into a blur as it arrived before the Magic Dragon. The High Demon then swung down its crimson longsword, and the weapon tore apart space as it moved down towards the High Inferior Dragon''s head. Although Kland tried to block the attack with one of its claws, it was repelled the moment its claw met the blazing, crimson longsword. The crimson longsword then proceeded to smash into the Magic Dragon''s head and slam it straight toward the ground, the resulting impact carving out a huge crater in the earth below. Meanwhile, the other Baphomet arrived before Blackwater''s defensive magic array. As the High Demon raised its longsword, the pitch-black flames along the blade flared. As the Baphomet commanded, a raging pillar of black fire descended on Blackwater''s magic barrier. When the flames met the barrier, the attack formed a massive slice across it. Smaller, web-like cracks began to spread out around the cut, crawling across the entire magic barrier 1694 One Hit to Destroy a Magic Array Chapter 1694 - One Hit to Destroy a Magic Array In the dense forest some distance away from Stone Forest Town Under Singular Burial''s command, Heaven''s Burial''s members had scattered and fled into the forest. By doing so, more members would escape with their lives. Zero Wing''s members could only operate within the movement-type defensive magic array, and only the three Baphomets were truly capable of giving chase. "Huh? Why are Blackwater''s people here?" Daybreak Fog, who maneuvered around the forest, was confused to see Falling Fire''s group on a distant hillside. "Have they lost their minds?! They actually came!" She had clearly told Blackwater not to come and to regroup at the barrier''s exit. They''d only stand a chance against Zero Wing once they combined their forces. "Foolish! Absolutely foolish! How can Blackwater employ such fools?!" Singular Burial could not help but curse out loud when he saw Falling Fire''s distant figure. He had already gotten a taste of Zero Wing''s true strength. He had hoped to regroup with Blackwater''s army and the Evil Demon army guarding the barrier''s exit before resuming their battle against his hateful enemy. However, the fools from Blackwater had refused to listen to his advice and continued towards the battlefield. If Zero Wing decimated Blackwater''s forces now, this war was as good as over. Heaven''s Burial would lose all hope of capturing Stone Forest Town. Before Singular Burial could contact Falling Fire and demand an explanation from the foolish Elementalist, he noticed two of the rampaging Baphomets leave the battlefield and charge straight for the hillside Blackwater''s army resided on. Seeing this, Singular Burial fell into a thorough despair. However, before the two Baphomets had reached Blackwater''s army, a Mythic ranked Magic Dragon descended from the sky. Despite such a vast distance between him and the High Inferior Dragon, Singular Burial could feel the horrific pressure the monster gave off, and he couldn''t help but shudder. Layer after layer of translucent magic barrier enveloped Blackwater''s entire army. In the blink of an eye, a triple barrier had formed to protect the army. At a glance, one could easily tell that the triple barrier was the product of a high-ranked defensive magic array. "Guild Leader, Blackwater seems to be taking Zero Wing seriously this time. They''ve even used two of their trump cards. Based on our information, those two magic arrays were rewards Blackwater obtained after completing an Epic Main Storyline Quest. The Guild had to expend a lot of resources and manpower to complete it," Daybreak Fog said, slightly surprised to see the two magic arrays that had formed around Blackwater''s forces. "The summoned Magic Dragon should have the power to rival a Mythic ranked Archaic Species of the same level, and the defensive magic array is an Advanced Magic Array. It can block even Tier 4 attacks with ease. With those two, we might stand a chance against Zero Wing." Some of Heaven''s Burial''s upper echelons breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Daybreak Fog''s explanation. Singular Burial''s eyes shone with joy. If they had a Mythic ranked Archaic Species on their side to fight with their forces and the two remaining Evil Earth Dragons, they should be able to keep Zero Wing at bay for quite some time. Once the other Evil Demon army arrived, it might even be possible to suppress the three Baphomets. Moreover, the Baphomets wouldn''t be able to clash their armies for some time with the Advanced Defensive Magic Array to protect them. They could then use the opportunity to bombard Zero Wing''s defensive magic array with Blackwater''s eight Catapults. Zero Wing''s defensive magic array wouldn''t last long against them. As Singular Burial prepared to order his scattered forces to regroup with Blackwater, something unbelievable occurred. One of the two Baphomets that had assaulted Blackwater''s army had sent the Level 75 Magic Dragon crashing, face-first, into the ground with a single attack. Meanwhile, the other Baphomet released a powerful strike against Blackwater''s defensive magic array. Although the triple barrier did not fall, cracks webbed the entire barrier. For a moment, the world seemed to have fallen silent. "How is this possible?" Even Falling Fire and his Blackwater companions were dumbfounded, not to mention Singular Burial and his upper echelons. Their eyes bulged as they stared at the damage. A monster that rivaled a Mythic ranked Archaic Species had been thrown, face-first, to the ground. A Mythic ranked Archaic Species was practically invincible to current players. However, that wasn''t what shocked them most. The Baphomet''s ability to damage an Advanced Defensive Magic Array''s barrier so severely with a single attack was unbelievable. Falling Fire and the other Blackwater members even wondered if the system had tricked them, awarding some cheap knockoff What Falling Fire and the others did not know was that a High Demon was a Demon with a noble lineage. High Demons were akin to emperors among Demons, and their Life Ratings were even higher than Archaic Species. Only Dragons and Ferocious Beasts could hope to triumph over a High Demon. Furthermore, Shi Feng''s Baphomets had been reinforced with the Bible of Darkness. Their Strength was far higher than the Mythic ranked Magic Dragon''s, and in a frontal clash, it was only natural that the Magic Dragon Kland had lost. The Advanced Defensive Magic Array was indeed capable of blocking a normal Tier 4 attack, but the attack Baphomet had used had been a Tier 4 Taboo Skill. Including the Bible of Darkness''s buff, the Tier 4 Taboo Skill could rival a Tier 5 attack, which was already far beyond the defensive magic array''s endurance limit. It''s not broken? What a powerful defensive magic array. Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he watched Blackwater''s defensive magic array slowly mending itself. He had never thought that Blackwater could acquire such a powerful Advanced Magic Array. However, Falling Fire and his companions were truly shocked. Not only had Baphomet''s attack severely damaged their defensive magic array, but the players maintaining the magic array had also lost one-third of their Mana pools Unlike Zero Wing''s movement-type defensive magic array, which was machine-operated, their players had to maintain their magic array. Hence, the energy needed to mend and maintain the array came from the players'' Mana. If even one of these players ran out of Mana, the magic array would stop working and disappear. Players could only rely on Mana Recovery Potions to replenish their Mana stores. However, Mana Recovery Potions had considerably long Cooldowns, and they only restored a small amount of Mana. Meanwhile, after seeing its first attack failing, the Baphomet attacking the defensive magic array promptly followed up with another Tier 4 Skill. Although the Skill was no match for a Tier 4 Taboo Skill, it still drained a significant amount of Mana from the players maintaining the magic array. Meanwhile, the other Baphomet continued to bombard the Magic Dragon, pushing it back and tearing one pained cry after another from the monster. At this point, Falling Fire snapped out of his daze and hurriedly commanded, "Attack! Fire the Catapults!" The players controlling the Catapults immediately aimed and fired at the Baphomet attacking their magic barrier. The Catapults were extremely powerful, and with normal ammunition, their attacks had the power of Tier 4 strikes. If loaded with special ammunition, the war weapons'' attacks would reach the peak of Tier 4. These attacks could even heavily injure Mythic monsters, and their only downside was their long, 2-minute Cooldown. Suddenly, eight gigantic, flaming boulders flew towards the Baphomet attacking the defensive magic array. Just before one of the flaming boulders, decorated with divine runes, struck the High Demon, the latter lightly swung its crimson longsword. Boom! The moment the edge of blade met the flaming boulder, Baphomet was forced to take three steps back as a damage of over -100,000 appeared above its head. However, the clash had failed to inflict any negative effects, such as a temporary numbing. Following which, Baphomet rapidly brandished its longsword to strike down the rest of the incoming boulders, one after another. Each time it blocked an attack, it was forced to retreat several steps, and the Baphomet only stabilized itself after taking a few dozen steps backward. "How can a monster be so powerful?" Regret gripped Falling Fire''s heart as he watched the Baphomet only lose a little over 1,000,000 HP after receiving all eight attacks. Why had he so foolishly rushed over here? Before Falling Fire could snap out of his daze, the targeted Baphomet advanced and assaulted the defensive magic array again. The players maintaining the magic array continued to lose Mana, and although Falling Fire and his players tried to retaliate, the High Demon simply shrugged off their attacks. "Retreat! Retreat with the magic array! We cannot remain here any longer!" Falling Fire shouted anxiously, his expression somber. Although he hated to admit it, even a fool could tell that only death awaited them should they continue this battle. Their wisest option was a quick retreat while the defensive magic array still stood. Although moving the magic array would significantly deplete its energy, it was better than standing here and doing nothing. "Don''t even think you can flee that easily!" When Shi Feng saw Blackwater''s army began its retreat, he immediately commanded Anna to use Angel Summoning. A moment later, a Valkyrie with white-feathered wings descended onto the battlefield. A Valkyrie''s Life Rating was even higher than a High Demon''s, but how much strength the summoned Valkyrie could exhibit largely depended on Anna''s Basic Attributes. Fortunately, Anna had already activated Yin Yang Power, which allowed the Valkyrie''s combat power to reach a height like never before. The Valkyrie''s two sets of wings shuddered slightly before she vanished from where she stood. A second later, she reappeared before Blackwater''s army, radiating a horrific aura that was even stronger than the two Baphomets''. Suddenly, a Spear of Thunder formed in the Valkyrie''s hand before she tossed it at Blackwater''s magic barrier. Peng! Peng! Peng! Three crisp sounds echoed throughout the forest as a hole formed in the three incomparably powerful protective barriers. The spear then struck one of the players maintaining the array before it exploded. Boom! Countless arcs of golden lightning scattered, devouring everything in its path. Any players this lightning touched were vaporized instantly. With just one attack, the Valkyrie had killed over 500 Blackwater members. Meanwhile, the Advanced Defensive Magic Array could no longer operate as it lost one of its operators, and it began to fade out of existence. Staring at the Valkyrie before him, Falling Fire''s expression became more solemn than ever before. When Singular Burial and the other Heaven''s Burial members saw this from within the forest, horror flashed in their eyes. With one attack, the Valkyrie had destroyed an Advanced Defensive Magic Array that could even stop a Mythic ranked monster''s attacks 1695 Heavens Burial Crumbles Chapter 1695 - Heaven''s Burial Crumbles When the triple barrier Blackwater''s Advanced Defensive Magic Array had created began to fade, the various major powers'' members, who watched the battle through Magic Water Mirrors, expressed their shock and horror. The three Baphomets Shi Feng had summoned were impossibly strong. But even one of their full-powered attacks had only cracked the defensive magic array''s outermost barrier. On the other hand, the Valkyrie had destroyed the entire defensive magic array with one attack. If the Valkyrie were used to siege a Guild Town or City Just thinking about it made them shudder. It was entirely possible that the Valkyrie would only need one attack to break a city''s defensive magic array. "Just how many secrets has Zero Wing hidden?" Singular Burial was nearly traumatized as he watched Blackwater''s defensive magic array crumble. Countless Guilds dreamed of wielding the power to destroy a city''s defensive magic array. Breaking a city''s defensive magic array was, after all, the most important part of trying to capture a city. When Shi Feng had destroyed Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic arrays, he had chalked it up to the man finding some precious treasure, and a treasure like that would only have limited uses. Once the usage counts were exhausted, the treasure would disappear. Yet, Shi Feng had replicated that feat with a summoned Valkyrie one of his Personal Guards controlled. This had an entirely different meaning than summoning such power with a Consumable. The Valkyrie had been called with a Skill, which meant that Zero Wing could summon the monster indefinitely, only limited by the Skill''s Cooldown. Sure enough, that Valkyrie is really powerful. The fact that the Valkyrie had destroyed an Advanced Defensive Magic Array even surprised Shi Feng. However, he doubted that the Valkyrie could destroy a city''s defensive magic array; at the very least, she''d need to use more than one attack. An Advanced Defensive Magic Array, which players had to maintain and a city''s defensive magic array were two very different things. A player-maintained defensive magic array had the advantage that it could be deployed at any given time. However, its flaws were obvious. First, there was the problem of Mana consumption. Second, no harm must come to the players maintaining the magic array. Otherwise, the magic array would crumble. Although the Valkyrie''s full-powered attack had pierced a hole in Blackwater''s defensive magic array, it had failed to destroy the magic array entirely. The attack had merely drained a considerable amount of Mana from the maintaining players. The attack had only destroyed the barrier because it had killed a few of the players maintaining it. This wouldn''t happen with a city''s defensive magic array. At most, the Valkyrie''s attack would deplete some of the magic array''s energy. Meanwhile, since Blackwater''s army had lost its defensive magic array''s protection, it had no way to deal with the High Demon before it. Each time Baphomet swung its crimson longsword, it reaped the lives of over a hundred players. After the players died, Baphomet''s Soul Fire continued to burn their Immortal Souls. In the blink of an eye, Baphomet had killed over 1,000 players. Falling Fire''s heart bled when he saw this. Blackwater had dispatched 20,000 players to capture Stone Forest Town, 6,000 of which were Guild-nurtured experts. It was one thing if these experts died, but if their Immortal Souls were damaged, they''d be prevented from logging into God''s Domain for several Days. This would be a massive loss for the Guild. With no better choice, Falling Fire could only follow Heaven''s Burial''s example and order a retreat, telling his men to scatter. Only one Baphomet had targeted the force, and even if the High Demon were very fast, it could only kill a limited number of players if everyone ran in different directions. Seeing this, Shi Feng sneered and waved a hand. Suddenly, hundreds of Miniature Ballistas launched their Exploding Arrows at Blackwater''s members, each arrow containing power at the peak of Tier 2. When Blackwater''s members saw the volley of arrows rain down on them, they felt their scalps tingle. After a series of explosions, the hillside became a barren wasteland covered in small craters and scorched earth. Although Blackwater''s members had responded to the volley very quickly, over 2,000 players had died in the first wave of arrows. The Miniature Ballistas'' effect was wondrous. Watching volley after volley of Exploding Arrows rain down on his forces, Falling Fire turned to flash Shi Feng a chilling glare as he fled. His forces had suffered a tragic loss. Against the several hundred Miniature Ballistas'' continued bombardment and the High Demon''s pursuit, he''d be lucky to leave this battlefield with less than half of his original army if they escaped at all. Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s forces continued to scatter, running all the way to the sealing barrier''s single exit. Naturally, Shi Feng ordered his Guild members to chase the two Guilds down, leaving scorched earth and corpses in their wake. As they watched Zero Wing''s members chase hundreds of thousands of players relentlessly, the crowd in Stone Forest Town was stupefied. Ruthless! Zero Wing was utterly ruthless! This was the crowd''s evaluation of Zero Wing. Normally, after one side won a Guild war, it would only chase its enemy for ten or so minutes if it wanted to exploit its victory. Chasing the enemy players for any longer than that could lead to unnecessary losses, yet Zero Wing ran after Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members for over half an hour, hunting the two Guilds'' forces to the sealing barrier''s exit. In the end, Zero Wing had slaughtered every Mythic Evil Demon and Mythic Evil Beast Heaven''s Burial had sent to the Stoneclaw Mountains. The Guild didn''t even spare the Mythic monsters that had guarded the sealing barrier''s exit. All Evil Demon above Lord rank had been annihilated as well. Meanwhile, Zero Wing suffered zero casualties throughout this entire battle. If they told other players of this battle, those players would likely assume they were either joking or bragging. However, such a miraculous battle had indeed occurred before them. Three Baphomets guarded the exit of the barrier sealing off the Stoneclaw Mountains, preventing anyone from leaving the map. Any player or Evil Demon that tried to approach the exit was killed or sent flying. No one was allowed past these High Demons. "Black Flame! Don''t go too far!" Singular Burial bellowed as he glowered at Shi Feng, who stood within Zero Wing''s movement-type defensive magic array. The sealing barrier''s exit wasn''t particularly large. Normally, ten or so Evil Demons was enough to block it off completely. The Baphomets with their gigantic frames easily guarded the exit, and with their outrageous strength, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s forces had no hope of leaving the Stoneclaw Mountains. Their forces could only watch as Zero Wing''s Miniature Ballistas slowly approached. "Black Flame, we have lost. We have already chosen to retreat from the Stoneclaw Mountains. By trying to exterminate us all, do you intend to fight Blackwater until the bitter end?" Falling Fire demanded as he glared at Shi Feng. "Going too far?" In an indifferent tone, Shi Feng responded, "Not only have your two Guilds worked together to target Zero Wing time after time, but you''ve enclosed the Stoneclaw Mountains in a barrier to kill our members back to Level 0. Did you not consider that your actions were a bit much? "If I let you off the hook so easily today, what will other Guilds think of Zero Wing? "Thus, I invite every one of you to stay with us!" Saying so, Shi Feng waved his hand, and hundreds of Exploding Arrows rained down on Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s remaining members. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions echoed throughout the valley. With no power to fight back, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members could only run and scatter. "Good! Very good! Black Flame, you forced me to do this!" Singular Burial descended into madness as he watched one of his Guild''s experts and elites die after another. "Since Heaven''s Burial is finished, Flame Blood, detonate Beast Emperor''s Evil Energy magic array! I want the map to become a graveyard! We''ll drag Zero Wing to hell with us!" Shortly after Singular Burial issued the command, runes began to appear above the Stoneclaw Mountains. The Evil Energy within the map went berserk, gathering in the array Beast Emperor had previously constructed. The earth trembled as the terrifying power concentrated. It felt as if Armageddon had come to the Stoneclaw Mountains. "Lunatic!" Falling Fire cursed when he heard Singular Burial''s crazy plan. The man was going to drag him to hell as well! Because of this turn of events, Zero Wing''s members wore somber expressions. They could all feel the horrific power concentrating at the gigantic magic array near the exit of the sealing barrier. If the magic array exploded, the consequences would be dire. "Die!" Singular Burial began to laugh maniacally when he saw the fear on Zero Wing''s faces. Once the magic array was set to detonate, it would transform everything within a 5,000 yard radius into a land of dead. Moreover, Evil Energy would corrupt players'' souls after they died in the explosion. Even if some players survived, Evil Energy would contaminate their being, and they''d suffer a Weakened state. Players that died would also suffer a Weakened state. This Weakened state would relent until players removed the Evil Energy from their bodies, which would take a considerable amount of time. Suddenly, a figure appeared in the air. It was none other than Shi Feng, who had used a Blink Scroll. Once in the air, Shi Feng pointed Killing Ray at the magic array collecting Evil Energy. Then, a pitch-black barrier formed, enveloping the array and gradually dissipating the gathering Mana and Evil Energy. Forbidden Domain! Without the support of external Mana, the magic array couldn''t self-destruct. "Don''t think that you can die so easily while you stand before me!" Shi Feng growled as he charged into the Evil Energy-filled magic array. Evil Energy was incredibly toxic to ordinary players, and at high concentrations, it could even kill players upon contact. However, the moment Shi Feng entered the magic array''s range, he activated Absolute Domain, becoming immune to all forms of damage. After setting foot in the magic array''s range, the golden, divine runes surrounding Shi Feng began to crackle as they fought off the surrounding Evil Energy''s corrosion. What powerful Evil Energy! Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise when he noticed the Evil Energy begin to corrode the divine runes. His Absolute Domain could even stop Tier 4 Mythic monsters'' attacks, yet this magic array''s Evil Energy slowly, but surely corroded the Skill. The power of the concentrated Evil Energy here nearly had the power of a Tier 5 Spell. Not even ordinary Mythic monsters would dare approach this magic array with such power. Only Evil Beasts and Evil Demons had any hope of survival within it. The Evil Energy''s corrosion increased as time passed. Not daring to waste any more time, Shi Feng charged toward the center of the magic array and slashed at the staff there with one of his blades. Thunder Flame Explosion! Boom! When the lightning and fire collided with their target, the staff inserted into the ground shattered, leaving only a dark-gray crystal covered with purple-gold runes behind. When the core of the magic array shattered, the array began to vanish. Following which, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. 1696 Shaking Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 1696 - Shaking Star-Moon Kingdom System: Congratulations! You have successfully destroyed the Evil God''s sealing magic array and stopped an Evil Energy Passage from opening. Rewarding 100 Humanity Reputation Points and 10,000 War God''s Temple Merit Points. Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he heard the system notification. He had never expected to earn 100 Humanity Reputation Points and 10,000 War God''s Temple Merit Points for just destroying a magic array. War God''s Temple Merit Points were extremely valuable. With 4,000 points, one could purchase an ordinary Epic item from the temple. However, Shi Feng did not spare the matter much thought as he snatched up the runic crystal and dashed away from the magic array. Although the magic array had already been destroyed, the Evil Energy it had gathered still lingered in the area. Once the Evil Energy ate through Absolute Domain''s protection, not even a Tier 2 player like himself could survive the concentrated energy. Meanwhile, outside the magic array, Singular Burial, who had truly gone mad, was stupefied when he noticed the magic array disappear. Flame Blood, who controlled the Evil Demons from a hidden location, also gaped in shock. "How is that possible?" The color in Flame Blood''s face drained when he noticed the gathered Evil Energy in the magic array gradually dissipate. "Is he really a player?" The sealing magic array Beast Emperor had used to entrap the Stoneclaw Mountains was extraordinary. The Evil Energy inside the array had become so dense after sacrificing 400,000 players that not even an Evil God''s Apostle like Flame Blood dared to enter its range. Any player not belonging to the Evil God''s Temple would seal their own fate if they approached the magic array. Yet, not only had Shi Feng survived inside it, but he had also destroyed the magic array. Although the Silencing Skill Shi Feng had used prevented the magic array''s detonation, that was only temporary. Once the Silencing Skill''s duration ended, Flame Blood could simply detonate the magic array again and transform this map into a cemetery. However, now that the magic array had been destroyed, that wasn''t possible. Due to the magic array''s destruction, the barrier over the Stoneclaw Mountains'' map lifted. As a result, the blue sky returned as every player watched. Communication with the outside world also became possible again. "The seal has lifted?" "How is this possible? Did Heaven''s Burial win?" "Quick! Notify the higher-ups!" The various large Guilds'' members, who were stationed outside of the barrier, were surprised when the pitch-black magic barrier around the Regional Dungeon suddenly disappeared. They immediately contacted their superiors. However, before they could report the situation, a large number of players burst out of the other end of the valley as terrified as if they had just seen a ghost. These fleeing players wore either Heaven''s Burial''s emblem or Blackwater''s. A moment later, another large group of players charged out of the Stoneclaw Mountains. Although the second group had fewer players than the first, the second group''s momentum was imposing. These players fiercely hunted down Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s fleeing members. "What''s going on? Why are Zero Wing''s members the ones pursuing Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members? Shouldn''t it be the other way around?" "Did Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater lose?" "That shouldn''t be possible, right? Those two Guilds sent in so many players, and they had the help of their Evil Demon army. How could they possibly lose?" The spectating players had never even considered the possibility that Zero Wing would defeat Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater. The Evil Demon army was simply too strong; it wasn''t a force current players could defeat. Furthermore, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater far outnumbered Zero Wing. Capturing Stone Forest Town would be a piece of cake for these two Guilds. How could they possibly end up running away from Zero Wing? Moreover, Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members fled with such desperation. Before these players could think of a proper explanation, three 30-meter-tall, humanoid monsters charged out of the valley ahead. Every one of these humanoid monsters radiated a horrific aura, and as they left the valley, they chased after Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s players. Each time they swung their crimson longswords, they took the lives of dozens or even hundreds of players. Nobody could stop the three monsters'' rampage as screams echoed throughout the valley. When the spectators took a closer look at the Baphomets'' statistics, they couldn''t help but shudder and gasp. Mythic monsters! However, before they could recover from their shock, they noticed translucent figures hovering above the players'' corpses. Pitch-black fire burned these translucent figures, and a sense of dread overwhelmed the spectating players. Ordinary players might not recognize this phenomenon, but Guild players like them were no strangers to the scene. Evidently, the Baphomets used soul attacks, and any players they killed with the attack would suffer more than a single lost level. Meanwhile, there were three of these monsters "Quick! Report this to the higher-ups!" some of the players who reacted quickly shouted. News of the barrier around the Stoneclaw Mountains lifting quickly spread to Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds. And it wasn''t the only news they received. Battle videos of the heaven-defying fight that had occurred outside of Stone Forest Town also found their way into the upper echelons'' mailboxes. These videos clearly displayed the full development of the war between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial. Despite these upper echelons'' experience in numerous field battles, team battles, and even Guild wars, when they watched the fight outside of Stone Forest Town, they couldn''t help but be dumbfounded. Watching Shi Feng resist Heaven''s Burial''s war weapons was particularly mind-blowing. No player had ever done anything like it, yet Shi Feng had achieved the feat effortlessly. The Strength and Defense he displayed were simply unheard-of. In addition, the Guilds'' upper echelons watched the three Baphomets annihilate the Mythic Evil Demon and four Mythic Evil Beasts, and one Tier 3 or Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell fall on the battlefield after another. Seeing several hundred Miniature Ballistas fire their arrows as one was also spectacular. Overall, the battle had completely transformed the terrain outside of Stone Forest Town. Guild experts had been little more than ants in the battle, unable to accomplish anything. In the Star Alliance''s Residence in Star-Moon City "So, Heaven''s Burial has been defeated?" Galaxy Past revealed a bitter smile when he received news of Zero Wing''s victory. "Now, no one in Star-Moon Kingdom can stop Zero Wing." "Guild Leader, did you predict that Heaven''s Burial would lose from the very beginning?" Purple Eye asked curiously. Based on Galaxy Past''s tone, he didn''t seem surprised by this war''s outcome. "No, I didn''t know, but I had a feeling that Zero Wing wouldn''t lose. The Guild has performed many miracles since its establishment, and there''s nothing surprising about it performing one more," Galaxy Past said, shaking his head. "However, Zero Wing''s performance this time did surpass even my expectations. Despite facing such a powerful force, it still won so effortlessly, even killing over 200,000 Heaven''s Burial members and 15,000 players from Blackwater" The various superpowers following the war between the two Guilds were shocked when they learned of its outcome. "Zero Wing! They still had such a trump card? It''s no wonder why the Guild rejected our kindhearted offer." Yuan Tiexin paled as he watched the three Baphomets in the video before him. High Demons! He had only read about this type of Demon in the libraries he had visited. High Demons were emperors among Demons. Their Life Ratings were even higher than Archaic Species, yet Zero Wing had summoned three of these High Demons. It was only natural that Heaven''s Burial had lost. After this war, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers, as well as those operating in secret within the kingdom, realized that Zero Wing had grown past its status as a fledgling Guild. Now, Zero Wing''s development in Star-Moon Kingdom was truly unstoppable. The Guild had proven its foundations to join the ranks of the various superpowers and compete for hegemony in God''s Domain. Shi Feng had returned to White River City with the loot he had obtained from the Mythic Evil Demons and Mythic Evil Beasts. He hadn''t stayed in the Stoneclaw Mountains to participate in the clean-up battle. Heaven''s Burial''s main force was already finished, and Blackwater had lost over 80% of the experts it had dispatched. Baphomets'' Soul Fire had even claimed many of them. Once the resurrected and could log back into the game, they''d be essentially crippled for a considerable time. From today onward, neither of these two Guilds would find any success in Star-Moon Kingdom. In fact, Heaven''s Burial might even have trouble continuing in the game at all. After returning to White River City, Shi Feng retrieved his latest bounty, looking through the items with shining eyes. This was especially true when his gaze fell on the dark-gray crystal covered in runes. When he had picked the crystal up earlier, he had still been surrounded by dense Evil Energy. He hadn''t had the time to inspect his harvest properly. Now, however, he could feel how frightening this dark-gray, runic crystal truly was. The concentrated energy within was astonishing, even surpassing the Mana within Seven Luminaries Crystals. Comparing a Seven Luminaries Crystal''s energy levels to this dark-gray crystal was like comparing a candle flame to a forest fire. It felt as if this single crystal contained the power of an entire world. "What is this thing?" Shi Feng muttered curiously as he inspected the item. 1697 Miniature World Chapter 1697 - Miniature World When Shi Feng tried inspecting the dark-gray crystal, the result he got was simply a bunch of "Unknown." In fact, he didn''t even get the name of the crystal. It can''t be inspected? Shi Feng grew even more curious upon receiving this result. He immediately activated Omniscient Eyes and appraised the crystal. Aside from weapons and equipment, cases where an item could not be inspected were rare. In such rare cases, the reason for such an outcome was either a frightening origin or damage beyond repair. After Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and used them on the dark-gray crystal, a loading bar appeared before him. Twenty-two seconds?! What an amazing item! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement when he saw the time needed to appraise the crystal. Normally, even Epic items needed only a dozen seconds or so to appraise. For the crystal before him to need 22 seconds, this proved that the crystal was much more valuable than even Epic items. However, after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found it reasonable. An item capable of serving as the core of the magic array that sealed the entire Stoneclaw Mountains naturally couldn''t be an ordinary item. Even the defensive magic arrays used to protect cities required an extremely strong power source to operate. A barrier that could seal a map as large as the Stoneclaw Mountains would need an extremely frightening amount of energy. Finally, after 22 seconds had passed, the Attribute Panel of the dark-gray crystal was no longer filled with "Unknown." [Evil God''s Eye] This is an item created by the Evil God for the specific purpose of opening up a path through a world''s barrier. The inside of the Evil God''s Eye contains a sealed miniature world. The Evil God''s Eye can be used as a conduit to transfer the power of the entire miniature world to the outside world. However, as the conversion equipment has been damaged, the Evil God''s Eye is no longer able to supply any power to the outside world. There''s a miniature world inside this thing? Heaven''s Burial really is generous to actually use such a treasure to seal the Stoneclaw Mountains. Shi Feng was dumbstruck after reading the Evil God''s Eye''s introduction. It was no wonder he couldn''t inspect the item before. It was only natural for him not to be able to inspect the information of a miniature world using normal means. As far as Shi Feng knew, miniature worlds were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Only the Ancient Gods could create items with miniature worlds sealed inside them. Meanwhile, items containing miniature worlds all possessed extraordinary power. Moreover, if players controlled an item containing a miniature world, they could enter said miniature world any time they wanted to. Although miniature worlds were no match for Otherworlds in terms of size, they were roughly similar existences. However, owners of miniature worlds had complete control over them, unlike Otherworlds, and could harvest the resources inside the miniature worlds at their leisure. Otherworlds, on the other hand, required players to manually obtain the resources they wanted. Of course, miniature worlds did not possess as many resources as Otherworlds did. Controlling a miniature world was akin to gaining control of an ore vein. Players could harvest various kinds of rare resources periodically from the miniature world they controlled. Meanwhile, the most precious resource one could obtain from a miniature world would be Power Ore. Power Ore was an excellent support material produced by concentrating the energy of the entire miniature world. Typically, a support material that could increase the forging success rate of Dark-Gold Equipment by 5% would already be considered a miraculous item. However, Power Ore boosted the forging success rate of Dark-Gold Equipment by around 5% to 10%. In addition, the forged equipment would gain the Energy Protection passive effect with 100% certainty. As for weapons produced using Power Ore, they would gain the Energy Strengthening passive effect with 100% certainty. The Energy Protection effect passively increased the tolerance of equipment, making the equipment less likely to get damaged by powerful attacks and reducing the loss of durability. Meanwhile, the Energy Strengthening effect performed roughly the same function as Energy Protection. It decreased a weapon''s chances of suffering wear and tear when striking at tough opponents or blocking powerful attacks. Players might not find these effects particularly useful during the early stages of God''s Domain. But at higher levels, these effects would start to become important because the more players fought against powerful monsters, the more frequently they would come across monsters capable of severely damaging weapons and equipment. It might be fine if the weapons and equipment players used were of high quality, but those at Fine-Gold rank and below could end up a pile of scrap after going through a battle against a powerful monster. Due to this reason, as players reached higher levels, their thirst for high-ranking weapons and equipment would likewise become increasingly greater. It was also due to this reason that, in Shi Feng''s previous life, the market had never become saturated with weapons and equipment in the ten years of God''s Domain''s operationbecause even Epic items could be destroyed. Hence, the various large Guilds had actively nurtured their own Lifestyle players in the past. This was especially true for Lifestyle players capable of producing weapons and equipment. The further Guilds progressed into the game, the greater their need for weapons and equipment. During the later stages of the game, Guilds even had to prepare multiple sets of weapons and equipment for their members when raiding powerful Bosses or fighting large-scale battles with other Guilds. Since weapons and equipment made with Power Ore lost durability at a much slower rate, Guilds could save up on plenty of Coins and materials. In the past, any Power Ore sold on the market would be bought almost immediately, so long as the price was reasonable. The various large Guilds had also expended a ton of effort on the acquisition of Power Ore. Unfortunately, Power Ore was extremely rare. In fact, the continent of God''s Domain didn''t produce Power Ore. Players could obtain Power Ore only from miniature worlds and certain unstable Otherworlds. Hence, the various large Guilds had constantly contested over Otherworlds that produced Power Ore. As for owning a miniature world that could provide a stable supply of Power Ore, this was something that most Guilds could only dream of. As far as Shi Feng knew, only a few Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds had managed to get their hands on a miniature world. Due to their ownership of a miniature world, these Guilds had performed much better at raiding Team Dungeons and Field Bosses than other Guilds. Thus, now that Shi Feng had discovered a miniature world sealed inside the Evil God''s Eye, how could he possibly not become excited? In fact, he even wanted to thank Heaven''s Burial right now. If not for Heaven''s Burial sealing off the Stoneclaw Mountains, he would never have gotten his hands on such a valuable item. Had Heaven''s Burial offered to trade the Evil God''s Eye for Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng might even have accepted the offer. All that trouble just to capture Stone Forest Town would have been unnecessary. However, had Heaven''s Burial truly known the value of the Evil God''s Eye, the Guild definitely wouldn''t have done something as foolish as using it as a power source for a magic array. "I wonder if the War God''s Temple can repair this thing?" Shi Feng muttered to himself as he looked at the crystal in his hands. Although the Evil God''s Eye was damaged, it was not irreparable. It should be possible for the War God''s Temple, which was familiar with the Evil God''s Temple, to repair the Evil God''s Eye. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng stored the Evil God''s Eye and started looking through the other items he obtained from the war. The loot dropped by the Mythic Evil Demons and Mythic Evil Beasts was considerably good. Two pieces of Epic Growth-type Equipment dropped this time: a top for magical classes and a pair of boots for MTs. The rest were Level 70-plus Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold Equipment. To current players, these things were still too high-leveled and useless for now. Aside from weapons and equipment, the Mythic monsters also dropped an Evil God Crystal, which was an unexpected harvest for Shi Feng. In addition, he had obtained over 10,000 Evil Energy Crystals from all the lower-ranked Evil Demons his summoned creatures and Zero Wing''s members had killed. If he sold all these Evil Energy Crystals, he could definitely make a huge fortune. However, Shi Feng had no intention of selling these Evil Energy Crystals. Instead, he planned to use them to upgrade the Evil God''s Tablet. It was only the existence of the Evil God''s Tablet that allowed Zero Wing''s Battle Arena in Stone Forest Town to have advanced combat rooms. Meanwhile, these advanced combat rooms were the reason behind the popularity of Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena among expert players. Unfortunately, the Evil God''s Tablet had a limited AOE, supporting the operation of only a few advanced combat rooms at a time, which limited the attraction the Battle Arena held for expert players. If Shi Feng could increase the number of advanced combat rooms, then Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena would become more attractive to expert players. Consequently, Zero Wing could recruit more expert players. Now that he had 10,000 Evil Energy Crystals, he could definitely afford to upgrade the Evil God''s Tablet. Following which, Shi Feng stored some of the weapons, equipment, and materials he acquired in the Guild Warehouse and used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport to Stone Forest Town. 1698 Upgrading the Evil Gods Table Chapter 1698 - Upgrading the Evil God''s Tablet Star-Moon City, Stone Forest Town: After Zero Wing''s big battle with Heaven''s Burial came to an end, shock filled the whole Star-Moon Kingdom. Nobody had expected such an outcome. In this battle, not only was Heaven''s Burial defeated, but the Guild''s entire main force was practically crippled. Many of Heaven''s Burial''s members couldn''t even log into God''s Domain right now. As for Blackwater, it, too, had suffered miserable losses. With the addition of this new battle record, Zero Wing''s fame and prestige in Star-Moon Kingdom reached unprecedented heights. Every major power operating in Star-Moon Kingdom, whether in the light or in the dark, now held Zero Wing in intense awe and fear. Setting aside the three Baphomets Zero Wing summoned, just the combination of several hundred Miniature Ballistas and the movement-type defensive magic array made Zero Wing a frightening force to reckon with. In terms of war weapons, no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom could compete against Zero Wing. Now that Heaven''s Burial had suffered such a miserable defeat, most likely no Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom could pose a threat to Zero Wing. Inside the Guild Hall of Zero Wing''s Residence, a bright flash appeared at Residence''s teleportation point. After the light vanished, Shi Feng''s figure took its place. At this moment, the Guild Hall was very lively. Many of the Guild''s new-generation reserve elite members could be seen lining up excitedly in the quest area, waiting to pick up a Guild Quest. These new-generation reserve elites were players that left their respective beginner towns not long ago and passed the Guild''s entrance test. Although they were only Level 20 on average, they all possessed considerably good talent. Among them were some gifted youths. Taking a glance, Shi Feng even noticed a few players who had been famous apex experts in Star-Moon Kingdom during his previous life. For example, Shadow Chaser was one of the top 10 Assassins of Star-Moon Kingdom. There was also Blood Rain, who was one of the top 20 Oracles in the kingdom. And then there was Luo Yiyi, a Druid who had managed to get promoted to Tier 4. These were all talents that the various large Guilds desperately sought to recruit in the past. Yet, now, these talents had all chosen to join Zero Wing. "The war this time is really amazing. It''s a pity that I''m too low-leveled to join. Hopefully, I''ll get to join in a battle of such scale in the future," a male youth clad in gray mage robes said as he watched the video of the previous war being played in the Guild Hall, a hopeful expression on his face. "It won''t be that easy to get selected for such a large-scale war. At the very least, you''ll have to get promoted into an elite member to have a chance. The bunch of us are only reserve elites right now. It''ll take a lot of effort to become an actual elite member of the Guild. Just accumulating the required GCPs is already plenty difficult, not to mention passing the promotion test," a robust man geared in metal armor said, shaking his head. Reserve elite was a position granted to players that the Guild deemed to have potential. However, a person''s potential did not necessarily represent their strength. If reserve elites failed to hit the growth requirements set by the Guild within a certain period of time, they would be demoted to normal members and would have to climb their way back up in the Guild. Moreover, as Zero Wing''s influence in God''s Domain increased and more and more players chose to join the Guild, the bar for elite members would also be raised. After all, the Guild had a limited amount of resources. Not everybody could enjoy bountiful resources. Only the Guild''s elite and expert members had the qualifications to reap such benefits. "That''s no problem at all. Right now, the only advantage the Guild''s elite members have over us is that they joined the Guild earlier than we did. With enough time, even becoming a member of the Guild''s main force won''t be a problem!" a teenage girl with an oval face and a graceful body clad in black leather armor said with a grin on her face. She turned to look at Shi Feng''s figure displayed in the battle video and added, "Just you all wait! Sooner or later, you''ll be able to see my figure standing beside the Guild Leader!" "You''re dreaming too much. Why don''t you take a look and see who''s standing beside the Guild Leader? Commander Fire Dance and Vice Guild Leader Aqua Rose are both experts who can go toe-to-toe with even the peak experts of Super Guilds," someone in the crowd around the teenage girl retorted. Only, as soon as this person said so, he was immediately given a fierce glare by the teenage girl. These reserve elites did not rein in their volume when they spoke. Even ordinary players standing several dozen yards away could hear their conversation clearly, let alone Shi Feng, a player who possessed an extraordinary physique. However, Shi Feng simply chuckled in regard to the conversation of these reserve elites. He had never thought that his existence would spur Guild members to improve themselves. Nonetheless, after taking a look at these reserve elite members, Shi Feng felt that there was a need to expand the Guild once again. Previously, due to Zero Wing''s shallow foundations and funding problem, the Guild could afford to make only a limited number of reserve elites. After the war with Heaven''s Burial, though, that was no longer a problem. Setting aside the items Zero Wing obtained from the Evil Demons killed, just the weapons and equipment the Guild got from killing Heaven''s Burial''s and Blackwater''s members were already enough for several mass recruitments. Meanwhile, during the next expansion, Shi Feng planned to lure in experts from neighboring kingdoms as well. After all, the scale of the war between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial had been massive. Not to mention, Heaven''s Burial was the previous ruler of Ancient Rock City. Hence, the players of Star-Moon Kingdom weren''t the only ones that had paid attention to the war. Even players in neighboring kingdoms knew about it. Now that Zero Wing had thoroughly crushed Heaven''s Burial, the players in the neighboring kingdoms would naturally try to get a better understanding of Zero Wing. Meanwhile, he could use this opportunity to recruit a bunch of elite and expert players to increase the Guild''s strength and growth potential. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng messaged Aqua Rose and had her send some people to carry out his orders. As for himself, he made his way to Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena. After the war with Heaven''s Burial ended, peace and stability had returned to Stone Forest Town. As a result, the number of players gathered at Stone Forest Town was continuously increasing. Among the players visiting the town, there was no lack of Guild experts and independent experts. After watching the battle between Zero Wing and Heaven''s Burial, everyone had realized one thing. And that was the fact that even players could go up against war weaponsbut sufficient strength was needed to do so. Meanwhile, if they wanted to improve their strength, getting promoted to Tier 2 was undisputedly the fastest method to do so. However, aside from needing good weapons and equipment, sufficiently high combat standards were also necessary to clear the Tier 2 Promotion Quest. Training at Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena was undoubtedly the fastest way to improve one''s combat standards. Although training at the Trial Tower was also an option, not everybody could afford the fee of one Magic Crystal per attempt. By the time Shi Feng entered the Battle Arena, its lobby was already overflowing with players. Many experts belonging to the various large Guilds could be seen arranging match-ups with each other. There were also players hosting private duels or competitions with attractive rewards. However, out of all the available attractions inside the Battle Arena, the advanced combat rooms were no doubt the most popular. The reason for this was the advanced combat rooms'' facilitation of improvement in players'' Skill Completion Rates. The higher one''s Skill Completion Rate, the stronger their Skills would becomethis could be said to be the most intuitive way for expert players to raise their strength. However, as there were simply too few advanced combat rooms available, despite Judy, the NPC Shi Feng had tasked with the Battle Arena''s management, having already raised the rental fee to four Magic Crystals per 30 minutes, demand for the advanced combat rooms still exceeded the supply. When Shi Feng took a look at the Battle Arena''s earnings report, he discovered that most of the Magic Crystals the Battle Arena earned came from the advanced combat rooms. The popularity of the advanced combat rooms far exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. He waited for the current batch of players using the advanced combat rooms to come out, then closed the advanced combat rooms temporarily and retrieved the Evil God''s Tablet. Immediately after he did so, a commotion occurred inside the Battle Arena. "What''s going on? Why can''t the advanced combat rooms be used?" "I''ve waited a long time for my turn. Yet, now that my turn has finally arrived, they''re actually not letting us use the advanced combat rooms? Is this a scam?" The players waiting to use the advanced combat rooms kicked up a fuss right away. However, everyone received a quick reply from the NPC staffs stating that the advanced combat rooms were undergoing some upgrades and that they needed to wait a short while for the upgrades to be completed. System: Detecting more than 10,000 Evil Energy Crystals on your person. Do you wish to spend 10,000 Evil Energy Crystals to further upgrade the Evil God''s Tablet? Holding the Evil God''s Tablet, Shi Feng was startled to receive the system notification. Previously, he had to manually select to upgrade the tablet. This time, however, the system actually took the initiative to ask him. However, he did not dwell on the matter but immediately clicked "Agree." 1699 Gods Item Chapter 1699 - God''s Item Inside the quiet storage room, the Evil God''s Tablet began to transform after Shi Feng had agreed to feed it 10,000 Evil Energy Crystals. It had only been the size of a washbasin, but it gradually grew into a three-meter-tall table. The blurry images and divine runes engraved on the tablet also became clearer. As the divine runes and image sharpened, the Divine Might the tablet radiated increased until Shi Feng couldn''t even move. It felt as if time had stopped, only sparing his mind. After ten seconds or so, the Divine Might the tablet gave off disappeared. The tablet itself had also undergone a massive transformation. The originally dark-gray tablet was now silver in color. The ambient Mana also gathered around the tablet, increasing the Mana density around it until it formed a white mist. This mist gradually spread and enveloped the storage room as a whole. "What''s going on with the Mana?" Shi Feng was indescribably shocked as he looked at the white mist around him. Normally, Mana that was so dense that formed a white mist felt incomparably pleasant to players. Players who bathed in this Mana would also feel their minds reach an incredible tranquility. However, Shi Feng felt no such effects from the white mist in the storage room. On the contrary, he felt exhausted. In fact, his body even felt heavier as if something was weighing on him. Although Shi Feng''s mental state was on the verge of crumbling, he mustered his spirit and inspected the Evil God''s Tablet''s recent changes. [Third Fragment of Evil God''s Tablet] (Fragmented Legendary Rank Item) Active Skill 1- Illusory Space: When activated, forms an Illusory Space of 200-yard radius. The Illusory Space will create a copy of any player that enters. Players can then fight their own copies. The Illusory Creature has all Skills of the copied player and can achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. Players can choose to challenge Illusory Creatures up to the Dark-Gold rank. Duration: 50 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour (Can be evolved. Requires 1 Evil God Crystal to evolve.) Active Skill 2- Evil God Domain: When activated, create a self-contained field around the tablet that is completely separated from the outside world. Time flows twice as fast inside the field than in the outside world. Mana density inside the field is triple that of the outside world. When Evil God Domain is active, Illusory Creatures will appear inside the space at fixed intervals. Every wave of Illusory Creatures killed will increase the Mana density of the self-contained field slightly. If players are killed by the Illusory Creatures, their souls will be damaged, and they will be prevented from logging into God''s Domain for 6 hours. (Can be evolved. Requires 3 Evil God Crystals to evolve.) An item created by the Evil God. Evil Energy Crystals can be used to repair the divine runes inside the tablet. Requires 200,000 Evil Energy Crystals to upgrade. This tablet is amazing! Not even Legendary items have this kind of ability! Shi Feng was astonished as he read the Evil God''s Tablet''s new Attributes. The tablet had improved far more than Shi Feng had expected. The Evil God''s Domain alone was a godlike ability, not to mention how many more advanced combat rooms he could set up with the Illusory Space''s increased radius. Regardless of how far players progressed in God''s Domain, environments with high Mana density would be quite popular. This was because such environments were a great help when players practiced their combat techniques. Not only did the Evil God Domain created a Mana-rich environment, but it could also accelerate the flow of time; one hour inside the Evil God Domain was only the equivalent of 30 minutes in the outside world. For players seeking to improve their combat standards without wasting too much of their precious time, the Evil God Domain was the perfect solution. While others spent ten hours training in the outside world, players could achieve the same results in five hours within the Evil God Domain. If the various superpowers learned about the Evil God''s Tablet, they''d definitely gang up and move against Zero Wing. Plenty of superpowers were already envious of the advanced combat rooms. They only refrained from taking action because the cost wasn''t worth the potential gains. However, the Evil God Domain would certainly be the straw that broke the camel''s back. The only downside was the Illusory Creatures that would appear inside the Evil God Domain. Based on the Skill''s introductory text, it was obvious that the Illusory Creatures would grow stronger. As a result, players could only train for a limited amount of time in the Evil God Domain. When players could no longer fend off the summoned Illusory Creatures, they''d be forced to leave. If they stayed, and the Illusory Creatures killed them, they''d suffer a huge loss. It seems I won''t be able to let the Guild''s experts use this casually for a short time, Shi Feng thought to himself as he reread the Evil God Domain''s introductory text. Zero Wing already stuck out like a sore thumb in God''s Domain. If he allowed a large number of Zero Wing''s experts train in the Evil God Domain, the news of it would quickly reach the various superpowers. Zero Wing had already grown to pose a threat to them, and it was normal that these superpowers would send undercover experts to spy on his Guild. If the various superpowers learned about the Evil God Domain, Zero Wing would become embroiled in another struggle. The best course of action was only to allow Fire Dance, Blackie, and the Guild''s other core upper echelons to train in the Evil God Domain. Any more than that would be too risky. If he wanted all of his Guild''s experts to use the Evil God Domain, Zero Wing would have to become strong enough for the superpowers to acknowledge its rights to own the tablet. Unfortunately, gaining that recognition would involve a long, arduous process. However, Shi Feng wasn''t too disappointed. Although he couldn''t let too many experts train in the Evil God Domain, he''d have no issues constructing more advanced combat rooms. Illusory Space already had a 200-yard range. If the Evil God''s Tablet were upgraded further, the Skill''s range would grow. At that time, the Skill''s range might even cover the entire floor. Although such an outcome would also make the various superpowers all the more jealous of Zero Wing, they wouldn''t become so envious that they''d resort to cooperation to attack the Guild. After all, the various superpowers all possessed extraordinary foundations. They had their own methods of helping their Guild experts improve their Skill Completion Rates. Only, those methods might not be as effective as the advanced combat rooms. The next upgrade costs 200,000 Evil Energy Crystals? Shi Feng frowned as he looked at the upgrade condition for the Evil God''s Tablet. The cost is certainly getting harsher. Zero Wing had killed nearly 100,000 Evil Demons to collect 10,000 Evil Energy Crystals. Moreover, the Guild had only obtained such a harvest due to the fact that Evil Demons had a higher drop-rate for Evil Energy Crystals than Evil Beasts. However, players didn''t often encounter Evil Demon armies. Collecting 200,000 Evil Energy Crystals would require an insane amount of time, effort, and resources. Wait, it isn''t exactly impossible. Shi Feng suddenly remembered Ancient Rock City. At this point, Ancient Rock City had become an Evil God''s Branch Temple. Over 3,000,000 Evil Beasts and Evil Demons fortified the city. If he could kill every one of those monsters, he should be able to collect nearly, if not more than, 200,000 Evil Energy Crystals. If the various major powers and Beast Emperor knew that Shi Feng played with the idea of attacking Ancient Rock City, they would most likely think he had lost his mind. While everyone else did their best to avoid the city, Shi Feng actually planned to pick a fight with it. As Shi Feng was thinking of ways to deal with the Evil God''s Branch Temple, a line of small, bracketed words in the Evil God''s Tablet''s Attribute Panel caught Shi Feng''s attention. These two Skills can be individually upgraded? When Shi Feng saw that he could upgrade the Skills with Evil God Crystals individually, he was instantly ecstatic. Although Evil God Crystals were incomparably valuable, he only had one city that needed a power source. Immediately, Shi Feng chose to upgrade Illusory Space. Suddenly, the Evil God Crystal in Shi Feng''s bag transformed into a streak of light that flowed into the silver tablet. In the next moment, the first of the six blurry images on the Evil God''s Tablet became clear. The image depicted an Ancient God fighting a Nine-headed Magic Snake. The closer Shi Feng examined the scene, the more immersed in the battle he felt. This is a tutorial for the Realms of Truth? As Shi Feng continued to inspect the image, his heart began to pound. 1700 Guilds Foundation Chapter 1700 - Guild''s Foundation Shi Feng had already reached the Realms of Truth''s Ascension Realm. Hence, after examining the first image on the Evil God''s Tablet, he was certain that it was a tutorial for the Realms of Truth. Moreover, the tutorial was extremely detailed that even Shi Feng gained a lot of inspiration from it. What kind of treasure is this Evil God''s Tablet? Curiosity filled Shi Feng as he gazed at the Evil God''s Temple. There was very little information on the Realms of Truth available in God''s Domain. If not for a fortuitous encounter some time ago, he wouldn''t have learned about these Realms, either. This was just like during his previous life, when he had only known that reaching the Realms of Refinement could sharpen one''s five senses and help improve one''s Skill Completion Rates and combat technique learning efficiency. However, after grasping the principles behind the Realms of Truth, he had realized how important these Realms truly were. In fact, now that Shi Feng had grasped both the Realms of Refinement and Realms of Truth, he was confident of defeating three or four Void Realm experts of the same level simultaneously, even if he didn''t have an overwhelming advantage in Basic Attributes and didn''t use any Skills or Spells. If he said as much to anyone, they''d likely laugh at him for being so overly confident. Most experts would have to flee from a force of three or four experts of the same Realm of Refinement, even if their attainment in that realm were higher. Only Domain Realm experts could take on multiple opponents of the same combat standard. Super Guilds were so powerful precisely because they possessed a complete legacy to nurture experts in the Realms of Refinement. Meanwhile, super-first-rate Guilds would always remain as super-first-rate Guilds due to their lack of a complete legacy. This kind of legacy was a Guild''s foundation. The Evil God''s Tablet was one such legacy. Only, instead of being a legacy that passed down knowledge regarding the Realms of Refinement, it was a legacy that taught the Realms of Truth. As far as Shi Feng knew, no power throughout God''s Domain had a legacy related to the Realms of Truth. Hence, one could just imagine how valuable the Evil God''s Tablet was. Although the first image on the Evil God''s Tablet only taught the Realms of Truth''s basics, which addressed one''s own power usage, it was still extremely valuable knowledge. Furthermore, the table had other engraved images. As long as he put in the effort, it was only a matter of time before he restored the other images as well. Once he did so, he might obtain a complete legacy for the Realms of Truth. Just thinking about the possibility excited Shi Feng. If everything turned out how he imagined it, Zero Wing would have the foundation to grow into a Super Guild. Although this foundation would be different from other Super Guilds'', he did not think that this foundation would be any weaker than theirs. He had yet to find the Realms of Truth''s limits, and no one could tell what kind of heights a player could reach by relying on these Realms. Moreover, he had an advantage that the various Super Guilds did not; he knew how to train in both the Realms of Truth and the Realms of Refinement, while the Super Guilds had only explored the Realms of Refinement. This could be a considerably massive advantage. After Shi Feng finished examining the image on the tablet, he inspected its Attribute Panel again. Sure enough, this Evil God''s Tablet is a treasure to nurture experts. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed when he read the updated introductory text for Illusory Space. Illusory Space: When activated: Skill Effect 1: Players wielding an Evil Energy Crystal and standing within 10 yards of the Evil God''s Tablet shall enter the tablet''s image with their consciousness, experiencing battle directly. Each Evil Energy Crystal grants one complete experience. Skill Effect 2: Forms an Illusory Space of 200-yard radius. The Illusory Space will create a copy of any player that enters. Players can then fight their own copies. The Illusory Creature has all Skills of the copied player and can achieve a 100% Skill Completion Rate. Players can choose to challenge Illusory Creatures up to the Dark-Gold rank. Duration: 50 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour (Can be evolved. Requires 1 Evil God Crystal to evolve.) With this direct experience tutorial, players could get a firm grasp of the principles behind the Realms of Truth by experiencing the fight between the Ancient God and Nine-headed Magic Snake personally, even if they were utterly ignorant of the Realms of Truth. This training method was many times more efficient than observing the tablet''s image. Only, Shi Feng hadn''t expected the Evil Energy Crystal requirement. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. This was a chance to experience the Realms of Truth directly. This was far better than watching a video. It wasn''t unusual for there to be a cost. It seems that I''ll need to prepare more Evil Energy Crystals and Evil God Crystals. Shi Feng could not help but reveal a bitter smile as he gazed at the Evil God''s Tablet. Previously, he had still been somewhat skeptical about the saying that fortune and misfortune existed alongside each other in God''s Domain. Now, however, he believed in the saying completely. Originally, the Evil God''s Temple''s arrival should''ve been a disaster for both Zero Wing and Star-Moon Kingdom. Looking at it now, however, Shi Feng found that it was an opportunity. Otherwise, he really wouldn''t know where to locate so many Evil Energy Crystals and Evil God Crystals. After all, only Evil Demons and Evil Beasts dropped these items. Immediately, Shi Feng took out an Evil Energy Crystal and activated Illusory Space to test out the tutorial. Suddenly, the Evil God''s Tablet released a dazzling purple glow. Shi Feng then felt as if his entire being were sucked into the tablet. Following which, the scene before him underwent a heaven-defying transformation. By the time Shi Feng realized it, he was standing in the middle of a primordial wasteland. Dark, rumbling clouds covered the sky above him. Meanwhile, before him was a 500-meter-tall Nine-headed Magic Snake, which towered like a mountain that released a boundless aura. The power within its breath could likely kill a Tier 5 existence instantly. Each of the Nine-headed Magic Snake''s heads contained a different kind of power. When all nine powers combined, the resulting power could be akin to a natural disaster. In the past, Shi Feng had watched the battles of Tier 6 God-ranked experts, and he doubted that those Tier 6 players would even survive two or three hits from the Nine-headed Magic Snake. Fortunately, the Magic Snake''s horrific aura didn''t affect Shi Feng in the slightest right now. He could feel that his consciousness had entered the Ancient God that had fought the Nine-headed Magic Snake in the tablet''s image. However, although that was the case, he could not move the body. He could only quietly observe and feel the Ancient God''s actions. Following which, the Ancient God started his battle against the Nine-headed Magic Snake. However, contrary to expectations, the struggle wasn''t intense. Rather, it was a one-sided beating. The Ancient God effortlessly evaded or blocked every attack the behemoth sent. Every move the Ancient God executed looked like a profound and complex combat technique. Shi Feng was utterly mesmerized by the way the Ancient God fought. After ten minutes or so, the tutorial came to an end. Before Shi Feng even realized what was happening, his consciousness left the Evil God''s Tablet and returned to his body. Amazing! So, these are the true Realms of Truth? Shi Feng was at a loss for words. Rhinebeck had acknowledged that he had grasped the basics of the Realms of Truth, but compared to the foundations the Ancient God taught, the basics he had learned were mediocre at best. If he had to score the basics he had discovered and learned himself, they would only earn a passing mark of 60 out of 100. Meanwhile, the Ancient God''s basics would score a perfect 100. There were simply too many aspects he needed to improve. Although Shi Feng wished to experience the tutorial again, he could only experience the tutorial once each time he activated Illusory Space. He had to wait until the Cooldown was over. However, the 1-hour Cooldown was too long for Shi Feng. He still had many things he needed to take care of. He had no choice but to give up for now. Moreover, he had gained plenty of inspiration from his first visit. It would take him quite some time to digest all of the newfound information. Following which, Shi Feng called Judy over to start rearranging the layout of the Battle Arena''s seventh floor. Previously, the Evil God''s Tablet had only had a 100-yard radius. Now, it had increased to a 200-yard radius. The total available area had essentially quadrupled. There was definitely a need to rearrange the floor''s layout. After spending around twenty minutes or so deciding on the layout, they ended up squeezing in 40 advanced combat rooms into the Evil God''s Tablet''s range; that was more than four times of what had been previously available. With this, the Battle Arena could earn at least four times more income from the advanced combat rooms. But Shi Feng still wasn''t satisfied. He then instructed Judy to increase the advanced combat room''s rent, pushing the original cost from four Magic Crystals to 10 Magic Crystals. "Guild Leader, I''m afraid that this price far exceeds what most experts can afford. If we go through with this price increase, many experts will give up on renting the advanced combat rooms," Aqua Rose anxiously said when she saw the new price Shi Feng offered. Expert players were the advanced combat rooms'' main customers. She had constantly been managing Stone Forest Town''s Candlelight Trading Firm and Battle Arena, so she had a clear grasp of the various experts'' daily incomes. The previous price, four Magic Crystals, was already the limit for many experts. If the advanced combat rooms'' rent increased to 10 Magic Crystals, even the experts from well-known adventurer teams would have a hard time affording it. If that were the case, these expert players would rather train in the Divine Colosseum instead. "Don''t worry. Limits are meant to be broken. Moreover, the new advanced combat rooms have a duration of 50 minutes instead of the previous 30 minutes," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to offer any further explanation. The upgraded Evil God''s Tablet was nothing like it had been. He had experienced this personally. Meanwhile, after the NPC manager, Judy, published the advanced combat rooms'' new rent, the players in the lobby were stunned. "Ten Magic Crystals? Is Zero Wing trying to rob us?" 1701 Hidden Dragon Rises Chapter 1701 - Hidden Dragon Rises "Zero Wing sure has guts to demand such a price. Do they really think the advanced combat rooms are the only things that can help players improve their Skill Completion Rates?" "I can purchase a good piece of equipment or train in the Divine Colosseum ten times with 10 Magic Crystals!" "Does Zero Wing think Magic Crystals are cabbages?" When players saw the updated pricing for the advanced combat room on the large screens in the center of the lobby, many expert players thought that Zero Wing had gone mad for Magic Crystals. Although current players had far more Magic Crystal sources now, they could still only earn a limited number. Moreover, there were many other things that required Magic Crystals. Ten Magic Crystals simply wasn''t a tolerable price for expert players. Players weren''t even guaranteed to earn so many after an entire day of hard work. How could they possibly spend all of their earnings on gradually training their Skill Completion Rates? The only benefit was that there were 31 more advanced combat rooms available than before. With this, players would not have to wait in line as long. However, the various major powers'' experts still frowned on the new change. The advanced combat rooms'' main customers were these experts. Although they could afford the current price, it would be a huge burden on their Guilds. Their respective Guilds also couldn''t afford to send them to the advanced combat rooms as often. It was both unwise and not worthwhile. While fighting the Illusory Creatures in the advanced combat rooms would indeed help them improve their Skill Completion Rates more efficiently, the higher their Skill Completion Rate became, the less effective the advanced combat rooms were. For expert players like them, the improvement from a single training session wasn''t worth 10 Magic Crystals. Unfortunately, there weren''t any good alternatives once players reached their standards. One could say that this change put them in a very awkward position. "Hold on a minute; they''re updating the advanced combat rooms'' introduction." As everyone discussed the new pricing, the Battle Arena''s main screen revealed the new rules for the advanced combat rooms. First, the duration of each session had increased to 50 minutes. Second, Zero Wing''s normal members would get a 10% discount to rent the advanced combat rooms, elite members would get a 20% discount, and core members would get a 30% discount. Moreover, ten advanced combat rooms would be reserved for Guild members. When these new rules were revealed, the crowd in the lobby went into an uproar once again. Meanwhile, the various major powers'' members turned to Zero Wing''s members in envy over the benefits they got to enjoy. With the discounts and extended duration, the rental fee Zero Wing''s members had to pay was just slightly higher than before. Moreover, there were now exclusive advanced combat rooms for Zero Wing''s members. Suddenly, independent experts started to leave the Battle Arena, one after another, and make their way toward Zero Wing''s Residence to apply to join the Guild. Even many of the various major powers elite and expert members hesitated. When the other large Guilds'' upper echelons received news of the update, they paled. "Zero Wing actually had such a card to play?" "With this, Zero Wing''s rise really will become unstoppable." Now that Zero Wing had solidified its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, there was no longer any local Guilds that dared to challenge it. This meant that Zero Wing had a monopoly over the best resources in Star-Moon Kingdom. Naturally, its Guild members would receive more resources than before. With the introduction of this new Guild benefit, Zero Wing became significantly more attractive towards their respective Guilds'' elite and expert members. It was only a matter of time before their Guilds started to lose large groups of their members, yet there was nothing their Guilds could do to stop it For a time after news of the updated advanced combat rooms spread, the number of elite and expert players trying to join Zero Wing increased exponentially. Because of this, Aqua Rose, who was trying to organize Zero Wing''s harvest from its war with Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater, was ecstatic. In less than half an hour since the new advanced combat rooms had been introduced, Zero Wing had received 20,000-plus applications from ordinary players, 5,000-plus applications from elite players, and 200-plus applications from expert players. Just testing all of these players would take a very long time. The Guild''s development speed had far exceeded Aqua Rose''s initial expectations. Aqua Rose had estimated that it would take Zero Wing roughly two or three days to recruit so many elite and expert players, but it would seem that Zero Wing might increase its elite member count past 250,000 sooner than that. The Guild also shouldn''t have any problems increasing its expert member count to 5,000. With such high numbers, Zero Wing would surpass many actual first-rate Guilds. The only real difference separating Zero Wing from actual first-rate Guilds now was the Guild''s smaller sphere of influence and fewer normal members. However, this couldn''t be helped since Zero Wing''s recruitment standards were too high. Moreover, first-rate Guilds had begun spreading their influence throughout God''s Domain the day the game launched; their influence now covered multiple kingdoms and empires. These first-rate Guilds had spent countless resources and an absurd amount of wealth to build a sturdy foundation for themselves. Zero Wing, on the other hand, had begun its development in a single city with little-to-no wealth or resources. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the advanced combat rooms'' promotion effect had also caught Shi Feng by surprise. Guild elites and experts were necessary for a Guild''s development because Guilds needed manpower to manage and protect the new territory it acquired. Simply chasing away the local rulers wasn''t enough. If a Guild lacked the strength to protect its new territory, some other power would eventually capture the territory. In that case, the Guild might as well have not bothered to expand in the first place. Currently, Zero Wing was still able to get by with the number of elite and expert members it had since it had very few territories. In total, the Guild only controlled three towns and one city. In comparison, first-rate Guilds controlled over a dozen towns that were spread across multiple kingdoms and empires. However, if Zero Wing started to expand, it would naturally encounter more rival powers. If multiple locations were attacked at the same time, Shi Feng wouldn''t be able to protect all of his territories even if he were more powerful. Hence, a sufficient number of Guild elite and expert members was extremely important. As Shi Feng ruminated over Zero Wing''s future, Gentle Snow suddenly contacted him and asked, "Guild Leader, where are you now?" "I''m in Stone Forest Town. Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked curiously. When Stone Forest Town had been attacked, Aqua Rose had led plenty of the Guild''s experts to reinforce the town. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow had been responsible for assisting the kingdom''s armies against the Evil Beast army that was invading Star-Moon Kingdom. Since the Evil God''s Temple''s NPCs controlled these Evil Beasts, not players, they were much higher-leveled. The lowest-leveled Evil Beast was Level 60, while the majority of the Evil Beasts were Chieftain rank and above. In addition, quite a few Tier 3 NPCs from the Evil God''s Temple commanded the Evil Beast army. If Gentle Snow hadn''t led Zero Wing''s forces to help the kingdom''s armies, the Evil Beast army would''ve long since broken past the defensive line. If that happened, the Evil Beasts would devour every resource in their path, growing stronger as they made their way toward Zero Wing City. "The number of Evil Beasts over here has started to decrease. According to our scouts'' reports, Beast Emperor seems to be pulling out the Evil Beasts and Demons under his control. Beast Emperor has sent his monsters to surround the Primordial Divine Ruin. The 2,000 elite members and 100 expert members we stationed at the ruin have been annihilated. Moreover, Beast Emperor has announced that Zero Wing is prohibited from entering the Primordial Divine Ruin from now on. It seems that we''re his only target," Gentle Snow said, gritting her teeth. The Primordial Divine Ruin had already become a prime location for the various large Guilds to acquire weapons, equipment, and combat techniques. Most importantly, it was the only entrance to Primordial City. Primordial City was the only place to obtain Primordial Souls, which could help players complete their Tier 2 Promotion Quests. If Zero Wing''s supply of Primordial Souls were cut off, its development would definitely fall behind other Guilds. By only preventing Zero Wing''s members from entering the Primordial Divine Ruin, Beast Emperor was clearly trying to provoke the Guild. Naturally, the other Guilds were more than happy to watch from a distance. Now that Zero Wing had already entered Primordial City and gained an advantage over their Guilds, the other Guilds wanted to see Zero Wing''s members enter the Primordial Divine Ruin even less. Although Gentle Snow wanted to do something about this, the Orc Empire was a neutral map. Even if she notified the kingdom''s armies about the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons at the Primordial Divine Ruin, the kingdom''s armies would not take action. "Beast Emperor must really think that no one can touch him just because he''s in a neutral map!" Shi Feng could not help but sneer when he heard Gentle Snow''s report, killing intent flashing in his eyes. "Since he dares try to cut off my path to fortune, I''ll cut off his legs!" 1702 Taking Control of the Lost Town Chapter 1702 - Taking Control of the Lost Town Although Shi Feng had spoken very softly, Gentle Snow could clearly hear the determination and anger in his tone. "Guild Leader, we aren''t really going to take action, right?" Gentle Snow grew anxious at Shi Feng''s words. "That Beast Emperor is obviously doing this to lure us over to the Orc Empire. If we really march our army into the neutral map, we will be beyond the kingdom''s protection. Those powerful Evil Beasts and Evil Demons will tear us apart easily. If we get dealt a heavy blow now, it will diminish the reputation and prestige we''ve garnered from the previous war." Although Zero Wing had not suffered any casualties during its battle with Heaven''s Burial''s armies, it had expended a lot of its resources. In fact, Zero Wing''s expenditure in the battle had been astronomical. Other Guilds might not have a clear idea of how much the battle had cost Zero Wing, but how could she, a Vice Guild Leader of Zero Wing, not know? Of the 140,000 Magic Crystals the Guild had prepared for the battle, over 120,000 were spent. With the few Magic Crystals Zero Wing had remaining, going up Beast Emperor''s Evil Beasts and Evil Demons would be impossible. Meanwhile, once Zero Wing exhausted its Magic Crystal reserves and lost the protection of the movement-type defensive magic array, the outcome would be horrendous for Zero Wing''s forces. Unlike the Evil Demons that attacked Stone Forest Town, the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts Beast Emperor controlled were all Level 60 and above. The majority of those monsters were also at the Chieftain rank. Even a Tier 1 player of the same level might not be able to solo a Chieftain ranked Evil Beast or Evil Demon. Not to mention, there were still the stronger Lord, High Lord, Great Lord, Grand Lord, and Mythic ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. It might be a different story if Zero Wing could summon more Baphomets as it did during its battle against Heaven''s Burial. If that was possible, Zero Wing might have a chance at victory. However, Shi Feng had already stated to Zero Wing''s upper echelon that he had summoned the three Baphomets using a Consumable item and used up all the summoning chances during the previous battle. Trying to pick a fight with Beast Emperor while being at such a disadvantage clearly wasn''t a wise decision. "Of course we need to make a move!" Shi Feng nodded. In a resolute tone, he continued, "Moreover, we''re going to beat him up badly!" He understood Beast Emperor''s motives. Currently, Zero Wing was like the midday sun in Star-Moon Kingdom. Through the prestige and reputation it earned from the previous war and the attractiveness of the advanced combat rooms, Zero Wing''s growth potential was clear for all to see. If Beast Emperor did not take advantage of Zero Wing''s current undeveloped state to suppress the Guild or even deal it a heavy blow, Zero Wing would definitely become an even greater obstacle for him in the future. Hence, Beast Emperor had dispatched a considerable number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons to surround the Primordial Divine Ruin and prevent Zero Wing from obtaining the resources available there. With this, regardless of whether Zero Wing took action against this blockade or not, Beast Emperor would be able to suppress the Guild''s development. Most likely, Beast Emperor had already made a thorough investigation of Zero Wing''s available combat power. After all, with how large Zero Wing had become, some information about the Guild was bound to leak. Meanwhile, if other Guilds were faced with Beast Emperor''s blockade, they would most likely hesitate over whether to take action against Beast Emperor or not. Unfortunately for him, Shi Feng would not hesitate! He might not have any way to deal with Ancient Rock City at present, but dealing with the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts that had left the protection of the city was not entirely impossible. "Notify Aqua and have her gather 1,500 experts at Zero Wing City. It''s best if they''re trustworthy. It''s about time we let Beast Emperor know that the Orc Empire isn''t his to monopolize!" Shi Feng instructed. "One thousand five hundred people? Isn''t that a little too few?" Gentle Snow was a little confused when she heard Shi Feng''s words. She had thought that Shi Feng was planning to mobilize the entire Guild to show Beast Emperor who''s boss. Yet, now, Shi Feng was gathering only 1,500 experts. "No, they''re more than enough. In any case, have these people gather at Zero Wing City as quickly and as secretively as possible," Shi Feng said, revealing a mysterious smile. He then disconnected the call and retrieved the Abyss Pendant. Previously, he had used the pendant to record the coordinates of the Lost Town. Now, he could teleport there directly without having to waste hours going from map to map. Lost Towns were towns left behind by ancient civilizations in God''s Domain. Every one of them was very special. In the past, even the various superpowers of God''s Domain would fight desperately to claim them. It was naturally best if he secured the Lost Town in the Boneless Land as soon as possible. Boneless Land, Lost Town: By the time Shi Feng arrived back at the Lost Town, some of the monsters in the town had already respawned. The number was not as high as when he first came to the town, but it was still extremely dangerous for current players to be here. However, he did not dwell on the matter as he activated Gale Domain and flew straight to the bottomless pit at the town center. The bottomless pit looked like a passage that led to a Demon''s nest. The top of the pit was covered entirely by a magic array with small openings located around the magic array''s edges, meant for Darkness Stones. Shi Feng soon arrived before one of the holes and placed one of the Darkness Stones he collected into it. With each Darkness Stone he inserted, the opening of the pit shrank slightly. At the same time, though, the pressure coming from the bottom of the pit intensified. Moreover, after he had started inserting the Darkness Stones into the magic array, an invisible barrier of sorts enveloped the entire Lost Town, preventing the use of Skills, Spells, and even Magic Scrolls. When Shi Feng inserted the tenth Darkness Stone, an angry roar came from the pit. Following which, a Level 65, Tier 2 Demon appeared before him. As he couldn''t use any of his Skills or Spells at the moment, he had to rely on his Basic Attributes to defeat the Tier 2 Demon. Fortunately, the Bible of Darkness''s passive effect still worked, and so the Tier 2 Demon had its Basic Attributes greatly suppressed. Coupled with the fact that Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes far exceeded what an ordinary Tier 2 player at his level should possess, fighting the Demon was a walk in the park. A few minutes later, the Tier 2 Demon collapsed helplessly at his feet. Following which, he continued inserting Darkness Stones into the magic array and defeating the Demons that came out with every ten Darkness Stones inserted. By the 70th Darkness Stone inserted, the Demon that came out of the bottomless pit had become a Level 65, Tier 3 Great Lord. However, with the help of the Bible of Darkness, Shi Feng still managed to overwhelm his opponent. When Shi Feng inserted the 80th Darkness Stone, the mental pressure the bottomless pit exerted on him caused even his consciousness to become a little blurry. If other players were standing in his place, they would''ve long since lost consciousness and been forcibly logged out of the game. With the insertion of the final Darkness Crystal, a horrific aura surged out from the bottomless pit and washed over the entire Lost Town, paralyzing Shi Feng''s body when it swept over him. Following which, the magic array covering the bottomless pit started rising into the sky and eventually vanished. Meanwhile, the top of the bottomless pit shrank rapidly, transforming into a small dot before disappearing without a trace as well. If other players were to visit the Lost Town in the future, they would not be able to tell that a massive hole had once existed in the middle of the town. After the bottomless pit disappeared, the mental pressure it exerted also faded away. When Shi Feng''s spirit had recovered, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Demon''s Nest." Rewarding Lost Town''s Town Order. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the Lost Town''s Town Order. Do you wish to bind the Lost Town to yourself and become its master? Upon hearing these system notifications, Shi Feng breathed out an involuntary sigh of relief. Had he failed to complete the quest, he would''ve been hunted down by a Tier 5 Demon King. Aside from hiding in NPC cities, he would have had no chance of surviving anywhere else. Following which, Shi Feng agreed to become the Lost Town''s master. With this, the Lost Town officially became the first town Zero Wing controlled in a neutral map. Once he constructed a Guild Residence here, Guild members would be able to teleport freely to the Boneless Land without having to waste a lot of time on travel. Meanwhile, after he became the master of the town, the monsters originally present inside the town started vanishing one after another. Now, players could roam the town without worrying about monster attacks. In addition, all of the town''s functions were made available to him. Around 30 seconds after the monsters had disappeared, NPCs suddenly started popping up all over the town, filling it with life. Meanwhile, Shi Feng quickly made his way toward the main goal of his visit this time. The white tower! 1703 Extraordinary Tower Chapter 1703 - Extraordinary Tower The Lost Town''s unique ability was the white tower. After Shi Feng had become the Lost Town''s master, the defensive magic array protecting the white tower also vanished. Now, the beam attacks didn''t target him when he stood within 100 yards of the tower, and silver divine runes had begun to appear on the white tower''s walls, radiating faint Divine Might. When Shi Feng reached the tower''s entrance, a translucent screen appeared before him, introducing the white tower. [Extraordinary Tower] A training tower constructed by an ancient civilization. The tower has a total of three floors, each providing training that is more intense than the one before. Pass all three floors to qualify as an Extraordinary Individual. Removing the seal on the first floor requires 10,000 Magic Crystals. Maintaining its operation costs 500 Magic Crystals per day. Only 100 people are allowed to train at a time. Removing the seal on the second floor requires 100,000 Magic Crystals. Maintaining its operation costs 5,000 Magic Crystals per day. Only 50 people are allowed to train at a time. Removing the seal on the third floor requires 1,000,000 Magic Crystals. Maintaining its operation costs 20,000 Magic Crystals per day. Only 10 people are allowed to train at a time. So, I guess there''s a price. Shi Feng could not help his bitter smile as he read the Extraordinary Tower''s introductory text. Although he had known that the various superpowers in the past had paid a certain price to use their Lost Towns'' abilities, he hadn''t expected the price to be so steep. The first floor''s operation cost of 500 Magic Crystals wasn''t much of a problem. It was the equivalent of charging five Magic Crystals per person per day. However, not only was the price for removing the second floor''s seal ten times that of the first floor, but its daily operation cost also increased by ten times. This expenditure was even enough to drive first-rate Guilds crazy. Furthermore, the number of training slots had been halved. It was the equivalent of charging 100 Magic Crystals per person per day. Meanwhile, Super Guilds would pale at the cost of unsealing and operating the third floor. Even a Super Guild would need a considerable time to accumulate the 1,000,000 Magic Crystals needed to unseal the third floor, and the 20,000 Magic Crystal operation cost was simply outrageous. Most importantly, only ten players could train on the third floor at the same time. Not even the current Super Guilds would dare to play with such a cost. It was the equivalent of spending 2,000 Magic Crystals for each player for a single day. Not even the word ''horrific'' was enough to describe this cost. However, after giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng found it reasonable. If players could reach the Void Realm and the higher Realms of Truth by paying a few hundred Magic Crystals, whoever controlled this Lost Town would become invincible. They could pump out batch after batch of peak experts for an insignificant price. It should be known that even though Super Guilds had complete legacies for the Realms of Refinement, the number of people they train at a time was very limited. Only the most talented would be chosen. This was because the training systems'' cost was simply too high. It was only reasonable that the Extraordinary Tower''s operation costs would be so ridiculously high. It seems that I can only activate the first floor for now. After Shi Feng finished reading the introduction, he undid the seal on the Extraordinary Tower''s first floor. Although Zero Wing could not afford to unseal the second floor yet, it did not really matter. The first floor was more than enough for now. Aside from himself, no one in the Guild had set foot in the Realms of Truth, after all. By the time a considerable number of Guild members had reached the Realms of Truth, Zero Wing would''ve accumulated enough Magic Crystals to unseal the second floor. After Shi Feng chose to unseal the first floor, 10,000 Magic Crystals vanished from his bag. At the same time, the Extraordinary Tower began to transform. As if the tower had awakened from its slumber, some of the divine runes on its walls brightened. The ambient Mana then rapidly gathered around the tower, and more divine runes began to light up, continuously expanding its sphere of influence. Initially, the Extraordinary Tower only collected Mana from its immediate area, gradually increasing that radius until it enveloped the Lost Town. It then reached past the town''s boundaries to several thousand yards bast the Lost Town''s walls. What a powerful Mana surge! Is this the Lost Town''s true power? Shi Feng was greatly shocked as he watched the flowing, white torrents of Mana in the sky. Standing beside the Extraordinary Tower, Shi Feng could feel the Mana density around him rapidly increase. After absorbing Mana for a short moment, the Mana density around the tower could rival the Magic Tower, and it continued to rise. One minute Three minutes Five minutes After around ten minutes, the Mana torrents began to fade. At this point, the divine runes covering the Extraordinary Tower shone brilliantly, giving the tower a sacred feeling. In addition, the Lost Town felt as if it had been resurrected as it brimmed with life. Grass, trees, and flowers grew rapidly all over the town. The Mana density had also increased until it slightly surpassed the density in Stone Forest Town. One would find it very hard to believe that just some time ago, the Lost Town had been desolate. And this transformation was only the result of unsealing the first floor Even Shi Feng struggled to believe what he was seeing. If he undid all three of the Extraordinary Tower''s seals, what would he see then? After calming his excited heart, Shi Feng entered the Extraordinary Tower. As Shi Feng stepped through its doors, he discovered that the tower''s interior had undergone quite a few changes. The first floor had felt dull and old during his previous visit, but now, it looked impressive. Everything seemed to glow, and Shi Feng felt like he stood in a sports arena''s main hall, which could fit tens of thousands of people. Dazzling Mana Weapons were on display all around him. The sight was mesmerizing. God''s Domain''s ancient civilizations were truly amazing. When Shi Feng called up the first floor''s system interface and examined its listed contents, he was ecstatic. He had only been able to visually inspect the dark environment during his previous visit to the tower''s first floor. Even so, he had counted over 10,000 Mana Weapons. Now that he was the Lost Town''s master, he could inspect any information related to the town. What he learned about the first floor made him realize that he still underestimated the strength and foundation of the ancient civilization that had once ruled over this land. Mana Weapons were extremely rare in God''s Domain, but the first-floor hall contained 24,671 of these weapons. There were enough Mana Weapons here to arm a 20,000-man army. The majority of the Mana Weapons here were Tier 1, with 1,823 Tier 2 Mana Weapons, and 12 Tier 3 Mana Weapons. To Shi Feng''s surprise, there were even two Tier 4 Mana Weapons in this hall. He was utterly stupefied. Even after learning about the Lost Town''s unique ability, Shi Feng had thought that the Demon''s Nest quest had been more trouble than it was worth. If Primordial City hadn''t activated, he would never have found a way to collect 100 Darkness Stones in time. But now that he had completed the quest and inspected the Extraordinary Tower''s armory, he realized the Demon''s Nest quest''s reward was far beyond his expectations. Tier 4 Mana Weapons! Although only Tier 3 players and above could equip these weapons, they''d even perform better than Fragmented Legendary Weapons. And this tower''s first-floor hall actually contained two Tier 4 Mana Weapons! When the Guild''s experts eventually reached Tier 3, he could help two of them become apex experts by arming them with these weapons. The upper echelon from an ordinary Guild might not realize the benefit of two more apex experts, but Shi Feng did. This meant that Zero Wing could occupy more towns and obtain even more resources. Zero Wing would not have to worry about lacking experts to protect its towns. I can''t retrieve them? When Shi Feng tried to collect the Tier 4 Mana Weapons through the system interface, the system informed him that he had yet to meet the requirement for such an action. To retrieve the two weapons, he had to promote the town to Advanced rank. Shi Feng could only shake his head and chuckle. Sure enough, the system won''t let players obtain Tier 4 Mana Weapons so easily. However, Shi Feng wasn''t particularly disappointed. Developing the Lost Town was necessary regardless, and with Zero Wing''s current foundations, upgrading the town from a Basic Town to an Advanced Town before the Guild''s experts reached Tier 3 wouldn''t be a problem. Following which, Shi Feng retrieved every Tier 3 and Tier 2 Mana Weapon available. This had been his main goal in visiting the Lost Town, after all. With these Mana Weapons, the strength of his Guild''s experts could undergo a qualitative transformation. This was especially true for the players who would wield the Tier 3 Mana Weapons. After retrieving the Mana Weapons, Shi Feng followed the spiral staircase to the second floor. Previously, he had been focused on obtaining the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. As a result, he hadn''t inspected the tower''s second or third floor. Now that he was the Lost Town''s master, however, he had to examine the tower properly. 1704 Masters Power Chapter 1704 - Master''s Power Once he arrived on the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor, Shi Feng discovered that it was still as dilapidated as it had been during his first visit. However, the hall had brightened considerably, and now, Shi Feng could clearly see the armored ghosts that wandered the floor. As he had left it, the Tyrant''s Soul stood quietly before the spiral staircase leading to the third floor. It''s still here? Shi Feng frowned at the Tyrant''s Soul. He had assumed that every monster in the Lost Town had disappeared when he had taken control of it, but it would seem that wasn''t the case. At the very least, the monsters in the Extraordinary Tower hadn''t been affected. He had already experienced the Tyrant''s Soul''s strength. Although it was only a Level 80 Mythic monster, it wielded a Saint Weapon, a Tier 5 Mana Weapon. In terms of combat power, even the Demon Ruler-enhanced Mythic ranked Baphomet paled in comparison to the Tyrant''s Soul. Trying to defeat such a powerful foe was simply too difficult right now. Yet, if he left the Tyrant''s Soul alone, the Soul Doppelganger would continue to hunt him. Although the Soul Doppelgangers wasn''t an issue yet, since the most recent had only been a Level 70 Chieftain, they would grow stronger each day. They might not pose a threat right now, but sooner or later, they would become a problem. The only way to avoid the Soul Doppelgangers'' constant annoyance was to defeat the Tyrant''s Soul. However, slaying the Tyrant''s Soul was easier said than done. Just the fact that it was a Level 80 Mythic monster made it challenging enough, not to mention its Saint Weapon. Even a 100-man team of Tier 2 experts might fail to take it down, not to mention Shi Feng. No, that''s not right. This is the Extraordinary Tower. As the master of the Lost Town, every construction within the town should be under my control. The tower should not be an exception. Thinking so, Shi Feng opened the Extraordinary Tower''s system interface. In God''s Domain, players had full control of the buildings they owned. This meant that players had access to various functions, such as a building''s governing mechanics and removing players from the building. Because of this, players in God''s Domain wouldn''t cause trouble in other Guilds and players'' private properties as doing so would put them at an overwhelming disadvantage. Without overwhelming strength, it was impossible to defeat a property''s owner inside their own building. The Extraordinary Tower should be considered private property. It wasn''t like a Guild Residence, which was owned by the Guild, not an individual. In the case of shared properties like Guild Residences, the most players could do to ensure the Residence''s security was higher players and NPC guards to protect it. The Residences didn''t have an automated function to expel intruders. Sure enough, I can control the tower. Shi Feng rejoiced when he discovered that he could manipulate the Extraordinary Tower''s system interface. Immediately, he retrieved the Bible of Darkness and a Summon Guard Scroll. Shortly after, a Tier 3 Tomahawk Demon and Anna appeared before Shi Feng. Dealing with the nine Wandering Souls would be difficult enough for the Level 80, Tier 3 Demon and a Tier 2 NPC like Anna, let alone facing off against the Mythic ranked Tyrant''s Soul. The nine Wandering Souls were all Level 80 Grand Lords, and if they worked together, they could easily overwhelm Anna and the Tier 3 Demon. However, Shi Feng did not mind. He then instructed Anna summon her Golden Giant and Rock Guardians. Anna''s actions immediately attracted the Tyrant''s Soul''s attention, and the Mythic monster abruptly opened its eyes. "Despicable thief! You dare to show yourself before me again?! I will tear your soul to pieces!" The Tyrant''s Soul quickly recognized Shi Feng''s aura, its eyes glowing red with rage. It bellowed with fury and vanished. Meanwhile, the Wandering Souls turned to charge at Shi Feng. Even Shi Feng grew nervous while facing a Level 80 Mythic monster and nine Level 80 Grand Lords. "Seal!" Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng immediately utilized his special privilege as the tower''s owner. Suddenly, countless chains appeared around the Tyrant''s Soul and Wandering Souls. Following which, the ten monsters'' Basic Attributes plummeted, falling to 50% of their original values in the blink of an eye. They couldn''t use their Skills or Spells, either. Suppressed, the Tyrant''s Soul was forcefully revealed. The Tier 3 Tomahawk Demon then charged at the Tyrant''s Soul. Seeing this, the Tyrant''s Soul wielded its blue lightning blade and swung it at the Tomahawk Demon''s battle axe. When the two weapons clashed, a storm began to brew in the hall. The impact also forced the Tomahawk Demon to retreat by three steps, its battle axe slightly vibrating. Surprisingly, the Tyrant''s Soul had also slid back four steps, the lightning blade in its hands instantly shattering. Although the two monsters had only clashed once, the difference in their Strengths was obvious. The Demon Ruler-enhanced Tomahawk Demon definitely triumphed over the Tyrant''s Soul. Fortunately, the ten Rock Giants were able to hold back the ten Grand Lord ranked Wandering Souls by themselves. This allowed the Golden Giant to join the Tomahawk Demon against the Tyrant''s Soul. Meanwhile, Anna continuously bombarded the Tyrant''s Soul with Tier 2 Spells. Naturally, Shi Feng didn''t hold back either as he charged into the fight. With the Tomahawk Demon and Golden Giant serving as MTs, fighting the Tyrant''s Soul became very easy. Shi Feng was able to deal around -6,000 damage with his normal attacks, while his Skills dealt damage in the tens of thousands. Although his damage couldn''t compare to Anna and the two Tier 3 summoned creatures, who dealt hundreds of thousands of damage, he still helped to shave away the Tyrant''s Soul''s HP. Following which, the Tyrant''s Soul received a one-sided beating as its HP continued to drop. 98%... 95%... 90%... Eventually, the Tyrant''s Soul became thoroughly enraged and tried to summon its Saint Weapon, but despite chanting the incantation, the Saint Weapon was nowhere to be seen. As a result, it could only watch helplessly as its HP decreased. With its Basic Attributes heavily suppressed and unable to use its Spells and Skills, the Tyrant''s Soul was likely the most miserable Mythic monster in the game right now. Not even the system had expected Shi Feng to accomplish the near-impossible feat of collecting 100 Darkness Stones and acquire the Lost Town before dealing with the Extraordinary Tower''s Boss. However, as a result of Shi Feng''s unconventional way of acquiring the Lost Town, the Tyrant''s Soul couldn''t use its abilities. This was especially true for its Saint Weapon. If the Tyrant''s Soul were at its peak and had the aid of a Tier 5 Mana Weapon, not even the Tier 4 Valkyrie would be its match. One could just imagine how powerful the Tyrant''s Soul truly was. It was definitely invincible among those of the same level. Unfortunately, the Tyrant''s Soul couldn''t use its Skills or Spells, let alone summon its Saint Weapon. Although the Tyrant''s Soul had a maximum HP of 210,000,000 even after the suppression, its HP fell steadily under Shi Feng and his minions'' assault. 80%... 50%... 20%... Time passed quickly, and eventually, the Tyrant''s Soul''s HP fell to 20%. Due to the rough battle, the monster''s armor was now in tatters. However, despite losing most of its HP, the Tyrant''s Soul could only use normal attacks. It couldn''t even go berserk like normal monsters did after their HP reached a certain point. Finally, after over 30 minutes, the Tyrant''s Soul''s HP fell below the 1%. Shi Feng then activated Divine Providence and arrived beside the Mythic monster. His swords transformed into streaks of dazzling light that tore through the Tyrant''s Soul''s unguarded side. Flame Burst! Damages exceeding -60,000 appeared above the Tyrant''s Soul''s head, one after another. By the time Shi Feng had exhausted all of Flame Burst''s 16 attacks, the Tyrant''s Soul''s HP had reached zero. The Mythic monster released an agonizing scream before transforming into particles of light and disappearing. To Shi Feng''s disappointment, the Tyrant''s Soul had only dropped its dilapidated armor pieces and two items. However, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification after the Tyrant''s Soul had died, and when he heard its message, he was stunned. System: Congratulations! You have slain the Tyrant''s Soul. Rewarding a Town Building Order. 1705 Mana Equipment Se Chapter 1705 - Mana Equipment Set A Town Building Order? Shi Feng''s mind blanked for a moment when he saw the tattered parchment that had abruptly appeared in his hands. Town Building Orders were incredibly precious in God''s Domain. Normally, the item could only be obtained from securing the First Kill of a special Field Boss or Epic ranked or higher group quest. A Town Building Order was far more valuable than a captured town. This was because the Town Building Order granted players the freedom to build a town in almost any location they desired. They could even construct the town in a neutral map. This was where the Town Building Order truly shined. Neutral maps didn''t have teleportation points, and players had to rely on their own feet to reach these maps. Moreover, very few neutral maps contained towns or cities. In the case of the Orc Empire, capturable towns and cities had only appeared due to an expansion pack. Trying to find a premade town to capture in other neutral maps was a dream. Of course, the Orc Empire''s natural towns and cities had their flaws. They lacked some of the functions that normal Guild Towns and Cities possessed. For example, they couldn''t be promoted. Regardless of how well Guilds managed these towns and cities, they would remain at the same rank they started with. Meanwhile, the town constructed with a Town Building Order didn''t have such restrictions. It could be promoted into a city without issues. However, one had to pay a considerably higher price to use a Town Building Order in a neutral map. It would cost, at the very least, several, possibly dozens of times more than building a town within a kingdom or empire. This was because neutral maps were not considered safe areas. In fact, they were home to many races that were hostile to humans. Naturally, setting up a town in enemy land would be more costly. The higher-leveled the neutral map was, the more it would cost to construct a town there. Most importantly, Guild Towns and Cities in neutral maps would face frequent monster attacks. Surviving in these neutral maps would also be much harder than within a kingdom or empire''s borders. Hence, not all Guilds that had been lucky enough to find a Town Building Order had chosen to construct their towns in neutral maps. Rather, they lacked the ability and funds to build a town in a neutral map. Shi Feng had never expected to obtain a Town Building Order so soon in this life. Originally, he had planned to wait for the Guild''s main force to reach Level 60 before challenging a few special Field Bosses that he knew the locations of. But now, he had a Town Building Order ten levels earlier than expected. Forget it. It''s better to get one earlier than later. At most, I''ll just have to adjust my original plan. Shi Feng smiled before storing the Town Building Order. He then set his sights on the other items the Tyrant''s Soul had dropped while he had Anna and the Tier 3 Demon clean up the remaining monsters. As a Mythic monster, the Tyrant''s Soul should have dropped a lot of items. Yet, the Boss had a surprisingly low number. Including the tattered equipment the Tyrant''s Soul dropped, the Boss had only dropped six items. Shi Feng immediately picked up the tattered equipment pieces and inspected them. These equipment pieces had clearly existed for an extremely long time. Many areas of the pieces had fallen prey to corrosion. If they were tossed to the roadside, nobody would likely spare them a second glance. However, Shi Feng was instantly ecstatic after he inspected their Attribute Panels. Mana Equipment! As expected of the Extraordinary Tower''s Guardian Boss. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement as he gazed at the four tattered pieces of equipment before him. Mana Equipment was similar to Mana Weapons. Both were Consumables and could offer a significant boost to player''s combat power. Only, Mana Equipment was extremely difficult to produce, far more so than Mana Weapons. As a result, Mana Equipment was scarcer than Mana Weapons. Meanwhile, the four pieces of Mana Equipment before him made up a complete set. They were the hands, chest, legs, and boots of the Judgment Set, a Tier 2 Mana Equipment Set. Individually, these four pieces had the Basic Attributes to rival Epic Equipment. Only, they did not possess any Additional Skills. In return for their lack of Skills, though, the four-piece Judgment Set included two ridiculously strong set effects. Two-piece set effect: Mana Stimulation: Passively improves physique by 30% and reaction speed by 20%. Forms a Mana Shield around the wearer that weakens Spell effects by 50% and reduces physical damage received by 30%. Four-piece set effect: Light of Judgment: Stimulates the runes on every set piece at the cost of durability. When active, increases all Attributes by 800 points, Strength by 90%, Endurance by 60%, and Agility by 60%. Sustaining Light of Judgment reduces one durability point from every set piece each minute. The Mana Equipment Set''s Attributes rendered Shi Feng speechless. Although he had been a Guild Leader in the past, his Guild had only been a second-rate Guild. The information he had been able to get his hands on had been very limited. Although he had known that Mana Equipment was very powerful, he hadn''t realized exactly how powerful. Now that he had seen one of these set''s Attributes, he finally understood why Mana Equipment was so powerful. The Basic Attributes it provided could rival Epic Equipment of the same level, and when operating at maximum capacity, its buffs were even more impressive than a Berserk Skill. An 800-point increase to all Attributes was simply unimaginable for Tier 2 players. Both the Berserk Skills that players learned and those from equipment generally only boosted the player''s Basic Attributes. In other words, the higher a player''s Basic Attributes were, the more effective their Berserk Skills would be. Meanwhile, when Level 60, Tier 2 experts used a Berserk Skill, excluding the percentage buffs from weapons and equipment, they would generally gain around 1,300 to 1,500 points to their main Attribute. The boost to the other Basic Attributes was far smaller. Yet, Judgment of Light offered a fixed increase of 800 points to every Basic Attribute. That was the equivalent of a Level 60, Tier 2 expert gaining 50% or higher boost to their Attributes. After including the percentage buffs Judgment of Light provided, the player''s overall improvement would be terrifying. Shi Feng even suspected that he could gain as much Strength with Judgment of Light as he did from Heavenly Dragon''s Power, which was above average compared to other Berserk Skills. It was a pity that the Judgment Set was a class-specific set equipment and could only be used by Guardian Knights. If Cola equipped this set, he should even be able to tank Mythic monsters of the same level. Shi Feng began to fantasize as he examined the Judgment Set. If Cola wore the Judgment Set with his Titan Guard, he''d become the strongest MT in God''s Domain. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Mana Equipment Set and set his sights on the last two items the Tyrant''s Soul had dropped. One of them was an old key, while the other was a Tier 4 Magic Scroll. The Tier 4 Magic Scroll was a Tier 4 Domain Scroll, and the key would unlock the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest on the tower''s top floor. Since he had stolen some of the treasure chest''s contents during his last visit, the Tyrant''s Soul had learned its lesson and locked it, making it impossible for Shi Feng, or anyone for that matter, to steal any more items. Now that Shi Feng had the key, though, he could open the treasure chest and retrieve the remaining items. Previously, he hadn''t had much time to loot the treasure chest, and in the end, he had only claimed five items. However, every one of those five items could even invoke a Super Guild''s envy. Shi Feng and his minions then dealt with the remaining nine Wandering Souls and collected 15 pieces of Level 70 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment before he made his way to the tower''s top floor. The Magic Crystal Treasure Chest hadn''t moved from its original position. However, the chest now sported a massive, golden padlock. A single glance told Shi Feng had no hope of destroying the lock as he was now, but after using the key, he removed the lock in five seconds. Lifting the treasure chest''s lid, an aurora of light escaped, which was so dazzling that anyone could see it from anywhere in the Lost Town. Sure enough, this chest still has a lot of treasures. Shi Feng''s heart pounded with excitement as he looked at the six items inside the treasure chest. He immediately began to appraise them, one after another. Of the six items, three were Tier 2 Skill Books; one was a Tier 2 Taboo Skill for Assassins called Indiscriminate Killing, one was a Tier 2 Spell for Elementalists called Elemental Mirror, and one was a Tier 2 Passive Skill for Rangers called Precision Shooting. The other three items included a Tier 3 Mana Staff, a Magic Tower Design, and the last was the Guardian Puppet Design. It''s no wonder why the players and powers that obtained Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chests had never said a word about their harvests! So, this is why! Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he saw the Guardian Puppet Design. He had wondered what made the Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chests so special that almost no player or power had ever mentioned obtaining one during his previous life. None of the five items he had gained during his first visit were enough to tempt a Super Guild to put everything it had into obtaining one of these treasure chests. However, after taking a look at the Guardian Puppet Design, he understood. This Guardian Puppet Design alone was many times more valuable than every other item in the Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. It was so valuable that superpowers would wage an all-out war with each other to obtain it. 1706 Guild Treasure Chapter 1706 - Guild Treasure Looking at the Guardian Puppet Design in his hands, Shi Feng could not help but inhale deeply as he began scrutinizing it. In the past, Guardian Puppets were something exclusive to the various superpowers and an extreme few large Guilds. Every Guardian Puppet was treated as a priceless treasure and was the symbol of a Guild''s foundations. Almost nobody would choose to sell their Guardian Puppet unless absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, the ones that got sold had been furiously contested over by countless powers. The Guardian Puppet had been in great demand because it was ancient technology that had been lost in time. Without a proper design, players couldn''t replicate the technology since the production of the Guardian Puppet involved too many fields of study such as alchemy, forging, and engineering. Moreover, every subclass had to be at the Master rank at the very minimum. Only after gathering the Masters of these subclasses could players produce a Guardian Puppet. However, according to rumors, just the materials needed for one production attempt cost over 2,000 Goldfar more expensive than making a slightly below-average piece of Epic Equipment. The final cost for making the Guardian Puppet would simply be unimaginable. Meanwhile, the reason why the Guardian Puppet was so valuable was its frightening combat power. Even a Level 0 player could instantly become a monster-like existence with the help of the Guardian Puppet. It was a war weapon that no Epic item or even Fragmented Legendary item could compare to. To a Guild, the Guardian Puppet was a priceless treasure. In the past, there were some first-rate Guilds that dared to provoke even superpowers yet managed to live to tell the tale. The secret behind their survival was their possession of Guardian Puppets. Even an ordinary Guardian Puppet had the combat power of a Tier 3 existence. Meanwhile, the Guardian Puppet Design Shi Feng currently held in his hands was for Bronze ranked Guardian Puppets. The Bronze Guardian Puppet possessed strength at the peak of Tier 3, and any player controlling the puppet could wield this strength as if it was their own. Moreover, unlike summoned creatures, which would disappear after a certain duration, Guardian Puppets would not disappear unless destroyed. Regardless of how far players developed in God''s Domain, combat power at the peak of Tier 3 would never become obsolete, because many players could not even reach Tier 3. As expected of a Bronze Guardian Puppet. Just the materials needed for one production attempt cost over 3,000 Gold. Moreover, a Master Forger would only have a 30% success rate at completing the forging portion. The success of the final assembly isn''t even guaranteed. It''s no wonder the various superpowers treated their puppets like their own babies. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished as he looked at the list of required materials stated on the design. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found the price to be reasonable. The Bronze Guardian Puppet possessed combat power at the peak of Tier 3 and could be used indefinitely. If a Guild could produce several hundred of these puppets now, it would basically be invincible. After all, there was no level requirement for controlling a Guardian Puppet. The only limiting factor was one''s skillfulness at controlling the puppet. It seems there''s a need to place greater focus on Candlelight''s development. Shi Feng could not wait for the day Zero Wing could have its own Guardian Puppets. Although the materials needed to produce the Bronze Guardian Puppet were rare, aside from the main material, Fine Titan Ingot, the other materials could be collected in bulk relatively easily. The main problem was the requirement of various kinds of Lifestyle Masters. Without the necessary Lifestyle Masters, the odds of producing the Guardian Puppet were zero. If Zero Wing could mass-produce Bronze Guardian Puppets, whether it was in team battles or siege battles, they would become a formidable support since they dealt increased damage to magic arrays and buildings. Moreover, they were much more powerful than Tier 3 summoned creatures. Just as Shi Feng was figuring out ways to further improve the standards of Lifestyle players in the Candlelight Trading Firm, he suddenly received a call from Gentle Snow. "Guild Leader, I just received good news. Heaven''s Burial''s Singular Burial and Lei Jingyang fell out with each other. The Guild has already been disbanded. However, Singular Burial joined Blackwater with some of his trusted aides and Guild experts. Currently, Singular Burial is bringing his men to the Primordial Divine Ruin. By the looks of it, they plan on reaching Primordial City by relying on various resources Blackwater provided them," Gentle Snow said, smiling. Heaven''s Burial''s destruction was something she and the rest of Zero Wing''s upper echelon had anticipated. Only, they had not expected Heaven''s Burial to disband so quickly. Caught off guard, they had a hard time taking over the Shops located in the various cities Heaven''s Burial ruled before, many of which were snatched away by other Guilds. However, Heaven''s Burial''s sudden disbandment also saved Zero Wing plenty of trouble. At the very least, there was no longer any need to wage price wars with Heaven''s Burial''s Shops in Star-Moon Kingdom, nor was there any need to dispatch larger armies to capture Heaven''s Burial''s Guild Towns. "So, they''ve given up on Star-Moon Kingdom and are shifting their focus to Primordial City?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. Looking at Gentle Snow, he asked, "Have you gathered the necessary manpower yet?" "As you''ve requested, I personally contacted every one of the selected candidates and had them secretly gather at Zero Wing City. Currently, we''re just short by a few dozen people before we have the required number," Gentle Snow replied. "Good. Have them gather at Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. I''ll head over there myself right now. It''s about time we gave Beast Emperor and Singular Burial a little surprise," Shi Feng said with a nod before disconnecting the call. Even now, Gentle Snow still had no idea what Shi Feng intended to do by summoning 1,500 experts. However, she continued notifying the selected experts to gather at Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Meanwhile, after ending the call, Shi Feng spent 3,000 Gold to have the NPCs in the Lost Town construct a Guild Residence. At the same time, he hired 100 Level 150, Tier 2 NPC guards and 1,000 Level 150, Tier 1 NPC guards for town defense. With this, the town should have no problems fending off monster attacks in the short term. Once that was done, he took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to Zero Wing City''s Residence. After the heaven-defying battle at Stone Forest Town, the number of players visiting Zero Wing City each day had skyrocketed. Now, the city''s player population had already shot past the 4,000,000 mark. Just the entrance fees collected each day totaled roughly 22,000 Gold. Not to mention, there was still the income from Stone Forest Town, the Candlelight Trading Firm, and many other enterprises. Now that there was no longer any need to continue placing bounties on Heaven''s Burial''s members, all that income could be invested into the Guild''s development. Meanwhile, even after including the Guild''s various expenses such as providing Guild benefits and the Guild''s expansion, Zero Wing still saved up around 15,000 Gold per day. This income could make any first-rate Guild crazy with jealousy. For first-rate Guilds, just being able to get their Guild to operate normally was already a challenging task. Moreover, the Guild benefits they offered their members weren''t even comparable to Zero Wing''s. It would not be an exaggeration to say that no first-rate Guild in God''s Domain could compete with Zero Wing in terms of wealth. After returning to Zero Wing''s Residence, Shi Feng first went to the Guild Warehouse to retrieve some materials obtained from Team Dungeons and through trading with the various first-rate Guilds. Then, he started producing Magic Array Scrolls for the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array. Once he completed two sets, he took out the two remaining Elemental Sources from his bag and combined them with the Magic Array Scrolls. Suddenly, the two sets of Magic Array Scrolls started evolving. Originally, Divine Beast''s Descent was an Intermediate Magic Array, but after the fusion was completed, the magic arrays exuded an aura that was even more powerful than Advanced Magic Arrays. Following which, Shi Feng stored the two sets of Magic Array Scrolls and left for the Candlelight Trading Firm. By the time he arrived at Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm, Gentle Snow and the others were already waiting for him. Currently, the lounge on the second floor was filled with players, every one of whom was curiously wondering why their Vice Guild Leaders had gathered them here today. However, when they saw Shi Feng, who was currently disguised as Black Flame, enter the lounge, the entire room suddenly fell silent. "Guild Leader?" "Why is the Guild Leader here? Were we gathered here today under the Guild Leader''s orders?" Everyone in the lounge could not help but discuss Shi Feng''s sudden appearance, excited expressions on their faces. "I believe you all must''ve heard that our brothers stationed over at the Primordial Divine Ruin have been surrounded and killed by Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. In fact, Beast Emperor, the person controlling those monsters, has even announced that Zero Wing''s members are forbidden from setting foot into the Primordial Divine Ruin, and any who dare do so will be killed without question. "Although that place isn''t our Guild''s territory, I feel that we should still make a response. Hence, I have gathered you all here today so that we can prepare a surprise for Beast Emperor and his allies! We are going to destroy every Evil Beast and Evil Demon present near the Primordial Divine Ruin! We will let the various major powers know that Zero Wing is not a pushover!" When Shi Feng was done speaking, gasps filled the entire venue. Even Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, who stood beside Shi Feng, could not help but turn to look at their Guild Leader, both of them thinking that Shi Feng had lost his mind. Destroy every Evil Beast and Evil Demon present near the Primordial Divine Ruin? How can such a feat possibly be accomplished? 1707 Tier 2 Legion Chapter 1707 - Tier 2 Legion The silence persisted for a short moment before a commotion erupted inside the lounge. Everyone felt that Shi Feng''s intentions were too crazy. Setting aside how many Evil Beasts and Evil Demons were present around the Primordial Divine Ruin, just the Mythic Evil Beasts and Mythic Evil Demons there would be more than enough to annihilate their team of 1,500 players. Not to mention, they were attacking in enemy territory, which meant plenty of enemy reinforcements. "I''m sure you all are worried and afraid. If you feel that you are not up to it, you may leave. I won''t force any of you to take part in this operation. After all, the operation this time is indeed very dangerous. If you wish to take part in it, though, come to me to register. Note that you will also have to sign a confidentiality contract to take part in this operation," Shi Feng said in a calm tone after carefully observing everyone present. The reason why Zero Wing was contesting with other Guilds over various resources was to provide its members with better benefits. Meanwhile, the majority of the resources obtained would go to elite and core members of the Guild. If the Guild''s core members were not even willing to put themselves at risk for the Guild, then when the Guild faced greater pressure in the future, nobody would know what kind of actions these core members would take. Thus, there was naturally no need for the Guild to continue nurturing such ungrateful core members. Previously, when Zero Wing was still in its infancy, he could tolerate feeding the Guild''s elite and expert members without asking much in return. However, now that Zero Wing was no longer in its infancy and had already stepped onto the path of becoming a superpower, the Guild would need much more resources than before to continue developing. His latest acquisition, the Lost Town, only made the Guild even more desperate for resources. Now, he could neither afford nor tolerate having freeloaders in his Guild. Hence, there was a serious need to adjust the way the Guild operated. The first thing he was going to change was how benefits were offered to Guild members. A Guild member''s contribution would now also be an important criterion in deciding what kind of benefits they would receive; strength was no longer the only determining factor. The more a person contributed to the Guild, the more returns they would receive. In the past, many large Guilds had failed to pay attention to this aspect and simply focused on recruiting strong players without bothering with whether those players were truly loyal to the Guild or not. As a result, when the Guild faced an insurmountable foe, it crumbled even before the battle had begun. In contrast, some small Guilds with average strength were able to unite their members to fight against first-rate Guilds and maintain a considerably large territory for themselves. Shi Feng planned to institute the changes starting with this operation. After he was done speaking, everyone present fell into a daze for a while. At this time, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and the other core members in the upper echelon of the Guild quickly realized what Shi Feng was trying to do. Hence, they kept their mouths shut and quietly watched from the sides. "We''ll definitely get ourselves killed by going over there." "Wonderful! I''ve been itching to let those bastards know Zero Wing''s amazingness!" "Guild Leader, just give us our orders!" For a time, everyone present discussed among themselves. The members of the Guild''s main force then went up to Shi Feng to register. Only a small number of players that were recently promoted into Dark Gods members hesitated over their decision. After the registration process continued for around a dozen minutes, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. Of the 1,500 players they gathered, over 1,400 had registered to join the operation with only several dozen players declining. However, this situation also served as a stern reminder to the two of them. The players they had gathered here today were all experts who they believed were trustworthy, yet there were still some people that had betrayed their expectations. If they were to conduct such a test for the other expert and elite members, the percentage of those who would abandon the Guild during its time of need would most likely be much higher. Meanwhile, many more expert and elite players would be joining the Guild in the future. There are over 1,400 people remaining? Shi Feng was quite satisfied with this outcome, which could also be considered the result of the past few selections Zero Wing had conducted. Not to mention, most of the members that chose to abstain from the operation this time were mainly recent recruits. Following which, he turned to look at Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow and said quietly, "From today onward, start restructuring the Guild ranks. Regardless if one is an expert member or an elite member, their positions are not fixed. If members fail to obtain a sufficient number of Guild Achievements and Guild Contribution Points corresponding to their rank each month, they''ll be demoted by a rank. I don''t care how strong they are; they can be demoted all the way to a Guild reserve member and eventually kicked out of the Guild." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose nodded in agreement, both of them thinking that it was about time for them to make new Guild regulations. After all, the current Zero Wing was no longer the same Zero Wing as before. Previously, as Zero Wing was lacking manpower and was constantly waging war with other Guilds, they had no choice but to offer excellent and tempting benefits with lax conditions in order to keep the Guild alive. In contrast, first-rate Guilds got to develop in a stable environment for long periods. Not only were their rules and regulations clearly defined, but their contribution and achievement systems were also perfected. This allowed them to prevent freeloaders from appearing in their Guilds. After everyone signed the confidentiality contract, Shi Feng distributed Tier 2 Mana Weapons to all the Tier 1 players present. As for Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and the other Tier 2 experts there, Shi Feng handed them Tier 3 Mana Weapons. This situation stupefied Shadow Sword, who currently wielded the Tier 3 Mana Weapon Edgeless Blade. He had experienced the strength of a Tier 3 Mana Weapon for himself. Even if he simply wielded the weapon normally, he could exert power at the Tier 3 standard. If he pushed the weapon to its maximum potential, then he was basically an unstoppable god of slaughter. Meanwhile, for the operation this time, a total of twelve Tier 2 players would be taking part in it, yet Shi Feng had actually given every one of them a Tier 3 Mana Weapon. Shadow Sword found this situation to be simply incredible. However, the most frightening matter would still have to be the fact that every one of the Tier 1 experts present received a Tier 2 Mana Weapon. That was over 1,400 players they were talking about! In other words, at this moment, Zero Wing had essentially gained an additional 1,400-plus Tier 2 experts. With the correct conditions, a 100-man team of Tier 2 experts could definitely raid a Mythic Boss of the same level. Meanwhile, like Shadow Sword, after Aqua Rose and the others took a look at the Attributes of their respective Tier 3 Mana Weapons, they were similarly dumbfounded. "Guild Leader, did you raid the armory of a kingdom? We won''t get hunted by some kingdom''s army, right?" Blackie could not help but gulp nervously as he looked at the Tier 3 Mana Staff he held, which completely surpassed his Epic ranked staff in terms of raw power. The other Tier 2 experts nodded their heads, seconding Blackie''s words. They never thought that their Guild actually possessed such a hidden hand. Even those in the upper echelon like themselves were utterly clueless about this. Just by holding the Tier 3 Mana Weapons, they could feel that their combat power had increased drastically. At the very least, the raw power of their attacks should be at the Tier 3 standard already. Although they did not possess the physique and Skills of a Tier 3 player, they were still confident that, unless their opponent was fully geared in Epic Equipment, they could easily stomp on any Tier 2 expert right now. At this moment, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow finally understood why Shi Feng would try to annihilate the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons around the Primordial Divine Ruin with such a small number of players. With so many experts boasting Tier 2 and Tier 3 combat power, they indeed possessed the qualifications to go up against the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts near the Primordial Divine Ruin. While everyone was reeling from receiving the Mana Weapons, Shi Feng took out four pieces of equipment and handed them to Cola. Originally, Cola wanted to say that his equipment was plenty excellent already and that there was no need for a replacement. However, once he inspected what Shi Feng gave him, his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Without hesitation, he removed the Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment he was wearing and replaced them with the Mana Equipment Set from Shi Feng. The moment Cola equipped the Mana Equipment Set, the feeling he gave off transformed abruptly. Right now, Cola''s aura gave even Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow intense pressure. Not to mention, the Mana in the room was also surging toward him. Just standing beside the Guardian Knight felt stifling. "Guild Leader, what kind of equipment did you give Cola? Did you give him four pieces of Epic Equipment?" Gentle Snow asked curiously. At this moment, she could clearly feel that her Attributes were inferior to Cola''s. However, she currently had a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment equipped, so it was simply unbelievable that Cola''s Basic Attributes would be superior to hers. The only explanation she could think of for such a difference was that Cola had just equipped four pieces of Epic Equipment. "No. It''s Tier 2 Mana Equipment Set. It''s something similar to the Mana Weapons you all are using," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. He then turned to Cola and asked, "How does it feel after you''ve equipped it?" "Guild Leader, this set is simply insane! I feel that I can tank even a Mythic Boss right now!" Cola''s eyes glowed with excitement as he looked at the four silvery pieces of equipment on him. When the surrounding crowd heard Cola''s words, they could not help but gasp. From Cola''s expression, they could tell that the Guardian Knight was not joking at all. However, realizing this only served to shock them even more. Four pieces of Mana Equipment were actually enough to create an MT capable of tanking a Mythic Boss of the same level. This situation was simply too frightening. "Relax. You''ll have plenty of chances to show off later on," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Following which, Shi Feng had Aqua Rose recruit 176 trustworthy Summoners from the Guild''s elite members for the upcoming operation and had them sign confidentiality contracts as well. "Move out! Our target is the Primordial Divine Ruin! It''s about time we let our enemies pay the price of blood!" Shi Feng commanded after seeing that everyone had gathered. 1708 Miraculous Hun Chapter 1708 - Miraculous Hunt Zero Wing City, Four Towers of Elements: Due to Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function, the number of players that gathered at the Four Towers of Elements increased with each passing day. Many among them belonged to the various adventurer teams and large Guilds. This was because teleporting through the Four Towers of Elements was the fastest way for players to reach the Orc Empire. Using this function, players could save up on over ten hours of mounted travel time when traveling to the Orc Empire. Aside from being able to teleport into the Orc Empire, players could teleport to leveling maps around Zero Wing City. Although these leveling maps weren''t high-resource maps, the easy travel method still made these maps attractive. Because of this, the Four Towers of Elements weren''t any less lively than the city''s central district even though they stood at the edges of Zero Wing City, far from most of the city''s attractions. Quite a few player Shops had also risen around the towers. Among these player Shops stood the Purple Pavilion Trading Firm, a trading firm Shi Feng had been quite familiar with during his previous life. This trading firm was run by none other than Susie, one of Shi Feng''s old friends in the past. The Purple Pavilion Trading Firm''s business was doing considerably well, and many adventurer teams'' players purchased items from its Shop. "Guild Leader, is there a problem with that Shop?" Gentle Snow asked curiously when she noticed Shi Feng staring at the Purple Pavilion Trading Firm. "The Purple Pavilion Trading Firm?" Following Shi Feng''s gaze, Aqua Rose said, "Based on our information, the trading firm is quite impressive. Its owner had rented a Shop here before we had even revealed the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function. The Purple Pavilion''s owner also has amazing connections and offers many specialty products from other countries. The Purple Pavilion Trading Firm has used this opportunity to partner with quite a few well-known adventurer teams and purchase various rare materials from them at below-market price. "Right now, excluding the trading firms operated by the various large Guilds, the Purple Pavilion Trading Firm ranks among the top five in Zero Wing City. However, based on our investigations, Purple Pavilion doesn''t have a powerful backer. As a result, certain major trading firms have begun to take action against Purple Pavilion in secret." When Gentle Snow and the others heard Aqua Rose''s explanation, they could not help but view the Purple Pavilion Trading Firm''s owner in a new light. In God''s Domain, the competition between trading firms was just as intense as that between Guilds. In fact, the competition between trading firms was far more intense. This was because Guilds weren''t the only ones operating trading firms in God''s Domain. Some independent players and adventurer teams had their own trading firms to earn more resources and Coins, funding their personal development. Hence, God''s Domain had more trading firms than Guilds. Thriving in such a competitive environment without a powerful backer was extremely difficult. The fact that the Purple Pavilion Trading Firm''s Shop ranked among the top five Shops operated by non-Guild entities in Zero Wing City proved how amazing it was. "Aqua, have someone give the various Shops in Zero Wing City a warning. I don''t care what they do elsewhere, but nobody is allowed to play dirty in Zero Wing''s towns and cities. If they''re caught doing so, they should prepare to face the consequences," Shi Feng quietly instructed, glancing at some of the players on the street who were clearly stalking the Purple Pavilion Trading Firm. Part of the development of Guild Towns and Cities relied on the development of the Shops in them. If Zero Wing couldn''t provide sufficient security and fair competition for the independent merchant players in its towns and cities, these players would eventually refuse to conduct their business in Zero Wing''s territories. "Understood." Aqua Rose nodded. She immediately arranged for some of her subordinates to warn the various player-operated Shops in Zero Wing City. After dealing with this matter, Shi Feng and the others split into multiple groups and teleported to the Orc Empire''s border at intervals. For this operation, Shi Feng didn''t just have his team members sign the confidentiality contract to keep their mouths shut about the Mana Weapons to avoid attracting other Guilds'' attentions. It also forced them to keep the operation itself a secret. Although this method didn''t stop spies from simply logging out of the game and notifying their employers, Zero Wing would discover anyone who violated the contract the moment they logged out since these players had been invited at the same time. Unless these spies wanted to blow their cover and lose all of their progress in the game thus far, they wouldn''t dare log out. After arriving in the Orc Empire, everyone gathered in a predetermined location. Once Shi Feng ensured that his team had arrived safely, he had them saddle up and make their way towards the Primordial Divine Ruin. Each of these players was either an elite or expert in Zero Wing, so they all had their own Guild Mounts. A legion of majestic Thunder Wolves quickly traversed the Orc Empire''s barren lands, and as it passed, the areas it left behind looked as if they had been ravaged by a powerful storm. However, even amongst this legion of majestic beasts, Shi Feng''s Demonic Flame Tiger stood out like a sore thumb. Although the Demonic Flame Tiger had shrunk to three meters in height after its evolution, eye-catching, pitch-black flames and arcs of silver electricity danced along its paws. The Demonic Flame Tiger also radiated an aura that rivaled that of a High Lord. It was difficult not to notice the beast. When other players encountered Zero Wing''s legion, they grew nervous. This was because the Orcs in the Orc Empire also rode gigantic battle wolves and battle tigers. At first, these players assumed that the Orc Empire''s armies had ambushed them, and they had nearly turned and fled. However, after getting a closer look, they realized that the Mount''s riders were human, not robust Orcs. Seeing this, they relaxed and sighed with relief. "Crap! Who are those people?! Almost all of them are using the same type of Mount!" "Don''t they look like Zero Wing''s Thunder Wolves? Those Thunder Wolves are seriously cool. I wish I had one." "Zero Wing? That shouldn''t be possible. Those players are heading toward the Primordial Divine Ruin, which is surrounded by Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. If they are Zero Wing''s members, aren''t they just heading towards their deaths?" "Could Zero Wing be trying to force their way into the ruin?" "That''s impossible, right? There are more than 100,000 Evil Beasts and Evil Demons at the ruin. They''d even wipe out an army of several thousand experts in the blink of an eye. If not for that Beast Emperor wanting to avoid provoking every major power in the Orc Empire, he could easily stop anyone from entering the Primordial Divine Ruin with his monster army." "Zero Wing shouldn''t be underestimated, either. The Guild had already defeated Heaven''s Burial''s Evil Demon army. I''ve watched the recordings of that battle. Zero Wing had even faced-down Mythic ranked Evil Beast and Demons." "Didn''t you see Zero Wing summon those Mythic monsters? There''s no way Zero Wing can summon such powerful monsters again easily." The players that noticed Zero Wing''s force discussed the Guild''s actions heatedly. News that Zero Wing had dispatched a force to the Primordial Divine Ruin quickly spread. After all, it would be difficult for such a powerful army to avoid notice for long. Soon, the various major powers waiting to enter the Primordial Divine Ruin began to discuss the matter as well. "Zero Wing is taking action so soon?" "Is Zero Wing insane? Don''t they know that there are over 100,000 Evil Demons and Evil Beasts guarding the Primordial Divine Ruin?" Zero Wing''s actions confused all of the various large Guilds'' upper echelons. "Brother Singular, like Beast Emperor has said, Zero Wing really couldn''t hold back and has come running to us on its own. This is a good opportunity for us to take our revenge," Falling Fire said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he read the report his subordinate just sent him. "We only lost because we didn''t fully understand Zero Wing and fought them on their home turf. However, our battlefield will be set in the Orc Empire this time. We also have eight Mythic monsters under our command. Even if Zero Wing can summon more of those High Demons to suppress our Mythic monsters, we''ll have plenty of Grand Lords and Great Lords to spare. We can annihilate this Zero Wing forces!" "Zero Wing!" Singular Burial gnashed his teeth in anger when he heard the mention of the Guild. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he growled, "I won''t let any of your members return alive this time!" Zero Wing had thoroughly destroyed Heaven''s Burial in their last battle. All of the time and effort he had invested in his Guild''s development had gone to waste, just like that. Now, hatred for Zero Wing consumed his thoughts. The Evil Demons and Evil Beasts encircling the Primordial Divine Ruin were a suggestion he had made to Beast Emperor. He had done so to cause as much trouble for Zero Wing as possible, impeding the Guild''s development. As soon as Singular Burial finished speaking, a spatial gate opened above him. Once the spatial gate opened fully, cloaked figures atop Mounts jumped out, one after another. When these cloaked figures landed, everyone recognized the Mounts as Zero Wing''s Thunder Wolves. "What''s going on?" "Zero Wing''s members actually dare to charge straight into the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts'' encirclement? Are they seeking death?" Everyone gaped at Zero Wing''s members when they realized who had emerged from the spatial gate. They had assumed that Zero Wing was simply putting up a strong front by marching into the Orc Empire. Even if Zero Wing truly intended to take action, the Guild would employ hit-and-run tactics and target small groups of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons at most. However, the fact that Zero Wing''s members had jumped straight into their enemy''s ranks via a spatial gate left them utterly baffled. Before anyone could react, Shi Feng''s gaze shifted toward the nearby Blackwater members. "Kill them!" 1709 Might of One Hi Chapter 1709 - Might of One Hit Zero Wing''s sudden appearance had shocked the players at the Primordial Divine Ruin. Shi Feng''s command to attack Blackwater''s members only intensified their surprise. "This is crazy! Zero Wing must be insane! They''ve actually barged into the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts'' encirclement to attack Blackwater?!" The members from the various major powers and adventurer teams were stupefied as they watched Zero Wing''s members charge into Blackwaters'' on their Mounts. At a glance, it was clear that Zero Wing had dispatched less than 2,000 members to the Primordial Divine Ruin. Even if all of them were experts, Blackwater''s forces weren''t to be trifled with. Although Blackwater had recently suffered a major loss, it had recruited many of Heaven''s Burial''s expert and elite members. The Guild had sent 4,000 experts and 6,000 elites to the ruin this time, and the lowest-leveled among them was Level 49. Every one of these 10,000 players also wore top-tier equipment. An army of fewer than 2,000 experts stood no chance against Blackwater''s forces. Moreover, the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts currently surrounded the Primordial Divine Ruin. It wouldn''t be long before these monsters arrived to support Blackwater''s army. Zero Wing would have more opponents than just Blackwater''s army. They would have to face 100,000-plus monsters as well. While the various large Guilds wondered why Zero Wing had enacted such a ludicrous plan, the Guild''s mounted forces had almost reached Blackwater''s members. "Bastards!" Falling Fire cursed as he commanded his players to fall into formation. Fortunately, the players Blackwater had dispatched to raid the Primordial Divine Ruin were all well-trained, and the 10,000-man army quickly took up arms. The 500-plus Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights formed two rows at the front, raising their shields as they prepared to stop their enemy''s advance. Meanwhile, the Clerics, Oracles, and Druids at the rear of the army began to cast their buffs on the army''s MTs. Now, the two human walls formed between the army and Zero Wing''s members could even stop dozens of Great Lords of the same level, not to mention charging players. Meanwhile, the ranged forces between the Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights began to cast their offensive Spells. Blackwater''s army had far better reaction speed, combat standards, and far more combat experience than the various adventurer teams who fought others in the fields. The entire army moved as one, utterly organized. However, the Berserkers leading Zero Wing''s charge paid the blockade before them little heed. They didn''t even bother to wait for their own Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights to catch up as they plowed into Blackwater''s formation. The moment before Zero Wing''s 100-plus Berserkers clashed with Blackwater''s MTs, a hint of excitement could be seen flashing in their eyes as they tightened their grips on their weapons. Suddenly, silver runes began to form on their weapons, and the ambient Mana gathered around the Berserker''s weapons. Without hesitation, the Berserkers swung their weapons at the massive shields before them. Boom Boom Boom A series of loud explosions echoed throughout the area as the Berserkers struck the enemy shields. "Impossible!" When Blackwater''s MTs received the Berserker''s attacks, they felt as if they had been hit by a truck. Not only did their shields tremble violently and their arms go numb, but they were also forced to take two or three steps back before they could stabilize themselves. However, before these MTs could regain their postures, Zero Wing''s Berserkers swung their weapons again, forcing these MTs backward once more. After three consecutive attacks, Zero Wing''s Berserkers had broken holes in Blackwater''s defensive line. The Berserkers then dashed toward the ranged players like frenzied beasts. "Zero Wing broke through?" The various major powers watching from a distance could not help but gape at the scene. Just 100-plus Berserkers had torn apart two defensive lines formed by over 500 Level 49-plus Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. The clash between these melee players had lasted less than two seconds. It was as if Blackwater''s Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights were made of paper and could barely take a hit. However, the players from these major powers knew that Blackwater''s MTs all wore excellent equipment. The weakest piece they''d have on them would be Level 45 Fine-Gold rank. MTs of such caliber could easily join the various large Guilds'' main forces. As for their combat standards, they were all elite and expert players. A blockade of such powerful MTs shouldn''t have a problem fending off a charge of dozens of Great Lords of the same level, yet it had shattered when assaulted by Zero Wing''s 100-plus Berserkers. No matter how they looked at the situation, they simply could not bring themselves to believe it. What these players didn''t know was that although these Zero Wing Berserkers were only Tier 1 players, they could unleash Tier 3 power when they maxed out the Tier 2 Mana Weapons in their hands. Blackwater''s defensive lines might be able to stop several dozen Great Lords of the same level, but it definitely couldn''t stop the combined charge of over a 100 Great Lords. "Melee units, stop them! Do not let them reached our ranged unit!" Falling Fire hurriedly commanded when he noticed Zero Wing''s Berserkers approach. However, before Falling Fire could even finish his words, one melee fighter from Blackwater after another was thrown into the air. Even when Blackwater''s Level 50 Berserkers tried to stop Zero Wing''s Berserkers, the latter easily pushed them back. They lost a significant amount of HP when they crossed blades with Zero Wing''s Berserkers. After repulsing Blackwater''s melee players, Zero Wing''s Berserkers charged toward Blackwater''s ranged force like a sharpened sword. The Berserkers blocked the incoming ranged attacks with little-to-no effort. In contrast to Blackwater''s pitiful ranged attacks, the attacks Zero Wing''s several hundred ranged players launched were basically unstoppable. When Blackwater''s MTs tried to block these incoming attacks with their shields, their defensive postures shattered under a single blow, rendering them helpless against the following ranged attacks. Every ranged attack that struck an MT directly dealt over -20,000 damage, and Zero Wing''s players only needed three ranged strikes to kill a Blackwater MT. Blackwater''s healers hadn''t even had enough time to save their allies. The difference between each side''s healers was jaw-dropping. When Blackwater''s healers cast Healing Spells with one- or two-second channeling times, the Spells would restore around 10,000 of the target''s HP. In contrast, when Zero Wing''s healers used the same Healing Spells, their targets recovered nearly 20,000 HP. Meanwhile, Blackwater''s ranged classes only dealt around -10,000 HP when they struck Zero Wing''s Berserkers on a direct hit, and the best among them only dealt around -13,000 damage. Zero Wing''s healers could easily restore whatever HP their Berserkers lost. The difference between the two forces was clear for all to see after the battle continued for a short moment. Like a group of ferocious beasts, Zero Wing''s members devoured the lives of Blackwater''s players, forcing Blackwater to retreat, again and again, as the army began to show signs of crumbling. The spectating crowd was dumbfounded. No matter how they thought about it, Blackwater should''ve had the upper hand, yet Zero Wing had an absolute advantage over its army. This didn''t look like an actual battle; it was more of a one-sided beating. Zero Wing and Blackwater''s strength simply weren''t on the same level. "So, this is the power of Mana Weapons?" Gentle Snow, who commanded the battle from the rear, was indescribably shocked as she watched her players devour Blackwater''s forces. They were too strong. Although the Branch Guild she commanded in the Black Dragon Empire hadn''t experienced as many battles as the main branch in Star-Moon Kingdom, her Guild had plenty of experience in combat involving thousands of players. Hence, she knew that such a large-scale battle wouldn''t reach a conclusion quickly. At the very least, the battle would last 15 to 30 minutes before anyone could tell which side had the upper hand. Yet, not even one minute had passed since the battle between Zero Wing and Blackwater had begun. However, even an ordinary player could see that Blackwater had no hope of winning this fight. At this rate, Zero Wing wouldn''t even need ten minutes to annihilate Blackwater''s 10,000 players. Only Shi Feng knew how typical this battle''s outcome was. Blackwater''s players weren''t fighting 1,400-plus Tier 1 players, but a force of 1,400-plus Tier 2 experts. With so many Tier 2 experts, Zero Wing could even wipe out an army of 30,000 Tier 1 players without trouble, much less a force of 10,000. This was the difference between tiers. Silence fell over the Primordial Divine Ruin as players witnessed Zero Wing''s overwhelming power. Even the spectating superpowers wore somber expressions as they watched the massacre before them. "Black Flame! Do you really think that this is the only force I''ve prepared for the Primordial Divine Ruin?! Pay for your foolishness!" As Singular Burial watched Blackwater''s army slide backward, he showed neither surprise nor fear, simply revealing an arrogant sneer. He then turned to the cloaked, bandaged man beside him and snapped, "Flame Blood, it''s time for you to take action!" Nodding in response, Flame Blood immediately took a gray crystal ball from his bag and began to chant an incantation. He wasn''t within a kingdom or empire right now, so it didn''t matter if he revealed his identity as an Evil God''s Temple player since there weren''t any NPCs around to hunt him down. Suddenly, clouds of pitch-black fog started to emerge from the crystal ball. The fog rapidly transformed into the figures of 10 Evil Demons. These summoned Evil Demons were all Level 70 Grand Lords, which he had actually prepared for the Guardian Boss on the ruin''s fourth floor. Under Flame Blood''s command, the ten Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons charged at Zero Wing''s army. Just before they reached Zero Wing''s frontline and could swing down their massive claws, a figure appeared before them. This figure was none other than Shadow Sword. "Scram!" Shadow Sword tightened his grip on the Edgeless Blade and executed a sweeping slash with the rune-covered greatsword. Tier 2 Skill, Bladestorm! A silver storm engulfed ten Evil Demons, sending them flying over a dozen yards away. When the monsters crashed into the ground, a damage of over -200,000 appeared above each of their heads 1710 Gathering Place of Experts Chapter 1710 - Gathering Place of Experts After Shadow Sword''s first attack, he used Charge, accelerating toward the nearest Evil Demon as it was standing back up. When he got close to his target, Shadow Sword raised his greatsword high. Once again, silver divine runes lit up along the Edgeless Blade''s body. Shadow Sword then executed Blade of Waves, one of the Sea God''s Apostle class''s Tier 2 Legacy Skills. Blade of Waves was also the most powerful Tier 2 Legacy Skill he had learned. Currents of blue Mana circled the Edgeless Blade. When Shadow Sword swung his greatsword at the Evil Demon before him, the Mana Weapon transformed into a 40-yard-long blade of water. Players in the distance only saw a dark-blue horizontal wall suddenly bisect the battlefield. -513,842! A frightening amount of damage appeared above the Evil Demon''s head when the water blade cut through its body. The blade also slammed into other players, and whether they wore plate armor or cloth, all of their HPs plummeted to zero. Their cleaved bodies then transformed into particles of light and disappeared from the battlefield. After the attack, the Evil Demon that took the hit fell into a heavily injured state, is combat power drastically decreasing. The surrounding Blackwater members expressed their shock and terror when they saw this. Strong! Too strong! Not only had Shadow Sword repelled ten Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons with one attack, but his follow-up attack had also heavily injured one Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon and killed over a dozen players. Even Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights had died instantly "How is he so powerful?" Confusion filled the experts from the various major powers as they watched Shadow Sword from a distance. Even if Shadow Sword were a Tier 2 Berserker and had used a Berserk Skill, his damage should not have been so frightening. He should''ve been lucky to hold his ground against a Grand Lord ranked Evil Demon, yet even without activating a Berserk Skill, Shadow Sword had heavily injured the Grand Lord. This utterly destroyed their understanding of Tier 2 classes'' combat power. "Damn it! Flame, split the other Evil Demons up and have them attack independently!" Singular Burial commanded once he saw that the Evil Demons were no match for Shadow Sword. They had summoned ten Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, and although they were no match for Shadow Sword, the Berserker couldn''t stop them all if they split up. The Evil Demons Shadow Sword didn''t target could continue to slaughter Zero Wing''s members. Hearing Singular Burial''s command, Flame Blood had the other nine Evil Demons circle Shadow Sword. However, as these Evil Demons began to move, Cola landed between three of them and used Justice Roar, forcing all three to focus on him and no one else. The three taunted Evil Demons immediately brandished their claws at Cola. Seeing this, Cola grinned as he raised the one-handed axe in his right hand. Like Shadow Sword''s Edgeless Blade, silver runes illuminated the weapon. Taking a step forward, Cola used Holy Slash. A silver flash sliced at the three Evil Demons'' extended claws. The moment Cola''s axe met the monsters'' claws, the Evil Demons felt as if a current of electricity shot through them, leaving their arms numb. All three Evil Demons were forced to retreat by several steps, and the difference between their Strength and Cola''s was obvious at a glance. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Flying Shadow, Ye Wumian, Turtledove, and Rampant Blade suppressed the other six Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons. The six Tier 2 players halted the Evil Demons'' advance, preventing the monsters from targeting Zero Wing''s Tier 1 players. The spectating powers were stunned to see all ten Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons suppressed. "Who are these people?" The various major powers and adventurer teams'' members were curious and awed as they watched Shadow Sword and his companions. They immediately began to look into the identities of these Tier 2 players from Zero Wing. The various large Guilds and adventurer teams present were no strangers to Grand Lord ranked monsters, but they usually needed 100-man teams to raid such monsters. Yet, Shadow Sword and the others actually soloed the Evil Demons. Moreover, they had the upper hand in the battle. This was simply unbelievable. The moment these various powers received their investigations'' results, they were flabbergasted. Aside from Gentle Snow, the other Tier 2 players were practically unknown in God''s Domain. Although these players had shown up in Zero Wing''s past battles, none of them had ever displayed such frightening power. Because of this, the players from these major powers and adventurer teams began to wonder if Shadow Sword and the others had deliberately hidden their strength all this time. But after today, there was no doubt that these players would become famous in God''s Domain. Their performance today was simply too shocking! While Shadow Sword and the other Tier 2 players suppressed the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons, Zero Wing''s other members were free to slaughter Blackwater''s players without worry. Aqua Rose, Blackie, Violet Cloud, and Alluring Summer, in particular, struck like humanoid Defense Turrets. All four of them wielded Tier 3 Mana Staffs, which allowed their Spells'' power to rival Tier 3 Spells. Against Tier 1 players, these Spells were one-shot, one-kill attacks. Not even blocking these Spells could save the targeted players. When the four used AOE Spells, each of their attacks could slay dozens of players. Of those present, only Blackwater''s Tier 2 experts barely survived Aqua Rose and the others'' attacks. However, none of them could approach the four casters, either, since doing so would be suicidal. As he watched the one-sided battle, Singular Burial''s complexion turned ashen, and the corner of his eyes twitched. He had visited the Primordial Divine Ruin this time with his closest aides and experts that had originally belonged to Heaven''s Burial. These players were supposed to serve as the foundation of his rise through Blackwater. Now that Zero Wing''s members had massacred his subordinates, his chances of rising in his new Guild had significantly decreased. Although he wanted to do something to stop the massacre, he had enough trouble with the Level 50 youth before him. No matter how he struggled, he couldn''t get past the youth''s defense. To make matters worse, his opponent was only a Tier 1 Berserker, while he was a bona fide Tier 2 Ranger. Yet, the Berserker''s Tier 1 Skills had actually repelled his Tier 2 Skills This maddened Singular Burial. On the other hand, You Ziping, also known as Silent Blade, grew increasingly excited as he fought Singular Burial. He had never felt this wonderful before. The combination of a Tier 2 Mana Weapon and the Level 50 Magic Light Set had granted him an absolute advantage in Basic Attributes over his opponent. From time to time, he even caught Singular Burial by surprised when he used his Mana Weapon''s ability. In addition, through his battle with Singular Burial, someone who had entered the Refinement Realm long ago, You Ziping was able to recognize many of his flaws. If not for his advantage in Basic Attributes and Tier 2 Mana Weapon, the enemy Ranger would''ve likely killed him already. "Guild Leader, these people from Zero Wing are too powerful. At this rate, we''ll be wiped out before the Evil Beast army arrives," Daybreak Fog, who was similarly entangled in a fierce battle, told Singular Burial anxiously through a private chat. Hearing Daybreak Fog''s worry, Singular Burial glanced at Blackwater''s members, who were continuously slaughtered. Suddenly, a sense of helplessness doused the killing intent burning in his heart. However, just as Singular Burial was about to respond, he noticed a black figure weaving across the battlefield and killing Blackwater''s experts with inhuman speed. The figure moved so quickly that by the time Blackwater''s experts noticed someone before them, a blue flash filled their vision. Once the blue flash disappeared, the targeted experts collapsed lifelessly to the ground. "Black Flame!" Singular Burial bellowed with rage, a gut-twisting envy filling his heart as he watched the rapidly moving black figure. Zero Wing was clearly a Guild that had been established without a background or backers, yet the Guild had gained one powerful expert after another. Fire Dance, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Cola, Violet Cloud, Alluring Summer Even Super Guilds sought to recruit these experts, yet they had gathered in Zero Wing. Moreover, the unknown Berserker youth before him also possessed immense talent. Singular Burial could not understand why so many obscure experts had gathered in Zero Wing, yet he had failed to recruit even one such expert for himself. While Singular Burial screamed his lungs out, Shi Feng vanished from the battlefield. In the next moment, Shi Feng reappeared before Singular Burial. "Singular Burial! Your era has ended!" Shi Feng growled as he swung down his Sacred Sword. Although Singular Burial had responded quickly, Shi Feng''s appearance had been too abrupt. Even though he had immediately thought of using the Ranger class''s Escape Skill to put some distance between himself and Shi Feng, in the face of the Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike, he was a split-second too slow to get away. After receiving the one attack, Singular Burial''s HP, which was over 50,000, instantly fell to zero 1711 Blackwater Defeated Chapter 1711 - Blackwater Defeated When Singular Burial reluctantly collapsed and dropped an icy-blue longbow on the battlefield, the surrounding Blackwater members were dumbfounded and turned to stare at Shi Feng. A moment ago, Singular Burial had 100% of his HP, yet after one of Shi Feng''s attacks, the Ranger had lost it all. Suddenly, a chilling sensation assaulted Blackwater''s members. If even a Tier 2 player like Singular Burial could not withstand a single hit from Shi Feng, it went without saying Shi Feng could kill Tier 1 players like them with a casual swing of his blade, too. "Black Flame!" Falling Fire''s expression darkened as he glared at Shi Feng. His combat standard was recognized as one of the best in Blackwater. There were only a handful of people in the Guild that he had to admit were superior. However, despite having such a high combat standard, not even he was confident in keeping up with and blocking the attack Shi Feng had used against Singular Burial. Shi Feng''s attack was simply too fast, but it wasn''t just because of his high Attack Speed. Hs neutral response time and physical acceleration were also ridiculously fast. After heaving a deep sigh, Falling Fire commanded, "Everyone, retreat!" Due to Shi Feng''s display of overwhelming strength, his team members'' morale had received a huge boost. Zero Wing''s members now fought with more passion and skill than before. In contrast, the morale of Blackwater''s members plummeted. Now, this battle''s outcome could not be any more obvious. Continuing to fight would only incur more losses for Blackwater. Hearing Falling Fire''s command, Blackwater''s members immediately turned away from their opponents and fled in every possible direction. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow commanded Zero Wing''s members to exploit their victory. Seeing that things had gone south for Blackwater, Flame Blood did not dare to linger. He summoned twenty Great Lord ranked Evil Demons to buy himself enough time to activate a Teleportation Scroll. This battle''s outcome had truly exceeded his expectations. He had thought that ten Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons would be more than enough to butcher Zero Wing''s forces, but he had never expected the small army to have so many monstrous players. "Zero Wing! Just you wait! Sooner or later, I will make you pay for this defeat!" Flame Blood revealed a sneer as he watched Zero Wing''s members charge towards him. He was an Evil God''s Apostle, not a Guild member. As long as he escaped capture, he''d always have a chance of making a comeback. Flame Blood sent his twenty Great Lords to stop Zero Wing''s members as he activated his Teleportation Scroll. The Teleportation Scroll to teleport to the Evil God''s Temple had a 15-second activation process, which was slightly shorter than a normal Return Scroll. With the power of twenty Great Lords at his side, he could easily buy enough time to get away. However, when the seventh second ticked by, Flame Blood noticed a slowly approaching figure out of the corner of his eye. This figure was none other than Shi Feng. Flame Blood couldn''t help his growing anxiety as he watched Shi Feng approach. Although over 200 yards separated the two, Flame Blood felt as if the Grim Reaper itself had set its sights on him. Faster! I have to get out of here as quickly as possible! For the first time ever, Flame Blood felt that the Teleportation Scroll''s activation time was too long. Although Shi Feng''s approach appeared slow, in reality, he was extremely fast. In just three seconds, he had halved the distance between him and Flame Blood. Seeing this, Flame Blood had no choice but to split six of the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons from the group, ordering them to hinder Shi Feng''s advance. However, no matter what kind of attacks the Great Lord ranked Evil Demons used, Shi Feng avoided them easily. The Evil Demons couldn''t slow Shi Feng down in the slightest. When only two seconds remained before Flame Blood''s Teleportation Scroll activated, Shi Feng was still over 30 yards away from the Cleric. Seeing this, Flame Blood breathed a sigh of relief. "Black Flame! I''ll get even with you sooner or later!" There was no way Shi Feng could cross the distance between them unless he could use the same move he had employed to take out Singular Burial earlier. However, the area around Flame Blood abruptly darkened, and the Mana that fed the teleportation array beneath his feet froze instantly. A moment later, the teleportation array began to disappear. "No! How is this possible?!" Shock and despair flashed in Flame Blood''s eyes when he realized that his Teleportation Scroll was no longer an option. Before Flame Blood could react, Shi Feng shook off the six Great Lords chasing him and appeared before the Cleric. "Get even with me?" Glancing at the cloaked and bandaged Cleric before him, Shi Feng chuckled and said, "You''ll have to be able to get away before that can happen." "Black Flame! Your forces are now trapped, surrounded by Beast Emperor''s Evil Beast army! If you kill me, Beast Emperor definitely won''t let you off the hook!" Flame Blood hissed as he looked at the smiling Swordsman before him. Fearfully, he continued, "If you want to leave this place alive, I''m your only hope." Flame Blood knew full well what Shi Feng was capable of. After all, he had personally witnessed Shi Feng capture Abandon Wave and send the man to the War God''s Temple. To Evil God''s Apostles like himself and Abandoned Wave, getting sent to the War God''s Temple was game over. Flame Blood deeply regretted his actions. Had he known something like this would happen, he would never have followed Singular burial to the Primordial Divine Ruin. Now that he had been Silenced, it was practically impossible to escape Shi Feng''s clutches. His only hope of getting out of this predicament lay with Beast Emperor''s Evil Beast and Demon army. Although Zero Wing''s members were absurdly strong, they would definitely fall against 100,000-plus Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. The fact that Zero Wing had so effortlessly slaughtered Blackwater''s members proved that all of the members in this force were the Guild''s core members. If these core members were annihilated, it would deal a massive blow to Zero Wing. "You''re my only hope?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "Aren''t you thinking too highly of yourself?" To Beast Emperor, Evil God''s Apostles were like his own limbs. Each one taken from him was a permanent loss. However, since Beast Emperor had dared to cut off Zero Wing''s path to fortune, Shi Feng had to teach Beast Emperor what it felt like to lose a limb to his blades. Saying so, Shi Feng activated Abyssal Bind and restricted Flame Blood''s movements. He then retrieved a Mobile Jail from his bag and started to activate it. "Black Flame! Are you trying to die?! I am one of Beast Emperor''s Evil God''s Apostles! Capturing me will only increase Beast Emperor''s desire to destroy Zero Wing!" Flame Blood began to panic when he saw Shi Feng activate the Mobile Jail. He had never thought that Shi Feng would be so daring. If he were to be sent to the War God''s Temple, he truly would be finished. Just as Shi Feng was about to entrap Flame Blood in the Mobile Jail, a phantom appeared beside the Cleric. This phantom took the form of an indifferent, middle-aged man in luxurious, dark-gray robes. The man wielded a wooden staff that exuded murky black mist in his right hand, and a pitch-black crown adorned his head. The man radiated an indescribably majestic feeling. "Beast Emperor?" When Shi Feng saw this middle-aged man, the only person that came to his mind was Beast Emperor. However, he was not absolutely certain as he had never actually seen Beast Emperor''s true appearance before. "That''s right; I am Beast Emperor. This should be our second meeting," Beast Emperor said, smiling. "I won''t mince words with you. Release Flame Blood and hand over the Evil God''s Eye in your possession. Do so, and I''ll let your forces leave the Orc Empire safely. Refuse, and neither you nor your subordinates will leave the empire. Your souls will become nourishment for my Evil Demons!" As soon as Beast Emperor finished speaking, the players at the Primordial Divine Ruin noticed a large group of Evil Beasts and Demons approach on the distant horizon. An NPC elder stood above a gigantic Evil Beast, radiating intense Evil Energy. Even though the old man was thousands of yards away, everyone outside of the Primordial Divine Ruin could feel his horrific aura. "I admit that you are quite powerful, but even if you lock Flame Blood away in the Mobile Jail, you won''t necessarily be able to leave the Orc Empire with him. As long as I kill you, I can free Flame Blood. I will only give you ten seconds to consider my offer!" Beast Emperor said, his expression calm as he looked at Shi Feng. A Mythic NPC? Shi Feng guessed after glancing at the NPC in the distant sky. Revealing a faint smile, he said, "Like your subordinate, you think too highly of yourself! I will send Flame Blood to the War God''s Temple!" 1712 The Man Closest to Attaining a Domain Chapter 1712 - The Man Closest to Attaining a Domain Although Shi Feng''s tone had been dull, the nearby players could all feel the unyielding determination in his voice. "Crazy bastard! How can a Guild Leader like you exist?!" As Flame Blood glared at Shi Feng, he felt his mental state crumble. Just how much did Shi Feng hate him? Shi Feng was actually willing to sacrifice over a thousand Zero Wing experts just to finish him off. "Black Flame! This is your final chance! You can''t take on a Mythic NPC! Do you really think that you can escape with your life?! If you die at his hands, do you think that the penalty will be as simple as losing a level?!" Beast Emperor''s expression darkened when he heard Shi Feng''s reply. "Do not challenge my patience! Otherwise, I''ll bury you here even if I have to waste my Contribution Points!" If the Evil God''s Apostle slots weren''t so incredibly precious to his future and the fact that Shi Feng had a small chance of getting away, he wouldn''t have wasted so many words on the Swordsman. He simply would''ve sent his Evil Beasts and Evil Demons to slaughter Zero Wing''s members and devour them. "Challenge your patience?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh at Beast Emperor. "How many times has your Evil God''s Temple targeted Zero Wing''s territories? You''ve even gone as far as to hunt down my Guild members. Have you ever considered Zero Wing''s patience?" Saying so, Shi Feng swung his sword at Flame Blood, lowering the Cleric''s HP to a critical level. He then activated the Mobile Jail and entrapped the bound Cleric. "You!" Beast Emperor gnashed his teeth in rage as he watched Flame Blood disappear into the Mobile Jail. Suddenly, the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons standing on the distant horizon released deafening roars. They then charged toward the Primordial Divine Ruin. The various powers'' upper echelons wore somber expressions as they watched the 100,000-plus Evil Beasts and Evil Demons surge towards them. These Evil Beasts and Evil Demons were far from just random monsters. Every one of them was Level 60 or higher, and the majority of them were Chieftain rank and above. Only a small number were Elites and Special Elites. Moreover, eight of them were Mythic ranked. Such a force was more than enough to destroy a town, not to mention an army of fewer than 2,000 experts. When the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons began their charge, the NPC elder flew into the sky and waved his staff. Suddenly, a beam of gray light shot out of the staff and toward the clouds above the old man. When the beam of light was roughly 100 yards above the NPC, it burst. Ripples of gray light spread across the sky, turning the once-blue view a dull gray. It looked as if Evil Energy had enveloped the entire world. "What''s going on? Why can''t I use my Return Scroll?!" "Wait, that''s not right. I can''t use my Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll, either!" "Isn''t that NPC too powerful? He''s actually sealed off this entire region. Zero Wing is definitely dead now." Utter shock filled the spectating powers at the Primordial Divine Ruin as they watched the NPC elder fly towards the ruin. With their ability to teleport stolen from them, Zero Wing''s only way of escaping this location was to rely on their own two feet. However, trying to break through the blockade of 100,000-plus Evil Beasts and Evil Demons was practically impossible. The players from the various major powers also began to worry for their own safety. Like Zero Wing''s members, they were now trapped here, and their fate was no longer in their own hands. If Beast Emperor wanted to, he could definitely have every player at the Primordial Divine Ruin killed. "Big Sis Melody, what is going through Black Flame''s mind? He''s actually willing to trade Zero Wing''s 1,000-plus experts to capture a single player. Does he hate Beast Emperor that much?" a girl standing amidst the Sacred Temple''s team asked curiously as she watched Shi Feng, who was arranging Zero Wing''s army into a defensive formation. The girl had long, curly, light-blue hair and a lithe but curvy body. She wielded an emerald staff and was clad in white, silken robes. Although this girl looked quite weak and delicate, she had actually reached Level 51. Even in the Sacred Temple, her level put her at the very top of the Guild. Though, her aura was far more frightening than the girl''s level. However, the intensity of her aura was not just a result of her powerful Basic Attributes. Her tier and Life Rating also contributed. When the Sacred Temple''s surrounding experts looked at this girl, awe and reverence filled their gaze. This girl was the Sacred Temple''s new prodigy, Blue Jade, and she had even received high praise from the Guild Leader, stating that she even had the potential to command a Domain in the future. Precisely because of her talents, Blue Jade had been dispatched to the Primordial Divine Ruin so that she could improve further in Primordial City. "I don''t know what Black Flame is thinking, but you should pay close attention to his fights. The Secret Pavilion has recognized Black Flame as the person closest to grasping a Domain. Watching him should help you quite a bit," Quiet Melody said as she looked at Shi Feng. "Isn''t Miracle Dragon the person closest to reaching the Domain Realm?" Blue Jade asked in astonishment. "Miracle Dragon is old news. The various superpowers have already recognized Black Flame as the person closest to reaching the Domain Realm," Quiet Melody patiently explained. "The techniques Black Flame has displayed thus far are simply amazing. He has even defeated Domain Realm experts. The various superpowers have even wondered whether or not he has already obtained a Domain, but after a detailed investigation, they concluded that he''s only as strong as Domain Realm Experts. He doesn''t actually have a Domain yet, though he is extremely close to obtaining one." "He can actually rival Domain Realm experts without a Domain? He''s actually that powerful?" Blue Jade was skeptical about Quiet Melody''s claim. If Shi Feng were so impressive, he should recognize his situation for what it was. Yet, Shi Feng had made the most unbelievable decision: provoking Beast Emperor instead of saving his companions'' lives. While Quiet Melody and Blue Jade discussed Shi Feng, the other powers'' upper echelons grew nervous. Beast Emperor''s monster army was getting closer, and now, it was less than 1,000 yards away. Two Level 80 Mythic Evil Demons and six Level 80 Mythic ranked Evil Beasts led the monster army. Just looking at these monsters, even from so far away, made these players shudder. Against such a powerful army of monsters, Zero Wing''s forces would likely face annihilation even if the Guild had tens of thousands of experts and hundreds of thousands of elite players present. Even if Zero Wing could summon three more High Demons, there was no escaping its fate. Although the Baphomets Zero Wing had summoned were indeed incredibly strong, the army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons the Guild faced this time was much stronger. There were plenty of Great Lords and Grand Lords in this force. By the time the High Demons defeated the Mythic Evil Demons and Mythic Evil Beasts, the Great Lords and Grand Lords would''ve devoured Zero Wing''s members already. "Black Flame! Pay for your foolishness!" Beast Emperor, who followed the situation at the Primordial Divine Ruin from Ancient Rock City''s Evil God''s Temple, sneered. He had spent 7,000 Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points for the Mythic NPC to seal the Primordial Divine Ruin''s map. This seal prevented players from both teleporting out and physically crossing the map''s borders. The Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points were no less precious than the War God''s Temple Merit Points. With 7,000 Merit Points, players could purchase a high-quality Epic item from the War God''s Temple. Yet, he had spent so many points just to prevent Shi Feng''s escape. Although the sealing barrier was not particularly strong, it would not be easy to break out of, either. During the time it took for Zero Wing to destroy the barrier, his Evil Beasts and Evil Demons could annihilate the Guild''s army several times over. The 100,000-plus Evil Demons and Evil Beasts grew closer to Zero Wing''s army, and seeing this, the Guild''s members couldn''t help but grow nervous. They felt stifled as they watched the monsters approach, the auras the monsters radiated becoming increasingly frightening. However, when less than 200 yards separated both sides, a magic barrier appeared and enveloped Zero Wing''s army. This barrier was the result of none other than the movement-type defensive magic array. "Good! Summoners, summon the Divine Beasts!" Shi Feng commanded as he stared at the monster army before him. 1713 Divine Dragonss Migh Chapter 1713 - Divine Dragons'' Might When the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Arrays activated, two pillars of golden light rose from inside the movement-type defensive magic array. The two light pillars pierced the sky and cast a dazzling glow over the Primordial Divine Ruin. The light pillars also purified the overflowing Evil Energy in the area and returned a massive fraction of the gray sky to its original blue color. Two gigantic magic arrays then appeared and swallowed Zero Wing''s defensive magic array, draining the Mana around the ruin. Everyone at the ruin gaped at the grand, magnificent scene. "What are those?" "Isn''t the amount of Mana those magic arrays are absorbing a little too terrifying? Even though we''re so far away, I can still feel the Mana around me drying up." "Wait! I can''t even use my Spells any more!" The members of the various major powers and adventurer teams stared at the two golden magic arrays in the sky in utter disbelief. This was definitely the first time they had witnessed or experienced such a phenomenon. The two golden magic arrays had actually sucked away all Mana in at least a 5,000-yard radius, even preventing them from using any of their Skills and Spells Even Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other upper echelons, who recognized the two golden magic arrays, were shocked and confused right now. This certainly wasn''t their first time activating the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Array. At most, the magic array would stir the Mana in a 500-yard radius in the past. Even when they had activated several Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Arrays simultaneously, the arrays hadn''t absorbed so much Mana that players in the affected area hadn''t been able to use their Skills or Spells. Yet, not only did the two Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Arrays affect 5,000-yard radius, but they had also devoured almost all of the Mana in the affected area. Amazing! Using Elemental Sources as the magic arrays'' cores can actually improve them to such a degree? Shi Feng couldn''t help his astonishment over the spectacular scene before him. Based on his knowledge, even Advanced Summoning Magic Arrays couldn''t cause such a huge Mana drain. Unfortunately, he had never seen a Master Summoning Magic Array, so he couldn''t make a good judgment. As Mana continued to flood into the two gigantic magic arrays, the figures of two Divine Beasts gradually emerged. Shortly, two Golden Dragons with wingspans of up to 600 meters appeared above the defensive magic array. Both Golden Dragons were covered in dark-purple runes, which gave the Dragons a sacred and majestic feeling. Roar! Once the Golden Dragons fully manifested, they released roars that echoed throughout the Primordial Divine Ruin. Following their bestial announcement, they released powerful shockwaves, which repeatedly shoved back the rapidly approaching Evil Demons and Beasts. Even the defensive magic array beneath the two Golden Dragons trembled violently, looking as if they would shatter at any moment. The two Golden Dragons had also fully unleashed their auras, freezing the space around them. Even Zero Wing''s members, who were protected by a defensive magic array, felt their movements grow stiff. "Dragons!" "Are they really Dragons?" "Are you kidding me? Zero Wing can actually summon Dragons?" The players from the various major powers who watched from a distance stared at the two Golden Dragons with bulging eyes. The various major powers knew what kind of monsters Dragons were in God''s Domain. They were the personification of destruction. Their Life Ratings were only second to Ancient Gods, and a single Dragon was more than enough to destroy an entire kingdom. Yet, two of these great monsters floated in the sky before them. Under the pressure the two Dragons emitted, they didn''t even dare to think of resisting. It felt as if these two Dragons were this land''s absolute overlords. The pressure the two Golden Dragons exuded was no longer a matter of Basic Attributes; this was the difference in Life Ratings. However, after using Advanced Identification Skills, some players soon discovered that these monsters weren''t real Dragons. Rather, they were merely creatures that contained a small trace of a Dragon''s soul. [Divine Magic Dragon] (Elemental Creature, Archaic Species, Mythic) Level 80 HP 600,000,000/600,000,000 Although the Divine Magic Dragons weren''t real Dragons, they still surprised Shi Feng. These two Divine Magic Dragons actually possessed Domains, which was also why their mere presence affected the space around them so drastically. "Go! It''s time for the slaughter!" Shi Feng commanded Flying Shadow and Shadow Sword, who controlled the Divine Magic Dragons. A Level 80 Mythic ranked Archaic Species was already a nightmare for current players, let alone a Mythic ranked Archaic Species that could use a Domain. The reason that Tier 4 NPCs could go toe-to-toe with a Mythic monster of the same level was their control of a Domain. While inside their own Domain, Tier 4 NPCs could enhance their abilities and suppress their enemies at the same time. However, it would be a different story if the targeted Mythic monster had its own Domain. Such an existence would be practically invincible among those of the same rank and tier. Even the High Demon, Baphomet would receive a one-sided beating if it tried to face the Divine Magic Dragon in a one-on-one fight. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Shadow Sword and Flying Shadow, who stood in the center of two magic arrays on the ground, nodded. They then controlled the Divine Magic Dragons to charge at the approaching Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. In response, the Divine Magic Dragons flapped their massive wings once and disappeared. By the time the spectators had reacted to the Divine Magic Dragons'' disappearance, the two Dragons had already crossed over 100 yards. After two seconds, one of the two Dragons arrived before a Mythic Evil Demon. Before the 150-meter-tall Divine Magic Dragon, the five-meter-tall Level 80 Mythic Evil Demon looked like an ant. The Dragon then swiped its claw at the Evil Demon before it, and as its claw passed, numerous tears ripped apart space. Although the Mythic Evil Demon tried to dodge the attack, its movements were sluggish due to the pressure from the Dragon''s claw. The Dragon''s Domain also suppressed the Mythic Evil Demon in every aspect. Not only did the Domain decrease the Evil Demon''s Basic Attributes, but the Evil Demon''s reaction speed had also slowed. In addition, the Divine Magic Dragon''s claw was frighteningly fast. In the end, the mountain-like claw struck the Mythic ranked Evil Demon before it could even begin to move out of the way. Boom! The Mythic Evil Demon''s body immediately sank into the ground under the immense force, 30-meter-long cracks splitting the ground around it. All nearby Chieftain ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts died instantly, and only those at the Lord rank and above managed to survive. However, the surviving monsters sustained a heavily injured state. In the meantime, the other Divine Magic Dragon had stomped on a Level 80 Evil Earth Dragon, crushing the Mythic Evil Beast''s 40-meter-tall body into the ground. The Divine Magic Dragon then swiped its tail, flattening the ground around it and sweeping away a large number of low-ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons Seeing this, the watching players from the various major powers and adventurer teams were dumbfounded. Too strong! The difference in strength between the Divine Magic Dragons and Beast Emperor''s monster army was past the point where the latter could compensate with numbers. The Mythic ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts couldn''t pin down the Divine Magic Dragons for even a moment. As a result, the Divine Magic Dragons were free to attack the Grand Lord and Great Lord ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, who were trying to attack Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. When the Divine Magic Dragons struck, even the Grand Lords instantly became heavily injured, drastically decreasing their combat powers. Even if these heavily injured Grand Lords and Great Lords reached Zero Wing''s defensive barrier, Zero Wing''s experts, who wielded Mana Weapons, could repel and kill them easily. Following which, the two Divine Magic Dragons wreaked havoc across the battlefield. Although the Mythic ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts tried to pin the two Dragons down, the Divine Magic Dragons didn''t bother with their Mythic opponents. Instead, the two Dragons sent their Mythic opponents flying and focused on the lower-ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. Even when these Mythic ranked Evil Beasts and Demons targeted Zero Wing''s defensive magic array, the Divine Magic Dragons got ahead of them and sent them flying again. With their massive frames, the two Divine Earth Dragons could protect Zero Wing''s members almost perfectly. At the very least, none of the enemy''s Mythic monsters could touch Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. Before even one minute had passed, nearly 2,000 Evil Demons and Evil Beasts had been killed. The two Divine Magic Dragons were like colossal killing machines that continuously earned EXP for Zero Wing''s members "So, this is why Zero Wing was so confident?" Watching Zero Wing''s forces rapidly wear down the Evil Demon and Beast army, the various major powers finally understood why Zero Wing had dared to dive into enemy territory with so few members. "Black Flame!" Beast Emperor wore a solemn expression as he watched his minions being massacred by the dozens and hundreds from inside the Evil God''s Branch Temple in Ancient Rock City. He had carefully nurtured these Evil Demons and Evil Beasts so that they could serve as the foundation for his rule in the Orc Empire, yet his hated enemy was slaughtering them for EXP. If the battle continued at this rate, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing annihilated his minions. Considering the situation, Beast Emperor gritted his teeth and left to meet with an old man in black robes within the temple. Very respectfully, he said, "Lord Byrne, I wish to hire Lord Dyro to annihilate these ignorant adventurers personally. I hope that you will grant me your permission." "You want to get Dyro to take action?" the black-robed elder asked indifferently. "That won''t be a problem, but Dyro''s services aren''t cheap. It''ll cost you 12,000 Contribution Points per hour." "So expensive?" Beast Emperor could not help his frown upon hearing this price. He had already spent 7,000 CPs to hire Dyro to cast a sealing barrier over the Primordial Divine Ruin. Now, he only had a little over 14,000 CPs remaining. If he spent another 12,000 CPs now, he''d have to cancel or considerably delay many of his original plans. "Have you decided?" Byrne asked. "Lord Byrne, I wish to hire Lord Dyro for one hour," Beast Emperor responded after giving the matter some thought. The last thing he could afford to lose right now was another Evil God''s Apostle. As soon as Beast Emperor finished speaking, 12,000 Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points vanished from his stockpile. At the same time, Dyro, the Mythic NPC at the distant Primordial Divine Ruin, became a mercenary under Beast Emperor''s control. "Black Flame! You will suffer in death!" The first order Beast Emperor gave to Dyro was to slay Shi Feng, who stood inside Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. Meanwhile, back at the Primordial Divine Ruin, Dyro, who quietly stood atop a flying Evil Beast, abruptly opened his eyes. Suddenly, the Mana around him vanished, and a powerful surge of Evil Energy replaced it. Dyro''s horrific aura reached across the Primordial Divine Ruin, making the players present to grow nervous and keep a close eye on the NPC. Dyro lightly tapped his foot on the Evil Beast beneath him. The flying Evil Beast then let out a low screech as it slowly descended toward Shi Feng. "Impossible! This Mythic NPC can actually participate in the battle?!" Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose''s expressions darkened when they saw the NPC elder approach. Hurriedly, Aqua Rose shouted, "Shadow Sword, ignore the Mythic monsters for now and stop that NPC!" Hearing Aqua Rose''s command, Shadow Sword promptly nodded. He, too, realized the severity of the situation. Unlike the Mythic ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, allowing a Mythic NPC to get within attack range would be no laughing matter. Immediately, Shadow Sword controlled his Divine Magic Dragon to charge at Dyro. "Scram!" Shadow Sword then directed his Divine Magic Dragon to slap at the NPC elder. 1714 Fighting a Mythic NPC Chapter 1714 - Fighting a Mythic NPC "This Beast Emperor can actually convince a Mythic NPC to join the fray?" "Is this a joke?! That''s a Tier 4 NPC we''re talking about!" The various major powers and adventurer teams'' members at the Primordial Divine Ruin stared with wide eyes as they watched Dyro descend to the battlefield, their hearts palpitating in fear and shock. None of these players were strangers to Tier 4 NPCs. Tier 4 NPCs ruled over every major NPC city in the various kingdoms and empires, and anyone who had met such an NPC would know just how powerful they were. In God''s Domain, players were able to face monsters of a higher tier due to having more Skills, Spells, and combat techniques. With this advantage, players could exploit powerful monsters'' weaknesses and defeat them, despite having lower Basic Attributes. However, NPCs had no such weaknesses. Unlike monsters, both the quality and quantity of NPCs'' Skills and Spells was far superior to players. They were capable of executing many complex combination attacks with these Skills and Spells, making them far more difficult to deal with than monsters. To make matters worse, although NPCs'' Basic Attributes were lower than monsters'' of the same rank and tier, they were still overwhelmingly higher than players'' After Dyro opened his eyes, the pressure he gave off made him feel like an entirely different entity than before. The Evil Energy Dyro radiated was so incomparably dense that the Evil Energy corroded the space around him. Players over 2,000 yards away could clearly feel this man''s aura. If players felt as if they had been submerged in a pool of water as the Mythic Evil Demons and Mythic Evil Beasts'' auras had washed over them, then Dyro''s aura felt as if they had been dumped into a pit of quicksilver. They couldn''t help but shudder as they bathed in this NPC''s aura. These players finally understood just how terrifying a Tier 4 NPC was. If this NPC elder wanted to, he could definitely kill every player at the Primordial Divine Ruin, and they wouldn''t be able to do anything to stop him As the various powers and adventurer teams'' members were in shock over Dyro''s aura A massive figure suddenly appeared before Dyro. This figure was none other than the Divine Magic Dragon under Shadow Sword''s control. As soon as it reached its target, the Divine Magic Dragon''s mountain-like claw descended on the Mythic NPC. However, despite having even enough power to send Mythic monsters of the same level flying, Dyro ignored the claw and allowed it to land. Boom! The Evil Bat Dyro rode shot to the ground like a bullet. The instant the Evil Bat crashed, the impact formed a crater with a 70-yard radius in the ground. Despite the Evil Bat being a Level 80 Grand Lord, the single attack had heavily injured it. Now, even flight was impossible for the Evil Bat Where''s the NPC? Shadow Sword examined the bottom of the crater in confusion. He only spotted the Evil Bat in the crater; Dyro was nowhere to be found. Shadow Sword couldn''t even sense the NPC''s horrific aura. It was as if the old man had vanished. A second later, a figure appeared in the Evil Bat''s original location, which was none other than Dyro. The old man was in the midst of chanting an incantation, having already written numerous lines of divine runes. As Dyro continued to cast his Spell, a magic array formed behind him, absorbing a tremendous amount of Evil Energy from its surroundings. A short moment later, the space before the array ruptured, creating a black hole that absorbed every form of energy available in its vicinity. Sensing the growing strength of the magic array''s aura, Shadow Sword''s expression darkened. He could easily tell how powerful Dyro''s Spell would be. It was definitely stronger than Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. If this Spell struck the Divine Magic Dragon he controlled, the attack would undoubtedly send the Dragon flying. If that happened, Dyro would have an opportunity to attack the movement-type defensive magic array, and the consequences would be unimaginably dire. "Die!" Shadow Sword swiftly used the Tier 4 Skill, Five Thunder Fingers, aiming the cone attack at Dyro. As the Divine Magic Dragon''s claw sped towards the NPC, countless arcs of electricity extended from the tip of its digits and reached for Dyro. However, as if he had prepared for this attack, Dyro lightly tapped the butt of his staff at the air before him. In response, a gray, threefold magic array appeared before the old man, protecting him from the Dragon''s attack. Tier 4 Defensive Spell, Dark Hunt! "Double-speed-casting?" Everyone gaped in shock as they watched Dyro, who was still casting his first Spell. The magical class players were especially stupefied. Double-speed-casting was a feat that many magical class players worked to achieve. Unfortunately, very few magical class experts could actually do it. Moreover, the higher a Spell''s tier was, the more difficult it would be to double-cast, not to mention double-speed-casting. Even Tier 2 peak experts had great difficulty double-speed-casting two Tier 2 Spells, yet Dyro could cast two Tier 4 Spells simultaneously. The NPC''s spellcasting was already on par with peak experts. Dyro''s threefold magic array instantly stopped the incoming arcs of electricity. None of the arcs had managed to deal any damage. Seeing that Dyro was about to complete his first Spell, Shadow Sword hurriedly directed his Divine Magic Dragon to attack the NPC from another direction. Dark Hunt could only block attacks from one direction; it was useless against attacks from other angles. However, just when the Divine Magic Dragon''s claw was about to reach Dyro, the NPC disappeared once again. This time, he reappeared 100-yards away from the attacking Dragon. Tier 3 Spell, Advanced Movement! "Crap! Supplementary-casting?!" The magical class experts'' minds were blown when the saw Dyro appear 100-yards away from the Divine Magic Dragon. Advanced Movement was not a particularly rare Spell. It was actually a common Spell that Tier 3 magical class NPCs used. What was truly astounding was the way Dyro had used the Spell. In a way, supplementary-casting was similar to double-casting, but rather than channeling two Spells at the same time, one could abruptly cast the second Spell midway through casting their first Spell when supplementary-casting. This technique was even more difficult than double-speed-casting. Meanwhile, before the Divine Magic Dragon could reach Dyro to launch another attack, the NPC finished writing the last line of divine runes for his Spell. A sneer twisted Dyro''s wizened face. "Do you think you can stop me, the Dark Wizard Dyro, with a lowly summoned creature?" Dyro said as he looked at Shi Feng as he made a wave with his staff. Suddenly, cracks in space began to split the sky. Boundless Evil Energy then flooded out of these cracks and gathered at the tip of Dyro''s staff. After gathering enough Evil Energy, Dyro created 21 pitch-black spears around him with another wave of his staff. Silver arcs of electricity crackled along these spears. Tier 4 Curse, Destruction Spear! "Go!" Dyro waved his hand. The 21 pitch-black spears flew towards the Divine Magic Dragon. As the product of a Tier 4 Curse, each pitch-black spear carried a frightening amount of power. When Shadow Sword tried to attack the spears with the Divine Magic Dragon, repelling one spear actually pushed the Dragon back slightly. The Strength within the pitch-black spears was actually on par with the Dragon''s. Although both sides had equal Strength, there were 21 pitch-black spears. Meanwhile, when players controlled a summoned creature, they couldn''t control it as easily as their own body, which ultimately decreased their combat standards when controlling the creature. Hence, even though Shadow Sword had reached the Refinement Realm, he was only able to block five or six spears at a time, while the remaining weapons struck the Divine Magic Dragon. For a time, the Divine Magic Dragon was at a complete disadvantage as the spears pushed it back towards Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. "Time to finish this!" Dyro waved his staff again, joining two of the pitch-black spears into one weapon and striking at the Divine Magic Dragon, the attack carrying far more Strength than the individual summoned weapons. However, just before the combination attack reached the Divine Magic Dragon Suddenly, a flash of black light bloomed before the Divine Magic Dragon. At the same time, the combined spears that flew towards the Dragon''s chest veered off course. The two weapons then split as they brushed past the scales on the Dragon''s sides harmlessly. This confused Dyro slightly. "What''s going on?" "The Dragon dodged the attack?" "No, that''s not it! Look at Zero Wing''s summoning array!" "Huh? Isn''t that Black Flame?" The spectating crowd was dumbfounded for a moment by the sudden development. They failed to understand how the Divine Magic Dragon had become powerful enough to stop the pitch-black spears combination attack. However, some players with keen eyesight quickly noticed that Shadow Sword was no longer standing in the summing array for the Divine Magic Dragon; Shi Feng had actually taken his place. "Black Flame! Do you think you can change this outcome just by switching controllers?!" Beast Emperor could not help but laugh when he saw Shi Feng controlling the Divine Magic Dragon. Summoned creatures were not as easy to control as a player''s body. Naturally, a Domain Realm expert would have far more control of a summoned creature than a Refinement Realm expert. The Realms of Refinement improved a player''s five senses, but players simply couldn''t merge their senses completely with a summoned creature''s. As a result, one''s combat power when controlling a summoned creature was considerably limited. "They changed controllers?" Dyro muttered as he glanced at the distant summoning array. As a Mythic NPC, his intellect was incredibly high. Hence, he was quickly able to assess any changes on the battlefield. However, the surprise in Dyro''s eyes quickly faded, replaced by ridicule. "Foolish mortals, do you think you can stop my Destruction Spears because you''ve gained more control of a lowly summoned creature? All you''ve done is prolonged your suffering!" Saying so, Dyro combined 20 spears into ten pairs, attacking Shi Feng with all of them at once. Seeing the ten incoming attacks, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit with the Divine Magic Dragon''s claws. Dang Dang Dang A series of clangs echoed throughout the Primordial Divine Ruin. In the end, Shi Feng''s Dragon knocked every one of the twenty Destruction Spears aside. The spears hadn''t even budged the Dragon an inch, much less damage the Divine Magic Dragon 1715 Miraculous Effect of the Realms of Truth Chapter 1715 - Miraculous Effect of the Realms of Truth "He blocked all of the attacks?!" "How is that possible!?" All of the players at the Primordial Divine Ruin were experts. Quite a few of them were even Refinement Realm experts, so they all recognized how impressive the technique Dyro had just executed was. In their opinions, Dyro''s ten combination attacks were simply splendid. Even if there was no difference in Basic Attributes, the Refinement Realms among the spectating crowd weren''t confident in blocking all of those attacks without backing up in the slightest. Their likelihood of success would be even lower if they had to do so with a summoned creature. Yet, not only had Shi Feng successfully blocked every one of Dyro''s attacks, but he had also done so with the Divine Magic Dragon. "His control is amazing!" Shock flashed in Blue Jade''s eyes as she watched the Divine Magic Dragon in the sky. "So, this is the strength of the expert closest to achieving a Domain?" As a Tier 2 Summoner, she had a much clearer idea of how difficult it was to control a summoned creature than other players. It was practically impossible for players to control a summoned creature as well as they did their own bodies. This fact held true even for herself. Despite reaching the Flowing Water Realm, her combat standards with a summoned creature were barely at the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. Even if she made a breakthrough and reached the Void Realm, she was only confident in raising her combat standardwhen controlling a summoned creatureto the middle-stage of the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. Yet, Shi Feng could actually reach the Refinement Realm with the Divine Magic Dragon. This was simply unbelievable! Meanwhile, hovering in midair, Dyro stopped trying to defeat his opponent vial quality of attacks after watching his first volley fail. Instead, he had the 21 Destruction Spears attack simultaneously from different directions. Suddenly, numerous streaks of pitch-black light threatened to devour the Divine Magic Dragon. "This bastard! He was actually holding back against me?" Shadow Sword tightly balled his fist, frustration filling his gaze as he watched the Destruction Spears dance in the air. When he had controlled the Divine Magic Dragon, Dyro''s attacks with the Destruction Spears had been very straightforward. The NPC hadn''t used any particular techniques. Now, however, the Destruction Spears moved in a coordinated and well-choreographed pattern. These movements were obviously the result of some sort of combat technique. Even if there weren''t a difference between Shadow Sword and his opponent''s Attributes, he felt that he''d be lucky to block a handful of the spears if he tried to defend against the coordinated attacks personally. As the Destruction Spears were about to plow into the Divine Magic Dragon, Shi Feng decided to charge forward, rather than retreat. He controlled the Divine Magic Dragon to fly head-first into the approaching spears. "What is he trying to do?" Shi Feng''s actions dumbfounded the spectating crowd. Although the Destruction Spears couldn''t kill the Divine Magic Dragon, if all 21 spears struck the summoned creature, the impact would certainly send it flying several hundred yards back. If that happened, Dyro would have plenty of opportunities to destroy Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. However, as everyone assumed that Shi Feng was trying to force his way through the attacks, the Divine Magic Dragon began to maneuver agilely around the spears and rapidly closed the distance between it and Dyro. Any Destruction Spear that came near the Dragon either brushed past its scales, or the summoned creature batted it away with a claw; they couldn''t actually hit the Divine Magic Dragon. If one wasn''t paying attention, they might even assume that the Destruction Spears had actively avoided the Dragon "Flowing Water Realm?!" Blue Jade could not help but rub her eyes as she watched the scene before her, unable to believe it. However, no matter how she looked at the situation, the Divine Magic Dragon''s combat standard was definitely at the Flowing Water Realm. There was no other way it could block all of those spear attacks. However, the situation also left her confused. Just how did Shi Feng accomplish such a feat? How could something like this be possible? They were talking about controlling a summoned creature here! Blue Jade wasn''t the only one who was shocked. The many experts at the Primordial Divine Ruin were similarly stupefied. Leaving aside Shi Feng''s personal combat standard, his control of summoned creatures could definitely rank at the very top of God''s Domain. So, this is the true benefit of the Realms of Truth? Shi Feng, who evaded the relentless Destruction Spears, felt the true power of the Realms of Truth for the first time. Unlike the Realms of Refinement, the Realms of Truth focused on exerting the maximum potential of one''s body, rather than the five senses. Hence, even when controlling the Divine Magic Dragon, his performance in the Realms of Truth had reached the Ascension Realm. After deflecting the endless spear attacks for a short moment, the Divine Magic Dragon Shi Feng controlled arrived before Dyro. Shi Feng then had the summoned creature slap at the NPC. However, Dyro was still a Mythic NPC, and his reaction speed was extremely fast. Before the massive claw could reach him, he used Advanced Instantaneous Movement and appeared 100 yards away from his original location. However, not wanting to give the NPC time to breathe, Shi Feng charged forward once again. Suddenly, Dyro was at a disadvantage and had no choice but to evade Shi Feng''s attacks physically. While evading, Dyro continued to chant incantations and write divine runes. Although Shi Feng realized what the NPC was doing, he couldn''t do anything about it. Five seconds Ten seconds Twenty seconds After chanting for a total of 24 seconds, Dyro abruptly stopped and sneered at the Divine Magic Dragon before him. "Fall into eternal darkness!" Dyro shouted before twirling the staff in his right hand. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and 36 gigantic magic arrays appeared around the Divine Magic Dragon. Pitch-black chains then emerged from the magic arrays, binding the Dragon. The chains then bound the Divine Magic Dragon in a gigantic, pitch-black ball. Tier 4 Curse, Dark Prison! Although the Divine Magic Dragon was powerful, not even a monster if its caliber would be able to struggle free from a Tier 4 Curse''s restrictions. After all, a Tier 4 Curse had the power to rival Tier 5 Spells. "Crap! The Divine Magic Dragon has been tied up!" Shadow Sword''s expression darkened when he saw Dyro fly towards Zero Wing''s defensive magic array after casting the Tier 4 Curse. Although the movement-type defensive magic array was strong, it would only last a few hits from a Tier 4 NPC. Moreover, unlike monsters, a magical class NPC like Dyro would have an acute understanding of magic arrays. Breaking through a defensive magic array would be child''s play for Dyro. Once the defensive magic array was gone, the remaining Evil Demons and Evil Beasts would be more than enough to annihilate Zero Wing''s army several times over even if Dyro didn''t get involved. "Black Flame, your time is up!" Beast Emperor revealed a victorious grin as he watched Dyro move closer to Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. He had been slightly concerned that the Divine Magic Dragon would be too much for Dyro to handle, but at the end of the day, a Tier 4 NPC was still a Tier 4 NPC. Although Dyro was no match for the Divine Magic Dragon in a direct confrontation, he would have no trouble binding it for a short time, just long enough for Dyro to wipe out a bunch of Tier 2 players. This made Zero Wing''s members in the defensive magic array nervous. Elsewhere, two Mythic Evil Beasts had managed to force their way past Flying Shadow''s Divine Magic Dragon. The two Mythic Evil Beasts then coordinated with Dyro. It was obvious that they planned to break through the defensive magic array with a single attack. The watching players could already picture the defensive magic array shattering under the three Tier 4 existences'' combined assault when Dyro and the two Mythic Evil Beasts were less than 100 yards away from the barrier around Zero Wing''s members. "It seems Zero Wing is doomed this time," Quiet Melody said, sighing. Although this battle had been a close one, Zero Wing still wasn''t strong enough. She had never imagined that not only would Beast Emperor convince a Tier 4 NPC to take action for him, but that the NPC would also wield so many Tier 4 Curses. So, this is the true strength of a Tier 4 NPC? Despite watching Dyro and the two Evil Earth Dragons approach, Shi Feng didn''t reveal any signs of fear or despair. Instead, he quickly gave Shadow Sword control of the Divine Magic Dragon as he took out the Tier 4 Domain Scroll that he had obtained after killing the Tyrant''s Soul. When he activated the Tier 4 Domain Scroll, a blue light rippled away from him, extending to a 1,000-yard radius. Suddenly, all enemies within range of the Domain Skill were suppressed. Because of this, Dyro, who had already been suppressed by the Divine Magic Dragon''s Domain Skill, lost even more Attributes and reaction speed. Now, he only had 80% of his original Basic Attributes. Against a Tier 4 NPC like Dyro, the effects of the Tier 4 Domain Scroll were quite astonishing. Unfortunately, Dyro was still unstoppable for players. After activating the Domain Scroll, Shi Feng took a Summon Guard Scroll from his bag and summoned Anna. "Why is the Guild Leader summoning his Personal Guard?" Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and the Zero Wing''s other members were confused to see Anna join the battlefield. They were no strangers to Anna. She, without a doubt, had the most frightening Growth Potential of any Personal Guard they had seen in the game. In one-on-one combat, she could even defeat opponents of a higher tier. However, Anna was only a Tier 2 NPC. Even if Dyro''s Attributes and reaction speed were suppressed, Anna still had no hope of taking him down. However, as Zero Wing''s members doubted Shi Feng''s sanity, Shi Feng retrieved a crimson potion from his bag and handed it to Anna. After receiving the potion, Anna removed the lid on the bottle and drank it without hesitation. Players weren''t the only ones who could use potions in God''s Domain. NPCs could as well. The crimson potion was none other than the Grandmaster ranked Growth Potion Shi Feng had obtained after killing Baphomet. When consumed, the potion would forcefully elevate the user by one tier. After consuming the potion, Anna''s physique began to transform. The surrounding ambient Mana flooded into her, and as it did, golden divine runes began to decorate Anna''s body, adding a hint of holiness and beauty to her appearance. Anna''s aura had also undergone a heaven-defying transformation. If her previous aura was like flowing water, her new aura felt like the endless ocean. If one paid close attention, they would notice that Anna was no longer a Tier 2 NPC, but a bona fide Tier 3 NPC. "How is this possible?!" Even the various major powers and Beast Emperor had noticed Anna''s transformation, let alone Zero Wing''s members. After all, her rise from a Tier 2 NPC to Tier 3 had caused quite the commotion. "Alright, let''s begin the second round!" Shi Feng smiled at the approaching Dyro. 1716 Tier 3 Anna Chapter 1716 - Tier 3 Anna "A Tier 3 Personal Guard?" Beast Emperor, who watched the battle through a crystal ball in the Evil God''s Branch Temple, was slightly surprised when Anna appeared beside Shi Feng. However, his surprise quickly turned into a sneer as he said, "Do you really think that a measly Tier 3 Personal Guard can stop a Tier 4 NPC?" To put it simply, Personal Guards were hired NPCs in God''s Domain. However, since they were enhanced through a contract, Personal Guards'' Basic Attributes were slightly higher than ordinary NPCs'' of the same level. Although Anna had been promoted to Tier 3, she was only slightly stronger than other Tier 3 NPCs. She might be invincible against current players, but she was still far from being able to contend with Tier 4 existences. Meanwhile, when the Tier 4 Curse Dark Prison was used on ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level, it could trap the monster for at least an hour. Although the Divine Magic Dragon was extremely powerful, Beast Emperor guessed that the Dark Prison should hold it for at least 20 minutes. Although no one could damage the sealed monster during that time, it couldn''t do anything, either. Meanwhile, relying on a Tier 3 Personal Guard to distract a Tier 4 NPC like Dyro was a joke. Beast Emperor wasn''t the only one who thought so. Every player at the Primordial Divine Ruin agreed with the sentiment. Although only one tier separated Tier 3 and 4, the gap between the tiers'' strength increased with each subsequent tier. In front of a Tier 4 NPC, a Tier 3 NPC didn''t even qualify to buy time. As Dyro and the two Level 80 Evil Earth Dragons drew closer, Anna began to chant an incantation from within Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. With her left hand, she swiftly drew line after line of divine runes in the air. Shortly after, two colossal magic arrays, one white and one black, appeared beside Anna. The ambient Mana then began to flow towards the arrays, and Zero Wing''s members could feel the Mana density increase around them by several times. Double-speed-casting! "That Personal Guard is quite good. She actually knows how to double-speed-cast. It''s a pity that she''s going to die here today." When the various major powers'' upper echelons saw Anna double-speed-cast, envy gripped their hearts. While NPCs were indeed powerful, there were significant differences between them. Magical-class NPCs capable of double-casting were already extremely rare, not to mention NPCs capable of double-speed-casting. This was also why they had been so surprised to learn that Dyro could both double-speed-cast and supplementary-cast. If a Personal Guard grasped these techniques, they would have an advantage over other NPCs when they reached higher tiers. Take Dyro, for example. Despite Dyro clearly being no match for the Divine Magic Dragon under Shi Feng''s control, the NPC could rely on his techniques to mitigate the Divine Magic Dragon''s attacks and even entrap it. As the spectating crowd pondered such things, two pillars of light rose from the two colossal magic arrays, each taking on the color if the array it emerged from. In the next moment, three summoned creatures stepped out of each of the two light pillars. Three knights in silver armor had emerged from the white light pillar, each of which wielded a silver sword in their right hands and a shield that could easily serve as a mirror in their left. [Knight of Light] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 80 HP 60,000,000/60,000,000 Meanwhile, three mages in deep-black robes stepped out of the black light pillar. Each of the mages carried a staff that was shrouded in black mist. The crystals embedded in the top of the staves radiated four different colors. [Envoy of Darkness] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 80 HP 45,000,000/45,000,000 Tier 3 Spell, Light Summoning! Tier 3 Spell, Darkness Summoning! If players used the Grandmaster ranked Growth Potion, they''d only rise by a single tier, but if an NPC used the potion, that''d be a different story. After Anna rose to Tier 3, she had learned all of the Tier 3 Spells she would know after truly being promoted to Tier 3. Hence, right now, she was a bona fide Tier 3 existence. The Growth Potion''s only flaw was its short duration of 15 minutes. Once the potion''s duration ended, Anna would revert to her original state. Hence, players had only used these potions in crucial moments in the past. They could not be treated like trump cards in Guild wars or siege battles. "What a powerful Personal Guard!" The instant the six Level 80 Grand Lords appeared beside Anna, silence fell over the spectating crowd. Nobody had thought that Anna was actually strong enough to summon six Grand Lords of the same level. With this, she was basically invincible among Tier 3 existences. Before the spectating crowd could recover from their shock, Anna controlled the Knights of Light and Envoys of Darkness to charge out of the defensive magic array and attack Dyro and the two Mythic Evil Beasts. In the next moment, the Knights of Light vanished, reappearing instantly around their Mythic ranked targets. Once the Knights surrounded their opponents in a triangular formation, they raised their shields before them. Suddenly, a magic array of light manifested beneath each of the Knights, linking with each other to form a Prism of Light that trapped Dyro and the Mythic Evil Beasts. Immediately, Dyro and the Evil Beasts'' Basic Attributes fell once more. Now, the three Mythic existences only retained 60% of their original Attributes. Moreover, they couldn''t break free of the magic barrier unless they killed the Knights of Light. By the time the Knights of Light had finished, the Envoys of Darkness had also completed their Spells'' chants. Pitch-black mist began to rise from the ground within the barrier, binding Dyro and the Evil Earth Dragons. Although the mist did not reduce the three Mythic existences'' Basic Attributes in the least, it did reduce their reaction speed and Movement Speed by 50%. By the time the Knights of Light and Envoys of Darkness had further suppressed Dyro and the Mythic Evil Beasts, Anna had finished chanting the final verse of her incantation. Tier 4 Spell, Yin Yang Cycle! Under her command, a dual-colored magic array appeared in the sky, and 36 gigantic swords emerged, 18 of which were a silvery-white, while the other 18 were an abyss-black. These 36 swords then descended on Dyro and the two Evil Earth Dragons. Despite seeing the approaching swords, the two Mythic Evil Beasts showed no intention of dodging the weapons. Instead, they swiped their claws at the incoming attacks. However, the moment one of Evil Beast''s claws met one of the silver swords, the impact flung its claw backward, bending its arm at an awkward angle. When the other Evil Beast touched a black sword, the sword passed through its claw and struck the Evil Earth Dragon, dealing over -1,000,000 damage. As the 36 swords fell, one after another, the two Mythic Evil Beasts screamed in pain and their HPs plummeted. Although the two Evil Beasts wanted to escape, the falling swords pinned them in place. Naturally, Dyro didn''t dare to block any of these swords. Rather, he used Spells to help him evade the attacks. He didn''t have any spare energy to strike at the Knights of Light, much less attack Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. Even after another ten seconds of this bombardment, Dyro and the two Evil Earth Dragons still couldn''t free themselves from Anna''s assault. Not only had they failed to land a single hit on Zero Wing''s defensive magic array, but the two Evil Earth Dragons'' HP also continued to decrease "Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Is that woman really a Tier 3 Personal Guard?" Everyone watched Dyro and the Mythic Evil Beasts struggle with shocked expressions. Although Shi Feng''s Domain Scroll had suppressed Dyro and the Evil Beasts, significantly reducing their combat powers, a mere Tier 3 NPC shouldn''t have any hope against them by herself, yet Shi Feng''s Personal Guard successfully faced them alone. Aside from the word "strong," the spectating crowd truly had no other way to describe Anna. Despite Anna standing alone, her Skills made her look like a team of NPCs. So, this is the strength of an Epic Personal Guard? Shi Feng was just as shocked to see Anna overwhelm Dyro and the two Evil Beasts. He had never thought that Anna could really go up against Tier 4 existences at Tier 3. With Anna''s constant intervention, even after over a minute, Dyro couldn''t attack the Knights of Light. In fact, the Tier 4 NPC''s HP had even begun to decrease as he failed to keep up with Anna and the Envoys of Darkness''s attacks. As he watched, Beast Emperor''s eyes became bloodshot. However, he still wasn''t particularly worried about this situation. With how powerful the potion Anna had consumed was, the potion''s effects should not last very long. Once the potion''s effects ended, Anna would have no power over Dyro. One minute Three minutes Five minutes However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, Anna remained powerful throughout the entire battle. She showed no signs of weakening in the least. After Forbidden Domain''s Cooldown had ended, Shi Feng cast the Skill on Dyro''s Dark Prison without hesitation. The giant ball of pitch-black chains shattered instantly. The 36 pitch-black magic arrays around the ball also disappeared. Once the trapped Divine Magic Dragon regained its freedom, it resumed its attacks against Dyro. The Divine Magic Dragon had already possessed higher Attributes than the Tier 4 NPC, but after Shi Feng had suppressed Dyro with his Tier 4 Domain Scroll and the Knights of Light''s Prism of Light, Dyro was only slightly stronger than Grand Lords of the same level. As a result, the difference between the Divine Magic Dragon and Dyro became even more obvious. Furthermore, Shi Feng''s Forbidden Domain had also affected the Dark Wizard, and he couldn''t use any of his Spells. After freeing the trapped Divine Magic Dragon, Shi Feng quickly switched places with Shadow Sword again and controlled the summoned creature to swipe at Dyro with its claw. Boom! Since the Mythic NPC couldn''t use any of his Spells, he had to rely on his physical prowess to block the attack. However, even though he had stopped the attack with his staff, Dyro''s Basic Attributes were too much lower than the Divine Magic Dragon''s. As a result, he still took the full brunt of the attack and received over -2,000,000 damage. To Dyro, whose maximum HP was only at 60,000,000 right now, that blow had taken one-thirtieth of his HP Taking advantage of Dyro''s helplessness, Anna followed the Divine Magic Dragon''s attack with a Tier 4 Spell, dealing over -7,000,000 damage to the Silenced NPC. While 60,000,000 HP might seem like a lot to players, to the Divine Magic Dragon and Anna, this much HP was nothing. After six seconds of constant struggle, Dyro eventually removed the Silenced debuff. However, he only had one-third of his HP remaining by this point. To make matters worse, although Dyro could again defend himself with powerful Spells, the massive difference in Attributes between himself and the Magic Divine Dragon was beyond the reach of Spells. As a result, the enemy Dragon broke through his defense, again and again, and his HP visibly decreased. Finally, when less than one minute remained on Anna''s Growth Potion, Dyro''s HP hit zero. The NPC elder then collapsed to the ground with a face of frustration and reluctance 1717 Shocking Numerous Countries Chapter 1717 - Shocking Numerous Countries As Dyro died, the dark-gray Evil Energy consuming the sky above the Primordial Divine Ruin faded. The land once again bathed in the sun''s glaring rays. Many of Zero Wing''s army abruptly leveled up as the Tier 4 NPC awarded more abundant EXP than any ordinary Mythic monster. Unlike Mythic monsters, the NPC dropped only two items when he had died. After these two items appeared, the Evil Energy surrounding the old man''s body quickly dissipated, and shortly after, his body transformed into ash that scattered with the wind. "He died?" "A Tier 4 NPC was killed, just like that?" Everyone at the Primordial Divine Ruin watched Dyro''s disintegrating corpse in utter disbelief. After playing God''s Domain for so long, everyone was terrifyingly familiar with the strength of Tier 4 NPCs. They were powerhouses that could guard and rule over major NPC cities. They were definitely invincible to current players. Yet, players had just slain one such NPC This situation had overturned everything they thought they had known about God''s Domain. "How is this possible?! That''s a Tier 4 Dark Wizard we''re talking about!" Beast Emperor''s countenance twisted as he stared at Dyro''s corpse through the gigantic crystal ball in the Evil God''s Branch Temple. He had spent nearly all of his Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points to get Dyro to participate in the battle. Aside from getting rid of Zero Wing, he also wanted to give the various superpowers a warning. He wanted everyone to know that the Orc Empire was his territory, yet both his main and side objectives had failed. Back on the battlefield, the players from the various major powers and adventurer teams weren''t the only ones shocked by Dyro''s death. Even Zero Wing''s members stared at the NPC''s corpse with dumbfounded expressions. "Did we succeed?" Aqua Rose muttered, finding what had just happened a little hard to believe. "Relax. He''s dead. Although Tier 4 NPCs are powerful, they''re not invincible. Everyone, continue killing the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. The battle is not over yet," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Shadow Sword, come take back control over the Dragon." While Tier 4 NPCs were very powerful, they were not insurmountable. As players reached higher levels and gained more strength, some would even take out the Level 200, Tier 4 NPCs that protected major NPC cities, let alone a lowly Level 80, Tier 4 NPC. "Understood!" Shadow Sword snapped out of his daze and nodded. Once Shadow Sword took control back, Shi Feng activated Gale Domain, transforming into a blur as he dashed towards Dyro''s ashes. NPCs like Dyro rarely dropped loot, which was why players weren''t usually interested in killing God''s Domain''s NPCs. Not only were NPCs built to counter players, but they also didn''t drop much loot even after they died. Normally, players wouldn''t bother with such a thankless task unless they had no other choice. As for the Tier 4 NPCs that protected cities, they almost never dropped loot. And due to the city''s magic arrays, these NPCs would command even more combat power. To make matters worse, if players killed a city''s protector, the city''s kingdom or empire would post a bounty on their head. If players had a working brain, they wouldn''t provoke an NPC city''s Tier 4 NPCs without a very good reason. However, in the rare event such NPCs dropped loot, the items would definitely be top-tier. Although Shi Feng didn''t need to worry about anyone stealing Dyro''s loot due to the Evil Beasts and Demons on the battlefield, he thought it would be best to be safe, rather than sorry. On the off chance that some suicidal players decided to give it a go, reclaiming the loot would be troublesome. The two Evil Earth Dragons were still trapped in the Knights of Light''s Prism of Light, and Anna and the Divine Magic Dragon had them thoroughly pinned down. This allowed Shi Feng to reach Dyro''s partly disintegrated corpse easily. After retrieving the two items the NPC had dropped, he immediately turned and fled back to the defensive magic array. When the major powers'' players saw this, their eyes became bloodshot with envy. That was a Tier 4 NPC''s loot! Even if they didn''t know what the items were exactly, due to how powerful Dyro had been, those items were guaranteed to be extraordinary. However, although they were jealous, none of them dared to take action. Whether the Divine Magic Dragons or Anna''s Level 80 Knights of Light and Envoys of Darkness came after them, all of these beings were ridiculously powerful. Even if they charged onto the battlefield to steal the loot, they would simply add to these monsters'' kill-counts. Meanwhile, as the various superpowers'' upper echelons watched the two Divine Magic Dragons battle, jealousy gripped their hearts. If Zero Wing could summon more Divine Magic Dragons, then nobody in the Orc Empire could beat the Guild, not even Beast Emperor. However, they also realized that even if Zero Wing could summon more of these Dragons, it should only be able to do so a limited number of times. It was even possible that Zero Wing only had these two summoning arrays. Otherwise, the Guild could have summoned a third Divine Magic Dragon to take out Dyro, rather than giving Anna a rare potion to increase her strength. A potion that could elevate a Personal Guard by one tier was far more valuable than a Divine Magic Dragon. Each of these Dragons required 88 Summoners, which had to be protected at all times. On the other hand, the potion Anna had consumed could be carried and used without such challenging restrictions. Of course, that was just an assumption. They''d have to investigate the situation slowly through their spies in Zero Wing to learn the exact truth of the matter. But it was safe to say that from today on, no one would dare to provoke Zero Wing at the Primordial Divine Ruin. When Shi Feng returned to the defensive magic array, he continued to command Zero Wing''s army as they slaughtered the Evil Beasts and Demons. After they killed two Mythic Evil Beasts and 30,000-plus lower-ranked Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, Beast Emperor finally gave up and recalled his minions from the Primordial Divine Ruin. "Even Beast Emperor is helpless against Zero Wing?" Falling Fire, who watched the battle from a safe distance with a Magic Mirror, frowned as he watched this outcome. He had planned to send Blackwater''s army back to the ruin after Beast Emperor had severely wounded Zero Wing''s forces, but it seemed that his plan was no longer viable. "Sure enough, Zero Wing still won." "Amazing! This is simply amazing! Zero Wing actually forced back an army of 100,000-plus Evil Demons and Evil Beasts with a little over 1,000 players! With this, Beast Emperor has lost his position as the Orc Empire''s overlord." The spectating crowd at the Primordial Divine Ruin could not help but shudder with excitement as they watched the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts frantically flee. Zero Wing had come to the Primordial Divine Ruin with fewer than 2,000 players, yet not only had it defeated Blackwater''s 10,000-strong army, but it had also pushed back a force of 100,000-plus monsters. In the midst of the battle, Zero Wing had even killed a Tier 4 NPC and two Tier 4 Evil Beasts. The watching players finally understood just how powerful Zero Wing was. The various superpowers, in particular, felt a sliver of fear as they watched the Guild. At the very least, they didn''t want to make an enemy of Zero Wing within the Orc Empire''s boundaries. After all, nobody could say for certain that Zero Wing couldn''t summon more Divine Magic Dragons. As the battle ended, news of Zero Wing''s shocking victory at the Primordial Divine Ruin quickly spread to the kingdoms and empires neighboring the Orc Empire. Meanwhile, this news didn''t only reach the ears of the various large Guilds as even ordinary players learned of the battle. The news had reached so many players because many of the players at the Primordial Divine Ruin were from adventurer teams, as well. Many of these adventurer teams'' members began to upload the videos they had recorded of the battle to their respective countries'' forums. "Crap! Is this really a battle between players? Why does it feel more like a battle between NPCs?" "Quick, look! Isn''t that a Tier 4 NPC?" "What?! Zero Wing even managed to kill a Tier 4 NPC?!" Due to this masterpiece of a battle, Zero Wing''s fame in the various kingdoms and empires rose significantly. Many players even began to consider joining Zero Wing. For a time, countless players swarmed towards White River City and Zero Wing City. "Black Flame! Don''t think that you''ve won the war just because you''ve won this battle!" A cold glint flashed in Beast Emperor''s eyes as he read the forum posts. "Since you''ve severed one of my limbs, I''ll make sure that Zero Wing never sets foot in the Orc Empire again!" He admitted that his Evil Demon and Evil Beast army had been defeated, and the loss had been significant. However, he knew very well that the Divine Magic Dragons were summoned creatures. They could only exist for a limited amount of time. Once that duration ended, he could simply send his minions back to the Primordial Divine Ruin and slaughter Zero Wing''s army. Even if Zero Wing could summon the Divine Magic Dragons again, he could just order another retreat and attack at a later time. He had more than enough Evil Demons and Evil Beasts to bleed Zero Wing dry. Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: After seeing that the battle was over, Shi Feng used a Return Scroll to return to White River City. However, Shi Feng did not head directly to the War God''s Temple. Instead, he visited White River City''s Adventurer''s Association. In a VIP room on the Adventurer''s Association''s second floor When one of the Association''s senior administrators entered the room, he greeted Shi Feng, who rested on a sofa, and asked, "Lord Protector, how may I be of service today?" "I wish to build a town in a neutral map outside of the kingdom, and I need the Adventurer''s Association''s help," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then revealed the Town Building Order he had acquired from the Lost Town. 1718 Building a Neutral Town Chapter 1718 - Building a Neutral Town Inside the luxurious VIP Room, the NPC senior adopted a more respectful attitude towards Shi Feng upon watching the Swordsman pull a tattered piece of parchment from his bag and place it on the table. Following which, the NPC inspected the parchment carefully. Although the Town Building Order was nowhere near as valuable as a Star-Moon Kingdom City Building Order on its own, it could rival, even surpass, the value of the kingdom''s City Building Order depending on how it was used. This was because the Town Building Order didn''t have location restrictions. One could even construct a town in a neutral map if they wished to. Neutral maps were not under any kingdom or empire''s jurisdiction, so building a town in one of these maps was akin to securing rule over the map. On the other hand, while the Star-Moon Kingdom City Building Order was indeed very valuable, the city built had to be constructed within Star-Moon Kingdom''s borders. In other words, the city would still be under the kingdom''s jurisdiction and would be largely influenced by the kingdom. The simplest example of such influence was the monthly management fee towns and cities had to pay the kingdom. For a Basic City like Zero Wing City, players had to pay a monthly management fee of 30,000 Gold. If the city were promoted to an Intermediate or Advanced City, the fee would increase by several times. However, if a town or city were constructed in a neutral map, players wouldn''t be required to hand over an exorbitant management fee to any kingdom or empire. Instead, players only had to pay a small management fee to the system. Of course, such a benefit had a huge drawback: the lack of safety. Towns and cities within a kingdom or empire were under that kingdom or empire''s protection. Monster attacks were the greatest threat these towns and cities would have to face. However, monsters weren''t the only threat in a neutral map. Raids from other races would be commonplace, as well. If a Guild weren''t strong enough, building a town in a neutral map would simply be a waste of manpower and resources. In fact, Guilds had often overestimated their strength during Shi Feng''s previous life, constructing towns in neutral maps, which were subsequently destroyed. However, this drawback included another benefit, which was the greatest benefit of building a town in a neutral map. Since neutral maps were not under a kingdom or empire''s jurisdiction, Guild Towns and Guild Cities in neutral maps could trade with other races. God''s Domain had many different races. Aside from creatures with low intellect, which only knew how to slaughter other beings for survival, there were intelligent races that could communicate with players, such as Dwarves, Elves, Orcs, Half-elves, and Half-orcs. Only, these races were prohibited from entering Guild Towns and Cities within kingdoms and empires'' borders. At most, players might encounter these races in NPC towns and cities, but even then, these races would only conduct basic trade with players. However, these foreign races produced many products that were better than those made by human hands. Moreover, each race had their own specialty products that would be of great help to players'' survival when fighting in the fields. Take Dwarven-made weapons and equipment, for example. As the Dwarves had better techniques and special forging methods, their weapons and equipment performed far better than human-made products. Meanwhile, Guild Towns in neutral maps weren''t prohibited from trading with foreign races. As long as a town were attractive enough, it could inspire members of the foreign races to visit. Aside from trade, players could also employ foreign races to serve as the town''s soldiers. Unlike human warriors, these races'' warriors generally specialized in a particular aspect. Hence, Guilds that had towns in neutral maps in the past had hired foreign races'' warriors to protect their towns. Because of these aspects, although neutral towns didn''t seem any different than ordinary Guild Towns, they could actually function like miniature kingdoms in neutral maps. Although the neutral town couldn''t compare to kingdoms and empires in every aspect, it had the qualities to become one. "Lord Protector, I have ascertained that there are no problems with your Town Building Order. May I know where you wish to build your town?" the NPC administrator respectfully asked as he stored the Town Building Order. He then took out a crystal ball and placed it on the table. In the next moment, a map of God''s Domain appeared in the crystal ball. "Here," Shi Feng said as he pointed at the Orc Empire''s Primordial Divine Ruin. Constructing a town in a neutral map wasn''t like building one in a kingdom or empire. Kingdoms and empires would never intervene in matters outside of their borders. Hence, when building a town in a neutral map, the Adventurer''s Association was fully responsible for handling the town''s construction. "Lord Protector, this location is currently quite chaotic. The lowest-level monsters nearby are above Level 50. Orcs also wreak havoc in the area. If you wish to build a town there, it will be costly. The basic construction fees alone come to 40,000 Gold. If you wish to employ guards, each Level 100, Tier 1 adventurer will cost 3 Gold per day, 10 Gold per day for a Tier 2 adventurer, and 100 Gold per day for a Tier 3 adventurer. You will also only be allowed to employ them for a maximum of three days. "Do you wish to hire any guards?" "I''ll hire 1,000 Tier 1 adventurers, 500 Tier 2 adventurers, and 20 Tier 3 adventurers for three days." This wasn''t the first time Shi Feng had built a neutral town, so the cost didn''t particularly surprise him. While neutral maps were extremely dangerous, the profit one could obtain from them was immense. Hence, towns in neutral maps were only given 3-day protection periods. Not only were these NPC guards expensive, but their levels wouldn''t scale along with players, remaining only slightly higher than the local monsters. These NPC guards were mainly there to repel monster and foreign race assaults, not players. Zero Wing had recently earned a fortune from selling the equipment it had obtained after killing Heaven''s Burial and Blackwater''s members. It also had the profit from Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City. However, since a large part of the money had to be invested in the Guild''s development, Zero Wing only had a little over 80,000 Gold in the bank right now. The construction alone cost 40,000 Gold, which was many times higher than building a town within Star-Moon Kingdom. With how expensive the adventurers were, Shi Feng didn''t dare to hire too many at once. Furthermore, if a town wished to survive in a neutral map long-term, relying on temporary guards definitely wasn''t a viable solution. Hence, the Guild had to set some money aside to build static defenses in the town, as well. "Alright! Your total bill comes to 70,000 Gold. No discounts are available at this time," the NPC administrator said, nodding. "Once you complete the payment, the Adventurer''s Association will send our people to the chosen location within one minute. It will take them roughly 20 minutes to complete the town''s construction." Twenty minutes? The senior administrator''s explanation surprised Shi Feng a little. He had never thought that the town''s construction would take so long. When the Adventurer''s Association constructed a town in a nearby neutral map, it normally completed the construction within ten minutes. Unlike cities, town''s had fewer facilities and structures, after all. But his town required twice as long to construct. One could just imagine how dangerous the area around the Primordial Divine Ruin was right now. However, Shi Feng did not give the matter much thought. He handed 70,000 Gold to the NPC and departed from the Adventurer''s Association. He then headed to the War God''s Temple to earn himself some Merit Points. While Shi Feng was on his way to the War God''s Temple, he received a call from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, another problem has cropped up at the Primordial Divine Ruin. As soon as we left the ruin, Beast Emperor sent his Evil Beasts and Evil Demons to surround the ruin again. We still can''t send our elite members to garrison in the ruin," Aqua Rose reported with a somber expression. She hadn''t expected Beast Emperor to be so shameless, making such a move. "One of Beast Emperor''s subordinates has also contacted us, informing us that he won''t stop harassing us at the Primordial Divine Ruin unless we release Flame Blood." Although Beast Emperor''s actions were shameless, Zero Wing couldn''t do anything about it. Zero Wing only had two magic arrays that could summon Divine Magic Dragons, and both had been used during the previous battle. Now that Zero Wing had nothing to counter the Evil Beast and Demon armies, sending in a player army would be suicidal. "He''s prepared to fight to the bitter end?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. "Since that is the case, let him have his fun. We''ll see how long he can continue his struggle." "But what about Primordial City?" Aqua Rose could tell that Shi Feng was determined to destroy Beast Emperor thoroughly. However, Primordial City played a key role in helping Zero Wing''s members reach Tier 2. "Just ignore him," Shi Feng said. "For now, gather every architect in the Candlelight Trading Firm and have them gather in the Guild Residence. Then, contact Melancholic and tell her to prepare these materials for me. I''ll need them in a moment." After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call and quietly waited for his horse carriage to reach the War God''s Temple. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose stared at the darkened screen before her with a confused look. "Is it really fine to leave him alone?" Aqua Rose muttered to herself worriedly. However, the expression Shi Feng has worn during their conversation indicated that he had a well-thought-out plan in mind. Immediately, she shook her worries out of her mind and sent Beast Emperor''s subordinate a reply. Once that was done, she started to gather the necessary manpower and notified Melancholic Smile to collect the necessary materials. Ancient Rock City: "Good! Very good!" When Beast Emperor received Aqua Rose''s reply via his subordinate, his complexion turned frighteningly ashen, and killing intent radiated from his entire body. He had never thought that Shi Feng would be mad enough to fight him to the bitter end. Just as Beast Emperor was about to declare a war of annihilation on Zero Wing, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for being the first Guild to construct a town in a neutral map! Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity and 10,000 Popularity to the new town. 1719 Zero Wings Town Chapter 1719 - Zero Wing''s Town "A town in a neutral map?" Beast Emperor stared at the system announcement, stunned. He wasn''t unfamiliar with a town''s construction. After all, many Guilds had constructed towns within the various kingdoms and empires before. However, the building a town in a neutral map held an entirely different meaning. Neutral maps lacked teleportation points. Players could only rely on their own power to travel to neutral maps. If a Guild constructed a Guild Town in a neutral map, its Guild members could Guild Transfer Scrolls to teleport to said town once it had a Guild Residence, saving plenty of travel time. Moreover, unlike a captured town, which had a fixed location, the owner could construct their town wherever they wished. Neutral maps were rich in resources, but the various major powers had only captured premade towns thus far. Nobody had successfully built a town in a neutral map yet. Even so, these powers had reaped plenty of benefits from their captured towns. If they could build a town in a strategic location and occupy it, they could definitely secure more resources. Meanwhile, at the Orc Empire''s Primordial Divine Ruin The players from the various major powers and adventurer teams, who were preparing to fight for the ruin''s entry slots, were watching towards the southwest, an indescribable shock filling their gazes. Suddenly, a town had popped up in the highlands southwest of the Primordial Divine Ruin. Combined with the previous system announcement, any fool would realize that this constructed town belonged to Zero Wing. "Am I dreaming?" "How is this possible?" "Zero Wing is so awesome! The Guild even had the means to construct a town here?" Looking at the fully-formed town, the various large Guilds at the Primordial Divine Ruin looked on with envy. Meanwhile, the eyes of the various adventurers glowed with excitement. Having a town so close to the Primordial Divine Ruin was a dream. The Primordial Divine Ruin was an important resource, which the various major powers competed for. These powers had even expended endless manpower and resources just to get more members into the ruin. Now that Zero Wing had built a town beside the Primordial Divine Ruin, the Guild would have a massive advantage over the other powers when competing for entry slots. First, Zero Wing could easily mobilize a large number of Guild members to the Primordial Divine Ruin. Zero Wing''s members would not have to face hours of travel. Second, the players that Zero Wing garrisoned in the ruin wouldn''t have to worry about repairing gear and replenishing supplies. The Primordial Divine Ruin wasn''t a town, and even though it offered hotels for players to rest in, there were a limited number available. Moreover, the cost was beyond exorbitant. Not even large Guilds could necessarily afford for thousands of their members to rent rooms from the hotels, yet if players set up camp outside of the ruin, their Stamina and Concentration recover would be incredibly slow. This prevented them from grinding the surrounding monsters and leveling up efficiently. However, towns were a different story. A town could accommodate more players, and most importantly, players could repair their weapons and equipment in a town. Although the Primordial Divine Ruin had restaurants and hotels, it didn''t have any smithies. Hence, players would have to return to their respective towns and cities to repair their gear after grinding around the ruin for some time. With these two advantages, Zero Wing could secure a powerful position in the competition over the Primordial Divine Ruin''s resources. While the various large Guilds were furious over Zero Wing building a Guild Town next to the ruin, the various adventurer teams were elated. The participating adventurer teams were still far weaker than the various large Guilds in the competition for entry slots. After all, unlike adventurer teams, the various large Guilds had many members under their command and could afford to garrison their members in the Primordial Divine Ruin in shifts without affecting their total combat power within the ruin. However, now that a town had been built next to the Primordial Divine Ruin, the various adventurer teams could use it as a temporary base, staying close to the ruin long-term. With this, the various adventurer teams could compete with the various large Guilds on a more even playing field. Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing''s new town in the Orc Empire quickly spread to the neighboring kingdoms and empires. For a time, the various large Guilds and independent experts were all talking about Zero Wing. "Zero Wing''s rise is certain now! Not only does the Guild have the advanced combat rooms and a Guild City, but it also has built a town right beside the Orc Empire''s Primordial Divine Ruin!" "That''s right! I heard that many independent experts have chosen to join Zero Wing to better-develop themselves. Apparently, not only has the Guild reserved specific advanced combat rooms for its members, but Zero Wing members can also learn the Guild''s combat techniques for a much lower price than non-Guild players. I knew I should''ve joined Zero Wing earlier." Many independent experts from the various kingdoms and empires neighboring the Orc Empire were tempted to join Zero Wing after learning about the Guild''s latest achievement. They hadn''t known much about Zero Wing previously, and those that had known hadn''t had a particularly optimistic view of the Guild. However, that had all changed after the Guild''s overwhelming victory against Blackwater and Beast Emperor. Now that Zero Wing had constructed a Guild Town beside the Primordial Divine Ruin, even a fool could tell that the Guild had a very high chance of becoming a super-first-rate Guild in the future. Many expert players targeted super-first-rate Guilds. If one could become an internal member of such an organization, they''d be able to live a life free of worry in the real world. However, super-first-rate Guilds had plenty of expert players, and only a limited number of people could become internal members. Hence, the competition within super-first-rate Guilds was intense. However, if players joined a Guild that had the potential to become a super-first-rate Guild, even if they were only ordinary experts, they still had a high chance of becoming an internal member. Thinking about the potential benefits, many of the various kingdoms and empires'' experts hurried toward Star-Moon Kingdom. For a time, more players gathered before Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City and Zero Wing City, allowing the Guild to recruit another large batch of elite and expert players. Meanwhile, when Aqua Rose, who was gathering the architects Shi Feng had requested, found out about Zero Wing''s new town, realization dawned on her. She was also instantly overjoyed. Now that Zero Wing had a Guild Town beside the Primordial Divine Ruin, the Guild would have a much easier time collecting combat techniques and entering Primordial City. Most importantly, the town would bring in a massive amount of income for Zero Wing. Nowadays, a large number of players grinded and leveling in the Orc Empire. All of these players were elites and experts from the various kingdoms and empires, and they all had plenty of resources. Meanwhile, there were only a few Guild Towns in the Orc Empire. Furthermore, Ancient Rock City, which had been a hub for players, had become an Evil Demon nest. This further limited the number of rest areas for players. Now that a new Guild Town had popped up beside the Primordial Divine Ruin, tons of expert and elite players would swarm the town, giving Zero Wing access to all sorts of rare resources. The Guild''s new town would likely be even more profitable than Stone Forest Town, and for Zero Wing''s members, this was a golden opportunity to visit the Orc Empire to grind. Their leveling efficiency in the neutral map would definitely be faster than grinding in Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who sat in an advanced horse carriage as he headed towards White River City''s War God''s Temple, remained wholly ignorant of the commotion Zero Wing''s new town had caused. All he knew was that his new town''s construction had been completed. The system had also notified him that he needed to inspect the town and complete the handover procedures. However, Shi Feng wasn''t focused on his newest town, but on the contents of his bag. While he had been embroiled in battle, he hadn''t had the chance to inspect his harvest. Now that things had settled down, he had to go through the items. After all, he had obtained much from the battle at the Primordial Divine Ruin. Not only had Zero Wing''s army killed a large number of Blackwater experts, but it had also taken down two Mythic Evil Beasts and a Mythic ranked NPC. Among the top-tier equipment Blackwater''s experts had dropped, the best had to be the Magic Weapon from Singular Burial. The Magic Weapon was a longbow called Firmament Striker. Magic Weapons were even rarer than Epic Weapons. They were also much stronger than Epic Weapons. Unfortunately, wielding a Magic Weapon came with some severe risks. The two Mythic ranked Evil Beasts had also dropped splendid items. The monsters had dropped a Growth-type Epic ranked mage robe and an Evil Energy Potion Recipe, an Advanced Alchemy Recipe. The Evil Energy Potion was a precious potion that when consumed, increases players'' Strength Attribute by 15% and gave its user a certain amount of Evil Energy resistance for two hours. Naturally, the potion''s main material was Evil Energy Crystals. However, these items did little to hold Shi Feng''s attention as he was most eager to find out what the Mythic NPC, Dyro had dropped. Mythic NPCs rarely dropped items, but when they did, the items were definitely top-tier. Following which, Shi Feng retrieved the two items Dyro had dropped from his bag. He then appraised them with Omniscient Eyes. 1720 Evil Gods Inheritance Chapter 1720 - Evil God''s Inheritance When Shi Feng started appraising the two items Dyro dropped, the Mana density inside the closed carriage rapidly increased. Like two hungry beasts that had just woken up, the two items absorbed the ambient Mana around them ravenously. This situation surprised Shi Feng somewhat. He had never thought that the two items Dyro dropped would be so amazing. Right now, the Mana density in the carriage was slightly above even that of Stone Forest Town. The Mana absorption process eventually stopped after about ten seconds. The situation inside the carriage then quickly reverted to its original state. Previously, the two items Shi Feng obtained had been sealed, which gave them the appearance of purplish-gold crystal balls and made it impossible to discern their identity. In fact, the only information Shi Feng got when he tried inspecting the items was their name "Sealed Crystal Ball" and nothing else. Meanwhile, upon seeing the two unsealed items, Shi Feng could not help but be stunned. Of the two items, one was a broken longsword, and the other was a gemstone that radiated five different colored glows. [Evil God''s Inheritance] (One-handed Sword) A treasured sword that the Evil God once used. However, the sword was destroyed in a battle, shattered into three pieces. Although the Evil God''s treasured sword was destroyed, the power of the Evil God contained inside it remains intact. As long as one gathers all three fragments, it is possible for the sword to regain its past glory. This piece is the broken hilt of the sword. By permanently sacrificing 10 points of all Attributes, the user may execute one slash with the sword. Although this sword has been severely damaged, it can still exert one-tenth of its original power. When this fragment is within 1,000 yards of other fragments, the fragments will resonate with each other. Drops upon death. Cannot be traded. [Limit Gemstone] (Epic Consumable) Can be embedded into a weapon or equipment to permanently improve it. (Can be used on only Epic ranked items or below.) Shi Feng shuddered involuntarily as he looked at the descriptions of these two items, his eyes glowing with excitement. Although he had long since known that the loot of a Tier 4 NPC would be extraordinary and certainly superior to Epic items, he had never imagined that Dyro would drop these two items. The Evil God''s Inheritance was a weapon the Evil God had used frequently when it was still intact. In its complete form, it should be a Legendary Weapon at the very least. Although he had only a fragment of the weapon, it could lead to obtaining a real Legendary Weapon. Its value was definitely higher than that of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. After all, Legendary items were exceedingly rare in God''s Domain, and every one of them had extraordinary origins. Not to mention, most of the clues players found that were related to Legendary items were usually fake. Meanwhile, the most valuable aspect about the Evil God''s Inheritance was the fact that it could be used. Even though it was capable of exerting only 10% of its original power, that was 10% of a Legendary Weapon''s powernot something a Fragmented Legendary Weapon could hope to compare to. Only, the price to use the weapon was a little steep. Let alone other players, even Shi Feng would feel a sting if he had to pay 10 points in all Attributes just to swing the weapon once. As for the other item Dyro dropped, it was something Shi Feng had only ever heard about before. During his previous life, the Limit Gemstone had appeared in an auction hosted by a Super Guild. However, the Limit Gemstone sold back then wasn''t supplied by the hosting Super Guild. Instead, it was an item some other player had put up for trade. When this item appeared during the bartering session of the auction, it had immediately caused an uproar at the auction venue. After all, the best weapon and equipment that peak experts could get their hands on back then were only Epic rank. Fragmented Legendary items were still far out of their reach. Hence, to them, an item capable of improving Epic Weapons and Equipment was far more valuable than even Epic Weapons. In the end, the Limit Gemstone had been traded for one Epic Weapon and three pieces of top-tier Dark-Gold Equipment of that time. Back then, nobody had a strong opinion on this price. It was neither too expensive nor too cheap. Only sometime later did everyone find out that the buyer of the Limit Gemstone had ended up making a huge profit. The Limit Gemstone turned out to be even more amazing than everyone thought it to be. Just like its name implied, it improved a weapon or equipment to its maximum limit, not just slightly. From then onward, whenever a Limit Gemstone appeared, it would sell for astronomical prices, even as much as three Epic items. Back then, however, Shi Feng was only qualified to use the Limit Gemstone as a topic of conversation. Actually owning one had been far beyond him. He never dreamed that he would obtain one himself in this life. It can upgrade only weapons and equipment at the Epic rank or below? As Shi Feng looked at the resplendent gemstone in his hand, he could not help but think of the Sacred Sword Killing Ray. As one of the 36 Famed Swords of God''s Domain, Killing Ray was much stronger than any ordinary Epic Weapon. Moreover, it also had immense growth potential as it was one of the fragments of Solomon''s Sword, one of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Legendary Weapons. Since it was once part of a Legendary Weapon, the quality of the materials used to forge Killing Ray went without saying. One could say that it was the best item to improve with the Limit Gemstone. Immediately, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and placed the Limit Gemstone on the flat of the sword. Following which, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Do you wish to embed the Limit Gemstone in Killing Ray? "Embed it!" Shi Feng agreed decisively. Suddenly, the five-colored gemstone liquified and spread itself across Killing Ray. A short moment later, the Sacred Sword was encased entirely in a layer of five-colored liquid as if the longsword had just put on a five-colored sheath. Following which, the glow from the five-colored liquid intensified, so much so that Shi Feng couldn''t look at the sword directly. After several seconds the phenomenon subsided, and Killing Ray reverted to its original state. At this moment, however, several divine runes graced the sword''s body, adding a hint of divinity to the Sacred Sword. As Shi Feng wielded Killing Ray, he felt a pleasant feeling like never before. Right now, aside from his impression that the Sacred Sword was more powerful than before, Shi Feng sensed that his compatibility with it had improved substantially. Now, Killing Ray felt more like an extension of his arm rather than a weapon. He could clearly perceive the layers of air the Sacred Sword was cutting through. In addition, golden arcs of electricity were sparking along the edges of the sword. Even after the Sacred Sword had moved away, arcs of electricity still lingered in the space it occupied before, vaporizing the air and anything else that came across them. Amazing! It is actually capable of causing continuous damage to places I''ve attacked before? Is this the true power of Killing Ray? Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at Killing Ray. Epic Weapons and Equipment were extremely rare in God''s Domain; those that had hidden effects were even rarer. These hidden effects went unstated in the Attribute Panel and did not appear to be salient. However, only players that had wielded these kinds of weapons and equipment before would realize how significant these hidden effects actually were toward improving one''s combat power. In fact, they were much more important than the Attributes listed in the Attribute Panel. Take Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations for example. The hidden effect the Fragmented Legendary Weapon possessed was simply heaven-defying. No matter what kind of attacks Fire Dance faced, she could easily block it by executing a random swing with her short sword. It was as if the entire space around her was within the attack trajectory of her weapon. It was simply impossible to predict her trajectory with Thousand Transformations. Due to Thousand Transformations''s hidden effect, even if Fire Dance''s combat standards were lacking, she could still hold her ground against apex experts. Meanwhile, although Killing Ray''s hidden effect was not a match for Thousand Transformations''s, it was still very frightening. Being able to cause damage to places he had attacked before would undoubtedly increase his DPS significantly. If utilized properly, he could even seal his opponent''s movements, preventing all retaliation. Killing Ray''s hidden effect would pose trouble even for Void Realm experts, not to mention other experts. After playing with Killing Ray''s hidden effect for a while longer, Shi Feng could no longer hold back, tapping open the Sacred Sword''s Attribute Panel. He was very curious to find out just how much Killing Ray had improved. 1721 Upgraded Sacred Sword Chapter 1721 - Upgraded Sacred Sword After Shi Feng opened Killing Ray''s Attribute Panel and read it, he could not help but gasp. [Killing Ray] (One-handed Sword, Sacred Sword, Epic Rank) Level 30 - Level 120 Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,200, Agility 1,000 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +2,440 (Level 65) Strength +173, Agility +165, Endurance +162 Attack Speed +25 Ignore 30% of the target''s Defense. When equipped: Strength increased by 20%, Agility increased by 15%, and Attack Speed increased by 10% Ignore Levels +20 All Sword Skills +3 Levels All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels. Attacks have a 40% chance to trigger the Lightning effect, increasing initial Attack Speed to 50% of the maximum and damage by 260%. Additional Skill 1- Summon Lightning: Summons lightning to deal 600% lightning damage to enemies within a range of 20 yards and inflict the Numb effect for 5 seconds. Afterward, attack range increased by 20 yards for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Skill 2- Thunder God''s Descent: Become immune to all Control Skills. Movement Speed and Attack Speed increased by 150%, damage increased by 50%, and all damage received decreased by 60% for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Skill 3- Lightning Slash: Imbue the Power of Lightning on the body of the sword, increasing Strength by 330% and Attack Speed by 100% to execute a frontal attack that covers an area of 3*80 yards. Cooldown: 15 minutes A Sacred Sword created by the Godsmith Arnold using a piece of mysterious sword fragment. Killing Ray is one of the 36 Famed Swords of God''s Domain, ranking 20th. It was once a sword used by the Thunder Emperor Kaiser. Allows the wielder to have the speed of lightning. When fighting against Dark Creatures, damage increased by 100%. Can be evolved. Cannot be destroyed. For a moment, Shi Feng even suspected that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Not only had Killing Ray''s Equipment Requirement increased by a significant margin, but even its Attack Power had risen drastically. At Level 65, its Attack Power already exceeded 2,400close to rivaling the Attack Power of an Epic two-handed weapon of the same level. Originally, Killing Ray was already a top-tier Epic Weapon. After being upgraded by the Limit Gemstone, its Basic Attributes had improved by 20%. Even the other effects were 5% better. The weapon''s Skills had also been strengthened to a certain degree, and there was even the addition of a new Skill, Lightning Slash. Although Lightning Slash did not deal a lot of damage, the increase in Strength it provided was crucial to expert players because higher Strength allowed players to suppress their opponent and create gaps to land a fatal blow. With my current Attack Power, I can most likely break through even a Tier 2 MT''s Defense. Shi Feng was startled as he looked at his own statistics. In God''s Domain, even if players landed a direct hit on another player''s body, their target''s Defense would weaken their attacks, preventing 100% damage dealing. To deal 100% damage with an attack, a player would have to overcome their opponent''s Defense limit, which was determined by a player''s Defense value and armor type. Even at the same Defense value, different armor types would grant different Defense limits. For example, at the same Defense value, the Defense limit of plate armor would greatly exceed that of cloth armor. However, once a player''s Strength and Attack Power reached a certain measure, they could break through even an MT''s Defense limit and deal 100% damage with their attacks. After achieving such a measure of Strength and Attack Power, what kind of armor one''s opponent wore would no longer matter. Just as Shi Feng was getting a feel for Killing Ray''s newfound power, the advanced horse carriage he was riding finally arrived at the entrance of the War God''s Temple. Currently, the War God''s Temple was as lively as ever. The number of players visiting the temple was not the slightest bit lower than that of the city''s Auction House and of the Adventurer''s Association. However, in Shi Feng''s opinion, the traffic at the War God''s Temple was still relatively low. The War God''s Temple was the protector of the entire continent of God''s Domain. As players reached higher levels, they would come across the dark forces, such as Demons, Evil Demons, and abyssal creatures, more frequently. Moreover, after players got promoted to Tier 2, so long as their War God''s Temple Reputation Points reached 300, they could receive special quests to deal with these dark forces. These quests generally awarded plenty of Merit Points, in addition to some special resources. Meanwhile, after players accumulated 500 Reputation Points with the temple, they could start accepting large-scale Crusade Quests, which required players to target the gathering points for the dark forces. In the past, this was the type of quest that the various large Guilds enjoyed accepting the most because at least half of the Town Building Orders they obtained originated from these Crusade Quests. If a large Guild wished to have a better time developing in neutral maps, they would shift their focus to the War God''s Temple. Currently, most of the players visiting the War God''s Temple were independent players; only a small minority were Guild players. In the future, however, the situation would be reversed with a large majority of the players visiting the War God''s Temple being members of large Guilds. As soon as Shi Feng arrived at the main entrance of the War God''s Temple, he attracted the attention of the nearby players. "Crap! That''s a six-winged Bronze ranked Guild Emblem! That person must be a member of Zero Wing''s main force!" "It would be great if I could get acquainted with such a big shot. That way, I''ll have an easier time joining Zero Wing." "Keep on dreaming. How could people like us possibly come into contact with a big shot from Zero Wing? He belongs to an entirely different world. Not to mention, everyone trying to join Zero Wing has to go through the same entrance test. I heard that even players personally introduced by Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, have to pass the test to join the Guild." The eyes of the players standing outside the War God''s Temple''s main entrance were filled with awe and envy as they looked at the Guild Emblem pinned on Shi Feng''s Black Cloak. From the recent battle at the Primordial Divine Ruin, both the various large Guilds and independent players could already tell that the odds of Zero Wing becoming a super-first-rate Guild in the future were excellent. Super-first-rate Guilds were powers that stood at the apex of God''s Domain. Even a first-rate Guild backed by multiple major corporations would have to treat super-first-rate Guilds with great respect lest it provoke them. Meanwhile, who wouldn''t want to join a Guild with such great potential? In the virtual gaming world''s past hundred years of history, players that belonged to first-rate Guilds that eventually grew into super-first-rate Guilds had received great benefits. Particularly, expert players that originally belonged to the first-rate Guild had been able to live the rest of their lives without worry. Those that had contributed greatly towards the Guild''s promotion into a super-first-rate Guild even lived an enviable and affluent life. Now that Zero Wing had displayed the potential to become a super-first-rate Guild, let alone Star-Moon Kingdom''s players, even players from other kingdoms and empires had come to Star-Moon Kingdom to apply to Zero Wing. When Shi Feng overheard the hushed conversations of the surrounding crowd, he simply chuckled as he continued into the War God''s Temple. After entering the temple''s lobby, he immediately went to the third-floor hall. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service to you today?" Senior Administrator Roland asked as he approached Shi Feng. "I have caught an Evil God Apostle and wish to hand him over to Vice Temple Lord Capra," Shi Feng said. "Another Evil God Apostle?" Roland''s eyes twitched slightly as he looked at Shi Feng in surprise. Every Evil God Apostle was incomparably cunning and extremely difficult to catch. Since Shi Feng had already caught an Apostle before, logically, other Evil God Apostles should operate with even greater care, increasing the difficulty of capturing them. Yet, now, Shi Feng had actually managed to capture another one shortly after he captured the last one. "Lord Protector, please follow me." This time, Roland did not bother verifying the truth of Shi Feng''s words. Instead, he directly brought Shi Feng to the fourth floor''s Triumphant Hall. Afterward, Shi Feng entered the same Astrology Room he had gone to during his last visit to the Triumphant Hall. Currently, Vice Temple Lord Capra was carrying out research through the gigantic magic water ball at the center of the room. "Lord Capra, I caught another Evil God Apostle. Please verify it," Shi Feng said as he took out the Mobile Jail detaining Flame Blood. "Young adventurer, you truly are the nemesis of the Evil God Apostles," Capra said, laughing as he paused his work. With a light wave of his hand, Shi Feng''s Mobile Jail then suddenly appeared in his palm. After Capra received the Mobile Jail, Flame Blood''s figure appeared before Capra. How is this possible? Flame Blood''s complexion paled when he saw Capra and the nearby Shi Feng. Beast Emperor actually failed? At this moment, he could easily guess what kind of place he was at. Only, he never thought that Shi Feng would actually elude Beast Emperor''s capture and successfully deliver him to the War God''s Temple. "Black Flame! You cannot do this! If you hand me over to the War God''s Temple, Beast Emperor definitely won''t let you get away!" Flame Blood shouted as he glared at Shi Feng. Right now, he was pinning all his hopes on Beast Emperor''s deterrence. He knew that, unless Shi Feng gave up on turning him in, he no longer had any hope of escaping from the War God''s Temple. "You should give up now if you think Beast Emperor will save you. If you really wish to survive, tell me the location of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Evil God''s Temple!" Shi Feng said, chuckling. He remained wholly unperturbed by Flame Blood''s threat. Right now, the Cleric was still ignorant of Beast Emperor''s overwhelming defeat. "Remember! You have only five seconds to consider." After saying so, Shi Feng began counting down from five. Meanwhile, an incomparably ugly expression appeared on Flame Blood''s face, his heart filled with misgivings. 1722 Beast Emperors Rage @@ Chapter 1722 - Beast Emperor''s Rage Inside the silent Astrology Room, Flame Blood glared at Shi Feng hatefully. He never thought that Shi Feng would make him such an offer. The Evil God''s Temple was the foundation that Evil God''s Temple members like Beast Emperor and himself relied on to develop themselves. If the Evil God''s Temple they belonged to got destroyed, then all the progress they had made thus far would disappear. Hence, Beast Emperor had repeatedly warned him that under no circumstances should he reveal information about Star-Moon Kingdom''s Evil God''s Temple. "Black Flame! I can tell you with confidence that the Evil God''s Temple''s strength is far beyond your imagination. As long as the Evil Beast army breaks through the Star-Moon Kingdom''s defensive line, at that time, not to mention Stone Forest Town, even Zero Wing will turn into nothing. If you let me go, Beast Emperor might give up on invading Star-Moon Kingdom and target other kingdoms instead. If @@ 1723 Complete Evil Gods Eye @@ Chapter 1723 - Complete Evil God''s Eye "An Evil God''s Eye?" A hint of shock flashed across Capra''s wizened face as he stared at Shi Feng. Clearly excited, he asked, "Did you really obtain an Evil God''s Eye?" Seeing the excitement and passion on Capra''s face, Shi Feng retrieved dark-gray, runic crystal ball from his bag. As the crystal ball appeared in the room, it began to leak small traces of Evil Energy. This crystal ball was none other than the Evil God''s Eye that he had obtained after destroying the Evil God''s sealing magic array. The moment Shi Feng revealed the Evil God''s Eye, Capra''s gaze sharpened as he examined the crystal ball. If Shi Feng hadn''t known that good-aligned NPCs wouldn''t steal from players, he wouldn''t have doubted that Capra would have snatched the Evil God''s Eye from him without hesitation. "It''s actually real!" Capra became even more excited after a detailed inspection of the item. He then shifted his gaze back to Shi Feng and @@ 1724 Power of the Sacred Sword @@ Chapter 1724 - Power of the Sacred Sword After Shi Feng disconnected the call, he left the War God''s Temple and used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport to Zero Wing City. He then used the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation function to travel to the Orc Empire, making his way towards the Primordial Divine Ruin. "There are still Evil Demons here?" Currently, Shi Feng wore his Black Cloak, keeping his identity hidden. As he approached the wilderness near the Primordial Divine Ruin, he frowned at what he saw. He spotted Level 70-plus Evil Demons and Evil Beasts wandering on the grassy plain before him. There were easily over 5,000 monsters, which were even stronger than Beast Emperor''s Evil Beasts and Evil Demons that Zero Wing had recently fought. Zero Wing''s new town had recently been constructed, so he had yet to set up a Guild Residence Teleportation Magic Array in the town''s Residence. Hence, he had rushed towards the Primordial Divine Ruin to complete @@ 1725 Fighting a Mythic with Brute Force @@ Chapter 1725 - Fighting a Mythic with Brute Force "Shadow Blade?" "Is he really the Sword King?" Surprise overcame the thousands of players in line for Beast Emperor''s checkpoint when they saw the ten sword lights end the five melee players. Everyone here knew of Black Flame, especially after Zero Wing''s battle with Heaven''s Burial at Stone Forest Town. The man was even capable of taking on war weapons. During the battle with Blackwater at the Primordial Divine Ruin, Black Flame had even slain Singular Burial, Heaven''s Burial''s original Guild Leader, with one attack. Black Flame''s shocking battle records had become a hot topic for players in the various kingdoms and empires neighboring the Orc Empire long ago. Due to Black Flame''s popularity, many players had attempted to analyze why he was so powerful. These players had even publicly exposed some of Black Flame''s Skills. Among Black Flame''s various Skills, Shadow Blade was considered one of the m@@ 1726 Worlds Power @@ Chapter 1726 - World''s PowerFind authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. "He pushed the Evil Demon back?" "Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" "No, that Mythic Evil Demon actually slid backward!" Everyone''s heart pounded madly when they saw the Mythic Evil Demon retreat by three steps. Without the help of war weapons, a Tier 4 Mythic Evil Demon was unshakable to current players, yet without any help, Shi Feng had forced the monster to step back. The watching players felt as if they had just watched an ant push back a ferocious lion. No matter how they looked at the situation, it had to be some kind of joke. Most importantly, Shi Feng had actually injured the Evil Demon physically. Although he had only left a cut behind on the Evil Demon''s claw and arm, it was astounding. It wasn''t even possible to injure a Mythic ranked monster with a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell, but Shi Feng had done so by relying on his own strength Even Beast Emperor''s subordinates gaped in s@@ 1727 Blockade Destroyed @@ Chapter 1727 - Blockade Destroyed After seeing the Mythic Evil Demon fall, Beast Emperor''s four remaining subordinates were overwhelmed by their fear and despair. Although they had expected this outcome after watching Shi Feng and his Personal Guards suppress the Mythic Evil Demon, they couldn''t help but shudder after watching the monster actually collapse at the Swordsman''s feet.Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. To God''s Domains current major powers, Tier 4 monsters were still insurmountable. Even Super Guilds had to expend a lot of time and effort to prepare and ensure that they killed one. Yet, Shi Feng had accomplished this feat by relying on his own power and his two Personal Guards. Normally, if someone told them about such a situation, they''d laugh, assuming that the player was joking, but after such an impossible feat had occurred before their very eyes, they had no choice but to believe it. Regret filled their hearts. Had they known that something like this would happen,@@ 1728 Silverwing Town @@ Chapter 1728 - Silverwing Town As Shi Feng set foot in the town, the patrolling NPCs didn''t move to stop him. However, once he reached the town''s Guild Residence, a middle-aged man in dark-blue robes appeared before Shi Feng. The logo of a silver sword had been embroidered on the chest of this man''s robe. This middle-aged man was one of the senior administrators from White River City''s Adventurer''s Association. Although the man was only Tier 2, he had reached Level 150. "Lord Protector, we have constructed your town according to your wishes. If there are no problems, please write its name on this Town Order," the NPC senior administrator said after approaching Shi Feng. Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. System: Please name your town. If you fail to do so within five minutes, a name will be automatically generated. A name, huh? After Shi Feng accepted the Town Order and pondered for a short moment, he entered the name of his new town on the Town Order@@ 1729 Building Up Silverwing Town @@ Chapter 1729 - Building Up Silverwing TownFind authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. "Guild Leader, both the Battle Arenas in Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City are crowded with players right now. If we split some of these Magic Towers to our other locations, we''ll definitely increase our profit margins from both Battle Arenas. Silverwing Town is only Basic rank right now. It can only accommodate so many players at a time. It wouldn''t be wise to build all five Magic Towers here," Aqua Rose advised. "Moreover, concentrating all of our resources in a single location won''t be good for the Guild''s development. If we share some with the Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire, developing Snow''s side will proceed far more smoothly." Zero Wing was the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, but that wasn''t the case in the Black Dragon Empire. Not only did the empire have plenty of large Guilds, but it also had more than enough first-rate Guilds. The competition between Guilds in the empire was intense. Although @@ 1730 Magic Kings Ability Chapter 1730 - Magic King''s Ability Inside the silent Guild Hall, Shi Feng could not help but be stunned when he looked at the system announcements he just received. System Announcement: The Ore King has obtained the Ironblood Staff and unified the various Ore Tribes. Activating the Regional Dungeon Ore Capital City. System Announcement: The Ore Empire has begun its invasion of its neighboring countries and constructed many Teleportation War Fortresses. System Announcement: The Ore Empire has joined the Dark Alliance. The Ore Empire is now classified as a Glory Battlefield. Shi Feng wasn''t the only person shocked by the appearance of these three system announcements. The players residing within the Ore Empire and its neighboring countries were all stunned by these sudden announcements. A Regional Dungeon, fortresses, and a Glory Battlefield? Is the system trying to turn the entire Ore Empire into a warzone? Shi Feng could not help but frown as he studied the contents of the system announcements. First of all, the Ore Capital City. The quantity and quality of resources available inside a Regional Dungeon located in a neutral map were far better than what Regional Dungeons located within kingdoms and empires could offer. Not to mention, the Ore Capital City was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. Setting aside the quality of the weapons and equipment one could obtain from it, just the Magic Crystals one could get there would make it a target of competition for the various large Guilds. Moreover, the Ore Capital City''s level limit started from Level 50 and ended at Level 100. A Regional Dungeon that covered such a wide level range was extremely rare in God''s Domain. In the future, the large Guilds would definitely contest fiercely for the Ore Capital City. Aside from the Regional Dungeon, the Teleportation War Fortresses would most likely become a fuse that would ignite a war between the major powers as well. The Ore Capital City was located in the core area of the Ore Empire. Just traveling from the outer area to the core area would most likely require dozens of hours. However, the Teleportation War Fortresses could shorten this travel time to just a few seconds. This was possible because of the teleportation arrays set up in these fortresses, which could teleport players to anywhere within their range, just like the Four Towers of Elements. These fortresses were scattered around the inner and outer areas of the Ore Empire. As long as players could capture these fortresses from the Ores, they could directly teleport to the core area of the empire, possibly even to somewhere close to the Ore Capital City. For this reason, the various large Guilds would definitely do everything they could to capture these War Fortresses. Aggravating the situation in the Ore Empire even more, the Ore Empire had actually joined the Dark Alliance. With this, not only could players belonging to the dark forces move about fearlessly within the Ore Empire, but they would even receive help from the Ore Empire itself. Moreover, now that the entire Ore Empire had been classified as a Glory Battlefield, Dark Players and normal players would be after each other''s necks constantly inside the Ore Empire. The reason for this was the Glory Points that players would earn from killing players of the opposing faction. Meanwhile, these Glory Points could be used not only to exchange for top-tier equipment but also to obtain battlefield titles. These battlefield titles were much more valuable than any weapon or equipment. In fact, they could even aid players in their promotions. Hence, whenever a Glory Battlefield appeared, a festival of blood would ensue and continue until one side was completely defeated. Moreover, the losing faction would have to pay a very steep price. Due to these reasons, both factions would usually fight with everything they had. As Shi Feng tried to process all these sudden developments, his head ached. The appearance of an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon should have been a good thing. However, the timing of the Dungeon''s appearance only served to further boost the value of Silverwing Town in the eyes of the various major powers. To make matters worse, even the dark forces were intervening in the affairs of the Ore Empire, throwing the empire into even greater turmoil. If Zero Wing was not careful, it was very likely to fall victim to the struggles of the various major powers. At this moment, Shi Feng wasn''t the only person troubled by this sudden turn of events. After finding out about the changes made to the Ore Empire, the upper echelons of many large Guilds also held emergency meetings to discuss how to deal with this situation. Meanwhile, the Dark Guilds and Dark Players hiding within the different kingdoms and empires all grew ecstatic upon receiving the system announcements. Their time had finally come! Although neutral maps were not restricted by any kingdom or empire, they still weren''t friendly to the dark forces. Dark Players would have a much more inconvenient time leveling up in neutral maps than normal players. However, now that the Ore Empire had joined the Dark Alliance, the entire empire became the territory of Dark Players. They would have a much easier time moving in the Ore Empire than in other NPC kingdoms and empires. In fact, they could even teleport directly into the Ore Empire. Moreover, they also wouldn''t have to keep sneaking around and hiding their identities in the Ore Empire, as the Ores were now their allies. Now, they could not only kill other players in such a favorable environment but also earn Glory Points in doing so. The Ore Empire was basically heaven to Dark Players like them right now. Even if some independent Dark Players were not particularly interested in this matter, the various Dark Guilds would definitely exploit this situation to the fullest. After all, this was a good chance for Dark Guilds to develop themselves. "Wonderful! This is an excellent opportunity for our Guild to establish a town!" "Hahaha! The era of Dark Players is finally here!" For a time, countless Dark Players swarmed towards the Ore Empire. Ancient Rock City, Evil God''s Branch Temple: After finding out about the latest changes of God''s Domain, Beast Emperor was also beaming with joy. Although the Evil God''s Temple had no allies in God''s Domain, that did not mean he could not take advantage of this sudden development. There was a saying, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." With the various large Guilds and Dark Players at loggerheads, he could cooperate with the Dark Players to deal with Zero Wing. Doing so would allow him to exact his revenge and destroy Silverwing Town, as well as accelerate the collection of enough Contribution Points to hasten the invasion of Star-Moon Kingdom. "Wind, get in touch with the Dark Guilds in the different kingdoms and empires and tell them that I have a proposition for them!" Beast Emperor said, chuckling wickedly. "Understood!" Wind Hunter nodded. He then ordered his subordinates in the Purple Thorns Empire to arrange for a meeting with the upper echelons of the various Dark Guilds. Meanwhile, inside the first underground floor of Zero Wing''s Guild Hall in Silverwing Town, Shi Feng had recollected himself and returned his attention to Craig Midlands. [Craig Midlands] (Hero, Great Lord, Wizard Saint) Level 66 HP 36,000,000/36,000,000 Growth Potential: 96 As one of the 32 Pillars, Craig Midlands had completed the God''s Trial and gained the recognition of Ancient Gods for his achievements and strength. He possessed not only immense power but also some abilities that other Heroes did not. In the past, the Hero Shi Feng summoned using the Specified Hero''s Chapter he obtained had only one ability. Nonetheless, Craig Midlands had two of such special abilities. The first ability was called Hero''s Glory, which facilitated the recruitment of powerful NPC soldiers for the town Craig Midlands was residing in. The second ability was called Magic Strengthening, which temporarily strengthened the weapons and equipment used by the NPC guards, improving their combat power significantly. Looking at these two abilities, Shi Feng finally understood why exactly Craig Midlands was so powerful. It was no wonder the Magic King could easily defend a large city and become an existence that even the various superpowers were helpless against. Just the effects of Hero''s Glory could already bring immense benefits to the town or city Craig Midlands protected, not to mention the ability to strengthen the NPC guards there. Every Guild Town and City could recruit only a limited number of NPC soldiers. Hence, raising the quality of NPC soldiers was important. However, doing so was extremely difficult. The Magic King''s ability to directly increase the combat power of NPC soldiers was simply absurd. Immediately, Shi Feng assigned Craig Midlands as Silverwing Town''s Magistrate. Now, not only did the NPC have authority similar to Shi Feng''s, but the Magic King could also recruit and manage NPC soldiers on his own. Shi Feng had given Craig the highest possible authority an NPC could have in a Guild Town. Just as Shi Feng was about to have Craig start recruiting NPC soldiers, Aqua Rose suddenly sent him a message. The contents of the message were straightforwardThe foundations of the five Magic Towers have already been completed. Only the cores are missing now. They''re done already? Sure enough, having Advanced Architects construct the Magic Towers is much better. Shi Feng felt a little surprised as he read the message. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found it reasonable. Constructing the foundations of the Magic Tower was a joke that even Basic Architects could handle with ease, not to mention Advanced Architects. With dozens of Advanced Architects working together, it was only natural that they completed the task so quickly. Following which, Shi Feng had the Magic King take independent action. As for himself, he left the Guild Residence and hurried to the Magic Towers in Silverwing Town. 1731 Taking Shape Chapter 1731 - Taking Shape After leaving the Guild Residence and entering the street outside, Shi Feng noticed that Silverwing Town looked much more like a proper town than before. Many new buildings decorated the town now. Even the five-story-tall Shop meant for the Candlelight Trading Firm had already been constructed. Now, all that Shop needed was a link-up with the other Shops owned by Candlelight and products to be put up for sale. Once that was done, Candlelight would be able to start doing business officially in Silverwing Town. Due to Silverwing Town having already reached a certain scale, the number of NPCs wandering about its streets had also increased. Now, the patrolling NPC adventurers and Zero Wing''s members weren''t the only ones filling the streets. Moreover, Shi Feng even noticed a few mercenary NPCs, wearing tattered armor, walking towards Zero Wing''s Residence, possibly drawn by the Magic King. Although these NPCs looked destitute, when Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to inspect them, he discovered that even the weakest among them was a Level 70, Tier 2 NPC. Normally, a recently established town would be fortunate to attract Tier 1 NPCs to become soldiers. Majority of the NPCs applying to garrison the town would only be at the Elite standard. As for Tier 2 NPCs, those were basically impossible to find. Yet, now, three Tier 2 NPCs were showing interest in becoming soldiers in Silverwing Town. For comparison, Zero Wing City had only a few hundred Tier 2 soldiers guarding it even until now. Although the three NPCs Shi Feng spotted were not particularly high-leveled, they were more than enough to deal with current players. Besides, NPC soldiers leveled up much more quickly than players. It''s no wonder people were saying that a powerful Hero could give rise to a city. When Shi Feng looked at the three Tier 2 NPCs, he could not help but recall the first-rate Guilds that owned powerful Heroes in the past. Although the funds and resources of those first-rate Guilds were far from comparable to what super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had, due to them obtaining powerful Heroes, the defensive capability of their cities was not one bit lower than that of cities operated by superpowers. Back then, even Super Guilds had trouble taking action against cities defended by powerful Heroes. Only after acquiring Tier 6 players were Super Guilds able to deal with those cities easily. The reason for this was the strength of a Hero not being limited to just themself. Powerful Heroes were also capable of recruiting powerful and talented NPCs to become soldiers of the cities they protected. In the past, the cities protected by such powerful Heroes had plenty of its soldiers promoted to Tier 3, with some even reaching Tier 4. Buffed by the city''s defensive magic array, these NPCs were capable of exhibiting extremely frightening combat power. Without an absolute advantage, trying to capture such a city was practically impossible. After walking a short while, Shi Feng arrived at the edge of Silverwing Town. Currently, a large number of architects could be seen demolishing the old walls of the town and building new ones in their place. Although the town''s original walls had some defensive properties, they were useless against attacks at the Tier 2 standard and above. The new walls being built, however, could stop even Tier 3 attacks. Moreover, they possessed much higher durability as well as resistance to siege weapons. They also had an added effect that prevented players from crossing over them from above. For a neutral town, such walls were a must-have defensive measure. However, the cost of constructing these new walls was not cheapa minimum of 10,000 Gold for the entire perimeter of Silverwing Town. If not for Zero Wing having a money-printing machine like Zero Wing City generating large amounts of Coins every minute, the Guild couldn''t have afforded to construct these new walls, in addition to the various hotels, bars, smithies, and restaurants. If a first-rate Guild were tasked with managing Silverwing Town, the Guild would be fortunate to get the basic facilities up and running. After all, the total cost of constructing Silverwing Town and the basic facilities in it was already close to 120,000 Gold. This was a huge sum of money even for current super-first-rate Guilds, not to mention first-rate Guilds. However, this was only a small part of the necessary investments into Silverwing Town. Zero Wing still needed to construct a Battle Arena as well as multiple defensive structures. Those things cost a lot more money to build than hotels and smithies. Meanwhile, standing at the four corners of Silverwing Town were four Magic Towers as well as one more Magic Tower located close to the town''s main entrance. "Guild Leader, several superpowers have already contacted us. They say they''re willing to partner with us as long as we hand over 50% of Silverwing Town''s shares as well as allow them to build a Guild Residence in the town. In return, they''ll help us fend off Beast Emperor''s attacks in addition to investing 200,000 Gold for the fortification of Silverwing Town''s defenses," Aqua Rose reported when she saw Shi Feng approaching her. "Fifty percent? Every superpower is asking for this price?" Shi Feng asked curiously. He was not particularly surprised by the fact that the various superpowers were offering to invest in Silverwing Town. After all, such situations frequently occurred during his previous life. In the past, many first-rate Guilds had, fortunately, come across a Town Building Order but lacked the strength to safeguard the town they built in a neutral map. In the end, these first-rate Guilds would choose to partner with a superpower. The first reason for partnering with a superpower was to protect the town. The second reason was to free up more funds for the development of their own Guilds. They would not have to sink everything they had into their neutral towns. "Mhm. Although there are slight differences in their offers, they have all stated that the 50% shares are a must," Aqua Rose replied, nodding. "I''ve already tried negotiating with them on this point, but they all are of the opinion that we won''t be able to hold Silverwing Town against Beast Emperor. After factoring in the latest system announcements, they are even more unwilling to budge on this point. "We''ve also just received news that Beast Emperor has managed to add another large batch of Evil Demons, Evil Beasts, and independent players to his forces. Right now, these forces are already making their way towards Silverwing Town from Ancient Rock City. By the looks of it, Beast Emperor really plans on duking it out with us." "What a bunch of old foxes." Shi Feng could not help but chuckle upon hearing Aqua Rose''s reply. "Do they really think that Zero Wing needs their help against Beast Emperor? Ignore those superpowers for now. All we need to do at the moment is have Zero Wing City''s elite and expert members come over to Silverwing Town to develop themselves. If Beast Emperor sends any Mythic monsters at us, have Cola and the others deal with them." "Understood. I''ll have them transfer over as soon as possible," Aqua Rose said, nodding. They might not have any way of dealing with the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons out in the fields, but none of those monsters should even think of approaching Silverwing Town with its five Magic Towers. Even if Beast Emperor sent a Mythic monster at Silverwing Town, their side had Cola and many other Tier 2 players who wielded Tier 3 Mana Weapons. Including the buʲ from the Magic Towers, Cola and the others should have no problem going up against Mythic monsters. After Shi Feng was done speaking, he entered the closest Magic Tower and immediately began carving the magic circuits necessary for operating it. The magic circuits were formed using Advanced Magic Arrays. For other players, this was a very difficult and time- consuming task. For Shi Feng, who had already become a Master Magician, however, he could easily complete the necessary Advanced Magic Arrays and connect them into a functioning magic circuit all by himself. Within five minutes, Shi Feng was done engraving the magic circuit for one Magic Tower. After spending about an hour running around, visiting the five Magic Towers, he was finally done engraving the core magic circuits of the Magic Towers. "Good! Activate all Magic Towers simultaneously!" Shi Feng commanded as he stood inside the Magic Tower located behind the town''s main entrance. Immediately, Aqua Rose and other members of the Guild''s upper echelon, who were stationed inside the other four Magic Towers, activated their respective Magic Towers. Suddenly, the gigantic crystal atop each Magic Tower released a dark-blue glow. A pillar of light then shot up into the air from each crystal. In the next moment, the towering light pillars split apart and formed light-blue barriers that enveloped the entire Silverwing Town. The instant the barriers formed by the five Magic Towers came into contact with each other, the barriers immediately took on a darker shade. By the time the barriers of the five Magic Towers fully merged with each other, a dark-blue translucent dome had formed around the entire Silverwing Town. The spectacular scene was visible even to players over at the Primordial Divine Ruin. "What''s going on?" "What''s happening in Silverwing Town?" Everyone present at the Primordial Divine Ruin was dumbfounded as they looked at the dark-blue dome covering Silverwing Townbecause they could feel the density of the Mana around them actually increasing gradually. 1732 The Effect of Five Magic Towers Chapter 1732 - The Effect of Five Magic Towers Silverwing Town''s sudden transformation immediately attracted the attention of the various major powers at the Primordial Divine Ruin. "What''s going on with Silverwing Town? It''s actually causing such a powerful Mana drain!" Cuttlefish, who was observing Zero Wing''s newly built town from an open-air restaurant in the Primordial Divine Ruin, was filled with confusion. Although Silverwing Town appeared to be located right beside the Primordial Divine Ruin, in reality, over a thousand yards separated the two locations. Despite the distance, the commotion in Silverwing Town affected even the Primordial Divine Ruin. If the rise in Mana density in the Primordial Divine Ruin was already so remarkable, what about inside Silverwing Town? After thinking up to this point, Cuttlefish could not help but shudder. Nowadays, the understanding that superpowers had towards the effects of Mana density was different from before. After conducting extensive research in libraries and live experiments, they had already discovered just how valuable locations with high Mana density were. Areas with high Mana concentrations did not only help players maintain a calm mind, allowing them to display greater combat power in return, but also accelerated the recovery of players'' Stamina and Concentration. This situation enabled players to practice their combat techniques for extended periods without having to worry about running out of Stamina and Concentration. Meanwhile, the execution of combat techniques was different from that of Spells and Skills. In the case of Spells and Skills, one could activate them properly so long as the general movements were correct. In the case of combat techniques, however, one''s movements needed to be extremely precise. Otherwise, the combat technique would do more harm than good to the user. In short, the difficulty of executing a combat technique was much greater than activating Skills and Spells. One required arduous practice just to learn to execute a combat technique properly. Hence, if one wished to practice a combat technique efficiently, having an environment that boosted Stamina and Concentration regeneration was a must. "Uncle Cuttlefish, a report just came in from our scouts. It seems Zero Wing has constructed Magic Towers in Silverwing Town. Moreover, the Guild built five Magic Towers in one go..." a crimson-armored Tier 2 Berserker standing beside Cuttlefish reported. "Five Magic Towers? Did they see correctly?" Cuttlefish revealed a stunned expression when he heard this. For a moment, he even wondered if he had misheard. "It''s true. They''ve sent a video recording. There are indeed five Magic Towers in the town," the Tier 2 Berserker replied, a bitter smile appearing on his face. He, too, had hoped that there was a mistake in the report. However, after watching the video recording, he couldn''t deny this fact even if he wanted to. "How is this possible?!" Cuttlefish''s complexion darkened as he watched the video recording the Tier 2 Berserker forwarded to him. "Wasn''t it stated that each Magic Tower Design allowed the construction of only five Magic Towers?" At this point in time, the various large Guilds were no longer strangers to the Magic Tower. After the first Magic Tower appeared in Stone Forest Town, the various large Guilds had fervently searched for information about it, especially since the Magic Tower''s existence allowed Stone Forest Town to become the number one town in Star- Moon Kingdom. In addition, as an Advanced Defensive Construction, the Magic Tower provided the town with considerable defensive power. Even until now, the Crimson Emperor Guild had yet to build a single Magic Tower. Nevertheless, five Magic Towers had now appeared in Silverwing Town simultaneously. This was simply unbelievable. With these five Magic Towers, Silverwing Town''s defensive power had increased significantly. Even if Beast Emperor wanted to destroy Silverwing Town, he would face an uphill struggle to do so. Not to mention, with the drastically heightened Mana density, Silverwing Town''s popularity among players would definitely increase even further. While inside a neutral map, players'' Stamina and Concentration depleted very quickly. And even if they returned to an NPC town or city to recover, a full recovery would take quite a long time. Meanwhile, the increased Mana density would significantly shorten the amount of time needed for players to recover, granting players more time to grind and do quests. One could just imagine how attractive Silverwing Town would be to the players trying to develop in the Ore Empire. With this, Crimson Emperor would also have much greater difficulty in acquiring the shares of Silverwing Town. At this moment, besides Cuttlefish of Crimson Emperor, members of the other superpowers present in the Primordial Divine Ruin were also frowning at this situation. "Damn it! Just where did Zero Wing obtain another Magic Tower Design from?!" The upper echelons of the various superpowers were filled with envy as they looked at the five Magic Towers of Silverwing Town. Right now, even a fool could tell that Silverwing Town had a promising future ahead of it News about Silverwing Town having five Magic Towers spread like wildfire. For a time, the expert players that had been hesitating over developing themselves in the Ore Empire started migrating to the empire in large numbers. Meanwhile, inside Silverwing Town... So, this is the effect of having five Magic Towers in a single town? Shi Feng was a little surprised as he felt the density of the ambient Mana. He also noticed an additional buff appearing in his status window. [Spirited State] If you remain in this state for five hours, your EXP gain will increase by 30% for one hour. If you remain in this state for ten hours, your EXP gain will increase by 30% for two hours. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed when he read the description of this buff. Moreover, aside from this additional buff, the five Magic Towers also received a boost to their Attack Range, their defensive radius now covering 6,000 yards. Shi Feng had never imagined that constructing five Magic Towers in a single town would bring such bonuses. This was his first time learning about such a matter. However, this was also a reasonable situation. After all, Magic Towers were incredibly precious. This was true even after ten years had passed in God''s Domain. In his previous life, the various superpowers would split the Magic Towers they had to as many towns as possible. Even in important towns and cities, they would construct three Magic Towers at most. Nobody had been willing to spend an entire Magic Tower Design on a single location. If the various large Guilds in his previous life had found out that there was such a benefit from constructing five Magic Towers in a single location, most likely every Guild that acquired a Magic Tower Design would spend it entirely on a single town or city. After all, in Stone Forest Town, one needed to stay in a hotel to acquire this Spirited State buff. Yet, now, just being inside Silverwing Town granted players the buff. Only, the effects of the buff were inferior to the one gained by staying in Stone Forest Town''s hotels, as the 30% increased EXP gain lasted only two hours. Even so, this buff was still extremely valuable. Now that such a benefit was available for free, the number of players willing to visit Silverwing Town would definitely increase even further. Most likely, the town would be able to develop into an Intermediate Town within a short period. Afterward, Shi Feng called out Silverwing Town''s system interface and allowed access to non-Guild members. "Quick, look! Silverwing Town is now open to the public!" Some observers quickly noticed the change in the town''s status. Suddenly, countless players swarmed into the town. "I''m in a Spirited State?! What''s going on?!" "Is this a joke? We can accumulate two hours of increased EXP gain buff just by staying inside Silverwing Town?" "All hail Zero Wing!" The players that entered Silverwing Town could not help but gape in shock when they looked at their status windows. Originally, Silverwing Town was already a very attractive location for players. After all, it not only boasted a higher Mana density than even Stone Forest Town but was also located right beside the Primordial Divine Ruin. Now that players could even gain the Spirited State buff just by being in the town, Silverwing Town was basically heaven for players. Within just a few minutes of opening to the public, Silverwing Town''s player population had already shot past 100,000. Moreover, this number continued to skyrocket The player population would most likely zoom past 200,000 before the hour was over. "Guild Leader, we detected a large number of players and Evil Beasts heading in our direction through the Magic Towers. Many among these players are Dark Players. By the looks of it, they are planning to camp outside the Primordial Divine Ruin and start a war of attrition with us," Aqua Rose said, frowning as she looked at the approaching Evil Beasts and Dark Players through the crystal ball of a Magic Tower. "Beast Emperor sure is persistent." Shi Feng could not help but chuckle as he looked at the images Aqua Rose sent him. "Since that is the case, if they dare come close to the Primordial Divine Ruin, make sure to give them a proper greeting using the Magic Towers!" 1733 Earth-shattering Blow Chapter 1733 - Earth-shattering Blow A large group of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, easily over 50,000 in total, had set up camp in the wilderness outside of the Primordial Divine Ruin. This particular group also included some cloaked players, which all radiated killing intent Just looking at these players could make one shiver. Some of these players didn''t even bother with Black Cloaks to hide their identities, revealing the black IDs above their heads. It was obvious that these players had slain a frightening number of players. They were definitely not ordinary expert players. All of these players were very well-geared. Despite recently reaching Level 50, over half of their equipment consisted of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment. These pieces were definitely among the best available at this stage of the game. "Wind, I''ll say this first; the Crimson Horn Guild will only help you kill Zero Wing''s members. We won''t be taking the initiative to attack and turn ourselves into cannon fodder," a tall, robust man carrying two short swords from his waist indifferently told the phantom of a person beside him. "Relax. As long as Zero Wing''s members leave Silverwing Town, my Evil Demons and Evil Beasts will attack them immediately. All you and your men need to do is find an opportunity to kill them. However, don''t forget, my goal involves more than making them lose a single level," Wind Hunter reminded the man. He hadn''t only chosen to work with Crimson Horn because it was a famous Dark Guild in the Dark Night Empire; he had also chosen the Guild due to its production of a particular type of poison. This poison was called Soul Devourer and would be applied to a player''s weapons. When these coated weapons were used to kill a player, the poison would corrode the player''s soul, and depending on how much poison was applied, the victims could lose up to three levels before entering a weakened state. During this weakened period, players could not level up. In return for Crimson Horn''s assistance, the Evil God''s Temple would help the Dark Guild''s members grind Glory Points and accumulate battlefield titles. "Leave this to us. As long as we slay Zero Wing''s members, I guarantee that they will need some time to recover their strength," the indifferent man said confidently. "If there weren''t so many Guilds here, I''d love to fight Zero Wing''s peak experts. I''ve heard that their combat standards are quite good, and every item they wear is a treasure. However, by the looks of it, that doesn''t seem possible." Saying so, the indifferent man turned to the six cloaked players behind him. He wasn''t pleased that he couldn''t see their appearances. These six players would be responsible for dealing with Zero Wing''s peak experts in the upcoming battle. Although these six people were Dark Players, they did not belong to a Dark Guild. Rather, they were members of an adventurer team called Dark Hunters. The adventurer team was quite famous in the Dark Night Empire, and not even Crimson Horn avoided provoking the team. The Dark Hunters adventurer team consisted of monstrous players, and every member was a Dark Player. Not long ago, the Dark Hunters had dispatched a 20-man team to annihilate the first-rate Guild, Tyrant Emperor''s main force. Said force had included 1,000 players... Among the Dark Hunters'' 20-man team, eight were Tier 2 players who had absurd combat standards and Basic Attributes. Even Star Harvester, Tyrant Emperor''s Guild Leader and a Level 51, Tier 2 Assassin, had died in the battle. Naturally, a Tier 2 Assassin possessed much stronger Lifesaving Skills than a Tier 1 Assassin. Even five Tier 2 experts working together should not be able to stop a Tier 2 Assassin''s escape, yet Star Harvest had still been killed. Moreover, a single player from the Dark Hunters had accomplished the deed. The strength the Dark Hunters had displayed had thoroughly shocked the Dark Night Empire. Star Harvester wasn''t some ordinary expert He was a Refinement Realm expert who ranked 305th on the God''s Domain Experts List Not even ordinary Refinement Realm experts stood a chance against him. Yet, the Dark Hunters had killed him. Even before the battle with Tyrant Emperor, the Dark Hunters had created many frightening battle records. Only, these battle records had been carried out in secret, unknown to the various large Guilds. The adventure team''s accomplishments included the assassination of Crimson Horn''s Guild Leader, Crimson Ghost. This was also why Crimson Ghost wasn''t happy to see the six Dark Hunters'' members. In Crimson Ghost''s opinion, the players from the Dark Hunters were inhuman, and he hadn''t reached this conclusion just because of their monstrous strength. Rather, this opinion was based on the appearance they took on when they activated their true power. When they used their true power, they lost their human form, transforming into true monsters. They also used different combat methods than players like himself. Every one of the six players that had been sent from the Dark Hunters was a Tier 2 player. Even without the help of the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, these six players were more than enough to deal with Zero Wing''s main force members. "Since everyone''s all here, we''ll proceed with the next phase of our plan. First, we''ll set up an encirclement around the Primordial Divine Ruin and Silverwing Town. But make sure you stay a safe distance away from the town. We estimate that those Magic Towers have a maximum attack range of around 1,500 yards. Do not enter that range. We won''t be responsible for your deaths. Hearing Wind Hunter''s warning, the various Dark Players nodded their heads. War weapons were no laughing matter. The Magic Towers'' attacks possessed power at the peak of Tier 3. Moreover, the attacks had very large ranges. Unless one used an Invulnerability Skill or Spell, no player at this stage of the game could block an attack from a war weapon and survive. No, there was one player who could block an attack from war weapon like the Magic Tower, but none of these Dark Players believed that they had the strength to rival Black Flame. When Wind Hunter finished speaking, the present players went into action. Wind Hunter then organized his Evil Demons and Evil Beasts to surround the Primordial Divine Ruin and Silverwing Town. Shortly after the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts began to move, the players in the Primordial Divine Ruin discovered their advance. "There are so many Evil Demons and Evil Beasts! That should be at least 50,000, right?" "Is Beast Emperor launching another assault?" The crowd at the Primordial Divine Ruin gulped when they saw the approaching Evil Beast and Evil Demon army. Although they knew that Beast Emperor only planned to target Zero Wing, they couldn''t help their growing fear and anxiety as they watched the monsters draw near. "Good! They''re finally here." When the various superpowers'' upper echelons saw the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, their moods considerably brightened. "Let''s see how Zero Wing maintains its arrogance after this." As long as Beast Emperor was willing to fight against Zero Wing, Zero Wing would be under a considerable amount of pressure regardless of whether Beast Emperor won or lost. In that case, they would have an opportunity to acquire the shares of Silverwing Town. However, when the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons were less than 1,000 yards away from the Primordial Divine Ruin... One of the Magic Towers in Silverwing Town, which stood over 3,000 yards away from the monster army, began to gather energy. The Mana around the Magic Tower swiftly collected at the gigantic crystal atop the tower. After a two-second charge, a pillar of black-white light shot up from the gigantic crystal. Even the players at the Primordial Divine Ruin could clearly see the pillar. "What''s Zero Wing trying to do?" The sudden development confused everyone watching. As these players wondered about the light pillar, it angled downward and shot into the center of the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army. Following which, the light pillar expanded and devoured the nearby Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. Every monster at Special Elite rank or below died instantly as the light washed over them. Only Chieftains and above had survived, although the monsters at Chieftain rank had very little HP remaining. The attack had even heavily injured the Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts... 1734 Silverwings Migh Chapter 1734 - Silverwing''s Might The light pillar that had blasted into the Evil Demon and Evil Beast army had only stopped expanding after it had covered a 100-yard radius. It then gradually disappeared. As the beam attack''s horrific energy scattered, the fading light revealed a massive crater in the field the monster army occupied. Only the Chieftain rank and above Evil Demons and Evil Beasts remained alive, while all else had been burned to ash. A single attack had killed hundreds of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, and every surviving monster was heavily injured, drastically decreasing their combat powers. Not even the Grand Lords that had received the attack had been spared. Seeing this, the players at the distant Primordial Divine Ruin gaped in shock. That had been too powerful! The power of that attack could practically rival that of a Tier 4 Spell. "What''s going on?!" "Didn''t they say that Silverwing Town''s Magic Towers should only have an attack range of roughly 1,500 yards?!" The expressions of Crimson Horn''s members darkened as they stared at the crater only a short distance away. Had the beam attack''s been shifted slightly, it would have killed more than just Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. The death count would have included players like them, as well. Crimson Horn''s members weren''t the only ones horrified by this sudden attack. The various superpowers'' members fell into heated discussions, finding Silverwing Town''s attack inconceivable. "How does that Magic Tower have such a long attack range?" Cuttlefish wore an ugly look as he stared at the fading light pillar. He had thought that Beast Emperor would force Zero Wing into a corner, preventing the Guild''s members from setting foot in the Primordial Divine Ruin. However, with such an increased attack range on the town''s Magic Towers, even reaching the ruin itself, Beast Emperor was powerless to stop Zero Wing''s members from competing for entry slots. After all, the Magic Towers'' attacks were extraordinarily powerful. If Beast Emperor sent his minions to block Zero Wing''s path, the Guild would retaliate without mercy. If the Magic Towers struck too many times, even Mythic ranked monsters would fall, much less the lower-ranked monsters. Before anyone could recover from their shock, another of Silverwing Town''s Mana Towers began to gather Mana. Two seconds later, another black-white light pillar ascended into the sky. In the blink of an eye, another energy beam struck the Evil Demon and Evil Beast army, opening another clearing amidst the monsters... "Damn it! How is this happening?!" Wind Hunter''s heart bled as he watched his Evil Demons and Evil Beasts fall by the hundreds. He had gone to great lengths to nurture these Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. He could accept their deaths if their deaths had meaning, but right now, they were nothing more than living targets for Zero Wing. As Wind Hunter prepared to issue a new command, another beam attack slammed into his monster army. Boom! This time, the attack had taken the lives of more than just a large number of Evil Demons and Beasts. Some of Crimson Horn''s members hidden among the monster ranks had died instantly. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Crimson Ghost shouted through the team chat with an ashen complexion. Dark Guilds had far fewer members than ordinary Guilds. A very powerful Dark Guild generally only had around 30,000 members. Crimson Horn had barely over that count. For this operation, Crimson Horn had dispatched 2,000 expert members, nearly every expert in the Guild. And that last beam attack had killed over 100 Crimson Horn experts... At this moment, Crimson Ghost developed a deep hatred for Wind Hunter. Because of Wind Hunter''s misinformation, Crimson Horn had lost over 100 experts for no good reason. As Dark Players, the death penalty they suffered was much more severe than ordinary players. Even though their alignment with the dark forces would lighten their death penalty slightly, it was still harsher than what ordinary players faced. Now that over 100 Crimson Horn experts had been killed, the Guild had lost over 5% of its peak combatants. If they suffered another blow like that, the consequences would be unimaginable. Just as Crimson Horn''s members began to retreat, Zero Wing''s members flooded out of Silverwing Town. Although only a little over 2,000 Guild members had emerged, every one of them rode a majestic Thunder Wolf. The spectacular scene of 2,000-plus Thunder Wolves stunned both the spectators and Wind Hunter''s group. "Bastards!" Wind Hunter bellowed in rage as he watched Zero Wing''s army charge towards him. After bombarding his army with the Magic Towers, Zero Wing actually took it a step further and sent its members to pursue his remaining forces. It was obvious that Zero Wing wanted to show everyone that the Evil God''s Temple was not a foe worth worrying about. To make matters worse, Zero Wing had only dispatched a little over 2,000 members for the pursuit. If news of this spread, the Evil God''s Temple''s prestige would be tarnished. The temple would become a laughing stock in the Ore Empire. Immediately, Wind Hunter had his Evil Demons and Evil Beasts charge at Zero Wing''s army, even going as far as to mobilize two Mythic Evil Beasts. Although the Magic Towers'' attacks were powerful, they couldn''t easily take down Mythic ranked monsters. In fact, the two Mythic Evil Beasts would have no problems escaping the battlefield even after annihilating Zero Wing''s force. Moreover, with how far the Magic Towers could reach, Zero Wing wouldn''t dare to fire on the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts as they clashed with the Guild''s members. Suddenly, one Level 60-plus Evil Demon and Evil Beast charged towards the incoming players, but before they could reach their targets, two more beam attacks plowed into the monsters'' frontline. The beams wiped out any Elites and Special Elites they struck while leaving the rest heavily injured. After the two beam attacks descended, Zero Wing''s members, who wielded Mana Weapons, finally made contact with the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. The moment they did, they started a slaughter. The Zero Wing experts wielding Tier 2 Mana Weapons could fight a Lord ranked Evil Demon or Evil Beast, even when the monsters were at their peak, toe-to-toe. Hence, the weakened Chieftains and Lords posed no threat to Zero Wing''s melee players. In addition, the ranged DPS provided cover fire, and the healers maintained everyone''s HPs from the rear. Overall, the first wave of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts that met Zero Wing''s army in combat was no match for Zero Wing''s army. Finally, the two Mythic ranked Evil Earth Dragons arrived before Zero Wing''s forces, their massive frames looming like two mountains. The Evil Earth Dragons then released deafening roars as they swiped their massive claws at the enemy players. However, before their claws could reach the melee players before them, two figures appeared before each monster. One of these figures was Cola, while the other was Turtledove, and the two MTs had already activated the Power of Darkness, increasing their Attributes significantly. Silver divine runes illuminated the Tier 3 Mana Weapons in their hands, and once the two Guardian Knights reached the Evil Earth Dragons, they swung these weapons at the incoming claws. Tier 2 Skill, Divine Adjudication! A golden glow bloomed before the two Guardian Knights as the two Evil Earth Dragons'' gigantic claws abruptly halted midswing. No matter how much force they used, they couldn''t even move their claws an inch farther. After a brief moment, two explosions shook the area. The two Level 75 Evil Earth Dragons stumbled five steps back, and the ground beneath them trembled as they moved. Before the Mythic Evil Beasts could recover their stances, Cola and Turtledove advanced once again and arrived before their targets. They then swung their weapons, and the silver divine runes covering the Tier 3 Mana Weapons brightened as the blades fell on their targets. Tier 2 Skill, Dragon Annihilator! Tier 2 Skill, Current Blade! Cola and Turtledove used their respective Legacy Skills without hesitation. The moment their attacks connected with the Evil Earth Dragons, the two Mythic monsters let out agonizing cries as they were pushed back by 20 yards, a damage of over -800,000 appearing above each of their heads. Although the Evil Earth Dragons'' HP bars had only decreased by a very small fraction, barely noticeable to ordinary players, expert players with acute perception noticed the change. The players watching from the Primordial Divine Ruin were frozen with shock, staring at Cola and Turtledove with dumbfounded expressions. 1735 A Nest of Monsters? Chapter 1735 - A Nest of Monsters? The nearby Crimson Horn members couldn''t help but gasp when they players push the Evil Earth Dragons'' titanic frames backward by over 20 yards. They were as shocked as if they had witnessed two ants push back a tiger and a lion. "How is this even possible?!" "Is Zero Wing just a nest of monsters?!" Both Crimson Horn''s members and the various spectating players at the Primordial Divine Ruin were at a loss for words. Aside from how massive the Evil Earth Dragons were, just the fact that they possessed the Strength of Mythic monsters should make them impossible for players to go up against. Watching Black Flame kill a Mythic Evil Demon had been scary enough, yet two more monstrous players had risen in Zero Wing... "No! This can''t be possible! They must''ve used some kind of special potion to boost their Strength! They can''t keep this up for long!" Wind Hunter''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he saw the Evil Earth Dragons slide back. He was sure that Cola and Turtledove must have used some special method to grant them the Strength to face Mythic monsters for a short time. There were certain tools in God''s Domain that could grant players extraordinary power for a short time. Even Wind Hunter had such a tool in his possession, but it wasn''t strong enough to allow him to go toe-to-toe with a Mythic monster. As for the possibility that Zero Wing actually had two more players on Black Flame''s level, that was simply absurd. He absolutely refused to believe that Zero Wing could produce three experts that could contend with Mythic monsters on their own. Thinking up to this point, he commanded the Evil Earth Dragons to continue their assault against the two Guardian Knights. Once the two Mythic Evil Beasts had stabilized themselves, they whipped their tails at the two MTs. The massive tails swept up a powerful storm as they moved, forming a pitch-black rift wherever they passed. Faced with such an attack, even a Tier 2 MT with their Lifesaving Skill activated would risk an instant death if they took the strike head-on. However, Cola and Turtledove remained unfazed as they swung their Tier 3 Mana Weapons again. Two silver lights then clashed with the Evil Earth Dragons'' colossal tails as two loud explosions echoed across the battlefield. Even the crowd at the Primordial Divine Ruin, which was over a thousand yards away, could clearly hear the explosions. This time, neither side had gained an advantage over the other by the time the clash ended. However, the ground beneath them had cracked, the fractures extending out over 20 yards away. The frightening display of power made the watching players shudder. Boom... Boom... Boom... Despite the clash ending in a draw, neither side wanted to give up the fight. For a time, both sides exchanged one blow after another. Meanwhile, the surrounding Zero Wing members massacred Evil Demons and Evil Beasts in a frenzy. Any Zero Wing member could solo a Great Lord, dealing around -50,000 damage with their attacks. As for Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, Blackie, and Violet Cloud, who wielded Tier 3 Mana weapons, their Spells easily dealt over -100,000 damage to their targets, with some dealing over -200,000 damage. From time to time, they would also use large-scale destruction Spells, causing hundreds of thousands of damage to a clump of monsters. Although the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts greatly outnumbered Zero Wing''s army, the army of 2,000-plus players had them completely outmatched. Before even 30 seconds had passed since the battle began, over 100 weakened Chieftains and Lords were killed already. None of the spectating powers had expected this battle to take this turn. They had assumed that Zero Wing would rely on its Magic Towers to protect itself. They had never thought that Zero Wing''s members actually possessed such extraordinary strength. If the rest of Zero Wing''s force weren''t busy with the other Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, the small army would definitely slay the two Evil Earth Dragons. "With such power, it''s no wonder why they had no interest in our partnership offers." Quiet Melody, who sat in an open-air restaurant in the Primordial Divine Ruin, could not help but reveal a bitter smile as she watched Cola and Turtledove fight the Evil Earth Dragons. She had thought that Zero Wing was trying to keep up appearances by refusing the various superpowers'' offers for cooperation and would only lower its head after Beast Emperor''s forces had cornered the Guild. However, with Zero Wing''s current display of strength, it certainly qualified to protect Silverwing Town without help. Not even the various superpowers could deal with Mythic ranked monsters so easily. With the five Magic Towers'' absurdly long attack range, Zero Wing should have no problems defending Silverwing Town even after the town''s protection period. That damned Wind Hunter! He nearly made us enemies with Zero Wing! Fortunately, we haven''t actually fought Zero Wing''s members yet We should still have time to escape Zero Wing''s notice. Crimson Ghost could not help but glare at the distant Wind Hunter as he watched the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts'' extermination. Zero Wing''s strength was nothing like what Wind Hunter had told him. Every one of Zero Wing''s experts was ridiculously strong. Not even a Tier 2 player like him dared to face Cola and Turtledove head-on. With the MTs incredible destructive power, they could likely kill him in one hit. The fight before him could no longer be described as a battle. This was basically a one-sided slaughter. When Crimson Ghost recalled how he had lost over 100 Guild experts, he truly felt fortunate. If not for that incident, he wouldn''t have given the command to retreat. Had his army of 2,000 players assaulted Zero Wing''s members, the consequences would''ve been disastrous. Seeing Zero Wing''s frightening combat power also instilled an indescribable shock in Crimson Ghost. Not even the super- first-rate Guilds that ruled over the Dark Night Empire were capable of fielding such a powerful player army. Yet, an up-and-coming Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom had accomplished just that Moreover, based on his investigations, Zero Wing didn''t have the support of any backers. Meanwhile, the six cloaked players from the Dark Hunters rested in a corner of the battlefield. After observing the battle for some time, the Ranger carrying a crystalline longbow shook his head. "This won''t do. Zero Wing''s members are much stronger than we anticipated. We''re canceling our plans to plunder their weapons temporarily." "Leader, although Zero Wing is clearly stronger than we had assumed, it isn''t entirely impossible to kill the Guild''s ordinary experts. Those experts haven''t even reached Tier 2 yet. We can simply kill them and flee. The commander definitely won''t let us off the hook if we fail this mission." Although the Ranger leading this party wanted to cancel the operation, the other five members shook their heads, objecting to the idea. When they thought about how frightening their commander was, in particular, and the punishment awaiting them if they failed, they couldn''t help but shudder. Their party leader might be able to bear the penalty, but they couldn''t. Hearing his party members'' objections, the Ranger glanced at Zero Wing''s ordinary experts. As his party members had said, although these Zero Wing players had higher Basic Attributes than theirs, their combat standards were lacking; they hadn''t even reached the Half-step Refinement Realm yet. Most importantly, these ordinary experts were all Tier 1 players. The differences between Tier 1 players and Tier 2 players weren''t limited to Basic Attributes. There was also a massive gap between their Skills and physiques. With the strength of their six-man party, they should be able to pick off a few of these ordinary experts before departing safely. Based on his observations, there were fewer than ten players on Zero Wing''s side that could pose a threat to their party. The others weren''t a problem. "Fine! But finish things quickly! Flee as soon as you get your hands on their weapons!" the Ranger said, nodding after giving the matter some thought. Their mission required that they obtain the weapons Zero Wing''s peak experts wielded, but trying to kill Cola and the others was too much of a challenge right now. On the off chance that Zero Wing''s peak experts surrounded them, their deaths would be almost certain. If they targeted the weaker experts, though, they''d have higher chances of success. Although they wouldn''t obtain the weapons Zero Wing''s peak experts wielded, at least they wouldn''t return empty-handed. Under the Ranger''s lead, the Dark Hunters'' 6-man party charged towards Zero Wing''s members, who were embroiled in a battle with the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. 1736 Confrontation with the Dark Hunters Chapter 1736 - Confrontation with the Dark Hunters On the chaotic battlefield, Cola and Turtledove continued to block the Evil Earth Dragons'' attacks. Meanwhile, the other Zero Wing members frantically cleared out the heavily injured Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, rapidly dwindling the army''s numbers. The battle was thoroughly in Zero Wing''s favor. Because of this, Zero Wing''s excitement continued to mount as they fought. The Mana Weapons'' incredible Attack Power couldn''t compare to their normal weapons, and even though they were Tier 1 players, they completely overwhelmed the Lord ranked Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. Although the slain monsters didn''t drop any loot, these players did receive a bountiful amount of EXP. After fighting for just a short moment, their experience bars had grown by a noticeable chunk. Upon reaching their level, they required a ridiculously high amount of EXP for each leveup. Sometimes, they''d grind for ten minutes straight without any noticeable change to their experience bars. Now, however, they should be able to gain enough EXP for a full level after fighting these Evil Demons and Evil Beasts for three hours or so. With how generous the EXP was from killing these monsters, they had to take advantage of this opportunity as much as possible. Even the spectators at the Primordial Divine Ruin were jealous of Zero Wing''s members. It was not very often players encountered such a large army of high-ranked monsters. Even if they did, most players did their best to stay out of the monsters'' way. Trying to fight such a powerful monster army guaranteed casualties, after all. The losses would completely outweigh the gains. However, now that Zero Wing had Cola and Turtledove to pin down the Evil Earth Dragons, and Zero Wing''s other members had the strength to overwhelm the other Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, Zero Wing''s army could safely grind these enemy monsters. Why wouldn''t they be jealous of Zero Wing? "It seems Beast Emperor has only failed again." Quiet Melody could not help her bitter smile when she saw that the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts had begun to retreat After this battle, Beast Emperor wouldn''t be able to touch Zero Wing at the Primordial Divine Ruin again. "Big Sis Melody, look over there. A few Dark Players seem to be charging into the battle," Blue Jade said suddenly as she pointed at the six figures rushing into the heart of the battlefield with flying speed. "They must intend to attack Zero Wing." These six players were none other than the six from the Dark Hunters adventurer team. "What a powerful concealment technique. Who are those people?" Quiet Melody watched the rapidly moving figures with astonishment As one of the Sacred Temple''s Vice Temple Masters, she had more than great combat power. She also possessed acute perception. Although the six players hid their identities and appearances with Black Cloaks, Quiet Melody could tell that they were all Tier 2 players based on their movement. Tier 2 players had far higher Basic Attributes than Tier 1 players, and their mobility wasn''t something that Tier 1 players could hope to rival. Hence, it was very easy to differentiate between Tier 1 and Tier 2 players. However, what truly surprised Quiet Melody was the six players'' movement technique. All six moved with incredible stealth. As they weaved their way through the army of monsters, they were able to utilize the surrounding monsters'' bodies and auras to hide themselves. It was likely that even she wasn''t as adept at concealing herself and her aura as these six players were. If not for her bird''s eye view of the battlefield, she wouldn''t have discovered these six players at all. "What? The Dark Hunters are actually making a move?" Crimson Ghost, who had long since retreated from the battlefield, could not help his surprise when he noticed the six figures approach Zero Wing''s army. At this point, Zero Wing''s superiority in this battle could not be any more obvious. There was no reason to continue this fight with the Guild, yet the six Dark Hunters insisted on doing so. Crimson Ghost was truly confused. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Wind Hunter had noticed the six Dark Hunters'' players moving towards Zero Wing''s army, as well. "They''re going to strike?" Wind Hunter''s frown relaxed slightly. Originally, he hadn''t planned on enlisting the help of the Dark Hunters adventurer team in this fight against Zero Wing. Beast Emperor had invited them. Moreover, Beast Emperor had even specifically instructed him not to provoke the Dark Hunters casually. It was clear that even Beast Emperor was a little afraid of this adventurer team known as the Dark Hunters. Initially, Beast Emperor''s decision had left him slightly disgruntled, but after seeing that all six of the adventurer team''s representatives were Tier 2 players, his opinion of the Dark Hunters had changed slightly. When he had tried to fight one of these representatives, he had learned exactly how powerful these six players truly were. If these six players were pitted against a 1,000-man team of ordinary Tier 1 experts, the expert army would suffer catastrophic losses even if the six eventually died. When the six Dark Hunters had stated their intentions to hunt Zero Wing''s peak experts, he had agreed without hesitation because of this. Originally, he had thought that the Dark Hunters had planned to abandon this fight like Crimson Horn''s members had. He never thought that the Dark Hunters would still make a move. This was definitely good news for him. As Wind Hunter considered his next move, the six Dark Hunters reached the edge of Zero Wing''s army. "Start the attack!" the leading Ranger commanded as he watched a group of Zero Wing members. The Ranger then retrieved the crystalline longbow from his bag, simultaneously firing nine arrows. Combat technique - Nine-star Strike! Suddenly, the nine arrows split and flew at nine different Zero Wing players. Moreover, every arrow targeted the players'' blind spots. Dang... Dang... Dang... Although the Ranger''s aim had been accurate, the nine Zero Wing members noticed the attacks and responded by swinging their weapons at the incoming projectiles. However, they felt as if they had struck an immovable wall the moment their weapons touched the arrows. Not only did the resulting vibrations hurt their arms, but they were also forced to retreat. The power the arrows contained could even rival a High Lord''s attack. As Tier 1 players, they wouldn''t be able to block such an attack unless they used their Berserk Skills. However, Zero Wing''s ordinary experts all wielded Tier 2 Mana Weapons, which granted them great Strength. They could also stabilize their postures after retreating about four steps. Unfortunately, before the nine Zero Wing members could locate their attacker, they noticed multiple Skills and Spells flying at them from multiple directions. Before they could react, these Skills and Spells smashed into them. Needless to say, these attacks had originated from the other five Dark Hunters. The nine players from Zero Wing rapidly lost HP. Only the plate-armor classes retained around two-thirds of their HP, while the rest had more than 50%. After the brief clash, the nine Zero Wing members realized that they had encountered a powerful foe. They immediately activated their Mana Weapons, attacking their ambushers. Facing attacks that could rival the power of High Lords, the six Dark Hunters chose not to block the attacks directly, but to dodge or deflect them. This situation rendered the nine Zero Wing members utterly helpless about their current predicament Before the rear line healers could heal the nine injured players, the six Dark Hunters launched another wave of attacks, easily slipping past the Zero Wing members'' defenses and killing the nine experts instantly. This shocked the nearby Zero Wing players. Even the upper echelons from the various major powers, who watched from the Primordial Divine ruin, couldn''t help but gasp. Too fast! Although the nine players from Zero Wing had yet to reach the Refinement Realm, their Basic Attributes almost rivaled Tier 2 players. They should wield the Strength of a High Lord of the same level, yet the six Dark Hunters had effortlessly ended their lives. Although the Dark Hunters'' status as Tier 2 players was part of the reason for their success, the various major powers'' upper echelons recognized the absolutely perfect coordination between the six players. Even if the nine targeted players had been Refinement Realm experts, the ambush''s outcome would likely have been the same. After the nine Zero Wing members had died, they had dropped a total of 18 items, far more than normal. Three of these 18 items were Tier 2 Mana Weapons. "Good! We''re retreating!" the leading Ranger commanded after snatching up a Tier 2 Mana Weapon. He then turned and fled. The other five Dark Hunters nodded in response. They wanted to kill more players, but since their party leader had ordered the retreat, they had to obey. Following which, they dully picked up an item closest to them and fled back into the Evil Demon and Evil Beast army. But just as the six players melded into the monster army, a figure leaped out of Zero Wing''s forces and blocked the Dark Hunters'' path. This figure was none other than Fire Dance! "Do you think that you can leave so easily after killing our Guild members?" Fire Dance demanded as she swept a glance over the six Dark Hunters, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. 1737 Soloing the Dark Hunters Chapter 1737 - Soloing the Dark Hunters Fire Dance''s sudden appearance abruptly halted the six Dark Hunters'' retreat. Fire Dance didn''t currently wear her Black Cloak, so both her appearance and level of 52 were available for everyone to see. Although her weapons and equipment didn''t particularly stand out, Fire Dance radiated an unruly charm that felt like a daunting pressure weighing down on these Dark Hunters'' members. When the Dark Hunters looked at Fire Dance, she seemed like the absolute overlord of her surroundings. So fast! Fire Dance''s appearance had surprised Lonely Lamp, the Ranger and the Dark Hunters'' party leader. His party had specifically chosen to strike far away from any of Zero Wing''s peak experts. The closest peak expert had been several hundred yards away. By the time the Guild''s peak experts could have ridden to the rescue, their party would''ve already completed their mission and fled the battlefield. Less than 20 seconds had passed since they had launched their assault against Zero Wing''s nine ordinary experts, yet Fire Dance had caught up with them. Her Movement Speed should be nearly double theirs. "What bold words. Do you believe that you can stop all six of us by yourself?" an emaciated Assassin among the Dark Hunters asked, sneering. "That''s right. We are surrounded by Evil Demons and Evil Bests. Do you really think your allies can come to your aid in time?" a beautiful female Elementalist said with a faint smile. "Our original mission was to kill Zero Wing''s peak experts like you. Now that you dare to block our path, we''ll just use this opportunity to kill you. That way, we''ll complete our mission perfectly." The other Dark Hunters nodded in agreement, killing intent radiating from their eyes. They currently stood in the midst of the Evil Demon and Evil Beast army. They were also roughly 200 yards away from the nearest Zero Wing member. It would take quite some time for Zero Wing''s members to reach their location. They might not be confident in taking on Fire Dance one-on-one, but they outnumbered the female Assassin by six-to-one. By charging at them alone, Fire Dance had simply jumped into the jaws of death. Yet, Fire Dance had still been so foolish. Her actions rendered them utterly speechless. Was she a fool? Or had the woman lost her mind? ... Even the various superpowers, who were relatively familiar with Fire Dance''s strength, were confused about the female Assassin''s actions, let alone the Dark Hunters party. "Is she tired of living?" "Does she not recognize those six players'' strength?" When the various superpowers'' upper echelons saw Fire Dance charge into the army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, blocking the six Dark Hunters'' path, they felt as if Zero Wing''s members were a bunch of lunatics. It wasn''t unusual to see Black Flame make such bold and arrogant moves; he qualified to do so, after all, but Fire Dance... "Hahaha! Zero Wing is finally going to suffer a little!" Wind Hunter could not help but laugh at the situation. When he noticed Zero Wing''s members trying to reach Fire Dance to offer their help, he commanded some of his Evil Demons to stop them. While the six Dark Hunters had spoken, they had subtly surrounded Fire Dance, preventing her escape. "Watch her speed! Ranged players, maintain your distance from her! Sharp, you''ll be the distraction! Make sure she doesn''t escape! We have to finish this fight as quickly as possible!" Lonely Lamp commanded as he retrieved his crystalline longbow from his back. The other five Dark Hunters nodded in response. The emaciated Assassin, Sharp Blade, then charged at Fire Dance with a Tier 2 Berserker and a Tier 2 Swordsman close behind him. At the same time, the Tier 2 Cleric at the rear cast the Tier 2 Instantaneous Spell, Holy Mark on Fire Dance. Now, even if Fire Dance used Vanish and entered a forced Stealth state, their party could keep track of her. As for Lonely Lamp and the Tier 2 Elementalist, they coordinated their attacks, firing from the female Assassin''s sides. In the blink of an eye, multiple attacks flew towards Fire Dance from different locations. "Pay for your arrogance!" Sharp Blade shouted as he used Shadow Steps, appearing behind Fire Dance instantly. He then thrust his aqua-blue short sword at Fire Dance''s back. Tier 2 Skill, Triple Interception. Suddenly, Sharp Blade''s short sword transformed into three streaks of shadow that aimed for Fire Dance''s blind spots. Although each shadow''s power wasn''t strong, the strikes couldn''t be blocked with shields or weapons. They could only be dodged or stopped by a Defensive Skill. In the meantime, the Berserker charging at Fire Dance from the front raised his battle axe and slammed it at the ground before him. Tier 2 Skill, Fracturing Spikes! Stone spikes rose from the ground beneath Fire Dance''s feet, entrapping her. Meanwhile, the Tier 2 Swordsman used a normal slash against his target. As for Lonely Lamp and the female Elementalist, they sent numerous arrows and Fireballs at the female Assassin. As they watched the six Dark Hunters'' assault, the spectators at the Primordial Divine Ruin gasped. Even the various superpowers'' peak experts wore serious expressions when they saw this coordinated offensive. The Dark Hunters'' coordination and Skill utilization were simply perfect. Even peak experts like themselves would fall under such a seamless bombardment. Even Fire Dance, the target of this offensive, was slightly surprised. She hadn''t expected such high combat standards from the six Dark Hunters, and even their coordination had reached such an impressive level. However, before the numerous attacks could land, Fire Dance split into six identical copies of herself. Phantom! This was the Thousand Transformations'' first Additional Skill. Although the five doppelgangers couldn''t attack, they were invulnerable. Moreover, they could exist for a full 30 seconds. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of attacks struck Fire Dance, but her HP didn''t decrease in the slightest. Meanwhile, Fire Dance''s sudden split and six copies had stunned the Dark Hunters slightly, and they paused for a brief moment "These are doppelgangers that can''t attack! One of these six doppelgangers must be the real Assassin! Lan Hua and I will attack the doppelgangers! The rest of you need to keep an eye out for the real body!" Lonely Lamp shouted, reacting quickly to the new development. Although Doppelganger Skills like the one Fire Dance had just used were rare in God''s Domain, some did exist. Hence, players had learned of ways to counter these Skills. In a one-on-one fight, players would have to flee and wait for the Skill''s duration to end, but if a party were to face such a Doppelganger Skill, the ranged players could launch AOE attacks, hitting every doppelganger simultaneously to determine the real body''s location. The melee players could then take advantage of this information to attack the enemy''s main body. Immediately, Lonely Lamp and the female Elementalist, Lan Hua, launched Spells and Arrows at all six Fire Dance copies. However, before they could do so, Fire Dance had switched positions with one of her doppelgangers and appeared beside the Tier 2 Berserker. She then lightly swung Thousand Transformations at her target. Surprised, the Berserker hurriedly executed Whirlwind Slash to repel Fire Dance. Boom! The instant the Berserker''s battle axe collided with Thousand Transformations, however, the man''s expression darkened. He felt as if he had just struck an impenetrable wall. Not only did his weapon stop abruptly, but the intense feedback forced him to take a step backward. Just as the Tier 2 Berserker stepped back, the Tier 3 Mana Dagger in Fire Dance''s left hand glowed with a beautiful red light as the Assassin thrust it towards the Berserker''s heart. "Damn it!" The Berserker was close to losing his mind. "You forced me to do this!" He currently wielded a two-handed weapon. In terms of Strength, he should be stronger than players who used one-handed weapons, yet Fire Dance had surprised him by relying on Thousand Transformations. Her first attack didn''t leave him any energy to deal with the weapon in her left hand. As the Berserker finished his statement, his skin began to turn a dark shade of red. His body then seemed to grow a little larger, and just as the Tier 3 Mana Dagger was about to reach the Berserker, two longswords appeared, blocking its path. Boom! Following the sound of an explosion, Fire Dance involuntarily took three steps backward, and she gave the Tier 2 Berserker before her a surprised look. The Berserker no longer resembled a human. Instead, he had taken the form of a four-armed, humanoid lizard. The Berserker now wielded two one-handed axes and two longswords in his four hands. "You''re quite impressive to force me to transform! But I''ll be taking your life now!" the Tier 2 Berserker sneered as he charged at Fire Dance. Silence dominated the battlefield. Meanwhile, the spectating crowd at the Primordial Divine Ruin watched this unbelievable scene with dropped jaws. A player had actually transformed into a monster! A Mutated Player? Shi Feng revealed a surprised expression when he saw the Tier 2 Berserker from Silverwing Town''s walls. 1738 Dark Mutation Chapter 1738 - Dark Mutation When the Tier 2 Berserker had transformed, Zero Wing''s nearby players were dumbfounded. They had seen plenty of Berserk Skills that slightly altered their user''s appearance, but this was the first time they had seen a Berserk Skill causing such a huge transformation. After transforming, the Tier 2 Berserker''s aura had undergone a massive transformation. Not only was his aura much stronger now, but it also no longer felt human. However, this was still not the worst part. The most important change was to the Berserker''s body! Currently, the Berserker had four arms instead of two. Of course, having an extra set of arms wasn''t necessarily a good thing as human minds weren''t accustomed to controlling more than one set of arms. If a person suddenly grew an extra set of arms, they''d have some difficulty controlling the new appendages. However, if the Berserker could control all four arms properly, he''d have a massive advantage in battle. A player with four arms would be able to execute more varied attack methods than a player with a single set. The fourarmed player could also commit tow arms to offense and two to defense. If the Tier 2 Berserker could coordinate all four of his arms properly, his combat power would double at the very minimum. Meanwhile, the various powers'' spectating members were dumbfounded by the Berserker''s transformation. "What did he do?" "Did he really use a Berserk Skill"? "There''s such a Transformation Skill in God''s Domain as well?" Curiosity filled the spectating crowd as they watched the transformed Tier 2 Berserker. Even the various superpowers'' upper echelons had no idea of what the Berserker had just done. In fact, the Berserker''s transformation had surprised them even more than watching Cola and Turtledove tank two Mythic Evil Beasts. The Tier 2 Berserker''s transformation had shattered their understanding of God''s Domain. Sure enough, he still had to use it? Lonely Lamp could not help but sigh when he saw Dark Bear, the Tier 2 Berserker, transform. This was the Dark Hunters adventurer team''s greatest secret Not many people knew about this transformation ability. However, now that they had revealed this secret to the public, their adventurer team would definitely face trouble in the future. However, the Berserker''s decision to transform didn''t particularly surprise him. After all, Fire Dance had displayed extraordinary combat power. Had Dark Bear refused to transform, she would have likely killed him already. Aside from Lonely Lamp and the other Dark Hunters'' members, only Shi Feng had a clear idea of what was happening as he watched the battle from Silverwing Town''s walls. The Tier 2 Berserker''s transformation ability was known as Mutation in God''s Domain. Mutation was a method of increasing one''s combat power by abandoning one''s human body. It was somewhat similar to Demon players'' Demonification. The transformation process had no time limit, and it could be activated and deactivated at any time. To become a Mutated Player, one had to perform a particular ritual, which required the sacrifice of many players, even Dark Players. In addition, despite being Dark Players themselves, Mutated Players hunted other Dark Players. They did so because it was the only way a Mutated Player could mutate further and grow stronger. This was akin to how Demon Players improved their ranks. Only, Mutated Players had more of a restriction than Demon Players. Moreover, Mutated Players gained more combat power when they transformed than Demon Players. This was because, in their Mutated form, Mutated Players would gain a body that was far more suitable for battle. Their Attributes and Life Ratings also increased. In return, physical control became more difficult. Mutated Players had a harder time remaining calm in their Mutated form, as well. But one had to admit that Mutation allowed players to become extremely powerful! Shi Feng had never expected to find a Mutated Player at this stage of the game. By becoming a Mutated Player, players took a similar stance as the Evil God''s Temple, becoming antagonistic to both Dark and normal players. Furthermore, gaining a Mutation was incredibly difficult as the process couldn''t be conducted on the God''s Domain continent. Normally, Mutated Players would only appear after pathways between the continent and Otherworlds opened. Back on the battlefield, after a short moment of silence, the transformed Berserker charged at Fire Dance. Not only had the Berserker gained an extra set of arms after his transformation, but his Movement Speed and reaction speed had also undergone a qualitative transformation. In the blink of an eye, the Berserker appeared before Fire Dance. He then swung his one-handed axes down at the female Assassin, while his two longswords flew towards Fire Dance''s sides. The weapons moved so quickly that even Tier 2 players would barely be able to keep up with them. "Die!" As Dark Bear shouted, his arm muscles bulged, and his weapons'' speed increased even further. Tier 2 Skill, Rock Smash! Once Fire Dance recovered from her shock, she simply swung the Tier 3 Mana Dagger at the incoming axes, rather than activating a Lifesaving Skill to protect herself from the sudden assault. Silver divine runes lit up along the dagger as it was about to collide with the axes. Boom! Sparks scattered as the weapons collided, and the resulting impact''s shockwaves cracked and shattered the ground beneath the weapons. Lonely Lamp and the other Dark Hunters, who watched from the sidelines, were dumbfounded by this scene. Fire Dance''s attack had actually sent Dark Bear flying back by a full 15 yards. When Dark Bear landed, his arms, which wielded the two axes, trembled violently, whereas the axes themselves released a low hum. Meanwhile, a damage of more than -2,000 had appeared above Dark Bear''s head. Although receiving -2,000 damage was nothing considerable since Dark Bear had over 100,000 HP after transforming, if this scene repeated, it''d only be a matter of time before Dark Bear died. However, the most unbelievable aspect of the clash had to be the fact that Fire Dance had accomplished the feat without activating a Berserk Skill. After entering his Mutated form, Dark Bear''s Strength rose by 80%, yet he had still lost against Fire Dance''s Strength... Is she a monster? Dark Bear wondered to himself as he stared at Fire Dance in shock. Dark Bear could tell that Fire Dance had simply used the previous exchange to probe his Strength. She hadn''t used her full power. During that exchange, the Zero Wing Assassin hadn''t even used a Skill. Had Fire Dance applied a Skill to her previous attack, the power of her strike would''ve definitely been much stronger. Had that attack struck his body, rather than his weapons, he would''ve likely lost at least 50% of his HP. In other words, Fire Dance only needed two attacks to finish him off... Even Lonely Lamp and the other party members now feared Fire Dance, watching her with somber expressions, not to mention Dark Bear. Similarly, the outcome of the exchange between Dark Bear and Fire Dance had stupefied the crowd at the Primordial Divine Ruin. Based on the change in Dark Bear''s aura, they knew that the Berserker''s Basic Attributes had increased by a significant margin, yet his transformation was meaningless before Fire Dance. However, what these players didn''t know was that the Strength Fire Dance could exert after sacrificing one point of Durability from her Tier 3 Mana Dagger was far beyond what any Berserk Skill could achieve. "We can''t hold back against her! Everyone, transform! We need to finish her off quickly! If the other peak experts get here, we''ll be in trouble!" Lonely Lamp hurriedly commanded, losing his previous composure. Fire Dance alone was already troublesome for them. If another of Zero Wing''s peak experts arrived, they would have no choice but to turn tail and flee. After saying so, Lonely Lamp and the other four Dark Hunters took on their Mutated forms, but not all of them had grown an extra pair of arms like the Tier 2 Berserker. Lonely Lamp grew an extra pair of eyes, and his arms merged with the crystalline longbow he wielded. Overall, these players transformations suited their classes. "You are the first player to single-handedly force our entire party to transform since we joined God''s Domain. But at the end of the day, you''re still just one person. As long as we ignore the risks, we will secure victory," Lonely Lamp said, smirking at Fire Dance. He then retrieved 12 Black Arrows that radiated a horrific aura from his bag. At this point, Lonely Lamp had no intention of holding anything back. He had found these twelve Black Arrows from an ancient ruin, and each of them had the power of a peak Tier 3 attack. They even posed a threat to Tier 4 existences. "Is that so? What if you have to face two people?" Suddenly, a dull voice reached the Dark Hunters from their surroundings, echoing powerfully in Lonely Lamp''s mind. In the next moment, a massive spatial tear appeared beside Fire Dance. Shi Feng''s figure then slowly stepped out of the spatial tear. 1739 Annihilating the Dark Hunters Chapter 1739 - Annihilating the Dark Hunters "Black Flame?" Lonely Lamp''s expression darkened when he saw Shi Feng. The other five Dark Hunters also halted their assault as they stared at the Swordsman, fear surfacing in their gazes. After the battles in Stone Forest Town and near the Primordial Divine Ruin, Black Flame''s fame had spread to the various countries across God''s Domain, including the Dark Night Empire. Although these six players had never fought Black Flame personally, they knew that both his Basic Attributes and combat standards were at the apex of God''s Domain after witnessing the man''s battle videos. Even under normal circumstances, their six-man party would have to take extreme care around Black Flame. Originally, they had a chance of completing their mission since Fire Dance had been alone, but now that Black Flame had joined the fray, their chances were uncertain. "Black Flame is finally making his move?" The various superpowers watching from a distance could not help but grow excited upon Shi Feng''s appearance. They had very eagerly watched the clash between Fire Dance and the Dark Hunters, but they had also worried that the female Assassin might die. They had been worried because they wanted to see the six Dark Hunters'' true strength. This was the first time they had encountered players that could transform into monsters; they hadn''t even known that was possible until today. Naturally, they had to collect as much information on these six players as possible. They might even discover some clues that could help them acquire this power. From what they could tell, the Dark Hunters'' ability to transform into monsters was definitely stronger than a Berserk Skill since the transformation gave the players a body that altered and improved their combat standards. If their Guilds'' experts could grasp this power, it would undoubtedly increase the Guild''s overall strength. Hence, they very much hoped that Zero Wing could defeat the Dark Hunters, forcing the six Dark Hunters to use everything they had. If the Dark Hunters achieved victory instead, however, they wouldn''t know whether or not these players had held back anything. ... "Leader, what should we do? Even if we have the strength to defeat two of them, it''ll likely take a long time to do so," Lan Hua asked through the team chat as she quietly observed Shi Feng. "Our opponents are too powerful! Prepare to retreat!" Lonely Lamp said, breathing a deep sigh as he glanced at Fire Dance and Shi Feng. If their party tried to fight Shi Feng and Fire Dance, regardless of the battle''s outcome, the Dark Hunters party would be annihilated in the end. It wouldn''t take long for Zero Wing''s other peak experts to arrive, after all. If they did die, they''d suffer an even worse death penalty than ordinary Dark Players, which wasn''t an outcome Lonely Lamp wished to see. "Understood!" Although the other five Dark Hunters felt reluctant, they nodded and prepared to flee. "What? Leaving so soon?" Lonely Lamp and his party members'' action surprised Shi Feng a little. He hadn''t expected the Dark Hunters to be so decisive, retreating the moment they realized how disadvantageous their situation had become. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you jest. We are not so foolish as to think that the six of us can stand against you and Commander Fire Dance," Lonely Lamp calmly explained as he looked at Shi Feng. "Since we''ve already accomplished our mission, albeit barely, we will be taking our leave!" Saying so, Lonely Lamp fired the 12 Black Arrows in his hands, aiming four at Fire Dance and eight at Shi Feng. Each arrow carried power at the peak of Tier 3. Current players had no chance of blocking them. Even against a monster like Shi Feng, Lonely Lamp was confident that his arrows would push the Swordsman back slightly. Meanwhile, their party could use the opportunity to leave the area safely. However, Shi Feng unhurriedly unsheathed Killing Ray and lightly swung the blade at the air. Suddenly, a blue lightning bolt tore through the space before him. Lightning Slash! The massive lightning bolt devoured all 12 Black Arrows instantly, and the intense shockwaves that resulted even made the surrounding space tremble. After a brief moment, the Black Arrows disintegrated. Lonely Lamp and his companions, who prepared to run, were thoroughly dumbfounded. They forgot about their retreat as they stared at the vanishing Black Arrows. This... How is that possible?! Lonely Lamp could not believe what he had just seen. Those were 12 Black Arrows they were talking about. Even a Mythic monster would have trouble dealing with such an attack, yet Shi Feng had crushed it with a single move... For a moment, he even wondered if heaven were playing some joke on him. He truly hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would actually block all 12 Black Arrows successfully. He had watched Shi Feng''s battle against the Mythic Evil Demon; the man shouldn''t be capable of blocking the Black Arrows so easily! At the very least, blocking the attack should''ve pushed the Swordsman back by over a dozen yards. Naturally, the spectating crowd was similarly dumbfounded. Strong! Too strong! The various superpowers were no strangers to Black Arrows. They all had their own small stockpile. Normally, these arrows were stored in their Guild Warehouses, only to be used against sufficiently valuable Bosses. However, after watching Shi Feng destroy 12 Black Arrows so effortlessly, they felt like fools. They had all treated these Black Arrows, which could be blocked so easily, like priceless treasures... "You can''t possibly think that you can leave safely after that little trick, do you?" Shi Feng said indifferently as he glanced at the six Dark Hunters before him. "Leader, what should we do?" Lonely Lamp''s party members asked the Ranger. Previously, they had only feared Shi Feng due to his fame, but after watching him destroy 12 Black Arrows in an instant, true fear gripped their hearts. They finally realized why so many people called Shi Feng a monster. "We don''t have any other choice! Use the Advanced Mad Demon Potion!" Lonely Lamp said, gnashing his teeth as he stared at Shi Feng. Hearing this, the other five Dark Hunters were shocked. The Advanced Mad Demon Potion was a special Berserk Potion, which they had gone to great lengths to purchase. When consumed, it would grant Mutated Players like themselves another boost in power for 30 seconds. It was akin to a Twofold Berserk. However, this Twofold Berserk did not come without a price. Once the potion''s duration ended, they would lose 40%''s worth of EXP. In addition, they would also fall into a Weakened state for a short time. Hence, they understood that this potion should never be used unless absolutely necessary. But they also realized that this potion was their only chance of escape right now. "Guild Leader Black Flame! You are as amazing as the rumors say! However, I''m afraid that you still lack the strength to keep us here!" Saying so, Lonely Lamp took out an Advanced Mad Demon Potion and drank it The other five Dark Hunters did the same. Suddenly, the six Dark Hunters'' auras grew more intense. Previously, their auras had rivaled Great Lords'' of the same level, but now, their auras were even stronger than that of a Grand Lord of the same level. Immediately, the six players split up and ran. "I don''t think so!" Shi Feng revealed a calm smile. Following which, he activated Power of Darkness, skyrocketing his Basic Attributes. He then stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground. Forbidden Domain! Abyssal Curse! With Shi Feng as the center, pitch-black ripples spread up to a 30-yard radius. At the same time, every one of his enemies within a 500-yard radius became unable to use any Skills, Spells, or tools. Not only did Abyssal Curse''s activation bind all six Dark Hunters, but it also decreased their Basic Attributes by 20%. Reacting quickly, the six tried to activate their Control Removal Skills. However, no matter how much Lonely Lamp and the others willed for their Skills to activate, their Skills remained inactive. As the six Dark Hunters struggled to break free of their restraints, Shi Feng raised Killing Ray once again and lightly swung the Sacred Sword at the Dark Hunters. Lightning Edge! Countless arcs of lightning formed before Shi Feng, forming a river that devoured Lonely Lamp and the others. When the river of lightning faded, only seven items lay on the ground where the Dark Hunters had stood... 1740 Black Flames Warning Chapter 1740 - Black Flame''s Warning The moment the six Dark Hunters died, silence filled the battlefield. Even the Crimson Horn members, who currently fled the battlefield, could not help but pause to look at the fading river of lightning. For a moment, the watching players even wondered if their eyes were playing tricks on them. It wouldn''t have been unusual if Shi Feng had merely slain a bunch of ordinary experts with a single hit, but the six Dark Hunters hadn''t been ordinary experts. They were bona fide great experts. Every one of them was strong enough to make the various Dark Guilds in the Dark Night Empire shudder with fear. Yet, now... As if swatting a bunch of flies, Shi Feng had incapacitated and killed the six Dark Hunters with a single swing of his sword. They died? How is this possible?! Those are the Dark Hunters we are talking about! Crimson Ghost, who had long since put some distance between himself and the heart of the battlefield, stared at Lonely Lamp and his companions'' prior location in a daze. He had experienced Lonely Lamp''s strength personally before. After transforming, Lonely Lamp and the other Dark Hunters'' combat power was only slightly weaker than his when he activated a Berserk Skill. However, unlike his Berserk Skill, Lonely Lamp and the others'' transformation did not have a duration. Once his Berserk Skill''s duration ended, he''d meet death very quickly. Moreover, Lonely Lamp''s party had consumed a mysterious potion that had heightened their aura''s intensity. Needless to say, their Basic Attributes must''ve risen further. If he had to fight Lonely Lamp while the Ranger was in such a state, he''d likely die after a few hits even with his Berserk Skill active, yet even after multiple boosts, Shi Feng had killed the party instantly. He might be able to accept Shi Feng''s victory after an arduous battle, but that hadn''t happened. As soon as Shi Feng took the situation somewhat seriously, Lonely Lamp and the other Dark Hunters had burned to ash. When Crimson Ghost looked at Shi Feng, who quietly stood before the items Lonely Lamp and his party had dropped, his whole body shuddered. Too scary! Fear and relief overwhelmed his heart. Shi Feng was a true monster with bottomless strength. If he weren''t certain that Shi Feng was, in fact, a player, he might even suspect that Shi Feng was an NPC the Main God System had created to prank God''s Domain''s players. Fortunately, he had not allowed his army to fight Zero Wing''s forces. Even if some of his players survived, his army would''ve suffered severe losses. Meanwhile, the players from the various superpowers that watch from the Primordial Divine Ruin gasped when the Dark Hunters had been annihilated, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. The six Dark Hunters exuded auras that could even rival Grand Lords of the same level. This proved that their Basic Attributes had reached that standard. Coupled with the Dark Hunters'' combat standards, none of the superpowers present were confident that they could stop the six players'' escape. No, to be precise, they might even struggle in a head-on fight against these six players. On the other hand, not only had Shi Feng killed all six Dark Hunters by himself, but he had also done so with one attack. Because of this, the various superpowers'' upper echelons all wore solemn expressions. Since Shi Feng could exterminate the six Dark Hunters, needless to say, he should have no issues doing the same to them. This also implied that, as long as Shi Feng wished it, he could kill any one of them. Knowing this, how could they not take Shi Feng more seriously? "This man..." Quiet Melody could not help but shake her head and smile bitterly as she watched Shi Feng collect the items Lonely Lamp and his party had dropped. "It seems that not only did we fail to learn anything about those six players, but we also received a dire warning." In her opinion, Shi Feng had killed the six Dark Hunters instantly for two reasons. First, he didn''t want others to take advantage of his efforts by learning the Dark Hunters'' bottom line and secrets. The second reason was to give superpowers like the Sacred Temple a warning. Since he could kill the Dark Hunters so easily, he was naturally capable of killing superpowers'' upper echelons like her. It was a message that they should reconsider targeting Zero Wing at the Primordial Divine Ruin. Otherwise, they would suffer a similar fate. Blue Jade, who stood beside Quiet Melody, nodded in agreement with her Vice Temple Master''s words, complex emotions flashing in her eyes as she watched Shi Feng. After this battle, her admiration for Shi Feng had doubtlessly increased. However, she also bore a sense of rivalry in her heart. She felt as if she had just found a goal worth working towards. "This Black Flame is truly arrogant. He actually dares to send the various superpowers a warning!" "Although he is arrogant, he has clearly earned it. Can''t you see the various superpowers'' faces? Those looks are priceless!'' "It seems that nobody should entertain ideas of targeting Zero Wing at the Primordial Divine Ruin in the future." "That''s right! Not only does Silverwing Town have such powerful and long-ranged defensive structures, but it is also protected by so many incredible experts! Even without the NPC guards, nobody would dare to target Silverwing Town and Zero Wing." Both the Guilds and the adventurer teams resting at the Primordial Divine Ruin elevated their opinions of Zero Wing. Some adventurer teams even thought of joining the Guild as a whole. Now that Zero Wing dominated the Ore Empire''s Primordial Divine Ruin, its development speed would be astounding. It might even become a super-first-rate Guild in the virtual gaming world in a short time. If they joined Zero Wing before the Guild became a super-first-rate Guild, they would have a higher chance of becoming internal members. If they became core members, they''d be set for life. "Damn it! Did Black Flame purposefully wait until the Dark Hunters attacked to make his move?" Wind Hunter, who watched the battle from a safe distance, cursed as the Dark Hunters died, his complexion paling. He had thought that Lonely Lamp''s party could cause Zero Wing some trouble, but they had only succeeded in throwing their lives away. Moreover, he had dispatched quite a few Evil Demons and Evil Beasts to reinforce Lonely Lamp''s party. As a result, his minions were more clumped than usual, allowing the Magic Towers to target the monsters more easily. Suddenly, Beast Emperor''s phantom appeared beside Wind Hunter. Beast Emperor then said, "Alright, that''s enough. Wind, you need retreat as well. We no longer have the ability to do anything against Silverwing Town." "But... Are we going to let Zero Wing off the hook, just like that?" Frustration tore at Wind Hunter. Not only had his campaign failed to damage the Guild, but it had also bolstered Zero Wing''s reputation. Moreover, his monster army had sustained a lot of damage. This was the first time he had suffered such a severe loss. "No! Of course, we won''t let Zero Wing off the hook! Regardless of my agreement with Nine Dragons Emperor or my personal reasons, I want to remove Zero Wing from God''s Domain permanently! But it''s not time for that yet," Beast Emperor said as he glared at Shi Feng''s distant figure, killing intent radiating from his eyes. Because of that man, his path to promotion had been cut short. How could he possibly spare Zero Wing after the losses he had suffered? "However, thanks to this operation, Zero Wing has provoked the Dark Hunters." "Provoked the Dark Hunters?" Wind Hunter could not help his confusion. "That''s right! The Dark Hunters adventurer team is a mysterious organization consisting of a bunch of lunatics. Nobody can guess their true thoughts. However, one thing you can be sure of is that they are a vengeful bunch. Now that Black Fame has killed Lonely Lamp, one of its core members, the Dark Hunters won''t let Zero Wing get away with this," Beast Emperor said, sneering. "Zero Wing will only maintain its arrogance for a short time. Once the Dark Hunters take action, Zero Wing''s days will be numbered!" "I understand." Wind Hunter nodded. He then commanded his Evil Demons and Evil Beasts to depart from the battlefield. However, even though the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons had begun their retreat, Shi Feng commanded Zero Wing''s members to chase the monsters down. In the end, Zero Wing slaughtered another large number of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. Meanwhile, news of this battle''s outcome quickly spread to the neighboring countries. 1741 Popular Silverwing Chapter 1741 - Popular Silverwing After the battle outside of Silverwing Town, Zero Wing''s prestige and reputation skyrocketed. "Zero Wing is amazing! Even Beast Emperor''s monster army is helpless against the Guild!" "I''ve heard that you can get plenty of combat techniques from the Primordial Divine Ruin. Now that nobody can contest Zero Wing for Silverwing Town, won''t Zero Wing acquire a ton of combat techniques?" "That''s not all. Don''t forget about Primordial City. I''ve heard that Primordial City can help players improve their combat standards." "I''ve heard that Zero Wing has been recruiting new members lately. Why don''t we give it a try? I''ve also heard that even Zero Wing''s elite members can learn combat techniques without signing a binding contract right now." "What?! Those are combat techniques we''re talking about! I''ve heard that even large Guilds'' core members have to sign strict contracts if they wish to learn one of the Guild''s combat techniques!" "Honestly, you can learn Zero Wing''s combat techniques without joining the Guild. Only, the price is exorbitant. However, if you become an elite member, you can get a significant discount." As news of Zero Wing''s victory spread, many independent players made their way towards Star-Moon Kingdom to join Zero Wing. As a result, the number of players applying to join Zero Wing had increased by nearly three times. For a time, Aqua Rose was swamped with work. To make matters worse, now that Zero Wing had proven that it had the strength to defend Silverwing Town, a large number of merchant players and corporations hoped to purchase Shops, conducting their business in the town. This was especially true for the corporations that sold virtual goods[l]. However, Shi Feng had no intention of selling Silverwing Town''s Shops. Instead, he would only rent them out Moreover, the rental price was an astronomical 2,000 Gold or 6,000 Magic Crystals per month... Because of this price, 99% of the merchant players cursed Zero Wing. This was simply fraudulent! Shi Feng''s decision even confused Aqua Rose. With 2,000 Gold, one could buy a very good plot of Land in an NPC town. Even in Guild Towns, strategically located Shops only sold for 800 Gold or so, yet not only were Silverwing Town''s Shops only available to rent, but the rental cost was also 2,000 Gold per month. With so much money, players could permanently purchase two good plots of Land in another Guild Town. Although Silverwing Town''s location was strategic, Teleportation War Fortresses had appeared in the Ore Empire. It was only a matter of time before the various large Guilds occupied these fortresses. Once that happened, Silverwing Town''s value would fall. The wisest decision Zero Wing could make right now would be pulling as many merchant players as possible to Silverwing Town. By doing so, Zero Wing could make a fortune and solidify the town''s position and advantage in the Ore Empire. Yet, Shi Feng had chosen to rent the town''s Shops at astronomical prices, scaring away many merchant players that had solid foundations. When the various large Guilds began to capture Teleportation War Fortresses, these merchant players would gravitate to these fortresses instead. Doing this wouldn''t benefit Zero Wing. But Shi Feng paid the matter no heed. First, the Ore Empire''s Teleportation War Fortresses were not that easy to capture. Second, Silverwing Town had five Magic Towers. Players could gain a full rest just by standing in the town; they wouldn''t need to rent rooms from a hotel. There was also the Spirited State buff, which could help players level up far more quickly. One could easily imagine how attractive Silverwing Town would be to players. However, these players wouldn''t just loiter on the street like fools, doing nothing. They would stroll around the town and window-shop. The chances that they''d spend some money would be quite high. In addition, unlike Zero Wing City, where players could accumulate the Double EXP buff even while they were offline, players in Silverwing Town had to remain online to take advantage of the Spirited State buff. They could only take advantage of the buff while offline if they rested in a hotel room or a Guild Hall. Hence, there would be many players strolling down Silverwing Town''s streets. With how many players would wander Silverwing Town''s streets, business in the town would thrive as well as those in Zero Wing City. Naturally, he couldn''t ask for too low of a price for the town''s Shops. Moreover, Silverwing Town needed to maintain more than just the five Magic Towers. There was also the Magic King, Craig Midlands. Silverwing Town''s daily operation costs could drive any first-rate Guild crazy. Including the fact that Silverwing Town needed the funds to develop and had limited space, selling the Shops cheaply would be foolish. Rather, setting up hotels in place of Shops would generate more income for the town. In the end, only six merchant associations were willing to rent Shops in Silverwing Town. Although there were so few, Zero Wing had still earned 12,000 Gold. This allowed the Guild to construct more high-rise buildings in the town, which would, in turn, hasten the town''s promotion to an Intermediate Town. A neutral town''s promotion conditions weren''t like those of towns constructed within kingdoms and empires. In addition to the population and Town Reputation requirements, the neutral town also needed to achieve certain conditions. These conditions involved a certain number of high-rise buildings and NPC merchants. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns, NPC merchants would rarely set foot into neutral maps. The town needed to earn a C-rank in safety, but trying to do so with a Basic Town was excruciatingly difficult. Because of this, neutral towns had a hard time getting promoted. One had to develop the town to its very limits before it could reach the next rank. Of course, there were methods that could hasten this process, and one involved using a Town Promotion Order. Only, the Town Promotion Order a neutral town required was unusual. To upgrade a Basic Neutral Town to an Intermediate Neutral Town, one would need a Gold ranked Town Promotion Order. Meanwhile, Gold Town Promotion Orders could be used to upgrade an Intermediate Town to Advanced rank in kingdoms and empires. One could easily imagine how difficult such a Promotion Order would be to obtain. Even Shi Feng did not have a guaranteed method of acquiring a Gold Town Promotion Order. All he could do was hasten the construction of high-rise buildings in Silverwing Town. Although it was true that Silverwing Town currently had the ability to stop Beast Emperor''s forces, he wasn''t so arrogant to think that Silverwing Town''s current state would always be enough to stop Beast Emperor. After all, the Evil God''s Temple, which Beast Emperor belonged to, was everyone''s enemy on the God''s Domain continent. If given enough time to grow, Beast Emperor could definitely become strong enough to overcome Silverwing Town''s current defenses. Moreover, Beast Emperor wasn''t the only enemy Zero Wing had to worry about. The various superpowers also eyed Silverwing Town. With these superpowers'' foundations, they would only grow stronger as time passed. Once the various superpowers realized Primordial City''s true importance and gathered sufficient strength, they wouldn''t miss the chance to strike at Silverwing Town. The various superpowers only saw the benefits Silverwing Town currently offered. However, they had neglected to notice the potential threat Silverwing Town could become. Hence, Shi Feng needed to develop and fortify Silverwing Town as quickly as possible. However, although Zero Wing currently had a goldmine like Zero Wing City, which earned a large number of Coins and Magic Crystals each day, it wasn''t enough to sustain the Guild''s development... This was because Zero Wing had constantly recruited new members recently. Since the start of the latest recruitment drive, more than 150,000 players had joined the Guild. This number would only increase as time went on. Meanwhile, the Guild needed to provide all sorts of benefits for these new members, and to do so, the Guild would need a ton of resources. Normally, new members were a good thing for a Guild. After all, the more members a Guild had, the stronger it would be. But Zero Wing wasn''t like first-rate Guilds. Zero Wing''s sphere of influence was tiny in comparison. As a result, although Zero Wing had gained more members, the Guild did not have the necessary territory to let these new members operate and generate wealth for the Guild, which was necessary to sustain the Guild benefits its members enjoyed. To put it simply, Zero Wing couldn''t afford to take in so many members. If the Guild wished to develop, it would need a large amount of resources and Coins. Without the proper funds, the Guild couldn''t be self-sufficient. Meanwhile, after the battle, Shi Feng returned to Silverwing Town''s Candlelight Trading Firm and began to evaluate the Guild''s latest harvest After killing the Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, the Guild had acquired nearly 2,000 Evil Energy Crystals from this battle. This was a considerable harvest. However, it was a drop in the bucket compared to how many Evil Energy Crystals Shi Feng needed. "Huh? What''s this?" As Shi Feng inspected the loot from the Dark Hunters, he noticed a skeletal hand made entirely of crystal. Surprisingly, Shi Feng couldn''t actually inspect the skeletal hand normally. The system simply stated that it was an unknown item. His curiosity piqued, Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to inspect the skeletal hand. The instant he tried to appraise the item, he heard the sounds of a series of system notifications. 1742 Philosophers Hand Chapter 1742 - Philosopher''s Hand System: You have discovered the Cursed Philosopher''s Hand. System: Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Philosopher''s Wish" activated. Quest Content: Locate the World Forest using the Philosopher''s Hand and activate the World Gate. Reward: Philosopher''s Hand A Legendary item? Shi Feng''s heart pounded rapidly when he saw the system notifications. He had never thought that he would have the opportunity to acquire the Philosopher''s Hand in this life! Any alchemist in God''s Domain would definitely have heard of the Philosopher''s Hand! Like the Philosopher''s Stone, the Philosopher''s Hand was a treasure of the alchemy world, so Shi Feng knew quite a bit about it. It was a bona fide Legendary item. Unlike the Philosopher''s Stone, the Philosopher''s Hand was a complete, undamaged item. Countless Lifestyle Players dreamed of using its abilities. If one were to say that the power of the Philosopher''s Stone focused on refining materials, then the Philosopher''s Hand focused on strengthening the standards of Lifestyle Players, allowing them to break through all kinds of bottlenecks easily and continuously elevate themselves to a higher level. In his past, the Philosopher''s Hand had appeared in the hands of the first-rate Guild Kingdom''s Sword. With the help of the Philosopher''s Hand, the Lifestyle Players working under Kingdom''s Sword were able to develop rapidly. Back then, this incident had shaken the entire Dark Night Empire. The trading firm operated by Kingdom''s Sword also quickly became one of the top three trading firms in the Dark Night Empire, inciting the other first-rate Guilds'' envy. However, the Dark Night Empire was an empire even stronger the Black Dragon Empire. There were a total of four superpowers fighting over the empire. One could easily imagine what kind of end had awaited Kingdom''s Sword! In the end, the four superpowers ''requested'' that Kingdom''s Sword sell its Philosopher''s Hand. Although it was presented as a request, in reality, it was closer to coercion. However, Kingdom''s Sword had already grown to become an extremely powerful first-rate Guild by then. The Guild had plenty of expert members and was already well on its way to becoming a super-first-rate Guild. Naturally, Kingdom''s Sword had refused the superpowers'' requests. After all, the requirement to become a super-first-rate Guild was to have sufficient financial strength and resources. If Kingdom''s Sword sold its Philosopher''s Hand, that would be equivalent to severing its path towards becoming a super- first-rate Guild. Originally, it would''ve indeed been very difficult for one superpower to deal with a powerful first-rate guild like Kingdom''s Sword. The surprising thing was that the four superpowers had actually worked together to deal with Kingdom''s Sword... As a result, Kingdom''s Sword had become history from then on. However, the Guild Leader of Kingdom''s Sword was also ruthless. Even when his Guild had been on the brink of annihilation, he had still refused to hand over the Philosopher''s Hand. In the end, none of the four superpowers had gotten their hands on it, and the alchemy treasure had vanished from God''s Domain with the Kingdom''s Sword Guild. Shi Feng found it truly surprising that the Philosopher''s Hand had appeared before him. If not for being targeted by four superpowers, there was no doubt that Kingdom''s Sword would''ve become a super-first-rate Guild. After all, the further one progressed in the game, the more important Lifestyle Players became to Guilds. Many weapons, equipment, and items had to be crafted by the various Lifestyle players. It was simply impossible to sustain a Guild''s development with dropped items alone. Looking at the Philosopher''s Hand, many ideas danced in Shi Feng''s mind. Although Silverwing Town seemed free of issues right now, the town would face great danger in the future. Sufficient power would be needed to maintain the town''s safety. Although he had acquired the Bronze Guardian Puppet Design, Zero Wing simply wasn''t capable of producing the Bronze Guardian Puppet right now. It might be fine if he had obtained a design for the Common Guardian Puppet, as it did not require Master-ranked Lifestyle Players to be produced. However, the Bronze Guardian Puppet''s minimum requirement was to have a Master Forger, a Master Alchemist, a Master Engineer, and a Master Enchanter. In addition, some parts needed to be made by two different kinds of Masters, while some needed all four kinds of Masters working together to make them. The Bronze Guardian Puppets could only be crafted after meeting the requirements. Even then, the production success rate was very low. If one wished to produce the Bronze Guardian Puppet reliably, the Master Lifestyle Players selected had to be Intermediate or Advanced Masters. Basic Masters were too unreliable. Fulfilling these conditions was wishful thinking for the current Zero Wing. Master Lifestyle Players were not available on demand. Even ten years after God''s Domain had launched, Basic Masters had been extremely rare and had been greatly respected by the various large guilds, let alone Intermediate and Advanced Masters. However, if Zero Wing acquired the Philosopher''s Hand, it would be possible to nurture a bunch of Basic Masters within a short time. Building up some Intermediate Masters might even be possible! At that time, Zero Wing could start the production of the Bronze Guardian Puppet. Just thinking about such a future was incredibly exciting! Bronze Guardian Puppets possessed combat power at the peak of Tier 3. Moreover, players could control them fully since they were much easier to control than summoned creatures. A Void Realm expert that was ignorant of the Realms of Truth could still, at the very minimum, exhibit combat power at the Refinement Realm when controlling a Guardian Puppet. Most importantly, unlike summoned creatures, Guardian Puppets could be used permanently. They even dealt additional damage to buildings and magic arrays! Whether they were used in a siege or defensive battle, Guardian Puppets were the perfect tool. Countless Guilds had dreamed of obtaining Guardian Puppets in the past. Guardian Puppets were so powerful that the first-rate Guilds that had them could even afford to provoke superpowers and get away with it. If he could produce several dozen Bronze Guardian Puppets now, nobody in God''s Domain could threaten Silverwing Town. Even if ten Mythic monsters charged at the town, the monsters could be easily stopped with forty Bronze Guardian Puppets. After all, Guardian Puppets had extremely high Defense, rivaling Tier 4 monsters! If he had a hundred Bronze Guardian Puppets right now, he would immediately set out to annihilate Ancient Rock City''s Evil God Branch Temple right now! Of course, these were only fantasies... However, with the Philosopher''s Hand, it was entirely possible to turn these fantasies into reality! Setting aside those ideas for the moment, Shi Feng quickly inspected the Philosopher''s Hand''s statistics... [Cursed Philosopher''s Hand] As the creator of the Philosopher''s Hand failed to complete his wish before death, the creator''s soul had attached itself to the Philosopher''s Hand and cursed it to lose all of its power. Only after removing this curse will the Philosopher''s Hand recover its original abilities. Twenty stalks of Soul Dissolving Flower are necessary to activate Soul Guidance and remove the curse. Soul Dissolving Flower? What a ruthless price! Shi Feng could not help but frown after reading the item''s introduction. In God''s Domain, any item pertaining to souls was extraordinarily valuable! Shi Feng knew a little about the Soul Dissolving Flower. It was an extremely rare Epic material and the main material needed to produce the Master-ranked Meditation Potion. The Meditation Potion was one of the rare few Potions capable of helping players learn combat techniques more easily. After consuming a Master Meditation Potion, the Potion would offer players guidance that would help them grasp combat techniques very quickly. In the past, the Potion had been highly sought after by the various major powers. Unlike Skills and Spells, players needed to train arduously to learn a combat technique. Even expert players struggled to learn Basic Combat Techniques, not to mention Advanced Combat Techniques and above. Hence, one could easily imagine how valuable the Soul Dissolving Flower was. On the market, each stalk could sell for 300 Gold. Even so, nobody would be willing to sell a Soul Dissolving Flower they had obtained as they were exceedingly rare... so rare that even the various superpowers could only get their hands on a small number. The flower''s rarity was because it did not exist on the continent of God''s Domain. Instead, it only existed in Otherworlds and Higher Planes, which made them extremely difficult to acquire. Yet, the Philosopher''s Hand actually required twenty stalks of Soul Dissolving Flower... At this moment, Shi Feng finally understood why the Philosopher''s Hand had only appeared after mainstream players had already reached Level 80. At that time, the pathways connecting the continent of God''s Domain and Otherworlds had already been opened. Most likely, Kingdom''s Sword had only managed to collect the twenty Soul Dissolving Flowers after that event! It seems there''s a need to make another trip to the Ice Crystal World. The only Otherworld Shi Feng could freely travel to right now was the Ice Crystal World. Although there was also the option of visiting a Higher Plane, it would take a very long amount of time to collect twenty Soul Dissolving Flowers all by himself. Meanwhile, there were many players in the Ice Crystal World! Done thinking, Shi Feng contacted Lifeless Thorn and the other members of the Asura adventurer team and had them gather in White River City. After grouping up, they headed towards the Ice Crystal World. 1743 Revisiting the Ice Crystal World Chapter 1743 - Revisiting the Ice Crystal World Ice Crystal World, Cold Wind City, the Snow Rift: Icy-cold winds blew endlessly inside the snowy valley. If a player without Ice Resistance stood here, they would no doubt freeze to death. Even if players possessed sufficient Ice Resistance to survive the cold environment, their Stamina consumption would be several times higher than usual. Currently, however, there was a very large number of players grinding inside the Snow Rift. Looking down from the top of the mountain, one would see many large groups of players grinding the monsters here, seemingly used to fighting in this place already. "We just left for a short while, and there are actually so many people grinding here already?" Yan Ya, who was currently dressed in exquisite dark-blue mage robes and wielding an emerald staff, was slightly surprised as she looked down at the crowd of players grinding beneath the mountain. Even the lowest leveled player among the players present inside the Snow Rift was Level 50, with most of them being Level 51. Some of the players giving out orders had even reached Level 52. In an empire on the continent of God''s Domain, a Level 52 player could easily rank within the top 30, yet there were actually more than thirty Level 52 players present in the Snow Rift... Yan Ya and the rest of the Asura adventurer team members that had gone over to the continent of God''s Domain together with Shi Feng had been roaming about the continent grinding and questing constantly. Shi Feng had even helped them level up a little. However, they had only reached Level 52, yet so many independent experts of Cold Wind City had already managed to reach the same point! "The monsters in the Ice Crystal World are stronger and provide more EXP, so the leveling speed of the players here is faster than that of the players on the main continent. Right now, the average level of large Guild members on the main continent is already close to reaching Level 50. It is very normal for the mainstream players here to reach Level 51 and 52," Shi Feng said, not finding this situation particularly surprising. During his previous visit to the Ice Crystal World, he had discovered that the average level of the players here was much higher than the players on the continent of God''s Domain. The part that truly surprised Shi Feng was the weapons and equipment these players were using. The drop-rate for weapons and equipment in the Ice Crystal World was extremely low. Normally, monsters here only dropped materials. The main source of weapons and equipment was from Lifestyle Players. Hence, the quality of the weapons and equipment used by the players here was considerably inferior to those used by the players on the main continent. In contrast, the standard of the Lifestyle Players here was much higher. Most of the Level 50 players present in the Snow Rift were geared in Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, with some even being geared in Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. The equipment standard of these players was not the slightest bit inferior to the players residing on the main continent. After reaching Level 50, the drop-rate for weapons and equipment would decrease drastically. Currently, Level 50, 20-man Team Dungeons were the goal of independent players on the main continent. Meanwhile, the best equipment dropped in these Dungeons was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank, although the drop-rate was extremely low. The drop-rate was only at an acceptable level if one raided at Hell Mode. However, a Level 50, 20-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon was still too difficult of a challenge for current independent players. As a result, even after reaching Level 50, most players on the continent of God''s Domain would only be geared in Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Few of them possessed Secret-Silver Equipment. As for Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment, that was something only large Guilds were capable of acquiring. It also wasn''t very easy for players to produce high-quality Level 50 equipment. After reaching Level 50, not only did the production procedures for weapons and equipment become more complex, but the production success rate also decreased. Even Shi Feng, despite having become a Basic Master Forger already, still needed the help of a bunch of excellent support tools to produce high-quality Level 50 equipment at a profitable rate. Shi Feng found it very difficult to imagine that the Lifestyle Players of Cold Wind City were already capable of producing Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment If the Lifestyle Players here had truly reached such a standard already, then the average forging standard of Cold Wind City was even higher than that of the Candlelight Trading Firm! The Candlelight Trading Firm possessed many Secret Forging Techniques. Candlelight could even send players to train at the Holy City of Titan. Members of Candlelight could also work and practice in the Mana-rich environment of Zero Wing City, yet despite these factors, Candlelight''s overall forging standard was still inferior to the forging standard of Cold Wind City. How could Shi Feng not be surprised by this fact? "Commander, those people over there seem to be members of our adventurer team," Solitary Nine said, smiling as he pointed at a 50-man team currently fighting against a Level 56 Great Lord. Currently, six Level 51 MTs were working together to pin down the Level 56 Great Lord-ranked Frost Ape. The Frost Ape was very powerful. Even when three MTs worked together to receive one of its normal attacks, the MTs would still get pushed back and receive over 10,000 damage each. To cope with the Frost Ape''s powerful attacks, the six MTs would take turns receiving its attacks. Of course, to Level 51 MTs, losing 10,000-plus HP was not a cause for concern. Instead, the truly troublesome part about the Frost Ape was the Freezing debuff its attacks inflicted. If one were struck by the Frost Ape, their body''s movements would turn sluggish. If struck too many times, even their Movement Speed would decrease. At the same time, the damage they received would also increase. However, although the Frost Ape was very powerful, Asura''s 50-man team was still able to reduce its HP steadily. It was only a matter of time before the Frost Ape died. After hearing Solitary Nine''s words, Lifeless Thorn, Cleansing Whistle, Dark Madness, Yan Ya, and the other members of Asura in the team turned to look in the Frost Ape''s direction. For a moment, they all could not help but sigh ruefully. Although the Asura members that were currently in combat were relatively strong and high-leveled, in their eyes, these players were still too lacking when it came to combat standards. This was something they had learned after leaving the Ice Crystal World. The players of the Ice Crystal World might be higher-leveled, but the average combat standard of the players on the continent of God''s Domain was significantly higher. The Asura members in the Ice Crystal World needed 50 people to suppress the Level 56 Great Lord ranked Frost Ape. If the task were left to the various large Guilds of God''s Domain, a 20-man team would be more than enough to deal with such an opponent Just as Solitary Nine and the others were talking about their fellow companions'' combat standards, an army of players suddenly entered the valley below them. There were easily over 3,000 players in this army. Meanwhile, these players all wore Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment of matching designs. It was obvious that the equipment was player-made. Some of the leader-level individuals in this army were also equipped in five or more pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. As for the 100-man team moving in the lead of this army, over half of the equipment on them was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank. The gorgeous and neat equipment these players wore quickly earned them the envy of the other players present inside the Snow Rift. At the same time, fear surfaced in the eyes of the surrounding crowd. The players in this army all wore a Guild Emblem in the shape of a black lion. They were, evidently, Guild players. When the players grinding in the Snow Rift saw the arrival of these players, they immediately started a discussion between themselves. "Amazing! So, this is Hecate?" "Sure enough, Hecate isn''t something the Guilds of Cold Wind City can hope to compare to. It''s no wonder the Matchless Family decided to join Hecate. Moreover, with how much pressure Hecate is placing on the Centurion Dynasty, I believe it won''t be long before the Centurion Dynasty disbands!" "I really wish I could join Hecate! I heard that there are plenty of weapons and equipment made available for exchange in the Guild. One is eligible to exchange for Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment just by becoming an elite member. Its a pity Hecate''s recruitment requirements are too high." As the players grinding in the Snow Rift watched Hecate''s army slowly approach, they felt a sense of yearning towards the Guild. Right now, they had to grind arduously for rare materials and then use these materials to trade for a piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment from Hecate. If they could become members of Hecate, however, they would not have to go through all that trouble. They also wouldn''t have to make unfavorable trades with Hecate. "Hecate''s reserving this place! Non-members leave this place immediately!" "If you''re not gone within five minutes, we''ll forcefully evict you from this place!" Just as the spectating crowd was chatting among themselves, a few of Hecate''s members suddenly started evicting players from the map. "What?! Hecate has occupied several high-resource leveling maps before. This leveling spot is something we found after going through great lengths! How can you guys just come here and take it from us?" "That''s right! This is too much!" "Without this place, how are we supposed to grind for rare materials?" For a time, the various independent players all complained about Hecate''s tyrannic actions. "What? You guys have something to say about this?" At this moment, a savage man wearing light-blue armor walked out from Hecate''s army. The man then sent a glance at the crowd before him, sneering, "If you have something to say, fine! Come say it to my face!" Hearing this man''s words, everyone suddenly went quiet The savage man before them was named Vast Heaven, and very famous in Cold Wind City. On the first day he had arrived in Cold Wind City, he had killed over thirty experts from the Centurion Dynasty. Afterward, in the Guild war between Hecate and the Centurion Dynasty, not only did Vast Heaven managed to kill over a hundred players all by himself, he even managed to slay Centurion Dynasty''s Guild Leader, Sky Sliced How could they possibly dare fight him? Everyone started quietly leaving the area, no longer daring to say anything about Hecate''s actions. Meanwhile, Asura''s 50- man team finally defeated the Frost Ape and were about to pick up their loot and leave as well. "Wait a minute! This place is already under Hecate''s management! You guys over there leave those materials behind!" Vast Heaven shouted as he looked at Asura''s members. "Vast Heaven, we killed this Boss! Don''t you dare go overboard!" the Berserker serving as the leader of Asura''s 50-man as he looked at Vast Heaven. "What? You guys want to fight?" Vast Heaven laughed. "Sure! Come at me! I''ll even let all of you attack me together! If you manage to kill me, I''ll immediately have my men leave the area!" 1744 Asuras Commander Chapter 1744 - Asura''s Commander After Vast Heaven was done speaking, he stepped out from the crowd behind him and slowly walked towards Asura''s 50- man team. When bathed in Vast Heaven''s chilling aura, Asura''s members felt greatly pressured. None of them dared reply to Vast Heaven''s provocation. They knew very clearly what kind of temper Vast Heaven possessed. During the first few days after Hecate arrived in Cold Wind City, a situation similar to this had occurred. Some adventurer teams that were displeased with Hecate''s tyrannical actions had challenged Vast Heaven. In the end, however, Vast Heaven had defeated every challenger. Even when a 100-man team challenged Vast Heaven, the entire team still ended up getting annihilated. Vast Heaven''s combat power was on an entirely different level than theirs. Accepting his challenge would simply be suicidal. "I heard that the Asura adventurer team is the number one adventurer team of Cold Wind City. Your commander has even been labeled a monster and was able to oppress the two large Guilds in Cold Wind City single-handedly. Your adventurer team is also famed for being filled with experts. So, how did your adventurer team end up having a weak bunch like you?" Vast Heaven sneered as he sent a glance at the silent players before him. "It seems those rumors really are just that, rumors! I''ve been in Cold Wind City for some time now, yet I still haven''t met that so-called commander of yours even now! He must be like you bunch, hiding in fear. And to think you all even dare call yourselves the number one adventurer team of Cold Wind City! This truly is disappointing! Oh well. It was my fault for expecting there would be capable experts in a backwater village like Cold Wind City." The expressions of Asura''s members darkened when they heard Vast Heaven''s words. However, they were also powerless to refute Vast Heaven''s words. Vast Heaven''s strength was clear for all to see. He was definitely one of the strongest experts present in all of Cold Wind City. Even if their commander and the other experts of their adventurer team were present, they were unlikely to win against Vast Heaven. "Leave the loot behind! We''re leaving!" said Stained Maple, the Berserker serving as the leader of Asura''s team, gnashing his teeth. He knew that their team stood no chance against Vast Heaven whatsoever. It was definitely unwise to throw away the lives of the entire 50-man team just for the loot of a Frost Ape! Under the Berserker''s lead, Asura''s team turned around and left. "Hold it! Who said you could go?" Vast Heaven shouted suddenly. "We''ve already left the loot behind. What else do you want?" Stained Maple said, irked. "I see that you have quite a few pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment on you. Hecate just so happens to be in need of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Since I''ve already come all the way here, you wouldn''t let me leave with nothing, right?" Vast Heaven said, chuckling. "Hand over five pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment as my labor fee. Afterward, you guys can leave." Rage immediately burned in the eyes of Asura''s members when they heard Vast Heaven''s words. This was too much! They had already chosen to concede, yet Vast Heaven was even telling them to hand over five pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. That was basically asking for their lives! Nowadays, while it was indeed true that the mainstream players of Cold Wind City had already reached Level 50, Level 50 equipment was still scarce. Right now, even Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment was worth a fortune, not to mention Secret-Silver Equipment Just one piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment was already worth far more than the value of the Frost Ape''s loot. They would have to kill over twenty Frost Apes to earn enough to purchase five pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Even though the Asura adventurer team was Cold Wind City''s number one adventurer team, it did not possess a lot of Secret-Silver Equipment As for their fifty-man team, all together, they only had around a dozen or so pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment "What? Not willing to hand them over? Are you asking for me to make a move?" Vast Heaven said as he swept a scrutinizing gaze over Asura''s members. Meanwhile, Asura''s members'' rage burned brightly as they glared at Vast Heaven. "Boss Maple, let''s just duke it out with them! Isn''t it just a single death? That''s much better than just handing over five pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment!" "That''s right! I refuse to believe our 50-man team can''t kill one person!" Asura''s members were expressing their anger on the team chat one after another. They were all willing to fight against Vast Heaven rather than handing over five pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment without putting up a fight. "Alright! We''ll fight with everything we got! Even if we can''t kill him, we''ll make him lose a few teeth!" Stained Maple said after giving the matter some thought. After all was said and done, Vast Heaven was only a Level 52 Berserker. Even Stained Maple himself was a Level 52 Berserker. The weapons and equipment his team wore were also much stronger than before. Their chances of winning against Vast Heaven were not entirely zero. After Stained Maple agreed, Asura''s members all unsheathed their weapons and started encirclingVast Heaven. "You want to make a move?" Vast Heaven could not help but laugh when he saw Stained Maple brimming with fighting spirit. "Good! I just happen to be in need of some practice targets!" Saying that, Vast Heaven unsheathed the silver spear hanging on his back. He then charged directly into Asura''s team. So fast! Stained Maple could not help but be surprised when he saw Vast Heaven transforming into an afterimage. Despite Vast Heaven being a Berserker, he was so fast that even Stained Maple''s eyes could not keep up with him. In fact, Vast Heaven appeared to be even faster than Asura''s Assassins! "This bunch from Asura sure is unlucky. The Boss has just been promoted to Tier 2 recently and had been fussing about not having any sparring partners." "The Boss is amazing! His speed is so high!" "Before this, the Boss was famed for having immense Strength. However, back then, his speed was lacking. His promotion to Tier 2 just so happens to have made up for this weakness of his. With this, he is most likely unbeatable in Cold Wind City now." Hecate''s members started chatting merrily among themselves when they saw that Vast Heaven had already charged into the ranks of Asura''s team. Previously, even when Vast Heaven was still a Tier 1 player, he had already managed to make a mess of the Centurion Dynasty. Now that he had been promoted to Tier 2, he was definitely invincible in Cold Wind City. Let alone 50 players, even if Asura''s team had 100 players, the outcome would still be the same. Seeing Vast Heaven''s ridiculous Movement Speed, Stained Maple immediately commanded the ranged players to start attacking the enemy Berserker. He also had the six MTs of the team try to surround Vast Heaven as much as possible, preventing the enemy Berserker from coming close to the team''s ranged DPS and healers. However, Vast Heaven was simply too fast. He was able to easily dodge any Spells and arrows that were sent at him. As for the six MTs trying to pin him down, they were as slow as turtles before Vast Heaven. Very quickly, Vast Heaven managed to circle the six MTs and charged at Asura''s healers and ranged DPS. "Disappear!" Vast Heaven dashed past the melee players that had tried to hinder his path and abruptly jumped into the air. When he was still in the air, he started rotating his spear and creating a storm with it. Immediately after, he slammed his spear down where Asura''s healers were standing. Tier 2 Skill, Bladestorm! Just when Vast Heaven was about to descend on the healers, however, a crimson light suddenly flew at him. Like a meteor, the crimson light flew at the Tier 2 Berserker''s defensive blind spot, the frightening power it carried even scorching the air around it into nothingness. However, Vast Heaven quickly noticed the attack and altered his spear''s attack trajectory, forcibly canceling Bladestorm and executing Whirlwind Slash instead. Boom! There was an explosion, and dazzling sparks scattered around Vast Heaven. A powerful shockwave also spread from the point of collision. Like a cannonball, Vast Heaven''s body was sent flying over twenty yards away and landed heavily on the ground. Only after taking six steps back did he manage to stabilize himself. Each step he took also left behind a deep footprint in the ground. A damage of over -22,000 appeared above Vast Heaven''s head, his HP bar decreasing by a significant portion. "What''s going on?" "Is there a monster attack?" Whether it was Asura''s members or Hecate''s members, both had incredulous expressions on their faces as they looked at the scene that had just happened. This was especially true for Hecate''s members. When they saw Vast Heaven instantly losing over one-third of his HP, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Who is it?! Who attacked me just now?! What''s there to be proud about, executing an ambush?! If you have the guts, come out and face me directly!" Vast Heaven bellowed. Before Vast Heaven finished speaking, ten people were already walking over from a short distance away. Although all ten of these players were wearing Black Cloaks, none of them bothered hiding their appearances. "Who are you guys? You actually dared to ambush me? Do you wish to make an enemy out of Hecate?" Vast Heaven grew slightly afraid as he looked at the ten approaching figures. Through the previous attack, he already understood that these newcomers were no ordinary people. At least, in terms of Strength, he was no match for the expert that had just attacked him. "Who am I?" Shi Feng smiled. "Weren''t you looking for Asura''s commander? I''m the person you''re looking for!" 1745 You Lack the Qualifications Chapter 1745 - You Lack the Qualifications "You''re Asura''s commander?" Vast Heaven revealed a stunned expression as he watched Shi Feng walk towards him step by step. How is this possible? After he had arrived at Cold Wind City, he had heard many things about the Asura adventurer team. Even the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader of the Matchless Family feared them. Originally, he had been eager to challenge Asura''s members to a fight. However, the performance of the adventurer team during recent times was simply too disappointing. While it was indeed true that Asura had many expert members, in his opinion, these expert members were no different than amateurs that were not worth him spending energy to fight After all, he had defeated several experts that were originally ranked in the top ten of Cold Wind City. These top-ten experts were only slightly stronger than ordinary experts and were still far from rivaling him in terms of combat standards. As a result, he no longer paid any attention to the Asura adventurer team. In fact, in his eyes, even Cold Wind City''s number one expert was most likely a joke. But now someone had suddenly appeared before him, declaring that they were Asura''s commander. Moreover, this person had even managed to push him back using just a single blow. How could he possibly believe this situation to be true? "Commander?" "It''s really the commander! Even the vice commanders are with him!" The oppressed Asura members had excited expressions when they saw Shi Feng and his team members appear. They never thought that Shi Feng''s group would actually return to Cold Wind City. Moreover, Shi Feng had even managed to send an expert like Vast Heaven flying with a single hit. "Huh? So, he is the Asura adventurer team''s commander?" "Didn''t they say that Asura''s commander brought a group of experts out for an exploration?" "The matter regarding the exploration should be a lie. They must''ve known that Hecate arrived at Cold Wind City and used exploration as an excuse to avoid coming across our Guild." "This is interesting! The Asura adventurer team has constantly refused to join our Guild. The higher-ups have been fussing about looking for Asura''s commander all this time. Now that he has actually shown himself before us, we''ll see how Boss Vast takes care of him!" "However, Asura''s commander looks quite strong, as well. He actually managed to take away more than one-third of Boss Vast''s HP in a single hit" "That''s just because he executed an ambush. He must''ve used some kind of powerful Magic Scroll for that attack. Don''t forget, Boss Vast is a Tier 2 player. If he gets serious, who in Cold Wind City could possibly be his match?" Hecates members could not help but start a discussion among themselves when they saw Shi Feng''s group approaching, filled with curiosity about the Asura adventurer team''s commander. At the same time, they also eagerly waited for Vast Heaven to teach Shi Feng a lesson. Nowadays, the Asura adventurer team was in rapid decline. The only reason why the adventurer team''s members were still sticking around was that they still held hope that their commander and the top experts of the adventurer team would return soon. Now that Asura''s commander had returned, if said commander were to be killed by Vast Heaven, the Asura adventurer team would most likely crumble instantly. After all, every member of Asura had placed their faith in Shi Feng. As Hecate''s members were having a quiet discussion among themselves, Vast Heaven retrieved an Advanced Healing Potion from his bag and drank it, his HP instantly recovering by a significant portion. Afterward, his HP continuously recovered in small increments. After a short time, his HP fully recovered. "I never thought that the rumors were actually true. You really do possess some abilities. It''s no wonder why you were able to become Cold Wind City''s number one expert," Vast Heaven said after recovering from his previous shock. "With such strength, you indeed have the qualifications to be my opponent Come! Let''s have a proper fight! Let me see whether your fame as Cold Wind City''s number one expert is true or not!" Vast Heaven''s eyes started burning with fighting spirit From the previous clash, he already understood that Shi Feng''s Strength was ridiculously high. However, in a battle between players, the outcome could not be decided based on just the Strength Attribute only. "You want to witness our commander''s strength? I''m afraid you still lack the qualifications to do so!" Cleansing Whistle said, clicking her tongue as she looked at Vast Heaven. "If you wish to challenge our commander, you''ll have to get through me first" Cleansing Whistle stepped forward from the group. "Team Leader Whistle, be careful! He is Hecate''s Vast Heaven! Previously, even Sky Slicer fell to him, despite being supported by dozens of experts! You mustn''t fight him alone!" Stained Maple warned Cleansing Whistle in a panic. He knew very clearly just what kind of strength Cleansing Whistle possessed. After all, he was originally a member of the Wave Heart adventurer team and had joined Asura with Lifeless Thorn and Cleansing Whistle. While Cleansing Whistle was indeed very strong, she should only be roughly equal to the Centurion Dynasty''s Sky Slicer. Meanwhile, Vast Heaven was someone who had single-handedly slain Sky Sheer together with dozens of experts from the Centurion Dynasty. Vast Heaven''s strength was no trivial matter! It was a feat that even Lifeless Thorn, Cold Wind City''s previous number one expert, was not capable of accomplishing! Stained Maple did not think that the current Cleansing Whistle had any chance of winning against Vast Heaven. In his opinion, only their commander, Shi Feng, could possibly contend against Vast Heaven in a one-on-one match. However, Stained Maple''s warning was obviously ineffective, since Cleansing Whistle still continued walking towards Vast Heaven. Although Stained Maple wanted to try and stop Cleansing Whistle again, his attempt was hindered by one of Asura''s vice commanders, Solitary Nine. When Stained Maple turned to look at the rest of Shi Feng''s group, he noticed that nobody on the team showed any intention of stopping Cleansing Whistle. Instead, they simply took on the attitude of spectators, making it look like this upcoming fight had nothing to do with them whatsoever. This is insane! Every one of them has lost their minds! Stained Maple was rendered speechless by his allies'' actions. Despite having clearly stated that even the Centurion Dynasty was powerless against Vast Heaven, Shi Feng and the others were actually allowing Cleansing Whistle to go into battle all by herself. This was basically sending Cleansing Whistle to her death! Besides Stained Maple, his team members were also very anxious. "Boss Maple, what should we do? The commander and the other higher-ups are refusing to listen to your advice. I heard that Vast Heaven has a special tool that can increase the death penalty of the players he has killed. If he uses that special tool..." "We don''t have a choice. If Cleansing Whistle looks to be getting pushed back, we''ll charge in together!" Stained Maple said through the team chat as he gritted his teeth. He was determined that he would not let Cleansing Whistle die. Currently, the Asura adventurer team was in a precarious situation and in urgent need of powerful experts to take charge of it Meanwhile, Cleansing Whistle was one of the top ten experts in the adventurer team. The adventurer team could not afford to let her get killed and lose multiple levels. The other members in Stained Maple''s team nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, seeing Cleansing Whistle slowly walking towards Vast Heaven, Hecate''s members started making a clamor. "Who is this lady?! She actually dares to challenge Boss Vast?! Boss, let us take action! We''ll teach this little girl a proper lesson!" "Asura''s members sure are arrogant!" Hecate''s members were greatly displeased with Cleansing Whistle''s arbitrary decision to take Shi Feng''s place in battle. They all wanted to charge forward and kill Cleansing Whistle now. "You''re going to fight me? You sure know how to speak bold words." Vast Heaven could not help but laugh as he looked at Cleansing Whistle''s slender figure. "I know who you are. You''re the sixth ranking expert of Cold Wind City, right? However, even the ones ranked above you failed to last more than ten moves against me. How many moves do you think you can possibly last against me?" He was filled with feelings of ridicule as he watched Cleansing Whistle walking towards him. Even before he had completed his Tier 2 promotion, he had managed to defeat experts ranked higher than Cleansing Whistle with great ease. Now that he had reached Tier 2, he could easily defeat those experts in just two or three moves. After all, the difference between tiers was massive! "You sure speak a lot of nonsense. Or are those your last words?" Cleansing Whistle replied in annoyance. "Die!" Vast Heaven shouted in rage. He readied his spear and activated Charge, his body transforming into an afterimage as he instantly arrived before her, although she stood over twenty yards away. He then thrust his spear, sending eight rapid jabs at Cleansing Whistle''s defensive blind spots. Tier 2 Skill, Star Piercer! The combination of a Tier 2 Skill''s power and his Strength Attribute meant each one of his jabs carried Strength rivaling that of a Great Lord of the same level. Just as the eight streaks of silver light were about to come into contact with Cleansing Whistle, the female Swordsman brandished her two swords. They created multiple arcs of light before her. Tier 2 Skill, Split Flash! Dang... Dang... Dang... When swords and spear collided, sparks scattered into their surroundings. The sounds of miniature explosions also rang out one after another. In the end, not only did Cleansing Whistle block all eight spear jabs, but she even managed to force Vast Heaven to retreat three steps, damages ranging in the hundreds appearing above the Berserker''s head in succession. In contrast, Cleansing Whistle remained standing steadily in her original position, her HP still completely intact. Although both sides had only clashed once with each other, the difference in strength was already clear for all to see... 1746 Change in Strength Chapter 1746 - Change in Strength How is her Strength so high? Vast Heaven was deeply shocked as he stared at Cleansing Whistle. His class was famed for its Strength. Moreover, he had even been promoted to Tier 2 already. Even if his opponent were a Tier 2 Shield Warrior or Tier 2 Guardian Knight, he was confident in suppressing them with his Strength! Meanwhile, Cleansing Whistle was only a Swordswoman, a class that was supposed to be an all-rounder, yet he was actually no match for her in a competition of Strength... Before Vast Heaven could recover from his surprise, Cleansing Whistle quickly followed up with an attack of her own. Wind Blade! In the blink of an eye, Cleansing Whistle appeared before Vast Heaven, who had retreated to a distance roughly ten yards away, and started striking with her swords at the enemy Berserker. Like a pair of cunning snakes, her swords twisted and turned like living creatures. In the next moment, over a dozen Phantom Snakes were visible pouncing on Vast Heaven. Combat technique, Phantom Snakes! The attack trajectories of the Phantom Snakes were both complex and constantly changing. Unlike normal attacks, which usually moved in a straightforward pattern, her attacks when executing Phantom Snakes constantly changed. Even if her opponent managed to predict her attack trajectories in one moment, those attack trajectories would abruptly change in the next, preventing her attacks from easily being parried. Although Cleansing Whistle had yet to reach a level where she could change the attack trajectory of every Phantom Snake at any time, she was still able to alter four attacks at any given moment, making it very difficult for her opponents to grasp her attack trajectories. Seeing the dozen or so Phantom Snakes striking at him, Vast Heaven''s expression immediately turned somber. He was not able to perfectly grasp the trajectory of these Phantom Snakes. In the end, he had no choice but to execute Indiscriminate Slash to cope with her attacks. He did not dare to block all the attacks using normal attacks only. Dang... Dang... Dang... A series of clangs echoed through the surrounding area continuously. Even though Vast Heaven was able to execute over 20 attacks with Indiscriminate Slash, with his Strength even enhanced by the Skill, both he and Cleansing Whistle ended up taking three steps backward after clashing. How is this possible?" The spectating members of Hecate could not help but gape in shock. The Hecate members present were all elites and experts. They knew that, although it appeared that Vast Heaven and Cleansing Whistle had come out as equals during that clash, in reality, Vast Heaven was at a disadvantage. Indiscriminate Slash was a Sure-kill Skill of the Berserker class! Yet, even after using a Sure-kill Skill, Vast Heaven was only able to end his clash with Cleansing Whistle with a draw. Meanwhile, Cleansing Whistle hadn''t even used any Skills during the previous attack. One could easily imagine what kind of outcome would result from a normal clash! Looking at Cleansing Whistle again, an indescribable sense of fear sprouted in the hearts of Hecate''s members. Vast Heaven was a bona fide Tier 2 Berserker. His combat standard ranked at the top of Hecate. Yet, he was actually being overwhelmed by a player from some backwater city. If they were to tell this matter to the other experts of Hecate, their words would most likely be treated as a joke. At this moment, let alone Hecate''s spectating members, even Vast Heaven himself was looking surprised and confused. He could not understand just how Cleansing Whistle could be so powerful. How is this possible?! I''m a Tier 2 Berserker! At this moment, the composure Vast Heaven had before had completely disappeared. In fact, he could feel death looming over him already. Wasn''t she the sixth ranked expert of Cold Wind City? How are her Basic Attributes and combat standards so high? Meanwhile, Stained Maple and the other members of Asura watching from a short distance away were similarly dumbfounded by this outcome. How did Cleansing Whistle become so powerful? When Stained Maple saw Cleansing Whistle suppressing Vast Heaven with ease, he could not help but think he was hallucinating. He had a very clear idea of Cleansing Whistle''s previous strength. Although she was indeed stronger than him, the gap between them was minor. However, the Cleansing Whistle he looked at right now was like a completely different person. "Whistle''s grasp over Phantom Snakes is still too shallow. If she could grasp it completely, she could''ve taken away at least 50% of that Berserker''s HP with that attack just now," Lifeless Thorn stated idly. Solitary Nine and the others in the team also nodded in agreement. Currently, Cleansing Whistle was geared in the Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Set. As for the weapons she was wielding, one was a Level 50 Fine-Gold longsword, and the other was a Level 50 Epic Growth-type longsword. On the other hand, Vast Heaven was only geared in Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. The difference in equipment standards between the two of them was massive. It was only normal for her to overwhelm Vast Heaven. Moreover, after leaving the Ice Crystal World, Cleansing Whistle had also traveled around the continent of God''s Domain and challenged all sorts of experts. After the training provided by Zero Wing, Cleansing Whistle, who was originally close to reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm, had now fully set foot into the Refinement Realm standard. Her combat standard was only slightly inferior to Vast Heaven, someone who was a veteran Refinement Realm expert. However, with the advantage she had in terms of Attributes, she could easily make up for this minor difference! As for the Phantom Snakes combat technique, it was one of the combat techniques Zero Wing had acquired from the Primordial Divine Ruin. Although it was only a Basic Combat Technique, its power definitely allowed it to rank among the top of Basic Combat Techniques. To improve their strength, Shi Feng had decided to let Cleansing Whistle and the rest of them learn some suitable combat techniques in exchange for having them owe the Asura adventurer team some Contribution Points. If Cleansing Whistle could fully grasp Phantom Snakes, with her powerful Attributes, it would definitely be possible to shave away half of Vast Heaven''s HP in a single attack. Taking away half of Vast Heaven''s HP with a single attack? When Stained Maple heard Lifeless Thorn''s words, he suspected he was hearing things. This was Vast Heaven they were talking about! The Berserker was someone capable of going up against dozens of experts from the Centurion Dynasty all by himself! Yet, in the eyes of Lifeless Thorn''s group, such an expert was like an ordinary player one could find anywhere on the street... Just as everyone was feeling shocked by the strength Cleansing Whistle had displayed, Cleansing Whistle immediately altered her footwork after stabilizing herself. She transformed into multiple afterimages, making it look like there were five copies of her as she dashed towards Vast Heaven. Combat technique, Residual Steps! Similar to Phantom Snakes, Residual Steps was also a combat technique acquired from the Primordial Divine Ruin. It was a special footwork technique that relied on afterimages to confuse one''s opponent Footwork-type combat techniques were capable of improving a player''s combat power significantly. In terms of value, a Basic Footwork-type Combat Technique was equivalent to an Advanced Offensive or Defensive Combat Technique. When one was fighting against an enemy of roughly equal combat standards, a footwork-type combat technique allowed one to take the initiative in battle. It was something crucial in a battle between experts. At the end of the day, Vast Heaven was only a Refinement Realm expert. As a result, he was not able to fully grasp the movement patterns of all five copies of Cleansing Whistle. When Cleansing Whistle was close to reaching him, he had no choice but to make a powerful stomp on the ground. Thunderclap! The ground around Vast Heaven trembled and shattered, preventing Cleansing Whistle from executing Residual Steps properly. As a result, her afterimages disappeared, and her real location was revealed. "Die!" Seeing an opportunity to strike, Vast Heaven immediately used his strongest Tier 2 Skill, Death Charge. Vast Heaven''s body increased in size, instantly becoming a three-meter-tall giant. He raised his silver spear and stabbed it at Cleansing Whistle. Death Charge was a Sacrificial Skill that sacrificed 40% of his maximum HP to execute a charging assault on a target within 50 yards ahead of him. While the Skill was in effect, it increased his Movement Speed by 150%, Strength by 100%, and damage dealt by 500%! In the next moment, the ground beneath Vast Heaven''s feet shattered. The Berserker transformed into a blur as he charged at Cleansing Whistle. Just as Vast Heaven was about to reach Cleansing Whistle, the latter suddenly swapped out the Level 50 Fine-Gold longsword in her right hand and replaced it with a tattered longsword engraved with silver divine runes. She swung the tattered longsword at Vast Heaven. Just as the tattered longsword was about to collide with Vast Heaven''s spear, the silver runes engraved on the longsword lit up brightly. Boom! There was an explosion, and the ground beneath the point of impact shattered. Contrary to expectations, Cleansing Whistle did not get sent flying. In fact, she was still standing steadily in her original position. On the other hand, Vast Heaven''s charge had stopped abruptly. He took three steps back involuntarily, the spear in his hands trembling visibly. His body had also fallen into a complete paralyzed state for a brief moment Vast Heaven was thoroughly dumbfounded by this outcome. He failed to understand what Cleansing Whistle had just done, actually overwhelming his strongest attack. However, before Vast Heaven could recover from his brief paralyzation, Cleansing Whistle quickly swung the Epic Growth- type longsword in her other hand. Tier 2 Skill, Storm Fury! This move was the strongest Tier 2 Skill Cleansing Whistle possessed. In the next moment, countless wind blades assaulted the immobilized Berserker, chipping away at his HP rapidly. By the time Vast Heaven recovered from his paralyzed state, he had less than one-third of his HP remaining. However, Cleansing Whistle had already followed up with another two slashes. A moment later, Vast Heaven''s vision darkened, and his body collapsed to the ground powerlessly... 1747 King Returns Chapter 1747 - King Returns As Vast Heaven''s body transformed into particles of light and disappeared from the snow-covered field, an exquisite pair of silvery-gray arm guards took the Berserker''s place. Before the spectating crowd could recover from their daze, Cleansing Whistle collected the arm guards and stored it in her bag. She then shifted her gaze towards Hecate''s army. "Who else wants to duel?" Cleansing Whistle asked with a faint smile as she glanced at Hecate''s members. She had just acquired a piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment by killing one player. This was far more profitable than raiding a Team Dungeon. Seeing the cute smile on Cleansing Whistle''s face, dread filled the hearts of Hecate''s members. Too scary! Vast Heaven was a Tier 2 expert, yet Cleansing Whistle had fought as if she had randomly encountered some Common monster. Not only had she dealt with the Tier 2 Berserker so easily, but she had also killed him in an instant... This was a Tier 2 player they were talking about Even if Cleansing Whistle were also a Tier 2 player, there shouldn''t be such a huge difference between her and Vast Heaven. Moreover, a Tier 2 Berserker had even more HP than a Tier 1 MT of the same level. Yet, Cleansing Whistle had... Faced with such power, who would possibly dare challenge Cleansing Whistle to a duel? Hecate''s members remained silent for a time. Meanwhile, Stained Maple and his companions were ecstatic once they snapped out of their daze. Hecate had constantly suppressed their adventurer team in Cold Wind City, so watching Cleansing Whistle kill Vast Heaven, one of Hecate''s top fighters, was truly a joy to behold. "Amazing! So, this is the effect of the special training the commander had mentioned?" Stained Maple could not help but shift his gaze towards Shi Feng, astounded. When Shi Feng had first established the Asura adventurer team, he had stated that as long as they were willing to work hard, he would help them grow stronger. He had assumed Shi Feng''s claim was merely a boast. Now, however, it would seem that Shi Feng had told the truth. The man really had a way to make them stronger. Moreover, the improvement wasn''t insignificant. Take Cleansing Whistle, for example. Compared to the last time he had seen her, when she had still been a member of the Wave Heart adventurer team, she was like an entirely different person. However, the increase in her strength wasn''t limited to her Basic Attributes. He could also tell that Cleansing Whistle''s combat standards had undergone a qualitative transformation. When Stained Maple looked at Cleansing Whistle now, he felt a mental pressure similar to Lifeless Thorn''s previous aura. Only, this pressure was not as intense Lifeless Thorn''s. When Stained Maple thought about how Cleansing Whistle had grown so much stronger after leaving with Shi Feng, passion and anticipation rose within him. He knew that Vast Heaven held a high position in Hecate. Although he had no hope of reaching Cleansing Whistle''s current standard, as long as he became as strong as Vast Heaven, he would qualify to look down on the various large Guilds. Meanwhile, when the distant spectating independent players saw Vast Heaven die, their jaws hit the ground. "He died!? Vast Heaven actually died?!" "Who is that woman?" "I know her! She''s Cleansing Whistle! She used to be the sixth strongest player in Cold Wind City!" "The sixth strongest player? Are you kidding me? Vast Heaven has defeated two players who ranked higher than Cleansing Whistle by himself. Even if Cleansing Whistle has become significantly more powerful in such a short time, she shouldn''t be able to kill Vast Heaven so easily, right?" As the spectating crowd watched Cleansing Whistle, they started to research the woman. However, what they learned shocked them. Vast Heaven was a Berserker, while Cleansing Whistle was a Swordsman. Normally, Berserkers had an absolute advantage in terms of Strength in a melee battle against Swordsmen without the involvement of Skills. Thus, in a one-on-one confrontation, Berserkers were far stronger than Swordsmen. Yet, when Cleansing Whistle had fought Vast Heaven, she had suppressed the enemy Berserker from start to end. This proved that the woman wore higher-quality equipment than Vast Heaven. But what surprised them most was the improvement speed of Cleansing Whistle''s combat standards. Before joining the Asura adventurer team, Cleansing Whistle''s combat standard had only been slightly higher than independent experts like themselves. However, the combat standard the woman had just displayed was clearly far superior to theirs. The combat technique Cleansed Whistle had just employed, in particular, had seemed like some kind of Skill or Spell. They had never seen such mystifying combat techniques before. No one would believe that Cleansed Whistle had hidden her strength before she had disappeared. After all, before joining the Asura adventurer team, Cleansing Whistle had constantly competed with Lifeless Thorn for the position of Cold Wind City''s strongest expert. Why would she have held back while doing so? The only explanation was that Cleansing Whistle had drastically improved her combat techniques after she had joined the Asura adventurer team and left Cold Wind City. For a time, the distant independent players were overwhelmed by their interest in and desire to join the Asura adventurer team. Meanwhile, Hecate''s members glared at Cleansed Whistle in silence, having lost their prior fear. "Asura adventurer team, huh? You actually dared to kill a member of Hecate? You must be tired of living!" Autumn Changes, the army''s vice-commander, said as he strode forward. He sneered at Cleansed Whistle and the others as he said, "This is a good opportunity! We''ll teach you who truly rules over Cold Wind City! Everyone, charge!" Vast Heaven''s death was indeed shocking. He had never thought that the Asura adventurer team actually possessed an expert of such caliber. Normally, he''d simply avoid clashing with an expert like Cleansing Whistle, but he had an army of 3,000 players behind him, many of which were experts. Furthermore, he had to restore the reputation their Guild had just lost due to Vast Heaven''s defeat. "Despicable!" Stained Maple felt his scalp tingle as Hecate''s army surged forward. He hadn''t expected Hecate to be so shameless, going back on its previous promise. Including Shi Feng''s team, there were only 60 Asura members present. Meanwhile, Hecate had 3,000 members here. Hecate''s army also consisted of elite and expert players. The Asura adventurer team members likely had no hope of escaping with their lives. "Commander, you guys should take off! We''ll hold them back! As long as you survive, Not even Hecate can deal with our adventurer team so easily!" Stained Maple hurriedly said. Both Shi Feng and Cleansing Whistle were emotional pillars for the Asura adventurer team right now. If Hecate''s members took these two down, Asura''s reputation would plummet. If that happened, it Asura would struggle to develop in the future. However, as soon as Stained Maple finished speaking, he noticed Shi Feng approaching Hecate''s army with Lifeless Thorn and the others close behind. "Commander, what are you trying to do?!" Stained Maple asked in a panic. "Do I really have to answer that. We''re getting to work!" Shi Feng laughed nonchalantly. "The fifty of you, get into a defensive formation and focus on dodging AOEs. Just don''t die and leave the rest to us." "We finally get to stretch after such a long trip." After exchanging a glance, Lifeless Thorn and the others charged at Hecate''s army as if they were charging at a group of Common monsters that posed no threat whatsoever. As Stained Maple and his companions watched Shi Feng''s party rush forward, they were utterly dumbfounded. What was going on? Ten players were trying to take on an army of 3,000 players? But before Stained Maple could recover from his daze, Shi Feng used Flame Domain. A towering pillar of flames then emerged amidst Hecate''s army, so massive that even the independent players over a thousand yards away could see it clearly. With this single move, several hundred players instantly turned to ash as ownerless weapons and equipment took their places... 1748 Small Display of Strength Chapter 1748 - Small Display of Strength As the towering pillar of fire dissipated, it revealed a charred circle within the snow-covered plain. Even players over 30 yards away could feel the rising heat that radiated from the scorched area. Aside from the weapons and equipment, nothing remained in the 70-yard radius of charred earth... A large-scale destruction Spell? Autumn Changes paled when he saw the burned ground. Although he had his players spread out, Shi Feng''s large-scale destruction Spell had slain over 300 of his people. That was more than one-tenth of Hecate''s army... The players that had just died were all experts and elites from Hecate. This was the first time the Guild had suffered such a devastating loss since Hecate had arrived in Cold Wind City. They''d need an astronomical amount of resources to recuperate from this. The responsibility he''d bear would also be massive. "Kill them! I want all of them dead!" Autumn Changes bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng, the person who was responsible for this loss. He''d only be able to avoid a severe punishment if he annihilated the Asura members before him. Hearing Autumn Changes''s command, Hecate''s members snapped out of their daze. Although they still somewhat afraid of Shi Feng''s group and worried that their enemies had more large-scale destruction Spells in store, they had over 2,600 players on their side. How could Asura possibly stop them all with just 60 members? Like a pack of hungry wolves, Hecate''s members descended on their enemies. Of course, although Hecate''s members had been stirred into a frenzy, their movements were still well-organized. Their actions displayed these players vast experience in team battles, and instead of charging as one, they split into dozens of smaller groups to deal with each individual opponent. Each of the groups that aimed for Shi Feng''s team of 10 consisted of 50 players. Stained Maple and his team became incredibly nervous as they watched the army of thousands approach. Although they had fought in many team battles before, they had been small-scale skirmishes, only involving one or two hundred players. This was the first time they had participated in a battle involving thousands. As they watched the large groups rush towards them in an orderly manner, they struggled to breathe. Hecate''s army outnumbered them by dozens of times. This overwhelming advantage couldn''t be negated just because Shi Feng had used one large-scale destruction Spell. "The Asure adventurer team is finished now." "There''s no helping it. Hecate is Cold Wind City''s current overlord. How could an adventurer team hope to contend with it?" The independent players in the distance sighed ruefully as they watched the battlefield at the bottom of the canyon. This was the difference between a Guild and an adventurer team! Even if an adventurer team were very powerful, it would only be able to stand against an ordinary Guild like Centurion Dynasty or Matchless Family at most However, Hecate was a large Guild that ruled over multiple cities. An adventurer team with a little over a thousand members was a joke before a Guild like Hecate. As Hecate''s army advanced, Lifeless Thorn and the others exchanged glances before they turned to Shi Feng. "Commander, you mustn''t join this competition! This is a rare chance for us to display the fruits of our labor. If we miss out on such a golden opportunity, it''ll be difficult to find another," Lifeless Thorn said. "That''s right! Commander, if you make a move, we won''t have anything to do!" Cleansing Whistle complained. The rest of Shi Feng''s party nodded in agreement. They were very familiar with Shi Feng''s strength. After the battle on Thunder Island, in particular, they had learned just how vast the world truly was. All of the players that had participated in the struggle for Thunder Island had been experts among experts. Refinement Realm experts had been a dime a dozen, yet Shi Feng had slaughtered everyone that had stood in his pat. No one had possessed the power to stop his rampage. A couple of thousand elites and ordinary experts were not even worth Shi Feng''s time. Meanwhile, they had just recently completed their Tier 2 promotions and had yet to test out and familiarize themselves with their newfound strength. A battle of thousands of players was the best practice ground for them. "Fine, I won''t attack, but you better take care of this quickly. Stained Maple''s group won''t be able to hold on long," Shi Feng said, sighing. He had wanted to trample over Hecate''s army with overwhelming strength, which would''ve made it easier to expand the Asura adventurer team in Cold Wind City. That way, he would have had more players to help him with his quest. After all, the Soul Dissolving Flower he needed was extremely rare. Without sufficient manpower, searching for the flower would be nigh impossible. "Commander, rest assured; we''ll make sure to end the battle before Stained Maple''s group starts to falter," Lifeless Thorn, his eyes glowing with excitement as he turned to the approaching Hecate members. Shortly after completing his Tier 2 promotion, Shi Feng had suddenly called for them to gather for a trip back to the Ice Crystal World. He hadn''t even had the chance to experience the power of his Tier 2 class. After reaching Tier 2, his physique had improved significantly. This would no doubt affect his execution of Skills and combat techniques, and he would need to fight in many battles before he got used to the new changes. He could also use this chance to try out new combat methods, which he hadn''t been able to use with his previous physique. After saying so, Lifeless Thorn eagerly raised his spear and dashed towards Hecate''s forces, which were still over 100 yards away. The rest of the team also advanced, but instead of moving as a unit, they split up and rushed at different sections of the enemy army. They showed no intention of cooperating. "What are they trying to do?" Stained Maple felt devastated as he watched Lifeless Thorn and the others move independently. They were going up against an army of over 2,600 players, yet Lifeless Thorn and the others planned to fight solo? Even Autumn Changes was stunned as the enemies rushed towards him. "Have these people lost their minds?" Autumn Changes could not help but rub his eyes to make sure that he was not hallucinating. Hecate''s army still had over 2,600 elite and expert players remaining. Even Vast Heaven wouldn''t recklessly charge into such a force by himself, using a roundabout strategy instead, yet Lifeless Thorn and the other Asura members were running towards their army like a bunch of lunatics. "Good! Since they wish to die so badly, we''ll grant their wish! Ranged unit, prepare to attack! Once they''re within 50 yards, launch your attacks and blast them to smithereens!" Autumn Changes commanded. Hearing Autumn Changes''s orders, the ranged players at the rear line readied their bows and channeled their Spells. As soon as Lifeless Thorn was within range, they would launch their attacks. Ninety yards... Eighty yards... Sixty yards... The moment Lifeless Thorn crossed the 50-yard mark, Hecate''s ranged players fired their Spells and arrows. These arrows and Spells blotted out the sky. "Come!" Lifeless Thorn revealed a wild grin as the attacks rained down. He responded by swinging his sword at the incoming attacks. Tier 2 Skill, Bladestorm! With a light swing, a storm formed before Lifeless Thorn. Like a barrier of wind, the violent storm blocked every Spell and arrow Hecate''s members had launched. Not a single attack had made it through. "How is that possible?" Hecate''s members were stupefied when they saw Lifeless Thorn emerge unscathed. They had never dreamed that a Skill could be used in such a way. Lifeless Thorn had actually used an Offensive Skill as a Defensive Skill. Bladestorm had a three-second duration. Taking advantage of the Skill, Lifeless Thorn made his way towards Hecate''s frontline without receiving any damage. However, eight MTs immediately stepped forward to intercept Lifeless Thorn. Seeing this, Lifeless Thorn swept his spear in a horizontal arc. Tier 1 Skill, Whirlwind Slash! Boom! The swing sent every MT that stood in Lifeless Thorn''s path flying, their HPs decreasing by a significant chunk. Following which, Lifeless Thorn advanced and arrived before the other melee players. His rapidly thrust his spear at his enemies, and the weapon transformed into over a dozen afterimages. Although the melee players tried to defend themselves, the Lifeless Thorn''s jabs targeted their blind spots. Moreover, his Attack Speed was extremely high. They simply could not keep up with the attacks. In the end, the spear struck these players multiple times before they transformed into streaks of light and vanished. The attacks Hecate''s ranged players launched were utterly ineffective against Lifeless Thorn as he constantly and swiftly changed positions. Wherever Lifeless Thorn passed, players fell, one after another. Moreover, Lifeless Thorn''s movements became faster and smoother as he continued to fight Solitary Nine and the others had also charged into Hecate''s ranks by this point. Although their performance was not as violent as Lifeless Thorn''s, they were just as unstoppable. Whenever they used a Tier 2 Skill, they instantly killed ten or more players. Although Solitary Nine and the others took some hits, they instantly recovered the lost HP with an Advanced Healing Potion. Meanwhile, the Hecate members that had charged at Shi Feng were even more miserable. Before Hecate''s members could reach him, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade, which increased his attack range tremendously. He then lightly swung Killing Ray at the approaching players. The Swordsman''s Strength was already beyond that of a Tier 3 Great Lord of the same level, and the players that had failed to block his attacks had fallen instantly. Although the players that had blocked the attack had survived, they were paralyzed for a brief moment. As a result, they couldn''t block Shi Feng''s following attacks. At this moment, the difference in tiers and Attributes could not be more obvious. Asura and Hecate''s members were on an entirely different level... "How is this possible?" Autumn Changes was racked with confusion as he watched this happen. With just ten members, the Asura adventurer team had rendered Hecate''s 3,000-man army utterly helpless. "Just who are these people?" Before even one minute had passed, Hecate''s army had lost an additional 800 or so players. In contrast, Shi Feng''s group of ten had yet to suffer a single casualty. "It''s about time we end this battle." Seeing that the enemy''s morale had plummeted, Shi Feng pulled out the Bible of Darkness and activated Demon Summoning. Immediately, a massive gate of white bone descended from the sky. As the gate opened, a five-meter-tall, dual-horned, pitch-black Demon emerged. 1749 Legend of Cold Wind City Chapter 1749 - Legend of Cold Wind City The massive bone gate immediately caught the attention of everyone present. When the bone gate abruptly opened, Power of Darkness flooded out and instantly turned the snowy plain into a barren wasteland. When a five-meter-tall, four-armed Demon with two crimson horns stepped out of the gate, the watching players gasped. [Slaughterer Demon] (Demon, Great Lord) Level 81 HP 33,750,000/33,750,000 "A Level 81 Great Lord?!" "Crap! They can summon Tier 3 monsters!" Hecate''s members were stricken with fear as they stared at the Slaughterer Demon. It wouldn''t have been a major issue if the summoned Great Lord had only been Level 50 or 60, but the Great Lord before them was Level 81. That was far above their current levels. Although the level suppression system in the game had been nerfed quite a bit by this point, the suppression from a 30-Level difference would still be powerful. Naturally, in terms of Basic Attributes, a Level 81 Great Lord was much stronger than a Level 50 Grand Lord. Even a 100-man elite team wasn''t guaranteed success against an ordinary Level 50 Grand Lord, which would be a nightmare if controlled by a player. Suddenly, the Slaughterer Demon unfolded its pitch-black wings and disappeared. The Demon then reappeared in the heart of Hecate''s army as if it had teleported. The Demon had used the Tier 2 Skill, Space Jump, which had a longer range than Instantaneous Movement, allowing the Slaughter Demon to cross a 400-yard distance in a fraction of a second. Emerald flames then flared around the Slaughter Demon''s four bone swords before it stabbed all four into the ground. Boom! With the Slaughterer Demon at the center, emerald fire swirled out, only stopping after it covered a 50-yard radius. Tier 3 Skill, Omnidirectional Incineration! Everything the emerald flames touched burned to nothingness. Even Level 52, Tier 1 MTs that had activated their Lifesaving Skills had died instantly. In just one attack, Hecate''s army lost another several hundred members... After this attack, Hecate''s members, who had already felt uneasy, fell to their despair. "Retreat! Hurry up and retreat!" Autumn Changes shouted in the team chat as the Slaughter Demon prepared to attack again. The combat power Lifeless Thorn''s team had displayed had already frightened him. He had never thought that players could become so powerful. Lifeless Thorn and the others were like monsters in player clothing. Lifeless Thorn, in particular, was ridiculously strong. Even several Level 50-plus MTs working together couldn''t stop his rampage. Just one of the Berserker''s attacks was more than enough to send multiple MTs flying. Meanwhile, cloth armor classes were little more than pests before this man; they''d definitely die if they received a single hit... Now that a Level 81 Great Lord had joined the battle as well, Autumn Changes could not help but feel like the system was playing some cruel joke on him. However, although Autumn Changes had already ordered the retreat, before a Tier 3 Demon strengthened by Demon Ruler, escape was impossible. The Slaughterer Demon was simply too fast Moreover, it only needed one hit to kill the fleeing players. Since Hecate''s members were focused on escape, Lifeless Thorn and his companions had an easier time killing their enemies. Nine players and one Demon chased after the 1,000-plus players that fled in all directions. The inconceivable scene left the distant independent players speechless... They had witnessed many accounts of thousand-man armies chasing down groups of dozens of players, but they had never seen a handful of players chase after a thousand-man army. The crowds'' eyes glowed with excitement, and some players even got goosebumps as they watched this miracle unfold before them. Ever since Hecate had arrived in Cold Wind City, the Guild had constantly suppressed independent players like themselves. Naturally, they were more than pleased to see this Guild''s members get slaughtered. Their blood boiled with passion as they watched. "Too strong!" "Asura is invincible!" "So, this is the strength of Cold Wind City''s number one adventurer team?" ... The watching crowd gained a newfound appreciation for Asura''s strength. Numbers could no longer replace the strength the adventurer team wielded. As long as these Asura experts were present, the adventurer team would become a legend! Rather, Asura''s legend would begin today in Cold Wind City! Meanwhile, Stained Maple and his teammates, who tried their best to keep Hecate''s members from fleeing, felt an indescribable pride and excitement for their own adventurer team. So strong! Bot the Basic Attributes and combat standards Lifeless Thorn and his companions had displayed today were absolutely mesmerizing. When they thought about how Lifeless Thorn and the others'' newfound strength was due to their commander, Shi Feng, their hearts burned with even more passion. Since Lifeless Thorn and the others had improved so much by following the Swordsman, these players realized that if their performances were sufficient, they might get to train under their commander as well, experiencing the same explosive strength growth. If they could become half as powerful as Lifeless Thorn and his teammates, they''d be more than satisfied. Meanwhile, many of the spectating independent players had recorded the battle between Asura and Hecate, and some had even uploaded their videos to Cold Wind City''s official forums. Battle of the century in the Snow Rift! Initially, very few players paid attention to the forum post; those that had checked it out had done so out of boredom. However, as soon as players clicked on the post and watched the videos, they couldn''t look away. "What''s going on? Several players are chasing after thousands?" "Is this some kind of movie shoot?" "This battle is real! I am at the battlefield right now! You should''ve seen it for yourself! Several experts from the Asura adventurer team just slaughtered Hecate''s army! They can kill even Level 50 MTs with one hit!" "When did Asura become so powerful?" "I am also at the scene of the battle. I''m an Assassin, so I managed to get a closer view of the battlefield. It seems that Asura''s commander has finally returned. Those are the experts from Asura that left Cold Wind City with the adventurer team''s commander a while ago. Just now, Asura''s Cleansing Whistle single-handedly killed Hecate''s Vast Heaven. Moreover, she made it look easy." "Cleansing Whistle killed Vast Heaven by herself? Stop lying. Do you know who Vast Heaven is? He''s the current number one expert in Cold Wind City! The city''s previous top-ranked experts didn''t even last ten moves against him. How could Cleansing Whistle beat him?" "I have screenshots and videos! Take a look for yourself!" "What?! It''s actually true! That''s Vast Heaven!" For a time, every player in Cold Wind City was focused on the shocking battle between Asura and Hecate. Cold Wind City''s inhabitants were astounded and excited as they watched thousands of Hecate''s elite and expert members flee from a handful of players from the Asura adventurer team. Any thoughts they had harbored of the adventurer team falling apart had vanished. After this heaven-defying battle, who in Cold Wind City would possibly look down on Asura''s strength? At the same time, Asura was fated to become a legend in Cold Wind City after this battle. Even if a long time had passed, today''s battle would be regarded as a classic. While Cold Wind City''s players heatedly discussed the Asura adventurer team, Hecate''s upper echelons, who had been stationed in Cold Wind City, gathered in Hecate''s Guild Residence for an emergency meeting. Over a dozen people sat in the solemn meeting hall, every one of them radiating an aura that would make ordinary players shudder with fear. However, these players all watched the youth at the head of the table in silence and trepidation. This youth wore a particularly gloomy expression, and even the temperature of the air around him had dropped due to his aura. "Speak! What is happening?! What is this Asura adventurer team?!" the handsome youth demanded. 1750 Establishing an Adventurer Alliance Chapter 1750 - Establishing an Adventurer Alliance Inside the silent hall, the handsome man''s shout immediately made Hecate''s upper echelon tremble involuntarily. Although they were part of the upper echelon of Hecate and possessed great individual strength, when facing the handsome man before them, they instinctively felt a sense of awe towards him. The reason for this was the identity of the male youth before them. He was none other than Carnage, the player nicknamed Hell Knight, who was also one of Hecate''s Vice Guild Leaders. Although Carnage was baby-faced, in reality, he was already over 40 years old, much older than they were. Moreover, he had worked as a mercenary and was nicknamed the God of Death. It was no exaggeration to say that a large part of Hecate''s current success was due to Carnage. Moreover, Carnage was also the head instructor for Hecate''s internal training program, and every one of them present inside the meeting hall right now had actually received his tuition. Even Vast Heaven owed the strength he had today to Carnage''s tutelage. Meanwhile, the training they had undergone was akin to going through hell. Hence, they knew exactly what kind of personality Carnage had. Normally, he didn''t lose his temper easily. When he did get angry, however, it was like hell descending on the world. And right now, they could sense that he was furious. However, his reaction was only natural. Of the 3,000 elite and expert members the Guild had sent to the Snow Rift, over 2,000 had gotten killed. Even when Hecate went to deal with the Centurion Dynasty, it had not suffered such a staggering loss. Yet, now, the Guild had sustained such casualties just because often players. The Guild used tons of resources to nurture its elite and expert members. After opening up the path to Cold Wind City, it had sent only 1,000 expert players over. Only after arriving at Cold Wind City and annexing the entire Matchless Family did Hecate''s Guild member count in Cold Wind City skyrocket, the number of elite and expert members breaching 10,000. Meanwhile, among the 3,000 players Vast Heaven had brought to the Snow Rift, nearly 400 were the Guild''s original expert players. And among the 2,000-plus players that were killed, 300-plus were these original expertsthe equivalent to losing more than one-third of the total number of experts Hecate had in Cold Wind City. This was a massive loss. The levels lost was one thing; the crucial point was the weapons and equipment lost. In the Ice Crystal World, Guild elites and experts relied mainly on Lifestyle Players for their weapons and equipment However, very few Lifestyle Players could produce weapons and equipment of suitable standards for elite and expert players. Not to mention, the materials needed to produce Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment were also extremely valuable and very difficult to acquire. Meanwhile, based on the post-war statistics, they had lost over 200 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment Since producing just one piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment already required a lot of time and resourcesall the more for 200 piecesthis loss would severely impact their Guild''s raid progress of the Snow Rift. "Vice Guild Leader, we''ve already done a thorough investigation. The people who targeted us this time are all experts of the Asura adventurer team that had disappeared previously. From what we heard, it seems that these experts had gone with their commander on an expedition. However, the strange part is that these experts weren''t so strong before. Right now, we still don''t know how they managed to gain the combat power they have," a Level 52 Elementalist reported in a careful tone. "They suddenly became stronger?" Carnage''s lips curled up slightly as he read the report his subordinate sent him. "This is interesting. They''re just a bunch of hillbillies, yet not only did they gain a massive boost in Basic Attributes after going out on an expedition, but even their combat standards have undergone a qualitative transformation? It seems this Asura adventurer team has quite a huge secret "Investigate this matter immediately! Use every means available to dig out this secret! As long as Hecate acquires it, then the day Hecate becomes the number one Guild in the north will be just around the corner! "Right, also notify the main branch to send the Twelve Heavens to Cold Wind City." Upon hearing Carnage''s command, everyone in the room was shocked despite themselves. They had never thought that Carnage would actually summon the Twelve Heavens to a backwater like Cold Wind City. The Twelve Heavens were the apex combatants of Hecate. In Cold Wind City, aside from Carnage, Vast Heaven was the strongest member of Hecate present. Even so, Vast Heaven''s level was still insufficient for him to become one of the Twelve Heavens, only qualifying as a reserve member, at most. Normally, the Twelve Heavens would be split up and dispatched to Hecate''s various Branch Guilds. Nevertheless, Carnage was having all twelve of them come. Hecate''s upper echelon shuddered in fear just thinking about this matter. These people could still remember the last time the Twelve Heavens were all together. Back then, they were gathered to help repel the siege of a super-first-rate Guild''s army. In the end, due to the Twelve Heavens, the invading super-first-rate Guild had no choice but to give up on capturing one of Hecate''s Guild Towns. Yet, now, Carnage was actually mobilizing the Twelve Heavens just to deal with a single adventurer team. This was simply insane. Elsewhere, Shi Feng and the others had already returned to Cold Wind City. After reaching the city, the group discovered that nothing much had changed there. The player population in the city had increased only slightly, with the majority of the newcomers being new players to God''s Domain, and a small portion being Hecate''s Guild members. Unlike on the continent of God''s Domain, players belonging to the Ice Crystal World couldn''t travel freely between different cities. In the Ice Crystal World, travel between two different cities generally required players to unlock the gate separating the two cities first. Another method was to use a special pathway. However, activating such special pathways was very troublesome. These pathways also had many restrictions. Hence, ordinary players couldn''t travel freely between different cities. Currently, outside Asura''s Residence, Asura''s members crowded around the entrance as they welcomed Shi Feng and the others'' return. "It''s the commander! The commander is back!" "All hail the commander!" "Asura is invincible!" The Asura adventurer team''s members were all thrilled to see Shi Feng. The shouting of thousands of players echoed throughout the streets of Cold Wind City, firing up the independent players that had come to join in on the fun. Due to Shi Feng and the others defeating Hecate''s army, Asura''s fame in Cold Wind City had recovered to its peak. In fact, the adventurer team''s fame was even greater than before. The strength Shi Feng''s group displayed had captivated the independent players of Cold Wind City. As a result, many independent players were now hoping to join Asura. "Commander, with this, I''m afraid the various large Guilds of Cold Wind City will target our adventurer team," Solitary Nine said, revealing a bitter smile as he looked at the crowded street around him. The goal of Guilds was to take control of NPC cities. Meanwhile, unlike in the NPC cities on the continent of God''s Domain, players could gain a small portion of control over the NPCs in the Ice Crystal World. Doing so required the support of a large number of players. At the same time, players also needed to complete a series of contributions to the city. At this point, the Asura adventurer team''s strength was completely different from before. Currently, aside from Asura''s members, hundreds of thousands of players crowded the street outside Asura''s Residence. One could easily imagine how high the Asura adventurer team''s prestige and reputation were in Cold Wind City right now. With so many players willing to join the adventurer team, all Asura needed to do was complete a series of contributions to the city; then, it could become the true overlord of Cold Wind City. With such a situation, how could the various large Guilds of Cold Wind City possibly let Asura operate unhindered? The large Guilds would undoubtedly treat Asura as a thorn in their side and try to deal with it as soon as possible. "Don''t mind them. If they want a fight, we''ll give them a fight," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Moreover, my original goal was to take control of Cold Wind City and make it the foundation of our Asura adventurer team." Solitary Nine and the others could not help their stupefaction at Shi Feng''s words. They had thought that Shi Feng''s purpose behind revisiting Cold Wind City was simply a quest. Now, however, it would seem that Shi Feng''s sights were set much higher than they had imagined. The thought of an adventurer team taking control of an entire NPC city was simply too crazy. "Since so many people have come, I''m making an announcement in my capacity as Asura''s commander. From today onward, the Asura adventurer team will be establishing an Adventurer Alliance. We welcome all adventurer teams and independent players to join this alliance! Any adventurer team and independent player that joins this alliance will enjoy a portion of the benefits offered by the Asura adventurer team!" Shi Feng declared loudly as he looked at the crowded street around him. 1751 Future Help Chapter 1751 - Future Help Upon hearing Shi Feng''s announcement, the hundreds of thousands of players on the street outside Asura''s Residence fell silent, every one of them staring at Shi Feng in disbelief. However, as if some spell had broken, the sounds of cheering echoed down the street a moment later. "All hail Asura!" "What?! The Asura adventurer team is so generous?!" "What a wealthy move!" "Does Asura plan to unify Cold Wind City?" The Asura adventurer team''s sudden announcement stunned everyone in Cold Wind City. Meanwhile, some players from the various large Guilds, who watched from a distance, gaped in shock. Solitary Nine, Lifeless Thorn, and Asura''s other members gave Shi Feng incredulous looks. They all thought that Shi Feng had gone crazy. An adventurer team wasn''t like a Guild. There were very few restrictions on an adventurer team''s members. In fact, some adventurer teams didn''t even place a single restriction. They were mostly a large group of players with the same goal. Meanwhile, the Asura offered particularly valuable benefits, even better than what some Guilds offered their members. With the adventurer team''s Contribution Points, one could purchase weapons, equipment, and Basic Combat Techniques. However, the adventurer team had strict conditions for joining. Fortunately, Asura had plenty of experts, so the team had a much easier time gathering resources and developing. However, Shi Feng''s decision would allow every independent player to enjoy Asura''s benefits without meeting any of the entry requirements, yet the adventurer team had to pay for these benefits. "Commander, are we really going through with this?" Yan Ya hurriedly asked Shi Feng. Even if they were going to acquire Cold Wind City, they had many other methods they could use to do so. There was no need to earn the public''s hearts with such a wasteful option. "Mhm. Here are the details. Publicize them in a moment and inform everyone about what the Adventurer Alliance is," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then some details regarding the Adventurer Alliance he had intended to establish to Yan Ya and the others. In reality, he had planned to establish an Adventurer Alliance even before he had first visited the Ice Crystal World. Someone had established an Adventurer Alliance, an organization that would serve independent players, during his previous life. It served as a platform for independent players to purchase better equipment, materials, information, and find companions to quest with. This helped independent players avoid getting taken advantage of by the various large Guilds. However, when the Adventurer Alliance had first appeared during his previous life, mainstream players on the continent of God''s Domain had already reached Level 90. Although setting up the Adventurer Alliance was very costly and would require further investments, the organization would command more influence and strength as it gradually took shape. In the end, the Adventurer Alliance had become the number one ranking adventurer team throughout God''s Domain. It had even become one of God''s Domain''s apex powers! God''s Domain had many superpowers, but very few could be considered an apex power, every one of which had powerful backgrounds and countless experts. Meanwhile, not even ordinary Super Guilds had dared to provoke the Adventurer Alliance in the past due to its frightening member count. Many of God''s Domain''s top-ranking apex experts had belonged to the Adventurer Alliance, including Tier 6 God-ranked players. Although the Adventurer Alliance had only established a few restrictions on its members, the alliance and its members had been inseparable. If any Super Guild had harmed the alliance, the independent apex experts and Tier 6 God-ranked experts would''ve taken action. This was why the Adventurer Alliance had become one of the game''s apex powers. In terms of ability to collect materials, not even the Secret Pavilion had been a match for the Adventurer Alliance. No matter how many members a Guild possessed, independent players far outnumbered them. Since nobody had established an organization like the Adventurer Alliance in this life yet, Shi Feng wouldn''t hesitate to take advantage of this idea. After all, materials were very important in God''s Domain, and if he wished to acquire Soul Dissolving Flowers quickly, this was the fastest way. The Adventurer Alliance could also be a huge help to Zero Wing in the future. Unfortunately, establishing the Adventurer Alliance would require a lot of investments. This was especially true for the weapons, equipment, and the alliance''s resource bank. The alliance would also require a large number of people to manage and operate the organization. Then it would have to earn a reputation and credibility among independent players. Hence, setting up the Adventurer Alliance''s foundation certainly wouldn''t be easy. However, Cold Wind City was currently the best place to establish the Adventurer Alliance. First, Cold Wind City wasn''t particularly large, with a player population just over 2,000,000. Meanwhile, unlike the situation on the continent of God''s Domain, players in the Ice Crystal World could not communicate easily, so Shi Feng didn''t have to worry about too many players trying to join the alliance at once. This also meant that the initial required investments wouldn''t be as massive, and the alliance wouldn''t have to worry about collapsing in on itself before it could even take shape. When the Adventurer Alliance had first established in the past, the support it had received from multiple major corporations had been a large part of the reason for its survival during its infancy phases. These corporations had invested an astronomical amount of resources to help the alliance mature. Shi Feng''s second reason was the love independent players had for the Asura adventurer team. By establishing the Adventurer Alliance, the Asura adventurer team would also have an easier time taking control of Cold Wind City. Once Asura controlled the city, it could use the income to sustain the Adventurer Alliance. When Yan Ya and the others read the details of Shi Feng''s idea, their eyes glowed with excitement as they began to understand why Shi Feng wanted to take on such a thankless task. Although the initial investments were massive, once independent players got used to using the Asura adventurer team''s Contribution Points, all sorts of materials, weapons, and equipment would continuously flow into the team''s hands. Moreover, Asura would be able to recruit expert players more easily. Immediately, Solitary Nine and the others went into action and started to spread the Adventurer Alliance''s details. Meanwhile, when the upper echelons of Cold Wind City''s various large Guilds received this news, hatred towards Shi Feng welled in their hearts. However, as the Asura adventurer team had already displayed such immense strength, they couldn''t stop the Adventurer Alliance''s establishment forcefully. Hence, the city''s Guilds began to think of ways to stop Asura''s plans by deliberately lowering their recruitment standards. They also loosened the restrictions on their Guild members, making their Guilds more attractive to independent players. After all, there was no way an adventurer team could offer as inviting benefits as a Guild. Moreover, Guilds had far more and far better weapons and equipment in their stocks than adventurer teams. Furthermore, players could earn a very high and stable salary by becoming one of the Guild''s upper echelons. Meanwhile, in Hecate''s Residence in Cold Wind City... "This Asura adventurer team is quite ambitious." Like the other Guilds'' upper echelons, Carnage was surprised when he received news of the Adventurer Association. He had never thought that the Asura adventurer team would be so enthusiastic to grow. However, he revealed a sneer as he said, "It''s a pity that your efforts will go to waste. Notify our subordinates and tell them to lower the exchange rates for Hecate''s weapons and equipment. However, keep the original exchange rates for any player that''s related to the Asura adventurer team in any way." Hecate also began to hasten its exploration of the Snow Rift. Having a large number of Guild members simply wasn''t enough to rule over Cold Wind City. An organization also needed to make sufficient contributions to the city. ... Elsewhere, Shi Feng focused on producing all kinds of weapons and equipment in preparation for the Adventurer Alliance''s establishment. After being away from Cold Wind City for some time, the Asura adventurer team had collected plenty of rare materials. It had even acquired 45 Ice Crystal Fragments. Other Lifestyle Players might find it difficult to produce Level 50 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment, but to Shi Feng, who had long since become a Master Forger, it wasn''t a problem. Moreover, he had the assistance of a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame and the Forging Association''s Special Mana Forging Room to increase his forging success rate. While Shi Feng forged Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment with the forging designs he had purchased from the Forging Association, he had Lifeless Thorn and the others raid the Snow Rift''s Bosses and collect materials and Ice Crystal Fragments. In the end, Shi Feng spent three whole days cooped up in the Forging Association and produced 300-plus pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment, 100-plus pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons, ten Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Sets, and 500- plus pieces of Secret-Silver Equipment. He had basically spent all of the resources the Asura adventurer team had gathered during his absence. "Now that the preparation work is complete, it''s about time to reveal it to the public," Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he looked at the room cluttered with the weapons and equipment he had crafted. 1752 Enemy of Guilds Chapter 1752 - Enemy of Guilds Cold Wind City, Hecate''s Guild Residence: Due to the sudden reduction in Hecate''s recruitment requirements and exchange rates for weapons and equipment, the Guild Hall was crowded with players. Most of these players had been independent players, and all of them traded rare materials for Level 50 weapons and equipment "Vice Guild Leader, since we lowered the exchange rates, we''ve seen twice as many players come to purchase our weapons and equipment. Moreover, these players are all at the elite standard and above. Not only have they signed an agreement stating that they won''t support Asura, but they will also secretly discriminate against Asura''s members. The other Guilds have taken similar measures against Asura as well. Right now, the majority of Cold Wind City''s elite players have taken a stand against Asura. "Even if Asura establishes that Adventurer Alliance, the adventurer team won''t be able to obtain many resources from the alliance to increase its strength." "Good! Well done! Now, all that''s left is to find out how Asura''s experts became so strong so quickly. Then, we''ll take full control of the city." Carnage was very satisfied with his subordinate''s report. He had to admit that the Asura adventurer team posed an even greater threat than the Centurion Dynasty when it came to competing for Cold Wind City''s authority. However, the adventurer team overestimated itself if it thought it could compete with Guilds. The various Guilds simply wouldn''t allow that to happen. After all, if news of this situation spread, they would become a laughingstock in the other cities. The various Guilds would rather sacrifice a portion of their profits to prevent such a thing. Now, due to the various Guilds'' efforts, the majority of Cold Wind City''s elite and expert players had sided with the various Guilds. The remaining elites and experts had their own methods of obtaining weapons and equipment, so they weren''t interested in the Guilds'' exchange services. All in all, the various Guilds had already taken control of Cold Wind City''s main source of rare materials. Although the Asura adventurer team had plenty of powerful experts, it couldn''t take control of the city by relying on experts alone. An organization would need well-equipped elite and expert players to perform the difficult and necessary contributions. While Asura had quite a number of ordinary expert players, it lacked top-tier weapons and equipment. Producing such items required plenty of rare materials, and the high production difficulties only increased how many materials were needed. With how few members Asura had, the adventurer team simply didn''t have the manpower to obtain the necessary resources. Moreover, unlike Guilds, adventurer teams did not have specially trained groups of Lifestyle Players. Even if an adventurer team had its own Lifestyle Players, it wouldn''t have the resources to nurture many, or any, Advanced Lifestyle Players. Now that the various large Guilds had severed Asura''s source of rare materials, the adventurer team would have no way to compete for the authority over Cold Wind City. "Vice Guild Leader, based on our investigations thus far, the Asura experts that have recently returned haven''t said a single word about how they had grown so powerful. The adventurer team''s other members know nothing about it, either. It seems they''re keeping a very tight lid on this secret," the Level 52 Assassin reporting to Carnage said helplessly. "No matter. Keep on looking into it," Carnage said, smiling faintly. "It is fine even if we fail to find out about it. Even if we fail to learn Asura''s secret, once we take control of Cold Wind City, we''ll thoroughly eliminate the adventurer team!" Hearing Carnage''s words, the reporting Assassin could not help but smile. Although the Asura adventurer team had become quite famous in Cold Wind City, at the end of the day, it was still an adventurer team. Asura was both foolish and suicidal if it thought it could go up against Hecate. Once Hecate took control of Cold Wind City, the Guild would secure a small portion of the city''s authority. This fraction of authority, fortunately, would be more than enough to deal with one adventurer team. A few more powerful experts wouldn''t matter in the end. "Right, didn''t I send you out to poach Asura''s experts? How is that coming along?" Carnage asked. He had a very optimistic view of Cleansing Whistle and the others. With such strength, they could become a great source of combat power for the Guild if they joined Hecate. Hearing Carnage''s question, the reporting Assassin fell silent "What? Did they dislike our offer?" Carnage asked curiously. "Mhm. They said that they''re not interested in a Reserve Elder position. They said that they might consider joining if we offered them the position of... Guild Leader or Vice Guild Leader..." the Assassin said honestly. Bang! Carnage slammed his fist on the office table before him, shattering it when he heard the Assassin''s reply. The killing intent he radiated shocked the nearby upper echelons, making them shudder. "Reckless fools! Since they want to fall with their adventurer team, I''ll grant their wish!" Carnage said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Sneering, he continued, "Place a 3,000-Gold bounty on each of those players. Send someone to keep an eye on them and tell the Twelve Heavens to get here as soon as possible!" "Understood!" Everyone in the Guild Leader''s office nodded. They couldn''t help but feel some pity for Cleansing Whistle and her companions, but the group had simply asked for their deaths. Very quickly, Hecate publicized its bounty and caused a huge commotion in the city. "Crap! Is Hecate that determined to destroy Asura?" "Three thousand Gold! With that kind of money, Asura''s own members might take action against these people!" "But those players are incredibly strong. They''re almost impossible to kill." "Who told you that? Although they are very powerful, there are many tools available in God''s Domain. With a sufficiently powerful tool, killing them is definitely possible. It is just a matter of whether the owners are willing to use their tools or not For 3,000 Gold, though, they might be tempted." "It really makes you wonder what Asura''s higher-ups are trying to do. First, they provoked Hecate. Then, they made an enemy of every Guild in Cold Wind City. Not only has Asura''s material sources been cut off, but its peak experts are also targets. As far as I see it, Asura is doomed." "I know, right? At the end of the day, an adventurer team is still an adventurer team. It is impossible for an adventurer team to go up against a large Guild." Cold Wind City''s general populace was sorely tempted by Hecate''s bounty. They wanted nothing more than to rush into Asura''s Residence and slay its experts. However, plenty of independent players pitied the Asura adventurer team. If Asura hadn''t set its eyes on Cold Wind City''s authority, Hecate might have been powerless against the adventurer team. Eventually, Asura might have even grown powerful enough to intimidate the various large Guilds. As everyone talked about the Asura adventurer team, Asura had announced the Adventurer Alliance''s official launch and welcomed anyone and everyone to apply for membership at Asura''s Residence. As long as a player was independent, they could join the Adventurer Alliance and enjoy a portion of the benefits Asura offered. "Asure really is dumb. Who would dare apply to join the Adventurer Alliance right now?" "That''s right! The majority of Level 50 weapons and equipment on the market have been produced by Guilds. How many weapons and equipment could a measly adventurer team possibly offer? Only people who don''t want to upgrade their weapons and equipment would join the Adventurer Alliance." The general populace showed no interest in Asura''s announcement. In fact, many players did not want anything to do with the adventurer team now. Seeing this, the various Guilds'' upper echelons in Cold Wind City sneered at Asura and its members. "Commander, even though we''ve announced the launch to the public, not a single player has shown interest in joining," Yan Ya expressed her frustration from her seat in Asura''s Residence. She had to admit that the various Guilds'' strategies had been very effective. It had utterly dissuaded any independent players from joining the Adventurer Alliance. "Alright, then. I had wanted to show the Guilds some respect, but since they refuse to accept my kindness, there''s no need for me to hold back," Shi Feng said, not particularly surprised by the situation. He then instructed, "Tell Solitary Nine to publicize the Adventurer Alliance''s exchange list on the forums." "Understood! I''ll notify the vice commander right away!" Yan Ya said, smiling. Excitedly, she contacted Solitary Nine. 1753 Madness-inducing Benefits Chapter 1753 - Madness-inducing Benefits Cold Wind City, Frostbone Plain: Many adventurer teams grinded the area''s Level 50-plus Undead. The Frostbone Plain was a Level 50 to Level 60 map. Although it wasn''t a resource-rich map, the Undead here had a chance of dropping Frost Stones since they absorbed Power of Frost all-year long. When Frost Stones were used in crafting weapons and equipment, the items had a chance of gaining Ice Resistance. Although each weapon and equipment piece would only have a small amount, if players wore items that all had the bonus, it would add up. Naturally, there were many maps in the Ice Crystal World that had extremely low temperatures. Without a certain amount of Ice Resistance, players'' would be restricted. As a result, items like Frost Stones, which could increase a players'' Ice Resistance, were very valuable. Moreover, since Frost Stones'' drop-rate was incredibly low, many Guilds only accepted Frost Stones as currency for the weapons and equipment they produced. Because of this, grinding Frost Stones had become the best way for independent players to make money and obtain better items. However, the Frostbone Plain''s Undead were not easy to defeat. These Undead rarely acted independently, moving in groups of over a hundred instead. Even the weakest of these monsters was an Elite, while the stronger Undead were usually Great Lords. From time to time, players even encountered patrol squads, usually consisting of 500 to 600 Undead, led by Grand Lord ranked Frost Generals. Most of the adventurer teams grinding in the Frostbone Plain operated in units of 100. However, many players watched as a 20-man team fought a Level 50-plus Frost Undead patrol squad with relative ease. The 20-man team systematically annihilated the 100-plus Undead in the patrol squad. These players had even suppressed the two Level 55 High Lord ranked Frost Captains. After just ten minutes, the entire patrol squad had been eliminated, leaving a pile of materials on the ground for the battle''s victors. "Brute, your combat standard have improved pretty quickly! You can even solo a Frost Captain now. If you hadn''t handled one of the Frost Captains, we might have had to flee," a Level 51 Shield Warrior said, smiling at the Level 52 Guardian Knight beside him. The Guardian Knight wielded a dark-blue diamond shield in one hand and a crystalline axe in the other. "I recently researched the war between Asura and Hecate and gained some insight from watching Asura''s Solitary Nine and Dark Madness. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have been able to tank the Frost Captain by myself," the Guardian Knight named Brute Seven responded excitedly. "After this hunt, I should have enough materials to purchase a Level 50 Secret-Silver chest piece. Once I have that, I might be able to challenge a Level 55 Great Lord." Anticipation illuminated Brute Seven''s features as he spoke about the Level 50 chest piece. He had been grinding Frost Stones in the Frostbone Plain for a long time now. Once he had the chest piece, their adventurer team might be able to explore more of the map and challenge Level 55 Great Lords. In the Ice Crystal World, materials'' drop-rates drastically decreased after monsters hit Level 50. Meanwhile, Great Lord rank acted like a dividing line for monsters. Not only would Great Lords drop more rare materials of high quality, but they also had a certain chance of dropping Mysterious-Iron Weapons and Equipment. If their adventurer team could grind Great Lords, their income would increase significantly. "The Guilds are being too stingy right now. They''re asking for several times more materials for each piece of Secret-Silver Equipment Even now, I''ve only managed to collect half of the materials needed for a piece of Secret-Silver Equipment It''s a pity that our forgers'' standards are so low. Otherwise, we could craft our own Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment," the Shield Warrior said, slightly envious when he heard Brute Seven''s plan. Although their adventurer team had nurtured its own Advanced Forgers, their Advanced Forgers were weaker than those in the various Guilds'' in both techniques and their tools. Their adventurer team''s Advanced Forgers even struggled to craft Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, not to mention Secret-Silver rank. Yet, without good equipment, they couldn''t challenge stronger monsters and obtain better resources. Only the various Guilds'' forgers could produce Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, and because of that, these Guilds demanded exorbitant prices for the items, leaving adventurer team players no choice but to provide these Guilds cheap labor. As Brute Seven''s team rested and chatted amongst themselves, one of the team''s members abruptly shouted in the team chat. "Guys, look at the forums! Asura just announced that it has officially established the Adventurer Alliance, stating that anyone who wants to join can apply at Asura''s Residence." "Tch. So what? Although the Adventurer Alliance''s members get to enjoy some of Asura''s benefits, Asura is only an adventurer team. It can''t compare to a Guild. Who would possibly join the Adventurer Alliance now that the various Guilds have singled Asura out?" "That''s right! Since the Guilds are the sole suppliers of Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment, only players who don''t want to upgrade their items would consider joining the Adventurer Alliance. It really makes you wonder what Asura''s upper echelons are thinking. They are actually trying to compete with the Guilds for Cold Wind City. Isn''t that just suicidal?" None of the team''s members showed any interest in joining the recently-established Adventurer Alliance. They all thought that Asura''s commander, Shi Feng, was a fool. Despite his adventurer team''s bright future, he had decided to ruin his players'' prospects by competing for Cold Wind City. After these players chatted for some time, they discovered that the Asura adventurer team had posted a new announcement Adventurer Alliance''s benefit list! "What? They''re trying to lure people to join by posting their benefits?" "What is Asura playing at? Even if Asura offers good benefits, how could it possibly contend with the various Guilds, which can produce Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment?" But as these players clicked on the new post, preparing to laugh at Asura''s foolishness, they were dumbfounded by what they saw. "What''s going on?" "Am I seeing things?" "Crap! This is amazing! Not even large Guilds can offer this!" "Is Asura really an adventurer team?" Everyone''s eyes glowed as they read the benefit list the Adventurer Alliance offered. Even just looking at the offered benefits excited them greatly. The list contained a total of three benefits, the first of which regarded the purchase of weapons and equipment. The second involved the purchase of combat techniques. The third consisted of the rare materials and tools available for purchase. Meanwhile, players would only be able to buy these items with the Adventurer Alliance''s internal points. These three benefits were incredibly tempting, especially when players read the list of weapons and equipment Asura had to offer. If Asura had only offered Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Weapons and Equipment, they might have viewed the adventurer team in a better light, nothing more. If the list included Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, these players would assume that Asura planned to duke it out with the various Guilds, and they''d consider the adventurer team a little more mad than they had expected. But there were Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment on that list... This was practically a dream! Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment was as rare as a phoenix''s feather, even in the various large Guilds. Not even the Guilds'' core members were guaranteed to get a piece, yet the Asura adventurer team was offering these items up for purchase. And that was only the tip of the iceberg! What truly dumbfounded Cold Wind City''s players was the Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked Magic Light Sets Asura offered! Not even Hecate, Cold Wind City''s current number one Guild, likely had such equipment on hand, yet not only did Asura have these items, but the adventurer team was offering them to other players for exchange! 1754 Nightmares Beginning Chapter 1754 - Nightmare''s Beginning Shortly after the Adventurer Alliance''s exchange benefits were published on the official forums, news of the post spread throughout Cold Wind City like the plague. Even the members of the various Guilds of Cold Wind City turned green with envy when they read its contents. Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment! To the current Guilds of Cold Wind City, such equipment only appeared in their dreams. "Asura is too ruthless! The adventurer team actually pulled out such a card to lure in independent players!" "How did Asura get its hands on this Magic Light Set?" "Crap! If I had this Magic Light Set, I could easily solo-tank a Level 55 Grand Lord!" "It''s no wonder Asura''s top few experts possess such powerful Attributes. It turns out that they''re wearing this Magic Light Set." The upper echelons of Cold Wind City''s various Guilds fell silent when they saw the benefits Asura was offering. Just the weapons and equipment Asura put up for exchange were far superior to what their Guilds had. However, compared to these weapons and equipment, the second exchange benefit Asura offered was the part that truly gave them a headache. Combat techniques! Combat techniques were much more precious than weapons and equipment At the end of the day, weapons and equipment were external items. Moreover, as players continued leveling up, they would also have to keep replacing their weapons and equipment; using their current items forever was impossible. However, that was not the case for combat techniques. Combat techniques would not fall behind the times and could accompany players on their entire journey in God''s Domain. They provided improvements directly to a player''s base combat power and thus were many times more valuable than weapons and equipment. Given a choice between obtaining Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment or a combat technique, the majority of players would go with the combat technique. After all, if one chose the Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment, they wouldn''t necessarily be able to obtain a combat technique by using it. Moreover, once they reached Level 60, their Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment would no longer be considered top-tier for their level. However, if one chose the combat technique, the immediate benefits from the combat technique might not be as much as those of the Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment, but with their improved combat standards, obtaining equipment that could rival Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment was only a matter of time. Combat techniques were also something the various Guilds constantly sought Unfortunately, these were truly too rare and difficult to acquire. Even until now, the various Guilds had not found a single clue that could lead to the acquisition of a combat technique. Every known combat technique in Cold Wind City right now was created by talented experts. However, these experts would never teach others the combat techniques they had researched and invented through great efforts, as these combat techniques were their trump cards. Sharing their combat techniques would only result in them losing an edge over others. Currently, the only Guild in Cold Wind City that possessed a combat technique was Hecate. However, Hecate had a very heavy restriction on the combat technique, and only core members that had signed binding contracts were qualified to learn it. Experts that were not contracted to the Guild had no hope of learning it. Meanwhile, inside Hecate''s Residence... Sitting inside the exquisite Guild Leader''s office, Carnage read the exchange benefits of the Adventurer Alliance with an indescribably grim expression on his face, his eyes having turned bloodshot. The Guild''s upper echelon inside the room was similarly stupefied by Asura''s forum post. "Is this Asura adventurer team filled with lunatics? They''re actually offering combat techniques for exchange?" "Are they not afraid that letting outsiders learn these combat techniques will hamper their adventurer team''s development in the future?" Everyone inside the room voiced their confusion over Asura''s crazy behavior. They had never imagined that Asura would make such a bold move in order to obtain Cold Wind City. At this time, a Level 52 Ranger suddenly entered the room and reported to Carnage, "Vice Guild Leader, I just received a report stating that a large number of elite players contracted to us have just dissolved their contracts. Currently, we have already lost over a thousand contracted elite playersand this number is still steadily climbing..." "Have these people lost their minds? Dissolving their contracts means having to pay us three Gold in compensation!" The members of the upper echelon standing at the sides of the room were stupefied when they heard the Ranger''s words. Although the contracts Hecate signed with the independent players wishing to partner with it could be dissolved, the price to do so was very steep. Three Gold was a lot of money even to expert players, let alone elite players. Although players'' income had risen due to their increasing levels, the repair fee for weapons and equipment was also higher. Moreover, players had many other expenses, such as potions and Magic Scrolls, food and accommodation. In the end, players would be able to save only a small portion of their earnings each day. At this stage of the game, elite players would be fortunate if they had 50 or 60 Silver Coins in savings, while ordinary players would only have around 10 Silver Coins banked. Only expert players would have a little more extra money, with most expert players having roughly five or six Gold Coins stashed away. Hence, they had set the compensation fee at three Gold, which was half of the liquid funds of an expert player. Yet, now... Meanwhile, outside Asura''s Residence... Shortly after the Adventurer Alliance''s benefits were publicized, a large crowd of independent players had appeared here. Within half an hour of the alliance''s benefits'' disclosure, over 50,000 independent players had come to apply to the alliance. The long queue that formed outside of Asura''s Residence extended across five whole blocks. Moreover, the number of applicants was still climbing rapidly. This situation forced Asura to mobilize over 500 members to maintain order at the application site. The spectacular scene stupefied the scouts sent over by the various Guilds. Among the players looking to join the Adventurer Alliance were many Level 51 and Level 52 elite and expert players and even some weH-known adventurer teams of Cold Wind City. In fact, the scouts actually recognized some of those standing in line to be elite and expert members of various Guilds. Though, to be precise, these people were former members now. However, the actions of these former Guild players were also understandable. Players joined Guilds to obtain good weapons and equipment more easily. If they couldn''t, they would have no reason to subject themselves to the restrictions of Guilds. Now, however, the Adventurer Alliance was also supplying weapons and equipmentand these were even better than the ones offered by the Guilds. Moreover, players could exchange for combat techniques, something that even expert players hungered for, from the alliance. The benefits offered by ordinary Guilds could not compare to those offered by the Adventurer Alliance at all. Hence, it was only natural that plenty of elite and expert players were trying to join the alliance. "Commander, this move of yours is simply too vicious. I just received a report stating that some of the smaller Guilds in Cold Wind City lost a significant portion of their expert and elite members shortly after we announced the Adventurer Alliance''s benefits. It won''t be long before these Guilds are forced to disband. Even Hecate has lost over 300 experts and 4,000 elites thus far," Yan Ya reported to Shi Feng excitedly as she walked into the Residence''s Basic Forging Room. She held not a shred of goodwill towards the various Guilds of Cold Wind City, especially Hecate. Just because they had refused Hecate''s poaching attempts, the Guild had actually publicly placed a bounty on their heads. Had Shi Feng not sent them to grind Bosses in the Snow Rift, a forbidden land for players, she would''ve gone directly to Hecate''s grinding spots and paid the Guild back for its kindness. Having received news that the Adventurer Alliance had managed to plunder over 300 experts from Hecate, she was naturally elated. In Cold Wind City, even after annexing the Matchless Family, Hecate had only a little over 2,700 expert members. Losing 300-plus expert players was equivalent to losing one-ninth of its expert forces, which was definitely a huge blow to the Guild. Right now, she could already imagine what kind of expression Hecate''s higher-ups were making. "Vicious, huh?" Shi Feng laughed, shaking his head. This was only the beginning. He then turned to Yan Ya and asked, "Did you get that thing yet?" "Mhm. I''ve already bought the largest plot of Land available in Cold Wind City and constructed a three-story Shop on it As for the interior design, that can only be done after we make a personal visit there. I spent a total of 8,000 Gold. Almost all of the funds our adventurer team has gathered thus far have been used up already," Yan Ya replied. She then took out a Deed from her bag and handed it over to Shi Feng. "Good! Let''s head over and take a look." Shi Feng nodded. After accepting the Deed, he immediately left for Cold Wind City''s largest plot of Land together with Yan Ya. Originally, this plot of Land was meant for the construction of a Guild Residence. However, as its location was not very good and the Land was quite costly as well, none of the Guilds in Cold Wind City had purchased it. This gave Shi Feng a chance to take it for himself. "Not bad. This should be large enough," Shi Feng said, nodding in satisfaction as he arrived at the three-story Shop. Some independent players were already standing around the entrance of the Shop, curiously eyeing the three-story building. In fact, let alone these passersby, even Yan Ya, who was trailing Shi Feng, was curious to find out why he had decided to buy a plot of Land in this secluded area. Moreover, he had even wanted such a large Shop to be built on it If he really wished to set up a Shop, the wise decision would have been to build one in the city''s central district. Not to mention, even though they had built such a large Shop, the Asura adventurer team did not possess that many items to sell. However, Shi Feng did not bother explaining his decisions. Instead, he walked straight into the Shop. Currently, the main hall of the Shop was still empty. Shi Feng also did not hurry to start the decoration process. Instead, he took out a large number of Magic Crystals and rare materials, then started drawing a magic array at the center of the hall. The magic array he was drawing right now was none other than the Starlight Gathering Magic Array, which he had gotten from the War God''s Temple some time ago. When activated, the magic array would create an enclosed space with a 500- yard radius and increase the Mana density within it by 300%. As the materials needed to produce the magic array were extremely rare and the difficulty of drawing it was equivalent to drawing an Advanced Magic Array, Shi Feng had not bothered putting it to use until now. Recently, though, Zero Wing had managed to gather the necessary materials for the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. Hence, he decided to use the magic array in Cold Wind City. The reason for his decision was the dearth of locations with high Mana density in the Ice Crystal World. In fact, the Ice Crystal World wasn''t alone in this predicament Practically every Otherworld faced this problem. Only Higher Planes had many areas with high Mana density. This was also the main reason why the combat standards of Otherworld players were weak in general. Without environments of high Mana density, players would have great difficulty improving themselves. If he wanted to truly raise the Asura adventurer team''s strength, he could not just rely on weapons, equipment, and combat techniques. As for sending players to the continent of God''s Domain via the Ancient Shrine, the cost of doing so was simply prohibitiveway beyond the current means of Zero Wing or Asura. Moreover, having more people cross over would increase the risk of exposure for the Ancient Shrine''s secret. Hence, before coming to the Ice Crystal World, Shi Feng had already decided to create a place similar to Stone Forest Town''s Battle Arena in Cold Wind City. Finally, after spending over an hour, he was done engraving the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. The illusion of a dazzlingly beautiful galaxy then formed in the center of the hall. "Commander, what''s this? It''s so beautiful!" Yan Ya was immediately captivated by the magic array. "What is this?" Shi Feng smiled. "It''s a new world!" Saying so, Shi Feng spent 500 Magic Crystals to activate the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. 1755 Asura Hall Chapter 1755 - Asura Hall Inside the spacious hall... When the Starlight Gathering Magic Array activated, white mist began to fill the hall. The light then dimmed, and twinkling starlight glittered around the room. A short moment later, the Mana density inside the hall swiftly started to rise. 100%... 200%... 300%... The Ice Crystal World''s ambient Mana density was already higher than that in God''s Domain, and now, after this 300% increase, the Shop''s Mana was even denser than the Mana in Zero Wing City. Celestial Magic Arrays truly are amazing! Shi Feng was quite satisfied as he gazed at the galaxy that had appeared on the hall''s ceiling. As he stood in the hall, he could feel his mind become tremendously clear. He could even push aside unwanted thoughts and block his sense until he only existed within his own consciousness. As long as he put a little effort in, his mind could easily process what he wanted and provide the desired results. In fact, he even felt physically lighter. As a magic array that had been passed down since ancient times, current magic arrays simply couldn''t compare to the power of a Celestial Magic Array like the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. Due to the Celestial Power, Celestial Magic Arrays were able to operate at a cheaper cost and higher efficiency than present magic arrays of similar rank and functionality. That was also why any Celestial Magic Arrays that had appeared on the market in the past had sold for astronomical prices. If he hadn''t caught Abandoned Wave, he wouldn''t have obtained the Starlight Gathering Magic Array. Yan Ya, who stood beside Shi Feng, was utterly dumbfounded as she felt the change that had taken place around her. The strength of the Starlight Gathering Magic Array before her was simply too frightening! The entire hall felt like a revolving galaxy. The ambient Mana was so dense that she felt almost omnipotent. If she could train in such an environment, she was confident that she could fully grasp the Basic Combat Techniques, which she had struggled with before, in a short time. She even felt like she could learn the Advanced Combat Technique, Void Steps. An Advanced Combat Technique! Void Steps was an Advanced Footwork technique that not even Lifeless Thorn had mastered. If she could grasp this footwork technique, her combat power would rise to a whole new level. She was even confident that she''d be able to take on Flowing Water Realm experts. After all, with Void Steps, she would have absolute control over the battle''s initiative. She could clash or retreat whenever she wanted, and her opponent would be powerless to stop her. Excitedly, Yan Ya turned to Shi Feng and asked, "Commander, are you planning to make this our adventurer team''s training ground?" With such a Mana-rich environment, this place could definitely become a sacred training ground for players. Ordinary experts, particularly Cold Wind City''s experts, did not understand the true benefits of Mana-rich environments. However, Yan Ya had learned well the benefits of such an environment. After all, she had gone through plenty of hardships while learning her combat techniques. If not for the combat rooms in Zero Wing City''s Battle Arena, she never would''ve grasped the several Basic Combat Techniques she now knew so quickly. If she could train in such a Mana-rich environment, she could practice her Basic Combat Techniques relentlessly without running out of Stamina or Concentration. "No," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "I plan to make this the Adventurer Alliance''s training ground." "A training ground for the Adventurer Alliance?" Shi Feng''s answer stunned Yan Ya. Shi Feng had already offered the Adventurer Alliance''s members amazing benefits, which not even the various large Guilds could afford to offer. Yet, he also intended to make this sacred ground one of the alliance''s benefits, as well. She didn''t dare imagine the craze in Cold Wind City if news of this went public. If Cold Wind City''s various Guilds learned of this, they''d want nothing more than to eat Shi Feng alive. "Of course, I will also segregate a portion of the space specifically for Asura''s members," Shi Feng said, chuckling. While reserving this place for Asura''s members was a good idea, maintaining the Starlight Gathering Magic Array was not cheap. The magic array cost 500 Magic Crystals to operate per day. That was the equivalent of running a single Magic Tower. Since both towns generated massive amounts of income, it didn''t really matter that the Magic Towers in Stone Forest Town and Silverwing Town were expensive to run. However, the Asura adventurer team did not possess the ability to generate so much income. After all, Asura only had around 3,000 members. It might be fine if the Starlight Gathering Magic Array''s operation required Coins, as earning Coins was relatively easy for an adventurer team of Asura''s caliber, but it was a different story forMagic Crystals. Furthermore, Magic Crystals were rarer in the Ice Crystal World than in the continent of God''s Domain. If Shi Feng wanted to maintain the Starlight Gathering Magic Array, he needed a huge source of Magic Crystal income. Currently, Cold Wind City had over 2,000,000 players, the majority of which were independent players. Shi Feng wouldn''t have to worry about a lack of interest in the new training ground with such high Mana density. As long as he charged a small fee for using the training ground, he could easily maintain the Starlight Gathering Magic Array''s operation. Moreover, by making the Starlight Gathering Magic Array available to the Adventurer Alliance, not only could he earn back the magic array''s operation cost, but he could also attract more players to join the alliance, killing two birds with one stone. Following which, Shi Feng began to modify the Shop''s interior. All three of the Shop''s floors would become training grounds. He also set aside some room on the first floor to establish a restaurant and bar for players to rest. Using the remaining space, he constructed a total of 270 training rooms, 50 of which would be reserved for the Asura adventurer team. However, although there were 220 training rooms left for the Adventurer Alliance''s members, considering how many members the alliance had, Shi Feng ensured that each alliance member could only rent a training room for one hour per day if they paid with Coins or Adventurer Alliance Points. If players paid their rent with Magic Crystals, they would be allowed to rent up to two hours a day. This way, Shi Feng wouldn''t have to worry about not earning enough Magic Crystals. This would also help reduce some of the points alliance members accumulated. Whether players wanted to purchase the Adventurer Alliance''s weapons, equipment, or combat techniques, they all required a large number of points. In other words, none of the Adventurer Alliance''s services were cheap. If that were the case, it would only be a matter of time before the Adventurer Alliance collapsed in on itself. With the training ground absorbing some of the points the alliance members accumulated normally, the alliance''s points would be more valuable and meaningful. After Shi Feng finished arranging the training ground''s layout, he made a trip to the Adventurer''s Association and hired five Advanced NPCs and 100 Basic NPCs to manage the training ground. This way, his players wouldn''t have to waste their time with managing the building. Naturally, he set the training room''s rent higher than the fee for Zero Wing City''s Battle Arena. He decided on five Silver Coins'' worth of points per hour. This might be costly to ordinary players, but to elite players, who normally had 50 to 60 Silver Coins in their pockets, it was affordable. Besides, they could only rent the training rooms for one hour per day with points. If they paid in Magic Crystals, they''d only have to spend 10 Silver Coins per day. For expert players, this expenditure was pocket change. "Commander, the only thing left to do is name the training ground. Then, we can open it to the public," Yan Ya said. As she looked at the dazzling training ground before her and watched the NPCs as they prepared to work, she couldn''t help her growing excitement. "A name?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "Let''s call it Asura Hall, then." His main goal in establishing this training ground was to strengthen the Asura adventurer team. Now that that was done, he had to put Asura''s name on it, letting everyone know about the Asura adventurer team. Once Shi Feng had stated his desired name for the establishment, the NPC managers engraved the name on a plaque on the building''s entrance. The massive, golden engravings quickly caught the attention of the players passing by. Players could even see the words ''Asura Hall'' from a good distance away. "Asura Hall?" "What''s this place?" "It should be related to the Asura adventurer team!" "It seems to be open already. Let''s go in and have a look." After the Asura Hall opened, the passersby curiously entered the building. They had seen all kinds of Shops before, but this was the first time they had seen one with such an ambiguous name. Furthermore, the Shop seemed to be related to the Asura adventurer team. ߵ뷨 Owed 4/day release count: 7... Fyi, there''s a new paragraph commenting system implemented. If you''re reading RSSG via Webnovel App on your phone, you can highlight specific paragraphs and make comments about them!... 1756 Adventurer Alliances Power Chapter 1756 - Adventurer Alliance''s Power Upon entering the Asura Hall, the group of independent players felt as if they had stepped into a sports arena''s main lobby. The ceiling was covered in a galaxy of stars as if it were the actual night sky. It gave players a relaxed, happy feeling. "What''s going on? The Mana density here is so high!" "Why do I feel like my mind has become so much clearer than before?" "This place is amazing!" Every player that entered the Asura Hall quickly discovered its peculiarities. Not only did they feel calmer after entering the building, but they also felt physically lighter. They felt as if they could now accomplish tasks that had been impossible, and these players eagerly wanted to test themselves in battle in this environment. However, when these players saw the pricing list at the Asura Hall''s front counter, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "So expensive!" "Is this a joke? Renting a training room actually costs five Silver per hour? Is the Asura adventurer team that desperate for money?" "Wait, that''s not right. Only the Adventurer Alliance''s members are allowed to rent training rooms. No one else has access." "Just where has Asura gotten the confidence to impose such a restriction? Who would bother to rent a training room here, to begin with?" Everyone''s burning interested in the Asura Hall instantly froze after they saw the rental prices. Some players had even turned and left the building on the spot, not wanting to waste any more of their time with this place. As the first group of visitors left the Asura Hall, news of the establishment quickly spread throughout Cold Wind City, becoming the latest and hottest topic for discussion. Although many players had deemed that the Asura Hall''s prices were too high, they were very interested in its Mana-rich environment. "Commander, although quite a few players have visited the Asura Hall, none have tried to rent a room. They all think that the price is too high. Why don''t we lower the price slightly?" Yan Ya suggested as she watched a group of players idle around the first-floor hall. "No need to rush. We have plenty of time. Players will eventually discover the Asura Hall''s true benefit," Shi Feng said, smiling. He then continued, "Right now, we need to focus on collecting enough Ice Crystal Fragments and Soul Devouring Flowers." "I''ve already posted a purchase request for Ice Crystal Fragments and Soul Dissolving Flowers in the Adventurer Alliance. Moreover, I''ve ensured that players who want to purchase Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment or the Magic Light Set will have to use both CPs and a sufficient number of Ice Crystal Fragments or Soul Devouring Flowers," Yan Ya said. "Right now, a piece of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment will require at least one Ice Crystal Fragment. For Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons, each will require two Ice Crystal Fragments or one Soul Dissolving Flower. For the Magic Light Set, players must contribute 12 Ice Crystal Fragments or six Soul Dissolving Flowers. "While you were designing the internal layout of the Asura Hall, we acquired nine Ice Crystal Fragments and one Soul Dissolving Flower through the Adventurer Alliance. I doubt it will be long before we have the required number of fragments and flowers." "That quickly?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he heard Yan Ya''s report. Ice Crystal Fragments only dropped from Bosses in the Ice Crystal World''s forbidden lands. Moreover, only Great Lord ranked and above dropped the fragments. Even if he used Icarus''s Heart, obtaining an Ice Crystal Fragment from each Boss he killed wasn''t guaranteed. The drop-rate would be even worse for other players. The Adventurer Alliance had only established a few hours ago, yet it had already collected nine Ice Crystal Fragments and one of the super-rare Soul Dissolving Flowers. The alliance''s material collection speed was astonishing. If the Adventurer Alliance were developed properly and attract hundreds of thousands of independent players from Cold Wind City, the alliance would beat any Guild in the city when it came to collecting materials, aside from the items that dropped from Team Dungeons. As for Guilds that tried to acquire the Adventurer Alliance''s top-tier weapons and equipment or combat techniques by disguising their members as independent players, Shi Feng did not particularly mind. Rather, he welcomed it. After all, the extraordinary items the alliance offered required other items of considerable value, such as the Ice Crystal Fragment and Soul Dissolving Flower, in trade. At this moment, Shi Feng finally understood just how frightening the Adventurer Alliance in his previous life had actually been. It was no wonder why the alliance had become one of God''s Domain''s apex powers. Resources were everything in God''s Domain. With abundant resources, one could even pump out batch after batch of expert players. If one was fortunate enough, they could even nurture peak or apex experts. "Although our resource collection speed is very fast right now, as more independent players join the Adventurer Alliance, our stock of weapons and equipment in the alliance''s inventory will begin to dwindle. If we don''t replenish the items soon, aside from the valuable items that require Ice Crystal Fragments or Soul Dissolving Flowers, everything will be gone," Yan Ya said with a bitter smile. The Adventurer Alliance indeed possessed a frightening resource collection ability. However, the cost of maintaining this ability was also frightening. At this point, the weapons and equipment they had gained from killing Hecate''s members before had already been purchased with rare materials. These materials flooded the Adventurer Alliance''s warehouse, and nobody had any intentions of purchasing the items... The Adventurer Alliance earned its income of Coins and resources by buying and selling items, earning the price difference. For example, it would purchase a particular rare material using nine CPs and selling them for ten CPs, making a profit of one CP between trades. However, the problem now was that nobody in Cold Wind City wanted these rare materials. The alliance was only gaining a mountain of rare materials that no one wanted while losing a bunch of weapons and equipment... "You''re right." Shi Feng smiled after listening to Yan Ya''s concerns, although the situation didn''t surprise him. The Asura adventurer team wasn''t like Zero Wing, which had the support of the Candlelight Trading Firm. So long as the Guild had rare materials, it could quickly turn those materials into products that various players needed. However, the Asura adventurer team lacked this ability. "Let''s do it this way, then. Have Solitary Nine bring a few Assassins and load them up with rare materials, then head to White River City and hand these materials to Melancholic Smile. We''ll have Melancholic collect as much Ice Resistance equipment and items as possible and send the items back with the Assassins. Meanwhile, I''ll try to craft as many items as possible to cope with the Adventurer Alliance''s current expenditure." While rare materials might not be particularly useful to adventurer teams, they were very valuable to the Candlelight Trading Firm. In Star-Moon Kingdom, Candlelight had difficulty purchasing rare materials in bulk, and the prices for these materials were very high. However, the situation was the opposite in the Ice Crystal World. Rare resources were more common and cost significantly less. Shi Feng could take advantage of this situation and make a profit oʲ of the price difference of rare materials between the two worlds. The only problem was the amount of time and Magic Crystals required to transport the materials to the continent of God''s Domain. But compared to the potential profits, the cost was practically negligible. Hearing Shi Feng''s plan, Yan Ya''s eyes glowed with realization. Equipment and tools that could increase one''s Ice Resistance were worth a fortune in the Ice Crystal World. For example, Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment with Ice Resistance was worth two or three times more than equipment without Ice Resistance. If it were possible to convert these rare materials into equipment and tools that increased Ice Resistance, the Adventurer Alliance would attract plenty of independent players even if it ran out of Magic Light Sets and Level 50 Fine- Gold Equipment. Shi Feng then returned to the Forging Association to resume production of all sorts of Level 50 weapons and equipment. This time, though, he only crafted Secret-Silver Equipment. He left the Level 50 Mysterious-Iron equipment to the Lifestyle Players Asura nurtured internally. Meanwhile, Yan Ya contacted Solitary Nine and had him gather nine Assassins. After filling their bags with rare materials, Solitary Nine and the Assassins disguised themselves and made their way to the Ancient Shrine before heading to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Time passed quickly. After working for around half a day, Shi Feng had made 50-plus pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment with the rare materials the Adventurer Alliance had acquired. During this time, his Forging Proficiency continuously increased. He also gained a lot of EXP. Now, he was at 41% of Level 66. His leveling speed via forging was no slower than expert players'' leveling speed. While Shi Feng was in the midst of forging a piece of plate armor, Yan Ya sent him a message. The content was very simple: All 100 Ice Crystal Fragments have been collected! "The collection''s done?" Shi Feng smiled as he read the message. "It''s about time that I pay the Countess a visit, then." 1757 Astronomical Wealth Chapter 1757 - Astronomical Wealth Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City: As soon as Shi Feng walked out of the Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of a crowded street. The liveliness of the city was not the slightest bit inferior to White River City''s; in fact, it might even be livelier. Meanwhile, shortly after he exited the Teleportation Hall, players'' shouts entered his ears. "Seeking a powerful team to enter the Underground Maze''s inner area! I''m a Level 51 Shield Warrior with over 30,000 Defense, 34% Block Rate, and combat standard at the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor!" "Underground Maze team looking for Level 50-plus powerful MTs and DPS! Thirty-two waiting on eighteen! Noobs not welcomed!" "Purchasing Ice Jade for 30 Silver each! Buying as many as you have!" At this moment, both sides of the street Shi Feng was on were teeming with players either hawking their wares or forming teams. Moreover, the players thronging the street were all very high-leveled, with the lowest-leveled player being Level 49 and the majority being 50 and 51. Shi Feng also spotted quite a few Level 52 experts. Normally, such a scene could be found only in places like the Ice Crystal World, where the average level of players was slightly higher than that of the continent of God''s Domain. Yet, now, the players in Lake Heart City could actually rival the players of Cold Wind City in terms of levels. Looking at this scene, Shi Feng even thought that he was still in Cold Wind City right now. Aside from the large number of independent experts, Shi Feng also noticed plenty of Guild elite and expert teams coming out from the Teleportation Hall from time to time. As soon as these Guild teams arrived, they would dash out of the city. Did these Guilds finally notice it? Shi Feng did not feel particularly surprised to see the various Guild teams riding their Mounts out of the city. Rather, this situation was within his expectations. Back then, the reason why he had chosen to set up Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire''s Lake Heart City was the resources in the vicinity. During the early stages of the game, the various large Guilds and players disregarded a backwater like Lake Heart City. However, past Level 50, the Dungeon environments would become increasingly severe, and players would need all kinds of Resistances if they wished to survive and raid Team Dungeons. Meanwhile, among the items that provided Resistances, the Ice Jade found within the Lake Heart City region was one of the most weH-known of those produced in the Black Dragon Empire. Ice Jades could be turned into Ice Resistance Gemstones, which could then be inlaid into equipment to increase one''s Ice Resistance. What made Ice Jade so popular was the flexibility of Ice Resistance Gemstones, which were different from weapons and equipment that had innate Ice Resistance. For weapons and equipment that had innate Resistances, these Resistances usually came at the cost of sacrificing some of their Basic Attributes. Moreover, most weapons and equipment with Resistance increased only one type of Resistance, in addition to having level restrictions, and would become obsolete as players reached higher levels. Players would also have to prepare different types of Resistance equipment, depending on what kind of Dungeon they were raiding; this was a great extravagance that even expert players could not afford. On the other hand, Resistance Gemstones could be freely equipped and removed at the cost of a little money. When raiding Dungeons with different environments, players simply needed to switch to the appropriate Resistance Gemstones. Due to these reasons, Lake Heart City gained sudden popularity in the Black Dragon Empire, thanks to the resource known as Ice Jade. In Shi Feng''s previous life, Lake Heart City had managed to grow into the empire''s sixth most populated city at its peak. For comparison, since the player population in an empire far exceeded that of a kingdom, even an empire''s sixth ranking city would have a higher player population than the capital city of a kingdom. Finally, Shi Feng''s previous plans and investments were coming to fruition. With the increased number of players attracted to Lake Heart City, Zero Wing''s Branch Guild would undoubtedly be able to recruit plenty of elite and expert players. Soon, it would be able to truly contend against the first-rate Guilds of the Black Dragon Empire. After Shi Feng was done observing the situation of Lake Heart City, he rode an advanced horse carriage to Countess Katie Green''s mansion. Having nothing better to do while seated inside the carriage, Shi Feng contacted Gentle Snow. Back when he sent Gentle Snow to develop in Lake Heart City, he had her continuously collect Ice Jades. Now, the perfect time to let the Ice Jades display their true value had come. "Guild Leader, you''re done with your quest already?" Gentle Snow asked, feeling slightly surprised to receive a call from Shi Feng. Before he had left, he had informed Zero Wing''s core upper echelon that he was going to do a quest and would be incommunicado for a short period. He had also instructed them to handle the Guild''s affairs at their discretion and to contact him only for extremely important matters. "My quest is still ongoing. It''ll most likely take a while longer to complete it," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. Collecting Soul Dissolving Flowers was easier said than done. It had been over half a day since he established the Adventurer Alliance, yet the alliance had managed to collect only five Soul Dissolving Flowers thus far. It would be quite some time before he would have all twenty Soul Dissolving Flowers he needed. "Do you have some business with me, then?" Gentle Snow asked. "Mhm. How is the collection of Ice Jade coming along?" Shi Feng said, nodding. "Ice Jade?" When Gentle Snow heard Shi Feng''s question, her lips curled into a contented smile. She then raised four of her jade-white fingers to the screen. "Forty thousand? That''s quite a lot." Shi Feng was slightly surprised. Although Lake Heart City produced Ice Jade, it was not available in large quantities. Back when Ice Jade became very popular, even Super Guilds had needed to invest a lot of time and effort to collect as many as 40,000 Ice Jades. Meanwhile, 40.000 Ice Jades were enough to fully equip several thousand players with Ice Resistance Gemstones. "Guild Leader, you guessed wrong this time," Gentle Snow said, smiling as she shook her head. "Thus far, we''ve collected 400.000 Ice Jades already! Roughly 60% of the Ice Jades available in Lake Heart City right now is in our hands." "Four hundred thousand?!" Shi Feng could not help but be stunned. Although he had asked Gentle Snow to collect Ice Jades, he had never imagined she could collect so many. Four hundred thousand Ice Jades! If converted to Coins right now, they would be worth 120,000 Gold. Meanwhile, this price was only the beginning; in the future, it could easily reach 40-plus Silver per piece. Moreover, before Ice Jades became popular, they sold for only four or five Silver Coins each. If the price grew to 34 or 35 Silver, then they could make a net profit of 30 Silver per piece. If they sold all 400,000 of their stockpiled Ice Jades at that time, their net profit would be 120,000 Gold. With that kind of money, they could complete all the development and fortification works of Silverwing Town in one go. There would be no need to rely on the income of Zero Wing City and the Candlelight Trading Firm to gradually furnish the town. "Good. Have some people transfer these Ice Jades to the warehouse of Lake Heart City''s Candlelight Trading Firm immediately. I''ll go collect them afterward," Shi Feng said. "Right, make sure to keep this matter a secret." While Ice Jade was indeed very important to the various large Guilds, so much so that they would be willing to purchase it at a high price, its value in the Ice Crystal World would be even higher. After all, players were already snatching up even weapons and equipment with innate Ice Resistance like crazy. One could easily imagine how popular Ice Jades would be there. "Guild Leader, rest assured, back when we collected these Ice Jades, I had specifically sent my closest aides to handle the purchases. Only a few people in the entire Guild know about our stockpile." Although Gentle Snow was curious about what Shi Feng intended to do with so many Ice Jades, she simply nodded her head and had some of her trusted aides deliver the Ice Jades to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s warehouse. By the time Shi Feng was done conversing with Gentle Snow, he had also arrived before Countess Katie Green''s mansion. 1758 Treasure Acquired Chapter 1758 - Treasure Acquired As he arrived before the Countess''s mansion and disembarked from the advanced horse carriage, Shi Feng noticed several cloaked players enter the mansion under the steward Milton''s lead. When these cloaked players entered the mansion, they watched their surroundings constantly as if they were afraid of being followed. When these players noticed Shi Feng, they became alert, their expressions turning somber. Someone''s already discovered this place? Seeing the party''s wariness, Shi Feng had a general idea of what they were thinking. Countess Katie Green''s exchange services were a secret. Moreover, every item she offered was a treasure to players. If they could monopolize these treasures, they could profit massively. However, if others discovered this secret, it would increase their competition and reduce their profits. Moreover, the more people that knew about the Countess, the harder it would be to keep the secret. Naturally, these six players understood this. When the Countess''s secret had become public in the past, the various large Guilds had contested for her services, and the competition had become so intense that battles had been waged on the street outside of the Countess''s mansion. In the end, though, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had monopolized the Countess and garrisoned players at the mansion''s entrance long-term, preventing outsiders from entering. After watching Shi Feng for a moment, the six-man party hastened their way into the mansion. Shi Feng simply chuckled in response and continued onward. The Countess only offered so many items, and in the six players'' opinion, he must be here to purchase these items as well. They likely wanted to get ahead of him and buy as many items as they could before he reached the Countess. Unfortunately for those six players, Shi Feng wasn''t hereto buy items. As Shi Feng reached the mansion''s main entrance, he sensed someone''s presence nearby. He immediately activated Omniscient Eyes to inspect his surroundings. Guild players? Shi Feng quickly discovered a Level 50 Assassin hidden behind a tree roughly 60 yards away from him. This Assassin also wore a Guild Emblem that he had never seen before. It seems this place won''t stay a secret for much longer. It was evident that some Guild had targeted those six players. Once a Guild discovered Countess Katie Green''s exchange services, it wouldn''t be long before even more people learned about them. After all, there were simply too many players in a Guild. There were bound to be spies from other Guilds, as well. This was also why Shi Feng had never told any of Zero Wing''s upper echelons about his business here. This way, none of the spies in Zero Wing could learn about this place. But he also felt relatively fortunate. Had he chosen to visit the Countess at a later date, there would''ve been a ton of players in the Countess''s mansion. They might even have discovered the secret about the Temporal Sand. If the various superpowers learned about the Treasure of Time and, subsequently, the Seven Treasures, they''d use all of their power to obtain them. If that happened, his quest would become exponentially more difficult. After waiting at the entrance for some time, Milton returned to greet Shi Feng. Under the steward''s lead, Shi Feng then entered the Countess''s mansion. After Shi Feng entered the mansion, the masked Assassin behind the tree made his way towards the entrance. A sly smile appeared on his face as he watched Shi Feng''s disappearing figure. "Guild Leader, as you''ve guessed, those people seemed to have discovered some secret exchange point. The exchange point is in Countess Katie Green''s mansion in Lake Heart City," the masked Assassin reported to the middle-aged man on the screen before him. "Excellent. Now that we''ve discovered their secret, we''ll have to remove those players from God''s Domain! I will not allow other people access to my treasure!" the gray-robed, skinny man replied, sneering. "Aside from the people you instructed me to follow, another person has entered the mansion. It seems that person has discovered this exchange point, as well. What should we do about them?" the Assassin asked. Someone else knows about it?" the middle-aged man frowned slightly. "Do you know who?'' "They were wearing a Black Cloak. Unfortunately, even after I used my Advanced Identification Skill, I couldn''t see his real identity. All I got was ''Unknown,'' " the Assassin reported. "Keep an eye on him and figure out a way to uncover his identity. Once you know who he is, get rid of him if possible. We don''t need so many people knowing about the Countess''s secret," the middle-aged man said after giving the matter some thought, making a slicing gesture across his neck with a hand. "Understood. I''ve placed a tracking mark on that player. He definitely won''t get away from me," the Assassin said, nodding "Good. I''ll send some people to assist you. Keep an eye on those players," the middle-aged man said before disconnecting the call. Inside the Countess''s mansion... Under Milton''s lead, Shi Feng quickly arrived in a lounge decorated with various refined antiques. Currently, Countess Katie Green discussed business with the six players Shi Feng had seen earlier. Shi Feng noticed more items on display on the table before the Countess than there had been during his previous visit. There were a total of 14 items, ranging from weapons and equipment to various designs and recipes. Every item was worth fortunes and would be extremely difficult to obtain elsewhere. Meanwhile, not only did the party of six purchase three of the 14 items, but they also purchased 30-plus grains of Temporal Sand. Each grain of Temporal Sand cost one Mana Stone, which was an item that could only be acquired from killing the Bosses in large-scale Team Dungeons. To independent players, obtaining one Mana Stone was extremely difficult, let alone 30-plus. Moreover, the six-man party had used Mana Stones to purchase the other three items. The party had spent more Mana Stones than what a party of ordinary experts could acquire. As Shi Feng approached the table and took a seat, the six players rose from their seats. Just before they left, these players sent Shi Feng gleeful gazes. It was as if they were stating that they had already purchased every item available, and Shi Feng had gotten there too late to buy anything. However, Shi Feng could only laugh inwardly at their response. Outwardly, though, he said nothing as he watched these players leave the room. "Demon Hunter, you''re finally here. It seems you''ve acquired the items I''ve asked for?" Katie Green smiled at Shi Feng, who sat before her. Her smile felt incredibly intimate, as if she were greeting a long-time friend. In response, Shi Feng nodded silently. The Countess''s words stunned the six players, who had yet to exit the room fully. "What is going on?" The six players watched the Countess speak so casually to Shi Feng with disbelief. Whenever they visited Katie Green, the Countess maintained a dignified air. Even when they purchased items, she barely spoke to them, yet the Countess treated Shi Feng like an old acquaintance, warm and friendly. For a moment, they even wondered if the Katie Green before them now was the Countess they knew. As the six players considered lingering to hear the conversation between Katie Green and Shi Feng, the Countess shot them a glare. "My business with you has finished! You may leave!" Katie Green snapped with a frosty tone. Immediately, the steward Milton ushered the party out of the room. This further stupefied the party of six. They could not help but wonder about Shi Feng''s identity to warrant such treatment from a Countess of the Black Dragon Empire. However, even if they wanted to know more about Shi Feng''s identity and his purpose here, two guards began to walk towards them. It was evident that the guards intended to use force to evict them from the mansion. After a short moment, the party of six was chased out of the mansion. Meanwhile, only Shi Feng and Countess Katie Green remained in the quiet, elegant lounge. "Alright, they''re gone. You can show me the items now," Katie Green said, anticipation flashing in her eyes as she watched Shi Feng. Her desire for the Eternal Ice Crystals was evident Without speaking, Shi Feng retrieved the synthesized Eternal Ice Crystals from his bag and lined them up on the table before him, one after another. When he placed the ten Eternal Ice Crystals on the table, the room''s temperature fell abruptly. If not for his sufficiently high Ice Resistance, he might have had difficulty moving. "Wonderful! These are indeed the Eternal Ice Crystals I have been looking for!" Excitement lit up Katie Green''s flawless face. Immediately, she stored the Eternal Ice Crystals away before retrieving a dark-gray pearl bracelet from the void, tossing it to Shi Feng. The instant Shi Feng received the bracelet, a series of system announcements bombarded his ears, stunning him. 1759 Empires Highlord Chapter 1759 - Empire''s Highlord System: Congratulations! Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Ice Crystal World" completed. Rewarding one Bracelet of Time, Legacy Skill Points +3, Black Dragon Empire Reputation +100, Katie Green''s Favorability +50, and +50% to current experience bar. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s experience bar filled up rapidly, going from 41% to 91% of Level 66 in the blink of an eye and saving him several days'' worth of grinding. However, compared to the reward, the part that truly surprised Shi Feng was the system announcements that followed. Black Dragon Empire Region System Announcement: A player has triggered a new expansion pack, "Ice Crystal World." The empire has conferred Countess Katie Green the title of Highlord, and she will become the empire''s Eighth Highlord. From now onward, Lake Heart City will become Highlord Katie Green''s territory. Black Dragon Empire Region System Announcement: In three hours, Highlord Katie Green will open a gate to the Ice Crystal World in Lake Heart City and will lead the Black Dragon Empire''s First Division on the conquest of the Ice Crystal World, officially starting the empire''s conquest of Otherworlds. The system announcements repeated three times, echoing in the ears of every player in the Black Dragon Empire. At this moment, let alone Shi Feng, even the upper echelons of the empire''s various large Guilds were stupefied by these announcements. "Conquest of Otherworlds?" "Is this a joke? Who managed to trigger such an amazing expansion pack?" This was definitely the first time they had encountered a situation where an empire launched an expedition against an Otherworld. As for this so-called "Otherworld," ordinary players might not have an idea what it was, but those in the upper echelons of large Guilds had a general notion because the libraries within the empire contained some basic information introducing Otherworlds. One could easily find this information with a careful search. Meanwhile, the information introducing Otherworlds stated that Otherworlds were incomplete, smaller worlds containing many resources that could not be found on the continent of God''s Domain. According to rumor, Ancient Gods created these Otherworlds to store their treasures. Hence, regardless of which era it was on the continent of God''s Domain, there were bound to be kingdoms and empires that would try to conquer these Otherworlds to monopolize the resources available there. Among the various expeditions launched against Otherworlds in the history of God''s Domain, four by ancient kingdoms were especially notable. Back then, these kingdoms hadn''t been particularly strong. However, after conquering an Otherworld, they had grown into empires within a very short period. Hence, the conquest of an Otherworld was a major event in any kingdom or empire. Meanwhile, this was also a major event to players, as it meant that they would gain access to the resources of the targeted Otherworld. The resources available in an Otherworld were much more abundant than those on the continent of God''s Domain. If a Guild managed to monopolize the resources of an Otherworld, they could develop rapidly. The upper echelons of the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds glowed upon seeing the system announcements. They immediately held emergency meetings to discuss matters regarding the Otherworld expedition. Lake Heart City, outside of Highlord Katie Green''s mansion: After the steward Milton chased the six players out of the mansion, they all stood stock-still with dumbfounded expressions on their faces as they looked at the latest system announcements. "Boss, isn''t the NPC we just traded with called Katie Green? Why did she suddenly become one of the empire''s Highlords? What''s more, she''s even launching a conquest of the Ice Crystal World." "No, that''s not right The system announcement appeared as soon as we left Katie Green''s mansion. And according to that, a player triggered the new expansion pack. It must be related to that cloaked Swordsman." "Indeed. Based on the Countess''s behavior when she was dealing with that Swordsman, there must be some kind of secret between them." "Boss, what should we do now?" "Our luck is really good. Since that person triggered the new expansion pack, he should have plenty of information about the expansion pack itself. We''ll wait here for him. If we can get some information on the expansion pack from that guy, we''ll have a head start over everyone else." "Right! As long as we get that kid to spill information on the new expansion pack, our Eternal Song adventurer team might be able to become one of the top few adventurer teams of the Black Dragon Empire just like that" All six in the party nodded in agreement with the Level 51 Swordsman''s suggestion. A new expansion pack signified the appearance of a huge opportunity, offering potential benefits that definitely wouldn''t be the slightest bit inferior to the high-ranking items available from the Countess. Meanwhile, inside the lounge of the Highlord''s mansion, Katie Green herself had undergone a massive transformation. Originally, Katie Green was a refined lady dressed in elegant attire. Now, however, she wore an exquisite battle dress decorated in red and white. She looked more like a female general than a noble lady at the moment Although her battle dress was made from cloth and appeared to provide very little in terms of protection, in reality, the dress was made out of enhanced cloth that was stronger than even steel. At her waist hung a light-blue longsword that not only looked dazzlingly beautiful but also radiated a frightening aura. Meanwhile, Katie Green''s statistics had also undergone a heaven-defying transformation. She had become a Level 200, Tier 5 Sacred Magic Knight Currently, only a few people in the entire Black Dragon Empire could hope to rival her in terms of strength. "I really have to thank you for this. With these Eternal Ice Crystals, I have finally managed to open a pathway to the Ice Crystal World and complete my long-cherished wish. If you ever visit the Ice Crystal World in the future, I will welcome you as a guest," Katie Green said, sending Shi Feng a faint smile. She then turned around and left the lounge to carry out the necessary preparations to launch an expedition against the Ice Crystal World. System: Congratulations! You have received Katie Green''s favor and obtained the Honorary Knight title. [Honorary Knight] Enjoy the authority of a noble when present within any territory ruled by Katie Green. When Shi Feng fully processed everything that just happened, a frown formed on his face. The recent developments were too sudden. Had he known something like this would happen, he never would''ve completed this Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest so quickly. The Otherworld expedition meant that a long-term pathway leading to the Ice Crystal World would be opened. It also meant that players on the continent of God''s Domain would be able to travel freely to the Ice Crystal World in the future. In that case, his plan to make a fortune via these two worlds was effectively ruined. I need to step up my operations. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng stored the Bracelet of Time and left the lounge, his next destination being the Candlelight Trading Firm. Given the situation, he could only sell the collected Ice Jades in the Ice Crystal World and try to make as much profit as possible right now. Once players on the continent of God''s Domain started streaming into the Ice Crystal World, he would definitely face greater competition on this front. However, as soon as Shi Feng exited the mansion, six figures suddenly surrounded him. These six figures were none other than the six players that had been exchanging items with Katie Green earlier. "Do you have business with me?" Shi Feng asked as he eyed the party of six. "You''re the person that triggered the new expansion pack, right?" the leader of the party, a Level 51 Swordsman named Silent Eagle, asked, smiling as he looked at Shi Feng. "What if I say that I''m not?" Upon hearing Silent Eagle''s words, Shi Feng understood that his identity as the precipitator of the new expansion pack was already exposed. "Stop lying. As soon as we left the mansion and you started chatting with the Countess, an expansion pack related to the Countess appeared. Who do you think you''re trying to fool?" a Level 51 Shield Warrior demanded angrily. "Then, what is your goal in stopping me?" Shi Feng asked. "Is there even a need to say this? Tell us all the information you have on this new expansion pack," Silent Eagle laughed. "What if I don''t speak?" Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he sent a glance at Silent Eagle. "Are you planning to take action against me?" "Take action?" Silent Eagle shook his head, chuckling. "No, no. We don''t have the courage to take action inside Lake Heart City. However, although we can''t take direct action against you, we''ve already placed a marker on you. We''ll be able to find you no matter where you go. I believe the various large Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire will be very interested in meeting with the player that triggered the latest expansion pack. What do you think they will do if we tell them about you?" "I see." Shi Feng mostly understood Silent Eagle''s purpose now. The man was using the large Guilds to threaten him for information. The various large Guilds had branches all over the Black Dragon Empire. As long as his location got exposed, these Guilds would definitely hunt him down relentlessly. "If you don''t wish to get hunted by the various large Guilds, you''d best tell us all the information you have regarding the latest expansion pack. This will be beneficial to both you and me," Silent Eagle said, chuckling. "Is that so?" Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng eyed Silent Eagle''s party of six and then said, "However, I feel that I have an even better option in mind." "What is it?" Silent Eagle asked curiously. "For example, I will bury all six of you here." Saying so, Shi Feng suddenly unsheathed Killing Ray and released four arcs of lightning ahead of him, menacing Silent Eagle''s party. "This is Lake Heart City... You dare?" Silent Eagle stared in disbelief at the approaching lightning arcs. However, before Silent Eagle''s party could say anything else, the four lightning arcs devoured them, transforming them into ash with a bunch of items in their place. 1760 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind Chapter 1760 - The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind The four lightning arcs of Thundering Flash killed Silent Eagle and three of his party members instantly. Now, only a Level 50 Oracle and a Level 51 Ranger remained standing before Shi Feng with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. The two players never thought that Shi Feng would actually take action, much less that he would do so without the slightest shred of hesitation. After all, they were in Lake Heart City right now. Although their current location was not the busy central district, as long as a player took action inside the city, the NPC soldiers would not let the offender get away. At that time, depending on the severity of the offender''s actions, not only would they be killed, but they might end up in jail as well. Now that Shi Feng had killed four players inside the city, he would be locked up for seven days at the very minimuman even worse penalty than getting killed by another player. Not to mention, he had just recently triggered a new expansion pack. If he got jailed for eight days, he would lose the opportunity to take advantage of his knowledge regarding the new expansion pack. He was simply insane to actually take action inside the city. "You''re dead! The NPC soldiers definitely won''t let you get away!" the Level 50 Oracle exclaimed, horrified as he pointed at Shi Feng. "Crazy bastard! You are a real lunatic! You actually decided to go for mutual destruction just to avoid getting your location exposed?! Are you not afraid of losing this advantage of yours?!" the Level 51 Ranger demanded with a somber expression. "Mutual destruction? Unfortunately, you guys are not qualified to make me sacrifice myself!" As soon as the Oracle and the Ranger were done speaking, an indifferent voice immediately entered their ears. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s other hand released a blinding glow. The Swordsman then suddenly disappeared from where he stood. By the time he reappeared, he was already standing in front of them. Void Steps! Flame Burst! The two players were previously already shocked by Shi Feng''s actions. Hence, they failed to react in time to his sudden and swift attack. When the Abyssal Blade cut through them, their bodies were instantly incinerated into nothingness, two ownerless items taking their place a moment later. After killing Silent Eagle''s party of six, Shi Feng quickly collected and stored the seven items the party dropped. From start to end, merely four seconds had passed. Only after the battle was over did the distant NPC soldiers react to the fight. ... Meanwhile, the Level 50 masked Assassin, who was hiding behind a tree 50 yards away from Shi Feng, was greatly shocked as he looked at the Swordsman. Who is he? He was actually able to kill Eternal Song''s party of six so quickly! The masked Assassin''s expression turned serious as he replayed Shi Feng''s actions in his mind. Although Eternal Song was not a top adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire, it was still a considerably well-known one. The adventurer team had several hundred members and plenty of experts. Even he would not be able to deal with a party of six Eternal Song members all by himself, yet Shi Feng had accomplished this feat in just a few seconds. Moreover, Shi Feng had even killed Silent Eagle''s party right in the middle of Lake Heart City. The Swordsman''s strength was truly horrific. Although the masked Assassin felt fearful of Shi Feng, he still could not help smiling. His reaction was because he had managed to listen in on the conversation between Silent Eagle and Shi Feng by using his Eavesdrop Skill. Eavesdrop was a super-rare Skill of the Assassin class that enhanced the user''s hearing. With the Skill, he could easily pick up a conversation 50 yards away from him. He could even listen in on a conversation held behind closed doors if he wanted to. It was also because of this Skill that his Guild Leader had selected him to keep watch over Silent Eagle''s party. The person that triggered the new expansion pack, is it? If I notify the Guild Leader about this, he will definitely be very happy. Now, not only did I discover an exchange point for high-ranking items, but I also found information regarding the new expansion pack. With this, I should have no problems entering the Guild''s main force. The masked Assassin inwardly laughed in joy. He had gained such an unexpected harvest from stalking Silent Eagle''s party. The value of this harvest was much greater than even the discovery of the secret exchange point. However, this person is too strong. We''ll need the peak experts of the Guild to capture him. He had already placed a tracking marker on Shi Feng. Unless he got killed like Silent Eagle, his tracking marker would not disappear. Moreover, thanks to Silent Eagle''s party foolishly threatening Shi Feng, the masked Assassin had obtained even more information regarding the Swordsman. Now, his Guild would have a much easier time capturing Shi Feng. As the masked Assassin was entertaining such thoughts, Shi Feng, who had just finished collecting his spoils of war, suddenly swung Killing Ray in the direction of the Assassin. Lightning Slash! Suddenly, a massive lightning bolt tore through space, leaving a pitch-black spatial tear in its wake as it streaked toward the masked Assassin. The attack had been so quick that, before the masked Assassin even realized he was under attack, the lightning bolt had already torn his body in half. In the next moment, the masked Assassin''s vision started darkening. What''s going on? Why''s my vision darkening? The masked Assassin looked at his surroundings in confusion. When his eyes fell on his HP bar, which was located at the top-left corner of his vision, he gasped inwardly. How did I die?! Even after the masked Assassin''s body had collapsed to the ground, the Assassin himself still could not believe what just happened was true. He failed to understand how he had died so suddenly. He clearly stood 50 yards away from Shi Feng. Moreover, he had remained in Stealth all this time. Even a Tier 2 expert should not be able to detect his presence. Despite that, the Swordsman managed not only to discover him but also to strike with pinpoint accuracy. The attack had been so fast that the Assassin didn''t even realize he had been attacked. What the masked Assassin did not know was that Shi Feng had long since noticed his presence. Shi Feng was no ordinary Tier 2 player. Currently, he had already reached Level 66; hence, the masked Assassin''s Stealth Skill had a greatly reduced effect against him. Not to mention, Shi Feng also possessed extraordinary Basic Attributes. Although he could not see the masked Assassin''s figure clearly, he could still grasp the Assassin''s general location fairly easily. Moreover, with Omniscient Eye''s 100-yard perception range, it was simply impossible for a Level 50, Tier 1 Assassin to hide from him. Now that the final fly has been dealt with, it''s about time I left this place. After taking one last glance at the tree the masked Assassin had hidden behind, Shi Feng promptly decided to hightail it, not even bothering to loot the item the Assassin dropped. At this time, the NPC soldiers were already running toward his direction. As he did not notice anything special about the item the Assassin dropped, he decided not to waste any more time here. He immediately activated Space Movement and departed from Lake Heart City. Meanwhile, some players were currently standing a few hundred yards from Katie Green''s mansion with bewildered expressions on their faces. "Who''s that person? Isn''t he a little too amazing?" "Crap! He managed to kill multiple Level 50 experts in just a few seconds! Is that guy a monster?" "Too amazing! Not only did he kill multiple players inside the city, but he also managed to escape with his life. Even the peak experts of Super Guilds wouldn''t be capable of such a feat." These players had witnessed the process of Shi Feng slaying Silent Eagle''s party and the masked Assassin from start to end. Very quickly, they spread the footage they recorded around the Black Dragon Empire''s official forums. An amazing individual appears in Lake Heart City! Slays several experts in the city and leaves safely! When news of this battle spread, a huge commotion arose in Lake Heart City. The players of the city had never thought that anyone could achieve such a feat At the same time, this situation also brought home to players that NPC cities were not as safe as they took them to be. Meanwhile, by this time, Shi Feng, the perpetrator of this incident, had already changed to another appearance using the Demon Mask and reentered Lake Heart City. He then nonchalantly hailed an advanced horse carriage and rode it to the Candlelight Trading Firm. With nothing better to do, he started inspecting the loot from Silent Eagle''s party. 1761 Pandoras Rubiks Cube Chapter 1761 - Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube When Shi Feng examined the items he had recently picked up, he was stunned. Did those six rob a Guild''s treasury? When Shi Feng had first seen the items Silent Eagle''s party had dropped, he nearly thought he had seen wrong. However, all the items had ''New'' tags, which indicated that they were the latest additions to his bag space. Silent Eagle''s party had dropped a total of seven items. Among them, six were equipment the six players had worn; five pieces were Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, and one was a Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. To current players, these six pieces of equipment were a considerable fortune. This was especially true for the Secret-Silver Equipment. Even the various large Guilds'' Level 50-plus experts would only have a few such pieces. However, compared to the last item he had picked up, the six pieces of equipment were inconsequential. This was because this last item was actually an Epic ranked tool called the Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube! This had been a well-known and highly sought after item by the various large Guilds in Shi Feng''s previous life. However, there was an extremely small number of these tools in the game, and even first-rate Guilds had struggled to acquire one. The various large Guilds had sought this Epic tool due to the Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube''s ability to strengthen equipment. [Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube] (Epic Rank Item) An item cursed by the Gods. Those who abuse Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube will face a cruel reality. Skill 1- Magic Refinement Absorb a large amount of Mana, condensing it and forming high-purity Mana. (Generate one drop of Mana Water using one Magic Crystal. Generate one drop of Mana Source Water using one Mana Stone.) Skill 2- Demon God''s Curse: By using 10 drops of Mana Water, infuse Mana into a piece of equipment at a 10% success rate, increasing the Attributes of the targeted equipment by 15% for 12 hours if the enhancement attempt succeeds. There is a 20% chance for nothing to happen. There is a 70% chance for the targeted equipment to be cursed with the Weakened Mana debuff, decreasing its Attributes by 30% for 24 hours. By using one drop of Mana Source Water, infuse Mana into a piece of equipment at a 15% success rate, increasing the Attributes of the targeted equipment by 25% for 12 hours if the enhancement attempt succeeds. There is a 15% chance for nothing to happen. There is a 70% chance for the targeted equipment to be cursed with the Weakened Mana debuff, decreasing its Attributes by 50% for 24 hours. Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube is cursed and will drop upon death. To ordinary players, the effects of Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube were meaningless at best. To Guilds, however, its ability was incredibly precious. Unlike ordinary players, large Guilds had enough equipment and resources to support the expenditure and potential loss incurred from using Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube. They were also more than willing to take on this cost as long as they could strengthen some of their equipment. This was especially true when their members'' weapon and equipment had reached their current limits. If a team''s members had a 25% Attribute increase to every piece of equipment they wore, the team would have a much easier time raiding powerful Bosses. Because of this, the various large Guilds in Shi Feng''s previous life had constantly tried to obtain a Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube. Shi Feng had never thought that Silent Eagle''s party would actually have a super-rare tool like this. With players'' current levels, this tool should be impossible to obtain. They must''ve purchased it from Katie Green. It seems that I''ve benefited quite a bit from their efforts. Shi Feng suddenly recalled watching Silent Eagle''s party purchase items from Katie Green. This Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube was likely one of the high-ranking items the party had obtained from the Countess. Lake Heart City, Candlelight Trading Firm: After Zero Wing had taken control of Lake Heart City, Candlelight had swiftly developed in the city. It had taken no time for Candlelight''s Shop to become the city''s number one Shop. Including the recent increase in traffic, Lake Heart City''s Candlelight Trading Firm was no less lively than the one in White River City. Moreover, in terms of quality, Lake Heart City''s players were superior to White River City''s players. Meanwhile, after the recent announcement regarding the new expansion pack, the number of players that visited the trading firm had reached an all-time high. As soon as Shi Feng left his carriage, he noticed a significant rise in traffic on the street. To secure as much of an advantage as possible in the upcoming conquest of the Ice Crystal World, the various large Guilds had dispatched many of their experts to Lake Heart City. Shi Feng quickly spotted members from two first-rate Guilds, not to mention those from second- and third-rate Guilds. It seemed as if Lake Heart City had become the Black Dragon Empire''s central hub. The various large Guilds gathered in the city in droves. This only confirmed Shi Feng''s need to hasten his plans. Immediately, he entered the Candlelight Trading Firm and visited the trading firm''s warehouse. As Shi Feng was about to enter the warehouse, Gentle Snow contacted him. "Guild Leader, I just investigated the new expansion pack. Highlord Katie Green has already established a massive teleportation pathway in the city''s central plaza. Although players are prohibited from entering the plaza right now, a notice has been issued, stating that only Level 50 and above will be permitted to use the pathway. Meanwhile, each player will have to pay a teleportation fee of 10 Magic Crystals," Gentle Snow said. "With our Guild''s current stock, I''m afraid that we won''t be able to send many players to the Ice Crystal World." Initially, she had been fiercely interested in the Ice Crystal World conquest since Zero Wing''s Branch Guild was located in Lake Heart City. With the home-ground advantage, Zero Wing would have a considerable edge when developing in this new Otherworld. Unfortunately, not only had the system set a clearly defined level limit for players, but the teleportation fee was also 10 Magic Crystals per player. This price was simply excessive. Just sending a 1,000-man team to the new Otherworld would cost 10,000 Magic Crystals. Moreover, 1,000 players wouldn''t be enough if a Guild truly intended to join the conquest At the very least, they would need to send two or three thousand players. In other words, participating in this conquest would cost Guilds at least twenty or thirty thousand Magic Crystals. Even first-rate Guilds would endure a headache over this cost. Moreover, it wasn''t certain that they would make enough profits to cover the cost. "Ten Magic Crystals per person?" Shi Feng was astonished when he heard this price. It was too cheap. He had gone through great pains to clear the Ancient Shrine''s trial and obtain the Shrine Warrior title. However, even with the Shrine Warrior title, he still had to pay 50 Magic Crystals to travel to or from the Ice Crystal World, yet the teleportation pathway would only cost 10 Magic Crystals per player. It was infuriating. Out of all of the Otherworld conquests he had heard about in his previous life, the teleportation fee for this conquest was definitely the cheapest. Generally, the teleportation pathways would cost around 30 Magic Crystals per person before the invading country''s army broke through the Otherworld''s defensive net. Only after the invading country had established a city and stabilized the teleportation pathway to the targeted Otherworld would the teleportation fee decrease. Now that the teleportation fee was only 10 Magic Crystals, more players would be able to join the Ice Crystal World conquest The conquest would also finish faster than usual. It seems I really need to speed things up. Fortunately, players would only be able to truly enter the Ice Crystal World after Katie Green''s army had broken through the Ice Crystal World''s defensive net. He then instructed Gentle Snow to find out more about this conquest. He also instructed her to dispatch a small number of experts to follow the army into the Ice Crystal World and notify him of the army''s progress. As for himself, Shi Feng quickly retrieved the 400,000 Ice Jade and hurried back to the Ice Crystal World. 1762 Cold Wind Citys Number One Power Chapter 1762 - Cold Wind City''s Number One Power Ice Crystal World, the Snow Rift As Shi Feng traversed through the Snow Rift, he came across multiple Guilds and adventurer teams that were grinding and harvesting rare materials in preparation to raid the Snow Ruin, which was located in the deepest part of the Snow Rift. As long as players conquered the Snow Ruin, a path connecting the region of Cold Wind City to other regions would open. At that time, Cold Wind City could interact with a few other cities, and players here would be able to travel to more maps and acquire more resources. The various Guilds, however, were trying to conquer the Snow Ruin to acquire City Contribution Points, enabling them to take control of Cold Wind City as soon as possible. After returning to Asura''s Residence in Cold Wind City, Shi Feng noticed that the queue standing outside the Residence had grown. "The Asura Hall the Asura adventurer team established is truly amazing! I never thought that it would be so wonderfully effective for training!" "I know, right? I''ve heard that two expert players sparred in one of the training rooms. After just an hour, both players saw a noticeable improvement to their combat standards. They can now defeat players that were of similar combat standards to them before with ease." "That''s nothing. Previously, one of my friends in the Adventurer Alliance had been stuck at 79% with his Skill Completion Rates. After training in one of those training rooms for one hour, he had actually achieved a maximum Skill Completion Rate of 84%. He could also maintain it at 81%. The five Silver Coins he spent for that room were worth it." "Right now, the Asura Hall is packed with players. I really regret not joining the Adventurer Alliance sooner. I could''ve been training in one of those rooms by now." "That''s right! Now, everyone that has joined the Adventurer Alliance is queuing up for the training rooms. If we don''t join in on the action, we''ll get left behind. I''ve withdrawn all of the Magic Crystals I''ve stockpiled thus far. I''ve heard that if you pay in Magic Crystals, not only will it cost you four Silver per hour, but you can even rent a training room for two hours per day." The independent players lined up outside Asura''s Residence all chatted about the Adventurer Alliance with great interest. The recently established Asura Hall had become the main topic of their conversations. Seeing this, Shi Feng chuckled as he entered Asura''s Residence. Although he had only established the Asura Hall a few hours ago, it had already begun to serve its intended purpose. The first thing Shi Feng did after returning to the Residence was call a meeting with Yan Ya and the other Adventurer Alliance management members. "Commander, do you need us for something?" Yan Ya asked curiously. She and the other managers were all swamped with work. Just registering the new applicants for the Adventurer Alliance required a lot of manpower, not to mention the exchange work for materials and points. As the various rare materials'' market value fluctuated every day, the Adventurer Alliance had to adjust its prices constantly. Managing the Adventurer Alliance was many times more troublesome than managing the Asura adventurer team. "How is the Adventurer Alliance''s current situation?" Shi Feng asked. "Hehe! Thanks to the Asura Hall, the Adventurer Alliance has become the number one power in Cold Wind City. We already have over 300,000 members, and this number continues to climb. I don''t believe it will be long before the alliance has 1,000,000 members," Yan Ya said, smiling. The Adventurer Alliance''s growth had completely exceeded her expectations. If the Adventurer Alliance''s member count reached 1,000,000, nearly half of the city''s player population would belong to the alliance. It would also have more members than all of the Guilds in the city combined. With such a force, even if the Adventurer Alliance failed to gain true authority over Cold Wind City, the alliance would be the city''s absolute overlord; the alliance''s word would be law. "So many people have already joined?" Shi Feng could not help but be surprised. Initially, he had expected the alliance to gain 100,000-plus members at best, hitting 500,000 before things started to slow down. However, it would seem that he had slightly underestimated the value of the Adventurer Alliance''s exchange services and the Asura Hall. "Commander, that''s not all. Many independent players have expressed interest in joining the Asura adventurer team; they''re hoping that we''ll start recruitment soon. At the same time, several of the top-ranking adventurer teams in Cold Wind City have requested that we grant them some authority in the Adventurer Alliance. If we do, they''ll join the alliance immediately and focus on supporting the alliance''s development," Yan Ya said as she took out several contracts a few of Cold Wind City''s top-ranking adventurer teams had proposed. Not only did the city''s top-ranked adventurer teams wield considerable strength, but they also nurtured their own Lifestyle Players. Hence, they were not particularly concerned about joining an idle power like the Adventurer Alliance. As for the Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment and Magic Light Sets the Adventurer Alliance offered, they could simply send some of their members to join the alliance to purchase these items. They didn''t need to join the alliance as a whole. However, after the Asura Hall had opened to the public, the various adventurer teams in Cold Wind City had lost their calm. While they could take advantage of the alliance''s exchange services sending a few of their members to join, all of their members needed to be in the alliance to utilize the Asura Hall''s training rooms. However, these top-ranked adventurer teams weren''t willing to submit to Asura''s management like the weaker teams. Hence, they wanted some authority within the Adventurer Alliance. "Things have reached such a point already?" Shi Feng revealed a faint smile as he looked through the contracts. "Alright. Even if they hadn''t asked, I had planned to set up ranks within the alliance. Since they''ve asked, I can use this opportunity to organize the ranks." The Adventurer Alliance was a massive collection of adventurer teams and independent players. Although the alliance did not restrict its members'' freedom, and members were allowed to leave whenever they wished, the alliance needed to provide some assurances. However, as the alliance had too many members, management would be troublesome. Managing the alliance would be no easier than managing a large Guild. Hence, the alliance''s members needed to be segregated into certain ranks. There were bound to be some people that contributed more to the Adventurer Alliance than others and vice versa. It was impossible to treat everyone equally. Otherwise, who would be willing to contribute to the Adventurer Alliance? If everyone was treated the same regardless of their contribution, then all of the players would only contribute the minimum necessary for their purposes. Following which, Shi Feng divided the Adventurer Alliance''s members into four ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Epic. Each rank would enjoy a different level of authority and different benefits within the alliance. Players and adventurer teams'' ranks would be based on their individual strength and contributions to the Adventurer Alliance. Among the four ranks, players and adventurer teams at the Bronze rank would receive a 10% discount when purchasing items and would have access to some high-ranked items that weren''t available to normal members. Players and adventurer teams at the Silver rank would receive a 20% discount and every benefit Bronze members enjoyed, including the level of authority. Gold members would similarly receive a 20% discount. The alliance would also provide a certain amount of resources and Credits to Gold members each month. Overall, Gold members would enjoy the authority and benefits that upper echelons had in the various large Guilds. Moreover, unlike Guild upper echelons, Gold members were not bound by any restrictions. In addition, Gold ranked adventurer teams would have the authority to manage one of the alliance''s branches. As for Epic rank, things were slightly different. There could only be 12 Epic ranked adventurer teams at a time. An adventurer team''s qualifications for Epic rank would be based on their placement in the Gold rank. In other words, the top 12 ranking Gold adventurer teams would become the Adventurer Alliance''s Epic adventurer teams. Depending on the Epic adventurer team''s abilities, they would be granted the authority to operate multiple branches. As for individual players, there was no set limit to how many individual players could reach the Epic rank. Individual players could reach Epic rank as long as they earned a sufficient Contribution Valuefl] and achieved a certain degree of strength. The Adventurer Alliance would give Epic ranked players priority when purchasing resources and other benefits that could easily rival what a large Guild''s Vice Guild Leader enjoyed. "Commander, when the various adventurer teams and independent players learn about the new ranking system, they''ll go mad with joy. However, if we do something like this, I''m afraid that, aside from needing a ton of resources, we''ll also need massive financial support." Although Yan Ya felt appreciated Shi Feng''s plan, the Adventurer Alliance would need a ton of Credits to support the various adventurer teams and players that reached the Gold and Epic ranks. "Leave the funding to me," Shi Feng said as he waved a hand, indicating that there wouldn''t be a problem. "All you need to do is let every player in Cold Wind City know about this new system." Shi Feng needed to secure a steady foundation for the Adventurer Alliance in the Ice Crystal World swiftly. If he took too long, he''d face a lot of issues once the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds entered the Ice Crystal World. "That won''t be a problem. I''ll see to it right away." After saying so, Yan Ya published the new regulations Shi Feng had stated on Cold Wind City''s official forums. 1763 Popular Alliance Chapter 1763 - Popular Alliance After Yan Ya left the meeting room, Shi Feng had someone gather the forging players the Adventurer Alliance had recruited thus far. If the Adventurer Alliance were to become self-sustaining, it had to have its own production team. Hence, before he had left Cold Wind City, he had instructed Yan Ya to recruit a batch of Lifestyle Players for the alliance, and the alliance would nurture these Lifestyle Players internally. For the 400,000 Ice Jades he had brought from Lake Heart City, selling them directly wouldn''t be cost-effective. Only after the alliance''s Advanced Forgers crafted the Ice Jades into Ice Resistance Gemstones would the material show its true value. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm had quite a few Advanced Forgers, these Advanced Forgers had their own work to do. Candlelight simply couldn''t afford to spare the time and manpower needed to handle 400,000 Ice Jades. Fortunately, the Ice Crystal World''s Lifestyle Player standard was quite high. This was especially true for forging players that crafted weapons and equipment. One could easily find and recruit Advanced Lifestyle Players. Around ten minutes later, over a hundred forgers had arrived to the meeting room. Every one of these players wore the Advanced Forger''s Insignia. If Shi Feng led this group to Star-Moon Kingdom, it would definitely shock the kingdom''s various major powers. Even the Candlelight Trading Firm would be hard-pressed to show off over a hundred Advanced Forgers. As for other trading firms and Guilds, they had no hope of doing so. Only, the 100-plus Advanced Forgers in the meeting room were no match for the Advanced Forgers on the continent of God''s Domain when it came to forging standards. Currently, all hundred-plus Advanced Forgers waited quietly in Asura''s meeting room, clearly anxious and excited. This was because they shared the room with Shi Feng, who, in their opinion, was unreachable. Their anxiety and excitement weren''t just due to Shi Feng''s aura, but more so because he was the Asura adventurer team''s commander and the Adventurer Alliance''s creator. One could say that Shi Feng was the true number one player in Cold Wind City! To independent forgers like them, Shi Feng lived in an entirely different world than they did. None of them had ever expected that they''d get to meet Shi Feng in person. Once they left, they''d be able to brag about this to their friends for the rest of their lives. "You have already signed a partnership contract with the Adventurer Alliance. From now on, you are the alliance''s reserve members. You will be awarded Contribution Value based on your normal performance. Once you achieve a certain Contribution Value, you''ll receive a promotion. Naturally, the higher your rank is within the alliance, the better the benefits you will enjoy in the future. It is even possible for you to enjoy treatment and benefits rivaling Vice Guild Leaders in large Guilds, but with more freedom. Whether you reach this standard or not will depend on your personal effort." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, the Advanced Forgers were stunned, their mouths hanging open. They simply could not believe their ears. As long as they contributed enough to the Adventurer Alliance, they would receive promotions. Moreover, they might even earn the power and benefits large Guilds'' Vice Guild Leaders enjoyed if they worked hard enough. Ordinary players like them couldn''t hope to compare to large Guilds'' Vice Guild Leaders. As for the benefits that came with such a position, holding the position for several years would earn them enough money that they wouldn''t have to worry for the rest of their lives. They had dreamed of enjoying such benefits many times before, but they also knew that players of their caliber could never reach such heights. Yet, now, these benefits were now within their sight. Such a dream was no longer an illusion. Why wouldn''t they be shocked and excited? And since Shi Feng was the Adventurer Alliance''s creator, they knew that his words were true. Immediately, fighting spirit flared in the Advanced Forgers. They all wanted to get to work immediately. "Commander, tell us what you need us to do! We''ll complete the task with perfection!" "Commander, give us our task!" None of these players were fools. There was no way Shi Feng had gathered them here just to tell them about the new ranking system and the corresponding benefits. He had definitely called them here to do something, and they all watched him with eager gazes. "Alright, I won''t mince words. I need you to help me refine an item," Shi Feng said, nodding in approval when he saw the fighting spirit burn in everyone''s eyes. "However, this refinement is slightly unique. As you refine the item, you must not complete the final step. In other words, you won''t receive any Proficiency, but you will earn corresponding Adventurer Team Points and Contribution Value. If you don''t have any problems with this, you can head to the Forging Association now. We''ve already prepared Special Forging Rooms for you. We''ll send the necessary materials to you shortly." Refining Ice Jade was not easy. The Ice Jade itself was a rare material, and the complex refining process would take a considerable amount of time to complete. Meanwhile, the final process of turning an Ice Jade into an Ice Resistance Gemstone had a very low success rate, as well. Advanced Forgers would have a theoretical success rate of only 20%. Only a Master Forger like himself had a slightly higher success rate of 30%. Including some support tools, he should reach a theoretical success rate of 35%. Although that was only a 15% increase, it was a massive improvement to any Lifestyle Player. Demand for Ice Jade was growing rapidly, and Gentle Snow couldn''t collect as many as she had previously. To maximize the Ice Jades he currently had, Shi Feng decided to complete the final refining step himself. Although having Advanced Forgers complete most of the refinement process would reduce the production success rate slightly, the small decrease would be worth the large amount of time Shi Feng would save. Hearing Shi Feng''s instructions, the Advanced Forgers charged out of the room and dashed towards the Forging Association, afraid that others would get a head start on them. Elsewhere, Yan Ya quickly arranged the Adventurer Alliance''s new regulations and published them on the forums. The moment the alliance''s new regulations went public, they dumbfounded every player in Cold Wind City. "What''s going on? Did the Asura adventurer just win the lottery?" "How generous! Does Asura have the support of some major corporation? Even if I have to settle for Gold rank, I''ll still make enough money to live without worry." "All hail Asura!" "Crap! These benefits are even better than what some Guilds offer! This won''t do! I need to leave my Guild and join the Adventurer Alliance right away!" Everyone, independent players and Guild players, was interested and tempted by the new benefits the Adventurer Alliance offered. Not only did the Adventurer Alliance place little-to-no restrictions on its members, but it also provided benefits that could rival that of Guilds. Since that was the case, why wouldn''t they join the Adventurer Alliance? To independent experts, these new benefits made the Adventurer Alliance even more attractive. Not only would they be free of stifling restrictions, but after they reached a certain rank, the alliance would also pay them a certain amount of Credits per month. Meanwhile, in Hecate''s Residence in Cold Wind City... Several of Hecate''s upper echelons stood in the glorious Guild Leader''s office wearing gloomy expressions. "Is the Asura adventurer team insane? It actually dares to offer such benefits to independent players?" "Asura has gone so far just to win the public''s hearts. Isn''t it afraid of going bankrupt?" The Adventurer Alliance''s new benefits shocked the upper echelons present. When the various large Guilds recruited members, particularly members that were granted a fixed salary, they would impose strict restrictions, such as requiring them to raid a certain number of Dungeons and Bosses each day. Their members had very little freedom. After all, if their Guilds did not do so, it wouldn''t earn back the funds it spent on these members. However, the Adventurer Alliance was different. Its members had a lot of freedom, and the only real way the alliance could make money was through its exchange services. If the alliance granted its ranked members with such benefits despite such a limited income, the alliance would hemorrhage money. Only a lunatic would offer such benefits. "Interesting. Asura is stooping to such an unscrupulous method to monopolize Cold Wind City''s rare materials?" Carnage''s expression darkened slightly. He then turned to the young woman beside him and asked, "How are the Twelve Heavens recuperating? And have we obtained the equipment from the Adventurer Alliance yet?" "They''re already well-rested. As for the equipment, we''ve purchased enough for their use. They can move out at any time," the young woman reported, smiling. "Good. We''ll head over to the Snow Ruin now. It''s about time we teach the Asura adventurer team that their efforts are for naught," Carnage hissed with a sneer. Elsewhere, Shi Feng refined Ice Jade like a madman. Although his final success rate was only around 32%, Shi Feng was satisfied with it After working for four days straight, he had finally refined all 400,000 Ice Jades. In the end, he had forged 128,000 Ice Resistance Gemstones. He had also earned enough EXP to push him to Level 67. Good. I''m finally done. Shi Feng was overwhelmed with excitement as he gazed at the Ice Resistance Gemstones in his bag. It''s about time to collect Cold Wind City''s money. 1764 Unstoppable Price Chapter 1764 - Unstoppable Price Silver sparkles of light glittered all over the dimly lit forging room. After tidying up the Ice Resistance Gemstones and storing them in his bag space, Shi Feng sorted them into groups. Not all of the Ice Resistance Gemstones he had crafted were equal. The Ice Resistance they provided ranged between five and eight points. When he sold them, he''d have to price them accordingly. And these were only the normal Ice Resistance Gemstones. Thanks to the Blacksteel Insignia, Shi Feng had a 3% chance of improving the Attributes on an item he forged. Each of the Ice Resistance Gemstones the Blacksteel Insignia had enhanced provided upward of 10 points in Ice Resistance. Naturally, these gemstones were worth far more than the normal ones. While Shi Feng organized his bag space, Lifeless Thorn contacted him. "Commander, we have an urgent situation. Hecate has found a group of extraordinarily powerful players. Before this group arrived, Hecate had been stuck on the Snow Ruin''s first underground floor, but now, they''re progressing through the Dungeon rapidly. The Guild''s team recently surpassed us, entering the fourth underground floor. They are only one away from the final floor now," Lifeless Thorn said, greatly frustrated that Hecate''s team had surpassed his in the raid. The Snow Ruin was like a Regional Dungeon. With each floor they descended, they would face greater challenges. Moreover, a team could only progress to the next floor after killing each floor''s Guardian Boss. Despite the fact that he and his team had strived for the past two days, they still couldn''t get past the third underground floor. To make matters worse, they had to watch Hecate''s members descend to the fourth underground floor while they had to wait for the Guardian Boss to respawn... "Their raid progression is so fast?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised. He had read the reports regarding the Snow Ruin, so he knew how difficult the ruin was to raid. The third floor''s Guardian Boss was already a Level 62 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. In addition, the Boss had Unique Skills and fought in special environments that heavily favored them. Moreover, an ancient barrier enveloped the Snow Ruin that prevented the usage of any tools. Items such as the Bible of Darkness, Summoning Scrolls, and magic arrays were prohibited. Players had to rely on their own strength to clear the ruin. Even a 100-man team of Tier 2 players of the same level would struggle greatly to defeat the third underground floor''s Guardian Boss, yet Hecate had succeeded. This outcome truly exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. "Commander, why don''t we call some of Asura''s members from the main continent?" Lifeless Thorn suggested. The team he currently worked with was comprised of 100 of the strongest Asura members in Cold Wind City. He had even included Solitary Nine and Yan Ya, who were managing the Asura adventurer team and Adventurer Alliance''s affairs, in the raid. However, they still couldn''t get past the third floor''s Guardian Boss. Their only option left was to mobilize the Asura members still on the continent of God''s Domain. After a period of training, those members'' combat standards had surpassed Cold Wind City''s experts by leaps and bounds. "Forget about it. Although doing so would increase the raid team''s overall combat power, the increase would be very limited. It isn''t enough," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Since the Boss hasn''t respawned yet, you should return and rest up. Once I''m done dealing with my matters, I''ll take a look at the Snow Ruin''s third floor. If we can''t find a way through the Boss, it won''t be too late to figure out another way." "Alright, I''ll have everyone head back." Lifeless Thorn found Shi Feng''s plan reasonable. It was true that although. As for Shi Feng taking part in the raid personally, Lifeless Thorn did not think that would make much of a difference, either. The Snow Ruin''s Guardian Bosses had to be defeated with the power of a team. There was a limit to how much an individual could contribute to the raid. However, Lifeless Thorn still looked forward to Shi Feng taking charge of the raid team. They might very well be able to get through the third floor with his help. As for the fourth floor, they''d have to find a way to deal with that Guardian Boss when they came to it. If push came to shove, they could ask Zero Wing''s experts for help. He was fully aware that the group from Zero Wing was far stronger than him. If these monstrous players took action, surpassing Hecate would be child''s play. However, what Lifeless Thorn did not know was that Shi Feng had never had any intentions of involving Zero Wing''s members in the Ice Crystal World''s struggles. Moreover, now that Zero Wing had grown so large, the Guild required manpower in many aspects. It could no longer afford to gather its top combatants. Following which, Shi Feng spent half an hour or so categorizing the Ice Resistance Gemstones, delight filling his eyes as he did. There were 42,651 gemstones that added five points of Ice Resistance, 37,332 that added six points, and 12,451 that added eight points. Shi Feng also had 2,921 gemstones that provided 10 points or more... Back on the continent of God''s Domain, five-point gemstones currently sold for around 1 Gold, 50 Silver on the market. That was very close to the production cost. These were also the gemstones he had the most of, although he counted himself lucky since he had only crafted 40,000-plus five-point gemstones out of the 400,000 attempts. Naturally, the six-point gemstones were worth more, selling for around 2 Gold. Most of the Ice Resistance Gemstones on the market were six-point gemstones. As for seven-point gemstones, they were slightly rarer and could sell for roughly 3 Gold. The eight-point gemstones were very rare, selling for around 5 Gold. Meanwhile, successfully forging over 33,000 seven-point gemstones and over 12,000 eight-point gemstones was truly beyond Shi Feng''s expectations. As for the Ice Resistance Gemstones that offered 10 or more points in Ice Resistance, needless to say, they could easily sell for 10 Gold or more. After all, Ice Resistance Gemstones would always retain their value. Even if players only had a full set of five-point gemstones, they would acquire more than enough Ice Resistance to deal with frosty environments and ice-type Bosses. Shi Feng then brought the Ice Resistance Gemstones to Asura''s Residence, placing them in the Adventurer Alliance''s trade window. He even placed the entry on the catalog''s first page. However, unlike the catalog''s other items, the Ice Resistance Gemstones could only be purchased with the auction system. Moreover, players had to use both Magic Crystals and Adventurer Alliance Points, with Magic Crystals having a higher priority. In other words, regardless of how many points players bid, the player that bid the most Magic Crystals would win the auction. The Adventurer Alliance Points would only be used as a tie-breaker if the top contenders bid the same number of Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, Shi Feng set the minimum bid for the five-point gemstones at four Magic Crystals. Not wanting to post too many gemstones at a single time, Shi Feng only posted 200 five-point gemstones. Shortly after Shi Feng updated the exchange catalog, the players who had visited the Adventure Alliance to purchase items noticed the change. Immediately, a commotion arose in Asura''s Residence. "Ice Resistance Gemstones! The Adventurer Alliance is amazing! It actually has such an item as well?!" "Amazing! One gemstone adds five points in Ice Resistance! That almost rivals the Ice Resistance from Mysterious-Iron Equipment!" "Crap! If I could fully equip myself with these Ice Resistance Gemstones, I could explore the Snow Rift practically unhindered!" "Just where did the Adventurer Alliance get its hands on such an item?" Items that provided Ice Resistance were highly sought after by Cold Wind City''s players. Although the Ice Crystal World had many Ice Resistance items, none of them were like the Ice Resistance Gemstone, which would not become obsolete after a certain level. News of the Ice Resistance Gemstones spread like wildfire among the city''s various adventurer teams and Guilds. These organizations immediately sent representatives to purchase these gemstones. A flood of independent players also rushed to compete for the Ice Resistance Gemstones. Although Magic Crystals were rare and hard to obtain in Cold Wind City, there weren''t many places where players could spend them. This was especially true for independent players. Most players would rather trade their Magic Crystals for Ice Resistance equipment. However, the various Guilds hoarded most weapons and equipment that increased Ice Resistance. No Guild would sell such items to independent players. Hence, now that a treasure like the Ice Resistance Gemstone had appeared, independent players had to fight for some of their own. Shortly after, the Ice Resistance Gemstones'' prices continued to rise. The price instantly rose to five Magic Crystals per stone. It then climbed to five Magic Crystals and 100 points, 200 points... Meanwhile, each Adventurer Alliance Point was currently worth 20 Copper Coins. Very quickly, the price had reached six Magic Crystals. At this point, the Ice Resistance Gemstones'' prices had hit the limit of what independent elite players could afford. Even so, this outcome had greatly exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Yet, the price increase still showed no signs of stopping... 1765 Frightening Profi Chapter 1765 - Frightening Profit In less than five minutes after Shi Feng updated the exchange catalog, the five-point Ice Resistance Gemstones had reached a price of seven Magic Crystals. The demand for the gemstones had completely exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. He had never thought that Cold Wind City''s players would be so desperate for them. In the end, Shi Feng had earned 1,320 Magic Crystals from the 200 Ice Resistance Gemstones. In addition, the Adventurer Alliance had reclaimed a lot of the points it had awarded. "Crap! I just got here, and they''re already sold out!?" "Why are there so many rich people? There are actually people willing to fork out seven Magic Crystals for those gemstones?" "What? That''s it? There aren''t any more?" "Why are there only 200 gemstones?! There aren''t even enough for all of us here!" "Damn it! I knew I should''ve placed a bid! If I had four or five Ice Resistance Gemstones, I could even solo-tank that ice-type Great Lord I found earlier! I''d be able to earn back all of the money I spent!" The crowd in Asura''s exchange hall were stupefied by the auction''s abrupt end. It had ended so quickly that the city''s large Guilds had missed the chance to bid before the gemstones had sold out The independent experts that had adopted a wait- and-see attitude suddenly regretted their choice. "Guild Leader, what should we do? I arrived late, and by the time I got here, the Ice Resistance Gemstones had sold out." "What? They''re already gone?" "What should I do now?" "Wait there for a little while longer. If no more show up, try to buy the gemstones from the players that purchased them for a high price. The Snow Ruin''s environment is too harsh. Without sufficient Ice Resistance, our main force members'' Basic Attributes will drop, and they won''t be able to fight at their full strength. We must obtain those Ice Resistance Gemstones!" The various Guilds instructed their spies in Asura''s Residence to wait for more Ice Resistance Gemstones to show up. Meanwhile, Shi Feng didn''t hurry to put up the second batch of Ice Resistance Gemstones after the first sold out. Instead, he waited roughly ten minutes for more players to gather in the exchange hall before posting another 1,000 gemstones. He altered the starting bid to five Magic Crystals this time. The 200 Ice Resistance Gemstones had merely been bait for the general populace. Now that an adequate number of players had gathered in Asura''s Residence, he could start selling the Ice Resistance Gemstones for real now. The moment the 1,000 Ice Resistance Gemstones appeared in the exchange catalog, everyone in the hall started to place their bids in a frenzy. The independent experts, adventurer teams, and Guilds that hadn''t gotten a chance to bid earlier began to place one bid after another, and almost all of them started off with a seven-Magic Crystal bid. After around five minutes, Shi Feng earned another 7,110 Magic Crystals. He was earning Magic Crystals several times faster than even Zero Wing City. However, Shi Feng knew that this was only the beginning. Cold Wind City had over 2,000,000 players. A measly 1,000 Ice Resistance Gemstones wouldn''t even satisfy the needs of the various adventurer teams and Guilds, let alone independent players. Following which, Shi Feng transferred all of the five-point gemstones to the Residence''s warehouse and had the system automatically upload Ice Resistance Gemstones to the exchange catalog in batches of 500 to 1,000 once every 10 or 15 minutes. As for the other Ice Resistance Gemstones, Shi Feng had no intentions of selling them for now. For the current Cold Wind City, 40,000-plus Ice Resistance Gemstones should be just enough to meet demand. If he sold the higher-quality gemstones, he wouldn''t be able to get a good price. While Shi Feng sold the Ice Resistance Gemstones, Lifeless Thorn and the others had returned to Asura''s Residence and rested. Players'' Stamina and Concentration consumption rates increased drastically in the Snow Ruin. Even if they lay down and did nothing, their Stamina and Concentration would continue to drain. "Commander, this is the information we have on the third floor''s Guardian Boss. Although raiding this Boss doesn''t require a high amount of Ice Resistance, its Passive Skill, Frozen in Time, is very troublesome. This Skill targets the top 20 DPS on the team and reduces their Attack Speed by 100%. In addition, it spawns a Chieftain beside each of the affected players. These Chieftains are the same level as the affected players and have very high Attack Power, even rivaling Great Lords of the same level. In addition, the Boss has a second Passive Skill called Bloodlust. As its HP drops, its Strength, Attack Speed, and Defense increase," Lifeless Thorn said, clearly frustrated as he spoke about the third floor''s Guardian Boss. "How much HP did the Boss have by the end of the battle?" Shi Feng asked. "Fifty percent..." Lifeless Thorn said, slightly embarrassed. "Is the team''s average DPS not high enough?" The outcome didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. The third floor''s Guardian Boss evidently required raw power to defeat. Meanwhile, the raid team only had 12 Tier 2 players. As the Boss''s Passive Skill restricted the top 20 players'' DPS, Lifeless Thorn and the other Tier 2 players couldn''t cause any damage, and the rest of the team''s DPS obviously wasn''t high enough. It was not surprising that the Boss had managed to whittle the raid team down. Even if Shi Feng joined the team, the outcome would likely be the same. "Mhm. Everyone in the team is wearing the best equipment we have available. Honestly, though, if the team''s DPS could land every attack, it should be possible to kill it, but the Boss is very good at dodging and blocking incoming attacks. Without a sufficiently high combat standard, it is very difficult for players to damage the Boss," Lifeless Thorn said, nodding. "Got it. It seems that we need to improve everyone''s equipment. Collect every piece of equipment your team is using and bring it all to me," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. If one''s combat standards were lacking, they could simply make up for it with Basic Attributes. This was one of the longstanding methods God''s Domain''s players had practiced to raid difficult Bosses. "Improve their equipment? Is that even possible?" Lifeless Thorn could not help his confusion. The raid team already wore the best equipment the Asura adventurer team had. It was basically impossible to improve the raid team''s equipment standard further. But since the order had come from Shi Feng, Lifeless Thorn did not give the matter much thought. He immediately gathered the raid team and had them hand over their equipment. In any case, he had planned to collect everyone''s equipment to repair it all. Once Shi Feng received the equipment, he found a normal lounge in the Residence and retrieved Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube from his bag. The Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube had been so popular during his previous life because of the many Regional Dungeons and Team Dungeons that prohibited tools in the game''s later stages. Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube was an exception to this rule. The enhancements Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube provided were akin to an enchantment If the enhancements were placed before players entered the restricted zone, it would remain with them once inside. Hence, despite Pandora''s Rubik''s Cube''s massive detriment, it had still been highly sought after. The only problem was that it cost a lot of Magic Crystals to use. Fortunately, several batches of Ice Resistance Gemstones had sold thus far. After selling 3,000-plus gemstones, Shi Feng had over 21,000 Magic Crystals. This was more than enough to enhance a 100-man team''s equipment Without hesitation, Shi Feng converted 10,000 Magic Crystals into Mana Water. To increase his chances of success, Shi Feng had Icarus''s Heart''s Divine Providence as well. He had also invested 200 units of Life Force to activate the Skill, increasing the amount of Luck he received to the maximum as well as increasing the Skill''s duration and decreasing its Cooldown. He then started to strengthen each piece of equipment before him. There were nearly 1,000 pieces of equipment waiting for him. While Divine Providence was in effect, over half of his enhancement attempts had succeeded. Fortunately, nothing had changed for most of the remaining half. Only 100-plus pieces had been cursed and couldn''t be used for a short time. However, the Asura adventurer team had plenty of equipment to spare. By the time Shi Feng finished enhancing all 100 players'' equipment, he had spent a total of 18,650 Magic Crystals. If converted to Coins, that would be 5,595 Gold. If the various large Guilds learned Shi Feng had just spent 18,650 Magic Crystals to enhance a bunch of equipment for just 24 hours, they''d curse him and call him a lunatic. He had spent as many Magic Crystals as a third-rate Guild''s entire stockpile. Shi Feng, however, did not particularly mind the cost. While he had been busy with the raid team''s equipment, he had sold another 5,000 or so Ice Resistance Crystals and earned nearly 35,000 Magic Crystals. Right now, he was earning Magic Crystals faster than he could spend them... Once he finished with the raid team''s equipment, Shi Feng convened the raid team. "Distribute this equipment If there are no problems, we''ll set out immediately," Shi Feng said as he handed the entire team''s equipment to Lifeless Thorn. When Lifeless Thorn received the equipment and inspected the items, his mind froze. "Commander, what did you do? The equipment''s Attributes have increased by so much!" Lifeless Thorn could tell that most of the items Shi Feng had handed him were the same items he had given the Swordsman earlier, yet the Attributes had undergone a massive transformation. He had never even heard of anything like this before. "I only enhanced them slightly and gave every piece of equipment a temporary 15% Attribute increase," Shi Feng said. He had originally wanted to enhance the equipment with Mana Stones, but he hadn''t had enough Magic Crystals on hand. Hence, he had to settle for the weaker version for now. "Fifteen percent?" For a moment, Lifeless Thorn wondered if he had misheard. If a piece of equipment were upgraded by a single rank, its Basic Attributes would improve by roughly 15%. In other words, Shi Feng had effectively increased the raid team''s overall equipment standard by an entire rank. Furthermore, the enhancement wasn''t limited to Basic Attributes. Even the equipment''s Skills had been upgraded by 15%. When the raid team''s members received the equipment, they couldn''t help but gape at the items. They even wondered if these were the items they had worn originally. 1766 Asura Arrives Chapter 1766 - Asura Arrives Cold Wind City, Snow Rift: The Snow Rift was a mountain range that stretched for several hundred kilometers, blocking the path that connected Cold Wind City to other cities. As players ventured deeper into the mountain range, they''d encounter more powerful monsters, even Bosses over Level 100. It was not a place that current players could casually explore. At this stage of the game, the only viable way to travel from Cold Wind City to other cities was to enter the Snow Ruin and activate the teleportation device there. The teleportation device was connected to a teleportation array on the other side of the Snow Rift. To get a head start and reach other regions before others, the various adventurer teams and Guilds in Cold Wind City had dispatched teams to the Snow Ruin and were frantically raiding it Frost Apes occupied the Snow Ruin''s surroundings all-year-round. Not only were the Frost Apes nimble, but they also knew how to arm themselves and fight like humans. Including the fact that they were used to the cold environments, they possessed very high combat power. Moreover, the weakest Frost Ape around the Snow Ruin was a Level 55 Chieftain, with Lords taking up the majority. The leader of each Frost Ape patrol squad that wandered the Snow Ruin was even at the Great Lord rank. As the Snow Ruin''s area was a Frost Ape nest, a very large number of Frost Apes could be found around the ruin. Moreover, as players approached the Snow Ruin, they''d encounter stronger Frost Apes. An ordinary 100-man elite team would have almost no chance of even getting close to the Snow Ruin, which even the Frost Apes considered a forbidden land, let alone challenge the Dungeon. Meanwhile, a short distance away, a 100-man team rapidly approached the Snow Ruin. Dozens of Frost Apes charged at the team, including five Great Lords and over a dozen Lords, yet despite such a force, the 100-man team pushed the monsters aside and continued with ease. Seeing this, the other 100-man teams some distance behind the advancing team could not help but grow envious. However, even though the other teams were jealous, they could do nothing about it This was because the advancing team was Centurion Dynasty''s main force. Every member was equipped with a minimum of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, with over half of their equipment consisting of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. A few of the leading figures even wore a few pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. In contrast, the other teams barely had a handful of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment among their players, not to mention Fine-Gold Equipment. "These Frost Apes are really persistent. They''re always like this whenever we come here. Even after we kill one of them, another one just takes its place. Just getting into the Snow Ruin costs us a considerable amount of Stamina and Concentration," a Level 53, Tier 2 Shield Warrior complained. Currently, the Shield Warrior used his dark-gray tower shield to hold back three Level 57 Great Lord ranked Frost Ape Captains. Although the Shield Warrior complained, his feet never stopped moving. He constantly maintained his aggro on the three Frost Ape Captains, preventing the Great Lords from breaking past his team''s defensive line and damaging to the rear line players. "We''re almost at the entrance! Ranged unit, prepare to open up a path! Everyone else, prepare to move! We can''t waste too much Stamina dealing with the Frost Ape Chieftain this time! Today, we must get through the first underground floor!" a Level 53, Tier 2 Berserker wielding a massive, silver greatsword shouted as he fought a Frost Ape Captain on his own. Under the might of his Tier 2 Skills, the Great Lord was forced to retreat. The players around the Beserker were in awe of the strength he displayed. This Tier 2 Berserker was none other than Sky Sheer, Centurion Dynasty''s Guild Leader and one of Cold Wind City''s top 10 experts. Meanwhile, roughly 500 yards away from Centurion Dynasty''s team, a Frost Ape that was twice as large as the others watched the fight. This gigantic Frost Ape wore tattered armor and wielded twin sabers. [Frost Ape Chieftain] (Humanoid Creature, Grand Lord) Level 58 HP 64,000,000/64,000,000 The Frost Ape Chieftain was the Snow Ruin''s unofficial gatekeeper. The Grand Lord would attack any player that tried to approach the Dungeon. Due to the Frost Ape Chieftain, many teams'' expeditions to the ruin had been terminated before they got to it Even the various Guilds'' main forces disliked dealing with the monster. As an ancient magic array, which increased Stamina and Concentration consumption, enveloped the Snow Ruin''s surroundings, players would lose a considerable amount of these resources if they fought the Frost Ape Captain. Even if they defeated the Grand Lord without complications, they would have a harder time challenging the Snow Ruin. Hence, the various Guilds always tried to avoid the Grand Lord and reduce any unnecessary Stamina and Concentration consumption to focus on the Dungeon. As Centurion Dynasty''s main force moved within 100 yards of the Frost Ape Chieftain, the Grand Lord roared and charged at the team. Nine Great Lord ranked Frost Ape Guards followed closely behind. "Quicksand, hold the Chieftain! The other MTs, take care of the Guards! Ranged unit, use everything you have to repel the Guards! Everyone else, charge into the ruin!" Sky Slicer hurriedly shouted. With a battle cry, Quicksand, the Level 53, Tier 2 Shield Warrior, raised his shield to receive the Frost Ape Chieftain''s approaching slash, the muscles of his arms bulging. Boom! Quicksand was immediately forced to retreat by five steps, a damage over -10,000 appearing above his head. Meanwhile, the Frost Ape Chieftain''s charge had abruptly halted. Though, seeing that its first attack had failed, the Grand Lord swung its other saber. Reacting quickly, Quicksand slanted his shield and deflected the attack, mitigating a significant portion of the force. At this time, the other MTs and Sky Slicer charged at the approaching Frost Ape Guards. Under the combined bombardment of the team''s ranged players, the team broke through the Frost Ape Guards'' blockade and opened a path into the Snow Ruin. After about two minutes, the team finally shook off the Frost Ape Captain and Guards and entered the Snow Ruin. The team''s entry also forced the Grand Lord and Great Lords to give up their chase. Seeing this, awe and envy overwhelmed the other teams that were preparing to enter the Dungeon. They doubted that they could get past the Frost Ape Chieftain so easily, and they knew that they''d incur some casualties if they tried. "Everyone, rest up. We''ll enter the first underground floor in one minute!" Sky Slicer commanded as he swept a glance over his team members. Every member of the team had lost a considerable amount of their HPs and Mana during that fight. Hearing this, Centurion Dynasty''s members breathed a sigh of relief. They were also delighted that they had gotten past the Frost Ape Chieftain much easier than the last visit. Now, they''d have a greater chance of clearing the first floor. While Centurion Dynasty''s players rested, they heard multiple explosions from outside of the Snow Ruin. Moreover, the sound grew louder as the seconds ticked by. "Is another bunch of ignorant newcomers trying to take advantage of our efforts to get in?" Sky Slicer, who rested on the ground, cracked open an eye as he sneered. This was not the first time their team had encountered such a situation. Although their team had revealed a gap in the Frost Ape Chieftain''s defense as they entered the Dungeon, the Grand Lord''s failure to stop the intruders would eventually enrage it. While enraged, the Frost Ape Chieftain''s Strength and speed would increase significantly. The Frost Ape Guards would also receive a strength boost. This had undoubtedly increased the difficulty of breaking into the Snow Ruin. The correct way to enter the Snow Ruin would be to wait until the Frost Ape Chieftain and Frost Ape Guards calmed down. "These ignorant newcomers are in for a big surprise.'' "I''m guessing that they will team-wipe. Even Boss Quicksand can''t stand against the Frost Ape Chieftain after it goes berserk." "This should teach those people a lesson. Didn''t they see the other teams outside sitting around and waiting, rather than charging into the ruin after us?" While the Centurion Dynasty''s members discussed the newcomers, the sounds of battle outside of the Snow Ruin grew more intense. After 30 seconds, though, silence returned to the Snow Ruin. "It seems they''ve wiped." "The battle sure ended quickly." As the area fell silent, some of Centurion Dynasty''s members expressed pity, while others laughed in ridicule. "Alright, let''s get ready to set out!" Sky Slicer said once he noticed that his team had mostly recovered. Just as the team members began to stand and head into the first underground floor, a team walked through the Snow Ruin''s dilapidated entrance. Contrary to the raid team''s expectations, however, these newcomers had lost barely any HP, let alone looking miserable. Moreover, the team still had all 100 of its members... "What''s going on?" Sky Slicer stared at the intact 100-man team with wide eyes. Centurion Dynasty''s other members also gaped at the newcomers. They simply couldn''t believe their eyes. That was the enraged Frost Ape Chieftain they were talking about... "Who are these people?" "Hold on, isn''t that Asura''s Lifeless Thorn?" "It''s the Asura adventurer team?" Meanwhile, after glancing at Centurion Dynasty''s members, Shi Feng and the others moved past them into the Snow Ruin''s first floor, leaving the stupefied Guild members behind them. 1767 Hero Mode Chapter 1767 - Hero Mode In the quiet, dilapidated hall, Centurion Dynasty''s members only snapped out of their daze after Shi Feng and his team had entered the first underground floor. "So strong! They actually managed to enter the ruin despite going up against the enraged Frost Ape Chieftain! It''s no wonder why they can reach the third underground floor!" "Why are they here again? Didn''t they just head back to rest some time ago?" "That''s Asura''s commander leading the team! It seems that Asura plans to go all out in the raid." "This is going to be interesting. I''ve heard that Hecate has also started raiding the Snow Ruin with everything they''ve got and has reached the fourth floor already. I wonder how Asura''s raid team will fare?" "Although Asura is powerful, this is the Snow Ruin, where a team''s overall strength matters more than the individual. I''ve heard that Hecate''s main branch dispatched quite a few of its experts to ensure the Guild''s success in the raid. In terms of overall strength, Hecate''s raid team should be far superior to Asura''s. Asura will likely have a difficult time restoring its lost reputation." "Indeed. The Snow Ruin''s difficulty multiplies with each floor. Asura''s team has been stuck on the third underground floor for several days now. Even if Asura''s commander joins the raid, they''ll probably still fail to beat the third floor''s Boss." Centurion Dynasty''s members debated as they watched Asura''s members depart. Although the Asura adventurer team had displayed frightening strength thus far, it was still only an adventurer team. Its foundations couldn''t compare to Hecate''s. "Asura plans to compete with Hecate for First Clear?" Sky Slicer revealed a smile as he watched Shi Feng''s group disappear. "It seems that we''ll have to take advantage of this situation." Sky Slicer shared the opinion that Asura was no match for Hecate in the struggle for the Snow Ruin''s First Clear. This was because he had already acquired some internal information regarding Hecate, so he knew just how powerful its current raid team was. The team had 19 Tier 2 players alone, and the Guild had gathered the majority of its top combatants for the raid. Meanwhile, including Shi Feng, Asura''s raid team had 13 Tier 2 players. Among them, three had only recently been promoted. Just in terms of Tier 2 combatants, Hecate had quite the lead over Asura. It was safe to say that the Asura adventurer team had no hope of catching up to Hecate. However, Asura wasn''t entirely out of options if it wished to catch up. It could increase its count of Tier 2 experts, but that was impossible to do in a short time. The only other way to increase its Tier 2 player count was to seek external aid. Meanwhile, Centurion Dynasty had the second-highest Tier 2 expert count in Cold Wind City, with a total of three. The other Guilds and adventure teams didn''t even have one. Asura would definitely seek cooperation with Centurion Dynasty to increase the number of Tier 2 players in its team. Naturally, Hecate would do the same. After all, if Asura gained the help of three additional Tier 2 players, the adventurer team would pose a significant threat. Once the Asura adventure team entered the Snow Ruin, Carnage, who currently fought on the fourth underground floor, received news of Asuris return. "They''ve convinced their commander to help to restore their reputation" Carnage could not help but laugh when he read the report his subordinate had sent. "Unfortunately, the Asura adventurer team no longer has a chance! Hecate will claim the Snow Ruin''s First Clear!" Raiding the Snow Ruin was not an easy task. Players would face different challenges on each floor and would have to find different ways of progressing. Moreover, as players descended into the ruin, not only would they face stronger Guardian Bosses, but the Bosses'' respawn rate would also grow longer. The Bosses on the first and second underground floors would respawn in one and two hours respectively. On the third floor, however, the respawn time would increase to four hours. Since the fourth floor was one away from the last, it''s Guardian Boss would require 48 hours to respawn. The system had set such long respawn times to prevent other teams from disturbing the raid. In addition, the Snow Ruin''s Final Boss was incredibly tough and required a lot of time to raid Meanwhile, Hecate''s team had reduced the fourth-floor Boss''s HP to 50% already. They basically had this raid in the bag and would almost certainly progress to the fifth floor. Even if Asura reached the fourth floor, the adventurer team''s efforts would be a waste. Not only would Asura fail to learn about the fourth-floor Boss, but it would also have to waste a full day for the Boss to respawn. During this time, Hecate''s team could research the Final Boss and find a way to defeat it. In other words, Asura''s raid progress would lag behind Hecate''s by at least two days. This was not an easy gap to bridge. Furthermore, some of Hecate''s experts, who had left to challenge their Tier 2 promotions, should finish their Promotion quests and return to the Guild before the team raided the Final Boss. Then, Hecate would have even more Tier 2 players on its team. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and his companions stood on the only teleportation array in the teleportation hall on the Snow Ruin''s first underground floor. "Esteemed adventurers, some of you already have the third underground floor''s mark. You may teleport directly to the third underground floor. However, the Guardian Boss has yet to respawn. Do you still wish to head to the third underground floor?" a translucent elder''s soul, who stood beside the teleportation array, asked Shi Feng''s group. "It still hasn''t respawned?" Shi Feng frowned slightly. He then continued, "Then, send us to the third underground floor''s Hero Mode!" Shi Feng''s declaration stunned his team members. "Commander! That''s the Hero Mode!" Lifeless Thorn could not help but panic when he heard Shi Feng choose the Hero Mode. The Snow Ruin was a special Regional Dungeon that had two difficulty settings: Normal and Hero. The two modes were independent and players would be sent to different spaces depending on the mode they chose. However, players only needed to clear the Normal Mode to reach the next floor. Aside from the better drops, Hero Mode didn''t offer any benefits. However, this mode was far more difficult than Normal Mode. Most importantly, players would be barred from challenging the difficulty for a full week after each attempt... But before Asura''s members could dissuade their commander, Shi Feng confirmed the teleportation to the third underground floor''s Hero Mode. In the blink of an eye, the team arrived on the Hero Mode''s third underground floor. Looking around, the team didn''t spot any monsters roaming around the floor. Instead, a single, eight-meter-tall, six-armed Frost Ape quietly stood in the center. The ape wielded a longsword in each of its hands. Meanwhile, a magic barrier had sealed off the gate to the fourth underground floor. This was nothing like Normal Mode. [Frost Ape Warlord] (Humanoid Creature, Specialized Archaic Species, Grand Lord) Level 63 HP 160,000,000/160,000,000 Gasps slipped from the players when they saw the Frost Ape Warlord''s Attributes. The Hard Mode Frost Ape Warlord was much stronger than the Boss in Normal Mode. In Normal Mode, the Frost Ape Warlord was only a Level 62 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. It only had 120,000,000 HP and four arms, as well. However, not only was the Frost Ape Warlord before them a Specialized Archaic Species, but it also had six arms and 160,000,000 HP... Of the players present, only Shi Feng maintained his composure. Other players might be intimidated by a Hero Mode Regional Dungeon, but Shi Feng, who had raided Otherworlds'' Hero Mode Regional Dungeons in the past, knew that there wasn''t much of a difficulty difference between this mode and Normal Mode. The combat power of the monsters inside the Dungeon would increase by roughly 20% to 30% only. Their HPs as well would increase between 30% to 50% only. Now that his team''s Basic Attributes had increased by 15%, clearing the Snow Ruin''s Hero Mode wasn''t exactly impossible. Furthermore, he had originally wanted to raid the Snow Ruin''s Hero Mode. He was accelerating his plans. A Specialized Archaic Species? After glancing at the Frost Ape Warlord, Shi Feng took out a bunch of weapons and passed them to his team members. "From now on, everyone is to use the weapon I give you and listen to my instructions. If you don''t listen and use the weapons casually, I''ll banish you from the adventurer team!" Hearing Shi Feng''s determination, his companions couldn''t help but shudder. However, upon receiving the weapons, aside from Lifeless Thorn and the other members who had visited the continent of God''s Domain, these players gasped in astonishment. The Attributes on the weapons Shi Feng had just given them were simply amazing. These new weapons were much stronger than their current weapons. As they watched Shi Feng hand out the weapons, Lifeless Thorn and the others, who had been quite anxious, beamed. Others might not realize exactly how powerful these weapons were, but they knew. These Mana Weapons could dramatically boost their combat power and allow them to exert power that could transcend tiers. Now, they''d even be able to take on a Mythic monster without fear, much less a Grand Lord ranked Specialized Archaic Species. Unfortunately, since Mana Weapons weren''t indefinite, they couldn''t be used casually. "Alright, now that everyone has a Mana Weapon, let''s get to work! Solitary, you''ll start the raid!" Shi Feng commanded once everyone was properly equipped. "On it!" Solitary Nine licked his lips as he excitedly charged at the Frost Ape Warlord. 1768 Sockhams Blade Chapter 1768 - Sockham''s Blade "Roar!" As Solitary Nine came within 150 yards of the Frost Ape Warlord, the Grand Lord abruptly opened its eyes and let loose an angry roar that echoed throughout the third underground floor. Even the ground trembled at its bellow. Without waiting for Solitary Nine to reach it, the Frost Ape Warlord advanced, its body transforming into a powerful gale as it charged at the Shield Warrior. In the blink of an eye, the Ape Warlord arrived before Solitary Nine and swung one of its longswords at the Shield Warrior. Reacting quickly, Solitary Nine raised his shield slightly and deflected the Ape Warlord''s longsword, sending the weapon crashing into the ground beside him. Immediately after, he tightened his grip around his one-handed axe and swung it at the Ape Warlord, silver divine runes appearing on the head of the axe as it moved. Tier 2 Skill, Angry Blow! In the next moment, the one-handed axe sneaked past the Frost Ape Warlord''s defenses and landed on its body. Upon getting struck, the Grand Lord shrieked in pain. -51,854! Everyone present was dumbfounded at this damage. This number was too absurd. Previously, when going up against the Normal Mode Frost Ape Warlord, Solitary Nine could deal only a little over -20,000 damage when using a Tier 2 Skill. Now, despite going up against the Hero Mode version, he actually more than doubled that damage. After getting struck, the Frost Ape Warlord became enraged. This time, it fiercely swung two of its longswords at Solitary Nine. Upon seeing this, Solitary Nine executed a spiral jump. At the same time, his shield gave off a dazzling glow. Both longswords the Ape Warlord swung then involuntarily shifted to cut at the shield. Tier 2 Defensive Skill, Attack Redirection! When activated, Attack Redirection forced a target to land all of their attacks on the user''s shield. At the same time, the user''s Defense would be increased by 100%, and the damage received, reduced by 50%. Attack Redirection was a very rare Defensive Skill. When both longswords landed on Solitary Nine''s shield, two damages of-2,600 appeared above his head. After the Shield Warrior reached Level 55, his HP exceeded 65,000. This amount of damage was nothing to him; one healer would be enough to keep him alive and healthy. While Solitary Nine was still in midair, he used the opportunity to land another blow on the Frost Ape Warlord. -49,431! After this attack, the Shield Warrior had thoroughly pulled the Ape Warlord''s aggro to himself. Now, only Solitary Nine existed in the Ape Warlord''s eyes. "Good! Everyone else, join in the fight!" Shi Feng commanded. Following Shi Feng''s command, everyone in the team surged forward. Taking the lead, Lifeless Thorn executed Thrusting Assault and stabbed his glowing Tier 3 Mana Spear at one of the Ape Warlord''s joints, the blow forcefully redirecting the Ape Warlord''s movements. A damage exceeding -90,000 also appeared above the Grand Lord''s head. Meanwhile, Cleansing Whistle, Yan Ya, and the other Tier 2 players also triggered their respective Mana Weapons'' abilities, their attacks wreaking over -80,000 damage each. They dealt much higher damage than MTs like Solitary Nine and Dark Madness. Even without using their Mana Weapon''s ability, they could still mete out over -40,000 damage. As for the Tier 1 players in the team, when they activated their Tier 2 Mana Weapons, they could inflict over -30,000 damage with their attacks. If their weapons were in their passive state, they still dealt over -10,000 damage with each attack. This situation made everyone in the team feel as if the Hero Mode Frost Ape Warlord was actually easier to deal with than the Normal Mode one. Following which, the Ape Warlord''s HP fell rapidly, reaching 90% after just a short moment When its HP hit 90%, its two Passive Skills took effect. Immediately, the top 20 DPS of the team had their Attack Speed reduced by 100%. At the same time, the Grand Lord''s Attack Power and Defense rose. "Everyone, attention! Use your weapon''s Skill only when you are certain you can hit the Boss. If you''re not 100% certain, just attack normally. Dark, you and Solitary take turns attracting the Boss''s attention! Prioritize killing the mobs that appear!" Shi Feng instructed through the team chat. Although their Attack Speed had been reduced, that did not mean that their Attack Power had declined. So long as they could land their attacks on the Boss, they could still deal damage. Following which, Shi Feng activated Abyssal Curse, lowering the Boss''s Attributes by 10%, giving his team an easier time against the Boss. Due to the Mana Weapons, although the Frost Ape Warlord''s two Passive Skills had taken effect, the Tier 1 players in the team were still able to deal over -10,000 damage with their attacks; they were not much weaker than an ordinary Tier 2 player. As a result, the Boss''s HP still decreased at a rapid pace. 80%... 60%... 30%... Despite the Grand Lord becoming increasingly powerful as its HP diminished, it still failed to cope with Asura''s team, which effectively rivaled a 100-man team of Tier 2 players. When the Ape Warlord''s HP fell to 20%, it abruptly raised its six longswords into the air and started gathering a large amount of Mana around the weapons. It was clearly planning to use a powerful team-wipe Skillsomething that the Normal Mode Frost Ape Warlord did not possess. "Everyone, gather at my location!" Shi Feng did not grow flustered in this situation. After all, he had dealt with Hero Mode Bosses plenty of times in the past; hence, he expected the Frost Ape Warlord to possess a team-wipe Skill. Everyone present was an expert. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, they speedily gathered around him. However, as the Ape Warlord''s Skill had a short channeling time of only three seconds, not everyone managed to get to Shi Feng before the Boss''s Skill activated. In the next moment, the Grand Lord rapidly brandished its six longswords simultaneously, sending energy blades flying in all directions. The power contained within those energy blades shattered even the sturdy stone floor. Meanwhile, the energy blades flew up to 100 yards before they disappeared. Three players that failed to get within range of Shi Feng''s activated Absolute Domain were killed instantly. The frightening destructive power of the Boss''s team-wipe Skill had everyone alive gasping. However, after using its team- wipe Skill, the Frost Ape Warlord fell into a sluggish state, its Movement Speed decreasing significantly. This situation allowed Asura''s members to land attacks on it more easily. In less than two minutes, the Frost Ape Warlord fell under Shi Feng''s Divine Providence-enhanced attack, dropping a bunch of items around its corpse. Seeing the Frost Ape Warlord dead, everyone could not help but sigh ruefully. They never thought that the Hero Mode Boss would be so easy to deal with. Even when Hecate''s raid team challenged and defeated the Normal Mode Frost Ape Warlord, the team had lost over half of its members. On the other hand, they had defeated the Hero Mode version at the cost of only three lives. If not for the Boss''s team-wipe Skill, they might have even managed to clear the floor without suffering a single casualty. "Resurrect the fallen. Once everyone''s recovered, we''ll head down to the fourth underground floor," Shi Feng instructed. He then proceeded to collect the Boss''s loot Although he had activated Divine Providence, at the end of the day, the Frost Ape Warlord was still a monster of the Ice Crystal World. Practically all of the items it dropped were materials, albeit Epic ranked ones. Only two items were equipment Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked mage robes and a Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked two-handed axe. Even so, this loot still made many of the team''s experts drool. Among the 30-plus items that dropped, only one managed to catch Shi Feng''s attention the Sockham''s Blade Forging Design. Sockham''s Blade was a Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapon. To the current God''s Domain that had a severe scarcity of top-tier Level 50 weapons and equipment, a Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapon was an item beyond most players'' reach. After tidying up the loot, Shi Feng noted that his team had already recovered fully. He then led his team down to the fourth underground floor. The fourth underground floor was a maze that was littered with traps, which made traversing the floor extremely difficult After spending over an hour exploring the maze, the team arrived before a spacious hall. "Sure enough, there aren''t any mobs here, either?" After arriving at the end of the maze, Shi Feng noticed that the situation here was similar to that on the third floor. There were no wandering mobs here at all. There were only two four-winged gargoyles standing at the entrance leading down to the next floor. [Stone Guardian] (Archaic Species, Grand Lord) Level 64 HP 130,000,000/130,000,000 "We need to deal with two Bosses on this floor?" Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the two gargoyles. "Solitary and Dark, each of you take on one of these Bosses. We''ll split the team into two groups of fifty and raid the Bosses separately!" Other teams might find dealing with two Bosses simultaneously to be headache-inducing, but the two Stone Guardians were not a problem for Asura''s current raid team. As Refinement Realm experts, both Solitary Nine and Dark Madness were more than capable of tanking a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species all by themselves. As for DPS, although the team''s damage dealers would be split between two teams, they could still cope with the Stone Guardians, thanks to the Mana Weapons. In the end, just like Shi Feng had expected, before even twenty minutes had passed, both Stone Guardians had fallen to Asura''s raid team, dying under Shi Feng''s swords. In total, the two Bosses had dropped over 30 items, none of which managed to catch Shi Feng''s attention. The only noteworthy items in the loot were three pieces of Level 50 equipment; two pieces were Fine-Gold rank, while one was Dark-Gold ranked leather boots. After resting for ten minutes or so, Shi Feng led the team down to the fifth underground floor, which was also the final floor of the Snow Ruin. At the same time as Asura''s team was descending to the final floor, a system announcement suddenly rang in everyone''s ears. 1769 Hero Mode First Clear Chapter 1769 - Hero Mode First Clear Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: Congratulations! Hecate Guild has defeated the Snow Ruin''s Stone Guardian and completed the "Stone Heart" quest. Guild Popularity increased by 2,000 points. Rewarding Snow Ruin''s Blessing. The system announcement repeated three times, its contents echoing in every player''s ears in the Cold Wind City Region. "Didn''t Hecate recently reach the fourth underground floor? Could they have defeated the fourth floor''s Guardian Boss?" "Hecate is too amazing! Not only did its team reach the Snow Ruin''s fourth underground floor on their first try, but they also defeated its Boss!" "As expected of a first-rate Guild. Other Guilds and adventurer teams really can''t compare. Now that Hecate''s raid team has completed its Guild Quest and obtained the Snow Ruin''s Blessing, the team will have a much easier time raiding the Snow Ruin." "It seems Hecate is sure to obtain the Snow Ruin''s First Clear this time. The Asura adventurer team is pretty pitiful. Despite its efforts to expand the Adventurer Alliance and collect rare materials, Hecate is still the more powerful organization!" The general public marveled at Hecate''s achievement. The various powers that still challenged the Snow Ruin even considered giving up on contesting for the Dungeon''s First Clear. At the same time, they expressed their sympathy for the Asura adventurer team. "Damn it! How did things turn out this way?" Sky Sheer frowned as he read the system announcement. He had thought that Hecate only had a slight advantage over the Asura adventurer team. He hadn''t expected the Guild''s raid team to be powerful enough to reach the final floor in a single attempt. Moreover, Hecate had completed the Epic Guild Quest "Stone Heart." The Centurion Dynasty had this Guild Quest, as well. However, the quest''s initial phase was extremely complex. Even now, the Centurion Dynasty had yet to complete the initial collection quest. Yet, not only had Hecate completed the initial phase so quickly, but it had also slain the fourth floor''s Guardian Boss and obtained the Stone Heart. Now that Hecate had completed the "Stone Heart" quest, every member of the Guild would receive the Snow Ruin''s Blessing. With the Snow Ruin''s Blessing, not only would Hecate''s members receive an 8% increase to their Basic Attributes when inside the Snow Ruin, but they would also receive 10% less damage when hit. Their Stamina and Concentration consumption would reduce by 10%, as well. With this, Hecate would have a much easier time dealing with the Snow Ruin''s Final Boss. Meanwhile, on the Normal Mode Snow Ruin''s fifth underground floor... Unlike the previous floors, players were led straight to an ancient shrine immediately after descending from the fourth floor. A six-meter-tall skeletal giant waited in the shrine''s center to greet visiting players. Sacred, golden armor was draped over the giant''s bones, and a greatsword, emitting a faint glow, had been thrust into the ground before the Guardian Boss. Although the skeletal giant stood there, doing nothing, it radiated an indescribable sense of majesty and power. [Skeleton King] (Undead, Specialized Archaic Species, Grand Lord) Level 65 HP 220,000,000/220,000,000 Currently, a group of players stood outside the shrine with resolute expressions. This group was none other than Hecate''s main force. "Good! Now that we''ve completed our quest, and the Snow Ruin''s Blessing is in our hands, we''ll proceed according to plan. We''ll prioritize defense and study the Boss''s movement patterns and Skills first. Once we have a clear idea of what we''re dealing with, we''ll raid it with everything we''ve got!" Carnage said, smiling as he looked at the system announcement. "Vice Guild Leader, you''re being overly cautious. We just got an 8% boost to our Basic Attributes and a 10% damage reduction. Although the Boss is a Specialized Archaic Species, it is only a Grand Lord," a two-meter-tall, robust Shield Warrior said, flashing the Skeleton King a contemptuous look. The eleven players around the robust man nodded in agreement. They were not taking the Skeleton King seriously whatsoever. However, the other Hecate members broke out in a cold sweat as they listened to the Shield Warrior. Only Hecate''s Twelve Heavens would dare to make such a claim. Anyone else would likely be terrified of challenging the Skeleton King, much less make light of the Boss. However, Hecate''s Twelve Heavens were indeed qualified to make such a claim. Not only were all twelve of them Tier 2 players, but they also wore dazzling equipment. The most inferior piece on them was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank, with the majority consisted of Level 50 Fine-Gold rank. Some even wore Epic Equipment. As for their levels, all twelve were Level 55. Their combat standards were also ridiculously high, and even a Refinement Realm expert like Vast Heaven could not last more than twenty moves against them. It was also due to the Twelve Heavens that Hecate had qualified to begin its path towards becoming a super-first-rate Guild. "It''s better to be safe than sorry. I don''t want to waste too much time on the Snow Ruin," Carnage responded indifferently. He was very familiar with the Twelve Heavens'' strength. All twelve were Hecate''s apex combatants. "Alright, let''s start the raid!" As soon as Carnage gave out the command, the Twelve Heavens charged forward with everyone else following closely behind them. The moment the Twelve Heavens set foot in the shrine, emerald fire flashed in the Skeleton King''s hollow eye sockets. The skeletal giant then turned to the approaching players. "This is the world of the dead. The living are not permitted here!" the Skeleton King bellowed. It then removed the greatsword from the ground and swung it at the three Tier 2 MTs leading the charge. Purple flames burst forth from the Skeleton King''s greatsword, threatening to devour the players. However, just before the purple flames reached the Tier 2 MTs, a Tier 2 Elementalist at the rear line chanted an incantation and pointed her staff upward. Tier 2 Defensive Spell, Frost Barricade! In the next moment, a translucent barrier of ice formed before the three Tier 2 MTs, blocking the path and preventing the purple flames from reaching them. Only after the purple flames dissipated did the Tier 2 Elementalist forcibly remove the Frost Barricade. When the Frost Barricade disappeared, the three Level 55, Tier 2 MTs took action simultaneously, sneaking three Tier 2 Skills past the Skeleton King''s defenses and striking the Grand Lord directly. Each Skill dealt over -20,000 damage. The round of attacks also solidified the three MTs'' hold on the Skeleton King''s aggro. Once the other Hecate members were in position, they bombarded the Skeleton King with their own attacks. The Skeleton King''s single-target attacks were far more powerful than those of the previous Guardian Bosses. Even its normal attacks could push a Tier 2 MT backward by over a dozen yards and cause over -26,000 damage. Moreover, this was after the Tier 2 MT had blocked the attack with their shield. If the Tier 2 MTs received one of the Boss''s single-target Skills with their shields, they would lose over -50,000 HP. If the MTs failed to block a Skill attack, it was safe to say that they would die instantly. Moreover, every time the Skeleton King''s HP fell past a certain threshold, the Boss would summon a large group of Skeleton Warriors. If these Skeleton Warriors were not defeated within a certain time, the Skeleton King would convert them into HP. To make matters worse, the Skeleton King would randomly cast Hell Flame, an AOE Spell. The Boss aimed this Spell at random targets each time it cast it, not the three MTs. If players came into contact with the Hell Flame, even an MT would not last more than two seconds. Overall, the Skeleton King was a very tough Boss to raid. However, every member on Hecate''s raid team was an expert. This was especially true for the Twelve Heavens'' three MTs. The three Tier 2 MTs would systematically rotate in and out of battle, taking turns tanking and landing hits on the Boss. Their timing and positioning were extremely accurate, and this just barely allowed them to face the Skeleton King head-on. Only, doing so was a considerable burden on the rear line healers. Not once had the healers stopped casting their Spells since the raid had begun. Moreover, the healers had to avoid the Skeleton Warriors and Hell Flame attacks from time to time. In such a way, Hecate''s raid team whittled down the Skeleton King. When the Skeleton King''s HP fell to 50%, the Grand Lord went berserk and emerald fire wrapped around its greatsword. Seeing this, Carnage commanded every player with a Berserk Skill to activate it By the time the emerald flames faded, less than 70 players remained standing. Fortunately, all three Tier 2 MTs were still alive. However, this reduction in combat power made defeating the Skeleton Warriors far more difficult for Hecate''s members. As both sides fought, both the Skeleton King''s HP and Hecate''s member count continuously decreased. 20%... 10%... 5%... By the time the Skeleton King collapsed, less than 20 players remained of Hecate''s 100-man team; only seven of the Twelve Heavens had survived. The outcome had been gruesome. Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Hecate for obtaining the First Clear on the Normal Mode Snow Ruin. Rewarding 2,000 Guild Popularity Points and 300 Cold Wind City Contribution Points. "We did it!" "Vice Guild Leader, as we predicted, we only needed 500 Contribution Points to take control of Cold Wind City. Now, we just need to complete a few Epic ranked City Quests to earn the remaining 200 Contribution Points!" The Hecate members that were still alive could not help their excitement upon seeing the system announcement Even Carnage''s eyes glowed as a pleasant feeling warmed his heart. ... Meanwhile, news of Hecate''s success shocked Cold Wind City''s players. After this, Hecate''s dominance over Cold Wind City was inevitable. In the future, Cold Wind City was bound to become Hecate''s territory. However, as everyone expressed their surprise over the news, another system announcement reached their ears. Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to the Asura adventurer team for obtaining the First Clear on the Hero Mode Snow Ruin. Rewarding Hero''s Key and 500 Cold Wind City Contribution Points. 1770 Cold Wind Citys Ruler Chapter 1770 - Cold Wind City''s Ruler As the system announcement rang out again, the members of Hecate''s raid team, who were originally celebrating their attainment of the Snow Ruin''s First Clear, fell into a daze. "Did I hear wrong? Hero Mode''s First Clear?" "There must be a mistake. How could anyone possibly clear the Hero Mode at this stage of the game?" "Right. Previously, Asura''s raid team couldn''t even beat the third-floor Boss. How could it possibly beat the Hero Mode''s Final Boss?" As Hecate''s members stared at the latest system announcement, they could not bring themselves to believe what they were seeing was true. The Hero Mode Snow Ruin''s difficulty was significantly greater than the Normal Mode version''s. If a team did not gather enough good equipment from the Normal Mode Snow Ruin, challenging the Hero Mode was practically impossible. Meanwhile, Asura''s raid team wasn''t even capable of clearing Normal Mode before. So, just how could it possibly clear Hero Mode? "Hero Mode?" Carnage''s expression darkened at this sudden turn of events. He had never thought that Asura would actually challenge the Hero Mode. However, the fact that Asura had cleared the Hero Mode Snow Ruin was still not the most important part. The crucial point was that Asura had gained 500 Cold Wind City Contribution Points. Currently, the minimum requirement for an organization to take control of Cold Wind City was to have 500 Contribution Points. In other words, the Asura adventurer team had already taken control of Cold Wind City and become the city''s ruler. For the following month, Asura would hold a certain amount of authority over Cold Wind City. Only after one month had passed would the system conduct a re-evaluation and designate the player organization with the highest Contribution Points as the new ruler of the city. During this one month, Asura would gain plenty of benefits as the ruler of the city. If Hecate wished to overtake Asura in terms of City Contribution Points, then the Guild would have to put in many times the effort it was putting in now. While Hecate''s members were reeling from Asura''s clearing the Hero Mode Snow Ruin, Cold Wind City was in an uproar. "All hail Asura!" "Amazing! Asura managed to secure the First Clear of the Hero Mode Snow Ruin! Just how strong is Asura''s main force?" "Hecate is truly pitiful. Shortly after it got the First Clear of the Normal Mode Snow Ruin, its achievement immediately got overshadowed by Asura''s." "However, with this, we independent players will have a great time in Cold Wind City. Since the Adventurer Alliance belongs to the Asura adventurer team, the Adventurer Alliance will definitely develop into an even better organization. In the future, it might actually be possible to exchange for Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment from the alliance." The system announcement of the Asura adventurer team claiming the Hero Mode Snow Ruin''s First Clear brought endless joy to Cold Wind City''s independent players. Now, many of them wished to join the Asura adventurer team. As for the various Guilds of Cold Wind City, this news signaled the beginning of their nightmare. Had Hecate been the one to take control of Cold Wind City, the Guild would have definitely placed heavy pressure on the Asura adventurer team and the Adventurer Alliance. At that time, the independent players of Cold Wind City would have been made to realize the strength of Guilds. However, now that Cold Wind City had fallen into Asura''s control, more players would feel that joining the Adventurer Alliance was better than joining a Guild. If that happened, then Guilds would have even less living space in Cold Wind City. Meanwhile, Sky Slicer of the Centurion Dynasty was also dumbfounded when he received the system announcement. He simply could not fathom how the Asura adventurer team had accomplished such a feat. That was the Hero Mode Snow Ruin they were talking about! Even Hecate''s raid team, which had nineteen Tier 2 players, did not dare to challenge Hero Mode. Yet, Asura had managed to clear it with just thirteen Tier 2 players in its team. No matter how he looked at it, this had to be a joke from the system. With this, his plans to take advantage of the situation to gain some benefits for his Guild were ruined. To make matters worse, his Guild''s living space in Cold Wind City would even get further constricted. While the outside world was in an uproar over the latest system announcement, inside the Hero Mode Snow Ruin''s fifth underground floor, Shi Feng was currently collecting the Skeleton King''s loot. As for everyone else in the team, they were lying on the floor and panting in exhaustion. In Hero Mode, the Skeleton King was a bona fide Level 65 Mythic monster. If not for Solitary Nine and Dark Madness constantly activating their Tier 3 Mana Weapons and taking turns tanking using their Berserk Skills, the team would''ve been annihilated. As for the Hell Flame the Skeleton King used, it was basically a large-scale destruction Spell. Whenever the Skeleton King used Hell Flame, the team had to rely on Shi Feng''s Absolute Domain to survive. When the battle was over, the team had less than 40 survivors. Close to the end of the battle, even Solitary Nine and Dark Madness had died under the Skeleton King''s flaming greatsword. The rear line healers couldn''t keep up with the Skeleton King''s DPS at all. Fortunately, after Shi Feng activated his Berserk Skill, the team had managed to make it through the final stretch and defeated the Skeleton King. Meanwhile, the Skeleton King''s death brought everyone two big surprises. The first one came in the form of a massive amount of EXP; the surviving members of the team received EXP equivalent to an entire day''s worth of grinding. The second one was the appearance of a jackpot The Skeleton King dropped so many items that just picking them all up took Shi Feng quite a lot of time. In total, the Skeleton King''s jackpot had over 200 items. Among them, more than 180 consisted of rare materials, Mana Stones, and Magic Crystals. As many as five Mana Stones had dropped. Quite a few of the rare materials were the main materials required to produce Level 50-plus Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Every material was worth a considerable amount of money. Among the remaining items were one weapon_an Epic ranked greatsword named Incineration Bladeand seven pieces of equipment The weapon was none other than the greatsword the Skeleton King had used, which was not only very powerful but also very stylish. As for the equipment, they were either Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment or Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment. The sight of these eight items caused everyone''s eyes to sparkle. Monsters rarely dropped weapons and equipment in the Ice Crystal World. Let alone Dark-Gold rank, even Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment were extremely rare. As for Epic Weapons, those were practically myths in Cold Wind City. However, Shi Feng had no intention of distributing the weapons and equipment to any specific person. Instead, he intended to place them in the Asura adventurer team''s exchange catalog and allow Asura''s members to exchange for them. These items would serve as an incentive to motivate Asura''s members to work harder. Meanwhile, for the team operation this time, he also granted everyone their deserved Contribution Points, which could be used to exchange for the items they wanted. The remaining dozen or so items included three Master ranked potions, two Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, a design for Level 50 Dark- Gold ranked cloth armor robes, and a design for Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked plate armor armguards. There was also one item in particular that surprised Shi Feng. And that was the Hell Chariot Design! When Shi Feng picked up the ancient tome, which was even twice as thick as a dictionary, and read the name "Hell Chariot Design" written on the cover, for a moment, he actually thought he was hallucinating. A war chariot! This was a weapon meant for large-scale battles. It possessed not only frightening destructive power but also the ability to ferry large numbers of players across long distances. A high-ranking item that could be used to conduct ambushes and field battles, it also had excellent siege and defensive capabilities. Compared to a war chariot, the Miniature Ballista was no different from garbage. The Miniature Ballista moved very slowly and took a very long time to load. It also had no defensive capability and, hence, could be destroyed easily. In contrast, a war chariot was very fast and boasted powerful defensive capabilities. A war chariot could ensure that the players riding inside did not receive any damage from attackssomewhat similar to the ships at sea. Shi Feng had never imagined that the Snow Ruin''s Final Boss would drop such an item. In terms of value, all the other items the Skeleton King dropped combined were not even worth one-fifth of the Hell Chariot Design. After taking a few deep breaths and calming himself down, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes and appraised the Hell Chariot Design. He wanted to know what rank the Chariot Design was exactly. 1771 Hell Chario Chapter 1771 - Hell Chariot As Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes on the tome in his hands, a loading bar appeared before him, needing 10 seconds to fill completely. "Ten seconds?" Shi Feng''s heartbeat quickened when he saw the loading bar. The longer the appraisal time, the more valuable the appraised item was. War chariots could be categorized into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster ranks, the chariot''s value increasing with each subsequent rank. The war chariot''s abilities were also stronger with each rank. A Basic War Chariot possessed enough combat power to deal with a Great Lord, but only a fool would use it against a monster. War chariots truly shined in siege battles and combat between players. Using a war chariot to deal with monsters was overly extravagant. Unlike normal weapons and tools, repairing a war chariot required more than just Coins; players would also have to supply the materials. If a war chariot were used to grind monsters, the income wouldn''t even be enough to cover the repair costs. Moreover, the required materials were very rare and hard to obtain. Once the loading bar was full, the Hell Chariot Design''s details appeared before Shi Feng. [Hell Chariot Design] (Intermediate Design) Can be used to produce the Hell Chariot. [Hell Chariot] Maximum capacity: 20 people Increases Movement Speed by 180%. Possesses Tier 2 defensive capabilities. Durability 400/400 Additional Skill 1- Magic Shield: Constructs a Tier 3 magic barrier that can absorb up to a maximum of 2,000,000 damage for 20 seconds. Each use costs 20 Magic Crystals. Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Skill 2- Hell Cannon: 1,500 range. Deals a devastating blow at the Tier 3 standard to a 30-yard radius. Each use costs 100 Magic Crystals. Cooldown: 15 seconds Additional Skill 3- Flame Spears: Creates 12 Flame Spears. Each Flame Spear carries power at the peak of Tier 2 and has a 150-yard attack range. Cooldown: 3 seconds What a powerful war chariot. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement as he read the Hell Chariot''s Attribute Panel. He had seen many Intermediate War Chariots in the past, but the Hell Chariot''s Attributes could even rank among the top Intermediate War Chariots. Normal Intermediate War Chariots only had 300 points of durability and only increased Movement Speed by 160%, which was roughly the same as a Mysterious-Iron Mount, yet the Hell Chariot increased Movement Speed by 180%. That was on par with the increase of a Secret-Silver Mount. However, the Skills had to be the best part about this Hell Chariot. Ordinary Intermediate War Chariots only provided a Tier 2 Magic Shield that could reduce damage from Tier 2 attacks by 70% and Tier 3 attacks by 40%. Meanwhile, the War Chariot''s Tier 3 Magic Shield could reduce damage from Tier 2 attacks by 80%, Tier 3 attacks by 70%, and Tier 4 attacks by 40%. With such a powerful Magic Shield, even a Tier 4 Mythic monster wouldn''t be able to destroy the Hell Chariot within a short time. As for the production requirements, they weren''t particularly demanding. Only three Master Engineers and one Master Forger were needed to produce the Hell Chariot. The only troublesome part was the main materialTitan Ore. A single Hell Chariot required 500 pieces of Titan Ore, a super-rare ore that was even hard to find in the Storm Empire, which was famed for its production. This was because Titan Ore was one of the main materials for Epic Equipment. It seems that I''ll need Melancholic to focus on collecting Titan Ore. Shi Feng started plotting as he gazed at the Hell Chariot Design in his hands. It wouldn''t be impossible for the Candlelight Trading Firm to gather three Master Engineers and a Master Forger. The materials were the only other problem. Once they solved that, they could mass-produce the Hell Chariot If Zero Wing had a tool like the Hell Chariot, its members could easily venture deep into neutral maps to grind and explore. The Guild''s members wouldn''t need to compete with other Guilds for nearby maps. In that case, Zero Wing''s members would acquire more resources for the Guild and themselves. A war chariot wasn''t just a weapon of war; it was also a powerful transportation tool, much better than a Mount. This was because players would not lose Stamina and Concentration when traveling in a war chariot. Moreover, war chariots could regenerate players'' Stamina and Concentration. Although, its ability to do so wasn''t as good as a normal NPC city. The most important point was that war chariots could hold simple repair tools. This allowed players to repair their weapons and equipment without visiting a smithy. Only, the repair fees were extremely high, three times a city''s prices. Also, there was a limit to how many repairs a war chariot could conduct. The simple repair tools that could be loaded onto an Intermediate War Chariot could only repair up to a maximum of 10,000 points of durability. However, to expert teams that valued time over money, this was a wonderful perk. Following which, Shi Feng carefully stored the Hell Chariot Design and inspected the Hero''s Key, which he had acquired for securing the First Clear of the Hero Mode Snow Ruin. [Hero''s Key (Snow Ruin)] (Dark-Gold Rank Item) Can be used to activate the Snow Ruin''s Primordial Teleportation Magic Array. Can teleport up to a maximum of 500 players to the other side of the teleportation array. Cooldown: 144 hours (3 natural days) As expected of the First Clear reward for Hero Mode. The system actually gave out such an item. Shi Feng was astonished as he read the Hero''s Key''s Attribute Panel. Unlike on the continent of God''s Domain, traveling between cities in any Otherworld was not an easy task. If Otherworlds'' players wished to visit other cities, they had to acquire an entry permit The teleportation function between two cities would only activate after a certain number of players had secured entry permits. Before this requirement was fulfilled, players with a Teleportation Entry Permit would physically have to travel to the city specified in the entry permit or use some secret passage. There was no other way for players to travel between two cities. Meanwhile, after killing the Skeleton King, a golden chest had appeared in the shrine, containing Teleportation Entry Permits. When raiding the Normal Mode Skeleton King, players would only gain between 100 and 150 entry permits. Meanwhile, Hero Mode provided between 200 and 300 entry permits. Moreover, once players cleared the Snow Ruin, regardless of which mode they challenged, they would be prevented from challenging the Snow Ruin again for seven days. However, the Hero''s Key could teleport 500 players to a different region directly. Moreover, it only had a 3-day Cooldown. To the various Guilds and adventurer teams that were trying to find a foothold in a different region as quickly as possible, this was a godly tool. "Commander, there are a total of 265 entry permits in the golden chest. What should we do with them?" Yan Ya could not help but ask as she retrieved the entry permits. Currently, throughout Cold Wind City, only Asura and Hecate possessed entry permits to other cities. Meanwhile, these entry permits would only bind to players after use. In other words, they could be sold or traded. For Cold Wind City''s players, traveling to another region was a golden opportunity. Many of these players dreamed of acquiring an entry permit, especially the city''s various Guilds. If they sold the entry permits they had right now, they could definitely make a fortune. "For the time being, our priority is to expand our development to other cities," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Head back to Cold Wind City immediately and find some experts and trustworthy management individuals that are willing to develop in another city from the adventurer team. Have them gather in the Residence. I''ll head over to meet with them once I''ve finished my task." The Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds were preparing to travel into the Ice Crystal World. To secure more of this Otherworld''s resources for Zero Wing, the Asura adventurer team had to occupy more cities in the Ice Crystal World. Otherwise, once the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds arrived in the Ice Crystal World''s cities, it would become far more difficult for Asura to secure a foothold in those cities. After all, both Asura and Zero Wing were far from a match for the empire''s large Guilds in terms of resources and manpower. "We''re expanding our development to other cities?" Yan Ya''s eyes sparkled with excitement upon hearing Shi Feng''s words. She was painfully curious about the Ice Crystal World''s other cities. Cold Wind City was only a minor city, not one of the Otherworld''s main cities. Following Shi Feng''s command, Yan Ya promptly left the Snow Ruin to gather the Asura adventurer team''s expert players. As for Shi Feng, he made his way to Cold Wind City''s City Hall. 1772 Acting City Lord Chapter 1772 - Acting City Lord Cold Wind City''s City Hall: After Shi Feng entered the City Hall, he noticed that quite a few Hecate members stood at the front desk to pick up city quests. It was evident that Hecate had no intention of giving up on Cold Wind City and was preparing to compete for the city''s authority once again. The Guild had even picked up two of the top five most difficult contribution quests available. There were many contribution quests available in Cold Wind City, but they were all very difficult and could not be completed by ordinary experts. As for the top ten most difficult contribution quests, each of them could rival Epic Quests. After completing these Epic Contribution Quests, one would acquire roughly 50 City Contribution Points. Each of the top five contribution quests awarded 100 CCPs or more. In addition, players had to pay a hefty deposit when picking up these contribution quests. In the case of the top five contribution quests, the deposit was 500 Gold plus 5,000 Magic Crystals. If players failed to complete the quest, they wouldn''t get their deposit back. Yet, Hecate had picked up two of the top five quests at the same time. A thousand Gold might not be much for a first-rate Guild like Hecate, but 10,000 Magic Crystals was no small amount. After all, the Ice Crystal World was an Otherworld that had low production of Magic Crystals. However, Shi Feng did not give the matter much thought as he followed the NPC senior administrator straight to the office of Cold Wind City''s Magistrate to receive a portion of authority over the city. Bookshelves filled with books lined the peaceful office''s walls. Currently, a young man in noble garb sat behind a desk, reading through some documents. Upon seeing Shi Feng, the youth set aside his work. This youth was none other than Frotte, Cold Wind City''s Magistrate and a Level 180, Tier 4 Sky Knight. It was very rare for one to become a Tier 4 Sky Knight at such a young age, so it was clear how much talent and potential Frotte had. "Adventurer, you''re here," Frotte said as he looked at Shi Feng. "Greetings, Lord Magistrate. I have come here today as a representative of the Asura adventurer team. I wish to become the Acting City Lord and help contribute to Cold Wind City," Shi Feng respectfully declared. "I have heard of your deeds. Your Asura adventurer team is quite capable. You have opened the Snow Ruin that has been sealed for many years and the path to other cities. If your adventurer team possesses such strength, I believe that letting you manage Cold Wind City should be a wise decision," Frotte said, nodding in approval after observing Shi Feng for a moment. He then took a silver token from one of his desk''s drawers, placing the eagle-shaped token on the table and said, "This is the Acting City Lord''s Token. With this, you''ll command a portion of authority over Cold Wind City. However, I must warn you that if someone more capable comes to me, I will take the token back and give it to that person. Hopefully, you will utilize this token properly and help Cold Wind City develope!" Saying so, Frotte passed Shi Feng the Acting City Lord''s Token. Upon receiving the token, triumph filled Shi Feng''s heart. With this token, he would be considered Cold Wind City''s ruler and possess Advanced authority over the city. He could now turn the entire city into the Asura adventurer team''s headquarters. After becoming the Acting City Lord, he would gain access to several empty plots of Land in Cold Wind City''s central district. These plots were specifically reserved for the Acting City Lord to build Advanced Constructions, such as Advanced Smithies, Advanced Restaurants, Advanced Shops, and Advanced Magic Stores. Advanced Shops, in particular, could even be used to host large-scale auctions, in which more than just players could participate. NPCs would be able to auction items as well. Only, these large-scale auctions could only be hosted once a week. In addition, becoming an Acting City Lord granted him the authority to construct a Teleportation Plaza in the central district. He could establish teleportation gates that transported players to Cold Wind City''s border fortresses. These border fortresses were very far from Cold Wind City itself, and most of them occupied Level 60-plus high-resource maps. These maps contained many resources unique to the Ice Crystal World. However, if players tried to reach these border fortresses on foot, they would have to pass through multiple Level 90 or above maps. Aside from the extreme danger, the journey was very time-consuming. Hence, traveling there via Teleportation Gate was the best option. The Acting City Lord managed these teleportation gates, and both the teleportation fees and the currency used would be left to their discretion. Of course, the system would impose a maximum and minimum amount. Meanwhile, the Acting City Lord would receive 20% of the income from the teleportation gates. This was the greatest benefit of being an Acting City Lord. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng headed to a VIP lounge on the City Hall''s second floor and began to discuss the teleportation gates'' construction with the NPC senior administrator. The sooner he built the teleportation gates, the more the Asura adventurer team would benefit. "My lord, this is the information on the teleportation gates you have requested. From Small to Large Teleportation Gates, everything is on this list," the senior administrator said as he handed Shi Feng a list of available teleportation gates. How expensive! It''s no wonder why the Guilds that had taken control over Otherworld NPC cities in the past hadn''t constructed teleportation gates early on! Shi Feng was utterly astonished as he read the construction costs. Just constructing a Small Teleportation Gate cost 10,000 Gold and 80,000 Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, a Small Teleportation Gate only allowed travel to three fortresses and would only teleport a maximum of 50 people at a time. Meanwhile, a Medium Teleportation Gate cost 20,000 Gold and 200,000 Magic Crystals to construct. It allowed teleportation to six fortresses, with each teleportation transporting a maximum of 100 people. Though, the Mana cost for each teleportation was the same as the Small Teleportation Gate. In other words, a Medium Teleportation Gate could generate more profit. As for the Large Teleportation Gate, it cost 40,000 Gold and 300,000 Magic Crystals to build. It allowed teleportation to ten fortresses, and each teleportation could carry up to 200 people. Similarly, the teleportation cost of the Large Teleportation Gate was equal to that of the Small Teleportation Gate. Of course, since a teleportation gate would be very beneficial to Cold Wind City''s development, it would also award Shi Feng a considerable number of City Contribution Points. He wouldn''t just be spending his Coins and Magic Crystals to allow his successors to take advantage of his effort. Building certain Advanced Constructions would award CCPs as well. Only, the amount varied depending on the type of construction. This was also the reason that once a player became an Acting City Lord, it was very difficult for others to surpass them. "My lord, as you are the first adventurer to be chosen as the Acting City Lord, we can offer you two special teleportation gates. Here is the information for these gates," the senior administrator said as he passed two more lists to Shi Feng. "Once you have made your decision, you may notify me at any time." Of the two new lists the senior administrator had provided, both recorded information on Small Teleportation Gates. However, unlike the normal version, these two gates each had an additional function. The first gate allowed teleportation to four border fortresses, but the construction price was 10,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals. As for the second gate, it still only allowed teleportation to three border fortresses, but it also included teleportation to the main hall of the Snow Rift''s Snow Ruin. Like the first gate, its construction price was 10,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals. How fraudulent! One additional teleportation point increases the cost by 20,000 Magic Crystals! Shi Feng could not help but inwardly curse at the system as he read the list. However, after giving the matter some thought, he found this pricing to be reasonable. After all, these options were only offered to the first Acting City Lord. The next Acting City Lord wouldn''t have this benefit. He then said, "I wish to construct a Teleportation Gate that is connected to the Snow Ruin." While having the connection to an additional border fortress was valuable, he could gain more benefits in the shortterm if he allowed teleportation to the Snow Ruin. After all, teleporting between the Snow Rift and Cold Wind City would be helpful to players who wanted to venture to other cities. This was especially true for the Asura adventurer team. Furthermore, it would be some time before players could grind in the maps around the border fortresses. After saying so, Shi Feng took out the Magic Crystals he earned from selling Ice Resistance Gemstones. While he had been away in the Snow Ruin, he had sold another 16,000 Ice Resistance Gemstones and earned 110,000 Magic Crystals. Although the Magic Crystals he had weren''t enough to construct a Medium Teleportation Gate, constructing a Small Teleportation Gate shouldn''t be a problem. 1773 Unifying Cold Wind City Chapter 1773 - Unifying Cold Wind City Inside the quiet VIP lounge... After Shi Feng paid the 10,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals, a magic barrier formed in Cold Wind City''s central plaza. Players caught within the barrier were immediately teleported out of the central plaza. What''s going on?" "Why can''t anyone get into the central plaza?" "Is that even possible?" "It''s true! I can''t get into the central plaza! I can''t even see what''s going on inside!" The players standing around the pitch-black barrier that had enveloped the central plaza could not help their growing curiosity about the new development. A short moment later, every player in Cold Wind City heard the ring of a system announcement. Cold Wind City Region System Announcement: The Asura adventurer team has constructed a teleportation gate in the central plaza. Players can now use the teleportation gate to travel to the connected border fortresses. More detailed information will be posted on the central plaza''s notice board. The system announcement repeated three times. "What''s going on? A teleportation gate? We can actually teleport to other regions now?" "That doesn''t seem to be the case." "Anyone over at the central plaza right now? Mind updating us on the situation?" "I just read the notice! The Asura adventurer team is amazing! The new teleportation gate Asura has constructed allows us to teleport to two Level 60-plus maps! Moreover, this teleportation gate is linked to the Snow Ruin! If we want to explore the Snow Rift or Snow Ruin, we can just teleport there now! We won''t have to run all the way anymore!" "Damn! Doesn''t that mean it''ll become much easier to travel and grind there now?" For a time, Cold Wind City''s independent players excitedly celebrated the new construction. To them, players who were doomed to live long-term in Cold Wind City, nothing could be more troublesome than physically traveling to maps. Practically half their time in the game was spent on travel. Now that there was a teleportation gate that could send them to the Snow Rift directly, they could spend more time grinding. This, in turn, would increase their leveling speed. In contrast to the independent players'' reactions, the upper echelons from the city''s various Guilds wore gloomy expressions when they heard the news. Independent players might not have a clear idea of what kind of authority an Acting City Lord possessed, but this information was not foreign to the various Guilds. It took only a little investigation to find out The various Guilds had believed that they still had a chance of wrestling the position of Acting City Lord away from Asura within the next month, but now, their hopes had been dashed. The Asura adventurer team was invincible in Cold Wind City. The teleportation gate''s activation meant that Asura could start collecting teleportation fees and earn a massive amount of income. With these funds, Asura could commission more Advanced Constructions and earn more City Contribution Points... Meanwhile, their Guilds would hold less influence in Cold Wind City as time went on. From now on, the Asura adventurer team would o make the rules in Cold Wind City. "Vice Guild Leader, what should we do?" Vice Heaven, who occupied the Snow Ruin''s first-upper-floor hall, turned to Carnage when he saw the latest system announcement. Now that Asura had built a teleportation gate, Hecate would have a very difficult time trying to compete with Asura even if it completed several Epic Contribution Quests. "Interesting. It seems that I have underestimated Asura''s commander," Carnage said, smiling. "However, if Asura thinks it can compete with Hecate just because it has secured Cold Wind City, then it has made a massive mistake. Notify the Vultures and have them take action." "Have the Vultures take action?" Vast Heaven''s eyes sparkled upon hearing the order. "I''ll notify them right away." In one of the City Hall''s VIP lounge... Once Shi Feng had paid the construction fee, The Senior Administrator, Merckhans, gave Shi Feng a detailed form relating to the Small Teleportation Gate to fill out. The form would allow Shi Feng to decide the teleportation''s pricing and ranking systems. In God''s Domain, the smaller a teleportation gate was, the greater its operating cost would be and vice versa. Hence, the system had determined that the minimum teleportation fee for traveling to the Snow Ruin was 1 Silver, 50 Copper, and it''s maximum could be set to 5 Silver. In the end, Shi Feng had decided to set the teleportation fee for the Snow Ruin at 2 Silver. While this price might be a little high for current ordinary players, it was affordable for elite players. With the amount of time players could save, they could easily earn back the 2 Silver and more. As for the ranking system, Shi Feng had settled on three ranks: Basic, Silver, and Gold. At the Basic rank, players would not receive any discounts when using the teleportation gate, players at the Silver rank received a 10% discount, and players at the Gold rank received a 20% discount. At the Gold rank, players only needed to pay 1 Silver, 60 Copper to use the teleportation gate, which was only 10 Copper more than the minimum price. For the Adventurer Alliance, members would enjoy access to Silver rank discount when using the teleportation gate as long as they reached Silver rank in the alliance, and Gold ranked members would enjoy the Gold rank discount when teleporting. In the Asura adventurer team, elite members would get access to the Silver rank discount, while core members could use the Gold rank discount. After this rule was set, not only would it tempt more of Cold Wind City''s players to join the Adventurer Alliance, but they''d also contribute more to the alliance to raise their ranks. After all, the teleportation gate was an incredible convenience for players. Players would use the teleportation gate frequently since just traveling to a nearby map like the Snow Rift would save them 20 to 40 Copper, depending on their rank in the Adventurer Alliance. As for teleporting to the three border fortresses, which were even further away from Cold Wind City, players would be able to save even more money. In the long term, the 10% to 20% discount would save players a huge amount of money. At that time, the Adventurer Alliance''s development in Cold Wind City would skyrocket. When Shi Feng finished with the teleportation gate, he left the City Hall and returned to Asura''s Residence. Constructing the teleportation gate was only a small matter to Shi Feng. He still had much larger problems, which were his original purpose for visiting the Ice Crystal World-collecting Soul Dissolving Flowers. Despite exhausting all options, he had only collected six Soul Dissolving Flowers thus far. He was still far from reaching his goal of twenty stalks. Moreover, he had been in the Ice Crystal World for such a long time already. This meant that he had already obtained all of the available Soul Dissolving Flowers in Cold Wind City. He wouldn''t be able to acquire more within a short time. If he wanted to acquire the twenty Soul Dissolving Flowers quickly and complete the Philosopher''s Hand quest, he had to visit the Ice Crystal World''s other cities. Upon entering the courtyard of Asura''s Residence, Shi Feng was greeted by the sight of many high-spirited players. When these Asura members noticed Shi Feng''s return, they promptly greeted him with joy and respect. "Commander, you''re back." "Greetings, commander!" Seeing a crowd rapidly form around him, Shi Feng did not dare to tarry. After responding with a few nods, he sped into the Residence. "Commander, I''ve gathered the people you asked for. Aside from 500 experts from our Asura adventurer team, we''ve also selected 200 Advanced Lifestyle Players from the Adventurer Alliance. We have a total of 700 players ready to depart," Yan Ya said as she gestured to the rows of players in the lobby. Smiling, she continued, "Even if we visit another NPC city, we won''t be much weaker than its well-known adventurer teams." It was not easy for Guilds and adventurer teams to secure a foothold in other NPC cities since they had to compete with the local Guilds and adventurer teams. However, with 500 expert players, the Asura adventurer team should be capable of contending with a large-scale adventurer team with around two or three thousand members. Including the 200 Advanced Lifestyle Players, even if Asura''s new branch couldn''t trade for with the local Guilds or adventurer teams for any good equipment, it could produce its own high-quality equipment using the materials it earned from killing monsters. Moreover, as long as this first deployment endured, the Asura adventurer team could send reinforcements from Cold Wind City. "Fortunately, I''ve grown quite a bit stronger recently and got myself a piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have met the conditions to take part in the expansion expedition. Now, I''ll get to fight alongside the commander in another city." "I know, right? We''re even earning 50% bonus Contribution Value for this expedition. We''ll also earn 15% more points. By the time the others visit the new city, we might have already reached Bronze rank in the alliance." When the team members saw Shi Feng, they chatted quietly amongst themselves. "Good! Since everyone''s here, let''s move out," Shi Feng said after glancing at everyone''s excited expressions. He then led the group to the central plaza. 1774 Initial Appearance in a Foreign Region Chapter 1774 - Initial Appearance in a Foreign Region Since NPCs were in charge of building the teleportation gate at the central plaza, after Shi Feng paid the necessary fees, construction took less than ten minutes. As the pitch-black barrier enveloping the central plaza disappeared, a six-meter-tall stone gate inside came into view. The ground around the gate had all sorts of divine runes and magic arrays carved into it, which increased the Mana density at the central plaza slightly. Currently, a large number of players had gathered around the central plaza, their eyes filled with interest as they looked at the teleportation gate. Some adventurer teams couldn''t hold back their curiosity and directly teleported to the three border fortresses the teleportation gate connected to. When Shi Feng''s expedition team arrived at the central plaza, it immediately attracted the attention of every player there. Now that Asura had become the master of Cold Wind City, no power in Cold Wind City dared oppose the adventurer team anymore. Only those seeking to halt their development in Cold Wind City would go against Asura now. Following Shi Feng''s arrangement, Asura''s expedition team started teleporting to the Snow Ruin in batches. "What''s Asura trying to do with so many players?" "Didn''t you see that they teleported to the Snow Ruin? Moreover, there are quite a few low-leveled Lifestyle Players in the team. I guess that they plan to develop in another region''s city." "Crap! Asura is too amazing! It''s already trying to expand to another city?! With this, the Guilds of Cold Wind City will fall even further behind Asura!" "I know, right? I heard that some of the smaller Guilds have already disbanded in order to join the Asura adventurer team." "Asura''s recruitment standard is very high. Although I''ve reached the Trial Tower''s fourth floor already, I was still deemed too weak when I tried applying. Right now, I can only slowly improve my ranking in the Adventurer Alliance." While the bystanders at the central plaza were discussing the Asura adventurer team, Shi Feng''s group had arrived at the Snow Ruin''s main hall. Once everyone was present, Shi Feng used the Hero''s Key and teleported 500 players to the other end of the Primordial Teleportation Magic Array. As for everyone else, they teleported there using the Teleportation Entry Permit. When everyone opened their eyes again, they had already arrived inside an abandoned shrine. The shrine was so dilapidated that snowy-white clouds peeked through the many holes in the roof. Meanwhile, this shrine was located at the other end of the Snow Rift. ... System: Congratulations! You have arrived in the Frozen City Region. ... "We made it over, just like that?" When everyone heard the system notification, they had a sense of unreality; it felt as if they were still in the Cold Wind City Region. "Alright, everyone, get ready! We''re setting out for Frozen City!" Shi Feng commanded. Although they had teleported to another region, they were still inside the Snow Rift, which remained a forbidden land for players. Needless to say, there were definitely plenty of monsters here. However, before the expedition team even got 1,000 yards away from the abandoned shrine, a group of players suddenly surged out from the snow-capped forest on both sides of the team. Very quickly, these new arrivals not only blocked off the expedition team''s path of advance but also formed an encirclement around the team. With a glance, Shi Feng and the others could easily tell that this group of new arrivals comprised at least 30,000 players, every one of them wearing Hecate''s Guild Emblem. From the sneers and killing intent these Hecate members displayed, these Guild players obviously held bad intentions towards them. Before Shi Feng and the others could do anything, the sky above them suddenly darkened. A moment later, everyone in Asura''s team gained a debuff that prevented them from using teleportation tools and Teleportation Skills for three hours. The Tier 3 Magic Scroll War Blockade? Shi Feng could not help but frown as he looked at the debuff on him. "Commander, this is bad. They clearly came prepared. Right now, we can''t even use Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls to leave this place," Yan Ya said, an ugly expression on her face as she looked at the Hecate members surrounding them. Their opponent outnumbered them by too much. Moreover, these Hecate members were all very well-equipped. Even the weakest piece of equipment on them was Level 50 Mysterious-Iron rank. As for their levels, they were all at least Level 53. Quite a few of them also radiated a chilling aura. These players were evidently experts that had fought on many battlefields. Most likely, they were not the slightest bit weaker than herself and the other Tier 2 experts of Asura. Meanwhile, the 20-plus players standing at the forefront of the Guild''s line-up even felt lethal to Yan Ya. As Hecate''s army drew closer, Asura''s members grew anxious. At this time, a Berserker clad in dark-blue armor walked out from Hecate''s army. Looking at Shi Feng and the others, the Berserker laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Aren''t you people from Asura very amazing? Why are you getting afraid now?" This Berserker was none other than Vast Heaven. "It is normal for them to be afraid. After all, we have a total of 40,000 elites and experts gathered here. What could they possibly do with their measly 700 players?" said a slim man clad in dark-gray mage robes, standing beside Vast Heaven, chuckling. "However, the Vice Guild Leader sure has a high opinion of them to have actually sent so many of us here to stop them." The eleven Tier 2 players standing beside him nodded in agreement with the gray-robed man''s words. "The Vice Guild Leader has told me to remind you all to be careful of Asura''s commander. That man is very strong," Vast Heaven said as he fixed his gaze on Shi Feng. "That person is Asura''s commander? He doesn''t look like much at all! Regardless, since the Vice Guild Leader has already said so, leave that person to us. We''ll leave the small fries to you," the slim man said as he glanced at Shi Feng, a hint of playfulness in his eyes. "Blade, I''ll attack first later on. You ambush him from the side. We''ll give this brat a taste of what it feels to be utterly helpless." "Sure." The Level 55, Tier 2 Assassin standing beside the slim man replied indifferently before disappearing from where he stood. "Alright, I''ll go deal with those small fries," Vast Heaven said, a hint of disappointment in his voice as he watched the Tier 2 Elementalist and Tier 2 Assassin moving out. The Tier 2 Elementalist walking straight toward Shi Feng and the Tier 2 Assassin that just disappeared were both part of the Twelve Heavens. They also ranked number one in their respective classes in Hecate. The Elementalist was Cold Brew while the Assassin was Blade Hand. Either of them could defeat him easily. Working together would amplify the combat power they could display by multiple times; hence, instantly killing a Tier 2 player would be child''s play for them. At this point, Hecate''s other members had also started slowly closing in on Asura''s members. Facing such a force, even Yan Ya, who was a Tier 2 player, could not help but gulp. As for the other experts of Asura, they were already breaking out in a cold sweat. After all, this was the first time they were going up against such a massive force. Resisting the horrific aura and pressure Hecate''s army projected was deeply ingrained, yet in such a situation, they could only watch the Guild players draw near. "We''re doomed!" "Hecate is too ruthless! We have only 700 people on our side, yet they actually dispatched so many elite and expert players to deal with us." The members of Asura''s expedition team panicked as Hecate''s members closed in on them. When less than 100 yards separated the two sides, Cold Brew smiled as he looked at Shi Feng. He then chuckled and said, "You guys were pretty good at the Snow Ruin before, to have actually claimed the Hero Mode''s First Clear and snatched our Guild''s Cold Wind City. It''s a pity that, instead of meekly staying and ruling that backwater city of yours, you even dared to come running over to this place. Well? Tell me how you want to die." "Everyone relied on their own capabilities to struggle for Cold Wind City. Is there a need to call it snatching?" Looking at Cold Brew slowly approaching him, Shi Feng smiled and said, "Moreover, in Cold Wind City, it was clearly you guys that started attacking us first. During this time, you people from Hecate have even ambushed and killed over 400 members of our adventurer team, causing us to suffer severe losses. Today, I''ll use this opportunity to claim full compensation from you!" "Hahaha! You want to take revenge on us?" Cold Brew laughed loudly. "Our Guild had countless enemies. Unfortunately, we annihilated every one of them in the end. How will your Asura adventurer team take revenge on us?" As soon as Cold Brew said so, the large group of experts behind him sprang into action. Like a pack of fierce tigers, they surged towards Asura''s members. "We''ll take revenge like this!" Shi Feng replied, plucking a scroll and the Evil God''s Eye from his bag. He then unfurled the Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll Purgatory Flames and used the Evil God''s Eye''s World Power on it. "Burn! Purgatory Flames!" 1775 Nightmares Beginning Chapter 1775 - Nightmare''s Beginning In the narrow valley... As Shi Feng completed the Tier 3 Magic Scroll''s incantation, three crimson magic arrays appeared beneath and circled Shi Feng''s feet. Immediately after, the ground started to tremble, extending forward and away from Shi Feng. Even Hecate''s members, who stood over 50 yards away, felt the intense quaking. "Damn it! It''s a large-scale destruction Spell! Everyone, dodge!" Cold Brew panicked when he noticed a torrent of Mana surge toward Shi Feng. However, the Magic Scroll Shi Feng had used had a very short channeling time. By the time Hecate''s members had noticed it, the three crimson magic arrays'' formation had completed. In the next moment, a gigantic, flaming phoenix, with a wingspan of easily over 100 meters, appeared above Shi Feng. The heat the phoenix radiated melted the snow around it. Boom! With a screech, the phoenix flapped its wings once and disappeared, sundering the space it had occupied. In the blink of an eye, the phoenix arrived before Hecate''s army. Seeing the approaching avian, horror flashed on the faces of Hecate''s members. At the same time, thoughts of escape flooded their minds. However, compared to the phoenix''s speed, Hecate''s members were little more than snails. Wherever the phoenix passed, a sea of fire followed... When Vast Heaven, who led the charge against Asura''s members, saw the flames, his eyes widened in shock. With a frustrated gaze, he turned towards Shi Feng as the fire devoured him, his HP falling to zero instantly as his body turned to ash. After Vast Heaven disappeared, an item took his place. If these flames even killed a Tier 2 player like Vast Heaven upon contact, Hecate''s Tier 1 players didn''t have a chance of survival. Agonized screams echoed throughout the valley. "Asura!" Cold Brew''s expression darkened as he glared at the phoenix as it flew past him. Due to the valley''s narrow terrain, the single attack had claimed more than 3,000 Hecate members. Four of the Twelve Heavens, who weren''t adept at protecting themselves, had died as well. The loss Hecate just suffered was egregious. "Everyone, charge! Let''s teach Hecate''s members that if they target our adventurer team, they''ll have to pay in blood!" Shi Feng commanded through the team chat as the phoenix disappeared. "Asura will fully compensate you for any losses you suffer today!" Against an army of 40,000 elite and expert players, even a 100-man, Tier 2 team would fall. After all, players had limited Stamina. Furthermore, Hecate had come prepared for this ambush. The Guild had all kinds of Magic Scrolls and tools for this battle. Even if the 100 Tier 2 experts could maneuver around the battlefield and dodge incoming attacks, some hits were bound to land. All these players could do was try to flee. Fighting was simply suicide. Originally, Purgatory Flames was an AOE Spell that dealt fire damage to an area of 20*100 yards, but with World''s Power''s enhancement, it''s range had grown to 400 yards. It was just enough to open a path through Hecate''s army. As long as they could break free from this encirclement, they would have a chance of survival. "Right! At worst, we''ll just die once! Isn''t that just one piece of equipment? Let them have it!" "We follow the commander''s orders!" "Nice! I''ve been itching for some payback!" Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Asura''s members burned with fighting spirit, their fear of Hecate vanishing. "Good! Let''s charge!" As his team brimmed with fighting spirit, Shi Feng nodded approvingly. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon to remove anyone in his way. He then followed after the Demon. "Kill!" "Kill these bastards from Hecate!" Asura''s members flowed into a defensive formation, with the experts around the perimeter and the Lifestyle Players in the center, and followed after their commander. When he saw Hecate''s members start to fill the gap in their army''s formation, Shi Feng used Flame Domain to reopen his path, instantly slaying another several hundred players. "Do not let them escape! All ranged players, attack with everything you''ve got!" Cold Brew shouted as Asura''s members tried to escape. He then cast the Tier 2 Spell, Frostflame Bullet at Asura''s members. Frostflame Bullet had a very strong penetrating ability. Even if players blocked the Spell with their weapons or shields, they would receive a significant amount of damage. The eight Frostflame Bullets that appeared instantly killed two of Asura''s experts that had stood along the edge of Asura''s formation. The Hecate members who stood along the valley''s sides began to launch their own attacks, raining Spells and arrows down on Asura''s members. Although Asura''s members did their best to block these attacks, there were just too many, and some got past their defenses, plowing into these players. Asura''s expedition team had lost over 30 players after a single intense bombardment from Hecate''s players. The difference in strength was clear for all to see. As Hecate''s members prepared to launch a second wave... Yan Ya displayed her strength. As a Tier 2 Druid, her combat power might not be a match for other Tier 2 players, but when it came to defensive and healing capabilities, she was extremely powerful. Tier 2 Spell, Song of the Forest! Suddenly, a light-green dome with a 50-yard radius formed around Yan Ya. When Hecate''s attacks entered the light-green barrier, their power drastically decreased. In addition, the Asura members inside the barrier recovered 2% of their HP every second. Although it wasn''t much, this helped to alleviate the burden on the other healers. Due to Song of the Forest, only a dozen or so Asura members died in the second wave of attacks. Seeing the Spell''s powerful effects, Cold Brew gnashed his teeth and retrieved a precious Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll. He activated it, aiming for Asura''s expedition team, but as the Spell was about to take effect, Shi Feng blocked the attack by activating Absolute Domain. In the end, the Spell failed to damage any of Asura''s team. Shi Feng proceeded to slaughter Hecate''s frontline. He dispatched every melee player that approached his team as fast as possible. He also activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power to enhance his combat power further. Thundering Flash! Lightning Edge! Shadow Blade! Aside from the players with powerful Lifesaving Skills, the Tier 1 players that stood in Shi Feng''s path couldn''t last more than one hit against the Swordsman. Like the Grim Reaper, Shi Feng harvested the lives of Hecate''s members, one after another. To ensure that none of Hecate''s members could get past him to target his allies, Shi Feng abandoned his defense. He focused on killing as many enemies as possible, taking some hits in the process. There was no lack of expert players among the Hecate members who charged at Shi Feng, and not only did these experts have incredible aim, but they also had an excellent grasp of timing. While Shi Feng focused on carving a path of blood, Spells and arrows skillfully flew towards Shi Feng''s blind spots to strike the Swordsman. -2,387.00 -1,657.00 -1,346.00 -2,046.00 Seeing the damages above Shi Feng''s heads, the attacking Hecate members gaped, their eyes nearly falling from their sockets. "Impossible! My attack only did a little over a thousand damage?!" "Is he even human?" "He received so many attacks, yet his HP has barely moved?" Hecate''s players were horrified as they watched Shi Feng take little-to-no damage from their ranged allies'' attacks as they charged towards Asura''s team. Shi Feng slew practically every player in his path with a single attack, and expert players were no exception. He easily maneuvered past their defenses, landing direct hits and killing them instantly. Only expert players that had activated a Berserk Skill had lasted a few more hits. In contrast, their attacks were little more than raindrops to this Swordsman. Even after landing several dozen attacks, they had only managed to drop Shi Feng''s HP to 80%. Meanwhile, Asura''s healers only needed a split second to restore Shi Feng''s HP to full. This was a nightmare! However, things were not looking so good for Asura''s members, either. Although Shi Feng easily held on, attacks from all sides bombarded his teammates, and they suffered one casualty after another. To make matters worse, more of Hecate''s members were drawing near. Just before Hecate''s melee unit reached Asura''s members and surrounded them... A gigantic magic array appeared above the battlefield before a powerful force swept down from it. Under this force, Hecate''s members felt their bodies grow heavy as their Attributes and physiques started to wane. In contrast, Asura''s members suddenly felt lighter, a surge of power flooding in their bodies. Even their minds cleared considerably. "What''s going on?" Cold Brew could sense that the battlefield''s Mana density had increased, boosting Asura''s Attributes. 1776 Asuras Sword Chapter 1776 - Asura''s Sword After Shi Feng spent 7,000 Magic Crystals to activate the Ring of Gospel''s World Projection and Ring of Brilliance, the Attributes of Asura''s members increased, and the those of Hecate''s members decreased. The change immediately alleviated the pressure on Asura''s members. Now, Asura''s ranged members were able to repel Hecate''s melee members with greater ease. Even when their attacks struck the enemy MTs'' shields, the impact pushed the MTs back, stopping their advance momentarily. After a single round of attacks from Asura''s ranged members, the offensive formation of Hecate''s MTs shattered. When the second round of attacks descended, over 30 Hecate MTs died. For a moment, Hecate''s melee unit couldn''t close the distance between itself and Asura''s expedition team. "Hahaha! The commander''s move is awesome! With this, these bastards can''t even come within melee range of us!" The Asura members that had begun to despair felt their hopes rekindle. They might be able to cope with Hecate''s ranged attacks by blocking and dodging, but if they allowed Hecate''s melee members to come in close and personal, they would definitely be in a bind. If they were pinned down for too long, Hecate''s ranged members would make quick work of them. Thanks to World Projection and Ring of Brilliance, Asura''s advancement had increased considerably. Now, with the exception of Hecate''s Tier 2 players, Asura''s members held their ground against the incoming attacks. Hecate''s Tier 1 players could no longer break their formation. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who opened a path for his team, was like a killing machine. Despite Shi Feng having only advanced one-quarter of the way through Hecate''s blockade, more than 400 players had died by his swords. In addition, Shi Feng''s Tier 3 Demon disrupted Hecate''s formation from time to time This prevented Hecate''s members from slowing Shi Feng down, and Hecate''s members could only watch as Shi Feng made his way through their ranks. "Blade, go, stop him with the Vultures! We must not let these people get away!" Cold Brew said, gnashing his teeth as he watched Shi Feng plow through Hecate''s army unhindered. Shi Feng played a crucial part in this battle. If he hadn''t torn a hole in their encirclement, Asura''s members wouldn''t have had a chance of breaking through. Moreover, too many Hecate members had died at Shi Feng''s hands. Shi Feng left only corpses in his wake. If they did not remove the man from the battle now, they would suffer immense losses. "Got it!" Blade Hand, who had hidden a short distance away from Asura''s expedition team, replied through the team chat He then led the six Assassins around him and snuck toward Shi Feng. The Vultures was a party of Assassins Hecate had specifically nurtured to eliminate important figures in other large Guilds. The Vultures had successfully assassinated the upper echelons of super-first-rate Guilds in the past. When the Vultures were within 30 yards of Shi Feng, the six Assassins each took a Magic Array Scroll from their bags. When they were within 25 yards, they used Shadow Steps and instantly appeared beside Shi Feng. "Seal!" The Vultures moved extremely quickly and simultaneously unfurled the Magic Array Scrolls in their hands. However, Shi Feng''s response was also swift. He instantly knew what these newcomers intended to do. Immediately, he began brandishing his swords. Sword''s Orbit! Dazzling stars bombarded the six Assassins, one after another. With both hands occupied, the Vultures couldn''t defend themselves. Hence, they promptly activated Wind Steps, utilizing the brief invulnerability the Skill provided to block Shi Feng''s strikes while they continued to activate their Magic Array Scrolls. Suddenly, a magic array formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet He then felt a powerful gravitational pull as chains emerged from the magic array and wrapped around his body, reducing his Basic Attributes, Movement Speed, and Attack Speed by 60%. Moreover, a magic barrier formed around him, Blade Hand, and the Vultures, sealing them off from the outside world. No Attack Spells or Healing Spells would be able to get through this barrier. "Die!" Blade Hand appeared behind Shi Feng, slashing his two daggers at the Swordsman while he activated his Berserk Skill. Similarly, the six Vultures activated their Berserk Skills and used Absolute Strike, the Assassin class''s strongest Tier 1 Skill. Since the attacks had been launched from such a close range and Shi Feng''s Attributes and speed had been drastically reduced, he couldn''t defend himself in time. As a result, all seven attacks hit their mark at the same time. "Commander!" Anxiety and concern overwhelmed Yan Ya as she watched Shi Feng take the hits. Facing one Tier 2 Assassin and six Tier 1 Assassins with activated Berserk Skills, even Shi Feng, who had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, would likely fall. He''s finally dead! Cold Brew could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the attacks strike Shi Feng. With Shi Feng dead, the remaining members of Asura were fish on the chopping block. Moreover, the fact that they had killed Shi Feng, the Asura adventurer team''s commander, more or less justified the large number of casualties they had suffered. However, unlike Cold Brew, the Vultures and Blade Hand, who were inside the magic array, expressed neither joy nor relief. Instead, they stared at Shi Feng with grim expressions. This was because their weapons had not struck Shi Feng at all. Rather, a translucent barrier enveloping Shi Feng''s body had stopped their weapons. What a powerful assassination technique. For a moment, even I thought I was dead meat. After taking glancing at his seven tense assailants, Shi Feng took a look at the Void Shield he had activated. His Void Shield had already lost more than 30% of its energy. If he had failed to activate the barrier in time, he definitely would have died. "It''s only a protective shield! I refuse to believe it can last forever!" After recovering from his shock, Blade Hand altered his daggers'' trajectory and launched another attack. Similarly, the six Vultures launched their own assault The seven Assassins remained cold and unmoving as they attacked Shi Feng''s protective shield in a frenzy, disregarding any cost. While inside the magic array, their Basic Attributes surpassed Shi Feng''s. They were also faster than the Swordsman. Meanwhile, Skills that generated protective shields could only absorb a limited amount of damage. As long as they broke through the protective shield, Shi Feng would die all the same. Daggers and short swords rapidly struck Shi Feng''s Void Shield. Dang! Dang! Dang! Shi Feng executed Sword''s Orbit to defend himself, but each time he blocked an attack, his arms would tremble slightly. In terms of Strength, he was no match for the Seven Assassins. Meanwhile, the Assassins'' coordination prevented him from blocking all of their attacks. As a result, his Void Shield''s energy continued to deplete. 60%... 50%... 30%... While Void Shield''s energy drained, the expedition team''s situation had taken a turn for the worst. Since Asura''s members had halted their advance for a time, Hecate''s members were able to land more attacks. As a result, Asura lost members rapidly. Seeing this, Shi Feng could not help but sigh. Immediately, he activated Blade Liberation, his aura''s intensity skyrocketing. The instant Blade Hand and the Vultures came into contact with Shi Feng''s Killing Ray, they felt their arms go numb. The impact sent them flying and crashing into the magic barrier, which rippled under the force. How did he recover his Strength? Blade Hand''s expression darkened further as he watched Shi Feng, who stood proudly in the center of the magic barrier. He could not understand how Shi Feng''s Attributes had increased by such a large margin. However, Shi Feng had no intention of giving Blade Hand''s group any time to think as he took the initiative to attack. Dang! Dang! Dang! Shi Feng''s Attack Speed was so high that even Tier 2 players had a hard time keeping up with his swords. Although Blade Hand and the Vultures were Assassins, not even they were a match for this Swordsman''s speed. They had to rely on their instincts to block Shi Feng''s swords. The seven Assassins knew that they were pushing themselves to their limits. Yet, every time their daggers or short swords came into contact with Shi Feng''s swords, an intense feedback coursed through their arms. The resulting impact was so powerful that they were even forced to retreat by several steps. Eventually, they could no longer keep up and were forced to use Vanish, temporarily negating Shi Feng''s attacks. Using the brief invulnerability, they launched a suicidal attack. The reckless assault instantly shattered Shi Feng''s Void Shield and slightly lowered his HP. Seeing that they had finally dealt damage, Blade Hand and the Vultures regained a little hope. Immediately, the seven Assassins disregarded defense and launched another reckless assault. However, just as their attacks were about to strike Shi Feng, their target split into two identical copies. Phantom Kill! Blade Hand and the Vultures were dumbfounded, but since their brief invulnerability was still active, they thrust their blades at the two copies. However, with the seven Assassins'' attacks divided and the fact that Shi Feng had an absurd amount of HP and Defense, the Assassins failed to kill either of Shi Feng''s copies. When the seven Assassins'' temporary invulnerability ended, Shi Feng and his doppelganger simultaneously activated Shadow Blade, sending 20 strikes flying at the Assassins. There was little space for players to move around inside the magic barrier, and as a result, five of the seven Assassins were killed instantly. Shi Feng and his doppelganger then executed Purgatory Pentaslash, each bombarding the two remaining Assassins with five slashes. The power of each slash grew stronger than the last, and by the time Shi Feng and his doppelganger landed their fifth hit, their opponents were paralyzed. Suddenly, a streak of blue light cut down Blade Hand and the last Vulture. This time, the two Assassins were powerless. When the streak of light cut through the two Assassins'' leather armor, both were thrown into the magic barrier, staring with widened eyes as they died. They simply could not bring themselves to believe that some commander of a measly adventurer team had turned the tables on Hecate''s Vultures, who were powerful enough to make the various large Guilds tremble with fear. Although Blade Hand wanted to say something, his HP had reached zero. His vision faded to black as his body transformed into a streak of light and disappeared, leaving behind a piece of equipment Shortly after, the magic barrier around Shi Feng shattered and vanished. 1777 Scourge Chapter 1777 - Scourge Along with the magic barrier''s disappearance, Hecate''s members, who were slowly closing in on Asura''s members, could not help being stunned. Everyone in Hecate knew of the Vultures. The group was second only to the Guild''s pride, the Twelve Heavens, in terms of strength. When it came to fame, the Vultures were far more renowned than the Twelve Heavens because the Vultures had killed many people in the upper echelons of first-rate Guilds before and even someone in the upper echelon of a super-first- rate Guild. Moreover, Blade Hand, Hecate''s number one Assassin, had even led the assault on Shi Feng this time. Yet, after fighting for just a little over ten seconds, all seven of the Vultures actually got killed. "He''s not dead, even after all that?" A hint of fear flashed across Cold Brew''s eyes as he watched Shi Feng collect the items dropped by Blade Hand and the Vultures. Although he had long since known that Shi Feng was very strong, he hadn''t thought the Swordsman was this strong. Gritting his teeth, Cold Brew immediately commanded, "Everyone nearby, listen up! Stop Asura''s commander at all costs! He has already used up all his trump cards! We cannot let him get away, no matter what! I will reward four pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment or one Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapon to whoever manages to kill him!" With such strength, if they allowed Shi Feng to develop freely, he would undoubtedly become a scourge on Hecate in the future. Only by killing Shi Feng once now and damaging his vigor would they be able to disrupt Shi Feng''s development Moreover, it wasn''t very easy to hunt down and encircle players out in the field. They had succeeded this time only because Shi Feng had not been prepared. After today, they definitely wouldn''t find another good opportunity like this to strike at Shi Feng in the future. Anyhow, the sudden boost in Shi Feng''s Attributes definitely wouldn''t last long. Once they outlasted its duration, victory would be theirs for the taking. "Kill!" Meanwhile, when Hecate''s members heard the reward Cold Brew was offering, their eyes promptly turned bloodshot. The Guild had precious few Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons, much less Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons. If they could get their hands on one, it would definitely boost their combat power significantly. Following which, the Hecate members that were previously drawing closer to Asura''s members suddenly changed course for Shi Feng. Dozens of melee players swarmed Shi Feng simultaneously. Spells and Skills also flew at him one after another. Seeing this, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray lightly. Summon Lightning! Suddenly, with Shi Feng as the center, countless streaks of lightning spread out into his surroundings. As he was still under the effects of Twofold Berserk, every player that came into contact with the lightning strikes were killed, their bodies becoming piles of ash on the ground. Before the might of this attack, Hecate''s members, who were fired up with bloodlust, instantly cooled down, their charge coming to an abrupt halt. Sure enough, there are still too many people. Shi Feng paid no attention to the Hecate members that had stopped approaching him. Instead, he shifted his gaze to his teammates, who were currently fighting a heated battle. Although the Ring of Gospel''s Skills had helped Asura''s members significantly, the disadvantage in numbers was simply too massive. Now, less than half of the Asura expedition team remained alive. Shi Feng then turned to look at the snow-capped forest a little over a thousand yards away. I have no choice but to try. Just as Cold Brew had expected, Shi Feng was already running on fumes right now. Twofold Berserk was his final trump card. Once he activated it, either his enemies died or he did. If he could get his team into the forest and utilize the terrain, hiding would be a snap. At that time, Hecate''s members would no longer be able to surround them easily. Following which, Shi Feng used his final trump card, Forbidden Domain! Suddenly, gray fog spread out from Shi Feng''s body and enveloped the path ahead of him, extending to the snow-capped forest. "What''s going on? Why can''t I used my Spells?" "That''s not right! I can''t even use my tools now!" The Hecate members caught within Forbidden Domain quickly realized that something was wrong and panicked. After all, players relied mainly on Skills and Spells to do combat. Not being able to use these things was akin to a tiger that had lost both its teeth and claws. Most importantly, the healers could no longer heal themselves or their allies. "Everyone, charge forward together with me!" Upon seeing Hecate''s members rattled, Shi Feng quickly gave the order through the team chat and charged at the human wall before him. He then swung Killing Ray at the shields of the MTs blocking his way. With Twofold Berserk in effect, Shi Feng was basically a humanoid monster. Just one attack was enough to send several MTs flying over a dozen yards away. Then, he followed up with Dragon Breath, tearing open the path that Hecate''s members had refilled just recently. Although Hecate''s members did their best to reorganize their formation, having been Silenced, they were no different from paper before Shi Feng. Every player that stood in his path would be sent flying before transforming into a streak of light and disappearing. Nobody could stop him at all. Asura''s members became hot-blooded at the sight of Shi Feng harvesting the lives of their enemies so effortlessly. They followed after him with renewed vigor. Although Hecate''s members tried to prevent the adventurer team from advancing, the difference in combat power was simply too massive. Without any healing, Hecate''s melee players fell quickly to Asura''s members in just two or three moves. In the end, the Guild players could only watch as the remains of Asura''s expedition team entered the snow-capped forest. "Boss Brew, Asura''s members have escaped into the forest Should we continue giving chase?" a Level 54 Ranger asked as he looked at the nearby forest. "No, we''re retreating. The terrain inside the forest is too complex. Launching a search there will be too difficult We might even get ambushed by them if we charge in recklessly," Cold Brew said, shaking his head. He then sent a fierce glance at the forest Shi Feng had disappeared into as he said, "We have plenty of time to deal with them in the future. Frozen City isn''t a place they can easily survive in!" Following which, Hecate''s members all used their Return Scrolls and returned to Frozen City. Meanwhile, news of Hecate''s failed encirclement soon entered the ears of the various Guilds of Frozen City and set off quite a commotion among the upper echelons of these Guilds. Many Guilds in Frozen City even held emergency meetings over this matter. "Hahaha! This Asura adventurer team sure is amazing! It actually managed to make Hecate eat a loss!" "This adventurer team is quite good. Have someone try to make contact with it." For a time, the various Guilds of Frozen City did their best to find out more about the Asura adventurer team. Hecate was the ruling Guild of Frozen City. Although the Guild had yet to actually take control of the city, nobody in Frozen City dared to oppose the Guild. Now that an adventurer team capable of inflicting such a huge loss on Hecate had appeared, how could the various Guilds not feel shocked by this matter? Aside from Frozen City''s Guilds, the top-ranking adventurer teams of the city also obtained news of Hecate''s failure through their own sources. A Level 54 Assassin suddenly entered one of Frozen City''s high-class bars with hurried steps. "Commander, something big just happened! Hecate dispatched 40,000 elites and experts to ambush an adventurer team!" the Level 54 Assassin announced as he took a seat in front of a middle-aged man, who was currently enjoying some wine in a corner of the bar. This middle-aged man was Brilliant Heaven, the commander of the Frost Lion adventurer team, Frozen City''s second-best adventurer team. With great enthusiasm, the Level 54 Assassin continued, "What do you think the outcome was?" "What else could it be? With a force of 40,000 elites and experts, you can even wipe out some of the large Guilds in Frozen City," Brilliant Heaven replied disinterestedly. "You guessed wrong! Hecate failed. I also heard that Hecate lost several thousand members as well," the Level 54 Assassin said, shaking his head. "Several thousand? Which adventurer team did Hecate target? Even White Soul, the current number one adventurer team, doesn''t have this kind of capability!" Brilliant Heaven could not help but be surprised by the Assassin''s words. "No. Based on some insider information from Hecate, it seems this adventurer team came from another region," the Level 54 Assassin said. "Another region? What''s it called? How many people did they send over? Several tens of thousands?" Brilliant Heaven''s curiosity was now piqued despite himself. "It seems the adventurer team is called Asura, and it sent roughly 700 people over this time," the Level 54 Assassin said after taking another look at the message he received previously. "Moreover, I heard that Asura''s commander killed the Vultures and Blade Hand all by himself." "Seven hundred? And their commander killed the Vultures and Blade Hand by himself?" Upon hearing the Assassin''s words, Brilliant Heaven could not help wondering whether the Assassin was drunk. However, the Assassin had spoken very clearly and seriously. "If that is true, then I''m afraid Frozen City will soon have a new ruler." 1778 Famous Chapter 1778 - Famous Frozen City, Central District: After Shi Feng got his team away from Hecate, he split the surviving Asura members into small groups and had them enter Frozen City while wearing cloaks, to start collecting information regarding the city. As for Shi Feng himself, he and Yan Ya made their way straight to Frozen City''s City Hall. "Commander, this city is flourishing! It can already rival the capitals of kingdoms back on the continent of God''s Domain!" Yan Ya was very surprised as she looked at the street outside through the advanced horse carriage''s windows. As they made their way to the City Hall, she saw plenty of players hawking their wares on the sidewalks. Unlike Cold Wind City, though, the majority of these hawkers were Lifestyle players. These players sold Level 50 weapons and equipment, and the weakest piece of equipment was Bronze rank, while the better ones were even Secret-Silver rank. Such a scene could not be found in Cold Wind City. Also, plenty of player-operated Shops lined the streets. Frozen City''s prosperity could definitely rival that of a kingdom''s capital. Moreover, compared to the level and equipment standard of Cold Wind City''s players, the players here were obviously superior. Most of the players on the street were Level 52 and were fully geared in Level 50 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. There were also quite a few Level 53 experts sporting multiple pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Yan Ya even spotted some independent players in Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. "This place is indeed weH-developed If comparing purely in terms of Lifestyle player standards, Frozen City is far superior to the capitals of kingdoms." As Shi Feng looked at the Lifestyle players on the sidewalks, he discovered that these Lifestyle players were not wearing any Guild Emblems. Despite not being a member of a Guild, they were capable of producing Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment The forging standard of the Lifestyle players in Frozen City was much higher than that of the Lifestyle players on the main continent. For example, inside Star-Moon Kingdom, only the Lifestyle players of the Candlelight Trading Firm could produce Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment at a feasible cost. "By the looks of it, Frozen City should be one of the Ice Crystal World''s main cities." "Main city?" Yan Ya repeated. This was her first time hearing this term. "That''s right, a main city. You can think of Otherworlds as a kingdom or an empire. Although Otherworlds have not been unified, some cities are the counterparts of kingdom capitals and imperial capitals. These cities are known as main cities. They function as an intersection for neighboring regions. However, Otherworlds do not have only one main city. Depending on the size of an Otherworld, it can have around three to seven main cities. A city as large and as prosperous as Frozen City should be a main city," Shi Feng explained. Based on the investigations Asura''s members had conducted, Frozen City''s player population exceeded 8,000,000, which was much higher than Cold Wind City''s. In fact, Frozen City''s player population exceeded even White River City''s slightly, which was simply impossible for an ordinary city. In addition, Frozen City had opened a path to two other cities just a little while ago. At the same time, the Frozen City region had multiple maps leading to other regions. All this proved that Frozen City was a main city in the Ice Crystal World. Originally, Shi Feng had expected to arrive at an ordinary city similar to Cold Wind City. He had never imagined that he would actually land himself in a main city. This came as a pleasant surprise. The importance of an Otherworld main city was much greater than that of a kingdom capital or imperial capital on the continent of God''s Domain. The reason for this was access: players in most ordinary cities in Otherworlds had to transit a main city in order to travel to other ordinary cities. On the other hand, players on the continent of God''s Domain could teleport freely between cities belonging to the same kingdom or empire. Moreover, regions housing ordinary cities had access to only one main city. One could travel to other main cities only via the main city they were connected to. Due to these reasons, the main cities of Otherworlds were very important. At the same time, the difficulty of taking control of a main city was also much greater. However, once players successfully seized control of a main city, they could monopolize a sizable portion of an Otherworld''s resourceswhich also made main cities prime targets for the various large Guilds. Now that Shi Feng had managed to arrive at Frozen City ahead of the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds, he had a much better chance of taking control of the city. After riding on the horse carriage for about 20 minutes, Shi Feng and Yan Ya arrived at Frozen City''s City Hall. Currently, merchant players crowded the main lobby. Some of these merchant players were standing before the front counter and browsing through the Shops available for purchase in the city. Others were sitting in the lounge and chatting while waiting for their turn. "Did you hear? Hecate ambushed an adventurer team in the Snow Rift just recently. In the end, however, not only did Hecate lose several thousand elite and expert players, but it even let nearly half of the adventurer team get away." "Of course, I''ve heard about it. I also know that the targeted adventurer team is called Asura and that it''s an adventurer team that came from Cold Wind City, a city that Hecate is trying to occupy." "This Asura adventurer team sure is amazing. It actually managed to deal such a grievous blow to Hecate." "I also heard that Asura''s commander is an absolute monster that''s three meters tall and has arms several times thicker than my thighs. He managed to wipe out the Vultures and kill several thousand elite and expert members of Hecate all by himself. Even Tier 2 experts are like tofu before him." "What a monster! It''s no wonder even the Vultures got annihilated." "Commander, they seem to be talking about you," Yan Ya, who overheard the conversation of some resting players, giggled as she sneaked a glance at Shi Feng. "Am I that gigantic?" Shi Feng could not help being flabbergasted by the conversation of these players. The rumors about him were growing increasingly ridiculous. Hecate''s ambush this time had indeed dealt a severe blow to Asura''s expedition team. However, Asura had also gained a considerable harvest from the ambush, and this harvest came in the form of free promotion. After all, Hecate had caused quite a commotion when it dispatched an army of 40,000 players to hunt a single adventurer team. The fact that the Guild returned in failure only served to garner even more attention from the general populace. At this point, practically every player in Frozen City had heard about the Asura adventurer team already. After Shi Feng arrived on the second-floor hall of the City Hall, he revealed his City Protector title. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service to you today?" An NPC senior administrator promptly walked over to greet Shi Feng. "I wish to purchase a plot of Land in the city," Shi Feng said. "Alright These are the available Lands in our city right now," the senior administrator said as he took out a map of Frozen City. Green and red markers dotted the map, with the green markers signifying ownerless Lands, and the red markers signifying owned Lands. Looking at the city map, Shi Feng could not help but smile. Sure enough, the Lands around that street are still untouched, Shi Feng thought as he looked at a section of the city that was all green. Labeled the Old City District, this section was located in the outer area of the city, and it would seem that nobody was interested in purchasing the Lands there. After all this time since the launch of God''s Domain, the important Lands of NPC cities, whether on the main continent of God''s Domain or in Otherworlds, had already been bought by the various Guilds. No good locations would be left unclaimed. However, the NPC cities in Otherworlds were slightly different, particularly the Old City Districts of the main cities. In Otherworlds, only main cities had access to other main cities. This was like how teleportation between countries was limited to the capitals. Players needed to travel to the capital in order to teleport to another country. However, the way this access was gained wasn''t by opening up a path in a particular map but by activating the air routes between cities. Once the air routes were activated, players could then ride a Flying Ship from one main city to another. These Flying Ships would dock at the main cities'' Old City Districts, where the main cities would construct an airport. In the past, the various large Guilds had been ignorant of this fact. As a result, some merchant players that had gambled their money on the Lands of the Old City Districts ended up making a fortune for themselves. Currently, practically all the Lands around the area reserved for the future airport were ownerless. This was a massive business opportunity for Shi Feng. "Lord Protector, may I know which plot of Land you wish to buy? I can also give you a detailed introduction of the Lands available here," the senior administrator asked when he saw Shi Feng remaining unresponsive for quite some time. "No need for introductions. I want every plot of Land in this area," Shi Feng said as he pointed at the several streets of the Old City District. 1779 Difference between Cities Chapter 1779 - Difference between Cities "Everything?" the NPC senior administrator couldn''t help but ask, flabbergasted. "Lord Protector, there are a total of 14 plots of Land on these streets. Are you sure you want all of them?" Even Yan Ya gave Shi Feng an astonished look, her jaw dropping. She simply could not fathom what Shi Feng was trying to do. Although the Lands in the Old City District were much cheaper than the Lands in the central district, purchasing all 14 plots would still cost a fortune. Moreover, the Old City District was in a remote area of the city. Even now, nobody had bothered to purchase any of those Lands. One could easily see just how poor the location was. Just finding a tenant might be impossible. "That''s right. I want all of them." Shi Feng nodded. "Alright, the total for the 14 plots of Land comes to 31,500 Gold!" After making sure that Shi Feng wanted to buy Old City District''s Lands, the senior administrator excitedly calculated the total price and handed Shi Feng a list. Examining this list, Shi Feng noticed that the cheapest plot cost over 2,000 Gold. These Lands were slightly more expensive than those in the outskirts of a kingdom''s capital city. However, once the air routes between main cities opened to the public, these Lands would become dozens of times more valuable. Even if he didn''t have a use for these Lands, he could rent them out and make a fortune. Naturally, he couldn''t miss the opportunity to purchase these Lands. After ensuring that everything was in order, Shi Feng completed the payment. At this stage of the game, 31,500 Gold was a massive sum even to a first-rate Guild. To Shi Feng, however, this amount was nothing. Shi Feng had already sent Solitary Nine with the rare materials, which the Asura adventurer team and the Adventurer Alliance had gathered, to the Candlelight Trading Firm. On his return, Solitary Nine had brought back plenty of items from Candlelight, such as Stamina Potions, Ice Resistance Armor Kits, and other items that could not be found in Cold Wind City to sell or put up for trade for the Adventurer Alliance. Cold Wind City''s players preferred to purchase their items with Coins rather than trade rare materials for items. Hence, he had earned quite a lot of Coins recently. Thus far, Solitary Nine had made two trips to White River City. His first trip had netted them over 20,000 Gold. On his second trip, which had been several days later, Candlelight was far more prepared as it had obtained the massive stock of rare materials. As a result, the items Solitary Nine had returned to Cold Wind City with on his second trip had netted them over 60,000 Gold in profit Now, Shi Feng''s pockets were heavy with Coins. It was a pity that Asura and Zero Wing couldn''t afford such shipments every day. After all, there were only so many players in Cold Wind City. There was a limit to the market''s appetite. By Shi Feng''s estimates, it would take the city''s players at least four to five days to digest all of the items. In other words, he could only earn a fortune once every four or five days. Before Shi Feng had left Cold Wind City, he had spent 10,000 Gold on the teleportation gate''s construction. He had also left 10,000 Gold behind for Asura and the Adventurer Alliance''s development. He still had over 60,000 Gold on hand. However, while 60,000 Gold might seem significant, it wasn''t enough for Shi Feng to accomplish anything. He needed a lot more than this paltry amount Aside from Cold Wind City''s development, Shi Feng was responsible for the development costs of Zero Wings Branch Guild, $ilverwing Town, and the Lost Town in the Boneless Land, all of which required a massive amount of funds. This was especially true for Silverwing Town and the Lost Town. Silverwing Town was located beside a Primordial Divine Ruin that was connected to Primordial City. It was a strategic location that could constantly bring in combat techniques and resources, which could aid players in their Promotion Quests. As for the Lost Town, it was a holy land that could help players grasp the Realms of Truth. It would help Zero Wing nurture countless experts for the future. These two towns were the foundations necessary for Zero Wing to become a Super Guild, and they needed to be fortified as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the various superpowers realized the value of these two towns, they would do everything they could to steal them from Zero Wing. This was also why Shi Feng had told no one about the Lost Town. With how large Zero Wing had grown, there were many spies within the Guild. The risk of leaking information was too great In God''s Domain, the strong preyed on the weak. On the off chance that the various superpowers discovered the Lost Town''s ability, Zero Wing''s current strength wouldn''t be enough to defend the town from the claws of multiple superpowers. It was absolutely necessary that Shi Feng fortify the two towns as soon as possible, and the fastest way to do so required spending money to earn even more. Purchasing these 14 plots of Land was his plan''s first steps. After purchasing these 14 plots of Land, Shi Feng chose the largest one and spent 3,000 Gold to build a luxurious Adventurer Residence, which would serve as Asura''s base in this city. He then selected another five plots of Land and spent a total of 5,000 Gold to build high-end Shops. Shi Feng intended to use these Shops as temporary warehouses. Frozen City had far more residential players than Cold Wind City, and the resources these players possessed were doubtlessly superior to those in Cold Wind City in both quantity and quality. After making the necessary preparations, Shi Feng went onto Frozen City''s official forums and published a post as the Asura adventurer team''s commander. The Adventurer Alliance is currently recruiting in Frozen City. We offer excellent benefits with no restrictions! Strong, capable players can even join the Asura adventurer team directly! The moment this post went public, many players that were interested in the Asura adventurer team clicked on it out of curiosity. "Amazing! Truly amazing!" "What?! We can even purchase Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment?!" "Quick, look! We can actually purchase combat techniques in the Adventurer Alliance! There are also Ice Resistance Gemstones among the exchangeable items!" "This Asura adventurer team is too generous! Does Asura plan to gather strength for a war against Hecate?" "Is this for real? If it''s true, I''ll join the Adventurer Alliance right away!" "Magic Light Set, here I come!" The post Shi Feng had uploaded contained information that introduced the Adventurer Alliance''s benefits. To attract more players to join, he had even used the Magic Light Set and combat techniques as bait Of course, not only did items like the Magic Light Set require a large number of Adventurer Alliance Points, but they also required a sufficient number of Soul Dissolving Flowers. Shortly after Shi Feng''s post went live, the independent players throughout the entire Frozen City went into an uproar. Every one of these independent players rushed toward Asura''s Residence. Although the majority of them did not have Soul Dissolving Flowers, they were still curious to find out whether the Asura adventurer team''s claim was true, wanting to confirm the situation with their own eyes. Before ten minutes had even passed, over 10,000 independent players had crowded around Asura''s Residence, seeking to join the Adventurer Alliance; they packed the street outside the Residence, forcing Asura''s members to step up and maintain order. When Frozen City''s independent players joined the Adventurer Alliance and saw the exchange list in the main lobby, they were ecstatic. The Magic Light Set was on the list, as promised, and there were actually three available! After getting their fill of the Magic Light Set, the independent players in the lobby turned their bloodshot eyes toward the Ice Resistance Gemstones that increased one''s Ice Resistance by five points. They immediately began to bid on the gemstones. Frozen City had far more resources than Cold Wind City, especially when it came to Magic Crystals. This was because Frozen City had an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon in its area. Players could visit the Regional Dungeon to harvest the Magic Crystals they needed. Hence, Frozen City''s players had slightly more Magic Crystals in their possession than Cold Wind City''s players. Very quickly, the prices for the Ice Resistance Gemstones shot up to seven Magic Crystals, with some even reaching eight Magic Crystals. Roughly 30 minutes later, the 5,000 five-point gemstones Shi Feng had brought from Cold Wind City had sold out. Frozen City''s appetite for the Ice Resistance Gemstones was many times stronger than Cold Wind City''s. The sales had also earned Shi Feng over 35,700 Magic Crystals. Realizing that demand for the gemstones was so high here, Shi Feng posted 10,000 six-point gemstones for sale as well, with their minimum price set at seven Magic Crystals. However, instead of selling batches of 1,000 at a time, as he had before, he only sold the six-point gemstones in batches of 200 and 300. To Shi Feng''s surprise, all three Magic Light Sets had sold roughly three hours after he had established the Adventurer Alliance in Frozen City, netting him 18 Soul Dissolving Flowers... Despite all of his efforts to collect the Soul Dissolving Flower in Cold Wind City, he had only collected six stalks, yet he had secured 18 stalks only three hours after arriving in Frozen City. The difference between the two cities was greater than he had imagined. Although the Magic Light Sets had likely been purchased by players from large Guilds, potentially adding to these Guild''s strength, Shi Feng didn''t care. After all, he had finally secured the 20 Soul Dissolving Flowers. After Shi Feng withdrew the 18 Soul Dissolving Flowers from Asura''s warehouse, he nearly lost himself to his excitement and clicked to remove the curse on the Philosopher''s Hand. Fortunately, he managed to suppress his elation and found a private room in the Residence. Only after ensuring that he was alone did he retrieve the crystalline hand from his bag. System: It has been detected that you have 20 Soul Dissolving Flowers. Do you wish to remove the curse on the Philosopher''s Hand? Seeing the system notification, Shi Feng clicked "Accept" without hesitation. 1780 Initial Unsealing of a Legendary Item Chapter 1780 - Initial Unsealing of a Legendary Item The instant Shi Feng chose to remove the curse, the crystalline, skeletal hand released a purplish-gold glow that lit up the entire room. The Mana density in the room also started to rise at a rapid rate. Amazing! So, this is the power of the Philosopher''s Hand? Shi Feng was unprecedentedly calm as a white mist surrounded him. Shortly after, the mist-turned Mana gradually took liquid form. A globe of Liquid Mana then formed before Shi Feng. A moment later, a scene began to play in the Mana globe. The footage showed a world enveloped in fire. The world''s sky was covered in dense, dark clouds, and from time to time, a tower of flame would rise into the sky. Meanwhile, white flames danced on flowing, white-hot magma in this world''s center. The flames were so hot that they even distorted space around them. However, Shi Feng could faintly see a gigantic gate in the center of the white-hot flames. In addition, a massive, crimson figure paced inside the flames. The figure wielded a trident that seemed to be the ruler of the surrounding flames. After one minute of the footage, it disappeared. The room gradually returned to its original state, and the Philosopher''s Hand quietly hovered before Shi Feng. However, the item was now decorated in carved, divine runes. The Philosopher''s Hand''s Attributes had also undergone significant changes. [Cursed Philosopher''s Hand] (Legendary Rank Item) As the creator of the Philosopher''s Hand failed to complete his wish before death, the creator''s soul had attached itself to the Philosopher''s Hand and cursed it to lose all of its power. As Soul Dissolving Flowers had been used on the Philosopher''s Hand, the creator''s soul had received Soul Guidance. As a result, the curse has been weakened slightly. Additional Skill- Philosopher''s Soul: Offers players guidance for 1 hour when crafting items. Cooldown: 3 hours What an amazing Skill! I''ve only partially removed the curse, yet the Philosopher''s Hand has gained such a heaven-defying Skill. It''s no wonder why it had been known as an alchemy treasure. Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the updated Attribute Panel. Most likely, the effects of Philosopher''s Soul could rival even the value of a Meditation Potion. However, the materials needed to produce the Meditation Potion were incomparably valuable, and the potion itself was impossible to mass-produce. Philosopher''s Soul, on the other hand, was a Skill that could be used indefinitely. Although the Skill could only be used to help Lifestyle players craft items, not to learn combat techniques like the Meditation Potion, it was still a precious resource. If the public discovered this Skill, Guilds throughout the game would hunt Shi Feng down to steal it In God''s Domain, players had to invent items, which involved a process of trial and error to become Lifestyle Masters. It would take a very long time for a Lifestyle player to reach the Master rank. However, if one had some guidance, ten inventing an item would become easier. This would help Lifestyle players, who were just a small step away from becoming a Master, cross the final threshold. After just partially dissolving the curse on the Philosopher''s Hand, it offered such a powerful Skill. It was no wonder why Kingdom''s Sword had developed its trading firm to the forefront of the Dark Night Empire within a short time. After all, Lifestyle Masters were the core competitive power of a trading firm. This outcome made Shi Feng even more eager to complete this Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest and obtain the complete Philosopher''s Hand. However, the World Forest''s location is a big problem. As Shi Feng recalled the scene the Mana ball had displayed, frowning. Current players were likely unfamiliar with the flaming world and would take a very long time to find it, but the moment Shi Feng, who was incredibly familiar with God''s Domain, had laid eyes on the world of fire, the massive crimson monster, and the trident it wielded, he knew where it was. The Flame Demon''s Valley! It was a neutral map that was home to Flame Demons. The gigantic monster in the recording was, in fact, the Flame Demon King, the Flame Demon''s Valley''s Final Boss. As the Flame Demon''s Valley was rich in Magic Crystals and Source Fire Ore, it had been highly contested over by the various large Guilds in the past. The Flame Demon King, in particular, was one of the few World Bosses available at this stage of the game. The Flame Demon King''s First Kill awarded Fragmented Legendary items and Guild Residence Promotion Orders. As a result, God''s Domain''s various superpowers had dispatched large armies to raid it. Unfortunately, every Guild that had tried to raid the World Boss had returned in failure. The Flame Demon King had only been Level 83 back then, the various superpowers'' expedition team members had, on average, been over Level 80. The expedition teams also consisted of Tier 2 players, yet they hadn''t been powerful enough to stand against the Flame Demon King''s strength. Every expedition team had been annihilated. Only after players had reached Level 100 and obtained their Tier 3 classes did they finally defeat the Flame Demon King. Meanwhile, the main reason that Level 80-plus players had failed to defeat the Demon King was the Flame Demon''s Valley''s intense environment. The area the Flame Demon King occupied was so hot that players would rapidly lose HP even in full Fire Resistance equipment and with Advanced Fire Resistance Potions. When a team battled the Flame Demon King, the team''s healers constantly had to heal every member of their team. One could easily imagine the results of such a disadvantageous battle. However, not only would players Basic Attributes and physique improve considerably after reaching Tier 3, but their Resistances would also undergo a qualitative transformation. This was also the greatest difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 players. This was why players had been able to defeat this Boss after reaching Tier 3. Although Shi Feng''s goal only consisted of traveling to the World Forest and activating the World Gate, not killing the Flame Demon King, the area''s scorching fire was no laughing matter. Even if he consumed an Advanced Fire Resistance Potion, he wouldn''t last more than 20 seconds in the severe environment without a healer. Furthermore, the Flame Demon King wouldn''t just sit by and watch him approach the World Gate. If he factored in the Flame Demon King''s interference, he wouldn''t survive for more than a few seconds. Then, how was he supposed to activate the World Gate? It seems that I''ll have to find a way to increase my Fire Resistance. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, the only way he could activate the World Gate and complete his quest as soon as possible was to raise his Fire Resistance. Moreover, just increasing his Fire Resistance wouldn''t do. He needed to help improve enough players to form a 20-man team at the very least. Otherwise, he wouldn''t accomplish anything even if he was immune to the map''s heat with the Flame Demon King harassing him. He needed others to distract the Flame Demon King while he activated the World Gate. At the moment, Shi Feng could only think of three methods to improve a player''s Fire Resistance. The first method was to wear Fire Resistance equipment, the second involved Fire Resistance Potions, and the last required raising one''s tier. The last option was unrealistic. Hence, he could only rely on the first and second method. Creating Advanced Fire Resistance Potions was not a problem for the Candlelight Trading Firm. The problem now lay in how to acquire a large stock of Fire Resistance equipment. Moreover, the Fire Resistance equipment in question had to provide a significant amount of Fire Resistance. Otherwise, players wouldn''t be able to survive in the Flame Demon King''s abode. Trying to secure a large stock of powerful Fire Resistance equipment within a short time was unrealistic at this stage of the game. This was because mainstream players were just starting to cross the Level 50 threshold. Team Dungeons that dropped Resistance equipment were still extremely rare. Hence, Resistance equipment was very rare at this level, much less excellent Resistance equipment. Only after players reached Level 70 and above would Resistance equipment start to become available in greater quantities. There''s no other choice. I can only return and have Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow prioritize Team Dungeons that drop Fire Resistance equipment. Shi Feng sighed. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Philosopher''s Hand and called Yan Ya over to discuss the works that needed to be done in Frozen City after he left the Ice Crystal World. He then filled his bag with the 60,000 Magic Crystals, which he had earned through the Ice Resistance Gemstones that provided +6 Ice Resistance, and a large amount of rare materials he had acquired from Frozen City and Cold Wind City. He then used a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported back to the continent of God''s Domain. 1781 Tremendous Changes Chapter 1781 - Tremendous Changes Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City: When Shi Feng entered the Guild Hall''s first-floor hall, he noticed that the main hall was crowded with Guild members either eagerly picking up a quest or exchanging for an item from the Guild Warehouse. With a glance, he noticed that the players present inside the hall were all Level 51 and above. Some Tier 2 players sporting Zero Wing''s core member emblem were forming Guild teams to raid Team Dungeons. The entire first-floor hall bustled with prosperity. Things here were completely different from before he left for the Ice Crystal World. After observing the situation in the Guild Hall for a short while, Shi Feng hurried to the Candlelight Trading Firm. As he rode through the streets of Zero Wing City on an advanced horse carriage, he noticed that there were many more players in the city than before, especially merchant players. In addition, he also saw quite a lot of leisure players wearing virtual clothing designed and made by real-world companies. It was obvious that players had started treating Zero Wing City as a place where they could enjoy life. Aside from merchant players and leisure players, there was also a marked increase in expert players in the city. Just within his field of vision alone right now, Shi Feng already spotted several dozen Level 53 and above expert players and even two extremely rare Tier 2 players. This was a situation that could not be found even in Frozen City. However, the greatest change to Zero Wing City was the horse carriages on the streets. Convoys of carriages frequently drove past Shi Feng. These convoys mostly belonged to NPC merchant caravans, the presence of which also represented the prosperity of a city. And the more there were of such caravans inside a city, the more prosperous a city was. After Zero Wing City''s prosperity reached a certain degree, so long as the city met certain safety requirements, it could get promoted from a Basic City to an Intermediate City. In Shi Feng''s opinion, Zero Wing City''s promotion was imminent If a Guild wished to promote its Basic City to an Intermediate City, the city needed sufficient Popularity. The presence of NPC merchants on the streets was a good benchmark for a city''s Popularitysomething which the various large Guilds in the past had discovered after collecting sample information from multiple Guild Cities. Normally, when half of the merchant caravans present in the city were made up of Advanced Transport Carriages, a Basic City already possessed sufficient Popularity to become an Intermediate City. Meanwhile, roughly one-third of the merchant-owned carriages present inside Zero Wing City were Advanced Transport Carriages. The city was not far off from attaining the needed Popularity. Zero Wing City''s development speed thoroughly exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. What with the Four Towers of Elements in Zero Wing City, it already fulfilled the security requirements to become an Intermediate City. In other words, so long as Zero Wing City achieved sufficient Popularity, it could immediately be promoted to an Intermediate City. It would be great if Silverwing Town and the Lost Town could get promoted as quickly. Shi Feng could not help but sigh ruefully as he looked at the streets through his carriage''s window. Being Star-Moon Kingdom''s first Guild City provided Zero Wing City with a massive advantage. With the additional benefit of an Advanced Defensive Construction like the Four Towers of Elements, it was basically impossible to stop Zero Wing City from developing rapidly. On the other hand, Silverwing Town and the Lost Town, which were both located in neutral maps, did not possess such an advantage. After riding on the horse carriage for about ten minutes, Shi Feng arrived before the Candlelight Trading Firm, which was as lively as ever. Quite a number of Lifestyle Players were lined up on one side of the Shop waiting to apply to join Candlelight "Guild Leader, you''re back!" Melancholic Smile, who was currently busy handling recruitment procedures on the second- floor hall, was pleasantly surprised to see Shi Feng. "Mhm. What''s the situation in Zero Wing City and Candlelight right now?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Melancholic Smile approaching him. When he noticed the Master Forger''s Insignia pinned on her chest, he could not help his surprise, asking, "You got promoted to Master already?" "I became a Master Forger just yesterday. It is all thanks to the rare materials you had Solitary Nine and the others deliver. Those materials allowed me to carry out many experiments. In the end, I managed to create an entirely new piece of equipment," Melancholic Smile said. However, despite her humble words, Melancholic Smile still felt a little proud of herself. After all, the threshold of Master was a huge one to cross. At this point in time, tons of Lifestyle players were still stuck at the Advanced rank, nowhere close to creating a new item. "Since you''ve already been promoted to a Master Forger, I''ll hand over these designs to you," Shi Feng said, taking out a few designs from his bag. He had obtained these designs from the Snow Ruin. One of these designs was for the Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapon Sockham''s Blade, one was for Level 50 Fine-Gold ranked plate armor armguards, and one was for Level 50 Dark-Gold ranked cloth armor robes. Upon taking a closer look at these designs, Melancholic Smile immediately fell into a daze, her hands gripping the designs for Sockham''s Blade and the Fine-Gold ranked armguards tightly. "Guild Leader, can I really learn these?" she asked excitedly. If these were merely Secret-Silver ranked forging designs, she wouldn''t have batted an eye at them. However, it was a different story for Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked designs because forging items of such quality required completely different techniques and the proper matching of materials to unleash the full potential of the materials used. In short, the rank of a forged weapon or equipment was determined by a forger''s capability to utilize the materials involved. If a forger was capable of forging only Bronze and Mysterious-Iron ranked weapons and equipment, then their ability to unleash the potential of raw materials was only at a rudimentary level. Weapons and equipment at the Dark-Gold rank, on the other hand, could be considered works of art. At this rank, the matching of materials was practically at a perfect level. Meanwhile, if players wished to create such works of art of their own, they needed to keep learning Level 50-plus Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold ranked forging designs. However, designs of such rank were extremely rare and difficult to obtain. Thus far, aside from the Fine-Gold rank and above designs from the Holy City of Titan, the Candlelight Trading Firm did not possess any other high-ranking designs. "Of course. If Candlelight has a tailor who has reached the Master rank, then that robe design will be theirs," Shi Feng said, chuckling. This situation made him realize that, aside from various rare materials, he could also get high-ranking designs for Lifestyle players from the Ice Crystal World. It wouldn''t be a bad idea to have Solitary Nine transfer some of the high- ranking designs they acquired at the Ice Crystal World. "Thank you, Guild Leader! I''ll make sure to produce weapons and equipment that will be to your satisfaction very quickly!" Melancholic Smile was brimming with joy as she stored the designs. Afterward, she started reporting on Zero Wing''s current affairs to Shi Feng. Thanks to Zero Wing City and Silverwing Town, Zero Wing''s development was zooming along. The Guild already had over 240,000 elite members and 7,000 expert members. Those numbers could already rival those of first-rate Guilds. With Zero Wing City''s player population having exceeded 5,000,000 during this period, it was close to catching up to White River City. Just the entrance fees collected daily provided massive income to the Guild. Only, as the Guild''s member count increased, the Guild''s expenditures likewise increased. Moreover, the Zero Wing members developing over at Silverwing Town were constantly ambushed and harassed by the Evil God''s Temple and Dark Players. This forced the Guild to construct more defensive structures in Silverwing Town, as well as pay compensation to members that got killed in battle. Right now, the Guild was basically investing every Coin it earned back into itself. As a result, it was just barely running properly right now. However, it was also thanks to Silverwing Town that Zero Wing was gaining a bountiful harvest from the Primordial Divine Ruin. The Guild was now sending many more players into the ruin. After hearing Melancholic Smile''s report, Shi Feng, who had been cudgeling his brain over the collection of Fire Resistance equipment, relaxed considerably. Now that the Guild had so many experts, having a portion of them focus specifically on collecting Fire Resistance equipment would not hamper the Guild''s operation. At the very least, it would not affect the main force''s development As for funding, that was not a problem at all. Afterward, Shi Feng emptied the rare materials inside his bag and stacked them up into miniature mountains inside Candlelight''s warehouse. The sight of the materials Shi Feng took out rendered Melancholic Smile speechless. The amount of materials greatly exceeded the total amount that Solitary Nine''s group had brought over in two trips. With so many rare materials, they could earn a fortune just by selling the materials directly. If they turned these materials into products and sold them, they would earn even more. After all, many of these materials were suitable for producing Level 50 weapons and equipment at the Secret-Silver rank and above. If they made these weapons and equipment and sold them, they would rake in a ridiculous amount of money. "Right, Guild Leader, I have an item here that the Secret Pavilion sent over. Originally, the Secret Pavilion''s representatives stated that they had to hand it over to you in person. However, since you weren''t around, after they made several visits, they ended up giving up and passed it to me for safekeeping, instead," Melancholic Smile said. She then took out a pitch-black gift box from her bag and handed it to Shi Feng. "An item from the Secret Pavilion?" After receiving the gift box, Shi Feng immediately opened it out of curiosity. 1782 Raising Funds Chapter 1782 - Raising Funds When Shi Feng tapped on the item, the exquisite gift box opened slowly. Inside the gift box was an exquisite, golden card. Embossed on the card were the words "Secret Pavilion Auction Invitation Card." The invitation card for the Secret Pavilion''s auction? Shi Feng took out the card to inspect its Attribute Panel. This is interesting. Recorded on the card''s Attribute Panel was the address for the venue of the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction. The card also served as an electronic pass that allowed entry into the auction. Meanwhile, the card could allow up to five people to participate in the auction. Shi Feng knew very clearly what an internal auction hosted by the Secret Pavilion entailed. These internal auctions were a hub of high-class items. Moreover, the auctions weren''t limited to items found in God''s Domain. Real-world items that could be of help to one''s progression in the game would also be available. During the first two years after God''s Domain''s launch, not even the Dark Arena''s Dark Auction could have compared to the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction. Epic items were commonplace in these internal auctions, not worth mentioning. More importantly, the auction would include Fragmented Legendary items and clues that could lead to Legendary items. The internal auction also offered a massive quantity of items. Sometimes, the internal auctions would last two days due to so many items for sale. As long as one attended, they could reap a considerable harvest. For Shi Feng, this auction''s timing could not be more perfect He currently needed a large stock of high-quality Fire Resistance equipment, and the Secret Pavilion, which reached all across the continent of God''s Domain, definitely had some Fire Resistance equipment to sell. Purchasing some during this auction would save him a lot of time and effort. Taking a look at the auction''s date, he noticed that it would be held in four days. He still had time to prepare. Later, Shi Feng gathered Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow to inform them of the Secret Pavilion''s invitation. If it were merely a normal auction, he might not have bothered to notify these two, but this was a Secret Pavilion internal auction. Many of God''s Domain''s outstanding experts would be there due to the auction''s tradition. To prevent the participating superpowers from monopolizing the finale items, leaving nothing for the other powers, the Secret Pavilion would hold a competition to decide how many of the finale items each power could purchase. Of course, one could refuse to take part in the competition, but they''d be limited to two or three of the finale items at most. To avoid missing out on anything precious, the various participating powers would show some effort in the competition. After all, the Secret Pavilion''s finale items were all extraordinary. Of course, not just anybody could participate in this competition. Only 25-year-olds and younger could participate. If old monsters were allowed to take part, then up-and-coming powers might as well sit still and do nothing. Because of this, the various powers usually brought their outstanding experts to the internal auction. Although these experts were relatively unknown in the current God''s Domain, they would definitely become famous figures in the future. As Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders, it was best to let them keep an eye out for these up- and-coming experts. After all, nobody knew if these up-and-coming experts would become enemies in the future. When Aqua Rose saw the invitation card in Shi Feng''s hand, she stared with wide, surprised eyes. "Guild Leader, you''re too awesome! You actually received a gold invitation card! I''ve heard that the Secret Pavilion has only distributed 50 Gold Cards this time!" Aqua Rose said in admiration. The Secret Pavilion''s internal auction was a grand event in the virtual gaming world. Even veteran first-rate Guilds like Twilight Echo would only receive a silver invitation card. Meanwhile, those with a Gold Card would enjoy a massive loan from the Secret Pavilion. Even if one attended the event with empty pockets, they could use the Gold Card to purchase some items, paying their bill several days later. This provided a massive advantage in the auction. The Secret Pavilion had distributed such Gold Cards to prevent the various superpowers from casually bidding on finale items and winning them by default or for a very low price. Aqua Rose found it truly hard to believe that Shi Feng had actually received a Gold Card... "They''ve only sent out 50?" Shi Feng could not help but take another look at the invitation card. During his previous life, he had never participated in any of the Secret Pavilion''s internal auctions since Shadow hadn''t qualified for an invitation. He had only heard details about the internal auction from other Guilds. He certainly hadn''t expected the Secret Pavilion to send Zero Wing such a high-ranked invitation card. "Guild Leader, can I bring a friend to the auction as well?" Aqua Rose asked hesitantly. Depending on the type of invitation card one received, players could bring a certain number of people with them. Bronze Cards, the most common invitation cards, only granted entry to two people, and Silver Cards granted entry to three people. Only Gold Cards granted entry to five people. "Sure. We have plenty of slots, in any case," Shi Feng answered. He had only intended to bring Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow to the auction. No one else really mattered. They were only going to get a glimpse at the various major powers'' up-and-coming experts. This information would only be useful to management-level figures in Zero Wing. Bringing Guild experts wouldn''t benefit the Guild. On the contrary, he would be wasting his experts'' time. "Thank you, Guild Leader!" Aqua Rose said joyfully. Shi Feng, Aqua Rose, and Gentle Snow agreed on a specific time to meet up at the internal auction''s venue in the real world. Before this, though, Shi Feng had the two of them lead a team of their own to raid specific Team Dungeons to acquire some Fire Resistance equipment. As for Shi Feng, he did his best to collect funds. The Secret Pavilion''s internal auction used three different currencies. The first =was Credits, which was also the most preferred currency of the various superpowers, the second was in-game Coins, and the third currency was Magic Crystals. Currently, Zero Wing severely lacked Credits. Hence, that only left the option of paying with Coins and Magic Crystals. Fortunately, the Secret Pavilion preferred Magic Crystals and Coins. Hence, during the auction, Magic Crystals and Coins would have a priority over Credits. However, Shi Feng had no intention of purchasing items using Magic Crystals since they weren''t easy to obtain. Moreover, Zero Wing currently needed a lot more Magic Crystals to sustain its operation compared to other Guilds. Hence, he would have to rely on his Coins. Shi Feng had spent three full days cooped up inside one of Candlelight''s Special Forging Rooms, constantly producing Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Even at this stage of the game, Advanced Mana Armor Kits were still highly sought after. There simply weren''t enough to satisfy market demand. However, Shi Feng hadn''t had much time to craft the kits, so supply hadn''t increased. Now, not only could he use these Advanced Mana Armor Kits to make money, but he could also use them to increase his Forging Proficiency. One hundred thousand Proficiency Points were required for a Basic Master Forger to become an Intermediate Master Forger. Only after a Basic Master Forger had the required Forging Proficiency and created the necessary number of weapons or equipment could they become an Intermediate Master Forger. Producing both the Bronze Guardian Puppet and the Hell Chariot required an Intermediate Master Forger. Between the Bronze Guardian Puppet and the Hell Chariot, it was easier to acquire the necessary materials and manpower to craft the Hell Chariot If Candlelight could produce Hell Chariots, it would be of immense help to Zero Wing. Aside from Shi Feng, the only Basic Master Forger in the Candlelight Trading Firm was Melancholic Smile. However, as Melancholic Smile had just reached that rank, she would need some time to become an Intermediate Master Forger. The best candidate to become an Intermediate Forger right now was Shi Feng himself. While Shi Feng had worked to maximize his Coin profits, he had Melancholic Smile sell some of the less-important rare materials they had in stock. Since the various large Guilds were so eager to acquire these rare materials, they could sell for a high price. However, based on the latest market trends, Shi Feng could sense that these Guilds were trying to save their funds likely due to the Secret Pavilion''s upcoming auction. Some Guilds were even selling strategic resources to raise funds. This caused the various large Guilds throughout God''s Domain to sense the impending arrival of a storm. Only small Guilds and powers remained ignorant about the situation. Some minor powers even felt lucky that they had been able to purchase quite a few items they normally couldn''t find... After the Advanced Mana Armor Kits and rare materials had sold, Shi Feng had earned over 80,000 Gold. Including some of the Coins Zero Wing City and Stone Forest Town generated, Shi Feng had a total of 124,000 Gold Coins in his bag. This was definitely enough to inspire awe in any first-rate Guild. This should be enough. After taking a look at the time, Shi Feng chose to log out and head to the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction. 1783 Secret Pavilion Auction Chapter 1783 - Secret Pavilion Auction Tianyuan City, Secret Pavilion Branch: The branch headquarters was a 181-story-tall building that stood in the city''s business district. The area the building occupied could fit a stadium that could accommodate 100,000 people. It was one of the most iconic buildings in the entire city. It was also where countless gamers wished to work. Currently, curious passersby had gathered on the street outside of the building. This was because today, the Secret Pavilion Branch, which generally saw little traffic, was quite lively. One luxury hovercar after another slid to a stop before the building''s entrance, with easily over 100 in line. The crowd also gaped in shock when they saw the individuals who alighted from these hovercars. "Isn''t that Thousand Miles, the Vice Guild Leader of the super-first-rate Guild Miracle? Why is he at Secret Pavilion''s Branch?" "Look! That is Cleansed Rue, the Vice Guild Leader of the first-rate Guild Hundred Flowers Pavilion! She is so beautiful!" "Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Nine Dragons Emperor is here!" "What''s going on? Why have the upper echelons of so many powerful Guilds come to the Secret Pavilion''s Branch?" "I get it! The Secret Pavilion must be holding an internal auction today! The auction is so grand this time, though! So many Guilds have been invited!" "I''m getting goosebumps from seeing so many of God''s Domain''s VIPs." "It would be great if I could join the auction just once." The crowd was relatively familiar with the people that had stepped out of the luxury hovercars. The virtual gaming world had already solidified its position in society. Large Gaming Guilds'' upper echelons were far more famous than celebrity singers or movie stars among the general populace. Moreover, since God''s Domain had gained so much popularity throughout the world, many people had started to pay attention to the virtual gaming world''s matters. As the crowd watched one Guild VIP enter the Secret Pavilion''s Branch Headquarters after another, awe and admiration filled their hearts. Inwardly, they hoped that one day, they, too, could take part in such a grand event instead of being a silent spectator. "Sure enough, the rumors were true. The Secret Pavilion has gone all-out this time. It has invited so many major corporations." Thousand Miles, who stood in a corner of the branch headquarters'' main lobby, revealed a smile as he watched the VIPs enter the building. "Commander, if that is true, then we''ll be in a tight spot. Based on our investigations, plenty of major corporations will be participating. I''m afraid that these corporations will compete with us over that item..." a beautiful woman in a dark-purple one-piece said, frowning. If Shi Feng were present right now, not even he would''ve guessed this beauty to be Silent March, the vice commander of Miracle''s Purgatory Legion. She was far more charming and intellectual than her appearance in the game. "We might not be a match for these corporations in terms of financial strength, but when it comes to resources in God''s Domain, Miracle doesn''t need to fear anyone. They won''t necessarily win that item," Thousand Miles said, smiling as he eyed the dozen or so corporation representatives conversing in the lobby. This internal auction was indeed much grander than before. Usually, major corporations that weren''t related to the virtual gaming world didn''t make an appearance. Not even the Dark Auction could lure these representatives. While the various VIPs in the brilliant lobby chatted, a group of five entered the building. The group consisted of four women and one man, and compared to the other participants, the man appeared average at best. Nobody would bat an eye at him if he walked past However, two of the women beside him immediately attracted a lot of attention. One of these women radiated a cold, sacred feeling, her body akin to perfection itself. As for the other woman, she was radiant with an exquisite form. These women''s smiles were so charming that others were unconsciously attracted. These women were none other than Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, both appearing as they did in God''s Domain. However, when Shi Feng actually met the two in person, he had been slightly surprised. Although there were many great beauties in the lobby, they were no match for Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. As for the other two women in Shi Feng''s group, one was his assistant, Liang Jing, while the other was Aqua Rose''s so- called friend. In reality, though, this woman was Aqua Rose''s elder cousin, and she looked quite similar to Aqua Rose. Although this female cousin wasn''t quite as beautiful as Aqua Rose, she radiated a mature, wise feeling. "There are so many Guilds here!" Aqua Rose quietly exclaimed. After a brief glance at the people in the lobby, she noticed that many were celebrities in God''s Domain. "There are also quite a few corporate representatives. The Secret Pavilion''s capabilities are quite impressive," Gentle Snow added, a hint of admiration in her eyes as she surveyed the room. Although some auctions in God''s Domain could attract a few major corporations, these auctions definitely weren''t as successful as the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction. After watching the room for a moment, Gentle Snow had noticed six major corporations that were frequently on the news. Countless large Guilds wanted to partner with these major corporations. Unfortunately, none of these Guilds had gained these corporations'' interest. On the contrary, these major corporations had annexed quite a few large Guilds in God''s Domain, developing their own Guilds rapidly. Compared to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, though, Liang Jing, who stood behind Shi Feng, was utterly baffled. She simply could not understand what was going on, even wondering if she were dreaming. Just this morning, Shi Feng had her accompany him on the earliest flight to Tianyuan City. Then she had met Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, surprised by their appearances. She had never actually expected Shi Feng to know such stunning women. She had worked as the head secretary of Big Dipper''s Chairman Xiao for three years now, and she had seen many VIPs before. Based on Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose''s temperaments, she recognized that the women were far from ordinary. However, after arriving at the Secret Pavilion''s Branch Headquarters, she was beyond astonished. Although she rarely paid attention to matters regarding the virtual gaming world, she knew a lot about the various major companies and corporations around the world. This was especially true for corporations. She had spotted the representatives of over a dozen major corporations since she had entered the building. Normally, these representatives were VIPs that not even Chairman Xiao qualified to meet, yet they had gathered in one location to attend an event that she, too, attended. The only explanation that she could think of for such a situation was that she must be dreaming. Although Shi Feng was a martial arts master and someone that even Chairman Xiao had to treat with importance, he wasn''t worth mentioning compared to these representatives. These people lived in entirely different worlds. Furthermore, the only thing Shi Feng did, aside from his position as a martial arts instructor, was play God''s Domain. While God''s Domain was very popular, in Liang Jing''s opinion, it was only a virtual reality game. Even if a virtual reality game were quite impressive, how could it possibly attract the attention of powerful international corporations? What Liang Jing did not know was that God''s Domain was unlike any virtual reality game in the past. God''s Domain was capable of extending its players'' lifespans. If one took care of their body properly, it was possible to extend their lifespans by decades and centuries. Hence, God''s Domain had attracted the attention of countless corporations to compete over the game and its limited resources. While Liang Jing reminded herself that she must be dreaming, a healthy middle-aged man wearing an elegant suit and tie approached Shi Feng''s group. Upon noticing this middle-aged man, many first-rate Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds'' upper echelons turned to watch Shi Feng''s group. "Damn it! Why did he choose Zero Wing?" Nine Dragons Emperor gritted his teeth, nearly cracking them, as he watched this elegant man stop before Shi Feng. While Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes turned bloodshot, the middle-aged man introduced himself to Shi Feng''s group. "Hello! You must be Zero Wing''s representatives, right? Let me introduce myself. I am Lu Xingluo, the Starline Corporation''s representative. May I know if we can find a quiet place for a proper chat?" After the man introduced himself, some of the large Guilds'' upper echelons, who hadn''t recognized the representative, were dumbfounded. Even Liang Jing, who stood behind Shi Feng, gaped when she learned the middle-aged man''s identity. The Starline Corporation! That was one of the top 50 corporations in the entire world! 1784 Unyielding Soul Chapter 1784 - Unyielding Soul "The Starline Corporation has its eye on Zero Wing?" hat''s not possible, right? Didnt Starline reject a partnership offer from a super-first-rate Guild before? Why would it suddenly set its sights on Zero Wing?" "If this is true, we''ll have to be careful of Zero Wing in the future." The corporate representatives and the upper echelon of various Guilds inside the hall discussed among themselves in hushed tones as they watched Lu Xingluo and Shi Feng''s group enter a private lounge. Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor, who had quietly watched these proceedings from a corner of the room, frowned deeply. Previously, he had sought out the Starline Corporation for partnership but got rejected outright. He did not even manage to meet with a corporate representative like Lu Xingluo. The Starline Corporation was one of the major corporations that had invested in God''s Domain early on, unlike those that joined the struggle after the game had garnered global fame. Hence, the Starline Corporation already had a solid foundation in God''s Domain, so much so that even the various superpowers feared the corporation greatly. If Zero Wing really partnered with the Starline Corporation, then he would have a much harder time dealing with Zero Wing in the future. "Uncle Yuan, what do you think this is all about? Is the Starline Corporation actually trying to partner with Zero Wing?" Purple Jade, who was wearing a white dress, asked curiously as she watched Shi Feng''s group enter the private lounge. "I''m not sure. From what I know, the Starline Corporation has never taken the initiative to seek a partnership with a Guild before. Could Zero Wing still have some secrets that we are not aware of?" Yuan Tiexin replied, shaking his head. He was also very confused by this situation. In fact, even the Secret Pavilion wanted to collaborate with the Starline Corporation, which held a large amount of energy resources, especially the extremely rare High-level Energy. If the Secret Pavilion could get its hands on sufficient High-level Energy, it would be able to nurture many more experts than before. This was also the reason why many super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds sought a partnership with the Starline Corporation. Inside the spacious private lounge, both sides were currently seated on leather sofas and observing each other. At this moment, Shi Feng was honestly surprised that the famous Starline Corporation would approach Zero Wing. As for Liang Jing, she was already close to fainting. After the silence persisted for a while, Lu Xingluo shifted his gaze to Aqua Rose''s cousin, revealing a playful smile as he said, "Miss Mu Lingsha, your Unyielding Soul really is tenacious. Do you think that, just because you managed to worm your way into the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction this time, you''ll be able to obtain that thing and avoid defeat?" Due to Lu Xingluo''s words, the atmosphere inside the room suddenly became tense. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Gentle Snow automatically turned to look at Aqua Rose''s cousin, who had remained silent all this time. She''s someone from Unyielding Soul? Gentle Snow blinked repeatedly, her heart full of surprise as she looked at Mu Lingsha. Unyielding Soul was a veteran super-first-rate Guild. At its peak, it had been stronger than many Super Guilds. Although it had not made headlines during the past few years, it was still much stronger than the current Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. She found it very hard to imagine that such a super-first-rate Guild would need to rely on Zero Wing to get into the internal auction. What Gentle Snow did not know was that the Secret Pavilion had not sent an invitation to Unyielding Soul this time due to the Starline Corporation''s meddling. Hence, Mu Lingsha had turned to Aqua Rose for help. The first reason for her decision was her family ties with Aqua Rose. The second reason was Aqua Rose''s having been under Unyielding Soul and Mu Lingsha''s care during her youth. Hence, the two of them could be considered best friends as well. As for getting Twilight Echo''s help, that first-rate Guild had refused to share any of its participation slots with Mu Lingsha when she asked. Just when Aqua Rose was feeling troubled by Mu Lingsha''s request for help, Shi Feng happened to reveal that he had received an invitationa golden invitation card at that. Since there were additional slots, Aqua Rose ended up asking for one for her cousin. Meanwhile, despite having heard Lu Xingluo''s question, Mu Lingsha remained silent for a long time. Just as she was about to say something, Lu Xingluo turned his gaze to Shi Feng and Gentle Snow, who wore confused expressions on their faces. "It seems you don''t know about this matter. Fine, then. I''ll treat this as Zero Wing being ignorant and overlook your transgressions. Afterward, just notify the Secret Pavilion''s security and have them escort Miss Mu out of the building. In compensation for your wasting a participation slot, I''ll send you one million Credits later," Lu Xingluo said. He then sent one last glance at Mu Lingsha before standing up to leave. At Lu Xingluo''s words, Mu Lingsha fell into despair. In the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction, nobody had the authority to meddle with the people brought along by other invited persons. Only the invited persons themselves were allowed to send away their companions. The Starline Corporation possessed massive influence both in the game and in the real world, as proven by the fact that the Secret Pavilion had not sent an invitation to Unyielding Soul this time. If even an entity as powerful as the Secret Pavilion had shrunk back because of the Starline Corporation, there was no need to mention what kind of response a minor existence like Zero Wing would make. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose, who was sitting beside Shi Feng, also turned pale at this turn of events. She had never thought that their actions would get discovered. Mu Lingsha was her best friend. However, Aqua Rose also owed Zero Wing a huge debt of gratitude. Caught in a dilemma, she was at a loss as to what to do. Just when Lu Xingluo''s party made for the lounge''s door, a voice suddenly rang out inside the room. "One million Credits? Chief Lu sure is generous. Unfortunately, Zero Wing can''t accept this generosity. Since there aren''t any other matters to discuss, we''ll be taking our leave first" Although these words were spoken with a calm tone, they deeply ingrained themselves in the minds of everyone present. Aqua Rose, Mu Lingsha, and Liang Jing instinctively turned to Shi Feng, the originator of these words. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow revealed a bitter smile as she helplessly shook her head, her expression conveying that she had expected this outcome. However, although Gentle Snow had a troubled look on her face, her eyes shone with joy and excitement. After all, it was because of this attitude of Shi Feng''s that she had chosen to join Zero Wing back then. Despite Zero Wing having grown considerably, Shi Feng remained the same as before. He did not change his principles just because he now had more responsibilities on his plate. Although Shi Feng''s decision would bring no small amount of trouble to the Guild, she still strongly supported this decision. Guild Leader... Aqua Rose was greatly moved as she looked at Shi Feng, who currently wore a calm and indifferent expression. Meanwhile, Liang Jing''s mouth was hanging wide open. Although she did not understand what exactly was going on here, she knew very clearly just how frightening the Starline Corporation was. If Shi Feng were to blatantly defy Lu Xingluo, Starline''s representative, he would definitely incur a disaster. Moreover, it would be a disaster that could drive even Chairman Xiao to despair. Lu Xingluo, who had just arrived at the door, suddenly stopped. Thinking he had misheard, he turned around and looked at Shi Feng, who had just gotten up from the sofa, and asked, "Does this mean you are rejecting my goodwill?" Although Lu Xingluo had spoken in a very bland and calm tone, the air inside the room seemed to have frozen when he was done speaking, the atmosphere becoming somewhat stifling. The pressure he exerted with his words even made Liang Jing shudder. Lu Xingluo was only an ordinary person. However, behind him was a monumental existence. If he wanted to, he could easily crush a company like the Big Dipper Group at any time. "I have taken your kindness to heart However, Zero Wing does not need an outsider to tell it what it should or should not do," Shi Feng replied coldly. After he was done speaking, he led Aqua Rose and the others out of the private lounge. A short moment later, only Lu Xingluo and the tall man standing beside him remained inside the private lounge. "Guild Leader, do you need us to take action?" the tall man asked quietly. "No. This is the Secret Pavilion''s territory. We naturally have to let the Secret Pavilion be the one to take action. Go and notify the Secret Pavilion''s representative right now. Tell them that I do not wish to see Zero Wing in this auction!" Lu Xingluo said, sneering as he watched the departing figures of Shi Feng''s group. "Understood." After hearing Lu Xingluo''s words, the tall man promptly left the lounge to notify the Secret Pavilion. 1785 Gold VIP Chapter 1785 - Gold VIP Inside the top-floor hall: When Shi Feng''s group exited the private lounge, it immediately attracted the attention of the various major powers present. "Huh? They''re out so soon?" "Could they be done negotiating already?" Zero Wing''s group had entered the private lounge less than five minutes ago. Everyone could not control their curiosity at this sudden development However, just as everyone was wondering about the results of the talks between Zero Wing and the Starline Corporation, a tall man wearing a black suit walked out of the private lounge as well. When this tall man exited the lounge, he sent a sneer at Shi Feng''s group before heading for Yuan Tiexin, who was entertaining the representatives of the various major powers present. "What''s going on?" "Did the negotiations fail?" Everyone in the room was familiar with this tall man. After all, he was Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard, who also served as his aide. Meanwhile, the bodyguard''s expression was not what one would make after a successful negotiation, no matter how they looked at it Rather, it seemed more like he was ridiculing Zero Wing''s group. Walking beside Shi Feng, Aqua Rose noticed Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard''s direction, and her complexion darkened. "Are they planning on using the Secret Pavilion to deal with us?" Aqua Rose could not help frowning in worry as she watched the bodyguard getting increasingly closer to Yuan Tiexin. The Starline Corporation had already relied on its influence to stop the Secret Pavilion from sending an invitation to Unyielding Soul, a super-first-rate Guild. Getting the Secret Pavilion to remove Zero Wing from the auction would be even easier. If Zero Wing were to miss out on this internal auction, it would suffer a massive loss. "No need to panic. Let''s see how things develop first," Shi Feng said calmly as he looked at Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard. "If it really isn''t possible, then we''ll just leave." While it was indeed true that the items auctioned by the Secret Pavilion were extraordinary, Zero Wing was not so desperate that it would collapse just because it couldn''t get them. At this time, Mu Lingsha walked up to Shi Feng. "Thank you! Because of my problem, I have caused Zero Wing to provoke the Starline Corporation. I''d like to use a plot of Land in Dark Night City as compensation. The Land is under my name and is located near the city''s Central District." Mu Lingsha thanked Shi Feng sincerely. When faced with the threats and pressure of the Starline Corporation, few would be willing to help Unyielding Soul. After all, even Twilight Echo, a veteran first-rate Guild that had close ties with Unyielding Soul, had yielded to Starline''s tyranny. Nonetheless, Zero Wing, a Guild that had practically no relations with Unyielding Soul, had actually stood up to Starline for Unyielding Soul. Upon hearing Mu Lingsha''s words, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow turned involuntarily to look at her in surprise. They had never thought that Mu Lingsha would use a valuable plot of Land located within the Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital as a token of gratitude. Nowadays, major corporations and companies around the world were investing in God''s Domain, boosting the prices of Lands in major NPC cities as a result, especially in kingdom capitals and imperial capitals. A plot of Land without high potential would still sell for a fortune. As for those with high potential, even if one offered tens of thousands of Gold to purchase such a Land, nobody would be willing to sell. Shi Feng found it difficult to refuse such compensation. The Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital had a player population of over 10,000,000. If he could set up the Candlelight Trading Firm on this plot of Land, the trading firm would gain access to all these players. At that time, Candlelight''s income would definitely increase by a significant margin. Hence, Shi Feng ended up accepting Mu Lingsha''s offer. Meanwhile, over at Yuan Tiexin''s location... Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard had arrived before Yuan Tiexin and relayed his employer''s words to him. Upon receiving this unreasonable demand, Yuan Tiexin fell silent He simply could not figure out just what Zero Wing had done to anger Lu Xingluo this much. "I hope that the Secret Pavilion can make a decision soon. The Starline Corporation dislikes having to wait," Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard said in an indifferent tone. In his opinion, there was no need to consider this decision at all. The Starline Corporation was entirely out of Zero Wing''s league. It would be in the Secret Pavilion''s best interests to go along with the Starline Corporation''s demands and remove Zero Wing from the auction. The nearby people who overheard the bodyguard''s words were momentarily dumbfounded. They had never thought that Zero Wing would be so bold as to actually provoke the Starline Corporation. Zero Wing really is overestimating itself to go against the Starline Corporation. When Nine Dragons Emperor received this piece of news, he could not help but laugh. Previously, he thought that Zero Wing would obtain the Starline Corporation''s support. If that had happened, he would most likely be doomed. After all, Phoenix Rain would''ve indirectly gained a powerful helper in the fight to become the Great Pavilion Master. However, now that Zero Wing had provoked the Starline Corporation, not only did this outcome not provide Phoenix Rain with the slightest bit of help, but it would also become a huge hindrance to her becoming the Great Pavilion Master. After all, the Guild Elders would have to take the Starline Corporation into account when considering Phoenix Rain for the position. Meanwhile, when the various major powers attending the auction received news about this matter, they were similarly shocked. Zero Wing''s foolishness had thoroughly exceeded their imagination. The Guild had actually provoked the Starline Corporation for some unknown outsider. The Starline Corporation was in possession of plenty of High-level Energy, which many superpowers had tried to purchase to no avail. Now that Zero Wing had become a thorn in the corporation''s side, many superpowers would probably gun for Zero Wing to curry favor with Starline. At that time, even if they failed to establish a partnership with the corporation, they should still be able to purchase some High-level Energy to strengthen their own Guilds. "Damn it. The Secret Pavilion will most likely earn the Starline Corporation''s favor." "Zero Wing sure is pitiful. Despite this being the Guild''s first time at one of the Secret Pavilion''s internal auctions, it is already going to get chased off before it can even take part in the actual auction." The representatives of the various superpowers looked at Shi Feng''s group with pity in their eyes. "Uncle Yuan?" Purple Jade was dying of curiosity as she looked at Yuan Tiexin, who had remained silent all this time. Yuan Tiexin was the host for this auction. All matters relating to this Secret Pavilion branch were currently under his management. In normal times, the Secret Pavilion would definitely remove Zero Wing from the premises without hesitation, to curry favor with the Starline Corporation. After all, there was simply no comparison between the two. "What is it? I''m just asking to have Zero Wing''s people removed from the auction venue. Is this a difficult matter for you to accomplish?" Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard demanded in irritation as he looked at the unresponsive Yuan Tiexin. "It is indeed very difficult, as I do not have this authority. Although I am the host for the auction this time, Zero Wing is just like the Starline Corporation and is a VIP invited with a Gold Card," Yuan Tiexin explained after taking a deep breath. 1786 Book of Undying Chapter 1786 - Book of Undying "Zero Wing received a Gold Card?" "Zero Wing''s group does include five people! It''s actually true!" The various major powers, who perked up to listen in on the conversation between Yuan Xiexin and Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard, couldn''t help their surprise upon hearing this revelation. When the Secret Pavilion hosted an internal auction, it would only send 50 golden invitation cards. These Gold Cards would only be given to powers the Secret Pavilion acknowledged. The various representatives hadn''t paid much attention to the number of people in Zero Wing''s group. It was rare to see the powers with a Gold Card use all five of their slots. They generally only brought two or three people. Hence, the major powers that attended the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction had stopped paying attention to how many attendees a particular power had with it. They were all quite familiar with the powers that qualified for a Gold Card, and even if some people arrived as a group of five, it was likely that two friendly powers had decided to attend together. However, most of the eavesdropping powers were more surprised to learn that the Starline Corporation wanted Zero Wing removed than they were to learn that the Secret Pavilion had invited the Guild as a Gold VIP. "So what if Zero Wing received a Gold invitation?" Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard asked nonchalantly. Although he was Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard, he was also an expert in God''s Domain. He knew a significant amount about the game. Had the Starline Corporation not dissuaded the Secret Pavilion from sending an invitation to Unyielding Soul, the Guild would''ve received a Gold Card, treated like a Gold VIP, yet due to the corporation''s interference, hadn''t the Secret Pavilion failed to send the super-first-rate Guild an invitation? "Is that so?" Yuan Tiexin responded with a tinge of anger in his voice. "The Secret Pavilion will not rescind an invitation from any of its guests, regardless of if they are Bronze or Silver VIPs, unless they have made a mistake. If you have nothing else, please wait in the banquet hall quietly. The auction will begin soon." Not inviting someone to the auction and removing an invited person from the auction were two entirely different things. If word got out that the Secret Pavilion had removed Zero Wing from the auction at the Starline Corporation''s request, who would dare do business with the Secret Pavilion in the future? Although the High-level Energy in the Starline Corporation''s possession was indeed tempting, the Secret Pavilion did not necessarily need the Starline Corporation to acquire High-level Energy. There were still plenty of major corporations that had the resource. "You!" Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard was furious. He had never expected the Secret Pavilion to show the Starline Corporation so little respect. As he thought about correcting this insult, he locked eyes with Yuan Tiexin''s two bodyguards, whose auras were no weaker than his. Clenching his teeth, he turned and left. The spectating powers were dumbfounded. None of them had dreamed that the Secret Pavilion would disrespect the Starline Corporation. However, the representatives from the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds weren''t overly surprised about the outcome. Although the Starline Corporation wielded considerable influence, the several corporations backing the Secret Pavilion were no weaker than Starline. The Starline Corporation was somewhat unique in how much High-level Energy it possessed, and that was the only reason the various superpowers showed it some respect. After all, in the current era, many aspects required High-level Energy. It was also because of this reason that the Starline Corporation had always done things in a tyrannical way. This was also something superpowers like themselves had long since gotten used to. However, while they would concede to the Starline Corporation in small matters, no superpower would bow to the corporation in crucial matters, much less a transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion. "Uncle Yuan, you were so amazing! When we return, the Guild Leader will likely request a meeting," Purple Jade said, giggling. "You little girl..." Yuan Tiexin rolled his eyes at Purple Jade. He then shifted his gaze towards Shi Feng''s group. "However, Zero Wing really knows how to cause trouble wherever it goes. It even dares to meddle in matters between the Starline Corporation and Unyielding Soul." The Starline Corporation and Unyielding Soul were going at each other''s throats in the Dark Night Empire in a struggle that would only end once one of them had been utterly defeated. Meanwhile, the chances that Unyielding Soul would lose were very high. It would not even be surprising if Unyielding Soul fell from its position as a super-first-rate Guild. Unyielding Soul''s main headquarters was in the Dark Night Empire, and the Guild had focused a lot of its efforts on developing in the empire. If it lost the Dark Night Empire, its strength would diminish tremendously. Meanwhile, in the private lounge Lu Xingluo occupied... Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard quickly relayed Yuan Tiexin''s response. "Guild Leader, the Secret Pavilion is refusing to show us the respect we deserve. Should we put some pressure on the Pavilion?" the tall bodyguard asked. "No. There''s no need to sour our relationship with the Secret Pavilion over this small matter. So what if Unyielding Soul gets to attend this auction? With the Guild''s foundations, competing with us here will be futile," Lu Xingluo said, shaking his head. He was not his bodyguard. He knew just how powerful the Secret Pavilion was. If the Starline Corporation truly angered the Secret Pavilion, the corporation would get the short end of the stick, not the Pavilion. The Secret Pavilion simply had too much influence in God''s Domain, and it had even more resources. Very few superpowers in God''s Domain could compete with the Pavilion. "What about Zero Wing?" the bodyguard asked again. "A worm. Once we return, notify the players from Dark Soul and have them take care of it," Lu Xingluo said, snorting. Even a super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul amounted to nothing in his eyes, much less an up-and-coming Guild like Zero Wing. Of course, although he did not regard Zero Wing with any importance, since a worm had dared to insult him, he would stomp it to death. "Understood!" the bodyguard sneered. Had Zero Wing obediently accepted their goodwill, it would''ve received at least 1,000,000 Credits, but now that Lu Xingluo wanted to mobilize Dark Soul, it wouldn''t be long until the Guild was obliterated from God''s Domain. Meanwhile, in the banquet hall... The previously dull atmosphere had livened considerably after the drama between the Starline Corporation and Zero Wing. After everyone chatted for a while longer, some staff members came and notified the guests about the start of the auction. The representatives then made their way towards the venue the Secret Pavilion had prepared. Compared to the auction venues in God''s Domain, the Secret Pavilion''s venue wasn''t worth mentioning. The venue could, at most, house around 3,000 people. That was a fraction of the auction venues in God''s Domain, which could easily house tens of thousands of people. However, nobody looked down on the small venue. The most insignificant of the guests were representatives from first-rate Guilds. Second- and third-rate Guilds could never qualify for an invitation. Moreover, the Secret Pavilion had prepared plenty of items for this auction. As the first internal auction since God''s Domain had launched, the Secret Pavilion had over 2,000 items for sale, and none of these items could be purchased in the game. Among these items, over 150 had been set aside for the finale. Needless to say, these finale items were extraordinarily valuable. The cheapest among these items had a minimum bid of 2,000 Gold. Once the bidding began, even first-rate Guilds would despair. However, every one of these finale items was definitely worth its weight in gold. Otherwise, the Secret Pavilion wouldn''t have bothered with them. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction! As always, items will go to the highest bidder. This time, though, we will give priority to bids involving God''s Domain''s Magic Crystals and Coins," Yuan Tiexin explained after stepping onto the main stage. "Without further ado, let us begin the auction and welcome our first item for the day!" When Yuan Tiexin finished speaking, the image of a thick tome appeared on the virtual display above him. Several words graced the tome''s cover in large text, and based on the footage, it was clear that the tome passively gathered Mana around it. The tome certainly wasn''t an ordinary item. The item instantly grasped the crowd''s attention. The Book of Undying?! Shi Feng could not help his shock when he saw the image. Why is this thing here?! 1787 Tome of Astronomical Value Chapter 1787 - Tome of Astronomical Value Inside the luxurious auction hall... Upon seeing the Book of Undying, every representative''s eyes shone with greed. Although they couldn''t read the tome''s statistics like they could in God''s Domain, all of these people were representatives from major powers. They all possessed great insight. "As expected of the Secret Pavilion. The first time is already so frightening!" The various major powers present could not help but discuss the Book of Undying. When Yuan Tiexin saw the crowd before him stir, he was immensely satisfied. This had been the reaction he had aimed for when he chose the Book of Undying as the first item. "I believe that you all recognize the rarity of this Book of Undying. For the buyer''s benefit, I won''t share the specifics of this tome''s Attributes. I will only give a general summary. This tome is a Dark-Gold ranked item. Even so, it is a super-rare item that can resurrect the dead. This item will half the death penalty for players it resurrects. It can also be used on NPCs. I believe you can recognize its value," Yuan Tiexin explained. After hearing the item''s introduction, everyone in the venue became even more passionate to acquire the Book of Undying. The various superpowers'' representatives, in particular, felt their blood pressure rise considerably. The Book of Undying''s ability to resurrect players was subpar at best. After all, there were plenty of tools and Skills in God''s Domain that had the ability to alleviate the death penalty players suffered. However, it was an entirely different story if the Book of Undying could resurrect NPCs. The Book of Undying was especially valuable to superpowers that possessed powerful Personal Guards. Although there were other means to resurrect a Personal Guard, these means were not easy to accomplish. Moreover, the price one had to pay to use these means was astronomical. Hence, superpowers generally avoided risking their Personal Guards. However, as the Book of Undying was a Dark-Gold item, not a one-time-use item, it could be used indefinitely. In other words, with this item, one could freely resurrect their Personal Guards. They would not have to worry about their Personal Guards dying by accident. The Book of Undying was far more valuable than some ordinary Epic item. "I won''t waste your time. The starting price is 1,000 Gold, with each increment being no less than 50 Gold! In addition, Credit bids will not be accepted!" Yuan Tiexin shouted. "One thousand, five hundred Gold!'' "Two thousand Gold!" "Two thousand, five hundred Gold!'' The price quickly soared to 5,000 Gold, and the various major powers were surprised by how fast the price had risen. The bidding even troubled first-rate Guilds. Although their Guilds earned quite a bit of wealth every day, their daily operations required a lot of Coins and resources. In preparation for the auction today, the various major powers had raised a significant amount of funding, but even so, these first-rate Guilds had only prepared around thirty to forty thousand Gold. They couldn''t possibly throw all their money at a single item. Moreover, all of the attending powers had specific targets in mind. They all wanted to win the items that their Guilds needed most "Eight thousand Gold!" Nine Dragons Emperor, who sat in one of the second-floor rooms, increased the price by 3,000 Gold, immediately silencing the various major powers in the first-floor hall. While the various powers could afford to raise the bid further, on the off chance that the won the tome, they''d have trouble winning the items they truly wanted. "Ten thousand Gold!" However, a few seconds after the 8,000-Gold bid went up, Shi Feng, who occupied Room No. 8, raised it. "Who placed that bid? You can buy Epic Equipment with that kind of money!" "It seems Zero Wing is the bidder!" "This is insane. This is only the first auction item!" The major powers in the first-floor hall could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng''s room, astonished by the man''s generosity. What they didn''t know, however, was that Shi Feng understood more about the Book of Undying than its current owner. He knew exactly how valuable the item was. On its own, the Book of Undying was only worth around 10,000 Gold, roughly as much as an Epic Weapon. While the Book of Undying was capable of resurrecting NPCs, it wasn''t capable of resurrecting all NPCs. The Secret Pavilion had failed to mention this bit of crucial information. At the end of the day, the Book of Undying for auction was only a Dark-Gold item. Although the Skill it possessed was heaven-defying, there was a limit to the Skill''s effects. At Dark-Gold rank, the Book of Undying could only resurrect Tier 2 NPCs and players. It wouldn''t be effective on Tier 3 and above existences. Otherwise, it wouldn''t just be a Dark-Gold item. This had been why the Secret Pavilion had been willing to part with the tome, putting it up for auction. The various major powers had likely guessed the tome''s limitations, as well, which explained why they weren''t enthusiastic to purchase the item. If the Book of Undying were an Epic item, the various superpowers would likely bid like madmen. No one would''ve been surprised to see the tome''s price climb to five times more than its current bid. However, even though the Book of Undying was only Dark-Gold rank, the fact that it was available was a pleasant surprise for Shi Feng. Although the tome wouldn''t help him resurrect Tier 3 NPCs and above, it was enough for Shi Feng''s uses right now. At the very least, he could involve Anna and Kite in combat without worrying about them dying. After Shi Feng had raised the bid for the Book of Undying to 10,000 Gold, Nine Dragons Emperor gave up on the item. For him, the Book of Undying was a collector''s item of sorts. Paying more for it wouldn''t be worthwhile. "Ten thousand Gold going once!" "Ten thousand Gold going twice!" However, just when Yuan Tiexin was about to finalize the sale, a new bid appeared. "Twelve thousand Gold!" Many people turned to the bidder in astonishment. Meanwhile, the person who had placed this new bid was none other than the Starline Corporation''s Lu Xingluo. "Thirteen thousand Gold!" Shi Feng raised the bid once more. This surprised everyone further. They never thought that Shi Feng would be so desperate for the Book of Undying. That was 13,000 Gold they were talking about. With that kind of money, he could purchase a valuable plot of land in any capital. "Thirteen thousand, five hundred Gold!" "Fourteen thousand Gold!" "Fourteen thousand, five hundred Gold!" Whenever Shi Feng placed a new bid, Lu Xingluo quickly added another 500 Gold. When the price rose to 20,000 Gold, the various major powers were utterly dumbfounded. Paying 20,000 Gold for a Dark-Gold item was ridiculous. It''d be far more beneficial to build a town with this money. "Twenty-four thousand Gold!" Not wanting to waste time, Shi Feng raised the price by another 4,000 Gold. As the price rose, Yuan Tiexin''s breathing became a little heavier. The bid was already more than double what he had expected. "Forget it I don''t want this item anymore," Lu Xingluo said, chuckling as he relented. Once Lu Xingluo dropped out of the bidding, Shi Feng eventually won the Book of Undying, surprising many of the representatives with Zero Wing''s financial strength. They also inwardly ridiculed Zero Wing for spending 24,000 Gold on a Dark-Gold item. Even Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose felt that it was excessive to purchase the Book of Undying for such a high price. However, after Shi Feng paid the 24,000 Gold by connecting to God''s Domain''s Main God System via his quantum watch and received the Book of Undying from the Secret Pavilion, his smile was bright. The Book of Undying was a Dark-Gold item, but he knew something the Secret Pavilion had failed to discover. There wasn''t just one Book of Undying in God''s Domain, but 13. Every one of these tomes was a Dark-Gold item, which Undying Danasius had penned personally. Even Tier 6 Gods had failed to kill Danasius, hence his title of ''Undying.'' In the end, an Ancient God had sealed Danasius away. Meanwhile, the 13 Books of Undying contained all of Danasius''s power, and there were rumors stating that Undying Danasius had recorded a method of self-resurrection in his books. How could these tomes, written by such a powerful existence, be just ordinary Dark-Gold items? The Books of Undying were powerful in the fact that they could be merged. When one combined two copies of the Book of Undying, its ability would improve. Only after merging all 13 Books of Undying could one display the tomes'' true power. As for the complete book''s rank, no one had known even ten years after God''s Domain''s launch. However, most people guessed that it would be a Legendary item. This was because only ten copies had ever been found, and the strongest Book of Undying had only absorbed two other copies, reaching Epic rank. As an Epic item, the Book of Undying could resurrect Tier 3 NPCs. Now that a Book of Undying had appeared before him, it wouldn''t do him any harm to start collecting the tomes now. On the off chance that he found three copies one day, he could upgrade the tome to Epic rank, and it would be of great help to him. Once the Book of Undying''s auction had concluded, Yuan Tiexin proceeded to introduce other auction items. However, none of the following items were nearly as valuable as that first tome. Moreover, representatives could pay for the following items with Credits. Shi Feng had to admit that the Secret Pavilion offered a large variety of items, including 20-plus pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment and 50-plus Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment pieces that increased Fire Resistance. In the end, Shi Feng had spent over 7,3 Gold to acquire all of them. If not for Lu Xingluo''s interference, raising the price from time to time, he could''ve easily purchased this equipment for only 4,000 Gold. By the time the ordinary items had sold, more than a day had passed. The Secret Pavilion then hosted a friendly competition to determine how many finale items each of the various powers could purchase. This friendly competition also gave everyone a glimpse of the various superpowers'' up-and-coming experts. "Finally, we''ll start the bidding for our first finale item of the day!" Yuan Tiexin announced, chuckling as he glanced at the second-floor rooms. "I believe that many of you are familiar with this next item." On cue, several images appeared on the display above the stage. When these images had appeared, a commotion tore through the attentive crowd. Even the representatives in the second- floor rooms stared with bloodshot eyes. When Mu Lingsha, who sat beside Aqua Rose, saw these images, her fists balled as excitement lit up her face. She simply couldn''t keep her calm. 1788 Grade 1 Chapter 1788 - Grade 1 When the images appeared above the main stage, the representatives of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in the second-floor rooms became restless. They promptly relayed what they were seeing back to their respective Guild Leaders. "Guild Leader, those rumors were true! The Secret Pavilion really has that thing!" "The Secret Pavilion sure knows how to keep a secret! Are you absolutely sure about this?" "Based on the images, there''s no mistaking it. However, there are simply too many major powers and corporations present. I''m afraid acquiring it will be difficult with the money we brought." "Good. I''ll have someone mail you all the funds we have available." Due to the several images, the various superpowers in attendance all started secretly raising funds. This situation enveloped the entire auction venue in tension. The major powers in the first-floor hall sensed an imminent storm. "The Secret Pavilion really is a sly, old fox. Is it trying to have us superpowers and corporations tear at each other''s throats?" Nine Dragons Emperor tightly balled his fists, his eyes gleaming with indescribable excitement. He turned to Martial Dragon, who sat beside him, and said, "Quick! Have Blood Dragon sell all our available resources in the Black Dragon Empire! Mortgage some of the unused golden Lands in Black Dragon City as well! In any case, collect as many Coins and Magic Crystals as we can!" "Pavilion Master, isn''t that a little too much?" Martial Dragon was stunned by Nine Dragons Emperor''s decision. The golden Lands of Black Dragon City were worth a fortune with countless buyers waiting in the wings. If the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion were to mortgage these Lands and fail to buy them back in time, it might lose these Lands to other powers. "It''s fine. As long as we can get that thing, this small price is inconsequential," Nine Dragons Emperor said as he shook his head. His eyes were filled with madness and ambition as he looked at the images displayed above the stage. "Understood." Martial Dragon immediately contacted Blood Dragon. Meanwhile, in another room... The elegant and scholarly Lu Xingluo stood up involuntarily and stared at the pictures the Secret Pavilion had revealed. "Good! Wonderful! As long as we obtain this, the entire Dark Night Empire will be mine for the taking! Nobody will be able to oppose me anymore!" Lu Xingluo laughed. "Congratulations, Guild Leader! At that time, both Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul will meet their end!" Zhong Langcheng, Lu Xingluo''s bodyguard, exclaimed in excitement. "How is the fundraising I tasked you with coming along?" Lu Xingluo asked, turning around. "Guild Leader, rest assured. Our funds are all here now," Zhong Langcheng replied, smiling. Meanwhile, in the room occupied by Zero Wing... The sight of the first finale item the Secret Pavilion was auctioning set Shi Feng''s heart racing. "The Secret Pavilion actually dares auction something like this?!" he exclaimed in astonishment. At this moment, he understood why the Starline Corporation had done its best to prevent Unyielding Soul from taking part in this auction. If it were him, he would''ve done the same. He also understood why Mu Lingsha was willing to part with a plot of high-potential Land in the Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital just so that she could participate in this internal auction. The reason for this was the thing the Secret Pavilion was trying to sell. It was simply too frightening! The first finale item was neither a weapon nor a piece of equipment. It also wasn''t a tool. Instead, it was the management rights to an ore vein! If it were any ordinary ore vein, most likely, even the first-rate Guilds present wouldn''t bother bidding for it. If it were a Manatite vein that could produce small amounts of Magic Crystals, then it would tempt even superpowers to go all-out. Meanwhile, above a Manatite vein would be an Energy vein that produced Energy Ore. The discovery of an Energy vein would definitely trigger a war among Super Guilds. However, Manatite veins and Energy veinsore veins capable of tempting even superpowers to take action were considered only Grade 2 ore veins in God''s Domain. The ore vein the Secret Pavilion had just revealed was a Grade 1 ore vein, a Magic Crystal vein! Based on the pictures shown, although the Magic Crystal vein the Secret Pavilion discovered was not a rich one, its value was still beyond that of a rich Manatite vein or a rich Energy vein. This Magic Crystal vein would supply enough Magic Crystals to sustain the daily operations of two Super Guilds and still have excess to spare! The surplus was because Magic Crystals were just the main product of a Magic Crystal vein. The byproducts of a Magic Crystal vein were also worth a fortune. One such example was Magic Silver, one of the top-ranking ores in God''s Domain in terms of hardness. It was considered a super-rare material. When used in forging weapons and equipment, the final product would be unbreakable. This special property meant that even if the durability of the item with Magic Silver reached zero, the weapon or equipment would not become useless. Although its Attributes would decrease by a significant margin, it could still be used. Due to this special property, an ingot of Magic Silver could sell for roughly 20 Gold on the market. Any that appeared at such a price would be purchased almost instantly. While the occupants of the second-floor rooms were going crazy over the revealed images, Yuan Tiexin swept a glance at the various private rooms. Smiling, he said, "Everyone has now seen the item in question. If you are not familiar with it, you may find the relevant information in the libraries of kingdoms or empires. However, I believe that everyone present knows its value. "The auction for this first finale item will be very simple. Same as always, it will go to the highest bidder. However, the Secret Pavilion will not be accepting Credits for this sale. The winner of this auction will receive a 40% share in this Magic Crystal vein. In other words, the winner will receive 40% of this vein''s harvest. "Everyone might not know what 40% of the harvest entails. I won''t go into the specifics, but suffice to say, 40% of this vein''s harvest is definitely more than what you can get from an entire Energy vein. Moreover, the byproducts of this Magic Crystal vein are all highly sought-after materials that can help elevate a Guild''s Lifestyle players to a whole new level! "However, before we start this auction, the Secret Pavilion also has to state one thing clearly: the winner of this auction will have to station a large number of experts and elites at the vein for the long run, and the number cannot be fewer than 100,000. If you are incapable of fulfilling this condition, winning the auction would be pointless! "If nobody has any problems, then let us begin the auction for today''s first finale item! The minimum bid will be 100,000 Gold, and each increment must not be lower than 1,000 Gold or 2,000 Magic Crystals!" Upon hearing Yuan Tiexin''s words, the lively auction venue suddenly fell deathly silent The upper echelon of the various first-rate Guilds seated in the first-floor hall could not help but gape. Any thoughts in the first-floor hall of competing for the Mana Crystal vein immediately vanished. The long-term requirement of having a 100,000-man army guarding the vein aside, just the starting price was already enough to make every first-rate Guild in attendance give up. One hundred thousand Gold! Although these first-rate Guilds understood that this was a very normal price, actually hearing it coming out of Yuan Tiexin''s mouth still shocked them. In preparation for this auction, these Guilds had gone through plenty of trouble just to collect around 30,000 Gold. Yet, now, it was revealed that they were far from qualified to bid on this Magic Crystal vein. The powers that could rival first-rate Guilds were also silent They finally understood just how wide a gap there was between themselves and the various superpowers, who lived in an entirely different world. They weren''t even eligible to take part in this auction. All they could do was play the role of a spectator. 1789 Crazy Struggle Chapter 1789 - Crazy Struggle One hundred thousand Gold? Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he shook his head. In reality, he, too, was very tempted by the Magic Crystal vein. However, despite all his efforts, he had managed to raise only a little over 124,000 Gold. After deducting the amount he spent on the Book of Undying, Fire Resistance equipment, and rare materials, he had just a bit more than 90,000 Gold left. He didn''t have the slightest chance of winning the upcoming auction. As the various major powers in the first-floor hall were marveling over the Magic Crystal vein''s high price, the occupants of the second-floor rooms started calling out bids, one after another. "One hundred thousand Gold!" "One hundred ten thousand Gold!" "One hundred twenty thousand Gold!" After the first bid appeared, the price of the Magic Crystal vein increased rapidly, the scene stupefying the various first-rate Guilds present. Despite the minimum increment being set at 1,000 Gold, the various superpowers and major corporations were raising the price in 10,000-Gold increments as if 10,000 Gold were no different from 10,000 Copper. In less than a minute, the price had already reached a staggering 200,000 Gold. Only after the price reached 270,000 Gold did the price increases decline to 2,000- or 3,000-Gold increments. Even so, this was still plenty frightening to the various first-rate Guilds present. "Damn it! Why are there so many people competing for the vein?!" Nine Dragons Emperor frowned as he watched the price ramp up. Turning to Martial Dragon, he asked, "How are things coming along on Blood''s side?" He had prepared only 210,000 Gold for this auction. Including the Magic Crystals he had on hand, his funds came to roughly 250,000 Gold. Just now, he had mortgaged several golden Lands in Black Dragon City, netting an additional 140,000 Gold and putting his total at 390,000 Gold. This was already ten times the amount a first-rate Guild could produce in short notice. However, the various superpowers and major corporations were like bottomless pits as they continuously hiked up their bids. Now, the price was already close to 300,000. Moreover, he knew full well that the various superpowers were still only probing each other''s depths. They had yet to truly make a move. Despite the restraint of the various superpowers and major corporations, the price of the Magic Crystal vein was already approaching the limit of his budget. "Pavilion Master, Blood Dragon has already asked the Guild Elders for a loan. The Elders feel that this is a good purchase and are willing to lend us 60,000 Gold. If we succeed in the purchase, they want 10% of the vein''s shares as interest. If we fail, they want 30% interest," Martial Dragon said helplessly. Although they all belonged to the same Guild, the Guild Elders each operated their own faction. Although their factions were not strong individually, when they banded together, they were a frightening force to behold. Meanwhile, this combined power was under the Great Pavilion Master''s control. Hence, Pavilion Masters like Nine Dragons Emperor and Phoenix Rain could not command these Elders; they could only try to rope in these Elders to their side. "Those old bastards actually have the gall to ask for 10% of the shares?!" Nine Dragons Emperor turned ashen upon hearing the loan conditions. The Guild Elders had outright asked for a quarter of the shares he would be getting. "Fine! I agree to their conditions! However, tell them that 60,000 Gold is too little! I will also need all of their Magic Crystals! Otherwise, I''ll just give up on the auction!" Although 60,000 Gold was a significant sum, it was still insufficient for him to compete against the various superpowers. Only after he and the Elders pooled everything they had would they stand a chance in the auction. While Nine Dragons Emperor was raising funds, the price of the Magic Crystal vein had already increased to 352,000 Gold. At the same time, the various superpowers and major corporations were also doing their best to gather more funds. However, this price had already rendered the crowd in the first-floor hall utterly speechless. "It seems some Guilds and corporations are already approaching their limit." Lu Xingluo smiled when he noticed the rate of bidding slowing down. Turning to his bodyguard, he said, "Let''s begin, then." "Understood!" Zhong Langcheng immediately keyed in a series of zeroes on the bidding interface. Five hundred thousand Gold! The moment this price appeared, the entire auction venue went into an uproar. Even Shi Feng''s mouth twitched involuntarily when he saw this bid. With that kind of money, he could already build two cities in Star-Moon Kingdom. Seeing this price also allowed him to understand just how frightening the various superpowers were. The difference between himself and them was not something that he could easily bridge just by having more information on God''s Domain. ... "Why does the Starline Corporation have so much money?!" Nine Dragons Emperor felt like puking up blood when he saw this amount. Although the Starline Corporation was strong and had annexed quite a few first-rate Guilds, it had also spent a lot of money to develop its Guild, far more than what super-first-rate Guilds had spent. Logically, the corporation shouldn''t have that many Coins to spare. At this moment, let alone Nine Dragons Emperor, even the representatives of the Sacred Temple, Battle Wolves, Pantheon, Nine Heavens Pavilion, and other Super Guilds were taken aback by the Starline Corporation''s bid. Although they, too, possessed that much money, spending it would no doubt cause their Guild a cash-flow shortage in the near term; the Starline Corporation''s Guild would definitely suffer an even greater setback. Shortly after Lu Xingluo placed the bid of 500,000 Gold, Mu Lingsha also clenched her teeth and topped it. Five hundred and ten thousand Gold! This price likewise stunned the various superpowers present. Although Unyielding Soul was a super-first-rate Guild, as its development in the Dark Night Empire had not gone smoothly, the Guild should not have that much money to spare. However, what the various superpowers did not know was that, in order to contest for the management rights of the Magic Crystal vein, Unyielding Soul had long since mortgaged many of its properties and was prepared to duke it out with the Starline Corporation. After all, if the Starline Corporation acquired the Magic Crystal vein, Unyielding Soul''s development in the Dark Night Empire would be doomed. Hence, Unyielding Soul had accumulated a total of 625,000 Gold''s worth of Coins and Magic Crystals to compete with the Starline Corporation. "Hahaha! You want to compete against the Starline Corporation in terms of financial strength?" Lu Xingluo sneered at Mu Lingsha''s new bid. "A pity. Truly a pity. The Starline Corporation might not have as powerful a background as a super-first- rate Guild like Unyielding Soul, but we do have High-level Energy!" In order to acquire the Magic Crystal vein, the Starline Corporation had traded 400,000 Gold''s worth of High-level Energy with the Secret Pavilion. Of course, it had stipulated that Unyielding Soul would not be invited to the internal auction. Including the 300,000 Gold the corporation raised, Starline had a total of 700,000 Gold prepared to purchase the vein. At this stage of the game, even the various Super Guilds were incapable of taking out 700,000 Gold, which was why he was confident of acquiring the Magic Crystal vein. After some back and forth, the price eventually reached 630,000 Gold, the bid being placed by Lu Xingluo. This figure caused many of the superpowers present to give up on the auction. They also could not help but marvel at the Starline Corporation''s financial strength. ... "Aqua, I wish to borrow money from Zero Wing. I am willing to use a few plots of golden Land in the Dark Night Empire as collateral. These Lands are worth around 70,000 Gold in total. I wish to borrow 60,000 Gold. I will pay you back in five days with 30% interest. If I fail to repay the loan, these golden Lands will be Zero Wing''s," Mu Lingsha said after making some calculations. At this point, she could tell that the price of the Magic Crystal vein was already close to Lu Xingluo''s limit. After all, the man was no longer as decisive when placing his bids. Meanwhile, through Aqua Rose, she had learned much about Zero Wing. Hence, she knew that Zero Wing had prepared quite a lot of funds for the auction this timeseveral times more than the average first-rate Guild, in fact. Hence, it should be possible for Zero Wing to lend her 60,000 Gold. If she had these 60,000 Gold Coins, she would have a greater chance of winning against Lu Xingluo. "This..." Aqua Rose was slightly troubled as she turned to look at Shi Feng, unsure whether she should agree to this request or not. "Miss Mu, how about this? I can lend you 100,000 Gold''s worth of funds. However, Zero Wing does not need any collateral or the 30% interest. We only want to borrow some manpower from Unyielding Soul. What do you think of this proposal?" Shi Feng suggested. Although he had thought of using this opportunity to acquire some of the Magic Crystal vein''s shares, the percentage of shares he could obtain in the end would most likely not amount to much. In that case, the number of Magic Crystals Zero Wing could get from the vein would be a drop in the bucket, given Zero Wing''s current Magic Crystal shortage. Meanwhile, earning an additional 18,000 Gold from the 30% interest would not help Zero Wing by much, either. Rather than these negligible benefits, it would be far more meaningful to borrow Unyielding Soul''s strength, instead. After all, it was normally impossible to borrow the strength of a superpower without paying an exorbitant price. "You don''t need any collateral or interest? You''re willing to lend us 100,000 Gold in exchange for only manpower?" Mu Lingsha''s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Shi Feng, her mind finding both Zero Wing''s financial strength and Shi Feng''s proposed conditions inconceivable. 1790 Ore Vein of Astronomical Value Chapter 1790 - Ore Vein of Astronomical Value Upon hearing Shi Feng''s proposal, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow could not help but stare at him in disbelief. They could not understand why he would actually abandon such a good opportunity to make money and, instead, settle for just borrowing manpower from Unyielding Soul. Meanwhile, during the time Shi Feng and Mu Lingsha were discussing this point, Yuan Tiexin had slammed his gavel for the second time. "Six hundred and thirty thousand, going twice! Is there nobody present willing to offer a higher price?" Yuan Tiexin asked as he glanced at the audience before him. Although 630,000 Gold already exceeded the Secret Pavilion''s original estimates, earning a few more Coins would not do the Pavilion any harm. "Greedy bastard!" Lu Xingluo frowned at Yuan Tiexin''s deliberate prolongation of the auction. Six hundred thirty thousand Gold was already far outside of his expectations. He had never thought that Unyielding Soul would be capable of taking out so much money. With such an expenditure, even if he could eventually recover the cost from the profits generated by the Magic Crystal vein, it would take a very long time before he could recoup his entire investment. Not to mention, he would also have to station an army of 100,000 players at the vein over the long run, which would further increase the time needed to recover his cost. The only fortunate matter was that the Magic Crystal vein produced Magic Crystals and rare ores that were very difficult to acquire on the market. For the foreseeable future, the Starline Corporation would no longer have to worry about its Guild''s daily Magic Crystal expenditure. Meanwhile, inside Shi Feng''s room... "Alright, I agree with your conditions." Mu Lingsha nodded to Shi Feng. Although she was neither Unyielding Soul''s Guild Leader nor Vice Guild Leader, she was the heiress of Unyielding Soul''s biggest shareholder. Moreover, Unyielding Soul had already granted her full authority over the auction this time. If it was only getting some of Unyielding Soul''s members to help Zero Wing with a task, she could easily approve this matter with her authority. "Alright, I''ll write up a contract You should place a bid first." Shi Feng smiled when he heard Mu Lingsha''s reply. With the help of a super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul, he could proceed smoothly with the next step of his plans. Compared to what he stood to gain through this help, making a few thousand Coins of profit was not worth mentioning whatsoever. Since both sides had come to an agreement, Mu Lingsha hurriedly placed a new bid. "Six hundred thirty-two thousand Gold!" Mu Lingsha shouted. The Secret Pavilion''s internal auction was different from the auctions held in God''s Domain, where players had to have enough currency in their pockets to place their bids. The Secret Pavilion did not bother verifying how much the bidders had. It would be fine so long as the buyer could pay for their purchase afterward. The silent auction venue immediately livened once again with Mu Lingsha''s bid. "How does Unyielding Soul still have money?" Lu Xingluo''s gaze turned chilling as he glared at Mu Lingsha''s room. He had thought that the auction for the Magic Crystal vein was already over, never imagining that Mu Lingsha still hadn''t given up hope. He immediately placed a new bid to thoroughly suppress her. "Six hundred forty thousand Gold!" "Six hundred forty-two thousand Gold!" "Six hundred fifty thousand Gold!" "Six hundred fifty-two thousand Gold!" A heated struggle between Lu Xingluo and Mu Lingsha broke out, the price reaching 672,000 Gold in short order. This situation shocked the various superpowers present These superpowers were fully aware of the financial strength of their rivals. Even if some of them were superior to others, the disparity was not that much. However, the wealth the Starline Corporation and Unyielding Soul were displaying had already exceeded the liquid assets a superpower should wield. This was no longer a competition of liquidity. This was basically an all-out struggle between two superpowers. "This is impossible! Unyielding Soul can''t possibly have this much money!" Lu Xingluo said as he looked at Mu Lingsha''s room. Just then, he happened to catch sight of Mu Lingsha signing some kind of contract with Shi Feng. "Damn it! That little bug dares to lend money to Unyielding Soul!" At this moment, even a fool could tell that Zero Wing had lent Unyielding Soul a lot of Coins; hence, super-first-rate Guild was able to persist in this auction. "Mu Lingsha, do you think you can win against the Starline Corporation just because you borrowed some money from a little bug?!" Lu Xingluo placed another bid. "Seven hundred thousand Gold!" Although Zero Wing had lent Coins to Unyielding Soul, how much could an up-and-coming Guild that could rival first-rate Guilds possibly have? It would already be plenty amazing if Zero Wing had even 70,000 or 80,000 Gold. If Lu Xingluo included the amount of money Zero Wing spent earlier, he estimated that the Guild would be able to lend around 50,000 Gold, at most, to Mu Lingsha. Previously, she had also stopped placing bids after the price reached 630,000 Gold, which meant that her personal limit was 630,000 Gold. Including the 50,000 Gold from Zero Wing, she would have only around 680,000 Gold in total. With his bid of 700,000 Gold, he would definitely triumph over Mu Lingsha. The people inside the auction venue gasped upon hearing Lu Xingluo''s bid. If he were to spend so much money to acquire the Magic Crystal vein, he would have to wait for three months or so just to recoup his costs. However, 700,000 Gold at this stage of the game was definitely more valuable than 700,000 Gold three months later. After all, Coins and Magic Crystals were constantly depreciating in value in God''s Domain. Of course, the purchase also wasn''t without benefits. With the Magic Crystal vein, Lu Xingluo would convert 700,000 Gold into Magic Crystals and various rare ores. In the long term, it was still more beneficial to have the Magic Crystal vein than not to have it. However, before Yuan Tiexin could even hammer his gavel once, Mu Lingsha made another bid. "Seven hundred ten thousand Gold!" "Are you kidding me? How does Unyielding Soul have so much money?" The people present were dumbfounded at Mu Lingsha''s bid. Logically, the increment in price should taper off as the auction approached its end. Yet, now, Mu Lingsha had actually raised the size of her increment to 10,000 Gold. "Impossible!" Lu Xingluo could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng, confusion written on his face. "How can a new Guild like his possibly have so much money?" "Guild Leader, what should we do? We only have a little over 703,000 Gold left. We don''t have any more money to continue bidding," Zhong Langcheng said anxiously. "Good! Very good!" Lu Xingluo''s gaze turned deathly chilling. "Contact the Secret Pavilion and tell them I have some business with them!" "Understood!" Zhong Langcheng immediately contacted a representative from the Secret Pavilion. Meanwhile, when Mu Lingsha saw that Lu Xingluo had stopped bidding, she could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. Had Shi Feng lent her only 60,000 Gold, she definitely wouldn''t have been able to compete with Lu Xingluo. However, with 100,000 Gold, she was able to thoroughly suppress him. Moreover, during the time she was competing with Lu Xingluo, as she worried that she wouldn''t have enough funds, she had someone in her Guild mortgage several plots of golden Land in Dark Night City and gained another 60,000 Gold. The Coins would be transferred later to her God''s Domain account Seeing that nobody was bidding, Yuan Tiexin very quickly slammed his gavel once, saying, "Seven hundred and ten thousand, going once! "Is there anyone willing to place a higher bid? You should know that this is very likely to be your only chance to see a Magic Crystal vein! You might not get another chance like this in the future!" At this moment, Yuan Tiexin was ecstatic. After all, in just under a minute, he had earned nearly 100,000 Gold more for the vein. However, despite Yuan Tiexin''s words, the auction venue remained silent. Nobody was willing to place any more bids. "Seven hundred and ten thousand, going twice!" Seeing that nobody was responding even after some time, Yuan Tiexin understood that this was the highest price he could sell the vein for. He then readied himself to slam his gavel for the third time and confirm the final owner of the Magic Crystal vein. When Mu Lingsha saw this, she was thrilled. "Seven hundred twenty thousand Gold!" At this time, however, Lu Xingluo suddenly broke the silence. "How is this possible?" Mu Lingsha was astounded as she looked at Lu Xingluo''s solemn expression. Nevertheless, she very quickly placed another bid, saying, "Seven hundred thirty thousand Gold!" "Seven hundred fifty thousand Gold!" Lu Xingluo said, sending a chilling glare at Mu Lingsha and Shi Feng. Despite Lu Xingluo''s glare, Mu Lingsha showed no intentions of giving up whatsoever. "Seven hundred sixty thousand Gold!" "Seven hundred seventy thousand Gold!" "Seven hundred eighty thousand Gold!" "Eight hundred thousand Gold!" In the end, Lu Xingluo directly raised the price by an additional 20,000 Gold, causing Mu Lingsha''s complexion to darken considerably. That price exceeded the limits of what she could afford. In the end, after Yuan Tiexin slammed his gavel three times, Lu Xingluo was announced the winner of the Magic Crystal vein''s management rights. This outcome sent the entire auction venue into an uproar. Eight hundred thousand Gold! This was already double the liquid funds a superpower possessed at this stage of the game. Although Lu Xingluo had acquired the Magic Crystal vein, throughout the remaining part of the auction, he glared hatefully at Mu Lingsha and Shi Feng. In order to emerge as the final victor, he had been forced to sell a large amount of High-level Energy to the Secret Pavilion far more than what the corporation had authorized. Although he eventually won the auction, he had to spend nearly 200,000 Gold more. How could he possibly be in a mood for celebration? "Langcheng, once we return, gather all the information you can find on Zero Wing and pass it to Dark Soul. Have Dark Soul mobilize right away. If Dark Soul is lacking in strength, have a portion of our main force support it. I want Zero Wing to disappear from God''s Domain immediately!" Lu Xingluo said. "A mere bug dares cause me to lose 200,000 Gold!" "Understood!" Zhong Langcheng replied eagerly. The thing he loved doing the most was none other than annihilating small Guilds. 1791 Crazy Actions Chapter 1791 - Crazy Actions The uproar caused by the auction of the Magic Crystal vein distracted the various powers in attendance from the many excellent finale items appearing after the vein. Most focused their attention on the implications of the Magic Crystal vein. Now that the Starline Corporation had the Magic Crystal vein, combined with its financial strength and military strength, its development in God''s Domain would most likely skyrocket in the future. Particularly, when it came to Magic Crystals, the Starline Corporation would have a massive advantage over everyone else. "Now that Starline has obtained the Magic Crystal vein, the Dark Night Empire will probably belong to Starline from now on." "Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul sure are pitiful. The two of them going all-out was what allowed Starline to annex two former super-first-rate Guilds in one go. Without the sudden influx of experts and veteran players, Starline wouldn''t have developed so quickly and become capable of rivaling Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul. Now that Starline has acquired a Magic Crystal vein as well, it''ll be able to nurture more experts through the Divine Colosseum." "That''s right! Most likely, it won''t be long before Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul get chased out of the Dark Night Empire." "Unyielding Soul is truly unfortunate. It was just a little bit short of acquiring the Magic Crystal vein. It really makes you wonder where the Starline Corporation managed to get so much money from." Everyone secretly discussed the matter between the Starline Corporation and Unyielding Soul. The auction of the Magic Crystal vein had determined the future of the Dark Night Empire. This situation also prompted some first-rate Guilds, which had been developing in the Dark Night Empire all this time, to draft alternate plans. Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing''s private room... After this auction, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose gained newfound recognition of the financial strength of major corporations. Compared to the major corporations, the amount of money Zero Wing possessed was not worth mentioning whatsoever. They also realized just how far Zero Wing was from becoming a superpower in God''s Domain. The Guild was already severely lacking just in the aspect of financial strength. "So, this is the Starline Corporation''s strength?" Mu Lingsha could not help a bitter smile when she saw Lu Xingluo acquiring the Magic Crystal vein. Despite all her efforts, she still lost in the end. Fortunately, she did not suffer a total loss in this auction. At the very least, she had forced Starline to spend a large portion of its wealth. With this, Starline would not have the funds to develop rapidly within the shortterm. Following which, Mu Lingsha turned to look at Shi Feng and said, "Thank you for your help. As per our agreement, I will have Unyielding Soul help you out once." "That''s just wonderful. In reality, the thing I need Unyielding Soul''s help with is very simple. I need you to lend me 60 Tier 2 experts to raid a Team Dungeon. I believe that with Unyielding Soul''s strength, that should be doable," Shi Feng said, directly revealing the task he wanted Unyielding Souls help for. Currently, expert players in God''s Domain had already reached Level 53 and Level 54. The number of experts that had gone to attempt their Tier 2 promotions was also very high. At this stage of the game, most first-rate Guilds already had a dozen or so Tier 2 experts in their ranks, with some having even more than twenty. As for super-first-rate Guilds, they definitely had more than 60 Tier 2 experts. "Help with raiding a Team Dungeon?" Mu Lingsha was slightly surprised by Shi Feng''s request. She had expected Shi Feng to have Unyielding Soul act as a deterrence to Beast Emperor in the Ore Empire. She had never thought that Shi Feng would only want to borrow some Tier 2 experts to raid a Team Dungeon. "Alright, that won''t be a problem. When will the raid be? Where should we meet up?" In reality, Mu Lingsha wasn''t the only person surprised by Shi Feng''s request. Even Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were confused at this situation. They had the rare opportunity of getting Unyielding Soul to owe them a favor, yet Shi Feng was wasting this favor to borrow some experts to raid a Team Dungeon. Although there were some Team Dungeons that Zero Wing was currently still incapable of raiding, given enough time, Zero Wing would have more Tier 2 experts of its own. There was simply no need to get the help of other Guilds. "I hope that we can start tomorrow. The meeting point will be Star-Moon Kingdom''s White River City. As for the exact time, I''ll have Aqua notify you once we enter God''s Domain. May I know if that is acceptable?" Shi Feng asked. "Tomorrow? It seems you''re quite pressed for time. However, all the better. The sooner this favor is repaid, the sooner Unyielding Soul will be able to relax," Mu Lingsha said, smiling. "Alright, I''ll head back and make the necessary arrangements. I''ll be sure to send over the people you asked for on time tomorrow." "Big Sis Lingsha, are you returning so soon? The auction for the finale items is just beginning. There are bound to be some excellent items coming out. Isn''t it a waste to leave right now?" Aqua Rose asked, surprised when she noticed Mu Lingsha standing up from her seat. "My goal this time is only the Magic Crystal vein. Now that the Starline Corporation has acquired it, I naturally have no reason to stay. Rather than waste time here, it is much better if I return and start making the necessary preparations," Mu Lingsha explained. "However, I must also remind you that Lu Xingluo is a vengeful bastard. Now that you have gone against him, although he won''t be able to dispatch his Guild''s armies after you, he is very likely to send a large number of experts to target Zero Wing. It is best if you all beware." "Thank you for your reminder," Shi Feng said. In reality, Shi Feng had a much greater understanding of the Starline Corporation than Mu Lingsha did. During his previous life, the Starline Corporation had quickly become the overlord of the Dark Night Empire by relying on its advantages from entering God''s Domain at the game''s launch and having a large amount of High-level Energy. Moreover, aside from the empire, Starline had also taken control of several neighboring kingdoms. Eventually, the corporation annihilated Unyielding Soul and developed into a bona fide Super Guild. Meanwhile, Lu Xingluo, the Guild Leader of the Starline Corporation''s Guild, was also famed for being incomparably ruthless. As Lu Xingluo had close ties with Dark Players, those who became his enemy were often hunted down by Dark Players. Some first-rate Guilds had even gotten wiped out because of this. After Mu Lingsha was done speaking, she promptly left the room. Now, only four people remained inside. "Guild Leader, just which Dungeon are we going to raid that we actually need Unyielding Soul''s strength?" Gentle Snow asked quietly, unable to rein in her curiosity, after seeing Mu Lingsha leave. Although she wasn''t one to self-praise, she believed that Zero Wing''s Dungeon-raiding capabilities were not the slightest bit weaker than those of the superpowers of God''s Domain. In fact, Zero Wing might be stronger than even some superpowers. Given a little more time, Zero Wing would be capable of raiding even super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Hence, there really wasn''t a need to employ the help of a super-first-rate Guild. "No, we''re not just going to borrow Unyielding Soul''s strength!" Shi Feng said, smiling. "Afterward, we''re going to borrow the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strength as well!" "Borrow the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s strength?" Gentle Snow grew even more confused at Shi Feng''s words. She simply could not figure out what Shi Feng intended to do. Shi Feng wasn''t satisfied with getting the help of just one super-first-rate Guild. He was even going to get the help of two super-first-rate Guilds. Aqua Rose was similarly surprised by Shi Feng''s declaration. "Guild Leader, we can''t possibly be trying to raid the Flaming Ruins now, right?!" A hint of shock flashed across Aqua Rose''s eyes as she suddenly thought of a possibility. No matter how she tried, the only Team Dungeon that she could think of that would necessitate the help of Unyielding Soul and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be Star-Moon Kingdom''s Flaming Ruins, a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Up to now, nobody in the game had managed to acquire the First Clear of even a Level 50, 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeon. Trying to challenge a 200-man Team Dungeon was simply insane. After all, the raid difficulty of a super-large- scale Team Dungeon was many times greater than that of a 100-man Team Dungeon. It simply wasn''t a challenge that current players could overcome. Moreover, the final loot one would get from the two Dungeons was mostly of the same quality. Rather than waste time raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon, it was much better to raid a large-scale Team Dungeon. "Of course not," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Our goal is the neutral map Eclipse Gate''s super-large-scale Team Dungeon, Eclipse Throne!" Meanwhile, during the time the Secret Pavilion was holding its internal auction... Things were very lively over at Dark Soul''s Residence in Yin Yang City, a Dark City in the Dark Night Empire. Currently, many rarely seen experts had gathered. "This really is a rare occurrence. Boss, why did you suddenly have us all come here? Are we waging war on a Guild?" Lonely Lamp, a core member of the Dark Hunters adventurer team, asked curiously as he looked at the core members of Dark Soul in the room. "A direct order came from the Starline Corporation," a Level 54, Tier 2 male Berserker looking to be in his 40s said, smiling. "Which Guild is unlucky enough to get targeted by the Starline Corporation?" Lonely Lamp asked, laughing. The last time Dark Soul had mobilized such a powerful force was when they were targeting a first-rate Guild. In the end, said first-rate Guild had very nearly disappeared from God''s Domain. Fortunately, though, the first-rate Guild managed to pack up and leave the Dark Night Empire in time. Rubbing his beard, the Tier 2 Berserker thought back to the message he received a while ago before replying, "It seems it''s a Guild called Zero Wing." 1792 Upgrading a Magic Weapon Chapter 1792 - Upgrading a Magic Weapon "We''re targeting Zero Wing?" Lonely Lamp could not help his surprise when he heard the Tier 2 Berserker''s words. "Could it be Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing?" "That''s right!" Looking at Lonely Lamp curiously, the Tier 2 Berserker asked, "Is there a problem?" "N-no." Lonely Lamp shook his head, his complexion darkening slightly. He had never thought that the various adventurer teams belonging to Dark Soul had actually been gathered this time to deal with Zero Wing. "This is interesting," a soldierly man seated before Lonely Lamp said, his lips curling up slightly. "Originally, I was planning to take care of this Zero Wing sometime in the future. Now, it seems that won''t be necessary." "Commander Shark, does Dark Hunters have some kind of grudge against Zero Wing?" a beautiful, womanly lady wearing dark-blue robes asked, a faint smile on her face. "Mhm. We crossed paths when carrying out a client''s commission. Although we managed to complete the commission, our side suffered quite a loss as well," the soldierly man named Black Shark replied, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. "To be able to make your Dark Hunters eat a loss, Zero Wing must be quite capable. It''s no wonder the Alliance Master has gathered us here today," the beautiful lady said. "When the time comes, if Commander Shark needs any help in the battle, do make sure to ask Dark Claw." "Then, I''ll have to thank you in advance for the help, Commander Spirit," Black Shark replied. Lonely Lamp could not help but grow excited upon overhearing the conversation between Black Shark and Veiled Spirit. Even now, he still remembered with hate the time Shi Feng had killed him. Although his commander had also stated previously that they would make Zero Wing pay, he was painfully aware of just how powerful Zero Wing was. Even if the entire Dark Hunters adventurer team mobilized, they wouldn''t be a match for Zero Wing. However, it was a different story now. Dark Soul was a Dark Alliance of over ten dark adventurer teams. If these adventurer teams mobilized simultaneously, the alliance would have no problem throwing the entire Star-Moon Kingdom into chaos. After all, the dark adventurer teams capable of joining Dark Soul were all frighteningly powerful. Just as everyone inside the meeting room was discussing this matter, three players suddenly entered the room. At the lead was a Level 50 male Guardian Knight wearing pitch-black armor. The beast-like young man carried on his back a crystalline shield that released crimson flames. Following this Guardian Knight was a Level 55 female Ranger and a Level 55 male Elementalist. The equipment these three players wore elicited a little envy in the adventurer team commanders present. These three players had a minimum of three pieces of Epic Equipment each. The Guardian Knight in the lead, in particular, had four pieces of Epic Equipment plus a weapon and shield of indiscernible rank. However, although the weapon''s and shield''s ranks were not distinguishable, the density of the Mana circulating around them indicated that they were definitely extraordinary items. Meanwhile, this young man was none other than Tiger Breaker, the Alliance Master of Dark Soul. Although Tiger Breaker looked very young, nobody present dared underestimate him because he had risen to fame much sooner than anyone else here had. He was actually already over 45 and had once inspired fear and helplessness even in super-first-rate Guilds. This man was also why the various dark adventurer teams present were willing to join an alliance like Dark Soul. "I assume you all have been notified of the reason you are gathered here?" Tiger Breaker said after taking his seat. "The Starline Corporation''s intent is to have us annihilate Zero Wing as soon as possible. Rest assured, the remuneration provided is very bountiful. Like usual, whoever contributes more will get more. According to the data we collected, Zero Wing has the strength of a first-rate Guild. As for our plan of annihilation, we''ll go about it like always and target Zero Wing''s core combatants and upper echelon first Whatever loot you get from your kills will belong to you. If there are no problems, we''ll move out now." Tiger Breaker''s words immediately filled everyone present with enthusiasm. They had been eagerly awaiting such a large-scale campaign for a long time now. This was their motivation for joining Dark Soul, to begin with. While their respective adventurer teams might have great difficulty annihilating a large Guild all by themselves, doing so would be a walk in the park if over a dozen of them worked together. Every time their alliance received a mission to annihilate a Guild, they made a fortune for themselves. The profits they gained from annihilating first-rate Guilds, in particular, were astronomical. "Alliance Master, what happened with the Starline Corporation that it''s in such a rush to annihilate Zero Wing?" the Level 55 male Elementalist standing beside Tiger Breaker asked curiously after seeing that the representatives of the various dark adventurer teams had left. "In the past, they always gave us a few days to prepare. Now, they''re not even giving us a day." "I''m not sure about this," Tiger Breaker replied, shaking his head. "However, it doesn''t matter. The target has the strength of just a first-rate Guild. It''s not the first time they''re doing such a task." "Indeed. With the current strength of the various adventurer teams, every one of them can easily mess up a first-rate Guild all by themselves. If they work together, even the top-ranking first-rate Guilds will suffer," the male Elementalist said, chuckling. "Right, after they''re done with this mission, our next target will most likely be Unyielding Soul. Make sure you get the necessary preparations done. Even though Unyielding Soul has fallen behind the times, it is still a super-first-rate Guild. It won''t be an easy opponent," Tiger Breaker said. "Alliance Master, rest assured, as long as that batch of resources arrives, we''ll be able to nurture a large group of experts very quickly," the Elementalist said confidently. Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: After the Secret Pavilion''s auction, Shi Feng immediately returned to the Greenwater Villa and logged back into God''s Domain. The first thing he did after getting online was contact Phoenix Rain and have her send every Tier 2 expert she had to White River City. After making the necessary arrangements, he handed 30,000 Gold to Aqua Rose and had her continue fortifying Silverwing Town. He then took out another 30,000 Gold and secretly fortified the Lost Town. Next, he gathered the rare materials he brought over from the Ice Crystal World and nineteen Lifestyle Players at the Candlelight Trading Firm. Finally, he used the Holy City''s Emblem and brought the nineteen Lifestyle players to the Holy City of Titan. At this point, the Abyssal Blade was still just a Level 45 Magic Weapon. Although the Abyssal Blade remained very powerful, it was severely mismatched for his current level. Compared to Killing Ray, the Abyssal Blade was no different from baggage to him. Meanwhile, the Eclipse Throne was a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon in the Eclipse Gate, a neutral map. Its difficulty was much greater than even that of the Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeons in kingdoms and empires, not to mention the special environment inside the Eclipse Throne. He would have to increase his combat power further if he wanted to improve his chances of successfully raiding the Dungeon. Hence, Shi Feng planned on forging Level 50 weapons in Titan City in order to upgrade the Abyssal Blade. In the outside world, Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapon designs were very rare. In Titan City, however, so long as one had sufficient status, one could use Magic Crystals to exchange for all kinds of weapon production designs. However, only the player that exchanged for these designs could learn them. At the same time, the weapons produced using the designs obtained in Titan City were slightly weaker than average weapons of the same rank. To Shi Feng, however, this weakness did not matter at all. After all, the weapons he produced would be sacrificed to the Abyssal Blade. What kind of Attributes those weapons possessed was not important. After arriving at Titan City''s Forging Association, he spent 3,000 and 6,000 Magic Crystals to purchase Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapon Forging Designs, respectively. He then rented a Special Forging Room and set to work. In order to increase his production success rate, Shi Feng even utilized the Philosopher''s Hand''s power. After working away for over half a day, he finally ended up with 100 Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons and 30 Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons. He had used nearly 80% of the materials he had prepared for this occasion. "I can finally upgrade it." After taking a good look at the pile of weapons stacked on the table before him, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. "Devour!" 1793 Black Dragon Appears Chapter 1793 - Black Dragon Appears Inside the blazing hot Special Forging Room... After Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Abyssal Blade, he felt space inside the room freeze. Pitch-black divine runes lit up the silver sword before him, and the Black Dragon coiled around the hilt opened its eyes abruptly. As if the ornament had gained life, the Black Dragon let loose a deafening roar. Roar! The Dragon''s roar made the room tremble so violently that Shi Feng even thought it might collapse. Following which, a terrifying aura saturated that was so powerful that Shi Feng felt his body grow multitudes heavier. He couldn''t move an inch. How is it so powerful? Shi Feng stared at the hovering Abyssal Blade, afraid. The weapon''s current aura was many times stronger than it had been during the previous upgrades. If not for the magic arrays that reinforced the Special Forging Room, he had no doubt that the roar would''ve crumbled the room. The Dragon''s roar hadn''t only affected the Special Forging Room Shi Feng occupied. Candlelight''s Lifestyle players, who practiced forging techniques in their own rooms, heard the deafening announcement and felt the world quake. They all felt a horrific pressure weigh on them the moment after the roar, preventing them from moving. "What''s going on? Why can''t I move?" Everyone was afraid of the sudden pressure. They could all sense death linger as if they stood before the opened mouth of some ferocious beast. When the Abyssal Blade''s aura reached its peak, even the Forging Association''s Tier 2 NPCs dropped to the ground. Only the patrolling Tier 3 NPCs remained standing, but when these NPCs turned to the Forging Association, they did so with grim expressions. They felt as if they were staring at a live Dragon, not a building. After another ten seconds, the aura disappeared, and everything returned to normal. However, Shi Feng, who stood before this phenomenon''s cause, looked decidedly less than pleased. He no longer stood in the Special Forging Room. In fact, it seemed as if he had been transported to some kind of dusky world. Only he and the gigantic magic array he stood on seemed to occupy this world. So, this is a Magic Weapon''s Backlash? Shi Feng thought as he looked at the pitch-black Dragon, that stood over ten meters tall, before him. The Black Dragon quietly observed him in return. Although it didn''t move, it radiated a horrific aura that even made Katie Green, a Tier 5 Sacred Magic Knight, look like a joke. A Dragon! Shi Feng was absolutely certain that the Black Dragon before him was a bona fide Dragon, although it was much smaller than ordinary Dragons. However, its aura was several times stronger than an ordinary Dragon''s... "Human...give me...your body!" the Black Dragon uttered in the human language as it watched Shi Feng with crimson eyes. Saying so, the Black Dragon widened its mouth and bit down on Shi Feng with lightning speed. Its had only needed an instant to reach the Swordsman, and the attack caught Shi Feng off guard. Is this it for me? Shi Feng panicked. But when the Black Dragon''s maw was only ten centimeters away from Shi Feng, it suddenly stopped. Before Shi Feng knew it, silver chains had appeared around the Black Dragon''s body, binding the creature. "Damnable magic array!" The Black Dragon roared and struggled fiercely against the chains. Regardless, the chains refused to budge. On the contrary, they steadily sapped away the Black Dragon''s power, shrinking its body. The chains only disappeared after they had reduced the Black Dragon to six meters in height. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had noticed the Dragon''s Attributes. [Black Dragon King] (Dragon, Lord) Level 50 HP 32,000,000/32,000,000 What a high HP! Shi Feng could not help but gasp when he saw the Black Dragon King''s statistics. An ordinary Level 50 Lord would only have around 10,000,000 HP, with the high-HP ones having around 15,000,000, yet the Black Dragon King had 32,000,000 HP. Before Shi Feng could say anything, the Black Dragon King charged at him, one of its scaly claws transforming into a streak of light as it swiped at him. The Black Dragon King was only slightly slower than a Tier 3 Great Lord of the same level. "Human...food!" With each step, the ground below the Dragon''s feet sank. Its immense Strength could even put Great Lords of the same level to shame. The Dragon race was an apex race in God''s Domain. They were even capable of slaughtering Gods. Their superior Life Ratings allowed them to challenge opponents above their own tiers. Although the Black Dragon King was only a Tier 2 Lord, a Tier 2 Dragon was much stronger than an ordinary Great Lord. If it came down to a fight, the Black Dragon King could easily kill a Tier 3 Great Lord. As a mountain-like claw descended on Shi Feng, explosions rang out as it tore apart space itself. A Lord ranked Dragon? Shi Feng smiled as he watched the Black Dragon King. He then swung Killing Ray to block the Dragon''s claw. Boom! When the pitch-claw claw collided with Killing Ray, sparks scattered, and the earth beneath the collision sunk slightly, yet despite the impact, Shi Feng hadn''t moved. He didn''t even receive a single point of damage. "Human..." The Black Dragon King was momentarily stunned to find Shi Feng unharmed. Although Shi Feng was over ten levels higher, the difference in Life Ratings could easily make up for the gap and more. Normally, it should be able to send Shi Feng flying with a single slap. However, the human had stopped the Dragon''s attack with relative ease, taking no damage... It''s no wonder why so many experts were devoured by their Magic Weapons. The Backlash is actually so powerful. Shi Feng smiled at the stunned Black Dragon King. It''s a pity that I have the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. Although I haven''t fully repaired the ring yet, it still gives me an advantage against dragons. Following which, Shi Feng activated Shadow Blade, sending one sword light and nine shadows at the Black Dragon King. Responding quickly, the Black Dragon King swiped its claws and blocked three attacks, but the remaining seven struck the monster, each dealing over -20,000 damage, over -40,000 with critical hits. Not giving the Black Dragon King an opportunity to react, Shi Feng followed up with Chop, forcing the Black Dragon King to take a step back. He then used Thundering Flash, and damages exceeding -30,000 appeared above the Black Dragon King''s head, one after another. A Dragon might be a troublesome foe for others, but it was no problem for Shi Feng. Shi Feng already had frightening Basic Attributes. In addition, he had the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s Passive Skill, Dragon''s Domination, which decreased enemy Dragons'' Basic Attributes by 20% and increased his own by 500 points each. Right now, the Level 50 Black Dragon King was weaker than Shi Feng when it came to Basic Attributes. However, inside this special space, Shi Feng couldn''t use the items and tools he carried in his bag, so facing a Dragon with 32,000,000 HP was still a considerable challenge- wasting no time, Shi Feng activated Power of Darkness, increasing his Basic Attributes by another 120%. Now, his normal attacks dealt over -40,000 damage, and his Skills could deal over -100,000. This put the Black Dragon King at a disadvantage, and its HP fell at an unprecedented rate. "Despicable human!" When the Black Dragon King''s HP fell to 50%, it expressed its anger with a deafening roar. Pitch-black flames then appeared around it, transforming into flaming swords that surrounded Shi Feng. The Black Dragon King had summoned 30 of these fiery weapons, each sword carrying the Black Dragon King''s power. Despite Shi Feng''s superior Basic Attributes, he had no choice but to dodge or block the burning swords. If any of these summoned weapons struck him, he''d lose over 26,000 HP in an instant. Meanwhile, under the effects of Power of Darkness, Shi Feng only had a measly 180,000 HP. If he were struck seven or eight times, he''d be dead. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to defend himself while fighting. Whenever his HP fell below 30%, he would activate Life Domain and heal himself. However, once Shi Feng''s Berserk Skill ended, the two combatants entered a stalemate. Time continued to pass. Ten minutes... Twenty minutes... Thirty minutes... Finally, after 40 minutes, the Black Dragon King''s HP fell to 10%, and Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, increasing his Strength, Defense, and HP significantly. With Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Shi Feng could completely suppress the Dragon. He turned some of his focus away from defense, enduring the flaming swords'' attacks to strike the Black Dragon King''s chest The hit was a critical, dealing more than -100,000 damage to the Lord. Following which, the Black Dragon King''s HP began to decrease much faster than before. 8%... 6%... 3%... Shi Feng also steadily lost HP. Despite Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s buffs, each flaming sword shaved off over 10,000 HP. Against the 30 flaming swords'' relentless attacks, it was inevitable that he''d lose HP rapidly. 90%... 70%... 50%... "Die!" Once the Black Dragon King had very little HP remaining, Shi Feng used Lightning Slash. Suddenly, a damage of over -400,000 appeared above the Black Dragon King''s head and devoured of the Lord''s last strand of HP. By the time the Black Dragon King''s body disappeared, Shi Feng had less than one-third of his HP remaining. 1794 Dragon Soul Chapter 1794 - Dragon Soul I finally won. Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief as he watched the Black Dragon King''s body fade away. A Dragon''s Strength was simply too high. If Heavenly Dragon''s Power hadn''t suppressed the monster while boosting Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes, the battle might have ended differently. Fortunately, the Black Dragon King had only been a Level 50 Lord, the same level that Shi Feng was trying to upgrade the Abyssal Blade to. Had the Black Dragon King been the same level as Shi Feng, the battle would''ve definitely been far more difficult. With this knowledge, Shi Feng would have to be more careful during future upgrades. Without preparing for such a battle, upgrading the Abyssal Blade would be extremely dangerous. Once the Black Dragon King was gone, the gigantic magic array under Shi Feng''s feet compressed, transforming into a new Abyssal Blade. The new Abyssal Blade was a fully silver sword with pitch-black divine runes etched on the blade. Gray mist circled the weapon, and it gave off a chilling aura. This is the newly upgraded Abyssal Blade? When Shi Feng gripped the new Abyssal Blade, he could clearly feel the sword pulsate. It felt as if the sword had become an extension of his body. What truly surprised Shi Feng, however, was the new information in the weapon''s Attribute Panel. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +2,070 All Attributes +170 Attack Speed +27 Ignore Levels +20 Attacks have: 70% chance to cause 220% damage. 30% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 24%. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +5. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 50. Can be upgraded (Devour one hundred Level 55 Fine-Gold Weapons and thirty Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 55). Equipment Tier 2. Can be evolved (Devour 100 Mana Crystals or Eternal Ice Crystals to evolve to Tier 3). Additional Active Skill 1: Phantom Kill (Tier 2). Instantly creates a doppelganger under the wielder''s control. Doppelganger has 90% of the wielder''s Attributes and all Skills. The wielder can swap positions with the doppelganger at any time. Duration: 1 minute, 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (Tier 2). Binds up to 3 enemies simultaneously and prevents movement, reducing Defense and Magic Resistance by 100%. The higher tiered the target is, the weaker the effect will be. Duration: 5 seconds Cooldown: 40 seconds Additional Active Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash (Tier 2). Instantly creates 16 phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder''s use; each phantom sword deals up to 80% damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (Tier 2). Prevents all targets within a radius of 50 yards from moving or attacking for 6 seconds and reduces their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Effect doubles if there is only one target in range. Cooldown: 20 minutes Additional Active Skill 5: Dragon Soul (Tier 2). Grants a doppelganger a Dragon Soul, transforming it into a Black Dragon. The transformed doppelganger will have the same Life Rating as a Black Dragon. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 48 hours Additional Passive Skill: Abyssal Will. Improves wielder''s physique depending on the surrounding Mana density. The higher the Mana density, the greater the improvement Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor (Tier 2). When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack can be used to increase all Attributes by 2% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 1% for 12 seconds or to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 4 seconds. Maximum of 30 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 8 hours The Famed Smith Olysses personally created the Abyssal Blade using the Black Dragon King''s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six Famed Swords, ranking 31st. However, the Black Dragon King himself has cursed this sword. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. However, after Jack had remodeled the Abyssal Blade with a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been reduced greatly. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. After this latest upgrade, the Abyssal Blade''s Attack Power was on par with a two-handed Epic Weapon of the same level, although it wasn''t quite as strong as Killing Ray. After all, the Abyssal Blade was only Level 50, whereas Killing Ray''s level automatically increased to match its user''s level. Regardless, the Abyssal Blade was still very powerful. The new Skill, Dragon Soul, was particularly impressive. He could turn one of his doppelgangers into a true Black Dragon. Just thinking about this excited Shi Feng. That was a bona fide Dragon they were talking about. An Archaic Species was insignificant before a true Dragon. Even Angels had a slightly lower Life Rating than Dragons. This Skill was now Shi Feng''s greatest trump card. Unfortunately, the Skill only had a short, three-minute duration. Once Shi Feng had finished marveling at the new Abyssal Blade, he sheathed the weapon and contacted Silent Wonder, Candlelight''s current Chief Alchemist. Aside from the Lifestyle players with the highest chances of becoming Masters, Shi Feng had also brought the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top five Alchemists to the Holy City of Titan. Naturally, after Silent Wonder had become an internal member and read the Moon God''s Secret Journal, she had quickly become a Master Alchemist. Now, she was the trading firm''s number one alchemist in terms of alchemy techniques. Since Candlelight had too many Lifestyle Players for Melancholic Smile to manage alone, Shi Feng had split the management responsibilities for each subclass among their respective Chiefs. "How is the Elven Silver production coining along?" Shi Feng asked. Elven Silver was an alchemy recipe that could only be found in Titan City. Each copy cost an exorbitant 800 Magic Crystals. Elven Silver was also very difficult to produce. Even if an Advanced Alchemist had the help of various support tools, they would be fortunate if they could achieve a 20% production success rate, and each attempt cost roughly 4 Gold... Elven Silver only had one function-temporary physical reinforcement. Not only could it increase one''s physique and Stamina, but it would also improve their Resistance significantly. It was an extremely valuable potion and had been a must-have when raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons during Shi Feng''s previous life. Since Candlelight''s alchemy standard had been lacking, Shi Feng hadn''t had his alchemists attempt to produce Elven Silver. However, Silent Aspiration had also become a Master Alchemist, so Shi Feng had decided to give them the recipe. "Guild Leader, the Elven Silver Potion''s brewing procedures are too complex. Even now, we only have 217 bottles. May I know if that is enough?" Silent Wonder said, a little embarrassed. "Two hundred and seventeen?! So many?!" Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he heard Silent Wonder''s report. He knew that even a Basic Master Alchemist would only have a 25% theoretical success rate, roughly 30% if they had the proper support tools. Moreover, each bottle of Elven Silver required a very long time to brew. A Basic Master Alchemist would be fortunate to brew around 100 bottles after a full day of work, yet despite having only been in Titan City for half that, the two Master Alchemists and three Advanced Alchemists that had been given the task had produced over 200 bottles. "Good. Bring them to me." "Understood." Silent Wonder nodded before disconnecting the call. Shi Feng then turned his attention to crafting All-rounded Devices. The Eclipse Throne had a chance of dropping top-tier Fire Resistance equipment. The Dungeon''s recommended raid level was Level 55 to Level 60, and it was far more challenging than the Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeons at kingdoms and empires'' borders. Aside from the Dungeon''s corrosive gas, its low Mana density made it particularly difficult. Shi Feng''s team needed the All-rounded Devices to raid the Dungeon. Shi Feng spent the rest of the day producing 80-plus All-rounded Devices. Including the All-rounded Devices he had made some time ago, he had more than enough to outfit a team of 200 players. Time is almost up. They should''ve arrived in White River City by now. Shi Feng smiled as he took a look at the time. Before he had realized it, a new day had arrived in God''s Domain. There were less than 20 minutes remaining before the agreed meeting time. Immediately, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll for White River City. After activating the scroll, his body transformed into a streak of light and left the Special Forging Room. 1795 Gathering of Heroes Chapter 1795 - Gathering of Heroes Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City: Silence dominated the crowded Guild Hall due to the group of the Guild''s main force members resting in the lobby. The lowest-leveled player among this group was Level 54, Tier 2, and the weakest equipment they wore was Level 50 Fine-Gold rank. The players who led the group even wore multiple pieces of Epic Equipment. These people were none other than Fire Dance, Cola, Shadow Sword, Blackie, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, Violet Cloud, Minor Wind, and Flying Shadow. Most of these players had been in the Guild since its founding and had participated in countless Guild wars and expeditions alongside Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Zero Wing had already become the number one Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom both in terms of financial power and strength. Countless players in the kingdom studied Fire Dance and the others'' battle videos. Unknowingly, they had become idols in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Flaming Rose Fire Dance! Tyrant Bear Cola!" "Why have all of these celebrities gathered here? Is our Guild about to embark on some important operation?" "They''re too cool! When can I become a core member and join their ranks?" "Our Guild has recruited a lot of new members recently. As a result, the requirements to become a core member have become stricter. In other Guilds, you can become a core member as long as you reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor and have enough GCPs. In Zero Wing, however, I''ve heard that you need to reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor at minimum." "I''ve heard the same, but even if you become a core member, it''s very difficult to get recruited for the Guild''s main force. Right now, even the main force''s weakest member can reach the sixth floor''s late stage and has a grasp of at least two Basic Combat Techniques. If you want to become a party leader, you''ll need to reach the seventh floor''s middle stage or higher and grasp at least three Basic Combat Techniques and one Advanced Combat Technique." The Guild members inside the Guild Hall were ecstatic when they saw Fire Dance and the others. This was especially true for the new recruits. Many of Zero Wing''s new recruits had only decided to join Zero Wing because of experts like Fire Dance and her companions. Suddenly, shrieks echoed throughout the hall. A man in his thirties had entered the hall, carrying two longswords at his waist. Arcs of blue electricity danced around one of the weapons, while a gray mist surrounded the other. Ambient Mana collected around the man passively, and he radiated an aura so powerful that those around him unconsciously stepped aside. This middle-aged man was none other than Shi Feng''s Black Flame persona. "Guild Leader! The Guild Leader has arrived!" "It''s really the Guild Leader! His aura is so powerful! He is so much stronger than the battle videos make him out to be!" When the Guild members saw Shi Feng, excitement and reverence filled their eyes. Black Flame was a living legend in Star- Moon Kingdom and was responsible for many miracles, never suffering defeat. Just the name ''Black Flame'' made expert players in Star-Moon Kingdom shudder. In response to the exclamations, Shi Feng could only offer a troubled smile as he approached Fire Dance and her team. "Guild Leader, all 85 Tier 2 players we have right now are present. We can set out right away," Aqua Rose said as Shi Feng walked over to the group. Shi Feng examined the main force members that had stood to greet him. The group included the experts from the Black Dragon Empire Branch that Gentle Snow managed. Even Youlan, who managed Zero Wing City''s daily affairs, was here. Silent Blade, You Ziping, who had recently been promoted to Tier 2, was also present. Some of these players had been incredibly famous during his previous life. In this life, however, these people had gathered in the Guild he had created. Not even a first-rate Guild could field 85 Tier 2 players at this stage of the game. Zero Wing had only nurtured so many thanks to the Primordial Soul Shi Feng had acquired from Primordial City. "Good! Let''s move out!" Shi Feng said, nodding. He then led the group toward the agreed meeting point in White River City. Shi Feng and the 85 Tier 2 players left Zero Wing''s Residence on their Mounts. The players on the street gasped when they saw Shi Feng''s group. These Zero Wing players were, after all, quite eyecatching. Their Mounts alone were terrifying, with the weakest at Mysterious-Iron rank. Meanwhile, the players'' statistics were simply horrific. When Shi Feng''s group had taken to the street, the various powers in White River City began to panic. They all feared that Zero Wing had targeted them. White River City, airport: Due to the appearance of the Eclipse Gate, the airport had become one of the most popular hubs in White River City, especially for the city''s various Guilds and adventurer teams. Not only was the Eclipse Gate a high-resource map, but the map also produced plenty of rare herbs and ores. There was also the precious Energy Essence, which could be used to nurture Guild Mounts. The Eclipse Gate was undoubtedly the best option to grind and earn money for players who didn''t want to travel to the distant Ore Empire. Currently, the players from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul had gathered in the airport''s rest area. These two Guilds'' presence made the other players in the rest area nervous, feeling a great pressure weigh on them. The teams were frightening, with each made up of around 60 Tier 2 players. Players recognized these Guild members as Tier 2 players due to the Tier 2 Class Insignias that only Tier 2 classes received. This insignia could only be acquired by completing a very difficult quest, and not only was it proof of one''s strength, but it also increased Skill and Spell effects by 10%. "Big Sis Rain, Zero Wing is amazing! They actually borrowed so many experts from Unyielding Soul. Even Unyielding Soul''s First Vice Guild Leader, Unyielding Heart has made an appearance!" Blue Phoenix exclaimed, looking at the middle-aged man some distance away. The man was slim and wore a set of dark-blue sacred armor with a pure-white cloak thrown over his shoulders. Unyielding Heart had been well-known in the virtual gaming world for many years now. He had been responsible for various miracles in previous virtual reality games. His performance had been just as frightening after he had joined God''s Domain. He had single-handedly slain two of Crimson Emperor''s Domain Realm experts when he had led Unyielding Soul''s trump card legion to capture the Dark Night Empire''s Serene Town. His success had allowed Unyielding Soul to gain an upper hand, surpassing Crimson Emperor''s development in the Dark Night Empire. Blue Phoenix found it truly hard to imagine that an important figure like Unyielding Heart would actually help Zero Wing. "Unyielding Soul should have some internal arrangement with Zero Wing," Phoenix Rain said as she glanced at Unyielding Heart. Honestly, his arrival had surprised her, as well. Even if Unyielding Soul had some kind of business with Zero Wing, it shouldn''t have been easy for Zero Wing to acquire Unyielding Heart''s assistance. After all, the position of First Vice Guild Leader came with a lot of responsibilities, and Unyielding Soul''s situation in the Dark Night Empire wasn''t looking good. Logically, Unyielding Heart should not have the leisure to work for another Guild. On the other side, Unyielding Soul''s members were just as surprised to see the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members in the airport. "Vice Guild Leader, that woman over there seems to be Pavilion Master Phoenix Rain from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion!" a Level 54, Tier 2 male Cleric whispered to Unyielding Heart. "Moreover, the genius Blue Phoenix is here. It seems Zero Wing isn''t as simple as we thought." "Indeed. Although rumors have mentioned that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has a good relationship with Zero Wing, I didn''t expect the Pavilion to dispatch one of its Pavilion Masters for a request for help. It seems their relationship runs much deeper than the rumors make it out," Unyielding Heart said, frowning slightly as he considered the matter. He had come here with very little expectations of Zero Wing. He had only joined the expedition due to Mu Lingsha''s request, but he had never dreamed that Zero Wing could even acquire the assistance of God''s Domain''s famous Demon Queen, Phoenix Rain. Currently, Phoenix Rain held the most sway among the two Pavilion Masters in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. She also had the strongest chance of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master. Phoenix Rain''s presence in a foreign area alone was enough to cause a commotion nowadays. If the public realized that she was here to help Zero Wing, it would cause a sensation that would sweep across God''s Domain. While the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul discussed each other, excited cries reached them from outside of the airport. Many players in the lobby ran over immediately to take a look. A short moment later, a group of players entered the airport''s main lobby. All of these players were at least Level 54, with some at Level 56. Their equipment was just as impressive. At this stage of the game, Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment was even extremely rare in the various superpowers, yet such equipment was the weakest that could be found on these 80-plus players... 1796 Extraordinary Foundation Chapter 1796 - Extraordinary Foundation Inside the sports arena-sized main lobby, the appearance of Shi Feng''s group triggered an uproar among the players present. "Is this real? These people are all equipped with Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment at the very minimum!" "Why is Zero Wing here?" "Crap! Zero Wing actually has more than ten people at Level 56! How are they leveling up so quickly?!" When the players inside the lobby saw Zero Wing''s team of 86, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Although the various large Guilds were making excellent progress in raiding Level 50 Team Dungeons, most of the equipment they acquired were only Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment were so rare that only the upper echelons of large Guilds had a few pieces on them. Nevertheless, every one of Zero Wing''s team of 86 was geared in Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment at the very minimum. This was simply inconceivable. The levels of Zero Wing''s members were even more incredible. Currently, most expert players were only at Level 53. Only experts that leveled up extremely quickly would be at Level 54. As for those capable of reaching Level 55, they were top- ranking existences in Star-Moon Kingdom and could rank within the top 20 or top 30 in empires. Although the various large Guilds usually had some experts that would choose not to reveal their levels, they still wouldn''t be too far ahead, yet Zero Wing actually had more than ten players at Level 56. In other words, if Zero Wing wanted to, it could easily monopolize the top 10 positions of the Ranking List of an empire. The members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul were similarly shocked when they saw Shi Feng and the other members of Zero Wing. "Why does Zero Wing have so many Tier 2 players?" Both Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were astonished when they finished counting Zero Wing''s members. The shock they felt from this revelation was much greater than that from the sight of Zero Wing''s equipment. Currently, first-rate Guilds would be fortunate to have even twenty Tier 2 players. After all, the Tier 2 Promotion Quest was no walk in the park. Moreover, in view of future promotions, most players would choose to challenge the Hard Mode Tier 2 Promotion Quest at the very minimum, which had considerably high requirements for a player''s equipment standard and combat standard. With the current level and equipment standard of players, completing the Hard Mode Promotion Quest would be extremely difficult. One of the reasons why their two super-first-rate Guilds had so many Tier 2 players at this stage of the game was the many peak experts in their Guilds. Another reason was that they gave their peak experts priority when allocating resources. These two factors were how their Guilds managed to nurture so many Tier 2 players. Yet, despite Zero Wing being such a small Guild, it actually boasted over 80 Tier 2 playersa number only slightly lower than what their two super-first-rate Guilds possessed. "Sorry for the delay. I had to make some preparations," Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart. "You came just in time. However, Guild Leader Black Flame, this is such a surprise. I never thought that you would be leading the Dungeon raid personally," Phoenix Rain said, her gaze filled with curiosity and surprise as she looked at Shi Feng. Her curiosity was because Black Flame was in attendance. He rarely made an appearance himself, leaving such matters to Ye Feng, Aqua Rose, and Gentle Snow. As for her surprise, it was due to the feeling Black Flame was giving her. Right now, she picked up intense lethality from the man as she stood before him. This feeling was much more intense than when she last met face-to-face with Black Flame. "I am Unyielding Heart, Unyielding Soul''s Vice Guild Leader. Guild Leader Black Flame, you are even more amazing than the rumors make you out to be," Unyielding Heart said. After he evaluated Shi Feng and the other experts of Zero Wing briefly, indescribable shock flooded his heart. In his opinion, the Guild Leader capable of developing Zero Wing to the point where it could rival veteran first-rate Guilds was definitely a very capable administrator. Even if Black Flame was as strong as rumored, in his opinion, Black Flame should be only as strong as the peak experts of superpowers like Unyielding Soul. However, right now, Unyielding Heart was actually feeling the threat of death from himsomething he had rarely come across since entering God''s Domain. Moreover, he also felt a considerable threat from several other players from Zero Wing. Unyielding Heart found it truly unbelievable that a Guild that had no backing would be capable of acquiring so many experts. "Vice Guild Leader, I just used an Advanced Identification Skill on them. Aside from Black Flame, quite a few players from Zero Wing possess weapons and equipment of indiscernible rank," a male Cleric standing beside Unyielding Heart said, shuddering. "I believe these weapons and equipment are either Magic Weapons or Epic rank, and they number over 40." "Over 40? Are you sure about this?" Unyielding Heart could not help being surprised once again. Unyielding Soul was a super-first-rate Guild. However, thus far, it only had roughly 40 Epic Weapons, Epic Equipment, and Magic Weapons in total. Zero Wing actually surpassed Unyielding Soul in this aspect. How was such a thing possible? Although Unyielding Soul was no longer as strong as it was during its peak, it was still much stronger than the ordinary super-first-rate Guild. At the very least, it was still slightly stronger than the current Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, which, according to its investigations, only had around 30 Epic Weapons, Epic Equipment, and Magic Weapons. Even if the Pavilion managed to hide some, it would be a miracle if the Pavilion had 35 of such items. "I''m absolutely sure of it," the male Cleric said, a bitter smile forming on his face. He, too, had hoped that he had seen wrong or was hallucinating. However, he had already checked this information multiple times using his Advanced Identification Skill. Not to mention, he could not read a single piece of information from Black Flame. All he got was a bunch of "Unknown" when observing the mana fact that he did not reveal. When he looked at Black Flame, he even suspected that his Identification Skill was malfunctioning. However, when he tried inspecting Unyielding Heart''s equipment, his Skill worked as normal. He also refrained from saying that, Black Flame aside, Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, Cola, Turtledove, and Violet Cloud actually possessed more unidentifiable items than Unyielding Heart. When looking at Fire Dance and the others, Cycling Light even got the impression that the team he was looking at right now was the main force of a superpower rather than one of a first-rate Guild. "Is Zero Wing really just at the standard of a first-rate Guild?" Cycling Light muttered to himself. In reality, Cycling Light wasn''t the only one having such thoughts. Unyielding Heart did as well. Setting aside other factors, the combat power of Zero Wing''s main force was already on the level of super-first-rate Guilds. "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know which super-large-scale Team Dungeon you have called us here to raid? Is it the Flaming Ruins or Silent Castle?" Phoenix Rain asked curiously. "If we know which Dungeon we''re raiding, we''ll be able to plan ahead." In Star-Moon Kingdom, there were only two Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeons that were relatively easy to raid: the Flaming Ruins and Silent Castle. Among super-large-scale Team Dungeons, these two Dungeons could be considered Basic Dungeons. All the others were of the Intermediate difficulty. Raiding an Intermediate super-large-scale Team Dungeon before even raiding these Basic Dungeons would be tough. Meanwhile, raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons required players to switch to equipment that was more suitable to the environment inside the Dungeon. Only, as Zero Wing had refused to reveal its target Dungeon all this time, her side was not able to make any proper preparations. Now that they were about to set off to their target Dungeon, she naturally had to ask. Raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon? Unyielding Heart could not help his surprise as he looked at Shi Feng. He felt that Zero Wing was a little too crazy. Currently, the various superpowers were still trying to raid large-scale Team Dungeons. As for raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons, they did not even bother with such thoughts, as they all felt that the returns were not worth the cost. After all, although the difficulty of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon was much greater than that of a large-scale Team Dungeon, the quality of the loot one could acquire from both types of Dungeons was mostly the same. Yet, while the various superpowers had not even managed to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon, Zero Wing actually wanted to raid a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon. "No, neither of those two Dungeons are our target," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then pointed at the large Flying Ship that was approaching from the distance and said, "Our target is the Eclipse Gate''s Eclipse Throne!" 1797 Hell Mode Chapter 1797 - Hell Mode "The Eclipse Gate?" Phoenix Rain''s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Shi Feng. "That''s a neutral map''s super-large- scale Team Dungeon!" Although she did not have a particularly good understanding of the Eclipse Gate, she knew that super-large-scale Team Dungeons found in neutral maps were generally far more challenging than their counterparts in kingdoms and empires. If the super-large-scale Team Dungeons were ranked based on difficulty, then neutral maps'' Team Dungeons would be Intermediate rank or higher. None of the current superpowers even dared to harbor thoughts of raiding such an arduous Team Dungeon. "Guild Leader Black Flame, although Unyielding Soul has agreed to help Zero Wing, I must make it clear that Unyielding Soul has dispatched our best experts to do so. If you wish to raid a super-large-scale Team Dungeon, we are willing to make the attempt twice at most Any more and it would affect our leveling speed too much," Unyielding Heart stated the bottom line for his assistance. Shi Feng''s declaration had left him similarly astonished. Even raiding the super-large-scale Team Dungeons within a kingdom''s borders was problematic. Trying to raid a neutral map''s super-large-scale Team Dungeon was simply ludicrous. At this point, the various superpowers had only succeeded in killing the first few Bosses in Level 50 large-scale Dungeons; they had failed to clear the Dungeon itself. However, if they tried to raid a kingdom''s super-large-scale Team Dungeon, they''d likely fail to defeat the first Boss. Even if they had a full team of Tier 2 players, they had less than a 20% chance of getting past the first Boss in a neutral map''s large-scale Team Dungeon. Although players wouldn''t lose an entire level of EXP when they died in a Dungeon, they would lose 10% of their EXP if they die inside a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. After reaching their levels, even expert players, who had an impressive leveling speed, would need seven or eight hours to earn 10% EXP. If Unyielding Soul accompanied Zero Wing into death''s embrace three to five times, Unyielding Soul''s main force would fall behind the other superpowers'' main forces by one or two days. "That''s fine." Shi Feng nodded. Naturally, no Guild would lend its Tier 2 players to another team unconditionally; it was understandable that Unyielding Heart had set certain limits. In fact, Phoenix Rain had already informed Shi Feng of her bottom line. "It''s fine?" Shi Feng''s composure surprised Unyielding Heart a little. The point of his statement regarding his limits was to inform Shi Feng that he wouldn''t tolerate meaningless ventures and that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader should cherish this opportunity. However, Shi Feng''s response was utterly void of anxiety; the man hadn''t even frowned. It was as if this limitation wasn''t a problem at all. Even Phoenix Rain carefully observed Shi Feng''s reactions. She was curious as to why Shi Feng was wasting such a good opportunity on such an impossible task. With their three Guilds'' combined strength, they''d have very high chances of success even in a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon, yet Shi Feng had decided to attempt the impossible. "Since everyone''s here, I''ll reform the team. I''ll also handle the team''s leadership. Do either of you have any issues with that?" Shi Feng asked Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart. Neither of the two Guild Leaders had any particular opinions on the arrangement. Both Guilds had come to offer their assistance, after all. The most they could do was support Zero Wing. Very quickly, Shi Feng created a new team of 200 Tier 2 players. He then led the team to a Flying Ship that was headed for the Eclipse Gate. Meanwhile, inside a high-class restaurant in Star-Moon City... A large group of cloaked players drank and bantered. Intense killing intent wafted from every one of these players, and some even radiated a dense bloodlust. "Commander, our scouts have just reported back, stating that Zero Wing''s main force members and upper echelons have boarded a Flying Ship for the Eclipse Gate. Should we move out? Or should we notify the other adventurer teams?" Lonely Lamp excitedly asked Black Shark, who was currently enjoying a glass of Blazing Fruit Wine. "They''ve finally left their nest?" Taking a big gulp, Black Shark smiled and said, "Forget about the other adventurer teams. I''m not in the habit of sharing such golden opportunities. Notify our team; tell them to bring those items and set out immediately. We must not let the other adventurer teams get ahead of us." "Understood!" Lonely Lamp replied. He had waited for this moment for a long time. Shortly after, the Dark Hunters adventurer team set off toward the Eclipse Gate. Eclipse Gate, Sun Chasing Fortress: The Sun Chasing Fortress was the only safe zone NPCs guarded in the Eclipse Gate. A large number of Flying Ships docked in the fortress each day, and since the fortress was a hub for multiple kingdoms'' forces, the Sun Chasing Fortress''s player population was even higher than a kingdom''s capital. When Shi Feng''s team exited the airport, they were greeted by the sight of players hawking their wares and forming teams by the street The fortress was no less lively than Star-Moon Kingdom''s Star-Moon City. However, although the Sun Chasing Fortress was very popular, the various large Guilds weren''t particularly fond of this place since players couldn''t purchase Lands in an NPC fortress. Instead, it had become a hub for independent players, and there were far more of these players than those from Guilds. To avoid attracting too much attention, Shi Feng had his team members don their Black Cloaks before leaving the fortress on the backs of their Mounts. Even so, their group still earned sidelong glances from the payers they passed. The Eclipse Throne was an ancient fortress in the Eclipse Gate''s inner region. Corrosive Behemoths roamed around Eclipse Throne, and a corrosive fog, which would numb players'' senses and slow their reactions, was ever-present around the Dungeon. Because of these factors, very few players were willing to grind here. Fortunately, this also meant that the monsters in this area had a higher chance of dropping Energy Essence, so a few players still wandered the area. "Old Three, be careful not to lure those Corrosive Spiders." "Commander, are you that distrusting of my abilities?" A 20-man team occupied itself by grinding Corrosive Scorpions in the dense, wet jungle. The team''s Level 53 Shield Warrior maneuvered through the forest while over 100 Level 54, Special Elite ranked Corrosive Scorpions chased after him. Meanwhile, the team''s three healers maintained the Shield Warrior''s HP, while the remaining ranged players bombarded the scorpions with one AOE attack after another. With over ten players launching AOE Skills and Spells simultaneously, the Corrosive Scorpions'' HP rapidly decreased. After a short moment, the Corrosive Scorpions began to fall. Very quickly, every monster chasing the Shield Warrior had died. At this time, an Assassin, which had followed the Shield Warrior stealthily, collected the scorpion''s loot. "Hahaha! Commander, we got one! An Energy Essence dropped!" the Level 53 Assassin exclaimed as he picked up a dark- green crystal. "Good! Lure more monsters!" the Level 54 Elementalist leading the team this time commanded, nodding approvingly. He was very satisfied with the loot acquired from this batch of monsters. As this Assassin prepared to head off to lure more monsters, he noticed a team of players swiftly moving through the jungle ahead. This team completely disregarded the monsters around them as they made a beeline for the ancient fortress. As a result of these players'' recklessness, they had lured many of the jungle''s monsters. After getting a better look, the Assassin discovered over a thousand monsters running after these strange players. Among them were over a dozen Level 55 Great Lord ranked Corrosive Behemoths and over a hundred Level 55 Lord ranked Corrosive Spiders... "Crap! What are these people trying to do?!" The Level 53 Assassin gaped. Although the Corrosive Behemoths were only Level 55 Great Lords, the corrosive gas their bodies released was extremely powerful. MTs weren''t able to approach these monsters because of that Any team that visited this jungle did their best to avoid the Corrosive Behemoths as much as possible. Although the Corrosive Spiders'' gas wasn''t as detrimental as the behemoths'', they could also launch spiderwebs to seal players'' movement. Having to face a force that included both the Corrosive Behemoths and Spiders would be an absolute nightmare for players. However, before the Level 53 Assassins could say anything, one of these reckless players, a man, halted the team before the fortress walls. The man then swung his blue longsword. Suddenly, golden divine swords fell from the sky, restricting the Corrosive Spider, which led the monster army, to a specific area. Towering pillars of fire then rose from the ground, engulfing the trapped Corrosive Spiders. At the same time, the other team members launched one AOE attack and large-scale destruction Spell after another. For a moment, the jungle shook with the bombardment Before two minutes had passed, every monster chasing the reckless team was dead. Even the dozen or so Corrosive Behemoths lay motionless on the ground. This scene dumbfounded the 20-man adventurer team that grinded Corrosive Scorpions some distance away. "Who are those people?!" "By the looks of them, they seem to be Guild players." "The Guild Emblem the guy in the lead is wearing, I think it belongs to Zero Wing! They should be Zero Wing''s members!" "What''s going on? Why are Zero Wing''s members here?" Shock overwhelmed the adventurer team''s members as they watched Shi Feng and the others loot the fallen monsters. Just as these adventurers wondered what Shi Feng''s group was trying to do, Shi Feng arrived before the passage leading into the ancient fortress. "Are we not going to rest first?" Phoenix Rain asked curiously. "No, we don''t have the time for that. As long as we are surrounded by this corrosive gas, our Stamina will continuously deplete, and the corrosive gas in our bodies would become denser. If we waste too much time here, we''ll run out of Stamina sooner or later. We need to hurry," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Surely we don''t need to be in such a rush, right? We still have plenty of Stamina. At the rate that we''re losing Stamina, we should have more than enough even if we''re raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon," Unyielding Heart said after briefly estimating his Stamina consumption. He felt that Shi Feng was trying to move too fast. They were going to challenge a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. It would be wise to let the team rest, so they could fight in peak condition." "If we''re only talking about the Hard Mode Eclipse Throne, then, of course, we''ll have enough Stamina for the raid, but we''re here for Hell Mode. The corrosive gas is much stronger inside. Being inside the Dungeon will further agitate the gas, and we''ll lose Stamina far more quickly. We need to hurry!" Shi Feng explained. 1798 Fortress Assaul Chapter 1798 - Fortress Assault "Hell Mode?" Unyielding Heart stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. Only after taking some time to process Shi Feng''s statement did he ask, "Guild Leader Black Flame, you must be joking, right?!" He had barely been able to accept the fact that Shi Feng wanted to raid a neutral map''s super-large-scale Team Dungeon, but raiding the Dungeon''s Hell Mode was too much. This was beyond foolish courage; it was plain suicide. The Hell Mode of a Level 50, large-scale Team Dungeon was already difficult enough that the various superpowers couldn''t even get past the first Boss, let alone the Hell Mode of a Level 50, super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Moreover, a super-large-scale Team Dungeon''s Hell Mode was far more severe than Hard Mode. Each death would take 15% of the player''s EXP. Two deaths in Hell Mode was the equivalent of three deaths in Hard Mode. Even Phoenix Rain frowned at Shi Feng''s declaration. She had to admit that Shi Feng was too full of surprises. Although she doubted that the man would execute a plan that he wasn''t confident in, raiding the Hell Mode of a Level 50, super-large-scale Team Dungeon at this time simply wasn''t realistic. "Hell Mode might seem difficult, but it isn''t impossible. As long as we cooperate well enough and react quickly enough, the Dungeon won''t pose much of a threat," Shi Feng explained. He was very familiar with the Eclipse Throne; it was one of the few Dungeons that dropped top-tier Fire Resistance equipment. He had raided the Dungeon more than 20 times in his previous life, and he had raided the Hell Mode roughly seven or eight times. He knew how to dominate this Dungeon. Moreover, he had specifically invited the experts from two super-first-rate Guilds. How could he possibly settle for the Hard Mode Eclipse Throne with such a rare opportunity? "Not much of a problem?" Phoenix Rain was at a loss for words. It seemed as if Shi Feng were treating the Eclipse Throne like some six-man Party Dungeon. However, with things as they were, she couldn''t really argue with Shi Feng''s decision. Not only had Zero Wing invited the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, but it had also secured Unyielding Soul''s help. In the end, she decided to leave the decision of how to utilize this chance to Zero Wing. Following which, Shi Feng chose the Eclipse Throne''s Hell Mode. His team members wore skeptical expressions as they followed the man into the horrific skeletal head that had appeared before the ancient fortress''s entrance. "Hell Mode?! Am I seeing things?!" "Are Zero Wing''s members insane? They actually want to raid the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne? Most of the various superpowers are still struggling to get the First Clear of Level 50, 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons!" "Well, Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. Since they dare to enter the Dungeon, they should have some confidence of clearing it." "Confidence?" "That can''t be possible, right? That is the Hell Mode of a 200-man Team Dungeon we are talking about, not a 50-man Team Dungeon." After the adventurers in the jungle watched Shi Feng''s team disappear into the Dungeon, they broke into a heated discussion. They were all very confused as to why Zero Wing would take such a huge risk to raid the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne. Meanwhile, inside the Eclipse Throne... Once Shi Feng and the others entered the fortress, they felt their five senses dull. Corrosive gas surrounded them, steadily depleting their Stamina. The ambient Mana was also significantly less dense than outside of the fortress. This decreased the players'' efficiency with their Skills and Spells. Although the dense corrosive gas and thin ambient Mana was alarming, those factors became of little significance once they saw the corrosive monsters roaming the Dungeon. [Corrosive Zombie] (Undead, Lord) Level 56 HP 13,000,000/13,000,000 [Corrosive Abomination] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 56 HP 37,000,000/37,000,000 [Corrosive Earth Dragon] (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 56 HP 90,000,000/90,000,000 ... There were easily over ten thousand corrosive monsters wandering down the streets before them. Moreover, these monsters had formed patrol squads and marched down the streets. Aside from the large number of monsters, Rapidfire Ballistas had been set up on the castle walls ahead. Multiple Corrosive Zombies manned each of these war weapons, and as long as those monsters discovered their team, they would face an intense bombardment. These players felt as if they were on a crusade against an army of corrosive monsters, not a Dungeon raid. "Why is the difference so massive?" Phoenix Rain wore a solemn expression as she watched the corrosive army that surrounded the castle. She had challenged a super-large-scale Team Dungeon before, but her team had quickly given up the attempt once they realized that they were no match for the first Boss. Her team had at least been able to clear out the mobs and reach the first Boss. Here, however, she wasn''t even sure that they could get through the mobs... Although the super-large-scale Hard Mode Team Dungeon she had challenged had been occupied by a lot of monsters, her team hadn''t had to face such an exaggerated number as they did now. Here, a single patrol squad easily had over 300 monsters. The weakest among these monsters was a Lord. Even a 200-man team of Tier 2 experts would have a hard time against 300-plus Lords, Great Lords, and Grand Lords. Furthermore, this Dungeon''s environment prevented players from exhibiting their full combat power. They also had to worry about the war weapons mounted on the castle''s walls. If they accidentally lured a second wave of monsters, they''d have no choice but to flee. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we''re not going to fight our way through this army, are we?" Unyielding Heart felt an intense pressure bear down on him as he surveyed the monsters and Rapidfire Ballistas, but seeing Shi Feng''s previous confidence, the man should have a method to get past these obstacles in mind. "Of course not," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "We''re charging into the castle." "Charging straight through those monsters?" Unyielding Heart asked, flabbergasted as he pointed at the monsters on the streets before him. For a moment, he even wondered if Shi Feng were truly Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. "Are you certain?" "Yes. If we try to clear out these monsters slowly, we''ll run out of Stamina before we even get to the first boss," Shi Feng said, determined. "But before we move out, I want everyone to use these items." Saying so, Shi Feng took out the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver Potions he had prepared and distributed them to every member on the team. If players wished to raid the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne, they needed to restore their five senses, Mana, and Stamina. Otherwise, they''d be annihilated before they even met the first Boss. Raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon was different from a large-scale Team Dungeon. Rather than a Dungeon raid, it was more appropriate to call it a miniature war. Most importantly, a team was limited to 200 players. Trying to clear the Dungeon with brute force while at such a massive numerical disadvantage would be nearly impossible. At the very least, such a feat was impossible with his team''s current standard. When brute force wasn''t a viable option, a team would have to raid the Dungeon by using their numbers and making appropriate sacrifices at the right times. By doing so, clearing the Dungeon was possible, albeit a little cruel. This time, though, Shi Feng did not intend to use such a method. Rather, his plan was a little more forceful. Although Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were still willing to believe in Shi Feng''s confidence, they couldn''t help but wonder if they were as safe as Shi Feng claimed as they watched the monsters cover the streets. "What''s this?" When Phoenix Rain, Unyielding Heart, and the other team members received the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver, they didn''t understand what Shi Feng intended. However, gasps escaped them after they inspected the two items'' Attribute Panels. 1799 Another Magic Crystal Treasure Ches Chapter 1799 - Another Magic Crystal Treasure Chest "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you have more of these items?" Unyielding Heart could not help but ask after inspecting the All-rounded Device and Elven Silver in his hands. "If you have extras, I''d like to buy some." Ordinary players might not recognize the value of the All-rounded Device and Elven Silver, but they were absolute treasures to superpowers. As players reached higher levels, they would encounter environments with low Mana density more often. Some severe environments even inflicted debuffs, yet these locations were often high-resource maps or the sites of high-ranked quests. Dealing with such maps would often give the various superpowers painful headaches. Yet, even now, they hadn''t found a solution. The All-rounded Device and Elven Silver Shi Feng had just handed out just so happened to solve all of those problems. Aside from the increased Mana density the Alrounded Device offered its user, it also provided a 5% increase ^ Attributes. "I still have some left, but as they are very rare, they won''t be cheap," Shi Feng said, smiling. "If you want to buy them, it''ll be 300 Magic Crystals for each AH-rounded Device and 100 Magic Crystals for each bottle of Elven Silver. How many do you want?" Unyielding Heart''s interest in purchasing the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver Potions didn''t surprise Shi Feng in the slightest Superpowers had an extensive sphere of influence. Hence, they would encounter low-Mana environments more frequently than ordinary Guilds. If Unyielding Heart wanted to buy them, he could also use this opportunity to make a small fortune. "They''re so expensive?!" Unyielding Soul''s members were astonished when they heard the two items'' prices. They were also surprised that Zero Wing had prepared so many All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver just to raid the Eclipse Throne. "Alright. I want 100 All-rounded Devices and 100 bottles of Elven Silver," Unyielding Heart answered without hesitation. "You want that many?" Shi Feng was surprised by Unyielding Heart''s generosity. This transaction was actually worth 40,000 Magic Crystals. "You don''t have that many?" Unyielding Heart''s brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Shi Feng. Unyielding Soul had a great use for the All-rounded Device and Elven Silver, and Unyielding Heart judged that 100 of each should be enough for his Guild''s purpose. "I don''t have that many in stock right now. I''m sure you recognize how valuable these items are. It isn''t so easy to acquire them. If you want that many, I''m afraid that I''ll need a few days to get them ready," Shi Feng responded truthfully. Both the All-rounded Device and Elven Silver took a long time to produce, and their production success rates weren''t very high. Currently, he only had a dozen of each remaining. It would take quite some time to craft 100 of each item. "A few days?" After some mental calculations, Unyielding Heart said, "That''s fine. If you can acquire the stock within three days, I will offer you an additional 5,000 Magic Crystals!" As soon as Unyielding Heart finished his statement, Phoenix Rain spoke up, "Guild Leader Black Flame, I also want 200 of each item, but I don''t have any time constraints. It is fine as long as you can get them ready for me." Hearing Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain''s offers, Shi Feng was at a loss for words. His asking price was already incredibly high. He had never dreamed that Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain would be so interested in the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver. He had secured two massive orders just by revealing the two items in the Eclipse Throne. Once he filled these orders, he would earn over 100,000 Magic Crystals. This revenue flow was much faster than mining a Manatite vein for Magic Crystals. Afterward, following Shi Feng''s command, everyone equipped the All-rounded Device and drank the Elven Silver they had received. In the meantime, Shi Feng signed a contract with Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain, assuring that the two couldn''t go back on their word once he had crafted the items. Not only did the team''s players feel much lighter after they had drunk the Elven Silver, but their five senses also recovered. Most importantly, their Stamina consumption rate had drastically decreased. Now, these players felt more confident as they watched the monsters waiting for them. Once the team was ready, Shi Feng organized its formation. Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian would spearhead the team, while the other Tier 2 MTs would guard the team''s sides. The remaining melee players would be responsible for protecting the team''s ranged DPS and healers. Meanwhile, the ranged DPS would be responsible for pushing away and slowing down the incoming monsters with their Spells and Skills. After the team had prepared and under Shi Feng''s command, these players charged for the castle''s main gate. Without hesitation, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian slammed their shields into the corrosive monsters. As soon as they did, the Corrosive Zombies and Corrosive Abominations blocking their path were knocked aside, the Strength the three MTs displayed stunning the Tier 2 MTs from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. They were all Tier 2 MTs, so they knew what kind of strength a Tier 2 MT should wield. Their equipment should be the best available at this stage of the game, and their Strength was only slightly higher than a High Lord of the same level. They still weren''t a match for a Great Lord of the same level, yet Zero Wing''s MT trio easily shoved aside the Great Lord ranked Corrosive Abominations. This proved how high the MT trio''s Strength was, much higher than the other MTs. A moment later, one Grand Lord ranked Corrosive Earth Dragon charged towards the team, but despite the monster''s approach, Cola accelerated as silver divine runes lit up along his saber. He swung the blade to counter the Grand Lord''s approaching claw. Boom! As the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the fortress, sparks scattered, dancing around Cola and his foe. The Corrosive Earth Dragon stumbled back by three steps while Cola remained unharmed and in place, standing steady... This scene stupefied the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members, watching with dropped jaws. Who is this Guardian Knight? Unyielding Heart could not believe his eyes. Unyielding Heart wore multiple pieces of Epic Equipment and wielded a Magic Weapon. He was also a Berserker, the class famed for having the highest Strength in the game among the twelve main classes. However, despite all these factors, his Strength was only a match for a Great Lord of the same level even after he used an offensive Skill. Yet, Cola had just forced back a Level 56 Grand Lord. Moreover, he had done so without using a Berserk Skill. This was the first time Unyielding Heart had met such a powerful Guardian Knight since joining God''s Domain. However, this was a common occurrence for Zero Wing''s members. Cola held a Tier 3 Mana Weapon, and if he activated the weapon''s Skill, suppressing a Level 56 Grand Lord would be child''s play. After the Corrosive Earth Dragon stumbled backward, the team followed after Cola and the others, steadily advancing. Fortunately, the Rapidfire Ballistas'' attacks didn''t pose any threat to the team. Every member was an expert, and now that they had recovered their five senses, dodging the ballista attacks was easy. Trailing after the MT trio, the team reached the castle''s main entrance in less than ten minutes. Surprisingly, when they reached the gate, the corrosive beasts that had chased after them turned and fled. The monsters seemed oddly terrified of something. "We reached the castle, just like that?" When everyone turned around to look at the thousands of retreating corrosive beasts, they found it hard to believe what was happening. It felt like some strange dream. So, this is the Sword King''s strength? When Unyielding Heart glanced around the perfectly intact team, he, more or less, realized that Shi Feng hadn''t come to the Eclipse Throne to get himself killed. He was actually confident of succeeding here. By Unyielding Heart''s estimates, it might have taken the team more than five hours to reach the castle gates if they had attempted to carve a path towards the castle, yet Shi Feng had shortened that time to seven minutes. Moreover, the team had reached the gates without a single casualty. Unyielding Heart finally realized how Zero Wing had grown to the standard of a first-rate Guild so quickly without any background or support. "Alright, that''s enough rest! We should continue forward!" Shi Feng stated after the team had mostly recovered from their brief run. After entering the castle, the team had encountered far fewer monsters, although these monsters were of significantly higher quality. Most of the monsters inside the castle were Great Lords, with frequent appearances from Grand Lords. However, against 200 Tier 2 experts that were unaffected by the low-Mana environment and corrosive gas, these monsters were no trouble. The Grand Lords didn''t even last more than five minutes. Naturally, the monsters'' loot was extraordinary. The most inferior items that had dropped were rare materials for crafting Fire Resistance items. If the team were lucky, the monsters would even drop Level 55 Fine-Gold Fire Resistance Equipment. By the time the team had reached the first Boss, a total of six such equipment pieces had dropped, inciting the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s envy. Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment was the equivalent of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment Despite these players position as their superpowers'' Tier 2 experts, they only had a few pieces of Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment, much less Dark-Gold Equipment that increased Fire Resistance. After fighting and advancing for over an hour, the team reached a large arena inside the castle. Tall walls and steel cages lined the arena, and standing in its center was a five-meter-tall humanoid monster. The monster was geared in crimson armor and wielded a one-handed axe in each of its two hands. Despite the monster''s immobile state, it radiated an intense aura that made the watching players afraid. [Troll Hero] (Humanoid Creature, Mythic) Level 57 HP 500,000,000/500,000,000 Everyone involuntarily gulped upon seeing the Troll Hero''s statistics, permeated by their fear. Not only was the Troll Hero a bona fide Mythic monster, but it also had an Attribute boost due to its home being a Team Dungeon... After the team members examined the Troll Hero for a moment, they noticed the steel cage hanging above the Boss''s head. "What''s that? A treasure chest?" "That should be a treasure chest! Though, I can''t tell its rank." "That''s not right! An ordinary treasure chest is either made of wood or metal, but that treasure chest is made entirely of Magic Crystals!" The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members fell into a heated discussion after discovering the treasure chest within the steel cage, but when Shi Feng noticed the treasure chest, his eyes glowed with excitement. A Magic Crystal Treasure Chest! 1800 Violent M Chapter 1800 - Violent MT "This is the first time I''ve ever seen such a treasure chest. What rank is it?'' "This is a super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon. No matter how you look at it, that treasure chest should be Dark- Gold rank. It might even be an Epic Treasure Chest." The team started to discuss their guesses as they gazed at the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest with bloodshot eyes. Even Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart felt a pang of envy when they glanced towards the treasure chest. Although they didn''t know the treasure chest''s exact rank, it shouldn''t be anything insignificant. Treasure chests often offered better loot than the items that dropped from a Boss. In other words, securing that treasure chest was on par with killing an additional Boss in this super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Of course, Shi Feng was ecstatic. Unlike his teammates, he knew just how valuable a Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was. It was definitely far more valuable than an Epic Treasure Chest. Moreover, this Magic Crystal Treasure Chest glowed with golden light. Even superpowers would go mad over the items inside. Could this be a reward for being the first team to raid the Eclipse Throne? Shi Feng wondered as he looked at the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest He hadn''t seen a treasure chest in the Dungeon during his visits in the past, even when he had raided the Hell Mode version. After the team finished its debate about the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest, they shifted their attention to the Troll Hero standing in the arena. No matter how much they desired the treasure chest, they couldn''t reach it since it had been locked away in a cage. To open the cage, they''d need a key, and it was obvious that they could only obtain that key by defeating the Boss before them. However, when the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s members looked at the motionless Troll hero, they couldn''t help but gulp audibly, fear returning to their gazes. Despite having reached Tier 2, they still had an instinctive fear of Mythic monsters. Their previous encounters had been traumatizing. Monsters at this rank were simply undefeatable. Moreover, as one of a Hell Mode Dungeon''s Bosses, every aspect of the Troll Hero had been boosted, especially its HP. Compared to Hard Mode, the Hell Mode Troll Hero should have at least an additional 40% HP. This increased the pressure the team had to face by a considerable margin. However, in contrast to the reactions of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s members, Zero Wing''s members seemed relatively relaxed before the Troll Hero. They were as calm as usual. Unyielding Heart was surprised to see such a lack of reaction from Zero Wing''s members. All of Unyielding Soul''s members present had their fair share of tough battle experiences, but despite the wealth of experience, they couldn''t help their anxiety about facing the Troll Hero. And yet, Zero Wing''s members were so calm. Do they think they can beat the Troll Hero? Examining Zero Wing''s members for a moment, Unyielding Heart realized that not only weren''t they anxious, but they even watched the Boss like hunters tracking prey. "Guild Leader Black Flame, how should we go about raiding this Boss? Should we test its Skills and combat method first?" Phoenix Rain asked. Normally, when going up against a Boss monster that could potentially annihilate an entire team in a single attack, players would send in a small number of players to probe the Boss for its combat method and Skills so that they could set up a better foundation for the actual raid. "It''s best that we don''t do that. This is a Mythic Boss. If we send in too few players, we won''t learn anything at all. Instead, we''d be wasting EXP. Let''s just start the raid," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then commanded, "Cola, Turtledove, you two will take turns tanking the Boss! Other MTs, prepare to replace them at any time! Melee DPS, stay back and leave the attacks to the ranged DPS for now! Only go in after we ensure that it''s safe!" "This..." Phoenix Rain could not help but be appalled at Shi Feng''s instructions. His commands felt too halfhearted. It seemed as if he had given up on the battle already. Unyielding Heart gave Shi Feng a similarly confused look. He could not figure out if Shi Feng were an expert or a fool. Shi Feng''s instructions during the start of the raid had been precise and effective, yet the man was barking out such cursory commands now. Although starting the raid without probing would spare their Guild members, avoiding unnecessary deaths that could compromise their participation, blindly sending the team into battle was both reckless and counterproductive. However, what Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart did not know was that Shi Feng was already familiar with the Troll Hero''s Skills and combat method. The Troll Hero was a pure warrior. It didn''t wield any Spells, but it did have frightening Strength and agile movements. Most importantly, it possessed the Passive Skill, Self-regeneration. This Skill was the reason the Troll Hero had earned the title of Eclipse Throne''s Undying Gatekeeper. Self-regeneration allowed the Troll Hero to recover rapidly from heavy injuries. This Skill ensured that the Troll Hero''s combat power couldn''t be affected. Moreover, unlike normal Bosses, whose battle recovery restored 1% of their HP every five seconds, the Troll Hero regenerated 2% of its HP every five seconds. The longer it fought, the more Strength it would gain, as well. Fortunately, it could only use this power-up once every five minutes, but there wasn''t any upper limit... Due to this Passive Skill, countless teams'' progress in the Eclipse Throne had slid to a halt. No other Boss in the Eclipse Throne tested a team''s raw power like the Troll Hero. Technique wasn''t as important when raiding this Boss. Players simply had to attack with everything they had and pray that they had enough DPS. Without waiting for Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain''s comments, Cola and Turtledove charged forward. Seeing this, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s MTs exchanged a few hesitant glances before helplessly following after the two Zero Wing MTs. When Cola and Turtledove were less than 100 yards away from the Troll Hero, the latter abruptly opened its eyes. When its gaze landed on the two MTs, the Boss revealed a sneer and roared, "Foolish challengers! Do you believe you can defeat the strongest warrior in Lord Armas''s army?" The Troll Hero then threw its axes at Cola and Turtledove. Shua! Shua! The two four-meter-long axes flew from the Troll Hero''s hands, transforming into spinning blades as they soared towards Cola and Turtledove. As the axes sliced through the air, they left behind long, pitch-black lines... "Dodge!" Unyielding Heart shouted in panic. Attacks that caused spatial tears could even threaten Mythic monsters of the same level. If current players received such an attack, even powerful MTs like Cola and Turtledove, they''d likely die instantly. However, just before the axes reached these MTs, Turtledove slid in front of Cola. Releasing a black aura, her Attributes skyrocketed as she activated Power of Darkness. Following which, she swung her sword at the two flying axes. Silver divine runes illuminated Turtledove''s longsword, which formed a dazzling arc as it cut the two colossal axes down. Boom! Boom! With two explosions, the axes crashed to the ground. As for Turtledove, she had been forced to take three steps back to stabilize her stance. At the same time, two damages exceeding -20,000 appeared above her head. However, to Turtledove, who had 140,000 HP after activating Power of Darkness, the damage was tolerable. Meanwhile, the rear line healers, who had long since prepared for this moment, released several Healing Spells, instantly restoring Turtledove''s HP to full. his... This... What is going on? She blocked both attacks all by herself? "I''m not seeing things, right?! How did she stop those attacks so easily?! Is that really a Mythic monster?" "Didn''t you notice that she activated her Berserk Skill?" "Even if that''s the case, she shouldn''t be able to stand against a Mythic monster! Moreover, the Boss used a Skill! Those attacks had definitely been enhanced!" Both the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s members gaped at Turtledove, who had resumed her charge towards the Boss. When the Troll Hero charged at her in return, Turtledove smiled brightly. "Come!" When less than 30 yards separated both sides, Turtledove activated the Steel Crown''s Additional Skill, Steel Impact. Suddenly, her speed doubled. Raising her shield, she transformed into an afterimage. A moment later, she appeared before the Troll Hero and slammed her shield into the Boss. Immediately, the Troll Hero flew back by over 20 yards... 1801 Sturdy Team Chapter 1801 - Sturdy Team As they watched the Troll Hero fly 20 yards across the arena and slam into the ground, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members watching from a distance were stunned. "She sent it flying?!" "That''s a Mythic Boss we''re talking about! Just how much Strength does she have?!" "Is she really a Guardian Knight?" For a time, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members fell into a heated discussion. None of them could believe their eyes. Unyielding Heart was particularly shocked. Not even Unyielding Soul had an MT with such astonishing Strength. Finally, Unyielding Heart, more or less, understood where Zero Wing found the confidence to raid the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne. MTs played a crucial role in Dungeon raids. Oftentimes, a failed Dungeon raid wasn''t a result of a lack of DPS; rather, the team''s MTs weren''t able to survive against the Bosses long enough. However, as long as a team had an MT that could tank the Boss, even if the first raid attempt failed, the team would use the next few attempts to probe the Boss for weaknesses and would eventually defeat its. The reason that the various superpowers didn''t dare to touch a Level 50 super-large-scale Team Dungeon at this stage of the game was the lack of capable MTs. How did her strength improve by so much? Phoenix Rain was wrought with confusion as she watched Turtledove. When she had met Turtledove last, the female Guardian Knight had already been very powerful, easily tanking a Grand Lord by herself. However, after not seeing Turtledove for some time, the female Guardian Knight had grown to become capable of throwing a Mythic Boss. The speed at which Turtledove grew stronger was simply terrifying. Even after this shocking revelation, however, Zero Wing''s members were still unsurprised. They knew that Turtledove had upgraded her Steel Crown to Epic rank. Meanwhile, the Steel Crown''s Additional Skill, Steel Impact, had also improved. Now, instead of increasing her Strength by 300% and speed by 100%, the Skill increased her Strength by 400% and speed by 150%. With such a boost, it was only natural for her to send a Level 56 Mythic Boss flying. After the Troll Hero''s clash with Turtledove, it''s HP fell by over 150,000. Turtledove had secured the Troll Hero''s aggro. With an angry roar, the Boss''s muscles bulged, and it stomped on the ground before transforming into a blur as it charged at the female Guardian Knight. Fortunately, since the Troll Hero''s axes were still stuck in the ground behind Turtledove, it didn''t pose much of a threat. In fact, Turtledove did not even bother to avoid the charge. Instead, she thrust the point of her shield into the ground and prepared to receive the Troll Hero''s charge head-on. Tier 2 Skill, Backfolding! Backfolding was a Tier 2 Skill Turtledove had recently acquired from the Primordial Divine Ruin. It was a super-rare Skill that could reflect an incoming attack from the front. Boom! When the Troll Hero crashed into Turtledove''s shield, its massive frame stumbled three steps backward, a damage of over -500,000 appearing above its head. "Good! Ranged players, attack!" Shi Feng commanded one he saw that Turtledove had solidified her aggro. Spells and arrows bombarded the Troll Hero, and damages of over -10,000 appeared above the target''s head, one after another. Occasionally, damages exceeding -40,000 also floated above the Boss''s head. These damages originated from Zhao Yueru, who wielded Frostflame''s Wrath. Her attacks were particularly prominent among the bombardment. Her ice- and fire-type Spells were clearly stronger than the other Tier 2 Elementalists'' Spells on the team. "What a high damage! Zero Wing actually has such a powerful Elementalist?" Unyielding Soul''s magical-class players were stupefied by Zhao Yueru''s performance. They were bona fide Tier 2 players and wore the best equipment available at this stage of the game. The fact that they were able to deal over -10,000 damage to a Mythic Boss was already impressive and would attract the awe of many expert layers. However, Zhao Yueru''s attacks had utterly changed their views on the world. Not only did Zhao Yueru''s attacks consistently deal over -40,000 damage, but some of her attacks also dealt twice that without a critical hit. Her DPS alone could rival the total DPS of five of them... Unyielding Soul''s magical-class players couldn''t figure out what was happening. Despite the fact that they were all Tier 2 players, the difference between them was massive! What these players didn''t know was that Frostflame''s Wrath improved its wielders'' ice- and fire-type Spells by one tier. Now that Zhao Yueru was Tier 2, her Tier 2 Spells had been upgraded to Tier 3. Not even Shi Feng was confident of beating out Zhao Yueru''s DPS. When the team saw the Flame Witch''s damage, they became far more confident of defeating the Troll Hero. Under the unceasing magical bombardment, the Troll Hero rapidly lost HP. However, after five seconds, something happened that stupefied the team. The Boss instantly healed all of the damage the team''s ranged players had caused... "What''s going on? Why did it fully recover its HP?" "Didn''t we take more than 1% of its HP in the last five seconds?" These players were dumbfounded as they stared at the unharmed Troll Hero. They couldn''t understand how the Boss had recovered all of its lost HP. "A Passive Skill?" Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain quickly reached the conclusion that this disconcerting issue had been caused by one of the Boss''s Skills. There was no other way to explain how the Boss had recovered more than 1% of its HP in the last five seconds. This turn of events extinguished the little confidence everyone had gained from Zhao Yueru''s performance. "This Boss''s combat method is very simple. If the Boss takes about one second to charge up when it lifts both axes into the air, it''ll execute an AOE attack. You''ll be safe from this AOE attack as long as you remain more than 15 yards away from the Boss. If it charges up for only half a second, it''ll execute a straight-line attack. In that case, you''ll be safe if you maintain a distance of more than 25 yards from the Boss. So, pay attention to dodging! When you''re attacking, you''ll have a higher chance at hitting the Boss if you execute two-part attacks," Shi Feng commanded through the team chat. "If everyone''s ready, then melee players, join the assault!" He''s learned the Boss''s attack method already? Unyielding Heart could not help his surprise as he watched Shi Feng calmly issue commands. Normally, a raid team would need two or three minutes to figure out a Boss monster''s attack pattern. Depending on the attack pattern''s complexity, a raid team may even need over ten minutes to figure it out. Yet, despite fighting for a few short seconds, Shi Feng had already figured out this Boss''s attack method... Hearing Shi Feng''s orders, the team sprung into action. As Shi Feng had stated, although the difference between a 1-second and 0.5-second charging time was subtle, the team''s expert players easily recognized the difference. Hence, practically no one died when the Boss used its two AOE SKills. Moreover, when everyone assaulted the Boss according to Shi Feng''s requirements, their hit rate was extremely high. As a result, the Troll Hero''s HP steadily decreased. Once the melee players included their DPS, the Boss lost HP even faster. Because of this, these players had a newfound admiration for Shi Feng''s leadership. If a team had such a capable commander, the team''s overall combat power would no doubt rise by a small margin. While the improvement might not be significant, this small difference could become a deciding factor in whether or not a team could clear a Dungeon. After another five seconds, the team managed to shave off a little over 2% of the Troll Hero''s HP. However, when the Troll Hero''s Self-regeneration took effect, it instantly recovered 2% of its total HP, healing most of the damage. It was evident that the team was in for a long battle of attrition. Not even this is enough to beat it? Phoenix Rain thought, frowning. With the team''s current DPS, it was possible to whittle the Boss down and kill it eventually, but at the current rate that the healers were burning through their Mana, they wouldn''t last until the battle ended. Unyielding Heart had come to the same realization. It might be fine if they were raiding a 50-man Team Dungeon, but in super-large-scale Team Dungeons, players were prohibited from using magic arrays to suppress the Boss. Players had to rely on their own strength to defeat the Dungeon Bosses. This was also why the various superpowers couldn''t raid super-large-scale Team Dungeons yet. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Troll Hero annihilated the team... Sure enough, it is too much to ask for current players to defeat this thing. Shi Feng could not help but reveal a bitter smile as he watched the Troll Hero''s HP bar. He then took out the Ring of Gospel from his bag and injected 7,000 Magic Crystals. World Projection! Ring of Brilliance! 1802 Set Equipment of Astronomical Value Chapter 1802 - Set Equipment of Astronomical Value The moment World Projection activated, the Troll Hero paused. Meanwhile, due to Ring of Brilliance''s effect, everyone on the team felt a pleasant sensation course through their bodies, their Basic Attributes and physique instantly improving by 10%. "What''s this? A magic array?" "Didn''t they say that magic arrays are prohibited inside super-large-scale Team Dungeons?" When these players noticed the Troll Hero''s Attributes decrease, they couldn''t help but turn to Shi Feng in astonishment. How is this possible?! The Boss''s Basic Attributes fell by 20%?! Shock filled Unyielding Heart''s gaze when he noticed the change. Turning to Shi Feng, he thought, Is this the real reason that he is so confident in challenging a super-large-scale Team Dungeon? Unlike Grand Lords, Mythic monsters had more resistance against magic array suppression and negative status effects. If one tried to suppress a Mythic monster in the fields with an Intermediate Magic Array, they would be very fortunate if the magic array suppressed the Mythic monster''s Attributes by 10%, much less 20%. Although a 20% decrease in Basic Attributes did not seem like much, it decreased the raid''s difficulty by at least 30%. This also reduced the equipment standard requirements for MTs and the DPS requirement for damage dealers. Sure enough, he came prepared. When Phoenix Rain sensed the ambient Mana density and the increase to her Basic Attributes, she shot Shi Feng a glance. Although she had assumed that Shi Feng had prepared more trump cards than those they had seen thus far, she couldn''t help but feel a little surprised once she actually saw them. With this development, the Troll Hero was at a disadvantage. Now, Turtledove was able to stop all of the Troll Hero''s frenzied attacks all by herself. The Boss also recovered far less HP via its battle recovery. As a result, the Troll Hero''s HP, which had barely moved thus far, began to fall at a steady pace. 99%... 96%... 92%... When Turtledove''s Berserk Skill ended, Shi Feng had the other Tier 2 MTs activate their Berserk Skills to tank the Troll Hero. Unlike Turtledove, though, the other MTs struggled to hold the Boss by themselves. Hence, Shi Feng had two Tier 2 MTs tank the Troll Hero at the same time, with Cola and Ye Wumian offering support from the sides. Time passed quickly. After five minutes since the battle had begun, the Troll Hero received a small boost to its Strength and speed. Fortunately, the improvement was tolerable for the Tier 2 MTs. Before 20 minutes had passed, the Troll Hero''s HP fell below the 1% threshold. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence before activating Lightning Slash to land the killing blow. The Troll Hero then collapsed and transformed into particles of light, disappearing. When the Boss faded away, a small mountain of items took its place. The loot''s brilliant glow made the players from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul drool. The Boss of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon actually drops so many items? With a rough glance at the pile of items, Unyielding Heart determined that more than 50 items had dropped. That was more than double what dropped from a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon''s Boss. The number of items before her surprised Phoenix Rain as well. Shi Feng, however, didn''t share their reaction. Although a super-large-scale Team Dungeon and a large-scale Team Dungeon dropped roughly the same quality of items, the former tended to drop far more loot than the latter. Following which, Shi Feng collected the items while the ream took a break. The intense battle against the Troll Hero had lasted nearly 20 minutes. At this point, the healers had expended a considerable portion of their Mana. The fighters also needed a moment to relax. "Guild Leader, how''s the loot?" Blackie, who rested on the ground nearby, asked Shi Feng. "Not bad. We got a total of 63 items. Three are Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, one of which is a greatsword that adds Fire Resistance. Aside from that, we also got eight pieces of Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment, three of which add Fire Resistance. Of the three pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment that add Fire Resistance, one is the Dark Corrosion Boots, a set piece for a Level 55 plate armor set, and another one is the Sundial Armguard, a set piece for a Level 55 cloth armor set. There are also seven pieces of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment, five of which add Fire Resistance. As for the other items, they''re mainly Magic Scrolls, potions, Mana Stones, and raw materials," Shi Feng said as he shared the equipment statistics in the team chat for everyone to see. "Crap! Level 55 Dark-Gold Set Equipment!" Everyone''s eyes glowed when they saw the statistics Shi Feng had shared. Both the Dark Corrosion Set and the Sundial Set were six-piece, Level 55 to Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. These two sets were easily the strongest set equipment they had seen thus far. If one equipped one of these sets, only players in full Epic Equipment could surpass them. Shi Feng simply smiled in response to everyone''s exclamations. The Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Set were some of the best sets available to players between Level 55 and Level 60. Not only did they provide superb Fire Resistance, but they also had effects that significantly enhanced fire-type damage. The full Sundial Set, in particular, would increase all Basic Attributes by 220 points and physique by 15%. The set provided a significant improvement in all aspects. No ordinary Dark- Gold Set Equipment could compare. When they saw the Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Set, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain''s eyes turned slightly bloodshot. They hadn''t considered that the Eclipse Throne could drop such valuable Dark-Gold Set Equipment. If an MT equipped the Dark Corrosion Set, that MT could easily tank Bosses in fiery environments. Tanking Level 50 Mythic Bosses would also become much easier. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you can collect a complete Dark Corrosion Set, Unyielding Soul will purchase it for 15,000 Gold!" Unyielding Heart declared. he Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is willing to offer 17,000 Gold!" Phoenix Rain said hen, Unyielding Soul offers 18,000 Gold!" Unyielding Heart hurriedly countered Phoenix Rains offer. Seeing Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain competing over the Dark Corrosion Set, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members present were stunned. Even Zero Wing''s members had similar reactions. They never thought that the VIPs of two super-first-rate Guilds would fight so fervently over the Dark Corrosion Set. "I''m sorry. While I can understand your interest in purchasing the set, but the Dark Corrosion Set is very important to Zero Wing, so I have no intention of selling it for now," Shi Feng refused the offer immediately. "Of course, if Zero Wing obtains a second Dark Corrosion Set, I will be willing to sell it. However, the minimum bid I''ll accept per set is 24,000 Gold. Of course, you can also offer rare materials or Magic Crystals." Shi Feng''s team members gasped when they heard his price. It was too expensive! One could purchase a very good plot of Land in an imperial capital''s Central District for 24,000 Gold. It was even possible to construct a town with that kind of money, yet Shi Feng wanted 24,000 Gold for a single Dark-Gold Set Equipment. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I believe you are aware that equipment has an effective time period. Although the Dark Corrosion Set is a Level 55 to Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, its value will decrease as time passes," Unyielding Heart said. "If you gather a complete set within seven days, I am willing to spend 24,000 Gold to purchase it. However, if you offer the complete set after a fortnight or a month, I''m afraid that the Dark Corrosion Set will no longer be worth that price." Phoenix Rain nodded in agreement with Unyielding Heart''s words. As their levels and equipment improved, Bosses that they hadn''t been able to tackle would become easier to defeat. It was only a matter of time before they would acquire something similar to the Dark Corrosion Set. They were only willing to buy the Dark Corrosion Set now to jumpstart their plans, but as their time advantage shrunk, the set equipment''s value would decrease as well. "Rest assured. Zero Wing should have no problems securing a second Dark Corrosion Set within seven days. If we fail to collect a second set, I will put the first up for sale," Shi Feng said. Although the Dark Corrosion Set was precious, its drop-rate in the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne was relatively high. He also had the Icarus''s Heart. Super-large-scale Team Dungeons reset once a week, and after another seven days, Zero Wing would have far more Tier 2 experts. While Zero Wing wasn''t guaranteed to acquire two Dark Corrosion Sets after two Dungeon raids, securing one shouldn''t be an issue. After some negotiations, Shi Feng decided to hold an auction for the Dark Corrosion Set in ten days. The set''s final owner would depend on who offered the highest price, Phoenix Rain or Unyielding Heart. Once Shi Feng had organized the loot, he turned his gaze to the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest in the gigantic iron cage above. When the Troll Hero had died, it had also dropped a pitch-black key. This key, without a doubt, was related to the massive cage. Shi Feng then activated Gale Domain and flew towards the hanging cage. 1803 Greatsword Sain Chapter 1803 - Greatsword Saint The iron cage above the arena was as large as a house. Although the cage was covered in rust, the divine runes on the iron railings were visible. Due to these divine runes, some kind of invisible energy constantly circulated the cage. When Shi Feng landed on top of the iron cage, he discovered that he was unable to use any Skills or Spells. His body also felt heavy, his movements becoming sluggish. What powerful suppression. Shi Feng felt the strange energy suppress his mind as he stood on the cage, becoming a little dizzy. If a Tier 1 player stood in his place, they''d likely pass out. When Shi Feng tried to reach the cage''s lock, a powerful force shoved him away. He transformed into a blur as he crashed into the arena below. "What''s going on?" "Didn''t he already get a key?" Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were a little surprised when Shi Feng''s figure slammed into the ground. From their position, they had only seen Shi Feng fly like a cannonball the moment he had reached the cage''s lock. They had never seen anything like it. Once Shi Feng stood, he shook his head, still dizzy. He then fell into deep thought as he stared at the iron cage. That one blow had dealt -60,000 damage. If a cloth armor or plate armor class with low HP had taken the blow, they would''ve died instantly. "Guild Leader, is the key unable to open the cage?" Aqua Rose asked curiously as she looked at Shi Feng, whose HP had fallen to a critical level. "No. We must be missing something," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He realized that they needed more than just the key. "I think the rest of the Bosses should have what we need." He hadn''t heard anyone mention a gigantic cage above the Troll Hero during his previous life, so he had no idea of what he needed to open it. However, since this was clearly a reward for the first team that challenged the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne, the following Bosses should carry what he needed. After Shi Feng rested for a while, he led the team onward. The Eclipse Throne''s castle was massive, and the Troll Hero was only the castle''s gatekeeper. Under Shi Feng''s command, the team slaughtered the patrolling monsters inside the castle. After nearly two hours, the team arrived at a garden. Along the way, the team had killed a large number of monsters. Overall, these monsters dropped a total of five pieces of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment and one Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment piece. Since none of them provided Fire Resistance, Shi Feng decided to hold an internal auction for the Zero Wing members on the team. This made the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members jealous. Even now, they did not have a single piece of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment, much less Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment. "Guild Leader, there''s a Boss ahead!" Fire Dance, who scouted for the team, reported through the team chat. Hearing Fire Dance''s report, everyone went on high alert and ventured through the garden carefully. After about another minute, the team found a courtyard that could very well be described with the word ''paradise.'' Surrounded by greenery and gorgeous flowers, a giant wolf lay slumbering beneath a large tree. The wolf was six-meters long and covered in crimson fur. [Corrosive Wolf King] (Demonic Beast, Mythic) Level 57 HP 400,000,000/400,000,000 "This Boss''s aura is so strong!" "The corrosive gas this Boss is giving off is really dense, too. I can already feel my Stamina decreasing faster than before, despite standing so far away." The team members watched the Corrosive Wolf King with solemn expressions. If the Corrosive Wolf King were similar to the Troll Hero, they would not have to worry. However, Bosses like the Corrosive Wolf King, which could cause constant damage or inflict debuffs, were the most troublesome. These Bosses would place an immense burden on the team''s healers. If the healers couldn''t keep up with the constant damage, it would only be a matter of time before the Boss annihilated the team. "All MTs, form groups of three and stand in these specified locations! Melee DPS, split up into groups as well and stand beside the MTs! Healers and ranged DPS will run after the Boss throughout the raid! If there are no problems, let''s begin!" Shi Feng simply used the standard procedures for a Boss raid and had his team move out. This left Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart speechless. Although they wanted to express their opinions about Shi Feng''s instructions, they held back and followed his orders when they recalled the Swordsman''s ability to adapt. As soon as the raid began, Shi Feng activated Ring of Brilliance. This time, though, he did not activate World Projection. Ring of Brilliance only cost 2,000 Magic Crystals, whereas World Projection cost 5,000 Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, the biggest problem with the Corrosive Wolf King was the low Mana environment, which weakened the effects of Skills and Spells. There was no actual need to suppress the Boss''s Attributes. Following which, under Shi Feng''s orders, the team shaved off the Corrosive Wolf King''s HP. Whenever too much corrosive gas contaminated the MT group that tanked the Boss, Shi Feng ordered another MT group to take its place. By replacing the MTs responsible for tanking the Boss, the contaminated MTs had enough time to recover. As for the healing aspect of the raid, Shi Feng wasn''t worried thanks to Violet Cloud''s Holy Prayer and his Life Domain. By alternated these two AOE heals, the team''s healers were able to conserve their Mana. In the end, it took less than half an hour to defeat the almighty Corrosive Wolf King. When the Corrosive Wolf King had died, it had also dropped a pile of items, including the head and leg parts for the Dark Corrosion Set. The team then proceeded toward the third Boss, the Corrosive Dryad. As with the last Boss, Shi Feng used the standard raid procedures, splitting the MTs into groups to deal with the Corrosive Dryad''s numerous tendrils. Meanwhile, the melee players would open up a path for the ranged DPS to bombard the Dryad with fire-type Skills and Spells. During this raid, Zhao Yueru, with her Frostflame''s Wrath, shone brightly. Like the Corrosive Wolf King, it took less than 30 minutes for the Corrosive Dryad to fall. Meanwhile, the Corrosive Dryad dropped five pieces of Level 55 Dark-Gold Equipment and eight pieces of Level 55 Fine- Gold Equipment, all of which added Fire Resistance. Among the five pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment, two were set pieces for the Dark Corrosion Set, specifically the armguards and belt. By the time the team defeated the Corrosive Dryad, including the two other Bosses and mobs they killed, everyone on the team had gained roughly 20% more EXP. Their leveling speed in the Dungeon was much faster than grinding elsewhere. This left the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s members speechless. They currently raided a Level 50, super- large-scale Team Dungeon''s Hell Mode, yet not only hadn''t they died and lost EXP, but their experience bars had also increased faster than grinding monsters outside of the Dungeon. If they were to retell this tale, nobody would believe them. What surprised these super-first-rate Guilds'' members the most was the fact that they had only used the standard raid procedures to defeat every Boss they had encountered. Despite facing Mythic monsters, they had managed to defeat these Bosses, one after another, without so much as suffering a single casualty... Since when were standard raid tactics so effective in super-large-scale Team Dungeons? The Bosses they had raided thus far were much easier compared to the Bosses in large-scale Team Dungeons. However, unlike their companions, Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart realized what was happening. Their team hadn''t defeated these powerful Mythic Bosses so easily because the standard raid procedures were so effective in this Dungeon, but because Zero Wing''s MTs, healers, and DPS were astoundingly powerful. There was also Shi Feng''s heaven-defying Ring of Gospel, which could weaken the Bosses and enhance their entire team. Without these factors, all of these Boss fights would''ve been incredibly difficult or ended in a team-wipe. The Eclipse Throne had a total of four Bosses. Now that they had killed three, only the Final Boss remained. Both Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart felt as if they were in a dream. Following which, under Shi Feng''s command, the team soon reached the throne room housing the Final Boss. The throne room was also on the castle''s top floor. When the team reached the throne room, they encountered a young man lying before the room''s tightly shut doors. The young man wore golden armor and carried a greatsword that radiated a holy light on his back. If one inspected this young man, they would discover that he was a Level 60 Mythic NPC. When Shi Feng saw this NPC youth''s name, he was stunned. Why is he here? Shock filled Shi Feng''s eyes as he gazed down at the Mythic NPC. At this stage of the game, most likely no player, other than himself, knew about this NPC, but during his previous life, every God''s Domain player would recognize the youth. This man had been reputed as the Greatsword Saint, known by players as the strongest entity below Tier 6. However, the main reason for this NPC''s fame was the weapon he wielded. It was also the easiest weapon to find among the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. The Glorious Will! 1804 Epic Team Ques Chapter 1804 - Epic Team Quest Shi Feng had never thought that he would actually come across the Greatsword Saint Edward in the Eclipse Throne. From what he remembered, the Greatsword Saint was stationed at the Ruined Mountain Range in the continent of God''s Domain. Although the Glorious Will was the easiest of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons to come by, even after ten years, no player had managed to acquire the real Glorious Will. There had been a player that managed to acquire a Replica of the Glorious Will, who had been titled the Glorious Sword Saint. Rumors had it that the Glorious Sword Saint had acquired the Replica from a quest. Other rumors claimed that the Replica came from the loot of a powerful Field Boss. There were also some that stated it was a commission made by a Famed Smith. Although the Glorious Sword Saint had eventually revealed that the Glorious Will Replica came from a quest given out by Greatsword Saint Edward, nobody believed him. The reason for this was that many players had tried increasing their Favorability with Greatsword Saint Edward after the revelation. However, no matter how high their Favorability reached, the NPC did not offer them the same quest. Hence, everyone concluded that the Glorious Sword Saint had lied to conceal the origin of his weapon. Could that person''s weapon have come from here? Shi Feng thought as he looked at the Greatsword Saint Edward lying quietly against the doors to the throne room. When he raided the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne in his previous life, he had never come across Edward. Now that the NPC appeared in the Dungeon in this life, Shi Feng could not help but suspect that the quest the Glorious Sword Saint had mentioned back then was related to the Edward before him right now. This discovery thrilled Shi Feng. The Glorious Will was one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons in God''s Domain. Even its Replica was something that countless players dreamed of obtaining. Otherwise, the owner of the Glorious Will Replica wouldn''t have become the Glorious Sword Saint in the past. "Guild Leader, should we approach this NPC?" Aqua Rose asked. "Of course," Shi Feng replied, nodding before walking up to the NPC. When Shi Feng got within 20 yards of Edward, the resting NPC abruptly opened his eyes. "Adventurers, this isn''t a place any of you should come to. Armas has stolen the Sun Crown. His strength exceeds your imagination. You all had best turn back now," Edward said, somewhat exhausted. Upon hearing Edward''s words, Shi Feng immediately connected the dots and concluded that the quest to acquire the Glorious Will Replica came from this Edward. "Lord Edward, we are not afraid of danger. If there is anything we can help you with, please say so," Shi Feng declared. "Since you are determined, so be it. Brave adventurers, Armas has only recently stolen the Sun Crown. He has yet to absorb its power completely. I hope that you can help me reclaim the Sun Crown," Edward said after giving the matter some thought System: Do you wish to accept the Epic Team Quest "Sun Crown"? Quest content: Help Edward reclaim the Sun Crown that Armas stole. Rewards unknown. Shi Feng accepted the quest without hesitation. Everyone else in the team gaped in shock when they read the notification. They had never thought that they could receive an Epic Team Quest in such a place. This situation made Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart envy Zero Wing even more. This Epic Team Quest was essentially a Dungeon-raiding quest Successfully raiding the Dungeon meant the completion of this quest It was basically a bonus reward to Zero Wing. "Brave adventurers, follow me. It is time for this Evil Lich to receive his due!" Edward said as he stood up. He then pushed apart the tightly shut steel doors and stepped into the throne room. "Everyone, follow the NPC!" Shi Feng commanded. Everyone trailed Edward into the throne room. Upon entering the throne room, everyone felt as if they had gone outdoors at nighttime. The ceiling of the throne room resembled the starry sky at night At the far end of the throne room, seated high up on the throne was a two-meter-tall skeleton dressed in midnight robes, wearing a fiery crown on its skull and holding a golden staff. This skeleton was none other than the Lich Armas. Currently, Armas was gazing down at Shi Feng and the others as if he was the King of the Underworld. Meanwhile, standing on one side of Armas''s throne was a suit of pitch-black armor that was missing its head, and on the other side was a six-meter-tall beast that had the body of a scorpion. ... [Armas] (Lich, Mythic) Level 60 HP 500,000,000/500,000,000 [Headless Knight] (Undead, Mythic) Level 59 HP 360,000,000/360,000,000 [Scorpion-Snake King] (Demonic Beast, Mythic) Level 59 HP 420,000,000/420,000,000 ... The statistics of these monsters had everyone gasping. The confidence built up from their success thus far promptly disappeared. "Is this a joke?" "Three Mythic monsters?! The system is too shameless!" "So, this is Hell Mode?" "No, that can''t be right! Even Hell Mode shouldn''t be this difficult! This must be due to the Team Quest!" Everyone''s hearts stopped as they stared in despair at the three Mythic monsters at the far end of the throne room. It already took everything they had to fight one Mythic monster. Fighting three Mythic monsters at the same time was beyond a 200-man team of Tier 2 players. Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart currently wore somber expressions as they looked at the three Mythic monsters. They felt that the system was playing a big joke on them. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this quest is a little outside of our capabilities. Why don''t we abandon this quest? With our team''s current strength, it is simply impossible to go up against three Mythic monsters simultaneously," Phoenix Rain suggested. Unyielding Heart nodded his head in agreement. This was no longer a feasible challenge for current players. At the very least, their entire 200-man team needed to be fully equipped in Level 55 or even Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment, with the main members of the team having multiple pieces of Epic Weapons and Equipment. Only then could they cope with three Mythic monsters at once. At this moment, Shi Feng had a gloomy expression. He had never imagined that the Epic Team Quest would be so vicious. If there were only two Mythic monsters, he still had the means to deal with them. However, with his current team, challenging three Mythic monsters simultaneously was asking too much. Must I give up? When Shi Feng thought about how much he had gone through to obtain this quest, reluctance filled his heart. No, if even my current team can''t complete this quest, how could the Glorious Sword Saint''s team possibly have completed it? As the first team to conquer the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne, the Glorious Sword Saint''s team might be slightly superior to Shi Feng''s current team in terms of equipment standards, but there was definitely a limit to the difference. Not to mention, he had the Ring of Gospel to improve his team''s Basic Attributes and suppress the Mythic monsters''. At this moment, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered everyone''s ears. System: You have accepted the Epic Team Quest "Sun Crown." Please select your challenge difficulty. System: There are three difficulties available: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Depending on the difficulty selected, the final reward will also be adjusted. Please choose carefully. The difficulty cannot be changed once selected! 1805 Skyrocketing Combat Power Chapter 1805 - Skyrocketing Combat Power "There are three different difficulties?" Shi Feng, more or less, understood how the Glorious Sword Saint had completed this quest in the past after seeing the system notification. Bronze rank was no doubt the easiest. It was also very likely that the Glorious Sword Saint had chosen this difficulty to complete the Epic Team Quest. However, the only problem right now was that the system did not clearly state the difficulties'' standards. If players had to fight all three Mythic monsters at once, which difficulty was it? If Bronze difficulty had that requirement, then even Shi Feng had to admit defeat. When he had raided the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne during his previous life, Armas had been the only Boss at the end of the Dungeon. The Lich hadn''t had any subordinates at his side. With his current team, it was simply impossible to take on Armas and his two subordinates simultaneously. If, however, the challenge before him was Gold rank, then he could attempt Bronze or Silver. "This difficulty selection really is troublesome. The system actually refuses to provide any information about our options. It''s impossible to make a good decision." Phoenix Rain frowned as she watched Armas and his two subordinates. Without any information as a benchmark, they would waste all of the effort they had put into this Dungeon raid thus far on the off chance that they made the wrong selection. "Brave adventurers, Armas and his subordinates are very strong. If you can''t hold on after the battle begins in a moment, you can gather around me. Although I haven''t fully recovered my power yet, I can unfold a Domain around me. The Domain will, more or less, weaken their power," Edward suddenly said. Power hasn''t fully recovered yet? Unfold a Domain? Shi Feng could not help but turn to look at Edward upon hearing the NPC''s words. So, that''s the case! "Guild Leader, did you figure something out?" Aqua Rose asked curiously when she saw Shi Feng''s smile. "I now understand this quest''s difficulty standards," Shi Feng said as he gestured to Edward. "The challenge difficulty doesn''t refer to the three Bosses. It refers to the support Edward can provide. The more difficult the challenge, the more limited Edward''s help will be." Hearing Shi Feng''s words, realization dawned on the team. They all felt that Shi Feng''s guess was likely the right one. However, a gloomy atmosphere descended on the team again. Even if Edward could help, his assistance had a limit Moreover, after all was said and done, they still had to face three Mythic monsters simultaneously... After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to choose the Silver rank difficulty. He felt that his team''s overall combat power was higher than the Glorious Sword Saint''s raid team in the past. If the Glorious Sword Saint had been able to clear the Bronze challenge, then his team should have a high chance of clearing the Silver challenge. Although the Gold challenge''s rewards might be abundant, Shi Feng didn''t think it was worth the risk. Since the system notification had clearly stated that one could not change their difficulty selection once they had made their choice, it was likely that they''d only have one opportunity to challenge this quest. If they failed the quest, they''d walk away with nothing. Hence, Shi Feng decided on the Silver challenge. System: You have chosen to challenge the Silver difficulty. System: It is detected that you are challenging the "Sun Crown" quest for the first time. Difficulty selection may be altered to Normal Mode or Hero Mode. For Normal Mode, the Bosses'' Attributes will be weakened by 20%. Based on your performance in the battle, the reward will range between Bronze rank and Silver rank. For Hero Mode, the Bosses'' Attributes will be weakened by 10%. Based on your performance in the battle, the reward given will range between Silver rank and Gold rank. This privilege is only available on the first challenge. You may also forsake this opportunity and choose the standard difficulties. Please choose wisely. "Privilege for the first challenge?" Shi Feng could not help his grin. He now realized how the Glorious Sword Saint had completed the quest Following which, Shi Feng chose Hero Mode. If all three Mythic monsters'' Basic Attributes fell by 20%, it would undoubtedly be of great help to the team. It was no wonder why the Glorious Sword Saint''s raid team had defeated all three Mythic Bosses. Although Hero Mode only weakened the Bosses by 10%, he should be able to reduce the Mythic Bosses'' Basic Attributes by nearly 30% with the Ring of Gospel''s suppression. With Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian''s strength, plus the other Tier 2 MTs, they should be able to keep all three Bosses in check. Hero Mode? Unyielding Heart was speechless when he saw Shi Feng''s selection. Is he insane? Phoenix Rain was similarly surprised. Shi Feng''s initial decision to choose the Silver challenge was understandable since they had so little information to work with, and regardless of their choice, they still had to face three Mythic Bosses at once. However, now that they had concrete numbers, Shi Feng had chosen Hero Mode. This decision was confusing. While she understood that with Shi Feng''s Ring of Gospel, it was possible to suppress the three Bosses further, but the biggest problem wasn''t whether or not the team''s MTs could tank the Bosses. It was whether or not the team had enough DPS. Moreover, since they had to fight three Mythic Bosses simultaneously, the pressure on the team''s healers would be unprecedented. When the raid began, the healers'' Mana expenditure would be massive. If their healers ran out of Mana in the middle of the raid, they''d definitely team-wipe. They had to reduce the Bosses'' maximum HP as much as possible to ensure a greater chance of success. Although there was only a 10% difference between Normal Mode and Hero Mode, the three Bosses had a combined 1,280,000,000 HP. A 10% difference meant that their team had to deal with an additional 128,000,000 HP. Moreover, there was the matter of battle recovery. This would undoubtedly extend the raid''s duration by a significant amount of time, which would increase the risk of the team''s healers running out of Mana mid-battle. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng had selected the fight''s difficulty, the three Mythic Bosses lost 10% of their Attributes. "Good! Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, each of you will tank one of the Bosses! The other MTs will support them! Prioritize the Scorpion-Snake King!" Shi Feng said. He then took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. "Everyone, release the limiter on your weapons altogether!" For the raid, he had armed every participating Zero Wing member with Tier 2 and Tier 3 Mana Weapons, especially the Tier 2 Mana Weapons. Of the 85 Zero Wing members he had with him this time, he had armed each with at least three Tier 2 Mana Weapons. Initially, he had only planned to use the Mana Weapons when the team lacked firepower. Now that they were required to go up against three Mythic Bosses simultaneously, he couldn''t afford to be stingy with the Mana Weapons. Hearing Shi Feng''s words, Zero Wing''s members, who had felt a little gloomy, revealed excited expressions. Thus far, only the MTs had been allowed to liberate their Mana Weapons'' power; the rest of them hadn''t been allowed. Now that Shi Feng had given them permission, they could use their Mana Weapons'' Skill whenever they wanted to exhibit immense power. "What''s going on with Zero Wing''s members?" The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members were confused to see Zero Wing''s members brim with confidence and fighting spirit. However, after Shi Feng used World Projection and Ring of Brilliance, and Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian had stabilized their aggro, the scenes that followed thoroughly dumbfounded Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members... After Edward activated his Domain, the Domain reducing the three Bosses'' reaction speed by 30% and Attack Power by 20%. This greatly reduced the pressure Cola and the others faced. After the Scorpion-Snake King and Headless Knight lost nearly 30% of their Attributes, the two Bosses were a joke. Even the team''s regular Tier 2 MTs could tank the two Bosses'' fierce assaults on their own, let alone Turtledove and Ye Wumian. This allowed the DPS to attack the two Bosses freely. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul''s Tier 2 experts were fortunate if their attacks dealt more than -10,000 damage, yet Zero Wing''s experts dealt over -30,000 damage with each attack. The latter''s magical class experts even landed multiple attacks that dealt over -50,000 damage. The damage Zero Wing''s members dealt was simply ridiculous! Moreover, a Tier 3 Demon bombarded the Bosses in a frenzy, rapidly devouring their HP. This stupefied the players from the two super-first-rate Guilds. They had never thought that Zero Wing could summon a Demon that was as strong as an ordinary Grand Lord of the same level. After the team defeated the first two Mythic Bosses and focused on Armas, the raid became considerably more difficult Armas was a Lich that could use spells of all of the four major elements. Each of his Spells could instant-kill a non-plate armor class. Hence, even though Armas''s Attributes had been suppressed, he was extremely difficult to deal with. Fortunately, Shi Feng had his Forbidden Domain to stop the occasional large-scale destruction Spell the Lich cast. On the rare occasions when Forbidden Domain was on Cooldown, the other players disrupted the Lich''s spellcasting with powerful Skills and Spells, significantly reducing the threat Armas posed. When Armas''s HP fell to 30%, however, the Lich began to double-speed-cast, catching everyone offguard. As a result, over a dozen players died in the blink of an eye. The rest of the players were startled. How is this possible? The Boss actually knows howto double-speed-cast? Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were just as stunned. Double-speed-casting was a technique that many expert players found extremely difficult to accomplish, but once they could execute the technique, they''d undergo a qualitative transformation. Players would be able to enhance their offensive and defensive capabilities. "Everyone, activate your Berserk Skills! With the exception of MTs, I want everyone to keep moving around! Do not let the Boss lock on to you!" Shi Feng hurriedly commanded after seeing Armas going berserk. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, the team went into action. Everyone activated their Berserk Skills and ran in random patterns, making it difficult for Armas to target them with his Spells. As a result, the Lich could only target the relatively immobile MTs. This allowed the team to reduce the risk of casualties. "The Boss doesn''t have much HP left! Attack with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng said before activating Lightning Slash. Gentle Snow also used her Tier 2 Skill Bladestorm, while Zhao Yueru used Frostflame Space and attacked the Boss alongside her doppelgangers. As for Aqua Rose, she used her Domain Skill, Aqua Precinct. Everyone on the team used their strongest Skills and Spells available. Even the weakest attacks inflicted over -50,000 damage, while the stronger ones dealt over -100,000 damage. Armas''s HP plummeted as a result 20%... 10%... 5%... "Die!" When Armas''s HP fell below 1%, Shi Feng, who had Power of Darkness activated, used Divine Providence and Flame Burst. Miniature suns bombarded Armas, one after another, devouring the Boss''s remaining HP. Boom! As the team watched, Armas''s skeletal body crumbled to the ground. The surviving members then heard a series of system notifications. 1806 Eclipse Throne First Clear Chapter 1806 - Eclipse Throne First Clear "The Boss is dead?" "We did it! We won!" Everyone cried out with joy when they saw Armas''s skeletal figure on the ground. Although Armas had killed over 60 of their 200-man team, they still defeated the Final Boss of the Eclipse Throne in the end. Not even the various superpowers dared to challenge this Dungeon! Zero Wing''s members were similarly ecstatic. Although they had trusted Shi Feng''s decision, they couldn''t help their excitement after actually watching Armas fall. After all, they had achieved a feat that not even God''s Domain''s current superpowers were capable of. Everyone was particularly excited to see their names appear on the Dungeon''s Glory List, which had appeared in the center of the throne room in the form of a stone monument after Armas''s death. With this, their names would be permanently recorded and put on display for players that would clear the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne in the future. Even Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. It had not been easy to defeat Armas and his two subordinates. He couldn''t use many of his tools in a super-large-scale Team Dungeon; the team had to rely on their weapons and equipment to take out the three Mythic Bosses. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Clear of the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne. Rewarding Guild Popularity +20, Humanity Reputation +20, all loot doubled.[1] System: Do you wish to release a congratulatory announcement to the public? If you do not make a decision within 30 seconds, the announcement will be made by default. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng chose not to inform the public of their success. While announcing Zero Wing''s success of clearing the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne would garner a lot of fame to the Guild, it would also attract more enemies. Furthermore, Zero Wing had stood out quite a bit lately thanks to Silverwing Town, earning a few superpowers'' envy. If the various superpowers knew that Zero Wing also had the strength to raid a super-large-scale Team Dungeon, even if it had the help of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul, they would definitely relate this success to Silverwing Town. At that time, the various superpowers would likely do everything they could to capture the town. Although Silverwing Town''s development was coming along quite nicely right now, its defensive capabilities weren''t strong enough yet More time was needed to fortify the town properly. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, Vice Guild Leader Heart, I hope that you will keep this matter a secret for the time being. I don''t want too many people to know about what happened here," Shi Feng said as he looked at Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart. "That won''t be a problem. The people I''ve brought today are my trusted subordinates. None of them will speak a word about today''s raid," Unyielding Heart said, nodding. "There aren''t any problems on my side, either," Phoenix Rain said, smiling. Publicizing their success today would only be a detriment. After all, they still had important business with Shi Feng. If the various superpowers learned of the Dark Corrosion Set, an intense struggle over the set would definitely ensue. Hence, both Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain welcomed the fact that Shi Feng wanted to keep today''s achievement confidential. Shortly after Shi Feng decided against the congratulatory announcement, Armas''s golden throne abruptly shattered. A small mountain of items took its place, radiating a glow that illuminated the throne room. At a glance, there were easily over 100 items in that pile. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members stared at the loot with bulging eyes. "Adventurers, thank you for your help in giving Armas the punishment he deserves," Edward said sincerely as he walked up to Shi Feng. Edward held the golden crown that previously graced Armas''s skull. "Although Armas has died, his power has not vanished completely. Half of his power has gathered in one of his eyes, while the other half is stored in the sealed cage above the arena. If you wield his eye, you should be able to acquire his remaining power. Hopefully, it will be of some help." After Edward had said so, a magic array appeared beneath his feet. The Greatsword Saint then transformed into a streak of light and left the throne room. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Epic Team Quest, "Sun Crown." Total deaths - 63. Time spent - 47 minutes, 28 seconds. Awarding Grade A evaluation, +30% EXP, four Legacy Skill Points, and one Armas''s Eye. "Grade A?" When Shi Feng read the system notification, he was satisfied with the outcome, seeing as they had challenged Hero Mode. He then plucked Armas''s Eye from the ground and inspected it. ... [Armas''s Eye] (Necklace, Epic Rank Item) An Eye of Time formed of nearly half of the Great Lich Armas''s power. The Eye of Time can view both the past and the future. Level 50 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 1,200, Vitality 800 Intelligence +57, Vitality +54, Endurance +44 (Level 50) Casting speed increased by 15%; All Spell effectiveness increased by 15%; Cast range +2; Spell Completion Rate increased by 1%. Additional Skill 1- Eye of Future: When activated, allows the user to maintain an hour of simulated combat. Cooldown: 10 hours Additional Skill 2- Eye of Past: Tracks the target''s movement and location for three hours. Cooldown: 6 hours What heaven-defying Skills! Shi Feng was astonished after reading Armas''s Eye''s Attribute Panel. Armas''s Eye''s Basic Attributes were average at best, but the two Skills were incredible. Eye of Future, in particular, was simply heaven-defying. With the Eye of Future, players could participate in a system-simulated battle before the actual fight If this Skill were used to raid Bosses, players could test various strategies without sacrificing team members. If used in a PvP battle, although the Main God System wouldn''t be able to replicate enemy players'' movements perfectly, it could mimic players with an 80% to 90% accuracy. If players could practice against their simulated opponents before the actual battle, they would be more confident during the actual battle. Most importantly, Eye of Future could reveal an enemy''s true strength. Meanwhile, the simulated player would remain wholly ignorant of their trump cards'' exposure. The only downside was that Eye of Future had a very long Cooldown. Even so, it was amazing. After Shi Feng finished marveling over Armas''s Eye, he examined the rest of the loot. A total of 131 items had dropped from the throne. Over half were rare materials, Magic Crystals, and Mana Stones. Only 23 items were weapons and equipment. Among the weapons and equipment dropped, the best was the Epic Weapon, Nether Scepter, a top-tier staff for Summoners. The staff enhanced summoned creatures using Nether Spirit, which increased their Basic Attributes by 25%. The staff could also summon a squad of Nether Guards, consisting of one captain and nine soldiers. The captain was a High Lord, while the nine soldiers were Lords. Shi Feng had also obtained the chest piece for the Dark Corrosion Set, the last piece he needed to complete the Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Including the set effects, the Dark Corrosion Set granted a total of 180 points of Fire Resistance. With such high Fire Resistance, players would have no trouble against a fire-type Boss. Moreover, the set offered higher Basic Attribute bonuses than ordinary Dark-Gold Set Equipment of the same level. Shi Feng had Cola equip the Dark Corrosion Set without hesitation. Upon equipping the set, Cola''s Basic Attributes skyrocketed. His HP also reached 87,000. "With this Fire Resistance, a Tier 1 players'' fire-type attacks will likely have no effect on me," Cola said, astonished when he saw his Fire Resistance. He now had more than 200 points. Wearing the red and black metallic armor, Cola looked like a war god that had just stepped off a battlefield of fire. Heat wafted off of him in waves. Seeing this, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain raised their evaluation of the Dark Corrosion Set. Shi Feng didn''t leave the Team Dungeon immediately after he tidied up the loot. Instead, he led the team back to the castle''s arena. Now that Armas was dead, as Edward had said, he could retrieve the other half of Armas''s power, which was inside the locked steel cage. When Shi Feng thought about the Glorious Will Replica, his heart pounded with elation. 1807 Glorious Wills Replica Chapter 1807 - Glorious Will''s Replica Once more, Shi Feng stood before the rusted cage in the bloodlust-saturated arena. The mysterious power that previously protected the cage was now gone. This allowed Shi Feng to approach the cage and unlock it with the key he had acquired from the Troll Hero. Click. After opening the cage, the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest appeared before Shi Feng in full. Curiosity overwhelmed the other players in the arena after seeing Shi Feng unlock the cage. They were all eager to learn what the treasure chest contained. After all, this Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was the Epic Team Quest''s true reward. Please let the Glorious Will Replica be inside! Shi Feng inwardly prayed as he carefully opened the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. Although the Glorious Sword Saint had claimed that he had acquired the Replica from a quest, he hadn''t stated which quest. It was possible that he hadn''t obtained the Replica from this Team Dungeon. Hence, Shi Feng wasn''t certain that he would find the Glorious Will Replica in this Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. As the loading bar slowly filled, Shi Feng grew increasingly nervous. After the 20-second activation progress completed, the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest''s lid slowly lifted on its own. Golden light then illuminated the entire arena. The arena''s ambient Mana even grew slightly denser. "What''s going on?! Opening the treasure chest can actually increase the arena''s Mana density?!" "This treasure chest is amazing! Could it be a Legendary Treasure Chest?!" "How is that even possible? Why would the system award players with a Legendary Treasure Chest just for completing an Epic Team Quest? At the very least, you''d have to complete a Legendary Quest to get something like that." "I guess that''s true. Even so, that chest definitely has an Epic item." "That''s right! I had never thought that it was possible to acquire such a huge harvest by raiding a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. We got so many more items than we could from a large-scale Team Dungeon. Zero Wing struck gold this time. With all of the weapons and equipment it earned from this raid, its main force will definitely become a lot stronger. Zero Wing will have a much easier time raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons in the future." ... As the light from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest started to dim, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members chatted among themselves. They could already see Zero Wing growing even stronger in the future. Even if the Guild had a numbers problem right now and would not be able to raid other super-large-scale Team Dungeons for some time, the Guild should have no problems raiding large-scale Team Dungeons in kingdoms and empires with all of the loot it had acquired from the Eclipse Throne. "Cycling, once we return, notify the Guild''s upper echelons and tell them that I''m holding an emergency meeting," Unyielding Heart whispered to the male Cleric beside him. "Vice Guild Leader, you couldn''t possibly be thinking of...inviting them, right?" Cycling Light asked in surprise. "Isn''t that a little too risky? Aside from the other Vice Guild Leaders, I''m afraid the Guild Leader won''t agree to it." "Zero Wing might be an outsider, but you''ve witnessed the Guild''s strength personally. Zero Wing''s main force is no weaker than a super-first-rate Guild''s. I believe that with this strength, the Guild Leader will be very happy to get Zero Wing''s assistance," Unyielding Heart said, smiling. "We truly have to thank Lingsha for this. If she hadn''t sent us to help Zero Wing, we''d likely remain ignorant of Zero Wing''s strength." "Indeed. We really have to thank Miss Lingsha." Cycling Light nodded. "Miss Lingsha likely discovered Zero Wing''s strength a while ago, so she asked us to do everything we could to help the Guild." He hadn''t understood why Mu Lingsha had wanted them to help Zero Wing, but now, he had to admire her excellent insight. It was no wonder why Unyielding Soul''s Board of Directors had voted to make Mu Lingsha the Guild''s current Honorary Elder. When Mu Lingsha was first conferred the position, the decision had displeased many of the Guild''s upper echelons and Elders. After all, Mu Lingsha was simply too young. She also wasn''t very familiar with God''s Domain, and she wasn''t particularly famous in the virtual gaming world. It simply wasn''t fair that she should have so much authority in the Guild. Looking at it now, however, Cycling Light thought that Mu Lingsha definitely deserved the position. Standing nearby, Blue Phoenix glanced at Unyielding Heart and Cycling Light. "Big Sis Rain, it seems Unyielding Heart has become very interested in Zero Wing," Blue Phoenix said quietly. "That''s normal. The power Zero Wing displayed truly exceeded everyone''s expectations. Zero Wing''s strength is nothing like what a first-rate Guild should have," Phoenix Rain said, chuckling. "Nine Dragons Emperor is still trying to find a way to eliminate Zero Wing. I''m really curious to see what kind of expression he''ll make once he learns that Unyielding Soul wants to deepen its relationship with his rival." The struggle for the position of Great Pavilion Master had grown more intense lately, and thanks to the wonderful misunderstanding that Zero Wing was one of her subordinates, she had gained the upper-hand in the competition for the position. Although she had tried multiple times to refute the misunderstanding, she no longer felt that it was a bad thing to let the misunderstanding continue. The stronger Zero Wing became, the greater her chance would be of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master. However, she was surprised when she considered how fast Zero Wing developed. When she had first encountered Zero Wing, it had been just another small Guild in the kingdom. Now, however, even a veteran super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul considered Zero Wing important This development speed was a little scary. Meanwhile, when the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest opened fully within the iron cage, Shi Feng was stunned by what he saw. He had to admit that a Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest was indeed amazing. The items inside were far more impressive than the contents of an Epic Treasure Chest Although this Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest didn''t have as many items as the one he had found in the Lost Town, the items'' quality was just as high. There were a total of five items inside the treasure chest The first was an Epic Consumable called Frost Hell. It was a Domain tool that could be used to alter the weather. However, it could only be used five times. The second item was a Warrior Summoning Order. When used, it would gather a group of powerful NPCs. Players could then choose a Personal Guard from among these NPCs, the weakest of which would be Secret-Silver rank. If one were lucky, one of the NPCs could be Fine-Gold rank. The Warrior Summoning Order was easily worth tens of thousands of Gold. The third item was an Advanced Smithy Design. As an Advanced Construction, the Advanced Smithy possessed abilities that a Basic Smithy definitely did not. For example, the Advanced Smithy had the ability to invite NPC Master Forgers to run it Meanwhile, players could periodically commission the invited Master Forger to produce weapons and equipment for them. Although the cost was extremely high, players could obtain a highly-compatible weapon or equipment piece. The fourth item was the Tier 4 Continuous-use Magic Scroll, Vulcan''s Sigh. The Magic Scroll was slightly special due to its multiple uses, though players would have to spend Magic Crystals to replenish the scroll''s Mana. Typically, a Continuous-use Magic Scroll could be used four to six times. It was easily worth more than a piece of ordinary Epic Equipment. The final item was a cool, dazzling golden greatsword. It was the most valuable item among the five inside the treasure chest and the item Shi Feng had hoped to find the most. The Replica of the Glorious Will! 1808 Sword of Violence Chapter 1808 - Sword of Violence The Glorious Will was a golden greatsword radiating a golden glow. A bundle of golden flames encased within its hilt emanated a sacred aura. The weapon''s cool design would easily captivate its wielder. As Shi Feng inspected the greatsword in his hands, everyone else in the arena had their attention drawn to the weapon. "What''s that sword? It''s so amazing! It''s actually giving off such a powerful aura despite being in an inactive state!" "Why does that sword look somewhat familiar?" "Huh? That looks like the greatsword the NPC from before had!" "That sword looks so cool! I wonder, what is its rank?" "I''m guessing it should be an Epic Weapon at the very least. There''s no way a Dark-Gold Weapon would feel this powerful.'' Everyone discussed quietly among themselves as they looked at the Glorious Will Shi Feng had retrieved from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest Many Swordsmen and Berserkers, the only two classes capable of using two-handed weapons like greatswords, in the team stared at the greatsword greedily, their eyes turning bloodshot Sure enough, it really is amazing! Shi Feng was astonished as he checked the Glorious Will''s Attributes. [Glorious Will (Replica)] (Two-handed Sword, Epic Rank) Level 50 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,000 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +2,320 (Level 50) Strength +285, Endurance +240, Agility +265 Attack Speed +10 Attacks have: 20% chance to transform into a Sword of Light and penetrate through all defenses; 30% chance to trigger Scorching Radiance, increasing Strength by 40% and damage by 210%. When equipped: Increases Strength by 30% and Agility by 10%; Attack range +2; All weapon-related Skills +2 Levels; Ignore Levels +15; All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels. Additional Passive SkiH- Radiance Domain: Increases the wielder''s Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed based on the number of creatures within a 50-yard radius. Each additional creature provides a 1% boost, up to a maximum of 30%. Additional Active Skill 1- Will of Light Grants the Will of Light onto the weapon, increasing Strength by 150% and inflicting 400% damage to a 5*25-yard area in front. Can be used up to five times. Each use has a one-minute Cooldown. Additional Active Skill 2- Myth of Light: Temporarily increases user''s tier by one (up to a maximum of Tier 4) to deal one devastating attack in a 50- yard cone. Cooldown: 20 minutes Additional Active Skill 3- Light Speed: Allows the user to transform into light and instantly travel a maximum distance of 150 yards. Afterward, increases Movement Speed by 50% for 15 seconds. During this duration, user can also control and attack with 16 Swords of Light formed using the Power of Light Each Sword of Light can attack only once. Each Sword of Light has 80% of the user''s Attributes. Cooldown: 5 minutes This is a replica forged by Lich Armas using the power of the Sun Crown. Due to insufficient power, Armas failed to complete the replica. Currently, this replica is still in an incomplete state. Gather 100,000 Magic Crystals and 100 Sun Essences to complete the replica. (The replica has currently absorbed 0 Magic Crystal and 0 Sun Essence.) Looking at the Glorious Will in his hands, Shi Feng felt that the weapon was basically a sword of violence. It possessed paramount Strength. Ordinary Epic Weapons simply could not compare to it Moreover, this greatsword was even useful for chasing fleeing or swiftly moving targets. The Skill Light Speed, in particular, allowed its wielder to cross a distance of 150 yards instantly. With the ability to traverse such a distance in a heartbeat, players would be able to execute many feats. This greatsword was perfect for Berserkers and Swordsmen lacking in survivability when grinding in the fields. In the past, thanks to Glorious Will, the Glorious Sword Saint had managed to escape many fatal situations. Moreover, despite the current Glorious Will already being very powerful, it was still incomplete. In its completed state, the weapon''s lifesaving capabilities would be much better. This was also the reason why the Glorious Sword Saint had become one of the most difficult Sword Saints to kill in God''s Domain in the past. Even when going up against Tier 6 God-ranked experts, the Glorious Sword Saint had been able to attack and flee as he wished. However, the upgrade conditions sure are stringent. It actually needs 100,000 Magic Crystals and 100 Sun Essences. Shi Feng frowned at the upgrade requirements. Even for the current Zero Wing, 100,000 Magic Crystals was a considerable amount. Not to mention, in order to defeat the Bosses in the Eclipse Throne, he had already spent tens of thousands of Magic Crystals. Right now, he had only a little over 20,000 Magic Crystals left. As for Sun Essence, it was even more valuable than Magic Crystals. Right now, one Sun Essence was worth around 50 Gold on the market It was so valuable because it served as the power source of many mechanical tools. For example, practically all engines used by Mysterious-Iron ranked ships needed Sun Essence. Even so, each engine required only 10 or so Sun Essences. Meanwhile, a Mysterious-Iron ship was currently more valuable than even Epic Equipment. Nonetheless, the Glorious Will actually required ten times the number of Sun Essences needed to run a Mysterious-Iron ship. Sun Essence was extremely rare. It could only be acquired from special Regional Dungeons and maps, although, most of the time, players got it through quests or exchanges with NPCs. However, these quests were tough, and the items needed to trade for Sun Essence were likewise very valuable and difficult to obtain. It seems I have no choice but to gather Sun Essences. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at Glorious Will. He then stored the weapon in his bag, not intending to share its statistics with the team. This was a replica of Glorious Will, one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons of God''s Domain. Moreover, although it was currently only an Epic Weapon, it had the potential to reach Fragmented Legendary rank. If information of this weapon leaked, it would definitely cause a huge commotion. Hence, the fewer players that knew about the weapon, the better. This was just like Gentle Snow''s Seven Luminaries Battle Armor, Zhao Yueru''s Frostflame''s Wrath, and Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations_items that needed to be kept a secret. Currently, less than seven people in Zero Wing knew what these items were. Hence, even until now, their details had yet to leak to the public. Nobody aside from these people knew that the number of Fragmented Legendary items and items capable of being upgraded to the Fragmented Legendary rank in Zero Wing''s hands was close to ten. If this matter became public, every superpower in the game would instantly target Zero Wing. When everyone saw Shi Feng exiting the cage, they were all sensible and refrained from asking about the contents of the treasure chest Zero Wing''s members, in particular, understood that if he wished to share information about the loot with them, he would naturally do so. If he didn''t, however, he absolutely would not tell them. "Snow, learn this Skill Book. I''ll also leave this weapon for you to use," Shi Feng said after walking up to Gentle Snow. He then passed the super-rare Skill Titan''s Hand, which he acquired previously, and the Glorious Will replica to Gentle Snow. Currently, in Zero Wing, aside from himself, the only other person who possessed over 2,000 points in Strength was Gentle Snow, who had claimed one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Five Great Legacies. Even Fire Dance''s Strength was still a little far from 2,000 points. Moreover, Fire Dance was an Assassin and, thus, incapable of using two-handed weapons. As for the other players in Zero Wing, while some Berserkers might be close to attaining 2,000 Strength, their techniques were far from equal to Gentle Snow''s. Besides, Gentle Snow was the Vice Guild Leader managing Zero Wing''s Branch in the Black Dragon Empire. She would need greater power to have others submit to her commands. As for Titan''s Hand, it was a useful Skill that would boost Gentle Snow''s combat power. Titan''s Hand allowed Berserkers to temporarily wield two two-handed weapons simultaneously. Although only one weapon''s Basic Attributes would apply, the Skills and effects of the inactive weapon could still be used like normal. "For me?" Gentle Snow was slightly confused as she received the Titan''s Hand Skill Book and Glorious Will. However, after she inspected the items, she was dumbfounded, especially when she saw the Attributes of Glorious Will. "Guild Leader, this..." "You are the only person in the entire Guild who has enough Strength to use this weapon. Nobody else can use it Letting it sit inside the Guild Warehouse would be a huge waste," Shi Feng said. "I understand. I''ll make sure to put it to good use." As an expert sword-user, Gentle Snow could not help but be excited as she held Glorious Will. After trading Glorious Will to Gentle Snow, Shi Feng had everyone exit the Team Dungeon. The team disappeared from the arena and appeared outside the Eclipse Throne''s entrance in the blink of an eye. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we''ll be leaving first, then. Once you collect another Dark Corrosion Set, you must remember to contact us," Unyielding Heart said. "Of course. Once I have the second set, I''ll contact both of you immediately." Shi Feng nodded. He was also very eager to sell the Dark Corrosion Set. After all, this was a huge money-making opportunity. However, right when the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul members were activating their Return Scrolls, a magic array suddenly appeared in the sky. In the next moment, the activation process of everyone''s Return Scrolls was forcibly halted. "You''ve made us wait for quite some time now. Do you think you can leave this place so easily?" Just as everyone was trying to find the caster of the magic array, a cold laugh suddenly entered their ears. Then, a large group of players, easily numbering over a thousand, suddenly jumped down from the trees of the wetlands before them. A short moment later, a Level 55 middle-aged man holding an ancient black-horn bow walked out of this group. "Black Shark?" Unyielding Heart''s complexion darkened when he saw this middle-aged man. 1809 Wrong Opponen Chapter 1809 - Wrong Opponent The sudden appearance of over a thousand players put Shi Feng and the others on high alert. The thousand-plus players that had just emerged from the marshy jungle were by no means ordinary players. The lowest- leveled player among them was Level 53, and the weakest piece of equipment they wore was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank. Quite a few of these players even had Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment At this stage of the game, this was an equipment standard could only be found in expert teams. "Vice Guild Leader, this is bad. They used a Darkness Seal. We won''t be able to use our Return Scrolls for the next two hours," Cycling Light commented worriedly as he eyed the middle-aged man carrying the ancient, pitch-black bow. Compared to the thousand-plus players that had emerged from the forest, Cycling Light deemed this middle-aged man to be most concerning. This was because this middle-aged man was Black Shark, the commander of the Dark Hunters adventurer team. Black Shark had fought Unyielding Soul''s members many times before. Not only did the Ranger possess superb combat standards, but he also had the ability to transform into a monster. Not even Unyielding Heart, Unyielding Soul''s Guild Leader was capable of defeating Black Shark. In addition, the Dark Hunters adventurer team also had quite a few monstrous existences. According to Unyielding Soul''s investigations, Dark Hunters should possess around 300 troublesome experts. With a glance at the thousand-plus players surrounding their team, Unyielding Heart could see that the Dark Hunters had come prepared. Including the fact that they were caught in a Darkness Seal, they''d have to fight if they wanted to leave this place. Immediately, he warned Shi Feng through the team chat, "Guild Leader Black Flame, these people are from the Dark Hunters, a dark adventurer team with many powerful players. Some are even capable of transforming into monsters and drastically increasing their combat power. Even if they are at Tier 1, they have enough strength to face ordinary Tier 2 players." Although their side currently had 200 Tier 2 players, they shouldn''t take on the Dark Hunters carelessly. After the Dark Hunters'' Tier 1 players transformed into monsters, although they couldn''t compare to Tier 2 players in Basic Attributes, they could employ certain unorthodox combat methods. If one weren''t careful with these players, they could easily take a hit. Furthermore, the Dark Hunters had a decent number of Tier 2 players. Normally, this ambush wouldn''t have been much of an issue, but their team had just finished a demanding battle and had used their Berserk Skills already. Fighting a force of transformed Tier 2 players in such a state would be troublesome. "They''re the Dark Hunters?" Phoenix Rain gave Black Shark a second look after hearing Unyielding Heart''s introduction. Although she did not know exactly how powerful the Dark Hunters adventurer team was, she knew that the adventurer team was one of the reasons for the Starline Corporation''s rapid rise in God''s Domain based on the few reports she had received. The corporation used the Dark Hunters as a trump card to destroy and assassinate its opponents. Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul had also suffered significant thanks to the adventurer team. Although the Dark Hunters seemed to have the numerical advantage, their 200-man team wasn''t to be trifled with. Their team was the combination of three powerful Guilds'' main force members. An adventurer team like the Dark Hunters couldn''t do much to them. While both sides cautiously eyed each other, a sweet, melodious voice rang out from the jungle. "What a lively scene! How could you possibly leave Shadow Claw out of the fun?" A moment later, a woman in beautiful, dark-blue mage robes slowly stepped out from the forest, leading a group of weH- equipped experts. Like the Dark Hunters, this group had well over a thousand members. "Why is she here?" Unyielding Heart frowned when he saw the woman in dark-blue. Others might be unfamiliar with this beauty, but he knew her well. This woman was named Veiled Spirit, the leader of the dark forces plaguing the Copper Eagle Kingdom, which neighbored the Dark Night Empire. She was also the commander of Shadow Claw, a dark adventurer team. He knew of this woman because Veiled Spirit had personally destroyed Unyielding Soul''s subordinate first-rate Guild, which used to rule over the Copper Eagle Kingdom. As one of Unyielding Soul''s subordinated Guilds, Unyielding Soul had dispatched many experts to assist the first-rate Guild. In the end, however, Unyielding Soul failed to change the first-rate Guild''s fate. On the contrary, Veiled Spirit''s Shadow Claw adventurer team had slaughtered the dozen or so peak experts Unyielding Soul had sent and the legion of several thousand players that had accompanied them... "Spirit, your timing sure is impeccable," Black Shark said as he eyed the approaching woman. "Three powerful Guilds'' main forces have gathered here. How could Shadow Claw possibly miss such a rare opportunity?" Veiled Spirit said, chuckling. "Fine. I''ll leave the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members to you. I''ll take Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s members," Black Shark said. "Is that alright? That''s the main force of two large Guilds we''re talking about," Veiled Spirit asked, flashing Black Shark a confused look. Although their two adventurer teams greatly outnumbered their opponents, their opponents had quite a few players wearing Tier 2 Class Insignias. The enemy team should have some Tier 2 players who weren''t wearing their insignias as well. Such a team should not be easy to defeat. "Relax. None of them should even think of escaping!" Black Shark said confidently as he licked his lips. During his previous investigations, he had learned that the three Guilds had come together to raid a Dungeon, so he had come prepared. In fact, his original plans had never taken Shadow Claw''s participation into account. He had been fully intent on devouring all three Guilds. Now that Shadow Claw had arrived, he''d have an easier time taking down Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s forces, although he would have to share some of the profits due to the alliance''s rules. "Fine, then. I''ll take a little loss this time," Veiled Spirit said, nodding after she saw Black Shark''s confidence. Although she wasn''t all too willing to let Black Shark monopolize the items of Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s members, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Rain and other experts weren''t exactly easy opponents. After Black Shark and Veiled Spirit reached an agreement, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw''s members began to tighten their circle around Shi Feng and his companions. "Guild Leader Black Flame, dealing with both dark adventurer teams will be very difficult. You could say that Unyielding Soul and these adventurer teams are old rivals. I''ll have my men open a path in a moment. Use the opportunity to get out of the encirclement," Unyielding Heart hurriedly said as he watched the approaching Dark Players. As far as he was concerned, this ambush was definitely related to Unyielding Soul. The Guild was, after all, waging an all-out war with the Starline Corporation. Expert assassination attempts were expected. "You want to escape?" Black Shark smiled when he noticed Unyielding Heart prepare to break past his people. "Do you think the Dark Hunters would ambush you without preparing? "Move out!" As soon as Black Shark said so, over 300 Dark Hunters transformed into monsters. Meanwhile, another 100-plus Dark Hunters took ancient scrolls from their bags and began to chant an incantation. A layer of dark fog blocked out the sun, forming a massive barrier that trapped everyone inside. Dark Precinct! In the next moment, the 300-plus transformed players inside the barrier doubled in size, and their Attributes skyrocketed. Their HPs, in particular, had tripled. These players no longer looked human. They had completely transformed into monsters. "Today, none of you shall escape! You will all die here!" Black Shark, who had also transformed, said, laughing. Seeing the 300-plus, three-meter-tall transformed players and sensing their frightening auras, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain''s expressions darkened. They could sense that the transformed players'' Basic Attributes had increased by at least 50%, likely due to the magic barrier. Even the transformed Tier 1 players had higher Attributes than theirs. The difference between their Basic Attributes and the 20-plus transformed Tier 2 players was even worse. Not even Unyielding Soul was confident of charging ahead. Veiled Spirit, who stood beside Black Shark, was also slightly surprised. She hadn''t expected Black Shark to have such a trump card. It was no wonder why the man was confident that his adventurer team could take on three Guilds'' main forces by himself. "Is that so?" Shi Feng said as he glanced at the Dark Precinct that had formed around him. He then took out Frost Hell, the Epic Consumable he had just acquired from the Dungeon, and continued, "It''s a pity that you''ve picked the wrong opponent." After saying so, Shi Feng activated Frost Hell. Suddenly, the world around him turned snowy-white as the temperature plummeted. The wetlands ahead visibly froze, and the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw''s members felt an intense pressure weigh on them. Not only did their movement become sluggish, but their Stamina also began to fall so sharply that others could clearly sense the change. Even their Attributes rapidly decreased... 1810 Taboo Potion Chapter 1810 - Taboo Potion Why is this Domain Skill so powerful? Black Shark was astounded as he watched his Attributes fall. Not only had his Basic Attributes decreased by 20%, but his Movement Speed and reaction speed had also decreased considerably. Most importantly, the Dark Precinct he had used failed to suppress this Domain Skill. Dark Precinct was far more powerful than a Domain Skill because the magic array formed a separate world within itself. No Domain Skill could compare. Yet, Dark Precinct had failed to suppress the effects of Shi Feng''s Domain Skill, and the Domain Skill had reduced their Attributes by as much as 20%. However, Black Shark didn''t know that Frost Hell was slightly unique. While it was considered a Domain Skill, it was also a Weather Spell that could change an area''s weather. Moreover, Frost Hell was a Tier 4 Domain Skill, so it was still effective despite Dark Precinct. Thanks to Frost Hell, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw''s strength had decreased significantly. Although Dark Precinct still gave the 300-plus transformed players more strength than normal, overall, the two dark adventurer teams no longer posed as much of a threat to the three Guilds'' main force members. Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain breathed sighs of relief because of this turn of events. They had come here to help Zero Wing raid a Team Dungeon. They hadn''t brought any powerful tools essential for team battles, such as Domain Magic Scrolls, with them. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the foresight to carry a Domain Magic Scroll. Otherwise, this upcoming battle would''ve been disastrous. "Black Shark! Do you still want to fight?! Your trump card has been suppressed! Both of our sides are roughly equal in combat power. Nobody can say for certain who will win this battle," Unyielding Heart stated, hoping to scare Black Shark into backing off. "I''ll admit that I underestimated you, but do you really think that I only prepared one trump card?" Black Shark said, sneering. "I had planned to save this for a more suitable stage, but I''ll let you have the first taste." In the next moment, several normal Dark Hunters pulled dark-blue potions from their bags, consuming them. These Dark Hunters then roared with excitement. Their skin began to turn dark-blue as tough scales grew all over their bodies. Tails sprouted from these players rears. These players now looked like Dragonoids, not humans. Looking at these Dragonoids, the members of Zero Wing, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and Unyielding Soul were stupefied. They couldn''t believe their eyes. "What is going on? These people..." Phoenix Rain was shocked as she stared at the players with tails. Even as one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Pavilion Masters, this was the first time she had seen anything like this. The Dragonoid players radiated violent auras that felt like some wild beast. Aside from the increased Attributes, Phoenix Rain could sense that these players now had higher Life Ratings than hers. She could explain the Dark Hunters'' ability to transform into monsters as a result of a class unique to Dark Players. After all, Dark Players had their own unique development path, but she had never heard of a potion that could transform a player into a Dragonoid. "Everyone, charge! You may claim any item that you get from your kills!" Black Shark shouted as he readied his longbow. Hearing Black Shark''s command, the Dark Hunters revealed crazed expressions. Without hesitation, they split up and charged at Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s members. Unwilling to fall behind, Veiled Spirit took out a Tier 3 Buff Scroll and activated it, increasing her team members'' Basic Attributes, raising them to their original values, although her people''s mobility was still affected. After receiving the buff, Shadow Claw''s members charged at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members. Less than 200 yards had separated the combatants. Ignoring Frost Hell''s influence, all of the ranged players began to exchange blows. For a time, Spells and arrows filled the space between the two sides, causing a series of explosions. Although the three Guilds'' attacks contained more raw power, they were still vastly outnumbered. Ordinary players'' ranged attacks were relatively easy to dodge, but none of these players were ordinary. Even dodging their ranged attacks was quite difficult Moreover, the Dark Hunters'' Defense had increased significantly after transforming into Dragonoids. Even when they received a Tier 2 Spell, they only took around -8,000 damage. In contrast, the Tier 1 Dragonoids'' Spells dealt nearly -6,000 damage to the three Guilds'' members. Their damage was only slightly lower than Tier 2 players''. Meanwhile, due to the disparity in numbers, the Guild players lost more HP during the exchange. The Basic Dragonoid Potion? Shi Feng was astonished after seeing the Dragonoids'' combat power. Why do the Dark Hunters have this kind of Taboo Potion? Could they have someone capable of brewing it already? At first, he hadn''t been certain that the potion the Dark Hunters had used was the Basic Dragonoid Potion, but after seeing their Defense and Attack Power, he was sure that they had used that exact potion. The Basic Dragonoid Potion was capable of turning humans into Dragonoids, and the purer the potion was, the closer one would become to a true Dragonoid after consuming it. It was an extremely rare potion. Basic Dragonoid Potions did not provide much in terms of Basic Attributes. They generally only provided a 10% to 15% increase. However, the potion provided a significant boost to reaction speed, kinetic vision, Defense, and Attack Power. As for Intermediate Dragonoid Potions, not only would the potion increase its user''s size, but it also provided considerable improvement in terms of Basic Attributes. An Intermediate Dragonoid Potion generally provided a 25% to 30% increase. However, at the end of the day, humans were still human. A human''s body couldn''t endure the violent power of a Dragonoid. Any human that consumed a Dragonoid Potion, whether they were an NPC or a player, was guaranteed to die after half an hour. Hence, Dragonoid Potions were considered Taboo Potions. However, since players were immortal, they''d only lose half a level of EXP after they died from drinking a Basic Dragonoid Potion, not an entire level. Hence, many crazy players loved the potion. Shi Feng had never dreamed that the Dark Hunters would have so many Basic Dragonoid Potions. Moreover, he hadn''t expected them to use it without hesitation. With the increased Defense and Attack Power provided, three to five Tier 1 Dragonoids working together would be more than enough to defeat a Tier 2 expert It was also very difficult to kill Dragonoid players quickly. To make matters worse, there were the 300-plus monster players that were capable of unorthodox attack methods. After a brief clash between the enemy ranged players, Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s members felt their disadvantage, and several of their members had already died. In contrast, the Dark Hunters had only lost a dozen or so members. Moreover, every one of these members was only a Tier 1 player. The adventurer team''s two dozen or so Tier 2 players were still alive and kicking. "Good! Prioritize the healers and magical classes! Do not let them break through the encirclement!" Black Shark instructed when he saw his melee members close in on the enemy ranks. After saying so, Black Shark knocked his bow and released nine arrows simultaneously. All nine arrows targeted one of Zero Wing''s Shield Warriors, and each had the power of a peak Tier 2 attack. Moreover, Black Shark had accurately aimed for the Shield Warrior''s blind spots. Even if the Shield Warrior tried to block the arrows with his shield, he would be monetarily paralyzed. The several Dragonoid players before him would then take advantage of the gap, and the Shield Warrior would fall. Just before the arrows struck, a white light flashed before him. Like a barrier of light, the flash struck down the nine arrows, and several Tier 1 Dragonoid players lost all of their HP instantly. "How is this possible?!" Black Shark''s expression darkened when he saw his Tier 1 members die. He knew just how much HP and Defense a Tier 1 Dragonoid possessed. Not even he could kill a Tier 1 Dragonoid player with one hit, yet several of them had died in the blink of an eye... Before Black Shark could react, another golden flash blinded him. In the next moment, a lithe figure wielding two greatswords appeared before him. One of those greatswords was dark-blue and radiated a freezing chill, while the other greatsword was a radiant gold and had a cool appearance. Rotating behind this figure were 16 Swords of Light This figure was none other than Gentle Snow, who had just learned Titan''s Hand and equipped Glorious Will. "Disappear!" Swinging Glorious Will, Gentle Snow sent 16 Swords of Light flying at Black Shark. 1811 Overpowered Equipmen Chapter 1811 - Overpowered Equipment "So fast!" The members of Dark Hunters couldn''t help their surprise as they watched Gentle Snow attack Black Shark. Gentle Snow was simply too fast. Not only had she broken through their defensive lines without much effort, but she had also reached their commander in the blink of an eye. Her 16 Swords of Light also targeted Black Shark''s blind spots. Defending against so many attacks at once was impossible for a Ranger. You want to kill me? Black Shark sneered at the 16 Swords of Light. Before the Swords of Light struck the Ranger, Black Shark swung his longbow horizontally, forming a barrier of wind around him. The wind pushed all 16 Swords of Light away, and they harmlessly brushed past Black Shark. The Ranger did not receive a single point of damage. Tier 2 Skill, Wind Armor! Although Gentle Snow hadn''t harmed Black Shark with her two greatswords this time, he couldn''t attack while under Wind Armor''s protection. When Wind Armor was about to disappear, Black Shark activated Backward Jump. He fired five arrows, which formed a magic array and shot towards Gentle Snow like a comet, while he soared backward through the air. Tier 2 Skill, Starburst! This was the Ranger class''s most powerful Tier 2 Skill. The Skill combined the power of five arrows, and the attack was even strong enough to force a Great Lord of the same level stumbling backward. Despite the approaching attack, however, Gentle Snow didn''t bother to dodge. Instead, she countered the attack with a swing of Glorious Will. Will of Light! Buffed by Will of Light, Glorious Will released a golden brilliance as it transformed into a streak of light and clashed with Black Shark''s Starburst. Boom! Gentle Snow''s counterattack sliced Starburst in half on the spot, stupefying the other players present. From afar, it had looked like a beam of light slicing apart another beam of light. It was spectacular. A heartbeat later, an intense shockwave slammed into the surrounding players. After cutting down Starburst, Glorious Will continued to slice the area in front of its wielder. The six Tier 1 Dragonoids caught in Gentle Snow''s 5*25-yard AOE died instantly. "How is that possible? Hasn''t she used that attack already?" "Could it be a bug?" Some players, who had a good memory, noticed that the Skill Gentle Snow had just used was the same one that she had used to protect Zero Wing''s Shield Warrior and kill several Tier 1 Dragonoids earlier. Normally, such a powerful Skill should have a very long Cooldown, but even if it had a short Cooldown, there was no way that she could use it after just a few seconds. But before anyone could figure out what had happened, Gentle Snow swung Glorious Will at Black Shark yet again. Like before, Glorious Will released a golden light that extended towards Black Shark. Black Shark had just landed, and he had no way to dodge the attack. Seeing the approaching sword light, Black Shark could not help but frown. Immediately, he pulled his ancient longbow''s bowstring. This time, however, he did not nock any arrows. He simply pulled an empty string. However, a horrific amount of Mana gathered around the empty bow, forming an arrow of light. He then released the bowstring and sent the light arrow flying at the incoming sword light Unlike before, Gentle Snow''s attack didn''t stop Black Shark''s arrow. On the contrary, the light arrow shattered the sword light as it continued towards Gentle Snow. "Die!" Black Shark sneered as he watched the arrow come within 10 yards of his target. This arrow of light wasn''t a result of a Ranger Skill. It was actually one of his bow''s Skills, Space Shattering Arrow. Not only could it enhance his attack by one tier, but it could also severely injure a Grand Lord of the same level. Suddenly, the light arrow split into over 30 miniature copies. Even Gentle Snow felt powerless for a moment as she watched the tiny arrows rain down. Meanwhile, the nearby Dark Hunters revealed victorious expressions. They were all very familiar with their commander''s move. Each one of those miniature arrows carried 100% of Black Shark''s Strength. Even if just a few arrows found their mark, Gentle Snow would lose a significant amount of HP. However, something unexpected happened suddenly. Once again, Gentle Snow raised Glorious Will high, and it released the same golden glow it had twice before... Glancing at the 30-plus arrows flying towards her, Gentle Snow swung down Glorious Will. Once again, a golden beam of light shot forth from the greatsword, instantly devouring every light arrow and continuing toward Black Shark. Responding quickly, Black Shark leaped out of the golden beam''s way in the nick of time. When the Ranger stood back up, he could not help but stare at Gentle Snow in utter shock. Who is she? When Black Shark looked at Gentle Snow now, he did so without his previously complacent expression. He was a Ranger, a class that focused on ranged attacks, yet despite facing a Berserker like Gentle Snow, he was at a disadvantage... This was simply unbelievable. Even Veiled Spirit, who commanded her allies in battle, wore a somber expression as she looked at Gentle Snow. She was quite familiar with Black Shark''s strength. Even when Black Shark had fought Unyielding Heart, Unyielding Soul''s number one Berserker, he had suppressed the man easily as long as he didn''t allow the Berserker within melee range, yet a different Berserker had suppressed him in a ranged battle. During the brief moment while Gentle Snow had both Black Shark and Veiled Spirit distracted, a series of screams rose from the Dark Hunters'' army. To be precise, they came from the MTs that had transformed into Dragonoids. Despite having transformed into Dragonoids, a single female Assassin was slaughtering the Tier 1 MTs. Moreover, the female Assassin was only using Tier 1 Skills to kill the full-HP MTs. Elsewhere, a female Elementalist hurled one Spell after another, the ice- and fire-type Spells instant-killing any player who was not an MT. When three Tier 2 players tried to stop this Elementalist, she split into three clones. Each copy easily suppressed the three Tier 2 players that assaulted her, and in the end, she killed all three in fewer than five moves. This startled the nearby Dark Hunters. A short distance away, a Guardian Knight rampaged among the Dark Hunters'' frontline. With a single charging attack, the Guardian Knight sent more than ten players flying. Even when the player took Tier 2 attacks directly, the Guardian Knight only lost a little over 2,000 HP. The Guardian Knight''s Defense was even higher than the Dragonoid players''. So many of Zero Wing''s members displayed ridiculously high combat power. Just one of these Zero Wing members could contend with two or three Tier 2 Dark Hunters. Because of these Zero Wing players, the Dark Hunters, which had the upper-hand initially, suffered constant casualties. So strong! Cycling Light, who currently fought a Tier 2 player, was stunned when he saw Fire Dance and her companions fight from the corner of his eye. "Shark! We can''t let this continue! Even if we win, we''ll likely suffer severe losses! We should wait for the other adventurer teams to arrive and take action together," Veiled Spirit messaged Black Shark through a private chat. "Several other adventurer teams have heard about our ambush. I doubt it will be long before they arrive." While it was true that they had been hired to annihilate Zero Wing, they had stated one precondition for taking this job; they couldn''t afford too heavy of a loss. Otherwise, the rewards weren''t worth the cost. "Alright! Let''s retreat!" Black Shark said, gritting his teeth as he agreed to the temporary withdraw. Although he was reluctant to run from his fight with Gentle Snow, the situation right now in the three Guilds'' favor. Moreover, the Basic Dragonoid Potion his allies had consumed lasted half an hour. That was more than enough time for the other adventurer teams to arrive and assist them in a second assault. Following which, Black Shark ordered his army to pull back. "You want to leave?" Realizing that Black Shark was trying to widen the distance between them, Gentle Snow used Will of Light once more. Damn it! How many times can she use that Skill?! Black Shark felt as if he were going a little mad when he saw the approaching beam of light. Despite the fact that Gentle Snow was only a Refinement Realm expert, she had suppressed him thoroughly in a ranged battle with her powerful Skills and Basic Attributes. There was too little distance between them, and Black Shark had no time to dodge the incoming attack. As a result, he was forced to use a Lifesaving Skill to protect himself. After using his Lifesaving Skill, however, Black Shark noticed Gentle Snow radiate a rainbow glow. In the next moment, a powerful pressure weighed him down, reducing his speed. Now, he had lost the advantage in speed he should normally have. Before Black Shark noticed, three sacred spears flew towards him. Black Shark desperately tried to block the attack with his bow. However, the moment one of the sacred spears encountered his ancient bow, Black Shark felt as if he had been hit by a truck. Unable to resist the powerful force, Black Shark stumbled backward, his HP instantly falling by over 3,000... While Black Shark dealt with the three sacred spears, Gentle Snow, who was less than 15 yards away, executed Will of Light, whose Cooldown just so happen to have ended. Will of Light! This time, Black Shark had no spare energy to stop the approaching beam of light. The attack devoured him, and his body transformed into particles of light as he vanished from the battlefield... 1812 Lights Power Chapter 1812 - Light''s Power "Commander?!" The commander got killed..." "Is she a monster?" Seeing Black Shark''s body disappear, the members of the Dark Hunters adventurer team were stunned. A few members had even forgotten to attack and took direct hits from Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s players. How could the commander lose? Lonely Lamp could not bring himself to believe what he had just seen. Black Shark''s strength had imprinted itself on Lonely Lamp and the other Dark Hunters'' minds long ago. Not only were Black Shark''s combat techniques astounding, but he also wore the best equipment available at this stage of the game. Even if he faced Super Guilds'' old monsters, he could enter and leave the battlefield freely. If a group of Tier 2 players had ganged up and killed Black Shark, Lonely Lamp could believe that his commander had died, but a single player had faced and killed Black Shark. Moreover, that player wasn''t a monster-level expert that had enjoyed many years of fame in the virtual gaming world. How could he possibly accept this fact as true? How is she so strong? Unyielding Heart, who looked at Gentle Snow standing proudly in the distance, was at a loss for words when he saw what had happened. Both surprise and admiration filled his heart. He was no stranger to the name ''Gentle Snow.'' After all, she had once been a Guild Leader herself. Although her Guild had been disbanded due to the Blackwater Corporation''s intervention, it was an inescapable fact that Gentle Snow was a very talented player. After Ouroboros had disbanded, Unyielding Soul had attempted to recruit Gentle Snow, and it hadn''t been the only superpower to reach out to her. According to Unyielding Heart''s knowledge, at least three superpowers had tried to recruit the Snow Goddess. In the end, however, Gentle Snow had chosen to join Zero Wing, which had been an unknown Guild at the time. This decision disappointed the various superpowers. During the earlier Dungeon raid, Unyielding Heart''s opinions about Gentle Snow had been reaffirmed. The woman was indeed extremely talented and would no doubt become a famous expert in God''s Domain in the future. Right now, however, Gentle Snow''s combat standard was still too rough. She relied entirely on her advantage in Basic Attributes to contend with the various superpowers peak experts. Unyielding Heart had never imagined that just by switching to a new weapon, Gentle Snow would be able to display combat power on par with experts like himself. By relying on that horrific Skill of hers, her victory over Black Shark, who was very famous among the Dark Night Empire''s dark forces, had been overwhelming. Unyielding Heart could not help but pity Black Shark. He also understood why Black Shark had lost. If he had to challenge Gentle Snow, he''d likely suffer a similar fate. It was simply absurd that Gentle Snow could use a Skill with such high burst damage repeatedly within such a short time. This was no longer an attack that could be mitigated with techniques. Not even an Assassin, the class with the most Lifesaving Skills, would get away from Gentle Snow unscathed, much less a Ranger like Black Shark. If Black Shark had to blame someone for his death, he could only blame himself for launching his ambush with such poor timing. He had actually attacked on the day Zero Wing raided the Eclipse Throne. Moreover, the ambush had taken place after Zero Wing had cleared the super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Thanks to the Dungeon''s loot, Zero Wing''s members had improved their weapons and equipment considerably. What immense power. Just what is that weapon? Phoenix Rain was a little astonished as she looked at the Glorious Will Gentle Snow wielded. Although she knew that any weapon from the Magic Crystal Treasure Chest would be extraordinary, she had never thought the weapon would be this powerful. Glorious Will had elevated Gentle Snow''s combat power to a whole new level. This was especially true for her PvP capabilities. Moreover, Cola''s performance on the battlefield was also eye-catching. Equipped with the Dark Corrosion Set, Cola''s entire body radiated a scorching aura. While in battle, this aura became even more intense. Any player that came close to the Guardian Knight would felt a stinging pain, losing their focus in the fight. Without enough Fire Resistance, players even took damage from this burning aura. Even against multiple Tier 2 melee experts, Cola easily sent them all stumbling backward with a single charging assault When struck by a Tier 2 fire-type Spell, Cola would only receive around -2,000 damage. As for Tier 1 Spells, they did less than -1,000 damage. To Cola, who had over 85,000 HP, this was barely a scratch. By himself, Cola had torn a hole through the Dark Hunters'' defensive net. The Dark Corrosion Set performed better than she had imagined. After a brief moment of silence on the battlefield, the Dark Hunters adventurer team snapped out of their daze, but unexpectedly, the Dark Hunters didn''t turn and flee. Instead, they stared at Gentle Snow with greedy eyes. "That woman''s combat standard is subpar at best The fact that she can kill the commander must mean that she has excellent equipment!" "Her greatsword looks so cool! It''s definitely not some ordinary weapon!" "She just finished a tough fight with the commander. She must''ve exhausted her Skills. If we kill her now, we can claim her equipment for our own!" Desire dominated the Dark Hunters as they watched Gentle Snow, who currently stood alone within her enemy''s ranks. "Have these people lost their minds? They''re actually eying Gentle Snow at a time like this?" Blue Phoenix was confused when she saw the Dark Hunters'' greed. She simply could not understand what was going through these players'' minds. The Dark Hunters had lost their momentum, yet rather than trying to escape, these players wanted to waste precious time to surround and kill Gentle Snow... "Kill her! Avenge the commander!" "Right! Kill her for the commander!" With a shout, 80 or so Dark Hunters near Gentle Snow charged at the female Berserker. They had been in the process of retreating, and to kill Black Shark, Gentle Snow had reached their rear line by herself. She didn''t have a single companion nearby. This was their opportunity to take her out and plunder her items. Moreover, they were all experts. They could tell that Gentle Snow had only defeated their commander because of the frightening Skill she possessed. In their experience, such a powerful Skill wasn''t from a Skill Book. There was an 80% chance that the Skill belonged to the weapons or equipment she used. Many of the Dark Hunters had already consumed the Basic Dragonoid Potion. They were going to die sooner or later. If they could kill Gentle Snow and get a piece of top-tier equipment before they died, their death would be worth it. Most importantly, there was a very high chance that they would succeed. "Not good! Guild Leader Black Flame, we need to save her!" Unyielding Heart shouted as he watched the Dark Hunters surround the Snow Goddess. However, as soon as Unyielding Heart finished his statement, Gentle Snow charged straight toward the 80-plus Dark Hunters approaching her. Five of these Dark Hunters were Tier 2 experts. Even Black Shark would be hard-pressed to survive if surrounded by such a force. Yet, Gentle Snow showed no intention of running away. Instead, she simply raised Glorious Will. A moment later, the weapon began to cast a dazzling glow. "She''s going to use that move again! Everyone, pay attention to dodging!" Lonely Lamp, who was part of the crowd charging at Gentle Snow, shouted. As experts, the Dark Hunters reacted very quickly. They had also long since estimated Will of Light''s AOE and maintained a suitable distance from each other. Meanwhile, seeing the Dark Hunters spread out, Gentle Snow could not help but smile, confusing her opponents. However, before anyone could figure out what was going on, Gentle Snow brandished Glorious Will. However, unlike before, Gentle Snow did not swing her greatsword downward. Instead, she thrust it into the ground before her. A dazzling beam of light then pierced the dusky sky and descended on Gentle Snow. In the next moment, a magic array appeared beneath the approaching 80-plus Dark Hunters. The Dark Hunters caught within the magic array felt an intense pressure weigh them down as their movements became sluggish. They all felt the threat of death loom over them. "No! This isn''t the same move! It''s another Skill!" The Dark Hunters quickly realized that something was amiss, but it was too late to change their fate. "Disappear from this place! Myth of Light!" Before anyone could react, Gentle Snow tightened her grip around Glorious Will and pulled the weapon from the ground in an upward slash. The sword light cut through the earth, shattering it. As the sword light moved forward, it rapidly expanded and devoured everything it touched. By the time the sword light disappeared, the fading light had revealed a 6-meter-deep crater that stretched out in a 50-yard cone before Gentle Snow. Ownerless weapons and equipment littered the crater... 1813 Magic Soldiers Descen Chapter 1813 - Magic Soldier''s Descent Such power! Shi Feng was a little astonished when he saw the crater Myth of Light had created. The Skill''s destructive power was even superior to Flame Domain''s. Flame Domain only caused massive amounts of damage; it couldn''t change the terrain like Myth of Light had. While the ability to affect the surrounding terrain might not seem much, it had a lot of uses in specific situations. This ability was particularly useful during a siege battle. Myth of Light could decimate defensive structures. It was far more powerful than an ordinary war weapon since its ability to alter the terrain would damage targeted defensive structures'' Defense and defensive magic array, making them more vulnerable to attacks. In the past, such items had been strategic resources for the various large Guilds. A weapon like Glorious Will was no longer a weapon to be used against other players, but against towns and cities. Moreover, despite causing so much destruction, the current Glorious Will wasn''t complete. When they gathered enough Magic Crystals and Sun Essences to upgrade it, the power of Myth of Light would increase further. Shi Feng wasn''t the only person surprised by Myth of Light''s destructive power. Even Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain, who stood nearby, were stunned. The Dark Hunters that had intended to charge at Gentle Snow were frozen with shock. "What is that Skill? How is it so powerful?" Although they had seen quite a few high-tiered Spells that could change the terrain, none of those Spells had caused as much destruction as Myth of Light had. The 6-meter-deep crater''s walls had even turned into molten lava. The Skill''s power was astonishing. After watching over 80 of their allies burn to ash, the remaining Dark Hunters hesitated, a little afraid. At least they could attempt to dodge Gentle Snow''s Will of Light, but against such a super-large AOE, their deaths were guaranteed unless they had an Invulnerability Skill. They had no hope of dodging the attack. The Dark Hunters quietly reexamined Gentle Snow. Although their greed hadn''t faded, fear was now the prevalent emotion in their hearts. Furthermore, the crater Myth of Light had formed prevented them from charging at Gentle Snow. The crater had also split their path of retreat in two. Now, all these players could think of was escape. No one knew whether or not Gentle Snow could use Myth of Light again, as she had with Will of Light. These players weren''t fools. While they weren''t afraid of death, they wouldn''t die for nothing. If they died a natural death while under the effects of the Basic Dragonoid Potion, not only wouldn''t they lose any weapons or equipment, but they''d also only lose 50% EXP. However, if they were killed, they''d lose a weapon or equipment piece and a full level. How does Zero Wing have such a powerful player? Veiled Spirit, who was in the midst of retreating, could not help her shocked when she saw the Dark Hunters'' fear. According to the information Shadow Claw had gathered, while Zero Wing was very powerful, it definitely wasn''t this strong. Gentle Snow, in particular, was like a completely different person from what the reports had described. The female Berserker had single-handedly killed over a hundred Dark Hunters. The Dark Hunters were not your average joe. They were experts that had been handpicked and recruited from among the various Dark Players. Moreover, they had received a lot of specialized training after joining the adventurer team. In addition, as Dark Players, they were adept at fighting other players. In PvP, they were much stronger than ordinary expert players of the same combat standard. Yet, Gentle Snow had single-handedly killed off one-tenth of the Dark Hunters. This outcome was truly scary. "Commander, the other adventurer teams'' commanders have messaged us, stating that they''re almost here. Two are very close and will reach us in around two to three minutes. They are hoping we can stall Zero Wing for a little while longer," a Level 55 female Cleric wearing exquisite, blue robes and wielded a silver staff suddenly reported. "Two or three minutes?" Veiled Spirit fell into deep thought upon hearing this. A brief moment later, she responded, "Notify the Dark Hunters and tell them that reinforcements will arrive soon. Tell them to do everything they can to stall for time." When trying to assassinate a Guild''s upper echelons, the first attempt was the most important as these upper echelons wouldn''t have prepared for an ambush. If the first attempt failed, subsequent attempts were even less likely to succeed. Now that Black Shark had prohibited Zero Wing, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and Unyielding Soul''s teleportation abilities and physically prevented these upper echelons from leaving the Dark Precinct, this was the perfect opportunity to kill these three Guild''s upper echelons. They likely wouldn''t find another such opportunity. As long as the dozen or so adventurer teams that belonged to Dark Soul gathered, the three Guilds'' experts would die here, even if they were more powerful. "But, commander, Zero Wing''s people are too powerful. They are even slaughtering the Dark Hunters'' Dragonoid players. I''m afraid that the Dark Hunters will be annihilated before reinforcements arrive. If that happens, we''ll be next," the female Cleric said worriedly as she watched the Dark Hunters'' member count continue to decrease. "Moreover, the Dark Hunters should realize what fate awaits them if they stay and fight. They''ll never agree to the proposal." Although they were all members of Dark Soul, the organization''s adventurer teams were also rivals. None of them would willingly sacrifice themselves for another. Veiled Spirit understood that her demand was outrageous and would undoubtedly get rejected. After pondering for another moment, she commanded, "I understand. Notify the Iron Blade Team; tell them that they don''t need to hold back any longer. Have them help the Dark Hunters pin down Zero Wing." "Let the Iron Blade Team take action? Commander, isn''t it a little early to expose this trump card?" the female Cleric asked in astonishment. Every adventurer team in Dark Soul had their own secrets. The Dark Hunters'' Basic Dragonoid Potion was one example. If the Dark Hunters hadn''t used the potion in this battle, Shadow Claw would''ve remained ignorant of its existence. Although Shadow Claw did not possess an item like the Basic Dragonoid Potion, it had its own trump card. "It''s fine. Holding Zero Wing''s members back is more important right now," Veiled Spirit said as she waved off her subordinate''s concern. If they did not stop Zero Wing now, their dream of obtaining Zero Wing''s weapons and equipment would shatter. She could recognize that Zero Wing''s upper echelons used far better weapons and equipment than what the adventurer teams'' commanders, like her and Black Shark, used. If Shadow Claw could get its hands on these items, it would have a chance of completing some of the quests that it had been forced to set aside for some time. "Understood!" the female Cleric replied. She immediately notified the Iron Blade Team, whose members currently fought the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, of the changed orders. At the same time, she had the retreating Dark Hunters stall for time. Fortunately, the Dark Hunters did not oppose Shadow Claw''s request. They realized that, even if they started to flee now, Zero Wing''s members would claim many of their lives. Rather than dying pointlessly, they might as well fight it out and hopefully buy enough time for reinforcements to arrive. For a time, the Dark Hunters engaged in a running battle with Zero Wing and Unyielding Soul''s members, using hit-and-run tactics. They avoided any prolonged fights as much as possible, significantly reducing their casualty rate. On the other side of the battlefield, a 100-man team from Shadow Claw split away from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members and encroached on Zero Wing''s battlefield. Ten of these 100 players were Tier 2, while the rest were Tier 1 players. This team was a relatively powerful expert team. However, this small detachment from Shadow Claw paled in comparison to Zero Wing''s members, who were all Tier 2 players. Yet, these Shadow Claw members did not hesitate to face Zero Wing''s members in a frontal clash. They showed no signs of fighting a running battle like the Dark Hunters. In fact, these Shadow Claw members charged straight at Shadow Sword''s vanguard unit. "Interesting. They want to pick a fight?" Shadow Sword raised his brows in surprise when he noticed the approaching 100- man team. He selected a dozen or so players and moved to meet this new enemy. When less than 50 yards separated both sides, the Shadow Claw members grinned playfully. Each of them then took a Magic Array Scroll from their bags and unfurled the scroll without hesitation. Suddenly, ten magic arrays appeared on the battlefield, each maintained by nine Tier 1 players and one Tier 2 player. A moment later, the Tier 1 players standing in each of the ten magic arrays went pale, their Basic Attributes plummeting. In contrast, the Tier 2 players saw their auras'' intensity rapidly increase. They also began to grow larger. In the blink of an eye, the ten Tier 2 players had become five-meter-tall giants. They were covered in pitch-black armor, which had been enchanted with magic runes. "It''s time for you people from Zero Wing to learn of the Shadow Claw''s greatness! Magic Soldier''s Descent!" the Berserker leading the Iron Blade Team said, laughing as he looked at Shadow Sword and the small team the enemy Berserker led before swinging down the battle axe in his hands. Reacting quickly, Shadow Sword activated Whirlwind Slash before the gigantic axe could reach him. Clang! With the sound of metal on metal, Shadow Sword was thrown over 20 yards away, and he wasn''t the only one. The other enlarged players had also sent the dozen or so Zero Wing experts that had accompanied Shadow Sword flying, instantly dealing over -5,000 damage. The players that had taken a direct hit, however, had instantly lost over half of their HPs... This scene stupefied the three Guilds'' members. Not only were Zero Wing''s experts no match for these giants in a head-on collision despite both sides being Tier 2 players, but they had also lost over 5,000 HP. These colossal players had even more Strength than a Great Lord of the same level. Magic Soldier''s Descent? When he noticed them, Shi Feng flashed the ten armored giants a surprised look. Magic Soldier''s Descent was a Taboo Magic Array that sacrificed multiple players'' Attributes to enhance one of their comrades. Even the Basic Magic Soldier''s Descent could strengthen a player to the Tier 3 standard. However, the target had to be a Tier 2 player. Due to the ten giants, the remaining Dark Hunters regained some confidence as they began to launch attacks alongside the giants. Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain watched the ten gigantic players with somber expressions. Even an MT as powerful as Cola could only tank one of these giants. The only other player in Zero Wing that could do so was Gentle Snow. After a brief clash, Zero Wing''s members began to retreat Just before the giants shattered the formation of Zero Wing''s vanguard, splitting it in two, a figure appeared before one of the massive enemy players. It was none other than Shi Feng. Shi Feng swung Killing Ray at the giant before him. Lightning Slash! Seeing the massive lightning bolt approaching him, the armored giant, who had the physique of a Tier 3 player, reacted very quickly and raised his battle axe to block the attack. Boom! The impact shoved the armored giant back by over 20 yards, the armored giant taking over -7,000 damage... 1814 Appearance of the Black Dragon Chapter 1814 - Appearance of the Black Dragon When the five-meter-tall armored giant got pushed back by over 20 yards, the entire battlefield suddenly fell silent. Even the nine other armored giants fighting some distance away shifted their gaze to their repulsed companion. "Guild Leader?!" When Zero Wing''s members saw Shi Feng appearing on the frontlines, they all became very excited. Although Shi Feng had already displayed superb combat power in the Team Dungeon, fighting in a battle against other players was another story. While inside a Dungeon, the contribution an individual player could make was very limited. If one were to say that players only needed combat standards at the Trial Tower''s fifth floor to raid a particular Dungeon, then the maximum combat power that players could exhibit in a Dungeon was the sixth-floor standard. In that case, the combat standard that peak experts, who had reached the Trial Tower''s seventh floor and beyond, could exhibit would be no different from that of sixth-floor experts. They would not be able to display any additional strength in a Dungeon despite their advantage in actual combat standards. However, a field battle against players was a different story. Depending on one''s opponent, there was almost no limit to the combat standards one could exhibit. "What great Strength!" Veiled Spirit, who was commanding the battle from afar, was startled when she saw the armored giant being pushed back. "So, he is Black Flame?" She knew very clearly what kind of Strength the armored giants possessed. The armored giants had not only Tier 3 physiques but also extraordinary Strength and Defense. They could easily suppress a Grand Lord of the same level. The Magic Soldier''s Descent was made using a production scroll Shadow Claw had obtained from an ancient ruin. However, as the materials needed to make the magic array were extremely precious and difficult to acquire, Shadow Claw had only managed to make ten of the magic arrays thus far. Originally, she had intended to keep the magic array as a trump card for when the Starlight Corporation launched an all-out war against Unyielding Soul. She had never thought that a lone player could push back one of the armored giants by such a long distance. However, after a brief moment of surprise, Veiled Spirit and the other members of Shadow Claw regained their calm. While it was indeed surprising that Shi Feng had dealt over -7,000 damage to the armored giant despite the attack being blocked, the armored giant currently had 320,000 HP. They didn''t even need a healer to handle this minuscule damage; the armored giant''s battle recovery alone would suffice. What with the occasional heals sent by the rear line healers, it was simply impossible for Shi Feng to kill the armored giant all by himself. Just then, the fallen armored giant stood back up and charged at Shi Feng with its great axe raised. Despite the armored giant''s massive frame, its Movement Speed was actually superior to even a Tier 2 player''s. The armored giant took only an instant to cross 20 yards and launch an attack on Shi Feng. "You simply relied on a Skill to push me back. Now, it''s time for you to realize the power of the Magic Soldier!" the armored giant shouted. In the next moment, the black smoke circulating around the armored giant''s battle axe turned into a gigantic lion exuding a frightening aura. The lion then pounced, slamming its paws down on Shi Feng. Tier 3 Skill, Magic Lion''s Stomp! At this distance and with the lion''s Attack Speed, Shi Feng couldn''t dodge the lion''s blow. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng met the attack with both his swords. Purgatory Pentaslash! In the next moment, Shi Feng''s two swords met at a single point and slashed at the descending battle axe. Boom! Immediately, dazzling sparks scattered into the surroundings. The ground beneath Shi Feng''s feet cracked and sank under the immense pressure. After the clash, Shi Feng had actually sunk half a meter into the ground with a small crater around him. Meanwhile, a damage exceeding -5,000 also appeared above his head. The difference in Strength between the two sides was obvious at a glance. Zero Wing''s members turned somber at this situation. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain, who were currently fighting their own battles, were also astonished by this outcome. They had never thought that the armored giants would be that strong. An ordinary expert might not be able to discern the technique Shi Feng had used, but they could tell what he had done just now. The general name of the technique was Strength Combination. It was an extremely difficult technique to grasp and was even more difficult to execute in high-speed combat. Even the slightest mistake in the technique''s execution could have the opposite effect. Meanwhile, although Strength Combination didn''t directly double the Strength of one''s attack, good execution of the technique would still yield a 70% increase in Strength or more. Yet, despite having used this technique, Shi Feng''s Strength had still lost to the armored giant''s by such a large margin. The armored giant''s Strength was definitely superior to a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Its Strength is at the peak of Tier 3? Shi Feng thought to himself as he eyed the Magic Soldier before him. Currently, both his hands were numb. He was currently a Level 67, Tier 2 Sword Master. After executing Strength Combination, his Strength should easily rival that of a Level 55 Grand Lord. Yet, even with such Strength, he was still inferior to the Magic Soldier before him. While part of the reason for this disparity was the difference in Skills used, a large part of the reason was the difference in Attributes. If the Magic Soldier''s Strength wasn''t at the peak of Level 55, Tier 3, Shi Feng wouldn''t have suffered so much damage in just one attack. Moreover, the combat standard of the Magic Soldier before him was actually at the Flowing Water Realm. The Magic Soldier had a very accurate grasp of his location. Otherwise, with Shi Feng''s speed, there was no way that attack could''ve cornered him and prevented him from dodging. "As expected of the leader of a Guild. You really are strong," the armored giant said as he eyed Shi Feng. The armored giant then turned to a nearby armored giant and said, "Ape, come over and help me. I want to see how long our dear Guild Leader here will be able to last against two of us." "Sure thing!" The armored giant wielding a greatsword nodded. The battle axe-wielding armored giant launched a frenzied assault on Shi Feng. Relying on his high HP and Defense, the armored giant completely abandoned all forms of defense and simply focused on trading blows with Shi Feng. The armored giant named Copper Ape dashed over from over a hundred yards away. "Do not let that giant get close to the Guild Leader! MTs, stop him!" Aqua Rose hurriedly instructed. One armored giant was already more than enough to push Shi Feng to his limits. If another armored giant joined the battle, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members gave Zero Wing''s members no opportunity to assist Shi Feng. They all persistently pinned down Zero Wing''s members. Cola, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, and Fire Dance, players capable of holding their own against the armored giants, were similarly tied up in battle and couldn''t move away from their positions for the moment. In the end, Zero Wing''s members could only watch as the greatsword-wielding armored giant closed in on Shi Feng. Upon seeing that the armored giant named Copper Ape was about to reach him, Shi Feng could not help but sigh. Due to the recent Dungeon raid, he had already used all his Berserk Skills, which were still on Cooldown. If he could use a Berserk Skill, even if his Strength couldn''t rival the armored giant''s, he could rely on his techniques to suppress his opponent. Now, however, the disparity in Strength was simply too great I originally wanted to keep this a secret, but it seems there''s no other choice now. Following which, Shi Feng used Phantom Kill. Immediately after summoning his doppelganger, Shi Feng sent it charging at Copper Ape. "You want to stop me with a measly doppelganger?" Copper Ape sneered. He then swung his greatsword horizontally. His attack carried the Strength, Attack Speed, and reaction speed of a Tier 3 player. Even a Tier 2 player would have great difficulty dodging his attack, not to mention a doppelganger controlled by a player. However, as Copper Ape''s greatsword neared Shi Feng''s doppelganger, a powerful Mana torrent suddenly surged towards the doppelganger. When the greatsword got within three yards of the doppelganger, its advance halted abruptly, and no matter how much more strength Copper Ape put into his arms, he couldn''t push his weapon even an extra centimeter forward. A moment later, Shi Feng''s doppelganger gave a loud war cry. Its entire body then disintegrated and transformed into a bundle of pitch-black flames. The surging Mana gathered madly in the pitch-black flames, causing the flames to flare up. In the next moment, a pitch-black claw covered in scales suddenly emerged from the gigantic bundle of flames. When the claw touched the ground, the ground immediately shattered and sank. Once the flames subsided, a five-meter-tall Dragon covered in pitch-black scales appeared in everyone''s vision. Roar! Immediately after appearing, the Black Dragon let loose a powerful roar that echoed throughout the wetland forest, the horrific aura it released stifling the breath of every player on the battlefield. "A Dragon?" 1815 Black Dragons Migh Chapter 1815 - Black Dragon''s Might The Black Dragon''s sudden appearance forced a gasp from the players on the battlefield. Although the Black Dragon was a lot smaller than an actual Dragon, its aura was terrifying. Everyone could feel the massive difference between their Life Ratings and the Black Dragon''s, a difference they had never felt from any creature they had encountered thus far in God''s Domain. Although most of the players present had likely never come across a real Dragon, the various kingdoms and empires'' libraries contained detailed records on Dragons. Dragons had wiped out many kingdoms and empires throughout God''s Domain''s long history. When a Dragon appeared in an area, the area would instantly become a forbidden land for humans. Yet, a living Black Dragon stood before them. Moreover, when players tried to use an Identification Skill on the Black Dragon, the result confirmed that it was indeed a Dragon. Why wouldn''t these players be shocked and afraid? [Black Dragon] (Dragon, High Lord) Level 67 HP 24,000,000/24,000,000 "Wait! This Dragon is only a High Lord!" "That''s right! Although the Dragon is high-leveled, it''s only in the upper standards of Tier 2. It isn''t even a Great Lord." "That spooked me. I really thought that someone had summoned a powerful Dragon. It turns out it''s only a High Lord. Even our party can easily kill it." The Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members who had trembled slightly with fear quickly realized that although the Black Dragon was a real Dragon, it wasn''t like the Dragons in the records they had read. According to historical records, real Dragons were Tier 4 Mythic creatures at the very minimum. If such a Dragon actually appeared before them, they''d likely run for their lives. None of them would''ve dared to linger. But since this was only a High Lord, the adventurer teams'' members discarded their worry. They had slain countless High Lords, including High Lord ranked Archaic Species. "And here I thought you had summoned some kind of amazing monster, but it''s just an immature Dragon!" Copper Ape said, revealing a confident grin as he swung his greatsword at the Black Dragon. "Scram!" The black smoke around the greatsword formed a crescent as it sliced towards the Black Dragon. Tier 3 Skill, Explosive Slash! The crescent energy beam tore through space itself as it moved. From afar, it looked as if the crescent beam had just cut through a sheet of black paper. The attack''s immense aura was even stifling to nearby players. Just before the crescent beam devoured the Black Dragon, the creature extended a scaled claw to meet the attack. Pitch- black flames then emerged and enveloped the massive claw. When the crescent beam crashed into the flaming claw, it seemed as if the beam had slammed into an adamantine wall. Not only had the attack abruptly halted, but the Black Dragon''s claw also remained unharmed and stationary. Following which, the Black Dragon lightly pinched the crescent beam... Peng! Suddenly, the crescent beam shattered and dissipated as if it had never existed. "That... That is impossible!" Shock filled Copper Ape''s gaze as he watched his target nullify his Explosive Slash. He had just executed a Tier 3 Skill. With his current Strength and physique, he could easily suppress a Great Lord of the same level, much less a High Lord. He had believed that, in the worst-case scenario, his attack would shake the Black Dragon slightly. Yet... the High Lord ranked Black Dragon before him had forced his attack to a stop. Moreover, the Black Dragon had shattered his Tier 3 Skill. How could such a thing be possible? "What''s up with that Black Dragon? How did it receive that kind of attack without taking any damage?" Veiled Spirit, who watched from afar, stared with wide eyes. "So, this is a Dragon''s power?" Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain were similarly thunderstruck when they saw the Black Dragon shatter the energy beam with a pinch. They could be considered quite knowledgeable about Dragons, but even they were surprised. Now, they fully understood why Dragons were destruction incarnate. Sure enough, a Dragon''s Strength is really amazing! As Shi Feng controlled his doppelganger, he could feel an inexhaustible power course through his entire body. He then turned to the Magic Soldier before him and said, "Your Strength should be at the peak of Tier 3. Unfortunately, you''re not a high enough level. Otherwise, you would''ve posed a threat. Since you''ve finished your attack, it''s my turn." A Dragon was invincible among creatures of the same tier. Even though the Black Dragon was only a High Lord, it was still a Level 67 High Lord. In addition, the Black Dragon''s Life Rating was incredibly high. It gained a massive amount of Attributes with each levd-up. Meanwhile, the player before him was only Level 55. With 12 additional levels, even a player''s strength would undergo a qualitative transformation, not to mention a Dragon. The Level 67 High Lord ranked Black Dragon was already more powerful than a Level 55 Great Lord ranked Black Dragon, and since Dragons were invincible among the same tier, how could a Tier 3 Magic Soldier possibly be a match for such a creature? Furthermore, the Magic Soldier was an ancient weapon only meant to deal with high-tiered monsters. Before a true Dragon, a Magic Soldier was garbage. When Shi Feng finished speaking, he controlled the Black Dragon to open its maw and inhale a mouthful of air. A gigantic magic array then formed before the creature, gathering a massive amount of Mana. A moment later, the Black Dragon released a deafening roar. Dragon Breath! Immediately, pitch-black flames devoured Copper Ape, extending up to 200 yards away from the Black Dragon. In the blink of an eye, a huge portion of the battlefield transformed into a fiery hell. Agonized screams echoed across the field as streaks of white light rose from the fiery hell. A single breath attack had burned over a hundred players to ash... Once the flames dissipated, a huge divide tore the ground, forming a far more frightening hole than the one Glorious Will''s Myth of Light had created. Even Shi Feng, who was responsible for the attack, was surprised by the power of the Black Dragon''s Dragon Breath. While the Magic Soldier before him was still alive, the armored giant had less than 100,000 HP remaining. The Magic Soldier''s tough, black armor sported visible cracks. The battlefield had become deathly silent after witnessing the Black Dragons horrific power. When Copper Ape gazed at the monster before him, fear filled his eyes. However, before Copper Ape could respond, Shi Feng controlled the Black Dragon to pounce on and attack the gigantic player with a claw swipe. When the Black Dragon''s claw slammed into Copper Ape''s helmet, the player fell on his side, shattering the armor piece. Copper Ape instantly lost over 30,000 HP. Flames then erupted on the Black Dragon''s other claw before the monster thrust it into the Magic Soldier''s armored chest. The flaming claw penetrated the armor like a hot knife through butter, and Copper Ape screamed in pain as the Black Dragon''s blazing claw thrust into him. Flames devoured Copper Ape''s entire body, his remaining 44,000 HP plummeting. In the blink of an eye, Copper Ape''s HP vanished, his body transforming into fire before it vanished. When the flames eventually subsided, only a deep crater remained... 1816 Level Suppression Chapter 1816 - Level Suppression The Black Dragon had turned the armored giant that was undefeatable just a moment ago into a pile of ashes. This scene caused the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members to fall into a daze. Many seconds later, they still couldn''t wrap their minds around the fact that a Magic Soldier got killed. In contrast, Zero Wing''s members were ecstatic. "Amazing!" "All hail the Guild Leader!" The powerful Black Dragon rekindled the Zero Wing members'' hope of victory. With the Black Dragon''s strength, the remaining nine armored giants would be no problem. As for the other Dark players, these people had been at a disadvantage previously. If not for the armored giants'' interference, both the members of Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw would''ve long since been crushed already. So, this is the trump card Black Flame has been hiding all this time? Unyielding Heart could not help his shock at the defeat of one of the armored giants. He had never thought that Zero Wing actually possessed such a powerful foundation. The Guild was revealing one trump card after anothereach one more amazing than the former. Although the Black Dragon summoned was only a High Lord, the strength it displayed was far superior to an ordinary High Lord''s of the same level. "How is this possible?" A somber expression appeared on Veiled Spirit''s face the moment she saw Copper Ape die. Had the Black Dragon spent a lot of time to defeat Copper Ape, she could have accepted this defeat. However, the battle had been so decisive that she simply couldn''t. Copper Ape''s combat power as a Magic Soldier was at the peak of Tier 3, yet he had been overwhelmed, unable to retaliate. For a moment, Veiled Spirit even doubted the authenticity of the Magic Soldier she was looking at. "Commander, what should we do now?" the female Cleric standing beside Veiled Spirit asked hurriedly when she saw the Black Dragon charging toward the other Magic Soldiers. "Everyone, listen up! This Black Dragon is a summoned creature! As long as we kill its summoner, the Black Dragon will automatically disappear! Everyone, gather up and prioritize killing Black Flame!" Veiled Spirit commanded hurriedly. In God''s Domain, most summoned creatures shared a common weakness, which was their summoner. Now that the Black Dragon was proven to be an unstoppable existence, their only hope of getting rid of the menace was to kill Black Flame, its summoner. So long as they killed Black Flame, they would regain the upper hand in the battlefield. After hearing Veiled Spirit''s words, the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members reacted quickly, staring fiercely at Shi Feng. Previously, they had been too shocked by the Black Dragon''s prowess and had forgotten about the fatal flaw of summoned creatures. However, now that they had snapped out of their daze, they promptly charged at Shi Feng one after another. Meanwhile, three of the remaining nine Magic Soldiers moved to surround the Black Dragon to prevent it from helping Shi Feng. "Kill him! He''s alone!" "As long as he dies, victory will be ours!" Suddenly, over a hundred players swarmed toward Shi Feng, killing intent radiating from their eyes. "That''s right! As long as we kill you, this Black Dragon will disappear!" Iron Blade, the leader of the Iron Blade Team as well as the battle-axe-wielding armored giant that was fighting Shi Feng earlier, shouted as he glared at Shi Feng, who stood less than 15 yards away. He raised his battle axe into the air, then abruptly swung it down onto the ground before him. "Die!" Boom! In the next moment, twelve earthen spears jutted out from the ground around Shi Feng and stabbed at the Swordsman, each earthen spear carrying the full Strength of the Magic Soldier. Meanwhile, Iron Blade raised his greataxe and leaped into the air. He then slashed downward with his greataxe as he descended toward Shi Feng, his actions thoroughly sealing all of Shi Feng''s escape routes. However, Shi Feng showed no intention of retreating. Instead, he activated Defensive Blade and swung his two swords to meet the approaching battle axe in battle. Boom! After Shi Feng nullified the earthen spears and expended his Defensive Blade''s block count completely, his swords came into contact with Iron Blade''s battle axe. The Swordsman''s feet immediately sank deep into the ground. When everyone saw the outcome of the clash, however, they were thoroughly stupefied. Shi Feng had received less than -2,000 damage from the clash. To any player on the battlefield right now, this amount of damage was practically negligible. After all, they all had several tens of thousands of HP. What''s going on? Why is his Strength so much more than before? Iron Blade stared at Shi Feng in confusion. He could not understand why Shi Feng had lost so little HP during their clash this time. Sure enough, it still isn''t possible to match a Magic Soldier even with the Attribute bonus provided by Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. Shi Feng could not help but reveal a bitter smile when he looked at his vibrating swords. When he summoned the Black Dragon, Dragon''s Domination had taken effect For every Dragon present within a 1,000-yard radius, Dragon''s Domination increased all of his Basic Attributes by 500 points each. By performing Strength Combination in this buffed state, he had managed to drastically reduce the damage he took from Iron Blade this time. However, when going up against a Tier 3 Magic Soldier, he could execute Strength Combination only for defensive purposes; using the technique offensively was impossible. Strength Combination was a very sophisticated technique. Even the slightest mistake could lead to failure. Meanwhile, the Tier 3 Magic Soldier possessed a Tier 3 physique. What with Iron Blade being a Flowing Water Realm expert, the Berserker could deal with an offensive Strength Combination very easily. Trying to use the technique in an attack would only do Shi Feng more harm than good. Not to mention, his Defense and HP were significantly lower than Iron Blade''s. Facing off against Iron Blade in a direct clash would only bring on an earlier death. "I want to see just how many times you can block my attacks!" Iron Blade also understood Shi Feng''s present state. Right now, all he needed to do was one thing: maneuver his attacks through the Swordsman''s defenses. Strength Combination was an extremely complex technique. Trying to use it in a high-speed battle only made the technique even more difficult to execute. The moment Shi Feng slipped up, he would die. "I am indeed unable to block your attacks that many times. However, you can''t possibly be thinking that this is a one-on-one duel, right?" Shi Feng said as he looked at Iron Blade''s battle axe approaching him once again. He used Divine Steps and switched positions with the farthest doppelganger, then retrieved a scroll from his bag and activated it. A moment later, a golden-haired beauty wearing long, silver robes and holding a crystalline staff appeared before Shi Feng. Due to the presence of this woman, the density of the ambient Mana increased slightly. Meanwhile, the woman herself gave off a pressure that instilled fear in those enveloped in it. This new arrival was none other than Anna, Shi Feng''s Personal Guard. As Personal Guards also took up a slot when entering a Team Dungeon, Shi Feng couldn''t summon Anna to his raid team of 200 players while raiding the Eclipse Throne, which was a 200-man Team Dungeon. More importantly, if Personal Guards participated in a Team Dungeon raid, a successful clear would not count as a First Clear. Hence, Shi Feng had not bothered bringing Anna and Kite out even though both of them would have been powerful helpers. However, now that he was out of the Dungeon, such restrictions no longer applied. At this point, Anna was already a Level 85, Tier 2 NPC. Aside from her Basic Attributes, the powerful pressure she exerted on the players present was due to level suppression. "Get rid of them!" Shi Feng commanded, pointing at the Magic Soldier before him. "As you wish!" Anna nodded and started chanting an incantation. Reacting to the situation, Iron Blade immediately swung his battle axe at Anna. In response, Anna lightly tapped the butt of her staff on the ground. A golden barrier spread out from her staff, pushing Iron Blade over twenty yards away. By the time Iron Blade shattered this barrier, Anna had already summoned a Level 85 Golden Giant and ten Level 85 Rock Guardians. She then proceeded to buff their Attributes. With just one punch, the Level 85 Golden Giant sent the Level 55 Magic Soldier stumbling backward by several steps. The disparity in Strength resulting from the difference in levels was massive. The enemy players charging toward Shi Feng gasped involuntarily at this scene. Meanwhile, the ten Level 85 Rock Guardians stood guard around Shi Feng, their posture daunting the approaching Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw members, who halted their charge. Although the level suppression system had been tuned down over several system updates, it had not weakened to the point of negligibility. After the difference exceeded fifteen levels, the effects of level suppression would become significant. Meanwhile, there was currently a gap of 30 levels between the Dark players and the Rock Guardians. "Do you think you all can come and go as you please?" Shi Feng sneered as he glanced at the members of the two dark adventurer teams that were previously charging at him. "All of you should just stay here forever!" He then had the ten Rock Guardians attack the backtracking players. Faced with a bunch of Level 50-plus, Tier 1 Dragonoid players, the Level 85 Rock Guardians were able to send a couple flying with every punch. Due to the level suppression, the players'' Defense had weakened considerably. Even Tier 1 Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights couldn''t withstand the blows of the Rock Guardians and were sent flying with a punch. Meanwhile, after fighting for some time, the Black Dragon Shi Feng controlled finally killed one of the three Magic Soldiers pinning it down. Now, the Black Dragon thoroughly suppressed the two remaining Magic Soldiers, each of its normal attacks taking away over 20,000 HP from the Magic Soldiers and over 50,000 if it used a Skill. At the moment, the Magic Soldiers and the other players belonging to the two dark adventurer teams were getting massacred. "Commander, we''ve lost nearly half of our members already. Are we still going to continue fighting?" the female Cleric standing beside Veiled Spirit asked. From Black Shark''s death until now, only a little over a minute had passed, yet they had already lost so many of their members. By the time reinforcements arrived, their entire adventurer team would be annihilated. After pondering for a brief moment, Veiled Spirit gritted her teeth before reluctantly shouting, "Retreat! Have everyone pull away from the battlefield as quickly as possible!" The report they''d received regarding Zero Wing was outrageously inaccurate. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to charge into the Starlight Corporation''s Guild Hall and choke the members of the corporation''s intelligence unit to death. Zero Wing''s current performance was completely different from what was reported, so much so that she suspected the report was actually about an entirely different Guild. 1817 Eclipse Gate Shaken Chapter 1817 - Eclipse Gate Shaken The Golden Giant and Rock Guardians'' sudden participation turned the situation around, giving the three Guilds an overwhelming advantage. After hearing Veiled Spirit''s command to retreat, both the Shadow Claw and Dark Hunters'' members scattered and fled the battlefield. However, Shi Feng had no intention of letting the two adventurer teams get away, and he ordered his team to give chase and kill as many enemy players as possible. If not for the fact that their team fully consisted of the three Guilds'' Tier 2 players, Zero Wing would''ve definitely suffered a severe loss from this ambush. The Guilds had also gotten lucky that the two adventurer teams that had ambushed them weren''t capable of using their trump cards to their full potential. If the Dark Hunters had also brought 200 Tier 2 players, and they all consumed the Basic Dragon Potion, they would''ve been extremely difficult to deal with. If Zero Wing''s members fought Tier 2 Dragonoid players, in Shi Feng''s opinion, only Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Cola, Violet Cloud, Zhao Yueru, and Aqua Rose would be guaranteed to win a one-on-one fight. Everyone else would have a 50% chance at best. Shadow Claw''s Magic Soldiers shouldn''t be underestimated, either. Unless one amassed a large number of Magic Soldiers, they wouldn''t be able to exhibit their abilities in full. Ten Magic Soldiers simply weren''t enough to display their true power. Magic Soldiers would only be able to activate the magic arrays on their armor when a hundred stood together. If those magic arrays activated, the 100 Magic Soldiers could even trample over twenty Tier 4 Mythic monsters of the same level. At one point in the past, 100 Magic Soldiers had joined a battlefield of Tier 2 players. The Magic Soldiers had been killing machines, allowing a first-rate Guild to fend off a sieging superpower and defend its town successfully. When players fought each other in God''s Domain, it was practically impossible for one side to push the other to the brink of extinction in a single battle. After all, the world of God''s Domain was not reality. Players could resurrect after dying. Hence, players generally had to undergo a long fight, whittling their opponent''s strength down until their opponent could no longer resist. Although it was impossible to exterminate the adventurer teams, now that the two adventurer teams had scattered and run, Shi Feng needed to do everything in his power to weaken the adventurer teams. This way, it would take the two adventurer teams a lot more time to recover. However, after the removal of Dark Precinct, it became extremely difficult to catch up with the escaping Dark Players. To make matters worse, the marshy forest''s layout was extremely complex. As a result, the fleeing Dark Players escaped the three Guilds'' pursuit very quickly. Only the Guilds'' Rangers and Assassins could continue the chase. The other classes had to watch on, powerless, as their targets disappeared. In less than a minute, the two dark adventurer teams'' members had thoroughly disappeared into the dense forest. "Commander, the other adventurer teams'' commanders say that they''ll arrive soon, and they''re asking about the battle''s situation," the female Cleric following Veiled Spirit reported. "How should we respond to them?" "What''s the situation?" Veiled Spirit frowned, fury on her face as she continued, "Tell them that they can fight all they want! Shadow Claw will take no part in this!" The female Cleric was speechless. However, she more or less understood her commander''s mood. Shadow Claw had suffered severe losses in this battle. This was the first time their adventure team had suffered so drastically. Moreover, the information the Starline Corporation had given to them had been painfully inaccurate. It was only natural for Veiled Spirit to be furious. The female Cleric immediately conveyed Veiled Spirit''s reply, word for word, to the commanders of the various approaching adventurer teams. "Commander, it seems Shadow Claw''s commander is somewhat angry, saying thatShadow Claw is pulling out of this hunt, and that we can go ahead and continue the fight if we want. The Dark Hunters have also left the area. Should we continue forward?" "This is interesting. It seems both Shadow Claw and Dark Hunters have suffered quite a loss at the hands of Zero Wing. Since that is the case, let us return." When the other approaching adventurer teams received Veiled Spirit''s reply, they all gave up on the thought of encircling Zero Wing. Both Shadow Claw and Dark Hunters were top-ranking adventurer teams in Dark Soul. If even these two adventurer teams had suffered a major loss after attacking Zero Wing, then their adventurer teams would definitely fail. Naturally, there was no longer a need to assault Zero Wing. Meanwhile, before the forest surrounding the Eclipse Throne... "Guild Leader, they are simply too fast. They''re like monkeys. We lost track of them as soon as they entered the forest," Blackie said, stomping his foot in frustration and anger when he could no longer see the two dark adventurer teams. "This really is awful. I barely managed to kill twenty people." Hearing Blackie''s words, Unyielding Soul and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members shot the Cursemancer scornful looks. Every one of their opponents had been an expert, not an ordinary player. They had been fortunate to kill three to five players in this battle. Defeating an expert and actually killing one were two different things. Normally, one would be hard-pressed to stop an expert''s escape. Some experts even had lifesaving tools to help them flee dangerous situations. If the two adventurer teams heard Blackie''s words, they''d cough blood in anger. "Alright the battles over. Everyone, loot the battlefield quickly. Its best if we don''t linger," Shi Feng said through the team chat. He knew a little about the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw, both of which belonged to the Dark Alliance known as Dark Soul. The adventurer teams capable of joining Dark Soul were all top adventurer teams. During its peak, Dark Soul had included over 40 adventurer teams. The alliance had been stronger than any one of the Six Great Dark Guilds in God''s Domain in the past. Although Dark Soul had yet to reach its peak, it should have around ten or so adventurer teams at the very least. Since two of Dark Soul''s adventurer teams had appeared here, he could not rule out the possibility that the alliance''s other adventurer teams would as well. His team was already exhausted. There were fewer than 140 players still alive. Trying to fight several more dark adventurer teams now would result in greater losses. Unyielding Heart and Phoenix Rain nodded in agreement. They then instructed their subordinates to clean up the battlefield swiftly and leave the area. Shortly after Shi Feng''s team left the area, several dozen players emerged the dense forest. However, these players were from the various dark adventurer teams. Rather, they were independent players that had come to the jungle to grind Energy Essence. "Zero Wing is too amazing! That was the first time I''ve seen such an amazing battle!" "Indeed. Despite only having a 200-man team, Zero Wing repelled an army of over 2,000 experts. This result is simply absurd." "Rumors really can''t be believed. Zero Wing is way stronger than the rumors make it out to be. Some of my friends have been urging me to join a first-rate Guild, but looking at it now, it seems that Zero Wing would be a better choice." "Hahaha! I recorded the entire battle! Once I return, I''m going to boast the heck out of this at the bar!" These independent players'' eyes glowed with excitement as they looked at the direction Shi Feng and the others disappeared to. While they did not know the identities of the two adventurer teams that attacked Zero Wing''s team, they knew that those players had been experts based on their combat standards. Yet, despite these 2,000-plus experts revealing one trump card after another, Zero Wing''s victory had been decisive. Naturally, the independent players had no intentions of keeping the battle a secret. Immediately, they posted the videos they had recorded on the official forums, allowing every player in the Eclipse Gate to view them. "What''s going on? Two superpowers are fighting near the Eclipse Throne?" "Wait, isn''t that Zero Wing? Did some superpower try to ambush their team?" "Zero Wing''s Gentle Snow is so strong! She killed nearly a hundred people in one hit!" When the public saw the independent players'' video, their blood boiled with excitement. The standard of the battle between Zero Wing and the two dark adventurer teams was unprecedented. The battle had completely shattered their understanding of Guild wars. Other kingdoms'' independent players, in particular, gained newfound recognition of Zero Wing. They had never thought that Star-Moon Kingdom''s ruling Guild would be so powerful. News of this battle also reached the various major powers'' intelligence members. These intelligence members relayed the information to their respective upper echelons immediately. 1818 Comparable to a First-rate Guild? Chapter 1818 - Comparable to a First-rate Guild? Dark Night Empire, Lightshadow City[l]: A lofty tower sat in the middle of the city, and hovering above this tower was a gigantic, dark-purple crystal. The crystal created a magic barrier that enveloped the city, and the crystal could be seen clearly by the large number of players walking throughout the streets. There were also a large number of NPCs and Dark Creatures, such as Demons, Abyssal Demonkin, Vampires. The multi-racial population in Lightshadow City far surpassed that of kingdoms'' Dark Cities. Many neutral race NPCs hawked their wares along the city streets, a sight that was even rare in other empires'' Dark Cities. Lightshadow City was no less prosperous than Dark Night City, the Dark Night Empire''s capital. Moreover, Lightshadow City had a wider variety of races. Meanwhile, a luxurious, five-story-tall mansion stood in the city''s lively Central District. A large number of players came and went from the mansion, and all of them were either extravagantly dressed merchant players or Level 54-plus experts. When the players in line outside of the mansion saw these merchant and expert players, they couldn''t help but feel a little envious. "These players'' levels and equipment are amazing! They''re even better than the experts in first-rate Guilds!" "That''s only natural. Although Dark Soul is an alliance, not a Guild, it periodically raids Team Dungeons. The alliance also frequently plunders the various large Guilds'' elite teams and main forces. Of course, its members have excellent weapons and equipment Moreover, despite such banditry, the various large Guilds are utterly powerless to do anything about it. For example, one first-rate Guild went all-out to deal with Dark Soul, but in the end, the alliance had annihilated its army, and the Guild was eventually forced to disband." "That''s right! It was due to that success that Dark Soul is holding a mass-recruitment. When I heard about it, I dropped what I was doing and came here. It would be great if I could join the alliance." "If we get to join Dark Soul, we''ll be able to move through the Dark Night Empire and the several neighboring kingdoms unhindered. Even the various Dark Guilds will have to treat us with respect In addition, if we join one of the top five adventurer teams after joining Dark Soul, such as Shadow Claw, the Copper Eagle Kingdom''s number one dark adventurer team, or Dark Hunters, which has recently become famous in the Dark Night Empire, we''ll be set for life." "I hope I can get into one of the top five adventurer teams, too. It''s a pity that the requirements are extremely high. At the very least, you''ll need to reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor or reach the fifth floor''s late stage and have a specialty." The several thousand Dark Players outside of the mansion quietly discussed their desire to join Dark Soul. In the Dark Night Empire and its several neighboring kingdoms, Dark Soul enjoyed a status rivaling that of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Moreover, unlike most Dark Guilds and dark adventurer teams, Dark Soul wasn''t afraid of a confrontation with the various large Guilds. It even dared to challenge two super-first-rate Guilds simultaneously. To Dark Players, who were always forced into hiding, this was a freedom they hungered for. Now that Dark Soul was recruiting members, independent Dark Players like themselves couldn''t miss this opportunity. Meanwhile, inside an office on the mansion''s top-most floor, a young man stood by the office''s window. As the young man observed the independent players outside of the mansion, a grin spread across his face. This man was none other than Tiger Breaker, Dark Soul''s Alliance Master. "Alliance Master, since we announced the recruitment, over 2,000 players have passed our test already. In addition, over 30 well-known adventurer teams have applied to join us. With these new recruits, once we receive the resources the Starline Corporation promised, we''ll be able to nurture two or three well-equipped expert legions quickly," a Level 55 male Elementalist wielding a withered wooden staff reported. "Good! Pathless, you''ve done well this time! As long as the other adventurer teams deal with Zero Wing, we won''t have any problems acquiring the promised resources," Tiger Breaker said, smiling. "Alliance Master, you can rest assured. I''ve heard that Black Shark and the others have discovered the whereabouts of Zero Wing''s upper echelons. The Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw have already left to set up the ambush. I believe Zero Wing will suffer severely. Once we receive the confirmation, the Starline Corporation will definitely be satisfied with our performance and pay us a portion of the agreed resources upfront," the Level 55 Elementalist named Pathless said, smiling. Once the Starline Corporation delivered the promised resources, Dark Soul would become the Dark Night Empire''s dark overlord. Once it achieved that goal, Dark Soul could then secure its sovereignty over all of God''s Domain''s dark forces. While Tiger Breaker and Pathless conversed, Pathless received a message. After reading it, however, his complexion paled. "Has something happened?" Tiger Breaker asked curiously when he noticed Pathless''s gloomy expression. "I just received a message stating that... the adventurer teams that went to Star-Moon Kingdom to deal with Zero Wing are preparing to return..." Pathless said. "Return? They''ve dealt with Zero Wing already?" Tiger Breaker could not help his surprise. "No, that''s not right. Zero Wing is a large Guild, comparable to a first-rate Guild. It is impossible to deal with it so quickly! What happened?" "Zero Wing...has dealt a heavy blow to the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw. Both adventurer teams have lost over half of their people. According to Veiled Spirit, the information Starline provided was horrendously inaccurate. The Zero Wing they encountered was an entirely different Guild than what the reports had mentioned. Due to this unexpected development, the various adventurer teams'' commanders have decided to return to Lightshadow City and discuss the matter further," Pathless said quietly. "How is that possible? That''s Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw we''re talking about. They simply left to deal with Zero Wing''s main force. How could they possibly lose? They even lost over half of their teams..." Tiger Breaker stared at Pathless in shock. "Also, what does Veiled Spirit mean that Zero Wing is a different Guild?" "Alliance Master, these are the battle videos some of the players had recorded. Why don''t you take a look?" The situation confused Pathless as well. Following which, he forwarded the videos he had received from his subordinate to Tiger Breaker. "Battle videos?" Tiger Breaker began to examine the videos after he received them. The first video showed the 2,000-plus members from the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw adventurer teams using trump cards that even surprised Tiger Breaker. Another video showed a female Berserker killing Black Shark in a matter of seconds. Said female Berserker had also killed nearly a hundred players with one attack. The final video showed Shi Feng summoning a Black Dragon and killing a Magic Soldier in just a few seconds. The Swordsman had also summoned his Personal Guard, rampaging and slaughtering the two dark adventurer teams and forcing them into a disadvantageous position. "This is Starline''s so-called ''comparable to a first-rate Guild?''" Tiger Breaker''s face flushed with anger as he watched the videos. "Are Starline''s intelligence members sleeping on the job?! How is this comparable to a first-rate Guild?! A first-rate Guild''s main force can wipe out two of Dark Soul''s top-ranking adventurer teams?! Pathless, contact Lu Xingluo and tell him that if he wants to get rid of Zero Wing, he''ll have to triple the pay we agreed on! Otherwise, this transaction is over!" "Understood. I''ll contact him right away." Pathless was just as furious after watching the videos. He felt that the Starline Corporation had toyed with Dark Soul. 1819 Advanced Smithy Chapter 1819 - Advanced Smithy Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: The city''s Central District bustled with activity and traffic. Players also crowded the Shops along the streets. Players from other cities and kingdoms constantly visited these Shops to purchase items. The Dark Night Empire''s businesses were far more popular than those in the neighboring kingdoms. In those kingdom''s capitals, Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment was rare on the market, but in Dark Night City, such equipment was common. Some Shops even sold Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment Only, the prices for those items were absurdly high, way above market value. Due to Dark Night City''s prosperity, many players from neighboring kingdoms brought their treasures here to sell. This made the city a hub for precious treasure. The various large Guilds operating in the neighboring kingdoms had even stationed some players in Dark Night City long-term to search for purchase opportunities. Kingdoms'' capitals simply couldn''t compare to the Dark Night City''s liveliness. Meanwhile, a towering Guild Hall loomed in the center of the city''s Central District. The Guild Residence occupied an area large enough to house a stadium that could accommodate tens of thousands of people. Not only would one need a high enough status to purchase such a large plot of Land, but they''d also need a frightening number of Coins. The Land''s base price was 50,000 Gold, and it was one of the few spacious Lands available in Dark Night City''s Central District. "This Guild Residence is so luxurious! The owner has even built a five-story restaurant in it!" "This is ridiculous. I''ve heard it costs quite a lot to build a restaurant in a Guild Residence. Such a massive restaurant should cost at least 10,000 Gold to build." "Ten thousand Gold? Aren''t you looking down on Starlink a little too much? The Starline Corporation established the Guild. Including the building''s various accessories, Starlink has spent a total of 20,000 Gold to build this restaurant The Guild also built training rooms with magic array enhancements. I''ve heard that the Mana density inside these training rooms is much higher than that of the outside world. You''ll be far more efficient when training in those rooms. It''s a pity that only Starlink''s members can enjoy this benefit" "Then, why don''t we just join Starlink?" "A newcomer like you? Join Starlink? Starlink is one of the top three Guilds of the Dark Night Empire. It''s no weaker than super-first-rate Guilds like Crimson Emperor or Unyielding Soul. Although Starlink is mass-recruiting right now, it is still out of reach for a newbie like you." ... While the players near Starlink''s Residence discussed the Guild, a team of 100 players atop leopards turned onto the street. The 100-man team wore exquisite uniforms and radiated majestic auras. Many experts watched the team of players enter Starlink''s Residence in awe, dreaming of joining that team in the future. The 100-man team was Starlink''s main force, and not long ago, the main force had defeated a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon''s fourth Boss. Now, the team only needed to defeat the Final Boss to complete the 100-man Team Dungeon. This raid progression could already rival that of the Dark Night Empire''s two super-first-rate Guilds. Meanwhile, three people stood in the Guild Leader''s office in Starlink''s Guild Hall. These three watched the Guild''s main force, which had just returned from a Dungeon raid, from a window. "Guild Leader, we have now caught up with Unyielding Soul''s raid progress. Now, it is only a matter of time before we surpass Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor," a Level 55, Tier 2 male Shield Warrior carrying a silver cross-shield across his back said, laughing as he turned to Lu Xingluo, who wore a set of black robes. Due to Starlink acquiring a share of the Secret Pavilion''s Magic Crystal vein, the Guild acquired a large number of Magic Crystals every day. This allowed the Guild to sustain the magic arrays powering the Guild''s training rooms. With this, the Guild''s experts could continuously train and improve rapidly. Once the Guild had accumulated enough Tier 2 players, it was only a matter of time before they obtained the First Clear of the Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon they were raiding. Now that their Guild didn''t have to worry about Magic Crystals, they were able to nurture Guild experts much faster. In one or two months, Starlink might even surpass Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul''s expert count, becoming the Dark Night Empire''s number one Guild. "Not bad. The struggle for the Thorn Fortress is about to start. For a while, divert all of the Magic Crystals we obtain to nurturing as many Tier 2 players as possible. I want to see how Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul intend to compete with Starlink when we obtain the management rights to Thorn Fortress," Lu Xingluo said, smiling. "Understood. Guild Leader, rest assured; I''ll make sure that we have more Tier 2 experts than Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul by the time the struggle begins," the Shield Warrior promised. As Lu Xingluo was about to discuss their plans for the struggle over Thorn Fortress, he received a message notification. "A message from Dark Soul?" Lu Xingluo muttered when he noticed the sender''s identity. By the time he finished reading the message, his expression had darkened, "Have the people from Dark Soul gone mad? They''re actually tripling their price to deal with a small Guild like Zero Wing?!" "Guild Leader, we just received a message as well. It seems that Dark Soul''s members have ambushed Zero Wing''s main force. However, Dark Soul''s members suffered a disastrous defeat and lost over half of its numbers. I suspect that this has something to do with their new demands," Dawn Web, a Level 55, Tier 2 female Elementalist and the third person in the room, explained. "You''re saying that Dark Soul tried to ambush Zero Wing, but the Guild turned the tables on them?" For a moment, Lu Xingluo thought he had heard wrong. "How is that possible?" "It''s true. Some people have posted the battle videos on the Eclipse Gate''s official forums. Almost everyone in the Eclipse Gate is talking about it," Dawn Web said as she forwarded a few battle videos to Lu Xingluo. "So, that is the case." Lu Xingluo could not help his frown as he watched the recordings. "No wonder why a measly bug dares to oppose me." "Guild Leader, are we still going to take care of Zero Wing?" Dawn Web asked. "Of course!" Lu Xingluo said determinedly. "But before we do, we have to secure the Thorn Fortress. Send a reply to Dark Soul; tell them that they can forget about tripling the price. I''m not going to triple their pay just because they got scratched. However, I am willing to tweak the conditions of our agreement. As long as they annihilate Zero Wing, I''ll give them an additional 5% of Thorn Fortress''s shares. "Also, tell Tiger Breaker that Zero Wing doesn''t have any backers. Since Zero Wing is so strong, it must have a massive secret If he doesn''t want that secret, he better not regret his choices once Starlink claims it!" He was very familiar with the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw''s strength in Dark Soul. They were merely the fourth and fifth ranked adventurer teams in the alliance. Dark Soul was only defeated due to misinformation, yet Tiger Breaker wanted to use this opportunity to hike up the price. "Understood." Dawn Web nodded before contacting Dark Soul''s representative. While Lu Xingluo discussed Zero Wing, the various superpowers had discovered the battle in the Eclipse Gate. The outcome further increased Zero Wing''s fame among the various superpowers. At the same time, the Guild had attracted a lot of attention. For a Guild of Zero Wing''s caliber, it was simply absurd to have so many Tier 2 players. The Guild was definitely hiding something major. For a time, the various superpowers reevaluated their opinions of Zero Wing. Rather than an ant, Zero Wing had become a fat piece of meat. "Relay my commands! Order our subordinates to investigate the secret to Zero Wing''s success!" After watching the battle between Zero Wing and Dark Soul, many superpowers'' upper echelons issued the same command. ... Meanwhile, Shi Feng had already rested and paid Silverwing Town a visit. "Guild Leader, I have brought the 50 Advanced Architects you asked for," Melancholic Smile said as she approached Shi Feng, who surveyed an empty plot of Land. The 50 Advanced Architects following Melancholic Smile could not help their growing nerves as they looked at Shi Feng. They were confused about why their Guild Leader had gathered them all here. With so many Advanced Architects, one could construct an entire Basic Town. "Good. I''ve gathered you all here today to build the construction on this design," Shi Feng said. He then retrieved a stack of old parchment from his bag. This stack was none other than the Advanced Smithy Design. 1820 Upgrading Silverwing Town Chapter 1820 - Upgrading Silverwing Town "An Advanced Smithy?" Melancholic Smile could not help her surprise when she saw the description of the design Shi Feng took out. At this point in time, she was quite knowledgeable about Advanced Constructions. Every Advanced Construction had functions that far surpassed their Basic counterparts. Moreover, they had their own specialties. However, designs for Advanced Constructions were extremely difficult to acquire. Although Melancholic Smile was initially excited at the identity of the design, seeing the materials and space needed to construct the Advanced Smithy dampened her mood quickly. The Advanced Smithy required not only 2,000 pieces of extremely valuable Mana Ore but also 1,000 Advanced Magic Cores and 500 Earthfire Crystals. The Mana Ore required wasn''t too much of a problem, as Zero Wing had collected quite an amount during this period. As for the Advanced Magic Core, it was a rare material that could be obtained only from the Bosses of Level 50 and above Team Dungeons. However, the drop-rate wasn''t 100%, so it was extremely valuable. On the market, one Advanced Magic Core sold for five Gold. A thousand Advanced Magic Cores would mean 5,000 Gold. As for the Earthfire Crystal, it was even more valuable, as it could be acquired only in the fields, particularly mountainous regions with fiery environments. It was one of the main materials needed to produce high-ranking Fire Resistance equipment Although the market value of Earthfire Crystal was roughly five Gold, due to its rarity and the demand, it was almost impossible to find large quantities of Earthfire Crystal for sale. Currently, Zero Wing had only a little over 600 Earthfire Crystals stockpiled. Spending 500 crystals in one go would deplete the Guild''s inventory. Aside from the three aforementioned materials, the Advanced Smithy also needed 10,000 Magic Crystals to construct. The total cost of its construction came to roughly 30,000 Gold. Currently, Zero Wing was developing rapidly and needed to spend money on various fronts. If not for Zero Wing City, the Guild wouldn''t have been able to keep up with its expenditures. Hence, spending 30,000 Gold''s worth of rare materials to construct an Advanced Smithy truly wasn''t a wise course of action. However, before Melancholic Smile could try to dissuade Shi Feng, he had already distributed the tasks to the Advanced Architects. He even had the necessary materials prepared already. All the 50 Advanced Architects needed to do was build the structure. Although Zero Wing''s main force had suffered some casualties and lost 20-odd pieces of equipment in the battle with the two dark adventurer teams, the spoils of war they gained were far more valuable. The members of Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw were experts among experts. They were all geared in excellent equipment that was only slightly inferior to Zero Wing''s. However, while the quality of the equipment Zero Wing looted was indeed slightly inferior to the equipment it lost, the quantity easily made up for the poorer quality. In total, Zero Wing had gained over 400 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment and 60-plus pieces of Level 50 Fine- Gold Equipment. After deducting the compensations and rewards given out, Zero Wing had still netted more than 10,000 Gold from that single battle. However, even if one had 10,000 Gold, they would be hard-pressed to acquire so many pieces of up-to-date top-tier equipment. Although the profits from this battle were not enough to cover the construction cost of the Advanced Smithy, the Advanced Smithy served a great purpose. As an Advanced Construction, it could elevate the prosperity and Popularity of a town by a significant margin. At this point, Silverwing Town already possessed sufficient Basic Constructions and security to get upgraded into an Intermediate Town. Now, it just had to accumulate sufficient Popularity and prosperity. However, constructing the Advanced Smithy wasn''t an easy task. Aside from Advanced Architects, it needed one player capable of drawing Advanced Magic Arrays because the Advanced Smithy required the inscription of many magic arrays. For the following period, Shi Feng could be seen busily inscribing magic arrays onto the constructed walls and floors of the Advanced Smithy. Someone looking at Silverwing Town from some distance away would notice that a section of the town''s outer area had suddenly been cordoned off and something big was under construction there. This situation immediately attracted the attention of many resting players. Nowadays, Silverwing Town had already become the most popular town in the Ore Empire. Many Guild players seeking to grind in the Ore Empire or raid the Teleportation War Fortresses chose to rest in Silverwing Town. Even though the war fortresses in question were very far away from Silverwing Town, players still chose Silverwing Town over other Guild Towns in the Ore Empire. One reason for this was the EXP buff that players could accumulate by resting in Silverwing Town, which would help greatly in leveling up. Another reason was the Battle Arena in the town. However, contrary to expectations, the high Mana environment of Silverwing Town wasn''t the reason why its Battle Arena was popular. Instead, the main reason for its popularity was the fact that the town was now a hub for players originating from various kingdoms and empires. Due to this situation, experts from different countries could spar with each other. Being able to spar with a large number of different experts of the same combat standard was a tremendous benefit for experts seeking to improve themselves. Now that Silverwing Town had already become the number one town in the Ore Empire, if not for the limited space, its player population could easily exceed 1,500,000. "Damn! Silverwing Town is already crowded enough, yet Zero Wing is actually wasting such a large, empty space on another building." "That''s right! With the number of buildings in the town continuously increasing, the number of players the town can accommodate will keep declining. I''m not even sure if I can squeeze my way into the town tomorrow." The players resting in a nearby bar could not help but frown when they saw the stadium-sized structure under construction. There were simply too many players trying to enter Silverwing Town right now. To make sure Silverwing Town operated normally, Zero Wing had made it so that players who weren''t Zero Wing members could stay in Silverwing Town for only ten hours a day. If players refused to leave the town once their allocated time was up, the NPC soldiers would either forcibly remove them from the town or outright kill them. Yet, despite this restriction, Silverwing Town was still packed all day round. At this point, Zero Wing had limited the number of players allowed inside the town at one time to just 800,000. If latecomers wished to enter the town, they would have to wait for someone to exit it Hence, as more buildings rose in the empty spaces in town, the number of players allowed in would be reduced. Time passed quickly. When Shi Feng finished inscribing the last magic array, eight hours had already elapsed. The 50 Advanced Architects had taken only four hours to construct the physical structure of the Advanced Smithy. It''s finally done. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at the completed Advanced Smithy. Although the smithy had only three floors in total, it was over twenty meters in height. The Advanced Smithy before him was definitely a cut above Basic Smithies, which were only four meters in height. This was something that could be seen from the building''s external appearance alone. However, the inside of the building was even more amazing. As Shi Feng had personally inscribed every magic array, he had a general idea of the magic arrays'' abilities. The Advanced Smithy could not only repair and produce custom-made weapons and equipment but also break down weapons and equipment and return to players some materials used to make those items. Players could then use the reclaimed materials for new weapons and equipment. Although the recovery rate wasn''t very high, it was still better than selling obsolete items to NPCs. If he revealed this ability, countless players would definitely swarm to the Advanced Smithy to break down their obsolete weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, Zero Wing could charge a small fee for the service. Good! Let''s get it running now! Shi Feng then called up the Advanced Smithy''s system interface and chose to open the building to the public. In the next moment, the magic curtain surrounding the construction site disappeared, exposing the massive building to the public. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. System: Silverwing Town''s Popularity and security have fulfilled the requirements of an Intermediate Town. Do you wish to upgrade Silverwing Town? Wonderful! Just as I expected! Shi Feng could not help feeling joyful when he heard the system notification. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time now. He immediately chose to upgrade Silverwing Town. 1821 Crimson Flame Fortress Chapter 1821 - Crimson Flame Fortress A series of system notifications assaulted Shi Feng''s hearing after he chose to upgrade Silverwing Town. Ore Empire Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Silverwing Town for becoming the first Intermediate Town in a neutral map. Rewarding 10,000 Town Popularity Points and one Caravan Guard Order. Silverwing Town Region System Announcement: Silverwing Town will undergo a promotion. All players will be teleported out of the town in one minute. Silverwing Town Region System Announcement: Silverwing Town''s promotion will take 30 minutes. Please wait patiently until it is complete. The system announcements repeated three times, echoing in players ears in their respective regions. "What?! A promotion?! They''re already upgrading Silverwing Town?!" "How did Zero Wing do it?" "Amazing! Once the town is upgraded, we''ll have a much easier time getting in!" For a time, Silverwing Town''s players were in an uproar over the sudden promotion. As for the various large Guilds'' upper echelons, they wore solemn expressions when they received a report on this matter. The fat piece of meat that was Silverwing Town had already been tempting to the various major powers, and they had been trying to find a way to claim it for themselves, but the improvement speed of the town''s defenses was simply absurd. The NPC soldiers the town had recruited were also becoming increasingly powerful. Including the five Magic Towers, none of these superpowers felt powerful enough to capture Silverwing Town. Hence, they decided to continue accumulating their strength for now. However, Silverwing Town''s promotion to an Intermediate Town was a huge problem. Not only would Silverwing Town be able to construct more defensive structures, but the number of NPC soldiers it could hire had also increased from 1,000 to 2,000. That would effectively double the town''s defensive capabilities. In terms of Basic Attributes, NPC soldiers were far superior to players. In addition, Silverwing Town''s soldiers were more than ten levels higher than current players. If players wished to deal with these NPCs, they would have to employ zerg tactics. Now that the town had twice as many NPC soldiers to protect it, they would need at least twice the manpower to defeat these NPCs, making Silverwing Town even more difficult to capture. Shortly after the system announcements, the players in Silverwing Town were all teleported a considerable distance away. However, instead of leaving the area, the teleported players stood outside of the town. In fact, players who grinded in the Ore Empire hurried to join the crowd. Meanwhile, news of Silverwing Town''s promotion quickly spread to the various superpowers. "Zero Wing is impressively efficient. It''s a pity that there is no longer a point in upgrading Silverwing Town," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing slightly when he read the report he had just received. "Uncle Yuan, now that Silverwing Town has been upgraded to an Intermediate Town, it will be able to accommodate more players and increase Zero Wing''s income by multiple times. Why would that be pointless?" Purple Jade asked curiously. "I guess it''s expected that you don''t know. Yesterday, I received news stating that Nine Dragons Emperor has secretly joined hands with Blackwater and Beast Emperor and they are preparing to raid the Ore Empire''s Crimson Flame Fortress," Yuan Tiexin said. "The Crimson Flame Fortress is located in the Ore Empire''s inner region and on one of the safer paths to the Ore Capital City. In addition, the fortress offers teleportation services. Once the Crimson Flame Fortress has been captured, it''ll generate massive profits for the three involved parties. It''ll also allow them to raid the Ore Capital City far more quickly." "What?! That''s the Crimson Flame Fortress! Based on our investigations, its raid difficulty ranks among the top five Teleportation War Fortresses in the empire. It is too difficult for current players to raid, and on top of that, Dark Players will definitely try to interfere. Do they really dare to raid the Crimson Flame Fortress?" The news astonished Purple Jade. There were countless Ores inside the Crimson Flame Fortress, and the lowest-leveled among them was Level 60, with the highest-leveled Ores being Level 75. Furthermore, the fortress was protected by many war weapons and Mythic Ores. "That is exactly why Nine Dragons Emperor and Blackwater are working with Beast Emperor. Based on what we know so far, Beast Emperor will guard the battlefield with his Evil Beast army. Meanwhile, Blackwater and Nine Dragon Emperor''s armies will be responsible for sieging the fortress. With the Evil Beast army in their way, the Dark Guilds and Dark Players won''t try to interfere," Yuan Tiexin explained. "Once they capture Crimson Flame Fortress, Silverwing Town''s status in the Ore Empire will become quite awkward." Thus far, the Secret Pavilion had only conducted a preliminary investigation on the Regional Dungeon, Ore Capital City. Even so, the resources they had discovered had far exceeded their expectations. Not only did the Regional Dungeon offer a large number of Magic Crystals, but players would also level 50% faster if they grinded in the area. Most importantly, the Ore Capital City, an Intermediate City, could be captured. If one captured this Intermediate City, they would earn just as much profit as the Secret Pavilion''s Magic Crystal vein earned. Moreover, they wouldn''t need to station a large force of players to protect the city long-term. If Blackwater and Nine Dragons Emperor acquired the Ore Capital City, with the wealth of resources they earned through the city, they could easily destroy Silverwing Town. The two entities might even be able to threaten Zero Wing''s safety in Star- Moon Kingdom. This was because Beast Emperor bore an irreconcilable vengeance against Zero Wing. Setting aside the fact that Beast Emperor had a significant portion of his foundation within Star-Moon Kingdom and would need to take over the kingdom to further his development, the Secret Pavilion had recently learned that of the five precious Evil God Apostle slots Beast Emperor had, Shi Feng had destroyed two. This loss had severely impacted Beast Emperor''s development If Beast Emperor got his hands on the Ore Capital City''s resources, he''d have a good chance of taking over Star-Moon Kingdom and yanking Zero Wing out of the game by its roots. "Uncle Yuan, why don''t we notify Zero Wing?" Purple Jade asked. "Forget it. Even if Zero Wing found out, there is nothing it can do. Although Zero Wing''s main force had displayed outstanding combat power in the Eclipse Gate, this revelation will not change Zero Wing''s situation. While Zero Wing is fully capable of defending its territory, it simply doesn''t have enough forces to launch an offensive assault on Beast Emperor. This is also the greatest problem that upstart powers with little-to-no background normally face," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. "Had Zero Wing agreed to partner with us, they might have been able to stop Beast Emperor''s group. However, with Zero Wing''s current forces, even if they gain the full support of Phoenix Rain, Beast Emperor is impossible to stop." In God''s Domain, many upstart powers rose to prominence every day, but these powers had a fatal flaw; they were ignorant of greater powers. They all deemed themselves capable of rivaling true superpowers. Although Zero Wing was superior to most of the up-and-coming powers in God''s Domain, it wouldn''t be easy for the Guild to become a true superpower. There would be plenty of other powers trying to use Zero Wing as a stepping stone and rise to prominence themselves. Meanwhile, in the Ore Empire''s Silverwing Town... After a half-an-hour wait, the recently promoted Silverwing Town appeared before the crowd. Silverwing Town now occupied twice as much space as the old version. It was also much closer to the Primordial Divine Ruin, which was now within range of the town''s Magic Towers. Since the town was in a neutral map, Silverwing Town''s walls had grown taller, as well. Now, they were seven meters tall. Divine runes had been carved into the walls, preventing players from vaulting over and enhancing the walls'' Defense. "Guild Leader, look! Even the town''s buildings have changed! They look nothing like they did before!" Melancholic Smile could not help but gape in shock as she looked at the tall buildings in the distance. Every building in the town had grown considerably taller. It was evident that the buildings had been upgraded as well. Rather than a town, Silverwing Town looked like a Basic City. "Mhm. Have everyone prepare to reopen Silverwing Town to the public," Shi Feng said, nodding. He had spared no expense in outfitting Silverwing Town with the most extravagant buildings he could afford precisely for this moment. This was also neutral towns'' secret. 1822 Town Opening Chapter 1822 - Town Opening Silverwing Town: Under Shi Feng''s command, it took less than 20 minutes to complete the preparation work for Silverwing Town''s reopening. Moreover, thanks to the reserve NPC guards Magic King Craig Midlands had prepared beforehand and the large number of NPCs that had come looking for work after the town''s promotion completed, they had quickly filled the additional 1,000 NPC soldier slots Silverwing Town had gained. Craig Midlands himself had inspected all 1,000 of these new NPC soldiers. Due to Silverwing Town''s steady development, not only had more NPCs arrived to apply for a soldier position, but higher- quality NPCs had applied. Normally, when a Basic Town was upgraded to an Intermediate Town, it would struggle to fill the additional 1,000 soldier slots within a short time. The town would be fortunate to recruit around 300 Tier 1 NPCs and a dozen Tier 2 NPCs during the first week after the town''s promotion. Most NPCs that applied were only Elite rank. The town would slowly have to accumulate, nurture, or replace its NPC soldiers to increase the number of Tier 2 NPC soldiers it had. Yet, due to Craig Midlands''s fame, over 3,000 NPCs had applied to work for Silverwing Town as soon as the promotion was complete. Including the 300 Tier 1 NPCs Craig Midlands had kept on reserve, it took no time for Silverwing Town to recruit 1,000 NPCs. Among the NPCs recruited, over 100 were Tier 2 NPCs, with the rest being Tier 1 NPCs. Normally, an Intermediate Town would need around two weeks to accumulate 100 Tier 2 NPCs. More Tier 2 NPCs would only show up and apply to work for the town after it increased its Popularity. After all, Tier 2 NPCs were not abundant in God''s Domain. Even Zero Wing City only had a little over 2,000 Tier 2 NPC soldiers thus far, while the rest were Tier 1 NPCs. However, although Silverwing Town had plenty of high-quality NPC soldiers, Zero Wing had spent over 20,000 Gold to outfit these NPCs with proper weapons and equipment. In God''s Domain, NPC soldiers did not come with their own items. Like players, they had to be armed. This was an important factor in strengthening a town''s defenses. Of course, some NPCs would bring their own weapons and equipment when applying to become soldiers, but their items were usually low-quality. They were much weaker than the standardized weapons and equipment the system provided. Naturally, the combat power these NPCs would be able to display would depend on the quality of their weapons and equipment. For example, an NPC with Bronze Equipment and an NPC in Mysterious-Iron Equipment would have around a 20% difference in combat power. While 20% might not seem like much to players, but it was a lot for NPCs, who possessed much higher Basic Attributes. When Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City had been constructed, Zero Wing had lacked funds; Shi Feng had only been able to outfit his NPC soldiers with the cheapest Bronze Weapons and Equipment available. He had only started to upgrade the NPCs gear after the Guild had money to spare. A large fraction of the investments needed to develop a town had to be spent on the NPC soldiers'' weapons and equipment In addition, these weapons and equipment needed regular repairs, which would also cost a considerable amount of money. These reasons were why most of the various large Guilds avoided owning too many towns. This even held true for the various superpowers. Although the superpowers occupied many towns, they would not arm every one of them to the teeth. Instead, they would focus on developing a few select towns. However, arming the NPC soldiers with better items was why many first-rate Guilds'' headquarters were able to withstand sieges from super-first-rate and Super Guilds. The longer a town developed, the stronger the NPC soldiers guarding it would become. When fully equipped with top-tier equipment, NPC soldiers could even contend with players of a higher tier. Fortunately, with the exception of some extremely powerful top-tier equipment, the majority of the weapons and equipment NPC soldiers used could be purchased from the system with Coins. There was no need for players to invest time and effort into farming weapons and equipment. Hence, Shi Feng had spent over 20,000 Gold to arm the newly recruited NPCs. A full set of Level 50 to 100 Bronze Equipment would cost 2 Gold Coins. This was extremely cheap compared to players'' equipment However, as equipment quality increased, so did the price. Level 50 to 100 Mysterious-Iron Equipment cost 10 Gold per set, while Secret-Silver Equipment cost 100 Gold, Fine-Gold Equipment cost 600 Gold, Dark-Gold Equipment cost 1,500 Gold, and Epic Equipment cost 6,000 Gold per set. With how many NPC soldiers a town had, it was no exaggeration to say that a town''s development was a bottomless pit financially. For Silverwing Town, Shi Feng had decided to arm the Tier 2 NPCs with Secret-Silver Equipment and Tier 1 NPCs with Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Although Zero Wing had earned a lot of funding through Zero Wing City and Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng planned to invest the majority of that money in the Lost Town. The Lost Town was, after all, far more important and valuable than Silverwing Town. "Guild Leader, we have assigned duties to all of our NPC soldiers. Should we open the town now?" Aqua Rose asked, smiling she looked at the rows of weH-equipped NPCs before her. Due to their continuous investment in Silverwing Town, these NPC soldiers had far better equipment than those in Stone Forest Town and Zero Wing City. Among the initial 1,000 NPC soldiers, over 100 Tier 2 NPCs wore Fine-Gold Equipment, while the remaining NPCs wore Secret-Silver Equipment. This was unimaginable for other Guilds. Normally, other Guilds would, at most, arm their NPC soldiers with Mysterious-Iron Equipment, spending the majority of their money on building the town''s infrastructure. "Alright, let''s open the gates!" Shi Feng said, nodding. "Oh, right. Guild Leader, should we limit the number of visitors?" Aqua Rose asked. "Although Silverwing Town can accommodate far more people now, for the sake of the NPC merchants, it''s best if we set a limit. Let''s set it at 1,500,000 players," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "We''re letting so few people in?" Aqua Rose was somewhat confused. After the upgrade, Silverwing Town occupied twice as much space. Even if they allowed 2,000,000 players in, the town would, at most, be as crowded as it had been as a Basic Town. "That''s quite a lot already, actually." Shi Feng could not help but laugh at Aqua Rose''s greed. "Moreover, Silverwing Town isn''t just meant for players. We need to leave some space for NPCs." "Leave space for NPCs?" Aqua Rose''s confusion grew after listening to Shi Feng''s explanation. "In any case, open the town to the public. You''ll understand what I mean in a moment," Shi Feng said as he gazed at the anxious crowd outside of the town. He did not bother to explain further. In God''s Domain, while players were important to a Guild Town''s development, NPCs were equally important, but in a neutral map, NPCs were even more so. This was because NPCs could increase a town''s Popularity. Most importantly, they could create opportunities that would allow some players to get rich overnight or instantly become peak experts. However, players had only discovered this later in the game. Shi Feng had to focus on preparing for that inevitability now. This was especially true now that he had the Caravan Guard Order. Aqua Rose said nothing more after receiving Shi Feng''s order. Immediately, she had some Guild members gather at the town''s entrance and open the gates. When the town finally reopened, a swarm of players surged into Silverwing Town. When these players saw the various buildings inside the town''s walls, they were stupefied. "Is this really Silverwing Town?" "Crap! This is too extravagant! This place can rival a small NPC city!" Everyone exclaimed in shock when they saw the town''s tall buildings. Quick, come over here and take a look! There''s a five-story-tall smithy!'' "Amazing! What kind of smithy is this?! It''s actually run by NPC Master Forgers!" "We can place custom orders and break down our old weapons and equipment here! Even if I never raid Team Dungeons, I can now get my hands on top-tier equipment!" "Stop dreaming. Didn''t you see the price for custom-made items? You also have to provide the required materials." "It''s still better than having no access to top-tier weapons and equipment Look; you can even order Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment! Do you think the various large Guilds would sell Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment to independent players like us?" When the independent players discovered the Advanced Smithy''s abilities, they went crazy with excitement. The services even tempted quite a few Guild players. While the players in Silverwing Town discussed the Advanced Smithy, Shi Feng paid a visit to Star-Moon Kingdom''s Star- Moon City. When he arrived, Shi Feng made his way towards the headquarters of the kingdom''s Adventurer''s Association. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service?" Elk, an NPC senior administrator, respectfully asked as he approached Shi Feng. "I wish to commission the Association to set up a trade route to Silverwing Town," Shi Feng stated as he took out a token made of black iron. This token was none other than the Caravan Guard Order. 1823 Setting up a Trade Route Chapter 1823 - Setting up a Trade Route "Setting up a trade route?" Senior Administrator Elk was surprised when he saw the black iron token in Shi Feng''s hand. He then warned Shi Feng, "Lord Protector, although you have a Caravan Guard Order and indeed qualify to set up a trade route to a town, I must warn you that it is not such an easy task. The cost involved is astronomical. Moreover, since you are setting up a trade route to Star-Moon Kingdom''s capital city, not only will the cost be much higher, but the risks are also significant. If you abandon the operation before it is complete, this Caravan Guard Order will become useless." "I understand. However, I am confident in securing a trade route to Silverwing Town," Shi Feng said, nodding. He knew what it meant to set up a trade route. After all, he had done so many times during his previous life. If a Guild Town wanted to become more attractive to NPC merchants and increase the town''s development speed, it had to have trade routes. Once the trade routes were in place, the town would acquire another benefit; the town in question would gain priority over rare items that NPC merchants transported. In addition, NPC merchants that used the trade route would pay the town a usage fee. While these privileges might not seem like much, they would become a neutral town''s main income source before it became a city. As a town''s Popularity increased, more NPC merchants would visit it. Even ordinary NPCs that used the trade routes would have to pay a usage fee. The trade route would become a safe path to the town and would include high-tiered NPCs to escort visiting and departing NPCs. Not even Level 100 players would dare to ambush such a trade route. Although the usage fee was only 80 Coppers per NPC, if 100,000 NPCs used the trade route each day, the trade route would generate 800 Gold each day. Moreover, this was only one trade route. As the ruling Guild set up more trade routes, the town would generate more income. However, players could only set up trade routes for neutral towns. This function was not available for Guild Towns in kingdoms and empires. This function was only available to Intermediate Towns and above, as well. In addition, the number of NPCs that visited a Guild Town via the trade route would depend on the NPC city the town was connected to. The more prosperous the NPC city was, the more NPC visitors a Guild Town would see. If players set up a trade route to a capital city, it was almost guaranteed that their Guild Town would see 100,000 to 200,000 visiting NPCs every day. If the trade route were connected to an ordinary NPC city, the town would only receive around 20,000 to 50,000 NPCs. However, the more prosperous an NPC city was, the more difficult it would be to set up a trade route. Aside from a revenue source, trade routes were a good method for players to acquire rare resources. Not all of an NPC merchant caravan''s goods were available to players. A considerable portion would be reserved for other NPCs. Normally, players weren''t allowed to purchase these items, but if a Guild Town had priority over NPC merchants'' goods, not only would the town''s owner have access to rare items for players, but they''d also have access to NPC reserved items. Many of the NPC reserved items were materials that were very difficult to purchase via the player market. Sometimes, NPCs even sold large quantities of Magic Crystals. Only, they cost significantly more than the market price. Even so, this was a valuable opportunity for Guilds. While it was easy to convert Magic Crystals into Coins, the opposite wasn''t. This was especially true with a large stock of Magic Crystals. However, NPCs were different from players. NPCs had a much easier time acquiring Magic Crystals because NPCs occupied most ore veins that were capable of producing Magic Crystals and within kingdoms and empires'' borders. It was fairly normal to find NPCs who sold Magic Crystals carrying a stock of 5,000 to 10,000. On the other hand, one would be hard- pressed to purchase 5,000 to 10,000 Magic Crystals from players. NPC merchants occasionally sold rare Advanced Designs, as well. Although these designs would similarly be overpriced, their rarity made the cost worth it. After all, it was almost impossible to purchase Advanced Designs from other players. If one were extremely lucky, they could even find NPC merchants that sold Fragmented Legendary items or clues leading to such treasures. Although such occurrences were ridiculously rare, based on player-collected statistics, the more NPCs merchants that visited a Guild Town, the higher the ruling Guild''s chances were of finding an NPC that carried such items and clues. Naturally, every clue that led to a Fragmented Legendary item was extremely valuable. Since there was a possibility to acquire Fragmented Legendary items, Shi Feng wouldn''t miss the opportunity. Since players in the past hadn''t often spoken about how they had acquired their Fragmented Legendary items, Shi Feng knew very few methods to do so. In fact, most players wouldn''t even reveal the fact that they owned a Fragmented Legendary item. Hence, Shi Feng only knew about the relatively famous Fragmented Legendary items. However, the methods of acquiring those items were incredibly demanding, so he couldn''t hunt them down at this stage of the game. "Since you understand the risks involved, that is fine. If you wish to set up a trade route to Silverwing Town, it will cost you a base fee of 10,000 Gold and 5,000 Magic Crystals. As you possess an ordinary Caravan Guard Order, you are only allowed to form a 100-man team. The team will require a minimum of one Advanced Magician to carve magic arrays on the route to repel monsters," Senior Administrator Elk explained. "Lord Protector, may I know if you will need me to introduce you to some mercenaries to accompany on your journey?" "Of course," Shi Feng said, nodding. The Caravan Guard Order was a trigger to activate the special quest for setting up a trade route. While Shi Feng could rely on players to complete this quest, he could also enlist the help of the Adventurer''s Association''s mercenaries. At this stage of the game, NPC mercenaries were undoubtedly much stronger than players. Hence, players that acquired a Caravan Guard Order at this stage of the game would generally hire mercenaries to aid them. Unfortunately, the price was quite high. In the past, some Guilds had tried to save money, confident that their members would be strong enough to handle the task. However, while Zero Wing''s main force was very powerful, the trade route he wanted to establish required crossing the border into the Ore Empire. When establishing a trade route, the system would occasionally send monsters to interfere. These monsters would be 15 levels higher than the local monsters, and many of the Ore Empire''s monsters were Level 60 or higher. In that case, the interfering monsters would be Level 75 and above once he entered the empire. These monsters were too high of a level for Zero Wing''s main force members at this time, so they weren''t suitable for this quest. "Alright. Here is a list of mercenaries willing to undergo this challenge with you, Lord Protector," Elk said before handing Shi Feng a list. The quest to set up a trade route was very special and very dangerous. Players couldn''t simply hire whatever NPC mercenaries they wished. The available mercenaries would depend on the player''s status in the Adventurer''s Association. The higher one''s status was, the more NPC mercenaries they could choose from for the operation. Amazing! Four-star treatment in the Adventurer''s Association is really a great help when setting up a trade route. Shi Feng could not help his surprise when he read the list During his previous life, he had only been able to recruit three-star, Tier 2 NPCs at best. As a result, he had struggled to set up trade routes for Shadow''s neutral towns. Now, however, even two-star, Tier 3 NPCs had applied to join his quest, not to mention three-star, Tier 2 NPCs. He had to admit that the Spirit Slayer Advanced Title came with some awesome benefits. Without hesitation, Shi Feng spent over 15,000 Gold to hire 97 mercenaries, spending almost every Coin he had on hand. The weakest mercenaries he hired were Level 80, three-star, Tier 2 NPCs, with the strongest being Level 83, two-star, Tier 3 NPCs. Overall, his team had 15 Tier 3 NPCs. After Shi Feng handled the necessary procedures and learned how to draw the necessary Advanced Magic Array, he summoned the Level 85 Anna and Level 83 Kite. With 97 other NPCs in tow, he grandly departed Star-Moon City, riding Secret-Silver Transport Carriages. The Secret-Silver Transport Carriages were an extraordinary sight to behold. Five-meter-tall Lightning-horned Earth Dragons pulled the carriages behind them. The Earth Dragons themselves were Great Lords, and watching the caravan move down the city streets was spectacular. "What''s going on? Is the city hosting some kind of event?" "That''s not it! Look! The lead transport carriage''s driver is a player! Could this be a player-triggered event?" "That player is wearing Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem!" "Zero Wing is so awesome! It can actually produce such powerful carriages?" Crap! There are over ten Tier 3 NPCs in the caravan! This is ridiculous!" 1824 Strong Legion Chapter 1824 - Strong Legion Shortly after the ten Secret-Silver Transport Carriages being pulled by Lightning-horned Earth Dragons appeared on the streets of Star-Moon City, the sight quickly sent the entire city into an uproar. The adventurer teams that made a living by delivering items were green with envy as they looked at the transport carriages. Transport carriages might not seem particularly important in the game right now, as players could simply store items inside their bag spaces and teleport to other cities. However, as players reached higher levels, transport carriages would become increasingly relevant. The number of items that could not be stored inside players'' bag space would increase as players progressed further into the game. Such non-bag space items were extremely valuable, and the only way to transport them was via transport carriages. Meanwhile, the adventurer teams could purchase only horse-drawn transport carriages. On the other hand, the Secret-Silver Transport Carriages had Great Lord ranked Lightning-horned Earth Dragons pulling them. There was simply no comparison between the two. Just the aura of the Earth Dragons was enough to scare away the mobs one would normally come across out in the fields. Not to mention, the transport carriage itself was like a huge house. One could easily imagine how many non-bag space items the transport carriage could store in such a huge transport carriage. "As expected of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. I wonder when our adventurer team will be able to obtain a transport carriage like that?" "That''s right! If we have a transport carriage like that, we can earn over ten Gold per delivery trip." The adventurer team members seated on the Advanced Transport Carriages parked along the streets cast covetous looks at the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons. Currently, the minimum price in the delivery business for transporting a non-bag space item was 1 Silver Coin. The price scaled up depending on the distance traveled. Meanwhile, the adventurer team members estimated that the Secret-Silver Transport Carriage could carry over 100 non-bag space items. This assumption was because the Advanced Transport Carriages they owned were only the size of an ordinary horse carriage but could already carry a maximum of 60 non-bag space items. No matter how they looked at it, the house-sized transport carriages should be capable of transporting at least 100 non-bag space items. Only Shi Feng knew that the value of the Secret-Silver Transport Carriage was actually not the slightest bit inferior to a Secret-Silver Speedboat The Secret-Silver Transport Carriage could carry 350 non-bag space items and 30,000 bag space items. The ten transport carriages lent to him this time were meant to convey the materials needed to carve special magic arrays. Each of these materials took up one non-bag space slot Moreover, in terms of speed, the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons were superior to even Dark-Gold Mounts. While the players on the streets were talking about the Secret-Silver Transport Carriages, the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons took only a few seconds to disappear from everyone''s sight as they galloped toward the city''s main gate. Although some members of large Guilds tried to follow Shi Feng and investigate his actions, their Mysterious-Iron Mounts could only eat the Earth Dragons'' dust as they watched the Secret-Silver Transport Carriages disappear from view. Sure enough, Secret-Silver Transport Carriages are really fast! If Zero Wing can acquire one, transporting Diamond Wood and Seven Luminaries Crystals on land would be a lot easier. Shi Feng could not help but be astonished as he looked at the scenery rapidly flashing by. If a transport carriage possessed such speed, even robbing it would become a very tough proposition. However, during his previous life, first-rate Guilds would be very fortunate if they could acquire even Bronze Transport Carriages, let alone Secret-Silver Transport Carriages. After traveling for about half an hour, Shi Feng arrived at a crossroads. He then stopped the caravan and had all the NPCs stand guard. Someone traveling from Star-Moon City to Silverwing Town on a Dark-Gold Mount wouldn''t be able to complete the journey even after traveling continuously for five or six days. Not to mention, one would have to cross many high-level regions during the journey. Fortunately, he was only setting up a trade route, so he didn''t need to travel its entire length. All he had to do was connect some trade routes that previously were unconnected. By doing so, he would be able to bypass a few high-level regions and carve out a trade route to Silverwing Town that would come across monsters no higher than Level 80. If this task were left to a first-timer, creating such a safe path without several days'' worth of research would be impossible, due to a lack of familiarity with the existing trade routes of Star-Moon Kingdom. Shi Feng, however, knew the trade routes present within the kingdom like the back of his hand. After all, back when he was serving as Shadow''s Guild Leader, he had been the one responsible for setting up the majority of the trade routes owned by Shadow. Hence, he was well aware of which existing trade routes would get him from Star-Moon City to the borders of the Ore Empire safely and swiftly. Shi Feng spent about ten minutes to carve out a magic array in the middle of the crossroads. When he activated the magic array, a blue ripple spread out from the magic array and stopped only after covering a 30,000-yard radius. The monsters close to the crossroads immediately started distancing themselves from it. After a short moment, a safe path was established between the route he currently stood on and a nearby trade route. After completing this task, he led his caravan toward the nearest NPC town. He then used the teleportation array there to travel to another NPC town and continued connecting other independent trade routes. Throughout his journey, he caused quite a commotion across the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. The various major powers based within the kingdom grew restless and confused at Shi Feng''s actions, unable to figure out what Zero Wing was trying to do. After running around for a day or so, Shi Feng successfully created a new trade route that connected Star-Moon City and the border between Star-Moon Kingdom and the Ore Empire. For the remainder of the trade route, due to the absence of existing trade routes within the Ore Empire, Shi Feng had no choice but to create an entirely new one by himself. When the various Guild players grinding and questing in the Ore Empire''s outer area saw the Secret-Silver Transport Carriages approaching, they involuntarily gaped in shock. Compared to the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons pulling the transport carriages, the Level 60 Ores trying to stop the carriages were nothing more than jokes. The Earth Dragons sent every Ore that stood in their path flying with a single headbutt. In the end, the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons took only a brief moment to break through the blockade of several thousand Ores. Then, after reaching an empty section of the road, the convoy of carriages suddenly came to a halt. In the next moment, Level 70-plus Ores and monsters appeared out of nowhere and charged at the cloaked man that just alighted from the lead carriage. The man was sporting a six-winged emblem. As the Ores and monsters closed in on the man, groups of NPCs got off the other carriages and took up a defensive formation. These NPCs were all Level 80 and above, and even the weakest among them was Tier 2. Despite facing an army of several thousand monsters, these NPCs remained steadfast as they defended the cloaked man. Meanwhile, the dozen or so Tier 3 NPCs fighting in the front lines sent groups of Lord ranked Ores and monsters flying with a casual attack. Among these NPCs was a golden-haired beauty that summoned a Great Lord ranked Golden Giant, which thoroughly suppressed the Great Lord ranked Ore leading the assault on the caravan. Meanwhile, every offensive Spell cast by the golden-haired beauty wrenched a cry of pain from the Great Lord ranked Ore, whose HP decreased rapidly. The army of several thousand Ores and monsters were utterly helpless against this 100-man team. The monsters couldn''t even get within 30 yards of Shi Feng before dying at the NPCs'' hands. The horrific scene made the spectating Guild players nearby shudder in fear. Meanwhile, the spectating Guilds included the Blackwater Guild, which Shi Feng was very familiar with. Currently, there was a 1,000-man team from Blackwater present led by Singular Burial. At this moment, however, Singular Burial no longer had a tyrannical air around him. After suffering consecutive defeats, he had lost ail his corporate backing, which left him in an extremely awkward position in the Blackwater Guild. Now, he was only an inconspicuous Elder in Blackwater. Moreover, he was only Level 53 right now. He looked nothing like the almighty Guild Leader of Heaven''s Burial. "Who is that person? How is he able to control so many NPCs?" "Wait a minute! Isn''t that female NPC one of Black Flame''s Personal Guards?" "She is! That''s Anna! Crap, doesn''t that mean that player is Black Flame?!" "Not good! Black Flame is looking over..." At this moment, when Blackwater''s members looked at Shi Feng, fear flooded their hearts because they were all fully aware that he could command the NPCs around him to reap their lives at a whim. Meanwhile, they would be utterly powerless to do anything about it. 1825 Ones Success was Built Atop the Sacrifice of Thousands Chapter 1825 - One''s Success was Built Atop the Sacrifice of Thousands As the NPC legion pushed back the approaching Ore and monster army, a wall of corpses quickly formed on each side of the road. "These NPCs are so strong! I get the feeling that this NPC team can even raid an ordinary Guild Town." "I know, right? Just look at those Tier 3 NPCs going. They are throwing Level 70-plus Great Lords with a single hit. Their individual combat power is likely even higher than Grand Lords of the same rank. Even if these Tier 3 NPCs aren''t enough to raid a Guild Town, they''re more than enough to kill every one of us." "As expected of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert. With the ability to control so many powerful NPCs, Black Flame could easily annihilate armies of tens of thousands of players. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers are helpless against Zero Wing." The various spectating Guilds and adventurer teams gulped as they watched the fight between the NPCs and monsters. Tier 2 NPCs were much stronger than Tier 2 players of the same level. Only peak experts with several pieces of Epic Equipment could possibly contend with an ordinary Tier 2 NPC. If Tier 2 players tried to face a Tier 2 NPC that was over 20 levels higher, they could only wait for their deaths. As for Tier 3 NPCs, they would only need a few moves to finish off Tier 2 players. If the targeted Tier 2 players lacked defensive capabilities, they might die after one hit If these NPCs turned their blades against Tier 1 players like themselves, a single attack would be more than enough to kill several of them instantly. "Blackwater''s members are probably doomed." "That''s right! Blackwater has been picking a lot of fights with Zero Wing in the Ore Empire. Now that Black Flame has found some of Blackwater''s members, he''ll massacre them." The various large Guilds'' members couldn''t help but watch Blackwater''s members with pity as they fought the local Ores. Nowadays, Blackwater and Zero Wing''s members would fight whenever they came across each other in the fields. Although Blackwater currently had over a thousand members present, before the Sword King, the group was a joke. Furthermore, Black Flame had a team of Level 80-plus NPCs with him. This further reduced the chances of Blackwater''s members escaping this place alive. "Why is Black Flame here?" "We''re doomed! We''re doomed!" Fear colored the faces of Blackwater''s members as they watched Shi Feng. They had experienced the man''s might firsthand, so they knew just how powerful he was. Black Flame was truly unstoppable. He could easily single out and kill a specific player while surrounded by an army of tens of thousands. Although their team currently had over a thousand well-equipped elite and expert players, Black Flame could annihilate them all by himself. Their only option was to run... If others heard their thoughts, they''d be a laughingstock. If 1,000 elite players simultaneously attacked a single expert, one move should be enough to end the battle. Even a peak expert would try to avoid a 1,000-man enemy elite team. How could a lone player possibly defeat an army of elite players? However, they knew very, very well that the likelihood of such a situation was high. Not only did Black Flame possess multiple large-scale destruction Spells, but he also had ridiculous Movement Speed. He also had enough Strength to contend with Mythic monsters. In addition, he was capable of summoning powerful monsters. It wasn''t an exaggeration to call Black Flame a one-man army. "Damn it! Why is he here?!" Singular Burial paled when he saw Shi Feng''s cloaked figure. Looking at Shi Feng now, Singular Burial was no longer as confident as he had been in the past. He harbored no thoughts of fighting Shi Feng as he knew that doing so would be a waste of energy. In fact, it would only lead to a quicker death. Singular Burial could not understand why Shi Feng had come to a backwater place like this. They were currently in the Ore Empire''s outer region. For an expert of Shi Feng''s caliber, only grinding or questing in the empire''s core would be worth his time. He had struggled to stabilize his standing in Blackwater. In the hopes of elevating his position in the Guild, he had been doing his best to raise the Heaven''s Burial members that had followed him to join Blackwater, yet before his efforts could bear fruit, he had encountered Shi Feng... "Commander, what should we do?'' Daybreak Fog revealed a somber expression when she saw Shi Feng, as well. After Heaven''s Burial disbanded and Flame Blood was crippled, over half of Heaven''s Burial''s main force members had chosen separate paths. Because of this, their positions in Blackwater had plummeted. Among their 1,000-man team, only a hundred or so were experts. While this might be a high number compared to other 1,000-man elite teams, it was nowhere near enough to deal with Shi Feng. To Shi Feng, their experts were no different than the team''s elite players. The Swordsman could kill them all with one hit. "We don''t have any other choice. Have everyone slowly retreat. We can''t afford another loss. Get ready to use the Tier 3 Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll to send the main force away from this place. Everyone else should spread out and run. Absolutely do not fight Black Flame," Singular Burial said, gnashing his teeth. o The Tier 3 Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll was extremely valuable, an item he had obtained after completing a difficult Team Quest. It was also the only lifesaving tool he had to save his team. However, the teleportation scroll could only teleport a maximum of 100 players. He couldn''t transport his entire team. "I understand." Daybreak Fog nodded. She then took a silver Magic Scroll from her bag and eyed Shi Feng''s every movement. If she noticed the slightest change, she''d activate the scroll immediately. However, Shi Feng, who sat on the leading transport carriage, had finally finished carving a magic array on a crystal shard. He then tossed the crystal to the ground before him and started chanting an incantation. Very quickly, the crystal merged with the earth. A slightly incomplete magic array then formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Seeing this, Shi Feng took out several light-blue crystals to complete the array. Once complete, a blue ripple of light radiated out from the array. As if something had frightened them, the Level 70-plus Ores and monsters, which had been busy fighting the NPCs, fled from the caravan. Even the Ores and monsters several hundred yards away from the caravan began to back away. The spectating crowd nearby stared with dropped jaws. "What did he just do?" The several thousand Ores and monsters that had previously occupied the road had retreated by over 500 yards, watching the road in terror. Every monster as far as the eye could see did the same. Not one dared to approach the road. Once Shi Feng finished his work, he collected the leftover materials. As he returned to the transport carriage, he noticed a 1,000-man legion backing away from his position. Singular Burial? Shi Feng quickly spotted Singular Burial among this 1,000-man legion. However, his old enemy watched him cautiously. Seeing this, Shi Feng could not help but sigh inwardly. Currently, Singular Burial wore a mix of Level 50 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. Aside from the man''s longbow, Shi Feng could easily discern the rank of his other items. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe Singular Burial had once been the Guild Leader of an almighty Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. This was the cruel reality of God''s Domain. In God''s Domain, one''s success was built atop the sacrifice of thousands. After a glance at Singular Burial, Shi Feng climbed back onto his transport carriage and had the convoy continue down the road. If he did not complete the trade route quickly, the magic arrays he had already set up within the empire would begin to disappear. This was the time limit players had to endure. The system would not allow players to take their sweet time when establishing a trade route. As for killing Singular Burial and the others, he had no interest in such a task. Moreover, with Singular Burial''s current state, he didn''t consider the man a threat. After realizing that Shi Feng was leaving without a fight, Blackwater''s members breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Commander, Black Flame left!" Daybreak Fog could not help but cry out with joy when she saw Shi Feng drive his transport carriage away. When Shi Feng had turned to look at them, she had nearly used the precious Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll out of anxiety. "Yes, he left..." Singular Burial wore an expression of mixed indignation and sadness as he watched Shi Feng leave. He had noticed a hint of pity in Shi Feng''s eyes. This discovery had dealt an unprecedented mental blow. Is he trying to say that I don''t even qualify to face him now? 1826 Vulcans Sigh Chapter 1826 - Vulcan''s Sigh After Shi Feng left, all of the various large Guilds'' members visibly relaxed. "Black Flame is leaving, just like that? He doesn''t intend to deal with Blackwater''s members?" "My guess is that Black Flame finds it beneath him to deal with them. I''ve watched the battles that occurred at the Primordial Divine Ruin. Black Flame had soloed a Mythic monster. Then he sent both Blackwater''s army and the Evil Beast army running with their tails tucked between their legs. A measly 1,000-man elite team probably isn''t worth his effort." "Black Flame is too strong! His presence alone was enough to make the various large Guilds shrink back with fear! It''s no wonder why Black Flame is recognized as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert. He is far stronger than those famous peak experts!" The adventurer teams watching from a short distance away were shocked when they looked at the various Guild players, who watched the departing convoy cautiously. They had never thought that the presence of a single player would be enough to deter so many Guild players. They had all heard many rumors about Black Flame, but they had assumed the rumors were jokes and baseless assertions. However, they simply treated those rumors as jokes and baseless assertions. However, after seeing the man in person today, they finally understood that the rumors were actually true. In fact, Black Flame was even scarier than the rumors made him out to be. Because of this discovery, many of these independent players, who hadn''t been interested in joining any Guild, began to have second thoughts. They all considered joining Zero Wing, especially the Swordsman players. This was especially true for Swordsman players. Unbeknownst to Shi Feng, his casual action of sparing Blackwater''s members had made many independent players in the Ore Empire reconsider their position about joining his Guild. At the same time, news of Shi Feng''s appearance in the Ore Empire had reached the various Dark Players hiding in the empire. "Commander, we have discovered Black Flame." "Where?" "Hes near the Ore Empire''s border. However, there are quite a number of NPCs moving with him. Taking him out won''t: be easy." "Follow after him for now. I''ll gather our members and head over as soon as possible. As long as our Wind''s Arrow adventurer team kills Black Flame once, we''ll qualify to join Dark Soul. We cannot miss this opportunity, so follow him closely!" "Understood!" The various dark adventurer teams operating within the Ore Empire began to make their way towards Shi Feng. Some time ago, the Dark Night Empire''s Dark Soul had placed a bounty on Zero Wing. For each Zero Wing upper echelon killed, one could earn a Dark Mutation slot If one managed to kill Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, regardless of whether an individual or an entire team completed the task, both would be welcomed to join Dark Soul. Individuals would be given command of a new adventurer team in Dark Soul. To players that operated in the dark, Dark Soul''s reputation was equivalent to that of a Super Guild. Joining the Dark Alliance and become one of its commander-level figures was no different than becoming the Vice Guild Leader in a Super Guild. Why wouldn''t such an offer be tempting? The various dark adventurer teams and several Dark Guilds began an enthusiastic search for Black Flame. Although Black Flame was very powerful, even giants would fall against overwhelming numbers. God''s Domain also had many special methods to kill players. Dark Soul had not specified a requirement to defeat Black Flame with raw strength. The Lightning-horned Earth Dragons dashed down the Ore Empire''s gravel roads. As Shi Feng ventured deeper into the Ore Empire, stronger monsters and Ores showed up to hinder his progress. Initially, most of the monsters had only been Chieftains, but now, Lords began to target his caravan. If not for the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons being Level 80 Great Lords, the monsters in their way would have stopped the caravan long ago. Sure enough, it really is difficult to set up a trade rule in a land ruled by the dark forces. Shi Feng inwardly celebrated as he watched one Lord ranked Ore get knocked aside after another. Fortunately, he was the first player to set up a trade route in Star-Moon Kingdom and had the privilege of using the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons. Normally, players would only have access to Mysterious-Iron Transport Carriages, which were only pulled by Lord ranked monsters, when setting up a trade route. Traveling through a neutral map under the dark forces'' rule with such carriages would be extremely difficult. He would have had to stop his progress whenever he was attacked. In that case, he would have had to rely on the NPCs he had hired to clear a path or dispatch a large number of his Guild members to do so. With the Lightning-horned Earth Dragons, however, he could simply bulldoze his way through. Though, due to the large number of Ores and monsters blocking his path, his advance had slowed considerably. Now, the transport carriages only moved a little faster than players running at full speed. Meanwhile, this was only the beginning of the dark forces'' territory. As Shi Feng traveled deeper into the empire, he would encounter more numerous and powerful Ores and monsters, which even the Tier 3 NPCs accompanying him would have some trouble with. After about eight hours, Shi Feng arrived before an Ore Fortress. According to the system map, the fortress was the final point for the trade route. This quest... Does it really want me to build the magic array inside the fortress? As Shi Feng watched the patrolling Ores on the fortress''s walls, he wondered if he had read his system map wrong. This was nothing like the Ores he had faced on the road earlier. On his way here, he had faced wild Ores or Ore patrols, but these Ores were members of the Ore Empire''s well-trained army. Fortunately, due to his quest, the fortress only had around 3,000 Ore guards, far fewer than normal. In return, however, their levels and rank had increased significantly. Now, the weakest Ore guarding the fortress was a Chieftain, with the majority of the Ores being Lords. The leader of these creatures was even a Level 80 Mythic ranked Ore General. After spotting Shi Feng''s caravan, the Ore General raised its greatsword with one hand and loosed a furious roar. Suddenly, the army of 3,000 Ores stationed inside the fortress flooded out of the fortress''s gates and marched towards Shi Feng''s caravan. Sturdy, shield-wielding Ores occupied the frontline while agile, bow-wielding Ores moved at the rear. The Ore army''s approach even made the NPCs with Shi Feng nervous. Shi Feng could see well over a hundred Great Lord ranked Ores and over a dozen Grand Lords. This force was on an entirely different level than the caravan''s contingent As Shi Feng wondered if something had gone awry, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: You have triggered the Epic Trade Route Quest "Ore King''s Ambitions." You may choose to accept or abandon this quest If you complete this quest, you will receive a commendation from Star-Moon Kingdom and qualify to build an airport. Abandoning this quest will not affect your original Trade Route Quest. If you choose to abandon this quest, the system will designate an alternative path for the trade route. You have three minutes to consider. An Epic Trade Route Quest? Shi Feng was stunned when he read the system notification, but after seeing the quest rewards, he couldn''t help his growing excitement. Could this be the reward for being the first player to set up a trade route? The qualifications to build an airport! Countless Guilds in neutral maps dreamed of acquiring this qualification, but very few succeeded in doing so. In the past, not a single Guild had revealed how they had managed it. Meanwhile, the sensational scene at the Ore Fortress stupefied the various dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds following Shi Feng. "Crap! What''s going on?! Is Black Flame trying to raid the fortress?!" "Does he intend to raid a fortress by himself? Is he crazy?" "Black Flame is insane! That''s an Ore Fortress we''re talking about! Although he can stand against a Mythic monster for some time, capturing a fortress is a different story entirely! Even if he has some NPCs to support him, ambushing a fortress is impossible!" As the Dark Players watched the distance between the Ore army and Shi Feng''s caravan decrease, they were dumbfounded. They had watched many Guilds try to raid one of the Ore Empire''s fortresses before, but this was the first time they had seen a single player attempt it... "Commander, what should we do? Should we attack Black Flame?" "These Ores are too high-leveled. Moreover, there''s a Mythic Ore among them. If we attack carelessly, we might get dragged into the fight Let''s wait It won''t be too late to take action once the Ore army pushes Black Flame and his NPCs back." All of the dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds following Shi Feng came to the same decision. Meanwhile, as the Ore army approached the caravan, Shi Feng and his NPCs prepared for battle. Let''s give it a try, Shi Feng decided after analyzing his current combat power and the challenge. The quest had only mentioned that he needed to set up a magic array in the fortress, not capture the fortress. There was a huge difference between the two tasks. Naturally, the former was far easier. Moreover, this was a valuable opportunity. It would be a huge waste to give it up. Grinding his teeth, Shi Feng accepted the quest. He then pulled a Magic Scroll with crimson divine runes from his bag. This Magic Scroll was none other than the Tier 4 Continuous-use Magic Scroll, Vulcan''s Sigh, which he had acquired from the Gold Magic Crystal Treasure Chest in the Eclipse Throne. The Magic Scroll was even more valuable than ordinary Epic Equipment Vulcan''s Sigh was also an extremely rare Summoning Scroll. He had hoped to save the scroll as a trump card for any future Guild wars, but using it to complete this Epic Trade Route Quest was worth the expenditure. Following which, Shi Feng injected 1,000 Magic Crystals of Mana into the Magic Scroll and activated it. In the next moment, a crimson, threefold magic array manifested beneath Shi Feng''s feet. The sky also began to transform, and the earth started to quake. "Why did the sky suddenly go dark?" Everyone noticed dark clouds block out the sun. A moment later, the space around Shi Feng began to freeze. The spectating Dark Players felt a powerful aura assault their minds and bodies. 1827 Battle of Monsters Chapter 1827 - Battle of Monsters As the dusky space froze, over two dozen magic arrays appeared in the cloudy sky, radiating a light that illuminated the Ore Fortress and its surroundings. As these magic arrays manifested, the Dark Players felt their auras'' intensity increase, making their bodies feel much heavier than a moment ago. As the heavy feeling grew, they began to panic. "What''s going on? Why can''t I move?" "What did Black Flame do?" Everyone quickly discovered that they couldn''t even move a finger, much less walk away. They felt as if time had stopped. Moreover, they weren''t the only ones subjected to this phenomenon. Even the Ore army had fallen deathly silent Some Ores had even lost strength to stand and fell to a knee, terrified. Following which, the sky shattered and formed a massive black hole. If one looked closely, they would notice a pair of flaming eyes, as large as small mountains, within the black hole. As these eyes appeared, the pressure on the players present increased yet again. Immediately, all of the Ores, including the Mythic ranked Ore General, slumped to the ground and shuddered in fear. "What''s going on?!" "It''s over! We''re doomed!" "Damn it! This must be a trap Black Flame set up! We''ve been tricked!" As the Dark Players looked up at the massive pair of eyes, they sensed their impending death and destruction. They weren''t even ants before the owner of those eyes. As long as the creature willed it, its aura alone would slay these players. It wouldn''t even need to attack. The players from the various dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds suddenly regretted their decision to target Shi Feng. Just as everyone cowered before their doom, the pair of flaming orbs vanished abruptly before fire began to pour from the black hole, raining down on the Ore Empire like meteors. Boom... Boom... Boom... A series of explosions shook the Ore Fortress and the area. The ground trembled so violently that the Dark Players, who stood quite a distance away, nearly lost their footing. The shower of fire continued for six seconds, transforming the earth under the Ore army into a burning hellscape. By the time flames stopped pouring out of the black hole, the Chieftain ranked Ores had been wiped out while the Lords sustained heavy injuries. The several thousand Dark Players gasped when they saw this outcome. With one attack, Shi Feng had obliterated half of the entire Ore army. However, before the crowd could recover from their shock, the fire on the battlefield converged and transformed into easily over a hundred Flame Giants. The weakest among these Flame Giants was a Level 80 High Lord, whereas the strongest five were Level 82 Grand Lords. Vulcan''s Sigh is actually so powerful? Even Shi Feng was astonished as he gazed at the Flame Giants. He had assumed that he''d be lucky to summon even one Grand Lord. He had never expected for Vulcan''s Sigh to summon such a powerful legion of Flame Giants. After the single activation of Vulcan''s Sigh, Shi Feng noticed that the Magic Scroll had lost half of its durability. In other words, Vulcan''s Sigh was a Continuous-use Magic Scroll that could only be used twice. Moreover, he would have to wait two natural days before he could use the scroll again; he could not use it consecutively. However, Shi Feng was very satisfied with the result Although most Tier 4 Continuous-use Magic Scrolls could be used four to six times, their effects couldn''t compare to Vulcan''s Sigh. The flame legion''s arrival instantly disrupted the Ore army''s formation. The 20-meter-tall Grand Lord ranked Flame Giants sent over a dozen Ores flying with a single slap. In terms of Strength, even the Grand Lord ranked Ore Warriors were no match for the Grand Lord ranked Flame Giants. For a time, the legion of Flame Giants brought chaos to the Ore army. The battle between the Flame Giants and Ores was earth-shattering. Sounds of slaughter and explosions echoed across the barren plains that surrounded the Ore Fortress, stupefying the Dark Players that hid in the distant forest. Although the battle only involved several thousand monsters, it was no less intense than a battle between tens of thousands of players. If players joined this fight, even the shockwaves from the Ores and Flame Giants'' clashing would vaporize them. While the Ore army tangled with the flame legion, Shi Feng used the opportunity to lead his NPC mercenaries past the Ore army and towards the Ore Fortress. He did not need to exterminate the Ore army to capture the fortress. He only needed to set up the trade route magic array inside of it Moreover, Shi Feng did not think that he could defeat the Ore army. The army was led by a Mythic Ore, after all. Although the Flame Giants were powerful, a Mythic ranked creature could easily suppress them. Furthermore, the flame legion was badly outnumbered. It was only a matter of time before the Ores wiped the legion out. When Shi Feng was within 500 yards of the fortress, the Level 80 Ore General discovered his group. With a roar, the Ore General raised its greatsword, firing a chilling beam attack at the Grand Lord ranked Flame Giant before it. The attack sent the Flame Giant flying back as a layer of ice formed on the ground before the Ore General. The Mythic Ore then led a group of subordinates as they ran down the icy path its attack had created to block the fortress''s entrance with their bodies. Other Ores also began to abandon their fights with the Flame Giants, charging towards Shi Feng''s group. Sure enough, they won''t let me through so easily. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the Ore General before the fortress''s entrance. He then turned toward Anna and ordered, "Do it!" Nodding, Anna began to chant as she approached the Ore General. When less than 100 yards separated the two, Anna finished her Spell and pointed her staff at the Ore General. Suddenly, a Level 85, Tier 4 Valkyrie descended from the sky. Using an Advanced Instantaneous Movement, the Valkyrie instantly appeared before the Ore General and swept the lightning spear in her hands at the Mythic Ore. Boom! Failing to react in time to the strike, the Ore General and a dozen or so Great Lord ranked Ores got sent flying over a hundred yards to the side. The Valkyrie''s frightening Strength had even shattered the ground before her, creating a small ravine. "Good!" Shi Feng then led his group into the fortress, commanding his NPC mercenaries to guard the entrance while he headed for the system-designated location to set up the trade route magic array. The fortress''s entrance wasn''t particularly large. Twenty NPCs would be more than enough to form a barricade. Fortunately, the fortress''s walls had been enhanced with magic runes, and not even Mythic monsters would be able to jump over them. Now, the Ores could only enter the fortress if they destroyed its walls or the NPCs guarding the entrance. The fortress walls were quite sturdy, and it would even take a Mythic monster some time to destroy them. By the time the Ore General created an opening, Shi Feng would''ve long since completed his task. The only way the Ore General could get into the fortress before Shi Feng finished was through the main entrance. Hence, stationing guards would be enough. Very quickly, Shi Feng found the targeted location. Wasting no time, he immediately took out a large, blue crystal from his Epic ranked Spatial Bag and began to engrave the necessary magic array. As the seconds ticked by, more Ores tried to force their way into the fortress. The Tier 2 NPCs defending the entrance began to die, one after another. Only the Tier 3 NPCs barely held their ground against the Grand Lord ranked Ore Warriors. The Valkyrie fought a fierce battle against the Ore General outside of the building, doing her best to injure the Mythic Ore. Meanwhile, the Ore General was utterly powerless to stop the beating. Although the Ore General was a Level 80 Mythic ranked creature, the Valkyrie was a Level 85 Mythic ranked Angel. There was a massive difference between the two beings'' Life Ratings. The Valkyrie completely overpowered the Ore General, and it took everything it had just to block the Valkyrie''s attacks. Occasionally, the Ore General slipped up, and the Valkyrie''s attacks sent it flying. The watching Dark Players were flabbergasted. The various commanders and upper echelons from the dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds wiped the sweat from their foreheads. They inwardly celebrated the fact that they hadn''t rushed to attack Shi Feng. The consequences would''ve been unimaginably dire. By the time the Valkyrie disappeared, the Ore General was heavily injured, greatly reducing its combat power. Now, it was only slightly more powerful than the Grand Lord ranked Ore Warriors. I need to hurry! When Shi Feng saw the Ore General attack the guards at the entrance, he began to inscribe runes faster. Twenty seconds... Forty seconds... Sixty seconds... Once the Ore General rejoined the fight, more NPC mercenaries began to fall. In just 60 seconds, over ten Tier 2 NPCs had died. One of the Tier 3 NPCs had even sustained heavy injuries. When there were fewer than 30 NPC mercenaries remaining, the Ore General used a powerful Skill and charged past the blockade. Upon entering the fortress and spotting Shi Feng, the Ore General roared and swung its greatsword at the offending Swordsman. Suddenly, a cold energy beam shot toward Shi Feng, and everything it passed froze. While inscribing the magic array, Shi Feng couldn''t move without canceling the inscription process. He''d have to start all over again. Hence, Shi Feng had no choice but to activate Absolute Defense. After the energy beam disappeared, everything except for Shi Feng''s immediate surroundings had frozen solid. When the Ore General saw that Shi Feng had survived, it was further enraged. It charged up to Shi Feng, brandishing its greatsword. Despite the fact that the power of the Ore General''s attacks shattered the ground around him, Shi Feng remained unharmed. However, his heart pounded with nervous energy, rather than feeling relieved. Just when Absolute Domain''s duration was about to end... The blue crystal in Shi Feng''s hand suddenly lit up. He had finally finished inscribing the magic array. "Go!" Shi Feng shoved the crystal into the ground before him. As the crystal melded with the ground, a magic array appeared beneath Shi Feng''s feet. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Attributes skyrocketing. "Scram!" Shi Feng yelled as he swung Killing Ray at the Ore General. Lightning Slash! A blue lightning bolt struck the Ore General, and like a cannonball, the creature flew backward, only stopping when it crashed into a nearby wall. Using this opportunity, Anna had her ten Rock Guardians form a magic array around the Ore General, trapping the Mythic Ore. Meanwhile, Shi Feng took out several small crystals for the magic array''s finishing touches. Since Shi Feng was now very familiar with the process, he only needed ten seconds to complete the array. As the magic array completed, a blue ripple of light enveloped the war fortress. A moment later, a series of system notifications reached Shi Feng''s ears. 1828 Advanced Manager Chapter 1828 - Advanced Manager System: Congratulations! You have completed the Epic Trade Route Quest "Ore King''s Ambitions." Rewarding Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation +100, +50% EXP of current level, and one Star-Moon Kingdom Airport Building Order. Ore Empire Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing''s Silverwing Town for becoming the first town in the Ore Empire to set up a trade route. Rewarding 10,000 Popularity Points to Silverwing Town and one Transportation Firm Design. The system announcement echoed three times in the ears of every player within the Ore Empire. "Set up a trade route? What''s that?" "It should be something that can lure in more NPC merchants." "If that''s true, doesn''t that mean we can obtain even more rare items from the NPCs of Silverwing Town now?" "Zero Wing is really amazing. Silverwing Town got promoted into an Intermediate Town just recently. Now, Zero Wing has even managed to set up a trade route for it. The Ore Empire will definitely fall under Zero Wing''s dominion in the future." "That''s for sure. Previously, the Evil Beast army was already helpless against Zero Wing. With how rapidly Silverwing Town is developing right now, I believe it will surpass Ancient Rock City before long." "It would be great if that''s the case. If Silverwing Town really does surpass Ancient Rock City, we won''t have to worry about getting ambushed by Dark Players when grinding in the Ore Empire''s outer area." The players grinding in the Ore Empire promptly started a discussion about Zero Wing. They all held an optimistic view of Zero Wing''s future. At the same time, they also hoped that Silverwing Town could develop quickly. For some reason, Ancient Rock City had actually become a mecca for the dark forces. A large number of Dark Players was currently gathered there. Since Ancient Rock City was located in the Ore Empire''s inner area, the Dark Players'' main sphere of activity encompassed the Ore Empire''s inner area and the boundary between the inner and outer areas. As a result, the independent players trying to grind and do quests in these areas frequently came under attack from Dark Players. As for Silverwing Town, which was the town closest to Ancient Rock City, while it could be considered a mecca for normal players like themselves, as the town could accommodate only a very limited number of people, not that many players gathered around the town. Hence, the number of normal players operating within the vicinity of Silverwing Town was relatively low~far from enough to contend against the Dark Players operating around Ancient Rock City. However, if Silverwing Town were developed further, the number of players gathering at the town would also increase. The influx of normal players would naturally pose a deterrent to the Dark Players. At the very least, they would refrain from boldly launching attacks in large numbers. Although the news of Silverwing Town setting up a trade route brought joy to the independent players operating within the Ore Empire, somber expressions appeared on the faces of the various major powers'' upper echelons when they received this piece of news. At this point in time, the number of players willing to operate within the Ore Empire had already peaked. In other words, the player population within the Ore Empire would no longer increase significantly like before. Meanwhile, the various major powers that had captured a town within the Ore Empire all needed to lure more players to their towns to develop their towns. However, if most of the players operating within the empire were heading to Silverwing Town, how were these major powers supposed to develop their own Guild Towns? "Wind, with this recent development, the Ancient Rock City you''re managing is in for a tough time," Falling Fire, who held a crystalline crimson staff, said when he heard the latest system announcement. A grin appeared on his face as he turned to look at the Level 55, Tier 2 Berserker standing beside him. "To begin with, we only joined hands with the Dark Players to use their strength to whittle down Zero Wing. This change will bring no loss to the Evil God''s Temple," Wind Hunter said indifferently. "Moreover, no matter how Zero Wing develops Silverwing Town, it is already too late. Don''t you agree?" "Indeed. While Zero Wing''s Black Flame is indeed very scary, unfortunately for him, a Guild can''t become strong just by relying on one person. At the end of the day, a war between Guilds is decided by the financial strength and foundations both sides possess," Falling Fire said as he looked at the Crimson Flame Fortress, whose defensive magic array had already been shattered. "We''ll let Zero Wing maintain its arrogance for now. As long as we capture the Crimson Flame Fortress, Zero Wing''s existence will be over." The Crimson Flame Fortress was one of the most important fortresses within the Ore Empire''s inner area. It was also one of the relatively safe transport hubs in the empire. Capturing the Crimson Flame Fortress would be equivalent to taking control of the majority of the players heading to the Regional Dungeon Ore Capital City. The amount of Coins and resources they could earn from the fortress would easily surpass that from Ancient Rock City at its peak. At the same time, their control of the Crimson Flame Fortress would essentially allow them to bar Zero Wing from entering the Ore Capital City. This would render all of Zero Wing''s efforts in the Ore Empire useless. In the long run, their alliance would grow increasingly stronger in the Ore Empire, whereas Zero Wing would weaken. After accumulating sufficient strength, they could then capture Silverwing Town and destroy Zero Wing, permanently relegating the Guild to history. Elsewhere, due to Shi Feng completing the expulsion magic array, the Ore army trying to kill him was subjected to a powerful pressure from the magic array. Even the Ore General''s reactions turned sluggish under the pressure, allowing the Swordsman to evade the Ore General''s attacks, albeit barely. Just as Shi Feng was trying to think of a way to escape... A series of war cries suddenly came from outside the fortress. In the next moment, an army of NPCs suddenly appeared roughly a thousand yards away from the fortress and charged toward it. Although there were only 1,000 NPCs in this army, they were all very high-leveled, at least Level 100. In God''s Domain, Level 50 was a major turning point. Likewise, Level 100 was also a very important turning point. A Level 100, Tier 2 NPC would make short work of a Level 95 Great Lord. Meanwhile, among the NPCs galloping over, the weakest one was a Level 100, Tier 2 NPC. Claude, the NPC leading the charge, was even a Level 120, Tier 3 Knight Captain. Although Claude was only Tier 3, he was not in the same league as ordinary Tier 3 NPCsbecause Claude was fully equipped in Epic Equipment. The silver spear he wielded was even a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. His combat power was no doubt at the peak of Tier 3. He could even go toe-to-toe with ordinary Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Shortly after these NPCs appeared, they quickly engaged the Ore army in battle. Riding atop a one-horned beast, Claude swung his spear at the Ore Warriors that were trying to force their way through the entrance. Claude''s spear transformed into a silver streak of light, tearing a hole through space as it swept at the Ore Warriors. Two Level 80 Grand Lord ranked Ore Warriors went flying. Meanwhile, the Lord ranked Ores, which were caught in the crossfire, were killed on the spot. In the blink of an eye, Claude cut open a path in the Ore army and charged straight into the fortress. Reinforcements? Shi Feng was both joyful and confused at Claude''s appearance. He had never thought that the system would provide such a service after he completed his quest. In the eyes of a Level 120, Tier 3 NPC, the Level 80 Mythic ranked Ore General was no different from a Common monster with a lot of HP. Claude sent the Ore General flying with every one of his attacks. As Claude and the Ore General clashed, the Ore General''s HP continuously decreased. When the Ore General''s HP fell to 50%, the Mythic Ore let loose a frustrated and indignant roar. In the next moment, the battling Ore army started retreating. As for the Ore General, it, too, backed up to the top of a fortress wall, then jumped off and escaped. After the Ore army fled, Claude approached Shi Feng. "Lord Protector, thanks to your efforts, we were able to set up this important trade route. From now onward, Star-Moon Kingdom''s army will be managing this place to assure the trade route''s security. Meanwhile, as you are the pioneer of this trade route, are you willing to pay 60,000 Gold to repair this Secret Stone Fortress and become its Advanced Manager?" 1829 Secret Stone Fortress Chapter 1829 - Secret Stone Fortress "Advanced Manager?" Shi Feng was ecstatic upon hearing Claude''s words. In God''s Domain, becoming a fortress town''s manager was akin to becoming a noble of an NPC town or city. Players would gain the authority to manage a portion of the Shops in the fortress town and would be able to determine its development direction. However, an NPC fortress town wouldn''t have only one manager. Just like Thunder Island, there could be multiple managers overseeing a single fortress town. An Advanced Manager possessed more authority than a Basic Manager. An Advanced Manager was close to being the deputy mayor of a fortress town. They would be able to manage important establishments such as the Auction House, Teleportation Hall, and Adventurer''s Association, not just a bunch of Shops. Although becoming an Advanced Manager was inferior to fully occupying a fortress town, since an NPC fortress town would be partially operated and guarded by NPCs, barring special situations, it was much safer than a Guild Fortress Town. For example, currently, so long as the Secret Stone Fortress was being garrisoned by Level 100 NPCs, even if Beast Emperor sent his entire Evil Beast army over, he wouldn''t be able to take down the fortress. Unless Beast Emperor had some way to reduce the garrisoned NPCs'' levels, capturing the fortress would be impossible. "Lord Claude, must the 60,000 Gold be paid right now?" Shi Feng asked. Sixty thousand Gold was no small sum. This was especially true for Shi Feng right now, as he had already spent most of his funds on this expedition. "Sixty thousand Gold is indeed a lot of money. Moreover, it''ll take some time to get the necessary materials to repair the Secret Stone Fortress," Claude said, nodding. "It''ll take four days at the quickest for the kingdom''s army to arrive. It is fine so long as you gather the 60,000 Gold within these four days." ... System: You have triggered the Quest "Secret Stone Fortress." Collect 60,000 Gold within four days. Failure to do so will result in the loss of the opportunity to become Secret Stone Fortress''s Advanced Manager. ... "Wonderful!" Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing the system notification. While it might be difficult for ordinary first-rate Guilds to collect 60,000 Gold in four days_some might even have to sell some of their Lands to do sothis was not a problem for Shi Feng. After all, he had a business deal with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. Both these super-first-rate Guilds had shown great interest in the Dark Corrosion Set They had also placed an order for a large number of All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver. If he offered to let the two Guilds pay for a portion of the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver using Coins, instead of Magic Crystals, the two Guilds would definitely be more than happy to do so. After Shi Feng was done speaking with Claude, he immediately left for Silverwing Town. While collecting 60,000 Gold in four days posed no problem, the money he needed amounted to far more than just 60,000 Gold. After completing the Ore King''s Ambitions quest, he had acquired the extremely precious Star-Moon Kingdom Airport Building Order as well as a Transportation Firm Design. Both these items were priceless treasures. The Star-Moon Kingdom Airport Building Order was akin to a permit to open up an air route. However, he would need a lot of funds to build an airport. Fortunately, the construction of the airport did not require a design, only money. Even so, building a Small Airport still cost 50,000 Gold. However, once he set up an air route from Star-Moon Kingdom to Silverwing Town, not only would it expedite the transport of NPC merchants'' goods, but players from Star-Moon Kingdom would also have an easier time getting to Silverwing Town. Although air travel wasn''t as fast as teleportation, it was still many times faster than traveling on land on a Mount. Moreover, the transportation fee one had to pay was also much cheaper than that for a teleportation array. In the past, a large part of the reason why many superpowers were able to develop their neutral towns into an Advanced City was their possession of an airport. Although many first-rate Guilds possessed great financial strength, the neutral towns they developed only managed to reach the Basic City standard; they simply couldn''t become an Advanced City no matter what. Only the first-rate Guilds that succeeded in building an airport were able to develop their neutral towns to the Advanced City standard. This was because an airport was capable of bringing a town or city immense Popularity and prosperity. Not only could an airport help NPC merchants enter a town or city much more easily, but it also provided the ability to transport cargo safely and swiftly. A delivery trip that normally took one or two days by land could be completed in just a few hours by airship. Moreover, in God''s Domain, some NPC trading firms restricted their development to towns and cities with airports. In addition, there was the recruitment of NPC soldiers. As neutral maps were located very far away from human civilization, many NPCs were unwilling to travel to neutral towns and cities. However, if a neutral town had an airport, the number and quality of NPCs willing to work as a soldier for that town would also increase. With this, the improvement of the neutral town''s security level would accelerate. Due to this reason, the development speed of a neutral town with an airport far surpassed that of a neutral town without an airport. This was also the reason why Shi Feng had decided to undertake the Ore King''s Ambitions quest no matter what As for the Transportation Firm, its construction cost 20,000 Gold. The Transportation Firm was something that would be of great help to the players developing in the town where the firm was based. Once he constructed it in Silverwing Town, players would be able to pick up Transportation Quests in Silverwing Town. When players completed these quests, they could not only obtain a large sum of Coins but also accumulate Transportation Firm Contribution Points. Players could then spend the CPs and Coins they earned to purchase items that were exclusively traded between NPCs. To players that were incapable of raiding high-difficulty Team Dungeons, this was a good opportunity to acquire top-tier weapons, equipment, and tools. In the past, the Transportation Firm was actually much more popular than even the Auction House. Normally, NPC Auction Houses hosted auctions only once a week. However, the Transportation Firm would stock up on new items every day. Moreover, the more prosperous the town or city a Transportation Firm was based in, the better the quality of the items sold. Hence, in the past, any Guild Town or City that housed a Transportation Firm had become a holy land for independent players. Meanwhile, the airport and Transportation Firm would complement each other. If he could build both in Silverwing Town now, he might not even need a month to upgrade Silverwing Town into an Advanced Town. However, building these two constructions would cost an astronomical number of Coins. Hence, he needed to take action as soon as possible. The moment Shi Feng exited the Secret Stone Fortress, the members of the various dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds immediately shifted their gaze to him. "Commander, should we move out now?" a Level 54 Assassin asked, licking his lips as he turned to look at the Level 54, Tier 2 Ranger standing beside him. "The other adventurer teams and Guilds seem to be getting ready to take action as well." After the battle with the Ores ended, the NPCs following Shi Feng had also disappeared. The various Dark Players hiding in the forest grew restless at this development. Although they had seen Black Flame''s strength, the remuneration offered by Dark Soul was simply too tempting, so much so that they were willing to risk attacking Black Flame. After all, so long as they succeeded, what awaited them was a life of glory and financial security. 1830 Shocking Retrea Chapter 1830 - Shocking Retreat Hearing the words of the Assassin, the other players belonging to the same dark adventurer team started looking around curiously. Just like the Assassin had said, their adventurer team wasn''t the only one taking action. The members of the two dozen or so other adventurer teams and several Dark Guilds around them had also started sneaking closer to Shi Feng. It was obvious that these dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds were growing impatient. In God''s Domain, the dark forces were constantly oppressed. During the early stages of the game, players belonging to the dark forces had a much more difficult time getting by than normal players. After all, the dark forces were still incapable of contending against the various kingdoms and empires right now. Meanwhile, dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds with the potential to become a superpower were extremely rare. The conditions to join one such power were extremely stringent. Powers like Dark Soul, which was as strong as a superpower and also offered its members the freedom of an adventurer team, were even rarer. Joining Dark Soul would definitely bring plenty of benefits to their future development. They also wouldn''t have to worry about getting hunted just because they killed the members of certain Guilds. Moreover, they could grind in the high-resource maps occupied by Dark Soul and not make do in poor maps. "Commander?" The Assassin could not help but call out to the silent Tier 2 Ranger once again. "If we don''t make a move now, I''m afraid we''ll lose this chance to the other adventurer teams." "Fine. In for a penny, in for a pound. Even if we fail, at worst, we''ll lose a level. If we succeed, we''ll become members of Dark Soul in the future and instantly join the upper ranks of the dark forces," the gruff man carrying an exquisite crystalline longbow said, nodding. A hint of killing intent flashed across his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Dark Players had a much more difficult time getting by than normal players. The difficulty of finding a strong support to rely on as a Dark Player was also much greater than what normal players faced when trying to join the various superpowers. Now that there was an opportunity to join Dark Soul, how could he possibly let this chance get away? When the two dozen or so members of the adventurer team heard their commander''s words, they immediately revealed fierce expressions. They then followed their commander and slowly inched their way toward Shi Feng. At this moment, aside from this one adventurer team, the several thousand other Dark Players hiding in the forest were also entering a combat-ready state. Some stealthed Assassins had even gotten within 200 yards of Shi Feng already. "Black Flame has many means of escaping! We must not let him get away from us! First, form an encirclement around him. Then, use War Bondage to trap him here. Once the battle starts, use your Silencing Skills on him right away! We must finish him in the first exchange!" a Level 54, Tier 2 Assassin clad in dark-gray robes said to the 30-plus Assassins around him through the team chat. "As long as we kill Black Flame, everyone in our Poison Blade Guild will get to join Dark Soul! Then, we''ll be able to live like kings in the Dark Night Empire! We won''t need to fear even super-first-rate Guilds!" When their leader said that, the eyes of the 30-plus Level 53 and Level 54 Assassins glowed with excitement. Their Guild, Poison Blade, was a relatively ordinary Dark Guild in the Dark Night Empire. Normally, they could fight only second- and third-rate Guilds. When facing first-rate Guilds, they had no choice but to run away. As for super-first-rate Guilds, these existences were no different from Gods to them. Let alone provoking one, they didn''t even dare to come into contact with one. When they thought about how they wouldn''t need to fear Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul after joining Dark Soul, they could not help but feel excited. As they entertained visions of such a future, their footsteps as they approached Shi Feng became much lighter than before. Their auras also became gentler. At this moment, one could say that their focus had reached unprecedented levels. Only Shi Feng existed in their eyes right now. One hundred and fifty yards... One hundred yards... Eighty yards... As these Assassins closed in on Shi Feng''s rear, they also grew increasingly nervous. When the Assassins were within 50 yards of Shi Feng, a low voice suddenly entered everyone''s ears and echoed loudly in everyone''s mind. "Scram!" Before anyone could react, Shi Feng abruptly turned around and unsheathed Killing Ray. He then swung the Sacred Sword at the air before him. Suddenly, countless arcs of lightning formed before Shi Feng and joined together to form a blue river. Like a primordial beast, the blue river of lightning scorched everything in its path, spreading out in a cone covering an 80-yard radius. Before the stealthed Assassins could even react, countless arcs of lightning had already devoured their bodies. After a brief moment of exposure, the Assassins'' bodies then transformed into streaks of light and disappeared from the area. As the lightning river gradually dissipated, the other Dark Players, who were still a distance away, could not help but gasp. In just one hit, Shi Feng had killed over 70 stealthed Assassins. Right now, numerous pieces of shiny equipment littered the scorched ground. Meanwhile, due to Shi Feng''s sudden attack, the footsteps and breathing of the other stealthed Assassins turned chaotic, their bodies becoming exposed to everyone. This is the Sword King''s strength? A Tier 2 Assassin wearing dark-gray leather armor gulped in fear as he looked at the scorched ground that was just a few centimeters beside him. Compared to the players hiding in the distance, he had managed to get a much clearer view of Shi Feng''s attack just now. From the moment Shi Feng started activating a Skill until the time the Skill had fully activated, he, a Tier 2 Assassin, had actually failed to react By the time he realized Shi Feng had attacked, the blue river was already shooting out from Shi Feng''s sword. Moreover, despite him being able to clearly see the approach of the blue river, his body had been unable to react at all. This situation was just too frightening. His mind could not process how Shi Feng had executed such an attack. An ordinary expert player might not understand the implications of such a situation, but he did. The requirement for activating a Lifesaving Skill was for players to think the Skill''s name. Only after doing so would the Lifesaving Skill activate. However, if one could attack a player before the said player could have such a thought in their mind, then even having the most powerful Lifesaving Skill in the game would be meaningless. In other words, Shi Feng could kill an Assassinthe class that was famed for having the most Lifesaving Skillsin one attack whenever he wanted. This discovery instantly crushed any thoughts the Assassin in dark-gray leather armor had of fighting Shi Feng. In reality, though, Shi Feng''s inconceivable attack wasn''t entirely impossible to block, especially for experts who understood the principles of the Realms of Truth. This was because the move Shi Feng had just executed applied the Realms of Truth''s basicsmoving the body before moving the mind. Unless one trained arduously to go up against attacks executed using such quick reaction speeds, reacting to such an attack was simply impossible. After executing Lightning Edge, Shi Feng took a look at everyone present. Upon seeing no new challengers moving up to him, he sheathed Killing Ray before turning around and leaving. Due to Shi Feng''s attack, the remaining 100-plus Assassins no longer dared to approach him. They simply stood still as they watched him leave the battlefield. "Guild Leader, Black Flame is leaving. Are we still not moving?" a Level 54, Tier 2 Shield Warrior could not help but ask as he looked at the Level 54, Tier 2 Ranger beside him. "You want to go? Be my guest," the Tier 2 Ranger said, rolling his eyes at the Shield Warrior. The Tier 2 Shield Warrior shrank his neck back instinctively and shook his head. The fact that he was able to get promoted to Tier 2 at this stage of the game proved that his combat standard was much better than ordinary experts''. However, Black Flame''s attack inspired dread even in him. He definitely wasn''t confident of blocking the attack Black Flame executed just now. Meanwhile, even after Shi Feng''s figure disappeared from the battlefield, the thousands of Dark Players remained standing quietly at their original positions with pale expressions. Some independent players that were passing by the area were stupefied when they saw this scene. Too strong! With just one attack, Shi Feng had deterred several thousand Dark Players from making a move. By the time the Dark Players retreated from the area, news about the battle had already been spread like mad on the official forums by the independent players. 1831 Orc Empires Number One Swordsman Chapter 1831 - Ore Empire''s Number One Swordsman Ore Empire, Silverwing Town: After Shi Feng shook off the Dark Players'' pursuit, he immediately returned to Zero Wing''s Residence in Silverwing Town to make arrangements for the transport and purchase of products from NPC merchants. Although he had already set up the trade route, the collection of usage fees from the NPCs who used the trade route would have to be carried out by both players and NPC soldiers. In addition, players would need to be present in person to purchase the goods that were meant to be sold to NPCs. Hence, he would need to assign considerable manpower to handle these tasks. Moreover, in order to make sure the items purchased were useful, he would have to send knowledgeable personnel to deal with the NPC merchants. However, as soon as Shi Feng returned to the Guild Residence, he was greeted by a boisterous scene. Currently, Guild members were chatting happily and excitedly with each other inside the Guild Hall. "Guild Leader, you''re back. Everyone is talking about you right now," Aqua Rose said, excitement sprouting in her heart when she saw Shi Feng. "Because of your performance over at the Secret Stone Fortress, many people have already started titling you as the Ore Empire''s number one Swordsman. Of course, there are some who object to this. They feel that you are unworthy of this title and will accept it only when they have actually fought you. Even so, due to this situation, many more players from the neighboring kingdoms are trying to join Zero Wing now. In addition, several well-known experts from the neighboring kingdoms want to challenge you. However, Fire Dance has accepted these challenges in your place and is currently fighting these experts in the Battle Arena right now." "Well-known experts from other kingdoms are challenging me?" Shi Feng could not help but smile upon hearing this. "This is a good opportunity." He had never thought that his battle over at the Secret Stone Fortress would spark such a development. Before today, he had received many challenges from experts before. However, back then, these had been limited to the experts of Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, however, even the experts of other kingdoms were challenging him. This proved that his fame had already reached a considerable degree in those kingdoms. Otherwise, the welknown experts of those kingdoms wouldn''t have come to challenge him. Meanwhile, the fact that these experts had come to challenge him was a good thing for Silverwing Town. "Aqua, from today onwards, set up a challenge arena in the Battle Arena specifically for people wishing to challenge me. However, they cannot just issue a challenge without restrictions. Before I accept their challenge, they''ll have to win ten consecutive matches against people of our choosing. For now, select our fighters from our main force members. The challengers have to pay 5 Gold for each match. If the challengers win, they''ll get 20 Gold in return," Shi Feng said. "I understand," Aqua Rose replied, her eyes glowing. With Shi Feng''s plan, they could not only increase the popularity of Silverwing Town''s Battle Arena but also earn a lot of money and train the main force members, killing three birds with one stone. Following which, Shi Feng turned to Melancholic Smile, who stood beside Aqua Rose, and asked, "Melancholic, how is the production of the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver coming along?" Before he embarked on his quest to set up a trade route, he had left matters regarding the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver to Melancholic Smile to handle. The All-rounded Device was an item he personally created. Hence, he could make as many copies of its design as he wanted. The only reason he had not bothered trying to mass-produce the All-rounded Device until now was the much lower success rate other people would have when producing the All-rounded Device compared to him, the creator. In addition, the production costs for the All-rounded Device were also extremely high. However, now that everyone''s forging techniques had improved, it wasn''t entirely impossible to mass-produce the All- rounded Device. "Currently, only I have a feasible success rate when producing the All-rounded Device. Hence, I am the only one producing it right now. I have already made 53 All-rounded Devices. I am still far from fulfilling the 200 pieces you requested. However, Cocoa has become a Master Forger in Titan City. If we include her help, I believe it''ll take only one more day for us to get the required 200 pieces. As for the Elven Silver, we already have over 200 bottles produced. We can deliver them to you at any time," Melancholic Smile reported joyfully. "Cocoa has already been promoted into a Master Forger?" Shi Feng was overjoyed at this piece of news. A Master Lifestyle player would be welcomed by any major power, not to mention a Master of the forger subclass, which was one of the three most popular subclasses. Now that Cream Cocoa had already become a Master Forger, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s forging standards would also improve. Although Candlelight had two Master Forgers, as he was a Guild Leader, he was always busy with one thing or another. He simply could not afford to stay cooped up producing items. Likewise, Melancholic Smile had to manage the Candlelight Trading Firm. The time she could spend producing items was also very limited. However, Cream Cocoa was different. She did not have to manage any personnel or deal with Guild affairs. She could focus fully on forging. "Guild Leader, this isn''t everything. While you were away doing your quest, the people from the Ice Crystal World sent over another large batch of materials. Save for some of the specialty materials, I split the other materials into batches and had them brought to other kingdoms and empires to be sold. I also reserved a portion for our own use. After deducting our purchasing costs and the cost of the products brought over to the Ice Crystal World, we netted over 53,000 Gold from this batch of materials," Melancholic Smile said. "That much?" Shi Feng was a little surprised when he heard Melancholic Smile''s report. While it had been several days since he returned from the Ice Crystal World, he had emptied the market of all the rare materials he could find in the two NPC cities before leaving. He had never imagined that the players there would refill the market with materials so quickly. He had to admit that the wealth earned by selling the rare materials obtained from Otherworlds was truly amazing. Of course, a large part of the success this time was due to the Asura adventurer team and Adventurer Alliance. Without these two organizations, collecting so many rare materials from the Ice Crystal World wouldn''t have been possible. Meanwhile, they had already generated such massive wealth despite occupying only two NPC cities. If they could occupy the entire Ice Crystal World, the wealth they could generate would be many times more than even what the Secret Pavilion''s Magic Crystal vein could provide. It was no wonder the various superpowers fought heavily over Otherworlds during his previous life. Back then, the intense competition for Otherworlds didn''t allow second- and third-rate Guilds to poke a hand into the competition. Even first-rate Guilds could only fight for the scraps left behind by the various superpowers. "Alright, I got it" After pondering for some time, Shi Feng turned to Aqua Rose and said, "Aqua, contact Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart and tell them that we''ll have their items ready by tomorrow. If they are lacking in Magic Crystals, they can pay a portion of the bill using Coins." "I''ll notify them right away." Aqua Rose nodded. After Shi Feng was done dealing with these matters, he promptly headed to Silverwing Town''s Advanced Smithy. Currently, the Advanced Smithy was overcrowded with players. The majority of these players were here to disassemble their obsolete weapons and equipment, after which, they would use the materials they obtained to order custom-made weapons and equipment. Whenever these players used the services offered by the Advanced Smithy, 10% of the total bill would go into Zero Wing''s coffers. For the item breakdown service, Zero Wing would receive around 10 to 15 Copper for Bronze Equipment, 20 to 30 Copper for Mysterious-Iron Equipment, 40 to 50 Copper for Secret-Silver Equipment, 70 to 80 Copper for Fine-Gold Equipment, and 1 Silver to 1 Silver, 50 Copper for Dark-Gold Equipment. While this might not seem like much, there were tons of people coming to get their old equipment disassembled. Including the money received from repairs and custom orders, Zero Wing earned over 400 Gold from the Advanced Smithy every day. However, this was only the beginning. As players reached higher levels and the fame of the Advanced Smithy spread, more and more players would come to order custom-made equipment. At that time, the Advanced Smithy could earn 1,000 to 2,000 Gold per day. After Shi Feng took a look at the Advanced Smithy''s situation and had his weapons and equipment repaired, he used a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. He then made his way to Star-Moon City''s Adventurer''s Association. ... Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: Inside one of the Adventurer''s Association''s VIP rooms... "Lord Protector, how may I be of service to you today?" the NPC senior administrator asked as he looked at Shi Feng. "I wish to construct a Transportation Firm in Silverwing Town. Here is the design for it. I hope that you can start construction as soon as possible," Shi Feng replied before placing the Transportation Firm Design on the table before him. Previously, as his funds had been insufficient, he had planned on setting the Transportation Firm aside for the moment. However, now that he was rich again, he naturally had to get it constructed as soon as possible. "That won''t be a problem. The construction fee will be 20,000 Gold," the senior administrator said, nodding after confirming that there was nothing wrong with the design Shi Feng presented. Shi Feng then took out 20,000 Gold and handed the sum over to the senior administrator. After Shi Feng completed the transaction, a system notification suddenly entered his ears. 1832 Three Great Trading Firms Chapter 1832 - Three Great Trading Firms System: Congratulations! You are the first player to have constructed a Transportation Firm. Rewarding one Silver Twin Lions Trading Firm Token. The system announcement repeated three times, the system''s emotionless voice echoing in Shi Feng''s ears. Upon hearing these words, Shi Feng fell into a daze that lasted for a long time. A Silver Twin Lions Token? Shi Feng stared in shock at the silver token in his hand. Carved on this circular silver token was the image of two lions. There were also golden divine runes etched along its rim. It radiated an extremely ancient aura, obviously having existed for a very long time. "Lord Protector, congratulations on obtaining this Twin Lions Trading Firm Token. You are now a Silver VIP of the Twin Lions Trading Firm, one of God''s Domain''s three most ancient trading firms. It is very difficult to become one of the trading firm''s VIPs. This token will be of great help to you when you are doing business or transporting goods. Lord Protector, please make sure to keep the token secure. You will not be given a new one if you lose it," the NPC senior administrator explained. However, at this point, Shi Feng wasn''t even listening to the NPC''s explanation anymore. After all, he had a clearer understanding of the value of the Twin Lions Trading Firm''s token than even the NPC administrator, having long familiarity with the ability and influence of the trading firm. The Twin Lions Trading Firm was one of the oldest trading firms extant in God''s Domain. Its origins were unknown. However, rumor had it that the Twin Lions Trading Firm had a hand in the establishment of the famous War God''s Temple. Although the Twin Lions Trading Firm currently did not possess as extensive an influence as the War God''s Temple, whose influence spanned the entire continent of God''s Domain, it was still more influential than an ordinary empire. Only the Four Great Empires of God''s Domain could possibly rival the trading firm in influence. Meanwhile, to Guilds, the Twin Lions Trading Firm was much more important than even the Four Great Empires. In fact, the trading firm''s importance to Guilds surpassed the War God''s Temple''s. This distinction was because the Twin Lions Trading Firm''s trade routes covered over half of the entire continent. Anyone ferrying non-bag space items would prefer to use the trade routes of the trading firm, as these were much safer than the trade routes operated by players. Aside from the greater danger, player-operated trade routes were far less efficient. By using the Twin Lions Trading Firm''s trade routes, one could save more than half the travel time they would normally need when using a player-operated trade route. However, getting to utilize the Twin Lions Trading Firm''s trade routes was not an easy task. One had to be a member of the Twin Lions Trading Firm. In other words, they needed to obtain one of the trading firm''s tokens. Only then could they transport goods through the trading firm''s trade routes. Hence, the various large Guilds and merchant players in the past all sought to join the Twin Lions Trading Firm. Of course, the benefits and treatment one received depended on one''s status in the Twin Lions Trading Firm. VIPs not only got more discounts but also had access to trade routes that were normally not open to lower-ranking members. This was especially true for trade routes in neutral maps. In addition, higher-ranking members also had the privilege of hiring NPC escorts from the Twin Lions Trading Firm. For example, in the past, due to Shadow''s low ranking in the Twin Lions Trading Firm, Shi Feng had no choice but to lead the Guild''s delivery runs himself. As a result, they frequently came under attack from NPC bandits. Had Shadow''s ranking been enough in the Twin Lions Trading Firm to hire NPC escorts to serve as a deterrence, the Guild''s caravans wouldn''t have come under attack so frequently. In the Twin Lions Trading Firm, the token one held represented their rank in the trading firm. From lowest to highest, the ranks were Common, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Elder. Although there were only five ranks, even the lowest Common Token was extremely difficult to obtain. On the market, a Common Twin Lions Token had been worth around 10,000 Gold. Even so, nobody who had a token would be willing to sell it. One could easily imagine the difficulty of acquiring a Common Token. In addition, the Twin Lions Trading Firm acknowledged only the token and not its owner. There was no way to upgrade a token''s rank. The number of tokens distributed also had a limit, and the tokens would all drop upon death. Hence, many players and powers had sought to steal the tokens in the past. From what Shi Feng knew, there were only 99 Common Tokens, 49 Bronze Tokens, 24 Silver Tokens, and twelve Golden Tokens in the game at any time. As for the Elder Token, he had never heard any information about it. However, he expected it to be limited to ten. With the billions of players in God''s Domain, this small number of tokens simply wasn''t enough to satisfy the demand. Hence, every token was extremely valuable, regardless of its rank. In the past, Shi Feng had managed to get his hands on a Common Token only by a stroke of good luck. He had never dreamed of obtaining a Silver Token in this life. With this, transporting important items across neutral maps will no longer be a problem. Looking at the Twin Lions Token, Shi Feng cooked up many new plans. Non-bag space items were always worth a fortune; this was especially true for specialty products that were unique to a certain area. The main reason for their high value was the high cost of transporting them. However, many items important to players generally required the use of these materials. Moreover, as players reached higher levels, the development of Guild Towns and Cities would also start to require more and more non-bag space items. In addition, some special weapons and tools would necessitate the use of non-bag space items. Hence, the Twin Lions Trading Firm had been extremely popular among the various large Guilds and merchant players. Now that Shi Feng had a Silver Token, he would have no problem traveling across many neutral maps. He could also use these specialty non-bag space items to make a fortune. In addition, the Twin Lions Trading Firm would hold an auction once a month. The standard of this auction far surpassed any auction hosted by players and empires. One could say that the Twin Lions Trading Firm''s auction was the highest-standard auction in the entire God''s Domain. In the past, even Legendary items had appeared in the auction, as well as Fragmented Legendary items in significant quantities. As for Epic items, they were no different from commonplace items in the auction. In the past, every Twin Lions Trading Firm auction was a time for the various large Guilds to increase their combat power. However, participating in the auction was not easy. At the very minimum, one needed to possess a Common Token. Depending on the rank of one''s token, the number of people one could bring into the auction would differ. The Common Token allowed only one person entry into the auction venue, whereas the Bronze Token allowed two people, the Silver Token allowed three, and the Gold Token allowed five. As for the Elder Token, as nobody had ever obtained one even after ten years had passed in God''s Domain, nobody knew how many people the token allowed entry to. It seems I can have Aqua start tasking some people with transporting the Diamond Wood we have stockpiled to the Apocalypse Empire''s shipyard. Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the Silver Token. Previously, as he had been worried about having insufficient strength to protect the shipment, he had not bothered transporting the Diamond Wood they collected. Now that he had a Silver Token, he could borrow the Twin Lions Trading Firm''s power. By spending a little money, he could easily send the stockpile of Diamond Wood over to the Apocalypse Empire. Although he didn''t have a Bronze Speedboat Design right now, using Diamond Wood to construct Advanced Speedboats would still increase the Attributes of the speedboat somewhat Afterward, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose and had her dispatch some Guild experts to make the necessary preparations. As for himself, he returned to the Candlelight Trading firm and started producing All-rounded Devices. Although Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile could indeed produce enough All-rounded Devices for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul, he was also in dire need of the All-rounded Devices himself as he planned to head to the Flame Demon''s Valley and activate the World Gate as soon as possible. Only with the help of the Philosopher''s Hand could he increase the development speed of Candlelight''s Lifestyle Players. The production of ships required a large number of Master Engineers, not to mention the production of the Hell Chariots and Guardian Puppets. Having just two or three Master Engineers simply wasn''t enough. Meanwhile, over at Silverwing Town, the Transportation Firm''s construction was just completed. The sudden appearance of the three-story, stadium-sized building immediately caused a commotion among the players in the town. 1833 Gathering at Silverwing Town Chapter 1833 - Gathering at Silverwing Town The three-story-tall Transportation Firm was located close to Siverwing Town''s main entrance. Meanwhile, ten Level 100 NPC guards stood before the entrance, one of which was a Tier 3 Guard Captain. The Guard Captain carried a greatsword on his back and wore silver armor. Due to the strict atmosphere around him, players kept a wary distance from the Transportation Firm, only daring to glance at the building from far away. However, although players did not dare approach the building, one NPC merchant after another nonchalantly entered the firm. Large caravans also moved their goods into the building on a regular basis. After several minutes, the stadium-sized building was crowded with carriages and NPCs. Many players mustered their courage and entered the building after such a lively scene. "Amazing! There are so many NPC merchants here!" Upon entering the Transportation Firm''s first-floor hall, the curious players immediately spotted many NPC merchants lined up at the front counter, handling some formalities. There were easily over a thousand NPC merchants in the building, some of which had set up stalls in front of their parked carriages, selling a variety of precious items. The scene was simply dazzling. Meanwhile, the most eye-catching thing in the Transportation Firm had to be the gigantic crystal hovering in the center of the hall. The crystal displayed the Transportation Quests available today and their corresponding rewards. The quest difficulty and requirements were also listed. Players''jaws dropped after they inspected the colossal, translucent crystal in the hall. Delivery to Bronze Teeth Town: Difficulty - two-star. Requirement - Tier 2, must have completed five one-star quests. Remuneration - 3 Gold, 300 Contribution Points, and one Void Magic Gold. Recruiting six people. Delivery to Bronze Teeth Town: Difficulty - one-star. Requirement - Level 50 or above. Remuneration - 80 Silver, 50 Contribution Points, and one Smart Armor Kit Recruiting ten people. Every quest offered tempting rewards. Many expert players drooled over the two-star quests, in particular. At this stage of the game, many expert players wouldn''t earn 3 Gold even after a full day of grinding. Although the reward items might not be as valuable as the Gold, they were also highly sought after. For example, Void Magic Gold could be used to increase a weapon''s sharpness and lower its Durability consumption. However, Void Magic Gold wasn''t normally sold on the market. To the expert players present, the Void Magic Gold was far more valuable than 3 Gold Coins. Naturally, the three-star quest rewards even tempted players from the various major powers. Three-star quests actually awarded rare Tier 2 Skill Books upon completion. Even the various major powers'' experts lacked Tier 2 Skills. Aside from purchasing such Skills with Legacy Points, players could only obtain them by farming monsters for Skill Books. However, even the drop-rate for Tier 1 Skill Books was extremely low, not to mention Tier 2 Skill Books. After everyone finished gawking at the quests on the giant crystal, they noticed an exchange counter. This exchange counter allowed players to spend the Contribution Points and Coins they earned to purchase rare items the NPC merchants sold. The available rare items were impossible to purchase elsewhere. In fact, the NPC merchants even had Epic items for sale. Upon seeing these items, the players in the hall immediately went into an uproar. "Quick! Notify the Guild Leader! We must get those Epic items before the other Guilds!" The members of the various major powers immediately contacted their respective Guilds'' upper echelons and notified them about the Transportation Firm. As for the independent players present inside the Transportation Firm, their eyes glowed with excitement upon seeing the item list. Epic items! Independent players only dreamed of obtaining such items, yet as long as they earned enough Coins and Contribution Points, they could purchase these items. In other words, they now had the possibility of acquiring an Epic item. For a time, news of the Transportation Firm spread like a plague throughout the Ore Empire and the neighboring countries. "We can purchase Epic items just by collecting enough Contribution Points from quests? There''s no status restriction? In that case, our adventurer team can contend with the various large Guilds for these Epic items!" "The rewards for Silverwing Town''s Transportation Quests are actually so bountiful? That''s at least triple the amount we get from the usual Transportation Quests! We need to head to Silverwing Town to develop right this instant!" Many adventurer teams and independent players decided to shift their base of operations to Silverwing Town. Setting aside the fact that they could earn more money by developing there, the fact that they could purchase top-tier weapons and equipment was the final push. For a time, players swarmed toward Silverwing Town. ... "Vice Guild Leader, what should we do? The number of players trying to enter the town has suddenly increased by more than 200,000. By the looks of it, even more people will show up later. However, we''ve already reached the town''s entry limit of 1,500,000 players, and the players waiting outside are making a huge fuss," Yaya, Aqua Rose''s assistant, said as she ran up to Aqua Rose, who was currently swamped with work. "I understand. Temporarily increase the town''s entry limit to 1,800,000," Aqua Rose said, nodding as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Due to the Transportation Firm''s appearance, many merchant players had contacted her, expressing their interest in renting a Shop in Silverwing Town long-term. Some top adventurer teams had even asked to garrison in Silverwing Town. These top adventurer teams had declared their willingness to purchase private houses at a high price and sign a garrison agreement with Zero Wing. She never thought that Silverwing Town would become the focal point of the Ore Empire and its several neighboring countries. This had all happened so suddenly, and she hadn''t been prepared. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who currently forged All-rounded Devices in the Candlelight Trading Firm, remained ignorant of the situation. He simply focused on forging and increased the pile of All-rounded Devices on his table. After working for more than half a day, Shi Feng received joyous news. Liang Jing, his temporary assistant, had finally come to a compromise with Xiao Yu and would officially join God''s Domain today. Moreover, she had already joined Zero Wing and used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport to White River City''s Guild Residence. To help her acclimate to God''s Domain, Shi Feng decided to have her assist Melancholic Smile in managing White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm for the moment. This way, Melancholic Smile could somewhat relax. "So, this is the Candlelight Trading Firm?" Liang Jing, who wore a set of long, white robes and held a wooden staff, couldn''t help but gape at the towering building before her. In her opinion, a virtual reality game was only a form of entertainment. However, after logging into God''s Domain, she discovered that this game was no different than reality. In fact, she felt that her senses in the game were much sharper than her senses in the real world. If not for the diamond markers and HP bars hovering above the players around her, she''d even have suspected that she had been transported into another world. Aside from God''s Domain''s realism, the number of players she saw in the city also shocked her. She had never thought that White River City would have so many players. The city''s commercial district where she currently stood was even livelier than Jin Hai City''s commercial district. Meanwhile, the most eye-catching building in the district actually belonged to Zero Wing. This was simply inconceivable. "Are you Liang Jing, the person the Guild Leader mentioned?" While Liang Jing tried to process the new information and environment, she noticed a mellow voice. Turning towards its origin, Liang Jing discovered a beautiful young woman in a luxurious dress. Upon hearing this woman greet Liang Jing, nearby players shot the new woman envious glances. "What''s going on?" Liang Jing was even more confused upon noticing players'' reactions. 1834 Frightening Zero Wing Chapter 1834 - Frightening Zero Wing Looking at the woman approaching her, Liang Jing could feel the weight of the surrounding players'' gazes. The long line of players waiting to enter the Candlelight Trading Firm turned to look at her, as well. If these people were focused on the woman approaching her, she''d could, more or less, understand their reactions. After all, the woman before her was tall and elegant, with a face and temperament to match. It was only natural that such a graceful woman would attract attention. But these players were focused on her, not this woman. A moment ago, these people had ignored her, yet she had instantly become a sensation the moment this beautiful young woman had called out to her... The beauty greeting Liang Jing was none other than Melancholic Smile. According to Shi Feng, he had found her a capable assistant, although her Guild Leader had asked that she show Liang Jing the ropes first. "Hello, I am Melancholic Smile. I will be helping you learn about the Candlelight Trading Firm and all there is to know about our business. If there is anything you don''t understand, feel free to ask me," Melancholic Smile introduced herself. After Melancholic Smiles introduction, the nearby players went into an uproar. "Crap! Who is that woman!? Melancholic Smile actually came out to greet her?!" "Could she be some sort of Master Lifestyle player?" "That can''t be it. She''s only Level 10, and she isn''t wearing a Lifestyle Insignia. She''s definitely a newbie, but she must be someone important if Melancholic came to welcome her personally. Maybe she is the heiress of some major corporation, here to visit the Candlelight Trading Firm?" For a time, the Lifestyle players seeking to join the Candlelight Trading Firm quietly discussed Liang Jing''s identity, glancing at the woman with envy and admiration. Not only was Melancholic Smile the Candlelight Trading Firm''s manager, but she was also a Master Forger. She was one of Zero Wing''s core upper echelons. Rumors had it that many superpowers and major corporations had even offered astronomical prices to hire her, but she had rejected them all. Melancholic Smile was an idol to Lifestyle players like them. Not only was she very beautiful, but her forging standards also ranked at the apex of God''s Domain. They all dreamed of a life like the one Melancholic Smile enjoyed. That was also the reason that so many Lifestyle players had come from neighboring kingdoms to join Candlelight Meanwhile, overhearing the nearby Lifestyle players'' discussions, Liang Jing was inwardly shocked as she examined the player before her. She never thought that this woman held such a high position. She also blushed with embarrassment as she heard the players guess her identity. The heiress of a major corporation? She was only the assistant of the Big Dipper Group''s Chairman. She was insignificant compared to an heiress. After Melancholic Smile and Liang Jing introduced themselves, they entered the Candlelight Trading Firm. White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm was the sole 3-star Shop in Star-Moon Kingdom. When Liang Jing entered the building, she felt as if she had stepped into a modern shopping mall. Only, the Shop had magical elements, unlike a mall in the real world. Customers crowded the first-floor hall, stupefying Liang Jing. She hadn''t imagined that a Shop in God''s Domain could be so lively. Melancholic Smile simply smiled at Liang Jing''s reaction before leading the new recruit to the third floor. The third floor and up were not open to the public; only Candlelight''s members had access. "Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm has over 20,000 Lifestyle players. They''re split across multiple branches. Among them, over 4,000 have officially signed a contract to become internal members. You could say that Candlelight is the bona fide number one trading firm throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. This Shop alone houses a little over 2,000 Lifestyle players. In the future, you will manage this Shop and its employees," Melancholic Smile explained as she gestured to the various workshops, which contained Candlelight''s Lifestyle players hard at work. "Although you won''t have to manage a lot of people at first, once you get used to the job and perform well, I''ll have you take over managing Silverwing Town. Things are getting hectic in Silverwing right now. We just increased the entry limit to 1,800,000 people. We''ll have to increase this number slowly in the future, so we have a lotto do." As Liang Jing listened to Melancholic Smile''s explanation, she wondered if she had heard wrong. Candlelight had over 20,000 employees? Moreover, over 4,000 were officially contracted to the trading firm? In other words, there were over 4,000 players working as full-time employees for Candlelight. This was several times more than the Big Dipper Group''s employees. Later, she''d even have to manage a town with 1,800,000 players... This was simply madness... If the situation was as Melancholic Smile had described, as the assistant of the Big Dipper Group''s Chairman, she was certain that Zero Wing was far wealthier than the Big Dipper Group. There was simply no comparing the two. She had always wondered why Shi Feng acted so nonchalantly towards the Big Dipper Dojo''s offers. It had offered a salary and benefits that countless people dreamed of, yet Shi Feng had settled for a temporary position, focusing his efforts on God''s Domain. Now, she finally understood. It turned out that the Big Dipper Group''s offers, which it had deemed quite generous, were little more than a farce to Shi Feng. He had only been working for the Big Dipper as a pastime. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had offered her a position with Zero Wing in God''s Domain because he had appreciated her management skills, and Xiao Yu wanted to use the opportunity to learn more about Shi Feng''s affairs. Whether she chose to work for the Big Dipper Group or Zero Wing Workshop in the future would be up to her. However, right now, she had no idea how she was supposed to report her discoveries to Chairman Xiao. What Liang Jing did not know was that Silverwing Town wasn''t Zero Wing''s most populated territory. Rather, Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing City saw far more traffic with a player population several times higher than Silverwing Town. Elsewhere, Shi Feng, ignorant of Liang Jing''s thoughts, still focused on forging All-rounded Devices. Finally, after a full day of work, he had crafted over a hundred All-rounded Devices. He had also made quite a few standard Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons. Thanks to all the EXP from forging, he had finally reached Level 68. Although he had killed plenty of monsters when setting up the trade route, due to the NPCs'' participation, the EXP reward had been significantly reduced. He had only received a lot of EXP after he completed the quest. Even so, it hadn''t been enough to push him to Level 68. However, compared to his recent level-up, the Philosopher''s Hand''s ability truly surprised Shi Feng. When he used the Philosopher''s Soul to help guide him in forging Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark Gold Weapons, the designs he had obtained from Titan City, the finished products had ranged between Level 50 and 55. It was a massive improvement. Although a standardized Level 55 Fine-Gold Weapon was slightly weaker than Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment acquired from monsters, it was still considerably stronger than a Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapon. This was also the case for standardized Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons. The highest-leveled players in the various large Guilds were currently Level 55. Hence, trying to acquire Level 55 weapons was extremely difficult. Currently, most of these Level 55 experts still used Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons. If given the choice, these experts would definitely wield a standardized Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapon. If he sold these standardized Dark Gold Weapons in bulk, he could fetch a higher price than normal. Suddenly, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and reported, "Guild Leader, the representatives from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul have arrived. They''re waiting in the second-floor VIP reception room." "Alright, I''ll head over now." Nodding, Shi Feng collected his forged items and headed to the reception room. 1835 Massive Profits Chapter 1835 - Massive Profits Candlelight Trading Firm''s VIP reception room: Currently, Phoenix Rain, Blue Phoenix, Unyielding Heart, and Mu Lingsha waited in the reception room. "Uncle Heart, are the items you mentioned really that effective?" Mu Lingsha asked worriedly. "The Guild has employed various methods, but we still haven''t made it into the Dark Battlegrounds'' inner region. Moreover, the Silent Water''s corrosion is extremely powerful. Even the rare Advanced Toughness Potion only extends our survival rate a little. "We''ve shed all pretenses with the Starline Corporation already and are engaged in an all-out war with them. We can only spare a very limited amount of resources. If we spend so many Magic Crystals, and these items end up being useless, it''ll be disastrous." When she had asked Unyielding Heart to lead a team in assisting Zero Wing, she had assumed that the Guild only needed some help with a slightly difficult quest, yet when Unyielding Heart had returned, he had told her that Zero Wing had secured the Hell Mode Eclipse Throne''s First Clear. The report had left her flabbergasted. She had never realized that Zero Wing''s main force was so powerful. Moreover, Unyielding Heart had praised Zero Wing''s Black Flame. His praise was rare, even in Unyielding Soul. Unyielding Heart had gone on to mention that Zero Wing possessed some special tools that could help them deal with the Dark Battlegrounds'' severe environment. This revelation had further increased her shock. Truthfully, she wanted to believe Unyielding Heart''s claim, but she couldn''t bring herself to do so. Their Guild had expended a lot of effort to reach the Dark Battlegrounds'' inner region, but every method they tried had been a failure. She had even worked herself to the bone to find a solution to this problem. Yet, Unyielding Heart had told her that Zero Wing had two items that could help their survival in the map. Moreover, Zero Wing could produce enough of these items for a 100-man team. "Miss Mu, you can rest assured," Unyielding Heart said with a bitter smile. Over the past few days, Mu Lingsha had repeatedly asked him the same question, yet no matter how many times he explained the situation, the young lady refused to believe him. However, it wasn''t as if he couldn''t understand her feelings. At this point, Unyielding Soul and Starlink, the Starline Corporation''s Guild, were engaged in a bitter war. As a result, Unyielding Soul spent a frightening amount of resources each day. Meanwhile, purchasing 100 All-rounded Devices and 100 bottles of Elven Silver would cost them 40,000 Magic Crystals, and since Zero Wing had produced the items within three days, as per their agreement, Unyielding Soul had to pay an additional 5,000 Magic Crystals. For the Guild, 45,000 Magic Crystals were by no means a small amount. If after paying so many Magic Crystals, the items were useless, they''d cry with regret. Mu Lingsha found it difficult to respond to Unyielding Heart''s comment. She could only hope these items would be as helpful as he claimed. "Big Sis Rain, Unyielding Soul''s representatives seemed worried about something. Do you think they plan on backing out of the purchase?" Blue Phoenix asked as she eyed Mu Lingsha''s worried expression. Giggling, she continued, "If they do, we''ll get to purchase their share as well. Then, we''ll have a much easier time exploring the Sea of Death''s inner islands." "Why would they possibly back out?" Phoenix Rain asked, chuckling. "Unyielding Soul has fought several large-scale battles against Starlink in the Dark Night Empire and desperately needs weapons, equipment, and war weapons. Both Guilds are furiously fighting for the high-resource maps that yield weapons and equipment. If Unyielding Soul wishes to obtain these items, it''ll have to farm high-resource maps with hostile environments. The Guild will have a higher chance of securing the items in those maps. "Unyielding Soul needs Alrounded Devices and Elven Silver more than anything right now. It can''t afford to back out ^ this deal." Blue Phoenix saw the reasoning in her Pavilion Master''s words. The more hostile a map''s environment was, the more treasures it would have to offer. Take the Sea of Death, for example. After exploring the sea zone''s dangerous islands, the various superpowers had acquired a significant harvest Now, all of the various superpowers were organizing large, powerful teams to explore the Sea of Death. However, to explore the map''s islands effectively, the superpowers would need items that could reduce the hostile environments'' impact on their players. While acquiring a small number of such items was not a problem, acquiring them in bulk was almost impossible. If they could get their hands on the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver, even if they didn''t use the items for themselves, they could earn impressive profits by reselling them. While both Guilds'' representatives quietly talked among themselves, the reception room''s door swung open. Following which, a cloaked, middle-aged man entered the room, and the occupants fell silent when they saw him. He is Black Flame? Mu Lingsha was shocked when she looked at the new arrival. What a powerful aura! Shi Feng radiated an extremely strong, violent aura. In Mu Lingsha''s eyes, Shi Feng felt like a primordial beast, rather than a player. What Mu Lingsha did not know was that the aura didn''t belong to Shi Feng. Instead, it radiated from the Abyssal Blade at his waist. The Abyssal Blade''s aura could no longer be contained after Shi Feng had upgraded it to Level 50. Because of this, Shi Feng had chosen to appear as Black Flame for this meeting. "Sorry for the long wait; I had some business to deal with," Shi Feng apologized. "It''s fine. We just arrived as well," Unyielding Heart said, chuckling. "Moreover, if it means we can obtain the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver, even a several-hour wait would be worth it." Phoenix Rain, who sat close to Unyielding Heart, could not help but smile when she heard the man''s words. She hadn''t expected Unyielding Heart to be so direct about his desire for the items. "Alright, since everyone is here for these two, let''s get straight to business," Shi Feng said. He then took out the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver he had prepared and placed them on the table before him. "After working around the clock with my people, we forged a total of 400 All-rounded Devices and 450 bottles of Elven Silver. According to our previous agreement, 200 of each item will go to the Phoenix Pavilion Master, while 100 of each item are reserved for Brother Heart. As for the 5,000 Magic Crystals we agreed on before, we''ll just forget about that. I''d like to sell the remaining 100 All-rounded Devices and 150 bottles of Elven Silver via a private auction. You may bid for these extras with Coins. "May I know your opinions about this arrangement?" "Alright. I have no problems with that" Upon hearing that Shi Feng had so many extra items, Phoenix Rain could not help but inwardly celebrate. "I don''t have any arguments, either." Unyielding Heart nodded in agreement. Only, he slightly regretted his previous decision. Had he known Zero Wing was capable of producing so many All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver, he would''ve ordered more. However, when he considered his uncertainty about how useful the Elven Silver would be against the Silent Water, he dismissed his regret Hearing the two players'' agreement, Shi Feng proceeded with fulfilling their previous arrangements. In the end, Shi Feng received 80,000 Magic Crystals from Phoenix Rain and 40,000 Magic Crystals from Unyielding Heart. He then allowed both to bid for the additional All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver, auctioning the items off in batches of ten. As the transaction could be completed using Coins, both Guilds bid on the items without issues. In the end, Phoenix Rain had purchased 80 All-rounded Devices and 120 bottles of Elven Silver, while Unyielding Heart bought the rest. When comparing foundations, Unyielding Soul was definitely superior to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, Unyielding Soul didn''t have as much financial freedom due to its war with Starlink. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain had earned quite a bit from the authority she wielded on Thunder Island and the harvests from the Sea of Death. Hence, in terms of financial strength, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was currently stronger than Unyielding Soul. After selling the extra items, Shi Feng had made over 20,000 Gold. Both super-first-rate Guilds were also quite satisfied with the outcome. As the representatives of both Guilds were about to leave... "Since we''ve sold the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver, let us start the auction for today''s main course," Shi Feng said, intentionally dragging out his statement. "Main course?" "You have something even better than the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver?" Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart gave Shi Feng confused looks. How could he possibly have something more valuable than the two items? "Correct." Shi Feng then began to pull the standardized Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons from his bag, putting them on display before his guests. 1836 Arming Teams Chapter 1836 - Arming Teams The one-handed saber Shi Feng placed on the table looked quite modest like a very ordinary weapon, yet it radiated the glow unique to Dark-Gold Weapons. "A Dark-Gold Weapon that can be used up to Level 55?" When Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart looked at the Dark-Gold Weapon, they could not help their confusion. In terms of Attributes, it was only slightly better than a Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapon. While it might be very tempting to ordinary expert players, to Guild upper echelon like themselves, it was nothing special. Although a Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapon was indeed very valuable, in terms of usefulness, there was simply no comparison between it and the All-rounded Device or Elven Silver. Not to mention, the Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapon Shi Feng just took out did not possess any special traits. It neither added any Resistances nor granted extraordinarily high Attributes. Hence, they found it truly confusing that Shi Feng was treating this weapon as the finale item. Just as Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart were wondering what Shi Feng''s intention was by taking out such a plain Dark- Gold Weapon, Shi Feng took out another weapon from his bag and placed it on the table. This time, it wasn''t a saber but a greatsword, instead. He''s selling two items? Blue Phoenix, who was watching from the side, was also baffled by this situation. Let alone two Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, even two Epic Weapons wouldn''t be enough to tempt representatives of super-first-rate Guilds like Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart. However, just as Blue Phoenix was having such thoughts, Shi Feng proceeded to take out another weapon from his bag. Moreover, he showed no signs of stopping, even after revealing the third weapon. Three... Five... Eight... By the time ten Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons were laid out on the table, Phoenix Rain''s and Unyielding Heart''s expressions had changed. While Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons were not that easy to obtain, with the current strength Zero Wing''s main force possessed, they understood that Zero Wing definitely could acquire some. If it were only two or three Dark-Gold Weapons, they wouldn''t have felt particularly surprised by the situation. However, having ten Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons was an entirely different story. "As you can imagine, I am able to obtain quite a number of these Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons. These ten articles are merely samples for you to see. What do you think of these weapons?" Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at the two people wearing serious expressions before him. Currently, he had produced only ten Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons. It wasn''t that he did not wish to produce more but that he lacked the materials to do so. While the materials needed to produce these weapons were not very rare and were available in the market, they were not usually sold in large quantities. Collecting a sufficient amount would take considerable time. This was also the reason why the various large Guilds that could produce Dark-Gold Weapons made only a very limited quantity. In the current God''s Domain, having ten Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons was already a staggering feat. "You still have more of these?" Phoenix Rain asked, pleasantly surprised. "May I know how many more of these weapons Brother Black Flame has?" Unyielding Heart asked hurriedly. A single Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapon was indeed nothing significant to them because one weapon could improve the combat power of only one player. The improvement would be minimal. However, after reaching a certain quantity, these Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons would have much more of an impact. With enough of these weapons, one could elevate the combat power of a team to a whole new level. Meanwhile, this increase in combat power would be very useful when a team was raiding Field Bosses. "Not many," Shi Feng said. Raising three fingers, he added, "I only have enough to equip a 300-man team. May I know if the two of you are interested in this transaction?" "Guild Leader Black Flame, you''re not joking, right? Enough to equip a 300-man team? Doesn''t that mean you have over a hundred Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons?" Mu Lingsha, who sat at a side, asked, her face twitching involuntarily. The weapons placed on the table were all meant for physical classes; none were for magical classes. Even so, trying to equip every physical class in a 300-man team would still require over 100 weapons. Currently, she wasn''t even certain whether the various superpowers possessed Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons. At the very least, Unyielding Soul definitely did not. No matter how she looked at it, she simply could not accept that Zero Wing could actually take out over a hundred of these weapons. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain''s and Unyielding Heart''s lips also twitched slightly when they heard Shi Feng''s words. This revelation truly came as a shock to them. With so many Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, they could construct three very powerful 100-man teams. So long as each team had sufficient Tier 2 players, even raiding Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons wouldn''t be a problem. If they had three teams capable of consistently raiding Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons, their Guilds'' income of weapons and equipment would increase drastically. They could even acquire Level 50 Dungeon Set Equipment within one Cooldown cycle. "May I know how Brother Black Flame plans on selling these weapons?" Unyielding Heart asked, a passionate flame burning in his eyes. "Right, Guild Leader Black Flame, how do you plan on selling these weapons?" Phoenix Rain asked in a serious tone as well. She could not help but admit that this finale item was truly a finale among finales. After all, while the All-rounded Devices and Elven Silver only provided them with a chance of obtaining top-tier weapons and equipment, placed right before them was a guarantee of doing so. "Simple." Shi Feng then took out two sets of documents listing some rare materials and handed these to the two people before him. "Using the listed materials as the standard and 300 sets of them as one batch, so long as you collect one batch of materials, you may purchase 40 weapons. We''ll use these 300 sets of materials as the starting bid. You can then increase the price using Magic Crystals or Coins, with each increment being worth no less than 100 Gold." After reading the list of materials Shi Feng provided, Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart gasped involuntarily. Although the materials listed were not particularly rare, one full set was already worth quite a lot. Yet, now, they needed 300 sets just to qualify to participate in the auction. Shi Feng''s asking price truly wasn''t low. "I don''t have any problems here," Phoenix Rain said, nodding. A first-rate Guild would indeed face great difficulty collecting 300 sets of the listed materials. It wasn''t a matter of money but of the rarity of the materials. With the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s huge sphere of influence, however, collecting 300 sets within a short period was still doable. "Deal!" Unyielding Heart was also determined to go through with this transaction. So long as he could obtain 40 of these Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, he would have the confidence to lead his Guild''s main force to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon. Moreover, in terms of ability to collect resources, his side was much stronger than Phoenix Rain''s. After all, the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion was an alliance of two Guilds. Phoenix Rain could mobilize only half of the Guild''s resources at most. "Since both of you are fine with this, let us start the auction now, then." Upon seeing that both sides found his proposal acceptable, Shi Feng grew even more joyful. Truthfully, even he felt that the amount of materials he was asking for was a little excessive, and he expected that the two Guilds might balk at the condition. After all, even the current Zero Wing wasn''t capable of collecting 300 sets of the materials at short notice. However, when he thought about how both the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul were super-first-rate Guilds, he concluded that acquiring 300 sets of the materials shouldn''t be impossible for them, although it would hurt their pockets slightly. By setting such a high price in the first place, so long as he could acquire 300 sets of the materials required, given his production success rate, which was above 30%, he could instantly earn not only his cost but also quite an amount of materials to arm Zero Wing. Now, however, it would seem that he had somewhat underestimated the foundations of the two super-first-rate Guilds. After all, the two representatives before him didn''t even frown as they agreed to his proposal. Apparently, they were more than capable of acquiring over 300 sets of the materials. 1837 Titan Guard Upgraded Chapter 1837 - Titan Guard Upgraded As Shi Feng started the auction, Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart placed bids in a frenzy without any concern for each other. "Two thousand Gold!" "Three thousand Gold!" "Five thousand Gold!" Whether Phoenix Rain or Unyielding Heart won the items, 40 Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons would serve a great purpose. These weapons were of the utmost importance to their respective Guild''s development. Naturally, they wouldn''t hold back. Rather than increasing the bid in 100-Gold increments, they increased it by 1,000-Gold increments. In just a few minutes, the price had reached 24,000 Gold with Unyielding Heart''s bid. Including the cost of the materials, the total value of his offer was far more than what these 40 Dark-Gold Weapons were worth. However, Unyielding Heart did not care. Even Mu Lingsha had hinted that Unyielding Heart had to acquire the weapons regardless of the cost. Their Guild currently competed with Starlink to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeon. Both Guilds had already reached the Final Boss in their respective Dungeons, and these weapons would ensure Unyielding Soul''s victory. Even if they had to spend a little more Coins than expected, they could easily earn back the cost. "Thirty thousand Gold!" Phoenix Rain instantly raised the price by a significant margin. She had already acquired the All- rounded Devices and Elven Silver, but if she had these Dark-Gold Weapons as well, capturing the Sea of Death''s inner islands would become far easier. After competing for several more minutes, Phoenix Rain won the first batch of weapons for 40,000 Gold and 300 sets of materials. Unyielding Heart then claimed the second batch for 43,000 Gold and 300 sets of materials. Although he wanted to win the last batch as well, due to lack of funds and these weapons'' ordinary nature, he didn''t go all out in the bidding. As a result, Phoenix Rain won the third batch of weapons for 41,000 Gold and 300 sets of materials. Super-first-rate Guilds really are rich. After Shi Feng signed a contract with both sides, joy filled his heart, although he didn''t show it. He had to admit that becoming a Master Forger really was beneficial. Just by selling three batches of standardized Dark- Gold Weapons, he had earned 124,000 Gold and 900 sets of materials. This price far exceeded his initial expectations. ^ Now, he had the money to construct the airport and repair the Secret Stone Forest, in addition to enough materials to arm Zero Wing''s members. Had he sold these weapons in single units or to small Guilds, he would never have gotten such a good price. However, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul couldn''t collect the required materials as easily as Shi Feng had suspected, either. This was especially true for Phoenix Rain, who would need roughly one day to collect all 300 sets. Unyielding Heart similarly needed a little time to collect all the materials. Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He could only start crafting the weapons after he obtained the materials, and if the two Guilds paid him in one go, he wouldn''t have their purchased items ready. Hence, as a compromise, Shi Feng had asked both Guilds pay a portion of the required materials as a down-payment. Only after they brought the remaining materials and funds would he hand over the weapons. With this compromise, not only would he have materials to produce the weapons, but the two Guilds would also have extra time to collect the remaining materials. Neither Phoenix Rain nor Unyielding Heart had any issues with this arrangement. They hadn''t brought enough money for the purchases, to begin with, so it was expected that Shi Feng ask for a down-payment. Doing so would also ensure that Zero Wing couldn''t sell the 120 Dark-Gold Weapons to anyone else. Neither Phoenix Rain nor Unyielding Heart had suspected that Zero Wing had crafted these weapons; they had assumed that the Guild had acquired the items from farming monsters. Since their Guilds didn''t have the full payments ready, a down- payment was understandable. Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart had their subordinates deliver the agreed-upon down-payment, which was 30% of the full amount. In return, both Guilds would be granted a full day to collect the remaining funds and materials. When the 270 sets of materials were delivered, Shi Feng recruited Melancholic Smile and Cream Cocoa to help him craft the weapons. Although standardized Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons required a lot of time to produce, with three Master Forgers working around the clock and the Philosopher''s Hand''s guidance, it took them no time at all to complete the 120 weapons. After less than half a day, the three had used all 270 sets of materials and produced 114 weapons. Including the original ten Shi Feng had made, they had a total of 124 Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons now. Once the weapons had been forged, Shi Feng left the transaction''s follow-up work to Melancholic Smile. He then contacted Aqua Rose and had her gather 20 main force members. He planned to head to the Level 70 neutral map, Flame Demon''s Valley. After his trade with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul, Shi Feng realized that he had to prioritize unsealing the Philosopher''s Hand fully. Partially unsealing the Philosopher''s Hand had already been so profitable. If he could fully unseal it, he could nurture a large number of Master Lifestyle players. Not only would he be able to arm Silverwing Town to the teeth, but he''d also be able to fortify the Lost Town. Then, he wouldn''t have to worry about the Evil God''s Temple, which grew stronger with each passing day in the Ore Empire. He wouldn''t have to worry about Blackwater, either. He could definitely afford a battle of attribution with both the Evil God''s Temple and Blackwater simultaneously. After all, war was a competition of wealth and resources. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt even greater need to head to the Flame Demon''s Valley. In less than half an hour, Aqua Rose had gathered Cola, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and the other core upper echelons. As the group approached the Guild''s meeting room, they chatted and discussed the recent challengers they had faced in Silverwing Town''s Battle Arena. After Shi Feng had set the Battle Arena''s new rules, quite a few famous experts from the neighboring kingdoms and empires visited Silverwing Town to challenge Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Some experts had also visited the town purely to spar with Zero Wing''s experts. The Battle Arena''s popularity in Silverwing Town had skyrocketed, and it was now even more popular than the Battle Arena in Zero Wing City. Meanwhile, Cola and the others'' arrival in White River City''s Guild Hall had caused a commotion among the other Guild members. "Now that I''m so close to them, I can really feel how powerful our Guild''s main force members are. Commander Fire Dance is especially powerful. Recently, I''ve heard that of all the challenges she accepted, she won every single one of them. I''ve even heard that she defeated the fifth-ranked Assassin in the Black Dragon Empire. Commander Fire Dance has a three-digit winning streak." "That''s right! I''ve also heard that on the latest issue of the God''s Domain Experts List, Commander Fire Dance ranks as the 319th expert thanks to her excellent battle records. But I still think that she hasn''t revealed all of her strength yet. Her rank will definitely climb in the future." "That''s only natural. However, the current God''s Domain Ranking List has changed. Now, if you want to earn a spot on the list or improve your rank, you have to be strong enough and have a dazzling battle record." "I wonder when I''ll become a main force member. I really want to train directly under Commander Fire Dance." "The Guild holds a qualifying tournament once a month. You can participate as long as you become a core member." "Right! I''ll work hard to become a core member first!" As the players in the Guild Hall talked about Fire Dance and the other main force members of the Guild, a desire to join Zero Wing''s main force overwhelmed them. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who had hidden his appearance under a Black Cloak, couldn''t help but chuckle as he overheard the various conversations. He then made his way toward the Guild Hall''s meeting room. "Guild Leader, are we going on a major operation this time?" Cola asked eagerly after Shi Feng entered the room. He had improved significantly in the Battle Arena lately and itched to display his new strength. "Of course. However, we have to replace your equipment first," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Replace my equipment?" Cola was confused. He currently wore the Dark Corrosion Set, the best available Dark-Gold Set Equipment in the game right now, and quite a few of his other pieces were Epic rank. He didn''t understand what Shi Feng wanted to replace. "Give me your shield first," Shi Feng said. "Shield?" Cola revealed an excited expression as he guessed, "Could it be..." "That''s right. We didn''t have enough Magic Crystals before, but we do now," Shi Feng said, nodding. Cola eagerly handed his Titan Guard to Shi Feng, anticipation filling his eyes. Although he had been saving his own Magic Crystals, it would take him forever to collect 100,000 on his own. Moreover, the Guild always needed Magic Crystals, making it almost impossible for him to upgrade his shield. After Shi Feng received the Titan Guard, he immediately chose to upgrade it. 1838 Fragmented Legendary Shields Hidden Effec Chapter 1838 - Fragmented Legendary Shield''s Hidden Effect Inside the resplendent meeting room... After Shi Feng clicked to upgrade the Titan Guard, the shield began to glow with a brilliant light that forced the players in the room to close their eyes. By the time everyone reopened their eyes, they felt a horrific pressure wash over them. Instinctively, these players took up a defensive stance. "What''s going on? What''s with this powerful aura?" "Could it be from that shield? This can''t be possible, right? This aura is as intense as that of a Mythic monster." All of these players were experts, and they had experienced countless life-or-death battles. They had long since developed senses that surpassed that of a wild beast If they hadn''t known that they were absolutely safe in this meeting room, they would''ve pulled out their weapons and prepared for combat Once the intensity of the Titan Guard''s aura reached its peak, it began to fade. So, this is a Fragmented Legendary Shield? Shi Feng was inwardly shocked as he felt the Titan Guard become lighter than it had been. Although the shield had never been particularly heavy, holding it still restricted his movement Now, however, the Titan Guard was as light as a feather. It felt as if the cold, tough metallic frame were merely an illusion. The shield''s hidden effect was truly frightening. It was common knowledge in God''s Domain that shields were so large so the MTs could effectively block a Boss''s attacks. In return, the shields were considerably heavy. Of course, there were lighter shields, such as wooden or steel bucklers. Although a buckler was easier to use and gave MTs more freedom of movement, its flaws were apparent With a buckler''s small size, blocking attacks properly was strenuous. This was especially true during a high-speed fight. Hence, the various large Guilds'' MTs usually used large, heavy shields. However, now, not only did the Titan Guard possess a huge defensive area, but it was also light It was a dream shield for any MT. Moreover, compared to the Titan Guard''s hidden effect, its new Attributes were truly frightening. ... [Titan Guard] (Shield, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Minimum Equipment Level: 50 Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,400 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Defense +9,450 (Level 50) Block Rate: 39% Strength +245, Endurance +224, Agility +190 Defend Skill +3 Levels Reaction ability +2 Strength increased by 35%, Agility increased by 30%, and Endurance increased by 30%. Ignore Levels +20; All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels; When equipped: All magic damage received reduced by 50%; Reaction speed increased by 20%; Paralysis effects reduced by 40%; Frontal damage received reduced by 30%; All Resistances increased by 30%; Additional Passive Skill 1- Guardian Shield: Automatically generates a layer of Guardian Energy, which can block an attack and absorb a portion of the attack''s Strength to recover user''s Stamina every 10 seconds. Additional Passive Skill 2- Iron Wall: Reduces the impact from incoming attacks by 50%. If attacks are of a lower tier than user, reduces damage by 70%. If attacks are of the same or higher tier than user, reduces damage by 30%. Additional Active Skill 1- Titan''s Heart: Generates three layers of Protective Energy that absorbs damage equivalent to ten times of wielder''s maximum HP, increases physique by 30%, reaction speed by 20%, and Movement Speed by 20% for 45 seconds. During this period, battle recovery improved by 800%, and healing received increased by 100%. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2- Titan''s Will: Becomes immune to all control effects. Reduces all damage received by 95% and weakens negative effects by 90%. Increases Attack Speed by 100% and Movement Speed by 30%. Starting Movement Speed set at 80% of maximum Movement Speed. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 3 minutes (Cannot stack with other Defensive Skills.) Additional Active Skill 3- Titan''s Domain: Every non-friendly target within a 100-yard radius will increase wielder''s Basic Attributes by 2%, reduces damage received by 1%, and heals wielder by 0.1% HP every second. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 2 hours (Maximum number of targets: 100) With these Attributes, an ordinary MT could immediately become a peak MT by equipping the Titan Guard. "Guild Leader, how are the Attributes?" Cola asked excitedly. "Take a look for yourself," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then passed the Titan Guard back to Cola. When Cola received the Titan Guard, he noticed the change to the shield''s weight. When he saw the shield''s Attributes, even his breathing became harsh. "Guild Leader, can we go find a Mythic Boss?" Cola asked, staring at Shi Feng with desire in his eyes. He was like a Swordsman that had just acquired a treasured sword and was eager to test out his new weapon. Cola had worn the best equipment in God''s Domain. Even while wielding the Epic ranked Titan Guard, he could tank a Mythic monster of the same level. Now that Titan Guard had been upgraded, he felt that he could face a Mythic monster head-on. Of course, he knew that was a misconception. After all, a Mythic monster was still a Mythic monster. Although he couldn''t face a Mythic monster in a direct confrontation, he was confident of tanking a Mythic monster by himself. Whether or not he could kill the monster would depend on his team''s DPS. "Relax. You''ll have plenty of opportunities later," Shi Feng assured his guildmate, smiling. Shi Feng had already been roughly 50% certain that he could complete his quest in the Flame Demon''s Valley, but with the Fragmented Legendary ranked Titan Guard, his success rate had risen to 80% at the minimum. Following which, Shi Feng had everyone switch to Fire Resistance equipment. He also allocated several All-rounded Devices, Elven Silver, and the Master ranked Fire Resistance Potion, which Silent Wonder had crafted. His teammates were confused. After equipping the Fire Resistance equipment, they had over 100 points in Fire Resistance. With so much, they shouldn''t have any issues raiding the current large-scale Team Dungeons with high-temperature environments, yet Shi Feng wanted them to use Master Fire Resistance potions as well... Just where were they going? "We''re heading to the Flame Demon''s Valley. Before we go, I have to remind you all that once we''re in the valley, you must follow me closely. You absolutely must not get lost," Shi Feng said. "The Flame Demon''s Valley? Isn''t that a Level 70-plus danger zone?" Aqua Rose, who was relatively familiar with God''s Domain''s maps, asked, shocked. The other players gasped when they heard Aqua Rose''s question. While they weren''t familiar with the Flame Demon''s Valley, they knew what a danger zone was. The Black Dragon Empire had quite a few danger zones, as did Star-Moon Kingdom. However, they had never heard of a Guild successfully exploring either countries'' Level 30 to 40 danger zones. At most, some Guilds had played around in these danger zones'' outer regions, but they didn''t dare venture to the inner areas as death was almost certain upon entry. While part of the reason was the danger zones'' extraordinarily harsh environments, the maps'' monsters were far more dangerous and extremely powerful. Not only did the danger zones'' monsters have incredibly high Basic Attributes, but they also displayed very high combat standards. Even the weakest monster in danger zones had combat standards at the Trial Tower''s third floor. Meanwhile, as one ventured further into the zone, they''d face even stronger monsters. Near the inner regions, one would begin to encounter monsters that could reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Just thinking about a group of several hundred of such monsters would make any expert player shudder with fear. Yet, Shi Feng had so casually mentioned that they were about to head to a Level 70-plus danger zone. If Aqua Rose hadn''t told them about the Flame Demon''s Valley, they would''ve assumed that they were going to some ordinary map based on Shi Feng''s tone... "Relax. I''ve already investigated the area. Once we enter, you just need to follow my lead." Naturally, Shi Feng knew what kind of horrors to expect in the Flame Demon''s Valley. "Danger zones are also blessed maps. They are the best places to refine your skills. Don''t you want to grow stronger?" Hearing Shi Feng''s explanation, everyone''s eyes glowed with excitement and anticipation. While they had fought in Silverwing Town''s Battle Arena, they had realized how vast God''s Domain truly was. Although many of the challengers hadn''t been famous, their combat standards had been extraordinary. They had only managed to defeat these experts thanks to their superior equipment Now that they had learned of a place where they could train and improve their abilities, of course, they wanted to visit it. Shi Feng then led his team to Star-Moon City before teleporting to the Flame Dragon Empire and again to one of its border towns. In the end, Shi Feng used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Spatial Gate to transport everyone across the remaining distance. After several hours, the team finally arrived before a valley that radiated waves of heat. Despite just standing at the valley''s entrance, the area was hot enough to sting their skin. They did not even dare to imagine how high the temperature would be once they entered the valley. "Guild Leader, there seem to be some people ahead," Minor Wind, who had used Eagle Eyes to observe their surroundings, suddenly reported as he pointed at the smoke-choked path ahead of them. "People?" Shi Feng was astonished. Just getting to the Flame Demon''s Valley was a difficult task for current players, not to mention fighting in such a harsh environment. "Amazing! They''re fighting a Level 72 Boss! And they''re overwhelming it!" Minor Wind exclaimed as he watched these players fight. "Guild Leader, some of our Guild members are among them!" "Our Guild? How?" Shi Feng was even more surprised to hear that his people were present. Following which, Minor Wind sent Shi Feng a recording. "Why are they here?" As Shi Feng watched the video, he discovered that there really were Zero Wing members among the group. One of them was the Elementalist Thoughtful Rain, and the other was the Cleric Blue Bamboo. Both wore Zero Wing''s sixwinged emblem. Currently, Thoughtful Rain was Level 56, while Blue Bamboo was Level 55. In terms of levels, these two could already contend with the various superpowers'' experts. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Aqua Rose asked. Normally, players would be on guard when they encountered others in the fields. After all, PKs were far from uncommon. If one were not careful, other players might even mug them. Furthermore, the unexpected party was engaged in a Boss fight. They should be even more on guard. However, the Flame Demon''s Valley only had one entrance. They couldn''t just wait until the other party finished their raid. Moreover, they had already used their All-rounded Devices, Elven Silver, and Master Fire Resistance Potions, all of which had time limits. "Let''s wait and watch them for now," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. 1839 Neutral Races Chapter 1839 - Neutral Races Piles of large rocks decorated the scorching valley. Due to the constant screen of black smoke from within the valley, it was extremely difficult to examine the area with the naked eye. One would be fortunate if they could see up to 200 yards away. Even those with stronger physiques would only see an additional 20 or 30 yards. Only with Skills like Eagle Eyes could players see up to 700 to 800 yards. While 700 or 800 yards might seem far, it was nothing to monsters in a Level 70-plus danger zone. These monsters could normally see up to 500 yards. Due to the level difference between these monsters and Zero Wing''s players, the monsters would have an easier time discovering them. If they were not careful, the monsters might even notice them from 800 yards away. Under Shi Feng''s lead, Zero Wing''s team quickly moved to 200 yards away from Thoughtful Rain''s team. Rocks and smoke obscured their position, so the other team would find it difficult to notice their presence. "Isn''t that Rain?" Aqa Rose was a little surprised as she watched Thoughtful Rain in battle. "Her combat standard has improved by quite a bit." Thoughtful Rain dealt with three Level 70 Lord ranked Flame Demon Guards, which moved alongside the Boss monster, by herself, yet despite being outleveled and outnumbered, she faced the three Lords on equal footing. She had thoroughly distracted the three flaming humanoids, allowing her teammates to focus on the Boss. It was evident that her combat standard had already reached the Refinement Realm. However, Thoughtful Rain''s teammates were even more surprising. None of these players were human, but foreign races. They were either Half-beastmen with tiger ears and tails or Half-elves with snowy-white skin and pointed ears. "What is going on? They''re not actually human?" Fire Dance exclaimed in shock. Every player on Zero Wing''s team was shocked. As far as they knew, it was only possible to play a human when starting the game. There weren''t any other races to choose from. Although they had encountered Demon Players and monster players, they were transformations. Technically, they still identified as human. However, the players on Thoughtful Rain''s team were different. Their initial statistics showed that they weren''t humans who could transform. Instead, their races identified as Half-beastmen or Half-elves. While Shi Feng found the situation surprising as well, he did not find it particularly strange. Moreover, he finally understood why these other players were here. In God''s Domain, players were only allowed to play as human at the start of the game; there were no other racial options to choose from. However, after reaching Level 30 and beyond, players could head to neutral races'' habitats to complete conversion quests, becoming Half-beastmen or Half-elves. Although players would gain some racial abilities after becoming Half-beastmen or Half-elves, they''d abandon their identities as human and lose the protection of God''s Domain''s ruling race. These players would find it far more difficult to move about on the continent and in the game. Not all kingdoms and empires permitted entry to neutral races. Only a very small number of countries did so. Even so, there were still many expert players that willingly converted. Neutra races'' racial abilities were very tempting, and although these abilities wouldn''t improve one''s Basic Attributes directly, they would improve one''s physical abilities. For example, Half-beastmen generally gained more mobility, reaction speed, and perception. Half-beastmen were natural-born warriors. As for Half-elves, they were magic''s favored children. They would find magic-related tasks far easier than the other races. Both the Half-beastman and Half-elf races also provided higher innate Resistances. As a result, neutral players could survive and fight in maps with harsh environments, such as danger zones. In addition, like Demon Players, Half-beastmen and Half-elves were differentiated based on their Bloodline purity. The purer one''s Bloodline, the stronger their racial abilities would be. In exchange for these benefits, not only would players face racial discrimination, but they''d also have a more difficult time upgrading their tiers. With the same combat standards and combat power, a human might be promoted to Tier 3, but a Half-beastman or Half-elf might only reach Tier 2. This was one of the main reasons that the human race oppressed the various neutral races. The human race had far more apex members than the neutral races. This was the law of equivalent exchange in God''s Domain, and it would be up to players to decide which path they would take. Those who were confident in their strength could definitely challenge the limitations neutral races faced. If they successfully broke past those limitations, they would no doubt become much stronger than human players of the same tier. After Shi Feng''s team observed these neutral players for some time, the Level 72 Great Lord ranked Flame Demon Commander''s HP finally fell to 50%. Suddenly, a Level 56, Half-elf female Elementalist shouted, "Melee players, pull back! Dodge the Boss''s Teamwipe Skill!" Hearing this Half-elf''s command, the nine Half-beastman players fighting the Flame Demon Commander darted back from the Boss. The six-meter-tall Flame Demon Commander roared. Towering pillars of fire rose from the ground around it, melting the earth until it was molten lava. In the blink of an eye, the monster had formed a field of lava void of life. As the lava field continued to expand, the Half-elf Elementalist used a Tier 2 Ice-type Curse, Ice River. The lava then stilled, cooling until only frozen dirt remained. The Flame Demon Commander was also frozen, becoming an ice sculpture. "Attack with everything you''ve got!" the Half-elf Elementalist shouted. With the Half-elf Elementalist''s command, everyone bombarded the Level 72 Great Lord with their most powerful attacks, decreasing the Great Lord''s HP much faster than before. Frightening damages appeared above the Great Lord''s head, one after another. Even the weakest attacks dealt over -10,000 damage, whereas the stronger blows dealt over -20,000 damage. In two short minutes, the Flame Demon Commander''s HP fell to 30%. Once it did, the Great Lord''s flaming body split into balls of flame, forming miniature Flame Demon Commanders. There were 50 miniature versions of the Great Lord, and each one had half of the Flame Demon Commander''s Basic Attributes. They were still stronger than the Lord ranked Flame Demon Guards, but they only had 600,000 HP each. Despite so many miniature Flame Demon Commanders, the Half-beastmen and Half-elves coped. Each player fought two or three copies and steadily shaved away the copies'' HP. Once every miniature Flame Demon Commander had died, the flames gathered and merged once more. In the blink of an eye, the real Flame Demon Commander stood before the team. This time, however, it only had 10% of its HP remaining. It took less than two minutes for the team of neutral players to kill the Flame Demon Commander. As the Great Lord''s flaming body dissipated, it left behind five items and flaming wreckage. Even a large Guild''s main force would be awed by how fast these players had dealt with a Level 72 Great Lord. After watching these neutral players slay the Boss, a voice called out to Shi Feng as he prepared to lead his team over to greet the other players. "You guys have been watching us fight for quite some time now. It''s about time you show yourselves, don''t you think?" the female Half-elf Elementalist asked coldly as she turned towards the rock Shi Feng and the others hid behind. "If you refuse, we''ll come to you." Hearing the female Half-elf''s statement, the other Half-beastmen and Half-elves turned towards Zero Wing''s members with frosty expressions. 1840 No Need for Explanations Chapter 1840 - No Need for Explanations "Guild Leader, it seems that we''ve been discovered," Aqua Rose said as she felt the killing intent radiating from the female Half-elf Elementalist. However, she did not reveal any signs of panic at being discovered. Instead, she calmly smiled and said, "It also seems that the other party doesn''t appreciate our good intentions." "Forget it Since they don''t, so be it," Shi Feng said, shaking his head and laughing. "Since they''ve spoken, let''s head over." Kill-stealing was a frequent occurrence in the fields. For such expert neutral players to come all the way to such a high-level danger zone, it was highly unlikely that they were just here to kill Bosses. The only possibility he could think of was that these players were here for a high-ranked quest or had found a clue leading to one. Either way, they wouldn''t like being discovered by other players. For example, Shi Feng didn''t want anyone to learn about his quest to unseal the Philosopher''s Hand. If they did, it would definitely cause trouble for him and his Guild. Even now, he hadn''t told anyone about the quest, not even his teammates. Any players that had an important quest or were trying to pick one up would conceal their activities. When discovered, they''d greet the offending players with hostility. It wouldn''t even be surprising if these players attacked without warning. Hence, to avoid a misunderstanding, Shi Feng had decided to maintain his distance, hiding his team throughout the raid. First, he wanted to avoid unnecessary combat. Second, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were members of this neutral team. If Zero Wing''s members suddenly showed up in this deserted area, the team would suspect Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo of leaking information. Third, he didn''t want others to know what Zero Wing was doing in the Flame Demon''s Valley. However, the female Half-elf Elementalist''s perception had exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. He had never expected the woman to sense them 200 yards away despite her involvement in the intense battle. Even with his physique, he had barely seen the battle from this distance. The only other player that had seen the battle clearly was Minor Wind, who had activated Eagle Eyes. The other team''s members had been busy with the fight, making it impossible to maintain Eagle Eyes. Hence, he hadn''t expected to be discovered. However, since the team had noticed them, he had no choice but to reveal himself and see how events unfolded. Meanwhile, the Half-beastmen and Half-elves warily watched Shi Feng''s group approach. "Guild Leader, our tracks have been discovered. Should we kill them?" a Level 55, Tier 2 Berserker, a Half-beastman in armor and wielding a white bone spear, asked, lacing his words with killing intent. "Let''s hear them out first. At the end of the day, this map is controlled by the human race. Moreover, we''re already half-way through our quest. An interruption will only make it more difficult to complete," the female Half-elf Elementalist quietly responded. During the battle, she had discovered Shi Feng''s group, but she had remained silent about it to see what the other players intended At first, she had assumed that the team was here to kiH-steal, but even after the Boss had died, Shi Fengs group had been motionless. This proved that Shi Feng''s group had no designs on their loot. Even so, she couldn''t let the other party follow them. After all, she had an important quest to complete. She could only expose the team and persuade them to leave. Of course, the decision had some risk. If negotiations soured, it was likely they would have to fight each other. If Shi Feng''s group insisted on following them, she would have to act. Her quest offered an extraordinary reward, which would qualitatively transform their Guild. With this reward, it was entirely possible that their Guild would instantly become as strong as a first-rate Guild. As Shi Feng''s group increasingly closer to the female Half-elf''s team, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who were busy with three Flame Demon Guards, stared with wide eyes. "Rain, aren''t they from our Guild? Even Vice Guild Leader Aqua and Commander Fire Dance are here," Blue Bamboo said, stupefied. "What should we do? Will Big Sis Melody suspect us of leaking information?" The team they had joined on this expedition to the Flame Demon''s Valley for a quest was extremely important to Melody, the Guild Leader of Ninth Heaven. This quest could even determine the life or death of Melody''s Guild. Hence, the woman had repeatedly forbidden them from telling anyone about the quest Neither she nor Thoughtful Rain had spoken a word of their actions, yet their Guild members had shown up here. At this point, avoiding a misunderstanding was almost impossible. "We don''t have a choice. We have to explain to Big Sis Melody and hope that she understands. But this is really a terrible coincidence," Thoughtful Rain, who kept the three Flame Demon Guards busy, said helplessly. Unfortunately, as Shi Feng''s group approached, Melody and the other Ninth Heaven members noticed the six-winged emblem on these players'' chests. "A six-winged emblem? Isn''t that the same one that Rain and Blue wear? Could they be Zero Wing''s members?" "Guild Leader, we haven''t said anything about this operation to anyone. How could Zero Wing''s members be here?" "Could it be... Did Rain and Blue..." "I knew outsiders couldn''t...'' Suddenly, the Half-beastmen and Half-elves turned to Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. Although they did not question the two directly, they watched the women with questioning gazes. "Enough! I''ll handle this!" Melody roared as she shot her team members a chilling look. "Let''s find out why they''re here first." Suddenly, this team of neutral players heard a deep voice. "I am Black Flame, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. My team and I have a task in the Flame Demon''s Valley. May I ask you to remain here for some time? Once we''re done, we''ll invite you in." Shi Feng''s voice was sonorous, echoing throughout the valley. Moreover, his aura was imposing. He felt like an ancient behemoth that had just woken. "Damn it! It''s true!" When Melody''s team members heard Shi Feng''s statement, they glared at Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo with indignation. Meanwhile, Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo were at a loss for words. They felt as if any explanation would be useless. "Guild Leader, since they''ve come to steal our quest, we should kill them!" one of the Tier 2 Berserkers said, exuding killing intent "I want to see just how powerful Zero Wing truly is!" They had more or less heard of Zero Wing. This Guild, which had started with nothing, had gone on to take control of Star- Moon Kingdom. The Guild was powerful enough to rival a first-rate Guild, many times stronger than Ninth Heaven. However, they didn''t think that they''d lose to Zero Wing''s experts in terms of individual combat standards. They had the innate advantage of Half-beastmen and Half-elves, which would be particularly prominent in PvP. Waving to her teammates for quiet, Melody turned to Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. In a low tone, she asked, "I just want to ask one thing. Did you two leak our secret?" "Big Sis Melody, we didn''t say anything about this," Thoughtful Rain insisted. Blue Bamboo nodded repeated, firm resolution in her eyes. "Alright, I believe you," Melody said, revealing a gentle smile. She did not think that Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo would betray her trust. She then turned back to Shi Feng and said, "Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Melody, the Guild Leader of Ninth Heaven. May I know why we cannot enter? That way, I''ll understand what I should do." Although there was no arrogance in Melody''s voice, her voice held no deference, either. Rather, her tone contained questions and threats. Depending on Shi Feng''s explanation, she wouldn''t shy from a battle to the death or mutual destruction. Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo tensed. "The reason?" Shi Feng suddenly laughed. "I''m afraid that you don''t qualify to demand answers from me. Moreover, Zero Wing has never needed to explain itself! All you need to know is that you are not allowed entry for the moment. If you refuse, I''ll simply treat you like the other monsters!" Shi Feng then swung Killing Ray at the Flame Demon Guards chasing Thoughtful Rain, tearing the space before him. A golden lightning bolt struck one of the three Lords from over 60 yards away. The powerful Flame Demon Guards then fell to one knee, the strike leaving a deep gash in their flesh. All three Lords were heavily injured. Meanwhile, a damage of over -100,000 appeared above the Flame Demon Guards'' heads. Among the three Lords, one even suffered nearly -300,000 damage. But compared to Shi Feng''s damage, what truly surprised the other Guild Leader was his ability to land his attack against the three moving Lords without harming Thoughtful Rain, despite being over 60 yards away. Moreover, Shi Feng had sent his attack through the other team, striking the Flame Demon Guards before they had been able to react... Shi Feng''s timing and Skill usage were godlike. This stunned Melody and the Ninth Heaven members, who had planned to put up a fight. Without another word, Shi Feng led his team into the Flame Demon''s Valley, leaving the dumbstruck members of Ninth Heaven behind. 1841 Rich Danger Zone Chapter 1841 - Rich Danger Zone Melody and her teammates only breathed a sigh of relief after Shi Feng''s group had vanished. Too strong! The strength and frightening aura Shi Feng had displayed had been stifling. For a moment, they even thought that they had already died. "So, that is Rain and Blue''s Guild?" "How could such a powerful expert exist?" When Ninth Heaven''s members turned to Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who still fought the three Flame Demon Guards, they watched the women with shock and fear. They had never realized that Zero Wing was so powerful. The racial talents they were so proud of were little more than a joke before Shi Feng. Even Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who had thought that they understood their own Guild, couldn''t help but gape after witnessing Shi Feng''s attack. Not only had Shi Feng''s single attack alleviated the pressure they faced, but he had also shocked Ninth Heaven''s experts, deterring them from attacking. Among the Ninth Heaven experts present, quite a few were even stronger than the two of them. This was especially true for Melody. Melody wore three pieces of Epic Equipment and had stronger combat standards than them, yet against Shi Feng''s attack, even she had failed to react... Melody also could not help but shake her head and smile bitterly as she looked at the three Flame Demon Guards'' wounds. She had intended on threatening Zero Wing and questioning Zero Wing''s purpose in the Flame Demon''s Valley. After all, both teams had roughly the same number of players. Even if their teams fought, she did not think that her team would lose. At worst, their teams would suffer mutual destruction. However, reality proved that her thoughts were laughable. "Guild Leader, what should we do? Are we going to give up, just like that?" a tall, robust Tier 2 Tigerman Berserker asked. Before he had seen Shi Feng''s power, he had been confident in defeating Zero Wing''s members, but after, he understood one thing; he absolutely must not clash with Shi Feng. He would only find his death if he did. He hadn''t only come to that conclusion because of Shi Feng''s superior Basic Attributes, but also because of the technique the Swordsman had displayed. "Why should we give up? We''ve gone to great lengths to find this quest, and Flame Demon''s Valley is so large. Do you really think that they have eyes in every corner of the valley?" a Tier 2 female Ranger carrying an icy, crystalline bow said, clicking her tongue. She had no intentions of giving up on their quest. Moreover, she refused to believe that Shi Feng''s group would notice them sneaking into the Flame Demon''s Valley. "Forget it. Let''s just wait here," Melody said, shaking her head. "I don''t think that Zero Wing is here for our quest, anyway. They must be here for something more important. Otherwise, with Zero Wing''s strength, they wouldn''t need to waste words on us. They could''ve simply gotten rid of us before entering the valley." Hearing Melody''s decision, the other members nodded in agreement, seeing the logic in her words. It would''ve been much easier and safer just to get rid of them, rather than asking them to wait at the valley''s entrance. They had just witnessed Shi Feng''s prowess personally, and they doubted that he''d need long to annihilate their team. If Shi Feng wished it, he could''ve killed several of them with that attack, and they would''ve been powerless to do anything about it. "We should also thank Rain and Blue. Large Guilds generally dislike others following them during a large-scale operation. Generally, they seal off the area. Even if they don''t, they tend to get rid of any potential threats, yet Black Flame had simply forbidden us from entering the valley, rather than kill us. Let''s not stir up any more trouble," Melody explained. When large Guilds were on an important mission, they definitely didn''t show mercy. The fact that they were still alive was all thanks to Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo''s membership in Zero Wing. If not for these two women... She didn''t dare imagine what kind of outcome her team would have suffered. Upon hearing Melody''s explanation, her teammates gave Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo grateful and apologetic looks. They now felt that their decision to invite the women on this mission had been a wise one. Otherwise, they would''ve likely died an unjust death at the entrance of the Flame Demon''s Valley. This turn of events had also bewildered Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who still tried to figure out how to clear up the prior misunderstanding. A moment ago, the team had been hostile towards them, but now, their teammates seemed grateful and cordial. It felt like they had been dropped into hell before being thrown into heaven in the next moment. They had no idea how to react. "Zero Wing is so strong, Guild Leader. And I''ve heard that Candlelight, the Guild''s trading firm, is doing quite well. Both Rain and Blue are Zero Wing''s core members. If we can get acquainted with Black Flame through them and partner with Zero Wing, our Guild''s development in Forest City will definitely go more smoothly," the Tigerman Berserker quietly suggested as he looked at Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. "I get what you''re trying to say. I''ll ask them for their opinions later. However, I must say this: if they don''t want to help us in that way or find it too difficult, you will let the matter rest" Melody nodded as she turned to the Tigerman Berserker in surprise. Previously, the Tigerman Berserker had been very opinionated about Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo''s participation in this operation. She had never expected him to suggest that they cozy up to the women. The Tigerman Berserker nodded silently in response. Meanwhile, in the Flame Demon''s Valley, Shi Feng remained ignorant of the fact that his behavior had made Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo VIPs in Ninth Heaven. He simply led his team toward the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core region. Although the Flame Demon''s Valley didn''t house a lot of Flame Demons, as a danger zone, its severe environment was incredibly uncomfortable for those who entered. Despite having equipped Fire Resistance items and drinking Master Flame Resistance Potions, Zero Wing''s team sweltered in the heat. This prevented them from displaying their full strength. Although Shi Feng had been very careful in selecting their path, due to Aqua Rose and the others'' low levels, they still attracted Flame Demons. They had no choice but to engage in a few fights, slowing their advance considerably. However, killing the Flame Demons also granted a bountiful harvest. Although the monsters lacked equipment drops, they did drop enough fire-type materials to earn a small fortune. This was especially true for the Flame Crystal the Flame Demons dropped. These Flame Crystals could be turned into Flame Gemstones, which could be equipped on weapons. When equipped, the Flame Gemstone gave the weapons an additional 10% flame damage. This was an excellent item for players like them, who struggled to increase their combat power. Unfortunately, the Flame Gemstones were Consumable items, unlike ordinary Attribute Gemstones, which could be used indefinitely. Even so, the Flame Gemstones were an excellent item. After advancing for around four hours, Zero Wing''s members finally reached the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core. Shi Feng then contacted Thoughtful Rain and notified her that her team could now enter the Flame Demon''s Valley. To current players, the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core was absolutely off-limits, even for Half-beastmen and Half-elves. Without the All-rounded Devices, Elven Silver, and sufficiently high Fire Resistance, players would die in a matter of seconds upon setting foot in this area. Hence, he was not worried that others would discover his activities. After another half an hour, Fire Dance, who scouted ahead, excitedly reported in the team chat, "Guild Leader, I found something!" "Something good?" Shi Feng muttered, curious when he heard Fire Dance''s trembling, excited voice. The Flame Demon''s Valley was a danger zone. It had many valuable things to offer. She shouldn''t have sounded so excited. Guild Leader, you won''t guess what I''ve found! I actually found an ore vein!" Fire Dance proudly proclaimed. 1842 Attributed Ore Vein Chapter 1842 - Attributed Ore Vein Upon hearing Fire Dance mention an ore vein, everyone''s eyes glowed with excitement. Ore veins were extremely rare in God''s Domain and particularly in Star-Moon Kingdom[l]. This was because Star-Moon Kingdom was a relatively balanced kingdom. While the kingdom had no lack of herbs, ores, wood, and food materials, it did not specialize in any of these resources. Hence, ore veins were very rare in the kingdom. Whenever one was found, it would be highly contested over. "An ore vein? What type is it?" Shi Feng asked curiously. He wasn''t particularly surprised by the fact that an ore vein had appeared in the Flame Demon''s Valley. After all, this was a mountainous region. It was also a danger zone, a map famed for abundant resources. However, although ore veins were generally quite valuable, they were also differentiated by rank. For example, the difference between a Bronze vein and a Magic Crystal vein was like heaven and earth. Although a Bronze vein could tempt ordinary large Guilds, it wouldn''t be particularly helpful to Zero Wing. At the very least, it wouldn''t be occupying if it were in the Flame Demon''s Valley. The Flame Demon''s Valley was a danger zone and home to very dangerous monsters. The map''s harsh environment would only make it even more difficult to mine the vein. Even Super Guilds had a hard time setting up mining operations in danger zones within kingdoms and empires, and the Flame Demon''s Valley was both a neutral map and a danger zone. Normally, superpowers ignored ore veins in danger zones. The rewards simply weren''t worth the effort. "A Source Fire vein!" Fire Dance exclaimed. When Fire Dance reported the vein''s identity, her teammates let out a gasp. In their opinion, finding a Copper or Mithril vein was already exciting, yet they had stumbled across a Source Fire vein. "Source Fire?" Shi Feng''s heart raced upon hearing this. A Source Fire vein was a bona fide Grade 2 vein. Unlike ordinary Grade 2 veins, a Source Fire vein was also an Attributed ore vein. It was extremely rare even among Grade 2 veins. Normally, an ore vein didn''t Attributes, just like how ores were normally Unattributed. However, if an ore had an Attribute, its price would increase by severalfold. For example, Frost Steel Ore was an ice-type ore. When using this type of ore to forge weapons, the weapons produced would deal additional frost damage. When used to produce equipment, the equipment would have additional Ice Resistance. This was why Attributed ore veins were far more valuable than their non-Attributed counterparts. Superpowers would even fight over a Grade 3 Attributed vein, not to mention a Grade 2 vein. If the various superpowers found out about this Source Fire vein, they would do everything they could to acquire it. The vein might not be as valuable as a Grade 1 vein, but it would greatly help their members when raiding Dungeons or exploring new maps. Even if the price were great, they would pay it to secure the Source Fire vein. However, Shi Feng had never heard of an Attributed ore vein in the Flame Demon''s Valley in the past, leaving him a little confused. Had such a vein existed, the Flame Demon''s Valley would''ve been a battlefield for the various superpowers, rather than some obscure map that no one cared about. "Send the coordinates. We''ll head there immediately." Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng wanted to verify the authenticity of the vein. If the Source Fire vein were real, it could help Zero Wing''s rapid advance in both ship and weapon production. After Fire Dance relayed her current coordinates, Shi Feng led the team, slowly approaching the Assassin''s location. Fire Dance was situated before a canyon that was surrounded by mountains and lava. The canyon was clear of black smoke, so visibility was excellent. Only, the terrain was extremely dangerous. There were also a large number of Giant Lava Beasts in the area. Moreover, laying at the canyon''s entrance was a gigantic, Level 80 Mythic ranked beast. [Lava Hound] (Elemental Creature, Mythic) Level 80 HP 450,000,000/450,000,000 Everyone felt their heads ache when they saw the two-headed Lava Hound guarding the canyon''s entrance. However, they could clearly see a cave in the distance with some crimson ore around its entrance. This crimson ore was none other than Source Fire Ore. It''s actually real?! Shi Feng''s eyes burned with desire as he gazed at the Source Fire Ore. Although the vein seemed small, it was definitely a Source Fire vein. "How unfortunate. There are too many lava monsters nearby. There''s even a Level 80 Mythic monster guarding the canyon''s entrance. We don''t have a chance of securing the vein," Aqua Rose said, slightly frustrated as she looked at the cave entrance. With their current strength, they might be able to defeat Level 60 Mythic monsters, but a Level 80 Mythic ranked monster was still too difficult. Furthermore, they had to fight the lava creature in such an extreme environment. Under such circumstances, they wouldn''t be able to defeat the Lava Hound even if they were Level 80. This was because this was a danger zone. The monsters here had much higher combat standards than monsters in a normal map. Including the frightening Attributes of a Mythic monster, they had no hope against the Level 80 Lava Hound unless they returned at Level 90 or 100. Lava creatures were different from ordinary monsters. Players would be subjected to the burning heat radiating from the monster''s body if they got close to it. Even if players had sufficiently high Fire Resistance to avoid taking any damage, they''d still feel the searing pain. This pain would significantly affect players'' combat power and prevent them from fighting at their best. However, this was not the most frightening aspect about lava creatures. Lava creatures'' corrosive ability was far more dangerous. Weapons and equipment would rapidly lose durability when they came into contact with these creatures. If the items lost all durability mid-battle, they''d be permanently lost. Because of this, players tried to avoid lava monsters as much as possible. Meanwhile, every monster in the canyon was a lava creature. Trying to clear out these monsters long-term would be hell. Not only would they fail to acquire the vein, but they would also sacrifice a large number of weapons and equipment. If they tried to construct a mining base here, a large number of monsters would assault the base during its construction. If the mining base were destroyed, all resources they had invested would be lost. On the off chance that they managed to construct a mining base here, there was also the problem of manpower. Zero Wing simply couldn''t afford to station a lot of players here. This was the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core. Its harsh environment could easily kill the Guild''s players. Players needed sufficiently high Fire Resistance to survive here. They were only able to explore this area because they were fully equipped in Fire Resistance equipment and had consumed Master Fire Resistance Potions. If any other player stood in their place right now, the extreme temperatures would''ve long since claimed their lives. The rest of the team agreed with Aqua Rose''s assessment, a little disappointed. While the Source Fire vein before them was a priceless treasure, they could only afford to view it from afar... Meanwhile, as Shi Feng examined the roaming lava monsters, he fell deep into thought. Not many people knew the true value of an Attributed ore vein in God''s Domain yet. However, he did. The Source Fire vein would be particularly valuable to the current Zero Wing. Not only did the vein produce Source Fire Ore, which could be used to increase the Guild''s overall combat power by a significant margin, but the vein also produced the super-rare by-product, Flame Source Crystals. Flame Source Crystals were incredibly useful to Master Alchemists, but they were also one of the main materials to produce the Epic Set Equipment, Broken Steel, a set exclusive to his Blade Saint class. "Lava creatures?" After carefully observing the terrain and the wandering lava monsters, Shi Feng said, "While it would be impossible to set up a mining base here, it isn''t entirely impossible to harvest the ore." "Guild Leader, can we really mine here?" Anticipation burned in Aqua Rose''s eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Nowadays, Fire Resistance weapons and equipment were in high demand since the various large Guilds had realized how necessary these items were to their development If Zero Wing could harvest the Source Fire vein, it would definitely increase the Guild''s development speed. Given enough time, Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t be limited to operating near Silverwing Town. They could freely explore the Ore Empire and cross swords with the Ore Empire''s Evil God''s Temple. They had long since grown tired of the Evil God''s Temple''s antics by this point 1843 Titans Migh Chapter 1843 - Titan''s Might When Zero Wing''s members heard that it was possible to mine the Source Fire vein, their eyes glowed with excitement. They all had a certain understanding of ore veins, so they knew that the Source Fire vein was a Grade 2 ore vein. This meant that there was a certain chance to obtain Magic Crystals when mining it. This was something the various large Guilds sorely lacked right now, especially Zero Wing. Currently, Zero Wing was expanding and recruiting more members. This meant that the Guild needed to nurture far more players. Although Zero Wing had training locations like the Battle Arena, the Guild members still had to train in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. Zero Wing''s Battle Arenas simply couldn''t accommodate enough people. The Trial Tower also provided comprehensive training, testing players'' limits. If Zero Wing could acquire a large number of Magic Crystals, the Guild would be able to transform the new recruits into usable combat power; right now, the majority of Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t be useful in large-scale combat. This was also why Zero Wing''s members couldn''t venture far from Silverwing Town, and the Guild couldn''t develop properly in the Ore Empire. "We''ll have to give it a try before we''ll know if it''s truly possible. I can only say that we have around a 30% success rate," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He wasn''t particularly confident in his plan. While it was common knowledge that lava monsters were extremely difficult to deal with, not many knew that lava monsters also had obvious weaknesses-ice- and water-type attacks. In addition, an ice- or water-type environment would dull the lava monsters'' reactions to an extreme. Once the lava creatures'' reactions dulled, they''d become far easier to deal with. However, lava monsters filled the canyon before them. In addition, they were nowhere near the monsters'' levels. If they tried to lure a single lava monster, they''d likely attract a large group instead. They also had to worry about the Level 80 Mythic Lava Hound. Moreover, this was the Flame Demon''s Valley. The environment was extremely hot. Even after equipping Fire Resistance equipment and drinking Master Fire Resistance Potions, the heat still affected them considerably, and they couldn''t fully exhibit their combat powers. Picking a fight with the Lava Hound would be suicide. Hence, he wasn''t confident in success. "A 30% success rate? It''s so high!" "Some hope is better than none at all. Guild Leader, just tell us what you need us to do." When they heard their chance of success, the team grew excited, rather than disappointed. Even the various superpowers weren''t likely to occupy this Source Fire vein, but if Zero Wing could, it could grow into a super-first-rate Guild within a short time. Zero Wing would then be able to compete for dominance over God''s Domain. It would no longer be limited to its status as a kingdom''s number one Guild. Aqua Rose, who had once been an Honorary Elder in the veteran first-rate Guild, Twilight Echo, had never thought that Zero Wing would one day have a chance of becoming a super-first-rate Guild. Despite so many years of development, Twilight Echo had never reached the point where it had the potential of becoming a super-first-rate Guild, yet Zero Wing already had. "Alright, since everyone is in agreement, Aqua and those with the Sea God''s Legacy, ready your Spells. You should''ve learned quite a few water-type Spells. As for the remaining Elementalists, prepare to use ice-type Spells. Try to use as many AOE Spells as possible. I don''t need you all to attack. I just need you to transform this canyon into a world of ice and water. "As long as you can change the environment, the lava monsters will weaken and become much easier to deal with. If you succeed, we''ll have a chance of getting the vein. "Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian, once Aqua and the others begin, you three need to do everything you can to lure the monsters away from the canyon''s entrance. Cola, you''ll be responsible for tanking the Lava Hound. All you need to do is lure it away. Everyone else will use the ice- and water-type Magic Scrolls I''ll distribute in a moment. "I don''t need you to buy a lot of time. Five or six minutes will be enough. No matter what happens, do not use Power of Darkness. We''ll need it later." When Shi Feng finished explaining his plan, his teammate gulped as they glanced at the eight-meter-tall Lava Hound. They had no confidence of defeating the Mythic monster. The other Level 70-plus lava monsters shouldn''t be an issue, but distracting a Level 80 Mythic monster for five or six minutes would be a massive challenge. An unsuppressed Level 80 Mythic monster would most likely kill them with a single slap, and they weren''t allowed to use their Berserk Skills. Surprisingly, however, Cola brimmed with fighting spirit "If nobody has any problems, let''s begin," Shi Feng said. After scouting the terrain for about ten minutes, Aqua Rose and the other casters finally decided on their positions. Meanwhile, after Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian prepared to pull every monster''s aggro in the canyon. "Good! Let''s begin!" Shi Feng commanded once everyone was in position. Immediately, Aqua Rose and the others started to chant incantations and draw runes, drawing a large amount of water- and ice-type Mana towards them. The non-magical class players also activated their water- and ice-type Magic Scrolls. The flow of Mana soon attracted the attention of nearby monsters. These monsters instantly searched for the change''s source. However, before these lava monsters discovered Aqua Rose and her companions'' locations, AOE Spells began to descend. Boom! Boom! Boom! Suddenly, icicles and waterfalls rained down from the top of the canyon walls. As the streams of ice and water reached the bottom of the canyon, the molten lava vaporized the ice and water, filling the canyon with a dense mist. At the same time, the canyon''s temperature began to decrease. Unfortunately, Aqua Rose and the others'' Spells were only temporary. Their Spells couldn''t stop the lava from spewing out of the ground and canyon walls. "Damn it! Why is there so much lava? If we can''t stop it, changing the environment will be impossible," Blackie said, anxiety filling his heart as he watched water and ice become steam. If they failed to change the environment, the lava monsters would easily annihilate them. They shouldn''t even dream of securing the Source Fire vein. Seeing the swarm of lava monsters charge up the canyon, Cola and the other MTs began to grow nervous. These Level 70- plus lava monsters hadn''t weakened in the slightest It seems the effects are quite good. Everything is coming along just as I expected. Shi Feng smiled as he watched the rising steam. He then took out the Ancient Weather Book and activated Weather Control. He hadn''t actually expected Aqua Rose and the others to change the environment here by themselves. After all, only powerful Domain Skills could accomplish such a feat. Only a fool would try to change an area''s environment with ordinary AOE Spells. While the Ancient Weather Book could alter an area''s weather, it was too difficult to do so in such an inferno. It would take a very long time for the Ancient Weather Book to alter this environment enough to impact the lava monsters. Meanwhile, the Lava Hound would''ve killed the entire team several times. Hence, he needed Aqua Rose and the others to create enough steam in the valley to hasten the Ancient Weather Book''s alteration process. Suddenly, a powerful storm began to brew above the canyon, dark clouds forming in the sky. After five seconds, rain began to fall, showering the lava monsters. As the rainwater covered their bodies, the lava monstres cried out in pain. Their body temperatures rapidly began to cool. Not only did the lava monsters'' Movement Speed begin to decrease, but they also seemed sluggish. Awooo! The Lava Hound raged as the rain drenched its body, its howl so powerful that it even pushed away the descending rainwater and rubble on the ground. The Lava Hound then charged for Shi Feng, swiping a paw as it pounced on the Swordsman. "You''re not getting past me!" When the Lava Hound ignored him, Cola activated Titan''s Domain and ran at the beast with his shield raised. Boom! Sparks scattered when the Lava Hound''s nails scratched against Cola''s Titan Guard. The Lava Hound''s gigantic body came to an abrupt halt. Meanwhile, Cola only stumbled three steps backward, a damage exceeding -1,000 appearing above his head. To Cola, who had over 90,000 HP, this damage was practically negligible. "So strong!" "Cola can actually tank that thing by himself?" Everyone was surprised to see Cola barely harmed. This was a Level 80 Mythic monster they were talking about. Although the rain had somewhat weakened the Lava Hound, it was a Mythic monster, yet Cola had received its attack effortlessly without any help... Even Shi Feng was shocked by how little damage Cola had taken. He finally understood just how frightening a Fragmented Legendary Shield was. By the looks of it, the Guardian Knight should have no problems tanking the Lava Hound by himself even if he didn''t use Titan''s Domain. Shi Feng also dismissed the worry that plagued his heart. He then activated Gale Domain and flew toward the cave entrance in the distance. He quickly reached the mine, realizing that its entrance was so small that barely three people, shoulder-to-shoulder, would be able to enter at the same time. The instant Shi Feng set foot in the mine, a series of system notifications reached his ears. Moreover, he wasn''t the only person to receive the system notifications. Everyone in the Flame Demon''s Valley had received them. 1844 Underground Country Chapter 1844 - Underground Country System: Congratulations! You have discovered the Fire God''s Ancient Land. Flame Demon''s Valley Region System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack "Underground Country" and activated the primordial taboo seal. Players may enter the Underground Country in ten days. The system announcement repeated three times, the system''s indifferent voice echoing in everyone''s minds for quite some time. Underground Country? Shi Feng was stunned. Fire God''s Ancient Land? He had never heard of the Flame Demon''s Valley containing some kind of Underground Country during his previous life. He only knew that the Fire Demon''s Valley''s monsters had a high drop-rate for Source Fire Ore and Magic Crystals, and a few superpowers had fought fiercely over the area. However, this new expansion pack had never been triggered in the past. Although he had never heard of the Fire God''s Ancient Land before, he was very familiar with Ancient Lands. Any location that was considered an Ancient Land had existed before the Great Destruction. Only, these locations had disappeared from the public eye after the Great Destruction. Meanwhile, these Ancient Lands were rumored to have been blessed by Ancient Gods, which was why they had survived for so long. But as time passed, these Ancient Lands had become relics. Among the various Ancient Lands that had been discovered during Shi Feng''s life, some contained items that had even been famous during ancient times. These items had all been highly sought after by the various superpowers. Hence, the various superpowers had fought desperately to claim any discovered Ancient Lands in the past. Shi Feng had never thought that the Source Fire vein they had found was actually an entrance to the Fire God''s Ancient Land. This rendered Shi Feng speechless. Now that the system announcement had been made, the Underground Country in the Flame Demon''s Valley would be exposed sooner or later. The Source Fire vein would definitely be discovered as well. Meanwhile, the Flame Demon''s Valley was tens of thousands of miles away from Star-Moon Kingdom. If the Fire Dragon Empire''s superpowers wanted to claim the vein, he''d be powerless to stop them. Fortunately, it wasn''t easy to reach the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core. Players would need high enough Fire Resistance to do so. Triggering this new expansion pack also excited Zero Wing''s members. Although they didn''t know what the Underground Country was, they knew that this expansion pack represented a huge opportunity. Every kingdom and empire had its own specialty products, and no player had ever explored this Underground Country yet. This meant that they could monopolize the Underground Country''s specialty products. Depending on the items'' value, they could make a fortune by reselling them. Although Zero Wing''s members were excited about the new expansion pack, when they returned their attention to the horrific number of approaching monsters, they suppressed their excitement and focused on their enemies. As for Shi Feng, after a moment of surprise, he quickly charged into the Source Fire vein and started building a marker for a Teleportation Magic Array. Trying to get all of his team members into the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core had already been incredibly difficult, not to mention sending an army into the valley. No Guild in God''s Domain would be able to do so at this stage of the game, so it was impossible to mine this Source Fire vein long-term. However, while this task might be impossible for other Guilds, the same was not true for Zero Wing. As long as he set up a teleportation marker, he could transport players via teleportation array. Not only would it save his players a lot of travel time, but they could also avoid unnecessary battles in the Flame Demon''s Valley. Unfortunately, due to the massive distance between teleportation arrays, the Magic Crystal cost would be considerable. But compared to the Source Fire vein''s value, the teleportation fees were almost negligible. Aside from the fact that Magic Crystals could drop from the Source Fire vein, the Source Fire ore was incredibly valuable. It also had a small chance of dropping Flame Source Crystals. Meanwhile, in a hot, sandy area in the Flame Demon''s Valley''s inner region... Melody and her team worked on clearing out the monsters in an ancient ruin. When Shi Feng entered the Source Fire vein, they, too, had heard the regional announcement regarding the new expansion pack. "Amazing! Someone actually triggered a new expansion pack in the Flame Demon''s Valley!" "That should be Zero Wing''s doing. Is it the matter they mentioned earlier?" "Although I don''t know what the Underground Country is, it must have a lot of valuable items. Our Ninth Heaven has struck gold! The only other Guild that should be in the Flame Demon''s Valley is Zero Wing. Our two Guilds should be the only ones who know about this Underground Country. We''ll make a fortune by reselling the items from it!" ... Excitement flashed in the eyes of the Ninth Heaven''s members when they heard the system announcement. Traveling into human kingdoms and empires was intensely difficult for neutral races, so any items they purchased in Forest City were far above market price. Now that they had discovered the Underground Country, they could sell its unique items in Forest City. They''d be able to make a fortune and rapidly develop their Guild. So, this is Zero Wing''s strength? Melody revealed a bitter smile when she read the system announcement. She had been smug and satisfied because she had accepted a high-ranked quest with an extraordinary reward. In contrast, Zero Wing had triggered a new expansion pack in the Flame Demon''s Valley. The difference between them was immense. Previously, she had still suspected Zero Wing of targeting Ninth Heaven. But now, her suspicions were laughable. To Zero Wing, her high-ranked quest wasn''t likely worth a second glance. While Ninth Heaven''s members envied Zero Wing for activating a new expansion pack, Shi Feng frantically set up the teleportation array''s marker. Setting up a teleportation marker was not an easy task. Players needed a considerable understanding of magic arrays to succeed. The procedures were extremely complex, and normally, a player would need a lot of time to set up the marker and connect it to a teleportation array. However, to Shi Feng, who was adept in drawing Advanced Magic Arrays, this task was easier. He swiftly etched magic arrays on one crystal after another before placing the crystals on a large magic array he had carved into the ground. Very quickly, the Mana in the mine started to gather in the magic array. Shi Feng could feel the mine''s dense Mana begin to dwindle. Awooo! Suddenly, Shi Feng heard a furious howl from outside of the mine, echoing on the mine''s stone walls. "Guild Leader, trouble! The Lava Hound went berserk and is charging towards you! It''s ignoring aggro completely!" Aqua Rose shouted in the team chat when she saw the enraged Lava Hound rush back to the canyon. To current players, a berserk Level 80 Mythic monster was an absolute nightmare. Cola had tried to stop the Lava Hound with his shield but had instantly lost over 30,000 HP when the Boss had responded with an angry swipe. The Lava Hound''s Strength was terrifying. If anyone else had taken that attack, they would''ve likely died instantly. As soon as Aqua Rose fell silent, the Lava Hound arrived before the mine''s entrance. Fortunately, the mine entrance was too small for the Lava Hound, so the Boss couldn''t get in. Seeing this, Aqua Rose and Cola breathed a sigh of relief. However, something then happened that stupefied Zero Wing''s members. The gigantic Lava Hound split into three miniature copies. Each copy was still a Level 80 Mythic monster, but they did have slightly lower Basic Attributes. Before Zero Wing''s members could react, the three Lava Hounds charged into the mine. Hurry! Hurry up! Shi Feng could already hear rapidly approaching footsteps. It was obvious that the Lava Hound was almost to him. Meanwhile, he only needed to insert one last crystal into the ground to set the spatial coordinates. Unfortunately, the loading bar, which had swiftly filled before, felt extremely slow to Shi Feng. It was only 70% full. While conducting the merging process, Shi Feng couldn''t do anything. He couldn''t even activate a Skill. When the loading bar reached 90%, three one-meter-tall Lava Hounds appeared before Shi Feng. "Despicable mortal! You dare violate this sacred ground! You''ll pay for your crimes with your soul!" The three Lava Hounds spoke in the human language, rage flaring in their eyes as they spat three scorching, white beams at Shi Feng. Like lasers, the white beams vaporized everything in their path. 1845 Evil Gods Sword Chapter 1845 - Evil God''s Sword Just before the three scorching beams slammed into Shi Feng, the loading bar before him finally reached 100%. When the beams were less than 10 yards away from Shi Feng, a barrier of divine runes appeared. When the three beams met the barrier, it shook violently. As for Shi Feng, he shot backward like a cannonball. Boom! Shi Feng crashed into one of the mine shaft''s sturdy walls. What power. Shi Feng was shocked as he stared at the mine shaft''s deformed terrain. He had never thought that the Lava Hound would possess such frightening power even after dividing itself into three copies. They were currently inside a Source Fire vein. The walls surrounding them were sturdy and fire-resistant, especially the Source Fire Ore. Ordinary flames wouldn''t melt it, let alone vaporize it. One could easily imagine how high the Lava Hound''s flames were. If those white-hot flames struck a player''s equipment, not even magically-enhanced, Dark-Gold Equipment would survive. Only Epic Equipment might If he hadn''t activated Absolute Domain in time, he likely would''ve died from that attack. "Retreat! Everyone, retreat immediately!" Shi Feng shouted through the team chat once the flames dissipated. Cola could barely tank one Lava Hound. Now that they had to face three miniature Lava Hounds, which were only slightly weaker than the full version, he knew they couldn''t stay here for a moment longer. After issuing his command, he switched the Aura of Earth to the Aura of Space, preparing to teleport out of this map. Awooo! As Shi Feng was about to escape using Space Movement, the three Lava Hounds howled as one. Three light-red ripples radiated from the beasts, and as if space had frozen, the Seven Luminaries Ring failed to open a tear in space. Spatial Lockdown? Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he saw the growing spatial tear before him disappear. A monster with such peerless strength and the ability, Spatial Lockdown, were a nightmare for players. Coming across one such monster almost guaranteed death. Monsters that possessed the Spatial Lockdown ability were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Normally, only NPCs at the peak of God''s Domain could execute the ability. Shi Feng never thought that an Elemental Creature like the Lava Hound would be able to use it as well. "You have touched on the Almighty Fire God''s taboo! Sacrifice your soul to beg forgiveness from the Fire God!" The three Lava Hounds spoke in a chilling tone before charging at Shi Feng. Although the three Lava Hounds were small, their movements were so powerful that space itself trembled in their wake. Their Strength could even rival the complete Lava Hound''s. As the three Lava Hounds approached Shi Feng, they split up and assaulted Shi Feng from three different directions, transitioning into a battle formation as smoothly as NPCs. Is this a God''s guardian? Shi Feng''s expression turned somber as he watched the three Lava Hounds approach. It was normal in God''s Domain to find treasures guarded by powerful monsters, and there were some incredibly powerful existences among these guardian monsters. These guardians had been created by the Gods. Normally, Gods only created such powerful guardians to protect their wealth. Not only did these guardians have an eternal lifespan, but they were also undying. In addition, they commanded extremely powerful Skills and Spells. They were even more difficult to deal with than Archaic Species of the same rank and level. I can only give it a try. Shi Feng gritted his teeth and used Heavenly Dragon''s Power before activating Divine Steps. In the next moment, ten doppelgangers with the exact same aura and Attributes as Shi Feng appeared. Shi Feng and his doppelgangers then charged at the three Lava Hounds. Although the Lava Hounds were powerful, Shi Feng managed to nullify their attacks by constantly switching positions with his doppelgangers. Using this opportunity, Shi Feng quickly made his way towards the mine''s exit. Normally, guardian monsters would give up the chase once they were a certain distance away from what they were supposed to protect. As long as Shi Feng moved out of range, he could shake off the Lava Hounds. However, the Lava Hounds were incredibly difficult to get away from. Not only was their Strength incredibly high, but their speed was also impressive. They constantly interrupted Shi Feng''s advance and left very little space for him to move forward. By the time Divine Steps'' duration ended, Shi Feng had only crossed a little over 50 yards. He was still over a hundred yards away from the mine''s entrance... The instant Shi Feng''s doppelgangers disappeared, a Lava Hound swiped its paw at Shi Feng so fast that it was impossible to dodge. With no other choice, Shi Feng raised Killing Ray to block the attack. Peng! The instant the Lava Hound''s paw met Shi Feng''s sword, he felt his entire arm go numb. The impact sent his body flying backward over 20 yards, dealing over -40,000 damage. What incredible Strength. This should be close to rivaling a High Mythic''s Strength. Shi Feng thought as he stared at the Lava Hound that hit him. His encounter with the Lava Hound had been brief, and the beast hadn''t used any Skills, yet he had lost so much HP. He had already activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, as well, drastically increasing his Strength and Defense. Right now, his Defense was even higher than Cola''s, although he didn''t have the Passive Skills that provided damage reduction. Even then, he had still lost over 40,000 HP! The current Lava Hound before him definitely had much higher Strength than the original. Meanwhile, he had to face three of these Lava Hounds... Before Shi Feng could figure a way out of this situation, another Lava Hound pounced at him. Hurriedly, Shi Feng activated Parry to block its attack. Peng! Once more, Shi Feng flew backward by over 20 yards. Not only hadn''t he moved closer to the mine''s entrance, but he was actually further from it. This was clearly what the Lava Hounds had intended to do with their attacks. These Lava Hounds'' combat standards were in no way inferior to expert players. Am I going to die here? Shi Feng could not help his bitter smile as he watched the third Lava Hound pounce at him. It would seem that he had taken on too large of a risk to set up the teleportation marker. While he did not mind losing one level of EXP, he carried multiple tools that would drop on his death. Moreover, these items would not simply remain on the ground after being dropped. After a certain time had passed, these valuable items would disappear. Meanwhile, when players died, they''d only resurrect after half an hour unless someone resurrected them with a Skill or special tool. By the time he returned to this mine, his dropped items would be gone from this world. As Shi Feng clashed with the Lava Hounds, his HP continued to decrease. 80%... 70%... 60%... Although he had tried to use Void Steps to blindsight the beasts, the technique was ineffective against the Lava Hounds'' sharp sense. Even though the Lava Hounds couldn''t see him, they could pinpoint his location with their other senses, launching another paw swipe or bite attack. ... "Why hasn''t the Guild Leader come out yet?" Aqua Rose, who had long since distanced herself from the canyon, muttered as she watched the swarm of lava monsters return to their home. "The Guild Leader should be fine. If he goes all-out, he can even contend with Mythic monsters," Blackie reassured. "It''s been so long, though. Moreover, there were three Lava Hounds. I think it''s best if I go take a look," Fire Dance said worriedly. "I''ll go with you," Flying Shadow offered as he followed Fire Dance. Meanwhile, inside the mine... Shi Feng watched the circling Lava Hounds and glanced at the small percentage of HP he had remaining with a bitter smile. Despite activating Twofold Berserk, which temporarily granted him the power to contend with Tier 4 Mythics, he still couldn''t come within 100 yards of the mine''s entrance. While he was confident that he could escape a single Lava Hound, three were too much for him to handle. To make matters worse, the three Lava Hounds coordinated perfectly. Although he had thought of using a Magic or Summoning Scroll, the three Lava Hounds were simply too fast. They gave him no opportunities to use such tools. As Twofold Berserk''s duration continued to run out, Shi Feng frantically searched through his bag for items that could help him out of this predicament. Suddenly, he discovered a broken longsword that had been inactive in his bag for quite some time. This longsword was none other than the Evil God''s Inheritance, a treasured sword that had once belonged to the Evil God. Seeing that the Lava Hounds charge at him again, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and took out the Evil God''s Inheritance. He then inserted his power into the weapon. Protecting the items that would drop if he died was undoubtedly more important than losing 10 points in all of his Attributes. After Shi Feng powered the sword, the Evil God''s Inheritance pulsated. An invisible force then spread out from the sword, sweeping through the mine with so much power that even space shook with the intensity. A moment later, a deathly aura pervaded the mine shaft. 1846 Broken Swords Power Chapter 1846 - Broken Sword''s Power As the aura of death saturated the mine, space itself froze. The three Lava Hounds slid to a halt as they glared at the broken sword in Shi Feng''s hand, wary. Pitch-black divine runes had appeared along the broken blade as the sword released plumes of dark smoke. The weapon felt cold and evil. The Lava Hounds finally discerned the broken sword''s identity, and fear flashed in their eyes. It was as if they had remembered something horrific from their past. "Despicable heretic! You dare set foot in this sacred land!" "Let the Almighty Fire God''s flames purify your soul!" After Shi Feng replaced the Abyssal Blade with the Evil God''s Inheritance, the broken sword seemed to trigger something in the three Lava Hounds. Suddenly, they began to grow larger as golden flames flared across their bodies. Despite standing still, the solid rock beneath the Lava Hounds'' feet began to crack. Space tore around them as if it couldn''t withstand the golden flames'' power. It was as if the space around them was no longer able to withstand the power of the golden flames. Shi Feng could also sense a threat of death from that golden fire. Moreover, Shi Feng could tell that this death wouldn''t just end with a single lost level. He could feel a power akin to Soul Fire, although this was many times stronger. Burning and devouring his soul would be child''s play for this strange fire. If these golden flames burned a player''s soul, the player''s account would likely be left permanently crippled... Before Shi Feng could think of a plan to get out of this troubling situation, the three Lava Hounds pounced as one. At this point, Shi Feng had no Skills that he could use to protect himself. In addition, the Lava Hounds'' Movement Speed had significantly increased. With no other options, Shi Feng instinctively executed Sword''s Orbit. Countless sword lights enveloped Shi Feng, clashing with the three gigantic, flaming beasts as they attacked. Boom... Boom... Boom... The resulting impacts tore the nearby rocky ground. The scattered sparks ignited anything they touched, transforming the area into a sea of fire. The three Lava Hounds were thrown back, forming three large craters as they crashed into the ground. Damages of over -3,000 appeared above their heads. In contrast, Shi Feng remained standing in his original position, although the ground beneath him had been burned and melted. Now, he stood in a deep crater of his own that had a smooth, glassy surface. What incredible power! So, this is a weapon that had once belonged to an Evil God? Shi Feng was stunned as he looked at the injured Lava Hounds. Truthfully, the broken sword he wielded was only Fragmented Legendary rank. Although the weapon provided a considerable boost to Strength and Attack Power, he hadn''t expected the boost to be this intense. After all, his Abyssal Blade was even stronger than ordinary Epic Weapons, but it had never been this powerful. Meanwhile, the Lava Hounds before him nearly had enough Strength to rival High Mythic ranked monsters. Even after activating Twofold Berserk, he still hadn''t been a match for the Lava Hounds'' Strength, yet when he had used the Evil God''s Inheritance against these monsters, he felt as if he had hit a group of weak, powerless dogs. He hadn''t felt the intense impact that he had experienced during his prior clashes with these beasts. Although he had seen weapons that could weaken an opponent''s power in the past, he had never seen one as strong as the Evil God''s Inheritance. The weapon had actually decimated Tier 4 Mythic monsters'' Strength to such a great extent. That wasn''t all. When he had clashed with the Lava Hounds, he had felt his own Strength skyrocket. It was as if the broken sword had absorbed the monsters'' Strength, transferring it to him. As Shi Feng tried to get a better grasp on the Evil God''s Inheritance''s power, a Lava Hound stood up. This time, however, it did not charge at Shi Feng. Instead, it howled with anger and formed a golden, threefold magic array in front of itself. A moment later, a beam of fire shot out from the magic array, moving so fast that Shi Feng couldn''t dodge in time. This beam was the result of the Lava Hound''s Tier 4 Spell, Red Lotus Breath, the same Spell that had vaporized the Source Fire Ore earlier. In response, Shi Feng simply swung the Evil God''s Inheritance at the approaching beam of fire. Boom! The broken sword sliced the crimson beam in half, the flames disintegrating the stone wall behind Shi Feng. Shi Feng stumbled five steps back as a damage of over -10,000 appeared above his head. Sure enough. Shi Feng was indescribably shocked, glancing down at the Evil God''s Inheritance in his hand. As he had guessed, the Evil God''s Inheritance could absorb an enemy''s power, converting it into his own. Moreover, he had received far more power from this attack than the last. Not only had he gained 20% more Strength, but his Fire Resistance had also increased by 30%. This ability was simply frightening! Due to this ability, his combat power had instantly soared. Moreover, he could sense that this still wasn''t the Evil God''s Inheritance''s limit. Although he couldn''t see the Evil God''s Inheritance''s exact Attributes, when he wielded the weapon, he felt that he hadn''t fully grasped the broken sword''s power. The broken sword could grant him even more boons depending on the strength of the attack he received. However, the provided improvements were not without a flaw: their short duration. Each time it absorbed an attack''s power, the weapon''s wielder could only retain it for a short 10 seconds. Even so, it was amazing. Shi Feng found it truly hard to imagine that the Evil God''s Inheritance was still incomplete and that he only exhibited 10% of its power after sacrificing his Attributes. If he could exhibit the weapon''s full power, the result would be unimaginable. Most likely, he''d be able to suppress the three Lava Hounds completely. 1 should be able to leave now. When he saw the other two beasts charge towards him, Shi Feng licked his lips in excitement and ran to meet his enemies in battle. Previously, the difference between their Basic Attributes had been too great. Even after using Twofold Berserk, he had been thoroughly suppressed. Now, however, his Strength had surpassed the Lava Hounds'' after he had weakened them and boosted his own with the Evil God''s Inheritance. Shi Feng relied on his superior Strength and technique to push the two Lava Hounds to the side. He then dashed for the mine''s entrance like a powerful gale. When the Lava Hounds caught up to Shi Feng, he easily threw them back with an attack. In less than five seconds, Shi Feng burst from the mine and back into the canyon. Thousands of lava monsters then turned to look at the Swordsman. "Big Sis Fire, the Guild Leader is out!" Flying Shadow said, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Shi Feng emerge from the mine. However, his excitement quickly faded, and a somber expression dominated his face. Thousands of lava monsters surrounded Shi Feng, including the three Mythic Lava Hounds that chased after him. Even a Tier 2 Assassin like him or Fire Dance would have no hope of surviving such an encirclement, much less a Swordsman like Shi Feng. "I''ll attract the monsters'' attention. Ready a Defensive Magic Scroll and prepare to use it on the Guild Leader." Fire Dance felt her scalp tingle as she watched the swarm of monsters close in on Shi Feng, but she had to try to rescue her Guild Leader. She could feel how extraordinary the flames that enveloped the Lava Hounds were. If those flames claimed Shi Feng''s life, he''d lose far more than a single level. Just as Fire Dance was about to dash forward, Shi Feng raised the Evil God''s Inheritance into the air. Suddenly, the canyon''s Mana began to gather around the broken blade, and the sword gradually took on a mist-like state. Shi Feng swung the weapon lightly at the surrounding lava monsters. The mist-like broken sword suddenly disappeared from Shi Feng''s hand and transformed into five pitch-black sword lights that flew at the offending monsters, devouring everything in their path. This move was the Evil God''s Inheritance''s only Skill after Shi Feng had sacrificed a fraction of his Attributes. Godslayer! With one attack, every Chieftain and Lord ranked lava monster nearby was incinerated, their ashes scattering in the wind. The surviving monsters were heavily injured and unable to make the slightest movement. 1847 Flame Demons Crown Chapter 1847 - Flame Demon''s Crown When Shi Feng had swung the broken sword, the attack had carved five deep grooves in the rocky ground around him. The canyon''s terrain had changed drastically. What great destructive power! Shock filled Shi Feng as he gazed at the Evil God''s Inheritance in his hand. Godslayer''s destructive power was even greater than that of a Tier 4 super-large-scale destruction Spell. He had turned several hundred Level 70-plus lava monsters into ash instantly. The Skill truly had the power to decimate heaven and earth. Unfortunately, the monsters he had killed with Godslayer hadn''t granted Shi Feng any EXP. In fact, he would not gain any EXP from slain monsters while he had the Evil God''s Inheritance active; the sword would absorb it all. After killing so many monsters, the black mist the Evil God''s Inheritance emitted had become denser. Following which, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: Evil God''s Inheritance has accumulated sufficient life force and recovered the first Evil God''s Mark, activating a portion of its power. The Evil God''s Inheritance has such an effect? Shi Feng was surprised. He had thought that he could only repair the weapon by collecting the missing fragments. He had never expected the broken blade to recover some of its lost power by absorbing others'' life force. [Evil God''s Inheritance] (One-handed Sword) A treasured sword that the Evil God had once used. However, the sword had been destroyed in a battle, shattered into three pieces. Although the Evil God''s treasured sword had been destroyed, the Evil God''s power within remains intact. As long as one gathers all three fragments, it is possible to restore the sword to its past glory. This piece is the sword''s broken hilt. By permanently sacrificing 10 points of all Attributes, the user may temporarily use the sword''s power. Although this sword has been severely damaged, it can still exert one-tenth of its original power. First Evil God''s Mark: Power Absorption can increase Strength by a maximum of 100%, Stamina by 20%, and All Resistances by 100%. When this fragment is within 1,000 yards of other fragments, the fragments will resonate. Drops upon death. Cannot be traded. Although he could strengthen the Evil God''s Inheritance by killing a large number of monsters, he had no intentions of doing so. While Shi Feng might wield extraordinary power when he used the Evil God''s Inheritance, he''d have to sacrifice 10 points from every Basic Attribute permanently each time he wielded the weapon. While 10 points in all Attributes might not be much to a Tier 2 player, it would add up. If he used the weapon for too often, he would cripple his account. One could say that the Evil God''s Inheritance was even more evil than Magic Weapons. Hence, the Evil God''s Inheritance should only be used as a final trump card. Shi Feng had no intentions of feeding the Evil God''s Inheritance any more life force right now, either. He only had half an hour to use the weapon after activating it. How much life force could he possibly accumulate in half an hour? However, the ability to strengthen the Evil God''s Inheritance had truly been an unexpected boon. Following which, Shi Feng charged out of the hole he had opened in the monster encirclement. Now that the Evil God''s Inheritance had grown stronger, he had a much easier time dealing with the three Lava Hounds that chased after him. "Is this the Guild Leader at his full strength?" Flying Shadow, who watched from the valley''s entrance, was astonished as he watched Shi Feng take on three Level 80 Lava Hounds without trouble. Even Fire Dance, who prepared to move out, was stunned. She had assumed that after so many battles and adventures, the distance between her and Shi Feng had shortened. Looking at it now, however, it would seem that the gap was larger than ever. What the two Assassins did not know was that Shi Feng fully relied on the Evil God''s Inheritance to command such power. Without it, he might not have survived even after activating Twofold Berserk. Shi Feng quickly escaped the Lava Hounds'' grasp, and although this further enraged the Mythic monsters, they didn''t dare leave their domain by as much as a centimeter. They could only watch until Shi Feng left their sight. "Despicable heretic! The Almighty Fire God will not let you get away with this!" After Shi Feng had vanished, the Lava Hounds released furious howls, the sounds echoing throughout the valley. At the same time, a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. ... System: You have incurred the Rre God''s wrath. As long as you enter the Fire Gods territory, its guardians will hunt you to the death. ... How ruthless. Shi Feng could not help his astonishment as he read the system notification. He had only set up a teleportation marker in the Fire God''s Ancient Land, yet he was now prohibited from entering any location the Fire God sheltered. This penalty was truly severe. After all, the Fire God was a God who had left behind many areas in God''s Domain. The Fire God had even been responsible for creating a number of Otherworlds. This penalty basically warned him that he could lose his life if he entered any of these locations. Unless he was strong enough to defeat the areas'' guardians, he shouldn''t even consider exploring the locations. But after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng didn''t mourn the loss. Now that he had constructed a teleportation marker in the Fire God''s Ancient Land, he could lead a team to mine the Source Fire ore without revealing themselves to the Lava Hounds as long as he prepared properly. In ten days, he could also visit the so-called Underground Country, possibly obtaining another significant harvest. Overall, he considered this transaction quite profitable. After leaving the canyon, Shi Feng regrouped with Zero Wing''s other members. He then briefed Aqua Rose about the teleportation marker and had her contact her subordinates to prepare. They would need enough Fire Resistance to survive in the Flame Demon''s Valley''s core region. Moreover, only Intermediate Miners or higher could mine the Source Fire ore. They''d only be able to revisit the mine after fulfilling these two conditions. It would take quite some time to prepare. After the team rested for a short moment, Shi Feng led his team into the heart of the Flame Demon''s Valley. Although they came across quite a few monsters on their way, and Shi Feng was currently Weakened, the team advanced relatively quickly with their powerful MTs like Cola and Shi Feng''s summoned Tier 3 Demons. As no one had explored the Flame Demon''s Valley thus far, it was home to a lot of monsters, which, fortunately, provided far more EXP than normal. Moreover, a large number of treasure chests hid in the area. After venturing through the core region for four hours, some of the team''s Level 56 members had risen to Level 57. Fire Dance and Flying Shadow had also discovered six treasure chests in the area. They had found three Bronze Treasure Chests, a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest, a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest, and a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. The discovery surprised both Fire Dance and Flying Shadow, who frequently searched for treasure chests in the fields. It was common knowledge that treasure chests were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Normally, a map only had two or three at one time, yet after wandering in a small section of the core region, they had discovered six. Moreover, one was a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest. Past Level 50, a Bronze Treasure Chest would contain loot that could rival the items a High Lord dropped, while Mysterious- Iron Chests'' items were on par with a Great Lord, and Secret-Silver Treasure Chests dropped items on par with a Grand Lord''s loot. As for a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, its loot could rival that of a Mythic monster. However, in the Flame Demon''s Valley, both the monsters and the treasure chests offered weapons and equipment that were all Level 70 or higher. Unfortunately, current players couldn''t use these items unless they had weapons and equipment that could reduce level requirements by 15 levels or more. As Shi Feng activated the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, it released a light that illuminated the gloomy sky above the Flame Demon''s Valley. Even players several thousand yards away could see the glow. The Flame Demon''s Crown? Shi Feng was flabbergasted when he saw the exquisite, flaming crown inside the treasure chest. 1848 Ancient Demon Chapter 1848 - Ancient Demon "Guild Leader, did you find something good?" Aqua Rose asked curiously as she watched Shi Feng''s blank expression. The rest of the team turned to look at Shi Feng, as well, anticipation flashing in their eyes. They all wanted to know what kind of treasure a Fine-Gold Treasure Chest had to offer. A Fine-Gold Treasure Chest was almost impossible to find in Level 50-plus maps. The best players normally found were Secret-Silver rank. Meanwhile, even Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chests could cause a heated struggle between Guild teams. The higher-quality treasure chest players found, the more of a commotion activating the treasure chest would cause. In turn, this would lead to more players finding out about the treasure chest. Moreover, after players acquired the items inside a treasure chest, there was a two-hour period when the items would be guaranteed to drop upon death. Hence, whenever a treasure chest appeared in the fields, a slaughter would soon follow. Fortunately, Zero Wing''s team didn''t have to worry about being attacked. After all, this place was the Flame Demon''s Valley. The only other players that might see the glow from the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest were the Ninth Heaven members. Even if other players with hostile intentions discovered them, they had no fear that anyone would try to rob them. "Something good has dropped," Shi Feng said, laughing. He then retrieved the Flame Demon''s Crown and shared its statistics in the team chat. ... [Flame Demon''s Crown] (Head, Fine-Gold Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 800, Agility 800, and Intelligence 800 Defense +100 Additional Passive SkiH- Flame Demon''s Body: Allows the wearer to gain the body of a Flame Demon, increasing Fire Resistance by 200 and becoming immune to burning effects. Additional Active SkiH- Flame Avatar: Becomes immune to all flame damage for one minute. Cooldown: 10 minutes ... After reading the Flame Demon''s Crown''s details, the team lost their prior excitement. "Guild Leader, this crown is a scam. Not only does it have such a high equipment requirement, but it doesn''t actually offer any Basic Attributes. The only good thing about it is its high Fire Resistance, but it isn''t worth sacrificing everything else." "I feel the same. The monsters in harsh environments are generally very powerful. Although this crown can provide sufficient Fire Resistance to survive in these maps, without the Basic Attributes, you''ll have a difficult time dealing with monsters. It would be much better to equip several pieces of equipment that provide less Fire Resistance but have significant Basic Attributes." "Its defensive properties are even more important. No matter how I look at this crown, it doesn''t seem to have any." Everyone quickly discerned the pros and cons of the Flame Demon''s Crown. Even Level 50 Common cloth armor had more than 100 Defense. The Flame Demon''s Crown''s Defense was practically a useless decoration. In addition, losing the Basic Attributes from a piece of equipment would reduce a player''s Attributes by around 10%. This would cause at least a 20% reduction in combat power. Moreover, due to the lack of Defense in the head section, others would have a weakness to exploit. If one were struck in the head, it was entirely possible that they''d suffer a Fainted state. As God''s Domain continued to update, the equipment players wore would have greater importance. Equipment would play a role in a player''s defense beyond Basic Attributes. Take two players with the same Defense, for example. If one of these players wore chest armor while the other player did not, the player without a chest piece would receive more damage when struck in that area and suffer additional negative effects. If a player took a blow to the head, they would feel dizzy and powerless, and their reactions would become sluggish. If one were stuck in the arm, it would go numb and become difficult to move. There were subtle differences in the negative effects depending on the materials of their equipment, as well. An attack''s impact was one such example. During the early stages of the game, these negative effects were barely noticeable, but as players took on higher-leveled monsters, these negative effects would become more prominent. As a result, players would have to choose their equipment carefully. It wasn''t enough to prioritize Basic Attributes. Players also needed to focus on their equipment''s compatibility and defensive properties. Meanwhile, the Flame Demon''s Crown, made of fire with a pitiful 100 points in Defense, clearly didn''t have any. It was a costume piece at best. If one equipped the Flame Demon''s Crown during battle, they''d be asking for an early death. Shi Feng simply revealed a bitter smile as he stored the Flame Demon''s Crown. He had to admit that his Guild members'' standards had significantly improved. Their understanding of weapons and equipment was no longer limited to Basic Attributes. Unfortunately, they were still somewhat ignorant This didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. His teammates were still relatively low-leveled, after all. They still didn''t fully understand Resistances. They did not know just how valuable a piece of equipment capable of increasing Fire Resistance by 200 points was. Among the items in the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, the Flame Demon''s Crown was easily more valuable than the other items combined. By the time mainstream players had reached Level 100 and beyond in the past, a Flame Demon''s Crown had sold for a whopping 5,000 Gold. With that amount of money, one could purchase an Epic Equipment with poor Attributes. Even so, players rarely sold their Flame Demon''s Crowns. Equipment that added 200 Fire Resistance was extremely rare. Most importantly, the Flame Demon''s Crown''s Flame Demon''s Body allowed its wearer to become immune to burning effects. In other words, no matter how hot an environment was, players would not suffer any negative effects. They could maintain their combat power at its peak. Of course, due to the Flame Demon''s Crown''s glaring weakness, it was only suitable for expert players. Ordinary players would be better off wearing several pieces of equipment that provided both Basic Attributes and Fire Resistance. Ordinary players already fought to get their Basic Attributes up to standard and as a result, struggled against monsters and in Team Dungeon raids. They would be asking for trouble by using a piece of specialized equipment like the Flame Demon''s Crown. However, expert players were different. They would easily have enough Basic Attributes even without wearing a headpiece. When fighting in sweltering environments, it was far more important for expert players to have high Fire Resistance. Hence, during the later stages of the game, the various large Guilds'' main force members had stopped focusing on Basic Attributes. Instead, they had prioritized Resistances and physique. Moreover, the Flame Demon''s Crown was like an entry pass to the Flame Demon''s Valley. As long as one had a Flame Demon''s Crown, they could travel anywhere within the valley. They wouldn''t even have any issues exploring the flaming valley''s core. Originally, Shi Feng had worried that he didn''t have enough Fire Resistance to survive in the central area, but now that he had the Flame Demon''s Crown, he wasn''t concerned. Now, only the Flame Demon King himself would be a problem. In God''s Domain, the Flame Demon King was categorized as a World Boss. Counter to most expectations, World Bosses were not much stronger than ordinary Field Bosses. The system did not grant World Bosses any special traits, either. However, they did have full control over their territories. While in a World Boss''s territory, players would be prevented from using Magic Scrolls and magic arrays. It wasn''t even possible to use magical tools. At most, players could use their weapons and equipment''s Skills. It was a nightmare for most players. After emptying the Fine-Gold Treasure Chest, Shi Feng and the others continued towards the central region. After traveling for a little over an hour, they finally arrived before a fiery world. White-hot flames danced along the mountain range before them. The ring of mountains resembled a burning sun, making it difficult to look at. "This place is so hot!" Blackie exclaimed as he looked at the flaming mountain range. Despite standing some distance away from the mountain range, he felt as if like roasting meat. Everyone on the team felt the sweltering heat. Even walking exhausted their Stamina. Meanwhile, a gigantic figure wielding a trident patrolled the center of this mountain ring. Every one of this figure''s movements stirred the flames around it as lava rose into the air. Even from several thousand yards away, Zero Wing''s team could feel the figure''s fierce aura. When they saw the Flame Demon King''s true appearance, they couldn''t help their gasps. Even Shi Feng was shocked. ... [Flame Demon King] (Elemental Creature, Ancient Fiend, Mythic) Level 83 HP 720,000,000/720,000,000 ... An Ancient Fiend?! How is this possible?! Shi Feng was indescribably shocked when he saw the Flame Demon King''s statistics. Shouldn''t it be an Archaic Species? 1849 World Gate Chapter 1849 - World Gate "Guild Leader, don''t tell me we''re supposed to fight that Boss?" "Is that really a Mythic monster?" The Flame Demon King was a 50-meter-tall giant. Every one of its movements stirred up a storm in the sea of fire around it. Zero Wing''s team could tell how terrifying this monster was just by looking at it. When he saw the Flame Demon King, Cola, who had brimmed with confidence, felt his scalp tingle. This Boss could likely even slay a 1,000-man team of Level 80, Tier 2 experts. Compared to the Mythic monsters they''ve encountered thus far, the Flame Demon King was on an entirely different level. Could the new expansion pack I triggered have made the Flame Demon King stronger? Shi Feng pondered as he looked at the Flame Demon King. The more he thought about it, the more his theory seemed plausible. After all, the Flame Demon''s Valley was only a Level 70-plus map; it wasn''t a Level 100-plus map. An Ancient Fiend shouldn''t be here. An Ancient Fiend was an Elemental Creature that had fully unlocked its Bloodline and reverted to its ancestral form. Although Ancient Fiends were no match for Dragons in terms of Life Rating, they were fully capable of rivaling Ferocious Beasts. Even an expert team that was twenty levels higher wouldn''t be a match for a Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend, much less an expert team of the same level. In addition, the Flame Demon King had a World Boss''s special ability. Not even a 100-man team of Level 100, Tier 3 players could defeat this monster. There''s no helping it I can only adjust my plans. Following which, Shi Feng addressed his team, "I had thought that I could complete this quest and get everyone out of here safely, but that''s no longer possible. I''ll have to ask you all to sacrifice yourselves to lure the Flame Demon King away from its territory. Try to buy as much time for me as possible. Violet, you won''t be joining the fight. I need you to hide in the distance. Once the battle is over, you''ll be responsible for resurrecting the team." All he could do now was lure the Flame Demon King away from the World Gate. The players that would be responsible for buying time would die, but with the Resurrection Skill he had given Violet Cloud, they could reduce the death penalty his teammates suffered. "I understand." Violet Cloud nodded. None of his teammates had any objections to Shi Feng''s proposal. They were the Guild''s main force members. Their weapons, equipment, and levels had been granted by their Guild. It wasn''t unusual to die for their Guild''s benefit Very quickly, the team followed Shi Feng''s instructions. Cola would be the first player responsible for attracting the Flame Demon King''s attention and luring it to the designated area. After Cola died, Turtledove and Ѿe Wumian would take over. Once all three MTs had died, the rest of the team would split up and flee, forcing the Flame Demon King to waste as much time as possible chasing them down. "Move out!" Shi Feng commanded once he was in position a short distance away from the valley''s entrance. Following his orders, Cola charged into the flaming valley. Shortly after he had set foot in the sea of fire, a deafening roar echoed from the valley''s center. "Little human! You dare trespass in my, the Flame Demon King, Monacoland''s, territory?! I''ll show you just how frightening fire''s anger is!" As the voice faded, the Flame Demon King emerged from the raging flames, its movements causing waves of fire that washed over Cola. Not daring to be careless, Cola immediately activated Power of Darkness and hid behind Titan Guard. Boom! As the firestorm slammed into him, Cola stumbled three steps backward, a damage exceeding -20,000 appearing above his head. "So strong! Just its movements cause such a powerful attack!" Aqua Rose, who watched from afar, could not help her shock when she saw Cola lose one-eighth of his HP despite his active Berserk Skill. Normally, Cola could face a Level 70 Mythic monster head-on after activating his Berserk Skill, yet he had just lost so much HP after an indirect attack from the Flame Demon King. The team''s other members paled when they saw this. If they had received that indirect attack, they would''ve likely lost over 50% of their HP. They felt like ants before this World Boss. As the Flame Demon King''s frightening strength stunned Zero Wing''s players, the Boss had arrived before Cola. The Flame Demon King then thrust its trident at the Guardian Knight with so much speed that the attack had been invisible to the naked eye. Fortunately, Cola had already raised Titan Guard and blocked the attack in time. After blocking the attack, however, Cola had lost all feeling in his arms. Like a cannonball, he had been thrown back, only stopping as he crashed into a massive boulder. Cola''s HP instantly fell by over 80,000, more than half of his total... The team was stunned. Just one attack had left Cola so miserable. The gap in strength was despairing. "Heal him, quickly!" Shi Feng shouted through the team chat. The outcome didn''t surprise him. After all, their opponent was a Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend. If not for the Fragmented Legendary ranked Titan Guard, Cola might have died instantly. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, the Tier 2 healers snapped out of their daze and cast Healing Spells on Cola, instantly restoring the Guardian Knight''s HP to 70%. However, the Flame Demon King was already stabbing its trident at Cola again, the weapon releasing white-hot fire. The white-hot flames shocked Cola. Hurriedly, he activated Protection Blessing. After its upgrade to Tier 2, Protection Blessing reduced the damage he took by 60%. However, when the trident met Cola''s shield, the stone under his feet shattered, forming a crater. Meanwhile, Cola''s HP fell by more than 60,000, dropping his HP into the red. By the time the Flame Demon King executed another attack, the team''s healers only recovered Cola''s HP to 50% of his total. Realizing how precarious his situation was, Cola used Titan''s Heart, forming three layers of Protective Energy, which could absorb up to ten times his maximum HP, around him. With Titan''s Heart in effect, Cola quickly fled the sea of fire. Seeing Cola pull away from the valley, Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had upgraded Titan Guard to the Fragmented Legendary rank earlier. Otherwise, the three MTs wouldn''t be able to lure the Flame Demon King away before they died, even if Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian worked together. Afterward equipping the Flame Demon''s Crown, Shi Feng activated Gale Domain and charged into the flames that could even melt fine iron. As expected of the Flame Demon''s Crown. It really is wondrously effective. When Shi Feng soared through the fire, he only felt a little warm. He wasn''t in any pain at all. Due to the additional 200 Fire Resistance the crown provided, he now had over 400 Fire Resistance. His HP only fell by a little over 100 each second he remained in the fire. After flying for about 40 seconds, he noticed Cola''s name darken among the list of his team members. It was obvious that the Flame Demon King had killed Cola. So quickly? When Shi Feng realized that he was still over 200 yards away from the stone gate in the center of the valley, his expression darkened. Cola was the sturdiest player in the team. He had thought that the Guardian Knight alone would be able to buy him enough time to reach the World Gate, but it seemed that the Flame Demon King was much stronger than he had expected. As soon as Shi Feng reached the World Gate, he pulled out the Philosopher''s Hand and used it to activate the stone doors. At this point, Turtledove had also fallen, and only Ye Wumian remained alive of the team''s three MTs. I need to hurry! Shi Feng used the Philosopher''s Hand''s power to repair the broken magic arrays on the World Gate. As he did, a furious roar reached him from outside of the valley. "Despicable trespasser! You dare to open the World Gate?!" As the voice faded, a pillar of fire rose from its origin. Following which, everyone but Shi Feng and Violet Cloud''s names went dark... This situation put immense pressure on Shi Feng. He pushed himself to work faster. Fast! Faster! While Shi Feng repaired the World Gate''s magic arrays, he could feel the space around him boil. This meant that he was already standing within the Flame Demon King''s sphere of influence. The Ancient Fiend''s Movement Speed had completely exceeded his expectations. "Despicable human! Vanish alongside your sins!" When the Flame Demon King caught sight of Shi Feng, it threw its flaming trident at the Swordsman. However, before the trident could reach Shi Feng, he activated the Aura of Earth''s Absolute Domain. Yes! It''s done! Using the period of invulnerability Absolute Domain granted him, Shi Feng completed the final magic array. Following which, he placed a hand on the World Gate''s main magic array and said, "Open! World Gate!" 1850 Hidden Reward Chapter 1850 - Hidden Reward With Shi Feng''s command, the divine runes on the gigantic pair of doors before him began to glow with a purple-gold light A moment later, the divine runes released a beam of light that threatened to devour the Flame Demon King. "No!" Upon seeing the beam, the Flame Demon King, who was within 50 yards of Shi Feng, turned in a panic and tried to flee. However, the beam of light was much faster than the Flame Demon King. In the blink of an eye, the purple-gold light enveloped the World Boss, and the Ancient Fiend cried out in pain. In the next moment, the Flame Demon King began to shrink, and the flames around its body gradually extinguished. A short moment later, the World Gate slowly opened. Some force sucked the valley''s fire through the opening gates, and the Flame Demon King began to shrink even faster. From its original height of 50 meters, the Flame Demon King quickly shrunk to 40 meters... 30 meters... 10 meters... By the time the World Gate was fully open, the black hole within had devoured every last flame in the valley. The Flame Demon King had also been dragged towards the World Gate by the black hole''s powerful gravity. "No! This is my power!" the Flame Demon King shouted, panicking as it used every shred of power to fight the black hole''s pull. Seeing this, Shi Feng could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had no hope against a Level 83 Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend right now. Fortunately, the World Gate could remove things that didn''t originate from the continent of God''s Domain. While the World Gate had activated, the Philosopher''s Hand had also undergone a transformation. The Philosopher''s Hand had originally been made of translucent crystal, radiating an ominous feeling. Now, however, not only had the ominous feeling disappeared, but the translucent hand had also transformed into a blood-red bead. What pristine Mana! As Shi Feng held the blood-red bead, he could feel incredibly pure Mana emerge from it This Mana was even purer than that from the Seven Luminaries Crystals. Suddenly, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. ... System: Congratulations! You have completed the Epic ranked Main Storyline Quest "Philosopher''s Wish" before Level 80. Rewarding Philosopher''s Hand, +40% EXP of current level, 5 Legacy Skill Points, 30 Free Mastery Points, 30,000 Subclass Proficiency Points, and one Subclass Dark-Gold Design. When the system notification ended, Shi Feng''s experience bar rose to 52% of Level 68. However, obtaining the complete Philosopher''s Hand excited Shi Feng far more than the bountiful EXP. This was a bona fide Legendary item. Any superpower in God''s Domain would easily go mad over this. Moreover, Shi Feng was surprised by the additional reward for completing the quest before reaching Level 80. Five Legacy Skill Points were no small matter. In addition, the awarded 30,000 Subclass Proficiency Points would save him a lot of time when upgrading his forger subclass. After reaching the Master rank, players would still need a ridiculous number of Proficiency Points to rise from a Basic Master to an Intermediate Master. While ordinary Master Lifestyle players might not have trouble earning the required Proficiency Points, it was a different story for Shi Feng. Shi Feng had many matters he needed to deal with, and he only had a small amount of time to invest in his forging. As a result, he didn''t obtain Forging Proficiency Points very quickly. However, the most valuable of the rewards had to be the Subclass Dark-Gold Design. This Subclass Dark-Gold Design wasn''t like ordinary designs. Not only could it upgrade a design to Dark-Gold rank, but the new design would be a player-creation. It was common knowledge that becoming a Master Lifestyle Player was incredibly difficult. Players needed to create completely new items, which had to meet certain requirements. To accomplish this feat, players needed a certain understanding of items and materials. This was also the case when players tried to rise from a Basic Master to an Intermediate Master. In fact, the promotion to an Intermediate Master was even more difficult since players would have to create one Dark-Gold item or three Fine-Gold items. This hurdle had been the end of the line for many Basic Master Lifestyle players during Shi Feng''s previous life. In the past, when one had referred to a Master Lifestyle player, they had generally meant Basic Masters. The majority of God''s Domain''s Master Lifestyle Players had been Basic rank. After ten years in the game, Basic Masters hadn''t received as much attention from first-rate Guilds, although they were still VIPs in second-rate Guilds. At most, they would be treated slightly better than the average Lifestyle player. Only Intermediate Masters had earned first-rate Guilds'' respect. Now that he had a Subclass Dark-Gold Design, he had received a free pass to become an Intermediate Master. Of course, an Intermediate Master that reached the rank by using a Subclass Dark-Gold Design wasn''t as capable as a player that reached the rank through their own hard work and original items. The latter had solidified their foundation, while the former had none. A player who became an Intermediate Master though their work would have a higher possibility of creating more Dark-Gold items in the future, soon becoming an Advanced Master. On the other hand, the Intermediate Master that did not possess a sturdy foundation would struggle to advance. The only real benefit of using such a cheap method to become an Intermediate Master was the higher production success rates that came with the rank. Even so, many Basic Master Lifestyle players had spent their entire life savings to get their hands on a Subclass Dark-Gold Design during Shi Feng''s previous life since they had already reached their limits. As Shi Feng celebrated his additional rewards, the World Gate began to close. By the time the World Gate had shut, the valley was void of fire. Only the scorched earth remained. "Despicable human! It took me hundreds of years to accumulate that power! And now it''s all gone! You will pay for this with your soul! I will turn you into a puppet that will forever live under my command!" the Flame Demon King bellowed as it glared at Shi Feng. Currently, the Flame Demon King was only eight meters tall. It looked like an infant compared to its previous size. Its aura was also much weaker. ... [Flame Demon King] (Elemental Creature, Mythic) Level 81 HP 32,000,000/32,000,000 ... The Flame Demon King didn''t even have the HP of a Mythic monster anymore. A Mana Depletion debuff also graced its status bar, lasting for a whole hour. The World Gate has robbed it of so much energy? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the enraged Flame Demon King. The valley''s flames had originated from a Higher Plain, containing unparalleled power. The fire had been highly sought after by Fire Elementals since they could increase the elementals'' power. The Flame Demon King had only grown so strong because it had continuously absorbed these flames'' power. Now that the World Gate had returned these flames to their source, the Flame Demon King had lost the power it had accumulated over the years. With the energy that had bolstered its physical form gone, it was only natural that the Flame Demon King had weakened. Only, Shi Feng never thought that the Flame Demon King would grow this weak. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng abandoned all thoughts of escape. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When the time the Mana Depletion debuff ended, the Flame Demon King would recover its strength. Although it wouldn''t be as strong as it had been, it would still be beyond current players'' capabilities. Before the Flame Demon King could launch an attack, Shi Feng activated Power of Darkness, Phantom Kill, and Dragon Soul. A Level 68 High Lord ranked Black Dragon should have zero chances against a Level 80 Mythic monster, but now, the Black Dragon had the upper hand against the weakened Flame Demon King. While the Black Dragon kept the Flame Demon King busy, Shi Feng activated every Skill he had to the weakened Boss. Thunder Flame Explosion! Flame Burst! Nine Dragons Slash! Lightning Slash! Although the weakened Flame Demon King was still a World Boss, whose ability prevented players from using external tools, it no longer mattered. The Flame Demon King''s Defense had drastically fallen, after all. Now, Shi Feng''s normal attacks dealt over -30,000 damage, while critical hits dealt over -70,000 damage. Even the weakest of his Skills inflicted over -100,000 damage. Even when the Flame Demon King used its powerful AOE attacks, Shi Feng, who had over 400 Fire Resistance, only took a little over -3,000 damage from each hit. The Flame Demon King''s HP continued to fall. 80%... 50%... 20%... When the Black Dragon''s duration was almost over, the Flame Demon King had around 10% HP remaining. Once the Black Dragon was gone, Shi Feng would have to fight the World Boss head-on. I guess there''s no other choice. Shi Feng sighed as he came to terms with his current predicament. A moment later, he retrieved the Evil God''s Inheritance from his bag once more. Trying to escape a World Boss was an extremely difficult task. This was especially true now that he had used all of his Skills. Furthermore, it wasn''t every day that he found himself in such a favorable position against a World Boss. "Die!" Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng sacrificed his Attributes to activate the Evil God''s Inheritance. He then activated Godslayer. Five pitch-black sword lights instantly pierced the Flame Demon King, leaving five deep grooves in the rocky ground before Shi Feng. "Despicable human! If the World Gate hadn''t taken my power from me..." The Flame Demon King''s eyes burned with rage as it glared at Shi Feng, but despite its fury, the Flame Demon King''s HP didn''t stop depleting before it eventually reached zero. Boom! As the Flame Demon King fell to the ground, its fiery body started to dissipate. A short moment later, only Shi Feng remained in the scorched valley. 1851 Flame Demon Kings Loo Chapter 1851 - Flame Demon King''s Loot After the Flame Demon King died, the rampaging Mana in the valley settled down. It''s finally dead. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief as the Black Dragon disappeared, shortly after the Flame Demon King died. If not for the Black Dragon''s assistance, he wouldn''t have been able to defeat the Flame Demon King. After all, even though the Flame Demon King was weakened, it was still a Mythic monster. The Boss had possessed not only superior Strength but also far more HP. Even if the Flame Demon King had only 10% of its HP left, it would still have had more than enough time to kill him. Although he had to sacrifice another ten points of every Basic Attribute to kill the Flame Demon King, he forgot about the loss when he saw the small mountain of items the Boss dropped. The Flame Demon King was a World Boss. Although it had been weakened due to his quest, it was still a Mythic ranked World Boss, hence the extremely bountiful loot Not to mention, as this was the first time the Flame Demon King was killed, it was guaranteed to drop a 4-star Guild Promotion Order. Future Flame Demon Kings killed would have only a certain chance of dropping the Promotion Order. This item was also the reason why he had persisted in killing the Flame Demon King to the point of permanently weakening himself. Currently, Zero Wing was a 3-star Guild and held a significant advantage over other Guilds. However, as the various superpowers started raiding Level 50, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons, it was only a matter of time before they became 3-star Guilds as well. Meanwhile, compared to Zero Wing, the various superpowers would gain much more of an advantage from being a 3-star Guild. Be it the Guild Employment Center or Guild Training Room, these two facilities needed Guilds to reach a certain scale in order to display their usefulness fully. In other words, the larger a Guild was, the better the Guild could leverage these two facilities. In the case of Zero Wing, despite the rapid expansion it was currently undergoing, in terms of member count, it was far from rivaling even first-rate Guilds. The operations of the various superpowers spanned over a dozen kingdoms and empires. Their member counts naturally dwarfed Zero Wing''s. Once these superpowers became 3-star Guilds, their development speed would undoubtedly skyrocket. At that time, not only would these superpowers be able to nurture a large number of elite players, but the income their Guilds generated would also increase substantially. If Zero Wing, a Guild that ruled over only a single kingdom, wished to surpass these superpowers, which had become 3-star Guilds, in terms of development speed, then there was only one way to do so. By getting promoted into a 4-star Guild! Unlike a 3-star Guild, the benefits offered by a 4-star Guild did not manifest with the scale of a Guild. Instead, these benefits were apparent in the finer details. Reaching the 4-star rank would not give a Guild the privilege to construct any additional facilities. Instead, what a Guild gained from the 4-star rank was the recognition of the Adventurer''s Association as a Large- scale Guild. At that time, the Adventurer''s Association would directly issue large-scale quests to the Guild. These large-scale quests ranged from easy to very difficult; even nationalevel quests were available. The rewards for these quests were extremely generous. Moreover, these quests also provided players with good opportunities to raise their ranks in the Adventurer''s Association. In addition to receiving large-scale quests, 4-star Guilds would be designated a temporary rest area in every Adventurer''s Association on the continent of God''s Domain. While this rest area was relatively small, it allowed members of 4-star Guilds to receive commissioned quests from every NPC town and city on the continent, not just from towns and cities where their respective Guilds had Residences. Due to this benefit, members of 4-star Guilds could travel all over the continent to do quests, no longer hindered in their leveling speed and acquirement of resources by competition over a limited number of quests. The only downside to this was the Adventurer''s Association''s tax on players'' quest rewards when completing commissioned quests accepted from these designated rest areas. This, in turn, reduced the Guilds'' income from these quests. Even so, this benefit would still help Guilds generate much more wealth than before. At the same time, Guilds would also be able to raise their Popularity in the various NPC kingdoms and empires significantly, killing two birds with one stone. This was the distinguishing feature of a 4-star Guild. After reaching the 4-star rank, a Guild''s development would no longer be tied down to the territories they controlled. Of course, the consequence of this feature was also very obvious: the amount of competition Guilds had to face would increase drastically. However, so long as Zero Wing managed to become a 4-star Guild ahead of others, it would seize a significant advantage over the other Guilds, hence Shi Feng''s persistence in killing the Flame Demon King. Following which, Shi Feng started going through the Flame Demon King''s loot Just like he expected, there was indeed a 4-star Guild Promotion Order among the dropped items. So long as a 3-star Guild possessed 200,000 Guild Popularity, it could be upgraded into a 4-star Guild using this Promotion Order. As expected of a World Boss, its loot sure is bountiful. Shi Feng was inwardly astonished as he looked over the statistics of the other dropped items. The Flame Demon King had dropped over 100 items in total, the majority of which were rare materialsincluding the extremely rare Seven Luminaries Crystal. Although only three Seven Luminaries Crystals dropped, the equivalent often units, the value of these Seven Luminaries Crystals still exceeded that of the other materials by a large margin. The rest of the loot were Level 70-plus weapons and equipment. Practically every one of these weapons and equipment was of Fine-Gold rank; only one of them was Epic rank. Among the Fine-Gold Equipment dropped, four pieces belonged to the Level 70 Fine-Gold ranked Sins of Thunderfire Set. The Boss also dropped the entire Level 70 Fine-Gold ranked Scorching Wind Set. While the weapons and equipment dropped looked subpar at best, Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement when he saw them. His reaction was because the Sins of Thunderfire Set was top-tier set equipment for magical classes. This was set equipment that only Level 70-plus Mythic ranked Field Bosses dropped. The set had a total of six pieces, and even superpowers would need to expend a lot of effort to collect the complete set. As for the Scorching Wind Set, it was similarly top-tier set equipment but for plate armor classes instead of magical classes. Not only did the Scorching Wind Set provide higher Fire Resistance than the Dark Corrosion Set, but its six-piece set effect was also extremely heaven-defying. It allowed players to transform into a Wargod of Fire and acquire a Life Rating that could rival Archaic Species. Although players would incur double damage from ice- and water-type attacks than they normally would, it was still plenty amazing. The Sins of Thunderfire Set''s six-piece set effect was similar to the Scorching Wind Set''s, allowing its user to transform into a Thunderfire Messenger. Due to these two set effects, despite the ordinary Basic Attributes the two sets provided, they had ended up publicly recognized as the strongest Level 70 set equipment available in the game. Even Level 70 Dark-Gold Set Equipment could not rival them. Shi Feng had never thought that he would be able to obtain the entire Scorching Wind Set As for the Sins of Thunderfire Set, he was just short of two set pieces to complete the set. Once he geared two Guild experts in these two sets, he would have himself two peak experts. As for the sole Epic Equipment dropped, it was a pair of cloth armor gloves named Hands of Fire. Not only did the gloves provide a significant amount of Fire Resistance, but it even increased the Spell Completion Rate of players by 2%. It also had a Skill that allowed its user to summon a Lord ranked Fire Familiar, making this pair of gloves perfect for magicaclass players that were not adept in melee combat After Shi Feng was done going through the Flame Demon King''s loot, he then took out the Philosopher''s Hand from his bag and inspected it, suppressing the excitement in his heart as he looked through its Attribute Panel. As he needed to deal with the Flame Demon King before, he had not had any time to inspect the fully recovered Philosopher''s Hand. Now that the Flame Demon King was dealt with, he naturally had to take a good look at this Legendary item, which had disappeared from God''s Domain in his previous life. 1852 Complete Philosophers Hand Chapter 1852 - Complete Philosopher''s Hand The instant Shi Feng retrieved the Philosopher''s Hand from his bag, he felt the space around him grow heavier. It felt as if space itself couldn''t withstand the pristine energy within the Philosopher''s Hand. Now that Shi Feng had the chance to get a better feel for the Philosopher''s Hand, he felt a powerful inspiration well within him. His mind felt sharp and focused like never before. It was as if the world had faded away, leaving him alone with his thoughts. So, this is the true Philosopher''s Hand? Shi Feng could not help his excitement as he gazed at the crimson bead in his hand. [Philosopher''s Hand] (Legendary Rank Item) A special gemstone crafted by the Philosopher Urhart, containing incredible power that is capable of manipulating the soul. Additional Passive Effect: The wielder of the Philosopher''s Hand will have all of their subclasses temporarily raised by one rank. Additional Active Skill 1- Philosopher''s Soul: Offers players guidance for 10 hours when crafting items. Cooldown: 12 hours Additional Active Skill 2- Soul Fantasy: Allows players to enter an imaginary world for 8 hours. During this time, players may use the materials that they know of to produce items without limit. Cooldown: 15 hours Although the Philosopher''s Hand only possessed three Skills, these Skills were heaven-defying. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, only the Epic ranked Icarus''s Heart could temporarily raise a Lifestyle player to Master rank. In Shi Feng''s opinion, Icarus''s Heart''s ability to do so was already heaven-defying, but compared to the Philosopher''s Hand, Icarus''s Heart was a cheap knockoff. However, compared to the Philosopher''s Hand, Icarus''s Heart couldn''t even be considered a cheap knockoff... The fact that the Philosopher''s Hand could unconditionally raise a player''s subclass by one rank meant that it could transform a Basic Master into an Intermediate Master or an Intermediate Master into an Advanced Master... The Philosopher''s Soul also offered the system''s guidance, which would be a great help to players when they produced items. Originally, the Skill had been limited to a 1-hour duration. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to accomplish anything useful in that time. Crafting items was a time-consuming process, after all, especially complex items. How many items could players possibly make within one hour? Now that the Skill''s duration had increased to 10 hours, players could attempt to craft far more complex items with the system''s guidance. Lastly, Soul Fantasy granted players access to the Main God System''s resource warehouse... After seeing the Philosopher''s Hand''s two active Skills, Shi Feng finally understood why the item was capable of producing so many Lifestyle Masters. Regardless of the subclass, any Lifestyle player would require materials to craft new items. Although some tools allowed players to participate in simulations, these simulations couldn''t truly replicate the materials'' properties. At most, these simulations allowed players to get a feel of the production procedures. An actual attempt would still require real materials. Meanwhile, to reach the Master rank, players needed very high-ranked items. Hence, the material requirements were quite high. However, high-ranking materials were not easy to obtain, and players would need these materials in large quantities. Experimenting with a few sets of materials would barely yield any results. Every Lifestyle Master was born of an astronomical resource investment. This was even true for the talented geniuses. Only, geniuses would need to spend fewer materials compared to ordinary Lifestyle Masters. However, with Soul Fantasy, players could experiment to their heart''s content without worrying about lacking materials. Naturally, this would make new-item creation very easy. I''m going to have a headache once I return. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he looked at the Philosopher''s Hand. While he had acquired the alchemy treasure, there was still the matter of how to use it. There was only one Philosopher''s Hand, yet the Candlelight Trading Firm had tons of Advanced Lifestyle players waiting to use it. He would have to decide which players were worthy of the privilege. Most importantly, he''d have to worry about information leaks. Due to an information lea, Kingdom''s Sword, the Philosopher''s Hand''s owner in the past, had become a target for the various superpowers, eventually vanishing from God''s Domain altogether. Although Zero Wing was impressively powerful right now, if multiple superpowers decided to make it their target, it would suffer a similar fate. He needed to be extremely careful when using the Philosopher''s Hand. Shi Feng stored the Philosopher''s Hand and exited the scorched valley. When Zero Wing''s members, whom Violet Cloud had resurrected, saw Shi Feng emerge, they breathed a sigh of relief. Due to the Flame Demon King''s outburst, the entire team had been annihilated in an instant. They had barely bought their Guild Leader any time. "Guild Leader, how did the quest go?" Aqua Rose asked worriedly. Not only were high-ranked quests incredibly dangerous, but they also gave players very few chances of success. Plenty of quests only gave players a single attempt, and since their deaths had been so unexpected, they knew it was likely that this attempt had been a failure. Hence, Aqua Rose wondered if they''d have a second chance. On the off chance that this quest didn''t offer a second chance, Shi Feng would have to suffer the system''s penalty. To ordinary Guild experts, suffering a system penalty wouldn''t be much of a problem. At worst, if the penalty were severe, they could just start over with a new account. However, Shi Feng was different. He was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. If he suffered such a severe penalty, it would shake the very foundation of the Guild. "Relax. I completed my quest," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the worried expression on Aqua Rose''s face. "That''s wonderful. I worried that we had failed the quest and you''d have to pay a high price for it. Now that the quest is complete, we didn''t waste our trip here," Aqua Rose said, breathing a sigh of relief. She then looked at Shi Feng curiously and asked, "But, Guild Leader, you really are amazing. You actually escaped the Flame Demon King after completing your quest. Looking at the terrain, there should only be one path out of the valley. How did you manage to hide from the Boss, Guild Leader?" She had experienced the Flame Demon King''s frightening might personally. The World Boss had been beyond terrifying. It was basically a God to current players. She found it very difficult to imagine any players defeating the Flame Demon King, even after reaching the same level. She didn''t even know if a 100-man team of Level 100 players had any hope against the Flame Demon King. Hearing Aqua Rose''s question, the rest of Shi Feng''s team turned towards him, curious. The Flame Demon King had slain Turtledove, a Tier 2 MT who had activated her Berserk Skill, in just three hits, yet Shi Feng had escaped the Boss unharmed. It was incredible! "Hide? I wish I could''ve hidden from it, but the valley is only so large. Where would I possibly hide?" Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Huh? If you didn''t hide from it, how did you get away safely, Guild Leader? Didn''t the Flame Demon King discover you as you left?" Shi Feng''s reply on confused Aqua Rose further. When the Flame Demon King had killed her, she had caught a glimpse of the Boss as it charged back into the valley, where Shi Feng had still been. "It discovered me, of course," Shi Feng said, smiling. "But rather than wait for it to attack, I decided to strike first." "Then, Guild Leader...how did you get out?" Aqua Rose asked, utterly confounded. "Did you use an auto-resurrection tool?" Although auto-resurrection tools were very rare and precious in God''s Domain, they were nothing new. Aqua Rose couldn''t think of any other way that Shi Feng would''ve escaped the Flame Demon King''s pursuit. "Take a look at this," Shi Feng said, smiling as he retrieved a gigantic, crimson crystal ball from his bag. The fire-type Mana within the crystal ball was so dense that the ambient fire-type Mana automatically gathered around it "Isn''t that...a Flame Core? But the fire-type Mana in the core is incredibly dense. It''s even denser than the Flame Cores we obtained from Great Lord ranked Flame Demons." Looking at the gigantic Flame Core in Shi Feng''s hands, Aqua Rose realized a possibility. Doubtfully, she asked, "Could it be... Guild Leader... Did you kill the Flame Demon King?" 1853 Returning to White River City Chapter 1853 - Returning to White River City Looking at the Flame Core in Shi Feng''s hand, Cola and the others fell silent, incredulity flashing in their eyes. "Guild Leader, are you for real?!" They had all witnessed and experienced the Flame Demon King''s might. Only Cola had been able to stand against the Boss for any length of time. The rest of the team had been forced to flee to buy their Guild Leader the time he needed. While they considered the possibility of Shi Feng fighting such a Boss, they knew that it would only be a matter of time before he died as well. As for Shi Feng slaying the Flame Demon King, that was simply impossible. However, the Flame Core before them was proof of the Swordsman''s claim. Moreover, the raging inferno that had consumed the valley was gone; not even a spark remained. For a time, they were utterly baffled. "I have killed the Flame Demon King, but only its weakened version," Shi Feng explained, smiling. With the explanation, the team could, more or less, accept the fact that Shi Feng had killed the Boss. Otherwise, they would''ve suspected Shi Feng of abusing some bug in the game. "Right, Cola, how far are you from Level 58 right now?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to the MT. "Level 58?" After taking a look at his experience bar, Cola said, "After my recent death, I''m 73% away from Level 58." "What about you, Summer?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to Alluring Summer, who wore an exquisite set of light-blue robes. "How far are you from Level 59?" "I''m down to 6% of Level 58. I''ll need quite a few days before I reach Level 59," Alluring Summer said. "Guild Leader, what''s going on?" Aqua Rose asked, giving Shi Feng a strange look. She didn''t understand why he suddenly asked about those two''s levels. "It''s nothing. You two are a little low-leveled right now. Once we return, stop raiding Dungeons and come level with me. Violet, you''ll join us as well," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought Now that he had the Scorching Wind Set and Sins of Thunderfire Set, it would be a waste to let them collect dust. Although the Level 70 equipment requirement was quite high, it wasn''t a problem without its solutions. Both Cola and Alluring Summer had equipment that reduced items'' level requirements, though only by five levels. However, he had Requirement Gemstones, which could reduce the level requirements by another five levels. Once they equipped the Requirement Gemstones, Cola and Alluring Summer could wear items that were ten levels higher than them. Once they donned the set equipment, it would increase the overall strength of the Guild''s main force by a significant margin. "We''re low-leveled?" Alluring Summer blinked in astonishment at her own level. She already had the highest level in the team. Even in an empire, she''d be the undisputed number one player on the empire''s Ranking List However, the comment didn''t dampen Alluring Summer''s excitement in the least. After all, she was going to level up alongside Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, we''ve rested already. Let''s hurry and head back," Cola said impatiently after hearing Shi Feng''s intentions. Their teammates looked on with a little envy. When leveling up with Shi Feng, not only would they rise in levels with astonishing speed, but they''d also improve their combat standards quickly. Following which, everyone used Return Scrolls to teleport back to White River City. Once the returned, Shi Feng had Aqua Rose organize a team to mine the Source Rre vein, only selecting trustworthy players. He then contacted Melancholic Smile, instructing her to select trustworthy Advanced Lifestyle players from the Candlelight Trading Firm for the Philosopher''s Hand. These players would be required to sign an extremely strict contract, since containing the secret of the Philosopher''s Hand was of the utmost importance. He could not afford for the public to discover its existence. He''d only be able to relax after Zero Wing could properly protect itself. Otherwise, Zero Wing would definitely follow in the Kingdom''s Sword''s footsteps. While Shi Feng rode an advanced horse carriage towards the Adventurer''s Association to promote Zero Wing to a 4-star Guild, Gentle Snow contacted him. "Guild Leader, big trouble!" Gentle Snow said anxiously. "Not long ago, there was a system announcement in the Ore Empire, stating that Blackwater had captured the Crimson Flame Fortress!" "The Crimson Flame Fortress? Isn''t that a transit hub to the Ore Capital City? They actually managed to capture it?" Shi Feng had already investigated the Ore Empire''s various fortresses. Each fortress varied in its importance. The more important it was, the more Ores it would contain. The Crimson Flame Fortress was a crucial transit hub for the Ore Empire. Players heading for the Ore Capital City or other kingdoms or empires through the Ore Empire would have to pass through this fortress. Because of this, the Crimson Flame Fortress was invaluable to the Ore Empire. According to player reports, over 700,000 Ores were stationed there, including four Mythic Ores. One of these four Mythic Ores even had a special Bloodline, which made it far stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters. In addition, the Crimson Flame Fortress was protected by powerful war weapons and defensive walls. Current players shouldn''t be capable of raiding the Crimson Flame Fortress, even with Beast Emperor''s help. "We don''t know how they managed to do it exactly, but based on the current reports, Blackwater has already dispatched a large number of players to garrison in the Crimson Flame Fortress. Blackwater has also officially announced the fortress''s grand opening to the public on the Ore Empire''s official forums. In addition, Blackwater has placed a bounty on every Zero Wing member. "Right now, players gain one point for killing a normal member, five points for elite members, and 50 points for core members. These points can then be traded for Coins or weapons and equipment. In addition, depending on how many points a player has collected, they can get discounts for the Crimson Flame Fortress''s teleportation arrays. Players will receive a 10% discount for 500 accumulated points, 20% if they accumulate 3,000 points, and 30% if they accumulate 10,000 points. Those with over 10,000 points will even enjoy the benefits of a Blackwater core member. "Shortly after this forum post was uploaded, a large number of players swarmed towards the Crimson Flame Fortress. The Ore Empire is in chaos. I doubt it will be long before this news reaches players in the neighboring kingdoms as well. Even more players will join this madness. I''ve also heard that a large number of Dark Players have set their sights on our members." As he listened to Gentle Snow''s report, Shi Feng''s expression darkened. "They''re being so ruthless?" Shi Feng also could not help his surprise at Blackwater''s generosity. To secure a share of the pie known as God''s Domain, the Blackwater Corporation had invested heavily into the Blackwater Guild. That investment enabled the Guild to offer its members even greater benefits than other superpowers. As a result, many expert players had sought to join the Guild, especially when they had learned of its core member benefits. The benefits were so generous that even large Guilds'' upper echelons envied Blackwater''s core members. However, becoming a core member in Blackwater wasn''t easy. It wasn''t enough to be an expert player. One also needed a list of noteworthy achievements. Moreover, Blackwater limited the number of core members the Guild could have at a single time. With how many expert players Blackwater had, it was easy to imagine how difficult it was to become a core member. Even so, a vast number of players did everything they could to achieve that status. Now that Blackwater offered those same benefits for kill points, how could players ignore the temptation? Moreover, by doing so, Blackwater could scout for true peak experts. Even if Blackwater couldn''t convince these peak experts to bear the responsibility of a core member, the Guild could persuade these experts to become allies. "Guild Leader, should we limit our Guild members'' activity within the Ore Empire?" Gentle Snow suggested. "No!" Shi Feng shook his head. "We''re already limited to a small area. If we reduce that further, our members in Silverwing Town won''t be able to level up. Since Blackwater has already declared war against us, then we''ll prepare for war as well! Post an announcement on the Ore Empire''s forums, stating that Zero Wing will offer the same point-system as Blackwater." "But...Blackwater has too many advantages over us. Even if we establish a similar system, I''m afraid that very few people will side with us," Gentle Snow said worriedly. "Relax. I have a surprise for Blackwater," Shi Feng said, smiling. Shi Feng disconnected the call as the carriage arrived before the Adventurer''s Association. After alighting from the carriage, he walked into the building, brimming with confidence. 1854 Promotion to a 4-star Guild Chapter 1854 - Promotion to a 4-star Guild Dark Night Empire, Lightshadow City, Dark Soul''s main headquarters: "Zero Wing is quite interesting. I don''t know if this Guild is brave or overestimates itself. It''s provoked so many powers that nobody usually dares to. Not only has Lu Xingluo targeted Zero Wing now, but Blackwater also wants to exterminate the Guild," Tiger Breaker said, smiling as he read the report he had just received regarding Blackwater''s official declaration of war against Zero Wing. This latest move from Blackwater was particularly vicious. Not only could Blackwater''s bounty destroy Zero Wing''s members regardless of rank, but the Guild would also be able to lure a large number of players to the Crimson Flame Fortress, earning considerable profits. In addition, it would have its pick of peak experts, killing three birds with one stone. Although Zero Wing''s foundation was sturdy, Blackwater was on an entirely different level. It wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing''s economy crumbled. "Alliance Master, should we proceed with our original plan?" Pathless, the Tier 2 Elementalist, quietly asked from beside Tiger Breaker. "Of course. We had only accepted Starlink''s commission, but now that Blackwater has joined the fray, not only are we going to proceed with our plan, but we''ll also increase the number of participating members," Tiger Breaker said, snorting. "We suffered quite a loss at Zero Wing''s hands. It''s time for Zero Wing to pay back that debt tenfold! Notify every adventurer team and tell them to send their experts to the Ore Empire. I''ll take command of the operation personally. We''ll teach Zero Wing to fear Dark Soul!" "Understood!" Pathless nodded slightly, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. Since Dark Soul had grown famous, his and Tiger Breaker''s adventurer team, the strongest in the alliance, had rarely taken action. Normally, they left the toughest commissions to the Dark Hunters and Shadow Claw adventurer teams. White River City, Adventurer''s Association: As soon as Shi Feng entered the building, he noticed players crowding the lobby, chatting about Blackwater and its Crimson Flame Fortress. "Blackwater is amazing. It actually captured the Crimson Flame Fortress so quickly. Exploring the Ore Empire will be much easier now. I''ve also heard that the Crimson Flame Fortress can teleport players to any nearby locations like Zero Wing City. We''ll be able to avoid the Ores'' inspection points in the empire''s inner region and reach its core area." "That''s right. I''ve heard that the empire''s core area is basically a treasure trove. It has a lot of rare ores and herbs, and the monsters in that area provide far more EXP than in the inner region. If we can get into the Ore Capital City, we''ll have an even greater time. I''ve heard that the monsters in the Regional Dungeon have a chance of dropping Magic Crystals." "I''ve heard that as well. The Ore Capital City is an extremely rare Asura Mode Regional Dungeon. Moreover, it''s a Level 50 to Level 100 super-large-scale Regional Dungeon. Including the fact that it''s in a neutral map, it''ll offer far better loot than any Regional Dungeon available right now." "Zero Wing is in trouble this time. Now that Blackwater has made such a vicious move, I''m afraid Zero Wing will struggle to survive in the Ore Empire." "I''ve heard that quite a few weH-known and top adventurer teams were doing everything they could to garrison in Silverwing Town, but those that succeeded probably regret their decisions now." When the players in the lobby spoke about the Crimson Flame Fortress, their eyes glowed with excitement and anticipation. When they spoke about Zero Wing, their tone carried disappointment and pity. At this point, nobody had an optimistic view of Zero Wing''s chances against Blackwater. After all, the difference between both sides was simply massive. Previously, Zero Wing had held its ground thanks to Silverwing Town, but now that Blackwater had secured the Crimson Flame Fortress, Zero Wing had lost the advantage Silverwing Town granted. News sure spreads quickly. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile when he overheard the conversations around him. It seems Blackwater had prepared to advertise this matter, waiting for the right moment. Blackwater''s successful capture of the Crimson Flame Fortress had only been announced recently, yet White River City''s public was already talking about it No matter how he thought about it, this shouldn''t be possible. While it wasn''t unusual that the various major powers'' upper echelons had learned of the situation very quickly, they had intelligence members everywhere, but the same couldn''t be said for ordinary players. Most ordinary players only learned about other countries'' news through other players. Normally, it took a few hours or even days before White River City''s populace would learn of something happening in the Ore Empire. Yet, as soon as he had received news about the Crimson Flame Fortress from Gentle Snow, the ordinary players in the Adventurer''s Association were already talking about it. The information had spread too quickly. The only explanation was that Blackwater had sent some of its members to White River City to talk about the news, secretly spreading the word. However, Shi Feng did not particularly mind as he headed toward the Association''s second-floor hall. As Shi Feng arrived before the VIP counter on the second-floor hall, he received a call. The caller was none other than Phoenix Rain. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''ve just heard about Blackwater''s declaration of war on Zero Wing. As an ally, how can I be of help?" Phoenix Rain asked. Zero Wing''s development had progressed well lately. Moreover, Zero Wing''s naval force continued to grow stronger, assisting her on Thunder Island. This help gave her more leeway. Now that Zero Wing was in such a predicament, she had to pay back the debt she owed. "Since Phoenix Pavilion Master has offered, I won''t shy away. I''ve been informed that Blackwater has been quite close with Nine Dragons Emperor recently. I''m guessing that Nine Dragons Emperor helped the Guild capture the Crimson Flame Fortress. I hope that you can help me hinder Nine Dragons Emperor as much as possible," Shi Feng said, his gratitude obvious in his voice. "That won''t be a problem. I''ll send some people to cause him some trouble. We''ll make sure that Nine Dragons Emperor has no time to assist in the Ore Empire," Phoenix Rain said, nodding. "However, Blackwater and Beast Emperor are still allies. Their combined forces should not be underestimated. I can have Blue Phoenix lead a team of experts to assist you. Although they wouldn''t be enough to contend with Blackwater and Beast Emperor''s forces, they can deter Dark Players from participating." "That won''t be necessary. Blue Phoenix is your capable and trusted aid. She must have a lotto do, as well," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "As for Blackwater, Beast Emperor, and the Dark Players, I have a plan to deal with them. They''ll soon learn that Zero Wing shouldn''t be trifled with." He knew that Phoenix Rain had her own issues right now. The struggle on Thunder Island was far more troublesome than the struggle in the Ore Empire. Every competitor on Thunder Island was a superpower with an extraordinary foundation, and a single misstep could eliminate one from the competition. If Phoenix Rain could prevent Nine Dragons Emperor from joining the fight in the Ore Empire, that would be enough. "Alright. If you need extra funds, you can contact me for help at anytime." Phoenix Rain was a little surprised that Shi Feng had rejected her goodwill, but it wouldn''t be right to insist on sending him reinforcements. After discussing the Dark Corrosion Set, Phoenix Rain disconnected the call. "Big Sis Rain, how did things go with Zero Wing? Should I lead some of my men over?" Blue Phoenix asked curiously. "Not at the moment. It seems that Zero Wing has already prepared for this. However, since Blackwater has decided to go all-out, I doubt those preparations will last very long. It''s best if you are ready to head out at a moment''s notice," Phoenix Rain said. "I understand." Blue Phoenix nodded. She felt as if Zero Wing was being too stubborn this time. Blackwater had occupied the Iron Empire, and its development speed was ridiculously fast. Even the Great Pavilion Master was awed by Blackwater''s success. Blackwater even had more experts than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion right now. The Guild only lacked Domain Realm experts. However, while Blackwater didn''t have Domain Realm experts, it had countermeasures for such monstrous players. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have been able to remove the super-first-rate Guilds that had occupied the empire. Meanwhile, inside a VIP room of White River City''s Adventurer''s Association... "Lord Protector, how may I be of service today?" an NPC senior administrator asked Shi Feng respectfully. "I wish to promote Zero Wing to a 4-star Guild. Here is the Promotion Order," Shi Feng said. He then retrieved the 4-star Guild Promotion Order and placed it on the table for the senior administrator to inspect. 1855 Town-level Guild Chapter 1855 - Town-level Guild "Promotion to a 4-star Guild? That won''t be a problem," the NPC senior administrator said as he turned his eyes towards the purple-golden token on the table. Once he saw the token, however, a look of surprise flashed across his face as he asked, "Lord Protector, do you really intend to use this Advanced 4-star Guild Promotion Order?" "Is something wrong with it?" Shi Feng asked. Although he had noticed that the 4-star Guild Promotion Order he had acquired was a different color than those he had seen in his previous life, it was a 4-star Guild Promotion Order. He hadn''t paid it much attention, assuming that the Promotion Order was slightly different since it had dropped from a World Boss. "Lord Protector, Advanced 4-star Guild Promotion Orders were produced when the Adventurer''s Association had first established. There are only 22 of these Advanced Promotion Orders in existence scattered across God''s Domain''s continent. They are considered a trial for Adventurer Guilds, and the more Advanced Promotion Orders an Adventurer Guild collects, the higher its status will be, enjoying greater treatment, in the Adventurer Association once it becomes a 4-star Guild. "If an Adventurer Guild collects three Advanced 4-star Guild Promotion Orders, it will be treated as a City-state-level Guild. If an Adventurer Guild collects seven Advanced Promotion Orders, it''ll be treated as a Kingdom-level Guild. Currently, you already have one Advanced Promotion Order. If you collect another two, the Adventurer''s Association will recognize your Guild as a City-state, Lord Protector. "However, if you promote your Guild now, you will lose the opportunity and will have to climb the ranks slowly, starting as a Town-level Guild. Are you sure that you want to use this Advanced 4-star Guild Promotion Order now?" After listening to the senior administrator''s explanation, Shi Feng looked at the purple-gold token on the table, a little surprised. So, the Adventurer''s Association has this kind of method to elevate a Guild''s status. Shi Feng understood what the statuses the senior administrator had mentioned represented. Other Guilds would only come to learn and value the information after they were promoted to 4-star status. Once Guilds reached 4-star status, they''d open a ''path'' in the Adventurer''s Association, gaining a temporary residence in every Adventurer''s Association across the continent of God''s Domain. From then on, members of 4-star Guilds'' base of operations wouldn''t be limited to one or a few locations. They could expand their development across the entire continent and use the opportunity to increase the EXP and income they earned. This so-called ''path'' meant recognition from the Adventurer''s Association as an official Guild. Official Guilds would then be able to engage in Adventurer Guild work. However, even after becoming an official Guild, Guilds would receive varying benefits from the Adventurer''s Association. When a Guild first became a 4-star Guild, it would be treated as an Ordinary-level Guild. If the Guild wished to receive more support from the Association, it would have to raise its status. The simplest method of doing so involved upgrading the Guild''s status from Ordinary- to Town-level, City-state level, Kingdom-level, and finally, Empire-level. Depending on the Guild''s rank in the Adventurer''s Association, the Guild would have access to different degrees of problems. At the Ordinary-level, Guilds would be commissioned to solve civilian problems. Generally, these problems were similar to large-scale Guild Quests that required Guilds to wipe out some Demonic Beasts harassing the civilian population. Only, they might reward more EXP than ordinary large-scale Guild Quests. After an Adventurer Guild reached the Town-level, the Adventurer''s Association would acknowledge the Guild''s ability to solve a town''s problems. Normally, Town-level Guilds would receive commissions from town nobles, and the rewards would be much better than Ordinary-level commissions. Even when a Town-level Guild accepted a civilian commission, the quest would reward more than what an Ordinary-level Guild would receive. After all, a Town-level Guild was much stronger than an Ordinary-level Guild. When a Guild reached City-state Level, it proved to the Adventurer''s Association that it was strong enough to solve issues that plagued an entire region. Commissions City-state-level Guilds generally received involved crusades against the dark forces in a particular area. Normally, to rise from Ordinary-level to City-state-level, a Guild had to complete a significant number of large-scale Guild Quests, slowly accumulating Prestige in the Adventurer''s Association. Large-scale Guild Quests only awarded three to five Prestige points, but becoming a Town-level Guild required 700 to 1,000 Prestige, depending on where the Guild''s main headquarters was located. The number and quality of large-scale Guild Quests would differ depending on the size of its NPC city, so the more prosperous the city was, the more Prestige a Guild needed to increase its rank. "Thank you for the advice, but I have decided to go through with the promotion," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought The revelation was indeed surprising. After all, just one Advanced Promotion Order was enough to promote a Guild to Town-level. Normally, it would take a large Guild several years to achieve such a feat. As for reaching the City-state-levels, not many large Guilds would rise so high within their lifetimes. This was because promotion to the City-state-level required a Guild to complete a large-scale Promotion Quest in addition to earning enough Prestige. This Promotion quest was despairingly difficult. In the past, only a small number of second-rate Guilds had completed the quest, yet a Guild only needed three Advanced Promotion Orders to become a City-state-level Guild. As for Kingdom-level, only a small number of first-rate Guilds had reached that rank in the past. However, Shi Feng didn''t have the time to search for more Advanced 4-star Guild Promotion Orders. Most importantly, he didn''t have a clear idea of where to obtain them. Even if he knew that World Bosses dropped them, he wasn''t strong enough to hunt those Bosses yet. He had only slain the Flame Demon King thanks to his quest. If he tried to raid a Mythic ranked World Boss, he''d only be asking for a beating. "Since Lord Protector has decided, the processing fees and Guild Residence reconstruction fees come to a total of 60,000 Gold. However, due to your status, we can offer you a discount of 10,000 Gold, dropping your total to 50,000 Gold," the senior administrator said after making some calculations. "Fifty thousand? Doesn''t a normal promotion to 4-star status only cost 12,000 Gold?" Shi Feng had already begun to retrieve the money from his bag, but after hearing the total cost, he froze with shock. "As you are using the Advanced 4-star Guild Promotion Order, the promotion will require more work than usual. We also have to notify the various cities'' nobles and announce the officialization of the Zero Wing Guild. Hence, the procedural fees are slightly higher," the senior administrator said. How fraudulent. The senior administrator''s statement rendered Shi Feng speechless. However, when he thought about how Zero Wing would instantly become a Town-level Guild, he considered the cost relatively low. This was basically spending money to save time. Following which, he obediently took out 50,000 Gold and handed it to the NPC. While he had seen to his quest, Phoenix Rain and Unyielding Heart had paid off the materials they had purchased, earning him another 120,000 Gold. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to afford the promotion fees. Once the NPC confirmed Shi Feng''s payment, a series of system notifications reached Shi Feng''s ears. 1856 Shock Chapter 1856 - Shock Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming Star-Moon Kingdom''s first 4-star Guild. Rewarding one set of Intermediate Guild Defensive Magic Arrays, 3,000 Gold in Guild funds, and 50,000 Guild Popularity. Guild Emblem upgraded to Mysterious-Iron rank. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild to own a 4- star Guild Residence. Rewarding 100 Adventurer''s Association Prestige and 20,000 Guild Popularity. Guild Battle Flag upgraded to Bronze rank. ... Upon hearing the system announcements, Star-Moon Kingdom''s players couldn''t help but gasp. "I''m not hearing things, am I? Zero Wing actually became a 4-star Guild?" "Zero Wing is amazing! I haven''t even heard of a 3-star Super Guild, yet Zero Wing has already been promoted to a 4-star Guild! Zero Wing''s members are so lucky!" "I''ve heard that joining a 3-star Guild will help new players quickly become elites. The Bronze Guild Emblem even increases the buffs when you''re in a party with other Guild members. A 3-star Guild receives more high-ranked quests than a 2-star Guild, too. What kind of benefits will a 4-star Guild enjoy?" "I don''t know, but the benefits are definitely going to be better. Moreover, Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem has been upgraded to Mysterious-Iron rank. The buffs the emblem provides will be much stronger. Maybe I should try my luck with joining Zero Wing." "As expected of Zero Wing. Blackwater has just declared war on the Guild, yet Zero Wing has retaliated with such power. Blackwater will likely find Zero Wing a difficult opponent." "There''s no doubt about that I just received some insider information from a friend of mine. He just got his Mysterious-Iron Guild Emblem from the Guild Residence, and he says it''s much stronger than before. The Bronze Emblem only provides 3% more HP and 1% more Attack Power, but the Mysterious-Iron version provides up to 2% to all Basic Attributes, Attack Power, Defense, and EXP gain. As long as six or more Guild members are within 150 yards, players will enjoy the maximum buff. There''s no need to be in the same party." "Right! There''s also the Bronze ranked Guild Battle Flag! That''s basically a treasure for raiding Dungeons! As long as you purchase it, you can plant it in a Dungeon, and all Guild members within 200 yards will receive a 10% increase to all Attributes for five minutes!" ... After seeing the system announcements, Star-Moon Kingdom''s independent players engaged in a heated discussion on the official forums. Many players had abandoned the thought of joining Zero Wing after Blackwater''s declaration of war, but now that Zero Wing was a 4-star Guild, it offered even better benefits. When these independent players learned about these benefits, they began to reconsider their positions. Zero Wing''s new benefits were simply too tempting, especially the Guild Emblem. Previously, the Bronze Guild Emblem had offered free teleportation between Guild Residences and increased Attributes when in a party with other Guild members. Not only did the Bronze Guild Emblem save Zero Wing''s members money, but it also made it easier to grind monsters. Now that the Guild Emblem had been upgraded to Mysterious-Iron rank, its effects had more than doubled. Moreover, the Guild now had access to the Bronze Guild Battle Flag. With the Battle Flag''s help, Zero Wing''s members would have a much easier time with Dungeon Bosses. After all, not every player in the game had the opportunity to learn a Berserk Skill. Meanwhile, the Guild Battle Flag''s buff was akin to a mini Berserk Skill for the entire team. ... Meanwhile, the various major powers soon learned of Zero Wing''s latest promotion. "So, this is what Black Flame was talking about?" Phoenix Rain could not help but shake her head and smile as she read the latest report regarding Zero Wing. "Sure enough, Zero Wing hasn''t changed. It is always full of surprises." "Big Sis Rain, I wish I could see the expressions of Blackwater and Nine Dragons Emperor''s people when they hear about this," Blue Phoenix said, giggling. Even she was tempted by the benefits a 4-star Guild enjoyed, not to mention independent players. She could already imagine the massive crowd that would form outside of Zero Wing''s Guild Residences. Zero Wing would definitely increase its strength in a short time. Moreover, with the Mysterious-Iron Guild Emblem and Bronze Guild Battle Flag, she could already foresee Zero Wing''s members improving significantly in a short time. After all, both items would drastically reduce the difficulty of raiding Team Dungeons. Players that had struggled to increase their attributes could now raid these Dungeons, acquiring better weapons and equipment. These players could then use these weapons and equipment to raid Team Dungeons of greater difficulty and acquire even better items, creating an endless cycle. "Black Flame''s latest trump card is certainly impressive. With the benefits of a 4-star Guild hastening its development, Zero Wing has a chance in a war of attrition against Blackwater in the Ore Empire. As more time passes, Zero Wing will also be able to include more members in the fight. On the other hand, Blackwater severely lacks manpower," Phoenix Rain said, nodding. She hadn''t actually thought that Shi Feng was capable of such a move. It was no wonder why the man had rejected her offer for reinforcements. ... Ore Empire, Crimson Flame Fortress: After the Crimson Flame Fortress had opened to the public, a large number of players had gathered there, seeking the Ore Capital City''s treasures. The fortress''s player population was even more frightening than Silverwing Town''s. However, while the town was quite lively, the meeting room in the castle was not. "Vice Guild Leader, according to our investigation, many experts from the neighboring kingdoms have begun to consider visiting Star-Moon Kingdom to join Zero Wing due to its promotion to a 4-star Guild," Falling Fire said, reading the report in his hands with a grim expression. All 20-plus Guild upper echelons inside the meeting room were deathly silent as they looked at the woman in the seat of honor. The woman had long, light-red hair draped over her shoulders, and she wore a suit of sacred crimson armor. The woman looked to be around 25 or 26 and radiated a majestic charm. However, when everyone present looked at this charming beauty, fear and cowardice overwhelmed them, clear on their faces. Even Falling Fire, who was responsible for Blackwater''s forces in the Ore Empire, only engaged this woman with trepidation. Their reaction was not because she was a Level 57, Tier 2 Shield Warrior. Rather, it was due to her identity as one of Blackwater''s Vice Guild Leaders and her title as the Iron Valkyrie, granted by the Secret Pavilion. Xuanwu Chisha! Despite her age, Xuanwu Chisha had become a master-level expert in the Blackwater Corporation''s dojo. She was also one of the corporation''s heirs. After joining God''s Domain, she had displayed monstrous talent. First, she had defeated over 50 experts on the God''s Domain Experts List. Then, she had challenged several old monsters from the various Super Guilds before leading Blackwater''s forces to dominate the Iron Empire, relying on her vicious tactics until she secured the Guild''s position as the empire''s overlord. Now, to secure Blackwater''s hold of the Ore Empire, she had arrived to oversee the Guild''s development personally. She was also responsible for the plan to target Zero Wing. "Good! Then, can anyone here tell me why we only learned about Zero Wing''s promotion after the fact?" Xuanwu Chisha asked softly as she swept her gaze over the people before her. 1857 Airpor Chapter 1857 - Airport The atmosphere inside the quiet meeting room became even tenser at Xuanwu Chisha''s question. After the silence continued for some time, a young man, who was a Level 56, Tier 2 Assassin, stood up. "Vice Guild Leader, my subordinates did not do their job properly and failed to notice Zero Wing''s actions in time. Afterward, I''ll have them transferredno, I''ll send them packing right away!" the Assassin youth said nervously. "Blackwater has no need for incompetent people!" When everyone present heard the intelligence team leader''s decision, they did not express any opinions about it, neither did they feel surprised by it. After all, the Vice Guild Leader before them was extremely vicious in her actions. Moreover, her viciousness wasn''t limited to her enemies but extended to her allies as well. Xuanwu Chisha did not tolerate mistakes from her subordinates. A subordinate that slipped up would incur terrifying consequences. Not to mention, Zero Wing''s promotion to 4-star Guild was a huge incident, yet the intelligence team spying on Zero Wing had actually failed to get any hint of it. "Well said!" Xuanwu Chisha smiled, clapping her hands as she walked up to the Assassin youth. "In that case, you can also get lost now!" Following Xuanwu Chisha''s words, everyone in the room received a notification that the Assassin youth had been expelled from the Guild and was no longer a member of Blackwater. "Vice Guild Leader! I..." When the Assassin youth saw the expulsion notice, he turned to Xuanwu Chisha in shock. He had never thought that she would actually remove a managerial figure like himself just like that. Just as the Assassin youth was about to say something more, Xuanwu Chisha suddenly unsheathed the sword hanging from her waist and sent a dark-purple arc cutting at him. Before the Assassin youth could even react, his vision started darkening. A moment later, the Assassin youth''s body collapsed to the ground, and multiple weapons and equipment dropped beside his body. After the Assassin youth died, his corpse slowly disintegrated, transforming into dark-purple smoke. The smoke then flowed into Xuanwu Chisha''s sword. Everyone inside the room could faintly hear agonizing screams coming from the purple smoke. Suddenly, fear permeated the entire room. Everyone present looked at Xuanwu Chisha with a dumbfounded expression. The Assassin youth, named Gray Blade, was the vice commander of the Ore Empire Branch Guild''s main force. At the same time, he was the head of the Branch Guild''s intelligence department. Despite his high position, Xuanwu Chisha had actually expelled him after just a few words. She had even killed Gray Blade without hesitation. This situation evoked an unprecedented fear in everyone. They could tell that Gray Blade had not died an ordinary death. Otherwise, the Assassin youth wouldn''t have dropped over half of the weapons and equipment he wielded and let loose such soul-piercing cries. He also definitely did not lose just one level. Once Gray Blade resurrected, his account would most likely be crippled. After Xuanwu Chisha sheathed the glowing purple sword she wielded, no one inside the meeting room dared to look at her in the eye. Everyone simply lowered their heads and fixed their eyes on the floor, deeply afraid of becoming the next Gray Blade. "Snow Scar, you''ll take over his job from now on. I believe you won''t disappoint me, right?" Xuanwu Chisha said as she looked toward a cloaked and thin Level 56, Tier 2 Berserker standing by the entrance of the room. "Vice Guild Leader, please rest assured. The Heavenly Eagle Legion I lead definitely will not disappoint you," the Berserker addressed as Snow Scar said respectfully as he lowered the hood of his Black Cloak. Upon hearing the name "Snow Scar," everyone present turned automatically to look at the Berserker. When they saw the man''s appearance, they could not help but gape in shock. Snow Scar? Isn''t he the number one Berserker of the super-first-rate Guild Puzzled Star? Falling Fire was also surprised when he saw Snow Scar. Everyone present was no stranger to this name. Puzzled Star was a super-first-rate Guild that had contended against Blackwater over the Iron Empire. Meanwhile, among Puzzled Star''s forces, the Berserker named Snow Scar had given Blackwater plenty of headaches. Yet, now, Snow Scar had actually joined Blackwater. Moreover, he had even become one of Xuanwu Chisha''s direct subordinates. This revelation was simply too shocking. "Since Zero Wing plans on using the benefits of a 4-star Guild to fight a war of attrition with us, let''s play along with them," Xuanwu Chisha said as she eyed the map of the Ore Empire displayed at the center of the meeting table. When she looked at the terrain around Silverwing City, the corners of her lips curled up slightly. "The Iron Empire has become very boring lately, now that no more enemies remain there. Hopefully, Zero Wing can bring me some entertainment." Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City, the atmosphere was extremely lively. Due to Zero Wing''s promotion to 4-star Guild, the Guild Residence in White River City had gotten upgraded into a 4-star Residence. The new Guild Residence was much more majestic than before. The Guild Hall was now a massive nine-story-tall building. Not only were there more Private Rooms available, but even the first-floor lobby had undergone significant changes. Now, aside from the counter that issued high-ranking quests, there was also a counter operated by the Adventurer''s Association inside the lobby. This counter allowed players to pick up high-ranking quests that were normally out of reach. Meanwhile, these quests could help Tier 2 players not only quickly raise their Reputation in the Adventurer''s Association but also acquire tons of EXP and remuneration. "Guild Leader, thus far, the number of applicants for the Guild test has increased by 50%. Many of our Guild''s experts have also started forming teams with elite members to raid Level 50 Team Dungeons. I believe it won''t be long before our Guild elites have Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment as well," Aqua Rose reported excitedly. "Then, we''ll be able to dispatch large numbers of well-equipped elite and expert members to Silverwing Town and show Blackwater and those Dark Players who''s boss." Although mainstream players had already reached Level 50, due to the sharp decrease in drop-rate for Level 50 weapons and equipment, players weren''t particularly well-equipped right now. Let alone elite players, even Level 50-plus expert players currently had only a few pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment on them. "Excellent. Since so many people in the Guild wish to raid Level 50 Team Dungeons, let them prioritize raiding these Team Dungeons," Shi Feng said as he pointed out a few Level 50 Team Dungeons in Star-Moon Kingdom. Although these Team Dungeons did not drop the best weapons, equipment, and materials, they were sources of Fire Essence Stones, Ice Crystal Water, and Titan Ore. These three materials were extremely rare and were very difficult to acquire from the market. However, they were also the main materials necessary for the Hell Tank. Currently, due to Zero Wing''s promotion to 4-star Guild, the Guild''s fame had skyrocketed, and the Guild''s growth potential had risen considerably. As a result of this change, however, the Guild had also earned the attention of many superpowers. Originally, he had planned on directly taking control of the Secret Stone Fortress. However, if he did so now, the consequences would be extremely severe. The various superpowers coveting the fortress would definitely go crazy over the matter. Hence, what he needed to do right now wasn''t to take control of the Secret Stone Fortress but to boost the Guild''s combat power. Meanwhile, the simplest way to do so was to expand the Guild''s arsenal of war weapons. Currently, he had two new war weapons he could make. One was the Guardian Puppet, while the other was the Hell Tank. He had just acquired the Philosopher''s Hand, and it would take Melancholic Smile some time to select trustworthy Advanced Lifestyle players. Nurturing these Advanced Lifestyle players into Masters would also take quite a lot of time. The production of the Guardian Puppet required too many Masters. It simply wasn''t feasible to nurture the necessary Masters within the amount of time remaining to take control of the Secret Stone Fortress. Hence, the only option he had left was the Hell Tank. With sufficient Hell Tanks, although these wouldn''t allow Zero Wing''s members to roam the Ore Empire uncontested, defending the Secret Stone Fortress should not be a problem. "I understand. I''ll have our Guild members focus on raiding these Dungeons," Aqua Rose said, nodding. She then started making the necessary arrangements. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng was done assigning tasks, he went to White River City''s Teleportation Hall and teleported to Star-Moon City, then headed to the capital''s City Hall. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service to you today?" an NPC senior administrator greeted Shi Feng as soon as he entered the building. "Hello, I wish to construct an airport linked to Star-Moon City in Silverwing Town. Here is my airport''s construction certificate," Shi Feng replied as he retrieved an ancient parchment from his bag. 1858 Medium Airship Chapter 1858 - Medium Airship After the senior administrator verified the Airport Building Order''s authenticity, he presented a list of Airport Designs for Shi Feng to choose from. Unlike other Advanced Constructions, players only needed an Airport Building Order to construct an airport. The airport''s size would depend on the player''s budget Players had three sizes to choose from: Small, Medium, and Large. The larger an airport was, the more airship docks it would have. Moreover, the system would allocate higher-quality airships. How expensive! As Shi Feng examined the various airports'' prices, he felt like a poor bastard. The cheapest airport on the list the senior administrator had provided cost 50,000 Gold to construct, whereas the most expensive Small Airport cost 150,000 Gold. Needless to say, the Medium and Large Airports cost even more. Although he had known the minimum price for constructing a Small Airport, he hadn''t expected such a large price disparity between the cheapest and most expensive Small Airports available. Of course, the most expensive Small Airport was worth every Coin. The 50,000 Gold airport looked shabby next to the 150,000 Gold option. The 50,000 Gold airport only had four Small Docks, which were only available to ordinary Small Airships. The 150,000 Gold option had six Small Docks, and all six housed Small Bronze Airships. Not only were Small Bronze Airships 30% faster than ordinary Small Airships, but their load capacity was also 50% higher. The profits a Small Bronze Airship could generate was more than double that of an ordinary Small Airship. However, after deducting the promotion fees he had paid earlier, he only had a little over 90,000 Gold on hand. It was obviously not possible to construct the best Small Airport available right now. Moreover, if he wished to become the Secret Stone Fortress''s Advanced Manager, he needed to fork over another 60,000 Gold... He still had two days left before he had to pay the 60,000 Gold for the Secret Stone Fortress. Although he could earn a lot of money through the Guild''s territories and selling the rare materials from the Ice Crystal World, he should have barely enough money for the cheapest airport and the required fees for the Secret Stone Fortress with the total profits. It seems I have no choice but to go with the cheapest option for now and rebuild a better one once I have the money to do so. Shi Feng could not help his sigh as he read the list. As long as players qualified to build an airport in a town, they could build whatever kind of airport they wished. However, once an airport had been constructed, it couldn''t be upgraded. If players weren''t satisfied with their Small Airport and wanted to construct a Medium Airport, they''d have to remove the current construction and build the desired airport from scratch. In other words, players would have to pay the full price for a Medium Airport, rather than the price difference. This was why even Super Guilds didn''t dare to expand their airports casually. "Lord Protector, as you are the first heaven-blessed individual in Star-Moon Kingdom to construct an airport, we have two additional Small Airport models and one Medium Airport model we can offer. May I know if you are interested in seeing them?" the senior administrator asked, smiling at Shi Feng, who was deep in thought. "Let me take a look." Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with interest when he heard the NPC''s offer. This additional recommendation was the equivalent of a bonus reward. Naturally, he wouldn''t ignore the potential opportunity. The senior administrator then retrieved a second list, handing it to Shi Feng. Although the list only had one page, listing only three airport variations, descriptions covered the page. Only a fraction of the descriptions included simple introductions, while rules and regulations took up the majority of the page. [Model 024 - Small Airport] Price: 150,000 Gold Has five Small Docks, each equipped with a Small Bronze Airship. Has one Medium Dock, equipped with a Medium Bronze Airship. Installment plan: Down payment of 60,000 Gold and pay an additional 200,000 Gold within one month. If payment is not completed within that time, the airport will be repossessed. [Model 039 - Small Airport] Price: 180,000 Gold Has six Small Docks, each equipped with a Small Bronze Airship. Has one Medium Dock, equipped with a Medium Bronze Airship. Installment plan: Down payment of 80,000 Gold and pay an additional 240,000 Gold within one month. If payment is not completed within that time, the airport will be repossessed. Shi Feng couldn''t ignore the temptation of these two models. Not only could he pay in installments, but the Small Airports even had a Medium Dock and a Medium Bronze Airship. Normally, this benefit was only included with Medium Airports. A Medium Airship wasn''t just larger than a Small Airship; it also allowed NPC merchants to transport large and special cargo that Small Airships couldn''t handle. As for the Medium Airport the NPC recommended, Shi Feng had instinctively ignored it. Five hundred thousand Gold was more than enough of a reason to pass the option by. "Lord Protector, are you satisfied with the airports listed?" the senior administrator asked. "If you cannot decide or lack sufficient funds, we can reserve these three options for you for three days." "No need. I''ll go with Model 024," Shi Feng said without hesitation. He definitely couldn''t afford the Medium Airport, even if he bankrupted himself. As for Model 039, he would''ve chosen it if he could have. After all, it only cost an additional 30,000 Gold, or a total of 60,000 if he chose the installment plan, for an additional Small Dock and Small Bronze Airship. However, if he paid the 80,000 down payment, he would have a very difficult time collecting the 60,000 Gold required to claim the Secret Stone Fortress. Hence, he had chosen Model 024. Although playing the remaining 200,000 Gold within one month would be a little troublesome, with Zero Wing''s current development rate, it wasn''t entirely impossible. Moreover, with an additional Medium Dock and Medium Bronze Airship, his airport would likely generate enough income to cover a significant portion of his debt Furthermore, the airport''s construction would increase the income from Silverwing Town''s other facilities. "Lord Protector, the Model 024 you have chosen comes to 150,000 Gold. Would you like to issue a one-time payment or pay in installments?" the senior administrator asked respectfully. "I''ll pay in installments," Shi Feng said. He then retrieved 60,000 Gold from his bag, leaving him with just a little over 30,000 Gold. "Alright." Once the senior administrator confirmed the payment, he explained, "I have received the 60,000 Gold. I will soon send people to Silverwing Town to start the construction. The airport will take two natural days to complete. If you wish it, you can reduce the construction time to one natural day by paying an additional 6,000 Gold." "Just build it normally," Shi Feng replied. Building an airport required a lot of time, which he knew. That was also why he had chosen to construct the airport now. If he completed the airport a day before schedule, it would do more harm than good. Once Shi Feng finished with the airport selection, he returned to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. He had to set aside his original plan of helping Cola and Alluring Summer level up, sending the two to Beslo Hills, a neutral map near Star- Moon Kingdom, once they had formed a six-man party instead. The Beslo Hills was a Level 70 neutral map and home to the Undead. Although the monsters there were roughly as strong as the monsters in the Flame Demon''s Valley, the party would face far less danger than in the valley. Moreover, Undead generally had below-average HP. With Cola''s current equipment, he''d be able to resist the Undead army in the area. His five party members would simply need to consume Holy Light Potions, converting their attacks into light-type. Light-type attacks dealt double damage to Undead, which would significantly increase the party''s grinding speed. Many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s large Guilds had used this method to power-level new, low-level members in the past. The only downside to this was that Undead monsters were very poor. Even after killing an army of several hundred Undead, one wouldn''t earn enough money to cover the cost of a single Holy Light Potion. After making the necessary arrangements for Cola and Alluring Summer''s leveling, Shi Feng returned to his Special Forging Room in the Candlelight Trading Firm. He then took the Subclass Dark-Gold Design from his bag. Anticipation flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he gazed at the blank parchment before him. He then pulled the Hell Tank Design[l] from his bag. The Hell Tank required multiple subclasses to craft its various components. The forger subclass was only one of them. Among the parts the forger subclass had to craft, the most important were the power source and the sturdy, outer shell. As an Intermediate Tank, both were Fine-Gold rank. If he could upgrade one of them to Dark-Gold rank, it would definitely improve the overall Hell Tank. With his current forging standards, modifying the Hell Tank''s power source or outer shell would be impossible. Not even an Advanced Master Forger was guaranteed to accomplish the task. However, the Subclass Dark-Gold Design before him could forcefully modify and upgrade a low-ranked design to Dark-Gold rank, making the impossible, possible. Of course, he had never actually heard of anyone achieving the feat, so he wasn''t sure if it was possible, but if he succeeded, the Hell Tank would become far more powerful. Improving the outer shell will only increase the tank''s Defense and durability, but the tank''s offensive abilities are more important. Let''s go with the power source. After examining the Hell Tank Design before him for some time, Shi Feng decided to upgrade the tank''s power source. Shi Feng activated the Subclass Dark-Gold Design and designated the Hell Tank''s Power Source Design as the target. A loading bar then appeared as the system analyzed and modified the design. Please succeed! Shi Feng silently prayed as he watched the loading bar slowly fill. TL Notes:... [1]Hell Tank: Changed Hell Chariot (from Chapter 1771) -> Hell Tank... 1859 Improved Power Source Chapter 1859 - Improved Power Source As the light-blue loading bar filled, the analysis began to take more time to complete. Once the analysis reached 90% completion, each subsequent percentage took over a dozen seconds. Don''t tell me it''s going to fail? Shi Feng couldn''t help his growing nerves as he watched the loading bar. Blank Subclass Designs generally had a 100% modification success rate, but as far as he knew, no one had ever tried to modify parts of a design. The Subclass Design was a one-time use item, vanishing regardless of whether the modification succeeded or not. Nobody would take the risk of losing an opportunity to upgrade their subclass to the next rank. Finally, after more than ten minutes, the modification finished. And Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: Congratulations! You have modified the Hell Tank''s Power Source and acquired the Dark-Gold ranked Hell Tank Power Source Design. System: Congratulations! You have created the Dark-Gold ranked Hell Tank Power Source Design. Wonderful! Shi Feng was ecstatic as he watched words and diagrams appear on the blank parchment before him. Now that he had created a new Dark-Gold item, he only needed to accumulate 100,000 Forging Proficiency Points to become an Intermediate Master Forger. Following which, Shi Feng eagerly clicked to inspect the Dark-Gold Power Source Design. The upgrade would improve the power source''s transfer of energy throughout the Hell Tank. Not only would this increase the Hell Tank''s Movement Speed, but it would also increase the power of the tank''s cannons. Amazing! It''s so much stronger after the modification! Shi Feng was astonished as he inspected the upgraded power source. At the Fine-Gold rank, the power source could supply anywhere from 200 to 300 units of energy per second. This energy would power the Hell Tank''s movement, defenses, and attacks. After its upgrade to Dark-Gold rank, the power source could generate between 320 and 400 units of energy per second. In terms of performance, the power source had improved by more than 30%. Moreover, the new power source''s energy output was far more stable. Now, the Hell Tank''s Dark-Gold Power Source could rival the power source of an Advanced Tank. Although Advanced Tanks'' power sources were also Dark-Gold rank, they required far more precious materials to construct The required materials for the Hell Tank''s modified power source, on the other hand, hadn''t changed. Only, the design now required a higher quantity of materials. The fact that it could rival an Advanced Tank''s power source was amazing. The various empires commanded Advanced Tanks to combat Mythic monsters; these war weapons weren''t available to players. "Guild Leader, I''ve already collected all the materials you''ve requested in Blackwing City. Abyss and the others have also returned from Ocean Viewing Town," Melancholic Smile reported joyfully as she entered Shi Feng''s forging room. "Should I bring them to you?" "Mhm. Send them here," Shi Feng said, nodding. Now that he had completed the modifications, he could start the Hell Tank''s production. With Titan City and Burning Abyss''s tutelage, the Candlelight Trading Firm had gained two more Master Engineers, bringing the total to threethe minimum required to craft the Hell Tank. Although Shi Feng wasn''t an Intermediate Master Forger yet, with the Philosopher''s Hand, he could perform like one. In addition, he had a much higher success rate when forging the power source than ordinary Intermediate Master Forgers since he had created the upgraded power source. A short moment later, Burning Abyss and the two other Master Engineers stepped into Shi Feng''s Special Forging Room. Despite these three players'' status as Master Engineers, they still looked at shi Feng with nervous and excited energy. Anywhere else, even a first-rate Guild''s Guild Leader would have to treat them with respect due to their identities as Master Engineers. However, as employees of the Candlelight Trading Firm, they knew their place in the trading firm. Master Lifestyle players might be good, but they were not irreplaceable. With the Candlelight Trading Firm''s strength, it would have no issues nurturing more Masters in the future. They were proof of this. "Guild Leader, do you need us for something?" Burning Abyss asked. "I''ve asked you here today to help me produce an item. However, before we do, you''ll need to sign a confidentiality agreement," Shi Feng told Burning Abyss''s group of three. "If any of you don''t wish to do so, I won''t force you. I''ll just find someone else to replace you later. If there are no problems, the contracts are on the table." Burning Abyss and his companions revealed confused expressions. Before they had become Master Engineers, they had signed Candlelight''s core member contract, which was already quite strict. Logically, there should be no need to sign an additional confidentiality agreement. Although these three were curious, they didn''t hesitate to sign the new contract Shi Feng had presented. "Good! Since you''ve signed the contract, take a look at this," Shi Feng said as he revealed the Hell Chariot Design to the three Master Engineers. "If you don''t have any issues with it, you may begin production right away." When the three Master Engineers saw the design, they were dazed. "Amazing! This is an Intermediate Tank!" Burning Abyss''s eyes glowed with excitement as head read the Hell Tank''s introduction. The other two Master Engineers couldn''t tear themselves away from the design after seeing it, and they wanted nothing more than to test their skills on the Hell Tank''s production. Although they had learned a lot while producing speedboats, the knowledge they had gained was a drop in the ocean compared to what they would learn as they crafted this Intermediate Tank. If they grasped the Hell Tank''s production method, it could even help promote them to Intermediate Masters. "Guild Leader, we don''t have any problems with the engineering aspects of this design, but some of its components will require an Intermediate Master Forger," Burning Abyss said awkwardly. "Don''t worry about that. I''ll send the components to you soon," Shi Feng said. Shi Feng''s decisive, confident reply stunned the three engineers. Has the Guild Leader already been promoted to Intermediate Master Forger? This thought popped into the Master Engineers'' minds. They couldn''t think of any other explanation for how Shi Feng would acquire the required components. An Intermediate Master! They had only become Basic Masters after a long struggle, and even now, they had no idea how to become Intermediate Masters. They didn''t even know if they could reach the Intermediate Master rank, yet Shi Feng had just hinted that he had already become one... "Alright, you guys should get to work on the basic components. I''ll have the forging components sent over soon." Naturally, Shi Feng knew what these three were thinking, but he didn''t bother to refute their assumptions. Although he wasn''t an official Intermediate Master, he wasn''t far from becoming one. After all, he only lacked sufficient Proficiency Points. He could easily deal with that by investing time into forging items. Following which, Burning Abyss and the others went to another Special Workshop and started to craft the necessary basic components. As for Shi Feng, he activated the Philosopher''s Hand''s Philosopher''s Soul. He then began to refine the Titan Ore and the various other materials Melancholic Smile had delivered. After eight straight hours of work, Shi Feng had finally crafted all of the Hell Tank''s forged components. Although he had failed multiple times and wasted a lot of materials, the losses were within his expectations. Burning Abyss and his engineers had long since completed their part, and once they received the forged components, the trio carefully began to piece it all together. As Shi Feng watched the three Master Engineers combine the individual components and transform them into a full-fledged tank, he could not help his growing excitement. The Hell Tank was crimson and four times the size of a tank in the real world. The Hell Tank took up nearly half of the Special Forming Room like some gigantic, slumbering beast. "Guild Leader! It''s a success! We combined all of the components successfully!" Burning Abyss shouted in elation as he inserted the final piece and received a notification from the system. 1860 New Hell Tank Chapter I860 - New Hell Tank Burning Abyss''s joyful voice echoed inside the spacious and messy Special Workshop. When the other two Master Engineers saw the cold, pitch-black Hell Tank before them, they, too, could not help but become excited. As the makers of the Hell Tank, they knew very clearly just how amazing it was. The Hell Tank''s armor was made from Titan Ore, an incomparably tough material that was basically indestructible to current players. If players couldn''t damage the Hell Tank''s armor, then they wouldn''t be able to reduce its durability, either. With the frightening Mana output of the Hell Tank''s power source, the tank would be capable of rolling over any Tier 3 monsters in its path. As for Tier 2 players, they were no different from powerless children before the Hell Tank. The destructive power of the Hell Tank''s body itself was already plenty troublesome to players, what more the firepower the Hell Tank possessed. When they thought about fielding the Hell Tank in combat in the future, they could easily imagine the Hell Tank''s destructive power instilling fear into their enemies. They really wished they could put the Hell Tank to use right away. "Excellent!" Shi Feng also could not help a little excitement as he looked at the completed Hell Tank. Burning Abyss and the other two only understood that the Hell Tank was a very powerful weapon. However, they failed to appreciate what an Intermediate Tank represented, never having witnessed how frightening an existence an Intermediate Tank was when used against players out in the fields. Even a 100-man, Tier 2 expert team would be helpless against a fully armed Intermediate Tank. There would only be one outcomedeath! The powerful armor of an Intermediate Tank was not something that Tier 2 Skills and Spells could destroy. Only Tier 3 attacks stood a chance of damaging an Intermediate Tank slightly. Hence, for Tier 2 players, going up against an Intermediate Tank would be akin to raiding an invincible monster. However, the immunity to Tier 2 attacks and below still wasn''t the most amazing aspect of an Intermediate Tank. The crucial detail about an Intermediate Tank was its speed and power. If one had an Intermediate Tank, one could basically move unhindered, so long as one did not come across Tier 3 or above players and monsters or players that wielded war weapons. After verifying that the production was a success, Shi Feng arrived before the Hell Tank and stored it inside his Epic ranked Spatial Bag. This scene stupefied Burning Abyss and his fellow Master Engineers. The Hell Tank wasn''t an item that could be stored whole in a player''s bag space. If players wished to store it there, they would have to disassemble it first into smaller parts because not only did the Hell Tank occupy too many bag space slots, but its weight was also extraordinary. Normally, several players would be required to lug it around. Currently, even the most expensive 1,000-slot Bag sold on the market could hold only one-tenth of the Hell Tank. If one wanted to store the entire Hell Tank in a single bag, said bag would need a capacity of 10,000 slots. However, this was still not the most crucial point. The deciding factor was the weight. Carrying a Hell Tank required at least five Strength-focused Tier 2 players. Nevertheless, Shi Feng had actually stored the entire Hell Tank all by himself. What Burning Abyss and the other two did not know was that Epic ranked Spatial Bags existed in God''s Domain. Take Shi Feng''s Spatial Bag for example. Not only could it store 12,000 slots'' worth of items, but it also had a Built-in Warehouse that allowed the storage of non-bag space items. In addition, items stored inside the Spatial Bag wouldn''t add to the load of players. Hence, Shi Feng was able to store the Hell Tank without problems. After collecting the Hell Tank, Shi Feng had to inspect its Attributes. As the Hell Tank was a war weapon, its Attribute Panel could not be inspected while it was present in the outside world. At most, one would see only its name when inspecting it. Only after storing it in a bag space could one inspect it. [Hell Tank) (Intermediate Tank [Equipped with a Dark-Gold Rank Power Source]) Maximum capacity: 20 people Increases Movement Speed by 210%. Possesses Upper-rank Tier 2 defensive capabilities. Durability 400/400 Additional Skill 1- Magic Shield: Constructs a Tier 3 magic barrier that can absorb up to a maximum of 3,000,000 damage for 24 minutes. Each use costs 18 Magic Crystals. Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Skill 2- Hell Cannon: 1,700-yard range. Deals a devastating blow at the Tier 3 standard to a 35-yard radius. Each use costs 90 Magic Crystals. Cooldown: 14 seconds Additional Skill 3- Flame Spears: Creates 14 Flame Spears. Each Flame Spear carries power at the peak of Tier 2 and has a 150-yard attack range. Cooldown: 2.7 seconds It''s improved by so much? Shi Feng hid his astonishment as he looked at the Attributes of the Hell Tank. The original Hell Tank was already top-tier among Intermediate Tanks. However, upgrading its power source to Dark-Gold rank had improved it significantly in every aspect. Not only did the higher Mana output bring a 30% increase to its Movement Speed, but it also amplified the magic runes carved on the Hell Tank''s armor, boosting the Hell Tank''s defensive capabilities from Tier 2 to Upper-rank Tier 2. With this, even Tier 3 attacks would barely damage the Hell Tank. Aside from that, the upgraded power source had also strengthened the Hell Tank''s firepower slightly and reduced its energy consumption somewhat Overall, the Hell Tank''s combat power had improved by at least 40%. Although it still wasn''t comparable to an Advanced Tank, it also far superior to an ordinary Intermediate Tank. "Guild Leader, now that we''ve completed the first Hell Tank, may we start production on the second one?" Burning Abyss asked carefully as he looked at the silent Shi Feng. He was already captivated with the Hell Tank at this point. The engineering techniques involved in the Hell Tank''s production were superior to the production techniques for the ships he had made thus far. One could say that tanks were his current romance. Right now, all he wanted to do was mass-produce the Hell Tank and research the theories behind its production so that he could create his own tank in the future. However, the materials required to produce the Hell Tank were simply too staggering. Just the engineering materials needed were already extremely difficult to acquire, not to mention the forging materials. Without permission from the Guild, the Hell Tank was not something he could produce as he wished. "Of course. Currently, what you all need to do is produce the Hell Tank''s engineering components from the materials on hand. If you run out, you can ask Melancholic for some more. I''ll also try to have the forging components delivered to you as soon as possible," Shi Feng replied, nodding. After seeing the Hell Tank''s strength, he was even more certain of its necessity. Although Melancholic Smile had collected barely enough materials for three or four Hell Tankswhich would be hardly sufficient to accomplish anything major he had already mobilized the entire Guild''s power to collect the necessary main materials. It wouldn''t be long before they acquired more Titan Ore. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, the three Master Engineers grew even more excited. Without hesitation, they rushed back to their respective workstations and resumed producing the engineering components. As for Shi Feng, he returned to his Special Forging Room and crafted the forging components. He wanted to fabricate as many Hell Tanks as possible before the airport''s completion. Like so, two days passed by in the blink of an eye. During this time, Zero Wing''s members were continuously raiding the Dungeons Shi Feng specified and collected a large amount of Titan Ore. Including the other rare materials Melancholic Smile sourced from other kingdoms and empires, which were integral to the Hell Tank''s production, Shi Feng and the others had managed to build five more Hell Tanks. Now, a total of six Hell Tanks were sitting inside the Candlelight Trading Firm''s underground warehouse. Looking at the six Hell Tanks, Shi Feng found them to be a spectacle to behold. Shi Feng''s Forging Proficiency had also increased rapidly during this period. Including the Proficiency Points the system awarded him before, he had over 70,000 Forging Proficiency Points accumulated. He now needed just a little over 20,000 points to officially reach the Intermediate Master rank. As Shi Feng was considering producing the components for the seventh Hell Tank, he suddenly received a system notification. System: The construction of Silverwing Town''s airport is completed. Please check and ratify the construction work. 1861 Airport Opening Chapter 1861 - Airport Opening Time''s up already? After reading the system notification, Shi Feng promptly stopped his work, contacted Cream Cocoa, and instructed her to take his place. He had worked constantly over the past two days to produce the Hell Tank. He had also used the Philosopher''s Hand to help Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile forge the Hell Tank''s components. After all, he was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. He didn''t have a lot of spare time to commit to the Hell Tank. Now that the two women had become Basic Master Forgers, the Philosopher''s Hand could help them perform as Intermediate Master Forgers, as well. As the two women forged more components, their forging standards improved. Likewise, their production success rate increased. Although they weren''t nearly as skilled as Shi Feng when crafting the Hell Tank''s upgraded power source, their success range was tolerable. With this, Melancholic Smile and Cream Cocoa could work on the Hell Tank''s forged components as long as they had materials even if he wasn''t around. When Hell Tanks were used on a battlefield, they weren''t very effective unless an army had a certain number of them. However, once they had a sufficient force, players wouldn''t be able to compare to their destructive power. Hence, production of the Hell Tanks must continue without pause. Moreover, once she used and familiarize herself with the Philosopher''s Hand, Melancholic Smile could use the alchemy treasure effectively to nurture Candlelight''s Advanced Lifestyle players. With it, she could gauge which players would quickly reach Master rank. This, in turn, would increase Candlelight''s strength far more quickly. After passing his work off to Cream Cocoa, Shi Feng used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport to Silverwing Town. Ore Empire, Silverwing Town: As Shi Feng walked through the streets, he could see that the town''s player population had significantly decreased. The previously crowded main street alone had lost over half of its players. A strange depression had descended on the town. It was nowhere near as lively as it had been. Sure enough, the Crimson Flame Fortress''s allure to elite and expert players is quite strong. With a glance at the streets, Shi Feng noticed that the majority of these players were ordinary players. Very few were elites or experts. The Crimson Flame Fortress definitely couldn''t compete with Silverwing Town in terms of facilities, but it could teleport players to various locations near the Ore Capital City while evading the Ore army''s strict patrol. It was a fatal attraction for elite and expert players since this allowed them to reach the Asura Mode Regional Dungeon with far more ease. In contrast, although Silverwing Town was very close to the Primordial Divine Ruin, a limited number of players were allowed to enter the ruin at any onetime. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds and superpowers monopolized the entry slots. Independent players had no chance of entering the ruin. It was natural that these players wanted to head towards the Ore Capital City in search of treasure and EXP. After all, every player wanted to grow stronger and get rich overnight. The Ore Capital City provided a golden opportunity. Even if players failed to find amazing treasure, they could acquire enough Magic Crystals in the Regional Dungeon to earn a small fortune, selling them to the various large Guilds in bulk. Although the various Team Dungeons had a chance of dropping Magic Crystals, they didn''t drop many, and the drop-rate was painfully low. In contrast, even the Ore Capital City''s Level 50-plus Lord ranked monsters had a considerably high drop- rate. And these Lord ranked monsters were common in the Regional Dungeon. "Damn the Blackwater Guild. They''ve gone too far. We''re not even Zero Wing members. We are just here for a few Silverwing Town transportation quests, yet they treat us like Zero Wing members, annihilating our team without a second thought." "That''s just the tip of the iceberg. Blackwater''s members and the Dark Players have stated that from tomorrow on, any player that wants to complete a transportation quest in Silverwing Town will have to pay a ''protection fee.'' Otherwise, they won''t guarantee our safety during our quest. Surviving in Silverwing Town had become too difficult. I''m thinking of heading to the Ore Capital City and be done with it." "This is Zero Wing''s territory. Isn''t the Guild going to do anything about this?" "Does Zero Wing even have the leeway to? Right now, Zero Wing''s teams are constantly fighting Blackwater''s members and the Dark Players. There have already been several hundred skirmishes within Silverwing Town''s vicinity. However, Blackwater is simply too ruthless. It used its point-system to attract large numbers of elite and expert players to fight for it. Now, Blackwater''s forces outnumber Zero Wing by many times. Zero Wing just doesn''t have enough manpower to protect every corner of its territory. I''ve heard that Zero Wing has suffered more than 20,000 casualties already. Where would Zero Wing find the time and manpower to deal with the highway robberies?" "I''ve also heard that Aqua Rose personally led an expert legion to stop Blackwater''s members in order to protect its territory. In the end, nearly half of Zero Wing''s main force members and more than 2,000 Zero Wing experts died in that battle. Meanwhile, Blackwater lost a little over 2,000 experts and 3,000 elites. In the end, as Blackwater had too many people, and since bounty hunters had begun to join the fight, Aqua Rose''s legion was forced to retreat. Now, Zero Wing has limited its movement around the town." "It seems Silverwing Town isn''t hospitable anymore. Let''s just try our luck in the Ore Capital City." ... Hearing the players'' leisurely chat on the street, some of the nearby independent players couldn''t help their deep sigh. Silverwing Town wasn''t declining because its facilities had fallen behind the times, but because of Blackwater''s ruthlessness. The Guild gave independent players no hope of making a living in Silverwing Town. They''re targeting the town''s independent players now? Shi Feng was surprised as he overheard the conversations. Has Blackwater''s leader in the Ore Empire been replaced? Guilds rarely involved independent players when they fought each other in God''s Domain. Not only was the act morally bankrupt, but it would also leave a bad impression of the Guild. Most importantly, it would turn independent players against the Guild. Yet, Blackwater ignored these consequences and attacked independent players. It had even gone as far as to charge protection fees. The vicious methods the Guild employed wasn''t typical of Blackwater''s previous pattern. Previously, Blackwater had operated arrogantly. Although it had tried to use overwhelming power to force its opponents to submit, the Guild had only pointed its blade at its enemies. The Guild hadn''t involved bystanders. However, Shi Feng didn''t give the matter much thought as he made his way towards the new airport. Regardless of what Blackwater actions, there was one thing he could be sure of; the Guild was his enemy. Although Blackwater''s new tactics were unexpected, now that the airport was complete, he could begin to take action. Very quickly, Shi Feng arrived in the town''s eastern outer area. Since this area didn''t have any particularly important buildings, very few players normally visited this side of town. Since Silverwing Town had deteriorated, even fewer people wandered this way. However, the gigantic magic barrier that enveloped the airport was extremely eye-catching, so a few passing players had stopped to examine the massive barrier. Recently, over a dozen Level 100 NPC guards had gathered at the mountain-like barrier''s entrance, attracting even more attention. "Lord Protector, I am the guard team''s Knight Captain Fleiss. I will be responsible for guiding you once we''re inside," Fleiss, a Tier 3 Knight Captain, respectfully introduced himself as Shi Feng arrived. "I''ll have to trouble you, then," Shi Feng said, nodding, as he followed Fleiss into the magic barrier. The moment he entered the magic barrier, a luxurious, spacious airport appeared before his eyes. Icy-cold, metallic airships, radiating a manufactured aura, filled the airport, which could practically rival the Medium Airports he remembered from his previous life. The only difference was the airport''s size; it was just a little smaller. "Lord Protector, this is a special model Small Airport. It has a total of five Small Docks and one Medium Dock. Each dock comes with its own airship. The airport''s operation will require 150 people and 50 people to guard it. The five Small Airships will require 25 Intermediate Machinists to fly, and the Medium Airship will require eight Advanced Machinists. Once the personnel has been assigned, the airport can open to the public," Fleiss explained as he guided Shi Feng through the airport. "As you are a City Protector, we can help recruit these people for you. However, you will have to pay a monthly employment fee of 4,000 Gold." "Alright. Let''s go with that." Shi Feng had, more or less, learned about airports'' personnel requirements during his previous life. Finding the required staff to operate the airport was relatively easy, but finding the appropriate machinists wasn''t. The machinist subclass was quite special and rare. It required one to have the engineer, forger, and magician subclasses. Ordinary players already had plenty of trouble developing one subclass, let alone three. Moreover, one needed to know how to merge the three subclasses'' techniques. It would take far more time to nurture a machinist than other subclasses, as well. With how suddenly he had acquired the airport, he hadn''t prepared for this aspect Naturally, the fact that the system was willing to handle this issue was a welcome reprieve. Following which, Shi Feng paid the 4,000-Gold monthly employment fee. "I have received the 4,000 Gold. All staff members will arrive in ten minutes. Once they do, we can open the airport to the public when you''re ready. If there are no issues, I will take my leave," Fleiss said before turning to exit the airport. Following which, Shi Feng toured the airport to pass the time. Ten minutes flew by in the blink of an eye. System: Do you wish to open the airport to the public? 1862 Situation Changes Chapter 1862 - Situation Changes When the system alerted him of the notification, Shi Feng, who stood on one of the flight platforms, noticed that NPCs had already begun their work in the airport. He then called up the airport''s system interface and chose to open the airport to the public. Immediately, the pitch-black barrier that enveloped the airport began to disintegrate. As it did, it revealed a colossal building, which was over a hundred meters tall and as large as a stadium that could accommodate 50,000 people. Six airships were suspended on their flight platforms, which were located on the airport''s top floor. In the blink of an eye, the airport had become the most iconic building throughout Silverwing Town. "Crap! Is that an airship?!" "How is this possible?! How does Silverwing Town have airships?! I thought only NPCs could have them!" "What''s going on? Zero Wing has constructed an airport in Silverwing Town?" The airport''s revelation shocked every player in Silverwing Town. It was difficult to ignore since the six airships were so eyecatching. The town''s players would see these massive vessels by simply lifting their heads, especially the Medium Airship. It was nearly the same size as a large passenger plane in the real world. It looked like a flying battleship... As everyone discussed the airport, the sound of a system notification reached their ears. Ore Empire Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Silverwing Town for being the first to construct an airport in the Ore Empire. Rewarding Silverwing Town 30,000 Popularity and one City Passage Order. The system announcement repeated three times, confirming players'' suspicions. "Are you kidding me? That''s really an airport! Zero Wing actually built one!" "Now that Silverwing Town has an airport, doesn''t that mean we won''t have to run all the way to visit the town anymore; we just board an airship?" "That''s exactly what it means. What other use would an airport have? I wonder which NPC city this airport is connected to?'' Silverwing Town''s independent players couldn''t help but cheer with joy. They might not know an airport''s exact purpose, but they knew that it would make travel to Silverwing Town far easier and more convenient Instead of running from their home countries to the Ore Empire, they could simply board an airship to Silverwing Town. They were incredibly excited just thinking about it. Meanwhile, when they heard the system announcement, the players grinding in the Ore Empire read it with glowing, excited expressions. They had long since learned to loathe running from place to place, especially when venturing into a dangerous, neutral map like the Ore Empire. Now, however, they could just hitch a ride on an airship. This new convenience would allow them to travel between the Ore Empire and their home countries frequently, saving on repair fees, particularly because the repair fees in the Ore Empire were unusually high. Meanwhile, a large number of Dark Players fought Zero Wing''s members on a gravel hill not far from Silverwing Town. However, due to the unexpected system announcement, the battling Dark Players froze in shock. "Big Sis Aqua, our Guild Leader is simply too awesome! He actually got his hands on an airport as well! Operating in the Ore Empire will be much easier, now. With the airport, players that had avoided the Ore Empire due to the troublesome travel can take an airship straight to Silverwing Town. As more players visit, these Dark Players will have a harder time near Silverwing Town. Moreover, with so many independent players, it''ll be impossible for Blackwater to continue suppressing Silverwing Town," Turtledove exclaimed as she watched the Dark Players slide to a halt. Since so many Dark Players had gone overboard, even Zero Wing''s main force members, such as herself, had been forced to take action. Not only were there so many of these Dark Players, but there were also a few extremely powerful experts among them. They moved stealthily, as well, making them incredibly challenging to defeat. This had given their team a huge headache. However, with Silverwing Town''s new airport, their problems could be easily solved. It wouldn''t be long before the news of the airport reached the neighboring countries. The Dark Players'' momentum continued to increase because normal players had such difficulty visiting the Ore Empire. In contrast, since the Ore Empire was allied with the dark forces, Dark Players could teleport to the Ore Capital City directly. However, now that Silverwing Town had an airport, normal players could travel into the Ore Empire with relative ease. To Dark Players, this was definitely not good news. This would turn the tables on them in the Ore Empire. Not only would this allow normal players to earn Glory Points by killing Dark Players in the Ore Empire, but they could also acquire the Dark Players'' weapons and equipment, killing two birds with one stone. Once the airport gained popularity and independent players flooded into the empire, Dark Players would have an even worse time in the Ore Empire than they did in human kingdoms and empires. "Indeed. But we can''t let down our guard. Blackwater and Beast Emperor are our main enemies. Based on the latest reports, Blackwater has dispatched its capable Vice Guild Leader, Xuanwu Chisha, to lead the fight in the empire. Xuanwu Chisha''s actions thus far have been minor tricks to wear us down. If Xuanwu Chisha takes this seriously, we''ll definitely be in trouble." Aqua Rose nodded in agreement with Turtledove''s estimation when she saw the Dark Players'' panicked expressions, but she also offered her teammates a warning. Neither Blackwater nor Beast Emperor had taken any direct action yet. The two forces had been relying on others to do their dirty work, yet they''d forced Zero Wing into such a precarious position. "Big Sis Aqua, the Guild Leader has asked us to return. He says that he has something he wants to discuss with us," Flying Shadow said. "I understand. Let''s retreat, then," Aqua Rose said. With a last glance at the scattering Dark Players, she gave up the idea of chasing them down and led her team back to Silverwing Town. Now that the airport had been constructed, the Dark Players'' days were numbered. Even if Zero Wing didn''t try to exterminate these pests, these Dark Players wouldn''t dare linger near Silverwing Town. Silverwing Town, Zero Wing''s Residence: Zero Wing''s upper echelons, who had been grinding or fighting Dark Players near Silverwing Town, promptly gathered in the Residence upon receiving Shi Feng''s call for a meeting. The spacious meeting room practically vibrated with activity as its occupants chatted about Silverwing Town''s new airport The more they talked about it, the more energetic they became. Their exhaustion after ceaselessly fighting had vanished. "Guild Leader, aside from Cola and the others that are leveling up on your orders, everyone has arrived," Aqua Rose reported to Shi Feng, who remained silent in his seat. "Good! Let''s begin the meeting, then!" Shi Feng nodded. Following which, Aqua Rose stood from her seat with a light cough. Immediately, the meeting room fell silent as everyone turned toward the Guild Leader''s throne, wondering about the purpose of today''s meeting. "I''m sure you all know about Silverwing Town''s recent development. I believe that all of you have had your hands full with the fight against the Dark Players and Blackwater''s members. You should''ve also noticed that we have been forced to shrink our territory around Silverwing Town," Shi Feng said and gestured, calling up the Ore Empire''s regional map in the center of the meeting table. "However, now that the airport is complete, I''ve decided to expand Zero Wing''s activity in the Ore Empire to increase our members'' leveling speed and obtain more resources to strengthen the Guild." When they heard Shi Feng''s intentions, everyone in the meeting room grew excited. They had waited a long time for this moment. Because of the Dark Players and Beast Emperor''s Evil Beasts, they had been forced to reduce their territory and activity, but now that they had solved the problem of the Dark Players, this was a good opportunity to expand. "Guild Leader, how far are we planning on expanding our territory?" Aqua Rose asked. "We''re going to take the Ore Empire''s entire southeastern region!" Shi Feng announced, gesturing at the southeast section of the map before him. 1863 Expansion Plan Chapter 1863 - Expansion Plan After Shi Feng was done speaking, the originally lively meeting room promptly fell silent. Everyone inside gaped in shock as they took in Shi Feng''s calm expression. It was as if he considered what he had just mentioned something trifling, something that could be accomplished easily. The Ore Empire was an extremely large map. Although it might not be comparable to an actual empire, it was at least ten times larger than an ordinary neutral map. Even now, the territory they occupied in the Ore Empire covered only the vicinity of the Primordial Divine Ruin in the outer area of the Ore Empire''s eastern region. On the other hand, the empire''s entire southeastern region was more than ten times larger than their current territory. Executing such a large-scale territorial expansion might be possible if their Guild did not have any enemies in the Ore Empire, but they were currently at war with Blackwater. This meant that there would be territorial disputes over the scarce high-resource areas. In order to ensure that Guild members would be able to develop themselves normally in these areas, they would have to increase the manpower allocation to these areas in order to ensure their advantage. However, their forces were already stretched thin, just defending their current territory. Spreading their forces further would allow Blackwater and Beast Emperor to deal them a severe blow. Nowadays, not only did Blackwater''s members in the Ore Empire greatly outnumbered Zero Wing''s, but due to Blackwater''s bounty system, there were also a large number of experts hunting Zero Wing''s members. Now, the only reason why they could afford an expansion was the solution of the Dark Player problem. Doing so guaranteed that Guild members could grind efficiently and acquire all sorts of resources. However, attempting to expand their territory in the Ore Empire to more than ten times its current size would simply be counterproductive. After all, Zero Wing did not have the strength or manpower to defend such a large area. Without sufficient manpower for surveillance and patrol squads, the Guild''s teams would very easily be surrounded and annihilated by Blackwater''s and Beast Emperor''s armies. In God''s Domain, Guild teams caused quite a commotion when grinding or conducting large-scale quests, especially when operating in high-resource areas. Their movements were easily detectable. Hence, whenever Guild teams were conducting an operation, they needed people constantly patrolling and monitoring the surroundings to prevent getting ambushed and surrounded by enemies. Moreover, even if they dealt with the manpower problem by moving more members from Star-Moon Kingdom to the Ore Empire, the players tasked with surveillance and patrols needed to have sufficient strength. Otherwise, they would end up getting killed by some random party from the enemy. It might be fine if these players were killed once or twice, but if the frequency grew too high, these players would end up crippled. Not to mention, the players tasked with surveillance and patrol had to be capable of executing proper defenses and buying time. After all, compared to a large team of players, a small group of players would have an easier time escaping. Hence, players tasked with surveillance and patrol needed to be able to buy time for the larger team to retreat. Without sufficient strength, players simply wouldn''t be up to such a task. "Guild Leader, although we can acquire more high-resource areas by expanding our territory and increase the Guild''s development speed, with our current strength, we simply can''t afford to defend such a large area. This expansion will just end up backfiring on us and give Blackwater the opportunity to weaken our expert and elite players." Aqua Rose then added, "My suggestion is to occupy two or three high-resource areas first. If it''s just that much, we''ll have enough manpower and strength to defend these areas. Once we stabilize our strength, we can then proceed with occupying more high-resource areas." The crowd inside the room expressed their agreement after hearing Aqua Rose''s suggestion. While expanding Zero Wing''s territory by more than ten times would indeed increase the Guild members'' leveling speed significantly and rake in a lot of wealth, that was dependent on them being able to defend their territory. If their members were to get killed repeatedly by Blackwater''s and Beast Emperor''s forces, then the expansion would just do more harm than good to their Guild. "While it is indeed good to take things step by step, we simply do not have the time for that right now," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "If we go by the current number of members we have in Silverwing Town, your suggestion is indeed excellent. However, I plan to transfer at least 150,000 members from Star-Moon Kingdom once we''re done with the expansion. If we occupy just three high-resource areas, there simply wouldn''t be enough resources to go around." "One hundred and fifty thousand?" Aqua Rose could not help but be shocked by Shi Feng''s words. "Why are we suddenly transferring so many people over?" Thus far, Zero Wing had only 120,000 members operating in Silverwing Town. Moreover, this number was a result of Silverwing Town recently becoming an Intermediate Town. If the number of Guild members operating in Silverwing Town more than doubled, the current leveling resources available around Silverwing Town wouldn''t be enough to allow them all to develop rapidly. Moreover, due to the appearance of the airport, the leveling resources available within the vicinity of Silverwing Town would soon face further pressure from the influx of independent players. Everyone else in the meeting room also gasped at Shi Feng''s statement. They simply could not understand what was going through Shi Feng''s mind. Their Guild Leader''s plan was ludicrous. While increasing the number of Guild members operating in the Ore Empire would bolster Silverwing Town''s strength, at the end of the day, God''s Domain was still a virtual reality game. In every virtual reality game, leveling resources were finite; each leveling area had only so much resources available. Too many players sharing them would impact the leveling speed of these players. Although transferring so many Guild members over would increase Zero Wing''s momentum in the Ore Empire within a short period, as more time passed, Zero Wing''s members would fall behind Blackwater''s members in terms of both levels and equipment. This was also the reason why the various superpowers did not concentrate all their members in a single location, despite having a huge advantage in strength and numbers. Even if a superpower were trying to target a power in a particular area, it would only dispatch a small number of expert and elite members. This way, not only would it increase the Guild''s overall strength in the area, but it also wouldn''t affect the other Guild members operating in the affected area. In the case of Blackwater, the reason why it could dispatch so many players into the Ore Empire without affecting its Guild members'' development was the Crimson Flame Fortress and the Guild''s cooperation with Beast Emperor. With these two factors, Blackwater was free to monopolize all kinds of resources in the Ore Empire. The current Super Guilds and super- first-rate Guilds definitely wouldn''t be able to match Blackwater''s feat. "I believe you all know about the Secret Stone Fortress that recently appeared in the Ore Empire," Shi Feng said. "Mhm. It''s the only NPC fortress in the Ore Empire operated by the human race. The fortress comes equipped with all kinds of facilities. At the same time, it is extremely close to the Ore Empire''s inner area. One could say that it is a rest stop for players trying to move from the Ore Empire''s outer area to the inner area. Moreover, it is also close to the inner area''s Copper Mountain Fortress, which is extremely rich in resources. If we utilize the Secret Stone Fortress''s teleportation ability, we could teleport to the vicinity of the Copper Mountain Fortress. "Due to this reason, many Guilds have set their sights on the Secret Stone Fortress already. They are thinking of ways to raise their status in the fortress so that they can garrison it and use it as a foundation to capture the Copper Mountain Fortress." After hearing Shi Feng''s sudden non sequitur, Aqua Rose gave a detailed introduction of the Secret Stone Fortress. At this point in time, the Secret Stone Fortress was already a competition ground for the various large Guilds. Particularly, after witnessing the Crimson Flame Fortress''s daily income, the various superpowers were extremely eager to control a fortress of their own. "That''s right. Originally, I wanted to keep this matter a secret. However, there is no longer a need to do so," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then swept a glance at everyone present and added, "Through completing a quest, I have already acquired the rights to garrison the Secret Stone Fortress. I believe you all should understand what this entails." 1864 Crazy Operation Chapter 1864 - Crazy Operation "The garrison rights to the Secret Stone Fortress?" "What?! With the rights to garrison the Secret Stone Fortress, doesn''t that mean our Guild is now the fortress''s manager?" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone immediately revealed surprised and excited expressions. The various large Guilds were currently contesting crazily over the Secret Stone Fortress. They were all looking for ways to become the fortress''s manager, so that they could use it as a springboard to acquire the nearby resources, particularly those around the Copper Mountain Fortress. A fortress allowed players to gain control of an area much more easily than a town. This was because the fortresses in the Ore Empire allowed players to teleport to anywhere within their vicinity. In other words, a fortress''s entire teleportation range was its defended territory, and Guilds could send large numbers of reinforcements at any time. With this, enemy players would have difficulty mounting ambushes or encirclements. In addition, the Secret Stone Fortress was partly managed by human NPCs, which made it the safest location in the entire Ore Empire. It was not a fortress that current players could threaten. Hence, becoming the manager of the Secret Stone Fortress was equivalent to taking control of an impregnable fortress. Due to this reason, the various large Guilds were doing everything they could to become the fortress''s manager. Yet, now, Shi Feng suddenly informed them that he had already acquired the garrison rights to the Secret Stone Fortress. How could this revelation not surprise them? "I understand. I''ll head back to White River City immediately and start gathering the required manpower." Aqua Rose''s eyes glowed brightly when she heard Shi Feng''s words. At this moment, she finally understood why Shi Feng wanted to transfer an additional 150,000 Guild members over to the Ore Empire. The acquisition of the Secret Stone Fortress meant that Zero Wing''s territory had grown to include all areas within the Secret Stone Fortress''s teleportation range. The current number of Guild members they had in the Ore Empire was naturally insufficient to fully take advantage of all that territory. Moreover, with the increase of so many Guild members in the Ore Empire, Zero Wing''s strength in the empire would also skyrocket. "Hold on for a second. Wait till you''re done listening to my plan," Shi Feng said. He could not help but shake his head and laugh when he saw Aqua Rose''s eagerness to occupy the Secret Stone Fortress now. "Having a large number of Guild members garrison the Secret Stone Fortress is only the first step. Our true goal is the Dark Witch''s Tower, in the southeastern region of the Ore Empire. "The Dark Witch''s Tower was originally an abandoned tower. However, after the dark forces and the Ore Empire became allies, it became a temporary teleportation point for the dark forces. Due to the existence of this tower, Dark Players have easy access to the empire''s southeastern region from the Ore Capital City. "Destroying this temporary teleportation point would not only hinder Dark Players'' operations in the empire''s southeastern region but also prevent them from cooperating with the Blackwater Guild in targeting us." Although everyone in the room agreed with Shi Feng''s sentiments, they still had to shake their heads in disapproval after giving the matter some thought. "Guild Leader, although the Dark Witch''s Tower''s defenses aren''t comparable to a fortress''s, it is still guarded by Dark NPCs. A large number of Dark Players normally gather there as well. The various superpowers have also thought about destroying this gathering point before, but Beast Emperor simply isn''t giving them any chances. He has dispatched a large number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons to guard the place long-term. Even if we double the forces we currently have in the Ore Empire, the likelihood of us succeeding in destroying that gathering point is very low." "That''s right. Moreover, if we execute such a large-scale operation, there''s no way that Blackwater won''t find out about it. At that time, Blackwater will no doubt dispatch its own army to launch a pincer attack on us." At this point in time, the Dark Witch''s Tower had become a target of hatred of normal players operating in the Ore Empire''s southeastern region. Many wished they could burn it to the ground. Unfortunately, their hatred was useless. Not only did Dark NPCs guard the Dark Witch''s Tower, but there was also the presence of Beast Emperor''s minions. Current players couldn''t do anything about the place. If not for these reasons, the various superpowers would''ve long since eliminated the tower from God''s Domain and curbed the activity of Dark Players in the Ore Empire. "Relax. I''ve already thought about this point. When the time comes, Aqua, you''ll lead an army of 100,000 players and 200 Miniature Ballistas to assault Beast Emperor''s Ancient Rock City. If we do that, Beast Emperor will definitely gather his minions to defend the fortress, drawing down his forces at the Dark Witch''s Tower. Not to mention, those Dark Players will no doubt come seeking to take advantage of the siege battle, which will further reduce the number of players defending the tower. When the time comes, I''ll personally lead a 1,000-man team and thoroughly destroy the Dark Witch''s Tower!" Shi Feng said. "Destroy the Dark Witch''s Tower with just 1,000 players? Guild Leader, isn''t this too dangerous? After all is said and done, that place is a gathering point for the dark forces. No matter how deserted it becomes, there should still be around 2,000 or 3,000 players inside the town. Not to mention, there are also several hundred Dark NPCs there." Everyone in the room chimed in worriedly. "A team of 1,000 is just right. Any more and our movements will be discovered very easily. Plus, even if our team of 1,000 is discovered, our enemies will just treat us as a team that''s going out to grind or do a quest. They will never think that we are actually going to destroy the Dark Witch''s Tower," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "For the operation this time, the key point will be whether the main army will be able to lure away the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. The more monsters lured away, the higher my side''s chances of success." "Guild Leader, leave it to me. I''ll definitely make our movements known. I''ll let Beast Emperor and Blackwater think that we''re going for a final stand. At that time, they''ll surely spare no effort in trying to deal us a heavy blow," Aqua Rose said. "Only, are you really fine with just 1,000 players?" "One thousand is more than enough," Shi Feng replied, chuckling. "If nobody has any problems, we''ll start the operation right away. With this battle, Zero Wing will claim the entire southeastern section of the Ore Empire in one fell swoop!" The 1,000-man team he planned on bringing with him to the Dark Witch''s Tower wasn''t actually meant for battle. The team would be there only to serve as support and scouts. The main actors in this operation would be the six Hell Tanks he produced. Although six Hell Tanks were still far from enough to siege a city, destroying a small gathering point for Dark Players would not be a problem for them. Moreover, he also wished to take a good look at the power of the Hell Tanks. "Understood!" Everyone felt their blood boil with excitement at Shi Feng''s words. Although they weren''t sure whether Shi Feng was actually capable of destroying the Dark Witch''s Tower, they had been waiting a long time for such a large-scale war. The fights they fought before had been scuffles at best. They had also been suppressed by the Dark Players and Blackwater''s members all this time and had long since gotten fed up. Now that they had an opportunity to fight on a real battlefield, they more than welcomed it! Immediately, everyone took action according to Shi Feng''s arrangements. As for Melancholic Smile, she hurried back to Star- Moon Kingdom and started gathering the Guild''s elite and normal members, readying them to head toward the Secret Stone Fortress. For a time, the entire Zero Wing Guild was a beehive of activity. This situation befuddled the spies the various large Guilds planted in Zero Wing. They all wondered what Zero Wing was trying to do this time. After getting a thorough understanding of the situation, they all involuntarily fell into a daze. "What''s going on? Zero Wing is actually planning on making a last stand against Beast Emperor and attack Ancient Rock City?" "Is Zero Wing insane? It has just obtained an airport, and it is already trying to pick a fight with Beast Emperor?" News of this situation quickly spread into the ears of the various major powers of Star-Moon Kingdom and sent the kingdom''s players into an uproar. As for Shi Feng, he had arrived at the Secret Stone Fortress by himself. Currently, although the Secret Stone Fortress had yet to be fully opened to the public, players belonging to the various major powers had already gathered here. These players easily numbered more than 100,000. Including the independent players that had come here to rest, the fortress''s total player population already exceeded 500,000. After taking a look at the general situation inside the fortress, Shi Feng made his way to the fortress''s Administration Building. "Lord Claude, I have already collected the 60,000 Gold according to our agreement" Once Shi Feng met up with Claude, he handed over 60,000 Gold to the NPC. "Excellent. This is indeed 60,000 Gold. With this, we''ll finally have enough funds to reconstruct the Secret Stone Fortress," Claude said, smiling as he looked at the bag of Coins in his hand. He then took out a golden token and said, "Here is the Secret Stone Fortress''s token. From now onward, you are the Secret Stone Fortress''s Advanced Manager. I hope you can contribute more towards the fortress''s development in the future." 1865 Garrisoning the Fortress Chapter 1865 - Garrisoning the Fortress After Shi Feng received the golden token, he could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. During this period, due to the decrease in Silverwing Town''s population, the town''s income had declined considerably. Fortunately, thanks to the rare materials acquired from the Ice Crystal World and the continuous growth of Zero Wing City''s popularity, he had just barely managed to earn the 60,000 Gold required. Now that he had become the Secret Stone Fortress''s Advanced Manager, he could officially allow Zero Wing to garrison the fortress. Although doing so would incite the jealousy of the various superpowers, so long as the next step of his plan succeeded and Zero Wing displayed sufficient strength in the Ore Empire, these superpowers would think twice about attacking Zero Wing. Following which, Shi Feng made his way to the Administration Building''s office hall. Currently, over a thousand players were seated inside the office hall, every one of whom was Level 55 or above. They were also fully equipped in Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, with some powerful ones even sporting several pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment Aside from being high-leveled and well-equipped, these players also shared another similaritythey were all Guild players. Currently, these Guild players were grouped in parties as they waited for their turn to meet with the NPCs at the front desks. "The queue is moving so slowly! Hopefully, the leader will pick up a good quest The previous quest we got was simply fraudulent. It actually required us to collect 500 Ore weapons yet gave only three Guild Contribution Points in return. There weren''t even any additional rewards." "You guys got it a lot better. Our quest was the real fraudulent one. We were actually required to steal three Medium Rapidfire Ballistas from an Ore fortress. The designated Ore fortress was chock-a-block with Ores at the Chieftain rank and above. Even Level 60-plus Great Lord ranked Ores were present in large numbers. Our party got wiped out twice doing this quest If not for our party''s healer having the Intermediate Resurrection Skill, which reduced the death penalty we suffered, every member in our party would''ve lost two levels already." The various Guild parties in the hall were all grumbling about the Contribution Quests given out by the Secret Stone Fortress. Not only was the difficulty of these quests extremely high, but the rewards given were not particularly good, either. However, they also couldn''t refuse to do the quests. Otherwise, their Guilds wouldn''t be able to gain the garrison rights to the Secret Stone Fortress. Just as the various parties were conversing with each other, Shi Feng, who was wearing a Black Cloak, arrived at the exchange counter a short distance away from the quest counters. His presence soon attracted the attention of the players inside the hall. "Crap, who is that person? Is he actually using his Contribution Points to exchange for items?" "Impossible. Just activating the exchange counter function requires an individual to have 200 CPs and be an Honorary Warrior of the Secret Stone Fortress. After my party did a high-ranking quest, each member only got between five to ten CPsand that quest took my party over five hours to complete. Even if that guy doesn''t sleep and does quests one after another, there''s no way he would have 200 CPs right now." "He should be asking about the available items for exchange." Currently, the Secret Stone Fortress had been opened for only four days. Gaining access to the fortress''s exchange function was simply impossible at the moment. Meanwhile, just as everyone was having such thoughts, the NPC beauty, who wore an indifferent and aloof expression on her face, suddenly smiled and bowed respectfully after seeing Shi Feng. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service to you today?" the NPC beauty asked respectfully. "I wish to accomplish the Guild garrisoning procedures," Shi Feng replied, nodding. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s request, the NPC beauty immediately took out a form and explained, "Alright. Please fill up this form. Afterward, you will have to pay a 500-Gold security deposit. Once that is done, your Guild will be officially recognized by the Secret Stone Fortress." "Here is 500 Gold," Shi Feng said, handing over the money, before he started filling up the form before him. Meanwhile, the NPC beauty''s actions immediately had the Guild players inside the hall gaping in shock. "Who is he? Why is the NPC being so respectful toward him?" "That guy is carrying out the Guild garrisoning procedures?" "How is that possible?! Didn''t they say that the exchange function is only available after an individual has accumulated 200 CPs? How can he complete the Guild garrisoning procedures already?" For a time, the members of the various large Guilds failed to react to what was going on. When Shi Feng was done filling up the form and the NPC beauty confirmed that Zero Wing had become a Guild recognized by the Secret Stone Fortress, the sound of a system announcement suddenly entered everyone''s ears. Ore Empire Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for becoming the first Guild to garrison the Secret Stone Fortress. Rewarding 500 Secret Stone Fortress Guild Contribution Points and the rights to rent a Large Residence in the Secret Stone Fortress. The system announcement repeated three times. Only after the system''s voice faded away did the various Guild players inside the office hall snap out of their daze. "Zero Wing?!" "Damn it! How did Zero Wing acquire the garrison rights so quickly?!" "There must be a secret to this! We need to report to our superiors immediately!" At this moment, the eyes of the various Guild players present had already turned bloodshot. The large Guilds had long since made the Secret Stone Fortress a priority. In order to secure the garrison rights to the fortress, their Guilds had invested a ridiculous amount of manpower. However, even now, their Guilds still had little to show for their efforts. Nevertheless, Zero Wing acquired not only the garrison rights but even a Large Residence. This benefit would provide significant help to a Guild in competing for the Ore Empire''s resources. Very quickly, news of this matter entered the ears of the various superpowers'' upper echelons. "Isn''t Zero Wing just an up-and-coming Guild? Now, it has not only an airport but also the garrison rights to the Secret Stone Fortress. Not bad. If our Guild can obtain these things, we''ll be able to monopolize at least half of the Ore Empire''s bountiful resources. Have someone contact Zero Wing and tell them that King''s Return is willing to invest in Zero Wing and let it become a subordinate Guild of King''s Return." "Good! Very good! Zero Wing''s development speed is truly surprising! It''s no wonder Blackwater is constantly trying to devour it and has gone as far as to send that woman over! Immediately have someone contact Zero Wing and tell it that the Crimson Emperor is willing to deal with Blackwater together with it and help it protect the resources it has. In return, however, Zero Wing has to become Crimson Emperor''s subordinate Guild." Upon receiving this piece of news, the various superpowers all started taking action. Previously, they could ignore the existence of Zero Wing, as the Guild still couldn''t threaten their interests. However, the Secret Stone Fortress was a strategic location that involved a significant portion of the resources available in the entire Ore Empire. This was not a realm that Zero Wing should be allowed to touch. Shortly after the system announcement, Aqua Rose, who was currently in Star-Moon Kingdom arranging for the transfer of members to the Ore Empire, received invitations for a meeting from various superpowersas many as seven at this pointwhich made her scalp tingle. Just dealing with Blackwater, a large Guild with a powerful background, was already enough to put Zero Wing in a precarious situation. If Zero Wing were to provoke all these superpowers now, the consequences would be unimaginable. Finding herself at a loss as to what to do, Aqua Rose immediately contacted Shi Feng and asked, "Guild Leader, more and more superpowers have sent representatives to meet with me. Do I accept their invitations?" Even if the representatives of the various superpowers did not state their intentions, she could already guess the purpose of these meetings. Back when Zero Wing was still operating solely in Star-Moon Kingdom, it could afford to provoke these superpowers, as it had the home-ground advantage. At worst, the superpowers would only feel slighted by Zero Wing''s rejection. They wouldn''t take any real action against Zero Wing. After all, they had more important matters to deal with. They simply didn''t have enough time and manpower to do something unprofitable. However, the situation was different now. The Ore Empire was the competition ground for the various superpowers. Meanwhile, the matter regarding the Secret Stone Fortress involved the future of the entire Ore Empire. Hence, these superpowers would not take Zero Wing''s refusal lightly. If the various superpowers got serious, they were very likely to destroy Zero Wing. After all, if they could not acquire the Secret Stone Fortress, then they wouldn''t allow others to acquire it, either, much less leave Zero Wing to monopolize it. 1866 Stepping Stone Chapter 1866 - Stepping Stone "They sure moved fast," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anguished expression on Aqua Rose''s face. He had long since anticipated that the various superpowers would make such a move. Previously, Zero Wing had already incurred the envy of the various superpowers over Silverwing Town. However, as Silverwing Town couldn''t affect the overall situation at the Ore Empire and Zero Wing''s territory there was still relatively small, the various superpowers weren''t that concerned about Zero Wing. The Secret Stone Fortress, though, was different. Every location within the teleportation range of the Secret Stone Fortress could be considered the fortress''s territory. Not to mention, the Secret Stone Fortress was the safest fortress for human players in the entire Ore Empire. The fortress was also relatively close to the Copper Mountain Fortress, presenting a stepping stone for the capture of the Copper Mountain Fortress. One fortress already provided an extensive territory. One could easily imagine what kind of temptations two fortresses held. In particular, seeing Blackwater occupy the Crimson Flame Fortress made the various superpowers even more anxious to obtain a fortress of their own. Now that Zero Wing had acquired the garrison rights to the Secret Stone Fortress, it would be strange for the various superpowers not to take action. "Guild Leader, you still have the leisure to laugh?" Aqua Rose exclaimed, thunderstruck. "If we meet them now and refuse to cooperate with them, it would be tantamount to declaring ourselves their enemy. So, it''s best not to meet them for now," Shi Feng said. "But if we don''t meet with them, I''m afraid the end result would still be the same." Aqua Rose felt that Shi Feng''s proposal wasn''t a good idea, either. In fact, maintaining their silence would most likely annoy the various superpowers even more. "That''s why I said that we won''t be meeting them for now," Shi Feng pointed out, chuckling. "How are things coming along on your side?" "I''m almost ready. I''ll be able to have our members transfer over in half an hour or so," Aqua Rose said. "Another half-hour?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "That''s too long. For now, you should return to Silverwing Town and leave the transfer for Snow to handle. Once you''re back, immediately gather an army and head for Ancient Rock City." "So soon?" Aqua Rose asked in surprise. "With the superpowers already getting antsy, we naturally need to hasten our movements," Shi Feng explained. "Moreover, if we drag things on for too long, Blackwater and Beast Emperor might alter their plans to deal with us. If that happens, our assault might not go so smoothly." "I understand. I''ll gather the army right away," Aqua Rose said, nodding. She promptly dropped her current task and proceeded according to Shi Feng''s demands. As for Shi Feng himself, he returned to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. The Hell Tanks were too large, and transporting them would not be an easy task. Moreover, Shi Feng didn''t want too many people to know what he was up to. Hence, he decided to transfer the tanks one by one, all by himself. Fortunately, it would take Aqua Rose quite some time to gather an army of 100,000 players at such short notice. After Aqua Rose returned to Silverwing Town, the first thing she did was release a Guild announcement stating that she was seeking to gather 100,000 members over at Silverwing Town to execute a siege against Ancient Rock City. Meanwhile, participating members had to be an elite member or above and at least Level 50. Shortly after the announcement went public, it sent a commotion throughout Zero Wing. "What''s going on? Are we going to make a final stand against Beast Emperor?" "That''s Ancient Rock City we''re talking about. I recall there being over a million Evil Beasts inside the city. There are even Tier 4 NPCs and a large number of Mythic Evil Demons and Evil Beasts. We won''t even be enough to serve as appetizers if we try to attack all those monsters." "Didn''t you read the announcement properly? We won''t be just 100,000 players. We''re also bringing 200 Miniature Ballistas. Those are war weapons. Even those Evil Beasts and Evil Demons won''t survive against them for very long. Moreover, since the Guild has decided to attack Ancient Rock City, it definitely has other trump cards in store." "Hahaha! This is wonderful! During the last major war, I was only a normal member of the Guild. Now, I''m finally qualified to participate in a war!" Zero Wing''s members had an intense debate over this sudden decision to attack Ancient Rock City. This was especially true for the Guild members that frequently operated within the Ore Empire. Thus far, they have been constantly suppressed by Beast Emperor''s Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. Now that a good opportunity to vent their pent-up frustration was before them, they were naturally eager to jump at the chance. Meanwhile, word of Zero Wing''s large-scale operation naturally entered the ears of the various major powers almost as soon as it was announced. ... "Interesting. Zero Wing has just acquired the garrison rights to the Secret Stone Fortress, and it is already planning to assault Beast Emperor''s Ancient Rock City?" "How rich! Zero Wing is actually mobilizing 200 Miniature Ballistas in addition to an army of 100,000 elites. Is Zero Wing trying to use this as an opportunity to demonstrate its strength and solidify its position in the Ore Empire?" "Does Zero Wing want to prove itself to be qualified for the Secret Stone Fortress''s garrison rights?" The various major powers easily discerned Zero Wing''s motives for besieging Ancient Rock City this time, especially the superpowers who were trying to recruit Zero Wing. "Guild Leader, Zero Wing is showing our King''s Return no respect. Should we take action immediately?" Hell Fiend asked, a sneer on his face as he looked at the white-clad, middle-aged man on the screen before him. He never held any goodwill for Zero Wing. If not for his Guild Leader ordering him to come to negotiate personally with Zero Wing, he would have liked nothing better than to annihilate the upstart Guild. "Let''s wait for a bit. I''m interested to see just how much strength Zero Wing has to actually think that it can defend the Secret Stone Fortress," the middle-aged man replied, smiling as he took a look at the report he just received. "Understood!" At his Guild Leader''s words, Hell Fiend had no choice but to suppress the rage in his heart and wait quietly in White River City. Hmph, I''ll let you remain arrogant for now, Zero Wing. Once you lose to Beast Emperor- Many superpowers desired the Ancient Rock City that Beast Emperor occupied. However, even until now, not a single superpower had managed to do anything to the city. Needless to say, the likelihood of Zero Wing successfully capturing Ancient Rock City was even lower. Like King''s Return, the other superpowers also chose to wait and see in regard to Zero Wing''s sudden movement this time. They intended to look at the outcome of this impending battle before deciding. A defeat in this battle would force Zero Wing to acknowledge its inadequacy. If that happened, negotiations would go much more smoothly afterward. "Zero Wing really is overestimating itself!" Nine Dragons Emperor, who was currently in the Black Dragon Empire, could not help but laugh when he received news about Zero Wing''s intentions. "Originally, I was planning on advising the Great Pavilion Master to hinder Phoenix Rain from providing aid to Zero Wing. Now, it would seem that I won''t need to waste the effort. However, I also have to admit that Black Flame is very smart Had he asked Phoenix Rain to help him and the Great Pavilion Master actually agreed to it, I would have had an excuse to send people over to manage both the Secret Stone Fortress and Silverwing Town." "Pavilion Master, what should we do now?" Martial Dragon asked. "The struggle for the position of Great Pavilion Master has already entered a crucial period. Absolutely nothing must go wrong. Bring a legion of experts over to Ancient Rock City right away. Once Zero Wing''s members start escaping, cooperate with Beast Emperor to slaughter Zero Wing''s members. It''s fine even if you can''t wipe them out completely. Just make sure to deal enough damage so that Zero Wing''s development stagnates, to prevent Zero Wing from helping Phoenix Rain," Nine Dragons Emperor said. "Once I''m done dealing with Phoenix Rain, it''ll be Zero Wing''s turn to die!" In response, Martial Dragon nodded and took his leave. Meanwhile, inside the Evil God''s Branch Temple in Ancient Rock City... "Good! Very good! You want to use me as a stepping stone to raise your position in the Ore Empire?!" Beast Emperor flared up in rage after finding out about Zero Wing''s actions. "Since you are so eager to die, I''ll fulfill your wish! Immediately notify all Apostles and have them transfer their Evil Beasts and Evil Demons over. If Zero Wing''s members dare come to Ancient Rock City, I''ll make sure none of them leave this place alive!" At this moment, even a fool could tell what Zero Wing''s goal was. Just as Beast Emperor and his allies were making their move, Aqua Rose finally finished organizing an army of 100,000 players. "Guild Leader, just like you guessed, Beast Emperor has already recalled the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons to Ancient Rock City. By the looks of it, he plans on smiting us," Aqua Rose said, smiling. "Good! Let''s begin our operation!" Shi Feng commanded, nodding. 1867 Battle at Ancient Rock City Chapter 1867 - Battle at Ancient Rock City On Shi Feng''s command, Aqua Rose gathered the army of 100,000 elite and expert players in Silverwing Town, boldly advancing on Ancient Rock City. A total of 100,000 Zero Wing members atop majestic Thunder Wolves exited Silverwing Town. Some of these Thunder Wolves had even been promoted to Bronze Rank, and not only were they much larger than their ordinary counterparts, but faint arcs of blue electricity also danced along their bodies. In comparison, ordinary Thunder Wolves only gave off electricity from their paws. There were over 5,000 of these Bronze ranked Thunder Wolves, which were also players'' companions in battle, wielding Skills that could assist their masters. Seeing these Thunder Wolves greatly shocked the players in Silverwing Town. "Amazing! Why do these Mounts feel even stronger than ordinary players?" "Crap! My Guild has only just built its Stable and is preparing to nurture a Guild Mount, yet so many of Zero Wing''s members have already nurtured their Guild Mounts to Bronze rank?" "Although I have heard that Zero Wing''s members are well-equipped, isn''t this a little much? Those are 100,000 players we are talking about, yet every single one is wearing at least one or two pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment These players can rank among the top of my Guild''s elite members!" "Look at the experts wearing the core member emblem! Their weakest piece of equipment is Level 50 Secret-Silver rank! They even have several pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment! Although my Guild has a lot of experts, those experts have only managed to collect four or five pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment so far! Zero Wing is cheating!" The players in Silverwing Town, in particular, knew that Zero Wing could nearly rival first-rate Guilds and had a very large number of experts. However, when they saw Zero Wing''s organized and powerful army, they reevaluated their opinions of the Guild. No first-rate Guild could hope to amass such an army. As they watched Zero Wing''s players march by, many of the Guild experts in the town even considered leaving their Guilds to join Zero Wing. They had worked arduously in their respective Guilds, raiding Dungeons and questing every day, but they had only gotten their hands on a few pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. In contrast, even Zero Wing''s elite members possessed one or two pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, with the more powerful elite members wearing five or six pieces... However, the most enviable part about Zero Wing''s members had to be the Thunder Wolf! Previously, when the various large Guilds had yet to acquire a Stable of their own, they hadn''t understood how valuable the Thunder Wolf was. However, now that some large Guilds had their own Stable and had begun to nurture their own Guild Mounts, they finally understood. The majority of the large Guilds that acquired a Stable were fortunate if they acquired a 3-star Mount. However, a 3-star Mount had less than a 30% chance of becoming. As for a 4-star Mount, encountering one was simply too difficult. Moreover, even if they managed to find one, they wouldn''t be able to capture it. Meanwhile, as the Thunder Wolf was a 5-star Mount, it had the potential of becoming a Mysterious-Iron Mount in the future. There was even a small chance that it could grow into a Secret-Silver Mount if nurtured properly. As Zero Wing''s army depart for Ancient Rock City, many players curiously followed. Not many players had witnessed a battle of tens of thousands of players, let alone a siege war of this scale. They would definitely regret missing out on this rare opportunity. Because of this, many players from neighboring kingdoms, who had learned about the upcoming battle and were confident of their strength, decided to trail after Zero Wing''s army. In the face of Zero Wing''s army, the various Ores and monsters on the path to Ancient Rock City were little more than momentary distractions. Even when Level 65 Grand Lords appeared, the fierce attacks of several dozen Miniature Ballistas easily shot them down. When the Dark Players, who had intended to take advantage of the situation and assault Zero Wing''s members, saw this, their mouths twitched. They then abandoned any thought of ambushing Zero Wing''s army. Such power could easily annihilate an army of 10,000 players. Not even expert players would escape 200 Miniature Ballistas. After all, while a Tier 2 expert might be able to dodge one Miniature Ballista''s attack, dodging 200 simultaneous AOEs would be utterly impossible. Even a Tier 3 expert would most likely fall in the face of such a large-scale attack. As Zero Wing''s army arrived at the foot of Ancient Rock City, the tension among the spectating players reached its peak. Some spectating players had even started to tremble. The scene before them was simply too spectacular. Zero Wing''s 100,000 mounted players had stopped a short distance away from Ancient Rock City, and the 200 Miniature Ballistas the army had brought were sparsely lined up in two neat rows, surrounding Ancient Rock City''s small hill. However, Ancient Rock City wouldn''t just lie down before this force, with its troop''s disposition even stronger than Zero Wing''s. At a glance, one could easily spot over 300,000 Evil Beasts and Evil Demons waiting outside the city walls, ready for battle. Even the weakest among these monsters was a Level 60 Special Elite, and five, 50-meter-tall, Level 80 Mythic Evil Beasts stood at the forefront To current players, this army was invincible. Upon seeing this army of monsters, the players observing the battlefield from several thousand yards away with Magic Mirrors could not help but shudder. Wiping out a Guild Town would be child''s play for this frightening army. If Beast Emperor wanted to, he could easily drag them into this fight. "Zero Wing, do you think that just because I exhausted a large portion of my forces at Crimson Flame Fortress, you will have an opportunity to strike?" Beast Emperor sneered at the distant Zero Wing army from atop the city walls. "Unfortunately, 100,000 players aren''t even enough to serve as a warm-up!" Previously, to assist Blackwater, he had exhausted a lot of his forces. During the battle to acquire the Crimson Flame Fortress, he had lost a total of six Mythic Evil Beasts and Mythic Evil Demons. The number of Grand Lords and Great Lords he lost was also massive. Even so, he still had seven Mythic monsters under his control, five of which were Evil Beasts, and two were Evil Demons. For this upcoming battle, he intended to use the five Mythic Evil Beasts as the main force, while reserving the two Mythic Evil Demons as a trump card. Although his current army was far from ideal, it was more than enough to stop Zero Wing''s army. In reality, he wished that he could avoid pitting his army against Zero Wing''s, utilizing his defender''s advantage to whittle the enemy forces down. However, as he was responsible for summoning the Evil God''s Branch Temple in Ancient Rock City, he was responsible for protecting Ancient Rock City. He could not allow any damage to come to the city. If the city were damaged, not only would he have to spend his own money to repair it, but he would also lose Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points. "Boss, Blackwater''s members are in position. Blackwater has dispatched 3,000 experts and 20,000 elites. In addition, Nine Dragons Emperor has dispatched a 1,000-man expert legion. Roughly 7,000 Dark Players are also participating in this battle. Once we crush Zero Wing''s formation, these players will eliminate Zero Wing''s members," Wind Hunter reported. "A bunch of scavengers! But so be it In any case, we just need the corpses. It doesn''t matter who dies in the end!" Beast Emperor said, sneering. "Boss, I also received a report stating that a 1,000-man team from Zero Wing has left Silverwing Town and is heading toward the Dark Witch''s Tower. I''m not sure what that team is trying to do, but the members are all considerably well- equipped," Wind Hunter said. "The Dark Witch''s Tower? Isn''t that a teleportation point for the Dark Players? Why is Zero Wing sending people there?" Beast Emperor was confused. "Could they be trying to attack the Dark Witch''s Tower while they attack Ancient Rock City?" "That shouldn''t be the case. That''s the Dark Witch''s Tower we''re talking about. Not only is it guarded by several hundred Dark NPCs, but there are also three to four thousand Dark Players there on a regular basis," Wind Hunter said in surprise. Even if it''s true, it doesn''t matter. Zero Wing is doomed regardless of what it does!" Beast Emperor said, narrowing his eyes. "I recall that Dust Edge is questing in that area. Tell him to head to the tower just in case. Think of it as a chance to collect materials to strengthen the Evil Dragons." "Send Dust? Isn''t that overkill?" Wind Hunter gaped. Dust Edge was the strongest Evil God''s Apostle under Beast Emperor''s command right now. He had acquired one of the Evil God''s Temple''s Nine Great Legacies. Currently, he was only a step away from becoming an Evil God''s Envoy like Beast Emperor. He was the Beast Emperor''s greatest trump card. "It doesn''t matter. Now that we''ve acquired the Crimson Flame Fortress, we''ll have plenty of resources coming our way. There''s no longer a need to keep him a secret," Beast Emperor said, waving his hand. He then had Wind Hunter notify Dust Edge of his orders. After Beast Emperor issued his commands, three massive, golden magic arrays appeared above Zero Wing''s army. These three magic arrays were none other than the result of the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Arrays, which Shi Feng had used the Guild''s accumulated resources to produce. Moreover, all three of these magic arrays were powered by Elemental Sources. In the next moment, three golden Dragons descended from the sky with deafening roars that echoed throughout Ancient Rock City''s area. "Go! Destroy Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array!" Aqua Rose, who stood on a hill a short distance away from the city, said as she pointed her staff at Ancient Rock City. Immediately, all three Divine Magic Dragons charged toward Ancient Rock City. 1868 Barrier Destroyed Chapter 1868 - Barrier Destroyed When they saw the three Divine Magic Dragons, the rowdy Evil Beasts and Demons fell silent Each of the Divine Magic Dragons had a wingspan of 600 meters. Just a flap of their wings would be more than enough to kill hundreds of players. Even the spectating crowd could feel their auras from several thousand yards away. The ambient Mana on the battlefield also gathered to the Divine Magic Dragons, and just a flap of their wings caused powerful storms to brew. Pitch-black spatial tears appeared as their wings passed... Even many of Zero Wing''s members were shocked to see the Divine Magic Dragons. Although most of the Zero Wing members had seen the battle videos depicting these dragons, they had never seen one up close. The combined pressure three Divine Magic Dragons exuded was so powerful that even Tier 2 experts felt their bodies grow heavy and their chests constrict, not to mention Tier 1 players. "The divine Magic Dragons are so powerful! Is this the power of a Dragon?" "I knew our Guild must''ve had a trump card! One Divine Magic Dragon was already enough to suppress three Mythic Evil Beasts. Now that we have three Divine Magic Dragons, I can''t wait to see how Beast Emperor and his minions stand against us!" Many of Zero Wing''s members had still been afraid of the Evil Beast and Demon army before them. After all, there were five Level 80 Mythic Evil Beasts standing between their army and Ancient Rock City. Even if they had 200 Miniature Ballistas on their side, they would still pay a horrific price to get through these monsters. However, now that they had three Divine Magic Dragons on their side, the battle had turned in their favor. While everyone struggled with their shock, under Aqua Rose''s command, the three Divine Magic Dragons flapped their wings and flew toward Ancient Rock City. Although the five Evil Earth Dragons tried to stop the Divine Magic Dragons, the Divine Magic Dragons were too fast. Under Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, and Minor Wind''s control, the three Divine Magic Dragons easily avoided the Mythic Evil Beasts'' attacks and sent their glowing, dark-purple claws smashing into Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array. Boom... Boom... Boom... The three Divine Magic Dragons'' claws struck the defensive magic array simultaneously, the force behind their powerful attacks instantly creating three intense storms that spread around them. Meanwhile, the magic barrier protecting Ancient Rock City shook violently, dimming considerably. Seeing this, Beast Emperor''s expression darkened. The various major powers'' upper echelons, who watched via Magic Mirrors, were astonished. "What a powerful attack! When the various superpowers had assaulted Ancient Rock City, that barrier hadn''t even faltered under a Tier 4 attack, yet it''s trembling after those Divine Magic Dragons struck it. It seems the Dragons'' damage exceeds the barrier''s threshold. At this rate, it will take no time at all to deplete the magic array''s energy reserves." "Three Divine Magic Dragons? I hadn''t thought that Zero Wing still had such a trump card. It''s no wonder why it dares provoke Beast Emperor." "It seems Zero Wing really is confident of striking down Ancient Rock City." The various upper echelons were similarly shocked by the three Divine Magic Dragons'' power. However, while they were shocked, they weren''t particularly afraid. After all, tools that could summon such powerful monsters certainly weren''t indefinite. It simply wasn''t a permanent source of strength. "Damn it! Just one attack from those Dragons depleted nearly 6% of the magic array''s energy reserves! We can''t let those Dragons continue to attack the barrier! Activate the Evil God''s Temple''s offensive magic array and annihilate these Dragons!" Beast Emperor hurriedly commanded when he saw the defensive magic array''s energy reserves. "Boss, it''ll cost us 3,000 CPs to activate the offensive magic array once. Are you sure you want to use it?" Wind Hunter hesitantly asked. Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points were extremely difficult to acquire. These points could not be acquired just by completing quests. They also needed to trade a large amount of resources for these points. Although they had acquired a lot of resources from Blackwater, to capture the Crimson Flame Fortress, they had expended a considerable amount. Now, they had less than 8,000 CPs available. "Do it! I don''t want to see the defensive magic array destroyed!" Beast Emperor growled as the Divine Magic Dragons launched their second wave of attacks. If the defensive magic array fell, anybody could enter Ancient Rock City. If the Divine Magic Dragons entered the city, they would wreak unimaginable destruction. As Beast Emperor finished speaking, the defensive magic array lost another 6% of its energy. Seeing this, Wind Hunter bit his tongue. Hurriedly, he activated the Evil God''s Temple''s offensive magic array. Suddenly, a gigantic, dark-gray magic array formed above the Evil God''s Branch Temple, located in the center of Ancient Rock City. The magic array enveloped the City Lord''s Mansion. Even Zero Wing''s members, who stood several thousand yards away, noticed this sudden development. Due to the appearance of this magic array, the Mana inside and around Ancient Rock City was obliterated. Now, there was not a single trace of Mana in the area. "Die!" After activating the offensive magic array, Wind Hunter aimed and fired at the three Divine Magic Dragons. He instantly lost 3,000 Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points. Meanwhile, several hundred dark-gray longswords shot out of the dark-gray magic array, reaching the Divine Magic Dragons in the blink of an eye. However, to Flying Shadow and the others, who controlled the Divine Magic Dragons, the attack wasn''t fast enough to be unstoppable. Immediately, the trio controlled the Divine Magic Dragons to swipe at the approaching swords. Boom... Boom... Boom... The instant the Divine Magic Dragons'' claws met the longswords, however, Flying Shadow and the others felt their arms numb. Several dozen longswords then sliced into them. Suddenly, one deafening explosion after another rang out above Ancient Rock City, radiating shockwaves that even made the city''s defensive magic array tremble. Following which, the three Divine Magic Dragons crashed to the ground, creating three deep craters where they fell. Some low-ranking Evil Beasts and Evil Demons even died as they were crushed. After a few moments, the three Divine Magic Dragons stood back up. Now, however, wounds covered their bodies, and many of their tough dragon scales had been shattered. Their wings had also been destroyed, preventing flight. Even more frightening was the fact that these Dragons couldn''t regenerate the damage the dark-gray swords had caused. Everyone gasped when they saw the horrific attack. "What a powerful move!" The various major powers were dazed for a long moment They had witnessed the power of the Divine Magic Dragons, so they knew just how powerful these summoned creatures were, yet Beast Emperor had injured them heavily with a single move. Beast Emperor''s foundations clearly exceeded their estimations. After such a devastating blow, it was almost impossible for Zero Wing to capture Ancient Rock City. The Evil Beast army had surrounded the Divine Magic Dragons soon after they had fallen, and Zero Wing''s summoned creatures were embroiled in a heated battle. They couldn''t even reach Ancient Rock City. With only the Miniature Ballistas and its players'' attacks, Zero Wing would need hours of non-stop combat to destroy the city''s barrier. "Big Sis Aqua, I''m struggling to control my Divine Magic Dragon. Even fighting the Mythic Evil Beasts is taxing. I can''t approach Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array at all. What should we do?" Flying Shadow, who currently controlled a Divine Magic Dragon, reported. It felt as if he were trying to control a broken machine. Not only were the Divine Magic Dragon''s reactions delayed, but the Dragon''s Strength had also fallen. "Sure enough, trying to strike down Ancient Rock City won''t be easy." Aqua Rose could not help but sigh. "Since that is the case, let''s go all out! The three of you, use the Divine Magic Dragons'' final power!" "Understood!" Flying Shadow, Shadow Sword, and Minor Wind nodded to Aqua Rose''s command. In the next moment, the three Divine Magic Dragons released furious roars, the resulting shockwaves shoving back the Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts. Suddenly, the Divine Magic Dragons spread their jaws as a threefold magic array manifested before them. The three Dragons then fired three, black-white breath attacks at Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array. This move was the strongest these Divine Magic Dragons possessed. Tier 4 Curse, Shadowlight Breath! In the blink of an eye, all three breath attacks plowed into the barrier around Ancient Rock City. After persisting for two seconds, the indestructible magic barrier shattered, transforming into countless particles of light before it disappeared... 1869 Dark Witchs Tower Chapter 1869 - Dark Witch''s Tower As the magic barrier protecting Ancient Rock City disappeared, the distant spectating players'' mouths fell wide-open. They simply could not bring themselves to believe that the three heavily injured Divine Magic Dragons actually destroyed such a powerful defensive magic array. "Damn it! How is this possible?!" Beast Emperor''s complexion became incredibly gloomy when he saw the magic barrier disappearing. The magic barrier was the protective canopy of Ancient Rock City. Without it, anybody could enter and leave the city freely, as well as rain destruction upon the city. Before Beast Emperor could react, Aqua Rose raised her staff and commanded, "Miniature Ballistas, advance! Attack Ancient Rock City with everything you''ve got!" In the next moment, all 200 Miniature Ballistas started closing in on Ancient Rock City. When Heaven''s Burial took control of Ancient Rock City, the Guild had repaired and constructed defensive structures around the city. However, after the Evil God''s Temple took over, as Evil Demons and Evil Beasts lacked the knowledge and ability to control these defensive structures, these things all became decorations. As a result, the Miniature Ballistas could approach Ancient Rock City with impunity. Ancient Rock City soon entered the Miniature Ballistas'' attack range. Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... Immediately, 200 Exploding Arrows flew into the sky and pelted down on the buildings inside Ancient Rock City. Following which, a series of blasts reverberated throughout the city. Just one volley of arrows already flattened many buildings in the city''s outer area. "They dare?!" Beast Emperor felt his heart bleed when he saw many of the accommodations for Evil Demons getting razed. He angrily commanded all of his Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, "Go! Destroy every one of those ballistas!" At this moment, he no longer cared about the defense of the city. All he cared about was the destruction of Zero Wing''s Miniature Ballistas. Meanwhile, due to the Miniature Ballistas'' attacks, the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons controlled by NPCs belonging to the Evil God''s Temple also took action. These powerful monsters joined the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons under Beast Emperor''s control in charging toward Zero Wing''s army. Suddenly, a swarm of monsters could be seen rushing toward Zero Wing''s army. This scene made the Zero Wing members handling the Miniature Ballistas shudder involuntarily. However, Aqua Rose remained utterly unfazed by this situation, immediately ordering the activation of the movement-type defensive magic array. A moment later, a magic barrier enveloped the entire army. "Miniature Ballistas, focus on those monsters! Everyone else, coordinate your attacks with the ballistas! Flying Shadow, your group will deal with those Mythic monsters!" Everyone in Zero Wing''s army responded quickly and started executing Aqua Rose''s commands. Although the monsters were numerous and high-leveled, their side also possessed a defensive magic array. As long as the defensive magic array held, these Evil Demons and Evil Beasts could not hurt them. Not to mention, their side also had the firepower of 200 Miniature Ballistas. For a time, the Miniature Ballistas could be seen continuously firing Exploding Arrows at the approaching Evil Demons and Evil Beasts, the resulting blasts even sending the Great Lords stumbling backward. The Lords that got struck were immediately placed in a heavily injured state. As for the Chieftains, they got killed with just a few shots. In the meantime, Zero Wing''s members were also launching attacks in a frenzy from inside the defensive magic array. However, despite Zero Wing''s fierce offensive, the Evil Demon and Evil Beast army showed no signs of stopping. They assaulted Zero Wing''s defensive magic array relentlessly, depleting its energy reserves. As the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons died one after another, the energy reserves of Zero Wing''s defensive magic array also declined rapidly. This forced Aqua Rose to replenish its energy repeatedly using Magic Crystals. For a time, the sounds of roars, slaughter, and explosions became the main theme of this hilly land. In this battlefield, an individual''s strength was extremely insignificant. Only the magical-class players capable of using large-scale Spells were slightly more useful than the average player. The magnificent battle stupefied the spectating players. The Dark Players, who had been planning to ambush Zero Wing''s army, simply stood still right now, none of them daring to join the fray. After all, the level of this battle exceeded their understanding of battles between players. In this conflict, individual techniques were absolutely meaningless. If they dared charge into the battlefield, let alone reaching Zero Wing''s army, just crossing the Miniature Ballistas'' field of fire was already plenty difficult. With the defensive magic array up, they wouldn''t even get to touch Zero Wing''s members. They would only become live targets for Zero Wing''s members if they entered the fray now. ... Meanwhile, as Zero Wing''s army was fighting a war of attrition with Beast Emperor, Shi Feng''s team of 1,000 arrived at a location a short distance from the Dark Witch''s Tower. The Dark Witch''s Tower stood next to a small lake inside a valley. The environment around the tower was considerably good. In fact, this place was originally a nice town. Unfortunately, an Undead Great Wizard had targeted the town and turned it into a place of death. The Great Wizard had also specifically constructed the Dark Witch''s Tower here to research death magic. As more time passed, the town here became a locus for the dark forces. At this point, it was already a resting place for Dark Players in the Ore Empire. When Shi Feng''s team moved within 3,000 yards of the Dark Witch''s Tower, sirens in the town suddenly rang, putting every player inside the town on high alert "Someone actually dares approach the gathering place of us Dark Players?" "It should be a team that lost their way. With so many of us Dark Players here, who would possibly dare approach this place willingly?" "Lost their way? Whatever. This is a good opportunity. I haven''t completed my kill quest for today. It''s not a bad idea to use these players as a sacrifice." The Dark Players inside the Dark Witch''s Tower all started laughing and chatting merrily, convinced that this team of players was a bunch of fools to have actually stumbled upon the Dark Witch''s Tower. After all, these players had not investigated which places normal players should avoid in the Ore Empire. As the dark forces were relatively weak on the continent of God''s Domain, the dark forces'' gathering spots in neutral maps would all have alarms set up to help the gathering spots'' residents to take precautions to protect themselves. These alarms would give out a warning when over 100 normal players or NPCs entered a certain range of the gathering spot. "They really came." A black-clad man covered in bandages, who was enjoying a glass of wine in the town''s bar, could not help but smile when he heard the town''s alarms going off. He then turned to look at the beautiful woman dressed in dark- blue robes sitting beside him and asked, "Will Commander Spirit take action first, or shall I do the honors?" "Although I very much wish to repay Zero Wing for what it did to my adventurer team, I am more curious about how capable the treasured Apostle nurtured by Beast Emperor is," Veiled Spirit replied, smiling as she looked at the bandaged man beside her. Nowadays, Beast Emperor was extremely famous among Dark Players. After all, he controlled an army of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, a force that nobody could afford to underestimate. Meanwhile, although Dust Edge himself did not possess much fame, Beast Emperor had praised him highly and even agreed to cooperate with Dark Soul so long as the alliance provided Dust Edge with as many resources as possible. Seeing as Beast Emperor was willing to invest so many resources in a single person, it was obvious just how much Beast Emperor valued Dust Edge''s potential. Beast Emperor and Dark Soul had been acquainted with each other for quite some time already, yet Dark Soul had yet to dig up any information on Dust Edge even now. Zero Wing''s arrival presented Veiled Spirit with a good opportunity to witness Dust Edge''s abilities. She naturally wouldn''t let it go to waste. "Fine, then let''s treat this as the beginning of the mutual trust between our two sides," Dust Edge said, nodding. He then raised his wine glass and added, "They should be very close to reaching the town walls now. Let us head out, as well." After saying so, Dust Edge stood up and left the bar. Veiled Spirit and the dozen or so subordinates that came with her followed after him. 1870 Hell Tanks Migh Chapter 1870 - Hell Tank''s Might A large number of Dark Players had gathered in the Dark Witch''s Tower''s watchtower, gazing down at Zero Wing''s members as they fell into formation in the distance. "What? They actually plan to attack the Dark Witch''s Tower?" "They''re insane! Hundreds of NPCs guard the town, not to mention the Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers! Repelling a 1,000-man team isn''t even a warm-up!" The Dark Players could not help but laugh, ridiculing Zero Wing as they watched Shi Feng and his companions prepare for the assault. Although the Dark Witch''s Tower was a very small town, it had robust defenses. Not only did the town have defensive structures, but it also had a defensive magic array. Furthermore, thousands of Dark Players occupied the town. Even an army of tens of thousands of elite players would fall swiftly if it tried to attack the town, let alone a 1,000-man force. Even a superpower would have to pay a hefty price to destroy the Dark Witch''s Tower. This was why most superpowers simply ignored this Dark Player hub. "Huh? Look at their Guild Emblems. They seem to be Zero Wing''s members," a Tier 2 Ranger stated, surprised, after using Eagle Eyes. "Isn''t Zero Wing attacking Ancient Rock City? Why has it come all the way here to attack the Dark Witch''s Tower?" "They must''ve gotten the wrong memo from their superiors," a Level 56 Assassin said, laughing. "But since they''re here, we can have some fun Blackwater has offered a generous bounty for Zero Wing''s heads. Normally, Zero Wing''s members are very challenging prey, but this is a golden opportunity. We have over 3,000 players in the Dark Witchs Tower. Wiping out this 1,000-man team will be a piece of cake. We can''t let the town''s NPCs get to them first." The various Dark Players present in the Dark Witch''s Tower didn''t take these Zero Wing members seriously in the least. Rather, all they saw as they looked at their enemies were walking sacks of cash. Meanwhile, Dust Edge and Veiled Spirit''s group had left the Dark Witch''s Tower''s walls and quietly observed Zero Wing''s team, astonishment flashing in their eyes. All of these Zero Wing members were merely elites. Aside from the hundred or so players that wore Black Cloaks, every member of the force was a Tier 1 player. Moreover, they could tell that the hundred-plus cloaked players weren''t actually combatants, so they were even weaker than Zero Wing''s elite members... "Big Sis Spirit, is Zero Wing attempting suicide? It''s actually attacking the Dark Witch''s Tower with such a team? With such standards, we won''t even need to get involved. The town''s usual players are more than enough to eliminate this force," a Level 57, Tier 2 Berserker said, clicking his tongue as he observed Zero Wing''s team. They had come all the way to the Dark Witch''s Tower precisely because they had heard that Zero Wing might attack the town, but this 1,000-man team was simply disappointing. It would have a painful time just trying to reach the town''s gates, let alone destroying the Dark Witch''s Tower. Veiled Spirit pondered the situation in silence. She couldn''t figure out what Zero Wing was trying to do. "This is indeed disappointing. I had wanted to give Zero Wing a taste of an Evil God''s Apostle''s might, but this team isn''t worth the effort. Just let the Dark Players handle them," Dust Edge said, shaking his head. "Since that is the case, there''s no longer a need for us to stay. The battle in Ancient Rock City is growing increasingly intense. If we hurry, we should be able to claim some scraps." Veiled Spirit agreed with Dust Edge''s estimation. They couldn''t afford to casually reveal either Shadow Claw or Dust Edge''s trump cards. Using them against a 1,000-man expert team from Zero Wing might be worth it, but it would be a waste to use them on a 1,000-man elite team. As Veiled Spirit and the others prepared to leave, the town''s Dark Players were about to make their move. Over 2,000 Dark Players charged out of the town, not even bothering to organize themselves into any formation as they rushed towards Zero Wing''s members. Dark players like them had already participated and grown familiar with large-scale combat. They might have taken the battle seriously if this Zero Wing force had quite a few experts, but all of these players were elites or weaker. Players of such standards weren''t worth a serious effort. As the 2,000-plus Dark Players approached, Zero Wing''s elite members began to grow nervous. "Guild Leader, they''re less than 1,000 yards away," a Level 55, Tier 1 Ranger anxiously reported to Shi Feng. The Dark Players charging toward them were veterans of outdoor PvP, and every one of these Dark Players radiated a dense bloodlust. Over 40 Tier 2 experts ran among these Dark Players. On the other hand, they rarely participated in PvP, usually focusing on raiding Team Dungeons. Defeating elite players like them would be a piece of cake for these Dark Players. "Good. Engineering team, begin the assembly," Shi Feng ordered, nodding. "In a moment, the engineering team will be responsible for the offensive. The rest of you just need to focus on defending our position." Hearing Shi Feng''s command, the cloaked engineers removed their Black Cloaks and retrieved the Hell Tanks components from their bags. When Zero Wing''s elite players saw the 100 Level 40-plus Lifestyle players, they were stunned. They had hoped that these cloaked players were exceptionally strong. They had never expected these comrades to be Lifestyle players... On top of that, these Lifestyle players were going to fight! When the distant Dark Players saw the Level 40-plus Lifestyle players, they were just as stunned. However, their expressions quickly soured, becoming serious. The 100 engineers swiftly assembled six colossal tanks, and despite the thousand yards separating them, the Dark Players could hear the engines[l] roar as the tanks'' immense power sept over them. "Good! Eight hundred yards ahead! Fire at will!" Shi Feng issued the command once the six Hell Tanks were ready for battle. Under Shi Feng''s command, the engineers'' eyes glowed with excitement as they operated their Hell Tanks. They then aimed the Hell Cannons at the Dark Players and fired. Suddenly, a crimson, twofold magic array appeared before each Hell Tank''s gun barrel. Boom! Immediately, the six Hell Cannons released balls of crimson light. These crimson light balls reached the Dark Players almost instantly. By the time the Dark Players reacted, the light balls had descended on the disorderly crowd. Boom... Boom... Boom... The moment the crimson light balls struck, six towering pillars of fire rose up amidst the Dark Player army, each encompassing a radius of 35 yards. The towering flame pillars were clearly visible from several thousand yards away. As the flame pillars faded, they revealed six lava pits on the battlefield, glowing with a red light. Every player that had been caught in the AOEs had transformed into streaks of white light before disappearing. With a single round of attacks, over 600 Dark Players had been removed from the battlefield... 1871 Nightmare on the Battlefield Chapter 1871 - Nightmare on the Battlefield When over 600 PvP experts were suddenly vaporized, the Dark Players charging towards Zero Wing''s team slid to a halt and stared at the empty lava pits before them. "Damn it! What are those things?!" After losing nearly half of their allies, the other Dark Players panicked. They had seen war weapons in action before, but the Hell Tanks'' speed and power were beyond their understanding of such weapons. The Tier 2 experts on this battlefield even had a high chance of avoiding Defense Turrets'' attacks from over 500 yards away, especially the speed-type classes. Yet, despite the nearly 800 yards between them and their quarry, the Hell Tanks'' balls of light had rained down on their heads by the time they had realized that they were under attack. The power of the Hell Cannons'' attacks was simply horrific, easily rivaling the power of Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells. Even a Tier 2 MT would have to activate a Lifesaving Skill to survive such an attack. These Dark Players felt as if they stood within six Magic Towers'' attack range... The Dark Players that had chosen to remain in the Dark Witch''s Tower to watch the battle had lost the laughter in their eyes. Now, their gazes only contained fear as they watched the six Hell Tanks. Veiled Spirit, who stood in the watchtower, couldn''t help but frown at the scene. The speed and power of the Hell Tanks'' attacks were horrific; expert players were no more than ants before the monstrous vehicles. Those war weapons were basically mobile Magic Towers. "How does Zero Wing have such powerful war weapons?" "We''re doomed. We don''t have any war weapons! How are we supposed to deal with those things?" "What''s there to be afraid of? We may not have war weapons, but the Dark Witch''s Tower does. Moreover, the town has a defensive magic array. If Zero Wing''s war weapons get near the town, the town''s NPCs will bombard them with the Defense Turrets. Besides, with how powerful those attacks were, those war weapons definitely have long Cooldowns. Once our people get close to the weapons, not only will we kill Zero Wing''s members, but we''ll also use the war weapons for target practice." Although the might of the Hell Tanks'' cannons had shocked many people, some more experienced experts retained their cool and analyzed the vehicles'' weaknesses, developing a plan to combat the war weapons. Very quickly, the other Dark Players also came to realize the Hell Tanks'' weaknesses. Instead of retreating, they resumed their charge in an attempt to reach the Hell Tanks. Although they had never used a war weapon themselves, they knew that all war weapons shared a single flaw; they were vulnerable at short range. Like the Miniature Ballistas bombarding Ancient Rock City, once hostile players drew near, the war weapons could be destroyed with a few attacks, regardless of how much destructive power they possessed. The remaining 1,000-plus Dark Players dashed towards the Hell Tanks in a frenzy, intent on destroying the war weapons before the Hell Tanks'' Cooldowns ended. "Guild Leader, they''ve resumed their charge. Should we form a defensive line?" Seeing the Dark Players draw closer, Zero Wing''s elite members grew restless again. The Hell Tanks'' power gave them some hope of victory, and as long as they protected these massive weapons, they could defeat these Dark Players. But despite the Dark Players closing the distance to 200 yards, Shi Feng hadn''t given the command to defend the war weapons. If they allowed these Dark Players to engage the Hell Tanks in melee combat, they''d be doomed. "No. Let them come." Shi Feng waved a hand, singling for his companions to hold their positions. Following their Guild Leader''s orders, Zero Wing''s elite members had no choice but to stand their ground, watching as the Dark Players approached. 200 yards... 150 yards 100 yards... "Brothers, we''re almost at the war weapons! Once we destroy them, victory will be ours! Ranged players, attack with everything you''ve got once you''re in range!" The Dark Players couldn''t help their excitement as they reduced the distance between them and the Hell Tanks to 50 yards. At this time, Shi Feng raised his longsword into the air. He then pointed it at the approaching Dark Players and shouted, "All Hell Tanks, move out! Leave none of them alive!" The engineers, itching for action, eagerly stepped on the tanks'' accelerator. The engines roared to life once more, and the six Hell Tanks jerked forward, speeding towards the Dark Players in a V-formation. "What are they trying to do?" The advancing Dark Players were stunned as the Hell Tanks raced towards them. However, before the Dark Players could react, each Hell Tank released 14 Flame Spears. Meanwhile, each Flame Spear carried power at the peak of Tier 2. A total of 84 Flame Spears flew at the Dark Players simultaneously as if 84 Miniature Ballistas had launched their payload at the same time, but unlike the ballistas'' Exploding Arrows, the Flame Spears weren''t AOEs. Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... When the Flame Spears made contact, light flashed among the Dark Player army. Many of the melee players leading the charge, who had failed to defend themselves in time, transformed into steaks of light and vanished on the spot. Although some players had activated Lifesaving Skills or dodged the attacks in time, surviving the first volley, the Flame Spears had claimed over 50 Dark Players'' lives. However, the surviving melee players slid to a halt once more, too afraid to approach the Hell Tanks after watching that wave of attacks. "Ranged players, hurry and attack!" Some melee players shouted, snapping out of their daze. The Dark ranked players then launched Spells and arrows, aiming for the approaching Hell Tanks. Just as the Spells and arrows were about to slam into the Hell Tanks, the six war weapons activated their Magic Shields. A magic barrier, able to absorb up to 3,000,000 damage and possessing Tier 3 defensive capabilities, surrounded each Hell Tank. The Hell Tanks pushed through the rain of Spells and arrows, receiving no damage whatsoever. "How is this possible?" Seeing the unscathed Hell Tanks stunned the Dark Players. They had never thought that these war weapons had defensive magic arrays as well. As the Dark Players tried to think of a way to deal with the enemy weapons, the Hell Tanks reached the melee players that led the army. Without slowing in the slightest, the Hell Tanks bulldozed through the Dark Players in their way. The Tier 2 MTs at the forefront were immediately thrown over 20 yards back, their HPs decreasing by nearly half. Unfortunately for them, the Tier 1 melee players died instantly. The six Hell Tanks charged forward like a herd of stampeding bulls. Not only did they break up the crowd of Dark Players, but they also killed over a hundred players as they sped through... "Run! Run quickly! Don''t let these things get near you!" After watching the Hell Tanks slaughter their allies, the fighting Dark Players realized one thing; this battle wasn''t a battle at all. It was a one-sided massacre. "It''s too late to escape now." Shi Feng could not help but shake his head and chuckle as he watched the fleeing Dark Players. Compared to their ranged offensive capabilities, tanks shone brightest in close-range combat. An Intermediate Tank had even higher Strength than a Tier 3 Berserker, and not even a Tier 3 Assassin could outrun it. It was truly a weapon of slaughter on a battlefield. After just a short moment, the Hell Tanks killed every one of the 2,000-plus Dark Players that had participated in the battle. Now, ownerless weapons and equipment littered the field. 1872 Evil God Takes Action Chapter 1872 - Evil God Takes Action Once the Hell Tanks had wiped out the attacking Dark Players, Shi Feng instructed his guildmates to loot the battlefield. The Dark Players that operated in the Ore Empire were very well-equipped on average. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have dared to join the Glory Battlefield that was the empire. Fortunately, Shi Feng could use the weapons and equipment these Dark Players had dropped as compensation for the Magic Crystals the Hell Tanks had expended and to make a small profit. Naturally, he wouldn''t leave the items for other players to loot. However, Zero Wing''s members only took action sometime after Shi Feng had given the order. They had still been stunned at the Hell Tanks'' performance. Before these Hell Tanks, Tier 2 experts were a joke; they couldn''t even escape the Hell Tanks'' destruction. Despite the 1,000-plus surviving Dark Players fleeing for their lives in every direction, the six war weapons annihilated them all... Zero Wing''s members watched the war weapons, their eyes sparkling as if they gazed at a piece of top-tier equipment "These tanks are amazing!" "I can''t wait to see how these Dark Players plan to maintain their arrogance around Silverwing Town now that we have these tanks." "I wonder if the Guild will give a similar tank to the Guild teams? If every 1,000-man legion had five or six of these things, we''d be unstoppable in the fields." "Keep dreaming. How could the Guild casually afford to arm a Guild team with such powerful tanks? I''d be satisfied if my team had just one of these tanks, not to mention five or six." While Zero Wing''s members cleared the battlefield of items, they softly discussed the Guild''s new war weapons. When Shi Feng overheard these discussions, he couldn''t help his bitter smile. The necessary materials to produce the Hell Tank were extremely precious. He had already depleted the materials the Guild had fought to collect to craft the six Hell Tanks before him. If he wanted to produce more, he would have to rely on Guild members to collect the necessary materials from Team Dungeons. After all, Team Dungeons had Cooldowns, and not every Team Dungeon dropped the necessary materials. Grinding for the necessary materials wouldn''t be possible. However, his team members'' comments did remind him of something. He could arm the Zero Wing teams that patrolled around Silverwing Town with the Hell Tanks. Although doing so would cost a lot of Magic Crystals and rapidly deplete the Hell Tanks'' durability, it would significantly increase Silverwing Town''s security. Current players were no match for these war weapons, and several Hell Tanks could end a battle of several thousand players within minutes. After his team had cleaned up the battlefield, Shi Feng ordered the six Hell Tanks to bombard the Dark Witch''s Tower. Now that more than half of the Dark Players in the town had died, the remaining Dark Players posed no threat. All they had to do was destroy the town''s defensive magic array. Then they could storm the town and destroy its magic array core and teleportation device. Once those had been destroyed, they would rend the Dark Witch''s Tower powerless. "Zero Wing''s coming. What should we do?" Meanwhile, the Dark Players who had watched the battle from the town''s watchtower wore ugly expressions as they gazed at Zero Wing''s members. Over 2,000 expert players had died in just a few minutes. To make matters worse, not a single one of them had killed any of Zero Wing''s players. This was utterly terrifying. These Dark Players had been confident that Zero Wing''s members couldn''t touch the Dark Witch''s Tower, much less destroy the town. However, after witnessing the Hell Tanks'' destructive power and their ridiculous Movement Speed, they realized that the town''s Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers would be useless against the enemy war weapons. "So, this is the trump card Zero Wing has hidden all this time?" Even Veiled Spirit was a little afraid as the six tanks approached the town. Although she had prepared a trump card, in the form of a magic array that enhanced players'' power, she wasn''t certain that any player at this stage of the game could stop those tanks, regardless of their buffs. "Not bad! It''s no wonder why Zero Wing only sent a 1,000-man elite team here. It turns out that they''ve prepared such a move!" Dust Edge gave the Hell Tanks a bright smile. "I hadn''t thought that those players were worth my involvement, but it seems that they just barely qualify." "You have a way to defeat them?" Veiled Spirit asked curiously as she gave Dust Edge, who brimmed with confidence, a look. "Of course. I can also use this opportunity to show you your collaborator''s strength," Dust Edge said, nodding. "However, I will require some sacrifices. Do you mind if I trouble you to capture some?" "Sacrifices?" Veiled Spirit repeated, confused. "I''m talking about players. I need a large number of players. The more, the better. Since this is a hub for the dark forces, these NPCs won''t mind if players slaughter each other. And the remaining players in the Dark Witch''s Tower aren''t particularly valuable anymore, anyway, right?" Dust Edge asked, chuckling as he eyed the Dark Players as they tried to flee from the town. "I''ll also need to borrow two of your peak experts." "My subordinates?" Veiled Spirit frowned, turning to Dust Edge with a frosty expression. Although she did not know why he needed sacrifices, it definitely wasn''t for something good. She refused to allow her subordinates to become this madman''s sacrifices. "Relax. I won''t sacrifice your subordinates. Rather, I want to grant them peerless strength!" Dust Edge explained when he realized that Veiled Spirit had misunderstood his intention. "That won''t be a problem." Veiled Spirit agreed. She then instructed her subordinates to gather the feeling players in the Dark Witch''s Tower. This time, she had brought 300 experts with her, each of which was incredibly powerful. They were far stronger than the Dark Players who idled in the town. Under Veiled Spirit''s command, Shadow Claw''s 300 experts took action. Using the tools Dust Edge had granted them, they captured the players that tried to escape the town. "What are you trying to do?" "Why are you capturing us?" Shadow Claw''s prisoners soon found themselves bound by magical chains, their fear clear on their faces as they looked at Dust Edge and his companions. "Oh, it''s nothing. I''m just going to make you contribute to the Dark Witch''s Tower''s defense," Dust Edge said, laughing when he saw over 300 bound players. "You should feel so lucky to become a part of my new power." "Hurry it up. Zero Wing''s team is starting its attack. The town''s defensive magic array won''t last long," Veiled Spirit snapped anxiously as she watched the six Hell Tanks fire upon the Dark Witch''s Tower. Although the Dark Witch''s Tower had a defensive magic array to protect it, it was much weaker than the one around Ancient Rock City. If Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells bombarded it, it wouldn''t last long. "Relax. My preparations are complete. Now, we just need two of your subordinates to stand in the center of the magic array," Dust Edge responded as he finished writing over 30 lines of crimson divine runes in the air. He then merged the divine runes with the crimson magic array before him, excitedly proclaiming, "Soon, you''ll get to witness the power of the Almighty Evil God!" At Dust Edge''s words, the two experts Veiled Spirit had chosen began to panic as they stared at the magic array. However, when their leader urged them forward, they had no choice but to steel their resolve and step into the array. "Almighty Evil God! I offer you Immortal Souls! Please grant me an immortal body to smite my enemies!" Dust Edge sang before tapping the butt of his staff on the array. The 300-plus Dark Players inside the magic array instantly collapsed like puppets as their strings were cut In the next moment, the space above tore, leaving a gaping, black wound. A boundless aura then poured out of the spatial tear, and everything within the Dark Witch''s Tower froze within its presence. 1873 Evil Dragons Power Chapter 1873 - Evil Dragon''s Power The appearance of the spatial tear above the Dark Witch''s Tower immobilized every player inside the town. It was as if time around them had stopped. "What kind of monster is in there?" Veiled Spirit and the others could not help but be frightened when they felt the horrific pressure flooding out of the spatial tear. They could sense that this horrific pressure did not originate from the spatial tear itself but from a creature residing inside the spatial tear, instead. This was a pressure that they had never felt in all the time they''d played God''s Domain. They did not doubt that, should the creature inside the spatial tear come out, they would instantly die and disappear just from the pressure the creature exuded. A few seconds after the spatial tear appeared, the two Shadow Claw members standing inside the crimson magic array started screaming in agony, their lung-piercing shrieks giving all who heard them goosebumps. "Dust Edge, didn''t you say nothing would happen to them?" Veiled Spirit questioned, a chilly expression appearing on her face as she glared at Dust Edge. The two members she selected were peak experts of Shadow Claw. They were also one of the few Tier 2 experts the adventurer team had. If their accounts were to get crippled due to this incident, Shadow Claw would sustain a tremendous blow. "Relax, they''ll be fine. In fact, once the ritual is over, they''ll feel much better than before. You can even label them as the strongest players in existence in God''s Domain right now!" Dust Edge explained, laughing as he looked at the two Shadow Claw members in the magic array. Veiled Spirit was utterly confused by Dust Edge''s words. Just as she was about to demand a clearer explanation from him, the two people standing inside the magic array suddenly started transforming. Originally, the two people were already tall and robust men. Now, however, their muscles started bulging rapidly like balloons. Very quickly, their bodies lost their human form. A pair of dark-gray wings sprouted out of their backs, and silver scales covered their bodies. The transformation process continued for roughly seven seconds and produced two 10-meter-tall Dragons. The two Dragons then let loose deafening roars that echoed throughout the town. "Dragons?!" Veiled Spirit and the others could not help but be stupefied by this sight. They could clearly feel that the two Dragons before them were different from the pseudo-Dragons they had come across before. Although the two Dragons before them were only Level 56_the same level as the players themselves_they could feel a pressure coming from the Dragons that was a result of a difference in Life Ratings. This meant that the two Dragons before them were not pseudo-Dragon creatures but real Dragons. "They''re still not at the level of real Dragons. However, they have been given new life by the Evil God. Although their Life Ratings are not at the standard of Dragons, they should be at the level of Archaic Species. You can call them Evil Dragons," Dust Edge said as he looked at the two Evil Dragons. With a hint of excitement in his tone, he continued, "Unlike lowly Evil Demons, Evil Dragons are players. They are somewhat similar to the Dark Mutation you guys have, but the transformation is more thorough than Dark Mutation. Moreover, it is also much stronger. At this moment, they are already at the Tier 3 standard. They possess greater power and lifeforce than even Tier 3 NPCs of the same level. "Of course, this is not their peak strength yet My power is still incomplete right now. I''ll need many more resources to unlock my strength. Once I have fully grasped this power, I''ll be able to make them even stronger!" "Evil Dragons?" Veiled Spirit was shocked as she looked at the massive creatures before her. "No wonder Beast Emperor is willing to nurture you at all costs." Dark Mutation was something she was very familiar with. However, Dark Mutation raised only a player''s combat power. The improvement was not sufficient for a qualitative transformation. The two players that had turned into Evil Dragons, however, had undergone a qualitative transformation. Not only had their tiers increased by one, but even their Life Ratings now rivaled that of Archaic Species. In other words, the two players before her already possessed the strength of Level 56, Tier 3 Archaic Species. This was simply frightening. A Tier 3 Archaic Species was originally already extremely difficult to deal with. After all, the Attributes such a monster possessed were simply too much for current players to handle. The only saving grace was that the combat standards of monsters were relatively low on average. They also grasped very few Skills. If players cooperated properly, defeating such a monster was still possible. However, a player transformed into a Tier 3 Archaic Species would be an absolute nightmare for current players. Not to mention, said player would be able to control their new body as if it were their own. Let alone a 100-man team of Tier 2 experts, even a 1,000-man team of Tier 2 experts would be no match for such a player. Just thinking about meeting such a player on a battlefield made Veiled Spirit shudder in fear. The destructive power of such a player would far exceed that of a Tier 4 Mythic monster controlled by players. "How do you two feel right now? Are you still accustomed to your bodies?" Veiled Spirit asked the two Evil Dragon players curiously. When players transformed their bodies using Dark Mutation, they would initially have trouble adapting to their new bodies. Now that the two players before her had taken on a form that was nothing like the human body, chances were high that they would have great difficulty controlling their bodies. "I''ve never felt better. Even without concentrating, I can easily grasp the movements in my surroundings. I can even hear the conversation of two players that are hiding behind a wall 200 yards away." "Indeed. Those two are actually planning to report our actions here to other Dark Players. Those two players are simply tired of living!" After saying so, the two Evil Dragons flapped their wings, their massive bodies transforming into a powerful gale as they flew toward the two hidden players. By the time the two hidden players noticed the two Evil Dragons'' movements, the latter had already crossed a distance of 30 yards. Before the two expert players could move 30 yards away from their original hiding spot, the two massive Evil Dragons had already appeared before them and swiped their claws at them. In the next moment, Dust Edge and Veiled Spirit''s group heard a loud bang coming from the Evil Dragons'' direction. The ground the two Level 55, Tier 2 experts stood on shattered instantly. As for the two experts themselves, they had died on the spot. "What power!" Veiled Spirit gasped involuntarily. Too strong! Too fast! Two Tier 2 experts were actually killed just like that. Even Level 56 Mythic monsters weren''t capable of executing such a clean and swift attack. Meanwhile, the other Tier 2 experts of Shadow Claw also shrank back reflexively. Their reaction was because they''d imagined themselves in the place of those two Tier 2 experts and realized that they wouldn''t fare all that much better than those two players, either. They would almost certainly suffer the same fate as that unfortunate duo. "Good! Very good!" After witnessing the two Evil Dragon players killing two Tier 2 experts instantly, Dust Edge turned to look at Veiled Spirit and said proudly, "This is the Evil God''s Temple''s true power! What do you think? As long as you all have this power, let alone the Ore Empire, even taking control of human empires won''t be a problem." "Indeed." Veiled Spirit nodded in agreement with Dust Edge''s words. She, too, felt that the partnership between Dark Soul and Beast Emperor held great promise. As long as Dark Soul had a large number of Evil Dragons under its command, removing Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul from the Dark Night Empire would be a piece of cake. "Alright, now that you two have warmed up, it''s about time we go greet our guests," Dust Edge said, smiling as he turned to look at Zero Wing''s members, who were close to destroying the Dark Witch''s Tower''s defensive magic array already. At Dust Edge''s words, the two Evil Dragon players promptly turned to look at the approaching Hell Tanks, sneers appearing on their faces. Previously, they had still felt somewhat fearful of the Hell Tanks. Now, however, it was a different story. Following which, the two Evil Dragon players flapped their wings and swiftly flew out of the town''s magic barrier and straight toward the Hell Tanks. 1874 Evil Dragon VS Tank Chapter 1874 - Evil Dragon VS Tank As the two dark-gray Evil Dragons ascended, leaving the Dark Witch''s Tower, their massive frames, powerful roaring, and the intense pressure they radiated due to their upgraded Life Ratings quickly attracted Zero Wing''s attention. "Are those Dragons?" "How does the Dark Witch''s Tower have two Dragons?" "How is this possible?! They''re actually Great Lord ranked Archaic Species!" Zero Wing''s members, who stood some distance behind the Hell Tanks, watched the two massive beasts fly away from the town with astonished expressions. They could not understand why Dragons would be in the Dark Witch''s Tower. Tier 3 Archaic Species were an absolute nightmare for current players, and although the two Evil Dragons were only Level 56, they wouldn''t be easy opponents. "Guild Leader, what should we do? The Dragons are too fast, slightly faster than the Hell Tanks," the engineers controlling the team''s war weapons asked worriedly. As engineers, they were familiar with the Hell Tanks'' flaws. Although the Hell Tanks were extremely powerful against players, they were fairly useless against monsters. Monsters had much higher HP and Defense, and if they pitted a Hell Tank against a Great Lord of the same level, it would take a considerable amount of time to defeat the monster with the Hell Cannon and Flame Spears. Furthermore, a Great Lord was considered a Tier 3 monster, so it would be more than capable of causing substantial damage to the Hell Tank, depleting its durability. If the two Level 56 Evil Dragons were allowed to fight the Hell Tanks, the Hell Tanks would definitely lose. Evil Dragons? Shi Feng watched the approaching Dragons with a strange look. He could feel that these two were not actual Dragons, but pseudo-Dragon creatures. If they were actual Dragons, his Heavenly Dragon''s Breath would''ve given him a massive Basic Attribute boost Since the Fragmented Legendary ring hadn''t reacted, he knew that these Evil Dragons were something else. Moreover, he could sense the Evil Dragons human-like emotions. When he looked in their eyes, it was as if the two Evil Dragons were children that had just found a new toy and were eager to play with it That wasn''t an emotion monsters should experience. "Zero Wing, die!" the two Evil Dragons bellowed. The two Evil Dragons widened their jaws and spat a tornado-like breath attack; space tore was the attacks flew towards two of the six Hell Tanks. Since the attacks had been launched from a close distance, the Hell Tanks couldn''t dodge in time. Boom! As the two tornadoes dissipated, they revealed the massive craters the attacks had torn in the ground, each encompassing a 50-yard radius with a five-meter depth. Both of the Hell Tanks'' Magic Shields had shattered instantly, and the power of the breath attacks left Zero Wing''s members flabbergasted. "Impossible! The Dragons actually spoke? Are players controlling them?" "That can''t be right! Even if they are controlled by players, they shouldn''t be able to speak." "Their destructive power is insane. They actually broke the Magic Shields that not even hundreds of Tier 1 and Tier 2 players could destroy!" Everyone was shocked as they watched the Hell Tanks'' Magic Shields shatter, and the battlefield''s new craters. The Evil Dragons'' breath attack was clearly stronger than the Hell Tanks'' Hell Cannons, but the watching players were more confused by the Dragons ability to speak. Moreover, the Dragons'' words had been meant for Zero Wing. NPCs and monsters definitely weren''t capable of such a thing. "So, this is the power of the Evil Dragons?" Veiled Spirit, who stood in the town''s watchtower, was just as shocked by the Evil Dragons'' power. With such great destructive power, these Evil Dragons would be of immense help when sieging a town or city. If Dust Edge could mass-produce such beings, the Evil God''s Temple would truly be invincible in the Ore Empire. "Hahaha! Wonderful! Destroy Zero Wing''s tanks and teach those players how foolish they really are!" Dust Edge''s eyes glowed with excitement as he watched the Evil Dragons. The two Evil Dragons were still incomplete, yet they had displayed such frightening prowess. Once he collected the remaining materials and perfected the magic array, he could create even stronger Evil Dragons. A measly Guild like Zero Wing would pose no threat to the Evil God''s Temple, and the temple would claim the Ore Empire for its own. The two Evil Dragons nodded in response to Dust Edge''s command, elation filling their hearts. The Hell Tanks, which had slaughtered thousands of Dark Players like helpless sheep, were now at their mercy. This newfound power was intoxicating. The two Evil Dragons flew toward the two Hell Tanks, which had lost their Magic Shields, and assaulted the war weapons with claw swipes. "Crap! They''re coming!" The engineers controlling the Hell Tanks panicked and tried to move out of the Dragons'' way, but the creatures were too fast Before the Hell Tanks could adjust their trajectory, the Evil Dragons had reached them, reaching towards the vehicles with their massive claws. Boom! The earth beneath the two tanks shattered as dust and dirt flew into the air due to the shockwave. As the dust settled, a new shocking scene was revealed. Dust Edge, Veiled Spirit, and their dark companions had assumed that the Hell Tanks were finished, but the two tanks were safe and sound. The Evil Dragons'' claws had only left a few white scratches on their armored shells. "How are they so tough?!" The two Evil Dragons stared at the tanks in astonishment. When their claws struck the Hell Tanks armor plating, they felt as if they had scratched an indestructible wall. Their claws even stung from the impact. Even the engineers were stunned. They hadn''t realized that the Hell Tanks had such ridiculous Defense. The Evil Dragons'' claw attacks had only reduced each of the Hell Tanks'' durability by two points. In other words, the Evil Dragons would have to land 200 claw attacks to destroy the war weapons. "Stop daydreaming! All tanks, ignore the Dark Witch''s Tower and prioritize the Evil Dragons!" Shi Feng suddenly shouted through the team chat. He was not surprised in the least that the Evil Dragons had failed to do any substantial damage. After all, the Hell Tanks'' outer shell had been made with Titan Ore. Normally, it was a material used to craft Epic Weapons and Equipment; it wouldn''t be easily destroyed by a Tier 3 Archaic Species. However, Shi Feng was relieved that he had upgraded the Hell Tanks'' engines, increasing the vehicles'' defensive capabilities. Otherwise, those claw attacks would have reduced the tanks'' durability by at least four points. After hearing Shi Feng''s command, the engineers promptly targeted the two monstrous Dragons. Without hesitation, the two tanks before the monsters fired their Hell Cannons at the hovering Evil Dragons. Two balls of crimson light then slammed into the Evil Dragons. Boom! The attacks, which had the power of a peak Tier 3 attack, sent the two monsters flying over 20 yards backward as the Evil Dragons cried out in pain. The two Level 56, Tier 3 Evil Dragons did not possess as much HP as true Tier 3 Archaic Species. Each only had 28,000,000 HP. A single hit from the Hell Cannons had devoured over 3,000,000 HP. While the Evil Dragons flew back, the two tanks'' engineers followed up with their Flame Spears. Fourteen Flame Spears bit into the two Evil Dragons simultaneously, each dealing over -60,000 damage. After taking all 14 spears, the two monsters had lost nearly 1,000,000 HP. The other four Hell Tanks had reoriented themselves by this time, launching their own attacks. With how fast the Hell Cannons'' projectiles were, the Evil Dragons had no time to dodge the attack. They were only able to block and dodge the Flame Spears from the other four tanks. In the end, the two Evil Dragons had lost more than one-third of their total HPs after suffering a round of attacks from all six Hell Cannons. To make matters worse, they were now injured, slightly affecting their combat powers... "How is this possible?" Dust Edge''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he saw the massive dent in his Dragons'' HPs and the unscathed Hell Tanks. 1875 Zero Wings Guild Leader Chapter 1875 - Zero Wing''s Guild Leader Everyone was stunned as they watched the considerably injured Evil Dragons. "Amazing! These Hell Tanks are so powerful!" "Now that the Evil Dragons are injured, we have a chance of winning!" "If the Guild makes the Hell Tank available for exchange, I''ll purchase one even if I have to go bankrupt! That thing is insane! Even a Dragon is helpless against it! If I can use this Hell Tank when grinding and questing in the fields, I won''t have to fear other players at all!" Zero Wing''s members cheered as they looked at the two collapsed Evil Dragons. When the had first seen the Evil Dragons'' prowess, they had thought they were doomed, but they had learned that not only did the Hell Tanks have the strength to overwhelm players, but the weapons could even contend with the horrific Evil Dragons. Normally, even a 100-man expert team would have to take the long way around a Tier 3 Archaic Species, yet these Hell Tanks had allowed a small number of players to fight two such monsters. They would definitely be invincible in the fields if they had the assistance of a Hell Tank. They were excited just thinking about it. Meanwhile, Veiled Spirit and the others, who watched from inside the Dark Witch''s Tower, wore gloomy expressions after the Evil Dragons had been beaten down. They had witnessed the strength of the Evil Dragons'' strength personally. With those monsters speed and destructive power, dealing with war weapons should be child''s play, yet... "Just how did Zero Wing get its hands on those tanks? Their Defense is ridiculous." Envy and confusion swam in Veiled Spirit''s gaze as she looked at the war weapons. She had never heard of such a war weapon in the game before. In her memory, war weapons had high destructive power but paper-thin Defense, yet these tanks'' Defense was heaven-defying. The Hell Tanks were godly weapons on a battlefield. Meanwhile, Zero Wing commanded such incredible weapons... "You two, hurry and distance yourselves from those tanks! Their Movement Speed and reaction speed is no match for yours! As long as you fight from a distance, those tanks will be useless!" Once Dust Edge recovered from his momentary shock, he commanded his two Evil Dragons to take advantage of the Hell Tanks'' weaknesses. At the end of the day, the Hell Tanks were simply machines that players drove. Players couldn''t control the weapons as smoothly as their own bodies. However, the Evil Dragons were a different story. These players had full and nimble control of the beasts'' bodies. In addition, the Evil Dragons could fly had had higher Movement Speed than the Hell Tanks. With the Evil Dragons'' capabilities, it was definitely possible to whittle down and destroy the Hell Tanks without taking any damage. At most, doing so would take some time. The two Evil Dragon players were peak experts. They had merely failed to react to the Hell Tanks'' attacks in time since the war weapons'' Defense had taken them by surprise. Now that they had snapped out of their daze, they did as Dust Edge had instructed and put some distance between them and their targets. Although the strongest weapons of the Evil Dragons possessed were their breath and claw attacks, their ability to control wind and attack from a distance wasn''t to be underestimated. When they flapped their wings, they could create Storm Blades that carried the power of Tier 3 attacks. Against the Hell Tanks that were incapable of flight and had delayed reactions, these Storm Blades would be an overwhelming advantage. They responded so quickly. Shi Feng clicked his tongue as the Evil Dragons moved to attack from a distance. It''s a pity that the Hell Cannon''s power is only at the peak of Tier 3 and can''t inflict severe injuries to these Evil Dragons. Otherwise, that round of attacks would''ve ended the battle. "Guild Leader, what should we do now?" one of the engineers, who drove the Hell Tank Shi Feng occupied, asked. "At this rate, those monsters will whittle us down until we die." Since the Evil Dragons had put some distance between them and the Hell Tanks, they could now dodge and block the tanks'' Flame Spears easily. The Evil Dragons could also strike with their Storm Blades. By the time the drivers noticed the attacks, it would be too late to evade. Now that Storm Blades bombarded the Hell Tanks, they steadily lost durability. It was only a matter of time before the Hell Tanks ran out. It seems that we can''t rely on the Hell Tanks to defeat these two monsters. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "All tanks, group up and take up a defensive formation. Once your Hell Cannons'' Cooldown has ended, wait for my command to fire! We''ll launch a concentrated assault on the Evil Dragons!" The six Hell Tanks then circled, using their Flame Spears to prevent the Evil Dragon players from landing casual attacks. For a moment, the tanks'' decreasing durability slowed. However, as the seconds passed by, the vehicles'' durability rapidly depleted under the Dragons'' frenzied assault. 386... 357... 324... "I''m pretty surprised with Zero Wing. I didn''t think it actually had such a trump card. It''s no wonder why it dares to raid the Dark Witch''s Tower with such a small team. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s luck will end here. I want to see how long those tanks can last against my Evil Dragons," Dust Edge said, chuckling as he watched the Evil Dragons suppress the Hell Tanks. Meanwhile, the Zero Wing members watching from a distance were extremely nervous. Although they wanted to help, they were powerless in this situation. The engineers who drove the Hell Tanks sweated with anxiety. Fifteen seconds had never felt like such a long time. Just as the Hell Cannons'' Cooldown was about to end, Shi Feng leaped out of the Hell Tank, attracting the attention of everyone present. "Guild Leader?" Zero Wing''s members were stupefied as Shi Feng suddenly emerged from his Hell Tank. The Hell Tanks were under heavy fire by the Evil Dragons, and the shockwave from the creatures'' attacks was more than enough to kill players, yet Shi Feng had left the relative safety of his Hell Tank, exposing himself to the Evil Dragons'' attacks. "Are they trying to surrender now that they know they can''t win?" Dust Edge joked when he saw someone exit one of the tanks. The Shadow Claw members were similarly surprised. They could not understand why someone would leave the safety of the tank and put themselves in death''s path. The Evil Dragons could even instant-kill a Tier 2 player. As everyone chatted about this reckless player quietly, Veiled Spirit watched with a somber expression. "Commander, has something happened?" a female Cleric asked curiously when she noticed the ugly expression on Veiled Spirit''s face. "Crap! That is Black Flame!" Veiled Spirit shouted after getting a closer look at the figure. She hadn''t been able to get a clear look at him since the Evil Dragons'' Storm Blades had kicked up dirt and dust around the Hell Tanks, but after watching carefully with squinted eyes, she recognized the player. Veiled Spirit could never forget Black Flame''s appearance. After all, he was the sole reason that Shadow Claw''s ambush on Zero Wing had failed so miserably. When they heard their commander''s comment, the other Shadow Claw members grew nervous. In their minds, Black Flame''s name was synonymous with ''monster.'' The man''s most memorable feat was his ability to contend with a Mythic monster by himself. Although he had only stood against the monster for a short moment, it was a display of strength that countless experts dreamed of commanding. "Oh? He is Black Flame?" Hearing Veiled Spirit''s warning, Dust Edge squinted his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Currently, Shi Feng stood beside a Hell Tank, yet the man was utterly unfazed by the Evil Dragon''s frightening aura. It was as if the Evil Dragons didn''t even exist to Shi Feng. "Sure enough, he really is extraordinary. Unfortunately, even if Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is here, there is no changing the Guild''s fate here! You two, get rid of him! It''s time to put an end to Black Flame''s undefeated legend!" Upon receiving Dust Edge''s command, the two Evil Dragon players licked their lips in anticipation and fanaticism as they watched Shi Feng. He was the most famous individual in the Ore Empire! Almost no one throughout the empire or Dark Soul didn''t know the name ''Black Flame.'' When they had faced off against Black Flame during their previous battle with Zero Wing, their only thought had been of escape. However, this situation was different They were now in possession of an Evil Dragon. They wielded Strength that no player could hope to rival. Moreover, their superior Life Ratings elevated their senses to unprecedented levels. Both players had been some distance from the Flowing Water Realm previously, but now, not only had their combat powers reached that realm, but they were also nearly at the Void Realm. They were confident that they could easily defeat this legendary player. They were also extremely eager to fight Black Flame. "Black Flame, hand over your life!" The two Evil Dragon players flapped their wings and flew toward Shi Feng, madness filling their eyes. 1876 Slaying Dragons in One Hi Chapter 1876 - Slaying Dragons in One Hit Upon seeing the two Evil Dragon players flying toward Shi Feng, the engineers controlling the Hell Tanks grew anxious. "Protect the Guild Leader!" Immediately, all six Hell Tanks fired their Flame Spears to hinder the movements of the two Evil Dragons. The 84 Flame Spears shot at the two Evil Dragons simultaneously. Normally, a Tier 2 player would have no choice but to wait for their death when faced with such an attack. However, dodging these attacks was no problem at all for the two Shadow Claw experts who possessed the physique of an Evil Dragon. Even if their huge bodies prevented them from evading all the Flame Spears, they could still rely on their claws to block the ones they couldn''t dodge. Very quickly, the two Evil Dragon players weaved their way through the Flame Spears and arrived within 15 yards of Shi Feng. They then simultaneously swung their massive paws at him, their silver claws tearing space apart as they sped toward Shi Feng''s head. Just as the two paws were about to hit Shi Feng, the Sacred Sword in his hand suddenly flashed. In the next moment, a massive bolt of lightning cut the space before Shi Feng in half, spatial tears appearing in its wake. This move was none other than Lightning Slash, the Additional Skill of Killing Ray. The moment their claws came into contact with the massive lightning bolt, the two Evil Dragon players felt as if a truck had just hit them. Their bodies went flying over a dozen yards before crashing heavily into the ground, cratering it. "Impossible!" "Is he really a player?" Dust Edge and the others gaped in shock when they saw this scene. They simply could not believe their eyes. Shi Feng had actually sent two Level 56, Tier 3 Archaic Species flying. The shock they felt from seeing this scene was akin to that from seeing an ant flipping over an elephant. The other Dark Players hiding within the Dark Witch''s Tower were also rendered speechless at this scene. They didn''t even know what had just happened. After all, everything was too quick. All they saw were the two Evil Dragons flying toward Shi Feng, then a bright, blue flash coming from Shi Feng. Before they realized it, the two Evil Dragons were already tumbling backward. "Is he a monster?" The two Evil Dragon players wore looks of horror as they stared at Shi Feng. A single slap from them had managed to kill a Tier 2 expert However, when they tried to do the same thing to Shi Feng, not only did they fail to kill him, but they also actually lost in a competition of Strength. However, what the two players did not know was that Shi Feng''s Strength already rivaled a Great Lord''s of the same level. Meanwhile, after continuously producing the forging components for the Hell Tanks for the past few days, he was now a Level 69, Tier 2 Sword Master~thirteen levels higher than the two Evil Dragon players. Lightning Slash also provided him with a 330% increase to his Strength Attribute. Although he still couldn''t reach the standard of a Mythic monster of the same level, his Strength was more than enough to deal with Level 56, Tier 3 Archaic Species. "No, that''s not right! He must''ve used a Skill that increases his Strength! He shouldn''t be able to use such a Skill often. As long as we work together to attack him, he''ll definitely fall!" "That''s right. How could a player possibly possess that much Strength? He must''ve used a powerful Skill." The two Evil Dragon players discussed quietly as they looked at Shi Feng. Then, they promptly split up and started circling to Shi Feng''s sides. A lot of powerful Skills in God''s Domain provided a significant boost in Attributes. Among these types of Skills, Berserk Skills were the most common. However, there were also certain Skills that exceeded one''s imagination, such as Taboo Skills. Such Skills were generally kept as a trump card and could not be used frequently. Since that was the case, all they needed to do was continue attacking Shi Feng until he exhausted all of his Skills. In any case, both of them had a maximum HP of 28,000,000. They were not afraid of fighting a battle of attrition against players at all. As for the attacks of the Hell Tanks, they only needed to be wary of the Hell Cannons. The Flame Spears posed no problems for them whatsoever. As the two Evil Dragon players closed in on Shi Feng''s sides and were about to launch another attack, Shi Feng took out a Magic Scroll from his bag and activated it Immediately, a golden-haired woman dressed in luxurious purple robes appeared before him. This woman was none other than Anna, Shi Feng''s Personal Guard. At this point, she was already a Level 85 Yin Yang Saint. As soon as Anna appeared, she lightly tapped the butt of her staff on the ground. Suddenly, a Yin Yang Barrier spread out with her as the center. Boom! The moment the two Evil Dragons collided with the Yin Yang Barrier, they felt a power rivaling Shi Feng''s Lightning Slash smash into their bodies. The two Evil Dragons went flying once again. "Everyone, fire at will!" Shi Feng commanded when he saw the Evil Dragons tumbling backward. After snapping out of their daze, the engineers simultaneously activated their respective Hell Tanks'' Hell Cannon and Flame Spears. Six crimson light balls and 84 Flame Spears flew at the fallen Evil Dragons right there and then. Boom... Boom... Boom... A series of explosions shook the battlefield. The HPs of the two Evil Dragons plummeted, falling below the 25% threshold. Feeling death approaching, the two Evil Dragon players automatically flapped their wings in an attempt to escape. Shi Feng''s and Anna''s attacks might not pose a massive threat to them, but the attacks of the six Hell Tanks were simply too fierce. If the Hell Tanks landed another barrage on them, their lives would definitely be forfeit. "You wish to run? Do you think you can so easily?" Shi Feng chuckled when he saw the two Evil Dragons trying to fly away. Right then, Anna finished chanting an incantation and now pointed her staff at the sky. In the next moment, pitch-black magic arrays appeared around the two Evil Dragons and shot out pitch-black spears. In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black spears stabbed into the bodies of the Evil Dragons, sealing their movements and sapping their strength. This move was none other than the new Overtier Spell Anna had learnedDark Lock. Due to Dark Lock, the two Evil Dragons were unable to move whatsoever. Their Attributes had also decreased by 30%, which further reduced their already low HPs. On the verge of ordering the Hell Tanks to fire the killing blow on these two Evil Dragons, Shi Feng suddenly felt a pulse coming from his bag. What''s going on? Just as Shi Feng was about to inspect his bag to check which item was producing the humming noise he was hearing right now, a broken sword suddenly flew out of his bag. This broken sword was none other than the Evil God''s Inheritance, the weapon that Shi Feng dreaded using. System: Faint traces of the Evil God''s Power detected. Do you wish to use the Evil God''s Inheritance to absorb this power? Does this sword want me to use it to kill these Evil Dragons? As Shi Feng looked at the broken sword, he could tell that the Evil God''s Inheritance was riveted by the dying Evil Dragons. He then clicked to use the weapon in order to see what would happen if he killed the Evil Dragons with the Evil God''s Inheritance. After Shi Feng made his selection, the Abyssal Blade suddenly vanished from his hand, and taking its place was the Evil God''s Inheritance. At this moment, despite Shi Feng not having sacrificed any of his Attributes, he was actually able to utilize the full power of the Evil God''s Inheritance, the weapon causing his Basic Attributes to skyrocket. Although the entire process seemed to take a lot of time, in reality, only three seconds had passed since the Evil God''s Inheritance started humming until now. Tightening his grip on the Evil God''s Inheritance, Shi Feng activated Instant Strike and appeared above the heads of the two Evil Dragons. He then sent a slash at them. Godslayer! Suddenly, five pitch-black sword lights devoured the two Evil Dragon players. Seen from afar, it looked as if a gigantic, pitch-black mouth had swallowed the two Evil Dragons whole. As the pitch-black sword lights faded away, the two Evil Dragon players'' HPs instantly fell to zero. Their bodies petrified into two stone sculptures, which then disintegrated into dust particles that scattered on the wind. A short while later, all traces of the two Evil Dragons had thoroughly disappeared from the battlefield. 1877 Second Evil Gods Mark Chapter 1877 - Second Evil God''s Mark As the five pitch-black sword lights disappeared, the two Evil Dragons disintegrated into dust and scattered with the wind. The players spectating from the distant watchtower only reacted after the two Evil Dragons had vanished. hey died..." "Is Black Flame really a player?" Everyone had gasped when they saw Shi Feng''s sudden attack. Although they understood that the two Evil Dragons had very little HP left, each had held on to over a million HP, yet Shi Feng had slain both with a single attack. The man''s damage was horrific. When the Dark Players in hiding saw this, they abandoned any thought of killing Shi Feng. They now considered the idea laughable and ignorant. It was no exaggeration to say that no player at this stage of the game could survive Shi Feng''s last attack. Unless they used an Invulnerability Skill, they would die in an instant if they tried to take on the Swordsman. Furthermore, Shi Feng had summed a Level 85 Personal Guard to his side. Anna had only moved her staff slightly, yet she had repelled both Evil Dragons. With such a Personal Guard, getting close to Shi Feng would be utterly impossible. As for the person responsible for the Evil Dragons'' deaths, he finally snapped out of his daze. What a powerful weapon! Not only was the Godslayer Skill was much stronger than before, but the weapon had also granted a much higher boost to his physique. He could feel his strength rival that of a Tier 3 player. Gaining a Tier 3 physique was a qualitative transformation for any player. Once players'' physiques reached Tier 2, their five senses would sharpen, but when they wielded a Tier 3 physique, their natural response time would also improve. Originally, only talented players possessed the ability. Although ordinary people could improve their neural response time by training, there was a limit In addition, the training process would be intensely arduous, and very few people would be able to endure the hardships that awaited them. However, when players'' physique reached Tier 3 in God''s Domain, their neural response time would improve. Although the improvement was a measly 10% or so, when applied in a high-speed battle between Tier 3 existences, the effects would be significant. For example, if a player with a Tier 2 physique could execute ten attacks in a fixed time, then a player with a Tier 3 physique and the same Basic Attributes could execute eleven attacks. This additional attack would allow the player with the Tier 3 physique the chance of landing an attack on their opponent. By relying on the advantage of one extra attack, the player with the Tier 3 physique could eventually achieve victory. This was also why reaching Tier 3 was so difficult in God''s Domain. In the past, Tier 3 had been a threshold to determine whether a player was a true expert or not. Meanwhile, despite the Evil God''s Inheritance being a shadow of its former self, equipping it had nearly boosted Shi Feng''s physique to the Tier 3 standard. One could easily imagine how powerful the Evil God''s Inheritance was. It definitely wasn''t something an ordinary Legendary Weapon could compare to. After killing the two Evil Dragons, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Evil God''s Inheritance has accumulated sufficient life force and recovered the Second Evil God''s Mark. Activating the second Evil God''s Mark''s ability. As the system notification ended, the Evil God''s Inheritance began to transform. The blurry divine runes that covered the broken sword became much clearer. The ambient Mana also avoided the broken sword due to these divine runes. Naturally, the broken sword''s Attributes had changed significantly. [Evil God''s Inheritance] (One-handed Sword) A treasured sword that the Evil God had once used. However, the sword had been destroyed in a battle, shattered into three pieces. Although the Evil God''s treasured sword had been destroyed, the Evil God''s power within remains intact. As long as one gathers all three fragments, it is possible to restore the sword to its past glory. This piece is the sword''s broken hilt. By permanently sacrificing 8 points of all Attributes, the user may temporarily use the swords power. Although this sword has been severely damaged, it can still exert one-tenth of its original power. First Evil God''s Mark: Power Absorption can increase Strength by a maximum of 120%, Stamina by 30%, and All Resistances by 120%. Second Evil God''s Mark: Soul Devourer. Can cause tremendous damage to the target''s soul. When this fragment is within 3,000 yards of other fragments, the fragments will resonate. Drops upon death. Cannot be traded. Soul Devourer? How tyrannical. Shi Feng looked down at the Evil God''s Inheritance in his hand with slight astonishment. In God''s Domain, items that could attack a person''s soul were exceedingly rare. After all, the soul was a creature''s foundation. Even if a player''s soul only received a small amount of damage, it could double the player''s death penalty. Depending on the severity of the damage, the affected player might even be prevented from logging into God''s Domain for several days. If a player''s soul were thoroughly destroyed, they''d be forced to start over. This was why any item that could target a soul was incredibly precious. Superpowers treated these items as ultimate trump cards to deal with peak experts. And Soul Devourer was such a frightening ability. Of course, this ability wasn''t without a price. To use the Evil God''s Inheritance, Shi Feng still needed to sacrifice eight points from every Basic Attribute. Although eight points weren''t cheap, if Shi Feng could deal a devastating blow on his enemies, the price would be worth it to him. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Evil God''s Inheritance and returned his gaze to the Dark Witch''s Tower. He then commanded, "The Evil Dragons are dead! There is no longer anything in our path! All Hell Tanks, fire at the Dark Witch''s Tower! Destroy the teleportation device and the town''s core magic array!" As Shi Feng gave the command, the six Hell Tanks advanced as one on the Dark Witch''s Tower, firing their weapons at the town''s defensive magic array. Although the barrier could protect the town from intermediate Tier 3 attacks, the Hell Tanks dealt bonus damage to magic arrays and constructions. In addition, the Hell Cannons'' attacks were at the peak of Tier 3. Under the bombardment, the defensive magic array''s energy reserves visibly drained. "Commander, are we going to continue this fight?" Shadow Claw''s members asked Veiled Spirit when they realized that the barrier was near to crumbling. Originally, they had been very confident of defeating Zero Wing. They were also eager to pay back the humiliation they had previously suffered. However, after witnessing the Hell Tanks and Shi Feng''s power, they shed the idea that they could annihilate this team from Zero Wing. "Retreat!" Veiled Spirit growled in frustration, a hint of reluctance flashing in her eyes as she watched Shi Feng''s figure in the distance. There was no point in staying here any longer. They would only get themselves killed if they did. After all, they had no other means of dealing with the Hell Tanks. Although several hundred NPCs still guarded the Dark Witch''s Tower, the tanks'' Defense was simply too high. Even the Evil Dragons, Great Lord ranked Archaic Species, were incapable of damaging the vehicles. How could Tier 2 and Tier 3 NPCs fare any better? By the time Tier 3 NPCs destroyed the Hell Tanks, the latter would''ve long since destroyed the Dark Witch''s Tower''s teleportation device and core magic array. When they heard Veiled Spirit''s decision, Shadow Claw''s members breathed a sigh of relief. They immediately retrieved Return Scrolls from their bags in an attempt to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible. If they tarried, they might get caught in the crossfire and lose their lives. "Zero Wing! You may enjoy this victory, but the next time we meet, you''ll be doomed!" Dust Edge said, sneering as he tightened his grip on the two shattered, gray crystal balls in his hands. He had lost this time, but the Legacy he had acquired was still incomplete. He still lacked a lot of resources. Hence, the Evil Dragon Crystals he had created were not of sufficient quality. However, now that the Evil God''s Temple had partnered with Blackwater and Dark Soul, he was confident that he could create even stronger Evil Dragons in the future. At that time, his Evil Dragons would fall as easily as they had today. Dust Edge then took out his own Return Scroll and teleported away from the Dark Witch''s Tower. When the remaining Dark Players realized that the situation had taken a turn for the worst, they promptly fled the town. This allowed the Hell Tanks to enter the town unhindered after they destroyed the defensive magic array. Meanwhile, only the town''s Tier 3 NPCs posed any threat to the Hell Tanks. However, with how few Tier 3 NPCs the town had, the Hell Tanks endured the attacks as they destroyed the town''s teleportation device and core magic array, which, in turn, destroyed the Dark Witch''s Tower. Once the Dark Witch''s Tower''s core magic array had been obliterated, every player in the Ore Empire received a system notification. Ore Empire Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for destroying the Dark Witch''s Tower. Rewarding 20,000 Guild Popularity and one Basic Teleportation Device. The system announcement repeated three times, its content echoing in the minds of every player in the Ore Empire... 1878 Dark Witchs Tower Destroyed Chapter 1878 - Dark Witch''s Tower Destroyed Ore Empire, Ancient Rock City: A large number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons was currently battering Zero Wing''s defensive magic array. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s members were doing their best to wipe out the monsters attacking them. The 200 Miniature Ballistas were practically firing nonstop. All kinds of explosions constantly echoed throughout the battlefield outside Ancient Rock City. As for the five Mythic Evil Beasts, they were fighting a heated battle with the three heavily injured Divine Magic Dragons. The battle between these eight monstrosities had destroyed the terrain around them. No other monsters or players could get within 300 yards of these eight Mythic monsters. Meanwhile, the players spectating from a distance felt their blood boil as they watched the spectacular battle before them. "Amazing! This war is simply amazing!" "Ancient Rock City really does have a lot of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. With the battle having lasted this long, more than 50,000 monsters must have died already, yet the number of monsters on the battlefield doesn''t seem to have decreased in the slightest It really makes you wonder what gave Zero Wing the courage to attack Ancient Rock City." "Hey, Zero Wing is plenty amazing already. Can''t you see how many monsters are attacking Zero Wing''s army right now? If it were any other large Guild in Zero Wing''s place, they would''ve long since drowned in that sea of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons already. However, even until now, Zero Wing has yet to suffer a single casualty." "Although Zero Wing hasn''t suffered any casualties yet, the energy of its magic barrier should be close to depletion already. Once the barrier''s energy runs out, Zero Wing''s army will be doomed. After all, those Evil Beasts and Evil Demons are all Level 60 and above, with plenty of Level 70-plus Great Lords among them. Zero Wing''s 100,000 players simply aren''t enough to defeat all those monsters. Right now, the only thing I''m wondering is which will zero out first: Zero Wing''s magic barrier or Ancient Rock City''s monsters?" Many of the spectating players had not expected the battle to escalate to such a point The Evil Demons and Evil Beasts under Beast Emperor''s command weren''t existences that current players could go up against However, by relying on its movement-type defensive magic array and Miniature Ballistas, Zero Wing had actually managed to fight Beast Emperor''s forces to a standstill and even shattered Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array. These were feats that were beyond most superpowers. The Dark Players that were originally planning on ambushing Zero Wing''s army, in particular, were now standing at the sides and quietly observing the battle, not daring to set foot onto the battlefield. After all, the fusillade of 200 Miniature Ballistas was simply too powerful. Each volley of arrows could easily kill several hundred Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, let alone players. However, while the independent players were surprised by Zero Wing''s performance and had their opinions toward the Guild changed drastically, the spectating upper echelons of the various superpowers remained very calm. In fact, some even reveled in Zero Wing''s current predicament "Zero Wing sure is tenacious. Unfortunately, the outcome of this battle has already been decided. No matter how Zero Wing struggles, nothing will change. That movement-type defensive magic array costs a lot of Magic Crystals to sustain. However, there are millions of Evil Demons and Evil Beasts inside Ancient Rock City. At the end of the day, Zero Wing is simply too immature to try and use Beast Emperor as a stepping stone to rise to power in the Ore Empire." "With this, Zero Wing should also understand its limitations. If it still insists on monopolizing the profits of the Secret Stone Fortress, then we''ll have no choice but to have Zero Wing disappear from the Ore Empire." "However, Zero Wing has really given us a great surprise this time. I never thought that it could force Beast Emperor to use one of his trump cards. When we try to capture Ancient Rock City in the future, we''ll have to think of a countermeasure for that attack first" The spectating upper echelons of the various superpowers sneered as they watched Zero Wing''s members. Ordinary players might not know much about Zero Wing, but they did. They had done a thorough investigation of Zero Wing already; they even knew how many Magic Crystals it cost to use the movement-type defensive magic array each time. Hence, they were well aware that Zero Wing would not last very long against Beast Emperor. Although Zero Wing''s performance had indeed surpassed their expectations, that still wasn''t enough to convince them of Zero Wing''s strength. While this level of strength was above average for a first-rate Guild, to superpowers like them, be it the army of 100,000 elite and expert players or the 200 Miniature Ballistas, destroying these things would not be a problem if they really got serious. It was just that they did not wish to pay the enormous price for doing so, unless absolutely necessary. However, the situation right now was also slightly different. If it were simply removing Zero Wing from the Ore Empire, it was definitely doable. After all, there wasn''t just one superpower putting pressure on Zero Wing, but multiple instead. After this battle, if Zero Wing still insisted on monopolizing the Secret Stone Fortress, then it would surely end up getting annihilated by the combined forces of the superpowers. At that time, each superpower would only have to pay a small price to get the deed done. In such a case, they definitely wouldn''t hesitate to do so. "Big Sis Rain, this is bad. Although Zero Wing is trying to prove itself qualified to monopolize the Secret Stone Fortress, according to the reports we''ve received thus far, several superpowers operating in the Ore Empire have already come to a secret agreement As long as Zero Wing refuses to become a subordinate Guild of one of them, they will remove Zero Wing from the Ore Empire. At that time, even if we try to intervene, the Great Pavilion Master will most likely stop us in fear of the alliance formed by those superpowers," Blue Phoenix, who was observing the battle at Ancient Rock City in person, reported to Phoenix Rain. According to Phoenix Rain''s original plan, if Zero Wing really wasn''t a match for Beast Emperor, then they would use the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s identity to back up Zero Wing. If they did that, the various superpowers might decide not to take action against Zero Wing. After all, individually, these superpowers couldn''t take down the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion easily. Not to mention, if the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion gained access to the Secret Stone Fortress via Zero Wing, the superpowers would have an even more difficult time dealing with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing. However, it was a different story if these several superpowers cooperated. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would not dare to go up against multiple superpowers simultaneously. "Just what is Black Flame trying to do?" Phoenix Rain could not help but frown upon hearing Blue Phoenix''s words. Meanwhile, inside Ancient Rock City, Beast Emperor likewise received news about the alliance of superpowers. "Good! Very good!" Beast Emperor''s brows arched up in joy when he read the message he just received. "Zero Wing, this is your retribution for trying to use me as a stepping stone! I want to see just how you plan on surviving in the Ore Empire now!" Although he wished to destroy Zero Wing personally, not having to expend a single troop to destroy Zero Wing was also a good thing for him. Just as Beast Emperor was about to have his subordinates send the two Mythic Evil Demons into battle as well, to put a quick end to the battle, the sound of a system announcement suddenly entered his ears. Ore Empire Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for destroying the Dark Witchs Tower. Rewarding 20,000 Guild Popularity and one Basic Teleportation Device. The emotionless voice of the system caused Beast Emperor to fall into a daze. "How is this possible? How could the Dark Witch''s Tower possibly fall to Zero Wing?" Beast Emperor instinctively refused to believe the system announcement. Although the Dark Witch''s Tower wasn''t an impenetrable fortress, it had several hundred NPC soldiers protecting it, including Level 100, Tier 3 NPCs. The town was also well-equipped with defensive structures. Most importantly, several thousand Dark Players resided there. Let alone a 1,000-man team, even an army of 50,000 players wouldn''t be able to take down the Dark Witch''s Tower. Moreover, he had even dispatched Dust Edge to defend the town. With the Evil Dragons that Dust Edge created using expert players, he could easily repel even a 1,000-man team of Tier 2 players. Meanwhile, Zero Wing didn''t even have that many Tier 2 experts. At this moment, Beast Emperor wasn''t the only person surprised by this outcome. Every player in the vicinity of Ancient Rock City was stunned by this announcement. "Isn''t Zero Wing attacking Ancient Rock City? How did the Dark Witch''s Tower become the one captured instead?" "Did the system make a mistake?" "Isn''t the Dark Witch''s Tower a gathering point for Dark Players? I recall that there should be several hundred Dark NPCs guarding it. How could it possibly be destroyed?" "What did Zero Wing do to the Dark Witch''s Tower?" The upper echelons of the various superpowers were filled with confusion when they received the system announcement. However, after snapping out of their daze, they promptly had their subordinates investigate into the matter. The Dark Witch''s Tower might not be as sturdy as Ancient Rock City, but it was still a location that the superpowers were helpless against. Hence, they found it incredible that Zero Wing had managed to destroy the Dark Witch''s Tower. After all, Zero Wing''s main army was clearly attacking Ancient Rock City right now. How could Zero Wing have any extra forces to spare to attack the Dark Witch''s Tower? Moreover, Zero Wing had even destroyed it. 1879 Qualifications to Establish a Foothold Chapter 1879 - Qualifications to Establish a Foothold The sudden news of the Dark Witch''s Tower''s destruction stupefied the Dark Players at Ancient Rock City. "The Dark Witch''s Tower is gone? What''s going on?" Pathless frowned when he received the system announcement. "Shouldn''t Shadow Claw be over there?" The Dark Witch''s Tower was an important stronghold for Dark Players like him. It was also the only teleportation point in the Ore Empire''s southeastern region, serving as an important foundation for Dark Players to take control of this region. Losing the Dark Witch''s Tower meant that Dark Players would have much more difficulty operating in the empire''s southeastern region in the future. After all, with how large the Ore Empire was, traveling around the empire without teleportation points was very inconvenient. Hence, Dark Soul and the other dark powers normally stationed some experts to guard the Dark Witch''s Tower. After hearing that Zero Wing had sent a 1,000-man team toward the town, Pathless had even made a point to instruct Veiled Spirit to bring some of Shadow Claw''s experts over. Despite that, he was actually being told that the Dark Witch''s Tower was no more. At this moment, Pathless felt as if the system was playing a joke on him. Veiled Spirit had brought 300 experts with her to the Dark Witch''s Tower. Even if she didn''t receive any help from the other Dark Players there, with the town''s defensive structures and NPCs, she could easily fend off a team of 1,000 players. Pathless immediately contacted Veiled Spirit to find out what exactly had happened at the Dark Witch''s Tower. With the loss of the Dark Witch''s Tower, Dark Soul would have a much more difficult time dealing with Zero Wing''s Silverwing Town. This unexpected development might even severely affect the alliance''s plans. The various superpowers also launched their own investigations into this matter, some even offering to purchase the relevant information at high prices. They were very curious to find out just how Zero Wing had destroyed the gathering point that they had been helpless to do anything against all this time. The lucrative offers very quickly attracted the attention of the Dark Players that had fled the Dark Witch''s Tower. They promptly sold the battle videos they recorded to the superpowers. After watching the battle at the Dark Witch''s Tower, the superpowers were thoroughly rendered speechless. Although the battle at the Dark Witch''s Tower was not as soustirring as the one at Ancient Rock City, it displayed Zero Wing''s frightening combat power and potential. Six Hell Tanks had actually managed to slaughter 2,000 Dark Players without taking any damage. The destructive power the Hell Tanks possessed could practically rival that of the Magic Tower. Meanwhile, the battle against the Evil Dragons afterward was even more jaw-dropping. Despite being Tier 3 Archaic Species, the two Evil Dragons had actually failed to inflict any noticeable damage on the Hell Tanks. Even for the various superpowers, this was the first time they had heard of or seen such a frightening war weapon. The Hell Tank boasted both heaven-defying destructive power and defensive capabilities, which would make it an absolute nightmare on a battlefield. Of course, dealing with the Hell Tanks wasn''t exactly impossible; only, the cost would be exorbitant. For example, Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls. Attacks at the Tier 4 standard would definitely be effective against the Hell Tanks. However, the question was, how effective would they be? How many of such Magic Scrolls would be needed to destroy a Hell Tank? Even superpowers like themselves had great difficulty getting their hands on Tier 4 Magic Scrolls, not to mention Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls. These things were treated as their Guilds'' foundations; they were tools that should not be used casually. Moreover, the most frightening aspect about the Hell Tank was that, aside from being useful in siege battles, it would also be effective in guerilla warfare. Six Hell Tanks could effortlessly slaughter over 2,000 expert players. In the future, when Zero Wing came across ambushes involving hundreds or thousands of players, it could deploy just one Hell Tank to fend off these ambushes. With this, trying to whittle down Zero Wing''s strength by ambushing its members would become much more difficult. As for conducting ambushes on the scale of parties or small teams, such attacks would simply be a waste of time and resources, as they would not cause Zero Wing any substantial damage. "So, this is the trump card Black Flame has kept hidden? Truly amazing." Blue Phoenix was filled with envy after she finished watching the video of the battle at the Dark Witch''s Tower. The six Hell Tanks were akin to six mobile Magic Towers. It was no wonder Zero Wing did not need any direct assistance from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. One could say that, with these Hell Tanks, Zero Wing had the qualifications to establish a foothold in the Ore Empire. Although the various superpowers operating in the Ore Empire had banded together, there was still a limit to the number of forces each superpower was willing to dispatch. They would not send their main armies to fight Zero Wing in a frontal confrontation. After all, Silverwing Town''s defenses were no laughing matter. Even if they could capture the town, the price of doing so was not one that the various superpowers were willing to pay. At best, they would dispatch some members to conduct guerilla warfare against Zero Wing or economic wars. The appearance of the Hell Tanks threw a wrench into the various superpowers'' plan of dealing with Zero Wing using guerilla warfare. As for economic warfare, that was even more impossible. Zero Wing possessed Silverwing Town, Stone Forest Town, and Zero Wing City. So long as the safety of these three money-printing machines remained unthreatened, Zero Wing would not lack for income. Now that the various superpowers no longer had any means of dealing with Zero Wing without paying a huge cost, they would naturally give up on targeting Zero Wing altogether. After all, the superpowers were not actually friendly with each other. Every one of them had their own agenda. Unless they bore some deep-seated hatred for Zero Wing, or one of these superpowers lost their mind, none of them would persecute Zero Wing at all costs. "Damn it! How did Zero Wing get these tanks?!" Nine Dragons Emperor frowned as he read the report in his hands. "Immediately have someone look into this! Find out how Zero Wing managed to obtain these tanks regardless of the cost!" He felt true jealousy toward Zero Wing at this point. When he looked at the Hell Tanks, it was as if the doors to a whole new world opened up to him. While expert players were important, tanks could also play a huge role in future struggles in God''s Domain. "Understood." Martial Dragon nodded before turning around to leave. In reality, Nine Dragons Emperor wasn''t alone in having such thoughts. Every major power that had watched the battle at the Dark Witch''s Tower basically had the same thought as well. The appearance of the Hell Tank signaled the end of the era of numerical strength. The upper echelons of every major power had immediately ordered their subordinates to conduct a thorough investigation into the Hell Tank. Meanwhile, over at Ancient Rock City... Zero Wing''s members grew ecstatic after seeing the system announcement. They never thought that their Guild had actually managed to destroy a dark gathering point without anybody finding out about it prior to succeeding. The Dark Witch''s Tower was a dark gathering point that even the various superpowers were helpless against. Moreover, now that the Dark Witch''s Tower was no more, they would have a much easier time operating in the vicinity of Silverwing Town. "The Guild Leader did it?" Aqua Rose could not help but smile when she saw the system notifications. "Since that is the case, start retreating." With the destruction of the Dark Witch''s Tower, Blackwater and Beast Emperor had lost a crucial tool against Zero Wing. Without the threat of the Dark Players, Silverwing Town''s development would recover to its peak. After including the benefits offered by the Secret Stone Fortress, Zero Wing would definitely be able to compete against Blackwater in the Ore Empire. After Aqua Rose gave the command to retreat, Zero Wing''s members started slowly withdrawing from the battlefield. Boss, Zero Wing seems to be retreating. Should we give chase?" Wind Hunter asked in a quiet tone. 1880 Descend Chapter 1880 - Descend Hearing Wind Hunter''s question, Beast Emperor could not help but turn towards the Blackwater members and Dark Players watching the battle outside of the city. When Zero Wing had begun its retreat, a hunger to take action swept through the two groups of players. Although the movement-type defensive magic array protected Zero Wing''s army, it could only withstand up to Tier 3 attacks. Tier 4 attacks would exceed the magic array''s tolerance and shatter the array. Although the three Divine Magic Dragons had the five Mythic Evil Beasts tied up right now, he still had two Mythic Evil Demons on reserve. Following which, Beast Emperor gazed at the many destroyed buildings behind him with a cold glint flashing in his eyes. He felt his heart ache as he looked at the destroyed buildings. Although the buildings had only been Basic Constructions, they were still important for nurturing Evil Beasts and Evil Demons. It would cost him a lot of Evil God''s Temple Contribution Points to repair them all. Meanwhile, Zero Wing, the cause of this destruction, wanted to get away from the battle without suffering a single casualty... "Zero Wing! First, you used me as a diversion to attack the Dark Witch''s Tower, and now, you want to disengage safely?! Do you think you own this place!?" Beast Emperor sneered at Aqua Rose and the others'' retreating figures. "Mobilize all Mythic and Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons! Send in Elder Wales! I want to teach Black Flame how foolish his decision was to send an army up against Ancient Rock City!" If he allowed Zero Wing City to leave Ancient Rock City unscathed after this incident, both he and the Evil God''s Temple would become a laughingstock throughout the Ore Empire. He could not allow that to happen. Not only did he intend to display the might of the Evil God''s Temple before Zero Wing, but before every major power watching this battle as well. "Are we really going to mobilize Elder Wales?" Wind Hunter gasped when he heard Beast Emperor''s command. He hadn''t thought that Beast Emperor would involve der Wales, the Branch Temples Tier 4 NPC in Ancient Rock City. Elder Wales was the strongest trump card Ancient Rock City had at the moment. They had also gone through great lengths to secure a single opportunity to request the NPC''s assistance. Initially, they had planned to save the opportunity for their assault on Silverwing Town. He had never expected Beast Emperor to use it here. "Of course. I want to Black Flame to learn how foolish it was to send a measly army of 100,000 players to attack my city. If we destroy Zero Wing''s army here, the Guild''s hold over the Secret Stone Fortress will crumble," Beast Emperor said, a hint of madness in his eyes. Although mobilizing Elder Wales now would ruin his original plans, destroying 100,000 of Zero Wing''s elite and expert players would land a heavy blow to the enemy Guild. This defeat might even be enough to encourage the various superpowers to strike against Zero Wing. "Understood!" Wind Hunter said, clearly eager. He couldn''t wait to see the enemies'' expressions when they were dragged to the pits of hell only moments after celebrating a victory. Meanwhile, Blackwater''s members quietly observed the battle outside of Ancient Rock City from a safe distance. "Commander Scar, Zero Wing has begun its retreat. When are we going to make our move?" "Finally! This is our Heavenly Eagle Legion''s chance to show the Vice Guild Leader our worth!" "I don''t think there''s a need to wait until both sides are severely injured. We can simply charge in and slaughter Zero Wing''s members. Isn''t it just a defensive magic array? That Beast Emperor really is useless. He still hasn''t destroyed it." The 20-plus players behind Snow Scar, a Tier 2 Berserker, were growing impatient after such a long wait. If Phoenix Rain were present, she would have been astonished to see these players. Not only were they all Level 56-plus, Tier 2 players, but they were also famous experts in the Iron Empire. Originally, they had either been weH-known independent players or top-ranked experts from first-rate Guilds. Some were even Dark Players. Overall, everyone in the Iron Empire was familiar with these players. They all wielded a level of power that even first-rate Guilds were helpless against. Some of them even had special means that could cause the various superpowers headaches. Yet, these 20-plus players had gathered here. Moreover, they had joined Blackwater. Why wouldn''t this be shocking? "Let''s wait for a bit. Ancient Rock City should make its move soon. If the situation hasn''t changed in the next few minutes, it won''t be too late for us to attack," Snow Scar said, smiling at the restless group of players around him. Honestly, even he felt somewhat powerless against this group. These people usually acted like lawless criminals in the Iron Empire since so few players weren''t capable of challenging them. A few of these players even had the strength to rival him. If they decided to rampage, he wasn''t confident that he could stop them. Only Xuanwu Chisha was capable of truly controlling these madmen. However, she was also the reason that this bunch had joined the Heavenly Eagle Legion. After hearing Snow Scar''s decision, the other Heavenly Eagle Legion members fell silent, returning their attention to Zero Wing''s army. ... As Zero Wing''s army organized its retreat from the battlefield, over a dozen figures flew out of Ancient Rock City. Upon seeing these figures, the watching crowd, all of whom had assumed that the battle had reached its end, were stupefied. "What''s going on? Why is a Tier 4 NPC here?" "There''s not just the Tier 4 NPC! Two Mythic Evil Demons have joined the battle as well! I knew Beast Emperor wouldn''t let Zero Wing escape! This is going to be interesting!" "Beast Emperor is too ruthless! Zero Wing will suffer a massive loss this time." "Beast Emperor still had so much power hidden?" The spectating crowd was stunned as they watched the dozen or so figures rapidly approach Zero Wing''s force. Even the spectating superpowers were astonished. Although there were only a dozen or so new arrivals, the group had enough combat power to capture a Guild Town. After a moment of silence, Wales, a Level 80, Tier 4 NPC, appeared above Zero Wing''s army. He then pointed his staff at the sky above him. "Offenders of the Evil God, the punishment for your crimes is death!" Suddenly, countless small magic arrays appeared in the sky before silvery-gray arrows descended like a storm. Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, Death''s Twilight! As the silver arrows rained down, the defensive magic array''s energy reserves rapidly depleted. After a short moment, the defensive magic array''s energy reserves were empty. Aqua Rose hadn''t even had time to replenish the reserves before the magic array shattered... Taking advantage of this opportunity, the two Level 80 Mythic Evil Demons and the dozen or so Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons flew towards Zero Wing''s army. "Beast Emperor is quite ruthless. We merely destroyed Ancient Rock City''s defensive magic array. Does he really need to send a Tier 4 NPC after us?" Blackie felt an intense pressure weigh down on him as he looked up at Wales. The man''s aura was even stronger than that of a Tier 4 monster, and despite standing so far away from the NPC, Blackie felt stifled. "Sure enough, Guild Leader''s guess had been correct; Beast Emperor won''t let us get away so easily," Aqua Rose looked at Wales with a bitter smile. She had to admit that Beast Emperor was a formidable foe. There was a reason that the various superpowers had been powerless against Ancient Rock City. Aside from the large number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons under his command, Beast Emperor also had so many powerful trump cards. "Elder Wales! Please punish these offenders and transform them into nutrients for our Evil Demon army!" Wind Hunter said, laughing as he pointed at Zero Wing''s army. One hundred thousand elite and expert players! The corpses of these players would elevate the Evil God''s Temple''s Evil Demon army to a whole new level. They''d be able to create far more Mythic Evil Demons in the future. As soon as Wind Hunter finished speaking, Wales began to chant an incantation. Meanwhile, the Mythic and Grand Lord ranked Evil Demons charged for the movement-type defensive magic array in an attempt to destroy the barrier around Zero Wing''s army, preventing it from erecting another. "It seems that there''s no other way. Since he won''t let us leave, we''ll drag him to hell with us." Aqua Rose sighed. She then pulled an ancient Magic Scroll and a beautiful crystal from her bag. This Magic Scroll was none other than the Tier 4 Continuous-use Magic Scroll, Vulcan''s Sigh. As for the beautiful crystal, it was an Elemental Source Melancholic Smile had acquired with great difficulty after scouring through the various kingdoms and empires. Source of Blazing Fire! "Vulcan''s kin, Descend!" 1881 Disaster Incarnate Chapter 1881 - Disaster Incarnate When Aqua Rose activated Vulcan''s Sigh, which was powered by the Source of Blazing Fire, darkness suddenly flooded the sky above the battlefield. Following which, a gigantic spatial tear opened up in the sky. Meanwhile, at this moment, the players and the monsters on the battlefield had frozen in their tracks, gazing at the black hole in the sky in fear. "What did she do?" Wind Hunter, who currently stood on Ancient Rock City''s city wall, shuddered in fear when he saw the hill-sized eyeball inside the black hole. Right now, he could clearly feel death looming over him. Let alone Wind Hunter, even the Tier 4 NPC Wales turned pale when he sensed the dreadful aura coming from the gigantic eyeball. He couldn''t even move his body right now. As the aura intensified, the black hole spat out flaming meteors. In the blink of an eye, the flaming meteors illuminated the sky brightly. Before anyone could react, the flaming meteors descended on the Evil Beast and Evil Demon army, the impact causing countless explosions and screams of agony to resound in the battlefield. At this moment, it was as if Armageddon had arrived as the entire battlefield shook. Among the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons caught within the range of the flaming meteors, those at the Lord rank and below were killed instantly. Meanwhile, the meteor shower covered a 700-yard radius at the very minimum. By the time the meteor shower ended, the terrain of the battlefield had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. Aside from the monsters at the Great Lord rank and above, everything else caught within the AOE of Vulcan''s Sigh was now ashes. Even the two Mythic Evil Demons, which were unfortunate enough to be in the attack''s AOE, had fallen into a heavily injured state, their combat power plummeting. In just one attack, more than 5,000 Evil Beasts and Evil Demons were killed. The destructive power of Vulcan''s Sigh stupefied everyone on the battlefield. The Dark Players that were originally planning on charging into battle all gulped audibly, their backs growing cold as they watched this scene play out before them. "That was close! Fortunately, we didn''t charge into battle too quickly. I never thought that Zero Wing would actually have such a trump card hidden as well. Had we charged into battle, we probably would''ve died to this large-scale destruction Spell." "However, Zero Wing is already at the end of its tether. The number of Evil Beasts and Evil Demons killed is nothing to Beast Emperor. How does Zero Wing plan on repelling Beast Emperor''s remaining forces? I refuse to believe that Zero Wing still has another Magic Scroll like that." "I guess you''re right Once Zero Wing''s members get scattered by the Evil Beasts, it''ll be our turn to make a move. Zero Wing''s members are all walking sacks of money. We''ll be able to make a fortune if we manage to kill a few of them." Although everyone was shocked by the might of Vulcan''s Sigh, none of them was an ordinary player. They understood that such a powerful large-scale destruction Spell could be used only once. This was merely Zero Wing''s last gasp before it got annihilated. It wouldn''t stop Beast Emperor''s forces from giving chase. At this moment, Snow Scar, who was watching the battle from a short distance away, unsheathed the two sabers he carried in his bag and commanded, "Prepare to move out!" This was the moment he had been waiting for. When cornered, even a rat would bite back at the cat, not to mention a Guild like Zero Wing. Meanwhile, now that Zero Wing''s last-ditch defense was over, it was the perfect opportunity for them to take action. At Snow Scar''s words, the eyes of Blackwater''s members glowed with excitement and anticipation. The experts of the Heavenly Eagle Legion, in particular, had long since been dying to make a move. If not for Snow Scar holding them back, they would''ve charged at Zero Wing''s army already. However, just as the Blackwater members and Dark Players were preparing to rush down on Zero Wing''s members, a deafening roar suddenly came from the fiery plains created by the meteor shower. Following the first roar, more roars shook the battlefield one after another. Then, the meteors that landed on the battlefield started transforming. The flames surrounding the meteors grew considerably. As for the meteors themselves, they took on a humanoid form. In the blink of an eye, over 500 flaming giants appeared on the battlefield. Even the weakest among these Flame Giants was a Level 75 Great Lord that was ten meters tall. Meanwhile, the majority of the Flame Giants on the battlefield were 20-meter-tall Grand Lords. There were also four 60-meter-tall Mythic Flame Giants. These four Mythic Flame Giants looked like four flaming mountains as they stood on the battlefield. Everywhere these Mythic Flame Giants passed became a sea of flames. Lava also flowed down from their bodies continuously, turning the area within 100 yards of the Mythic Flame Giants into a lava field. Any Evil Beasts and Evil Demons caught within this lava field got burned and lost chunks of HP over time. After taking shape, these Flame Giants slaughtered the Evil Beasts and Evil Demons before them and charged straight towards Ancient Rock City. The Level 83 Mythic Flame Giants, in particular, were simply unstoppable, sending even the Mythic Evil Beasts flying with a single slap. Meanwhile, the Lord ranked Evil Beasts caught within the lava fields formed by the Mythic Flame Giants lost HP at a rate visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, several hundred Evil Beasts and Evil Demons had been killed. The battlefield had been turned into a sea of flames as well. It was no exaggeration to say that this legion of Flame Giants was disaster incarnate. "Damn it! Stop them! Quick! We must not let them enter the city!" Beast Emperor shouted, his complexion turning deathly pale when he saw the Flame Giants charging toward Ancient Rock City. The Flame Giants'' bodies were massive. If they entered Ancient Rock City, the destruction they would cause would be unimaginable. This was especially true for the Mythic Flame Giants. Their entry would spell disaster for the city. "Damn it! Zero Wing, just you wait! The Evil God''s Temple will flatten you sooner or later!" Wind Hunter bellowed as he glared at Zero Wing''s army. Gnashing his teeth, he promptly controlled all his Evil Demons and Evil Beasts to deal with the Flame Giants. Ancient Rock City was the Evil God''s Temple''s foothold in the Ore Empire. They could not afford to lose it, no matter what. Although he did not think that the Flame Giant legion could destroy the entire city, even partial destruction was not a loss they could afford. Following which, under Wind Hunter''s command, Wales and the two Mythic Evil Demons moved to hinder the Mythic Flame Giants. As for the other Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, Wind Hunter tasked them with dealing with the other Flame Giants. The number of monsters targeting Zero Wing''s members decreased drastically. Using this opportunity, Aqua Rose activated the movement-type defensive magic array once again. Immediately after, she had the army beat a hasty retreat. At the same time, she also had Flying Shadow and the others recall the Divine Magic Dragons to support the army''s withdrawal. Right now, the Flame Giant legion was more than enough to handle the frontline. This sudden development gave the players seeking to attack Zero Wing''s members pause. With the three Divine Magic Dragons guarding Zero Wing''s army, no player could poke their nose into this battle. Moreover, Zero Wing''s defensive magic array was up again. There were also the 200 Miniature Ballistas continuously firing Exploding Arrows. "We''re retreating!" Snow Scar said, sighing as he sent a glance at Zero Wing''s receding army. "But..." The other members of the Heavenly Eagle Legion felt unreconciled as they looked at Snow Scar. "Do you think you can handle those three Divine Magic Dragons?" Snow Scar asked as he eyed the 20-plus players behind him. They might be able to do something about the defensive magic array and 200 Miniature Ballistas, but they would be helpless against the three Divine Magic Dragons. Although the Divine Magic Dragons were heavily injured, as they were controlled by players, the combat power they possessed was still above that of ordinary Mythic monsters. Not to mention, with the Divine Magic Dragons'' Basic Attributes, all they needed was one hit to kill current players. "If we use our trump card, what will those three Divine Magic Dragons amount to?" a white-clad Tier 2 Summoner argued. "Trump card? Are you all going to expose our Heavenly Eagle Legion''s greatest secret without the Vice Guild Leader''s permission?" Snow Scar asked as he shot a cold glare at the Tier 2 Summoner. Everyone present promptly fell silent. "Relax. You''ll have plenty of opportunities to perform in the future. Not to mention, we got to see Zero Wing''s trump cards this time. A Guild that has its trump cards exposed is no different from a beast that has lost its claws and fangs. Zero Wing is no longer a threat to us," Snow Scar said, a faint smile appearing on his face as he eyed the distant Zero Wing army. When Zero Wing''s army completed its retreat from the battlefield, the battle at Ancient Rock City had also come to an end. Although Zero Wing had failed to capture Ancient Rock City, it had managed to destroy the city''s defensive magic array and retreat entirely unscathed. Most importantly, Zero Wing had also destroyed the Dark Witch''s Tower, an important gathering point for Dark Players in the Ore Empire. After the battle ended, news of it spread like crazy to the kingdoms and empires neighboring the Ore Empire. 1882 Everyones Considerations Chapter 1882 - Everyone''s Considerations Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: Many players roamed along the city''s streets. Players visiting the city for the first time were awed by its prosperity. As one explored the busy streets, they''d encounter Level 55 or above players who wore Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Tier 2 experts were also relatively common. Meanwhile, Starlink''s Guild Residence sat at the heart of the city. It was one of the most eye-catching sights within the city, and there was always a long line of players seeking to join the Guild outside its entrance. "Why does it feel like more players have applied to join Starlink recently? I''ve even heard rumors that players from outside of the Dark Night Empire have come to join Starlink." "That''s only natural. I''ve heard that Starlink has acquired a Magic Crystal vein, so the Guild no longer lacks Magic Crystals. Moreover, the Guild recently cleared a path to the Sea of Trees and can now travel to the area." "The Sea of Trees? Are you talking about the Dark Night Empire''s rumored Dream City?" "Of course. What else would I be talking about? I''ve heard that the Sea of Trees is a wonderful place, protected by the Six Great Primordial Elf Kings. It also has a passage that allows you to complete your promotion to Tier 2. You can actually skip the regular Tier 2 Promotion Quest. The passage is also easier than the normal Promotion Quest Although, once you complete the trial, you don''t get one of the main Tier 2 classes, but a special Tier 2 class." "A special Tier 2 class?" "That''s right. It''s a semi-support class called Traveling Bard. The class is a combination of the Berserker, Elementalist, Cleric, and Oracle classes." "How awesome! You can actually skip the normal Tier 2 Promotion Quest?! The Tier 2 Promotion Quests are so difficult that you''re not guaranteed to pass if even with the full support of a large Guild. I wonder when we''ll get to visit the Sea of Trees. Even if I can''t complete my normal Tier 2 Promotion Quest, becoming a Tier 2 Traveling Bard isn''t a bad idea. At the very least, I''ll be much stronger than a Tier 1 Berserker." "Keep dreaming. That''s the Sea of Trees we''re talking about How could it be so easy to visit? Only Starlink, the force responsible for opening the path to the city, can lead a large number of players to it Why do you think experts from other countries are coming to join Starlink? Everyone''s trying to get into the Sea of Trees through the Guild." The independent players who loitered in the central district chatted as they watched the long line of players outside of Starlink''s Residence. Although they, too, wished to join the Guild, Starlink was a large enough Guild that it could even contend with the various super-first-rate Guilds. Its recruitment requirements were intensely strict. Not just anyone could join. Meanwhile, a dozen or so Tier 2 players had gathered in the Guild Leader''s office in Starlink''s Residence. "Damn that Unyielding Soul! They actually secured the First Clear of a large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon before us and promoted their Guild to 3-star!" Lu Xingluo frowned as he glared at the people before him. "How did this happen? We''ve clearly held the lead. How did Unyielding Soul get the First Clear instead?" "Guild Leader, based on our investigations, Unyielding Soul has acquired a large number of powerful weapons and tools to increase their raid team''s combat power significantly. Those items are the reason that they secured the First Clear," Dawn Web, who was now a Level 57, Tier 2 Elementalist, explained. "Powerful weapons? How is that possible?" The situation left Lu Xingluo confused. Despite its current, dire straits, Unyielding Soul was still a super-first-rate Guild. Its main force should''ve already wielded the best equipment in God''s Domain. Even if Unyielding Soul borrowed equipment from other Guilds, it shouldn''t be able to increase its raid team''s combat power by such a large margin. "It''s true. According to our spies, the Guild has acquired a large collection of Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons," Dawn Web said as he sent Lu Xingluo the information on the weapons. "Although these Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons are inferior to most Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, they are still more powerful than Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons." "Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons? How did they get their hands on these? Not even Super Guilds have such an armory. There''s no way anybody would be willing to sell a large batch of these weapons," Lu Xingluo said in surprise. "Our spies have confirmed that the weapons came from Zero Wing. Zero Wing must have some special channel that allows it to collect such items," Dawn Web explained. "I''ve already had someone investigate the Guild, but Zero Wing has kept a tight lid on this matter. So far, we have failed to discover the weapons'' origin. However, if I were to guess, it is highly likely that Zero Wing''s forgers crafted the items. "Even the various superpowers are struggling to raid Level 50 Team Dungeons. Other than special quests or high-level Field Bosses, it is almost impossible for players to acquire Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons right now. Furthermore, Zero Wing sold the weapons to Unyielding Soul in bulk. It is very likely that Zero Wing''s forgers have managed to create a Level 55 Dark- Gold Weapon by luck or found the forging designs, mass-producing the weapons." "Zero Wing?" Lu Xingluo''s expression darkened when he heard the name. "I''ve heard that Zero Wing just launched a sudden attack against Ancient Rock City. What was the battle''s outcome?" Zero Wing had already dared to disobey him. Now, the Guild had assisted Unyielding Soul, his Guild''s rival. Due to the assistance, Unyielding Soul had recovered its momentum and become an even greater thorn in his side. "Zero Wing has failed," Dawn Web said softly after giving the matter some thought. "I know that! That''s Beast Emperor we''re talking about. How could that old bastard be so easy to defeat? The old bastard was even lucky enough to acquire a Legacy from the Evil God''s Temple," Lu Xingluo said, nodding. "I want to know how severe Zero Wing''s losses were." "There were none. After failing to capture Ancient Rock City, Zero Wing used a powerful Magic Scroll to stop Beast Emperor''s army before retreating from the battlefield," Dawn Web explained. "Although Zero Wing failed to capture Ancient Rock City, however, the Guild did destroy the Dark Witch''s Tower, one of the Dark Players'' teleportation points in the Ore Empire..." "How?" Lu Xingluo''s eyes widened with shock. Finding this revelation somewhat unbelievable, he continued, "I thought Dark Soul guarded the town." Although he did not know exactly how powerful the Dark Witch''s Tower was, even superpowers would have to pay a high price to destroy it since it was protected by high-level NPCs, much less a Guild like Zero Wing. Moreover, Zero Wing had been engaged in a battle against Ancient Rock City while it had attacked the Dark Witch''s Tower. "That''s correct During the battle with the Dark Witch''s Tower, Zero Wing revealed war weapons that no one has seen in the game before. This weapon operates like a mobile Magic Tower. It even has extremely high Defense. The attack on the Dark Witch''s Tower succeeded due to these weapons. All of the various superpowers are looking into it to find a way to acquire the weapons for themselves," Dawn Web reported, nodding. He then forwarded the Dark Witch''s Tower''s battle video to Lu Xingluo. "The ability to produce Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons and now this? Zero Wing is unexpectedly capable." After Lu Xingluo watched the video, his lips curled into a smile as he said, "Very good. I had simply planned to destroy Zero Wing, but it seems that the Guild still has some value. Change of plans. Notify our subordinates to bring me these items!" "What about the Sea of Trees? We''ve gone to great lengths to acquire the eight keys from the Thorn Fortress. Are we going to give up now that we''re so close to the final struggle?" Dawn Web asked hurriedly. "Of course not. We''ll deal with the Sea of Trees first Then, we''ll take care of Zero Wing," Lu Xingluo said. As he looked at the Hell Tanks on his screen, a hint of greed flashed in his eyes. "Alright, go; see to the necessary preparations." "Understood!" Dawn Web nodded. He then led his men out of the office. Meanwhile, in Silverwing Town... The return of Zero Wing''s army caused a huge commotion in the town. After all, the battle''s outcome had been striking. Although Zero Wing had failed to take down Ancient Rock City, the Dark Witch''s Tower''s destruction ensured that Dark Players would no longer pose a threat to Silverwing Town. Including the Guild''s occupation of the Secret Stone Fortress, Zero Wing had secured the Ore Empire''s southeastern region. No force would be able to hinder the Guild''s members now. With the rich leveling resources in the Ore Empire, Zero Wing''s development speed would skyrocket. For a time, independent players from other countries traveled to Silverwing Town in hopes of joining Zero Wing. Many among them were expert players. "Guild Leader, the various superpowers'' representatives have left. They all expressed their congratulations on garrisoning in the Secret Stone Fortress," Aqua Rose said, smiling at Shi Feng as he organized and inspected the loot he had acquired from the Dark Witch''s Tower. "However, Hell Fiend from King''s Return wore a particularly grudging look when he left. You should''ve seen how funny it was." "It seems that they intend to give up on pressuring our Guild." Shi Feng nodded. The outcome didn''t surprise him. Now that the potential losses outweighed the gains, it was only natural that the various superpowers gave up on targeting Zero Wing. "Right, Unyielding Heart has also come to meet you. He has brought a few people with him this time. He says that he has a huge business proposition for you," Aqua Rose said. "They''re currently waiting in the second floor''s VIP reception room. Would you like to meet with them now?" "A business proposition? Alright, let''s head over and see what they have to say." Shi Feng was relatively curious about Unyielding Heart''s sudden visit. He and Aqua Rose then left the Guild Warehouse and headed for the second-floor VIP reception room. 1883 Set Equipment of Astronomical Value Chapter 1883 - Set Equipment of Astronomical Value Four people sat in the second-floor VIP reception room in Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. When Shi Feng and Aqua Rose entered, these four people shifted their gazes toward the door. "Sorry for the long wait," Shi Feng said. He was already acquainted with two of the four players, Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha. Shi Feng also recognized the other two; they had been experts that ever large Guild in God''s Domain had known about during his previous life. One of these two was a Level 57, Tier 2 Elementalist called Long Soul, while the other was a Level 57, Tier 2 Guardian Knight called Hunting Blade. In the past, Long Soul had also been known as the Crimson Wizard, whereas Hunting Blade had been known as the Iron Giant Although neither had ranked on the God''s Domain''s Experts List in the past, the Secret Pavilion had given them official titles. They hadn''t ranked simply because they hadn''t wanted to. Every superpower had their own secrets, and none of them would display every expert they had. Hence, under pressure from the various superpowers, the Secret Pavilion hadn''t included every expert on the God''s Domain Experts List. However, the Secret Pavilion had still provided a brief description of some of these experts. All of the experts that had earned a title had striking battle records. Although Long Soul and Hunting Blade hadn''t been as famous as Unyielding Heart, they weren''t any weaker than the Guild Leader. Of course, the two players had only earned their titles after reaching Tier 3 in the game. At this point, few people knew these players'' true abilities. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you''ve come," Unyielding Heart said, smiling as he stood. He then gestured to Long Soul and Hunting Blade and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Long Soul, Unyielding Soul''s Chief Elementalist, and this is Hunting Blade, Unyielding Soul''s Chief Guardian Knight." "Hello." Both Long Soul and Hunting Blade nodded at Shi Feng as they carefully observed the Swordsman''s every action, attempting to determine Shi Feng''s capabilities. Shi Feng was a large part of the reason for Zero Wing''s current success. The Guild had even secured a foothold in the Ore Empire and forcibly dissuaded the various superpowers from targeting Zero Wing. Some time ago, Zero Wing had even sold Unyielding Soul a large number of Level 55 Dark-Gold Weapons, which allowed Unyielding Soul to earn the First Clear in a Level 50, large-scale Team Dungeon and become the first Guild in the Dark Night Empire to reach 3-star status. It was because of these achievements that Unyielding Soul now had more capital to contend with Starlink in its home empire. Once everyone had been introduced, Unyielding Heart removed a list from his bag and handed it to Shi Feng. A quick glance at the list left Shi Feng confused. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I suspect that you might be interested in the items listed; am I correct?" Unyielding Heart asked, smiling. "You are. Zero Wing is very interested in acquiring these items," Shi Feng said, nodding. Every item on the list was a material that Zero Wing was currently trying to purchase in bulk. There were even materials for crafting the Hell Tank among them. Certain materials the Hell Tank required couldn''t be acquired from Team Dungeons. Only a few special maps produced these materials. Unfortunately, the various large Guilds valued these materials and usually didn''t sell them. Hence, Melancholic Smile could only try her best to purchase these materials from other countries'' independent players. Since he had no real reason to hide the fact, Shi Feng acknowledged his need for these materials. Any large Guild could easily deduce that Zero Wing was attempting to collect materials, after all. Only, these Guilds did not know what Zero Wing wanted the materials for. "Unyielding Soul is willing to sell these materials to Zero Wing in bulk and at market price," Unyielding Heart said. "You''re willing to sell Zero Wing?" Shi Feng smiled. "That would be wonderful, but I doubt that''s why you''re here." If Unyielding Soul only wanted to sell Zero Wing these rare materials, Unyielding Heart wouldn''t have personally visited the Guild. He could have simply sent a subordinate to initiate the transaction. Moreover, Unyielding Heart had gone so far as to bring the Crimson Wizard and Iron Giant with him. "Of course, that''s not the only reason I''ve come. I would like to trade these rare materials for the Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Set earlier than planned. I believe the price I have to offer will be to your satisfaction," Unyielding Heart said, nodding as he revealed his true motive. "You want to conduct the transaction in advance?" Glancing at Long Soul and Hunting Blade, Shi Feng realized why Unyielding Heart had brought these two with him today. "Unfortunately, I''ve already informed you and the Phoenix Pavilion Master of the auction date for the two sets. If I trade with you now, I''m afraid that it won''t be fair to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion." The Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Set were both Level 55 to Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. If Long Soul and Hunting Blade could use these sets now, they could be of great help to their Guild. It was no wonder why Unyielding Heart wished to conduct the transaction ahead of time. "I understand. That is why Unyielding Soul is willing to offer you 70,000 Gold''s worth of rare materials or Magic Crystals for the two sets. I don''t believe that even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is capable of making such an offer. If you''re uncertain, we can also contact the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and conduct an impromptu auction right now. I believe the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion won''t object to the arrangement," Unyielding Heart said. When Long Soul and Hunting Blade heard Unyielding Soul''s statement, their expressions changed. They both wondered if their Guild Leader had lost his mind. This wasn''t the price they had agreed on earlier. Not only had Unyielding Heart asked to purchase the two sets for 70,000 Gold, but he even offered to settle the bill with extremely rare materials. For that price, they could purchase quite a few sets of individual Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment "Seventy thousand Gold in rare materials?" Shi Feng was astonished when he heard the proposal. Shi Feng had to admit that the offer was tempting. He had intended to set the starting bid for the Dark Corrosion Set at 24,000 Gold, and that price was only so high because the set was meant for MTs. He had thought he''d be lucky to sell the Sundial Set for 10,000 Gold. At best, he had estimated that he could sell the two sets for a total of 50,000 Gold. Yet, Unyielding Heart had just offered 70,000 Gold for the sets. Moreover, he was willing to pay with the rare materials Shi Feng needed to produce the Hell Tank. As Unyielding Heart had stated, Phoenix Rain couldn''t match such an astronomical price. The Dark Corrosion Set and Sundial Sets were only Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment at best, not Epic Equipment, which could be used until Level 100 or beyond. Aqua Rose, who stood quietly to the side, flashed Unyielding a surprised expression. She hadn''t expected the other Guild Leader to be so mad. Now that Zero Wing had garrisoned in the Secret Stone Fortress and transferred a large number of Guild members to it, the Guild urgently needed a large number of Coins and resources. If Zero Wing could secure the resources Unyielding Heart had just offered, this transaction could accelerate Zero Wing''s occupation of the Ore Empire''s southeastern region. When Unyielding Heart saw Shi Feng and Aqua Rose''s satisfied expressions, his smile brightened. Although he had offered to purchase the sets at a much higher price than he had initially planned, he had done so to avoid a scene. If he had competed with Phoenix Rain in an auction, the risk of leaked information would increase. Remorsefully, Shi Feng shook his head. "Seventy thousand Gold is indeed tempting, but please, allow me to refuse," Shi Feng said as he returned the list to Unyielding Heart, firm determination in his eyes. "Are you not satisfied with my offer?" Unyielding Heart was stunned. Long Soul and Hunting Blade stared at Shi Feng, as well. They both thought that Shi Feng had lost his mind. No one else would offer such a generous price, yet Shi Feng had rejected it. "No, I find it quite satisfying," Shi Feng answered truthfully. "Then, why?" Unyielding Heart''s confidence began to crumble as he stared at Shi Feng. "Unfortunately, I''m more interested in the Sea of Trees," Shi Feng said, chuckling. 1884 Tier 2 Special Class Chapter 1884 - Tier 2 Special Class After Shi Feng''s statement, the room fell deathly silent. "This..." Unyielding Heart couldn''t help but stare at Shi Feng in shock. He had never dreamed that Shi Feng''s appetite would be so intense. Not only wasn''t the man satisfied with 70,000 Gold in rare materials, but he had also set his sights on Unyielding Soul''s Sea of Trees. "The Sea of Trees?" Questions filled Aqua Rose''s mind. She didn''t recognize the name, and that made her curious. What was the ''Sea of Trees'' that it was enough for Shi Feng to refuse so many valuable resources? Moreover, based on Unyielding Heart and his companions'' expressions, the Sea of Trees clearly wasn''t ordinary. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you wish to involve the Sea of Trees in this transaction, Unyielding Soul will have to bow out," Long Soul firmly declared as he stood. "It is best if you consider something else." The Sea of Trees was a legendary city in the Dark Night Empire. Anybody could learn that much after a little research. Besides, it was no longer a secret in the empire. Many experts had already learned of the Sea of Trees and traveled to Dark Night City to join Starlink. However, unlike Starlink, Unyielding Soul had no intentions of sharing the Sea of Trees. Hunting Blade nodded as well from beside Long Soul. The Sea of Trees was far beyond Unyielding Soul''s bottom line. Zero Wing must be dreaming if it thought it could demand a share of the profits in exchange for two Dark-Gold Set Equipment. "Don''t be in such a hurry to refuse. Aren''t you interested in what I have to offer?" Long Soul''s reaction didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. The Sea of Trees was a unique secret land, which had been created by the Six Great Primordial Elf Kings. Like Primordial City, the Sea of Trees could provide players immense help, but the Sea of Trees primarily focused on magic research. Players could find many magic arrays that weren''t available in God''s Domain''s NPC towns and cities. Players could also improve their grasp on magic arrays, as well as their Spell Completion Rates. Because of this, the various major powers in the past had placed heavy importance on the Sea of Trees. After the Sea of Trees activated, players would only be able to visit the city if they had a key. As a result, the city''s entry slots were incredibly precious. However, as players continued to unlock more of the city''s features, the entry conditions would loosen. In the end, the Sea of Trees had become one of the most famous NPC cities throughout God''s Domain. Meanwhile, the Sea of Trees'' most well-known benefit was its Tier 2 Special Class, Traveling Bard! As one of the few semi-support classes available at Tier 2, the class had the ability to boost teammates, although the Traveling Bard didn''t command high DPS. A Traveling Bard could increase a 100-man team''s combat power by at least 15%. This was why the various large Guilds had valued this Tier 2 Special Class. Naturally, Unyielding Soul would have a greater advantage if it monopolized the class for as long as possible. "It doesn''t matter what you say. We won''t budge on this matter," Long Soul growled resolutely. Unyielding Soul had researched the Traveling Bard class in detail, so they knew just how much help the class would provide to a team. As long as Unyielding Soul had Traveling Bard players, the Guild could clear Team Dungeons far faster than other superpowers. As for Starlink and Crimson Emperor, who had also obtained keys to enter the Sea of Trees, neither would share their slots to ensure their advantage over their competition. "What if I told you that I have a way to increase players'' success rate of becoming Traveling Bards?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. "I know a little about the Traveling Bard class. I have heard that a limited number of players can class-change into a Traveling Bard; 20 per week, I think? Moreover, I don''t believe that Unyielding Soul is the only Guild in the Dark Night Empire that has acquired the keys to enter the city." "How do you know this?!" Long Soul stared at Shi Feng in shock. The matter regarding the city''s keys should''ve been a core secret that only their three Guilds knew. Players outside of the Guilds should only know that they could become Traveling Bards after visiting the Sea of Trees, but how could such a massive advantage exist without limit? There was indeed a player limit for the Promotion Quest; only 20 players could acquire the class each week. Once that limit had been reached, players would have to wait seven days before they could attempt the class-change. "Increase the class-change success rate? Guild Leader Black Flame, do you really have a way of doing so?" Unyielding Heart could not help his growing interest. Although seven days wasn''t a long time, it wasn''t very short, either. The various superpowers'' main force members would surpass Level 60 after two Cooldown cycles. At that time, Tier 2 players would not be as much of a rarity. Fortunately, the Traveling Bards'' value wouldn''t lessen in that time, although the class would be most valuable during the first two Cooldown cycles. Currently, the Dark Night Empire''s three main powers vied for these first 20 slots. If it were possible to increase the class- change success rate, Unyielding Soul would have a massive advantage over its competition. "Of course. Moreover, my method increases the success rate by at least 20%," Shi Feng confidently explained. "A 20% improvement?" Unyielding Heart gasped. Although the Traveling Bard''s Class-change quest was slightly easier than the usual Tier 2 Promotion Quest, that didn''t mean it was easy. The experts Unyielding Soul had carefully selected to attempt the class-change only had a success rate of roughly 50%. If it were possible to increase that by 20%, Unyielding Soul could monopolize the 20 slots. "The Sea of Trees'' initial entry slots are incomparably precious. Besides, how do we know that you''re telling us the truth?" Long Soul stated. "I don''t have any proof. It is up to you to believe me or not. I only want 10 entry slots into the city. I''ll also reduce the price for the two sets to 50,000 Gold in resources," Shi Feng said, smiling. "You..." For a time, Long Soul was at a loss for words. "Alright, I''ll agree to your offer on behalf of Unyielding Soul," Mu Lingsha, who had remained silent all this time, said suddenly. "Miss Mu, what if he''s just spouting nonsense..." Long Soul tried to dissuade the woman. "I don''t believe that Guild Leader Black Flame would trick us. Furthermore, his understanding of the Traveling Bard class isn''t inferior to ours in the least. This proves that he knows what he''s talking about," Mu Lingsha said. Since Mu Lingsha was so determined, Long Soul had no choice but to nod silently. However, as Mu Lingsha had implied, only the core upper echelons of the Dark Night Empire''s three major Guilds should know any details related to the Traveling Bard class. Information leaks should be impossible, yet Shi Feng had revealed accurate information on the class. This proved that he indeed knew something. "Alright, let us sign a contract, then." Once Unyielding Soul''s group had agreed, Shi Feng revealed a contract he had prepared beforehand. He then filled in some of the blank areas of the contract before handing it to Unyielding Soul''s representatives. The conditions were very simple. Unyielding Soul would give Zero Wing ten entry slots to the Sea of Trees and 50,000 Gold in rare resources. In return, Zero Wing would hand over the two Dark-Gold Set Equipment and the information on how to increase the class-change success rate for the Traveling Bard class. After both sides had signed the contract, Shi Feng revealed his method to Mu Lingsha. In truth, the method was very simple: learn how to produce magic arrays. As long as one could manufacture Intermediate Magic Arrays, players would have a far easier time when attempting the Traveling Bard Class-change Quest. Although the method was simple, nurturing players to the Intermediate Magician standard wouldn''t be. Hence, Shi Feng had only asked for ten slots. After all, the number of Tier 1 players that could craft Intermediate Magic Arrays was incredibly low. Most expert players in God''s Domain would be fortunate if they could produce Basic Magic Arrays, much less Intermediate rank. Both sides then agreed to meet up in Dark Night City two days before they''d head to the Sea of Trees. When Shi Feng had completed his side of the bargain, he received 50,000 Gold in resources. These materials should be enough to set up the Basic Teleportation Device. Shi Feng smiled at the Magic Crystals and materials Unyielding Heart had transferred to him. Although the system had awarded a Basic Teleportation Device, setting it up in a town or city required additional Magic Crystals and materials. In fact, the task demanded 20,000 Magic Crystals and roughly 4,000 Gold in materials. Previously, due to the battle against Beast Emperor, Zero Wing had spent most of the Magic Crystals it had stockpiled. Fortunately, Shi Feng''s deal with Unyielding Heart had netted him 40,000 Magic Crystals, more than enough to set up the Basic Teleportation Device. Immediately after the meeting, Shi Feng made his way for Silverwing Town''s most popular attraction_the airport. 1885 Basic Teleportation Device Chapter 1885 - Basic Teleportation Device Silverwing Town, airport Due to the airport''s appearance, the previously desolate sector of the town had become a hub for players and NPCs. Many players lingered outside of the airport, hawking their wares or recruiting team members. "So, this is Silverwing Town? The players here are so high-leveled! The town''s average level can already complete with Black Dragon City''s players." "Don''t you know? Many expert players have come to develop in Silverwing Town since it has become easier to travel here from Star-Moon City and the town''s transportation quests offer such bountiful rewards. I''ve heard that players can even purchase cheap Secret-Silver weapons and Equipment from Silverwing Town''s Transportation Firm from time to time." As players left the airport, some couldn''t help their surprise when they saw how prosperous Silverwing Town had become. Practically every player roaming the street outside the airport was Level 53 or above, with the majority being Level 54 and 55. Tier 2 experts were also common. However, the players selling equipment and tools were the most shocking. In Black Dragon City, the Black Dragon Empire''s imperial capital, players rarely sold Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. However, on the street outside the airport, quite a few players did just that. Moreover, their prices were 20% lower than in Black Dragon City. Although, despite the 20% discount, the prices were still beyond ordinary players'' budgets. Meanwhile, after receiving a brief explanation on Silverwing Town, first-time visitors'' eyes glowed with excitement. Based on what they had heard thus far, developing in Silverwing Town would be far more successful than in Black Dragon City. Not only did the town offer many income sources for independent players like themselves, but acquiring Level 50 weapons and equipment was also easier here. It was even said that the Transportation Firm offered Level 50 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. The only problem was the Transportation Firm Contribution Point requirement, and those would not be easy to collect. The airport''s benefits are really amazing. It''s no wonder why Guild Towns with airports had quickly become Advanced Cities, Shi Feng thought as he gazed at the crowded street before him. He had never thought that the airport would become so prosperous after just a few days. Although he had told Aqua Rose to increase Silverwing Town''s player population limit, he didn''t think it would be long before they reached the new limit. If he wanted to resolve this issue, he''d have to upgrade Silverwing Town to an Advanced Town soon. Although an Advanced Town was still a town, it was significantly larger than an Intermediate Town, nearly half the size of a Basic City. However, upgrading Silverwing Town to Advanced rank wouldn''t be an easy task. Aside from the required Popularity, neutraltowns needed sufficient security to qualify for a promotion. Currently, gaining Popularity wasn''t a problem for Silverwing Town. With how many players the airport and Transportation Firm attracted, Silverwing Town gained a large amount of Popularity each day. It wouldn''t be long before Silverwing Town met the requirement for an Advanced Town. Unfortunately, doing the same for the town''s security would be challenging. In terms of defensive structures, Silverwing Town definitely passed as it had five Magic Towers and a large number of Defense Turrets. However, any additional Defense Turrets wouldn''t provide much to the town''s security. A town or city''s security was divided into two factors; defensive structures and NPC soldiers. There were two methods of increasing NPC soldiers'' strength. The first involved improving the soldiers'' combat standards. The second required upgrading the NPC soldiers'' weapons and equipment. Unfortunately, not even Shi Feng had a method of improving the NPCs'' combat standards. It all depended on the NPCs the town recruited. All he could do right now to strengthen Silverwing Town''s NPC soldiers was improve their weapons and equipment However, boosting the NPC soldiers to meet the strength requirement for a promotion would require a large number of Coins... To reach the security standard for a promotion to Advanced rank, 600 of Silverwing Town''s 2,000 NPC soldiers would need to wear full sets of Fine-Gold Equipment. Currently, only 120 NPC soldiers wielded Fine-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, gearing the remaining 480 NPCs would cost close to 290,000 Gold in total... The greatest difficulty other Guilds faced when trying to upgrade a neutral town was the town''s Popularity. During his previous life, the Guild Towns had generally fulfilled their security requirements long before they fulfilled their Popularity requirements. However, Zero Wing was the exact opposite. This was precisely the reason for Shi Feng''s current headache. Zero Wing simply didn''t have enough money! From an outsider''s point of view, Zero Wing was quite wealthy. However, Shi Feng knew how truly broke his Guild was. Just taking care of Silverwing Town''s development had drastically slowed Zero Wing City and the Lost Town''s. Now, he also needed 290,000 Gold to upgrade Silverwing Town... This predicament was the reason he had set his sights on the Sea of Trees. In Unyielding Soul''s opinion, he just wanted the Traveling Bard class to strengthen Zero Wing''s teams so that the Guild could secure better weapons and equipment. In reality, however, the Traveling Bard class was nothing to him. The Sea of Trees itself was his true target. As players gradually unlocked the city''s various features, the legendary Dream City would enjoy immense fame throughout the continent of God''s Domain. Thus far, the populace was still unaware that the Sea of Trees was actually a trade city for the various neutral races. Of course, this feature would only become available after players had removed the city''s second seal. At that time, neutral NPCs would swarm to the Sea of Trees, and after the third seal was removed, neutral players would join them. At that time, like Blackwing City''s passes, the Sea of Trees'' keys would become more common in neutral races'' maps. The keys would no longer be limited to the Dark Night Empire. Unlocking this feature would also open trade between human players and neutral players. Although there did not seem to be many neutral players in the game right now, when they gathered, they would easily outnumber an empire''s player population. After all, many players desired a stronger body, and becoming a neutral race would satisfy this desire. Since no one knew this secret yet, he had to prepare to secure a share of the profits, using this opportunity to make a fortune. It wouldn''t be long before the Sea of Trees'' second seal was removed, and if he didn''t take action quickly, the Dark Night Empire''s three main powers would claim the Dream City''s benefits. However, gaining these benefits had a prerequisite. Coins! Lots and lots of Coins! Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng hurried towards a large, empty Shop not far from the airport. This was one of the many Shops Shi Feng had left empty specifically for the airport. Immediately, Shi Feng took out the Basic Teleportation Device and a large number of materials from his bag. He then began to set up the device in the center of the Shop''s main hall. After working non-stop for eight hours, Shi Feng finally formed the necessary magic arrays and magic circuits, connecting them to the Basic Teleportation Device. As he finished his work, he released a sigh of relief. The necessary magic arrays were not easy to form. Players needed a strong understanding of Advanced Magic Arrays to do so. Creating the necessary magic circuits was even more complex. These magic circuits had to be connected to God''s Domain''s leylines. Normally, the task required three Advanced Magicians, but since he was Zero Wing''s only Advanced Magician right now, he had to complete the task slowly. Fortunately, he had grasped the production process for Advanced Magic Arrays. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to utilize the Basic Teleportation Device at all. ... System: You have successfully connected the Leyline Magic Circuit. Do you wish to activate the Basic Teleportation Device? ... "Activate!" 1886 Prosperous Silverwing Chapter 1886 - Prosperous Silverwing In the quiet hall, the Basic Teleportation Device activated, and magic arrays began to manifest on the ground. A short moment later, a silver, threefold magic array appeared above the Teleportation Device, glowing with a dazzling light. The moment this threefold magic array appeared, the ambient Mana rapidly gathered to the Teleportation Device. A pillar of silver light rose from the Teleportation Device, piercing through the ceiling and rising out of the Shop. Every player in Silverwing Town could see the commotion activating the Teleportation Device had caused. As the silver light pillar rose beyond the clouds, it exploded. A silver light then rippled through the sky. In the blink of an eye, the ripple had enveloped all of Silverwing Town. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the silver ripple vanished. "What just happened?" "Was that some kind of magical attack?" "Isn''t the airport in that sector? Did someone just attack the airport?" As the light pillar and ripple disappeared, questions overwhelmed the town''s players. Some curious players started to make their way towards the airport to investigate. Meanwhile, inside the large Shop... Shi Feng grinned as he looked at the operational Teleportation Device. If an airport could attract players to a town, boosting its development, then a Teleportation Device would bring abundant wealth. This was especially true for Silverwing Town, a town in a dangerous place like the Ore Empire. Hopefully, this thing''s teleportation range is a little longer. Shi Feng immediately inspected the Teleportation Device. In God''s Domain, Teleportation Devices'' range wasn''t fixed, even for devices of the same rank. The Teleportation Devices'' range varied based on its environment Basic Teleportation Devices'' teleportation range could cover anywhere between 500,000 yards and 1,000,000. The range was vast enough to teleport players across a small leveling map. Meanwhile, the further the Basic Teleportation Device could reach, the larger Silverwing Town''s safe zone would be. After all, if enemy players attacked Zero Wing''s within the teleportation range, the Guild could send reinforcements instantly. This was also the reason that other powers rarely attacked towns with Teleportation Devices. A single mistake could easily lead to utter annihilation. As Shi Feng called up the Basic Teleportation Device''s Attribute Panel, the system revealed the device''s statistics. Maximum teleportation distance: 710,000 yards Maximum users at one time: 100 people Teleportation cost: Every 150,000 yards per person requires 1 unit of Mana One unit of Mana for every 150,000 yards with a maximum of 710,000 yards? Not bad. Shi Feng was relatively satisfied with the Teleportation Device''s statistics. One Magic Crystal yielded between 100 to 130 units of Mana. In other words, one Magic Crystal would be enough to teleport between 100 to 130 people across 150,000 yards. This cost was much lower than an ordinary Teleportation Magic Array. For example, the teleportation house in White River City cost one-fifth of a Magic Crystal to teleport one player from White River City to the Twin Towers Kingdom, which was 20 units of Mana or more. After inspecting the statistics, Shi Feng transferred 20 NPC managers from the Battle Arena to the Basic Teleportation Device. He also set this Shop up as Silverwing Town''s teleportation point. As for the usage fees, he had set it at 80 Copper per 150,000 yards per person. Although the profits wouldn''t be astronomical with this price, even ordinary players would find it acceptable. This would no doubt attract many players to the teleportation service, which would, in turn, generate massive income. At the very least, Silverwing Town''s Teleportation Device would earn him more than the Secret Stone Fortress''s teleportation service. Although the teleportation array in the fortress consumed far less Mana than this Teleportation Device, the fortress''s managers only received a portion of the profits after deducting the operation costs. Once Shi Feng finished with the Shop, he instructed his NPCs to open it to the public. Many players had already gathered on the street outside of the Shop due to the airport, and after seeing the silver light pillar, even more players had joined the crowd. The moment the Shop opened, a flood of players surged in out of curiosity. "What''s going on? Silverwing Town even offers teleportation services to nearby areas?" "I thought only fortresses have this kind of teleportation function?" "This is wonderful! Traveling into the Ore Empire''s inner region to quest is such a pain. Now that I can just teleport there, I''ll save so much time!" When the crowd of independent players discovered the Teleportation Shop''s function, their eyes glistened with excitement. Although the teleportation price was slightly higher than that in the Ore Empire''s fortresses, it was still within ordinary players'' budgets. Moreover, Silverwing Town''s living standards were far better than that of teleportation fortresses. Not only was the town''s Mana density incredibly high, but it also had a Battle Arena, in which players could train. Silverwing Town even had the Transportation Firm, which offered high-ranked weapons and equipment The services Silverwing Town offered were no match for teleportation fortresses. As news of the Teleportation Shop spread, thousands of players fought to use it. In the few minutes since the Shop had opened, it had generated 10 Gold in profit The Teleportation Shop''s money-making speed was simply frightening. At this rate, as long as there were enough Magic Crystals available to continue operation, generating 10,000 Gold in profit would be child''s play for the Teleportation Shop. Silverwing Town''s Teleportation Device was even more lucrative than Zero Wing City''s Four Towers of Elements. Of course, Shi Feng had expected this. There were already more players using Silverwing Town''s teleportation service than those in Zero Wing City, which had decreased since the players who wanted to travel to the Ore Empire had long since done so. Moreover, most players visiting the empire were here to develop themselves. They''d likely remain in the Ore Empire for some time. Furthermore, due to the airport''s recent construction, many players had opted to travel to the Ore Empire via airship. This further reduced the number of players who used Zero Wing City''s teleportation services. In addition, Silverwing Town''s teleportation service allowed players to teleport directly to the Secret Stone Fortress. Players could then use the Secret Stone Fortress''s teleportation service to travel to the Ore Empire''s inner region. Players who wanted to enjoy both Silverwing Town''s benefits and grind in the empire''s inner region would frequently use the town''s teleportation services. Including the players trying to enter the town each day, far more players would utilize the town''s teleportation services than those in Zero Wing City. News of Silverwing Town''s teleportation service quickly spread throughout the Ore Empire. It was enough motivation for players that quested and grinded in the empire to shift their base of operations to Silverwing Town. Previously, not many players had settled down in Silverwing Town since it was so far from the Ore Empire''s inner region, making travel to and from inconvenient, but since Shi Feng had resolved this issue, these players would naturally set up their base in the town. Although the cost would be slightly higher, the town''s benefits would make it worthwhile. The players operating in the Ore Empire''s inner region were at least elites, as well, so spending a few extra Silver Coins each day wouldn''t be a problem. For a time, the number of players trying to enter Silverwing Town skyrocketed. Meanwhile, Blackwater''s upper echelons and Beast Emperor learned about this recent development, they wore gloomy expressions. They had hoped that the various superpowers would gang up on Zero Wing, but not only hadn''t that happened, but Silverwing Town also had a teleportation function now. With this, Zero Wing''s control over the Ore Empire''s southeastern region would grow even stronger. "Dust, the item you''ve mentioned is incomparably precious. It will definitely be difficult to acquire. If you have it, how confident are you of gaining full control of the Evil Dragonification Magic Array?" Beast Emperor asked the man beside him, Dust Edge, from his seat in the Evil God''s Branch Temple in Ancient Rock City. He had planned to use the Dark Players and bounty hunters to whittle Zero Wing''s combat power and financial strength down, but now, this plan would likely fail. He also lacked the forces to launch a direct assault on Silverwing Town. Although Blackwater was powerful, it had recently acquired the Crimson Flame Fortress. It was still in the process of reinforcing its strength and also lacked the power to destroy Zero Wing''s town. Currently, Dust Edge''s Evil Dragonification Legacy was his only hope. Unlike nurturing Evil Beasts and Evil Demons, producing Evil Dragons only required rare materials and players. "I can''t guarantee success, but I''m 80% confident I can gain full control over the magic array. Once I do, I''ll be able to create even stronger Evil Dragons. Including the Evil God''s Temple''s current forces, destroying Silverwing Town should be a breeze!" Dust Edge proclaimed, confidence shining in his eyes. "We''ll wipe all of Zero Wing from the face of God''s Domain, not to mention removing the Guild from the Ore Empire." "Good. I''ll notify Blackwater and Dark Soul now and have them secure the item for you as soon as possible." Seeing the confidence in Dust Edge''s eyes, Beast Emperor couldn''t wait to see the completed Evil Dragon. Meanwhile, in Silverwing Town''s Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng had begun to rent out the Shops around the airport. He had set the rent at 3,000 Gold per month for small Shops and 5,000 Gold per month for large Shops. Naturally, there were a limited number of Shops available, so they would be rented out on a first-come, first-served basis. The moment the Guild revealed the rental prices, the town''s interested merchant players were stunned. "This is insane! Has Zero Wing gone mad for money?!" 1887 Foundations Solidifying Chapter 1887 - Foundations Solidifying Once the Candlelight Trading Firm had published the Shops'' rental prices, the town''s merchant players and nearby bystanders gaped in shock. "Crap! Three thousand Gold to rent a Shop for one month?! I can buy a Shop in an NPC city with that kind of money!'' "Silverwing Town can''t even compare to an NPC city, yet Zero Wing dares set the rent so high. Who could possibly afford such a price?" "If I had 3,000 Gold, I could fully equip myself in top-tier equipment. With that kind of equipment, I''d be able to earn back the Gold in a month if I''m lucky. It''d be far more profitable than renting a Shop in Silverwing Town." For a time, Silverwing Town''s players heatedly discussed the astronomical rent. "Guild Leader, I''m afraid that very few merchant players will be able to afford this price. Many capable trading firms have offered to rent the Shops long-term if we lower the price by 30%, as well. Why don''t we drop it just a little?" Aqua Rose suggested from her seat in the second-floor hall. Truthfully, even she thought that Shi Feng''s price was a little too high. It might be acceptable for the Shops in Zero Wing City since the city had over 5,000,000 player residents. The city''s merchant players would accept such a high rent. Even the players that purchased permanent Shops in NPC cities still had to pay a 15% monthly property tax, after all. Moreover, this property tax would change based on the Shop''s monthly evaluation. The tax wasn''t fixed based on the initial purchase price. However, Silverwing Town wasn''t Zero Wing City. Although it had already become an Intermediate Town, it could only accommodate a limited number of players at a time. Right now, its player population was nowhere near that of a major NPC city, not to mention Zero Wing City. "Tell them that my price isn''t that high considering Silverwing Town''s current prosperity. If they refuse, we won''t push the matter. However, I can''t guarantee that the prices won''t increase after another fortnight," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. Silverwing Town was home to the treasure trove known as the Transportation Firm, which allowed players to purchase rare items. If players purchased these rare items before reselling them in other countries, they could make quite a profit In addition, the Shops themselves could be used as warehouses to store items. If his plans for the Sea of Trees hadn''t required so many Coins, he wouldn''t have chosen to rent out Silverwing Town''s Shops yet. "Guild Leader, I''ve also received a report regarding the Ore Capital City. It seems that Blackwater has removed the seal on the Ore Capital City''s armory. The various large Guilds have already dispatched expert teams to explore the armory. Although we are attempting to do the same, Blackwater''s surveillance around the Regional Dungeon is quite tight. If we approach, Blackwater''s members will intercept us. We can''t get anywhere near the city," Aqua Rose said worriedly. "However, the Ore Capital City''s armory is guaranteed to contain a plethora of war weapons. If we let Blackwater claim them, it''ll be detrimental for our Guild''s development in the empire." "They''ve opened the Ore Capital City''s armory?" Shi Feng frowned. "Blackwater is certainly impressive." The Ore Capital City was an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, which doubtlessly had bountiful resources. Needless to say, plenty of war weapons were stored within Regional Dungeons'' armories. It was a perfect location to secure war weapons for the large Guilds that lacked such things. However, since Blackwater controlled the Crimson Flame Fortress, it essentially controlled the path to the Ore Capital City. Moreover, Blackwater would have a much easier time eliminating Zero Wing''s members once they entered the city since the Guild had the home ground advantage. If Blackwater truly acquired a large number of war weapons, it would become a detriment to Zero Wing. Zero Wing had solidified its position in the Ore Empire because it had far more and stronger war weapons than other Guilds. If it lost this advantage, Blackwater would have a much easier time capturing Silverwing Town. The various superpowers might even take advantage of the situation to strike at Zero Wing while it was down. "Based on our reports, the various superpowers have begun to prepare for the armory''s exploration. If we fall behind..." Aqua Rose felt utterly helpless about the situation. While Zero Wing could sneak some of its experts into the Ore Capital City, they could only send in so many before attracting Blackwater''s attention. If they didn''t send in enough, however, the participating superpowers could easily chase them away. "We''ll give up on the Ore Capital City," Shi Feng decided after considering the matter. "Give up? But..." Shi Feng''s response surprised Aqua Rose. If they gave up on the Ore Capital City, Zero Wing''s situation would become quite awkward once the various superpowers had explored the armory and acquired a stock of war weapons. "I''m not done. Although we''ll give up on the Ore Capital City, we can still explore other locations. The Ore Capital City isn''t the only Regional Dungeon in God''s Domain," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "How many Tier 2 players do we currently have?" "Thanks to the Primordial Souls, our members have had an easier time with their Tier 2 promotions than other Guilds'' members. We now have more than 400 Tier 2 players, and quite a few players are still attempting to complete their Promotion Quests. I don''t think it will be long before we have 1,000 Tier 2 players," Aqua Rose said, a little excited. Zero Wing already had enough Tier 2 players to rival superpowers, and as time passed, the Guild might even surpass the various major powers in God''s Domain. She had to admit that monopolizing a large fraction of Primordial City''s resources gave Zero Wing a massive advantage. Zero Wing had far fewer experts than the various superpowers, but after acquiring the Primordial Souls, Zero Wing''s members had a much easier time with their Tier 2 Promotion Quests. The Guild also had an advantage in the equipment its members wore. "We have so many already?" Shi Feng was a little surprised by this revelation. It was far more than he had expected. Currently, the various first-rate Guilds were lucky if they even had 40 Tier 2 experts. "Excellent. In that case, take Icarus''s Heart and organize a 300-man team to raid the Salock Mountains. Grind the Giant Rock Beasts there. Kill as many as you can for their loot. It''ll also be a good opportunity to level up. However, be careful as you explore the map. Although it isn''t an Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, it is still one of the rare Hell Mode Regional Dungeons." The Salock Mountains occupied a Level 60 to Level 90 neutral map near the Storm Empire. Meanwhile, the Regional Dungeon was well-known for its production of Fine Titan Ore. Fine Titan Ore was far more valuable than Titan Ore. Although it could be acquired from 100-man Team Dungeons, the drop-rate was painfully low. Although the Fine Titan Ore''s drop-rate in the Salock Mountains was also relatively low, less than 3% for Great Lord ranked Giant Rock Beasts, the Regional Dungeon was home to plenty of these monsters. However, grinding in the Regional Dungeon had a conditionplayers had to reach Tier 2 first. Previously, Zero Wing had only nurtured several dozen Tier 2 players, not nearly enough to grind in the Regional Dungeon effectively. Hence, he had set the endeavor aside. However, now that the Guild had so many Tier 2 players, he could use this opportunity to collect Fine Titan Ore, which was the main material needed to produce the Guardian Puppet. Once he had the Fine Titan Ore, he would only have to wait until Melancholic Smile had nurtured the necessary Master Lifestyle players. Shi Feng''s ordered left Aqua Rose a little confused. She didn''t understand why he wanted to grind monsters so far from their territories, but since he had given the order, she had no choice but to accept Icarus''s Heart and do as he had told her. Meanwhile, all 20 of the Shops Shi Feng had offered had been filled after only a day. Of the 15 small Shops and five large Shops he had prepared, none were vacant In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had earned 70,000 Gold. This dumbfounded many merchant and independent players. They all wondered if the Shop''s tenants were crazy to spend so many Coins on these Shops. By the time the appointed date to set off for the Sea of Trees arrived, Shi Feng had earned a total of 120,000 Gold from Zero Wing''s territories and selling the materials he had acquired from the Ice Crystal World. Following which, Shi Feng took his money and nine Tier 1 experts to the Dark Night Empire''s Dark Night City. 1888 Undead Knigh Chapter 1888 - Undead Knight Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: When Shi Feng and the nine experts Aqua Rose had carefully selected left the Teleportation Hall, they were greeted by a crowded street. Many of the players among the crowd were independent experts. Many of these independent players were at Level 55 or above and very weH-equipped, with quite a few pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. As if they were on a pilgrimage, these independent players ventured towards Dark Night City''s business district. At a glance, there were easily more than 5,000 of these players. Why are so many experts here? Shi Feng was surprised by the number of experts on the street. While it was true that a large number of experts tended to gather in empire''s capitals, he had never seen so many independent experts in an imperial capital before. Not even the Four Major Empires'' capitals were this popular. As Shi Feng wondered about the reason for this gathering, he heard shouting from a short distance away. "Players wishing to class-change to a Tier 2 Traveling Bard, head to Starlink''s Residence to apply as soon as possible! The Guild will only accept applications for another 30 minutes!" Upon hearing the announcement, the independent experts began to charge down the street. "Starlink is so stingy. Despite controlling the path to the Sea of Trees, it''s only recruiting 200 non-Guild players." "I know, right? How could 200 slots be enough for so many people? I''ve heard that players had begun to line up outside of Starlink''s Residence ten hours ago. There are already more than 100,000 players in line right now. The most infuriating part of it all is that instead of recruiting based on individual strength, Starlink is recruiting based on one''s skill with magic arrays. I''m a Berserker; I almost never have to deal with magic arrays. Even magical class players rarely learn that stuff. That subclass can''t help improve one''s combat power, and you have to waste a lot of time researching arrays." "However, I''ve also heard that if you become a Traveling Bard, you instantly get access to the same treatment as Starlink''s core members." "If you don''t want to compete in Starlink, you can do so over at Unyielding Soul. Shortly after Starlink began its recruitment, Unyielding Soul did the same for the Traveling Bard class-change. However, it only has 100 slots available. Though, like Starlink, you''ll receive core-member treatment if you complete the class-change." "I really didn''t expect a Tier 2 class-change to require knowledge on controlling magic arrays. If I had known about it earlier, I would''ve studied magic arrays a while ago." The players on the streets chatted as they watched the swarm of players rush towards Starlink and Unyielding Soul''s Guild Residences, discussing the two Guild''s recruitment standards. They also expressed their regrets about not learning to control magic arrays earlier. Starlink is recruiting players with knowledge on magic arrays? Shi Feng frowned a little when he overheard the nearby players'' conversations. Does Unyielding Soul have a leak? Aside from himself and Aqua Rose, only Unyielding Soul''s members knew about the method of increasing players'' success rate during the Traveling Bard''s Class-change Quest at this stage of the game. Unless Starlink had discovered it as well, its recruitment conditions wouldn''t have been so specific. Magic arrays were usually only useful to Lifestyle players; the benefits of manipulating magic arrays would be minuscule at best to combat players. Moreover, that was limited to magical classes. Knowledge regarding magic arrays was basically useless to physical classes. While Shi Feng and his group traveled toward the Purple Night Plaza, the agreed meeting place, players crowded every inch of the plaza. Tens of thousands of players from Unyielding Soul, Starlink, and Crimson Emperor surrounded the area, and every one of these players wore full sets of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment at minimum. Some of these Guild players even carried Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons. The scene made the lingering independent players envious. Meanwhile, only these three Guilds'' members were allowed to enter the Purple Night Plaza right now. Outsiders could only watch from a distance. As Shi Feng and his group approached, Mu Lingsha, who had been waiting for them for quite some time, led them to an area Unyielding Soul''s members had cordoned off, instantly attracting many players'' attention. "Who are those people? Didn''t they say that the three Guilds have reserved the entire plaza?" "Based on their Guild Emblems, they don''t seem to be from Unyielding Soul." "I think I''ve seen that Guild Emblem before... Right! That''s the Guild Emblem for the Guild that has garrisoned in the Ore Empire''s Secret Stone Fortress! That''s Zero Wing''s Emblem!" "But why are Zero Wing''s members here? Didn''t they say that the three main Guilds weren''t even giving the Sea of Trees'' slots to players from first-rate Guilds?" "Zero Wing is pretty impressive. It actually gained Unyielding Soul''s favor and earned some slots for itself." "Tch. So what if Zero Wing got some slots? It''s not like they''re guaranteed to complete the class-change." As Shi Feng led his team into the Purple Night Plaza, his nine guildmates grew nervous. This was the first time they had encountered such a large group of experts. Of the tens of thousands of players in the plaza, all would be rare experts in a kingdom. With so many in one place, they radiated an immense pressure. Experiencing such a phenomenon would likely be rare for first-rate Guilds'' upper echelons. Moreover, Unyielding Soul and Starlink''s members stared each other down in the center of the plaza. A chilling atmosphere lingered between the two Guilds. As for Crimson Emperor, their players seemed slightly more relaxed, but although the Guild was acting like a spectator, it would take action if given the opportunity... "Bright Dawn, I had truly never thought that you would betray the Guild to join Starlink. Just what benefits did they offer you?" Unyielding Heart hissed, rage flashing in his gaze as he glared at the indifferent man beside Lu Xingluo. The indifferent man carried a bone greatsword across his back. When Shi Feng saw the indifferent man, he was stunned. This man was none other than Bright Dawn, Unyielding Soul''s Third Vice Guild Leader. Bright Dawn was also a Tier 2 Undead Knight, given the title ''Undead Swordsman'' by the Secret Pavilion. In terms of strength, Bright Dawn was on par with Unyielding Heart. He had been one of Unyielding Soul''s three main pillars. As far as Shi Feng knew, Bright Dawn hadn''t betrayed Unyielding Soul in the past, yet he had done so now. This wasn''t the history he remembered... In response to Unyielding Heart''s question, the indifferent man revealed a calm smile and responded, "You should be fully aware of Unyielding Soul''s situation. Rather than fall with the ailing Unyielding Soul, isn''t it better to join the rising Starlink? Moreover, the Starline Corporation has offered me far more than Unyielding Soul. Why don''t you join me? With your fame and strength, the Starlink Corporation won''t offer you any less than it has me. As for breaching your contract, the corporation will handle everything." 1889 Change in Trajectory Chapter 1889 - Change in Trajectory At Bright Dawn''s invitation, Unyielding Soul''s members gasped. They finally realized why a Vice Guild Leader like Bright Dawn would dare to betray Unyielding Soul. Tight restrictions tied every upper echelon to their Guild. If an upper echelon wished to withdraw from the Guild and retain their game accounts, they only had two choices. The first required automatic expulsion from the Guild, while the second option required the upper echelon to pay a high compensation fee for breaching their contract. For a Vice Guild Leader that had spent more than a decade with Unyielding Soul, the required compensation wouldn''t be trivial. It wouldn''t have been odd if Bright Dawn had even gone bankrupt after paying the compensation fee. Yet, not only had Starline Corporation foot the compensation fee, but it had even offered Bright Dawn a high salary. Including Starlink''s limitless potential due to the Starline Corporation''s backing, it was only natural that the Guild had lured over Bright Dawn. "Of course, I''m sure that you have no interest in these factors. In that case, I''ll tell you about something that will definitely catch your attention. A Fantasy Star! Unyielding Soul will never get its hands on something like it. Why don''t you give the option some consideration?" Bright Dawn smiled at Unyielding Heart, who had aged past his vibrant youth. Everyone''s eyes glowed as they listened to Bright Dawn''s offer. Fantasy Stars were a special ore that humanity had discovered during the interstellar era, and they only had one purpose. When worn, these stars would recover and retain a human''s youth for a long time. Although Fantasy Stars couldn''t extend one''s lifespan, if one consumed the Green God Company''s products while wearing a Fantasy Star, they could extend their youthful glow for another decade or two even without physical training. In other words, a middle-aged individual, around forty-years-old, that didn''t maintain their physical fitness could look like an early-twenty-year-old with the Fantasy Star''s help. The Fantasy Star was an absolute treasure to professional gamers who relied on their youth to make their living. Although one''s physical body in the real world wouldn''t affect the performance of their virtual body in God''s Domain, their mental performance would. People past their prime generally had slower reactions than younger individuals. Even if one trained diligently to maintain their physical form, their age would, more or less, affect their mind. Needless to say, improving one''s mental fortitude past one''s prime was a daunting challenge. However, the Fantasy Star couldn''t just restore one''s youth; it could also maintain mental function, allowing humans to operate at their peak. Hence, the Fantasy Stars were extremely valuable. Not even the wealthiest individuals could afford one. Moreover, Fantasy Stars were incredibly rare. To purchase one, one needed sufficient status as well as funds. Meanwhile, the Starline Corporation just so happened to be one of the few Fantasy Star suppliers in the world, which meant that Bright Dawn had likely told the truth. A Fantasy Star? No wonder why he betrayed his old Guild. After hearing about the Fantasy Star, Shi Feng understood why Bright Dawn had turned traitor. Bright Dawn currently looked to be in his forties, and Vice Guild Leaders from super-first- rate Guilds had no need for money. However, everyone craved youth. Once he acquired a Fantasy Star, Bright Dawn could recover to his peak. With his abundance of combat experience and combat techniques, he could improve himself further with his recovered youth. When Mu Lingsha heard what Bright Dawn had been offered, she glanced at Unyielding Heart nervously. Not only was Unyielding Heart one of Unyielding Soul''s three main pillars, but he was also the Guild''s First Vice Guild Leader. If Starlink poached him, it would deal a devastating blow to Unyielding Soul. "So, you betrayed your brothers in arms for a stupid Fantasy Star?! I was blind to think of you as a friend! From now on, I will have nothing to do with you!" Unyielding Heart growled. He then glared at Lu Xingluo, who had maintained his smile, and said, "Just you wait! Sooner or later, Unyielding Soul will chase you out of the Dark Night Empire and regain its former glory!" Unyielding Heart''s words restored his dispirited Guild members with fighting spirit. They all cheered their First Vice Guild Leader while ridiculing Bright Dawn. "Regain your former glory?" Bright Dawn could not help but laugh at Unyielding Heart and the other members of Unyielding Soul. "And how will Unyielding Soul do that, exactly? Will it rely on an old fellow like you, Heart? Or the ignorant Miss Mu? Or are you going to rely on Zero Wing, your pitiful partner? "Open your eyes and take a good look! Unyielding Soul is finished! The only thing holding it together is a group of useless, old bastards! We''ve already gathered over 50 experts who are capable of manipulating Intermediate Magic Arrays! Unyielding Soul should give up the hope of nurturing a single Traveling Bard! "No, to be precise, you won''t even get into the Sea of Trees!" After saying so, Bright Dawn raised his hand. In response, some of Starlink''s members in the Purple Night Plaza began to make their move, each holding a silver crystal ball. As these Starlink members completed an incantation, silver magic arrays began to manifest before them, releasing a bright light. A massive barrier then enveloped both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members in the plaza. "Have fun inside this barrier. It isolates everything within in a different dimension. Although this barrier requires 288 Level 50-plus players to sacrifice five of their levels permanently, the barrier will hold every one of you for eight hours. With that said, we''ll be taking our leave now," Bright Dawn said, laughing at Unyielding Heart. He then took a key from his bag and opened a teleportation gate to the Sea of Trees. Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members could only watch as Starlink''s members entered the teleportation gate and disappeared from the plaza. No matter how much they attacked the magic barrier, they couldn''t damage it in the slightest. To make matters worse, the surrounding NPC soldiers were ignoring the magic barrier. "Damn it! To think they had planned such a trap!" Unyielding Heart cursed as he attacked the illusory magic barrier with his greatsword. However, it felt as if he attacked nothing but air. The barrier didn''t react as his greatsword sliced through it. Currently, the magic array in the center of Dark Night City''s Purple Night Plaza was the only path to the Sea of Trees. Unfortunately, since they were now trapped in this magic barrier, they could open a teleportation gate even if they had the keys to enter the Sea of Trees. If they were truly stuck in this barrier for eight hours, Unyielding Soul would fall behind Starlink. Starlink''s players would likely complete at least one-third of their Class-change Quests by the time they were freed. How were they supposed to catch up in that case? Meanwhile, Mu Lingsha glared at the barrier before her, clearly livid. Unyielding Soul had gone to great lengths to obtain the First Clear of a Level 50 large-scale Team Dungeon in the Dark Night Empire, allowing the Guild to catch a breather. However, if Starlink monopolized all 20 of the initial Traveling Bard slots, Unyielding Soul would suffer unimaginable consequences. After attacking for more than two minutes, Unyielding Soul''s members gave up. They had no other choice but to wait until the barrier faded. Shi Feng, however, approached the barrier, step by step, his nonchalant expression seeming as if he were admiring the Purple Night Plaza''s view. At the same time, he pulled a Magic Scroll from his bag. "Huh? What is he trying to do? Does he plan to test the barrier as well?" "It''s pointless. Both our Guild''s experts and those from Crimson Emperor have tried everything we can think of. What could one person from Zero Wing possibly do?" The plaza''s occupants watched Shi Feng approached the barrier in confusion, including Unyielding Soul and Mu Lingsha. They had already expended a precious Tier 4 Matic Scroll to attack the barrier, but they had accomplished nothing. Even if Shi Feng did the same, nothing would change. When Shi Feng arrived before the barrier, he activated the Summon Guard Scroll in his hands. Immediately, a golden-haired beauty in sacred robes appeared beside Shi Feng. "Destroy this magic array!" 1890 Breaking the Barrier in One Hi Chapter 1890 - Breaking the Barrier in One Hit When the watching crowd saw the Level 85 Personal Guard, Anna, they were dumbfounded. "Destroy it?" Unyielding Heart and the other Unyielding Soul members felt their anticipation melt away when they saw that Shi Feng had merely summoned his Personal Guard. Meanwhile, Crimson Emperor''s upper echelons couldn''t help but laugh at the Swordsman. "Is that kid stupid? What is a Tier 2 NPC going to do in this situation?" a woman in white robes among Crimson Emperor''s members said as she shook her head. She had a tall, slender figure and radiated a mature charm. While Anna was no doubt the highest-leveled Personal Guard she had ever seen, Anna was still only Tier 2. She wasn''t much different than the players trapped in the plaza. Magic arrays couldn''t be destroyed simply by someone with a high-level. Otherwise, a Level 200, Tier 1 NPC should be just as capable of destroying a town''s defensive magic array as a Level 80, Tier 4 NPC. Unfortunately, that was not the case. In reality, a Level 200, Tier 1 NPC would struggle to damage a defensive magic array, whereas a Level 80, Tier 4 NPC would have no trouble doing so. This was the power of tiers! Not only did higher tiers provide quantitative transformations, but they also qualitatively improved one''s power. This was the case for magic arrays as well. The higher-ranked a magic array was, the purer its Mana would be. Depending on the purity of the Mana powering the magic array, the barrier could be as weak as paper or as tough as iron. Hence, Anna was only superior to Tier 2 players on a quantitative level; there was no difference in the quality of their strength. Since none of the players in the barrier had managed to deal any damage to it, Anna wouldn''t be able to, either. "Vice Guild Leader, Starlink''s trap is simply vicious. We have no choice but to sacrifice one of our players. We can have them pass the key to the Guild Leader to prepare another team," a Level 57, Tier 2 Guardian Knight quietly suggested to the white-clad woman. The white-clad woman was none other than Illusory Words, Crimson Emperor''s Second Vice Guild Leader. Illusory Words had also been recognized as one of the Ten Great Clerics by the Secret Pavilion. "Alright, get it done." Illusory Words nodded. There was a method to escape the magic barrier before its duration ended, although players wouldn''t use this method unless absolutely necessary. That method was death. When players died, they''d automatically resurrect in the nearest graveyards half an hour after their death. While doing so would allow players to escape the barrier, it would cost a level. However, the current situation did not allow for such concerns. It was better to have one player die and get the key to their Guild Leader within 30 minutes than waste eight hours in the plaza. Their Guild Leader could organize another team to enter the Sea of Trees while the player waited for resurrection. If they got lucky, they might claim two or three Traveling Bard spots. At the very least, it''d be better than nothing at all. As Crimson Emperor''s members prepared to enact their plan, Anna finished chanting her incantation and writing the series of divine runes. Immediately, a golden magic array formed above the plaza, and a Level 85 Valkyrie with pure-white wings descended before the trapped players. The Tier 4 Valkyrie''s aura was so intense that it felt stifling to the players in the plaza. "A Tier 4 Valkyrie?" When Illusory Words saw the white-winged Valkyrie hovering in the air, she could not help but turn to Shi Feng''s cloaked figure. "Could he be Black Flame?" A lot happened in God''s Domain each day, and a new power or rising expert practically emerged with each sunrise. Not even she, one of Crimson Emperor''s Vice Guild Leaders could remember each of these powers and experts, but she had a clear impression of the Tier 4 Valkyrie. After all, the Tier 4 Valkyrie was a considerable threat to any superpower. With a slight flap of her wings, a storm brewed, and the Valkyrie vanished. By the time she reappeared, she hovered before the illusory barrier. The Valkyrie then thrust her Sacred Thunder Spear at the semi-translucent wall. Boom! With a deafening explosion, countless arcs of lightning crashed into the magic barrier. The barrier began to tremble. Despite the assault of so many players earlier, the barrier hadn''t reacted in the slightest, yet just one of the Valkyrie''s attacks was enough to shake it. What power! Illusory Words watched with slight surprise. The barrier hadn''t even reacted when Unyielding Heart had attacked with a Tier 4 Magic Scroll, but now, the Valkyrie''s attack had deformed the barrier. One could easily imagine how powerful the Valkyrie''s attack was. However, as the lightning began to fade, the magic barrier stilled. A second later, the barrier recovered to its original state as if it hadn''t been attacked at all. "Even that wasn''t enough?" Unyielding Heart''s expression soured as the magic barrier recovered. While it was true that the Valkyrie''s attack had been effective, it was clear that the strike had only depleted a small portion of the magic barrier''s energy reserves. It would take a considerable amount of time for the Valkyrie to destroy the barrier. Unfortunately, he was somewhat familiar with Shi Feng''s Valkyrie; he knew that it could only remain for a short time. Most likely, the Valkyrie would not be able to deplete the magic barrier''s energy reserves before her duration ran out. This left them with only the option of escaping by death. Although he knew it would be meaningless. Players that could manipulate Intermediate Magic Arrays would have a 20% higher chance of completing their class-change. Even if Unyielding Soul formed another team, locating Tier 1, Intermediate Magician experts would be impossible. Intermediate Magician experts were extremely rare, and he had already gathered every one his Guild had here. Even if the Guild organized another team to enter the Sea of Trees, if Unyielding Soul''s members were 30 minutes late and had a lower success rate, how could they compete with Starlink? Of course, they could sacrifice the Intermediate Magician experts with him. It would give them a better chance of competing, but that plan left another issue. Would players resurrect inside the magic barrier after they died? If players resurrected inside the barrier instead of the nearest graveyard after the 30-minute wait had passed, they''d sacrifice a level for nothing. Is there no choice but to risk it? Unyielding Heart gritted his teeth as he considered the option. As Unyielding Heart contemplated, the Valkyrie readied to throw her Sacred Thunder Spear at the magic barrier. However, the surrounding crowd had already given up hope. Since the previous attack had failed, this one shouldn''t fare any better. However, Shi Feng, who had remained still earlier, suddenly activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his aura''s intensity instantly skyrocketing. He then slashed at the barrier with Killing Ray. Lightning Slash! The Valkyrie threw her Sacred Thunder Spear at the same moment. Two streaks of light, one blue and one gold, collided at a single point on the magic barrier as one. Boom! With another explosion, the two streaks of light shot through the barrier. Following which, the crowd heard the sound of cracking glass. Cracks then began to web themselves across the illusory barrier. Peng! A moment later, the blue sky returned above the players'' heads. "How is this possible?" "The barrier shattered?" "What did he do?" Both Unyielding Soul''s Unyielding Heart and Crimson Emperor''s Illusory Words gave Shi Feng incredulous looks. 1891 Another Method Chapter 1891 - Another Method Dark Night City, Purple Night Plaza: As the barrier disappeared, silence filled the entire plaza, and every player that had been trapped behind the barrier turned to stare at Shi Feng. "So strong!" "Didn''t the barrier just shake a little after the Valkyrie''s attack? How did he straight-up destroy the barrier?" Whether it was the spectating players outside of the plaza or the two super-first-rate Guilds'' members within, all looked at Shi Feng with incredulous expressions. The expert players Starlink had stationed to observe the situation from outside of the plaza stared at the scene with bulging eyes. They had only formed the Illusory Spatial Barrier after sacrificing 288 players to the magic array, yet Shi Feng had shattered it without much effort The Illusory Spatial Barrier had been formed with a set of special magic tools the Guild had found in ancient ruins. Starlink had exhausted a lot of time and resources to explore the various ruins, and by the time the Guild had completed the required set to form the magic array, the Guild had suffered over 5,000 casualties, all of which had been elite or expert players. Once the Illusory Spatial Barrier had been activated, not even a Tier 4 monster should be able to escape. The Tier 4 monster would have no choice but to wait through the barrier''s eight-hour duration. Moreover, even if players died inside the barrier, they would resurrect within it instead of in the nearest graveyard. Yet, Shi Feng had shattered the barrier in one hit... While everyone was still shocked, Shi Feng sheathed Killing Ray and turned to Unyielding Heart and his companions. "The magic array has been dealt with. Let''s hurry to the Sea of Trees," Shi Feng said as he gestured to the magic array in the heart of the Purple Night Plaza. Calmly, he continued, "It hasn''t been long since Starlink''s members left. We should be able to catch up if we hurry." Hearing Shi Feng''s reminder, Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha quickly snapped out of their daze and gave the swordsman grateful looks. If Shi Feng hadn''t shattered the magic barrier, they wouldn''t have been able to compete with Starlink. Immediately, Unyielding Heart took a key from his bag and activated the teleportation gate to the Sea of Trees. Mu Lingsha then directed their experts to enter the teleportation gate. Meanwhile, Illusory Words couldn''t pull her gaze from Shi Feng, astonishment filling her eyes. Strength Combination? When Illusory Words recalled the attack Shi Feng had executed with the Valkyrie, a playful smile graced her lips. It seems that Black Flame is far more capable than I thought. It''s no wonder why the Secret Pavilion has such a high evaluation of him. The Valkyrie''s Strength hadn''t been quite high enough to shatter the Illusory Spatial Barrier alone. Shi Feng had actually combined his Strength with the Valkyrie''s to compensate. Executing the Strength Combination technique with another individual was many times more difficult than using it alone. One''s grasp of timing and positioning had to be extremely accurate. It wasn''t a casual feat to accomplish. Yet, Shi Feng had smoothy executed the technique, which even Domain Realm experts found challenging... Although Shi Feng hadn''t combined his full Strength with the Valkyrie''s, it had been enough to exceed the magic barrier''s limit Thus, the magic barrier had shattered. "Vice Guild Leader, the magic barrier is gone. Let''s hurry as well," a tall, muscular Berserker said. "Alright. Activate the teleportation gate." Illusory Words nodded. She then directed her selected players into the teleportation gate. Following which, white light enveloped Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members, one after another, as the players teleported to the Sea of Trees. While Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members left for the Sea of Trees, the observing Starlink members hurriedly reported to Lu Xingluo and Bright Dawn. "What did you say?! Unyielding Soul broke through the Illusory Spatial Barrier?!" When Bright Dawn heard his subordinate''s report, his mind instinctively wanted to reject the notion. "That''s impossible! Not even Tier 4 monsters can break out of the barrier! I know full well what Unyielding Soul is capable of! They definitely don''t have the power to destroy the Illusory Spatial Barrier!" As Unyielding Soul''s ex-Vice Guild Leader, he was fully aware of the Guild''s current prowess. He even knew the Guild''s trump cards. At best, the Guild could expend five Tier 4 Offensive Magic Scrolls, which wouldn''t be enough to destroy the Illusory Spatial Barrier. "The Illusory Spatial Barrier really shattered, but Unyielding Soul''s members didn''t do it," the reporting Assassin said. "Not Unyielding Soul''s members? Was it Crimson Emperor?" Bright Dawn''s expression darkened. "It seems that I''ve underestimated Illusory Words...to think that she had such card hidden...." While the Illusory Spatial Barrier could be broken, doing so required immense power. One would need enough power to destroy a town''s defensive magic array in one hit, and players had no chances of encountering such power at this stage of the game. However, God''s Domain had countless opportunities to offer. With how widespread a superpower''s influence was, it wasn''t impossible to acquire a tool with enough destructive power. "No...it wasn''t Crimson Emperor''s members either. Based on our information, one of Zero Wing''s members destroyed the barrier," the Assassin said as he sent an image of Shi Feng to Bright Dawn. "Zero Wing?" Bright Dawn blinked in surprise as he looked at Shi Feng''s cloaked figure and the Sacred Sword in the Swordsman''s hand. When Lu Xingluo heard the report, he was surprised as well. He had never thought that Zero Wing actually had a means to destroy the Illusory Spatial Barrier. "It seems that Zero Wing isn''t all talk after all. It''s no wonder why Unyielding Soul agreed to share some of its profits with the Guild," Lu Xingluo said, chuckling. "Unfortunately, even if they get into the Sea of Trees, it''s too late! Starlink will claim the first 20 slots!" Not long ago, they had learned that not only could a limited number of players class-change to the Traveling Bard class, but the quest only accepted a limited number of applicants as well. Only 300 slots would be available once every two hours. Each application also cost 60 Gold. Although the price was high, it wasn''t much to Starlink. In the end, they had spent 18,000 Gold to purchase all 300 slots, sending 50-plus Intermediate Magician experts to attempt the quest The Guild then gave the remaining 240 or so slots to weH-equipped Tier 1 experts. As Lu Xingluo and his companions, who didn''t plan on challenging the Class-change Quest, were about to leave to explore the Sea of Trees'' city, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members finally made their appearance, arriving in the temple that served as the venue for the Traveling Bard Class-change Quest. "Damn it! Why does the quest have this restriction, too?!" Unyielding Heart''s gave the female Elf clerk a grim expression after receiving her reply. They had just broken through the barrier with great difficulty, yet they had been told that there were no applicant slots remaining; they''d have to wait another two hours before they could attempt the quest. Unyielding Heart felt as if the system were playing some cruel joke. Illusory Words wore a similarly ugly expression. She hadn''t expected the restriction, either. Sure enough, there are no more slots available. Shi Feng could not help but sigh as he looked toward Lu Xingluo and his group, who stood a short distance away. Well, I didn''t plan for them to take the normal class-change quest, anyway. Following which, Shi Feng switched his title to Demon Hunter and approached the exchange counter beside the registration counter. There was more than one way to obtain the Traveling Bard class. The first was the normal method, but the second required purchasing a Trial Emblem and taking part in the original class-change trial the Primordial Elf Kings had left behind. However, the Trial Emblem wasn''t easy to purchase. One needed to be a noble of the Sea of Trees to gain access. Other players would have to complete a long string of quests to become a noble in this city, but Shi Feng, who had the Demon Hunter title, didn''t. Players with the Demon Hunter title were considered World Nobles, so Shi Feng would be viewed as a noble in an NPC city like the Sea of Trees. "Lord Demon Hunter, how may I be of service?" the NPC Elf asked, smiling brightly. "Here, we can provide a Trial Emblem that will allow you to take part in the trial the Primordial Elf Kings had left behind for us. If you pass this trial, you''ll become a valiant Traveling Bard!" "Mhm. I wish to purchase nine Trial Emblems," Shi Feng answered. 1892 Complete Legacy Chapter 1892 - Complete Legacy "Trial Emblem?" "How did he just trade with that NPC? Didn''t she refuse to trade with us a moment ago?" When Lu Xingluo and the others heard the female Elf''s words, they were stunned. When they had visited the elven temple, they had spoken with its NPCs. After asking around, they had verified that only 300 players could attempt the class-change quest every two hours. They had tried to speak with the female Elf at the exchange counter as well, but she had ignored their questions, stating that she''d only deal with people of noble status or higher, yet she treated Shi Feng with such respect. Moreover, she had taken the initiative to introduce Shi Feng to the products she offered... There''s still such a method? Unyielding Heart and his companions watched Shi Feng purchase Trial Emblems with glowing eyes. They had never expected Shi Feng to have such access to the class-change quest. So, this is Zero Wing''s Sword King? Shi Feng''s display greatly surprised Illusory Words. The only Guilds with a Sea of Trees Teleportation Key were Starlink, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor. Hence, one could say that their Guilds were the most familiar with the Sea of Trees. However, based on Shi Feng''s performance thus far, it was obvious that he knew even more about the Sea of Trees than they did. In fact, he even possessed a special status in the Sea of Trees. As the crowd watched, Shi Feng spent 450 Gold to purchase nine Trial Emblems. He then handed the emblems to the nine Zero Wing members he had brought with him. Purchasing a Trial Emblem was the same as applying for the Class-change Quest. Only, this method was 10 Gold cheaper. Using the Trial Emblems when attempting the quest also granted two difficulty modes to choose from: Normal Mode and Hard Mode. Normal Mode was no different than the Class-change Quest without the emblem, but if players chose Hard Mode, they''d be sent to a different trial. However, if players chose to challenge Hard Mode, they would be sent to a different trial. Furthermore, unlike the Normal Mode Quest, which only 20 players could complete each week, Hard Mode didn''t have such a limit. As long as one had access to the Trial Emblems and could afford them, they could enable as many players to become Traveling Bards as they wanted. The Hard Mode Quest had been Shi Feng''s goal since the very beginning. Players could only acquire the complete Traveling Bard Legacy the Primordial Elf Kings had left behind, becoming true Traveling Bards, by completing the Hard Mode Class-change Quest. If players only completed the Normal Mode Quest, they would only acquire a portion of the Legacy, becoming a pseudo-Tier 2 player. However, the Hard Mode Quest was incredibly difficult to clear, even more challenging than normal Tier 2 Promotion Quests. The Hard Mode Quest was the equivalent of the Tier 2 Hell Mode Promotion Quest. Unless one''s combat and equipment standards had reached a certain level, challenging the Class-change Quest would only lead to failure. If a player failed the quest, they''d have to wait a while before they could challenge it again. Hence, every player Aqua Rose had selected for this class-change was an expert capable of reaching the Trial Tower-s seventh floor. In addition, all nine were Intermediate Magicians, and among these nine players, five had been well-known Tier 4 experts in the past. However, since they had merely been independent players, their access to resources had been limited. Even though they had been members of welknown adventurer teams, they had lacked the resources to reach Tier 5. The remaining four had been experts in first-rate Guilds. Even the weakest among them had reached Tier 4 in the past, and the strongest, Happy Wind, had been a Tier 5 Traveling Bard. Naturally, things had changed in this life, and all nine of these players had joined Zero Wing. With these nine players'' combat standards, their chances of completing the Hard Mode Quest should''ve been quite low, but Aqua Rose had given each of them a Primordial Soul before they had come to the Sea of Trees. With the increased physique the Primordial Soul granted, these nine should have a much higher chance of completing the Hard Mode Quest. As Shi Feng distributed the Trial Emblems to his players, Unyielding Soul''s group approached him. "Guild Leader Black Flame, can I trouble you to help us purchase some Trial Emblems as well? I will buy them at a 50% markup. Of course, if that is not enough, I can increase the price," Unyielding Heart offered, feeling slightly embarrassed. Originally, Zero Wing had tried to purchase class-change slots from Unyielding Soul, which, in turn, had increased the competition Unyielding Soul faced. Now, however, Unyielding Soul approached Zero Wing for the same, increasing Zero Wing''s competition. This put Unyielding Heart in a bind. Long Soul and Hunting Blade, who stood beside Unyielding Heart, felt ashamed as they considered their earlier attitude towards Zero Wing. They had assumed that Zero Wing had taken advantage of their Guild, but now, it seemed that Zero Wing would become Unyielding Soul''s benefactor. It was only thanks to Zero Wing that their Guild had overcome the incident in the Purple Night Plaza. Now, they had to rely on Zero Wing once more to gain access to the class-change quest. If not for Zero Wing, they would''ve had no hope of competing with Starlink... "Sure enough, you really are Guild Leader Black Flame. Hello, I am Illusory Words of Crimson Emperor. On behalf of Crimson Emperor, I wish to seek your help in purchasing Trial Emblems. I am willing to offer double the original price. May I know if you are willing to lend me your aid?" Illusory Words asked gently as she approached Shi Feng. Everyone was stunned as they watched the Vice Guild Leaders of two super-first-rate Guilds approach Shi Feng for help. If the public found out about this, they''d be shocked. "Our Guild Leader is so amazing! Even superpowers are asking him for help!" "That''s only natural! That''s Zero Wing''s Guild Leader we''re talking about!" "Quick, look at the stupid faces Starlink''s members are making!" The nine Zero Wing members that had obtained the Trial Emblem chatted about their Guild Leader, reverence flashing in their eyes as they looked at Shi Feng. Before they had joined Zero Wing, even first-rate Guilds had been colossal existences in their eyes, let alone super-first-rate Guilds. Super-first-rate Guilds were the virtual gaming world''s overlords, yet two such Guilds wanted their Guild''s help. This was simply unbelievable. "That won''t be a problem. Let''s forget about the price markup. Instead, I hope that your two Guilds can help with a problem of mine," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words. "Help?" Both Vice Guild Leaders gave Shi Feng confused looks. They had brought with them a lot of players to attempt the class-change quest. In total, both had a little over 1,000 players. Even with a 50% price markup, Shi Feng could earn over 25,000 Gold instantly, a huge sum for a first-rate Guild. If Shi Feng charged a slightly higher price, he would even have enough money to build a town. Yet, Shi Feng only wanted their assistance. "That''s right I need your two Guilds to help me with something. In return, I''ll help you buy as many Trial Emblems as you want" Shi Feng nodded. There was no limit on the number of Trial Emblems one could purchase. It was a privilege for the Sea of Trees'' nobles, allowing them to skip the queue and granting a small discount when applying for the Class-change Quest. There was nothing special about it. Moreover, even with the Trial Emblems, neither of these Guilds would become a competitor for Zero Wing. After all, the Hard Mode Quest was Zero Wing''s target; it didn''t have to worry about any competition. "May I know what kind of help Guild Leader Black Flame requires?" Illusory Words asked. Although the Traveling Bard class was valuable, if Shi Feng''s request threatened her Guild''s foundations, she had to refuse. "Right, you can''t consider your decision properly if I don''t tell you the details. To put it simply, I''d like to borrow 200 Tier 2 experts from each of your Guilds. What are your thoughts on this?" Shi Feng explained. 1893 Age-Old Secre Chapter 1893 - Age-Old Secret "Borrow Tier 2 experts?" Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words stared at Shi Feng in confusion, unable to fathom why Shi Feng would need so many experts. At this stage of the game, Tier 2 experts were still quite rare in God''s Domain. Even a first-rate Guild would only have around 30 to 50 Tier 2 players, yet Shi Feng wanted their Guilds to lend him 200 Tier 2 experts each. This was close to half of the Tier 2 experts in their Guilds. Such a large number of Tier 2 experts would be far too many to raid a Team Dungeon. The largest Team Dungeon at this stage of the game could only accommodate 200 players, yet Shi Feng wanted 400. Furthermore, Zero Wing had its own Tier 2 experts. "That''s right I want to raid a Field Boss, but I currently lack manpower," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Of course, Zero Wing will compensate for any deaths incurred during the expedition. May I know your opinions on this?" He might earn 30,000 Gold or so if he resold the Trial Emblems to the two Guilds at a markup, but 30,000 Gold was not enough to change Zero Wing''s situation. Besides, Zero Wing''s financial need wasn''t limited to the money required for Silverwing Town''s upgrade. The Guild also had to pay back the loan for the airport. In total, Zero Wing needed 500,000 Gold. It was a significant sum, even for a superpower. Most importantly, Zero Wing wasn''t as weH-off as everyone thought. While it was true that Zero Wing''s members were improving their equipment and leveling rapidly thanks to the Guild''s expansion into the Ore Empire''s southeastern area, there was a saying: ''the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.'' Now that Zero Wing had secured a large fraction of the Ore Empire''s benefits, the various superpowers watched the Guild closely. The only reason they had not taken any actions was Zero Wing''s war weapons and teleportation abilities. However, now that Blackwater had opened the Ore Capital City''s armory, it was only a matter of time before the various superpowers obtained a large number of war weapons or designs for them. If Zero Wing did not take any preventive measures now, the Guild would suffer later on. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had been nursing a headache over the last few days while trying to figure out a solution to this problem. Fortunately, an opportunity had just presented itself. He had planned to wait until Zero Wing had 1,000 Tier 2 experts before initiating the next step of his plan, but it seemed that he wouldn''t have to wait that long. If he had the help of these two super-first-rate Guilds'' Tier 2 experts, he could definitely defeat the Void Serpent, a Level 60 World Boss! Although World Bosses seemed like ordinary Field Bosses, they possessed a unique Domain that prevented players from using external tools. Players had to rely on their own strength to face these World Bosses. Hence, raiding World Bosses was far more difficult than Field Bosses of the same rank and level. However, due to the extremely high raid difficulty, every World Boss dropped impressive loot World Bosses also dropped some unique materials. Because of this, God''s Domain''s countless powers had constantly challenged World Bosses in his previous life. Guilds had still raided Level 70 or 80 World Bosses after players had reached Level 200. Shi Feng''s interest in slaying the Void Serpent wasn''t only because of its loot. The Void Serpent also held a secret that Shi Feng wanted. Only with the Void Serpent''s blood could players activate the greatest secret the Witch''s Hill had hidden for several centuriesthe Otherworld Gate! The Void Serpent was in a secret, underground temple in the Witch''s Hill, and since the map was so large, locating the underground temple was quite difficult The fact that the Witch''s Hill was so far from civilization only made the temple even more difficult to find. As a result, the Void Serpent had remained hidden even after mainstream players had reached Level 100 in Shi Feng''s past Players had only learned of the Void Serpent after a party exploring the Witch''s Hill had discovered the World Boss. After news of the creature had gone public, Guild teams had rushed to the underground temple to kill the Void Serpent. They then discovered the Witch''s Hill''s secret. Although the Otherworld Gate had been activated relatively late in the past, the various powers had still treated it like a priceless treasure. Within the Otherworld Gate, players had discovered an abundance of rare, precious materials, all of which were difficult to acquire in Star-Moon Kingdom. Among the most notable materials was Void Silver. Void Silver was no less valuable than Mana Stone. Not only could it strengthen weapons and equipment, but it could also increase production success rates for forgers, engineers, enchanters, and alchemists by a large margin. The Otherworld Gate was also a good place to acquire Level 50-plus top-tier weapons and equipment for independent players. Hence, the Witch''s Hill had instantly become Star-Moon Kingdom''s focus. If Shi Feng could activate the Otherworld Gate now, Zero Wing City, which occupied the Witch''s Hill, would become the most popular city in Star-Moon Kingdom. Not only could Zero Wing rake in a fortune, but it could also acquire tons of rare materials, allowing the Guild to grow rapidly. He had wanted to raid the Void Serpent for a while, but unfortunately, Zero Wing lacked the strength to do so. A World Boss was not an easy raid, and he didn''t have a quest to take advantage of, drastically weakening the Void Serpent as he had with the Flame Demon King. If he wanted to raid the Void Serpent, he''d need at least 1,000 Tier 2 players. Meanwhile, after pondering on Shi Feng''s suggestion for a short moment, both Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words nodded. "Alright, I''ll agree to your proposal on Unyielding Soul''s behalf," Unyielding Heart said. Although he did not know what Shi Feng wanted with so many Tier 2 players, saving over 10,000 Gold by lending the Swordsman 200 experts to raid a Boss was a worthwhile transaction. "May I know when Guild Leader Black Flame needs our players?" Illusory Words asked. "Naturally, the sooner, the better," Shi Feng said. "My side will need some time to gather the necessary manpower. After all, many of our Tier 2 experts are either questing or raiding Dungeons right now. I''ll need a little over a day to gather 200 Tier 2 experts, so can we gather in two days?" Illusory Words proposed a time after giving the matter some thought "That won''t be a problem. I need to see to certain preparations, as well," Shi Feng replied, nodding. In truth, even if Illusory Words hadn''t suggested it, he''d still need one or two days to prepare. "Since both of you have agreed to the arrangement, let''s establish a contract." Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words. In exchange for helping the two Guilds purchase 1,000 Trial Emblems in total, each of the Guilds would send 200 Tier 2 experts to help Shi Feng hunt a Boss. Once the contract had been signed, the two Guilds handed Shi Feng the Coins to purchase the Trial Emblems. When Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words had the emblems in hand, they turned to distribute them to their respective Guild members. These players then activated their Trial Emblems and teleported to the Legacy Grounds. While the exchange between Shi Feng and the two super-first-rate Guilds seemed cumbersome, they had completed the entire process in less than five minutes. It wasn''t enough time to provide Starlink any noticeable advantage. Moreover, to the two super-first-rate Guilds'' surprise, they had the option of choosing the quest''s difficulty, and Hard Mode didn''t have a slot limit. However, the two Guilds sent the majority of their experts into Normal Mode to increase their chances of success. They only sent a small number of experts to test the Hard Mode Quest Suddenly, 1,000 players vanished from the lively hall, stunning Lu Xingluo and the other nearby Starlink members. How is this possible? They ignored the application limit? Lu Xingluo''s expression darkened as he watched Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members disappear. He then turned to Shi Feng, killing intent flashing in his eyes. Black Flame! You dare to ruin my plans once again?! Do you really think that I won''t strike at Zero Wing just because you managed to partner with Unyielding Soul?! One thousand players! If these players participated in the Class-change Quest, it would severely affect Starlink''s performance. However, Shi Feng paid no attention to the killing intent Lu Xingluo directed at him. He simply glanced at the man before leaving the temple and heading for the City Hall. They were in the Sea of Trees; if Lu Xingluo and his companions wanted to attack him here, they''d suffer the consequences, not him. 1894 City of Foreign Races Chapter 1894 - City of Foreign Races The Sea of Trees was located in a secret land the Primordial Elf Kings had created. A forest enveloped the city, and unlike Dark Night City, which was populated by tall buildings, this city was crowded with towering trees. Every tree pierced the clouds like a skyscraper. Houses had been built within the gigantic trees, and thick vines connected one tree to the next. Currently, Shi Feng rode his mount down the spacious roads made of vines. When he looked down, he gazed at a sea of clouds below him. Since the Sea of Trees hadn''t been fully unlocked, most of the people wandering on the streets were NPCs. Aside from the three superpowers'' members, who had begun to explore the city, Shi Feng didn''t spot a single player. Sheltered by the Six Great Primordial Elf Kings, the Sea of Trees had a long history. Most of the NPCs living here were Elves, although some were NPC merchants from other races. Human NPCs only made up a small majority of the city''s residents. Meanwhile, the weakest soldiers patrolling the city were Level 180, Tier 1 NPCs. There were well-equipped Tier 2 soldiers, as well. Each patrol squad was led by a Level 200, Tier 3 Knight. However, these soldiers levels and tiers weren''t their most eye-catching aspects. All of these soldiers wore ancient equipment engraved with Advanced Battle Arrays. When the Advanced Battle Array activated, the Tier 2 soldiers could even take down Tier 4 players. The patrol captains'' equipment sported Master Battle Arrays. With these patrol captains protecting the city, not even Tier 5 players would last long if they tried to cause trouble. According to the legends, the Primordial Elf Kings had also left behind Immortal Guardians to protect their Sea of Trees. Although these Immortal Guardians were not Tier 6 existences, they had the combat power to face Gods. If a Tier 6 player entered the city, the secret land would forcibly suppress them to Tier 5. Hence, on the continent of God''s Domain, the Sea of Trees'' security was even superior to Blackwing City''s. During Shi Feng''s previous life, Tier 5 and Tier 6 players had frequently caused trouble in NPC cities, but none had dared to do so in the Sea of Trees. This was also the reason that the Sea of Trees had become the most well-known NPC city in God''s Domain, attracting tons of normal and neutral players. These players didn''t have to worry about their safety while inside the city. After roughly 20 minutes, Shi Feng arrived before the largest, oldest tree in the city. This primordial tree was both the Sea of Trees'' City Hall and the city''s heart. There are so many foreign race merchants here already? As Shi Feng approached the city''s central district, he noticed many NPC merchants hawking their wares alongside the road. These merchants all sold rare goods such as Magic Scrolls, potions, materials, tomes, engineering tools, weapons,equipment, etc. The sight was dazzling. The three superpowers'' members, who had arrived before him, browsed the goods with sparkling eyes. They could easily make a fortune by reselling these items, especially the Magic Scrolls, weapons, equipment, and rare materials. Some merchants even offered Tier 2 Magic Scrolls and Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. Only, the items'' prices were far higher than market value. However, the superpowers'' members weren''t fools. Rather than purchasing any of these items, they first investigated every NPC merchant''s goods. They then proceeded to survey the central district, empty Lands, and establishments, compiling the information to allow their companions in the City Hall to make the best decision when purchasing the city''s lands for their Guilds. When Shi Feng stepped into the City Hall, the merchant players that represented the superpowers had already busied themselves with researching the Lands and Shops, carefully selecting which to purchase. Naturally, the three superpowers had sent these merchant players since they were more adept with business negotiations than the Guilds'' upper echelons. Moreover, the merchant subclass allowed them to bargain for discounts and learn more from NPCs. But despite their expertise, these merchant players had headaches as they selected Lands for their Guilds. The Sea of Trees'' Lands were just so expensive... Even the ordinary Lands in the city''s outer area cost between 7,000 Gold and 15,000 Gold, whereas Lands in the city''s inner area cost between 12,000 Gold and 30,000 Gold. The cheapest plot of Land in the central district cost 50,000 Gold, while the more expensive options cost over 100,000. Even superpowers at this stage of the game couldn''t afford to purchase the Sea of Trees'' Lands casually, but that wasn''t the most important issue. To purchase the central district''s Lands, one needed sufficient status and Reputation. For the moment, they could only purchase the Lands in the city''s outer and inner areas, but since there were so many to choose from, they couldn''t make a proper decision without further understanding of the city''s layout. "Lord Demon Hunter, how may I be of service today?" a male Elf in a suit and tie asked gracefully as he approached Shi Feng. "I wish to see some of the city''s hotels and restaurants for rent," Shi Feng said. "Alright, please follow me," the male Elf bowed before leading Shi Feng to a VIP reception room. As the Elf led Shi Feng to a reception room, the three superpowers'' representatives watched him leave the main lobby with astonished expressions. "What''s going on? How did he get an invite to a VIP room? We''ve already bought two plots of Land and earned quite a few Contribution Points, yet we haven''t earned such treatment?" "Clearly, he''s an idiot. He''s actually trying to rent hotels and restaurants instead of purchasing Lands. What benefit could he earn by doing so? They won''t be profitable in the least" Many of the merchant players watched enviously as Shi Feng was led to a VIP reception room, but the man''s statement had also confused them. When players gained access to a VIP reception room, they also gained access to better benefits. Aside from refreshments and privacy, players would also be offered Lands, which weren''t usually available to the public, for purchase. Moreover, every one of those Lands would be worth their price or more. In contrast, the Lands offered in the lobby varied. Not every plot would be worth its selling price, and whether players made a profit or not would rely on them. Meanwhile, in the VIP reception room, the Elf administrator quickly prepared a list for Shi Feng. "Lord Demon Hunter, here are the hotels and restaurants that are available for rent. However, these hotels and restaurants are located in the city''s outer and inner areas. You will need 10,000 Contribution Points to rent those in the central district," the Elf administrator explained. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded. He then lifted the stack of paper to inspect Naturally, setting up a trading firm in a trade city like the Sea of Trees would generate a lot of profit. Aside from selling products, the Shops could also serve as a warehouse for all kinds of precious materials and items that flowed into the city. However, unlike ordinary NPC cities, the Sea of Trees was slightly unique since it occupied a secret land. The Sea of Trees was similar to the Holy City of Titan in that players could not remain in the city long-term. Once the sun set, players that hadn''t rented a hotel room or purchased a private house would be automatically teleported out of the Sea of Trees. Furthermore, getting into the city wasn''t an easy task. Even once the Sea of Trees had been fully unlocked, players would still need to expend a lot of effort to visit the city, especially ordinary and elite players. Unfortunately, purchasing a private house in the city was out of the question for most players. Not even large Guilds'' upper echelons could necessarily afford a private house here. Purchasing a private house in this city was even more expensive than setting up a Shop. Most importantly, players needed a very high status and a ton of Reputation Points to buy one. Even expert players would need to quest in the Sea of Trees for a very long time to fulfill these requirements. Aside from private houses, players could stay in hotels or Advanced Restaurants. Of course, since Shops had living spaces for players, they could own a Shop as well. Only, Shops accommodated far fewer players than private houses, but how could many players afford Shops just for the living space? As a result, the only options remaining were hotels and Advanced Restaurants. Needless to say, staying in these establishments was also quite expensive. Depending on the environment, accommodation fees could range from 50 Silver to 5 Gold per day. Even elite players would feel a sting from these prices. Meanwhile, if players rented the whole hotel or Advanced Restaurant, they would earn 20% of the profits. While the Sea of Trees was in its early stages, this was the best way to earn money. Moreover, renting these establishments cost far less than purchasing them directly. After reading through the list, Shi Feng quickly set his sights on a few hotels and restaurants that had been particularly popular during his previous life. However, when Shi Feng reached the final page and saw the small restaurant listed, he was stunned. What?! Even this restaurant is available for rent?! 1895 Epic Shop Chapter 1895 - Epic Shop Shi Feng''s eyes widened as he saw the name "Forest Traveler," surprise and ecstasy overcoming him. In the current Sea of Trees, the Forest Traveler was an unassuming restaurant located in the city''s outer area. The restaurant had only two floors; the first was the dining hall, and the second was used for accommodations. The restaurant was ordinary, and nothing about it stood out. However, when the Sea of Trees'' third seal had been lifted in the past, players had discovered the restaurant''s unique quality. Since so many players had crowded the Sea of Trees back then, both hotels and restaurants'' guest rooms had been full. Naturally, many players instantly targeted the cheap accommodations that small restaurants like the Forest Traveler offered. Once the third seal had lifted, the Forest Traveler revealed a package that included both room and board, available exclusively for the restaurant''s few high-class guest rooms. As the high-class guest rooms could only be rented by purchasing this combo pack, players had no choice but to dine there as well. The Forest Traveler had become instantly famous after players had tried the provided meal, which granted a special buff called Forest Blessing[l]. The Forest Blessing buff granted players anywhere from 5 to 20 points in Luck for 18 hours. The buff could only be gained once every two days. Although Luck was somewhat illusory in God''s Domain, it had a subtle effect on players. For example, Luck would affect loot from opening treasure chests and killing monsters. It would also affect one''s production success rate. Hence, on the market, ornaments that added even three to five points of Luck cost a fortune. Such ornaments would never become obsolete. In the past, the various large Guilds had desperately stockpiled items that added Luck. A single extra point in Luck could be enough to gain a top-tier item. Since Luck items were so precious to both independent players and Guilds, such items had rarely appeared on the market. One could easily imagine how attractive a meal that increased Luck would be to independent and Guild players. Even Shi Feng had often visited the Forest Traveler for a meal in the past, especially before he raided a large-scale Team Dungeon. The only downside was the buff''s long Cooldown. Even after the Forest Traveler had expanded its Shopfront, players had to deal with a seven- to eight-hour queue to get a seat. The Forest Traveler had ranked as one of the top 100 Epic Shops in God''s Domain in its heyday. The Secret Pavilion managed the ranking system, and a Shop''s rank depended on demand for and rarity of its services. Since the Forest Traveler had revealed itself to him, why wouldn''t Shi Feng be surprised and excited? However, when Shi Feng saw the restaurant''s rental price, his eyebrows twitched. Is this a robbery? Shi Feng couldn''t help but wonder. Normally, the Sea of Trees'' hotels and restaurants demanded per week or per month rent, but the Forest Traveler had to be paid by the year. Moreover, renting the restaurant for a single year cost 60,000 Gold... Even the larger Advanced Restaurants only cost 4,000 Gold per month, yet the Forest Traveler''s rent cost 5,000 Gold per month. Moreover, the system demanded a full year upfront. It was half of the funds Shi Feng had on hand right now. With 60,000 Gold, he could rent over a dozen hotels and restaurants. Should I set it aside for now and rent it during my next visit? Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he looked at the Forest Traveler''s information. Competition would be at its fiercest during the first month after the Sea of Trees had activated. It was also the best time to secure an advantage. As long as players rented one of the Sea of Trees'' establishments, they could continue to renew their lease. Unless players gave up their right to renew the lease, other players wouldn''t have an opportunity to claim the establishment However, if he rented the Forest Traveler now, he wouldn''t have much left to rent other restaurants and hotels, but he had no guarantee that the three superpowers wouldn''t discover these hotels and restaurants'' importance before his next visit. If the superpowers had already realized these establishments'' value, he''d have a far more difficult time renting a large number of them later. Fortunately, he didn''t have to worry about losing the Forest Traveler since only he knew the restaurant''s secret right now. Furthermore, 60,000 Gold was a huge sum to a superpower, as well. None of them would be willing to spend so much Gold for a modest restaurant like the Forest Traveler. "Lord Demon Hunter, I recommend the hotels and restaurants on the last page. Many customers favor those establishments in particular. I cannot guarantee that these establishments will be available during your next visit," the Elf administrator said, flashing Shi Feng a cunning smile when he noticed the Swordsman stare tentatively at the list''s final page. Shi Feng rolled his eyes at the Elf administrator. The administrator''s comment made one thing clear; he would either have to give up on the Forest Traveler or give up on renting another dozen or so hotels and restaurants. Both options would rob Shi Feng of profits. "I''m interested in renting this Forest Traveler, but why must it only be rented by the year? Can it not be rented on a monthly basis?" Shi Feng asked as he gestured to the Forest Traveler''s information on the list He wanted to see if the system would grant him any other options. "The Forest Traveler?" The Elf administrator repositioned his glasses as he took a look at the list. Smiling, he explained, "This restaurant has encountered some operational problems and urgently needs funding. That is why the owner had decided to rent the restaurant. We have suggested that the owner accept a monthly rent, but the owner is adamant about his decision. Due to your status, Lord Demon Hunter, the city is willing to help you negotiate altered conditions with the owner. However, each negotiation will cost a 1,000-Gold fee. May I know if you wish to open negotiations?" "One thousand Gold per negotiation?" The corners of Shi Feng''s mouth twitched. Shi Feng was no stranger to negotiations. This was the precise reason that the three superpowers had sent their merchant players to purchase the city''s Lands, not their upper echelons. The higher-ranked a merchant player was, the more ability they''d have to reduce an item''s price. Some merchant players could even negotiate for price cuts by offering NPCs favorable conditions. However, this was the first time Shi Feng had encountered a 1,000-Gold negotiation fee. "That''s right. As a noble in our city, you have the right to three negotiation attempts. Of course, the city cannot guarantee the negotiations'' results," the Elf administrator explained. "Alright, let''s open the negotiations, then." Shi Feng sighed as he took 1,000 Gold from his bag. After receiving the money, the Elf administrator left the room. To put it simply, the purpose of these negotiations was to convince the owner to adjust the rental requirements. Whether or not the player gained the upper hand would depend on their luck. After five minutes, the Elf administrator returned with new rental conditions for the Forest Traveler. Now, instead of paying a full year of rent for the Forest Traveler, Shi Feng could secure the establishment for 10 months of rent at 54,000 Gold. While this new condition had reduced the total payment and shortened the required lease duration, the average monthly rent had increased considerably. This wasn''t a favorable option. Declining the option, Shi Feng paid 1,000 Gold for another negotiation attempt The second negotiation''s outcome still required annual rent, but it could be paid in installments. Shi Feng would have to pay a 50,000-Gold downpayment However, he''d then have to pay 15,000 within one month. Seeing this result, Shi Feng regretted leaving Icarus''s Heart with Aqua Rose. If he had the godly necklace with him right now, he might have had a better result. With no other choice, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and paid for the third negotiation attempt. If the conditions were still too stringent, he would have to give up on the Forest Traveler for now. After all, the Forest Traveler would not generate much income within a short period. Meanwhile, he was extremely tight for money right now. Although the Forest Traveler was tempting, he needed to earn a large sum of Coins quickly. As the Elf administrator returned for the third time, Shi Feng silently prayed that the new rental conditions were in his favor. "Congratulations, Lord Demon Hunter. After our third round of negotiations, the Forest Traveler''s owner has agreed to adjust the lease''s duration to six months. However, you will have to pay 45,000 Gold. In exchange, you will receive 40% of the Forest Traveler''s profits instead of 20% during those six months." 1896 2-star Restauran t Chapter 1896 - 2-star Restaurant Half a year and 40% of the profits for 45,000 Gold? Shi Feng fell deep in thought after hearing the Elf administrator''s final results. Once the Forest Traveler introduced the meal that granted the Forest Blessing buff, the various major powers would visit before any major operation. However, as the restaurant''s business was limited by its size, and its overall income wasn''t much more than a large hotel''s. Players would only gain the Forest Blessing buff when they ate the food that provided the buff in the restaurant. The food would not grant the buff if consumed elsewhere. Hence, Shi Feng had considered giving the Forest Traveler up, selecting a dozen or so ordinary restaurants and hotels instead. However, the Forest Traveler''s latest conditions were far better than they had been, especially the 40% profit-sharing. This would grant him twice as much income as normal from the restaurant. With the Forest Traveler''s advantage, it could generate enough income to rival a dozen or so establishments. "Alright, I agree to the owner''s conditions," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. Although renting a single restaurant for 45,000 Gold was a little extravagant, not only would he get double the profits in return, but he would also have an advantage when gaining the Forest Blessing buff. This would ensure that Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t have to wait in line for hours to get a seat before raiding an important Team Dungeon. He could simply reserve a table for Zero Wing''s exclusive use. No power had taken control of the Forest Traveler in his previous life; it had been under NPCs full control. As a result, the restaurant''s development had been left to the system''s discretion. Compared to player-managed hotels and restaurants back then, the Forest Traveler''s development speed had been pitiful. If he managed the Forest Traveler, the restaurant''s development speed would increase by a significant margin. After all, with the Forest Blessing buff, the restaurant would not lack popularity or income. If he played his cards right, he could earn a fortune through the restaurant. Immediately, Shi Feng signed a lease contract with the Elf administrator. In addition to the 45,000 Gold for the Forest Traveler, he spent another 70,000 Gold to rent 23 hotels and restaurants. Although the hotels and restaurants he had rented varied in size, they were all situated in strategic locations throughout the city. They were all near important buildings and special establishments. Once the city''s second seal had been removed, which should happen in the next few days, a large number of players would surge into the Sea of Trees. At that time, his hotels and restaurants would officially begin to make money. The 24 hotels and restaurants he rented should generate even more profit than Silverwing Town''s teleportation service. Silverwing Town''s teleportation service would lure players to the town and increase its competitive edge. As a result, the town could only earn a small amount of money from each player with the teleportation service. However, such considerations weren''t necessary when operating the Sea of Trees'' hotels and restaurants. Even if he only received 20% of the profits from each customer, he should earn at least ten times more per customer than from Silverwing Town''s teleportation service. Once Shi Feng had rented his establishments, he left the VIP reception room. The three superpowers'' merchant players were still carefully selecting Lands for purchase. Over 20 of the available Lands had already been bought, many of which were located in the city''s inner area. Shi Feng had to admit that these superpowers'' spending power was astonishing. Zero Wing simply couldn''t compare. If these superpowers had known the value of leasing the city''s hotels and restaurants, they would''ve claimed half of the city''s establishments by now. They would''ve monopolized every hotel and restaurant, not including those in the central district, by the time the second seal was removed. They wouldn''t leave other powers the opportunity to claim a share of the profits. However, the value of these establishments had been discovered quite late in the past, and the various major powers had still rented quite a few for themselves. As Shi Feng returned to the lobby, the superpowers'' representatives spared him a glance before returning to their lists. Now that my business here is done, I should take a proper look at the Forest Traveler. After glancing at the other players, Shi Feng left the City Hall, making his way towards the Forest Traveler. He was not interested in competing with the three superpowers over the city''s lands in the slightest. His lack of reaction wasn''t due to a lack of interest in purchasing the city''s Lands, but because he didn''t qualify to do so. Purchasing a plot of Land and setting up a Shop here would easily cost more than 10,000 Gold. Although these Shops would pay for themselves in the long run, he currently needed his money. He could not afford such long-term investments right now. After riding his Demonic Flame Tiger for half an hour, Shi Feng arrived before a two-story restaurant near the edge of the city. This area wasn''t as lively as the central district as there were only a dozen or so NPCs roaming the street. Meanwhile, the street''s few Shops only sold groceries, and the highest-class building was a three-story smithy. Smoke swirled out of the smithy as the sound of metal on metal echoed down the street. The view here was one-of-a-kind. A sea of clouds enclosed the district, and flying beasts occasionally soared by. Due to the refreshing scenery, many leisure players would settle here long-term. Sure enough, business here is bleak. When Shi Feng entered the Forest Traveler, he noticed that, aside from the restaurant owner and two staff members, there was nobody inside the restaurant. The two waitresses were members of foreign races. One was a female Catkin with cat ears and tail, while the other was a female Foxkin with a pair of pointed ears atop her head and a bushy tail. The restaurant owner was a long-haired Elf, but unlike most Elves, the man was burly. He looked like a naturabom Shield Warrior or Berserker. Based on the scars gracing the Elf''s arms and neck, it was clear that he had once been an adventurer. "Welcome, Lord Demon Hunter. Thank you for renting our restaurant. I am Joseph, the owner of this establishment," Joseph the Elf said respectfully when he noticed Shi Feng enter the restaurant. "May I know what business you have here?" When the two Half-beastwomen saw Shi Feng, they nervously lowered their heads. They did not even dare to look Shi Feng in the eye. Of course, Shi Feng didn''t find this strange. Although the Sea of Trees was a trade city that welcomed both humans and members of neutral races, the secret land that contained the Sea of Trees was still within the Dark Night Empire''s borders. Meanwhile, humans weren''t generally friendly towards other races. Hence, surviving in the Sea of Trees wasn''t easy for them. The Half-beastwomen couldn''t afford to provoke nobles, in particular. A single mistake could even result in their enslavement. "I wish to see all of the information available on this restaurant Can I trouble you to prepare it for me?" Shi Feng asked. Although he had rented the restaurant, he only had partial management rights. This was the case for other NPC-operated establishments, as well. It was impossible for players to acquire full management rights over an NPC establishment. Players could only gain full rights over the establishments and Lands sold at the City Hall. "Alright, please wait a moment," Joseph said. A short moment later, Joseph returned with a thick tome. He then set the book before Shi Feng. Amazing. This restaurant has two Master Cooking Recipes. It''s a pity that the required materials are so rare. The Shopfront is also the cheapest variety. It''s no wonder why business is so terrible. Shi Feng was surprised as he read the restaurant''s information. Many players in God''s Domain had chosen the chef subclass. Not only were chefs capable of creating delicious dishes, but some of those dishes also provided additional effects, such as temporary Attribute increases. Master Dishes, in particular, provided significant Attribute boosts, high enough to rival the effects of Master Potions. Although players could cook Master Dishes after becoming Master Chefs, producing one of these dishes was actually quite difficult. The first issue was the lack of recipes. Even a Master Chef would struggle when concocting a Master Cooking Recipe. In the past, eight out often Basic Master Chefs lacked a Master Cooking Recipe. The second issue was the lack of materials. Yet, the Forest Traveler actually possessed two Master Cooking Recipes, which gave it an advantage over larger restaurants. Unlike the Forest Blessing meal, these Master Dishes would still be effective when consumed outside of the restaurant. Meanwhile, the Attribute increase they provided was even superior to Master Potions. Both dishes would see very high demand. If he could mass-produce the dishes, he could make a fortune. When Shi Feng inspected the restaurant''s Shopfront, he noticed that the Forest Traveler already met most of the conditions for its upgrade to a 2-star Restaurant. All it lacked was sales. However, even NPCs weren''t willing to visit the area. How could the restaurant earn an income without any customers? If the restaurant wanted to attract NPC customers and increase its sales, the easiest way to do so was to upgrade the Shopfront. Only, upgrading the Shopfront would require 1,500 Gold. The thought of gaining a 2-star Restaurant tempted Shi Feng. Immediately, he chose to upgrade the Shopfront. Suddenly, the system deducted 1,500 Gold from the 3,000-plus he had remaining in his bag. 1897 Master Dishes Chapter 1897 - Master Dishes As soon as Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Shopfront, the Forest Traveler started to change. In less than five seconds, the Forest Traveler transformed from a shabby, two-story restaurant into an exquisite, three-story establishment The restaurant was now far more appealing than the surrounding Shops. However, the interior had changed far more than the restaurant''s exterior. The space inside the restaurant had more than doubled. Originally, the first floor had only had room for a little over ten tables, but now, it could hold more than 30. The second floor had also become a dining area, and the living area had been moved to the third floor. Currently, however, the interior''s design was still modest. Shi Feng would have to spend more Gold to decorate the place. Next, I have to figure out how to lure customers here to increase the restaurant''s business. Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction at the new Forest Traveler. Although he had to pay for the restaurant''s upgrade with his own money, now that the restaurant''s quality had improved, he could charge customers more. At the same time, the restaurant''s increased size could hold more customers at one time, increasing profits further. However, Shi Feng was more concerned with the two Master Dishes. One of the two Master Dishes was Drunken Tiger Meat, while the other was called Frozen Bone Soup. When consumed, the Drunken Tiger Meat increased players'' Strength by 10% for six hours. As for the Frozen Bone Soup, it increased players'' Intelligence by 10% for six hours. Neither dish had a Cooldown. Hence, even if the buffs were removed by a Skill or death, players could consume another dish to regain the benefits. To physical and magical class players, a 10% increase in Strength or Intelligence would provide a significant boost to combat power. Moreover, the two dishes effects could stack with similar potions. The only downside was that the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup''s buffs would vanish upon death. In contrast, many Master Potions would remain in effect. However, there was a positive to these two Master Dishes. If players entered special Dungeons or environments that prevented the use of external tools, they wouldn''t lose the dishes'' buffs. Hence, the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup would be of significant help during his planned Void Serpent raid. Since the Forest Traveler was only a 1-star Restaurant, its only chef had been the owner, Joseph. Even if he provided the dishes'' required materials, their production speed would be limited. Now, when Shi Feng examined the restaurant''s menu, he saw that the Drunken Tiger Meat only needed ten minutes to cook, while the Frozen Bone Soup only required eight minutes. However, since he had upgraded the restaurant, he could now higher two more chefs. He could double the dishes'' production speed if he did. As for the required materials, Zero Wing could collect them in a short time. Following which, Shi Feng called up the Forest Traveler''s system interface. In no time at all, he managed to hire two more chefs and eight more waiters. He then reopened the Forest Traveler for business. Less than five minutes, the restaurant welcomed its first NPC customer. Although the promotion was as effective as he had hoped, it was tolerable. In God''s Domain, a leased restaurant didn''t only earn an income from player customers. It could also earn money from NPCs. Only, the profit-sharing for income from NPC customers was much lower, only one-quarter of that from players. However, while this amount seemed insignificant, NPCs provided daily income. As the restaurant''s star-rank and size continued to improve, it would generate more income from NPCs. Currently, the Forest Traveler was a 1-star Restaurant and could only earn about 3 to 10 Gold from NPCs each day. However, once it became a 2-star Restaurant, it could earn around 30 to 100 Gold per day from NPCs. Most importantly, the restaurant would gain more Master Cooking Recipes. The restaurant''s accommodations would become higher-quality, as well. Players didn''t determine accommodation fees in the Sea of Trees. Rather, the system would set a price based on the hotel or restaurant''s size, star-rank, and popularity. The minimum accommodation fee for a 1-star establishment in the city would be 50 Silver, while the maximum was 1 Gold. For 2-star accommodation, the minimum price was 2 Gold, while the maximum was 5 Gold. Hence, accommodation fees in the Sea of Trees ranged from 50 Silver to 5 Gold. Establishments could only rise to 2-star status in the city. However, 2-star Restaurants and Hotels were very rare in the Sea of Trees. They were all concentrated in the central district, but players would need sufficient status and Contribution Points to rent these establishments. Though, once players crowded the Sea of Trees, those who owned 2-star Hotels and Restaurants would earn a massive income from their establishments. After Shi Feng dealt with the Forest Traveler, he contacted Melancholic Smile and had her collect the required materials for the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup as quickly as possible. Then, using the Abyss Pendant, Shi Feng left an Abyss Marker in his office in the Forest Traveler. With this, he could return to the Sea of Trees even without a key. Of course, there was an easier method to return; he could upgrade one of his leased establishments to 2-star status. He''d be able to head to a magic store and purchase a special Teleportation Scroll. Although the Teleportation Scroll cost far more than a Return Scroll, each costing 5 Silver Coins, 2-star establishments'' player staff could bind the Teleportation Scroll to the building. Players could then use the bound Teleportation Scroll to teleport back to the establishment. Since the Forest Traveler wasn''t yet 2-star rank, it didn''t have this function. Hence, Shi Feng had to rely on the Abyss Pendant. Once Melancholic Smile had gathered the necessary materials, Shi Feng teleported to White River City''s Guild Residence to collect them. After retrieving the materials from the Guild Warehouse, he used Abyss Teleport to return to the Forest Traveler. He then had Joseph and the two new chefs begin their work in the kitchen. While waiting for the chefs to complete the dishes, Shi Feng returned to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm to produce Advanced Mana Armor Kits and Titan City''s standardized Dark-Gold Weapons. He used this opportunity to upgrade the weapons of Zero Wing''s members and earn the Forging Proficiency required to become an Intermediate Master Forger. Previously, he had acquired several hundred sets of materials necessary for forging the standardized Dark-Gold Weapons from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. Meanwhile, as Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile were both busy with the Hell Tank components, these items'' production rate had considerably slowed. Even now, there was a huge pile of materials left unused. In his Special Forging Room, Shi Feng forged weapons without rest, steadily and rapidly filling his experience bar. As he crafted Dark-Gold Weapons, not only did his Forging Proficiency increase, but he also gained EXP faster than grinding normal monsters. After two days of work, Shi Feng had reached 70.5% of Level 69. He was now less than 30% away from the Level 70 threshold. He was also less than 20,000 Proficiency Points away from becoming an Intermediate Master Forger. Shi Feng had also forged 300-plus standardized Dark-Gold Weapons and 200-plus Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Shi Feng used 130 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Level 55. Although the improvement wasn''t earth- shattering this time, its Attack Power had risen from 2,070 to 2,350. All Basic Attributes had also increased by 192 points, rather than the previous 170 points, and the weapon''s Attack Speed had risen by 29 instead of 27. This change increased the Attack Power of Shi Feng''s sub-arm immensely. However, the Abyssal Blade still couldn''t compare to Killing Ray, whose level increased or decreased with its user''s. However, Shi Feng was satisfied with this result. After all, the Abyssal Blade was a top-tier Epic Weapon now. If he evolved it further, it would become as powerful as Fragmented Legendary Weapons. It''s about time. I should go and collect the dishes. After a glance at the time, Shi Feng used Abyss Transfer to return to the Sea of Trees. As Shi Feng returned to the Forest Traveler, he noticed that the restaurant had considerably more NPC customers. At least, it wasn''t as deserted as it had been. There were even six customers dining in the first-floor hall. A short moment later, Shi Feng collected 300 sets of Drunken Tiger Meat and 500 bowls of Frozen Bone Soup from Joseph. He then teleported back to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City. When Cola, Alluring Summer, and their companions noticed Shi Feng''s arrival in the Guild Hall''s lounge, they ran up to greet him. "Hehe, Guild Leader, look! I''m Level 60 now!" Cola said as he gleefully revealed his level, proving to Shi Feng that he had worked very hard while grinding monsters. Every five levels was a minor turning point in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, Level 60 happened to be one of those turning points that gave players a small boost to their Attributes. "Guild Leader, why did you recall us so suddenly?" Alluring Summer asked after rolling her eyes at Cola. "Mhm. You two, try on these two set equipment," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then took out the Sins of Thunderfire Set and the Scorching Wind Set, which he had acquired from the Flame Demon King, handing them to Alluring Summer and Cola. 1898 Gathering at Zero Wing City Chapter 1898 - Gathering at Zero Wing City "Set equipment?" Both Alluring Summer and Cola looked at the two set equipment Shi Feng had taken out, a little confused. While they were not trying to brag, their current equipment was among the best available in God''s Domain right now. Only Epic Equipment could surpass what they wore. "Just try it out," Shi Feng said. Although he could see the confusion plaguing the two, he didn''t bother to offer any additional explanation. With no other choice, Alluring Summer and Cola complied, trying on the set equipment. "This is...a Level 70 set equipment?!" Alluring Summer''s eyes widened in shock when she saw the Sins of Thunderfire Set''s Attributes. The Sins of Thunderfire Set was a Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, though Shi Feng had only given her four of the six- pieces. Even so, the Thunderfire Set''s Attributes were far superior to the Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment she currently wore. Moreover, the Sins of Thunderfire Set''s set effects were simply tyrannical. The two-piece set effect increased casting speed by 20%, cast range by 20%, and magic damage dealt by 20%. As for the four-piece set effect, it increased all Basic Attributes by 15% and granted the use of the Tier 3 Spell, Thunderburst, a dual-element Spell that dealt both flame and lightning damage. Meanwhile, Cola was incomparably excited after receiving the Scorching Wind Set. Unlike Alluring Summer, he had received a complete, six-piece Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. As Shi Feng had already equipped the two sets with Attribute Gemstones and Level Reduction Gemstones, Alluring Summer and Cola could equip the sets right away. "Amazing! Just equipping this set has pushed my Defense past 35,000 and HP past 100,000!" Cola was stunned when he inspected his updated Attribute Panel. "Not even a Tier 2 Berserker can budge me, now. Not even receiving a Level 60 Mythic monster''s attack will be a problem. If Turtledove and Ye Wumian saw this, they''d die with envy!" Even without any team buffs, he had 100,000 HP. He was basically a humanoid Boss. Reaching 120,000 HP shouldn''t even be impossible with team buffs. Currently, Turtledove and Ye Wumian only had 85,000 HP after receiving team buffs, which only the best Tier 2 MTs had at this stage of the game. Not only had his HP soared past his two companions'', but he was also a Strength-focused MT. He had only invested a small fraction of his Free Attribute Points in Endurance. "Alright, it''s time to go. We can''t keep the other Guilds waiting for too long," Shi Feng said, nodding in satisfaction when he saw Cola and Alluring Summer''s Attributes. With this, he was more confident of taking down the Void Serpent. Following which, Shi Feng led Cola and the others to one of the Four Towers of Elements, the meeting point he had agreed upon with Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. The members of both super-first-rate Guilds had already arrived, but to avoid attracting attention, they all wore Black Cloaks. Despite their efforts, however, the group of 400 players was simply too large to ignore. Furthermore, these players were all Tier 2 experts from major Guilds, so the aura they radiated instilled fear in others. Although these experts had done their best to suppress their auras, the combined energy of 400 experts was stifling. "Who are those people? I don''t mean to brag, but I can be considered an expert player as well, so why do those people feel so dangerous?" "I caught a glimpse of their equipment a moment ago, and they''re all wearing multiple pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. I''ve spent many days grinding to reach Level 54, but even now, I only have one piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet they have multiple pieces of Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment..." "Could they be members from a top adventurer team?" Curiosity pulled at the passersby when they looked at Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members, but the super-first- rate Guild''s players simply ignored the surrounding crowd, waiting in the tower''s main hall in silence. "Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing is quite impressive. It actually developed Zero Wing City to such a prosperous state. I get the feeling that it''s even more prosperous than Star-Moon City," a slender youth wielding a wooden staff commented, astonished as he observed the players in the tower. "Indeed. Zero Wing City''s development is surprising. It''s no wonder why so many corporations are trying to invest in it The income of Zero Wing City alone could easily sustain a first-rate Guild''s daily operation," Illusory Words said, nodding. "I wonder which Mythic Boss Zero Wing plans to raid this time?" On their way to the tower, they had noticed that Zero Wing City''s player population was in no way inferior to that of Star- Moon City. Many of the city''s residents were even elite and expert players. Quite a few major trading firms had also set up shop here. However, the most unbelievable part about the city had to be its number of NPC merchants, which sold plenty of rare items. "According to our investigation on Star-Moon Kingdom, there are only sixteen known Mythic Bosses between Level 50 and Level 60in the kingdom. Since Zero Wing has gathered us in Zero Wing City, I assume that they are targeting the Level 56 Emerald Dryad in the Witch''s Hill''s forest However, I have heard that the Emerald Dryad is extremely difficult to deal with. There will be several hundred Treants guarding the Dryad, as well, all of which are Level 50 Lords and above. Among them are more than 30 Great Lords and four Grand Lords. Even with the combined strength of our Guild''s team and Unyielding Soul''s, raiding the Emerald Dryad will be quite challenging. If we include 600 Tier 1 and Tier 2 experts from Zero Wing, our chances of success are..." the slender youth said, shaking his head. Just dealing with the several hundred Treants would be a major problem, not to mention defeating the Mythic Boss itself. "Zero Wing should have a plan. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have given up such a good opportunity to make money, hiring our Guilds'' experts instead," Illusory Words reasoned. God''s Domain had many tools to offer, and with an appropriate tool, challenging a Field Mythic Boss wasn''t that difficult One of the most common examples of such tolls was the variety of magic arrays. While Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members wondered how Zero Wing planned to take down the Emerald Dryad, a large group of cloaked players appeared in the tower''s entrance. These cloaked players were none other than Zero Wing''s members. The group consisted of exactly 600 players. Naturally, such a large team''s arrival attracted the attention of the players in the tower. "How is this possible?" The slender youth beside Illusory Words stared at the approaching Zero Wing members with a flabbergasted expression. "What''s wrong? They''re not Zero Wing''s members?" Illusory Words asked strangely. The slender youth was Dawnmaster, one of Crimson Emperor''s top ten Elementalists. He also possessed an Identification Skill called Demon Eye, which allowed him to ignore Black Cloaks'' concealment. "No! They are all from Zero Wing, but...those people... They are all Tier 2..." Dawnmaster explained in a trembling voice. 1899 World Boss Chapter 1899 - World Boss "They''re all Tier 2?!" Illusory Words spun towards the approaching Zero Wing members after hearing Dawnmaster''s statement. In a low tone, she asked, "There are...600 people here. Are you sure you''re not mistaken?" Although she could tell that the approaching players were powerful experts, she found it a little frightening that all 600 were Tier 2. All of the various superpowers had an increasingly large number of players that had already completed their Tier 2 Promotion Quests, but even the weaker superpowers were still some time from amassing a 500-man, Tier 2 team, let alone a 600-man team. The Tier 2 Promotion Quests weren''t easy challenges to overcome. The quest had heavy requirements of both technique and equipment standards. Of course, some players, such as independent players with good equipment and techniques, would challenge the lowest difficulty Promotion Quests. The advantage a Tier 2 class had over a Tier 1 was simply too massive. Not only would players gain a huge boost to their Basic Attributes once they reached Tier 2, but their physique would also improve significantly. With these improvements, players would have a much easier time questing and grinding monsters. However, players that selected a low-difficulty Promotion Quest would face severe consequences. Their Tier 3 Promotion Quest would be far more difficult than normal. The majority of independent players chose to acquire their Tier 2 class as soon as possible to secure better resources now, but large Guild experts were a different story. As these experts had their Guild''s support, they didn''t lack resources. Naturally, to ensure that they had an easier time with their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, these experts would challenge the harder Tier 2 Promotion Quests. They invested a lot of time in improving their levels, equipment, and techniques to complete the higher difficulty Promotion Quests, establishing a sturdy foundation so they could walk a smoother path in the future. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was a Guild with abundant resources due to its goldmines like Zero Wing City and Silverwing Town. There was no doubt that Zero Wing had prepared its experts to challenge high-difficulty Promotion Quests. However, just how many members did Zero Wing possess? How many experts had the Guild nurtured? Comparing Zero Wing to a superpower was akin to comparing a firefly to the moon. The two were on entirely different levels. Yet, the Guild had just revealed 600 Tier 2 players, already surpassing many superpowers. "Vice Guild Leader, I wish I were wrong, but players can''t fake the Tier 2 Class Insignias. Every one of those players has a Tier 2 Class Insignia equipped..." Dawnmaster said, smiling bitterly. He had inspected Zero Wing''s members multiple times, but the Tier 2 Class Insignia beneath their Black Cloaks was conspicuous to his eyes. There was no way he would mistake those insignias. Moreover, he hadn''t told Illusory Words everything; among the 600 Zero Wing members, four were Level 60 and more than 50 were Level 59. He also couldn''t identify Shi Feng''s level. The highest-level player in the Dark Night Empire was only Level 58. According to Crimson Emperor''s investigation, this fact included the players that habitually hid their levels. Once players reached such a high level, they''d require a massive amount of EXP to level up, and although players could grind more efficiently and gain EXP more quickly once they had reached Tier 2, they''d still need a lot of time to grind to the next level. Yet, Zero Wing had over 50 Tier 2 players at Level 59. There were even four Level 60 players. If the Guild wished it, it could easily monopolize the top 50 spots on the Dark Night Empire''s Ranking List... One or two levels higher might not mean much to ordinary players, but once players reached Level 50 and gained their Tier 2 class, their natural Attribute growth would increase significantly, exceeding the Free Attribute Points each leveup awarded. A gap of two levels could mean a difference of 30 points in one''s main Attribute. Taking into account the Free Attribute Points, the gap would become even larger. If the level gap increased to five levels, the difference in Attributes would be so massive that it would be akin to equipping an additional piece of top-tier equipment This was the frightening aspect of level differences. This was also why many independent players had opted to complete their Tier 2 Promotion Quests as soon as possible, leveling up more quickly. "Zero Wing has already developed to such an extent?" When Illusory Words thought about Zero Wing openly declaring war against Blackwater in the Ore Empire, she realized the source of Zero Wing''s confidence. It was no wonder why Zero Wing dared to provoke Blackwater with so many Tier 2 experts. When he saw Zero Wing''s members, Unyielding Heart was similarly surprised. Unyielding Soul also had players with high- ranked Identification Skills, after all, but compared to Illusory Words, Unyielding Heart was stupefied by the discovery. Unyielding Heart had raided the Eclipse Throne alongside Zero Wing''s members, so he had known how many Tier 2 players the Guild had. While it was possible that Zero Wing had hidden some of its Tier 2 players, it shouldn''t have been able to hide so many. Despite the short time that had passed since the Eclipse Throne raid, Zero Wing now had at least 600 Tier 2 players. The Guild''s development speed was disturbing... "Since everyone''s here, let''s set out," Shi Feng said once he stood before Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words. "If we linger, I''m afraid that we''ll attract even more attention." The two Vice Guild Leaders exchanged a glance before nodding to Shi Feng''s statement They had already attracted a lot of attention. If they stayed, they would likely attract the various major powers'' notice. Raiding a Field Boss was a dangerous task, especially if it was a Mythic Boss. If God''s Domain''s other powers discovered their operation, they could be ambushed during the raid. Immediately, the two merged their respective 200-man teams with Shi Feng''s. The team of 1,000 then moved to the tower''s teleportation array. Once Shi Feng had input the coordinates, the entire team vanished. Although some curious players had tried to follow the team, Shi Feng had instructed the NPC soldier to erase the team''s destination coordinates before he had left, replacing it with a random location. Players'' figures began to appear, one after another, before a large waterfall within a dense forest. The lake at the base of the waterfall radiated a chilly air, making the new arrivals shiver. These new arrivals were none other than Shi Feng and his companions. "Isn''t this the Frost Jade Waterfall?" Illusory Words, who had memorized the various landmarks in the Witch''s Hill, muttered. Turning toward Shi Feng, she asked, "Aren''t we raiding the Emerald Dryad in the Million Woodland?" The Frost Jade Waterfall was nowhere near the Million Woodland. In fact, the two locations were on opposite ends of the map. Although a dense forest surrounded the Frost Jade Waterfall, this area didn''t have any monsters or resources. No player would grind in such a deserted location. Needless to say, this area didn''t have any Field Bosses. Unyielding Heart nodded in agreement. Based on Unyielding Soul''s research, the Emerald Dryad should be the only Mythic Boss in the Witch''s Hill. Moreover, the forest the Emerald Dryad resided in was rich with herbs. If Zero Wing killed the Emerald Dryad, it would significantly lower the danger players faced while exploring the Million Forest, making it easier to harvest rare herbs. Logically, Zero Wing should target the Emerald Dryad. "No, I''m aiming for a different Boss," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "The Boss is inside this lake. If anyone''s Ice Resistance is lower than 20 points, see me for an Ice Resistance Potion." The lake bed was entirely composed of Frost Jade, and the cold air the jade emitted was extremely powerful. Players would freeze to death in less than 30 seconds without any Ice Resistance, only surviving long-term if they had 20 points or more. Fortunately, fulfilling that requirement wasn''t any trouble to the Tier 2 players present. As experts, they all had some equipment or ornament that granted Magic Resistance, which would also serve as a sort of Universal Resistance. Even without such items, they still had Passive Skills that granted some Magic Resistance. Furthermore, their respective Guilds would have prepared some Ice and Fire Resistance equipment to cater to unexpected situations. Hence, only a small number of players on the team failed to meet the requirement After Shi Feng distributed Ice Resistance Potions to the 100-plus players who didn''t meet the requirement, he instructed the team to jump into the water without offering an explanation. A small cave hid under the Frost Jade Waterfall, large enough for five people to swim through at the same time. This cave was the entrance to the Void Serpent''s underground temple. After swimming through the cave for around three minutes, the first group discovered an exit. As players emerged from the tunnel, they arrived in a dark cavern. Ancient murals covered the cavern walls, depicting the history of the Witch''s Hill. When these players broke through the water''s surface, they were amazed by the scene. They had never expected to find such a place hidden beneath the Frost Jade Waterfall. Unfortunately, the players who lacked understanding of divine runes failed to comprehend the murals on the walls. The players who were familiar with divine runes, however, quickly realized that the murals depicted the Otherworld Gate and the method of activating it. Once the team had finished admiring the murals, they proceeded into another long, dark tunnel. When they left the tunnel, the team arrived in another cavern. This time, the team found a temple within, and unlike the previous cavern, this one was as large as a town and brightly illuminated. Lifting their heads, the team discovered a gigantic, glowing crystal embedded in the cavern''s ceiling. This crystal lit the cavern until it was as bright as day. While everyone admired the glowing crystal, they discovered something that caused their stomachs to churn and a frown to pull at their lips. Coiled around the crystal was a snake that was over a hundred meters long. The serpent''s body was made entirely of translucent crystal. At the moment, the serpent''s eyes were shut, and if not for the occasional twitch, the players would have treated it as a part of the shining crystal. The serpent''s head was easily the size of a three-story building, and its eyes alone were easily larger than a human. As they gazed up at the monster, an instinctive fear gripped their hearts. After a closer look at the serpent''s statistics, many of the players felt their knees go weak. [Void Serpent (Wakanet)] (Realm Lord, Void Creature, Mythic) Level 60 HP 560,000,000/560,000,000 "A World Boss?!" Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart gasped in shock. When they saw the Void Serpent''s HP bars, they felt an unprecedented pressure bear down as terror overwhelmed them. There was no definitive indication of whether a Field Boss was a World Boss or not in God''s Domain. However, one thing differentiated the two: how many HP bars the Boss possessed. Normal Grand Lord ranked Field Bosses had around three to five HP bars, while Mythic ranked Field Bosses had five to seven HP bars. Meanwhile, based on the various large Guilds'' understanding of World Bosses, such a monster should have eight or more HP bars. While more HP bars didn''t necessarily increase a Boss''s total HP, depleting each bar would alter the Boss''s combat method, increasing the raid''s difficulty. The Void Serpent before them had a total of nine HP bars... 1900 Madness Chapter 1900 - Madness The Void Serpent was curled up and sleeping peacefully on the ceiling, and none of the present players dared to move for fear of awaking the World Boss. They had never dealt with a World Boss before, so they did not know how wide its perception range was. On the off chance that the Void Serpent discovered them, they would pay for their mistake with their lives. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you''re not planning to fight that Void Serpent...right?" Illusory Words softly asked Shi Feng. Although she understood that since Shi Feng had brought them here, there was a 99% chance that the Void Serpent was his target, her sanity urged her to confirm her suspicion. For all she knew, this cavern might have two Bosses, and they were actually here for the other one. "Mhm, it''s this Void Serpent." Shi Feng nodded. Illusory Words was silent for a long moment. She decided that Shi Feng must be insane. That was a World Boss they were talking about! Ordinary Mythic monsters were no match for the Void Serpent, and magical tools were utterly useless against World Bosses. In other words, they had no special means of weakening the Void Serpent. They would have to fight it at its peak. Even with their Berserk Skills, peak MTs wouldn''t last more than a few hits. The Void Serpent would likely kill the other classes instantly. Moreover, the Void Serpent was a Realm Lord. Its Skills, Spells, and physique were far superior to Mythic monsters of the same level. Defeating this monster would be even more difficult than facing the Emerald Dryad and its several hundred guards. Although their team of 1,000 Tier 2 players met the requirements to raid a Level 60 World Boss, they barely managed it. If they wanted to raid the World Boss effectively, all 1,000 members would have to be Level 60 and wear Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment or better. Taking a deep breath, Illusory Words looked at Shi Feng and said seriously, "Guild Leader Black Flame, let me say this. The dangers of raiding a World Boss are too great. Crimson Emperor will only help you once. If it looks like we''ll team-wipe, Crimson Emperor''s members will retreat." If she allowed 200 of her Guild''s Tier 2 experts to lose a level, her Guild would suffer a massive blow. She would not follow Zero Wing in its descent into madness. Unyielding Heart, however, said nothing. He simply watched the Void Serpent before turning to Zero Wing''s members. "Vice Guild Leader, aren''t you going to inform Zero Wing of your limits?" Long Soul whispered. "That''s a World Boss we''re talking about. Our Guild can''t afford to lose so many Tier 2 players." Lately, the intensity of the struggle between Unyielding Soul and Starlink had grown. As a result, the Guild needed its Tier 2 experts to manage many affairs. Unyielding Soul could not afford to weaken 200 of its Tier 2 experts for no reason. If the raid turned sour, they had to retreat to minimize their losses. However, Unyielding Heart did not answer Long Soul''s question. Instead, he walked up to Shi Feng solemnly. "Guild Leader Black Flame, Unyielding Soul is willing to fight to the death alongside Zero Wing. In return, please consider selling Unyielding Soul a few pieces of MT equipment once the raid is over," Unyielding Heart said sincerely. "Heart, are you insane?!" Unyielding Heart''s proposal shocked Long Soul. Illusory Words also turned to the other Vice Guild Leader, confusion flashing in her eyes. The various superpowers still relied on special tools for a small chance of defeating ordinary Mythic Bosses, yet not only were they about to raid a Mythic World Boss, but they also had to do so without any tools. Unyielding Heart was one of Unyielding Soul''s supporting pillars of strength. He had invested a lot of time and effort into developing his Guild. She couldn''t understand why Unyielding Heart would take such a massive risk, especially with Unyielding Soul''s current state in the Dark Night Empire. Does Zero Wing really have a chance of defeating the Void Serpent? Illusory Words could not help but wonder as she swept a glance over Zero Wing''s members. She couldn''t see what ability Zero Wing had to face the Void Serpent Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart ignored Long Soul''s attempts to dissuade him. Instead, he remained focused on Shi Feng as he continued, "Of course, we will purchase the equipment at above market price as long as the items are Level 60 Fine-Gold Weapons or Equipment." The fact that Zero Wing intended to challenge a World Boss had surprised him greatly, but he had witnessed the strength of Zero Wing''s main force before. He doubted that the Guild would attempt a challenge it wasn''t confident of overcoming. After all, Zero Wing had dispatched 600 Tier 2 experts for this raid. Hence, he would gamble on Zero Wing''s ability to defeat the Void Serpent Even the various superpowers only had a small stock of top-tier Level 55 equipment, let alone Level 60 equipment. If he could acquire a few pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment for his MTs, it would definitely be of great help to Unyielding Soul during future Team Dungeon raids. Unyielding Soul had many expert teams, and a single Dark Corrosion Set wasn''t nearly enough to satisfy the Guild''s needs. "Alright, I''ll see what I can do." Shi Feng replied to Unyielding Heart''s sincerity with a serious nod. Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment for MTs was nothing to Shi Feng. Selling a few pieces of such equipment in exchange for Unyielding Soul''s full support in the following raid was definitely a worthwhile transaction. The difference between the combat power willing Tier 2 experts wielded and that of experts who were prepared to flee at a given moment was like the difference between heaven and earth. "Thank you," Unyielding Heart said. Normally, when a Guild employed another Guild''s experts to take down a powerful Boss, it wouldn''t sell any of the loot. Such items were crucial to strengthening a Guild''s teams and weren''t usually available on the market, after all. "Has Unyielding Heart gone mad? Does he really believe Zero Wing can succeed?" Chaos gripped Dawnmaster''s mind as he watched Unyielding Heart thank Shi Feng. After witnessing the exchange between Unyielding Heart and Shi Feng as they discussed the Void Serpent''s loot, he wondered if the monster coiled on the ceiling was truly a World Boss. He also wondered if the two players knew what a World Boss was. After discussing the agreement with Unyielding Heart, Shi Feng began to split the team into smaller groups and designated tasks to each. The Void Serpent would transition through a total of nine different combat methods as the raid progressed, and all nine stages would be extremely dangerous. A single mistake could result in a large number of deaths. However, all of these players were experts, and many of them had even reached the Refinement Realm. As long as they were instructed properly, they could avoid any major mistakes. Then, they''d see if the Boss would die before the team was annihilated. "Since there are no problems, all MTs and magical class players, come here to collect a dish. I''ll call up the physical class players after to collect their share," Shi Feng announced after organizing the team. Following which, under Shi Feng''s instructions, everyone received the dishes Shi Feng handed out What a powerful Master Dish! Illusory Words was stunned when she accepted a bowl of Frozen Bone Soup. She hadn''t expected Zero Wing to be capable of securing such a top-tier dish. She was no stranger to chefs'' products. She knew that some dishes could enhance players'' combat power. Unfortunately, most of the buffs food and beverages provided were minor, but this Master Dish increased her Intelligence by 10%. The Frozen Bone Soup could already rival a Master Potion. Moreover, the dish''s effect would even be effective against a World Boss. This buff reduced the raid difficulty by a considerable margin. "Cola, start the raid! Everyone else, follow the plan!" Shi Feng commanded once his teammates were ready. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Cola, who had long since grown restless, grinned fiercely as he charged forward to attract the Void Serpent''s attention. 1901 Terrifying Defense Chapter 1901 - Terrifying Defense Inside the crystafilled cavern, after Shi Feng gave the command to attack, the first MT party, led by Cola, charged straight at the Void Serpent. The other groups fanned out to set up an encirclement. As the Void Serpent was gigantic, even if they didn''t fully understand the Boss''s attack range, it was common sense to stand apart from each other. If they stood too close to each other, they would present the World Boss with a target-rich environment, which would easily result in a team-wipe. When Cola''s party got within 500 yards of the Void Serpent, the Void Serpent suddenly opened its amber eyes. An unprecedented killing intent immediately washed over everyone, causing their hearts to skip a beat. At this moment, it felt as if countless threads bound their bodies, impeding their movements. "Dirty and pitiful mortals, you dare step into my territory?! I''ll have you join the dust that fills this space!" Following which, the Void Serpent let loose an angry roar. A silver ripple spread across the entire cavern, with the Void Serpent as the center, the ground cracking as it came in contact with this ripple. In the next moment, a mud wave swept into the surroundings, taking only a brief moment to reach Cola''s party. "Defend!" Cola shouted hurriedly when he saw the approaching four-meter-tall mud wave. The other five MTs in Cola''s party were Level 57 and Level 58 MTs from Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. With Cola as the core, they quickly fell into a defensive formation. Following which, Cola activated the Tier 2 Skill Guardian Wall, which increased the Defense of himself and players within a 10-yard radius of himself by 30% when blocking frontal attacks. In the next moment, a wall of light formed by six shields appeared before the healer party positioned behind Cola''s party. Boom! When the mud wave crashed into the wall of light, the powerful impact sent Cola''s MT party stumbling backward, the HP of the six MTs decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Only after the six MTs had retreated by eight yards did they manage to stabilize their footing. After suffering the Void Serpent''s AOE attack, the MTs of Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor had lost at least 50,000 HP each. Each of them had a maximum HP below 80,000. Hence, that one AOE attack had instantly taken more than half of their HPs. This outcome caused everyone in the team to gasp involuntarily. So, this is a World Boss? Illusory Words, who was part of the healer party standing behind Cola''s party, was stunned as she looked at the Void Serpent, which had already lowered itself to the ground. With just one roar, the Void Serpent had inflicted over -50,000 damage each on the frontline MTs, who could be considered among the best MTs in God''s Domain right now. If that AOE attack had been a powerful melee attack instead, the consequences would''ve been unimaginable. At this point, she truly wondered how Zero Wing planned to raid the Void Serpent. Did they even have a chance at victory? However, although Illusory Words doubted Zero Wing''s success, that did not affect her healing speed in the slightest. Right after seeing the MTs receiving damage, she started double-casting one Tier 2 Healing Light and one Tier 1 Recover on Cola, fully displaying her abilities as one of the Ten Great Clerics in God''s Domain. Huh? Why is his HP... After Illusory Words finished casting her Healing Spells, she suddenly noticed that Cola still had close to 80% of his HP remaining. Meanwhile, thanks to her healing, his HP instantly recovered to full. However, before Illusory Words could figure out what was going on, the Void Serpent several hundred yards from the team''s frontline launched another attack. After the Boss let out a hiss, countless Void Spears appeared around it. The Void Spears then shot toward Cola''s MT party in a blur, a series of sonic booms echoing throughout the cavern. "Everyone, stand behind me!" Cola shouted urgently when he noticed the frightening power contained in those Void Spears. Although the five other MTs had been healed back to 70% or so, if they were to receive this terrible attack without activating their Lifesaving Skills, they were likely to get killed. After hearing Cola''s command, the five MTs and six healers promptly lined up behind the Guardian Knight. In the next moment, the Void Spears crashed into Cola''s shield one after another. However, not every Void Spear landed on the shield; some brushed past his body and tore holes into his Black Cloak. Meanwhile, due to the Void Spears'' strong destructive power, the Black Cloak''s durability zeroed out instantly, the Black Cloak itself disintegrating into nothingness. The Black Cloak''s disappearance exposed the silver suit of armor Cola wore, which shone with the glow unique to Fine-Gold Equipment. Crimson runes could be seen engraved all over the silver armor, and judging from how the runes matched perfectly, it was obvious that the suit of silver armor was Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Meanwhile, with the Black Cloak gone, Cola''s Attributes were also on display for all to see, his maximum HP of 118,600 revealed to everyone. Moreover, as the Black Cloak was no longer present to suppress Cola''s aura, the Tier 2 MTs standing behind him suddenly felt a powerful pressure bearing down on their bodies. How is this possible?! Illusory Words fell into a daze when she saw Cola''s HP bar. Even the strongest MT in Crimson Emperor had only a little over 80,000 HP after including team buffs, yet Cola had close to 120,000 HP. Moreover, Cola''s Defense was also as unbelievably high as his HP was. Despite not having activated any Lifesaving Skills, Cola had lost less than 40,000 HP after receiving all those Void Spears. If it were any other Tier 2 MT standing in Cola''s place just now, they would''ve been killed instantly by those Void Spears. After all, the Void Spears were a completely different attack from the mud wave before. The mud wave had simply been a casual greeting from the Void Serpent. Meanwhile, the Void Spears were the result of a Spell. Those Void Spears should be much more powerful than the mud wave. At this moment, Illusory Words wasn''t the only one surprised by this revelation. The other Tier 2 MTs in Cola''s party were similarly stupefied. As they were also MTs, nobody understood more clearly than they did just how frightening a Tier 2 MT with close to 120,000 HP was. "What kind of set equipment is he wearing? It''s actually capable of forming a protective barrier around his body." "I''ve seen every Level 50 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for MTs available in the game, and this is definitely not one of them. He''s most likely wearing Level 55 Fine-Gold Set Equipment." "Zero Wing is amazing. It actually managed to get its hands on this sort of set equipment." As the other Tier 2 MTs were very close to Cola, they could see that a faint layer of Mana covered Cola''s silver armor, forming a protective barrier that mitigated the Void Spears'' damage tremendously. This situation was simply unbelievable. They had never seen Fine-Gold Set Equipment like this before. Is this the reason why Black Flame is confident of defeating the Void Serpent? When Illusory Words looked at Cola''s bearlike figure, she more or less understood why Zero Wing dared to challenge a World Boss. The most important requirement when raiding a Boss was a powerful MT. As long as a team had an MT capable of tanking the Boss, then the raid definitely had a chance of succeeding. While everyone was still in shock, Cola took the initiative to charge at the Void Serpent. He wanted to get within attacking range of the Void Serpent as quickly as possible. However, the Void Serpent showed no signs of relenting as it continuously launched Void Spears at Cola from a distance. Meanwhile, the healer party led by Illusory Words kept healing him. Although each wave of Void Spears dealt close to -40,000 damage to Cola, the healers were still able to keep him alive and healthy without much effort. After all, Cola''s massive HP granted Illusory Words and the others a lot of leeway when healing. They could afford to cast powerful Healing Spells, which had long cast times. After running for a short moment, Cola arrived before the Void Serpent. "Foolish mortals! All your efforts are futile!" Upon seeing Cola closing in on itself, the Void Serpent sent its tail whipping at the Guardian Knight. Despite its gigantic size, the Void Serpent''s tail moved with lightning speed, so fast that it even tore space. The strong air pressure the tail created impeded the movements of the other Tier 2 MTs, which turned sluggish. They couldn''t help Cola block the attack in time. However, unlike the other MTs in his party, Cola remained completely unaffected by the powerful air pressure, swiftly raising the Titan Guard to block the attack. Boom! The ground beneath Cola shattered. The impact was so powerful that even the players standing over a hundred yards away could feel the ground underfoot shaking. When everyone present saw the devastated terrain before the Void Serpent, they stared in stupefaction despite themselves. The Void Serpent''s frightening destructive power woke a sense of hopelessness in everyone. As the dust settled, everyone quickly noticed a figure standing amid the dirt and rubble. This figure was none other than Cola. Meanwhile, beside Cola''s body lay the Void Serpent''s tail. "He managed to block even that?" When everyone saw that Cola still retained over half of his HP, they could not help gaping in shock. 1902 Overwhelming DPS Chapter 1902 - Overwhelming DPS "Crap! Just how high is his Strength Attribute?!" Hunting Blade, who was currently prepared to close in on the Void Serpent, could not help his surprise when he looked at Cola. He could not bring himself to believe that Cola had actually managed to offset the power of the Void Serpent''s tail strike. Although he was currently equipped in the Dark Corrosion Set, he wouldn''t have had the Strength to offset the Void Serpent''s attack without activating a Berserk Skill. He would only have been able to receive the attack head-on. The Void Snake''s simple, physical attack had deformed its surroundings to such an extent. Its Strength was so great that the resulting shockwave had sent the five Tier 2 MTs near Cola flying back over a dozen yards. The party of healers, who stood roughly 30 yards away from Cola, also nearly lost their footing. While offsetting a monster''s attack was easy for expert players, the precondition for doing so was for the Strength of both sides to be roughly equal. If a player tried to defend against an attack that carried Strength far superior to their own, they would either go flying or get crushed on the spot Yet, despite Cola not having activated a Berserk Skill, he had managed to offset the Void Snake''s attack. Cola''s Strength was simply extraordinary. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart, who stood a short distance away from the Void Serpent, was similarly shocked by this outcome. Although he had known that Cola possessed frightening Attributes since the Eclipse Throne raid, Cola was like a completely different person compared to back then. If Cola went to raid the Eclipse Throne right now, the Dungeon raid would definitely be a piece of cake. "Heal Cola! Everyone else, move according to the plan once Cola stabilizes his aggro!" Shi Feng instructed through the team chat after seeing Cola arrive before the Void Serpent Shi Feng did not find Cola''s performance surprising even in the slightest. After all, Cola was equipped with not only a Fragmented Legendary Shield but also a six-piece Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment For him to be able to tank a Level 60 World Boss was very normal. Of course, Cola was still far from capable of dealing with the normal Level 80 Flame Demon King; he would be able to tank the Level 80 World Boss all by himself only if he activated a Berserk Skill. After hearing Shi Feng''s reminder, the healer party promptly snapped out of their daze and started healing Cola and the others. In the meantime, the nine 100-man DPS teams slowly closed in on the Void Serpent from all sides. The Void Serpent was a World Boss known for its single-target offensive capabilities. Only with an extremely powerful MT would players have a chance when raiding it. After Cola stabilized his aggro on the Void Serpent, the majority of the team started launching attacks at the World Boss. The melee players struck at the Void Serpent''s sides, while the ranged players mercilessly bombarded the Void Serpent''s head with Spells and arrows, using their attacks to disrupt the Boss''s vision. With several hundred players attacking the Void Serpent simultaneously, a series of damages rapidly appeared above the Boss''s head. -6,064! -7,348! -5,541! Practically everyone''s attacks dealt damage in the thousands, an outcome that rendered many people speechless. "Why is this Boss''s Defense so high?" Unyielding Heart frowned involuntarily upon seeing everyone''s damage. Even he had barely dealt over -10,000 damage after using a Tier 2 Skill. Compared to other Mythic Bosses he had fought against before, the Void Serpent''s Defense was significantly superior. As a Tier 2 Berserker, when he fought against an ordinary Mythic Boss, his Tier 2 Skills could easily deal around -30,000 damage. With their team''s overall DPS, they would most likely take a very long time to kill the Void Serpent. After attacking for five seconds, they had barely managed to chip away a little over 1% of the Void Serpent''s HP. However, when the World Boss''s battle recovery kicked in, its HP actually reverted to full. "What?!" Illusory Words could not help but be surprised when she saw this situation, wondering what the Void Serpent had just done to recover so much HP. While everyone in the team was puzzled by this situation, Shi Feng knew exactly what was going on. This was the effect of the Void Serpent''s Self-healing Passive Skill, which doubled its battle recovery. In other words, the Void Serpent regenerated 2% of its HP every five seconds. This Boss also had another Passive Skill, called Void Body, which halved the damage it received and reduced chances of critical hits occurring by 70%. These two Passive Skills made the Void Serpent extremely difficult to deal with. If a team lacked DPS, it would only be slowly whittled to death. "Aqua, you guys can start attacking now!" Shi Feng said to Zero Wing''s main force members, who had arrived behind the Void Serpent. "Understood!" Aqua Rose promptly commanded Zero Wing''s main force to attack. At this moment, the advantage in Attributes Zero Wing''s main force members possessed revealed itself. Every one of them dealt at least -8,000 damage with their attacks. In the case of Aqua Rose, Flying Shadow, Shadow Sword, and Blackie, their attacks delivered at least -15,000 damage. Occasionally, Aqua Rose would use a powerful water-type Spell and inflict over -20,000 damage on the World Boss. As for Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Zhao Yueru, and Alluring Summer, every one of their attacks reaped a minimum of -20,000 from the Boss''s HP. Occasionally, they would use a powerful Skill that wreaked around -40,000 damage. Moreover, none of these damages were due to critical hits. "How are they dealing so much damage?" "Even when I used a Tier 2 Curse, I only managed to deal around -13,000 damage. How are they dealing over -40,000 damage with normal Tier 2 Spells?" "Crap! Just what kind of equipment are they using?!" The members of the two super-first-rate Guilds found this situation unbelievable. They were all experts of super-first-rate Guilds. Quite a few of them were even Refinement Realm experts. Although they were not the strongest in their respective Guilds, they were still in the upper ranks. If placed in a first-rate Guild, they would undoubtedly rank at the very top. Due to Zero Wing''s main force taking action, three distinct tiers immediately formed in the team''s DPS counter. The first tier was occupied by humanoid monsters like Gentle Snow. The second tier was occupied by Aqua Rose, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Unyielding Heart, Long Soul, Dawnmaster, and other peak experts. Finally, the third tier would consist of players like themselves. Moreover, the gaps between each tier were so massive that there was simply no comparison between them. Meanwhile, due to Zero Wing''s main force members joining in on the attack, the Void Serpent''s HP finally started decreasing. Even so, the decline was still extremely slow. 99%... 98%... 97%... After several minutes of battle, the Void Serpent''s HP finally fell to 85%, its first HP bar emptied. Suddenly, the Void Serpent let loose an angry roar. "Irritating ants! Turn to dust!" In the next moment, the Void Serpent incanted, "Children of the void, breath of the wild wind, sword of the sharp blade! Turn into my hands and rend everything apart!" "Everyone, pay attention to dodging! Do not try to receive the attack, no matter what!" Shi Feng shouted hurriedly when he saw the Void Serpent starting to cast a Spell. After the Void Serpent spent three seconds chanting, Void Blades suddenly appeared in the sky and rained down on the ground, covering a 200-yard radius around the Boss. For a time, countless Void Blades bombarded the vicinity of the Void Serpent In addition, the attacks of the Void Blades did not follow any pattern whatsoever. Tier 4 Domain Skill, Void Storm! The descending Void Blades forced everyone to focus entirely on evasion. Now, players had to move constantly to dodge the Void Blades. This situation increased the raid difficulty by a large margin. Moreover, after using Void Storm, the Void Serpent still showed no signs of letting up on its offensive. Suddenly, its body started radiating a silver glow. A moment later, its gigantic body split into two smaller versions of itselfits real body and a doppelganger. "A Doppelganger Skill?" Illusory Words''s complexion darkened immediately. Among the multitude of Skills Boss monsters could possess, Doppelganger Skills were the most troublesome. Although Doppelganger Skills would reduce the overall Attributes of the Boss, the reduction would not be significant. With how powerful the Void Serpent was, MTs other than Cola still wouldn''t be able to tank its doppelganger easily. Just as the doppelganger was about to strike at a nearby team, a figure suddenly appeared above it. In the next moment, a blue lightning bolt struck down on the serpent doppelganger''s head, the blow forcing a cry from the doppelganger as its body crashed straight into the ground. The impact formed a massive crater with web-like cracks spreading out into the surroundings. 1903 Combat Power Unleashed Chapter 1903 - Combat Power Unleashed As the team watched the serpent doppelganger smash into the ground, they gaped in shock before turning to Shi Feng and the glowing, blue longsword in his hand. Although the Void Serpent''s doppelganger was not as strong as the main Boss, it rivaled ordinary Mythic monsters, yet Shi Feng had slammed it into the ground with brute force. The scene was on par with watching an ant topple a lion. It was hard to believe. Moreover, Shi Feng''s attack had dealt over -60,000 damage to the Void Serpent''s doppelganger. Seeing this, the Tier 2 Berserkers broke out in a cold sweat. Before his teammates could recover from their shock of seeing such a formidable performance, Shi Feng brandished the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray against the doppelganger once again. Purgatory Pentaslash! Shadow Blade! Sword lights glittered around Shi Feng, and the watching players were overwhelmed as they watched his rapid attacks. Damages of over -20,000 appeared above the doppelganger''s head, one after another. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had landed over a dozen attacks on the doppelganger. In terms of DPS, not even Fire Dance and her companions, members of the first tier, were no match for Shi Feng. "Everyone, focus your fire on the doppelganger!" Shi Feng shouted after launching a series of attacks. "Be careful to dodge the Void Blades! All MTs except Cola, protect the healers! Don''t get greedy when attacking, and do not look into the doppelganger''s Magic Eyes! Ranged DPS, use your strongest moves on the doppelganger''s eyes on my command!" The serpent doppelganger was a part of the Void Serpent. If they killed the doppelganger, the real Void Serpent would take a corresponding amount of damage. However, if they did not kill the doppelganger within a set time, the doppelganger would automatically disappear and heal the Void Serpent for a considerable amount of HP. They needed to kill the doppelganger immediately, or the Void Serpent would chip away at the team until they were all dead. Meanwhile, the serpent doppelganger''s power wasn''t its Strength, but it''s Passive Skill, Void Magic Eyes. Players would be briefly paralyzed if they looked directly into the doppelganger''s eyes. In addition, the doppelganger could use the Tier 4 Spell, Void Freeze through its gaze. When cast, the Spell would prevent all players within 150 yards of the doppelganger from using any Skills and Spells for 30 seconds. While players faced both the Void Serpent and its doppelganger, they''d team-wipe if they couldn''t use Skills or Spells for so long. Fortunately, there was a simple method of avoiding that outcome; they just had to destroy the doppelganger''s eyes. All of these players were experts, and as Shi Feng gave the command, the team redirected their attacks to the doppelganger. Every member of the team fully displayed the technique standards of Guild Experts. They easily avoided two or three Void Blades as they flew towards them while maintaining their attacks against the serpent doppelganger. If ordinary experts attempted to challenge this Boss, they''d be at their limit just trying to dodge the Void Blades. They would have no energy for anything else. With Cola tanking the real Void Serpent and Shi Feng, who had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, keeping the serpent doppelganger, which couldn''t be aggroed, busy, the rest of the team was free to attack without worry. Whenever the doppelganger was about to cast Void Freeze, Shi Feng instructed the team''s ranged players to bombard the monster''s eyes. Not only did the serpent doppelganger rapidly lose HP as a result, but the monster was also unable to deal any damage. So, this is the Sword King''s strength? Illusory Words felt her admiration for Shi Feng grow as she watched the man assault the monster, dodge Void Blades, and command the battle effortlessly. Despite such an intense fight against a Mythic Boss, Shi Feng issued accurate and efficient commands for the team, effectively preventing one crisis after another. This ability was far more impressive than individual strength. When challenging a Boss, there was a limit to how much an individual could achieve with their own strength. Only a cohesive team could effectively defeat Boss monsters. Hence, leadership in a team was very important. With good leadership, a team could avoid unnecessary losses. This was also why the various large Guilds and adventurer teams valued players with leadership skills. While an adventurer team''s commander didn''t need to be the strongest player on the team, they had to be able to command it Not only was Shi Feng ridiculously powerful as an individual, but he was also capable of commanding a 1,000-man team so precisely... After about two minutes, the serpent doppelganger, which had 40,000,000 HP, fell, transforming into a gray smoke before flowing back into the Void Serpent As the doppelganger died, the Void Sperent instantly lost 40,000,00 HP, while the team hadn''t lost a single player. After dealing with the doppelganger, the various Guild experts refocused on the Void Serpent. 75%... 60%... 50%... When the Void Serpent''s HP fell to 50%, it only had four HP bars remaining. At the same time, magic arrays began to manifest around the fight, and after a short moment, they merged to form a massive, blue magic array. Suddenly, translucent creatures began to pull themselves out of the blue array, and in seconds, hundreds and thousands of them joined the battlefield. The weakest of these monsters was a Level 55 Lord, while the stronger creatures were Level 60 Great Lords... Everyone felt their scalps tingle when they saw the army of translucent creatures. It was as if the Void Serpent had opened a gate to another world, and the world''s monsters poured out of the gate. "Everyone, activate your Berserk Skills and attack the Boss with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng gave the blue magic array a serious look. This Spell was one of the Void Serpent''s team-wipe moves, Void''s Descent If players did not reduce the Void Serpent''s HP to 30%, the Boss would continue to channel Void''s Descent and summon more Void Creatures to the battle. There was no limit to the number of Void Creatures this ability could summon, either. In the past, the first players to raid the Void Serpent had been very high-leveled, some of which had already reached Tier 3. They had been able to cope with the endless army of Void Creatures easily, as a result. However, the majority of Shi Feng''s team hadn''t even reached Level 60, much less reach Tier 3. If they didn''t drop the Mythic Boss''s HP quickly, they''d definitely team-wipe. It was at this moment that the players understood that they couldn''t afford to hold back against so many Void Creatures. These players immediately activated their Berserk Skills as instructed, their Basic Attributes skyrocketing. They then tried to maintain their attacks against the Void Serpent while fighting the waves of summoned creatures. Fortunately, the Void Serpent would not move or attack while it summoned its Void Creatures. Multiple Void Creatures assaulted every player on the team, and although they were all experts, the fight still crawled to a stalemate. Only Cola, Fire Dance, and the other humanoid monsters were able to cope with the summoned monsters. Shi Feng didn''t hold back, either, as he activated Power of Darkness. He even used Phantom Kill and Nine Dragons Slash, and every Abyssal Blade phantom repelled a Void Creature. With 16 Abyssal Blade phantoms defending him, none of the Void Creatures could get close. Without having to worry about the surrounding monsters, Shi Feng and his doppelganger were free to launch a frenzied assault against the Void Serpent, each attack dealing more than -50,000 damage. Following suit, Zhao Yueru and Alluring Summer cast one large-scale destruction Spell after another, targeting the World Boss. 48%... 47%... 46%... Although the Void Serpent''s HP continued to fall, the team began to suffer casualties as it faced the endless torrent of Void Creatures. Normally, players employed zerg tactics when raiding Bosses, but this Boss had turned the tables. The team experienced how frightening a Boss''s zerg tactics could be, and every one of its Void Creatures was either a Lord or Great Lord. Fifty players had died in less than a minute after the Void Serpent had begun to summon Void Creatures. "Vice Guild Leader, at this rate, we''ll team-wipe. Let''s hurry and retreat," Dawnmaster, who held off two Great Lords and three Lords, hurriedly suggested. Although they held on, that would change as more Void Creatures joined the battle. Sure enough, a World Boss is too much for current players. Illusory Words frowned as less than 800 members of the team remained standing. Crimson Emperor had already suffered over 30 casualties, and most of the survivors'' HP constantly danced in and out of the danger zone. The team''s healers simply couldn''t keep up. "Everyone, retreat!" When they heard Illusory Words'' command, Crimson Emperor''s experts breathed a sigh of relief. They immediately formed a defensive circle and carved a path out of the battlefield. Once they had distanced themselves from the World Boss, they used Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls, fleeing from the cavern. Now, only Zero Wing''s and Unyielding Soul''s members remained to face the Void Serpent. Meanwhile, the Boss still had 39% of its HP remaining. Seeing this, Long Soul and Hunting Blade grew nervous, thoughts of urging Unyielding Heart to give the command to retreat surfacing. However, when Unyielding Heart saw that Shi Feng hold fast, he, too, chose to persist. Team members continued to fall. 650 people... 600 people... 500 people... "Break!" When less than 400 players alive on the team, Shi Feng and his doppelganger used Flame Burst simultaneously. One after another, damages exceeding -400,000 appeared above the Void Serpent''s head. By the time Shi Feng and his doppelganger finished their attacks, the Void Serpent''s HP fell to 30%. As it did, the Mythic monster stopped channeling its Spell. The blue magic array vanished, and the summoned Void Creatures disintegrated into ash. "Foolish mortals, you will know despair!" The Void Serpent lowered its head to look at the players before it, anger apparent in its gaze. The Void Serpent then spread its jaws and sucked in the Void Creatures'' ashes. The translucent Void Serpent then slowly transformed into a creature of flesh and blood, expanding and growing larger. Sharp bones jutted out along its spine, and after a short moment, the Void Serpent transformed into a gigantic, pitch-black beast, exuding turbid gas that filled the cavern. Roar! With a roar, the cavern began to tremble, shaking debris from the ceiling. "This Boss can grow even stronger?" Long Soul felt true despair as he stared at the mountain-sized Void Serpent. Even Unyielding Heart felt discouraged. Now they the team had used up their Berserk Skills, how could they continue to fight the strengthened Void Serpent? "It''s finally in its complete state?" Shi Feng felt an intense pressure from the Void Serpent. "It seems that we don''t need to hold back anymore. Cola, unleash your combat power!" When Cola heard Shi Feng''s order, all of his worry about the World Boss vanished. Now, only excitement and joy drove him. "Leave it to me, Guild Leader!" Cola grinned at the Void Serpent He then charged at the monster without hesitation. 1904 Wargod of Fire Chapter 1904 - Wargod of Fire With a light whip of its tail, the Void Serpent shattered the ground before the temple. Everyone could feel the stone beneath their feet quake. The Void Serpent''s peerless Strength and the turbid black gas instilled a sense of despair, and to make matters worse, the Boss still had over 167,000,000 HP. "Unyielding Heart! Get it through your head! Our Guild cannot afford to sacrifice 200 Tier 2 players! We need to retreat immediately!" Long Soul growled as he turned on Unyielding Heart. At this point, the raid''s outcome was clear. They had struggled against the Void Serpent when they had still had 1,000 Tier 2 players, but now, not only had the Mythic monster grown stronger, but the team also had less than 400 players remaining. With so few players, finishing this raid was impossible. Moreover, Unyielding Soul had already lost close to 100 players, a severe blow to the Guild. This wasn''t a Dungeon. If players died, they would lose a full level. Even if the healers resurrected them and reduced their death penalties, the loss would still be painful. "Everyone, retreat! We cannot continue this crazy farce with Zero Wing!" Hunting Blade, who stood beside the Void Serpent, commanded through the Guild chat. Although Unyielding Heart was one of the Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders, he couldn''t let the man risk the Guild''s future. However, as Unyielding Soul''s members prepared to follow the order, Cola charged at the Void Serpent. The Guardian Knight showed no intentions of working with his companions to stop the World Boss. "Has he lost his mind? He''s actually charging at the Boss?" Hunting Blade could not help but watch Cola in astonishment. While he acknowledged that Cola''s Attributes were frightening, without a Berserk Skill, the Guardian Knight had no hope of stopping the Void Serpent by himself. When the Void Serpent noticed Cola''s approach, it squinted its amber eyes and swept its now-scaly tail at the Guardian Knight as if sweeping away the dust on the ground. From afar, players noticed that space seemed to twist as the tail passed, barely withstanding the Void Serpent''s Strength... "Come!" Rather than shrink back in fear, Cola dashed to meet the attack. Just before the Void Serpent''s tail struck the Guardian Knight, flames emerged from Cola''s form. In the blink of an eye, Cola had transformed into a charging bonfire with a six-meter radius, leaving his teammates confused. But despite the strange development, the Void Serpent had no intentions of slowing its tail attack as it struck the moving bonfire. Peng! "It stopped?!" Since everyone had assumed that the Void Serpent''s attack would extinguish the flames, they were shocked by the true outcome of the clash. The gigantic, scaly tail had actually stopped before the humanoid torch, unable to proceed any further. The stone beneath the raging fire cracked, only stopping over 20 yards away. After the flames subsided, they revealed a six-meter giant. The giant wore a full set of flaming, crimson armor, the flame''s heat boiling the water in the air and turning the ground beneath it into lava. In addition, the giant wielded a flaming one- handed axe and a flaming shield. As the giant''s aura washed over the team, they felt an intense pressure bear down on them, but it wasn''t just a result of a difference in Attributes; it was a result of a difference in Life Ratings. Before anyone could react, the flaming, armored giant sent a chop at the Void Serpent''s tail. As the axe swung through the air, a sea of fire enveloped everything in a 30-yard cone before the giant. The burning weapon left a deep, scorched wound in the Void Serpent''s tail as the Mythic monster cried out in agony. A damage exceeding -80,000 also appeared above the Void Serpent''s head, the attack''s power astonishing the surrounding players. The injury enraged the Void Serpent Spreading its maw, the Boss shot a spear of foul, black gas, and the spear flew so fast that not even the Tier 2 experts could keep up with the attack. Fortunately, the flaming giant reacted quickly, raising its flaming shield in time to stop the attack. The impact forced the giant to stumble four steps back, a damage of over -100,000 appearing above its head. The Void Serpent''s destructive power had clearly improved. However, to everyone''s surprise, the giant''s HP bar had barely decreased despite so much damage. Upon closer inspection, they would''ve seen that the flaming giant had maximum HP of 12,000,000. With so much HP, over -100,000 damage was practically negligible. So, this is the power of the Wargod of Fire? Once he had steadied, Cola couldn''t help but take a look at himself. He could feel that his physical control had reached unprecedented levels. In addition, his Basic Attributes were even higher than when he activated a Berserk Skill, especially his HP. Although he was still no match for actual monsters, he was leaps and bounds superior to other players and NPCs. "Healers, focus on Cola! Everyone else, focus on the Boss!" Shi Feng shouted. Even he was slightly surprised to see Cola single-handedly tank the Void Serpent. He hadn''t dreamed that the Wargod of Fire transformation would be so powerful. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s command shook everyone from their daze. "Cola? That flaming giant is Cola?" The revelation shocked Long Soul. "So, this is the trump card Black Flame had prepared?" Unyielding Heart was similarly astounded. At the same time, he envied Zero Wing a little. With such a powerful MT, Zero Wing would have no problems raiding Level 60, 100-man Team Dungeons in the future. The Guild would also collect Level 60 top-tier weapons and equipment far faster than the various superpowers, securing a massive advantage. Meanwhile, Cola rendered the Void Serpent powerless thanks to his recent transformation. Although it launched a series of frenzied attacks, Cola stopped every one effortlessly. Moreover, since the Mythic Boss had entered its complete form, it had lost the effects of its Passive Skill, Void Body, and its battle recovery. From now on, all damage the Boss received would be permanent. However, the berserk Void Serpent wasn''t an easy foe. From time to time, it launched AOE breath attacks, and players still had to cope with the Void Blades. The team steadily lost players. Once the situation had stabilized, Shi Feng focused on his offense. After Phantom Kill''s Cooldown ended, he summoned his doppelganger and used Dragon Soul, transforming his doppelganger into a Black Dragon. Although the doppelganger would lose its weapons and equipment after transforming, the Black Dragon''s Life Rating and Strength surpassed Cola''s by a large margin. Most importantly, the Black Dragon was a Level 69 monster. Each time the Black Dragon attacked, it devoured a large chunk of the Void Serpent''s HP. 24%... 20%... 16%... When less than 300 players remained alive on the team, the Void Serpent''s HP had fallen below 1,000,000. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Icarus''s Heart, which he had reclaimed from Aqua Rose earlier. Using Instant Strike to appear before the Void Serpent, he brandished the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray. Purgatory Pentaslash! Shadow Blade! One powerful Skill after another struck the Void Serpent, devouring the final strand of HP the World Boss possessed. With a frustrated cry, the Void Serpent''s colossal body collapsed to the ground. 1905 World-class Loo Chapter 1905 - World-class Loot Watching the Void Serpent collapse to the ground, the players in the cavern breathed a deep sigh of relief. They had finally defeated the World Boss. "We did it!" "I nearly thought we were goners!" Although all of these players were Tier 2 experts, some slid to the ground, powerless, after the battle had ended. The team had less than 300 survivors, and everyone was exhausted beyond belief. Their weapons and equipment''s durability had been severely depleted, and had the battle gone on for any longer, they would''ve been at risk of losing the items during the fight. Moreover, the healers were nearly out of Mana. They wouldn''t have lasted more than a few minutes. Many players instantly rose from Level 57 to 58 as the World Boss had died thanks to the abundant EXP the Void Serpent had awarded. The Boss''s death had granted so much EXP that even a Level 69 player like Shi Feng watched his experience bar gain a sizable chunk. However, the survivors'' attention was locked on the Void Serpent''s loot, rather than the awarded EXP. After the Void Serpent had died, it had dropped a small mountain of items, including items, materials, and four dazzling treasure chests. The cavern''s Mana passively gathered around the small mountain of items, making it obvious that the loot was quite extraordinary. Seeing this scene, the staring players couldn''t help but gulp. So, this is a World Boss''s loot? Long Soul, who had managed to survive raid, was dumbfounded when he saw the large mound of items. There were easily over 100 items, maybe even more than 300. Based on what he could see, more than ten items radiated the signature glow effect of Dark-Gold Equipment. Even more items gave off the light of Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. The Void Serpent was a Level 60 World Boss, so the weapons and equipment it dropped were likely all Level 60 items. In the worst-case scenario, some items might be Level 55. These were the best weapons and equipment available in the game right now. Furthermore, the pile contained several gold, glowing treasure chests. Just looking at all them caused Long Soul''s heartbeat to accelerate. Naturally, Unyielding Heart was similarly excited and envious upon seeing the small mountain. He hadn''t expected the Void Serpent to drop so many items. Its loot could likely boost a 100-man team''s combat power by a significant margin. Of course, the Zero Wing members present stared at the loot with brightly glowing eyes. Since they had participated in the raid, they''d have priority when purchasing the items. If they purchased the items now, they wouldn''t have to spend as many GCPs than if they waited until the items showed up in the Guild Warehouse. This loot really is frightening. Even Shi Feng was a little surprised to see so many items. Normally, a World Boss only dropped a little more than 100 items, but it was obvious that the mound contained far more than that. Moreover, the Void Serpent had dropped extremely rare treasure chests. Following which, Shi Feng began to organize the Boss''s loot, and the surviving healers turned to resurrect the dead, reducing the slain players'' death penalties. Shi Feng had only finished with the loot after the healers had returned all of the players to life. The Void Serpent had dropped a total of 413 items. Among them, 267 were rare and precious materials. None of the rare materials were available on the market, and 17 were even Inferior Legendary rank. Take the Void Serpent''s scales, for example. Void Scales were natural armor kits and far more powerful than Advanced Mana Armor Kits. When equipped, not only would one of these scales reduce incoming damage by 10%, but it would also improve physique by 5% and Basic Attributes by 8%. Unfortunately, players were only able to equip one Void Scale. Even so, just one offered a massive boost. The Void Scales were especially potent on an MT''s equipment. A total of 11 Void Scales had dropped. There were also four Void Fangs among the Inferior Legendary materials. The Void Fang could be used to strengthen weapons. When used, they would grant the weapon the Void Rend effect, increasing damage by 10% and ignoring one tier of Defense. The last two Inferior Legendary materials were bottles of Void Blood, each containing 100 drops. Not only was Void Blood a key component in activating the Otherworld Gate, but it was also the main material to brew Void Wine. When consumed, Void Wine would permanently increase all Attributes by 20 points and physique by 5%. Each bottle of Void Wine had sold for at least 600 Gold during Shi Feng''s previous life, but even at that price, the various large Guilds had fought to claim them. The Void Wine Recipe was also among the 146 items the Void Serpent had dropped, although only Master Chefs could brew it. Of the 146 items, 35 were Level 55 to 60 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, including the Mana Heart Set, a Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for Elementalists and the Earthen Protector Set, a Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for Shield Warriors. Unfortunately, both sets were incomplete; only four set pieces of each had dropped. The rest of the Fine-Gold items were individual pieces. As for Dark-Gold rank, 16 Level 55 to 60 Weapons and Equipment had dropped, including the Magic Storm Set, a Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for magical classes. However, only five pieces had dropped. To complete the set, Shi Feng would need to acquire three more pieces. The rest of the Dark-Gold items were all individual pieces, the most valuable of which was the Magic Serpent Buckler. Although these Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment were considered top-tier at this stage of the game, they were subpar at best compared to the remaining weapons and equipment the Void Serpent had dropped. Of the remaining weapons and equipment, three pieces were Epic rank, and one was Fragmented Legendary rank. All of the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold items combined weren''t worth the total value of these four. The three Epic items that had dropped were the Void Robe, Void Gloves, and Sacred Word Staff. The Void Robe and Void Gloves were part of the Void Magic Set, a bona fide Epic Set Equipment. The two-piece set effect alone increased the wearer''s maximum Mana and physique by 20%. The Void Magic Set was definitely the best set equipment for magical classes at this stage of the game. After all, a magical class player''s Mana was the equivalent of a second life. As for the Sacred Word Staff, it was a top-tier staff that allowed players to cast their one-second Spells instantly. It also increased Spell Completion Rate by 4%. However, these three Epic items were nothing compared to the Fragmented Legendary item. Even this dropped? Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the ring of two carved snakes, one black and one white. Almost everyone in God''s Domain had heard of this ring in the past. The Fate Ring! 1906 Fate Ring Chapter 1906 - Fate Ring "Guild Leader, what is that ring?" Aqua Rose, who stood nearby, asked in surprise when she saw the Fate Ring in Shi Feng''s hand. She could feel the Mana density around her increase drastically. After Shi Feng had stored the dropped items in his bag, the surrounding Mana density had returned to normal, but the moment he had retrieved the Fate Ring, the Mana density in a 20-yard radius around Shi Feng had skyrocketed. In God''s Domain, items that passively attracted Mana were incredibly rare. Even so, she had seen quite a few. However, this was the first time she had seen an item that could increase its ambient Mana density so intensely despite being inactive. Looking at it now, it seemed as if the Fate Ring was the main cause for the intense Mana around the mountain of loot. "The Fate Ring," Shi Feng said. "It can help players develop until they reach the apex of God''s Domain." "Help players develop to the apex?" Aqua Rose was utterly confused. A top-tier weapon or equipment piece could significantly increase a player''s combat power, and it would be a great help to the player''s development, but even a Fragmented Legendary item''s assistance would be limited. Yet, Shi Feng claimed that the ring in his hand was capable of helping players reach the game''s apex. No matter how she looked at it, he had to be joking. She had been Twilight Echo''s, a first-rate Guild, Honorary Elder. Hence, she knew exactly how difficult it was for a player to reach the virtual gaming world''s apex. It wasn''t something someone could do by relying on one or two pieces of equipment Furthermore, unlike other virtual reality games, the competition in God''s Domain was particularly intense. However, Shi Feng simply smiled at Aqua Rose''s confusion. He did not bother to explain further. On its own, the Fate Ring didn''t have any particular powerful effects. In fact, one might even consider it a weak item. Aside from providing some Basic Attributes, the ring only had one Skill. Moreover, the ring''s Basic Attribute bonuses were standard for an ordinary Epic item. Even if players acquired the Fate Ring, they might be embarrassed to call it a Fragmented Legendary item. However, when a first-rate Guild had purchased the Fate Ring at an auction during Shi Feng''s previous life, its Guild Leader had changed his fate after equipping the ring, eventually becoming one of God''s Domain''s top powerhouses. Even after ten years, that Guild leader had still been a godly existence. The achievement had invoked the other large Guilds''jealousy, and the superpower that had sold the ring had been wracked with regret. This Skill was incomparably powerful. When activated, it granted players an opportunity. However, the impact of the opportunity varied. A small opportunity would most likely lead players to a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment that was suited to them, while a larger opportunity could lead players to a Fragmented Legendary item. The Skill had one downside, though; using Fate Guidance had a massive cost. Each time a player wanted to use Fate Guidance, they had to expend one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Only after paying this price would the Skill guide players to their opportunity. Seven Luminaries Crystals were an important resource, necessary to construct one''s Mind Space. The various large Guilds treated them as peerless treasures. Nobody would sell a unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal unless they had no other choice. Although the superpower that had acquired the Fate Ring had tested the ring''s ability out of curiosity, it had quickly discovered that Fate Guidance was a fraudulent scam! Moreover, the scam knew no bounds... Of the 100 attempts the superpower had made, more than 90 had yielded Mysterious-Iron Weapons, Equipment, and tools. The remaining attempts had led the superpower to Secret-Silver items, and only one had led to a Fine-Gold item... To the various large Guilds, one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal was worth more than the latest top-tier Dark-Gold Weapon or Equipment piece. Gathering Dark-Gold items was, after all, several times easier than collecting Seven Luminaries Crystals. No one would trade 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals for a pile of junk, so the Fate Ring had switched owners multiple times until it had been claimed by the lucky first-rate Guild. That lucky Guild hadn''t invested a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals before it had struck gold. Overall, the Guild had only spent several dozen units before securing a large opportunity, which had yielded a Fragmented Legendary item. If given the opportunity, any power would be more than willing to trade several dozen units of Seven Luminaries Crystals for a Fragmented Legendary item. As a result, the lucky first-rate Guild had proceeded to invest a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals, but the Guild had quickly discovered that the Fate Ring wasn''t as kind as they had assumed. After investing several hundred units of Seven Luminaries Crystals and getting nothing good in return, the Guild had slowed its investment. Even so, the Guild had occasionally tried its luck. It had only discovered the Fate Ring''s secret after hitting a second jackpot and acquiring a Master Magic Array Design; the Fate Ring only guaranteed one major opportunity once every 1,000 uses. However, spending 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals in exchange for one major opportunity was simply too costly. Meanwhile, God''s Domain had more than one Fate Ring. When this lucky first-rate Guild had acquired its second Fate Ring, the ring''s value had truly shined. After merging two Fate Rings, Fate Guidance granted a major opportunity once every 500 uses. Unfortunately, claiming the opportunities would become far more difficult, but it was still possible for ordinary expert players. Furthermore, players could acquire a top-tier item by simply spending 500 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals, which was certainly a worthwhile price. Due to this change, the lucky first-rate Guild''s Guild Leader had gradually collected top-tier weapons, equipment, and tools for himself, increasing his strength and eventually becoming one of God''s Domain''s apex players. Of course, the heaven-defying items acquired via Fate Guidance were only suitable to help one player reach the apex since each opportunity only yielded items suitable for the player that activated the Skill. If other players used the items, their performance would suffer. Other players couldn''t even use certain items, such as those that granted Skills and combat techniques. In other words, the lucky first-rate Guild had spent a frightening amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals to nurture a single apex powerhouse. However, Shi Feng had no intentions of replicating that Guild''s actions. While nurturing a single apex expert might be worthwhile to Guilds that didn''t have any, the same couldn''t be said for Zero Wing. In fact, doing so would be a waste of time and resources. Zero Wing had far more experts than any first-rate Guild, and those experts'' potential was far superior to those in first-rate Guilds. It was only a matter of time before the Guild had multiple apex powerhouses. Hence, instead of wasting tons of Seven Luminaries Crystals on nurturing an ordinary expert, it would be much wiser and more efficient to use the Fate Ring to help an expert, who was only a step away from the apex, cross the final hurdle. It seems I''ll have to find an opportunity to secure some Seven Luminaries Crystals, Shi Feng inwardly decided. Zero Wing already had a lot of Guild members capable of contending with peak experts, but it had very few members that could rival apex experts. Although Shadow Sword, Turtledove, Flying Shadow, and a handful of other members of Zero Wing''s main force were capable of contending with superpowers'' peak experts by relying on their equipment advantage, as players progressed, this advantage would shrink. If Shadow Sword and the others didn''t improve their combat standards, it would only be a matter of time before others surpassed them. However, if they used Fate Guidance, they could quickly gain the combat power they needed to rival apex experts. As Shi Feng finished examining the loot, he sold 16 pieces of equipment for MTs and DPS classes, including the Level 60 Dark-Gold Shield, Magic Serpent Buckler. He did not, however, decide to sell the Earthen Protector Set The situation surprised Unyielding Heart. He had expected Shi Feng to refuse to sell both the Magic Serpent Buckler and the Earthen Protector Set. The fact that Shi Feng had allowed him to purchase the buckler, which was even more valuable than the set equipment, was shocking. However, what Unyielding Heart did not know was that Zero Wing did not need powerful shields. Even the weakest shield Zero Wing''s three core MTs used was an Epic Shield. A Level 60 Dark-Gold Shield was nothing in comparison. The Earthen Protector Set, though, was different Ye Wumian still wore the Level 50 Magic Light Set, which was weaker than the Earthen Protector Set Hence, this was a perfect opportunity for Ye Wumian to upgrade his equipment. Aside from weapons and equipment, Shi Feng had decided to sell a few Void Scales to Unyielding Heart. Upon seeing the Void Scale''s Attributes, Long Soul''s eyes went bloodshot. If given to an MT, the Void Scale would elevate the player''s standards to a whole new level. In the past, Void Scales had sold for around 5,000 to 7,000 Gold on the market, so Shi Feng sold them to Unyielding Heart for 10,000 Gold each. With so much money, one could afford a low-quality piece of Epic Equipment Although Unyielding Heart could not help but wince at the price, he still agreed to buy three Void Scales. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s transaction with Unyielding Heart had instantly earned him 42,000 Gold. With this much money, he could rent a few more hotels and restaurants in the Sea of Trees. After Shi Feng had finished his business with the Vice Guild Leader, he led the team out of the cavern. Since the cavern was isolated from the outside world, players couldn''t use Return Scrolls while inside. Even an Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll would only teleport players to the edge of the cavern. It would not teleport them out of it. When Illusory Words and her Guild members, who had waited in the first cavern, saw Shi Feng and the others emerge, they were astonished. "How did so many people get out of there?" 1907 Otherworld Gate Activated Chapter 1907 - Otherworld Gate Activated Crimson Emperor''s survivors were stunned as Shi Feng and his team emerged from behind the waterfall. They had personally experienced the Void Serpent''s strength, and when they had left the cavern, the situation had seemed dismal. Countless Void Creatures had filled the cavern. Even though they had started to carve a path out of the cavern before the situation had taken a turn for the worse, they had lost quite a few people on their way out. The Void Creatures had only given up the chase once they had left the cavern. However, no matter how they considered the situation, Shi Feng''s group had far more people alive than when they had left. Moreover, some of Crimson Emperor''s experts were among the group... Could they have slain the Void Serpent? An unrealistic thought suddenly popped into Illusory Words''s mind. Although she couldn''t believe that they had completed the raid, the scene before her removed any doubt There was no other explanation. A moment later, Illusory Words began to receive messages from the Crimson Emperor members that had just left the waterfall''s pool. Since the world behind the waterfall was isolated from the rest of God''s Domain, they hadn''t been able to send messages to their Guildmates after they had been revived. Hence, they had contacted Illusory Words the moment they had emerged, reporting the Void Serpent raid''s outcome. Meanwhile, aside from the fact that Zero Wing had slain the Void Serpent, the reports mentioned the Void Serpent''s loot and the fact that Zero Wing had sold quite a few items to Unyielding Soul. So, is that why Unyielding Heart was so adamant about fighting to the end? Illusory Words could not help her bitter smile as she read her subordinates'' messages. Although she did not know which items Unyielding Soul had purchased from Zero Wing, the Void Serpent was a World Boss. How could any of the items be poor quality? Zero Wing might not have sold the best weapons and equipment to Unyielding Soul, but even the second-rate items would be a massive harvest for the Guild. At the very least, Unyielding Soul could fortify its main force''s combat power. "Vice Guild Leader, why don''t we try to purchase some of the Void Serpent''s loot from Zero Wing at a high price? We have, more or less, participated in the raid, and we suffered quite a few losses. Zero Wing will likely agree if we ask," Dawnmaster suggested softly. With how powerful the Void Serpent was, its loot would definitely be extraordinary. It might have even dropped a Level 60 top-tier weapons and equipment Any of those items would be far stronger than the weapons and equipment their Guild''s experts currently wore. If they could acquire some for their Guild''s main force, they would have a much easier time raiding the various Level 60, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons in the future. "Forget it. Asking will likely be useless. After all, we didn''t propose such a condition like Unyielding Heart," Illusory Words said, shaking her head. Sighing, she gave Unyielding Heart an envious look, "Unyielding Heart made the right bet this time.'' Although she slightly regretted her earlier decision, this trip hadn''t been fruitless. At the very least, she now knew that Zero Wing was not as simple as everyone assumed. Following which, Illusory Words approached Shi Feng and congratulated him and Zero Wing on their success against the World Boss. After some brief pleasantries, Illusory Words shifted the conversation toward the Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup. "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know if you still have any Drunken Tiger Meat and Frozen Bone Soup left? If you do, Crimson Emperor is willing to purchase 1,000 of each dish at 5 Gold per serving," Illusory Words offered. While she had given up on acquiring any of the Void Serpent''s loot, the Master Dishes Shi Feng had revealed earlier were a different story. She hadn''t seen Master Dishes like those since she had joined God''s Domain. Although they were not as effective as Master Potions, they could stack with potions. In addition, the two Master Dishes could be used to raid World Bosses. This tremendously increased their usefulness. Moreover, they would make Dungeon raids slightly easier. As Illusory Words finished speaking, Unyielding Heart, who still celebrated his portion of the Void Serpent''s loot, snapped out of his daze and realized that he had forgotten about the two Master Dishes. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you still have any of those Master Dishes remaining, Unyielding Soul will also purchase 1,000 of each dish at 5 Gold per serving!" Unyielding Heart hurriedly said. Hearing the two Vice Guild Leaders interest in purchasing the Master Dishes, Shi Feng inwardly celebrated. Both the Drunken Tiger Meat and the Frozen Bone Soup cost a little over 1 Gold to make. Moreover, both had a 100% production success rate. Selling the dishes to the two super-first-rate Guilds would earn plenty of profits. "I don''t have any more of the Master Dishes on me, but if you two want them, I can get some for you. However, it''ll take some time for me to gather the requested amounts. May I know if you two are willing to wait?" Shi Feng asked. The two dishes required a lot of time to make, and each Guild wanted 1,000 servings of both. The order would take a few days to fulfill. "That won''t be a problem. I can wait as long as I can purchase them. Crimson Emperor will also pay a 5,000 Gold deposit," Illusory Words said, settling the deal once she realized that it was possible. The two Master Dishes wouldn''t become obsolete with time. They would work wonderfully at any point. She had worried that Shi Feng would reject her offer, but now that he had agreed, she decided to form a contract, binding the agreement as a precaution. With this, she had reaped an additional benefit from her trip here. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart chose to do the same, binding the agreement with Shi Feng and paying a 5,000-Gold deposit Naturally, Shi Feng was more than willing to play along with the two Vice Guild Leaders. After signing the contracts, an additional 10,000 filled Shi Feng''s pockets. With this, he had made a total of 52,000 Gold from this single Boss raid. If the various first-rate Guilds knew about this, their envy would drive them mad. After all, current first-rate Guilds were fortunate if they even had 30,000 Gold in liquid funds. Following which, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s members used Return Scrolls and returned to the Dark Night Empire. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had Zero Wing''s members return to Zero Wing City to rest. As for Shi Feng, he used the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport to the Million Forest, which happened to be the Emerald Dryad''s territory. The Million Forest was a dangerous location to almost all players due to the area''s large Dryad population. If a player encountered a single Dryad, it would immediately call for reinforcements, and a large number of the creatures would quickly gather. Moreover, this cycle would continue. Once a certain number of Dryads had gathered, it would attract the Emerald Dryad''s attention. Hence, very few players were willing to adventure in the Million Forest. Shi Feng, however, had teleported directly to the heart of the Million Forest. Great Lord ranked Dryads wandered all over the area. If Shi Feng hadn''t been Level 69 and used an Isolation Scroll before he had teleported, the Level 55-plus monsters would have discovered him. This should be the place. It didn''t take Shi Feng long to discover a grass-covered, dilapidated magic array within the forest. The array seemed blurry, and if not for the massive stone pillars around it, he would''ve had a hard time finding the magic array. This was the teleportation array that led to the Otherworld Gate. To revitalize the teleportation array, one needed a full bottle of Void Blood. Immediately, Shi Feng walked to the center of the teleportation array and retrieved a bottle of Void Blood from his bag. After removing the cap, he emptied the bottle''s contents onto the magic array''s center. As Void Blood flowed into the magic array, it seemed to revive, rapidly gathering the ambient Mana. The magic array seemed to absorb Mana from farther away as time passed, and eventually, it drew Mana from throughout the Million Forest, making the area''s Dryads tremble with fear. After three minutes, a towering pillar of crimson light shot forth from the center of the Million Forest, visible from the surrounding maps. The players grinding in the nearby maps couldn''t help but turn to look at the light pillar, overwhelmed by their curiosity as they started to move towards it. Shortly after these players began to travel towards the light pillar, a series of system notifications rang in every players'' ears in Star-Moon Kingdom. 1908 Changes to the Witchs Hill Chapter 1908 - Changes to the Witch''s Hill Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: A player has triggered the new expansion pack "Otherworld." The expansion pack will take effect in the Witch''s Hill in six hours. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: An Otherworld Gate has been activated. A large amount of Otherworld Energy has flowed into the Witch''s Hill, driving the area''s Mana into chaos. Please take care when roaming through the Witch''s Hill. The sudden system announcement had caught Star-Moon Kingdom''s players off guard. However, after a few dazed seconds, every player in the kingdom went into an uproar. "What''s going on? Another new expansion pack?" "This new expansion pack is amazing! Doesn''t this mean that we can head to an Otherworld to level up? According to rumors, it seems that Otherworlds have more abundant resources than the continent of God''s Domain." "I''ve heard that, too. Not only are Otherworlds rich in resources, but leveling there is also much faster." "We''ll be able to travel to an Otherworld from the Witch''s Hill in six hours? In that case, I''m heading there immediately! The large Guilds have already monopolized every high-resource map. Independent players like us can''t even earn enough money to afford the latest equipment. The moment they heard the system announcement, independent players and adventurer teams began to swarm towards the Witch''s Hill. As the number of resource maps in Star-Moon Kingdom dwindled as players reached higher levels, there were fewer opportunities for independent players to earn money. Now that a completely new map, one not owned by any Guild, had appeared, this was a golden opportunity for independent players. As players reached higher levels, money would become an increasingly larger problem. Although players continued to earn more money each day, they had had higher expenditures. Take weapons and equipment, for example. After Level 50, the drop-rate for top-tier weapons and equipment had decreased drastically. Even ordinary weapons and equipment drop-rates had been affected. This caused the prices for Level 50-plus weapons and equipment to skyrocket. This was also the case for repair fees. Moreover, as high-level resource maps were so far from NPC cities, teleportation fees had increased. High-level resource maps also had harsh environments, so players had to prepare appropriate weapons, equipment, tools, and potions if they wanted to grind effectively in these areas. And everything cost money. As God''s Domain continued to develop as a game, it provided a wider variety of services for players to enjoy, as well. After a hard day of work, many players sought food, beverages, and all sorts of entertainment. There were also the fees to learn Skills and Spells, and applying for a Promotion quest was expensive. Now that a new opportunity to make money had arisen, how could anyone miss it? Naturally, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds had called their upper echelons for a meeting the moment they had learned of the Otherworld Gate. "A path to an Otherworld? This is a perfect chance for our Guild! I''ve heard that the players and Guilds in the Black Dragon Empire have made a fortune due to the path to the Ice Crystal World. We have to monopolize this Otherworld''s resources before the other Guilds!" "But the Witch''s Hill is Zero Wing''s territory. If we try to set up in the Otherworld, I''m afraid that..." "What''s there to be afraid of? Now that Star-Moon Kingdom has its own Otherworld, the kingdom''s Guilds are going to swarm to it. Can Zero Wing hope to stop so many Guilds? Although, you have reminded me of something. Start raising funds right now and figure out a way to build a town in the Witch''s Hill." After the various large Guilds had found out about the Otherworld Gate, they dispatched exploration teams to test the waters. They also gathered resources to construct their own towns in the Witch''s Hill. Even a fool could tell that a large number of players would flood the map now that an Otherworld Gate had appeared, and all of those players were potential income sources. If they could construct a Guild Town in the Witch''s Hill, they could definitely make a ton of money. Less than ten minutes after the system announcement, Aqua Rose, who currently rested in Zero Wing City, was astonished as she received Zero Wing''s latest statistics report In ten short minutes, Zero Wing City''s player population had risen by more than 100,000, earning the city several hundred Gold in entrance fees. Moreover, Aqua Rose had received hundreds of requests to rent Zero Wing City''s Shops. Before today, the various trading firms and merchant players had hesitated about leasing Shops in Zero Wing City due to the high rent. Very few had actually agreed to do so thus far. Without certain guarantees, earning back the cost would be almost impossible, yet several hundred people had just petitioned to lease the buildings. And this wasn''t the most surprising part. Several dozen reaworld corporations and companies had contacted the Guild to purchase virtual storefronts in Zero Wing City. Moreover, these companies and corporations had offered astronomical sums of money, even enough to tempt Aqua Rose. Despite the fact that Zero Wing was now a very large Guild, it severely lacked Credits. Normally, the Guild only earned Credits by selling weapons and equipment or completing difficult commissions. It usually avoided exchanging Coins and materials for Credits since it was such an unwise move. Hence, Zero Wing''s ability to earn Credits was so weak that it couldn''t even rival second-rate Guilds. The lack of Credits ultimately hampered Zero Wing''s development If the Guild could secure a massive source of Credits, it could nurture more internal members and fortify its foundation. Following which, Aqua Rose reported the matter to Shi Feng, letting him decide how they should proceed. "There are so many offers?" Shi Feng could not help his grin when he saw the list of interested buyers and their respective offers. "Tell them that Zero Wing City''s virtual storefronts are only available for rent, not for sale. We will hold an auction for these storefronts in Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm in two days." The situation didn''t particularly surprise him. The moment the Otherworld Gate appeared, Witch''s Hill had become Star- Moon Kingdom''s focus. A frightening number of players would serge to the city, and it wouldn''t be surprising if Zero Wing City''s player population shot past the 10,000,000 threshold. Previously, the Witch''s Hill had been considered a backwater area. Although the various corporations and companies had been impressed that Zero Wing City had several million residential players, how long could the city possibly maintain its prosperity? However, the Otherworld Gate changed things. Even after players reached higher levels, they could continue to level in the Otherworld connected to the Witch''s Hill''s Otherworld Gate. They would not have to move their base of operations after hitting Level 60 or 70. Even players past Level 100 could level up in the Otherworld. Unfortunately, the Otherworld wouldn''t be as vast as the God''s Domain continent. To put it simply, so long as the Otherworld Gate existed, the Witch''s Hill would remain popular. Hence, one could easily imagine Zero Wing City''s allure toward these corporations and companies. "We''re not selling?" Aqua Rose could not help her growing concern as she said, "I''m afraid they won''t agree to such a condition. There are too many uncertainties involved in leasing a virtual storefront. They''ll only be able to operate their businesses comfortably if they own the property. Moreover, the various large Guilds will definitely try to establish Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill now that it has an Otherworld Gate. If we don''t take advantage of this opportunity now, we''ll be in an awkward position later." "Relax. You''ll see the results in two days," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to explain further. What Aqua Rose said was indeed true. The appearance of the Otherworld Gate would lure a lot of large Guilds to establish Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill, and the competition in the map would become intense. However, the various large Guilds didn''t know how difficult it was for a Guild Town to survive long in the Witch''s Hill. Realizing that Shi Feng had made up his mind, Aqua Rose relayed his message to the corporations and companies that had contacted the Guild. 1909 Witchs Sin Chapter 1909 - Witch''s Sin "Only for rent? How fraudulent!" "Does Zero Wing think that it''s the only Guild that will have a town in the Witch''s Hill?" "Since Zero Wing doesn''t plan to sell, forget it. We''ll just wait a few more days. The kingdom''s other large Guilds will set up their own Guild Towns in the map, and we''ll just purchase storefronts there. Zero Wing will regret its decision!" When the various corporations and companies received Aqua Rose''s reply, some laughed, while others raged. As for the auction Aqua Rose had mentioned, they pushed the matter to the back of their minds. Only a fool would participate. The situation frustrated Aqua Rose a little. They had just lost a golden opportunity to fund Zero Wing''s internal training program. Fortunately, this wasn''t the end of the world for Zero Wing. With Zero Wing''s current potential, luring investors to the Guild would be a piece of cake. With the current state of God''s Domain, various corporations and companies were even fighting to invest in second-rate Guilds, not to mention Zero Wing. After Aqua Rose set the matter aside, she focused on recruiting new members for the Guild. After transferring a large number of Guild members from White River City and Zero Wing City to the Secret Stone Fortress, both cities had lost a lot of manpower. Thus, they needed to replenish their member count. Moreover, with the Otherworld Gate''s activation, some well-known adventurer teams that had hesitated about joining Zero Wing had made up their minds. Although Zero Wing City was relatively far away from the Million Forest, Zero Wing City''s teleport service could reach the forest. Furthermore, even if these adventurer teams didn''t want to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom, they could develop in the Ore Empire after joining the Guild. Zero Wing''s current resources were now beyond that of a first-rate Guild, after all. As fewer resource maps were available in the kingdom, living space for the various adventurer teams dwindled. If the various adventurer teams wanted to maintain an adequate development speed, they''d have to copy the top and large-scale adventurer teams. They would have to venture to remote and dangerous maps to level and acquire resources. However, this wasn''t an easy task. Like the Guilds, God''s Domain''s adventurer teams faced fierce competition. In fact, the intensity of the competition between adventurer teams was no less than the competition between Guilds. Only, the scale was not as large. Hence, if the well-known adventurer teams, which had already reached a bottleneck in their development, wished to grow their strength, joining a powerful Guild was a wise move. Because of this, as many as 30 adventurer teams had petitioned to join Zero Wing. The smaller teams only had several hundred members, while the larger ones had thousands. Every adventurer team had accumulated a certain amount of resources and quite a few experts, as well as bountiful experience fighting as a team and raiding Team Dungeons. If Zero Wing could annex these adventurer teams, it would save the Guild a lot of effort when integrating their players in Guild operations. Elsewhere, Shi Feng spent one Magic Crystal to activate the teleportation array leading to the Otherworld Gate. He was then teleported to a massive, dark cavern. Within the cavern, he found a ruined town. A gigantic set of doors had been erected inside this ruined town. There was a small gap between the pitch-black, stone doors, and a turbid mist seeped out and filled the cavern. As Shi Feng encountered the mist, he felt his five senses dull. He had been able to see up to 50 yards away, but now, he could only see a dozen or so yards past his nose. Both his mind and his body felt lethargic. Sure enough, this Primordial Gas is as powerful as always. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile after trying to move his body a little. It seems that this gas is still too much for Tier 2 players. The Witch''s Hill''s Otherworld had once been a part of the God''s Domain continent, severed by the Gods during ancient times. Humans had been weak then, one of the most ordinary races among the many that had lived on the continent God''s Domain had been chaotic then, its environment too harsh for humankind. However, after a catastrophic war between the Gods, the continent of God''s Domain had been divided into various sections, thoroughly changing the environment It was no longer as chaotic or violent. As a result, the human race had gradually grown stronger. But even to this day, certain sections retained their harsh environments. Meanwhile, the turbid gas flowing out of the Otherworld Gate was none other than Primordial Gas. When Shi Feng had first entered the Otherworld Gate, he had already Tier 3, so the Primordial Gas hadn''t significantly affected him. This time, however, he could feel the gas''s negative effects. His combat power had just decreased by roughly 30%. The Primordial Gas affected more than just his reaction speed and senses; even his physique had considerably weakened. Shi Feng now, more or less, understood why only Tier 2 and higher players were allowed through the Otherworld Gate. Only a small trace of Primordial Gas leaked out of the Otherworld Gate, yet its effect on a Tier 2 player like him was so powerful. If players entered the Otherworld, filled with Primordial Gas, its effect would be absolutely terrifying. Not only did the Primordial Gas suppress players, but it also created a perfect environment for monsters to thrive. The Primordial Gas drastically increased monsters'' combat power, and once the Otherworld Gate opened fully, the gas would spread throughout the Witch''s Hill. The area would become chaotic and violent, which was why only four Guild Towns had survived in Shi Feng''s previous life, despite so many Guilds establishing Guild Towns. The towns hadn''t fallen because of the various first-rate Guilds suppressing its weaker counterparts, but because the second- and third-rate Guilds hadn''t been able to fend off the monsters that had assaulted their towns at night. As Shi Feng prepared to enter the ruined town, a wizened, dignified voice reached his ears. "Young adventurer, are you the one who activated the teleportation array I had left behind?" When Shi Feng turned around to the origin of this voice, he discovered an old woman in black robes and carrying a wooden staff. This woman was none other than the Otherworld Gate''s guardian. She was also a legendary existence in God''s Domain. The Jealous Witch! Shi Feng had only thought of the Jealous Witch as an incredibly powerful, Tier 5 NPC during his previous life, but after learning about Demigods, Shi Feng concluded that this NPC was one such being. She was only a step short of becoming a Tier 6 God and was one of the strongest NPCs on the continent of God''s Domain right now. "Yes, Esteemed Lady Witch." Shi Feng nodded. He did not dare to hide information from the Jealous Witch. She was known for being unpredictable. Sometimes, she would help slaughter the dark forces, but other times, she would casually massacre tens of thousands of innocent humans. Her behavior had frustrated God''s Domain''s human population. The Jealous Witch maintained her unpredictable behavior towards players. There had been instances in the past when she had exterminated players she had encountered. When those players had died by her hand, their accounts had been so crippled that their only option of maintaining a career in God''s Domain had required a new account. After dozens of these incidents, players had learned to fear the Jealous Witch in the Witch''s Hill and did their best to avoid her. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had visited this ruined town despite knowing that the Jealous Witch would be here to pick up an important Epic quest. If he could complete the quest, he could obtain the rumored Advanced Field Magic Array, Void Field. Field Magic Arrays were insanely rare among magic arrays, and if not for the chance to obtain one, he wouldn''t have risked meeting the Jealous Witch. "Excellent! Since you have opened this Origin of Sins, I''ll give you a quest. Go and collect 200,000 Magic Crystals for me within seven days. If you fail, you and all of Star-Moon Kingdom will perish," the Jealous Witch announced. "Alright, you can leave now! Remember, you only have seven days!" With a wave of the Jealous Witch''s hand, a bright flash blinded Shi Feng. By the time Shi Feng''s vision recovered, he noticed that he had returned to the Million Forest. System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Inferior Legendary Quest "Witch''s Sin." Quest content: Collect 200,000 Magic Crystals in seven days. Rewards unknown. 1910 Independent Mode Chapter 1910 - Independent Mode Before Shi Feng realized what was going on, he was back in the Million Forest. However, when he heard the system notification, the corners of his mouth twitched. Two hundred thousand Magic Crystals! An Inferior Legendary Quest! Not only was the quest more difficult than he remembered, but it also required an absurd number of Magic Crystals. Whether it was Guilds or individual players, their Magic Crystal expenditure was continuously increasing. Although there were more Magic Crystal sources as players progressed further into the game, the number they could save up decreased. The current Zero Wing, in particular, was starving for Magic Crystals. Although Silverwing Town''s teleportation service had increased the town''s Coin income significantly, it devoured Magic Crystals with frightening speed. Right now, the income from Silverwing Town''s Battle Arena barely sustained the Teleportation Device''s consumption. Moreover, Shi Feng had to spend 20,000 Magic Crystals every seven days to maintain the miniature world in the Ring of Gospel. Otherwise, the Ring of Gospel would crumble and disappear. In addition, Shi Feng himself would receive a backlash, and his physique would permanently weaken by 30%. At this point, Zero Wing only had a little over 20,000 Magic Crystals to spare. If God''s Domain''s players had already reached Level 100, even a first-rate Guild could afford a 200,000 Magic Crystal price, but at this stage of the game, not even the various superpowers could likely pay. Seven days, is it? Shi Feng fell deep into thought. While seven days wasn''t exactly a long time, it wasn''t a very short one, either. If he sold some Hell Tanks to Unyielding Heart, Phoenix Rain, and Illusory Words, he should be able to gather so many Magic Crystals in time. However, doing so would rob Zero Wing of its monopoly over the Hell Tanks. Moreover, nobody could guarantee that these Hell Tanks wouldn''t fall into the hands of Zero Wing''s enemies. Yet, if he did not sell them, he would have an extremely difficult time collecting 200,000 Magic Crystals in seven days. It seems I''ll have to take down Kama Island right now. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, the only reliable method he could think of was acquiring Kama Island''s Manatite vein; the other options were too risky. Some options even had the potential of disrupting Zero Wing''s future development. Although they had accidentally discovered a Source Fire vein in the Flame Demon''s Valley, it''s environment was too harsh for players to endure long-term. Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile hadn''t even finished the preparations to send people to the mine. Even if they could send people, they wouldn''t be able to send many. After all, Fire Resistance equipment capable of allowing ordinary players to survive in the scorching environment was simply too rare. It was impossible to equip many players adequately. The Manatite vein on Kama Island was much safer. Players could survive there so long as they had some Darkness Resistance. The problem could easily be dealt with via a Darkness Resistance Potion. Furthermore, the area''s low Mana density wouldn''t affect the mining players'' performance. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng pulled the Abyss Pendant from his bag and used Abyss Teleport He planned to rent a few more hotels and restaurants in the Sea of Trees before setting off for Kama Island. Meanwhile, inside the Evil God''s Branch Temple in Ancient Rock City... Several dozen Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts had been locked in a cave filled with bloodlust. They constantly fought, tearing each other apart, and the surviving Evil Beasts would devour any of their comrades that died. After fighting several minutes, only half of the several dozen Great Lords remained alive. One of the Evil Beasts, which had just finished cannibalizing another, began to transform, its muscles rapidly expanding. The Evil Energy it radiated grew denser, and after several seconds, the Evil Beast had become nearly 20% larger than the other monsters in the cave. "This Bloodlust Crystal Dark Soul sent is quite impressive. It can actually increase the evolution success rate to Great Lord rank by 15%." After glancing at the evolving Evil Beast, Beast Emperor turned his attention to the crystal, which emitted its own bloodlust, in his hand with a soft smile. The partnership between the Evil God''s Temple and Dark Soul had been far more effective than he had expected. He had thought that Dark Soul would be useful for acquiring materials and sacrificial players for Dust Edge at most. He hadn''t expected the alliance to acquire such a lively Bloodlust Crystal. As of late, his Evil Beast army had recovered plenty of its lost combat power. Although Bloodlust Crystals could only help Evil Beasts evolve to the Grand Lord rank, he now had far more Grand Lords under his command, and it would reduce the difficulty of nurturing Mythic Evil Beasts. As long as he had enough Mythic Evil Beasts, he could destroy Silverwing Town, even without Dark Soul and Blackwater''s assistance. As Beast Emperor rejoiced over his newest Grand Lord ranked Evil Beast, a tall, robust Berserker with a giant axe across his back entered the cave. This was none other than Wind Hunter. "Boss, we''ve just received news from Star-Moon Kingdom. For some reason, an Otherworld Gate has appeared in the Witch''s Hill. The gate allows passage to an Otherworld. Because of this development, a large number of players have swarmed to Zero Wing City. Some of the Guilds in neighboring kingdoms and empires have also started to make their move," Wind Hunter reported with a grim expression. "Not only will this incident earn Zero Wing a small fortune, but based on our reports, over 20 well-known adventurer teams have also shown signs of merging with the Guild. Should we send Dark Soul to eliminate a few of these teams and teach the public about the consequences of relying on Zero Wing?" "Well-known adventurer teams are joining Zero Wing?" Beast Emperor revealed a faint smile "There''s no need to involve Dark Soul. I recall that Dust Edge has conducted another Evil Dragonification experiment, correct? Take him to Zero Wing City to test out his new toy on the adventurer teams. We''ll use this opportunity to warn those teams and ensure that they understand who is strongest in this war!" "Understood! I''ll ensure that these adventurer teams won''t dare to set foot in Zero Wing City ever again," Wind Hunter said excitedly. He had seen the Evil Dragons Dust Edge produced. Although the creatures were incomplete, their combat power was astonishing. He didn''t dare to imagine how powerful the complete Evil Dragons would be. As long as Dust Edge''s experiments succeeded, the Evil God''s Temple could expand its territory. Moreover, it would be able to do so boldly and without fear. "Good. Get it done quickly. Don''t let the kingdom''s army capture you." Beast Emperor nodded. "Boss, rest assured; by the time the kingdom''s army arrives, the adventurer teams will be long dead!" Wind Hunter said, licking his lips in anticipation. After Wind Hunter left, Beast Emperor proceeded to release a new batch of Great Lord ranked Evil Beasts into the caver, starting another round of slaughter. Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing City... After spending 50,000 Gold to rent another fifteen hotels and restaurants in the Sea of Trees, Shi Feng used a Guild Transfer Scroll and returned to the Guild Residence in Zero Wing City. When he arrived, Shi Feng left for the Candlelight Trading Firm to prepare for his trip to Kama Island. However, as he reached the street outside of the Residence, he was stunned by what he saw. The previously desolate central district was now crowded with players, many of which were members of the various large Guilds. At a glance, Shi Feng could spot over a dozen Tier 2 experts wandering the street. This prosperity could even rival an empire''s imperial capital. As Shi Feng was about to enter the Candlelight Trading Firm, he heard the sound of a system notification. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City''s player population has reached 8,000,000. Do you wish to activate Independent Mode and allow the War God''s Temple to garrison the city? 1911 War Gods Temple Garrisons in Zero Wing City Chapter 1911 - War God''s Temple Garrisons in Zero Wing City The city''s development sure is fast. Shi Feng could not help his elation when he heard the system notification. He had thought that Zero Wing City would need another one or two days to reach a player population of 8,000,000, even with the Otherworld Gate, but only a few afters the gate''s activation had been announced, Zero Wing City had hit the mark. In God''s Domain, any Guild City with a player population of 8,000,000 would activate the Independent Mode. When this so-called Independent Mode activated, the city''s NPCs would be liberated, allowing other NPC forces to intervene in the city''s affairs. The buildings these NPC forces set up in the Guild City wouldn''t be subjected to players'' management, which meant that these NPC forces took responsibility for their establishments'' security, stationing their own guards. Although players would lose management rights over a portion of their Guild City after activating Independent Mode, it would increase the city''s security and convenience. The War God''s Temple, for example, was one of the strongest NPC forces on the continent of God''s Domain. It had a branch in every NPC city. Once a Guild City had a player population of 8,000,000, the War God''s Temple could no longer ignore it. Thus, the War God''s Temple had decided to garrison in Zero Wing City. Shi Feng immediately agreed to activate Independent Mode, allowing the various NPC forces to enter Zero Wing City. After Shi Feng agreed, Zero Wing City''s layout appeared before him. The system requested that he select an area for the War God''s Temple. The selected area had to be within the city''s central district, and there was a strict size requirement. Fortunately, the War God''s Temple would foot the construction fees. Since the War God''s Temple had decided to garrison in Zero Wing City, the Guild also acquired ten Bronze ranked War God Emblems. Players couldn''t use the emblems as they were meant for NPC soldiers, and they increased the NPCs'' Attributes and physique by 30% when worn. After Shi Feng dealt with the War God''s Temple, a towering building suddenly manifested in Zero Wing City''s central district, attracting the attention of nearby players. "Isn''t that the War God''s Temple?" "What''s going on? The War God''s Temple has garrisoned in Zero Wing City?" "Amazing! Zero Wing has actually lured in the War God''s Temple?" "This is wonderful! I won''t have to head to NPC cities to turn in the temple''s quests anymore!" Everyone was greatly shocked when they saw the towering War God''s Temple. Almost every player in the game knew about the War God''s Temple. Normally, players would visit the temple when they planned to pick up a quest One reason for this was the items the War God''s Temple offered for purchase. Raising their status with the temple was another reason. Now that the War God''s Temple occupied Zero Wing City, it would save players plenty of trouble when trying to pick up or turn in quests related to the temple. "Commander, look! That''s the War God''s Temple! Zero Wing really is amazing! With this, Zero Wing City''s position in the Star-Moon Kingdom has become even more stable. In addition, Zero Wing City is incredibly popular in the kingdom. With such potential and power, we''ll grow a lot stronger if our Unbounded adventurer team joins Zero Wing," a male Swordsman in silver armor exclaimed to the scholarly, middle-aged man beside him. "Zero Wing''s development is indeed frightening. Despite starting without any support or background, it has become Star- Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild in such a short time. Now, it has even developed Zero Wing City to such a degree. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers have started to pay attention to the Guild," the middle-aged man said, gazing at the War God''s Temple in admiration. As these two men conversed, several experts couldn''t help but glance at them as they passed. These two men were simply too eye-catching. One of them was a Level 56, Tier 2 Swordsman, while the other was a Level 57, Tier 2 Berserker. They would definitely be considered peak experts in first-rate Guilds. However, to everyone''s surprise, neither player wore a Guild Emblem. This meant that there was a high chance that these two were independent players. It was extremely difficult for independent players to grow so powerful at this stage of the game, and the amount of effort they must have put in was far more than the various large Guilds'' Tier 2 experts. "Commander, do you think Zero Wing will refuse our request this time?" the Swordsman asked worriedly. "I''m not sure," the scholarly middle-aged man said, shaking his head. "But Unbounded is still a well-known adventurer team in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Not only do we have nearly a thousand members, but we also have several plots of Land in the kingdom''s important cities. I don''t think Zero Wing will refuse our request." Before he had arrived in Zero Wing City, he had been fully confident in his adventurer team''s chances of joining the Guild, but once he had arrived in the city, he had realized that he had severely underestimated Zero Wing. However, after arriving in Zero Wing City, he realized that he had been severely underestimating the current Zero Wing. At this point, Zero Wing City was even more prosperous than the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s capital. Moreover, as he gazed down the crowded street, most of the players he saw were experts. Tier 2 players were also a common sight... With how prosperous Zero Wing City was right now, the Guild would have no trouble recruiting expert players. He had also heard that, aside from Unbounded, many well-known adventurer teams had petitioned to join Zero Wing. Based on his understanding of Zero Wing, the Guild walked the path of the elite. Hence, Zero Wing''s recruitment standards would be quite strict. Although Zero Wing was fully capable of recruiting a large number of players and strengthening the Guild to a frightening degree, Zero Wing had refused to do so. Instead, it had invested more resources in a small number of elite and expert players. That decision had ensured that Zero Wing''s elite and expert players were far higher-quality than those in first-rate Guilds. Even some of the ordinary superpowers were no match for Zero Wing in this regard. Meanwhile, with so many weH-known adventurer teams applying to join Zero Wing, the Guild naturally wouldn''t accept every adventurer team. The Guild would only recruit the most valuable adventurer teams. The Swordsman youth''s excitement dampened upon hearing his commander''s reply. Even before the commander had announced that their adventurer team would attempt to join Zero Wing, he had possessed a deep understanding of the Guild due to the battle between Zero Wing and Beast Emperor''s armies near the Primordial Divine Ruin. While that battle might not have been important to Zero Wing, it had left a deep impression on him, who had only been a Tier 1 Swordsman at the time. Back then, Black Flame, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, had repelled a Mythic monster with a single attack, shocking the spectating powers. Black Flame''s prowess had even caused thousands of Blackwater''s experts to freeze in fear. He had never imagined that a Swordsman could be so strong. Had he not been a member of the Unbounded adventurer team back then, he might''ve applied to join Zero Wing. Hence, when he heard that his commander wanted Unbounded to merge with the Guild, he had been overjoyed. When he heard that his commander intended to visit Zero Wing City to negotiate with the Guild''s upper echelons, he had been the first to apply to join his leader. "Don''t be so disappointed. Although Unbounded isn''t a top adventurer team, it is one of the top 100 adventurer teams in the Purple Thorns Empire. Moreover, our adventurer team has as many as four Tier 2 players, and all four have cleared the Hard Mode Class-change quest. We have more of an advantage than the other teams that only challenged the Normal Mode Quest," the middle-aged man said in consolation. "Alright, we should head to Zero Wing''s Residence." In response, the Swordsman youth nodded. Meanwhile, two cloaked players a short distance away stared at the men from Unbounded. "Sickle, those men are two of your targets. Remember to make as much of a commotion as possible. We need to teach Zero Wing and the other adventurer teams a lesson!" Wind Hunter said, sneering as he gestured to Unbounded''s players. Understood!" The robust man named Dark Sickle nodded, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. 1912 Evil Dragon Appears Chapter 1912 - Evil Dragon Appears Zero Wing City, Candlelight Trading Firm: When the system had announced the Otherworld Gate''s activation, a large number of Star-Moon Kingdom''s independent players had flooded Zero Wing City. This also increased the number of players visiting the city''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Meanwhile, three cloaked players enjoyed a meal and admired the populated street from the second floor of an open-air restaurant opposite of the trading firm. If one used a high-ranking Identification Skill on these three, they would definitely be surprised. None of these players were human. Among the three, one was a beautiful female Half-elf, one was a female Catkin with cat ears and tail, and one was a male Tigerkin with a powerful, robust body. All three were members of the Ninth Heaven Guild, with the female Half-elf being Melody, Ninth Heaven''s Guild Leader. "Big Sis Melody, this city is so prosperous, even more so than our Forest City. I can see more than 100 Tier 2 experts from here," the Catkin, Scarlet Heart, said, watching the sea of players downstairs with a shocked expression. "Indeed. I never thought that a kingdom''s Guild City could develop to this extent." Melody was similarly surprised by the number of Tier 2 experts roaming the street below. Before coming to Star-Moon Kingdom, she had specifically asked Thoughtful Rain about Zero Wing''s current state of affairs. However, she couldn''t believe Thoughtful Rain''s reply. Thoughtful Rain had mentioned that Zero Wing City''s player population had already reached 5,000,000, and experts were a common sight in the city. Moreover, Zero Wing City had many rare items for sale. Based on these descriptions, Zero Wing City sounded no less successful than Forest City. How could that possibly be true? However, when she had arrived in the city, she discovered that it was far more well-off than Thoughtful Rain had described. In Zero Wing City, expert players were as common as ordinary players, and plenty of Tier 2 experts wandered the city streets. Tier 2 experts were very rare, even in Forest City. Even Ninth Heaven, which was almost as powerful as a first-rate Guild, had only nurtured around 30 Tier 2 experts thus far. However, the number of Tier 2 experts on the street outside of the restaurant already outnumbered Ninth Heaven''s... If even Zero Wing City was so popular, she couldn''t imagine how strong Zero Wing had already become. "Guild Leader, although Zero Wing is stronger than we expected, I doubt it can help our Guild. Our current opponent is the legendary Death God Workshop. The Death God Workshop has even provoked Super Guilds before, and none of them could do anything about it, closing an eye to the workshop''s transgressions," the Tigerkin named One-arm Rashomon said worriedly. "On the other hand, the Setting Sun Guild is more reliable. Moreover, Guild Leader, your family has a close relationship with Setting Sun''s Guild Leader. Whether it is for profit or that relationship, Setting Sun will go all-out to help our Guild. In addition, the Death God Workshop would, more or less, fear of the strength of a recently-promoted super-first- rate Guild like Setting Sun and might give up on targeting us." "Stop. While Setting Sun might be stronger than Zero Wing, Setting Sun''s condition requires Ninth Heaven to become its subordinate. I will never agree to that, even if I have to fight the Death God Workshop to the death!" Melody''s voice was frosty. Her Guild had gone to great lengths to complete the high-ranked quest in the Flame Demon''s Valley and acquired a precious treasure. However, an information leak had informed the Death God Workshop of their new acquisition, and the workshop had attacked Ninth Heaven to steal the treasure. The Death God Workshop was not a Guild. It was an organized adventurer team. Not only were its movements erratic, but the adventurer team also had its fair share of experts. Moreover, as an adventurer team, the Death God Workshop did not have a permanent base of operations. But Ninth Heaven was different. The Guild had already grown considerably large and secured a permanent base of operations. One could easily imagine the outcome of a struggle between the two organizations. The Death God Workshop always had the initiative in battle. Moreover, the Death God Workshop also had experts that could even contend with Super Guilds'' peak experts. The workshop''s members had used guerilla tactics against Ninth Heaven''s players, and the Guild had been powerless to stop them. "Big Sis Melody, it''s almost time. Rain and Blue should have returned to Zero Wing''s Residence by now," Scarlet Heart said as she checked the time. "Alright, let''s go." Taking a look herself, Melody noticed that it was nearly time to meet with Thoughtful Rain. She immediately stood to leave the restaurant. Meanwhile, Dark Sickle stood on a street corner not far from the Candlelight Trading Firm. He quietly stalked the two Unbounded members. The two members of the adventurer team were utterly unaware of their stalker. This should be enough people. I should be able to cause quite a commotion. Dark Sickle, who wore a Black Cloak and only had his eyes exposed, licked his lips in anticipation as he observed his surroundings. The task Wind Hunter had given him was simple. Kill the adventurer team members who had come to join Zero Wing, and kill as many bystanders as possible. This would send a message to every player in Star-Moon Kingdom, teaching them the consequences of joining Zero Wing and proving that they weren''t safe even in a Guild City protected by NPC soldiers. If he succeeded, not only would the various adventurer teams receive the warning, but all players would realize that Zero Wing City was dangerous, and they could lose their lives at any given moment. This would cripple Zero Wing City''s popularity. In the past, he might have feared the NPC soldiers patrolling the city streets, but now that he could transform into an Evil Dragon, not even Level 80, Tier 3 NPCs could pose a threat, much less Level 80, Tier 2 NPC soldiers. All he needed to worry about was the kingdom''s army. After all, the NPCs in the kingdom''s army were all above Level 100. Killing him would be a piece of cake for them. However, he had a Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll on him. If the kingdom''s army arrived before he escaped, he could still leave the area. "Attack!" Wind Hunter, who watched the two Unbounded members from afar, commanded Dark Sickle through their party chat. Hearing this, Dark Sickle removed a crimson crystal from his bag and shattered it. As the crimson crystal shattered, energy flowed into Dark Sickle''s body. In the next moment, the magic circuits drawn on his skin disintegrated as if some seal had been removed. Once the magic circuits had disintegrated, Dark Sickle howled as his muscles rapidly expanded, his sudden growth tearing his Black Cloak to shreds. When passersby saw Dark Sickle''s growing form, they were dumbfounded. Before these players could react, Dark Sickle transformed into a ten-meter-tall Evil Dragon. Roar! After completing his transformation, Dark Sickle released a deafening roar, echoing throughout the city''s central district. "A Dragon?" "What''s going on? Why has a Dragon suddenly appeared?" The players on the street panicked when they saw the Evil Dragon. They could feel the threat of death emanating from the creature. With a flap of his newly-grown wings, Dark Sickle shot into the air above the two Unbounded players. "Unbounded adventurer team, since you dare attempt to join Zero wing, you will suffer the consequences!" Dark Sickle shouted before swiping at the Swordsman and Berserker with a claw. "Die!" Both the scholarly Berserker and the Swordsman youth felt powerless against the massive, incoming claw. They had only caught a glimpse of the claw''s afterimage, and the power it contained was so great that space around it had become unstable. However, just as the Dragon claw was about to strike the two players, everyone saw a blue flash before an agonized cry filled the air. The Evil Dragon flew over a dozen yards backward before crashing heavily into the ground, the impact leaving a crater under the creature. This outcome dumbfounded the surrounding players once more. 1913 Commotion at Zero Wing Chapter 1913 - Commotion at Zero Wing On the crowded street... When the two Unbounded members saw the Evil Dragon crash into the ground some distance away, they were dazed for a short moment, failing to process what had just happened. "What''s going on?" "We didn''t die?" Stubborn Bone, Unbounded''s commander, stared at the small crater a little over a dozen yards away from him and the Evil Dragon lying in it with a befuddled expression. A second ago, he had heard the Evil Dragon state its intent to kill him and his companion. When the creature''s claw attack had descended on them, he had known their deaths were sealed. The attack had been to fast for either of them to keep up with, much less block or dodge. Yet, after a bright, blue flash, the mighty Evil Dragon had vanished, crashing into the ground some distance away... Once his mind began to work again, Stubborn Bone spun towards the origin of the blue flash, discovering a cloaked player wielding a blue longsword who was slowly walking towards the Evil Dragon. Was it him? Stubborn Bone stared at the cloaked player in disbelief. He found it truly hard to believe that an attack from a one-handed sword could send such a powerful and fast Evil Dragon flying. "Crap! What''s going on? Why is a Dragon in the city?" "That''s not right, look at the marker above the Dragon''s head! That''s a player''s marker! That Dragon is a player!" "I think I heard the Dragon say that it was going to kill the adventurer teams that try to join Zero Wing. By the looks of it, the Dragon seems to have some kind of grudge with Zero Wing." "But what happened just now? I only saw the Dragon begin its rampage, and before I realized it, the creature had been thrown." The players on the street couldn''t help but discuss Dark Sickle''s sudden attack. The situation confused them. When the various major powers'' upper echelons on the street saw the gigantic Evil Dragon, realization dawned on them. "Isn''t that the Evil God''s Temple''s Evil Dragon?" "Hahaha! This is interesting! It seems the Evil God''s Temple can no longer sit still after watching Zero Wing City''s rapid development! I wonder how Zero Wing will deal with this problem? This Evil Dragon is clearly much stronger than the ones over at the Dark Witch''s Tower. Even the NPC soldiers should be powerless against it." "Good! Keep making trouble! Once Zero Wing City''s fame is ruined, our Guilds will have a better chance of luring the Witch''s Hill''s players later!" The various Guild upper echelons watched Dark Sickle, who stood back up and seemed mostly unharmed, with anticipation. They hoped that Dark Sickle would cause a large enough commotion in the city that they could take advantage of, attracting more players to the Guild Towns they would build in the near future. "Who are you? You dare to make an enemy of the Evil God''s Temple?" As Dark Sickle regained his footing, he glared at the cloaked man wielding the blue longsword, his voice echoing throughout the central district as he spoke. "Zero Wing''s Black Flame!" Shi Feng said, chuckling as he took off his Black Cloak. "Satisfied?" "You... How?" Dark Sickle''s anger vanished when he saw Shi Feng, and he was abruptly alert. When the spectators saw Shi Feng''s appearance, they could not help but gape. "What?! It''s the Sword King?!" "Lucky! I never thought I would get to meet the legendary Black Flame on my first visit to Zero Wing City!" "Amazing! I can boast about this when I meet up with my friends later!" After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted into a round of cheers. Not only was Black Flame''s name known by all in Star- Moon Kingdom, but many players also revered him to a fanatical degree. This Swordsman had been responsible for many miracles in the kingdom, and a large portion of players trying to join Zero Wing did so because of his presence in the Guild. Why wouldn''t they be excited now that he had shown up in Zero Wing City? "Damn it, why is Black Flame here?" When the various Guild upper echelons saw Shi Feng, their expressions darkened. They knew what kind of strength Black Flame possessed. When the man went all-out, he could even stand toe-to-toe with a Mythic monster for a short time. With Black Flame here, the Evil Dragon would likely fail to cause any trouble in Zero Wing City. "Black Flame?" Stubborn Bone was dazed once more as Shi Feng walked past him. "Amazing! As expected of the Sword King! Just the mention of his name is enough to make that Dragon panic!" The Swordsman youth beside Stubborn Bone was ecstatic to see Shi Feng, his eyes practically sparkling. After this turn of events, he was even more resolved to join Zero Wing. Meanwhile, when Melody''s group of three, who had just stepped out of the open-air restaurant opposite of the Candlelight Trading Firm, saw this scene, they could not help but reveal astonished expressions. "What''s going on? Why are these people so excited?" Scarlet Heart muttered strangely. Although Shi Feng''s attack had been stunning, it hadn''t been impressive enough to warrant such a crazed reaction from the crowd. After all, the Evil Dragon wasn''t even injured. It had merely lost a few tens of thousands of HP. To the Evil Dragon, who had over 30,000,000 HP, the damage was nothing. "It''s probably because of Black Flame''s fame in Star-Moon Kingdom," Melody deduced. She, too, was confused by the spectators'' reactions. Although some players were very famous, this was the first time she had seen such an exaggerated reaction over an expert player. In fact, when Shi Feng revealed himself, the Evil Dragon, which had bubbled with rage a moment ago, trembled in fear. "Are you guys not from Star-Moon Kingdom or the neighboring kingdoms?" a Level 56, Tier 1 Assassin, who had overheard Melody and Scarlet Heart''s conversation, asked. "Mhm. We came from somewhere far away." Melody nodded, confirming the Assassin''s assumption. "So, that''s the case. I guess it''s normal that you don''t understand the situation. Black Flame is our kingdom''s publicly acknowledged number one expert. With his strength alone, he caused an army of 10,000 to freeze in fear. There are rumors that he''s actually a humanoid monster or NPC. He even soloed and overpowered a Mythic monster in the Ore Empire. Dealing with Great Lord ranked monsters is a piece of cake for him," the Assassin explained with a reverential look. "Soloing a Mythic monster? And he overpowered it? How?" One-arm Rashomon stated in amazement. Mythic monsters were still invincible to players at this stage of the game. Even peak Tier 2 MTs had an extremely difficult time surviving against Mythic monsters, not to mention overpowering one. "So, it''s Guild Leader Black Flame! The Evil God''s Temple has a grudge against these two. I am simply here to teach them a lesson. This matter does not concern Zero Wing. Once I finish these two off, I''ll leave the city. However, if you try to stop me, don''t blame me for causing a scene!" Dark Sickle said, grinning once he had calmed down. His previous fear had simply been due to Black Flame''s name. After all, the man was a living legend. He had even slain two Evil Dragon experts at the Dark Witch''s Tower. It was only natural for him to be afraid. However, when he gave the matter a little more thought, he remembered that he was much stronger than the two Evil Dragons Shi Feng had faced. Although he was only at the Tier 3 Archaic Species standard, he had gained a five-level boost after transforming. Hence, he was now a Level 62, Tier 3 Archaic Species. To monsters, an additional five levels was a massive Attribute boost. With such an advantage, he had no reason to fear Black Flamel. Moreover, with his combat standard, not even a Tier 4 NPC could stop him quickly if he wanted to cause a ruckus in Zero Wing City, much less a Tier 2 player. "Sure! Give it a try, if you dare!" Shi Feng growled softly. 1914 Elemental Oppression Chapter 1914 - Elemental Oppression When Shi Feng fell silent, the crowd couldn''t help but grow nervous. They hadn''t expected Shi Feng to ignore Dark Sickle''s threat. The Evil Dragon was a Level 62, Tier 3 Archaic Species. If Dark Sickle truly intended to cause trouble, they had no doubt that they''d be the first to get dragged into the mess. Even if the city''s NPC soldiers arrived to deal with this player, it wouldn''t stop Dark Sickle from slaughtering the spectators. Unlike monsters, players couldn''t be aggroed. Dark Sickle could simply ignore the NPCs and massacre players as he wished. With how powerful the Evil Dragon''s attacks were, most players would die in one hit; only those with Invulnerability Skills might survive. They were merely bystanders. It was unreasonable for them to get dragged into this. When Dark Sickle heard Shi Feng''s response, he was stunned. He hadn''t expected that. "Good! You''ve forced my hand!" Dark Sickle bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng. "Let me see whether or not you are worthy of your title as the Sword King!" Dark Sickle flapped his wings, his massive body transforming into a gale that swept toward Shi Feng. The wind storm was so powerful that it blew the surrounding players off their feet. Even the Tier 2 players barely kept their footing. It took only an instant for Dark Sickle to cross the 20 yards between him and Shi Feng. As he arrived before the Swordsman, he swung his claw at the man. As Stubborn Bone, who stood behind Shi Feng, felt the attack''s intense pressure, he felt his body grow heavy. However, despite the approaching attack, Shi Feng made no attempt to dodge. Instead, his body lit with a golden light as he countered the attack with a swing of Killing Ray. Boom! With the sound of an explosion, the marble under Shi Feng''s feet cracked. As the powerful storm subsided, and everyone could reopen their eyes, the unbelievable scene before them left them astounded. Shi Feng''s longsword had actually stopped the Evil Dragon''s gigantic claw... "He blocked it?" Everyone was shocked when they saw that Shi Feng had only taken a few steps back after receiving the attack. Everyone had a very clear understanding of the Evil Dragon''s Strength. Moreover, the creature was ridiculously fast. Current players had no hope against this Evil Dragon. Yet, Shi Feng had stopped its attack. "So what if you blocked a casual strike? I wonder how long you can keep it up!" Dark Sickle sneered. Although Shi Feng had blocked his attack, he knew that both his Strength and speed were superior to Shi Feng''s. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s Berserk Skill had a limited duration, and he hadn''t even gotten serious, yet. Dark Sickle proceeded to brandish his claws, sending countless afterimages flying at Shi Feng. When the crowd saw the innumerable afterimages, they were momentarily stunned. If they were in Shi Feng''s position, they wouldn''t have any way to nullify the attack. They had never thought that a player-controlled monster would be so horrifically powerful. Unlike players, monsters couldn''t fully exhibit their combat power, and they couldn''t execute rapid chain attacks, which was why players had a chance of defeating them. But as these players watched the Evil Dragon''s attacks, they were overcome with despair, instinctively giving up on any form of resistance. "Finally getting serious?" Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised to see the approaching afterimages. Immediately, he unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and brandished both swords. Purgatory Pentaslash! Shadow Blade! One sword light after another flew from Shi Feng''s hands and clashed with the claw afterimages, sparks and sounds of explosions filling the air. The exchanges between Shi Feng and Dark Sickle were so fast that not even the surrounding Tier 2 experts could discern what was happening. They could only hear the booms as a strong wind pushed against them. "Too strong! Black Flame can actually fight that powerful Evil Dragon to a standstill? Is he really a player?" An indescribable shock filled the spectators as they watched the showdown between a human and a Dragon. As for Dark Sickle, the more he fought, the more frightened he became. He clearly had the advantage when it came to Strength and speed, yet Shi Feng''s swords always deflected his attacks as the Swordsman employed an impeccable defense and only lost a small amount of HP from each clash. Even after more than ten seconds, Shi Feng hadn''t even lost 10% of his HP. "Big Sis Melody, Black Flame is ridiculously strong! He can actually face-off against a player with the strength of a Tier 3 Archaic Species. If Black Flame is willing to help us, we might be able to resolve the matter with the Death God Workshop," She was breathless, yet Shi Feng''s breathing remained steady despite such an intense battle. "Black Flame is quite powerful, but at the end of the day, he''s still using a Berserk Skill. He can''t keep this up for long. Once his Skill''s duration is over, he won''t be able to stop the Evil Dragon. We should leave quickly," One-arm Rashomon said worriedly. "There''s no need to be afraid. We''re in a Guild City. There are plenty of NPC soldiers nearby. That Evil Dragon can''t keep fighting for long, either," Melody said as she turned to look at Zero Wing City''s NPC soldiers, who had just arrived. The first NPC soldiers to arrive were a 20-man patrol squad, and every soldier was a Level 80, Tier 2 NPC. Upon arriving, the NPCs attacked Dark Sickle without hesitation. As these Tier 2 NPCs received an Attribute boost from the city''s core magic array, their Strength could rival Great Lords of the same level. Due to the NPC soldiers participation, Shi Fengs situation turned for the better. One of the Tier 2 Cleric NPCs immediately cast Recovery on Shi Feng, granting him an HoT buff. Meanwhile, several MTs carrying shields quickly formed a defensive wall before Shi Feng, severely hindering the Evil Dragon''s attacks, while several ranged NPCs bombarded Dark Sickle with attacks, depleting the Evil Dragon''s HP by tens of thousands. Although Dark Sickle still had the upper-hand, it was only a matter of time before his HP was whittled down to nothing. "Black Flame, I have underestimated you, but you still can''t stop me if I target other players!" When Dark Sickle saw the growing NPC crowd around him, he realized that continuing his fight with Shi Feng would be detrimental. He then shifted his gaze to Unbounded''s two members, sneering as he said, "I''ll show you the price of angering me!" After saying so, Dark Sickle flapped his wings and dashed towards Stubborn Bone and the Swordsman youth. Since his Strength and speed were so much greater than Shi Feng and the Tier 2 NPC soldiers'', it only took him a second to shake them off and reach the Unbounded duo. "Elemental Oppression!" Shi Feng shouted. Suddenly, a beam of light shot up from each of the Four Towers of Elements, located in Zero Wing City''s four corners. A colossal magic array enveloped the city from above, freezing space within the city''s walls. Every player in the city felt their bodies become indescribably heavy. As for Dark Sickle, it felt as if his body had been submerged in a pool of water. Now, it took a lot more effort to move his claws, decreasing his Attack Speed by more than 50%. After activating Elemental Oppression, Shi Feng used Instant Strike to appear before Dark Sickle. He then swung Killing Ray at the Evil Dragon''s descending claw. Peng! After repelling the attack, Shi Feng thrust the Abyssal Blade towards Dark Sickle. Although the Evil Dragon saw the attack and tried to intercept it with his other claw, he was simply too slow to keep up with Shi Feng''s strike. Suddenly, Dark Sickle felt pain in his chest before his body was thrown backward, the attack''s outcome surprising him. 1915 Might of the Four Towers of Elements Chapter 1915 - Might of the Four Towers of Elements "He sent the Dragon flying?" The crowd stared in shock as Shi Feng threw the Evil Dragon backward by over a dozen yards. A moment ago, Shi Feng had clearly been at a disadvantage, yet he had just sent this intruder flying. Moreover, he had done so with a normal attack... Damn it! Why does this city have such a powerful domain magic array?! Dark Sickle glared at the magic barrier above the city with a grim expression. Due to this magic array, his mobility had been reduced by at least half. Moreover, his Basic Attributes had decreased by as much as 40%. This drop in his performance was the reason that Shi Feng had succeeded in throwing him so far with a simple, normal attack. "A domain magic array! So, this is Zero Wing City''s trump card?" Although the magic array''s powerful suppression only targeted Dark Sickle, the various Guild upper echelons realized what had happened. The previous exchange''s unexpected outcome hadn''t been a result of Shi Feng''s strength. Rather, it had been because the magic array, which had abruptly appeared above the city, had drastically weakened Dark Sickle. The magic array must be particularly powerful since an ordinary array wouldn''t be enough to suppress a Tier 3 Archaic Species to this extent. After Shi Feng repulsed Dark Sickle, the 20 NPC soldiers moved to surround him. They had no problems suppressing Dark Sickle now, dealing over -100,000 damage with each attack. No matter how much Dark Sickle struggled, he couldn''t break free from the NPCs'' encirclement. He couldn''t even get close to any of the surrounding players, much less kill them. "How is this possible?" Wind Hunter, who watched from a safe distance, frowned. He hadn''t expected Zero Wing City to possess such powerful defenses. Not only did the city possess a defensive magic array, but it was also a domain magic array. He had used a precious disguise tool to sneak Dark Sickle into the city, yet his efforts had gone to waste. Now, Dark Sickle couldn''t even manage to kill a single ordinary player, much less the two Unbounded members. If this battle continued, Dark Sickle would be the only player to die. "Boss Wind, more NPCs are gathering to my location. I can''t hold on at this rate. If I''m going to cause any damage to Zero Wing City, I''m afraid that I''ll have to use that move," Dark Sickle contacted Wind Hunter while defending himself against the NPC soldiers. His Evil Dragonification was far different from the first attempts. Not only did had it granted him a level boost, but he could also use an Overtier Spell while in his Evil Dragon form. However, this Overtier Spell was still one of the Evil God''s Temple''s secrets. He couldn''t reveal it to the public unless absolutely necessary. Yet, he could only deal a significant blow to Zero Wing City if he used this Overtier Spell now. The Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll he had prepared was his only other option of escape. After giving the matter some thought, Wind Hunter gnashed his teeth and reluctantly agreed, "Use it! Although this will expose the Evil Dragon''s true strength earlier than planned, it is better than leaving the city without accomplishing anything!" Dust Edge had warned him that the Evil Dragonification process was still incomplete, and as a result, casting its Overtier Spell would require a heavy price. If Dark Sickle used the Overtier Spell now, it might even cancel his Evil Dragonification. But he couldn''t care less right now. If they escaped without accomplishing anything in Zero Wing City, the Evil God''s Temple would be a laughingstock, and Zero Wing would become even more famous. Once he had permission to use the Overtier Spell, Dark Sickle''s worries vanished. Now, he was overcome with mad excitement. "Black Flame, I''ll show you the true price of defying me!" Dark Sickle snarled as he glared at Shi Feng, ignoring the surrounding NPCs'' attacks. Suddenly, the Evil Energy around his body skyrocketed, and his aura intensified. Twelve pitch-black magic arrays manifested around Dark Sickle, each opening a hole in space as a flood of Evil Energy poured out and into Dark Sickle''s draconic form. A ball of black light them formed before the Evil Dragon, gradually expanding. Tier 4 Overtier Spell, Evil Energy Burst! When cast, this Spell would absorb Evil Energy from other planes and deal devastating damage to a 300-yard radius. With how crowded Zero Wing City''s central district currently was, such an AOE would devour several thousand players. "Crap! That Evil Dragon is trying to use a large-scale destruction Spell! We need to get out of here!" Melody''s expression darkened as destructive energy filled Dark Sickle''s surroundings. All of the spectating magical class players could feel the large-scale destruction Spell Dark Sickle was preparing to cast. They immediately turned and tried to flee. "Running?" Dark Sickle sneered at the fleeing players. "I can collect all the energy I need in two more seconds. Do you think you can run 300 yards that quickly?" Hearing Dark Sickle''s taunt, the fleeing players despaired. "Damned lunatic!" "We''re only visiting Zero Wing City, yet you''re attacking us, too?!" "Evil God''s Temple, just you wait! I won''t let you get away with this!" The spectating players realized that escape was impossible. Aside from the NPCs and players with Invulnerability Skills, all of these players would likely die... "Hahaha! Excellent! The Evil God''s Temple has done a good job this time! I can''t wait to see who would dare develop in Zero Wing City after today!" "The Evil God''s Temple is ruthless, attacking Zero Wing City so soon after Zero Wing attacked Ancient Rock City. It seems Zero Wing will have a hard time developing further." The various Guild upper echelons watching from a distance laughed as Dark Sickle prepared his large-scale destruction Spell. Not only had the Evil God''s Temple managed to sneak an Evil Dragon into Zero Wing City, but the Evil Dragon in question could also cast a large-scale destruction Spell. After this, no player would feel safe visiting Zero Wing City in the future. Meanwhile, this situation would grant their Guilds an opportunity to develop in the Witch''s Hill. "Die!" Dark Sickle bellowed, madness filling his eyes as he glared at Shi Feng, who stood unmoving before the two Unbounded members. Suddenly, the pitch-black light ball before the Evil Dragon rapidly expanded. Like a black hole that devoured everything, the light ball all in its path with Evil Energy. "Even Elemental Suppression is useless?" A cold glint flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he stared at the expanding ball of light. "What about this, then?" Saying so, Shi Feng activated the Four Towers of Elements'' second killing move. Tier 4 Curse, Elemental Burst! The Four Towers of Elements were one of God''s Domain''s peak defensive structures. Even after ten years in the game, the various Super Guilds had continued to protect their cities with the Four Towers of Elements due to their three killing moves. Elemental Suppression, a domain magic array that drastically weakened enemies'' combat powers, both in and outside of the city, was the towers'' first move. The second move was Elemental Burst, a Tier 4 Curse that rivaled a Tier 5 Spell. Even Tier 5 existences would not dare to take this move head-on. The third move was Elemental Seal, a Spell that even Tier 5 beings were afraid of. Of course, unlike the first two moves, which only required a small number of Magic Crystals, activating Elemental Seal required Mana Stones. As Shi Feng activated Elemental Burst, a four-colored beam descended from the magic array above Zero Wing City, slamming into Dark Sickle and the black light ball before him. By the time the light faded, only an empty crater, over ten meters deep, remained... 1916 Fame Spreads Chapter 1916 - Fame Spreads "The Evil Dragon is dead..." "Impossible! That''s a Tier 3 Archaic Species we''re talking about!" The spectating players gaped at the deep crater in the middle of the street, utterly frozen in shock. They had thought that their deaths were certain a moment ago, but in the next second, the Evil Dragon, which had been about to release a large-scale destruction Spell, had died. It had been so thoroughly destroyed that not even ashes remained. "So strong! That attack instantly killed the half-HP Dragon! Big Sis Melody, do you think that Zero Wing launched that attack just now?" Scarlet Heart asked, overcome with shock. Although the Evil Dragon had lost a lot of HP during its fight against the NPC soldiers, it had over 15,000,000 HP just a second ago. However, when the four-colored light pillar had descended, the Evil Dragon hadn''t even had time to scream before it had been destroyed. This was the first time she had witnessed such a devastating attack since joining God''s Domain. Not even a Tier 4 large- scale destruction Spell could compare. Such a powerful attack would likely even injure Mythic monsters. "That''s likely. But Zero Wing City''s defenses truly are terrifying to annihilate a Tier 3 Archaic Species in one hit. I doubt other Guilds have a chance of competing with Zero Wing in the Witch''s Hill now," Melody said as she marveled at the magic barrier enveloping Zero Wing City. If Ninth Heaven''s Guild Town were as powerful as Zero Wing City, it wouldn''t have any problems dealing with the Death God Workshop. When players chose a Guild Town to visit, the most important aspect they took into account was the town''s security. Whether it was independent players or merchant players, nobody wanted to die for no reason, wasting all of the effort they spent on leveling. Not only did Zero Wing City provide such a comfortable living environment, but its defenses were also immensely powerful. If they had the option, players would definitely choose to operate out of this city. What was that Spell?! Dark Sickle''s Magic Resistance should''ve been boosted after transforming into an Evil Dragon! How could he have died despite still having over half of his HP?! Wind Hunter''s expression twisted when he saw the crater, void of the Evil Dragon. Although Dark Sickle was only a member of the second batch of experiments, the Evil God''s Temple had spent a lot of resources on Dark Sickle''s Evil Dragonification. Now that Dark Sickle was dead, those resources were gone. This outcome wouldn''t have been so terrible if Dark Sickle had damaged Zero Wing City, but he hadn''t even killed a single player. All Dark Sickle had accomplished was further solidifying the public''s confidence in this city, which was the exact opposite of the Evil God''s Temple''s goal... The various Guild upper echelons watching from a distance were in a similarly gloomy mood. Not only had Zero Wing City revealed its powerful domain magic array, but it also had command of such a powerful offensive Spell. If any power had still harbored ideas of causing trouble in this city, they''d likely abandon the idea after today''s display. "I have to report this to the Guild Leader right away." "Zero Wing City actually has such frightening defensive measures. It seems that we''ll need to alter our plans and give up on the idea of harassing the city. We''ll have to build a Guild Town in the Witch''s Hill as soon as possible if we hope to compete with Zero Wing City." After this battle, the various Guild upper echelons promptly reported to their respective superiors. They suggested that their Guilds shift their focus to constructing a town in the map as soon as they could and avoid interfering with Zero Wing City''s operations. If even a Tier 3 Archaic Species failed to cause trouble in the city, their Guilds'' attempts would be an utter joke. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, standing some distance away from the new crater, wasn''t surprised in the least that Dark Sickle had died so quickly. Immediately, he instructed some of his NPCs to repair the damaged street and disperse the crowd, quickly ending this farce. The Four Towers of Elements could even threaten a Tier 5 being, much less a Tier 3 Evil Dragon. This was also why he had stationed the Magic King in Silverwing Town instead of Zero Wing City. Once the lively central district had returned to its former state, Shi Feng called up Zero Wing City''s system interface and selected ten Tier 2 NPC soldiers with the most potential. He then armed them with the Bronze War God Emblems. Although the Bronze War God Emblem''s effects would not help these Tier 2 NPC soldiers reach the Tier 3 standard, it pushed them quite close to it. Even if a Level 80 Grand Lord came to cause trouble, a patrol squad with one of these pseudo- Tier 3 NPCs could keep the creature busy until other squads arrived with the Four Towers of Elements'' Elemental Suppression. If possible, Shi Feng preferred to avoid using Elemental Bust. After all, the Tier 4 Curse cost 2,000 Magic Crystals each time it activated. It was a considerable expenditure to Zero Wing. Meanwhile, news of the commotion in Zero Wing City quickly spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Players bombarded the kingdom''s forums with discussions about the event. Tier 3 Evil Dragon appears in Zero Wing City! Tier 3 Archaic Species gets instant-killed! The various discussions on the forums brought Zero Wing City into a new light for the kingdom''s players. Some independent players and adventurer teams, who hadn''t been particularly interested in the city, decided to shift their base of operations to Zero Wing City. In God''s Domain, NPC cities were the safest locations for player residences. Hence, many players preferred to develop in NPC cities that lacked resources rather than in cities with abundant resources and lacking security. After all, the cost of death was simply too high. They would rather level up at a slower pace than take such a risk. However, the situation had changed. Since Zero Wing City could even instant-kill a Tier 3 Archaic Species, it was more than capable of doing the same for current players. If any player dared to cause trouble in the city, they''d suffer a similar fate as the Evil Dragon. One could say that Zero Wing City was now even safer than an ordinary NPC city. It also provided many benefits and occupied a resource-rich area. For a time, a large number of players in Star-Moon Kingdom started to migrate to Zero Wing City, awaiting the Otherworld Gate''s activation. In less than half an hour, Zero Wing City''s player population had reached 10,000,000. Although many more players tried to enter the city, it had reached its maximum capacity. If players wished to enter the city, they would have to wait for others to leave it. Due to this, more than 100 adventurer teams now petitioned to join Zero Wing. Every one of these adventurer teams contacted Aqua Rose in the hopes that she could facilitate their merger, offering resources and Lands that tempted the Zero Wing Vice Guild Leader. One adventurer team''s resources might not be a match for a large Guild''s, but over a hundred teams combined would have a frightening amount Furthermore, many of the teams applying to join Zero Wing were well-known adventurer teams from Star-Moon Kingdom and other countries. Their resources and Lands were things that Zero Wing severely lacked. Because of this, Aqua Rose was at a loss, unsure of which adventurer teams to accept into the Guild. Meanwhile, Melody, Scarlet Heart, and One-arm Rashomon waited at the entrance to Zero Wing''s Guild Residence. As they gazed at the many adventurer teams lined up to join the Guild, they couldn''t help their growing nerves. "Big Sis Melody, with how powerful Zero Wing is right now, do you think Guild Leader Black Flame will accept our request with the remuneration we plan to offer?" Scarlet Heart asked nervously as she looked at the Tier 2 experts of the various adventurer teams entering Zero Wing''s Residence. These well-known adventurer teams all had a lot of resources and Land saved up. Even so, they were still willing to hand everything over to Zero Wing in the hopes of merging their entire adventurer team with the Guild. Compared to what these adventurer teams were offering, the remuneration they had prepared in exchange for Zero Wing''s help with the Death God Workshop was simply... "I don''t know. We''ll only find out once we''ve started the negotiations," Melody said, shaking her head. She wasn''t particularly confident about their chances, either. The only thing they could do was rely on their relationship with Thoughtful Rain. 1917 Forest City Transaction Chapter 1917 - Forest City Transaction Zero Wing City, Zero Wing''s Residence: A large number of players crowded around the Residence''s entrance, applying to join Zero Wing. Many of these players were well-equipped, high-level experts, and quite a few were Tier 2 players. This scene surprised many passersby. Tier 2 was currently the symbol of an expert. Even players that had only completed the Normal Mode Promotion Quest were considered experts. After all, the Tier 2 Promotion Quest was not easy to clear. It was impossible without reaching a certain standard. However, compared to the Tier 2 players outside of the Residence, the adventurer teams in line truly dumbfounded the nearby spectators. Every adventurer team entering Zero Wing''s Residence possessed a certain degree of fame. Moreover, all of the teams'' representatives wore excellent equipment, with a few wearing Level 50 Fine-Gold Equipment. There were also plenty of Tier 2 experts among these adventurer teams, and unlike the independent Tier 2 experts in line, the weakest among these adventurer team experts had completed the Hard Mode Promotion Quest. They had far more potential than the experts that had only completed the Normal Mode Quest "With so many adventurer teams seeking to join Zero Wing, Zero Wing''s strength will quickly and significantly increase." "Amazing! I''ve seen more than 20 adventurer teams entering the Residence thus far! Combined, these adventurer teams have even more overall combat power than third-rate Guilds! Hopefully, Zero Wing doesn''t accept too many. Otherwise, independent players like us will have a much slimmer chance of joining the Guild." The independent players in line were excited and worried as they watched the various adventurer teams following after Zero Wing''s representatives. Now that Zero Wing City had revealed its powerful defenses, countless players wanted to develop in the city. Zero Wing''s future was clear. Even if the Guild lost its position in the Ore Empire, it''s standing in Star-Moon Kingdom would be unshakable. To the general populace, Zero Wing was even stronger than a first-rate Guild that occupied two or three kingdoms. A first-rate Guild that occupied two or three kingdoms might have a lot of resources, but its development couldn''t be considered stable. There was still a very high chance that other Guilds would steal its resources. However, that was not the case for Zero Wing. As long as Zero Wing City stood, the Guild''s position in the kingdom would remain stable. With how powerful Zero Wing City''s defenses were, it was very hard to imagine any power capturing or destroying the city. Even if a power were capable of doing so, it wouldn''t likely be interested in a backwater country like Star-Moon Kingdom. They''d definitely set their sights on better territories. While the crowd outside of the Residence discussed Zero Wing''s future, two women emerged from the Residence. The moment these two women appeared, the crowd outside went into an uproar. This reaction wasn''t due to the women''s peerless beauty, but because of the Guild Emblems pinned to their armor. Not only did they wear Mysterious-Iron Guild Emblems, but the emblems also radiated a dark-purple glow. In Zero Wing, normal members didn''t wear glowing Guild Emblems. Players would only get a glowing emblem once they became one of the Guild''s elites, their emblem emitting a light-blue glow. The Guild''s core members wore Guild Emblems that gave off a light purple glow. Only the players who ranked in the top ten of their class would wear a dark-purple glowing emblem. Zero Wing''s class rankings were determined by one''s contribution to the Guild and their combat power. Hence, the rankings were an incredibly reliable method of spotting an expert. The fact that these two women wore dark-purple glowing Guild Emblems meant that they both had extremely high positions in Zero Wing. These two women were none other than Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo. When Melody saw the commotion Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo caused just with their appearance alone, she could not help but marvel at the situation. She had only become acquainted with Thoughtful Rain after helping the woman in a neutral map. She had recognized Thoughtful Rain''s strength and had thought of poaching the woman into Ninth Heaven. However, looking at it now, she found the idea laughable. "Rain, what did your Guild Leader say?" Melody anxiously asked as the woman approached. "Big Sis Melody, don''t worry. I''ve already talked to the Guild Leader. He says he is willing to hear you out," Thoughtful Rain said, smiling. "The Guild Leader is waiting for you in his office right now. I''ll bring you to him." "Your Guild Leader is willing to talk?" Melody released a sigh of relief. Now that she understood how powerful Zero Wing was, she knew that it would be very difficult to secure a meeting with its Guild Leader, especially since her Guild was merely an up-and-coming second-rate Guild. Before seeking Thoughtful Rain''s help, she had sought aid from several first-rate Guilds, but when they had learned that her request was related to the Death God Workshop, they had even refused to meet with her, much less negotiate. Only the Setting Sun Guild had been willing to hear her out. As the players in line watched, Thoughtful Rain led the Ninth Heaven trio into Zero Wing''s Guild Hall. The Guild Hall bustled with activity. Many of the Guild''s experts had returned to the Residence in anticipation for the Otherworld Gate''s opening. Currently, over 200 Tier 2 experts loitered around the first-floor hall, stupefying Melody and her companions. Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts easily outnumbered Ninth Heaven''s by many times. Moreover, this was only a portion of the Guild''s Tier 2 experts. Even first-rate Guilds paled in comparison to Zero Wing. After a short moment, the group arrived before the Guild Leader''s office on the Guild Hall''s top floor. Currently, several dozen Tier 2 experts sat outside of the office, every one of which was Level 56 or higher. These experts were all from the various adventurer teams applying to join Zero Wing. They would all be top-ranked players in any first-rate Guild, but they sat quietly as if waiting for some kind of judgment. The hallway was deathly silent. However, Thoughtful Rain ignored these people as she led Melody''s group into the Guild Leader''s office. When Melody and the others entered the office, they felt an oppressive sensation overcome their bodies. This sensation didn''t originate from Shi Feng, who sat behind an office desk, but from Cola and the others, who stood near their Guild Leader. When they saw Cola and his companions'' levels, Melody''s group was speechless. Including Cola, four of these people had reached Level 60, while the rest were Level 59. Right now, even the highest leveled player in Forest City was only Level 58... "You''re here. Rain has already told me about your situation. Zero Wing can help you with your problem, but in return, Zero Wing wants two Shops in Forest City''s central district What are your thoughts on this condition?" Shi Feng said when he saw Melody entering the room. "Two central district Shops?" Melody breathed a sigh of relief when she heard this. She had been afraid that Shi Feng would try to take advantage of their predicament and rip them off, but he had simply asked for one more Shop than she had initially prepared. "That won''t be a problem. However, may I know when Guild Leader Black Flame intends to deal with the matter regarding the Death God Workshop?" If the situation dragged on for too long, Ninth Heaven''s losses would become increasingly severe. Unfortunately, dealing with an organization like the Death God Workshop wasn''t easy. Preparations had to be made. If Shi Feng could give her a timeframe, she would have an easier time coordinating with his Guild. "Once we sign a contract. I''ll send Cola''s group with you to Forest City to deal with the issue," Shi Feng responded. "Just them?" One-arm Rashomon''s eyes widened in shock when he heard Shi Feng''s plan. Turning to Cola and the others, he could not help but feel that Shi Feng was taking them too lightly. Either that, or he had no idea of the Death God Workshop''s strength. The Death God Workshop had several hundred members, and every one of them was an expert. Moreover, the Workshop constantly employed hit-and-run tactics, making its movements unpredictable. Stopping the Death God Workshop with only the several players in Cola''s party would be impossible. If the matter had been that simple, Ninth Heaven could''ve resolved it without help. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the Death God Workshop is quite powerful, adept at using guerilla warfare against Guilds. Even superpowers have to tolerate their antics. With so few people, I''m afraid that..." Melody tried to warn Shi Feng. "Relax. Cola''s group will be enough. If it isn''t, I''ll find another way to deal with this problem," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "If you have no other concerns, let''s sign the contract." Melody could not help but sigh at Shi Feng''s response, but since he had agreed to help, demanding too much wouldn''t benefit her. She could only see how this played out If the problem persisted, Zero Wing would dispatch more experts to deal with the Death God Workshop. 1918 Fairy Country Chapter 1918 - Fairy Country Once Shi Feng and Melody had signed their contract, Cola and Fire Dance, whom Shi Feng had tasked with leading a 20- man team, followed Melody''s group to Forest City. When Shi Feng had finished with the situation regarding Ninth Heaven, he selected a few adventurer teams to annex into Zero Wing. These adventurer teams had been relatively powerful during his previous life, although they had yet to reach their full potential. Fortunately, their experts were no weaker than those in large Guilds. They only lacked resources and combat experience. Among the adventurer teams that had applied, the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s Unbounded had truly surprised Shi Feng. Even now, Unbounded ranked among the top 100 adventurer teams in its kingdom. Stubborn Bone, Unbounded''s commander, had also been quite famous in the past Not only had he developed Unbounded into a top adventurer team, but he had also become a Tier 4 Berserker himself. Unfortunately, due to a lack of equipment, he had never reached Tier 5. There was also another Unbounded member who had reached Tier 4-the Archlight Sword Emperor, Seven Light! Although Seven Light had been slightly weaker than Stubborn Bone, the difference hadn''t been related to their technique standards, but due to a lack of proper equipment and weapons. Meanwhile, due to the fact that Unbounded had two Tier 4 expert members, it had barely qualified as a top adventurer team in the Secret Pavilion''s eyes. Even so, the feat was impressive. After all, top adventurer teams that earned the Secret Pavilion''s recognition could even rival the best second-rate Guilds, with some of the more powerful teams rivaling first-rate Guilds. Now that Zero Wing had annexed Unbounded, this had guaranteed that Zero Wing would have two more peak experts in the future. Moreover, since Unbounded had focused its development in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the adventurer team had established a foundation in the kingdom. After annexing Unbounded, Zero Wing would have more influence in the kingdom, which would, in turn, make it easier to obtain resources unique to the kingdom. After Shi Feng finished selecting adventurer teams, he made his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm and started to mass- produce All-rounded Devices. He also instructed Melancholic Smile to arrange the production of Advanced Darkness Resistance Potions in preparation for his expedition to Kama Island. Meanwhile, in the second-floor hall of Zero Wing''s Guild Hall... When the various adventurer team representatives waiting in the hall saw Aqua Rose, they all could not help but grow nervous. "After researching your adventurer teams, we have decided that we will only fully welcome the teams on this list For those not listed, Zero Wing will accept a portion of your members," Aqua Rose said as she passed a list to the various adventurer teams present. "Also, every adventurer team that agrees to join will receive 20 internal member slots in Zero Wing. If you agree to these conditions, you may see me to sign a contract, becoming one of our Guild members." Currently, more than 60 adventurer teams were interested in joining Zero Wing, but the Guild could only afford to recruit a limited number of players. If Zero Wing recruited too many, it would only hinder the Guild''s development. Hence, including the adventurer teams Shi Feng had handpicked, Aqua Rose had only decided to allow eleven adventurer teams to join Zero Wing, all of which had relatively strong Tier 2 experts and resources that would be crucial to Zero Wing''s development. After checking the list, some of the adventurer teams celebrated, while others were frustrated. "Commander, this is great! Our adventurer team can join Zero Wing as a whole!" Seven Light exclaimed after reading the list. After witnessing Shi Feng''s fight with the Evil Dragon, his desire to join the Guild had grown. Despite being at a disadvantage in terms of Strength and speed, Shi Feng had relied on his extraordinary techniques to render the Evil Dragon powerless. He had been utterly mesmerized. When he thought about how he might be able to seek guidance from Shi Feng after joining the Guild, he couldn''t help his excitement. "Good! For now, I''ll go and apply to form a 1,000-man legion with Zero Wing while you head back and prepare our players to migrate to Zero Wing City. From now on, we''ll operate out of this city!" Stubborn Bone was just as elated. Even before applying to join Zero Wing, he had heard that Zero Wing offered amazing benefits to its players. When he had stepped into Zero Wing''s Residence, he had learned that the reality was even better than the rumors. Not only did Zero Wing''s members have priority when using the Battle Arena''s combat rooms, but they could also rent advanced combat rooms in exchange for GCPs. As long as they had enough GCPs, they could even learn all kinds of combat techniques. However, what surprised him the most was Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse. There were even Level 55 and 60 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment available for purchase. Of course, Guild members had to have enough GCPs and sufficient status to buy these items. Only core members were allowed access to top-tier items. Even so, elite members could purchase Level 55 and 60 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment Moreover, Zero Wing''s members had a variety of methods to earn money. Not only were a ton of high-ranked quests available in the Guild''s various Residences, but there were also plenty of Guild Transportation Quests available in Silverwing City. These Guild Transportation Quests awarded far better remuneration than the Transportation Firm''s quests for non-Guild members. With all of these resources, Stubborn Bone even had hope of becoming a peak expert in God''s Domain. However, he wanted to get Unbounded''s member settled in Zero Wing City first. Then, he would do everything he could to raise his position in the Guild; he could only secure more resources to grow by doing so. All of the adventurer teams that joined Zero Wing would start as normal members, and commanders were no exception. Meanwhile, in the Fairy Country, a neutral map far away from Star-Moon kingdom... Under Melody''s lead, Cola and the others finally arrived at the Fairy Country''s Forest City. "This place is so prosperous! It seems like there are so many more players here than in Star-Moon City!" Shadow Sword was a little surprised to see Half-beastmen and Half-elves filling the streets. Fire Dance and the others nodded in agreement. In their opinion, very few players should choose to play as a neutral race, but Forest City''s streets were packed. Moreover, all of these players were very high-leveled, with most having passed Level 55. Many of them had even reached Level 57, which only expert players could do at this stage of the game. In fact, Forest City likely had more Level 57 players than Zero Wing City. "Forest City is the Fairy Country''s capital. One-third of the country''s Half-beastmen and Half-elves are here. Although it can''t compare to an empire''s imperial capital, it''s more prosperous than an ordinary kingdom''s capital. Fairy Country is a hub for players seeking individual strength. Players come here from various kingdoms and empires. If you gather all these players in a single location, it is only natural that you''d get a frightening number. Moreover, more players continue to flood into the city. This is why so many large Guilds have set their sights on the Fairy Country. Some Guilds have even converted all of their players into neutral races," Melody explained. "There are as many as five first-rate Guilds operating in Forest City, and everyone is competing over the position as the city''s overlord." "Five first-rate Guilds are competing over this city?" Fire Dance was astonished. During the game''s early stages, the competition in Star-Moon Kingdom had been intense, but only three first-rate Guilds had participated. However, five first-rate Guilds fought over this single NPC city. Of course, Fire Dance recognized Forest City''s value. Not long after Melody introduced Fire Dance and her team to the mesmerizing Forest City, she received a message. As she read it, Melody''s expression darkened. "Has something happened?" Fire Dance asked when she noticed the change. "I''ve just received a report stating that the Death God Workshop has taken action yet again. Just some time ago, the Workshop ambushed one of our 1,000-man teams while it raided a Field Boss," Melody said grimly. "The Death God Workshop?" Hearing Melody''s words, a joyful smile lit up Fire Dance''s Face as she asked, "Can you take us there now?" "Now?" Melody was stunned for a moment. "We''re pretty far from the ambush site. By the time we arrive, they will be gone. Moreover, the Death God Workshop only dispatched a 100-man team this time, and every member is an expert. With just the 20 of you, I''m afraid that..." "It''s fine. Just lead us there to take a look," Fire Dance gently demanded with a calm smile. 1919 Battlefield of Monsters Chapter 1919 - Battlefield of Monsters Hearing Fire Dance''s confident tone, Melody sent One-arm Rashomon to organize a team. While she understood that Fire Dance and the others were extraordinarily strong, the Death God Workshop was not a simple opponent Otherwise, Forest City''s various first-rate Guilds wouldn''t have such a massive headache over the Workshop. It should be known that the Death God Workshop had ambushed those Guilds'' teams many times, but the Workshop''s members were quite cunning. Despite doing all they could to retaliate, their efforts had been wasted on a few small fries. They couldn''t reach the Death God Workshop''s core. This was also why only the super-first-rate Guild, Setting Sun, of all the Guilds she had reached out to, had been willing to help them. However, the Setting Sun''s price was just vicious. Accepting Setting Sun''s offer was no different than giving the Guild, which she had gone to great lengths to develop, away. She would never agree to such a thing. Meanwhile, with how many members the Death God Workshop had mobilized to ambush Ninth Heaven''s 1,000-man team, they''d suffer a massive loss if Fire Dance and her companions actually found the Workshop''s members. Hence, as a precaution, she had decided to take some of her people along. She couldn''t afford to let Fire Dance and the others die so soon after reaching Forest City. It would be hard to explain to Zero Wing. Due to time constraints, One-arm Rashomon was only able to gather a little over 200 experts from the Guild before Melody led Fire Dance and the team to Wisp Cemetery, a Level 60 to 75 map some distance from Forest City. Dark clouds covered the sky above Wisp Cemetery throughout the year, and although lush forest occupied the area, it gave off an oppressive and gloomy aura. However, since this was a high-resource map, many Guilds often grinded and collected resources here. Melody and her group carefully advanced down a forest path as they made their way towards the reported battlefield. Although not many monsters called Wisp Cemetery home, the Wandering Wisps in the area were incredibly troublesome. Once they spotted living creatures, they''d call upon a small force of Undead Creatures to eliminate the intruders. These little monsters could easily summon hundreds and thousands of Undead Creatures with its call. To make matters worse, not only did the Undead Creatures provide very little EXP, but they also almost never dropped good items. As a result, players grinding in the Wisp Cemetery tried to avoid the Wandering Wisps and Undead Creatures as often as possible. After traveling through the Wisp Cemetery for about half an hour, Melody''s group finally reached the ambush site. The Death God Workshop had ambushed Ninth Heaven''s players at the entrance of an underground tomb. The tomb contained a Level 63 Field Boss, and the Death God Workshop had killed both Ninth Heaven''s members and the Field Boss during its ambush. Traces of combat were evident in and outside of the tomb. It was clear that the recent battle had been intense. Players'' blood had been scattered across the ground, filling the air with its stench. "They must''ve executed the ambush during the Boss-fight. They must''ve stationed some players outside of the tomb to stop anyone from escaping. Were there any survivors from the 1,000-man team?" Thoughtful Rain turned to ask Melody after observing the bloodstains. "Not one person managed to escape. The Death God Workshop always operates this way. Whenever the Workshop launches an ambush, it uses a Magic Scroll to seal the area, preventing players from using Instantaneous Movement Scrolls and Return Scrolls," Melody said, gnashing her teeth. Although the ambushed team wasn''t the Guild''s main force, it was an elite team led by expert players. Losing the entire team had incurred significant losses. Not only had every player died, but they had also all lost a piece of equipment The lost weapons and equipment were far more of a problem than the lost levels. "Big Sis Fire, too much time has passed since the end of the battle. The players from the Workshop have already left the area, and their tracks have faded. I''m afraid that chasing after them is impossible," Flying Shadow said after getting no results from his Tracking Skill. "Your Tier 1 Tracking Skill isn''t enough. Fortunately, I recently learned Mana Perception, a rare Tier 2 Tracking Skill. I can now perceive traces that aren''t visible to the naked eye. To put it simply, I can see the Mana fluctuations players leave behind. It''s been less than three hours since the battle ended, so the Death God Workshop players are still within my perception range. Not even a Tier 1 Anti-tracking Skill will have any effect against my Skill," Fire Dance said, smiling faintly. "Why else do you think the Guild Leader sent me?" Hearing Fire Dance''s words, Flying Shadow grew a little excited. He had thought this job would be difficult, but it seemed that they''d be able to complete the task quickly with Fire Dance''s new Skill. Fire Dance then proceeded to use Mana Perception, tracking the ambushing players. If the Death God Workshop members had used a Return Scroll to leave the area, she wouldn''t have been able to track them. However, she''d find them as long as they simply walked away. "These people haven''t left using a Return Scroll. After lingering here for some time, they headed north," Fire Dance said as she watched the Mana fluctuations lead into the forest. Hurriedly, she said, "They only left about an hour ago. We still have hope of catching up to them. Let''s move out!" Saying so, Fire Dance took the lead and followed the Mana fluctuations with her teammates close behind. "She found them?" Melody could not help her growing excitement. Hurriedly, she and the 200-plus experts from her Guild followed after Fire Dance. She had never thought that Fire Dance was so amazing to locate a trail that was more than an hour old. Ordinary Tracking Skills were impressive enough if they could find 30-minute-old traces. If the target had an Anti-tracking Skill, finding them would be even more difficult. After following the trail for about half an hour, the group finally arrived before an ancient temple nestled in a thick grove of trees. At a glance, over 500 players were gathered before the temple''s entrance. However, these players were apart of two different groups: a 60-man team, and a 500-man team. All of the 500 wore uniform equipment of relatively high-quality, and they were all Level 56 or above. This was obviously a Guild team. "Huh? Isn''t that East Crow''s Troubled Madness?" Melody, who had hidden behind a tree, wondered aloud when she saw a righteous man among the 500-man team. The man wore aqua-blue mage robes and held a staff embedded with three resplendent gemstones. "Why is he here?" Troubled Madness was a Vice Guild Leader from East Crow, a first-rate Guild. In terms of individual strength, he ranked among the top in his Guild. He was also one of the top-ranking Elementalists in Forest City, and he wasn''t any weaker than she was. East Crow''s 500-man team had surrounded the Death God Workshop''s 60 members. It was evident that East Crow had located the troublesome players before her group. "How fortunate. I had never thought that I''d get to meet two of the Death God Workshop''s famous commanders, Frost Rain and Chopped Axe, at the same time! You have been challenging to track down! Now, it''s time to pay for your past transgressions!" Troubled Madness snarled as he glared at a man and a woman amidst the Death God Workshop''s group. The middle-aged man that had a scholarly look was a Level 58, Tier 2 Swordsman, while the tall woman exuding a wild aura was a Level 58, Tier 2 Berserker. "Frost, what do you think we did to East Crow?" the tall woman asked as she considered the situation. It seemed as if she were trying to remember what she had done to this first-rate Guild. "I don''t remember. We''ve done a lot of things. There''s no way I can remember everything. Since we can''t remember, it shouldn''t have been important," Frost Rain, the scholarly man, said with a wave of his hand, expressing his lack of concern over such trivial matters. "A mere Workshop dares to mock East Crow?! We already have you surrounded; none of you should think of leaving this place alive!" Troubled Madness bellowed in rage. East Crow''s other members went into a frenzy, killing intent flooding from them as they charged at the Death God Workshop players. The Workshop''s players had previously killed their Guild Leader in the fields and stole an important Epic Weapon, yet they acted as if the incident meant nothing. Why wouldn''t this enrage East Crow''s players? Countless Spells and arrows rained down on the Death God Workshop''s members as East Crow''s MTs and melee players tightened their circle. All of these Guild players were experts, and their coordination was seamless. "After so much talk, you still attack us?" Chopped Axe, the tall woman, exclaimed, "I haven''t had my fill yet, so let''s see how far you East Crow players can go!" After saying so, Chopped Axe charged into the shrinking wall of players. Frost Rain, however, showed no interest in the battle. He yawned with boredom, further inciting Guild players'' fury. The MTs and melee players on the frontline began to employ their specialty moves, meeting Chopped Axe in battle. Elated, Chopped Axe raised the excessively large axe in her hands and brandished it at the approaching players. Peng... Peng... Peng... As the two sides clashed, the Level 56-plus Shield Warriors, Guardian Knights, Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins were sent flying, their HPs plummeting. Not even their healers could keep up with the damage. In less than 30 seconds, Chopped Axe had carved a hole in East Crow''s encirclement Seeing this, the Death God Workshop members surged through the gap and assaulted the Guild''s ranged players. In less than a minute after the battle had begun, only half of East Crow''s 500-man team remained alive, yet the Workshop''s team had only suffered a few casualties. The Guild players'' screams filled the battlefield, and to make matters worse, not a single player lasted more than five moves against Chopped Axe. Even Tier 2 MTs fell after four of her attacks. She was unstoppable on the battlefield... "Is she a monster?!" Troubled Madness was dazed as he watched the woman''s rampant slaughter, his fighting spirit fizzling out "How boring! You''re giving up already?" Chopped Axe clicked her tongue when she noticed the fear in Troubled Madness''s eyes, clearly disappointed. "Alright, Axe, that''s enough. We don''t have time to play with these people. We need to get into the temple quickly," Frost Rain, who hadn''t made a single move, reminded his comrade as he gestured to the temple before him. He completely ignored the 200-plus East Crow members that were still alive. 1920 Zero Wing VS Death God Chapter 1920 - Zero Wing VS Death God As Troubled Madness and the other East Crow members lost their fighting spirit, they started to pull away from the Death God Workshop''s team, trying to avoid the axe-wielding Chopped Axe in particular. Fear overwhelmed the Guild players. No matter how they looked at it, this one-sided battle felt like a nightmare. They were all experts from East Crow, a first-rate Guild, but they were nothing more than powerless children before the Workshop''s players. If they retold this tale in Forest City, no one would believe them. As neutral race players, their Tier 2 Promotion Quests were more difficult than human players''. Of course, after completing their Tier 2 promotion, their racial traits were boosted, as well. They were even stronger than ordinary Tier 2 classes. But despite so many Tier 2 players on their team, they had no hope of resisting Chopped Axe. Moreover, the female Berserker hadn''t used a single Skill, relying on her techniques in this battle... As East Crow''s members retreated, Death God Workshop''s members lost interest in the fight. They didn''t even bother to chase down the Guild players. Instead, they turned and walked toward the temple. "Vice Guild Leader, what should we do?" a Tier 2 Cleric asked Troubled Madness when he realized that the Workshop''s players were ignoring their Guild. "There''s nothing we can do. These people are monsters. Chopped Axe, in particular, has the strength of a 1,000-man legion. We have no chance against her. Most likely, only Setting Sun, which is interested in Forest City, can stop them now," Troubled Madness said as he balled his fists, fear and frustration filling his heart. Although he was a powerful expert, he could only take on two dozen experts at the same time. Against a 100-man expert team, even he would have to flee. In contrast, Chopped Axe had just rendered a 500 expert team powerless. With such strength, it would take 1,000 experts to defeat the woman. In other words, Chopped Axe had the strength to single-handedly change the outcome of a battle of several thousand players. be an absolute nightmare in the fields. Meanwhile, Melody and the other Ninth Heaven members wore grim expressions after watching the battle from their hiding spot in the forest near the temple. "How can the Death God Workshop have such a powerful expert?" Melody watched Chopped Axe in a daze. Although the Death God Workshop members her Guild had encountered were impressive, there hadn''t been anyone as strong as Chopped Axe among the group. East Crow''s experts were much stronger than independent experts, and while independent players would be considered experts after reaching the early-stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, East Crow''s experts had reached the fifth floor''s late- stage at the very least. And still, those experts were helpless against Chopped Axe. Although she had brought a little over 200 Guild experts with her, these players'' overall strength couldn''t compare to Troubled Madness''s 500-man team. Moreover, Troubled Madness was just as strong as she was... "So, they''re the Death God Workshop''s members?" Fire Dance asked Melody. "Mhm. They are." Melody nodded. "It seems this trip wasn''t a complete waste of time after all," Fire Dance said as she watched the group of players approach the mysterious temple. She then turned to her Guildmates and announced, "Alright, time to get to work!" Saying so, Fire Dance emerged from the grove of trees and approached the players from the Death God Workshop. "We''re getting to work?" Cola and the other Zero Wing members grinned before following after Fire Dance. "What are you doing?!" Melody''s anxiety peaked as she watched Fire Dance and her companions leave their hiding place. "Didn''t you just see how powerful those players are? With our current team, we won''t even serve as a warm-up. We should return and organize a stronger team." The Death God Workshop''s commanders were its strongest players. She had assumed that while these commanders might be strong, they shouldn''t be much stronger than the Workshop''s other players, but it seemed that she had been gravely mistaken. Moreover, this Death God Workshop team was lead by two commander-level existences. When she considered the possibility of the scholarly man, Frost Rain, being as powerful as Chopped Axe, she shuddered. Fighting the two Death God Workshop commanders at the same time would be suicidal. However, despite Melody''s advice, Fire Dance stepped out of the forest''s cover as if she hadn''t heard Melody at all. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Scarlet Heart asked nervously. "We have no choice; we have to follow them. We are responsible for requesting Zero Wing''s help. We can''t sit here and do nothing while they fight." Melody sighed as she and her Guild members followed Zero Wing''s team. The temple''s entrance was an empty clearing, void of any obstructions. The moment Fire Dance and her team appeared, they attracted the attention of East Crow''s members. "Who are they?" "Huh? They''re human!" "Why are humans here?" East Crow''s members softly discussed the approaching players. Aside from merchant players, human players were rare in the Fairy Country. Naturally, spotting a group of twenty human players would be odd. Shortly after Zero Wing''s members left the forest, Ninth Heaven''s players revealed themselves. Since Ninth Heaven was a local first-rate Guild, East Crow''s members recognized the expert players, especially Melody. For a time, a commotion erupted among East crow''s members. "What is Ninth Heaven''s Guild Leader doing here?" "Did she come to take revenge for the Death God Workshop''s recent ambush?" "That shouldn''t be the case, right? Didn''t she see the fight just now? Even with our numbers, we were no match. And she only has around 200 experts with her. With so few players, they won''t even be a warm-up for Chopped Axe." "They must''ve missed it. Why else would they make such a foolish move?" East Crow''s members were shocked as they watched Ninth Heaven''s team approach the Death God Workshop members. They could not figure out what Melody was trying to do. Troubled Madness agreed that Melody must have lost her mind. Even if she hadn''t seen the battle, she should at least notice the corpses littering the clearing. "Oh? Aren''t you from Ninth Heaven?" Chopped Axe recognized Melody''s group immediately. Smiling, she asked, "What? You want revenge for the trash we killed just now? Feel free to try! I can use this chance to stretch before going into the temple!" "Guild Leader Melody, don''t mind Chopped Axe. She is just joking. Don''t'' take her seriously," Frost Rain, who stood beside Chopped Axe, said, smiling at Melody. "If Ninth Heaven is willing to hand the item over, the Death God Workshop will stop targeting your members. I hope that you have carefully considered the matter." "Don''t even think about it! I will never hand it over to you!" Melody growled, rage burning in her gaze. "It seems Guild Leader Melody still doesn''t understand us. Since you''re here, then, I''ll show you the difference between us personally," Frost Rain said. Turning to his team members, he said, "Go. Remove these players, but leave Guild Leader Melody alive!" Hearing Frost Rain''s command, the several dozen Death God Workshop members pounced on Ninth Heaven''s members like wild beasts. They treated the 200-plus experts before them like prey awaiting slaughter. "Everyone, prepare for battle! Do not fight alone!" Melody said, her expression grim as she glared at the 50-plus players charging towards her. Although these Death God Workshop members were not as monstrous as Chopped Axe, they were extraordinarily powerful. She knew from watching the previous battle that they were far stronger than ordinary experts. Just before the Workshop''s players reached Ninth Heaven''s members, a black-clad figure appeared before one of the Level 57, Tier 2 Guardian Knights leading the charge. This figure then transformed into a shadow as it pierced through the Guardian Knight. Without time to utter a scream, the Tier 2 Guardian Knight collapsed to the ground, his HP bar drained to nothing. The Workshop''s players slid to a halt after seeing the shocking attack, turning towards the figure. "Who are you?" the Death God Workshop members demanded as they watched the figure, afraid. "I am Zero Wing''s Fire Dance!" Fire Dance introduced herself as she sheathed Thousand Transformations. Sweeping a glance over the Death God Workshop''s members, she calmly stated, "I''m here to bury you!" 1921 Duel of Strength Chapter 1921 - Duel of Strength The Death God Workshop''s members shot Fire Dance chilling expressions after hearing her statement. "You''re here to bury us? How bold!" "This woman must be dreaming!" Although Fire Dance''s Level 60 was surprising, a two- or three-level difference was nothing to experts like them. They were merely on alert due to her successfully ambushing and killing a Tier 2 MT. However, Fire Dance was dearly mistaken if she thought that she could slay them all. Several melee experts immediately charged at the Assassin, striking with axes, spears, and greatswords simultaneously. These experts'' coordination blocked all paths of retreat available. However, Fire Dance did not remain idle. Unsheathing Thousand Transformations once more, she met the approaching weapons with her Fragmented Legendary Sword. When the weapons collided, something astonishing occurred. The impact threw the several charging melee players, and despite all of them being Tier 2 experts, they felt their arms numb from the force, their weapons trembling violently. "How can an Assassin have so much Strength?" The several Death God Workshop members that had attacked stared at Fire Dance as she charged towards them in horror. Their movements were still stiff, so their mobility was limited. They couldn''t even defend themselves. Realizing that something was amiss, the Workshop''s ranged players hurriedly launched attacks at the darting Assassin. Countless Spells and arrows rained down on Fire Dance, covering enough area that she couldn''t avoid all of the attacks in time. However, just before the attacks struck Fire Dance, a giant of a figure appeared before her. It was none other than Cola, who was more than eager to join the fray. With his shield raised, a barrier of light formed before him, preventing any ranged attacks from reaching his comrade. Even after taking a beating from the ranged attacks, the light barrier remained intact. Meanwhile, Fire Dance arrived before the several stiffened melee players. Executing Absolute Strike and Shadow Turmoil, she killed two of them instantly. This turn of events made the Death God Workshop members frown deeply. When Fire Dance had ambushed and killed the Tier 2 MT, they hadn''t gotten a clear view of the Assassin''s combat standards, but after this clash, they knew that both Fire Dance and Cola were extremely powerful experts. Their grasp on timing and their coordination were incredible. "So strong!" Troubled Madness, who watched the battle from a safe distance, gasped when Fire Dance had instantly eliminated two players. After fighting the Death God Workshop earlier, he had learned how powerful the Workshop''s Tier 2 experts were. Even in a one-on-one, he was not confident of defeating those experts decisively, let alone several of them at once. "It seems you''re not all talk after all! I finally get to have some fun!" Chopped Axe licked the corner of her lips before raising her gigantic battle axe and charging at the human Assassin. Although Chopped Axe was a Berserker, her Movement Speed was even higher than ordinary Assassins''. Fully displaying the benefit of being a Tigerkin, she left afterimages wherever she passed. By the time Fire Dance had killed her fourth Death God Workshop member, Chopped Axe had appeared before the female Assassin. Raising her battle axe with a single hand, she sent a powerful chop at Fire Dance. As the weapon descended, space around its blade showed faint signs of crumbling. Tier 2 Skill, Spatial Quake! Not only did Spatial Quake temporarily increased her Strength, but it also dealt damage in a 5*15 yard area before her. It was one of the few AOE Skills the Berserker class possessed. Not one to fall behind, Fire Dance used the Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Edge. Unlike the earlier clashes, neither player had been thrown when Fire Dance''s short sword met Chopped Axe''s colossal weapon. However, the resulting impact was so powerful that space around them cracked. The women looked at each other in astonishment How is this possible? How can a human Assassin have so much Strength? I''m a Tigerkin, for god''s sake! This Berserker''s Strength is actually a match for mine? The outcome even surprised the Death God Workshop''s Frost Rain and Zero Wing''s members. Chopped Axe was a Tigerkin. Her body''s innate Strength far surpassed that of a human. She had also learned super-rare Passive Skills and wielded a special Legacy. Moreover, her weapon was an Epic Battle Axe. Her strength was even unrivaled within the Death God Workshop. The unexpected outcome put Chopped Axe in a very bad mood. She, someone famed for her Strength, had failed to defeat a human Assassin in a duel of the Attribute. This was unforgivable. As for Cola and the others, they were fully aware of just how powerful Fire Dance was. Not only did she wear multiple pieces of Epic Equipment, but she also wielded Thousand Transformations. Since Cola had his own Fragmented Legendary item, he could guess that her shortsword was the same rank. If that were the case, only Shi Feng and Gentle Snow could likely surpass Fire Dance''s Strength. Yet, despite being so powerful, Fire Dance''s clash with the Tigerkin Berserker had ended in a tie... While everyone was still shocked by the collision, neither Fire Dance nor Chopped Axe gave their opponent an opportunity as they continued to launch frenzied attacks. For a time, afterimages of Fire Dance''s short sword and Chopped Axe''s axe filled the battlefield. Chopped Axe had better techniques than Fire Dance, and it was evident that she had reached the Flowing Water Realm. She could perceive Fire Dance''s attacks as soon as the human Assassin began to execute them. However, Fire Dance was an Assassin. Strength wasn''t her forte. Her true power lay in her speed, so even though the Berserker could read her movements, she still had an advantage with her Movement Speed, making up for her weaker combat standard. Despite such a thrilling battle, where her life would be forfeit if she made a single mistake, Fire Dance very much enjoyed this moment. Throughout this battle, she recognized many of her deficiencies and perfected her techniques. Fortunately, the same could not be said for Chopped Axe. She could only watch, displeased, as the human Assassin continued to improve as they dueled. "You dare use me as a grinding stone?! Do you think I will give you enough time to grow stronger?!" Chopped Axe immediately activated her Berserk Skill, Savage God''s Power, her muscles rapidly expanding. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a three-meter-tall giant. At the same time, an extra crimson battle axe had appeared in her hand, radiating waves of bone-chilling Mana. "You are the first person in the Fairy Country to force me to use this move! Now, go to hell!" Chopped Axe then swung her blades in a powerful downward slash towards Fire Dance. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Meteoric Annihilation! Suddenly, over a dozen crimson axes descended from the sky, each carrying the weight of a mountain. In response, Fire Dance activated Power of Darkness before brandishing Thousand Transformations, sending countless water whips at the falling axe blades. Domain Skill, Water Binding! 1922 Painful Lesson Chapter 1922 - Painful Lesson When the two powerful Skills clashed, an intense shockwave shook the ground and the surrounding players. At the same time, the ground at the epicenter of the collision shattered and crumbled, a huge crater forming around the two women. Shockingly huge cracks spread out from the crater. There simply was no comparison between this clash and the numerous exchanges the two had before. As the attacks of Meteoric Annihilation and Water Binding disappeared, Fire Dance''s and Chopped Axe''s figures emerged, standing quietly inside the crater. Although both sides remained completely unscathed, the expressions both women wore were completely different, one of them incomparably excited and the other astonished. This Assassin actually stopped my strongest Skill? At this moment, Chopped Axe''s complexion turned ashen as she looked at Fire Dance, her earlier sense of ease gone. Meteoric Annihilation was a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. Combined with her Berserk Skill, she could send even a Grand Lord of the same level stumbling back. She was extremely confident in this move of hers and believed that no player could receive it head-on. Yet, despite Fire Dance being only an Assassin, not only did the female Assassin manage to stop her attack without receiving any damage, but she had even done so without using Vanish, a well-known Lifesaving Skill of the Assassin class. This was definitely an outcome that Chopped Axe could neither accept nor tolerate. However, after Chopped Axe''s Skill came to an end, Fire Dance''s Water Binding was still in effect. The Assassin immediately sent water whips at Chopped Axe, one after another, each whip containing Strength surpassing Fire Dance''s own. In the blink of an eye, six whips lashed at Chopped Axe from multiple directions, attacking so fast that the Tigerkin Berserker was forced to use her battle axe to defend herself. For a time, Chopped Axe actually fell into a disadvantage and could only focus on defending herself. "Amazing. She is actually suppressing Chopped Axe all by herself?" Melody was filled with an indescribable sense of surprise as she watched the battle between Fire Dance and Chopped Axe. She never thought that Fire Dance was this strong. Meanwhile, Troubled Madness, who was spectating the battle from afar, was goggling in shock. He simply could not bring himself to believe that Chopped Axe, the person who had freely slaughtered East Crow''s members before, could only focus on defense now. Moreover, at this moment, Chopped Axe wasn''t the only person at a disadvantage. The other Death God Workshop members were also engaged in a bitter battle with the other Zero Wing members. Despite the Death God Workshop members'' numerical advantage, they were no match for their opponents at all, dying one after another. Shortly after Fire Dance started suppressing Chopped Axe, the Half-elf Frost Rain finally made his move. After activating his Berserk Skill, he began chanting an incantation and drawing line after line of divine runes. A moment later, ice swords appeared in the sky one after another, easily numbering more than twenty. These ice swords then descended on Fire Dance. At the same time, a thick wall of dirt formed around the female Assassin, preventing her from escaping the ice swords'' AOE. Due to the ice swords, Fire Dance gave up on attacking Chopped Axe. Instead, she had her water whips circulate around herself, forming a defensive barrier that kept the ice swords away from herself. However, Chopped Axe did not idle around during this time, either, continuously swinging her two battle axes against Fire Dance''s water barrier, the might of her axes tearing a gap through it. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Frost Rain redirected some of his ice swords towards this gap. Despite seeing the approaching attacks, Fire Dance showed no intention of dodging whatsoever. Instead, she brandished Thousand Transformations and struck down the ice swords one after another. Due to Frost Rain''s participation in the battle, Fire Dance became busy. "Aren''t you all going to help her?" Melody asked anxiously as she turned to look at Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud, who had not moved at all thus far. It might have been fine for these two women not to take action before, since Zero Wing''s dozen or so players were more than enough to suppress the 40-plus members of the Death God Workshop. However, now that Chopped Axe and Frost Rain had teamed up to deal with Fire Dance, if Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud still insisted on standing aside, then Fire Dance really would be in trouble. After all, both Chopped Axe and Frost Rain were commanders in the Death God Workshop. Frost Rain''s combat power was not the least bit inferior to Chopped Axe''s. With the two of them working together, their combat power increased exponentially. The slightest gap in Fire Dance''s defense would get her killed instantly. However, all Melody''s question did was earn her confused looks from Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud. "Why should we ruin such a rare opportunity for Fire? Fire is perfecting her techniques right now. Can''t you see how happy she is?" "But those two are commanders of the Death God Workshopthe strongest experts in the Workshop. Either of them can go up against a legion of 1,000 experts on their own. Even if Fire Dance is stronger than either one, dealing with both at the same time is..." Melody fell speechless at the serious expressions Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud had. Fire Dance was obviously at a disadvantage right now, forced into constant defense. She would be killed if she made even the smallest mistake. While the loss of EXP might not be a big problem, it would be a huge loss if Chopped Axe or Frost Rain managed to loot the weapon or equipment Fire Dance dropped. After all, the fact that Fire Dance boasted such frightening Strength and speed proved that her weapons and equipment were extraordinary. "Two commanders from the Death God Workshop?" Violet Cloud giggled involuntarily at Melody''s words. "If four or five commanders went at Big Sis Fire together, this battle might be a little more interesting." "Four or five commanders?" This comment stunned Melody. She felt that Violet Cloud was a little too overconfident in Fire Dance''s abilities. After all, the Death God Workshop was an adventurer team that even Super Guilds chose to ignore. Melody had long heard that every one of the Workshop''s commanders could rival the peak experts of Super Guilds in terms of combat power. Despite that, Violet Cloud was actually saying that Fire Dance could handle four or five of such commanders? While Melody was conversing with Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud, Chopped Axe''s and Frost Rain''s attacks grew even fiercer. Frost Rain ceaselessly bombarded Fire Dance with Spells, giving her no chance to catch a breath. Once he noticed a gap in the Assassin''s defense, he would immediately strike at it Meanwhile, Chopped Axe kept creating gaps in Fire Dance''s defense. Occasionally, she even moved into melee range and trade blow for blow with Fire Dance. After the trio continued this struggle for a short while, Fire Dance''s HP finally started decreasing. Although the Assassin had the protection of her armor, just a graze from Chopped Axe''s battle axes inflicted a heavy impact. Blood was even leaking from her mouth now. Fortunately, the physical injuries she sustained thus far were still not at a point where they would affect her combat power. Of course, Chopped Axe wasn''t having a good time, either. Trading blows with Fire Dance had opened cuts and cracks on the Berserker''s armor, the impacts so heavy that the Tigerkin would spit out mouthfuls of blood, her HP decreasing by chunks. That weapon really is amazing. It even cuts through my Dark-Gold armor. Chopped Axe was shocked as she took in her damaged armor. She then turned to look at the distant Frost Rain and said, "We can''t continue like this! Let''s use the combination attack!" Nodding in response, Frost Rain promptly changed his attack method and started double-speed-casting. Meanwhile, Chopped Axe stored her Epic Battle Axe and gripped the crimson battle axe with both hands. Her dark-gray irises then turned silvery-white as six small magic arrays appeared around her. She then charged straight at Fire Dance. When Chopped Axe got within fifteen yards of Fire Dance, she suddenly disappeared. In the next moment, six doppelgangers of the female Berserker appeared around Fire Dance, all six leaping into the air and chopping down at the female Assassin. At this time, Frost Rain finished casting his Spells. Immediately, Frost Barriers appeared around Fire Dance one after another, the ground she stood on also giving off a crimson glow as if something was about to spew out from the ground. Combination Skill, Frostfire Annihilation! "It''s over..." When Melody saw this scene, she deeply felt death looming over her. Now, she was certain that Alluring Summer and Violet Cloud were overconfident about Fire Dance''s abilities. "As expected of the famous Death God Workshop. This trip really isn''t a waste." A touch of joy appeared on Fire Dance''s face when she looked at the Combination Skill her two opponents were executing. She promptly canceled Water Binding and activated the Petrified Thorn''s Petrification Domain. "Die!" The six Chopped Axes yelled simultaneously just as they were about to hit Fire Dance. The six doppelgangers possessed 100% of the main body''s Strength. Meanwhile, the axes of all six covered the entire area Fire Dance stood in. When all six axes landed, the power they carried was so great that even space itself showed signs of shattering. Boom... Boom... Boom... At the same time as the axes landed, the ground beneath Fire Dance burst apart. A towering pillar of fire emerged from the ground, enveloping Fire Dance completely. As the fire pillar dissipated, a lava field could be seen replacing the ground Fire Dance originally stood on. Meanwhile, surrounding the lava was an ice field. Seen from afar, this scene was spectacular. "She''s finally dead?" Chopped Axe heaved a deep sigh of relief when she saw Fire Dance''s corpse starting to disintegrate in the lava field. The Petrification Domain Fire Dance activated had struck both Frost Rain and Chopped Axe. Although their Combination Skill had mitigated a portion of the damage, they still had very little HP remaining after receiving that attack. Just as Chopped Axe was about to turn around and leave, a yell suddenly entered her ears. "Careful!" This voice originated from the distant Frost Rain. However, before Chopped Axe could figure out what was going on, a stinging sensation came from her chest When she looked down, she noticed the tip of a short sword emerging from her chest Meanwhile, this short sword was none other than Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations. "How? Weren''t you..." Chopped Axe turned around, her eyes filled with confusion. After all, Fire Dance, who should have been dead, was currently standing right behind her. Moreover, the female Assassin''s HP bar was actually full. Instead of replying immediately, Fire Dance pulled out Thousand Transformations from Chopped Axe, leaving a fountain of blood to pour out of the female Berserker''s chest As she watched Chopped Axe''s HP plummet, she said in a quiet tone, "Your combination attack really is impressive. You two actually forced me to waste one life." When Fire Dance was done speaking, Chopped Axe''s HP zeroed out. The Berserker''s body then collapsed to the ground, a piece of equipment appearing beside her corpse. Meanwhile, upon seeing this scene, Frost Rain hurriedly took out an ancient Magic Scroll from his bag and activated it, destroying the seal on the battlefield and disappearing before everyone''s eyes. As for the other Death God Workshop members, they all fell into a panic at Chopped Axe and Frost Rain''s defeat. As a result, Zero Wing''s members took only a short while to finish them off. At this moment, the Death God Workshop, which had been giving the various large Guilds of the Fairy Country a headache all this time, finally sustained a severe loss for the first time in God''s Domain! Of the two commanders that fought against Zero Wing, one died while the other fled. As for the other 50-plus experts, they suffered annihilation! 1923 Fame Spreading across the Fairy Country Chapter 1923 - Fame Spreading across the Fairy Country After the Death God Workshop members'' annihilation, varying expressions appeared on the faces of Ninth Heaven''s and East Crow''s members. "Big Sis Melody, that Fire Dance is amazing! She actually defeated two of the Death God Workshop''s commanders all by herself! If the rest of the Death God Workshop find out about this, they''ll definitely start keeping a low profile when taking action!" Scarlet Heart exclaimed excitedly as she watched Fire Dance going through the loot dropped by the Death God Workshop members. The large Guilds operating in the Fairy Country were all powerless to do anything against the Death God Workshop, largely because the Death God Workshop had too many experts. If the Guilds dispatched too small of a team to deal with the Workshop, their teams would simply end up getting the tables turned on them. But if they sent too large of one, their movements would get noticed very easily, making a successful ambush on the Workshop impossible. Take East Crow for example. Had East Crow dispatched an army of several thousand players instead of just a 500-man team this time, Chopped Axe and Frost Rain''s team would''ve most likely received news about the Guild''s movements and had long since fled to another map. They wouldn''t have given East Crow any opportunity to meet them at all. At this stage of the game, only a superpower, which possessed plenty of experts and resources, would be capable of putting the Death God Workshop in its place. However, the various superpowers had plenty of territories that they needed capable people to manage. They simply couldn''t afford a protracted battle with the Death God Workshop without hampering their own development As a result, the superpowers had no choice but to ignore the antics of the Death God Workshop so long as the Workshop did not cross their bottom lines. However, Zero Wing was different from the various superpowers. The Guild possessed experts that were capable of defeating the Death God Workshop''s commanders and also had amazing tracking abilities. Even without expending a large amount of manpower and resources, Zero Wing could deal with the Death God Workshop. "That''s right! After this battle, the Death God Workshop will most likely keep its head down for some time." Melody nodded in agreement. She had never imagined that Zero Wing actually had such frightening strength. The strength the Guild had displayed thus far greatly exceeded her expectations. "Quickly spread the news that Zero Wing has already agreed to help Ninth Heaven in combating the Death God Workshop!" Originally, she had expected Zero Wing to give the Death God Workshop pause, at most, and force the Workshop into a stalemate. If that happened, Ninth Heaven would have room to develop. Everything would be fine so long as the Guild was not pushed to the brink of collapse. However, the situation was different now. Not only did Zero Wing possess the strength to suppress the Death God Workshop, but Zero Wing also had the ability to ambush the Workshop''s teams. This outcome was far better than what she initially expected. Once the Death God Workshop learned that Ninth Heaven had partnered with Zero Wing, the Workshop would naturally stop seeking trouble with Ninth Heaven out of fear of Zero Wing. "I''ll spread the message right away." Upon hearing Melody''s words, Scarlet Heart immediately understood Melody''s intentions. She also could not help but anticipate the impact the news of the Death God Workshop''s defeat would have on the Fairy Country. The Death God Workshop was akin to a plague to the Fairy Country. Just the mention of its name would give the various major powers of the country a headache. Following which, Scarlet Heart compiled the information of the battle and published it on the Fairy Country''s official forums. She also had some of her subordinates talk it up in the country''s various cities. Meanwhile, Troubled Madness, who stood some distance away from Zero Wing and Ninth Heaven''s group, wore an incredulous expression on his face as he looked at Fire Dance and the others. "Who are those people? Why haven''t I heard of a Guild named Zero Wing before?" At this moment, an indescribable sense of shock filled Troubled Madness''s heart. Both Chopped Axe and Frost Rain were monster-like existences, yet, despite working together, they were still no match for Fire Dance. Had Troubled Madness heard about this situation from someone else, he would''ve most likely dismissed their words as a joke. However, having personally witnessed this battle, he had no choice but to believe it. The final exchange was especially astonishing. He had clearly seen Fire Dance getting killed, yet the female Assassin had still managed to mysteriously appear behind Chopped Axe. This was definitely his first time coming across such a strange situation. However, unlike Ninth Heaven''s and East Crow''s members, Zero Wing''s members did not feel particularly surprised by the outcome of Fire Dance''s battle with Chopped Axe and Frost Rain. Although Fire Dance did not reveal the details of Thousand Transformations to anyone else, they still knew that Fire Dance possessed the True Illusion Skill, as they had seen it at work while they were out grinding monsters and Bosses. True Illusion granted Fire Dance one additional life, though the Skill could be used only once every 48 hours. Due to this Skill, with the exception of Dungeons, Fire Dance had never truly died even once until now. Among Zero Wing''s core members, Fire Dance held the nickname of Phoenix due to this Skill, as well as the envy of many players. "Vice Guild Leader, we just found out some information about Zero Wing. It is an up-and-coming Guild that was established at the start of God''s Domain. Although it doesn''t have any background, its strength is not the slightest bit weaker than a first-rate Guild''s," one of East Crow''s members reported hurriedly. "The Guild''s strength rivals a first-rate Guild''s?" Troubled Madness rolled his eyes at his subordinate, feeling that this information was greatly mistaken. After all, the first-rate Guilds of the Fairy Country were utterly helpless against the Death God Workshop, yet Zero Wing, a Guild capable of dealing with said Workshop, was labeled as a Guild that only rivaled first-rate Guilds? What did that make the Fairy Country''s five first-rate Guilds, then? Second-rate Guilds? Of course, there was also a huge difference between first-rate Guilds. For example, with the combat power Zero Wing had displayed thus far, it should at least be able to rival the best among first-rate Guilds. It definitely wasn''t an existence that ordinary first-rate Guilds like East Crow could compare to. "Notify your subordinates to look into the relationship between Ninth Heaven and Zero Wing immediately! Also, before we get a clear picture of their relationship, notify everyone in the Guild not to come into conflict with Ninth Heaven''s members!" Troubled Madness instructed. Although he did not know the full extent of Zero Wing''s strength, based on the experts the Guild had revealed today, Zero Wing definitely wasn''t a Guild to be underestimated. It would not be a laughing matter if these experts of Zero Wing made trouble for East Crow out in the fields. Meanwhile, on Fire Dance''s side, after they finished going through the loot dropped by the Death God Workshop members, they immediately returned to Forest City to rest. While waiting for the Death God Workshop to make another move, they surveyed the area around the two Shops Melody promised, as well as gained a deeper understanding of Forest City''s situation. This was also one of the tasks Shi Feng had assigned them. After all, as the capital city of a neutral country, its growth potential was limitless. There were also plenty of resources unique to the Fairy Country. By the time Fire Dance and the others returned to Forest City, Scarlet Heart had long since spread the news of the Death God Workshop''s defeat throughout the Fairy Country. For a time, the entire country was in an uproar. "This is a lie, right? That''s the Death God Workshop we''re talking about! How can anyone possibly ambush the Workshop successfully?" "It''s no lie. There is even a video recording uploaded with the forum post Although the video only shows snippets of the battle, the ones that got defeated are indeed the commanders and members of the Death God Workshop. Moreover, the Death God Workshop hasn''t issued any denials up to now, so it must be true!" Zero Wing is amazing! It is actually able to ambush and defeat the Death God Workshop''s members!" "I wonder what kind of Guild Zero Wing is? Why haven''t I heard about it before this incident?" "It should be a new Guild created by some major corporation. Otherwise, how could it possibly be so strong?" "I wonder if Zero Wing is recruiting neutral players like us?" At this point, everyone in the Fairy Country was talking about the Death God Workshop''s defeat and growing curious about Zero Wing''s identity. After all, the Death God Workshop was one of the Fairy Country''s overlords. A Guild capable of suppressing the Workshop definitely wasn''t ordinary. Zero Wing''s fame quickly spread throughout the Fairy Country. Meanwhile, inside a luxurious mansion in Forest City... When Frost Rain entered the reception room of this mansion and saw the gentle, old man sitting on one of the sofas there, his expression immediately tensed up in anxiety. Meanwhile, standing beside this old man were six people, all of them radiating a frightening aura. Similar to Frost Rain, these six people were commanders of the Death God Workshop. Only, their internal ranks were much higher than Frost Rain''s. "You''ve returned?" Sending a glance at Frost Rain, the old man asked calmly, "Well? Out with it. What happened over there?" 1924 Foundation Investigation Chapter 1924 - Foundation Investigation Frost Rain suddenly felt a chill enveloping his entire body at the old man''s words. He immediately retold the battle, careful not to miss out on even the slightest detail. "I see." The old man narrowed his eyes as he caressed his white beard. "A Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom, is it?" "An outside Guild dares meddle in the matters of our Death God Workshop?! Chief, why don''t I bring a team to take care of them?" a two-and-a-half-meter-tall Bearkin Berserker said suddenly. The Bearkin''s suggestion stunned the other commanders present. Among the eight commanders of the Death God Workshop, the Bearkin Berserker ranked number one. Titled the Heavenly Spear by the Secret Pavilion, he was one of the two true pillars of the Death God Workshop. While others might not know, it was entirely due to the first commander and chief commander''s existence that the various superpowers chose to ignore the Death God Workshop''s antics. Otherwise, with the strength the various superpowers possessed, they would''ve long since taken care of the Death God Workshop. Yet, now, one of the Death God Workshop''s pillars was proposing to take action himself. The other commanders present were naturally surprised by this situation. "Forget it. We''ll stop harassing Ninth Heaven temporarily. We''ll decide how we should proceed after we have conducted a thorough investigation of Zero Wing," the old man said, shaking his head. "Moreover, even if we don''t take action, Zero Wing will still encounter a lot of trouble from this point onward. The waters of the Fairy Country are much deeper than they think." Meanwhile, the Death God Workshop''s lack of response to its crushing defeat fueled Zero Wing''s fame to greater heights in Forest City. In just one day, a large number of players already wanted to join Zero Wing. Unfortunately, as Zero Wing had no intention to establish a Branch Guild in Forest City at the moment, these interested players could not help but sigh in disappointment. However, the businesses Zero Wing had set up in the two Shops Melody had traded were booming with popularity. Many of the potions and engineering tools sold by the Candlelight Trading Firm were very much welcomed by Forest City''s players. For example, the Exotic Stamina Potion. As there weren''t many towns and cities in the Fairy Country, there were very few teleportation points. Meanwhile, with the Guilds occupying most of the nearby resource areas, independent players had no choice but to grind in distant maps. Due to these factors, independent players had to expend a lot of Stamina just on travel, a situation that further increased the demand for the Exotic Stamina Potion. In addition, as Zero Wing held exclusive rights to the Exotic Stamina Potion, Candlelight''s Shops were the only source of the potion, which the independent players and Guild players of Forest City were frantically purchasing. As for the selling price, it was much higher than that of the potions sold in Star-Moon Kingdom. In just one day, after deducting material costs and labor costs, the two Shops set up in Forest City earned Zero Wing over 5,000 Gold. Candlelight''s Shops here were much more profitable than those in White River City. Melody also found the Exotic Stamina Potion very tempting; hence, she asked to purchase the potion in bulk from Zero Wing. However, as the Candlelight Trading Firm could produce only a limited number of Exotic Stamina Potions each day, even if Zero Wing wished to sell the potions in bulk, it couldn''t. In the end, after Ninth Heaven negotiated with Melancholic Smile, it was decided that the Candlelight Trading Firm would supply the Guild with a fixed number of Exotic Stamina Potions each day. In exchange, Ninth Heaven would supply Zero Wing with materials unique to the Fairy Country. A few examples of materials unique to the Fairy Country were Fairy Fruit and Fairy Wood. Both were extremely rare materials. Fairy Fruit could be used to make all kinds of beverages. Not only could Fairy Fruits enhance the taste of a beverage, but they also provided a sobering effect, which allowed players to focus better when working. To Lifestyle players, beverages made using Fairy Fruit were akin to wonder drugs. Fairy Wood was even more special. It could be used to make furniture and ships. Furniture made using Fairy Wood carried Mana, which, in turn, increased the Mana density of the furniture''s surroundings. Meanwhile, when used to produce ships, Fairy Wood would increase the ships'' durability. These two materials might not be particularly useful to current players and Guilds, but as players reached higher levels, these two materials would likewise appreciate in value. This was especially true for furniture made using Fairy Wood, which was something all Lifestyle players sought. Although such furniture would not improve the production success rate, the increased Mana density would help Lifestyle players concentrate better. This was also the main reason why Shi Feng had tasked Fire Dance and the others with setting up Shops in Forest City: to purchase a large amount of Fairy Fruits and Fairy Wood. Now that Zero Wing had Ninth Heaven''s help as well, the collection of these materials would proceed even faster. Meanwhile, a group of cloaked players suddenly arrived in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing City. These cloaked players had thoroughly hidden their appearances. However, the fierce aura they radiated still made other players avoid them like the plague. If a player with a high-ranking Identification Skill were to inspect these players, they would definitely be very surprised because these cloaked players were not part of the human race but of neutral races. In total, there were 50 players in this group, every one of them a Tier 2 player. This was almost as many Tier 2 players as a first-rate Guild possessed at this stage of the game. The one leading this group of neutral players was a Level 58, Tier 2 Tigerkin Ranger. Meanwhile, moving alongside him were a male Half-elf and a female Tigerkin. The latter two were none other than Frost Rain and Chopped Axe, commanders of the Death God Workshop. "So, this place is Zero Wing City?" "The Mana density here is so high!" "Why are there so many players here?" The Death God Workshop''s members were filled with surprise as they observed the crowded streets of the city. Although they had seen NPC cities with much higher player populations, this was their first time seeing a Guild Town or City with so many players. Moreover, a considerable portion of these players were experts. There were also plenty of Tier 2 players roaming about the city. The situation here was completely different from any Guild Town they had visited before. However, the most surprising aspect of Zero Wing City was still its Mana density, which greatly surpassed even the Fairy Country''s most Mana-dense area. "Alright, enough sightseeing. Our goal here isn''t to tour Zero Wing City," the Tigerkin Ranger said in a cold voice. "We only have one goal this time, and that is to get a clear idea of Zero Wing''s strength. The chief commander has also stated that, if need be, we should exhibit a portion of our strength to let Zero Wing know that the Death God Workshop''s reputation is not for show. Frost and Axe, that goes double for you two. If you don''t perform well, you should know what kind of person the chief commander is." When Frost Rain and Chopped Axe heard the Ranger''s words and thought about the chief commander''s means of doing things, their bodies shuddered involuntarily. They couldn''t offer any rebuttals to Light Cloud, the Tigerkin Ranger. While part of the reason for this was the intense aura he gave off, another part was him being the second-ranked commander in the Death God Workshop. In terms of combat standards, Light Cloud far surpassed the two of them. The other Death God Workshop members also nodded silently and sorted out their emotions. They immediately followed Light Cloud to investigate Zero Wing''s Residence. When the group arrived on the top floor of a high-class restaurant adjacent to Zero Wing''s Residence, Light Cloud used a high-ranking Identification Skill to observe the situation inside the Residence. However, the moment Light Cloud did so, he fell into a daze. This was because 500 Tier 2 players stood in the Residence''s front courtyard at this moment. Meanwhile, even the weakest piece of equipment these players wore was Level 50 Fine-Gold rank while the majority of these players sported Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment. Currently, these 500 Tier 2 players were standing at attention before a man. When Light Cloud tried identifying this man, he could not see any information about him aside from his name, Black Flame. Even so, he could distinctly feel an indescribable sense of danger from the man even from several hundred yards away. "Cloud! What''s the situation inside Zero Wing''s Residence?" Frost Rain and Chopped Axe could not help but ask curiously after Light Cloud remained silent for a long time. 1925 Frightening Numbers Chapter 1925 - Frightening Numbers Despite hearing Frost Rain and Chopped Axe''s question, Light Cloud remained completely silent as he stared at the rows of Tier 2 players inside Zero Wing''s Residence. How is this possible? Is Zero Wing really just equal to a first-rate Guild? This thought echoed continuously in Light Cloud''s mind. Five hundred Tier 2 players! To the current first-rate Guilds, this number was beyond impossible to achieve. Even the Death God Workshop had only a little over 60 Tier 2 players right now. If the Workshop started a fight against Zero Wing, just the numerical advantage alone would let the Guild run roughshod over the Death God Workshop. In the Fairy Country, although the various first-rate Guilds each had more Tier 2 players than the Death God Workshop, the difference wasn''t much. Hence, the Death God Workshop was not afraid of conducting guerilla warfare against them. Including experts like the eight commanders, the Workshop held a considerable advantage when fighting out in the fields. However, the methods the Death God Workshop employed against these first-rate Guilds would be absolutely useless against Zero Wing. After all, the disparity in the number of Tier 2 players each organization possessed was nearly tenfold. Even if Zero Wing divided its Tier 2 experts, the Guild could still form sizable groups that would pose a formidable fighting force. Not to mention, unlike the various first-rate Guilds, Zero Wing had experts that could rival the commanders of the Death God Workshop. If the Death God Workshop really started fighting against Zero Wing in the Fairy Country, even with the home-ground advantage, the Workshop wouldn''t have it easy. "Frost, Axe, you two stay here with me. Everyone else, return to base," Light Cloud commanded after giving the matter some more thought. "Only the three of us are staying behind?" Frost Rain was confused as he looked at Light Cloud. "The chief commander specifically sent these people to help us. If all of them return, what can the three of us possibly achieve here?" Aside from scouting out Zero Wing''s strength, the chief commander had also implicitly suggested they make trouble for Zero Wing. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have dispatched so many Tier 2 experts for a simple reconnaissance operation. The other Death God Workshop members agreed with Frost Rain''s words. They all expressed their confusion over Light Cloud''s decision, unable to understand why they had to return to base shortly after arriving in Zero Wing City. With their group of Tier 2 experts, they could cause even more destruction than a large Guild''s 1,000-man expert legion. "Do you know how many Tier 2 experts are currently in Zero Wing''s Residence?" Light Cloud asked as he shifted his gaze to Frost Rain. "Tier 2 experts? Seeing as this is Zero Wing''s main headquarters, there should be a couple of dozen, I guess?" Frost Rain replied after giving the matter some thought. Currently, even first-rate Guilds had only a little over 100 Tier 2 experts. Meanwhile, having half of this number stationed in the Guild''s main headquarters could already be considered excessive. "A couple of dozen?" Light Cloud stared at Frost Rain in disdain upon hearing this answer. "If there were only a couple of dozen, do you think I''d order a retreat?" "Could there be over a hundred?" Chopped Axe asked, somewhat surprised. "Wrong! It''s 500!" Light Cloud replied as he spread his right hand wide. "Five hundred? How can that be possible? Isn''t Zero Wing just an equal of first-rate Guilds? Did you see wrong?" Frost Rain instinctively rejected Light Cloud''s statement. This number was no laughing matter. If Zero Wing really had 500 Tier 2 experts, it could already rival some of the weaker superpowers. "I wish I had seen wrong," Light Cloud said, a bitter smile appearing on his face. "However, I have already used my Identification Skill to double-check several times. All 500 of them are indeed Tier 2." "Didn''t they say that Zero Wing doesn''t have any backers?" Chopped Axe said, horrified. If Zero Wing had 500 Tier 2 experts, then taking care of their team of 50 Tier 2 players would be child''s play. Most likely, aside from the three commanders present, everyone else would die if they tried fighting against 500 Tier 2 experts. She found it truly hard to believe that Ninth Heaven, a second-rate Guild that had no backers whatsoever, had managed to partner up with a titan like Zero Wing. With this, the Death God Workshop really had to consider carefully whether to continue targeting Ninth Heaven or not. "We''re changing plans. From now on, the three of us will continue scouting out Zero Wing. Try to avoid butting heads with Zero Wing as much as possible," Light Cloud said. "I''ll also personally report this matter to the chief commander, so everyone else should return to base now." Obedient to Light Cloud''s instructions, the other Death God Workshop members scattered and returned to the Fairy Country. Meanwhile, inside a luxurious mansion in Forest City, Silent Autumn, the Death God Workshop''s chief commander, who was currently holding a meeting with the Workshop''s various commanders, received a report from Light Cloud. "Five hundred Tier 2 players?" Silent Autumn, who was caressing his beard, froze when he read the contents of the report. Although he had long since expected Zero Wing to be extraordinary since the Guild dared to intervene in the Death God Workshop''s affairs, he had never thought that the Guild would be extraordinary to such an extent "It seems we''ll have to shelve our plans for the moment" "Chief Commander, what about our partnership with those people?" the several commanders seated before Silent Autumn asked worriedly. "Those people won''t stop their plans just because of us. If we miss out on this opportunity..." "There is always money to be made. However, oftentimes, one wrong move could potentially end our lives!" Silent Autumn replied, waving his hand. He still decided to play the spectator in this matter for the moment. "Notify the ones below to maintain a low profile for now. We can also use this opportunity to determine whether Zero Wing has the ability to set foot into our territory. I believe it wont be long before we find out one way or another. There''s no need for us to grow anxious." Meanwhile, inside Zero Wing''s Residence, Shi Feng remained ignorant of the fact that his gathering 500 Tier 2 members to raid Kama Island had prompted the Death God Workshop to abandon the thought of taking revenge on Zero Wing and even some of its development plans. "Guild Leader, all manpower and resources are gathered. On Thunder Island''s side, the Phoenix Pavilion has already made all the necessary arrangements. We can set off at any time," Aqua Rose reported as she approached Shi Feng. Nodding, Shi Feng said, "Alright. Have everyone teleport to Thunder Island now." Traveling to Kama Island was not an easy task. The island''s location in the Sea of Death''s inner area meant players would come across many dangers on the way there. Even a small mistake could be fatal. Moreover, although Shi Feng knew that Kama Island housed a Manatite vein, he had very little understanding in regard to everything else. Hence, he needed Phoenix Rain''s forces to guide him there. After all, Phoenix Rain had been operating in the Sea of Death all this time. Her familiarity with the Sea of Death was definitely superior to his. She would help him avoid many unnecessary dangers. Following which, Zero Wing''s members started teleporting to Thunder Island using a Guild Transfer Scroll. Upon arriving in the city on Thunder Island, Zero Wing''s members could not help but gasp in shock. Their reaction was because the city on Thunder Island was like heaven on earth. Not only was the scenery here mesmerizing, but there was also a frightening number of players in the streets of the city. Even imperial capitals could not compete with this city in prosperity. Level 56 players and above could be seen roaming all around. Many players here had even reached Level 58 already. Even Shi Feng was somewhat surprised by this situation. He had never thought that Thunder Island had already developed to such an extent Meanwhile, under Blue Phoenix''s guidance, Zero Wing''s members soon arrived at Thunder Island''s harbor. Currently, thousands of speedboats and warships could be seen docked there, the scene simply jaw-dropping. Just as Blue Phoenix was about to bring Zero Wing''s members to the speedboats she had prepared for the trip to the Sea of Death''s inner area, a Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion member suddenly ran over. "Big Sis Blue, bad news! The Pavilion Master found the legacy left behind on Savage God Island, but information about it got out somehow, and her team ended up surrounded by Miracle''s forces. Currently, Miracle has already blocked off the entire island. Although we immediately tried to deploy reinforcements, Nine Dragons Emperor''s people are deliberately making trouble for us, preventing us from using the Guild''s warship to save the Pavilion Master." "Damn it! Nine Dragons Emperor must''ve leaked the information to Miracle to spoil our plans!" Upon hearing her subordinate''s report, Blue Phoenix could not help but frown in anxiety. The terrain on Savage God Island was slightly unusual. Players could use neither Return Scrolls nor Instantaneous Movement Scrolls on the island. Meanwhile, entry to the island was possible only by ship. If the entire island was blocked off, the only way out was by carving a path of blood. Meanwhile, the members Phoenix Rain had brought to Savage God Island this time were all experts of the Phoenix Pavilion. Their annihilation would deal a severe blow to the Phoenix Pavilion. "Guild Leader Black Flame, due to this emergency, I''ll have to postpone our trip for now. I need to quickly organize a fleet and head over to Savage God Island. I hope that you can understand," Blue Phoenix said anxiously as she looked at Shi Feng. Something happened on Savage God Island? Shi Feng was startled by Blue Phoenix''s words. As far as he remembered, Savage God Island was not something that should appear at this stage of the game. He nodded and said, "Since the Phoenix Pavilion Master is in trouble, it is only natural to postpone this matter. As allies, is there anything we can do to help?" 1926 Hell Has No Doors Chapter 1926 - Hell Has No Doors "Guild Leader Black Flame is willing to help us? Wonderful!" Blue Phoenix rejoiced when she heard Shi Feng''s offer. Although Zero Wing had not focused on its development on Thunder Island and had only conducted some business there, the naval forces the Guild possessed still should not be underestimated. The One-horned Sailboat, in particular, a Bronze Small Sailboat that Zero Wing revealed during the struggle for Thunder Island, was something that the various superpowers still sought to obtain even now. After all, although the superpowers'' naval forces had improved a lot since the struggle of Thunder Island, the One-horned Sailboat remained a force to be reckoned with. Following which, while organizing a fleet to head toward Savage God Island, Blue Phoenix filled Shi Feng in on their rescue operation this time. In order to monopolize the legacy ruin on Savage God Island, Miracle had dispatched three of its fleets, each of which had over 100 ships. With the three fleets, Miracle was able to surround Savage God Island and seal off all possible exit points. Originally, with the naval forces the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had developed during this period, it would''ve been very easy to breakthrough a blockade like this. However, due to Nine Dragons Emperor''s interference, Phoenix Rain couldn''t mobilize the Common Warship the Pavilion had recently acquired after much difficulty. Although warships were no match for speedboats and sailboats in terms of speed, they were specialized for combat, their combat power far superior to even that of sailboats out at sea. This warship was the reason why the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion succeeded in stabilizing its position on Thunder Island. With the current predicament happening so suddenly, most of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s fleets were out of position, off doing their own quests very far away from Savage God Island. Even if these fleets were to head over to Savage God Island now, by the time they arrived, Phoenix Rain''s group would''ve long since been killed by Miracle. The only fleet they could mobilize was the one the Pavilion had stationed to garrison Thunder Island. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I hope that you can help us distract a part of Miracle''s forces. You don''t have to fight them head- on. It is fine so long as you can distract one fleet''s worth of ships. With that, my side will be able to break through the encirclement and rescue the Pavilion Master''s group." Blue Phoenix briefed Shi Feng on the plan as she took out a sea map. As long as they could group up with Phoenix Rain''s forces, Miracle would have a hard time doing anything against them. Then, all they would have to do was buy time until the Pavilion''s other fleets arrived. At which point, Miracle would naturally give up on targeting Phoenix Rain. After all, if the fleets of their two superpowers truly started a fight with each other, all they would achieve was harm to themselves, benefiting the other superpowers occupying Thunder Island. "My side only needs to split one of their fleets away?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng nodded and said, "That won''t be a problem. We''ll do our best to keep them busy for as long as possible." The appearance of Savage God Island was a huge event. He naturally had to go and take a look. During his previous life, he had only heard about Savage God Island. Savage God Island was both a secret land and a drifting island. Rumor had it that there were Legacies and treasures left behind on the island. Reality had indeed proven these claims true. Regardless if it were Legacies or treasures, both could allow a Guild''s strength to skyrocket However, Savage God Island had only appeared for a short period in the past. By the time the various large Guilds had shifted their focus to the sea, Savage God Island had long since become a legend. In the end, only the superpowers back then had managed to gain some harvest from it. "I''ll have to trouble Guild Leader Black Flame, then," Blue Phoenix said sincerely. By the time Blue Phoenix was done hashing out a rescue plan, her fleet was also ready to set off. She immediately commanded her fleet to depart for Savage God Island. The appearance of Blue Phoenix''s fleet stunned many of the adventurer teams that had recently arrived on Thunder Island. Her fleet had 100 ships in total. Among them, more than 50 were advanced speedboats, eight were Bronze Speedboats, two were Mysterious-Iron Speedboats, and two were Common Small Sailboatsa very powerful fleet even in the Sea of Death. Compared to the fleets the adventurer teams normally came across, the difference was like heaven and earth; the usual fleets only had five or six Bronze Speedboats and 30 or so advanced speedboats, with the rest being ordinary speedboats. In reality, the adventurer teams that had recently arrived on Thunder Island weren''t the only ones surprised by the fleet Blue Phoenix prepared. Even Shi Feng was surprised at this sight He had never thought that Phoenix Rain had already expanded her naval forces to such a level. Moreover, this was only one of several fleets under Phoenix Rain''s command. Of course, a fleet used to garrison Thunder Island naturally needed to be excellent, as this was a show of the Guild''s strength. At the same time, this garrisoned fleet could be used during emergencies. Even so, from looking at Blue Phoenix''s fleet, Shi Feng could already tell just how frightening the naval forces Phoenix Rain currently possessed. Upon seeing Blue Phoenix''s fleet leave the harbor, Shi Feng took out the Swift Dragon speedboat, two Bronze Speedboats, over a dozen advanced speedboats, one Common Sailboat, and the One-horned Sailboat to ferry the 500 Zero Wing members he brought with him. Although the number of ships in his fleet was far from a match for Blue Phoenix''s fleet, his fleet''s overall combat power was still enough to make the various adventurer teams wandering around the harbor gawk at his fleet enviously. "Zero Wing''s fleet is amazing! Big Sis Blue, this is wonderful! With our strength and Zero Wing''s, we''ll have no problem breaking through Miracle''s encirclement!" a Level 57, Tier 2 female Cleric on one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Common Sailboats exclaimed in surprise and joy when she saw Zero Wing''s fleet. "This is only natural. Back during the struggle for Thunder Island, Zero Wing''s fleet was already something that the various superpowers envied. Although Zero Wing is currently unable to focus on its naval development due to a bunch of matters, its naval strength is still not to be underestimated." Blue Phoenix nodded. This was also the reason why she was so happy that Shi Feng was willing to help them out. After traveling for a little over three hours, Blue Phoenix and Shi Feng''s group finally saw an island enveloped by dark fog on the horizon. This island was none other than Savage God Island. Currently, the entirety of Savage God Island was surrounded by a large number of ships. However, after Blue Phoenix took a rough glance at these ships, her complexion darkened immediately. "How is this possible?!" Her expression turned incomparably gloomy when she saw the ships anchored at Savage God Island. Miracle only dispatched three fleets? That was an outright lie! At this moment, there were more than 500 ships around Savage God Island. In other words, a total of five fleets were present. Moreover, just the Small Sailboats she could see from this distance numbered as many as seven, with Mysterious- Iron Speedboats numbering more than ten. Even Miracle''s pride, the Giant Crocodile Warship, was here. Meanwhile, after noticing the appearance of Blue Phoenix''s and Shi Feng''s fleets, these ships quickly went into action and started forming an encirclement around the two fleets. "Vice Guild Leader Miles, just like you guessed, the fleet the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion used to garrison Thunder Island has arrived. However, according to the report we received, it would seem that Zero Wing''s fleet is also participating in the rescue operation this time. Zero Wing''s fleet has two sailboats and several excellent speedboats," a Tier 2 Ranger, the captain of one of Miracle''s Small Sailboats, reported as he looked at Shi Feng''s fleet. "Should we alter our original plans?" "Zero Wing?" Thousand Miles smiled when he heard this. "This is interesting. Originally, I only planned on damaging and plundering Phoenix Rain''s First Fleet, but since Zero Wing has also joined the fray, we''ll take Zero Wing''s ships too! Notify the Water Ghost Legion to start the assault!" He was very familiar with Zero Wing''s One-horned Sailboat However, after the Thunder Island event, Zero Wing no longer operated in the Sea of Death. As a result, the One-horned Sailboat also disappeared from everyone''s eyes. Now that the One-horned Sailboat reappeared, he could use this opportunity to take it for himself. Zero Wing''s naval strength might have been frightening during the struggle on Thunder Island, but times had changed. The One-horned Sailboat''s combat power was no longer a threat to Miracle. "Understood!" the Ranger captain said excitedly, his eyes shining with greed as he looked at Blue Phoenix''s and Shi Feng''s fleets. The operation this time was a huge jackpot In anticipation of this moment, the Water Ghost Legion he led had been constantly honing itself in secret Unlike legions that operated on land, the Water Ghost Legion specialized in naval combat. Every member of the legion had acquired a sea-based Legacy. Their combat power far surpassed normal players'' when at sea. Before them, a ship was no different from a stationary target Including the firepower of five fleets'' worth of ships, annihilating an expert fleet was a piece of cake. "Retreat! Everyone, leave this sea zone as quickly as possible!" Blue Phoenix commanded hurriedly upon seeing Miracle''s fleet mobilizing. The difference in strength between the two sides was clear for all to see. Fighting against a fleet of such a size and caliber was simply suicidal. The only thing they could do now was retreat However, in terms of speed, Miracle''s ships obviously had the upper hand. Very quickly, Miracle''s ships completed their encirclement of Blue Phoenix''s and Shi Feng''s fleets. Shortly after, a gigantic, dark-gray warship stopped a short distance from the sailboat Blue Phoenix rode. The Level 58, Tier 2 Ranger standing on this warship''s deck smiled as he looked at Blue Phoenix and said, "Blue Phoenix, long time no see! Although I lost to you in our previous battle, this time, I''ll have you hand over all your ships to me! Or do you want me to slaughter every one of your men before taking your ships? I''m fine either way!" Blue Phoenix''s expression turned even uglier when she saw this Level 58, Tier 2 Ranger. The man''s name was Wild Aggression, and he was the commander of one of Miracle''s trump card legions. Recently, Wild Aggression had obtained a sea-based Advanced Legacy. Now, his strength out at sea was far stronger than his strength on land. His appearance here also meant that their chances of defeating Miracle''s forces this time had become even smaller. "Since you''re not willing to make a decision, I''ll choose for you." Sending a glance at the Water Ghost Legion members behind him, Wild Aggression pointed forward and said, "Go! Kill them all! But make sure not to damage my new ships! As for the items they drop, finders keepers!" 1927 King of the Seas Chapter 1927 - King of the Seas "Retreat! All ships maintain a distance from the enemy and break through the encirclement with everything you have! Absolutely do not let enemy ships close in on you!" Blue Phoenix commanded hurriedly when she saw the approaching Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Speedboats. The attacks of ships had very long Cooldowns. Moreover, while these attacks were effective against sea monsters, they were not as effective against players. After all, the attacks of ships were very monotonous with long preparation times. Expert players could easily avoid them. Hence, if a ship allowed enemy players to get close, it would no longer be able to exert its might. Then, the outcome of the fight would be decided by a fight between the players of both sides. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had received a report stating that Miracle had obtained a secret sea-based Legacy and had used said Legacy to nurture a large group of experts specialized in naval combatwhich was very likely to be the legion Wild Aggression led. Otherwise, Wild Aggression would have no reason to close the distance between their two Guilds'' fleets and waste time on a battle between players. Rather than risk dying to random cannon fire, it would be much better for Miracle''s ships to simply bombard them with their own cannons. Although doing so would damage the Pavilion''s ships and reduce the harvest Miracle could gain, this method was comparatively safer. Under Blue Phoenix''s command, the Pavilion''s ships maintained a steady bombardment while simultaneously keeping their distance from Miracle''s ships. For a time, the Water Ghost Legion''s speedboats couldn''t approach the Pavilion''s ships at all. "What a bunch of slippery eels! You sure know how to run away!" Whenever the Water Ghost Legion''s speedboats got too close, Blue Phoenix''s ships would accurately launch a round of attacks that forced the legion''s speedboats to either reduce their speed or swerve to avoid the attacks. This, in turn, opened the distance between the two fleets. "You wish to escape? Try it if you can! We have long since set up a magic barrier around this area! Not a single one of you should think of leaving this place alive!" Wild Aggression bellowed in rage when he saw that the distance between their two Guilds'' fleets was not shortening at all. "Activate the magic array!" Following Wild Aggression''s command, walls of ice suddenly started emerging from the ocean surface, blocking off the direction Blue Phoenix''s and Shi Feng''s fleets were heading. The ice walls were over a dozen meters tall and several meters thick. Moreover, they kept expanding into the surroundings. It was simply impossible for the ships to break through this barrier. The Glacier Seal? Shi Feng felt a little surprised when he saw the gigantic ice barrier forming a distance away from his fleet The Glacier Seal was the product of the Glacier Orb, a rare magical tool meant for naval combat. However, activating the Glacier Seal required 100 Glacier Orbs. Moreover, each activation cost 10,000 Magic Crystals. Once activated, the Glacier Seal would lock down a 5,000-yard radius for 30 minutes. Only Small Sailboats ranked Secret-Silver or higher and warships at Mysterious-Iron and above could break through the Glacier Seal. "All ships gather together! Do not engage the enemy by yourself! Make sure to operate in two-man units or more!" Blue Phoenix understood that escape was already impossible. Now that they had been cornered, the only thing they could do was concentrate their forces and hope for the best. Moreover, players could not use Return Scrolls while on a ship. Only after jumping into the ocean could they use one. However, Return Scrolls had very long activation times. If they tried something like that, Miracle''s ships would shoot them like fish in a barrel. Hence, their only choice was to fight to the death. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I am truly sorry for this," Blue Phoenix said, looking at Shi Feng apologetically. "Later on, my fleet will delay Miracle for as long as possible, so you should store away a portion of your ships. Once the ice barrier is gone, you can try to use those remaining ships to flee this place. At that time, Miracle will most likely not bother to give chase." After saying so, Blue Phoenix quickly had her ships fall into a defensive formation, separating Miracle''s fleet from Zero Wing''s fleet entirely. With this, if Miracle wanted to target Zero Wing, it would have to go through her ships first. "Do you think our Water Ghost Legion will let Zero Wing''s members escape?" a Level 57, Tier 2 Berserker, who was a team leader from the Water Ghost Legion, sneered. "Use Instantaneous Movement Scrolls to break through the defensive line! Prioritize killing all of Zero Wing''s members! Let''s see what the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion can do about it!" After this team leader said so, a 100-man team from the Water Ghost Legion immediately used Instantaneous Movement Scrolls after arriving at a location a short distance away from Blue Phoenix''s ships. In the blink of an eye, this 100-man team broke through the defensive perimeter Blue Phoenix erected and appeared above Zero Wing''s One-horned Sailboat Drawing their weapons, these Water Ghost Legion members revealed sinister smiles. Meanwhile, the Berserker team leader unsheathed the bloodstained greatsword slung on his back. When he did so, a faint layer of water vapor appeared around it. This was none other than the power of the sea-based Legacy he had acquired. Tier 2 Passive Skill, Flowing Water Blade! So long as the owner of this Skill was in a sea zone, the Skill would increase their Strength by 30%, Attack Speed by 40%, and attack range by 50%. "Zero Wing, it''s time to put an end to your game of friendship with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Who''ll be the first to die to my blade?" the Tier 2 Berserker, Spirit Ox, said, grinning sinisterly as he glanced at the Zero Wing members before him. However, just as the Water Ghost Legion members thought that they would get to watch their team leader start a slaughter and were about to let out a cheer... A faint blue streak of light suddenly passed through the space where Spirit Ox stood. In the next moment, his tall and muscular body split in half, the top half sliding smoothly into the ocean below and disappearing with a splash of seawater. At this moment, it was as if the entire world had frozen over as silence filled the battlefield. The Water Ghost Legion members standing on the One-horned Sailboat''s deck couldn''t utter a single word as they gaped at their team leader''s bisected body, their eyes as wide as saucers. Even the Level 50 Fine-Gold chest armor their team leader was proud of had been cut through cleanly, the cut surface as smooth as a mirror. A short moment later, blood started spewing out from the lower half of Spirit Ox''s body, dyeing the entire deck he stood on in crimson. "You people sure speak a lot of nonsense. Didn''t you want a fight? Come at me together, then!" Aqua Rose, who was clad in dark-blue robes and held an aqua-blue crystalline staff, said with an indifferent expression. "Team leader Ox got instant-killed?!" "Is she a monster?! I didn''t even see her chant an incantation! How did she cast such a powerful Spell!?" "Everyone, don''t be afraid! That kind of Spell must be a Sure-kill Spell! She should not be able to use it again within a short while! Besides, even if she is a monster, we''re out at sea right now! This is our playing field! If we work together, there is no way we''ll lose to one person!" "Right! Even sea monsters are no match for us!" "Kill! Let Zero Wing know the might of the Water Ghost Legion!" The Water Ghost Legion members present were all experts of Miracle. Moreover, they had all obtained a sea-based Legacy. Setting aside their combat power on land, they were confident that they could contend against even peak experts with ordinary classes when fighting out at sea. After regaining their fighting spirit, over a dozen ranged players bombarded Aqua Rose with attacks. Immediately, Spells and arrows flew at Aqua Rose one after another, every one of these attacks containing power at the peak of Tier 2. A Tier 2 MT of the same level would not survive such a bombardment easily, not to mention a magicaclass player. As long as an attack landed, Aqua Rose would sustain heavy injuries, even if she did not die. At the same time, over a dozen melee players started moving toward Aqua Rose from two different sides. If she tried to dodge the ranged attacks, her defense would definitely lapse. They could then take advantage of that opening to kill her. However, Aqua Rose held her ground and simply watched quietly as the numerous Spells and arrows flew toward her. "Is she suicidal?'' "Doesn''t she know that these Spells and arrows are buffed by the ocean''s power?" Just as the approaching melee players were wondering why Aqua Rose was not reacting to the incoming attacks, the Spells and arrows actually started disappearing after getting within half a yard of her. It looked as if something was devouring these attacks one after another. "A magic barrier?" "Impossible! The power of those attacks is at the peak of Tier 2! Even if she used a Tier 2 magic barrier, there is no way she can stop all those attacks without suffering any damage!" Just as the Water Ghost Legion members were wondering what was going on, Aqua Rose tapped the butt of her staff on the deck. The water barrier surrounding her promptly expanded, transforming instantly into a ten-meter-tall tsunami, which then devoured every Water Ghost Legion member standing on the One-horned Sailboat. Even Tier 2 MTs were utterly powerless in the face of the tsunami. After getting devoured by the towering wave, everyone''s HP fell to zero in no more than two seconds. In the blink of an eye, all 100 Water Ghost Legion members were killed, leaving behind a bunch of ownerless weapons and equipment on the deck. 1928 Tier 3 Combat Power Chapter 1928 - Tier 3 Combat Power When the Water Ghost Legion members on the One-horned Sailboat were annihilated, the other Water Ghost Legion members, who were fighting Blue Phoenix''s forces, could not help but gasp. "Isn''t the opponent only a single person? How did they get killed so easily?" "She must''ve used a powerful Spell. Even Tier 2 MTs didn''t survive her attack." "Did she use some kind of Overtier Spell?" Questions flooded the Water Ghost Legion members'' minds as they looked at Aqua Rose. Due to their sea-based Legacies, both their Attack Power and Defense were greatly enhanced when fighting at sea. In addition, their combat standards were superior to ordinary experts''. Overall, their Tier 2 members should be able to contend against peak experts. However, Aqua Rose had still killed the several Tier 2 members, who were part of the 100-man assault team, instantly. "What are you all afraid of? The enemy is just one person. Since fighting her at close range is impossible, then switch to ranged attacks! She is bound to run out of Mana and Stamina sooner or later!" Wild Aggression barked strictly, a slight frown forming on his face. While Aqua Rose''s strength did indeed make it more difficult for them to wipe out Zero Wing''s forces, they still had an absolute advantage in numbers. The outcome of this battle wouldn''t change just because of one person. After Wild Aggression finished speaking, another 100-man team from the Water Ghost Legion teleported to the Onehorned Sailboat. Obedient to Wild Aggression''s command, several dozen ranged players started attacking Aqua Rose from a distance. Although Aqua Rose''s Spells were powerful, she would have difficulty retaliating when targeted by so many attacks. Moreover, with such a great distance between them, dodging her single-target Spells would be much easier. Suddenly, over a hundred projectiles flew at Aqua Rose from multiple directions. At this time, however, Aqua Rose completed incanting a Spell. Opening her eyes, she said, "Go!" Following which, a gigantic ball of water formed above her head, then shot out countless jets of water that struck down every projectile sent at her. Dozens of water jets also flew at the Water Ghost Legion members. The water jets were so fast that they even broke the sound barrier. In the blink of an eye, the jets arrived before the Water Ghost Legion members. Tier 2 Spell, Rising Flow! Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... Although the Water God Legion members tried to block or dodge the water jets as soon as they noticed the attacks, the water jets were simply too fast In addition, the water jets were so powerful that they even pierced through the Ice Walls, which a few Elementalists had managed to erect in time, and the players standing behind the Ice Walls. Players struck by the water jets died instantly. When the few surviving Water Ghost Legion members, who managed to dodge the water jets in time, saw their companions collapsing, fear surfaced in their eyes. However, while these Water Ghost Legion members were in a daze, Aqua Rose launched another wave of attacks at them. This time, though, she controlled the movements of the water jets, so they no longer attacked in a monotonous pattern. Facing water jets that came at them from multiple directions, the Water Ghost Legion members had no choice but to defend themselves, as evasion was no longer possible. However, the power of the water jets easily penetrated whatever defenses they raised. In the blink of an eye, the second 100-man team the Water Ghost Legion sent to deal with Zero Wing was annihilated. "How is that possible?!" The other Water Ghost Legion members, who were watching the battle from afar, grew fearful and anxious as they looked at Aqua Rose. In the short span of time since the battle began, 200 members of Miracle''s prided naval legion had gotten killed already which was simply a nightmare. Moreover, this nightmare still showed no signs of ending any time soon, as Aqua Rose used an Instantaneous Movement Scroll and teleported herself between the Water Ghost Legion''s and Blue Phoenix''s clashing forces after killing the second 100-man team. She then promptly started casting a Spell. "Do you really think you''re invincible in naval combat?!" Wild Aggression could no longer sit still after seeing Aqua Rose appear boldly before him. He swiftly retrieved the aqua-blue longbow slung on his back and simultaneously fired several dozen icy-blue arrows at her. "Die!" Every arrow carried power at the peak of Tier 2. Several dozen of them intertwined could heavily injure even a Great Lord of the same level. Moreover, the arrows also moved faster when intertwined. Like a lightning bolt, they crossed the distance of 80 yards or so almost instantly. When the other Water Ghost Legion members saw this move, they breathed out an involuntary sigh of relief. Their commander was finally taking action. This move was originally only a Tier 2 Skill. However, when used at sea, its power would be enhanced significantly. Moreover, Wild Aggression had combined a combat technique with the Skill, increasing the Skill''s power even further. Even Tier 2 MTs of the same level would be killed instantly if they tried stopping this attack head-on. However, just as the arrows were about to land on Aqua Rose, a three-layered water barrier suddenly appeared before her like a blooming lotus flower. Boom! When the arrows struck the water barrier, they tore through the first layer easily. However, when they reached the second layer, they stopped cold. Along with the appearance of the water barrier, twelve angry water serpents had also surfaced from the ocean around Aqua Rose, each serpent over a dozen meters tall. Like rampaging sea monsters, they let loose a deafening roar. Immediately, the players near Aqua Rose felt an indescribable pressure weighing on their bodies, both their Attributes and physique decreasing continuously. "Who are you?!" Wild Aggression''s eyes were wide with astonishment when he saw that Aqua Rose remained completely unharmed after receiving his attack. "That was a Skill enhanced by the power of the sea! How can a Tier 2 player like you possibly stop it?!" "Enhanced by the sea?" Indifferently, Aqua Rose said, "Do you think you''re the only one who managed to obtain a sea- based Legacy?" "So that''s the case! It''s no wonder you''re so strong!" Wild Aggression immediately came to a realization. Licking his lips in excitement and anticipation, he continued, "Originally, I thought that this would be a boring job. But since you are also an expert with a sea-based Legacy, I will finally get a chance to stretch my body properly!" After saying so, Wild Aggression activated a Berserk Skill, his aura skyrocketing in intensity. The increased Mana flow around his body also roiled the ocean''s surface. At this moment, the vibe the Ranger gave off made it seem as if he was a primordial sea monster that had just awoken from its slumber, inspiring an indescribable sense of fear in others. "The boss is finally getting serious?" "With this, both the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing are dead for sure!" The Water Ghost Legion members grew excited when they saw the change in Wild Aggression''s aura. The Berserk Skill Wild Aggression had just activated was a Legacy Berserk Skill. Although its duration was very short, when used at sea, the effects of the Berserk Skill greatly surpassed those of ordinary Berserk Skills. At this moment, the Ranger was not the slightest bit weaker than a Grand Lord of the same level in terms of Basic Attributes. "Not good! Wild Aggression is getting serious!" When Blue Phoenix saw Wild Aggression walking on the surface of the ocean, her complexion darkened significantly. Immediately, she called Shi Feng and said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, we need to go help her quickly! Out at sea, Wild Aggression is even scarier than some of Miracle''s old monsters!" She was well aware that Wild Aggression had obtained a sea-based Advanced Legacy. When he used his Legacy Berserk Skill out on the open ocean, he was truly invincible against players of the same level. "No need. Just leave it to Aqua," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head as he looked at Blue Phoenix''s anxious expression. Trying to help Aqua Rose out at sea was simply unnecessary. After all, in a maritime environment, Aqua Rose''s combat power was superior to even his own. Moreover, he had given both the Void Robe and Void Gloves dropped by the Void Serpent to her. If it really came down to a battle out at sea against Aqua Rose, even he would have to flee. Right now, her combat power was solidly at Tier 3. Including the effects of the Sea Dragon Staff, a Growth-type staff exclusive for Aqua Rose''s Sea God''s Legacy, her combat power was already at the peak of Tier 3, even without activating a Berserk Skill. Hence, for Tier 2 players, picking a fight with Aqua Rose right now was no different from suicide. While Shi Feng was saying so, Wild Aggression made his move, firing an arrow straight into the sky. Following which, a twofold magic array appeared overhead and rained countless aqua-blue arrows onto Aqua Rose. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Heavenfall! As for Aqua Rose, she controlled the water serpents to greet these arrows. Boom! When the attacks of both sides clashed, the resulting shockwave formed a depression in the ocean''s surface and shook the surrounding ships. Meanwhile, when the splashes dissipated, the gigantic water serpents still towered proudly above the ocean surface, their bodies entirely unscathed. 1929 Sea Gods Wrath Chapter 1929 - Sea God''s Wrath She blocked it? Wild Aggression''s eyes twitched when he saw the sea serpents unharmed. Before Wild Aggression could shake off his shock, Aqua Rose waved her staff once more and sent a water serpent snapping its jaws at the Ranger. However, Wild Aggression reacted to the attack quickly. Just as the water serpent was about to bite down on him, he leaped out of harm''s way. The water serpent''s gigantic body made its single-target attack look like an AOE Spell. When it crashed into the ocean''s surface, the impact created a whirlpool eight yards in radius and more than ten meters deep. The power of the serpent''s attack had the Miracle members present gulping involuntarily. If they were struck by that attack, they would undoubtedly die. Meanwhile, after Wild Aggression dodged the water serpent''s attack, he started firing arrow after arrow at Aqua Rose from midair. "While this water serpent of yours is good in a melee fight, but it is far from enough to deal with me!" As a veteran expert, Wild Aggression quickly understood Aqua Rose''s weaknesses after clashing with her for just a short time. While the water serpent was indeed strong, it was considerably slow. All he needed to do to win this fight was avoid the water serpent and focus on attacking Aqua Rose herself. Like shooting stars, the arrows Wild Aggression launched moved so quickly that others could see only streaks of light. For a time, dozens of light-blue streaks of light bombarded the water barrier protecting Aqua Rose, raising splashes of water one after another. However, no matter how many arrows struck Aqua Rose''s barrier, they got through only the first layer at most. They weren''t able to pierce the second layer even in the slightest, much less damage Aqua Rose. "The boss still hasn''t broken through that barrier even after attacking so many times?! She really is a monster!" "Even if the commander can''t harm her, she can''t harm the commander, either. With the commander''s combat standard and speed, that slow water serpent won''t be able to touch even a strand of the commander''s hair." The players observing the battle between Wild Aggression and Aqua Rose from a distance were mesmerized. The battle between these two players did not look like a battle between players at all but more like a territorial struggle between two monsters of equal strength. No matter how many times these two monsters attacked each other, they failed to inflict any harm on one another "One is not enough?" Raising her brow at Wild Aggression, Aqua Rose pointed her free hand at the Ranger. Immediately, the remaining eleven water serpents all joined in on the attack. How can she control so many serpents? Wild Aggression''s expression turned serious when he saw the approaching water serpents. Dealing with one water serpent was easy enough, as its attacks were somewhat monotonous. However, if all twelve water serpents were to attack simultaneously, the standard of the attack would undergo a qualitative transformation. Originally, Wild Aggression had thought that Aqua Rose could control only one water serpent properly. In that case, he could take advantage of the water serpent''s slow Attack Speed to counterattack her. However, with all twelve water serpents attacking him now, he could only evade. He had no opportunity to attack Aqua Rose whatsoever. In the blink of an eye, Wild Aggression was placed in an absolute disadvantage. However, the thing that made him truly fearful was the fact that Aqua Rose''s control over the water serpents improved as the battle went on, making it increasingly difficult for him to evade their attacks. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the serpents devoured him. "Fire the warship''s cannons and kill her! It doesn''t matter even if you destroy the ship she is standing on!" Wild Aggression commanded, his eyes becoming bloodshot when he saw his depleting HP. Hearing Wild Aggression''s order, the Miracle members controlling the Giant Crocodile Warship sprang into action. After they aimed the warship''s main cannon at Aqua Rose''s position, the cannon started gathering a frightening amount of Mana. The shot from the Giant Crocodile Warship''s main cannon was the warship''s strongest attack. One hit from the main cannon could heavily injure even a Grand Lord ranked sea monster or instantly obliterate an advanced speedboat. Sensing the dense Mana converging on the Giant Crocodile Warship, Aqua Rose immediately grew serious, activating her Legacy Berserk Skill before chanting an incantation. Suddenly, everyone on the battlefield felt strong winds blowing at them. At the same time, gigantic whirlpools formed on the ocean''s surface one after another. Over a hundred whirlpools appeared in the blink of an eye, swaying every one of Miracle''s ships violently. "Attack!" Wild Aggression shouted hurriedly when he sensed that the situation was amiss. Following the Ranger''s command, a black-white beam of light shot out from the Giant Crocodile Warship, tearing apart the space around it as it sped to devour Aqua Rose. "Go!" At the same time as the light beam appeared, Aqua Rose raised her staff into the air. Immediately, the whirlpools erupted and transformed into gigantic waterspouts that moved to intercept the Magic Beam. Sea God''s Wrath! This move was the strongest Spell Aqua Rose currently possessed and was a Curse that could be used only when she had her Legacy Berserk Skill activated. Suddenly, over a hundred waterspouts clashed with the Magic Beam, the intense shockwave resulting from the clash causing the ocean''s surface to sink. The clash between the Magic Beam and the waterspouts continued for several seconds; then, the energy reserves for the attack finally ran out. In the next moment, the light beam dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a bunch of intact waterspouts. "How is this possible?" Wild Aggression''s mind blanked out when he saw the Giant Crocodile Warship''s Magic Beam disappear without achieving anything. However, before the Ranger could snap out of his daze, one of the waterspouts had already devoured him entirely. The waterspouts then extended their reach toward the distant Giant Crocodile Warship. When the duration of Sea God''s Wrath ended, aside from the Giant Crocodile Warship, every one of Miracle''s advanced and ordinary speedboats caught within range of the Spell was destroyed. This outcome had the Water Ghost Legion members, who were fighting against Blue Phoenix''s forces, gaping in shock. One attack had destroyed several dozen speedboats. This attack was even more frightening than any large-scale destruction Spell they had seen before. "I''m not fighting anymore! That woman''s practically a King-class Sea Monster!" "I''m not going to die a pointless death here! Let''s escape together!" "Right! Let''s escape together! That way, the higher-ups won''t be able to pin the blame on us!" After a moment of silence, Miracle''s members could no longer withstand the pressure they felt from Aqua Rose. Immediately, every one of Miracle''s ships turned around and fled the battlefield, further stupefying the Water Ghost Legion members. How were they supposed to leave the battlefield without any ships? They would simply be live targets if they jumped into the ocean. Moreover, swimming in the ocean consumed a lot of Stamina. "We don''t have any other choice but to try it!" Realizing their current predicament, some the Water Ghost Legion members chose to dive into the sea. Although the sea monsters were extremely dangerous, their chances of survival with the sea monsters were much better than if they stayed to fight against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members, where death would be certain. As for the rest of the Water Ghost Legion members, they desperately tried using Instantaneous Movement Scrolls to teleport onto the fleeing ships. However, Aqua Rose did not give these players any opportunity to escape whatsoever. Her combat power was originally already at the peak of Tier 3. After activating her Berserk Skill, she could easily slaughter the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Water Ghost Legion members, needing only one hit per person. After just a short moment, the corpses of nearly 300 Water Ghost Legion members could be seen floating on the ocean. Meanwhile, as Aqua Rose was conducting her massacre, the distant Miracle members vanished without a trace. Even the Glacier Seal placed on the battlefield had disappeared. The sudden reversal of the battle thoroughly dumbfounded Blue Phoenix''s forces. This situation overturned the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members'' understanding of naval combat They had never thought that one person''s strength would be enough to change the outcome of a near-hopeless battle. Moreover, Aqua Rose had even defeated the Water Ghost Legion with relative ease. Only Shi Feng found this situation normal. The first reason for this shocking outcome was the extreme weakness of the ships that players currently possessed. While these ships might be useful against low-tiered players, against players at Tier 3 and above, their effects would be negligible. The second reason was Aqua Rose having the Sea God''s Legacy, one of the strongest sea-based Legacies in the game. In the past, it was precisely because of this Legacy that the Freedom Alliance had managed to become an overlord of the seas. Otherwise, with the Freedom Alliance''s strength, it would have long since been devoured by the various superpowers. Following which, Shi Feng started going through the spoils of war. In the meantime, everyone else rested and prepared to enter Savage God Island. Meanwhile, inside one of the dark canyons on Savage God Island, a 1,000-man legion from Miracle was currently searching for Phoenix Rain''s group with everything they had. At this time, Thousand Miles, the leader of the legion, suddenly received a message from one of the Water Ghost Legion members that had successfully fled the battlefield. "We lost?" Thousand Miles''s complexion darkened when he read the message. He simply could not believe it. 1930 Legacy Treasure Chapter 1930 - Legacy Treasure Thousand Miles''s expression sank even further after watching the battle video the Water Ghost Legion member sent him. "How is she so powerful?" The battle video showed Aqua Rose blocking the Giant Crocodile Warship''s main cannon all by herself. Moreover, she had even managed to damage the Giant Crocodile Warship severely, as well as destroy several dozen speedboats. To make matters worse, she had done all these things with only one Spell. Even large-scale destruction Spells weren''t capable of such a feat. After all, every speedboat had a certain amount of Magic Resistance. They were also made of very tough materials to be able to fight sea monsters. Nevertheless, Aqua Rose still managed to destroy the speedboats in one hit. This proved that her attack dealt additional damage to ships. "Vice Guild Leader, did something happen?" Silent March, who was currently dressed in a set of gray robes and had an aura of death surrounding her body, asked curiously when she noticed the grim expression on Thousand Miles''s face. "Wild''s ambush failed," Thousand Miles replied as he forwarded the message he received to her. "Moreover, it was a rout This time, over 70% of the Water Ghost Legion''s members died in battle. Several dozen ordinary and advanced speedboats also got destroyed, and six Bronze Speedboats and one Mysterious-Iron Speedboat got captured by the enemy." "How is that possible?!" Silent March found Thousand Miles''s words incredible. "Could the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion have come prepared this time and mobilized every one of its fleets for this battle?" The five fleets Wild Aggression led were all expert fleets of Miracle. There was also the Water Ghost Legion. Unless the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion mobilized every one of its fleets, she couldn''t imagine how Wild Aggression could suffer such a heavy blow. "No. All of this is due to just one person," Thousand Miles said, shaking his head. "One person?" Silent March could not help but be stunned. "Mhm." Enviously, Thousand Miles said, "Even Wild Aggression with his Advanced Legacy was no match for her. I suspect that she must''ve obtained a sea-based Peak Legacy, as well as weapons and equipment unique to her class. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have been so powerful." Sea-based Legacies were things that the various superpowers were currently scrambling to acquire. When the various superpowers clashed with each other out at sea, the battle would normally be between players only. Ships were mainly used to deal with sea monsters, as they were not as effective against players. Meanwhile, just obtaining a sea-based Basic Legacy could increase a player''s combat power out at sea by at least 50%. As for Advanced Legacies, the improvements provided were even more exaggerated. Miracle had exhausted a lot of manpower and resources just to obtain one sea-based Advanced Legacy. However, Thousand Miles had to admit that the return was worth the losses incurred. After gaining the Advanced Legacy, Wild Aggression''s combat power out at sea was simply frightening. Whether the Ranger was going up against sea monsters or players, his Advanced Legacy provided significant help. Now that it seemed that Aqua Rose had acquired a sea-based Peak Legacy, how could Thousand Miles not feel envious of it? Moreover, watching this battle had also reaffirmed for him the importance of sea-based Legacies. "Then, what should we do now? I''m afraid it won''t be long before the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s reinforcements arrive. Once that happens, we''ll have a harder time killing Phoenix Rain," Silent March said worriedly. "Since reinforcements have already arrived, there''s no need for us to waste time here any longer. In any case, we have already obtained the Legacy treasure and achieved our initial goal. Have everyone retreat!" Thousand Miles replied, smiling. "We''ll let Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing have their fun for now. Once we obtain this Legacy, the entire Sea of Death will be Miracle''s territory!" When Blue Phoenix received news about Miracle''s ambush on Phoenix Rain, they had already fought a battle with Phoenix Rain''s team on Savage God Island. Meanwhile, by the time Blue Phoenix''s fleet arrived, the battle had long since ended. Although they did not manage to steal everything from Phoenix Rain''s group, they had still obtained the most important Legacy treasure. If they had not wanted to obtain the remaining treasures, they wouldn''t have bothered wasting time playing cat and mouse on the island with Phoenix Rain. Although the losses they suffered to Zero Wing were indeed unexpected, compared to the Legacy treasure, these losses were negligible. "Understood! I''ll have everyone retreat from the island right away." Silent March started contacting the members scattered across Savage God Island and had everyone swiftly withdraw from the island. "Pavilion Master, something strange is going on with Miracle''s members. They''re actually leaving the canyon," a Level 57, Tier 2 Ranger using Eagle Eyes reported when she noticed that the Miracle members searching for them had started pulling out of Savage God Island. "They''ve stopped chasing us?" Phoenix Rain, who was currently recovering her Stamina beneath a tree, asked curiously. "Has Blue arrived? That''s not right. With Thousand Miles''s personality, he wouldn''t give up so easily. Did something unexpected happen to Miracle''s forces?" She knew very clearly what kind of strength Blue Phoenix''s impromptu fleet possessed. It would be fortunate if Blue Phoenix''s fleet could breakthrough Miracle''s blockade of Savage God Island. Even after Blue Phoenix''s forces grouped up with her team, all they would be able to do was buy time for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s other fleets to arrive. Thousand Miles should know this as well, so how could he possibly give up on this excellent opportunity to deal her a blow? "Pavilion Master, something changed!" an Assassin hiding at the shore of Savage God Island reported suddenly. "Miracle''s ships stationed around the island are withdrawing!" "Miracle even removed the lockdown on the island?" Phoenix Rain grew even more curious after hearing this report. "Just what is Thousand Miles planning?" It was precisely Miracle''s blockade that prevented her team from escaping. Meanwhile, now that it was gone, they could leave at anytime. However, Phoenix Rain could not understand why Thousand Miles would give up on such a good opportunity. "Pavilion Master, another update. Miracle''s Giant Crocodile Warship is approaching the island. However, by the looks of it, the warship seems to have sustained heavy damage. Two of its mainsails are in tatters. Moreover, the fleets following behind the warship seem to have lost a lot of ships. They must''ve just experienced a great battle. The Miracle members on the island seem to be preparing to board the warship and leave the island," the Assassin said, shocked as he eyed the gigantic warship that had anchored close to the beach and the Miracle members approaching the warship. After hearing this Assassin''s report, Phoenix Rain grew even more confused. She could not make heads or tails of the situation at all. Miracle''s Giant Crocodile Warship was no laughing matter. It was much more powerful than even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s warship, akin to a mobile seaborne fortress. Hence, she found it truly hard to imagine that Miracle''s prided warship would suffer heavy damage. Moreover, Miracle had even decided to abandon Savage God Island and retreat right after suffering such a humiliation. "Everyone, get yourselves ready! We''re going to leave the island now!" Phoenix Rain decided after giving the matter some more thought. "Pavilion Master, could this be Miracle''s trap? Maybe they''re pretending to retreat to get us to lower our guard," a female Cleric said. With how strange this situation was, they had to be especially careful in their decisions. "That shouldn''t be the case. That''s the Giant Crocodile Warship we''re talking about. Miracle doesn''t need to damage its prized warship to such an extent just to deal with us. Miracle must''ve fought some other superpower and ended up eating a loss," Phoenix Rain said, shaking her head. While she had indeed considered the possibility of this being a ploy by Miracle, the likelihood was very low. Warships could not be repaired in ordinary Repair Yards. It would be utterly foolish for Miracle to damage its core combat power just to deal with her team. A short moment later, Phoenix Rain led the survivors of her team out of the canyon they were hiding in and carefully approached the shore of Savage God Island. Their journey there was incomparably peaceful; they did not encounter a single member of Miracle. Just which superpower started a fight with Miracle? Phoenix Rain could not help but wonder as she thought back to the uneventful journey her team just made. As far as she knew, there were no naval superpowers capable of forcing Miracle to make such a decisive retreat. "Pavilion Master, look! It''s Blue Phoenix''s fleet!" a Tier 2 Ranger said as she waved excitedly at the ships approaching the shore they stood on. When Phoenix Rain turned to the direction the female Ranger indicated, confusion covered Phoenix Rain''s face. It was indeed Blue Phoenix''s fleet that arriving. However, Miracle''s ships currently surrounded Blue Phoenix''s fleet, yet for some reason, none of Miracle''s ships dared approach Blue Phoenix''s fleet. They only watched the fleet edge up to the shore from afar as if they were afraid of something. When Blue Phoenix''s fleet got closer, Phoenix Rain suddenly noticed the presence of sailboats and speedboats that were both unfamiliar yet familiar to her. This was especially true for the sailboat at the lead. "Zero Wing?" Phoenix Rain was filled with an indescribable sense of shock when she saw Shi Feng and his Guild members standing at the bow of the One-horned Sailboat. "Could it be their doing?" 1931 Savage Gods Treasure Chapter 1931 - Savage God''s Treasure Sea of Death, on the Giant Crocodile Warship off Savage God Island: "Vice Guild Leader, the results of our investigation are in. According to our spies, Black Flame is personally leading Zero Wing''s team this time. As for why Zero Wing is here, we still aren''t certain," Silent March reported as she pointed toward Zero Wing''s members, who had just set foot ashore. "Black Flame?" Thousand Miles smiled upon hearing this. "We''re quite lucky this time. Since the Guild Leader of Zero Wing has personally come to a remote place like the Sea of Death, Zero Wing must be conducting a big operation!" Although Zero Wing had ruined his plans, it would seem that he was soon going to earn back his losses. "I''ll have five Assassin parties secretly tail them," Silent March said, a smile likewise appearing on her face. She then started arranging for the necessary manpower. In God''s Domain, Guild Leaders of large Guilds generally wouldn''t lead a team of their own. However, when they did, it would definitely be an important operation. If one stalked such a team and properly took advantage of the opportunity, one could deal damage to the targeted Guild and steal said Guild''s harvest. Only, it was very difficult to track the Guild Leaders of the various large Guilds as they would generally take preventive measures to cover their traces. "Make sure Zero Wing''s members don''t detect them, no matter what!" Thousand Miles reminded. "Vice Guild Leader, rest assured, the parties I sent are the best. I am certain they will not be discovered." Silent March nodded. Meanwhile, on Savage God Island... After Blue Phoenix informed Phoenix Rain about the battle between Aqua Rose and the Water Ghost Legion, Phoenix Rain could not help but sigh ruefully. She had gone to great lengths to secure a clue leading to a sea-based Legacy, yet before she could get the Legacy, Miracle stole it from under her. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had somehow obtained a sea-based Peak Legacy without anyone noticing. With this Peak Legacy, even the naval overlords would not dare to casually start a war with Zero Wing. "Big Sis Rain, does that mean the Legacy treasure fell into Miracle''s hands?" When Blue Phoenix heard about Phoenix Rain''s battle on Savage God Island, her originally happy mood instantly vanished. "If not for Nine Dragons Emperor leaking information, you wouldn''t have met such an ambush. Big Sis Rain, why don''t we report this matter to the Great Pavilion Master? If we do so, Nine Dragons Emperor will definitely get his just deserts!" The clue regarding the Legacy treasure was something they had discovered in the Savage Wildland. Now, however, their efforts had ended up profiting Miracle instead. "It''s useless. We don''t have any evidence. The Great Pavilion Master won''t believe a unilateral claim. Not to mention, the competition is already at a crucial point. Nine Dragons Emperor might even be hoping I''ll complain to the Great Pavilion Master, to use it to lower my standing," Phoenix Rain said, shaking her head. In the next moment, however, the corners of her lips curled up as she added, "However, unfortunately for Nine Dragons Emperor, while it is indeed true that Thousand Miles has stolen the Legacy treasure, our side obtained the Savage God''s treasure!" "The Savage God''s treasure?" Shi Feng, who stood before Phoenix Rain, muttered in surprise. He had never imagined that Savage God Island would really have both the Savage God''s Legacy and treasure. In the past, he had only heard of these two things'' existence, nothing more. When no additional information was revealed, many people took the news as fake. After all, both these two things were left behind by a God. How could there be absolutely no news about them after players acquired them? "That''s right." Phoenix Rain smiled. She then retrieved an ancient book from her bag and said, "This is the treasure left behind by the Savage Goda Divine Tome!" The moment Phoenix Rain took out the Divine Tome, everyone present felt their perception vanish as the large book sucked the ambient Mana completely dry. "Impossible! A Divine Tome?!" Shi Feng goggled at the book in Phoenix Rain''s hands reflexively, an indescribable sense of shock flooding his heart Current players would not have any accurate knowledge regarding Divine Tomes. However, Shi Feng, who had played God''s Domain for more than a decade, knew just how valuable a Divine Tome was. It was no exaggeration to say that it was worth more than a Fragmented Legendary item. Its value to Lifestyle players could even rival a Legendary item. "This is a treasure that allows Lifestyle players to enter the Divine Library and learn the recipes and designs left behind by Ancient Gods," Phoenix Rain said, chuckling. "Although there are only two entry slots available, if used properly, generating a fortune is definitely possible!" While the Legacy treasure could grant players frightening combat power, the Savage God''s treasure allowed players to gain frightening wealth. After all, those recipes and designs were left behind by Ancient Gods. The items that could be created using those recipes and designs were undoubtedly amazing. Earning a fortune with those items would be very easy. Meanwhile, money just so happened to be the thing she lacked the most right now. She had invested practically every Coin she earned into developing her naval forces. However, despite doing so, her naval forces were still significantly weaker than Miracle''s. If she wished to surpass Miracle, then she required more funds. Moreover, while Miracle had indeed stolen the Legacy treasure from her, obtaining the Legacy itself was impossible in the shortterm. The player Miracle selected for the Legacy would need sufficient strength. Meanwhile, in order to guarantee success, Miracle would definitely have to make a lot of preparations. "Guild Leader Black Flame, it is all thanks to you that Blue and her forces were able to escape tragedy this time. At the same time, you also saved my life. I hope that you can accept one of these two slots," Phoenix Rain said sincerely as she looked at Shi Feng. While having allies was a good thing, not all allies would be willing to lend a helping hand during critical moments. Most of them would take action only after weighing their potential gains and losses. The fact that Zero Wing stepped forward when she faced danger was invaluable. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, you are making too much of it. I only helped out as an ally. However, I am indeed very interested in this Divine Tome entry slot. While I will be accepting your goodwill, I cannot just take it for free," Shi Feng said. He immediately took out six Bronze Speedboats and traded them to Phoenix Rain. Each entry slot to the Divine Library was worth roughly one Fragmented Legendary itemdefinitely far more than the help he provided this time. As for the Bronze Speedboats, these things currently weren''t of much use to Zero Wing, as the Guild was not particularly active in the Sea of Death right now. However, they were worth a lot to Phoenix Rain, who operated mainly in the Sea of Death. With a look at the trade window, Phoenix Rain understood that, like herself, Shi Feng did not like owing favors. Hence, she simply nodded and accepted the six Bronze Speedboats. Using the Divine Tome, Phoenix Rain left a mark on Shi Feng''s palm. With this, he could either use the mark himself or transfer it to someone else. However, it could be used only once. Once the transaction was completed, Phoenix Rain decided against lingering on Savage God Island, as she still had a lot of work awaiting her. After instructing Blue Phoenix''s group to continue guiding Shi Feng to Kama Island, Phoenix Rain herself returned to Thunder Island. Shi Feng headed deeper into the Sea of Death on the One-horned Sailboat While resting inside a cabin in the sailboat, Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he looked at the mark on his palm. In the end, he decided to be the one to use this mark. Although there were other Lifestyle Masters in the Candlelight Trading Firm, acquiring a recipe or design from the Divine Library required one to possess sufficient combat power as well. Otherwise, one would not gain anything. Meanwhile, if he waited until Melancholic Smile or Cream Cocoa became combat experts, it would be months or years before he could reap the benefits of the Divine Library. Following which, Shi Feng activated the mark on his palm. Suddenly, the Mana inside the cabin stirred. Shortly after, a spatial tear appeared behind Shi Feng and sucked him into it. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the room, leaving behind only a silver magic array on the floor where he had been standing. 1932 Divine Library Chapter 1932 - Divine Library After getting sucked into the spatial tear, Shi Feng arrived in a dark and chaotic space. Standing at the center of this space was a majestic shrine that gave off such pressure that even the chaotic airflow actively avoided it. The moment Shi Feng appeared before the shrine, he could feel a stifling suppression of his strength. The frightening Divine Might the shrine exuded also made his movements extremely sluggish. This pressure really is amazing. It''s no wonder they said that players couldn''t enter the Divine Library without having a certain degree of strength. Shi Feng felt a little surprised as he moved his body tentatively. Right now, his body''s physique and Basic Attributes weren''t even at the standard of a Tier 1 player. His perception of his surroundings had also become nonexistent. If he were to fight in such a state, he might have difficulty going up against a Chieftain of the same level. If any other Tier 2 player were in his position right now, one could easily imagine how much weaker they would become, not to mention Lifestyle players. After familiarizing himself with the environment, Shi Feng approached the shrine, which was over a kilometer tall. Countless divine runes and magic arrays were engraved into the shrine''s exterior, radiating a golden glow that gave the shrine a sacred ambiance. Meanwhile, standing before the main entrance was a stalwart statue wearing leather armor and a helmet made out of dragon bones, the helmet exposing only a set of eyes. The statue also held an axe in each hand. The pressure the statue gave off was so powerful that Shi Feng had extreme difficulty approaching it. When he got within 100 yards of the statue, his body refused to move even a step closer. What kind of statue is this? It''s clearly an inanimate object, yet it still has such a powerful pressure. Most likely, even Tier 4 players can''t walk up to its feet Looking at this ten-meter-tall statue, Shi Feng could feel that the pressure it gave off would increase exponentially the closer one got to it. After bypassing the statue, Shi Feng quickly arrived at the shrine''s main entrance. The entrance was so massive that even monsters over ten meters tall could walk through it easily. As Shi Feng approached the golden set of doors, the doors slowly parted, a blinding glow escaping through the gap between the doors. By the time the golden doors were fully opened and the intense light had dissipated, a sea of books appeared before Shi Feng. Rows of bookshelves filled the hall before him with patrol squads of Stone Guards wandering all around the chamber. Similar to Shi Feng, these Stone Guards were all Level 69. As for their ranks, there were Elites, Special Elites, and Chieftains. Although the HPs of these Stone Guards were not as high as that of ordinary monsters of the same rank and level, the Elites still had over 1,000,000 HP, while the Chieftain ranked squad captains had 5,000,000 HP. If Shi Feng were to come across these monsters in the outside world, he wouldn''t even have paid attention to them. However, in his current state, he had no choice but to take the many Stone Guards in the hall seriously. The Chieftain ranked Stone Guards were especially dangerous to him. While Shi Feng was carefully observing the movements and habits of the Stone Guards, an armored, middle-aged man, whose body was translucent like a ghost, suddenly appeared at the center of the hall. Even when Shi Feng tried using Omniscient Eyes on him, aside from finding out that the man was named Bernard, he did not get any other information. "Adventurer of the human race, I am Bernard, the manager of the Divine Library. Since you have gained an entry slot from a Divine Tome, you may pick out one book from the Divine Library. However, the books here are not easy to acquire. They will not be given to people who lack ability," Bernard said after appearing before Shi Feng. Like an emotionless machine, Bernard continued indifferently, "There are a total of five floors in the Divine Library, and the higher you go, the fewer the books available. In return, however, their value will also increase. Even Ancient Gods would covet the books found on the top floor. "There are a large number of guards on every floor. Your task will be to obtain the book you want from these guards. Once you get a book, I will send you back immediately. If you are killed by the guards, you will similarly be sent away. "If you wish to reap a harvest in the Divine Library, you must not be greedy! Tread within the limit of your abilities!" After saying so, Bernard vanished. "Sure enough, this place is the same as the rumors made it out to be." Shi Feng possessed a certain degree of understanding of the Divine Library due to its great fame in God''s Domain. Countless superpowers had fought desperately to acquire a Divine Tome in the past. Stored inside the Divine Library were various recipes and designs for Lifestyle classes. There were even designs for powerful war weapons, defensive constructions, and magic arrays. Just like Bernard had said, even after reaching Tier 6, players would still lust for the Divine Library''s contents. In the past, the most famous story involving the Divine Library had a Tier 6 God-ranked player obtaining a design for a war fortress from the Divine Library''s fourth floor. The war fortress built using this design could resist even Tier 6 Gods. Its deterrent force easily surpassed that of a Tier 6 player. The Guild that acquired this war fortress also gained great assistance from it. God''s Domain had many forbidden lands that were so inhospitable that Guild Towns couldn''t be set up within them no matter what; however, the war fortress could. Due to this reason, countless superpowers had tried desperately to obtain a Divine Tome so that they could acquire an amazing war fortress design themselves. With such a war fortress, they, too, could develop in the various forbidden regions and reap the bountiful resources and treasures there. Of course, while Shi Feng also wished to obtain a war fortress design right now, with his current strength, reaching the fourth floor was utterly impossible. The difficulty of each floor in the Divine Library increased exponentially. A Tier 2 player would be fortunate to obtain a book from the first floor. Even the best among Tier 2 players would get only as far as the second floor. However, although the books on the first and second floor were not as valuable as a war fortress design, they were already precious. Let''s try out these guards, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the patrolling guards. He then used Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger test the waters. He had not been given a time limit for picking a book. Although his doppelganger was not as strong as his main body, even if it died, he wouldn''t lose anything. At most, he would just have to wait a few minutes for the Skill''s Cooldown to end. As Shi Feng controlled his doppelganger to approach one of the patrol squads, the guards in the entire hall went into a frenzy, all of them surging toward his doppelganger. Although this situation surprised Shi Feng a little, he still managed to have his doppelganger charge forward and cut at one of the squad captains. Peng! Before the doppelganger could even land a hit, however, Shi Feng suddenly saw a flash stabbing at his doppelganger''s body. The doppelganger went flying, its HP decreasing by one-ninth. So strong! Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he looked at the squad captain. Not only did the squad captain''s attack contain great Strength, but the way it moved its spear was absolutely flawless, without any excess action whatsoever. The squad captain''s combat standard was already very close to rivaling Refinement Realm experts. All the captain lacked was a little bit of intellect. Before Shi Feng''s doppelganger could stand up, several squad captains nearby had already arrived before it, their spears stabbing the doppelganger one time after another. Whether it was in terms of speed or Strength, the squad captains had the upper hand. Despite activating its Lifesaving Skills, Shi Feng''s doppelganger still did not last more than ten seconds before getting killed. It did not even get to touch the first row of bookshelves. 1933 Book Acquired Chapter 1933 - Book Acquired The first floors diʲiculty is already so high? Astonishment flashed across Shi Fengs eyes as he watched his doppelganger''s body dissipate into nothingness. Although he did not focus on getting his doppelganger to reach the bookshelves and simply had it fight, from the moment the doppelganger attacked the first Stone Guard until it died, less than ten seconds had passed in total. If an ordinary Tier 2 expert had attempted the same thing, they most likely would have died an even more miserable death. At this moment, Shi Feng felt very fortunate that he had not sent one of the other Lifestyle Masters of the Candlelight Trading Firm to the Divine Library. Otherwise, this entry slot would have been wasted. After waiting for several minutes, Shi Feng summoned his doppelganger again for another experiment. This time, instead of fighting the Stone Guards, Shi Feng had his doppelganger focus on moving as far as possible into the hall. However, when Shi Feng''s doppelganger was still 30 yards away from the first row of bookshelves, the patrolling guards noticed his doppelganger. By the time the doppelganger was 20 yards away from the bookshelves, more than 30 Stone Guards had already surrounded it, blocking off its path forward completely. What a rapid response! Shi Feng was surprised as he watched the Stone Guards rushing toward his doppelganger. However, while the Movement Speed of the Stone Guards was indeed very fast, the doppelganger was not slow, either. Immediately, Shi Feng had his doppelganger use Wind Blade, its Movement Speed skyrocketing. The doppelganger then skirted the blockade and dashed for the bookshelves. Whenever the Stone Guards launched an attack at his doppelganger, Shi Feng would have the doppelganger deflect the attack using its two swords. While it barely managed with the Chieftains'' attacks, it had no problem with the Elites'' and Special Elites'' attacks. Leveraging this knowledge, Shi Feng controlled his doppelganger to surround itself with Elites and Special Elites, using them as shields to hinder the Chieftains as much as possible. A short moment later, Shi Feng''s doppelganger arrived before the first row of bookshelves. The first row of bookshelves contained Advanced Recipes and Designs, all of which came from ancient times, so they could be considered unique in the current God''s Domain. The sight of these recipes and designs tempted Shi Feng greatly. However, he also understood very clearly that the deeper the bookshelves were located, the more valuable the books they held. Hence, he had his doppelganger continue deeper without hesitation. Second row... Third row... The deeper Shi Feng traveled into the hall, the more effort he had to expend to get even further. The first reason for this was the continuous increase in the number of Stone Guards. The second reason was the Elites and Special Elites taking the initiative to give way to allow the Chieftain ranked squad captains to attack. After Shi Feng expended every Skill his doppelganger possessed, the doppelganger ended up dying in the middle of the first-floor hall. So that''s how it is. It''s no wonder so many experts failed to obtain anything from the Divine Library in the past. Shi Feng took in a deep breath as he mentally replayed the scenes of his doppelganger''s attempt There were several hundred Stone Guards on the first-floor hall, including over 50 Chieftains. The deeper one traveled into the hall, the more Chieftains one would encounter. Moreover, if players took the initiative to attack even one of the Stone Guards, every Stone Guard in the hall would swarm over to attack them, making it almost impossible for players to locate a book of their preference. In addition, the combat standard of the Chieftain ranked squad captains bordered on the Refinement Realm. A Tier 2 Refinement Realm expert would be fortunate to obtain a book from the first row of bookshelves. Experts that hadn''t reached the Refinement Realm wouldn''t even be able to touch the bookshelves. Moreover, players'' greed would also play an important role when selecting a book. The further one proceeded into the library, the more valuable the books they would see. Hence, players that visited the Divine Library would definitely try to push themselves to their very limits. However, after they truly reached their limits, they would not have any opportunities to reach for a book on the shelves, as the patrol guards would have already surrounded them. Even if they did still have some energy left to grab a book, it would be nearly impossible to accurately grab a book suited to their own needs. Now that I''ve already grasped the basic movement patterns of the guards, it''s about time I made a move myself. After Shi Feng simulated the battle on the first-floor hall in his mind several times, he focused his gaze on the closest patrol squad. If he tried to advance into the hall by sneaking through the gaps between patrol squads, once he got discovered, multiple patrol squads would charge at him and quickly surround him. However, if he were to charge straight at the nearest patrol squad, it would take the other patrol squads some more time to reach him. In other words, for a certain period, he would have to deal with only one patrol squad. He wouldn''t have to deal with the encirclement of multiple patrol squads right off the bat, which would, in turn, slow down his advance and allow more patrol squads to gather around him. After Shi Feng was done planning, he immediately charged at the nearest patrol squad. "Intruder, die!" After noticing Shi Feng''s approach, the 10-man patrol squad quickly moved to surround him. Upon seeing this, Shi Feng executed Purgatory Pentaslash without hesitation. In terms of Basic Attributes, he was significantly superior to his doppelganger. Moreover, unlike his doppelganger, he had the assistance of the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Aura of Wind to increase his Movement Speed by a significant margin. After sending five Elite Stone Guards flying, Shi Feng used Wind Blade and rushed past the squad captain, bolting for the depths of the hall. In the middle section of the hall, more than ten patrol squads managed to surround Shi Feng. Faced with such a situation, even Shi Feng felt that he was close to reaching his limits, his HP rapidly decreasing. He immediately activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Strength skyrocketing, then executed Sword''s Orbit to send the approaching Stone Guards flying. The boost in Strength allowed Shi Feng to advance with great ease. Only after he neared the staircase leading to the second-floor hall did he start feeling some pressure. Currently, dozens of squad captains surrounded him. Even though he had an advantage in Strength, the squad captains charged at him without fear. Unlike before, when squad captains only tried to hinder his movements and buy time, they now recklessly traded blow for blow, fully intent on reaping his life at all costs. Hence, even though he had superior Strength, advancing still took him a lot of effort. In the end, Shi Feng decided to use Nine Dragons Slash against the overwhelming number of attacks. With the help of the sixteen Abyssal Blade phantoms, he finally managed to get through the first floor and reach the second floor. Unlike the first floor, the guards on the second floor did not give Shi Feng any time to prepare at all. The moment he appeared on the floor, the guards were already swarming toward him. Meanwhile, the guards on the second floor had clearly received a qualitative improvement, as even the weakest guards were Chieftains, while the squad captains were High Lords whose combat standard was at the Refinement Realm. Compared to the guards on the first floor, the guards here also coordinated much better with each other. To make matters worse, even with Heavenly Dragon''s Power activated, Shi Feng was actually inferior to the High Lords in Strength. By the time Shi Feng arrived at the first row of bookshelves, he already felt himself close to reaching his limits. Right now, he didn''t even have any energy to spare for grabbing a book. Sure enough, the second floor isn''t a place Tier 2 players can casually visit. Shi Feng could not help but reveal a bitter smile when he noticed three more patrol squads approaching. It seems I have no choice but to give it my all! He activated Blade Liberation, allowing his Strength to skyrocket once more. With the activation of Twofold Berserk, his Strength rivaled that of the High Lord ranked squad captains. Following which, he stabbed the Abyssal Blade into the ground. Shadows then spread out from the Magic Weapon. Abyssal Curse! All the guards within a 50-yard radius were instantly immobilized. Next, Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill and had his doppelganger transform into a Black Dragon. He then split up with his doppelganger and took independent action. After Shi Feng left, the pressure on him decreased visibly. Even after he reached the second floor''s middle section, only six patrol squads were chasing him. In comparison, the Black Dragon had attracted the attention of over a dozen patrol squads. Lightning Slash! Shadow Blade! Although he had repelled a few squad captains with his Skills, even more squad captains quickly took their place, the High Lords launching attacks at his defensive blind spots. Even though Shi Feng perceived the attacks ahead of time, there were simply too many of them. There was a limit to the number of attacks he could deflect. As a result, he steadily incurred damage time after time. When he activated Void Shield, the shield''s energy depleted rapidly. 80%... 50%... 20%... Just when his Void Shield was about to shatter, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and activated Divine Steps. Immediately, he and his ten new doppelgangers scattered, dashing in different directions, forcing the patrol squads to split up. By constantly switching positions with his doppelgangers, he managed to advance a considerable distance into the hall. Is this my limit? When Shi Feng saw the 20-plus patrol squads charging at him from the hall''s rear section, he understood that entering the rear section would be impossible. Moreover, his Twofold Berserk was about to lapse. Risking getting hit, he dashed for a dark-gray bookshelf nearby. Just as he was about to look at the books there, however, an angry bellow entered his ears. "Intruder, die!" When the squad captains saw Shi Feng approaching a bookshelf, they went berserk. Suddenly, over a dozen squad captains raised their spears and hurled their weapons at him. Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... The spears created sonic booms as they flew at Shi Feng. It was evident that the power contained within those spears was already at the Tier 3 standard. Seeing this scene, Shi Feng no longer dared to inspect the books. Sensing the lethality of those spears, he grabbed one of the three books displayed on the bookshelf. The moment Shi Feng took the book off the bookshelf, he disappeared from the hall. As for the dozen or so spears, they harmlessly passed through his former location and crashed into the magic barrier protecting the dark-gray bookshelf, the magic barrier trembling slightly from the spears'' might 1934 Basic Combat Device Chapter 1934 - Basic Combat Device Sea of Death. In one of the One-horned Sailboat''s cabins... The silver magic array carved on the floorboards suddenly lit with a brilliant glow. Shi Feng''s figure then emerged from the array. That was close! Shi Feng looked down at the tome in his hands, ecstatic. He had very nearly lost his life back there. He never thought that the Stone Guards could go berserk. The power of their spears had undoubtedly been at the Tier 3 standard, and if every one of those dozen or so spears had struck him, he would''ve died instantly. But despite his near-death experience, he couldn''t help but excitedly inspect his new treasure. All of the Divine Library''s books were precious treasures. First-rate Guilds would even drool over the tomes on the first floor, not to mention those on the subsequent floors. Shi Feng tapped to open the tome''s Attribute Panel, and the system displayed its information before him. As expected of the Divine Library. Even something like this was on the second floor? The corners of Shi Feng''s mouth twitched slightly when he saw the tome''s name, awe flashing in his eyes. The tome he had obtained from the Divine Library was the production design for the Basic Combat Device. The Combat Device was a special item that was similar to the Strengthening Device, which was a tool that increased equipment durability. The Combat Device, however, increased players'' combat power. This increased to combat power was extraordinary. Rather than increasing its user''s Basic Attributes, the Combat Devic relied on powerful Mana to improve its user''s Life Rating forcibly. The Ancient Gods had created this magic tool, but since the Combat Device''s production method had been lost to time, players could only find these devices in ancient ruins. Moreover, very few were generally hidden in such locations. The various large Guilds in the past had treated the Combat Devices they had found like their own children. Now that he held the Combat Device''s design, why wouldn''t Shi Feng be shocked? Even though it was only the Basic Combat Device Design, it was still enough to drive the various superpowers crazy. The Basic Combat Device increased players'' Life Ratings at Tier 3 and below by one rank. Although the improvement wouldn''t boost normal players to the Archaic Species standard, it was still a formidable improvement, on par with upgrading a Lord to High Lord rank. When equipped, players would become Boss-like existences among their peers. If an ordinary player equipped the Combat Device, their strength could rival an expert player of the same level and tier. If ordinary expert players used the device, although they would not be a match for peak experts, they would become slightly stronger than Refinement Realm experts. The Combat Device''s only downside was that it couldn''t be used in Dungeons, even Regional Dungeons. In Dungeons, equipping the device would have no effect. Even so, many players still dreamed of using the Combat Device. A Basic Combat Device had sold for around 200 Gold in the past, yet many players had fought over every device available on the market. If I can mass-produce these devices, I won''t have to worry about a lack of experts in Zero Wing. Although the Basic Combat Device Design required precious materials, the total cost for producing each device was only around 60 Gold. Unfortunately, the design required Mana Stones, which amounted to a large portion of the production cost. Fortunately, obtaining Mana Stones was no trouble for him since he had a 100% success rate when synthesizing them with the Philosopher''s Stone. Zero Wing wasn''t far from having as many elite and expert players as a true first-rate Guild. Some first-rate Guilds even had fewer elites and experts than Zero Wing. Only the range of Zero Wing''s influence was inferior to these Guilds, but that couldn''t be helped since Zero Wing had started in God''s Domain with nothing. However, if he could mass-produce the Combat Devices, Zero Wing could expand its influence quickly without worrying about a lack of sufficient manpower to manage the Guild''s additional territory. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng''s desire to obtain Kama Island''s Manatite Island grew. Despite Zero Wing''s recent developmental achievements, its Magic Crystal income had seen very little improvement. After all, there was a limit to the Magic Crystals a single area could produce. If the Guild wanted to increase this income significantly, it had to occupy an ore vein that generated Magic Crystals. Returning his focus to the tome in his hands, Shi Feng clicked to learn the Basic Combat Device''s production method. Only the player that obtained a book from the Divine Library could learn from it. They could not be traded. Hence, the various large Guilds in the past had generally sent Lifestyle players to the library since they could only put the books to good use by doing so. However, some Guilds had dispatched powerful experts to retrieve the more valuable tomes. Those Guilds had then invested a ton of resources in nurturing these expert players in the required subclass required to produce the book''s items. Fortunately, Shi Feng had gotten quite lucky since the book he had claimed contained a forging design. Had he chosen an engineering design or alchemy recipe, he would have had to invest in developing a new subclass. After learning the production method, Shi Feng began to practice the required magic arrays for the Combat Device while he waited for the One-horned Sailboat to reach Kama Island. Time passed quickly. Under Blue Phoenix''s lead, Zero Wing''s fleet avoided many unnecessary fights with sea monsters. Finally, after more than ten hours, the fleet arrived before an island enveloped in Death Energy. Kama Island''s twin peaks were intertwined, and from afar, the island resembled some kind of massive, howling beast. From time to time, deafening roars rose from the island, echoing in the nearby players'' minds. Even from afar, plenty of sea monsters were visible as they explored the island''s surroundings. All of these sea monsters were Level 60 or higher. Just docking on the island would be challenging. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we''ve reached Kama Island. I still have some matters to attend to, so I''ll take my leave," Blue Phoenix said. She couldn''t help her confusion her gaze wandered to the island. She didn''t understand why Shi Feng wanted to visit an island doused in Death Energy and void of Mana, but it wasn''t her place to question him. God''s Domain had many secrets, after all, and for all she knew, Shi Feng might have come here for some high-ranked quest. "Thank you," Shi Feng said sincerely. If not for Blue Phoenix''s familiarity with the Sea of Death''s inner area, Zero Wing''s fleet would''ve seen a lot of trouble on the way to Kama Island. The One-horned Sailboat had sustained considerable damage on the way here, even despite avoiding many battles. Without Blue Phoenix''s guidance, Zero Wing''s fleet might have been annihilated for carelessly entering a danger zone. Once Blue Phoenix and her subordinates had teleported away via Return Scrolls, Shi Feng commanded his fleet to approach the island. Although many sea monsters surrounded Kama Island, Aqua Rose and the fleet''s other players who wielded sea-based Legacies easily removed the creatures from their path. In less than an hour, Zero Wing''s ships docked on Kama Island''s shore. After seeing to the necessary preparations, an inexplicable fluctuation in space slammed into Shi Feng as he set foot on the island. It had felt as if a sonic boom had radiated throughout the world. Just as suddenly, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. God''s Domain System Announcement: Players have triggered the new expansion pack "Return of the Survivors." The system will undergo a 24-hour update. Please prepare to log out of the game. 1935 Gods Domain Shaken Chapter 1935 - God''s Domain Shaken Upon hearing the system announcement, Shi Feng was stunned. Why has this happened so soon? Shi Feng''s expression darkened slightly as he read the system announcement. The "Return of the Survivors" was a massive expansion pack that affected the entirety of God''s Domain, but as far as he could remember, this expansion pack shouldn''t have triggered until mainstream players had reached Level 70. Most mainstream players were only Level 50 right now. Most of the various large Guilds didn''t even have many Tier 2 players, yet the ''Return of Survivors'' expansion pack had just triggered... While this expansion pack was good news for the various major powers, the same couldn''t be said for Zero Wing. Once the "Return of the Survivors" expansion pack activated, the Ancient Humans that had split away from God''s Domain''s main continent due to the ancient war would return. Unlike the current human population in God''s Domain, these Ancient Humans retained some of the combat techniques and Lifestyle techniques from ancient times. The return of these beings also meant the return of lost technologies. One could easily imagine the impact this change would have on current players. In addition to the return of the Ancient Humans, the "Return of the Survivors" expansion pack also reduced the teleportation fees between the continent''s various countries. The price of Guild Transfer Scrolls would also drop. Once the expansion pack took effect, both independent players and Guild players would have a much easier time traveling between countries. As a result, competition within the various countries would become far more intense. However, these changes were only the tip of the iceberg. The expansion pack''s real impact lay in the real world. When the ''Return of Survivors'' expansion pack activated, the Main God System would also activate the Mental Assistance System, incorporating players'' habitual movements and nerve reactions from the real world in the game. Players'' control of their virtual bodies would become more comfortable due to this change, removing the disparity between players virtual bodies and their physical forms. This latest expansion pack also introduced the EXP Potion, the effects of which lasted for six hours and disappeared upon death, to the game. The potion would help low-level players level up quickly, doubling their EXP gain from monster kills. Of course, the EXP Potion would only be effective for players below the mainstream level, which the Main God System determined. To acquire the EXP Potion, players had to increase their Reputation with the survivors until they were Respected and complete a series of quests. Only then would players have the privilege of purchasing the EXP Potions from the survivor NPCs at the low price of 1 Silver per bottle. Due to the EXP Potion, new players had an easier time of quickly catching up to mainstream players. This also allowed experts to arise at a much faster rate, which, in turn, allowed the various major corporations to develop rapidly. Many major corporations had only invested in God''s Domain after they had realized the game''s potential. However, the game''s top players had reached a considerably high level by then. As a result, these corporations'' experts hadn''t been able to exhibit their true strength, even though so many powerful, real-world experts worked for these corporations. Fortunately for them, the EXP potion just so happen to mitigate this problem. In return, though, the EXP Potion had increased the competition in God''s Domain by several times. Even the Secret Pavilion''s God''s Domain Experts List had changed so frequently that the experts in one edition would be gone in the next. Meanwhile, the "Return of the Survivors" expansion pack thoroughly eliminated the small advantages Zero Wing had accumulated over the game''s various powers... "Guild Leader, the forums are going crazy over this new expansion pack. The game''s official website has even published some information about it. According to the game developers, once the new expansion pack takes effect, human survivors from ancient times will appear in the various NPC cities. These ancient survivors can teach players advanced combat methods for their classes, with each learning attempt only costing 3 Silver," Aqua Rose said, surprised when she read the information on the official website. Before this, players had been forced to experiment on their own to learn the combat methods most suited to their classes. However, many elite players had only grasped a few basic combat methods. The various large Guilds kept their advanced combat methods a secret, yet God''s Domain was about to sell such combat methods to players directly... Advanced combat methods were nearly on par with Basic Combat Techniques. With this new feature, players'' combat standards in God''s Domain would drastically improve. This feature would bridge the gap between independent players and Guild players by a significant margin, and when the various large Guilds obtained these system-approved advanced combat methods, it would bridge the gap between their elite and expert members. The minimum requirements to be considered an expert in God''s Domain would also change. I''ll need to accelerate my plans, Shi Feng thought as he read the Sea of Death''s official forums. The majority of independent players eagerly anticipated this new expansion pack, since it would undoubtedly bridge certain gaps between players. Shi Feng needed to improve Zero Wing''s nurturing system before the rest of God''s Domain benefitted from this expansion pack and soon. Only by doing so could he guarantee Zero Wing''s advantage. Meanwhile, in the Ore Empire''s Crimson Flame Fortress... "Vice Guild Leader, although we don''t yet know who triggered the new expansion pack, it has assured our Guild''s rise to glory. Previously, those super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds have relied on their long-standing foundations in the virtual gaming world to suppress us, but now that advanced combat methods will be available to everyone, the Blackwater Corporation''s support will allow us to nurture a large number of experts in a short time," Snow Scar, who wore silver scale armor, reported to Xuanwu Chisa as she sat in the Guild Leader''s office. The new expansion pack was undoubtedly good news for the various major corporations, and the Blackwater Corporation would reap even greater benefits since it had so many real-world experts under its command. Now that Blackwater had access to system-approved combat methods, nurturing a large group of expert players would be a piece of cake. "How are things conning along in the capital''s armory?" Xuanwu Chisa asked the excited Snow Scar; based on her indifferent expression, she didn''t seem to think much of the new expansion pack. "We have already moved past the outer area. Once we''ve prepared, we''ll enter the armory''s inner area. It would''ve taken us some time to secure the inner area, but with the expansion pack, I doubt it will be long," Snow Scar said. "Good. Once we have secured the armory, formulate a plan to assault Silverwing Town," Xuanwu Chisa said. Looking at the map of the Ore Empire before her, specifically Zero Wing''s territory, disappointment flashed in her eyes as she muttered, "I had thought that Zero Wing would be able to entertain me, but it seems that battle is over before it has even begun. What an uninteresting Guild." Various large Guilds and corporations also started to prepare to welcome the latest expansion pack. Meanwhile, on Kama Island... When it was almost time for the system update to begin, Shi Feng ordered his team to log out to rest. The moment Shi Feng logged out himself, he began to prepare for the ''Return of the Survivors'' expansion pack. He had Blackie significantly increase Zero Wing Workshop''s recruitment efforts and try to recruit as many talented players as possible. With the EXP Potions, new players would have a much easier time catching up to mainstream players, after all. Previously, he had been able to set recruitment aside, but with the latest expansion pack, other Guilds would likely snatch up talented players before he got a chance if he didn''t do so now. God''s Domain''s various major powers had yet to learn about the EXP Potions. Even after this new expansion pack released, they''d only learn about the potions once players had accumulated enough Reputation. To become Respected, players would have to quest for at least two weeks. Shi Feng needed to secure as many opportunities as possible during the next two weeks. Meanwhile, while Shi Feng was busy recruiting internal members for the Guild, Gentle Snow contacted him. "Guild Leader, good news! We''ve dealt with the training ground! The five companies have finally caved in and sold their shares. From now on, that training ground belongs fully to Zero Wing," Gentle Snow reported, smiling. "Good! Wonderful!" Shi Feng was ecstatic to hear this. He had waited for this moment for a very long time. Finally, Zero Wing had its own training ground. After disconnecting the call with Gentle Snow, Shi Feng contacted Blackie and had him gather the Zero Wing Workshop''s members in the Workshop''s main hall. 1936 Moving House Chapter 1936 - Moving House Hundreds of Zero Wing members had gathered in the main hall of Zero Wing''s Workshop, making the space feel a little cramped. "Boss Blackie, has something happened? Why have you suddenly gathered us here?" "Don''t tell me the Guild is trying to replace some of us!" The Zero Wing members in the hall bombarded Blackie with questions; some of them were curious, while others were worried. Zero Wing had developed quite a bit recently. Not only did the Guild''s member count continue to increase, but the Guild also ranked its internal members in various aspects. Competition between internal members was incredibly intense, and a large number of players arrived for interviews each day. The Guild''s Workshop was only so large. There was a limit to how many internal members the Guild could house. Hence, it wasn''t unusual for the Guild to cut off some of its present members for new recruits. After all, unlike other members of the Guild, internal members received a significant salary. "Stop making blind guesses. Even I don''t know the meaning of this meeting," Blackie replied. "But it should be something good." When the crowd heard Blackie''s words, they relaxed. Shortly after the crowd had begun its discussion, Shi Feng entered the hall. The crowd fell silent the moment they saw him, turning towards him with respectful gazes. The majority of Zero Wing''s internal members didn''t know that Shi Feng was actually the Guild Leader, Black Flame'' very few of the upper echelons knew the secret. However, they were all aware that Shi Feng was the Zero Wing Workshop''s true manager. His position in the Guild was the equivalent of First Vice Guild Leader. "Since everyone''s here, let me explain why we''ve gathered you all. From today on, our Workshop will be located elsewhere. We''ll be moving to Ouroboros''s main headquarters. This will become Zero Wing''s Branch Workshop, and it will be responsible for recruiting talented players in Jin Hai City. If no one has any questions, everyone should prepare for the move," Shi Feng announced. "We''re moving to Ouroboros''s main headquarters?" "What?! Doesn''t that mean our Guild will have its own training ground like the other first-rate Guilds?!" "Amazing! I''ve heard that first-rate Guilds generally use entire skyscrapers as their main headquarters! These skyscrapers are usually as large as a sports arena that can fit tens of thousands of people! We won''t have to train in this cramped office anymore!" "That''s not all! First-rate Guilds'' main headquarters are usually near or in the center of first-tier cities. And a lot of them come equipped with the latest facilities! Their rooms can even rival four-star hotels. Some of the more impressive headquarters can even rival five-star hotels!" "Does that mean we get to live in a first-tier city''s center?! I''m not dreaming, am I?!" After listening to Shi Feng''s announcement, the crowd was elated. Even Fire Dance, Blackie, Ye Wumian, and Zero Wing''s other upper echelons were stunned. Although they had known that Gentle Snow was working to acquire Ouroboros''s training ground, the five companies that had supported the annexed Guild had refused to budge. They had expected the matter to take a lot more time to deal with. They hadn''t expected to secure the training ground so soon. Moving from a third-rate city like Jin Hai City to a first-tier city was a matter worth celebrating for the Guild''s internal members. However, acquiring Ouroboros''s main headquarters held a deeper meaning for the Guild''s upper echelons. Now that Zero Wing had its own training ground, the Guild could nurture experts with more ease. Moreover, the Guild would no longer be limited by the limited size of its Workshop and could recruit more internal members. With this, Zero Wing''s development speed would increase by several times. After Shi Feng had informed his players of the move, he had Blackie arrange the group for the relocation. In reality, they didn''t need to do a lot for the move since the facilities at Ouroboros''s main headquarters were top-notch. Ouroboros''s headquarters offered even more virtual gaming cabins and training facilities than Greenwater Villa, but first, they needed to familiarize Zero Wing''s internal members with the new training ground. As for the Greenwater Villa''s facilities, they could transfer them at a later date. Naturally, the commotion at the Zero Wing Workshop immediately attracted the Big Dipper Group''s attention. "They''re finally leaving?" Xiao Yu, who currently sat in his office, could not help his rueful sigh when he received Liang Jing''s latest report. Although he knew how extraordinary the Zero Wing Workshop, which even had dealings with major corporations, was through Liang Jing''s periodic reports, he hadn''t expected the Workshop to leave so soon. Moreover, the Workshop had moved to a first-tier city, where talents gathered from throughout the country and competition was intense. He had dreamed of doing the same for many years, but even now, the Big Dipper Group was stuck in Jin Hai City. The Big Dipper Group wasn''t stuck in the third-rate city due to a lack of funding, but because of a lack of fame and connections. If he tried to set up a training center in a first-tier city, stronger competitors would quickly target the center, and it would be forced to close its doors very quickly. "Chairman, Head Instructor Shi has said that Zero Wing is willing to partner with the Big Dipper Group. The Big Dipper Group can use Zero Wing''s fame to recruit members for its dojo. Zero Wing will also assist in training the Big Dipper Dojo''s members. However, in return, the dojo''s talented members have to sign up to become internal members in Zero Wing," Liang Jing reported. "Is that so?" Xiao Yu could not help his growing excitement. He was no longer ignorant of God''s Domain. Through Liang Jing''s reports and the game''s growing popularity, he knew how famous Zero Wing had become. If he could utilize Zero Wing''s fame to promote the Big Dipper Dojo, he''d be able to attract many martial artists to join. "Chairman, my scheduled flight will soon board. I have to go," Liang Jing said. "Go. Continue to work hard with Zero Wing. And you do not need to continue to report back to me. You''re already one of Zero Wing''s internal members. You''ll have a much better future with Zero Wing than Big Dipper," Xiao Yu said, nodding. When he had first tasked Liang Jing to serve as Shi Feng''s assistant, he had done so to get a better understanding of the mysterious man. He had been confident in her capabilities, but he had never thought that Shi Feng would poach such a talented employee... But the outcome wasn''t so bad. After all, Liang Jing owed him a debt of gratitude. If she became one of Zero Wing''s upper echelons in the future, the Big Dipper Group could benefit, as well. "Thank you, Chairman!" Liang Jing said sincerely. Meanwhile, below Big Dipper Tower... As the dojo''s many envious members watched, Zero Wing''s internal members left for the airport on multiple high-class buses. After several hours of travel, Zero Wing''s internal members finally arrived before the building that had previously served as Ouroboros''s main headquarters. As they alighted from the buses, the towering skyscraper drew their gazes upward, over one-hundred-stories tall, leaving them astounded. "Welcome," Gentle Snow greeted as she and her assistant emerged from the building. "The rooms and facilities inside are ready for your use. We have also updated the virtual training system. Everyone can begin training right away." "Let''s forget about training for today and let everyone adapt first," Shi Feng said, smiling as he glanced at the excited crowd behind him. "We''ll focus on recruitment today." "I have already sent people to advertise the matter. I doubt it will be long before independent experts and Workshops seek us out," Gentle Snow said, nodding. She understood that starting everyone on their work after arriving was a little rushed. Moreover, losing one day of training wouldn''t affect Zero Wing''s development significantly. When Zero Wing''s internal members heard that Shi Feng and Gentle Snow had given them a day off, they were elated. They dashed into the building to explore the new training ground. The building that had served as Ouroboros''s main headquarters had 133 floors. It had been divided into multiple areas, covering offices, training areas, entertainment areas, and rest areas. Every internal member would receive their own living space, and they wouldn''t be nearly as cramped as they had been in the Greenwater Villa, where they had shared a room with several others. When Liang Jing had finished touring the building, she had been stupefied. Every facility in the building was state of the art. Even the simplest accommodation was as luxurious as a four-star hotel, whereas the top-level rooms and suites were on par with five-star hotels. Standing in the top-floor suite of the building, excitement bubbled up in Shi Feng as he gazed at the night view from the french windows. He found it hard to believe that such a magnificent building officially belonged to Zero Wing, now the Guild''s main headquarters. Meanwhile, under Gentle Snow''s management, it took only a day for Zero Wing''s internal members to get back on track. Moreover, the Zero Wing Workshop had recruited 500 new internal members in that single day. Every one of these internal members was extraordinarily talented, either with combat, management, or Lifestyle classes. Once God''s Domain''s system update had completed, these 500 people would be integrated in Zero Wing''s operation. At 6 a.m. the next day, God''s Domain''s system update had finished. Laying down in the newly-installed virtual gaming cabin in his luxury suite, Shi Feng logged into God''s Domain. 1937 Rapid Expansion Chapter 1937 - Rapid Expansion Sea of Death, Kama Island: The Mental Assistance System has finally activated. As Shi Feng stood on the Death-Energy-saturated beach and stretched, he could feel a tangible change to his virtual body. Before this update, he had always felt as if he were moving in a body that wasn''t his. Now, however, he felt as comfortable in his skin as he was in the real world. It felt as if he had been transported into another world, rather than enter a virtual world via a virtual body. When the other Zero Wing members logged into God''s Domain and similarly immersed themselves in this new sensation, excitement welled within them. They had felt as if they had been casting Spells and using Skills from a third-person perspective, but now, they felt as if they used their abilities personally. It felt as if they had gained superpowers in the real world. Looking at the Level 60-plus Demonic Beasts on Kama Island, the team eagerly charged at the monsters to test their new forms. Although the Mana on Kama Island was very thin, and the corrosive Power of Darkness lingered, with the help of the All- rounded Device and Darkness Resistance Potion, the team remained unaffected by the island''s harsh environment. In just eight minutes or so, the team had killed over a hundred Lord ranked Demonic Beasts. "Guild Leader, we''ve just received a report. Due to the system update, many players have begun to learn advanced combat methods from the ancient survivors. As a result, far fewer players are interested in joining Zero Wing," Aqua Rose reported. Then, in a quieter tone, she continued, "Moreover, the various large Guilds have started mass-recruiting members, and they''ve lowered their recruitment requirements significantly, especially Blackwater. Blackwater has improved the benefits it offers its elite members by a significant margin. Blackwater is now offering nearly 40% more than Zero Wing. Because of this, many of the players that had applied to join our Guild at the Secret Stone Fortress and Silverwing Town have left to join Blackwater." Blackwater really is vicious. To think it would increase its benefit packages by so much! Aqua Rose''s report astonished Shi Feng a little, but once he gave the matter some thought, he wasn''t overly surprised. The ''Return of the Survivors'' expansion pack heralded a new area where every major power in the game would seek to recruit elite players. Currently, the Trial Tower was still used to determine players'' combat standards. The higher a player climbed in the tower, the stronger combat standards they''d need to progress. Naturally, the fastest way to improve one''s combat standards was by learning combat techniques. If players could grasp a single Basic Combat Technique, they''d be almost guaranteed to reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, which would mean that the player had reached the realm of experts. With the ancient survivor''s return, players only needed a small amount of money to learn advanced combat methods. Although these advanced combat methods might not be as helpful as a Basic Combat Technique, they were close. In other words, elite players would have a high probability of reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor as long as they learned these advanced combat techniques. After all, the various large Guilds'' elite members, on average, could reach the fourth floor. The only real between elite players was their progress on the fourth floor. Oftentimes, a Guild''s strength was based on the number of experts it had since high-difficulty Dungeons and quests had very high combat standard requirements. These challenges usually required expert players. Thus, expert players comprised a Guilds key support pillar. Now that the ''Return of the Survivors'' expansion pack had activated, it was only natural that all of God''s Domain had become so frantic. This expansion pack was particularly beneficial to wealthy Guilds like Blackwater. Recruiting elite-standard players was much cheaper than poaching experts, and now that elite-standard independent players had a much easier time reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, it was only natural that Blackwater spared no effort in recruiting them. "Guild Leader, should we lower our recruitment standards a little? Blackwater might steal the Ore Empire''s independent elite players otherwise. If that happens, contesting Blackwater will be quite difficult in the future," Aqua Rose said worriedly. The Ore Empire wasn''t like Star-Moon Kingdom; it had become a hub for multiple kingdoms and empires. A large number of elite and expert players had gathered in the empire, so it was much easier to recruit players there than in other kingdoms and empires. "Since Blackwater wants to claim the independent elite players, let it have them. Unlike Blackwater, we don''t have the funds to play that game. Our recruitment standards will stay the same. Continue to prioritize the development of players with potential. We won''t try to contest over the ready-made independent elite players," Shi Feng said, smiling as he shook his head. While lowering the Guild''s recruitment standards would attract many elite players and increase the Guild''s overall strength, doing so without sufficient capital would yield the opposite effect. Most importantly, the standard of expert players would not stay the same forever. In the short-term, mass-recruiting independent elite players would boost a Guild''s expert count, but as more players learned advanced combat methods, the overall standard of God''s Domain''s players would rise as would the benchmark for expert players. Nowadays, one was considered an expert as long as they reached the early stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, but in the future, they would have to reach the fifth floor''s middle stage or beyond. One day, players would have to reach the sixth floor to qualify as an expert. Rather than targeting the current elite players, Zero Wing would profit by setting its sights on low-level players with great talent. It wouldn''t be long before leveling up was no longer a problem for newcomers. "We''re not going to compete with Blackwater?" Aqua Rose was a little disappointed after hearing Shi Feng''s reply. However, when she thought about how Zero Wing had just acquired Ouroboros''s main headquarters, which had drastically increased the Guild''s expenditures, she realized that Zero Wing didn''t have much capital to spare. Hence, she had no choice but to give up on this opportunity and focus on recruiting players with strong potential. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s lack of action during this chaotic time confused the various powers and players that watched the Guild. None of them understood what Zero Wing intended. The Guild was dismissing such a golden opportunity to grow stronger. "Are you kidding me? The various large Guilds have clearly lowered their recruitment standards. Why hasn''t Zero Wing? And I thought that I''d finally get to join the Guild. In the end, I still can''t meet their recruitment requirements." "Why do you insist on joining Zero Wing? Blackwater is the best choice right now! Not only does it have full control of the Iron Empire, but the Guild also controls the Crimson Flame Fortress, a vital path to the Ore Capital City. Moreover, Blackwater has announced that it is increasing its internal member count and that it will fill some of the slots with the Guild''s elite players. Now is the best time to join Blackwater." "Sure enough, Zero Wing simply isn''t a match for a superpower like Blackwater in terms of capital." The majority of the Ore Empire''s independent players sneered at Zero Wing''s lack of response. For a time, applications to join Blackwater flooded the Guild. However, Zero Wing hadn''t fallen too far behind. Due to the increase in Zero Wing''s internal member count, the Guild''s operating speed had skyrocketed. Because of this, the Guild''s management personnel, such as Gentle Snow, had a chance to relax and found more free time to tend to their own interests. In addition, Zero Wing''s ability to investigate and recruit players with potential had improved substantially. For a time, the Guild recruited many low-level players that lacked renown. Meanwhile, while God''s Domain''s various large Guilds frantically snatched up elite players, Shi Feng''s group had arrived before a bottomless pit. Gray smoke filled the pit, robbing all life from the earth around it. Moreover, Zero Wing''s team heard daunting roars from within, deterring any Demonic Creatures from approaching the pit. And yet, as if he hadn''t heard the roaring, Shi Feng approached the pit and descended the spiral pathway at its edge. As they ventured deeper into the pit, the team felt an intense pressure weighing them down. By the time the team reached the pit''s lowest area, even experts like Shadow Sword felt stifled. As these Zero Wing players began to fear the pressure that filled the pit, they noticed a colossal cave in a corner, leaving them stunned. "A Manatite vein?" Aqua Rose stared with wide eyes at the numerous, dark-silver ore deposits along the cave''s walls. 1938 Magicbreaking Crossbow Chapter 1938 - Magicbreaking Crossbow The faint metallic luster and Mana fluctuations in the dark cave stunned Zero Wing''s team. Once they realized what they were looking at, they couldn''t help their excitement, their breathing becoming a little hurried. "Dark-silver...and this Mana fluctuation... There''s no mistake! This is a Manatite vein!" Blackie''s eyes glowed as he gazed at the dark-silver ore. "Guild Leader, we''re rich!" Ordinary players might not know much about ores, but all of these players were Guild experts. They had access to far more information than ordinary players on the subject, especially on precious ores that generated Magic Crystals as a by-product like Manatite. Such veins had already been the cause of plenty of struggles between God''s Domain''s various superpowers. Based on Blackie''s knowledge, four major Guild wars had been fought between superpowers over the discovery of an ore vein that generated Magic Crystals. Each war had involved multiple superpowers, with at least four involved in the smaller struggles, and up to six superpowers participating in the larger wars. These various superpowers had spared no effort while competing for the vein. The most impressive war had involved over a million players and nearly a full day of combat. By the time the war had ended, more than 600,000 players had been slain. The participating superpowers had suffered severe losses. Considering these wars, ore veins that generated Magic Crystals were akin to a war horn, signaling the start of another mass-battle. However, despite the extreme costs, the superpowers that eventually secured the veins had judged the benefits worth the cost. Magic Crystals were a Guild''s foundation and an important resource for nurturing experts, which were essential in protecting a Guild Town. Moreover, as players reached higher levels, Magic Crystals would become even more important. Currently, players needed Magic Crystals to use the Divine Colosseum, trade with special NPC merchants, and fuel powerful magic tools. Zero Wing''s teleportation arrays, Magic Towers, and defensive magic arrays were a few examples, all of which required a ton of Magic Crystals each day to maintain. Yet, while the various superpowers fought to obtain veins that generated Magic Crystals, Zero Wing had discovered one without attracting attention. Now, the Guild simply needed to occupy the ore vein and send people to mine it in secret. It would be able to avoid paying a bloody cost. If Zero Wing had a stable Magic Crystal income, the Guild could reach new heights in a short time. Blackie wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. Aqua Rose was also ecstatic over the discovery of this Manatite vein. Although the Manatite vein wasn''t as valuable as the Attributed ore vein in the Flame Demon''s Valley, the valley''s environment was simply too harsh for players. Conducting a large-scale mining operation there was impossible. Fortunately, Kama Island was different. The thin Mana here would not affect mining players overmuch. The only problem was the darkness corrosion, but that could be easily solved with Darkness Resistance Potions. With the Candlelight Trading Firm''s current strength, mass-producing Darkness Resistance Potions would be a piece of cake. Dispatching a large number of players to mine this Manatite vein was definitely possible for Zero Wing. Once Zero Wing harvested enough Magic Crystals and nurtured a large number of experts, the Guild wouldn''t have to remain passive in the Ore Empire. It could take the initiative to face Beast Emperor and Blackwater head-on. As the team celebrated the Manatite vein before them, nearly a hundred dark-skinned, armed Demonkin. The Demonkin were all Level 65 and above, and the weakest among them was a Lord. The strongest Demonkin was even a Level 66 Grand Lord. The group radiated a chilling aura and moved like a well-trained army. What startled the players the most was the Demonkin patrol squad''s heavy crossbows. The weapons were covered in runes, which gathered the surrounding mana to them. Even from some distance away, Zero Wing''s members could sense how dangerous those crossbows were. Magicbreaking Crossbows? When Shi Feng saw the Demonkin''s weapons, he was astonished. Shi Feng had known that the Manatite vein was a Demonkin nest, and Pantheon had paid a high price to secure the vein in his previous life. However, he hadn''t expected these Demonkin to be so powerful. A single patrol squad even wielded multiple Magicbreaking Crossbows. Magicbreaking Crossbows were lightweight war weapons that individual players could control. They were similar to expendable tools, such as engineered bombs. Not only did the Magicbreaking Crossbows'' attacks carry Tier 3 power, but they were also incredibly fast. Even Tier 2 Assassins would struggle to dodge the crossbows'' bolts. Meanwhile, with this Demonkin patrol squad''s strength, annihilating a team of 100 Tier 2 players wouldn''t be much of a problem. It was no wonder why Pantheon had paid so dearly. "Everyone, prepare for battle. This is a Demonkin nest. Don''t let a single one escape. If any do, they''ll notify their companions," Shi Feng instructed as he watched the patrolling Demonkin. "Fire, sneak over to the patrol squad with the Assassin unit. Once the fight begins, focus on keeping the Demonkin with the crossbows under control. Do not give them any opportunities to use those heavy crossbows." "Leave it to us! We''ll make sure that they don''t fire a single bolt!" Fire Dance said, nodding as she eyed the crossbow- wielding Lords. Shi Feng then assigned tasks to the rest of his team. Once Fire Dance''s Assassin unit was in position, Shi Feng sent Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian to start the fight according to plan. "Go!" The three MTs charged at the Demonkin patrol squad without hesitation. When the Demonkin noticed the MT trio, they responded by launching their own attacks, but Cola and his companions ignored them. Relying on their powerful Defense and Strength, the trio bulldozed through the Demonkin formation and straight toward the cave entrance, sealing off the Demonkin''s path of retreat It was then that Fire Dance''s unit ambushed the crossbow-wielding Demonkin while the rest of Zero Wing''s members surrounded the monsters and prevented their escape, ensuring that the Demonkin couldn''t flee to single their allies. Meanwhile, while Zero Wing''s members cleared out the Demonkin, a party of six Assassins discovered the massive pit. "Leader, I''ve checked their path with my Advanced Tracking Skill. Zero Wing''s members should be inside this pit." "Good! Let''s head inside!" the Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin clad in gray nodded before entering the pit Zero Wing''s actions thus far had rendered the Assassin party speechless. The Guild team had ventured through dangerous sea zones infested with sea monsters. Initially, their tracking fleet had consisted of multiple speedboats, but only a single party of players still lived by the time they had reached Kama Island. Sea monsters had killed the rest. Fortunately, they hadn''t lost track of their prey and could continue their mission. Running along the narrow, winding path, the Assassin party soon reached the bottom of the pit. "Leader, look. Zero Wing''s members are fighting Demonkin." "These Demonkin are so powerful! Even the weakest is a Lord! It really makes you wonder what Zero Wing''s members are thinking. Did they really have to come this far just to grind and level up?" "Wait a minute. The ore at the cave entrance looks like Manatite Ore. There are so many Manatite deposits here! Is this a Manatite vein?" 1939 Secret Exposed Chapter 1939 - Secret Exposed "I''m not hallucinating, am I?" "Leader, we''re rich!" Miracle''s six Assassins gazed at the Manatite deposits around the cave entrance with sparkling eyes. They were very familiar with Manatite veins, and they knew how valuable such veins were. Miracle had fought other superpowers over such a vein before. Magic Crystals were becoming increasingly important to the various large Guilds, and having a stable source had become the foundation for a Guild''s development. Hence, the various superpowers offered massive rewards to players for providing the coordinates of unclaimed Manatite and other ore veins that generated Magic Crystals. If a player provided proof of an unoccupied ore vein, they would earn 10,000 Gold and a single Epic Weapon. When the various superpowers had announced the reward, players had frantically searched for ore veins. For the majority of the game''s players, 10,000 Gold was an astronomical sum. If converted into Credits, an ordinary person wouldn''t have to worry about shelter or food for the rest of their life. Naturally, an Epic Weapon was fatally attractive to expert players, as well. Epic Weapons were even rare among the various superpowers. They were god-tiered weapons to ordinary experts. As long as they wielded an Epic Weapon, their combat power would skyrocket. They might even be able to stand alongside peak experts. Players could only hunt for more resources with sufficient strength, after all, and as long as an ordinary expert had enough resources, becoming a peak expert wouldn''t pose much of a challenge. Because of this, a large number of players had joined the hunt for ore veins. Unfortunately, even though a long time had passed since the superpowers had announced their offer, not a single player had claimed the reward... Of course, they had never thought that they would find a rumored Manatite vein by simply following Zero Wing''s members. If one of Miracle''s members discovered an unclaimed Manatite vein, not only would they receive the 10,000 Gold and an Epic Weapon, but their rank in the Guild would also increase by one level, bypassing the normal restrictions. Thinking up to this point, the gray-clad Assassin serving as the party leader contacted Thousand Miles and reported on Zero Wing''s current situation and the Manatite vein. Many of the Guild''s upper echelons had gathered in a meeting room in Miracle''s Residence on Thunder Island to discuss the Savage God''s Legacy. It was, after all, of the utmost importance as it concerned the Guild''s development Meanwhile, when Thousand Miles received the report regarding Kama Island, he displayed an ecstatic expression. He had never thought that he''d gain such an unexpected harvest by sending some of his Assassins to follow Zero Wing. First, the Savage God''s Legacy, and now, the Manatite vein? Thousand Miles chuckled at this double blessing. He then instructed the Assassin party, "You have done well! Keep an eye on the Manatite vein! I''ll send the army to meet you immediately!" He had already witnessed Zero Wings naval strength, so he knew that if it really came down to an aH-out fight between their Guilds, they would likely suffer mutual destruction. However, it was a different story if the battle took place on an island. Players with sea-based Legacies wouldn''t receive a combat power boost on an island. Moreover, Kama Island happened to be within Miracle''s range of influence. Zero Wing had only dispatched a 500-man team to the island, and annihilating such a small team would be a piece of cake. Following which, Thousand Miles gathered Miracle''s fleet in the Sea of Death in preparation to secure Kama Island''s Manatite vein. Meanwhile, inside the Demonkin''s nest, Zero Wing''s members continued to clear out the patrol squads under Shi Feng''s command. While these Demonkin patrol squads might be difficult for any other expert team, but they were no challenge for Zero Wing''s members. Ordinary MTs would not even be able to stop the first volley from the Magicbreaking Crossbows without breaking their stances. However, Cola could block five crossbow bolts at one time without issues. At most, he would lose around half of his HP, but by the time the Demonkin launched their second volley, Fire Dance''s Assassin unit suppressed the monsters. Cola then tanked the Grand Lord ranked Demonkin that led the patrol squad, while Turtledove and Ye Wumian tanked the Great Lord ranked Demonkin. The rest of the team systematically dealt with the remaining Demonkin. The Demonkin granted more EXP than ordinary monsters of the same rank and level, and they dropped relatively good weapons and equipment, all of which were Level 60 and 65 Bronze and Mysterious-Iron rank. Occasionally, the Grand Lord ranked Demonkin even dropped Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment. When the team had defeated the fourth patrol squad, a tattered piece of parchment dropped from one of the Demonkin. This actually drops here? Shi Feng was stunned as he inspected the tattered parchment piece. This leaf of parchment was a fragment of the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design. If he could gather six fragments, he''d be able to form the complete design. Although the various large Guilds were ignorant of the Magicbreaking Crossbow, Shi Feng wasn''t. In the past, small Guilds had commonly used the weapons. Small Guilds'' teams had even considered it necessary for grinding in the fields. At the end of the day, only a small portion of God''s Domain''s player base would reach the realm of expert players. Very few would reach Tier 3, and even less would climb beyond that to Tier 4 and 5. Having Tier 4 and 5 players would be practically impossible for the various large Guilds. So, what were these Guilds supposed to do if they encountered hostile Tier 4 or 5 experts? The answer to that question was reliance on lightweight war weapons and tools like the Magicbreaking Crossbow! The Magicbreaking Crossbow''s attacks carried Tier 3 power, and while that might not seem impressive, the weapons'' Attack Speed was so high that even Tier 4 players struggled to evade its attacks. If a group of players fired Magicbreaking Crossbows simultaneously, even Tier 4 players would be at risk of dying! However, the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design was extremely rare, generally only available in ancient ruins. Now that he knew that the Demonkin here dropped fragments of the design, why wouldn''t he be surprised? Even in the hands of a Tier 0 player, the Magicbreaking Crossbow would exhibit Tier 3 power and threaten Tier 4 players. If he could mass-produce these weapons, even dealing with an army of Tier 2 experts would be child''s play. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng inspired his team to grind the Demonkin with far greater fervor. Unfortunately, after nearly four hours and constantly using Divine Providence, the team had only collected three fragments. They were still far from completing the design. As Shi Feng prepared to lead his guildmates further into the Demonkin nest, Phoenix Rain called him. "Guild Leader Black Flame, just what are you doing on Kama Island?" Phoenix Rain demanded with a serious expression. "I''ve just received a report stating that Miracle is gathering a force of more than 30,000 players to head for the island. Over 7,000 of them are Tier 1 experts, and more than 400 are Tier 2 experts." She found it truly unbelievable that Miracle was mobilizing such a large force just to deal with Zero Wing''s 500-man team. Miracle''s gathering more than 30,000 players to take us out? The news confused Shi Feng. Suddenly, he realized something. Has information on the Manatite vein leaked? "You should hurry and retreat from Kama Island now. Once Miracle''s forces arrive, they won''t let you simply walk away!" Phoenix Rain advised. A 30,000-man army from Miracle was no laughing matter. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would have to take the force seriously, not to mention Zero Wing. "Thank you for informing me, but Miracle will have to think twice if it wants to force Zero Wing to flee," Shi Feng said, smiling before disconnecting the call. Although he hadn''t expected this development, Zero Wing wasn''t as weak as it had been in the past. If Miracle wanted to plunder Zero Wing''s riches, he would make sure they lost a limb or two in the process! 1940 Shi Fengs Decision Chapter 1940 - Shi Feng''s Decision "Big Sis Rain, how are things on Zero Wing''s side? Based on the latest update, Miracle''s forces should arrive on Kama Island in ten minutes or so," Blue Phoenix asked anxiously as she read the most recent report she had received from her subordinate. It might be fine if Miracle had simply sent 30,000 elite players, but a considerable portion of its army was expert players. This wasn''t a trivial matter. If such a powerful team trapped Zero Wing''s team, it would be annihilated. Aqua Rose''s sea-based Peak Legacy couldn''t help them, either. The battle would take place on land, and Aqua Rose wouldn''t receive a boost to her combat power. "Based on Black Flame''s attitude, I doubt that Zero Wing will leave Kama Island without a fight," Phoenix Rain said, shaking her head. She felt that Shi Feng was simply too reckless. She then ordered, "Blue, relay my commands. Have all nearby Guild members gather on Kama Island. We''ll hurry and reinforce Zero Wing immediately!" "I''ll get it done!" Blue Phoenix nodded. Meanwhile, in the Demonkin''s nest on Kama Island, Zero Wing''s members were horrified when they heard about Miracle''s mobilization. They had never thought that the Guild would be so ruthless as to dispatch an army of 30,000 players. This was the army of a super-first-rate Guild, not a first-rate Guild. Moreover, Miracle had only dispatched slightly fewer Tier 2 experts than the number Zero Wing currently had on the island. If they tried to stand their ground against Miracle''s army, the battle would definitely end with their deaths. "Guild Leader, are we going to retaliate?" Aqua Rose asked Shi Feng. "No. With our current strength, fighting Miracle would be suicide," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. They might have had a chance if Miracle had merely dispatched ordinary and elite players. With Zero Wing''s team of Tier 2 experts, they could use guerilla tactics and have a chance of surviving Miracle''s 30,000-strong army. Unfortunately, reality was cruel. The expert players Miracle had dispatched were far stronger than ordinary expert players, and if they tried to take these experts on while so drastically outnumbered, not even guerilla tactics would save them from a miserable death. Miracle was a veteran super-first-rate Guild that could rival veteran Super Guilds in terms of overall strength. It simply hadn''t earned the title of ''Super Guild'' due to lacking a legacy. Miracle''s Tier 2 experts were of a far higher quality than those from first-rate Guilds or recently-risen superpowers. The quality difference wasn''t a result of a gap in Basic Attributes, but due to a difference in combat standards. Refinement Realm experts were considered top-ranked players in first-rate Guilds, but to superpowers, Refinement Realm experts ranked nowhere near the top. Naturally, the difference between a Refinement Realm expert and one who hadn''t reached that realm wasn''t easy to make up. Zero Wing had been able to stand against super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds because these powers had only dispatched a small number of their Refinement Realm experts or by relying on its players'' overwhelming advantage in Basic Attributes. However, this situation was different. In an era where weapons and equipment drop-rates had decreased, Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts no longer had as much of a Basic Attribute advantage. In a one-on-one fight, Miracle''s Tier 2 experts would stomp on most of Zero Wing''s. Unfortunately, it couldn''t be helped. Miracle had secured its foundation after many years of hard work and investment. This was also why the various large Guilds tried so hard to nurture experts. In God''s Domain, experts were a Guild''s true support pillar. Weapons, equipment, and tools were only one of the many means used to improve a Guild''s strength. "Then, are we going to retreat?" Aqua Rose asked. "No. We cannot afford to do that. This is a Manatite vein we are talking about Finding another one won''t be easy," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Aqua Rose was speechless. If they weren''t going to fight or retreat, what were they going to do? "For now, you''ll continue to lead the team and clear out the Demonkin next. Leave Miracle to me. No matter what happens, don''t leave the cave," Shi Feng said, chuckling in response to Aqua Rose''s confusion. "Guild Leader, you''re not planning on dealing with Miracle by yourself, are you? That''s too dangerous! I''ll go with you!" Aqua Rose anxiously insisted after realizing that Shi Feng intended to act solo. He might be alright if he were surrounded by dozens or hundreds of Tier 2 experts, but if Miracle used magic arrays or traps to suppress him, the army would even whittle his HP down to zero, regardless of how extraordinarily strong Shi Feng was. The various superpowers were even capable of killing Mythic monsters, much less a Tier 2 player like Shi Feng. "Do I look that stupid?" Shi Feng laughed when he noticed Aqua Rose''s nervous reaction. "Relax. I know what I am doing." After saying so, Shi Feng left the Demonkin nest alone. Meanwhile, a large fraction of Miracle''s members had gathered on Kama Island''s beach. Even Thousand Miles had arrived to command the battle personally. Miracle''s 30,000-strong army occupied more than half of the island''s beach. Even the lowest-leveled player present was Level 56, and they were all well-equipped. As for Refinement Realm experts, just the ones participating in the expedition this time numbered more than 150, and every one of them was a Tier 2 player. "Vice Guild Leader, the Manatite vein is located in a massive pit in the island''s valley," the leader of the Assassin party that had tracked Zero Wing''s team reported from Thousand Miles''s side. "I''ve already stationed my party outside the cave entrance to deal with Zero Wing''s members. Thus far, the Guild hasn''t shown any signs of retreating." "Zero Wing must be suicidal. They still haven''t fled." Thousand Miles laughed. "Haven''t they made peace with losing their Manatite vein?" Miracle had not tried to hide its large-scale mobilization. With Zero Wing''s connection with Phoenix Rain, how could the Guild have possibly missed Miracle''s movements? The only explanation was that Zero Wing was being stubborn. But it didn''t matter. The difference between the two Guilds'' strength was already massive, and the Sea of Death''s inner region was Miracle''s territory. Zero Wing didn''t stand a chance. Suddenly, the gray-clad Assassin''s expression darkened as he reported to Thousand Miles. Sensing the change, Thousand Miles demanded, "What happened?" "A moment ago, Black Flame abruptly charged out of the cave. Moreover, he discovered the five players I left to guard the entrance and killed them all..." the Assassin muttered softly. "Interesting! He dares to emerge alone? Does he plan to use guerilla tactics with the power of a single player?" Thousand Miles''s lips curled into a smile. "Perhaps we should play along. Relay my orders! Have every team prepare a magic array and use it the moment they spot Black Flame! I want to see what he is capable of in the face of Miracle''s army!" After Thousand Miles issued the command, Miracle''s members swarmed Kama Island in 100-man teams, sweeping across the island like a fine-toothed comb in their search for Shi Feng. With how closely the various teams operated, if one of them discovered their quarry, reinforcements would reach the scene quickly. Meanwhile, roughly 2,000 yards away from Miracle''s army, Shi Feng grinned as he watched Miracle''s approaching army from the top of the island''s valley. He then pulled a tome that radiated Demonic Energy from his bag. This tome was none other than the Ancient Abyssal Book, an abyssal treasure that he could use to open an Abyss Passage. "Dark Abyss, descend! 1941 Abyss Descends Chapter 1941 - Abyss Descends Within Kama Island''s shriveled forest, Miracle''s members advanced on the valley near the island''s center. "Vice Guild Leader, I found Black Flame''s tracks. By the looks of it, he has traveled past here before. It''s very likely that he is ahead of us in the valley. Although the terrain here is complex, it is also a dead-end. As long as we surround the valley''s exit, he won''t get away!" the gray-clad Assassin said, grinning at the tracks on the ground before gesturing to the valley ahead. Miracle had already sealed oʲ the island with magic arrays, so players couldn''t use Return Scrolls or Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls to flee. In other words, the only way to leave Kama Island was on foot. While Shi Feng would have the ability to employ guerilla tactics from within the valley''s complex terrain, he had also sealed off his own path of retreat. It might not have been a disadvantage if Shi Feng were merely facing several thousand players, but what awaited him was an army of 30,000. Such a large force was more than enough to search every inch of the valley. Shi Feng wouldn''t have room for guerilla warfare. As long as he revealed himself, he''d be surrounded and killed. "Good! Since Black Flame is so eager to die, we''ll grant his wish! Leave 50 Tier 2 players to guard the exit! Everyone else, search the valley! Leave no stone unturned!" Thousand Miles barked as he watched the dark, distant valley. "Remember, start recording the moment you spot him! I want everyone to know what happens when you make an enemy of Miracle! I will also reward a piece of Epic Equipment to anyone who kills Black Flame!" Miracle had suffered significant losses in the battle on Savage God Island, and although they had achieved their goal, securing the Savage God''s Legacy, the various large Guilds had learned of the Water Ghost Legion''s miserable defeat and the loss of dozens of ships. This had wounded Miracle''s prestige among the Guilds. Now that Shi Feng was trying to cause trouble for his Guild, Thousand Miles was more than willing to slay the man, using the opportunity to restore some of the Guild''s lost reputation. When Miracle''s members heard Thousand Miles''s orders, they bubbled with excitement. Although a lot of Epic Weapons and Equipment had been found in God''s Domain thus far, even the various superpowers considered such items a luxury. Aside from the various superpowers'' upper echelons and peak experts, Guild players had no chance of wielding an Epic ranked item. Now that they had the opportunity to obtain a piece of Epic Equipment by killing Shi Feng, why wouldn''t they be excited? Under Thousand Miles''s command, Miracle''s members swiftly entered the valley and searched through the island like a finetoothed comb. Everyone hoped that Shi Feng would appear before them. Shortly after Miracle''s members began their search, a powerful storm brewed above them. Countless spatial tears ripped apart the dusky sky. Seeing this, Miracle''s members slowed to a halt, watching the scene above them. As they all wondered what was happening, the numerous spatial tears merged into one, massive black hole, nearly half as large as Kama Island. Darkness Energy then poured out, making the space around the black hole muddy and violent. "A spatial passage?" Thousand Miles, who was quite knowledgeable about God''s Domain, found the black hole similar to spatial passages he had seen before. Only, the one above Kama Island was on a much larger scale. As Thousand Miles wondered about the spatial passage that had appeared above the island, deafening roaring drifted out of the pathway. A winged monster, covered in pitch-black scales, then pulled itself from the spatial passage. The moment this scaled monster appeared, Miracle''s members felt the threat of death looming over them. When some of the players used their Identification Skills on the scaled monster, they could not help but gasp. This monster was actually a Level 160 Lord! "How is this possible?!" "Why has such a powerful monster appeared?!" These players'' thoughts became chaotic when they learned the scaled monster''s identity. A Lord ranked monster might not be a tough opponent since it was only the equivalent of a Tier 2 player, but a Level 160 monster was basically invincible to current players. While the army was stunned by the sudden development, another scaled monster emerged from the black hole. Not only was the second monster much larger than the first, but its aura was also leaps and bounds more powerful. To make matters worse, more scaled monsters followed, swarming out of the spatial passage. One." Two... Three... By the time these monsters covered half of the sky above Kama Island, Miracle''s members had gone from panicked to full-on despair. One Level 160 Lord was enough to wipe out their 30,000-man army, much less an entire force of such monsters. "Retreat! Everyone retreat immediately!" Thousand Miles shouted as he snapped out of his daze. Unfortunately, by the time Thousand Miles had issued the command, the scaled monsters had descended on the players in the valley. They gave Miracle''s members no chance for escape. Not only did the Level 160 Lords attack with unrivaled Strength, but their speed was just as overwhelming. In the blink of an eye, several hundred Miracle members had transformed into streaks of light and vanished from the island. Several thousand players had died by the time Miracle''s army had fled the valley, and plenty of Tier 2 experts had been among the slain... While Miracle''s members ran for their lives, Thousand Miles noticed a figure at the top of the mountain. He was very familiar with this figure; it was none other than Shi Feng. Like an uninvolved passerby, Shi Feng casually admired the massacre below. Damn it! It must be him! He must be responsible for opening that spatial passage! There''s no way these monsters'' arrival was a coincidence! Confusion and fury overwhelmed Thousand Miles as he watched Shi Feng. He actually summoned these monsters just to prevent Miracle from stealing the Manatite vein, to prevent anyone from obtaining it? Insane! He is definitely insane! 1942 So What If I Am? Chapter 1942 - So What If I Am? A flood of monsters still surged out of the spatial passage above Kama Island. Moreover, as the swarm grew, stronger monsters emerged from the black hole. At first, only Lords had come forth, but then, Great Lords and Grand Lords had begun to arrive. Now, even Mythic monsters appeared from the passage. Like hungry wolves spotting fresh meat, these monsters descended on the fleeing Miracle members the moment they emerged. Level 160 Lords were enough to instant-kill Miracle''s members, not to mention the higher-leveled Great Lord, Grand Lord, and Mythic ranked monsters. Although Miracle''s members had scattered and run the moment they received Thousand Miles''s command, the flying monsters were too fast to outrun. In the seconds after Miracle had initiated its retreat, over 3,000 members had transformed into streaks of light and vanished. "Vice Guild Leader, these monsters are even chasing the members that have left the valley! They have no regional restrictions! With how fast the monster force is growing, I''m afraid that they''ll annihilate us before we reach the shore!" Silent March said, watching the monster-filled sky with a grim expression. An endless number of monsters flew out of the black hole above, and even though their forces had split up, the monsters wouldn''t need long to eliminate them all. If the 30,000 players had only consisted of elite members, Miracle''s losses wouldn''t have been so severe, significantly harming the Guild''s operations, if they all died, but over 400 of these players were Tier 2 experts. If these players were slain as well... "We can''t break through? It seems that we have no choice but to use the Magic Breaker Scroll to remove the seal on the island!" Thousand Miles gritted his teeth as he watched his guildmates die, one after another. "March, instruct our elite members to do everything they can to attract the monsters'' attention! Once I remove the seal, have our Guild experts use Return Scrolls to get out of here as soon as possible!" Very few Magic Scrolls in God''s Domain were capable of removing regional seals. Even a super-first-rate Guild like Miracle had only managed to obtain six thus far. Normally, these scrolls were reserved as lifesaving tools to prevent other superpowers from ambushing their key forces. Since he was one of Miracle''s Vice Guild Leaders, he had been allocated one of these scrolls. If he used it now, he''d have to wait a long time before he''d receive another. However, he couldn''t hold anything back with so many of his Guild''s Tier 2 experts at risk. Understood!" Silent March nodded. Following which, Thousand Miles took an ancient, golden Magic Scroll from his bag and began to activate it. In response, a golden light pillar flew from the unfurled scroll and pierced the invisible magic barrier that enveloped Kama Island. The magic barrier shattered, and players on the island could once again use Teleportation Spells and tools. As the magic seal faded, Miracle''s members breathed sighs of relief. With the barrier gone, they would not have to rely on their own feet to escape the island. Once they found a safe location, they could use a Return Scroll and leave this nightmare. However, just as Miracle''s many experts activated their Return Scrolls to flee this godforsaken island, the scrolls'' loading bars were interrupted. "What''s going on? Why can''t I teleport?" "No! We''re still under the magic seal''s effects!" "But didn''t we remove the barrier?" The development left Miracle''s fleeing experts confused. Even Thousand Miles, who had just used the Magic Breaker Scroll, was bewildered. "Vice Guild Leader, look at Black Flame! I think he just used a magic seal!" a Ranger with sharp eyesight announced as he pointed to the mountain and Shi Feng. Hearing this, Thousand Miles spun towards Shi Feng. Multiple magic arrays hovered around the Swordsman, all of which manifested to seal off Kama Island. "Black Flame! You''re courting death!" Thousand Miles''s gaze was frosty as he glared at Shi Feng, his enraged bellow echoing throughout the valley. Every Miracle member in the valley stared at Shi Feng with hatred and killing intent. They had already used their only Magic Breaker Scroll, so only death awaited them if another magic seal enclosed the island! "Courting death?" Seeing Thousand Miles''s wrathful expression, Shi Feng couldn''t help but laugh as he replied, "So what if I am?" In truth, Shi Feng hadn''t wanted to open an Abyss Passage on Kama Island. Once it opened, it would affect the region, and with the exception of himself, the Ancient Abyssal Book''s owner, the abyssal monsters would hunt down every player within range. Activating the Abyssal Passage had greatly affected his plans for the Manatite vein. Although Shi Feng had expected information on the Manatite vein to leak and had prepared certain countermeasures, he hadn''t expected it to happen so soon. Moreover, Miracle had intended to take the vein for itself, rather than negotiate. He couldn''t afford to be courteous with the enemy Guild. He would teach Miracle the price for trying to steal Zero Wing''s Manatite vein. "Black Flame! Do you truly think Miracle will let you off the hook for this?!" Thousand Miles threatened as he watched the sealing magic array complete. "Your entire Guild will face Miracle''s wrath, not just you!" "Guild Leader Black Flame, many of Miracle''s experts are on Kama Island. Our Guild Leader isn''t exaggerating. If you complete the seal on Kama Island, Miracle will do everything it can to destroy Zero Wing!" Silent March attempted to persuade Shi Feng. "Since you have developed Zero Wing to its current power, you should understand the various superpowers'' strength. You should know how powerful our Guild is. Do you really want to make an enemy of Miracle?'' Zero Wing had already become a noteworthy force in God''s Domain, but to a top-ranked, super-first-rate Guild like Miracle, it was still a trivial opponent. The only reason Miracle had not turned against Zero Wing thus far, despite the Guild''s multiple transgressions, was that it had much better things to do with its time and resources. However, if Miracle concentrated its strength against Zero Wing, removing the Guild from God''s Domain wouldn''t be difficult. "You people really are interesting. You clearly came looking for trouble, yet you''re making Zero Wing look like the bad guy here, claiming that our Guild is trying to make an enemy of ours? Miracle''s members sure are skilled with one-sided plays!" Shi Feng laughed. "I''ll repeat myself once again. So what if I am?" 1943 Zero Wings Wrath Chapter 1943 - Zero Wing''s Wrath "Black Flame, you''re going too far!" Thousand Miles shouted hurriedly when he realized that Shi Feng showed no intentions of canceling the magic array. "We no longer have the power to take the Manatite vein! We have even lost several thousand elites! If you complete the barrier around Kama Island, you might be able to use these monsters to kill us, but only once! However, Zero Wing will have to face Miracle''s full wrath in return!" "Wrath?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh at Thousand Miles. "I don''t know how terrifying Miracle''s wrath is, but you should have a taste of Zero Wing''s, first!" Shi Feng''s voice echoed throughout the valley, and Miracle''s members felt a chill crawl down their spines from the indifference and killing intent histone contained. They had never thought that Shi Feng was so ruthless! He actually ignored his Guild''s safety to ensure their deaths! "Insane! He must be insane! He wants to drag us down with him!" "How can a Guild Leader like this exist in God''s Domain?!" Miracle''s members were bewildered as they stared at Shi Feng. The various large Guilds'' Guild Leaders would do almost anything they could to ensure their Guild''s survival in God''s Domain. They often set aside their personal feelings for the bigger picture. Shi Feng, on the other hand, didn''t seem to care about Zero Wing''s survival in the least, acting entirely on his emotions. However, Shi Feng hadn''t lied. While they weren''t sure how Miracle would retaliate, they were certain that they''d face Zero Wing''s wrath right now. "Good! Very good! Since you want to duke it out, show me what you''re capable of!" Thousand Miles shouted, his eyes turning bloodshot. "Everyone, heed my command! Attack Black Flame with everything you''ve got! The magic seal has a long activation time! If we can interrupt his channeling, he can''t seal off the island! I will personally gift anyone who kills Black Flame a piece of Epic Equipment!" "The Vice Guild Leader is right! Our deaths are not certain yet! As long as we can interrupt Black Flame, we still have hope of surviving! If we kill Black Flame, we''ll even get a piece of Epic Equipment!" "Right! This battle''s outcome isn''t set in stone! We still have a fighting chance!" "Kill Black Flame!" Hearing Thousand Miles''s orders, Miracle''s members knew that their only hope of survival hinged on striking Shi Feng with everything they had. Otherwise, none of them should think of leaving Kama Island alive. Fortunately, the magic seal needed two minutes to complete. They weren''t completely out of luck. As their morale recovered, Miracle''s members charged toward Shi Feng while ignoring the abyssal monsters around them. The only thing on their minds was Shi Feng''s death. Like wild beasts that had awakened from their slumber, the auras of the remaining 20,000-plus players flared as they bared their teeth at their adversary. "Retaliating even in the face of death?" Shi Feng sneered at the approaching mob." He stood just below the spatial passage, and as Miracle''s members approached, they would encounter more abyssal monsters. With current players'' strength, charging at these monsters was suicidal. But Miracle''s players were in a frenzy. They disregarded all costs while charging at Shi Feng, and even when their comrades fell beside them, they didn''t pull their gazes from their target. "Everyone, keep it up! Black Flame is still channeling the magic array and can''t move! If even one of us reaches him, victory will be ours!" Silent March cried, rallying his troops. While a magic seal was powerful, it had an obvious flaw: the player activating it had to remain in a safe place. If the caster moved in the slightest, the channeling process would be interrupted and would fail. Although there were indeed a lot of abyssal monsters between them and Shi Feng, Miracle''s players on Kama Island greatly outnumbered the monsters. Although the price of distracting the abyssal monsters was considerably high, it was possible, and it would allow a few players to slip by, reaching their target. Sure enough, seven players managed to break through the abyssal monsters'' encirclement after a short moment, arriving within 60 yards of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. "Even if I can''t move, I can still use my Skills and Spells!" Seeing the approaching enemies, Shi Feng promptly activated Chilling Field. The moment Chilling Field activated, the seven Miracle members immediately felt a chill envelop their flesh. Both their Movement Speed and Attack Speed significantly decreased. Before the Miracle members could move within 40 yards of Shi Feng, icicles exploded from the ground, striking the seven players as damages in the tens of thousands appeared above their heads... The Mana on Kama Island was extremely thin, which limited the combat power players could exert, and with Chilling Field''s Movement Speed reduction, dodging the icicles'' attacks became impossible for the seven Miracle players. In the blink of an eye, the attacks killed two players. Only the five Refinement Realm experts managed to avoid death. However, while the five Refinement Realm experts had dodged the first wave of Shi Feng''s attacks, the Swordsman was far from finished. As a constant stream of attacks bombarded them, the Refinement Realm experts were forced to halt their advance, focusing on defense. Unfortunately, they still took hits from time to time, continuing to lose HP. In the end, all five died before they could move within 20 yards of their target. Although Refinement Realm experts were frightening existences in first-rate Guilds, their evasive and defensive maneuvers were unrefined before Shi Feng. "Die!" Following which, Shi Feng struck one group of Miracle''s members after another, mercilessly slaying every player that came within his attack range. None of them could get within 10 yards of Shi Feng. Seeing this, Miracle''s surviving members were dumbfounded. While Silent Marce came within 50 yards of the Swordsman, she stopped her advanced and took out a single-target, Tier 4 Offensive Magic Scroll. Numerous spiraling wind-blades then formed around Shi Feng. Under Silent March''s control, these wind blades bombarded the immobile Guild Leader. Boom... Boom... Boom... Explosions rang out in succession, the resulting shockwaves throwing dust and dirt into the air. He''s finally dead? Silent March could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief as she watched the dust cloud surround Shi Feng''s location. She had used a large number of guildmates as bait to get within 50 yards of the Swordsman and find an opportunity to use the Magic Scroll without her opponent noticing. But once the dust settled, it revealed Shi Feng''s unharmed figure. Golden divine runes circled his body, isolating him from the outside world. These runes were the result of the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Absolute Defense. However, rather than the runic barrier, everyone''s attention was on the pitch-black magic arrays around Shi Feng. The arrays had completed and sealed off Kama Island. 1944 Slaying Thousand Miles Chapter 1944 - Slaying Thousand Miles "You!" Thousand Miles''s paled when he saw the fully-formed magic arrays. Magic Scrolls like the Magic Breaker Scroll was the only way to remove the magic seal once it was complete and before it''s duration ended. "It''s over! We''re doomed!" When the rest of Miracle''s army saw the magic barrier slowly spread out from above them, they were distraught. Thousands of abyssal monsters had already emerged from the spatial passage. They had thought it would be possible to reach the island''s shores before their annihilation when there had only been several hundred, but that hope was gone. Several hundred more Miracle members had died while the army had succumbed to their despair. Players only snapped out of their daze, fleeing like madmen, when the fallen players'' weapons and equipment hit the ground. Although they knew that they had no hope of surviving this, they prayed for a miracle to save them. "Vice Guild Leader, what should we do?" Silent March asked anxiously as she watched Miracle''s Tier 2 experts fall, one after another. "We''re out of options now that the magic seal is complete. Have our experts bring up the rear. We''re retreating," Thousand Miles said, shaking his head. Now that the magic seal had taken shape, not even he had a countermeasure. Fortunately, he was one of Miracle''s Vice Guild Leaders, and his Guild had allocated him plenty of lifesaving tools. Unfortunately, he''d only be able to save a small number of players with the tools he had on hand. "But..." Silent March felt her heart bleed as she watched the abyssal monsters slaughter their Guild''s experts in the valley. Miracle had brought more than 7,000 experts to Kama Island! This was the first time their Guild had suffered such a severe loss since joining God''s Domain. "Enough! If you don''t hurry, I can''t guarantee our safe escape!" Thousand Miles snapped gravely. He, too, was reluctant to make the decision. He was, after all, responsible for this offensive operation. He wanted nothing more than to kill Shi Feng, but he understood that with Shi Feng''s strength and the abyssal monsters'' interference, slaying the Swordsman was impossible. All he could do was leave this godforsaken island as quickly as possible. "Understood." Silent March nodded. As Silent March began her retreat, several hundred experts formed a tight circle around her, guiding Silent March and several upper echelons out of the valley. "Black Flame, just you wait! It won''t be long before I pay this back tenfold!" Thousand Miles bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng, already thinking of ways to deal with Zero Wing. After ensuring that his Guild''s upper echelons had gathered around him, Thousand Miles retrieved a dark-purple globe from his bag. Countless divine runes had been engraved on this crystal globe, the globe itself giving off waves of pressure. This globe was one of the treasures Miracle had obtained from an ancient ruin_the Wind God''s Orb! The Wind God''s Orb was a Consumable that temporarily granted players the power of the Wind God. With the Wind God''s power, players could fly freely through the sky for five minutes. Moreover, players'' flight speed would be so incredible that not even flying ships could keep up with them. Whether one was using the Wind God''s Orb for escape or pursuit, the orb was a very useful tool. Unfortunately, it could only be used ten times. Once all ten uses had been expended, the Wind God''s Orb would turn into dust Although the magic seal on Kama Island prevented teleportation, it did not prohibit players from flying. As long as they had the power of the Wind God, they could easily shake off the abyssal monsters'' pursuit Moreover, five minutes of flying would be more than enough to escape Kama Island. Once they were off of the island, fleeing from the abyssal monsters would be a piece of cake. After taking out the Wind God''s Orb, Thousand Miles began to chant an incantation, granting him and the others the Wind Gods power. With Thousand Miles as the center, a gigantic, dark-purple magic array formed on the groundhungrily absorbing and devouring the surrounding Mana. At the same time, a powerful storm enveloped Thousand Miles and the others, preventing other players from approaching the group. "The Wind God''s Orb?" Shi Feng muttered. He could not help but feel a little astonished when he saw the dark-purple globe in Thousand Miles''s hands. "Miracle really is quite generous to have given him such a precious item, but you must be dreaming if you think you can escape with that." Shi Feng then activated Gale Domain, transforming into a blur as he flew toward Thousand Miles. The Wind God''s Orb had been extremely famous in God''s Domain, a masterpiece crafted by an ancient civilization. As long as there were no magic arrays that prevented flight in an area, even Tier 5 players wouldn''t stop a player endowed with the Wind God''s power. Only Tier 6 players would have the ability. Hence, the Wind God''s Orb had been publicly acknowledged as one of the top ten treasures for pursuit and escape in God''s Domain in the past. However, the Wind God''s Orb had an obvious flaw; it required a lengthy channeling time. Each endowment required roughly 15 seconds. Although Shi Feng was currently around 800 yards away from Thousand Miles, he could cross the distance in less than ten seconds with the effects of Gale Domain. Of course, Miracle''s members noticed Shi Feng''s movement. "Black Flame!" Thousand Miles''s rage burned even brighter when he saw Shi Feng''s approach. "Escort team, block him with everything you''ve got! I''ll kill him myself in a moment!" He had called off the assault on Shi Feng simply because he found the task troublesome. He had decided to ignore the man and let the hateful bastard live for a few more days. However, Shi Feng ignored his benevolence and now targeted his life. "Vice Guild Leader, rest assured, we''ll make sure he doesn''t leave your sight! We''ll show this brat just how ignorant he is!" a silver-armored, middle-aged man confidently declared as he watched Shi Feng''s approaching figure. After saying so, the middle-aged man, who led the escort team, and the team''s 200-plus members vigilantly awaited Shi Feng''s arrival. Once the flying Swordsman was within 100 yards, the escort team activated their Berserk Skills. A few members even activated a magic array, trapping Shi Feng within a magic barrier. "Shatter!" When Shi Feng was less than 60 yards away from Thousand Miles, he activated Power of Darkness and swung down Killing Ray. Lightning Slash! A blue lightning bolt tore through the sturdy magic barrier, and by the time Miracle''s players noticed it, the bolt had pierced through Thousand Miles''s body, devouring all of his HP... 1945 Miracle Defeated Chapter 1945 - Miracle Defeated How is this possible? Silent March stared at Thousand Miles''s empty HP bar with wide eyes, shocked. That attack had been too fast and sudden! The escort team had clearly trapped Shi Feng in a magic barrier that even a Grand Lord would need some time to struggle free from, yet Shi Feng had broken free and killed Thousand Miles with the same, single attack... Any player capable of rising to the position of Vice Guild Leader in a superpower had more than just strong management abilities but also had enough individual strength to convince others to follow them obediently. Although Thousand Miles had been focused on activating the Wind God''s Orb, landing a ranged attack should''ve been impossible, but Shi Feng had taken advantage of the moment Thousand Miles had lowered his guard due to the magic barrier, claiming the man''s life. God''s Domain had many Spells and Skills that quickly took effect, and by the time these abilities activated, even experts would be hard-pressed to dodge them Normally, players had to predict the attack''s trajectory, taking preemptive measures to dodge or block the attack. However, Shi Feng''s execution had been so fast that she hadn''t even noticed his movements when he activated the Skill. Needless to say, it would have been impossible for Thousand Miles, who had been distracted, to notice the attack. The other members around the Vice Guild Leader''s corpse were just as stunned. They stared at the body with incredulous looks. Thousand Miles was one of their Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders. Not only was he extraordinarily powerful as an individual, but the Guild had also given him plenty of treasures. Even Super Guilds would have a difficult time killing Thousand Miles. In fact, regardless of the several thousand abyssal monsters on Kama Island, they had never considered that the monsters might kill Thousand Miles, yet their Vice Guild Leader was dead. Moreover, Thousand Miles hadn''t died at the hands of a superpower. He hadn''t even died while surrounded by enemies, overwhelmed and outnumbered. Instead, a Guild Leader from a Guild that had only recently become famous had claimed his life. If news of this spread, it would cause a sensation throughout God''s Domain. "Black Flame!" The escort team''s leader turned ashen as he shot Shi Feng a glare. "From today on, neither you nor Zero Wing will have a place in God''s Domain! Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion can protect you!" Had someone from another superpower killed Thousand Miles, it would not have had much of an impact on Miracle''s reputation. At most, the public would think that the offending superpower had grown stronger. However, the fact that a minor power like Zero Wing was responsible for the Vice Guild Leader''s death was humiliating. If word of this got out, Miracle would become a laughingstock among the various superpowers. Others might even assume that Miracle had grown weaker, doubting its qualifications as a super-first-rate Guild. If Miracle did not annihilate Zero Wing after such an insult, it would have no hope of mingling in God''s Domain in the future. "That''s my business!" Shi Feng said while slashing the Abyssal Blade at the escort team. Lightning Edge! Countless arcs of lightning streaked toward the dazed escort members. Although a portion of the escort members had reacted to the attack quickly and dodged Lightning Edge''s trajectory, the attack killed more than 70% of the team. "I''ll kill you!" The escort leader, Nameless Hacker, gnashed his teeth in rage as he watched his teammates die. Nameless Hacker and the other survivors charged at Shi Feng, killing intent flashing in their eyes. They would slay this Swordsman even if they had to sacrifice their own lives. "I''ll support you!" Silent March was just as resolved to kill Shi Feng. After activating her Berserk Skill, she began to chant an offensive Spell, aiming for the Guild Leader. Although Nameless Hacker was not a match for Miracle Dragon, he was a peak expert at the Void Realm. If he had 20-plus melee Refinement Realm experts supporting him, not even a Domain Realm expert would dare to take him on. Furthermore, he had the support of a magical class expert, Silent March. She could make up for the melee players'' flaws by launching attacks at Shi Feng''s blind spots, which the melee players could not reach. "Die!" As Nameless Hacker reached Shi Feng, he raised his greatsword and executed a downward slash. The greatsword transformed into a rainbow that descended on Shi Feng. As the rainbow passed, even space began to crack. At the same time, the other escort members circled to Shi Feng''s sides and executed their strongest Skills. As they attacked, they paid no attention to defense. They were fully intent on trading blow for blow with Shi Feng. Once Silent March saw Nameless Hacker use his ultimate move, she followed by releasing her channeled Spell, the Tier 2 Curse, Death Coffin. With Shi Feng in the center, Death Energy filled a 30-yard radius, constantly corroding the players'' lives. Silent March planned to use the escort team to buy time for Death Energy to detonate, killing the team and Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Nameless Hacker and his comrades paid no head to Silent March''s Spell. Now that Thousand Miles was dead, they had no way to escape Kama Island before the abyssal monsters killed them, in any case. They were more than willing to sacrifice themselves if it meant Shi Feng''s death. In response to his opponents'' suicidal attacks, Shi Feng used Dragon Breath and Nine Dragons Slash. He had no intention of dodging the attacks. His Basic Attributes were far beyond Nameless Hacker and Miracle''s members. He could simply stop the attacks with brute force. Boom... Boom... Boom... The moment Dragon Breath collided with the descending rainbow, a massive explosion shook the valley. Dragon Breath shattered the rainbow and blew Nameless Hacker away. Abyssal Blade''s phantoms, meanwhile, put a stop to the melee Refinement Realm experts'' assault. Before the Death Energy Silent March had summoned could detonate, Shi Feng used Instant Strike to appear before her and swung Killing Ray at the female Necromancer. Although Silent March tried to block the attack with her staff, she was too late. Killing Ray shattered the magic barrier protecting Silent March and cut straight through her neck, instantly obliterating her HP. "So fast!" The escort team members were stunned. First, Thousand Miles had fallen. Now, even Silent March had died before the rear line healers could do anything about it... Shi Feng''s Attack Power and Attack Speed were terrifying! Without Silent March''s assistance, Nameless Hacker and the others were utterly helpless against Shi Feng. Even though they still had their healers'' support, Shi Feng killed one after another. With the abyssal monsters'' interference, the entire escort team had been eliminated in less than 20 seconds. Seeing this, Miracle''s surviving experts, who had been rushing over to help, turned and fled, losing any motivation to attack Shi Feng. Unfortunately, the flying abyssal monsters gave Miracle''s members no opportunities to escape Kama Island. In less than 10 minutes, all of the 30,000-plus players Miracle had dispatched to the island were dead. None left the island alive... 1946 Impossible Outcome Chapter 1946 - Impossible Outcome After Miracle''s forces on Kama Island were annihilated, the abyssal monsters circling above began to scatter to the surrounding areas. And Shi Feng couldn''t be any happier to see it. Although this turn of events would be a problem for players developing in the Sea of Death, it would benefit him. The abyssal monsters'' presence would deter anyone from approaching Kama Island. However, the Abyss Passage he opened above the island was small, unlike the medium passage in the Twin Towers Kingdom. As a result, its influence would be very limited. In the continent of God''s Domain, abyssal monsters couldn''t roam freely since they were foreign to this world. Hence, the world''s power constantly suppressed them. The farther they ventured from the Abyss Passage, the stronger this suppression would become. With the power of a small Abyss Passage, the passage''s range of influence was very limited. Moreover, he could only use this method to deter players once. Each Ancient Abyssal Book could be used to open only two Abyss Passages: a medium passage and a small passage. King''s Return''s Hell Fiend had already opened the medium passage to deal with Immortal Light in the Twin Towers Kingdom, and now that Shi Feng had used the remaining small passage, he''d have to make sufficient sacrifices if he wanted to use the book to open another. To open another passage, he would need to sacrifice 50,000 players for a small passage, 300,000 players for a medium passage, or 1,000,000 players for a large passage. Capturing so many players to sacrifice would be an immensely difficult task. He might be fine if his actions went undiscovered, but once other players found proof of his wrongdoing, the consequences would be horrendous. After watching the abyssal monsters venture away from Kama Island, Shi Feng began to loot the battlefield. Meanwhile, in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s temporary Residence on Thunder Island... "Big Sis Rain, I''ve notified every fleet in the Sea of Death. Since we cannot command those under Nine Dragons Emperor, we only have three fleets heading towards Kama Island. They should arrive in half an hour at the earliest," Blue Phoenix reported. They had begun to gather their forces the moment they had heard of Miracle''s interest in visiting Kama Island. However, the island was located in an extremely dangerous sea zone, and the various superpowers on Thunder Island didn''t usually operate in that area. As a result, their fleets had been some distance from Kama Island when the situation had occurred, and even the closest ships would need some time before they''d arrive. "Half an hour? Hopefully, they''ll make it in time." Phoenix Rain nodded. While half an hour wasn''t very long, it wasn''t very soon, either. If Zero Wing acted rashly, annihilating the Guild''s forces would be child''s play for Miracle''s 30,000-strong army. However, if Zero Wing''s members split up and hid, they might last for another half an hour. "Just what is Zero Wing trying to do? Despite knowing that Miracle has dispatched an army of 30,000 to Kama Island, Zero Wing is insistent on clashing with Miracle." Blue Phoenix was exasperated over Shi Feng''s decision. She had the feeling that Zero Wing must''ve fought so many first-rate Guilds that it was treating Miracle like one of those old enemies. Zero Wing only had 500 members on Kama Island. Even if these members were all a part of Zero Wing''s main force, they wouldn''t even serve as a warm-up for Miracle''s army. After all, they were talking about 30,000 elite and expert players. Moreover, all of those players were from a veteran super-first-rate Guild, not a first-rate Guild. As Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix discussed the situation, the doors to the Guild Leader''s office swung open, and two people walked in. The moment these two people entered the office, Blue Phoenix''s expression darkened. "Rain, long time no see." Nine Dragons Emperor greeted Phoenix Rain with a smile after entering the room. "It seems you have secured quite a harvest in the Sea of Death. You''ve already replaced quite a few pieces of your equipment." "Nine Dragons Emperor, why are you here?" Phoenix Rain responded dryly. Nine Dragons Emperor was closely tied to the ambush she had suffered on Savage God Island. If not for her lack of evidence, she would''ve long since reported him to the Great Pavilion Master. Just the sin of setting her up would instantly get Nine Dragons Emperor banished from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Unfortunately, Nine Dragons Emperor was too clever to leave evidence. No matter how hard she searched, she couldn''t find any proof. "This is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Residence. Is there some reason that a Pavilion Master, such as myself, cannot be here?" Nine Dragons Emperor returned Phoenix Rain''s question nonchalantly. "Although this is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence, this place is under my management. I believe you of all people understand how the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion operates. Neither Pavilion is allowed to interfere with each other''s work. Or do you need me to remind you of the rules?" Phoenix Rain asked coldly. "Fine, I won''t waste words with you. I am here on official business. The Great Pavilion Master has issued an order. Since this is such a crucial moment, you''re not allowed to interfere with Miracle!" Nine Dragons Emperor said, chuckling. "If you still don''t get it, I''ll explain the order in greater detail. The Great Pavilion Master had stated that you are not to interfere with the situation on Kama Island, and you must recall all of the ships you have sent. Have I made myself clear?" "All matters on Thunder Island are under Big Sis Rain''s management. Why would the Great Pavilion Master give such a command?" Blue Phoenix refused to believe a word Nine Dragons Emperor said. "I knew you all would ask that. Here is the Great Pavilion Master''s order. He had intended to inform you directly via call, but fearing that you would disobey, he sent me here to carry his orders out," Nine Dragons Emperor said as he playfully displayed the system message Ku Rong had sent him. How could this be?! Phoenix Rain frowned when she saw the message. "Our Guild is in a precarious situation, and Zero Wing has made too many enemies. All of the various superpowers have expressed their opinions on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. After lengthy consideration, the Great Pavilion Master has decided not to interfere in the matter between Miracle and Zero Wing to avoid exposing the Pavilion to even greater danger. If you refuse to follow orders, then all responsibilities on Thunder Island will be transferred to me!" Nine Dragons Emperor said, smiling. "Even if you sent reinforcements, it would be futile. Thousand Miles is leading the operation personally. Zero Wing has no chance of survival." He was very pleased with Miracle''s actions. Whether Phoenix Rain helped Zero Wing or not, Zero Wing would suffer severely, and Phoenix Rain would lose a powerful helper. Fortunately, this increased his chances in the next contest for Thunder Island. The naval power Zero Wing had displayed near Savage God Island had been too frightening, forcing him to take the Guild seriously. But there was no need for that now. Now that Miracle had crippled Zero Wing, the latter would no longer pose a threat in the upcoming contest. Moreover, with Zero Wing''s main force crippled and Ku Rong''s current attitude toward the Guild, he could take advantage of the situation to deal with Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire. "Big Sis Rain, what should we do?" Blue Phoenix asked anxiously. Phoenix Rain considered the matter, her expression ugly. She hadn''t expected Ku Rong to interfere. "Rain, you best decide quickly. I don''t have that much patience. If you can''t, I''ll make the decision for you," Nine Dragons Emperor threatened. The twisted expression on Phoenix Rain''s face delighted him greatly. "You!" Phoenix Rain frowned. However, before she could say more, she received a message. It had been sent by the spy she had planted in Miracle. How is this possible?! Phoenix Rain was stunned as she read the message''s contents. She simply could not believe what she read. "Rain, are you trying to disobey orders?" Nine Dragons Emperor demanded after Phoenix Rain''s long silence. Inwardly, though, he grinned ear-to-ear. As long as Phoenix Rain refused to obey Ku Rong''s orders, he would take control of Thunder Island. It would save him a lot of effort with his future plans. "Sure! Of course, we''ll follow orders!" Phoenix Rain smiled as she glanced at Nine Dragons Emperor. "Blue, notify the fleets to return immediately." "Return?" Blue Phoenix was confused. "Are we really doing this?" Nine Dragons Emperor stared at Phoenix Rain in shock. He had never expected her to be so decisive. "Of course. The battle on Kama Island is already over," Phoenix Rain said. "Including Thousand Miles and Miracle''s other upper echelons, the 30,000-man army has been eliminated. There''s no longer a need to visit the island." 1947 Bountiful Harves Chapter 1947 - Bountiful Harvest Miracle''s been annihilated?! Nine Dragons Emperor was dumbfounded when he heard Phoenix Rain''s announcement. How can this be?! Miracle wasn''t an ordinary super-first-rate Guild. Aside from its weaker legacy, it was stronger than some Super Guilds overall. Furthermore, Thousand Miles had led the operation personally. If another superpower had to face Miracle''s 30,000-man army, the battle would be bitter even if the superpower thoroughly prepared, much less annihilate Miracle''s forces. Annihilating Miracle''s army would be far more difficult than simply defeating it If Miracle''s 30,000 players decided to scatter and flee, no power should be able to eliminate them all even if the army were badly outnumbered. How could Zero Wing possibly achieve such a feat? "Big Sis Rain, are you sure? Even if Zero Wing managed to obliterate Miracle''s army, Thousand Miles shouldn''t have died. As one of Miracle''s Vice Guild Leaders, he should have plenty of lifesaving tools on him. Killing him should be much harder than annihilating Miracle''s army. How could he possibly die?" Not even Blue Phoenix could believe the report. As a member of a superpower herself, she knew just how serious the various superpowers protected their upper echelons, especially their Vice Guild Leaders. Even before God''s Domain, the various superpowers'' Guild Leaders and Vice Guild Leaders had faced assassination in other virtual reality games. This wasn''t new to them. However, as the various superpowers adapted to God''s Domain, they provided even better protection for their upper echelons. Take the ambush Phoenix Rain had faced on Savage God Island, for example. While Miracle might have had the ability to slay the main force members under Phoenix Rain, it hadn''t been able to kill her. Had Phoenix Rain''s subordinates faced annihilation, Phoenix Rain would''ve used the lifesaving tools the Guild had given her to flee the island. Of course, losing her main force members would''ve affected her plans. When Nine Dragons Emperor heard Blue Phoenix''s question, he could not help but nod in agreement. He decided that the news must be fake. It would''ve already been impressive if Zero Wing''s small team of 500 escaped Miracle''s forces, but no matter how strong those players were, annihilating Miracle''s army should''ve been impossible, not to mention slaying Thousand Miles. "I wondered the same thing, but I''ve just verified the information. Miracle has issued a Red Annihilation Order on Zero Wing. It''s the highest-ranking Annihilation Order available in Miracle. Issuing this order means that there are no options for reconciliation between Miracle and the order''s target, and only one of them will be allowed to live," Phoenix Rain said. "Why would the Guild issue a Red Annihilation Order if Zero Wing didn''t annihilate its army?" "That is a lie, right? Miracle''s army had more than 400 Tier 2 experts. Such a severe loss will certainly affect Miracle''s future plans." Blue Phoenix still couldn''t believe the news, but faced with the facts, she had no choice but to accept it as truth. Miracle had issued the Red Annihilation Order in the past but only when the Guild had expected a decisive battle with another superpower. No matter how she looked at it, now that Miracle had used the order on Zero Wing, it must have suffered a humiliating loss against the smaller Guild. "Nine Dragons Emperor, what a pity. It seems that my ally is quite reliable and no longer requires my help. If you have nothing else, I must ask you to leave! Unlike you, I don''t have much free time! I still have to take care of many matters on Thunder Island!" Phoenix Rain smugly dismissed Nine Dragons Emperor. "You..." Veins bulged on Nine Dragons Emperor''s forehead. After taking a moment to calm down, he sneered and said, "Phoenix Rain, don''t get excited so soon. Zero Wing might have gotten lucky and defeated Miracle, but you know better than I just how frightening Miracle is. Zero Wing has ignorantly pushed itself onto the path of annihilation! It won''t be long before Zero Wing is thoroughly removed from God''s Domain!" After Nine Dragons Emperor finished, he turned and left the office in a huff. Seeing Nine Dragons Emperor''s frustrated expression, Phoenix Rain felt refreshed. However, she knew that Zero Wing had gotten itself into more trouble than ever before. Phoenix Rain wasn''t the only one to learn of Miracle''s extermination. All of the various superpowers received reports on the battle on Kama Island. "Hahaha! Zero Wing really is impressive to cause so much damage to Miracle. Even Thousand Miles was slain! The Guild has dragged Miracle''s reputation through the mud. Let''s see if Miracle still dares to call itself number-one among super-first-rate Guilds!" "I had never thought that Miracle would suffer such an upset one day. If Miracle doesn''t deal with this matter properly, it will become a laughingstock in the Sea of Death." "Zero Wing is quite powerful. With such capabilities, it should easily rank among the top five of up-and-coming Guilds." The news of Miracle''s slaughter surprised all of the various superpowers, although they also pitied Zero Wing. With how much potential Zero Wing had displayed thus far, it was guaranteed to become a super-first-rate Guild if given enough time. However, now that Zero Wing had provoked Miracle, the Guild had no future to speak of. Had Miracle''s defeat been minor, it would have, at most, sent some Guild experts to harass Zero Wing. As a superpower, Miracle had a lot on its plate, after all. It couldn''t utilize its full strength to deal with some small Guild. However, this situation was different. Not only had Zero Wing slaughtered Miracle''s 30,000-strong army, but it had also killed Thousand Miles, one of the Guild''s key figures. This was a great embarrassment for Miracle. If the super-first-rate Guild didn''t obliterate Zero Wing and restore its reputation, even as a superpower, it wouldn''t survive long in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, Zero Wing, which hadn''t been particularly famous in God''s Domain outside of Star-Moon Kingdom, had become a household name. Even the kingdoms and empires far from Star-Moon Kingdom now knew the name ''Zero Wing.'' Meanwhile, back on Kama Island- After working tirelessly for more than two hours, Shi Feng finally collected the items Miracle''s members had dropped. Miracle had dispatched over 30,000 players to Kama Island, and over 7,000 of them were experts. The Guild had also sent more than 400 Tier 2 players. One could easily imagine how powerful the dropped items were. However, Shi Feng did not store everything in his bag, which only had a limited amount of space. Hence, he only stored the best items, ignoring the common weapons and equipment. Even so, he still claimed more than 7,000 items, including over 500 Level 50 Fine Gold Weapons and Equipment, and over 100 Level 50 Dark-Gold items... When exploring a corner of the valley, Shi Feng noticed a crimson crystal globe on the ground. Within the globe burned a golden flame, and as if the flame had a life of its own, it transformed into a small, flaming Dragon as Shi Feng approached. Fire Spirit! Shi Feng gasped when he saw the item. 1948 Special Epic Tool Chapter 1948 - Special Epic Tool Snapping out of his daze, Shi Feng stepped forward and picked up the crystal globe. Although he had seen this crystal globe at an auction during his previous life, he found it hard to believe that the item before him was the same one. He had to verify his suspicion. Sure enough, it really is a Fire Spirit! Miracle is amazing! It actually got its hands on this. Shi Feng could not help his elation as he inspected the crimson globe. Current players should be wholly ignorant of the Fire Spirit. Even if they managed to find one, they wouldn''t know the Fire Spirit''s true value. Based on the Fire Spirit''s Attribute Panel, it was a weak Epic tool that could only cast one Spell, the Tier 2 Spell, Fire Spirit. When cast, the Spell would summon a Tier 2 Fire Spirit of the same level. In other words, obtaining the Epic tool only granted players one additional Summoning Skill. While a Tier 2 Fire Spirit might be of some help to Tier 1 players, it was hardly of any use to Tier 2 players and above. Moreover, each Fire Spirit summon cost five Magic Crystals. Although the summoned Fire Spirit did not have a duration, to Tier 2 players, five Magic Crystals per summon was very expensive. Moreover, the summoned Tier 2 Fire Spirit wasn''t even stronger than the summoners. Rather than wasting five Magic Crystals to summon a meatshield, it was cheaper to party with an MT. Because of this, the various large Guilds paid no attention to the Fire Spirit, despite being an Epic tool. However, Fire Spirit had one Passive Skill called Devour Mysterious Flame, which allowed the Fire Spirit to absorb Mysterious Flames, growing stronger. Unfortunately, no Guild dared to use this Passive Skill. Mysterious Flames were incomparably precious in God''s Domain, helping Lifestyle players increase their production success rates. Losing a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame might not be so painful, but only a fool would sacrifice Mysterious Flames at Tier 2 and above to strengthen an Epic tool. Tier 2 Mysterious Flames were, after all, just as valuable as ordinary Epic items. Sacrificing a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame to upgrade the Fire Spirit was simply unprofitable. No one knew what the Fire Spirit would do after devouring the flame, and on the off chance that it received a minor Basic Attribute boost, the sacrifice would be an utter waste. Hence, the powers that obtained a Fire Spirit generally considered it useless. Even worse, the Fire Spirit would drop upon death. If one accidentally died after expending a Mysterious Flame to upgrade the Fire Spirit, they''d die a second time from regret. However, players hadn''t yet discovered the Fire Spirit''s frightening growth rate after devouring a Mysterious Flame, especially a high-tiered flame. Not only would feeding the Fire Spirit Mysterious Flames increase its tier, but its Life Rating would also improve. One Guild in the past had become incredibly famous due to the Fire Spirit. The Guild had been Thunder Family, a first-rate Guild. A super-first-rate Guild had backed Thunder Family into a corner, and all of its territories, save the Guild''s main city, had been taken. Everyone had thought that the Thunder Family was finished, but the Guild had summoned a Fire Spirit. The highest-tiered Fire Spirit in God''s Domain had only been Tier 3 back then. However, the Thunder Family had summoned a Tier 4 Fire Spirit. Moreover, it was an Archaic Species ranked Fire Spirit. Fire Spirits might not be as durable as ordinary monsters of the same rank and level, but as pampered children of fire, they had plenty of Tier 4 Curses. A Tier 4 Archaic Species was already a challenge to take down, not to mention one with multiple Tier 4 Curses. One could easily imagine what the influence the Thunder Family''s Tier 4 Fire Spirit would have on a large- scale battle. In the end, Thunder Family had won the final battle at its main city. Afterward, the various major powers had paid more attention to the Epic tools known as Fire Spirits. Although Thunder Family had remained a first-rate Guilds even after ten years in God''s Domain, no superpower underestimated it. The Guild had eventually nurtured its Fire Spirit to Tier 5, and its Life Rating had risen to Fallen Angel. It had become almost invincible among opponents of the same tier, and even Tier 6, God-ranked players had fled from one-on-one battles with the Tier 5 Fire Spirit Including its many Tier 5 Curses, the Fire Spirit had become a terrifying adversary. One could say that obtaining a Fire Spirit was the equivalent of obtaining a capable Tier 5 helper. It was unimaginably valuable. However, nurturing a Fire spirit wasn''t easy. Thunder Family had practically bankrupted itself to nurture its Fire Spirit to Tier 5. Even superpowers had a hard time getting their hands on Tier 3 and 4 Mysterious Flames, and unless one obtained them in secret, countless problems would plague the player. Even so, the Fire Spirit was worth the cost. The Fire Spirit tool had another amazing aspect, as well. After devouring enough Mysterious Flames, the tool''s rank would increase. Once it became a Fragmented Legendary item, it would gain an additional Skill called Flame Refinement. The Skill could grant a maximum often players the Fire Spirit''s flames. Naturally, the strength of these flames would depend on the Fire Spirit''s strength. The stronger the Fire Spirit was, the stronger the flames would be. In the past, various superpowers and first-rate Guilds would frequently rent these flames from Thunder Family, which, in turn, allowed the Guild to make a fortune. Although Aqua and Snow failed to find any clues leading to Tier 2 and Tier 3 Mysterious Flames, they did obtain quite a few Tier 1 Mysterious Flames. I can use them to feed the Fire Spirit. Shi Feng was quite satisfied as he gazed at the crimson globe in his hand. Tier 1 Mysterious Flames might not upgrade the Flame Spirit by much, but if it devoured enough of them, it would undergo a qualitative transformation. After Shi Feng finished organizing the loot, he returned to the cave that contained the Manatite vein. He then set up an Abyssal Barrier and a teleportation point outside of the cave. In the future, Zero Wing''s members would be able to teleport directly there without worrying about the abyssal monsters. From now on, the Manatite vein belonged exclusively to Zero Wing. The Guild wouldn''t have to worry about competition from other superpowers, and it wouldn''t have to dispatch players to guard the mine. The island''s abyssal monsters would serve as a natural deterrence. Following which, Shi Feng regrouped with Aqua Rose and the others, continuing to lead them deeper into the Demonkin nest, defeating one patrol squad after another. The Demonkin nest was quite large, and the pathways within were incredibly complex. As a result, exploring the nest was far more difficult than Shi Feng had assumed. "Guild Leader, I found the nest''s Boss!" Fire Dance excitedly announced. To mine the Manatite vein, they first had to defeat the nest''s Guardian Boss to stop the Demonkin from respawning. The Demonkin would only respawn once the Guardian Boss had, but the Bosses based in ore veins had very long respawn times. Although the Guardian Boss would grow stronger with each respawn, it wasn''t a cause for worry since players would be much stronger by the time it did. "Alright, I''ll lead the team to you." Shi Feng rejoiced when he heard Fire Dance''s sudden declaration. He immediately led his team to her location. However, when Shi Feng made it to the cavern Fire Dance stood in and saw the Demonkin, he was stunned. The Demonkin was six meters tall and fully geared in dark-gray armor. Its back was decorated with all sorts of longswords. Currently, the Demonkin stood in the middle of the cavern with its eyes shut. A Tier Master?! 1949 Tier Master Chapter 1949 - Tier Master Everyone felt stifled as they watched the quiet Demonkin in the middle of the dark cavern with grim expressions. [Demonkin King Auva] (Mythic, Tier Master) Level 68 HP 600,000,000/600,000,000 "What kind of monster is that? How is it giving off such intense pressure?" "Is that really a Tier 4 monster? I can already feel death loom over me just by looking at it Why do I feel like I can''t even hit it even though it''s just standing there?" "Huh? What does Tier Master mean?" Although none of them knew what a Tier Master was, after a long time fighting in God''s Domain, they had developed their instincts. Those instincts screamed a warning; if they set foot in this cavern, they''d get a one-way trip to hell. Naturally, Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised by his team''s reaction. After all, their instincts were correct. If they entered Auva''s cavern carelessly, their deaths would be guaranteed! The concept of a Tier Master was still foreign to current players. It was akin to a king among those of the same tier, but unlike ordinary Archaic Species or Dragons, a Tier Master''s strength didn''t originate from extraordinary Attributes. Rather, it came from the monster''s extraordinary combat standards. Dealing with Tier Masters was far more difficult than dealing with Archaic Species that had high Attributes. A fight against a Tier Master was a test of players'' combat standards. If players'' combat standards were lacking, they would die instantly. In comparison, players would have a fighting chance against an Archaic Species even if they were at a disadvantage in terms of Attributes. Moreover, when raiding Tier Masters, players would not be able to use their numerical advantage. In fact, raiding a Tier Master with more players than necessary would only increase the raid difficulty. Tier Masters were capable of summoning an army of monsters, and they would summon more monsters based on the number of players participating in the raid. The summoned monsters might not have high Attributes, but even the weakest combat standards would be at the Trial Tower''s third floor. This was why Tier Masters were so fearsome. Normally, Tier Masters only spawned after Level 100. Shi Feng had never considered that the Boss guarding Kama Island''s Manatite vein would be a Tier Master... "Guild Leader, this Boss is giving off a very dangerous feeling. We have quite a few players with us. Should we send some players in to test the waters?" Aqua Rose suggested. When dealing with unknown Bosses, particularly Field Bosses, teams usually dispatched a small group to test the Boss''s abilities and search for appropriate countermeasures to avoid excessive losses. After all, dying in the field meant losing a full level. Even when resurrected, players still lost half a level of EXP. "Forget it. Compile a list of data on every member of the team. I''m going to reform a 100-man raid team," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. There was no point in probing a Tier Master. Such Bosses were straightforward. Unlike other Bosses, which used many strange Skills and Spells, a Tier Master would only use normal attacks and the occasional team-wipe move. If players could keep up with the Boss''s combat standards, they could defeat it. If they couldn''t keep up, it didn''t matter what strategies they employed; they''d all die. Moreover, the 500 Tier 2 players present were all true experts in the Guild. Whether they lost half a level or a full level, it would deal a significant blow to Zero Wing. They''d be better off going all-out on their first try. Following which, Aqua Rose gathered the details on the 500-man team and sent the information to Shi Feng. She had collected data on players'' Basic Attributes, weapons, equipment, and current progress in the Trial Tower. After planning for about half an hour, Shi Feng finally decided on the 100 members that would take part in the raid. The weakest of the players he had selected had already reached the late-stage of the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. They would have no problems facing the Tier Master''s summoned mobs in a one-on-one. "Alright, Cola, start the raid!" Shi Feng commanded once everyone had their tasks. Cola nodded seriously. Although he was nervous, he willed himself to enter the cavern. The moment Cola stepped into the cavern, a bright light illuminated the space. Rather than a cavern, this place looked like an ancient temple. Faded murals covered the cavern walls, and stone pillars stood at intervals, supporting the cavern''s vast ceiling. Although severely damaged, magic arrays were visible on the stone ground. Once Cola was within a certain range, the Demonkin King opened its eyes. The moment Auva''s crimson eyes were revealed, Cola felt as if he had plunged into an icy hell as a chill seeped into his bones. Unlike other monsters, whose auras contained death and violence, Auva''s aura was calm and indifferent. Before Cola could overcome the frosty sensation, Auva moved. Unlike other monsters they had faced, Auva wasn''t lightning fast. They could all follow every single movement with their eyes, but despite the several hundred yards between the Boss and Cola, each of Auva''s steps rapidly devoured the distance. "Crap! This monster''s an expert!" Cola had an incredibly bad feeling as he watched Auva approach. Hurriedly, he raised Titan Guard to defend himself. Dang! A crisp, metallic clang reached everyone''s ears as dazzling sparks flew from Cola''s Titan Guard. Cola stumbled back several steps before stabilizing himself. However, before he could catch his breath, another sword descended on him. This time, Cola instinctively raised his shield to block the attack. As they watched Cola receive a series of attacks from Auva, everyone could not help but gasp. Although Cola only lost around 13,000 HP from each attack, the Tier Master continued to push him back. In the battle between the expert MT and the Guardian Boss, Cola was at a complete disadvantage. He had no opportunities to launch a counterattack; he could only defend himself. If he diverted his focus in the slightest, Auva''s blade would likely find its mark. When the rest of the 100-man team came within 100 yards of Auva, the Demonkin King bellowed with anger. Multiple Demonkin then began to rise from the ground, ranging between Level 64 and 66. By the time they stopped emerging, a total of 200 Demonkin stood before the players. Among them, the weakest was a Chieftain, while the strongest was a Lord. At first, Zero Wing''s members paid little attention to these monsters due to their low ranks, but after clashing with them, these expert players were stunned. These Demonkin commanded incredibly high combat standards. The weakest Demonkin could easily reach the Trial Tower''s third floor, while a few Lord ranked Demonkin could reach the fifth floor, the publicly acknowledged expert standard in God''s Domain right now. Of course, Demonkin''s Attributes were already higher than players. Combined with expert combat standards, the Lord ranked Demonkins instantly slew several Tier 2 players. Fortunately, Violet Cloud managed to rescue some of them in time, reducing the number of casualties. Thank goodness. It seems this Demonkin King is only at the late-stage, fifth-floor standard. Defeating it shouldn''t be a problem. After watching Cola fight Auva for some time, Shi Feng had a rough estimate of the Guardian Boss''s combat standard, and he could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. Not all Tier Masters were equal. The weakest among them were close to reaching the Trial Tower''s sixth floor; in other words, the fifth floor''s late stage. In a large Guild, a player with such a combat standard would be considered a relatively strong expert. As for the stronger Tier Masters, some had even reached the Void Realm. Fortunately, Auva was one of the weakest Tier Masters. Had it been slightly stronger, Cola would''ve died instantly even if he met the Attribute requirements for this raid. The only reason Auva was able to suppress Cola was its Mythic ranked Attributes. Although Cola''s life dangled off the side of a cliff, Auva couldn''t push the MT any farther. Furthermore, Cola could activate his Berserk Skill to bridge the gap between them. Under Shi Feng''s command, Cola activated his Berserk Skill, instantly decreasing the raid''s difficulty. Meanwhile, with Turtledove and Ye Wumian tanking most of the mobs, the rest of the team was free to attack the Demonkin King, decimating its HP. 90%... 70%... 50%... When Auva only had 1% of its HP remaining, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and finished the Demonkin King off with Shadow Blade and Lightning Slash. As soon as the Guardian Boss fell, a system notification reached everyone''s ears. 1950 Demonkin Kings Loo Chapter 1950 - Demonkin King''s Loot System: Congratulations! You have killed the Demonkin King, Auva. Due to the Demonkin King''s death, all Demonkin in the area will not respawn. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the First Kill on the Demonkin King Auva. Rewards doubled. Guild Popularity +500 and Humanity Reputation +20. When they heard the system announcements, Zero Wing''s members cheered in joy. Now that they had killed the Demonkin King, the Manatite vein had finally come under Zero Wing''s control. Their Guild could now mine the vein freely. Currently, only a few superpowers had possession of ore veins that produced Magic Crystals. Once the system notifications ended, the Demonkin King''s corpse burst into countless particles of light. Items began to manifest in the air, falling to the ground one after another. These dropped items glowed with colorful lights, dazzling the watching players. By the time they stopped appearing, a small mountain had formed on the ground. As expected of the First Kill reward. The loot is frightening. Shi Feng was a little astonished as he gazed at the small mountain of loot. Although the Demonkin King hadn''t dropped a much loot as the Void Serpent, it still surpassed ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level. After Shi Feng had the healers start resurrecting the dead, he began to organize the loot. As his team watched expectantly, Shi Feng spent more than 20 minutes inspecting the items. The Demonkin King had dropped a total of 176 items. Although more than half consisted of materials, there were still 33 weapons and equipment, a considerable amount. As many as 17 were Level 60 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment was better than Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment At this stage of the game, even Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment was extremely rare among the various large Guilds, let alone Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment. Without hesitation, Shi Feng held an internal auction for the 17 Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment pieces. Although Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment was too high-leveled for most of the players on the team, there were Level Reduction Gemstones in the Guild Warehouse. They should be able to equip Level 60 weapons and equipment after equipping the gemstones. Everyone on the team fervently bid for the weapons and equipment As for the eight Level 60 Fine-Gold and six Level 60 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment pieces the Demonkin King had dropped, he had no intention of distributing them via internal auction. Instead, he stored them in the Guild Warehouse and made them available to the Guild''s core members for purchase. Not only did these items cost a large number of GCPs, but players also needed to contribute sufficiently to the Guild. After all, weapons and equipment of such level and rank could even tempt superpowers. He would not allow other Guilds to claim the items by spending a few GCPs. The Demonkin King had also dropped two pieces of Epic Equipment: a pair of cloth armor boots and a leather armor belt. Both pieces offered excellent Attributes. The boots granted magical class players a chance to reduce their spellcasting time by half, while the belt increased physique by 5% and granted players the Leap Skill, which gave players greater flexibility. After some consideration, Shi Feng decided to give the boots to Aqua Rose and the belt to Fire Dance. Both women''s combat standards ranked among the top in Zero Wing, and they could best utilize the power of these two Epic Equipment pieces. At this point, Zero Wing lacked peak experts more than anything else. Compared to the various superpowers, the Guild''s number of peak experts was pitiful. Moreover, as the various superpowers gathered more peak equipment, Zero Wing''s Attribute advantage would decrease. Hence, instead of splitting the Guild''s peak equipment among its many experts like the various superpowers, Zero Wing needed to concentrate its resources for greater effect. After Aqua Rose and Fire Dance equipped their new Epic Equipment, their Basic Attributes soared. Among the two, Fire Dance''s current equipment lineup was simply dazzling. Fire Dance currently wore six pieces of Epic Equipment, as well as the Fragmented Legendary Weapon, Thousand Transformations. Not even a Super Guild''s Guild Leader was a match for her equipment now. Even if she encountered a superpower''s apex experts, she''d have a high chance of triumphing. However, the Demonkin King''s remaining items delighted Shi Feng far more than the materials, weapons, and equipment the Boss had dropped. No matter how many Demonkin patrol squads they had killed, he hadn''t been able to get his hands on the last fragment of the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design. Fortunately, it had finally dropped from the Guardian Boss, completing the design. So, this is the Magicbreaking Crossbow? Sure enough, its production method isn''t easy. It''s no wonder why only superpowers had managed to mass-produce the weapon. Shi Feng could not help his excitement as he gazed at the complete design in his hands. The Magicbreaking Crossbow had been the perfect tool for ordinary players to combat experts in the past. Even ordinary, Tier 0 players could defeat Tier 3 and 4 experts with the power of this weapon. Because of this, the various large Guilds had treated it like a precious treasure. Unfortunately, the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design was incredibly rare, and as a result, most Guilds, those that hadn''t acquired the design, had only amassed a small stockpile of the tool. Even Shadow had only collected around 500 crossbows after spending a long time accumulating them. Even so, a 100-man expert team that was fully equipped with Magicbreaking Crossbows could kill a Tier 4 player, much less 500 crossbows. The only downside to the Magicbreaking Crossbow was that it was a Consumable item. It would disappear once its durability ran out. Hence, Guilds avoided using the weapon unless they had no other choice. But now that Shi Feng had the complete design, this flaw wouldn''t be a problem. Although crafting the Magicbreaking Crossbow required very rare materials, a Master Engineer, a Master Forger, and a Master Alchemist, these requirements weren''t a problem for Zero Wing. After Shi Feng stored away the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design, he shifted his attention to a small, Magic Crystal box. Among the items the Demonkin King had dropped, this small box''s value was only second to the Magicbreaking Crossbow Design. This item was a Bloodline Box, capable of randomly generating a single Bloodline when opened! The Bloodline this box would generate would range between Basic and Advanced rank; the box was no less valuable than an ordinary Fragmented Legendary item. Hopefully, it gives me something good. Once Divine Providence''s Cooldown had ended, Shi Feng took a deep breath and activated the godly Skill. He then activated the Bloodline Box. 1951 Superior Vein Chapter 1951 - Superior Vein After Shi Feng clicked to open the Bloodline Box, a loading bar appeared before him. Once the loading bar was full, the Bloodline Box slowly opened, brilliant, colorful light escaping from under the lid. The colorful glow instantly attracted the attention of Zero Wing''s players. However, as their gaze rested on the strange box, an imposing aura washed over them. Despite the aura''s weak pressure, the players instinctively cowered in fear and reverence. They felt like lowly ants standing before some great being. The party members only relaxed after the colorful light faded, revealing the Bloodline Box''s bounty before Shi Feng. A crystalline bottle laid inside the Bloodline Box, the silver liquid within radiating a cold, tranquil feeling. Curious, Shi Feng inspected the bottle. He had only come across a few Bloodlines in the past, so he couldn''t determine what kind of Bloodline the silver liquid was based on appearances alone. However, upon seeing the silver liquid''s Attribute Panel, Shi Feng was stunned. Space-time Bloodline?! Shi Feng''s hands nearly trembled as he gazed at the silver Bloodline. Although he did not know much about Bloodlines, he knew that those with the three Supreme AttributesIllusion, Space, and Timewere incomparably rare in God''s Domain. Although the Bloodline before him was only Basic rank, it was far more valuable than any ordinary Advanced Bloodline. [Space-time Bloodline] Reduces all Spells'' cast-time and Cooldown. Improves Vitality, followed by Intelligence, Endurance, Agility, and Strength. Amazing! Shi Feng was flabbergasted after reading the Space-time Bloodline''s introduction. While increasing magic damage was extremely important to magical class players in God''s Domain, their Spells'' cast-time and Cooldowns took precedence. Stronger Spells had longer cast-times, but enemies, be they players or monsters, wouldn''t give players a lot of time to cast Spells. As a result, magical class players preferred items that could reduce their cast-times over items that increased magic damage. Moreover, reducing a Spell''s cast-time would also reduce the casting difficulty, which would, in turn, increase a player''s Spell Completion Rate. "Guild Leader, what is that? Its aura is almost like Divine Might," Blackie asked curiously as he looked at the crystalline box in Shi Feng''s hands. It took a lot of effort for even the slightest move when subjected to that aura. Fortunately, the aura had only washed over him for several seconds. "This? It''s something that can guarantee expert players a straight path to the apex of God''s Domain!" Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Take a look at its Attributes for yourselves." Saying so, Shi Feng shared the Space-time Bloodline''s Attributes with Blackie, Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, and Violet Cloud. "Amazing. Whoever gets this Bloodline will have no trouble completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest once they get that far," Aqua Rose muttered as she stared at the Space-time Bloodline, entranced. She had never expected to find such an amazing item in God''s Domain. Its effects could practically rival a Legacy. Alluring Summer and the others nodded in agreement. Just the Basic Attribute growth the Bloodline granted could greatly affect the user''s future. In addition, the reduced cast-time and Cooldowns would improve as a player reached higher levels. With this Bloodline, even an ordinary magical class expert could become a peak expert with enough time. If the Guild provided further resources, a somewhat talented player wouldn''t have any issues reaching Tier 4 in the future. Looking at the four people before him, Shi Feng could see the burning passion in their eyes. He suggested, "We can''t let this Bloodline just sit around. Why don''t you discuss among yourselves and decide who will take this Bloodline?" The Space-time Bloodline was incomparably valuable. Regardless of which player he gave it to, they''d have no issues reaching Tier 4. Unfortunately, relying on a Basic Bloodline wouldn''t be enough to reach Tier 5; they''d also need luck and individual strength. "I already have my Sea God''s Legacy. Let someone else have this Bloodline," Aqua Rose said after giving the matter some thought "I''ll pass, too. I''m normally busy with the Guild''s management. I won''t be able to put this Bloodline to good use," Blackie said as he swallowed his desire. He also felt that someone else should have it. "Let''s give it to Little Sister Violet. She only has an Advanced Legacy. Her current equipment isn''t that great, either, but she has the highest combat standard among us," Alluring Summer suggested. "If Violet uses this Bloodline, it''ll be a great help when raiding Dungeons or in PvP in the fields." "I agree," Aqua Rose said. Healers were inconspicuous to most players, but as a team commander, Aqua Rose knew how important these players were. If a team had a powerful healer, it would alleviate the pressure on the team''s MTs. While Violet Cloud''s current weapon and equipment were considered high-quality in the various superpowers, the items weren''t anything special in Zero Wing. Compared to her and Alluring Summer, Violet Cloud''s equipment standard was lacking. If Violet Cloud obtained the Space-time Bloodline, Zero Wing would have one extra peak expert it could rely on. "Since everyone has already decided, this is for you, Violet," Shi Feng declared as he handed the Space-time Bloodline to Violet Cloud. Considering his companions'' points, he agreed with the wisdom of the decision. Violet Cloud, who hadn''t said anything, was speechless. However, she was quite happy to receive the Space-time Bloodline. With this, her Basic Attributes would no longer be so much lower than the other main force members. After dealing with the Demonkin King''s loot, Shi Feng had Fire Dance lead a small group of players to eliminate some of the scattered Demonkin in the nest while he led the rest of the team to take care of the remaining Demonkin patrol squads. He also had Aqua Rose survey the Manatite vein and calculate the mining volume so they could determine the suitable amount of manpower to dispatch. Although teleporting here would be convenient, each teleportation would consume a large number of Magic Crystals. Hence, it was best to plan properly to maximize their profits. Moreover, as it was still necessary to keep the Manatite vein a secret, it was best to inform as few players about it as possible. After about four hours, they finally killed the last Demonkin near the Manatite vein. In the end, many of the team''s players had risen from Level 57 to 58, and Aqua Rose had completed her survey of the vein. "Guild Leader, we''re rich!" Aqua Rose excitedly announced. "Based on the information I''ve obtained, the various superpowers'' Manatite veins required between 1,500 and 2,000 players to mine at maximum efficiency, and their chances of obtaining Magic Crystals are between 5% to 7%. Meanwhile, after our experiments, we''ll only need around 1,600 people to mine at maximum efficiency, but we''ll have a 7% to 9% chance of obtaining Magic Crystals. Our vein is almost a superior vein!" "Alright Dispatch players to mine this vein immediately. I''ll leave the management to you. Keep the vein confidential," Shi Feng said, nodding. This outcome didn''t particularly surprise him. He had long since known that Kama Island''s Manatite vein was a superior vein. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have chosen to capture it first. "Also, Guild Leader, I received a message from the Secret Pavilion some time ago, starting that Miracle has issued a Red Annihilation Order on Zero Wing. Moreover, Miracle has secretly dispatched a large number of experts to the Black Dragon Empire. The Guild likely plans to attack our Branch Guild members," Aqua Rose said worriedly. "They have trouble striking us in Star-Moon Kingdom, so they''re starting with the Black Dragon Empire?" Shi Feng chuckled. He then said, "Alright, I got it For now, just focus on the Manatite vein. I''ll prove to Miracle that Zero Wing isn''t just unshakable in Star-Moon Kingdom, but in the Black Dragon Empire, as well!" 1952 Dark Tidings Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City: Due to the teleportation gate to the Ice Crystal World, Lake Heart City had become one of the most popular cities in the Black Dragon Empire. A flood of players visited the city each day to travel to the Ice Crystal World and obtain its unique resources. Moreover, it was much faster to level in the Ice Crystal World than on the continent of God''s Domain. Even adventurer teams eagerly rushed to the new Otherworld, not to mention the various large Guilds. Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor sat by a window in a high-class restaurant not far from the teleportation plaza, quietly watching the teleportation gate with a grin. Suddenly, a tall, muscular man approached with hurried steps. He was none other than Blood Dragon, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Branch Guild Leader in the Black Dragon Empire. "Pavilion Master, good news! I''ve discussed the situation with Miracle. As long as we provide information about the Zero Wing members in Lake Heart City, Miracle will take care of everything. Once the matter has been dealt with, we will secure Zero Wing''s possessions in the empire," Blood Dragon respectfully reported. "Miracle sure moves quickly!" Nine Dragons Emperor smiled upon hearing Blood Dragon''s report. "I knew Miracle wouldn''t let things slide. I had planned to remove Zero Wing from Lake Heart City quietly, but now, I won''t have to put in the effort." "Based on the information I''ve received, Miracle has dispatched at least 20,000 expert members and 80,000 elite members,'' Blood Dragon said. "To ensure the total annihilation of Zero Wing''s branch in the empire, Miracle''s Elders have decided to send their First Vice Guild Leader to command the battle. By the looks of it, Miracle plans to end the battle swiftly, restoring the Guild''s reputation as quickly as possible." "They''ve even sent Shredded Soul?" Nine Dragons Emperor was slightly surprised by the news. He had only met Shredded Soul a few times, but almost everyone in the virtual gaming world knew about the man. One could say that he was a mythical figure. Since his rise, Shredded Soul had been responsible for numerous, miraculous feats. He was no doubt the most capable subordinate under Miracle''s Guild Leader. Some time ago, Shredded Soul had led Miracle''s forces in a victory over a Super Guild on the western continent of God''s Domain[l) and occupied a neutral city. This incident had caused a huge sensation among the various superpowers and was the reason that Ku Rong, the Great Pavilion Master, wanted to avoid a conflict with Miracle. Miracle was simply too strong. If not for its lacking legacy, it would''ve already been crowned as a Super Guild. The fact that Miracle had sent Shredded Soul was utterly unexpected. "They didn''t only send Shredded Soul. To put a swift end to Zero Wing, Miracle also dispatched 12 of its Guild Elders. Zero Wing''s doom is assured," Blood Dragon said. Those capable of rising to the position of Elder in a superpower had a list of impressive achievements in the virtual gaming world. They also had to display certain individual combat standards. Without sufficient strength, after all, no one would listen to their commands. In Miracle, a player had to reach the Void Realm at the very least to become an Elder. Since Miracle had dispatched so many experts, the Guild had certainly prepared plenty of trump cards, as well. It was clear how furious the Guild was with Zero Wing. "Good. Keep an eye on Zero Wing''s people. Notify Miracle the moment you notice any changes," Nine Dragons Emperor instructed, smirking as he watched the numerous Zero Wing members on the street outside. "I had thought of involving Beast Emperor, but it seems that won''t be necessary." Meanwhile, in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing City... After Shi Feng had assigned Aqua Rose her tasks, he used a Return Scroll to teleport to Zero Wing City. As soon as he exited the Guild Residence, he could tell that the city''s player population had slightly decreased. The city wasn''t as lively as it had been during his previous visit, and there were far fewer Guild players in the city. When Shi Feng reached the Candlelight Trading Firm, he noticed that the Shop''s business had slowed considerably, as well. "Guild Leader, you''re back." When Melancholic Smile noticed Shi Feng enter the Shop, she hurriedly reported, "The invites we''ve sent to the various corporations have all been returned. Even some of the corporations that had previously expressed interest in our auction have lost interest. They''ve declared that they are only willing to purchase Zero Wing City''s virtual stores." "None of them are willing to rent?" Shi Feng was surprised by the news. "Has something happened in Witch''s Hill?" "Mhm. Three hours ago, two Guilds established towns in the area. Although both are only Basic Towns, they have received support from the kingdom''s various large Guilds. All of these Guilds intend to share responsibility for the two towns'' development. Moreover, both towns are selling a large number of virtual stores and are currently negotiating with the various corporations," Melancholic Smile said, nodding. "Based on our investigations, a few major corporations and first-rate Guilds have expressed interest and plan to invest in the towns, as well. If they reach an agreement, it will severely affect Zero Wing City''s development. Why don''t we sell a small number of our virtual stores, Guild Leader? We''ve recently moved to a new training ground, and we have to spend a lot of money on multiple aspects. With our current daily income, we can''t afford to support the training ground." "Not bad! They actually set up towns in Witch''s Hill so soon!" Shi Feng chuckled. "Don''t worry about selling the virtual stores for now. If we really need Credits, you can sell some of Candlelight''s lower-quality weapons and equipment. Sell them in batches and don''t reduce the price too much. We''ll store the higher-quality items in the Guild Warehouse." After saying so, Shi Feng transferred all the weapons and equipment he had looted from Miracle''s members to Melancholic Smile. When Melancholic Smile saw the items, she was dumbfounded. Of the 7,000-plus weapons and equipment Shi Feng had just given her, even the most inferior was Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. Although mainstream players had already reached Level 50, Level 50 equipment was still difficult to come by, especially for Secret-Silver rank and above. Even if she only sold 1,000 pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, she''d earn enough Credits to sustain the Guild for quite some time. After all, many players and the various large Guilds, in particular, preferred to purchase items with Credits, rather than spend their Coins. "Guild Leader, I can really sell these items?" Melancholic Smile asked. Normally, Shi Feng objected to selling God''s Domain''s resources for Credits more than anyone. Doing so was putting the cart before the horse, after all, yet Shi Feng actually wanted her to convert so many important items into Credits. "Do it. Just make sure that you don''t sell them for too cheap," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shooed Melancholic Smile away. Normally, he wouldn''t agree to something like this since Zero Wing needed resources, but since the Guild had secured the Manatite vein, things had changed. Moreover, while Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment were precious right now, after a little more time, they wouldn''t be. Rather than wait for these items to depreciate, selling them for Credits to sustain the new training ground was a wiser option. Once she had Shi Feng''s confirmation, Melancholic Smile left excitedly with the weapons and equipment. She then sorted the items and selected those with inferior Attributes to sell in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s various branches. However, these items would cost Credits, not Coins. 1953 How Dare They?! Chapter 1953 - How Dare They?! Zero Wing City, Candlelight Trading Firm''s first-floor hall: Although many of the Guild players that had resided in Zero Wing City had shifted their operations to the new Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill, the city was still independent players'' first choice when visiting the area. The two Guild Towns weren''t a match for the city''s level of convenience or its wonderful environment. While players browsed the merchandise in the first-floor hall, a new counter appeared. According to the sign hovering above the counter, it offered weapons and equipment in exchange for Credits. In NPC cities'' Shops, items could only be purchased with Coins or traded for certain special items, such as Magic Crystals. There was no function that allowed players to purchase items with Credits. However, Guild Towns and Cities were a different story. The owner could freely determine what currency they''d accept. The new counter attracted the attention of every player in the hall the moment it appeared. "What''s going on? Candlelight is selling weapons and equipment for Credits?" "They''re not garbage weapons and equipment, are they?" "I doubt it Who would buy them if they were trash? I bet that they''re ordinary weapons and equipment. After all, Candlelight is Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one trading firm, and multiple Lifestyle Masters work for the firm. The new items are probably these Masters'' failed products. Even so, it''s better than nothing. I have wanted to replace my Level 45 equipment for a while now. However, I don''t even have enough Coins to buy a piece of ordinary Level 50 equipment." "Indeed. If Candlelight''s asking price isn''t too high, I might buy a few pieces for myself." Everyone quietly discussed the new counter. Many among them had already approached out of curiosity. They wanted to know what kind of weapons and equipment Zero Wing was trying to sell. Several dozen Level 50 weapons and equipment had been laid out on the counter, and every one of them gave off the glow unique to Secret-Silver items. The dazzling sight dumbfounded the players that investigated the counter. "What''s going on? These are Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment!" "Am I hallucinating? Did Zero Wing make a mistake when it set the currency requirement? Even large Guilds'' internal members have a hard time obtaining a piece of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet Zero Wing is selling them? And they''re only selling the pieces for Credits!" "Amazing!" "Scram! I was here first! I''m buying five pieces!'' "I want ten!" The players that had only planned to window-shop went into a frenzy. Regardless of whether they could use these weapons and equipment right now, they intended to buy as much as they could. Each piece of equipment only sold for a few thousand Credits, while the weapons sold for over 10,000 Credits. It was much easier to buy these items with Credits than with Coins. Relatively well-off players, in particular, immediately purchased an entire set. In the end, it took less than three minutes for the 100-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment to sell out, and Zero Wing instantly earned over 600,000 Credits. "Crap! They''ve already sold out!?" "I knew I shouldn''t have hesitated and bought more! I could''ve made a small profit by reselling them!" The moment the weapons and equipment sold out, many of the independent players who had hesitated regretted their decision. They hated themselves for acting quicker. However, after another ten or so minutes, another batch of weapons and equipment appeared on the counter. Like the first batch, every piece was Level 50 Secret-Silver rank. "Is Zero Wing insane? It''s selling more?" "Out of the way! I''m going to buy as many as I can this time!" Upon seeing the new batch of weapons and equipment, the independent players'' eyes turned bloodshot as they charged over to the counter. This time, the items sold out in less than a minute. Meanwhile, news of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment quickly spread, shocking many powers. "What''s going on? Our Guild has had a massive headache over acquiring more Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet Zero Wing is selling such items in large quantities? Is Zero Wing going to disband soon?" "Is Zero Wing''s Warehouse overflowing with these items?" "Quick! Send someone to camp the Candlelight Trading Firm! As long as Zero Wing sells these weapons and equipment for Credits, buy as many as you can!" Although the various large Guilds had already raided Level 50, 100-man Team Dungeons, they had been limited to Normal Mode. None of them had any progress in Hard or Hell Mode. Only the various superpowers had the power to challenge these modes. Hence, Level 50 top-tier weapons and equipment were still extremely rare. Normally, players could only obtain such items by defeating Field Bosses or completing high-difficulty quests. At this point, the various superpowers didn''t even have enough Level 50 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment to gear their expert players fully. Yet, Zero Wing had so many of these items that they were selling them so cheaply to the public... However, while most of the various large Guilds assumed that was the case, the various superpowers knew otherwise. Zero Wing was simply offloading the loot it had taken from Miracle. News of the battle between the two Guilds had only reached the various superpowers thus far. Most first-rate Guilds had no idea of the incident, let alone those weaker than first-rate Guilds. Black Dragon Empire, in one of Lake Heart City''s high-class restaurants... "Uncle Yuan, is this Zero Wing''s way of complaining that Miracle isn''t killing it fast enough?" Purple Jade was astounded when she read the latest report. Even newly-formed superpowers would not dare to provoke Miracle to such an extent, yet Zero Wing was so bold as to throw fuel on the fire. "I don''t know, but based on my understanding of Shredded Soul, he won''t let Zero Wing get away with this. He''ll employ the most ruthless methods to deal with the Guild," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. "However, this has definitely made our trip here worthwhile. Even if we don''t see Miracle''s true strength, we should at least witness three-quarters of it." They had come to Lake Heart City to investigate Miracles power. This was only the third time Miracle had launched such a major assault on another Guild, and every major operation was a golden opportunity to investigate a Guild''s strength. Meanwhile, inside Miracle''s temporary Residence in Lake Heart City... Miracle''s upper echelons and Իders currently filled the Residences spacious meeting room. However, the room was deathly silent as everyone focused on an emaciated, middle-aged man. Although he appeared frail, none in the virtual gaming world dared to look down on this man. He was Miracle''s First Vice Guild Leader, Shredded Soul. "Damn it! Damn Zero Wing! How dare they?! I will tear their corpses to shreds!" Thousand Miles''s expression had twisted in an ugly mask as he read the latest report on the enemy Guild. "Zero Wing?" A cold glint flashed in Shredded Soul''s eyes as he read the report. "How courageous. They dare to sell our items so openly. It seems it has been so long since Miracle has taken action in the eastern continent that even an upstart Guild dares to look down on us! "If any of Miracle''s members find Zero Wing''s outside of an NPC town or city, regardless of their rank in the Guild, they are to kill them all on sight!" 1954 Basic Combat Devices Effects Chapter 1954 - Basic Combat Device''s Effects Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City: As the crowd in the Candlelight Trading Firm cheered the Level 50 Secret Silver Equipment sales, a disturbance occurred among Zero Wing''s internal members. There hadn''t been much Level 50 Secret-Silver or Fine-Gold Equipment in Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse, but suddenly, a massive stockpile had appeared. There were even plenty of Level 50 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment now, tempting many of the Guild''s internal members. They, too, went into a frenzy to purchase the new items. Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment wasn''t very difficult to obtain for Zero Wing''s members since the Guild''s various raid teams returned with some of these items from time to time. However, Level 50 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment was a different story. Many of the Guild''s Tier 2 experts didn''t even have full sets of such equipment. Many Guild members chose to convert their rare materials into GCPs to purchase the new equipment, which not only increased the Guild''s material stockpile, but also increased the overall strength of these Guild members. At this point, Shi Feng had arrived at the Candlelight Trading Firm. He immediately headed to his exclusive Special Forging Room and was greeted by the sight of various rare materials, all of which he had instructed Melancholic Smile to prepare. He then dived into crafting the Basic Combat Device. Shi Feng was very familiar with the Combat Devices'' power. Although the design he had obtained was only for the Basic Combat Device, the Basic version was most suitable for current players. Even an ordinary player could become as strong as an ordinary expert after equipping the Basic Combat Device, and if given to ordinary expert players, they wouldn''t be far from rivaling peak experts, if at all. The Basic Combat Device was what Zero Wing needed most right now. If he could mass-produce the device, he could mostly solve the issue regarding Zero Wing''s weak foundation and expand the Guild significantly in a short time. As for the Magicbreaking Crossbow, he had left the tool''s production to Cream Cocoa and her comrades. After all, he was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. He had a long list of duties each day, and he simply didn''t have the time to stay cooped up in his forging room. He only forged the Basic Combat Device personally because the design was bound to him. Dense Mana filled the quiet Special Forging room. Using the Philosopher''s Stone, Shi Feng began to synthesize one Mana Stone after another. He then collected the necessary materials and began his first attempt at crafting the Basic Combat Device. Smelting, extracting, engraving... Before five minutes had passed, a Rubik''s cube made of pitch-black iron took shape before Shi Feng. Since this was the first time he had crafted a Basic Combat Device, Shi Feng couldn''t help his growing nerves as he waited for the system to appraise the iron cube. The Basic Combat Device was a special tool that only Basic Master Forgers or above could produce. Moreover, the tool was quite difficult to craft. Even a Basic Master Forger would not have more than a 50% production success rate. Once the loading bar was full, a melodious sound echoed throughout the forging room. System: Basic Combat Device has been successfully manufactured. Forging Proficiency increased by 5 points. Obtained 274,000 EXP. So, this is the Divine Library''s Basic Combat Device? Shi Feng stared at the Basic Combat Device''s Attributes in astonishment [Basic Combat Device] Increases the Life Rating of players at Tier 3 or below by one grade and Skill and Spell Completion Rates by 2% for 12 hours. He had already known that the Combat Device increased its user''s Life Rating, but he hadn''t expected this device to increase Skill and Spell Completion Rates as well. In the past, the Basic Combat Devices he had obtained from ancient ruins had provided additional Defense, at most Though he had never found one, he had heard that the more powerful devices increased Attack Power or Movement Speed, but the Basic Combat Device he had just forged actually increased Skill and Spell Completion Rates. This bonus Attribute was far more valuable than any of the bonuses he had heard of in the past. In God''s Domain, the higher one''s Skill or Spell Completion Rate was, the more power they''d exhibit with their Skills or Spells. This was one of the major factors that differentiated players. The difference between a Skill with 90% Completion Rate and 100% was massive. This improvement was particularly useful in PvP, in which players usually fought at top-speed, especially experts. Even a split-second difference could decide a battle''s outcome. Having a Completion Rate boost would increase Skills and Spells'' tolerance, and players'' execution wouldn''t have to be as precise to get the same results. Excited, Shi Feng immediately began to forge more Basic Combat Devices. After crafting nearly 20 Basic Combat Devices, Shi Feng received an unexpected call from Gentle Snow. "Guild Leader, the situation in Lake Heart City has changed. A large number of experts have suddenly arrived and started hunting our Guild members in the fields. Over 500 of our players have already died..." Gentle Snow reported, her head aching slightly. "All of these ambushing players have very high combat standards, and although I''ve sent teams to deal with them, they''ve turned the tables on our members." "Miracle can''t sit still any longer, huh?" Giving the matter some thought and considering the previous reports, he assumed these players were from Miracle. Only, he hadn''t expected the Guild to act so soon. "Do you know how many people they have?" "We''ve confirmed around 50,000 enemies..." Gentle Snow replied weakly. Although Zero Wing''s development in the Black Dragon Empire had been progressing smoothly, the Branch Guild did not have many expert and elite members. Overall, there were a little over 2,000 experts and 90,000 elite members. Moreover, the majority of the expert players were her subordinates from Ouroboros. "They sure mobilized their forces quickly!" The number surprised Shi Feng slightly. After the battle on Kama Island, he knew that Miracle wouldn''t let him or Zero Wing get away unscathed, but he had thought that it would take the Guild some time to muster a large force after so many of its expert and elite members had died. He had never thought that Miracle could gather 50,000 players in so little time. He truly hadn''t expected this situation. He had thought that Miracle would, at most, transfer a little over 10,000 players to the Black Dragon Empire to harass Zero Wing. Transferring more than that would leave Miracle''s other territories undefended. If Miracle weren''t careful, it could easily be ambushed by other powers. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Gentle Snow asked. "Do we fight?" Fighting Miracle''s 50,000-strong army directly would incur serious losses for Zero Wing. Depending on the severity, the Guild''s development might even grind to a halt. However, if they avoided fights with Miracle''s forces, the enemy Guild would continue to ambush Zero Wing''s teams. The Guild couldn''t afford that, either. "Of course, we''re fighting! Moreover, we have a big surprise for Miracle!" Shi Feng said, smiling faintly as he thought about the Basic Combat Devices he had just completed. 1955 Foothold Chapter 1955 - Foothold "A surprise?" Gentle Snow watched Shi Feng on the screen in confusion. Naturally, she welcomed the confrontation with Miracle, but it was a very powerful super-first-rate Guild. Moreover, based on Miracle''s reaction, the Guild seemed quite intent on Zero Wing''s destruction. Defeating their 50,000-man army wouldn''t be easy. There was also a huge difference between the number of experts in Zero Wing and those in Miracle. "Mhm. In a moment, I want you to visit Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. I''ve got something good for you," Shi Feng said, nodding. If this had happened before he had obtained the Basic Combat Device Design, he wouldn''t have dared to drop all pretenses with Miracle on Kama Island. Any superpower was terrifying once it got serious, after all. He had watched superpowers slaughter many large Guilds in the past, including plenty of first-rate Guilds. Top-ranked first- rate Guilds might put up a fight against super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds normally, but in a serious confrontation, they had no hope of surviving. "Alright, I''ll head there now!" Seeing Shi Feng solemn expression, Gentle Snow understood that the item he spoke of was immensely important. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have told her to make the trip personally. After Gentle Snow disconnected the call, she took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to Zero Wing City''s Residence. She then donned a Black Cloak and made her way toward the Candlelight Trading Firm. Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng''s Special Forging Room: As Gentle Snow entered the workshop, she could feel the strange Mana in the room. It felt particularly violent. Logically, players should feel clearheaded in places with high Mana density, but she felt her blood boil and her heart pound as she entered the room. "What are these?" Gentle Snow asked as she around the room at the pitch-black Rubik''s cubes. She could sense that these cubes were the cause of the strange Mana. "These are Basic Combat Devices, and the items I wanted to give you," Shi Feng, who was in the midst of forging another Basic Combat Device, explained as he stopped his work. The magic arrays engraved on the Basic Combat Devices were extraordinary, capable of changing the nature of Mana. If he hadn''t been an Advanced Magician, he wouldn''t have been able to complete the devices. Despite their passive state, the Basic Combat Devices were still effective. Even though the effects were much weaker in this state, they changed the room''s Mana as the pile of cubes increased. "Basic Combat Device?" This was the first time Gentle Snow had heard of this item. "You''ll know once you inspect them," Shi Feng said as he traded one of the completed devices to Gentle Snow. Outsiders couldn''t inspect or take items in a workshop in God''s Domain to prevent theft. After all, the materials within workshops were extremely valuable. Gentle Snow was dazed as she inspected the Basic Combat Device''s Attributes. Not only could one of these devices increase a player''s Life Rating by one grade, but it could also increase Skill and Spell Completion Rates. She had never heard of such a tool. The various powers had already investigated the Life Rating feature and understood its implications. After equipping the Basic Combat Device, players would become Boss-like existences among their peers. They''d receive an overall increase to their strength. "Guild Leader, are all of these cubes the same?!" Gentle Snow could not help but ask, shocked, as she surveyed the pitch- black Rubik''s cubes around the room. Although Shi Feng had said as much, she needed confirmation. The revelation was just too shocking. Most tools that increased players'' combat power only improved one or several aspects. Take a tool that increased players'' Strength, for example. The Strength boost might increase a player''s combat power, but if the player couldn''t land an attack, it would be meaningless. Unlike most tools that increased combat power, the Basic Combat Devices increased their user''s Life Rating, which was far more effective than increasing several Attributes. A Life Rating boost wouldn''t just improve a player''s Basic Attributes, but it would also sharpen players'' five senses and qualitatively transform their physique. With such an overall boost, players could better exhibit their combat power. Gentle Snow couldn''t believe that so many of these valuable items existed. "Not all of them are the same." Pointing at the two Rubik''s cubes on his worktable, Shi Feng said, "These two are Strengthened Basic Combat Devices. Although there''s no change to Life Rating, it provides an additional 10% to physique. It will help players better-exhibit their combat power." These two Strengthened versions were a result of his Blacksteel Insignia''s effect, which improved an item''s Attributes by a fixed percentage. "Ten percent to physique?" Gentle Snow gaped at the items. Basic Combat Device was already impressively powerful, yet there were Strengthened versions of it as well. While a 10% boost to physique might not seem like much, it significantly increased a player''s actual combat power. "I have only started production. Take these and use them for now. It''s best if you let the Guild''s Tier 2 experts test them," Shi Feng said as he traded the 22 Basic Combat Devices and Strengthened Basic Combat Devices to Gentle Snow. "I''ll deliver more Basic Combat Devices later. However, do not engage Miracle in any large-scale fights before you get the next delivery." Although he wanted to use the Hell Tanks, they were necessary to fend off Beast Emperor and Blackwater. If they found out that the Hell Tanks had been moved to the Black Dragon Empire, they''d take advantage of the opportunity to strike at Zero Wing''s territory. The best he could do was rely on the Basic Combat Devices. "I understand." Gentle Snow nodded. Thus far, Zero Wing''s forces had used guerilla tactics against Miracle, and the Basic Combat Devices were perfect for that strategy. Zero Wing had the upper-hand numerically, only lacking quality experts. Besides, Miracle''s ordinary experts weren''t the cause of her headaches; its peak experts were. Peak experts could exhibit far greater combat power in small fights than in large-scale combat. However, if Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts equipped the Basic Combat Device, they might be able to put up a good fight. Following which, Gentle Snow returned to Lake Heart City with the 22 Basic Combat Devices. She then recalled all of the Guild''s Tier 2 experts in the area, anxious to test the devices'' effects. Meanwhile, in one of Lake Heart City''s high-class restaurants... "Boss Soul, we''ve just received a report from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Zero Wing has sent a 100-man team to quest in Blue Wave Rock," a Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin reported after approaching Shredded Soul. "Zero Wing still won''t give up?" Shredded Soul chuckled. "Notify the nearby teams and get rid of them. Teach Zero Wing that it no longer has a foothold in Lake Heart City!" 1956 First Tes Chapter 1956 - First Test Lake Heart City, Blue Wave Rock: A large group of Miracle members patrolled inside a mountain surrounded by lush forest. These players had split into 32 teams of 100. "Boss Starstreak, everyone''s in position. If Zero Wing''s members dare to set foot in Blue Wave Rock, we''ll ensure that none leave alive," a Level 57 Ranger wearing silvery-gray chainmail reported to the black-clad, indifferent youth before him. "Good. Vice Guild Leader Shredded assigned us this mission personally. We need to complete it properly. You all know the consequences if we fail," Starstreak said solemnly. Shredded Soul was well-known for his strict nature. He''d even demote the Guild''s peak experts if they didn''t handle a mission properly, not to mention lower-ranked members. Hence, the Guild members had given him the title ''Demonic Vice Guild Leader.'' "Boss, rest assured; Zero Wing can''t even dispatch enough members to serve as a warm-up. Besides, you''re in command this time. Even if Gentle Snow leads her Branch Guild''s main force personally, she''ll only be marching towards her grave," the Level 57 Ranger confidently declared. His confidence was not baseless. Although Shredded Soul was a strict Vice Guild Leader, he was also a careful person. All of the 32 teams he had dispatched to Blue Wave Rock were expert teams, with over 1,000 expert players. Over 100 among them were also Tier 2 players. The peak Assassin expert, Starstreak, was even in command, and his assassination and tracking standards were first-rate. Four other peak experts were participating in the operation, as well. Zero Wing had only sent a 100-man team to Blue Wave Rock, and based on the latest reports, the team only had 20 Tier 2 players. Even if the remaining 80 players were experts, defeating Zero Wing''s team would be a piece of cake. While Miracle''s forces waited for Zero Wing to fall into their trap, the 100-man team had rested in a forested area a short distance away for some time now. "Boss Fierce, Blue Wave Rock is just ahead. My guess is that Miracle''s army has been hiding there, waiting to ambush us. Are we really going in there?" a Level 57, Tier 1 Assassin asked nervously as he looked towards Blue Wave Rock. In truth, Gentle Snow hadn''t sent them here for a quest, but to fight Miracle''s members. However, although the team had 20 Tier 2 experts, the rest were elite members. These elite members might hold their own against first-rate Guilds'' elites, but they''d be lucky to defeat a super-first-rate Guild''s elite members in a one-on-one, not to mention Miracle''s army. The 80 elite players likely wouldn''t even survive against one of Miracle''s expert parties. "This is the mission we''ve been assigned, so yes, we''re going there. Fortunately, your job doesn''t involve fighting. You guys only need to scout the area and figure out Miracle''s movement pattern. Leave the fighting to us," Fierce Snake said. "Alright, we''ve recovered most of our Stamina. It''s time to move out!" This operation would test the Basic Combat Devices'' effects, and since that wouldn''t be easy to determine in large-scale combat involving thousands of players, Gentle Snow had deliberately chosen Blue Wave Rock as the battlefield. Not only did dense forest surround the area, but its terrain was also quite complex. This was a perfectly suitable area for a small force to employ guerilla tactics. Moreover, Miracle wouldn''t be foolish enough to mobilize tens of thousands of players just to catch a 100-man team. They could fight and retreat freely in Blue Wave Rock, and Miracle''s members wouldn''t be able to do anything about it, but as a precaution, the entire 100-man team consisted of Assassins. These Assassins were responsible for scouting Blue Wave Rock and preventing a situation where the Tier 2 players were surrounded and killed. After all, Tier 2 players were important assets to the Guild. They must not be lost. When Fierce Snake finished speaking, the 80 Tier 1 Assassins went into Stealth and dispersed. Fierce Snake and the Tier 2 players then moved as a 20-man team. After wandering Blue Wave Rock for around 20 minutes, the scouting Assassins located four 100-man teams. The closest among them was less than 1,000 yards from Fierce Snake''s team, while the farthest was within 4,000 yards. At this distance, the farthest team would need 10 minutes at most to reinforce the closest force. "Everyone, equip your Combat Devices! The 100-man team ahead will be our first test subjects!" Fierce Snake commanded after verifying the scouting teams'' locations. Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts then eagerly retrieved the Basic Combat Devices they had been assigned and used them. Although they had a general understanding of the item, they didn''t how effective it would truly be. Moreover, they had signed confidentiality contracts, which would force them to delete their accounts should they leak any information, to take part in this operation. "This feels amazing! Zero Wing City''s high-Mana environment is nowhere close to half as effective as this device!" "I can even hear the leaves rustle over 100 yards away!" "That''s nothing! Look at the birds in the sky! They seem so much slower now." Once the team members had equipped the Basic Combat Devices, the Mana around them became turbulent. Although their bodies felt so much lighter, they felt their blood boil as they were overcome by an urge to fight. "Charge!" Fierce Snake roared. Without hesitation, Fierce Snake''s 20-man force charged toward Miracle''s closest team. When less than 600 yards separated the two, one of Miracle''s Rangers discovered the charging players. The Ranger immediately reported to his Tier 2 commander. "A 20-man team dares to charge at us? They must be tired of living!" "Leader, should we request reinforcements from the other teams?" "Are you joking? It''s only a 20-man team. If we notify the other teams, we''ll only become a laughingstock! Don''t worry about that! We''ll handle these fools ourselves!" the Tier 2 Elementalist leading the team growled before readying his players. Although his was only one of many teams Miracle had sent to Blue Wave Rock, he had more than 30 experts under his command. Four players were even Tier 2 experts, and he was even a Refinement Realm expert. He alone was enough to defeat several non-Refinement Realm, Tier 2 experts. Why would he ever fear Fierce Snake''s 20-man party? Once Zero Wing''s force was within 60 yards of Miracle''s team, Miracle''s ranged players opened fire on the 20-man party, launching Spells and arrows. Despite the numerous attacks descending on his players, neither Fierce Snake nor his companions showed any intention of dodging the incoming attacks. Rather, the Tier 2 MTs moved to the front of the team, while the rest of the Tier 2 experts fell in behind them. The party then charged into the bombardment. Boom! Boom! Boom! A rain of Spells and arrows showered Zero Wing''s Tier 2 MTs. However, the results left Miracle''s members dumbfounded. Not only did the three MTs block every one of their attacks with their shields, but they also retained all of their HP after doing so... Before Miracle''s members snapped out of their daze, Fierce Snake reached the enemy melee players and brandished his Level 55, Dark-Gold ranked battle axe. Boom! A violent storm sent several players flying back by over a dozen yards, losing a significant chunk of their HP. The difference in Strength was clear. The rest of Zero Wing''s Tier 2 players had also spread out, pouncing on Miracle''s members like starving tigers. Zero Wing''s players dodged Miracle''s attacks without much effort, even the Tier 2 experts'' attacks. With Zero Wing''s Strength and speed advantages, Miracles'' Tier 2 experts were forced to retreat, continuously losing HP. Miracle''s Tier 2 experts only stayed alive, albeit barely, thanks to the support from their healers and companions. "How? He clearly hasn''t reached the Refinement Realm yet, so how is he displaying such great combat power?" The Tier 2 Elementalist leading Miracle''s team couldn''t believe his eyes. Although Fierce Snake had higher Basic Attributes, the man''s Attributes were high enough to keep him on the run. However, not only was Fierce Snake''s perception astonishingly acute, but the Berserker''s reaction speed was also impressively fast. The Berserker even blocked attacks that no normal player should be able to. After less than 30 seconds, nearly half of Miracle''s 100-man team had been annihilated... "Quick! Notify Boss Starstreak and the others!" the Tier 2 Elementalist shouted in a panic. 1957 Experts Close to the Peak Chapter 1957 - Experts Close to the Peak Starstreak and his team had set up camp on one of Blue Wave Rock''s barren hillsides. They had excellent visibility, which allowed them to scout their surroundings. Unfortunately, the monsters in the area had short respawn times and constantly need to be cleared out. Currently, Starstreak''s team fought dozens of Level 62 Cliffside Gargoyles. "Boss, Deep Trace''s team has been attacked by Zero Wing and is requesting immediate backup!" a Level 57 Ranger reported. "Zero Wing has taken the initiative to attack?" Starstreak, who commanded the battle against the Gargoyles, could not help but chuckle. "It seems they haven''t learned from the previous lessons. Send the nearby teams to reinforce Deep Trace immediately. Tell the other teams to head towards their location, as well. Do not allow Zero Wing to escape!" The Level 57 Ranger immediately relayed the command to the various teams. Fortunately, the closest team was only three minutes away from Deep Trace, and once the two teams grouped up, they should have no problems pinning down Zero Wing long enough for the other two nearby teams, which were about ten minutes away, to arrive. Once the four teams surrounded Zero Wing''s members, the latter would have no chance to flee. Starstreak then led his team as they withdrew from the battle, ignoring the provoked the Cliffside Gargoyles and heading straight for Zero Wing. Shredded Soul had given him this mission personally, and he had no choice but to take it seriously. Although Starstreak felt that four teams should be enough to defeat Zero Wing''s 100-man team, he decided to head there personally as a precaution. Elsewhere, Fierce Snake''s 20-man party fought with more vigor as time passed. On the other hand, fear overwhelmed the Tier 2 Elementalist that led Miracle''s team as he watched his teammates die, one after another. What is this... Just what is going on!? The Elementalist couldn''t believe his eyes as he watched Fierce Snake and his comrades cut down Miracle''s players. At first, Zero Wing''s defense had contained many weak points, but as the battle progressed, these weaknesses had vanished. Zero Wing''s fighters had also reduced their excess movements. It was as if Fierce Snake and his players had obtained a new body and adapted as they fought His Spells had been, more or less, able to interrupt Fierce Snake''s strikes at the beginning of this fight, but the Berserker now chased him while dodging or blocking his Spells without issue. While the Tier 2 Elementalist was awed by Fierce Snake''s improvements, the Berserker continued to tighten his control. Now, he completely abandoned defense and utilized the Basic Combat Technique, Windshadow Footwork, for the first time in this battle. Like a light breeze, Fierce Snake weaved his way through the incoming Spells. In two breaths, Fierce Snake dodged the spells and reached the Elementalist. He then swung down with his battle axe. Tier 2 Skill, Thundering Impact! The battle axe descended on the Tier 2 Elementalist like a lightning bolt. The enemy player had no way of coping with the attack''s speed or Strength. Boom! When the lightning bolt landed, the blast carved out a massive crater beneath the Elementalist. The caster, who had only had one-third of his HP remaining, vanished from the forest with his shattered Magic Shield. Only a robe remained of the player. When Miracle''s members saw this, they despaired. The Tier 2 Elementalist had been their leader and a bona fide Refinement Realm expert. He could hold off several non- Refinement Realm, Tier 2 experts by himself during their sparring sessions. Now that even their powerful leader had died, how were they supposed to face Fierce Snake and the others? "Run away!" One of Miracle''s members instinctively shouted before turning and fleeing the battlefield. "Run away? Can you, though?" Fierce Snake ran after the fleeing player before snatching up the robe his prior prey had dropped. When the Basic Combat Device increased his and his teammates'' Life Ratings, their Basic Attributes had received a significant boost. The improvement was akin to activating a miniature Berserk Skill. Their HP, in particular, had doubled. At the same time, their Movement Speed had risen considerably. Fierce Snake was even confident of defeating an excellently- equipped, Tier 2 Assassin with his current Movement Speed. After less than a minute since the battle had begun, all of Miracle''s 100 elite and expert players were dead. In contrast, Fierce Snake''s team of 20 had suffered zero casualties. "Boss Fierce, Miracle''s other teams are heading your way," one of the scouting Assassins reported in the team chat. "The nearest team should arrive in about two minutes." "Two minutes?" After giving the matter some thought, Fierce Snake looked at the teammates around him and asked, "We should have enough time. Brothers, what do you think? Will you be ready for round two after a short break?" "Don''t be insulting, Boss. That fight was barely a warm-up." "That''s right! Boss, you''re so sneaky! You fought the enemy leader by yourself and only left the small fries for us! We barely got a chance to test any new combat techniques!" Every player in the 20-man party agreed with Fierce Snake''s conclusion. In fact, they brimmed with fighting spirit. They had discovered how powerful the Basic Combat Devices were in their previous battle, and due to their new Life Ratings, they could finally execute the combat techniques that had given them too much trouble before. This was a great opportunity to grasp these techniques fully. Of course, they still couldn''t use these combat techniques casually since it was such a burden on their Stamina. By using combat techniques they had yet to master, they lost Stamina even faster than usual. Hence, they only used the techniques when they fought powerful enemies. Tier 1 experts simply weren''t worth the effort. "Good! I''ll leave the big ones to you in the next battle!" Fierce Snake said, laughing. After resting for a short time, another team from Miracle stumbled on Fierce Snake''s party. However, before the new arrivals could get a grasp of the situation, Fierce Snake and his players charged toward them. Fierce Snake''s party had already adapted to the Basic Combat Device''s effects, so they eliminated the second Miracle team with far more efficiency. Once their enemies were dead, they retreated from the battlefield. By the time the third and fourth Miracle teams arrived, only an empty battlefield was there to greet them. "What did you say? Zero Wing killed two teams with just 20 people?" Starstreak paled when he heard his subordinate''s report. After calming his burning rage, he continued coldly, "Send me the battle videos! From now on, I want all teams to move in pairs!" Starstreak examined the battle videos he had received after disconnecting the call. "How is this possible? Since when has Zero Wing had so many powerful experts?" Starstreak''s anger vanished when he saw the fight between his Guildmates and Fierce Snake''s group, his expression hardening. Originally, he had refused to believe that Zero Wing had slaughtered two 100-man teams with only 20 players, even accomplishing this feat before reinforcements could arrive. They shouldn''t be able to wipe out two teams so quickly even if Fierce Snake and his party were all Tier 2 players, but after watching the videos, he understood how it had happened. Although Fierce Snake and the others had not reached the Refinement Realm, their combat power nearly rivaled that of peak experts due to their Attributes, extraordinary perception and reaction time, and combat techniques. Even Starstreak would need some time to take Fierce Snake down by himself. If he had to face two or three experts of this caliber, even he''d be forced to retreat, and every member of Zero Wing''s 20- man party wielded the same combat power. Even his 100-man team might lose against such a monstrous party, much less the other teams patrolling Blue Wave Rock. "Starstreak, what''s happened?" a Level 58, Tier 2 Ranger asked when he noticed Starstreak''s twisted expression. "It''s nothing," Starstreak said, shaking his head. "Inform all teams to give up the search for Zero Wing immediately." "Give up?! But we have orders from Vice Guild Leader Shredded!" The Ranger stared at Starstreak in astonishment. "I understand. I''ll report the situation to the Vice Guild Leader personally," Starstreak said, nodding. "Even so, shouldn''t you give us a reason?" the Ranger asked. "A reason?" Smiling bitterly, Starstreak responded, "What if I tell you that the 20-man team we''re chasing consists of experts with the combat power to rival peak experts? Is that enough of a reason?" What a joke! If their remaining 3,000 members worked together to fight Zero Wing''s 20-man party head-on, it might be a different story, but trying to catch 20 peak experts in this forest was impossible. Even though Blue Wave Rock''s forest wasn''t particularly large, they''d still need ten times their current manpower to accomplish such a feat! 1958 Promotion to Intermediate Master Chapter 1958 - Promotion to Intermediate Master Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City: Several Guild Elders and over a dozen upper echelons occupied the Guild Leader''s office within Miracle''s temporary Residence. They all quietly and carefully watched the emaciated, middle-aged man before them. This man was none other than Shredded Soul, one of Miracle''s mythical existences. Although the people present were all peak experts, they were tense with fear as Shredded Soul''s aura washed over them. The tension in the room was all due to the message Starstreak had just sent. "Has Starstreak gone mad? He only has to take out 100 Zero Wing members, yet he dares to retreat despite having over 3,000 players under his command? Doesn''t he know that the Vice Guild Leader hates retreating more than anything?" "This is the first time I''ve seen the Vice Guild Leader so angry. Hopefully, Starstreak''s punishment won''t be crippling." The upper echelons whispered amongst themselves as they gazed at Shredded Soul''s frosty expression. They all agreed that Starstream must be tired of living in God''s Domain. Shredded Soul''s authority in the Guild was only second to the Guild Leaders'', and while the other Vice Guild Leaders had command of their subordinates, the man before them could mobilize any player in Miracle. Even the Guild''s trump card legions were forced to follow Shredded Soul''s commands. Shredded Soul even had the authority to remove Guild Elders from their positions as long as he had enough reasoning to do so, let alone regular Guild members. Even the other Vice Guild Leaders feared this man. But there was no helping it. Shredded Soul was responsible for major contributions to the Guild, and all of the Guild''s Founding Elders and the Guild Leader stood behind his authority. A chill ran down the various upper echelons'' spines as they thought about Starstreak''s opposition to Shredded Soul''s command. After a long moment of tense silence, Shredded Soul finally seemed to relax. The watching crowd then released a sigh of relief. "Good! Very good!" Shredded Soul''s lips curled as he read the report from Starstreak. "I have underestimated Zero Wing. It''s no wonder why such a small Guild dares to provoke Miracle." "Vice Guild Leader, what happened? Is there something unique about this 100-man team from Zero Wing?" one of the upper echelons asked curiously. Shredded Soul had clearly been furious about Starstreak''s decision to flee from Blue Wave Rock a moment ago, but after reading the follow-up report, the Vice Guild Leader actually smiled... Those that knew Shredded Soul knew what his smile meant. He had either found something interesting or an opponent that he considered appropriate. "Take a look for yourselves!" Shredded Soul said as he input the report and displayed the information before the crowd. He then played the battle video involving Fierce Snake and the other Tier 2 Zero Wing experts. As Fierce Snake and his comrades fought the first team, their movements were clumsy but had visibly improved during the fight against the second team. Even when facing Miracle''s Tier 2 Refinement Realm experts in a one-on-one, Fierce Snake and the others had gained the upper hand, slowly whittling down their opponents. Every member on Zero Wing''s 20-man team wielded combat power that rivaled Miracle''s peak experts. "How is that possible? How does Zero Wing have so many experts with peak-level combat power?!" "Based on our information, although Zero Wing is stronger than the average first-rate Guild, it has less than ten peak experts. How did it suddenly gain an additional 20?" Miracle''s upper echelons watched Fierce Snake and his team fight with wide eyes. After watching the videos, they realized why Starstreak had ordered a retreat. With the forces under his command, facing 20 experts with peak-level combat power who used guerilla tactics would be suicidal. Even a team of several hundred players would be helpless against 20 peak experts. If they wanted to hunt these players down in the field, they''d have to dispatch 1,000-man teams for the search, and several tens of thousands for the fight "Notify Starstreak that his forces are allowed to retreat," Shredded Soul said calmly. "Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing is clearly trying to put on a show. Are we just going to let them get away with this?" one of Miracle''s upper echelons asked. With the forces Miracle had sent to the Black Dragon Empire, cordoning off Blue Wave Rock and hunting down Zero Wing''s team was entirely possible. "We are Miracle! We do not need such wasteful tactics to eliminate Zero Wing! Since the Guild wants to show off its abilities in guerilla warfare, we''ll do the same!" Shredded Soul snapped, smiling. "Split up our forces and have them deal with Zero Wing''s members. Rather than focusing on the areas around Lake Heart City, we''ll target every Zero Wing player in the Black Dragon Empire! I want to see who can rack up the most kills!" When they heard Shredded Soul''s command, realization dawned on the crowd. So what if Zero Wing had a party of peak combatants? Zero Wing''s overall strength was nothing compared to Miracle''s. If Miracle scattered its forces and attacked multiple locations at once, how many areas could Zero Wing keep safe? Although doing so would incur losses, Zero Wing''s suffering would be much greater. After Starstreak received the command to retreat, he led his forces away from Blue Wave Rock. Meanwhile, news of this situation quickly spread to the various superpowers. "Miracle has retreated?!" "What happened at Blue Wave Rock?" Miracle''s retreat surprised the various superpowers, and they immediately ordered infestations on the battle at Blue Wave Rock. However, when the reports came in, the superpowers that had been watching the war between Zero Wing and Miracle were astonished. They had never considered that Zero Wing had such a sturdy foundation. They also marveled at Zero Wing''s performance. They hadn''t expected Shredded Soul to suffer such a loss, albeit a minor one, at Zero Wing''s hands. It had been a long time since a non-superpower had accomplished such a feat. When Phoenix Rain, who was busy on Thunder Island, received the news, she was stunned. Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words, who explored an ancient ruin in the Dark Night Empire, were astonished, as well. However, Shi Feng, who toiled in Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm, remained wholly ignorant of the matter, thoroughly absorbed in forging Basic Combat Devices. After over a day of work, Shi Feng received a system notification. System: Strengthened Basic Combat Device has been successfully manufactured. Forging Proficiency increased by 5 points. Obtained 368,000 EXP. System: Congratulations! You have been promoted to an Intermediate Master Forger. 1959 Forging Treasure Ches Chapter 1959 - Forging Treasure Chest "Finally!" Shi Feng cried out when he heard the system notification. Intermediate Master Forger! This was a huge threshold for forgers to cross. Although it was extremely difficult to become a Master Forger, with how many players God''s Domain had, quite a few were capable of reaching the Master rank. However, the majority of these Master Forgers would grind to a halt at the Basic Master rank. A forger would only receive the various superpowers'' attention after becoming an Intermediate Master. Meanwhile, to the various superpowers, Basic Master Forgers were simply qualified to join them. Only by becoming an Intermediate Master Forger could players craft truly powerful war weapons. In addition, only Intermediate Master Forgers and above could producing top-tier Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment for expert players. After all, even among Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, there was a considerable difference between the Basic Attributes and additional effects they provided. Take the Level 55 to 60 Dark-Gold Equipment he forged using the standardized designs he had acquired from Titan City, for example. Despite being at the Dark-Gold rank, those pieces were nothing compared to ordinary Dark-Gold Equipment of the same level that dropped from Bosses. They were only slightly stronger than Fine-Gold Equipment of the same level. Moreover, a forger qualified to produce Epic Weapons and Equipment after becoming an Intermediate Master. In contrast, Basic Master Forgers could only produce Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, at best. Moreover, they would be limited to forging the most ordinary Dark-Gold ranked items since they''d have such a low success rate when attempting to craft top- tier weapons and equipment of the same rank. While a Basic Master had a chance of successfully producing Epic Weapons and Equipment, in theory, not even the various superpowers would be willing to front the production costs. They''d only tolerate an Intermediate Master Forger''s success rates. Now that Shi Feng was an Intermediate Master Forger, he could finally begin production for the Guardian Puppet. Now, all he needed to do was to stockpile the necessary materials to mass-produce it. Once he had amassed enough Guardian Puppets, not only would Zero Wing be capable of defending its territories, but it could also afford to relax its guard. The Guild would be able to fight the Evil God''s Temple in the fields. Even capturing Ancient Rock City would be possible. Shortly after Shi Feng received the notification informing him of his subclass''s new rank, a second notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to become an Intermediate Master Forger in Star-Moon Kingdom. Rewarding one Silver Forging Treasure Chest and Humanity Reputation +50. "A Silver Forging Treasure Chest?" Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as a silver chest, studded with a five-colored gemstone, appearing in his bag space. At this stage of the game, players were ignorant of Forging Treasure Chests. However, all forging players had dreamed of acquiring one during his previous life. As the name suggested, Forging Treasure Chests contained items specifically for forgers, such as Secret Forging Techniques, forging designs, and various forging tools. In the past, there had even been rumors that these chests could drop Mysterious Flames. To forging players, Forging Treasure Chests were far more valuable than ordinary treasure chests. Normally, players had to complete high-ranked quests for their subclass to obtain such a treasure chest, and even then, the quests normally only awarded Bronze Forging Treasure Chests. Shi Feng had only ever heard of the Silver version; he had never seen one personally. He had never thought that he would receive such a reward for being the first person to become an Intermediate Master Forger in Star-Moon Kingdom. Immediately, Shi Feng removed the Silver Forging Treasure Chest from his bag and activated Divine Providence. When Shi Feng opened the treasure chest, the lid slowly lifted. A dazzling, five-colored light escaped the chest, illuminating the forging room. When the glow eventually faded, two items appeared before Shi Feng. One was a hammer engraved with dark-purple runes, while the other was an old book. When Shi Feng tried to inspect the items, all they would reveal was the word ''Unknown.''. "These are..." After Shi Feng appraised both items with Omniscient Eyes, he could not help but stare at the items with wide, surprised eyes. [Magic Refining Hammer] (Dark-Gold Rank) Durability 200/200 Equipment Requirement: Master Forger Increases production speed by 10%, success rate when producing items below Epic rank by 5%, and success rate when producing items at Epic rank by 2%. [Hundred Refinement Gold Design] Hundred Refinement Gold has a certain chance of granting weapons and equipment below Epic rank the Metallic Reinforcement buff, strengthening the item by 10%. Each weapon or equipment piece can only be strengthened once. Players are allowed to equip a maximum of three weapons and equipment with the Metallic Reinforcement buff at a time. Amazing! It''s no wonder why there had barely been any information about Silver Forging Treasure Chests in the past! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he read the two items'' Attribute Panels. Both items were extraordinarily valuable, especially the Hundred Refinement Gold Design. This would be an excellent item for strengthening his Guild members. He wouldn''t even trade it for tens of thousands of gold. Meanwhile, with the Magic Refining Hammer, he would have a slightly higher success rate when forging items. Following which, Shi Feng notified Aqua Rose and had her collect large quantities of the necessary materials for the Guardian Puppet Meanwhile, he intended to continue his work with the Basic Combat Devices. Zero Wing urgently needed more of these devices. Miracle had withdrawn from the Zero Wing members who wielded Basic Combat Devices, but it had redirected its focus to whittling down the Guild''s forces in the empire. This situation had given Gentle Snow a massive headache. Although he had focused on forging the Basic Combat Devices to produce more temporary peak experts, he could only craft around 200 devices each day. He was also expending a ridiculous number of Magic Crystals to do so. If Aqua Rose hadn''t already arranged the necessary manpower to mine the Manatite vein, which earned the Guild tens of thousands of Magic Crystals every day, he would''ve likely emptied Zero Wing''s reserved in a single day... Furthermore, he had to take breaks from time to time. He couldn''t perform such high-intensity work without rest. Unfortunately, each Basic Combat Device could only last 12 hours. If he wanted to ensure the safety of Zero Wing''s members during the day, he''d need to equip each Tier 2 expert with two or three devices. In other words, Zero Wing could only maintain around 100 peak experts in the fields. With how large the Black Dragon Empire was, it was impossible to safeguard all of Zero Wing''s members as they operated in various locations. As a result, they had to prioritize a few important leveling maps. Sadly, it was no longer possible to gather Zero Wing''s members in a select few maps. Due to Zero Wing''s constant expansion, the Branch Guild had too many members. Meanwhile, each map could only accommodate a limited number of players. Overly saturating a map would only impede the Guild members'' development. Hence, Zero Wing sustained significant losses. The Guild''s foundation wasn''t strong enough, and there was no comparison between the number of experts in Zero Wing and those in Miracle. Zero Wing had already suffered over 10,000 casualties. In contrast, Miracle had suffered less than 2,000 casualties. The difference was clear. Although Shi Feng had considered sending Fire Dance and the other main force members as reinforcements, Silverwing Town''s defenses also required a large number of experts. This put the Guild in an awkward position. Fortunately, things had taken a turn for the better. Even with the various support tools at his disposal, he had only pushed his forging success rate to around 50%, but now that he was an Intermediate Master Forger and had the Magic Refining Hammer, his success rate had risen to 70%. Moreover, his production speed had increased by at least 25%. Overall, he could forge nearly twice as many Basic Combat Devices in the same amount of time. In other words, he could craft around 400 devices each day, which would allow him to double the patrols in the Black Dragon Empire. Time passed quickly. After working for an entire day, Shi Feng had finally produced 400 Basic Combat Devices. Among them, 21 were Strengthened Basic Combat Devices. Suddenly, Gentle Snow contacted Shi Feng, asking, "Guild Leader, have you finished forging the Basic Combat Devices, yet? Our current devices'' duration is almost up. If we can''t restock, our operations will crumble." The war with Miracle hadn''t been particularly tense, at first, but as time passed, Miracle had dispatched more experts to the empire, becoming a far more formidable foe. Now, Zero Wing was at a complete disadvantage. If the Guild''s experts lost the Basic Combat Devices, as well, Miracle would quickly crush them. "They''re done. I''ll deliver them to you in a moment," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "They''re done?" Gentle Snow breathed a sigh of relief. "HI recall the patrols now, then." After Gentle Snow disconnected the call, she contacted the Tier 2 players fighting Miracle''s forces and ordered their return. As for Shi Feng, he finished organizing the new devices and called Melancholic Smile. "Melancholic, how are things on your side?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Melancholic Smile''s tired expression. "Guild Leader, this Magicbreaking Crossbow is too hard to produce. We''ve only completed 60 crossbows thus far," Melancholic Smile reported, slightly ashamed of her progress. "Sixty?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "That should be enough. Send them to me." 1960 Send Them on Their Way Chapter 1960 - Send Them on Their Way Black Dragon Empire, Lake Heart City, Zero Wing''s Residence: Due to the war against Miracle, an awkward atmosphere had infiltrated the Residence. While they rested, Zero Wing''s members felt an invisible noose slowly tightening around their necks, capable of stealing their lives at any moment. "Snow, this is bad. We''ve already suffered over 35,000 casualties. Although the majority of the victims are normal members, everyone is afraid for their lives. Moreover, Miracle has deliberately announced the number of slain Zero Wing members, scaring away potential recruits. Many of our Guild members are considering moving to another country to level up. At this rate, the Black Dragon Empire''s Branch Guild will be finished, sooner or later," Zhao Yueru worriedly reported to Gentle Snow. The strength Miracle had displayed thus far was utterly beyond what they had imagined. Miracle had already dispatched over 100,000 members to the Black Dragon Empire. Among them, over 20,000 were confirmed expert players. This was simply ridiculous. The average first-rate Guild only had several thousand expert players in total, yet Miracle had sent over 20,000 to harass Zero Wing. That was nearly triple the number of experts in Zero Wing... To make matters worse, Miracle had rapidly improved the quality of its forces. In the last two days alone, the enemy Guild had dispatched more than 1,000 Tier 2 players to the empire. In contrast, Zero Wing had only slightly increased the number of Tier 2 players under its command. Furthermore, Miracle had bolstered its forces with plenty of Refinement Realm experts, dispatching more of these players than the number of experts Zero Wing had equipped with Basic Combat Devices. In addition, Miracle still had various Guild Elders, none of which had made a move yet. No matter how she looked at it, this difference between them and their enemy was impossible to overcome. "None of those factors are our main problem right now. I''ve just received a report stating that Miracle''s performance has encouraged a number of the empire''s powers, and they''ve begun to move against us," Gentle Snow said, a cold glint flashing in her eyes. "These little powers are normally neutral, but now that they realize that we are slowly losing to Miracle, they are taking advantage of the situation to kick us while we''re down. Some have even started to mock us on the forums, demanding a decisive battle in the Ice Jade Forest." They wouldn''t have been forced into such a passive state if their only enemy had been Miracle. While it was true that Miracle had sent over 100,000 players to the Black Dragon Empire, Zero Wing''s Branch Guild still had the numerical advantage. However, Miracle wasn''t the only power to target Zero Wing. Many of the empire''s large Guilds had pegged them as an enemy as well, boosting Miracle''s momentum in this war. Upon hearing this, Zhao Yueru''s expression darkened. If this were true, Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire was on the path to destruction. "The other Guilds are kicking us while we''re down?" Shi Feng, who had just entered the room, frowned as he overheard the two women''s conversation. "Mhm." Gentle Snow nodded as she turned to Shi Feng. "They aren''t fools, Guild Leader. They know that we cannot afford to face Miracle head-on, resorting to guerilla tactics. Hence, they''re boldly ambushing our Guild members. However, if we dispatch our forces to deal with these interlopers, either they''ll notify Miracle or Miracle will hear of it from their spies, setting up an ambush for our reinforcements. We have already lost nearly 3,000 experts thanks to these little powers'' interference." With the Branch Guild''s strength, Zero Wing could easily deal with these large Guilds, but they were using themselves as bait to lure Zero Wing''s experts in for Miracle. Zero Wing couldn''t simply dispatch a small group of experts as reinforcements since these large Guilds employed 1,000- man teams for their ambushes, yet if their Guild dispatched an equally large force, Miracle would discover their movements immediately and use the opportunity to cripple Zero Wing. This was the cause of her current headache. Whether Zero Wing fought or not, it would suffer. "Snow, gather 1,000 experts in the Residence." Smiling, Shi Feng continued, "Since Miracle wants a frontal confrontation and we have enemies who want to act like bait, we''ll fulfill their wishes!" "But..." Gentle Snow wondered if Shi Feng truly understood Miracle''s situation when he issued his command, but before she could dissuade him, he sent her a trade request, dropping a large number of Basic Combat Devices and Magicbreaking Crossbows into the trade window. After taking a look at the total numbers, Gentle Snow was dazed. She couldn''t believe her eyes. Four hundred Basic Combat Devices! They could dispatch 200 peak experts to the Black Dragon Empire''s various maps for an entire day with so many devices. There were also the Magicbreaking Crossbows to consider. The crossbows'' attacks had the power of Tier 3 attacks. A direct hit would guarantee an instant-kill. Even if the target blocked the attack, the impact would still be significant. Most importantly, the Magicbreaking Crossbows could easily be carried and used. Players with these crossbows would be akin to miniature Defense Turrets. "Understood! I''ll see to it immediately!" Gentle Snow abandoned all thoughts of opposing Shi Feng''s commands. A seed of anticipation even began to sprout in her heart. She immediately recalled the Tier 1 and 2 experts operating near Lake Heart Over the past two days, quite a few Tier 1 experts had completed their Tier 2 Promotion quests. Since the Branch Guild in Lake Heart City urgently needed experts, the new Tier 2 players were sent here. As a result, more than 500 Tier 2 experts operated around Lake Heart City right now. Even after deducting the Tier 2 experts that had been sent to protect the Guild''s leveling maps, gathering 200 of these experts on short notice wouldn''t be a problem. In no time at all, 200 Tier 2 experts and 800 Tier 1 experts had gathered in Zero Wing''s Residence in Lake Heart City. Shi Feng gave each of the Tier 2 experts a Basic Combat Device and distributed the 60 Magicbreaking Crossbows amongst the Tier 1 Rangers, who were particularly skilled with long-ranged attacks. Once the team was prepared, Shi Feng boldly led his 1,000-man force out of Lake Heart City, heading for the Ice Jade Forest, a resource-rich, Level 60 to 75 map. This was also where Zero Wing''s members encountered Miracle''s most often. Meanwhile, in one of the high-class restaurants around Lake Heart City''s central plaza... "Just what is Black Flame thinking? He''s actually sending a 1,000-man team to Ice Jade Forest? Doesn''t he realize that Miracle and the various large Guilds have occupied that map already?" Yuan Tiexin could not help his surprise when he read the latest report on Zero Wing. Over a dozen large Guilds had gathered in the Ice Jade Forest, and Miracle had stationed a significant portion of its army in the area. There should be more than 150,000 players in the forest at the moment, and they were all elite and expert players. Even if Zero Wing gathered every one of its players in the Black Dragon Empire, it would fail to wrestle back the Ice Jade Forest, much less a 1,000-man team. While Yuan Tiexin wondered about Zero Wing''s purpose, Shi Feng and his team reached the Ice Jade Forest by Mount. "Guild Leader, we discovered a team raiding a Field Boss. It has roughly 3,000 players. Two thousand Miracle members are also lying in wait," a Tier 2 Assassin reported to Shi Feng. "Since we''ve found them, let''s send them on their way!" Shi Feng commanded indifferently. 1961 Slaughtering Time Chapter 1961 - Slaughtering Time Icy-blue frost covered the Ice Jade Forest''s trees. From afar, it looked like a crystal forest. Since the monsters in the area had a chance of dropping Ice Crystal Fragments, which could be refined into Ice Resistance Potions, many powers came here to grind. Moreover, as the monsters in the Ice Jade Forest were not skilled with magic and had no ranged attacks, they were relatively easy to kill. Because of these factors, the Ice Jade Forest had become one of the most important resource maps within the Lake Heart City region. A 3,000-man expert team from the Tier 2 Guild, Eternal Undead, currently raided the Eight-eyed Frost Spider, a Level 62 Specialized Grand Lord. The team had split into three groups of 1,000 and took turns tanking the Grand Lord and its 100- plus Guardian Frost Spiders. When a group was near its breaking point, it would swiftly retreat, switching places with one of the other two groups and ensuring that only 1,000 players remained within the Boss''s sphere of influence. This prevented the Boss from receiving an Attribute boost. "The Boss is going to enter its berserk state soon! MTs, use your Lifesaving Skills! Healer unit, switch with the reserve unit!" Miserly Wind, one of Eternal Undead''s Vice Guild Leaders, hurriedly ordered as the Eight-eyed Frost Spider''s HP was about to fall to 30%. The Guild''s members followed the orders seamlessly as the MTs activated their Lifesaving Skills and the healers gradually retreated from the battlefield. At the same time, the waiting healers switched places with their comrades before they ran out of Mana. When the Eight-eyed Frost Spider went berserk, the team''s Level 58, Tier 2 MTs rapidly lost HP. Seeing this, the rear line healers cast one Healing Spell after another without paying heed to their Mana consumption. This prevented the MTs'' HPs from falling below a safe limit In the meantime, the Eight-eyed Frost Spider''s HP steadily dropped. "Boss Wind, this place is awesome. Not only is our leveling speed here so fast, but we''ve also collected a ton of Ice Resistance resources. We should''ve partnered with Miracle sooner. The Guild might have given us a spot in the inner region," a Level 58, Tier 2 Oracle said excitedly as he watched the near-dead Eight-eyed Frost Spider. "The Guild Leader has his own concerns. We weren''t sure how serious Miracle was about eliminating Zero Wing, and we couldn''t recklessly provoke Zero Wing," Miserly Wind said, smiling. "But now that we know how furious Miracle is with the Guild and that it fully intends to annihilate Zero Wing, we don''t have to worry about them. Even if we are bait, Zero Wing won''t dare to attack us, and we can grind in such a resource-rich area in return." "I actually hope that Zero Wing comes looking for a fight. If they do, we''ll be able to earn some extra income," the Tier 2 Oracle said as he licked his lips in anticipation. "That isn''t likely. Zero Wing should know that it has no place in the Ice Jade Forest anymore. Of course, Miracle has cut the Guild off from every map in the Lake Heart City region, not just the Ice Jade Forest If Zero Wing dares to dispatch a force to any of these maps, Miracle will destroy it. However, Zero Wing will crumble, sooner or later, regardless of what it does. Now that the various large Guilds are provoking Zero Wing on the official forums, its reputation will suffer if it refuses to respond. If the situation drags on, no player will want to be a member of the Guild," Miserly Wind said, chuckling. "Once Zero Wing is gone, our Guild can garrison in Lake Heart City and enjoy a share of the Ice Crystal World''s profits." Just as the Eight-eyed Frost Spider was about to die, Shi Feng''s 1,000-man team had sneaked within 2,000 yards of Eternal Undead''s army. The team''s 200 Tier 2 experts led the charge against Eternal Undead on their Mounts, while the remaining 800 experts followed on foot. Eternal Undead''s scouting Rangers immediately noticed the commotion and reported back to the team. "Boss Wind, we found Zero Wing''s members! They''re charging toward our team!" the Oracle beside Miserly Wind exclaimed as he read the scouts'' message. "What? Have Zero Wing''s members lost their minds?" The news confused Miserly Wind. "How many are there?" "It''s a 1,000-man team," the Tier 2 Oracle said. "A 1,000-man team?" Miserly Wind chuckled. "Zero Wing sorely overestimates itself. It dares to charge at us with just 1,000 players? Do they think that Eternal Undead is a Guild of pushovers? Tell our players to finish the Boss quickly and prepare to greet Zero Wing''s team. This is our Guild''s chance to bolster our fame in the Black Dragon Empire! We mustn''t let Miracle''s members take it from us!" Among his 3,000 players, 1,500 were experts and 40-plus were Tier 2 players. Miserly Wind was not worried about Zero Wing''s assault at all. When Zero Wing''s 1,000-man team was less than 500 yards away from Eternal Undead''s, the latter finally defeated the Eight-eyed Frost Spider. Under Miserly Wind''s command, Eternal UndeacTs members then fell into a defensive formation to greet the enemy Guild. "Attack! Our chance to get rich has come!" Miserly Wind shouted when less than 100 yards separated the two forces. The battlefield glowed with countless lights as Spells and arrows flew to meet Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts as they led the charge. "Kill them!" Fierce Snake bellowed when he saw the incoming attacks. He brandished his battle axe, slamming it on the ground before him. The earth split, and walls of rock and dirt rose up before Fierce Snake, stopping the Spells and arrows that targeted his players. Zero Wing''s other Tier 2 players didn''t bother to dodge the incoming attacks, either. Like Fierce Snake, they blocked every attack without fail. Although some of the incoming attacks included Tier 2 Spells and Skills, they posed no threat to Zero Wing''s Tier 2 players due to the Basic Combat Devices'' effects. With little-to-no effort, Zero Wing''s Tier 2 players stopped one wave of attacks after another, soon reaching Eternal Undead''s defensive wall. The defensive wall Eternal Undead''s MTs had formed was practically non-existent to Fierce Snake and his comrades. With a single attack, each of Zero Wing''s Tier 2 melee players sent multiple MTs flying. In the blink of an eye, Fierce Snake and the others broke through Eternal Undead''s defensive wall and pounced on the ranged players like hungry lions pouncing on a flock of sheep. Eternal Undead''s Tier 1 players lasted no more than a handful of hits before Zero Wing''s enhanced Tier 2 experts, and the enemy Guild''s Tier 2 experts were no exception. The difference between their Basic Attributes was already massive, and after including physique, reaction speed, and several other aspects, Eternal Undead''s members stood no chance against these Zero Wing experts. Even though Eternal Undead''s healers frantically cast their Healing Spells, they couldn''t stop the rapid drain on their allies'' HPs. After a brief moment, over 500 of Eternal Undead''s players were dead, their bodies transforming into streaks of light and fading from the Ice Jade Forest. "How is this possible?!" Miserly Wind''s eyes widened in shock, paling as he watched his Guild''s experts die, one after another. He had never dreamed that his Guild''s experts would be so weak against Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts. In fact, not even Eternal Undead''s Tier 2 players survived more than a few hits from Fierce Snake and his friends... However, Miserly Wind didn''t know that Fierce Snake and his team had the combat power to rival peak experts. Naturally, 200 peak experts would have no trouble slaughtering 3,000 ordinary experts, and only half of Eternal Undead''s team consisted of expert players. Upon seeing Zero Wing''s remaining 800 players draw near, fear overwhelmed Miserly Wind. Two hundred of these players had already devastated his team. If another 800 players joined the fray... "Retreat! Everyone retreat to Miracle''s teams! We''ll be safe once we meet up with them!" Miserly Wind shouted in a panic. 1962 Bait? Chapter 1962 - Bait? As soon as Miserly Wind gave the command to retreat, Eternal Undead''s panicking members calmed down and ran towards Miracle''s last-known grinding spot. Although Zero Wing''s members were strong, Miracle was a veteran super-first-rate Guild that rivaled Super Guilds. Not only did the Guild have its fair share of experts, but those experts were also far superior to those in Eternal Undead in terms of weapons, equipment, and combat standards. Most importantly, Zero Wing would not dare to fight Miracle in a large-scale battle. As long as they met up with one of Miracle''s 1,000-man teams, they''d have protection from Zero Wing. Like madmen, Eternal Undead''s remaining 2,000-plus members split up and ran for Miracle''s teams. Fierce Snake and his companions were momentarily stunned as they watched their enemies flee. The battle hadn''t even started ten seconds ago, yet their opponents were already running for their lives. "Boss Wind, I''ve contacted Miracle! It''s sending its teams to our location now!" the Tier 2 Oracle informed Miserly Wind, who wore a twisted expression. He could empathize with his leader. Of the 3,000 players their Guild had dispatched, half were expert players, yet the moment they collided with Zero Wing, they had lost more than 300 of those experts. The Guild only had a little over 4,000 expert players in total, and nearly 10% had died in the blink of an eye. This was a heavy blow to their Guild. "Notify everyone and tell them to lure as many Zero Wing members to Miracle''s forces as possible! We cannot let Zero Wing off the hook after killing so many of our Guild''s experts!" Miserly Wind growled as he glanced at the enemy players chasing him and his teammates. "We''ll meet up with Miracle and surround Zero Wing''s team, slaughtering every one of its players!" Their Guild had lost too much in this battle, but the lost levels were only secondary. The lost weapons and equipment was far more important. The Guild had used a lot of resources to acquire these items for their experts. Meanwhile, before they had collected a notable harvest from the Ice Jade Forest, they had lost so many assets. They had to get pay-back. "Understood! I''ll have the others maintain their distance from Zero Wing''s members," the Tier 2 Oracle said, nodding. When he glanced back at Fierce Snake and the others, who still pursued Eternal Undead''s players, he thought this was a good opportunity to recoup their losses. "Let''s see if Zero Wing can deal with a stronger force!" Zero Wing was famed for its wealth. Its members were all very weH-equipped. Since Zero Wing''s members here had such high Attributes, they definitely wore top-tier weapons and equipment. Although Miserly Wind''s plan would increase the team''s casualty count, it would be worth it if they could claim some of Zero Wing''s weapons and equipment, bolstering their Guild''s main force. After saying so, the Tier 2 Oracle informed his teammates to slow down deliberately. By doing so, they would ensure that Zero Wing''s members, who were forced to stop whenever they killed someone, could catch up. This would create the illusion that Zero Wing''s members would eventually catch and kill every Eternal Undead member, encouraging Fierce Snake and his team to continue the chase. After another thousand yards or so, Eternal Undead had a little more than 1,600 surviving members. Miserly Wind''s face contorted'' he hadn''t expected Zero Wing''s members to be so ferocious. "Boss Wind, look!" the Tier 2 Oracle shouted excitedly as he pointed toward the large group of players in the forest ahead. "Good! Have everyone get ready!" When Miserly Wind saw the Miracle''s mounted members, the sight rekindled his hope. "This moment will determine whether or not our Guild can progress in the Black Dragon Empire!" When Eternal Undead''s members saw Miracle''s players, they stopped holding back and ran toward Miracle''s forces at full power. As if they had prepared for this moment, Miracle''s 2,000-man team split into two groups, one moving towards Fierce Snake and his companions, while the other moved to intercept Shi Feng''s 800 players. "Guild Leader, Miracle''s members have arrived," Fierce Snake, who led the charge, informed Shi Feng when he saw Miracle''s members emerge from the forest ahead. "They''re finally here?" Calmly, Shi Feng ordered, "In that case, let''s get started!" "We can finally get to work?" Fierce Snake''s eyes glowed with excitement. He then shouted through the team chat, "Brothers, it''s time to earn our keep!" "Wonderful! I can finally get serious!" "This game of cat and mouse is over." "Hey, leave some for me! I want to experiment with some Basic Combat Techniques!" Excitement shot through Zero Wing''s members as they watched the fleeing Eternal Undead team. Suddenly, their Movement Speeds skyrocketed, and they instantly closed the distance between them and their prey. They then used one Skill after another. For a time, bright lights and explosions filled the forest. Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts instantly slew the enemy Tier 1 experts that had lasted a few moves against them previously. Two hundred of the 1,600-plus fleeing players fell in the blink of an eye. Despite fleeing with all of their power, Fierce Snake''s team caught up with Eternal Undead''s players in seconds. Following which, Eternal Undead''s team member count decreased with lightning speed. After a short moment, less than 100 players remained alive from Eternal Undead. Due to this abrupt change, Miserly Wind, who had prepared to celebrate his plan''s success, was dazed. However, Miserly Wind didn''t know that Fierce Snake and his men had nearly as much combat power as peak experts because of their extraordinary Basic Attributes and physiques. Killing inferior players was a piece of cake. Fierce Snake and his team were even more efficient at hunting down and killing ordinary experts than true peak experts. How is this possible? How are they suddenly so strong? Miserly Wind was bewildered as he watched his Guildmates fall, one after another, behind him. He didn''t understand what was happening. Fierce Snake''s team was superior to his in terms of combat methods, Attack power, and Movement Speed. They fought like completely different people than they had in the earlier battle. As Miracle''s members drew nearer, Miserly Wind thought of a possibility. Could it be... Have they been using us as bait to lure Miracle''s members all this time? 1963 The Might of the Magicbreaking Crossbows Chapter 1963 - The Might of the Magicbreaking Crossbows Miserly Wind shuddered as he considered the possibility. He had never thought that Zero Wing was crazy enough to face Miracle head-on. But with another glance at the enemy players, he couldn''t care less whether or not he and his team had been bait. All Miserly Wind could think of was escaping. At his level, he''d need several days of hard work to recover from a single death. Moreover, he wore higher quality weapons and equipment than the Guild''s other experts. If he lost one of his items, who knew how long it would take to find a replacement? Miracle''s team was only a hundred yards away now. As long as he met up with the approaching force, the fight would go on for some time, giving him the opportunity to get away, even if Miracle''s army was no match for Fierce Snake and his monstrous players. As Miracle''s forces drew closer, they spotted Eternal Undead''s surviving members. "Damn it! Zero Wing''s team actually has the guts to kill our allies right before our eyes!" Miracle''s members wore sour expressions as they watched Eternal Undead''s players die. They immediately increased their speed. "Finally." Once Miracle''s members were within his attack range, Fierce Snake used Charge, reaching the enemy MTs instantly. He tightened his grip on his battle axe and swept the weapon in a horizontal arc. Tier 2 Skill, Bladestorm! With Fierce Snake as the center, a powerful storm brewed, enveloping a 20-yard radius and sending over a dozen MTs airborne. The attack interrupted Miracle''s offensive charge on the spot Zero Wing''s other Tier 2 experts joined the fray without hesitation. Like a sharpened blade, they pierced Miracle''s formation, diving for the team''s core. With their advantage in Basic Attributes and physique, Miracle''s 1,000-man team had no hope of stopping their advance. Only Miracle''s Tier 2 experts were able to put up a fight, although barely. Zero Wing slaughtered their Tier 1 experts with very little effort. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s Tier 2 ranged players bombarded Miracle''s rear line, preventing the enemy DPS from providing their comrades any support. After a brief moment, Zero Wing''s 200-man team gained the upper hand. Although Miracle''s team was not as easy to defeat as Eternal Undead''s, it didn''t fare much better. As for the Miracle team that had charged for Shi Feng''s 800-man party, Shi Feng waved a hand and cast Flame Domain once it was within 50 yards and prepared to attack. At the same time, Zhao Yueru cast Frostflame Hell. Two towering pillars of fire enveloped Miracle''s members. The players caught within the AOE turned to ash instantly, vanishing from the battlefield. This Miracle team suffered a far more tragic fate than the one facing Fierce Snake''s party... "How is this..." Miserly Wind slid to a halt, staring at the flaming pillars with a stupid expression. A single round of attacks had wiped out nearly half of Miracle''s 1,000-man team. If they hadn''t spread out, the two Spells would''ve had no trouble eliminating the majority of Miracle''s force. Miserly Wind felt as if Eternal Undead''s desperate fight against Zero Wing had been little more than a warm-up for his adversaries. As everyone was in shock over witnessing the power of the two large-scale destruction Spells... "Crossbow unit, get ready!" Shi Feng shouted. He then pointed at the remaining Miracle members and commanded, "Fire!" Immediately, the 60 Tier 1 Rangers at the front of the team released the Magicbreaking Crossbows'' bolts. Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! The Magicbreaking Crossbows had an attack range of 70 yards, even longer than that of Tier 2 Rangers. At this point, the entirety of Miracle''s force was within range. When the 60 Magicbreaking Bolts were released, they flew through the air so fast that even Tier 2 Assassins would have trouble dodging them. Furthermore, Miracle''s members were still in shock. The Magicbreaking Crossbows instantly claimed 60 Miracle lives. The rest of the force only returned to their senses after watching their allies die beside them. When Miracle''s members realized that even Tier 2 experts had fallen, a chilling thought crept into their minds. The moment after the first bolts found their marks, the Magicbreaking Crossbows launched a second volley. Although many of Miracle''s members had noticed the attacks, the Magicbreaking Bolts were just too fast. Miracle''s Tier 1 players had no hope of dodging the attacks and died instantly; only the force''s Tier 2 players had managed to evade the incoming bolts. After two volleys, Miracle''s 1,000-man team had lost more than 100 players. The 60 Magicbreaking Crossbows ended their lives even faster than Fierce Snake and his friends. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" The Tier 2 player leading the assault on Shi Feng''s 800-man team shouted, fear gripping his heart as he gazed at the corpse pinned to the ground beside him. The 60 Magicbreaking Crossbows were far more frightening than the earlier large-scale destruction Spells. The Spells had long Cooldowns and couldn''t be used once the two forces met in melee combat, but the crossbows'' Cooldowns were quite short and easily landed attacks in close quarters. Most importantly, the crossbows could kill a player with full HP in a single attack, and not even the Tier 2 MTs were an exception. How were they supposed to fight such a weapon? After issuing the command to retreat, Miserly Wind, who rested a long distance away, was dumbfounded. He had thought that Miracle would last against Zero Wing, but the fight that he had just witnessed couldn''t even be called a battle. It had been a one-sided massacre. Although Miracle''s leader had ordered a retreat, even he, a Tier 2 Refinement Realm expert, had died after becoming a target for more than ten Magicbreaking Crossbows. The leader hadn''t been able to resist as Zero Wing turned him into a human pin-cushion. These Magicbreaking Crossbows are amazing! Gentle Snow watched Zero Wing devastate the remnants of Miracle''s 1,000- man team with wide, shocked eyes. She had recognized the Tier 2 team leader as a Refinement Realm expert, yet he had fallen after taking ten or so Magicbreaking Bolts. The Magicbreaking Crossbow was truly an amazing weapon in a frontal confrontation. Now, she, more or less, realized why Shi Feng had dared to take so few players to Ice Jade Forest. Although the Magicbreaking Crossbow was a Consumable, it could fire 300 Magicbreaking Bolts, which had been formed with Mana, before breaking. With the 60 Magicbreaking Crossbows they had, they had enough firepower to survive a large- scale battle involving tens of thousands of players. Although more than 100,000 enemies resided in the Ice Jade Forest, less than 30,000 were from Miracle. As long as they picked their fights carefully and only took on several thousand Miracle members at a time, they could end Miracle''s tyranny in this map. Meanwhile, Fierce Snake and his companions chased down Miracle''s fleeing members on the other side of the battlefield. Although Miracle''s members desperately fled, Zero Wing''s Tier 2 players held an absolute advantage in terms of speed. Miracle''s members didn''t get far before they died. Aside from a few players that had used Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls, none escaped death. "How''d it go?" Shi Feng asked Fierce Snake as he watched the rest of the team loot the battlefield. "Unfortunately, a dozen or so got away, but we haven''t had any casualties," Fierce Snake reported. "Good. Publish the video of the battle with Eternal Undead and Miracle on the official forums. Let''s show the other Guilds that if they want to kick us while we''re down, Miracle won''t be able to protect them!" Shi Feng said. "Understood!" Fierce Snake nodded. 1964 Black Dragon Empire Shaken Chapter 1964 - Black Dragon Empire Shaken The war between Miracle and Zero Wing was no longer a secret in the Black Dragon Empire. Almost every player in the empire knew about it, and everyone had assumed that Zero Wing was doomed. Until now, no large Guild in God''s Domain had survived a serious confrontation with a superpower. All of the lesser Guilds had fallen in a short time, and Miracle had already placed a bounty on Zero Wing''s experts and upper echelons. The offer was high enough to tempt many of the empire''s experts, and countless players had secretly taken action. Miracle had even recruited the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds in its war with Zero Wing, and despite the public provocations on the forums each day, the Guild hadn''t responded, and Zero Wing''s reputation in the empire had plummeted. At this point, many of Zero Wing''s members had considered withdrawing from the Guild. After all, players joined Guilds to ease the burden of leveling up and share in the Guild''s glory. Nobody would join a cowardly Guild that the public ridiculed. Meanwhile, the empire''s various large Guilds spent their time preparing. The moment Zero Wing withdrew from the Black Dragon Empire, they would swoop in to take over its abandoned territories. However, an uproar shook the forums shortly after Fierce Snake uploaded the battle videos he and his teammates had recorded. The forum post''s title was particularly eye-catching. Death to those who support Miracle! He had published the post under Zero Wing''s name, and the imposing response was hard to ignore. Less than a minute after the post went live, it had become the most popular of the day with over a million views. "Amazing! Zero Wing is simply amazing! Eternal Undead''s members died right in front of Miracle''s members, yet Miracle couldn''t do anything about it!" "I wonder how the various large Guilds feel now? Zero Wing is obviously showing them that even if they have Miracle''s support, the Guild can''t protect them." "Zero Wing is so arrogant. It''s just one Guild. Does Zero Wing really think it can survive if so many Guilds band together? This warning will only enrage its enemies and make Zero Wing''s situation worse." "That might not be the case. Did you see how Eternal Undead''s members died? They were fish on the chopping board in front of Zero Wing''s team. Although Eternal Undead is only an average second-rate Guild, it is still a bona fide second-rate Guild, yet Zero Wing slaughtered its members. The other Guilds will only suffer the same fate." "That''s right This 1,000-man team from Zero Wing is simply ferocious. It almost annihilated Miracle''s 2,000-man army. If such a team targets other Guilds'' expert teams, the outcome will likely be the same." "Zero Wing is really a Guild of experts. I think I''ll stick with joining Zero Wing." The empire''s players had a heated discussion over the battle videos Fierce Snake had published. They had never thought that the moment Zero Wing took action, the Guild would make such a terrifying move. With a single battle, it had deterred other Guilds from trying to take advantage of the war and humiliated Miracle. Zero Wing hadn''t suffered a single casualty in this latest battle, while Eternal Undead and Miracle''s teams had been almost extinguished. Despite the two Guilds having five-times as many players, their defeat had still been miserable. This proved to everyone in the empire that Zero Wing''s strength wasn''t superficial. When Zero Wing''s members saw the post, however, their passion and enthusiasm rekindled. They all wished they had taken part in the battle and given Miracle a good beating. At the same time, many Zero Wing members aspired to become expert members more than ever. They hoped that they could one day fight overwhelming odds, securing an absolute victory like Fierce Snake and the others. Just the idea was exhilarating. "Hahaha! Let''s see if those Guilds dare to act so arrogantly before us again!" "All hail Zero Wing! All hail the Guild Leader!" When the various superpowers'' upper echelons received news of the battle, an indescribable shock overwhelmed them. The battle''s outcome had a greater impact on them than it had on the general public. Ordinary players might not be able to determine Fierce Snake and his team''s exact strength, but they could. "How has Zero Wing secured so many experts with the combat power to rival peak experts?" Yuan Tiexin read the latest report with furrowed brows. Peak experts were a Guild''s core combatants. Not even the various superpowers had many peak experts, yet Zero Wing had just revealed a force of 200 seemingly out of nowhere. A team of 200 peak experts would be an absolute nightmare out in the fields. Destroying such a force would require an army of tens of thousands of elite and expert players as well the use of magic arrays. "Miracle likely has quite the headache over this situation right now. It had probably never considered that the little bug it was trying to crush would turn out to be a steel spike," Purple Jade said, giggling. Miracle had always been overbearing. Normally, even Super Guilds avoided clashing with the Guild, whereas super-first-rate Guilds were often oppressed by it. However, she also had to admit that Miracle had the strength to do so. Seeing the Guild suffer such devastating, repeated losses was extremely rare. Meanwhile, in Miracle''s Residence in Lake Heart City... The room''s atmosphere was intensely chilly. Many of the empire''s large Guilds had given up on provoking Zero Wing due to its recent demonstration. After all, the Guild had proven that Miracle couldn''t guarantee their safety in the fields. No matter how one looked at it, letting a large number of Guild experts die just to grind in a better resource map wasn''t worthwhile. "Damn it! How did Zero Wing suddenly obtain so many experts?!" Thousand Miles paled as he watched the battle video before him. "I thought Zero Wing could only produce a small number of those Basic Combat Devices?!" After Fierce Snake''s team had displayed their strength at Blue Wave Rock, Miracle had sent spies to investigate the source of their power. With Zero Wing''s current standards, gaining so many peak experts so quickly was impossible. The only explanation was that the Guild had acquired a special tool. Based on those investigations, they had learned that Fierce Snake and his companions had become so powerful through a tool known as the Basic Combat Device. However, while this tool was very powerful, it had a limited duration, and only a small number could be crafted each day. At most, Zero Wing could supply a 100-man team for a full day. Fortunately, once these players scattered across the empire, they''d no longer pose much of a threat. But Zero Wing had revealed 200 of these experts in the latest confrontation. Thousand Miles could not figure out how Zero Wing had managed to craft so many more Basic Combat Devices. If Zero Wing could truly maintain a 200-man team of these experts at all times, it would impact the current war''s status quo. Moreover, they had discovered that Zero Wing had a powerful collection of heavy crossbows during the battle. Not only did the crossbows'' attacks contain immense Strength, but they were also impressively fast. If ten or so Magicbreaking Crossbows attacked together, even a Tier 2 Refinement Realm expert would fall without the use of an Invulnerability Skill. "Vice Guild Leader Shredded, should we dispatch our peak experts to reinforce the Ice Jade Forest?" Miracle Dragon asked as he turned to Shredded Soul. "Forget it. Order a retreat," Shredded Soul said, shaking his head. "Retreat?" Confused, Thousand Miles asked, "Are we just letting Zero Wing off the hook?" "Do you plan to order our forces to continue the fight?" Shredded Soul glared at Thousand Miles. Coldly, he continued, "Zero Wing has proven that it has the strength to fight us toe-to-toe in the Black Dragon Empire. We might win if we continue fighting, but we''ll pay a heavy price and fulfill the other superpowers'' long-held wish! If we have to pay such a price for defeating Zero Wing in the empire, what will we gain? "How would we have lost so many elite and expert players if not for your stupidity? Had you investigated Zero Wing properly before taking action, I wouldn''t have had to come here and clean up your mess! I''ll deliver a report to the Guild Leader personally, so I suggest you cool down in the meantime!" Shredded Soul''s reprimand left Thousand Miles speechless, but he still felt wronged. Who would''ve thought that an up-and- coming Guild like Zero Wing, which wasn''t backed by any corporation, was so powerful? "I will return to the western continent. I''ll leave the clean-up to you," Shredded Soul added as he stared at Thousand Miles. He then used a Guild Transfer Scroll and vanished from the meeting room. 1965 Quasi-super-first-rate Guild Chapter 1965 - Quasi-super-first-rate Guild Black Dragon Empire, Ice Jade Forest Despite Thousand Miles''s reluctance, he had no choice but to follow Shredded Soul''s command and recall the Guild members from the Ice Jade Forest. Meanwhile, Miracle''s retreat caused a sensation throughout the Black Dragon Empire. "What''s going on?" "Miracle''s retreating?" "That''s not possible, right? Miracle is a super-first-rate Guild, yet it''s actually giving up on Zero Wing?" The sudden turn of events stupefied the empire''s players. They simply could not figure out what had caused Miracle to turn away from Zero Wing so abruptly. The two Guilds had only engaged in a single battle involving several thousand players. To both, such a small battle wasn''t even a warm-up. Thus far, all of Miracle''s actions had displayed its intention to annihilate Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire, yet they had fled from their prey. It was as if everything had just been an act. "How disappointing! Miracle retreated after such a minor battle! And here I thought it was some amazing Guild. In the end, it is no different than the empire''s other Guilds!" "All hail Zero Wing! Even Miracle can''t take down Zero Wing!" Varied opinions of Miracle''s withdrawal split the empire''s players. Some players felt that Miracle didn''t deserve its title as a super-first-rate Guild since it couldn''t even take out a non-superpower like Zero Wing, and others assumed Miracle had given up because Zero Wing truly was powerful. "That cowardly Shredded Soul! He hasn''t even started the war, yet he''s already given up! I even ensured that he had all the information he needed!" Nine Dragons Emperor slammed his fist into his desk when he read the report on Miracle''s withdrawal from the Black Dragon Empire. He had hoped to use Miracle to wound Zero Wing. He had never expected the superpower to pack up and leave so soon. Meanwhile, in one of Lake Heart City''s high-class restaurants... "Uncle Yuan, look! Shredded Soul has returned to the western continent to take charge of things there! By the looks of it, he''s really given up on Zero Wing," Purple Jade exclaimed, surprised. She had investigated Shredded Soul personally and had concluded that the man was truly ruthless. Once he set out to do something, he never gave up, yet he had decisively pulled his forces away from the conflict with Zero Wing. This was unbelievable. "It''s not that unusual. After all, there is no benefit in continuing the war with Zero Wing. At most, Miracle will restore some of its damaged reputation. With 200 experts that possess the combat power to rival peak experts and those heavy crossbows, Zero Wing qualified to contend with a superpower. Unless Miracle decides to go all-out, it''ll be helpless against the smaller Guild. Moreover, Miracle is fighting a remote war; it already has to expend a lot of resources to engage in this war. Miracle''s position will only become more of a disadvantage as the war drags on," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. Taking a sip from the cup of icy-blue wine in his hand, he continued, "At the end of the day, Miracle is a massive organization set out to make money. There''s no way it would abandon everything it has built for its reputation. Since Zero Wing has proven that it has the strength to protect itself for some time, and the other superpowers know Miracle''s strength, Miracle has no reason to continue fighting." "That makes sense." Purple Jade nodded. "However, Zero Wing is pretty impressive. It''s always has a surprise up its sleeve. I had thought the Guild was doomed this time; I hadn''t expected it to reveal such a trump card. It''s no wonder why Zero Wing dared to compete with the various superpowers over the Ore Empire''s resources." In God''s Domain, might was right. Provoking Miracle wasn''t a problem as long as Zero Wing could endure the larger Guild''s wrath. If Zero Wing couldn''t do that, Miracle would destroy the Guild. If it could, it would survive. It was just that simple. The various superpowers would not ridicule Miracle for being weak because it failed to destroy a Guild that merely rivaled first-rate Guilds. They would only take joy in the fact that Miracle had accidentally tugged on a tiger''s tail. "However, it''s too early for Zero Wing to celebrate. The Guild still has a bumpy road ahead. Furthermore, Miracle will definitely strike if given the chance in the future," Yuan Tiexin said. Miracle had only given up on dealing with Zero Wing this time because the losses outweighed the gains. Even if it defeated Zero Wing, all it would gain was reputation. While reputation was important for a Guild''s development, it was not particularly important to a veteran super-first-rate Guild like Miracle. However, it was a different story for the various superpowers operating in the Ore Empire. These superpowers were there to obtain resources for their development It was entirely possible for these organizations to use everything they had to remove Zero Wing. They wouldn''t give up as easily as Miracle. Now that Zero Wing had exposed two more trump cards, its development in the Ore Empire would be at risk. While Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade conversed, the various superpowers expressed their astonishment over Zero Wing''s performance. They had never dreamed that a Guild with no background was capable of forging such a sturdy foundation. They all ordered further investigations on Zero Wing, desperate to know more about the Basic Combat Devices and Magicbreaking Crossbows. Due to this latest battle, the various superpowers realized that while Guild experts were important, God''s Domain''s tools were just as crucial. Zero Wing''s success in fending off Miracle was the best proof of this. The Black Dragon Empire''s large Guilds, in particular, feared for their survival after watching Zero Wing slaughter Eternal Undead''s 3,000-man force. When they heard that Miracle had withdrawn its players from the war, they immediately recalled their forces from the Ice Jade Forest and reached out to butter up to Zero Wing. If even a super-first-rate Guild like Miracle was powerless against Zero Wing, what hope did their Guilds have? Zero Wing had proven its strength to everyone in the Black Dragon Empire with the battle in the Ice Jade Forest. Although it was not a super-first-rate Guild, it had the power to stand against one. Zero Wing was now only second to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the hearts of the empire''s players. To be precise, the Black Dragon Empire''s general populace recognized Zero Wing as a quassuper-first-rate Guild and that it was only a matter of time before it became a true super-first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds that had previously provoked Zero Wing or taken delight in the Guild''s misfortune were now quite nervous, especially the Guilds that had openly antagonized Zero wing. These Guilds were terrified that Zero Wing would seek retribution. With Zero Wing''s strength, it would have no trouble removing their Guilds from the Black Dragon Empire; all it would need was time and resources. "Guild Leader, more than a dozen Guilds are trying to cozy up to us. Each Guild is offering Magic Crystals and rare materials as compensation. Should we meet with their representatives?" Gentle Snow asked Shi Feng. Before she had time to recover from her shock over Miracle''s abrupt retreat, a large number of Guilds had contacted her, wanting to repair their relationship with Zero Wing. They were even willing to make reparations. She hadn''t expected this development. 1966 Overnight Fortune Chapter 1966 - Overnight Fortune "Compensation?" Shi Feng chuckled at Gentle Snow''s report. "These Guilds sure reacted quickly." Now that Zero Wing''s strength had been recognized, it was the perfect time to develop its influence in the Black Dragon Empire. However, since Zero Wing''s development was currently limited by its resources, it had to claim other Guild''s resources. Fortunately, quite a few of the empire''s Guilds had openly provoked Zero Wing, so it was well within its rights to eliminate these Guilds and take over their resources. No one would reprimand Zero Wing for doing so. Naturally, these offending Guilds had considered the possibility of such an outcome. Although Zero Wing could only take on a few Guilds at a time, on the off chance that they were one of the unlucky few, they''d be doomed. Hence, the various Guilds that had provoked Zero Wing tried desperately to repair their relationships with Zero Wing. "Should I call in their representatives, then?" Gentle Snow understood the meaning behind Shi Feng''s comment. While Zero Wing''s reputation had improved, it would take some time to develop the Guild''s strength. Moreover, doing so would require a lot of funds. Rather than waste resources on annihilating one or two large Guilds, they needed to use this opportunity to claim compensation from the dozen or so Guilds, making a fortune. This way, Zero Wing would gain both the money and the resources it needed for its development without lifting a finger. "There''s no need. Just tell them this; second-rate Guilds will compensate Zero Wing with 30,000 Magic Crystals and 50,000 Gold in rare materials or Lands in major NPC cities. Zero Wing requires 15,000 Magic Crystals and 30,000 Gold in rare materials or Lands from third-rate Guilds!" Shi Feng said. "If they don''t pay up, they''ll have to bear the consequences!" While it seemed as though Zero Wing had easily defeated Miracle, Shi Feng knew how close his Guild had been to defeat. In God''s Domain, a war between Guilds was a competition of capital and expert players. When a Guild went to war, it had to spend money like there was no tomorrow. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s victory had been achieved through spending a massive number of Magic Crystals and resources. The Magicbreaking Crossbows were worth the price since they could be reused; they would only disappear after their uses had been depleted. However, the Basic Combat Devices were different. Once they had been activated, they''d vanish after 12 hours; they could not be deactivated to save their remaining duration. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had invested more than 80,000 Magic Crystals into crafting the two tools. The rest of the materials had also cost a ton of money. In addition, the Guild had to compensate its members that had died in the fights. After fighting Miracle for just a few short days, Zero Wing''s pockets were almost empty... Fortunately, Zero Wing had secured a Manatite vein. Otherwise, the Black Dragon Empire''s Branch Guild would''ve been finished. He was also fortunate that Miracle didn''t know the tools'' production costs. Had Miracle known about the expenditures, it would have continued this war. "This..." Hearing Shi Feng''s demands, Gentle Snow asked worriedly, "Aren''t these prices a little too high?" Currently, the average second-rate Guild only occupied a few NPC cities, while the more powerful second-rate Guilds occupied a dozen or so. These Guilds'' range of influence wasn''t particularly vast. While 50,000 Gold in resources or Land was bearable for a second-rate Guild, 30,000 Magic Crystals definitely weren''t. At this stage of the game, 30,000 Magic Crystals were roughly half of a second-rate Guild''s stockpile. Although it had become much easier to acquire Magic Crystals, players also needed to consume more of them, especially after the ''Return of the Survivors'' expansion pack had been implemented. "It''s fine. Just inform them," Shi Feng said, chuckling. While losing half of the Guild''s Magic Crystal stockpile was a significant cost, it would not impede the Guild''s normal operations. It would simply force the Guild into stagnation for a short time. Moreover, he urgently needed Magic Crystals right now. He couldn''t afford to be courteous with these Guilds. Following which, Gentle Snow conveyed Shi Feng''s price to the various large Guilds. When they received Zero Wing''s demands, all of these Guilds went into an uproar. The rare materials weren''t an issue since every Guild had an extraordinary stock of resources by now, but Magic Crystals were crucial to a Guild''s development "Damn Zero Wing! It might as well rob us at this point!" "Guild Leader, what should we do?" "Pay the Guild! We can''t afford to stand out right now. Although Miracle failed to destroy Zero Wing, Blackwater and Beast Emperor have still been eyeing the Guild in the Ore Empire. They won''t let Zero Wing off the hook as easily as Miracle has." The various large Guilds were enraged when they received Gentle Snow''s message. They had barely claimed any resources in the high-resource maps Miracle had given them, yet they were now required to pay such expensive compensation. Their partnership with Miracle had been an utter mistake. However, due to the threat Zero Wing posed, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and swallow the loss. Within three hours after receiving Gentle Snow''s message, the various large Guilds sent their representatives to deliver the requested resources to Zero Wing''s Residence in Lake Heart City. When Gentle Snow and the Guild''s other upper echelons received the payments, they were ecstatic. "Snow! We''re rich!" Zhao Yueru exclaimed as she gazed at the Magic Crystals and multiple resources in the Guild Warehouse. They had received compensation from more than a dozen Guilds! Among the Guilds that had paid their dues, five were second-rate Guilds, and eight were third-rate Guilds. In total, Zero Wing had received 270,000 Magic Crystals, a considerable amount even to the current superpowers. Furthermore, Zero Wing had gained 490,000 Gold in rare materials and Lands. Not only had Zero Wing earned back the resources it had spent in the war, but it had also made a huge profit. With this many resources, Zero Wing could afford to recruit tens of thousands of members in the Black Dragon Empire. It could also strengthen Hidden Fog Town''s defenses and upgrade it to Intermediate rank. I had expected it to take a few more days to collect 200,000 Magic Crystals, but I guess I don''t have to worry about the deadline anymore. Shi Feng was just as excited to see the miniature mountain of Magic Crystals. He didn''t dare to take risks with the Inferior Legendary Quest from the Jealous Witch. The penalty for failing the quest was no laughing matter. Moreover, he absolutely needed to the field magic array, Void Field. Field magic arrays were extremely rare in God''s Domain, and the only one he knew how to obtain was the one in the Witch''s Hill. He''d just have to get lucky to secure another one. Field magic arrays were so rare because of how powerful Advanced Field Magic Arrays were in wars and when plundering resources. Once players reached Level 65 and beyond, resources would become significantly more difficult to acquire due to how dangerous the monsters were in the appropriately leveled maps. Although these monsters had higher Basic Attributes, they also have visibly stronger combat standards once they reached Level 65 and beyond. Moreover, the more resource-rich a map was, the more visible this improvement would be. In comparison, monsters below Level 60 had roughly the same combat standards regardless of what kind of map they occupied. At most, their Basic Attributes would differ slightly. The weakest monsters in Level 65-plus maps had combat standards on par with the early stage of the Trial Tower''s third floor, while the stronger monsters could reach the fifth floor''s early stage. Most importantly, they would travel in larger numbers. Against such an abrupt difference, one could imagine how the various large Guilds would fare. Moreover, Guild experts had obviously lower Basic Attributes than monsters. If these Guild experts lost their combat standard advantage as well, they''d have a difficult time grinding. Because of this, few large Guilds had taken advantage of Level 65-plus maps in his previous life since they weren''t strong enough to grind the maps'' monsters. Hence, field magic arrays had become extremely important. A field magic array would provide a significant advantage over other Guilds when Guild members left to level up or grind for resources. And Void Field was an Advanced Field Magic Array. Now that I''ve settled matters in the Black Dragon Empire, it''s time to revisit the Witch''s Hill. When Shi Feng saw that the Branch Guild''s development was back on track, he took 200,000 Magic Crystals with him and teleported back to Zero Wing City. 1967 Candlelight Expands Chapter 1967 - Candlelight Expands Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City: In a seven-story, high-class restaurant a short distance away from Zero Wing''s Residence, three cloaked players observed the Residence from a private room. "Commander Cloud, the result of Miracle and Zero Wing''s war is out. Here is all of the information we purchased from the Secret Pavilion regarding Zero Wing," a male Half-elf said as he handed the male Tigerkin before him a file. "The war in the Black Dragon Empire ended when Miracle retreated from the empire and announced its withdrawal from the war." "What? Miracle was defeated?" Chopped Axe, the female Tigerkin beside the male Tigerkin, was slightly stunned. "How is that possible? That''s Miracle we''re talking about. The Guild is even stronger than it had been at its peak. How could it possibly lose?" As a member of the famous Death God Workshop, she was quite familiar with the various superpowers, especially their territories and overall strength. Miracle, in particular, was one of the superpowers the Death God Workshop watched closely. Not only had Miracle recently expanded its influence in God''s Domain, but it had also recruited plenty of well-known experts in the virtual gaming world. The Witch of the West, Alice, was one of the best examples. Recruiting Alice had significantly boosted the Guild''s overall strength, and not long ago, Miracle had secured a key resource point on the western continent. It only lacked a suitable opportunity to earn the public''s recognition as a Super Guild. If Miracle were granted the title of Super Guild, it would rank in the top half in terms of power. Miracle had a boundless future ahead of itself. Hence, Chopped Axe couldn''t believe that Zero Wing had actually defeated Miracle. "Miracle has indeed lost. Everyone in the Black Dragon Empire is talking about it," the male Half-elf, Frost Rain, confirmed. "Miracle retreated because Zero Wing had dispatched 200 experts with combat power on par with peak experts, which caught Miracle completely off guard. Once Miracle realized that a protracted war would be a waste of time and resources, it decided to give up and return home." "Two hundred experts with combat power that rivals peak experts?! This can''t be true, can it?!" Chopped Axe instinctively refused to believe Frost Rain''s claim. Even an ordinary super-first-rate Guild only had that many experts, including Domain Realm experts and true peak experts. "It''s true," Light Cloud, the male Tigerkin, said suddenly. "According to the Secret Pavilion''s report, Zero Wing has only accomplished this feat because it has used a tool called the Basic Combat Device. However, the Basic Combat Device has a relatively short duration. In addition, Zero Wing has the frightening Magicbreaking Crossbow. When a dozen or so of these crossbows are fired together, they can even instant-kill a Tier 2 Refinement Realm expert. If Zero Wing amasses a sufficient stock of these crossbows, its members will even be able to instant-kill peak experts." "So, that''s the case. I knew a new Guild like Zero Wing couldn''t be that strong." Chopped Axe could not help but wipe the sweat from her forehead. If Zero Wing truly had so many powerful expert players, it could easily deal with the Death God Workshop. All it would need was some time and resources. The various superpowers were inclined to overlook the Workshop''s activities for this very reason. "Even if these tools have a time limit, they still pose a great threat," Light Cloud said as he rolled his eyes at Chopped Axe. "Alright, we can return and report to the Chief Commander now. We''ll let the Chief Commander decide how to deal with Zero Wing in the Fairy Country." After saying so, Light Cloud took a Return Scroll from his bag. He had no intention of wasting any more time in Zero Wing City. Frost Rain and Chopped Axe nodded in agreement. They had never expected Ninth Heaven to secure such a powerful backer. Meanwhile, the first thing Shi Feng did after returning to Zero Wing City was store the rare materials he had obtained in the Black Dragon Empire in Candlelight''s warehouse. He then had Melancholic Smile ramp up Candlelight''s recruitment for Lifestyle players and expand the firm''s operations. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm was developing nicely, it could only afford to nurture a limited number of Lifestyle players due to the lack of materials. As a result, Candlelight was restricted when recruiting Lifestyle players. Fortunately, Zero Wing had secured 490,000 Gold in rare materials through the war in the Black Dragon Empire. With so many materials, Candlelight could easily afford to recruit several thousand more members. Moreover, if Candlelight wished to develop in the Black Dragon Empire and Fairy Country, it would need a lot of additional manpower. As long as Candlelight established a foothold in these two countries, the trading firm''s income would double at the very minimum. After all, both the Black Dragon Empire and the Fairy Country had far higher player populations than Star-Moon Kingdom. Naturally, the demand for items in these countries would also be higher. Even if Candlelight did not become the number one trading firm in those countries, it would still earn a sizable income. As for Candlelight''s competitive edge, Shi Feng wasn''t worried about that. Due to the Philosopher''s Hand, Candlelight had gained an additional five Master Lifestyle players despite the fact that Melancholic Smile had kept the item''s usage to a minimum to keep it a secret. Among the five Master Lifestyle players nurtured, two were Master Alchemists, two were Master Forgers, and one was a Master Engineer. To Shi Feng''s surprise, Silent Wonder had successfully created an Advanced Alchemy Recipe as well, thanks to the assistance of Titan City and the Philosopher''s Hand. Now, Silent Wonder only needed to create one more Advanced Alchemy Recipe to become an Intermediate Master Alchemist! An Intermediate Master Alchemist was no less important than an Intermediate Master Forger. In fact, an Intermediate Master Alchemist played an even greater role in raiding Team Dungeons. Unlike Basic Master Alchemists, Intermediate Master Alchemists could craft Master Potions with a feasible success rate. If a team had a full stock of Master ranked defensive or resistance potions, the raid would become much easier. "Guild Leader, the auction for the virtual stores has concluded. Not a single corporation is willing to rent our stores. In contrast, the virtual stores in the two Guild Tows are selling like hotcakes..." Melancholic Smile said, visibly worried. "Although we''ve earned some Credits through selling the weapons and equipment you gave me earlier, it''s only enough to maintain the training ground for a short time." "Nobody is willing to rent?" Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he examined the information on the nearby Guild Towns Melancholic Smile had given him. "These towns have certainly developed quickly. They''ve already ensnared over 40 corporations? At this rate, won''t they become Intermediate Towns in less than ten days?" The Guild Towns'' development had exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Both had already invested in enough defensive structures to rival an Intermediate Town. Even more surprising was both towns'' defensive magic arrays, protecting the towns from monster assaults. These defensive magic arrays were the reason that the various corporations were so confident in investing in the towns. "Guild Leader, you''re still in the mood to joke around? Now that we''ve moved to the new training ground, our daily expenditure has gone through the roof. With the Credits we currently have, we''ll only last another five or six days," Melancholic Smile said, exasperated. She had already seen Liang Jing''s financial report, and she had been horrified. The number of Credits the Guild spent each day was absurd. "We''re burning through that much money?" Even Shi Feng was surprised when he saw the daily costs. He hadn''t realized that Ouroboros had spent such a frightening amount of Credits each day to maintain its training ground. The operational cost of Zero Wing''s training ground could already rival that of Shadow in the past And this was only the beginning. As Zero Wing recruited more internal members, the costs would increase. However, Shi Feng revealed a faint smile after a moment and said, "Let''s see who can outlast who, then." Shi Feng instructed Melancholic Smile to sell some of the crafted Level 50 Bronze and Mysterious Iron Equipment for Credits. The Credits from these sales should help the Guild survive for a while longer. Although Primordial Gas slowly spread throughout the Witch''s Hill, increasing the local monsters'' strength and weakening players'' combat power, monsters still needed time to evolve. After Shi Feng settled his affairs with the Candlelight Trading Firm, he used the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport to the Million Forest''s teleportation array. He then spent one Magic Crystal to teleport to the Otherworld Gate. The Jealous Witch appeared not long after Shi Feng had arrived. She quietly hovered in the air while looking down on Shi Feng. "Young adventurer, why have you returned so soon?" the Jealous Witch demanded. "Lady Witch, I have completed the task you gave me. Here are the 200,000 Magic Crystals you asked for," Shi Feng said as he removed 200,000 Magic Crystals from his bag, instantly forming a small mountain before him. Once all 200,000 Magic Crystals were accounted for, the Jealous Witch waved her hand lightly, and every crystal vanished into thin air. At the same time, the gigantic Otherworld Gate released a dazzling glow. Primordial Gas surged out. Then, a series of system notifications reached his ears. 1968 Divine Runic Armor Chapter 1968 - Divine Runic Armor System: You have triggered the new expansion pack "Primordial Heart." Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Players have triggered the new expansion, "Primordial Heart." The Primordial Heart will descend in the Witch''s Hill in three hours. Please prepare. The system announcement echoed in every player''s mind throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. When it finally ended, players fell into heated discussions over the new expansion. "What''s this Primordial Heart thing?" "Has some major event occurred in the Witch''s Hill?" "This new expansion pack will definitely be a huge opportunity. I wonder how Witch''s Hill will change this time?" "I knew I should''ve gone to the Witch''s Hill to develop." Star-Moon Kingdom''s players shifted their focus to the Witch''s Hill the moment the system announced the new expansion pack. Previously, due to the map''s strange phenomenon increasing monsters'' strength and reducing players'' combat power, only strong independent players had ventured to the Witch''s Hill to level and grind. With the addition of the various large Guilds'' competition over the region''s resources, it had become nearly impossible for ordinary players to get a share of the area''s benefits. Hence, the Witch''s Hill''s hadn''t been very popular among independent players. Only the various large Guilds and adventurer teams still vied for the land. Naturally, the kingdom''s independent players weren''t the only ones paying close attention to this new expansion. The various major powers in the Witch''s Hill had launched fervent investigations to learn what changes this expansion pack would bring to the region. "So, this is the Primordial Heart''s activation condition?" Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he read the system notification. The Primordial Heart expansion pack had appeared during his previous life as well, but it hadn''t activated until long after the Otherworld Gate had been discovered. Now that he had triggered the expansion pack so early, Shi Feng did not know how to feel about it In the past, the Witch''s Hill''s Otherworld Gate had been discovered far too late. A large number of players had already reached Tier 3, and as a result, the Otherworld Gate had only been considered a good area to grind for unique materials and for independent players to level up. It hadn''t been a particularly valuable map. While it was true that the new expansion pack was an opportunity, the Primordial Heart expansion had hardly been any help to players in the past When Shi Feng had sealed the Otherworld Gate, it had caused the Primordial Heart''s descent, increasing the Primordial Gas in the Witch''s Hill. The gas, in turn, increased the strength of the region''s monsters and decreased players'' combat power. Even the monsters'' levels had increased considerably, though the level cap was still Level 70. As for the monsters that had come through the Otherworld Gate, not only were they quite powerful, but their bodies also contained dense Primordial Gas. When these monsters were killed, they had a certain drop-rate for Primordial Crystal Fragments, crystalized Primordial Gas that contained intense, turbulent energy. One could synthesize these fragments into Primordial Crystals, which contained even denser energy. The Primordial Crystal was one of the best materials for nurturing living Mounts, even more effective than Energy Essence that dropped from the Eclipse Gate''s monsters. After all, all sorts of monsters had ruled over God''s Domain during the ancient area, and they had become so powerful due to Primordial Gas. However, the Primordial Crystals had a drawback. Although they were far more efficient than Energy Essence when nurturing Mounts, they could only increase a Mount''s rank to Bronze rank. Hence, players in Shi Feng''s previous life had considered the Primordial Heart expansion pack useless. The majority of large Guild members had already nurtured their Guild Mounts to Bronze rank by the time the expansion had taken effect, and ordinary players hadn''t usually had Mounts that were capable of growth. Only Guild players that intended to replace their Guild Mounts had any use for the Primordial Crystals. However, the Primordial Crystals were far more valuable to current large Guilds. God''s Domain''s Guilds had only started to acquire Stables and grow their Guild Mounts. If they could upgrade their members'' Mounts to Bronze rank with the Primordial Crystals, they could significantly help their Guilds'' development. Mounts could provide some assistance in battle once they reached Bronze rank, and they were considerably faster than Common Mounts. However, while the Primordial Heart expansion pack would benefit the various large Guilds, it also came with plenty of trouble. Activating the Primordial Heart expansion pack would double the number of monsters in the Witch''s Hill and increase the number of Field Bosses in the area by several-fold. Moreover, the Field Bosses'' raid difficulty would increase, making survival far more difficult in the Witch''s Hill for current players. In addition, the monster sieges would occur far more frequently. Originally, Guild Towns and Cities'' chances of being besieged by monsters had only been 10% to 20%. However, once the Primordial Heart expansion took effect, those chances would increase to 20% to 35%. As Shi Feng pondered about how to deal with the Primordial Heart''s descent, the Jealous Witch, who still hovered in the air, began to reclaim her youth. In a matter of seconds, the old, hunchbacked lady transformed into a charming, middle-aged woman with fair, supple skin. Her black robe also transformed into a pitch-black, sleeveless dress. She now wore a black mage hat, as well, and her wooden staff had become one made of black jade. As she hovered, she radiated an indescribable charm that drew others'' gaze. "Excellent. Young adventurer, you have helped me seal the Otherworld Gate in time and avoided catastrophe for Star-Moon Kingdom. You have also helped lighten the curse I bear. Take this magic array design as a token of my gratitude," the Jealous Witch addressed Shi Feng. "This should''ve been the end of your job here, but sealing the Otherworld Gate had made the Witch''s Hill unstable. I now need your help to collect 100,000 Primordial Crystals. "If you collect the necessary Primordial Crystals successfully, I will give you this forging design I acquired from an ancient ruin after much difficulty!" Saying so, the Jealous Witch waved a hand, and a tome of dragonskin parchment appeared in her grip. The Dragon Might the tome radiated was so powerful that Shi Feng even struggled to move. When he saw the large words on the cover, his eyes widened in shock. The Divine Runic Armor Design! That was an Epic Forging Design! However, unlike ordinary Epic Equipment, the Divine Runic Armor was standard equipment, created during ancient times. It was similar to the standardized equipment design he had acquired from Titan City. Although the Divine Runic Armor was standard equipment, it was still Epic Equipment, on a completely different level than Dark-Gold Equipment. 1969 Chamber of Commerce Chapter 1769 - Chamber of Commerce As the Jealous Witch finished speaking, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Inferior Legendary Quest "Witch''s Sin." Quest content: Collect 100,000 Primordial Crystals in 30 days. Quest reward: Divine Runic Armor Design. After the system notification repeated three times, the Jealous Witch vanished without a trace. Now, only Shi Feng remained before the Otherworld Gate. Collect 100,000 Primordial Crystals in 30 days? Shi Feng frowned as he fell deep into thought. This Inferior Legendary Quest was simply ruthless! Only Chieftain rank and above monsters dropped Primordial Crystal Fragments, and the drop rate for Chieftain monsters was only 3%. Furthermore, synthesizing a single Primordial Crystal required 10 fragments. He''d need 1,000,000 Primordial Crystal Fragments to complete the Jealous Witch''s latest quest... Completing the question wouldn''t be that big of an issue if it didn''t have a time limit, but there was a time limit. There weren''t even 100,000 Guild members operating in Zero Wing City right now. Trying to collect 100,000 Primordial Crystals in just 30 days would be a nightmare. It seems I have no choice but to increase the Guild''s strength and give it a try, Shi Feng thought to himself as he decided to recruit more players. Fortunately, there was no penalty indicated for failing the quest this time. Thus, the penalty wouldn''t be too severe if he failed. Even so, giving up now would be a waste. Unlike standardized Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold equipment, standardized Epic Equipment was in no way inferior to ordinary Epic Equipment when it came to Basic Attributes. The only difference was the lack of additional Skills and effects, as standardized equipment didn''t have as many to offer players as ordinary Epic Equipment Even so, the various major powers would consider the equipment precious since Epic Equipment was still so rare in God''s Domain. Had the Divine Runic Armor been ordinary Epic Equipment, though, he wouldn''t be able to mass-produce it due to the rarity of the required materials, and forging the equipment would''ve been far more difficult. Even an Intermediate Master Forger like himself would only have a small chance of success, and no first-rate Guild could afford the total production costs. Only a superpower would have any hope of mass-producing ordinary Epic Equipment at this stage of the game. However, crafting standardized Epic Equipment was a different story. Standardized Epic Equipment had been designed with mass-production in mind, so it didn''t have high material requirements. Most importantly, it wouldn''t be as difficult to forge as ordinary Epic Equipment. Even an ordinary first-rate Guild could afford the production costs if it gave the design to an Intermediate Master Forger, not to mention Zero Wing. Following which, Shi Feng took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and returned to Zero Wing City to prepare for his newest quest. At this point, players from all over Star-Moon Kingdom had swarmed to Zero Wing City, skyrocketing the city''s player population. As players wandered the city streets, an excited energy crackled between them as they waited for the Primordial Heart''s descent. Many adventurer teams had even started to purchase useful Magic Scrolls and potions in bulk. As soon as the Witch''s Hill began to change, they''d rush to take advantage of the opportunity the new expansion pack presented. For a time, Zero Wing City became extraordinarily lively. "Guild Leader, good news! Due to the new expansion pack, Zero Wing City''s player population has finally exceeded 10,000,000!" Aqua Rose exclaimed when she noticed her Shi Feng''s return. "Moreover, the Seventh Street Chamber of Commerce has invited us to join their merchant alliance." Aside from Combat Guilds, God''s Domain had Lifestyle Guilds, and unlike their combat-focused brethren, Lifestyle Guilds focused on developing Lifestyle players and producing a wide variety of products. Some of the larger Lifestyle Guilds generally allied to form Chambers of Commerce. These Chambers of Commerce were not to be underestimated. They were only unknown to the general public due to their refusal to interfere with Combat Guilds1 matters. However, they didnt lack influence in Gods Domain. The Commerce''s influence reached across more than a dozen kingdoms and empires, and they had even more wealth than some superpowers. In fact, many up-and-coming superpowers received funds and resources from some of these top Chambers of Commerce. Meanwhile, the Seventh Street Chamber of Commerce was one of the most powerful in God''s Domain. Joining one of the top Chambers of Commerce was extremely difficult. Ordinary first-rate Guilds didn''t qualify in the least. Normally, these Chambers only accepted superpowers or large Guilds with bountiful resources. "What are their conditions?" Shi Feng asked. He was very familiar with God''s Domain''s Chambers of Commerce. To join one, a Guild had to meet certain conditions and pay a certain price. "The membership cost requires that we supply the alliance with Shops and virtual stores in all of our Guild Towns and Cities. We will have to supply at least five Shops and two virtual stores in each, all of which have to be in different locations in the town or city. In addition, they require that our Guild sell the alliance 30% of the unique resources we obtain from the Otherworld Gate at market price," Aqua Rose said. "That price a little high," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Tell them that Zero Wing will only give them up to three Shops and one virtual store in every town and city. As for the Otherworld Gate''s unique resources, we''ll sell them 20% at most. Moreover, I require that they buy the resources at 30% above market price!" If one wished to acquire the resources a Chamber of Commerce offered, they had to contribute to the alliance. However, Seventh Street''s asking price was simply too high. The potential benefits Zero Wing would gain weren''t worth the price. The Otherworld Gate''s unique resources would become a massive source of income for Zero Wing in the future, and purchasing these resources on the market would become immensely difficult. Meanwhile, the fact that Zero Wing City was within the Witch''s Hill meant that Zero Wing would have a greater competitive edge than other Guilds when fighting for the Otherworld Gate''s resources. Hence, 30% of Zero Wing''s harvest was no trivial amount. Furthermore, Seventh Street wanted to purchase these resources at market value. "This..." Shi Feng''s counteroffer clearly troubled Aqua Rose. Joining Seventh Street wasn''t easy. It''s influence encompassed over a dozen kingdoms and three empires, after all. If Zero Wing joined Seventh Street, it would elevate the Candlelight Trading Firm''s income to a whole new level. Yet, Shi Feng demanded far more than the Seventh Street''s offer... However, seeing Shi Feng''s determination, Aqua Rose had no choice but to forward her Guild Leader''s reply to the Chamber of Commerce''s representative. After dealing with the Seventh Street''s offer, Shi Feng instructed Aqua Rose to recruit players in Zero Wing City before he returned to his Special Forging Room in Candlelight, carefully retrieving the Void Field Design from his bag. He then clicked on the design to learn it. 1970 Seventh Stree Chapter 1970 - Seventh Street Sea of Death, Thunder Island: "Big Sis Rain, we''ve secured the Advanced Speedboat Design! Once we have the materials, we can begin production!" Blue Phoenix excitedly reported as she entered the room. Although advanced speedboats were not particularly rare, they weren''t available in large quantities. The majority of the various superpowers'' armadas was still made up of ordinary speedboats; only the core fleets had a higher number of advanced speedboats. Meanwhile, as players reached higher levels, the competition for resources on land grew increasingly intense. As a result, more Guilds shifted their focus to the sea every day. Since Thunder Island was the best locations to develop naval strength, new Guilds constantly arrived to take advantage of its resources. This increased competition on the island. The Dragon-Phoenix had worried about the increasing competition, but now that it had acquired an Advanced Speedboat Design, it could further fortify its fleets'' strength by mass-producing the advanced speedboats, maintaining its lead on the island. "It seems they completed the quest." Phoenix Rain breathed a sigh of relief and smiled when she heard Blue Phoenix''s announcement. She then changed the topic and asked, "How are things with Seventh Street?" "I''ve sent our nomination to the Chamber''s representative, and Seventh Street has accepted it. However, Zero Wing apparently thinks the Chamber''s asking price was too high. Unfortunately, Seventh Street has its own bottom line. Zero Wing doesn''t have claim to a lot of resources, and its territory isn''t that large. The only thing Zero Wing has going for it is its temporary victory over Miracle. Zero Wing still doesn''t qualify to join the alliance, and Seventh Street''s representative has stated that the Chamber only agrees with our nomination since you were the one who made it. Now that Zero Wing has rejected the offer, his hands are tied," Blue Phoenix said. "Zero Wing rejected Seventh Street?" Phoenix Rain blinked in surprise. Seventh Street was one of the top Chambers of Commerce in God''s Domain with as many as three super-first-rate Guilds in its alliance. The alliance''s other Guilds also had the backing of powerful corporations. The Chamber had access to bountiful resources, as well. By joining the Chamber of Commerce, one would have access to a variety of conveniences, and as long as they had enough money, they could purchase rare materials in bulk. The alliance also sold valuable items that were almost never available to the public. But Seventh Street''s connections were far more important. By joining Seventh Street, one could sell their products in the Chamber''s territories, and the Seventh Street only demanded a 15% service charge. If Zero Wing joined Seventh Street, it wouldn''t lack a market to sell its products. Joining Seventh Street would be a golden opportunity for Zero Wing. Yet, Zero Wing had rejected the offer... "Mhm. Apparently, while he''s still willing to return the favor he owes us by helping in another way, he can''t do anything more about the situation." Blue Phoenix nodded. She was just as frustrated about Zero Wing''s response. "Alright, then. Since Zero Wing has its own plans, we''ll let the matter rest," Phoenix Rain said, smiling bitterly. "It seems we''ll have to find some other way to pay Zero Wing back." She had nominating Zero Wing as a candidate for the Seventh Street''s alliance as a way of thanking the Guild for its help on Savage God Island, but the Chamber of Commerce had its own rules. She couldn''t possibly Seventh Street to accept Zero Wing. Meanwhile, in Zero Wing City''s Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng focused on learning the Void Field Magic Array''s drawing process. Drawing Field Magic Arrays was incredibly difficult as, unlike other magic arrays, Field Magic Arrays consisted of multiple arrays. Even a Basic Field Magic Array involved two to five different magic arrays. TheVoid Field, a large-scale Advanced Field Magic Array, consisted of twelve Advanced Magic Arrays, and all twelve had to be closely interlinked. The slightest mistake would render the link useless. The Void Field was several times more complex than ordinary Advanced Magic Arrays, as well, and even an Advanced Magician like Shi Feng was under immense pressure when attempting to draw the arrays. Just learning how to draw the twelve magic arrays individually had taken him nearly two hours. Sure enough, this thing is amazing. It''s no wonder why it can rival Master Magic Arrays. Shi Feng took a deep breath as he examined the design in his hands. In the past, the Void Field had even been effective against Mythic monsters. Field magic arrays weren''t like arrays that summoned magic barriers. Magic barriers were mainly used to suppress Boss monsters, so they were even effective against high-ranked monsters. As long as one used an Advanced barrier, a team could suppress a Mythic monster. However, field magic arrays had to cover a larger area, thinning its energy distribution. Even suppressing Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species would be difficult, not to mention Mythic monsters. Fortunately, the Void Field could manage it. Although it wasn''t as effective as an Advanced Magic Array, it could suppress an ordinary Mythic monster''s Attributes by 15% and Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species by 25%. Lower ranked monsters would be suppressed by at least 30% with a maximum of 40%, and the Void Field could cover a 3,000-yard radius. Moreover, the Void Field could be useful in large-scale combat. Although the Void Field would be half as effective against players, a 15% to 20% Attribute reduction would be fatal, especially to expert players. Now that he had an Inferior Legendary Quest and had to take down countless monsters that were strengthened by Primordial Gas, Void Field would be the best tool in his arsenal. If he activated Void Field, even Tier 1 players could easily defeat Witch''s Hill''s strengthened monsters. Naturally, Tier 2 players would enjoy at least double the grinding speed. Shi Feng then began to craft the Void Field Magic Arrays. Void Field required incredibly precious materials, and chief among them was Void Blood. Each set of scrolls required twelve drops to produce, and only powerful Void Creatures had a chance of dropping Void Blood. These twelve drops of Void Blood would serve as the core that controlled Void Field''s twelve magic arrays. Fortunately, Shi Feng had acquired two bottles of Void Blood after killing the Void Serpent, with each bottle containing 100 drops. If he failed to produce the Void Field, all of the Void Blood he invested would be destroyed... The rest of the materials for the Void Field cost over 500 Gold per set, making each attempt extremely expensive. However, money was not Shi Feng''s main concern; the materials'' rarity was far more important. Hence, he needed to be extremely careful with each set of materials. During the production process, Shi Feng had activated Soul Fire to clear his mind. Each of his strokes on the blank Magic Array Scrolls was smooth, but just as he reached the final step and linked the twelve magic arrays together, something unexpected happened. Boom! After a bright flash from the magic arrays, the light faded to reveal an empty table. All of the materials Shi Feng had used had disappeared. Seeing this, Shi Feng sat back and fell deep in thought Following which, Shi Feng attempted to produce the Void Field twice more but failed both times. He couldn''t help the heartache he felt over losing 36 drops of Void Blood. Sure enough, trying to draw the Void Field as an Advanced Magician is pushing it. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng took a Source of Void from his bag. An Advanced Magician would only have a 50% success rate when drawing ordinary Advanced Magic Arrays, and a much lower success rate when attempting to craft top-ranked Advanced Magic Arrays like the Void Field. If he wanted to produce the Void Field successfully, he''d have to increase his success rate. Fortunately, an Elemental Source could do more than improve a Magic Array''s effects; it could also increase production success rate. Everything happened as Shi Feng expected. His previous failures were due to his low success rate. His fourth attempt to draw the Void Field was far more smooth, and the flow of Mana within the array had calmed. After Shi Feng finished the twelve magic arrays, he began the final linking process. A short moment later, the twelve magic arrays released a dazzling light, illuminating the entire forging room. "Was it a success?" 1971 Primordial Heart Descends Chapter 1971 - Primordial Heart Descends As the light in Special Forging Room faded, a brilliant magic array appeared on the table. The twelve arrays had combined perfectly to form a gigantic, silver magic array that caused the space inside the room to freeze. As the silver magic array flowed into the twelve Magic Array Scrolls before Shi Feng, the room reverted to its original state. The twelve Magic Array Scrolls across the table then began to glow with a silvery light. Wonderful! I''ve finally succeeded! Shi Feng was a little excited as he gazed at the scrolls on the table. Although he had gone so far as to spend an Elemental Source, he had, at least, managed to produce one set of Void Field scrolls. With this, he could proceed with his plans. Following which, Shi Feng inspected the Magic Array Scrolls. "So strong!" Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the Attributes displayed. The original Void Field only encompassed a 3,000-yard radius, but after Shi Feng had used the Source of Void, the radius had increased to 5,000 yards. Moreover, the strengthened Void Field could suppress a monsters'' Basic Attributes up to a maximum of 50%. It would also suppress Mythic monsters by up to 20% and Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species by up to 30%. Most importantly, Void Field''s duration had increased from 12 hours to 24 hours. Although a 24-hour duration seemed short, to Shi Feng, who was very familiar with the ins and outs of the Witch''s Hill, it was plenty of time, especially now that the Primordial Heart had descended and Witch''s Hill''s monsters had grown stronger and more numerous. After the Primordial Heart had descended in the past, a forbidden land had appeared in the Witch''s Hill. To be precise, a crack in space-time had manifested, serving as the entrance to the forbidden land. The place beyond the space-time crack was partly considered a forbidden land due to the space-time seal that had been placed on the map, preventing players from teleporting there. Moreover, all of the monsters beyond the crack originated from Otherworlds. Not only were they incomparably powerful, but their combat standards were also higher than monsters in the outside world. Including the randomly-appearing Boss monsters, players of the same level would struggle to survive in the forbidden land. Fortunately, since mainstream players had already reached Level 100 by the time the forbidden land had manifested, its Level 70 monsters had been no threat. On the contrary, the forbidden land had become an excellent location to grind for equipment and materials. As monsters originating from Otherworlds, they had a much higher drop-rate for weapons and equipment compared to monsters that were born on the continent of God''s Domain. Many of the materials they dropped were also unique to Otherworlds, and they had a chance of dropping the Resuscitation Potion Recipe, which even Level 100-plus players coveted. The Resuscitation Potion only had one function: resurrecting players. However, unlike the healer classes'' Resurrection Spells, a player wouldn''t lose any EXP when resurrected with the Resuscitation Potion. Although they would have to endure a Weakened state for 12 hours. During that time, the resurrected player wouldn''t be able to fight. Furthermore, the Resuscitation Potion could only be used once every 24 hours, and it couldn''t be used on Tier 4 or above players. In God''s Domain, even if a healer resurrected a player, they''d still lose a considerable amount of EXP. When players were resurrected through the system, they''d lose an entire level of EXP. Regardless of how they returned to life, players would have to grind for several days to recover their losses. Hence, the Resuscitation Potion had been extraordinarily popular among players in the past. Only, the Resuscitation Potion Recipe was not easy to acquire. Normally, it only dropped in Otherworlds, and as a result, man players had fervently grinded in the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land despite having already reached Level 100. Due to the recipe''s rarity, players had even been able to sell it for several thousand Gold in a proper auction. Demand for the Resuscitation Potion had also been relentless on the market. Despite the 20-Silver production cost, the potion had sold for 2 Gold per bottle. The Resuscitation Potion had even sold for 3 Gold per bottle at its peak. Many players had made a fortune through selling Resuscitation Potions. Unfortunately, the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land was extremely dangerous to Tier 2 players, but now that Shi Feng had the Void Field, he could lead his Guildmates to grind there. Not only would they level up quite fast, but they could also grind for the Resuscitation Potion Recipe and Primordial Crystal Fragments, killing three birds with one stone. Now that Shi Feng had experienced successfully producing a Void Field, he continued to craft more. He knew that he had made a mistake when combining the twelve magic arrays during his first three attempts, but after his success, he had a more accurate grasp of the arrays'' flow of Mana. Following which, Shi Feng attempted to produce the Void Field Magic Array four more times, resulting in two success. The outcome was barely tolerable. Glancing at the bottle of Void Blood in his hand, Shi Feng noted that only four drops remained in the bottle. It wasn''t enough for another attempt. He had previously spent two bottles of Void Blood to activate the teleportation array to the Otherworld Gate. Hence, if he wanted to craft more Void Field Magic Array Scrolls, he''d have to collect more. These three sets should last me quite some time. Taking a look at the three sets of scrolls in his hands, Shi Feng decided to travel to the forbidden land to grind. Once his Guildmates were settled in the area, he''d look for more ways to acquire Void Blood. Following which, Shi Feng left the Candlelight Trading Firm and made his way to Zero Wing''s Residence to prepare for his trip to the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land. The Primordial Heart had descended in the Witch''s Hill some time ago. As a result, the number of players roaming the city streets had visibly decreased. The various adventurer teams and Guilds had long since left the city to explore this new expansion pack. The majority of the players still around were merchant players, including members from Chambers of Commerce. These players were currently purchasing monster loot or selling Consumable items. "Purchasing Magic Grass in bulk! Three Silver per stalk! Buying as many as you have! Offer is available long-term!" "Four Seasons Chamber of Commerce purchasing Primordial Crystal Fragments for 20 Silver per fragment! Twenty-one Silver for those selling more than ten fragments! Twenty-two Silver for those selling more than 100 fragments!" "Selling Primordial Crystal Fragments for 25 Silver each! Only three fragments remaining! First come, first served! The voice of hawking players filled the street. The Shops on both sides of the street had also put out signs stating that they would purchase Primordial Crystal Fragments long-term. Everyone was going crazy over Primordial Crystal Fragments right now. However, the situation didn''t surprise Shi Feng in the slightest. God''s Domain had very few items that could be used to nurture Guild Mounts, and most of these items hadn''t yet been discovered. Now that players had learned about the Primordial Crystals, it would cause a massive commotion. Just before Shi Feng reached the Guild Residence, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, the Secret Pavilion''s Yuan Tiexin and his entourage have come to meet you. Apparently, he has something important he wishes to discuss with you. Would you like to meet with him now?" Aqua Rose asked. "The Secret Pavilion is looking for me?" Shi Feng could not help but smile upon hearing this. "Alright. Have them wait for me in the second floor''s reception room. I''ll head there immediately." Although he knew that the Primordial Heart''s appearance would cause quite a commotion, he hadn''t expected it to move the Secret Pavilion. Shi Feng disconnected the call and made his way to the Residence''s second-floor reception room. 1972 Joining the Chamber of Commerce Chapter 1972 - Joining the Chamber of Commerce Zero Wing''s Residence, second-floor reception room: As Shi Feng entered the room, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade, who softly chatted on the sofa, stood to greet him. Both of them had already reached Level 59, and although they had hidden their weapons and equipment''s glow effects, Shi Feng could tell that they carried extraordinary items based on the faint pressure he felt from the two players. Purple Jade, in particular, felt like a sharp, unsheathed blade. She also felt quite dynamic. So, this is a true genius? Shi Feng was inwardly shocked when he saw Purple Jade. While he could not tell how much her Basic Attributes had improved, he could sense that Purple Jade had set foot in the Realms of Truth as someone who had done the same. The Realms of Truth were different from the Realms of Refinement. The Realms of Refinement only focused on improving one''s physical control, whereas the Realms of Truth focused on the application of strength. While better control could reduce players'' shortcomings and increase their latent potential, better application allowed players to utilize more of their potential. However, God''s Domain''s various large Guilds didn''t have a method of nurturing players in the Realms of Truth yet. Normally, players needed a wealth of combat experience and self-exploration to reach these realms. Even Shi Feng had only accomplished the feat after many fortuitous encounters, yet despite receiving no guidance and having far less combat experience, Purple Jade had entered the Realms of Truth. Even the word ''genius'' was not sufficient to describe the young woman. Shi Feng had spent plenty of time trying to guide Zero Wing''s core upper echelons to these realms, but even now, not one of them had succeeded... Meanwhile, when Purple Jade saw Shi Feng entering the room, her eyes glowed with fighting spirit. A hint of reverence for the man before her also flashed in her eyes. Unbeknownst to Shi Feng, she had only reached the Realms of Truth because of him. She had reached these realms recently and had only been able to do so after diligently studying Shi Feng''s numerous battles in the Ore Empire. Once she had entered the Realms of Truth, she had challenged and defeated multiple peak experts from the various superpowers. "Guild Leader Black Flame, congratulations. Due to the battle in the Ice Jade Forest, Zero Wing''s reputation nearly rivals the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s now," Yuan Tiexin congratulated as he watched Shi Feng carefully. "Thank you," Shi Feng said. Revealing a faint smile, he continued, "However, Elder Yuan, I''m sure you''re not just here to congratulate Zero Wing, correct?" "Indeed," Yuan Tiexin replied as he revealed an envelope. After handing the envelope to Shi Feng, he continued, "This is a report regarding Blackwater and Beast Emperor''s latest movements. I believe it will be of some help to Zero Wing." "You''re providing information for free?" Shi Feng looked at the envelope in confusion. He had to admit that both Blackwater and Beast Emperor posed a significant threat to his Guild. Examining their latest movements would indeed help Zero Wing quite a bit, but information like this was incredibly important Normally, the Secret Pavilion might not even consider selling the information to Zero Wing. "That''s right. Consider it a gift to celebrate the partnership between the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing," Yuan Tiexin said. "I believe you can guess the Pavilion''s goal in this. Naturally, we''re interested in the Primordial Crystals. "The Primordial Crystals are even more effective in nurturing Guild Mounts than the Eclipse Gate''s Energy Essence. They''re also much easier to procure. Meanwhile, Zero Wing owns the only Guild City in Witch''s Hill, so the Secret Pavilion wishes to cooperate with your Guild." Yuan Tiexin''s proclamation didn''t surprise Shi Feng. The Primordial Crystals were indeed an excellent item for nurturing Guild Mounts. He then asked, "Cooperation? May I know how we are going to cooperate?" "The Secret Pavilion wishes to invite the Candlelight Trading Firm into the Secret Chamber of Commerce. As for the entry conditions, Zero Wing will only have to sacrifice five Shops in different locations and a single virtual store in Zero Wing City. In addition, the Secret Chamber of Commerce requires a permanent reservation of 300,000 entry slots into Zero Wing City," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling. "May I know if you are interested in this offer, Guild Leader Black Flame?" "Joining the Secret Chamber of Commerce?!" When Yuan Tiexin finished speaking, Aqua Rose, who had accompanied Shi Feng, was stunned, flashing the Pavilion''s representative an incredulous look. The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental power in the virtual gaming world. The strength it wielded was simply unfathomable. The Secret Chamber of Commerce the Pavilion had developed was similarly unfathomable, as very few Chambers of Commerce could rival Secret''s range of influence. Needless to say, Secret was far more powerful than Seventh Street. Without a doubt, Secret was one of the best Chambers of Commerce in God''s Domain right now. Many superpowers were desperate to join, but very few were actually invited into the alliance. Yet, the Secret Pavilion had visited Zero Wing City to invite the Guild personally. Frankly, Aqua Rose didn''t know what to say. If Zero Wing joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s income could increase severafold as long as the firm offered sufficiently attractive products. "I''m curious. Why Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked the man before him. "There are two other Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill, and both will soon be promoted to Intermediate rank. If the Secret Pavilion gives the word, both ruling Guilds will likely hand their towns over on a silver platter." "Naturally, we have considered that option, but the Primordial Heart''s descent has increased monsters'' strength in the Witch''s Hill. Monster raids also occur frequently at night. With the towns'' defenses, they''ll have a hard time coping with the map''s current monsters. Who knows how long they will last? However, Zero Wing City is different. Even if the Witch''s Hill''s monsters continue to grow stronger, Zero Wing City will likely remain unaffected. Moreover, Zero Wing City has an excellent environment, which will be of great help to the Guild members we send here," Yuan Tiexin said. He withheld no information regarding the Secret Pavilion''s reasons for selecting Zero Wing for a partnership. "I see." Shi Feng could not help but admire the Secret Pavilion''s information network and decisiveness. The Primordial Heart had only recently descended, so the monsters'' changes weren''t yet obvious, yet the Secret Pavilion had already considered various possibilities. Shi Feng hadn''t expected the Pavilion to place so much importance in the Primordial Crystals that it would offer Zero Wing a seat in the Secret Chamber of Commerce, either. To protect both parties'' interests, a Guild would offer 1% of its shares when attempting to join a Chamber of Commerce. Hence, the various Chambers of Commerce took member recruitment very seriously. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you are fine with these conditions, why don''t we sign the contract now?" Yuan Tiexin asked Shi Feng, who had maintained a calm composure throughout the conversation. "Once we sign, Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm will become a member of the Secret Chamber of Commerce and enjoy all of the connections the alliance possesses. You will find it far easier to sell and buy items." "Alright, I have no issues with the offer." Shi Feng had no problems with accepting the mentioned conditions, and joining the Secret Chamber of Commerce would provide Zero Wing quite a bit of help, especially now that the Guild lacked materials. The Magicbreaking Crossbows, Hell Tanks, and Basic Combat Devices all required a large number of rare materials to produce. If Zero Wing relied on its own strength, it would only be able to collect a limited supply of each material, but with the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s connections, it could easily build its stockpile in a short time. After Shi Feng signed a contract with Yuan Tiexin, he handed over five Shops and one virtual store in Zero Wing City. In addition, he reserved 300,000 entry slots in Zero Wing City for the Secret Pavilion''s use. After all, a flood of players visited the city each day, and there was a limit to how many the city could accommodate at one time. If the Secret Pavilion did not have any reserve slots, its members would be forced to stand in line to enter Zero Wing City. Once the transaction was complete, the Candlelight Trading Firm joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s member list, and the two organizations exchanged 1% of their shares. Shortly after Candlelight joined the Chamber of Commerce, news of it quickly spread to the various superpowers. 1973 Guild Potential Chapter 1973 - Guild Potential As news about Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm joining the Secret Chamber of Commerce spread, a commotion erupted among the various superpowers in God''s Domain. "What''s going on? How did the Secret Chamber of Commerce accept a Guild like Zero Wing?" "Zero Wing really is impressive. It has already proven its strength to contend with a superpower, and now, it has even joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce. The Guild''s financial strength will grow considerably, now. As long as Zero Wing solidifies its foundations, it definitely has the potential to become a super-first-rate Guild." "It seems that God''s Domain will soon have a new superpower." "Send someone to investigate Zero Wing immediately! From today on, I want a team stationed in Zero Wing City! I want to know the Guild''s every move!" Many superpowers had no power to join the Secret Pavilion''s Chamber of Commerce regardless of how much they wanted to, yet a non-superpower like Zero Wing had done just that. This situation earned Zero Wing many superpowers'' envy. In addition, this turn of events had forced the various superpowers to pay closer attention to Zero Wing. They no longer considered the smaller Guild insignificant, but one with the potential to become a competitor. Sufficient financial strength was crucial to developing a Guild in God''s Domain. Zero Wing might have repelled Miracle, but it had relied on various tools to do so. Meanwhile, as the various superpowers continued developing in God''s Domain, it was only a matter of time before they obtained such tools of their own. At that time, Zero Wing would lose its advantage. Hence, the various superpowers hadn''t truly considered the Guild a threat, but the situation had changed. The Secret Chamber of Commerce was a goldmine. If a Guild joined the trade alliance and utilized its connections appropriately, it would generate a massive income and secure a large number of resources. Even if the Guild failed to take advantage of Secret''s connections, it could still increase its trading firm''s income by a large margin through service charges from helping the alliance''s other members sell their products. This increased income would greatly help the Guild''s development, and these benefits would be available until the trade alliance crumbled. Meanwhile, on one of the islands in the Sea of Death... "Big Sis Rain, big news! Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm has joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce!" Blue Phoenix reported as she ran up to Phoenix Rain, who currently commanded a battle. "Joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce?" Phoenix Rain blinked in surprise. "How is that possible?! So many superpowers have tried to join Secret only to be rejected. Even Starlink only managed to join after purchasing the Magic Crystal vein at the Secret Pavilion''s internal auction." "It''s true. News of this has already spread to the various superpowers. Everyone''s saying that the Secret Pavilion has lost its mind to invite Zero Wing," Blue Phoenix said, grinning. "Big Sis Rain, now that Zero Wing has joined Secret, Nine Dragons Emperor won''t be able to attack the Guild''s financials even if we don''t help out." "That''s right. Even if Nine Dragons Emperor uses everything he has to stop Zero Wing''s sales, he can''t cut off Secret''s channels. Now, we can focus on that large-scale Team Quest," Phoenix Rain said, nodding. She had nominated Zero Wing to Seventh Street because she had been worried that she couldn''t stop Nine Dragons Emperor from moving against her ally once she left the continent of God''s Domain. Now that Zero Wing had joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce, which was even more powerful than Seventh Street, the situation couldn''t be any more favorable. Similarly, news had reached the various top Chambers of Commerce. "Zero Wing seems to be quite capable. Seventh Street rejected Zero Wing''s conditions, yet the Guild has joined Secret? I wonder how Seventh Street''s members will feel after hearing about this?" "Zero Wing demanded less than half of what Seventh Street required. There''s nothing unusual about its refusal. As for Zero Wing''s membership with Secret, based on the Chamber''s focus on profits, I assume its entry conditions were quite strict." "Most likely. The Secret Chamber of Commerce''s greed is insatiable. Zero Wing must''ve suffered quite a loss to join Secret." While the various top Chambers of Commerce were surprised to hear that Zero Wing had joined the Secret Pavilion''s Chamber of Commerce, they did not consider the matter that important After all, Zero Wing had no value in their opinions, nor did the Guild have the support of any corporations. It was a miracle that the Guild had risen to its current position without falling. Even if Zero Wing had a future in God''s Domain, it wouldn''t be very bright. Since the Secret Pavilion had extended an invitation to Zero Wing, it must have demanded an absurd price. However, when the Seventh Street Chamber of Commerce heard the news, its members simply smiled. They didn''t share the other top Chambers'' opinions. Whether Zero Wing joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce or not, it had nothing to do with them. They only knew that Zero Wing wouldn''t have benefited their alliance even if it had joined. Zero Wing wouldn''t benefit Secret, either. This incident was nothing but a farce. While God''s Domain''s various powers discussed the matter, Shi Feng had designated Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile to handle matters regarding the Secret Chamber of Commerce. He then led a team of 10,000 elite and expert players out of Zero Wing City and to the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land. Zero Wing''s members bounced with excitement during their journey. They got to see a mythical player like Shi Feng up close, and he had even informed them that he would take them out to level up during their operation. This meant they would personally get to watch Shi Feng fight. Once they returned, they''d definitely boast about the trip to their friends. But despite their enthusiasm, following Shi Feng wasn''t easy. The Primordial Heart''s descent had drastically changed the Witch''s Hill. Now, large groups of monsters were a common sight. Moreover, not only did these monsters possess powerful Basic Attributes, but they also used strangely impressive combat standards. They encountered a few powerful, 100-man adventurer teams that these monsters had nearly wiped out along their journey. As for the 20-man teams they stumbled upon, they had tread very carefully through the area unless they had a Tier 2 MT with them. The Witch''s Hill was far more dangerous than anyone had expected. Only the various large Guilds'' 1,000-man teams barely succeeded near the border of the Witch''s Hill''s inner region; these Guild teams did not dare to venture any farther. As for the teams that operated in the Witch''s Hill''s inner area, they were either expert teams from the various large Guilds or 1,000-man teams from well-known adventurer teams. Only the teams of Tier 2 experts had any hope of surviving with 100 members. The monsters in the inner area were simply too powerful. Even the weakest monster was a Level 61 Chieftain, and the Chieftains employed combat power that was on par with the late stage of the Trial Tower''s second floor. Even an ordinary Tier 1 expert would die against such a monster in a one-on-one, not to mention ordinary players. However, despite entering the Witch''s Hill''s inner region, Shi Feng showed no intention of letting his team fight here. Rather, he continued to lead his team deeper into the Witch''s Hill. As Zero Wing''s members followed their Guild Leader, they couldn''t help their growing nerves. Although they had 10,000 elite and expert players, the majority of them had only reached Tier 1 and were Level 55 or 56. The team''s ordinary experts were only Level 57, and the Tier 2 experts that accompanied them had only reached Level 58. After following Shi Feng''s lead for more than two hours, these players arrived before a gravel-filled gorge. Not only did this area drown in a deathly aura, but it was also within the Witch''s Hill''s core area. The weakest monster here was a Level 65 Chieftain, while most of these monsters were Level 66 and 67 Lords. There were also quite a few Level 69 Grand Lords around the gorge. At first glance, the gorge contained tens of thousands of monsters, and all of them were far closer to each other than the inner region''s monsters. Most importantly, a gigantic, Level 70 Mythic monster lay in the center of the gorge... 1974 Sacred Leveling Ground Chapter 1974 - Sacred Leveling Ground A mountainous, scaled lizard lay in the center of the gorge, and a layer of poisonous, green fog covered a 50-yard radius around it. No life survived within this fog, and even the earth seemed dry beneath it as if the fog had devoured the ground''s very life force. Despite gazing at this lizard from afar, Zero Wing''s members couldn''t help but shudder. A Level 70 Mythic monster! Aside from the fact that it was more than ten levels higher than they were, the potent, poisonous fog around it made the monster impossible to approach. In addition, its gigantic body, over a hundred meters in length, could easily change the terrain with a casual move. A single claw swipe could likely eliminate dozens of them. They hadn''t even reached Level 60, but even if they were the same level as this monster, they''d likely be able to do little more than watch the giant lizard from afar. After all, the Mythic lizard wasn''t alone. Tens of thousands of Lord and Great Lord monsters lingered around the Boss. To make matters worse, Primordial Gas filled the gorge. It would likely take a Tier 2 party of the same level to defeat any of these Lords, while defeating each Great Lord would require a full, Tier 2 20-man team. Even the Guild''s Tier 2 MTs, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian, felt uneasy as they watched the forbidden land''s monsters, much less the team''s elite members. With their current Attributes and combat standards, they shouldn''t have any issue tanking one or two Level 67 or 68 Great Lords by themselves without activating a Berserk Skill. They could even tank one Level 69 Grand Lord, although they''d have to push their limits to do so. But more than 20 Grand Lords wandered the forbidden land, as well as plenty of Great Lords. If all these monsters charged at them together, only death would await these players. "Guild Leader, even Tier 2 players like us will have trouble grinding here. With the Tier 1 players'' strength, I''m afraid that..." Shadow Sword said worriedly as he eyed the gorge below him. Ignoring the Mythic monster in the center, he could feel the threat of death from several other areas. If he felt like this while subjected to such pressure, the Tier 1 team members would fare far worse. It was safe to say that their team didn''t have the power to grind in this forbidden land right now. "If we try to grind these monsters as they currently are, it is impossible, but if we halve their Basic Attributes and remove the Primordial Gas''s negative effects?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. The Witch''s Hill''s new forbidden land wouldn''t pose any threat to Level 100-plus players, but it was an immensely hazardous area to players who hadn''t yet reached Level 70. Of course, it was also a sacred area for leveling and grinding equipment. Since no one had explored the forbidden land yet, it contained the maximum number of monsters it could hold. However, that also meant that the area''s drop-rate and monster-respawn-rate were much higher than normal. Even if 10,000 players grinded in this forbidden land, there would be plenty of resources to go around. Unfortunately, transforming this hazardous area into a treasured land required players to fulfill one condition; they had to be strong enough to grind these monsters. A bunch of Tier 1 players that hadn''t even reach Level 70 would be seeking their own death by coming here, but they could change that with the Void Field. If they could decrease the monsters'' Basic Attributes by nearly half and remove the Primordial Gas''s negative effects on players, even Level 60, Tier 1 players could slay these creatures. Only, their grinding efficiency would be quite poor. However, the bonus EXP from killing monsters of a higher level would even the playing field. Shi Feng had led so many Zero Wing members to such a dangerous area specifically to help them level up quickly, as well as collect Primordial Crystal Fragments. He might be a particularly powerful player in God''s Domain and capable of nurturing a significant number of experts in a short time, but at the end of the day, there was a limit to what a small number of powerful players could achieve. If he wanted Zero Wing to become truly formidable, he had to improve the strength of Zero Wing''s members as a whole. Naturally, one of the ways players could grow stronger in God''s Domain was by leveling up. Every five levels was a major turning point in the game since better weapons and equipment would become available at those intervals. Hence, Shi Feng had decided to raise his Guild members'' levels as quickly as possible. If he could help a large number of Guild members reach Level 60 within the next few days, it would elevate Zero Wing''s overall strength. After all, even the various large Guilds'' peak experts had only recently reached Level 59. They were still far from the Level 60 threshold, and the various Guilds'' elite and expert members were even further. "Halve the monsters'' Basic Attributes and remove the Primordial Gas''s suppression?" After considering Shi Feng''s comment, Shadow Sword deemed that grinding here would be possible if that were true. Even if their Tier 1 MTs couldn''t tank these monsters, they could leave the task to the Tier 2 MTs, plenty of which had joined this expedition. "But is that possible?" "Relax. I''ve prepared an item to do just that," Shi Feng said as he retrieved the strengthened set of Void Field Magic Array Scrolls from his bag. "A magic array? But, with so many monsters..." Shadow Sword roughly understood what Shi Feng intended to do when he saw the stack of Magic Array Scrolls, but with so many monsters around them, they''d need dozens or hundreds of arrays to cover the gorge. "Wait a moment; you''ll understand what I mean," Shi Feng said. He then passed the Void Field scrolls to Alluring Summer and a few other magical class experts. "Take these scrolls and activate them in these locations. Try to avoid any monsters while you activate the scrolls." "Leave it to us." After examining the coordinates Shi Feng had indicated, Alluring Summer and her companions went into action. Shi Feng intended to activate the strengthened Void Field from halfway down the gorge. If they successfully activated the magic array there, it would cover nearly half of the area, giving Zero Wing''s team enough room to fight. Once Alluring Summer and the other casters were in position, they unfurled the Magic Array Scrolls and activated them. A gigantic, silver magic array then manifested over nearly half of the forbidden land, enveloping every monster within range. Void Field then purified the Primordial Gas in the affected area, dissipating it. In addition, every monster rapidly lost Basic Attributes. Zero Wing''s members were stunned. The Lord and Great Lord ranked monsters'' Attributes fell by 50%. Now, they couldn''t even compare to Level 60 monsters of the same rank. The only advantages they still had were their combat standards and high level. "MTs, start pulling aggro! Fight in 100-man units. Do not enter each other''s combat areas! Cola, you and the other Tier 2 MTs will tank the Grand Lords! Tier 1 MTs, you only need to handle the Lords and Great Lords!" Shi Feng commanded once the Void Field was complete. Following which, the 10,000 Zero Wing members quickly split into 100 teams of 100 players. These teams then split up and hit different areas in the forbidden land. Each team dealt with three to five Great Lords, and those with Tier 2 MTs handled at least one Level 69 Grand Lord. Due to Void Field''s power, the forbidden land''s danger had significantly decreased. However, Zero Wing''s members weren''t able to deal much damage due to the level suppression. Even Tier 2 damage dealers barely dealt more than -10,000 with each attack. Even so, the region''s monsters gradually lost HP. Normally, Zero Wing''s 100-man elite teams could eliminate a party of Lords and Grand Lords of the same level in ten minutes or less, but now, it took each team half an hour to defeat a party of monsters. However, as the Lords and Great Lords died, everyone''s experience bars increased by a sizable chunk. After gaining an abundance of EXP, the team''s regained their enthusiasm. All of the team''s Level 55 elite members reached Level 56 after around six hours of grinding, while the Level 56 elite players only needed a little more time to level up. At most, they''d need another four or five hours to reach Level 57. Their leveling speed was nearly five times as fast as experts in other areas. However, these players were far more surprised by how much loot they gained than the awarded EXP. 1975 Level Increases Chapter 1975 - Level Increases Zero Wing''s members had fought in the forbidden land for six hours; the weakest foes they had slain had been Chieftain rank, while most had been Lords. Perhaps because they were the first to kill these monsters, the team had collected over 4,100 Primordial Crystals during their six-hour grind. These fragments could fetch over a thousand Gold on the market, but only a fool would sell their Primordial Crystal Fragments. With ten fragments, one could synthesize a Primordial Crystal, which they could use to nurture their Guild Mounts. If one were lucky, they might even upgrade their Guild Mount to Bronze rank after using 20 to 30 Primordial Crystals. The forbidden land''s monsters had also dropped enough weapons and equipment to make these players'' eyes glow. All of the dropped weapons and equipment were Level 60 or above. The various large Guilds had been expending a lot of effort to collect Level 55 equipment lately. Raiding Level 55 Team Dungeons wasn''t as easy as Level 50 Dungeons, and unlike the latter, in which Tier 1 players could still be effective, Level 55 Team Dungeons had been tailored for Tier 2 players. Tier 1 players would simply be a burden in Level 55 Team Dungeons. They''d only be useful if they wore extremely high-quality equipment. Hence, the various large Guilds struggled desperately for Level 55 weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, most of the equipment the Lords in the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land dropped was Bronze rank, although they had a small chance of dropping Mysterious-Iron Equipment Naturally, the Great Lords dropped Mysterious-Iron and Secret- Silver Equipment, with the latter having a severely lower drop-rate. While Grand Lords were guaranteed to drop Secret- Silver Equipment, they did have a higher drop-rate than Great Lords. They also had a slight chance of dropping Fine-Gold Equipment. Since Zero Wing''s members were the first to pioneer the forbidden land, there was an extremely high number of monsters in the area. Even the rarely-seen Great Lords and Grand Lords were available in abundance right now. After just six hours of hard work, Zero Wing''s 10,000-man team had obtained over a dozen pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment, over 100 pieces of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment, and more than a thousand Mysterious-Iron and Bronze Equipment pieces. Their operation had been quite lucrative. The team''s latest harvest was already worth more than the strengthened Void Field Magic Array''s production costs. "Leveling up here is so fast! At this rate, I''ll climb from 57 to 58 in less than a day!" Grinding higher-leveled monsters is amazing! Our Guild Leader is still the best! He actually got his hands on such a powerful magic array! Once I reach Level 60, I''ll purchase some Level 60 Mysterious-Iron Equipment and get rid of my outdated Level 50 items! My friends will die from envy!1 "That''s right! A friend of mine that joined a super-first-rate Guild was recently boasting about how he had obtained Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment. Once I reach Level 60,1 can buy two or three pieces of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment from the Guild Warehouse!" The more Zero Wing''s members fought, the more enthusiastic they became. They showed no signs of fatigue. They all felt as if their struggle to level up had been a mere hallucination. At the same time, they were in awe of Shi Feng''s abilities. After experiencing the wonder of this leveling speed, Zero Wing''s players grinded with even more effort. They even took out and used their stockpiled Exotic Stamina Potions to stay in battle as long as possible. Shi Feng''s team was far more energetic than he had expected. He had assumed that he''d need to use two more sets of normal Void Field Magic Array Scrolls to get his team up to Level 60, but watching these players'' current leveling speed, he might only need one more set of Void Field Scrolls. If that were the case, he could bring Zero Wing City''s other elite and expert members here to level up as well. Time passed quickly. Whenever a player reached Level 60, Shi Feng would tell them to leave. If they had proven their strength, he''d instruct them to challenge their Tier 2 Promotion Quest If they weren''t strong enough, they were told to improve their equipment and techniques. To keep the team full, Shi Feng had Aqua Rose send other Guild members from Zero Wing City. After grinding for about 20 hours, several hundred of Zero Wing''s Tier 1 experts had reached Level 60. Once they traded Shi Feng for Level 60 Mysterious-Iron or Secret-Silver Equipment, they left to challenge their Tier 2 Promotion Quests. Now, even the lowest-leveled elite member was Level 56, while most of them were Level 57. The majority of Zero Wing''s Tier 1 experts were now Level 59, with only a few stuck at Level 58. The team''s overall leveling speed was explosive. Grinding here proved far more effective than in ten resource zones. Aqua Rose was immensely excited to see this. With the resources this forbidden land had to offer, Zero Wing could solidify its foundation and strength. In God''s Domain, every location had limited resources, and areas that could accommodate thousands of players, allowing them to level up rapidly, were incredibly rare. Generally, the various superpowers dominated these areas. After all, ordinary resource zones could only accommodate several hundred players at a time. If players flooded to a resource zone, leveling speed would decrease. It was easy to imagine how precious zones that could accommodate several thousand players were, yet this forbidden land easily served more than 10,000 players, and they all leveled at a phenomenal pace... If the various superpowers found out about this, their envy would know no bounds. "Guild Leader, we''ve found three unknown alchemy recipes and an unknown stone tablet among the loot. Even an Advanced Appraisal can''t identify them," Alluring Summer, who was busy collecting the various team''s loot, suddenly reported. Unknown alchemy recipes and an unknown stone tablet? Shi Feng''s lips curled into a smile as he considered a possibility. He then said, "Bring them to me." "Understood! I''ll be right there!" Alluring Summer said as she gave Shi Feng''s excited expression an odd look. She then ran toward his current location. Once Shi Feng received the unknown recipes and tablet, he eagerly activated Omniscient Eyes to appraise the items. I was right! Shi Feng was ecstatic as the items revealed their information. Of the two items Alluring Summer had collected, the alchemy recipes were none other than the Resuscitation Potion Recipes. Only Master Alchemists and above could use these, and each recipe was worth thousands of Gold. Countless players had ventured to the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land to grind for these recipes, and even then, they were unlikely to drop after a full day of grinding, yet Shi Feng held three copies in his hands. He had to admit that the benefits of pioneering a forbidden land were truly wonderful. Not only were there plenty of monsters to kill, but items'' drop-rates were much higher than usual. The unknown stone tablet, however, was even more valuable than the Resuscitation Potion Recipes. If Alluring Summer hadn''t mentioned the tablet, he would''ve forgotten that it had a chance of dropping here. The unknown tablet had been crafted from Red Luminaries Stone. It was an Ancient God''s Secret Key, an item that had been immensely famous throughout God''s Domain in the past. Normally, this item only dropped in Otherworlds, but since the monsters in the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden Land were from Otherworlds, it had a slight chance of dropping. Unfortunately, the Secret Key''s drop-rate was so minuscule that no one had ever thought of grinding for it here. But despite its abysmal drop-rate, an Ancient God''s Secret Key had appeared... 1976 Ancient Gods Secret Key Chapter 1976 - Ancient God''s Secret Key Shi Feng could not help but grow a little excited as he looked at the Red Luminaires Stone tablet in his hand. The Ancient God''s Secret Key was an extremely rare item in God''s Domain, even rivaling Fragmented Legendary items. However, the Ancient God''s Secret Key was different from Fragmented Legendary items. Fragmented Legendary items could only be obtained by killing powerful bosses, completing Epic or above Quests, or opening Epic or above Treasure Chests. Fortunately, the Ancient God''s Secret Key had of chance of dropping from monsters that resided in the various Otherworlds. Of course, the monsters had to be Level 50 Great Lords or above. In the past, the various major powers had all sought an Ancient God''s Secret Key, but the drop-rate was painfully low. Moreover, players'' Luck Attribute wouldn''t affect the drop-rate, and as a result, regardless of how hard the various major powers grinded for this item, very few had actually obtained one. "Guild Leader, is it very valuable?" Alluring Summer asked when she saw Shi Feng''s excited expression. "Of course! It is extremely valuable!" Shi Feng nodded. "You could say that it''s just as valuable as an Epic Treasure Chest!" "An Epic Treasure Chest?" When Alluring Summer heard Shi Feng''s claim, her eyes glowed as she gazed at the Ancient God''s Secret Key. An Epic Treasure Chest had a very high chance of yielding Epic items. Thus, they were undoubtedly precious to the various large Guilds. Most Guilds only had a small number of Epic items at this stage of the game, and only the Guild''s upper echelons or peak experts qualified to use them. Even in Zero Wing, Epic items were extremely rare. In total, Zero Wing had less than 100 Epic items, and that was already enough to attract the various first-rate Guilds'' jealousy. "However, we can''t use this key yet. We need to be strong enough to obtain an Epic item. Otherwise, we will simply waste the Ancient God''s Secret Key," Shi Feng said as he stored the key away. He had no intention of using the key right now. Instead, he commanded Zero Wing''s members to move deeper into the forbidden land and grind its numerous Field Bosses. The Ancient God''s Secret Key was akin to an Epic Treasure Chest, but unlike a Treasure Chest, players had to rely on their strength to obtain the key''s harvest, not luck. Meanwhile, the greater one''s survivability was, the more they''d gain from the Ancient God''s Secret Key. There had even been rumors in the past about a superpower obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item from the Secret Key. With a single Fragmented Legendary item, a Guild could easily nurture a peak expert. It would even of even greater help when players challenged their Tier 4 and 5 Promotion Quests. That was why all of the various major powers had coveted the Ancient God''s Secret Key. Fragmented Legendary items were extraordinarily valuable, and even after a decade in God''s Domain, first-rate Guilds had only collected a small number of them. Second-rate Guilds had been lucky if they had one or two Fragmented Legendary items. Now that he had an Ancient God''s Secret Key, he had to be careful with how he used it. Of course, Shi Feng had no intention of letting it sit around and collect dust. Each Secret Key had a one-week expiration. Whether players used it or not, it would disappear after seven days, so it wasn''t possible to save the key until it was most valuable. Shi Feng then handed the three Resuscitation Potion Recipes to Aqua Rose, instructing her to bring them to Melancholic Smile and start the potion''s production as soon as possible. The potion''s necessary materials weren''t particularly valuable. There had only been such a small supply of these potions in the past, despite the high demand, due to the recipe''s rarity. God''s Domain''s superpowers had yet to obtain a Resuscitation Potion Recipe, making this the perfect opportunity for Zero Wing to make a fortune. Once the various superpowers secured the recipes, though, Zero Wing''s profits through the potion would plummet. It was the same case with the Strengthening Devices. Initially, Zero Wing had earned quite a bit from selling the devices, but as more superpowers and first-rate Guilds had obtained the Strengthening Device Design, the competition had increased. As a result, Zero Wing''s profits from the device had steadily decreased. Since the Resuscitation Potion didn''t exist on the market yet, Zero Wing could monopolize the potion''s sales. Zero Wing wasn''t like the various superpowers. Not only did the various superpowers have a lot of territory in the game, but they also had support from major corporations. Superpowers didn''t have to worry about resources or funds since the corporations backing them provided a constant supply. However, Zero Wing didn''t have that kind of support, relying on its own power to acquire funds and resources. Unfortunately, developing a Guild''s territory and increasing member-count required a lot of both. This was especially true for the situation in the Ore Empire. While Zero Wing had been preoccupied with Miracle, according to the Secret Pavilion''s report, Blackwater had made significant progress in raiding the Ore Capital City''s armory, obtaining quite a few war weapons. In addition, the Guild had recently occupied another fortress in the Ore Empire. Due to this success, Blackwater had transferred even more members from its main headquarters to the Ore Empire. Moreover, Beast Emperor, Blackwater, and Dark Soul had secretly formed an alliance and intended to take over the Ore Empire. Annihilating Zero Wing was the first step in their plan. The alliance between these three powers wasn''t good news for Zero Wing. Most importantly, unlike Blackwater and Dark Soul, Beast Emperor and Zero Wing were irreconcilable enemies. Shi Feng had severed Beast Emperor''s path to promotion, and an active Evil God''s Temple still existed within Star-Moon Kingdom. So long as these two factors continued, only one could survive the war between Zero Wing and Beast Emperor. Hence, Shi Feng needed to prepare for this eventuality. Silverwing couldn''t withstand a joint assault from these three powers with its current defenses. After organizing the rest of the loot, Shi Feng continued to lead Zero Wing''s members as they gradually cleared out the monsters in the forbidden land''s outer region, venturing farther towards its core. Although the forbidden land''s outer region was home to a lot of monsters, the strongest in the area were Grand Lords. With Void Field''s suppression, Zero Wing easily took care of these monsters, and although they would respawn after some time, there weren''t as many as there had been initially. Once they had limited the population, Level 60, Tier 2 experts would have no problems grinding these monsters efficiently, even without the Void Field. Zero Wing''s players would be fine as long as they didn''t provoke the Grand Lords. As the team reached the forbidden land''s inner region, their gazes settled on a gigantic, scaled lizard. [Void Lizard] (Void Creature, Mythic Rank) Level 70 HP 600,000,000/600,000,000 Shi Feng had formed a 1,000-man team to raid the Void Lizard, over 600 of which were Tier 2 players, and the lowest- leveled among them was Level 60. Once everyone was in position, Shi Feng had Cola, now Level 61, begin the raid. If they had to face the Void Lizard under normal conditions, Shi Feng would have kept his players as far from the Mythic Boss as possible. Level 60 players had no hope of taking down a Level 70 Mythic monster, and even a Tier 2 MT like Cola would only be able to tank the Boss if he activated his Berserk Skill. However, they didn''t have to fight under normal circumstances. The strengthened Void Field was still in effect, and the Void Lizard''s Basic Attributes had decreased by 20%. In addition, Shi Feng had nine members of the team utilize the Nine-stars Polar Domain Magic Array to suppress the Void Lizard further, ensuring that the Boss only retained 70% of its Basic Attributes. With it this weak, even Cola could tank the Void Lizard without a Berserk Skill, albeit barely. Unfortunately, the team wasn''t able to deal much damage to the Boss due to the level suppression. Even among the Tier 2 damage dealers, very few dealt more than -10,000 damage. However, with players like Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s core upper echelons, all of whom had monstrous Attributes, the team''s total DPS exceeded the Void Lizard''s battle recovery, steadily whittling away the Mythic monster''s HP. 90%... 60%... 30%... When the Void Lizard had 30% of its HP remaining, the Boss went Berserk. In response, Shi Feng ordered his team to activate their Berserk Skills to endure the Void Lizard''s berserk period. After more than an hour, the team eventually defeated the Mythic Boss. As the Void Lizard died, everyone on the 1,000-man team received an abundance of EXP. Cola and a few other Level 61 players instantly rose to Level 62, and the other Tier 2 players watched their experience bars increase by a sizable chunk. As for Shi Feng, a golden glow enveloped his body as he climbed from 69 to 70. 1977 Tier 2 Training Chapter 1977 - Tier 2 Training Seeing the collapsed Void Lizard, Zero Wing''s 1,000-man raid team breathed a sigh of relief, joy surfacing on their expressions. The bountiful EXP the Mythic monster had granted wasn''t the only reason for their joy; they also celebrated the loot the Boss had dropped. The dazzling mountain that had appeared beside the monsters'' colossal body made every member of the raid team drool. At first glance, there were easily more than 50 items in the pile. Over a dozen among them were weapons and equipment that had the glow of Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold items. However, the only item in the small mountain of loot that caught Shi Feng''s eye was the bottle of Void Blood. With this, he could craft a few more sets of Void Field Scrolls. As for the remaining items, the most valuable was the Resuscitation Potion Recipe. In Shi Feng''s opinion, the Level 60 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment were average at best. The best piece of equipment that had dropped was the Void Shoes, a set of Epic ranked cloth armor boots. Shi Feng instantly handed the Void Shoes to Violet Cloud, increasing her Epic item count to five. With Death''s Sigh, Violet Cloud could now easily contend with peak experts. "I''m beat!" Cola complained as he let his body fall to the ground. "I never thought that fighting a higher-leveled Mythic monster would cost so much Stamina. Had the Boss lasted any longer, I would''ve died from exhaustion." Compared to fighting the Void Lizard, the Grand Lords he had faced earlier were child''s play. The Void Lizard had lasted more than an hour, and he had stayed on high-alert throughout the fight due to the Boss''s high combat standard. If he had made the slightest mistake, he would''ve taken a direct hit, and he had no doubt that one hit would''ve been enough to end his life instantly. Fighting the Void Lizard was more mentally exhausting than grinding monsters for ten hours without a break. Cola had lost Stamina at a severe rate, and although the system didn''t provide an indicator for Stamina, Cola guessed that he had less than 20% remaining based on how tired he felt. Had the raid continued for any longer and his Stamina fallen below 10%, he would receive a penalty to his combat power. He wouldn''t have been able to keep up with the Void Lizard''s attacks, and it definitely would''ve instant-killed him. Turtledove and Ye Wumian, who also rested on the ground, nodded in agreement. Fighting a Mythic monster that was ten levels higher than they were was truly exhausting. In fact, this raid had been even more intense than raiding the Void Serpent. Cola and the other Tier 2 MTs weren''t the only ones exhausted. Everyone that participated in the raid practically had less than 30% Stamina remaining. Only Shi Feng didn''t seem tired as he moved towards the pile of loot that had manifested beside the Boss''s feet. Every Zero Wing member was shocked. Shi Feng had fought on the frontline during the entire raid. His total damage output had also topped the raid chart, exceeding second place by more than double. Occasionally, he had even helped the MTs tank. Shi Feng should''ve used more Stamina than anyone in the raid, yet he looked as if he had done nothing but watch. Fire Dance, who had come in second for damage dealt, was drenched in sweat, clearly just as exhausted as the MTs. "Is the Guild Leader a monster? He''s not even tired after such a long, arduous battle?" Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts were confused as they watched Shi Feng collect the loot They were all Tier 2. Logically, there should not be much of a difference between their total Stamina, and Shi Feng had fought far harder than they had, yet they were nearly out of Stamina... "That''s normal. You guys made too many excess movements during the fight Most importantly, you guys haven''t adapted to the flow of battle, allowing you to fight at peak condition constantly. It is only natural that you run out of gas more quickly." Shi Feng could not help but laugh when he overheard his teammates'' conversation. In truth, he was just as surprised by how much Stamina he still had. He had never expected the added benefit after reaching the Realms of Truth. "Guild Leader, do you have any training methods?" Cola asked, desire flashing in his eyes. Although Cola had reached the Refinement Realm and could reduce his Stamina consumption during fights a little, he was still leaps and bounds behind Shi Feng. He even wondered if Shi Feng had twice the Stamina he had. Stamina was extremely important to expert players. If he could learn a technique that allowed him to reduce Stamina consumption, he could rely on his Stamina to whittle down an expert of equal standards in a fight. After all, fighting an expert player consumed Stamina much faster than fighting a Boss monster. Such a technique would be of great help whether he fought Boss monsters or expert players in the future. "Training, is it?" Upon hearing Cola''s question, Shi Feng realized how important it was to train his team in Stamina control. Although controlling one''s Stamina wouldn''t improve their combat power, it would have a massive impact on the player''s performance. When grinding in the fields, players'' grinding efficiency was largely dependent on their Stamina. If players had various tools to aid in their Stamina recovery, they could increase their grinding efficiency. However, such tools were very rare and valuable. Players simply couldn''t afford to use them constantly. However, if players entered the Realms of Truth, not only could they increase their combat power, but they could also increase their leveling speed. After all, the lower one''s Stamina consumption was, the longer they could fight. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng decided that it was time to train Fire Dance and the others in the Lost Town. Since the Guild had lacked powerful combatants previously, Tier 2 players like Fire Dance didn''t have the leeway to leave the frontline, but now that Zero Wing had more than 1,000 Tier 2 players, Fire Dance and her companions could afford a break. Furthermore, the difference in the equipment standard of the various superpowers'' peak experts and Zero Wing''s core upper echelons shrunk as time passed. The various superpowers continued to collect more Epic items, and most of their peak experts had obtained Peak Legacies. If Zero Wing wanted to maintain its lead on the various superpowers in terms of peak combatants, it was imperative that Fire Dance and the others grow stronger. The only reliable method Shi Feng could think of to increase Fire Dance and her companion''s combat power was to train at the Lost Town''s Extraordinary Tower. If Fire Dance and the others could reach the Realms of Truth, they could help the Guild even more than they already did. In a situation where two players had equal Basic Attributes, a Refinement Realm expert that had entered the Realms of Truth as well could rival a Flowing Water Realm expert in terms of combat power, and the former would have even better control of their abilities. "Aqua, notify our main force members and have them gather in White River City''s Residence in two hours! We''re going to participate in special Stamina training!" Shi Feng addressed Aqua Rose. "Stamina training? I''ll notify them right away!" Aqua Rose was ecstatic to hear Shi Feng''s latest order. However, after giving the matter some more thought, she could not help but ask, "Guild Leader, since we''re participating in special training, why don''t we include the Guild''s other experts, as well?" "I don''t want too many people to know about this training method yet. Moreover, the Guild has many affairs that require Tier 2 experts to manage. Taking too many people at once isn''t ideal," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Lost Town was a specialized training ground for the Realms of Truth. Its value was immeasurable. If the various superpowers found out about it, they would do everything in their power to take it from him. Hence, he had used the excuse of Stamina training. If too many people found out about his Lost Town, it would increase the chances of the secret getting out, and he couldn''t afford for that to happen. Zero Wing didn''t have the ability to defend the town properly yet. Shi Feng didn''t have to say more for Aqua Rose to understand what he was trying to say. She stopped asking questions and contacted the Guild''s main force members. Following which, Shi Feng held an internal auction for the weapons and equipment the Void Lizard had dropped. He then left the two remaining sets of Void Field Scrolls with You Ziping and had him and the other Tier 2 internal members take charge of the grinding operation in the forbidden land. As long as they didn''t provoke any Mythic Bosses, they wouldn''t have any issues in the forbidden land with the Void Field''s assistance. Once Shi Feng had finished designating tasks, he left the forbidden land, pulling out a Return Scroll to teleport to White River City once teleportation was available again. 1978 Reputation Soars Chapter 1978 - Reputation Soars Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: How lively! When Shi Feng exited the Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of a crowded street. Merchant players were busy conducting business along the street, and impromptu teams recruited members for their Dungeon raids. These impromptu teams were all quite strong, with at least Level 56 members. Some teams even had the leadership of Tier 2 players. At this stage of the game, such impromptu teams were considered incredibly powerful. These teams in other cities were usually led by Tier 1 experts; very few had Tier 2 experts. Shi Feng also spotted quite a few adventurer teams recruiting members, all of which were extremely powerful with more than ten Tier 2 experts on average. Even a few well-known adventurer teams had come to White River City from other kingdoms. Most of the players on the street were high-leveled and well-equipped, in fact. Level 57 expert players were a common sight, and there were many independent players wearing multiple pieces of Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment. At this point, White River City''s prosperity actually surpassed Star-Moon City. It looked nothing like an ordinary major NPC city, having developed far more than Shi Feng had expected. "Zero Wing is amazing! Not only did it repel Miracle in the Black Dragon Empire, but I''ve also heard that it has recently joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce some! I''m definitely going to sign up for Zero Wing''s mass-recruitment!" "I''ve heard the same. And so many well-known adventurer teams have come to White River City to join the Guild. Even if Zero Wing rejects their application, they''re willing to work as subordinate adventurer teams for the Guild. Because of this White River City has seen a drastic increase in player traffic." "I know, right? Although the resources around White River City aren''t anything special, the city has a direct route to the Eclipse Gate, and that area has fairly abundant resources. Even if we don''t make it into Zero Wing this time, it''s not a bad idea to develop here. Furthermore, White River City is Zero Wing''s main headquarters. When the Guild recruits members in the future, we''ll have a far better chance of joining the Guild if we stay here!" As Shi Feng walked through the streets, he heard many excited conversations regarding his Guild. Although Zero Wing had displayed immense strength, it still lacked a powerful background and funding. It was a Guild that relied on its own power to survive. Because of that, not many players and adventurer teams had optimistic views of Zero Wing''s prospects, but now, the Guild had also joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce. Even without the support of a major corporation, Zero Wing wouldn''t have to worry about funding in the future with Secret''s connections. It even had a high chance of becoming a super-first-rate Guild in the future. This presented a golden opportunity for adventurer teams and expert players. Existing super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds already had well-developed structures. They had also filled most of their available management positions. Climbing the corporate ladder would be extremely difficult for newcomers; even geniuses would need a long time to reach a significant position. However, Zero Wing was different. The Guild wasn''t yet stable, and its foundations had various holes and lacked talented players. However, now that Zero Wing had a hope of becoming a superpower, a player had a chance of becoming an upper echelon as long as they joined the Guild and performed well. Becoming the upper echelon in a super-first-rate Guild was much faster than trying to climb the corporate ladder in an already-established super-first-rate Guild. With such an opportunity before them, how could players and adventurer teams ignore this chance? This was the reason that White River City had become the focal point of Star-Moon Kingdom. Large numbers of independent players and well-known adventurer teams swarmed the city, instantly pushing White River City''s player population past 10,000,000. Moreover, these players'' quality surpassed that of other kingdoms'' capital cities. When Shi Feng reached the city''s Candlelight Trading Firm, he discovered that the Guild Residence wasn''t the only busy area. Candlelight bustled with activity, and Liang Jing was busy reviewing the long line of Lifestyle players standing near the Shop''s entrance. The line outside of the Shop extended from one end of the street to the other. Moreover, the standards of these applying Lifestyle players were considerably high. The weakest applicant was a Basic Lifestyle player, not a single Apprentice stood in line. There were also plenty of Advanced Lifestyle players waiting for their review. The scene stupefied the independent players that had just arrived in the city, and when other Guilds'' members saw this, their eyes nearly fell from their sockets. All of the various large Guilds offered incentives to recruit Advanced Lifestyle players, but very few usually took the bait, yet more than 100 of these players had eagerly applied to the Candlelight Trading Firm, obediently waiting in line... The news certainly spread quickly! Shi Feng was a little surprised by the thousands of Lifestyle players applying to join Zero Wing. He had to admit that joining a top Chamber of Commerce had its benefits. He hadn''t expected Secret''s reputation to be so useful. Candlelight hadn''t officially started working with Secret, yet so many Lifestyle players had rushed to join Zero Wing. By the time Candlelight collaborated with Secret and started to sell products through the Chamber''s channels, he''d likely see severa times more players trying to join his trading firm. Shi Feng could relate to a certain degree. Although the former Candlelight Trading Firm had solid foundations and superb talent-nurturing capabilities, it hadn''t had enough channels to sell its products. Now that Candlelight had both, Lifestyle players considered it the best place to develop. Following which, Shi Feng headed to one of Candlelight''s Special Workshops and handed a Resuscitation Potion Recipe to Silent Wonder, leaving it to the Chief Alchemist to decide who should learn the recipe. He then visited his own Special Forging Room and started to craft more Void Field Magic Arrays. After a little over an hour, Shi Feng had completed five sets of Void Field Scrolls out of eight attempts. These five sets would enable many of Zero Wing''s elite and expert players to grind in the Witch''s Hill''s forbidden land. Then, even without the Void Field, they could simply return to grinding in the forbidden land''s outer region. Now that the area''s monsters had died more than a few times, the respawn rate had decreased. Even the ordinary Tier 2 experts should have no problem helping the Tier 1 players grind there. Once Shi Feng had settled his affairs in Candlelight, he made his way to Zero Wing''s Residence. Currently, Blackie and the other main force members sat in the Residence''s second-floor hall. They had been waiting for quite some time, and they all looked forward to the special Stamina training. One''s combat standard was the basis for their combat power, and the more they fought expert players, the more this idea proved to be true. They used to overwhelm their opponents with their Basic Attributes, but as players progressed in the game, their advantage continued to lessen. "Commander, we really lucked out this time! We''ve just joined the Guild''s main force, yet we get to partake in special internal training. I wonder what the Guild Leader has to teach us?" Seven Light, a young, Tier 2 Swordsman, spoke excitedly to the middle-aged man beside him. "I''ve already told you that I''m no longer Unbounded''s commander. In the future, refer to me as Brother Bone," Stubborn Bone told the youth beside him, exasperated. "But you''re right; we''ve really gotten lucky this time. We actually get to train under Black Flame personally. I assume he''ll teach us some kind of footwork or body technique." Every large Guild had its own internal training programs. Some programs taught combat techniques that were exclusive to the Guild, and others provided lectures. Stubborn Bone, though, was confident that this training session would involve learning a combat technique through practice. After all, Zero Wing was famous for its many techniques. Quite a few other players in the group were former adventurer team members as well. For example, Remnant Cloud and Graceful Moon, the prior commander and vice-commander of the Firecloud Fox adventurer team, were also present. These former adventurers were all curious about what Shi Feng had in store for them. "Everyone has gathered, Guild Leader," Aqua Rose reported when she noticed Shi Feng enter the hall. "Good. Let''s set off, then." Shi Feng nodded. He then led the team to the Residence''s first underground floor. 1979 Visiting the Extraordinary Tower Again Chapter 1979 - Visiting the Extraordinary Tower Again First underground floor in Zero Wing''s Residence: Under Shi Feng''s lead, the group arrived before a strictly guarded room. Ten Personal Guards stood at the entrance. Zero Wing''s main force members were shocked to see the Personal Guards. These NPCs were all Level 75 or above, and the team was familiar with two of them, both Secret-Silver Personal Guards. Even superpowers coveted such top-tier guards. Of the two Secret-Silver Personal Guards, the Level 76, Tier 2 Summoner was Aqua Rose''s Personal Guard, while the Level 76, Tier 2 Magic Knight belonged to Fire Dance. It had caused quite a commotion when the two women had obtained them. Although Secret-Silver Personal Guards weren''t strong enough to fight opponents of a higher tier like Shi Feng''s Anna and Kite, they could still rival Tier 3 NPCs of the same level. Not even a Level 75, Tier 2 peak expert would be a match for these guards. As for current Level 60 peak experts, they''d only have a hope of defeating the Personal Guards if they fought in a large team. Yet, two of these Personal Guards had been tasked with guarding this room. Based on the other guards'' auras and levels, it was safe to assume that they were at least Mysterious-Iron rank. At this stage of the game, even a first-rate Guild''s upper echelons only employed Mysterious-Iron Personal Guards. Secret-Silver Personal Guards were simply too rare, even rarer than Epic items. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds and superpowers typically used Secret-Silver Personal Guards to protect their Guild Warehouses, yet two of these NPCs defended a mere room... Why wouldn''t this surprise the team members? However, these players'' shock reached new heights as they entered the room. The room was incredibly small, and one would be hard-pressed to fit a hundred people within. Only a magic array occupied the room, carved into the floor in the center. It didn''t seem like a place that warranted Secret-Silver Personal Guards'' protection. Shi Feng could not help but smile when he saw his team''s confusion, but he didn''t bother to explain the situation. Under Shi Feng''s commands, the team then split into groups of ten. "Everyone, step in the magic array," Shi Feng said as he did just that. Once everyone was in place, Shi Feng inserted a Magic Crystal before a white flash enveloped him and the nine members of his group. They vanished. The rest of Zero Wing''s main force members finally understood what the magic array was for. They then entered the magic array and mimicked Shi Feng''s actions, one party after another. When they reopened their eyes, they found themselves in a foreign town. It was one other than the Lost Town, located in the Boneless Land. The Lost Town was no longer the desolate, abandoned place it had been. Dilapidated buildings had once dotted the area, and not a single NPC could''ve been found in the town. But while the town wasn''t teeming with NPCs, dozens wandered along the main street now. Similarly, renovated Shops, restaurants, and hotels now filled the town. The Lost Town now looked like any typical, NPC border town. However, unlike NPC towns, several ancient, imposing buildings remained. Ancient divine runes and images had been carved into these buildings'' walls, and among them, the most eye-catching was the square, white tower in the town''s center. A pitch-black orb hovered at the tower''s peak, radiating a frightening aura that deterred anyone from casually approaching. Yet, the most important thing Zero Wing''s members noticed was the town''s Mana density. The Mana here was no less dense than in Stone Forest Town, and it felt even denser as one approached the white tower. The Mana around this strange tower could even rival that of Silver Wing Town. "Amazing! Where are we?" "Guild Leader, are we training here?" Everyone turned to Shi Feng after observing the town for a moment. Even Aqua Rose and the other upper echelons were stunned. They all wondered when Shi Feng had gotten his hands on such a wondrous place. Setting aside the town''s leveling environment, its high Mana density made the town incredibly valuable. "This is the Lost Town. It also belongs to Zero Wing. Unfortunately, the town still lacks facilities, so I haven''t opened it to the public," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He gestured to the white tower and said, "That tower will be your training venue." Although the Guild members he had led here were all Zero Wing''s main force members, none of them had known about the Lost Town before today. After all, Shi Feng hadn''t told anyone about it. Even the internal members he had power-leveled in the Boneless Land hadn''t known that Zero Wing had secured the Lost Town. They had only known that a dangerous town existed in the Boneless Land. He hadn''t kept this secret because he was overly cautious, but because the Lost Town''s value warranted such caution. Even after ten years in God''s Domain, he had never heard of a town or place that could train players to reach and progress in the Realms of Truth, and this training system had been designed by the Main God System. It was far more accurate and refined than the training systems the various superpowers had designed. Hence, he couldn''t afford to reveal this secret to the world. If news about the Lost Town''s ability leaked, Zero Wing would instantly become public enemy number one. The various superpowers definitely wouldn''t let Zero Wing off the hook. However, to increase the strength of Zero Wing''s experts as quickly as possible and nurture more experts that could contend with peak experts, he had no choice but to take this risk. As players progressed in the game and reached higher levels, Zero Wing would continue to lose its advantages. The moment that Zero Wing fell behind, its enemies would strike. Shi Feng had another reason for leading his main force to the Lost Town, as well. Now that Zero Wing had solved the issue of its Magic Crystal shortage, he could afford to operate the Extraordinary Tower every day. "We''re training in there?" Zero Wing''s players looked at the tower, a little disappointed. "Does it have advanced combat rooms?" None of them showed any interest in training in a venue the Main God System had created. They had already experienced such training systems before. One such example was the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower. The Trial Tower held absolute authority over God''s Domain''s players. Not only could they test their strength in the Trial Tower, but they could also use it to discover their flaws and improve themselves. They assumed the tower before them was similar to the Trial Tower. Unfortunately, the Trial Tower only offered minor assistance at this point It was unlikely that this white tower, which looked far less impressive than the Trial Tower, would provide better training. "Not interested?" Shi Feng could not help the smile pulling at his lips when he noticed the team''s lack of enthusiasm. "How about this? If any of you manage to get past the first floor within one week, I''ll reward you with a Bloodline that will improve your Life Rating!" "A Bloodline? Guild Leader, are you for real?" Shadow Sword and the others'' excitement returned. They had all heard of Bloodlines, and many of them had taken part in the Demonkin King raid on Kama Island. They had seen the Space-time Bloodline that the Demonkin King had dropped. There was no doubt that the Bloodline was a superpowerful item, and it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call it a free pass to Tier 3. It could even help players when they challenged their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. "Of course." Shi Feng nodded. "However, you have to clear the first floor within a week." "The tower''s first floor? Shouldn''t that be a piece of cake?" Zero Wing''s players then dashed towards the Extraordinary Tower, more than eager to get to work. Shi Feng, however, casually entered the tower and headed for the top floor. He then called up the Extraordinary Tower''s system interface and released the second floor''s seal. This was the reason he had come to the Lost Town today. 1980 Second Floor Unsealed Chapter 1980 - Second Floor Unsealed The moment Shi Feng chose to remove the seal on the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor, he instantly lost 100,000 of the 110,000 Magic Crystals he had recently collected. The divine runes on the Extraordinary Tower''s exterior then lit up with a steady, colorful brilliance. Mana flooded toward the tower from far beyond the Lost Town''s boundaries, rapidly increasing the town''s Mana density. After several seconds of this, the Lost Town''s Mana density was even higher than in Silverwing Town, and after a few more seconds, it could rival the density in Zero Wing Gity. Everyone within the Extraordinary Tower felt the change. Due to the increased Mana density, the players within the tower received a Well Rested buff, indicating that they could accumulate 15% of the Double EXP buff after resting in the Lost Town for 48 hours. Sure enough, this Extraordinary Tower is really amazing. Shi Feng was slightly surprised at how dense the Mana had become. The Mana density within the tower was at least 20% higher than in Zero Wing City. This meant that players would recover their Stamina and Concentration 20% faster inside the Extraordinary Tower than they would in the city. Even if players practiced Advanced Combat Techniques, they could train continuously at an adequate pace in such a Mana- rich environment. To God''s Domain''s expert players, training here was the ultimate dream. If Zero Wing offered such a precious training ground for lease, the various superpowers would likely form a long line for a chance to rent it since mastery of an Advanced Combat Technique would provide their players with a huge boost in combat power. Refinement Realm experts would be able to challenge Flowing Water Realm experts, and Flowing Water Realm experts would be able to challenge Void Realm experts. However, Advanced Combat Techniques were not easy to master. Executing such techniques consumed a lot of Stamina and Concentration. Meanwhile, players'' regeneration of Stamina and Concentration was normally extremely slow. Hence, players could practice their Advanced Combat Techniques for only a very limited number of times each day, yet mastery of Advanced Combat Techniques required a lot of practice. Thus, the higher Mana density inside the tower was a great boon. Shortly after Shi Feng released the seal on the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor, the divine runes and magic arrays carved on the inner walls lit up as well. Unfortunately, if he wanted to use the second floor''s training system, he''d have to pay 5,000 Magic Crystals per day. Even a first-rate Guild could afford such an expense for only a few days. The Manatite vein Zero Wing had recently acquired was the only reason Shi Feng dared to activate the second floor now. Despite the Guild''s recent expansions, Zero Wing would still have nearly 20,000 extra Magic Crystals after daily expenses. Hence, the Guild could afford to maintain the second floor''s operation. Shi Feng then left the top floor and prepared to face the second-floor challenge. Although he had comprehended the Realms of Truth''s principles and had mastered the Truth Realm to reach the Ascension Realm, he had relied on his personal understanding to accomplish these feats. He hadn''t received any official training or guidance, but now that the system''s specialized training for the Realms of Truth was before him, he had to put it to good use. Furthermore, he had to prepare for using the Ancient God''s Secret Key he had obtained. Obtaining an Ancient God''s Secret Key was incredibly difficult. Who knew when he would find another one? If he wished to maximize the Secret Key''s value, he''d have to grow as strong as possible. He''d be able to secure better items from the Secret Key only with better survivability. As Shi Feng descended the staircase to the Extraordinary Tower''s first-floor training ground, he noticed that it had implemented a similar system to that which had stopped players from entering the tower before he had taken ownership of the town. Players on the first floor were required to approach a magic array in the center. On their way there, the tower bombarded the players with various attacks, although the attacks didn''t cause any damage. They only repelled the players. The only difference between the first-floor training ground and the initial defense mechanism was the attack pattern they used. When Shi Feng had found the Extraordinary Tower and tried to enter, he had faced only head-on attacks. However, in this training ground, players were attacked from every direction. Of course, players couldn''t use any Skills or Spells; they had to rely on their own abilities to reach the center of the room. Fire Dance and her companions were moving towards the central magic array, but no matter how they tried to contend with the incoming attacks, the result was the same. None of them could get within 100 yards of the array. The training ground''s radius was only 200 yards, yet no one could cross half this distance. Even Violet Cloud and Fire Dance, who were both close to reaching the Flowing Water Realm, barely crossed the 60-yard mark. The best among the other Refinement Realm experts could reach only the 50-yard mark. As for non-Refinement Realm experts like Remnant Cloud and Stubborn Bone, they couldn''t even make it to 30 yards. The first-floor training ground was far more difficult than the Extraordinary Tower''s defense mechanism. "Guild Leader, this place is amazing! We already have to face more than a dozen head-on attacks before we reach the 10- yard mark. The attacks are so fast, too! Unlike players'' and monsters'' attacks, these attacks seem to appear and disappear abruptly. It''s impossible to predict the attack trajectories and dodge. And that''s not even the best part! Once we cross the 10-yard mark, we''re attacked from all directions. No human can stop these attacks!" "That''s right! Not only do the attacks come from every direction, but you have to deal with more attacks as you move forward. When you reach the 50-yard mark, the attacks even change their trajectories without warning. And the further you progress, the more the attacks change. These transformations are so frustrating. Even Big Sis Fire got defeated shortly after crossing the 60-yard mark." When Zero Wing''s players noticed Shi Feng''s approach, they burst into a round of enthusiastic comments. Despite their slow progress, they were all immensely excited, feeling as if the doors to a whole new world had just opened up before them. They were all experts that had joined Zero Wing''s main force. Even the weakest among them was close to the Half-step Refinement Realm standard, and many of them had mastered multiple combat techniques. Even so, they felt like infants learning to walk when they faced the training ground''s trial, able to apply only a tiny fraction of their knowledge and combat experience. This was especially true for people like Remnant Cloud and Stubborn Bone, who had just joined Zero Wing''s main force. They had never imagined that Zero Wing had found such an awe-inspiring training ground. They all felt as if they were learning something even more amazing than combat techniques. As they continued to challenge the trial, their reactions and ability to make instant judgments improved. However, they knew that they couldn''t rely on these improvements to pass this trial. They needed to ingrain the appropriate reactions and the attack''s transformations in their minds until they could react instinctively. It felt as if this trial were trying to engrave a complete set of Basic Combat Techniques into their bones, enabling them to execute a technique with every movement. "It seems you all have gained a significant harvest. I hope some of you break through the first floor''s training ground in one week. I''ll be waiting on the second floor," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then headed for the magic array at the center of the training ground. 1981 Trial Difficulty Chapter 1981 - Trial Difficulty "What? Even the Guild Leader is going to train?" "I wonder how far the Guild Leader can reach?" "Didn''t the Guild Leader say that he would wait for us on the second floor''s training ground? That means he has to pass through the first floor!" "This trial is so difficult I wonder how the Guild Leader will clear it?" As Shi Feng approached the first-floor training ground, Zero Wing''s members stopped their respective training and turned to look at Shi Feng, curious to see his performance. By this time, they had all attempted the training ground''s trial already, so they knew that its difficulty was frustratingly high. Hence, they couldn''t believe that Shi Feng would succeed. As Shi Feng got increasingly closer to the boundary of the training ground, he did not make any preparations at allunlike everyone else. Instead, he stepped straight into the training ground, his gait not faltering even in the slightest. The moment Shi Feng entered the training ground, four beam attacks suddenly appeared and flew straight at him. The beam attacks of the training ground appeared with no warning at all, making it impossible for players to take preemptive action to evade them. Players had to rely on their sight and quick judgment to dodge the attacks. Of course, dodging four of such sudden attacks would not be a problem at all for the expert players present, so long as they gave it their all. However, despite seeing the beam attacks, Shi Feng gave no indication of wanting to dodge them. Instead, he maintained his pace, continuing to walk forward, straight into the attacks. Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... In the next moment, Zero Wing''s members saw the beam attacks pierce right through their Guild Leader. However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, even after the four beam attacks faded out of existence, Shi Feng still did not get sent flying backward. His pace hadn''t even faltered. The beams had apparently passed through Shi Feng to no effect. "What''s going on?" "I didn''t see the Guild Leader making any evasive maneuvers!" "How did the Guild Leader do it?" The spectating crowd was stunned as Shi Feng kept moving forward. The beam attacks that had repeatedly given Zero Wing''s members a terrible beating actually had zero effect against their Guild Leader. Shi Feng did not even sidestep the attacks. Right now, it looked as if Shi Feng was merely taking a leisurely stroll through his backyard as he walked toward the central magic array. The beam attacks would always miss their mark by just one or two centimeters, as if they were actively avoiding Shi Feng, and bypass him ineffectually. When Shi Feng crossed the 50-yard mark and faced 20-plus beam attacks simultaneously, one of the beams suddenly altered its trajectory just as it was about to reach Shi Feng. However, despite this abrupt change, Shi Feng reacted to it calmly and simply slashed it with one of his swords. In the end, the beam attack got sliced through cleanly. It did not even manage to slow Shi Feng''s advance for even a heartbeat. Following which, as Shi Feng continued advancing, the number of beam attacks that abruptly altered their trajectories increased as well. By the time he neared the 100-yard mark, the number of transforming attacks had already reached eight. However, this increase was trivial to him. It just meant that he needed to swing his swords a few more times, at most. From a spectator''s perspective, it would look as if the beam attacks were attracted to his swords, as if they all automatically headed toward the weapons. "Are you kidding me? Did the difficulty of this training ground change?" Zero Wing''s members were at a loss for words as they watched Shi Feng''s leisurely progress through the training ground. The players who were formerly members of adventurer teams, in particular, found themselves doubting their own eyes right now. Before today, they had rarely ever seen Shi Feng fighting in person. Most of their knowledge regarding Shi Feng came from battle videos. Now that they were seeing Shi Feng in action with their own eyes, however, they doubted their senses. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng crossed the 100-yard mark, the attacks he faced were no longer limited to straight beams and beams that abruptly altered their trajectories. Slashing beams joined the onslaught. The addition of the slashing beams instantly increased the surface area under threat by a significant margin. Moreover, the slashing attacks contained great power. When Shi Feng tried blocking one with his swords, he found himself stumbling back several steps. So, this is the first-floor training? Shi Feng deflected a slashing attack with Killing Ray, surprised by the change in attack patterns. The first-floor training was much more difficult than the Extraordinary Tower''s initial entry test. If the trial before the 100-yard mark trained players'' dodging capabilities, then the trial past the 100-yard mark focused on players'' offensive and defensive capabilities. While Shi Feng was entertaining such thoughts in his mind, the number of slashing attacks had very quickly increased from one to four. The difficulty of the trial now already rivaled that of Rhinebeck''s trial, which Shi Feng had undergone to obtain the Sea God''s Legacy. However, despite the high difficulty, Shi Feng, who had already reached the Ascension Realm, had no problem controlling his body''s instinct to dodge and block the incoming attacks. This was also the most rudimentary usage of the Realms of Truththe skillful utilization of one''s own body. Instead of moving just his arms and legs, he had to employ his entire body. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to dodge and block all these beam attacks. Following which, under everyone''s gaze, Shi Feng started advancing toward the central magic array at flying speeds. The numerous beam attacks couldn''t hinder his progress at all. After a short moment, Shi Feng finally set foot on the central magic array. Shock filled the eyes of Aqua Rose and the others, who were spectating outside the training ground, at this sight. Although they had long since expected that the first-floor training ground wouldn''t pose a problem for Shi Feng, they still had not imagined that he would clear it so effortlessly. "That''s it for the demonstration. You''ll have to rely on yourselves to get through," Shi Feng said as he glanced at the flabbergasted crowd behind him. He then teleported to the second-floor training ground. The first-floor training ground provided very thorough training for players to master the Truth Realm. If not for him having already reached the Ascension Realm, he would''ve most likely had a difficult time reaching the central magic array, as even the slashing attacks had started altering their trajectories suddenly toward the end of the trial. Trying to defend against such attacks was extremely challenging. Merely moving one''s arms and legs wouldn''t be enough to cope with these attacks. One needed to coordinate their entire body with their weapons in order to effectively block and deflect these attacks. The difficulty was doing so was extremely high. At the very least, if Shi Feng were still in the Truth Realm right now, he would have an even chance of receiving a direct hit from the changing slashing attacks. In other words, if one had just entered the Realms of Truth and barely had any attainments, clearing the first-floor trial would be impossible. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s demonstration allowed everyone to understand that reaching the central magic array wasn''t exactly impossible. After all, Shi Feng had done soand in a very leisurely manner at that. From start to end, he had not made any large movements at all. "Is the Guild Leader really human? He actually got through such a challenge!" After snapping out of his daze, Seven Light was bursting with excitement and motivation. "So, this is the Sword King''s strength?" Watching Shi Feng''s leisurely display had likewise ignited Stubborn Bone''s fighting spirit. In the past, although he knew that there was a massive gap in strength between himself and the peak experts of the various superpowers, he had attributed this disparity to the difference in Basic Attributes. He had believed that there wasn''t much difference between them when it came to combat standards. In hindsight, he found his thoughts laughable. The difference was not limited to just Basic Attributes. Even his combat standard was inferior by leaps and bounds. Moreover, aside from Shi Feng, he was also inferior to the Guild''s Vice Guild Leader Aqua Rose, the main force''s commander Fire Dance, and the healer Violet Cloud. Only, the gaps between him and the three women were not as gigantic as the one between him and Shi Feng. However, it was precisely because of this discovery that he became keen on the training ground before him. In the past, he did not know how far behind he actually was, but now he knew. 1982 Breakthrough Chapter 1982 - Breakthrough After Shi Feng disappeared from the first floor, Zero Wing''s members quickly snapped out of their daze and resumed challenging the first-floor trial. Extraordinary Tower''s second-floor training ground: So, this is the second floor''s training? The scene before Shi Feng took him by surprise. At this moment, the space he stood in was no longer inside the Extraordinary Tower. Instead, he had arrived in an alternate realm. Unlike the first-floor training ground, the second-floor training ground consisted of a mist-covered staircase, which had a hundred steps, and a pair of stone doors at the top of the staircase. It was obvious the second-floor trial required players to ascend this staircase and reach the stone doors. However, what caught Shi Feng''s attention the most was the Mana density here, which was at least 50% higher than what he felt in the Extraordinary Tower. Surrounded by such concentrated Mana, Shi Feng felt his mind becoming extraordinarily clear. For a moment, he felt as if he could accomplish anything so long as he put his mind to it. In such a Mana-rich environment, he would not have to worry about running out of Stamina and Concentration, even if he were to use Advanced Combat Techniques nonstop. He could exert his full strength as much as he wanted. Shi Feng finally understood why activating the second-floor training ground had cost 100,000 Magic Crystals, why the second-floor training ground required 5,000 Magic Crystals to operate every day, and why only 50 people could undergo the training at the same time. With such an excellent environment, as well as the fact that the training ground here provided in-depth training for the Realms of Truth, the second-floor training ground was indeed worth every Magic Crystal he had paid. Given the opportunity, the various superpowers would be willing to pay five times that price to obtain such a training ground. After Shi Feng familiarized himself with the environment here, he promptly stepped onto the snow-white staircase. Each step of the staircase was half a meter tall, requiring players to make quite a large movement just to climb one. A distance of roughly 13 yards separated each step. Even a Tier 2 expert would need some time to climb each step; they wouldn''t be able to climb the next step in a single breath at the very least. The moment Shi Feng climbed onto the first step, he felt his entire body weakening. His Basic Attributes and the improved Life Rating he gained from his Dark Iron Bloodline became useless as soon as he set foot on the staircase. After three seconds, his Basic Attributes had fallen to the standard of a Level 50, Tier 1 Swordsman fully geared in Bronze Equipment Even his physique had regressed to the Tier 1 standard. He was as ordinary as an ordinary player could get now. Meanwhile, before Shi Feng could adapt to this sudden drop in strength, two Tier 1 Swordsmen, who looked exactly like him and were geared in silver armor, appeared on the step he stood on. As soon as they had fully materialized, these Swordsmen unsheathed their twin swords and charged at him. Within a breath of time, both Level 50, Tier 1 Swordsmen crossed the 10-yard distance and arrived before Shi Feng. Tier 1 Skill, Gale Sword! Tier 1 Skill, Triple Moon Intercept! Both Swordsmen used an extremely rare Tier 1 Skill. Moreover, their actions were free of any unnecessary movements as they struck directly at Shi Feng''s vitals. Upon seeing this, Shi Feng hurriedly countered by executing Sword''s Orbit. Boom! Boom! Boom! After the swords of the two sides clashed about five or six times, Shi Feng got sent flying off the staircase''s first step. Meanwhile, once Shi Feng fell off the step, the two silver Swordsmen did not pursue him. Instead, they returned to their original positions and stood there quietly. So strong! Shi Feng was astounded as he looked at his two opponents. Even after falling to the foot of the staircase, he had to take five steps back before he managed to stabilize himself. Although the clash with the silver Swordsmen was brief, Shi Feng understood that their combat standard was already close to reaching the Refinement Realm standard. Moreover, their mastery over their Skills was practically perfect with both Skills executed at a 100% Completion Rate. Their true combat power was definitely no weaker than a true Refinement Realm expert''s. Aside from having very high technical standards, the silver Swordsmen''s Basic Attributes were also far superior to his own. If he tried to face their attacks head-on, he would definitely get sent flying. The difficulty ramped up this much just by going up a floor? Glancing at the motionless, silver Swordsmen, Shi Feng roughly understood the difficulty rating of the second-floor trial. If a Flowing Water Realm expert were to go up against these two silver Swordsmen, the said expert would have no chance of getting past even the first step. The Flowing Water Realm allowed one to perceive the actions of one''s opponents and make simple, preemptive offensive or defensive maneuvers. However, both silver Swordsmen were invulnerable to damage. Attacking them would be meaningless. Moreover, doing so would only expose holes in one''s defenses to the silver Swordsmen. Executing simple defensive maneuvers, such as blocking or deflecting, would result in the Flowing Water Realm expert getting gradually pushed off the staircase step after step. As for evasive maneuvers, those were simply impossible. With the disparity in Basic Attributes, Movement Speed, and reaction speed, a Flowing Water Realm expert would find it next to impossible to dodge the attack of just one silver Swordsman, let alone two. In other words, a Flowing Water Realm expert would not be able to achieve anything on this floor. Only if said Flowing Water Realm expert had reached the Truth Realm might they barely defend against the two silver Swordsmen. As for Refinement Realm experts that had entered the Truth Realm, they would very likely get sent flying off the staircase on the first exchange. Following which, Shi Feng stepped onto the staircase once more. This time, however, he did not choose to receive the attacks of the two silver Swordsmen directly. Instead, he skillfully brandished his two swords and redirected the attack of one of the silver Swordsmen toward the other silver Swordsman''s attack, the two attacks canceling out each other. This then created an opportunity for Shi Feng to move past the two silver Swordsmen and climb to the next step. Only, climbing each step was a challenge, as he had to make huge movements to climb up the tall steps while deflecting the attacks of the two silver Swordsmen. However, with each step he climbed, Shi Feng could feel his understanding of the Realms of Truth deepening. When he ascended to the tenth step, one more silver Swordsman suddenly joined the two silver Swordsmen chasing after him, instantly increasing the trial''s difficulty by a large margin. Things are finally getting a little interesting. Shi Feng felt the pressure on him strengthening as he dealt with the relentless assault of the three silver Swordsmen. Fortunately, it had already been quite some time since he had reached the Ascension Realm. The combined assault of the three silver Swordsmen was still within his tolerance range. Nevertheless, each time he wanted to climb a step, he had to prepare himself both physically and mentally for quite a while. By the time Shi Feng reached the 29th step, he was facing four silver Swordsmen and already close to reaching his limit When he eventually climbed to the 30th step, one of the silver Swordsmen suddenly turned into a golden Swordsman. Before Shi Feng could adjust to the change, the golden Swordsman''s improved Strength and speed sent him flying back down to the 29th step. Due to the presence of the golden Swordsman, Shi Feng was stuck moving back and forth between the 29th and 30th steps. As the number of times Shi Feng got sent flying increased, he began to grasp his shortcomingshis skill at utilizing external forces was still inadequate. Although he had redirected one of the silver Swordsmen''s attacks toward the golden Swordsman''s, the golden Swordsman''s Strength was simply overwhelming. Before the golden Swordsman''s attack could be nullified, the silver Swordsman''s attack was crushed, and the golden Swordsman''s attack would continue toward him. One hour... Two hours... Four hours... After many hours had passed, when Shi Feng was faced with the golden Swordsman''s oncoming longsword once again, he executed Sword''s Orbit and filled his surroundings with a galaxy of stars. In the next moment, however, the three silver Swordsmen''s attacks involuntarily moved to greet the golden Swordsman''s attack. Boom! After a loud explosion echoed throughout the entire training ground, the golden Swordsman went flying up a step while the three silver Swordsmen fell down the step. At this moment, only Shi Feng remained standing quietly on the 31st step. Wonderful! I succeeded! Shi Feng had an ecstatic expression on his face as he gazed at the collapsed golden Swordsman. I finally have my own combat technique! 1983 Swords Transmigration Chapter 1983 - Sword''s Transmigration While Shi Feng rejoiced over the new combat technique he had successfully created and prepared to test it on the golden Swordsman and three silver Swordsmen on the 30th step, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have created a Bronze Combat Technique. Please name your combat technique. Shi Feng was stunned to hear the notification. Taking advantage of the distraction, the golden and silver Swordsmen stood and charged towards Shi Feng in a coordinated assault. By the time Shi Feng snapped out of his daze, it was too late to defend himself. All four attacks struck vital points, and Shi Feng''s body vanished from the 30th step, reappearing at the very bottom of the staircase. Although Shi Feng had to restart his climb from the bottom, he wasn''t disappointed in the slightest. Rather, he stared at his notification window in astonishment. What? A Bronze Combat Technique? Dubious, Shi Feng examined the system''s congratulatory message. Although he knew that he hadn''t created a low-standard combat technique, he didn''t think that it was so amazing to be categorized as a Bronze rank Combat Technique. Mastering a single Advanced Combat Technique would enable players to challenge opponents of a higher combat standard. Of course, there was a limit to how effective these combat techniques could be. For example, the Advanced Combat Technique, Void Steps, was most effective against Flowing Water Realm experts, but the footwork technique had little-to- no effect against Void Realm experts or above. After all, Void Steps relied on fooling an opponent''s sight. Void Realm experts used more than one sense to locate their opponents. However, Bronze Combat Techniques were a different story. Bronze Combat Techniques would even be effective against Domain Realm experts. If a Domain Realm expert failed to cope with a Bronze Combat Technique properly, it could even cost them their life. Until now, Zero Wing had only possessed a single Bronze Combat TechniqueLightning Flash, which he had only obtained through luck from the Primordial Divine Ruin. The only other way Zero Wing''s players could obtain more Bronze Combat Techniques was by entering Bronze Legacy Tablets, but they were extremely rare and highly coveted by the various superpowers. Unfortunately, despite many Zero Wing members attempting to learn Lightning Flash, not one of them had mastered the Secret Attack Technique, and Shi Feng was no exception. Yet, he had just succeeded in creating his own Bronze Combat Technique. Why wouldn''t he be surprised? Of course, the technique''s creation had been a coincidence. He had only created it though the inspiration he had gained as he tried to deal with the golden and silver Swordsmen''s relentless assault. If he tried to create another Bronze Combat Technique, he''d simply waste his time and energy. Just creating a Basic Combat Technique required a solid foundation, and those that were capable of doing so were, without a doubt, geniuses. As for Advanced Combat Techniques, only the various superpowers'' old monsters had any hope of successfully creating one. Shi Feng''s success in creating a Bronze Combat Technique was nothing short of a miracle. As Shi Feng reveled in the joy of his new Bronze Combat Technique, the system reminded him to name the technique. A name? The combat technique he had created was a variant of Sword''s Orbit that he had combined with the Realms of Truth''s principles. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided, Let''s call it Sword''s Transmigration! Once Shi Feng had entered the technique''s name, the system rang with another notification. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to create a Bronze Combat Technique. Rewarding one Bronze Legacy Orb and the title ''Bronze Legatee.'' As the system notification ended, a green orb appeared before Shi Feng. Creating a Bronze Combat Technique offers such a benefit as well? Shi Feng could not help his surprise to see the green orb. [Bronze Legacy Orb] (Epic Rank Item) Can record up to three created Bronze Combat Techniques. Players may learn the combat techniques in immersive environments. Each attempt will cost 100 Magic Crystals. Cooldown: 1 hour after each use. Shi Feng had heard of many experts creating their own combat techniques in the past, although those techniques had only been Basic or Advanced rank. However, he hadn''t heard of those players receiving a recording device as he had. If other players wished to learn the combat techniques, they had to either rely on videos or receive the technique creators'' personally tutelage. Unfortunately, learning a combat technique was easier said than done. Experts struggled desperately to learn Basic Combat Techniques, even if they had the assistance of a book. It was easy to imagine how much more difficult learning a Basic Combat Technique would be without proper guidelines, not to mention learning Advanced rank or higher combat techniques. Thus far, the various superpowers had obtained quite a few Bronze Legacy Tablets, yet despite possessing complete legacies that provided detailed instruction, Shi Feng hadn''t heard of a single player mastering a Bronze Combat Technique. Meanwhile, the Bronze Legacy Orb allowed him to record three Bronze Combat Techniques permanently. This would be a great help. Moreover, the Bronze Legacy Orb had a very short Cooldown. He could allow one player to learn the technique he had created each hour. While the Bronze Legacy Orb wasn''t as effective as an actual combat technique book, which didn''t have a cost or Cooldown, it was better than a Bronze Legacy Tablet. Following which, Shi Feng examined his new title. [Bronze Legatee] (Advanced Title) When using combat techniques, expenditure is reduced by 20%. Enjoy the status of Baron in any city, kingdom, or empire. Amazing! It actually grants a global Baron status! Developing in the various major cities will be much easier now. The Bronze Legatee title''s benefits surprised Shi Feng. Although the Demon Hunter title was a Basic Title, it was extremely rare and valuable. After all, it gave him the status of a World Noble, and he had greatly benefited from the title thus far. Meanwhile, the Bronze Legatee title offered him a higher status than the Demon Hunter title. Unlike an ordinary noble, a Baron would have access to greater benefits when purchasing items and Lands in NPC cities. As he considered the situation, the names of a few super-large-scale neutral cities came to Shi Feng''s mind. These super-large-scale neutral cities were similar to the Sea of Trees; all of the various superpowers wanted access to these cities to conduct business. Only, unlike the Sea of Trees, these neutral were not located within secret lands; gaining entry to these cities was much easier. Every one of these neutral cities had a player population of over 20,000,000 in the past, even more than ordinary empires'' imperial capitals. Hence, the various superpowers had frequently fought over dominance in these cities, while first-rate Guilds and below had only been able to watch from the sidelines. I think the minimum level-requirement to activate a super-large-scale neutral NPC city was Level 70? Now that I have the Bronze Legatee title, I can go and take a look. Shi Feng immediately decided to set aside his Realms of Truth training. He knew that he had already exhausted his current potential at this point, and he wouldn''t gain anything from continuing his training right now. If he wished to progress in the second-floor trial, he needed inspiration. Following which, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and left the Extraordinary Tower. 1984 White River City Promoted Chapter 1984 - White River City Promoted Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: When Shi Feng returned to White River City''s Teleportation Hall once again, he discovered that the hall was quite busy. The Teleportation Hall had recently transformed, becoming even more magnificent than before. What?! The city has been promoted?! Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he gazed around the building''s interior. Originally, only the first-floor hall had teleportation arrays, but now the second and third floors of the open-air hall had their own arrays, as well. The higher a teleportation array was located, the farther it could transfer players. Moreover, multiple platforms now floated around the main hall. These floating platforms could transport players to the second and third floors, and if players wished to, they could pay a small fee to teleport to White River City''s airport, central plaza, or business district. The floating platforms moved even faster than Dark-Gold Mounts, becoming the fastest mode of transportation in White River City. By using these platforms, players could save plenty of time while moving around the city. While this new function might not seem like much, NPC cities would grow larger as they were promoted, accommodating more players. After a certain rank, running from one end of the city to the other would require a considerable amount of time. Although floating platforms had fixed destinations, they could save players half the travel time. Normally, NPC cities only activated the floating platform function once they had become a Main City with a certain level of prosperity. However, this prosperity wasn''t the equivalent to the city''s player population. Rather, it referred to economic interactions between players and NPCs, as well as the Shops'' quantity and quality within the city walls. Thus far, only the various empire''s imperial capitals had unlocked the floating platform function, and they had only done so recently. Kingdom''s capital cities were still some time away from the upgrade, yet White River City had achieved the feat. As Shi Feng walked through the city streets, he discovered that White River City was far livelier than it had been before the latest promotion. The number of merchant players in the city, in particular, had increased drastically. Moreover, more Shops lined the streets now that the city streets had been broadened. "Selling Level 50 Secret-Silver leather armor! Price is open for negotiation!" "Selling various types of Level 50 equipment with Magic Resistance! Welcoming long-term partnerships with adventurer teams!" "Purchasing Energy Essence and Primordial Crystals in bulk! Offer available long-term!" Idle and merchant players fervently hawked their wares, all selling much higher-quality products than during Shi Feng''s last visit to White River City. During his last visit, only the Guild-operated Shops had sold Level 50 Secret-Silver Equipment, but now even idle and merchant players announced that such items were for sale. The city''s various Shops had even put up Level 50 Dark-Gold Equipment on display, although their prices were ridiculously high. Not even Guild experts could afford these equipment pieces. Once Shi Feng had seen enough, he rented a floating platform and made his way to White River City''s business district. Due to the recent promotion, the main street had changed significantly. Rather than a street, it looked like a commercial plaza. Not only had it tripled in size, but it was now home to a building that was over 70-stories-tall. This building was none other than White River City''s Auction House. When the Auction House had been upgraded, it had gained new functions. Players weren''t the only ones who could consign items for auction anymore; even NPCs held Basic and Intermediate Auctions a few times a week. In addition, players could browse and purchase items that players sold from one-fourth of Star-Moon Kingdom''s towns and cities. Previously, players had only been able to view and buy items from White River City and its neighboring NPC cities. If players wished to find and purchase specific items, doing so at White River City''s Auction House was now the best option. Meanwhile, the most valuable of the Auction House''s new functions was the Auction Arena. Might was right in God''s Domain, and the game''s Auction Houses were no exception to this rule. Once the Auction Arena activated, the Auction House would hold a competition each day. The Auction House would offer various rare items as prices during these competitions, and players only needed to pay the entry fee to take part. The competition had two phases. The first phase was a test the system decided, and the second involved a battle between players. However, equipment wouldn''t help players in this battle. The competition focused on testing players'' financial strength and resources. While combat standards were also tested, they were insignificant in comparison. When the Auction Arena had been introduced in the past, it had caused quite the stir in God''s Domain. Merchant players that hadn''t been suited for combat had gone mad over the arena, and while many of them had taken part in the competition themselves, some had also hired experts to fight in their place. Countless merchant players had made their fortunes through the Auction Arena, and some experts had obtained top-tier weapons, equipment, and tools with their success in the arena. Of course, due to the Auction Arena, God''s Domain''s influence in the real world had expanded. However, the Auction Arena''s appearance had also been responsible for the various superpowers'' violent frenzy that had followed... It''s finally time to wrestle over the city''s management rights. Shi Fen took a deep breath as he gazed up at the towering White River City Auction House. NPC cities were different from Guild Cities. During the game''s early stages, the various powers had to rely on player-count and Shop economy to spread their influence in an NPC city. These powers also used physical and economic oppression on those who moved against them. Even so, they couldn''t gain any substantial authority in an NPC city. But once the Auction Arena activated, players could secure the Auction House''s management rights. While this change might not seem like much, a city''s Auction House was extremely important to players'' daily lives. Taking control of an Auction House was akin to controlling the NPC city''s lifeblood, indirectly controlling the player economy. If someone obtained an Auction House''s management rights, they could bar certain players from the Auction House, for example. This would be a fatal blow to the city''s independent players and various major powers. Both relied on the Auction House as their main source of income, and without it, independent players couldn''t sell their items, and Guilds couldn''t purchase materials. One could easily imagine the consequences of losing access to an Auction House. The competition for an Auction House''s management rights would be held once a month on a fixed date. All NPC cities with Auction Arenas would hold the competition at the same time, preventing the various superpowers, who had an absolute advantage in terms of resources and experts, from monopolizing every NPC city in the game. Unfortunately, this arrangement also restricted the various large Guilds'' development Guild''s only had a limited number of resources and expert players, and the more NPC cities they controlled, the fewer resources and experts they could allocate to each location. Occupying a large number of NPC cities would be impossible for Guilds that lacked sturdy foundations. Of course, only Shi Feng knew about this right now. The Auction Arena function wouldn''t activate the moment the Auction House had been promoted. It would only activate once a certain number of Auction Houses in God''s Domain had risen to the appropriate rank. Although the Auction Arena hadn''t activated yet, this did remind Shi Feng that he had to prepare funds and resources for the inevitability. Currently, Zero Wing''s foundations were slightly stronger than an ordinary first-rate Guild, and it would be some time before the Manatite vein affected the Guild''s development in a significant way. Following which, Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm and notified Melancholic Smile, instructing her to bring him the Tier 1 Mysterious Flames the Guild had collected so far. He then took his Fire Spirit to the warehouse that housed the Holy Grail. He intended to increase his strength before he left to activate a super-large-scale neutral city. The quest to do so was even more difficult than an ordinary Epic Quest after all, and he''d only get himself killed if he didn''t prepare. 1985 Strengthening Fire Spiri Chapter 1985 - Strengthening Fire Spirit Candlelight Trading Firm''s private warehouse: Due to the Holy Grail, Divine Might filled the entire room. The Divine Might''s powerful pressure would even suppress Tier 1 expert players until they moved as slow as turtles. Despite having the Strength to rival Great Lords of the same level, even Shi Feng felt uncomfortable as he entered the warehouse, his movements becoming somewhat sluggish. Shi Feng hadn''t originally planned to use the Holy Grail since the Power of Evolution was so costly, and he wouldn''t get a refund if the evolution attempt failed. However, if he wished to complete a super-large-scale neutral city''s activation quest, he needed to grow stronger. He had to rely on the Fire Spirit. To increase his chances for success, he had no choice but to gamble on the Holy Grail. As Shi Feng arrived before the stone platform housing the Holy Grail, he retrieved a crimson crystal ball from his bag. The crystal ball was none other than the Fire Spirit. Despite being an Epic item, he could only use it to summon one Tier 2 Fire Spirit of the same level in exchange for 5 Magic Crystals. It was a toy compared to the Bible of Darkness. Even a Tier 2 Summoning Scroll could call forth a stronger creature than the Tier 2 Fire Spirit. The item simply didn''t deserve its Epic rank. This was also why Shi Feng had decided to upgrade the Fire Spirit. The stronger an item was, the lower its chances would be for success, and before devouring any Mysterious Flames, the Fire Spirit could only be considered an Epic item at best. Its quality would only increase after absorbing powerful Mysterious Flames. If nurtured properly, this crystal ball could even become stronger than Fragmented Legendary items. Shi Feng then had the Holy Grail scan the orb in his hand. Dark-purple mist emerged from the grail, enveloping the crimson orb in Shi Feng''s hand. After five seconds, Shi Feng received a system notification. System: Designated item cannot be evolved to Fragmented Legendary rank. "Cannot be evolved?" Shi Feng was stunned. He had never imagined that the Fire Spirit was so special. Despite being an Epic item, the Holy Grail couldn''t force an upgrade to Fragmented Legendary rank. However, as Shi Feng began to feel disappointed, the sound of a second notification reached his ears. System: Do you wish to sacrifice 5,000 HP to enhance Fire Spirit''s effects? Enhance its effects? Shi Feng was surprised again to read the words in his notification window. However, he was stupefied to see the cost of this enhancement. How fraudulent! Evolving the Blacksteel Insignia had only cost 1,000 HP, yet enhancing the Fire Spirit''s effects cost 5,000? Five thousand HP was significant even to a Tier 2 MT. Very powerful Level 70, Tier 2 MTs would only have 100,000 HP at most, and the cost was taken from the player''s base HP. Taking into account the percentage HP modifiers on weapons and equipment, players would lose far more than just 5,000 HP. But even after considering his options, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and agreed to the cost. While 5,000 HP was a painful amount to lose, even for him, the Fire Spirit was extraordinarily valuable. Most importantly, he wasn''t attempting to evolve the item to Fragmented Legendary Rank; he could only enhance its effects. Logically, the risk of failure shouldn''t be as high. Moreover, HP wasn''t particularly important for a Swordsman player like himself, and he could also rely on his Bloodline to compensate for the loss. With the Bloodline, he gained a lot more HP than ordinary players with each level-up. He wouldn''t suffer as much of an impact by losing 5,000 HP as other players. After Shi Feng agreed to enhance the Fire Spirit, more purple mist spilled out of the Holy Grail, far denser than it had been a moment ago. So much mist spilled out that it filled the private warehouse. As the purple mist continued to seep into the Fire Spirit, the miniature Flame Dragon woke and roared again and again. The sound pierced through its crystalline cage and echoed throughout the warehouse. Due to the purple mist''s invasion, the baby Dragon began to grow. In less than ten seconds, the baby Dragon had transformed into a mature Flame Dragon and was nearly twice as large. Intelligence flashed in its eyes, no longer lacking emotion as it had earlier. Was it a success? Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement as he gazed at the adult Flame Dragon. God''s Domain''s players might not know about Fire Spirits, but Shi Feng was very familiar with the items. He also recognized how valuable an intelligent Fire Spirit was. To put it simply, the difference between a Fire Spirit with higher intelligence and an ordinary Fire Spirit was like the difference between an expert and an ordinary player. Even if both Fire Spirits possessed the same Basic Attributes, the combat power they could exert would be worlds apart. Many powers had gotten their hands on Fire Spirits in the past, but trying to increase a Fire Spirit''s intelligence wasn''t easy. One would only have a chance of triggering an intelligence growth by sacrificing Tier 2 and above Mysterious Flames. Unfortunately, despite many owners feeding their Fire Spirits the appropriate Mysterious Flames, very few had succeeded in increasing their Fire Spirit''s intelligence. A Fire Spirit was a very special Epic item with endless potential. Countless experts had even guessed that by feeding the item enough Mysterious Flames, a Fire Spirit could grow to become a Tier 6 God. Even Tier 6 God-ranked players would flee from a Tier 6 God with higher intelligence. Once the purple mist had dissipated, Shi Feng carefully picked up the Fire Spirit and inspected its Attribute Panel. As expected of the Holy Grail. Despite the fact that I haven''t fed it any Mysterious Flames, the Fire Spirit has already grown so much? Shi Feng was ecstatic when he saw the Fire Spirit''s updated Attributes. The new Fire Spirit didn''t summon an ordinary Tier 2 Fire Spirit, but a bona fide Tier 2 Advanced Fire Spirit with higher intelligence. Moreover, the Advanced Fire Spirit would be ten levels higher than the player that summoned it. An Advanced Fire Spirit''s Life Rating was only slightly inferior to an Archaic Species, and since it had higher intelligence, its combat power could rival ordinary Great Lords of the same level. An Advanced Fire Spirit would provide far more assistance than ordinary Tier 3 monsters as well, possessing even more Spells than a Tier 2 Elementalist. A Tier 2 Advanced Fire Spirit would likely beat a challenging Tier 2 peak expert black and blue. Advanced Fire Spirits could cast their Spells with a 100% Completion Rate, and their Basic Attributes were far higher than Tier 2 players of the same level- while Shi Feng marveled at the new and improved Fire Spirit, Melancholic Smile contacted him and reported, "Guild Leader, I''ve gathered the Tier 1 Mysterious Flames you asked for." "Good! I''ll head there right away!" Shi Feng nodded. He then disconnected the call and visited his Special Forging Room on the top floor. 1986 Consecutive Growth Chapter 1986 - Consecutive Growth In one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top-floor Special Forging Rooms... As Shi Feng entered the room, the sight of Melancholic Smile organizing various crystal balls on a stone table greeted him. Each crystal ball contained a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame, and there were easily over 20 of them on the table. If other Guilds saw this collection of Tier 1 Mysterious Flames, they''d be astonished. Everyone in God''s Domain was privy to the existence of Mysterious Flames by this stage of the game. They knew that these unique flames were a great help to forgers and alchemists. Hence, the various major powers fought over any Mysterious Flame they came across. They wouldn''t even pass over a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame. After all, Mysterious Flames were extremely rare and even coveted by superpowers'' master-level crafters. "Guild Leader, here are all the Tier 1 Mysterious Flames we have collected so far. There are a total of 23.1 did find another flame in the Blackwing Auction House, but the bidding was intense. In the end, the price rose past our 5,000-Gold budget, and another Guild purchased it for 8,3 Gold," Melancholic Smile said. She hadn''t fully understood how valuable Tier 1 Mysterious Flames were since collecting the first few had been relatively easy with the clues Shi Feng had provided. Furthermore, the Guild shared the flame Shi Feng used, and his Mysterious Flame was much stronger than Tier 1. She certainly hadn''t expected a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame to sell for more than an ordinary Epic item... Shi Feng nodded in response. He then asked, "How is our business with Secret coming along?" "The basic arrangements have been completed. We have even started to sell many of our products through Secret''s channels, but as we are only a basic member, we can only sell our products in up to 80 of the Chamber''s NPC cities. Among them, only 25 can be within empires, and only five of those can be major cities. Of the 55 kingdom cities, we can only select ten major cities," Melancholic Smile said, a little excited. Currently, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s influence only reached across a little over 50 NPC cities, nearly half of which were located in Star-Moon Kingdom. Now that Candlelight had joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce, it had access to an additional 80 cities. This more than doubled Candlelight''s sales channels. Secret is quite impressive, to think it can even give its basic members 80 city slots. Shi Feng was slightly astonished by Melancholic Smile''s report. Joining a Chamber of Commerce in God''s Domain didn''t mean that one would gain immediate and full access to its sales channels. That depended on one''s rank within the alliance. Normally, newcomers were given positions as basic members. Only powerful superpowers could be promoted to an advanced member upon joining. Based on Shi Feng''s knowledge, most Chambers only granted 60 city slots to basic members, yet Secret had given them 80. It was clear how powerful Secret''s foundations were. "Guild Leader, here is the list of cities we''ve selected. Once we begin our collaboration, Candlelight''s income will double at the very least. We won''t have to worry about lacking development funds," Melancholic Smile said, smiling as she took out a list and handed it to Shi Feng. She had worked with Aqua Rose to choose the cities on the list. They had decided to do business in a total of three empires and six kingdoms, and although they couldn''t sell all of their products in the selected kingdoms and empires, as doing so would be unprofitable, they wouldn''t have to worry about a lack of customers. They would''ve chosen many more kingdoms and empires had they not been limited by a specific number of cities. After all, they couldn''t afford to waste the referral fee they had paid to the Secret Chamber of Commerce. "I see no issues with the chosen cities," Shi Feng said. Changing topics, Shi Feng asked, "How is the Resuscitation Potion''s production coming along?" "Silent Wonder and the others are doing their best to brew the potion now. Moreover, Candlelight has recently gained another Master Alchemist. Now, we have a total of four Master Alchemists working on the potion, and they have made over 3,3 bottles thus far," Melancholic Smile replied. She had very high hopes for the Resuscitation Potion. It was, after all, a potion that allowed players to resurrect themselves without losing any EXP. Moreover, the production cost for each bottle was only a little over 20 Silver. Although the potion required a lot of rare materials, it had become very easy for Zero Wing to acquire what it needed with the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s connections. "Good. Continue production. Later, try to nurture as many Master Alchemists as possible. We need to ensure that we have enough people to learn the recipes You Ziping''s group obtains," Shi Feng said, chuckling. The Resuscitation Potion had been extremely popular during his previous life. At one point, it had even sold for 3 Gold per bottle. Three Gold was incredibly expensive even for ordinary expert players, not to mention ordinary players. Only the various adventurer teams and Guilds could possibly afford such a price. Normally, he wouldn''t have bothered to push for so many Resuscitation Potions since there was a limit to the number of adventurer teams and Guilds in Zero Wing''s territories, but now that Candlelight had joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce, they didn''t have to worry about a lack of customers. Hence, they needed to craft as many Resuscitation Potions as possible. After Shi Feng finished giving Melancholic Smile her latest instructions, he shifted his focus to the Mysterious Flames on the table. While one Tier 1 Mysterious Flame might be of little help to the Fire Spirit, he had a total of 23 on hand. Furthermore, he had upgraded his Fire Spirit to Advanced rank. An Advanced Fire Spirit would gain more from absorbing Mysterious Flames than a normal Fire Spirit. As Shi Feng pulled the Fire Spirit from his bag, the Flame Dragon within quickly noticed the Tier 1 Mysterious Flames on the table and grew restless. "Start absorbing! Show me how much you can grow!" Shi Feng immediately picked up a Tier 1 Mysterious Flames and placed it before the Fire Spirit Like a hungry wolf, the Flame Dragon burst forth from the crystal ball and pounced on the Mysterious Flame. As the Flame Dragon devoured the Mysterious Flame, the flame grew weaker until it eventually vanished. Although the Fire Spirit''s Attributes hadn''t transformed, the little Dragon began to emit more heat. Its previously blurry form also began to sharpen. Shi Feng immediately chose to feed the Fire Spirit another Tier 1 Mysterious Flame. With each Mysterious Flame the Fire Spirit devoured, the Flame Dragon''s figure became clearer. By the time it had absorbed its seventh Mysterious Flame, Shi Feng could see the scales across the Flame Dragon''s body. After devouring the eighth Mysterious Flame, the Flame Dragon began to expand, releasing a low growl. The Fire Spirit''s Attributes finally changed. Tier 3? Shi Feng''s excitement grew when he saw the new Attributes. Tier 3 meant that the Fire Spirit had now reached the Great Lord standard. With its higher intelligence, it was even more powerful than a Tier 3 peak expert of the same level. Following which, Shi Feng continued to feed the Fire Spirit Tier 1 Mysterious Flames. Twelfth- Fifteenth... Twentieth... Finally, after the Fire Spirit absorbed the 21st Mysterious Flame, it underwent a transformation. Not only did the Flame Dragon grow larger, but Shi Feng could also sense that its Life Rating had improved. Wonderful! I''ve finally succeeded! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he gazed at his Fire Spirit. 1987 Giant Race Chapter 1987 - Giant Race The flames that surrounded the Fire Spirit''s body expanded drastically, transforming from their original crimson color to a scorching white. Even the space around the Flame Dragon began to show signs of crumbling under the power of its flames. Tier 3 Archaic Species? Shi Feng''s heart skipped a beat when he examined the Attribute Panel. He hadn''t thought that a measly two dozen or so Tier 1 Mysterious Flames would be enough to upgrade the Fire Spirit to a Tier 3 Archaic Species. So many powers in his past had fed their Fire Spirits a large number of Tier 1 Mysterious Flames, yet the results of their efforts had been disappointing. Most powers had only nurtured their Fire Spirits into Tier 3 Archaic Species after feeding them a significant number of Tier 2 flames. Shi Feng had assumed that his Fire Spirit would grow to the Tier 3 standard at most, and he''d have to feed it Tier 2 Mysterious Flames if he wanted it to become an Archaic Species. He hadn''t expected the Advanced Fire Spirit''s absorption rate to be so effective. Now that his Advanced Fire Spirit was a Tier 3 Archaic Species with higher intelligence, its combat power should be even greater than an ordinary Grand Lord of the same level. Though, if it really came down to a one-on-one fight, the Advanced Fire Spirit would still have a high chance of losing since actual Grand Lords had far more HP. However, Shi Feng was satisfied with these results. Although he could summon Kite and Anna to help him with his quest, he did not want to risk them. Resurrecting Personal Guards was very troublesome, and even if he resurrected them, they''d need quite some time to recover their losses. Fortunately, the Fire Spirit was a different story. Even if it died, he could simply spend Magic Crystals to resummon it. Furthermore, each time he summoned the Fire Spirit, now that it was a Tier 3 Archaic Species, he only had to spend 300 Magic Crystals. Moreover, its Cooldown was even shorter than the Bible of Darkness''s Demon Summoning. He only had to wait 30 minutes to resummon the Fire Spirit. However, unlike the Bible of Darkness, he could only summon a single Fire Spirit to fight for him at a time. Once Shi Feng had finished upgrading the Fire Spirit, he collected a small stock of Magic Crystals and left the Candlelight Trading Firm. He then made his way towards the Adventurer''s Association in Star-Moon City. Although God''s Domain didn''t have many super-large-scale neutral cities, there was one near every few empires and dozen or so kingdoms. Like the Fairy Country''s Forest City, these super-large-scale neutral cities served as trade hubs between the game''s neutral races and the nearby empires and kingdoms. To enter super-large-scale neutral cities, like the Sea of Trees, players had to complete specific quests. The neutral city Shi Feng aimed to activate was called Thunder Axe City, home to the Giant race. Appearance-wise, Giants looked no different than humans, only larger. Generally, Giants stood at least four-meters tall, and their physiques were even more powerful than Ores''. Giants were born for combat. Aside from the Titan race, Giants'' Defense was the highest among the numerous neutral races. In the past, Giant Shield Warrior and Guardian Knight players had been incredibly popular among the various major powers. Some of the various superpowers had even pressured some of their members to convert to the Giant race since there was nothing that prohibited neutral race players from joining human Guilds. However, they would be restricted within human cities. But how could such a small issue compare to the benefits of having a powerful MT? Of course, while the Giants'' advantages were obvious, their flaws were just as glaring. Giants weren''t very skilled with magic, and their mobility was atrocious compared to humans''. Defeating players or monsters that were particularly fast and agile would give Giant players a massive headache. These obvious weaknesses were the reason many players refused to become Giants. There had been far fewer Giant players than Half-elf and Beastkin players in the past. Meanwhile, as a super-large-scale neutral city, Thunder Axe City had a wide variety of unique aspects. Chief among them was the city''s location within the Icefire Mountain Range, a neutral map that was rich in ores. Due to their environment, Giants were experts in the art of forging. Their forging techniques had been passed down from the Titan race, making their standards even superior to the Dwarves''. This was also one of the reasons that Shi Feng had chosen Thunder Axe City. Although Zero Wing current had many advantages, its position in the Ore Empire was still precarious, and it would only get worse as time passed. The Guild''s foundation was too weak, and it had too few experts. While Zero Wing had enough manpower and resources to defend its current position in the empire, it didn''t have enough to launch an assault against its enemies. Zero Wing might possess more resources and experts than ordinary first-rate Guilds, but it was an infant compared to the various superpowers. Zero Wing didn''t have nearly as much territory as the various superpowers, after all. Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: Once Shi Feng had arrived in Star-Moon City, he immediately headed for the kingdom''s Adventurer''s Association. Star-Moon City hadn''t developed nearly as much as White River City, and most of the players that visited the Adventurer''s Association were Level 55 or 66 elite players. Level 58 or higher expert players were still far and few between. Without hesitation, Shi Feng headed to the second floor and approached one of its counters. "Lord Spirit Slayer, how may I be of service today?" the NPC beauty manning the counter asked with a smile. "I wish to pick up an Exploration Quest," Shi Feng said. "Very well." The NPC clerk revealed a list containing a large number of Exploration Quests and handed it to Shi Feng. "Lord Spirit Slayer, these are all of the Exploration Quests you can accept right now." With a nod, Shi Feng carefully examined the list. The Adventurer''s Association had many quests to offer, and among them, the most difficult were Crusade and Exploration Quests. Meanwhile, only players who had reached Level 70 and three-star status in the Association could accept Thunder Axe City''s Exploration Quest. Although three-star adventurers could accept the Exploration Quest, it was even more challenging than ordinary Epic Quests. Players had only entered Thunder Axe City in Shi Feng''s previous life after he had reached Level 75. At the time, peak experts had already reached Level 77 and beyond and were geared in Level 75 top-tier weapons and equipment. "I''ll take this quest," Shi Feng said as he pointed to a quest named Giant''s Hideout. "Very well. I will mark you down as this quest''s challenger. Please pay a 1,000-Gold deposit. Should you abandon this quest, your deposit will not be returned," the NPC clerk informed him. The other Tier 2 experts picking up quests on the second floor were astonished to hear the NPC clerk''s comment. "Crap! What kind of quest is that? A 1,000-Gold deposit?" "That can''t be real, right? Even my two-star quest only required a 3-Gold deposit." Many of the Tier 2 experts stared at Shi Feng''s cloaked figure in shock. Normally, the Adventurer''s Association only charged 3% to 5% of a quest''s reward as a deposit fee, preventing players from picking up quests they had no hope of completing. The fact that Shi Feng''s quest cost 1,000 Gold meant that its reward was worth at least 20,000 Gold... After Shi Feng accepted the quest, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. 1988 Three-star Reward Chapter 1988 - Three-star Reward System: Congratulations! You are the first player to accept a Three-star Unique Exploration Quest You have the right to choose between two options. System: The first option will reduce the quest difficulty by 15%, but the reward will remain the same. System: The second option will maintain the quest difficulty but increase the reward by one rank. System: You have ten minutes to consider. If you do not make a decision within ten minutes, the difficulty will remain the same by default. I have such an option? Shi Feng read his notification window in surprise. He had picked up Three-star Exploration Quests in the past, but this was the first time the system had presented such an option. While the Thunder Axe City''s Exploration Quest was more difficult than ordinary Epic quests, it awarded far more. It would also grant him the opportunity to occupy Thunder Axe City before other players. That benefit alone was worth the effort of completing the Giant''s Hideout Exploration Quest If he could lower the quest''s difficulty by 15%, it would become easier than completing an ordinary Epic Quest, giving him a much higher chance of completing it However, he could increase his reward by one rank if he maintained the quest''s difficulty. In other words, he would receive the reward of an Inferior Legendary Quest That was just as tempting, and Shi Feng had accepted the Giant''s Hideout Exploration Quest with the understanding of the quest''s difficulty. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided on the second option, maintaining the quest difficulty and upgrading his reward. The Exploration Quest''s reward was a large part of the reason he had chosen it, aside from access to Thunder Axe City''s resources. Although the Adventurer''s Association did not mention the quest reward, he knew what to expect. Conversion slots for players! It wasn''t easy to convert to a neutral race in God''s Domain, especially for the races with powerful racial traits. The stronger a race was, the more difficult the Conversion Quest would be. However, the Giant''s Hideout quest awarded conversion slots for players upon completion. With these slots, he could convert the players into a Giant without having to complete the Conversion Quests. As far as he could remember, the Giant''s Hideout quest awarded 1,000 conversion slots upon completion. While the players he converted would not be able to enter most NPC cities in God''s Domain, they could enter towns and cities Guilds and neutral races operated. With a bunch of powerful MTs, Zero Wing would have a much easier time raiding Team Dungeons and Field Bosses. The Giants'' racial traits were too perfect for MTs to pass up, and unlike Half-elves and Beastkin, becoming a Giant didn''t improve a player''s five senses or magical abilities. Instead, it granted a massive boost to players'' Basic Attributes. If a Tier 1 MT converted to the Giant race, they would gain the Strength and Defense to rival Tier 2 MTs. Their HPs would increase drastically, as well. In return, though, their Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed would decrease, making it more difficult to complete future Promotion Quests. If a Tier 2 MT converted to a Giant, they''d become more powerful than human, top-ranked Tier 2 MTs, although they wouldn''t reach the Tier 3 standard. The superpower that had completed the Giant''s Hideout quest in the past had increased its strength by a large margin very quickly due to the 1,000 Conversion slots. Its development speed had easily surpassed the other superpowers, and although the other superpowers had sent their own experts to attempt the Conversion Quest, they hadn''t been able to catch up due to the amount of time needed to complete the quest. After Shi Feng made his selection, the NPC clerk took out an ancient, yellowish-brown Magic Scroll and handed it to Shi Feng. "Lord Spirit Slayer, this Magic Scroll will help you temporarily remove the magic seal on the path. However, you can only use it once, so please choose your timing carefully. If you expended the Magic Scroll without completing your quest, a replacement will cost 1,000 Magic Crystals," the NPC clerk respectfully explained. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded as he accepted the Magic Scroll. Quests from the Adventurer''s Association were different from Exploration Quests found elsewhere. If players failed the quests they had accepted from the Association, they''d at most lose some Coins or Magic Crystals; they wouldn''t suffer penalties that affected their performance in battle, such as Basic Attribute reductions. This was why most players preferred to accept quests from the Adventurer''s Association. Once he left the Association, Shi Feng made his way to the Teleportation Hall and traveled to a border town in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. This was also the closest town to the Icefire Mountain Range. Unbeknownst to Shi Feng, his actions in the Adventurer''s Association had aroused quite the commotion. No quest requiring a 1,000-Gold deposit was ordinary, and many players within the Association had begun to search for the Giant''s Hideout quest Although multiple players couldn''t accept some of the Adventurer''s Association''s quests, they would show up on the list of available quests until they were completed. "What''s going on? Why isn''t there such a quest on my list of Exploration Quests?" "Maybe we aren''t a high enough rank?" "That can''t be possible! I''m a two-star adventurer! Was that guy a three-star adventurer? That''s even less possible! Not even the first-rate Guilds'' peak experts, who have focused on the Adventurer''s Association''s quests, have reached the three-star standard yet!" "A three-star quest? Who was that guy?" After Shi Feng left, the players within the Adventurer''s Association fell into a heated discussion. They all wanted to know the identity of the player who had accepted this mysterious Exploration Quest. News of the event quickly reached the Star Alliance''s Residence in Star-Moon City. "I''ve never considered that the Adventurer''s Association had hidden such a major quest. Have someone notify Crimson Feather and the others. Tell them to become three-star adventurers as quickly as possible," Galaxy Past, who sat in the Guild Leader''s office, commanded after reading the report he had received from a subordinate. The various large Guilds often had numerous teams focus on different aspects of development. Some teams specialized in completing the Adventurer''s Association''s quests and raising their rank within the Association, while other teams focused on quests that were only available out in the fields, and other teams focused on increasing their Reputation in particular NPC cities. By doing so, Guilds could secure greater advantages in the game. "HI notify Crimson and the others immediately!" Purple Eye, who currently wore a set of luxurious, dark-blue robes, replied. "Guild Leader, what should we do about the Witch''s Hill situation? The Guilds that own the two Guild Towns in the area have invited us to join their alliance, and I''ve heard that multiple corporations are now supporting the towns. Even Sin Realm, a first-rate Guild from the Purple Thorns Kingdom, has joined the alliance. Why don''t we join as well?" The Witch''s Hill had already become the center of attention in Star-Moon Kingdom. The map was the sole producer of Primordial Crystal Fragments, and as long as players reached Tier 2, they could enter the Otherworld Gate, which offered bountiful resources. If the Star Alliance could secure a foothold in the Witch''s Hill, it could help the Guild''s development considerably. "Sin Realm, is it?" After giving the matter some thought, Galaxy Past shook his head and said, "Let''s wait and see for now. Tell them that our Guild has some matters to settle first, so we can''t join them at the moment." "Are we really going to give up on such a good development opportunity?" Purple Eye asked, confused. "According to the Secret Pavilion''s information network, the Evil God''s Temple hides in the Sin Realm''s shadows. I doubt that Zero Wing will tolerate the Guild Town''s parading much longer," Galaxy Past said, chuckling. "If those two towns can truly defend themselves, we can join them then." "I understand." Purple Eye nodded. She then sent the Guild Towns'' representatives a reply. The upper echelons controlling the Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill received Galaxy Past''s reply at the same time. "He has rejected the offer?" "How cowardly. He is actually willing to ignore such a golden opportunity? It seems Zero Wing has beaten the Star Alliance into submission already." "I agree. How can the Star Alliance even be considered a first-rate Guild with such a cowardly attitude?" "The Star Alliance''s cooperation doesn''t matter. Once we''ve completed our preparations, not only will we destroy Zero Wing City, but we''ll also keep more of the profits for ourselves. We''ll make Galaxy Past regret his decision!" Multiple major powers'' upper echelons revealed delighted grins as they gazed at the map of the Witch''s Hill on the table before them from within a secret meeting room. 1989 Basic Level Strengthening Potion Chapter 1989 - Basic Level Strengthening Potion Purple Thorns Kingdom, Glory Town: Glory Town was built atop a mountain and surrounded by tall walls. Although it was only a border town, its defenses nearly rivaled a fortress. Huh? There are already so many players here? Shi Feng was a little surprised to see the thousands of players outside of the Teleportation Hall. The monsters near Glory Town were Level 70 and above, and a neutral map not far away was a Level 80-plus map. Just surviving in Glory Town''s map would be challenging for current players, not to mention setting foot in the neutral map. Most of the thousands of players Shi Feng could see were Level 56 or above, with the highest at Level 59, and more than a hundred Tier 2 players wandered the street outside of the Teleportation Hall. Moreover, most of the players in the town didn''t wear a Guild Emblem, proving that they were independent players. Independent players were typically weaker than Guild players in terms of Levels and equipment, yet so many independent players were visiting an area that the various large Guilds had yet to touch. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be surprised? The independent players around him didn''t think anything of Shi Feng''s arrival. They simply went about their business. "Wind Basilisk grinding party is recruiting a healer! Must be Level 57 or higher!" "Recruiting two Level 57 or above DPS for the Black Cavebat Quest! Tier 2 players get priority!" Players shouted as they recruited teammates from the street outside of the Teleportation Hall. Whether they planned to quest or grind monsters, they all acted as if this were normal. However, if Star-Moon Kingdom''s experts saw this, they''d be astonished. Wind Basilisks and Black Cavebats were Level 70-plus monsters, at least 10 Levels higher than current players. The level suppression would be substantial with such a massive difference. Even Level 60, Tier 2 players would struggle against these monsters, much less Tier 1 players, yet these independent players intended to grind these monsters as if it were natural. After a short moment, Shi Feng noticed that these parties and teams had recruited quite a few members before they headed past Glory Town''s main entrance to grind or quest... Is this really the Purple Thorns Kingdom? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned as he watched these teams leave. He was quite familiar with Glory Town, a place the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s army constantly had to protect from monster assaults from the nearby neutral maps. This wasn''t a safe place. In the past, players had only dared to visit this town after they had reached Level 65. Wind Basilisks were Level 72 Chieftains, and although the Black Cavebats were only Special Elites, they usually moved in large groups. The Great Black Cavebats that led these groups were also Chieftain ranked monsters. The six-man parties and 20-man teams Shi Feng had seen might be able to take down one Wind Basilisk or a single group of Cavebats, but only barely. If they accidentally aggroed additional monsters, they could even team-wipe. These players might have a chance if they all wore top-tier equipment, but that wasn''t the case for these independent players. From what Shi Feng could see, they all wore average equipment With such equipment, killing the area''s high-level monsters would take a long time. In Shi Feng''s opinion, these independent players would be much better off grinding Level 60 or so monsters. Shi Feng also soon discovered that these players weren''t limited to those outside of the Teleportation Hall. Plenty of players occupied the rest of the town''s streets, as well. Similarly, these players were all Level 56 or above. Shi Feng guessed that there should be more than 30,000 players in Glory Town at the moment, and they were all elites or stronger. Normally, one would be hard-pressed to find such a gathering of elite and expert players in an NPC town, even in the various empires, yet this phenomenon was occurring in the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s Glory Town... As Shi Feng reached the town''s main street to investigate further, he noticed that an extraordinarily large number of players were setting up stalls alongside the street. Player stalls took up every available space on both sides of the street, and every one of them sold considerably valuable items. They either sold rare herbs or high-ranking items that were normally hard to find on the market. Among the items sold, one item, in particular, caught Shi Feng''s attention. The Basic Level Strengthening Potion! This was a super-rare potion that, when consumed, granted players an Ignore Levels +7 buff for six hours. While ignoring a difference of seven levels might not seem like much, fighting monsters that were ten levels higher was still incredibly difficult for Tier 1 players, despite the recent reduction on the system''s level suppression during the previous updates. Only Tier 2 players had the power to do so without too much of a problem. However, as long as Tier 1 players had sufficient Attributes and combat standards, they could fight higher-leveled monsters efficiently, increasing their leveling speed, after consuming the Level Strengthening Potion. In the past, the Level Strengthening Potion had been immensely popular among elite and expert players. No wonder why so many players are grinding here. Realization dawned on Shi Feng. Although the Basic Level Strengthening Potion wasn''t as effective as Zero Wing''s Void Field Magic Array, it was the best option for independent elite and expert players when grinding higher-leveled monsters. After this discovery, Shi Feng approached one of the stalls selling the Basic Level Strengthening Potions. More than ten players had lined up at the stall, every one a Level 57 or higher expert. The strongest among them was even a Level 59, Tier 2 expert. Producing the Basic Level Strengthening Potion was laughably cheap compared to the Void Field, with each bottle only costing 8 Silver to brew. In the past, Basic Level Strengthening Potions had sold for roughly 50 Silver per bottle. Unfortunately, the potion''s recipe was painfully rare and could only be acquired by opening Treasure Chests found in Level 50-plus maps. Moreover, the Luck Attribute wouldn''t affect its drop-rate, so players had to rely on their personal luck to obtain it Each recipe had easily sold for around 800 Gold in the past due to its rarity. Meanwhile, only two players manned the stall that sold the Basic Level Strengthening Potions, a man and a woman. Both appeared quite young. The handsome, young man was a Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin named Smiling Breeze. Most of his equipment consisted of Level 50 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment, with a few pieces of Level 55 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Even independent experts would have a hard time getting their hands on such items at this stage of the game. As for the beautiful, young woman, she was a Level 57, Tier 1 Summoner named Cool Summer, and her equipment was in no way inferior to her companion''s. However, unlike Smiling Breeze, she did not possess a Tier 2 Class Insignia. Instead, she wore an Advanced Alchemist''s Insignia. Why are these two people? Shi Feng was astonished to see these two players. He was actually familiar with both of them. After all, the brother and sister duo had been very famous in the Black Dragon Empire in the past Smiling Breeze had ranked as one of the Black Dragon Empire''s top ten Assassins, while Cool Summer had been a Master Alchemist. Moreover, Cool Summer hadn''t just been a Basic Master Alchemist, but an Advanced Master Alchemist. Even the various superpowers had been wary of her. Although the siblings were independent players, ordinary large Guilds had avoided provoking them due to their superb combat power. Although the younger sister, Cool Summer, hadn''t been as strong as her brother, she had still been a Refinement Realm experts, and the various large Guilds'' ordinary experts had been no match for her in battle. As Shi Feng wondered why these two were in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, a group of players approached the stall, surrounding it. "Sin Realm is conducting business here! Anyone who isn''t a member needs to scram! 1990 Heavy Sword Chapter 1990 - Heavy Sword The town''s main street fell silent as the shouted announcement echoed. Very quickly, the players waiting in line distanced themselves from Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer''s stall. Even the expert players that had waited to purchase Basic Level Strengthening Potions had retreated. "Why are Sin Realm''s people here?" "Does Sin Realm plan to expand its control to Glory Town?" "Damn it! Sin Realm''s members again?! They''ve already prevented us from grinding in the normal resource maps, and now they want to claim this town, too?!" "I don''t think that''s it. Glory Town isn''t a resource-rich map. By the looks of it, it seems they''re interested in the Basic Level Strengthening Potion." "Those two players are certainly unlucky. They''ve actually attracted Sin Realm''s attention just for selling some products." As the crowd watched Sin Realm''s 100-man team, which had already surrounded Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer''s stall, they flashed the Guild players indignant looks. They also pitied the sibling pair. But despite their true feelings, the surrounding players only dared to discuss the situation in whispers. Even though only 100 of Sin Realm''s members were here, which the crowd outnumbered by several-fold, no one dared to voice their opinions loudly enough for the Guild players to overhear. Even the Level 59, Tier 2 experts gritted their teeth and reluctantly left the scene. They all knew that they wouldn''t have a future in the Purple Thorns Kingdom if they provoked Sin Realm. They''d be lucky if they only died a few times. In the past, players'' accounts had been crippled, forcing them to start over, due to Sin Realm... In the Purple Thorns Kingdom, Sin Realm was king! Other kingdoms generally had two or three first-rate Guilds and over a dozen second-rate Guilds. The Purple Thorns, however, only had one first-rate Guild: Sin Realm. The kingdom''s second-rate Guilds could also be counted on one hand. Sin Realm had absolute control over the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Otherwise, independent players wouldn''t have bothered to come to a place like Glory Town to grind. Under the crowd''s hateful gazes, the fierce, young man leading Sin Realm''s team stepped forward. He wore dark-gray armor and carried a greatsword with a deathly aura. As he emerged from the Sin Realm group, the crowd gasped. "What?! Crocodile Breaker?!" "Why is the Heavy Sword here?!" This young man''s appearance gave the watching players goosebumps. Sin Realm had seven great experts, and every one of them was one of the Guild''s core upper echelons. Crocodile Breaker was one of these great experts. His role in the Guild was to deal with players that opposed Sin Realm, and he had easily over 3,000 expert player deaths under his name. He had even set the record for defeating 100 players single-handedly, and those 100 hadn''t been random nobodies. They had all been Guild experts, and one had even ranked on the God''s Domain Expert List. The reason behind Crocodile Breaker''s astonishing success was his unbeatable Strength. He had even whittled the expert that ranked on the God''s Domain Expert List down until the player had died. Due to Crocodile Breaker''s immense Strength, he had gained the nickname ''Heavy Sword.'' While the watching players were surprised by Crocodile Breaker''s appearance, the young man arrived before Smiling Breeze''s stall. "Pack up. Today, you two have the honor of joining Sin Realm," Crocodile Breaker proclaimed, flashing Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer an arrogant grin. "The Guild Leader has decided that you two will be instantly promoted to core members when you join, and you won''t have to grind for GCPs like everyone else. If you perform well, you might even become Guild Elders in the future. If you don''t have any questions, come with me." Although Crocodile Breaker''s words seemed like an invitation, his imposing aura hinted that he''d slay the sibling pair if they rejected his invitation. When his aura and pressure washed over the spectators, they shuddered. However, many of the watching experts envied Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer for receiving this forceful invitation. Although Sin Realm behaved like a tyrant in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, it had the strength to stand behind its actions. Becoming one of the Guild''s core members was a golden opportunity. At the very least, one could freely roam the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Even the upper echelons from the kingdom''s second-rate Guilds had to tread lightly around Sin Realm''s core experts. As for Sin Realm''s Guild Elders, even the kingdom''s Guild Leaders treated them with respect. As everyone expected the siblings to leave with Crocodile Breaker, Smiling Breeze shook his head and stated, "Thank you for your invitation, but my sister and I are used to living on our own, and we prefer to keep it that way." Cool Summer nodded in agreement with her elder brother. As soon as Smiling Breeze finished speaking, however, the crowd felt the surrounding temperature fall by several degrees. An intense killing intent filled the street, so powerful that even the various Tier 2 experts felt a chill crawl down their spines. "You''re rejecting Sin Realm''s invitation?" A cold glint flashed in Crocodile Breaker''s eyes as he stared at Smiling Breeze. "Do you know the consequences for those who reject Sin Realm''s goodwill?" As Crocodile Breaker finished his question, the Sin Realm members around him stepped forward, clearly ready to act at a moment''s notice based on their postures. "Is Smiling Breeze stupid? He actually rejected Sin Realm?" "Sin Realm has even sent Heavy Sword for this. Does that guy think he can escape with his life?" The crowd watched Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer in shock. They had never expected to find players who would dare to reject Sin Realm within the Purple Thorns Kingdom. The overbearing Guild had even annihilated peak adventurer teams, and those teams'' upper echelons had been so crippled that they had to delete their accounts and start over. Getting rid of two independent players would be child''s play for Sin Realm. Even Smiling Breeze felt a little nervous in this situation. He had no doubt that if he continued to reject the invitation, Crocodile Breaker and his minions would take action. Although NPC soldiers patrolled the town, he wasn''t confident of escaping if Crocodile and the other Sin Realm members attacked. It would take the NPC soldiers too long to react and arrive to stop Sin Realm''s members. As Smiling Breeze tried to find a way out of this predicament, a low voice rang out of the crowd. "Excuse me, but are you still selling Basic Level Strengthening Potions?" As this voice broke the silence, the tension on the street loosened considerably. Almost as one, the crowd turned toward the voice''s origin. They were all curious to know what fool dared to interfere with Sin Realm''s affairs. As they turned, the spectating players found themselves looking at a cloaked player. At a glance, everyone assumed that this player was a young Swordsman. As the Swordsman approached Smiling Breeze''s stall, his leisurely gait made it seem as if Sin Realm''s players were nothing in his eyes. 1991 Power of a Bronze Combat Technique Chapter 1991 - Power of a Bronze Combat Technique Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer were dazed as the Swordsman youth arrived before them. They had never expected that someone would dare stand out during such a critical moment. The Swordsman youth was none other than Shi Feng, who currently used his original appearance as Ye Feng. Both siblings would be a benefit to Zero Wing. Since he had found them here, he might as well use this situation to make them owe him a favor. "We do! We still have plenty!" Cool Summer instinctively responded to Shi Feng''s question. However, she spun towards Sin Realm''s members after snapping out of her daze and hesitantly said, "But..." Crocodile Breaker frowned at Shi Feng. Although he said nothing, the relaxed atmosphere regained its prior tension. Everyone could see that Crocodile Breaker was truly furious now. Sensing Crocodile Breaker''s rage, the surrounding players could not help but take a few steps back. "This guy must be nuts!" "Is he really trying to challenge Sin Realm''s prestige?" The crowd stated at Shi Feng as if he were a dead man walking. "Brat! You sure have guts, don''t you? You dare to interfere with Sin Realm''s affairs?" Crocodile Breaker hissed as he glared at Shi Feng. "Are you trying to die so soon?" It had been quite some time since he had encountered anyone who openly dared to provoke Sin Realm. Naturally, he didn''t mind teaching everyone the price for such an insult! While Crocodile Breaker had addressed this stranger, the several Tier 2 experts around him surrounded Shi Feng, sealing off any path of escape. Seeing this, Cool Summer began to worry. She felt that Shi Feng was simply too foolish! Although the town had NPC soldiers to protect its citizens, players weren''t absolutely safe from harm. If Sin Realm''s members wanted to act, not even her brother could stop them. As she considered the situation, Smiling Breeze called out to her through their party chat, saying, "Once the battle starts, I''ll hold them back as long as I can. Use the chance to flee with this Swordsman. As long as you two find the town''s NPC soldiers, Sin Ream''s members should give up the chase." "Brother, you need to be careful! Crocodile Breaker won''t be an easy opponent!" Cool Summer said as she nodded. She agreed that the plan was their only way out of this predicament. Although everyone expected Shi Feng to make a move, he didn''t seem on high alert in the least Instead, he looked at Cool Summer and calmly asked, "Wonderful! I''d like to buy every Basic Level Strengthening Potion you have. How much will it be?" Hearing Shi Feng''s offer, Cool Summer was speechless. Despite the situation''s painful tension, Shi Feng was in the mood to discuss the potion. If they didn''t make a move now and allowed Sin Realm''s members to surround them, they''d be doomed. She even began to suspect that Shi Feng truly wanted to purchase the potions and that he didn''t actually have any intentions of helping them... "Brat, you must really be tired of life!" one of the Tier 2 Assassins around Shi Feng bellowed. He hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would dare to belittle them to this extent. The Tier 2 Assassin dashed towards Shi Feng to scare the Swordsman, although he didn''t plan to attack the man. Crocodile Breaker hadn''t given the command to attack, and if he struck this Swordsman, the town''s NPC soldiers would attack him and the rest of his team. However, after the Tier 2 Assassin used Shadow Steps to appear behind Shi Feng and before he could place a Tracking Mark on the Swordsman, a blue light flashed before him. The Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin''s vision faded to black, and his body collapsed to the ground, a piece of equipment appearing next to his corpse... As if space had frozen, the main street fell deathly silent Everyone only recovered from their daze after a few seconds. "What''s going on?" "What just happened? How did that Tier 2 Assassin die?" Although the spectators saw that the Tier 2 Assassin was dead, they didn''t understand what had just occurred. The Tier 2 Assassin had been charging at Shi Feng a moment ago, yet his body had fallen to the ground a second later. "Brother, do you know what just happened?" Cool Summer whispered to Smiling Breeze as she stared at the slain Assassin. "I didn''t get a clear look, but I think that Swordsman is responsible," Smiling Breeze said as he stared at Shi Feng, an indescribable shock filling his heart. Despite having reached the Trial Tower''s seventh floor, he had failed to witness Shi Feng take action. All he has seen was a blue flash envelop the Tier 2 Assassin. To make matters worse, he hadn''t been able to react to the situation. He had only realized that Shi Feng had acted after the Assassin had died. It was unbelievable. Sin Realm''s members were just as stunned, unable to believe that their companion had fallen. What did he do? This question consumed their minds. It wouldn''t have been as unusual if anyone else had died, but the Tier 2 Assassin was one of Sin Realm''s top-ranked experts. Why wouldn''t they be afraid after watching such an expert die in an instant? "What are you afraid of?!" Crocodile Breaker roared. "We''re in an NPC town! He attacked us first! The NPC soldiers won''t let him off the hook!" Crocodile Breaker''s reminder snapped his companions out of their daze, and they began to close the distance between them and Shi Feng. They planned to distract this Swordsman until the NPC soldiers arrived. "Fellow friend, you need to run! You''ll be in trouble if you stay until the NPC soldiers arrive!" Smiling Breeze hurriedly warned Shi Feng. Despite Shi Feng''s frightening strength, attacking another player in a town was unwise. If the NPC guards captured him, he''d suffer a tragic end. "Run? You think we''ll let you get away so easily?" Sin Realm''s members sneered at Shi Feng as they began to attack. They had been rather apprehensive of making a move, but now that Shi Feng had attacked them, the system would determine that this Swordsman was the guilty party. If they attacked now, they''d simply be defending themselves. Spells and arrows bombarded Shi Feng as Sin Realm''s Tier 2 MTs formed a tight circle around Shi Feng, leaving no gaps for escape. However, when the Spells and arrows struck, they only hit Shi Feng''s afterimage. Before anyone had time to realize what had happened, Shi Feng had appeared beside the approaching Tier 2 MTs, his blades slicing the MTs'' vital points. Purgatory Pentaslash! Despite targeting Tier 2 MTs, Shi Feng ended them in no more than two slashes. In the end, two Tier 2 MTs died without the chance to activate their Lifesaving Skills. When Crocodile Breaker saw his companions dying, his expression darkened. He immediately activated his Berserk Skill and launched a vicious slash at Shi Feng with his greatsword. Sin Realm''s other Tier 2 experts activated their Berserk Skills, as well, assisting Crocodile Breaker from the side and aiming to pin Shi Feng down. Despite seeing the greatsword, with its deathly aura, and the multiple Tier 2 Spells flying toward him, Shi Feng didn''t move to dodge. Instead, he dashed forward and brandished his two swords against Crocodile Breaker. Sword''s Transmigration! Suddenly, a beautiful galaxy of stars appeared around Shi Feng before exploding. Boom! The impact threw Crocodile Breaker back by over ten yards. Even after he landed, he had to stumble several steps back before he could stabilize his position. Both of his arms had gone numb, and he couldn''t lift his weapon. He had also lost 20% of his HP. In contrast, Shi Feng remained unharmed. How is this possible?! Crocodile Breaker stared at Shi Feng, dumbfounded. When he activated his Berserk Skill, his Strength was even higher than a Great Lord''s of the same level. He nearly had enough Strength to rival a Grand Lord, and he had the support fire from the Tier 2 Elementalists and Cursemancers around him. Still, Shi Feng had sent him flying, not the other way around. To make matters worse, he could tell that this Swordsman hadn''t used a Skill or Spell, both of which would change the user''s ambient Mana when activated. Crocodile Breaker''s companions were just as stupefied. The Berserker, known as Heavy Sword, had been thrown from a head-on clash. Moreover, Crocodile Breaker had already activated his Berserk Skill, while his opponent hadn''t... So, this is the power of a Bronze Combat Technique? Shi Feng was similarly surprised to see the results of his attack. He had never thought that a Bronze Combat Technique would be so powerful. "Boss Croc! The NPC soldiers are here! This Swordsman is dead for sure!" Sin Realm''s players sent Shi Feng gleeful sneers when they noticed the approaching NPC soldiers. Although Shi Feng''s combat power had exceeded their expectations, his demise was assured now that the NPC soldiers had arrived, regardless of how powerful he was. "It''s over... Why didn''t he run away?" Cool Summer anxiously muttered as she watched the town''s guards surround Shi Feng. Just as Sin Realm''s members assumed that they''d get to watch Shi Feng struggle against the NPC soldiers, the Tier 3 NPC leading the patrol squad approached the Swordsman and respectfully asked, "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may we be of service?" 1992 Taking Action in Purple Thorns Kingdom Chapter 1992 - Taking Action in Purple Thorns Kingdom Rows of Level 150 NPC stood at attention before Shi Feng between him and the street crowded with players. When they heard the Level 150, Tier 3 patrol captain''s question, the watching players were stunned. "How is this possible?!" "Why aren''t the soldiers arresting him?" "Who is that?" "Is the system bugged?" Questions plagued the players'' minds, and Sin Realm''s members were particularly stupefied. The scene they had just witnessed had thoroughly altered their world view. It was common knowledge in God''s Domain that any player that attacked another within an NPC town or city would be killed, captured, or both. It was an ironclad rule. Yet, this player had just broken that ironclad rule. In fact, the NPC soldiers, who were supposed to administer justice to Shi Feng, treated the Swordsman with respect... "Brother, am I dreaming?" Cool Summer asked as she tugged on Smiling Breeze''s sleeve, blinking in confusion as she watched Shi Feng. Glory Town was one of the most heavily fortified towns in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, and its laws were just as strict as in NPC cities. The NPCs that ensured order within the city wouldn''t ever pardon a player that had intentionally committed murder. Not only would the guards kill the offender on the spot, but they''d also lock the player in jail for another two or three days. Unless one could escape the NPC soldiers'' pursuit, avoiding punishment was impossible. Despite hearing his sister''s question, Smiling Breeze didn''t reply. He was preoccupied with his frustration over this situation. Naturally, Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised by the NPC soldiers'' reactions. He was, after all, a Bronze Legatee, enjoying the status of a Baron in any NPC city he visited. Although the Baron rank was the lowest among nobles, one was treated differently in NPC cities based on their title. Although Sin Realm''s Tier 2 Assassin hadn''t attacked Shi Feng, the Assassin had planned to use a Tracking Skill on him. Using a Tracking Skill on a normal player in an NPC city might not be a crime, but using it on a titled noble was. The system would consider the act as a premeditated attack. The NPC soldiers wouldn''t question him for killing the Tier 2 Assassin. Needless to say, although the other Sin Realm members hadn''t landed an attack, they had attacked him. He could kill these players without consequences from the system, as well. This was the true benefit of being a titled noble. Of course, if two titled noble players fought, the system would deem the first to cause damage as the offender. However, an Advanced Town like Glory Town might not have a single ordinary noble, much less a titled noble. Hence, Shi Feng didn''t have a reason to hold back and could slay all who had attacked him. "These people attacked me. What is the most severe punishment they can receive according to the laws?" Shi Feng asked the patrol captain, smiling as he gestured to Crocodile Breaker and his minions. "Lord Bronze Legatee, since they have attacked a titled noble within the town, they can be imprisoned for a maximum of three days," the patrol captain replied, flashing Crocodile Breaker''s group a frosty glare. "Good. Lock them up for three days, then." Shi Feng nodded. "Understood!" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s instructions, the patrol captain waved a hand and signaled his soldiers to arrest Crocodile Breaker and the rest of Sin Realm''s members. The crowd gaped in shock as they watched the NPC soldiers arrest Crocodile Breaker''s group. Shi Feng had clearly attacked and killed a player first, yet Sin Realm''s members were going to jail. This would be a huge loss for the Guild. Damn it! How does he have a titled noble position in Glory Town?! Crocodile Breaker''s expression darkened after hearing the patrol captain''s command. He knew a little about the privileges a titled noble enjoyed, but he hadn''t dreamed that Shi Feng would be a titled noble here. Spending three days in jail was far less acceptable to expert players like himself than losing a single level. In God''s Domain, time was money. He would fall far behind the frontline players if he lost three days. Not only would he fall behind in terms of levels, but his weapons, equipment, and Skills would as well. "Boss, what should we do?" Sin Realm''s members grew anxious as the NPC soldiers approached. Spending three days in jail was akin to being locked out of God''s Domain for three days. To players like them, who had already gotten used to living in God''s Domain, this outcome was worse than death. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Crocodile Breaker shouted. The only way to escape imprisonment was to flee Glory Town. They''d be ruined if the NPC soldiers captured them. As soon as Crocodile Breaker gave the command, the Sin Realm members held nothing back as they used their lifesaving tools to flee. Trying to fight the NPC soldiers would be suicidal; the Level 150, Tier 2 NPCs could kill them with a single hit. They''d be pulverized. If they fought, not only would they die and lose a level, but they''d still be stuck in prison for three days. When Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer saw Sin Realm''s members turn and run, they couldn''t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Now that these Guild players were gone, they could escape danger. At worst, they would have to leave the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Although doing so would waste the investments they had poured into the kingdom, it was a better option than being hounded and killed by Sin Realm''s members. However, as Crocodile Breaker fled, he retrieved a Magic Scroll from his bag and activated it. Suddenly, a pitch-black magic array formed above the main street, radiating a dense, lethal aura. The aura extended toward Shi Feng and the two siblings so quickly that it was almost impossible to evade. However, the aura didn''t inflict any damage, but left Shi Feng and the sibling pair a debuff. The Death Mark! No matter where the marked players ran, the Death Mark would reveal their location to Crocodile Breaker during the next twelve hours. The Death Mark would even be effective while the players were offline, and its duration would only decrease while they were logged into the game. "Although I don''t know who you are, I promise that only death awaits you since you have made an enemy of Sin Realm in the Purple Thorns Kingdom!" Crocodile Breaker bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng with bloodshot eyes. Many of the expert players in the crowd felt a chill crawl down their spines as they sensed the killing intent within his voice. He had wanted to kill Shi Feng to prove Sin Realm''s might to the watching players, but he hadn''t expected the Swordsman to use him as a nameless pawn and damage Sin Realm''s reputation instead. He swore to himself that he wouldn''t rest until he killed Shi Feng personally. Naturally, he couldn''t let Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer off the hook, either. "It''s over! Those three are doomed!" "I knew something like this would happen! Provoking Sin Realm in the Purple Thorns Kingdom is simply suicide! No one can save those three now!" The various expert players and adventurer team members present could not help but sigh at this turn of events. They knew Crocodile Breaker wouldn''t easily let this matter rest. He would kill the trio back to Level 0 at the very least. Realizing the same, Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer revealed grim expressions. Now that they bore the Death Mark, Sin Realm would track them down and kill them even if they left the Purple Thorns Kingdom. "Is that so? Let''s see you try it!" Glancing at Crocodile Breaker, who was about to activate an Instantaneous Movement Magic Scroll, Shi Feng used Instant Strike to appear before the Berserker. He then brandished Killing Ray. Sword''s Orbit! With the Attack Speed boost from Instant Strike, the Sacred Sword moved so quickly that not even Crocodile Breaker, who still had an active Berserk Skill, could defend himself before multiple swordlights devoured him. In the blink of an eye, his HP plummeted, and his body collapsed to the ground. 1993 Kingdom Uproar Chapter 1993 - Kingdom Uproar Crocodile Breaker''s death shocked the spectating crowd and Sin Realm''s retreating members; none of them could believe what they had just seen. "He''s dead?!" "This is a trick, right?! The Heavy Sword actually died in a single move?!" Players new to the Purple Thorns Kingdom might not be familiar with Crocodile Breaker, but those who resided in the kingdom knew his name and nickname quite well. He had become many players'' nightmare. Many of the kingdom''s expert players that had resisted Sin Realm had died by Crocodile Breaker''s hand, yet such a powerful expert had died instantly. No one would believe them if they retold this tale. "That player is amazing, Brother!" Cool Summer exclaimed as she watched Shi Feng loot the battlefield. "He might even be stronger than you!" "Mhm! His swordsmanship is so fast!" Smiling Breeze nodded in agreement. Shi Feng''s performance had shocked him, as well. "Ive seen almost every top-ranked Swordsman in e kingdom in artion, but none of em are close to his levd^ ^ who is he?" Not only was he a Tier 2 player, but he was also an Assassin, the class famed for its speed, but he hadn''t been able to keep up with Shi Feng''s attack. He hadn''t even caught the moment this Swordsman had executed the Skill. By the time he had realized what was happening, Shi Feng''s attack was over, and Crocodile Breaker was dead. When he tried to put himself in Crocodile Breaker''s shoes, he doubted that he''d be able to activate Vanish, an almost instantaneous Lifesaving Skill, in time. When he recalled his decision to send Shi Feng and his sister away while he protected them from behind, he found the idea laughable. Crocodile Breaker''s death had undoubtedly dealt Sin Realm''s members quite the mental blow. As a result of their momentary pause, only a small number of the Guild players had actually escaped Glory Town. The NPC soldiers captured the rest of them. The players that had died lost a level and a piece of equipment as a result, in addition to resurrecting in the town''s prison to spend three days behind bars. "Friends, Sin Realm''s people have left. If you intend to flee, you should do so now. I doubt it will be long before the Guild sends reinforcements. It will become far harder to leave Glory Town once they arrive," Shi Feng addressed Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer once he finished collecting the items Sin Realm''s members had dropped. Shi Feng''s warning snapped Smiling Breeze out of his daze, and he gratefully replied, "Thank you. I''m Smiling Breeze, and this is my little sister, Cool Summer. May I have your name,ʲiend?" "Ye Feng," Shi Feng answered truthfully. Although he had considered using Black Flame, it would cause a commotion if the public learned that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader had appeared in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. The kingdom''s various major powers would certainly pay more attention to him, and if that happened, it could affect his quest. "Ye Feng? Could you be Zero Wing''s Honorary Elder?" Smiling Breeze stared at Shi Feng in surprise. Zero Wing had become considerably famous in God''s Domain. Its success in repelling a veteran super-first-rate Guild''s offensive and joining the Secret Chamber of Commerce had earned the Guild some notoriety, increasing Zero Wing''s chances of becoming a super-first-rate Guild itself in the future. With so much attention on Zero Wing, it was only natural for the public to grow familiar with the Guild''s peak experts, including Ye Feng. Thus far, Ye Feng had displayed great strength in multiple battles in Star-Moon Kingdom. Not only had he become well-known in his own kingdom, but he had become extremely famous among the Purple Thorns Kingdoms'' expert players. During their free time, expert players enjoyed discussing nearby kingdoms'' experts and comparing themselves to figure out who was stronger. Cool Summer stared at Shi Feng in shock, as well. She felt as if she were dreaming. "Brother, is this really happening?! We actually got to meet Zero Wing''s Honorary Elder, Ye Feng!" Cool Summer whispered to Smiling Breeze, her eyes glowing with excitement. Even existences like Crocodile Breaker were out of reach for independent players like them, not to mention an Honorary Elder from a Guild with the potential to become a super-first-rate Guild. A single sentence from Ye Feng was enough to cause most second-rate Guilds to shudder with fear. When nearby players overheard Shi Feng''s introduction, they couldn''t help but gape at the Swordsman. They finally understood why Shi Feng had been so relaxed during the earlier exchange with Sin Realm''s members and shrugged off Crocodile Breaker''s mighty aura. "That''s right," Shi Feng replied, at a loss for words after seeing the two siblings'' surprise. Both Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer had been beyond his reach in the past. Smiling Breeze had been one of the top-ten Assassin experts in the Black Dragon Empire during his peak, and if not for his status as an independent player, he would''ve likely reached Tier 5. As for Cool Summer, she had only been a step away from becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist. Second-rate Guilds hadn''t had a prayer of encountering her, and even first-rate Guilds had treated her like a VIP, doing almost anything to recruit her. "May I know what plans you two have after this?" Shi Feng asked. "Remaining in the Purple Thorns Kingdom is no longer possible now that we have a tracking mark on us. We''ll probably head over to the Black Dragon Empire and check out the situation there," Smiling Breeze replied, sighing. "The Black Dragon Empire? That is certainly a good place to develop," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. He then sent the two players friend requests and said, "Zero Wing has a Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire as well. If you encounter any trouble or run into Sin Realm''s people, you can contact me. If you need to buy or sell anything, you can also do so at the Candlelight Trading Firm. I''ll make sure you both enjoy the membership benefits." Although Shi Feng had considered inviting Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer to join Zero Wing, he knew that they''d never accept. Many superpowers had tried to recruit them in his previous life, as well, even offering incredibly lax conditions that barely restricted their freedom. In the end, however, the siblings had rejected every offer. This proved to him that these two weren''t interested in joining any Guild. So, he shouldn''t try to force the situation. Befriending them would be a wiser choice. If these two ever changed their minds, they''d at least consider joining Zero Wing. "Thank you!" Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer expressed their gratitude. Continuing, Smiling Breeze said, "We really don''t know what to say. If you need our help with anything in the future, please feel free to ask! We''ll help you to the best of our abilities!" Ordinary players might not understand the benefits of Zero Wing''s protection and the Candlelight Trading Firm''s membership, but they did. Countless independent players dreamed of such an advantage. After conversing with Shi Feng for a little while longer, Smiling Breeze and Cool Summer departed from Glory Town. Meanwhile, the players on the main street were in an uproar over Shi Feng''s battle with Sin Realm''s members. Some players had even uploaded the battle videos they had recorded to the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s official forums. The instant the battle videos were available, they become the most popular topic of conversation throughout the kingdom. Many of the kingdom''s players had negative opinions of Sin Realm due to its tyrannical behavior, but since the Guild was so powerful, they were forced to endure its control. Now that Sin Realm had suffered a massive defeat in Glory Town, with one of its seven great experts falling in battle, it was only natural that the populace''s general mood was quite jubilant. For a time, the kingdom''s population grew curious about Shi Feng''s identity, and many players found themselves admiring the Swordsman. As news of the battle spread, everyone soon discovered that Shi Feng was actually Zero Wing''s Ye Feng. Due to this revelation, the entire kingdom was in an uproar, with many players expressing their desire to join Zero Wing, hoping that the Guild would establish a Branch Guild in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. The overwhelming reaction even surprised Shi Feng. At this point, over 200,000 players, a truly frightening number, had voiced their desire to take down Sin Realm. Just how much of a tyrant is Sin Realm in the Purple Thorns Kingdom? Shi Feng was astonished as he read the forum post containing a petition to deal with the offending Guild. The average large Guild didn''t even have 100,000 members; only second-rate and above Guilds could amass such a collection. It didn''t take long for news of the matter to reach the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s various major powers, especially the kingdom''s tyrant, Sin Realm. 1994 Unexpected Joy Chapter 1994 - Unexpected Joy Purple Thorns City, Sin Realm''s Residence: The glorious, magnificent Guild Hall was hectic due to the incident in Glory Town. The Guild members in the building struggled to control their bloodlust after learning about the defeat, and some players had even tried to form an expedition to flatten Glory Town. Meanwhile, Sin Realm''s upper echelons had gathered in the Guild Leader''s office. "Guild Leader, we''ve looked into the situation. The player that killed Crocodile Breaker is Ye Feng, Zero Wing''s Honorary Elder!" an indifferent man in purple-gold robes and carrying a silver staff addressed the emaciated man in the Guild Leader''s seat. Although the emaciated man looked like a shriveled tree, he felt like a towering mountain. Some of the Guild''s upper echelons didn''t even dare to look him in the eye due to the powerful pressure he gave off. Sin Realm''s members only felt awe and reverence towards this emaciated man. He was the strongest Guild Leader in Sin Realm''s history. Lone Beacon! Sin Realm had still been considered a lowly second-rate Guild a few years ago, but after Lone Beacon had become the Guild Leader, Sin Realm had rapidly developed. Now, it was a publicly-acknowledged first-rate Guild. Under Lone Beacon''s leadership, Sin Realm had increased its development speed after joining God''s Domain. The Guild was now even stronger than some veteran first-rate Guilds and had taken full control of the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Many first- rate and super-first-rate Guilds had even failed to accomplish such a feat. "Zero Wing''s Ye Feng?" Lone Beacon''s lips curled into a smile. "That is interesting. As soon as we lay our hands on the Witch''s Hill, someone from Zero Wing appears in the Purple Thorns Kingdom?" "Guild Leader, this Ye Feng is too arrogant! He actually dared to kill Crocodile Breaker in our own territory! It''s a slap to the face!" a robust, tanned Berserker growled angrily. "Please, let me lead a team to teach this guy a lesson! We''ll show Zero Wing that just because it barely resisted an offensive from Miracle, that doesn''t mean that it can strut around before Sin Realm!" "Irontooth is right, Guild Leader! Ye Feng has come to our territory alone and killed Crocodile Breaker. If we don''t take care of him, we''ll become a laughingstock in the kingdom. Everyone will assume that we fear Zero Wing!" the other Guild upper echelons promptly voiced their agreement. It might have been acceptable if Zero Wing had sent an army into Purple Thorns Kingdom, and the two Guilds had clashed, but Shi Feng had come here on his own. He had even publicly announced his identity before the kingdom''s populace. If they didn''t deal with this player and prove to Zero Wing that they weren''t to be trifled with, then Sin Realm''s reputation would be in tatters. "Alright. Irontooth, take a team to Glory Town," Lone Beacon said, nodding. He, too, felt that it was necessary to teach Zero Wing a lesson. He then continued, "However, Ye Feng is extraordinarily strong. Take the Steel Puppet with you as a precaution." The Guild''s upper echelons were surprised by Lone Beacon''s decision. Sin Realm had only obtained the treasured Steel Puppet after many difficulties. The Guild had lost more than 10,000 lives and numerous Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. Although the Steel Puppet couldn''t fight on its own like a summoned creature, needing a player''s control, it could kill players as easily as killing ants. The Steel Puppet wouldn''t have any issues dealing with Tier 3 experts, much less Tier 2 players. Yet, Lone Beacon wanted to use the Steel Puppet against a single expert player from Zero Wing. He was simply making a mountain out of a molehill. Now that Shi Feng bore the Death Mark, the Guild could easily track his movements. Sending Irontooth and his team, along with some Magic Scrolls and Magic Array Scrolls, would be more than enough. There was no need to mobilize the Steel Puppet. "The Steel Puppet?" Irontooth rejoiced when he heard his Guild Leader''s command. Hurriedly, he replied, "Leave it to me! I''ll make sure Ye Feng regrets ever setting foot in the Purple Thorns Kingdom!" Following which, Irontooth, one of Sin Realm''s seven great experts, walked out of the Guild Leader''s office to organize a team for his trip to Glory Town. In the meantime, Shi Feng had arrived at Glory Town''s Town Hall. Although Glory Town was not located in a high-resource map, based on the situation, Shi Feng felt that this was an excellent place to make money and recruit expert players for Zero Wing. Although the monsters around Glory Town were average in all aspects, a specific rare herb was available in the areathe Phantom Flower, the main material for producing the Basic Level Strengthening Potion. Even in a herb-rich country like the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the Phantom Flower was far from common, and it didn''t even grow in Star-Moon Kingdom. Other kingdoms and empires that contained the Phantom Flowers didn''t produce the flowers in large quantities, either. This was why Cool Summer had come to Glory Town. Due to the Basic Level Strengthening Potion''s popularity in the past, the Phantom Flower had become incredibly valuable. Each flower had initially sold for 3 Silver, but the price had eventually skyrocketed to 15 Silver. Currently, one could count the number of Basic Level Strengthening Potion Recipes that existed in God''s Domain on one hand. Since so few players grinded in high-level maps right now, the demand for this potion wasn''t particularly high yet, either. However, as players progressed in the game, they would need more EXP per level, making it far more difficult to level up. Fighting higher-leveled monsters would soon become a necessity if players wanted to increase their level quickly. At that time, the Basic Level Strengthening Potion would become intensely popular, which, in turn, would increase the scarcity of the Phantom Flowers. Although Shi Feng didn''t yet have the recipe, he could take advantage of the situation to stockpile Phantom Flowers. Producing Basic Level Strengthening Potions would become impossible without them, after all. Naturally, more of the potion''s recipes would surface as time passed. "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service today?" The Town Hall''s senior administrator took the initiative to approach Shi Feng as he entered the building. "I wish to buy two plots of Land," Shi Feng replied. "Very well. These are all the Lands available for sale in the town," the senior administrator said as he revealed a map of Glory Town. Despite being an Advanced Town, Glory Town''s size was only the size of an Intermediate Town. As a result, it didn''t have many Lands for sale. As Shi Feng inspected the Lands in the town''s central district, he noticed a dark-blue marker. It was particularly eye-catching since the rest of the markers on the map were light-blue. How is this possible? There''s actually a plot of Advanced Land for sale? Shi Feng was stunned as he stared at the dark-blue marker. 1995 Advanced Land Chapter 1995 - Advanced Land "How much for this plot of Land?" Shi Feng asked, suppressing the excitement in his heart as he pointed at the dark-blue marker on the map. In the past, the various superpowers had considered Advanced Lands extremely valuable. Unlike ordinary Lands, players had absolute control of the Advanced Lands they purchased. In other words, like Guild Towns and Cities, players wouldn''t be limited to the type of construction they could build on the land. Instead of building Shops, Guild Residences, or private houses, players could construct Auction Houses or Battle Arenas. Though, only a fool would build a Battle Arena in an NPC town as doing so would not yield any profits. NPC towns didn''t have much Mana, and a Battle Arena wouldn''t provide enough benefits to the players training within without a high Mana density. The wisest way to use a plot of Advanced Land was to build an Auction House! Auction Houses couldn''t be constructed on ordinary Lands, and NPC towns didn''t usually possess Auction Houses. Of course, player-constructed Auction Houses didn''t hold much attraction for players. They were already available in NPC cities, and every NPC town and city had a Teleportation Hall, allowing players to travel from one location to another easily. Moreover, NPC Auction Houses were usually connected with multiple other NPC Auction Houses, which allowed players to sell and purchase items from multiple NPC cities. In contrast, player-constructed Auction Houses were only connected with other Auction Houses the player owned. However, player-constructed Auction Houses had an advantage that NPC Auction Houses lacked: the freedom to choose the form of currency required. Instead of Coins, players could use Credits or Magic Crystals. Many of Gods Domain''s players dreamed of earning reaworld money through the game, but transactions involving Credits and in-game items were troublesome. Normally, players were only willing to go through the trouble for bulk or high-value transactions. However, player-constructed Auction Houses removed the hassle of Credit trades. The services player-constructed Auction Houses offered were convenient for small transactions, and the Guilds operating the Auction Houses could collect processing fees, earning a large sum of Credits. If the Auction House''s trade volume was sufficiently high, the ruling Guild could even earn enough Credits per day to make the various superpowers jealous. Of course, obtaining such an income was impossible if one relied on a single NPC town''s Auction House, but there was a saying; many a little makes a mickle. If Shi Feng could construct an Auction House while God''s Domain was still in its early phases, he could earn a fortune. Moreover, an Auction House in an NPC town would be far more popular than one in a Guild Town. This was due to the more convenient transportation methods. Every NPC town and city in the Purple Thorns Kingdom allowed direct teleportation to Glory Town. "Lord Bronze Legatee, this plot of Land''s price is somewhat special. In addition to 14,000 Gold, you''ll also have to pay 300 Mana Stones and 300 Pure Magic Cores if you wish to purchase it," the senior administrator said. "Mana Stones and Pure Magic Cores?" Shi Feng released a sigh of relief when he heard the senior administrator''s price. Normally, Advanced Lands cost both Coins and resources. Fortunately, the resources required this time were not particularly valuable. Shi Feng could easily synthesize Mana Stones from Magic Crystals, and he could collect Pure Magic Cores from killing Level 50-plus Great Lord ranked Demonic Beasts. Neither of these items would be difficult to acquire for Zero Wing. As for the 14,000 Gold, the cost was practically negligible. Zero Wing had earned quite a bit of profit recently, and he had the compensation the Black Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds had paid for their transgressions. Even though most of the compensation had been paid in materials and Lands, quite a few Guilds had paid with Coins. Overall, Shi Feng currently had over 170,000 Gold in his pockets. This was also why he had decided to activate a super-large-scale neutral city. After speaking with the senior administrator, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her send some manpower to Glory Town. He also instructed her to send Mana Stones and Pure Magic Cores. In less than an hour, Shi Feng had received the required 300 Mana Stones and 300 Pure Magic Cores. He then purchased the Advanced Land, in addition to two plots of ordinary Lands, spending a total of 18,000 Gold. After purchasing the Lands, Shi Feng used the Auction House Design, which the Guild had recently acquired, and instructed his Guild''s architects to construct the Auction House on the Advanced Land. He then spent another 5,000 Gold to construct a Guild Residence and a Shop on the two plots of ordinary Land. Suddenly, three extremely eye-catching buildings rose within Glory Town. The Candlelight Trading Firm was especially impressive, and although it wasn''t as majestic as the Advanced Auction House, it was a three-story building. Moreover, it occupied just as much area as Zero Wing''s new Residence. Glory Town''s players immediately noticed the appearance of Zero Wing''s Residence and the Candlelight Trading Firm. The town wasn''t particularly large, after all, and none of the town''s Lands had been purchased by any major powers. Glory Town was merely a border town, a temporary leveling area for a small number of independent players. There was no real value to purchasing the Lands here. "Why is there a player-constructed Auction House? Didn''t they say that it wasn''t possible to construct Auction Houses in N PC towns?" "Zero Wing is so awesome! It has even pulled off something like this!" "But what''s the point in constructing an Auction House here? Player-constructed Auction Houses don''t usually have a lot of items for sale. The customer base is so much smaller than NPC Auction Houses, so there isn''t much point in using a player- constructed one." "True, but isn''t Zero Wing Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. It also has a big city like Zero Wing City. This Auction House here should be connected to the one there. If that''s the case, it should have a lot of items for sale." Glory Town''s players were all curious about the Candlelight Auction House that now graced their town. They immediately entered to inspect the building and its services. However, once players examined the items for auction, they were stupefied. The Candlelight Auction House had just as many items as the Auction Houses in NPC cities. Most importantly, many items could also be purchased with either Coins or Credits. Players could even spend Credits to buy a single piece of Bronze Ore. This discovery excited the players that didn''t have many Coins but had spare Credits lying around. Moreover, the weapons and equipment the Candlelight Auction House offered were much cheaper. "Amazing! The Candlelight Auction House is simply amazing!" "Crap! There are so many pieces of Level 55 Mysterious-Iron Equipment for sale! You won''t even find this many in NPC cities'' Auction Houses!" Everyone''s eyes turned bloodshot as they read through the item lists in the Candlelight Auction House. Meanwhile, news of Glory Town''s new Auction House soon reached the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s official forums with a particularly eye-catching title. Candlelight Auction House appears in Glory Town! 1996 Popular Auction House Chapter 1996 - Popular Auction House Due to the appearance of the Candlelight Auction House, the players viewing the Purple Thorn Kingdom''s official forums were in an uproar, especially the ordinary independent players. Once they read the forum thread, they headed to Glory Town. Normally, these independent players struggled to earn money, yet God''s Domain had many aspects that required Coins. Exchanging Credits for Coins wasn''t easy either since most Workshops and money-farming teams sold Coins at a minimum of 5 Gold. Sellers very rarely sold small amounts, such as 50 Silver or 1 Gold. Players from ordinary households couldn''t afford to spend the Credits on 5 Gold, and although they were willing to purchase individual pieces of Bronze or Mysterious- Iron Equipment with Credits, such opportunities were incredibly rare. Most players only sold Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment for Credits when they were selling in bulk. Although it was possible to purchase individual Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment with coins in Guild Towns'' Auction Houses, there was generally a limited supply. Furthermore, traveling to Guild Towns wasn''t very convenient. Now that the Candlelight Auction House had appeared in an NPC town and had a large stock of items, Purple Thorns Kingdoms'' general populace couldn''t sit still and do nothing. In less than half an hour, Glory Town''s sparsely populated streets had become crowded with players. Everyone visiting the town swarmed toward the Candlelight Auction House to purchase and sell items. The town had become even more lively than Zero Wing City. Shi Feng was overwhelmed as he watched from within the Auction House. According to the Auction House''s statistics, over 30,000 items had been put up for auction, and over 50,000 items had sold. Meanwhile, the Auction House had collected over 200,000 Credits from processing fees and over 100 Gold in consignment fees. Glory Town''s Candlelight Auction House made even more money than Zero Wing City''s. Suddenly, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and demanded, "Guild Leader, what did you do in the Purple Thorns Kingdom?! The Candlelight Auction House has gained several thousand members in the last few moments! We''ve earned over 40,000 Magic Crystals via membership fees alone! In addition, the total trade volume for the Auction Houses in Zero Wing City, Silverwing Town, and Stone Forest Town has increased drastically! It''s 30% higher than usual!" The Auction Houses in Zero Wing City, Silverwing Town, and Stone Forest Town were some of Zero Wing''s main income sources. However, the trade volume for these Auction Houses had increased by 30% and continued to rise. At this rate, the three Auction Houses would soon generate half of Zero Wing''s Credit income. At that time, Zero Wing would no longer have to sell Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment to maintain the training ground. The Guild might even be able to afford to recruit more internal members. "A 30% increase in trade volume?" Shi Feng chuckled. "That''s only the beginning. If everything goes smoothly, we should see an increase of 70% at the very least. Oh, right. Send someone out to collect Phantom Flowers. As long as they don''t cost more than 5 Silver per stalk, buy as many as possible!" An ordinary Guild City couldn''t compare to the convenience of owning an Advanced Land in an NPC town or city. This was even true for Zero Wing City, which had a player population of over 10,000,000. No other Guild had built a Guild Auction House in an NPC town in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, and Shi Feng''s success would attract a large number of players to Glory Town. Soon, the NPC town would see more player traffic than Zero Wing City, and almost every player that visited had done so specifically to use the Candlelight Auction House. Melancholic Smile was dazed when she heard that the trade volume would increase by at least 70%. If it really were possible to secure so much income, they wouldn''t have to worry about the new training ground''s operation costs. "Phantom Flowers? I''ll have my people purchase them via Secret''s channels," Melancholic Smile said after recovering from her shock. "No! We cannot purchase the flower through Secret. I don''t want to attract any unnecessary attention. Have people purchase the flowers from the various kingdoms and empires in secret, but try not to affect the market price," Shi Feng said. Although the Phantom Flower wasn''t particularly special, if Zero Wing purchased the flower in bulk through the Secret Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber''s other members would notice. That could affect his plans to stockpile the Phantom Flowers. He was not willing to take such a risk. "I understand. I''ll have people collect Phantom Flowers in secret," Melancholic Smile said, understanding Shi Feng''s intentions. She then disconnected the call and began to arrange the necessary manpower. Meanwhile, a group of cloaked players had reserved a bar not far from the Candlelight Auction House and had settled in to observe the situation. "Commander Irontooth, I''ve sent some players to investigate, but we haven''t discovered how Zero Wing got permission to construct the Auction House. We only know that Zero Wing had dispatched a group of architects to construct it on that plot of Land," a masked, Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin reported. "Zero Wing has also constructed a Residence in the town. By the looks of it, the Guild plans to recruit members from Glory Town and begin its development in the kingdom from here." "What an arrogant Guild! First, Zero Wing kills our Guild members, and now, it intends to start a Branch Guild in our kingdom? This is an insult to Sin Realm!" Rage flared within Irontooth as he listened to his subordinate''s report. "Commander, why don''t we go and kill Ye Feng now?" a Level 58, Tier 2 Ranger suggested. "No! We''ll wait until he leaves Glory Town!" Irontooth growled, shaking his head. "Although Glory Town is only a town, it is a heavily fortified border town. Moreover, he must be aware that he has a tracking mark on him. He will expect an ambush and remain around a high number of NPCs. He might even have a bunch of companions with him. If we strike abruptly, we''ll just end up like Crocodile Breaker. "Right now, we need to wait! Once the tracking mark disappears, Ye Feng will sense it. He''ll think that he is free and will act more boldly. That will be the perfect time to take his life. Notify Feather Hunter and tell him to keep a close eye on Ye Feng!" "Understood!" The Tier 3 Tracking Scroll Crocodile Breaker had used was incredibly rare and effective, but it had an obvious flaw; the targeted player could perceive the mark. However, Sin Realm used such a Tracking Scroll for that reason, letting their prey know that they were being tracked and hunted. The Tracking Scroll was merely a distraction, a set-up for the true attack that would occur after the Death Mark disappeared. Their killing move was a special Legacy Sin Realm had obtained-Covert Killer. Not only did the Covert Killer hidden class allow a player to track others without being detected, but it also allowed the player to land a fatal blow from an extremely long distance. The class was almost tailor-made for Rangers. Sin Realm had nurtured a group of true tracking experts with this special Legacy. Feather Hunter was the best among the players that had obtained the Covert Killer hidden class. While Sin Realm''s Feather Hunter watched his target, Shi Feng boldly left the Candlelight Auction House and headed for the trading firm a short distance away. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s interior was finally complete. The first floor would be reserved for selling daily necessities, the second would sell valuable items Candlelight produced, and the third would contain workspaces and a warehouse. The Shop was also fully staffed by NPCs and Candlelight members from White River City. Now, all that was left was the Shop''s grand openings. Once Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm, he instructed an NPC to purchase materials and focus on buying Phantom Flowers. The Guild members would be responsible for managing sales and producing items. With everything set up, Shi Feng''s true purpose of setting up the trading firm in Glory Town should remain hidden. I should head to the Icefire Mountain Range now. Shi Feng glanced at the time once he had settled his affairs in Glory Town. Since the tracking mark on him had disappeared some time ago, he decided that it was finally time to leave. He immediately donned his Black Cloak and snuck out of the town. He only called out his Mount and made his way towards the neutral map after he had put some distance between himself and Glory Town. The moment Shi Feng left the town, Feather Hunter notified Irontooth of the development "Commander Irontooth, Ye Feng has snuck out of Glory Town!" Feather Hunter reported as he watched the moving red dot on his system map. "Good! He''s finally getting impatient! Follow him closely! We''ll head to your location immediately!" Irontooth said, laughing as he finished the beer in his hand. 1997 Ancient Stone Box Chapter 1997 - Ancient Stone Box Shi Feng headed south after leaving Glory Town. "Is this guy insane? He''s running out in the fields without a care!" "What''s going on? Why haven''t the monsters noticed him?" The players grinding in the fields were astonished as they watched Shi Feng brazenly charge through the wilderness. They were stunned further when they realized that the high-level monsters nearby completely ignored the Swordsman, while some actively avoided him. After a short moment, Shi Feng vanished. The players here have already gotten used to killing higher-leveled monsters? As Shi Feng rode through the wilderness on his Mount, he noticed many parties fighting in the wild. Seeing these elite players'' performance, he realized that they were slightly stronger than Star-Moon Kingdom''s elites. The monsters these elite players faced were clearly Level 70 or higher. Not only did the monsters have an advantage in levels, but their Basic Attributes were also much higher. However, these elite players handled the monsters adeptly. They never tried to take the monsters head-on, sending the party''s MT to distract the target while evading the monsters'' attacks instead. Meanwhile, the party''s ranged players bombarded the monsters, slowly but surely whittling down the higher- leveled opponents. While this combat method might seem simple, it was not easy to implement since the monsters in the area had considerably high combat standards. Including the Attribute differences, distracting these monsters without taking a hit would be very difficult for current MTs, much less doing so for a long period. Players'' combat standards would be tested here. However, despite their excellent performances, the best these players could manage was grinding in Glory Town''s nearby maps. The farther they were from Glory Town, the stronger the monsters would be. Players would encounter more than just Special Elites and Chieftains; they''d also run into Lords and High Lords. Even Level 60, Tier 2 experts would have to flee from Level 70-plus Lords and High Lords, not to mention Tier 1 players. Not only were these monsters'' combat standards superior to Special Elites and Chieftains, but they also had an arsenal of Skills. If Tier 2 experts were not careful, they could die in the blink of an eye. Of course, these monsters were no trouble for Shi Feng. He had already reached Level 70 and could easily move through these Level 70-plus Lords and High Lords. After over two hours of travel, Shi Feng finally arrived in an open gravel plain. An ancient altar, surrounded by stone pillars that formed a maze, stood in the center of the plain. Meanwhile, Level 75 and higher Elemental Creatures roamed the maze, the majority of which were Lord ranked monsters. This was the Elemental Altar, the most famous location in Glory Town''s map during Shi Feng''s previous life. Sure enough, no one has come this far yet. As Shi Feng arrived before the Elemental Altar and gazed upon the ancient, stone box upon it, he couldn''t help but smile. Any player that had wanted to travel to Thunder Axe City had almost always done so through Glory Town in the past, but by the time he had made it to the town, players had long since explored the area. Meanwhile, among the various locations found, players had talked about the Elemental Altar more than any other. The altar had become such a hot topic due to the stone box enshrined on it. While the stone box might look ordinary, it contained an amazing treasure. The Sealing Stone! Although the Sealing Stone was a one-time use tool, it had astounding power. When used, it could seal the strength of one monster, reducing its rank by one for three hours. While this effect might not seem impressive, the Sealing Stone was even effective against Mythic monsters. The tool would reduce ordinary Mythic monsters to Grand Lord rank, and Mythic ranked Archaic Species would become as weak as ordinary Mythic monsters. The player that had opened Thunder Axe City''s entrance in the past had only succeeded due to this Sealing Stone. The Guardian Boss that protected the entrance would''ve been unbeatable for individual players at that time otherwise. As proof, many superpowers'' apex experts had failed to unlock the neutral city. Now that Shi Feng wanted to open Thunder Axe City, he had to get a Sealing Stone of his own. However, opening the stone box was easier than said due to the Thunder Beast that guarded it. [Thunder Beast] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 77 HP 85,000,000/85,000,000 This Thunder Beast would be a challenge, and as more players gathered, it would become stronger. Unlike other Field Bosses, it would grow stronger once more than one hostile lifeform was within range. If more than six lifeforms were nearby, the Thunder Beast would grow into a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, and it would become as strong as Mythic monster if more than 20 lifeforms were within range. Although it wouldn''t grow past Mythic rank, its combat standards would skyrocket. The Thunder Beast would become impossible to defeat if more than 100 lifeforms were nearby. Meanwhile, the lifeforms in question included summoned creatures and players'' Personal Guards. To make matters worse, the Thunder Beast would obtain more and higher quality Skills as more lifeforms entered its range of influence... Because of this, the Thunder Beast had remained undefeated even after many Guild experts had reached Level 70 in the past The Sealing Stone had only been discovered after a Level 75 peak expert had visited the Elemental Altar and defeated the Boss with special tools in hand. Although Shi Feng had yet to reach Level 75, he had incredibly powerful outside help. Following which, Shi Feng took out the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Level 85, Tier 3 Lava Demon. When the Lava Demon emerged, the surrounding temperature rose sharply due to the molten lava that covered its body, creating a natural domain. The Lava Demon was fond of melee combat, and while it might not be able to contend with a Grand Lord of the same level, it shouldn''t have any issues against a Grand Lord eight levels lower with the Bible of Darkness''s strengthening effects. "Go!" Shi Feng commanded, gesturing at the Thunder Beast that slumbered beside the Elemental Altar. The Lava Demon released a warcry before charging at the Thunder Beast, appearing before the Grand Lord in an instant and activating the Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Lava Claw. By the time the Thunder Beast woke from its slumber, the Lava Demon''s claw had struck the monster''s lightning-formed body. Roar! The Thunder Beast cried out in agony, instantly losing more than 2,000,000 HP. Due to Lava Claw''s weakening effect, the Thunder Beast''s Basic Attributes dropped by 10%, as well. However, not one to be outdone, the Thunder Beast responded with a swipe of its tail, sending a whip of lightning at the Lava Demon. Tier 3 Skill, Lightning Annihilation! With just one swing of its tail, the Thunder Beast launched a lightning attack in a 100-yard cone. Even a Tier 2 MT of the same level with an active Lifesaving Skill would barely survive the attack if they were on the receiving end. Any other class would die. Fortunately, the Skill was nothing to the Lava Demon. The summoned Demon only lost a little over l,5, of its 24,000,000 HP. Shi Feng finally made his move after the Lava Demon and Thunder Beast struggled against each other for some time. Activating Instant Strike, he appeared beside the Thunder Beast and bombarded the Grand Lord with his attacks. Shadow Blade! Purgatory Pentaslash! Flame Burst! Phantom Kill! Shi Feng used one Skill after another, each hit dealing tens of thousands of damage, with some even dealing over -100,000. The Thunder Beast''s HP began to plummet. 90%... 70%... 50%... Since the Thunder Beast only had two opponents, Shi Feng and his Lava Demon, it could only use two of its Skills: the AOE Tier 3 Skill, Lighting Annihilation and the single-target Tier 3 Skill, Lightning Claw. Against Shi Feng, a player with the Strength to rival a Great Lord of the same level, the Thunder Beast could only watch, helpless, as it continued to lose HP. In the end, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and landed the killing blow when the Thunder Beast''s HP fell below 1%. The Grand Lord''s body then dispersed as countless arcs of lightning, vanishing from the Elemental Altar... 1998 Sin Realm Chapter 1998 - Sin Realm So much EXP! Shi Feng stared at his experience bar in astonishment. After the Thunder Beast had died, his experience bar had increased by 11%. If he were grinding normally, he''d need at least half a day to earn that much EXP, but he had gained so much after less than 20 minutes. When he remembered that the Thunder Beast as a special Boss, so much EXP made sense. If a 20-man team killed an ordinary Grand Lord of the same level, every member of the team would receive a significant amount of EXP. Not only was the Thunder Beast seven levels higher than Shi Feng, but he had also killed the Grand Lord without help, monopolizing the awarded EXP. It was only natural that he received so much. Any other Level 70 player would''ve likely gained enough EXP to fill 20% of their experience bar. When the Thunder Beast had fallen, it had also dropped over 30 items, filling Shi Feng with delight. Past Level 50, even ordinary Mythic Field Bosses only dropped around 30 to 40 items. Although he was responsible for the Thunder Beast''s First Kill, 30 items were still impressive. Meanwhile, over half of the items were materials, and all of them were unique materials from the Thunder Beast''s body. [Thunder Skin) (Epic Rank Material) When producing leather armor, the Thunder Skin can be used to enhance the armor''s Basic Attributes and grant Lightning Resistance. [Thunder Claw] (Inferior Legendary Rank Material) When added to a weapon''s production process, the Thunder Claw increases the weapon''s Attack Power and adds additional lightning-type damage. All of the materials were unique items for tailoring, leatherworking, forging, alchemy, enchanting, and engineering. Every one of these items was incredibly valuable. The Thunder Claw was just as valuable as an ordinary Epic Weapon since materials that altered a weapon''s damage to lightning-type were particularly rare. Any weapon that could use lightning would ignore a significant amount of Defense unless the target had very high Lightning Resistance, but equipment that provided that Resistance was just as rare. Melee players in the past had dreamed of enlisting a Master Forger to create a custom weapon with lightning-type damage for them. With such a weapon, players would have a massive advantage when fighting monsters or players. As expected of a Unique Boss. Its loot is amazing. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he gazed at the weapons and equipment the Thunder Beast had dropped. The Thunder Beast had dropped a total of seven weapons and equipment. Six pieces were Level 70 equipment, of which three were Fine-Gold rank, and three were Secret-Silver rank. Of the three Fine-Gold Equipment pieces, one was a cloth chest piece, one was a pair of leather pants, and one was a pair of plate armor boots. The Lightning Combat Boots pleased Shi Feng the most. Although the cloth armor and leather pants were good, they weren''t quite as powerful as the boots. Not only did the Lightning Combat Boots add 10 points of Lightning Resistance, but they also possessed a powerful Additional Active Skill called Lightning''s Shadow. When activated, the Skill transformed the wearer into a streak of lightning for ten seconds. Players wouldn''t be able to attack during this time, but they would move as fast as lightning. If the player attacked during the transformation, they''d revert to their original state. The Skill also had a 10-minute Cooldown. This Skill would undoubtedly make up for a plate armor class''s lack of mobility. Whether the player used the Skill to chase an opponent or flee, it would be exceptionally effective. Moreover, the Lightning Combat Boots'' Basic Attributes were even higher than those on the Level 60 Fine-Gold boots Shi Feng currently wore. Without hesitation, Shi Feng switched his current boots for the Lightning Combat Boots, gaining more than 20 points to his Basic Attributes overall. Although the increase was minor, the additional Skill, which would drastically increase his survivability, was far more important. Level 70 experts would covet the three pieces of Level 70 Secret-Silver Equipment since each item offered Lightning Resistance. Not only would the resistance protect the wearer from lightning-type damage, but they''d also have more defense against Skills and Spells that inflicted numbing effects. The three pieces were even more valuable than ordinary Level 70 Fine-Gold Equipment. However, the weapon the Thunder Beast had dropped, an extremely rare Epic Growth-type Weapon, was even more impressive than the six pieces of equipment. [Howling Thunder] (Throwing Weapon, Bronze Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,000, Agility 900, and Tier 2. Attack Power (Value is set at Player''s Strength*1.7) Strength +36, Agility +27, Endurance +5 Attack Speed +4 Maximum throwing distance: 42 yards When attacking: Ignore 20% of target''s Defense; Attack Speed increases by 12%; 20% chance to land a critical hit; 10% chance to trigger a knockback effect; 10% chance to trigger the Thundering Wind effect, increasing Attack Speed by 150% and ignoring Defense completely. Additional Skill 1- Lightning Guidance: Deals 120% lightning damage every second for five seconds in a 10-yard radius around the targeted area. Can store to a maximum of three Lighting Guidance charges. Each charge has a two-minute Cooldown. Additional Skill 2- Sundering Thunder: Causes a Lightning Impact that carries 100% of user''s Strength in a 30-yard cone. Cooldown: 5 minutes Upgrading this weapon requires a large amount of Mana. Can be upgraded to Epic rank at maximum. Currently Bronze rank. Requires 1,000 Magic Crystals to reach the Mysterious-Iron rank. Throwing weapons were extremely rare in God''s Domain, even more so than ornaments. They were also the only ranged attacks available to melee players. Moreover, throwing weapons were categorized by ranks, not levels. They were the only type of weapon that players could use throughout the entire game without becoming obsolete. Hence, every throwing weapon was worth a fortune. In the past, most melee experts had still used Mysterious-Iron throwing weapons after reaching Level 100. Very few had acquired Secret-Silver or Fine-Gold throwing weapons, and only the most fortunate players had obtained Dark-Gold ranked throwing weapons. Shi Feng hadn''t switched to another throwing weapon since he had obtained the Blazing Meteor from Seliora. The Blazing Meteor would even be incredibly rare after players reached Level 200, after all. Of course, he hadn''t expected to get his hands on an Epic Growth-Type throwing weapon after killing the Thunder Beast. The Howling Thunder was even more valuable than ordinary Epic Weapons. Shi Feng immediately began to upgrade the Howling Thunder since he had so many Magic Crystals on him at the moment. After a short moment, Shi Feng had upgraded Howling Thunder to Dark-Gold rank. He would need 40,000 Magic Crystals to upgrade it to Epic rank, however, which was ten times more than upgrading it from Fine-Gold to Dark-Gold rank. Since he didn''t have enough Magic Crystals for this final upgrade, he had no choice but to set the matter aside for now. Even so, the Dark-Gold ranked Howling Thunder had already surpassed Blazing Meteor''s power, satisfying Shi Feng. Shi Feng left the Elemental Altar after he replaced Blazing Meteor with Howling Thunder and retrieved the Sealing Stone from the ancient stone box. However, as he was about to use the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport to the Icefire Mountain Range, a gigantic magic array appeared above him, forming a magic barrier that enveloped the area around Shi Feng. Once the barrier was complete, a group of players wearing Sin Realm''s Guild Emblem emerged from the ground. A playful light flashed in their eyes as they turned to Shi Feng. "Just as the Guild Leader guessed, you came to Glory Town for a quest! It''s a pity your efforts will go to waste!" the tall, robust Irontooth said as he stepped out of the crowd. Smiling, he continued, "Now, are you going to hand over the item, or will we need to retrieve it from your corpse? Decide!" 1999 Instant Kill Chapter 1999 - Instant Kill As Irontooth finished his question, the players around him burst into action. Wasting no time, these players formed a tight circle around Shi Feng. The Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights stood at the forefront with their shields raised, followed by the Berserkers and Swordsmen who offered their MT companions support. The ranged DPS players and healers stood farther behind. Sin Realm''s members left Shi Feng no room to flee. Even if Shi Feng could tear through the encirclement and escape, the area had been sealed off with a magic barrier. He was trapped unless he could destroy it. "Based on this pressure, you must have used an Intermediate Magic Array?" Shi Feng thought aloud as he glanced at the players channeling the array. This magic array had also reduced his Basic Attributes by 25%. In God''s Domain, magic array''s suppression was far less effective against players than monsters, and the higher-tiered a player was, the weaker the suppression would be. To rob a Tier 2 player of 25% of their Basic Attributes, one would need to use an Intermediate Magic Array at the very least. "You''ve guessed correctly. This Earth''s Wind is an Intermediate Magic Array, and even a Mythic monster would need some time to destroy it While within the array, you won''t be able to use Teleportation Spells or tools," Irontooth informed his prey, sneering. "We prepared this magic array for you specifically. Is it to your satisfaction?" Earth''s Wind was one of the few sets of Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls Sin Realm possessed. They had originally saved it to use against particularly powerful Field Bosses. However, to ensure Shi Feng''s death and teach Zero Wing a lesson, Lone Beacon had decided to send the Scrolls with Irontooths party. "You don''t really think one Intermediate Magic Array is enough to take me down, do you?" Shi Feng calmly asked as he eyed the several hundred Sin Realm players before him. Around 50 of these players were Tier 2 experts. The rest of them were only Tier 1 players. The strongest player among them was Irontooth, a mere Level 59, Tier 2 Shield Warrior, and Shi Feng could tell that his combat standards were not quite as powerful as Crocodile Breaker''s. This man was only an ordinary Refinement Realm expert. This team wasn''t enough to deal with a peak expert head-on. Peak experts had exceedingly powerful Basic Attributes, and even if those Attributes had been reduced by 25%, they were still higher than ordinary Tier 2 experts''. Naturally, killing ordinary Tier 2 experts would be child''s play; they''d only need a little more time to complete the task. "Of course, a single Intermediate Magic Array and these ordinary experts won''t be enough to deal with you," Irontooth said, smiling at Shi Feng. "But what if these experts have Violent Blood Potions?" Earth''s Wind would suppress Tier 2 experts'' Basic Attributes by 25%, but a peak expert could still easily annihilate ordinary experts of the same level and tier while subjected to the array''s effects. A 100-man team of ordinary Tier 2 experts still wouldn''t be enough to take Shi Feng down. This team would need over a dozen Refinement Realm experts working together to have any chance of victory. Although Sin Realm did not have that many Refinement Realm experts, it did have the extremely valuable Violent Blood Potions. Sin Realm had gone to great lengths to obtain the recipe for this potion, and after consuming it, players would gain an additional 1,200 points to every Basic Attribute. Moreover, these Attribute Points would add to players'' base Attributes. With their weapons and equipments percentage modifiers, the potion''s effects would be even greater. Meanwhile, the Violent Blood Potion had a 20-second duration and five-minute Cooldown. An ordinary Tier 2 expert would instantly gain the combat power of peak experts after drinking the potion. Unfortunately, the materials to produce the Violent Blood Potion were incredibly rare and valuable, and not even an Advanced Alchemist would have a high success rate when brewing it. To ensure Shi Feng''s defeat, Irontooth had specifically received four Violent Blood Potions from the Guild. With four peak experts and an Intermediate Magic Array''s suppression, they could even kill a superpower''s apex expert, much less Shi Feng. When Irontooth had finished speaking, three Tier 2 experts near him took out their Violent Blood Potions and drank them. The intensity of the trio''s auras instantly skyrocketed. The three Tier 2 players in question were a Berserker, a Swordsman, and an Assassin. In this line-up, the Berserker would act as the MT, the Swordsman would offer support, and the Assassin would find the opportunity to land the final blow. "Ye Feng, today, we will prove to you and Zero Wing that resisting an attack from Miracle doesn''t mean that you can stand up to Sin Realm!" Irontooth bellowed as he pointed at Shi Feng. "Go! Kill this arrogant fool!" The trio then advanced on Shi Feng. The Berserker used Charge, the Swordsman used Wind Blade, and the Assassin entered Stealth. The Violent Blood Potion? Watching the approaching Berserker and Swordsman, Shi Feng retrieved Howling Thunder and flicked it. Sundering Thunder! Countless arcs of lightning then surged forth. Once Shi Feng had upgraded the throwing weapon to Dark-Gold rank, Howling Thunder''s Skills had considerably improved. Now, Sundering Thunder could exert 180% of its user''s Strength and covered a 45-yard cone. The attack''s speed was also extraordinary. The attack caught the charging trio off guard. The impact sent all three flying while their HPs rapidly decreased. The Sin Realm members that had stood behind the trio had suffered an even more tragic fate. The Tier 1 players within Sundering Thunder''s range died instantly. Only Tier 2 players had survived the attack, although their HPs had fallen to a critical level. While Sin Realm''s players were stunned, Shi Feng took the opportunity to throw Howling Thunder a second time. Lightning Guidance! Suddenly, three arcs of lightning charred the ground beneath the three Tier 2 experts that had consumed the Violent Blood Potions. Numerous arcs of lightning then descended from the sky and bombarded the area around the trio. Boom... Boom... Boom... Since Lightning Guidance was an AOE attack, players could only evade it by escaping its range. Meanwhile, numbed by Sundering Thunder''s effects, the three Tier 2 experts had no hope of dodging out of Lightning Guidance''s range before the Skill struck. The expert trio lost their remaining HP to the Skill after three seconds. Not even the healers had time to save them as they lost tens of thousands of HP each second. How is this possible? Irontooth paled when he saw the three Tier 2 experts'' corpses. Shi Feng had killed three players with the combat power to rival peak experts without much effort. Moreover, he had accomplished this feat while suppressed by an Intermediate Magic Array... For a moment, Irontooth couldn''t believe his eyes. Shi Feng, however, wasn''t particularly surprised by the outcome. Peak experts were considered such due to their ability to react to danger. Some peak experts could even predict an enemy''s attack before the player launched it. While Sin Realm''s expert trio had greater combat power than peak experts, their ability to react was no more impressive than an ordinary expert''s. Furthermore, even with the additional 1,200 points to their Basic Attributes, they were still no match for Shi Feng''s. "Commander, what should we do?" a Tier 2 Assassin asked. "As expected of Zero Wing''s Honorary Elder! I had considered giving you an easy death, but since you don''t appreciate my kindness, I''ll make you suffer!" Irontooth snarled. Gritting his teeth, he pulled the Steel Puppet from his bag. 2000 Combating the Steel Puppe Chapter 2000 - Combating the Steel Puppet The Steel Puppet stood eight meters tall and was comprised entirely of Fine Iron. It also wore thick, heavy, pitch-black armor. The Steel Puppet had two heads and four mechanical arms, each wielding a gigantic saber. Despite the Steel Puppet''s inactive state, it radiated a dreadful aura. "The boss is finally getting serious!" "Amazing! So, this is the Guild''s Steel Puppet?" When they saw the colossal Steel Puppet, Sin Realm''s members recovered their senses. They no longer feared Shi Feng, but cheered with excitement. A Steel Puppet? Shi Feng was quite surprised to see the massive construct. Like the Guardian Puppet, the Steel Puppet was a Bronze Puppet with the Strength of an apex Tier 2 being. Its Defense was even greater than the Hell Tank''s. Like the Hell Tank and other war weapons, Bronze Puppets didn''t have HP, but durability. The Steel Puppet was capable of several times the Hell Tank''s combat power, the perfect weapon to deal with players and take down buildings. "Ye Feng, you should be pleased! You''ll be this Steel Puppet''s first victim!" Irontooth said, sneering as he sat in the Steel Puppet''s control module. This was the first time Sin Realm would use the Steel Puppet since obtaining it. The Guild simply hadn''t needed to use it yet. Operating the Steel Puppet also cost a large number of Magic Crystals. Just to activate it, one needed to store 1,000 Magic Crystals within the Puppet For every minute the Steel Puppet was operated, it would consume 50 crystals. In other words, the Steel Puppet could only operate for 20 minutes at full capacity. To make matters worse, using the Steel Puppet''s Skills would cost additional Magic Crystals. Sin Realm hadn''t bothered to use the Puppet for these reasons, even when dealing with other Guilds. Irontooth was only allowed to use the Steel Puppet now because Lone Beacon wanted to teach Zero Wing a lesson. As Irontooth fell silent, he used the Steel Puppet to advance on Shi Feng. The Steel Puppet''s Movement Speed was extremely high, crossing 50 yards in less than two seconds. Upon arriving before Shi Feng, the Steel Puppet swung one of its sabers at the Swordsman. Despite the attack''s casual nature, its power was at the peak of Tier 3. The wind even howled as the saber soared towards Shi Feng. So fast! Shi Feng immediately responded by swinging Killing Ray. Boom! With the sound of an explosion, the saber''s trajectory altered, and it crashed into the ground beside the Swordsman, the impact tearing a 20-meter-long gash in the ground. Shi Feng instantly lost over 20,000 HP... "You really are something to survive an attack like that! But how will you fare against four sabers?" Irontooth brandished his three remaining weapons after seeing his target only lose a small fraction of his HP. Since a player controlled the Steel Puppet, all three sabers accurately flew towards Shi Feng''s defensive blind spots. Boom... Boom... Boom... As one slash after another descended, the blades devastated the ground around Shi Feng. The earth trembled violently under the resulting impacts, and some of Sin Realm''s nearby players lost their footing. The Steel Puppet''s devastatingly destructive power stupefied Sin Realm''s members. Setting aside the Steel Puppet''s Strength, its Attack Speed alone shocked many of the watching players. The sabers were far too quick, and even the Tier 2 players realized that they''d be hard-pressed to block a single strike. If they had to combat all three sabers simultaneously, they''d die on the spot Once the dust settled, however, they were even more shocked. Shi Feng still stood beside the Steel Puppet''s swords. He hadn''t died in the flurry of attacks, and this time, his HP was fully intact... As expected of a Bronze Combat Puppet Its combat power is amazing. The Hell Tank is nothing in comparison, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the deformed terrain around him. If he hadn''t activated Power of Darkness in time, he would''ve likely lost more than half of his total HP. Controlling a Combat Puppet was very similar to controlling a Divine Beast Players essentially merged with the Combat Puppet, and although they couldn''t control the Puppet as easily as they did their own bodies, executing simple attacks at maximum efficiency wouldn''t be difficult Moreover, a Bronze Combat Puppet''s every attack contained the Strength and speed of Tier 2 at its peak. It was the equivalent of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. In addition, every attack a Combat Puppet executed would contain its full power, like a player at their peak. Even a Tier 3 expert would be at a disadvantage against a Bronze Combat Puppet with the same combat standard. "A Berserk Skill? Do you think that can save you?" Irontooth sneered when he saw the black aura around Shi Feng. He then raised his four sabers and attacked again. Although he couldn''t control the Steel Puppet as nimbly as his own body, he was confident of defeating a real Tier 3 expert with the Puppet''s Strength, speed, and four arms. "We''ll see about that!" Shi Feng brandished his two swords to meet the four sabers. Sword''s Orbit! A galaxy of stars formed around Shi Feng, and he either blocked or deflected every attack Irontooth launched with the Steel Puppet "How is this possible?! How is he keeping up with the Steel Puppet?!" Sin Realm''s members watched the battle with dropped jaws as the Steel Puppet was rendered ineffective against Shi Feng. However, none of them knew that Shi Feng''s Attributes could normally rival a Great Lord''s of the same level. After using Power of Darkness, his Strength was as high as an ordinary Grand Lord''s under the Intermediate Magic Array''s suppression. He was also as fast as a Tier 3 player of the same level. Hence, the Steel Puppet''s Basic Attributes were only slightly higher than his, and Shi Feng could easily make up for the gap with his techniques. He''s actually so strong? Irontooth''s expression darkened when he realized that he couldn''t gain any ground against Shi Feng. He had never thought that this Swordman''s Attributes were so high that they could rival the Steel Puppet''s. After trading blows for a short moment, Shi Feng lost interest in passively defending himself. He started to find opportunities to attack the Steel Puppet. Dang! Dang! Dang! Dazzling sparks filled the air as Shi Feng''s swords stabbed and slashed at the Puppet, but despite taking multiple attacks, there wasn''t a single mark on the Puppet''s armor. "It''s useless! Even if you have heaven-defying Basic Attributes, they are nothing before the Steel Puppet''s Defense! I want to see just how long your Berserk Skill will keep you alive!" Irontooth growled, sneering. He was fully confident in the Steel Puppet''s Defense, which had Tier 3 defensive capabilities. Only a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species'' attacks could reduce its durability. Ordinary Grand Lords would only accomplish the feat if they used particularly powerful Skills. "Is that so?" Shi Feng chuckled. He then activated Blade Liberation and slashed at the Puppet again. Hua! Suddenly, a visible tear appeared on the Steel Puppet''s armor... 2001 Fire Spirit Appears Chapter 2001 - Fire Spirit Appears The Steel Puppet stumbled four steps back after Shi Feng''s attack, nearly losing its footing. How is this possible?! Shock filled Irontooth''s eyes as he stared at his Puppet''s cut. With a single attack, the Steel Puppet had instantly lost 3 points of its 1,000 total durability. Shi Feng''s Attack Power was ridiculously high, practically rivaling Mythic monsters. Irontooth wasn''t the only one dumbfounded, either. Sin Realm''s nearby players were stunned. They had never considered that a player with the strength to stand against the Steel Puppet would exist at this stage of the game. Rather than a player, Shi Feng was a monster. After his first attack succeeded, Shi Feng charged towards the Puppet once more. Shadow Blade! Ten strikes thrust toward the colossal construction, each attack carrying 100% of Shi Feng''s Strength. "Scram!" Irontooth bellowed as he controlled his Puppet. The Steel Puppet''s four arms began to rotate, creating a storm that countered all ten of Shi Feng''s attacks. The Puppet''s sabers created wind blades as it blocked the attacks, which flew towards Shi Feng, forcing him to defend himself. The storm calmed after three seconds, resulting in a severameter-deep crater where the Steel Puppet stood The 50-yard- radius area around the construct was void of life. So, this is one of the Steel Puppet''s Skills? Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he watched his adversary. Truly amazing. It seems that it''s truly impossible to defeat a Bronze Combat Puppet as a Tier 2 player. Every one of the Steel Puppet''s attacks resembled a Defense Turret. The fact that it had four arms meant it wielded four turrets. It could launch attacks without rest. Only, unlike actual Defense Turrets, the Steel Puppet wasn''t capable of ranged attacks. Even so, it was strong enough to trouble any ordinary Tier 3 expert. Furthermore, the Steel Puppet had high Defense and powerful Skills, every one of which was more powerful than the average Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell. These were the reasons that the various major powers used Combat Puppets as their most devastating trump cards. Although Shi Feng had the strength to fight any ordinary Mythic Monster while suppressed by an Intermediate Magic Array after activating Twofold Berserk, the compounded Skills only lasted a little over 20 seconds. He couldn''t defeat the Steel Puppet in such a short time. "Ye Feng, although you are quite strong, the Steel Puppet isn''t limited to normal attacks! I''ll give you a taste of its true power!" Irontooth sneered as he glared at Shi Feng. He had been surprised that Shi Feng had actually damaged his Puppet, but the Steel Puppet had three Skills that were incomparably powerful. The Skill he had used to drive off Shi Feng had been a Defensive Skill with a powerful knockback effect. When activated, the Skill would force all enemies within a 50-yard radius back. Both of the Puppet''s remaining Skills were Offensive Skills: Steel Meteor and Death''s Judgment. Steel Meteor was a singletarget Skill, whereas Death''s Judgment was an AOE. Since both Skills consumed a lot of Magic Crystals, he had avoided using them, but he didn''t have the leeway to conserve Magic Crystals with how this fight had progressed. Suddenly, the Steel Puppet''s back bulged. Hundreds of magic bullets shot out of its back and flew towards the distant Shi Feng. Although each magic bullet only contained power at the peak of Tier 3, the attack could even instant-kill a Tier 3 player since it fired several hundred at once. However, as everyone expected the magic bullets to shred Shi Feng, golden, divine runes began to appear around the Swordsman. The moment the magic bullets encountered the divine runes, they evaporated like snowflakes landing on a burning furnace. In the blink of an eye, the several hundred magic bullets vanished as if they had never existed... An Invulnerability Skill? Irontooth''s expression darkened slightly as he watched the divine runes circling Shi Feng''s body. But then he smiled and said, "Steel Meteor only has a 30-second Cooldown. I want to see just how you plan to block the next wave." Sin Realm''s watching members laughed. Shi Feng might possess heaven-defying combat power, but at the end of the day, he was only a player. How could a lone player possibly defeat a war weapon? "I might not be a match for the Steel Puppet, but I doubt that is the case for your magic barrier," Shi Feng said as he glanced at Irontooth. He then dashed towards the magic barrier. "Crap! Stop him!" Irontooth shouted to his subordinates. As Shi Feng had said, although he couldn''t defeat the Steel Puppet, he''d have no issues destroying the Earth''s Wind Magic Array. The barrier could only endure a few Mythic-level hits before it shattered. Sin Realm''s members responded by bombarding Shi Feng with ranged attacks, but with Twofold Berserk, Shi Feng''s Movement Speed was just too high. Sin Realm''s members could barely follow him with their eyes, much less land an attack. In a split second, Shi Feng had reached the Earth''s Wind''s magic barrier. Purgatory Pentaslash! As the five sword lights descended, the impact cracked the magic barrier. Boom! Following an explosion, the Earth''s Wind Magic Array transformed into countless particles of light and disappeared. Shi Feng immediately recovered his Basic Attributes and regained the ability to use tools. "Ye Feng, don''t even think about escaping!" Irontooth charged forward with his Steel Puppet as the magic barrier faded. Although Shi Feng was very fast, the Swordsman still wasn''t as strong as the Steel Puppet. As long as he kept up the chase, he''d have no problems reaching his target. "Escape?" Shi Feng laughed. "It''s impolite not to return what one receives. Since you want a fight, I''ll give you one!" After saying so, Shi Feng retrieved the Fire Spirit from his bag and spent 300 Magic Crystals to activate it. Suddenly, a massive, crimson magic array appeared above him, enveloping the battlefield. The array began to fervently absorb the ambient Mana, concentrating it to form an eight-meter-tall Flame Dragon. This Flame Dragon was none other than the Fire Spirit. Roar! The Fire Spirit released a furious cry as it descended, its roar shaking the very ground beneath it. At the same time, a frightening aura spread across the ]battlefield. "A Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species?!" "How?!" The Sin Realm members, who had been charging towards Shi Feng, slid to a halt as they stared at the Fire Spirit, which was roughly as large as the Steel Puppet, in abject horror. 2002 Steel Puppet Destroyed Chapter 2002 - Steel Puppet Destroyed The Fire Spirit''s appearance stunned Irontooth. He''s just an Honorary Elder, yet Zero Wing gave him a Tier 3 Archaic Species to protect himself? Both surprise and envy overcame Irontooth as he stared at the Flame Dragon before him. He had never even heard of a tool that could summon a Tier 3 Archaic Species. A Tier 3 Summoning Scroll was already enough to cause a fight between the various major powers. Despite Sin Realm''s success in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the Guild had only collected eight Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, and every one was reserved as a final trump card. The Guild didn''t even allow their players access to these Scrolls while raiding a particularly important Field Boss. They would only be used when the Guild faced annihilation. Yet, Shi Feng had just summoned a Tier 3 Archaic Species, a creature even more powerful than those summoned with Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls. The Guild had only allowed him to use the Steel Puppet because it could be used repeatedly. It only needed to be refueled with Magic Crystals. Had the Steel Puppet been a Consumable item like Summoning Scrolls, he definitely wouldn''t have been allowed to use it against Shi Feng. When the other Sin Realm members saw the angry Fire Spirit, they couldn''t help but take a step back. They didn''t back away because the Fire Spirit was a Tier 3 Archaic Species, but because the Dragon''s aura was growing more intense, which felt painfully uncomfortable. Moreover, a radius of 30 yards around the Flame Dragon had transformed into a lava field due to its appearance. Players could feel the lava''s scorching heat from over a hundred yards away, and those with low Fire Resistance began to lose HP... The players around the Fire Spirit had no choice but to back up. Only Irontooth, who sat within the Steel Puppet, remained unaffected. "Go! Kill him!" Shi Feng commanded, pointing at the Steel Puppet. Upon receiving Shi Feng''s command, the Fire Spirit roared again before extending its wings with a flap. "Ye Feng, do you think you can destroy my Steel Puppet with one Tier 3 Archaic Species?" Irontooth sneered disdainfully as he watched the approaching Fire Spirit. He immediately controlled the Steel Puppet to meet the Flame Dragon in battle. At the end of the day, a monster was still a monster. Monsters were only capable of defeating players due to their powerful Attributes. However, the Steel Puppet was different. Although controlling the Steel Puppet was a challenge, it would still exhibit greater combat standards than the average monster when driven by a Refinement Realm expert like Irontooth. In a situation where the difference in Attributes meant nothing, the Steel Puppet could easily destroy the Fire Spirit. It would be akin to an expert beating up an ordinary player. The Steel Puppet swung two of its four sabers at the Fire Spirit''s claws. At the same time, it swung the other two sabers at the Fire Spirit''s head and neck. However, just as the four sabers were about to strike the Flame Dragon, the summoned creature altered its trajectory. Not only had it stopped the two sabers that aimed for its claws, but it had also diverted the blades to collide with the other pair of weapons, cleverly neutralizing the Steel Puppet''s offensive. The Flame Spirit also swept its tail at its opponent, catching the Steel Puppet off guard with the additional attack. Peng! As the Fire Spirit''s burning tail slammed into its target, the construct was forced to take a step back, now sporting a new burn mark. What... Irontooth''s heart skipped a beat as he saw the scorched line across the Steel Puppet''s chest. Irontooth had fought and defeated countless experts in God''s Domain. Hence, he could roughly determine an opponent''s combat standards after a brief clash. After the exchange with the Dragon before him, Irontooth was certain that it''s combat standards were in no way inferior to an expert player''s, and not just any ordinary expert. By Irontooth''s estimates, the Fire Spirit''s combat standard should reach the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. It was terrifying. His combat standards while controlling the Combat Puppet were only on par with players that could reach the fifth floor''s early-stage. He barely hit the mark of an ordinary expert. Even so, he was confident of facing multiple Tier 2 apex experts at once and coming out victorious. Yet, not only did this Flame Dragon have the Strength and speed to rival the Steel Puppet, but it also had higher combat standards than the construct. Just thinking about it caused a chill to crawl down Irontooth''s spine. With such power, the Fire Spirit would be even more frightening than a Steel Puppet in large-scale combat. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s eyes glowed after watching the exchange. As expected of an Advanced Fire Spirit. It already possesses such a high combat standard despite only being a Tier 3 Archaic Species. It''s no wonder why the Tier 5 Advanced Fire Spirit in the past had forced Tier 5 experts to run with their tails between their legs. Shi Feng was ecstatic right now. Unlike an ordinary Fire Spirit, an Advanced Fire Spirit''s intellect wasn''t constant. The more Mysterious Flames an Advanced Fire Spirit devoured, the greater intellect it would possess. It would have no trouble surpassing Refinement Realm experts'' combat standards. Including the Dragon''s superior Basic Attributes, not even apex experts of the same standard would be a match for the Advanced Fire Spirit. Furthermore, the Advanced Fire Spirit had a plethora of Curses. "Ye Feng, I have to give it to you! I didn''t think you would use such a precious tool to save your skin!" Irontooth said as he glared at Shi Feng. Gritting his teeth, he turned to look at his teammates and said, "We''re retreating!" After this last encounter, he realized what outcome awaited him if he continued this fight. While he did not mind dying here, he couldn''t afford to lose the Steel Puppet. The Fire Spirit had already proven that it could damage the construct, and if this battle dragged on, there was a very high chance that the Dragon before him would deplete the Steel Puppet''s durability and turn it into a pile of scrap metal... "Leaving?" Shi Feng smiled. "Do you think I''ll allow that?" "You couldn''t stop us even if you wanted to!" Irontooth snapped. The Steel Puppet''s combat power was at the apex of Tier 3 due to its overwhelming Strength and speed. Even a Tier 3 Archaic Species would struggle to catch up to it. "Is that so?" Shi Feng retrieved the Ring of Gospel and activated World Projection. With Shi Feng in the center, World Projection enveloped a 3,000-yard radius. World Projection suppressed the flow of Mana within range. By doing so, it reduced players'' physique and Basic Attributes. Players would also be prevented from teleporting and communicating with the outside world. Although World Projection couldn''t reduce a combat machine''s Attributes, it affected the Steel Puppet''s performance by stagnating the flow of Mana. Controlling it would become far more difficult, and even the Steel Puppet''s speed would be affected. The moment World Projection took effect, the Fire Spirit resumed its attack on the construct. This time, damaging the Steel Puppet was much easier for the Flame Dragon, and the construct lost one point of durability after another. Shi Feng wasn''t idle in the meantime. He jumped in the fray, hunting down Sin Realm''s other members. While he was still under the effects of Twofold Berserk and World Projection suppressed his targets, Shi Feng slaughtered the fleeing Sin Realm players. "No!" Irontooth''s heart pounded as he watched the Steel Puppet''s durability dwindle. However, no matter how Irontooth tried to flee, he couldn''t shake off the Flame Dragon. During the chase, the Fire Spirit cast one Tier 3 Curse after another, rapidly devouring the Steel Puppet''s durability. 952.. . 814.. . 648.. . Finally, before five minutes had passed since the Fire Spirit had graced the battlefield, both the Steel Puppet and Irontooth had been obliterated by the Flame Dragon''s Tier 3 Curses... 2003 Famous in Purple Thorns Chapter 2003 - Famous in Purple Thorns Crimson flames devoured the forest outside of the Elemental Altar. When the expert players gathering herbs nearby turned to look, they were stupefied. They weren''t surprised by the burning forest, but by the eight-meter-tall Flame Dragon that flew above the inferno. The Dragon''s wingspan was over 20 meters, and its flaming body illuminated the dark, smokey sky. "A Dragon?" "Crap! That''s a Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species! Isn''t this area only supposed to have up to Level 75 monsters?" "Is some kind of event taking place over there?" Curiosity filled these experts as they watched the Flame Dragon. They began to head towards it to investigate. Events were commonplace in God''s Domain, and if players could complete them, they could receive bountiful rewards. Lying in the sea of fire was the Steel Puppet''s heavily damaged body. As expected of a Bronze Combat Puppet, it certainly wasn''t easy to destroy. Anticipation filled Shi Feng as he gazed at the destroyed Steel Puppet. He had his own Guardian Puppet Design, and as long as the Candlelight Trading Firm nurtured enough Master Lifestyle players and collected the necessary materials, he''d start producing his own Bronze Combat Puppets. Like other war weapons, a force required a certain number of Combat Puppets to display their true potential. Had Sin Realm arrived with three or four of these constructs, Shi Feng would''ve found it difficult to escape, much less win the fight. Multiple Combat Puppets were necessary due to their overly-monotonous attacks. Dodging and deflecting their attacks was simple, but if enough of these attacks targeted a player, even peak experts would fall. A single Bronze Combat Puppet was already capable of displaying such power. Shi Feng found it truly hard to imagine what kind of power ten, or even a hundred, Bronze Combat Puppets could exhibit. Taking down Guild Towns would be child''s play. As Shi Feng recalled the Fire Spirit and prepared to leave using the Seven Luminaries Ring, he noticed two golden lights from beside the Steel Puppet''s remains. Irontooth''s loot? Shi Feng approached curiously. However, he was astonished after picking up the two items. One of the items was a pair of Level 55 Secret-Silver ranked plate armor boots, and the other was a gemstone block within a steel frame. Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment was considered top-tier at this stage of the game. Even first-rate Guilds had a very small number of such items. Shi Feng assumed the boots had dropped from Irontooth. However, Irontooth wasn''t the origin of the gemstone block. Rather, it had dropped from the destroyed Steel Puppet. The Steel Core! This had been the Steel Puppet''s power source, a must-have item when producing Combat Puppets. Combat Puppet''s power sources were the most difficult part to produce. Even Intermediate Master Forgers had an incredibly low success rate when forging them. With this, I''ve just earned a free Combat Puppet. Shi Feng grinned at the undamaged Steel Core. Now, he only needed to construct a Guardian Puppet''s frame and insert this core. Fortunately, while a Bronze Combat Puppet''s power source was difficult to produce, the other parts were not. Basic Master Lifestyle players could easily handle the rest. After Shi Feng stored the Steel Core, he teleported to the Icefire Mountain Range with the Seven Luminaries Ring. After some time, the Tier 2 Assassins that had been busy collecting herbs quietly snuck onto the battlefield. However, upon seeing the fallen Steel Puppet and its surroundings, they were stunned. "What a huge robot!" "What''s going on?" "What happened here? The terrain has been utterly destroyed!" Once the crowd recovered from their shock, they noticed a player''s corpse lying near the Steel Puppet. However, when they saw the player''s appearance, they were flabbergasted. "Sin Realm''s Irontooth? Why is he here?" "This can''t be real, right? Irontooth is one of Sin Realm''s seven great experts! He''s the lead MT of Sin Realm''s main force! How could he have died here?" "Hold on. There are traces of another player, but they seem to have teleported away with a Return Scroll or something." "Did they kill Irontooth?" When the crowd considered the possibility, a chill ran down their spines. Some of the players immediately posted what they had found on the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s official forums, and the matter caused a sensation among the kingdom''s general populace. "Amazing! Someone actually killed Sin Realm''s Irontooth!" "But who would be so bold?" "Irontooth died near Glory Town. Crocodile Breaker also died in the town earlier. It must be Ye Feng''s doing. There''s no way this is a coincidence." "He killed two of Sin Realm''s great experts so soon after arriving in the kingdom? Amazing! Ye Feng is simply awesome!" "Sin Realm definitely won''t let Ye Feng off the hook now." "Sure enough, Zero Wing is immensely powerful. It seems that our kingdom is going to get interesting." The Purple Thorns Kingdom''s population couldn''t help but marvel at Zero Wing''s strength. Despite being alone, Shi Feng had been responsible for the downfall of two of Sin Realm''s great experts. It was clear how powerful Zero Wing was through these consecutive achievements. While Shi Feng''s first success might have been luck, could the same be said about his second? For a time, the name ''Ye Feng'' became well-known to the kingdom''s players. Independent players that had feared Sin Realm now began to apply to join Zero Wing. Meanwhile, news of this matter reached Sin Realm''s Residence in Purple Thorns City. "What did you say? The Steel Puppet has been destroyed?" Lone Beacon''s eyes twitched when he heard his subordinate''s report. A frosty aura enveloped the Guild Leader''s office. "That Steel Puppet had Tier 3 defensive capabilities. How could a Tier 2 player possibly destroy it?" "It''s true, Guild Leader. That Ye Feng used a treasure to summon a Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species," Feather Hunter, who reported to Lone Beacon, explained. Since he had only been tasked to track Shi Feng, he hadn''t fought alongside Irontooth. Instead, he had observed the situation from afar, escaping Shi Feng''s detection. Even so, he had broken out in a cold sweat while he had watched Shi Feng slaughter his Guildmates. He had also been relieved that he had refrained from joining the battle. "A Tier 3 Archaic Species? How generous of Zero Wing!" Lone Beacon was astonished by the news. He had never heard of such a treasure, yet Zero Wing had spent it on a player that wasn''t even one of the Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders. However, Lone Beacon quickly calmed and continued coldly, "People are starting to look down at us since we haven''t expanded our territory beyond the Purple Thorns Kingdom. And now, even a measly Guild like Zero Wing dares to pick a fight! Notify everyone in the Guild! From now on, they are to kill every Zero Wing member they come across!" Understood!" Feather Hunter nodded sharply. 2004 Thunder Axe City Chapter 2004 - Thunder Axe City After about fifteen minutes of teleporting with the Seven Luminaries Ring, Shi Feng finally arrived in the Icefire Mountain Range. Even from the range''s entrance, Shi Feng could feel the bitingly cold wind against his face. If not for his high Ice Resistance, he would''ve frozen into an ice sculpture and died. Although the Icefire Mountain Range wasn''t a forbidden land, it wasn''t an easy place for ordinary players to visit, either. The mountain range was one-fifth the size of an ordinary kingdom, and either fire or ice enveloped the mountain''s outer region. This map only had two entrances, one within the icy tundra, and the other within the flaming inferno. Both entry points led to the mysterious Thunder Axe City. Fortunately, the ice zone wasn''t as demanding on players as the fire zone. The ice zone''s monsters ranged between Level 70 and 85, and they onl challenge was the area''s high Ice Resistance requirement. If players wanted to survive in this cold, they''d need at least 100 points in their Ice Resistance. Any fewer and players would lose HP constantly, and the low temperature would reduce their mobility. If players wanted to fight at their peak here, they''d need at least 120 points of Ice Resistance. The fire zone''s monsters ranged between Level 80 and 90, and players would be fine with 80 Fire Resistance; 100 if they wanted to fight unaffected. Shi Feng didn''t linger around the entrance, summoning his Mount and venturing into the mountain range. All Teleportation Skills and tools were prohibited within the Icefire Mountain Range. Players had to rely on their own feet or Mounts to explore the map. Although there weren''t a lot of monsters in the ice zone''s outer region, the mountain range was a natural maze. The paths through the range were complicated and often crossed each other. There were also plenty of hidden magic traps. Depending on a trap''s strength, one could die on the spot or be stuck in place for several hours. Even though Shi Feng was somewhat familiar with the Icefire Mountain Range, he didn''t dare to proceed carelessly. Since Shi Feng was the first player to explore this map, he was able to claim several Treasure Chests as he explored the mountain range. After over eight hours of maneuvering through the ice zone''s outer region, Shi Feng had obtained a total of five Treasure Chests, four of which were Bronze Rank and one was Mysterious-Iron rank. This was far more than what one would expect to find exploring a map within a kingdom. Weapons and equipment became scarcer after Level 50, and Treasure Chests were even rare. One would be very fortunate to come across a Bronze Treasure Chest in Level 50 maps or above. Obtaining a Mysterious-Iron Treasure Chest in a Level 70 map was akin to securing the loot of a Level 70 Grand Lord without expending any energy. As Shi Feng expected, the Treasure Chests contained Level 70 equipment. The most valuable of the multiple pieces he had obtained was a pair of Level 70 Secret-Silver ranked cloth armor gloves. He had also gained some potions, Tier 1 Magic Scrolls, and Magic Crystals, all of which could fetch a considerable sum if sold on the market. "I''m finally here," Shi Feng muttered as he arrived before a steep mountainside and stared at the cave entrance that was behind a magic array. This was where his Exploration Quest began, and it was the only entrance to Thunder Axe City. Even after the various superpowers'' peak experts had reached Level 75 in the past, they still hadn''t been able to break through this array. Players had only been successful after reaching Level 77 and donning Level 75 and 80 top-tier equipment. Following which, Shi Feng retrieved the Magic Scroll the Adventurer''s Association had given him and used it to remove the magic array on the cave''s entrance. The moment Shi Feng removed the magic array, an enraged roar reached him from within the cave, echoing throughout the mountain range and causing the surrounding monsters to flee. What a powerful pressure! It''s no wonder why ordinary experts had refused to enter this cave in the past. Even Shi Feng felt slightly uncomfortable as the pressure washed over him. Despite this, however, Shi Feng didn''t hesitate in the slightest as he entered the cave. Once he stepped inside, a new magic array sealed the cave entrance once more, entrapping the pressure within. The cave''s interior wasn''t dark; on the contrary, it was as bright as day. Various crystals that radiated a faint glow covered the cave walls, and armed Gargoyles wandered the cavern. These Gargoyles occasionally emerged and entered the tunnel at the other end of the cavern. [Enraged Gargoyle] (Elemental Creature, Lord) Level 75 HP 15,000,000/15,000,000 [Gargoyle Warrior) (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 76 HP 40,000,000/40,000,000 Although these Gargoyles were not particularly strong, they moved in groups of three to five. Moreover, there wasn''t much distance between each group. If players weren''t careful, they might attract two or more groups of monsters at once. While this might not be a challenge for a group of Tier 2 players, players had to face the Exploration Quest alone. Meanwhile, individual Tier 2 players would struggle to defeat the Great Lord ranked Gargoyle Warriors. It was only natural that so many peak experts in the past had failed to reach Thunder Axe City, even after reaching Level 75. Following which, Shi Feng threw Howling Thunder at an Enraged Gargoyle. Xiu! An arc of blue lightning streaked toward one of the wandering Enraged Gargoyles, but just as Howling Thunder was about to find its mark, the Gargoyle''s eyes glowed with a red light. The monster then swept its stone axe in a horizontal arc. Dang! A crisp, metallic clang echoed throughout the cavern. What fast reaction speed! Shi Feng was astonished. Although his attack was relaxed, his aim had been perfect. The targeted Enraged Gargoyle''s back had been turned towards him, as well. Normally, the attack would''ve even struck elite players, yet this monster had reacted in time to block it... Before Shi Feng could launch another attack, the Enraged Gargoyle and three of its companions charged toward him with even higher Movement Speed than a Tier 2 Assassin expert. "What about this, then?" Shi Feng threw Howling Thunder again. Tier 1 Throwing Skill, Phantom Thorns! Suddenly, Howling Thunder split into over a dozen copies as it flew toward the four Enraged Gargoyles, accurately aimed for the Gargoyle''s blind spots. Dang... Dang... Dang... A series of metallic clangs echoed throughout the cavern as the Enraged Gargoyles blocked most of the incoming attacks, but one phantom slipped past and struck a Gargoyle''s rocky form. The attack forced the Enraged Gargoyle to stumble one step back and lose over 10,000 HP. Their combat standards are so high? Shi Feng was actually surprised to see the Enraged Gargoyle stumble backward. Shi Feng learned through this clash that these Enraged Gargoyles'' combat standards were on par with the Trial Tower''s fourth-floor. They weren''t far behind expert players in terms of combat standards. If an ordinary Tier 2 expert encountered four Lord ranked monsters with such high combat standards, their death would be guaranteed. Only Refinement Realm experts and stronger players would have any hope against them. Now, Shi Feng, more or less, understood why the past''s Level 75 peak experts hadn''t been able to activate Thunder Axe City. If the monsters at the beginning of the quest were so tough, it was easy to imagine how challenging the monsters would be further down the tunnel. Although these four Enraged Gargoyles were impressively strong, against Shi Feng, who had the Attributes of a Level 70 Great Lord, they were a joke. Shi Feng took less than ten minutes to eliminate all four Gargoyles. When the Enraged Gargoyles died and dropped their loot, one shining item, in particular, caught Shi Feng''s attention. 2005 Treasure Trove of Materials Chapter 2005 - Treasure Trove of Materials These Enraged Gargoyles actually have a chance of dropping this? Shi Feng could not help but become a little excited as he stared at the glowing, golden pebble on the ground. This pebble was known as the Earth''s Spirit This was an extremely rare material that only dropped from special earth-type Elemental Creatures; ordinary earth-type Elemental had no chance of dropping it. Meanwhile, on the market, one Earth''s Spirit could sell for 50 Silver. Furthermore, one could synthesize an Earth Essence from 100 Earth''s Spirits. Like Sun Essence, Earth Essence could be used when crafting power sources for mechanical tools. It could also strengthen the power cores, infusing the core with Attributed Mana. Shi Feng had actually obtained an Earth''s Spirit after killing four Enraged Gargoyles. Why wouldn''t he be excited? Even now, Zero Wing had only collected a few Sun Essences. They were simply too difficult to procure, and Earth Essence was just as rare. When Shi Feng turned to look at the rest of the wandering Enraged Gargoyles, he realized that this cavern was a true treasure trove. He then retrieved the Bible of Darkness and Fire Spirit, summoning a Level 85, Tier 3 Demon and the Level 80 Flame Dragon to annihilate the Enraged Gargoyles. He had no intention of slowly grinding these monsters. Instead, he directed his Demon to lure and gather multiple groups of these Enraged Gargoyles and Gargoyle Warriors. The Enraged Gargoyles were only Lords, and both types of Gargoyles were melee monsters. The Level 85, Tier 3 Demon could easily maneuver around most of their attacks. The Demon had gathered every monster within the cavern and a few from the distant tunnel. There were easily over a hundred Gargoyles chasing the Demon. So many monsters could annihilate a 1,000-man elite team without effort, and not even the Level 85, Tier 3 Demon would last long against the group. In fact, the Demon had already lost more than a quarter of its HP by luring these monsters. If the Demon hadn''t had such a level advantage, these Gargoyles, all of which possessed incredible combat standards, would''ve long since devoured it. "Excellent! Attack!" Shi Feng ordered the Fire Spirit to join the fray as the Tier 3 Demon ran back from the distant tunnel. When the Fire Spirit had become a Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species, it had gained plenty of Tier 3 Curses. The Flame Dragon alone could make up for the DPS of several Tier 3 Great Mages. Shortly after the Demon left the tunnel, a sea of fire engulfed the area behind it. The dirt floor under the inferno melted, transforming into a field of molten lava. The moment the Gargoyles entered the lava field, their Movement Speeds decreased by 90% as if they had stepped into a muddy swamp. They also lost over 400,000 HP per second. Joining the attack, Shi Feng used Flame Domain, and a towering fire pillar enveloped the tunnel''s entrance, catching every Gargoyle within. Although his Flame Domain only dealt a little more than -200,000 damage each second, which couldn''t compare to the Fire Spirit''s DPS, it was still an impressive amount of damage. As the Gargoyles tried to flee the lava field, the Flame Dragon cast another Tier 3 Curse. A vortex of raging flames manifested in the center of the Gargoyle army, pulling the monsters into the fire and preventing them from escaping the lava field. At the same time, damages exceeding -300,000 appeared above the Gargoyles'' heads every second, and this damage increased as time passed. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Feng and the Tier 3 Demon used one AOE attack after another. Under the constant bombardment, the Enraged Gargoyles quickly lost all of their HP and collapsed, items appearing beside their corpses, but despite their high levels, they awarded very little EXP. By the time the Gargoyles escaped the lava field, only two dozen or so monsters remained of the 100-plus group. Aside from five Gargoyle Warriors, the surviving monsters were Enraged Gargoyles with only a strand of HP remaining. Shi Feng immediately instructed his Tier 3 Demon and Flame Dragon to destroy the Gargoyle Warriors while he took care of the low-HP Enraged Gargoyles. After another ten minutes or so, every lured Gargoyle was dead, leaving a spread of items behind. Although the dropped items were only materials, Shi Feng was delighted by the outcome. He had gained 16 Earth''s Spirits from this wave, as well as various rare ores. He had even acquired Titan Ore, a metal that was exceptionally rare in the outside world. Although Titan Ore was not as good as Fine Titan Ore, which could be smelted into Fine Titan Ingots directly, Shi Feng could create Fine Titan Ingots with his harvest However, he''d need ten times as much Titan Ore to do so. After tidying up the loot, Shi Feng continued to rely on the Tier 3 Demon to lure monsters from the tunnel, clearing the tunnel out while advancing. The cave was like a maze, and the farther Shi Feng ventured, the more monsters he encountered. The monsters also grew stronger as he progressed through the tunnel system. However, this strength increase wasn''t in the form of Basic Attributes, but combat standards. The monsters he had initially fought had combat standards at the early stage of the Trial Tower''s fourth floor, but he soon encountered monsters on par with the fourth floor''s middle-stage. While this increase might not seem significant, the difficulty of eliminating these monsters increased by a large margin. If not for the Tier 3 Demon and Fire Spirit''s Attribute and level advantages, Shi Feng wouldn''t have been able to explore this maze. However, as Shi Feng traveled deeper into the cave system, his group''s overall combat power also increased. With the Bible of Darkness''s Cooldown and duration, he could command up to three Demons at a time. Combined with the Fire Spirit''s overwhelming firepower, dealing with large groups of Gargoyles wasn''t much of a problem, although his progress through the tunnel was painfully slow. After fighting for four consecutive days, Shi Feng finally emerged from the underground maze. Although several traps had nearly claimed his life, he, fortunately, had the Flame Dragon to help with the burden, forcing his way through the tunnel. Although the past four days had been an incredible challenge for Shi Feng, he had secured a bountiful harvest He had collected more than 3,200 Earth''s Spirits and over 11,000 pieces of Titan Ore. If sold, he could easily make a fortune off these items. Despite how little EXP the Gargoyles rewarded, Shi Feng had slain enough to raise his experience bar to 43% of Level 70. His leveling speed was only slightly slower than ordinary expert players of his level. As Shi Feng left the underground maze, he arrived before a vast, ancient shrine. Although the shrine had fallen into ruin, the gigantic crystal suspended in the center still shone brilliantly and exuded a frighteningly dense Mana. When Shi Feng entered the shrine, he felt a chill assault his body, and he unconsciously halted his advanced. Is the system joking? The corners of Shi Feng''s eyes twitched as he stared at the crystalline statue in the center of the shrine. The towering, crystalline statue''s eyes glowed with a crimson light, and the dense, ambient Mana flooded into the statue, disintegrating the crystal and revealing the monster within the shell. As more of the monster''s body was exposed to the open air, its aura grew stronger. It took no time at all for its aura to grow stronger than that of an ordinary Mythic monster. Why is a Ferocious Beast guarding this place? Before Shi Feng could process the situation, the Level 80 Mythic ranked Ancient Earth Serpent was freed from its crystalline prison and shot forward. Before the three Tier 3 Demons and Fire Spirit could react, the Earth Serpent threw the summoned creatures, sending them crashing into the surrounding stone pillars. After getting rid of the four obstacles, the serpent spread its jaws and pounced on Shi Feng. 2006 Altar Chapter 2006 - Altar The Ancient Earth Serpent''s sudden attack caught Shi Feng off guard. Moreover, it was so fast that even Tier 3 apex experts struggle to react in time. Needless to say, responding to this attack was impossible for a Level 70, Tier 2 player like Shi Feng. [Ancient Earth Serpent) (Ferocious Beast, Mythic) Level 80 HP??????/?????? It''s over... Shi Feng could only watch as the Ancient Earth Serpent''s massive jaws descended on him. With no other choice, he activated Absolute Domain, but even he doubted that the Invulnerability Skill would be useful against the Earth Serpent... The Ancient Earth Serpent was an apex monster, even among Ferocious Beasts. It had been capable of slaughtering Gods in ancient times, and its Life Rating was now weaker than a Dragon''s. According to legend, the strongest Ancient Earth Serpent had even devoured Gods. Since the Ancient Earth Serpent''s stomach was a gate to another dimension, the swallowed Gods had been trapped until death had come to claim them. Although the Ancient Earth Serpent before him was only a Level 80 Mythic monster, it was a bona fide Ferocious Beast. He couldn''t avoid being eaten even if he activated an Invulnerability Skill. Sure enough, the Ancient Earth Serpent swallowed Shi Feng whole. After devouring Shi Feng, the Ancient Earth Serpent began to attack the Tier 3 Demons and Flame Dragon, which had just recovered from the previous attack. Meanwhile, Shi Feng found himself surrounded by darkness. Although he hadn''t received any damage, a powerful suction prevented him from moving. He could only allow the force to drag him towards the small dot in the Ancient Earth Serpent''s stomach. Although the dot seemed small, it grew as Shi Feng approached. Have I failed? Shi Feng watched the black dot grow in frustration. Although he had not challenged the Thunder Axe City''s Exploration Quest personally before, he had learned about it in the past Based on what he had heard, the Guardian Boss should''ve been an ordinary Mythic monster. There hadn''t been any mention of a Ferocious Beast. As long as one used the Sealing Stone to reduce the Guardian Boss''s strength, they could complete the Exploration Quest. But if the Guardian Boss were a Ferocious Beast like the Ancient Earth Serpent, the Sealing Stone would be meaningless. Not even Level 80 players could contend with a Level 80 Grand Lord ranked Ancient Earth Serpent. Even summoning a Tier 4 existence to fight would result in the same outcome. The Ancient Earth Serpent''s Life Rating was in no way inferior to that of Dragons. Even at the Grand Lord rank, the Ancient Earth Serpent could easily defeat Tier 4 monsters. Moreover, as a Ferocious Beast, the Ancient Earth Serpent possessed an extraordinary life force. Unlike other monsters, the serpent recovered 2% of its HP per second and wielded heaven-defying Innate Skills. A Level 150 Mythic Ancient Earth Spirit had appeared in God''s Domain in the past. To raid it, a superpower had formed a 100-man expert team of 95 Tier 4 players and five Tier 5 players. The team had been the best any superpower could muster, but it had still been annihilated in the end... The Level 150 Ancient Earth Serpent had only been slain after players had reached Tier 6. Although the Ancient Earth Serpent he currently faced was only a Level 80 Mythic monster, not even a 100-man team of Level 100, Tier 3 players had any hope of defeating it. A short moment later, the mysterious force within the serpent pulled Shi Feng into the black dot. He immediately felt time and space warp around him. When he opened his eyes, he was stupefied by the scene before him. Where is this? Shi Feng observed his surroundings in a daze. He stood on an altar that floated in an endless void. A magic barrier, which prevented this world''s boundless power from crushing the altar, enveloped it. In addition, a colossal serpent of immeasurable length had wrapped itself around the citysized altar. This was none other than the gigantified Ancient Earth Serpent. If not for the magic barrier, Shi Feng had no doubt that the Ancient Earth Serpent could easily devour the altar in a few bites... Examining the altar on which he stood, Shi Feng realized that it was empty. Only twelve light pillars were located in the altar''s center, in addition to an eye-catching Treasure Chest made of Seven Luminaries Crystals at the core. Seven Luminaries Crystal was intensely rare and valuable in God''s Domain. One could sell a fist-sized crystal and earn enough money to live the rest of their life without worrying about food or shelter. Shi Feng couldn''t help but walk towards the Treasure Chest when he saw it, but when he was over 200 yards away, the twelve light pillars released a blinding glow. Responding to his movements, the light pillars launched one beam attack after another at the intruding Swordsman. Not only were these attacks incredibly fast, but they were also nimble and flexible. Twelve light beams assaulted Shi Feng from multiple directions in the blink of an eye. Absolute Domain''s duration had already ended, and not daring to be careless, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and brandished his two swords. Boom... Boom... Boom... Every one of the twelve beam attacks had Tier 4 Strength, and the instant his blades encountered the beams, Shi Feng felt his arms go numb. Fortunately, he had successfully stopped all twelve attacks from landing and deflected a few. In the end, he only lost a little over 10,000 HP. With Heavenly Dragon''s Power, he could afford to block another 40 waves of attacks without a problem. However, as the twelve light pillars brightened again, Shi Feng noticed that the altar had begun to disintegrate around the edges. It seems I have no choice but to give it my all! Shi Feng understood that his life was on the line. If he did not reach the Treasure Chest quickly enough, either the twelve light pillars would kill him, or he''d die from falling into the endless void. Shi Feng dashed toward the Treasure Chest However, as he grew closer to it, avoiding the light pillars'' attacks became trickier. Why does this situation seem so much like the Realms of Truth trial? Once Shi Feng was within 100 yards of the Treasure Chest, he realized that the light pillars'' attacks were not without purpose. He also understood that no player could set foot within 100 yards of the Treasure Chest unless they had entered the Realms of Truth. Is this place testing players'' advancement in the Realms of Truth? The closer Shi Feng got to the Treasure Chest, the more frenzied the twelve light pillars'' attacks became. After some point, the light pillars had begun to launch far more attacks. If he hadn''t already reached the Ascension Realm and weren''t able to utilize the beam attacks to nullify others, he wouldn''t have been able to advance. Faced with more frequent attacks, Shi Feng executed Sword''s Transmigration, the strongest combat technique in his arsenal. Although the combat technique was a massive burden on his Stamina and Concentration, he had no choice if he wanted to move farther. However, he continued to lose HP rapidly after executing Sword''s Transmigration. Seeing this, he activated Void Shield. Once Shi Feng was within 50 yards of the Treasure Chest, the attacks'' ferocity increased yet again. At this time, Void Shield''s energy reserve quickly drained, and his HP began to plummet again. 80%... 60%... 30%... When only 20 yards separated him from his target, Shi Feng knew that he didn''t have enough HP to last as he crossed the remaining distance. He was at his limit. If attacks'' intensity increased any further, he would have no hope of survival. Screw it! Realizing that he couldn''t get through this trial in his current state, Shi Feng steeled his heart and activated Blade Awakening, the second Legacy Berserk Skill he had learned. His Basic Attributes and Physique skyrocketed, significantly improving his reactions. Following which, he activated Blade Dance, a Legacy Skill he was not adept at using. He then retrieved Netherworld Brilliance, the weapon he had ignored in his bag for so long, and used it, Killing Ray, and the Abyssal Blade to block the incoming beam attacks. As he executed Sword''s Transmigration with three swords, the technique''s defensive capabilities rose considerably. In no time at all, Shi Feng arrived before the Seven Luminaries Treasure Chest. 2007 Ring of Gospel Upgraded Chapter 2007 - Ring of Gospel Upgraded The moment Shi Feng entered the circle of the twelve light pillars, the attacks stopped. Seeing this, he breathed out a sigh of relief. At this moment, he had less than 10% of his HP remaining. He would''ve definitely died had he suffered a few more rounds of attacks. Fortunately, he possessed the Skill Blade Dance. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been able to cross the final 20 yards. Not only did Blade Dance allow him to control additional swords_up to a maximum of five_that could exhibit 80% of his Basic Attributes, but the additional swords would also exhibit their own Attributes. This was the reason why Netherworld Brilliance could deflect the beam attacks, which carried Strength at the Tier 4 standard. The extra swords would be much more powerful than the Abyssal Blade phantoms summoned using Nine Dragons Slash. Since Shi Feng had Twofold Berserk activated, Netherworld Brilliance displayed Strength close to rivaling ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level. If not for Blade Dance and Netherworld Brilliance, he definitely wouldn''t have gotten a single step past the 20-yard mark, doomed to be whittled to death by the beam attacks. I wonder what is inside this Treasure Chest to warrant such a test? Even a Domain Realm expert would''ve died to those beam attacks without any achievements in the Realms of Truth. Even now, when Shi Feng looked at the twelve light pillars hovering above him, he still shuddered involuntarily in fear. The difficulty of this quest definitely surpassed that of the Epic rank. Shi Feng found it hard to believe that a player below Level 80 had managed to complete the quest After all, even he, someone who had reached the second stage in the Realms of Truth, had to rely on three swords to defend himselfand just barely passed. After resting for a while, he carefully approached the Treasure Chest made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystals. He then tapped his finger on the chest and chose to activate it Immediately, a loading bar appeared before his eyes. The instant the loading bar filled up and the Treasure Chest opened, the twelve light pillars hovering overhead transformed into twelve streaks of light that flowed into the Treasure Chest, which then released a colorful glow. Shortly afterward, Shi Feng felt a horrific pressure coming from the Treasure Chest This pressure spread out like a boundless ocean. Shi Feng could not move his body at all, not until after the pressure started lightening up. Meanwhile, once the colorful glow disappeared, the items inside the Treasure Chest came into view. The Treasure Chest held a total of three items. One was a Rubik''s Cube made of Seven Luminaries Crystal, one was an orb that gave off a fiery glow, and one was a crystal that gave off a dazzling purple glow. No wonder the test was so difficult! The reward is so generous! Realization immediately dawned upon Shi Feng as he took in these three items. He could not help but grow ecstatic, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. This was especially true when he looked at the fiery orb and the dazzling crystal. The Rubik''s Cube made of Seven Luminaries Crystal was none other than the key to activate Thunder Axe Cityand the item he needed to complete his Exploration Quest. As for the fiery orb, it was an item that even superpowers would fight desperately to obtain. The reason for this was the Tier 3 Mysterious Flame Fallen Earthfire contained within this orb. It was a treasure that could significantly increase the production success rate of forgers and alchemists. To Shi Feng, it was crucial for controlling his Soul Fire. Tier 3 Mysterious Flames were exceedingly rare in God''s Domain; there might not even be one Tier 3 Mysterious Flame in an entire kingdom. Its value was not the slightest bit lower than that of a Fragmented Legendary item. Previously, he had obtained the Purple Thunder Flame, a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, due to luck. The Purple Thunder Flame had allowed him to increase his control over the Soul Fire by a significant margin and greatly reduce the corrosion rate of the Soul Chain. If he could absorb another Tier 3 Mysterious Flame, he might be able to gain full control over the Soul Fire; then, he would not have to worry about the corrosion of the Soul Chain. Of course, he could also feed the Tier 3 Mysterious Flame to the Fire Spirit. However, a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame was not enough to allow the current Fire Spirit to undergo a qualitative transformation, because the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was massive. Shi Feng estimated that he would need at least two Tier 3 Mysterious Flames to upgrade the Fire Spirit to Tier 4. Either that, ortons of Tier 1 and Tier 2 Mysterious Flames. Hence, rather than provide the Fire Spirit with a slight boost in combat power, using the Fallen Earthfire to remove the reaper''s scythe hovering above his head would be more advantageous. The last item inside the Treasure Chest was also the most valuable among the three. Sacred Source Crystal! The value of this item easily surpassed the combined value of two Fragmented Legendary items. The Sacred Source Crystal was so valuable because it was guaranteed to upgrade one item to the Fragmented Legendary rankeven if it was a Bronze item. The Sacred Source Crystal was something every expert player dreamed of obtaining. After all, every weapon and equipment had different compatibility with players. If players were not compatible with a particular weapon or equipment, even if said weapon or equipment was at the Fragmented Legendary rank, they would not be able to exhibit the Fragmented Legendary item''s full potential. However, how precious were Fragmented Legendary items? Even apex experts might not necessarily own one in their lifetimes. One would be fortunate to obtain a Fragmented Legendary item, let alone be picky about one''s compatibility with it Hence, the scarcity of Fragmented Legendary items allowed the Sacred Source Crystal to shine. There were millions and billions of weapons and equipment available in God''s Domain. While Fragmented Legendary items might be extremely rare, items between the Bronze and Dark-Gold rank were everywhere. With the Sacred Source Crystal, players could simply find an item that was compatible with them and upgrade it to the Fragmented Legendary rank. The aid the Sacred Source Crystal provided to players was simply massive. Take weapons for example. With a compatible weapon, their combat power would increase by at least 20%. In the past, when the Sacred Source Crystal made its initial appearance in an Auction House, the various superpowers had hotly contested over it. In the end, one superpower had used three Fragmented Legendary items to trade for the Sacred Source Crystal. Back then, many had found the trade preposterous. As a result, many had ridiculed the buyer for making a loss. However, after obtaining the Sacred Source Crystal, the superpower that purchased it had managed to allow one of its Tier 5 experts to get promoted to the Tier 6 God rank. This achievement had stupefied the various superpowers. They had never considered that a Fragmented Legendary item with high compatibility would provide so much help. Normally, even several Fragmented Legendary items would not necessarily be enough to help a player reach the Tier 6 standard. As for the superpower that sold the Sacred Source Crystal, it had nearly died of regret after finding out about this matter. After all, a Tier 6 God-ranked expert was worth far more than just three measly Fragmented Legendary items. Hence, now that a Sacred Source Crystal had appeared before Shi Feng, how could he not be ecstatic? Which item should I upgrade? Shi Feng''s mind started turning rapidly as he gazed at the Sacred Source Crystal. The weapons and equipment he had on him right now were all top-tier at this stage of the game. Weapons were no doubt what could increase a player''s combat power the most However, both the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray were top-tier Epic Weapons that were extremely close to the Fragmented Legendary standard. If he chose to upgrade either of these two weapons, he would simply be wasting the Sacred Source Crystal. After all, the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray both had a chance to reach the Fragmented Legendary rankespecially Killing Ray. So long as he collected the remaining fragments of Solomon''s Sword, he would be able to synthesize a true Legendary Weapon. As for upgrading a piece of equipment, to a Swordsman like himself, this was even more wasteful than upgrading his swords. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng retrieved the Ring of Gospel from his bag. Let''s have you upgraded. Immediately, Shi Feng tapped the Sacred Source Crystal and chose the Epic ranked Ring of Gospel as the target of evolution. 2008 Miniature World Chapter 2008 - Miniature World After Shi Feng selected the target of evolution, countless streams of light suddenly flowed from the Sacred Source Crystal into the Ring of Gospel. Due to the Sacred Source Crystal''s power, the incomplete divine runes and magic arrays engraved on the Ring of Gospel started completing themselves. A few seconds later, a purple-gold ring exuding a frightening aura that even froze the surrounding space appeared before Shi Feng. What powerful pressure! At this moment, the pressure from the Ring of Gospel surpassed even the aura of an ordinary Mythic monster. Even Shi Feng felt slightly uncomfortable when subjected to it. The Ring of Gospel was one of the extremely few domain items in God''s Domain. It was exceedingly useful to both individual players and Guilds. However, as an Epic item, it had a major flawit needed to be fed 20,000 Magic Crystals every seven days, a price no ordinary Guild could afford. As for Zero Wing, this was still a significant expenditure even after obtaining the Manatite vein. Hence, Shi Feng had decided to upgrade the Ring of Gospel in order to rid himself of this troublesome flaw. Shortly after, the Ring of Gospel released the surrounding space. Only then could Shi Feng finally move his body again. As for the Ring of Gospel itself, it returned to his hand. At this moment, though, the ring gave off a completely different feeling than before. The ring felt extremely heavy. However, this weight did not originate from the ring itself but was a pressure coming from the surrounding space. Meanwhile, this pressure had reduced his combat power by a minimum of 50%, a phenomenon he had never experienced before when using the Ring of Gospel previously. Could a deviation have occurred during the upgrade? Shi Feng could not help worrying. Hurriedly, he inspected the ring''s Attribute Panel. When an item''s quality increased, normally, its effects would grow stronger. However, some items would encounter an error during the upgrade process and develop different effects. Some items would even have their nature altered completely. Although such occurrences were extremely rare, the chances were not zero. It was also the outcome that players dreaded seeing the most [Ring of Gospel] (Fragmented Legendary Rank Item) Crafted by the Dark Shaman King after gathering the world''s energy, this ring contains a miniature world. The ring''s inner space was further perfected using a Sacred Source Stone. The ring can suppress an area''s space, granting the wielder absolute dominance over the space. Additional Skill 1- Miniature World: Freezes the space within a radius of 5,000 yards. All enemies within the area cannot use teleportation tools or teleportation-type Skills, and communication with the outside world is severed. Weakens enemies'' physiques by 30% and decreases Basic Attributes by 30%, Movement Speed by 50%, and reaction speed by 30%. Maintaining Miniature World costs 5,000 Magic Crystals every 10 minutes. No Cooldown. (Cannot be used before binding.) Additional Skill 2- Ring of Brilliance: Improves all allies'' physiques by 20% and increases Basic Attributes by 20% within a 2,000-yard radius. Increases an area''s Mana density by 100%. Maintaining Ring of Brilliance costs 2,000 Magic Crystals every 30 minutes. No Cooldown. (Cannot be used before binding.) As the Ring of Gospel contains an inner world, it is strongly rejected by the outside world. Existences below Tier 4 will be greatly suppressed by the external world''s power when using this ring. The higher tiered the user is, the weaker the suppression will be. It didn''t deviate? Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the Ring of Gospel''s Attributes. Although the upgrade had increased the usage requirement, the Ring of Gospel''s Skills had also received significant improvements. Previously, the Ring of Gospel simply placed a seal on the affected space. Now, the ring directly froze it. One could say that the Ring of Gospel''s strength had improved from its original Intermediate Magic Array standard to the Advanced Magic Array standard. Moreover, Miniature World was even more powerful than the average Advanced Field Magic Array, as it was a combination of a Field Magic Array and a Barrier Magic Array. Only, the number of Magic Crystals required to operate it remained horrifying. Fortunately, he no longer needed to feed the ring 20,000 Magic Crystals every week. With this improvement, the Ring of Gospel would be useful in both raiding bosses and large-scale combat out in the fields. After upgrading the Ring of Gospel, Shi Feng stored it and walked to the teleportation array engraved at the altar''s center. His body then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the altar. After he left, the altar crumbled rapidly and vanished into the void. By the time Shi Feng opened his eyes again, he had appeared inside a grand Teleportation Hall. This place is...Thunder Axe City? Shi Feng was surprised to see the four-meter-tall Level 200 NPC soldiers inside the hall. He had expected to get teleported to outside the Icefire Mountain Range, not directly to Thunder Axe City. Normally, after Thunder Axe City was activated, players had to enter the city via the teleportation array in the Icefire Mountain Range''s outer area. Meanwhile, activating the outer area''s teleportation array required one to use the Rubik''s Cube obtained through the Exploration Quest on the teleportation array. Only after arriving inside Thunder Axe City and handing the Rubik''s Cube over to the Thunder Axe Giants'' Great Elder would players be able to fully activate Thunder Axe City. Now that he had directly teleported to Thunder Axe City, he could save up on a lot of travel time. Just as Shi Feng was about to exit the Teleportation Hall, he suddenly noticed a bunch of new messages from Aqua Rose and Blackie. Why are there so many messages? Did something happen? Shi Feng eyed the messages with some confusion. His communication with the outside world had been severed when he entered the cave. However, when he was doing his quest inside the cave, he had logged off to rest every day. During these break periods, he would contact Aqua Rose and Blackie to get an update on the latest developments in Zero Wing and God''s Domain. Before he logged into the game this evening, Aqua Rose and Blackie hadn''t reported any problems. Now, after just a few hours, the two of them had sent him more than ten messages in total. Shi Feng immediately contacted Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, are you done with your quest?" Aqua Rose asked. "Mhm, it''s mostly finished," Shi Feng replied, nodding. "I received quite a few messages from both you and Blackie. Did something happen outside?" The fact that he was challenging a high-ranking quest and unable to make contact with the outside world was something the Guild upper echelons knew. Hence, they wouldn''t contact him unless there was something extremely important. After all, his quest was very dangerous, and even the slightest mistake could result in failure. He could not afford any disturbance whatsoever. "Originally, today was just like any normal day. Although our Guild members have continuously clashed with the various large Guilds at the Witch''s Hill, there were no large-scale battles involving more than a thousand players. However, just three hours ago, players capable of transforming into monsters appeared among the enemy. These players are extremely strong, and every one of them could rival High Lords of the same level in terms of Basic Attributes. Some of these players even have Attributes of a Great Lord. Moreover, these players are all experts, so they could slaughter even our Tier 2 experts with ease. "Our Guild members are no match for these people. Currently, several thousand members have already been killed. Due to these monster players, our members can''t grind at the Witch''s Hill at all," Aqua Rose said, frustrated. Although their side had killed a few of these monster players, the difference in the casualties the two sides suffered was massive. Until now, they hadn''t even killed 500 of these monster players, yet their side had already suffered more than 5,000 casualties. Moreover, the only reason why they managed to kill these monster players was mainly the Magicbreaking Crossbows and Basic Combat Devices. However, there were simply too few of these tools available, so contending against these monster players was simply impossible. Players transforming into monsters? Shi Feng frowned upon hearing Aqua Rose''s words. How willing of them. He knew a little about matters regarding players transforming into monsters. It was indeed possible to accomplish this feat by utilizing special Legacies or tools. The Evil God''s Temple''s Legacy was one such example. Only, the Evil Dragonification process was the ability of one of the Evil God''s Temple''s Peak Legacies. Moreover, transforming a player into an Evil Dragon required the sacrifice of a large number of players. Going through such a transformation process simply wasn''t worthwhile for regular Guilds. Shi Feng had Aqua Rose notify all Guild members operating in Zero Wing City to stop grinding in the Witch''s Hill and shift to other locations instead. After all, it wouldn''t be wise to continue clashing with these monster players without proper countermeasures. As for Shi Feng himself, he hastened his steps and headed straight for the Great Elder''s mansion. 2009 Thunder Axe City Activated Chapter 2009 - Thunder Axe City Activated When Shi Feng walked out of the Teleportation Hall, he was greeted by the sight of a very wide street with NPC Giants walking along it. If players were to visit this city, they would definitely feel very out of place. The buildings in the city were also extremely large. Even the carriages used to travel around the city were much larger than the carriages found in other NPC cities. Moreover, the carriages here were pulled by the much larger and stronger herbivorous Earth Dragons, instead of horses. Aside from Giants, NPCs belonging to other neutral races also lived here, including the extremely rare Elves. Although Elves looked very similar to Half-elf players, the Life Ratings of the two were as different as heaven and earth. During the ancient era, Elves could be said to have been the messengers of Gods. They were the beloved children of magical elements, and they could cast Spells above their tier effortlessly. However, as the Gods in God''s Domain fell, the Elven race also went into decline, the race''s population continuously decreasing as the years went by. Players visiting Thunder Axe City for the first time would definitely be very shocked by this scene. Shi Feng, however, had long since grown accustomed to it. He immediately hailed an Earth Dragon carriage and made his way to the city center. As a super-large-scale neutral city, Thunder Axe City was extremely large. Even the Black Dragon Empire''s capital was only half the size of Thunder Axe City. Hence, traveling through the city took a lot of time. To make matters worse, Thunder Axe City''s Teleportation Hall was located on the outskirts of the city. Players were also prohibited from using their own Mounts, Teleportation Skills, and teleportation tools inside the city. Players could only rely on the carriages pulled by the house-sized Earth Dragons if they wished to travel through the city quickly. Of course, if players managed to reach the Viscount rank in Thunder Axe City, they would be allowed to ride their own Mounts. However, becoming a Viscount in a neutral city like Thunder Axe City was exceedingly difficult. As far as Shi Feng knew, even after many players had reached Level 200 in his previous life, nobody had succeeded in becoming a Viscount of Thunder Axe City. Meanwhile, while Shi Feng was traveling toward Thunder Axe City''s central district, a commotion erupted in the Witch''s Hill. "Did I hear it right? Zero Wing is actually having its members give up on grinding in the Witch''s Hill?!" "Zero Wing must not want to continue the pointless fighting. Haven''t you seen how powerful those monster players are? Taking care of Tier 2 experts is like child''s play for them. Just one monster player can easily annihilate a six-man party of Tier 2 experts. Not to mention, these monster players generally move around in groups." "Didn''t Zero Wing manage to repel Miracle''s attack in the Black Dragon Empire before? What''s it doing now? It''s already giving up after fighting for just a short while?" "I never thought that the day would come when Zero Wing would fall into such a state. Previously, Zero Wing was slaughtering its enemies left and right. Now, it''s forced to give up on a precious land like the Witch''s Hill. With this, Zero Wing''s development in Star-Moon Kingdom will definitely lag behind the other large Guilds by a significant margin. If this situation persists, Zero Wing might not even remain Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild in the future." "That''s right! This is a good opportunity for small Guilds to rise up using the Witch''s Hill." The players operating in the Witch''s Hill all found Zero Wing''s decision to pull back its forces to be very surprising. They had never imagined that the Guild would give up on the Witch''s Hill so decisively. Zero Wing was clearly capable of fighting a war of attrition with the monster players, thanks to Zero Wing City, yet it did not do so. Meanwhile, due to Zero Wing''s decision to retreat, many of the small Guilds that had been maintaining a low profile in Star- Moon Kingdom started trying to join the Starlight Alliance formed by the Guilds operating the two Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill. After all, the current situation in the Witch''s Hill was already clear for all to see: the Starlight Alliance, which was capable of transforming players into monsters, had the advantage in field battles. As long as Zero Wing''s members dared exit Zero Wing City, they would definitely die. Meanwhile, shortly after Shi Feng gave out the command to retreat, the upper echelons of the Starlight Alliance''s member Guilds gathered at Wildhammer Town, a short distance away from the Million Forest, for a meeting. The Guilds responsible for leading this meeting was the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s Sin Realm and the two Guilds that established the two Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill, Knight''s Judgment and Warring Empire. Although Knight''s Judgment and Warring Empire were only second-rate Guilds, the investments of multiple corporations boosted the strength of the two Guilds, which could now rival ordinary first-rate Guilds. "Zero Wing has truly been frightened by our monster army this time. Now, not only are Zero Wing''s members not coming out of Zero Wing City, but they''re not even operating within its vicinity anymore. I''m sure everyone present knows about the defensive capabilities of Zero Wing City. Currently, we still can''t break through the city''s defenses. However, we also can''t let Zero Wing continue developing the city. Do any of you here have a good suggestion for dealing with this problem?" Knight''s Judgment''s Guild Leader, Shadowlight Axe, asked as he glanced at the dozen or so Guild representatives present In reality, they were all caught off guard by Zero Wing''s decisiveness. This was not the outcome they wished to see at all. From an outsider''s point of view, the monster legion their alliance created might seem very powerful, but the public did not know that a large number of lives were necessary to sustain these players'' monster forms. Moreover, these lives needed to be willingly offered by players that were Level 50 or above. Hence, the Guilds could not allow their fight with Zero Wing to drag out. "Since Zero Wing is so decisive in abandoning the Witch''s Hill, let''s think of a way to prevent Zero Wing from giving it up. We''ll force Zero Wing to fight us." "That''s right. We''ll make Zero Wing fight even if it doesn''t want to. Since Zero Wing is relying on Zero Wing City for its development, we''ll make it so that it can''t rely on the city at all. We can set up a teleportation seal on Zero Wing City and announce that, so long as Zero Wing refuses to fight us out in the fields, we''ll kill every player that comes out of Zero Wing City. We''ll kill these players until Zero Wing is willing to come out and do battle. If Zero Wing still refuses to fight us then, nobody will dare to visit Zero Wing City. At that time, let''s see how Zero Wing develops using Zero Wing City!" "This is a good idea. Zero Wing''s main source of income right now is Zero Wing City. If Zero Wing City fails, Zero Wing won''t get off scot-free, either. If Zero Wing doesn''t want to see its city fail, it''ll definitely have to fight us." "That''s right! If Zero Wing really refuses to fight, it''ll become the laughing stock of the kingdom! I want to see how Zero Wing plans on developing in Star-Moon Kingdom then!" Everyone present nodded in agreement upon hearing this plan. They were all adamant about forcing Zero Wing into a fight. Meanwhile, as the Starlight Alliance was planning all of this, Shi Feng had finally arrived at Thunder Axe City''s central district. There was a lot of traffic in the city''s central district. Despite there being no players here, the street was still crowded. NPC merchants of neutral races could be seen doing business all around, selling all kinds of items and materials, the quality of their products not the slightest bit inferior to those sold by player Shops. However, Shi Feng did not waste time sightseeing. Instead, he walked straight to a mansion located near the main street. Twenty Giant soldiers stood guard outside the mansion, every one of them a Level 180, Tier 2 soldier. The captain leading these soldiers was even a Level 180, Tier 3 Giant. This mansion was none other than the residence of the Giant race''s Great Elder. Upon arriving at the mansion''s entrance, Shi Feng immediately told the guards there his purpose for visiting. After the guards relayed his words and received a reply, they led him into the gigantic mansion. Very quickly, Shi Feng arrived in an elegant study where a white-robed elder sat. Giants were natural-born warriors and were not adept at magic, yet the Great Elder was actually a Level 200, Tier 5 Grand Wizard. He would be considered an overlord-level existence even in an empire. "It''s been a long time since a human adventurer has visited this city. I heard that you have the power to activate the ancient teleportation array outside Thunder Axe City. May I know if this is true?" the Giant Elder asked softly as he observed Shi Feng. "That is correct. Here is the ancient cube I found. It is capable of activating the ancient teleportation array," Shi Feng replied, handing the Rubik''s Cube he obtained from the Seven Luminaries Treasure Chest over to the Giant Elder. "Sure enough, this is the teleportation array''s teleportation core," the Giant Elder said, his eyes glowing after he inspected the cube. In a somewhat excited tone, he added, "Thank you, human adventurer. This item is indeed what our Giant race has been searching for all this time. With this item, our Giant race will finally be free of the defensive seal that has been in place since ancient times! Since you have provided such a great help to our race, we Giants definitely won''t mistreat you. Take this precious Giant''s Holy Stone as a token of our race''s gratitude." After the Giant Elder was done speaking and Shi Feng accepted the Giant''s Holy Stone, a series of system notifications entered his ears. 2010 Titan Bloodline Chapter 2010 - Titan Bloodline System: Congratulations! You have completed the Exploration Quest, "Giant''s Hideout." Rewarding one Giant''s Holy Stone, Adventurer''s Association Reputation +20, and Adventurer''s Association Contribution +1,000. System: Congratulations! You have activated the neutral city Thunder Axe City. Rewarding one Thunder Axe Crystal, Thunder Axe City Reputation +100, and Thunder Axe City Contribution Points +2,000. The two notifications echoed in Shi Feng''s head three times, leaving him dazed. The rewards for pioneering Thunder Axe City sure are abundant. Not only did I get 2,000 Contribution Points, but I also earned a Thunder Axe Crystal? Shi Feng looked at the glowing, dark-gold crystal that had appeared in his hand in astonishment. Thunder Axe City was hidden deep within the Icefire Mountain Range. Normally, players could only reach the city through a teleportation array within the range''s outer region once it had been activated. Teleporting to Thunder Axe City from another NPC city was impossible, making it inconvenient for players to visit frequently. However, as a trade city, Thunder Axe City overflowed with opportunities and resources. Even if the journey were tough and inconvenient, players would force themselves to visit. Fortunately, there was more than one method of entering Thunder Axe City. One could also do so through the city''s special tools. The city had two special tools that allowed players to visit with ease: the Thunder Axe Insignia and the Thunder Axe Crystal. The Insignia only allowed the holder to teleport to Thunder Axe City, whereas the crystal allowed the user to open a teleportation gate, allowing a large group of players to pass through, saving plenty of travel time. However, these tools were particularly difficult to acquire. Players had to become an ordinary noble in Thunder Axe City before they could trade the city''s Contribution Points for the Insignia. As for the Thunder Axe Crystal, one could only purchase the crystal with Contribution Points after becoming a Viscount. The Contribution Points were already exceedingly difficult to acquire, not to mention gaining status in Thunder Axe City. Thunder Axe City was massive, with countless quests and opportunities to offer, but there were very few quests that awarded CPs. Moreover, players would only earn a small number of CPs from the quests that awarded them. Only high- ranking quests rewarded a higher number, but those were incredibly difficult to come by. Even the most hardworking player would fail to collect 2,000 CPs after a full year of work. Meanwhile, purchasing the Thunder Axe Crystal required 5,000 CPs... While the Thunder Axe Crystal had limited uses to individual players, it was extremely useful to Guilds. With the crystal, Guild members wouldn''t have to waste time traveling to the city. With the time they saved, they could do far more in Thunder Axe City. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Thunder Axe Crystal and turned his gaze toward the Giant''s Holy Stone he had received from the Great Elder. Based on what he had learned in the past, the Exploration Quest''s reward included the Epic ranked Giant''s Crystal. One could use it to convert 1,000 Level 50-plus players into Giants, bypassing the Conversion Quest. Unfortunately, players under Level 50 would have to visit Thunder Axe City and complete the Conversion Quest normally to convert into a Giant. The Conversion Quest''s application fee was 20 Gold per person. In other words, by completing this Exploration Quest, one could forgo the 20,000 Gold in application fees while allowing selected players to skip the troublesome Conversion Quest and become members of the Giant Race. However, what the Great Elder had just given Shi Feng wasn''t the Giant''s Crystal, but the Giant''s Holy Stone... Huh?! Fragmented Legendary rank?! When Shi Feng called up the Giant''s Holy Stone''s Attribute Panel, he was shocked. Isn''t this quest reward a little too generous?! [Giant''s Holy Stone] (Fragmented Legendary Rank) A holy stone created after condensing the Ancient Titin race''s Bloodline. Effect 1- Converts up to 1,000 players to the Giant race. Targeted players must be Level 50 or above. No Cooldown. Effect 2- Grants up to three Giant players a strand of the Titan Bloodline. No Cooldown. Shi Feng had no particular feelings regarding the Holy Stone''s ability to convert 1,000 players into Giants. The Giant''s Stone he had expected to receive could do the same, but the Holy Stone''s ability to grant players the Titan Bloodline was just too powerful. Among God''s Domain''s numerous races, the Titan''s Life Rating was the closest to that of the Gods''. Despite not being Gods, Titans were born with a portion of a God''s abilities. When a Titan became a Tier 6 God, they became incomparably formidable. However, the closer one''s Life Rating was to that of a God, the more difficult it would become to cross the final threshold to the Tier 6 standard. According to Shi Feng''s memories, only the King among Titans had reached Tier 6. Not even the ten saints of Titan City had been Tier 6 Gods. In Shi Feng''s opinion, they were only Demigods. Even so, they had the power to rival Tier 6 Gods. Tier 6 God-ranked players couldn''t compare to Tier 6 NPC Gods. Any random Tier 6 God could beat the living daylights out of a Tier 6 player; only multiple Tier 6 players had a chance against a Tier 6 God if they worked together. It was easy to imagine how frightening Titan Demigods were. Meanwhile, the Giant''s Holy Stone before him was capable of granting Giant players the Titan Bloodline, which was far more powerful than the Dark Iron Bloodline he had obtained. Moreover, he could grant the Bloodline to three players. These Titan Bloodlines were even more valuable than three Fragmented Legendary items. The Giant race offered exceptional racial traits; if this Bloodline were included in the equation... Shi Feng didn''t even dare imagine how powerful a player with this Bloodline would become. Titans were nearly perfect beings, unlike Giants, who had obvious flaws. With this, the players that convert into Giants have hit the jackpot. Shi Feng could not help but feel slightly envious as he gazed at the Giant''s Holy Stone. Giant players would face far more difficulties when challenging their Promotion Quests than human players, but with the Titan Bloodline, that difficulty wouldn''t be as high. With this Bloodline, the Promotion Quests shouldn''t be more difficult than that of ordinary humans. This meant that the experts who became Giants could reach far greater heights. Giant players would become terrifying after reaching Tier 5, not to mention Tier 6. In the past, one Giant expert had reached Tier 5 thanks to a ton of resources from his Guild. Whether or not he had been strong enough to contend with Tier 6 God-ranked experts, he had ranked among the top 20 Tier 5 players in God''s Domain. Those top 20 Tier 5 experts had all worn top-tier equipment, held at least one Legendary item, and wielded special Legacies. Their combat standards had been at the absolute apex of God''s Domain. Yet, this Tier 5 Giant expert had forced himself into the top 20 ranks despite carrying zero Legendary items. It was easy to imagine how powerful the Giant race was. If possible, Shi Feng would convert into a Giant, obtaining the Titan Bloodline, as well, but he was a Guild Leader. He had many matters in the game to deal with that required that he remain human; he simply couldn''t afford to become a Giant. Shi Feng then departed from the Great Elder''s mansion and headed toward the City Hall. This was the main reason that he had activated Thunder Axe City. Thunder Axe City''s resources were far beyond those in the Sea of Trees. The two cities were on entirely different levels. Nearly 10% of the ores and herbs first- and second-rate Guilds had required in the past had been sourced from Thunder Axe City. 2011 Advanced Shop Chapter 2011 - Advanced Shop Shi Feng''s carriage slowed to a stop before a majestic castle. A steady flow of NPCs entered and left the building, many of which were members of other neutral races. This majestic castle was none other than Thunder Axe City''s City Hall, located within the very heart of the city. Tall walls, decorated with divine runes and magic arrays, protected the castle. The wall''s defensive capabilities were even beyond Tier 5 NPCs'' power. This was the safest location throughout Thunder Axe City. Before Shi Feng reached the castle''s entrance, a Level 180, Tier 3 NPC soldier stopped him. "Lord Bronze Legatee, this is an important location in Thunder Axe City. If you wish to enter, you must register first," the Tier 3 NPC soldier respectfully informed Shi Feng as he retrieved a Magic Crystal. "I understand. Please register me, then," Shi Feng said, nodding. Thunder Axe City''s City Hall wasn''t like those in other NPC cities. Players could enter City Halls in human cities without registering or gaining permission. However, not only did players have to register, but they also had to obtain an ordinary noble rank in the city before they could enter this City Hall. Players had to register due to the magic array around the City Hall. If the magic array didn''t recognize their auras, it would attack and suppress them the moment they entered the building. Security was so strict due to the importance of Thunder Axe City''s City Hall. Rather than a City Hall, it was more appropriate to view it as a treasury or trade market. The City Hall stored all kinds of treasures the Giant race had collected since ancient times, including Legendary items. Once players became nobles in Thunder Axe City, they could freely trade with the city''s Giants. The Giant race had lived in Thunder Axe City since ancient times, so they had accumulated countless treasures. As long as players had the ability and resources, purchasing a Legendary item wouldn''t be a problem. This was also why so many players and powers had been adamant in visiting Thunder Axe City in the past. A few superpowers'' experts had purchased Legendary items from the Giants back then, while far more had purchased Fragmented Legendary items. Of course, some superpowers had tried to rob Thunder Axe City''s City Hall, but less than a handful had succeeded. Moreover, all of those players had been Tier 6 God-ranked experts. When these God-ranked players had attempted the heist, their Guilds had invested a ton of resources and manpower to assist them. Even so, they had only claimed one or two Fragmented Legendary items before fleeing for their lives. In doing so, however, these superpowers had earned the city''s ire and had been banned from entering Thunder Axe City ever again. The cost of the endeavor simply hadn''t been worth the superpowers'' investments. The NPC solder had Shi Feng''s aura recorded in the system after a short moment, allowing him to enter the City Hall. NPCs of various races filled the castle''s first-floor hall as they conducted their business with the Giants. Although Shi Feng wanted to trade with the Giants as well, he couldn''t even afford an Epic item with his current strength and resources. Hence, he glanced at the NPCs before heading toward the castle''s second floor. When Shi Feng reached the second-floor hall, he noticed far fewer NPCs than on the first floor. There were only several dozen NPC merchants here, all of which sought to purchase the city''s Lands. Suddenly, a beautiful female Elf dressed in formal wear approached Shi Feng with a smile. She asked, "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service?" A senior administrator? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when this female Elf greeted him. However, he quickly snapped out of his daze and responded, "I wish to purchase some Lands and Advanced Shops in Thunder Axe City. Can you recommend some?" Normally, only the ordinary administrators received visiting players in the City Hall, so he had been caught off guard when this senior administrator welcomed him. Although this Elven beauty was only a Level 200, Tier 3 senior administrator, Shi Feng could feel the intense pressure radiating from her. The pressure she gave off was no weaker than Weissman''s, who was both White River City''s Magistrate and a Tier 4 Great Wizard. This was why Elves were so frightening. Even at Tier 3, they could easily cast Tier 4 Spells. "Alright, please follow me." The Elven administrator nodded and led Shi Feng to a reception room on the third floor. Once inside the reception room, the senior administrator handed Shi Feng two lists. One list contained the city''s available plots of Land, while the other contained Thunder Axe City''s available Advanced Shops. However, the lists contained very few of both, with less than 50 entries in total. If other players saw these lists, they''d be astounded. Most random NPC cities had more than 500 plots of Land for sale, yet Thunder Axe City had less than 50. However, Shi Feng was ecstatic to examine the lists. It was already impressive that the two lists had 50 prospects. Thunder Axe City was unique, and its Lands weren''t easy to purchase. This prevented the various superpowers from monopolizing the city''s benefits, giving other powers and players a chance to thrive within the city. A Bronze Legatee''s status in Thunder Axe City sure is high. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he examined the first list. There are actually 19 Advanced Shops available? When he had been a Baron in Thunder Axe City in the past and tried to purchase an Advanced Shop, he had only been given 12 to choose from. Advanced Shops were often available in neutral cities. Like in the Sea of Trees, Thunder Axe City had Advanced Shops, such as Advanced Grocery Stores, Advanced Restaurants, Advanced Smithies, and Advanced Bars, to offer. However, no power would normally be willing to purchase neutral cities'' Advanced Shops. These Advanced Shops'' incredibly high prices were the first reason. The second reason was Advanced Shops'' lack of use. These Shops'' main customers were NPCs, not players, and one could only earn Coins and other items from NPCs. Typically, this was an ineffective way of doing business since trading Coins and items with other players was far more effective. However, Thunder Axe City was a special case. Since it was a resource and trade city, a large number of neutral NPC merchants gathered here. In addition, the local Giants harvested the ores and herbs from the Icefire Mountain Range. As a result, the city offered a wider variety of items, selling these items at far below market value. Unlike in other neutral cities, Thunder Axe City''s Advanced Shops had been quite popular in the past, becoming the main source of resources for God''s Domain''s powers in the city. The various major powers had avoided renting Thunder Axe City''s Advanced Shops because the only type of income they could earn in doing so was Coins; it was not possible to conduct business with forms of currency. Hence, the various major powers and merchant players in the past had resorted to purchasing the Advanced Shops, even if those in the city''s outskirts had cost 20,000 Gold... No matter how many times I visit Thunder Axe City''s City Hall, I always feel like a poor bastard here. Shi Feng sighed and shook his head as he looked at the prices on the list. The cheapest Advanced Shop cost more than 20,000 Gold. There was also an Advanced Grocery Store that cost 40,000 Gold, and a Smithy for 53,000 Gold. Although both Shops were in the city''s inner area, both were merely 1-star Shops. According to Shi Feng''s knowledge, the cheapest 2-star Shop in Thunder Axe City cost 70,000 Gold, while those in the city''s inner area cost more than 100,000 Gold. However, Thunder Axe City rarely sold 2-star Shops. But when Shi Feng read the list''s last entry, he was flabbergasted. What?! A 2-star Shop?! 2012 2-star Smithy Chapter 2012 - 2-star Smithy Shi Feng stared at the Shop list''s last entry with wide eyes. A 2-star Shop! Thunder Axe City did have a few 2-star Shops, but they were beyond players'' reach. Even a Viscount would have to get lucky to secure an opportunity to purchase a 2-star Shop, much less a Baron. Could this be a reward for being the first person to purchase an Advanced Shop? Shi Feng doubted that the Bronze Legatee title would grant him such an amazing benefit, allowing him to purchase 2-star Shops in the city. After giving the matter some thought, he realized that this must be a reward for being the first player to purchase an Advanced Shop. The difference between a 1-star and a 2-star Shop was practically negligible for players in other super-large-scale neutral cities, but it was a different story in Thunder Axe City. Here, the difference between a 1-star Shop and 2-star Shop was like the difference between a town and a city. Two-star Shops were more attractive to NPCs than their 1-star counterparts. NPCs typically viewed 2-star Shops as more valuable and reliable, so they favored Shops with higher-star ranks. Two-star Shops also operated on a different scale than 1-star Shops, but this was beyond just the physical size of the Shop. More importantly, higher-ranked Shops could handle larger transactions with NPCs. Each transaction with NPCs in 1-star Shops could only reach a maximum value of 50 Gold, whereas 2-star Shops'' transactions could reach a maximum of 300 Gold, a sixfold increase. After factoring in NPCs increased interest in conducting business with 2-star Shops, the difference between ranks was clear. Hence, Thunder Axe City''s 2-star Advanced Shops were extremely valuable. Countless Guilds had dreamed of purchasing their own, but very few had actually succeeded. Most powers had been limited to 1-star Shops, slowly upgrading them to 2- star status. However, in God''s Domain, once one fell behind, making a recovery became intensely challenging. Meanwhile, the various large Guilds dreamed of purchasing 2-star Shops to ensure the upgrade to 3-stat status. NPC cities could only have a limited number of 3-star Advanced Shops at a time. Once this limit had been reached, the 2-star Shops that met the requirements for an upgrade could only become 3-star Shops after surpassing another 3-star Shop''s transaction volume. Unfortunately, surpassing a 3-star Shop''s transaction volume was nearly impossible for a 2-star Shop... When a 2-star Shop completed its promotion to 3-star status, it would undergo a qualitative transformation, increasing its maximum transaction value to 1,000 Gold. Although the increase ratio wasn''t as great as that between a 1-star and 2-star Shop, it was a major turning point. Once a Shop reached this maximum transaction value, Thunder Axe City''s nobles would visit to conduct business. The items these nobles possessed was far beyond that of ordinary NPCs. A noble''s every item was valuable and precious. Upgrading a 1-star Shop to 2-star status in Thunder Axe City cost a lot of time and resources. By the time one completed the upgrade, those who had purchased 2-star Shops would''ve already upgraded to 3-star status. Trying to contest for the limited 3-star Shop slots would become atrociously difficult at that point. This was also why Shadow had only possessed a 2-star Shop in Thunder Axe City during Shi Feng''s previous life. As far as he could remember, only superpowers and a few first-rate Guilds had secured 3-star Shops in the city, and ordinary first- rate Guilds had no hope of competing for a slot. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be surprised to find that he could purchase a 2-star Shop right off the bat? Moreover, the 2-star Shop in question was an Advanced Smithy. Naturally, smithies were the most valuable to God''s Domain''s Guilds among the various Advanced Shops. This was the case due to the specialized transactions each type of Shop conducted with NPCs. NPCs that visited smithies were generally there to order custom weapons and equipment. Moreover, these NPCs would prepare their own materials, including rare forging materials that players could obtain by operating a smithy. In addition, ordinary NPCs and NPC merchants frequently sold their ores to smithies, making these Advanced Shops the perfect place to obtain materials. "Lord Bronze Legatee, are any of these Lands and Shops to your liking?" the Elven administrator asked curiously after Shi Feng''s long moment of silence. "If nothing here interests you, you may return next week. We should have others who want to sell their properties at that time." "No, I''m very satisfied with what I''ve seen. I''ll take these five plots of Land and these two Shops," Shi Feng said as he pointed to the inner area Lands and outer area Shops. Since he was only a Baron, he could only purchase Lands and Shops in the city''s inner and outer areas. Moreover, very few Lands in the inner area were available to him, and they weren''t in optimal locations. As for Advanced Shops, a Baron was only allowed to purchase those in the city''s outer area. Only Viscounts and above had access to Advanced Shops in the inner area. However, this discovery relieved Shi Feng. If he had only been offered Advanced Shops in the city''s inner area, he''d only be able to purchase the 2-star Smithy along the city''s edge with the money he had on him. Even so, the 2-star Smithy already cost him 90,000 Gold, and the 1-star Potion Shop he had selected cost 47,000 Gold. "Very well. The total for these five Lands and two Shops comes to 206,000 Gold!" the Eleven beauty joyfully exclaimed after swiftly completing her calculations. If first-rate Guilds'' upper echelons saw Shi Feng spend over 200,000 Gold on two Shops and five Lands, they''d think that he''d lost his mind. With so much money, one could purchase more than ten plots of Land in the heart of a kingdom''s capital. However, Shi Feng paid the 206,000 Gold without hesitation. Rather, he found the price quite reasonable. While this investment might not yield any short-term returns, the profits would be well worth the cost once players entered the game''s later stages. Shi Feng had only brought a little over 170,000 Gold with him when he had set out on his Exploration quest He had also spent over 20,000 Gold in Glory Town. Fortunately, while he had been gone, the Guild had accumulated over 70,000 Gold in savings, despite Zero Wing''s continued expansion. He just barely had enough to settle the bill; he wouldn''t have much left after this transaction. A short moment later, the Elven administrator revealed seven Deeds and handed them to Shi Feng. Once he verified that everything was correct, Shi Feng set off toward his new Advanced Shops. He stored 5,000 Gold in each Shop for NPC transactions. With his tasks completed, Shi Feng didn''t linger in Thunder Axe City. He used a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. Contrary to his expectations, Shi Feng didn''t find White River City in desolation upon his return. Now Zero Wing had temporarily withdrawn from the struggle in the Witch''s Hill, its prestige in Star-Moon City had fallen, but as he wandered White River City''s streets, he noticed that the city''s population had increased yet again. Shi Feng saw countless players from large Guilds on his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm. These Guild players wandered the city with enthusiasm, making up roughly 10% of the players on the streets. White River City had already become a major city with a player population of over 10,000,000. Ten percent of that equated over 1,000,000 Guild players, a significant number. "Melancholic, has something happened in White River City? Why are there so many players from other Guilds?" Shi Feng asked Melancholic Smile after returning to the Candlelight Trading Firm and storing the Titan Ore he had obtained during his Exploration Quest. "Nothing has happened recently," Melancholic Smile answered, smiling bitterly. "So many Guild players are here due to the losses our Guild suffered in the Witch''s Hill thanks to the Starlight Alliance. After our withdrawal, the Alliance called us out to fight in an all-out war. If we refuse, the Starlight Alliance will slay every player in Zero Wing City. Our Guild members have been fighting the Alliance''s members all over the kingdom, but the results aren''t pleasing. Because of this, every large Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom things that it has a chance of taking over White River City. They''re all preparing to do so." "These Guilds really know how to take advantage of an opportunity," Shi Feng could not help but chuckle upon hearing Melancholic Smile''s report "Since the Starlight Alliance wants a fight to the death in the Witch''s Hill, I''ll grant their wish! Notify Aqua immediately and have her gather 1,000 Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers in White River City''s Residence!" "I''ll notify her right away," Melancholic Smile said, nodding. 2013 Advanced Abilities Activated Chapter 2013 - Advanced Abilities Activated After assigning Melancholic Smile''s tasks, Shi Feng departed from the Candlelight Trading Firm and headed to White River City''s library. He had been bound by the Soul Chain all this time, and no matter how he looked at it, finding the mysterious NPC that had appeared in Blackwing City was simply unrealistic. Even if he found the NPC, he''d have to avoid the man. Not even Sharlyn, who had been a Tier 5 Red Official, had been able to stop him. How was a Tier 2 player like himself supposed to deal with the NPC? The true goal of his quest wasn''t to locate the mysterious NPC, but to collect enough Mysterious Flames to gain control of the Soul Fire. While Aqua Rose gathered the necessary manpower, he could take advantage of this time to enlist Sharlyn''s help with absorbing the Fallen Earthfire, which he had obtained during his Exploration Quest. Although Tier 2 players weren''t as rare anymore, they still made up a small minority of God''s Domain''s players. This was the case for Zero Wing, as well. Gathering 1,000 Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers would take Aqua Rose some time. Meanwhile, after Melancholic Smile relayed Shi Feng''s words to Aqua Rose, Aqua Rose began to secretly gather Zero Wing''s Tier 2 experts from the Ore Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom. She instructed her chosen experts to teleport directly to White River City''s Residence. Unfortunately, despite the care she used while performing her task, news of her actions soon reached the kingdom''s various major powers. Star-Moon City, Star Alliance''s Residence: "Guild Leader, we''ve just received news. Zero Wing is gathering 1,000 Tier 2 experts in White River City. We do not know what the Guild plans to do with them yet," Purple Eye reported as she entered the Guild Leader''s office. Although more players had been completing their Tier 2 Promotion Quests, there still weren''t many Tier 2 players in the game. Take the Star Alliance, for example. Despite being a first-rate Guild, it just barely had 3,000 Tier 2 players. The fact that Zero Wing was gathering 1,000 of these experts warranted scrutiny. "One thousand Tier 2 experts?" Galaxy Past considered the situation carefully, muttering, "Could Zero Wing be preparing to move against the Starlight Alliance?" Currently, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers were eagerly preparing for battle, and Zero Wing''s sudden withdrawal from the Witch''s Hill was the reason for this. In addition, the Starlight Alliance''s reputation had received a massive boost due to the sudden development. If Zero Wing did not put a stop to this, it might lose its position as the kingdom''s overlord. God''s Domain had changed, and more Tier 2 players surfaced each day. While Zero Wing might have a lot of these experts, the difference between their count and the total number of Tier 2 players in the kingdom was titanic. Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to maintain its dominance over the kingdom if its development stagnated. Even the various superpowers faced such a problem. Hence, for a considerable period in the immediate future, God''s Domain''s kingdoms and empires would enter an era of strife. It would no longer be possible for a single power to monopolize a country. The various superpowers could only maintain their advantages and their current status in their territories. "That can''t be possible, right? Zero Wing intends to strike out against the Starlight Alliance now?" Purple Eye was astonished by Galaxy Past''s guess. "Doesn''t Zero Wing know that the top adventurer team, War Riders secretly partnered with the alliance? If a fight breaks out, Zero Wing will suffer." The War Riders were a mercenary-like adventurer team. It was one of the few adventurer teams in God''s Domain that had tens of thousands of members. As long as one paid enough, the War Riders would move against any power. Superpowers were no exception. In a past virtual reality game, a Guild had hired the War Riders to attack the Super Guild, Battle Wolves. Of course, they didn''t target the entire Guild, simply one of the Branch Guilds. Even so, the Battle Wolves'' First Guild Leader managed that Branch Guild, and it wasn''t to be trifled with. However, the War Riders had paid no heed to the Guild''s strength. They had initiated a war without hesitation, and although the Battle Wolves had pummeled the War Riders in the end, the Super Guild had suffered significant losses. Because of the assault, the Battle Wolves still had a bounty out on the adventurer team. The War Riders hadn''t changed after joining God''s Domain, and as time passed, both its reputation and its strength grew. As a result, many independent experts that wanted to earn some side income sought to join the adventurer team. After all, the War Riders'' sole goal was earning money. Members of the War Riders had no obligations and responsibilities to the team. Just some time ago, the War Riders'' member count had exceeded 30,000. Now, it was already considered a super- large-scale adventurer team, and many first-rate Guilds feared its overall strength. "I don''t know. I can never tell what Black Flame is thinking, but he''s preparing for something. However, with the War Riders'' participation, the Starlight Alliance should maintain its status quo even if Zero Wing prepares for an assault. We should use this opportunity to further our development in the kingdom''s various cities," Galaxy Past said, chuckling as he shook his head. The various major powers had been busy trying to solidify their positions lately. Now that the sudden development in Star- Moon Kingdom troubled Zero Wing, this was the perfect opportunity for the Star Alliance to become the kingdom''s number one Guild. Meanwhile, the kingdom''s other major powers concocted their own schemes. As soon as the Starlight Alliance defeated Zero Wing, they would spread their influence throughout the various NPC cities, especially White River City, the kingdom''s most populated city. As Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers planned and prepared, Shi Feng arrived before White River City''s library. The library had changed drastically due to the city''s latest promotion. Now, it looked more like a castle than a library. A large number of magical class players had gathered at the building, many here because of quests. So many magical class players had come here to quest due to the library''s new function-Magic Walkthrough. This function gave players access to the gigantic, magic water globe in the center of the library, allowing them to learn the double-casting technique. Not many magical class experts had mastered the double-casting technique at this stage of the game, but now that the system provided a tutorial, magical class players swarmed to take advantage of the opportunity. However, using the magic water globe required Library Contribution Points and Magic Crystals. The required Magic Crystals were a small matter for magic class experts, but the Library Contribution Points could only be obtained by completing the library''s quests. Hence, so many magical class players eagerly quested at the library. After a brief look at the library''s first-floor hall, Shi Feng made his way to the Star-Moon Hall on the library''s top floor. As always, Sharlyn sat in the hall reading some tome. She only set the book down after noticing Shi Feng before she began to draw the magic array that would help him absorb the Fallen Earthfire. Once the magic array took shape, Shi Feng retrieved the Fallen Earthfire and wrapped the Soul Fire''s scorching flames around it. However, fusing with the Fallen Earthfire proved far more difficult than fusing with the Purple Thunder Flame. This time, Shi Feng felt as if he were trying to wrap a sheet of paper around a bonfire. His control of the Soul Fire had to be precise; the slightest mistake could throw the process off-balance, which would cause the fusion to fail. After 32 subsequent failures, Shi Feng finally encased the Fallen Earthfire in Soul Fire successfully. The moment the fusion succeeded, flames devoured his body. He felt the flames burn and sting his flesh as he succumbed to a splitting headache. Shortly after, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have successfully fused the Fallen Earthfire and activated the Soul Fire''s advanced abilities. 2014 Soul Cleansing Chapter 2014 - Soul Cleansing I still don''t have full control? When Shi Feng heard the system notification, he was disappointed. This Soul Fire really is troublesome. He could only shed his worries about the Soul Chain by gaining full control of the Soul Fire. However, he hadn''t expected two Tier 3 Mysterious Flames to not be enough. Tier 3 Mysterious Flames were as valuable as Fragmented Legendary items. It was easy to imagine how hard they were to obtain, yet the system informed him that he needed more. Who knew when he would encounter another Tier 3 Mysterious Flame? "It really is surprising that you managed to obtain two Tier 3 Mysterious Flames in such a short time. Although you haven''t gained full control over the Soul Fire, fusing it with two Tier 3 Mysterious Flames has increased your compatibility with it. Now, you won''t have to worry about the Soul Chain''s corrosion for another 300 days," Sharlyn, who wore a crimson dress, said and nodded approvingly as she watched Shi Feng. "Moreover, there are benefits to being compatible with the Soul Fire, so don''t look so dejected." "Benefits?" Shi Feng muttered skeptically as he gazed at the blue fire enveloping his body. He didn''t understand how the Soul Fire''s present state could benefit him in any way. His entire body stung with pain. Any ordinary player would wail like a ghost if they were in his position, but even though he could endure the pain, it made concentrating difficult. At this moment, he''d likely even fail to execute the simplest combat technique. "Learn to appreciate what you have. The Soul Fire is currently cleansing your soul," Sharlyn explained as she rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. This is Soul Cleansing?! Sharlyn''s words astonished Shi Feng. So, this is the Soul Fire''s advanced ability? He had heard about Soul Cleansing during his previous life. It was one of the few methods to improve players'' Concentration Attribute. If ranked by importance, one could argue that Concentration stood above Stamina. When players fought in God''s Domain, they used two Hidden Attributes: Stamina and Concentration. In the event of Stamina exhaustion, players would lose the ability to move. In the case of Concentration depletion, players would pass out. God''s Domain provided far fewer methods of increasing one''s Concentration than those available for improving Stamina, which was one of the reasons that the former was more important. Generally, players'' Concentration only improved when they increased their Basic Attributes and tiers. Concentration''s ability to affect a player''s mental state was another reason. Players had only discovered this quite some time after God''s Domain had launched. This effect was similar to the experience players had when in areas with high Mana density. In truth, players felt more comfortable around denser Mana due to the Mana elevating their Concentration. In other words, higher Concentration allowed players to focus and maintain their calm more easily. The higher a player''s Concentration was, the more physical control they''d have; this was the third, and most important, reason. Players could manipulate their physical limits more easily, which was why, after reaching higher tiers, players could execute actions or techniques that their bodies couldn''t previously handle. For example, a Tier 2 player might struggle to master a complex Advanced Combat Technique, but could do so after reaching Tier 3. These were the reasons that all of God''s Domain''s experts had frantically sought to improve their Concentration in Shi Feng''s previous life. Unfortunately, the available methods to do so were just as rare as Fragmented Legendary items. The various superpowers would''ve even gone to war over a discovered method. In the past, there had been multiple instances of items that could increase Concentration appearing in the Dark Auction. The various superpowers had even willing traded Fragmented Legendary items for items that only granted a 5% boost to Concentration. They had even exchanged Fragmented Legendary Weapons for items that granted a 10% boost without hesitation. As far as Shi Feng could remember, Soul Cleansing provided between 5% and 15% more Concentration. He had never dreamed that he''d get to experience the phenomenon now. After ten minutes or so, the blue flames finally subsided. When they did, Shi Feng felt more refreshed than he ever had before. Both his physical control and mental clarity had improved drastically. He immediately unsheathed Killing Ray and executed Sword''s Transmigration. Mesmerizing stars twinkled around Shi Feng. If ordinary players were to see this scene, they''d assume that he had used some Skill rather than a combat technique. Amazing! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement as he stared at the Sacred Sword in his hand. When he had used Sword''s Transmigration in the past, the Bronze Combat Technique had taken a massive toll on his Stamina and Concentration. He could only execute the technique about 20 times before it affected his physical performance. However, not only could he execute Sword''s Transmigration with greater precision after undergoing the Soul Cleansing, but his Stamina and Concentration consumption had decreased as well. Now, he estimated that he could execute Sword''s Transmigration 30 times before it affected his performance. This improvement was simply terrifying. Moreover, his sword slashes were visibly faster and nimbler than before. He had only been able to alter his swing four times before, and only five times when he fought in peak condition, but now, he could execute five alterations without reaching his limits... Shi Feng felt as if he could fight a Domain Realm expert without losing ground even without relying on Sword''s Transmigration and when both combatant''s Basic Attributes were equal. Once Shi Feng finished reveling in his recent improvements, he left the library and made his way to the Guild Residence. By now, 1,000 Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers had gathered in Zero Wing''s Residence, waiting in the second-floor hall. "Why did the Vice Guild Leader suddenly recall so many of us? Are we going to attack the Starlight Alliance?" "That''s likely. However, we won''t be able to take out those monster players with just Shield Warriors and Berserkers." "Maybe we''re going on a quest?" Many of these Tier 2 experts were curious about Aqua Rose''s sudden summons, and they all discussed the situation as they waited. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s members felt a surge of motivation after witnessing so many expert players gather. They hadn''t realized that their Guild had so many Tier 2 experts. If there were already 1,000 Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers, it was easy to imagine how many more Tier 2 experts were in Zero Wing. Moreover, every one of these Tier 2 players had already reached Level 60. Only peak experts had reached such a high level thus far. Many peak experts from first-rate Guilds had only recently reached Level 60. "Guild Leader, everyone''s here," Aqua Rose said as Shi Feng entered the Guild Hall. Worriedly, she continued, "But, Guild Leader, do you intend to fight the Starlight Alliance in the Witch''s Hill? I have seen those monster players'' strength. Without Berserk Skills, our Tier 2 experts have no hope against them." "Those monster players?" Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, "No, that''s not the plan." Aqua Rose could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. If they faced the Starlight Alliance in the Witch''s Hill now, they''d be at a severe disadvantage. If they wanted to defeat the alliance, they had to accumulate enough Magicbreaking Crossbows and Basic Combat Devices. "My target is the Starlight Alliance''s Wildhammer Town!" Shi Feng declared. "Notify everyone to prepare Master Regeneration Potions. Those that don''t have any can collect some from the Guild Warehouse. Once they''re ready, send them to teleport to Zero Wing City!" 2015 Approaching Storm Chapter 2015 - Approaching Storm "Wildhammer Town?!" Aqua Rose was stunned to hear Shi Feng''s target. Wildhammer Town was one of the two Guild Towns in the Witch''s Hill. It was also the town that Knight''s Judgement poured its resources into developing. At this point, the town had as many as twelve Defense Turrets... How were they supposed to capture the town with just 1,000 Tier 2 players? "Mhm. Wildhammer Town doesn''t need to exist anymore." Shi Feng nodded, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Sensing the killing intent radiating from Shi Feng, Aqua Rose recognized his determination. She was at a loss for words. Zero Wing had never tried to stop any of the large Guilds from developing in the Witch''s Hill. After all, the more popular the Witch''s Hill became, the more of an asset it would be to Zero Wing. However, not only had the Starlight Alliance openly declared war on Zero Wing, but it had also made multiple attempts to provoke the Guild. It was only natural that Zero Wing issue a response. Unfortunately, Wildhammer Town''s defenses easily surpassed those of a Basic Town. Even several tens of thousands of elite and expert players might not be enough to capture a normally-fortified Basic Town, much less Wildhammer Town, which the Starlight Alliance had invested a ton of resources and manpower into. When Shi Feng finished speaking, he turned on his heel and headed toward the Guild Warehouse, leaving behind a worried Aqua Rose in the Guild Hall''s threshold. Aqua Rose promptly recovered and notified the 1,000 Tier 2 experts of Shi Feng''s instructions. She had them collect their Master Regeneration Potions and teleport to Zero Wing City. Shortly after the Tier 2 experts left, a few spies hiding in Zero Wing reported to their superiors in the various large Guilds. "What?! Zero Wing plans to fight the Starlight Alliance in the Witch''s Hill?!" "It seems we''ll get an interesting show in the Witch''s Hill soon. Notify our Guild members! Everyone is to prepare to move at a moment''s notice! Once Zero Wing has been defeated, we''ll attack its Guild members in the fields! We cannot let the kingdom''s other Guilds steal this opportunity to make a name for themselves!" When the various major powers'' upper echelons learned that the 1,000-man team of Tier 2 experts in Zero Wing''s White River City Residence had teleported to Zero Wing City, they knew that the Guild had gotten serious. They immediately commanded their Guild members to prepare for Zero Wing''s defeat. When news of Zero Wing''s movements reached the Starlight Alliance, the allied Guilds made their own preparations. "Zero Wing is finally on the move!" "Zero Wing is, after all, Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. To protect its reputation, Zero Wing must fight us. How could it continue in the kingdom if it hides like a coward?" "Notify the War Riders! Tell them to gather in the Witch''s Hill!" "We have so many monster players and experts on our side. Including the War Riders, who are equipped for large-scale field combat, we''ll force Zero Wing into ruin." "Hopefully, Zero Wing doesn''t surrender too quickly. I don''t want our plan to whittle down Zero Wing''s main force to go to waste." "In that case, we should deliberately act weak and let Zero Wing assume that victory is within its grasp. That way, we''ll be able to sap away the Guild''s strength." "Right! Let''s do that! Notify our teams to hold back a little. However, they are to kill as many players wielding Magicbreaking Crossbows and Basic Combat Devices as possible." The various representatives in the Starlight Alliance''s meeting voiced their opinions. Soon, they all reached a consensus and decided to toy with Zero Wing on the battlefield. For a time, the experts from the Starlight Alliance''s dozen or so member Guilds gathered in the Witch''s Hill. At the same time, a large group of players from the War Riders adventurer team appeared in Zero Wing City. Despite being adventurer team members, these players moved with the discipline of Guild players. Not only were all of them Level 57 or higher, but they also had over 1,000 Tier 2 players with them. It wasn''t long before the players in the Teleportation Hall noticed these adventurer team members. "Zero Wing? I''ve been hearing this name for so long. Hopefully, the Guild isn''t too disappointing," a Level 60, Tier 2 Guardian Knight muttered as he exited the teleportation array and glanced over Zero Wing City''s Teleportation Hall, a hint of excitement shining in his eyes. When adventurer team experts in the hall noticed this cloaked Shield Warrior with a Mana-imbued shield in the hall, they gasped. "Why is Roaring Flame here?" "Are the War Riders participating in the Guild war?" Many experts were shocked as they stared at this unruly, middle-aged man. The War Riders adventurer team was among the best adventurer teams in God''s Domain right now. Roaring Flame, the War Riders'' commander, even ranked among the top 100 on the God''s Domain''s Experts List. Countless adventurer team players in God''s Domain revered him as an idol. With the War Riders sudden appearance in a backwater area like Star-Moon Kingdom, why wouldn''t these players be surprised? For a time, tension shot through Zero Wing City due to the War Riders'' presence. Zero Wing''s members were particularly concerned when they saw the War Riders'' multiple 1,000-man teams marching through the city streets. Meanwhile, in Zero Wing City''s Residence: "Guild Leader, members of the War Riders adventurer team have appeared in Zero Wing City," Aqua Rose reported to Shi Feng. "I suspect that the Starlight Alliance has invited them here. Why don''t we eliminate them?" She was quite familiar with the War Riders adventurer tarn. Unlike orthodox adventurer teams, the War Riders operated like a band of mercenaries. Not only were the adventurer team''s members individually powerful, but they were also particularly adept in large-scale combat as a team. The War Riders had proved their capacity for top-notch battle strategies and formations that allowed the team members to exhibit greater strength than it should reasonably be able to. Many superpowers had suffered significant losses at the War Riders'' hands. In Aqua Rose''s opinion, the fact that the War Riders had arrived in Zero Wing City spelled nothing good for the Guild. If the adventurer team wanted to develop in the Witch''s Hill, it should seak permission from Zero Wing first. The fact that the adventurer team hadn''t meant that it was under the Starlight Alliance''s employ. Meanwhile, now that the War Riders were inside Zero Wing City, the Guild had the home-ground advantage. This was the perfect opportunity to remove the adventurer team from the equation. With Zero Wing''s defenses, not even the infamous War Riders had any hope of leaving the city alive. "Forget it. Even though they have allied with the Starlight Alliance, they haven''t openly opposed us. If we kill them in Zero Wing City, it will only cause a panic among the independent players and various adventurer teams in the city, which would be detrimental to Zero Wing''s development," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he shook his head. Roaring Flame should''ve considered this, in Shi Feng''s opinion, so the man teleported to Zero Wing City alongside his teammates. Shi Feng had to admit that the Roaring Flame was a calculating individual. It was no wonder why the War Riders had become one of God''s Domain''s true top adventurer teams in the past, an existence that even the various superpowers had feared. "I guess you''re right, but I don''t like the idea of letting them take advantage of us," Aqua Rose grumbled, frustrated. Despite the War Riders'' bold use of their teleportation services, they couldn''t do anything about it "Take advantage of us?" Shi Feng laughed. "Our services are not that easy to take advantage of. Renew the teleportation settings. For today only, adjust Zero Wing City''s teleportation fees to their maximum. The War Riders can use our services as much as they want to." "Understood! I''ll see to it immediately!" Aqua Rose joyfully replied. If they adjusted the teleportation fee to the maximum, even Tier 2 experts would wince at the expense. 2016 Giant Conversion Chapter 2016 - Giant Conversion Zero Wing, Four Towers of Elements: Due to the Four Towers of Elements'' teleportation ability and the Witch''s Hill''s popularity, an extraordinarily large number of players gathered at the towers to use the teleportation service each day. Even though the Starlight Alliance had placed a teleportation seal on Zero Wing City, such teleportation seals could only be maintained for a certain time; constant seals didn''t exist. Hence, for the sake of safe and convenient travel, players still visited the Four Towers of Elements. However, the players currently visiting the towers were in an uproar. "What''s going on? Why is the teleportation fee suddenly so expensive? I''m only traveling within the Witch''s Hill map, yet I have to pay more than 1 Gold? This is daylight robbery!" "Even as a Tier 2 player, I only earn one or two Gold Coins in profit per day in the Witch''s Hill. Has Zero Wing gone insane?" The players visiting the Four Towers of Elements heatedly debated over the sudden increase in teleportation fees. Meanwhile, the multiple 1,000-man teams that had lined up in one of the towers was just as stunned by the discovery. "Commander, Zero Wing is too sinister. It raised the teleportation fee. We have 20,000 people that need to travel, which will cost more than 23,000 Gold in total. Zero Wing has done this on purpose," a female, Tier 2 Cursemancer in a set of gray robes fumed as she complained to Roaring Flame. Although their adventurer team had a lot of members, they didn''t have nearly as many funds as a first-rate Guild. Currently, they had only saved up around 70,000 Gold in their shared warehouse. If they spent over 23,000 Gold on teleportation fees, they would lose over one-third of their adventurer team''s liquid funds, significantly impacting their ability to purchase resources and nurture new members. "It seems Zero Wing has noticed us, but this type of greeting is certainly unorthodox," Roaring Flame said, laughing. "Since Zero Wing doesn''t want to allow us to teleport out of the city, we''ll walk." "Zero Wing is cowardly. It is afraid of us working with the Starlight Alliance against its forces, so it has used this plan deliberately to buy time?" the Level 59, Tier 2 Cursemancer asked, clicking her tongue. "I had thought Zero Wing was a mysterious and powerful Guild, but it seems that there''s nothing really special about it after all. Does Zero Wing really think delaying us will change anything?" With no other choice, the War Riders left Zero Wing City through the city''s entrance. Meanwhile, a 100-man team stood on the top floor of the tower the War Riders had left. Although these team members had hidden under Black Cloaks, their auras were intense enough to drive Tier 2 players away. If Shi Feng were present, he would have noticed that this 100-man team consisted of Blackwater''s Heavenly Eagle Legion, established by Xuanwu Chisha. Quite a few of these players were Refinement Realm experts, and Snow Scar, the leader of the team, had recently risen through the ranks on the God''s Domain''s Experts List, earning the title of ''Spear Demon.'' "So, it''s true; as the report stated, the War Riders have joined the Starlight Alliance. Zero Wing is in for a tough fight." "Zero Wing is pitiful. It''s going to lose its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild before we even have a chance to take action." "That''s right! Sin Realm has deep connections with Beast Emperor, so the Guild has gotten its hands on the power to transform players into monsters. Based on what we''ve learned, the Star Alliance has prepared over 3,000 monster players to ensure Zero Wing''s destruction. It''s also dispatched another 20,000 experts, and the War Riders are providing reinforcements. As long as Zero Wing leaves this city, the Starlight Alliance will devour it." "I''ve heard that Roaring Flame, the War Rider''s commander, is exceptionally strong. Seeing him now, he truly seems powerful. It''s no wonder why he dared to reject the Vice Guild Leader''s recruitment offer." "Seeing his strength makes me want to challenge him to a duel." "I''d rather duel Black Flame. I want to see if he is as powerful as the rumors make him out to be." "Alright, enough! Don''t forget our task!" As the discussion reached a tipping point, Snow Scar interjected. Everyone on the team immediately shut their mouths. Unlike when the Heavenly Eagle Legion had initially been established, this team was convinced of Snow Scar''s strength and followed his leadership obediently. "Head to your respective positions and wait Be prepared to act as soon as Zero Wing sends its army out of Zero Wing City!" Snow Scar snapped through the team chat. "Whether Zero Wing wins or loses, we are going to sever its income source." "Understood!" The team members then split up and headed toward each of the Elemental Towers. Once they received the command, they''d destroy Zero Wing City''s Four Towers of Elements, the city''s greatest income source. Zero Wing! Although our plan is despicable, you only have yourself to blame for standing in Blackwater''s way! Snow Scar glanced at the distant Zero Wing Residence one final time before heading to his appointed location. While the various major powers were paying close attention to the situation in the Witch''s Hill, 1,000 Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Berserkers had gathered in the second-floor hall of Zero Wing''s Residence. Even now, they didn''t know why Shi Feng had called them there, and they couldn''t help but discuss the situation amongst themselves. They had only fallen quiet after Shi Feng and Aqua Rose had entered the hall. "Since everyone here is a core member of our Guild, I''ll just come out with it We want you to fulfill a specific task, but it requires that you convert to the Giant race, gaining far greater Strength. If you do not wish to convert, you may leave. I''ll find a replacement later. If there are no problems, line up before me to complete the conversion," Shi Feng stated after sweeping a glance over the players in the hall. "Convert to the Giant race?" Aqua Rose was stunned when she heard Shi Feng''s intentions. She knew a little about race conversion, so she understood the benefits of converting to a neutral race, especially the Giants. The Giant race had been fathered by the Titans and wielded incredibly strong combat power. The Giants were far superior to humans. However, a race conversion wasn''t accomplished so easily. The players in the hall remained silent for some time, but once they recovered from their daze, they expressed their shock. They were all core members, so they knew about the benefits of converting to a neutral race, not to mention the legendary Giant race. The Giants were a mysterious race and even more powerful than Beastkin and Half-elves. After a moment of processing Shi Feng''s offer, they rushed to line up before their Guild Leader, hoping to be the first to become a Giant. Seeing his players'' excitement regarding the conversion, Shi Feng retrieved the Giant''s Holy Stone and began to change the players before him. After ten minutes or so, all 1,000 Shield Warriors and Berserkers had become four-meter-tall Giants, and with so many of them, the hall seemed a little crowded. "So strong!" Aqua Rose exclaimed as she examined the Giant players. She could feel an intense pressure radiating from every one of the Tier 2 Giants. With all 1,000 in one place, their combined aura was astounding. "Good! Let''s head to Wildhammer Town and pay the Starlight Alliance a visit!" Shi Feng nodded approvingly at the 1,000 Tier 2 Giants before him. He then activated Spatial Gate, opening a teleportation gate that led to Wildhammer Town''s area. 2017 Giant Raid Chapter 2017 - Giant Raid Witch''s Hill, WildhammerTown: Due to its proximity to the Million Forest, which made travel to the Otherworld Gate considerably easier, and the investments from multiple corporations, Wildhammer Town''s player population had grown past 600,000. Player Shops filled the town alongside the variety of virtual stores, which were run by real-world corporations. The town was no less prosperous than a minor NPC town. Since the Starlight Alliance was growing stronger, the number of merchant players and adventurer teams visiting the town continued to increase. Sooner or later, Wildhammer Town would become the main hub for players wanting to grind in the Million Forest. Although the town had to deal with the occasional monster siege, the Starlight Alliance had solid fortifications. Despite being a Basic Town, Wildhammer Town was surrounded by tall, solid walls, and over a dozen Defense Turrets and another dozen or so Arrow Towers had been built along the walls. The Starlight Alliance had also ensured that more than 20,000 players protected the town constantly. With all these defenses, not even the Witch''s Hill''s monsters could cause any damage. Moreover, the Guilds that made up the Starlight Alliance had constructed more than a dozen temporary Guild Residences. Even in the event that the town''s defenses failed to repel an enemy invasion, the Guilds could easily call in more than 100,000 players as reinforcements at a moment''s notice. One could say that Wildhammer Town was the safest town in Star-Moon Kingdom. As the sun set, the afterglow gradually covered the earth as darkness began to awake from its slumber. Currently, a robust man carrying a silver longbow climbed atop one of Wildhammer Town''s Defense Turrets and quietly observed the distant forest. The six-man party that guarded the turret stopped slacking the moment they noticed this man, growing nervous. Although this Tier 2 Ranger was only Level 57, an insignificant level in a Guild like Knight''s Judgement since so many Tier 2 players had already reached Level 58 and beyond, the six-man party only had admiration and respect for the man before him. This man was one of the only six players in Knight''s Judgment that had obtained an Advanced Legacy. He was also the only expert in the Guild to complete the Hell Mode Promotion Quest. He had been dubbed ''Soul Chaser'' in Star-Moon Kingdom- Eight Feathers! Anyone who had challenged the Tier 2 Promotion Quest understood how difficult the quest was. A lot of players had to spend a long time preparing for the Normal Mode Promotion Quest. Some expert players had even failed their Promotion Quests after reaching their current levels, still stuck at Tier 1. The Hell Mode Promotion Quest was practically a legend among players right now, yet Eight Feathers had completed it. Some time ago, the Ranger had sparred with Sin Realm''s famous seven great experts. Although he hadn''t defeated any of them, he hadn''t lost, either. Sin Realm''s seven great experts ranked at the very peak of Purple Thorns Kingdom''s players, but unlike these experts, Eight Feathers was still in his early 20s. He still had plenty of time for growth. "The forest seems pretty quiet today. I doubt we''ll see any monster sieges," Eight Feathers said, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes as he gazed at the forest. The six players on duty nodded in approval. They were also disappointed with the lack of activity. Although fending off monster sieges was troublesome, it was an opportunity to obtain treasures and train. "The players on duty yesterday were so lucky. They got to participate in a monster siege. Why don''t we get to have any fun?" "I''ve heard that Commander Eight made a killing yesterday. He even managed to obtain a piece of Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment and over 20 Primordial Crystal Fragments." "I heard the same! The players on duty also earned two or three fragments each! They''re so lucky! With a few more fragments, they can synthesize them into a full crystal and upgrade their Guild Mounts to Bronze rank! The Bronze Guild Mounts'' speed and appearances are to die for! I wonder when I''ll get to synthesize my own crystal?" "There''s no need to be in such a hurry. Zero Wing has decided to fight the Starlight Alliance. Once it''s defeated, the Witch''s Hill''s resources will be ours for the taking. Obtaining a Primordial Crystal will be a piece of cake." "I guess you''re right. But isn''t Zero Wing full of itself? Just because it is Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, it is taking us lightly. Doesn''t the Guild realize that we''ve entered a new era? Tier 2 players have already become commonplace. With how few Tier 2 experts Zero Wing has, how could it suppress the dozen or so Guilds in the Starlight Alliance?" When the plays atop the Defense Turret spoke about Zero Wing, they could not help but laugh at and ridicule the Guild''s ignorance. Even now, it tried to cling to its past achievements. However, as these players began to discuss where they should go to grind for Primordial Crystal Fragments, a spatial tear suddenly opened near the town''s main entrance, adding a bizarre effect to the reddening sky. The spatial tear continued to grow until it formed a black hole. Once the black hole had stabilized, a figure emerged and stepped onto Wildhammer Town''s main street. "A monster siege?" Watching from the Defense Turrets, the players on duty didn''t have a clear view of the figure. They could only see the invader''s enormous framer. This invader was far larger than the players wandering the streets, so the watching players assumed that it must be a monster. "No! That marker... That guy''s a player!" Eight Feathers, who had incredible sight, exclaimed as he shook his head, his expression grim. The invader was four meters tall and radiated an aura resembling that of a wild beast. No matter how he considered the situation, this invader would be difficult to deal with. Moreover, the invading player was Level 60, which only peak experts had reached at this stage of the game. This only solidified the idea that this player wasn''t to be trifled with. Shortly after the first Giant appeared, more began to emerge from the black hole. In a brief moment, several dozen Giant players graced Wildhammer Town''s streets... Most importantly, these Giant players wore the six-winged emblem of Zero Wing. "Zero Wing''s members dare to trespass in our Wildhammer Town?! Are they that tired of living?! Commander, let''s blast them to smithereens!" No matter how powerful players were, they were still players. Against the Defense Turrets, they were little more than cannon fodder. The fact that Zero Wing''s members had grown larger only made them easier targets. "The Defense Turrets'' AOE is too large! There are other players on the street! With so few of them, the NPC soldiers and patrol squads can deal with them easily enough!" Eight Feathers said. The Defense Turrets'' attacks did not differentiate between friend and foe. If they accidentally bombarded bystanders, it would be very bad for the town''s reputation. Rather than using the Defense Turrets, it was wiser to let the several thousand NPC soldiers and 20,000 player guards deal with these intruders. Furthermore, Zero Wing had only arrived with several dozen members. They didn''t need to employ the Defense Turrets for such a small force. However, when one of Knight''s Judgment''s patrol squads reached Zero Wing''s Giant players, one of Zero Wing''s massive members executed a Tier 1 Whirlwind Slash with his battle axe. The impact threw ten or so players from the 100-man team over a dozen yards away. The squad''s Tier 2 players remained standing, but for Tier 1 players, only those that wore plate armor had survived the attack. The rest had died instantly, their bodies transforming into streaks of light before disappearing... 2018 Battle at Wildhammer Chapter 2018 - Battle at Wildhammer Due to the frightening power the axe-wielding Giant player had just displayed, the bystanders on the street had fallen silent. When they looked at the shattered ground beneath the Giant player''s feet, they could not help but grow nervous. "So strong!" "Zero Wing isn''t seriously attacking Wildhammer Town, is it?" "Has Zero Wing gone insane?! It actually dares to attack Wildhammer Town directly?!" If they had been confused about why such a small group from Zero Wing had appeared in Wildhammer Town, they weren''t now. Zero Wing intended to strike out against the Starlight Alliance, and it would use Wildhammer Town to do it, the alliance''s most important base. Just as the surrounding crowd whispered among themselves, Zero Wing''s Tier 2 Giant players annihilated the first 100-man patrol squad that had greeted them. Even Knight''s Judgment''s Tier 2 players fell helplessly before the Giant Berserkers. After witnessing the Giant players'' combat power, the bystanders fled the scene, only daring to watch the battle from a long, safe distance. "Commander, the bystanders have left the battlefield. Should we open fire?" One of the players on duty at the Defense Turret turned to Eight Feathers, asking for confirmation. Zero Wing''s Giant players had displayed far greater combat power than they had expected. The patrol squad had consisted of 100 elite and expert players from Knight''s Judgment, yet these several dozen intruders had wiped out the squad in less than ten seconds. The Giant players'' mighty Strength had carved out numerous craters on the town''s main street If these players were allowed to wreak havoc, Wildhammer Town would suffer significant damage. "Sure enough, Zero Wing has come prepared. Open fire! Annihilate them before they leave that street! We cannot let them cause damage to the rest of the town!" Eight Feathers commanded through the team chat Even he felt slightly threatened as he watched Zero Wing''s Giant players. If they were allowed to destroy the town and kill these players, the consequences would be unimaginable. "Understood!" Upon hearing Eight Feathers'' command, the players manning the town''s Defense Turrets went into action. Very quickly, over a dozen Defense Turrets turned and fired upon the Giant players simultaneously. A series of explosions rang out from the Defense Turrets. With the turret''s range and AOE attacks, Zero Wing''s members had no hope of escaping the blast radius in time. However, a dozen or so Tier 2 Shield Warriors among the Giant players suddenly stepped forward and raised their shields, receiving the cannon shells. Boom... Boom... Boom... The cannon shells exploded as they collided with the shields, and the resulting shockwaves were so intense that even the players some distance away could feel them. However, once the dust settled, the revealed scene stupefied the watching players. Not only had the Giant Shield Warriors survived the attacks, but they also remained in their original positions; not one of them had taken a single step back. Moreover, the Shield Warriors hadn''t even lost 10% of their HPs. "How high is their Defense?! Those were Tier 3 attacks!" The players manning the Defense Turrets stared at the barely injured intruders in astonishment The Defense Turret''s cannon shells could even deal over -300,000 damage to Tier 3 NPCs. The attacks would kill players instantly if they landed. A Tier 2 Shield Warrior with both a Berserk Skill and a Lifesaving Skill might survive, but only barely. However, the Giant players had taken almost no damage after receiving the Defense Turrets'' attacks. They would look as good as new if they simply dusted off their armor. "Commander, what should we do?" the players manning the Defense Turrets asked Eight Feathers desperately. "Prepare to fire another around! Once the Cooldown ends, fire!" Even Eight Feathers watched Zero Wing''s Giant players with a grim expression. Finishing them off would take quite some time with how high these Giants'' Defense and Strength were. Meanwhile, these dozen or so Giant players would wreak havoc in Wildhammer Town. The moment Eight Feathers finished issuing his command, he caught sight of more Giant players emerging from the black hole. He was so shocked that his mind froze momentarily. But contrary to his expectations, these Giant players didn''t start a rampant slaughter. After exiting the black hole, the new arrivals guarded their position alongside the first group of Giants. "Quick! Notify the Guild Leader! Request reinforcements to Wildhammer Town immediately!" Eight Feathers barked as a foreboding feeling overwhelmed him. When one normally launched a surprise attack on an opponent''s town, they''d do their best to avoid the town''s defenses and cause as much destruction as possible. After all, the Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers'' power was no laughing matter, and every Guild Town had plenty of NPC soldiers for security. Once the invaders were surrounded, they''d be doomed. However, Zero Wing''s Giant players showed no intention of doing so. They simply stood on the main street and wasted time as they fell into a defensive formation. No matter how one looked at the situation, their behavior seemed foolish. The more time Zero Wing wasted, the more of an advantage the town''s defenders would have. But was Zero Wing truly that foolish? As Eight Feathers watched more Giant players gather on the main street, his hands began to tremble. However, he didn''t tremble with excitement, but because he had considered a possibility. His enemy didn''t care about advantages or disadvantages. Zero Wing had full confidence in its ability to capture Wildhammer Town. The players manning the Defense Turret felt that Eight Feathers was making a mountain of a molehill. The intruders were merely a small group of Giant players, not a 1,000,000-strong army. Did they really need every Guild in the Starlight Alliance to send reinforcements? However, despite their opinions, they followed the Ranger''s orders and contacted their Guild Leader, letting him decide what should be done. After a short moment, 1,000 Giant players had gathered in Wildhammer Town. The crowd''s breathing grew heavy as they watched the invaders. A single Giant player could easily negate a Defense Turret''s attack, and a thousand of these monstrous players now stood in the middle of their town... Tension shot through the town''s independent players and those from Knight''s Judgment. When everyone began to assume that nothing else would emerge from the black hole, a figure, which was considerably smaller than the Giant players, appeared. When they saw this figure, both the independent players and Knight''s Judgment''s members grew even more nervous. "Black Flame?!" "Black Flame is leading the attack himself?" Everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom knew the name ''Black Flame.'' He was a legendary existence that had the power to stand against a Tier 4 Mythic monster by himself for a short time. Even now, everyone could easily recall his achievements. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you actually decided to visit Wildhammer Town personally? This is truly surprising. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" Eight Feathers asked, deliberately dragging his words to buy time. Relying on a bunch of Defense Turrets and NPC soldiers wouldn''t be nearly enough against an expert with Mythic-level combat power. They needed to use their Guild''s trump card, but activating it required time. "Since the Starlight Alliance has declared war on Zero Wing, we are here to issue our response and wipe the Starlight Alliance from Star-Moon Kingdom''s map!" Shi Feng responded, his tone casual. It was as if he knew that Eight Feathers was trying to buy time and didn''t mind at all. "Do you think that''s really possible with just 1,000 players?" Glancing at the time, Eight Feathers grinned and shouted, "Activate the magic array!" Suddenly, a gigantic magic array manifested, enveloping the main street and several adjacent streets. The intruding expert''s Basic Attributes plummeted as the powerful pressure from the array washed over them. This was Wildhammer Town''s trump card_a large-scale Intermediate Magic Array that could even survive against a Mythic monster''s attacks for a considerable amount of time. The enemy players caught within the array would lose at least 20% of their Basic Attributes. "Why not?" Shi Feng responded by activating Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance. 2019 Destruction of Wildhammer Chapter 2019 - Destruction of Wildhammer The instant Shi Feng activated Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance, a silver ripple spread out from him. When the silver ripple passed through the non-Zero Wing members, their bodies immediately felt heavier as their Basic Attributes decreased. Even their reaction speeds had become slightly sluggish. Meanwhile, this silver ripple quickly engulfed the entire Wildhammer Town. "What''s going on? Why can''t I contact the outside world?" When the ripple stopped expanding and disappeared, a translucent barrier enveloped the entire Wildhammer Town. Some of the players inside the town quickly discovered that communications with the outside world had been completely cut off. They couldn''t even access Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. The Starlight Alliance members present in the town started panicking. Not only were their Basic Attributes and physique heavily suppressed, but they were also rendered incommunicado. They naturally wouldn''t be able to ask for reinforcements and could only deal with the 1,000 Giant players, who suddenly had their Attributes enhanced, all by themselves. They were already at an absolute disadvantage even when fighting against the Giants in their normal state. Now that the gap in Attributes had been further widened... "Alright, I won''t mind if anyone else inside the town wishes to help the Starlight Alliance. Now, let''s start a delightful fight!" Shi Feng said as he swept a glance at the various independent players and adventurer teams, who were showing hints of wanting to take action. Although Shi Feng did not speak that loudly, it would be hard for everyone not to hear him as the street was deathly silent right now. The various independent players and adventurer team members involuntarily avoided his gaze, their eyes wide with fear. "Amazing! With just a few words, Black Flame scared the players that were planning to take advantage of the situation into inaction!" "Of course! After seeing all the cards Zero Wing has revealed thus far, in addition to hearing Black Flame''s calm tone, who would dare make an enemy out of Zero Wing now?" "As expected of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. With his charisma and intelligence, the Starlight Alliance will definitely have their hands full dealing with Zero Wing. With this, the Starlight Alliance will most likely have a difficult time getting the players inside the town to help out." When the upper echelon of the various Guilds that were not part of the Starlight Alliance saw this scene, they felt great admiration for Shi Feng. At the same time, their wariness of Zero Wing also further increased. At this moment, Eight Feathers, who had reached the battlefield, waved his hand. Immediately, several players hidden along the street took out Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls and aimed the scrolls at Shi Feng. In the next moment, gigantic magic arrays bloomed above the main street, one after another. "Black Flame! Pay for your arrogance!" Eight Feathers shouted as he glared at Shi Feng and the other members of Zero Wing. "Attack!" Nine Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells activated simultaneously, the AOE of the Spells covering the entire main street. The power of the Spells was much greater than the attacks of the Defense Turrets. Shields also wouldn''t be effective against these Spells; MTs could only endure them. Even if the Giant Shield Warriors activated their Lifesaving Skills and survived this combined attack, they would most likely have very little HP remaining. As for Shi Feng, even if the Swordsman was more amazing, he would not be able to kill the nine players activating the nine Magic Scrolls within the scrolls'' short activation time. The nine gigantic magic arrays in the sky immediately released a blinding glow and started rapidly sucking up the Mana available in Wildhammer Town''s main street However, even after seeing that the nine Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells were about to activate, Shi Feng still showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he merely waved his hand casually. Forbidden Domain! A gray ripple spread out from Shi Feng and shattered the magic arrays in the sky, allowing the rampaging Mana to calm down. Following which, the nine large-scale destruction Spells vanished without accomplishing anything. What?! Why does he have a large-scale Silencing Domain?! Eight Feathers'' eyes widened as he checked the nine players responsible for activating the large-scale-destruction Magic Scrolls. At this moment, the Magic Scrolls these players previously wielded had already disappeared. This situation was clearly the effect of the Silenced debuff. The Silenced debuff made attacks using Skills and Spells impossible. If they were to fight inside this Silencing Domain''s AOE, they would be in an extremely disadvantageous position. Now, their only way to repulse Zero Wing''s members was by utilizing the Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers. Although these defensive structures would have little to no effect against Zero Wing''s Giant players, these defensive structures could still buy them time to escape the Silencing Domain''s AOE. Just as Eight Feathers was about to have the Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers bombard the main street, a clear and crisp voice suddenly entered his ears. "Now that you''re done attacking, it''s my turn now. Hopefully, this Spell will be to your satisfaction!" Shi Feng said as he pointed a finger to the sky. Flame Domain! Immediately after, Eight Feathers saw a massive, crimson magic array appear overhead, covering nearly half of the entire main street. "Not good!" At this moment, the magic array encompassed every Starlight Alliance member on the main street Before Eight Feathers could order a retreat, however, a column of flames descended from the magic array, the flames visible to all the players in Wildhammer Town. The ground within the AOE of Flame Domain instantly turned into lava. Meanwhile, even the Level 80, Tier 2 NPCs didn''t survive, dying and turning into ashes after getting caught within the fiery hell for a few seconds. After the column of flames disappeared, the scene that appeared had all the onlookers gasping involuntarily. Several thousand players and a few hundred NPC soldiers had disappeared, just like that. Now, nearly half of the main street was void of life, with plenty of player items strewn across the street. Most importantly, the players killed by the column of flames were the main fighting force of the Starlight Alliance. This loss was much more severe than if the Starlight Alliance had lost several tens of thousands of Tier 1 elite members. After all, while Tier 1 and Tier 2 experts were somewhat capable of hindering Zero Wing''s Giant players, Tier 1 elite players were practically cannon fodder in front of the Tier 2 Giant players. As for Shi Feng, after seeing that he had torn a hole in the enemy encirclement, he commanded, "Everyone, advance! Our target is Knight''s Judgment''s Residence!" A part of the reason why capturing a town or city was considered difficult was the external defenses. Enemies would have a difficult time breaking into the town or city. However, unlike cities, towns did not have defensive magic arrays to prevent enemies from teleporting directly into the town via a Skill or tool. In a situation where the Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers were ineffective, the only trouble they would face was the Tier 2 players and NPC soldiers garrisoning the town. Previously, the Starlight Alliance''s Tier 2 players and NPC soldiers had a considerable numerical advantage. However, after the blast from Flame Domain, that advantage had diminished. Moreover, Miniature World was also suppressing the surviving players and NPCs. Hence, Shi Feng was no longer worried about facing any problems and commanded his team to head straight for their target. After Shi Feng gave the command, the 1,000 Giant players promptly charged toward Knight''s Judgment''s Guild Residence. The Tier 2 Giant Berserkers in front easily tore through the Starlight Alliance''s defensive lines. The Starlight Alliance''s members could not even slow Zero Wing''s advance. Only the Tier 2 experts that had activated their Berserk Skills could contend against the Giants. However, Zero Wing''s Giant players also possessed Berserk Skills. Like rampaging wild beasts, the several Tier 2 Giant Berserkers who had activated Power of Darkness were capable of killing over a dozen players with a single attack. Even the Level 80, Tier 2 NPCs received a one-sided beating when going up against them. Presented with this scene, the spectating independent players did not dare to leave their current positions, deeply afraid of attracting the attention of these violent Giant players. As for the adventurer teams and members of small Guilds that were previously planning to take advantage of the situation to attack Zero Wing, they had given up entirely on their thoughts. They also celebrated the fact that they had not hastily taken action. Before the players inside Wildhammer Town could recover from their shock, Zero Wing''s Giant players had already charged into Knight''s Judgment''s heavily fortified Residence, destroyed the Guild Flag located on the first underground floor, and obtained Wildhammer Town''s Town Order. With this, the Starlight Alliance had lost all control over Wildhammer Town. 2020 Great Changes Chapter 2020 - Great Changes Star-Moon Kingdom, Witch''s Hill: Due to indications that Zero Wing would take action, many of the Starlight Alliance''s members had gathered a short distance away from Zero Wing City and were grinding there, thoroughly sealing off the paths leading from the city, while quietly awaiting Zero Wing''s next move. However, standing atop a hill a short distance away from Zero Wing City, Shadowlight Axe, the Guild Leader of Knight''s Judgment, was currently confused and agitated. Just a short while ago, he had suddenly received news that Knight''s Judgment had lost control over Wildhammer Town. Moreover, this was directly announced into the ears of every Guild member of Knight''s Judgment. Guild System: Zero Wing has captured Wildhammer Town''s Town Order. Wildhammer Town will no longer be under Knight''s Judgment''s jurisdiction. Guild Popularity reduced by 2,000. Although Shi Feng''s Miniature World sealed off the communications of players caught within the Skill''s AOE, it could not prevent the release of the notification of the Guild Town''s capture. As long as one was a member of Knight''s Judgment, they would immediately receive news of Wildhammer Town''s capture. This could be considered a morale punishment toward a Guild that failed to defend its town. "Wildhammer Town got captured? How is this possible?" "What did Zero Wing do?" The sudden notification threw Knight''s Judgment''s members for a loop. Wildhammer Town was a town their Guild had fortified heavily. Just the players garrisoning the town numbered over 20,000. There were also more than two dozen static defenses built in the town, as well as thousands of NPC soldiers. Most importantly, Knight''s Judgment had invested a lot of money into building a sturdy wall, which encompassed the entire town and prevented players from vaulting over it. The only way to get into the town was by destroying the wall. However, doing so would be extremely difficult. Even 100 Tier 2 players targeting a single section of the wall would need to launch numerous attacks to reduce the wall''s durability by just one point. Even if Zero Wing''s members had war weapons like cannons, they should still take quite some time to breach the wall. Hence, Knight''s Judgment''s members found it truly hard to imagine that such a we 11-fortified town could actually be capturedand within only a short time. At this moment, confusion plagued the entire Knight''s Judgment. Even Shadowlight Axe, who had experienced countless trials and tribulations, wore an ashen complexion, a cold glint flashing across his eyes. "Guild Leader, let''s rush back to Wildhammer Town now! We can''t let Zero Wing get away with this so easily!" a Level 59, Tier 2 male Cleric urged anxiously. Even if a Guild Town''s Town Order were snatched, the town would not immediately switch owners. The ruling Guild would simply lose control of the town. If the ruling Guild could snatch the Town Order back within an hour, the town would promptly return to the ruling Guild''s control. "No, we''re out of time for that," Shadowlight Axe said as he shook his head in frustration. "What we need to do now is head immediately to Warring Empire''s Golden Flow Town. Also, look into how Zero Wing managed to capture Wildhammer Town. Afterward, we''ll discuss with the rest of the alliance how we should proceed." Nowadays, Wildhammer Town was Knight''s Judgment''s main support. It was precisely because of Wildhammer Town''s existence that Knight''s Judgment received a large amount of funding, gaining an advantage over the other major powers. Without Wildhammer Town, Knight''s Judgment''s position would plummet into oblivion. If it were possible to take back Wildhammer Town''s Town Order, he, too, wished to do so. However, Knight''s Judgment''s main army was currently far from Wildhammer Town. With their ability to teleport to the town robbed, they would need over an hour to reach Wildhammer Town even if they took the shortest route and traveled nonstop by Mount. Not to mention, there were also plenty of high-level monsters on the way there. "Understood! I''ll contact the other Guilds of the alliance!" The male Cleric had no choice but to nod in agreement with Shadowlight Axe''s words. Although he felt unreconciled to simply letting Zero Wing gain Wildhammer Town, he was helpless. Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing capturing Wildhammer Town spread like wildfire across the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. After all, the matter of a Guild Town falling was staggering news that could not be kept a secret Not to mention, the various large Guilds and adventurer teams of Star-Moon Kingdom were all paying close attention to the situation at the Witch''s Hill. "Are you kidding me? That Wildhammer Town actually fell to Zero Wing? What did Zero Wing do?" "Could this information be fake?" When the players of Star-Moon Kingdom found out about this matter, their first reaction was denial. After all, how could such a well-fortified town fall so easily? Moreover, Zero Wing had captured the town so quickly that almost no news about it had leaked beforehand. The only thing everyone knew before this was that Zero Wing had suddenly gathered 1,000 Tier 2 experts. However, what could 1,000 Tier 2 experts possibly do against a Guild Town? It would be sheer suicide to attack a Guild Town with such a small force. Just the NPC soldiers inside the town would be more than enough to kill these experts. Meanwhile, the news of Zero Wing suddenly capturing Wildhammer Town sent the ferment in Star-Moon Kingdom into an immediate and rapid cooldown. The various major powers automatically took a step back and started observing the situation more carefully. After all, if Zero Wing was capable of capturing even a weH-fortified town like Wildhammer Town, then it was definitely more than capable of capturing the Guild Towns of smaller Guilds like theirs. "I really underestimated Zero Wing. To think it would capture Wildhammer Town so quickly... No wonder Zero Wing dares to resist Blackwater." Snow Scar, who currently stood inside one of the Four Towers of Elements, was surprised to receive news about this sudden development. "Commander, are we going to give up on destroying the Four Towers of Elements, then?" a Level 60, Tier 2 Assassin asked in a quiet tone. "Let''s wait a little while longer and see what actions the Starlight Alliance takes. The alliance has suffered a considerable setback with the loss of Wildhammer Town. It definitely won''t be able to sit still and do nothing. It will take some sort of action. And when it does, we''ll have our opportunity," Snow Scar replied, chuckling. The main reason why the Starlight Alliance was able to develop so rapidly in the Witch''s Hill was the two Guild Towns it controlled. Now that the number of Guild Towns it controlled had been halved, if the alliance still refused to take action, there would be only one outcome. The resources available in a single town wouldn''t be enough for so many corporations to share. It also wouldn''t be enough for the various member Guilds of the alliance. At that time, some corporations and Guilds would choose to withdraw from the alliance. Eventually, the Starlight Alliance would naturally disappear from Star-Moon Kingdom. Snow Scar had to admit that Zero Wing was truly vicious to deal such a fatal blow to the Starlight Alliance. Of course, achieving what Zero Wing achieved was also extremely difficult, to begin with. Witch''s Hill, Golden Flow Town: Due to Wildhammer Town''s capture, the entire Starlight Alliance was currently in chaos. After receiving a call from Shadowlight Axe, the representatives of every member Guild had gathered in Warring Empire''s Residence to hold an emergency meeting. "Zero Wing is truly ruthless. With this single move, it silenced the entire kingdom. As things stand, we''ll have a much more difficult time locking down the Million Forest," Wind Cloud, Sin Realm''s representative and a Tier 2 Assassin, said. Turning to Shadowlight Axe, he smiled and asked, "Do you have any thoughts on this or any information to report? Don''t tell me you still haven''t found out a single thing about what happened in Wildhammer Town even now." Aside from being one of Sin Realm''s seven great experts, Wind Cloud was also the most famous Assassin in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Many experts and Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds had fallen at his hands before he joined Sin Realm. Only after suffering defeat at Lone Beacon''s hands did he join Sin Realm. "My side has already received a report on what happened in Wildhammer Town. According to the report, Zero Wing raided Wildhammer Town suddenly by means of teleportation. Although only 1,000 people were teleported into the town, these 1,000 people were no ordinary players. They were all four meters tall and possessed extraordinary Strength and Defense. They could contend against Level 80, Tier 2 NPCs head-on and survive the attacks of Defense Turrets without receiving much damage," Shadowlight Axe said. He also did not forget to show the battle videos recorded. "So, the equivalent of 1,000 monster players?" Roaring Flame, War Riders'' commander, said, frowning. "What frightening combat power! If the fight occurs in a narrow place like the street of a town, they will indeed be very difficult to deal with." Roaring Flame frequently fought large-scale battles, so he understood very clearly how powerful these 1,000 Giant players would be in an urban battle. Battles inside of towns were different from battles out in the fields. Executing large-scale battle formations was extremely difficult inside a town. Rather, units of several hundred or several thousand players would be more suitable in such a situation. "We have too little information! We have never before heard about any of the cards Zero Wing has just shown! If we had, Zero Wing never would''ve succeeded!" Shadowlight Axe exclaimed. "That''s right! However, what we need to do now is take back Wildhammer Town. Although Zero Wing has these Giant players, we have monster players on our side. Moreover, we outnumber Zero Wing considerably. The only problem is that Domain Skill Black Flame used. Its suppression effect is simply too powerful. If we have some way to resist it, the problem would be solved much more easily," Sky View, Warring Empire''s Guild Leader, said as he nodded in agreement with Shadowlight Axe''s words. Dealing with the Giant players was not a problem. After all, their side had monster players. According to the information they received, the combat power of their monster players should be equal to that of Zero Wing''s Giant players. "No need to worry about this. I have a tool here that has a powerful suppression force, although the cost of activating it is very high. This tool can also summon powerful monsters. Although it can''t summon a lot of monsters, their quality is top- notch. They are much more powerful than even the Evil Beasts found in Ancient Rock City. In the past, when Zero Wing launched a large-scale attack against Ancient Rock City, it could only retreat in defeat when faced with those Evil Beasts. With these summoned monsters, we should not have any problem retaking Wildhammer Town," Wind Cloud said, smiling. "We''ll have to depend on Brother Wind afterward, then." Shadowlight Axe breathed out a sigh of relief. Wildhammer Town''s defenses were far from being a match for Ancient Rock City''s. It also didn''t have a defensive magic array protecting it. Although Wind Cloud wouldn''t be able to summon many monsters, if they included the support of a large number of monster players, retaking Wildhammer Town should be feasible. After all, Zero Wing lacked numbers. However, just as the gathered representatives were about to discuss further how they should retake Wildhammer Town, a person suddenly barged into the room with a panicked expression. When this person entered, everyone inside the room could hear quite the commotion coming from outside. "What''s going on outside? Why is it so noisy?! Don''t they know that we''re holding an important meeting?!" Sky View demanded of the Guild member that barged in. "Guild Leader! Not good! Outside... A large number of Giant players have suddenly appeared outside!" the Level 57 Berserker reported while panting. 2021 Sudden Appearance in Golden Flow Town Chapter 2021 - Sudden Appearance in Golden Flow Town After the jittery Berserker reported what was happening outside the Residence, the entire meeting room fell silent. "How is this possible?!" "Why would Zero Wing''s members be here? Didn''t they just capture Wildhammer Town?" "Are you sure you saw correctly?" This sudden development stupefied everyone inside the meeting room. Their minds simply could not process this turn of events. Even though the reporting Berserker had already explained things clearly, they still found an attack on Golden Flow Town inconceivable. Zero Wing had just fought a battle in Wildhammer Town. No matter how powerful Zero Wing''s Giant players were, they would definitely have suffered some losses. Meanwhile, only a little over two hours had passed since Zero Wing captured Wildhammer Town. Logically, Zero Wing should be prioritizing taking over of Wildhammer Town instead of launching another attack. Zero Wing''s unconventional way of doing things messed up their original plans. "We haven''t even gone to reclaim Wildhammer Town, yet Zero Wing is already knocking on our doors?" Wind Cloud revealed a playful smile at this situation. "Zero Wing is too arrogant! As soon as it captured Wildhammer Town, it is trying to take Golden Flow Town? Is Zero Wing planning on annihilating the Starlight Alliance in one fell swoop?" Shadowlight Axe, on the other hand, revealed a dark expression. In his opinion, the main reason why Zero Wing was able to capture Wildhammer Town before was the Starlight Alliance''s ignorance of the existence of the Giant players and of Zero Wing''s ability to teleport 1,000 players directly into a town. Had the alliance known about these things and prepared beforehand, Zero Wing wouldn''t have been able to take down Wildhammer Town at all. "Zero Wing most likely doesn''t know that we have already gathered our combat power in Golden Flow Town and is launching a preemptive strike," Sky View said, frowning as a hint of rage flashed across his eyes. Hurriedly, he turned to the reporting Berserker and ordered, "Relay my commands! Have every expert in the Guild gather in Golden Flow Town! I want Zero Wing''s visit here to be a one-way trip!" "However, it is best if we proceed with caution. We should not take Black Flame lightly. He might have some trap set up for us," Wind Cloud cautioned. Wildhammer Town and Golden Flow Town served as the Starlight Alliance''s foundation. Even the loss of one could push the alliance to the brink of annihilation. If both towns were lost, the Starlight Alliance would be done for. Hence, they needed to be extra careful in this upcoming battle. "This is certain! I will have everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom understand that Zero Wing is already old news! The future Star- Moon Kingdom will belong to the Starlight Alliance!" Sky View said, sneering. "Gather every monster player inside the town! Prepare all the war weapons and Magic Scrolls we have! Let''s go and meet Zero Wing!" "Let''s hope that''s the case..." Wind Cloud muttered in exasperation. He felt that Sky View wasn''t listening to him at all. However, he also had to admit that the current Golden Flow Town was quite unlike the lightly defended Wildhammer Town of before, what with the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelon, experts, and elites all gathered here. Afterward, the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelon went into action, ordering their Guild experts to gather at Golden Flow Town. At the same time, they also had their subordinates, who were already in town, form an encirclement around Zero Wing''s Giant players, to prevent Zero Wing from wreaking havoc on the town. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s 1,000 Giant players were already engaged in battle all over Golden Flow Town. Due to the effects of Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance, the Starlight Alliance''s members and NPC soldiers were at a total disadvantage. Giants sent players flying all around. Craters pocked the various streets. Rather than a battle between players, this scene looked more like a monster siege instead. The independent players inside the town could not help but be stunned upon seeing this scene. The Strength and Defense that Zero Wing''s Giant players possessed were absurd. The town''s Level 80 NPC soldiers were simply a joke before these Giants. However, under the commands of the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelon, a defensive encirclement quickly formed around Zero Wing''s members. Multiple teams led by Tier 2 experts started using magic arrays to suppress the Giant players and then engage these Giant players in battle. Among the various teams, the ones led by Guild upper echelons possessed the greatest strength. Not only were these teams composed entirely of Tier 2 players, but every team member was also an expert that was capable of reaching the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor at the very least. Due to the assistance of magic barriers, these experts could cooperate with each other to take advantage of the Giant players'' slow Movement Speed and reaction speed. Each expert team could go up against several Giant players at a time. The teams led by the Starlight Alliance''s four strongest powers performed even more fiercely. Wielding a flaming, magic staff, Sky View, Warring Empire''s Guild Leader, released one fire-type Spell after another, the power of each Spell rivaling that of Tier 3 Spells. Moreover, his attacks were extremely fasta perfect counter to the slow Giant players. All by himself, Sky View managed to deplete a Tier 2 Giant player''s HP in just a dozen seconds or so. After battling for around three minutes, Sky View''s 100-man team killed a Giant team made up of a dozen or so Giant players. Sky View then led his team to patch up the holes that had formed in the defensive encirclement, preventing other Giant teams from advancing. However, although the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelon teams performed well against the Giant players, their efforts were negligible, as they could cover only so much ground at a time. The corpses of the Starlight Alliance''s members filled many other locations in the town. "Zero Wing!" Sky View''s complexion turned very ugly as he looked at the corpses of his Guildmates strewn across the street he stood on. "In the name of the Warring Empire, I definitely will not let any of you leave this place alive!" This situation was simply horrible! Every Warring Empire member currently fighting in the town was an elite player at the very minimum. Among them, many were even expert players. These players were the mainstays of the Guild. With so many of these elite and expert players dying, Warring Empire would need a very long time to recover afterward. At this moment, the other Guild upper echelons were also experiencing the might of the Giant players and Shi Feng''s Miniature World. This situation was indeed outside of their expectations. "Brother Wind, are you still not ready?" Sky View asked through a call with Wind Cloud. "It''s done!" Wind Cloud, who was currently holding a ceremony in Warring Empire''s Residence, replied, smiling. As soon as Wind Cloud said so, the sky above Golden Flow Town suddenly darkened. At the same time, the 5,000 Level 50- plus players taking part in the ceremony in the Residence disintegrated instantly, their bodies transforming into pitch-black smoke that gathered in the sky. Afterward, the smoke started descending in streams, one after another. Upon reaching the ground, each stream of smoke took on a humanoid shape. Even the weakest among these humanoid gas lifeforms was a Level 70 Great Lord, with several among them being Level 70-plus Grand Lords. These gas lifeforms easily numbered in the hundreds. Moreover, the eyes of every one of these smoke monsters shone with intelligence. In addition to the appearance of these smoke monsters, the suppression effect of Miniature World also vanished without a trace. This move was none other than Sin Realm''s strongest trump cardDeath''s Praise. It was a super-rare Epic item that could be used only once every ten days. "This move from Sin Realm is amazing!" The smoke monsters astonished Roaring Flame, who was commanding the members of the War Riders. Even an army of 3,000 Tier 2 players would most likely fall if attacked by so many of these smoke monsters. "Good! Everyone, tighten the encirclement and kill every Giant player in sight!" Sky View commanded. Without the suppression of Miniature World, even the Great Lord ranked smoke monsters would be able to go toe-to-toe against the Giant players. As for the Grand Lords, they possessed combat power superior to the Giant players''and there were more than 50 of these Grand Lords. After just a short moment, Zero Wing''s Giant players started getting pushed back. Now, these Giant players no longer dared to operate in parties or small teams, as they would be killed off easily if they did so. "Zero Wing sure is gullible. Does it really think it can take down Golden Flow Town as easily as it did Wildhammer Town, using just 1,000 players?" "Since Zero Wing dares to look down on our Starlight Alliance, we should teach Zero Wing''s members the consequences of overreaching!" "I''m really looking forward to the expression of regret Black Flame is going to make. After this battle, I''ll definitely compile a close-up video of this battle and post it onto the official forums for him!" While the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelons were merrily chatting among themselves, the Starlight Alliance''s army cornered Zero Wing''s forces at the town''s central plaza. At this moment, only a little over 700 Giant players stood in the central plaza. Standing among these Giant players was a cloaked man carrying two exquisite longswords at his waist. The cloaked man was currently observing the situation with a calm gaze. Meanwhile, this cloaked man was none other than Black Flame, a person everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom was familiar with. "Guild Leader Black Flame! I''m sure you never thought that such a day would come for you, right?" Sky View said excitedly as he looked at Shi Feng. "Unfortunately, it is too late for regrets! Everyone, charge! Let Guild Leader Black Flame know how laughable his arrogance is!" 2022 True Slaughter Chapter 2022 - True Slaughter As soon as Sky View gave the command, the monster players and Tier 2 experts under his lead charged toward the central plaza. "Black Flame! Surrender your life!" Once Sky View was within 50 yards of Shi Feng, he activated his Berserk Skill, and the surrounding Mana surged toward him. His aura intensified until it was no weaker than the monster players'' around him. He then pointed his staff at Shi Feng. Small, crimson magic arrays began to surround Shi Feng. Spears of raging fire then flew from the arrays, one after another. Tier 2 Curse, Violent Flame Spears! This Curse was normally as powerful as a Tier 3 attack, and with the effects of Sky View''s special Berserk Skill, it had grown even more powerful. Now, each flame spear had the power to rival an attack from a Grand Lord of the same level. Even a Tier 2 MT with active Berserk and Lifesaving Skills would die instantly if they faced 28 flame spears from multiple directions. However, Shi Feng effortlessly deflected the spears with his swords. Moreover, he had done so without moving. In the end, every flame spear had brushed past him and crashed into the ground without accomplishing anything. Seeing that his first attack had failed, Sky View promptly cast his second ultimate move, the Tier 2 Curse, Flaming Fangs. Although Flaming Fangs only consisted of five attacks, far fewer than Violent Flame Spears, Sky View had full control of all five. In comparison, he could only aim the Violent Flame Spears when he activated the Spell. Once the Spell launched the attacks, the spears'' trajectories couldn''t be altered. The five Flaming Fangs circled Shi Feng like a crimson ring around him. With how fast the Flaming Fangs moved, guessing where and when they''d strike was almost impossible. "Die!" Once he found an opportunity, Sky View swung his staff. The five Flaming Fangs flew toward Shi Feng''s blind spots, altering their trajectories multiple times as they approached. Boom! Boom! Boom! A round of explosions shook the battlefield, but Shy View didn''t express joy even after releasing his attacks. He had practiced Flaming Fangs tirelessly to master the Spell. He had even created a Basic Combat Technique of his own to amplify the Spell''s effectiveness, yet the galaxy of stars that had manifested around Shi Feng had rendered all five Flaming Fangs useless. It was as if all of the effort he had invested was in vain... "Guild Leader Sky, we''ll help you!" Shadowlight Axe ran towards Sky View alongside a dozen or so monster players. "No! Wait!" Sky View yelled at Shadowlight Axe to stop as he watched Shi Feng, who remained unharmed. With the experience of countless life-or-death battles in God''s Domain, Sky View had honed his instincts to an extraordinary level. He was particularly sensitive to the threat of death and danger. After his brief clash with Shi Feng, he knew that the man wasn''t as simple as rumors had made him seem. His Flaming Fangs'' attacks had the Strength of a Grand Lord of the same level, yet Shi Feng had blocked all five of without any Skills; the man had simply relied on his own Strength. Shi Feng''s Strength definitely shouldn''t be underestimated. With a single mistake, they could all die in an instant. If they wanted to contend with a player of such Strength, they would need multiple Great Lord ranked monster players or the Starlight Alliance''s peak experts with active Berserk Skills. However, only one of the dozen or so monster players accompanying Shadowlight Axe was at the Great Lord standard. Based on Shi Feng''s serene performance, the three of them wouldn''t be enough to take the Swordsman down. Furthermore, Shi Feng hadn''t activated a Berserk Skill. Sky View realized that he''d need many more people to defeat this man. He''s already honed his instincts to such a beast-like level? Shi Feng flashed Sky View a surprised look as the man kept his distance. While Sky View and Shadowlight Axe watched Shi Feng warily, Roaring Flame and Wind Cloud had arrived with their respective teams. "Black Flame! We''ve sealed off all paths out of this plaza! You and your Guild members have no hope of escape!" Wind Cloud shouted, smiling faintly at Shi Feng. The town only had six paths that led to the central plaza, and the Starlight Alliance''s monster players had blocked all six. Moreover, they had used a spatial seal to lock down Golden Flow Town, preventing players from using Teleportation Skills or tools. Not even Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls would be effective within the seal. Now, all they had to do was eliminate Shi Feng and his Giant players. "The seal''s complete already?" Sky View could not help his grin after hearing Wind Cloud''s declaration. "Guild Leader Black Flame, it would seem that today, you will finally fall! Are you going to hand your life over obediently? Or should we take our time with killing you? Make your choice!" If Shi Feng''s Giant players had any hope of fleeing Golden Flow Town before, the Starlight Alliance''s players had dashed it. Now that the seal was in place, it was only a matter of time before Shi Feng and his force fell. "Sky View, why are you wasting your words on him? Why don''t we just kill him?" Shadowlight Axe asked. "What a pity. I really wanted an exciting battle, but I guess that won''t be possible," Roaring Flame sighed as he glanced at the eager crowd around him. "Black Flame, how can you appear so calm in the face of death? Truly arrogant!" Sky View was displeased with what he saw as he watched Shi Feng, who still maintained his composure. He then laughed and ridiculed, "Or is the almighty Guild Leader Black Flame scared stiff? Do you think you can turn the tables by using the same large-scale-destruction Spell you used in Wildhammer Town? Even if you do, it will be futile! We aren''t going to stand still and let you destroy us! Even with that Spell, we won''t let you accomplish anything here!" The Starlight Alliance members nodded in agreement. They then began to spread out. When they had learned about the means Zero Wing had used to capture Wildhammer Town, they had organized appropriate countermeasures. They had divided their main combat power into several groups. They would not let Zero Wing destroy their main combatants so easily again. "It seems that everyone is here now," Shi Feng said as he eyed the hundreds of monster players and smoke monsters around him. In a mild tone, he continued, "In that case, let''s begin the real battle!" "Still so calm in the face of death!?" "Do you truly think that you have a chance?!" "Black Flame, your arrogance ends here!" "Get out of the way! I''ll hack him down with my axe!" The Starlight Alliance''s upper echelons were enraged when they heard Shi Feng''s reply. They clearly had the upper hand, yet Shi Feng remained defiant. However, as the Starlight Alliance''s ranged members moved within 40 yards of the Swordsman, beginning to cast their Spells and nock their arrows, Shi Feng pulled a crimson globe from his bag. Suddenly, a colossal magic array formed above the crowd, driving the ambient fire-type Mana berserk. In the blink of an eye, the fire-type Mana gathered before Shi Feng and formed an eight-meter-tall Flame Dragon. Once the Fire Spirit took shape, it released a deafening roar. "It seems that you''re all mistaken about something. I haven''t remained here because I couldn''t leave. Rather, I''ve been waiting for you to gather around me. "Let me say it again; let''s begin the real battle!" 2023 Misconceived Victory Chapter 2023 - Misconceived Victory Everyone in the central plaza fell silent as the Fire Spirit''s thunderous roar echoed through the town, its powerful aura making every player feel uncomfortable. However, the pressure they felt wasn''t just due to the Flame Dragon''s high Level, but also due to the creature''s superior Life Rating. "Waiting for us to gather? Are you claiming that you''re so much stronger than us?" Wind Cloud questioned as he eyed the Fire Spirit. He then returned his gaze to Shi Feng and laughed, saying, "Since that is the case, show me how this Tier 3 Archaic Species of yours will defeat our monster army! Smoke monsters, attack!" As Wind Cloud gave the command, the humanoid smoke monsters charged past him, running at the Fire Spirit. These smoke monsters were more like NPCs than ordinary monsters. They did not charge at the Fire Spirit as a disorderly mob. Rather, they fell into proper offensive formations. Eight Level 75 Grand Lord ranked smoke monsters led the charge, smoke pulling away from their forms to create shields and spears. Like a group of hunters chasing after a large beast, they quickly surrounded the Flame Dragon. Behind these Grand Lords, multiple groups of 10 Great Lord ranked smoke monsters transformed parts of their bodies into longbows. In organized rows, they nocked their arrows and prepared to launch a concentrated attack. Intense killing intent filled the central plaza. A chilling sensation encompassed the players standing close to the monsters. The smoke monsters'' formation shocked everyone watching. Even the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelons were stupefied. What high intellect! Roaring Flame was just as stunned to see the smoke monsters move like an orderly army. He wasn''t incredibly familiar with Sin Realm''s trump card. It had been mentioned briefly during the meeting, but he hadn''t dreamed that it would be this powerful. Militaristic formations were a large part of the reason that players could defeat a large number of powerful monsters in God''s Domain. Players would be able to exert greater combat power when they used such tactics than without. This was also why players could fend off monster sieges despite being outnumbered. The weakest of the hundreds of smoke monsters was a Level 70 Great Lord. If these smoke monsters worked together and fought like players, they could even defeat a Level 80 Mythic monster, let alone a Level 80, Tier 3 Archaic Species. "Good! While these smoke monsters pin down that Dragon, the rest of us will surround and attack Black Flame! Do not let him escape!" Sky View commanded. As he watched the smoke monsters inch closer to the Fire Spirit, he knew that Shi Feng''s final trump card had been neutralized. He no longer felt threatened by Shi Feng''s calm exterior. He only needed to concentrate on slaying Shi Feng and announcing the Starlight Alliance''s victory in Star-Moon Kingdom. As Sky View fell silent, he and Shadowlight Axe led a dozen or so Great Lord ranked monster players to surround Shi Feng. The weakest among these players could reach the Trial Tower''s sixth floor, and including their powerful Attributes, any one of them could hold their ground against a Mythic monster of the same level. "Die!" Sky View shouted as he finished chanting the incantation for a Tier 2 Curse. However, before Sky View released his Spell, he paused, noticing something that confused him. Despite more than a dozen monster players charging at him, Shi Feng''s expression hadn''t changed. It was as if he viewed these Great Lord ranked monster players as nothing more than air. Or, perhaps, he was ignoring these players. Even a true Tier 3 expert would feel threatened by so many Great Lord ranked monster players, yet Shi Feng was unfazed... Am I overthinking this? Sky View could not help but wonder if he were being too careful. Meanwhile, Shadowlight Axe and the others moved within 10 yards of the enemy Swordsman and launched their attacks. Finally, Shi Feng made his move. He hadn''t launched his own attacks, yet Shi Feng''s aura abruptly skyrocketed. With unbelievable speed, the Swordsman unsheathed Killing Ray, swinging the blade in a forward slash. Lightning Slash! A lightning bolt instantly tore through Shadowlight Axe and his companions. The monster players and their leader lost HP at a horrific rate. After a single attack, Shadowlight Axe collapsed to the ground like a puppet with cut strings. The impact threw the dozen or so Great Lord ranked monster players over 30 yards back as they lost more than a quarter of their HPs. Everyone who saw this was stunned. The Starlight Alliance had carefully selected expert players to become these Great Lord ranked monster players, yet a single strike had shattered their coordinated assault Moreover, Shadowlight Axe, the assault''s leader, had died instantly. In contrast, Shi Feng hadn''t received one point of damage. In fact, he hadn''t even moved from his original position... "Die!" Sky View growled. He finally realized how terrifying Shi Feng truly was, but he still shouted in an attempt to restore his courage. Tier 2 Curse, Flame Blast! This was the most powerful Spell Sky View had in his arsenal. When cast with an active Berserk Skill, even a Grand Lord of the same level would suffer heavy injuries if struck directly. Suddenly, four gigantic fireballs appeared around Shi Feng, each the size of a small house. These fireballs then descended on their target The surrounding experts reacted and prepared for Shi Feng to evade the attack, but something surprised them. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Shi Feng didn''t try to dodge the fireballs. He didn''t even try to defend himself. Suddenly, four sword lights blinded the crowd, carrying enough power to split the four fireballs in half. How is this possible?! Sky View was dumbfounded as he watched the Swordsman slice apart his attack so effortlessly. Before today, he had felt that even the various superpowers'' old monsters would flee from this attack, but now, he found the idea laughable. He also viewed all of the effort he had spent trying to master the Spell as one big joke. The strength to fight monster-level experts? That had only been wishful thinking. However, Sky View didn''t know that Shi Feng had already reached Level 70, wearing equipment that not even Super Guilds'' Guild Leaders could dream of equipping. Most importantly, he was currently affected by both the Ring of Brilliance and Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Not even a Level 60 Mythic monster could match his Strength. Following which, Shi Feng appeared before the Great Lord ranked monster players and brandished his two swords. After just a few seconds, one of these monster players was dead. "What should we do?" "His Strength is too high!" "He''s using his Berserk Skill! Get away from him for now! Once his Berserk Skill is over, we can easily take him out!" After witnessing Shi Feng''s performance, the Starlight Alliance''s members wondered which side had the real monster. They had never expected to find a normal player that could be this powerful. They had to buy themselves some time. If even the Great Lord ranked monster players were helpless against Shi Feng, other players would die instantly if they faced him. Although the Grand Lord ranked smoke monsters had high intellect, they were only monsters. After killing a few Great Lord ranked monster players, Shi Feng sensed what the Starlight Alliance was trying to do. At this rate, he''d only be able to kill several dozen monster players before Heavenly Dragon''s Power ended. Now that I''ve seen these monsters'' strength, it''s time to end this battle, Shi Feng thought to himself as he surveyed his Guild members fighting in the plaza. Although only a short time had passed since the battle in the plaza had begun, Zero Wing had lost a considerable number of lives. Turning back to the Starlight Alliance''s upper echelons, Shi Feng said, "Since you have no intention of fighting, let''s remove Golden Flow Town from the Witch''s Hill!" "Remove?" "You really think you can accomplish such a thing?" Although the Starlight Alliance''s members watched Shi Feng with fear in their eyes, their gazes still contained a spark of hope. While they were at a disadvantage now, as time passed, the situation would become more favorable for them. Suddenly, Shi Feng snapped his fingers. The Fire Spirit, which had been battling the smoke monster army, abruptly transformed into a small fire and appeared above Shi Feng''s head. A complex chant reached the surrounding players, increasing the town''s Mana density. The various superpowers hadn''t viewed the Fire Spirit as such a strategic item, even fearing it, in the past due to its prowess, but because of the number of fire-type large- and super-large-scale destruction Spells it wielded. "No! Stop him!" Sky View yelled in panic, turning deathly pale when he saw the two gigantic magic arrays forming in the sky. He could sense the power in those Spells, and he knew they could rival the power of Tier 4, large-scale destruction Spells. Before anyone could react, massive fireballs, easily dwarfing the ones Sky View''s Flame Blast had created, fell from one of the arrays above the plaza, one after another. At the same time, a raging inferno erupted beneath the second magic array. In the blink of an eye, a fiery hell engulfed Golden Flow Town. 2024 Golden Flow Town Falls Chapter 2024 - Golden Flow Town Falls Witch''s Hill, Zero Wing City: Due to Zero Wing''s successful capture of Wildhammer Town, merchant and independent players began to return to Zero Wing City. Players hawked their wares and recruited team members for grinding and questing across the city. Many were even Tier 2 experts. At this point, not even Star-Moon City or White River City could rival Zero Wing City''s prosperity. Meanwhile, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various Guilds, both large and small, began to send teams to investigate Zero Wing within its city. This increased the traffic in the city''s bars and restaurants. Several cloaked players stood on the street outside of one of Zero Wing City''s Advanced Bars, warily eyeing their surroundings. They only entered the bar after ensuring that they were safe. Players crowded the bar, most wearing Black Cloaks. If a player used a Skill that could see through a Black Cloak''s concealment, they''d discover that the cloaked players within weren''t independent players. Rather, they were from the kingdom''s various Guilds, and they were all impressively powerful, with the weakest being a Level 58, Tier 2 player. To survive in God''s Domain, small Guilds generally formed secret alliances to withstand larger Guilds. These Guilds would exchange information to further their development, as well. This Advanced Bar had become a hub for these Guild members to do just that. Meanwhile, the new group of cloaked players quickly headed for a corner of the bar after entering, approaching a stone table with a single occupant. After taking a seat, the Tier 2 female Elementalist that led the group looked at the Assassin with a tattoo on his face and asked, "How is your investigation going? Have you learned how Zero Wing captured Wildhammer Town yet?" Unlike the majority of the players in the bar, this Assassin did not bother to hide his identity, boldly revealing his status as an independent player. However, despite doing so, none of the Guild players present dared to look down on him. This independent player was the host of this information center, the middle man for the information gatherers and buyers. He specialized in information on Zero Wing, in particular. The various Guild players acknowledged this Assassin as a middle man because he was also a player from Green Eye, a top adventurer team in God''s Domain. Unlike other adventurer teams, Green Eye focused on information gathering. Not only were its members skilled in combat, but they also possessed plenty of connections. The information they sold was always legitimate, so the various Guilds trusted the team''s members. Of course, as Green Eye''s manpower was limited, it didn''t collect information on every Guild. It generally focused on first- rate or stronger Guilds. Second-rate Guilds and below didn''t qualify for its attention. "We have, but we will only accept Coins or Magic Crystals as payment. We''ll give you a 10% discount if you pay with Magic Crystals," the Tier 2 Assassin said, sipping from the cup of wine he held as he eyed the female Elementalist before him. "How much?" she asked. The Green Eye adventurer team usually accepted Credits for its information, but since this information was particularly valuable, it would only accept Coins or Magic Crystals this time. In God''s Domain, accomplishing anything required strength. Adventurer teams only earned Credits if they were powerful enough, and to develop a team''s strength, it was only natural that it charged Coins or Magic Crystals. "Five hundred Gold," the Assassin replied. "Five hundred?! Isn''t this a little much?!" When the heard the Assassin''s price, the few players behind the Elementalist objected. At this stage of the game, 500 Gold was an astronomical amount, even to expert players. Individual experts would be lucky if they obtained a weapon or equipment piece that could sell for more than 10 Gold. Anything more valuable than that would be extremely difficult for individual players to get their hands on. Five hundred Gold was a significant amount to any Guild, yet the Green Eye adventurer team demanded so much just for some information. This was simply extortion. "It''s not such a high price. It wasn''t easy to secure this information from within Zero Wing, and we paid a heavy price to obtain it Moreover, this includes the latest details about the Guild," the Tier 2 Assassin said, unperturbed by his customers'' reaction. "Fine! I''ll pay the 500 Gold!" the female Elementalist said, gritting her teeth. "Vice Guild Leader, we just started our development in Star-Moon Kingdom. We''re short on funds in all aspects. Isn''t this expenditure too expensive? Why don''t we discuss it with the Guild Leader first?" a Tier 2 Berserker quickly suggested. Unlike the other Guilds in the bar, their Guild wasn''t from Star-Moon Kingdom. They were based in another country and had been forced to shift the Guild''s development to this kingdom. Despite the Tier 2 Berserker''s reaction, the other Guild players didn''t seem surprised. They simply minded their own business. Such occurrences were very common in the virtual gaming world, especially in the incredibly popular God''s Domain. A large number of Guilds rose and fell in the game on a daily basis. So, it wasn''t surprising to hear that a Guild had shifted its focus to another kingdom since its original home base was no longer habitable. However, if the various Guild players noticed the Guild Emblem on the female Elementalist and her companions, they''d be surprised. This Guild Emblem belonged to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, a first-rate Guild. It was a colossal existence to these various Guilds, a true large Guild that would be considered an overlord in any kingdom. "That won''t be necessary. I''ll pay this 500 Gold from my own pocket. We don''t need to use the Guild''s funds," the female Elementalist responded, shaking her head. She then took out 500 Gold and handed the Coins to the independent Assassin. "Here is all of the information we have gathered on Zero Wing recently. Take a look." After receiving the 500 Gold, the Assassin took out a crystal ball and traded it with the female Elementalist. The crystal ball contained a recording of all of Zero Wing''s latest movements. It also held more than a dozen battle videos of the fight in Wildhammer Town. Naturally, these battle videos involved the Giant players. In addition, one video within the crystal ball showed Zero Wing''s arrival in Golden Flow Town. Unfortunately, the video didn''t have a long duration, cutting off after ten or so seconds of footage. "Is Zero Wing insane? It''s actually attacking the heavily fortified Golden Flow Town?" The female Elementalist was astonished after examining the information within the crystal ball. Golden Flow Town was the Starlight Alliance''s last remaining town, and the alliance had invested an unimaginable amount of manpower and resources in it, yet Zero Wing had besieged the town the moment it finished capturing Wildhammer Town. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn''t take this matter seriously. "Vice Guild Leader, what should we do? Should we move to another kingdom or stay here?" the other upper echelons from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion asked softly. The Hundred Flowers Pavilion had decided that the chaos in Star-Moon Kingdom made for an excellent opportunity to leave the Dark Night Empire. Although the kingdom didn''t have as many resources as the empire, it had grown into a considerably powerful country after several major events. If the Hundred Flowers Pavilion could secure a foothold in Star-Moon Kingdom, it could rise to power once more. As Cleansed Rue, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion''s Vice Guild Leader, decided her Guild''s future, the bar''s atmosphere changed. Suddenly, a heavy sensation enveloped the bar. "What''s happening?" Cleansed Rue wondered aloud as she looked around at the bar''s customers. "What? Your Guild didn''t receive the announcement?" the Assassin from Green Eye asked, giving Cleansed Rue a strange look. "Every Guild member from the Warring Empire has just received a message stating that Golden Flow Town has fallen!" 2025 Reversal Chapter 2025 - Reversal Cleansed Rue and her entourage were stunned. They couldn''t believe what they had just heard. They were only able to digest the information after a long moment, and like the other Guild players in the bar, they found the news to be both heavy and outlandish. "How is that possible? That was the Starlight Alliance''s final town!" Cleansed Rue exclaimed. Any Guild that paid any attention to the situation in the Witch''s Hill knew how powerful the Starlight Alliance had become. They were also familiar with the alliance''s monster players, which had already displayed frightening combat power. Tier 2 experts weren''t even a match for the High Lord ranked monster players, and the alliance had plenty of Great Lords. She found it truly hard to imagine that the Starlight Alliance would not increase Golden Flow Town''s defenses after losing Wildhammer Town. After all, Golden Flow Town was the alliance''s last town in the Witch''s Hill, and without it, the Starlight Alliance would have a difficult time wrestling control of the Witch''s Hill from Zero Wing, regardless of how many monster players it had. "That can''t be true, can it? Didn''t Zero Wing just capture Wildhammer Town? Could the informant have been mistaken? Maybe the information referred to Wildhammer Town?" an upper echelon from the Hundred Flowers Palace asked. "Are you trying to accuse Green Eye of selling false information?" the Assassin from the adventurer team asked acidically, anger flashing in his eyes as he stared at the Hundred Flowers Palace member. Those in the intelligence industry prioritized credibility above all else. Accusing the Green Eye of selling false information was the greatest slander one could possibly commit about the adventurer team. "No, it was just a slip of the tongue," Cleansed Rue hurriedly apologized before glancing at the several Guild upper echelons behind her. "This news is no longer a secret. Every Guild in the kingdom likely knows about the event already. If you don''t believe me, you can investigate the Warring Empire yourself. I doubt it will be long before the news spreads throughout Star-Moon Kingdom," the Assassin said, nodding as his gaze returned to its previously cold indifference. Calmly, he continued, "If you want to set your sights on the Witch''s Hill, based on the current situation, I''d advise against it. Zero Wing captured both Wildhammer Town and Golden Flow Town almost as soon as it decided to do so. Moving against Zero Wing would be utterly foolish after witnessing such prowess." Some had once viewed the Starlight Alliance as the last hope of overthrowing Zero Wing in the kingdom, but now, Zero Wing had made an example of the alliance, deterring the various Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom from considering taking control of the Witch''s Hill and the kingdom itself. "I very much agree with you. We can no longer imagine Zero Wing''s true strength, and although the Starlight Alliance is formidable, it''s nothing in comparison. The alliance made a massive mistake when it made an enemy of Zero Wing," a robust, Tier 2 male Berserker said as he approached the stone table the Hundred Flowers Palace and Green Eye occupied. "While I admit that Zero Wing is very strong, don''t you think you''re blowing things out of proportion? You speak as if you are acutely familiar with the Guild." the occupants of other tables ridiculed the Berserker. However, before the jeering could begin, the Tier 2 Berserker removed his Black Cloak and revealed his true appearance. "What?! The Assassin''s Alliance''s Guild Leader is here?!" The crowd that had been about to laugh at this Berserker promptly fell silent. The Assassin''s Alliance was a bona fide second-rate Guild, and it had been developing rapidly recently. It had already clashed with many first-rate Guilds in the Twin Towers Kingdom and begun to show signs of growing into a top-ranked second-rate Guild. Cruel Sword, the Assassin''s Alliance''s Guild Leader, even ranked on the God''s Domain''s Experts List If not for Zero Wing''s several great experts overshadowing him, Cruel Sword would''ve been relatively famous in Star-Moon Kingdom. When they saw Cruel Sword''s face, the various Guild players in the bar stopped treating his claim as a joke. Now, they only had respect for his words. "Thank you for your warning, Guild Leader Sword." Cleansed Rue, who still wore her Black Cloak, expressed her gratitude. "It''s nothing. Vice Guild Leader Rue is being overly polite," Cruel Sword responded quietly. "However, I''m certainly surprised that the Hundred Flowers Palace wants to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom." Meanwhile, the instant Cruel Sword revealed her identity, Cleansed Rue''s expression became vigilant. However, she quickly realized that he had simply used an Advanced Identification Skill. Obtaining such a Skill wasn''t difficult in a top-tier second- rate Guild. She immediately relaxed her guard. "We have no other choice. I''m sure you''ve heard of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s current predicament," Cleansed Rue said grimly, her mood souring as she mentioned her Guild''s struggles. "Ah, that''s right It''s truly a pity." Cruel Sword lowered his head and fell silent "But Guild Leader Sword, you are impressive. Not only have you led the Assassin''s Alliance to flourish in Star-Moon Kingdom, but your Guild''s performance in the Twin Towers Kingdom has also been noteworthy," Cleansed Rue said with a hint of admiration in her gaze. Her eyes also held a flash of anticipation. "Are you here to sell some information on the powers in the Twin Towers Kingdom? The Hundred Flowers Palace is willing to purchase the information for a high price." The Palace had also intended to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom and had investigated the situation there, but the Guild hadn''t invested significant resources yet, focusing on securing the hidden class, Demonblade Knight, by slaying abyssal monsters Now that the situation in Star-Moon Kingdom had reached this point, the Hundred Flowers Palace had no hope of developing in the kingdom. If Zero Wing were able to crush a local power like the Starlight Alliance so decisively, eliminating a foreign power would be child''s play. If the Hundred Flowers Palace tried to establish itself in Star-Moon Kingdom, it would face utter annihilation. No power would tolerate others in its territory, where resources were limited. Otherwise, God''s Domain''s various powers wouldn''t compete so desperately. Hence, the Twin Towers Kingdom was the Palace''s last hope. The Twin Towers Kingdom was in chaos due to the threat of abyssal monsters. Even so, quite a few powers contested for control of the kingdom. Meanwhile, the Assassin''s Alliance was one of the few outstanding performers in the battle for prominence, but the Guild had only focused on developing in maps near Star-Moon Kingdom. "Information on the Twin Towers Kingdom?" Glancing around him, Cruel Sword replied, "This isn''t the place for that discussion. Let''s head to one of the rooms upstairs." He had already attracted the crowd''s attention in the bar, and although others couldn''t listen to their private discussion, there was the possibility that one of these players possessed a special Skill that would allow them to do so. Cleansed Rue nodded, understanding that the bar was too public for their talk. Cruel Sword and Cleansed Rue then left for a VIP room on the second floor alongside their subordinates. Although the VIP room was not large, its design was magnificent, and it could easily accommodate more than a dozen people. "Guild Leader Sword, let''s be straightforward. If you are willing to sell detailed information on the Twin Towers Kingdom, we''re willing to offer you five pieces of Epic Equipment," Cleansed Rue said as soon as she took a seat. "The Hundred Flowers Palace is truly a first-rate Guild. Even after falling so far, it still has such a stable foundation," Cruel Sword commended, surprised. Obtaining a single piece of Epic Equipment was incredibly difficult, and despite the Assassin''s Alliance''s recent achievements, the Guild had fewer than 20 Epic items. The Guild treated these items as their foundation, refusing to sell them under any circumstances. "We offer the price because the Assassin''s Alliance is worth it. Do you agree to our offer, Guild Leader Sword?" Cleansed Rue asked, smiling. The Assassin''s Alliance''s performance in the Twin Towers Kingdom had been exceptional. It operated alongside quite a few first-rate Guilds, and the fact that the Assassin''s Alliance had laid claim to a significant portion of the kingdom, despite its second-rate status, was astounding. Without enough strength and understanding of the kingdom, accomplishing such a feat would''ve been impossible. "I understand your determination to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom," Cruel Sword said. With a serious expression, he continued, "However, I''m afraid you are asking the wrong Guild. If the Hundred Flowers Palace wishes to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom, you shouldn''t look to the Assassin''s Alliance." "Why not?" Cleansed Rue gave Cruel Sword a confused look. She didn''t understand what he was trying to tell her. Was the man refusing to cooperate? Or was he dissatisfied with the compensation she offered? "Don''t misunderstand me. It''s not that I don''t want to trade with you, but I''m afraid that my Guild doesn''t have the ability you are looking for," Cruel Sword explained when he saw the Vice Guild Leader''s heavy expression. "You must be joking. If the Assassin''s Alliance can''t help us, then who in the kingdom can?" Cleansed Rue wondered if the man before her were playing some kind of joke. "No! You might think that I''m joking, but I''m telling you the truth," Cruel Sword said as he shook his head. "If your Guild wishes to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom, you need to visit Zero Wing. If you do, your Guild might be able to make a comeback." 2026 Zero Wings Hidden Strength Chapter 2026 - Zero Wing''s Hidden Strength "Visit Zero Wing?" Cleansed Rue wasn''t the only one confused; the several Hundred Flowers Palace upper echelons behind her revealed similarly shocked expressions. Based on the information they had obtained, Zero Wing only operated in Star-Moon Kingdom, the Ore Empire, and the Black Dragon Empire. Although they had found Zero Wing''s shadow in the Twin Towers Kingdom, the Guild hadn''t accomplished anything in the kingdom thus far. Yet, Cruel Sword told them that if their Guild wanted to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom, it needed to speak with Zero Wing? "That''s right. If you want to gain a foothold in the kingdom, you should speak with Zero Wing," Cruel Sword said, nodding his head. "Rather, if the Hundred Flowers Palace wishes to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom successfully, it can only do so with Zero Wing''s help." "Does Zero Wing really have that much power?" The Palace''s upper echelons gave Cruel Sword skeptical looks. Zero Wing was impressive for reaching its current state without any background or support, but based on the information they had gathered, the Guild shouldn''t have any relation to the Twin Towers Kingdom. They found it hard to believe that Zero Wing could help them develop in the kingdom. "Of course it does!" Cruel Sword insisted. "The Assassin''s Alliance has only developed so rapidly in the kingdom due to Zero Wing''s assistance. "I''m sure you know about the abyssal monsters in the Twin Towers Kingdom and how dangerous it is in the fields. If one cannot avoid these monsters, developing in the kingdom would be incredibly difficult. Meanwhile, Zero Wing can construct magic arrays that repel the abyssal monsters, preventing them from approaching a specific area. "My Guild only established itself in the kingdom due to the magic arrays Zero Wing set up. Unlike the other Guilds in the kingdom, the Assassin''s Alliance has taken almost no damage. It''s only natural that the other Guilds are no match for us." "A magic array that can repel abyssal monsters? Zero Wing has such a thing?" Realization dawned on Cleansed Rue and the others after listening to Cruel Sword''s explanation. In reality, the Twin Towers Kingdom had just as many resources as Star-Moon Kingdom, but the abyssal monsters'' invasion had crippled it. Even so, the temptation of a new class had lured many players to the kingdom. If a Guild could construct magic arrays that repelled abyssal monsters, it could monopolize the various resource-rich maps in the Twin Towers Kingdom. It was easy to imagine how quickly a Guild could develop with such an advantage. It was no wonder why the Assassin''s Alliance''s performance in the kingdom had been so impressive, leaving the various first-rate Guilds in its dust. If what Cruel Sword said was true, then the Hundred Flowers Palace truly needed to visit Zero Wing. "Thank you for sharing such integral information, Guild Leader Sword," Cleansed Rue thanked the man. "I''ll have someone deliver the five pieces of Epic Equipment I''ve promised tomorrow." Although Cruel Sword hadn''t provided any details about the various powers in the Twin Towers Kingdom, such information paled in comparison to what he had told her about the magic arrays that could repel abyssal monsters. "Let''s forget about the Epic Equipment. I simply told you this to gain an ally in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Whether or not you persuade Guild Leader Black Flame to help you is entirely up to you. I haven''t actually done anything," Cruel Sword said, refusing the offer. "No! I must thank you! Moreover, I''d like to ask you to introduce us to Zero Wing," Cleansed Rue firmly insisted, shaking her head. She had some understanding of the Assassin''s Alliance''s situation in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Due to the Guild''s recent growth, the various first-rate Guilds in the kingdom had secretly banded together to hinder the Assassin''s Alliance''s progress. As a result, the Guild hadn''t been able to operate in the kingdom''s central region. She also knew why Cruel Sword rejected her offer. If the Assassin''s Alliance had a powerful ally, it could reduce the pressure it faced. The Hundred Flowers Palace was undoubtedly a good fit for the position. However, no one would doubt that Cruel Sword had provided the Palace with this information. "Introduce you?" After giving the matter some thought, Cruel Sword said, "Alright. I''ll talk to Zero Wing about this matter, but I can''t guarantee that the Guild will agree to a meeting." After Cleansed Rue and Cruel Sword finished their discussion, Cleansed Rue left the bar with her subordinates and made their way to Zero Wing''s Residence. She was in such a hurry because of the fact that the Twin Towers Kingdom was the best hope for the Hundred Flowers Palace, and the Guild didn''t have much time left. The longer they delayed shifting their base of operations, the more their Guild would suffer. As Cleansed Rue and her entourage walked through Zero Wing City''s streets, they noticed that the news of Zero Wing''s dominance in Golden Flow Town had already spread throughout the city. Excitement filled the air, and the merchant players were particularly lively. They found it hard to imagine that not long ago, an intense killing intent had enveloped Zero Wing City. "There are so many merchant players and Tier 2 players here. Zero Wing City has almost caught up to Dark Night City." "This city may not be a match for Dark Night City yet, but the political situation in Dark Night City is chaotic. On the other hand, Zero Wing has full control of its city." "That''s true! It really makes you wonder how strong Zero Wing actually is. Zero Wing City is already so impressive, and the Guild has so much influence in the Black Dragon and Ore Empires. It even has influence in the Twin Towers Kingdom!" The Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons, who rode an advanced horse carriage, gained a newfound appreciation for Zero Wing as they watched players roam the city streets. They had never considered that Zero Wing had hidden so much of its power. They hadn''t expected that their Guild, a bona fide first-rate Guild, would have to cooperate with Zero Wing to continue its existence in God''s Domain, either. "Do you think that Zero Wing will agree to work with our Guild?" a female Cleric asked worriedly, gripping a wooden staff in her hands. "The Hundred Flowers Palace is a first-rate Guild. Even though we have fallen from our peak, we are still much stronger than any ordinary Guild. If Zero Wing wants to secure more resources from the Twin Towers Kingdom, why wouldn''t it agree to cooperate?" a bearded, middle-aged man stated confidently. "While you''re not exactly wrong,..." Although the female Cleric wanted to offer a retort, she held back. Zero Wing had the ability to produce a magic array that could repel abyssal monsters. In other words, Zero Wing had the initiative. And while Zero Wing could cooperate with many other Guilds, the Guild was the Hundred Flowers Palace''s only hope. "Alright, enough talking. We''ve arrived." Cleansed Rue also knew how disadvantageous the Palace''s current position was, and she was just as worried as her companion. Once the horse carriage rolled to a stop, she disembarked. Their carriage had stopped before the main entrance to Zero Wing''s Residence. When Cleansed Rue and her subordinates left the carriage, they were stupefied by the scene before them. Hundreds of four-meter-tall players stood beyond the main threshold, all of which had reached Level 60. They also wore Level 55-plus, top-tier equipment, and some even sported pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment. Their auras were so intense that even peak experts like Cleansed Rue and her entourage couldn''t help but shudder. However, these Giants weren''t the most eye-catching scene within the Residence. Rather, what caught Cleansed Rue''s attention were the eight, two-story-tall, crimson tanks parked within. These crimson tanks were none other than the rumored Hell Tanks. However, Zero Wing had used these Hell Tanks constantly in the Ore Empire, and they weren''t easy to move elsewhere. In other words, these eight Hell Tanks weren''t the war weapons that defended Silverwing Town. Zero Wing had only recently built these tanks. While Cleansed Rue and the others stared at the war weapons in astonishment, a beautiful woman in luxurious clothing approached. When they saw this woman, the representatives from the Hundred Flowers Palace couldn''t help but gasp. Their reaction hadn''t been a result of witnessing the woman''s elegance and beauty, but because of her Level and equipment Not only was she a Level 61, Tier 2 Summoner, but she actually possessed three pieces of Epic Equipment. And they had never heard of this woman before! "Hello, you must be from the Hundred Flowers Palace, correct? I am Youlan, Zero Wing City''s trade manager. Our Guild Leader has heard of your situation from Guild Leader Cruel Sword," Youlan said as she beamed an elegant smile at Cleansed Rue''s group. "Please, follow me." 2027 Obscure Experts Chapter 2027 - Obscure Experts When Cleansed Rue and the others saw Youlan and felt the powerful pressure she radiated, they could not help their surprise. No matter how they looked at it, a Level 61, Tier 2 player with three pieces of Epic Equipment should be well- known. The highest level players in God''s Domain''s various empires had only reached Level 61. Even the Dark Night Empire only had five of these experts. "She must be one of Zero Wing''s hidden peak experts," the Tier 2 female Cleric from the Hundred Flowers Palace said through the team chat. "I agree. With her level and equipment, she is definitely on the level of Zero Wing''s Fire Dance," the middle-aged Tier 2 Berserker agreed, nodding. The rest of the team nodded, as well. God''s Domain''s various Guilds generally hid some of their power, including the Hundred Flowers Palace. However, unlike Zero Wing, the Palace hadn''t hidden an expert as powerful as Youlan. Reserving such an expert would be a waste. But when they considered Zero Wing''s stealthy presence in so many locations, they realized that it wasn''t strange to hide a peak expert. When they remembered the eight new Hell Tanks sitting in the Residence, as well, goosebumps erupted across their arms. They had learned some details about those Hell Tanks, and they knew that each tank was the equivalent of a mobile Defense Turret. Moreover, the Hell Tanks'' defensive and melee capabilities were far beyond Defense Turrets'', yet eight of these tanks were stationed within Zero Wing''s Residence. "Alright, enough. Let''s prepare to enter Zero Wing''s Residence. Don''t forget that you represent the Hundred Flowers Palace! Once we''re inside, do not do anything that would sully the Guild''s reputation!" Cleansed Rue said, expressing her dissatisfaction with her teammates'' actions. After lecturing her team, she followed Youlan into the Residence. As a Residence within a Guild territory, Zero Wing''s Residence was far more spacious than those normally found in NPC cities. Not only did the Residence have far more facilities than normal, but it''s Mana density was even higher than elsewhere. It felt pleasant just to walkthrough the Residence''s halls. The Hundred Flowers Palace''s members also discovered a change to their Double EXP buʲ accumulation bars, located directly beneath their experience bars. "Amazing! Players can actually accumulate the Double EXP buff so quickly here?!" Although players would start to accumulate the Double EXP buff the moment they entered Zero Wing City, they could only accumulate 20% after a 48-hour stay. However, players would accumulate 30% after resting in the Residence for the same amount of time. Visiting the Residence was 50% more effective than just visiting the city. Even in first-rate Guilds, very few players enjoyed such an astounding accumulation rate. After all, a Guild Hall only had a limited number of Private Rooms, and only the Guild''s expert members were usually allowed to rent the rooms for GCPs. accumulate 20% after a 48-hour stay. However, players would accumulate 30% after resting in the Residence for the same amount of time. Visiting the Residence was 50% more effective than just visiting the city. Even in first-rate Guilds, very few players enjoyed such an astounding accumulation rate. After all, a Guild Hall only had a limited number of Private Rooms, and only the Guild''s expert members were usually allowed to rent the rooms for GCPs. As Cleansed Rue and her companions entered the Guild Hall, yet another spectacular scene greeted them. Zero Wing members filled the first-floor hall, all of which were Level 57 or higher. These players'' levels were on par with first-rate Guilds'' expert members. Furthermore, even if they ignored the Giant players, there were hundreds of Tier 2 players in the hall. The number of Tier 2 experts within Zero Wing City was almost half as many Tier 2 players in Hundred Flowers Palace. Quite a few NPCs also moved around the hall, making up roughly 30% of the first-floor hall''s occupants. "This isn''t a joke, right?! Judging by the number of NPCs here, easily 4,000 NPCs visit this Residence each day! Only about 600 NPCs visit our main headquarters to commission Guild Quests per day!" The Tier 2 Cleric stared with wide, shocked eyes when she saw the number of NPCs milling about the hall. Aside from player count and strength, a Guild''s prosperity relied on the number of Guild Quests it received from NPCs each day. Not only did these commissioned Guild Quests bring in a significant amount of income, but they also awarded a lot of benefits to the Guild members that completed them. Over 70% of the high-ranked quests the Hundred Flowers Palace''s members received were commissions from the NPCs that visited the Guild Residences. Even the Guild''s expert players fought to complete high-ranked quests. "No, that''s not it! Look over there! Some of these NPCs are nobles!" a Tier 2 Ranger with sharp eyesight said as he pointed to a handsome, weH-dressed man nearby. Two maids followed the man around. "Even Baron ranked NPCs commission Zero Wing for quests?" Cleansed Rue''s heart skipped a beat when she inspected the handsome man with her Identification Skill. There was a massive difference in God''s Domain between noble NPCs and ordinary NPCs. NPC nobles rarely reached out to veteran first-rate Guilds like the Hundred Flowers Palace for quests. When they did, these quests were typically quite important and yielded valuable treasure. Moreover, those quests were from ordinary NPC nobles. She had never seen a ranked NPC noble commission the Hundred Flowers Palace to complete a quest. There were currently more than 30 ordinary noble NPCs in Zero Wing''s hall, in addition to two Baron ranked NPCs. Every one of these nobles stood in line to request Zero Wing''s help with a quest. It was unbelievable. Once Cleansed Rue and the other upper echelons from her Guild finished gawking, Youlan led them to the Guild Leader''s office on the Guild Hall''s top floor. Two NPC guards stood before the Guild Leader''s office, and both were Level 80 NPCs. Although they stood by the door quietly, their auras made Cleansed Rue and her companion''s hearts palpitate. "They actually use Secret-Silver Personal Guards to guard an office?" The Hundred Flowers Palace''s members were speechless when they saw the two Personal Guards. Nowadays, the various Guilds had allotted some of their focus to searching for and nurturing Personal Guards. Even so, the number of high-ranked Personal Guards the Guilds had actually found was pitifully low. Most of the Personal Guards the various Guilds employed were merely Bronze rank. Mysterious-Iron Personal Guards were as rare and valuable as a piece of Epic Equipment. As for Secret-Silver rank... The Hundred Flowers Palace had only obtained three Secret-Silver Personal Guards thus far, and only because it had gotten lucky. The other first-rate Guilds generally only had one or two. These Secret-Silver Personal Guards were valued as priceless treasures and wouldn''t be given any responsibility. Rather, Guilds would instruct them to focus on improving their strength and levels. Yet, Zero Wing used two Secret-Silver Personal Guards to guard an office... Under Youlan''s lead, Cleansed Rue and her entourage entered the Guild Leader''s office. A cloaked man sat behind a desk within the office. A dozen or so expert players stood beside him, including Silent Blade[l], Stubborn Bone, Remnant Cloud, Graceful Moon, and Seven Light. The lowest leveled player among them was Level 61, while the highest had reached Level 62. Every one of these players wore Level 60 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment, and some even wore a piece of Epic Equipment. When Cleansed Rue sensed these players auras, she felt the threat of death loom over her. Their auras were no less intense than Youlan''s. After crossing the threshold and sensing the powerful auras of the dozen or so Zero Wing members, the several Hundred Flowers Palace upper echelons stumbled to a halt, not daring to take another step into the room. "Are you kidding me?!" "These people are all Zero Wing members?!" As the Palace''s upper echelons gazed at Silent Blade and the others, whom they had never heard of before, they lost any and all confidence. Now, they only felt an immense pressure. "Welcome to our Residence, friends from the Hundred Flowers Palace. I''ve heard that you have something you wish to discuss with me. May I know what it is about?" Shi Feng, who sat in the Guild Leader''s seat, asked Cleansed Rue and the others. 2028 Youlans Proposal Chapter 2028 - Youlan''s Proposal Shi Feng''s words snapped Cleansed Rue and her entourage out of their daze. "Right! Thank you for finding time to meet with us in your busy schedule, Guild Leader Black Flame! I am Cleansed Rue, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Vice Guild Leader. I am here to represent my Guild in our request for cooperation with Zero Wing," Cleansed Rue explained after regaining her senses. "To think that even the Dark Night Empire''s famous Frostflame Goddess has come to visit me, it would seem that you have an extraordinary request. Can I trouble you to elaborate? It will allow me to make a more sound decision," Shi Feng calmly asked as he watched Cleansed Rue''s tense expression. "Certainly." Cleansed Rue nodded. She then explained why the Hundred Flowers Palace wanted to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom without withholding any details. Before they had arrived at Zero Wing''s Residence, the Guild upper echelons accompanying Cleanse Rue had disagreed with revealing their situation to Zero Wing. However, their discontentment had vanished after witnessing Zero Wing''s Residence. Meanwhile, Shi Feng hadn''t spoken a single word throughout Cleansed Rue''s explanation, and this made the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons nervous. Zero Wing was far stronger than they had imagined. They had assumed that Zero Wing had only allied with the Assassin''s Alliance because it lacked the manpower to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom personally, but after witnessing the Guild''s Residence, they realized that Zero Wing was fully capable of securing a foothold in the kingdom without any assistance. It did not need anyone''s help to exploit the Twin Towers Kingdom''s resources. "While your proposal is interesting, please allow me to reject it," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Why? If you help us contest with the other first-rate Guilds in the kingdom, we can quickly secure the kingdom''s central region. We''ll be able to provide Zero Wing with even more resources than the Assassin''s Alliance!" Cleansed Rue impulsively retorted as she stared at Shi Feng''s impassive expression. "As you have seen, Zero Wing previously lacked the strength to lay claim to the Twin Towers Kingdom''s territories, but my Guild has grown. With how rapidly Zero Wing has been developing lately, we''ll need to expand our territories. Zero Wing no longer faces a lack of resources," Shi Feng said as he gestured to Silent Blade and the others. "If we hand over the Twin Towers Kingdom''s territories to the Hundred Flowers Palace, the kingdom won''t have much left for us. It''s not that I don''t want to help you, but for the sake of my own Guild''s development, I can''t afford to help." Cleansed Rue fell silent for quite some time. She simply could not think of a rebuttal. Shi Feng''s decision was reasonable. As a Guild Leader, his priority would forever be the Guild''s benefit. How could he possibly give up a good expansion opportunity to help another Guild? Now that Zero Wing had defeated the almighty Starlight Alliance and stabilized its rule in the Witch''s Hill, this was the perfect opportunity for the Guild to expand its influence. If she were in his place, she''d likely choose her own Guild''s development over helping another, as well. The other Hundred Flowers Palace despaired upon hearing Shi Feng''s decision. "What should we do now?" one of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons muttered in the team chat. Currently, the Hundred Flowers Palace had already begun to prepare for its migration from the Dark Night Empire, yet they had just been told that their two best options were no longer available. With how weak the Hundred Flowers Palace had become, contesting for kingdoms under other first-rate Guilds'' rule would be nigh-impossible. As Cleansed Rue and her companions began to panic, Youlan, who stood near the group, stepped forward with a smile. "Guild Leader, I have a proposal that will benefit both our Guild and the Hundred Flowers Palace. May I speak up?" Youlan asked respectfully. "A proposal that will benefit both Guilds? Let''s hear it, then. After all, the Hundred Flowers Palace has taken the initiative to seek our help. We can''t disappoint the Palace too much," Shi Feng said and nodded after giving the matter some thought. "Understood!" Youlan then straightened herself and continued, "The Hundred Flowers Palace is struggling due to the fact that it doesn''t have enough territory to sustain itself. This is all because of Starlink''s interference, hampering the Palace''s continued survival in the Dark Night Empire. But what if the Palace could defend itself against Starlink? If that were possible, couldn''t the Palace remain in the Dark Night Empire? "However, trying to stand against a superpower like Starlink isn''t an easy task. Even if our Guild sends an army to assist, we''re not likely to accomplish anything. We''ll need sufficient support from the Hundred Flowers Palace itself." "Support?" Upon hearing Youlan''s words, Cleansed Rue''s eyes began to glow as she hurriedly interjected, "If such an operation requires funds or manpower, that won''t be an issue! If you can help defend our position, the Hundred Flowers Palace will supply Zero Wing with plenty of the empire''s resources!" She had gained a certain level of understanding of Zero Wing''s strength. If Zero Wing were willing to help the Hundred Flowers Palace on a large scale, the Palace should have no problem defending over half of its territories in the empire. "Although I have offered this proposal, the risk of openly opposing a thriving superpower is incredibly high. Moreover, this war will definitely be a protracted one. Zero Wing will also have to keep an eye out for multiple enemy superpowers. This is no longer a problem that can be solved with funds and resources. If the situation is not handled properly, Zero Wing could suffer on all fronts. I don''t believe that anyone wants to see that outcome," Youlan said, shaking her head as she glanced at Cleansed Rue. "Is there no better way to help them?" Shi Feng asked, pretending to sigh in disappointment. However, he was quite satisfied with Youlan''s performance. "There is! Our two Guilds can form a mutually dependent relationship! If Zero Wing has management rights to the Palace''s Shops and Lands, and we can become close allies, Zero Wing can develop in the Dark Night Empire and amass enough strength to contend with Starlink. It wouldn''t affect our strength in our other territories, satisfying our Guild with the alliance," Youlan said after giving the matter some thought. "This..." Cleansed Rue couldn''t help but hesitate. Shops were a part of a Guild''s foundation, but with the Hundred Flowers Palace''s current state, they couldn''t afford more of a delay. Gritting her teeth, she turned to Youlan and asked, "How many Shops will Zero Wing require?" "If we want to amass enough strength to survive in the Dark Night Empire, we''ll need around 60% of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Shops," Youlan replied seriously. "Sixty?! Isn''t this a little...." Cleansed Rue''s eyes widened in shock, and she broke out in a cold sweat. The majority of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s funds and resources originated from the Guild''s Shops. If the Guild suddenly lost 60% of these Shops, it would definitely impact the Guild''s operations. "Youlan, the Hundred Flowers Palace could become one of Zero Wing''s close allies in the future. Is there no way to reduce the cost a little?" Shi Feng asked, playing along. "Since you insist, then...50%. Any less, and we''d have to dig into the funds and resources from our other territories. We''d be at a disadvantage against the superpowers in those areas," Youlan said with a troubled expression. "That''s the gist of the situation. What is your opinion on this matter, Vice Guild Leader Rue?" Shi Feng asked softly, turning to Cleansed Rue. 2029 Presumptuous Reques Chapter 2029 - Presumptuous Request "Fifty percent?" Cleansed Rue and her companions revealed bitter smiles. Even losing 50% of the Guild''s Shops and Lands was unbearable for the Hundred Flowers Palace. Both were essential to a Guild''s development, and neither could be casually sold off. If the Hundred Flowers Palace lost half of the Shops and Lands under its control, the Guild would be forced to limit the scale of its operations due to the decreased income, even if the Guild could survive in the Dark Night Empire. If that happened, returning to the Guild''s former glory would become excruciatingly difficult Most of the Lands in major NPC cities were already owned, and even if they had the money, it wasn''t necessarily possible to purchase more. "I know this isn''t an ideal offer, but we have our own troubles to deal with. You can return to your Guild and consider the offer carefully," Shi Feng announced, watching the silent group before him. "Guild Leader, our Guild intends to develop in the Twin Towers Kingdom. We''ll need a lot of manpower to accomplish this. So, we''ll need to know whether or not we''re going to help the Hundred Flowers Palace as soon as possible to see to the appropriate preparations. Otherwise, this alliance will impact our original plans," Youlan hurriedly advised. Cleansed Rue and her entourage''s expressions twisted further. As Guild upper echelons, they knew that planning was necessary before a Guild began a large-scale operation. If Zero Wing truly intended to mobilize a large amount of manpower to lay claim to the Twin Towers Kingdom, then helping the Hundred Flowers Palace would become far more difficult for the Guild. Zero Wing might even dismiss the idea of providing assistance entirely. "How soon do we need to make a decision?" Shi Feng asked. "A day, if possible," Youlan replied after giving the matter some thought "That will be the opportune time for our Guild to expand." Although Cleansed Rue and the other upper echelons wanted to comment, they couldn''t bring themselves to speak up. They couldn''t possibly tell Shi Feng that they''d need a long time to gather the Guild''s upper echelons and Elders, not to mention the representatives from the major corporations that supported the Hundred Flowers Palace. One day simply wasn''t enough time for the Palace to reach a decision. In fact, the decision to abandon the Dark Night Empire and develop in another kingdom had only been made after a lengthy discussion. The proposal to partner with Zero Wing would likely take even longer. Too many people and organizations were tied to this matter, and persuading all parties involved would be extremely difficult. "How is such a short time enough to negotiate anything? Try to find a way to give them more time!" Shi Feng sternly commanded when he saw the awkward expressions on the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons. Deciding something so important in a single day was impossible for any Guild, especially a true veteran first-rate Guild like the Hundred Flowers Palace. Too many people held shares of the Guild. "We can hold off for two days, but we will miss out on the opportune moment to strike in the Twin Towers Kingdom," Youlan said, her imperative tone implying that Zero Wing would cough blood if it gave the Palace a second more. "Thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame," Cleansed Rue said sincerely. "However, before I negotiate with my Guild''s upper echelons, may I make a presumptuous request?" "Let me hear it. As a potential ally, I will help wherever I can," Shi Feng said, nodding after giving the matter some thought. "I''d like to borrow Zero Wing''s strength during the meeting to show my Guild that we truly have hope offending off Starlink''s harassment. I''m sure they will find it easier to agree to the partnership that way," Cleansed Rue said as she turned to Silent Blade and the others, who stood beside Shi Feng. Silent Blade and his comrades were all Level 61, Tier 2 players or above, and every one of them radiated a deadly aura. No Guild could afford to take their strength lightly. If she could show off Zero Wing''s experts, she believed that she could persuade her Guild''s upper echelons to agree to this alliance. After all, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s members would have a much easier time developing if they could continue in the Dark Night Empire, where they were comfortable, rather than migrating to another kingdom. "That won''t be a problem. Before your meeting begins, I''ll send some people to express Zero Wing''s sincerity." Shi Feng agreed. He understood Cleansed Rue''s thoughts. Convincing people was easier if one provided a personal experience. Cleansed Rue and her subordinates soon left Zero Wing''s Residence, returning to the Dark Night Empire to break the news to their Guild. They weren''t in such a hurry simply because of the time limit Zero Wing had given them, but because the Hundred Flowers Palace didn''t have much time left in the empire without help. They needed to move quickly. After the Palace''s representatives left, the atmosphere in the Guild Leader''s office relaxed. Stubborn Bone and Remnant Cloud, who had both served as commanders of an adventurer team, couldn''t help but turn reverent gazes on Shi Feng. Both of their teams had been well-known adventurer teams, but compared to first-rate Guilds, they had been insignificant. Yet, they had just witnessed a veteran first-rate Guild like the Hundred Flowers Palace submit before Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, although the Hundred Flowers Palace is in a precarious state right now, I''m afraid that Cleansed Rue will have a difficult time persuading the Palace''s old members with her status as a Vice Guild Leader. I suggest that we send Fire Dance and the others to visit the Guild in the Dark Night Empire. If they attend the meeting, I''m sure that those old members will agree to the partnership regardless of their personal feelings. If this partnership succeeds, developing in the Dark Night Empire will become much easier. We won''t have to waste a large amount of time and manpower building a foundation from scratch," Youlan offered after Cleansed Rue and her companions had left the Residence. "Forget it. Fire and the others are still participating in their special training. Let''s not interrupt them," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "We''ll just send Silent and his team." Although Silent Blade, Stubborn Bone, Remnant Cloud, and the others hadn''t been members of Zero Wing long, they had grown a lot stronger after training in the Lost Town''s Extraordinary Tower. Shi Feng had to admit that the Realms of Truth training was immensely helpful to expert players. Despite the fact that they hadn''t yet entered the Realms of Truth, Silent Blade and the others had successfully mastered one or two Advanced Combat Techniques during their training in the Extraordinary Tower. With how close they were to reaching the Refinement Realm, their overall combat power could now rival true Refinement Realm experts. Furthermore, Silent Blade and his team were geared in weapons and equipment that even the various superpowers struggled to acquire at this stage of the game. Only superpowers'' peak experts had a chance of defeating these Zero Wing experts. "This..." Youlan could not help but worry as she looked at Remnant Cloud and the other players standing by Shi Feng''s side. Although she knew that their combat standards were on par with hers, she was concerned that they wouldn''t be enough to fulfill their purpose. "Relax. I''ll give them something good before they leave. Once the Palace''s people see it, they''ll know what the wisest decision is," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then asked, "How is the material collection I tasked you and Melancholic Smile with coming along?" "We have done our best to gather as many of the materials you requested. However, the required stock is massive, and every material is incredibly rare. Even after raiding the treasuries in the Starlight Alliance''s two Guild Towns, we have barely collected five sets of materials," Youlan said. "Good! Transfer the materials to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm immediately!" Shi Feng was ecstatic to hear the news. "Also, notify Melancholic and tell her to gather the people I requested earlier." He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. He could finally craft the Guardian Puppet! 2030 Puppet Production Chapter 2030 - Puppet Production Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: As Shi Feng left the crowded Teleportation Hall, he sensed that the city''s atmosphere had changed. During his last visit, a depressing energy and dense killing intent had fallen over the city. Now, however, excitement almost crackled in the air. Far fewer Guild players wandered the city streets, replaced by far more adventurer team players than before. As Shi Feng wandered through the city, he could hear players discussing the recent events in the Witch''s Hill. "Zero Wing is so amazing! It captured two of the Starlight Alliance''s Guild Towns, back to back! Not even the various superpowers have accomplished such a feat!" "Who would''ve thought that Zero Wing had such a powerful foundation? After its defeat, the Starlight Alliance disbanded. The corporations supporting it have already pulled out their investments. I don''t think it''ll be long before Zero Wing removed the Guilds that participated in the alliance from the kingdom." "Who told those Guilds to be so arrogant and make an enemy of Zero Wing? Didn''t they see how Zero Wing became Star- Moon Kingdom''s overlord in the first place? They''re just reaping what they sow." "I know, right? I''ve heard that Zero Wing''s Giant players were responsible for capturing both Guild Towns. They''re four- meters-tall and have immeasurable Strength. Their Defense is off the charts, too. The town''s Defense Turrets barely left a scratch on them. With Zero Wing''s home-ground advantage, who would dare provoke the Guild in the Witch''s Hill now? It really makes you wonder how Zero Wing managed to convert so many players into Giants. I wish I could become a Giant player, too." "Isn''t that simple? Just join Zero Wing. Since Zero Wing can convert so many players into Giants, it''s natural that it can do so with even more players. The conversion price is the only concern now." "That''s right! After its victory in the Witch''s Hill, independent players in the kingdom are rushing to join Zero Wing in the hopes of securing a conversion slot Although living in human cities will be inconvenient after joining a neutral race, the combat power you get in return is definitely worth it Moreover, once we reach higher levels, we''ll be able to explore more neutral maps. The inconveniences players face as a neutral race will become insignificant" "Honestly, it isn''t really necessary to join Zero Wing if you want to become a Giant All of the powers in God''s Domain, aside from those in Star-Moon Kingdom, have begun to look into the conversion process due to the performance of Zero Wing''s Giant players. They all hope to amass their own force of Giant experts. It is only a matter of time before someone reveals the conditions for becoming a Giant. Once they do, even independent players like us will have an opportunity to convert." The independent players on the streets talked about the battle in the Witch''s Hill passionately. Their eyes glowed as they discussed Zero Wing''s Giant players, and many of them wanted to convert. At this point, both independent players and the various powers were eager to become Giant players. The era of the Giants had officially begun. Seeing this, Shi Feng merely smiled as he continued toward the Candlelight Trading Firm. While the Giant race was impressively powerful, it also had glaring flaws. These flaws included promotion difficulty. Without a Guild''s support, even expert players would struggle to reach Tier 3. Shi Feng had only chosen to convert 1,000 Shield Warriors and Berserkers into Giants due to Zero Wing''s precarious position. Normally, he would''ve only converted players after ensuring that they understood the implications of the process. Of course, these Giant players could return to their human state at the cost of a few Levels. If they struggled with their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, they could simply convert back. A few lost Levels wouldn''t be a problem compared to gaining the Giant race''s advantages while they were still at Tier 2. Moreover, he could determine the truly talented players among the group by converting them into Giants. Before converting, no one would know whether or not they''d be suitable for the race. Once he discovered these talented players, he could grant them the Titan Bloodline, reducing their promotion difficulty and allowing them to shine as true Giant experts. As for the various large Guilds'' search into the Giant conversion, both Aqua Rose and Youlan had expressed some concerns on the matter. However, Shi Feng paid it no mind. It was only a matter of time before the public discovered Thunder Axe City, and he had already activated the teleportation array that led to it. Moreover, players would need some time to complete the Conversion Quest, if they used the normal method of becoming a Giant Meanwhile, Zero Wing would reap all of the possible benefits from the Giant race. It wasn''t long before Shi Feng reached his destination. When he arrived at the Candlelight Trading Firm, he found that Melancholic Smile had already prepared the necessary manpower and materials to begin the Guardian Puppet''s production. Zero Wing urgently needed capable combatants, so it should work on increasing its members'' levels and the number of Giant players in its employ, but in Shi Feng''s opinion, producing the Guardian Puppets was more meaningful. In the past, war weapons like the Combat Puppets were a large part of the reason that the various second- and third-rate Guilds had survived the presence of first-rate Guilds and superpowers. Sin Realm''s decision to use the Steel Puppet against him had been foolish. Combat Puppets weren''t meant to kill individual players. They were only truly valuable when they defended or attacked towns and cities. Had Sin Realm utilized its Steel Puppet to protect Golden Flow Town, capturing the town would''ve been far more challenging. If Sin Realm had used enough Combat Puppets, Shi Feng would''ve been forced to rely on more than just his Giant players. Likewise, if he crafted a certain number of Guardian Puppets, the various superpowers wouldn''t be able to threaten Zero Wing. Inside his spacious Special Forging Room, a small mountain of materials sat atop his work desk. These materials would only be enough to produce one power source for the Guardian Puppet. Let''s begin! Shi Feng took in a deep breath as he examined the design and materials before him. He then activated the Soul Fire''s and Philosopher''s Hand''s abilities, quickly melting down the Fine Titan Ingots and Mana Stones on the table. The most difficult part of constructing the Guardian Puppet was its power source. To attempt the production, one had to be an Intermediate Master Forger at the very least. Moreover, an Intermediate Master would have a painfully low success rate. Fortunately, the Philosopher''s Hand''s ability could upgrade Shi Feng to Advanced Master Forger for a short time. This was why Shi Feng dared to attempt producing the Guardian Puppet. Time passed quickly. Before he had realized it, half a day had passed since Shi Feng had begun to work on the Guardian Puppet. Dark Night Empire, Silver Pine City: Silver Pine City was the seventh-largest NPC city in the Dark Night Empire and fully under the Hundred Flowers Palace''s jurisdiction. However, players from other large Guilds roamed the city as if they owned the place. It did not look like the Hundred Flowers Palace''s territory. Meanwhile, the normally lively Hundred Flowers Palace Residence was as quiet as the grave. The Palace''s members watched one Guild upper echelon after another enter the Guild Hall''s first-floor hall, shock gripping their hearts when they saw the upper echelons'' faces. Some of these upper echelons had come from other kingdoms and empires, and even the rarely-seen Guild Elders made an appearance. "What''s going on? Why are all of the Guild''s upper echelons gathering here?" "Isn''t that Crimson Heart, the First Vice Guild Leader? Wasn''t she managing the Branch Guild in the Holy Hill Kingdom? She''s actually made a trip here?" The Hundred Flowers Palace''s members went into an uproar when they saw the silver-armored, soldierly woman with crimson eyes. Although Crimson Heart was the Guild''s First Vice Guild Leader, she disagreed with the Guild Leader''s management choices and had led a group of players to develop in the Holy Hill Kingdom. Her endeavors in the kingdom had been quite successful, and she paid no heed to the main branch''s matters. Even when the Palace''s main branch had fallen into a precarious state, she had refused to make an appearance. The Guild''s members had never expected Crimson Heart to visit the main branch at this time. When the crowd saw the three players following Crimson Heart, they couldn''t help but gape. The highest-leveled player among them had reached Level 61. At that level, one could rank among the top 30 experts on the Dark Night Empire''s Ranking List Moreover, all three players wore Level 60 Equipment, with the weakest piece at Secret-Silver rank. Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment was currently considered top-tier equipment, and not even the various superpowers had many pieces. In addition, these three players had a few pieces of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment on them. Most importantly, they all wore two or three pieces of Epic Equipment It was a dazzling sight Many of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons were stupefied to see these three players, as well. They had never considered that Crimson Heart''s development in the Holy Hill Kingdom had been so profitable. "Crimson, you''re finally here. And here I thought that you planned to abandon the Hundred Flowers Palace," a Level 60, Tier 2 male Berserker carrying a greatsword on his back commented, smiling when he saw Crimson Heart enter the meeting room. "My opinions simply differ from the Guild Leader''s, but I am still a member of the Hundred Flowers Palace! Of course, I have to make an appearance for such an important matter! Moreover, Rue has fallen too far! The Hundred Flowers Pavilion can solve its own problems! We don''t need outsiders'' help!" Crimson Heart sapped, frowning as a flash of rage lit her eyes. As soon as Crimson Heart fell silent, a commotion broke out outside of the meeting room. Shortly after, Cleansed Rue joined the Guild''s upper echelons with a dozen or so players trailing behind her, all of which wore a six-winged emblem on their chests. 2031 Strong Team Chapter 2031 - Strong Team Inside the grand, solemn meeting room, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons and Guild Elders were silent as they stared at Zero Wing''s players standing behind Cleansed Rue. "How is this possible?! Level 62?!" "How does Zero Wing have so many Level 61 experts and above!?" "Are these people really from Zero Wing? I thought the players Fire Dance and Cola were Zero Wing''s peak experts." The Hundred Flowers Palace''s members whispered to each other as they examined Silent Blade and the dozen or so Zero Wing members from afar, confusion filling their gazes. Although many of the players in the meeting room had reached Level 60, a massive amount of EXP was necessary to rise from Level 60 to 61. Currently, fewer than 30 people in the Dark Night Empire had reached Level 61, and even if they included the experts that chose to hide their levels, there were still less than 50 Level 61 players in the empire. Moreover, most of these players were from the three superpowers in the Dark Night Empire. Yet, the fourteen representatives from Zero Wing could make up one-third of the empire''s highest-leveled players. Furthermore, ten of them were Level 62. If these Zero Wing members migrated to the Dark Night Empire, they would instantly monopolize the top ten positions on the empire''s Ranking List... Although a player''s level was not proof of strength, the equipment these players wore was at least on par with the equipment the three players who accompanied Crimson Heart wore. When these fourteen Zero Wing members stood together, their combined aura was significantly stronger than the combined aura of Crimson Heart''s three subordinates. Even the Guild upper echelons felt greatly pressured by this aura, not to mention the Guild members outside of the meeting room. It was no wonder why there had been such a commotion beyond the meeting room''s doors. "So, this is Zero Wing? It is even more powerful than the rumors claim!" A hint of surprise flashed across the male Berserker''s face as he looked at Silent Blade, Stubborn Bone, and the others. He was particularly surprised to see the young man leading Zero Wing''s members. Despite having used an Advanced Identification Skill, he couldn''t learn any details about him. The only thing he discovered was the young man''s name, Ye Feng. "It seems that Zero Wing isn''t all talk. No wonder it dares to meddle in our Guild''s affairs," Crimson Heart commented as she glanced at Shi Feng and the others. "Unfortunately, they came for nothing!" A Guild could not become more powerful by relying on a small number of peak experts. Although Zero Wing had sent a shocking number of peak experts, Guilds had to rely on the cooperation of a large force of ordinary expert and elite players when safeguarding its territory. The greatsword-carrying Berserker nodded in agreement with Crimson Heart''s statement. From an outsider''s point of view, the Hundred Flowers Palace had fallen from its peak. However, that wasn''t entirely true. At most, the Guild had two-thirds of its previous power. Moreover, that didn''t include the forces Crimson Heart had been nurturing in the Holy Hill Kingdom. Her forces alone made up one-third of the Palace''s previous strength. Now that Crimson Heart had returned to the main branch, the Guild had, in a way, recovered to its peak. With such strength, the Guild would have no problem fending off Starlink''s offensive. Starlink''s main target, after all, was Unyielding Soul. After a brief discussion among the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons, the Guild Leader, Shadow Flower, finally arrived, marking the meeting''s official start. So, she''s Shadow Flower? Shi Feng was a little taken aback when he saw the masked woman sitting in the Guild Leader''s throne. The Hundred Flowers Palace was one of the few Guilds in the virtual gaming world that favored women over men. Meanwhile, among the multiple Guild Leaders that had led the Hundred Flowers Palace, Shadow Flower had accomplished the most. The Hundred Flowers Palace had eventually grown into a quasi-super-first-rate Guild under this woman''s lead during Shi Feng''s previous life. Although the Palace never managed to become a super-first-rate Guild, it had amassed the strength to rival one. However, Shadow Flower''s identity had even been a mystery in the past. She almost never appeared before the public. People only knew of her existence, but no one had ever seen her in person. Many had speculated that Shadow Flower was in her thirties or forties, but when Shi Feng inspected her with Omniscient Eyes, he discovered that she was barely over 20. She was even younger than Cleansed Rue, and she was no less beautiful. Her Level was even more impressive as a Level 61, Tier 2 Assassin. While Shi Feng quietly observed the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons, the players before him fell into a heated debate. Overall, these upper echelons had split into two main groups. The first group supported the idea of accepting Zero Wing''s help, but with the condition that part of the remuneration was paid in resources, rather than solely Shops and Lands. The second group vehemently wanted to refuse Zero Wing''s offer since, due to Crimson Heart''s return, the Hundred Flowers Palace had enough power to stop Starlink''s merciless invasion. Cleansed Rue and Crimson Heart led these two groups, and both argued intensely. "Big Sis Crimson, although Starlink hasn''t officially been recognized as a super-first-rate Guild, it''s in no way weaker than actual super-first-rate Guilds! It has even surpassed Unyielding Soul! It''s targeting us to ensure that it can focus on Unyielding Soul later! Starlink is not playing around and will do everything in its power to eliminate us! With just our Guild''s strength, resisting Starlink will be incredibly difficult!" Cleansed Rue said. "While you''re correct, you know that there have been cases where Guilds that rival first-rate Guilds have stopped a superpower''s offensive. Zero Wing''s success against Miracle in the Black Dragon Empire is one such example. I admit that our Guild doesn''t have weapons like the Basic Combat Device and Magicbreaking Crossbows," Crimson Heart said as she shot Shi Feng a glance, who currently lounged in a guest seat. Revealing a faint smile, she continued, "But we have an absolute advantage when it comes to terrain. We also have a large stock of Blood Source Potions. Replicating Zero Wing''s success and chasing Starlink out of our territories isn''t necessarily impossible." The Blood Source Potion was a unique Berserk Potion, which she had the recipe for. After consumption, players would instantly rise by five levels for three hours. During the potion''s duration, they''d also enjoy a 20% Basic Attribute increase, and their physique would improve by 40%. The potion''s side effects were its only flaws. Once the potion''s duration ended, the player would lose one level and enter a Weakened state for 12 hours. Because of this, it was considered taboo, and most players refused to use it unless absolutely necessary. If the Hundred Flowers Palace used Blood Source Potions against Starlink in the fields, it might achieve a greater victory than Zero Wing''s against Miracle. The Palace had thousands of experts it could dispatch, whereas Zero Wing''s forces had been limited to the number of Basic Combat Devices and Magicbreaking Crossbows in its possession. Cleansed Rue fell silent at Crimson Heart''s words. The other Guild upper echelons also found her opinions reasonable. After all, Crimson Heart had relied on the Blood Source Potion to secure a sizable territory in the Holy Hill Kingdom with a small number of Guild members. Starlink couldn''t afford to fight a drawn-out war with the Hundred Flowers Palace if it wanted to deal with Unyielding Soul. Once it discovered that the Palace was too tough to finish off in a short time, it would give up on the Palace. It was a similar mentality to the one Miracle used when it withdrew from its fight with Zero Wing. Since Zero Wing was capable of stopping a superpower''s offensive, why couldn''t their Guild do the same? Furthermore, the Hundred Flowers Palace could dispatch far more experts than Zero Wing had during that fight. As the upper echelons discussed Crimson Heart''s view and agreed with her suggestion, a system notification rang in their ears. Guild System: Starlink has captured East Valley Town''s Town Order. East Valley Town is no longer be under the Hundred Flowers Palace''s jurisdiction. Guild Popularity reduced by 2,000. 2032 Proof of Ability Chapter 2032 - Proof of Ability When they heard the Guild system notification, the meeting room fell silent as if time had frozen. The Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons only recovered from their daze after three seconds had passed. "East Valley Town has been captured? How is that possible?!" "What did Starlink do?!" "Quick! Send someone to contact our people in East Valley Town! I want to know what''s happening! Find out how Starlink captured it!" The upper echelons barked out orders to their subordinates, demanding a full investigation into this matter. They were all visibly anxious, having abandoned their prior calm. Even Cleansed Rue, one of the Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders, was clearly flustered. East Valley Town was one of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s three most important towns due to its proximity to the Thorny Ridge, a Level 60 to 80 neutral map. The Thorny Ridge was the most suitable map for players to grind and level up. Not only could players level up quickly there, but they could also secure excellent resources from the map. Furthermore, East Valley Town had almost been large enough to promote to Intermediate rank. Due to East Valley Town''s importance, the Hundred Flowers Palace had station between 30,000 and 40,000 players in the town. Although only 1,000 of them were expert players, the rest being elites, East Valley Town shouldn''t be easy to capture. To prevent other powers from taking the town from them, the Guild had also constructed eight Defense Turrets and ten Arrow Towers, in addition to hiring 1,000 NPC soldiers for the town''s protection. If worse came to worst, the Palace had a collection of war weapons, Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, and Tier 3 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls stored in the town. Yet, despite having such defenses, East Valley Town had fallen without any of them receiving word of an attack... Why wouldn''t they worry when such a heavily fortified town had been captured so easily? After waiting for a short while, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons received reports from their subordinates. However, their expressions became even gloomier after reading the reports. "Vice Guild Leader Rue, what happened in East Valley Town?" Shi Feng could not help but ask. "We have received a report from the members stationed in the town. Starlink sealed off communication in the town before several thousand Tier 2 experts appeared in our Residence. Because of how sudden the attack was, our members were caught completely off guard. Using the confusion to their advantage, Starlink''s members claimed the Town Order," Cleansed Rue said, turning to Shi Feng with a complex expression. Starlink had used the same tactical assault that Zero Wing had employed against the Starlight Alliance. It was highly likely that Starlink had only decided to use the tactic after witnessing Zero Wing''s success. If Zero Wing had not used it, Starlink would likely have failed to capture such a fortified town as East Valley Town. Although this situation impressed upon the Palace''s upper echelons how truly impressive Zero Wing was, it was also a fact that Zero Wing had indirectly helped Starlink capture one of the Palace''s fortified towns. This would likely encourage these upper echelons'' resentment against Zero Wing. "They used our Guild''s assault tactic?" Remnant Cloud and the others, who sat around Shi Feng, were stunned. Although they felt as if the Hundred Flowers Palace deserved their apology, they were also a little delighted. The Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons had already stated that they were capable offending off a superpower in the same way Zero Wing had, however, due to Zero Wing''s tactic, the Palace had lost one of its most important towns. However, the situation didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. After an adventurer team had used the tactic to destroy a Guild Town in the past, similar situations had occurred across God''s Domain. No one could resist the temptation of obtaining a Guild Town so easily. But using this tactic required one to fulfill certain conditions. The first condition required one to possess sufficiently strong combatants. The second condition involved the ability to transfer a large number of players across long distances. Naturally, the second condition was more difficult to fulfill since the majority of teleportation tools in the game only allowed individual travel. Group teleportation tools, even those that allowed short-distance travel, were extremely rare and valuable, not to mention long-distance, group teleportation tools. Normally, one would require tools like Tier 3 Group Teleportation Scrolls to achieve the feat, but such Scrolls were insanely rare, rivaling Tier 4 Magic Scrolls. They were not easy to come by. This was also why Shi Feng treated his Seven Luminaries Ring as a divine tool. Its ability to teleport a group of players was already immensely precious, not to mention its other abilities. "However, that isn''t the most important news right now. Based on the information we gathered during our people''s investigations, Starlink simultaneous dispatched an army to Moon Creek Town, one of our other important bases," Cleansed Rue said. "We estimate that the Guild has mobilized over 300,000 players for the assault, and it has sealed off communication and all paths to the town. We were only able to learn of its movements through offline means." It was obvious that Starlink was serious about taking Moon Creek Town from the Hundred Flowers Palace. An army of 300,000 elite players was the equivalent of three-quarters of the Palace''s elite members. With all paths to and from Moon Creek Town blocked, teleportation to the town was impossible, as well. It would take a very long time for the Palace to mobilize a force large enough to match Starlink''s army. Meanwhile, only around 30,000 players defended the town. By the time the Palace''s main army arrived, the Guild would have likely lost Moon Creek Town. If the Hundred Flowers Palace lost Moon Creek Town as well, the Guild would lose all hope of developing in the Dark Night Empire. The various large Guilds relied on their Guild Towns, which were usually constructed in high-resource maps, to obtain leveling resources and funds. Without any Guild Towns, a Guild would stagnate. "Guild Leader, what should we do? It''ll likely take an hour or two to gather 100,000 elite members right now, and we''ll need another four or five hours to reach Moon Creek Town. With Moon Creek Town''s defenses, I''m afraid it won''t last that long." "Don''t forget; Starlink has set up blockades on the paths to Moon Creek Town. Getting through those blockades will likely take as much time as actually traveling to the town..." "How are we supposed to send reinforcements, in that case? We''ve already lost East Valley Town; if we lose Moon Creek Town as well, we''ll have no choice but to leave the empire." All of the Palace''s upper echelons anxiously voiced their opinions, one after another. They had never expected Starlink to launch such a fierce offensive. Rather than facing their Guild in the field, Starlink had directly assaulted their Guild''s vital points. "All we can do is organize a small force of experts to break through Starlink''s blockades. I have Blood Source Potions with me. If we can get these potions to Moon Creek Town, we can fortify the town''s defenses. We should be able to buy enough time for the main army to arrive," Crimson Heart declared. "Currently, there are two paths that will allow us to reach the town quickly, but trying to break through a single front will be quite dangerous since both paths are relatively close to each other. The Starlink members stationed at the blockades will easily be able to provide each other reinforcements. Hence, I suggest that we try both paths. We''ll use one force as bait while the other tries to deliver the Blood Source Potions to Moon Creek Town. "Rue, you insisted that we ally with Zero Wing, correct? Then, let''s see Zero Wing''s strength. If Zero Wing can''t even help us with this operation, then the Guild isn''t strong enough to stop Starlink!" "This...." Cleansed Rue couldn''t help but turn to Shi Feng with an awkward expression. She had merely invited Zero Wing''s experts to this meeting to show off its strength to her Guild''s upper echelons. With that understanding, Zero Wing had only sent fourteen experts with her. How could such a small force fight a large-scale battle? "That won''t be a problem. We can use this opportunity to prove to you that Zero Wing is powerful enough to repel Starlink," Shi Feng volunteered, nodding calmly. Cleansed Rue had no choice but to agree with Crimson Heart''s plan after Shi Feng''s approval. However, she intended to gather the experts under her command, as well. She had suggested this alliance; she couldn''t afford to watch from the sidelines. "Since we''re all in agreement, let''s begin the operation. Moon Creek Town can''t last long without our help," Crimson Heart said, flashing Shi Feng a grin. In truth, she didn''t have much hope of Zero Wing''s success in this operation. She had only suggested the plan to prove to Zero Wing that she and her subordinates could smash through Starlink''s blockade and reach Moon Creek Town in time to help its survival. Following which, the two Vice Guild Leaders left to prepare, with Crimson Heart organizing the experts that had accompanied her from the Holy Hill Kingdom and Cleansed Rue leading her own subordinates and Zero Wing''s group to the appointed location. 2033 Breaking Through? Chapter 2033 - Breaking Through? Dark Night Empire, Silent Canyon: A 1,000-man team from the Hundred Flowers Palace rose through a rugged mountain path atop the Guild''s Black Panther Mounts. The team left kicked up clouds of dust as they passed, the sound of the Black Panther''s footfalls echoing throughout the valley. Players that encountered the army of Black Panthers stepped aside and made way for the beasts. In the lead, Crimson Heart rode atop a pitch-black drake, unlike the rest of her team. She wore a suit a silver armor and carried a dark-purple spear across her back that radiated a frosty aura. Holding her Mount''s reins in one hand, she looked like a heroic Valkyrie riding into battle. Independent players who saw her were awestruck, and many unconsciously followed the army of Black Panthers in hopes of catching another glimpse of Crimson Heart. "Who is she? Since when has the Hundred Flowers Palace had a member like that? She feels so powerful! I only caught a glimpse, but I can''t help my desire to submit to her!" "You''re new to the Dark Night Empire, so it isn''t unusual that you haven''t heard of her. She''s the Hundred Flowers Palace''s First Vice Guild Leader. With her strength alone, she established a Branch Guild in the Holy Hill Kingdom and developed it into one of the kingdom''s two overlords in a short time. She''s strongly opposed to entering her name on the God''s Domain Expert List, so the Secret Pavilion ended up giving her the title ''Shadow Spear.'' She''s even stronger than the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Frostflame Goddess, Cleansed Rue." "A title from the Secret Pavilion?! Amazing!" "That''s not all. The Dark Cloud Legion under her command is frighteningly strong. The legion once defeated an army of tens of thousands of elite and expert players in the Holy Hill Kingdom. The legion isn''t any weaker than superpowers'' trump card legions. I''ve heard that Starlink has blocked off all paths to Moon Creek Town and intends to lay siege. She probably plans to reinforce the town by crossing the Silent Canyon." "A siege battle? I have only seen siege battles in videos. Why don''t we follow her and watch? The battle between Starlink and the Hundred Flowers Palace is definitely going to be an interesting show!" "You''re right! We don''t get many chances to watch siege battles in person. Once the battle is over, we might even get to make a little profit." The independent players quietly discussed the situation as they watched the Dark Cloud Legion dash by. Although Starlink''s siege on Moon Creek Town had been a tight secret, it was very difficult to keep the assault under wraps when mobilizing such a large force. As some experts watched the imposing Dark Cloud Legion ride by, they began to grow even more interested in the upcoming battle. Unable to help themselves, they climbed on their Mounts and chased after Crimson Heart and her team. "Big Sis Crimson, quite a few players are following us. Should we deal with them?" a female Assassin with a devilish body asked Crimson Heart as she glanced at the players behind the team. "Ignore them. With the commotion we''re causing, hiding our actions is impossible. Let them tail after us," Crimson Heart said, shaking her head. "Any news on the Starlink forces blocking this path?" "A report just came in. According to our scouts, Starlink has dispatched particularly powerful forces to guard the two shortest paths to the town. The Guild must have guessed that we''d focus on these paths, so it sent two Vice Guild Leaders, each with an army of 15,000 elite and expert players, to block the paths," the female Assassin replied grimly. Starlink was a new Guild that had only established after God''s Domain had launched. It had become a superpower so quickly, even rivaling Unyielding Soul, after annexing plenty of Guilds, adventurer teams, and famous experts. Meanwhile, Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders had either been Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds or commanders of top adventurer teams. They were all famous experts that had shaken the virtual gaming world in the past. Not only were these players incredibly strong as individuals, but they also had a large number of capable experts under their command. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have qualified for the positions as Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders. Since Starlink had sent two of its Vice Guild Leaders to guard the two closest paths, breaking through would be even more difficult Crimson Heart couldn''t help her frown. Although she had expected Starlink to establish a tight blockade, she hadn''t expected this much trouble. She then asked, "Do you know who the Vice Guild Leaders are?" After taking a deep breath, the Assassin replied in a soft, serious tone, "Starlink''s Seventh Vice Guild Leader, Desert Tiger, is guarding the path we''re on now. He has earned the title ''Hundred Fist Tiger.'' The other path is guarded by Starlink''s recently promoted Fourth Vice Guild Leader, Three Kills!" "Three Kills? He actually joined Starlink? How did Starlink manage to recruit him? I thought he decided to retire a long time ago?" Crimson Heart''s expression darkened when she heard the name ''Three Kills.'' Ordinary players might not know the name, but as an upper echelon of a first-rate Guild, Crimson Heart was quite familiar with Three Kills. The name had once shaken the virtual gaming world''s apex over a dozen years ago. Three Kills had been the Guild Leader of the Super Guild, Jormungandr. He had been one of the only geniuses that appeared in the Guild once a decade. However, for some unknown reason, Three Kills had announced his retirement one day, leaving the virtual gaming world alongside a large group of experts. Less than five years later, Jormungandr had disbanded and faded from the virtual gaming world, and other Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds had poached its abandoned members. However, when Three Kills had led the Guild, Jormungandr had nearly become one of the top four Super Guilds in the virtual gaming world. "We don''t know the exact reason, but we''re certain that this player is the real Three Kills," the female Assassin said, shuddering. Ordinary players would assume that a Super Guild''s Guild Leader only played a management role in the Guild, but Crimson Heart, a first-rate Guild''s upper echelon, knew that the position was proof of one''s strength in Super Guilds. With a bigshot like Three Kills defending the blockade, why wouldn''t she shudder in fear? "Hopefully, Zero Wing can buy us some time," Crimson Heart said as she examined the map. "Let''s increase our speed! We need to break through the blockade before Zero Wing clashes with Three Kills!" She had planned to show off the Hundred Flowers Palace''s strength to Zero Wing in this operation, proving that the Palace was no weaker than Zero Wing, perhaps even stronger. Once Zero Wing realized its inferior position, it would give up on trying to lay claim to the Palace''s Shops and Lands. However, she had lost her previous certainty. Even a super-first-rate Guild would likely struggle to get past a blockade led by Three Kills, not to mention Zero Wing. Right now, she needed to put as much distance between her team and Three Kills'' as possible before he annihilated Zero Wing''s small force. If she had to fight both Desert Tiger and Three Kills at once, she''d never reach Moon Creek Town. Following which, Crimson Heart and the Dark Cloud Legion members increased their pace to reach Starlink''s blockade before the agreed-upon time. Meanwhile, on another path through the Silent Canyon, Cleansed Rue''s group had arrived a short distance away from Starlink''s blockade. "Elder Ye Feng, the situation has changed. I''ve just received a report stating that Three Kills is leading the force ahead! He was the Guild Leader of Jormungandr, a Super Guild from several years ago!" Cleansed Rue reported grimly. "Breaking past them is no longer possible here. However, I''m hoping that you can help me delay Three Kills for some time. If we can hold him off for four or five minutes, it will be enough." "I see. I understand, but since we''ve agreed to prove Zero Wing''s ability to resist Starlink to the Hundred Flowers Palace, we cannot go back on our word. Zero Wing would become a laughingstock among the other Guilds if we did. We''ll make sure you and your team make it to Moon Creek Town," Shi Feng calmly declared. "Three Kills is a monster of an expert! Do you really think that you can break through his blockade?" a Tier 2 female Cleric from the Hundred Flowers Palace asked when she heard Shi Feng''s confident tone. "If the path is only guarded by one monster like him, we shouldn''t have any issues," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought "Big Sis Rue, this person is insane!" the female Cleric whispered to her leader, flabbergasted. She very nearly failed to control herself and shot Shi Feng a disdainful look. Zero Wing had only sent them fourteen players. Although the narrow mountain terrain didn''t allow large-scale combat, only suitable for a small number of players to fight each other at a time, getting past a force of 15,000 elite and expert players with such a small force would be nigh- impossible. Furthermore, Starlink''s force was led by the former Guild Leader of a Super Guild. The female Cleric sent a hopeful glance at Remnant Cloud and his companions behind Shi Feng. She hoped that they would stop such a mentally disturbed leader, but when she saw one of Zero Wing''s members open their mouth, assuming that they would indeed dissuade Shi Feng... "Boss Feng, can you leave Three Kills to me?" 2034 Beyond Salvation Chapter 2034 - Beyond Salvation Even Shi Feng was shocked into turning toward Seven Light, the player who asked to face Three Kills. Seven Light was very young, and he hadn''t come into contact with virtual reality games until recently. In fact, God''s Domain was the first virtual reality game he had ever played. However, his talent was the real deal. Although he had only joined Zero Wing recently, his talent for combat had helped him rise through the Guild''s ranks to its main force through the Guild''s monthly ranking competition. Seven Light had also gained more inspiration and strength from his training in the Extraordinary Tower than any of his comrades. Shi Feng had to admit that the youth was worthy of the title ''Arclight Sword Emperor,'' the title he had wielded during Shi Feng''s previous life. Although Seven Light had yet to enter the Realms of Truth, he had unexpectedly entered the Realms of Refinement during his training, becoming one of Zero Wing''s few Refinement Realm experts. "Alright, I''ll leave him to you." Seeing the fighting spirit in Seven Light''s eyes, Shi Feng could see that he truly wanted to test his newfound strength. Although Seven Light had only reached the Refinement Realm, which wouldn''t be significant in a superpower, he also wore the Level 60 Demonkin Set Equipment he had obtained after slaying the Demonkin King. Shi Feng had awarded Seven Light the set equipment after he had entered the Refinement Realm. Rather, only Refinement Realm experts qualified to utilize the set Giving the equipment to an ordinary expert would be a waste. This was also the reason that Shi Feng had only distributed the Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment to the players who had participated in the Demonkin King raid, while he had stored the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment in the Guild Warehouse. Seven Light currently wore the Level 60 Dark-Gold ranked Demonkin chest-piece and boots, while the pants, gloves, helmet, and bracers were Fine-Gold ranked set pieces. Despite the difference in quality, the combination still activated the Demonkin Set''s six-piece set effects. The Demonkin Set''s effects were no weaker than Cola''s Scorching Wind Set. However, since the Scorching Wind Set was Level 70 equipment, its Basic Attribute bonuses were far higher than the Level 60 Demonkin Set. They were two of the best set equipment available in the game right now. "Understood! I swear I will complete this mission!" Seven Light could not help his growing excitement when Shi Feng agreed to his request. After listening to the conversation between Shi Feng and Seven Light, the Tier 2 female Cleric nearby rolled her eyes at Zero Wing''s members. Now, she looked at the players as if they were psychopaths. Their opponent had once been a Super Guild''s Guild Leader, a legendary existence in the virtual gaming world, yet Shi Feng and Seven Light spoke as if Three Kills was some Common monster that could easily be defeated. "Big Sis Rue..." The Tier 2 Cleric could not help but tug on Cleansed Rue''s sleeve in a plead for comfort. She hoped that Cleansed Rue would be able to dissuade these lunatics. Cleansed Rue could only sigh in response, expressing her agreement. However, she found it natural that Zero Wing''s members knew nothing of Three Kills. After all, Zero Wing was a relatively new Guild, so it was ignorant about many things regarding the virtual gaming world''s hierarchy. Furthermore, Three Kills had retired over a decade ago. After all was said and done, she had been responsible for inviting Zero Wing''s members here, and since they wanted to smash through the blockade, how could she demand they sacrifice themselves to simply buy some time instead? "Vice Guild Leader Rue, it''s almost time. Should we set off?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to Cleansed Rue. "Are we not going to discuss our plan for getting past the blockade?" Cleansed Rue asked, giving Shi Feng a strange look. Aside from Zero Wing''s fourteen members, she had brought with her more than 900 experts from the Hundred Flowers Palace to help their operation. Although she recognized Shi Feng and his companions'' strength, they were, at best, as powerful as ordinary peak experts. They should be far weaker than a superpower''s peak experts. If they did not plan this operation properly, the enemy ranged experts would likely bombard them to smithereens before they could reach the blockade. Moreover, the defenders had the advantage with how narrow the terrain was. Even a 10,000-strong army could easily hold back several tens of thousands of players for a long time, much less their team of 1,000 players. "Right! We need to come up with a plan!" Realization dawned on Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s reaction rendered the Hundred Flowers Palace members speechless. They hadn''t dreamed that Zero Wing would have an upper echelon that lacked such common sense. "I''ll explain what I have in mind, then." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "Later, my team and I will spearhead the charge. Once we tear a hole through Starlink''s defenses, the enemy will concentrate their firepower on us. Catch up with us the moment you see an opening, and try to avoid fighting the enemy as much as possible. We are severely outnumbered, after all. If we try to fight them, we''ll be at a disadvantage." As soon as Shi Feng finished, every player from the Hundred Flowers Palace stared at him with dropped jaws. They would''ve cursed at him if Cleansed Rue hadn''t been there. How was that supposed to be a plan? He basically wanted them to launch a kamikaze attack! If they truly followed Shi Feng''s play, they might as well call themselves the ''Suicide Team!'' Shi Feng wasn''t satisfied with simply sacrificing himself and his players; he actually wanted them to die with him! Did he think that they were just as mentally ill as he was? "Very good. It seems nobody has any issues with it," Shi Feng said, nodding his head when no one spoke up. "In that case, let''s begin!" "Big Sis Rue, are we really going to follow him?" the Tier 2 female Cleric could not help but ask Cleansed Rue softly. She felt that Shi Feng''s mental disorder was beyond salvation. If they followed his plan, they''d likely be annihilated within 30 seconds. They''d break the record for the fastest 1,000-man team to die while charging a blockade, becoming the biggest joke in the Dark Night Empire. "Let them go. Once they die, we''ll think of a better plan to buy time. That way, Big Sis Crimson''s side should have an easier time breaking through to the town," Cleansed Rue said. She released a deep sigh as she watched Shi Feng and the others, who eagerly prepared to charge into Starlink''s blockade. Meanwhile, hundreds of independent players stood less than 1,000 yards away from Starlink''s fortifications. They all waited for Starlink to let them pass. Although many of these independent players whispered complaints, none of them could do anything about the roadblock. Starlink had set up their blockade in a strategic location, choosing a path that was sandwiched between two steep cliffs. Although the cliffs were not magically enhanced, even high-Agility Assassins would struggle to climb across. Furthermore, several hundred ranged experts stood guard atop each cliff. They''d easily spot anyone who attempted to climb the rockside. Getting past this blockade without being detected was simply impossible. The main path was guarded by several hundred MTs. Tier 2 MTs fully comprised the first two defensive lines, and when they raised their shields in unison, not even a rat could sneak past them, much less players. "Boss Kill, someone''s trying to break past Desert Tiger''s team. From what we''ve learned, these players seem to be from the Dark Cloud Legion that follows Crimson Heart, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s First Vice Guild Leader. It''s the Palace''s strongest legion, with impressively strong members. Why don''t we take some people and head over to take a look? I''m tired of sitting here and doing nothing; it''s boring," a Level 60, Tier 2 Ranger holding a beer bottle suggested to the middle-aged man wearing dark-blue plate armor and carrying two war hammers. "It seems the Hundred Flowers Palace is tired of sitting still," Three Kills calmly commented. "Since they''re here, let''s greet the Shadow Spear." Although Three Kills looked like a man in his forties, and he was relatively slim, lacking muscle mass, he radiated a chilling aura that made players unconsciously distance themselves from him. If a player examined him with an Advanced Identification Skill, they''d discover that Three Kills was a Level 62, Tier 2 Berserker, and his equipment was just as frightening. He wore a total of five Epic items, four equipment pieces and one weapon. Of the rest of his equipment, the weakest piece was Level 60 Secret-Silver rank. His aura wasn''t the slightest bit inferior to a Level 60 Grand Lord''s. As Three Kills finished speaking, the Starlink players that were responsible for scouting the surrounding area shouted, "Enemy sighted 500 yards away! A team of players is rapidly approaching!" With the scout''s warning, Starlink''s elite players began to grow nervous. The Hundred Flowers Palace had been pushed to the brink of destruction, and the Guild wouldn''t spare any expense to get past their roadblock. Even though they had the defender''s advantage, they''d need to spend a long time grinding to recover the lost EXP on the off chance that they died in the upcoming battle. "Luck is on our side today! We actually get to participate in such an event!" "Hopefully, I''ll loot a good piece of equipment before this is over!" Starlink''s Tier 2 experts, however, didn''t respond in kind. Rather, they practically vibrated with excitement and anticipation. The independent players that waited to move past the blockade had heard Starlink''s experts, showing similar excitement. They rarely witnessed large-scale Guild battles like this, and they were so close to the battlefield. With how chaotic combat was, they might be able to take advantage of the situation to secure some unexpected loot for themselves. "The Hundred Flowers Palace is launching a two-prong assault?" After giving the matter some thought, Three Kills asked, "How many people are approaching?" "Um... Fourteen..." 2035 Extraordinary Towers Effects Chapter 2035 - Extraordinary Tower''s Effects The scout''s report stunned Starlink''s members, clearly wondering if the scout was toying with them. Even 140 players would die instantly if they assaulted the blockade, much less fourteen players. If the Hundred Flowers Palace wanted to make it past the roadblock, it should''ve at least sent a 1,000-man team like the legion that assaulted DesertTiger''s post "They must be independent players that want to head to Moon Creek Town. The Hundred Flowers Palace can''t be this stupid." "I agree. They''re most likely just passing by." The Starlink members that had prepared for a fight began to relax. They also shot the scout disdainful looks for making them worry over nothing. Starlink hadn''t publicly announced its siege on Moon Creek Town, so very few knew about it. Even if some players discussed the situation on the official forums, most players grinding in the fields rarely checked the forums while they worked. It wasn''t unexpected to find players that didn''t know about Starlink''s blockades as they made their way to the town. In fact, they had already encountered several similar parties. "No! These players are different! They''re all wearing Black Cloaks, and I can''t tell who they are. Moreover, their Movement Speed is extremely high. The man leading the charge is also riding an extraordinary Mount. The Mount is around five-meters tall. It should be a Secret-Silver rank or higher. They''re definitely not ordinary players!" the scout hurriedly explained. Although Mounts had already become popular among ordinary players, Bronze rank and higher were still incredibly rare. Even at this stage of the game, the various large Guilds'' upper echelons didn''t necessarily own Mysterious-Iron Mounts, let alone Secret-Silver rank. "That''s interesting. Everyone, get ready. We''ll see what they intend to do," Three Kills commanded, deciding to take the situation seriously after hearing the scout''s explanation. As the scout had said, ordinary players weren''t capable of obtaining a Secret-Silver Mount Even Three Kills had only recently secured a Secret-Silver Mount. When they heard Three Kill''s command, Sarlink''s members began to prepare for combat. After a short moment, a dozen or so figures appeared on the narrow mountain path. Each of them wore a Black Cloak, preventing anyone from determining whether they were independent or Guild players. However, as the scout had claimed, these players rode extraordinary Mounts. The Movement Speed was far greater than Common rank Mounts, at least as fast as Bronze rank- Incoming players, listen up! Starlink has closed down this road! Dismount immediately and maintain a 100-yard distance! We''ll kill any who resist!" One of Starlink''s members shouted a warning once the strangers were nearly 100 yards from the blockade. But despite the warning, these intruders maintained their speed, continuing their approach. "Didn''t they hear Starlink''s warning?" "They had to. I''ve even farther from the blockade, and I heard it clearly. How could they not hear the warning?" "Do they plan to charge through the blockade?" "That shouldn''t be the case, right? That''s Starlink we''re talking about! Such a small force isn''t even a warm-up for Starlink''s members!" The hundreds of independent players waiting by the roadside were astonished as they watched the dozen or so figures run towards the blockade without any hesitation. When the cloaked figures were less than 70 yards from the blockade, another Starlink scout shouted, "A 1,000-man team from the Hundred Flowers Palace has appeared 500 yards away! They''re slowly approaching our location!" "Is this first group acting as bait?" the Tier 2 Ranger, Mountain Passenger, wondered aloud after taking a swig of his beer. A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he watched the dozen or so mounted figures, saying, "Boss, it seems the Hundred Flowers Palace has seriously underestimated us. Can I go ahead and eliminate those riders by myself?" "Forget it. I''m sure this team is simply here to delay us, ensuring that the team on Desert Tiger''s road can make it to Moon Creek Town," Three Kills said, shaking his head. Smiling, he continued, "Since that is the case, take a team of 3,000 and reinforce Desert Tiger''s forces. As for this bait, we''ll leave them to Tyrant." "Understood!" Mountain Passenger replied as realization dawned on him. As a first-rate Guild, the Hundred Flowers Palace had ways of learning about their movements. Information gathering was one of a first-rate Guild''s foundational abilities. Once the Palace had discovered their intentions, it would realize that breaking past Starlink''s forces would be impossible on this path. Hence, they intended to send wave after wave of a dozen or so players at the blockade, buying time for the Palace''s Dark Cloud Legion to force its way past the other blockade. Unfortunately, Three Kills was the Palace''s opponent this time. If he hadn''t been there, its ploy might have been successful. "We don''t need to waste time on these suicidal bastards. All ranged players, attack together!" Three Kills commanded as he glanced at Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing players. The several hundred ranged players atop the cliffs on both sides of the road began to prepare their attacks. However, just before these players could launch their attacks, a massive, silver magic array appeared above them, covering a 500-yard radius. Pitch-black smoke flowed out of the array, and the Starlink members who were about to use their Skills and Spells found themselves Silenced. "An AOE Silence?" Mountain Passenger stared at the black smoke, stunned. AOE Silencing Skills and Spells were extremely rare in God''s Domain. A Tier 3 AOE Silencing Scroll''s value could even rival that of a Tier 4 Magic Scroll, both treasured in any Guild. Naturally, Skills and tools that could employ an AOE Silence were far more valuable, and one would need more than just tens of thousands of Gold to purchase one. Yet, for the sake of its bait, the Hundred Flowers Palace had used such a trump card. It was insanely extravagant. "A futile struggle. Do they think Silencing us will change anything? Everyone, use normal attacks!" Three Kills calmly commanded, unfazed by the AOE Silence effect. The debuff would be crucial in a team fight, Starlink still had an overwhelming numerical advantage. A single normal attack might not pose much of a threat to these trespassers, but several hundred at the same time would. Furthermore, their ranged players had the high ground. These fourteen players would find their attacks difficult to dodge. Hearing Three Kills''s command, his teammates calmed down and used normal attacks against Shi Feng''s group. Hundreds of arrows rained down on Zero Wing''s members. But after a second, Starlink''s players were stupefied. The fourteen players moved through the arrows as if strolling through their own backyards. None of the arrows touched them... "How is this possible?" Starlink''s members, as well as the Hundred Flowers Palace''s scouting Assassins and the spectating players, stared at Zero Wing''s small force with gaping mouths. They couldn''t believe what they were seeing. They were talking about several hundred arrows! Even ordinary experts would be forced to defend themselves with their weapons. Some ordinary experts wouldn''t even block every arrow, taking a few hits. However, not only had Shi Feng and his party dodged every arrow, but they had also done so effortlessly. Based on their appearances, they still had plenty of energy to spare. However, Seven Light and his companions weren''t surprised in the least After all, compared to dodging the Extraordinary Tower''s attacks during the trial, avoiding these arrows was child''s play. Not only were the arrows much slower, but their attack trajectories remained unchanged, as well. Players that could reach the 150-yard mark in the first-floor trial could easily avoid these arrows, not to mention Seven Light and his teammates, who had reached the 100-yard mark. Meanwhile, after Starlink''s Rangers launched several volleys of arrows, Seven Light, Remnant Cloud, Stubborn Bone, Graceful Moon, Silent Blade, and the other Zero Wing experts finally arrived before the blockade''s defensive line. The Level 58 to 60, Tier 2 Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights that made up the first defensive line had already raised their shields, forming an unshakable steel wall. But when Seven Light and his comrades reached them, they plowed through the wall without hesitation. They did not even pause to find attack opportunities or target the MTs with weaker equipment. Omnislash! Whirlwind Slash! Savage Charge! Boom... Boom... Boom- Like a powerful cannon blast, Zero Wing''s players forced a hole through the steel wall almost instantly. Dozens of Starlink''s Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights were sent flying, crashing into the players at the rear. Not a single Starlink player could be found within 15 yards of the Zero Wing party... 2036 Successive Breakthroughs Chapter 2036 - Successive Breakthroughs Starlink''s members were stunned after watching Seven Light, Silent Blade, and the others blast apart the human wall. The fact that these fourteen players had dodged a rain of arrows was already shocking enough, but the word was no longer enough to describe the scene they had just witnessed. "Are they monsters?!" This thought simultaneously drifted through the minds of Starlink''s players. The MTs on the first line were bona fide Tier 2 experts, fully geared in Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment. Some of them even wore one or two pieces of Level 55 Fine-Gold Equipment. They were the envy of ordinary experts. That defensive line shouldn''t have broken even under an assault by several thousand elite and expert players. Yet, just fourteen players had shattered it... Meanwhile, the independent players and the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Assassin scouts were just as flabbergasted. Not only had Zero Wing''s party broken past Starlink''s defensive lines, but they had also sent the Tier 2 MTs flying over a dozen yards away. Their Strength was beyond common sense. However, after a short moment of silence, Starlink''s experts recovered from their shock and promptly reinforced the second defensive line while the Guild''s ranged players provided cover fire. Now, Starlink''s members wouldn''t dare look down on Seven Light and his party. Only, their changed attitude didn''t faze Zero Wing''s players. Although Starlink''s expert players were well-equipped, Seven Light and the others were far beyond that. The weakest piece of equipment among them was Level 60 Secret-Silver rank, while most of their equipment consisted of Level 60 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Their Basic Attributes far surpassed those of Starlink''s experts. Furthermore, due to their Tier 2 Skills and Spells enhancing their combat power, they increased the gap between themselves and Starlink''s standards. The difference between them was like the difference between an expert and an ordinary player. Zero Wing''s players sent one Starlink member after another flying. Starlink''s Tier 1 players couldn''t even put up a fight as Seven Light and his companion''s Skills and Spells killed them instantly. Without the help of their Skills, the Guild''s Tier 2 experts only survived a few blows before they, too, fell. In less than ten seconds, Starlink''s second defensive line had shattered. Unlike the initial charge, however, Seven Light and his party left corpses in their path... "Am I dreaming? Are those people really players?" The watching independent players felt as if they were in a dream as they stared at the corpses littering the mountain path. They had witnessed many team battles before, but they had never watched over a dozen players slaughter several thousand. Seven Light and the others massacred Starlink''s experts as if they were slaughtering chickens, taking a life with every swing of their weapons. Although Starlink''s members had successfully landed a few hits, Zero Wing''s healers easily mitigated the damage. Although Starlink was normally the target of independent players'' hatred, they couldn''t help but pity its members as they watched the carnage. Some of them even considered cheering on Starlink''s members, protesting the fear and irrationality Seven Light and the others instilled in them. How is this possible? I thought they were supposed to be the Palace''s bait. Is the Dark Cloud Legion the true bait? Three Kills was confused as he watched the invaders break his second defensive line. "Boss, they''re going to reach the third defensive line soon. If they break that line as well, we''ll have trouble stopping them," Mountain Passenger warned his commander when he realized that Three Kills hadn''t yet given an order. "Should we join the fight?" They had set up quite a few defensive lines on this mountain path, but the first three were the strongest. If the enemy broke through, the most the rest of their players could do was buy time; they''d have no chance of stopping the Hundred Flowers Palace''s advance. Meanwhile, failing the first major mission it received after joining Starlink would be a massive embarrassment for Jormungandr. If the fallout weren''t handled properly, it might even lose its standing within Starlink. "Go! We can no longer afford to hold back," Three Kills said, nodding. In a chilling tone, he continued, "Since we must get involved, we cannot give these intruders an easy death!" "Boss, rest assured; since these people have spoiled our plans, I''ll make sure they regret ever standing before us!" Mountain Passenger enthusiastically declared. He had to admit that these newcomers were quite strong, nothing that ordinary experts could compare to. However, compared to Jormungandr''s peak experts, they were nothing. God''s Domain had main tools, and among them, some doubled a player''s death penalty. Fortunately, these Starlink experts had something even more valuable. The Necromancer''s Globe in their possession targeted players'' souls. Although it was a one-time use item, the targeted player would be barred from logging into God''s Domain for five to ten days and suffer a permanent 15% decrease to their physique if they died within half an hour. To expert players, such a loss was far worse than losing several levels and several pieces of top-tier equipment. When Zero Wing''s players were within 30 yards of the third defensive line, ten figures emerged from both sides of the road, blocking their path. "Commander Mountain?" When Starlink''s members saw these figures, excitement instantly replaced their anxiety. All ten players were peak experts within the Guild, existences that ordinary players like themselves had no hope of comparing to. Every one of them was a monster capable of single-handedly eliminating several hundred ordinary experts. Although Seven Light and the others wielded frightening strength, they were no match for Mountain Passenger''s group. After all, Seven Light''s party relied on an AOE Silencing effect to secure an overwhelming victory. Without it, the first defensive line would''ve stopped these players. "Starlink''s peak experts?" When Seven Light and his comrades saw these ten players, they knew that these experts were on an entirely different level than the players they had faced thus far. Every one of them radiated a boundless killing intent, and the weakest piece of equipment on them was Level 55 Fine-Gold rank, with quite a few pieces being Level 60 Secret-Silver rank. Moreover, some of them wore Epic Equipment In terms of equipment, these ten peak experts could almost rival their own. "I''m truly surprised that you managed to break past two defensive lines without stopping, but now that our Boss has allowed us to take action, your advanced stops here!" Mountain Passenger said, chuckling as he observed Seven Light and the others. "I had wanted to toy with you, but since you''ve made such a huge mess, we need to put on a show for the Dark Night Empire. So, I''ll have to ask you to struggle as much as you can!" After saying so, Mountain Passenger waved a hand. Immediately, the nine players around him began to move. The leading Ranger then removed the ancient, pitch-black bow that hung over a shoulder and pulled back its string. "Since you''re hiding so far away, I''ll start with you!" Mountain Passenger said with a sneer. Three streaks of black light then flew toward Shi Feng, who stood the farthest away from the third defensive line. Advanced Combat Technique, Triple Moon Strike! It seemed as if Mountain Passenger had only fired three normal arrows, but in reality, he had launched six, each arrow moving in tight pairs. When they struck, their hits would contain at least 60% more Strength that the Ranger possessed. Not even Tier 2 MTs of the same combat standards could stop his attack. However, when these three streaks of light clashed with Shi Feng''s Killing Ray, they stopped as if they had crashed into an adamantine wall. The arrows crumbled under their own power instantly, their remains scattering across the ground before Shi Feng... 2037 Whimsical Battle Chapter 2037 - Whimsical Battle He blocked it? Mountain Passenger stared at the remnants of his arrows in astonishment. He wasn''t the only one surprised by the outcome. The other nine members of Three Kills'' personal security team were also stunned. Most of Starlink''s members might not know about Mountain Passage''s Triple Moon Strike, but as long-term friends, they were aware of how powerful the combat technique was. Not even they dared to intercept the move directly. Not only would they suffer grievous injuries by doing so, but it would also force them to reveal holes in their defenses. Yet, Shi Feng had neutralized the technique effortlessly. For a moment, they wondered if their eyes had played a trick on them, and Mountain Passage had simply used an ordinary attack, not truly employing a combat technique. "Not bad. While it looks like a normal attack, it''s actually an Advanced Combat Technique that can end a life if one''s not careful. No wonder why you were so confident," Shi Feng praised, chuckling at the distant Mountain Passenger. Mountain Passage wasn''t pleased to receive Shi Feng''s praise, but humiliated, giving the Swordsman an intensely frosty expression. As one of Jormungandr''s peak experts, he had been quite famous in the virtual gaming world for over a decade. He felt humiliated and displeased to receive such an evaluation from an unknown junior, who was still in his early 20s. "You have a big mouth for someone so young! You merely relied on your high Strength to block one of my moves! I''ll show you what a true expert is!" Mountain Passenger bellowed as he readied his bow. Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... One streak of black light after another flew toward Shi Feng. Although each attack carried Mountain Passenger''s normal Strength, the Ranger had lunched a large number of attacks simultaneously, his arrows raining down on Shi Feng without pause. Advanced Combat Technique, Storm Barrage! Unlike Triple Moon Strike, Storm Barrage didn''t rely on overwhelming power to destroy the target Rather, it relied on a continuous stream of attacks to suppress and whittle down the target. Mountain Passenger had created the Advanced Combat Technique specifically to counter Strength-based players. While the Ranger fired his arrows, Seven Light and the other Zero Wing members shifted their gazes to Shi Feng. "What? Are you thinking of helping him? If that''s the case, I''ve got some bad news for you! You won''t get past me!" Tyrant Dragon, a Level 61, Tier 2 Berserker and another member of Three Kills'' personal security team, chuckled at Seven Light and the others. "You can only blame that kid for provoking the wrong person. He might have lived a while longer, but now, no one can save him." "Help?" Giving Tyrant Dragon a curious look, Seven Light asked, "Why would we try to help him?" "You don''t realize why he needs help? You guys are really looking down on Mountain Passenger." Tyrant Dragon could not help but laugh at Seven Light''s response. He never expected to find a bunch of nobodies looking down on Mountain Passenger, someone who had been renowned in the virtual gaming world back in the day. "Mountain is quite strong. If he hadn''t been keeping such a low profile, he could''ve easily ranked among the top 100 on the God''s Domain''s Experts List. But since it''s been so long since anyone has made me laugh, I''ll hold off for now and let you witness how powerless someone who only relies on overwhelming Strength truly is before Mountain Passenger. This lesson will benefit you all." As soon as Tyrant Dragon finished speaking, more of Mountain Passenger''s arrows rained down on Shi Feng. Not only were these arrows incredibly fast, but they''d also collide while in mid-flight, altering their attack trajectories. The complexity of Mountain Passenger''s attacks was on an entirely different level than the Rangers who guarded the mountain path. However, despite the arrows descending, he simply and leisurely walked toward the Ranger. As if they were deliberately avoiding Shi Feng, none of the falling arrows touched him. Although some of the arrows looked as if they''d find their mark, a blue light would flash before Shi Feng, deflecting the arrows and sending them to crash into other arrows. Like the domino effect, these arrows would then collide with other arrows. Eventually, every arrow that might have struck Shi Feng landed at his feet. "Am I dreaming?" Every player watching the battle was stupefied by the scene. Although they had considered the possibility of Shi Feng avoiding the arrows or using a Skill to block them, they had never imagined that a player could counter a rain-like attack method using nothing more than normal attacks. Not even Domain Realm experts would necessarily succeed, let alone peak experts. Storm Barrage consumed a lot of Stamina, so Mountain Passenger was forced to stop after a little more than ten seconds of using the technique. Now, when he looked at Shi Feng, who stood less than 20 yards away, he did so with an expression that was tenser than ever before. Although he didn''t want to admit it, Shi Feng''s performance wasn''t anything like his previous feat. The Swordsman had relied on brute force to counter his Triple Moon Strike, but now, he relied entirely on combat techniques. "Although I don''t know why you would think that I''m not a real expert or why you chose to attack me first, I''d like to know if it''s my turn to attack now?" Shi Feng asked Mountain Passenger with a lackluster expression. The moment Shi Feng finished his question, Mountain Passenger felt an unprecedented pressure weigh down on him. He immediately realized that Shi Feng wasn''t just some player with nothing but Basic Attributes, but someone with combat standards that could rival, or surpass, his own. Upon realizing this fact, Mountain Passenger pushed his five senses to their limits and focused all of his attention on Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng suddenly vanished without a trace. By the time he relocated the Swordsman, the man had moved within attack range. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! A blue flash passed by Mountain Passenger''s throat Despite seeing the attack, the Ranger had no time to block or dodge the strike. He could only watch as Killing Ray slit his throat, draining his HP bar. Eventually, his HP fell to zero, and he collapsed to the ground. Only after Mountain Passenger''s vision faded and his body was thoroughly paralyzed did he understand that Shi Feng had killed him, and he had been utterly powerless to retaliate. When Mountain Passenger died, the battlefield seemed to freeze as everyone stared at the Ranger''s corpse in silence. Mountain Passenger, one of Three Kills'' personal bodyguards, had died, just like that... The players who were most shocked were undoubtedly Tyrant Dragon and the other guard team members. Although they couldn''t believe that the Ranger was dead, their instincts as peak experts forced them to move. They immediately put more distance between them and Shi Feng, moving as far from the Swordsman as possible. Their instincts screamed at them that if this man came within attack range, they would suffer dire consequences. 2038 Frightening Demonkin Chapter 2038 - Frightening Demonkin Tyrant Dragon and the others reacted very quickly. The instant Mountain Passenger died, they realized that they''d be no match for Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight. They''d have to work together if they hoped to secure their victory. However, as Tyrant Dragon and his teammates retreated, Shi Feng vanished once more. By the time he reappeared, he stood before a Level 60, Tier 2 Assassin. He was so fast that he was impossible to follow with the naked eye. The moment the Tier 2 Assassin saw Shi Feng before him, he understood that escape was futile. Instinctively, the Assassin used his trademark move. Advanced Combat Technique, Phantom Assault! As if the Assassin had used a Doppelganger Skill, his body split into four copies, all striking at Shi Feng. It was impossible to determine which copy was real. In addition, this Assassin possessed an innate talent that amplified the Phantom AssaultGodspeed Response. The Assassin''s reaction speed was extraordinary, allowing him to execute more movements than normal players in the same time span. This was a rare talent that could only surfaced in one out of several million people. When the Assassin combined his talent with Phantom Assault, he could execute attacks that were impossible to block. This even held true against an opponent that could see his attacks. However, before the Assassin''s four copies could move within three yards of the Swordsman, Shi Feng''s Killing Ray thrust into the Assassin''s heart with lighting speed. A moment later, the Assassin''s three doppelgangers faded, and his HP fell to zero. When the Assassin noticed that his vision had begun to fade and saw the sword impaling his chest, he opened his mouth in an attempt to ask how the Swordsman had performed the feat. Unfortunately, the Assassin couldn''t produce any sound. The other members of Three Kills'' personal security team felt an unprecedented fear lanch through them. Shi Feng was too fast! Not only was his Attack Speed incredible, but his reaction speed was just as fast. "He''s a monster! Do not let him get within melee range! Attack him from as far away as possible!" After watching another companion fall, Tyrant Dragon began to retreat away from Shi Feng with even more urgency. He now understood that Shi Feng was beyond their capabilities. However, a figure abruptly dashed past Tyrant Dragon and intercepted his retreat. The figure also sent two fierce thrusts towards Tyrant Dragon''s blind spots. "Scram!" Tyrant Dragon bellowed, sensing the incoming attacks. Twisting, he began to spin while swinging his greatsword, the blade deflecting the incoming strikes. Although he had blocked the two attacks, the figure didn''t end their assault. On the contrary, this figure intensified their attacks. In the blink of an eye, two more attacks flew towards Tyrant Dragon. Defending himself, Tyrant Dragon brandished his greatsword once more. Peng! He blocked these attacks as well, but he had to stumble three steps back before he could stabilize his stance. Strength Combination?! Through his greatsword''s vibrations, Tyrant Dragon knew that he hadn''t just blocked ordinary attacks. He shifted his gaze toward his assailant, wanting to know who attacked him, but he was stunned to see the player before him. "You?" The person standing in Tyrant Dragon''s way was none other than Seven Light, whom he had been prepared to clash with previously. Tyrant Dragon simply could not believe that this brat was capable of executing a technique as difficult as Strength Combination. He isn''t just a Refinement Realm expert? Tyrant Dragon couldn''t help but wonder as he stared at the youth. Strength Combination was an Advanced Combat Technique. Logically, a mere Refinement Realm expert shouldn''t be able to master the technique. Normally, players could only master it after reaching the Void Realm since it required perfect timing during execution. The slightest deviation would result in a failure to combine the Strength of multiple attacks. A player would only be able to perform such a precise attack once they were capable of pushing their five senses to their very limits. When Tyrant Dragon recalled Shi Feng''s victory over Mountain Passenger, he felt that his guess was likely correct. When he realized that this little fellow, who likely wasn''t even 20-years-old, was a Void Realm expert, he couldn''t help his shock. Within the various Super Guilds, players who could reach the Flowing Water Realm before the age of 20 were considered geniuses among geniuses, treated like priceless gems in their Guilds, yet Seven Light had reached the Void Realm at such a young age. He was likely a genius that only surfaced once every decade. If that were the case, Tyrant Dragon was no match for Seven Light in a one-on-one fight Even after so long, he hadn''t yet mastered Strength Combination. If he tried to fight a player that had mastered the technique had wielded combat standards on his level, he''d be guaranteed to lose. No! Tyrant Dragon shook his head, attempting to banish the thought. Based on his previous attacks, he should have more Strength than me. If he really has mastered Strength Combination, the impact would''ve been more intense. While Tyrant Dragon struggled with his internal debate, Seven Light launched another assault Like before, Seven Light executed two attacks. After Tyrant Dragon dodged one of the slashes, he used his greatsword to block the other. Since he only took one hit, he didn''t stumble in the slightest. Sure enough! Tyrant Dragon could not help but smile at Seven Light''s continuous assault. "Although I don''t know how you managed to grasp Strength Combination, based on your attacks, you haven''t mastered it yet." "It''s more than enough to take you down!" Seven Light snapped, attacking Tyrant Dragon again. Seven Light was aware that he hadn''t mastered Strength Combination. If not for the Extraordinary Tower''s training, he wouldn''t have been able to execute the technique at all. Even though he could use the technique, he could only increase his attack''s Strength by 30% after combining his strikes. He also knew that his minor advantage in Basic Attributes was practically negligible against an expert like Tyrant Dragon. If he tried to face the enemy Berserker normally, he''d simply be seeking an early grave. He could only defeat the man by increasing his attacks'' raw power. With 30% more Strength in his strikes, the Berserker would suffer a fatal blow if he didn''t counter the attacks properly. However, after launching several consecutive attacks, Seven Light''s attacks grew weaker, and Tyrant Dragon was able to interrupt them forcibly before he could use the Strength Combination technique. If Tyrant Dragon had had any access to his Skills, the Berserker would''ve long since had defeated him. Fortunately, such an intense life-or-death battle had allowed Seven Light to recognize many of his flaws, especially with the way he utilized Strength Combination. "Brat, you may have a Basic Attribute advantage, but your time will end soon," Tyrant Dragon commented as he glanced around him. The dark smoke on the battlefield had begun to lessen, signaling that the AOE Silence''s duration was almost over. He didn''t have access to his true strength while Silenced, but once the effect was gone, he could finish Seven Light off in less than ten seconds. If he was not Silenced, however, he could finish Seven Light in less than ten seconds. "What about this move, then?" Seven Light asked as he activated his Demonkin Set''s six-piece effect. Demonkin''s Shadow! Black smoke began to emerge from Seven Light''s body, enveloping him. The smoke hid his abrupt and rapid growth. It wasn''t long before the smoke receded, revealing a five-meter-tall Demonkin with a body covered in black smoke. The Demonkin swished his tail and glared at his opponent with frightening, crimson eyes. His killing intent was so intense that nearby players felt as if they had plunged into an icy hell. Before Tyrant Dragon could react to Seven Light''s sudden transformation, the latter brandished his two swords. The speed and power of Seven Light''s attacks had increased. Now, Tyrant Dragon had no opportunity to dodge the attacks, forced to receive the strikes with his greatsword. Boom! One attack was already more than enough to send Tyrant Dragon airborne. Before the Berserker could adjust his posture, another slash struck him, Seven Light''s longsword cutting through his armor and plundering all of his HP. Meanwhile, Starlink''s ordinary experts and Three Kills'' personal security despaired when they saw Seven Light''s transformation into a Demonkin. Shi Feng was already difficult enough to deal with. Now, another monstrously powerful Demonkin had joined the battlefield. Not even Three Kills, who watched from atop one of the roadside cliffs, could maintain his composure, looking down at the fight with a somber expression. "You definitely aren''t from the Hundred Flowers Palace! There is no way the Palace has experts like you! Who are you?!" Three Kills demanded, glaring at Shi Feng and Seven Light. 2039 Zero Wing Chapter 2039 - Zero Wing Three Kills'' words echoed throughout the valley. Starlink''s members, who were in the midst of battle, promptly reacted to his words, their gazes shifting to Seven Light and Shi Feng in fear. As Three Kills had said, the Hundred Flowers Palace was only an ordinary first-rate Guild. There was no way the Guild could break past their blockade with only fourteen players, killing so many of Three Kills'' peak experts. No matter how they thought about it, the Palace wasn''t capable of the feat. There was only one explanation for this; these fourteen players were from a different power. "Are you from Unyielding Soul or Crimson Emperor? Do you really have to be so secretive?" Three Kills asked, staring at Shi Feng. It was only a matter of time before Shi Feng''s group shattered the blockade. Stoping them was impossible, regardless of how much Three Kills wanted to. He couldn''t figure out which power would be capable of dispatching such a small, yet powerful, assault team aside from Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. If either of these superpowers had intervened in this battle, Starlink would definitely have to be careful, especially if Crimson Emperor were responsible for this team. Starlink was already engaged in a war of annihilation with Unyielding Soul. If Crimson Emperor got involved, Starlink would likely have to face two superpowers at the same time. Three Kills needed to know if Shi Feng''s party originated from the superpower or not. "You don''t need to guess. We aren''t from either of those Guilds," Shi Feng answered with a faint smile. He understood what Three Kills must be thinking. "After all you''ve done here, don''t tell me you''re afraid of giving us your name? There are only a handful of powers in the Dark Night Empire that are capable of accomplishing what you have. Do you really need to hide?" Three Kills growled, attempting to provoke the Swordsman. Starlink''s members raised their voices in agreement the moment Three Kills finished his question. "Our Vice Guild Leader is right! You''ve already won this battle, yet you refuse to own up?! You dare call yourselves a superpower with such cowardice?!" "I bet they''re afraid of our Guild''s retaliation, so they don''t want to reveal themselves." "That''s right! Only cowardly Guilds act like this! If they had faced us head-on and honestly, we would''ve flattened them!" Starlink''s members started to lambast Shi Feng and his party. They said anything they could think of to get a rise from the group. They no longer cared about their crumbling blockade, considering the feat as a matter of course. Now, they were only irked by the fact that Shi Feng''s group refused to reveal their Guild after launching such a surprise attack. "Vice Guild Leader Three, are you certain that you want to know?" Shi Feng could not help but sigh at Three Kills. "What''s there preventing you from telling us?" Three Kills asked, rolling his eyes. "Since Vice Guild Leader Three has requested the name of our Guild, Seven, tell them where we''re from. Make sure you say it loudly," Shi Feng said, turning to Seven Light "Understood!" Seven Light, who had transformed into a Demonkin, nodded. After taking a deep breath, he shouted, "Listen up! We are from Zero Wing, and we have come under the Hundred Flowers Palace''s invitation! If you wish to keep your lives, you should run!" After transforming into a gigantic Demonkin, Seven Light''s voice had become much louder than normal players. His words easily reached players that stood several hundred yards away. Even the independent players standing outside of the first defensive line could hear him clearly. "What did he say?" "They''re Zero Wing''s members?" "How can that be possible?" Starlink''s members couldn''t believe the claim. Zero Wing might be a foreign name to the Dark Night Empire''s general populace, but it was familiar to players from the various Guilds. The Guild was, after all, the overlord of an entire kingdom. As Starlink members, they would have, more or less, investigated such a powerhouse. However, Zero Wing was merely an up-and-coming Guild, only capable of rivaling first-rate Guilds'' strength. Claiming that the Guild had players who could break past their blockade so effortlessly was a joke. "They must be lying!" "Right! They must be afraid of revealing which superpower they belong to, so they''re using Zero Wing to mislead us! They are shameless!" "And here I thought you had the courage to take responsibility for your actions. What''s the point of claiming to be from another Guild?" Starlink''s reaction to Seven Light''s declaration was frenzied as if their rage could only be appeased if Shi Feng and his comrades admitted that they were truly from a superpower. Seven Light and the other Zero Wing members were at a loss. They did not know whether they should laugh or cry. They had told Starlink''s members the truth, but the latter refused to believe them, trying to find incomprehensible reasons to force them into admitting their identities. They finally. "Forget it. Let''s just destroy their fantasy and let them die in their foolishness," Shi Feng said after glancing over Starlink''s members, who had practically fallen into madness. Seven Light and his companions nodded, removing their Black Cloaks and revealing their true appearances before Starlink''s forces. Even if Starlink''s members refused to believe their claim, they couldn''t ignore the six-winged emblem the party members wore. "That''s a fake! It must be!" "A disguise! Right! They must be using a disguise!" While Starhlink''s members still refused to believe that Seven Light and his party were from Zero Wing even after seeing the six-winged emblem pinned to their armor, the independent players on the sidelines didn''t doubt the fact. Rather, they were shocked by the revelation. "Zero Wing is actually this strong?" "Zero Wing broke past Starlink''s blockade with just fourteen players? This is big news!" After watching Shi Feng and the others smash through Starlink''s third line of defense so easily, the nearby independent players began to record the remaining battle and post the videos on the official forums. They planned to use this opportunity to make a little extra money on the side. At this time, one of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Assassin scouts, who watched from several hundred yards away from the blockade, contacted Cleansed Rue. "How are things going on Zero Wing''s side?" Cleansed Rue asked anxiously. She had already notified the Assassin scouts to contact her the moment Zero Wing''s members began to falter, but she hadn''t received word even after so long. She had even begun to wonder if the Assassin scouts had forgotten to do their jobs. If they didn''t send someone to pin down Three Kills the moment Zero Wing''s members fell, Crimson Heart''s army would fall into a precarious position. "They just broke through..." the reporting Assassin said. "What did you say?" Cleansed Rue asked again, wondering if she had heard wrong. "Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing''s fourteen members have broken through Starlink''s blockade. Starlink''s forces have descended into chaos! This is the best chance for us to break through!" the Assassin reported excitedly. hey broke through? But how?!" Cleansed Rue couldnt help her astonishment. "Was our information about Three KHIs'' presence incorrect?" She couldn''t understand how Shi Feng''s group could''ve succeeded if Three Kills had been present, but if even if he weren''t, there were still plenty of experts guarding the mountain pass. It still shouldn''t be possible for just fourteen players to break past the blockade. 2040 We Meet Again Chapter 2040 - We Meet Again Crimson Heart and her Dark Cloud Legion dashed through a quiet, forested canyon without paying any attention to their Stamina consumption. Even when they were ambushed by monsters, their resistance was minimal, trying to avoid confrontation as much as possible. "Hurry! We must hurry!" Crimson Heart shouted as she looked at the system clock with a grim expression. Five minutes had already passed since their assault on Starlink''s blockades had begun. It was highly likely that Three Kills'' team had already reached her path, waiting ahead to stop her team. Although they had broken past Desert Tiger''s blockade and had been pushing their Mounts to the limit ever since, there were still multiple roadblocks ahead. The forces waiting for them might not be as powerful as Desert Tiger''s, but they would slow the Legion''s progress. "Vice Guild Leader, I spotted another blockade ahead. It''s manned by roughy 3,000 players," a Tier 2 Ranger suddenly reported through the team chat "Three thousand?" Crimson Heart frowned slightly. This was bad news for their team. Normally, a Guild would post its forces on multiple sections of the road to seal it off. She had never expected so many players to man the secondary blockades. They had already sacrificed over 400 players during the clash with Desert Tiger''s forces, which meant they had less than 600 players remaining. If they tried to fight their way past another 3,000 players in such a forested region, they''d pay another considerable price and waste quite a bit of time. Gritting her teeth, Crimson Heart commanded, "Use the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls! Once we shake apart the barricade, I want everyone to gather and force through from a single point!" Aside from the Blood Source Potions, she had prepared a few trump cards to fortify Moon Creek Town to increase their chances of surviving until the Hundred Flowers Palace''s army arrived. The Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls were one of these cards. She had planned to reserve these scrolls for the fight in Moon Creek Town, but to blast past Starlink''s blockade as quickly as possible and maintain the distance between her team, Three Kills'', and Desert Tiger''s, she had no choice but to use them. Understood!" Several Tier 2 Summoners behind Crimson Heart nodded in response. A short moment later, Crimson Heart and her force arrived before a section of wooded valley that several hundred MTs guarded. A large number of Rangers and Elementalists also hid in the trees along both sides of the road. As soon as Crimson Heart''s team moved within range, these Rangers and Elementalists would bombard them with spells and arrows. However, when less than 100 yards separated the two forces, four Summoners atop Mounts began to chant an incantation, unfurling the Magic Scrolls in their hands. Responding to the Summoners'' magic, four Level 75 Great Lords appeared before the Dark Cloud Legion and charged toward Starlink''s defensive lines. "Attack! Attack with everything you''ve got!" Although the sudden appearance of four Level 75 Great Lords had surprised Starlink''s members, they were elite and expert players, reacting quickly and attacking the Great Lords on sight Tier 2 Skills and Spells flew at the summoned monsters, inflicting damages in the thousands. At the same time, the Tier 2 MTs on the frontline activated their Lifesaving Skills, while the rear line healers began to cast their Healing Spells. Despite the level advantage, the Great Lords weren''t able to scatter the blockade quickly. However, with the four Great Lords taking most of the damage, Crimson Heart''s team was able to approach the frontline MTs with relative ease. Starlink''s Tier 2 MTs had their hands full with the Level 75 Great Lords, and as a result, they fell instantly under the Dark Cloud Legion''s concentrated attacks. In the blink of an eye, several Tier 2 MTs from Starlink died, opening a massive rift in the defensive line. Although the other MTs tried to fill the hole, Crimson Heart gave them no opportunities to do so as she brandished her daggers. When her blades struck, even Tier 2 MTs stumbled away from her. Despite the fervent attacks from Starlink''s ranged players, Crimson Heart easily avoided their bombardment and continued to widen the gap in the enemy''s defensive line by relying on the Great Lord''s massive frames. This allowed the Dark Cloud Legion members to break past the blockade as a single unit Yet, despite their success, Crimson Heart''s team had still suffered more than 50 casualties in the assault. A few seconds after Crimson Heart''s team broke through the blockade, a Tier 2 Ranger reported, "Vice Guild Leader, Starlink''s members are giving chase." "So soon?" Crimson Heart''s expression twisted when she heard this. She hadn''t expected Starlink''s players to reorganize and take up the chase so quickly. "How far are they?" "Roughly 700 yards," the Tier 2 Ranger said. "Leave two Great Lords behind to delay them!" Crimson Heart commanded after giving the matter some thought. Even for ordinary players, 700 yards wasn''t a vast distance, much less elite and expert players with their own Mounts. If they allowed the Starlink members to get too close, they''d get caught in a pincer attack the moment they ran into the next blockade. With the legion''s remaining combat power, a pincer attack would signal their demise. They could only try to buy as much time as possible in this situation. After receiving their orders, two of the four Summoners controlling the Great Lords split away from the team, staying behind to delay their enemies. Fortunately, the two Great Lords were quite effective, allowing Crimson Heart''s team to put more distance between them and Starlink''s forces as time passed. Now that the legion had two Great Lords to lead the way, Crimson Heart''s players no longer had to worry about monster interference. The Great Lords swept aside any monsters that attempted to ambush the players effortlessly. Moreover, with the Great Lords'' strength, breaking past the blockades manned by one or two thousand players became significantly easier. "Vice Guild Leader, we''ll reach Moon Creek Town in less than ten minutes," a Tier 2 Ranger excitedly reported after looking at Silent Canyon''s system map. "Everyone, get ready. Once we enter the town, we''ll likely have another tough battle to face," Crimson Heart said as she breathed a sigh of relief. Their journey had not been easy. Despite using Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, the Dark Cloud Legion had still lost players. Now, fewer than 200 members remained. Fortunately, they were almost to Moon Creek Town. As long as they passed the Blood Source Potions out to the players in Moon Creek Town, they should be able to buy enough time for the Hundred Flowers Palace''s main army to arrive. However, as Moon Creek Town appeared on the horizon, several hundred fire arrows rained down on Crimson Heart and her team. Caught off guard, the legion tried to dodge the incoming attacks. Unfortunately, the fire arrows were quite fast, and not even the Dark Cloud Legion''s experts could dodge them in time, taking the hits. To make matters worse, these experts fell after taking two fire arrows. The arrows'' power was nothing like the Spells players typically used. As chaos tore at Crimson Heart''s team, a gigantic magic array appeared in the sky, enveloping the Dark Cloud Legion. "This is...a magic barrier!" Crimson Heart''s expression darkened as she watched the translucent barrier form around her players. "That''s right We prepared this specifically for you. Are you surprised?" Suddenly, a rugged voiced emerged from within the barrier, familiar enough that Crimson Heart and her companions spun toward its origin. Before they had realized it, a large group of players had appeared in the clearing ahead of them. The origin of the rugged voice was a Level 62, Tier 2 Berserker. "Desert Tiger?!" Crimson Heart was stunned when she saw the man. "How did you get here?!" Her Dark Cloud Legion had lost over 400 members during the battle with Starlink''s first blockade. Desert Tiger himself had been responsible for over one-quarter of those deaths. If her subordinates hadn''t fought as desperately as they had, Desert Tiger might have pinned her down, and they never would''ve made it past the first roadblock. Logically, Desert Tiger should still be far behind her team, yet he stood before her now. Why wouldn''t she be surprised? "Don''t tell me you think that Mounts are the only way to cross long distances quickly." Desert Tiger chuckled as he looked at Crimson Heart. "Could it be...a flying tool?" Crimson Heart suddenly thought of a possibility. Now that the Silent Canyon was sealed off, teleportation within the canyon would be impossible. The only other travel method she could think of that was faster than a Mount was a flying tool. However, flying tools were extremely precious. She had only ever heard of such tools, never actually seen one before. "Smart." Desert Tiger nodded. He then chuckled and said, "Well? Are you going to surrender quietly? Or do you truly want to face us a second time?" "Surrender?" Crimson Heart sneered at Desert Tiger and his team. "That depends on whether or not you can force us to!" Desert Tiger''s team only consisted of 100 players at this point Meanwhile, a dozen or so players maintained the magic barrier. This proved that the barrier wasn''t that strong, so the Dark Cloud Legion had a chance of breaking out of it "Since that is your answer, show me what the Hundred Flowers Palace is capable of," Desert Tiger said, smiling as he waved a hand. Immediately, the several dozen players around him stepped into the array and charged at Crimson Heart''s team. However, once the two forces met each other in battle, the Dark Cloud Legion members were stupefied. The two forces'' combat power was on entirely different levels. A single Starlink expert was strong enough to overwhelm two or three Dark Cloud Legion experts. In a one-on-one fight, none of the Dark Cloud Legion members lasted more than ten moves. Even an expert as powerful as Crimson Heart was forced to focus on defense against five Starlink experts'' coordinated attacks. Refinement Realm experts? Crimson Heart could tell that her five opponents were far stronger than the other Starlink experts her team fought They had definitely reached the Refinement Realm. The overall standard of Desert Tiger''s newest team was far stronger than the players he had commanded earlier. "I''m sure you can see the difference between our forces. Staying in the Hundred Flowers Palace is a waste for an expert like yourself. Why don''t you join Starlink instead? If you submit to me, I can recommend that the Guild give you an Elder position at the very least. You won''t have to fall with the Hundred Flowers Palace," Desert Tiger offered. Despite the fact that he had Crimson Heart cornered, he didn''t rush to finish her off. Instead, he continued to try to persuade her, saying, "If you are hoping that the team on the other path will reach the town, I''d suggest you abandon the idea. Unlike myself, those old fossils don''t have the patience to play with their opponents." "In your dreams!" Crimson Heart growled, determination flashing in her eyes as she prepared to make a last stand. "Since that is the case, I''ll send you to hell alongside your precious Palace!" Desert Tiger bellowed. He immediate activated Charge, targeting Crimson Heart. However, as soon as Desert Tiger entered the magic barrier, an indifferent voice echoed across the battlefield. "Vice Guild Leader Crimson, I''m truly sorry for the long wait." Everyone turned toward the voice''s origin the instant they heard it, spotting a dozen or so figures a short distance away from the magic barrier. The leader of the group was a cloaked, young man. 2041 Shes Telling the Truth Chapter 2041 - She''s Telling the Truth Both Starlink''s peak experts and the Dark Cloud Legion''s members couldn''t help but turn due to the arrival of Shi Feng''s party on the plain, broad road. "How are you here?" Shock overwhelmed Crimson Heart when she saw Shi Feng and his companions. For a moment, she even wondered if she was hallucinating. "Did you manage to circle around Three Kills'' blockade?" Logically, Zero Wing''s team shouldn''t have made it this far. Three Kills, someone far more powerful than Desert Tiger, had guarded the other path. Even her team suffered such severe casualties trying to get past Desert Tiger, yet Zero Wing''s team had arrived without losing a single member. No matter how she looked at it, Zero Wing''s team did not look like it had engaged in battle. The only explanation she could think of was that Zero Wing''s members had found another route, allowing them to bypass Three Kills'' team entirely. "There''s a way to skirt around the blockades? Unfortunately, we didn''t find one. We just fought our way here," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Crimson Heart was speechless. She wanted to curse at Shi Feng for joking at a time like this, but before she could comment, she heard a commotion some distance away. Turning toward the source, Crimson Heart noticed a large group of several hundred players rapidly approaching her location. As these new arrivals grew closer, everyone finally got a clear view of their appearances. "How is this possible?" Crimson Heart was utterly confused as she stared at the approaching players. This group of players was none other than Cleansed Rue''s team. She had been able to believe that Shi Feng''s party had successfully evaded Three Kills'' forces due to the party''s small size, but for a 1,000-man team like Cleansed Rue''s to evade detection? That was impossible! To come this far, the team definitely had to break past Three Kills'' blockade. The most shocking part of all of this was that Cleansed Rue''s team had suffered barely any losses. More people from the Hundred Flowers Palace? Snapping out of his daze, Desert Tiger stared at Cleansed Rue''s team in confusion. Starlink had already locked down the Silent Canyon. Crimson Heart''s team should be the only players from the Hundred Flowers Palace in the canyon right now. So, where did these several hundred Hundred Flowers Palace players come from? "Rue, how did you make it here?" Crimson Heart could not help but ask softly. "How did we get here? We forced our way through the blockades, of course," Cleansed Rue said, giving the other Vice Guild Leader a smug smile when she saw Crimson Heart''s confusion. She had prepared herself for defeat today. She had never thought that Shi Feng''s team was actually that strong. "Stop lying! There are only two paths leading here; Desert Tiger guarded one, and Three Kills guarded the other. Three Kills was on your path, so how dod you get past his blockade and reach us without suffering significant losses?" Crimson Heart demanded, rolling her eyes at Cleansed Rue. "I''m telling the truth," Cleansed Rue said, her smile turning bitter. She then gestured to Shi Feng''s group and explained, "It''s all thanks to Zero Wing. If those fourteen players hadn''t torn apart Starlink''s blockades along the way, we would''ve lost more than several dozen players before arriving." "You''re saying that Zero Wing''s fourteen players did all of the work? And your team simply followed them?" Crimson Heart stated, her eyes twitching in anger. It was clear that she didn''t believe Cleansed Rue''s claim based on her expression. She felt that Cleansed Rue had gone too far to put Zero Wing in a better light. Meanwhile, Desert Tiger made his move during the brief moment the two Vice Guild Leaders conversed. "Do you think I''ll allow more of your companions to sneak in? No! Those Guild Emblems do not belong to the Hundred Flowers Palace!" When Desert Tiger looked at Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members, he noticed the six-winged emblems pinned to their chests. Laughing, "Since you all know each other, this will be simple! You will all die together!" Waving a hand, Desert Tiger commanded, "Surround Them! Don''t let any of them escape!" "Leave it to us, Boss!" Suddenly, 50 Tier 2 players split away from the chaotic battlefield and charged toward Shi Feng and Crimson Rue''s group with playful expressions. To put it bluntly, Crimson Heart''s team wouldn''t even be a warm-up for them. Now that reinforcements had arrived, however, they''d get the opportunity to stretch properly. "Crap! Stop them, quickly!" Crimson Heart hurriedly commanded her subordinates. Although she did not know how Shi Feng and Cleansed Rue''s group had made it this far, they currently stood outside of the barrier. Fleeing from Desert Tiger''s subordinates would be far easier for them than for her team. Moreover, Moon Creek Town was within sight. As long as Cleansed Rue could reach Moon Creek Town, they could solve the town''s predicament. "Can you stop them, though?" Desert Tiger sneered as he watched 100 players from the Dark Cloud Legion move to intercept his 50 players. The 50-man team was no ordinary expert team. The team included a 10-man special assault squad comprised of Refinement Realm experts that had been specifically trained to fight superior numbers. Moreover, the assault squad''s members were all Tier 2 Berserkers. It was a team of absolute Strength. Even a Refinement Realm expert team of equal size couldn''t stop this assault squad, not to mention a team without any Refinement Realm experts. With the 10-man assault squad taking the lead, the 50 Tier 2 players from Starlink tore through the Dark Cloud Legion''s blockade as if it didn''t exist at all. The assault squad easily blocked the Dark Cloud Legion''s attacks before killing several experts in a brief clash. The two sides'' strength was on completely different levels... "Damn it!" Crimson Heart''s anxiety peaked as she watched Starlink''s Refinement Realm experts approach Shi Feng''s party. However, she couldn''t do anything about the situation. She already had her hands full with the several Refinement Realm experts before her. She could not afford to care about others right now. But just as the 10-man assault team was about to massacre their targets, a blue light suddenly flashed by them. So fast! Was that an attack? The blue light bewildered the 10 Refinement Realm experts, but since it hadn''t affected them, they didn''t pay much attention to it. Instead, they focused on the upcoming assault After a second, however, these Refinement Realm experts found themselves unable to move. Following which, the scenery before them changed, fading to a dull gray. What''s going on? Why can''t I move? Is it some sort of mental restriction? The assault squad couldn''t help but consider the idea, but very soon, they realized that they weren''t affected by some Skill or Spell. The phenomenon they experienced was simply the result of their deaths. As the 10 Refinement Realm experts fell lifelessly to the ground, time in the battlefield seemed to freeze as everyone stared at the assault squad''s corpses with wide eyes. Not only had the flash of blue light killed 10 Refinement Realm experts instantly, but it had also shattered the magic array around Crimson Heart''s team. "Damn it! What did he do?!" Many of Starlink''s experts lost their minds after watching the event unfold. Even Crimson Heart''s team was stupefied. Is he a monster? An indescribable shock filled Crimson Heart as she stared at Shi Feng, who was in the process of sheathing Killing Ray. He had killed 10 Refinement Realm experts with a single attack! Moreover, he had shattered the magic barrier with the same attack! His Strength was incredible! However, Crimson Heart found Shi Feng''s usage of his Skill to be far more intimidating than his frightening Strength. The assault squad hadn''t run in a line, running at Zero Wing''s party from four different directions to surround the players instead. To kill all 10 Refinement Realm experts with one attack, Shi Feng would''ve had to make multiple minor adjustments to his attack trajectory the moment he activated his Skill. Moreover, the slightest mistake could''ve taken out his allies as well as his enemies. Not only had he successfully slain the approaching Refinement Realm experts, but he had also avoided harming his allies. This forced Crimson Heart to reconsider Cleansed Rue''s claim. She was telling the truth? 2042 Getting Serious Chapter 2042 - Getting Serious While everyone was still shocked by the fact that ten Refinement Realm experts had been instant-killed, Seven Light and his comrades took advantage of the opportunity to make their move. In the blink of an eye, thirteen figures dashed into Starlink''s ranks with vicious attacks. Taking the lead, Seven Light activated Wind Blade and arrived before three Starlink MTs and four melee players. He then brandished his swords at the MTs'' sturdy shields. Tier 2 Skill, Omnislash! Suddenly, four sword lights radiated out from Seven Light, and although Starlink''s members blocked the spreading lights, the resulting impact forced them to stumble back several steps, revealing several holes in their defenses. Seven Light then swung his two swords again. Two sword lights flew toward one of the Tier 2 MTs; one knocked away the MT''s shield while the other bit into the player''s armor. The MT began to lose HP rapidly. Before the rear line healers could react, Seven Light followed up by swinging one of his longswords and activating the Tier 2 Skill, Dispersing Slash. Suddenly, six sword lights left Seven Light''s longsword, devouring the Tier 2 MT''s remaining HP. Although Seven Light''s actions seemed slow, from afar, one would only see him charge into the crowd. Then, as if for no reason at all, the seven players around Seven Light stumbled backward. One even fell to the ground, dead... The results of Stubborn Bone and the other Zero Wing members'' assault were roughly the same. During the initial confrontation alone, more than 10 of Starlink''s surviving 40 Tier 2 experts had died. Now, less than 30 players remained. Desert Tiger''s 50-man team had held the advantage against Crimson Heart''s players, but due to the arrival of Cleansed Rue''s team, the situation had taken a turn for the worst for Starlink''s force. "Vice Guild Leader, we''re too outnumbered. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before they annihilate us!" one of Starlink''s Tier 2 Guardian Knights anxiously reported. They would''ve still had a chance if they had only needed to face Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue''s teams, but Shi Feng''s party continued to slaughter their members. It wouldn''t be long before the remaining 20-plus players who fought Shi Feng''s players were eliminated. If Shi Feng''s party finished them off and regrouped with Crimson Heart and Cleansed rue, they would suffer for it. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Desert Tiger grimly commanded. He also realized the outcome that awaited them if they continued this fight. Firing a fierce glare at the distant Shi Feng, he growled, "I''ll let you live for a little while longer!" Desert Tiger then turned and left, showing no intention of staying for this battle. Seeing this, Starlink''s players began to split up and flee into their surroundings. Despite the retreat, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Vice Guild Leaders didn''t try to chase them down. Starlink''s forces hid all around Moon Creek Town. If they gave chase, they''d only throw their lives away. Moreover, Moon Creek Town''s safety was their priority. They were not here to fight Starlink''s forces. "Elder Ye Feng, thank you for your help. Had you not arrived in time, I''m afraid that Desert Tiger would''ve slaughtered us," Crimson Heart said as she approached Shi Feng, complex feelings twisting inside her. She had wanted to prove the Hundred Flowers Palace''s power to Zero Wing, but she had only embarrassed herself. Her Dark Cloud Legion had started this operation with 1,000 members. Now, less than 200 remained. In contrast, Zero Wing''s party of fourteen was completely intact. Zero Wing had even escorted Cleansed Rue''s team without allowing the latter to suffer significant casualties. The difference between them was obvious at a glance. Finally, she, more or less, understood why Cleansed Rue had so strongly supported an alliance between the Hundred Flowers Palace and Zero Wing. "You''re welcome." Crimson Heart''s sincere thanks surprised Shi Feng, but her actions also indirectly acknowledged Zero Wing''s strength. He could now assume that his trip to the Dark Night Empire hadn''t been fruitless. "It is still too dangerous here. Let''s head to Moon Creek Town." Crimson Heart nodded in response. She knew that they could be ambushed at any time. Immediately, both the Hundred Flowers Palace and Zero Wing''s members hurried toward Moon Creek Town. Fortunately, the small army hadn''t encountered any of Starlink''s members during the last of their journey. This allowed the group to reach the town safely. Once they were in the town, Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue got to work. Aside from organizing the town''s defenses, they distributed Blood Source Potions to the town''s elite and expert players. They had brought a combined total of 4,000 Blood Source Potions with them, and while it wouldn''t be enough to turn the tide of war, they could ensure the town''s survival for at least three hours against an army of 300,000 elite and expert players. Three hours were more than enough for the Hundred Flowers Palace''s main army to arrive. Once it did, Starlink would have to pay the price in blood if it wanted to capture Moon Creek Town. Needless to say, Starlink would avoid paying such a price. After all, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor were its true targets. Losing a large number of elite players to defeat the Hundred Flowers Palace simply wasn''t worth it. Doing so would only give Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor an edge in the overall war. Following which, time passed uneventfully. Due to Crimson Heart and the others'' arrival, a relaxed energy replaced the previous gloomy atmosphere that had swallowed the town. Many players had even begun to chat about the upcoming Starlink siege as if they weren''t related to the war in the least "Big Sis Rue, I''ve just received an offline message. The Guild Leader has gathered an army of 200,000 and is on the way now. She should arrive in three hours or less," Cleansed Rue excitedly told Crimson Emperor, who observed the situation beyond the town from the town''s walls, as she approached. "Three hours?" Crimson Heart felt as if she had just heard the voice of God, revealing an ecstatic expression. Surviving three hours against Starlink''s army was no longer a major issue for Moon Creek Town. In other words, Moon Creek Town was practically safe from capture. Next, the Hundred Flowers Palace needed to stabilize its position in the Dark Night Empire. Losing East Valley Town had significantly impacted the Palace''s operations, after all. Meanwhile, she saw the wisdom in partnering with Zero Wing after witnessing the Guild''s performance. Although, she still deemed it necessary to negotiate the conditions of their partnership. While Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue chatted merrily, Moon Creek Town''s crisis alarm rang out, echoing throughout the town. Both Vice Guild Leaders spun toward the distant plains and canyon. The alarm announced that the scout players stationed on the town''s walls had discovered threatening forces, and the Guild members in town should prepare for battle. Suddenly, a large army of players slowly entered the spacious plains. There were so many of them that the army looked like a creeping shadow swallowing the plains. However, these players came to an abrupt halt after crossing a short distance. They quietly stood outside of the Defense Turrets'' range as if waiting for something. "Are they not here to attack?" Cleansed Rue muttered as she watched Starlink''s grounded army. "Are they hesitating on whether or not to siege the town?" When an army sieged a town, it usually did so without pause to ensure that the defenders didn''t have time to prepare. Otherwise, the invading army would have to pay a much greater price during the siege. As a superpower, Starlink should know this rule quite well, yet its army still stopped outside of the town. It was unusual. "They''re not attacking?" Crimson Heart had a bad feeling as she stared at Starlink''s unmoving army. "No, something''s not right Rue, why would an army, which has a high chance of success, stop its advance?" "To raise morale? Or maybe...the army has absolute confidence in its victory?" Cleansed Rue considered the situation, but after a moment, she realized something. "Tell everyone to get ready! Activate the defensive magic array! Our enemy likely has more than just 300,000 players! I think we''re witnessing a superpower getting serious for the first time!" Crimson Heart yelled. 2043 A Battle with Two Options Chapter 2043 - A Battle with Two Options Hearing Crimson Heart''s conclusion, Cleansed Rue couldn''t help but tense up. Thus far, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s fights with Starlink had only been minor skirmishes. Even so, the small forces Starlink had dispatched had been enough to threaten the Palace. If Starlink were truly taking this battle seriously, it wouldn''t end as easily as they had hoped. While Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue ordered their players to man specific sections of the town walls, the Starlink members in the distance finally made their move. Slowly, the army parted in organized areas, opening multiple, small paths. Players began to push Large Ballistas down these paths. The scene was so unexpected that the two Palace Vice Guild Leaders froze in shock. Every player from the Hundred Flowers Palace on the walls was stupefied by what they saw. They weren''t simply surprised by the Large Ballistas themselves, but by the fact that Starlink''s forces had arrived with more than a hundred of the war weapons... Even though they had never witnessed the power of Large Ballistas before, seeing them from afar was more than enough for them to understand that these weapons were extraordinarily powerful. Aside from their massive size, the ballistas'' steel arrows were engraved with crimson magic runes, which attracted the ambient Mana. Seeing the flow of Mana around the weapons, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s members realized that those arrows carried power at the Tier 3 standard or stronger. In other words, each Large Ballista had as much firepower as a Defense Turret. And Moon Creek Town only had 8 Defense Turrets. If all of those 100-plus Large Ballistas fired together... "So, this is why they''re not in a hurry to attack." Crimson Heart''s expression darkened as she watched Starlink''s players push the Large Ballistas into position. Initially, she had thought that the Hundred Flowers Palace had some ability to fend off a superpower, but after seeing the Large Ballistas, she found the idea laughable. "This is Starlink?" "Is this a joke?! How are we supposed to fight that?!'' The Palace''s players began to despair when they saw the massive war weapons, their fighting spirit vanishing. Not only were they heavily outnumbered, but the difference between their war weapons was also massive. How were they supposed to fight such an enemy? Surviving ten minutes against those Large Ballistas might not be possible, much less three hours. At this point, the players in Moon Creek Town had gone into an uproar after witnessing Starlink''s forces. The various Guilds'' spies in the town frantically reported the situation to their superiors. While a 300,000-strong army of elites was a powerful force, it wasn''t impossible to defeat. An army of 100,000 elites, with the defender''s advantage, should be more than enough to repel the force. However, it was a different story if the enemy had 100-plus Large Ballistas. With the current defensive capabilities available to Guild Towns, fending off so many powerful war weapons would be impossible. Not even the various superpowers'' Guild Towns were an exception. As long as Starlink wanted to, it could eliminate any Guild Town it wished. Relying on a Guild Town''s defenses to deter Starlink and secure a foothold in the Dark Night Empire was no longer possible for the various Guilds. The moment word of Starlink''s Large Ballistas got out, it caused a commotion among the empire''s various powers. "How is this possible?" Unyielding Heart frowned as he read the report he had just received from a subordinate. "How did Starlink get its hands on so many Large Ballistas?" Unyielding Soul had been keeping an eye on Starlink''s movements. Naturally, Starlink''s attempt to pacify the Hundred Flowers Palace hadn''t escaped the Guild''s notice. Unyielding Soul had been preparing in secret to help the Hundred Flowers Palace and foil Starlink''s plans, but now, the Guild''s own towns might be at risk. "This move is truly..." Shadow Flower gritted her teeth when she saw the numerous Large Ballistas in the recording before her. "How is this just an attempt to capture Moon Creek Town? Starlink is basically solidifying its position as the Dark Night Empire''s overlord!" Starlink could''ve easily taken Moon Creek Town, yet it had taken its sweet time to set up blockades and use fanciful maneuvers. It was clear what Starlink''s true goal was-making an example of the Hundred Flowers Palace. Starlink knew that the various major powers, including the two superpowers, were watching the situation in Moon Creek Town. So, it planned to use the Palace to prove its strength to the empire''s various major powers! "Guild Leader, do we still plan to head to Moon Creek Town?" one of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s upper echelons could not help but ask. "Notify Crimson and Rue! Tell them to abandon the town immediately and get as many people out of there as possible!" Shadow Flower commanded, frustrated, after giving the matter some thought. "Understood!" Silent Canyon, amidst Starlink''s army positioned outside of Moon Creek Town... "Guild Leader, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Crimson Heart has just contacted us to express the Palace''s willingness to hand Moon Creek Town over to us. In return, they have requested that we allow them to leave the town," Dawn Web, who wore a set of luxurious mage robes and carried a crystalline staff, said, smiling at Lu Xingluo. "They want to surrender now that they''ve realized how much stronger we are?" Lu Xingluo revealed a playful smile. "From what Three and Tiger have told me, Zero Wing''s members are participating in this war." "That is the case," Dawn Web confirmed. "Zero Wing has ruined my plans multiple times now. Since we''ve met again, I want them to pay interest for their previous insults. Tell the Hundred Flowers Palace that if it wants to leave the Silent Canyon, it must kill every Zero Wing player in the town within the next ten minutes! I''ll allow them to leave the canyon safely if they complete the task. If not, they should abandon any hope of leaving this place alive!" Lu Xingluo said, sneering. "Understood! I''ll notify them right away!" Dawn Web replied before sending her subordinates to relay the message. Meanwhile, standing on Moon Creek Town''s walls... "Big Sis Crimson, Starlink has sent a reply. Zero Wing or survival; we can only choose one," Cleansed Rue said grimly as she read the message her subordinate had sent "Starlink must really look down on our Guild," Crimson Heart said frostily. "Notify everyone! We will fight the enemy to the death! Even if we are annihilated, we''ll take some of Starlink''s forces with us! Rue, organize an expert legion. Once the battle begins, escort Zero Wing''s members away from the battlefield. This is the Hundred Flowers Palace''s problem. Zero Wing has already helped us quite a bit. We cannot drag them any further into this mess." "I understand." Cleansed Rue nodded. Cleansed Rue left to follow Crimson Heart''s instructions. As for Crimson Heart, she began to gather her forces to prepare for combat. Ten minutes passed quickly. "Good! Very good!" When Lu Xingluo, who watched Moon Creek Town from a high vantage point, didn''t receive a reply from Crimson Heart, he commanded, "Since they want to die, I will grant their wish! Notify our members to begin the attack! I want every player from the Hundred Flowers Palace dead!" 2044 Disparity in Combat Power Chapter 2044 - Disparity in Combat Power Starlink''s 300,000-strong army had Moon Creek Town completely surrounded. With Lu Xingluo''s command, the 100-plus Large Ballistas slowly advanced, stirring fear in the hearts of the town''s players. This was the first time the Dark Night Empire had seen such a large-scale siege battle. As the mass of players swarmed toward the town, the Hundred Flowers Palace members on the town walls couldn''t help but shudder in fear. Although they had experienced a few large-scale battles, those fights were insignificant compared to the battle awaiting them. When Seven Light, Remnant Cloud, and the rest of Zero Wing''s members saw this, they, too, were shocked. "Amazing! So, this is a Guild war?" "Although I''ve watched Guild wars before, spectating and participating are on two different levels." "So, this is a superpower''s true strength?" Although they were Refinement Realm experts, Seven Light and his comrades couldn''t help but feel insignificant before such a large army. In a battle of this scale, an individual wouldn''t make even the tiniest wave. They had successfully broken past one Starlink blockade after another and fended off thousands of players, but they had only done so due to the canyon''s narrow terrain. A few hundred players would be fortunate if they could attack at the same time, but this battlefield was about to take place on an open plain. On a battlefield like this, they may have to face thousands of players at once. Surviving would be difficult enough, not to mention turning the tide of battle. Moreover, they had the Large Ballistas to contend with. If 100 Large Ballistas fired simultaneously, they would even blow a group of peak experts to smithereens. Starlink didn''t only plan to annihilate the Hundred Flowers Palace. It also wanted to make an example of the Guild for the rest of the Dark Night Empire''s players. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh as he watched the gradually approaching war weapons. Large Ballistas were far more useful than a town''s Defense Turrets. Although they didn''t have as much range as the Defense Turrets, the ballistas'' attacks were undoubtedly at the Tier 3 standard. Furthermore, they had slightly shorter Cooldowns than the Defense Turrets. Fortunately, the Large Ballistas didn''t have as large of an AOE as the Defense Turrets. Since the Large Ballistas'' design wasn''t particularly difficult to obtain and its materials weren''t that rare, it had become a mainstream weapon when sieging towns or cities in the past. The high production cost was the only drawback. A single attempt to produce the Large Ballista cost roughly 1,000 Gold. If a Basic Master Forger attempted to craft one, the total cost would amount to around 3,000 Gold. The fact that Starlink had more than 100 of these war weapons meant that the Guild had spent at least 300,000 Gold in the weapons'' production. Shi Feng had to admit that a superpower was certainly impressive. It had both strength and money. If it were up to him, he wouldn''t have sacrificed so much to mass-produce the Large Ballistas Although crafting the Large Ballistas cost half as much to construct a Defense Turret, the turret had incredibly high Defense. It could even survive multiple Tier 4 attacks. But the Large Ballistas were different. They could barely endure two or three Tier 3 attacks before crumbling, much less Tier 4 attacks. Moreover, using the Large Ballistas would reduce their durability, and repairing the war weapons would cost a hefty fee. Unless one was particularly wealthy, they couldn''t afford to rely on the Large Ballistas. "Commander Ye Feng, I''ve finally found you," Cleansed Rue said as she ran towards Shi Feng. "The battle will begin soon. Moon Creek Town is too dangerous now. Your team should prepare to leave immediately. After the fight begins, we''ll find an opportunity to open a gap for you to escape." "You''re abandoning Moon Creek Town?" Shi Feng asked in an odd tone. From what he understood, Moon Creek Town was the Hundred Flowers Palace''s final ray of hope for survival in the Dark Night Empire. If the Palace lost this town, it would have no choice but to leave the empire. "We can no longer afford to defend the town. The difference between our forces'' strength is simply too great. At this point, all we can do is try to preserve as much of the Guild''s strength as possible," Cleansed Rue said, shaking her head. She, too, wanted to protect Moon Creek Town, but the difference between her Guild''s strength and their enemy''s was clear for all to see. Even if Shadow Flower''s army of 200,000 elite and expert players reached the town in time, the reinforcements couldn''t change the war''s outcome. Against more than a hundred Large Ballistas, Moon Creek Town''s defenses were practically non-existent. Rather than throwing their lives away in a pointless struggle, it would be wiser if they simply found another location to settle in. "Is that so?" Shi Feng, more or less, understood the Hundred Flowers Palace''s reasoning. Smiling, he asked, "What if I say that there is a way to hold onto Moon Creek Town?" "Hold onto Moon Creek Town?" Cleansed Rue blinked in surprise at Shi Feng''s words. "Mhm. Defending against Starlink''s assault isn''t exactly impossible. Only, if you want to hold Moon Creek Town, we''ll have to touch upon Zero Wing''s core secrets," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Is that really possible?" Cleansed Rue asked, needing confirmation from Shi Feng once more. She knew what Shi Feng was trying to say. As long as the Hundred Flowers Palace agreed to ally with Zero Wing, Zero Wing would help protect Moon Creek Town, but she couldn''t figure out what method they could employ to save the town. "I''m 80% confident," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "Eighty percent!?" Cleansed Rue stared at the Swordsman in shock. Despite facing a 300,000-strong elite army and 100-plus Large Ballistas, Shi Feng insisted that they had an 80% chance of victory. If she hadn''t been traveling alongside this Swordsman and gained a certain understanding of this man, she would''ve suspected him of lying to her. "If we fail to protect the town, I will represent Zero Wing in abandoning the alliance conditions. On the contrary, if we succeed, our previous conditions will remain unchanged. What are your thoughts?" Shi Feng asked. "Alright I''ll negotiate with the Guild Leader immediately." Cleansed Rue nodded to Shi Feng''s conditions and confident tone. She then contacted Shadow Flower and Crimson Heart, relaying the offer, word for word, and asking them to make a decision. "Hold Moon Creek Town? Against such an assault?" Crimson Heart found Cleansed Rue''s claim difficult to believe. Not even Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor would dare interfere in this war now. Not even they could protect Moon Creek Town against Starlink''s forces, and they were too afraid of drawing the Guild''s attention. "However, since Zero Wing had made the offer, we won''t suffer any additional losses if this plan fails. Giving it a try doesn''t matter at this point," Shadow Flower said after considering the situation. In the end, she agreed that Shi Feng''s conditions were better than doing nothing and fleeing from the Dark Night Empire. Following which, Cleansed Rue signed a contract with Shi Feng on behalf of Shadow Flower, solidifying the alliance between Zero Wing and the Hundred Flowers Palace. If Zero Wing successfully protected Moon Creek Town, the Hundred Flowers Palace would hand over the management rights to 50% of its Shops in the empire. On the other hand, if Zero Wing failed, this agreement would be null and void. "Commander Ye Feng, what do you need the Hundred Flowers Palace to do?" Cleansed Rue asked once the contract had been signed. "How many players do you currently have in Moon Creek Town?" Shi Feng responded with a question. "We have 35,000 members garrisoned in the town. Among them, around 3,000 are experts. There are also 1,000 NPC soldiers, 300 of which are Tier 2," Cleansed Rue said. "If need be, we can also utilize 4,000 Blood Source Potions to create 4,000 temporary experts." Normally, such a force would be more than enough to defend a town, but against 300,000 elite players, the force would be quite fragile. "Not bad. It should be enough." Shi Feng nodded approvingly. He then shifted his gaze to Seven Light and the others and commanded, "Alright, let''s get to work! Starlink''s Large Ballistas will be your targets!" "Wonderful! I didn''t think we''d get a chance to use them this time!" Seven Light and his comrades'' eyes glowed as they received their orders. 2045 Guardian Puppet Appears Chapter 2045 - Guardian Puppet Appears "Just them?" Cleansed Rue was confused as she watched Seven Light and the other Zero Wing members make their way toward the town''s main entrance. She couldn''t fathom what Shi Feng intended to do. Although she had previously witnessed their strength, individual combat power would be utterly useless in the upcoming battle. A melee peak expert might even fare worse than an ordinary Tier 2 Elementalist. An Elementalist, after all, had AOE Spells they could use to cause immense damage on the battlefield. Seeing this, she wondered if Shi Feng was playing a prank on her. "Relax. Seven Light and the others are quite strong," Shi Feng said with a faint smile. "This place is too remote. Let''s head to the main entrance to get a better view of the situation." Cleansed Rue was speechless, but it was true that she needed a proper view of the battlefield. A large group of players from the Hundred Flowers Palace stood on the walls around the main entrance in strict organization. They anxiously awaited the arrival of Starlink''s slowly advancing army. Knowing that this battle would determine their Guild''s fate, even the Palace''s expert players, who had experienced countless life-or-death battles, couldn''t help their growing nerves. As Crimson Heart carefully observed the battlefield, Shi Feng and Cleansed Rue arrived near her post on the wall. "Commander Ye Feng, you''re here," Crimson Heart greeted Shi Feng. "Looking at the situation, Starlink seems intent on breaching the town from its main entrance. It hasn''t positioned any forces on the town''s other sides. By the looks of it, Starlink plans to trap us all in Moon Creek Town before wiping us out." "Starlink''s people are despicable! They dare to look down on us? Do they think they only need a fraction of their strength to annihilate us?" a middle-aged upper echelon from the Hundred Flowers Palace growled. Although Starlink''s forces were frightening, Moon Creek Town had its own war weapons prepared. A total of 8 Gnome Cannons and 4 Catapults were stationed in the town, all of which had been set up in key locations. With a single command, these war weapons would fire simultaneously. However, when Cleansed Rue realized that Starlink was trying to belittle them, she wasn''t angry, but relieved. It was true that Starlink qualified to belittle the Hundred Flowers Palace. Moreover, facing the 60 Large Ballistas leading the charge would be far less difficult than fighting more than 100. "They mobilized 60 Large Ballistas?" It didn''t surprise Shi Feng overmuch as he watched the approaching army. Large Ballistas were Consumable items; they lost durability during use. Starlink''s goal in this battle against Moon Creek Town was simply to put on a show for the Dark Night Empire''s major powers. Since it could complete the task with just 60 Large Ballistas, it didn''t need to mobilize its full force and waste the resources to repair them afterward. Furthermore, if the Large Ballistas moved at full speed, the town''s Defense Turrets would struggle to hit them from farther than 1,000 yards. Meanwhile, the Large Ballistas had a maximum range of l,3 yards. As long as they stayed between the 1,000-yard mark and 1,300-yard range, the Defense Turrets wouldnt pose much of a threat. With Moon Creek Town''s defenses, 60 Large Ballistas would be more than enough to decimate the town. Shortly after Shi Feng arrived on the wall, he heard a voice from a nearby Defense Turret "Vice Guild Leader! Starlink''s army is within shooting range!" The announcement forced the Palace members'' anxiety over the tipping point. They immediately turned to Crimson Heart. Now that the enemy was within the Defense Turrets'' range, the battle would begin! "Attack! Target the most concentrated areas!" Crimson Heart commanded after taking in a deep breath. Every Defense Turret and war weapon in Moon Creek Town fired simultaneously, a round of explosions echoing throughout the town. Boom... Boom... Boom... Contrary to everyone''s expectations, however, the attacks exploded in the air before reaching Starlink''s army as if they had collided with a translucent wall. "This is..." Crimson Heart''s expression darkened as she stared at the space above Starlink''s army. "Do they have a defensive magic array?" Defensive magic arrays fell into two categories. The first type included town or city defensive magic arrays, while the second type was reserved for field defensive magic arrays. Field-type defensive magic arrays were excruciatingly rare since they could be used anytime and anywhere. They were godly tools in large-scale combat between Guilds. Even until now, the Hundred Flowers Palace didn''t have a single Magic Array Scroll for this type of defensive magic array, let alone a complete set. Naturally, town- and city-type defensive magic arrays could only be used within towns or cities. Due to their limited usage, they were considerably easier to obtain. Obtaining such a magic array wasn''t too difficult for a first-rate Guild like the Hundred Flowers Palace. Meanwhile, Starlink clearly employed a field-type defensive magic array. "Hahaha! Did you think Starlink would attack without considering its own defense?" Lu Xingluo laughed as he watched Moon Creek Town''s attacks fail. "Notify the army! Tell them only to attack with the Large Ballistas! We need to show everyone the consequences of making an enemy of Starlink!" "Understood!" Dawn Web replied before relaying Lu Xingluo''s command. Meanwhile, Starlink''s army increased its pace toward Moon Creek Town. Very quickly, the army came within l,3 yards of the town. "Attack!" Suddenly, all 60 Large Ballistas launched their gigantic arrows, bombarding Moon Creek Town. Boom! Boom! Boom! The sounds of multiple explosions and cracking stone rang out through the town. Although the town''s defensive magic array could hold off Tier 3 attacks, the array still cracked under such a ruthless assault It was obvious that the first volley had depleted a significant portion of the magic array''s energy reserves. This made the Hundred Flowers Palace members even more nervous. Defensive magic arrays had a limited amount of energy. Once their energy reserves had been depleted, the array would vanish. Normally, a town''s defensive magic array could survive ordinary attacks for a long time, but it would be a different story if the attacks were capable of cracking the barrier. The defensive magic array wouldn''t last long under such an assault. If Moon Creek Town lost its defensive magic array, players like them would bear the brunt of the ballistas'' attacks. The Hundred Flowers Palace players weren''t the only ones shocked by the Large Ballistas'' assault. Even the town''s visiting players were stunned, especially the spies from the various major powers. They had never expected the Large Ballistas to deal additional damage to the town''s magic barrier. This effect was disastrous news for the empire''s various major powers. Sure enough, a Basic Defensive Magic Array that can block Large Ballistas attacks is too much to ask for, Shi Feng thought to himself as he looked at the cracks that had appeared above the town. He then turned to Seven Light, Remnant Cloud, Silent Blade, and Stubborn Bone, commanding, "It''s time for you to act. Be careful of those Large Ballistas!" "Understood!" Hearing Shi Feng''s command, the four players in question revealed ecstatic expressions. They then jumped from the wall and charged toward Starlink''s forces. "What are they trying to do?" "Are they crazy?!" "No, that''s not it They don''t seem to be from the Hundred Flowers Palace. Look at their Guild Emblems; I think they''re from Zero Wing." Both Starlink''s members and the distant spectating players were shocked to see the four players dash toward Starlink''s army. "Are Zero Wing''s members trying to escape? Have we scared them silly?" Lu Xingluo sneered at Seven Light and the others. "Relay my commands! Even if they''ve lost their minds, do not let them leave! Blast those four to pieces!" Four Large Ballistas, which had been aimed at Moon Creek Town, suddenly fired at Seven Light and his companions. Four massive arrows transformed into streaks of red light as they tore through the sound barrier and flew toward Zero Wing''s members. However, just before the crimson lights struck Seven Light''s group, four gigantic figures appeared before the players. The streaks of red light stopped abruptly in front of the gigantic figures, incapable of proceeding an inch farther. "Impossible!" Everyone watching these gigantic figures was stunned. Four massive robots had grasped the ballista arrows, which were as wide as tree trunks, in their palms... 2046 Might of the Guardian Puppets Chapter 2046 - Might of the Guardian Puppets The Large Ballistas'' attacks were at the Tier 3 standard. Even Great Lord ranked monsters would stumble and lose their stance upon receiving such attacks, yet the four giants had blocked all four arrows from the ballistas. To be precise, they had caught the ballista arrows as if they had plucked up a small twig from the roadside. This situation challenged everyone''s sanity. "Attack! All Large Ballistas, attack those robots together!" After seeing the Guardian Puppets'' performance, Starlink''s upper echelons realized that if they allowed the Combat Puppets to come within range of their army and the Large Ballistas, tragedy would ensue. Hence, they needed to get rid of those Puppets as quickly as possible. The remaining 54 Large Ballistas abandoned their focus on Moon Creek Town and shifted to the Guardian Puppets. After taking aim, all 60 ballistas fired at their targets simultaneously. Xiu... Xiu... Xiu... The sonic boom of the arrows breaking through the sound barrier shook the battlefield repeatedly. Like a meteor shower, the arrows rained down on the four Guardian Puppets. The Large Ballistas'' attacks were well-coordinated, rivaling ranged experts'' attacks. Now, each Guardian Puppet had to face over a dozen arrows. In addition, every ballista now used explosive arrows. Even if the arrows did not strike their target directly, they would cause a certain amount of damage as long as they landed near the Guardian Puppets. With the Mechanical Lifeforms'' slow reactions, blocking so many attacks would be impossible. Seven Light and his comrades, who controlled the Guardian Puppets, also knew that they could block so many incoming arrows. Instead, they began to move their Puppets. Boom... Boom... Boom- Following which, a series of explosions rocked the battlefield as a chilling, silent atmosphere descended on the plains. The four Guardian Puppets successfully evaded every arrow the Large Ballistas had fired. As if they were skillful, nimble Assassins, the Guardian Puppets evaded the attacks with minimal movements, allowing most of the arrows to brush past harmlessly. "How is this possible? How are those mechanical puppets so dexterous?" As the players controlling the Large Ballistas watched the Guardian Puppets charge toward them, their eyes nearly fell from their sockets. In God''s Domain, Mechanical Lifeforms were famed for superb Strength and Defense, but they also shared one weakness: slow reaction times. When the Guardian Puppets had caught the ballista arrows earlier, the Puppets'' great Strength had left them in shock and awe, but watching the constructs dance like flexible monkeys had destroyed their previous understanding of Mechanical Lifeforms. Even the knowledgeable upper echelons from the various Guilds were confused, not to mention the many expert players present. Only Shi Feng remained unperturbed. Seven Light''s group had improved significantly after training in the Extraordinary Tower. Although they had yet to enter the Realms of Truth, they were close to the Truth Realm standard. It was only natural that they could exhibit greater combat standards than ordinary experts when controlling the Combat Puppets. With their skills, dodging a dozen or so arrows would be child''s play. "Defend yourselves! Do not let those things get near us!" Starlink''s army commanders shouted. Despite firing volley after volley of arrows, the Large Ballistas'' attacks did nothing to slow the Guardian Puppets'' advance. On the contrary, the ballistas were forced to retreat to maintain their distance from the constructs. However, Seven Light''s group controlled Bronze Combat Puppets. Their Movement Speed was far superior to the Large Ballistas, and as a result, the gap between them continued to shrink. Eight hundred yards... Five hundred yards... Two hundred yards... When less than 100 yards separated the two sides, Starlink''s members began to grow nervous. However, the four Guardian Puppets came to a sudden halt as if they had slammed into a translucent barrier. "A defensive magic array?" Looking at the barrier before him, Seven Light met it with a series of punches, but the magic barrier remained intact. "What a pity! Although my defensive magic array is only Basic rank, it has been formed with 49 Magic Array Scrolls! It is one of the best Basic Defensive Magic Arrays available! You''ll never deplete its energy reserves with a few Tier 3 attacks!" Lu Xingluo sneered Seven Light''s group. "All Large Ballistas, focus fire on one of those machines! I refuse to believe they can dodge all 60 attacks!" While it was true that the Large Ballistas had a l,3-yard attack range, the farther away their target was, the slower their attacks would become due to the air''s natural drag. Their accuracy would also suffer. In other words, the closer the targets were, the faster the Large Ballistas'' arrows would reach them and the easier they''d be to hit. A few moments ago, the Guardian Puppets had been several hundred yards away, so the constructs had plenty of time to dodge the arrows, but now, only 100 yards separated them. Moreover, the 60 Large Ballistas had previously targeted all four Guardian Puppets separately. Now that they focused on a single target, the cluster of attacks would be four times as dense. Even if the Puppets were as agile as monkeys, they''d still become porcupines. Immediately, 60 ballista arrows flew toward Seven Light''s Guardian Puppet, the cluster of attacks as fast and dense as if a massive mountain were descending on the construct. Boom... Boom... Boom... Although Seven Light had desperately tried to block or dodge the incoming volley, more than half of the arrows hit their marks, and a towering pillar of fire enveloped his Guardian Puppet. When the arrows had struck, the impact had blasted a huge crater around Seven Light''s position. Even players in Moon Creek Town, over a thousand yards away, could see the smoke rising from the crater. "We''re doomed!" The Hundred Flowers Palace members, who had still held onto hope, turned ashen when they saw this. Once again, they were forced to realize how powerful the Large Ballistas were. Although the Guardian Puppet was quite powerful, even it would become scrap metal if it had to face 60 Large Ballistas simultaneously... "Prepare to fire the next volley!" Lu Xingluo nodded approvingly, his satisfaction over the Large Ballistas'' capabilities reaching new heights. However, as the 60 war weapons adjusted their aim to another Guardian Puppet, a mechanical roar rose from the crater at the edge of the defensive magic array. Suddenly, an eight-meter-tall figure emerged from the thick, black smoke; it was none other than Seven Light''s Guardian Puppet. Aside from a little dirt, the Puppet''s outer shell remained whole. "It''s unharmed!? How is that possible!?" Lu Xingluo''s smile froze when he saw Seven Light''s Guardian Puppet. He simply could not believe that 60 Large Ballistas'' attacks had been ineffective against this Mechanical Lifeform. Unfortunate, the Guardian Puppet wasn''t exactly unharmed as Lu Xingluo and everyone else assumed. It had taken a little damage from the 36 arrows it had received. In total, it had lost 36 durability points. Each ballista arrow had only cost the Puppet a single point of durability. However, since the Guardian Puppet had a total of 1,000 durability, the damage it had received was insignificant. "Now that you''re done, it''s my turn!" After climbing out of the crater, Seven Light''s Guardian Puppet transformed into a blur as it dashed toward the defensive magic array. One of its gigantic, mechanical arms then twisted into a massive steel sword with crimson runes decorating its length. Once the runes had gathered enough of the surrounding Mana, the Guardian Puppet thrust its blade into the magic barrier. Tier 3 Skill, Flame Jab. Boom! A flaming vortex emerged from the sword, devouring everything in its path. The roaring flames tore a massive hole in the previously indestructible magic barrier, and the array slowly began to disintegrate. It was obvious that Flame Jab''s power had exceeded the defensive magic array''s tolerance. 2047 Lets Get Serious as Well Chapter 2047 - Let''s Get Serious as Well As the defensive magic array protecting Starlink''s army began to disintegrate, time seemed to freeze across the entire world. The players controlling the Large Ballistas, who had been preparing to attack another Guardian Puppet, stilled, staring at the Puppet standing before their shattering magic barrier. "No! This is impossible!" "How can a Tier 3 attack possibly exceed the magic array''s limit?" "Could that be a Tier 4 mechanical puppet?" The Starlink players that maintained the defensive magic array were confused and afraid when they saw their depleted Mana. Unconsciously, they began to step away from the Guardian Puppets, instinctively increasing the distance between them and their enemies as much as possible. When they had faced the Defense Turrets'' intense attacks, the magic array hadn''t even cracked, but now, this one Guardian Puppet had shattered the barrier with a single strike. They couldn''t think of any reason that their array would shatter in one hit unless the strike had been a Tier 4 attack. When they considered the possibility that a Tier 4 Mechanical Lifeform stood before them and that the construct was under a player''s control, they couldn''t help but shudder in fear. At this stage of the game, the various superpowers spent a lot of time preparing to raid a single Tier 4 Mythic monster. They even expected their teams to wipe multiple times before defeating the monster, and that was with the understanding that monsters had various forms of behavioral restrictions. If these restrictions were removed, killing a Mythic monster would be several times more difficult. "A Tier 4 puppet?" When Seven Light and his three companions heard Starlink''s members, they chuckled. They had never thought that Seven Light''s use of Strength Combination would lead the enemy to believe that their Guardian Puppets were Tier 4 Combat Puppets, but they welcomed the misunderstanding. With this, they would have a much easier time defeating their foes. The mental pressure players faced when fighting a Tier 3 being versus a Tier 4 was completely different, after all. The four Zero Wing players controlled their Guardian Puppets, striking at the Large Ballistas'' locations. As the constructs moved, they devastated the ground beneath them, sending players in their way into the air. Before the Large Ballistas could fire another volley of arrows, Seven Light and the others reached the weapons. They then swung their transformed arms at their targets. Boom! Although the Large Ballistas were over four meters tall, they were no different than pebbles on the roadside compared to the eight-meter-tall Guardian Puppets. When the Guardian Puppets'' sword-arms descended, they halved the Large Ballistas before them. They also carved deep groves, over a dozen meters or so long, into the ground. There was no question that these constructs'' Strength was at the peak of Tier 3. In that single exchange, Starlink had lost four of its Large Ballistas. For a moment, the surrounding players were utterly stupefied. While the Large Ballistas appeared to be made of only wood and metal, magic runes strengthened their structure. Even a Tier 2 player would need to attack for a long time to destroy one. These war weapons could even survive a few Tier 3 attacks. Yet, the Guardian Puppets could destroy a Large Ballista in one hit... While everyone was still in shock over the Guardian Puppets'' power, the constructs destroyed four more Large Ballistas. "Damn it! All Large Ballistas, retreat immediately!" Lu Xingluo hurriedly commanded, his expression grim. "Summoning unit, use the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls! Do not let those things get close to the Large Ballistas!" Producing each Large Ballista cost 3,000 Gold. This battle had only begun a short moment ago, yet they had already lost 8 Large Ballistas. Even though Starlink was wealthy, it could not afford such a costly war. Following their orders, Starlink''s summoning unit activated 8 Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, commanding their eight summoned Great Lords to work in pairs to pin down the enemy constructs. In the meantime, the players operating the Large Ballistas frantically retreated. "Scram!" Seven Light brandished his Guardian Puppet''s two sword-arms at the approaching two Great Lords, sending the summoned creatures flying and dealing over -1,000,000 damage to each. Without pause, he then dashed toward the nearest Large Ballista. Remnant Cloud and the others managed to shake off the Great Lords as easily, chasing after the retreating war weapons. Seeing this situation, Lu Xingluo and his fellow upper echelons'' eyes twitched with fury. Although the Great Lords could significantly reduce the Puppets'' mobility, Starlink still lost one Large Ballista after another. After a short moment, another 10 Large Ballistas had been destroyed. "Amazing!" "So, this is the strength Zero Wing has been hiding all this time?" Crimson Heart''s and Cleansed Rue''s eyes bulged as they watched Zero Wing take one Large Ballista after another from Starlink''s army. The Large Ballistas were an absolute nightmare for the Hundred Flowers Palace, but to the Zero Wing''s Guardian Puppets, they were little more than toys. Now, it was only a matter of time before the constructs destroyed all of Starlink''s war weapons. It was at this moment that Crimson Heart finally understood why Zero Wing was so confident of helping the Hundred Flowers Palace repel Starlink. "I want all of them dead! Dead!" Lu Xingluo bellowed as he glared at the four Guardian Puppets. "Relay my command! All troops are to attack Moon Creek Town now!" "Understood!" Dawn Web promptly relayed the command for all forces to attack. They were no longer capable of stopping the Guardian Puppets'' rampage, but at the end of the day, there were only four of these constructs. As long as the Large Ballistas scattered and fled in different directions, the Guardian Puppets would have to waste a lot of time chasing them down. The Puppets would never be able to catch up with every one of the ballistas. Meanwhile, they still had 300,000 elite and expert players, as well as the 60 other Large Ballistas on the other side of Moon Creek Town. Even if the Guardian Puppets were more powerful, they couldn''t save the town. Under Lu Xingluo''s command, the Starlink forces surrounding Moon Creek Town took action. "Big Sis Crimson, the 60 Large Ballistas on the other side of the town are approaching! Moreover, the enemy players have started to charge towards us! By the looks of it, Starlink no longer intends to conserve its strength," Cleansed Rue commented anxiously after receiving a report from the players on the other side of Moon Creek Town. Crimson Heart''s expression darkened. Turning to Shi Feng, she asked, "Commander Ye Feng, do you have any countermeasures?" She was already out of ideas. The difference between the combat power under her control and her enemy''s was too massive. Players alone could no longer turn the tide of this battle. "Sure enough, four Guardian Puppets aren''t enough." The situation didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Although the Guardian Puppets were quite powerful, with so few of them, it was unrealistic to rely on them to protect Moon Creek Town. After a moment, he replied, "Since Starlink has gotten serious, let''s do the same." "Get serious? Us?" Shi Feng''s answer rendered Crimson Heart speechless. They had been taking this war as seriously as they could and more. "Let''s head over to the other side and take a look," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then led the way across town. Meanwhile, on the other side of Moon Creek Town... By the time Shi Feng and the others arrived, the battle had begun. The town''s defensive magic array repeatedly cracked under the Large Ballistas'' bombardment. It was only a matter of time before the magic barrier shattered. Moreover, a large number of Starlink players were already within 300 yards of the town. Even though these players didn''t have the protection of a defensive magic array, they paid no heed to the Defensive Turrets and Arrow Towers'' attacks. They focused fully on advancing and attacking the town. "Kill them! Their defensive magic array won''t last much longer!" When Starlink''s members realized that the magic barrier was taking longer to regenerate, they attacked with even greater ferocity. This made the Hundred Flowers Palace members on the town walls nervous. "Guild Leader, the battle on the other side of Moon Creek Town has begun. Once the magic array falls, our men will charge into the town," Dawn Web reported to Lu Xingluo. "Good! I want to see just how Zero Wing intends to help the Palace protect the town now!" Lu Xingluo snarled viciously as he watched the four Guardian Puppets, which were still chasing the retreating Large Ballistas. Suddenly, however, a gigantic magic array appeared on the other side of Moon Creek Town, dying the sky crimson. Even though Lu Xingluo wasn''t anywhere near the array, he could clearly see the violent Mana storm it caused. After a short moment, a Flame Dragon, looming over a dozen-meters-tall, emerged from the magic array. The Dragon''s roar echoed throughout Moon Creek Town and its surrounding area. A Dragon?" 2048 This Side is Scarier? Chapter 2048 - This Side is Scarier? "Why is there a Dragon?" Lu Xingluo was stunned to see the Flame Dragon hover above Moon Creek Town. Dragons were destruction incarnate in God''s Domain. Even if the Flame Dragon before him were not a true Dragon, merely an Inferior Dragon, it would still be extremely difficult to take down. When they saw the Flame Dragon appear on the battlefield, Starlink''s army, which stood before Moon Creek Town''s walls, was dazed. Not only was the Flame Dragon before them gigantic, but it was also a Level 80 monster. It would be a nightmare to deal with for current players. Moreover, the creature''s aura was even more frightening than its massive form. The Starlink members within 100 yards of the monster felt as if their bodies had been replaced with mercury, and their instincts screamed at them to run away. "Don''t panic, everyone! A single monster can''t stop us! Besides, this Flame Dragon is only Tier 3! Summoning unit, use the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls! If that Flame Dragon gets close, suppress it with a magic array, magic unit!" Starlink''s experts shouted. Although they, too, were nervous, they realized the Flame Dragon''s limitations after a moment of careful observation. If the Flame Dragon were a Tier 4 Mythic monster, they would turn around and flee without a second thought. Numbers weren''t enough to defeat such an existence. However, it was a different story for a Tier 3 Flame Dragon. Even if they were 20 levels lower than the Flame Dragon, they could still put up a fight against it with a magic array''s suppression. Furthermore, they''d also have the help of Tier 3 summoned creatures. They could definitely whittle the Flame Dragon down, although they''d have to pay a high price to do so. Following which, Starlink''s army summoned another 8 Tier 3 summoned creatures. Although these summoned creatures were not as high-leveled as the Flame Dragon, they were still Level 78 or Level 79. The level difference was practically negligible. "They have eight more Tier 3 summoned creatures?" Crimson Heart could not help but tense up when she saw the seven- meter-tall summoned creatures on the battlefield. Tier 3 Magic Scrolls were extremely rare, and Summoning Scrolls were among the rarest. To pin down the four Guardian Puppets, Starlink had already used 8 Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls, and now, it used another eight. Starlink''s foundations were simply astonishing. Although the Flame Dragon was much stronger than the Tier 3 summoned creatures, it wouldn''t be able to deal with so many of them. While the Hundred Flowers Palace had four Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls it could use as well, the Flame Dragon would still be at a disadvantage if it had to fight four Tier 3 summoned creatures. Furthermore, there were still the 60 Large Ballistas behind Starlink''s army to contend with. The Large Ballistas might not be useful against the Guardian Puppets Seven Light and his comrades controlled, but they would have no problems dealing with monsters. Monsters couldn''t exhibit as much combat power as players. The Large Ballistas'' arrows could easily find their mark. However, just as Starlink''s army was about to attack Moon Creek Town, another crimson magic array appeared above the army, covering a 300-yard radius and causing another massive Mana surge. The array gathered so much fire-type Mana that its density was visible to the naked eye. "No! Quick! Get out of there!" Starlink''s magical class players shouted, trying to warn their allies that stood within the array''s range. Unfortunately, the magic array''s formation was too fast In as little as two seconds, the magic array had completed, and a moment later, meteorites began to fall from the sky. Tier 3 Curse, Heaven''s Fall! Countless meteorites tore through the sky as they rained down on Starlink''s army, causing one explosion after another as they struck the ground. Even players from over a thousand yards away could feel the attack''s shockwaves. In the blink of an eye, the earth beneath the array transformed into a sea of fire. After three waves of descending meteorites, the ground below the magic array had sunk by several meters, a raging inferno burning in the crater. Even a fool would know what end had befallen the players that had been caught in the magic array''s range. The Starlink members that had escaped the attack had come to a full stop as they stared at the scene before them. Fear and joy shone in their eyes. A single attack had decimated a massive portion of the battlefield. Not only had more than 2,000 players died in that attack, but Starlink''s eight Tier 3 summoned creatures also lay within the sea of fire. Although the summoned creatures were still alive, they were heavily injured. They could no longer serve as additional combat power... "Damn it! How do they have a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scroll!?" "Wait! I think that Spell came from the Flame Dragon!" "Huh? Isn''t the Spell over? Why are there still magic arrays around that Flame Dragon?" "No! It''s casting another Spell!" Starlink''s members had a bad feeling as they watched the magic arrays circle the Fire Spirit''s body. The intensity of the Mana that gathered to the arrays felt horrifically familiar. Before anyone could react, another gigantic, crimson array appeared above Starlink''s army, but unlike the previous attack, this was a twofold magic array. This magic array gathered even more Mana to it than before, and its range was clearly larger. "This is a trick! This can''t be real!" Seeing the colossal magic array above them, Starlink''s members realized what was about to happen. Although they could try to run, the array covered a 400-yard radius. As a result, they could only curse their fate. This time, meteorites didn''t fall from the sky. Instead, pillars of fire burst from the ground, devouring everything within the AOE. Even the Tier 2 MTs that activated their Lifesaving Skills lost all of their HP the instant the flames touched them. None of them had any hope of resisting the attack. When the flames dissipated, the crowd of players that had stood before Moon Creek Town''s walls was gone. Only a plot of scorched earth remained. Both Starlink''s members and the players from the Hundred Flowers Palace were thoroughly shocked. Several thousand players had vanished, just like that. The slain players hadn''t even had time to scream before their bodies were vaporized. This was no longer a battle. It was a one-sided massacre. Once more, everyone was forced to recognize just how useless zerg tactics were in the face of large-scale destruction Spells. This Flame Dragon was far more terrifying than the four Guardian Puppets on the other side of the town. Only Shi Feng remained unperturbed. Calmly, he shifted his gaze toward the distant Large Ballistas and ordered the Fire Spirit, "Go! Destroy those Large Ballistas!" The Fire Spirit had been considered a godly war weapon during his previous life not because of its physical combat prowess and high intellect, but because of its ability to use a variety of fire-type Curses and large-scale destruction Spells. Without these abilities, the Fire Spirit wouldn''t have been capable of single-handedly fending off superpowers'' large-scale assaults. Although his Fire Spirit was only a Tier 3 creature right now, even the strongest player at this stage of the game was only Tier 2. Starlink''s members had no hope of defending themselves against the Tier 3 Advanced Fire Spirit''s attacks. After receiving Shi Feng''s command, the Fire Spirit flapped its wings, transforming into a blazing fireball as it flew toward its new targets. Its Movement Speed was much higher than the Guardian Puppets'', and although the 60 Large Ballistas tried to repel the Dragon with attacks, they couldn''t land a single hit. Meanwhile, with the Fire Spirit''s ability to fly, it crossed the 1,000 yards to the Large Ballistas in only a brief moment. Before Starlink''s upper echelons could order a retreat, the Fire Spirit cast a Tier 3 Spell, summoning 36 scorching flame spears around it. It then launched these spears at the nearby Large Ballistas. Boom! Boom! Boom! In the blink of an eye, the 11 Large Ballistas within 60 yards of the Fire Spirit burned to ash... 2049 Starlink Defeated Chapter 2049 - Starlink Defeated When they saw the Fire Spirit destroy 11 Large Ballistas with a single spell, the Starlink players controlling the other war weapons were stunned. They had intended to attack the Fire Spirit, but after witnessing its power, they couldn''t make themselves move. "Quick! Ranged players, stop that thing!" "Large Ballistas, scatter and retreat!" Starlink''s upper echelons paled as they watched the Fire Dragon destroy their Large Ballistas. In the blink of an eye, they had lost 11 war weapons. The Fire Spirit was an even more dangerous and more expensive opponent than the four Guardian Puppets. Although the Guardian Puppets were much faster than the Large Ballistas, Starlink still had Tier 3 summoned creatures to slow them down. The Puppets would need some time to catch up to one of the ballistas, but it was a different story for the Fire Spirit. Not only could the Fire Spirit fly, but its Movement Speed was also higher than the Guardian Puppets''. Moreover, it possessed powerful ranged attacks. It could hunt down the Large Ballistas far more easily than the Guardian Puppets. The only benefit they had was the fact that players'' attacks were somewhat effective against the Flame Dragon. Starlink''s members swarmed toward the Fire Spirit, bombarding it with ranged attacks. Meanwhile, the remaining 49 Large Ballistas began their retreat. However, by the time Starlink''s members had gathered around the Fire Spirit, the Dragon had already finished casting the Tier 3 Curse, Scorching Laser. Suddenly, the Fire Spirit stretched open its maw, and a twofold magic array manifested before it, rapidly gathering the surrounding fire-type Mana. In less than a second, the array transformed into a blinding, miniature sun. As the miniature sun''s scorching heat washed over them, nearby players felt a stinging pain. Roar! As the Fire Spirit voiced its anger, the miniature sun transformed once more into a white beam that swept across the land, extending up to 200 yards away from the Flame Dragon. The beam annihilated everything it touched, and the players who were hit didn''t even have a chance to scream before they were vaporized. When the beam disappeared, it revealed a scorched groove, five-meters-dee, in the ground before the Fire Spirit, separating Starlink''s army into two halves. Two Large Ballistas that had been caught in the attack had instantly been turned to ash. Seeing this, the Hundred Flowers Palace members watching from Moon Creek Town''s walls could not help but gape in shock. So, this is Zero Wing? An intense shock filled Crimson Heart as she turned to Shi Feng beside her. Just one of Zero Wing''s monsters was enough to drive Starlink''s army into chaos. This battle had certainly altered her understanding of combat in God''s Domain. Zerg tactics? Siege tools? In front of absolute power, neither mattered. If a Guild fought a monster like the Fire Spirit, which wielded numerous large-scale destruction Spells, and failed to cope properly, there would be no battle to speak off. There would only be a slaughter. Meanwhile, the various major powers watching from within the town fell silent as they watched the scene through their Magic Mirrors. "What is that monster? Isn''t it a little too powerful? It can use so many large-scale destruction Spells!" "Amazing! With this, Starlink will have trouble capturing Moon Creek Town." "The Hundred Flowers Palace has actually kept such a card hidden?" "That can''t be right. If the Hundred Flowers Palace had something like this, it would''ve used it to defend East Valley Town." "I saw that cloaked fellow summon that monster. He should be one of Zero Wing''s members." "What kind of Guild is Zero Wing? I thought it was merely an up-and-coming Guild without any backers. How could it have such a powerful foundation?" For a moment, the various major powers'' curiosity regarding Zero Wing grew. First, Zero Wing had revealed four incredibly powerful Guardian Puppets, slaughtering Starlink''s forces. Then, the Guild had proceeded to summon the Fire Spirit, a creature that was akin to a natural disaster on a large battlefield. With such strength, Zero Wing could certainly afford to clash with any superpower, yet despite its strength, they had rarely heard of Zero Wing before this battle. All they truly knew was that Zero Wing was a relatively new Guild that could rival first-rate Guilds. However, this information was laughably incorrect. If a Guild with such frightening combat power was only considered on par with first-rate Guilds, what would that make their actual first-rate Guilds? At this point, the victor of the battle over Moon Creek Town was obvious. Starlink was utterly powerless to stop the Fire Spirit and Guardian Puppets from destroying its Large Ballistas. If the superpower continued this fight, it would only suffer greater loses. "Zero Wing!" Lu Xingluo''s expression darkened when he read his subordinate''s status report. Despite how short the battle had been thus far, Starlink had already lost 43 Large Ballistas. Once the Fire Spirit had joined the fray, in particular, the ballistas began to fall even faster. "Guild Leader, are we going to continue this battle?" Dawn Web could not help but ask. "Retreat! Have everyone retreat!" Lu Xingluo growled, grinding his teeth as he glared at the rampaging Guardian Puppets. Although he didn''t want to admit it, he was truly powerless to stop the Guardian Puppets and Fire Spirit at this time. He''d lost far more war weapons if he chose to stay. Every Large Ballista cost a fortune to craft. They were also Starlink''s only advantage in battle. While they might capture Moon Creek Town if they continued, it would cost ever Large Ballista in Starlink''s possession. The trade simply wasn''t worthwhile. "Understood! I''ll relay the command right away!" Dawn Web breathed a quiet sigh of relief when she heard Lu Xingluo''s decision. Shen then began to contact the various units'' commanders. Following Dawn Web''s instructions, Starlink''s forces began to scatter and flee. Neither the Guardian Puppets nor the Fire Spirit gave chase, allowing Starlink''s army to leave without a fight. The enemy had far too few players now, and with how scattered Starlink''s forces were, they''d hardly kill anything even if they chased them down. "Big Sis Crimson, Starlink is retreating! We''ve held Moon Creek Town!" Cleansed Rue exclaimed as she watched Starlink''s players flee from the battlefield. "Ѿes! We held it!" Even Crimson Heart revealed a joyful grin. For a moment, everyone in Moon Creek Town was stunned as they watched Starlink pull away. "Are you kidding me!? Starlink actually lost!?" "Zero Wing is just too strong! I doubt even Starlink expected this outcome!" "Zero Wing can actually fend off a superpower like Starlink. It seems the Dark Night Empire will have four contenders in the future!" With a single Fire Spirit and four Guardian Puppets, Zero wing had repelled a force of 300,000 elite and expert players and more than 100 Large Ballistas. This was the first time anyone had achieved such a splendorous victory in the Dark Night Empire. The most shocking aspect of the battle was that a superpower hadn''t been responsible for the feat, but Zero Wing, a Guild with hardly any renown. This battle''s outcome would undoubtedly shake the entire empire. Now that a power capable of contending with Starlink had arrived in the Dark Night Empire, the empire''s prior status quo was irrelevant. 2050 Empire Upheaval Chapter 2050 - Empire Upheaval Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: A large number of players visited the Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital every day. The city was constantly active and lively, both day and night. It was a city that never slept. Currently, however, a deathly silence reigned over the meeting room in Unyielding Soul''s Residence. "What did you say?! Starlink lost?!" Unyielding Heart, geared in a suit of black armor, was stunned when he heard his subordinate''s report Not even Unyielding Soul was guaranteed to defend Moon Creek Town against 300,000 elites and 100-plus Large Ballistas, yet Starlink had suffered defeat. No matter how he looked at it, the situation was ridiculous. "Mhm. According to the latest report from Moon Creek Town, Starlink has pulled out of the Silent Canyon. The Guild lost roughly 7,000 players in the battle, in addition to 50-plus Large Ballistas. The losses are pretty severe," the Tier 2 Assassin said, nodding. "We have also collected some footage of the battle. All of the details are in the video." Unyielding Soul had known for some time about Starlink''s plan to capture Moon Creek Town and had, subsequently, dispatched quite a few players to the town. This gave the Guild access to information on the battle over the town. Everything, from the Guardian Puppets'' destruction of Starlink''s defensive magic array to the Fire Spirit''s massacre of the Guild''s forces, had been recorded. With this, Unyielding Soul''s upper echelons had an in-depth view of the battle. "Amazing! With such combat power, it''s no wonder why Starlink retreated." "Zero Wing should not be underestimated. Heart, haven''t you had a few dealings with the Guild before? See if you can rope Zero Wing into an alliance. We''ll offer 3% of our shares in exchange for 10% of Zero Wing''s." "A share exchange?" The proposal the Guilds'' upper echelons suggested slightly surprised Unyielding Heart. He had never thought that they would willingly offer the Guild''s shares to another entity that wasn''t a superpower. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. A share exchange was also an exchange of Guild interests, but when Unyielding Heart considered the Fire Spirit and four Guardian Puppets Zero Wing had revealed, he agreed that the Guild was worth the price. Long Soul and Hunting Blade could not help their rueful sighs. Not long ago, Zero Wing had been a Guild on par with first- rate Guilds, yet it had already grown into a power that even a super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul would willingly offer a share exchange for its cooperation. "Starlink has suffered a significant loss this time. It will likely need quite some time to recover and will have trouble taking action against us in the near future. We can use this opportunity to secure the rally point in the Phantom Maze." "That''s right! Starlink has been fighting us for control over the Sea of Trees''s Phantom Maze. If we secure the Phantom Maze''s rally point, we can acquire a large number of Magic Crystals and combat techniques. We won''t have to worry about nurturing expert players." Although the strength Zero Wing had displayed surprised Unyielding Soul''s upper echelons, they paid more attention to Starlink''s defeat. To them, this was definitely a matter worth celebrating. By this time, the Dark Night Empire''s other major powers had also received news about the battle at Moon Creek Town. All of these major powers were astounded. They had never thought that the peerless Starlink would suffer defeat. Moreover, Zero Wing, a Guild that they were barely familiar with, had been responsible for its defeat. "Zero Wing?" "Investigate them! Send someone to look into Zero Wing immediately!" Zero Wing had suddenly become the center of attention for the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers. Every power was intent on learning more about the Guild. After all, a new Guild that was powerful enough to defeat Starlink in the Dark Night Empire meant major changes to the empire. If they didn''t investigate Zero Wing now, they might end up buried under these changes. Dark Night Empire, Silver Pine City: After the battle at Moon Creek Town, the dark atmosphere that had previously enveloped Silver Pine City had dispersed. The city had reverted to its original, peaceful state. Many players from other cities began to swarm to Silver Pine City, and if one visited the city''s Teleportation Hall, they''d find that most of these new arrivals were Guild players. Even elusive Guild upper echelons wandered the city streets. It seemed as if Silver Pine City had become the Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital as various major powers gathered here. "Big Sis Crimson, the Vice Guild Leaders from three second-rate Guilds and one first-rate Guild have come to seek an alliance," a Level 58 female Summoner reported as she entered the Vice Guild Leader''s office. "Do you want to meet them?" "Again?" Crimson Heart could not help her bitter smile. "Alright. Have them wait in the reception room. I''ll head there in a moment" Since she had returned to Silver Pine City, more than 20 large Guilds had sought her out. The weakest among them was a third-rate Guild, while the strongest could even rival the Hundred Flowers Palace. This was the first time she had experienced anything like this. This was all due to the alliance between the Palace and Zero Wing. To get closer to Zero Wing, the various large Guilds had approached her. On the surface, these Guilds expressed their desire to cooperate with the Hundred Flowers Palace, but in reality, they simply wanted her to recommend them to Zero Wing. They would have far more credibility with an ally''s recommendation to Zero Wing than if they approached the Guild on their own. "Understood!" The female Summoner nodded before turning to leave, pride filling her heart. Before the battle at Moon Creek Town, Crimson Heart would have been forced to meet with any first-rate Guild''s Vice Guild Leader if her presence were requested. However, things had changed. Even such important figures would have to wait in line for a meeting. Crimson Heart shifted her gaze to Shi Feng, who currently sat on one side of her office. "Commander Ye Feng, are you sure these Shops are acceptable?" Crimson Heart asked curiously. According to their contract with Zero Wing, since the Guild had helped hold Moon Creek Town, the Hundred Flowers Palace had to agree to the previously proposed alliance. In the future, Zero Wing would protect the Palace from Starlink in the Dark Night Empire. In exchange, the Hundred Flowers Palace would concede the management rights of 50% of its Shops. She had thought that Shi Feng would select Shops in important NPC cities, but much to her surprise, that hadn''t happened. He had chosen quite a few NPC cities with very small player populations. Some of the Shops he had chosen were even in NPC towns. He hadn''t actually touched any of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s top-five Shops. His decision was confounding. "Mhm. These will do." Shi Feng nodded, not bothering to explain his choices. NPC cities with high player populations weren''t important to Zero Wing. It had already joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce and no longer lacked sales channels in major NPC cities. As long as Zero Wing rose within Secret, it would gain access to even more NPC cities. What Zero Wing currently lacked was access to NPC cities and important NPC towns with small player populations. Moreover, he had chosen the Hundred Flowers Palace''s NPC towns while considering non-bag-space material transportation. Such items would become far more important in the future, including materials used to craft Epic items and war weapons. Fortunately, not a single power in God''s Domain knew about this yet. Naturally, he had to plan ahead. As Shi Feng discussed the transfer of management rights with Crimson Heart, the sounds of a series of system notifications reached their ears. System Announcement: A total of 100 NPC cities in God''s Domain have qualified for promotion. In three hours, various promoted cities'' Auction Houses will activate the Auction Arena System. Once active, players may visit the promoted Auction Houses to learn more. 2051 Struggle for Hegemony Chapter 2051 - Struggle for Hegemony The system announcement drove God''s Domain''s players into an uproar. They all wanted to learn more about this Auction Arena System, and the various major powers promptly launched investigations into the matter. To these players, a new game function meant a new opportunity. The power behind this new function was even more important. It was no exaggeration to say that this event could overturn the current status quo in God''s Domain. Naturally, the various major powers would place great importance on this Auction Arena System. It''s activating already? Shi Feng could not help but frown when he saw the system announcement. He knew that the Auction Arena System''s activation wouldn''t be far off after White River City had been promoted, but he hadn''t expected it this soon. Although the Auction Arena System wouldn''t bring about as much of a change as a system update, its influence was staggering. The system was related to management rights in NPC cities, which would finally give players a substantial level of control in NPC cities and allow them to manipulate the city''s economy. With control of an NPC city''s economy, rival powers would have a far more difficult time spreading their influence throughout the city. Moreover, one could secure an extraordinary amount of income from the Auction House after securing control of it The higher a city''s player population was, the more profits one could earn from the Auction House they controlled. Hence, the Auction Arena''s activation would shake God''s Domain to its very core, signaling a new era. This would also intensify the competition between the various major powers in the game. This competition between the game''s powers would reach new heights. Not only would the dark forces participate in the struggle, but the various adventurer teams would join as well. A power did not need to be a Guild to take control of a city''s Auction House, and the Auction House''s manager didn''t need to protect anything. Even a solo player could manage the Auction House and earn a massive amount of profits. With such a tempting treasure trove before them, who wouldn''t jump at the opportunity? Before today, the various major powers had controlled themselves when competing to protect their foundations from harm, but the Auction Arena would push them to desperation. Some large Guilds, which had been afraid of provoking superpowers, would jump into the competition with these giants without hesitation. The true struggle for dominance in God''s Domain was about to begin! After Shi Feng settled the management rights transfer for the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Shops, he teleported back to White River City using a Return Scroll. He did not bother to waste any more time in Silver Pine City. Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: As Shi Feng stepped out of the magic array, he noticed even more players in White River City than before. Despite the Teleportation Hall''s several new floors, the building was still crowded. The number of merchant and Lifestyle players, in particular, had significantly increased. However, Guild players still made up the majority of White River City''s visitors. Sure enough, they''ve come to investigate, Shi Feng thought to himself as he watched the cloaked players move about the hall. With the help of Omniscient Eyes, he clearly saw the Guild Emblems these players hid under their Black Cloaks. Many of these players were from Guilds outside of Star-Moon Kingdom. There were even some players from superpowers and Dark Guilds in the Teleportation Hall. So far, only 100 NPC cities had been promoted and activated the Auction Arena System. On average, not even every kingdom and empire had an NPC city with an active Auction Arena. Fortunately, White River City was one of the 100 NPC cities, which had attracted many major powers, all of them wanting to learn more about the Auction Arena. Shi Feng walked to one of the Advanced Restaurants in the Teleportation Hall. Melancholic Smile and 30-plus merchant players already waited for him in one of the restaurant''s VIP rooms. "Guild Leader, I''ve brought all of the 2-star Merchant members you requested," Melancholic Smile quietly reported as Shi Feng entered the room. "Good. From now on, I want them to memorize the materials on this list. I also want you to use this Thunder Axe Crystal to teleport them to Thunder Axe City. Have everyone purchase the materials from the NPC merchants there. Buy as much as you can," Shi Feng said as he passed a list of materials and the Thunder Axe Crystal to Melancholic Smile. The Auction Arena''s competition tested more than players'' combat standards. It also tested players'' resources. Players were allowed to use their resources to increase their strength in the competition. Unlocking equipment was a basic example of this. In the Auction Arena, players had limited choices when it came to their equipment. Equipment past Fine-Gold rank would be temporarily frozen at Fine-Gold rank. To remove the seal and improve one''s equipment rank, players had to pay resources. This was why one''s victory hinged on the resources they possessed. A power would only be able to secure control over more NPC cities with enough resources and experts. However, the Auction Arena didn''t accept just any resources; it only accepted Epic materials, which was why the various major powers had such an advantage in the Auction Arena. Normally, one only had a chance of acquiring Epic materials when raiding 50-man Hard Mode Dungeons or greater, but they were guaranteed to drop in 100- and 200-man Team Dungeons. Ordinary large Guilds could easily raid 50-man Team Dungeons, but 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons was more of a challenge. Only their main force would likely succeed. In comparison, the various major powers had multiple teams that could raid 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Superpowers easily surpassed ordinary large Guilds when collecting resources. There was no doubt that Zero Wing''s combat power in the fields was extraordinary, but when it came to raiding 100-man Team Dungeons, it was no match for superpowers. However, Zero Wing wasn''t exactly doomed. After all, there was more than one way to acquire Epic materials. Trading with special NPC merchants was another method, although doing so required a lot of time. Moreover, players had to become 2-star Merchants to trade with these NPCs. Fortunately, these special NPC merchants were common in a super- large-scale neutral city like Thunder Axe City. It was one of the best places to collect Epic materials through trade. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to accumulate Epic materials from Thunder Axe City''s NPCs slowly through his 2-star Smithy. Collecting Epic materials through the Smithy would be far easier than sending merchant players to trade with NPC merchants, but now that the Auction Arena System had activated sooner than he had expected, he had no choice but to use every available method to acquire the necessary resources. Shi Feng also instructed Melancholic Smile to send some of her subordinates to collect Epic materials from the various major cities. Although the various major powers would never sell these items, there was a chance than an expert player was lucky enough to come across some. Settling the matters regarding Thunder Axe City and the Epic material collection, Shi Feng contacted Aqua Rose, instructing her and the others to focus on raiding 100-man Team Dungeons. He then returned to his Special Forging Room in the Candlelight Trading Firm and retrieved the Ancient God''s Secret Key. He hadn''t bothered to use the Ancient God''s Secret Key because he hadn''t spent time raising his combat power past his current limit. If he used the key recklessly, he''d only waste a golden opportunity. Not even God''s Domain''s various superpowers would get many of these chances. However, he had increased his strength as much as possible, and there wasn''t a lot of time left before the Secret Key expired. Shi Feng tapped on the key made of Red Luminaries Stone, and a silver magic array manifested under his feet. Mana surged toward the magic array, and space seemed to freeze due to the influx. After a short moment, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of black light and vanished from the room. 2052 Road After Tier 2 Chapter 2052 - Road After Tier 2 After Shi Feng activated the Ancient God''s Secret Key, he found himself moving through a tunnel of time and space. Various images, visions of God''s Domain''s history, zipped past him. Some images showed the rise of a kingdom, others depicted a war between empires, and some showed heroes as they triumphed. After quite some time, a massive black hole appeared before Shi Feng. Countless arcs of pitch-black electricity snaked in and out of this black hole. Even though Shi Feng was still far from the black hole, he could sense how powerful the arcs of electricity were. He suspected that these black electric arcs would even turn a Tier 5 being to ash in an instant. As Shi Feng fell into the black hole and encounter the black electricity, the magic barrier around his body protected him from harm. In the end, he entered the black hole in one piece. By the time Shi Feng recovered from his daze, he stood inside an ancient, dilapidated palace. System: You have discovered the Ancient God''s Maze. System: While inside the Ancient God''s Maze, communication with the outside world is prohibited. Time flows within the Maze as it does in the real world. You will automatically be transported out of the Ancient God''s Maze in the event of your death. So, this is the trial ground? The system notification didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng; after all, he currently stood in a place the Ancient Gods had left behind. Severed communication and the altered flow of time were normal. He was far more interested in the Maze''s environment. Aside from the tightly shut stone doors, there were no paths leading further into. However, this palace''s Mana density was incredibly high. Even Zero Wing City''s paled in comparison. The environment was a godsend to Shi Feng. Not only could players exhibit greater strength while in a high-Mana environment, but they would also recover their Stamina and Concentration much faster. Players could continue to fight without worrying about running out of the resources. Following which, Shi Feng approached the tightly shut doors. Many divine runes had been carved into the doors, which were made entirely of Black Luminaries Stone. The closer Shi Feng got to the doors, the more pressure he felt from them. He felt that the doors'' aura was no weaker than that of a Tier 5 NPC. System: You have discovered the Ancient God''s Gate. You may choose one of four difficulties - Normal, Hard, Hell, and Asura. No changes will be allowed once you have made your selection. Please choose carefully. There are four difficulties? Shi Feng was stunned when he heard the system notification. He remembered that after using the Ancient God''s Secret Key, one should only have three difficulties to choose from: Normal, Hard, and Hell. The Secret Key''s trial had the same difficulty modes as Dungeons in the outside world. As a result, many players who had challenged the Ancient God''s Secret Key''s trial had taken the difficulty selection too lightly, wasting their golden opportunity. Ordinary experts had no trouble raiding Normal Mode Dungeons; in fact, they usually raided Hard Mode. However, peak experts accepted nothing less than Hell Mode Dungeons. Most peak experts considered weaker Modes an insult to their strength. In the end, however, ordinary experts proved incapable of even clearing the Normal Mode trial. Peak experts had even been rendered powerless when challenging the Hard Mode trial... This was why many players who had obtained an Ancient God''s Secret Key had wasted their opportunities in the past. One would have a high chance of earning an Epic item if they could complete the Normal Mode Trial. Completing the Hard Mode trial could award players several Epic items, with a small chance of obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item. Finally, completing Hell Mode gave players a high chance of acquiring a Fragmented Legendary item. However, Shi Feng had never heard of an Asura Mode. Why wouldn''t it surprise him? This turn of events left Shi Feng unsure of which difficulty he should choose. The Ancient God''s Secret Key''s trial scaled to the challenger''s level. As such, it was far more important for the player to improve their combat and equipment standards, rather than increase their level. Shi Feng had intended to challenge Hell Mode and pray for a Fragmented Legendary item, and he had been relatively confident in succeeding. The discovery of an Asura Mode, however, put him in a bind. The difficulty of the Secret Key''s trial increased substantially with each difficulty mode. Of course, if one succeeded, they''d be handsomely rewarded. He was almost certain of completing Hell Mode, but he''d likely have a hard time if he chose Asura Mode. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Let''s go with Asura Mode! After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng chose Asura Mode. Although he knew he''d have a high chance of earning a Fragmented Legendary item if he cleared Hell Mode, it wasn''t a guaranteed drop. Based on the trial''s setting, however, he should be guaranteed a Fragmented Legendary item if he cleared Asura Mode. Rather than gamble on Hell Mode, he might as well take the risk and challenge Asura Mode. Two Epic items would be of little help to him or Zero Wing. Only Fragmented Legendary items could bring about significant changes. As players reached higher levels and improved their combat standards, Epic items would become more common in God''s Domain. Zero Wing could still rely on its numerous Epic items to contend with superpowers'' peak experts, but as time passed, the low quantity and quality of Zero Wing''s peak experts would begin to show. As luck would have it, nurturing a peak expert took a lot of time, even with players that had ample resources and heaven- defying talent. The only way Zero Wing could keep up with God''s Domain''s rapidly developing world was to rely on Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, Epic items'' help would be limited after reaching Tier 2. Tier 3 had been a massive turning point in God''s Domain in the past Countless powers had risen to prominence or fallen into the pits of hell when the Tier 3 era had begun. Fragmented Legendary items and above would be players'' last hope for a significant power boost after reaching Tier 3. These items could even help experts with lacking combat standards reach Tier 3 and Tier 4. This was why Guilds with Fragmented Legendary items had had more Tier 3 and 4 experts than Guilds that did not Every additional Fragmented Legendary item Zero Wing gained would ensure one more Tier 3 or 4 experts to support it in the future. Since the Asura Mode could guarantee a Fragmented Legendary item, he had no choice but to choose the difficulty. Once Shi Feng made his decision, the Ancient God''s Gate released a golden light. The doors slowly parted to reveal a dark corridor. Sure enough, this trial won''t be that simple. Shi Feng''s expression tensed slightly as he stared down the dark corridor, his instincts screaming that danger awaited him. He could already see multiple skeletons strewn along the corridor''s sides from its entrance. The skeletons all wore excellent equipment, every piece radiating with the glow unique to Epic Equipment. The skeletons'' armor was clearly damaged beyond repair. It was easy to imagine how difficult the Asura Mode trial was. Those unfamiliar with God''s Domain would most likely treat these skeletal corpses as mere decorations. But Shi Feng, who had experienced more than a decade in God''s Domain, knew that wasn''t the case. Rather, they were a warning. Epic items were extraordinary, and they weren''t easy to damage. This held true for both players'' items and NPCs''. Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng summoned the Fire Spirit and instructed it to lead the way. The instant the Fire Spirit stepped through the gate, a furious roar echoed from the corridor''s depths, so loud that Shi Feng had to cover his ears. This roar was particularly familiar to Shi Feng. A Dragon''s roar! 2053 Epic Armor Kit Fragmen Chapter 2053 - Epic Armor Kit Fragment The majestic Dragon''s roar reverberated throughout the entire corridor, so powerful that even the sky seemed to shake. Only after the roar faded away could Shi Feng finally move his body again. However, after the roar ended, both Shi Feng and the Fire Spirit received a debuff called Dragon''s Might, which reduced their reaction speed by 20%, Movement Speed by 30%, and physique by 15%. They also couldn''t receive any buffs from Skills and Spells. So, this is Asura Mode? Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the debuff he and the Fire Spirit had received. The reduction in physique and speed was only secondary. The crucial point was the inability to receive buffs. This meant that even Berserk Skills were useless. Having Berserk Skills sealed was potentially fatal to expert players_especially when surviving out in the fields. Berserk Skills could be used during crucial moments to save one''s life or deal with a problem that could not be dealt with normally. Berserk Skills could even be used to achieve reversals. Without the ability to use Berserk Skills, all these possibilities would be gone. If one came across unexpected danger, they would undoubtedly die. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng immediately used the Bible of Darkness to summon a Level 85, Tier 3 Demon. Although the Demon was also suppressed by Dragon''s Might and its overall combat power was inferior to the Fire Spirit''s, having the Demon was still better than not having it. During crucial moments, he could use it as a meatshield. Following which, Shi Feng had the Tier 3 Tomahawk Demon lead the way, with the Fire Spirit following closely behind it. As for himself, he maintained a 50-yard distance from the Fire Spirit. At this distance, even if the Tomahawk Demon and Fire Spirit got caught in a trap, he would be safe. If they stumbled upon a dangerous situation, he could also run away at a moment''s notice. However, contrary to his expectations, he did not come across any dangerous situations at all, even after walking for more than ten minutes. Let alone a monster, there wasn''t even a simple trap set up in the corridor. He traversed the corridor and arrived at a dark hall relatively easily. The hall was the size of a football stadium, with stone pillars erected on all sides. The divine runes carved onto these stone pillars made the place extraordinarily chilly. Even Shi Feng, with his extremely high Ice Resistance, could not help but shudder. Fortunately, the cold only had a slight impact on his movements; he did not lose any HP. Meanwhile, as soon as the Tomahawk Demon and the Fire Spirit arrived at the center of the hall, the divine runes on the surrounding stone pillars suddenly shone. Both the Demon and the Fire Spirit disintegrated, the Elemental Mana used to make up their bodies reverting to its original form. Afterward, the entire hall lit up brightly as blade-wielding soldiers emerged from the ground one after another. These soldiers were Giants made from various types of Elemental Mana. [Elemental Guard] (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 72 HP 32,000,000/32,000,000 Among these Elemental Giants, one held a staff. Mana belonging to the four major elements gathered passively around this Giant All of the ambient Mana responded to every single action this Giant made as if this Giant was the Elemental Overlord of this entire hall. [Elemental Prayer (Realm Lord)] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 73 HP 65,000,000/65,000,000 As these Elemental Creatures appeared, a translucent pillar made out of Magic Crystal rose from the center of the hall. Sealed inside this translucent pillar was a dazzling, crystalline bottle that radiated a shudder-inducing aura. A Bloodline?! A trace of surprise flashed across Shi Feng''s eyes when he saw the crystal bottle inside the Magic Crystal pillar. Although he had been confident that the Asura Mode trial''s reward would be something excellent, he never imagined that it would be this excellent. At his standard, Epic items no longer posed a temptation. Only top-tier Epic items could move him now. However, a Bloodline was far more valuable than any Epic item. The value of even the most ordinary Bloodline rivaled that of a Fragmented Legendary item. A Bloodline might provide expert players more help than a Fragmented Legendary item. Despite that, the first item he came across in the Asura Mode Ancient God''s Maze was already a Bloodline. How could he not be surprised by this situation? However, Shi Feng calmed himself very quickly. The Bloodline was indeed valuable, but it would mean something only if he actually obtained it. The monsters standing before him were extraordinary. Moreover, since summoned creatures could not be used inside this hall, he would have to rely entirely on himself to deal with these monsters. However, with just a rough glance, he already spotted more than 200 Great Lord ranked Elemental Guards. The Elemental Prayer standing at the center of the hall was even a Realm Lord, an existence whose combat power far surpassed that of monsters of the same rank and level. Against such a force, even a Level 70, 100-man expert team would not be a match. In a situation where Berserk Skills and summoned creatures could not be used, even Shi Feng would have no choice but to turn tail and run when coming across the Elemental Prayer. It wasn''t because his combat power was inadequate. After all, his current weapons and equipment were already beyond extraordinary. He could easily contend against a Grand Lord of the same level. The problem was that the Elemental Prayer had too much HP. Before he could whittle down the Elemental Prayer, the Elemental Prayer would''ve long since killed him. Let''s give it a try. Looking at the Bloodline stored within the central pillar, Shi Feng still decided to attempt the trial. Unlike other trials, the Ancient God''s Secret Key''s trials allowed players to head to other locations to search for treasures, even if they could not pass a particular hurdle. Each location would have varying difficulties. Only if players died would their time in the trial come to an end. However, it would be such a pity to simply abandon the Bloodline and search the other locations. After all, not every location would contain treasures rivaling Fragmented Legendary items. Other locations in this Asura Mode trial might contain only Epic items. Following which, Shi Feng moved to a corner of the hall and started luring the Elemental Guards over, one after another. He planned to clear out the Elemental Guards first before dealing with the Elemental Prayer. If he tried fighting the Elemental Prayer and the Elemental Guards together, he would definitely die a very swift death. Faced with the four-meter-tall Elemental Guards, an ordinary Tier 2 expert would''ve long since run away. However, the Elemental Guards posed no trouble for Shi Feng, as his Strength already rivaled that of Great Lords of the same level. The Elemental Guard that discovered Shi Feng charged at him without hesitation, the greatsword in its hands transforming into numerous phantoms as the blade slashed down on Shi Feng''s head. Tier 3 Skill, Shadow Entanglement! Each phantom carried 120% of the Elemental Guard''s Strength, and all seven phantoms struck down at Shi Feng from different directions. Even a Tier 2 expert would be killed instantly if they were not careful. However, these attacks were nothing before Shi Feng. Crisscrossing the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray, he deflected two of the seven phantom swords toward the other phantom swords, neutralizing the attack in the blink of an eye. Shi Feng received no damage at all. Following which, he stabbed the Elemental Guard''s Elemental Core. -43,574! He dealt a critical hit when striking the core. The Elemental Guard''s HP promptly fell by a visible chunk. Afterward, Shi Feng stabbed the Elemental Core once more with his other sword. As the battle wore on, the Elemental Guard''s HP continuously decreased. Even though the Elemental Guard''s battle recovery was strong, killing the Elemental Guard was only a matter of time. If another Tier 2 expert were here, they would definitely be shocked by the current scene playing out. A Tier 2 player was actually overwhelming a Level 72 Great Lord without using any Skills or Spellsa feat that even peak experts of the same level could not achieve. However, while Shi Feng was indeed capable of killing the Elemental Guard, at the end of the day, it was still a bona fide Great Lord. Even after he started using Skills, he still took close to eight minutes to finish off the Elemental Guard. After the Elemental Guard fell, it dropped several items. When Shi Feng took a look at his experience bar, he frowned involuntarily. He had gone through great pains to kill a Great Lord, yet he was awarded only a pitiful amount of EXP, at the standard of a Lord of the same level. However, when Shi Feng recalled that this was an Ancient God''s trial, he found the situation understandable. Great Lord ranked monsters were relatively rare in the outside world. Now, however, there was a bunch of Great Lords before him. If every one of these Great Lords gave normal amounts of EXP, then his leveling speed would be absurd. Afterward, Shi Feng collected the loot on the ground. Just as he was about to lure another Elemental Guard, he suddenly took note of one of the items he was holding. An Epic Armor Kit Fragment!? 2054 Treasure Trove Chapter 2054 - Treasure Trove Although Shi Feng had already checked that nothing was wrong with the system display and confirmed that the item in his hands was indeed an Epic Armor Kit Fragment, his heart still shook with disbelief. In God''s Domain, most armor kits were categorized into Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced ranks. Above Advanced Armor Kits were the extremely rare Epic Armor Kits. Unlike the usual armor kits, Epic Armor Kits could promote Dark-Gold Equipment to the Epic rank! Most expert players already considered Epic Equipment godly. Since an Epic Armor Kit could transform Dark-Gold Equipment into Epic Equipment, one could easily imagine how valuable an Epic Armor Kit wasespecially when players used it on Dark-Gold Equipment that they had high compatibility with. Of course, the level of Epic Equipment upgraded using the Epic Armor Kit was fixed. If the base equipment was Level 50, then it would only have the Attributes of Level 50 Epic Equipment. The upgraded equipment''s level would not scale with players to a maximum limit. Even so, an Epic Armor Kit was still something countless players fervently sought to obtain. Meanwhile, as long as Shi Feng collected 100 Epic Armor Kit Fragments, he could synthesize one Epic Armor Kit. Normally, Epic Armor Kit Fragments only dropped in Level 60-plus, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons or 200-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Mythic Field Bosses also had a chance of dropping the fragments, but the drop-rate was much lower than in Team Dungeons. Shi Feng never thought that the Elemental Guards would actually drop the fragments as well. His view of the Elemental Guards immediately changed. Now, they were no longer detestable monsters but walking Epic Armor Kits instead. Moreover, the Elemental Guard had dropped Elemental Cores, in addition to the Epic Armor Kit Fragment. An alchemist could use ten cores to synthesize an Elemental Crystal. As an energy source, the Elemental Crystal was superior to the Magic Crystal. When used instead of Magic Crystals in the production of Magic Scrolls, the resulting Magic Scrolls were more powerful. At the same time, an Elemental Crystal could also be used as the core of a magic array. Magic arrays powered by Elemental Crystals were at least 30% more effective. As an example, a defensive magic array that originally could block only ordinary Tier 3 attacks would be capable of blocking peak Tier 3 attacks if powered by Elemental Crystals. Overall, the Elemental Crystal was a strategic resource with a very wide range of uses. On the market, one Elemental Crystal was worth more than 100 Magic Crystals. Now, after killing just one Elemental Guard, Shi Feng had already obtained three Elemental Cores. Following which, he proceeded to kill Elemental Guards with great enthusiasm. Despite having to fight arduously for roughly eight minutes just to kill each Elemental Guard, when he thought about the Great Lord''s loot, the suffering he had to endure was of no consequence whatsoever. Moreover, thanks to the high-Mana environment, Shi Feng did not feel tired at all, even after killing over 40 Elemental Guards in succession. On the contrary, his fighting spirit reached even greater heights than before. This was because killing these 40-plus Elemental Guards had earned him 31 Epic Armor Kit Fragments and 126 Elemental Cores. The various large Guilds would go mad with envy if they learned about this harvest. After all, during his previous life, a 100-man expert team would have to work tirelessly for more than half a day just to obtain two or three Epic Armor Kit Fragments. Meanwhile, he had only grinded for six hours, yet he had already reaped many times more than that. This harvest was simply frightening. However, despite the great harvest, Shi Feng did not continue grinding. Time in the Ancient God''s Maze flowed at the same rate as in the real world. Since he had grinded in the Maze for six hours already, six hours had also passed in the real world. In addition, it had been a long time since he had logged out of God''s Domain. Even if his avatar inside God''s Domain was still in a spirited state, his body in the real world needed a certain degree of activity to remain healthy. Following which, Shi Feng chose to log out of God''s Domain and rest. When he climbed out of his virtual gaming cabin, the sun outside the window had already risen to its highest point. However, the scenery at Ouroboros''s main headquarters was much better than that of the Greenwater Villa. He could see the entire city from his room, unlike before. Meanwhile, ever since Zero Wing gained its new headquarters, its development speed had skyrocketed with the recruitment of a large number of experts with great potential. It now had over 2,000 internal members. Although the newly recruited internal members were not particularly high-leveled, with Zero Wing''s resources in God''s Domain and Ouroboros''s original training system, these members could soon become a part of the Guild''s main fighting force and be used to raid Team Dungeons. In God''s Domain, the best place to obtain a large number of resources and high-ranking equipment was undoubtedly Team Dungeons. This was also the reason why Zero Wing was never able to match up against the various first-rate Guilds and superpowers. Moreover, due to the Guild''s rapid expansion, the Guild was also spending Credits like there was no tomorrow. The Credits the Guild had saved up were gone before anyone realized it. Now, the Guild couldn''t sustain its operations simply by relying on the income from completing tasks commissioned to the Guild and equipment sales. Fortunately, the company Gentle Snow''s family ran provided some financial support. With the additional funding, the Guild was just barely able to get by. Aqua Rose and Melancholic Smile also had plenty of headaches over the lack of funds. Recently, even Liang Jing, who was overseeing some tasks in the headquarters, had started complaining to him about this matter. After Shi Feng had his lunch and Nutrient Fluid, he headed to the physical training room of the building to stretch his body. When he entered the training room, which was roughly half the size of a football field, he came across several hundred Zero Wing members. These Zero Wing members stopped what they were doing and greeted him as soon as they saw him. Some of them even had a reverential look when they did so. As there were too many people present, Shi Feng could only nod and smile in response. However, when he saw more than a dozen people lining up before the physical training machines, he could not help but feel a little ashamed. During his previous life, it had been rare to see five or six people waiting to use the physical training machines Shadow possessed. Now, there were more than a dozen people waiting for their turn. He had to admit that the current Zero Wing was only the shell of a first-rate Guild. If it wished to catch up to the various first-rate Guilds and superpowers, it needed a lot more funds. Insufficient funding would impede the Guild''s development significantly. I need to figure out a way to earn some Credits through God''s Domain, Shi Feng thought to himself as he gazed at the Guild members working out. After all, he couldn''t rely solely on Gentle Snow''s company. Previously, five major companies were necessary to keep Ouroboros functioning. Although the current Zero Wing wasn''t as large as the past Ouroboros, sustaining its operations with just one major company was still impossible. Roughly one hour into Shi Feng''s training, Blackie suddenly rushed into the training room, an anxious expression on his face. "Did something happen?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Something big happened! Representatives of the Blackwater Corporation have come to talk with us!" Blackie said in a panic as he looked at Shi Feng. 2055 Blackwater Visits Chapter 2055 - Blackwater Visits "Blackwater?" Shi Feng couldn''t help his confusion. "Why are they here?" The Blackwater Corporation was a major, international corporation. Aside from super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds, other existences were nothing in the corporation''s eyes. Furthermore, Zero Wing had clashed with Blackwater quite a few times thus far. "Our Guild has been prospering in the Ore Empire recently. Maybe they''re here to warn us away?" Blackie wondered aloud after calming down. "Why don''t we just leave them hanging? Even if they''re a major corporation, they can''t do anything to us on the surface, and moving against us in the shadows won''t be easy as long as we''re prepared for it!" "You''re overthinking things. Blackwater is still a major corporation at the end of the day. They wouldn''t bother with a personal visit to warn us because of our skirmishes in the Ore Empire. They wouldn''t be able to afford the humiliation of such an act," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Forget it. Rather than waste time with random guessing, we might as well hear them out." He still knew a little about how these major corporations operated. If Blackwater really wanted to strike out at Zero Wing in the real world, it wouldn''t have sent representatives. It would''ve made its move behind the scenes. Following which, Blackie led Shi Feng to the top-floor reception room. In the reception room, Liang Jing, who was slightly nervous to receive the Blackwater Corporation''s representatives, visibly relaxed when she saw Shi Feng enter the room. Before she had met Shi Feng, a major, international corporation would''ve been unreachable, yet such a power had sent representatives to visit Zero Wing. Why wouldn''t she be shocked? In contrast, Aqua Rose maintained her calm composure despite sitting, face to face, with Blackwater''s representatives. As a previous Honorary Elder in a first-rate Guild and the princess of her own major corporation, she had experience in these situations. Two representatives from the Blackwater Corporation waited in the room. One was a handsome, middle-aged man wearing casual clothing. Although he wasn''t tall or muscular, he radiated a strange pressure. The other representative, a tall, robust man in a black suit, stood behind the middle-aged man. Based on his appearance, he seemed to be the latter''s bodyguard. Although he didn''t radiate any particular pressure, as if he were just a pedestrian, Shi Feng recognized the bodyguard as extraordinary. He could feel the subtle threat of death from this bodyguard. "Hello. You must be Zero Wing''s Elder Ye Feng. Sure enough, as the rumors have said, you really are quite young. Your future is truly limitless," the middle-aged man said, smiling after observing Shi Feng closely for a moment. "Right, let me introduce myself. I am the Blackwater Corporation''s Jing Yang, currently serving as an Elder in the Blackwater Guild." "Elder Jing Yang, to what does Zero Wing owe this visit? May I know what you wish to discuss?" Shi Feng asked as he eyed Jing Yang, getting straight to the point. He was somewhat familiar with the name, but his knowledge of this man was limited to God''s Domain. Jing Yang''s name was familiar due to his status as a Tier 5 Grand Wizard in the past Although the man hadn''t amassed any eye-catching battle records, a Tier 5 player was still formidable. He had stood at the peak of God''s Domain. Shi Feng had certainly never expected the Blackwater Corporation to send such a big shot to visit Zero Wing. "What a straightforward question," Jing Yang said, laughing. He then nodded and continued, "Since that is the case, I''ll be direct. I''m here in place of the Blackwater Guild''s Xuanwu Chisa. Vice Guild Leader Xuanwu has a very favorable view of Zero Wing, and she knows that Zero Wing is facing some financial difficulty. If Zero Wing is willing to sell us 10 Guardian Puppets, not only will we pay an ample amount of Credits, but we''ll also provide 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. I''m sure you''ll have no issues nurturing more experts quickly with these resources." "Fifty S-rank Nutrient Fluids?" Blackie''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he heard Jing Yang''s offer. He and Shi Feng had seen plenty of Credits before, but S-rank Nutrient Fluid was a different story. Blackie was no longer ignorant regarding training in God''s Domain. After his special training in the Extraordinary Tower and the S-rank Nutrient Fluid Shi Feng occasionally granted him, he understood how valuable the Fluid was. Not only did the S- rank Nutrient Fluid improve his real body''s physique and brain function, but it also helped improve his combat standards in a short time. Unfortunately, S-rank Nutrient Fluid wasn''t something one could buy with money alone. Their swift improvements thus far had been thanks to the S-rank Nutrient Fluids the White Tiger Dojo had sent as payment. If Zero Wing could secure 50 more bottles, combined with the Guilds current reaworld training facilities and the Extraordinary Tower, the Guild wouldn''t need long to nurture another batch of Refinement Realm experts. So, this is what they want Shi Feng finally understood what Blackwater''s aim for this visit. He had to admit that the battle at Moon Creek Town had made the Guardian Puppets famous. Now, even Blackwater wanted to get its hands on the Puppets, but it wasn''t a weapon players could steal. As a result, Blackwater was forced to attempt to purchase it from Zero Wing. Seeing Shi Feng''s silent reaction and Blackie''s surprise, Jing Yang chuckled and said, "Now that the Auction Arena System has activated, the struggle for the various NPC cities has begun. As the only promoted NPC city in Star-Moon Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms, White River City will become a target for the various major powers. You can easily imagine how intense the competition for its Auction House will be. Moreover, we have heard that Starlink now bears immense hatred for Zero Wing due to the battle at Moon Creek Town and has already begun preparations to claim White River City''s Auction House. "If you are willing to sell us 10 Guardian Puppets, Vice Guild Leader Xuanwu will help you secure White River City''s Auction House. What do you think?" Jing Yang''s voice had been very gentle, and temptation laced his words as if he had a thorough grasp of Zero Wing''s weakness. He had even convinced Aqua Rose of this transaction''s worth. Setting aside the 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, The offer to help Zero Wing secure White River City''s Auction House made the transaction worthwhile. The struggles for an NPC city''s Auction House weren''t like combat in the field and siege battles. It was a competition that heavily relied on the number of experts and resources one possessed. Compared to Starlink, Zero Wing severely lacked both aspects. However, if Zero Wing had Xuanwu Chisa''s assistance, one of Blackwater''s Vice Guild Leaders, securing White River City''s Auction House was almost guaranteed. Moreover, Zero Wing desperately needed operating funds. If the Guild received a large income of Credits, its development could skyrocket. When Jing Yang saw the yearning looks on both Aqua Rose and Blackie''s faces, he was not surprised in the least. Blackwater''s conditions were quite generous, offering exactly what Zero Wing currently needed. All they had to do was sign the contract and seal the deal. However, after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng looked at Jing Yang and earnestly replied, "I''m sorry, but we refuse!" 2056 Yousll Regret I Chapter 2056 - You''ll Regret It At Shi Feng''s words, the reception room fell deathly silent. Both Jing Yang and Aqua Rose were stunned and confused as they stared at Shi Feng. "Why?" Jing Yang could not help but ask after taking a deep breath. Blackwater''s conditions were incredibly generous. If Zero Wing accepted the offer, it could grow more powerful than it had ever been. No Guild would consider rejecting such an offer, and this was the perfect opportunity to reconcile with Blackwater. It was always better to have another ally than an extra enemy in God''s Domain. The Guardian Puppet was a very powerful war weapon, first-rate whether protecting a town or attacking it. Other war weapons couldn''t hold a candle to it, but it was only powerful right now. As players reached higher levels and Tier 3, the Guardian Puppet would become obsolete. At most, one could rely on it as a slightly tougher Tier 3 combatant. In his opinion, Shi Feng should be more than willing to agree with Blackwater''s conditions. It should already be an honor for Zero Wing that Blackwater had paid a personal visit. Other first-rate Guilds couldn''t even qualify for the corporation''s attention, yet Zero Wing was unappreciative of Blackwater''s goodwill. "It''s nothing major. The price your Guild has offered is just too low, so we don''t wish to sell," Shi Feng replied in an extremely calm tone. "Low?" Jing Yang was stunned. Softly, he asked, "How much do you want, then?" "In addition to the Credits, I want 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and 10 high-potential Shops in major NPC cities," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. Both Aqua Rose and Blackie turned to their Guild Leader in shock, gaping. One hundred bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid! Not even the White Tiger Dojo could afford such a price. Even a major corporation like Blackwater would feel a sting if it gave away 100 bottles. Furthermore, Shi Feng wanted high-potential Shops as well. Not even 10,000 Gold was enough to purchase such things. Ten Shops would equate more than 100,000 Gold. "Are you insane?" Jing Yang demanded. "Do you know how much money 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and 10 high- potential Shops are worth?" He wondered if Shi Feng was trying to challenge his bottomline. He could accept paying 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, but asking for 10 Shops was a joke. The Guardian Puppet''s value would decrease as players reached higher levels, but major NPC cities'' Shops would not. Their value would only increase as time passed. More players joined God''s Domain each day and owning high-potential Shops guaranteed a stable income. Even leasing these Shops to others would generate substantial profits. To put it simply, the Guardian Puppets'' value couldn''t compare to that of high-potential Shops. Not even four Guardian Puppets were worth a Shop in a major NPC city, let alone a one-on-one trade. "Elder Jing Yang, if you find these conditions unacceptable, you may return to negotiate with your superiors," Shi Feng said, smiling at the enraged man before him. His asking price was far above average, but at this stage of the game, 10 Guardian Puppets were worth it. With 10 units, the Guardian Puppets could exhibit sufficient combat power, and whoever controlled them could effortlessly capture a Guild Town. They would also be a massive help when establishing a Guild Town in a neutral map. If he didn''t need the S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Credits so desperately, he wouldn''t have even considered selling the Guardian Puppets to Blackwater. Constructing 10 Puppets wouldn''t be easy, and the materials were quite rare. "Young man, you shouldn''t be too greedy. Zero Wing will only benefit in the future if it secures Blackwater''s friendship. Forget about the high-potential Shops," Jing Yang said after calming himself down. He then looked at Shi Feng and stated his final price, "Seventy bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, as well as the conditions I mentioned previously." "Take care as you leave! I won''t be able to see you off!" Shi Feng said. "You... Very good! You''ll regret this decision!" Jing Yang nearly spat blood when he heard Shi Feng''s response. He left the room in a huff, not wanting to linger in Zero Wing''s headquarters a moment longer. After Jing Yang left, both Aqua Rose and Liang Jing, who had witnessed the entire conversation from a corner of the room, turned to stare at Shi Feng in befuddlement. They also could not help but admire Shi Feng. That was 70 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid they were talking about! Yet, despite the temptation of Blackwater''s offer or its threats, Shi Feng had remained unfazed. After Jing Yang left Zero Wing''s headquarters, he contacted Xuanwu Chisa and updated her on the negotiations'' outcome. "What an interesting person," Xuanwu Chisa could not help her smile. "Even though Zero Wing''s existence is on the line, he insists on keeping a tight grip on the Guardian Puppets." "In my opinion, Zero Wing is not worthy of your attention, Vice Guild Leader. They have no idea that Starlink isn''t the only Guild targeting them and that many other superpowers have set their sights on White River City. They don''t realize the lifeline we''re offering. They will regret their decision today," Jing Yang said, sneering. In truth, he had visited Zero Wing''s headquarters for two reasons. The first reason was for business. The second was to determine whether Zero Wing qualified to become one of Blackwater''s puppets. However, it would seem that the Guild''s members were simply ignorant fools. "Alright, enough. Return for now. We still have much to do," Xuanwu Chisa said before disconnecting the call. She did not bother to comment further on the matter. Once the negotiations with Blackwater came to an end, Shi Feng received Zero Wing''s latest status report from Aqua Rose and Blackie. The Guild continued to develop rapidly, especially regarding member recruitment. Zero Wing''s elite member count now exceeded 400,000, and more than 4,000 expert members operated in Star-Moon Kingdom. The Guild''s growth was frightening. Shi Feng had to admit that the battles in the Witch''s Hill and near Moon Creek Town had elevated Zero Wing''s fame and reputation. Now, many previously hesitant elite and expert players had finally decided to join Zero wing. In addition, Fire Dance and Zero Wing''s other main force members had finished training in the Extraordinary Tower, splitting up into multiple 100-man teams to raid Level 60 Team Dungeons. Their raid progression had also been impressive. They''d likely obtain the First Clear of Star-Moon Kingdom''s various 100-man Team Dungeons in a few more days. The lack of funds was the only problem now, giving Aqua Rose and Blackie plenty of headaches. In response, Shi Feng agreed to rent Zero Wing City''s Shops for Credits, reducing the Guild''s Coin income. After Shi Feng had assigned tasks, he returned to his room and logged back into God''s Domain. 2057 Improving Swords Transmigration Chapter 2057 - Improving Sword''s Transmigration Level 72 Elemental Guards wandered around the quiet hall supported by numerous stone pillars. They left no space for players to approach the hall''s center. As one approached the central crystal pillar, the Elemental Guards closed ranks. The moment Shi Feng logged back into the game, he returned to clearing out these Elemental Guards. Blackwater''s sudden business proposition and Zero Wing''s rapid development had helped Shi Feng realize that his Guild''s development had reached a bottleneck. Growing further would be painfully difficult with the Guild''s financial predicament. Nowadays, Zero Wing''s fame and territory were growing. The Guild''s member count also continued to rise. Although he had been working to secure Zero Wing''s foundations and had restricted the recruitment conditions further, the Guild had still reached its financial limit. Even an outsider like Blackwater could see this. It was easy to imagine that other Guilds had also noticed Zero Wing''s struggles. Normally, a Guild would attempt to negotiate with companies and corporations for investment once it reached a developmental bottleneck. Shadow had been the same in the past Due to the Guild''s rapid development, the Guild had desperately needed capital. Only after receiving several large companies'' investments did the Guild continue its development, eventually becoming a second-rate Guild. This was the most common option for upstart Guilds, although it also scattered the Guild''s shares, decreasing its cohesion. Of course, there was another method to break past this bottleneck; a Guild could maintain its state or reduce its member count, ultimately slowing its development speed. Normally, Shi Feng might have chosen that option. At worst, it would allow other Guilds to surpass Zero Wing. However, now that the Auction Arena System had activated, the competition between the various major powers had reached a peak. If Zero Wing''s competition surpassed it now, it wouldn''t be surprising if the Guild were removed from God''s Domain entirely. Hence, deliberately stifling Zero Wing''s development would only ensure a slow and imminent death. Since he didn''t wish to share the Guild''s authority or abandon its phenomenal development speed, there was only one option available. He had to earn a large sum of Credits through God''s Domain! Shi Feng hadn''t had the means to do so in the past. God''s Domain''s resources weren''t easy to obtain, and converting them into Credits would be akin to putting the cart before the horse. However, things were different in this life. Once he had entered the Ancient God''s Secret Maze, Shi Feng had realized that acquiring a large number of Credits through the game wasn''t necessarily impossible. The Elemental Cores! Not only could one synthesize Elemental Cores into Elemental Crystals, but they could also trade the cores for Stamina Gemstones from the Sea of Illusion''s 4-star Wandering Merchants. Stamina was imperative to every player. Players'' Stamina largely restricted their activity in the fields. Hence, items that could increase one''s Stamina or Stamina regeneration were immensely valuable in God''s Domain. Players could bind Stamina Gemstones to their equipment to improve their recovery rate. Each gemstone increased Stamina recovery rate by 7%, and the more of these gemstones one equipped, the faster they''d regain their Stamina. Stamina Gemstones were one of the few items in God''s Domain that would never lose their value. No matter what level players reached, they still needed Stamina to move, and recovery took a long time. However, players couldn''t obtain Stamina Gemstones from killing monsters; only 4-star Wandering Merchants sold the items. Moreover, each Wandering Merchant demanded a different price for the gemstones. The Wandering Merchants in the Sea of Illusion, a secret land in God''s Domain, required Elemental Cores for their Stamina Gemstones. Several players had discovered the secret land early and made a fortune from it in the past. They had ventured across God''s Domain, purchasing Elemental Cores, and traded them for Stamina Gemstones in the Sea of Illusion. When the public eventually learned of this secret, the Elemental Cores'' prices had skyrocketed. Now that Shi Feng could collect a large number of Elemental Cores from these Elemental Guards, he could use this opportunity to make a fortune by selling Stamina Gemstones. After all, no one had visited the Sea of Illusion, a Level 100 map, yet. Realizing this, Shi Feng''s enthusiasm to grind the Elemental Guards reached new heights. He also began to use Divine Providence to increase his harvest. Although killing these Elemental Guards was monotonous, Shi Feng considered it a good opportunity to refine his Bronze Combat Technique, Sword''s Transmigration. High-Mana environments were extremely rare in God''s Domain, let alone one with denser Mana than Zero Wing City. He wouldn''t have to worry about his Stamina or Concentration consumption rates while using the Bronze Combat Technique here. As Shi Feng repeated executed Sword''s Transmigration, he became more familiar with the technique. As a result, he could divert and use more of his enemy''s attacks. Initially, he had only been able to take advantage of three enemy attacks at once, but after some practice, he could use four, then five attacks to his advantage. Moreover, the technique''s power increased substantially. The closer he got to the central pillar, the closer the Elemental Guards clustered. If he weren''t careful, he would lure two Guards at a time, significantly increasing the time he needed to kill each. At first, he had spent nearly 30 minutes trying to kill the Elemental Guards that approached him in pairs, with more than 20 of those minutes focused on the first Elemental Guard. However, as he mastered Sword''s Transmigration, he eventually lowered that time to 20 minutes per pair. Finally, after nearly two days of fighting, Shi Feng had eliminated all of the Elemental Guards in the hall. During that time, Shi Feng had slain over 200 Elemental Guards, obtaining 727 Elemental Cores and 213 Epic Armor Kit Fragments. He now had enough to synthesize two complete Epic Armor Kits. Even Shi Feng was stupefied by his harvest He had to admit that the Asura Mode trial was wondrous. He hadn''t even ventured past the Maze''s first hall, and he had yet to face the Guardian Boss, yet he had acquired enough of a bounty to make superpowers envious. After organizing his loot, Shi Feng shifted his gaze toward the five-meter-tall, four-armed Elemental Prayer a short distance away. The Guardian Boss wore white robes and held a staff and a golden longsword. Shi Feng hadn''t been particularly confident of defeating the Elemental Prayer earlier, but after improving his skill with Sword''s Transmigration, he was more than eager to fight the Guardian Boss. As long as he won, he would obtain a Bloodline. Stealthily, Shi Feng approached the Elemental Prayer from behind. Unsheathing his swords and activating Wind Blade, he transformed into a blur as he thrust his blades toward the Realm Lord''s back. 2058 Fighting the Realm Lord Chapter 2058 - Fighting the Realm Lord Although Shi Feng''s Movement Speed was very high, the Elemental Prayer was a Realm Lord. Not only would it have increased combat power within its territory, but it could also suppress enemies. These two effects made the Realm Lord far more powerful than ordinary monsters of the same rank and level. The instant Shi Feng moved within 50 yards of the Elemental Prayer, he felt his body grow heavier. His speed significantly decreased, as well. The gravity around it is so powerful? Shi Feng could not help but frown. Realm Lords had different methods of controlling their territory. Some manipulated physical objects to attack players, while others suppressed players'' Basic Attributes. The most troublesome Realm Lords were those that could control their environment. Realm Lords with environmental control could transform the area around them into a sea of fire or an icy hell. There were also some Realm Lords like the Elemental Prayer that could increase the gravitational force around them. For players, increased gravitational force was far more frightening than Movement Speed reduction. More gravitational pull would slow every movement they made. The Elemental Prayer discovered Shi Feng the moment he entered its domain, and it began to chant a Spell and wave its staff. Suddenly, over 20 wind blades flew at Shi Feng. At the same time, rocky spikes began to emerge from the ground under his feet The Guardian Boss had needed no time at all to complete its double-cast. Shi Feng had no choice but to jump up to dodge the rock spikes. Unfortunately, while he was airborne, he wasn''t able to dodge the wind blades that had arrived a moment later. Without being able to dodge the wind blades, Shi Feng''s only option was to receive the magical attack with his sword. Sword''s Orbit! Boom! Boom! Boom! The instant Shi Feng''s swords collided with the wind blades, he felt as if he had batted away a cannonball. His arm felt slightly numb from the impact of a single collision. Moreover, the numbness lingered for longer periods with each subsequent deflection. With the increased gravitational force slowing his reactions, Shi Feng began to struggle to keep up with the wind blades'' attacks after a few clashes. Seeing so many wind blades left, Shi Feng activated Defensive Blade to block the remainder of the Elemental Prayer''s first round of attacks. So strong! When Shi Feng landed and noticed the Elemental Prayer double-casting again, he could only stare at the Realm Lord for a moment in astonishment. Against so many powerful attacks and the increased gravitational force, even a Level 70 expert would likely die in an instant However, before Shi Feng''s arms could regain feeling, the Elemental Prayer finished chanting its Spells. Like its first round, the Guardian Boss attacked with rock spikes and wind blades. "Break!" This time, Shi Feng didn''t try to dodge the rising rock spikes, using Purgatory Pentaslash to shatter them, instead. He then spun around and dashed toward a nearby stone pillar. With his current Basic Attributes and the battlefield''s gravitational force, dodging all 20-plus wind blades would be impossible. His death would be guaranteed if he tried to take those attacks head-on. Hence, he had to rely on the stone pillars around him to block the wind blades. Using the stone pillars to reduce his blind spots, Shi Feng found it easier to dodge and block the incoming wind blades. In the end, he survived the Elemental Prayer''s second offensive unscathed. Sure enough, these stone pillars are here for a reason. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when, after taking a few hits from the wind blades, he saw that the stone pillar remained intact. If the wind blades, which had peak Tier 3 power, had shattered the stone pillars, this battle was as good as over for him. Although he could rely on the stone pillars to block the Realm Lord''s attacks, approaching the Elemental Prayer was still extraordinarily difficult. After multiple attempts, Shi Feng discovered that the Realm Lord used a greater variety of Spells the closer he got to it. Sometimes, the Elemental Prayer fired a beam of roaring flames. Other times, it called down a column of water from above. Of course, the Guardian Boss still used the occasional rock spikes and wind blades. The Boss''s coordination with the four types of attacks made approaching the Elemental Prayer practically impossible. As expected of a Realm Lord. This Boss could likely even annihilate a 100-man team of the same level. Trying to fight it alone is asking too much. Shi Feng could not help his bitter smile as he watched the Elemental Prayer cast one Spell after another. Magical-class monsters were most afraid enemies getting close. After all, they were vulnerable in close-range combat, but Shi Feng couldn''t even get within 40 yards of the Realm Lord, much less melee range. He felt as if he were surrounded by a party of Tier 3 magical class players as Tier 3 Spells continued to bombard him. He could only rely on the surrounding stone pillars to evade the Spells. If any other peak expert were in his shoes, they''d have likely died a long time ago. Shi Feng had to admit that the Asura Mode Guardian Boss was astounding. Trying to acquire an item that rivaled a Fragmented Legendary item wasn''t going to be easy. Shi Feng retrieved the Ring of Gospel from his bag and spent 7,000 Magic Crystals to activate Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance. Miniature World instantly reduced the gravitational force that affected Shi Feng. At the same time, the Elemental Prayer''s Basic Attributes decreased fell by a significant chunk. Although Miniature World''s suppression didn''t hinder the Realm Lor drastically, it still reduced its Basic Attributes by 20%, which considerably reduced the power of its Spells. Meanwhile, Ring of Brilliance improved Shi Feng''s physique and Basic Attributes by 20%. Now, Shi Feng could intercept the Elemental Prayer''s wind blades with his swords without relying on the stone pillars. Moreover, Shi Feng could exhibit his full strength now that the Elemental Prayer''s Gravity Domain had been weakened. He could dodge the Boss''s attacks with ease and soon reached the Realm Lord. Killing Ray tore through the air, sending a streak of blue light slicing at the Elemental Prayer. Although the Guardian Boss wielded a golden longsword, its melee prowess paled in comparison to its magical power. Shi Feng easily maneuvered his attack past the Elemental Prayer''s defenses and landed a direct, critical hit, dealing over -40,000 damage. "Despicable intruder! Suffer God''s fury!" The Elemental Prayer bellowed after taking the hit The golden longsword in its hand disintegrated, and eight smaller versions appeared around the Realm Lord, each wrapped in golden flames. Under the Elemental Prayer''s control, golden longswords flew toward Shi Feng. Shi Feng hurriedly moved and executed Sword''s Transmigration to block the attacks. The power within these golden longswords was immense. They clearly harbored more Strength than Shi Feng currently possessed. Instead of receiving the attacks head-on, Shi Feng expertly used his movement techniques to evade some of the flaming weapons, while deflecting the rest. By doing so, he managed to fend off the Guardian Boss''s attacks without taking damage. After knocking away the golden swords, Shi Feng used the opportunity to bombard the Elemental Prayer with one Skill after another. Thundering Flash! Thunder Flame Explosion! Flame Burst! Shadow Blade! Damages in exceeding -100,000 began to appear above the Elemental Prayer''s head, with some in the hundreds of thousands. The Guardian Boss''s HP began to fall at a visible rate. Once that round of attacks had ended, the Elemental Prayer continued to manipulate the golden swords, pressing its attack. However, Shi Feng managed to block every incoming strike. Although the Elemental Prayer occasionally cast Spells, Shi Feng could heal himself with the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Life Domain. Overall, although Shi Feng had the advantage, the Elemental Prayer had too much HP. Although its maximum HP had been reduced to 52,000,000, its battle recovery restored 520,000 HP every five seconds. This slowed Shi Feng''s progress in the fight Even after more than five minutes, the Elemental Prayer still had 95% of its HP remaining... Unfortunately, Miniature World only had a 10-minute duration, and without it, Shi Feng wouldn''t be a match for the Realm Lord. Furthermore, Shi Feng had to spend 5,000 Magic Crystals each time he activated the Skill, and he had only brought a little over 20,000 with him. Should I give up? Shi Feng had fought for nearly ten minutes, yet the Elemental Prayer still had 92% of its HP. If he couldn''t increase his DPS, the Guardian Boss would eventually wear him down and kill him. However, when Shi Feng saw the eight golden longswords flying toward him once more, his eyes lit up with inspiration as he considered a way to increase his damage. He simply needed to use the Elemental Prayer''s strength against it. This time, Shi Feng didn''t dodge the eight golden longswords. Instead, he met all of them in battle. Sword''s Transmigration! 2059 Bronze Combat Techniques True Ability Chapter 2059 - Bronze Combat Technique''s True Ability The Elemental Prayer''s attacks were quite cunning. Since the start of the battle, it had used the eight golden longswords to attack Shi Feng from all directions. Moreover, the flaming weapons were far more nimble than the wind blades and could even alter their attack trajectories during their attacks. Even a Shield Warrior or Guardian Knight skilled with the shield would take a direct hit if they weren''t careful. As soon as Shi Feng began to execute Sword''s Transmigration, he deflected five longswords, sending them in different directions. Two of them slammed into two longswords Shi Feng hadn''t deflected, nullifying the attacks. Due to Shi Feng''s limited Strength, he couldn''t fully utilize the remaining three deflected longswords. He wasn''t able to send them toward the Elemental Prayer. Moreover, he wasn''t able to deflect or nullify the last longsword, and it cut through Shi Feng''s right shoulder. -83,167! Sure enough, I''m really pushing my limits. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his HP. Just one of these golden longswords could deal enough damage to kill a Level 60 magical class player; even a Level 60 MT would likely be in danger. Fortunately, Shi Feng''s Defense far surpassed that of a Level 60 MT. Amassing 80,000 HP alone was difficult for current players, but Shi Feng had already reached Level 70, had a Bloodline, and possessed multiple Fragmented Legendary items. Including the Ring of Brilliance''s effects, he had as much as 260,000 HP. He was even sturdier than a Level 70, Tier 2 MT. This was what made monsters fearsome. Despite the fact that their combat standards were no match for players'', their extraordinarily high HPs rendered players helpless. Unless players'' combat power far surpassed the monsters they fought, they''d have no choice but to flee. HP was one of the weaknesses solo players faced. Even if a solo player were stronger than a Boss, they''d never defeat the monster unless they had the help of certain tools. However, after blocking the latest attacks, Shi Feng finally saw a ray of hope. There was no doubt that his Strength was no match for the golden longswords, so his ability to deflect and direct the weapons was limited. However, sending the flaming weapons toward the Elemental Prayer wasn''t impossible. Only, his grasp of positioning and timing had to be perfect. This was also the first time he had to deflect five attacks with so much Strength, so he severely lacked the proper experience. After taking a brief moment to consider his next move, Shi Feng began to attack the Realm Lord again. Like before, the eight golden longswords flew toward him from multiple directions. This time, however, Shi Feng immediately activated Void Shield, the translucent barrier enveloping his body. Sword''s Transmigration! Boom! Boom! Two golden longswords struck the Void Shield, and the five blades Shi Feng deflected landed near the Elemental Prayer''s feet, missing the Boss by a few inches. Did I attack too soon? Seeing the flaming longswords land at the Elemental Prayer''s feet, Shi Feng knew he had been too hasty, resulting in an undesirable outcome. He needed to make some minor adjustments. Despite seeing the Elemental Prayer launch another round of attacks, Shi Feng deliberately maintained his speed. Boom! Three golden longswords flew into the Void Shield simultaneously. Fortunately, Shi Feng had sent one of the five longswords he had deflected into the Elemental Prayer''s foot. A damage of over -300,000 appeared above the Realm Lord''s head, far exceeding what Shi Feng''s normal Skills were capable of. This excited Shi Feng. The outcome was almost as he had imagined. The system calculated the damage monsters dealt to each other differently than the damage they dealt to players. Although the flaming weapon had lost a fraction of its power after Shi Feng had deflected it, it still dealt far more damage than what he could manage. Now, Shi Feng, more or less, understood why the various superpowers in the past had kept such a tight lid on their Bronze Combat Techniques. Mastering a Bronze Combat Technique like Sword''s Transmigration was far more powerful than obtaining a Curse or Taboo Skill. Even without external tools, players would have the potential to solo high-ranked Bosses with such a technique. The successful experience gave Shi Feng a far better grasp of his timing. Following which, Shi Feng returned another dozen attacks to the Elemental Prayer. Moreover, his deflections became more accurate with each successful attempt. Initially, he had only been able to hit the Guardian Boss with one of the golden longswords, but eventually, he returned two flaming weapons, doubling his DPS and devouring the Realm Lord''s HP. 95%... 85%... 80%... Although he wasn''t able to return the other three golden longswords he deflected, as he became more familiar with the process, he was able to nullify the remaining attacks. He no longer allowed any of the golden longswords to hit him. Time quickly passed. When the Elemental Prayer''s HP fell to 30%, the Realm Lord went berserk and called down lighting to strike around it. This forced Shi Feng to activate Absolute Domain to survive. "Foolish mortal! Burn to ash!" The Elemental Prayer''s eyes lit with a scorching glow as it glared down at Shi Feng. Suddenly, the surrounding Mana began to surge toward the Guardian Boss, and the Mana storm that ensued prevented Shi Feng from approaching. The Elemental Prayer then raised its staff, manifesting a threefold magic array above its head that covered a 100-yard radius. Raging Thunder! Suddenly, arcs of golden electricity shot up from the ground. A large-scale destruction Spell? Surprised, Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Fantasy Domain, which made him immune to all magic damage. Magical-class Bosses generally possessed a few large-scale destruction Spells, but they didn''t normally cast the Spells when players were within melee range since such Spells didn''t differentiate between friend and foe. It was very easy to get caught within one''s own Spell if cast at close range. This was also why Shi Feng hadn''t bothered to use any of his own large-scale destruction Spells. Yet, the Elemental Prayer before him cast its Spell without hesitation. The Guardian Boss intended to perish along with its enemy... After Shi Feng activated Fantasy Domain, a sea of electricity enveloped everything within a 100-yard radius, with the Elemental Prayer in its center. Even the Guardian Boss suffered damage, his HP continuing to decrease. The golden arcs only began to dissipate after six seconds, having destroyed a significant portion of the hall. After its large-scale destruction Spell, the Realm Lord had only lost 5% of its HP. What a powerful Spell. Was that a Tier 3 Curse? Shi Feng stared at the rising smoke on the Elemental Prayer''s body in astonishment. If not for his Magic Immunity Skill, that attack would''ve killed Shi Feng. He barely had any Lightning Resistance, and his Magic Resistance alone wouldn''t have been enough. Clearly, the Elemental Prayer didn''t have that problem. As an Elemental Creature, its Magic Resistance was immensely high. Even after taking damage from its own Tier 3 Curse, it had only lost 5% of its HP, roughly 3,000,000 in total. If it were any other Boss, it would''ve lost at least 6,000,000 HP. However, it was clear that the Elemental Prayer was slightly weaker after casting the Tier 3 Curse. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Feng fervently hacked and slashed at the Realm Lord. Fortunately, the eight golden longswords no longer had more Strength than Shi Feng, and as a result, he easily deflected the flaming weapons back at the Guardian Boss, taking more HP from it than before. When the Elemental Prayer''s HP fell to 1%, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and finished it off with Instant Strike. With a short cry, the Elemental Prayer collapsed, transforming into countless particles of light. 2060 Elemental Prayers Loo Chapter 2060 - Elemental Prayer''s Loot The Mana density within the Hall rose sharply after the Elemental Prayer''s death. It went berserk as it gathered around the Realm Lord''s dissipating corpse, gathering the particles of light into a dazzling ball. Slowly, the ball of light rose into the air, growing larger as it absorbed more Mana. The light illuminated the hall as if a miniature sun had risen. After several seconds, the gigantic light ball burst, and two dazzling streams of light flowed toward the ground. Two items? Shi Feng watched the two beams shine before him in utter astonishment. According to his understanding, every Guardian Boss players killed in the Ancient God''s Secret Key''s trial only yielded one item, but that item would undoubtedly be top-tier quality. However, the Elemental Prayer had dropped two items, the equivalent of killing two Guardian Bosses. Shi Feng had definitely hit the jackpot. When Shi Feng stepped forward and touched the two beams of light, the light faded and revealed two translucent globes, each containing one item. When these two items revealed themselves, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have slain the Elemental Prayer within 30 minutes. You may choose one of the two items before you as your reward. She Feng was speechless. He had hoped that Divine Providence had doubled his loot, but in the end, he''d still walk away with a single item. This choice was simply a result of killing the Elemental Prayer within half an hour... However, after giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng found the situation reasonable. All of the items these Guardian Bosses dropped were the best of the best. Being able to double one''s loot with higher Luck would be absurd. Let''s have a look at these two, then. After containing his excitement, Shi Feng tapped on the two items and inspected their Attribute Panels. After a brief look, Shi Feng''s heart began to pound with elation once more. Although he knew that these items would be top-tier, he couldn''t help his gasp after inspecting them. Both items were amazing; not even a Mythic Field Boss''s loot could compare to either item''s value. One of the two items was an emerald bead named Elemental Protector. It was a bona fide Epic item that could summon four Elemental Beasts of the same tier as the user and five levels higher at no cost. Each of these four Elemental Beasts could use Skills and Spells that correlated with their element: earth, water, wind, and fire. However, this item could only summon up to Tier 4 Elemental Beasts, and it had a 12-hour duration and a 2-naturaday Cooldown. As long as a player reached Tier 4, they could use the Elemental Protector to summon four Tier 4 beasts to fight alongside them. It was an astounding ability. Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were even rarer than Epic items in God''s Domain, and Shi Feng had only heard of Tier 4 Summoning Scrolls, never actually seen one. Regardless of the era, a Tier 4 summoned creature would be an immensely powerful ally, even after ten years in God''s Domain. Tier 4 and above combatants were extremely rare; first-rate Guilds would be incredibly lucky if they had a single Tier 5 player. Any first-rate Guild with a Tier 6 God-ranked expert would be considered a top-ranked Guild, no matter how weak the rest of its members were. Without a doubt, the Elemental Protector was one of the best Epic items available in the game. It would easily fetch an astronomical price regardless of when it sold. The other time the Elemental Prayer had dropped was called the Twilight Blade. It was the same weapon the Realm Lord had used against Shi Feng, and although it wasn''t a Famed Sword, it was a Replica of the Legendary Weapon, Afterglow. Every Legendary Weapon had once been famous throughout God''s Domain. Some had even been treated as kingdoms'' heirlooms. Even a Legendary Weapon Replica was far beyond any Epic Weapon. Most Replicas were the crafter''s failed copies when trying to produce the real deal. Some Replicas had even been crafted with the same materials as the true Legendary Weapon, and some included even better materials. Meanwhile, the Twilight Blade before him was somewhat special. It was actually a prototype of Afterglow. However, the crafter hadn''t used high enough quality materials in its creation, so it hadn''t become a Legendary Weapon; this Replica hadn''t been a result of a flawed production process. [Twilight Blade (Replica)] (One-handed Sword, Epic Rank) Level 60 - Level 120 Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,000 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +2,360 (Level 60) Strength +205, Agility +130, Endurance +157 Attack Speed +18 Ignore 40% of the target''s Defense. When equipped: Strength increased by 25%; Agility increased by 10%; All Sword Skills+1 Levels; Ignore Levels +15; All Skill Completion Rate increased by 2%. Attacks have a 40% chance to trigger the Floating Light effect, splitting the weapon into three copies. The two duplicates cannot be blocked and deal 100% damage. Additional Passive SkiH- Twilight Glow: Twilight Power will corrode any targets the Twilight Blade strikes, decreasing their reaction speed by 15%. Additional Active Skill 1- Twilight''s Shadow: Transforms the Twilight Blade into eight copies, each carrying 80% of the original''s Strength. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 3 hours Additional Active Skill 2- Twilight of the Gods: Transform a radius of 100 yards into a Twilight Domain. While within the Twilight Domain, user''s Basic Attributes decrease by 25% and is split into eight physical doppelgangers. If the doppelgangers wield the blades Twilight Shadow summons, they will have 85% of the user''s Basic Attributes. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 6 hours The Famed Smith, Flock Bayer created this sword as a prototype for Afterglow. It is a masterpiece that was formed by combining all of Flock Bayer''s forging techniques. In Shi Feng''s opinion, if not for Afterglow''s existence, the Twilight Blade would have been one of God''s Domain''s 36 Famed Swords. It could almost rival the Sacred Sword, Killing Ray. If he only compared the weapons Attack Power and Strength, it was even more powerful than Killing Ray. Killing Ray had been crafted with a fragment from one of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Legendary Weapons, yet the Twilight Blade could rival its power. Although the Elemental Protector allowed players to summon Elemental Beasts, boosting their combat power, the Twilight Blade was a top-tier Epic Weapon with amazing Additional Skills. If one combined the Twilight Blade''s two Active Skills, their combat power would skyrocket for a short time. God''s Domain''s experts would go crazy for either of these items. "Let''s go with you." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng chose the Twilight Blade. The Elemental Protector might be the better choice from a Guild''s perspective, but it would only be useful if the Guild had a Tier 4 player. Tier 4 was still a long time away for Shi Feng and Zero Wing. Moreover, he had the Bible of Darkness, which was even more powerful than the Elemental Protector. On the other hand, the Twilight Blade could increase his combat power now. His Abyssal Blade''s level was too low at the moment; its evolution speed couldn''t keep up with his leveling speed. If he wanted to explore more of the Ancient God''s Maze and acquire its treasures, he had to prioritize his own combat power. Following which, Shi Feng replaced the Abyssal Blade with the Twilight Blade. Although most players would struggle to fulfill the 2,000-Strength equipment requirement, it wasn''t a problem for Shi Feng. Once he equipped the Twilight Blade, Shi Feng felt his overall strength increase substantially. His Attack Power, in particular, rose by a whopping 15%. Shi Feng then shifted his focus to the crystalline pillar in the center of the hall. After all, it was the most valuable item in the area. 2061 Advanced Bloodline Chapter 2061 - Advanced Bloodline A magic array surrounded the crystal pillar in the center of the hall, preventing players from approaching. Although the seal seemed quite simple, not even a Tier 4 being could force their way through it. When Shi Feng stepped up to the barrier and lightly tapped it, a system window opened before him, introducing the magic array. Truly amazing. If I hadn''t already grasped the technique to decipher Advanced Magic Arrays, I wouldn''t have been able to do anything but stare at this barrier. Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise after gaining a general understanding of the array. There were two types of magic arrays that protected system-generated treasure in God''s Domain. The first type disappeared once the Guardian Boss protecting the treasure died. The second type required players to unravel the magic array through their own abilities. This type didn''t care for players'' combat power, but their ability to understand magic arrays. The first type was the easiest to remove, but as players leveled up, they''d begin to encounter more of the second type. Hence, it had been very important for players to take on the Magician subclass and develop it during Shi Feng''s previous life. Many expert players had to study magic arrays seriously even though they hated learning about them, especially magical class players. Due to how common the second type of magic arrays had become at later levels, God''s Domain''s various Guilds had also turned more focus to the Magician subclass. During the game''s later stages, a Master Magician''s status wasn''t any lower than that of a Master Forger or Master Alchemist. Meanwhile, to remove the magic array protecting the crystal pillar before Shi Feng, one had to be a master at deciphering Advanced Magic Arrays at the very least Normally, players only encountered Basic ranked sealing magic arrays after Level 70. It was very rare to find an Intermediate Magic Array protecting items of this level, yet the array before him required an Advanced Magician to untangle. Although the various superpowers had tasked many of their players to learn about magic arrays, there were very few Intermediate Magicians at this stage of the game, much less Advanced Magicians. Once Shi Feng had inspected the array, he began to dismantle it Dismantling a magic array wasn''t particularly difficult, although that didn''t mean it was easy, either. As long as a player knew how to draw the sealing magic array in question, it could be undone. Looking at the array, Shi Feng was relieved that he had already become an Advanced Magician. Otherwise, he could only watch as a Bloodline slipped through his fingers. Finally, after studying for five hours, Shi Feng finally learned how to draw the sealing magic array. The barrier around the crystalline pillar began to shatter, and shortly after, it fell away entirely, revealing the pillar before Shi Feng. The crystal pillar was translucent, and the Bloodline within it shone with a dazzling light Due to the magic barrier around the pillar, Shi Feng hadn''t felt anything particular from the Bloodline, but now that he had removed the magic array, he could feel an intense pressure, the difference between his Life Rating and the Bloodline''s, press down on him. Although he only stared at the Bloodline, he felt as if he were being suppressed. Is it an Advanced Bloodline?! Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he felt the pressure. Bloodlines fell into three categories: Basic, Advanced, and Peak. The Dark Iron Bloodline he had obtained from the Divine Shrine was a Basic Bloodline. However, since the Dark Iron Bloodline was extremely compatible with the Swordsman class, it was considered a top-ranked Basic Bloodline, yet despite that, he still felt an immense pressure from the Bloodline within the crystal pillar. The only explanation was that his Life Rating was inferior to this Bloodline. Hence, Shi Feng guessed that it was an Advanced Bloodline. Although he very much wished that it was a Peak Bloodline, Peak Bloodlines were as rare and valuable as Legendary items. The chances of finding one in the Ancient God''s Maze were abysmally low, even for Asura Mode. On the other hand, the chances of finding an Advanced Bloodline were relatively high. Even so, Shi Feng was stunned. Any Advanced Bloodline could make reaching higher tiers far easier for players. With a little talent and effort, reaching Tier 5 wouldn''t be a problem. An Advanced Bloodline would even help players when challenging their Tier 6 promotion, which was why God''s Domain''s various major powers had gone mad over Bloodlines in the past. Without hesitation, Shi Feng strode up to the crystalline pillar and removed the crystal bottle. He then inspected the bottle''s Attribute Panel. [Elemental Bloodline] After obtaining this bloodline, a player will become one of the elements'' favored children, gaining increased compatibility with all Spells. Mainly improves Intelligence and Vitality, followed by Agility, Endurance, and Strength. It really is an Advanced Bloodline! After inspecting the Elemental Bloodline, Shi Feng was ecstatic. Although the Elemental Bloodline''s Attribute Panel did not indicate the Bloodline''s rank, Basic Bloodlines only focused on one Attribute, while Advanced Bloodlines increased two. Since the Elemental Bloodline concentrated on two Attributes, it had to be an Advanced Bloodline. Moreover, the ability it provided was incredibly powerful, increasing a player''s compatibility with all Spells. It was, at the very least, far more powerful than any of the Advanced Bloodlines Shi Feng had seen in the Divine Shrine. If a magical class player used this Bloodline, their overall prowess would increase. This was certainly a top-tier Advanced Bloodline, even more valuable than top-tier Fragmented Legendary items. Shi Feng carefully stored the Elemental Bloodline before he continued to explore the Ancient God''s Maze. The maze was excruciatingly complex, and each time he entered a new hall, he had to face another group of Elemental monsters. Moreover, these monsters'' Levels were a notch above the first group he had faced, all Level 75 or higher. However, after equipping the Twilight Blade, Shi Feng''s combat power had risen significantly, and as a result, he was able to kill these stronger monsters faster than he had the first hall''s Elemental Guards. Unfortunately, Shi Feng only dared to watch the Guardian Bosses in these halls from afar. The easiest Guardian Boss he encountered was a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, and some halls were even guarded by Mythic monsters. Without the ability to rely on summoned creatures, he''d only find an early grave if he tried to face these Guardian Bosses. However, Shi Feng didn''t let any of the Elemental monsters off the hook, even if he couldn''t do anything about the Guardian Bosses. These monsters were walking Epic Armor Kit Fragments and Elemental Cores. Encountering an opportunity like this in the future wouldn''t be easy. As such, Shi Feng grinded in the Ancient God''s Maze for 12 full days, wiping out every Elemental Creature, that was not a Guardian Boss, he came across. After exploring the Ancient God''s Maze for so long, Shi Feng eventually discovered a unique hall. This one was far better decorated than its neighbors. Rather than stone pillars, this hall''s pillars were made of Mana Stone. However, due to the hall''s poor lighting, Shi Feng could only see 60 yards around him. The moment Shi Feng set foot on the floor of Magic Crystal, he struggled to breathe. A deafening roar then assaulted his ears, and the entire hall trembled violently at the sound. The roar faded, and before Shi Feng could regain his composure, a bright light illuminated the area. In the hall that could fit hundreds of thousands of people, a 60-meter-tall Bronze Dragon loomed before Shi Feng. The Bronze Dragon''s incredible aura was so powerful that it warped space around it, and when bathed in this aura, Shi Feng couldn''t even move an inch... 2062 Bronze Dragon King Chapter 2062 - Bronze Dragon King A Dragon!? Shi Feng stared at the titanic figure before him in disbelief. Even though he stood several hundred yards away from the Dragon, its aura felt as if he stood before a towering mountain. The pressure he felt from the Dragon was absolutely stifling. Its aura was so powerful that he couldn''t even move; he could only stand there quietly, staring at the being. Powerful! Destruction! Death! These words ran through Shi Feng''s mind as the Dragon''s aura washed over him. [Bronze Dragon King] (Dragon, Tier 5) Level??? HP??????/?????? Shi Feng had no doubt that the slightest exhale from this Bronze Dragon could turn him to dust. Even a Tier 5 existence would be powerless before this Bronze Dragon King. A Dragon''s Life Rating was extremely high, and once it reached adulthood, it would automatically advance to Tier 5. The weakest Tier 5 Dragon was an apex existence among other Tier 5 beings, and even during the Gods'' era, the Dragon race had been one of the most powerful. Even Gods and Demons were afraid of Dragons. Meanwhile, among Dragons, there were Dragon Kings. Dragon Kings'' Bloodline was beyond the reach of ordinary Dragons. At Tier 5, they could even contend with Tier 6 Gods. If a Tier 5 human NPC encountered a Tier 5 Dragon King, they''d have no hope of surviving. If they were wise, Tier 6 God- ranked players would take the long way around a Tier 5 Dragon King. Trying to fight such a being head-on would be the epitome of foolishness. Fortunately, this Bronze Dragon King was sealed within a magic array. Otherwise, Shi Feng wouldn''t have even had time to run. With a wave of his claw, the Bronze Dragon King could send Shi Feng on a free trip back to White River City. This is the final test? After seeing the raging Bronze Dragon King behind the magic barrier, Shi Feng shifted his attention to his surroundings. The hall contained a second magic array, and within it sat a resplendent box. Most players might not think much of this box, but Shi Feng, who was unusually familiar with God''s Domain, realized that this box had been made with Seven Luminaries Crystal. Seven Luminaries Crystal was incomparably valuable to both players and NPCs. It was one of the reasons that so many major corporations invested in God''s Domain. Nothing else in the hall grabbed Shi Feng''s attention. Unlike the previous halls, this one only contained a Guardian Boss. There weren''t any mobs for Shi Feng to kill. Although Shi Feng wanted to approach and inspect the Bronze Dragon King, his powerful aura prevented the Swordsman from moving. After raging for another ten seconds or so, the Bronze Dragon King eventually calmed down. The ferocity of its aura also began to lessen, and Shi Feng regained control of his body. But as soon as Shi Feng began to relax, the imprisoned Dragon spoke. "Little human! The fact that you have reached this place proves that you have some ability. According to the rules those despicable Gods and Demons had set, I will give you three options," the Bronze Dragon King said, watching Shi Feng. "Your first option is to accept my trial. If you pass, you''ll receive the treasure those Gods and Demons left behind. Taking the Gods and Demons'' oath is your second option. You can also acquire the treasure this way. Your third option involves signing a contract with me. Although you won''t get the treasure, you will receive my blessing. My blessing will grant you strength beyond human limits. Make your decision." Although the Bronze Dragon King spoke in the Dragon language, which Shi Feng knew nothing about, he was actually able to understand the Dragon King''s intentions. There are choices? The situation surprised Shi Feng a little. He had never imagined that the final hall in the Ancient God''s Maze would offer him choices. He had never heard of such a thing. According to his knowledge regarding the Secret Key''s trial, players weren''t given any choices. If players wanted any of the trial''s treasures, they had to defeat the Guardian Bosses, yet he now had three options to consider. The first option was undoubtedly the standard procedure. If players were confident of their strength, the first option would be the best. The second option allowed players to obtain the treasure without risking themselves overmuch. Many players would likely choose this option without a second thought. This was the final hall in the Ancient God''s Maze, after all. The treasure in this room would be extraordinary, but Shi Feng understood one thing; there were no free lunches in this world. Current players might know nothing about Gods and Demons'' oaths, but he did. During his previous life, these oaths had earned the nickname ''Divine Contracts,'' and every one of them was a two-way deal. By signing a Divine Contract, players would have to abide by the conditions the Gods and Demons had set. If they failed to do so, they''d suffer a miserable fate. Many in the past had eagerly signed Divine Contracts and failed to meet the stipulated conditions, and in the end, they had suffered such severe penalties that they had been forced to delete their accounts. Hence, while the second option the Bronze Dragon King had stated sounded good, the risk was considerable. The third option wasn''t much different than the second, although this contract would be between the player and the Bronze Dragon King. There was no real difference between signing the Bronze Dragon King''s contract and signing one with Gods and Demons. Although the third option wouldn''t award the final hall''s treasure, a Dragon King''s blessing was just as extraordinary. Any blessing held great significance to players, especially the Bronze Dragon King''s. Its effects were likely even stronger than that of a Bloodline. Blessings were so valuable in God''s Domain because of how few were granted. Only incomparably powerful existences could bless others, and those that received a blessing would acquire great power. However, this power had its price. The blessing''s giver would have to segment a fraction of their strength, granting it to their target. In other words, the blessing giver would lose strength to empower others. Hence, even Tier 6 Gods were incredibly careful when offering a blessing. They never gave one on a whim. "May I know what the oath''s conditions are?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought. "This I cannot answer. You may only learn more about the oath after taking it. This is a condition those Gods and Demons set for me so long ago," the Bronze Dragon King explained indifferently. "Human, I do not have much patience. You only have ten minutes to consider." Can''t tell me, huh? Shi Feng realized what was happening after listening to the Bronze Dragon King''s words. Since players could obtain the treasure by taking the oath, it''s conditions were undoubtedly quite strict. However, whether or not a player could accept these conditions remained unknown. By denying players the oath''s details, players couldn''t determine the conditions'' severity. This also ensured some sense of fairness to the Bronze Dragon King''s situation. If players knew the oath''s conditions, they wouldn''t bother with the Dragon''s blessing. "Human, what is your choice?" the Bronze Dragon King demanded in a deep tone after ten minutes had passed. After taking in a deep breath, Shi Feng replied, "The first option!" Whether it was the Gods and Demons'' oath or the Bronze Dragon King''s contract, the risk was too great. On the off chance that he couldn''t fulfill the conditions, he would have to delete his account and start all over again. He didn''t dare take such a gamble. "What? The first option?" Shi Feng''s decision stunned the Bronze Dragon King. "Are you sure that is your choice?" 2063 Suppressed Swordsmanship Chapter 2063 - Suppressed Swordsmanship Confusion flashed in the Bronze Dragon King''s eyes as he watched Shi Feng. He was so surprised by this Swordsman''s answer that he couldn''t help but ask for confirmation. "Yes. I choose to accept your trial, Dragon King," Shi Feng said, nodding. "You really are a strange human. Ever since this maze was built, thousands of adventurers have visited, but none have accepted my trial because they already knew what outcome awaited them. Do not think my trial is so easy to complete!" the Bronze Dragon King growled. "But since you have decided, according to the rules the Gods and Demons have set, if you can survive against me for three days, you will pass my trial. Let''s begin!" The Bronze Dragon King began to chant an incantation, and abruptly, he began to disintegrate into countless particles of light, passing through the magic barrier the Gods and Demons had set up. After passing through the barrier, these particles of light gathered to form a humanoid shape before Shi Feng. After a short moment, a soldierly, middle-aged man in a suit of bronze stood within the hall. Unlike ordinary people, golden, divine runes marked this man''s face and body, as if they were a seal. Death and destruction filled his amber eyes, which didn''t contain a shred of humanity. Humanization?! Shi Feng stared at the soldierly man in astonishment. Extremely few beings were capable of humanization in God''s Domain. Rather, only legendary monsters were capable of the feat. Not only was humanization a sign of peerless strength, but it was also proof of a monster''s frightening intellect. To current players, a monster''s intellect, at most, equated higher combat standards, making these monsters more difficult to defeat than normal monsters. However, as players progressed through the game, they would discover that monsters with high intellect were absolute nightmares. Humanized monsters had, in the past, turned many kingdoms and empires upside down. One kingdom had even perished during a humanized monster''s attack. That monster had merely been a Tier 4 Mythic ranked creature, and by that time, many experts had already reached the same Tier. However, even after the various superpowers had combined their strength, the humanized monster had annihilated their forces. Since no one was capable of stopping the monster''s rampage, the kingdom had been obliterated in the end. The humanized monsters that had been defeated had only lost because they had been Tier 3 beings. Even so, defeating these monsters had required a large group of Tier 4 experts and a collection of powerful tools. This was when players had realized the horror of high-intellect monsters in the past. The humanized monsters'' superhuman-like combat standards had even surpassed that of Domain Realm experts. In fact, the two weren''t even on the same level. "Human, according to the Gods and Demons'' rules, I will not use my full power against you. Moreover, you have 300 chances to succeed. You simply need to survive against me for three days," the Bronze Dragon King said as he smiled at Shi Feng. "If you don''t have any more questions, let the slaughter begin!" Shi Feng''s expression darkened as an unprecedented chill wrapped around him. Almost instinctively, Shi Feng activated Void Shield, and his mind went on maximum alert. Although he had known that this trial wouldn''t be easy, he hadn''t expected it to be this difficult. Players that hadn''t experienced this situation might assume that the conditions for the Bronze Dragon King''s trial were quite simple. They only had to survive against a Level 70, Tier 3 monster for three days, and they were given 300 lives to do so. Even an ordinary expert could clear this trial with easy, much less a peak expert. However, Shi Feng recognized this for what it was. This was a one-sided slaughter. By the same time as Shi Feng''s Void Shield took effect, the Bronze Dragon King, which had been 30 yards away a moment ago, stood before him. Before Shi Feng realized it, a Dragonscale Greatsword had already stabbed through the Void Shield. What amazing footwork! Shi Feng stared at the longsword in shock. He had focused all of his attention on the Bronze Dragon King, his five senses never deviating from his opponent, yet the Dragon King had evaded his detection and arrived before him like a ghost It was as if the Dragon King had used an Instantaneous Movement Skill, but Shi Feng knew that he hadn''t relied on some low-class Skill or Spell. Rather, the Dragon King had executed a footwork technique, which had no Cooldown and could be used as the Dragon King desired, that exceeded common sense... Meanwhile, with that one attack, the Bronze Dragon King had instantly dealt over -400,000 damage to the Void Shield. In other words, this opponent could destroy Shi Feng''s Void Shield in seven hits. Seeing this, Shi Feng didn''t dare to hold anything back. He immediately leaped backward and used Shadow Blade. Under Shi Feng''s control, ten sword lights struck at the Bronze Dragon King, aimed to seal the Dragon King''s movements and allow Shi Feng to increase the distance between them. Although the Bronze Dragon King was only a Level 70 Great Lord, its Basic Attributes easily surpassed that of a Grand Lord of the same level. There was no doubt that this Dragon King''s Attributes were much higher than Shi Feng''s. He had no chance in a head-on clash. Hence, he could only try to put as much distance between them as possible and buy as much time as he could. "A good attack. Despite being a mortal, you''ve actually reached such a standard," the Bronze Dragon King leisurely praised Shi Feng as he examined the Swordsman''s incoming attacks. Just before the ten sword lights found their mark, the Dragon King swung his greatsword, shattering the sword lights before they could come within 20 centimeters. The Bronze Dragon King''s swing created a mesmerizing arc of light, which even captivated Shi Feng, but in the next second, the Dragon King stood next to Shi Feng, and he hadn''t even seen his opponent move. Again, the Dragonscale Greatsword had thrust into his Void Shield before Shi Feng had realized it After taking the hit, Shi Feng instinctively executed Sword''s Orbit, his reactions visibly slower than the Bronze Dragon King''s. Shi Feng had hoped that Sword''s Orbit would force the Dragon King to retreat, but he advanced instead, his Dragonscale Greatsword vanishing suddenly. The Dragon King used the weapon to deflect Sword''s Orbit and strike the Void Shield again. So, this is a humanized monster? Shi Feng could not help his shock as his Void Shield was struck, again and again. He had always surpassed his enemies by suppressing them with his swordsmanship, but this Bronze Dragon King''s swordsmanship did the same to him. The Bronze Dragon King''s slashes were so fast that his eyes could not keep up. He didn''t even have the luxury to breathe while trying to defend himself. He barely even sensed that the Dragon King was attacking him. One hit... Two hits... Three hits... After several strikes, the Void Shield finally shattered, and Shi Feng had to rely on his skills to avoid or block the Bronze Dragon King''s attacks. To hell with it! At this point, Shi Feng recognized how close he was to failing this trial. He immediately executed Sword''s Transmigration, the strongest combat technique in his arsenal. 2064 Realm that Surpasses Human Limits Chapter 2064 - Realm that Surpasses Human Limits As Shi Feng executed Sword''s Transmigration, five sword lights intercepted the Bronze Dragon King''s silent attacks. Boom... Boom... Boom- Deafening metallic clangs echoed throughout the hall, and the collision''s resulting shockwave was so intense that it made Shi Feng shudder. Moreover, his arms had gone numb from the impact. It was so severe that he struggled to move them. The Bronze Dragon King had leisurely executed his attacks, and his Basic Attributes were only slightly higher than Shi Feng''s, yet he generated enough power to overwhelm Sword''s Transmigration''s Strength tolerance. Shi Feng could barely understand what could cause such a result Without waiting for Shi Feng to recover, the Bronze Dragon King''s Dragonscale Greatsword vanished once more. Unlike before, however, the Dragon King''s attack was truly silent. Shi Feng couldn''t sense the slightest hint of the Dragon King''s attack trajectory before he felt a stinging pain in his chest. Before he realized it, the Bronze Dragon King had thrust his greatsword in Shi Feng''s chest, his HP depleting rapidly without signs of stopping. He is already beyond human limits? Shi Feng looked up at the Dragon King in surprise as the humanized Boss retrieved his weapon. Shi Feng''s vision darkened as his HP fell to zero, and he fell to the ground, lifeless. Sword''s Transmigration was the strongest combat technique Shi Feng possessed. He was even confident of posing a threat to Domain Realm experts by relying on the technique. However, against the Bronze Dragon King, Sword''s Transmigration had only kept him alive for one move. The Bronze Dragon King was an apex existence in God''s Domain. Both his attacks and movement techniques were simply amazing. The Dragon King could launch his attacks without alerting Shi Feng as if the Boss''s boy acted without commands from his mind. The Bronze Dragon King''s reflexes were so fast that Shi Feng''s mind couldn''t even react. Although such a feat was normally impossible, the Bronze Dragon King had done it. He had completely surpassed human limits. Shi Feng finally realized why the various superpowers in the past had dispatched tons of Tier 4 experts to defeat Tier 3 humanized monsters that were a much lower level, and even they, the players had still suffered tremendously to secure victory. Five seconds after Shi Feng died, he appeared before the magic array that had sealed the Bronze Dragon King with full HP. It felt as if the skirmish had been a dream. However, when Shi Feng glanced at the Bronze Dragon King''s humanoid form nearby, he understood that this was no dream. "Alright, let''s begin the second round!" the Bronze Dragon King stated as he unsheathed his Dragonscale Greatsword and resumed his attacks. Now that Shi Feng had experienced the Dragon King''s power, he didn''t dare clash with the Boss head-on. If he wanted to avoid dying 300 times in three days, he needed to buy as much time for himself as possible. With this in mind, Shi Feng turned and fled. As if he had predicted this ploy, the Bronze Dragon King threw his greatsword at Shi Feng, forcing the Swordsman to a halt to avoid the flying weapon. Taking advantage of the brief pause, the Dragon King appeared behind Shi Feng, and without alerting the player, another Dragonscale Greatsword appeared in the Boss''s hands, swinging toward Shi Feng before he had time to register the movement. Fortunately, Shi Feng had expected something like this and had activated Divine Steps a moment earlier. He promptly switched places with one of his doppelgangers, which were invulnerable to attacks. The following events happened as Shi Feng had expected. Once the Bronze Dragon King realized that the doppelganger before him was immune to damage, he attacked the other Shi Feng copies. Although Shi Feng couldn''t perceive the Dragon King''s strikes, he knew that everyone revealed some weakness when attacking. Discovering the Bronze Dragon King''s weakness was precisely his goal. Following which, Shi Feng swapped positions with the same doppelganger. He then turned and slashed at the Guardian Boss. As the Dragon King attacked another doppelganger, his side was exposed. Seeing this, Shi Feng was ecstatic, and the hand that held Killing Ray sped towards the opening. Dang! However, just before the Sacred Sword met its target, an imperceptible attack countered the weapon, stopping its advance. So fast! The counterattack made Shi Feng realize that even if he found an opening in the Bronze Dragon King''s defenses, he couldn''t take advantage of it. The Dragon King was far faster than Shi Feng and could easily defend himself once he detected the incoming strike. Relying on speed to defeat the Bronze Dragon King would be impossible. Before Shi Feng could follow up with another attack, the Bronze Dragon King shoved his greatsword through Shi Feng''s chest again, and the Swordsman collapsed... Although Shi Feng suffered a second death, he didn''t feel discouraged. Since he was no match for the Bronze Dragon King''s speed, he''d have to contend with this opponent through his Strength. After running away to buy time and evading the Dragon King''s thrown greatsword, Shi Feng had realized that he couldn''t shake off the Boss. His only option was to face the Dragon King directly. On his third attempt, Shi Feng used Shadow Blade and merged the ten blades into pairs. He then sent the five pairs of blades flying at the Bronze Dragon King. The Dragon King found Shi Feng''s attempt at retaliation amusing. In response, the Dragon King swung its greatsword at the five attacks'' convergence point. The convergence point of each attack was the size of a strand of hair, but the Bronze Dragon King countered all five pairs with the tip of his greatsword, nullifying one blade in each pair. This effectively transformed the five combination attacks into five ordinary attacks. The Dragon King''s counter had also altered the remaining blades'' trajectories. After nullifying Shi Feng''s Shadow Blades, the Bronze Dragon King killed him again. However, Shi Feng refused to give up. Instead, he continued to try different methods of buying time and retaliated against the Dragon King. Ten times... Thirty times... One hundred times... The Bronze Dragon King killed Shi Feng, again and again. Without knowing how much time had passed, Shi Feng immersed himself in the battle, focusing on nothing but fighting. Through these repeated battles, Shi Feng was able to verify his theories and challenge his ideas. As a result, he continued to extend his survival time. Initially, he had only survived against the Dragon King for a few seconds, but now, he could last more than 20 seconds. Despite the Bronze Dragon King''s ability to perfectly and effortlessly neutralize his attacks, Shi Feng''s fighting spirit burned brighter as he fought. He insisted on trying out more attack methods, despite numerous failures. After dying over 200 times, both Shi Feng''s mind and body were exhausted. His reactions were slowing, and even though he was immersed in a high-Mana environment, he was still slightly pale. Eventually, the Bronze Dragon King initiated the 300th match. Advancing, the Bronze Dragon King arrived before Shi Feng, launching six slashes that escaped the Swordsman''s notice. This time, however, Shi Feng took a half step back and swung Killing Ray and the Twilight Blade in cross slash. Not only did Shi Feng manage to dodge four of the Dragon King''s attacks, but he also deflected the remaining two with his own swords. However, due to the extreme power of the Dragon King''s attacks, Shi Feng hadn''t altered the greatsword''s trajectory by much. As a result, one of the Dragon King''s attacks grazed Shi Feng''s shoulder, dealing more than -100,000 damage. He blocked my attacks? Confusion flashed in the Bronze Dragon King''s eyes as he stared at Shi Feng. Shouldn''t he be exhausted by now? How did he block them? Did he get lucky? "I don''t care how lucky you may be; this is the end!" After Shi Feng blocked the Bronze Dragon King''s attacks, the Boss assaulted his target more fervently. Nine Extreme Slashes! 2065 Domain Realm Chapter 2065 - Domain Realm Nine streaks of silver light cut at Shi Feng. Not only were the Dragon King''s Nine Extreme Slashes silent, but the sword lights also bloomed like flowers, creating a mesmerizing scene. When the silver flowers bloomed, the world around the Dragon King seemed to freeze. If Miracle Dragon, from Miracle, saw this, he''d be stunned. He had been trying to master the technique, but the Bronze Dragon King''s execution was perfect. Not only did the Dragon King''s nine sword lights avoid all forms of perception, but their trajectories eventually converged at a single point, as well. The Bronze Dragon King had just executed a fully offensive combat technique. When the sword lights met, space around them shattered. A pitch-black spatial tear extended toward Shi Feng, but despite the fact that the attack was impossible to detect, Shi Feng responded, moving his feet forward and positioning Killing Ray in front of him. Then, he activated Parry, his actions simple and straightforward. From afar, it would seem as if Shi Feng moved very slowly, and a spectator would see his every action. However, these slow motions actually blocked the Bronze Dragon King''s Nine Extreme Slashes. Boom! When the Dragonscale Greatsword collided with Killing Ray, a deafening boom echoed throughout the hall, and the resulting shockwave was so intense that it reached several hundred yards away. Due to the impact, Shi Feng stumbled over a dozen yards back. After the dust settled, it revealed a deep cut in the ground at the Dragon King''s feet, spreading 30 yards away from the Boss. The power of the Bronze Dragon King''s Nine Extreme Slashes was even greater than some Tier 3 Skills... The Bronze Dragon King, who was responsible for this display of power, wore an astonished expression. A human actually saw through my attack? The Bronze Dragon King frowned at the horizontal cut before his feet The angle of the cut wasn''t a result of his Nine Extreme Slashes. It was obvious that his attack had been deflected. If Shi Feng hadn''t seen his attack trajectory, the human wouldn''t have succeeded; he would''ve been sent flying. However, the Bronze Dragon King did not know that Shi Feng hadn''t seen his attacks in the least. Rather than selfreflection, Shi Feng had forced his way through the bottleneck he had been stuck in and finally entered the Domain Realm. The outcome even surprised Shi Feng. After such a long life-or-death battle, he was exhausted. Even his vision was blurry. He couldn''t sense the Bronze Dragon King''s attacks normally, much less with blurry vision. Under such extreme conditions, Shi Feng had used every method he could think of to detect the Dragon King''s attacks. Finally, rather than trying to predict the Boss''s attacks by watching his arms and body, Shi Feng began to read the Dragon King''s breathing and subtle movements. After repeated deaths and experiments, he finally managed to ''see'' the Bronze Dragon King''s attack trajectory. So, this is the Domain Realm? Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement as he glanced at the trembling Sacred Sword in his hand. He had finally risen to the realm he had never been able to touch. Perhaps it was because of his widened horizons or his changed perception of the world, but he now felt as if the world around him was utterly new. He finally understood how amazing it was to wield a Domain. It was no wonder why Domain Realm experts were considered monsters. Now, he could predict his opponents'' intentions and movements by watching the subtle changes to their bodies. It was no wonder why Domain Realm experts easily toyed with weaker players. However, the distant Bronze Dragon King had no intention of stopping his assault as Shi Feng celebrated his successful evolution into the Domain Realm. The Dragon King immediately advanced and swung his Dragonscale Greatsword toward Shi Feng''s neck. Previously, every time the Dragon King had employed such lightning-fast attacks, Shi Feng had fallen in the next moment. But the Swordsman wasn''t as blind as he had been. Although barely, he read and predicted a fraction of the Bronze Dragon King''s attacks and countered them. Dang! Dang! Dang! Metallic clangs echoed throughout the hall. The battle that had been one-sided for so long had evolved into a fierce back-and-forth. Although Shi Feng was still at a complete disadvantage, and his HP continued to fall, this fight was no longer a one-sided slaughter. Although Shi Feng had entered the Domain Realm, he still shocked by the Dragon King''s strength. He could counter some of the Boss''s attacks now, yet the Dragon King didn''t evade his counterattacks, receiving them head-on. As a result, the massive gap between them hadn''t shortened in the slightest despite Shi Feng''s newfound ability to predict some of the Dragon King''s attacks... Following which, Shi Feng activated one Skill after another. He had even activated Life Domain. In the end, however, he couldn''t change the outcome as the Bronze Dragon King continued to shave away his HP. It was only a matter of time before he died, yet as luck would have it, this was his 300th attempt If he died again, he would fail this trial. Seeing how little HP he had remaining, Shi Feng couldn''t help but sigh. He decided to use all of his cards and see how far he could go. Not even a full day had passed since he had begun this trial. With the small fraction of HP he clung to, he wouldn''t even survive five more minutes, much less two more days. Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well use this Bronze Dragon King to test his new strength. Shi Feng used the Twilight Blade''s two Active Skills, Twilight''s Shadow and Twilight of the Gods. The Twilight Domain dominated everything within 100 yards of Shi Feng. Suddenly, he split into eight copies of himself, each with 75% of the main body''s Basic Attributes. Each copy then claimed a Twilight Blade, and their Basic Attributes soared to 85% of the original form. Although Shi Feng had sacrificed some of his Basic Attributes to activate Twilight of the Gods, he had turned the one-on- one fight into an eight-on-one battle. As the Bronze Dragon King charged toward him again, Shi Feng activated the Ring of Gospel''s Ring of Brilliance as well. Unfortunately, Shi Feng didn''t have enough Magic Crystals on him to activate Miniature World, but due to Ring of Brilliance, his doppelgangers now had 100% of his Basic Attributes. Their physiques were even stronger than his main body''s. "Meaningless tricks!" The Bronze Dragon King sneered at Shi Feng. In response, he summoned a second Dragonscale Greatsword, dual-wielding the two massive weapons. The intensity of his aura also skyrocketed. He still reserved some of his strength? Shi Feng tensed as he felt the Bronze Dragon King''s aura grow. "It''s over, human!" the Bronze Dragon King growled, transforming into a streak of light as he moved toward Shi Feng. His Movement Speed was significantly higher than it had been, which made his movements more difficult to read. Divine Flash! Not one to fall behind, Shi Feng surrounded the Dragon King with all eight of his clones and executed Sword''s Transmigration simultaneously. However, as he exchanged blows with the Bronze Dragon King, Shi Feng''s vision abruptly darkened, and he fell forward. The Dragon King stood before Shi Feng proudly, his expression as indifferent and arrogant as it had always been. The Dragon King had known that this trial was impossible for any mortal since the very beginning. However, just as the Bronze Dragon King was about to return to the magic barrier, he halted, frozen in place. Looking down, he discovered a faint, white mark on his arm. He had actually lost 1 HP. "He injured me?" Shock brightened the Bronze Dragon King''s eyes as he stared at the mark on his arm. 2066 Legendary Item Chapter 2066 - Legendary Item Shi Feng expected the system to teleport him out of the Ancient God''s Maze after his battle with the Bronze Dragon King, but when he reopened his eyes, he wasn''t in the outside world. Instead, he found himself inside an elegant hall. A red carpet crossed the hall, leading to a golden throne at one end. A beautiful galaxy of stars decorated the ceiling, allowing the hall''s occupants to view the universe. Spear-wielding Knights in golden armor stood alongside the red carpet. Not only were they all Level 200, but the weakest Knight among them was also Tier 4. The Knight Captain in the lead was even a Tier 5 being. Moreover, none of the Knights were human, but bona fide Angels. Any one of these Tier 4 Knights could rival a Tier 5 human NPC in terms of combat power. The Knight Captain could even rival a Tier 5 Dragon. If these Angels wished it, they could obliterate an entire empire. Before Shi Feng could process what was happening, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Congratulations! You have triggered the hidden event, "Hero''s Heart," and have been summoned by the Archange, Vatra. Archangel Vatra? The system notification surprised Shi Feng. The Angel race''s Life Rating was only slightly weaker than that of the Dragon race, and among Angels, Archangels were akin to Dragon Kings. They could even contend with Tier 6 Gods. Every Archangel had a mission and was more than capable of influencing the entire continent of God''s Domain. In the past, a Tier 6 Berserker God named Double Brilliance had been an unknown, ordinary player during the game''s early stages, but after a fortuitous encounter with an Archangel, he had activated an ancient world and shook the very foundation of God''s Domain, altering the status quo. Double Brilliance had even been responsible for some superpowers'' fall. Like a raging cyclone, he had grown stronger at a tremendous rate and eventually became a Tier 6 Berserker God. God''s Domain''s players had regarded Double Brilliance''s achievement as one of the game''s legends. Many players dreamed of their own Archangel encounter. Unfortunately, players had only encountered such beings twice in Shi Feng''s previous life. He had certainly never expected to meet an Archangel here. Before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, a handsome man with pure-white robes and four equally white wings appeared before him. Shi Feng had failed to sense this Angel''s movement, but more surprising, he felt nothing from this being. Although the Angel stood before him, it didn''t feel as if the Angel truly existed. He was nothing like the Bronze Dragon King, who had radiated an intensely stifling pressure. If not for the magic array that had sealed the Dragon King, he would''ve likely killed Shi Feng with his aura alone. "I have watched your battle with the Bronze Dragon King, and I have to say, it was very interesting! Not even the Bronze Dragon King had imagined that a human like you could injure him," the male Angel said, laughing heartily as he watched Shi Feng. He then continued in a softer tone, "During your battle, I was able to sense your bravery and tenacity. Hence, I have invited you here in the hope that you can help me with something. Are you willing to assist me?" System: Do you wish to accept Archangel Vatra''s request? "Lord Vatra, it would be my honor," Shi Feng respectfully replied. Only a fool would refuse a request an Archangel''s request The quests Archangels issued weren''t like normal quests. If one failed an Archangel''s quest, they wouldn''t suffer a penalty, and the quest''s rewards would be beyond imagination. Take Double Brilliance''s reward, for example. According to the rumors, Double Brilliance had received his patron Archangel''s blessing after completing his quest. Not only had his individual strength skyrocketed, but he had also secured an advantage from the ancient world he had activated, allowing him to perform one impossible feat after another. "Wonderful! Currently, God''s Domain''s World Barrier is clashing with the Undead World''s World Barrier. This, in turn, has created holes in God''s Domain''s Barrier. Taking advantage of this situation, some of the Undead World''s inhabitants have snuck into God''s Domain and begun to cause havoc. Although we Angels wish to stop them, we cannot interfere with the continent''s matters due to the rules the various Gods have set for us. Hence, we need a representative to handle these matters," Vatra said. "I wish to appoint you as my representative in removing the Undead from the continent of God''s Domain." System: You have accepted the Hidden Quest "Undead World." Quest content: You must annihilate the Undead hiding and causing chaos on the God''s Domain continent. Rewards unknown. "Of course, you cannot complete the task with your current strength. Hence, I have prepared two items for you. The first is the Dragon Summoning Flute I''ve carefully handcrafted. The second item is this stone. These two items will help you deal with the Undead that have snuck into God''s Domain." After saying so, Vatra revealed a shining horn and simple black stone, handing them to Shi Feng. [Dragon Summoning Flute (Replica)] (Legendary Rank Item) A horn rumored to summon a flock of Dragons. Spend 3,000 Advanced Magic Cores to summon five Dragons to assist in battle for 3 hours. Cooldown: 15 days (The Dragons summoned can only fight NPCs. They cannot fight players or monsters.) A Legendary item?! Shi Feng was stunned into silence as he examined the Dragon Summoning Flute. He had to admit that a Legendary item was awe-inspiring. The Dragon Summoning Flute could actually summon five Dragons. If only he could use it during his own battles, it would be a truly incredible item. However, the cost to use the flute was painfully high. Advanced Magic Cores could only be obtained from high-ranked Bosses. Moreover, Advanced Magic Cores had a large variety of uses. Not only could they be used as a component when crafting Master Potions, Epic Weapons, and Epic Equipment, but they were also necessary for building many types of constructions. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds would be fortunate if they had 2,000 Advanced Magic Cores, yet the Dragon Summoning Flute required 3,000 for each use. No ordinary Guild could afford such an expenditure. After inspecting the Dragon Summoning Flute, Shi Feng shifted his attention to the black stone in his other hand. [Mysterious Stone] (Consumable) From the outside, it looks just like a simple stone. However, this stone contains a strand of a God''s power. It has a chance of granting players self-awakening. This stone may be used up to 33 times. Self-awakening?! Is this stone that amazing?! Shi Feng was still speechless after reading the black stone''s introduction. Self-awakening might be a foreign concept to current players, but Shi Feng was quite familiar with the idea. Self-awakening could allow players to master a combat technique forcibly. Of course, learning a combat technique so brutally had a downside. Players would consume far more Stamina when using the technique they learned through self-awakening. However, this method also had its benefits. Self-awakening would allow players to experience what it felt like to use the full technique and master it, which would, in turn, lower the technique''s Stamina consumption. This process was far more effective than watching a video or experiencing the technique in a different way. As Shi Feng began to research the black stone, Archangel Vatra waved a hand. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt the system transport him out of the hall as he returned to the space-time tunnel. 2067 New White River City Chapter 2067 - New White River City Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: When Shi Feng returned to White River City, he discovered that the city had undergone massive changes while he had been gone. He had only been away for two weeks or so, yet experts from well-known adventurer teams now crowded the streets. Even the weakest among these experts was Level 63, Tier 2, and they all wore Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment It almost seemed as if such equipment had become widely available, something so common that it wasn''t worth players'' attention. Bronze Mounts were also a common sight in the city now. Occasionally, Shi Feng even noticed players atop Mysterious-Iron Mounts. White River City had become almost as prosperous as an empire''s imperial capital. Shi Feng had very nearly failed to recognize the city due to these massive changes. Moreover, Star-Moon Kingdom''s Guards used to protect the city, but now, Guards from other nations patrolled its streets. Shi Feng even spotted players from multiple foreign first-rate Guilds as he walked through the city, including a few peak experts from these Guilds. Shi Feng wasn''t the only player to notice these experts. Players who visited White River City for the first time were just as shocked. "Amazing! Isn''t that player wearing the Dawn Light Set for Berserkers!?" "Look at that Elementalist! He''s wearing the Level 60 Fine-Gold ranked Wind Spirit Set! I''ve heard that the set only drops from Level 60, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons!" "So, this is White River City? Isn''t the equipment these players are wearing here a little too amazing? I have only seen a handful of people with Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment in the Black Dragon Empire''s Black Dragon City. How are there so many people with that kind of equipment here?" The players visiting White River City for the first time couldn''t help but asp when they saw the well-equipped experts wandering the city, but the original residents merely spared these experts an indifferent glance. White River City had been developing too quickly, practically every day, and this was no longer an unusual sight. The city''s rapid changes were all due to the Auction Arena System''s activation. As the only NPC city in Star-Moon Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms to have the Auction Arena System, White River City had instantly become the heart of these kingdoms. The various major powers swarmed to the city in an attempt to compete for control of it. Hence, the quantity and quality of the experts here had skyrocketed. The Auction Arena System also provided a development opportunity for merchant and independent players, who had come running to the city, as well. As a result, White River City had grown into a large-scale NPC city with a player population exceeding 20,000,000. It also had more powers than any other NPC city in Star-Moon Kingdom and its several neighbors. As for weapons and equipment, even the Level 60 Secret-Silver rank, which was rare in other cities, was almost a standard in White River City. Many experts even wore Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment. At this point, only Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment could draw attention in White River City. Unlike White River City''s newest players, the city''s original residents paid no attention to the wandering experts and their equipment as they rested and chatted by the roadside. Instead, they were focused on their discussions over the fight for White River City. "The official struggle for White River City is going to start in two days. Independent players like us will get to enjoy a good show." "I''ve heard that there are already four superpowers fighting for supremacy. I wonder how Zero Wing will hold its position? If Zero Wing loses White River City, all of its investments in the city will go to waste." "Why are we even talking about this? Zero Wing can''t hold the city. One of those superpowers will take it in the end. The Auction Arena''s competition isn''t like field combat Players can''t rely on tools in the Auction Arena. Participants will have to rely on powerful experts and resources to win it Zero Wing is much weaker than a superpower in this regard, especially when it comes to the number of peak experts it has. Zero Wing has no chance against the participating superpowers." "I guess you''re right If Zero Wing had another six months, it might have enough resources and experts to contend with superpowers. Unfortunately, White River City has been developing too fast. It was actually one of the first NPCs to get promoted. If it had been a part of the second or third batch to get an Auction Arena, Zero Wing wouldn''t have had any issues securing its hold over the city." Nowadays, nothing grabbed players'' attention than the fight for White River City in the Star-Moon Kingdom. Not only would the upcoming fight determine who controlled the city, but it was also the first time these major powers seriously clashed. The Auction Arena also presented an opportunity for independent players to display their skills in front of these powers in hopes of reaching greater heights. While this sounded like a joke, it was the best way to become famous overnight. Now that God''s Domain had more influence in the real world, more corporations invested in the game, and they all needed talented experts to work for them. If one could show off in the Auction Arena, one of the various superpowers might extend an olive branch. As expected of one of the first promoted NPC cities. Its development speed and competition truly are frightening. Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he noticed various Guild players wandering the city streets. He had seen more than 30 second-rate Guilds and as many as 10 first-rate Guilds since his return to White River City. Not even imperial capitals had this many Guilds, yet this was only what he saw on the surface. Who knew how many more powers lurked in the city in secret? In the past, Shadow hadn''t had any connection to the first wave of promoted NPC cities. At the time, Shadow had already been struggling for its survival in God''s Domain, and the Guild had expended all of its available resources just to secure leveling spots and raid Dungeons for its members'' equipment How could it have had the strength to compete for a major NPC city? Shi Feng had only heard stories of how powerful the various entities participating in the Auction Arena''s competition were and the competition''s intensity. He hadn''t actually gotten a realistic sense of how extraordinary the competitions had actually been. Now that he was a participant, he couldn''t help his rueful sigh. Shi Feng returned to Zero Wing''s Residence to organize the materials he had obtained during his trial. However, as he entered the Guild Hall, Shi Feng noticed that the hall''s atmosphere was odd. He could sense a depressing energy throughout the building, and the number of experts in the hall had visibly decreased. "Youlan, did something happen? What''s with the strange atmosphere?" Shi Feng asked Youlan, who currently sorted through the Guild members'' information. "Guild Leader, you''re back!" Youlan''s face lit with joy when she saw Shi Feng, but then she frowned and said, "While you''ve been gone, Twilight Echo''s survival in the Storm Empire has become unsure. Aqua Rose doesn''t want to see the destruction of her family''s Guild and doesn''t want to implicate Zero Wing, so she has temporarily resigned as Vice Guild Leader to help Twilight Echo under her own name. Many of the players that were originally from Twilight Echo have gone with her. I tried to contact you about this, but I couldn''t get through to you." "Twilight Echo is having an existential crisis?" Shi Feng was surprised to hear the news. "What happened?" "According to what we know, it seems that Nature Hall is trying to monopolize the Storm Empire and wants every Guild in the area to submit as a subordinate. Since Twilight Echo refuses to submit, it tried to move out of the empire, but Nature Hall refuses to let the Guild get out safely and has threatened to remove Twilight Guild from God''s Domain. Thus, the Guild is in danger of perishing," Youlan explained. "I see." Once he had a general understanding of the situation, Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile and wondered aloud, "Is Zero Wing really that unreliable?" Twilight Echo was everything to Aqua Rose''s family. Although she had broken away from her family''s influence to develop independently, if Twilight Echo perished, so would Aqua Rose''s family. Naturally, she couldn''t just sit by and watch. However, Nature Hall was not the first-rate Guild it had been in the past. It had secured major corporations'' investments and not long ago, had successfully removed a super-first-rate Guild from the Storm Empire. Since it had a long time to develop after that incident, it was easy to imagine how powerful Nature Hall had become. Considering Zero Wing''s current problems, if Aqua Rose used her identity as one of Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders to help Twilight Echo, Nature Hall would turn its ire on Zero Wing, increasing its number of enemies. "Guild Leader, should we send some people to help her?" Youlan asked. "Of course, we should! Not only are we going to send some of our people, but I also want you to send someone to inform Nature Hall that Twilight Echo is under Zero Wing''s protection!" 2068 Zero Wings Protection Chapter 2068 - Zero Wing''s Protection Storm Empire, Nether Mine: The Storm Empire was located in a mountainous region, and various ore veins were common around the empire. As a result, the empire had become famous as an ore producer on the God''s Domain continent. Meanwhile, the empire possessed the Nether Mine on one of its borders, which bathed in Nether Energy all-year-round. Because Nether Energy increased Player''s Stamina consumption several-fold, and the mountains around the mine were home to Level 70 and above Demonic Beasts, players were rarely interested in grinding and leveling in the area. However, several thousand players had gathered near one of the creeks between the two mountains. The lowest-leveled of these players was Level 62, and all of them would be considered experts. Only, these several thousand experts were members of two groups, one with fewer than 400 players, and the other with nearly three thousand. If the Storm Empire''s players were present, they''d be shocked. The smaller group consisted of Twilight Echo''s core members, the pillars that supported the Guild. Roughly 30 of them were top-ranked experts in the Storm Empire, and to ordinary players, they were unreachable. The strongest of these experts had to be Dark Wave, Twilight Echo''s current Guild Leader and a player that ranked among the top ten within his class. Many powers operated in the Storm Empire, and its player population was even more frightening. Ranking among the top ten on one''s class ranking list was an impressive feat Dark Wave could easily rank among the top 20 or 30 in any kingdom''s overall combat power ranking. Such a group of experts shouldn''t even fear an army of 10,000 elite players, but despite facing a legion of less than 3,000, Twilight Echo''s core members wore grim expressions. Their eyes even held traces of fear. "To think Nature Hall would send even you, Vice Guild Leader Owl, to greet us, your Guild must think highly of us," Dark Wave commented to the robust, bear-like man carrying two Epic ranked one-handed axes, fear flashing in his eyes. Owl Life had only been an ordinary expert, but after joining God''s Domain, he had repeatedly challenged the game''s experts, growing stronger at a ridiculous rate. In the end, he had grown from an unknown player into one of the Storm Empire''s famous experts. He then caught Nature Hall''s attention, and the Guild recruited him. After joining Nature Hall, Owl Life''s development speed skyrocketed, and he quickly became one of the Guild''s capable generals. When the super-first-rate Guild, Nine-star Family had operated in the Storm Empire, Owl Life had fought and defeated an army of its peak experts. He had even single-handedly killed five peak experts while leading a 5,000-man team to capture one of the super-first-rate Guild''s towns. That battle had shaken the empire and made Owl Life famous. Eventually, Owl Life had become one of Nature Hall''s Vice Guild Leaders. Although Dark Wave ranked among the top ten in his own class within the empire, Owl Life ranked among the top ten in the overall rankings. While the difference might not seem major, it was like the difference between a candle flame and a roaring bonfire. If Owl Life wanted to, he could kill every Twilight Echo expert present. "Guild Leader Dark Wave, I assume you know Nature Hall''s stance on this since I''ve made the trip here. You people from Twilight Echo should stop deluding yourselves," Owl Life said with a commanding tone, smiling at Dark Wave. "Twilight Echo has already conceded every high-resource location available. We have even moved to this remote map to grind. We already intend to give up on developing in the Storm Empire. What more do you people want?" Dark Wave said as he tightened his grip on his saber, his expression darkening in frustration. "The Guild Leader sent me to knock some sense into you," Owl Life said, chuckling. "Either submit or we will remove you from God''s Domain permanently. There is no third option. Don''t think that we will let you continue to develop just because you''ve fled to this remote location." Dark Wave''s frown deepened. Nobody could''ve expected the competition between the various powers would become so intense after the Auction Arena''s activation. To strengthen its hold on the Storm Empire, Nature Hall had begun an all-out war against the empire''s powers, eradicating any that opposed it "Guild Leader, why don''t we just fight them?" "That''s right! If we have to go down, we''ll take them with us!" Twilight Echo''s experts prepared themselves for a desperate battle in response to Nature Hall''s determination to drive them into a corner. "You want to suffer mutual destruction? Do you really think that you''re capable of that?" Owl Life could not help but laugh when he heard Twilight Echo''s members. Owl Life''s words incensed Twilight Echo''s members further. Only Dark Wave remained silent He had nothing to offer in rebuttal. His silence wasn''t due to a lack of courage, but because Owl Life spoke the truth. No one in the Guild had a better idea than he of how powerful the players who ranked among the top ten on the empire''s overall combat power rankings were. It was no exaggeration to consider these players humanoid monsters. "We don''t have any other choice! Once the battle begins, I''ll try to pin down Owl Life for as long as I can! Everyone else, split up and run!" Dark Wave said. He then turned to Aqua Rose, who stood beside him, and said, "Aqua, you''ve seen it for yourself now. Your return can''t solve this matter. You need to try to escape this. Don''t let Twilight Echo ruin your future." As Aqua Rose''s fourth uncle, he was grateful that his niece had returned to help the family''s Guild. Unfortunately, she couldn''t change anything. After seeing how Nature Hall treated Twilight Echo, he knew that if any other superpower interfered, Nature Hall would make his Guild suffer for it. Dark Wave knew that Zero Wing, Aqua Rose''s Guild, had been developing quite well recently and was now better off than Twilight Echo. Helping Twilight Echo wasn''t worth Aqua Rose losing her opportunity in Zero Wing. Aqua Rose bowed her head and gritted her teeth in frustration. She had never expected Nature Hall to be so intent on cornering Twilight Echo. If she hadn''t returned most of her weapons and equipment to Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse before leaving, she might have been able to fight Owl Life and allow more of Twilight Echo''s members to escape. "You want to flee? Are you even strong enough for that?" Owl Life ridiculed, sneering at the serious expressions on Twilight Echo''s members. However, just before a fight broke out, 1,000 players ran into the valley. An elegant girl in beautiful mage robes, looking like a fairy, led the force, and many of the players in the valley couldn''t help but stare. Among the 1,000 new arrivals, the lowest-leveled player was 63, while most were Level 64. The weakest piece of equipment these players wore was Level 60 Secret-Silver rank. Many of these players even wore Level 60 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. Both Nature Hall and Twilight Echo''s members watched these newcomers with envy. However, the most noticeable aspect of these players was their sharp auras. They clearly weren''t ordinary experts. "Who are you? Can''t you see that Nature Hall is busy here? If you don''t want any trouble, leave immediately!" Owl Life warned the approaching 1,000-man legion. Normally, he would''ve already commanded his subordinates to eliminate any intruders, but this 1,000-man legion clearly wasn''t a normal force. Even his players would suffer if they attacked these new arrivals without care. "Us? We''re from Zero Wing," Violet Cloud said with a faint smile. "Zero Wing? Isn''t that a Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom?" Owl Life faintly recalled such a Guild, and from what he could remember, Zero Wing had been developing excellently recently. He then asked, "Why have you come here?" "We have orders from our Guild Leader to inform Nature Hall that Twilight Echo is under Zero Wing''s protection," Violet Cloud calmly replied. 2069 Defeating Nature Hall in Two Moves Chapter 2069 - Defeating Nature Hall in Two Moves "Zero Wing wants to protect Twilight Echo?" Nature Hall''s members were stunned when they heard Violet Cloud''s announcement Twilight Echo''s members were just as dumbfounded. Nature Hall was akin to the Storm Empires emperor. It had already grown powerful enough to demand respect from Super Guilds, yet Zero Wing, which was barely on par with a first-rate Guild, intended to oppose Nature Hall. "The Guild Leader plans to interfere?" When Aqua Rose saw the 1,000-man legion from Zero Wing, excitement and worry flashed in her eyes. She hadn''t had a specific understanding of Nature Hall before her return to the Storm Empire, but it wasn''t long before she realized that Nature Hall shouldn''t be provoked. Nature Hall''s foundations were beyond her imagination. The Guild already had more than 100 peak experts and tens of thousands of expert members. With so many experts, Nature Hall''s rule in the Storm Empire was unshakable. "How arrogant! This is Nature Hall''s territory! Do you think that a few words will protect Twilight Echo?" Owl Life roared in anger. "Not even your ally, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, would dare to act so pompously before Nature Hall!" "Vice Guild Leader, what''s the point of wasting words on them? Since these ignorant players dare to act so insolently before our Guild, we should get rid of them, here and now!" "That''s right! Let''s teach these country bumpkins the difference between a kingdom''s overlord and an empire''s! We''ll show them how little they matter in the Storm Empire!" Nature Hall''s members voiced their outrage over Violet Cloud''s declaration, even offering to teach Zero Wing''s members a lesson. "We are only here to give you notice. Your reply is irrelevant," Violet Cloud calmly responded. "If you don''t have any more questions, we''ll be escorting Twilight Echo''s members away now." The valley fell silent when Violet Cloud finished speaking. Even Dark Wave, Twilight Echo''s Guild Leader, could not help but gasp at the girl''s comment. He could not understand just what gave zero Wing the confidence to provoke the Storm Empire''s emperor. "This is bad!" Anxiously, Dark Wave turned to look and Aqua Rose and said, "Aqua, you need to stop them! If this gets out of hand, Zero Wing will be doomed!" Aqua Rose nodded, but although she wanted to contact Violet Cloud, Owl Life didn''t give her the chance to do so. "Bastards! Everyone, heed my command and eliminate these lowlifes!" Owl Life snarled as he pointed at Violet Cloud; the chilling gaze he aimed at the young woman even caused the experts around him to shudder. A little over half of Nature Hall''s forces split away from surrounding Twilight Echo''s team and charged at Zero Wing''s 1,000- man team, their battle cries echoing throughout the valley. Nature Hall''s members moved like well-trained soldiers. Not only were they fast, but they were perfectly in-sync with each other. Eighteen Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights moved to the forefront, radiating a silver glow as divine runes covered their bodies. They all had more than 200,000 HP, and their auras resembled that of ancient war Gods. "So strong!" Twilight Echo''s members lost their composure when they saw this. Every member of Twilight Echo''s team was an expert. They could easily gauge an opponent''s strength based on their aura. The 18 MTs radiated an intensely dangerous feeling, and Twilight Echo''s members knew that in a one-on-one, these MTs would blow them away. Not even their Guild Leader, Dark Wave, could necessarily stop these MTs'' assault, even with an active Lifesaving Skill. "So, this is Nature Hall''s Silverlight Battle Array?" Dark Wave could not help but gasp when he saw the MTs'' silver glow. The Silverlight Battle Array was well-known in the Storm Empire. Nature Hall had relied on this battle array to defeat its first super-first-rate Guild when it had still been weaker than Nine-star Family. He had only ever witnessed the Silverlight Battle Array in videos before, and now that he got to see it in person, the increased Strength, HP, and speed were beyond his expectations. It was no wonder why Nature Hall didn''t fear other superpowers. "Nobody can stop our Guild''s Silverlight Battle Array! Let''s tear apart these Zero Wing players!" The Nature Hall players that still surrounded Twilight Echo''s members laughed as their companions activated the battle array. The Silverlight Battle Array allowed 18 players to link together. Not only could they share the incoming damage, but their Strength, HPs, Movement Speed, and Attack Speed increased by 30% as well. Most importantly, they could share their senses through the battle array. However, before the 18 MTs reached Zero Wing''s team and tore apart its defensive line, Violet Cloud, who stood among her players, waved her staff. Dimensional Fracture! Space tore before Violet Cloud, rapidly extending toward Nature Hall''s members. Although the spatial tear looked fine and weak, it felt like the roar of an ancient behemoth. The sky and the earth trembled at its might. "Dodge it!" Owl Life shouted, panicking. Unfortunately, the spatial tear grew too quickly for his warning to be of any use. Crack! The sound of shattering glass shook the valley as the spatial tear reached Nature Hall''s MTs, who failed to react in time. Like a hot knife through butter, the spatial tear cut through the 18 MTs, their bisected forms falling to the ground. Nature Hall''s rear line healers had no time to cast a Healing Spell before their MTs lost the last of their HPs. Moreover, the spatial tear didn''t stop with the 18 linked MTs, reaping the lives of players standing dozens of yards away... "Do you still wish to fight us?" Violet Cloud asked as she retracted her staff and gazed upon Nature Hall''s members. With just one move, Violet Cloud had killed over 200 experts. Her indifferent tone suggested that she didn''t consider the act significant, and Nature Hall''s survivors shuddered in fear. "You merely have a powerful Spell. Do you really think that none of us can take you down?" Rage flared in Owl Life''s eyes as he glared at Violet Cloud. While he didn''t particularly mind the deaths of 200-plus Guild experts, he minded losing the 18 MTs that could utilize the Silverlight Battle Array. The Guild had carefully nurtured all of those players, and every one of them was very close to reaching the Refinement Realm. With the Silverlight Battle Array, each of those players had the combat power to surpass ordinary Refinement Realm experts. Losing a level might not impact their progress overmuch, but the loss of their weapons and equipment definitely would. They would need a lot of time to recover the items. Owl Life''s body transformed into a blur as he dashed toward Violet Cloud like a vicious gale. "Crap! Owl Life is attacking!" Dark Wave''s darkened as he watched Owl Life make his move. Owl Life wasn''t like the 18 MTs that had died. With his weapons, equipment, and combat standards, He ranked at the very top of the Storm Empire. His two one-handed axes were even Epic Set Weapons. He could easily repel a Great Lord of the same level, and the valley''s narrow terrain gave him the perfect battlefield. If Owl Life reached Zero Wing''s team, disaster would ensue. In less than ten seconds, Owl Life arrived before Zero Wing''s members. Although Zero Wing''s ranged experts bombarded him with attacks, he effortlessly dodged or blocked the incoming Spells and arrows. None of the attacks managed to reach him. As they watched, Nature Hall''s players felt their blood boil with excitement. "Hahaha! The Vice Guild Leader is finally making a move!" "Zero Wing''s members are dead for sure!" However, as Nature Hall''s members expected to see Owl Life throw Zero Wing''s members into the air, Violet Cloud moved again. Like her previous attack, she lightly waved Death''s Sigh and manifested multiple magic arrays around her. "Are you kidding me!?" Both Nature Hall and Twilight Echo''s members were stunned. Violet Cloud had called forth 200 magic arrays, a Blade of Darkness forming before each array. "Go!" Violet Cloud shouted. Like raindrops, these 200 Blades of Darkness descended on Owl Life, all under Violet Cloud''s control. They were not magical projectiles that could only move in a straight line. "Burial Flower!" Even Owl Life frowned as he watched the 200 Blades of Darkness fly toward him like lively sprites. He immediately activated his Epic axes'' Active Skill, and a gigantic flower formed beneath his feet. Twelve flower petals circled Owl Life, each carrying 100% of his Strength. The petals acted like MTs'' shields. Unless Violet Cloud''s attacks had higher Strength than he did, they wouldn''t break through Burial Flower''s defenses. Burial Flower formed a nearly invincible barrier around him. Following which, Owl Life charged toward Violet Cloud. However, but the hammering sounds the Blades of Darkness made as they collided with Burial Flower''s petals changed Owl Life''s expression. Burial Flower''s petals, which contained 100% of his Strength, couldn''t withstand the Blades of Shadow. The petals barely deflected the attacks and altered their trajectory. Against 200 Blades of Darkness, Owl Life''s Burial Flower and Epic axes seemed like paper tigers. Even though he fought with everything he had and fully displayed his Void Realm combat standards, he could only dodge or block a fraction of Violet Cloud''s attack. In the blink of an eye, the Blades of Darkness slid through Owl Life''s body, plundering the Berserker''s HP... Owl Life, one of the Storm Empire''s top ten experts, had been defeated! 2070 Powerful Zero Wing Chapter 2070 - Powerful Zero Wing "He died?" "Owl Life''s been killed in one move?" Nature Hall and Twilight Echo''s members gaped in shock after witnessing Owl Life''s death, unable to believe their eyes. However, not only did the man''s corpse lie before them, but his trademark weapons, the Burial Axes, rested next to his body. "Aqua, your Guild''s experts are quite strong. Is that girl your Guild''s number one expert?" Dark Wave asked his niece, his eyes glued on Violet Cloud. He had known that Zero Wing had been developing impressively, but he hadn''t thought it had become this strong. Violet Cloud''s gaze remained indifferent even after killing Owl Life as if she had casually slain a Common monster she had randomly come across. Someone actually treated Owl Life, one of Nature Hall''s Vice Guild Leaders, like a Common monster, killing him as if swatting a fly. If news of this spread, it would shake the very core of the Storm Empire. "No, Violet doesn''t rank number one in the Guild, but she should stand among the top five. Only..." Aqua Rose stopped herself, watching Violet Cloud in confusion. She was very familiar with Violet Cloud''s standards; like her, the girl was a Refinement Realm expert. However, Violet had achieved more in the Refinement Realm than she had. Although, if it came down to a fight, and their Levels and equipment were equal, she could fight Violet Cloud to a standstill with her Sea God''s Legacy. If the battle happened at sea, she''d wind by a landslide. If Aqua Rose had to fight a peak expert like Owl Life, even with all of her Epic Equipment, she''d have a very hard time defeating him. As for killing Owl Life in one move, she simply wasn''t capable of the feat. The equipment that the various large Guilds'' peak experts improved as time passed, yet for some reason, Violet Cloud had killed Owl Life instantly. Moreover, she had accomplished the feat effortlessly. No matter how Aqua Rose considered the situation, she couldn''t figure how Violet Cloud had done it. However, Aqua Rose didn''t know that Shi Feng had given Violet Cloud the Elemental Bloodline after his return from the Ancient God''s Maze, and due to the Advanced Bloodline, Violet Cloud''s Basic Attributes had skyrocketed. With her massive Basic Attribute advantage, it was only natural that she had slain Owl Life like a Common monster. "She''s only in the top five with that kind of strength?" Dark Wave stared at his niece in shock. He no longer dared to imagine how powerful Zero Wing truly was. Nature Hall likely had less than a handful of experts that could kill Owl Life instantly, yet a non-superpower like Zero Wing had four more of these experts... Meanwhile, Nature Hall''s members panicked after watching Owl Life die. Like frightened birds, they scattered and fled from the battlefield, none of them daring to fight any of Zero Wing''s members. What a joke. Both Owl Life and the 18 Silverlight Battle Array MTs had been defeated in a single move each. They weren''t fools. Now that they knew they were no match for Zero Wing, they wouldn''t stay and fight. Doing so would be nothing more than suicide. Once Nature Hall''s members fled, Violet Cloud turned her attention away and approached Aqua Rose. "Big Sis Aqua, here are the items you stored in the Guild Warehouse," Violet Cloud told Aqua Rose, who wore a hesitant expression. After trading the equipment, she said, "Ah, right Guild Leader asked me to tell you this; Don''t hold back! The Guild has your back!" "Guild Leader..." For a moment, various emotions overwhelmed Aqua Rose. When Twilight Echo''s members heard Violet Cloud''s message for her comrade, they couldn''t help their envy. A large Guild like Zero Wing was actually willing to start an all-out war with a superpower to support one of its Guild members. They had never even dared to imagine such a thing in the virtual gaming world. If they could join such a wonderful Guild, what more could they possibly ask for? Once Aqua Rose regained her composure and re-equipped her weapons and equipment, her change stupefied Twilight Echo''s members. She had already felt incredibly powerful, but after replacing her weapons and equipment, she felt like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. Not only did she look beautiful, but she also radiated an intensely powerful aura. Although they couldn''t tell the quality of her items since she had hidden the glow effects, her aura was even stronger than Dark Wave and Owl Life''s. So, this is the Guild Aqua joined? Dark Wave''s shock was even greater than when he had watched Owl Life die. The fact that Violet Cloud had killed Owl Life made it clear that Zero Wing had its own capable experts, but the equipment that had instantly elevated Aqua Rose''s combat power, which could now rival Owl Life''s, had an entirely different meaning. "Let''s leave this place and return to Windy City. Now that we''ve killed one of Nature Hall''s Vice Guild Leaders, Nature Hall won''t let this matter rest," Aqua Rose said as she glanced at Owl Life''s corpse. A Vice Guild Leader was one of a Guild''s public faces. If they did not handle this incident''s aftermath properly, Twilight Echo would have a difficult time leaving the Storm Empire. "Rest assured, Big Sis Aqua. The Guild Leader has led a group to Storm City to discuss the situation with Nature Hall. I believe he will settle this matter very quickly," Violet Cloud said, giggling. What?! They went to meet Nature Hall?! Dark Wave nearly jumped up in shock. Are they tired of living?! Although Owl Life was only Nature Hall''s Eighth Vice Guild Leader, one of the lowest-ranked Vice Guild Leaders in the Guild, he was still a Vice Guild Leader, yet as Violet Cloud had killed the man, Zero Wing had been heading to Nature Hall for negotiations. Zero Wing was clearly trying to provoke Nature Hall. Zero Wing would likely have trouble getting out of this unscathed, much less negotiate a better situation for Twilight Echo. Meanwhile, in the Storm Empire''s Storm City, Shi Feng''s party of six had arrived before Nature Hall''s Residence. As the Storm Empire''s imperial capital, Storm City''s player population even surpassed Black Dragon City''s. Storm City had nearly 27,000,000 resident players, and its businesses were particularly prosperous. The city''s prosperity was due to the Storm Empire''s ores. Plenty of ores and Gemstones, which other kingdoms and empires severely lacked, were produced within the empire''s borders every day. Because of this production, a large number of foreign players visited the empire to trade and purchase items. Moreover, due to the abundance of ores, the Storm Empire''s forging industry was exceedingly well-developed. Shops that specialized in selling and crafting weapons and equipment could be found all over the city, and plenty of players wore the Advanced Forger''s Insignia. Intermediate Forgers were a dime a dozen, as well. Not even White River City could say the same. Moreover, as many as eight known Master Forgers also called the Storm Empire home. Among them, two were independent players. No other empire could dream of achieving the same at this stage of the game. Purely in terms of weapon and equipment production, Storm City far surpassed White River City. "Please notify the Guild Leader Nature that Star-Moon Kingdom''s Zero Wing has come to discuss something with him," Shi Feng said as he approached the Nature Hall member stationed by the Residence''s entrance. "Alright, but I can''t guarantee that our Guild Leader will meet with you," the player replied, disdainfully eyeing Shi Feng''s party. Normally, a large number of Guild representatives visited the Residence to meet with Nature Hall''s Guild Leader, including representatives from the Storm Empire''s first-rate Guilds. Even so, their Guild Leader usually ignored their requests. As for a Guild from a kingdom, even the Vice Guild Leaders would likely refuse the request. The Nature Hall member then left to report the matter to his superior. Meanwhile, a middle-aged man sat behind an office desk, flipping through the documents in his hand, in the Guild Leader''s office within Nature Hall''s Residence. Several Level 64 players stood beside this man, all of which were experts with multiple pieces of Epic Equipment Any ordinary expert would feel as if they stood in a cage of bloodthirsty beasts if they stood before this group. Suddenly, a player entered the room, and upon seeing the players beside the middle-aged man, he couldn''t help but shudder. However, he suppressed the fear in his heart and announced, "Guild Leader, there''s a group of representatives from Zero Wing asking to meet with you. They''re a Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom." "A Guild from Star-Moon Kingdom?" Nature Manifestation raised his head as he listened to the subordinate''s report, curiosity flashing in his eyes. "Can''t you see that the Guild Leader is busy? It''s just a Guild from a small kingdom! Send them back to their countryside!" a robust man shouted. However, as the subordinate began to turn and leave, the icy-cold goddess sitting beside Nature Manifestation received a message. As she read the message, her expression darkened. "Wait!" the woman shouted. "Qilin? What''s wrong?" the robust man, who carried a gigantic scale shield, asked. "I''ve just received news that Owl Life has been killed," the woman, Jade Qilin, softly replied. "That brat got done in? Who did it? Was it Dark Wave? That shouldn''t be possible!" The robust man was astonished. However, after recalling Twilight Echo''s experts, he doubted that any of them could kill Owl Life. "No. According to the reports, he was slain by an expert from Zero Wing..." Jade Qilin said. 2071 Explanation? Chapter 2071 - Explanation? "Zero Wing? Isn''t that the Guild trying to meet with the Guild Leader?" The shield-carrying man frowned at Jade Qilin''s reply. He then turned to the reporting Ranger, killing intent lacing his words. "These people sure have guts!" A Vice Guild Leader was one of a Guild''s public faces. Guilds typically avoided killing each other''s Vice Guild Leaders or Guild Leaders unless they wanted to shed all pretense, much less one of Nature Hall''s Vice Guild Leaders. "They dare visit us after killing our people? Zero Wing is too arrogant!" A gloomy youth sitting on one of the sofas in the office turned to Nature Manifestation and said, "Guild Leader, why don''t you let my Evil Spirit Legion take care of them? "Tooth, your Evil Spirit Legion is Nature Hall''s blade! Using it to teach a Guild from a small kingdom a lesson is making a mountain out of a molehill," Jade Qilin said. "Moreover, Zero Wing must''ve realized the severity of its actions and come to make amends." Hearing Jade Qilin''s reasoning, the other players in the room nodded in agreement The Evil Spirit Legion was Nature Hall''s trump card, and it was a large part of the reason for Nature Hall''s victory over the Nine-star Family. Zero Wing didn''t even qualify to face this legion. As Jade Qilin had said, Zero Wing must have realized how detrimental killing one of Nature Hall''s Vice Guild Leaders was and was likely here to make amends for the mistake. How could a Guild from a small kingdom afford to provoke a superpower like Nature Hall, after all? "Enough!" Nature Manifestation commanded with a low shout, silencing everyone in the room. He shifted his gaze toward the reporting Level 63 Ranger, saying, "Have someone lead Zero Wing''s representatives to the reception room." "Understood!" the Level 63 Ranger answered and bowed nervously. A short moment later, one of the Nature Hall members guarding the Residence''s entrance led Shi Feng''s party to the Guild Hall''s reception room, surprising many independent players and the Guild''s members. "Who are those people? The Guild Leader is actually willing to meet with them?" Nowadays, Nature Hall''s strength grew rapidly. Guilds often visited the Residence in hopes of allying with Nature Hall, but not even first-rate Guilds'' Guild Leaders usually made it inside. And yet, Shi Feng and his companions followed a Guild member to a reception room. Why wouldn''t they be surprised? Everyone immediately began to chat about the identity of Shi Feng''s party. Some of the spies other major powers had planted within Nature Hall also launched investigations into Shi Feng''s party. If Nature Manifestation were willing to speak with these individuals personally, this event was certainly worth looking into. Nature Manifestation current sat on a sofa in Nature Hall''s luxurious, top-floor reception room. Jade Qilin, Evil Tooth, and a few of the Guild''s other upper echelons stood beside him, radiating dense killing intent as they watched Shi Feng''s party enter the room. Based on their auras, it was clear that these players were experts with an immense amount of combat experience. In fact, these peak experts'' auras were no weaker than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Martial Dragon, with a few of them being even stronger. Twenty silver-armored Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights had also been stationed in the room. Not only were these Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights Level 64, but they also wore Level 60 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. Like well-trained soldiers, they stood in lines along the sides of the room, emitting a solemn aura. Although the various large Guilds considered Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment top-tier at this stage of the game, fully equipping 20 players wasn''t exactly impossible. However, these 20 MTs wore Level 60 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. Even a first-rate Guild would be fortunate to have two or three complete sets. Furthermore, players had crafted these MTs'' equipment, which meant that Nature Hall was fully capable of crafting more. Nature Hall''s foundations were extraordinary. "I''ve heard that Zero Wing has something to discuss with me? May I know what you wish to discuss?" Nature Manifestation watched Shi Feng''s party enter the room through narrowed eyes. In a deep tone, he continued, "If this is about Vice Guild Leader Owl Life, you may return to your kingdom. I am not interested in listening to your reasoning." As soon as Nature Manifestation was done speaking, the intensity of the 20 silver-armored MTs'' auras skyrocketed, rapidly decreasing the temperature in the room. Jade Qilin and Nature Hall''s other upper echelons revealed sneers and pitying expressions. Nature Manifestation typically let them handle matters related to Guilds from small kingdoms, considering the matters beneath him. However, he had insisted on meeting Zero Wing''s representatives in person. They had been curious about his sudden change of heart. Now, they understood. Owl Life''s death had enraged Nature Manifestation, so he wanted to speak with the culprits personally. It had been a long time since they had seen Nature Manifestation so angry. The last time he had been this furious, he had removed three Guilds from God''s Domain permanently. Those Guilds hadn''t been small, but first- and second-rate Guilds. Since this Guild had dared to enrage Nature Manifestation, Zero Wing would suffer a tragic ending. Even if Zero Wing regretted killing Owl Life and wished to make amends, it was too late to change its fate. Once he was angry, no one could stop Nature Manifestation. Not even Nine-star Family had succeeded in this regard. "Explanation? What explanation?" Shi Feng simply shrugged in response to Nature Manifestation''s chilling gaze. "What? After all you have done, are you seriously trying to deny your crime?" Jade Qilin said, sneering at Shi Feng''s leisurely expression. "Deny? Deny what?" Shi Feng turned toward Jade Qilin, frowning slightly. "Is there even a need to say it!? You are responsible for killing our Vice Guild Leader Owl Life in the Nether Mine!" Jade Qilin hissed, her expression becoming even colder. "Oh, that''s what you''re talking about?" Shi Feng asked as realization lit his features. Calmly, he continued, "That''s right; we did that" "You...!" Shi Feng''s relaxed reply stunned Jade Qilin. She had assumed that he''d try to deny the fact. She certainly hadn''t expected him to admit it so boldly. "It''s good that you acknowledge it. What do you have to say for yourselves?" Everyone in the room from Nature Hill, including the 20 MTs, Evil Tooth, and the others who stood beside Jade Qilin, radiated dense killing intent. Their expressions made it clear that they were prepared to slaughter these visitors if Shi Feng said the wrong thing. "What''s there to talk about? Could Violet fail to kill this Vice Guild Leader, Owl Life?" Shi Feng asked in a strange tone. The hall fell silent as every player from Nature Hall glared at Shi Feng as if they were about to devour him alive. Arrogance! They had never seen such arrogance! Shi Feng simply didn''t know how to spell the word ''death''! After a short moment, Shi Feng returned his gaze to Nature Manifestation, calmly stating, "We are merely here to tell you one thing. Twilight Echo, which your Guild has targeted, is now under Zero Wing''s protection!" 2072 Repelling the Enemy with One Move Chapter 2072 - Repelling the Enemy with One Move For a time, Nature Hall''s members in the room were stunned into silence. They had no idea of how to respond to Shi Feng''s declaration. Not only had Zero Wing dared to kill one of their Vice Guild Leaders, but the Guild''s representatives had also come to Nature Hall''s Residence as if the death was of little significance. This Swordsman acted as if Zero Wing had killed an ant on the roadside, not a Vice Guild Leader. They couldn''t help but marvel at Zero Wing''s bravery. Now, Zero Wing even announced its protection of Twilight Echo, Nature Hall''s latest target. This wasn''t bravery. Zero Wing simply had a few loose screws. Not even superpowers would display such arrogance before Nature Hall. Jade Qilin even wondered if Shi Feng knew anything about God''s Domain. Perhaps he had decided that, since his Guild was doomed and would be removed from the game, he might as well provoke Nature Hall on its doorstep. "Hahaha! Good! Very good! It''s been too long since our Guild has done anything outside of the empire! To think a small kingdom''s Guild dares to act so pompously before us!" Evil Spirit revealed a grin as he stared coldly at Shi Feng, anger tainting his smile. After chasing Nine-star Family out of the Storm Empire, the empire hadn''t had any powers that dared to provoke Nature Hall. To secure its control in the empire and concentrate the Guild''s resources, Nature Hall hadn''t extended its influence past its borders. Hence, the outside world was unaware of Nature Hall''s power. There was also the fact that Shi Feng and the others had a few screws loose. Evil Spirit assumed that Zero Wing''s members had spent too long in their own kingdom and didn''t see the difference between the Storm Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom, thinking that they could walk through the empire unhindered. Nature Manifestation''s personal security team stared at Zero Wing''s members as if they were dead men walking. "He''s infuriated Boss Spirit! That guy is definitely dead!" "I bet these people won''t get to leave Storm City alive! This is going to be entertaining!" "That''s right! Even if they kneel and beg for their lives, there''s no saving them. They''ll probably lose more than just one Level. Boss Spirit will use that item, and they''ll lose three Levels with each death. If we send a tracking team after them as well, we can even send them back to Level 0." Although attacking another player inside an NPC city was risky, players obtained more tools as they reached higher Levels. As a result, killing other players inside NPC cities became increasingly easier. This was especially true for a superpower like Nature Hall. Even slaughtering players in an imperial capital wouldn''t be a problem for the Guild. This was also why the various independent experts had been more hesitant to provoke God''s Domain''s powers. A single mistake could send them back to Level 0, after all. Although the Zero Wing members present were experts and more difficult to defeat than independent experts, they were nothing to Nature Hall. Even a party of peak experts would fall in Storm City if they provoked Nature Hall, much less Shi Feng''s party. Nature Hall had acquired a Domain Treasure called Dead World from an ancient ruin. As long as a player supplied enough Magic Crystals, Dead World would create a domain that cut off communication with the outside world. Not even the city''s NPC guards would receive a notification of the transgression if one attacked another player within the domain unless it was destroyed or released. Ordinary NPC guards wouldn''t even notice the domain when standing next to it. Only the Tier 3 Guard Captains could see through the domain. However, how rare were Tier 3 NPC Guard Captains? There wasn''t even one Tier 3 Guard Captain for ten patrol squads in an imperial capital like Storm City. Meanwhile, each patrol squad generally monitored three to five streets. If they activated the Domain Treasure in the proper location, the chances of encountering a Guard Captain were nearly zero. While Nature Manifestation''s 20 personal bodyguards whispered to each other, the Guild Leader, who had remained silent, raised his head and said, "So be it Originally, I had planned to send you off with a warning, but since you don''t know how to repent for your actions or show proper respect, I''ll remove you from God''s Domain permanently! Then, I''ll send someone to visit Zero Wing." In response to his Guild Leader''s declaration, Evil Spirit revealed a stone plate and sacrificed a large number of Magic Crystals to it. The color in the room then faded to a dull gray. "What? You want to attack us?" Shi Feng asked as he sent a glance at Evil Spirit, who wore pitch-black leather armor. "Are you afraid now?" Evil Spirit asked as he shot Shi Feng a playful look. "Unfortunately, it is too late for regret!" He had thought that Nature Manifestation would wait until Shi Feng''s group left the Residence before sending him to take action. He hadn''t expected his Guild Leader to order an attack now. It was clear how truly furious Nature Manifestation was. However, he didn''t think the reaction was unreasonable. Zero Wing''s representatives were insufferably foolish. Even the King of Hell would laugh at their lunacy and imprison them for a few extra millennia. "Afraid?" Shi Feng shook his head. "You''re not strong enough for me to fear!" "Crap! This is the first time I''ve met someone so stubborn! Everyone, attack! Kill him!" Evil Spirit commanded, his eyes twitching in anger. The 20 silver-armored MTs surged toward Shi Feng and his companions. Seeing this, Jade Qilin could not help but watch with a pitying gaze. Zero Wing''s members might have made it out of Storm City alive, but now, not only had they lost that hope, but they would pay an even greater price. Although she did not know what gave Zero Wing''s members so much confidence, she was certain that they''d die in this room. Moreover, players who died in the Dead World wouldn''t lose a single Level, but three. At their Level, leveling up required a lot of time and effort. Losing three Levels would be a huge setback. Nature Manifestation''s 20 personal bodyguards were more than enough to eliminate Shi Feng''s party, not to mention the Guild''s peak experts like herself. Not only were these bodyguards Refinement Realm experts, but they also wielded the Silverlight Battle Array. When they activated the battle array, they could even kill peak experts. This was why Nature Manifestation''s security team only had 20 players. As Jade Qilin and the other peak experts expected their Guild Leader''s bodyguards to annihilate Shi Feng''s party, several sword lights flashed in the room. Shadow blade! As if every sword light had a life of its own, they agilely maneuvered through the bodyguards'' defenses, striking the players directly. As if some colossal beast had slammed into them, a dozen or so bodyguards flew into the walls behind them, which cracked under the immense force. "In the face of death? Blackwater, Starlink, and Miracle''s armies failed to remove Zero Wing. What do you think a few Refinement Realm experts can accomplish?" Shi Feng asked as he sheathed Killing Ray and sat back on the sofa. He watched Nature Hall''s upper echelons calmly as if nothing had happened. 2073 Suppressing Nature Hall Chapter 2073 - Suppressing Nature Hall Looking at the robust figures planted in the walls of the luxurious reception room, the unharmed members of Nature Manifestation''s personal security team froze in shock. When they returned their gazes to Shi Feng, they wore tense expressions. "What''s going on?" "What did he do?" The security team members had failed to react to the attack. They had only seen Shi Feng swing his sword, and in the next moment, their companions had disappeared from next them and become wall decorations. How is this possible? Evil Tooth was just as stunned to watch the bodyguards fly through the room. He was very familiar with these bodyguards'' strength. When they cooperated, they could even take down peak experts. The Silverlight Battle Array allowed them to share their senses, which greatly strengthened their defenses. However, despite the bodyguards'' enhanced defenses, Shi Feng had maneuvered his Skill past their defenses and dealt direct damage. His control with the Skill was frighteningly accurate. "Good! No wonder why you dared to show such arrogance! Everyone, use your Magic Scrolls! Don''t fight him at close range!" Evil Tooth commanded after snapping out of his daze. He then turned toward Jade Qilin and whispered, "Qilin, I need your help in a moment. This person is far stronger than I expected." He admitted that even he could replicate Shi Feng''s performance, but he was an Assassin, and the Assassin combat method allowed him to slay opponents that were far stronger than him. "You''re going to fight as well? Fine, leave it to me." Jade Qilin nodded. Jade Qilin immediately began to chant an incantation. In the meantime, the rest of the bodyguards followed Evil Tooth''s command and retrieved Tier 2 Magic Scrolls from their bags. These Magic Scrolls were extremely rare, some containing Control Spells, some holding AOE Spells, and others possessing single-target Spells. They had originally prepared these Magic Scrolls to use against enemies when outnumbered, but against such a strong melee opponent like Shi Feng, they had no choice but to rely on attacking from afar with these Magic Scrolls. In the next moment, flaming thorns, spears of light, and chains of sand flew toward Shi Feng, launching a wide array of Spells like a combined assault from a team of magical class players. With how cramped the reception room was, dodging all of these Spells wasn''t realistic. Most of the Spells were also impossible to block as they were AOE attacks. "Die!" the bodyguards shouted. However, before the multiple Spells bombarded Shi Feng, he lifted Killing Ray and slashed the empty space before him. Countless arcs of lightning appeared out of thin air, devouring everything in their path. Even the Tier 2 Spells vanished the moment they touched the lightning. Lightning Edge! Boom! A massive explosion shook the reception room, its lavish decorations becoming nothing more than remnants. The bodyguards that had attacked Shi Feng had vanished from the room. The weapons and equipment pieces on the floor were the only indicator of their prior presence... Over a dozen well-equipped MTs with over 180,000 HP had died, just like that. In contrast, Shi Feng hadn''t changed. He hadn''t even moved from his original position, much less taken damage. Shi Feng had executed only two moves, yet he had killed more than half of Nature Manifestation''s famous security team. The security team''s remaining members were crippled. Shi Feng''s combat power was horrific. How was he supposed to be a player? He was basically a monster that destroyed everything in his path! Just as everyone assumed the battle was over, Jade Qilin, who hadn''t stopped chanting, finally finished her Spells. She slammed the butt of her resplendent staff against the floor and commanded, "Seal!" Three magic arrays appeared around her, each from a different Spell, yet they had appeared simultaneously and were of similar design as if they were a single Spell. "A threefold, large-scale Spell?!" Alluring Summer, who stood behind Shi Feng, was surprised to see the arrays circling Jade Qilin. Double-casting was an extremely difficult technique for most magical class experts, especially when casting Tier 2 Spells. Needless to say, triple-casting three Tier 2 Spells was even more difficult. However, there were certain Spells in God''s Domain that could only be used when casting multiple Spells. Generally, these were large-scale Spells that required multiple players to cast, yet Jade Qilin could cast one that typically needed three players by herself. These large-scale Spells were far more powerful than individual Spells of the same tier. The instant Jade Qilins Spells took effect, five golden chains appeared around Shi, each containing soushuddering power. Not even Grand Lords of the same level would dare to touch these chains. As if they had a life of their own, these chains launched at Shi Feng like anacondas. "Let''s see how he blocks this!" The Nature Hall members sneered at Shi Feng as they watched. Tier 2 large-scale Spell, Holy Chains! This was Jade Qilin''s ultimate Spell. Although it had a very long cast time and wasn''t suited for one-on-one combat, it would exhibit tremendous power once cast. Jade Qilin had killed multiple peak experts with this move, earning the nickname ''Chain Killer'' from the Storm Empire''s players. However, the expressions Nature Hall''s members wore froze as they watched what happened next. Shi Feng blocked the golden chains, which even Grand Lords feared, with his swords, a thunderous roar echoing throughout the room when his blades collided with the magical attack. Despite the five chains'' exceptional Strength, they couldn''t reach Shi Feng. He deflected every incoming attack. As Shi Feng defended himself against the magical chains, Evil Tooth appeared behind him in complete silence. After revealing himself, Evil Tooth thrust a glowing, crimson dagger toward Shi Feng''s back. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Blood Shadow! This single attack contained even more power than Jade Qilin''s five chains combined. "You''ve finally made your move." Rather than panicking in the face of this sudden and well-timed attack, Shi Feng revealed a smile. Sword''s Transmigration! Suddenly, the Twilight Blade and Killing Ray transformed into two streaks of light and wrapped around the five Holy Chains. As if they were under his control, the five chains then flew to intercept Evil Tooth''s crimson dagger, the collision throwing sparks that temporarily blinded everyone in the room. When the light faded, Nature Hall''s members wore grim expressions. Evil Tooth''s HP plummeted as he stared at Shi Feng in horror. Although he wanted to say something, he had already lost the last of his HP. With darkening vision, Evil Tooth collapsed to the floor. Silence dominated the reception room. Nature Manifestation''s personal bodyguards had worked with two of the Guild''s peak experts against one opponent, yet they were either dead or crippled, aside from Jade Qilin. Like an unshakable mountain, Shi Feng still stood where he had stated! The Death World shattered the moment Evil Tooth died, and the room returned to its original state... 2074 Another Monster Chapter 2074 - Another Monster Silence! Shock! Horror! Even though Dead World had been removed and the reception room had returned to its neutral state, Jade Qilin and the other Nature Hall peak experts felt stifled and overwhelmed. Even Nature Manifestation, who had observed the fight in silence, wore a gloomy expression. "Who are you?" Nature Manifestation asked Shi Feng. Ordinary peak experts couldn''t topple his personal bodyguards or Evil Tooth, the Evil Spirit Legion''s commander. While he had considered the possibility of their defeat, he hadn''t expected it to happen so easily. He couldn''t imagine anyone, aside from Domain Realm monsters, who would be capable of such a feat. But how rare were Domain Realm experts in God''s Domain? Every Domain Realm expert that had ever existed in the virtual gaming world was accounted for, and they were all responsible for shaking the community to its core. However, based on his information, Shi Feng''s name wasn''t on that list "Black Flame," Shi Feng stated calmly. "Black Flame? Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?" Shock colored Jade Qilin''s face when she heard Shi Feng''s reply. "But how?" Black Flame wasn''t unknown to Nature Hall. After all, he ranked among the top ten on the God''s Domain Expert List. He was a peak expert that had reached the Void Realm, and one of the top peak experts in the game. But at the end of the day, that''s all he was, a peak expert Although they earned the various superpowers'' attention, they weren''t powerful enough to threaten a superpower''s very existence. Every superpower had plenty of peak experts in its ranks. No matter how she looked at it, however, no peak expert should be capable of the combat power Shi Feng had displayed. "What an excellent scheme. So, you''ve deliberately hidden your strength all this time?" Nature Manifestation asked. Unexpected, he was actually smiling. However, knowing their Guild Leader''s personality, Jade Qilin and her companions knew Nature Manifestation''s smile wasn''t an indication of his good mood. Rather, it was a result of his anger reaching a tipping point. The various superpowers in God''s Domain viewed every Domain Realm expert as immensely important. Rather, these experts were impossible to ignore. Domain Realm experts were strategic weapons, and as players reached higher Levels, the threat these experts posed to superpowers would grow. Hence, superpowers took considerable precautions against every Domain Realm expert they encountered. If Shi Feng had revealed himself as a Domain Realm expert early on, the various superpowers would''ve paid more attention to Zero Wing. The Guild''s name would''ve likely joined the superpowers'' blacklists, regardless of its developmental state. Some superpowers might have even extinguished Zero Wing immediately to save themselves from future trouble. As for Shi Feng recently reaching the Domain Realm, it wasn''t likely. Reaching the Domain Realm proved that one transcended the limits of humanity. Despite the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds accumulating resources and knowledge over many generations, each superpower had, at most, nurtured only a handful of Domain Realm experts in each generation. It was easy to imagine how difficult reaching the Domain Realm truly was. In other words, Shi Feng must have hidden his strength from the public deliberately to avoid attracting too much attention. Now that he was satisfied with his personal strength and that of his Guild, he wanted to use Nature Hall as a stepping stone to show off his power. That would explain why would Shi Feng was willing to make an enemy of Nature Hall just to help Twilight Echo, a Guild he was barely connected to. "Guild Leader, should we request Senior Fan''s presence?" Jade Qilin whispered to her Guild Leader. Although Domain Realm experts were extremely rare, Nature Hall had its own collection of them. Senior Fan was one example. Moreover, he had spent most of his time in the Storm Empire. If they notified him, he would soon return to the Residence. If Senior Fan returned, with the help of Nature Hall''s other peak experts, they could ensure that Shi Feng''s party didn''t leave the Residence with their lives. After all, this was Nature Hall''s main headquarters. After Jade Qilin posed her question, the three imposing men beside her directed their killing intent toward Shi Feng. A mere up-and-coming Guild like Zero Wing actually dared to use Nature Hall as a stepping stone. This was unacceptable. Suddenly, the reception room''s doors flew open, and a group of 50-plus silver-armored experts charged in and surrounded Shi Feng''s party. Although they weren''t Refinement Realm experts like Nature Manifestation''s personal bodyguards, they could rival such experts with their Silverlight Battle Array. "What? You still insist on fighting?" Shi Feng asked as he calmly watched Nature Hall''s members from his seat, showing no signs of anxiety or concern. He wouldn''t have dared to visit Nature Hall''s Residence before he had reached the Domain Realm and acquired the Twilight Blade. This was, after all, a superpower''s headquarters, and Nature Hall would have plenty of methods to deal with invaders. The Guild would also have other Domain Realm experts nearby. At this stage of the game, Shi Feng''s fight against Martial Dragon on Thunder Island wasn''t a proper indicator of Domain Realm experts'' prowess. During that battle, he had had the advantage in terms of Basic Attributes and Skills, and since Martial Dragon had only been a Tier 1 player, the man''s weak physique had prevented him from fully exhibiting his strength. To put it simply, players'' physiques at that time had restricted Domain Realm experts. Shi Feng hadn''t gotten a clear idea of how strong Domain Realm experts were in that fight, but once he had reached the same Realm, he understood these experts'' true power. With a Tier 1 player''s physique, Domain Realm experts would be limited to 50% of their true combat power at most. However, Void Realm experts would be able to display their full combat power. It was only natural that Domain Realm experts back then had only seemed slightly more powerful than peak experts. At this stage of the game, however, not only had Domain Realm experts'' physiques greatly improved, but their weapon and equipment standards had also increased. A superpower''s Domain Realm expert likely wore at least three or four pieces of Epic Equipment, possibly even a Fragmented Legendary item. Superpowers had frightening resources and expansive territory. Encountering a superpower that owned one or two Fragmented Legendary items at this stage of the game wouldn''t be odd. As soon as Shi Feng was done speaking, Fire Dance, Cola, Alluring Summer, Shadow Blade, and Ye Wumian, who stood behind him, stepped forward and released their auras. As if a volcano had erupted in the room, an intense energy washed over its occupants, and the expressions that Nature Hall''s members wore changed instantly. Fire Dance and her comrades felt like primordial beasts that had just awoken from a long slumber. The pressure they radiated was painfully stifling, particularly Fire Dance''s aura. Could she be another Domain Realm expert? The thought drifted through Jade Qilin and her companions'' minds, shuddering at the idea. Zero Wing was merely a small kingdom''s Guild. It wasn''t even a superpower, yet it had two Domain Realm experts. Since when were Domain Realm experts so common? If Shi Feng could hear these peak experts'' thoughts, he wouldn''t have been surprised. Among the five players he had brought with him, only Fire Dance held a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. She also had her own Bloodline and six Epic items. In Zero Wing, Fire Dance''s equipment standards were only second to his. Moreover, she was only a step away from the Truth Realm and had already mastered multiple Advanced Combat Techniques. In her current state, she could definitely contend with Domain Realm experts. 2075 Miscalculation Chapter 2075 - Miscalculation Although Jade Qilin and Nature Hall''s other peak experts had intended to act, they couldn''t help but freeze the moment they felt Fire Dance''s oppressive aura. "Guild Leader, are we still going to fight them?" Jade Qilin could not help but ask as she turned to look at Nature Manifestation, her expression hesitant. One Domain Realm expert was already extremely difficult to defeat. Now that Fire Dance, who felt like another Domain Realm expert, had joined the fray, she had to take this situation more seriously. Ordinary players might not realize the importance of one or two Domain Realm experts in a Guild, but as one of Nature Hall''s upper echelons, she was very clear of the implications. This was no longer a matter of Shi Feng or Fire Dance''s personal strength, but of Zero Wing''s foundations. Instead, it was a matter of Zero Wing''s Guild foundations. If Zero Wing had only possessed a single Domain Realm expert, it could''ve been explained away as luck. It would prove nothing regarding Zero Wing''s foundation. However, the fact that Zero Wing had at least two Domain Realm experts couldn''t be shrugged off in the same way. Domain Realm experts weren''t as common as cabbages. If Zero Wing truly had two Domain Realm experts, the Guild wasn''t as simple as everyone assumed. "Qilin, you''re overthinking this. Her aura doesn''t prove that she''s a Domain Realm monster. She could simply have absurdly high Basic Attributes. Zero Wing has no background, so it''s lucky enough to have one Domain Realm expert. How could it possibly have two? And such a young one at that," a solemn man with a scar across his face spoke up. Listening to the man''s reasoning, Nature Hall''s members relaxed, releasing more than half of their anxiety. No one doubted this man''s words. He was Deep Thunder, Nature Hall''s First Vice Guild Leader and one of the Guild''s main support pillars. He was also one of the top ten experts on the God''s Domain''s Secret Experts List. The Secret Pavilion had two God''s Domain Experts Lists. One recorded the top 1,000 experts with the most attention- grabbing battle records. The second was a secret list, which only superpowers could purchase. The Secret Experts List only contained 100 names. However, these players weren''t ranked by their battle records, but based on the combat standards they had revealed. One had to be a Void Realm expert before the Secret Pavilion would even consider them for the list. Any peak expert that could rank on the Secret Experts List was, at most, a step away from the Domain Realm. Those that ranked among the top ten were practically pounding against the edge of this Realm. They only needed a slight push to reach the Domain Realm. Deep Thunder was one of these experts. Although none of Nature Hall''s experts in the room had reached the Domain Realm yet, Deep Thunder was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable about it Since Deep Thunder was certain that Fire Dance was not a Domain Realm expert, there was a 90% chance that he was correct. "Thunder is right. Everyone needs to calm down. Although I don''t know how this little girl from Zero Wing has such frightening Basic Attributes, Zero Wing is 100 years too early if it thinks it can stroll into Nature Hall''s Residence with such an attitude!" Nature Manifestation commented, backing up Deep Thunder. He flashed Shi Feng a piercing glare before commanding, "Summon Senior Fan and the Evil Spirit Legion members immediately! Lock down the Residence! I want to see how capable these Zero Wing representatives truly are!" Although Shi Feng had displayed astonishing combat power, Nature Hall wasn''t a pushover. Nature Hall had gone to great lengths to recruit Senior Fan and convince him to protect the Guild. The elder had been a Domain Realm monster for decades, and his combat standards were far above Shi Feng''s, who, at most, had only entered the Domain Realm within the past few years. Senior Fan also wore the best equipment available in the game, and the Evil Spirit Legion was one of Nature Hall''s trump cards. Although the Evil Spirit Legion only had 100 members, every member was a Refinement Realm expert or better. Even the weakest among them had mastered three combat techniques, and including the Silverlight Battle Array, they could even defeat Domain Realm experts. The Evil Spirit Legion was also why Nature Hall even dared to provoke super-first-rate Guilds. However, the moment Nature Manifestation issued the order, Fire Dance''s group moved, charging straight toward the Guild Leader. Taking the lead, Cola and Ye Wumian dashed forward like two Tyrannosaurus Rexes. When the reinforcing security team members collided with the two MTs, they flew backward as if they had been hit by a truck, their tight defensive formation shattering instantly. Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword followed the two MTs closely. Alluring Summer sent at least one player flying with each Spell she cast, while Shadow Sword forced multiple players to stumble back with each slash. These two easily repelled any security team members that approached from the sides. Rather than a battle, this looked like adults toying with children... Taking advantage of the chaos, Fire Dance blew past the security team''s blockade and arrived before Nature Manifestation. "Don''t think you can get through me that easily!" Deep Thunder bellowed, swinging his gigantic, two-handed battle axe with a solemn expression, leaving no room for Fire Dance to dodge. Tier 2 Skill, Earth Bombardment! Peng! Not only was Earth Bombardment an AOE attack that amplified his Strength, but it could also significantly reduce players'' Movement Speed when he struck. This was the trademark Tier Skill of the Magic Warrior hidden class. The move could only be blocked, not dodged. In addition, the Magic Warrior class was a specialized Advanced Class for Berserkers, using magic to strengthen the user''s body. However, Deep Thunder''s expression froze when his attack landed. Fire Dance''s flimsy short sword had actually stopped his humongous axe''s descent Not only had Fire Dance remained stable, but she also retained every point of her HP... Before Deep Thunder could swing his battle axe again, Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations slithered toward the Berserker''s neck with an utterly unpredictable attack trajectory. Advanced Combat Technique, Illusory Snake! "Scram!" Deep Thunder shouted as he activated Whirlwind Slash to defend himself. Boom! When short sword and battle axe collided, a sharp clang echoed throughout the room. A moment later, Deep Thunder, who prided himself on his Strength, stumbled three steps back, staring at Fire Dance with an incredulous look. While he had recognized Fire Dance''s amazing Basic Attributes, he hadn''t expected them to be so high. How does she have so much Strength? Deep Thunder wasn''t the only one the situation surprised. Jade Qilin, who cast Spells from the side, glanced over in horror when she noticed Deep Thunder stumble. In God''s Domain, there was a major difference between one-handed weapons'' Strength and that of two-handed weapons. This was why most Berserker players chose two-handed weapons. Two-handed weapons could make full use of Berserker''s high Strength. However, despite being an Assassin, Fire Dance exhibited greater Strength with a short sword than Deep Thunder. This unraveled everything Jade Qilin thought she knew about God''s Domain. Moreover, Deep Thunder wore three pieces of Epic Equipment, wielded an Epic Weapon, and the rest of his equipment was comprised of Level 60 Dark-Gold items. She couldn''t imagine how an Assassin could block one of his attacks with a one-handed sword. After sending Deep Thunder backward, Fire Dance abruptly vanished. Void Steps! By the time anyone could react, Fire Dance had reappeared before Nature Manifestation, holding her Thousand Transformations against the Guild Leader''s throat. As a Cursemancer, Fire Dance held Nature Manifestation''s life in her hands. Seeing this, Nature Hall''s members paused with gloomy expressions. When Nature Manifestation looked up at Fire Dance, his countenance was ashen. Fire Dance''s group had only moved five seconds ago, yet they had already gotten past more than 50 Refinement Realm and better experts, threatening his life. Not even a Domain Realm expert could perform such a feat. 2076 Do You Need a Doctor? Chapter 2076 - Do You Need a Doctor? When Fire Dance took Nature Manifestation captive, Nature Hall''s members stayed their hands as they hatefully glared at the female Assassin. At the same time, though, a hint of fear could be seen in their eyes. "What should we do now, Vice Guild Leader?" Jade Qilin asked Deep Thunder quietly, frowning as she watched Fire Dance play with her short sword from behind Nature Manifestation. She didn''t have enough authority in this situation to make a decision. Nature Manifestation was the Guild''s symbol. If they let him die, it would humiliate their Guild. However, Fire Dance currently had control over Nature Manifestation''s life and death. Even though peak experts like Jade Qilin could cross the six-yard distance in less than half a second, half a second would be more than enough time to kill their Guild Leader for someone with Fire Dance''s Strength and speed. Deep Thunder said nothing in response to Jade Qilin''s question. He didn''t know what to do, either. Zero Wing was far more terrifying than he had imagined. If Fire Dance were truly a Domain Realm expert, this situation, at most, would''ve surprised him, but the problem lay in the fact that she wasn''t one, which horrified him. After their brief clash, he was certain that the female Assassin had only reached the Refinement Realm, although she wasn''t your typical Refinement Realm expert. However, he couldn''t articulate how she differed from the average Refinement Realm expert Regardless, her combat standard could, at best, rival Flowing Water Realm experts. She was almost nothing compared to an expert like him, who was only a small step away from reaching the Domain Realm. Yet, despite her inferior combat standards, Fire Dance could suppress him in a confrontation. Moreover, she had done so effortlessly. She had even taken Nature Manifestation captive in an instant Although the Guild Leader was only an ordinary peak expert, this outcome was shocking. Not even the Refinement Realm experts understood this, much less the ordinary experts. Peak experts were known as such because they stood at the peak of God''s Domain. Even Domain Realm experts would struggle to threaten a peak expert''s life, yet Fire Dance had done so effortlessly. He couldn''t imagine what weapons and equipment would be necessary to allow an expert, who had reached the Flowing Water Realm at best, to command even greater combat power than Domain Realm monsters. However, that wasn''t the worst of it Zero Wing''s other representatives were obviously only Refinement Realm experts, but they had displayed combat power that could easily rival peak experts. Not even super-first-rate Guilds were likely capable of nurturing such high-quality Refinement Realm experts. After silence reigned over the room for a short moment, Nature Manifestation discarded his shock and turned to glare at Shi Feng. "Do you think that I''ll simply allow Nature Hall to let Zero Wing off the hook just because you''ve captured me?" Nature Manifestation asked, sneering. "Don''t be foolish. It is just one level and one piece of equipment. I can afford the loss. If you go through with this, however, Zero Wing won''t have the power to endure Nature Hall''s wrath." The strength Shi Feng''s party had displayed had surprised him, but at the end of the day, an individual''s strength was nothing compared to a Guild''s. Regardless of how powerful this Zero Wing party was, it didn''t change anything about the difference between Zero Wing and Nature Hall. "That''s right You should think this through carefully, Guild Leader Black Flame. If you do this, there will be no saving the relationship between our Guilds," Jade Qilin said in an attempt to persuade Shi Feng. "I believe you are aware of Nature Hall''s strengʲi. In the end, only Zero Wing will suffer." As Jade Qilin finished speaking, Nature Hall''s members calmed their fears and revealed confident smiles. They had been stunned after witnessing the combat power Shi Feng''s party commanded, but after giving the matter some thought, they realized that Shi Feng''s party would only sign their death warrants if they killed Nature Manifestation. Zero Wing was merely a kingdom''s Guild. Regardless of its battle records, it was still far weaker than Nature Hall. Zero Wing could not afford to endure Nature Hall''s wrath at all. As a Guild Leader, Shi Feng must have realized this. Unless Shi Feng insisted on dragging Zero Wing down with him, he wouldn''t let Fire Dance kill the other Guild Leader. Even Storm City''s independent players wouldn''t believe that Shi Feng would do such a thing, let alone these Guild upper echelons. As the smiles Nature Hall''s members wore spread with delight, Shi Feng, who watched from his seat, returned the grins and said, "What you say is true. There is a big difference between Zero Wing and Nature Hall, but what if Nature Hall lost Storm City?" "Lost Storm City? Is this fellow dreaming?" "What a joke! How could our Guild possibly lose Storm City?" Nature Hall''s members began to laugh, thinking Shi Feng had gone mad. Storm City was Nature Hall''s main headquarters. Not even a superpower could dethrone the Guild in its own city, much less Zero Wing. "You''re referring to the Auction Arena battle, right?" Nature Manifestation laughed. "While I understand your thinking, that is a battle of experts and resources. Zero Wing''s experts might be impressive, but do you really think Zero Wing can outmatch Nature Hall''s resources?" Superpowers like Nature Hall had long since investigated the Auction Arena''s rules. In this competition, resources were far more important than military might Hence, all of the various superpowers fervently collected Epic materials while they had time before the Auction Arena competition began. Compared to Nature Hall, Zero Wing''s material collection speed was useless. How could Zero Wing possibly hope to defeat Nature Hall in a contest for Storm City''s Auction House? However, as Nature Manifestation finished his statement, Shi Feng revealed a dark-gold crystal from his bag. The crystal was unusually eye-catching in this room, and it drew everyone''s gaze. While most of the reception room''s occupants didn''t understand why Shi Feng had revealed this crystal, Nature Manifestation froze when he saw it. "You... How did you get that?" Nature Manifestation could not help but ask. Nature Manifestation''s sudden change of expression even confused Fire Dance and her companions, let alone Nature Hall''s members. No one knew why the Nature Hall''s almighty Guild Leader would seem scared of a single crystal. "Do you really need to ask?" Shi Feng said, revealing a faint smile. "I am the player responsible for activating Thunder Axe City, of course. Is it so strange that I have this crystal?" The item in his hand was none other than the Thunder Axe Crystal, which was capable of teleporting a large number of players to Thunder Axe City. It also normally cost 5,000 Thunder Axe City Contribution Points. "You activated Thunder Axe City? That... That is impossible! How could you be responsible!?" Nature Manifestation stared at Shi Feng with an incredulous look. Thunder Axe City was a super-large-scale neutral city, and after its activation, it had quickly become a hub for many superpowers, including Nature Hall. Countless first- and second-rate Guilds visited the city, as well. The neutral city was so popular due to its abundant resources, especially incredibly rare Epic materials. Thunder Axe City was practically a treasure trove. However, traveling to and developing in Thunder Axe City was quite difficult. Due to its terrain and environment, not even expert players could remain in the city for long. Even with its sturdy foundations, Nature Hall could only afford to send 300 experts to develop in the city long-term. However, not only did Shi Feng possess the Thunder Axe Crystal, which one could purchase from the Thunder Axe Temple and provided convenient transport to the city, but he was also responsible for Thunder Axe City''s activation. However, when Nature Manifestation recalled the group of Giant players Zero Wing possessed and the Thunder Axe Crystal in Shi Feng''s hand, which no player should be able to obtain at this stage of the game, he knew that Shi Feng''s claim was likely true. "Guild Leader Nature, what''s wrong? You don''t look too good. Should I call a doctor?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling at Nature Manifestation''s deathly pale expression. 2077 Nature Hall Submits Chapter 2077 - Nature Hall Submits As Shi Feng''s calm voice continuously echoed throughout the room, Nature Manifestation''s expression twisted into something ugly. Traces of fear flashed in his eyes, stupefying Nature Hall''s members. Nature Manifestation stood at the very top of the Storm Empire. A single word from him could decide the life or death of the empire''s various Guilds. He was also a bona fide peak expert. He could lead Nature Hall to become an overlord in God''s Domain in the future! Yet, now... Nature Hall''s members weren''t the only ones surprised. The Guild Leader''s reaction confused Fire Dance and her companions. Nature Manifestation had reacted calmly even when Fire Dance had taken him captive, yet now, he seemed more afraid of Shi Feng''s few sentences. Why wouldn''t they be surprised? "What do you want?" Nature Manifestation asked as he watched Shi Feng, afraid. If he had only seen Shi Feng as a Domain Realm expert before, he viewed the man as a monster, capable of shaking Nature Hall''s very foundations, after learning that this Swordsman had pioneered Thunder Axe City and acquired the Thunder Axe Crystal. Most people were still unaware of Thunder Axe City. Even in Nature Hall, only the Guild''s upper echelons and the experts that had visited the city knew about its splendor. According to their understanding, Thunder Axe City should''ve activated more than two weeks ago. The various superpowers, however, had only discovered the city nine days ago. When Nature Manifestation thought about how Shi Feng could send a large number of players to the city with the Thunder Axe Crystal and the man''s status as Thunder Axe City''s pioneer, he couldn''t help but shudder. Epic materials were even more important than expert players in the Auction Arena''s battles. Zero Wing''s members had already proven their combat power. If the Guild also had a wealth of Epic materials, Zero Wing could pose a significant threat to Nature Hall in the upcoming Auction Arena contest. Meanwhile, Deep Thunder, Jade Qilin, and Nature Hall''s other upper echelons stated at Shi Feng in fear. They had counted themselves fortunate to send 300 experts to Thunder Axe City, but Shi Feng was actually responsible for activating the neutral city... "Nature Hall is so powerful. How could Zero Wing every hope to compare?" Shi Feng laughed. He then said, "We are only here to help Twilight Echo learn whether or not it can withdraw from the Storm Empire in safety. You shouldn''t overthink the situation, Guild Leader Nature." "Fine. Out of respect for Zero Wing, our issue with Twilight Echo stops here. As long as Twilight Echo leaves the Storm Empire, Nature Hall will let it leave," Nature Manifestation answered through gritted teeth. Even Nature Hall would struggle to take out experts like Fire Dance, Cola, and the others. If Zero Wing dispatched a large number of experts and relied on the Epic materials it gained from Thunder Axe City, he wasn''t confident that Nature Hall could hold Storm City. After all, Thunder Axe City had a frightening supply of Epic resources available. If Zero Wing took control of Storm City''s Auction House, Nature Hall''s development would be severely affected. Even if Zero Wing failed, it could still force Nature Hall to dispatch more forces than planned, which would, in turn, ruin the Guild''s plans to claim other cities'' Auction Houses. As Nature Hall''s Guild Leader, Nature Manifestation couldn''t sacrifice the Guild''s larger plans just to punish Twilight Echo. Moreover, he suspected that Zero Wing had far more trump cards than what it had revealed in this reception room. Of course, this was only his conjecture. The fact that Shi Feng had pioneered Thunder Axe City was already frightening. Nature Manifestation couldn''t think of what could be even more impressive than that. When Nature Hall''s reinforcements heard their Guild Leader''s decision, their jaws dropped; they couldn''t believe what they had just heard. "Just who is this Black Flame?" Nature Hall''s members grew more curious about Shi Feng. This man had actually forced their Guild Leader to compromise with just a few words. No one would believe this if they told them. Nature Manifestation had even chased the Nine-star Family out of the Storm Empire. How could he possibly submit to a Guild from a small kingdom? "Guild Leader Nature is quite open-minded. If there are no other problems, we''ll be taking our leave," Shi Feng said with a smile. Standing, he turned and left the tattered reception room alongside Fire Dance and the others. Shi Feng had never intended to steal Storm City''s Auction House. He had simply wanted to scare Nature Manifestation. There were currently tons of problems in White River City that required his attention. With Zero Wing''s resources and experts, the Guild could, at most, contest for one city''s Auction House. Only, Nature Manifestation did not know this. Although Thunder Axe City had an abundance of Epic materials, the neutral city had only activated around two weeks ago. There were far too few players in the city for it to exhibit its true potential. Moreover, Nature Manifestation thought too highly of Shi Feng''s position as the city''s pioneer. Even if Shi Feng had secured a 2-star Smithy, he wouldn''t acquire as many Epic Materials as Guilds raiding Team Dungeons. If Nature Manifestation realized this, he''d faint with anger and try to fight Zero Wing to the death. As Shi Feng and his subordinates made their way to the door, the Nature Hall players guarding the door stepped aside to let them through after receiving a signal from Nature Manifestation. Jade Qilin and the other upper echelons only returned their attention to their Guild Leader after Zero Wing''s party had left the Guild Hall. "Guild Leader, are we really going to give up Twilight Echo?" Jade Qilin asked. "If we do this, news of this incident will spread throughout the empire." "So be it. In any case, keeping a tight lid on this is impossible," Nature Manifestation grumbled as he massaged his temples. Annoyed, he continued, "I never would''ve thought that Zero Wing was responsible for activating the city that has caused such a sensation among the various superpowers. We''ll likely see a difficult period in God''s Domain soon. You should begin to prepare for it." "Understood!" Jade Qilin nodded, fully understanding Nature Manifestation''s intentions. He had assumed that the first Auction Arena competition would be an exclusive playground for the game''s superpowers, but now that Zero wing had revealed itself as a potential competitor, the various superpowers'' plans were ruined. Nobody would''ve imagined that Zero Wing would be the cause of the situation plaguing the various superpowers. After Shi Feng''s party left Storm City, news of Nature Hall abandoning its harassment of Twilight Echo quickly reached the empire''s various powers. "What? Nature Hall gave up on Twilight Echo? But why?" "What kind of Guild is Zero Wing?" For a time, this matter caused an uproar in the Storm Empire. Nobody would''ve thought that Nature Hall would stop targeting Twilight Echo out of respect for Zero Wing. Every power in the empire was immediately curious about Zero Wing. Meanwhile, news of this matter also reached Twilight Echo''s Residence in Windy City. "What did you just say? Nature Hall has given up on us because of Zero Wing and recalled its forces?" Dark Wave was stunned when he heard his subordinate''s report, unable to believe the news. 2078 Twilight Echo Shaken Chapter 2078 - Twilight Echo Shaken When Twilight Echo received the news of Nature Hall''s withdrawal, silence reigned of the Guild Leader''s office. The dozen or so Guild upper echelons in the room didn''t know how to react to this development. "Nature Hall gave up? But why?" "What did Zero Wing''s members do?" Nature Hall had intended to use Twilight Echo as an example to stabilize its rule in the Storm Empire and expand its influence past the empire''s borders. Nature Hall had been adamant on destroying Twilight Echo. They had been discussing their safe withdrawal from the Storm Empire and their defense against Nature Hall, but after nearly an hour, their despair had only intensified. The difference between their two Guilds was too massive. At this point, Nature Hall only needed a fraction of its strength to remove Twilight Echo from God''s Domain. Even with Zero Wing''s help, they didn''t think that they could withstand Nature Hall. Zero Wing was, after all, only on par with a first-rate Guild. Yet, Nature Hall had unexpectedly withdrawn its assault. They couldn''t help but wonder how Zero Wing had accomplished the feat. A powerful background? A transaction? They considered many possibilities, but none seemed reliable or possible. However, it was an inescapable fact that Zero Wing had convinced Nature Hall to leave Twilight Echo in peace. Dark Wave turned to Aqua Rose, a myriad of emotions overwhelming his heart. When Violet Cloud had informed Owl Life that Zero Wing intended to protect Twilight Echo, Dark Wave had assumed it had been Zero Wing''s way of taking a stand against Nature Hall. He hadn''t actually believed that her Guild could protect his. Looking at it now, however, it seemed that Violet Cloud had meant what she had said. This was the Storm Empire''s overlord they were talking about! Although he did not know how Zero Wing had stopped Nature Hall, its success in doing so proved the Guild''s strength. When Aqua Rose had left Twilight Echo to join an insignificant, upstart Guild from some backwater kingdom, many of the Guild''s members had mocked her for her foolishness. They had all thought that she was stupid. If she hadn''t been so stubborn, she would''ve kept her position as an Honorary Elder and had access to plenty of opportunities to display her talent. Twilight Echo had been a veteran first-rate Guild for decades, not a force a small Guild without a background could compare to. Who would''ve thought that the small, insignificant Guild Aqua Rose had joined would grow to become so powerful? Not only was Zero Wing Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord, but it also commanded the strength of a first-rate Guild. Now, it had saved Twilight Echo from the brink of destruction, convincing a superpower like Nature Hall to abandon its plans. After this series of events, Dark Wave couldn''t fathom how powerful Zero Wing truly was, despite the fact that he led a veteran first- rate Guild. If news of this reached Twilight Echo''s Guild Elders, the old fellows and company representatives that had mocked and ridiculed Aqua Rose would likely die from embarrassment. They had all played a major part in dismissing her from her position as Honorary Elder. Due to this incident and her position in Zero Wing, Aqua Rose would have considerable influence in Twilight Echo from now on. The Guild might even follow her whims. Dark Wave wasn''t the only one to think this. Every upper echelon in the office realized the implications of today''s events. Their views of Aqua Rose had utterly changed. Aside from her joy, Aqua Rose was stunned, as well. She hadn''t imagined that Shi Feng would actually be able to stop Nature Hall. Shortly after, Violet Cloud relayed Shi Feng''s latest message to Twilight Echo''s upper echelons, informing them that as long as the Guild left the Storm Empire, Nature Hall wouldn''t take further action against it. The young woman then left Twilight Echo''s Residence, returning to Star-Moon Kingdom with her team. As for Aqua Rose, she only intended to return after dealing with a few matters with her old Guild. Twilight Echo''s upper echelons eagerly hoped that Aqua Rose would stay for some time. Twilight Echo was going to leave the Storm Empire and find another kingdom to continue its development. This meant that it would have to deal with the overlord of whichever kingdom they chose. If they had the help of a powerhouse like Zero Wing, settling in their new home would be far easier. Meanwhile, news of the events between Nature Hall and Twilight Echo soon reached God''s Domain''s many superpowers. Nature Hall was one of them, and even though this incident was a small matter in the other superpowers'' eyes, it was still necessary to watch the situation. Ore Empire, Crimson Flame Fortress: "How can Nature Hall be so dumb? It gave up such a good opportunity to stabilize its position in the Storm Empire just because of Zero Wing? Did Zero Wing offer the Guild some massive bribe?" Jing Yang, who stood inside Blackwater''s Vice Guild Leader''s office, ranted his confusion after reading the latest message. Nature Hall had been developing rapidly lately, and it easily ranked among the top ten fastest developing superpowers in God''s Domain. Many veteran super-first-rate Guilds were even starting to feel threatened. Yet, out of respect for Zero Wing, the Guild had abandoned its plans. It was truly surprising. "Not bad. It seems Zero Wing is quite capable, after all. It''s no wonder why it rejected my offer of cooperation," Xuanwu Chisa said, a charming smile forming on her face. "Vice Guild Leader, you think too highly of Zero Wing. I don''t know what benefits it offered Nature Hall to settle this matter, but Zero Wing hasn''t solved its predicament in White River City. Ignoring the several powers that desire the city''s Auction House, Zero Wing has its hands full with its own internal problems," Jing Yang said. "Starlink has recently invested a lot of capital into hindering Zero Wing. It is even trying to poach Zero Wing''s upper echelons and core members by offering to triple their current salaries. Starlink has also begun to claim commissions meant for Zero Wing by offering lower prices, slowly chipping away at Zero Wing''s financial situation. I doubt it will be more than a month before Zero Wing crumbles in on itself." Larger Guilds had both advantages and disadvantages. When a Guild had a low member count, its daily expenditures were relatively small. Hence, its finances were easy to handle. However, as a Guild grew, it would face more difficult financial problems. Including hostile corporations'' intervention, a Guild''s financial problems could become even more challenging. Hence, although Zero Wing seemed to have grown quite powerful, it had acquired new weaknesses. Zero Wing had still been a relatively small Guild without a headquarters in the real world, and as a result, it hadn''t had to contend with major expenditures. Its size had rendered hostile corporations'' interference ineffective, but things had changed. Now, not only had Zero Wing purchased Ouroboros''s main headquarters, but it had become even larger than Ouroboros at its peak. Its monthly expenditure was easily dozen of times larger than Ouroboros''s had been. This was why the various first-rate Guilds feared the various superpowers. Not only could a superpower crush a first-rate Guild under its military might, but it could also launch an economic assault. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng''s party returned to Star-Moon Kingdom''s White River City, he sent Fire Dance and the others to continue their Team Dungeon raids and collect as many Epic materials as possible to prepare for the Auction Arena. It''s about time that I deal with my Elemental Cores. Shi Feng grinned as he opened his bag to inspect the Elemental Cores within. He then altered his appearance using the Demon Mask and visited White River City''s Teleportation Hall. Spending 4 Gold, 30 Silver, he teleported to the distant Sea of Illusion. 2079 Sea Tribe Weapon Chapter 2079 - Sea Tribe Weapon Sea of Illusion, Blue Coral City: Shi Feng was disguised as a Level 61 Swordsman as he walked through Blue Coral City''s streets. Unlike the kingdoms and empires on the God''s Domain continent, the Sea of Illusion was neutral territory, maintained by a merchant alliance. The merchant alliance mainly operated out at sea, controlling only a few cities on land Most of its towns and cities had been established on islands. Because of this, most visiting players were either merchant players or independent players. Guilds rarely visited the Sea of Illusion. This was also why adventurer teams ruled over the area''s several major cities. Meanwhile, Blue Coral City was the Sea of Illusion''s largest city. First-time visitors were almost always surprised by what they found here. The majority of the player population consisted of merchant players, while the rest were mostly independent players. There were very few players wearing Guild Emblems. "Buying tons of Sea Tribe Weapons for 50 Silver each! Also selling Purplefire Crystals!" "Selling Ocean Pearls! Get a 5% discount for buying more than 100 pearls!" "Urgently selling three Sea Tribe Weapons for 1 Gold, 70 Silver!" Players busied themselves as they set up stalls along the city''s streets, selling a large variety of items. This wasn''t typical of cities in normal kingdoms and empires. Sea Tribe Weapons? Shi Feng slowed to a halt when he heard the advertising players. He vaguely remembered that Sea Tribe Weapons had been popular for a time during his previous life. They had once been items that all naval players had desired. The Sea Tribe Weapons could be traded to the Sea of Illusion''s NPC forgers to commission crafted weapons, which would allow players to exhibit greater combat power in battles at sea. Weapons that had been made with Sea Tribe Weapons were 15% to 20% stronger than normal weapons of the same rank, a considerable improvement. Only, trying to craft a high-quality naval weapon was not easy, and the production success rate wasn''t 100%. If one wanted to commission a Level 60 Secret-Silver Weapon, they''d need three Sea Tribe Weapons, and the production success rate would only be 50%. A Level 60 Fine-Gold Weapon would cost 5 Level 60 Sea Tribe Weapons, and the success rate was only 30%. To put it simply, the higher the desired weapon''s quality was, the more Sea Tribe Weapons a player would need, and the lower the production success rate would be. Meanwhile, players could only acquire Sea Tribe Weapons by killing the Level 50-plus members of the Sea Tribe. Hence, complete naval weapons were incredibly expensive on the market. Of course, Sea Tribe Weapons had another purpose, and Shi Feng knew it. Purchasing Secret Laws! Secret Laws were extremely rare in God''s Domain, even rarer than combat techniques. They also provided players a significant boost. Secret Laws were a type of Berserk Skill, but unlike normal Berserk Skills, which were prohibited in certain areas, Secret Laws could be used anywhere like combat techniques. They could even be used when Silenced However, Secret Laws were a huge burden on the user''s Stamina and Concentration. The more powerful a Secret Law was, the more Stamina and Concentration it would consume. In addition, players didn''t have to master a Secret Law to use it. Only, using an unmastered Secret Law would drain more resources than usual. The worst part was that Secret Laws would drop automatically when players died! Even so, countless experts in God''s Domain coveted Secret Laws due to their many benefits. Secret Laws provided a boost to physique and allowed players to exhibit more of their combat power. Moreover, Secret Laws gave players a clearer idea of their flaws. These were the reasons that players had coveted Secret Laws. They were even more valuable than combat techniques. Meanwhile, Sea Tribe Weapons could be exchanged for one of these precious Secret Laws. Although there were limited copies of the Secret Law available and the process of acquiring one was particularly troublesome, Shi Feng didn''t mind. He might have had some trouble purchasing a few copies if he had tried before visiting the Ancient God''s Maze, but he shouldn''t have any issues now. One needed to fulfill two conditions to purchase copies of the Secret Law. First, they''d need to locate the NPC that sold them; then, they''d need to obtain the required items for payment. The NPC only accepted a combination of Sea Tribe Weapons and Elemental Cores. Other than Shi Feng, it wasn''t likely that any of God''s Domain''s players knew about this NPC, and of course, collecting Sea Tribe Weapons and Elemental Cores wasn''t a problem for Shi Feng. Following which, Shi Feng spent 10 Silver to set up a stall in Blue Coral City''s business district. "Buying Sea Tribe Weapons for 60 Silver each! Only buying a certain amount! First come, first served!" Shi Feng shouted, immediately attracting the attention of the players on the street. Normally, players only purchased Sea Tribe Weapons for 50 Silver each. Even players that set up stalls to sell the weapons asked for less than 60 Silver. With someone willing to spend so much on each Sea Tribe Weapon, players were bound to notice. A short moment later, a large group of players crowded around Shi Feng to sell their Sea Tribe Weapons, rapidly depleting Shi Feng''s funds. In less than an hour, Shi Feng had spent more than 2,000 Gold, purchasing 4,352 Sea Tribe Weapons. He had basically purchased every Sea Tribe Weapon in Blue Coral City. Once customers stopped visiting his stall, he packed up and headed for a hotel to alter his appearance once more. When Shi Feng left the hotel, he discovered several players hiding around a street corner, staring intently at the hotel''s entrance. It was obvious that these players wanted to learn why he had bought so many Sea Tribe Weapons. Unperturbed, Shi Feng found a deserted location and used the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport out of Blue Coral City. After using Space Movement and Spatial Gate four times in a row, Shi Feng arrived on a volcanic island that housed monsters ranging from Level 80 and Level 100. These monsters were far from ordinary with the weakest among them a Chieftain that had the combat power to rival players who reached the Trial Tower''s third floor. Even ordinary Tier 2 experts of the same level would have a difficult time fighting these Chieftains one-on-one. Meanwhile, the NPC that possessed the Secret Law copies was located in a hidden room within the volcano. Players had only learned of this NPC in the past thanks to a few players who had visited the island for a rare quest. They had accidentally stumbled across the secret room, finding this rare NPC. Very quickly, with the help of Gale Domain, Shi Feng reached a cave inside the volcano. After killing several hundred Level 83-plus Lord ranked lava monsters, he finally found a hidden room. Although the cave''s monsters were all Lords, they had dropped almost no loot. They hadn''t dropped anything beyond some ordinary materials, not even a single piece of Common Equipment. Although the monsters'' loot was terrible, the EXP they granted was astounding. After killing several hundred monsters, Shi Feng had finally risen from Level 70 to 71. As he opened the door to the hidden room, Shi Feng was greeted by the sight of a dark, empty room. It only contained a stone platform. Shi Feng grew a little excited as he approached the platform, spending 100 Magic Crystals to light the candle upon it without hesitation. By the time the public had discovered this place in the past, the players that had pioneered the island had cleaned out the NPC''s stock of Secret Law copies. Although the stock would replenish from time to time, the various superpowers had already laid claim and monopolized the NPC. Small Guilds like Shadow had only been able to watch and drool from the sidelines. As the candlewick ignited, a storm abruptly enveloped the room. The translucent figure of a man began to materialize before Shi Feng. After an inspection, one would discover that this man was a Level 80, Tier 2 Professional Mage named Horace. However, when Shi Feng inspected the man with Omniscient Eyes, he discovered that the NPC was actually a Level 180, Tier 5 Divine Mage. If players gave in to their greed and tried to rob this NPC, only death would await them, a particularly cruel death. "Young adventurer, are you the one who has awakened me?" Horace asked as he watched Shi Feng with eyes swallowed by dark-blue flames, his gaze chilling. "Yes, Lord Horace." Shi Feng nodded respectfully. As a deceased entity, Horace abhorred the living. If Shi Feng disrespected him, he''d get nothing from this NPC. "Very good. When I was alive, the King of the Sea Tribe hunted me down and killed me. Now, I want revenge on the Sea Tribe. However, I cannot leave this place, so I want you to be my instrument of vengeance, slaying the Sea Tribe''s members. As proof of your achievement, you may bring me the Sea Tribe''s unique weapons. Once you complete this task, I will reward you handsomely," Horace said. Although the NPC''s tone was calm, the rage in his eyes was apparent System: You have accepted the Epic Quest, "The Wrath of the Dead." Quest content: Kill Sea Tribe members and obtain 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons. Rewards unknown. 2080 Epic Rank Reward Chapter 2080 - Epic Rank Reward An Epic Quest? Shi Feng was slightly astonished when he heard the system notification. He had never heard of Horace giving out an Epic Quest in the past. He had only known that this NPC wanted Sea Tribe Weapons in a bid for vengeance against the Sea Tribe. The quest in the past had only been an Advanced Hidden Quest, requiring 1,000 Sea Tribe Weapons to complete, and a player had to finish the quest before they could trade with Horace. Now, not only was the quest Epic rank, but its completion also required 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons. This massive changed ruined his plans. In the past, the activation quest had awarded the Ocean''s Heart Design, an Intermediate Magic Array Design. Although Ocean''s Heart was only a Barrier-type Magic Array, it could suppress sea monsters to a frightening extent Ocean''s Heart was even effective against Mythic monsters and extremely useful to Guilds trying to develop their naval prowess. The Ocean''s Heart''s Magic Array Scrolls had sold for astronomical prices in the past. Of course, now that the quest had changed, its reward would be different as well. It seems I''ll have to come up with a different method. Shi Feng sighed deeply as he handed Horace 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons. The various major powers on the main continent had already reached a developmental bottleneck. As a result, these powers had begun to complete over the sea''s resources. Fortunately, Zero Wing already had its own Shipyard, many advanced speedboats, and control of several coastal towns and naval cities. Immortal Light, Zero Wing''s subordinate, had also been developing its naval strength under Shi Feng''s orders and was now a significant power at sea. However, with how quickly the various major powers were developing, Zero Wing would struggle to maintain these advantages. Shi Feng had wanted to rely on the Ocean''s Heart to accelerate the Guild''s development at sea, but now, he had no choice but to look for other avenues. As Shi Feng gave Horace the Sea Tribe Weapons, the NPC''s eyes glowed with excitement "Wonderful! There are indeed 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons here!" Horace nodded in satisfaction, his hand abruptly flashing with a bright glow. When the light subsided, he held an ancient tome. "I went to great lengths to obtain this book. Hopefully, you can make good use of it. If you obtain more Sea Tribe Weapons in the future, you can find me to trade them. When Horace finished speaking, not only did Shi Feng obtain the tome, but he also earned an abundance of EXP. Not only did he instantly level up from 71 to 72, but he also gained two additional Legacy Skill Points from completing the quest. The quest rewards were incredible. It was much harder to level up after reaching Level 70, and Shi Feng''s hidden class required twice as much EXP as normal players. An Ancient Forging Book? Shi Feng''s eyes widened in shock when he inspected the book he had earned from Horace. Ocean''s Heart didn''t have much use to individual players, but the magic array was quite important to Guilds. If possible, he wanted to trade 3,000 Sea Tribe Weapons for the array design. However, after seeing the Ancient Forging Book, this thought vanished. In God''s Domain, Ancient Forging Books were akin to Alchemy Secret Journals. Not only were they unique items, but the weapon or equipment designs they contained were also extraordinary. An Ancient Forging Book was almost as valuable as an ordinary Epic Forging Design. Shi Feng immediately opened the Ancient Forging Book, eager to discover what item it would help produce. Amazing! I struck gold this time! Shi Feng could not help his growing elation as he read the tome''s contents. The Ancient Forging Book Horace had given him didn''t contain one weapon or equipment piece design. Rather, it contained the designs to produce the Dark-Gold Set Equipment, Crystal Light Set. Although it was only a Level 60 to Level 80 set, it was an eight-piece set equipment, possessing more set effects than its six-piece counterparts. If a Level 60 player equipped the Crystal Light Set, their combat power would be on par with a player wearing a six-piece Level 65 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. At this stage of the game, the various superpowers could only dream of owning six-piece Level 65 Dark-Gold Set Equipment Anyone seen wearing such a set would even earn peak experts'' envy. Of course, the Crystal Light Set had harsh production requirements. At the very least, one needed to be a Basic Master Forger to forge the set, and the required materials were extremely rare. For example, the set required a lot of Fine Titan Ore, Mana Stones, and Advanced Magic Cores, all of which were incredibly difficult to procure at this stage of the game, even for the various large Guilds. However, material gathering was a secondary concern. The high production cost was far more important If Shi Feng calculated the cost according to current market prices, each production attempt would cost roughly 800 Gold. Furthermore, A Basic Master Forger wouldn''t have more than a 30% success rate when trying to forge the set. Even Intermediate Master Forgers would only have a 35% success rate, while Advanced Master Forgers would have a 40% chance. Even if one were lucky, they''d still spend nearly 2,400 Gold to produce one Crystal Light Set... Although Zero Wing earned a lot of Coins each day, most of those Coins had to be spent on paying back debts. Shi Feng still needed to pay back the astronomical construction cost for Silverwing Town''s airport. Moreover, he had instructed Aqua Rose to invest funds into the Lost Town''s development in secret to enable the Guild to nurture more experts in a short time. In addition, Zero Wing had to fund Immortal Light''s development and purchase Epic materials for the upcoming Auction House competition. Right now, the Guild only had around 20,000 Gold available for emergencies. If he wanted to mass-produce the Crystal Light Set and form a personal security team like Nature Manifestation''s, he''d need a lot more Coins. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng traded 1,200 Sea Tribe Weapons and 1,500 Elemental Cores for three copies of the Basic Secret Law, Deep Sea Meditation. Shi Feng could only return later to trade for Horace''s remaining three copies. [Deep Sea Meditation] (Basic Secret Law) Allows the user to exhibit their body''s latent potential through meditation, significantly improving their physique. This Secret Law consumes a lot of Stamina and Concentration when used. Drops upon death. After purchasing the Secret Law copies, Shi Feng left to find the 4-star Wandering Merchant using the Seven Luminaries Ring. After teleporting five times, Shi Feng arrived in a secret land. He then spent the next four hours clearing out the Level 80- plus monsters that stood in his way before locating a small, wooden house. A gray-robed, elderly man called Zall, one of three 4-star Wandering Merchants in the Sea of Illusion, occupied the house. After meeting with Zall, Shi Feng purchased all 500 Stamina Gemstones the NPC had, each gemstone costing 5 Elemental Cores. He couldn''t have dreamed of doing something like this in his previous life. This NPC simply required too many Elemental Cores. If he hadn''t obtained the 6,752 Elemental Cores while grinding in the Ancient God''s Secret Maze, he wouldn''t have dared to purchase both the Secret Law copies and the Stamina Gemstones. When the public had discovered Zall in the past, the various superpowers had monopolized the NPC''s stock. These powers left very few gemstones for other players once they had finished with Zall. Hence, it was a dream for Shi Feng to purchase 500 Stamina Gemstones in a single transaction now. The several players that had discovered Zall in the past had only purchased around 200 Stamina Gemstones. Even so, they had made a fortune, earning the various large Guilds'' envy. Following which, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. 2081 Stormy Winds Chapter 2081 - Stormy Winds Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Although White River City was not the kingdom''s capital, its popularity overshadowed Star-Moon City as the main headquarters of the kingdom''s number one Guild and home to the Candlelight Trading Firm, which continued to introduce one new product after another. At this point, White River City had become the kingdom''s capital in the hearts of Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. Since White River City was the only city in the kingdom to be promoted, it''s fame had reached new heights. Tons of players from foreign cities and countries visited the city every day, and it had become almost as prosperous as an ordinary empire''s imperial capital. Over a dozen Level 64 players in gorgeous equipment had gathered on the second floor of White River City''s Auction House. They all wore the same Guild Emblem as they watched the fight in the Auction Arena. Contempt filled their eyes as they looked down on the combatants. "As expected of a small kingdom. Although the local players'' equipment standards are quite good, their combat standards are terrible. They''re not even a match for some second-rate Guilds in our Dark Night Empire. It''s no wonder why Zero Wing lords over Star-Moon Kingdom," a Level 64 Berserker said as he watched several Guild players from Star-Moon Kingdom fight in the Auction Arena in ridicule. The Berserker had not held back his opinion. With the physique of Tier 2 players, the combatants had heard him clearly even from 50 yards away. However, none of those players dared to comment against the Berserker. They all simply lowered their heads and remained silent. This Berserker had earned the right to such arrogance. This Level 64 Berserker had won 20 matches in the Auction Arena in a row. Quite a few of the Berserker''s opponents had been peak experts from Star-Moon Kingdom, but none of them had dropped the Berserker''s HP below 80%. This Berserker had even fought two opponents at once and still maintained his HP above 80%, winning the match. Moreover, the Berserker''s identity was extraordinary. This Berserker was Dust Blood, one of the ten great experts from the Dark Night Empire''s Bloodbath Family. The Bloodbath Family was a veteran first-rate Guild, and at this point, it was the strongest Guild in the Dark Night Empire, excluding the three resident superpowers. The Bloodbath Family also occupied a medium-sized kingdom and a small-sized kingdom. No ordinary first-rate Guild could hope to compare to its strength. "Although these Guilds are very weak, Zero Wing''s title as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord proves that it has some ability. Furthermore, Zero Wing has four experts that rank on the God''s Domain Experts List. Black Flame, in particular, has killed many superpowers'' peak experts thus far," a young man in dark-gray robes said. Zero Wing''s name had already become commonplace in the Dark Night Empire. After all, the Guild had successfully helped the Hundred Flowers Palace stop Starlink''s invasion in Moon Creek Town. The incident had surprised the empire''s various Guilds, all of which had immediately investigated Zero Wing. However, the more they looked into Zero Wing, the more the Guild surprised them. These Guilds hadn''t been surprised by Zero Wing''s rapid development in God''s Domain, but by the number of frightening powers Zero Wing had provoked. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Nine Dragons Emperor, the Evil God''s Temple, Pantheon, Blackwater, Miracle, and the Dark Night Empire''s Starlink. All of these Guilds were powerful enough to make even a first-rate Guild like Bloodbath Family shudder in fear, yet Zero Wing had provoked every one of them. The fact that Zero Wing had survived this long was unbelievable. Calling it a miracle wasn''t an exaggeration. "Zero Wing''s success will soon reach its end. The various superpowers have been busy with their own matters, so none of them have bothered to retaliate. I''ve also heard that Zero Wing has a tentative alliance with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Rain. But things have changed. The various superpowers have set their sights on White River City, and even if Phoenix Rain makes a personal appearance, she can''t change Zero Wing''s fate," Dust Blood said, sneering. The fact that Zero Wing had four experts that ranked on the God''s Domain Experts List was impressive to other Guilds, but the achievement meant nothing to the various superpowers. The God''s Domain Experts List focused on players'' battle records, not their overall strength. God''s Domain had many experts that hadn''t accumulated eye-catching battle records, yet wielded peerless strength. Take the Bloodbath Family, for example. Bloodbath Family''s expert members were even stronger than the Refinement Realm experts on the God''s Domain Experts List, but none of them had actually made it on the list. To put it simply, only small Guilds and independent players took the God''s Domain Experts List seriously. It was merely an information source for true major powers, not an indicator of a Guild''s strength. Moreover, the competition for an NPC city''s Auction House didn''t rely on war weapons or tools. Instead, it relied on a Guild''s resources and experts. The competition prohibited artificial strength, so the war weapons Zero Wing had been lucky enough to acquire would be useless. With how few experts Zero Wing possessed, it wouldn''t even be able to defeat veteran first- rate Guilds like Bloodbath Family, much less the various superpowers. "I guess you''re right. The various superpowers will not give up on White River City''s Auction House. Some of the old monsters that usually hide in the shadows are even revealing themselves to ensure their Guild''s success in the competition. Even experts on the God''s Domain Experts List will be of limited use," the young man nodded in agreement. When he spoke of the various superpowers'' old monsters, fear and yearning flashed in his eyes. Thus far, the fights between God''s Domain''s superpowers had been nothing more than skirmishes. Large-scale battles between these major powers were rare. Moreover, to nurture the younger generation, the various superpowers'' true experts typically avoided their Guild''s affairs. They kept to themselves, quietly increasing their strength. If these old monsters took action, how would the younger generation acquire any fame? Even the younger generation''s greatest prodigy was a joke before these old monsters! "Zero Wing is certainly unlucky. It could''ve remained the king of its mountain for some time. Unfortunately, White River City was promoted too quickly. Now, even its dream of standing atop its mountain as king would shatter. I''ve heard that even King''s Return, Blackwater, and Pantheon have arrived to compete for White River City. I can''t wait to see these superpowers tear Zero Wing apart," Dust Blood said, smiling. "Oh? Look over there. Even the Glory Empire''s Holy Reincarnation has come. It seems that they''re here to watch the fight between these superpowers, as well," the young man said suddenly as he pointed to a group often or so players that had just arrived in the second-floor hall with a smirk. Holy Reincarnation was also a veteran first-rate Guild, strong enough to rival the Bloodbath Family. It was also the second strongest Guild, after King''s Return, in the Glory Empire. While the various kingdoms and empire''s powers gathered in White River City in anticipation of the Auction House''s struggle, Shi Feng worked on crafting the Crystal Light Set in the nearby Candlelight Trading Firm. Although up to ten players could learn the Crystal Light Set''s production method from the Ancient Forging Book, it was an eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Not even Basic Master Forgers like Melancholic Smile and Cream Cocoa would have much success with forging the set. Furthermore, Melancholic Smile and the others had their own work to focus on. Hence, Shi Feng decided to craft the set equipment himself. Fortunately, acquiring the required materials was no trouble for Shi Feng. Zero Wing had been growing stronger as time passed, and as a result, it had compiled a ton of materials in the Guild Warehouse. In addition, the Candlelight Trading Firm had joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce. So, obtaining the necessary materials to forge the Crystal Light Set Equipment was quite easy for the Guild. In fact, Shi Feng had gathered more than a dozen sets of materials in less than an hour. He then refined the materials with the Soul Fire. Using the Philosopher''s Hand''s ability, Shi Feng continued to shape one set piece after another. Before he put the finishing touches on the eight-piece set, Shi Feng retrieved 40 grains of Temporal Sand. Temporal Sand was incredibly valuable, with each gain selling for more than 20 Gold on the market. Not only could it increase one''s production success rate, but it could also strengthen the crafted item. Shi Feng allocated five grains of Temporal Sand for each set piece, the maximum amount Dark-Gold Equipment could handle. If he hadn''t had the Bracelet of Time, he wouldn''t have dared to use the Temporal Sand so extravagantly. The Crystal Light Set Equipment then radiated a dazzling glow, illuminating the entire room. As the light faded, it revealed eight pieces of equipment, glowing with a sparkling light and radiating an ancient, violent aura. 2082 Timeless Equipmen Chapter 2082 - Timeless Equipment Did it succeed? Shi Feng could not help but grow a little excited as he gazed at the eight-piece set equipment on the table before him. Although he had more than ten sets of materials on hand, the Crystal Light Set was top-tier Dark-Gold Set Equipment, its production difficulty only second to Epic Equipment. Although he had already become an Intermediate Master Forger and with the help of the Philosopher''s Hand, performed as an Advanced Master Forger, successfully forging the Crystal Light Set was incredibly difficult Theoretical success rate, after all, had nothing to do with the actual forging process. In the game''s early stages, the Main God System had simplified the various production processes to their base limits to allow players to familiarize themselves with God''s Domain''s subclasses. However, as players reached higher levels and adapted, the Main God System would gradually withdraw its assistance, and the various production processes would become more complex and detailed. Meanwhile, successfully forging a Dark-Gold Set Equipment was a massive threshold for Lifestyle players. During God''s Domain''s ancient times, weapons and equipment had only fallen into two categories: ordinary and extraordinary. More categories had only been added after the Ancient Gods had fallen. Ordinary equipment split into Bronze, Mysterious- Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, and Dark-Gold ranks. Extraordinary equipment had been broken down into Epic and Legendary. Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment were considered the peak of ordinary equipment Hence, they were extremely difficult to obtain and produce. Without a larger power''s support, an ordinary expert player would be limited to Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment at best Meanwhile, Dark-Gold Set Equipment was at the very apex of ordinary equipment, the best available without any flaws. No matter how high one raised their theoretical production success rate, a single mistake would result in failure. There was no room for error when crafting Dark-Gold Set Equipment. One could argue that crafting Dark-Gold Set Equipment was even more difficult than producing Epic items since the latter allowed for some mistakes. Only, the theoretical production success rate was much lower compared to Dark-Gold Set Equipment As Shi Feng began to inspect the Crystal Light Set before him, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: Crystal Light Set has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 200 points. Obtained 10,000,000 EXP. As expected of an eight-piece, Dark-Gold Set Equipment. It provided so much Proficiency. Shi Feng was elated when he saw the system notification. Even forging ordinary Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment awarded very little Proficiency after reaching Intermediate Master Rank. Normally, he''d be lucky to get 3 points for each success. This was why a player needed so much time to rise to Advanced Master rank after becoming an Intermediate Master. Now, forging a single Crystal Light Set awarded 200 Proficiency Points, the equivalent of crafting nearly 70 pieces of Dark- Gold Equipment. However, the Crystal Light Set''s Attributes were the true reason for Shi Feng''s joy, not the system''s reward. The Crystal Light Set was a top-tier Dark-Gold Set Equipment, and due to the enhancement the Temporal Sand provided, the eight pieces'' Basic Attributes had risen by 10%. Purely comparing Basic Attributes, ordinary Epic Equipment had around 20% to 30% higher Attributes than the normal Crystal Light Set, but the Temporal Sand had reduced that by 10%. There was no doubt that the set equipment before him was currently the best ordinary equipment available in the game. If he hadn''t been wearing several pieces of Epic Equipment with beneficial effects, Shi Feng would''ve immediately replaced his items with the Crystal Light Set. Of course, Shi Feng didn''t stop after this success. He immediately began to forge the next set. As time continued to flow, the day of the Auction House''s struggle had finally arrived. White River City was particularly lively. Today, the various powers would battle to determine their future territories. As a result, countless players from Star-Moon Kingdom and its neighbors had gathered in White River City. At this point, the city''s player population exceeded 50,000,000! If not for White River City''s traffic restriction, there would''ve been several times more players in the city. Today, even the various large Guilds'' elusive upper echelons gathered in the city''s Auction House. Representatives from more than 2,000 different Guilds had come to participate in the competition. Moreover, a large number of adventurer teams and dark powers had arrived to participate in the day''s events. With so many powers, ordinary players didn''t even qualify to walk into the Auction House and were barred from entering the building. The city''s independent players watched the various major powers'' members enter the Auction House in envy. For today only, players needed to carry at least one Epic material to enter White River City''s Auction House. Otherwise, regardless of how powerful or wealthy one was, they wouldn''t get past the doors and were forced to wait outside. Even so, a large crowd had gathered outside the building to watch the competition. These players hadn''t gathered because they had nothing better to do, but because the system had set up several colossal Magic Mirrors to broadcast the events along the business district. Anyone on the streets or resting in one of the city''s establishments would be able to watch the spectacular competition for dominance over the Auction House. Meanwhile, two players, one old and the other young, sat in one of the Auction House''s top-floor VIP rooms. From this spectator''s room, these two would have a full view of the Auction Arena below, which easily accommodated more than 100,000 players. If the various large Guild''s upper echelons saw that only two people occupied this spacious VIP room, they''d curse them for being wasteful. Renting the Auction House''s top-floor VIP rooms cost five Epic materials. Although Epic materials were not as valuable as Epic Weapons or Equipment, they were still extremely difficult to obtain. First-rate Guilds would be fortunate to collect several dozen Epic materials, and none of them would dare to spend five Epic items just for a better view of the Auction Arena. "Amazing! A city like White River City has actually attracted so many superpowers!" Mu Lingsha, the VIP room''s younger occupant, exclaimed as she watched the various participating superpowers enter the arena. Starlink, Blackwater, Pantheon, and King''s Return weren''t the only superpowers present. Members of the Secret Pavilion, Sacred Temple, and Crimson Emperor had also come to participate. "It''s only natural. Although Star-Moon Kingdom is only a medium-sized kingdom, an NPC city''s Auction House is incredibly important. If they can claim this city''s Auction House, they can earn a stable income. Moreover, Star-Moon Kingdom has a goldmine like the Witch''s Hill. With so many benefits up for grabs, it is only natural that many superpowers have been tempted into action," the elderly man beside Mu Lingsha explained, smiling. If Crimson Emperor or Starlink''s upper echelons saw this elder, they''d likely be astonished. This elderly man was Unknown King, Unyielding Soul''s previous Guild Leader. When he had run the Guild, it had risen to glory, but due to his age and his body''s deterioration, he had retired from the frontlines more than two decades ago. "Grandpa, does Zero Wing really have no hope of holding White River City?" Mu Lingsha could not help but ask. She was grateful to Zero Wing for all the help it had provided thus far. Moreover, her good friend, Aqua Rose, was a member of the Guild. If another power stole White River City, which served as Zero Wing''s main headquarters, Zero Wing would suffer for it. "None. Even if our Guild lends Zero Wing a hand, I''m afraid that holding White River City would still be impossible," Unknown King said, shaking his head. "Not even our help could change the situation?" Mu Lingsha was surprised. Although Unyielding Soul had been declining, it was still a veteran first-rate Guild. Ordinary first-rate Guilds still were no match for its strength. "You''re severely underestimating the participating superpowers. Although we are a superpower as well, their backgrounds and foundations are many times stronger than Unyielding Soul''s. Any other time, they might have backed off out of respect for our Guild, but this competition will determine their future in God''s Domain. None of them will show respect for the others. Furthermore, Zero Wing has provoked too many superpowers, pushing them to the limits of their tempers. Now, nobody can save Zero Wing," Unknown King said, sighing. Mu Lingsha lowered her head in disappointment. While the various major powers entered the Auction House and eagerly awaited the competitions start, a group of players wearing six-winged emblems entered the arena. The leader of this group was none other than Shi Feng. 2083 Grand Gathering Chapter 2083 - Grand Gathering When Zero Wing''s members arrived, the atmosphere in the Auction Arena changed immediately. The various major powers'' representatives couldn''t help but shift their gazes to Zero Wing''s players. Not only was Zero Wing Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord, but its main headquarters was also located in White River City. Moreover, it had amazing growth potential and a very high chance of becoming a super-first-rate Guild in the future. To put it simply, the Guild was in its heyday. If Zero Wing secured the management rights to White River City''s Auction House, not only would it solidify its position as the kingdom''s overlord, but it would also have a stable source of income, further increasing its chances of becoming a superpower. However, rather than envying Zero Wing''s players, the various major powers'' members only watched them with pity or delight. "They actually dared to show up." Dust Blood, who stood outside of the arena, sneered when he saw Zero Wing''s members. "Do they really think that they can secure this Auction House just because their headquarters is located here?" Zero Wing had only dispatched a little over 100 players to the Auction Arena. It was a significant number compared to the various large Guilds, who had only sent around 30 players each. In fact, the size of its group was only second to the various participating superpowers. However, most of the large Guilds attending the competition were only there to spectate. They didn''t actually plan to compete, so they hadn''t needed to send a lot of members. The fact that Zero Wing had sent so many players proved its intentions; the Guild would be participating in the competition. Although Zero Wing was Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord, the Bloodbath Family simply considered the Guild a mere mountain king. It wasn''t an issue if Zero Wing strutted around its kingdom normally. However, even the Bloodbath Family had only sent around 40 players to such a grand event to gain experience, yet Zero Wing had dispatched more than 100 players to try to win this competition. Zero Wing simply overestimated itself! "Maybe Zero Wing is putting up a final fight for its survival," the gray-robed young man said, sighing. After all was said and done, White River City was Zero Wing''s main headquarters. If another power claimed the city''s Auction House, Zero Wing would lose the foundation it had spent so much time to build. The loss would be unimaginably dire for the Guild. The competition for dominance in God''s Domain grew more intense as time passed. If a Guild failed to keep up with the changing times, the gap between it and others would only grow. Losing one''s main headquarters during these rapidly changing times would be fatal, especially for a new Guild like Zero Wing. Its members had yet to acquire a sense of belonging and cohesiveness with how recently the Guild had been established, and it wouldn''t be surprising to see Zero Wing disband shortly after losing White River City. Unfortunately, everything weaker than the various superpowers was nothing more than an ant! This was the case true for a top-ranked first-rate Guild like the Bloodbath Family. At one time, the Bloodbath Family had been recognized as a pseudo-super-first-rate Guild, but it was still no match for Starlink, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor in the Dark Night Empire. The Bloodbath Family was also wise enough not to harbor thoughts of antagonizing these three superpowers. In the virtual gaming world, unless one was on the brink of becoming a superpower, they couldn''t truly understand what a superpower was. To the various Guilds and players in God''s Domain, superpowers were, at most, Guilds with greater financial strength and more experts than their weaker companions. Most didn''t understand that the difference between a superpower and an ordinary power didn''t lay in quantity, but in quality. Otherwise, the Bloodbath Family would''ve become a super-first-rate Guild long ago, rather than the pseudo-super-first-rate Guild it was after so many years of development. Several dozen players in Level 60 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment stood some distance away from the Bloodbath Family group. These several dozen players radiated such intense killing intent as they watched Zero Wing''s members that other Guild experts around them kept their distance. However, the other experts weren''t afraid of these layers because of the dense killing intent they radiated. Instead, they were wary because those players wore Sin Realm''s Guild Emblem. Sin Realm was the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s absolute overlord. Unlike Zero Wing, which only controlled a little more than a dozen major NPC cities in Star-Moon Kingdom, Sin Realm controlled every NPC city in the Purple Thorns Kingdom. Ordinary Guilds couldn''t afford to provoke it "To think that even you would have such a day, Zero Wing!" Sky View, Warring Empire''s former Guild Leader, said gleefully, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes as he watched Shi Feng''s group. After Zero Wing had destroyed Golden Flow Town, the Warring Empire had perished in Star-Moon Kingdom. In the end, he had no choice but to migrate to the Purple Thorns Kingdom and join Sin Realm with some of his trusted subordinates. He had instantly fallen from a Guild''s leader to an ordinary Elder. He hated Zero Wing deeply for this. Unfortunately, he hadn''t had any opportunities for revenge against the Guild since Zero Wing was so powerful, especially with its war weapons. Even the various superpowers likely had headaches when dealing with Zero Wing''s arsenal, much less a former Guild Leader. Fortunately, the heavens would not forsake the faithful. After such a long wait, he finally had the chance to watch the moment Zero Wing fell from its throne. "Zero Wing has gotten too full of itself after acquiring its powerful war weapons and blatantly proving superpowers left and right The Guild is too young. Now that the situation in God''s Domain has changed, Zero Wing can only blame itself for its downfall," Lone Beacon, who sat beside Sky View, calmly commented. One should never casually provoke a superpower. Take Sin Realm, for example. Despite so many experts and support from powerful corporations, Sin Realm only dared to call itself overlord in its own kingdom. It actively avoided superpowers'' territories. However, Zero Wing repeated provoked superpowers even with no backing. Even Lone Beacon admired the Guild''s courage. However, regardless of Zero Wing''s powerful war weapons, White River City would have a new owner today! While the various major powers discussed Zero Wing, a group of players entered the Auction Arena, causing a massive uproar. "What?! Even Nature Hall''s members have come!" Everyone was surprised to see Nature Hall''s members in the arena. Nature Hall was one of the fastest-growing superpowers in God''s Domain. Not only did it control the Storm Empire, but it also had close relations with several powerful top adventurer teams in the game. Although these top adventurer teams weren''t as large as superpowers, they had extraordinarily strong experts. It was rumored that some of these experts could even rival super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds'' peak experts, with some even rivaling superpowers'' old monsters. Hence, even the various superpowers avoided provoking Nature Hall right now. "The Storm Empire is so far away from Star-Moon Kingdom. Logically, there''s no reason for Nature Hall to contest for White River City. Could it be here because of the issue with Twilight Echo?" "That''s most likely the case. Otherwise, Nature Hall wouldn''t have sent Deep Thunder, its First Vice Guild Leader. Furthermore, no one knows what Zero Wing did to convince Nature Hall to give up on Twilight Echo, and because of this, Nature Hall has been humiliated in the Storm Empire." "Zero Wing is definitely dead now. It had already provoked Blackwater and Starlink, and now, even Nature Hall has shown up. After today, Zero Wing will have no place in White River City." As everyone discussed Nature Hall''s presence, they agreed that Zero Wing was truly doomed. Even other superpowers would suffer if they had to face three rising superpowers like Blackwater, Starlink, and Nature Hall, not to mention Zero Wing. Meanwhile, when Mu Lingsha saw Nature Hall''s members from her top-floor VIP room, her expression turned grim. "It''s over! It''s really over!" Blackwater, Starlink, and Nature Hall. Every one of these Guilds was stronger than Unyielding Soul. Not even her Guild would casually provoke any of these three superpowers, yet Zero Wing had angered all of them... All of Zero Wing''s enemies smiled joyfully, especially Sky View and Shadowlight Axe, the former Guild Leaders of Warring Empire and Knight''s Judgment Meanwhile, after arriving, Deep Thunder and his team headed toward Zero Wing''s members. But as everyone expected a fight to break out... "Guild Leader Black Flame, after such a short time apart, it seems that you''ve grown stronger yet again," Deep Thunder said amicably as he approached Shi Feng. "Our Guild Leader has sent me with a specific order to help Zero Wing in this competition. If you encounter any trouble, please feel free to use my team and me as you see fit." "Please send my gratitude to Guild Leader Nature. Zero Wing will remember this kindness," Shi Feng said, nodding. He realized that Nature Hall was trying to befriend his Guild. "Not at all. It''s a small matter." When Deep Thunder heard Shi Feng''s reply, he grinned with greater delight, recognizing that Shi Feng had accepted Nature Hall''s attempt to form a friendship with Zero Wing. When the various major powers'' representatives saw this, their jaws dropped in shock. 2084 Theres More Than One Backer? Chapter 2084 - There''s More Than One Backer? "What''s going on?" "Isn''t Nature Hall here to cause trouble for Zero Wing?" Deep Thunder''s behavior stupefied the various major powers. They could not understand what Nature Hall was trying to pull. "Are those people using disguises?" The Bloodbath Family''s Dust Blood muttered in confusion. Nature Hall had already grown stronger than super-first-rate Guilds like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. Such a powerful Guild should disdain ordinary super-first-rate Guilds, let alone Zero Wing. However, after watching the exchange between Shi Feng and Deep Thunder, one would think that Zero Wing was the true superpower, not Nature Hall. No matter how Dust Blood considered the situation, he couldn''t understand what was happening. "I''ve met Deep Thunder personally. Although God''s Domain has many tools that can disguise a player, they can''t replicate a target''s strength and aura," the gray-robed young man said, shaking his head. "That Deep Thunder looks and feels exactly like the one I''ve met Moreover, Deep Thunder wields the Magic Warrior hidden class. You can feel a special kind of Mana around him at all times. No tool can duplicate that feeling." "Then, why is that Deep Thunder treating Black Flame so graciously?" Dust Blood asked, clearly confused. "This... I don''t know. Maybe Nature Hall has some secret deal with Black Flame," the young man said. He was just as confused and didn''t know how to answer his companion''s question. With Nature Hall''s strength and development speed, not even the Secret Pavilion would be able to stop it from targeting Zero Wing without tremendous compensation. The gray-robed young man had no idea what ability Zero Wing possessed to warrant Nature Hall''s goodwill. Moreover, Nature Hall seemed to be desperate for Zero Wing''s approval. The only explanation he could think of involved some private deal between Black Flame and Nature Hall''s core upper echelons, convincing the larger Guild to give up on Twilight Echo and support Zero wing. "No wonder why Zero Wing''s members seem so fearless. It turns out they actually have Nature Hall''s support," Dust Blood said, sneering. However, a trace of envy and admiration could be seen in his gaze. Although the Bloodbath Family was a top-ranked first-rate Guild and only a short distance from becoming an actual superpower, it could not afford to provoke some of the small Guilds in its territory. Most of those small Guilds were backed by superpowers. Even if Zero Wing lost White River City today, it could slowly recuperate its strength. It still wasn''t an existence that ordinary powers could afford to provoke. As for Black Flame''s private deal with Nature Hall, this was likely the case. After all, Black Flame possessed extraordinary individual strength. It wasn''t surprising to find someone so powerful connected to certain influential individuals. In fact, the more Dust Blood thought about it, the more it seemed plausible. It certainly explained why Zero Wing dared to provoke Blackwater and Starlink openly. Dust Blood wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. The various major powers'' upper echelons had reached the same conclusion. One should not underestimate Nature Hall just because its territory was smaller than Blackwater and Starlink''s. Nature Hall''s Storm Empire was an ore country, far more valuable than the Steel Empire or Dark Night Empire. Nature Hall had no reason to fear Blackwater or Starlink. Meanwhile, in another corner, Sin Realm''s members were silent. The killing intent they radiated had also lessened. None of them had thought that Zero Wing had any backers, but in truth, it seemed that a titan stood behind the smaller Guild... With Nature Hall''s assistance, Zero Wing might actually hold White River City and solidify its position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord. "Zero Wing has an alliance with Nature Hall?" Glaring hatefully at Shi Feng, Sky View hissed, "So what if you have Nature Hall''s support? Nature Hall might not fear Blackwater and Starlink, but it is only one superpower. There are more than two superpowers for White River City. I refuse to believe Nature Hall can defeat them all!" Sin Realm''s members nodded in agreement This competition for the Auction House was unique, and even if Nature Hall helped Zero Wing defeat the participating superpowers, there were others in God''s Domain. Zero Wing would not change its fate of losing White River City. However, while the crowd discussed the relationship between Nature Hall and Zero Wing, two players, one young and one old, approached Shi Feng. These two were none other than Mu Lingsha and Unknown King. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I am Mu Cheng. My granddaughter, Lingsha, has recently been in your care. If Zero Wing encounters any trouble, please feel free to request my help. Although I have withdrawn from the frontlines, I dare say that I am still a capable fighter," Unknown King said, chuckling as he glanced at the various major powers in the Auction Arena. Sin Realm and the other superpowers that were so eager to watch Zero Wing''s downfall were stupefied after watching Mu Cheng and Mu Lingsha speak with Shi Feng. "What?! Why is Thousand Hands doing here?!" "What relationship does Zero Wing have with Unyielding Soul to warrant a personal visit from its former Guild Leader?" The Auction Arena stirred at Mu Cheng''s appearance. The various major powers weren''t the only ones surprised by this old man''s arrival. Many independent players were just as shocked to see Mu Cheng. Mu Cheng was one of the older generation''s experts. He had been a bigshot in the virtual gaming world when Unyielding Soul had been at its peak, and when he had still been active, everyone had known his nickname, ''Thousand Hands.'' He had been known as one of the top three Assassins in the virtual gaming world. If his physical deterioration hadn''t forced him away from the frontlines, Unyielding Soul wouldn''t have fallen to its current state. Why wouldn''t everyone be shocked to see such a bigshot greet Zero Wing and offer its help? Deep Thunder, who stood a short distance away, was also surprised to see this old man. He hadn''t considered that Zero Wing would have such deep ties to Unyielding Soul, so much so that Unyielding Soul''s former Guild Leader would make a personal appearance. Deep Thunder immediately raised his evaluation of Zero Wing. "Who is this Black Flame? Two superpowers have actually shown up to support him?" Dust Blood''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he saw Mu Cheng talk to Shi Feng. Although Mu Cheng had retired and was no longer at his peak strength, he could display a significant portion of his abilities with the latest virtual reality technology in God''s Domain. He definitely shouldn''t be underestimated. If Mu Cheng really lent Zero Wing a helping hand, the outcome of this competition would be uncertain. "Damn it! Why!?" "This has to be a trick!" Sky View was utterly flabbergasted. First, Nature Hall had offered its support, and now, so did Unyielding Soul. He simply couldn''t keep up. Unlike the players in the Auction Arena, the spectating crowd outside grew excited with the sudden development. No one had believed that Zero Wing had any backers, and despite its hopes of becoming a super-first-rate Guild, its chances were actually quite slim. However, they now realized that they had been mistaken. Not only did Zero Wing have two backers, but both were also true superpowers. Factoring in Zero Wing''s development speed, the likelihood of it becoming a super-first-rate Guild was extremely high. "Nature Hall and Unyielding Soul?" Galaxy Past, who sat in one of the spectator rooms on the second floor, couldn''t help his bitter smile as he watched Deep Thunder and Mu Cheng. He had thought that Star Alliance had significantly shortened the gap between it and Zero Wing. He hadn''t expected that Zero Wing had hidden so much power. He had watched Zero Wing grow from nothing, and he had assumed that he had seen everything the Guild had to offer. Unfortunately, it seemed that he still underestimated Zero Wing''s strength. Meanwhile, Purple Eye watched Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who stood beside their Guild Leader, in envy. She had thought of the two women as rivals, but now, they were utterly out of her reach. Now that Zero Wing had the support of two superpowers, it could definitely ascent to the upper levels of God''s Domain in the future. While everyone talked about Zero Wing, a commotion erupted outside of the arena. Shortly after, a group of 400-plus players entered. Even the lowest-leveled player among this group was Level 64, with their weakest piece of equipment being Level 60 Fine-Gold rank. They all wore Starlink''s Guild Emblem, and the dozen or so players in the lead possessed several Epic Weapons and Equipment, wearing no less than Level 60 Dark-Gold items. A faint glow enveloped these dozen or so players as if they were the incarnations of Gods. Mu Lingsha was stunned. Not even Unyielding Soul''s main force was likely a match for these players. "Sure enough, they''ve come." Mu Cheng''s expression gradually became serious as he watched the leaders of Starlink''s force. 2085 Glory? Chapter 2085 - Glory? There were many experts in the magnificent Auction Arena. Some among them even served as pillars in their large Guilds, and there were quite a few peak experts from the various superpowers. However, when Starlink''s members entered the arena, everyone gasped as they felt the intense pressure emitting from these players. Starlink''s members didn''t feel like players, but Great Lords. The crowd subconsciously submitted as those players'' aura washed over them. Even peak experts felt the threat of death from the dozen or so Starlink members in the lead. "Why are they here?" Deep Thunder''s expression similarly changed when he saw Starlink''s members, surprise and fear flashing in his eyes. "Grandpa, who are those people? Why do even superpowers'' peak experts seem afraid of them?" Mu Lingsha could not help but ask as she watched the various spectating superpowers'' peak experts in confusion. While it was true that Starlink''s members were strong, the watching peak experts were as well. Even if there were a difference between superpowers'' strength, there should be no reason for the spectating peak experts to fear Starlink''s experts, but every one of their faces twisted with anxiety. Her grandfather, Mu Cheng, was a true Domain Realm expert, and his nickname of Thousand Hands was no trivial matter. Although he had grown weaker with age, he could still easily handle peak experts. However, when her grandfather saw the dozen or so players leading Starlink''s team, he seemed to share the spectating experts'' trepidation. She found this situation truly baffling. "Zero Wing really has no chance in the struggle for White River City now," Mu Cheng could not help his bitter smile as he watched Starlink''s leading members. He had thought that they could help Zero wing hold White River City with the combination of Nature Hall''s assistance and his fame. After all, the various participating superpowers had their own NPC cities to prioritize. They would only be able to dispatch a limited portion of their strength to secure White River City''s Auction House. However, it seemed he had underestimated Starlink''s feelings toward Zero Wing. "Are they really that strong?" Mu Lingsha was even more surprised by her grandfather''s comment. "They''re not just strong! Against these people, even veteran Super Guilds like the Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple would have to take their opponents seriously! Otherwise, their defeat would be almost guaranteed!" Mu Cheng explained as he watched the four white-haired men among Starlink''s team. "To think that Starlink would recruit the Four Shadow Demons... I''ve known that Starlink has been gathering an extraordinary amount of strength in secret, but I hadn''t thought that it was so capable. Even Unyielding Soul is likely in danger." "The Four Shadow Demons?" After giving the name some thought, Mu Lingsha asked in surprise, "Are they the four lunatics that shook up the various superpowers years ago?" The Four Shadow Demons had been very well-known more than a decade ago, but unlike the name suggested, these four didn''t operate as a group. They hadn''t even known each other, acting independently. These four people had earned the nickname ''Four Shadow Demons'' because of how much trouble they had caused the various superpowers, killing countless experts and peak experts. Not even Unyielding Soul had been spared from the Four Shadow Demons'' mischief. All four of these players were madmen. Moreover, they were independent players, and as a result, the various superpowers had a very difficult time tracking them down and dealing with them. During the height of their troublemaking, these four had been a hot topic among the general populace, so the Secret Pavilion had named them the Four Shadow Demons, a nickname that had spread across the virtual gaming world. The various superpowers had the greatest headache trying to deal with players like the Four Shadow Demons. Not only were they extremely powerful, but they were also insufferable lunatics. With all four of these madmen here, it was easy to imagine how frightening this competition would be... Meanwhile, hundreds of players wearing Blackwater''s Guild Emblem sat quietly in one of the top-floor VIP rooms. The inflexible, middle-aged man who led the group looked down at Shi Feng, watching the Swordsman with a smug grin. If Shi Feng were there, he would''ve recognized the middle-aged man as Jing Yang, the Blackwater representative that had visited Zero Wing''s main headquarters not long ago. "Sure enough, Vice Guild Leader was right Starlink has secretly recruited those four old ghosts," Jing Yang said, smiling. "I doubt even Zero Wing would''ve thought this could happen." "Then, should we take action now?" Snow Scar asked as he glanced at Shi Feng. "No. It is too soon. Let''s wait until the competition officially begins before we teach Zero Wing the meaning of despair. Even if we say nothing, Zero Wing will beg us to take their Combat Puppets," Jing Yang said, laughing. The arena''s atmosphere had drastically changed when the Four Shadow Demons had appeared. Everyone had been optimistic about Zero Wing''s success in the competition. The Guild had support from two superpowers, potential was limitless. However, such thoughts had been abandoned. "It seems Zero Wing has reached the end of the line. Melody, you better give up now. Zero Wing can no longer back Ninth Heaven. Only Setting Sun can ensure Ninth Heaven''s glory in Forest City, now," a young, handsome male Half-elf said. "Zero Wing might have been able to deal with the Death God Workshop, but now that it''s on the brink of destruction, how could it possibly afford to help your Guild? "Don''t think that Starlink only has the Four Shadow Demons. The dozen or so experts around them aren''t ordinary, either. Take that blue-armored Swordsman, for example. He has earned the nickname ''Illusion Swordsman,'' and his combat standards are on par with Miracle Dragon''s. There''s also that tall Shield Warrior. He''s called Mountain Horn and can rival Cuttlefish, the Iron Wall from Crimson Emperor. "Every one of those people is an absolute peak expert. Moreover, Starlink has given all of them Epic Weapons and Equipment. Just these people''s strength is more than enough to make a super-first-rate Guild like Unyielding Soul suffer in a bitter battle, not to mention a Guild like Zero Wing." Could Zero Wing really be doomed? Melody wondered as she looked at Shi Feng. She had no rebuttal for the Half-elf man. He had only spoken the truth. Even with two supporting superpowers, Zero Wing wasn''t a match for the full force of another superpower. Unlike Melody''s despair, Sky View was overjoyed. "So what if you have two superpowers to support you, Black Flame? It can''t change the fact that you will watch as someone takes White River City from you!" Sky View threw his head back and laughed. When he had watched one bigshot after another stand up for Zero Wing, he had sighed at his own weakness. But who would''ve thought that the situation would change so drastically in the blink of an eye? Zero Wing had enjoyed endless glory in the Auction Arena since it arrived, but in the end, it was still an ant on the chessboard of God''s Domain. The Guild was still easy prey for superpowers. As everyone chatted amongst themselves, a bell abruptly rang, echoing throughout White River City as it signaled the start of the Auction Arena''s competition... 2086 Expert Foundations? Chapter 2086 - Expert Foundations? White River City fell silent as the sound of the starting bell echoed throughout its streets. Almost everyone''s breathing quickened in anticipation as they stared intently at the Magic Mirrors lining the business district, afraid to miss a single moment of the upcoming struggle. Many players outside of White River City had pulled up Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums to watch the livestreams. For a moment, this competition had rendered the entire kingdom silent. The spectators in the Auction Arena itself tensed as they quietly watched the massive globe of water that had appeared above the arena. The gigantic globe displayed the qualifying round''s rules, which were unlike those of any competition previously held in the Auction Arena. The previous competitions had been fighting tournaments or betting matches between players. The rewards had been subpar, and very few players had been interested in taking part, although any player could join these competitions. However, since this competition involved the management rights to White River City''s Auction House, the system had set up a qualifying round before the official matches. Only those who passed the qualifiers could join the official struggle. If one failed to meet the requirements, all of the resources in the world couldn''t help them. "It''s just a qualifying round, yet the participation fee is so high?" The spectating players gasped when they saw the participation cost of one Epic material. Epic materials were still incredibly rare among the various large Guilds. An ordinary large Guild would be fortunate to accumulate around 30 Epic materials. Such items even had an extremely low drop-rate in 100-man, Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Moreover, the Main God System had reduced the drop-rate to zero for players that exceeded the Dungeon''s level limit to prevent players from abusing low-level Team Dungeons. Sending low-level members to grind these Team Dungeons was also useless for a Guild. These players wouldn''t be able to raid the Dungeons even if their Guilds gave them top-tier equipment. Team Dungeons tested players'' combat standards as well as their equipment standards, and it would be extremely foolish for a Guild to have its members with high combat standards maintain low levels. As players reached higher levels in God''s Domain, they''d encounter more fortuitous opportunities. Instructing experts to remain at a lower level would ruin the Guild and the players'' development. Because of this, the various major powers had stockpiled very few Epic materials. Yet, the Auction Arena charged one Epic material per participant, and every participating power had brought at least several dozen members... However, despite the crowd''s sentiments, more than a hundred powers paid the participation fee. Starlink, in particular, paid for more than 400 participants. When they saw this, the spectators couldn''t help but shudder. Even the independent players watching from outside of the Auction House couldn''t help but gape in shock. Everyone had known before this that the various superpowers shouldn''t be provoked and possessed wealth that far surpassed first-rate Guilds, but they were still blown away when they saw how many members the various superpowers had dispatched for this competition. Moreover, this was only for one city. Many of these superpowers were contesting for multiple cities. Superpowers could truly kill people with wealth alone! So, this is a superpower? Melody was even more distraught when she saw how many Starlink members would take part in this struggle. Setting aside its members'' combat standards, the fact that Starlink had the financial strength to dispatch more than 400 players was enough to devastate second-rate Guilds like Ninth Heaven. The competition for the Auction House didn''t operate like a fighting tournament. In the official competition, players would be evenly distributed onto five separate, spacious battlefields. Players would then have to slaughter each other and claim the energy crystals that would randomly fall from above. Whichever power had the most energy crystals at the end of the competition would secure the Auction House''s management rights. However, not only were players prohibited from using tools on the battlefield, but they were also banned from using large- scale Spells. The Main God System truly was intent on testing the participating powers'' comprehensive strength. It didn''t allow any trickery whatsoever. Although Zero Wing had dispatched 112 players to this competition, even more than top-ranked first-rate Guilds like the Bloodbath Family and Holy Reincarnation, it paled in comparison to Starlink''s 400-plus members. Moreover, King''s Return had sent 300-plus members, Blackwater had dispatched 200-plus, and Pantheon had arrived with 200-plus members. None of these superpowers should be underestimated. The other superpowers were mostly here to watch, not planning to compete for White River City. So, they had only paid for a few members to participate for the experience. Although the various superpowers'' foundations had shocked the crowd, what happened next utterly stupefied everyone watching. Each of the qualifying round''s participating players was teleported to an independent room, all of which had over a dozen Trolls. The weakest of these Trolls was a Lord, while the strongest was a Great Lord, and each room had a total of three Great Lords. All of the Trolls were Level 65, slightly higher than the participating players'' average level. Players had to defeat three Level 65 Great Lords and more than ten Level 65 Lords in the qualifying round. Even ordinary experts would flee from such a monster group, yet the system wanted them to survive against these monsters for one minute. To make matters worse, players couldn''t use tools. Many of the expert players in the arena despaired when they saw how difficult this qualifying round would be. "Is the system joking?" "The system must be crazy! I can''t even last 30 seconds against one Level 65 Great Lord, much less against three of them!" At first, many of the watching experts had hated themselves for not having any Epic materials and losing out on the perfect opportunity to make a name for themselves, but after seeing the qualifying round''s challenge, they were relieved. If they had paid to participate, they would''ve wasted an Epic material for nothing. "As expected of the Auction House''s struggle! This is amazing! The qualifying round already has such high standards! This trip here was definitely worth it!" "The standards are indeed quite high. I''m afraid that most of the participants will be disqualified during this round. Only those superpowers will have a significant number of experts make it to the true competition." "The small Guilds that are trying to make a name for themselves will likely be disappointed. Although, aside from those superpowers, I''m fairly certain that the Dark Night Empire''s Bloodbath Family, the Glory Empire''s Holy Reincarnation, and the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s Sin Realm will have quite a few members pass the qualifying round." "That''s probably true. Not only are those Guilds supported by powerful corporations, but they also have plenty of expert members." "Zero Wing really is unlucky. It should''ve had a fighting chance since it dispatched 40 or so more players than the participating first-rate Guilds, but after this round, Zero Wing will likely have far fewer members in the official competition than the first-rate Guilds." "That''s right. Although Zero Wing has been developing wonderfully recently, it hasn''t had enough time to develop to a sufficient level. Its foundations simply cannot compare to veteran first-rate Guilds''. If Zero Wing had accepted some major company or corporation''s investments, it would''ve likely been a match for Guilds like the Bloodbath Family and Sin Realm." Everyone talked about the competition''s qualifying round. They all had guesses about how many players from the participating Guilds would make it to the competition after this round. However, nobody questioned the various superpowers'' performances, comparing the first-rate Guilds'' abilities instead. One minute passed quickly, and excited, everyone shifted their attention to the massive water globe hovering over the Auction Arena. They couldn''t wait to see how the participating powers would perform. Thousand Light Family, 9 people passed. Blast adventurer team, 5 people passed. Bloodbath Family, 32 people passed. Star Alliance, 17 people passed. Sin Realm, 26 people passed. Holy Reincarnation, 35 people passed. King''s Return, 237 people passed. Pantheon, 175 people passed. Black Water, 204 people passed. Starlink, 339 people passed. Zero Wing, 107 people passed. 2087 Passing Rate? Chapter 2087 - Passing Rate? "What''s going on?" "I thought Zero Wing only sent 112 members. How did so many of them pass?" The players in the Auction Arena stared with wide eyes when they saw how many Zero Wing members had made it through the qualifiers, unable to believe their eyes. The various major powers waiting for the official competition''s start were just as baffled. "Impossible! The system must have made a mistake!" Sky View practically shouted when he saw the numbers on the water globe. Zero Wing had only paid for 112 participating members in the qualifying round, yet 107 of them had made it through. This passing rate was absolutely horrifying. Only about 55% of the teams from top-ranked first-rate Guilds like Bloodbath Family, Sin Realm, and Holy Reincarnation had passed the trial. Even then, it was impressive. Ordinary first-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance only had a 40% passing rate. As for the various participating superpowers, even the best-performing Guild, Blackwater, had only managed 88% of its team, yet 95.5% of Zero Wing''s members had cleared the qualifying round, surpassing Blackwater. No matter how Sky View thought about the situation, he couldn''t believe it. Superpowers had plenty of experts and detailed training programs that were particularly efficient when nurturing players. Ordinary powers simply couldn''t compare. Moreover, the players that were powerful enough to be considered for this competition were the various powers'' experts among experts. Yet, Zero Wing had surpassed all of them. Sky View wasn''t the only confused player. Not even the various major powers'' members could fathom how Zero Wing had built such a powerful foundation. "Zero Wing is amazing! Its passing rate is even higher than those superpowers''!" "Didn''t they say that Zero Wing hasn''t had enough time to develop, and its foundation regarding expert players is weak? Why do I feel like Zero Wing''s expert foundation is even stronger than those top-ranked first-rate Guilds?" When the independent players watching from outside of the Auction House saw Zero Wing''s passing rate, they reevaluated their opinions of the Guild, especially the expert players from other kingdoms and empires. Based on the passing rates, it was, more or less, clear that Zero Wing''s expert foundation was no weaker than top-ranked first-rate Guilds. In fact, it might even be slightly stronger than its competition. "The difference is actually so great?" Galaxy Past was at a loss for words as he stared at the magic water globe. He had thought that the Star Alliance had a chance against Zero Wing''s expert foundation. After developing for so long, the Star Alliance had grown considerably. Nowadays, God''s Domain''s popularity continued to increase, and more people joined the game every day. As a result, more experts continued to rise. Not only had the Star Alliance successfully nurtured a lot of experts, but it had also recruited experts from elsewhere. The Guild was many times stronger than when it had joined God''s Domain. However, only 40% of the Star Alliance''s players had made it through the qualifying round, while 95.5% of Zero Wing''s players had succeeded. No matter how Galaxy Past looked at it, the Star Alliance wasn''t on the same playing field as Zero Wing. Meanwhile, when Melody, who watched from a private spectator room, saw the passing rates, the darkness in her eyes vanished. She couldn''t help her growing excitement as if she had just seen a ray of hope illuminate a dark sky. However, despite Melody''s elation, the Half-elf man beside her remained unperturbed. "I''m assuming that you think Zero Wing now has some hope of holding White River City, right?" the Half-elf man said as he glanced at Shi Feng, who stood in the Auction Arena. "Unfortunately, that is still impossible. "Zero Wing''s passing rate is amazing, but no matter how many players made it through the last round, Zero Wing still only has 107 members participating in the official competition. Compared to the four participating superpowers, that is nothing. Even Pantheon, the superpower with the fewest members in the competition, has 68 more players than Zero Wing. "At the end of the day, this competition is a test of a Guild''s comprehensive strength. Zero Wing might be able to deal with top-ranking first-rate Guilds like the Bloodbath Family and Holy Reincarnation, but it doesn''t have the power to contend with superpowers." "But..." Although Melody wanted to argue, she knew his words were true when she saw how calmly the various superpowers'' members had reacted to Zero Wing''s results. Even the various top-ranked first-rate Guilds, whose members had been surprised to see Zero Wing''s success a moment ago, regained their composure as they realized that the strength Zero Wing had displayed did nothing to change its circumstances. Meanwhile, an old man in black armor with a slightly hunched back stood at the lead of King''s Return''s team in the Auction Arena. After taking a look at the water globe, this old man smiled and turned to Mu Cheng, who stood a short distance away. "Brother Mu, long time no see. I hadn''t expected to see you in action again. I certainly didn''t expect to find you here," the hunchbacked man said, smiling. "You''re here as well, so what''s so strange about my presence?" Mu Cheng asked the old man. Although his tone was disdainful, vigilance filled his gaze as he addressed the hunchbacked, old man. He was vigilant because this man was one of King''s Return''s old monsters. He had risen to fame more than three decades ago, earning the nickname ''Blindman.'' While his nickname sounded demeaning, the older generation''s expert players knew it was by no means an insult. In fact, it was the highest form of praise. This old man was truly blind in the real world, but since virtual reality games connected to the brain directly, they allowed people with disabilities to function as if they had none in the game world. Naturally, those with sight disabilities could see normally in the game world. However, not only did Blindman recover his sight in virtual reality games, but his sight was also far sharper than the ordinary person''s. By relying on his superior sight, he had carved a place for himself in the virtual gaming world. The Secret Pavilion had even called him the All-seeing Sword Saint. Even when Mu Cheng had been at his peak, he had only been able to win four out of ten fights with Blindman. "I''ve heard that you have a close relationship with Zero Wing; is that true? Unfortunately, our King''s Return has a little enmity with one of that Guild''s little fellows. How about this? If you don''t help Zero Wing, we won''t target the Guild," Blindman asked, chuckling. Blindman''s suggestion rendered Mu Cheng speechless. It seemed that Zero Wing wasn''t satisfied with provoking superpowers like Starlink and Blackwater, but it had provoked King''s Return as well... However, when Mu Cheng saw that more than 200 people standing behind Blindman and compared them to the dozen or so subordinates behind himself, he could not help but nod helplessly, replying, "Fine, it''s a deal." Mu Cheng then turned to look at the distant Shi Feng and muttered to himself, "This is the most I can do to help you.'' When the various major powers'' members overheard the old men''s conversation, they couldn''t help but send Zero Wing sneers and looks of pity. "Zero Wing is always so arrogant, provoking so many superpowers. Now, these superpowers want retribution." "Hahaha! So what if more than 100 players from Zero Wing made it through the qualifiers? In the end, its efforts mean nothing!" Now that Zero Wing had lost one of its capable supporters, its chances of holding White River City had fallen even further. Time passed quickly. After another two minutes, the qualifying players were distributed across five different battlefields. Each battlefield was the size of a small leveling map, easily accommodating tens of thousands of players. The rules for this competition were quite simple. The competition had a three-hour time limit, and throughout its duration, energy crystals would randomly fall into the battlefield. The power that secured the most energy crystals after three hours would be crowned as the victor. When the bell rang throughout the five battlefields, the official competition began as every player in Star-Moon Kingdom watched. "Everyone, listen up! Prioritize Zero Wing''s members above all others!" When the competition began, the various major powers issued commands to target Zero Wing to curry favor with the various superpowers. "I found some of Zero Wing''s members here!" "Good! Get rid of them first! We''ll fight for the energy crystals later!" As soon as the major powers'' members discovered Zero Wing''s, they charged toward them. "Zero Wing? Die!" Sky View sneered when he saw the beauty observing her surroundings. He immediately charged at the woman from Zero Wing alongside a dozen or so of his subordinates. 2088 Suppressing Enemies with One Move Chapter 2088 - Suppressing Enemies with One Move As the official competition began, Zero Wing''s spectating members paled. The Auction Arena''s competition should''ve been a free-for-all between the various participating superpowers, but now, almost every player targeted Zero Wing. These superpowers moved as if they had already made an agreement. "How can this be?" Melody, who watched the competition through a Magic Mirror, was utterly devastated as she watched the various powers'' experts work together against Zero Wing''s members. Dealing with several superpowers in this competition was one thing. After all, the Auction Arena had five independent battlefields, and players would be randomly distributed across them. Combined, these hostile superpowers only had around 1,000 members in total, and after being split between five battlefields, their numbers thinned. Locating Zero Wing''s members across such a large map wouldn''t be easy with so few players. Moreover, victory in the Auction Arena didn''t depend on the number of kills one had. Players simply needed to contest for the energy crystals that would appear. As long as Zero Wing avoided confrontation with these several superpowers and focused on securing energy crystals, it definitely had hope of securing White River City''s Auction House. However, that hope was dashed if those superpowers worked together... While the various powers might not have as many participating members as the various superpowers, when combined, they easily outnumbered the more powerful guilds by three or four times. Even if the battlefields were quite large, locating Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t be a challenge if all of these powers cooperated. "I told you long ago that the various superpowers in God''s Domain are not as simple as you. Zero Wing has severely underestimated its enemies since the very beginning, as well. Zero Wing doesn''t have the slightest chance of winning this competition," the Half-elf man said calmly. "This competition is simply Zero Wing''s execution." Rather than military strength, the various superpowers'' influence over lesser Guilds was truly frightening. The various participating powers understood that they would reach greater heights instantly if they could curry favor with a superpower. This was also why the various powers had become jealous when they had learned that two superpowers backed Zero Wing. Normally, trying to gain a superpower''s support wasn''t easy, but Zero Wing had presented the perfect opportunity to do just that. While the Half-elf man expressed his opinion, Sky View and the dozen or so experts from other powers on Battlefield No. 4 closed in on the beautiful woman wearing a six-winged emblem. The Magic Mirrors along the city''s business district displayed the scene clearly. "Huh? Isn''t that beauty Graceful Moon, the former Firecloud Fox adventurer team''s vice commander?" an expert from the Black Dragon Empire asked, recognizing the woman on the Magic Mirror immediately. "She''s Graceful Moon? I had heard that she used to be quite strong, only slightly off from becoming one of the top 100 Summoners in the Black Dragon Empire. Many first-rate Guilds had tried to recruit her. I had never thought that she would join Zero Wing." "But she''s not very lucky. A group of enemies spotted her right off the bat She''ll likely be the first person to disqualify from the competition," a Level 63 male Ranger said, sighing as he gazed at Graceful Moon''s beauty. "She''s not just unlucky; she''s extremely unlucky. Setting aside Sky View, one of Sin Realm''s newly-minted ten great experts, the man and woman beside him are exceptional experts," a Level 64 Guardian Knight commented. "That glamorous woman is Elegant Insanity, one of Holy Reincarnation''s rising geniuses. I''ve heard that she''s the second-ranked Assassin in her Guild. If not for her lack of achievements, she would''ve ranked on the God''s Domain Experts List long ago. "As for that stalwart, silver-armored man, he''s Howling Earth, one of the Bloodbath Family''s top four Berserkers. He also has the hidden class, Bloodrage Warrior. The lower his HP gets, the greater his combat power becomes. He previously defeated two experts from the Gods Domain Experts List. "Those two working together would be enough to trouble a peak expert. Include the other powers'' experts, even a peak expert would have to flee." Everyone around the Level 64 Guardian Knight gasped in shock. Even a superpower''s peak experts would have to flee if they encountered such a force without support, not to mention Graceful Moon, who hadn''t even ranked among the top 100 of her class in the Black Dragon Empire. When the spectating crowd discussed Graceful Moon''s opponents, Sky View and his companions surrounded her. "Die!" Sky View shouted as the surrounding Mana surged to him, increasing the intensity of his aura. He felt like a humanoid Great Lord. He then launched the Tier 2 Curse, Violent Flame Spears at Graceful Moon, sending 28 fiery spears toward the woman from multiple directions. Howling Earth also shouted, and his muscles bulged as he leaped up with his giant war hammer raised. He swung his weapon down toward Graceful Moon like a mountain descending on the female Summoner. In contrast, Elegant Insanity vanished, waiting patiently for an opportunity to land a fatal blow. The three experts cooperated as if they had fought together for many years. Their attacks'' timing was perfect, leaving Graceful Moon no room to dodge. As the war hammer and flame spears flew toward the Level 65 Summoner... Graceful Moon, who had stood motionless, finally made her move. She raised Fallen Language, her Epic staff, and summoned a Level 70, Great Lord ranked Steel-armed Ape. At the same time, three Level 70 Lord ranked Rock Guardians appeared around her. The Rock Guardians were Elemental Creatures, so their innate Magic Resistance was quite high. The three Rock Guardians served as an impenetrable wall, stopping every incoming flame spear. The Sted-armed Ape stood three meters tall and was covered in golden magic circuits, which had been tattooed across its body. With arms thicker than its legs, the Steel-armed Ape swung at the descending war hammer. Boom! With the sound of an explosion, Howling Earth was thrown back. When he landed, he discovered that both of his arms had numbed. The Steel-armed Ape''s Strength definitely surpassed that of ordinary Great Lords. However, while Howling Earth had flown through the air, a black figure had appeared beside Graceful Moon. This figure was none other than Elegant Insanity. The snow-white dagger in her right hand silently slid toward Graceful Moon''s throat like a cunning snake. Since Graceful Moon had just finished casting a Spell and her physique as a Summoner wasn''t formidable, she had no defensive options to protect herself from Elegant Insanity''s swift, silent attack. Just as everyone expected to see the Assassin''s attack land... A gigantic, stone palm appeared above Elegant Insanity''s head, descending on the female Assassin like a falling mountain. She had no choice but to abandon her attack and evade. However, as Elegant Insanity tried to dodge the Rock Guardian''s attack, the remaining two Rock Guardians attacked the Assassin''s blind spots as if they had prepared for this moment. Caught off guard, Elegant Insanity couldn''t dodge or block any of the incoming attacks. "Damn it!" Elegant Insanity frowned. She immediately activated Wind Steps, using the brief moment of invulnerability to survive the attacks. Peng! Peng! With two muffled sounds, Elegant Insanity was thrown like a cannonball, only stopping after she crashed into a large tree. Although she didn''t take any damage, a trace of fear flashed in her eyes when she looked at Graceful Moon. Against a coordinated attack from three powerful experts like herself, Sky View, and Howling Earth, even a peak expert would have to use a Lifesaving Skill or face impending death. However, these three were actually at a disadvantage against Graceful Moon... The spectating players outside of the arena gaped in shock as they watched the events unfold. The Black Dragon Empire''s experts, who were familiar with the female Summoner, were particularly stunned. Was this female Summoner the same Graceful Moon they knew? 2089 Shocking the Whole Arena Chapter 2089 - Shocking the Whole Arena "So strong!" "Zero Wing has hidden such a powerful expert?" The first fight in Battlefield No. 4 astonished the crowd outside of the Auction House. Seeing as how Graceful Moon smoothly stopped the incoming attacks from three experts, all of which ranked among the top in their top-ranked, first-rate Guilds, it was clear that her combat standards could definitely rival those of superpowers'' peak experts. Within a superpower, every peak expert served as a vital support pillar, and the various first-rate Guilds feared them all. A peak expert could single-handedly wipe out a 100-man team of ordinary experts. Smaller Guilds had no hope of suppressing a peak expert without constricting their players to operate in teams of several hundred at the very least Some peak experts who had chosen classes with high survivability could come and go as they pleased. "She only recently joined Zero Wing, yet she''s already grown so strong?" Yi Luofei, who watched from a second-floor spectator room, blinked in surprise as she stared at Graceful Moon incredulously. As the vice commander of FFF, a top adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire, Yi Luofei had a certain familiarity with the empire''s well-known adventurer teams. Due to Graceful Moon''s performance in the last ranking battle in the empire, Yi Luofei had made sure to pay extra close attention to her. However, Yi Luofei remembered Graceful Moon displaying combat standards that hadn''t even rivaled those of first-rate Guilds'' peak experts, much less Refinement Realm experts like Sky View, Elegant Insanity, and Howling Earth. Yet, this female Summoner suppressed all three Refinement Realm experts by herself. Graceful Moon''s new-found strength shocked Yi Luofei. Moreover, this situation wasn''t like Yi Luofei''s defeat against Zhao Yueru during the ranking battles. Zhao Yueru had relied on superior Basic Attributes and Spells to win, but as a true Void Realm expert, Yi Luofei recognized that the same couldn''t be said for Graceful Moon. Graceful Moon''s success was simply a result of her impeccable ability to control her summoned creatures. "Not only have her Basic Attributes risen, but her combat standards have skyrocketed as well. It seems Zero Wing still has some secrets," Yan Tianxing, FFF''s commander, commented as he watched Graceful Moon with squinted eyes, a hit of surprise flashing in his gaze. After the FFF adventurer team had secretly joined the Flower of Seven Sins, the adventurer team''s upper echelons had gained a lot of detailed information on the various superpowers. Hence, Yan Tianxing understood how frightening they truly were. Their ability to nurture experts, in particular, was truly amazing. Other powers simply couldn''t compete. As a peak expert that had risen to fame in the virtual gaming world many years ago and was only a short distance away from reaching the Domain Realm, Yan Tianxing recognized that Graceful Moon''s current combat standards were quite powerful. Only, her strength was atypical. Normally, players tried to gain more control of their own bodies and their familiarity with the world around them to increase their combat standards, but Graceful Moon felt as if she were actively using the world itself to her benefit. While everyone was shocked over her performance, the female Summoner in question began to chant another Spell. As she did, her staff started to glow with a dazzling, purple light Tier 2 Curse, Life Link! This Curse linked the player with their summoned creatures, sharing their senses. Although the Curse lowered the player''s Basic Attributes by 50%, it increased the linked summoned creatures'' Basic Attributes by 20% of the player''s normal Attributes. Suddenly, golden magic circuits flashed on the Steel-armed Ape and Rock Guardians as their auras became even more intense. Before anyone could react, the four summoned creatures exploded into action and charged at Graceful Moon''s enemies. Two of the Lord ranked Rock Guardians effortlessly dispersed the dozen or so attacking experts. The third Rock Guardian remained by its Summoner''s side, repelling all incoming attacks. Meanwhile, the Steel-armed Ape charged toward Howling Earth, pummeling the hammer-wielding Bloodrage Warrior. After the Steel-armed Ape''s first hit landed, Howling Earth''s arms were numb, and the ground beneath him had cracked. The second hit numbed the Bloodrage Warrior''s entire body, substantially decreasing his reaction speed. Howling earth had no power to respond to the Steearmed Ape''s third attack, taking the strike with his shoulders and sinking into the ground past his knees. With the fourth hit, the summoned creature hammered Howling Earth completely into the ground. On the fifth hit, Howling Earth died, becoming the first disqualified player from Battlefield No. 4. Sky View and his comrades were dumbfounded. Their group''s healers didn''t even have time to finish casting their Spells before the Steel-armed Ape killed Howling Earth. The summoned creature''s Strength was simply horrific. As one of Bloodbath Family''s top-ranked Berserkers, Howling Earth had unbound his weapons and equipment to Level 60 Dark Gold rank before entering the battlefield. Only, he hadn''t unbound his Epic Weapon completely. To unbind an Epic item to its normal rank on the battlefield, one had to pay 3 Epic materials. On the other hand, restoring all of one''s weapons and equipment to Dark-Gold rank only cost 5 Epic materials. Meanwhile, a full set of Level 60 Dark-Gold Equipment was more than enough to grant Howling Earth the Strength of a High Lord of the same level. Even without a healer, he should be able to contend with a Great Lord of the same level for quite sometime. Yet, a Level 70, Great Lord ranked Steel-armed Ape had killed Howling Earth in just five moves. Moreover, the Steel-armed Ape hadn''t used any techniques or Skills. It had relied on brute force to kill its enemy... "Damn it! How many Epic items does she have on her?!" Elegant Insanity stared at the female Summoner in astonishment. At first, the Steel-armed Ape had only displayed enough Strength to make Howling Earth stumble, but after receiving 20% of Graceful Moon''s Basic Attributes, its Strength had increased so drastically. Since the Steel-armed Ape hadn''t used any Skills thus far, Graceful Moon''s Basic Attributes must be so incredibly high that a mere 20% was enough to give a Level 70 Steel-armed Ape the Strength of a Level 65 Grand Lord! Before its enemies recovered from their shock, the Steel-armed Ape charged toward the nearby group. With the exception of Sky View and Elegant Insanity, the summoned creature killed every expert with two hits. However, the two peak experts didn''t fare much better; Sky View died after four punches, and Elegant Insanity only survived until the seventh. In less than 30 seconds, the various major powers'' experts, who had tried to gang up on Graceful Moon, fell under the female Summoner''s retaliation. None of them had been able to fight back. This outcome stunned the watching crowd, but they also considered it reasonable. Players weren''t allowed to use Berserk Skills in the arena, and without those Skills, how were they supposed to fight a Grand Lord under another player''s control? "Zero Wing is insane! It dumped so many resources onto Graceful Moon!" "In my opinion, I think Zero Wing''s decision was a wise one. At the very least, with a Grand Lord on its side, no ordinary power can eliminate Zero Wing." The crowd fell into a heated debate over Graceful Moon''s strength. They had never expected Zero Wing to pull such a move. With this, Zero Wing should acquire plenty of energy crystals in Battlefield No. 4. "Zero Wing certainly has a lot of clever tricks," the Half-elf man beside Melody said, sneering at Graceful Moon through a Magic Mirror. "However, while pouring its resources into a few select experts will allow them to perform well, what could a small number of players hope to accomplish on such large battlefields?" Each battlefield would spawn three to six energy crystals at set intervals. As long as players held the crystals for ten minutes, their ownership would become permanent, not even dropping if the player died. As the Half-elf man finished speaking, easily more than 300 players were teleported back to the Auction Arena, in one group after another... An uproar tore through the Auction Arena''s crowd. "What''s wrong with those people?" the Half-elf man turned to the ruckus in the stands in confusion. While most of the participating powers worked together against Zero Wing''s members, there were bound to be exceptions. Seeing a large number of players return at the same time shouldn''t be surprising. But when the Half-elf man raised his eyes to the Magic Mirrors displaying the fights in other battlefields, his expression froze. "Impossible!" The several dozen Magic Mirrors in the center of the Auction Arena all displayed battles involving Zero Wing''s members. Some of these Zero Wing players fought two or three opponents at the same time, while others faced more than ten. Every one of Zero Wing''s members displayed combat standards that could rival Refinement Realm experts. Moreover, they all showed off their extraordinarily high Basic Attributes. The expert players that had returned from the battlefields were Zero Wing''s victims... 2090 An Chapter 2090 - Ant Blood, dust, and smoke filled the gigantic Magic Mirrors'' screens as they hovered above the arena. Corpses, what remained of the various major powers'' experts, littered the battlefield, while Zero Wing''s members remained standing. However, despite their success, Zero Wing''s members seemed incredibly calm as if they had only slain mobs along the roadside. This scene shocked the upper echelons and expert players from the several hundred spectating major powers. Zero Wing''s members had killed over 300 of the various major powers top experts without breaking a sweat, and contrary to expectations, the responsible party didn''t just include a dozen or so players. Rather, several dozen players were responsible for this slaughter. "This is interesting." Mu Cheng, who was assigned to Battlefield No.l, could not help but smile at the Magic Mirror above the battlefield. Even he had assumed that Zero Wing was doomed to part with White River City''s Auction House. He had never imagined that Zero Wing had such a sturdy foundation. On an ordinary battlefield, having a small number of powerful players that could defeat multiple players at once would be wonderful, but this was the Auction Arena. Players'' goal here was to obtain energy crystals, so it was best to have as many capable experts as possible. At most, the various major powers would admire Zero Wing''s battle strategy after watching Graceful Moon kill over a dozen experts by herself. It had merely been a clever trick to these Guilds, proving nothing. However, now that several dozen Zero Wing members had performed similarly, the various major powers were beginning to feel afraid. The fact that Zero Wing could dispatch several dozen extremely powerful experts was proof of the Guild''s solid foundations. If Zero Wing had so many powerful experts, annihilating any of their Guilds would likely be a piece of cake. Furthermore, so many experts meant that Zero Wing had the strength to fight the various superpowers for White River City''s Auction House. If Zero Wing held this Auction House and eventually grew into a superpower, the powers that had opposed the Guild today would suffer. "How can a Guild that only established after God''s Domain''s launch have so many powerful experts and Epic resources?" Dust Blood, who had been assigned to Battlefield No.3, glowered as he watched eight of his Guildmates return to the Auction Arena. Outsiders might not know these eight players, but he, as the leader of Bloodbath Family''s team for this competition, did. To prepare for this Auction House competition, the Guild had invested over half of its Epic material stock to allow 32 participants to restore their weapons and equipment to Dark-Gold rank. However, not only had Zero Wing dispatched more than twice as many players to the official competition, but every participant had unbound their weapons and equipment to Dark-Gold rank at the very least. Based on what Dust Blood could see, quite a few Zero Wing members had even restored their equipment to Epic rank. Not even the Bloodbath Family and Holy Reincarnation could afford such an expenditure. Among the eight slain Bloodbath Family members, two were even bona fide Refinement Realm experts. Even in a superpower, these players would be treated as core members. But despite working with other powers in this competition, Zero Wing''s players had defeated them. Moreover, the Zero Wing members responsible weren''t even the Guild''s famous experts. Rather, they were just some of Zero Wing''s main force members. Dust Blood couldn''t believe it. Meanwhile, after watching more than 300 of their experts die, the various major powers dismissed the notion of targeting Zero Wing. They had only gone after the Guild''s members to curry favor with the various superpowers watching, but not only hadn''t they defeated Zero Wing, but their actions might have also provoked a future superpower. Continuing to single out Zero Wing''s members would be foolish. They had only spent so many resources to participate in the Auction Arena to prepare for the competitions in their own territories once their Auction Houses were promoted. Order quickly returned to the five battlefields as players began to clash with each other, competing for the descending energy crystals. Unless an energy crystal was at stake, the various major powers'' experts avoided Zero Wing''s members as much as possible. For a time, Zero Wing''s members moved across their battlefields with ease. The spectating crowd fell silent as they recognized this turn of events. Meanwhile, the Zero Wing members watching the competition grew excited. They all wished they were on those battlefields, as well. The various major powers that had visited Star-Moon Kingdom had treated Zero Wing like dirt in the past. None of them had seen anything special about the kingdom''s ruling Guild. However, these foreign powers now bowed their heads, doing the best they could to avoid Zero Wing''s attention. Wonderful! Without the other powers interference, Zero Wing can safely compete for the energy crystals!" Melody exclaimed as she watched Zero Wing''s members traverse the five battlefields unhindered. Although Zero Wing didn''t have as many members in the competition as the various superpowers, the energy crystals appeared randomly across all five battlefields. Without the various major powers'' interference, Zero Wing would have an easier time fighting the participating superpowers for energy crystals. "Compete for the energy crystals?" Evil Judgment, the Half-elf man beside Melody, laughed suddenly. "What are you trying to say?" Melody frowned as his reaction. She didn''t think that Evil Judgment laughed at her out of envy, but due to her ignorance. "With how important an Auction House is to a Guild, do you think the various superpowers will let anyone lesser compete?" Evil Judgment asked as he gestured to the energy crystals falling into the five battlefields. "The answer is a definite ''No.'' No tiger would allow an ant to contest for its territory. Naturally, the various superpowers won''t allow insignificant players to take advantage of their fights between each other." Melody turned back to the Magic Mirrors displaying the battlefields, and what she saw darkened her expression. The four participating superpowers, which despised Zero Wing, had surrounded the first five energy crystals on each of the five battlefields. Each superpower had reserved three to five players to guard the energy crystals, working together to prevent other powers from approaching. "How can this be?" Melody was stunned. If only one superpower stood in their way, the various major powers wouldn''t likely consider it much of a threat. When combined, they had an overwhelming numerical advantage. If they worked together, a lone superpower couldn''t stop them. However, four superpowers were working together. Although each had only dispatched a small number of players to protect the energy crystals, these experts were extraordinarily powerful. Even working together, the various major powers had little hope of breaking past that blockade. The various major powers only outnumbered the four superpowers by three or four times. Such a small advantage wasn''t enough to defeat the four cooperating superpowers. Moreover, if they annoyed these superpowers, they might set aside their competition and focus on the interfering players. If the four superpowers got serious, they could end these major powers. Knowing that such an outcome was possible, the various major powers wouldn''t dare attack the superpowers. However, if the major powers did not act, Zero Wing wouldn''t have any opportunities to take advantage of. "I want to see just how you intend to hold White River City now, Zero Wing!" Sky View roared with laughter when he saw the four superpowers cooperate. With them working together, one of these superpowers was guaranteed to win this Auction Arena competition. The other powers could only watch from the sidelines or declare themselves these superpowers'' enemy. But who would dare attracted four superpowers'' wrath? Yet, when everyone thought that no one would dare attack these four superpowers'' blockade, several figures on Battlefield No. 1 dashed past the various major powers'' players and straight toward one of the energy crystals. "So fast!" "Who are those people? Have they lost their minds?" "I thought I saw them wearing a six-winged emblem." "A six-winged emblem? Isn''t that Zero Wing''s emblem?" 2091 What If I Refuse? Chapter 2091 - What If I Refuse? The crowd the various major powers'' experts had formed some distance away from the energy crystal shuddered when they realized that the five new arrivals were from Zero Wing. The players watching from outside of the arena gaped in shock. Unlike the experts on the battlefield, they had a clear view of Zero Wing''s five members rapidly approaching the fallen energy crystal. "Isn''t that Black Flame?" "That can''t be, can it? Four superpowers are working together to guard that crystal. How could Black Flame dare to attack them?" "Has Black Flame lost his mind? He''s charging in with only four companions. That''s not enough to face a single superpower, much less four." "Does Black Flame really treat superpowers'' experts like ordinary experts from other Guilds?" "Maybe this is his final stand. White River City is Zero Wing''s main headquarters, and without it, at least half of Zero Wing''s operations will be crippled." Zero Wing''s behavior baffled everyone watching. No one had ever thought that Zero Would would make such a bold move. However, before Shi Feng''s group could get within 100 yards of the crystal, 17 figures appeared in their path. These 17 players gave off a soul-shuddering aura, and every one of them felt like a humanoid Great Lord. Even the major powers'' experts who stood some distance away felt stifled as these players'' intense killing intent washed over them. These 17 players wore a mix of Level 60 and Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment. Some among them even bore Level 60 Dark- Gold Set Equipment and Weapons. Moreover, they had fully restored these items'' ranks. "Am I dreaming? Isn''t that the Level 60 Eternal Night Set for Assassins?" "Amazing! That Berserker is wearing the Passionate Set! I''ve heard that even Holy Reincarnation has only collected three pieces of that set!" "So, this is a superpower''s foundation?" The watching independent and Guild players watching gasped when they saw the four superpowers'' members that hadn''t bothered to hide their weapons and equipment''s glow effect. Most of the game''s large Guilds hadn''t even collected a complete Level 60 Fine-Gold Set Equipment thus far. Only top-ranked first-rate Guilds would have a few sets. As for a complete Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, that was utterly beyond the various large Guilds'' reach. Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment could only be obtained by raiding 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons or super-large- scale Hard Mode Team Dungeons. Moreover, the drop-rate in these Dungeons was only around 3%. Super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons had a slightly higher drop-rate, but it still wasn''t higher than 7%. Most first-rate Guilds at this stage of their game hit their limit with Level 60, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons; they simply didn''t have the power to raid super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeons. To the various large Guilds, Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment was godly right now. Yet, these four superpowers had more than one such set equipment. Why wouldn''t this revelation be shocking? "Anyone who takes another step forward dies!" the Level 65 male Berserker in the Passionate Set slowly stated, word by word, as he watched Shi Feng''s group without joy or despair. This Berserker sounded like an emotionless robot. As soon this Berserker spoke, the surrounding temperature dropped as an intense killing intent suppressed the space around him. It felt as if the gates to hell had just opened, and if any of these players took another step, they''d descend into hell itself. The distant experts shuddered as they felt the abrupt change. "Is he really human? His killing intent is so powerful." Melody''s expression darkened as she stared at the imposing Berserker. Unlike the spectating players in the stands or outside of the Auction House, those in spectator rooms could alter their room''s environment to match that of the battlefields, allowing them to experience the battlefields to a certain extent Melody had encountered plenty of experts in the Fairy Country, including quite a few that made her feel utterly powerless. However, none of these experts exuded as much killing intent as that Berserker. "Human? You can''t consider him human anymore," Evil Judgment answered from beside Melody, shaking his head. Chuckling, he continued, "I had never imagined that Starlink would successfully recruit that cold-blooded monster. With him, Zero Wing doesn''t have a snowball''s chance in hell of securing the energy crystal." "Is he really that strong? Black Flame earned his title as the Sword King from the Secret Pavilion," Melody countered. "Sword King?" Evil Judgment laughed. "Only first-rate and weaker Guilds give that title any importance. The Secret Pavilion has recorded a lot of experts on the God''s Domain Experts List, but there are many more players that have slipped through the cracks. That cold-blooded monster is one of them. He''s called Tengu, the Warring Ghost. "Although Tengu hasn''t reached the Domain Realm yet, his brain doesn''t work like everyone else''s. You could say that his brain is particularly well-developed, granting him a similar sixth sense to wild beasts. He can easily predict his opponents'' movements. There''s also his beast-like combat method to contend with. He is no weaker than Domain Realm monsters. He''s already killed more than ten thousand experts in God''s Domain, including many peak experts from superpowers. However, due to his strange and violent nature, none of the superpowers have tried to recruit him." "He''s killed more than 10,000 experts?" Melody was slightly stunned. She had only defeated several hundred experts since joining God''s Domain. Even so, those fights had earned her plenty of combat experience, but the Warring Ghost had slain more than 10,000, and many of them had been superpowers'' peak experts. He was truly a monster. To make matters worse, this monster wore the Passionate Set, one of the best sets available in the game right now... When the various superpowers'' members saw Warring Ghost intercept Shi Feng''s small group, they began to chat about the upcoming fight "Brother Mu, it seems Zero Wing has no hope of success in Battlefield No. 1," Blindman commented as he glanced at Mu Cheng, who stood a short distance away. He had heard much about the Warring Ghost, Tengu. If that man continued to grow stronger, he would undoubtedly reach the Four Shadow Demons'' level. Although Black Flame was quite strong as well, the Swordsman''s strength should, at most, rival Tengu''s. However, there were four other Zero Wing members present, while Tengu had a total of 17 allies. Zero Wing had no chance of reaching the energy crystal, much less claiming it. "Starlink has truly invested a lot of its resources in this competition." Mu Cheng shook his head and sighed when he saw these players. Even Mu Cheng would struggle in a fight with Tengu. The weakest piece Tengu wore was Level 65 Dark-Gold rank, and he carried two pieces of Epic Equipment and an Epic Weapon. The Berserker''s equipment was likely some of the very best God''s Domain had to offer right now. "Zero Wing''s Black Flame?" a beautiful woman in dark-purple robes and wearing King''s Return''s Guild Emblem muttered as she observed Shi Feng. Smiling, she continued, "Although it is impressive that you''ve ranked so highly on the God''s Domain Experts List, this isn''t a realm Zero Wing can reach. It''d be best if you left. Even if Nature Hall or Unyielding Soul step in to help you, Tengu will act without hesitation." The major powers'' experts watching from nearby nodded in agreement with this woman''s warning. Although Zero Wing had surprised everyone with its strength, proving that it was even more powerful than a top-ranked first-rate Guild, it couldn''t compare to a superpower. If Zero Wing hadn''t had Nature Hall and Unyielding Soul''s support, the four allied superpowers would''ve likely attacked by now. "You Zero Wing players should know what''s good for you. Do you think you could''ve survived this long if we had moved against you early in this competition?" a Level 65 Ranger from Starlink said, sneering at Shi Feng. "What if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked with a calm smile. He then took a step forward. 2092 Slain in One Hi Chapter 2092 - Slain in One Hit As Shi Feng stepped forward and his calm voice reached the players around him, the experts watching from a distance and the spectating crowd stared with dropped jaws. Even Starlink''s sneering Ranger froze in shock as Shi Feng incredulously approached. "Is Black Flame tired of living?" "The four superpowers have only avoided Zero Wing thus far out of respect for Nature Hall and Unyielding Soul. Why would he dare take the initiative to attack them?" "Has he just given up?" None of the major powers'' experts or upper echelons could understand why Shi Feng was being so stubborn. The Auction Arena had just begun, so there would be plenty of opportunities to secure energy crystals later. Even if the four superpowers wanted to monopolize the crystals, they didn''t have the manpower to cover every corner of the five battlefields. Furthermore, Zero Wing''s strength was only second to the four superpowers in this Auction Arena. It definitely had a chance of claiming the energy crystals that the four superpowers couldn''t secure. Zero Wing didn''t actually need to fight these superpowers. While the crowd chatted about the situation among themselves, the purple-clad woman''s expression darkened. "Black Flame! Do you really think that we are too afraid to attack just because you have Nature Hall and Unyielding Soul''s support?" the woman from King''s Return demanded frostily. With her wrath, the surrounding space froze; her aura was no less intense than Tengu''s. The ambient Mana rampaged in tandem with the woman''s anger. The players within this violent Mana storm began to lose their temper as well. The various major powers'' experts gasped as they felt the sudden change. Even Melody, who experienced the altered environment from her spectator room, paled. "How is she so powerful? A simple mood change has affected the surrounding Mana so drastically." Melody watched the purple-clad beauty with a grim expression. As a Half-elf, she had a very high affinity with Elemental Mana. Even so, she couldn''t easily trigger mana without casting a Spell, yet this purple-clad woman could. While this feat might not seem impressive, Melody recognized how frightening it truly was and what it represented as a magical class expert. When casting a Spell, a player uses incantations and runes to trigger the ambient Mana and gather it to a single point Only then could a caster use the gathered mana to form the necessary magic arrays. If one could command the Mana around them without incantations or runes, they could cast a Spell in a fraction of the normally required time. In God''s Domain, magical class players'' glaring weaknesses were their casting times and Mana capacity. If a magical class player could reduce their casting time, they could substantially increase their combat power, especially against other players. This was especially true when it came to combat against players. "This is only natural. She is, after all, King''s Return''s favored prodigy, Wilting Netherworld. She has also earned the nickname ''Lightning Witch.'' Purely comparing battle records, she''s even more impressive than the Warring Ghost If not for King''s Return hadn''t come to an agreement with the Secret Pavilion, Wilting Netherworld would''ve long since ranked among the top 50 players on the God''s Domain Experts List," Evil Judgment said as he watched the purple-clad woman in fascination. "Now that Black Flame has angered Wilting Netherworld, she and Tengu are more than enough to disqualify every Zero Wing member on Battlefield No. 1." Very few people knew of Wilting Netherworld''s battle records. Most likely, only the various superpowers knew about her. Furthermore, Wilting Netherworld''s activities were usually only related to the various superpowers. First-rate Guilds'' experts had no chance of encountering her. Evil Judgment had witnessed Wilting Netherworld''s fearsome power personally. A total of eight superpowers had gathered to contest for a mysterious Legacy. Setting Sun had been one of them. To win the mysterious Legacy, the various superpowers had dispatched quite a few old monsters, but during the battle, an unknown woman had pinned down one of Setting Sun''s old monsters by herself, which had ultimately enabled King''s Return to claim the Legacy. Superpowers'' old monsters had risen to fame at least a decade ago, with some maintaining their fame for several decades. They were all experts with rich combat experience, and their combat standards far exceeded human limits. However, Wilting Netherworld, a girl even younger than Evil Judgment, had successfully pinned one of these old monsters down without any help. Moreover, she had stopped Evil Judgment, who had fought alongside his Guild''s old monsters for some time, while doing so. Her strength was absurd. Evil Judgment was sure that she would''ve killed him in three or four attacks if that old monster from his Guild hadn''t demanded most of Wilting Netherworld''s attention during that fight. Meanwhile, the four superpowers'' experts around the energy crystal turned to watch Shi Feng. Everyone knew of Black Flame''s reputation for being stubborn. Otherwise, the man wouldn''t have provoked so many superpowers. But they had never thought that he''d dare to show such arrogance before four cooperating superpowers. "Brother Mu, Vice Guild Leader Thunder, you cannot blame us for our lack of respect toward you. This kid simply doesn''t know what''s good for him. If we don''t teach him a lesson, I''m afraid that he''ll cause even more trouble for your two Guilds in the future," Blindman said as he turned to Mu Cheng and Deep Thunder. "Hah... Do whatever you want." Mu Cheng watched Shi Feng with disappointment, thinking the boy was too stubborn and beyond salvation. Only he and Deep Thunder were in this location, but against the combined might of four superpowers, they wouldn''t accomplish anything even if they had their Guilds'' main force members. None of the four superpowers were any weaker than Unyielding Soul or Nature Hall. Hence, neither he nor Deep Thunder had the strength to break these four superpowers'' rules. "Wait!" Deep Thunder shouted suddenly. "This is Zero Wing''s home turf. Isn''t it a little much to shove the Guild out of this contest? Furthermore, Zero Wing is one of Nature Hall''s firm allies. Nature Hall can''t just sit by and watch you bully Zero Wing." Deep Thunder''s abrupt attitude change stunned the various superpowers'' members. They couldn''t fathom what trick he was trying to pull. Since when were Zero Wing and Nature Hall firm allies? To add to their confusion, Deep Thunder seemed intent on fighting alongside Zero Wing. The situation even confused Mu Cheng. He hadn''t expected Deep Thunder to be so committed to helping Zero Wing. "Vice Guild Leader Thunder is so affectionate. Unfortunately, Zero Wing has already enraged Starlink''s members. I''m afraid that it''s too late to stop them," an old man from Starlink wearing silvery-gray leather armor said as he glanced at Tengu, who had already begun to move. With a smile, he continued, "Moreover, rules are rules. If we superpowers don''t show off our power, no one will fear or respect us." Everyone nodded in agreement with this old man''s sentiments. They all felt that Deep Thunder was being too foolish. Even in such a desperate situation, he still insisted on protecting Zero Wing. Did he really think that their superpowers feared Nature Hall? While the superpowers'' members expressed their agreement, Tengu arrived before Shi Feng, his greatsword blazing with fire. With a swing, his 20-meter-long flaming blade descended on Shi Feng. "Die!" The surrounding temperature rose due to the raging flames, and everyone within range felt the increasing gravitational force pulling them toward the ground, making movement difficult. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Inferno Blade! Even the various superpowers'' experts wore grim expressions as they watched Tengu''s display of power. They hadn''t expected the Warring Ghost to wield such Strength after restoring his equipment''s ranks. This attack definitely had the Strength to rival a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Even a peak Tier 2 MT would likely struggle to block this attack, much less a Tier 2 Swordsman. Without a Berserk Skill, Shi Feng''s HP would likely drop to a critical level after a single hit. Just before the flaming blade devoured Shi Feng, he unsheathed Killing Ray and swung to intercept the attack. Lightning Slash! An arch of blue lightning flashed, and Tengu''s flaming blade dissipated the moment it met the lightning arch. Before Tengu could pull back to defend himself, the lightning had bisected his body, leaving behind a faint, glowing scar around his abdomen. Tengu''s HP instantly drained, and the Berserker fell, lifeless... 2093 Imposing Migh Chapter 2093 - Imposing Might This... Impossible! Tengu spun toward Shi Feng in shock when he saw his plummeting HP. Inferno Blade was his most powerful Skill. Even without a Berserker Skill, he could use this Taboo Skill to counter a Grand Lord''s attack. With his ability to predict his opponent''s movements, even old monsters would have to flee from this attack. However, Shi Feng had shattered his Inferno Blade and killed him with the same move. But that wasn''t the worst part. Tengu''s failure to predict Shi Feng''s movements truly surprised him. He could even foresee Domain Realm monsters'' movements, yet this ability was useless against Shi Feng... Although Tengu wanted to warn his companions, his HP had already hit zero, and he lost control of his body. As Tengu collapsed to the ground, the killing intent that had filled the battlefield froze as the four superpowers'' experts stared at Shi Feng, silently panicking. It was one thing if Shi Feng had killed an ordinary peak expert, but Tengu wasn''t an ordinary anything. He was even capable of threatening old monsters. Yet, Shi Feng had instant-killed such an expert No matter how they looked at it, this felt like a dream. God''s Domain certainly had powerful offensive Skills that could instant-kill players, and knowing this, every peak expert had equally powerful Lifesaving Skills to avoid such an outcome. Needless to say, an expert like Tengu had amassed a few of these Lifesaving Skills. However, Tengu hadn''t had time to activate his Lifesaving Skills before dying. Shi Feng''s attack had even nullified Tengu''s prided Inferno Blade before the Warring Ghost had taken the hit. Silence reigned over the crowd outside of the battlefield, their jaws dropping as the implications of Shi Feng''s attack sunk in. "Amazing! He killed a superpower''s peak expert in one hit!" "So, that is the Sword King, Black Flame?" Everyone watching knew the nickname ''Sword King,'' but they had only heard about him through rumors. Moreover, God''s Domain had been developing rapidly, and players'' combat standards continued to improve. Black Flame''s previous battle records no longer meant much to current players. The players that had come from other kingdoms and empires, in particular, didn''t think much of Black Flame''s title. At least, it was far less imposing than the position of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. However, this scene reminded them of how fearsome the Sword King truly was. The Sword King had certainly grown stronger since receiving the title, not weaker. While the spectators discussed the fight, Shi Feng sheathed Killing Ray. He then glanced at Wilting Netherworld and her companions, asking, "Do you still want to stop me?" Shi Feng''s voice sounded calm and gentle, yet Wilting Netherworld and the other experts felt an immense pressure weigh them down. These experts unconsciously moved out fo the way. Seeing that his opponents had lost the will to fight, Shi Feng and his teammates continued toward the energy crystal. Wilting Netherworld and her comrades didn''t attempt any sneak attacks, merely watching, frustrated, from the sidelines. They merely looked on with frustration from the sidelines. Wilting Netherworld felt particularly bitter. Although she considered stopping Shi Feng, the moment she harbored the thought, she felt an indifferent gaze directed toward her, informing her that he was prepared for such an attack. When she met Shi Feng''s cold gaze, she felt as if the man were telling her, "You can try it, but you''ll only fall next to Tengu." With this realization, Wilting Netherworld abandoned any thoughts of resisting. Her strength was, at best, a match for Tengu''s. Even though Shi Feng had already used his Sure-kill Skill, killing her wouldn''t be difficult for someone with even higher Attributes than Tengu and Domain Realm combat standards. Is this why he was so confident? When Wilting Netherworld thought back to Shi Feng''s relaxed attitude, she understood that he hadn''t acted that way due to Nature Hall and Unyielding Soul''s support. He simply had the strength to back up his confidence. "What? They got through, just like that?" As the various major powers'' experts watched Wilting Netherworld and her comrades let Shi Feng''s party pass, they were flabbergasted. By killing just one player, Shi Feng had silenced the four superpowers'' peak experts, convincing them that it would be wise to let him pass. This was even more shocking than watching someone kill a Great Lord with one attack. When Melody saw this from her spectator room, however, she was incomparably excited. She had never dreamed that Shi Feng would be so powerful. Not only had he killed a monster like Tengu, but Wilting Netherworld and her party were also afraid enough that they stepped aside. How?! How is this possible?! Evil Judgment, on the other hand, was stupefied, confusion and madness flashing in his eyes. Wilting Netherworld, a goddess in his eyes, had retreated from Shi Feng. She hadn''t even budged during the fight with his Guild''s old monster, yet a single sentence form Shi Feng had been enough to force her aside. Evil Judgment even wondered if the world was playing some cruel joke on him. Back on the battlefield, the four superpowers'' members that were waiting for the descending energy crystal to reach the ground tensed at this unexpected result. "How surprising. Even Black Flame has reached this standard. It''s no wonder why he dared to participate," Blindman said as he began to watch Shi Feng more seriously. Glancing at Mu Cheng and Deep Thunder, he realized why their Guilds wanted to befriend Zero Wing. Based on the information King''s Return had collected, Shi Feng''s combat standards were only at the Void Realm, yet he could display combat power that rivaled Domain Realm experts. He mainly relied on his powerful Basic Attributes and Skills to face Domain Realm experts. However, things had changed. Although Shi Feng had only executed one attack, his control assured Blindman that Shi Feng had reached the Domain Realm. Every Domain Realm expert warranted the various superpowers'' attention, let alone a Domain Realm expert with the support of a large Guild. As time passed, this Domain Realm expert would only become more powerful. Any Domain Realm expert intent on causing trouble could give the various superpowers a massive headache. This situation reminded Blindman of the Four Shadow Demons from the past. However, Mu Cheng didn''t know that Shi Feng had reached the Domain Realm. He was actually surprised to see Shi Feng display such power. This revelation would certainly affect the competition. Meanwhile, Jing Yang, one of Blackwater''s upper echelons, currently wore a dark expression. "Brother Jing, Zero Wing is stronger than we expected. We''ll likely find it difficult to execute our original plan," Snow Scar whispered to Jing Yang. A Domain Realm expert wasn''t an easy opponent. At the very least, it meant that Zero Wing qualified to compete for the energy crystals in Battlefield No. 1. "It''s true that Black Flame is stronger than we suspected, but slaying Tengu will cause Zero Wing some trouble," Jing Yang said as he watched Starlink''s members approach Shi Feng. Smiling, he continued, "It seems Starlink can no longer sit still." Of the five battlefields in this competition, Battlefield No. 1 was a gathering of monsters. Two of Starlink''s most powerful combatants had been assigned to the battlefield: Wind Demon and Sword Demon of the Four Shadow Demons. As Jing Yang finished his comment, both Wind Demon and Shadow Demon had reached Shi Feng. The two elderly men smiled at their opponent as if they were just two friendly old men from the neighborhood instead of the combat veterans they truly were. These old men''s auras were nothing like Tengu''s. Their auras felt like the vast ocean, and everyone felt like small boats waiting to be devoured by the waves as these auras washed over them. Even Wilting Netherworld was afraid as she looked at these two men. Not only did Wind Demon and Sword Demon carry four pieces of Epic Equipment, but they also wielded Epic Weapons. The rest of their equipment was Level 65 Dark-Gold Rank. Not even Wilting Netherworld''s equipment was as impressive as theirs. "Little brother, you''re quite skilled. You''re already so strong despite your age. Your future is boundless. Our Guild Leader wants to annihilate Zero Wing, but after discussing the situation with Old Wind here, we''ve decided that if Zero Wing agrees to become one of Starlink''s subordinate Guilds, we''ll talk the Guild Leader into giving you White River City," the white-haired old man with a slightly bent back addressed Shi Feng. Smiling, he asked, "May I know what you think of this proposal?" Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard the old man''s words, especially the various major powers'' upper echelons. They all stared at Shi Feng in envy. No one had considered that not only would Starlink willingly abandon its vengeance against Zero Wing, but it would also offer to protect the Guild. If the smaller Guild accepted the offer, Zero Wing''s development in God''s Domain would skyrocket. "There''s nothing to think about! Scram!" Shi Feng''s response was cold as he eyed Wind Demon and Sword Demon. 2094 With Just You? Chapter 2094 - With Just You? Sword Demon''s expression sunk when he heard Shi Feng''s reply, his smile vanishing as he gave Zero Wing''s Swordsman a chilling look. Even space around them frozen due to the bone-piercing killing intent Sword Demon. Wilting Netherworld, who stood nearby, couldn''t help but shudder as she felt the change. The experts from the various major powers just stared at Shi Feng, gaping in shock. "Has Black Flame really lost his mind?" "Doomed! Zero Wing is doomed for sure!" The various major powers didn''t know what to say to Shi Feng''s overbearing behavior. Starlink already suppressed two super-first-rate Guilds in the Dark Night Empire. It had endless strength and wasn''t a force that super-first-rate Guilds like Unyielding Soul or Nature Hall could compare to. Only top-ranked super-first-rate Guilds had any hope of standing against it. If Starlink gave the word, countless powers would do what they could to curry its favor and celebrate becoming Starlink''s subordinate Guild. As one of Starlink''s subordinate Guilds, not only would the Guild receive financial support from the superpower, but it would also receive support in in-game resources. Most importantly, the Guild could develop without worrying about enemies. It would have nothing to fear even when clashing with other superpowers. If Zero Wing submitted to Starlink, it could reach an entirely new level of development very quickly. Zero Wing wouldn''t be limited to lording over Star-Moon Kingdom. It could easily become the overlord in the several neighboring kingdoms as well. Yet, Shi Feng had actually rejected such an opportunity, and he had done so without hesitation... Even the various superpowers'' players were stunned by his answer. "Ѿoung people nowadays really are ignorant of their limitations,"Blindman said as he shook his head and chuckled. He then turned to Deep Thunder and said, "Vice Guild Leader Thunder, although you have a good relationship with Zero Wing, I''d advise you not to interfere. If you attract the Four Shadow Demons'' ire, you''ll likely have a hard time explaining yourself to Guild Leader Nature." Not even he would dare to show such arrogance before Sword Demon and Wind Demon. First of all, they had Starlink''s support. Secondly, both experts were incredibly powerful, far stronger than the younger generation''s Domain Realm experts. Ignoring Starlink, provoking these two was not wise. "Thank you for your concern, but King''s Return doesn''t need to worry about that," Deep Thunder replied. Calmly, he continued, "I''ve said this already, but Nature Hall and Zero Wing are firm allies. If someone wants to move against Zero Wing, Nature Hall won''t sit back and watch." Blindman gave the younger expert an odd look, but he didn''t comment further. The various superpowers'' members standing nearby were stunned by Deep Thunder''s reply. Even now, Nature Hall insisted on shielding Zero Wing. The Guild''s choices were completely out of the norm. Deep Thunder''s response even surprised Mu Cheng, and he took a moment to consider Shi Feng more carefully. He had never thought that Zero Wing was capable of inspiring Nature Hall to go to such great lengths, even willing to provoke Starlink, on its behalf. However, despite the strange looks he received from the various superpowers'' members, Deep Thunder smiled contentedly. None of these superpowers, excluding Nature Hall, knew what strength Zero Wing hid. These players didn''t know that Shi Feng wasn''t the only powerhouse in Zero Wing. The Guild also had Fire Dance, who had the combat power to rival Domain Realm experts. But that wasn''t the end of it Zero Wing also had Cola and the several other peak experts Shi Feng had brought with him during his visit to Nature Hall''s reception room. According to Nature Hall''s initial estimations, Zero Wing should have at least 10 peak experts. Even though Starlink had dispatched a considerable amount of strength to White River City''s Auction House, its chances of winning this competition weren''t overwhelmingly high. Rather, it only had a fifty-fifty chance. Zero Wing had invested every resource it had in White River City, and every participating Zero Wing player had likely fully restored all of their weapons and equipment, allowing them to fight in peak condition. However, the same couldn''t be said for Starlink''s members. Only a fraction of Starlink''s force had unbound all of their equipment. Even though Starlink had the numerical advantage, Zero Wing''s overall combat power was on par with the superpower''s. Rather than side with the four superpowers and standing to gain insignificant benefits, gambling on Zero Wing and potentially winning the lottery was a wiser move for Nature Hall. "Old Sword, it seems this brat doesn''t appreciate your goodwill!" Wind Demon could not help but chuckle at Sword Demon. "There''s no need to waste words on them, Elder Sword! Let''s just follow the Guild Leader''s orders and eliminate them!" a middle-aged man wielding an ancient, crystal bow said as he glared at Shi Feng. Sword Demon was the strongest of the Four Shadow Demons in melee combat. Even Lu Xingluo, Starlink''s Guild Leader, had to treat him with respect. Sword Demon also had a great appreciation for talented individuals, especially those that used the sword. Of course, the main reason for his appreciation was his desire for strong opponents in the future. To grow stronger, one needed to face stronger combatants, after all. This was also why Sword Demon had suggested recruiting Zero Wing. Otherwise, Sword Demon would''ve killed Shi Feng after watching the Swordsman kill Tengu. "Little brat, it seems that you think you can ignore us old fellows now that you''ve reached the Domain Realm. Unfortunately, you are still naive. Since you aren''t backed by a superpower, you''ve failed to understand that reaching the Domain Realm is only the first step toward the apex," Sword Demon said as he heaved a deep sigh. His gaze then sharpened as he said, "I will teach you that even among Domain Realm experts, there can be a massive difference in strength!" Sword Demon''s aura abruptly shifted, releasing a tremendous amount of pressure to bear down on Shi Feng. Although Sword Demon''s aura targeted Shi Feng, Wilting Netherworld couldn''t help but tremble, struggling to breathe, even though she stood some distance behind Shi Feng. "How is he so strong?" Fire Dance, Alluring Summer, Flying Shadow, and Shadow Sword prepared for battle from behind Shi Feng. They had never expected this player''s aura to be so strong. Before anyone could react, Sword Demon''s crimson greatsword transformed into a rotating sword light. He then vanished, reappearing before Shi Feng in an instant. Like nimble snakes, twelve crimson sword lights spread out and converged on Shi Feng, altering their attack trajectories and becoming nearly impossible to predict. Moreover, the attacks were so fast that the naked eye couldn''t keep up. Tier 2 Skill, Twelve Heavenly Rotations! "Sure enough, he''s reached this level after so long?"Blindman''s expression tensed when he saw the twelve sword lights. Wilting Netherworld, on the other hand, was utterly dumbfounded. Despite her keen perception, she couldn''t follow the twelve sword lights'' speed and transformations. It looked as if twelve different people commanded the sword lights, like each attack had a will of its own. The twelve sword lights didn''t even interfere with each other''s trajectories. Although each attack only carried a Great Lord''s Strength of the same level, she doubted that she''d be able to dodge or block this assault An ordinary Skill like Twelve Heavenly Rotations had gained a life of its own in Sword Demon''s hands. His combat standards were unlike anything she had seen from the Domain Realm experts she had fought before. "Alone? I''m afraid you''re not qualified!" With a snort, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and Twilight Blade, greeting the twelve sword lights in battle. Sword''s Transmigration. 2095 So Confident with So Many Fighters? Chapter 2095 - So Confident with So Many Fighters? As the twelve crimson sword lights were about to bite into Shi Feng, Killing Ray and Twilight Blade cut six of them down. The counterattack forcibly altered these sword lights'' trajectories, and rather than threatening Shi Feng''s life, they became shields that protected him as they clashed with the remaining six sword lights. Dang... Dang... Dang... As the twelve sword lights collided, they disintegrated into particles of light Meanwhile, Shi Feng remained unharmed. He blocked all of those attacks? Wilting Netherworld stared at the fading light particles with wide eyes. Sword Demon''s use of this Skill had reached the peak of God''s Domain. She was sure that even King''s Return''s old monsters would be forced to use a Lifesaving Skill or powerful offensive Skill to nullify the attack, yet Shi Feng had done so with a few, simple slashes. Moreover, Shi Feng had neutralized the attack so effortlessly. Wilting Netherworld couldn''t believe her eyes. Similarly, the various major powers'' watching experts gaped at the scene. "Amazing! This is simply amazing!" "So, this is an apex expert''s strength?" Shock and excitement overwhelmed everyone after witnessing the brief clash between Shi Feng and Sword Demon. Although they all knew that the various superpowers'' old monsters were extraordinarily power, they had never seen one in action before. At most, they had watched a few of those old monsters'' battle videos. However, they now watched one of these old monsters fight an equally strong opponent. Moreover, they only stood 200 yards away from the fight. For Tier 2 players, watching from this distance was like watching a fight from 50 yards away for Tier 1 players. "Black Flame really can''t be underestimated. No wonder why he dismissed Sword Demon''s offer so quickly." Blindman was also slightly surprised to see Shi Feng unharmed. At Sword Demon''s skill level, one could command their Skills or Spells as if they were subordinates, using them in such a way that they were beyond 100% effective. Ordinary Domain Realm experts had no hope against Sword Demon. After all, experts that had just reached the Domain Realm could only use their Skills and Spells at 100% efficiency. There was a qualitative difference between the two. While everyone discussed Sword Demon and Shi Feng''s initial exchange, Shi Feng moved, appearing before Sword Demon instantly. Killing Ray and Twilight Blade then transformed into countless sword lights as they assaulted the older man. Sword''s Orbit! Before Shi Feng had reached the Domain Realm, he had mainly used Sword''s Orbit for defense since using the technique offensively had dealt so little damage. He had only been able to execute six simultaneous attacks with the technique, but after reaching the Domain Realm, he could perform Sword''s Orbit perfectly. Not only was the technique powerful when used defensively, but it was also quite strong offensively. Sword Demon''s expression darkened as the sword lights flew toward him. He couldn''t actually perceive the attack trajectories, and he felt as if the entire world pressed down on him. He could also sense that each sword light had enough power to slice apart space itself. Shi Feng''s attacks were even stronger than a Great Lord''s of the same level. In the blink of an eye, overl4 sword lights sliced at him from different directions. "Break!" Sword Demon shouted, and the flames along his greatsword transformed into a streak of light as they countered more than half of the incoming attacks. He then left behind multiple afterimages as he dodged the remaining attacks. He elusively thrust his greatsword at Shi Feng, his attack carrying as much Strength as a Grand Lord of the same level. However, Shi Feng''s Sword Orbit was normally a defensive combat technique. Although Sword Demon''s attacks were stronger this time and stronger than Shi Feng''s, the galaxy of stars that surrounded the younger Swordsman deflected every strike. None of Sword Demon''s attacks touched Shi Feng. For a time, Sword Demon and Shi Feng continued to trade attacks, their HPs falling bit by bit Nether Swordsman was able to secure an advantage over the other. Very few of the watching experts nearby could keep up with Sword Demon''s elusive attacks and movement techniques. When these experts tried to put themselves in Shi Feng''s position, they realized that Sword Demon would easily slaughter them. As for Shi Feng''s combat technique, he was so fast that they couldn''t register his movements. They had only realized that he had swung his sword after the fact. When they imagined being on the receiving end of his attacks, they recognized that they wouldn''t block a single swing and would be slaughtered helplessly. ... "Amazing!" Melody could not believe her eyes as she watched the exchange between Shi Feng and Sword Demon, excitement welling within her heart. Even the various superpowers feared Sword Demon, and he currently carried 6 Epic Weapons and Equipment pieces. His equipment standards undoubtedly ranked among the very top in God''s Domain right now. Yet, Shi Feng fought Sword Demon to a standstill. ... So, this is his true strength? Mu Cheng, who watched the battle from the battlefield, was just as shocked as Shi Feng held this play out from the side,"Blindman said calmly. Damned Blindman! Mu Cheng inwardly cursed. Watching from the sidelines and staying its hand was the best option for King''s Return. It wasn''t from the Dark Night Empire, and it had no reason to clash with Starlink. However, King''s Return would prefer to watch Starlink grow stronger, rather than Zero Wing, which would indirectly help Unyielding Soul. If Starlink succeeded, it could keep both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor in check, after all. As for Zero Wing''s other members and Deep Thunder, they were no threat to Starlink''s two old monsters. While Sword Demon and Shi Feng fought, a black figure appeared behind the younger Swordsman. It was none other than Wind Demon. The Assassin expert split into nine shadows that attacked Shi Feng in silence. Meanwhile, Sword Demon created four copies of his greatsword, sending innumerable sword lights to devour Shi Feng. Facing simultaneous attacks from the two old monsters, not even Shi Feng could defend himself. He immediately activated Void Shield to block the incoming attacks. A single round of attacks was enough to deplete one-sixth of the Void Shield''s energy reserves. These attacks'' power could easily rival that of Grand Lords of the same level. "What a powerful Lifesaving Skill." Wind Demon was slightly surprised to see the magic barrier that had appeared around Shi Feng. "Unfortunately, that won''t save you. With Old Sword and I working together, you have no chance of winning this fight." "You''re not wrong, but that would require that you two can cooperate," Shi Feng calmly replied, glancing at Wind Demon. "You still have such confidence even in the face of death?" Wind Demon could not help but laugh at Shi Feng. However, Wind Demon''s laughter stopped abruptly as his expression changed, and he activated his Lifesaving Skill, Wind Steps. Without warning, a crimson figure had appeared beside the old Assassin, thrusting a short sword toward Wind Demon''s heart. However, Wind Demon reacted quickly enough that he could use the brief invulnerability Wind Steps provided to protect himself. But the moment Wind Demon lost his invulnerability status, the crimson figure stabbed at him again. This time, the old monster met the attack with one of his own daggers. Boom! Wind Demon''s arm went numb as he was thrown several yards back, crashing to the ground. His dagger hummed as it vibrated from the impact. "Who are you?" Wind Demon demanded, addressing the crimson figure with a serious expression. "Do you the outcome that awaits any who attack me?" An Assassin''s Strength had proven greater than his, and his assailant''s Attack Speed was superior, as well. Once he got a better look at his newest opponent, Wind Demon was stunned. "What the...?!" Wind Demon wasn''t the only player surprised to see this crimson figure. Everyone on the battlefield was stupefied. This crimson figure, which had surprised a superpower''s old monster, was none other than Zero Wing''s Fire Dance. Everyone on the battlefield erupted in an uproar. Nobody had expected Zero Wing to reveal another such trump card. This turn of events even surprised Mu Cheng. Black Flame! I hadn''t thought that your Guild had hidden such an expert! However, do you think that you can defeat Starlink just because you have someone to pin down Old Wind?" Sword Demon asked as he glanced at Fire Dance. Suddenly, 12 Starlink members moved to surround Shi Feng. Although Fire Dance''s combat power was unexpected, Zero Wing''s party was still outnumbered. Moreover, four of Starlink''s 12 members were peak experts. "Do you think you''re powerful just because you have more people?" Shi Feng countered, eyeing Starlink''s players around him. He then activated Twilight''s Shadow and Twilight of the Gods. Suddenly, eight copies of Shi Feng joined the battlefield, every one of these doppelgangers radiating an intensely frightening aura that was no weaker than Shi Feng''s. "Alright, let the second round begin!" 2096 Vicious Black Flame Chapter 2096 - Vicious Black Flame The confidence Starlink''s members had displayed vanished as Shi Feng''s eight doppelgangers joined the fray. At the same time, fear surfaced in their eyes as Starlink''s members looked at Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. The nearby spectators'' eyes nearly fell from their sockets when they saw this. "Crap! Is this real?!" "Cheating! He is definitely cheating!" Many experts watching from a distance couldn''t help but shout in indignation. The Zero Wing members watching from outside of the battlefield, however, began to cheer. "All hail the Guild Leader!" "Zero Wing for the win!" No one had held a favorable view of Zero Wing when this competition had begun. Some had even been certain that Zero Wing would perish after this, and everyone had mocked the Guild. Now, however, would anyone dare question Zero Wing''s superiority? A special Doppelganger Skill? Sword Demon''s expression twisted as he observed Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. He had already struggled against Shi Feng alone. After all, the younger Swordsman''s Basic Attributes were higher than his. If not for the significant Strength and speed boost his special weapon provided, Shi Feng would''ve already defeated him. Yet, now, he had to face nine identical copies of this troublesome Swordsman... He might not have been worried if these copes had been ordinary doppelgangers. If that were the case, their Basic Attributes would be far lower than the original''s. At most, these doppelgangers might have slowed him down a little, which would be annoying, but from what Sword Demon could sense, these doppelganger''s Attributes rivaled his own. Sword Demon felt an intense pressure from each clone, which meant that Shi Feng had just gained eight more monster-level experts. Of course, this was the best-case scenario for Shi Feng. If Sword Demon actually continued this fight, it would be a different story. After all, everyone''s attention span was limited. Even if Shi Feng were a Domain Realm expert, he couldn''t perfectly control all eight doppelgangers and fight. Controlling a doppelganger was far more complex than controlling one''s body. Controlling a single doppelganger perfectly was the limit for a Domain Realm expert. Controlling more would affect the doppelganger''s performance. However, even if Shi Feng couldn''t control all eight doppelgangers perfectly, he shouldn''t have a problem exhibiting Flowing Water Realm combat standards with them. With his ridiculously high Basic Attributes, each of his doppelgangers could face a peak expert of the same level. In other words, Zero Wing''s party had suddenly gained another eight peak experts. Unfortunately, Starlink only had a total of five peak experts on Battlefield No. 1, and the strongest of them, Tengu, had already been killed. This left Starlink with only four peak experts, and the remaining members were only Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts. Overall, Starlink was now at a massive disadvantage. Even Wind Demon gulped nervously as he watched Shi Feng. Who is this kid? Wind Demon wondered as he stared at the young Swordsman in confusion. Not only had Shi Feng successfully reached the Domain Realm at such a young age, but he had also amassed absurdly high Basic Attributes. Now, he had revealed a Doppelganger Skill that defied common sense. No matter how Wind Demon considered the situation, he couldn''t believe it. No individual player could easily obtain Shi Feng''s weapons, equipment, or Skills. Acquiring any of these required an astronomical amount of resources and manpower. The Four Shadow Demons had only even secured their current weapons, equipment, and Skills thanks to Starlink''s help. However, Shi Feng had collected such items by relying on a Guild that only controlled one kingdom''... Amazing! With this, Starlink is finished in Battlefield No. 1! Mu Cheng balled his fists in delight as he glanced at Blindman. He had been worried for Zero Wing, and if not for Blindman''s interference, he would''ve jumped into this battle to help the Guild. However,Blindman''s efforts had gone to waste with this new development. Just as Shi Feng was about to attack Starlink''s members, a low voice reached his ears. "Guild Leader Black Flame, don''t be so quick to act!"Blackwater''s Jing Yang called out?"Ѿou''ve already proven Zero Wing''s strength. I doubt anyone will continue to oppose Zero Wing''s participation in this competition for energy crystals, so do you need to exterminate them all?" "What are you trying to say?" Shi Feng asked as he eyed Jing Yang, who wore aqua-blue robes and carried a glowing, golden staff. Jing Yang had made no effort to hide his equipment''s glowing effects, so Shi Feng knew that the man carried four pieces of Epic Equipment in total. Although Shi Feng couldn''t discern what rank Jing Yang''s staff was, he guessed that it was at least Epic rank based on its aura. Moreover, Jing Yang wore a complete Level 65 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, which even the various superpowers struggled to collect. Level 65 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was far more difficult to acquire than Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment at this stage of the game. Not even Starlink had a complete set. Naturally, a Level 65 Fine-Gold set had even higher Basic Attribute bonuses than Level 60 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The Mana fluctuations around Jing Yang were even stronger than those around Wilting Netherworld, and his combat standards were likely stronger than hers. He had reached the Void Realm more than a decade ago, and although Wilting Netherworld was a prodigy, she would need more time before she could catch up to Jing Yang. "Starlink only acted in compliance with the rules our superpowers agreed to. If Guild Leader Black Flame is earnest in moving against Starlink, the rest of us won''t just sit back and watch. I hope you can understand this," Jing Yang said, smiling. Jing Yang''s words left everyone stunned. They had never expected this battle to take such a drastic turn. "Blackwater is too shameless! It didn''t step forward when Starlink was about to annihilate Zero Wing, but now that Zero Wing has the upper hand, it wants to interfere. Since when have Blackwater and Starlink had such a good relationship?" "Zero Wing is in trouble now. Such a powerful Doppelganger Skill definitely has a very long Cooldown. If Zero Wing misses this opportunity to take out Starlink, it isn''t likely that the Guild will find another chance." "Zero Wing is so unlucky. If it hadn''t provoked Blackwater, the Guild likely wouldn''t have interfered today." For a time, the various major powers either pitied or mocked Zero Wing''s situation. "Melody, I advise that you give up any hope for Zero Wing. Zero Wing might have the strength to resist a superpower, but it has provoked too many. Zero Wing can''t survive in God''s Domain for long. This situation is the best proof. Just before Zero Wing emerges victorious in this fight, Blackwater steps in. Zero Wing has no chance of winning White River City''s Auction House," Evil Judgment said, chuckling when he saw Melody''s enraged expression. Blackwater was no weaker than Starlink, and although it hadn''t sent as many experts to this competition, it had nearly as many experts fighting for the Auction House as Starlink. Including Jing Yang, Blackwater had four peak experts and seven Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts on Battlefield No. 1. In addition, the Guild had the Domain Realm expert, South Time, the man standing behind Jing Yang. Although South Time had only recently reached the Domain Realm, he was still a monster-level expert. His participation would be more than enough to turn the tides of the battle between Starlink and Zero Wing. If Zero Wing missed this opportunity to eliminate Starlink''s members, it wouldn''t encounter another. Regardless of what Shi Feng decided, Zero Wing was guaranteed to lose White River City. "Understand?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "You think you qualify to stop me?" Suddenly, Shi Feng vanished.Before anyone could react, he reappeared before Jing Yang, his Killing Ray releasing a brilliant blue glow. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! A streak of blue light flew toward Jing Yang''s throat, and the man panicked at the sudden attack. Shi Feng''s attack was so fast that he didn''t even have time to activate Blink. Just before the blue light bit into the man, his golden staff released a golden light, instantly creating a barrier of light around Jing Yang. Seeing this barrier, Jing Yang could not help but breathe out a sigh of relief. The Passive Skill, Three Pillars Barrier, had created this light barrier. The ability triggered automatically when its wielder faced a lethal attack. When activated, the Skill created a magic barrier that negated 90% of all attacks'' damage for three seconds. It also increased his Defense by 300%, raising his Defense to rival an MT''s of the same level. It was an amazing Lifesaving Skill that had a one-hour Cooldown, and with it, even Grand Lords would struggle to kill him. However, the moment after Jing Yang sighed, Shi Feng''s attack struck. The light barrier cracked, and Jing Yang instantly lost one-third of his HP. The man paled with IVight. Although he immediately tried to escape by using Blink, Shi Feng''s Twilight Blade had already begun its descent. When the second slash landed, Jing Yang''s HP dropped to zero in an instant without the protection of the Three Pillars Barrier. His body only teleported 20 yards away after Jing Ѿang''s vision began to darken. He then collapsed and disintegrated into countless particles of light... 2097 Suppressing a Guild Alone Chapter 2097 - Suppressing a Guild Alone Shi Feng had slain Jing Yang so quickly that no one had time to react He had simply disappeared and reappeared before Jing Yang, and in the next moment, the Blackwater member''s corpse had appeared 20 yards away. The entire process had happened in the blink of an eye. Even Snow Scar, who had stood beside Jing Yang, hadn''t had time to react Snow Scar had only been able to watch as Shi Feng killed Jing Yang before his eyes and casually sheathed his Killing Ray and Twilight Blade. The various major powers'' experts watching from the sidelines gasped when they saw Jing Yang''s dead body. Horrifying! Vicious! These words no longer had the impact to describe Shi Feng. Blackwater was a superpower with the strength to rival Starlink, yet Shi Feng had so effortlessly killed Jing Yangthe leader of Blackwaters team in this competition, without hesitation. They couldn''t fathom how Shi Feng found the courage to provoke two superpowers simultaneously. "Has Black Flame lost his mind? Why did he attack Blackwater?" "He probably has. With Blackwater''s interference, Zero Wing is dead either way. Rather than sit back and wait for his execution,Black Flame might have decided to make a last stand. Only, his attack against that Blackwater representative had been vicious. It didn''t look like something a human would be capable of." "That wasn''t wise. Does Black Flame think that he can turn things around by retaliating against Blackwater? With Blackwater in the fight, Zero Wing''s performance will suffer on all of the battlefields, not just Battlefield No. 1." Everyone was more surprised by Shi Feng''s decisiveness than they were over Jing Yang''s instant death. Although Shi Feng''s Doppelganger Skill had significantly increased his team''s overall strength, Starlink and Blackwater would have more peak experts than Zero Wing if they worked together. Blackwater even had its own apex expert "Black Flame!" Snow Scar, who served as Blackwater''s vice team leader, bellowed. Blackwater might not suffer any major losses to its combat power due to Jing Yang''s death, but he was the Guild''s representative. Killing him was a slap in the face to Blackwater. Moreover, Xuanwu Chisa was fully responsible for this operation. How was Snow Scar supposed to explain this to her? With South Time at the lead, Blackwater''s experts pounced on Shi Feng. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Ghost Dance! Suddenly, South Time split into five clones and attacked Shi Feng from different directions, each doppelganger sending more than a dozen slashes at its target, surrounding Shi Feng with sword images. Like hungry wolves, the sword images flew toward Shi Feng''s vitals and blind spots. Meanwhile, Snow Scar leaped into the air and activated his strongest Taboo Skill, Lightning Madness. Not only was this Skill an AOE attack, but it also had enough power to force a Grand Lord of the same level stumbling back. The Skill even ignored invulnerability effects, and although the Skill required half a second to activate, which was more than enough time for a peak expert to evade, he used the Skill in conjunction with South Time''s Ghost Dance. Against this joint attack, even a Domain Realm expert would fall. What an amazing two-part attack! Sword Demon couldn''t help but admire South Time and Snow Scar''s coordinated assault Even he would be concerned if he were on that attack''s receiving end. South Time''s Ghost Dance, in particular, perfectly eliminated the target''s chances to evade. The target would be forced to face these Skills head-on. However, not even Sword Demon was confident of surviving 60-plus simultaneous attacks. He would have no choice but to activate a Lifesaving Skill before dealing with Snow Scar''s final blow. However, Shi Feng didn''t activate a Lifesaving Skill despite so many incoming attacks. Instead, he simply brandished Killing Ray, countering South Time''s strikes. Shadow Blade! Ten Shadow Blades flew away from Shi Feng in all directions, crashing into the incoming sword images. He then executed Sword''s Orbit, manifesting a galaxy of stars around himself. Like dominos, the sword images the Shadow Blades struck crashed into each other. Shi Feng''s counterattack threw off nearly 50 sword images'' trajectories, while he used Sword''s Orbit to neutralize the remaining 20 or so sword images. South Time was stunned to see Shi Feng so easily nullify his Ghost Dance, but Snow Scar had already swung his hammer of lightning, slamming the gigantic weapon down on Shi Feng with astonishing speed. Unfortunately, Shi Feng no longer had the energy to block this lightning-fast attack. But just as the lightning hammer was about to smash into Shi Feng, the Swordsman spun around and shouted, "Scram!" As Shi Feng spoke, a powerful shockwave crashed into Snow Scar''s lightning hammer. Dragon Breath! The instant the two attacks collided, space tore apart, and the resulting shockwave reached 100 yards away. The sound of the impact echoed across the battlefield. The immensely powerful lightning hammer vanished as if it had never existed as Snow Scar stumbled back more than a dozen yards, losing nearly 10% of his HP. How is this possible? Shock colored Snow Scar''s face as he stared at Shi Feng. Shi Feng had neutralized his full-powered attack with a single roar. Moreover, the Swordsman hadn''t used a single Lifesaving Skill to counter their joint attack. "Is he a monster?" The major powers'' experts were flabbergasted when they saw Shi Feng unharmed after the exchange. Both South Time and Snow Scar''s attacks had enough Strength to rival a Grand Lord of the same level, yet Shi Feng had blocked them without breaking a sweat "Friends from Blackwater, Black Flame won''t be easy to deal with. Starlink will pin him down while you get rid of Zero Wing''s other members," Sword Demon said suddenly. "Okay! We''ll leave that to you, then!" South Time nodded. After a final glance at Shi Feng, he and the other Blackwater members charged toward Zero Wing''s party. "Don''t think you can get away from me so easily!" Shi Feng frowned as he manipulated his eight doppelgangers to attack South Time''s group. "We''ll have to see if you have the ability to stop them!" Wind Demon and his Starlink companions immediately intercepted Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. Each doppelganger only had the combat power of a peak expert, and although Wind Demon and his team would have a very difficult time trying to kill them, pinning these doppelgangers down for a few moments wouldn''t be an issue. With the strength of Blackwater''s members, they should be able to slay Zero Wing''s members before the doppelgangers slipped past Wind Demon''s team. "i''lI pin Fire Dance down! The rest of you need to end the fight as quickly as possible!" South Time hurriedly commanded. "Understood!" Blackwater''s dozen or so members immediately split into three groups, each under the lead of a peak expert These three groups would be more than enough to deal with Zero Wing''s three remaining members. For a time, chaos ruled over the battlefield. South Time kept Fire Dance busy while Alluring Summer, Shadow Sword, and Flying Shadow had their hands full with Blackwater''s peak experts. With the help of Blackwater''s other players, this battle was particularly bitter. Due to interference from two Refinement Realm magical class experts, Shi Feng wasn''t able to shake off Sword Demon. Likewise, Wind Demon and his Assassin team kept Shi Feng''s doppelgangers occupied. As they watched, the experts from the various major powers couldn''t help but admire Shi Feng. The Swordsman managed to suppress all of Starlink''s experts by himself, and even if Zero Wing lost today, it would be a glorious defeat! "What a pity, Black Flame. I admit that your strength is superb. Even among the various superpowers, you cannot be ignored. However, you''re still just one person, and God''s Domain is not a single-player game!" Sword Demon commented as he watched Zero Wing''s enemies force its members into a comer. "You''re right, God''s Domain isn''t a single-player game," Shi Feng said, nodding. His lips then curled as he asked, "However, when have I ever said that Zero Wing only relies on me? Summer! Shadow! You don''t need to hold back anymore! Activate the Secret Law and show these people what the consequences are for provoking Zero Wing!" Hearing Shi Feng''s command, Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword''s eyes began to glow as they waged a bitter battle. "We can finally make a move?" Excitement brightened Alluring Summer''s features as she used Blink to put some distance between her and her opponents. "I''ve been waiting to hear those words for so long, Guild Leader!" Shadow Sword said, laughing. Like beasts waking from their slumber, the intensity of Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword''s auras skyrocketed, becoming even more frightening than those monster-level experts like Wind Demon and South Time. 2098 Peerless Aura Chapter 2098 - Peerless Aura Before anyone could react to Shi Feng''s command, Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword''s auras washed over the battlefield. Everyone fell silent as they unconsciously turned toward the two players, dumbfounded. "What powerful auras!" "How is this possible? Aren''t Berserk Skills prohibited in the Auction Arena?" The feeling of the two Zero Wing members'' auras had changed completely. For a moment, everyone felt like they stood before two Grand Lord ranked monsters. In God''s Domain, players would determine their opponent''s strength based on their auras in situations where they couldn''t inspect the opponent''s information. A player''s aura couldn''t be faked. Expert players, in particular, relied on this method to avoid unnecessary deaths. The fact that Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword''s auras had abruptly grown stronger meant that their combat power had just increased. However, players weren''t allowed to use tools or Berserk Skills in the Auction Arena. No one on the battlefield could figure out how these two had suddenly become so powerful. Blackwater''s members paused their assault, shuddering, as they felt the sudden transformation. These experts stared at Zero Wing''s players in fear, too wary to attack. Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword now displayed the auras of Domain Realm experts. If they attacked and exposed a weakness, this fight might end in an instant "Don''t be fooled!" Snow Scar shouted when he realized that his allied had stopped their assault. "No one in this arena can use a Berserk Skill to increase their strength! They must be using some special Skill that increases the mental pressure other players feel Their combat power shouldn''t have actually increased! They are merely putting up a front!" Although weapons and equipment that increased the mental pressure one''s enemies experienced were excruciatingly rare in God''s Domain, they existed nevertheless. "Damn! That really spooked me! I almost thought that Zero Wing had two more monsters!" "Black Flame nearly fooled me, too. It really would be heaven-defying if Zero Wing had another two monster-level experts." "I will admit, though, that Zero Wing is pretty impressive to get its hands on such weapons and equipment" "That''s right! I''ve only heard of such items before today. I''ve never actually seen one. Although such items won''t improve one''s combat power, a stronger aura can affect an opponent''s mental state and slow their reactions. Such items would be incredibly useful in PvP." When they heard Snow Scar''s comment, realization dawned on the various major powers'' experts watching from a distance. They all agreed with his reasoning. It would simply be too horrific if Zero Wing had truly revealed more monster-level experts. "Weapons and equipment that strengthen auras?" Sword Demon muttered to himself as he glanced at Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword. He then shook his head and smiled at Shi Feng, "And here I thought you were going to reveal another powerful trump card. It seems you''re at your wit''s end. Although such weapons and equipment would be awesomely effective in PvP, I''m afraid mere gimmicks are useless against experts who have experienced countless battles. At best, they might delay your players'' fate." "Is that so?" Shi Feng replied with a calm smile. Suddenly, the atmosphere around Shi Feng changed. Like Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword''s transformations, Shi Feng''s aura became considerably more powerful. Space around him even began to blur. Sensing this change, Sword Demon''s expression darkened. If Shi Feng''s aura had resembled a great ocean that could even stifle peak experts, those who bathed in it now felt as if they had been submerged in mercury. Shi Feng''s aura felt incomparably heavy, and even Sword Demon struggled to breathe. "You..." Fear flashed in Sword Demon''s eyes as he stared at Shi Feng. He was an expert that stood at the apex of God''s Domain, a player that every superpower feared, yet he felt the threat of death loom over him as he stood before Shi Feng. He felt as if he were standing before a humanoid Tyrannosaurus rex, rather than another player! Moreover, Shi Feng''s control of his aura was exceptional. Sword Demon could tell that Shi Feng had restrained his aura to his immediate surroundings, so no one but him sensed how horrifying it truly was. "Do you still think that I''m just trying to buy time?" Shi Feng smiled at Sword Demon. Secret Laws weren''t categorized as Skills or Spells, resembling combat techniques instead. They didn''t improve players'' Basic Attributes, only allowing players to exhibit more of their bodies'' potential. Hence, players could freely use Secret Laws within the Auction Arena, and they didn''t need to worry about their Secret Laws dropping if they died. The system didn''t actually consider the deaths players suffered in the Auction Arena as official. This was why Secret Laws were so valuable. The various superpowers had even offered to trade Epic Set Equipment for a Basic Secret Law during Shi Feng''s previous life since the Secret Laws would be far more effective in the Auction Arenas than Epic Set Equipment The physique improvement Secret Laws provided was secondary, however. More importantly, Secret Laws allowed players to enter a super-sensory state. In this state, players'' senses became so sharp that they could perceive things they couldn''t normally detect. Of course, how useful this was would depend on the player. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Sword Demon had an extremely bad premonition. Sword Demon felt that the younger Swordsman''s smile looked like the expression one would use when mocking an ignorant fool. Moreover, Shi Feng looked down at him as if he were watching an ant Sword Demon had seen that expression on many powerhouses before. "Quick! Everyone retreat!" Sword Demon instinctively shouted. He hadn''t been able to determine whether or not the change to Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword''s auras was truly related to a combat power increase, but after experiencing Shi Feng''s enhanced aura, he was absolutely certain that this transformation wasn''t due to a weapon or equipment effect Rather, it was a by-product of their combat power increasing. "Retreat?" "Why are we retreating?" The players from Starlink and Blackwater were confused when they heard the command. Victory was already within reach. As long as they kept fighting for another minute or so, they''d win, yet Sword Demon wanted them to flee? "Sword Demon has gone too far with his affection for talented individuals." Blindman frowned at Sword Demon''s warning. "Is that really the case?" Mu Cheng, who stood beside Blindman, wondered as he watched the old monster''s tense expression. No matter how he looked at it, that expression didn''t look like affection. It looked like Sword Demon was terrified. When Sword Demon saw his allies'' confusion, his anxiety grew, but as he was about to explain, he heard the sound of laughter. "It''s too late to escape now!" The moment this voice reached his ears, Sword Demon instinctively brandished his greatsword, swinging the weapon at Shi Feng, who had suddenly appeared before him. The older Swordsman instantly split into three clones, each launching multiple attacks with the Strength to suppress Grand Lords of the same level. This was Sword Demon''s final trump card and his weapon''s strongest Additional Skill, Phantom Assault In his hands, this Skill could even kill Domain Realm experts in an instant if they didn''t activate an Invulnerability Skill. However, Shi Feng easily deflected the dozen or so attacks with his Killing Ray, displaying far faster reaction speed than before. Shadow Blade! Ten sword lights flew toward Sword Demon simultaneously, each aiming for his weak points, but not to be outdone, Sword Demon executed an Advanced Defensive Combat Technique to evade the incoming attacks. One attack... Two attacks... Three attacks... After blocking the seventh sword light, Sword Demon hit his limit, and the three remaining attacks tore through his body. The last two-thirds of his HP vanished instantly. Elsewhere on the battlefield, Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword had made their move, slaying the two Blackwater peak experts they faced within two or three moves. With this turn of events, the battlefield fell deathly silent 2099 Horrifying Predicamen Chapter 2099 - Horrifying Predicament "They''re dead?" "Didn''t they say that Zero Wing''s members were only using items that increased their auras?" When the various experts on the battlefield saw the corpses of Sword Demon and two Blackwater peak experts disintegrate into particles of light, their eyes nearly fell from their sockets in shock. Both sides had been evenly matched and fought each other to a standstill earlier, yet something like this had happened within seconds... No one had expected this outcome. Even Mu Cheng was speechless for a long moment Even among Super Guilds, experts like Sword Demon were exceedingly rare. Trying to kill an expert with such high combat standards was nearly impossible without launching a large-scale operation and multiple Domain Realm experts. This was also why the various superpowers had such huge headaches when dealing with the Four Shadow Demons. Yet, Shi Feng had relied on his own strength to kill Shadow Demon. His combat power was truly horrific. Logically, no player should be capable of the feat Moreover, Zero Wing had Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword, who had suddenly revealed their monster-level abilities. The fact that a Guild like Zero Wing had two monster-level experts surprising enough, yet two more had appeared from the Guild. With this strength, Zero Wing could rival ordinary superpowers. To think Zero Wing has hidden so much power all this time! It''s no wonder why it dared to ignore Starlink and Blackwater''s threats. As Blindman looked at Shi Feng now, he felt as if he were meeting this Swordsman for the first time. One monster-level expert in Zero Wing was enough to warrant the various superpowers'' attention, but with four, not even King''s Return could afford to underestimate the Guild. Blindman finally realized why Deep Thunder had shown such strong support for Zero Wing, even willing to provoke Starlink and Blackwater. Zero Wing was only as powerful as a first-rate Guild, lacking the resources and territory to nurture experts, yet despite that, it had successfully produced four monster-level experts. It was easy to imagine what strength the Guild would wield if it became a true super-first-rate Guild. Zero Wing would likely rise to the upper ranks the moment it became a superpower. It would become as powerful as Guilds like Miracle, and even the various Super Guilds would fear its wrath. Miracle currently occupied two empires, and both were on different continents, the east and west continents. In other words, Miracle fought on two frontlines. Not even King''s Return had such power. In contrast, Deep Thunder watched Zero Wing''s outstanding performance with elation. We really made the right bet this time! Deep Thunder''s eyes glowed as he watched Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword fight in the distance. He had thought Zero Wing only had two monster-level experts. Neither he nor Nature Hall as a whole had expected to find four of them in the Guild. As far as ordinary major powers were concerned, monster-level experts simply had inhuman combat power. Even if these powers got lucky and produced one of their own, they''d only treat that expert like a weapon against their enemies. However, that would be an ignorant use of such a powerful player. In reality, not only did monster-level experts pose a great threat to the various superpowers, but they also played a crucial role in obtaining powerful items. Based on the various superpowers'' research, one needed strength, as well as luck, to secure certain powerful tools. As Guilds procured more powerful items, they''d grow stronger overall. One could say that monster-level experts were responsible for finding 70% of the powerful items the various superpowers had collected. Since Nature Hall had only recently become a superpower, it had far fewer monster-level experts in its midst than other super-first-rate Guilds. The fact had troubled the Guild for some time now. Yet, as luck would have it, many of God''s Domain''s super-high-ranked quests required more than one person to complete; they needed the strength of a team. But how rare were monster- level experts? Even in veteran superpowers, one could count the number of monster-level experts present on one hand. If Nature Hall wanted to complete super-high-ranked quests, it would need to work with other superpowers, but if it chose that option, it would gain far less. However, it would be a different story if Nature Hall worked with Zero Wing. Zero Wing was still only a first-rate Guild. To develop further, it would need an astronomical amount of resources, not powerful items. As it so happened, Nature Hall had plenty of resources. Nature Hall would benefit more by partnering with Zero Wing than it would if it worked with other superpowers. Both Guilds would be able to complement each other''s deficiencies. This was why Nature Manifestation had sent Deep Thunder to befriend Zero Wing. While everyone was shocked over the strength Zero Wing''s members had displayed, Shi Feng, Alluring Summer, and Shadow Sword busied themselves by slaughtering Starlink and Blackwaters oʲler experts. Although Deep Sea Meditation was only a Basic Secret Law, maintaining it placed an immense burden on players. Players couldn''t even keep it active as long as a Berserk Skill. Fortunately, the difference between both sides'' strength was massive. Shi Feng and his companions only neede a few moves to dispatch each of their opponents. In less than ten seconds, Blackwater''s members had been annihilated. Even South Time, Blackwater''s Domain Realm expert, hadn''t survived the combined assault from Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword. As for Starlink, only Wind Demon remained alive. The battle was utterly one-sided. As he faced Shi Feng''s relentless pursuit, Wind Demon continued to lose HP. 80%... 50%... 20%... However, despite his rapidly depleting HP, Wind Demon didn''t panic. Instead, he turned his mocking gaze on Shi Feng and said, "I have really underestimated you people from Zero Wing. But so what if you defeat us? At the end of the day, this is only one of five battlefields. Starlink and Blackwater still have plenty of experts on the other four. On the other hand, all of Zero Wing''s top fighters are stuck on this battlefield." Zero Wing had certainly proven stronger than they had expected, but the results of one battlefield wouldn''t decide this competition''s victor. Although Zero Wing had indeed defeated their two Guilds here, with its peak combatants isolated to Battlefield No. 1, it would suffer on the other four battlefields. In the end, Zero Wing would still lose White River City. Wind Demon had spoken loudly enough to ensure that the major powers'' experts, who stood several hundred yards away, had heard him. Those experts couldn''t help but watch Shi Feng with pitying looks. "In the end, Zero Wing will lose," one of the spectating experts mumbled. Although Zero Wing had won the battle, it had lost the competition. ... "Black Flame! You asked for this! Since you rejected my offer, you''ll pay for your foolishness for the rest of your life!" Jing Yang, who had resurrected in the arena, bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng through the Magic Mirror. He then commanded his people through the team chat, "Everyone, heed my command! Work with Starlink''s members to eliminate Zero Wing!" He had planned to give Zero Wing one more chance to hand over the Guardian Puppets. If Zero Wing agreed and behaved itself, Blackwater would give up its aggression against the Guild. However, he abandoned the thought His desire to see Shi Feng despair was far stronger than his desire to complete the task Xuanwu Chisa had given him. 2100 Divine Appearance Chapter 2100 - Divine Appearance As soon as Jing Yang issued the command, Blackwater''s members on the other four battlegrounds began to cooperate with Starlink''s members against Zero Wing. Although Battlefield No. 1 had a collection of monsters, the other battlefields had barely any. For example, Blackwater didn''t have a single monster-level expert among the four other battlefields, and Starlink only had the two remaining Shadow Demons. However, while the four remaining battlefields did not have many monster-level experts, more players had been assigned to these battlefields than those on Battlefield No. 1. Every one of the four remaining battlefields had at least 100 Blackwater and Starlink members in total, and even the weakest of these players was a Refinement Realm expert. In contrasteven when added togetherBlackwater and Starlink had fewer than 40 members on Battlefield No. 1. There was simply no comparison between Battlefield No. 1 and the others. Blackwater and Starlinks forces on Battlefields No. 2 and 3, were led by Mad Demon and Heart Demon. Even the other superpowers were afraid of facing those forces. Zero Wing is in trouble now," Yi Luofei from the FFF adventurer ream commented as she watched Blackwater and Starlink''s joint forces. Although Zero Wing had emerged victorious on Battlefield No. 1, despite the monsters there, it was at an overwhelming disadvantage on the other battlefieldsespecially Battlefields No. 2 and 3. A 100-man team of Refinement Realm experts, led by a Domain Realm expert, could even hunt down lone Domain Realm experts. On the other handZero Wing only had around 20 players on each of these battlefields, and they didn''t have any monster-level experts to lead them. They stood no chance against Blackwater and Starlink''s forces. The Auction House competition was about securing energy crystals, and as time passed, more crystals would descend onto the battlefields. At that time, the advantage of having more players would become obvious, and Zero Wing would suffer an even greater disadvantage. "Black Flame''s decision was really unwise. If he hadn''t provoked Blackwater into cooperating with Starlink, Zero Wing might''ve had a chance of victory. At the very least, Zero Wing could have taken advantage of the chaos as the various superpowers would eventually fight over the energy crystals. Now, however, the participating superpowers want to avoid a battle with the two Guilds. There won''t be any chaos for Zero Wing to take advantage of," Yan Tianxing said, sighing as he watched Shi Feng through a Magic Mirror. This was the problem all developing Guilds faced. Even if a developing Guild had the strength to fight a superpower, other superpowers wouldn''t sit idle and allow a new superpower to rise. They would usually cooperate to apply pressure on the developing Guild and prevent the growth of a new rival. Yan Tianxing had faced the same when he had established his own Guild some years ago. In the end, he had been forced to abandon the Guild and establish an adventurer team instead. Now, it was Zero Wing''s turn. The situation somewhat saddened the various major powers, as well. They had thought that they''d get to witness a Guild with no background become a new superpower, but it seemed that opportunity was gone. First- and second-rate Guilds dreamed of becoming superpowers, titans in the virtual gaming world, but the road to becoming a superpower was an arduous one. Without a powerful background and the support of major corporationsreaching such heights was nearly impossible. The fact that Zero Wing had become so powerful despite its lack of support or a background had shown these major powers a ray of hope. Now, however, that hope was about to be extinguished. Despite such a powerful monster like Shi Feng in its midst, Zero Wing would suffer in the end. Needless to say, ordinary first- and second-rate Guilds wouldn''t fare any better. ... Hahaha! Black Flame, I''ll finally have my retribution!" Singular Burial, who currently wore Blackwater''s Guild Emblem, laughed maniacally as he watched the Magic Mirror hovering above Battlefield No. 3. He had waited for this day for a long time now. He should''ve been Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord, becoming a titan in the virtual gaming world, but Zero Wing had foiled his plansand in the endhe was nothing more than a commander in Blackwater. His hatred for Zero Wing was endless due to this. He had thought he had lost his chance to see Zero Wing perish, so he was overwhelmingly delighted at the moment. Without White River City''s Auction House, Zero Wing would lose the city. Without the headquarters it had painstakingly developed, Zero Wing''s development would suffer. In this era of fierce competition, even a small setback could destroy a Guild''s positions, not to mention something as major as losing one''s main headquarters. While Singular Burial celebrated Zero Wing''s downfall, Blackwater''s team in Battlefield No. 3 had met up with Starlink''s team near a descended energy crystal. Starlink''s Heart Demon then took command of the joint team. The other superpowers, who had been waiting for the energy crystal to drop, promptly moved aside. The nearby major powers'' experts gasped when they saw this. "So, this is Blackwater and Starlink''s joint force?" Dust Blood from Bloodbath Family felt his scalp tingle when he saw the gathered expert players below the descending crystal. The team consisted of more than 120 Starlink and Blackwater members, and every one of these players felt incredibly dangerous to Dust Blood. There were also six specific players that Dust Blood couldn''t even bring himself to look at. Each of these six wore at least two or three Epic Weapons or Equipment pieces. However, these six players paled in comparison to Heart Demon, the hunchbacked old man that led the team and truly instilled fear in Dust Blood''s heart. Even though Dust Blood was not a magical class player, he could see the Mana circling Heart Demon''s body. Meanwhile, Heart Demon wore a total of five pieces of Epic Equipment. Although Dust Blood could not tell what rank the old man''s staff was, the weapon radiated a soul-shuddering pressure. As far as Dust Blood was concerned, these 120-plus experts from Starlink and Blackwater could even destroy a top-ranked first-rate Guild like Bloodbath Family if given enough time. "Sure enough, Guilds like ours cannot afford to provoke superpowers." Morning Sun, the female Elementalist leading Holy Reincarnation''s team in Battlefield No. 3, sighed when she saw the gathered force. This was superpowers'' strength! Non-superpowers like the Bloodbath Family and Holy Reincarnation simply couldn''t compete. Setting aside monster-level experts, Blackwater and Starlink had even more combat power on Battlefield No. 3 than on Battlefield No. 1. Despite the great lengths Zero Wing had gone to defeat the two Guilds on Battlefield No. 1these superpowers had immediately formed another formidable team on another battlefield. Moreover, they had three more teams on the other battlefields... While the various major powers were awestruck over Blackwater and Starlink''s strength, a team of 20-plus players made its presence known. Everyone made a ruckus when they saw this team. "Why are Zero Wing''s members here?" "Don''t they know that Blackwater and Starlink will attack them the moment they show themselves?" The various major powers'' experts shot the team incredulous looks. They couldn''t believe that Zero Wing''s members would be so daring. Unlike the team on Battlefield No. 1, this team didn''t have any monster-level experts like Shi Feng, Fire Dance, Alluring Summer, and Shadow Sword. "Very good! And here I thought you would only act after a significant number of energy crystals had dropped. This will save me the trouble of looking for you." Heart Demon watched Zero Wing''s team approach through narrowed eyes. With a wave of his hand, he said, "I''m not like Old Wind and Old Sword. I prefer to settle troublesome matters as soon as possible. Everyone, attack! Do not let any of them get away!" Blackwater and Starlink''s experts swarmed toward Zero Wing''s team under Heart Demon''s command. However, once these experts got within 20 yards of Zero Wing''s ream, a silver-armored woman wielding a golden greatsword emerged from the group. This woman brandished her greatsword at Blackwater and Starlinks many experts. One slash... Two slashes... Three slashes... The silver-armored woman executed five consecutive attackssending five sword lights flying at her opponents. Wherever the sword lights passed, they left behind a pitch-black spatial tear. Following whichthe five golden lights enveloped the advancing players. When the light finally faded, Blackwater and Starlink had less than 20 players on their team. The rest had transformed into countless particles of light and vanished. Suddenly, the battlefield was eerily silent... 2101 Monster Galore Chapter 2101 - Monster Galore The dissipating particles of light looked like fading fireworks on Battlefield No. 3. Gentle Snow, who stood among the fading particles, looked like a war goddess that had just descended onto the battlefield, her silver armor and golden greatsword only adding to her sacred, majestic beauty. However, the only thing the watching players felt when they looked at her was panic. "How?" Dust Blood could not believe his eyes. Gentle Snow had just slain more than 100 experts from Starlink and Blackwater! Every one of those experts had even posed a threat to him, yet they had been nothing more than pests before Gentle Snow. With five slashes, She had wiped out 80% of the two superpower''s joint team, and those that had survived had less than 50% of their HP remaining... "Is she really a player?" "Spatial tears? Can current players even be this strong?" The various major powers'' exerts nearby couldn''t help but watch Gentle Snow in fear. If she had used some sort of dazzling technique or powerful Skill to defeat those experts, they''d, at most, be amazed. After all, that strength would''ve been on par with monster-level experts. However, that was clearly not the case here. Gentle Snow hadn''t used a superb combat technique or Skill at all. She had simply relied on brute force. With her extraordinary speed and Strength, she had stomped on more than 100 Refinement Realm experts as if she were stomping on an anthill. This was ten times more shocking than if she had defeated her opponents with a combat technique or Skill. The system prohibited players from using tools or Berserk Skills in the Auction Arena. Yet, Gentle Snow had displayed Strength that defied common sense. Only Tier 4 attacks and above could cause spatial tears. Even God''s Domain''s current monster-level experts could, at most, exhibit the Strength of upper-rank Tier 3. Although the difference between Tier 4 and upper-rank Tier 3 didn''t seem major, it was actually massive. It was like the difference between a Grand Lord and a Mythic ranked monster. Even Shi Feng was astonished. He had to admit that Fragmented Legendary items were truly amazing. Gentle Snow currently carried two top-tier Fragmented Legendary items, and both were Strength-based and quite compatible with the Berserker Class. Furthermore, one of the items was a two-handed weapon. As Gentle Snow reached higher levels, her Strength would only rise to frightening levels. Purely comparing their Strengths, Gentle Snow''s was even higher than Shi Feng''s, and her physique rivaled his. When Gentle Snow had been questing, she had miraculously discovered a Bloodline called the Great Earth Bloodline. Although it was a Basic Bloodline, it focused on improving a player''s Strength. Although this new-found Strength didn''t help Gentle Snow become as powerful as a Mythic monster, she wasn''t far from it. She was truly a humanoid Tyrannosaurus rex! She has Tier 4 Strength? After watching Gentle Snow''s display, Heart Demon couldn''t help but tense with fear. He''d rather fight old experts like Sword Demon than face a player with Tier 4 Strength. With such an overwhelming advantage, Gentle Snow could easily outmaneuver any of his offensive or defensive moves. Fighting this female Berserker head-on would be suicidal. While everyone was shocked over Gentle Snow''s terrifying Strength, the crimson-clad Zhao Yueru, who stood some distance behind her Berserker friend, had finally finished casting her Spell. "Go!" Zhao Yueru shouted as she waved her staff. Tier 2 CurseScorching Thorns! Suddenly, hundreds of burning flowers appeared above Starlink and Blackwater''s remaining experts. Under Zhao Yueru''s control, these fire flowers shed thorns that rained down on her targets. Every one of these fire thorns had the Strength to rival a Grand Lord of the same level. Moreover, her attacks were precise and numerous, making them impossible to dodge. Boom... Boom... Boom... A series of explosions shook the battlefield, followed by towering pillars of fire that rose into the air, one after another. When the flames subsided, only three peak experts from the two Guilds remained alive. Everyone else had burned to death. This turn of events broke the spectators'' minds. "Isn''t she a little too powerful!?" "Another monster?!" "Just how much power has Zero Wing hidden?!" Everyone was in shock as they stared at Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru. Although none of them wanted to believe it, they had no choice after witnessing such a dazzling display. ... "She''s even stronger than before?" Yi Luofei, who sat in the spectator stands, was dumbfounded by Zhao Yueru''s performance. She had a far better understanding of how powerful the woman was than the other spectators around her. If not for the Auction Arena''s restrictions, Yi Luofei guessed that Zhao Yueru could even solo Heart Demon. However, Yi Luofei was even more surprised by the woman''s improved combat standards. When Yi Luofei had fought Zhao Yueru in the Black Dragon Empire, the latter had only been at the Refinement Realm, but now, she had moved beyond that, and Yi Luofei could see hints of Black Flame''s abilities in Zhao Yueru''s performance. Although she wasn''t as powerful as Black Flame, Zhao Yueru had displayed incredible control over her Spell. Yi Luofei doubted that she could control hundreds of fire thorns as well as Zhao Yueru. How much time had actually passed since the ranking competition in the Black Dragon Empire? Improving one''s combat standards wasn''t as easy as upgrading one''s equipment. It took a lot of time and effort to improve combat standards. A few months shouldn''t be long enough, yet Zhao Yueru had managed it... Could it be because of Zero Wing? Yi Luofei could not help but wonder. What did Zero Wing do? There was the same situation with Graceful Moon. Before joining Zero Wing, Graceful Moon had only been a relatively talented expert, but nothing compared to true geniuses. And yet, she had actually defeated three Refinement Realm experts from top-ranked first-rate Guilds by herself. Now, Zhao Yueru displayed similarly frightening improvements. The various superpowers'' members that watched from the sidelines had fallen silent. They no longer looked down at Zero Wing in ridicule. Rather, they looked on in fear. Everyone had thought that Blackwater and Starlink had Battlefield No. 3 in the bag, but now, only Heart Demon remained of the 120-plus experts on the team. On the other hand, none of Zero Wing''s members had taken damage. This didn''t look good for Heart Demon. Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru might not be Domain Realm experts, but they had the combat power to rival Domain Experts. These two women might actually be even more difficult to deal with than actual Domain Realm experts. Moreover, these women''s classes complemented each other perfectly. The only option Heart Demon had left was a retreat. The old monster didn''t have a second option. ... "Damn it! How does Zero Wing have so many players with such monstrous Attributes?!" Jing Yang, who watched via one of the gigantic, hovering Magic Mirrors, paled when he saw the one-sided battle. The fact that Zero Wing had monsters like Fire Dance, Alluring Summer, and Shadow Sword was already unbelievable, but now, two more monsters stepped out of the shadows. For a momentJing Yang even wondered if Zero Wing had found a way to cheat. Howeverhe very quickly recovered his composure. Although Zero Wing now held an overwhelming advantage in two of the five battlefields, there were still three other battlefields. As long as Blackwater and Starlink dealt with the smaller Guild on these battlefields, Zero Wing might still lose this competition. Only, the hope didn''t last long as the other Magic Mirrors displayed more scenes that shattered Jing Yang''s fantasies. In Battlefield No. 2, Zero Wing''s Violet Cloud fought Mad Demon to a standstill. Moreover, Cola and Blackie trampled over Starlink and Blackwater''s experts alongside her. In the end, Zero Wing''s secured an overwhelming victory in this battlefield, as well. In Battlefield No. 4, Aqua Rose and Turtledove worked together, displaying absurdly high combat power and holding their advantage over Blackwater and Starlink''s experts. Wearing the Crystal Light Set, Silent Blade, Remnant Cloud, and Seven Light easily overwhelmed the two superpowers'' peak experts in Battlefield No. 5 with their superior Basic Attributes. For a time, an uproar shook the Auction Arena. Nobody had dreamed that Zero Wing was actually so powerful. The Guild had an absolute advantage in all five battlefields, increasing its collection of energy crystals. The first three battlefields were practically Zero Wing''s home turf. The Guild claimed over 70% of the energy crystals in these maps. The watching crowd only snapped out of its daze after the competition''s ending bell had rung. In the end, Zero Wing secured first place in the Auction Arena with an overwhelming number of energy crystals. The system then repeated the results throughout Star-Moon Kingdom five times. Not only had Zero Wing won White River City''s Auction House, but it had become one of the few Guilds that owned one throughout God''s Domain! 2102 New Era Chapter 2102 - New Era Once the competition reached its official end, the surviving participants were teleported out of their respective battlefields. Zero Wing''s participants were transported to the Auction Arena''s podium. When Zero Wing''s 107 participants appeared on the gorgeous platform hovering in the center of the Auction Arena, they instantly became the center of everyone''s attention. The Magic Mirrors across the city displayed this scene, so almost everyone in White River City had their eyes on Zero Wing''s representatives. "We won!" "Our Guild won!" The innumerable Zero Wing members throughout the city cheered excitedly when they saw their Guildmates on the platform. White River City''s citizens were not the only ones amazed by this outcome. Practically every player and power in Star-Moon Kingdom was stunned. With just 107 players, Zero Wing had held White River City against four superpowers. Moreover, it had won the competition by a landslide! This was practically a dream. When the system had announced the Auction Arena''s activation, even players who had just joined God''s Domain knew that the Auction Arenas would become a playground for the various superpowers. Lesser powers had no place in the competitions. Even if they wanted to fight for an NPC city''s Auction House, they''d have to wait for the second round of promoted NPC cities. Ordinary powers couldn''t hope to understand the superpowers'' level of strength. This fact had been proven true multiple times in God''s Domain already. Even before the Auction Arena System, countless powers had fallen, caught in the crossfire between competing superpowers. Even first-rate Guilds had fallenwhich ordinary players already considered unreachable. Hence, nobody had expected for White River City''s Auction Arena to end like this. By the time Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s Guild Leaderheld up the crystalline certificate that granted the Guild the management rights over White River City''s Auction House, the arena''s atmosphere had reached its peak. I finally have it. Shi Feng burned with excitement as he gazed at the crystalline certificate that glowed with a multi-colored light. In his previous life, he had been forced to watch the various major powers obtain control of the Auction Houses in NPC cities from the spectator stands. In this life, however, not only had his Guild secured an NPC city''s Auction House, but Zero Wing was also one of the first Guilds to do so. Countless Zero Wing members shouted their elation throughout White River City, their voices echoing down every street. It seemed like these players were trying to tell the world that from today, Zero Wing was White River City''s true overlord. Now that Zero Wing had control of White River City''s Auction House, it had control over the city''s economic lifeline. Even if multiple superpowers moved against Zero Wing, they couldn''t touch the Guild in this city. Moreover, Zero Wing now had an additional income source, which would guarantee a certain level of the Guild''s development. Zero Wing''s position in Star-Moon Kingdom was also unshakeable now. Surpassing the Guild within its kingdom was nearly impossible after this victory. In addition, as one of the first Guilds to win the management rights to an NPC city''s Auction House, Zero Wing qualified to contest with the various superpowers for neutral maps. With a nigh-impenetrable mean headquarters, Zero Wing could afford to send more manpower to neutral maps. Now, Zero Wing truly had the potential to become a superpower in the future. A superpower! Countless powers and players in the virtual gaming world dreamed of commanding such power. When Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose saw the crystalline certificate in Shi Feng''s hand, they were just as emotional and excited. Neither of them ever thought that Zero Wing would reach this point. As the Guild''s core upper echelons, no one understood Zero Wing better than they did. The fact that Zero Wing had started as a Guild with nothing, yet developed into something so powerful so rapidly was a miracle! Although some assumed otherwise, Zero Wing truly lacked a background. It didn''t even have any financial support from major companies. Zero Wing had reached this point by relying on its own abilities. It wasn''t anything like the various large Guilds that didn''t have to worry about needing funds. "Black Flame has really tricked me. It''s no wonder why Zero Wing has always been uninterested in the various superpowers'' olive branches, going so far as to provoke multiple superpowers." Galaxy Past, who sat in the spectator stands, couldn''t help his rueful sigh as he watched Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members bask in their glory. When he thought back to his plan of surpassing Zero Wing with the Star Alliance, he found the idea laughable. Surpass? How was the Star Alliance going to do that? The 107 players on the levitating platform were enough to make the best first-rate Guilds tremble in fear, not to mention Zero Wing''s potential for growth. He more or less understood why Gentle Snow, Ouroboros''s former Guild Leader, had joined Zero Wing. Many first-rate and pseudo-super-first-rate Guilds had reached out to Gentle Snow when Blackwater had annexed Ouroboros but in the endshe had chosen to join Zero Wingbecoming a laughingstock. "This is strangeGuild Leader. Why do I feel like the various major powers here are actually excited about this?" Purple Eye asked strangely as she looked around her. Zero Wing had won this competition. The various major powers present shouldn''t have anything to do with this victory, yet they acted as if Zero Wing had won this Auction Arena for them all. "It''s only natural" Galaxy Past saidchuckling. "Zero Wing broke the superpowers'' undefeatable curse and birthed a new era, so of course, the various major powers are excited." "A new era?" Realization dawned on Purple Jade. Superpowers had always been undefeatable in God''s Domain. Only other superpowers could contend with a superpower. In fact, this was common sense in the virtual gaming world. Although there had been instances of a non-superpower defeating some of God''s Domain''s superpowers, these fights had been mere squabbles. They proved nothing. Moreover, these victors had relied on super-powerful items with limited effective periods. These items only allowed non-superpowers to shine for a limited time, and there was no relation between these items and a power''s true strength. At most, these powers had attracted others'' attention and envy. However, the Auction Arena tested the participating powers'' comprehensive strength. No external items were allowed in the competition. Moreover, the various participating superpowers took this competition very seriously. Thus, Zero Wing was the first non-superpower to achieve true victory over multiple superpowers. This victory also proved that superpowers could be defeated. "Interesting. The superpowers actually lost." "It seems the era of superpowers'' rule over God''s Domain has finally come to an end! After today, this is the era of new powers like us!" In one of White River City''s crowded Advanced Bars, upper echelons from powers that had been operated in secret began to grow restless after witnessing the Auction House competition''s outcome. Meanwhile, like the plague, news of Zero Wing''s victory in White River City''s Auction Arena spread throughout God''s Domain, reaching every major power and superpower on the continent. 2103 Uproar in Star-Moon Kingdom Chapter 2103 - Uproar in Star-Moon Kingdom After Zero Wing won White River City''s Auction House, the various superpowers received the surprising news in less than ten minutes. Although White River City was not an important NPC city, it was one of the first cities to have an active Auction Arena System. Naturally, the various superpowers wouldnt let it slip through their grasp. Yet, despite four superpowers fighting to secure the Auction House, a non-superpower, Zero Wing, had won the competition. No matter how the various superpowers considered the news, it was unbelievable. The unexpected development made the superpowers suspicious. They all suspected that Zero Wing had support from a Super Guild or a major corporation. However, regardless of their assumptions, Zero Wing''s name had made it onto their lists, becoming a target to pay close attention to. After all, now that Zero Wing had secured an NPC city''s Auction House, it had gained a tremendous amount of financial strength. Moreover, this new income source was stable and beyond other powers'' influence. With this, Zero Wing was one step closer to becoming a true superpower. "Zero Wing succeeded?" Phoenix Rain could not help but be surprised when she read the report from her subordinate. Before the Auction Arena competition, she had expressed her willingness to dispatch a portion of her strength to assist Zero Wing with Shi Feng, but he had rejected her offer. She had later learned that four superpowers had intended to fight for White River City. Even she would struggle to win White River City''s Auction House with so many powerful opponents, yet the latest report stated that Zero Wing had emerged victorious. Moreover, its victory had been overwhelming. No matter how she looked at it, the situation didn''t seem realistic. She had watched Zero Wing rise from the ground up personally, but she didn''t understand how Zero Wing had become so powerful. For a moment, she even wondered if her subordinate had mistyped the victor''s name to Zero Wing. "Big Sis Rain, we''ve just received a message from the Great Pavilion Master. He wants to hold an Elder Meeting and requests your attendance. He says that it''s related to Zero Wing," Blue Phoenix excitedly announced as she rushed into the room. "I got it." Phoenix Rain could not help her bitter smile when she heard the message. She had wanted to help Zero Wing. She hadn''t thought that it would help her instead. ... Ore Empire, Crimson Flame Fortress: After a long period of development, the Crimson Flame Fortress''s operations could rival that of a small NPC city. Including the NPC soldiers that guarded the fortress, it had become one of the safest rest areas in the Ore Empire, and it was very close to the Ore Capital City. By using the fortress''s teleportation function, players could reach the Regional Dungeon very quickly. As a result, the fortress had become exceptionally popular among players. However, tension dominated Blackwater''s Residence in the Crimson Flame Fortress. Jing Yang, who stood in the Vice Guild Leader''s office, was drenched in sweat. "Zero Wing sure has a lot of experts." Xuanwu Chisa wore a faint smile as she finished reading Jing Yang''s report. Neither joy nor sadness filled Xuanwu Chisa''s voice, yet those who heard it would feel an extraordinarily frightening pressure. Even South Time, who stood behind Jing Yang, felt his legs wobble for a moment. "Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing''s strength has truly exceeded our expectations. Do we still intend to put pressure on the Guild after this?" a blue-clad, elderly man, who radiated a much stronger aura than South Times, asked. Zero Wing had enough apex experts to rival an ordinary superpower. Superpowers would have a very difficult time harassing the Guild with their own apex experts. Zero Wing now had the strength to surround and defeat apex experts. On the off chance that its experts killed Blackwater''s, the consequences would be severe. Apex experts were incredibly important assets to a superpower, and a single death could be dire for a superpower''s development. Moreover, with the strength Shi Feng had displayed thus far, Zero Wing wouldn''t likely need to launch a large-scale offensive to deal with hostile apex experts. Shi Feng alone would be more than enough to get the job done. The only option Blackwater had left involved mobilizing all of its apex combatants to wage a war of attrition against Zero Wing. However, doing so would not benefit either side. Blackwater''s development would stagnate, and it would fall behind other superpowers. They had to avoid that method unless absolutely necessary. This was why the various superpowers rarely mobilized their apex experts to resolve conflicts with other superpowers, dispatching peak exerts, at most, to fight. Apex experts played a crucial role in acquiring powerful items, and superpowers couldn''t afford any hindrances to their development. Normally, superpowers also had the option of an economic war, but now that Zero Wing had White River City''s Auction House, it''s financial prowess was likely unshakable. "Of course, we are continuing," Xuanwu Chisa said as she eyed the blue-clad elder beside her. "This is merely the start of Zero Wing''s tragedy. Starlink has won Auction Houses in three NPC cities, including Dark Night City''s. This has substantially increased the Guild''s overall strength. With the Starline Corporation''s support, Starlink will only grow stronger. Although it failed to take White River City from Zero Wing, it won''t let the smaller Guild off the hook so easily." "Understood. I''ll make the necessary arrangements." The blue-clad elder bowed and left the room. After the blue-clad elder, Jing Yang, and the others left, Xuanwu Chisa restarted the battle video of the competition for White River City''s Auction Arena. At one point, she began to smile. "Black Flame, huh?" Xuanwu Chisa''s eyes narrowed as she focused on the moment Shi Feng had killed Sword Demon. Laughing, she said, "How interesting. The fact that you have grown your Guild from nothing is truly amazing. It seems you have quite a few secrets, but turning a Guild into a titan in God''s Domain isn''t such an easy task. Show me how much you can grow." Meanwhile, joy dominated White River City''s streets. Zero Wing''s members celebrated throughout the city like it was New Year''s Eve. Now that Zero Wing had control of the city''s Auction House, it''s position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord was stable. Any power that picked a fight with the Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom would simply be asking for an early death. Although Zero Wing had only secured the management rights to White River City''s Auction House, White River City had the highest player population of any city in the kingdom. Merchant and Lifestyle players frequently gathered here, and various products flowed through the city every day. Any power that wanted to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom couldn''t avoid visiting White River City''s Auction House. It was easy to imagine the consequences if a power were barred from the city''s Auction House. Because of this, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers forbade their members from provoking Zero Wing under any circumstances once Zero Wing had secured White River City''s Auction House. Any player that ignored the order would be instantly banished from the organization, and no power in Star-Moon Kingdom would accept the banished player. Even the kingdom''s Dark Players were a little intimidated by Zero Wing. Before this turn of events, they had been able to move about the kingdom without fear, but as time passed, the merchandise in White River City began to have greater influence on their daily lives in God''s Domain. Furthermore, if they wanted to fetch a good price for the items they sold, White River City''s Auction House was the best place to go. If they made it onto Zero Wing''s blacklist, their relationship with the Auction House would be severed. At the same time, Zero Wing''s new position and influence in the kingdom attracted an unprecedented number of players who wanted to join the Guild. In the past, Zero Wing''s position as Star-Moon Kingdom''s overlord hadn''t been infallible, but now, it was truly unshakable. Taking into account the Guild''s incredible performance in the Auction Arena, players who wanted to leech off of others'' success and those who wanted to improve their own strength swarmed to join Zero Wing. ^ In less than an hour after the Auction Arena''s conclusion, Zero Wing had received more than 200,000 applications. Many among them were experts that could reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor, and some were even Half-step Refinement Realm experts. It astonished Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. First-rate Guilds offered high prices and instant promotions to core member to recruit Half-step Refinement Realm experts, yet many of these experts approached Zero Wing, wanting to join even if they had to start out as normal members. However, the situation didn''t surprise Shi Feng. Zero Wing was only a step away from becoming a superpower now, and it was normal to receive membership applications from Half-step Refinement Realm experts. Moreover, the threshold Zero Wing needed to cross to become a superpower wasn''t like what other first-rate Guilds faced. Other Guilds typically lacked sufficient peak and apex experts when trying to become a superpower, but Zero Wing only lacked certain developmental aspects. Growing the Guild was much easier to accomplish than nurturing peak and apex experts. Of course, Zero Wing didn''t actually have any real peak or apex experts. The players the Guild had shown off in the Auction Arena had been forcibly created through powerful weapons, equipment, and Skills. However, with the Lost Town and Zero Wing''s many combat techniques, the Guild wasn''t far behind the various superpowers in its ability to nurture experts. Moreover, as the Workshop perfected the facilities in Zero Wing''s main headquarters, it would only be a matter of time before Zero Wing''s methods were even more effective than the various superpowers''. While Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose organized the Guild''s new members, Shi Feng made his way to White River City''s City Hall. Even after securing the management rights to NPC cities'' Auction Houses in the past, the various powers had only treated these Auction Houses as important income sources. They had failed to recognize the management rights'' true value. Someone had only discovered the true value of NPC Auction Houses after more than a year had passed since the Auction Arena System had been introduced. When this discovery had gone public, many powers had hated themselves for not investigating NPC Auction Houses thoroughly. If they had paid more attention, they would''ve been able to elevate their development to a whole new level. What the various powers had failed to discover was the fact that NPC Auction Houses could be linked with player- constructed Auction Houses. The process of doing so was troublesome, but compared to the potential harvest, it wasn''t worth mentioning. After waiting in the City Hall for some time, a Level 150, Tier 3 senior administrator approached Shi Feng. "Lord Count, I apologize for the long wait. The Magistrate is in his study. Please follow me," the senior administrator respectfully addressed Shi Feng. "Alright." Shi Feng nodded. He then followed the senior administrator to the staircase that led to the top floor. 2104 Proper Use of the Auction House Chapter 2104 - Proper Use of the Auction House Under the senior administrator''s lead, Shi Feng arrived at a quiet and elegant study. The study was not particularly large. It had only two bookshelves, which were filled with dilapidated books. Some of the books didn''t even have a cover. At a glance, one could tell that these books were considerably old. Some of them even exuded a faint trace of Divine Might. In God''s Domain, every item capable of exuding Divine Might was extraordinarily valuable as past possessions of Gods and having been bathed in the aura of Gods for long periods. Among items that exuded Divine Might, books were especially valuable, since they recorded either a topic that interested Gods or knowledge left behind by Gods. Some even recorded hints and instructions on how to become a Tier 6 God. Hence, even a useless book that exuded Divine Might could sell for thousands of Gold on the market. Their value easily rivaled an ordinary piece of Epic Equipment. Meanwhile, more than 50 of such books were sitting on the two bookshelves. So, this is the study of White River City''s City Hall? Shi Feng was astonished as he gazed at the two bookshelves. From an ordinary player''s perspective, there was nothing special about a Magistrate meeting a player in his study. After all, the Magistrate would not always remain in one location inside the City Hall. However, what most people didn''t know was that Magistrates normally wouldn''t ever meet with players in their studies. Only the manager of an NPC city''s Auction House would be allowed to visit the study of the respective city''s City Hall. One could say that this was a special privilege of Auction House managers. Any other player would most likely never set foot in a City Hall''s study; Tier 6 God-ranked players were no exception. One could also say that a City Hall''s study was the most fortified location inside an NPC city. This wasn''t because the study was protected by amazing magic arrays, but because it was located in a special space. Like an Otherworld, unless one gained permission to access it, even Tier 6 Gods wouldn''t be able to enter the study. At this time, Magistrate Weissman was sitting behind an office desk and reading a book made of pure gold under the sunlight shining through the window behind him. Compared to the previous time Shi Feng met Weissman, the current Weissman was already a Level 200, Tier 5 Grand Wizard. This could be considered one of the benefits of White River City being one of the first NPC cities to get promoted in God''s Domain. With a Tier 5 NPC guarding White River City, even Tier 4 players would not dare act rampantly inside the city. The security level of the city was on an entirely different level compared to that of ordinary NPC cities. Players could develop themselves here without worrying about small incidents ruining all their investments in the city. You''re here. Do you have some business with me?" Weissman asked as he looked at Shi Feng with a friendly smile. Due to his promotion in tiers, Weissman''s intellect had received further improvement. The NPC was now capable of acting much more like an ordinary human being. He even perfectly suppressed his aura. If one did not use an Identification Skill on Weissman, they would most likely treat him as an ordinary old man. "Lord Magistrate, I wish to make the city more prosperous, so I want to link White River City''s Auction House with the Auction House of another city. I hope I can gain your permission to do so," Shi Feng answered. An Auction House was an important economic pillar for a city. An Auction House''s development was a city''s development, and the prosperity of an Auction House was a city''s prosperity. In the past, the powers merely treated the NPC Auction Houses they acquired as an ATM and the key to controlling an NPC city. They failed to understand that NPC Auction Houses were actually a tool for hastening the development of Guild Towns. This function had only been discovered more than a year after the Auction Arena System''s introduction into the game. A year! With the popularity and income that an NPC Auction House brought, one year was more than enough to elevate a Guild Town into an Advanced City. However, as the various powers failed to discover this function, even more than two years after God''s Domain''s launch in the past, there hadn''t been a single Advanced Guild City in the game. Even the existing Intermediate Cities back then had still been far from becoming Advanced Cities. Without the help of an NPC Auction House, even three to five years of development wouldn''t be enough to elevate an Intermediate City to an Advanced City. Guild Towns and Cities were a Guild''s foundation for development in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, there was an enormous difference between Guild Towns and Cities of different ranksespecially when an Intermediate City was promoted into an Advanced City. Although the change was mostly quantitative, the difference was massive. Moreover, some special constructions that assisted players in their development could be constructed only in Advanced Cities. Hence, when the various powers received news about this function, they had all been filled with regret. Had they known about this function early on, they would have been able to elevate their Guilds'' development speed and the standard of players in their territory to a whole new level. This was particularly true for the standard of players. As players reached higher levels, the maps inside kingdoms and empires would become inadequate for players seeking to improve themselves. This improvement wasn''t limited to Levels; it referred to clearing the Tier 3 Promotion Quest as well. Level 100 was a massive turning point for players in God''s Domain. Not only were Level 100 monsters much more difficult to handle than Level 99 monsters, but it was also the minimum level at which players could get promoted to Tier 3. Meanwhile, the precondition for promotion to Tier 3 was development in neutral maps. However, as luck would have it, Level 100-plus neutral maps were extremely dangerous, so dangerous that even Tier 2 experts would struggle to survive in them. Most importantly, the environment in these neutral maps was extremely severe. Low ambient Mana, like in the Witch''s Hill, was only the least of the environmental challenges in these Level 100-plus neutral maps. If players wanted to have an easier time developing in these Level 100-plus neutral maps, they needed to rely on the support of a Guild City. Developing in a Level 100-plus neutral map was akin to walking through a barren desert with a Guild City serving as an oasis. However, proper player development in Level 100-plus neutral maps depended largely on the rank of the Guild City. In Level 100-plus neutral maps, a Basic City was only the baseline for survival for Tier 2 players. That was right: survival. Basic Cities merely protected players from dying from unexpected events. Only after reaching the Intermediate standard would a Guild City be able to provide players with a better life in neutral maps. Guild Cities that had reached the Advanced standard could provide players with comfortable lives even in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Tier 3 promotion would also become considerably easierwhich was the reason why the various powers of God''s Domain had been so desperate to obtain an Advanced City of their own in the past. If a power could upgrade its Guild City to the Advanced standard early on, the speed of conversion to Tier 3 and the number of players converted would increase significantly. Said power could then widen the gap between itself and other powers. This was also the reason why Shi Feng was so desperate to secure White River City''s Auction House. After all was said and done, superpowers were still superpowers. Zero Wing could not hope to match the resources and manpower they had on hand. Although everyone believed that Zero Wing was only one small step away from becoming a superpower, they failed to realize that a gigantic gap remained between Zero Wing and an actual superpower. Moreover, as more time passed, this gap would only become increasingly obviousthe so-called snowball effect. Currently, even the best players in God''s Domain had just started their journey in Tier 2, so the difference might not be so obvious. However, after players reached Tier 3, the gap would be glaring. If he did not set up a sturdy foundation for Zero Wing now, then once the various superpowers of God''s Domain started obtaining Tier 3 players, he might be able to protect himself, but Zero Wing might not be able to defend itself against superpowers. "Link with the Auction House of another city?" Weissman put down the book in his hands and enter deep thought when he heard Shi Feng''s words. Before long, he said, "It''s not exactly impossible, but this matter will be very difficult to accomplish. If you fail, you''ll have to pay a considerable price. Are you truly willing to accept this task?" Yes." Shi Feng nodded seriously. He had long since known about this point, as he wouldn''t have visited Weissman without preparation. "Which town or city would you choose?" Weissman asked. "Stone Forest Town!" Shi Feng replied. The Witch''s Hill Zero Wing City was built in was a precious leveling ground. He couldn''t possibly move Zero Wing City to a neutral map. Stone Forest Town, however, was a different story. The Stoneclaw Mountains the town was built in was already starting to lose popularity among players. Moreover, Stone Forest Town was already an Advanced Town and only a step away from becoming a Basic City; he naturally had to prioritize its development. Although linking an NPC Auction House with a Guild Town''s Auction House was slightly more difficult than doing so for a Guild City''s Auction House, the difficulty was only on the standard of an Epic Team Quest. To Shi Feng''s current self, completing such a quest would be no problem at all. "Alright, as White River City''s Magistrate, I will grant you this authority. Here are the tasks you need to complete. I hope you can succeed!" Weissman said as he took out a parchment and handed it to Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the moment Shi Feng accepted the parchment, a system notification entered his ears. ... System: You have accepted the Inferior Legendary Quest "Road of Prosperity." 2105 Road to Tier 3 Chapter 2105 - Road to Tier 3 An Inferior Legendary Quest? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the system notification. As far as he could remember, the quest to link an NPC Auction House to a Guild City''s had only neared Epic rank. Even if it were slightly more difficult to accomplish, the quest shouldn''t be more difficult than an Epic Team Quest. He had never heard of an Inferior Legendary ranked version. Although there was only one rank between Inferior Legendary Quests and Epic Quests, the actual difficulty difference was massive. This was like the difference between peak and apex experts. Even apex experts would face extreme risks when completing an Inferior Legendary Quest, and that was with the support of a superpower. Without a superpower behind them, completing an Inferior Legendary Quest would require heaven-defying luck. During Shi Feng''s brief moment of shock, he received another system notification. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to activate the Road to Prosperity in God''s Domain. There will be no penalties for failing the quest. Upon quest completion, you will be awarded an additional Peak Construction Design or Gold Town Promotion Order. A Peak Construction Design or Gold Town Promotion Order? Shi Feng began to grow excited as he read this second notification. Both the Peak Construction Design and the Gold Town Promotion Order were painfully difficult to acquire in God''s Domain. Either of these items was easily as valuable as a Fragmented Legendary item. Any Peak Construction could easily attract a flood of players, increasing a city''s popularity. Peak Constructions were also required to promote an Advanced City to a Main City. A Guild City could only truly become a Guild''s main headquarters after becoming a Main City, which even individual Tier 5 players would find difficult to take down. To destroy a Main City, one would need a group of Tier 5 players or a Tier 6 God-ranked player. This was also why only Guilds with a Main City were considered true first-rate Guilds. First-rate Guilds generally had quite a few Tier 5 players under their command, and with the home-ground advantage, these Tier 5 players could exhibit far greater combat power than ordinary Tier 5 players. Hence, even the various superpowers had invested a lot of time and effort to destroy a first-rate Guild''s Main City in the past. Some superpowers had even spent two or three months trying to destroy a first-rate Guild''s Main City. As for the Gold Town Promotion Order, it allowed players to promote an Advanced Town to a Basic City unconditionally. Every superpower dreamed of commanding a Basic City at this stage of the game. Not only would a Basic City provide a stable source of income, but it would also allow its ruling superpower to control more territory. At the same time, a Basic City was the basis for survival in Level 100-plus neutral maps. God''s Domain had plenty of Level 100-plus neutral maps, and every one of them had its own characteristics and resources. Occupying one of these neutral maps would certainly benefit a Guild''s members as they grew stronger. God''s Domain''s current powers desperately needed both the Peak Construction Design and the Gold Town Promotion Order. Even though it would still be some time before players reached Level 100, much would need to be done before they could explore Level 100 neutral maps. Many powers in the past had only begun to prepare after players had reached Level 90, and by then, it had been too late. Ideally, powers should prepare to explore Level 100 neutral maps once players reached Level 80. Players would need potions and items that would help counter the harsh environments players would encounter in neutral maps, for example. To amass these potions and items, the various powers would need to improve their Lifestyle players'' standards. They would also need to grind for recipes and designs. If a power only began to prepare for this expansion after players reached Level 90, it wouldn''t be ready in time, and superpowers were no exception. Its development in Level 100 neutral maps would stagnate, and the process of elevating its expert players to Tier 3 would be affected. Zero Wing''s foundations were still flimsy. Hence, Shi Feng needed to prepare for exploring Level 100 neutral maps as soon as possible. After all, after reaching Tier 2, players would need about the same amount of time for each level-up before Level 100. It only seemed like players'' leveling speed decreased as they reached higher levels due to increased PvP encounters, which, in turn, resulted in more deaths than necessary. In addition, top-tier weapons and equipment became more difficult to acquire. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng promptly unfurled the parchment Weissman had given him. The parchment listed all the conditions that he would need to fulfill. Once he met these conditions, White River City''s Auction House would link with the Auction House in Stone Forest Town. As expected of an Inferior Legendary Quest. These conditions are absurd. Shi Feng frowned as he read the parchment. To put it simply, he needed to obtain 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal and complete one Hero ranked Crusade Quest. Although the quest only had two conditions, fulfilling both would even be a challenge for the various superpowers. The various superpowers likely didn''t even know what a Hero Crusade Quest was. A Hero Crusade Quest was also known as a Kingdom Crusade Quest. Even an entire kingdom would struggle to complete such a quest, so they were usually commissioned through the Adventurer''s Association. In the past, even the various superpowers had considered Hero Crusade Quests absolute nightmares. In the past, first-rate Guilds had been powerless when it came to Hero Crusade Quests, and the various superpowers had sacrificed tens of thousands of expert players to complete them. Even apex experts had died multiple times during the quest. Now, the system wanted him to complete one such quest just to connect two Auction Houses. Obtaining 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal wasn''t particularly difficult for Shi Feng. After all, Zero Wing had already begun to explore the Tower of Time. Thus far, the Guild had collected more than 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. If he sent Cola and the other main force members to the Tower, acquiring the rest of the required Seven Luminaries Crystals wouldn''t be overly difficult. The Hero Crusade Quest was the real problem. Ouroboros had once accepted a Hero Crusade quest when players had been around Level 70. Their target had been the Lord of Fire in an ancient secret land. I can probably give it a go. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng recalled the Hero Crusade Quests in Star-Moon Kingdom during his previous life. Of those he could remember, the only one he was confident of Zero Wing completing was the crusade against the Lord of Fire. Although Ouroboros had failed to defeat the Lord of Fire, the main reason for its defeat had been insufficient Fire Resistance. Ouroboros''s members hadn''t been able to withstand the Lord of Fire''s attacks at all. A foreign superpower had arrived to hunt down the Boss only after players had reached Level 100. The achievement had sparked a huge commotion in Star-Moon Kingdom at the time. Players could only complete a Hero Crusade Quest once, and once it had been completed, it would vanish from God''s Domain forever. As long as a Guild completed a Hero Crusade Quest, it would be awarded a significant amount of Guild Popularity, which would attract more NPC nobles and even royalty to commission quests. A Guild could even earn the appropriate deeds to become a Territory Lord, although trying to reach that rank was extremely difficult. After considering the matter for a moment, Shi Feng decided to hunt down the Lord of Fire. Other powers might find it struggle to amass enough Fire Resistance to raid the Lord of Fire, but it wasn''t an issue for Shi Feng and his Guild. He had already raided the Flame Demon King and obtained the Flame Demon''s Crown, a piece of top-tier Fire Resistance Equipment, after all. Furthermore, Zero Wing was far stronger than Ouroboros had been. With the help of Master Fire Resistance Potions, raiding the Lord of Fire was definitely possible for the Guild. As Shi Feng left the City Hall and was about to head to the Candlelight Trading Firm to prepare for the Crusade Quest, Aqua Rose contacted him. "Guild Leader, something major has just happened! A moment ago, Starlink made a move and invited every core member in our Guild to join it. It is offering us three times what Zero Wing is paying, and it has poached a group of Advanced Lifestyle players from Candlelight Starlink has started selling weapons and equipment for Cred causing our sales to plummet," Aqua Rose hurriedly reported. "Everyone in the Guild is talking about it." "I guess Starlink finally gave in and is trying to suppress us with its financial power?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "How can you laugh at a time like this, Guild Leader? We are already tight on Credits. Now that Starlink is trying to sabotage us, many of the Guild''s members are growing concerned. If our people start to leave the Guild, our development will likely stagnate," Aqua Rose said, exasperated at Shi Feng''s reaction. "I get it. Notify Melancholic and Youlan; tell them to reduce our prices in the Dark Night Empire and purchase the empire''s specialty materials at a high price. Since Starlink wants to cause trouble in Star-Moon Kingdom, we''ll do the same in the Dark Night Empire." Shi Feng calmly decided. 2106 Advanced Authority Chapter 2106 - Advanced Authority Aqua Rose was stunned when she heard Shi Feng''s orders. "Guild Leader, are we really doing this?" Aqua Rose hurriedly asked after snapping out of her daze. "We''re short on Coins and Credits right now because of the Guild''s development. I''m afraid that we won''t last more than two days if we go through with this." Zero Wing had secured White River City''s Auction House, which significantly increased the Guild''s income, but the battle had also tremendously elevated the Guild''s fame, which had attracted more recruits and increased the Guild''s member count. Overall, the Guild''s funds were still stretched thin. Meanwhile, a large-scale price war wouldn''t yield results quickly. It could even backfire on Zero Wing. Starlink was its opponent this time, and the superpower had immense financial strength. Moreover, Zero Wing would be attacking Starlink''s home turf. Even when Zero Wing''s coffers had been overflowing, it still hadn''t been a match for Starlink. Not even superpowers like Unyielding Soul or Crimson Emperor dared to engage in a financial war against Starlink. "How many Coins can we save each day after including the income from White River City''s Auction House?" Shi Feng asked. "After deducting the Guild''s necessary expenditures and including the funds we have on hand, we should be able to save around 35,000 Gold per day," Aqua Rose said with a bitter smile. Thirty-five thousand Gold was unquestionably a huge sum to current first-rate Guilds. Many of them dreamed of saving so much in a single day. As Guilds continued to develop, they encountered more necessary expenditures. Trying to wage a price war against a superpower on its home turf with just 35,000 Gold per day was a joke. That money would be gone in two days, at most. Even if Zero Wing was generating more income each day, the Guild could only afford to maintain its financial attack for around five days. Any longer and the war would affect the Guild''s development. "That should be just barely enough." Shi Feng mimicked Aqua''s faint smile after giving the matter some thought. "That''s enough?" For a moment, Aqua Rose wondered if she had misheard Shi Feng. Either that, or she had accidentally told him the wrong numbers, stating the Guild''s net income as 350,000 rather than 35,000. "Mhm, that''s enough. Just inform Melancholic and Youlan and tell them to see to the necessary preparations in the Dark Night Empire," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then disconnected the call and continued toward the Candlelight Trading Firm to prepare for the Lord of Fire raid. A few days ago, he wouldn''t have been confident enough to start a price war with Starlink in the Dark Night Empire, but he had already purchased 500 Stamina Gemstones from the 4-star Wandering Merchant Zall. The various major powers desperately needed Stamina Gemstones since they''d all started to explore neutral maps. Unfortunately, these neutral maps didn''t have Guild Towns or Cities yet where players could rest. Moreover, the various large Guilds couldn''t transfer their Guild Towns to these neutral maps yet, which meant that exploration relied entirely on players'' strength and Stamina. Meanwhile, the wealthier a neutral map was, the hasher its environment would be. As a result, players expended more Stamina than normal when exploring these maps. Players would even consume Stamina while standing still in some neutral maps, and even if they sat down to rest, their Stamina recovery would only be enough to nullify the passive consumption rate. Players simply couldn''t survive in these maps for long. Although there were some potions that aided in Stamina recovery on the market, they were extremely rare. The various major powers usually saved these potions for their members, rarely selling them. Take Zero Wing, for example. Although Zero Wing could brew the Exotic Stamina Potion, it only had ten players that were capable of producing it, yet the Guild had more than 500,000 members. After deducting the Guild''s needs, very few Exotic Stamina Potions were left that could be sold on the market. This predicament only increased the Stamina Gemstone''s value. First, the Stamina Gemstone did not have a set duration; it would not disappear after a certain period of use. Second, it did not have a level limit. Hence, players could use the Stamina Gemstone throughout their careers in God''s Domain. If players equipped three Stamina Gemstones, they wouldn''t have to worry about Stamina consumption when exploring neutral maps below Level 100. Because of this, the various major powers had gone crazy for Stamina Gemstones in the past, each easily selling for 300 Gold in an auction. While Shi Feng prepared all sorts of Fire Resistance equipment and potions, players throughout Star-Moon Kingdom had discovered Starlink''s assault on Zero Wing, and a commotion erupted across the kingdom. "Starlink has finally made its move." "I knew Starlink couldn''t take the embarrassment of losing to Zero Wing lying down. Even though Zero Wing has many experts, the competition between the various powers is one of finances. How can Zero Wing possibly compete with Starlink without any backers?" "Starlink is pretty impressive, though. It''s actually poaching Zero Wing''s members by offering to triple their salaries. I''ve heard that several hundred Zero Wing members have already left to join Starlink. Moreover, a large number of them are Advanced Lifestyle players. This will likely wound the Candlelight Trading Firm." "I would be tempted, as well. After all, they get to join a superpower and earn three times their normal salary." "That''s not all Starlink is doing. I''ve heard that it''s started to buy Star-Moon Kingdom''s materials at a high price, too. It is also selling similar products to the Candlelight Trading Firm at a much lower price. As a result, Candlelight''s player traffic has decreased." "Zero Wing''s in trouble now. It has just secured White River City''s Auction House after fighting so hard, and just as it has gained the funds to start on the path toward becoming a superpower, Starlink had jumped in and made such a move. Zero Wing''s development will likely stagnate." "Sure enough, superpowers shouldn''t be casually provoked." By this point, Star-Moon Kingdom''s players had gained a better understanding of superpowers'' wealth. Although they had recently held an optimistic view of Zero Wing''s future, hoping that Zero Wing could emerge victorious from a price war with Starlink was unrealistic. Meanwhile, a gorgeous woman in dark-purple robes entered one of White River City''s Advanced Bars. As soon as she spotted the middle-aged man wearing pitch-black leather armor at the bar, she hurried up to him. "Commander, I''ve just received a message from the Seven Sins. Not only has Starlink successfully secured three Auction Houses, but it has also become an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce. As an advanced member, the first thing Starlink did was use its authority to hold an Advanced Union. It looks like Starlink is trying to kick Zero Wing out of Secret," Yi Luofei immediately reported. "An Advanced Union?" Yan Tianxing could not help but shake his head and sigh as he said, "Sure enough, hoping that a Guild with no background can become a superpower is a fool''s dream. Since that is the case, let''s return to the Black Dragon Empire." Within the Secret Chamber of Commerce, there were two levels of membership: basic and advanced. Not only did advanced members enjoy greater authority and have more access to the Chamber''s resources, but they could also hold an Advanced Union to propose changes to the Chamber''s other advanced members. As long as more than half of the advanced members agreed to the proposal, it would be enacted immediately. One of the potential proposals included expelling basic members from the Chamber. However, becoming an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce was extremely difficult. Not even all Super Guilds qualified for that level of membership, and Starlink''s success in doing so was certainly shocking. Since Starlink was responsible for the proposal, Secret''s advanced members would likely approve Zero Wing''s removal to avoid provoking the superpower and prevent another from rising in God''s Domain. Now, not even the Secret Pavilion''s objection could save Zero Wing from its fate. It was easy to imagine what end awaited Zero Wing if it lost access to the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s sales channels. Shi Feng, who busied himself in the Candlelight Trading Firm, received a frustrated notification from Yuan Tiexin, as well. After today, Zero Wing was no longer a member of the Secret Chamber of Commerce, and all dealings it had with the Chamber would be canceled immediately. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this decision is a result of the Advanced Union''s agreement. Although the Secret Pavilion voted against it, the five other advanced members voted for the proposal. There was nothing the Pavilion could do," Yuan Tiexin said apologetically. "It''s fine. It''s the rules, after all. Although, I have to thank the Pavilion for voting in Zero Wing''s favor," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Although Zero Wing is no longer part of the Secret Chamber of Commerce, if your Guild needs anything, the Secret Pavilion can help with small matters. Just contact me if you need anything in the future," Yuan Tiexin sincerely offered. "Thanks." Shi Feng nodded appreciatively. As Shi Feng learned of Zero Wing''s banishment from the Secret Chamber of Commerce, news of the matter spread throughout Star-Moon Kingdom, causing an uproar. Nobody would''ve imagined that Secret would annex Zero Wing without a second thought. With this, Zero Wing would find it even more difficult to survive Starlink''s economic suppression. "Zero Wing! Didn''t you want to play? I''ll give you my full attention this time!" Lu Xingluo, in the distant Dark Night Empire, laughed when he received the latest report on Zero Wing. Previously, he hadn''t had the time to deal with Zero Wing, but now that Starlink has secured its position as the Dark Night Empire''s overlord, neither Unyielding Soul nor Crimson Empire was a match for its prowess in the empire. Now that he didn''t have to worry about Starlink''s position in the empire, he had the time to punish Zero Wing for angering Starlink. Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile and Youlan had just arrived in one of the Hundred Flower Palace''s Shops in Dark Night City that Zero Wing had taken over. "Guild Leader, all of Candlelight''s Shops in the empire have been stocked with Stamina Gemstones and Exotic Stamina Potions. We can start selling them at any time," Melancholic Smile reported after calling Shi Feng. "Good! Begin the operation!" Shi Feng commanded. "It''s about time we teach Starlink a lesson!" 2107 Foolish to the Extreme? Chapter 2107 - Foolish to the Extreme? Melancholic Smile and Youlan went to work the moment Shi Feng gave the command. In Zero Wing''s name, they announced their intent to purchase the Dark Night Empire''s specialty materials at a high price and sell common goods at a low price. The post caused a commotion throughout the empire the moment it went public. The Dark Night Empire''s players found the situation unbelievable. "Insane! Zero Wing has gone insane!" "What?! Is Zero Wing really starting a price war against Starlink!?" Practically everyone in the Dark Night Empire knew of Zero Wing by this point. The Guild had, after all, helped the Hundred Flowers Palace resist Starlink''s assault. It was no secret that Starlink had begun to use its financial prowess to suppress Zero Wing shortly after the Auction Arena had ended. However, no one had expected Zero Wing to pull a move like this in the Dark Night Empire so soon after Starlink''s actions in Star-Moon Kingdom. Clearly, Zero Wing was retaliating. The news reached the empire''s various powers at lightspeed, and they all found Zero Wing''s actions utterly astonishing. "What are Zero Wing''s people thinking? Are they unaware that Starlink has already secured Dark Night City''s Auction House?" Crimson Heart, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s First Vice Guild Leader, said, flabbergasted. Starlink had already solidified its position as the empire''s overlord, and not even Unyielding Soul or Crimson Emperor would dare engage the superpower in a financial war. Moreover, Starlink had secured two other NPC Auction Houses. Its new financial strength was unimaginable. "I''ve heard that Zero Wing''s members have become jittery due to Starlink''s suppression. Maybe Zero Wing is trying to raise morale and unite its members," Cleansed Rue commented. In her opinion, this was Zero Wing''s only option. A Guild''s morale and unity were extremely important. If the Guild were fractured, it would only be a matter of time before it crumbled. "Even so, this is just playing with fire. This has basically announced Zero Wing''s intentions to fight Starlink. If Zero Wing loses this financial war, it will only suffer more," Crimson Heart said. "Moreover, economic warfare is very taxing on a Guild. This isn''t a field battle; it is a pure competition of wealth and resources. War weapons are useless here." Cleansed Rue fell silent after listening to Crimson Heart''s reasoning. As Crimson Heart had said, fighting a price war would hinder a Guild''s operations, and the consequences of losing a war like this were far worse than losing a field war. While a Guild could endure multiple defeats in a field war, a single loss in a financial war could force a Guild to the brink of disbandment. Even worse, a Guild would still suffer severe losses even if it won. To put it simply, there were no winners in an economic war. The Hundred Flowers Palace wasn''t the only Guild in the Dark Night Empire that Zero Wing''s actions had confused. Unyielding Soul also discussed the situation. "Zero Wing has gone too far this time." Mu Cheng could not help but sigh as he read the discussions on the Dark Night Empire''s official forums. "Grandpa, Zero Wing has a goldmine like Zero Wing City, as well as White River City''s Auction House. Overall, it still has frightening financial strength. Starlink won''t come out unscathed from a financial war with Zero Wing, either," Mu Lingsha said. Other Guilds might not recognize Zero Wing City''s value, but as a superpower, Unyielding Soul was very aware of it. Aside from the daily entry fees, the teleportation services the city offered to players who wanted to visit the Otherworld Gate generated astonishing profits. The Otherworld gate had many precious treasures to offer players, and the leveling speed in the area was incredible. Even players from Star-Moon Kingdom''s neighbors had begun to head toward the Otherworld Gate to level, not to mention the kingdom''s players. The city''s teleportation services likely earned Zero Wing as much money as White River City''s Auction House. _You_re severely underestimating Starlink. Dont forget that Starlink has taken control of Dark Nigh^ House. In other words, it holds the city''s economic lifeline in its palm," Mu Cheng said, shaking his head. "A single word from Starlink is enough to determine who can enter the Auction House and who cannot. Furthermore, Starlink controls three total NPC Auction Houses. Even if one of the Auction Houses stops generating income, Starlink won''t suffer for it. Starlink''s influence over the empire''s players is leaps and bounds beyond Zero Wing''s. Do you think that everyone would risk provoking Starlink for a little extra profit?" After all was said and done, Zero Wing was not a superpower. Ignoring background, there was a massive difference between the two Guilds in terms of the number of Auction Houses under their control. The main reason that Starlink dared to provoke Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom was the fact that Zero Wing only controlled one NPC Auction House. If Zero Wing prohibited Starlink''s customers from using its Auction House, it would sever its own lifeline. However, the same couldn''t be said for Starlink. This was the difference between these Guilds'' foundations! It was extremely foolish for Zero Wing to think that it could use Starlink''s tactics against it. Trying to mimic the superpower''s suppression would only make Zero Wing''s death even more miserable! "I''ll go and warn Zero Wing right away," Mu Lingsha said. "It''s too late," Mu Cheng said, sighing. "Zero Wing has already announced its intentions in this war using its own name. Every player in the Dark Night Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom knows what''s happening. If Zero Wing gives up now, not only would the Guild appear weak, but its players'' unity would also shatter." Dark Night City, Starlink''s Residence: "Guild Leader, everyone''s discussing Zero wing''s declaration of war. Should we take further actions against the Guild?" Dawn Web asked Lu Xingluo. "Of course! Inform the public that whoever dares to sell the empire''s specialty materials to Zero Wing should give up any hope of setting foot in Dark Night City''s Auction House every again!" Laughing, Lu Xingluo continued, "I want to see just how Zero Wing plans to play this out!" "Understood!" Dawn Web promptly bowed and left the room. Dark Night City''s business district bustled with activity, and despite the late hour, players crowded the streets. As the Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital, the various adventurer teams and Guilds'' members gathered here. One could easily find Level 64 expert players with a casual glance, and there were quite a few experts in Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment. The scene would be impossible to find in an ordinary NPC city. However, the empire''s various powers hadn''t stationed their members in Dark Night City because it was the empire''s capital, but because it was a hub for the Dark Night Empire''s merchant players. This ensured that the city had more resources than anywhere else in the empire. If the Dark Night Empire had something good to offer, it could be found in Dark Night City. Items that were nearly impossible to find in other NPC cities were commonplace here, and the majority of these items flowed through Dark Night City''s Auction House. Many players had become famous or wealthy overnight because they had chanced upon treasures selling for far less than they were worth in the city''s Auction House. Due to Starlink''s ban on Zero Wing, no one was in a rush to visit the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Shop in the business district. Very few players were willing to enter the Shop since everyone was afraid of being banned from the city''s Auction House as well. Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile and Youlan were dumbfounded as they stood in Candlelight''s empty Shop. They were purchasing materials at a 30% markup and selling commonly used goods for 30% less than market value, yet only a small number of players had visited Candlelight''s Shops in the empire since they had made their announcement over an hour ago. Anxious, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and asked, "Guild Leader, what should we do? Because of Starlink''s ban, the players who visit Candlelight here only buy our low-priced goods. We''re losing money and gaining nothing. We won''t be able to affect Starlink''s economy at this rate." "Starlink has banned us?" Shi Feng laughed. "How quick of it!" "Guild Leader, we''re losing money here, yet you can still laugh?" Melancholic Smile asked, exasperated. "Now that Starlink has banned us, we can take action," Shi Feng said. "Reveal the Exotic Stamina Potions and Stamina Gemstones. Any player that wants to buy the Exotic Stamina Potions can do so with the empire''s specialty materials. Auction off the Stamina Gemstones but only to players who sell us 1 Gold of specialty materials. Hopefully, Starlink keeps its word and goes through with the ban." "I''ll get it done!" Melancholic Smile said, a joyful smile lighting up her face. 2108 Dark Night Empire Shaken Chapter 2108 - Dark Night Empire Shaken Although Melancholic Smile wasn''t a combat player, she understood the Exotic Stamina Potions and Stamina Gemstone''s value perfectly. Zero Wing''s exchange prices for the Exotic Stamina Potions rose each day, and now, not even the Guild''s basic elite members qualified to purchase the potions. The Exotic Stamina Potions were only available to those who had been Guild members for a long time, significantly contributed to the Guild, and were advanced elite members. Moreover, advanced elite members were limited to one bottle every three days. Even so, the Guild''s daily supply wasn''t enough to maintain its stock. It was clear how important the Exotic Stamina Potions were to combat players. However, Melancholic Smile didnt find the situation unreasonable. Current players had moved beyond grinding wto kingdoms and empires'' borders. Most players ran toward neutral maps as soon as they were a high enough level. Not only did neutral maps offer more opportunities, but leveling in these maps also proved faster than the alternative. This was a part of God''s Domain''s balance. Players wouldn''t earn much if they developed in save areas, but if they took a risk, they could reap more rewards. The Exotic Stamina Potions were a large part of the reason that Zero Wing''s members had reached Level 50 so quickly. The Stamina Gemstones were even more impressive. Although they weren''t as powerful as the Exotic Stamina Potions, they were everlasting. Moreover, the Stamina Gemstone would only become more effective as players reached higher levels. Players could use the gemstones forever, and they were a treasure that could give the various major powers a significant advantage over their competitors. Melancholic Smile immediately ordered a subordinate to set up a new counter for the Exotic Stamina Potions. She also set up a small cabinet beside the counter to display the Stamina Gemstones and the necessary qualifications to bid for them in the auction. The moment these new features appeared in the Shop, they attracted the few visiting players'' attention. "Quick, look! There''s a new counter!" "A new product?" The independent players browsing the Shop weren''t from the Dark Night Empire. They were merely visiting Dark Night City to purchase and sell items. Hence, they didn''t particularly care about Starlink''s ban. Their base of operations wasn''t in the empire, and if they couldn''t purchase items from Dark Night City''s Auction House, they could simply visit an Auction House in another empire. Since the Candlelight Trading Firm was selling items below market price, they couldn''t miss this opportunity to make a profit. "Hmph, so what if Zero Wing is pushing out a new product? Zero Wing overestimates itself if it thinks it can defeat Starlink in the Dark Night Empire!" an Assassin from Starlink, disguised as an independent player, said disdainfully as he looked at the new counter. As far as he was concerned, his superiors'' orders to watch Candlelight was unnecessary. Even if the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers had ten times the courage they currently displayed, they wouldnt dare offend Starlink for a little profit. Trying to counter Starlink''s influence in the empire''s market by relying on independent players was simply a dream. Many of the Dark Night Empire''s precious materials could only be obtained with a certain degree of strength, and generally, only the various adventurer teams and Guilds were strong enough. But as the Starlink Assassin entertained such thoughts, someone''s exclamation reached his ears. "Crap! The Exotic Stamina Potion! This Shop is actually selling Exotic Stamina Potions!" With those few words, the first-floor hall fell silent. Almost every customer turned toward the counter at the same time, a hint of madness flashing in their eyes. They immediate dashed toward the counter. In less than ten seconds, every customer inside the Shop had crowded around the Exotic Stamina Potions'' counter. "It really is the Exotic Stamina Potion!" "For real!? Zero Wing is actually selling this here?!" "Crap! You can only purchase it for the Dark Night Empire''s specialty materials!" The independent players panted a little when they saw the potions. "Boss, give me ten bottles!" "I want 20!" "Boss, I want every Exotic Stamina Potion you have!" After a brief moment of shock, the several hundred independent players in the shop frantically shouted their orders for the Exotic Stamina Potions. If the system''s rules hadn''t protected the counter, they likely would''ve tried to destroy it and steal the potions within. Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile who watched from the second floor, was stupefied. When Candlelight sold the potion in Star-Moon Kingdom, the kingdom''s players had merely been surprised. Nobody had ever reacted like these independent players. They all seemed as if they had found a priceless treasure that was worth killing over. However, if Shi Feng saw this, he wouldn''t be overly surprised. Empires not only had more resources than kingdoms, but their competition was also far more intense. Kingdom''s players couldn''t even imagine how fierce the competition was in an empire. Furthermore, items that could increase players'' Stamina recovery were extremely rare in God''s Domain. Normally, independent players had no access to such items. While the players in the Shop made a fuss over the Exotic Stamina Potions, some noticed the cabinet next to the counter. Again, they expressed their shock. "Stamina Gemstone?!" "God''s Domain actually has such an item?" "If I equipped three or four of these gemstones, I wouldn''t have to worry about surviving in God''s Domain''s maps in the future!" "This won''t do! Even if I go bankrupt, I have to get these Stamina Gemstones!" Everyone stared at the crystal-clear Stamina Gemstones in the cabinet with bloodshot eyes. Naturally, these players paid no heed to the participation qualifications and the auction''s minimum 100 Gold bid. They immediately contacted their friends to borrow the necessary funds. The Exotic Stamina Potions might be very important, but compared to the Stamina Gemstone, the potions were insignificant. With the Stamina Gemstones, players could treat neutral maps like their own backyards, hunting for more opportunities than other players. News of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Exotic Stamina Potions spread like wildfire. Not only did it reach every corner of Dark Night City almost instantly, but players also began to discuss the gemstones on the empire''s official forums. "Is Zero Wing insane?! It''s actually selling such a treasure!?" "It seems Zero Wing really wants to go to war with Starlink. Fortunately for us, we can profit from this war. As long as we have enough Stamina Gemstones, exploring neutral maps won''t be a problem." For a moment, the Stamina Gemstones'' appearance caused an uproar in the Dark Night Empire. The various adventurer teams, in particular, sent their members to Candlelight''s Shop in Dark Night City to purchase a stoc^ gemstones for their members. Other players might be afraid of being barred from the city''s Auction House, but adventurer teams like theirs werent Mter all, they could simply visit other Auction Houses. At most, they might have to visit another empire to shop. However, once they had the Stamina Gemstones, they would have an advantage over other powers when exploring neutral maps. They simply couldn''t miss such a rare opportunity. The Dark Night Empire''s various large Guilds secretly sent members to the Candlelight Trading Firm as well. This was just as much of an opportunity for them as it was for the various adventurer teams. Not even Starlink could dissuade them from purchasing Stamina Gemstones. If they disguised their members as independent players, Starlink would have a difficult time discovering their actions. Less than an hour after the public discovered the Stamina Gemstones, players crowded Candlelight''s previous deserted Shop in Dark Night City. It was even more crowded than the city''s Auction House right now. Moreover, the prices for the empire''s specialty materials in Dark Night City had doubled within the past hour due to Candlelight''s auction requirements. Even so, none of the various large Guilds or adventurer teams harbored any thought of taking advantage of this opportunity to sell their materials for a quick profit. For a time, chaos reigned over Dark Night City''s market. Eventually, the various superpowers'' upper echelons, who were preoccupied with exploring neutral maps, received news of Zero Wing''s Stamina Gemstones. 2109 Changes in the Dark Night Empire Chapter 2109 - Changes in the Dark Night Empire Star-Moon Kingdom, an Advanced Bar in White River City''s business district: All three floors of the bar had been rented out, but aside from NPCs, the first two floors were void of people. Players only occupied the top-floor VIP room. The several players in the room were all Level 65 or above and wore top-tier Level 60 equipment. The leader was an elderly man in blue, who stared through a window, admiring the prosperous view. Suddenly, a Level 64, black-clad Assassin entered the room, looked at the elder, and said, "Elder Yi, we''ve just received news stating that Candlelight has started selling a large quantity of Exotic Stamina Potions in the Dark Night Empire. The trading firm has also begun to sell something called the Stamina Gemstone. Each Stamina Gemstone can increase players'' Stamina recovery rate by 7%. Candlelight is only accepting the Dark Night Empire''s specialty materials as payment, which has not only doubled the prices for these materials, but the various powers have also stopped selling any they have in stock." "Stamina Gemstone?" The blue-clad elder was astonished when he heard this. "How many are they selling?" "Based our investigations, Candlelight has prepared 60 Stamina Gemstones to sell in Dark Night City," the Assassin answered. "Sixty? How generous!" The elder expressed his surprise at the Assassin''s answer. "Has Zero Wing gone insane?" Players who frequented neutral maps understood how valuable items like the Stamina Gemstones were. Moreover, the more Stamina Gemstones one had equipped, the more valuable they would become. With 60 Stamina Gemstones, one could outfit a 20-man team that would then be able to operate in a neutral map without having to return to a city to recover Stamina. The profits one could gain from such a team would be frightening, especially when exploring a new neutral map. If Zero Wing organized such a team, it would gain a tremendous advantage over its competition. Yet, Zero Wing willing sold the Stamina Gemstones, sacrificing such a wondrous opportunity. Only a lunatic would pull a stunt like this. "It seems we still underestimate Zero Wing. Starlink will have a hard time preventing the Guild from affecting its economy. Prepare the necessary materials immediately. We''re heading to Dark Night City," the blue-clad elder commanded as he stood from his seat. He, like everyone else in God''s Domain, had thought Zero Wing was simply making a fool of itself by challenging Starlink in the Dark Night Empire, but now, it seemed that everyone had underestimated the Guild''s determination and strength. Likely no one had thought that Zero Wing was willing and able to make such a move. The Dark Night Empire''s various major powers had taken a step back in respect of Starlink, but now that their future was on the line, no one would heed Starlink''s warnings. With how tempting the Stamina Gemstones were, the prices of the empire''s specialty materials would rise astronomically. Unlike the usual rare materials, specialty materials were unique to a specific country. Starlink used the Dark Night Empire''s specialty materials as the Starlink Trading Finn''s foundation in the competition with other kingdoms and empires'' trading firms. If the prices of the Dark Night Empire''s specialty materials reached absurd heights or supply were severed, Starlink''s profits would plummet. After all, the various superpowers relied on their trading firms and wide connections as their main sources of income, and for Starlink, these relied on the empire''s specialty materials as a foundation. Without this foundation, Starlink would struggle to make money through its trading firm. Meanwhile, a deathly silence reigned in the Guild Leader''s office, which Lu Xingluo occupied, in Starlink''s Dark Night City Residence. None of the Guild upper echelons present in the room dared to utter a single word. In a short hour, Starlink had gone from able to purchase more than 10,000 specialty materials to only several hundred. Moreover, this number continued to fall as time passed. Not only had this situation severely impacted Starlink''s ability to produce specialty merchandise, but it had also drastically increased production costs. Ultimately, Starlink had three main income sources for Coins. The first source was the Guild''s trading firm. The second was its money-farming teams and the Guild members completing Guild Quests. The third source came from the Guild''s Towns. Although Starlink now had NPC Auction Houses as a fourth source of income, it had just taken these Auction Houses over,ץd it would still be some time before the Guild earned a significant amount of profits from this source. A minor income decrease due to Zero Wing''s interference would''ve been tolerable, but its impact wasn''t minor at all. At this point, the Starlink Trading Firm generated 20% less profit than usual, and that percentage continued to increase. This predicament would severely impact the Guild''s development. To make matters worse, this was happening as Starlink needed to migrate its Guild Towns to new locations. Relocating a Guild Town required a lot of funding, and a profit loss meant Starlink would have to delay the move... "Zero! Wing!" Lu Xingluo''s expression twisted into something gloomy as he read the report in his hands. He then turned toward Dawn Web and growled, "Notify our subordinates to increase the purchase price for Star-Moon Kingdom''s specialty materials immediately!" "How much shall we raise it by, Guild Leader?" Dawn Web asked. "Raise it by 50%! I want to see which of us will last the longest!" Lu Xingluo said. "What about the Stamina Gemstones?" Dawn Web asked. "If the other powers get their hands on them, they''ll have a much easier time exploring the neutral maps around the Dark Night Empire." "We don''t have many materials left. Let those powers have them. In any case, the Candlelight Trading Firm only has 60 Stamina Gemstones for sale. Even if a power purchases all 60, it''ll only have enough to equip a 20-man team. That won''t be enough to upset the empire''s power structure," Lu Xingluo said disdainfully. "Besides, how long can Zero Wing possibly afford to play around in Dark Night City? Turn your focus to Star-Moon Kingdom. Now that Zero Wing has lost the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s connections, it can only strut about its own kingdom." More than ten neutral maps neighbored the Dark Night Empire that were suitable for current players. No matter how powerful a 20-man team was, it could only explore one neutral map at most. The team wouldn''t have the time to explore other neutral maps, let alone affect Starlink''s exploration teams. In contrast, as Starlink raised the prices for Star-Moon Kingdom''s specialty products, Zero Wing''s operation costs would rise, and its profit margins would suffer. Even if Zero Wing had White River City''s Auction House, its development would stagnate. As the various major powers continued to develop in neutral maps, stagnation would eventually eliminate Zero Wing from God''s Domain altogether. "Understood!" Dawn Web nodded. Meanwhile, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Shop in Dark Night City was lively as practically every power in the empire gathered to view its products. Even representatives from other kingdoms and empires'' powers had come to inspect the goods. Every player in the Shop had traded 1 Gold of specialty materials to qualify for the Stamina Gemstone''s upcoming auction. None of them cared about Starlink''s threat. Unless Starlink wanted Dark Night City''s Auction House to go out of business, it wouldn''t dare follow through and ban everyone that did business with Candlelight. "Everyone, the Stamina Gemstones will be sold in sets of three! The bids will start at 300 Gold of specialty materials! Each increment must no less than 10 Gold! If everyone is in agreement, let the auction begin!" Everyone in the first-floor hall grew restless with Youlan''s announcement. Four hundred Gold!'' Four hundred and fifty Gold!" "Six hundred Gold!" One major power after another yelled out astronomical bids, but at the end of the day, none of them could outcompete the superpowers that secretly participated in the auction. The first set of Stamina Gemstones sold for 1,250 Gold, causing many of the participating Guilds and adventurer teams to sigh with disappointment. With that kind of money, they could fully equip a player in top-tier equipment. However, none of these players found the price unreasonable. Three Stamina Gemstones could enable an expert to roam neutral maps freely. If a superpower''s peak experts had this freedom, they could easily earn back the cost of the Stamina Gemstones through the opportunities they found. It was definitely a worthwhile trade. If the bidding currency hadn''t been limited to specialty materials, the price would''ve likely gone higher. The various superpowers continued to win Stamina Gemstones in the auction. In the end, the 20 sets had netted nearly 27,000 Gold in specialty materials for Zero Wing, which had even surpassed Shi Feng''s expectations. "Zero Wing has earned quite a stock of materials through this auction, but it''s a pity that its success ends here." Mu Cheng, who wore a Black Cloak amidst the crowd, was a little disappointed to see the Stamina Gemstones out of stock. While Zero Wing had indeed affected Starlink''s operations by selling the Stamina Gemstones, the plan wasn''t viable long-term. Once the auction ended, Dark Night City would return to normal, while Zero Wing had only gained specialty materials. Naturally, Mu Cheng wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. All of the various superpowers thought the same. However, just as the crowd was about to leave, Melancholic Smile walked into the center of the hall. The Master Forger''s Insignia she wore and her majestic aura attracted many of the players'' attention. Even the various superpowers only had a handful of Lifestyle Masters, much less Master Forgers. "Today''s auction for the Stamina Gemstones has come to an end. The next auction will take place tomorrow at the same time! Customers who failed to win gemstones today may visit us then!" Melancholic Smile announced. "Any members of the Candlelight Trading Firm that spend more than 3 Gold in this city''s Shop will be eligible for a lucky draw on the day of their transaction! We will select one winner every four hours who will be able to purchase one Stamina Gemstone for 200 Gold!" As Melancholic Smile finished speaking, silence descended on the hall. After a brief moment, many players spoke up. "Is this a joke?" "Zero Wing has more Stamina Gemstones?" Even the various superpowers stared at Melancholic Smile in shock, not to mention the many independent players. "How is this possible?" Elder Yi muttered, surprise coloring his tranquil features. Selling 60 Stamina Gemstones was already amazing, yet by the looks of it, Zero Wing intended to continue selling the gemstones for a considerable period. Although he did not know how long Zero Wing could maintain this business, every additional day would affect Dark Night City. Moreover, the impact the city felt would grow stronger with each day. Every auction was the equivalent of another 20- man team that could explore neutral maps without concern for their Stamina. If Zero Wing maintained these auctions for five or six days, it would likely change the power structure in the empire''s neighboring neutral maps. If that happened, the Dark Night Empire would likely find a new ruler! 2110 Situation Changes Chapter 2110 - Situation Changes News that the Candlelight Trading Firm would sell Stamina Gemstones long-term spread throughout the Dark Night Empire like wildfire. Small Guilds and adventurer teams that hadn''t expressed any hope of obtaining Stamina Gemstones began to grow restless. "Candlelight is selling Stamina Gemstones long-term?" "This is interesting!" "Our chance to grow stronger has finally come!" Although the 60 Stamina Gemstones had been tempting, it simply wasn''t enough to go around. There were already three superpowers in the Dark Night Empire, not to mention first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams. There were also hidden dark forces. Small Guilds and low-ranked adventurer teams had no chance of securing Stamina Gemstones, and even if they won a bid, what could they possibly accomplish with only three gemstones? However, Candlelight''s recent revelation had changed the situation. If the Candlelight Trading Firm truly sold Stamina Gemstones long-term, they''d have a chance to purchase a good number for themselves. Candlelight was only accepting the Dark Night Empire''s specialty materials as currency, and even if the various superpowers had a large stock of these materials, there was a limit. As long as these minor powers saved their materials for some time, they could definitely win one or two bids every now and then. Once they had enough gemstones, they could make full use of them in neutral maps. For a time, the Dark Night Empire''s various powers ordered their members to collect as many specialty materials as possible, prohibiting the items'' sales. They''d benefit more from spending the specialty materials on the Stamina Gemstones and exploring neutral maps than they would by selling them. Furthermore, other powers would overtake their progress if they didn''t secure Stamina Gemstones early on. Meanwhile, due to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s removal from the Secret Chamber of Commerce, all previous agreements between the two had become null and void. As a result, the Chamber began to withdraw the manpower and items it had assigned to Zero Wing City in Star-Moon Kingdom. While Yuan Tiexin arranged for his subordinates'' move out of their office, a heroic woman in gorgeous sacred armor approached him. She drew everyone''s gaze as she entered the office, mesmerizing many of the men. "As expected of Goddess Purple Jade. She''s already Level 66. She can likely rank among the top 20 on any empire''s Ranking List." "I''ve heard that two days ago, her team completed an Epic Team Quest and slew a Level 60 Mythic ranked Ironblood Dragon, obtaining the Dragonblood Sword. That sword is so awesome. It''s even considered as one of the top-ten Epic Weapons in God''s Domain. Because of that sword, Purple Jade is now stronger than other peak experts, earning the position as one of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Swordsmen from the Secret Pavilion." As players spoke about the Ten Great Swordsmen, their admiration overwhelmed them. The Ten Great Swordsmen was a list the Secret Pavilion had introduced to promote each class''s experts. All classes in God''s Domain were unique, and some were even the polar opposite of others, so battles between different classes couldn''t accurately determine the stronger expert. Hence, the Secret Pavilion had introduced new ranking lists for each of the twelve main classes. Each of the lists had only ten players, and they were judged solely based on their strength. Combat standards and battle records didn''t matter. In addition, the aim of these twelve class list was to give the younger generation an opportunity to shine, so only players 30-years-old or younger could qualify for the ranking lists. Of course, this age limit also allowed the Secret Pavilion to avoid touching upon the various superpowers'' foundations. The various superpowers treated their old monsters as core secrets, and if the Secret Pavilion revealed these secrets to the public, the superpowers would band together against the organization. When Purple Jade had obtained the Dragonblood Sword, not only had it earned her a position on the Swordsmen''s list, but she had also secured the eighth rank. "Uncle Yuan, we''ve just received a message from the higher-ups. They''d like us to buy some Stamina Gemstones from Zero Wing; the more, the better," Purple Jade said, smiling as she walked up to Yuan Tiexin. "They''re so shameless. We just banished Zero Wing from the Secret Chamber of Commerce, yet they want me to negotiate with the Guild? Why don''t they speak with Zero Wing themselves?" Yuan Tiexin could not help his growing anger when he heard the relayed message. The so-called "higher-ups" Purple Jade referred to were the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s advanced members. The Secret Pavilion had warned them not to casually annex the Chamber''s members, particularly Zero Wing due to the immense potential it had shown lately. However, the other five advanced members had ignored the Secret Pavilion''s warning and abandoned Zero Wing. Now that they had, they wanted him to place peacemaker. "But Zero Wing is pretty amazing. It has revealed something as valuable as the Stamina Gemstones, and the five powers regret their actions. I''ve heard that they are busy exploring the recently-discovered Brute God''s Land and urgently need items that can increase players'' maximum Stamina or recover rate," Purple Jade said, giggling. "They''re panicking now. They threw away their chance to purchase Stamina Gemstones just to show respect to Starlink and suppress Zero Wing. Now, they are all upset with Starlink." "However, Starlink has gotten serious this time. Not only has it increased the prices of Star-Moon Kingdom''s specialty materials, but it has also begun to sell similar merchandise to Candlelight''s at lower prices. Many players have already started shopping at the Starlink Trading Firm. No one is buying the Candlelight''s common products. I''m afraid Candlelight has lost two-thirds of its usual profits," Yuan Tiexin said. "To make matters worse, the Ore Empire''s powers have been eyeing Zero Wing''s territory. In comparison, Starlink only has to worry about Zero Wing''s Stamina Gemstones. "Although the Stamina Gemstones are valuable, Starlink isn''t a superpower for no reason. With three NPC Auction Houses and the Starline Corporation''s support, its financial prowess isn''t so easy to shake. Moreover, Starlink has control of a fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, the Dark Night Empire''s most important neutral map. It is simply too difficult for Zero Wing to impact Starlink''s finances negatively." The Ancient Undead Country was a new expansion pack that had triggered in the Dark Night Empire, and Starlink was responsible for triggering it. The Ancient Undead Country had once been a massive empire, but due to an ancient war, it had fallen into ruin. It was no exaggeration to say that the Ancient Undead Country was even richer than the Ore Empire in resources. Moreover, it housed the only known God Mode Regional Dungeon among the dozen or so neighboring kingdoms and empires. Because of the power Starlink held in the Ancient Undead Country, even the various Super Guilds feared the superpower and had to pay it proper respect. God''s Domain''s Super Guilds didn''t just fear Starlink due to the Starline Corporation''s backing, and if that were the only strength the Guild had, the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s advanced members wouldn''t have allowed Starlink to join their ranks. "Zero Wing is fully capable of returning to the Secret Chamber of Commerce with its Stamina Gemstones. The five other powers wouldn''t object. If Zero Wing regains access to our sales channels, it could certainly afford to continue its fight with Starlink while growing even stronger," Purple Jade said, nodding. She, too, understood how powerful Starlink was, and the fact that Zero Wing had made the superpower suffer as much as it had already was impressive. "Indeed." Yuan Tiexin agreed with the young woman. Starlink would struggle to suppress Zero Wing financially if the smaller Guild returned to the Secret Chamber of Commerce. Following which, Yuan Tiexin contacted Shi Feng to report the good news. 2111 Condition Chapter 2111 - Condition White River City, Candlelight Trading Firm: Due to Starlink''s all-out economic suppression, the previously crowded Shop had calmed. Its current customers were only here to purchase Candlelight''s specialty products. None of them showed any interest in the trading firm''s common items. The Candlelight Trading Firm even saw a drop in the number of Lifestyle applicants. Now, only a dozen or so players lined up to take the application test. The players that passed the Shop sighed at its decline. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s Shop was the most eye-catching building in the business district, aside from NPC- owned buildings. The Shop loomed like a giant, overlooking White River City. Why wouldn''t they be surprised to see the Shop practically deserted? In comparison, a three-story Shop not far from Candlelight boomed with business. Practically every player in the business district rushed toward the Shop. "Starlink really is ruthless. Not only has it set up Shop in every NPC city that the Candlelight Trading Firm occupies, but it''s also selling common goods at half the normal rate. It is basically selling items at cost," Purple Jade was astonished when she saw how popular the Starlink Trading Firm had become. Starlink was throwing away enough money to give an ordinary superpower a heart attack. Not even the Secret Pavilion would casually sacrifice so much income. However, Purple Jade had to admit that Starlink''s strategy was effective, practically stealing all of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s customers. Not only had Candlelight''s sales plummeted, but its Lifestyle players'' income had suffered as well. Including Starlink''s mass-recruitment for skilled Lifestyle players, many of Candlelight''s Intermediate and Advanced Lifestyle players had jumped ship. If this persisted, it would destroy the Candlelight Trading Firm, and Zero Wing would stagnate due to the lost profits. Zero Wing was no longer a small Guild; it had become a gigantic existence. Even if the Guild avoided massive operations, it still needed to spend an astronomical amount of money each day. The Guild might maintain its lead over its competition for a while, but if Zero Wing''s development ground to a halt, it would only be a matter of time before it was overtaken by the other powers. Furthermore, multiple hostile superpowers still searched for a chance to tear the Guild apart. These factors were a large part of the reason that Starlink had invested so much into targeting the Candlelight Trading Firm''s business. Otherwise, it never would''ve paid such a painfully high price. "This situation is why we are here. If this weren''t happening, we wouldn''t have any leverage to negotiate with Zero Wing," Yuan Tiexin said seriously. "Alright, let''s hurry inside." Yuan Tiexin then entered the Candlelight Trading Firm, while Purple Jade followed behind him after taking one last look at Starlink''s Shop. The moment these two players entered the Shop, the various reconnaissance players from Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers focused on the pair. "Why are the Secret Pavilion''s Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade visiting the Candlelight Trading Firm?" "Didn''t the Secret Chamber of Commerce already expel Candlelight? Why are these two here?" "Does Secret intend to re-invite Candlelight?" The various powers'' players quietly discussed their guesses as they watched Liang Jing lead the pair to the second floor. News of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s exile from the Secret Chamber of Commerce had spread throughout Star- Moon Kingdom. It was precisely the reason that Starlink''s suppression against Zero Wing was so effective. Meanwhile, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were some of the Secret Pavilion''s VIPs. These two shouldn''t have any reason to visit Candlelight now that it wasn''t a member of the Secret Chamber of Commerce. The only plausible explanation involved the Stamina Gemstones Zero Wing sold in the Dark Night Empire. The Stamina Gemstone''s importance to the various powers went without saying, especially to superpowers. However, only Zero Wing currently had access to their source. The Secret Chamber of Commerce would find it difficult to convince Zero Wing to share these gemstones unless it offered a token of its sincerity. The best expression it could offer required reinstating the Candlelight Trading Firm''s membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce and offering additional remunerations. Tese reconnaissance members immediate reported the situation to their superiors, and very quickly, news of Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade_s visit reached the kingdoms various powers. "Things are going to get interesting, Commander. Starlink has gone through great lengths to kick Zero Wing out of Secret, yet Zero Wing''s Stamina Gemstones are about to ruin its plans," Yi Luofei, who read her subordinate''s latest report in FFF adventurer team''s Residence in the distant Black Dragon Empire, said. Smiling, she continued, "When Starlink''s upper echelons learn of this, they''ll die from anger." That depends on whether or not Zero Wing wants to rejoin the Secret Chamber of Commerce," Yan Tianxing responded absently as he polished his short sword. "Why wouldn''t it?" Yi Luofei asked strangely. "Zero Wing can resolve the issues it faces in Star-Moon Kingdom immediately by rejoining Secret. Although Starlink''s efforts will still affect its business to a certain extent in Star-Moon Kingdom, it''ll be tolerable. Why wouldn''t Zero Wing want to rejoin Secret? Will Black Flame really abandon his Guild''s development because of the minor humiliation?" "Any other Guild would definitely accept Secret''s attempts to reconcile, but Zero Wing has always been overbearing. There''s a high chance that the Guild will refuse the offer," Yan Tianxing said. "This is also Zero Wing''s flaw. If Zero Wing can fix that, it has a high chance of becoming a superpower in the future." That can''t be possible, can it, Commander? Would Zero Wing really sacrifice such a vibrant future?" Yi Luofei asked, surprised. "It''s highly possible. After all, Zero Wing has always operated in such a way," Yan Tianxin said, sighing. "I used to be like that, too, and as a result, I missed that final step. Hopefully, Zero Wing will make the right decision." Star-Moon Kingdom''s various superpowers were eager to hear Zero Wing''s final decision, but unlike Yan Tianxing, most of them assumed that Zero Wing would jump at the chance to rejoin the Secret Chamber of Commerce. It was, after all, the only way that Zero Wing could recover from its current predicament. While the various powers secretly discussed the matter, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade waited in Candlelight Trading Firm''s VIP reception room in silence, watching Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the Secret Pavilion will reinforce Zero Wing''s permanent membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce. From now on, not even advanced members will have the authority to expel your Guild. In addition, if Zero Wing agrees to sell a large number of Stamina Gemstones, several of the Chamber''s advanced members will offer 10 additional sales channels in their own headquarters. With this, not even Starlink will achieve much by targeting Zero Wing financially," Yuan Tiexin said. "May I know your thoughts on this offer, Guild Leader?" Even Yuan Tiexin found the higher-ups'' conditions surprising. The ten additional sales channels were an extraordinary offer, all of which came through the Shops in empires'' imperial capitals. These sales channels were far more valuable than those the Chamber''s basic members had access too. With them, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s profits would rise to a whole new level. "Your conditions are quite tempting," Shi Feng said, nodding slightly as he read the contract Yuan Tiexin had handed him. "However, they''re not enough!" Yuan Tiexin found Shi Feng''s reply understandable. After all, the man should be enraged over Candlelight''s removal from the Secret Chamber of Commerce. Softly, Yuan Tiexin asked, "What conditions do you have in mind, then?" "I only have one condition." Looking straight at Yuan Tiexin, Shi Feng chuckled and said, "I want advanced membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce!" 2112 God Mode Regional Dungeon Chapter 2112 - God Mode Regional Dungeon When Shi Feng stated his condition, everything in the VIP reception room seemed to freeze. Both Yuan Tiexin and Liang Jing, who stood behind Shi Feng, stared at the Swordsman incredulously. Most of the Guilds in God''s Domain recognized the Secret Chamber of Commerce for the extraordinary existence it was, and those who could become members were either superpowers or powers with immensely powerful backgrounds. However, only those that had truly joined the Secret Chamber of Commerce would understand how frightening the Chamber was. Only a few of God''s Domain''s powers could match the reach of Secret''s influence. The Secret Chamber of Commerce ranked at the very top in the game in both its ability to sell merchandise and its ability to collect materials. This was why the majority of God''s Domain''s superpowers dreamed of joining Secret. When Liang Jing had taken over the Candlelight Trading Firm''s business, she had learned how frightening Secret Was. She was not a pure gamer like Shi Feng, but she had managed a company before, so she knew business and economics far better than most of God''s Domain''s players. She already found it astonishing that Zero Wing had become a member of the Secret Chamber of Commerce. She hadn''t expected such exceptional results from Shi Feng. But now, the man demanded status as one of Secret''s advanced members! She had no idea what to say about this. His demand was beyond daylight robbery. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this condition is simply impossible. Do you know what price the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s advanced members had to pay to get to their position?" Contrary to expectations, Yuan Tiexin wasn''t angry about Shi Feng''s condition. Instead, he calmly said, "I can tell you now that even with over tens of thousands of Stamina Gemstones and all of Zero Wing City, you still wouldn''t qualify to become an advanced member." Even Super Guilds coveted the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s advanced membership, but the number of Super Guilds that actually became advanced members could be counted on one hand. If Starlink hadn''t handed over an astronomical amount of resources and. Advanced members'' status in the Secret Chamber of Commerce was extraordinary. Not only did they have access to more sales channels, but they also had some control of the Chamber itself and received 5% of the Chamber''s profits. While 5% might not seem like much, it was enough to rival 50% of an ordinary superpower''s income with the scale of Secret''s operations. In other words, by becoming an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce, one would gain half of an ordinary superpower''s resources. Claiming that one could become a titan in God''s Domain by becoming an advanced member was no exaggeration. How could a few Stamina Gemstones possibly rival such benefits? Stamina Gemstones might be a significant boon to players in neutral maps right now, but as players leveled up, they''d acquire better items. Naturally, players would find more items that increased maximum Stamina and Stamina recovery. They wouldn''t have to worry about lacking Stamina items in the future. Furthermore, Stamina Gemstones were very scarce right now. Zero Wing didn''t have enough to affect the big picture. At most, it had enough for the various powers to gain a slight advantage when exploring neutral maps. "Elder Yuan, I know the value of advanced membership," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Naturally, I have my reasons for stating this condition; I''m not just spouting empty words." "Oh? What is Guild Leader Black Flame willing to offer, then?" Yuan Tiexin could not help his growing curiosity. Yuan Tiexin, more or less, understood Shi Feng''s personality. The man wasn''t some ignorant fool. He was a Domain Realm expert, and if he dared to say such a thing, he had the confidence to back it up. However, Yuan Tiexin also found it very difficult to imagine what Zero Wing could possibly offer to convince the Secret Pavilion that Zero Wing should become an advanced member. "I''ll hand over 40% of Stone Forest Town''s shares!" Shi Feng declared. "S-Stone Forest Town?" Yuan Tiexin was stupefied by Shi Feng''s answer. For a moment, he even wondered if he had heard wrong. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you talking about the Stone Forest Town in the Stoneclaw Mountains?" "That''s right. I''m talking about that Stone Forest Town." Shi Feng nodded. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you are not interested in this transaction, I won''t force you to agree to it. If there is nothing else to discuss, we''ll be taking our leave," Yuan Tiexin said as he inwardly rolled his eyes at Shi Feng. He was sure that Shi Feng was toying with him. Not even two Zero Wing Cities would be enough to buy an advanced membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce, let alone an Advanced Town like Stone Forest Town. Moreover, Shi Feng only offered 40% of the town''s shares. Even Liang Jing felt that Shi Feng had gone overboard with his latest joke. Stone Forest Town was indeed an excellent Advanced Town, but the map it occupied was no longer suitable for players to level up. Stone Forest Town wasn''t even worth as much as Silverwing Town, much less Zero Wing City. What if I tell you that I can move Stone Forest Town to the Ancient Undead Country''s Bottomless Abyss?" Shi Feng unhurriedly mentioned as he watched Yuan Tiexin stand from his seat and turn to leave. "What?" Yuan Tiexin was stunned. He spun around and demanded, "Are you telling the truth?" As far as the Secret Pavilion knew, the Ancient Undead Country''s Bottomless Abyss was the only God Mode Regional Dungeon in God''s Domain. The Bottomless Abyss was a Level 60 to Level 100 super-large-scale Regional Dungeon, and not only did it have far more resources than Asura Mode Regional Dungeons, but the Dungeon''s monsters also dropped Seven Luminaries Crystals. Unfortunately, the Ancient Undead Country''s environment was exceptionally harsh. Players would have an extremely difficult time surviving inside the Dungeon. In fact, entering and leaving the Dungeon was immensely troublesome, not to mention exploring it. A large part of the reason that the Secret Chamber of Commerce had agreed to promote Starlink to advanced membership was the Guild''s willingness to hand over the fortress it had obtained in the Ancient Undead Country. Otherwise, Starlink would''ve needed to offer a lot more to elevate its membership. Yan Tiexin could not fathom how Shi Feng could move Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss. Setting up a Guild Town in a neutral map was already incredibly difficult, not to mention setting one up in a God Mode Regional Dungeon. However, if what Shi Feng said were true, the Bottomless Abyss would become one of Zero Wing''s backyards. Exploring the Regional Dungeon would become at least half as difficult, and players wouldn''t need to worry about their survival in the Bottomless Abyss. "Of course." Shi Feng nodded. The idea would be delusional at best for others, but for Shi Feng, the task was only somewhat difficult, not entirely out of the question. To complete the task, Zero Wing would need a large stock of resources, enough that not even top- ranked first-rate Guilds would be able to afford it. Originally, Shi Feng had planned on setting up Stone Forest Town in a neutral map outside of Star-Moon Kingdom, but now that the Ancient Undead Country had been discovered, he dismissed his initial plans. God Mode Regional Dungeons were treasure troves, and even the various superpowers would fight for control of the areas. Since someone had discovered the Ancient Undead Country now, and the Secret Pavilion had come knocking on his door, Shi Feng wouldn''t ignore this opportunity. "Even so, that''s not enough. It''s only a town in a Regional Dungeon," Yuan Tiexin said, but looking at Shi Feng''s confident expression, he couldn''t help but return to his seat. "This is the most sincere offer I can make. If it isn''t possible, then I can only apologize for the inconvenience," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the interest flashing in Yuan Tiexin''s eyes. "I am absolutely certain that the higher-ups will not agree. You''d be better off requesting another condition," Yuan Tiexin responded with conviction. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "Since that is the case, then I want Starlink''s advanced membership revoked!" 2113 Giving Starlink a Taste of Its Own Medicine Chapter 2113 - Giving Starlink a Taste of Its Own Medicine "Revoke Starlink''s advanced membership?" Yuan Tiexin was stunned by Shi Feng''s new condition. Purple Jade, who sat beside Yuan Tiexin, gaped at Shi Feng in shock. She had never thought that this man would make such a demand. Instead of securing more benefits for Zero Wing, Shi Feng wanted Secret to revoke Starlink''s advanced membership. He was simply insane! "Guild Leader Black Flame, whether or not the higher-ups agree, do you understand the consequences for doing something like that?" Yuan Tiexin asked after taking in a deep breath. "Starlink has paid a massive price for its advanced membership. If it finds out that it lost it due to Zero Wing, it won''t rest until your Guild had been destroyed." "Elder Yuan, I am only doing what Starlink has done to Zero Wing. If Starlink wants to face Zero Wing in an all-out fight, we welcome it," Shi Feng said, unperturbed. Within Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing wouldn''t fear Starlink even if the Guild launched a full military assault. On an open battlefield, the Guardian Puppets and Hell Tanks were invincible against Tier 2 players, and even if Zero Wing were no match for Starlink in guerilla warfare, Zero Wing had the home-ground advantage. Zero Wing already occupied most of the valuable leveling maps in the kingdom, and if the war dragged on, it would only be in Zero Wing''s favor. In fact, Zero Wing would rather face an assault than deal with these financial attacks. Zero Wing''s development already required significant funding and resources, and now, it had to split a portion of its assets to fight Starlink. If this persisted, it was easy to imagine what outcome awaited Zero Wing. But advanced membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce was extraordinary. The 5% of the Chamber''s revenue alone was enough to sustain Starlink in this financial war. If Starlink lost its status, however, not only would the Guild''s finances suffer, but the suppression Zero Wing faced would also lighten. "Alright, but I cannot make this decision alone. I still have to report to the higher-ups. Naturally, I cannot guarantee what they will decide," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing as he looked at Shi Feng''s fearless expression. "Of course." Shi Feng nodded. Kicking a basic member out of the Secret Chamber of Commerce was already extremely difficult. Trying to demote an advanced member was even more challenging. At the end of the day, however, it was up to the Secret Pavilion. All members, both basic and advanced, only exchanged 1% of their shares with the Secret Chamber of Commerce. Advanced members merely received better benefits than basic members. Moreover, the contracts all powers signed with Secret were one-sided. The Secret Pavilion could dismiss any member on a whim, including advanced members. However, the Secret Pavilion would not casually dismiss or demote advanced members as they brought in far more profits than basic members. The Secret Pavilion had only agreed to remove Zero Wing from the Chamber because Starlink had paid a large enough price. Now that Zero Wing wanted Starlink demoted, it had to pay an equally high price. Yuan Tiexin walked over to a corner of the room and contacted the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s higher-ups. After about half an hour of discussion, he returned to his seat before Shi Feng. Based on his stern expression, he had received an answer. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the higher-ups have made their decision, but before I relay it, I need to ask; are you certain that you can establish Stone Forest Town in the Bottomless Abyss?" Yuan Tiexin asked seriously. "I cannot guarantee it," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Do you understand what our advanced membership represents, Guild Leader Black Flame? If you cannot offer us a guarantee, we cannot continue this transaction," Yuan Tiexin explained with a twisted expression. "Don''t be in such a rush, Elder Yuan. Although I cannot guarantee success, I can sign a contract regarding it," Shi Feng said as he retrieved an empty contract. He then said, "I can offer two options. If the Secret Chamber of Commerce is willing to revoke Starlink''s advanced membership immediately, the Chamber will gain 30% of Stone Forest Town''s shares after its establishment in the Bottomless Abyss. I will also accept Starlink''s demotion after Stone Forest Town has been moved. However, that option is only worth 20% of the town''s shares." "I thought you had offered 40% earlier, Black Flame? Have you changed your mind so quickly?" Yuan Tiexin''s eyebrows twitched slightly. "That was the price Zero Wing was willing to offer for advanced membership. Since we are only discussing Starlink''s demotion, the price must change," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Do you know how much Starlink had to hand over of its fortress''s shares in the Ancient Undead Country to become an advanced member?" Yuan Tiexin had the urge to vomit blood when he heard Shi Feng''s reply. "Seventy percent. Starlink paid approximately 70% of the fortress''s shares to become an advanced member, Guild Leader Black Flame. On the other hand, you are only offering shares for an Advanced Town. Don''t you think your offer is a little too weak?" You also have to consider the location," Shi Feng calmly replied, not budging at the slightest. The difference between a town within a Regional Dungeon and one without was massive, not to mention a God Mode Regional Dungeon. He refused to believe that the Secret Pavilion didn''t know this difference. Shi Feng would never have considered selling Stone Forest Town''s shares if not for his goal to drag Starlink down and regain access to the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s sales channels. Once he moved Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss, he could gain a fortune in entrance fees alone. "Although I see your reasoning, it isn''t enough shares. If you''re willing to increase your offer by another 20%, we can continue these negotiations. The higher-ups will not agree otherwise," Yuan Tiexin said. "This is the highest Zero Wing is willing to go. If you cannot accept that, then I''m afraid that there is nothing we can do," Shi Feng, shaking his head. Shi Feng had considered using the secret of linking NPC Auction Houses with player Auction Houses as a bargaining chip, but he couldn''t afford to expose this information just yet. Every day he could maintain its secrecy was another day of advantages. In any case, he had control of Stone Forest Town''s Auction House, and only he could see how many people truly sold items through it. At most, players would be surprised by how many items passed through the Auction House. "This..." Shi Feng''s uninterested expression rendered Yuan Tiexin speechless. It was as if the man didn''t mind this deal going sour. If the higher-ups hadn''t been so tempted by the Bottomless Abyss and the idea of a Guild Town within the Regional Dungeon, including how much said town could help the Secret Pavilion''s development, he would''ve already left the room. "Agree to his deal. We will revoke Starlink''s advanced membership immediately." Suddenly, Yuan Tiexin heard a solemn voice. "Guild Leader?" Yuan Tiexin''s eyes drifted to the dignified man on the screen at the bottom right corner of his vision. This transaction was immensely important to the Secret Pavilion, so he had deliberately maintained the video call with his Guild Leader, allowing the man to listen in on the conversation. "The loss is manageable, and I''ve seen Stone Forest Town before. It has developed quite smoothly thus far and has already become an Advanced Town. If Zero Wing can truly reestablish the town in the Bottomless Abyss, it will only be a matter of time before Stone Forest Town becomes a Basic City. However, we need a clear timeframe. If Zero Wing cannot accomplish the task within a reasonable time, it will have to compensate for our losses with the Combat Puppet Design!" the dignified man said. "Yes, I understand," Yuan Tiexin replied as realization dawned on him. A Basic City was far more valuable than a fortress. He hadn''t really thought Shi Feng''s offer through. Following which, he turned to the Swordsman in question and said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, we agree to your first condition. However, you must give us a time limit. If you cannot fulfill your promise within the given time, you will have to offer the Combat Puppet Design as compensation. This is the most the Secret Pavilion is willing to concede!" All of the various superpowers sought their own Combat Puppets, which were easily as valuable as an entire fortress in the Ancient Undead Country. That won''t be a problem." Although Yuan Tiexin''s reply surprised Shi Feng, he quickly answered the man, "As for the time limit, I think ten days should be appropriate!" "Alright, let''s sign the contract, then." Yuan Tiexin nodded. Both Liang Jing and Purple Jade watched the exchange in shock. With just a few words, Shi Feng had guarantee Starlink''s demotion. No one would believe this if they heard it. Once Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin signed the contract, the Secret Chamber of Commerce had revoked Starlink''s advanced membership within less than half an hour. Although this matter had only been announced internally, news quickly spread across God''s Domain. 2114 Overturning the Heavens Chapter 2114 - Overturning the Heavens Foggy Ghost Plains, a neutral map outside of the Black Dragon Empire- Darkness enveloped the pains throughout the year. Level 70 to 80 Undead Creatures with high physical resistance roamed the plains, making the area very dangerous for current players. If players weren''t careful here, they could easily lose their lives. Thus, very few visited this place. However, a 20-man team currently fought more than a hundred Level 70-plus Undead Earthworms. These Undead Earthworms ranked between Special Elite and Lord, and a deathly aura surrounded their bodies. If players approached, they felt a chill seep into them, affecting their movements. In addition, the Undead Earthworms had extremely high Defense, and their attacks had a corrosive effect. However, the players who faced these Undead Earthworms defeated one after another. The team''s leader, an Assassin, toyed with roughly 80 Undead Earthworms by himself. Like a graceful butterfly, the Assassin skillfully dodged the corrosive attacks. While the Assassin attracted the Undead Earthworms'' attacks, a willowy woman bombarded the monsters with one Spell after another, each dealing over -20,000 damage. Moreover, the woman timed her Spells accurately to strike the Undead Earthworms as they launched an attack, diverting the trajectories and reducing the pressure on the Assassin. After around 30 minutes, the 20-man team finally slew the last of these monsters, their bodies littering the ground alongside materials and items. "The commander and vice commander sure are amazing. Without those two, these Undead Earthworms would''ve likely worn us down until we died." "That''s right! The Stamina consumption here is ridiculous. I lost more than a quarter of my Stamina in that fight alone. It''s no wonder why the other adventurer teams refused to grind here." "I wish I were as capable as the commander and vice commander. I''d be able to walk through the Black Dragon Empire unhindered." "With their fame and strength, they could establish a large Guild in the empire. Even superpowers have tried to recruit our adventurer team. It''s a pity that the commander rejected all those offers without hesitation." When the resting members FFF adventurer team members looked at Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei, their gazes held respect and admiration, especially the players that had recently joined the team. Not only did the Undead Earthworms have incredible Defense, but their death aura also weakened players'' combat power. Including the corrosive effect of the monsters'' attacks, not even MTs in top-tier equipment would dare to aggro too many at once. At most, a strong MT could handle five or six Undead Earthworms at a time. However, these monsters traveled in groups of 100 or more. Even a 50-man team would struggle against such a large band of monsters, not to mention a 20-man team. However, thanks to Yan Tianxing aggroing most of the worms and Yi Luofei''s timely attacks, the team was able to defeat the 100-plus Undead Earthworms without much trouble. The only benefit to the Foggy Ghost Plains was the high EXP its monsters granted. The leveling speed here was unmatched. After defeating a single wave of monsters, the FFF adventurer team''s members had gained a visible chunk to their experience bars. It was a rare phenomenon at their levels. Suddenly, a woman in dark-gray leather armor appeared before Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei. She had a magnificent body, looking like a fairy, and her chilling aura felt like the moon in the night sky. Upon close inspection, one would discover that this woman was actually Level 67. She could undoubtedly rank at the very top of the Black Dragon Empire''s Ranking List. Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei had failed to detect this woman''s presence before she had appeared. The FFF members grew nervous due to her abrupt arrival. They were all experts, and their ability to sense others'' auras was first-rate, yet they hadn''t noticed this woman''s approach. To make matters worse, they had never felt such a frightening aura before. They all felt as if they stood in a silent hell as this woman''s aura washed over them. "Why are you here, Lotus?" Yan Tianxing calmly asked the peerless beauty before him. The other FFF members'' jaws dropped when they heard the woman''s name. Everyone in the Black Dragon Empire knew the name ''Lotus.'' It was, after all, the name of the number one player on the empire''s Assassin Ranking List. She was a legend in the empire, and even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion feared her. Moreover, Lotus was particularly mysterious. The public knew almost nothing about her other than her name. The reason Lotus was known as a legend in the Black Dragon Empire and even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion feared her so greatly was her success in killing Martial Dragon, one of the Pavilion''s monster-level experts. Nine Dragons Emperor had been furious about Martial Dragon''s defeat, but despite ordering a hunt for Lotus, he had accomplished nothing. In the end, Nine Dragons Emperor had been forced to abandon the hunt. The FFF adventurer team''s members had certainly never expected to meet the real deal here. Moreover, their commander seemed to know this woman. "Have you considered the matter?" Lotus asked in a cold, mechanical tone. "I''ve already told you that I''m not interested in joining Dark Soul," Yan Tianxing said. "The alliance has more resources than you can imagine. I''m sure you believe that you can continue down this path and grow stronger without relying on a superpower. I thought the same in the past, but you haven''t reached that point yet. You haven''t experienced what it truly feels like to reach the point where there is no road ahead. "If you continue to be stubborn, the gap between us will only grow. I know that you''re interested in Zero Wing, and I admit that the Guild is impressive to secure White River City''s Auction House despite facing multiple superpowers in the competition," Lotus said, her voice deepening. "However, everyone knows what future awaits Zero Wing. After provoking so many superpowers, it is destined to perish. Furthermore, Zero Wing has almost no training resources. You''d be better off joining me in Dark Soul. Dark Soul''s resources will help you improve. Do you really need to waste time on a Guild that is on the verge of destruction?" "I''ve made up my mind," Yan Tianxing replied without hesitation. "Zero Wing''s death isn''t certain yet. As long as it returns to the Secret Chamber of Commerce, Starlink won''t find the Guild easy to eliminate." "So what if it returns? Do you really think a Guild with no background and resources can overturn the heavens?" Lotus asked with a hint of disdain. But as soon as Lotus finished speaking, Yi Luofei gasped from beside Yan Tianxing. "Commander, something... Something has happened!" Yi Luofei shouted after reading the message from the Flower of Seven Sins. "What is it?" Yan Tianxing asked, giving his vice commander an odd look. "Starlink... Starlink''s advanced membership has been revoked!" Yi Luofei said, shuddering. She even wondered if this message was a fake, but since it bore the Flower of Seven Sins'' name, it couldn''t be. "How is that possible?!" Yan Tianxing was stunned. "Has the Secret Pavilion lost its mind? What in the world has happened?" Membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce was extraordinary. Revoking a basic members status demanded an extremely high price, not to mention a power''s advanced membership. The news even surprised Lotus. Becoming an advanced member in Secret required an astronomical price. By demoting one if its advanced members, the Chamber would lose significant profits. Why would the Secret Chamber of Commerce willingly revoke Starlink''s advanced rank? "The information isn''t very accurate, but based on what we currently know, I''m 90% sure that Zero Wing has something to do with it. The moment Secret reinstated Zero Wing''s basic membership, it demoted Starlink..." Yi Luofei replied hesitantly. 2115 Realms of Refinement Legacy Chapter 2115 - Realms of Refinement Legacy "It''s Zero Wing''s doing?" Yan Tianxing was dazed for a long moment after hearing Yi Luofei''s reply. He couldn''t fathom what Zero Wing had done to push the Secret Pavilion to such a decision. That was the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s advanced membership they were talking about! Recovering from his daze, Yan Tianxing turned to Lotus. Smiling, he said, "Lotus, it seems you''ve guessed wrong. Zero Wing is far more powerful than you imagine." Although he did not know what Zero Wing had done, it had accomplished this feat, one which would even be difficult for a superpower. Zero Wing''s Stamina Gemstones had only been enough to cause a small upset in its war with Starlink, but now, the Guild was responsible for a major setback. "I''ve certainly underestimated Zero Wing," Lotus said. Contrary to expectations, though, she maintained a tranquil expression despite hearing that Zero Wing was responsible for Starlink''s demotion. "However, Zero Wing''s actions will only incense Starlink further. It doesn''t fully understand what Starlink is. Zero Wing has only backed itself into a corner. It''s best if you don''t get too close to the Guild. Not even I can save you if you do." Lotus then vanished without a trace as if she had never existed. "Commander, what should we do?" Yi Luofei asked as she turned to Yan Tianxing. Zero Wing''s latest accomplishment was truly frightening, but as Lotus had said, Starlink wasn''t an ordinary superpower. Its background was extraordinary. If it were just some ordinary power, the Secret Pavilion would never have promoted it to advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce. Aside from wealth, one had to offer proof of strength to become an advanced member in Secret. "I''m going to Zero Wing!" Yan Tianxing said, laughing. "I had already decided to give up on the Guild if it couldn''t restore its membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce when the Secret Pavilion''s people had visited Zero Wing. I might have even chosen the same path as Lotus. However, if Zero Wing could restore its membership, I inwardly swore that I would join the Guild. Will you join with me?" "I''ll follow you, commander," Yi Luofei said. She could not help but sigh when she saw the determined look on Yan Tianxing''s face. "Good! Let''s go and make the necessary preparations!" Yan Tianxing felt a little more confident about his decision when Yi Luofei agreed to follow him. At the same time, God''s Domain''s various powers received news of Starlink''s demotion, and they could barely believe it. The various superpowers were particularly shocked; they knew how Starlink had become an advanced member in the first place. News of Starlink''s demotion was even more shocking to these superpowers than hearing that one of their kind had fallen. "Zero Wing is too awesome, Big Sis Rain! It actually took away Starlink''s advanced membership! This has definitely dealt a severe blow to Starlink''s financial development. Lu Xingluo is probably fuming right about now," Blue Phoenix, who currently occupied Thunder Island, couldn''t help her joyful expression when she heard the news. First, Zero Wing had caused an uproar in the Dark Night Empire. Then, not only had it restored its basic member status in the Secret Chamber of Commerce, but it was also responsible for revoking Starlink''s advanced membership. Not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was capable of such a feat, yet Zero Wing had done it. It was unbelievable. "I have persuaded Seventh Street to send Zero Wing another invitation to alleviate the pressure from Starlink, but it seems that effort was unnecessary." Phoenix Rain revealed a bitter smile as she looked at the report in her hands. After Zero Wing''s performance in White River City''s Auction Arena, the majority of the Guild''s Senior Elders now stood on her side. Not only had this significantly increased her authority within the Guild, but it had given her access to more resources, as well. Only then had she qualified to persuade a major Chamber of Commerce like Seventh Street. In the end, however, her efforts had been wasted... She had watched Zero Wing closely since the Guild had begun to grow, yet the more she looked at it, the more mysterious it seemed. "Now that Starlink has lost its advanced membership, Nine Dragons Emperor will likely shelf his plans of using Zero Wing''s financial issues to cause trouble," Blue Phoenix said, smiling. "Indeed. He will also have to rethink whether or not he wants to continue targeting Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wing has firmly secured the Secret Pavilion''s support; otherwise, it wouldn''t have demoted Starlink for the Guild," Phoenix Rain said after giving the matter some thought. "Now, it''s just a matter of time before Zero Wing''s development skyrockets." She had had a headache over trying to figure out preventative measures against Nine Dragons Emperor''s little tricks against her and Zero Wing, but now, her fellow Pavilion Master would have to think twice before causing mischief for a future titan in God''s Domain. Regardless of the man''s personal feelings, the Guild''s Senior Elders wouldn''t agree to his tactics. Very few of those elders still stood with Nine Dragons Emperor. If he lost their support as well, he could kiss any chances of becoming the Great Pavilion Master good-bye. While the various powers discussed the latest development, Shi Feng and his people had become quite busy. Although Zero Wing''s financial troubles hadn''t been resolved yet, its success in taking Starlink down a notch had elevated the Guild''s overall morale. The Guild''s atmosphere had lightened, and Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers had settled down. Moreover, the well-known adventurer teams that hadn''t previously been interested in the Guild now swarmed to Zero Wing''s Residence to negotiate partnership deals or join the Guild altogether. This increased the amount of work Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, had to do. "Guild Leader, Unyielding Soul has contacted us, asking for an alliance. They want to confront Starlink by our side. They''re prepared to offer us a large number of Credits and a portion of their Realms of Refinement training resources. These assets should be enough to sustain our internal management and training for quite a while. In return, however, they want 150 Stamina Gemstones and 3,000 Exotic Stamina Potions," Aqua Rose excitedly reported. Zero Wing desperately needed Credits, not Coins or Magic Crystals. The Guild''s real-world headquarters required a lot of money to maintain, and Zero Wing had been supplying the necessary funds by selling items and equipment for Credits thus far. However, due to Starlink''s financial attacks, Zero Wing had lost as much as 80% of its daily Credit income. Because of Zero Wing''s rapid development, the Guild continued to gain new members, including internal members. Shi Feng could''ve resolved his Guild''s need for Credits by selling virtual stores in Zero Wing''s territories, but he refused to sell these stores or offer long-term leases. Almost no corporation was willing to spend so many Credits on a virtual store in Zero Wing''s territory as a result. "Unyielding Soul is willing to share its Realms of Refinement training resources?" The news surprised Shi Feng. "Alright, tell them that we''ll agree to the alliance. However, we can only offer 60 Stamina Gemstones and 1,000 Exotic Stamina Potions upfront. If we give them any more than that, we won''t have enough for our own purposes." Training resources were extremely important to any power, and they happened to be what Zero Wing needed most right now. Normally, a Guild would have a well-equipped training facility by the time it secured first-rate rank. However, while Guilds'' facilities might have the same quality, there was a massive difference in the data each facility accumulated. The various large Guilds relied on this data to nurture their internal experts. This training information was a Guild''s lifeline. This was especially true for superpowers. Typically, no one would willingly sell this data. At most, they might trade some information with other superpowers. Although Zero Wing had acquired Ouroboros''s training facilities and data, Ouroboros had only been a first-rate Guild. Even after combining Ouroboros''s many years of research with God''s Domain''s resources, nurturing Refinement Realms was still extremely difficult for Zero Wing, not to mention experts with even greater combat standards. If Zero Wing could gain access to a fraction of a super-first-rate Guild''s training data, nurturing Refinement Realm experts would become considerably easier. "I''ll send a reply right away." Aqua Rose understood how important this matter was, as well, so she was excited to hear Shi Feng''s agreement. The Secret Pavilion''s training system was a large part of the reason that she had improved so quickly and reached her current standards. However, Zero Wing had a limited number of slots for the training system. Thus, just the thought of Zero Wing gaining its own Realms of Refinement legacy thrilled her. The two Guilds settled their negotiations very quickly, forming an alliance. This outcome significantly alleviated the pressure on Zero Wing, and the smaller Guild received a portion of Unyielding Soul''s Realms of Refinement legacy. Once this matter had been settled, Shi Feng accepted the Hero Crusade Quest and led Zero Wing''s main force toward the Falling Star Secret Land, the Lord of Fire''s home. As far as the public was concerned, Zero Wing already qualified to contend with Starlink, but Shi Feng knew this was only temporary. Starlink controlled three NPC Auction Houses and had far more territory than Zero Wing. As players reached higher levels, Starlink''s advantages would only become more prominent. Shi Feng had laid the foundation for his Guild, but because of the massive difference between the two Guilds'' starting points, Zero Wing had no hope of quickly catching up to Starlink. Furthermore, Starlink wasn''t Zero Wing''s only enemy; there were plenty of other powers eyeing Shi Feng''s Guild. If he didn''t link White River City''s Auction House to Stone Forest Town''s quickly and allowed the two to transform, Zero Wing would never be able to contend with superpowers'' financial prowess. Meanwhile, the moment Shi Feng''s team entered the Falling Star Secret Land, everyone on his team, excluding himself, gasped. This secret land looked like an entirely different world. Craters of various sizes pocked the barren canyon before them, and meteors occasionally fell from the sky, decimating the ground. The resulting shockwaves were so powerful they could likely kill players in an instant. Moreover, the monsters in the area ranged from Level 70 to 75, and the weakest were Lord ranked Laval Giants, while most of these monsters were High Lords or Grand Lords. These monsters also traveled in groups of ten or more. This place was even more frightening than a 100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeon. An ordinary 100-man Tier 2 team would likely meet its end after venturing a few steps into the area. Fortunately, Zero Wing''s main force was far stronger than any ordinary team. With his Fragmented Legendary Shield, Cola alone could easily tank four or five Level 70-plus Grand Lords at the same time. And with Turtledove, Ye Wumian, and the other MTs assistance, these monsters posed no threat to Zero Wing''s team. On the contrary, this was nothing but an EXP farm to Zero Wing''s members. Although the Falling Star Secret Land had plenty of monsters, none of them could stop Shi Feng''s team, which carried a large number of Epic Weapons and Equipment pieces. After four hours or so of fighting, the team reached the secret land''s inner region. "Guild Leader, I found a tattered altar guarded by monsters. There''s a treasure chest on it. It seems to be an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest," Flying Shadow, who had been tasked to scout the area, suddenly reported in the team chat. "An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest?" Shi Feng could not help but find the discovery odd. As far as he could remember, the Falling Star Secret Land shouldn''t even have an Epic Treasure Chest, much less an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. "We''ll head there immediately." Shi Feng led his team to the coordinates Flying Shadow had given him. The altar had a total of three floors, each roughly ten meters high, and radiated an intense Divine Might. A magic barrier surrounded the altar, as well. If not for this barrier, Shi Feng had no doubt that the altar''s Divine Might would''ve even made movement impossible. What?! It''s real?! Shock colored Shi Feng''s features as he stared at the treasure chest glowing on the altar. 2116 Another Inferior Legendary Treasure Ches Chapter 2116 - Another Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest Although the treasure chest''s orange glow was very faint, Zero Wing''s members audibly gulped when they saw it. An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest had a high chance of dropping a Fragmented Legendary item. While most Guilds in the game had very little idea of a Fragmented Legendary item''s true value, Zero Wing''s core upper echelons were no strangers to the rare items, particularly Cola, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Zhao Yueru, who all owned their own Fragmented Legendary items. A single Fragmented Legendary item was enough to elevate a player to peak-expert status. Such items were precisely the reason that Cola and the others could suppress peak experts. Without them, these four wouldn''t have been able to defeat a single peak expert even if they worked together and had the same Basic Attributes as their opponent. In fact, if not for Fragmented Legendary items, Zero Wing would''ve needed another three to five years to have any hope of contending with the various superpowers. Why is an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest here? Shi Feng stared at the treasure chest on the altar with narrowed eyes, confused. He had visited the Falling Star Secret Land dozens of times during his previous life, but he had never heard or seen of this altar, not to mention the treasure chest on it. Moreover, it was an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. The only Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest Shi Feng had ever seen was in the Fallen Ark. He hadn''t even heard of another Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, Yet, now, he had stumbled across an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest in the Falling Star Secret Land. Could the Falling Star Secret Land have secrets I don''t know about? Shi Feng wondered. In the past, the only noteworthy thing anyone had found in the Falling Star Secret Land was the Lord of Fire. Once the Lord of Fire had been slain, the secret land had become a land of death. Even monsters had stopped spawning. Moreover, the altar''s Divine Might was extraordinary. This definitely hadn''t been constructed by mortals, but by Ancient Gods. "Guild Leader, should we work our way toward it?" Aqua Rose asked, unable to pull her gaze away from the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Although there were around 500 Level 72 and Level 73 Lord ranked Lava Hounds roaming around the altar, these monsters were easy pickings for Zero Wing''s main force. It wouldn''t take long to clear out the area. "Wait a minute," Shi Feng said. He then activated Omniscient Eyes and inspected every Lava Hound in the area. In God''s Domain, caution was necessary when encountering a treasure that didn''t match its location''s quality. A slight mishap could potentially be fatal. And that lethality would affect players'' careers in God''s Domain. Normally, players would only encounter situations like this after visiting Level 150-plus maps. To encounter such circumstances in a map below Level 100 was simply unheard-of. Of course, better safe than sorry. [Lava Hound (Eloch''s Avatar)] (Elemental Creature, Lord) Level 72 HP 24,000,000/24,000,000 "A hidden title?" "Shi Feng very quickly noticed something peculiar. When inspecting these monsters with an ordinary Identification Skill, players would only see ordinary Lava Hounds, but with Omniscient Eyes, these Lava Hounds had an additional title. "Eloch''s Avatar? Sure enough, this is a trap!" "A trap?" Fire Dance gave Shi Feng an odd look before asking, "But I''ve already inspected the area and didn''t discover any traps." Before the full team had arrived, she had scouted both the altar and its surroundings, but she hadn''t discovered any traps, magical or physical. Her Disarm had already reached Master rank. Even if she couldn''t disarm Grandmaster Traps, she could easily detect them. "This isn''t your ordinary trap," Shi Feng said, laughing. He then said, "Fire, lead an Assassin party and find a way to lure these Lava Hounds 100 yards away from the altar. Remember, do not kill a single Lava Hound." Now, Shi Feng, more or less, realized why no one had mentioned this altar or the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest it held in the past. Eloch was one of the Purgatory World''s Four Kings, known as the King of Death. Eloch was a bona fide Tier 5 World Boss. During the war between worlds in Shi Feng''s previous life, the Purgatory World had been one of the worlds the various Guilds had invaded. However, the Guilds had suffered a miserable defeat against Eloch. Despite sending 25 Tier 5 experts to raid the World Boss, the King of Death had slain them all in one move. it had been horrific. If a Tier 6 God-ranked expert hadn''t made an emergency appearance on the battlefield, every player in that war would''ve been annihilated. Even though the various large Guilds had eventually killed Eloch, they had sacrificed tens of thousands of expert players to do so, including more than 100 Tier 5 apex experts. Tier 4 experts had been of little use in the raid. Knowing that the Lava Hounds around the altar were Eloch''s Avatars, Shi Feng realized that this altar was Eloch''s treasury. Treasuries like this would appear in God''s Domain randomly. Players would only have one opportunity to claim these treasuries'' items. If they killed Eloch''s Avatars, Eloch would discover the transgression. If Eloch didn''t arrive personally, he would send a doppelganger. Even if this doppelganger were one tier lower than the World Boss and only Level 70, players still couldn''t afford to challenge it. Not only would every Zero Wing member in the area die, but Eloch would also move his treasury to a different location. Although such occurrences were rare in God''s Domain, Shi Feng had heard of a few instances. After Shi Feng finished issuing commands, Fire Dance led a party of Assassins to lure away the Lava Hounds around the altar. Once the last Lava Hound was more than 100 yards away from the altar, the magic barrier around it shattered. A boundless Divine Might gushed past the broken barrier, and Zero Wing''s members felt much heavier. Seeing this, Shi Feng activated Gale Domain and flew straight toward the altar. As he drew closer, he encountered stronger Divine Might. Eventually, the pressure was so powerful that his flying speed slowed to a crawl. As Shi Feng came within 50 yards of the altar, he didn''t have the Strength to move forward. Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, his Strength skyrocketing. He then continued toward the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, one inch at a time. As a Tier 5 World Boss, Eloch was only a step away from becoming a God. Obtaining such a being''s treasure wouldn''t be easy. Not only were the Lava Hounds guarding this altar Eloch''s Avatars, but they were also the energy source that protected the treasury. These Lava Hounds powered the magic array that protected the treasury, maintained its presence here, and sealed the Divine Might the treasury radiated. Without this energy source, the magic array would fade. Once it was gone, not only would the treasury''s Divine Might be released, but it would also destabilize space around it The treasury would forcibly return to its original space after no more than 30 seconds. In other words, Shi Feng only had 30 seconds to retrieve the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest once the Avatars had been lured away. However, Shi Feng''s speed was painfully slow, even after activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power. It felt as if some gigantic beast desperately pulled him back. Blade Liberation! With less than 20 seconds remaining, Shi Feng abandoned all hesitation and activated Twofold Berserker. With Twofold Berserk, Shi Feng''s Strength could rival a Mythic monster''s of the same level. He accelerated slightly, but he still felt slower than an ordinary player''s walking speed... As the seconds ticked by, Shi Feng inched closer to the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Twenty yards... Ten yards... Five yards... Shi Feng''s remaining time continued to decrease. Fifteen seconds... Twelve seconds... Ten seconds... When only 10 seconds remained, space around the altar began to shatter. Just as the altar began to fade, Shi Feng finally placed his hand on the treasure chest. "Collect!" Shi Feng shouted. Collecting an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest required eight seconds, and Shi Feng tensed as he watched the loading bar. The altar''s base had already disappeared, and the middle section had begun to fade away. Just as the treasure chest began to disappear, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. 2117 Forgotten Se Chapter 2117 - Forgotten Set System: Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest has been stored in bag space. System: A powerful Spell has been cast on this Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. The treasure chest will drop upon death and cannot be opened within the Falling Star Secret Land. System: The King of Death has learned of the robbery and sealed off the Falling Star Secret Land. All monsters in the area have been enhanced. How vicious! Shi Feng did not know whether to cry or laugh after hearing the three system notifications. He had thought that he had secured the Inferior Legendary Chest, getting away scot-free, but it seemed that the trap still closed around him. Now that Eloch had sealed off the Falling Star Secret Land, players had only two means of escape. The first method required dying and resurrecting in the nearest graveyard. The second way was to kill the Lord of Fire. The Lord of Fire was the Falling Star Secret Land''s overlord, serving as the land''s power source. If this Boss died, the secret land wouldn''t be able to maintain any life. Then, the seal on the map would lift. However, due to the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, the secret land''s monsters had grown stronger, including the Lord of Fire. The Lord of Fire was already stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters since his territory was a secret land. Now that the seal around the area enhanced the monsters here, the Boss had likely grown as powerful as a Mythic ranked Archaic Species. Although players'' combat and equipment standards had improved a lot, dealing with Mythic monsters was still a challenge. Even the various superpowers relied on magic arrays and numerous attempts when raiding a Mythic monster. Not even an MT with a Fragmented Legendary Shield would last long against a Mythic ranked Archaic Species. Fortunately, players were permitted to use Summoning Spells they had learned in secret lands, although they couldn''t use items that summoned monsters. It seems we''ll have to level up before raiding the Lord of Fire. Shi Feng concluded after calming down. An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest was worth far more than an ordinary Fragmented Legendary item. Based on their current situation, the system wanted his team to earn the treasure chest. Fortunately, he wasn''t on a time limit to kill the Lord of Fire. Although he had a ten-day arrangement with the Secret Pavilion, moving Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss wouldn''t be difficult. As long as players had the necessary status and 6,000 Mana Stones, it could easily be accomplished. Only, current players did not know how to transfer a town. The true difficulty would be acquiring the 6,000 Mana Stones. Six thousand Mana Stones was an astronomical amount to God''s Domain''s current powers. Even with the Philosopher''s Stone, Shi Feng would need 300,000 Magic Crystals to synthesize so many Mana Stones. Even superpowers would have a hard time sacrificing such a large number of Magic Crystals. However, the task wouldn''t be difficult for Zero Wing. Aside from the Manatite vein in the Sea of Death, Zero Wing had the Source Fire vein in the Flame Demon''s Valley. Although the Guild could only send a small number of players to mine the Source Fire vein, those players could collect a considerable number of Magic Crystals each day. Overall, not even ordinary superpowers could match Zero Wing''s Magic Crystal income. After deducting daily expenses and including the stockpile Zero Wing currently possessed, collecting 300,000 Magic Crystals within ten days would not be a problem. When Zero Wing''s members saw the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest in Shi Feng''s possession, they breathed a sigh of relief, especially Fire Dance and the other Fragmented Legendary item wielders. If Zero Wing secured another Fragmented Legendary item, the Guild would have one more peak expert, which was something it desperately needed right now. "Bad news, Guild Leader. Thousands of monsters have appeared around us. Most of them are Level 72-plus Great Lords, with quite a few Grand Lords mixed in. They''re all heading straight for us," Minor Wind, who acted as the team''s lookout, quickly reported. "Already?" Looking at the map Minor Wind had shared with the team, Shi Feng noticed a large number of red dots. So many Level 72-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords could easily capture a Guild Town. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng led his team toward the Falling Star Secret Land''s central area. He had just activated Twofold Berserk, so he was still in a Weakened state. He would''ve normally hidden from these monsters, but now... Although Shi Feng was being particularly careful, man Great Lord Lava Giants roamed the path to the map''s core. Eventually, Shi Feng and his team had to stop and deal with these monsters. MTs hated Lava monsters more than any other. These monsters'' attacks could reduce their target''s Defense, and although each attack only dropped players'' Defense by 5% for 10 seconds, the debuff stacked. After a little over half an hour, Shi Feng''s team defeated the dozen or so Lava Giants they had encountered, but as the team began to move out, several glowing items appeared on the ground. It surprised Shi Feng. What?! This is Level 70 Secret Silver Equipment?! Shi Feng''s surprise grew into astonishment after he inspected one of the dropped equipment pieces. Could this be a result of the monsters'' enhancement? The Falling Star Secret Land had a high monster population, and they were stronger than average monsters. However, since these monsters didn''t drop loot, the Falling Star Secret Land had only become a good leveling area for players during Shi Feng''s previous life. If these monsters had dropped equipment, this secret land would''ve become a sacred grinding spot. Although Secret-Silver Equipment was average, the several pieces that had dropped from the Lava Giants were Level 70 equipment. The various major powers had barely begun to collect Level 65 equipment, much less Level 70. It was easy to imagine how valuable these pieces were. "The Attributes on these Level 70 Secret-Silver boots are amazing! Their Defense is even higher than Level 65 Dark- Gold boots. They also reduce Stamina consumption by 3%. If my current boots didn''t have better Basic Attribute bonuses, I''d equip these in a heartbeat," Ye Wumian exclaimed as he inspected the Level 70 Secret-Silver boots'' Attributes Shi Feng had shared in the team chat. "Those are nothing. Look at what I picked up," Blackie said, delighted as he shared a cloth armor''s Attribute Panel. Everyone was stunned when they saw the item''s information. "Secret-Silver Set Equipment!?" Although the cloth armor was also Level 70 Secret-Silver rank, it was a part of the Forgotten Set, a four-piece set equipment. Moreover, this set focused on reducing Stamina consumption. When wearing all four pieces, players'' Stamina consumption would drop by 30%. The cloth armor was far more valuable than the Level 70 Secret-Silver plate armor boots. The resources in neutral maps were tempting enough that most current players searched for a way to develop in these areas. However, neutral maps had harsh environments that placed a heavy burden on players'' Stamina. But as luck would have it, neutral maps were home to plenty of Field Bosses that dropped plenty of rare materials and items, including Skill Books, designs, and recipes. However, the various large Guilds were helpless against these Field Bosses. That difficulty wasn''t due to these Field Bosses'' immense power or players'' lack of Basic Attributes, but because they could increase players'' Stamina consumption. As a result, many raids on these Field Bosses failed because players ran out of Stamina... Meanwhile, Level 70 Secret-Silver Set Equipment that could reduce Stamina consumption was far more valuable than Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment with Elemental Resistances. When Zero Wing''s players thought about the monsters in this area dropping set equipment that reduced Stamina consumption, their hearts raced. "Aqua, make the necessary arrangements. We won''t be venturing to the map''s core just yet. First, we''ll get rid of these Lava Giants. We''ll advance once we''re done," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. Equipment that reduced Stamina consumption was even rarer than equipment that provided universal Resistance. Although Shi Feng knew how to obtain a few such pieces of equipment, they were located in Level 100-plus neutral maps. In any case, his team members needed to level up before they could raid the Lord of Fire. Since these Great Lord ranked Lava Giants dropped equipment and set equipment that reduced Stamina consumption, he wouldn''t miss this opportunity. They might not have this chance once they killed the Lord of Fire. If they could collect enough equipment to arm a 100-man team, Zero Wing could use the many Field Bosses in neutral maps as a personal ATM. 2118 Qualitative Transformation Chapter 2118 - Qualitative Transformation When the seal around the Falling Star Secret Land had enhanced the map''s monsters, it had also drastically increased the number of Great Lord ranked Lava Giants in the secret Land. Zero Wing''s members felt as if there were no end to these monsters as they continued to grind in the inner region. Only after eight days of constant grinding did they finally clear out most of the Lava Giants in the inner region. However, they had to admit that the Falling Star Secret Land was an excellent leveling spot. When Zero Wing''s members had first arrived in the secret land, they had been Level 66, but after eight days of grinding, every team member had reached Level 70. Even the various superpowers'' experts would be jealous of their leveling speed. As for Shi Feng, he had leveled up from 72 to 74. However, these players increased Attributes were far more significant than their higher levels. Every five levels was a minor turning point in God''s Domain, and as Zero Wing''s members leveled up, their Epic and Fragmented Legendary items rose with them. Now that they had reached Level 70, these item''s Attribute bonuses had received a small boost. If this team had been powerful when they had fought the various superpowers'' experts in White River City''s Auction Arena, they were monstrous now, especially Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Zhao Yueru, and Cola. The team had also collected 11 cloth-armor Forgotten Sets, 9 leather-armor Offtrack Sets, and 8 plate-armor Earthvein Sets over the last eight days. They had also collected more than 900 pieces of standalone Mysterious-Iron and Secret- Silver Equipment. Their harvest was many times more bountiful than grinding in Hell Mode Team Dungeons for the same amount of time. At this moment, Zero Wing''s members ganged up on an eight-meter-tall Grand Lord ranked Lava Beast in the deserted canyon. The Lava Beast bellowed in rage as its HP continued to fall under Zero Wing''s bombardment. When the Lava Beast was close to death, Fire Dance maneuvered behind the monster and used Absolute Strike to obliterate the last strand of the Grand Lord''s HP; her actions were so smooth that even her teammates were stunned. As the Level 74 Lava Beast crumbled into a pile of scorching rubble, everyone''s experience bars rose by a small chunk. "These Lava Beasts are really a challenge," Turtledove complained as she looked at her HP bar. Currently, she had less than one-third of her HP remaining, and her Defense had fallen by 85%. With so little Defense left, she took more than -70,000 damage just from blocking one of the Lava Beast''s attacks with her shield. Unfortunately, due to the monster''s massive frame, every one of the Lava Beast''s attacks had a large AOE. As a result, the Lava Beast didn''t need special techniques to prevent its targets from dodging. If the team''s three main MTs hadn''t rotated tanking the Lava Beast, defeating the Grand Lord would''ve been impossible. "They are certainly tough. Its Lava Shield reduced out magical damage by half, too. Fortunately, we have good equipment. Any other team from our Guild wouldn''t likely be a match for it," Aqua Rose said as she looked at the dead Lava Beast. The Lava Beast had a whopping 100,000,000 HP, and its battle recovery regenerated 2% of its HP every five seconds, double that of other monsters. If these players hadn''t had high enough DPS, they would''ve been helpless against the Lava Beast. Although the Lava Beast had been difficult to defeat, it had given Zero Wing''s players a surprise after its death. This one Lava Beast had dropped more than a dozen items. Its drop-rate was many times higher than the Lava Giants the team had faced earlier. "Guild Leader, how is it? Did any set equipment drop?" Blackie asked, giving Shi Feng an expectant look as he inspected the loot. This was the first time they had fought a Lava Beast, but no matter how Blackie looked at it, the Lava Beast should''ve dropped better loot than the Great Lord ranked Lava Giants since it was a Grand Lord. "There''s no set equipment, but it did drop something interesting. Here, take a look for yourself," Shi Feng said as he shared the item he had appraised in the team chat. Only three of the dozen or so items the Lava Beast had dropped were equipment pieces, and they were all Level 70 Fine-Gold rank. Although these three pieces reduced Stamina consumption, they weren''t quite as powerful as the Level 70 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. However, these three pieces of Fine-Gold Equipment weren''t the highlight of the Lava Beast''s loot. Rather, it was a Skill Book for Super Recovery. [Super Recovery] (Super Spell) Instantly heals all allied players within a 30-yard radius for 40% of their Stamina and increases Stamina recovery rate by 200% and Basic Attributes by 15% for the next one hour. Cooldown: 12 hours Class restriction: Cleric "What a powerful Spell!" Blackie''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets after reading the Spell''s description. Not only did this Spell regenerate Stamina and heal players, but it also increased its targets'' Basic Attributes. "With this Spell, a 100-man team could easily explore neutral maps without worrying about their Stamina." Aqua Rose was just as astonished. Many of the required materials for producing Resistance equipment and high-ranked potions could only be found in neutral maps. Collecting these materials was one of the main reasons that the various major powers had been trying desperately to explore neutral maps, all to prepare for the fight for First Clear in the Level 70-plus, super-large-scale Team Dungeons in these neutral maps.it Not only would a Guild become more popular and collect more top-tier equipment by securing one of these Team Dungeons'' First Clear, but it would also earn a Town Building Order, enabling the Guild to construct a new Guild Town in a neutral map. It was the equivalent of securing a neutral map''s management rights. There were only a limited number of kingdoms and empires around neutral maps. With control over a neutral map, a Guild would have a tough time not growing stronger. "We should let Violet learn this Skill Book," Shi Feng said. The rest of the team agreed with his decision. Only members of the Cleric class could learn Super Recovery, and Violet Cloud was the Guild''s number one Cleric. Moreover, she constantly traveled with the Guild''s main force or led her own team when exploring neutral maps. The Spell was perfect for her. After Violet Cloud learned Super Recovery, Shi Feng continued to grind Lava Giants for EXP with his team. He also instructed Fire Dance and her Assassin party to split up in search of more Lava Beasts. If they were lucky, they might be able to obtain a few more Super Recovery Skill Books. While Zero Wing''s main force continued to grind Lava Giants and level up, Melancholic Smile called Shi Feng. "Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Melancholic Smile''s anxious expression. "Guild Leader, Starlink has captured the Ore Empire''s Ore Blood Fortress. Not long after that, our members started to run into ambushes in the various neutral maps, especially our teams in the Ore Empire''s inner region. Our casualties are severe. I wanted to as Unyielding Soul for reinforcements, but it seems that it''s in a similar predicament. Starlink has basically started an all-out war with Unyielding Soul in the neutral maps bordering the Dark Night Empire," Melancholic Smile reported. It''s no wonder why Starlink hadn''t responded. So, it was planning a massive assault in secret, Shi Feng thought as realization dawned. He had to admit that Starlink''s latest move dealt a painful blow to Zero Wing. At this point, Zero Wing''s influence permeated Star-Moon Kingdom. Since the Guild had regained its status as a basic member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce, almost no power could shake Zero Wing in its own kingdom. Knowing this, Starlink must''ve decided to take a more forceful approach and establish a foundation in the Ore Empire. Now that it controlled a fortress in the empire, it could dispatch a large number of experts, using its numerical advantage to extinguish Zero wing in the Ore Empire and other neutral maps around Star-Moon Kingdom. Furthermore, Starlink had solidified its position as the Dark Night Empire''s overlord. Other powers would have a very difficult time threatening its position, so it could afford to send a large group of experts abroad. And now that its position in the Ore Empire was stable, it wouldn''t have to worry about its experts'' development in the empire. Although Zero Wing had the Guardian Puppets and Hell Tanks, these war weapons were only suitable for large-scale combat. With how few of these war weapons Zero Wing had, protecting its members across massive neutral maps would be impossible. "Guild Leader, what should we do?" Melancholic Smile asked. "Tell everyone to stay together for now. If needed, spend some Magic Crystals and send our members through the Otherworld Gate to level up. For now, we''ll disregard developing in neutral maps," Shi Feng responded after giving the matter some thought. "We''ll make further arrangements once I''ve finished my quest here." "Understood." Melancholic Smile nodded. After disconnecting the call, Shi Feng gathered his team, and they made their way toward the Lord of Fire. As for leveling up and grinding for equipment, they were out of time. The Falling Star Secret Land''s core was a molten hell. Only a few boulders still stood among the lava, barely large enough to hold 30 players. Meanwhile, a 50-meter-tall figure, made of flowing lava, lay among the liquid stone. The mountain-like figure radiated a frightening pressure that deterred any lava monster from approaching. "Guild Leader, are we really going to fight this Boss?" Blackie could not help his bitter smile as he looked at the Lava Giant. The rest of the team expressed similar reactions. The word ''strong'' was no longer appropriate for this Lava Giant. This thing was practically invincible to current players. [Lord of Fire (King of Flames)] (Elemental Creature, Ancient Fiend, Mythic) Level 75 HP 580,000,000/580,000,000 2119 Secret Lands Lord Chapter 2119 - Secret Land''s Lord Ore Empire, on a vast plain a short distance away from the Ore Capital City- Lacking the usual patrolling Ores, this was the safest location near the Ore Capital City. Practically every power intending to explore the city had set up a campsite to shelter its members. A power that had recently arrived occupied a large plot of land in the crowded plain, but despite this power selfishly taking up so much area, none of the other powers dared to comment. This power was none other than Starlink, a superpower that even the various Super Guilds feared. As a 100-man team approached Starlink''s campsite, it attracted the attention of every player around. Every member on this team rode a pitch-black, three-meter-tall bear. The Mounts looked imposing and majestic, even from afar. Moreover, these mounted players were all Level 67 or above, and they radiated an intense bloodlust and moved like well-trained soldiers. To top it off, the weakest piece of equipment these players wore was Level 65 Fine- Gold rank. The surrounding players recognized that the pressure they felt from this 100-man team wasn''t simply due to a difference in Basic Attributes, but a difference in Life Ratings. Players felt stifled as the middle-aged man in the lead passed by. This man felt like a ferocious beast, and they knew he would shred them to pieces if they moved in the slightest. "Guild Leader, who is that? He looks somewhat familiar, but I can''t place him," Purple Eye, who rested in the Star Alliance''s campsite, asked as she watched the stalwart man enter Starlink''s campsite. "Of course, you find him familiar. He came from a destroyed kingdom on God''s Domain''s western continent. You might not know his name, Startled Wind, but I''m sure you''ve heard his nickname, Mad Beast," Galaxy Past said, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes as he watched the man pass. "I would never have thought that Starlink would recruit that lunatic. I''m afraid that Zero Wing may be in danger this time." "He''s that Mad Beast?" The revelation surprised Purple Jade. Players on the eastern continent might not have heard of Mad Beast since the two continents didn''t have much interaction, but as a first-rate Guild''s upper echelon, Purple Jade had heard of some matters concerning the western continent. According to her sources, Mad Beast was famous for shaking the western continent. With a single adventurer team, he had destroyed a superpower''s kingdom. The various superpowers just didn''t have the power to stop that lunatic. Galaxy Past wasn''t the only player to recognize Mad Beast. Many of the Guild upper echelons in the area noticed the man. "As expected of Starlink. It has even recruited the Mad Beast. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers are so afraid of the Guild. Since Zero Wing made Starlink a laughingstock in front of the other superpowers, it''s definitely doomed." "I wonder what Mad Beast plans on doing to Star-Moon Kingdom? Hopefully, he isn''t too ruthless. I don''t want to suffer alongside Zero Wing." Startled Wind''s appearance sparked many discussions among the resting players. As Startled Wind arrived in Starlink''s campsite, Three Kills, Starlink''s Fourth Vice Guild Leader, moved to welcome the man. "Brother Wind, long time no see. It is truly wonderful that you are willing to help us out," Three Kills said. He couldn''t help his inward sigh when he felt Startled Wind''s aura. Three Kills and Startled Wind were old acquaintances. They had even made their debut in the virtual gaming world around the same time. Only, Three Kills had been supported by the Super Guild, Jormungandr, while Startled Wind hadn''t had any backing. Now, however, Startled Wind''s nickname, Mad Beast, had spread across the western continent. He had even become Starlink''s Second Vice Guild Leader. Three Kills, on the other hand, was only Starlink''s Fourth Vice Guild Leader. "I understand that the Guild Leader wants to remove any trace of Zero Wing from God''s Domain. Since I''ve come, Zero Wing will meet its end," Startled Wind said. "However, the Zero Wing members I''ve killed on my way here don''t seem overly impressive. To think that the Four Shadow Demons actually lost against these people...those four old men have truly fallen." "Brother Wind, Zero Wing hasn''t yet dispatched its true experts. The Guild also has its Combat Puppets and Hell Tanks. A fight with Zero Wing won''t be easy," Three Kills explained. "Zero Wing''s true experts and Combat Puppets? Interesting. I wonder whose blade is sharper, Zero Wing''s or mine!" Startled Wind said as he licked his lips, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Since Zero Wing''s experts refuse to meet me, we''ll make them show themselves. I''ve heard that Zero Wing has a town in the Ore Empire. I think my men and I will pay it a visit." Following which, Startled Wind spun on his heel and led his men toward Silverwing Town. Meanwhile, Shi Feng watched the slumbering Lord of Fire in silence for a moment in the Falling Star Secret Land''s core. Why is he so much stronger? Shi Feng felt a headache begin to brew as he looked at the Boss''s Attribute Panel. The original Lord of Fire had already been much stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters, but now that he had become an Ancient Fiend, not even a 100-man team of Tier 3 peak experts would have much of a chance of defeating him, much less a 100-man team of Tier 2 experts. Ancient Fiend''s Life Ratings could rival Ferocious Beasts, overlords in God''s Domain during ancient times. Shi Feng had only killed the Flame Demon King due to his quest drastically reducing its strength, but this Lord of Fire was at his peak. Now, however, the Lord of Fire was at the peak of his strength. Even a 1,000-man team filled with experts of the same level would fall quickly to the Lord of Fire. No, something''s not right! Shi Feng quickly noticed the glowing, golden divine runes hovering around the Lord of Fire''s body. Those runes were gradually merging with the Boss''s form. As far as Shi Feng could remember, the Lord of Fire shouldn''t have bom any divine runes. Moreover, the Boss''s aura was growing stronger, albeit very slowly. Is he in the middle of an evolution? Although God''s Domain''s Boss monsters rarely evolved, it wasn''t unheard-of. Generally, these evolutions only happened after players triggered certain events, but the process wasn''t easy to complete. Boss monsters normally needed half a month to evolve successfully. Of course, there had been cases of Bosses completing the evolution in two or three days. "Quick! Everyone, move together!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted. 2120 Time Waits for No One Chapter 2120 - Time Waits for No One When Shi Feng realized that the Lord of Fire was in the midst of an evolution, he gathered his team and began the raid on the Ancient Fiend. Shi Feng had Cola, who wore the Flame Demon''s Crown, act as lead MT, while Turtledove and ye Wumian offered support from the sides. He instructed the rest of the team to stand by the Lord of Fire''s sides and wait for his command. Shi Feng''s urgency confused his teammates, but when they thought about how they could only leave the Falling Star Secret Land by killing the Lord of Fire or dying themselves, they obediently approached the Boss. "Go!" Shi Feng commanded once his players were in position. Leading the charge, Cola dashed toward the slumbering Lord of Fire. Although molten lava covered the ground, the high Fire Resistance the Flame Demon''s Crown provided made the lava feel like seawater to Cola. Cola soon arrived before the Lord of Fire and slashed at the Ancient Fiend with his sword. -13,745! As the Lord of Fire received damage, he opened his eyes, releasing a blinding, golden light The Boss''s deafening bellow then echoed across the burning field. The delay surprised Zero Wing''s players. Normally, Bosses attacked once players were within a certain range, but the Lord of Fire had only moved after Cola had attacked. Something was definitely wrong here. With a roar, the intensity of the Lord of Fire''s aura skyrocketed. The divine runes around his body began to glow brighter as if they were manifesting fully. Sure enough, he''s trying to evolve. Shi Feng could not help but smile. "Everyone, attack with everything you''ve got! Be careful of the fire rain and lava on the ground! Do not kill any of the lava monsters that emerge no matter what! Just lure them to the side!" In God''s Domain, monsters were at their weakest when trying to evolve, but if they were in danger, they could quicken their evolution forcefully. Although they had to pay an extremely high price to do so, they would become significantly more difficult to deal with once their evolution completed. After Shi Feng issued his orders, he sacrificed 7,000 Magic Crystal to his Ring of Gospel and activated Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance. The moment Miniature World took effect, the world''s power began to suppress the Boss. Unfortunately, the Lord of Fire was still an Ancient Fiend, and as a result, he only lost 20% of his Basic Attributes. His Strength was still far higher than any ordinary Mythic monster. Following which, the Lord of Fire jabbed at Cola''s raised shield. Upon impact, Cola stumbled four steps backward, losing more than 80,000 HP. "He''s so weak?" Cola was surprised to lose so little HP. He had more than 240,000 maximum HP. An attack that dealt a little over -80,000 damage was well within his tolerance. The team''s healers might feel a little overworked, at most. "Don''t hold back! Activate your Berserk Skills immediately! We need to kill the Boss before he completes his evolution!" As Shi Feng watched the divine runes around the Lord of Fire continue to form, he estimated that they had less than 20 minutes before the Boss completed his evolution. Every second counted right now. If they tried to fight the Lord of Fire like they usually did, they wouldn''t defeat the Boss in time. Once the Ancient Fiend completed his evolution, he could easily annihilate every one of them, even if he only had 1% of his HP remaining. Hearing Shi Feng''s command, every member of the team activated their Berserk Skills and doubled their DPS. Now, their attacks dealt a minimum of -40,000 damage. Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, and Zhao Yueru easily dealt more than -100,000 damage with each attack. Naturally, Shi Feng didn''t hold back, either. After activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, he activated Twilight''s Shadow and Twilight of the Gods. His eight doppelgangers then attacked the Lord of Fire simultaneously, and damages exceeding -70,000 appeared above the Lord of Fire''s head, one after another, with the occasional critical hit dealing over -100,000 damage. Seeing Shi Feng''s total DPS, everyone felt their hearts skip a beat. If their opponent were only a Level 75 Great Lord, not a Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend, they had no doubt that Shi Feng could defeat the monster in less than a minute. After another ten minutes, Zero Wing''s main force wore the Lord of Fire''s HP down to 30%. "Despicable mortals! You dare intrude on my slumbering grounds?! Burn to ash!" The Lord of Fire bellowed once more, and a blade of fire appeared in his hands. He then swung the blade before him. Boom! As the blade crashed into the ground, the impact felt like a volcanic eruption. The attack killed eight players instantly, and the earth under the flaming blade had vanished, leaving nothing but a cracked crater. The surviving team members gasped. With just one attack, the Lord of Fire had altered the battlefield''s terrain. Not only was his Attack Speed extraordinarily high, but the range of his attack was also absurd. "Don''t panic! Keep your distance! When the Boss begins to channel Mana, don''t stand in front of him!" Shi Feng calmly commanded. Shi Feng understood the Lord of Fire well. The additional fire-type damage the Bosses attacks inflicted was what made this monster so powerful. Without high enough Fire Resistance, even MTs of the same level would die instantly. This was why Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers had been utterly helpless against the Lord of Fire in Shi Feng''s previous life. Fortunately, Cola currently wore the Flame Demon''s Crown and had consumed a Master Fire Resistance Potion. Even when struck, he only took several thousand points of fire-type damage. Although the Lord of Fire had AOE Skills and Spells, as well, these attack patterns were quite simple. The attacks would be easy to avoid as long as players paid attention. As the seconds continued to tick by and the Lord of Fire lost more HP, the Boss became increasingly frenzied. From time to time, he activated Meteor Hand and bombarded Zero Wing''s players with multiple flying, flaming stones. Any player that these meteors struck, aside from Cola, died instantly, and as a result, the team continued to lose members. When the Lord of Fire cast Sea of Lava, a large-scale destruction Spell, Shi Feng activated Absolute Domain and protected his team from annihilation. When the Lord of Fire had only 5% of his HP remaining, Zero Wing''s team had fewer than 30 players. Seeing this, Gentle Snow activated Will of Light, her ultimate Skill. Five swords of light descended on the Lord of Fire, each dealing over -300,000 damage. Some attacks were even criticals, dealing twice as much damage. After all five swords had struck, the Lord of Fire had lost over 2,000,000 HP. Following which, Zhao Yueru activated the super-large-scale destruction Spell, Frostflame Hell, while Violet Cloud cast Dimensional Fracture and Shadow Rage. Aqua Rose and Blackie similarly cast their large-scale destruction Spells. As Spell after Spell plundered the Lord of Fire''s HP, the Ancient Fiend''s rage continued to grow. The Boss responded by summoning two blades of fire and brandishing them against these intruding players, every one of his slashes causing waves of lava that washed over Zero Wing''s members. Even Cola watched his HP drain, little by little, despite his active Titan''s Will, which reduced incoming damage by 95%. Unfortunately, the lava had killed Turtledove and Ye Wumian. When the Lord of Fire had less than 1% of HP left, he dismissed his flaming weapons and summoned a tidal wave of fire that surged toward Zero Wing''s team. Even space began to crack under the burning tidal wave''s might. "We''re doomed!" The color drained from Cola''s face as he watched the approaching attack. "Die!" Just before the fiery wave descended on his players, Shi Feng, who had already activated Power of Darkness, activated Blade Liberation and Divine Providence. He then countered the incoming tidal wave with a swing of his blade. Lightning Slash! A blue lightning bolt tore the tidal wave in half, and the Lord of Fire''s eyes dulled as hie collapsed into the lava, the resulting impact causing a small wave. 2121 Ancient Fiends Loo Chapter 2121 - Ancient Fiend''s Loot As the Lord of Fire fell lifelessly into the lava field, Fire Dance and Zero Wing''s other surviving members toppled backward in exhaustion. However, despite how tired they were, joy still flashed in their eyes. It was common knowledge in God''s Domain that the stronger a monster was, the better its loot would be. Although they did not understand what a Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend represented exactly, they were quite aware of how powerful the Lord of Fire was. It was undoubtedly the strongest Boss they had fought since joining God''s Domain. If Shi Feng hadn''t pulled out all the stops in that final moment, bisecting the Boss''s flaming tidal wave, they would''ve been annihilated. The surviving players watched their experience bars grow with flying speed after the Lord of Fire''s death. The Boss had been a Level 75, Mythic ranked Ancient fiend, and unlike the Flame Demon King Shi Feng had defeated a while ago, their quest hadn''t suppressed the Lord of Fire. Even splitting the EXP among 100 players, each would receive a substantial amount, but with fewer than 10 players were still alive after the fight, it was easy to imagine how much EXP each had received. Fire Dance and the others had risen from 70 to 71 on the spot, while Shi Feng climbed from 5% to 42% of Level 74. While everyone was surprised by the awarded EXP, the Falling Star Secret Land began to transform. The lava hell that had surrounded Zero Wing''s members altered into a barren wasteland. The Lord of Fire''s body cooled and disintegrated, crumbling into a pile of hot rubble. At the same time, loot rained down from the sky, creating a small, dazzling mound. None of Zero Wing''s team could''ve imagined that this Boss would drop so much loot. "Alright, let''s resurrect the team. Then, we''ll split the loot," Shi Feng chuckled when he saw his teammates'' glittering eyes. The surviving healers did as they were told and resurrected their fallen teammates while Shi Feng organized the dropped items. In the end, it took Shi Feng more than half an hour to appraise the Lord of Fire''s loot. Every item he picked up was top- tier, and even he, someone who had seen countless treasures in the past, couldn''t quite control his elation. He finally understood why the various superpowers had loved hunting Ancient Fiends, despite the extreme cost. There was simply no comparison between an Ancient Fiend''s loot and that of a super-large-scale Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Although the Lord of Fire was only a pseudo-Ancient Fiend since it hadn''t completed its evolution, Shi Feng was certain that these items could drive any superpower mad. If the various superpowers found out about today''s raid, they''d do anything they could to get their hands on this loot, even if it meant destroying Zero Wing! A total of 247 items dropped. Among them, 31 were Epic materials, six were Inferior Legendary materials, and 83 were materials of lower ranks. Five Seven Luminaries Crystals had also dropped, the equivalent of 14 units. There were 32 Attributed Gemstones of various types, 3 Mysterious-Iron Magic Crystal Treasure Chests, and 1 Secret-Silver Magic Crystal Treasure Chest, as well. Thirty-seven Magic Scrolls had dropped, three of which were Tier 4,16 were Tier 3, and the rest were Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Eight Skill Books also lay among the items, seven of which were for ordinary Tier 2 Skills, and one was a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. A total of 33 weapons and equipment pieces had dropped: 21 Level 70 Fine-Gold Equipment pieces, 8 Level 70 Dark- Gold Equipment pieces, 3 Epic items, and 1 Fragmented Legendary item. The three pieces of Epic Equipment alone were enough to move Shi Feng''s heart, not to mention the Level 70 Fine- Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. The three Epic items were the Source Fire Ring, Unyielding Battle Armor, and Phantom Leather Boots, top-tier items even among Epic Equipment. Not only did the Source Fire Ring increase a player''s Fire Resistance and the power of their fire-type Skills and Spells, but it also had an innate Teleportation Skill. Although the Teleportation Skill wasn''t as powerful as the Seven Luminaries Ring''s, it allowed the user to cross a distance of 100,000 yards. Although the Unyielding Battle Armor''s Basic Attributes were average at best, it had a Passive Skill that halved its wearer''s Stamina consumption. The Phantom Leather Boots, on the other hand, were top-tier boots for Assassins. Not only did the equipment boost the player''s concealment effects, but it also granted a 20% increase to reaction speed. Although the Fragmented Legendary item the Lord of Fire had dropped was neither a weapon nor equipment piece, it was even more valuable than either of the same rank. [Falling Fire Orb] (Fragmented Legendary Rank) The Lord of Fire''s concentrated essence. This item contains all of the Lord of Fire''s power. When used, the Falling Fire Orb temporarily raises its user''s Tier by one for three hours. (Can upgrade up to a maximum of Tier 4.) Cooldown: 12 hours Normally, Fragmented Legendary items only improved players'' combat power by half a Tier, but this Falling Fire Orb boosted a player by a full Tier. The item''s only flaw was its Tier 4 restriction. The orb would become useless once players reached that Tier. Even so, Shi Feng was amazed by the Falling Fire Orb. Reaching Tier 4 wasn''t an easy task in God''s Domain, after all. The Lord of Fire had dropped another item that delighted Shi Feng. An Advanced Construction Promotion Order! Normally, players could only obtain this item by completing the First Clear of a Level 100-plus, super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Moreover, the drop rate wasn''t 100%. With this promotion order, players could upgrade a Basic Construction in their Guild Town or City to Advanced rank. This promotion order might not seem like much at first glance. In fact, most superpowers hadn''t paid it much attention in Shi Feng''s previous life. Securing the First Clear in a Level 100-plus, super-large-scale Team Dungeon was practically impossible for first- and second-rate Guilds, so they hadn''t paid any attention to the Advanced Construction Promotion Order, either. Everyone had only realized the promotion order''s true value after players had reached Level 150. It was nearly invaluable due to its ability to upgrade a Basic Battle Arena to Advanced rank. Player-constructed Advanced Battle Arenas were much larger than Basic Battle Arenas, and they were actually larger on the inside than the building''s scale should allow. Advanced Battle Arenas also had higher Mana density than their Basic counterparts, allowing players to train their combat techniques more efficiently. Advanced Battle Arenas could also record and simulate combat techniques, which players could then learn from. Unfortunately, this function required a lot of Magic Crystals, and the stronger a combat technique was, the higher its cost would be. Once he had finished examining the Lord of Fire''s loot, Shi Feng shared the weapons and equipment details in the team chat, holding an internal auction for these items. Everyone gasped when they saw these items. In a short moment, all of the Fine-Gold, Dark-Gold, and Epic Weapons and Equipment had been divided among the team. Flying Shadow had won the Phantom Leather Boots, Zhao Yueru had won the Source Fire Ring, and Remnant Cloud had secured the Unyielding Battle Armor. All three of them felt their combat powers grow significantly. "Now that we''ve finished our quest, it''s time to head home." Shi Feng then retrieved a Return Scroll and activated it. He transformed into a streak of white light and left the now crippled Falling Star Secret Land. 2122 Zero Wing in an Uproar Chapter 2122 - Zero Wing in an Uproar Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Shi Feng and the others had spent eight days fighting in the Falling Star Secret Land, and they were mentally exhausted from the repetitive grinding. However, when they returned to Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City, they were hit by the Residence''s depressing atmosphere before they had a chance to rest. "Guild Leader, you''re finally back!" Busy in the Guild Hall''s main lobby, Youlan''s weary features brightened with excitement when she noticed Shi Feng''s team returning to the Residence. She hadn''t been sure that she''d last much longer had Shi Feng''s team remained missing. "What''s the Guild''s current situation?" Shi Feng asked. "Overall, it''s bad. Many players and adventurer teams have joined the Guild in the last week or so, but the Guild''s finances were already tight. To make matters worse, Starlink has started attacking us in the surrounding neutral maps. We''ve already suffered over 50,000 casualties. We''ve nearly had to empty our savings just to compensate the slain players. Fortunately, Unyielding Soul has sent us some aid, so we''ve been able to maintain the Guild''s operations," Youlan explained with a bitter smile. "But if this keeps up, the Guild''s funds will run dry sooner or later. "Moreover, the lack of funds isn''t the most pressing issue right now. We''ve already depleted the weapons and equipment stock in our Guild Warehouse. If we don''t replenish it soon, the Guild won''t be able to operate normally." "How did the Guild fall into such a state? I thought I had told everyone to limit our activity earlier." Shi Feng was surprised to hear that the Guild has suffered so many deaths. Starlink had only begun its assault a day ago, yet it had slain more than 50,000 Zero Wing players in that time. No matter how he thought about it, the feat shouldn''t be possible. "Initially, we only lost around 20,000 lives, but Starlink refused to give up and ambushed out members after they moved to the Silverwing Town area. Enraged, some of our Guildmates led teams to face Starlinks members. "Unfortunately, the results were far from ideal. The players Starlink has sent to attack us are impressively strong, especially a specific, fierce group. With just a 100-man team, they killed more than 10,000 of our players. Four hundred of the slain players were even members of the Dark Gods Legion. That team also destroyed two of our Hell Tanks. "After that, I told everyone to stay put in Silverwing Town. Only then did our casualty rate decrease. However, Starlink''s members have surrounded the town and are causing a ruckus. Many of our Guild members have begun to express their opinions on this issue. Holing up in the town isn''t a long-term solution." The matter clearly frustrated Youlan. This clash with Starlink had shown her how truly powerful superpowers were. The quantity and quality of Zero Wing''s experts and those in Starlink were on completely different levels. If current players weren''t so low-leveled and low-tiered, not even Silverwing Town''s defenses would''ve stopped Starlink''s assault. "So, that''s the case." Youlan''s report gave Shi Feng a rough understanding of the Guild''s situation. The predicament didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. The Guild''s collection of powerful weapons and equipment, as well as Zero Wing''s large number of Tier 2 players, was why the Guild could provoke so many superpowers and win multiple major battles. However, not only had Tier 2 players become more common, but the gap between Zero Wing''s equipment standards and the various superpowers'' had begun to close. In addition, the new Auction Arena allowed the various superpowers to secure their rule in their territories, so they had less to worry about and could afford to dispatch more experts on long-distance tasks. "Fire, take some of our people to Silverwing Town and get rid of the players causing trouble outside of our walls. They do not qualify to flaunt their strength in Zero Wing''s territory!" Shi Feng said as he turned to Fire Dance, who stood beside him. Letting the Guild''s enemy cause a ruckus in its territory was bad for the Guild''s reputation. If this persisted, moral would also plummet. "Leave it to me." Fire Dance smiled and nodded. She had grown bored of grinding monsters in the Falling Star Secret Land, so this task would be a good change of pace. The Assassin the teleported to Silverwing Town with Violet Cloud, Cola, and a few other core upper echelons. "Guild Leader, those Starlink players are extraordinary, and there are a lot of them. I''m afraid that they won''t be so easy to deal with," Youlan expressed her concern as she watched Fire Dance lead a dozen or so comrades to Silverwing Town. "We''re just chasing a bunch of riffraff away. We don''t need to mobilize a full force," Shi Feng calmly responded. "Anyways, you said the Guild needs weapons and equipment? I have some. Use them to ease our current predicament." After saying so, Shi Feng started a trade with Youlan and dropped one item after another into the window, all weapons and equipment from the Falling Star Secret Land. He had already given the Falling Fire Orb to Fire Dance, and with the Fragmented Legendary item, her team should be more than enough to deal with these problem players. When Youlan saw the weapons and equipment Shi Feng traded to her, she was dumbfounded. "Level 70 equipment?" Youlan stared at the window incredulously. The various superpowers likely only had a handful of Level 70 items, yet Shi Feng handed her nearly a thousand weapons and equipment pieces. Moreover, the weakest pieces of equipment were Mysterious-Iron rank, while most of the items were Secret-Silver rank... Taking a closer look at an item''s Attribute Panel, Youlan''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets. Not only were these items Level 70, but they also had an Attribute that reduced players'' Stamina consumption. Current players dreamed of using such equipment. This Stamina-rate reduction equipment could sell for astronomical prices. "Guild Leader, are we really going to let everyone purchase these items from the Guild Warehouse?" Youlan could not help but ask. Every weapon and equipment piece Shi Feng had handed her was undoubtedly top-tier at this stage of the game. These items could be used as capital to secure more resources in neutral maps. Any other Guild would most likely reserve these weapons and equipment for their core members; they''d never let give their normal and elite members access to such precious items. "It''s fine. Use them to motivate our members," Shi Feng said, chuckling. While the Level 70 Mysterious-Iron and Secret-Silver Equipment were good, these pieces were nothing compared to the Level 70 Secret-Silver Set Equipment Shi Feng still had in his bags. Youlan then stored the weapons and equipment in the Guild Warehouse, allowing members to purchase them for GCPs. Meanwhile, Shi Feng secretly left the Guild Residence and made his way to the Adventurer''s Association to turn in the Lord of Fire''s Crusade Quest. After all was said and done, the weapons and equipment he had collected were only a temporary solution. If Zero Wing wanted to defeat Starlink, these items wouldn''t be enough. Zero Wing needed more funding and strength. Shortly after Shi Feng left, the Level 70 weapons and equipment appeared on the Guild Warehouse''s exchange list. When they discovered these items, the Guild members looking to upgrade their items stared at the new equipment with bloodshot eyes. "Crap! Level 70 Secret-Silver Equipment! Am I dreaming?" "Did our Guild rob some NPC''s treasury? How do we have so many Level 70 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment?" "Quick, look! This equipment reduces Stamina consumption!" "Amazing! If I had a full set of this equipment, I wouldn''t have to worry about my Stamina when I''m exploring neutral maps!" A commotion tore through Zero Wing''s Residence as Guild members discovered the newly stocked Guild Warehouse and began to think of ways to earn more GCPs to purchase the Level 70 weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, news of Zero Wing''s new collection quickly reached the various major powers. 2123 Hero Ranked Reward Chapter 2123 - Hero Ranked Reward Shortly after the Level 70 weapons and equipment appeared in Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse, news of these items reached Starlink''s Blood Ore Fortress. Several Level 66 or higher experts watched Three Kills, who gazed at the scenery outside the window, nervously in the fifth-floor meeting room in Starlink''s residence. Vice Guild Leader, according to our spies in Zero Wing, the Guild has offered nearly 1,000 Level 70 weapons and pieces of equipment for purchase in its Guild Warehouse. Moreover, every equipment piece reduces Stamina consumption," a Level 66 Ranger reported, watching Three Kills with a hint of desire in his gaze. "Zero Wing''s members are on cloud nine because of this. Many of them are desperately trying to earn GCPs to purse the Stamina-rate reduction equipment. This turn of events has certainly increased morale within the Guild." The various superpowers still considered Level 70 weapons and equipment extravagant at this stage of the game. Even experts like himself only wore Level 65 Fine-Gold items. If he could get his hands on one or two more pieces of Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment, he''d sleep with a wide grin on his face. However, Zero Wing had just offered its normal and elite members the chance to use Level 70 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. This benefit was truly enviable. Moreover, the Secret-Silver Equipment reduced Stamina consumption. He''d have a much easier time developing if he could purchase a few pieces of such equipment, yet players who weren''t even ordinary experts had been given such an opportunity. The situation was maddening. "How kind of Zero Wing to offer up such equipment." Even Three Kills was slightly surprised by Zero Wing''s generosity. He chuckled and said, "Unfortunately, this is only a temporary measure. We have already prepared equipment for a protracted war. The Guild Leader has even amassed 300,000 Gold to persuade outside experts to move against our enemy. The fact that Zero Wing is offering its normal and elite members such equipment only makes them juicier targets. "I had thought that Black Flame would recall his Guild members to Star-Moon Kingdom and hold up there. If would''ve taken our Guild a lot of time and resources to destroy Zero Wing if he had. However, it seems that he truly believes his Guild is on equal footing with the various superpowers just because he''s small victories against superpowers in the past. How foolish!" "Zero Wing is mistaken if it thinks it can face us head-on. It''s simply overestimating itself," a tall woman in pitch-black leather armor said, frowning. She then said to Three Kills, "Vice Guild Leader, let''s make our move before Dark Soul. We can''t let Startled Wind and Dark Soul claim all of the glory!" "Of course. Yue Meng, go prepare. We''re going to cut off all paths between Star-Moon Kingdom and Silverwing Town! We''ll eliminate the town''s income!" Three Kills said, nodding. "Leave it to me, Vice Guild Leader! I''ll make sure that no one can reach the town by land!" Yue Meng declared as she patted the heavy hammer she carried, absolute confidence shining in her eyes. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had secretly reached the Adventurer''s Association''s second-floor hall. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service?" a senior administrator asked as he approached Shi Feng. "I wish to turn in a quest. Here is the Falling Fire Heart I''ve retrieved," Shi Feng said as he pulled a rock enveloped in blue flame from his bag and handed it to the senior administrator. Every Crusade Quest required proof of completion. The Falling Fire Heart was evidence of the Lord of Fire''s defeat. The senior administrator was stunned when he saw the Falling Fire Heart. Once he snapped out of his daze, the NPC looked at Shi Feng with even greater respect. After verifying the Falling Fire Heart''s authenticity, a series of system notifications altered Shi Feng. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for completing the Hero Crusade Quest, Lord of Fire. Rewarding 30,000 Guild Popularity and promotion to 1-star Honorary Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom The system announcement echoed throughout Star-Moon Kingdom three times, and every player in the kingdom heard it loud and clear. The various Adventurer''s Association branches throughout the kingdom also hung Zero Wing''s Guild Flag in their main halls. Any player that visited would see these flags. This was proof of the Guild''s glory. Even if Zero Wing faded from God''s Domain, it''s flag would remain in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Adventurer''s Association branches. However, Shi Feng was far more excited by the fact that his Guild had become a 1-star Honorary Guild. An Honorary Guild! Countless Guilds had dreamed of obtaining the title during his previous life. Even though the title was only effective in the kingdom or empire that had granted it, it was capital that would help a Guild grow stronger. Even Shadow had fought desperately to earn the Guild title, yet Shi Feng had secured it for Zero Wing so soon in this life. Normally, Guilds had to complete three Hero Crusade Quests to earn the 1-star Honorary Guild title, but since Zero Wing was the first to complete such a quest in Star-Moon Kingdom, the title had been granted as a bonus reward. The 1-star Honorary Guild title was easily worth more than 100 Epic Weapons and Equipment pieces to the various Guilds. Not only would the Guild receive more high-ranked quests from NPC nobles due to the title, but its members would also receive a 5% boost to their Basic Attributes and EXP earned within the respective country. While a 5% boost to Attributes and EXP didn''t seem like much, it was an extraordinary boon to high-level players. Besides, many a little makes a mickle. Players with these buffs would gradually pull ahead of those without. As a result, the difference between Guilds would continue to grow. After becoming a 1-star Honorary Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing''s position in the kingdom was even sturdier than before. Without overwhelming strength, foreign powers could do nothing against the Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom. This was one of the reasons that the various major powers had fought so desperately to complete Hero Crusade Quests in the past. A kingdom or empire''s Honorary Guild title was akin to a terrain advantage in war. When Zero Wing''s members discovered the benefits of being a 1-star Honorary Guild, they couldn''t help their growing excitement. Although they couldn''t currently grind in neutral maps, with this Guild title, they could grind in Star-Moon Kingdom, and they wouldn''t level any slower than in neutral maps. Moreover, they also had a certain advantage against the kingdom''s Field Bosses. "Commander, Zero Wing has more hope of survival now! Even if Starlink prevents Zero Wing from developing in neutral maps, the Guild can safely develop in Star-Moon Kingdom," Yi Luofei, who currently resided in Silverwing Town, exclaimed. Due to Yan Tianxing''s suggestion, the FFF adventurer team had joined Zero Wing, but despite that, it couldn''t do much to change the Guild''s situation in the Ore Empire. Starlink was simply too strong when it got serious. Zero Wing''s members couldn''t even set foot outside the town. The various powers that could explore neutral mas would eventually surpass those who couldn''t. Fortunately, now that Zero Wing had received an Honorary Guild title, its development speed wouldn''t be affected if it couldn''t develop in neutral maps. At the very least, ordinary powers shouldn''t hope to surpass the Guild. Starlink would also find Zero Wing far more difficult to deal with in Star-Moon Kingdom. As long as Zero Wing persisted, it was bound to turn its situation around. God''s Domain constantly changed, after all, and Starlink couldn''t afford to focus all of its strength against Zero Wing all the time. "Sure enough, Zero Wing hasn''t made it this far by relying on luck. It had been patiently enduring until it accomplished this feat." Yan Tianxing breathed a sigh of relief when he read the system announcement. He had fought Starlink''s experts plenty of times before, and he had to admit that it was a frighteningly powerful Guild. It had already dispatched an astonishing number of experts to the Ore Empire, and the Mad Beast Legion tore through the empire like a typhoon. The legion left devastation in its path. Its members had almost succeeded in killing Yan Tianxing, as well. If not for Silverwing Town''s Magic Towers and Guardian Puppets, Yan Tianxing had no doubt that Mad Beast and his legion would''ve captured the town by now. "Commander, look! Zero Wing''s main force members have arrived! It looks like they''re planning to confront the Mad Beast Legion!" Yi Luofei said as she pointed at Fire Dance''s team, which had appeared near the town''s entrance and seemed to be heading for Mad Beast Legion''s campsite. "Have they lost their minds?" Yan Tianxing''s anxiety peaked as he watched the 30-plus players direct their Mounts toward the enemy legion. 2124 Confrontation at the Entrance Chapter 2124 - Confrontation at the Entrance On a small hill outside Silverwing Town, dozens of members of the Mad Beast Legion had set up camp and were resting. Currently, these players were wining and dining without a care in the world, completely disregarding the heavily fortified Silverwing Town several thousand yards away. "The commander is being too careful this time. He''s actually having us simply stand guard here. Can''t we just destroy Silverwing Town? What can Zero Wing do against us?" a Level 67 Guardian Knight said as he glanced at the distant Silverwing Town. "Previously, everyone was talking about how powerful Zero Wing''s Dark Gods Legion was. In the end, didn''t we slaughter that legion''s members?" The Mad Beast Legion was an existence known throughout the western continent of God''s Domain for having destroyed over 20 Guild Towns, some of which were even controlled by superpowers. Yet, now, their commander, Startled Wind, was actually having them stand guard outside Silverwing Town and had only tasked them with preventing players from leaving the town. This was completely different from their normal operations. "Panther, stop grumbling. At least you got to get some exercise with those people from the Dark Gods Legion. We have only mobs to fight against. There''s not even a Field Boss in sight," a Level 67 Berserker carrying a white-bone greatsword said, rolling his eyes at the Guardian Knight named Black Panther. To maintain surveillance on Silverwing Town, the Mad Beast Legion had split into two groups. One group would either grind for levels or rest, while the other group would keep watch over the town. The two groups took turns, switching responsibilities with each other to prevent their levels from falling behind. "Alright, that''s enough. The commander naturally has his reasons. Moreover, whether in terms of defensive structures or NPC soldiers, Silverwing Town is much stronger than the towns we''ve destroyed thus far. In a frontal confrontation, even if we do succeed in capturing Silverwing Town, we''ll most likely suffer significant losses," a Level 68 scholarly man wearing silvery-gray leather armor said. In a deep tone, he continued, "While our task this time is indeed to destroy Zero Wing, we also have to conserve our strength. After all, our true enemy is not a measly Guild like Zero Wing but those bastards from the western continent! "Since we can slowly whittle down Zero Wing without suffering any damage, we naturally don''t need to invest too much effort and reveal our trump cards." At the scholarly man''s words, everyone present immediately lost their sloppy manner and grew seriousespecially at the mention of the "bastards from the western continent." "Vice Commander, I heard that Zero Wing''s Black Flame is very strong and that he had actually defeated the Four Shadow Demons'' Sword Demon. Between him and the commander, who do you think is stronger?" Black Panther could not help but ask curiously. When the Mad Beast Legion members heard Black Panther''s question, they sent curious gazes at the scholarly man as well. They were conversant with the Four Shadow Demons'' strength. Every one of the Four Shadow Demons was an absolute monster that had reached the Domain Realm decades ago. Meanwhile, among the four, Sword Demon was ranked number one when it came to a frontal clash. However, they did not have a very clear idea of the strength of their commander, as they had never actually seen Startled Wind display it before. The only person that might know would be their vice commander, Cloudy Mountain. After all, Startled Wind and Cloudy Mountain were once enemies. Both of them possessed monster-level strength. "Fifty-fifty, I guess. After all, a field battle is different from an official competition. There are many things you can use in a field battle that you can''t in a competition," Cloudy Mountain replied after giving the matter some thought. Vice Commander, aren''t you giving that Black Flame too much credit? In my opinion, that Black Flame might not even be a match for Party Leader Ink, let alone having an even chance against the commander." "That''s right! That Sword Demon is already an old man. His mental state is no longer at its peak. Although Party Leader Ink might not be a match for Sword Demon in terms of combat standards, in a field battle, she can definitely kill that old man." Everyone felt that their vice commander was blowing things out of all proportion. The Four Shadow Demons might be legends, but the Mad Beast Legion''s current fame and strength were both superior to the Four Shadow Demons''. Setting aside the Mad Beast Legion''s commander and vice commander, just its team leaders were already enough to inspire fear in even first-rate Guilds. Take Ink Rain, the Mad Beast Legion''s number one party leader, for example. Shee had fought over ten monster-level experts thus far. Moreover, like every member of the Mad Beast Legion, she was also very adept at field battles. If Ink Rain fought Sword Demon out in the fields, even Sword Demon would be in serious trouble. While the Mad Beast Legion members were bickering, dust clouds suddenly appeared a short distance away. Some of the players that were keeping a lookout on the campsite''s surroundings noticed this immediately. "Vice Commander, there are people charging toward us from Silverwing Town!" a Ranger shouted after observing the dust clouds using Eagle Eyes. "Zero Wing''s members are finally unable to sit still. We''ll finally get to exercise our bodies," Black Panther said, smiling as he licked his lips. "Your luck really is good. I''ll definitely ask to be in the same group as you next time," Brilliant Python, the Berserker carrying the white-bone greatsword, said with excitement. "How many people did they send?" Cloudy Mountain asked as he stood up from his seat. "A little over 30!" the observing Ranger reported carefully. "Just 30-plus?" For a moment, the Mad Beast Legion members could not help but be stunned. They even wondered if the Ranger had seen missed one or two zeroes. "That''s right, just 30-plus. However, judging by their appearances, I think these people are part of Zero Wing''s main force," the Ranger explained. "Main force? Is Zero Wing really that stupid? Does it think it can deal with our Mad Beast Legion with just 30-odd players?" Vice Commander, let my sixth party take the field. I''ll make sure that none of these people return alive!" Laughing at the number of players Zero Wing had dispatched, the Mad Beast Legion members immediately took the initiative to volunteer themselves for the upcoming fight, afraid that someone would steal this opportunity from them. "Ink and Panther, bring your two parties and go teach those people a lesson. However, this is also a rare opportunity. Contact Three Kills''s men and have them come here immediately using a Group Teleportation Scroll. We need to launch a full encirclement and make sure nobody escapes!" Cloudy Mountain commanded as he looked at the approaching figures of Fire Dance and the others from Zero Wing. "Understood!" Black Panther and the others could not help feeling a little stunned when they heard Cloudy Mountain''s orders. never imagined that their vice commander would take Zero Wing''s members so seriously. However, they still obeyed without hesitation. The Mad Beast Legion had a total of 20 parties. Each party had six members and was fully capable of slaying expert teams consisting of several hundred players. In reality, just one party would be more than enough to deal with Zero Wing''s 30-plus main force members. Sending two parties against so few players was simply making a mountain out of a molehill. Following which, Ink Rain and Black Panther, together with their party members, charged at Fire Dance''s team, the distance between the two sides rapidly closing. The players in Silverwing Town soon took notice of this situation. At this point, everyone was already aware that Zero Wing was holing up in Silverwing Town. The fact that Zero Wing had suddenly obtained the Honorary Guild title further reaffirm their thoughts that it was planning on lying low in Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, Zero Wing taking the initiative to send its main force members at the Mad Beast Legion was outside of everyone''s expectations. "Zero Wing''s main force is going up against the Mad Beast Legion! We''re going to have an interesting show to watch!" "I wonder who will win?" You must''ve never seen how frightening those people from the Mad Beast Legion are. With just a little over 100 players, they''ve killed over 10,000 players from Zero Wing. Every member of the Mad Beast Legion is a monster. Although Zero Wing''s main force members are strong, they''re probably still inferior to the Mad Beast Legion members. Zero Wing is truly reckless to send so few players. If it were up to me, I would organize at least a 1,000-man team to take on the Mad Beast Legion." While the players residing in Silverwing Town were discussing the upcoming battle, Yan Tianxing, who was chasing after Fire Dance''s team, frowned grimly when he saw the two parties the Mad Beast Legion dispatched. "Not good! Those are Ink Rain''s and Black Panther''s parties! We need to help them quickly!" Yan Tianxing shouted hurriedly to his team. He had fought Ink Rain and Black Panther before. He would already have his hands full just dealing with Black Panther alone. Black Panther possessed extraordinary Strength, fighting more like a fierce Berserker than a Guardian Knight. Going up against the Guardian Knight in a frontal confrontation was simply impossible. Ink Rain was even more frightening. In just one exchange, Yan Tianxing had nearly lost his life. If not for a special Magic Scroll that forcibly saved his life, he wouldn''t have been able to block Ink Rain''s second hit at all. Even if Zero Wing had Fire Dance taking the lead, Yan Tianxing did not think that her group could last very long against both Black Panther and Ink Rain. Unfortunately, Yan Tianxing''s team was still a tad too slow. In the end, they could only watch as Fire Dance''s group and Ink Rain''s group got within 30 yards of each other and started attacking each other. "Zero Wing! Die!" Black Panther laughed as he leaped into the air, the icy-blue shield he wielded transforming into a gigantic energy shield that smashed down on Fire Dance''s group. Not only did Black Panther''s attack cover a 30-yard radius, but the Strength it carried also warped the space around it. The distant spectating members of Zero Wing paled reflexively at this scene. This move was most likely sufficient to annihilate a 100-man expert team instantly. Just as the mountain-like energy shield was about to land on the Zero Wing group, Cola suddenly jumped into the air with Titan Guard raised. The Fragmented Legendary Shield then transformed into a blazing streak of light that clashed with the descending energy shield. Tier 2 Skill, Divine Impact! Boom! An explosion echoed throughout the entire battlefield. In the next moment, Black Panther''s gigantic energy shield cracked and disappeared. As for Black Panther himself, he went flying back. Even after he landed, he stumbled three steps backward before he managed to stabilize himself. In contrast, Cola remained standing steadily where he lighted. 2125 Steamroll Chapter 2125 - Steamroll The two Guardian Knights'' initial clash caused a huge commotion. Even players standing thousands of yards away felt the resulting shockwave. "So strong!" The various major powers and independent experts watching the battle from Magic Mirrors in Silverwing Town couldn''t believe their eyes. Rather than players, Cola and Black Panther looked like two gigantic beasts as they fought for the upper hand. Every one of their movements shook the ground as the sky above them rumbled. These Guardian Knights'' Strength was so far from ordinary experts'' that the difference was like that between heaven and earth. "How is this possible?" Yan Tianxing''s heart pounded madly as he watched Black Panther fly backward and stumble three steps before regaining his footing. Yan Tianxing was very familiar with Black Panther''s Strength, which even surpassed a Great Lord''s. After including his Skill bonuses, Black Panther''s Strength could certainly rival a Grand Lord''s of the same level. In the few instances that Yan Tianxing had faced Black Panther''s energy shield, he had been forced to rely on Vanish or Wind Steps to evade the attack. Cola, on the other hand, only relied on ordinary Tier 2 Skills to block or evade Black Panther''s attacks, and it was obvious that the Zero Wing member had even higher Strength than his opponent... If Cola had activated a Berserk Skill, this scene might have made sense, but he clearly hadn''t. He actually overwhelmed Black Panther with only Tier 2 Skills. His Strength was truly inhuman. Who is he? A trace of fear flashed in Black Panther''s gaze as he stared at Cola''s bear-like figure. This outcome shocked Black Panther even more than Yan Tianxing. The Mad Beast Legion''s members weren''t ordinary Tier 2 players. They had all undergone Bloodline Replacement, which meant that their Life Ratings were much higher than ordinary Tier 2 players, rivaling Demon players. However, they gained far more to their Basic Attributes when they leveled up than Demon players. Their Basic Attributes were far beyond what ordinary Tier 2 players could achieve The only flaw Bloodline Replacement had was the intense difficulty players faced during their future class promotions, but those capable of earning a place among the Mad Beast Legion were experts among experts. They were all confident of completing their future promotions without issues. Once they did, they''d be much stronger than players of the same tier, so they didn''t mind the extra difficulty. Black Panther quickly disregarded his surprise. PvP battles weren''t decided solely by the combatants'' Basic Attributes. Immediately, the Starlink Guardian Knight raised his shield and charged at Cola again. He didn''t intend to fight Cola head-on this time, relying on his speed to outmaneuver his opponent, find weak points, and slowly chip away the enemy Guardian Knight''s HP. After the Bloodline Replacement, players'' Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed would improve considerably. While this improvement might not do much for agile Assassins, it would be extremely beneficial for bulky Guardian Knights. However, Cola did not give Black Panther any chances to touch his HP. He immediately activated the Scorching Wind Set''s Wargod of Fire Skill, transforming into a six-meter-tall, flaming giant. Wielding a burning axe in one hand and a flaming shield in the other, Cola looked like this land''s overlord. Raising his fiery axe, Cola swung down at Black Panther''s approaching figure. Zero Wing''s lead MT had gained a general understanding of Black Panther''s power during their initial clash. If he tried to rely on techniques to defeat his enemy, Black Panther would eventually whittle him down, and he''d lose. After all, Black Panther''s Basic Attributes were roughly on par with his own. The only way Cola could win this fight was by relying on overwhelming power. "Damn it!" Black Panther''s expression darkened as he watched the gigantic axe descend toward him. He could tell that this attack likely had the Strength of a Mythic monster, and Cola''s attack had a massive 30-yard radius. With less than 10 yards between them, dodging the axe was impossible. Instinctively, Black Panther activated his Berserk Skill, his Basic Attributes skyrocketing. He then activated Protection Blessing and moved forward to greet Cola''s attack. When Cola''s flaming axe collided with Black Panther''s shield, a towering pillar of fire rose from the point of impact. The flames instantly scorched the ground beneath Black Panther''s feet. Boom! As the fire subsided and revealed the fighters, the watching players couldn''t help but gasp. The difference between the two Guardian Knights'' Strength hadn''t been that large during the previous clash, yet even after Black Panther had activated his Berserk Skill, Cola was still tremendously stronger than the Starlink player. With just one attack, Cola had devoured 20% of Black Panther''s HP, and the ground beneath his opponent had sunk by roughly four meters. Cola''s Strength was simply horrific. However, no one knew that the Scorching Wind Set Cola wore had been known as one of the strongest Level 70 sets during Shi Feng''s previous life. Although it was only a Fine-Gold Set Equipment, the Wargod of Fire Skill boosted the player''s Life Rating to Archaic Species and granted a massive boost to their Basic Attributes. Using an ordinary Berserk Skill to contend with the Wargod of Fire was laughable. Naturally, Cola didn''t stop after landing the one attack. He immediately raised his flaming axe and attacked again. With an Archaic Species Life Rating, Cola''s reaction speed and five senses were far more acute than normal. His attacks'' precision gave Black Panther no room to dodge. One slash... Two slashes... Three slashes... As Cola landed his fifth attack, Black Panther''s HP finally reached zero, his body burning to ash.... Cola''s strikes had been so fast that the healer in Black Panther''s party hadn''t had enough time to react and start casting a Healing Spell before the Guardian Knight had died. As if time had frozen, everyone stared at Cola''s Wargod of Fire form with fear in their eyes. "How is this possible?" The Mad Beast Legion members were stupefied. They couldn''t believe that Black Panther, who had activated his Berserk and Lifesaving Skills, had suffered such a decisive defeat. He hadn''t even been able to retaliate before Cola had hacked him to pieces. Techniques? Lifesaving Skills? Before absolute power, none of these mattered! As Cola was about to switch targets and charge at another Mad Beast Legion member, a lithe figure appeared behind him and thrust an icy-cold dagger into his back. Cola lost one-ninth of his HP before he could react. The damage shocked Cola. With Wargod of Fire active, he had more than 1,000,000 HP, and his Defense was astonishingly high. It would be impressive to find a Tier 2 player who could deal over -20,000 damage to him, ye^ new opponent had dealt over -150,000 with a single attack. His new opponent''s Attack Power was incredible. Hurriedly, Cola activated Fire God''s Wrath with a furious bellow. Flames erupted from the ground around him, enveloping a 15-yard radius. Seeing this, the lithe figure landed another before retreating. By the time these flames devoured everything around Cola, the figure stood 15-yards away, at the very edge of the raging inferno. The spectators only got a clear view of this lithe figure once the fire around Cola had subsided. She was a mesmerizing woman with snow-white hair. Silver divine runes covered her body, and she held two daggers that matched her hair color. Her clothing was as dark as the night sky. "Careful! She''s the Mad Beast Legion''s number one Assassin, Ink Rain!" Yan Tianxing shouted a warning, fear flashing in his eyes when he saw her face. His memory of this woman was still fresh in his mind; he couldn''t forget her even if he wanted to. If he hadn''t had an ancient lifesaving scroll, Ink Rain would''ve killed him during their past encounter. Cola pushed his five senses to their limits as he watched Ink Rain. He could sense the threat of death from this woman, and if he hadn''t already transformed into a Wargod of Fire, she likely would''ve killed him in those two moves. Meanwhile, when the Mad Beast Legion members saw Ink Rain taking on Zero Wing''s monstrous Guardian Knight, they cheered from their campsite on the nearby hill. Although Black Panther led his own party in the legion as well, there was a massive difference between him and this female Assassin. "I''ve truly underestimated Zero Wing''s experts," Cloudy Mountain said as he watched Cola. He commanded, "Notify Three Kills'' men and tell them to hurry it up. These Zero Wing players aren''t your average opponents. Also, Python, lead your party to assist Ink and the others. She''ll likely need some time to take out that Guardian Knight if she''s fighting by herself." Cola''s performance had been surprising, but as the Mad Beast Legion''s vice commander, Cloudy Mountain was very familiar with Ink Rain''s strength. He was certain that she could defeat Cola. However, the members of her and Black Panther''s parties would likely face a bitter battle against Zero Wing''s other members while Ink Rain was busy with the Guardian Knight. To end this quickly and avoid unnecessary losses, Cloudy Mountain thought it wise to send another party. As Brilliant Python and his party prepared to move out, Zero Wing''s other members engaged Ink Rain and Black Panther''s party members in combat. Meanwhile, Cola used his strongest Skills against the enemy Assassin, but despite his efforts, Ink Rain gracefully dodged every fervent attack. Cola''s axe didn''t even brush Ink Rain''s clothing. On the contrary, Ink Rain dealt some damage from time to time. "It seems Zero Wing''s experts only amount to so much." Glancing at the Guardian Knight before her, Ink Rain spun her daggers, clasping them in a reverse grip. The two weapons then transformed into crystalline short swords so sharp that space around them began to crack. Following which, female Assassin became a blur before splitting into three clones. All three attacked Cola from different directions. Six black lines reached for the Guardian Knight, and despite Cola''s improved reaction speed, he was only able to block four of the six attacks. As the two remaining black lines were about to bite into Cola''s flaming form, two sword likes abruptly intercepted them. The black lines disintegrated into nothing the moment they encountered the sword lights, sparing Cola. "Who are you?" Ink Rain frowned at the figure that had suddenly appeared beside Cola. Her attack had been absolutely perfect, containing as much power as a Mythic monster of the same level. Even with his peerless Strength, Cola had barely shrugged off her attacks. However, this new arrival had effortlessly countered her strikes. Most importantly, this new arrival had predicted her attack trajectories. Her attack trajectories changed constantly, and her attacks were extremely fast. If not for Cola''s shield, he would never have been able to block four of her strikes. Yan Tianxing, who rushed toward the battle from a distance, was just as astonished to see Cola spared from the attack. If he had been Cola''s reinforcement, stopping just one of Ink Rain''s attacks would''ve taken everything he had. After a moment of silence, the figure beside Cola spoke, her clear, crisp voice echoing across the battlefield. "I''m Zero Wing''s Fire Dance!" 2126 Sudden Cry Chapter 2126 - Sudden Cry After seeing Fire Dance in action, the distant spectating Mad Beast Legion members realized this was serious. Unlike Ink Rain, glowing, silver runes didn''t cover Fire Dance''s body. Instead, her form was shrouded in a black mist as if she were some kind of Demon Lord. "That woman''s amazing! She actually blocked Party Leader Ink''s killing move!" Everyone in the Mad Beast Legion knew how powerful Ink Rain was; not even a handful of them could block her attacks. She had also activated Divine Phantasm already. Divine Phantasm was Ink Rain''s exclusive Berserk Skill, and it was much stronger than ordinary Skills of the same type. When active, Divine Phantasm granted Ink Rain godly reaction speed. She could kill even monster-level experts instantly if they were not careflil. Even Cloudy Mountain would have to avoid facing her head-on if she had the Berserk Skill active. Yet, someone who could block Ink Rain''s attacks while she had Divine Phantasm active had just joined the fray. Why wouldn''t they be surprised? "Fire Dance? You''re the commander of Zero Wing''s main force?" Ink Rain gave the woman a playful smile as she observed Fire Dance. "I never would''ve thought that, aside from Black Flame, Zero Wing had another powerful expert. It seems this battle will finally become interesting. Alright, come at me, both of you!" Ink Rain''s arrogance enraged Zero Wing''s main force members. In contrast, Yan Tianxing and FFF''s former members didn''t seem angry as they arrived on the scene. Rather, they watched Ink Rain with fear in their eyes. They knew how strong this willowy woman truly was. "Be careful, Commander Fire Dance. She''s far stronger than what she''s shown thus far. I suggest that we work together to take her down while she''s still being reckless. I''m afraid that we will find her far more difficult to deal with once she gets serious," Yan Tianxing quietly suggested. Yan Tianxing had gained a faint understanding of the woman''s prowess when he had fought her. She wasn''t just a Domain Realm monster; she had actually progressed quite far in the Domain Realm. Moreover, she hadn''t taken Cola seriously since she had joined the fight. He was certain of that much. When Ink Rain had previously activated Divine Phantasm, she had single-handedly destroyed a Guardian Puppet and Hell Tank. However, that wasn''t the woman''s most frightening aspect. Her speed was far more dangerous, even heaven-defying. When heh ad fought her, none of the supporting Guardian Puppets or Hell Tanks had been able to land a single hit. Although Cola currently had the Strength to rival Mythic monsters, he was far slower than the Guardian Puppets. His overall combat power was only on par with the constructs; he wouldn''t be able to hit Ink Rain despite his best efforts. Even though Fire Dance had joined the battle, her participation was no different than pitting two Guardian Puppets up against Ink Rain. Killing this female Assassin would still be arduous. They only had a chance if they worked with him and Yi Luofei. If the four of them cooperated, even Ink Rain would be in trouble. "No, I''ll deal with her myself. I want you guys to make sure the others don''t escape," Fire Dance said, shaking her head. "This..." Fire Dance''s reply made Yan Tianxing anxious. He could guess what Zero Wing''s top Assassin was thinking. He, too, had thought that he could defeat any expert he encountered when he had been young. But Ink Rain was no ordinary expert. She was even stronger than ordinary monster-level experts, and not even Black Flame would necessarily defeat this Assassin. "Since Big Sis Fire is sure, Brother Yan, there shouldn''t be a problem. Let''s focus on the other Mad Beast Legion members," Cola advised. Cola''s confidence rendered Yan Tianxing speechless. They had just thrown away the perfect opportunity to deal with Ink Rain. Now, she''d be far more difficult to defeat. Ink Rain likely had a firm grasp of Zero Wing''s strength by now, and with her speed and wits, entrapping her would be impossible. "Are you done yet?" Ink Rain asked, flashing Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei a faint smile. "If you want to come at me together, I won''t mind." She was absolutely confident in her Strength and speed. Two more Void Realm experts wouldn''t change the outcome of this fight. "It would be a waste to face you with four people. I''ll be more than enough," Fire Dance calmly replied. You? Alone? How confident. I wonder if you really are strong enough to back up your claim?" Ink Rain''s gaze grew chilly when she heard Fire Dance''s response, and the experts around them shuddered as they felt her killing intent. Ink Rain then vanished and transformed into five phantoms as she dashed toward Fire Dance. "Nine Phantom Steps! Party Leader Ink is getting serious!" That girl, Fire Dance, is definitely dead now. She''s actually dared to anger Party Leader Ink." When they saw Ink Rain vanish and reappear alongside four copies, the Mad Beast Legion members'' eyes glowed with respect and admiration. Nine Phantom Steps was a Bronze Combat Technique Starlink had obtained through a Bronze Legacy Tablet. Of all of the Mad Beast Legion members, only Ink Rain had learned a portion of the technique. Although Ink Rain still couldn''t create nine phantoms, the fact that she could create five was astounding. Moreover, not even Domain Realm experts could differentiate between the five phantoms. Although the Nine Phantom Steps was an incredibly powerful technique, it had glaring flaws. Using the combat technique consumed an extraordinary amount of Stamina and Concentration. Even a monster like Ink Rain could only execute the technique four times with full Stamina and Concentration. Seeing her utilize the technique in combat was a rare treat. It''s over! Yan Tianxing''s expression sank when he saw Ink Rain''s five clones. He knew that she was an absolute monster, but he hadn''t realized that she was this strong. Not even he could determine which phantom was Ink Rain''s real body, not to mention Fire Dance. As the five phantoms reached Fire Dance, they all brandished their gleaming white short swords, launching ten attacks in total. The attacks were imperceptibly fast and accurate, impossible to block or dodge. Moreover, Ink Rain had launched all ten in intervals. Even if Fire Dance used Vanish or Wind Steps, the Skills'' brief invulnerability could save her from all ten attacks. "Activate!" Fire Dance shouted as she activated the Falling Fire Orb in her bag. Her aura skyrocketed instantly, and everyone around her was suddenly overwhelmed with terror as its intensity washed over them. For a moment, they felt as if a true Mythic monster stood before them. Zero Wing''s Assassin then brandished her Thousand Transformations. Fire Dance didn''t seem to move quickly. In fact, everyone watching could see her actions clearly. However, the world seemed to freeze as she brandished her Fragmented Legendary Weapon. It looked like only Fire Dance moved while everyone around her stood still. Where Thousand Transformations passed, it left behind a black spatial tear surrounded by faint arcs of electricity. As everyone watched, the weapon slowly collided with Ink Rain''s snow-white short swords. Boom! Starlink''s female Assassin shot backward like a cannonball, crashing into the ground 15 yards away from Fire Dance. Her hands trembled uncontrollably as he short swords hummed with an ear-piercing sound. A moment later, one-fifth of Ink Rain''s HP bar vanished... 2127 Tier 3 Strength Chapter 2127 - Tier 3 Strength As the Assassins'' weapons collided, a metallic clang echoed across the battlefield. The players fighting their own battles couldn''t help but pause at the sound. The distant Mad Beast Legion members froze, staring at Fire Dance. They simply couldn''t process that someone had nullified their number one Assassin''s ultimate move so easily. With Divine Phantasm active, Ink Rain''s speed was unparalleled. When combined with Nine Phantom Steps, not even Domain Realm experts could distinguish between her five phantoms; they''d be forced to gamble on a target with only a 20% chance of success. However, not only had Fire Dance targeted Ink Rain''s real body without hesitation, but she had also kept up with her enemy''s divine Attack Speed effortlessly. As if that weren''t enough, Fire Dance''s attack had the Strength to send Ink Rain flying. "She''s been repelled?" The various major powers and independent experts watching the fight via Magic Mirrors gaped when they saw the scene. They didn''t even know how to react. The players in Silverwing Town knew how powerful Ink Rain was; she had single-handedly destroyed a Hell Tank and Guardian Puppet during the last major battle outside of the town, after all. Moreover, she had completed the task as the Dark Gods Legion watched. Yet, Fire Dance was able to throw such a terrifying expert so easily. Why wouldn''t the watching players be shocked? How is this possible? Yan Tianxing stared at Fire Dance in confusion, shock and joy dominating his heart. He had never expected Fire Dance to be so powerful, enough so that she could even contend with Ink Rain! Yan Tianxing was certain that Ink Rain''s ultimate move could kill him in an instant if he had to stand against it. Whether or not he could match her speed, he''d only have a 20% chance of stopping Ink Rain''s assault. Not even he could determine which of the five phantoms was Ink Rain''s true form. While the spectators were shocked over the clash''s unexpected outcome, Ink Rain stood back up and carefully observed her opponent. "Not bad! You''re the first to stop me since I''ve learned Nine Phantom Steps!" Ink Rain praised, watching the other woman with excitement. "I wonder if you can stop my next move? This is my initial application of Nine Phantom Steps. I have never used it against anyone before. Hopefully, you won''t disappoint me!" As soon as Ink Rain finished speaking, her body split into two copies. Even the copies'' auras were identical, and both were physical manifestations. Both copies then executed Nine Phantom Steps simultaneously, creating ten clones in total. All ten clones then pounced on Fire Dance, and Yan Tianxing''s scalp tingled as he watched. Executing a combat technique through a doppelganger was extremely difficult. Players didn''t have as much control with their doppelgangers as they did with their true bodies. Yan Tianxing could barely execute a Basic Combat Technique through his doppelgangers, yet Ink Rank used a complex technique like Nine Phantom Steps. Her combat standard was absurd. Now, not only did Fire Dance have to deal with ten copies of Ink Rain, but two of them were also the real deal. Even if Fire Dance could block one of the physical copies, she couldn''t block both without using a Doppelganger Skill that could summon a combat-capable clone with how high Ink Rain''s Attack Speed was. However, such Doppelganger Skills were incredibly rare. Not everybody had a Doppelganger Skill as perverted as Shi Feng''s, which allowed him to summon eight combat-capable copies that shared 100% of his Basic Attributes. The commander of Zero Wing''s main force is certainly strong. She has actually forced Ink to take her seriously. Brilliant Python, who had just reached the battlefield, was astonished when he saw his comrade''s ten phantoms. Even their commander, Startled Wind, had praised Ink Rain for her latest move. He had admitted that not even he could stop the move without using an Invulnerability Skill with more than a few-second duration. Meanwhile, Ink Rain altered her attack pattern, using a different pattern than earlier. Her ten phantoms intertwined. It was obvious that Ink Rain no longer wanted to face Fire Dance head-on. Rather, she planned to defeat her opponent with her superior technique. After circling Zero Wing''s top Assassin for a moment, all ten of Ink Rain''s copies attacked Fire Dance from multiple directions. Absolute Strike! The ten phantoms immediately transformed into streaks of shadow as they plunged toward their target with far more Attack Speed than what Ink Rain had revealed thus far. When the enemy clones were less than a yard from her, Fire dance lightly swung her Thousand Transformations, cutting the space before her. A crescent-shaped spatial tear appeared around Fire Dance, rapidly extending until it acted as a shield to protect its creator. Before anyone could react, they heard two muffled sounds. Two figures then flew 15 yards away from Fire Dance. These figures were none other than Ink Rain and her physical doppelganger. The doppelganger had lost half of its HP, while Ink Rain had lost another one-fifth. Impossible! Ink Rain stared at the other female Assassin in astonishment. She couldn''t wrap her mind around how Fire Dance had repelled her attacks. Her speed was undoubtedly at the peak of Tier 2 players. Just blocking one of her attacks was nearly impossible. Blocking two would be a godly act. Admittedly, Ink Rain had considered the possibility that Fire Dance would use a Lifesaving Skill to block one of her attacks, but she had never dreamed that the other Assassin would send both her and her doppelganger flying with a single counterstrike. To make matters worse, Ink Rain recognized that Fire Dance hadn''t used some powerful Skill to throw her and her doppelganger. It had been a simple slash, yet this normal counterstrike had kept up with both of her attacks. It just didn''t make sense. As Ink Rain watched her opponent in confusion, Fire Dance abruptly disappeared. "Where is she?" "Did she use Vanish?" Everyone''s curiosity grew when they lost track of Zero Wing''s Assassin. Ink Rain pushed her five senses to their limits to detect her opponent, but before she realized it, Fire Dance already stood before her, her Thousand Transformations gracefully descending on her. However, despite discovering the woman, Ink Rain wasn''t fast enough to react to the attack, no matter how hard she tried. She could only watch as the short sword bit into her. As Thousand Transformations sliced through Ink Rain''s body, Starlink lost the last of her HP. Ink Rain''s vision darkened, and her body collapsed before she even had the chance to comment. "So fast!" Although the process seemed slow, the spectators hadn''t had time to take a breath before Fire Dance had ended Ink Rain''s life. "Ink Rain''s dead!" "How is this possible?!" The players watching the battle stared with slack jaws. Without any suspense, an expert of Ink Rain''s caliber had been slain. Why wouldn''t they be shocked? The scene even surprised Cola. No one here had a better idea of Fire Dance''s prowess than he, and even if she carried a Fragmented Legendary Weapon and more Epic items than he had, she shouldn''t be this powerful. Naturally, the victory didn''t faze Fire Dance. She wielded one of the Guild''s top secrets, the Falling Fire Orb, which only her and Shi Feng knew about. With her artificial rise to Tier 3, fighting a Tier 2 player like Ink Rain was like pitting an adult against a baby. To everyone else, Ink Rain might have seemed lightning-fast, but Fire Dance had no issues keeping up with the other Assassin''s speed. When it came to a competition of Strength, needless to say, Fire Dance had an overwhelming advantage. While everyone was shocked over Ink Rain''s death, Fire Dance wasn''t idle. She shifted her sights to the Mad Beast Legion''s remaining members. Tier 2 players were little more than infants before a Tier 3 player. Without powerful Lifesaving tools, they had no hope of contending with Fire Dance. Furthermore, Fire Dance had a Fragmented Legendary Weapon to amplify her Basic Attribute and physique advantages. In moments, Fire Dance annihilated Ink Rain, Black Panther, and Brilliant Python''s parties. Of the three Mad Beast Legion party leaders that participated in the battle, Brilliant Python was certainly the most unfortunate. As soon as he arrived on the battlefield, Fire Dance''s sword claimed his life. He hadn''t even had the chance to flee. For a time, silence dominated the battlefield. The spectating major powers and independent players in Silverwing Town were terrified as they watched the fights play out. How was this supposed to be a battle? This was just a massacre. "What should we do, Vice Commander?" one of the Mad Beast Legion members asked Cloudy Mountain, watching Fire Dance slaughter his allies, one after another, with a terrified expression. "Retreat!" Cloudy Mountain commanded, still watching Zero Wings top Assassin. 2128 True Strength? Chapter 2128 - True Strength? As the Mad Beast Legion members on the hill outside of Silverwing Town used Return Scrolls and disappeared, the players in the town were in an uproar. "What?! That Mad Beast Legion is so scared it''s running away?!" The spectating players in Silverwing Town could not believe their eyes as they stared at the now-deserted hill. They had witnessed the legion''s power personally. Every one of the legion''s members was basically a monster, easily capable of taking on tens of thousands of enemies. The Mad Beast Legion had already proven its prowess by killing more than 10,000 Zero Wing members, including many expert players. Yet, such a monstrous legion had fled from Zero Wing''s main force members... Of course, these spectators didn''t consider the Mad Beast Legion''s retreat incomprehensible, either. Fire Dance had displayed horrific strength, slaying the legion''s members as if they were Common monsters. She had fought like some God on a mortal battlefield. However, although Fire Dance was very strong, she was still only one person, and whatever she had used to increase her power should have a time limit. Once she lost that boost, the Mad Beast Legion was more than capable of continuing its assault against Zero Wing, and they''d definitely receive more reinforcements from Starlink. Even if Fire Dance''s boost lasted longer than expected, the legion could gradually wear her down and kill her once their reinforcements arrived. And yet, the legion had decided to retreat after only suffering minor losses. This turn of events confused the spectating independent players in Silverwing Town. The Mad Beast Legion had previously boasted that it would kill any player that exited Silverwing Town''s gates, yet these players had run with their tails between their legs. This choice certainly dragged the legion''s reputation through the mud. Only the various major powers'' experts understood why the Mad Beast Legion had chosen to retreat. Unlike the general populace, they understood the implications of Fire Dance''s ability to kill an expert like Ink Rain so effortlessly. Numbers wouldn''t matter before a player like Fire Dance; sending in any number of experts that were weaker than Ink Rain would be futile. She could slay those experts as easily as killing low-level monsters. Fire Dance''s destructive power on a battlefield was akin to a strategic missile. Even if Fire Dance had activated a Berserk Skill and her peerless strength had a time limit, she could end countless players'' lives in that time. Furthermore, she could simply retreat to Silverwing Town before the Skill''s duration ended, and the Mad Beast Legion wouldn''t be able to touch her. After waiting for the Cooldown to end, she could repeat the process. The legion would only continue to suffer if it insisted on standing its ground. Hence, cutting their losses and retreating was the wisest decision Starlink''s players could make. "I really hadn''t expected Zero Wing to have such a trump card remaining. Starlink will likely find it more difficult to cut off Silverwing Town, now." "That''s right. Unless Starlink has a player that can contend with Fire Dance, it''d only be asking for trouble by trying to suppress the town." The strength Fire Dance had displayed even deterred the various major powers for a time. They abandoned their original plans to interfere with Zero Wing''s profits. Setting aside the invincible monster that was Fire Dance, they couldn''t afford to provoke Cola and Zero Wing''s other main force members. At the same time, these powers realized how important expert players truly were to a Guild. With enough strength, a single player could defend an entire town. After this battle, the various major powers began to put more emphasis on nurturing their Guild experts. Most of the independent players in the town had also gained a new understanding of expert players. This battle had utterly altered their mindsets. In the past, experts'' usefulness had been limited to small-scale combat and Dungeon raids, but now, expert players had proven that they could influence a town''s prosperity. Meanwhile, Yan Tianxing and the others, who stood behind Fire Dance, could not help their elation after the battle. Not only had this battle restored confidence to Zero Wing''s members, but it had also broken Starlink''s hold on Zero Wing in neutral maps. Zero Wing no longer had to worry about suppression from other powers. "She had actually hidden her strength during the Auction Arena?" Yi Luofei stared at the Mad Beast Legion corpses strewn around Fire Dance in shock. She had assumed that the addition of the FFF adventurer team would be a great help to Zero Wing. As far as she was concerned, aside from Shi Feng, Zero Wing didn''t have any capable experts. Fire Dance and the others'' combat standards weren''t particularly high; they only relied on their weapons and equipment to defeat superpowers'' peak experts. However, this advantage would only become less significant as players progressed further in the game. On the other hand, she and Yan Tianxing were different. They were bona fide peak experts. Not even superpowers could afford to underestimate them, and they''d be far more of an asset to Zero Wing than Fire Dance and her companions. However, it seemed that she had been severely mistaken. As she looked at Fire Dance, Yi Luofei got the feeling that she should do everything in her power to avoid becoming this woman''s enemy. In Yi Luofei''s opinion, Fire Dance might even be stronger than Shi Feng. The female Assassin had killed a monster like Ink Rain so easily, after all, and she hadn''t even used a single Skill during the exchange. "Zero Wing really is unfathomable," Yan Tianxing said, a bitter smile forming on his face. "However, this definitely means that I won''t have to listen to Lotus''s mocking anymore." Lotus had visited him multiple times, trying to persuade him to leave a hopeless Guild like Zero Wing while the Mad Beast Legion had harassed Silverwing Town. However, with the strength Zero Wing had just displayed, Lotus wouldn''t likely have anything else to say. Once the Mad Beast Legion had retreated, news of the events quickly reached God''s Domain''s various powers. The game''s superpowers were particularly interested in the battle. Starlink had been very serious about eliminating Zero Wing from the game, even taking more measures to prevent Unyielding Soul from sending reinforcements. However, despite the superpower''s wrath, Zero Wing had successfully defended Silverwing Town, and Starlink had suffered a minor loss. The outcome was truly unexpected. However, the various superpowers recognized that Zero Wing had reached its limit. Although Zero Wing had indeed defended Silverwing Town and its reputation, it hadn''t resolved its predicament of being unable to develop in neutral maps. God''s Domain''s future was already clear for everyone to see. Those who ruled the game''s neutral maps would rule the game. If Zero Wing lost the ability to develop in neutral maps, it would never realize its dream of becoming a superpower. Moreover, Starlink still suppressed Zero Wing financially, chipping away at the Guild''s funds and resources. Zero Wing couldn''t survive long under Starlink''s financial assault with its foundations. The various major powers developing in neutral maps knew this, and although Zero Wing''s strength was awe-inspiring, they weren''t afraid of the Guild. The various major powers continued to contest for the territory and resources Zero Wing had left behind. Only independent players remained ignorant of Zero Wing''s unchanged fate, eagerly applying to join the Guild. When news of Zero Wing''s latest victory reached Star-Moon Kingdom, even more players rushed to join its ranks. Youlan, who was responsible for managing the Guild''s affairs, didn''t know whether to laugh or cry. The growing interest to join Zero Wing was certainly a benefit, but the increased member count would elevate the Guild''s expenditures. Normally, Youlan wouldn''t have minded a sudden influx, but Starlink was trying to suppress Zero Wing in various aspects. Keeping the Guild afloat was already incredibly difficult. New members would only exacerbate the problem. "Guild Leader, are you sure we should let these players join Zero Wing? Our current funds are already..." Youlan gave Shi Feng a confused look when he told her to accept the new applicants. "Of course. A Guild cannot need players if it wants to develop further. Moreover, if we refuse to accept applicants, the Guild''s reputation will suffer," Shi Feng said, nodding. "But our funds..." Youlan whined. "Relax. We''ll receive the funding we need shortly," Shi Feng said as he gazed at the City Hall before him. "We''ll see who outlasts whom!" He had been worried about Starlink''s suppression before he had killed the Lord of Fire, but now, he wasn''t concerned about the superpower''s aggression in the least. As long as he connected White River City and Stone Forest Town''s Auction Houses, he could just sit back and count his money. After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call and entered White River City''s City Hall. 2129 Inferior Legendary Quest Reward Chapter 2129 - Inferior Legendary Quest Reward White River City, City Hall: Why are so many people here? As Shi Feng entered the building, he noticed a large number of independent players in the first-floor hall. Many of them were engaged in conversations with the NPC administrators, and quite a few stood in line before the Deed counter. Without exception, every player wore an excited expression. The venue was just as lively as a popular trading firm. The only difference was the lack of experts, replaced by extravagantly-dressed merchant players. "Damn it! I''m too late. I hurried from Black Dragon City, but White River City''s advanced rooms have already sold out!" "I know, right? I''ve heard that the advanced rooms sold out about half an hour ago. Only basic rooms are left." "I wonder when White River City will start selling VIP rooms?" "VIP rooms? I doubt many players will be able to afford them even if the system does sell them to players." "Even if people can afford the VIP rooms, they won''t buy them in White River City. This is only a kingdom''s NPC city. At best, White River City''s VIP rooms will rival advanced rooms in empires. Why waste money on a VIP room in White River City when you could buy two advanced rooms in an empire?" "Indeed. Recently, I''ve heard that Starlink has invested more funds into suppressing Zero Wing. Moreover, it has been purchasing specialty materials at high prices in Star-Moon City''s Auction House. As a result, it''s lured many players to sell their items there. Fewer and fewer players have been willing to conduct their business in White River City''s Auction House as of late." The players observing the situation in the hall quietly discussed the current affairs. When Shi Feng overheard them, he realized why so many players had come to the City Hall. Shortly after the first Auction Arena ended in his previous life, the system had launched the Auction House rooms. These rooms had become quite popular among independent players. Not only could players rest in these rooms, but the rooms also granted plenty of benefits. Item storage was one of these benefits. Players could use their rooms as private warehouses to store more items. They would no longer have to rent warehouses from the bank. The rooms'' teleportation feature was the second benefit. Regardless of where a player was, they could use the teleportation stone the Auction House rooms granted to travel to their room at no cost. The only downside was the relatively long Cooldown and the fact that the teleportation stones couldnt be used as freely as being able to use an Auction House room as an additional teleportation point was quite a valuable feature for independent players. Naturally, the ability to sell and purchase items was yet another benefit. Owning an Auction House room granted a player access to the Auction House interface, allowing them to conduct their business from the privacy of their room. They wouldn''t need to deal with the crowded hall. The fourth and most important benefit was the free access to the Auction House''s Advanced Auction. Unlike players without their own rooms, they wouldn''t have to fulfill the participation qualifications and compete for the limited number of entry tickets available. Because of these four benefits, independent players had eagerly fought for Auction House rooms. Naturally, powers that controlled NPC Auction Houses also benefited from the Auction House rooms. As they sold more rooms, these powers would receive a higher percentage of the revenue shares. However, Auction House rooms were not cheap, and players could only purchase a room on a monthly basis. Hence, the number of rooms an Auction House sold depended on the managing power''s abilities. If the powers'' NPC Auction Houses prospered, more buyers would be attracted to the Auction Houses'' rooms. Because of this, the powers that ruled over an NPC Auction House took their management role quite seriously. Some had even done anything to improve their NPC Auction Houses'' business in the past, easily raking in as much profit as multiple ordinary Auction Houses. Of course, doing so came with a huge risk. An NPC Auction House''s management wasn''t set in stone, and on f the off chance that the managing power lost the next Auction Arena, all of their hard work would only benefit someone else. Since White River City''s first Auction Arena was over, independent players had begun to contest for the Auction House''s rooms. Only, there weren''t as many players here as Shi Feng had expected. Shi Feng still remembered when Star-Moon City''s Auction House rooms had become available for purchase in the past. Pure insanity had reigned in the city''s City Hall, and the system had even held an auction for the rooms due to the number of interested buyers. By the end of the auction, both the advanced and the basic rooms had completely sold out. The number of players interested in White River City''s Auction House rooms was pitiful in comparison. But Shi Feng also understood. Zero Wing had multiple superpower enemies, and Starlink was still insistent on suppressing his Guild''s finances. It was natural for players to be concerned about the stability of the city''s Auction House. As a result, only the most valuable advanced rooms had sold out. Barely anyone was interested in the basic rooms. Starlink has certainly moved quickly. As he looked at the hesitant crowd, Shi Feng couldn''t help his astonishment over Starlink''s actions. At this point, the superpower was doing everything it could to decimate Zero Wing''s finances. While Shi Feng was mired in his own thoughts, an NPC senior administrator approached and led him to meet Weissman in the study. When Shi Feng arrived, he found Weissman reading an ancient tome; it was the same scene he had witnessed during his previous visit. The NPC''s aura was undetectable. Anyone unfamiliar with the NPC would find it hard to believe that this man was, in fact, a Tier 5 Grand Wizard. Quickly, Shi Feng handed Weissman 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal and the Hero Crusade Quest Certificate. You really are a surprising adventurer. I hadn''t thought that you''d complete the requirements so soon. It''s no wonder why Sharlyn values you so much," Weissman said, looking at Shi Feng with a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Seeing this reaction, it was hard to believe that Weissman was actually an NPC. He seemed more like an average, friendly elder. "Here is the Proof of Release you need. I hope it will help you progress!" As soon as Weissman handed Shi Feng a roll of parchment, the sounds of a series of system notifications reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Inferior Legendary Quest, "Road to Prosperity." Rewarding one Proof of Release for White River City''s Auction House, two Level increases, Legacy Skill Points +5, and Free Mastery Points +20. Shi Feng instantly leveled from 74 to 76, but rather than spend the Legacy Skill Points he had just received recklessly like most players with a hidden class, he chose to save them. First, he didn''t currently need any additional Skills. He was already quite strong, six levels higher than Fire Dance and the other main force members, who were already far above God''s Domain''s top-leveled players. Second, Tier 2 was merely a transition period for players. The game became truly challenging once players reached Tier 3, and Legacy Skill Points would become far more difficult to acquire. If players spent their Legacy Skill Points recklessly for a brief boost to their strength, they''d pay for it later in the game. Many experts had regretted their rushed decisions during Shi Feng''s previous life. System: You have completed the Road to Prosperity. You may choose between a Peak Construction Design and a Gold Town Promotion Order as a bonus reward. You have five minutes to decide. 2130 Silver Auction House Certificate Chapter 2130 - Silver Auction House Certificate As soon as the system notification ended, a light-blue selection window popped up before Shi Feng. Despite his multitude of experiences, when Shi Feng saw the two options the window displayed, he could not help but grow excited. God''s Domain''s current players might realize that the Peak Construction Design and Cold Town Promotion Order were amazing items, but they likely didn''t know how important these items were. Not even the various superpowers would recognize their true value. Of course, Shi Feng knew. Both items had been capable of changing a power''s fate during his previous life, and superpowers were no exception. The Peak Construction Design might not seem like much as it only allowed one to construct a single building, but a Guild City required a Peak Construction to qualify for its promotion to Main City rank. Even a major NPC city like White River City was only Advanced rank, a step away from reaching a Main City''s standard. Star-Moon City was the only NPC Main City in the kingdom. Meanwhile, a Main City could serve as a Guild''s foundation. Superpowers had paid astronomical sums to capture a first-rate Guild''s Main City even after a decade in God''s Domain. If not for the existence of Main Cities, the various superpowers would''ve snuffed out all first-rate Guilds and stolen their territories. Hence, a Guild had only been considered first-rate once it had acquired a Main City during Shi Feng''s previous life. In the past, a Peak Construction Design had even been worth more than an ordinary Fragmented Legendary item. When one had appeared on the market, the various major powers hadn''t hesitated to offer their Fragmented Legendary items in exchange. The Gold Town Promotion Order was only slightly less valuable than the Peak Construction Design. It could only promote an Advanced Town into a Basic City. However, the two items were equally valuable right now. Players were getting closer to qualifying for their Tier 3 promotions, and without a Guild City as a base in Level 100 neutral maps, completing the Promotion quest would be quite difficult. Unfortunately, upgrading an Advanced Town into a Basic City wasn''t easy and required a lot of time. Even after players had reached Level 100 in the past, very few superpowers had commanded a Guild City, not to mention lesser organizations. If Zero Wing secured an additional Guild City before players reached such a high level, the Guild would gain unimaginable benefits. Let''s go with the Gold Town Promotion Order. After hesitating for a long moment, Shi Feng chose the promotion order. Although a Main City was unshakable to any below Tier 5, the amount of time a Guild needed to prepare its Guild City for the promotion was no laughing matter. Furthermore, with Zero Wing''s current predicament, the Guild would be eliminated before it could successfully acquire a Main City. On the other hand, the Gold Town Promotion Order could instantly provide an additional safeguard. After obtaining the Gold Town Promotion Order, Shi Feng immediately made his way toward White River City''s Auction House. Now that he had the Auction House''s Proof of Release, the NPC Auction House could finally fulfill its potential. The thought alone excited Shi Feng. White River City''s Auction House was already connected to the Auction Houses in the several neighboring NPC cities. In total, more than 15,000,000 players had access to the Auction House. Now, the items these players sold through the NPC Auction Houses would show up in Stone Forest Town''s Auction House. This was akin to adding another 15,000,000 players to Stone Forest Town''s population. Moreover, items sold in Stone Forest Town''s Auction House would appear in White River City''s Auction House, which would greatly increase the latter''s competitive edge. With the two Auction Houses complementing each other, their development speed and income would easily surpass that of the Guild Auction Houses and NPC Auction Houses the various superpowers ran. However, shortly after Shi Feng entered the crowded Auction House of White River City, Aqua Rose called him. When the call connected, the system revealed her flustered expression. "Has something happened in the Guild?" Shi Feng asked. Fire Dance''s team had just chased away the Mad Beast Legion that had been interfering with Silverwing Town. Starlink would likely need some time to prepare if it wanted to remount its assault on the town. Dealing with Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom should prove even more challenging for the superpower. Even a fool would know the benefits the 1-star Honorary Guild title provided. Unless Starlink had gone mad, it would never attempt to start an actual war with Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom. "No, it''s the Dark Night Empire! Something major has happened there!" Aqua Rose hurriedly reported. "I''ve just received news that Starlink has dealt a heavy blow to Unyielding Soul during its attempt to capture the Buried Bones Fortress. Half of Unyielding Soul''s Guild experts were killed in the ambush. Unyielding Soul will likely have a lot of trouble just trying to set foot in the Ancient Undead Country, now. After this, Starlink will likely try to eliminate the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers to ensure that no one ever dares to question it in the empire. The Hundred Flowers Palace''s several allies have publicly severed their relationship with the Palace over this." Three superpowers fought for supremacy in the Dark Night Empire. Although Starlink had gained a massive advantage after securing Dark Night City''s Auction House, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor were still capable of fighting Starlink in the empire''s other locations. Although the empire''s major powers were in awe of Starlink''s strength, they had no qualms about carrying out covert operations. Overall, the various major powers still had plenty of living space in the empire. However, now that Unyielding Soul had taken such a severe blow and lost a significant portion of its combat power, it was at its limit as it tried to stay afloat. Unyielding Soul couldn''t pin down Starlink any longer. As for Crimson Emperor, the Guild''s attitude toward Starlink had always been lukewarm. Crimson Emperor only supported Unyielding Soul on the surface; it wouldn''t attempt to stand against Starlink for the other Guild. After this victory, Starlink would try to solidify its position in the empire. Zero Wing''s Shops and its partnership with the Hundred Flowers Palace would likely go down the drain. Once Starlink''s position was unshakable, the Guild could afford to dispatch even more of its members to harass Zero Wing. A large part of the reason that Zero Wing had resisted Starlink''s forces in the Ore Empire thus far was the help Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor unwittingly provided by pinning the superpower down in the Dark Night Empire. Without them, Starlink would''ve likely taken Silverwing Town by now. As expected of Starlink. It wounded Unyielding Soul even while fighting on two fronts. Shi Feng could not help but lament at Starlink''s foundations. Although Shi Feng had known that Starlink had the Starline Corporation''s support and had developed rapidly in the past, he hadnt thought that the Guild would be this strong. It was no wonder why the Secret Pavilion had allowed Starlink to become an advanced member in the Secret Chamber of Commerce. "What should we do now, Guild Leader? We''ve expended a lot of effort to gain a foothold in the Dark Night Empire. Should we give it up?" Aqua Rose asked. Starlink hadn''t begun to clean up the Dark Night Empire just yet. If they took advantage of this opportunity to sell off their Shops and resources in the empire, they should be able to get a high price. If they waited until Starlink took action, however, they''d likely get nothing for these Shops and resources. On the contrary, they might take a loss. "No! This is a good opportunity. I''m sure plenty of powers are trying to sell their properties and cut their losses in the empire. Send someone to negotiate with them. If the price is suitable, we''ll take their assets off their hands," Shi Feng said, smiling as he shook his head. By now, the most strategic Lands in God''s Domain''s various kingdoms and empires had already been claimed. Purchasing these plots for anything less than an exorbitant amount was practically impossible. Unlike the various superpowers, Zero Wing had started with nothing in God''s Domain. Now that Starlink was trying to solidify its position in the empire. This was the perfect opportunity for Zero Wing to expand its influence. "This..." Shi Feng''s decision stunned Aqua Rose. The Dark Night Empire''s powers were trying desperately to flee, yet Shi Feng wanted to rush headlong into the empire. Although his plan could yield tremendous profits for Zero Wing, the risk was just as great. "Go negotiate for now. Starlink might be powerful, but Zero Wing is no pushover!" Shi Feng said earnestly. "Understood." Aqua Rose nodded. One could only hope to become rich by taking risks. If Shi Feng''s plan succeeded, Zero Wing''s development would reach a whole new level. Star-Moon Kingdom was, after all, only a kingdom; it was no match for an empire. By the time Shi Feng had finished his conversation with Aqua Rose, he had arrived on the top-floor hall of White River City''s Auction House. "Lord Protector, how may I be of service?" Hope, the Auction House''s senior administrator, respectfully asked as he approached Shi Feng. "I wish to connect White River City and Stone Forest Town''s Auction Houses. I have this certificate from Lord Weissman," Shi Feng said as he handed the Proof of Release to Hope. After a moment of surprise, Hope carefully inspected the parchment. "This is indeed a certificate signed by Lord Weissman," Hope said with even greater respect. "My lord, please wait here for a moment. I''ll take care of the necessary procedures right away." Shi Feng nodded. This wasn''t his first time doing something like this. The Auction Houses in question operated through different systems. Connecting the two would take some time, which would depend on the Auction Houses'' standards and resources. Hope finally returned to the top-floor hall over half an hour later. He then handed Shi Feng an ancient token and said, "My lord, this is the management certificate for the two Auction Houses'' warehouses. The two Auction Houses are now linked. You may use this certificate to open either Auction House''s warehouse at any time." A Silver Auction House Certificate? Shi Feng stared at the silver token in his hand, stunned. Normally, players only received the Bronze rank certificate for initiating a link between a player Auction House and an NPC Auction House. With a Bronze Auction House Certificate, the two Auction Houses could share merchandise, and players could claim a certain percentage of the generated revenue. As the Auction Houses shared more transactions, not only would their development accelerate, but the Auction House Certificate would also improve, granting its owner better benefits. But to Shi Feng''s surprise, he had received a Silver Auction House Certificate for connecting one NPC Auction House to one player Auction House. He had never heard of something like this happening in the past. He hadn''t even been able to upgrade his Auction House Certificate to Silver rank in his previous life. And yet, in this life, he had secured one so quickly... 2131 Auction House Opening Chapter 2131 - Auction House Opening Shi Feng stared at the stone token in his hand, deep in thought. Could this be the reward for being the first person to link an NPC Auction House? The Silver Auction House Certificate had been a rare sight among first-rate Guilds in the past. It was easy to imagine how difficult it was to upgrade a Bronze Auction House Certificat to Silver rank. Aside from a bonus reward, Shi Feng couldn''t think of any other possibilities for this unexpected boon. After considering the matter for some time, Shi Feng decided to stop worrying about it. Instead, he tapped on the certificate and inspected its Attribute Panel. [Auction House Certificate] (Silver Rank) Token to manage Auction Houses. Can be used to move the resources available in owned Auction Houses. Can be used to collect 15% revenue from owned NPC Auction Houses. Increases NPC Auction Houses'' popularity by 30%. Amazing! It''s so much better than a Bronze Certificate! It''s no wonder Auction Houses with a Silver Certificate had grown so rapidly in the past! Shi Feng was ecstatic after reading the certificate''s information. The Bronze Auction House Certificate only granted players 10% of an NPC Auction House''s revenue. This referred to the processing fees charged when players used the Auction House''s services. There was simply no comparison to a player-built Auction House, which allowed players to collect 100% of the Auction House''s revenue. However, since far more players used NPC Auction Houses than those who used the player-built versions, 10% was an exceptional amount of money. Meanwhile, the Silver Auction House Certificate provided an additional 5% of profits. This was equivalent to obtaining half the management rights to a second NPC Auction House. The Silver Certificate also increased the NPC Auction House''s popularity by 30%. This was akin to a 30% increase to the Auction House''s promotion speed, an effect the Bronze Certificate didn''t offer at all. As NPC Auction Houses developed, they became larger and more extravagant. They would also gain more Auction House Rooms for sale, which would drastically increase the Auction House''s profits. Most importantly, Auction House Certificates weren''t the same as the NPC Auction Houses themselves. While an NPC Auction House could acquire new owners, Auction House Certificates could not. The certificates were considered personal possessions. Even if a player lost their original NPC Auction House and won another, they would enjoy the benefits the Silver Certificate provided through their new Auction House. If the various superpowers find out that Zero Wing has this, they''ll likely do everything they can to take White River City''s Auction House from us in the next Auction Arena, Shi Feng thought to himself as he smiled. As time passed and White River City''s Auction House continued to develop, the profits the Auction House generated would increase. Eventually, this city''s Auction House could earn more than two NPC Auction Houses in other cities. So far, most superpowers had only secured two NPC Auction Houses. If Zero Wing could win another in the future, it could earn the income of three and a half NPC Auction Houses. At that time, Zero Wing''s financial prowess would even be considered above average among superpowers. Furthermore, Zero Wing could link its NPC Auction Houses to its Guild Auction Houses. Even superpowers would have to think twice before trying to compete with Zero Wing''s financial strength. Shi Feng then left White River City''s Auction House and made his way to Stone Forest Town. Although he had already obtained the Auction House Certificate, he physically needed to visit each to use the certificate, linking them. Stoneclaw Mountains, Stone Forest Town: As Shi Feng walked down the town''s main street, he could see how much the town had begun to decline. Aside from new players, very few experts and merchant players roamed the town. When Stone Forest Town had been at its peak, it had housed more than 800,000 players. Now, there might not even be 300,000 players in the town. Moreover, Stone Forest Town had only been an Intermediate Town during its glory days. It was now an Advanced Town and occupied several times the space, yet it had slightly more than one-third of its player population during its heyday. This made the town''s look even bleaker. Even the superpowers who had wanted to lay claim to the town, had lost interest. The only reason that Stone Forest Town still attracted players was its Advanced Auction House and Battle Arena. If Zero Wing City''s Battle Arena hadn''t been so crowded, there wouldn''t be so many players visiting Stone Forest Town now. After a short moment, Shi Feng arrived before the Zero Wing Auction House. As he entered the building, He noticed that only a small number of players conducted business in the hall. Moreover, these players were under Level 50, with most only around Level 30. They were pitifully weak compared to mainstream players, who had already reached Level 60. If Stone Forest Town weren''t located next to the Stoneclaw Mountains and had an Advanced Auction House, not even these players would waste their time here... By now, there were a plethora of low-level grinding spots available, since most players had outgrown these maps. Low- level players could also find an expert to power-level them in high-level maps. Obtaining top-tier, low-level weapons and equipment wasn''t a concern anymore, either. Players simply had no reason to grind in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Some players might still value the Magic Crystals the Regional Dungeon produced, but players past Level 50 couldn''t actually enter the Dungeon anymore. High-level experts couldn''t power-level their low-level comrades in the Dungeon, either. Naturally, there was a qualitative difference between a player''s leveling speed when they had an expert''s assistance and the leveling speed of a player without such help. By abandoning their chance to catch up to the frontline players to grind for Magic Crystals, players were placing the cart before the horse. After all, high-level maps had far more opportunities and resources available. Of course, there were bound to be exceptions. For example, Workshops and Guilds'' money-farming teams would gladly grind in the Stoneclaw Mountains. Magic Crystals would always be sought after in God''s Domain, regardless of players'' levels. Even Zero Wing had sent its low-level members to grind in the Stoneclaw Mountains for Magic Crystals in exchange for GCPs. Glancing at the players in the hall, Shi Feng made his way to the staircase in the corner and proceeded to the Auction House''s top-floor. This was also where the Auction House''s warehouse was located. After entering the warehouse, Shi Feng took the Auction House Certificate from his bag and started chanting an incantation. As he did, the magic arrays on the ground lit up with a silver glow as they resonated with the Auction House Certificate in Shi Feng''s hand. When he had finally finished the chant, a set of doors appeared in the middle of the warehouse. The doors were made entirely out of Black Luminaries Stone, and they led to the warehouse in White River City''s Auction House. Shortly after, the doors parted, and a group of well-armed NPC soldiers emerged. They were all Level 180, and their leader was a Level 180, Tier 3 Knight. NPC administrators from White River City''s Auction House then followed, flooding into the warehouse. When the parade of NPCs ended, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: The setup for Zero Wing Auction House''s teleportation array is complete. Do you wish to open the shared warehouse now? After calming himself down, Shi Feng said, "Open!" Suddenly, the Auction House interfaces for the Zero Wing Auction House and the White River City Auction House changed, giving visiting players access to items from both sources. 2132 Popular Stone Forest Town Chapter 2132 - Popular Stone Forest Town Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing Auction House: "Brother Qi, our luck is insane today! We got more than 20 Magic Crystals!" a Level 42 Elementalist, who had just entered the Auction House, exclaimed to the Level 44 Shield Warrior beside him. "If we can keep this up for two more days, buying that Level 45 Mad Rage Set will be a piece of cake!" "We certainly did get lucky today. I hadn''t expected to collect so many Magic Crystals. Even if we''re not particularly lucky in the next few days, we''ll still have enough saved up for that set in four or five days," the Level 44 Shield Warrior said, nodding. When the Shield Warrior spoke of the Mad Rage Set, desire burned in his gaze. Currently, he wore mismatched pieces of Level 40 Fine-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, the Mad Rage Set was a Level 45 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. The only way he could get his hands on the set was to offer the various Guilds Magic Crystals in exchange. However, once he got it, his HP, Strength, and Defense would undergo a qualitative transformation. With adequate support, he should even be able to tank a Level 55 Great Lord. "Brother Qi, once you get the set, our party will level up so much faster. I can''t wait to see if that bastard, Luoyang, dares to show off again," the Level 42 Elementalist said excitedly. Luoyang was their classmate, and although they had joined the game at the same time, he had gotten into a Level 50- plus party. With his party''s help, Luoyang had leveled rapidly in neutral maps. He was already Level 47, while they hadn''t even reached Level 45. As a result, Luoyang had been bragging about how wonderful neutral maps were in class over the last few days, and the sight irritated them. Unfortunately, they had no choice but to grind for EXP and Magic Crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains. An MT was the most important player in a party. With a strong MT, the party could even grind in higher-leveled maps. Hence, they strove to purchase the Mad Rage Set so their party could travel to Level 55 neutral maps. "Relax. With how good our luck was today, we should use this opportunity. Once we replenish our Magic Scrolls, we''ll go back out for another round of grinding," the Level 44 Shield Warrior said eagerly. Following which, the Elementalist and Shield Warrior found seats before calling up the Auction House''s interface to browse through the available items. "Crap! Since when has the Zero Wing Auction House had so many Magic Scrolls for sale?!" the Level 44 Shield Warrior exclaimed when he saw his search results. Normally, they only had a few types of scrolls to choose from when shopping for Tier 1 Magic Scrolls in the Zero Wing Auction House, and only a pitiful number was available. Higher-tiered scrolls were basically non-existent. Mainstream players didn''t linger in maps below Level 50, after all. There simply weren''t any players that could sell high-tiered Magic Scrolls in the Zero Wing Auction House. Of course, the Guild had an Auction House in Zero Wing City as well, and travel between Zero Wing City and Star- Moon City was quite convenient. To get the best price, players generally sold their Magic Scrolls in Star-Moon City''s Auction House or set up stalls in Zero Wing City. Very few sold their scrolls in the Guild''s Auction House. As a result, Stone Forest Town''s Auction House barely had any Magic Scrolls. Now, however, Stone Forest Town''s Auction House even had super-rare Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. Practically every type of Tier 1 Magic Scroll was available, as well... "Am I dreaming? Someone''s even selling Level 45 Dark-Gold Equipment in the Zero Wing Auction House!" the Level 42 Elementalist exclaimed. The Zero Wing Auction House was only a Guild Auction House, and not many players chose to sell their items through it. Trying to buy low-level, top-tier equipment though a Guild Auction House was difficult, and it was hard to find a large Guild that was willing to sell such items. Most of the large Guilds held on to the items for their new members. Thus, such weapons and equipment were even rare in NPC Auction Houses, much less Guild Auction Houses. To make matters worse, their party''s grinding spots were so far from NPC cities that travel back and forth was quite inconvenient. Hence, they only returned to NPC cities every once in a while. As a result, they had a harder time encountering such opportunities. Now, however, the Zero Wing Auction House had low-level, top-tier weapons and equipment for sale. Why wouldn''t they be shocked? The Elementalist and Shield Warrior duo weren''t the only players to discover this anomaly. Every player conducting business in the Zero Wing Auction House soon noticed the change and was shocked. The wide array of items available in this Auction House even surpassed the Auction Houses in ordinary NPC cities. "With how well-stocked this place is, we won''t have to return to Star-Moon City anymore! We can stay in Stone Forest Town until we level past 50!" the Level 44 Shield Warrior ecstatically realized. "We can definitely level faster than that bastard, Luoyang!" Although neutral maps'' monsters granted a lot of EXP, players needed time to travel to these maps. The occasional trip their party made to Star-Moon City to resupply took up a lot of time, as well. However, now that they buy any of the items they needed in Stone Forest Town, their leveling speed in the Stoneclaw Mountains could potentially become even faster than grinding in a neutral map. "Brother Qi, quick, look! There''s a Level 45 Dark-Gold Shield here! If we can get that and the Mad Rage Set, we''ll be able to hunt Level 50 Grand Lords once you hit Level 45!" the Level 42 Elementalist shouted hurriedly. "What an awesome shield! It can increase my Defense by at least 20%, and I can probably use it even after I reach Level 50," the Shield Warrior said, panting a little in excitement as he inspected the shield''s Attribute Panel. The uproar that occurred in the Zero Wing Auction House soon spread throughout Stone Forest Town. Players who were under Level 50 and planned to leave the town quickly changed their minds. They all decided to move to another leveling spot only after they reached Level 50. When the kingdom''s players between Level 30 and 49 heard the news, they made a beeline for Stone Forest Town. Suddenly, the desolate town brimmed with life. Naturally, business in the Zero Wing Auction House also boomed. In the 30 minutes after Shi Feng had connected the Auction Houses in White River City and Stone Forest Town, he had earned more than 100 Gold from the profits. Due to the Zero Wing Auction House''s sudden boom, players that had consigned items to White River City''s Auction House watched them sell like hotcakes. As a result, they began to transfer more of their stock to White River City''s Auction House, taking advantage of this sudden development. White River City''s Auction House was suddenly so popular that Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers were confused. They all wondered what Zero Wing had done to make White River City''s Auction House so popular. It was now even more popular than Star-Moon City''s Auction House, which was backed by Starlink. When Zero Wing''s members heard the news, it rekindled their hopes. After all, their Guild''s prosperity was linked with White River City''s. Youlan, who was responsible for managing Zero Wing''s financial affairs, was flabbergasted. White River City''s Auction House had been on a decline a moment ago, but now, players rushed toward it from all over the kingdom, determined to sell their items. The income White River City''s Auction House generated had already more than doubled. At this rate, Zero Wing could likely function normally by relying on the income from Zero Wing City and White River City''s Auction House. There no longer needed to worry about lacking funds. However, as far as Shi Feng was concerned, this was only the beginning. "Guild Leader, I''ve negotiated with the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers. All that''s left is finalizing the deal with a contract," Aqua Rose said. Worriedly, she continued, "In total, we''ve negotiated for 45 Shops that are either in cities'' central area or have high potential. They''re all within the empire''s top-ten cities. Purchasing them all will cost a total of 1.6 million Gold. I''m afraid that we can''t afford that. Moreover, these powers want the full payment within a month..." "One-point-six million? Finalize the deals!" Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. On average, each Shop cost about 20,000 Gold. If not for the threat of Starlink, securing these strategic Shops for such a low price would''ve been impossible. "Finalize the deal?" Seeing Shi Feng''s unwavering determination, Aqua Rose had no choice but to grit her teeth and take the risk. "I''ll get it done, then." In less than half an hour, the ownership of 45 Shops in the Dark Night Empire''s top-ten NPC cities had transferred to Zero Wing. Shortly after, news of the matter spread throughout the empire. 2133 Dark Night Empire Shaken Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: Unyielding Soul''s upper echelons sat with solemn expressions in their Guild Hall''s top-floor meeting room. The room was depressingly silent. The Guild''s core strength had taken severe damage in the battle at the Buried Bones Fortress. Now, the Guild was utterly powerless against Starlink in the contest for the Ancient Undead Country. Hence, the Guild Leader had called an emergency meeting to discuss Unyielding Soul''s next move. "Crimson Emperor has already withdrawn from the Ancient Undead Country. The Guild isn''t even willing to meet with our representatives. I''m afraid that we can no longer hope for its help," Mu Lingsha reported, frustrated. Starlink had relied on the fortress as an advantage for its development in the neutral map. To counter this problem, Unyielding Soul had secretly partnered with Crimson Emperor. Including the Stamina Gemstone supply from Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul had barely been able to withstand Starlink''s harassment. However, not only had Unyielding Soul suffered grievously, but Crimson Emperor had also withdrawn from their alliance. Now, Now, they had no way to contend with Starlink in the Ancient Undead Country. The Ancient Undead Country had far better resources than other neutral maps, and if Starlink were allowed to monopolize those resources, it would only be a matter of time before Unyielding Soul lost any foothold in the Dark Night Empire. "Zero Wing''s Stamina Gemstones and Exotic Stamina Potions are our only hope now. If we can get a large stock from the Guild, we''ll have enough strength to keep fighting. Players'' Stamina consumption is far higher than in any other neutral map, and so far, only experts have been able to survive in the area. That means that Starlink hasn''t been able to send a lot of players to explore the map. At least, it hasn''t been able to send enough to impact the situation between our Guilds," Unyielding Heart said after giving the matter some thought. Although the Ancient Undead Country was a fat piece of meat, ordinary players had no hope of surviving there due to the harsh environment and high-level requirements. At this point, only expert players stood a chance against its monsters. Although Unyielding Soul had suffered significant losses, the situation wasn''t irreparable. As long as Unyielding Soul had a Stamina recovery advantage, it could still farm the Ancient Undead Country for resources. "Zero Wing has already used all of the Stamina Gemstones and Exotic Stamina Potions in its stock to retaliate against Starlink in the Dark Night Empire. Asking for more might be..." Mu Lingsha said as she shook her head. How far you have fallen, Heart! Zero Wing is just some kingdom''s small Guild. How much do you really think it can accomplish in this situation? Zero Wing only dared to show itself in the empire because of our Guild and Crimson Emperor. Now that we''ve taken so much damage, such an insignificant Guild will do everything it can to avoid the Dark Night Empire. Do you really think Zero Wing would willingly work to help us?" a golden-armored, Level 67 Guardian Knight named Soul Oath criticized. "I told you that we should''ve moved to another location when Starlink had still been growing, but you insisted that we should partner with Zero Wing to stand against the superpower to the bitter end. Look at where your decision has gotten us!" As Soul Oath''s words echoed through the room, everyone fell silent. Soul Oath was right. If Unyielding Soul had conquered several other kingdoms as soon as Starlink had claimed Dark Night City''s Auction House, the Guild''s development might have slowed, but it would''ve been in a better position than it was now. "Enough!" Silent Soul, Unyielding Soul''s current Guild Leader, abruptly shouted. "We are not here to lay blame! We are here to find a solution!" With Silent Soul''s reprimand, Soul Oath''s jaws clicked shut before he could criticize Unyielding Heart further. The Guild upper echelons nodded in agreement with their Guild Leader. The events had already taken place; now, they had to find a way to fix this issue. While these players ruminated over the Guild''s future, the meeting room''s doors swung open, and a Level 66, Tier 2 Assassin hurried inside. "What''s wrong?" Silent Soul demanded. "We''ve just received news that Zero Wing has purchased 45 Shops in the Dark Night Empire''s top-ten cities from the various major powers," the Assassin reported. "What did you say? Zero Wing purchased 45 Shops in the Dark Night Empire?" "But how?!" The Guild upper echelons were stunned by the news. "Are Zero Wing''s leaders stupid? Don''t they know that Starlink is already on its way to conquer the Ancient Undead Country and has begun to solidify its position and influence in the empire?" Soul Oath wondered incredulously. The Dark Night Empire''s major powers had been doing everything to escape the empire, yet Zero Wing eagerly picked up their territories as if Starlink didn''t matter in the least. For a moment, Soul Oath wondered if Zero Wing hadn''t heard that Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor had been rendered powerless against the domineering superpower. "Wonderful! Zero Wing hasn''t abandoned us!" Mu Lingsha could not contain her joy. Hearing Mu Lingsha''s unintentional comment, the Guild''s upper echelons shot Soul Oath a glance. He had called Unyielding Heart a fool for trusting a small Guild like Zero Wing, accusing the First Vice Guild Leader of dragging the Guild down with him, yet Zero Wing had stepped up to the plate without hesitation. It was no exaggeration to claim that Zero Wing had just declared war against Starlink in the Dark Night Empire. "It''s too early to celebrate! Zero Wing is still facing a financial crisis in Star-Moon Kingdom. This stunt in the empire will only drag it further into the jaws of death!" Soul Oath said, sneering. Unyielding Soul, who had been silent, fell deep into thought. What is Zero Wing trying to do? Although he was grateful that Zero Wing was still willing to help Unyielding Soul in this crucial moment, he had to admit that it seemed like a fool''s errand. The Dark Night Empire was Starlink''s home-ground. Declaring war against the superpower here was suicidal. Zero Wing''s latest disruption caused an uproar among the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers. None of them knew whether the small Guild was foolish or impressively brave. While they thought that Zero Wing''s decision was simply suicidal, the empire''s independent players disagreed. "Is Zero Wing starting a war against the empire''s overlord?" "I thought I''ve heard that Starlink has been suppressing Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom, and the Guild is barely holding on." "Amazing! Even Super Guilds think twice before provoking Starlink, yet not only has Zero Wing been harassing Starlink in the Dark Night City''s Auction House, but now, it has also purchased 45 Shops in the empire''s top-ten cities!" "Crap! Forty-five Shops in the top-ten cities? Is Zero Wing trying to become the empire''s fourth titan?" For a time, the Dark Night Empire''s independent players bubbled with excitement. They had all witnessed war between Guilds before, even between superpowers, but this was the first time any of them had seen a Guild without any background openly challenge a superpower. For a time, Zero Wing''s fame in the Dark Night Empire was unmatched due to its recent purchases. Many players even began to show interest in the Guild, expressing their desire to join Zero Wing''s ranks. While news of his exploits spread throughout the empire, Shi Feng took the Mana Stones he had synthesized to a border town in the Dark Night Empire. He then used the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport to the neutral map located closest to the Ancient Undead Country before mounting his Demonic Flame Tiger and riding toward his target. 2134 Ancient Undead Country Chapter 2134 - Ancient Undead Country The Ancient Undead Country was a cursed, ancient kingdom. It had been decimated during the Great Ancient War, becoming a land of death. Undead roamed the countryside, and none of the various kingdoms or empires wanted anything to do with the abandoned kingdom. However, despite its ruined state, the Ancient Undead Country still contained legacies the former kingdom had left behind and resources that had gone unexploited for tens of thousands of years. As a result, the neutral map had become a goldmine for outlaws. Unfortunately, the Ancient Undead Country was quite far from civilization. From the Dark Night Empire, the closest NPC-established map, a player would need more than a full day of mounted travel to reach the neutral map. After spending more than half an hour of repeated teleportation and mounted travel, Shi Feng finally reached the Ancient Undead Country''s border. Shi Feng didn''t hurry to enter the neutral map as he stood atop a plateau that overlooked the Ancient Undead Country. Taking a short break, he switched five of his Strength Gemstones for Stamina Gemstones and drank down an Exotic Stamina Potion. The Ancient Undead Country wasn''t like other neutral maps. Due to the war that had destroyed the former kingdom, the map was in a constant state of chaos. Not only was teleportation within the map impossible, but players'' Stamina was also at least 50% higher than in ordinary neutral maps. The kingdom''s terrain and monsters weren''t to be underestimated. Even players on Dark-Gold Mounts wouldn''t get very far if they weren''t careful. Normally, players would take the time to recover to their peak before entering the Ancient Undead Country, including Tier 2 peak experts. Only Tier 3 and above players had the strength to ignore most of the map''s dangers. No matter how many times I visit this place, it''s always breathtaking! Shi Feng thought as he gazed at the gigantic, barrier, bathed in darkness, before him. Occasionally, he spotted arcs of silver lightning flicker within the barrier. The Great Ancient War had happened tens of thousands of years ago, yet the aftermath lingered to this very day. The Ancient Gods'' power was truly unimaginable, far greater than any modern Tier 6 God. After about a ten-minute rest, Shi Feng had fully recovered from his travels. Not wanting to waste any time, he hopped back onto his Demonic Flame Tiger and rushed through the dark barrier. Although Zero Wing had acquired 45 Shops in the Dark Night Empire''s top cities, the debt it had accumulated to do so was large enough to make any first-rate Guild despair. One million, sixty thousand Gold! Even superpowers'' eyes would twitch at seeing so much Gold. If Zero Wing couldn''t clear the debt within a month, it would have to offer up Zero Wing City''s shares as collateral. Youlan had nearly lost it when she had heard of the transaction. Zero Wing was already having financial troubles and barely preserved its hold on Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, Shi Feng had taken out a debt that could crush an entire Guild. Spending that amount on so many excellent Shops would be a wonderful thing in other kingdoms and empires, but no major power dared to set foot in the Dark Night Empire right now. However, this was an excellent opportunity to further Zero Wing''s development in Shi Feng''s opinion. The Dark Night Empire was famed for its products, especially since it was connected with a city like the Sea of Trees. Even among the various empires on the God''s Domain continent, the Dark Night Empire had above average resources. Although Zero Wing had accepted the management rights to half of the Hundred Flowers Palace''s Shops in the empire, the partnership only allowed Zero Wing to sell its products in those Shops. Unfortunately, the Palace didn''t own that many Shops in the first place, so it was important that Zero Wing make room for itself in the empire''s market. If a Guild wanted to become a powerhouse in God''s Domain, it needed more than a large number of expert players; it also needed an astronomical amount of resources to support these experts'' growth. Relying on one kingdom''s resources simply wasn''t enough. Shi Feng had already considered developing his Guild past Star-Moon Kingdom''s borders and into the several neighboring kingdoms. With such a rare opportunity to do so before him, he couldn''t afford to play it safe. Although Zero Wing had indeed incurred a huge debt because of this investment, if Shi Feng could move Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss, collecting 1.06 million Gold within a month was doable. The Bottomless Abyss was, after all, quite attractive to God''s Domain''s various powers and players. The instant Shi Feng stepped through the barrier, he felt a powerful gravitational force pull on his body, and his senses dulled. At best, he could only exert 70% of his combat power in this state. After running through the map for about five minutes, he encountered an area full of Level 60-plus monsters. Most of these monsters were Undead, and although they were only Chieftain rank, with a smattering of Lords, these Undead had very high combat standards. An ordinary Tier 2 player would be fortunate if they could solo one of these Chieftains, and only Tier 2 experts stood a chance against the Lord ranked Undead in a one-on-one. A Tier 2 expert wouldn''t even have a hope against a Great Lord ranked Undead; defeating such monsters typically required a full 20-man team of Tier 2 experts at the very least. However, these powerful monsters weren''t the most troublesome aspect of the Ancient Undead Country. The countless traps that littered the map were far more dangerous. High-intellect Undead had set these traps, and if players accidentally fell into one, without the strength of a peak expert, their death was certain. Moreover, even peak experts had very little chance of survival if they fell into these traps. Of course, in exchange for the danger it offered, the Ancient Undead Country contained resources and treasures that were far beyond those in other maps. After just ten minutes, Shi Feng had encountered plenty of rare herbs and ores. He even found fragments of ancient equipment scattered across the ground. These ancient equipment fragments were remnants of the Great Ancient War, and although the corrosion of time had rendered them unusable, a powerful Death Energy had tainted the items after so long in this land. Hence, players could trade these equipment fragments for goods with the neutral map''s NPC residents. It was even possible to purchase Level 100 Fine-Gold Set Equipment with these fragments, although the price was extraordinarily high. Unfortunately, he couldn''t be bothered to clear out the monsters around these valuable resources; he was in a hurry. He avoided the monsters and continued toward the Bottomless Abyss. Since he had already reached Level 76, far higher than the Level 60-plus Undead roaming the map, the monsters didn''t harass him as he traveled through one region and into another. After more than six hours, Shi Feng finally reached the Psychedelic Forest, located in the Ancient Undead Country''s inner region. Most of the monsters here were around Level 67, and Great Lords were far more common. Even Level 70 Grand Lords made an appearance from time to time. This forest was certainly no place for ordinary experts. As Shi Feng walked along a forest path toward the Bottomless Abyss, which was located in the Ancient Undead Country''s core, he heard an explosion echo throughout the woods. Nearby, dazzling lights illuminated the gloomy sky, and as they disappeared, a furious roar shook the entire forest. A Boss? Shi Feng immediately jumped into a treetop and activated Omniscient Eyes. Visibility in the Ancient Undead Country was particularly poor. Players with normal vision couldn''t see further than 100 yards away, but Omniscient Eyes gave Shi Feng perfect vision, even past that range. If he focused on a direction, he could see up to 600 yards away, even in this area. Shi Feng quickly noticed two groups of players roughly 300 yards away. Both groups had surrounded a Level 69 Grand Lord, which attempted to protect a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Each group had 100 players, but instead of focusing on the Boss, they split their attention between the monster and the other team. Interesting. Despite being independent players, these guys are actually fighting Starlink over a Boss. Shi Feng was slightly surprised to see this. None of the players in one of the two groups wore Guild Emblems, while the other group bore Starlink''s. Normally, independent teams did their best to avoid Guild Teams, but these independent players didn''t seem to have that intention. Moreover, this independent team had fought Starlink''s players to a standstill. It was a rare sight in God''s Domain. Unable to help himself, Shi Feng smiled brightly as he boldly approached the two groups. If this independent team had fought any other Guild, he would''ve ignored them and continued toward the Bottomless Abyss. However, since they fought one of Starlink''s expert teams, just walking away without saying hello simply wouldn''t do as Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. 2135 Peak Legacy Forest Sain Chapter 2135 - Peak Legacy Forest Saint "Healers, stabilize the MTs'' HP. Melee unit, keep Starlink''s members away from our healers!" a purple-clad, Level 67 Cursemancer standing among the independent team commanded while swinging his blue, wooden staff, buffing his teammates. Like well-trained soldiers, the independent players followed the Cursemancer''s commands to the letter. Even if they faced imminent danger, they followed their orders. "Commander, Starlink''s offensive is too strong. The Boss still has 24% of its HP. I don''t think we''ll be able to outlast it," a woman expressed her concern as she eyed the Boss''s HP. In an exquisite, light-green dress, the woman looked like a fairy as she wielded her green cane. She wore a Tier 2 Class Insignia for Druids. Monsters in the Psychedelic Forest were quite strong, and to make matters worse, the forest''s Mana density was painfully low. Magical class players would only be able to exert half of their normal combat power here. Naturally, this affected healers, as well. Fighting one of this area''s Field Bosses was incredibly difficult, even more so when trying to fight one of Starlink''s expert teams. "I know! But if we hand them the Boss, we''ll have wasted our suppression scroll!" Late Autumn, the Cursemancer commander, said as he glanced at the silver-armored Berserker leading Starlink''s team. Gnashing his teeth, Late Autumn growled, "Moreover, Bright Dawn is leading this team. He''s a vicious bastard that kills any player he comes across. He has wiped out more than ten teams in the Ancient Undead Country thus far. He won''t just let us leave even if we retreat!" "I support the commander! We are Purple Shadow, one of the Dark Night Empire''s top-ten adventurer teams! If we''re going to lose this fight, we''ll make sure that no one gets this Boss!" Half Feather, a Level 66 Ranger guarding Late Autumn''s side, confidently declared. The rest of the team members nodded in agreement. The Dark Night Empire had countless adventurer teams, so competition was intense. Any adventurer team that could rank among the top 100 in the empire was powerful enough that even first-rate Guilds treated them with some respect. Ordinary third-rate Guilds wouldn''t even dare offend the empire''s top-100 adventurer teams. Every one of those teams was, without question, a peak adventurer team. Many first-rate Guilds would give anything to recruit them. Although the Purple Shadow adventurer team was no match for a superpower like Starlink, it was strong enough to challenge one of the superpower''s expert teams. "Commander, I don''t think our frontline can hold out against Starlink for much longer. Should I help them out?" Colorful Fruit, the female Druid, asked as she watched the enemy push back her team''s frontline. "I''ll help, too. I''m tired of attacking the Boss. I want to teach those Starlink bastards a lesson!" Half Feather roared. "Alright, but be careful. Starlink''s members aren''t pushovers," Late Autumn said after giving the matter some thought. Although their team hadn''t yet suffered any casualties, he knew Bright Dawn''s aim. The Berserker likely wanted to use their team to whittle down the Boss''s HP. Once the Boss''s HP was low enough for him, he''d join the fray and wipe out Purple Shadow''s healers. Without their healers, the rest of their team would fall. Colorful Fruit and Half Feather had the best chances of stopping Bright Dawn among the team. Both were, after all, experts that ranked among the top 20 of their respective classes within the Dark Night Empire. Colorful Fruit was particularly powerful within a forest. Although she was a Druid, a healer class, she had acquired a Peak Legacy called Forest Saint. The hidden class greatly enhanced her combat power whenever she stood in a forested area. "Understood!" Colorful Fruit and Half Feather replied before joining the PvP battle near the Boss. Both teams did their best to avoid sending too many players near the Boss''s perception range to avoid triggering a power boost for the monster. Hence, they restricted themselves somewhat while in combat. To be precise, the teams had only tested each other''s strength so far. Vice Guild Leader, the Boss has less than 20% of its HP now," a Level 67 Cleric reported to Bright Dawn, who commanded Starlink''s members in this fight. "Good! Everyone, follow me into battle! Leave none alive!" Bright Dawn roared, licking his lips as he led the rest of his team in a charge against the Purple Shadow adventurer team. With his command, the rest of Starlink''s members grew serious about eliminating their enemies. The Purple Shadow experts might seem powerful to first-rate Guilds, with many of them capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s sixth floor, but they were nothing before Bright Dawn''s personal security team. Bright Dawn''s team consisted of experts that could reach the Trial Tower''s seventh floor. Forty of them were even Refinement Realm experts. They could easily decimate a first-rate Guild''s main force, much less a meager adventurer team. A moment later, Starlink''s experts smashed through Purple Shadow''s defensive line, which had remained stable until now. Not even the cooperation between two or three Purple Shadow experts was enough to stop one of Starlink''s, and their HPs plummeted as the fight dragged on. In the end, Starlink only needed a dozen or so players to suppress the 30-plus frontline players from Purple Shadow. The remaining 20-plus then barreled their way toward Purple Shadow''s healers alongside their commander. Every one of these players was a Refinement Realm expert. When only 100 yards separated the healers from Bright Dawn''s experts, Colorful Fruit and Half Feather reached the battlefield. They were surprised by the sudden turn of events, but they quickly recovered from their daze and engaged the enemy. Immediately, Colorful Fruit cast the Tier 3 Overtier Spell, Forest''s Descent. Waving her cane, the Forest Saint manifested a Domain that spread out around her, enveloping everything in her surroundings. The trees within the Domain then gained sentience, becoming Level 67 Great Lord ranked Treants. Six Treants responded to Colorful Fruit''s call in total, moving to block Starlink''s advance. Moreover, Colorful Fruit gained full control of the vines on the still-dormant trees. She commanded more than a dozen vines, every one containing Tier 3 Strength. Nearby, Half Feather''s crimson bow suddenly brightened with a dazzling glow. Five crimson magic arrays manifested around the Ranger, and whenever he loosed an arrow, the magic arrays did the same, launching flaming arrows to accompany his attacks. Although these flaming arrows were weaker than Half Feather''s normal attacks, they couldn''t be blocked. Even a Refinement Realm expert would fall under this Ranger''s assault. "Amazing!" "The Purple Shadow adventurer team actually has such powerful experts?" Starlink''s members were stunned for a moment. They had seen their fair share of experts as the members of a personal security team for one of the Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders. Thus, witnessing one move was more than enough to give them a general idea of an expert''s strength. Based on their experience, they recognized both Colorful Fruit and Half Feather as Refinement Realm experts. Moreover, the two had incomparably powerful Skills. Colorful Fruit, in particular, had received a considerable boost to her Basic Attributes with her last Spell. If an ordinary Refinement Realm expert attacked her, they''d likely get a onesided beating in return. In contrast, Purple Shadow''s members expressed their glee as they watched their two comrades take action. When this Druid and Ranger fought together in a forest, they could even defeat a 200-man expert team by themselves. While Starlink''s Refinement Realm experts struggled against Colorful Fruit and Half Feather''s attacks, Bright Dawn wielded his white-bone greatsword as he charted through the Great Lord ranked Treants and vines like a speeding bullet. Even though Half Feather fervently fired at the Berserker, Bright Dawn easily maneuvered past the arrows'' trajectories. The Berserker was astonishingly fast, no slower than a peak Tier 2 Assassin, which made it hard to for Half Feather to aim. Within three seconds, Bright Dawn stood before the Ranger, swinging his greatsword. Suddenly, six white flashes blinded the combatants. As they faded, they revealed six deep slashes in the ground, each 15 yards long. Although Half Feather had tried to use his bow to defend himself, three of the attacks had landed, and he died on the spot... How is this possible?! Colorful Fruit was stupefied. Half Feather ranked among the top-20 Ranger experts in the Dark Night Empire, yet against Bright Dawn, he was as weak as an infant. His life had ended in a single move. The strength difference was astounding. "A mere ant dares to oppose me?!" Bright Dawn sneered at Half Feather''s corpse. He then shifted his gaze toward Colorful Fruit and said, "Alright, you''re next!" The Starlink Berserker then transformed into a blur as he flew toward the Forest Saint, who stood around 20 yards away. Seeing this, Colorful Fruit panicked. She tried to use her vines to stop Bright Dawn, but she quickly discovered that they were practically non-existent before this madman. He easily deflected them with his greatsword, not even pausing. So, this is the strength of a superpower? At this moment, Colorful Fruit understood that this battle was a lost cause and intended to disregard her defense. Just as Bright Dawn reached Colorful Fruit and raised his greatsword against the Druid, he froze and turned toward a figure that had suddenly appeared from behind the nearby trees. When he saw this figure, his expression turned grim. Colorful Fruit and the rest of the players engaged in battle were confused by his abrupt change. When Purple Shadows'' Forest Saint followed her enemy''s gaze, she noticed a man slowly approaching. This man wore a suit of pitch-black armor with a silvery-gray cape draped over his shoulders and carried two longswords at his hips. As if he were oblivious of the battle around him, he lightly strolled toward her. "Who is that?" 2136 Power of Words Chapter 2136 - Power of Words After a quick glance at the approaching Swordsman, Colorful Fruit returned her attention to the enemy Berserker before her. Bright Dawn''s expression was tight and grim as if he were looking at an absolute monster. He completely ignored her, his gaze glued to that distant Swordsman. Her enemy''s intense reaction confused Colorful Fruit. "What''s going on?" "Who is that guy?" She wasn''t the only one confused. Late Autumn, who commanded Purple Shadow''s members from some distance away, was just as shocked by this turn of events. Based on the strength Bright Dawn had revealed thus far, Late Autumn was certain the man was a monster on the battlefield. He even suspected that Bright Dawn could annihilate every Purple Shadow member here by himself. Yet, such a monster clearly feared the Swordsman who had just arrived. Moreover, Bright Dawn wasn''t the only person to react like this. Starlink''s other members wore the same grim expressions, all of them staring at the approaching Swordsman. "Black Flame! What are you doing here!?" Bright Dawn demanded frostily. At this point, Bright Dawn''s hatred for the player known as ''Black Flame'' was immeasurable. He had made the difficult decision to abandon Unyielding Soul, joining Starlink as one of its Vice Guild Leaders. He had wanted to make himself more important to Lu Xingluo by sabotaging Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s plans to secure the Traveling Bard hidden class, but Black Flame had single-handedly ruined his. In the end, Starlink had gained far fewer Traveling Bards than its competition. Lu Xingluo had been disappointed in his failure and refused to assign Bright Dawn any notable tasks for some time. Now, after a long list of arduous tasks, trying to earn the responsibility of the Ancient Undead Country''s management, Bright Dawn, once again, encountered Black Flame. His recollection of this man''s strength was still crystal clear. He couldn''t forget it if he tired. After all, Black Flame had defeated Sword Demon in the battle for White River City''s Auction House. Although Sword Demon was quite old, he was a bona fide monster, far stronger than Bright Dawn. There were less than a handful of experts that could rival the old man''s strength. "What? Am I not allowed here?" Shi Feng asked, smiling as he swept a glance over Starlink''s agitated members. Bright Dawn expressed his exasperation in reply. If he were talking to anyone else, he would''ve attacked already. He wouldn''t have bothered to trade nonsensical pleasantries. After a second to calm down, he asked once more, his tone soft, "What do you want?" The Berserker''s question caused Purple Shadow''s players to turn to Shi Feng again, gaping in shock. Late Autumn felt particularly tongue-tied. He couldn''t believe this was happening. Bright Dawn was a peak expert, earning the ''Undead Sword'' title[l]. He was famous for his ruthlessness, and he never let an enemy escape with their life. He never negotiated, either. Take their Purple Shadow adventurer team, for example. Despite ranking among the top adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire, Bright Dawn had attacked without hesitation. Yet, this vicious man was pausing mid-battle to converse with Shi Feng. It was unbelievable. "Commander, who is this Black Flame? He''s so amazing!" Colorful Fruit whispered through the team chat. Alone, Shi Feng was strong enough to still Bright Dawn''s expert team with fear. These Starlink experts didn''t even show Unyielding Soul or Crimson Emperor''s experts any respect in the Dark Night Empire. "I''ve heard of Black Flame before. I think he''s Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, the Guild that previously helped the Hundred Flowers Palace. Black Flame himself ranks among the top 50 on the God''s Domain Experts List. He stands at the very peak of God''s Domain," Late Autumn explained what he knew. "I hadn''t expected an expert like him to show up in a place like this." "Top 50 on the God''s Domain Experts List? It''s no wonder why Bright Dawn seems so afraid!" Realization dawned on Colorful Fruit. She barely ranked among the top 100 in the Dark Night Empire''s overall combat power ranks. Naturally, she''d be considered quite powerful in any kingdom or empire, but on the full scale of God''s Domain, her strength was nothing. Although the God''s Domain Experts List focused on players'' public achievements, it did reflect a portion of the players'' strength. Those who could rank among the top 50 would likely be some of the strongest players in the Dark Night Empire. Although Bright Dawn was quite powerful, he definitely couldn''t rank at the top of the empire. If Bright Dawn could hear Colorful Fruit''s thoughts, he''d likely vomit blood. If his opponent had merely ranked among the top 50 on the God''s Domain Experts List, he wouldn''t have been so afraid. In fact, he''d gladly take any of those experts over this Swordsman. "I want this Boss and that Dark-Gold Treasure Chest," Shi Feng calmly replied, glancing at the Level 69 Grand Lord, which only had 18% of its total HP remaining, and the treasure chest behind it. The Purple Shadow members'' jaws nearly hit the ground when they heard Shi Feng''s demand. "Is this guy insane?" Shi Feng actually intended to steal the Boss and its treasure by himself. Even arrogance had a limit. And he had just demanded this from one of Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders... Most importantly, they were currently in Starlink''s territory. With just a quick call, Bright Dawn could likely summon a large number of reinforcements. More of his Guild''s peak experts would probably answer his call, as well. Shi Feng might be stronger than Bright Dawn, but could he take on three or five peak experts simultaneously? This guy is way too reckless. We''re still in the Psychedelic Forest; Starlink''s fortress isn''t the far away. If Bright Dawn calls in reinforcements, none of us will escape, Late Autumn thought to himself, watching Shi Feng with an exasperated expression. All fortresses could teleport players across long distances, even in the Ancient Undead Country. The Psychedelic Forest wasn''t that far from Starlink''s fortress; a single teleport would be enough for players to reach the forest''s edge. Furthermore, plenty of Starlink''s expert teams were operating in the area. If Shi Feng truly angered Starlink, he wouldn''t have a snowball''s chance in hell of leaving the forest alive. Late Autumn and his team had already prepared themselves for utter annihilation when they had decided to stay and fight the Boss, despite Bright Dawn''s team trying to steal the kill. As long as they could claim the Boss''s loot and the treasure chest it guarded, their deaths would be worth the effort. However, it was a different story for Shi Feng. Shi Feng was an apex expert in God''s Domain. One of his lives was likely worth more than a Grand Lord''s loot and a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. As Purple Shadow''s members expected a fight to break out between Shi Feng and Bright Dawn, the Berserker sheathed his white-bone greatsword. "Since Guild Leader Black Flame wants this bounty, we''ll leave out of respect. Let''s go!" Bright Dawn said before turning to leave, not even sparing the Boss and treasure chest a second glance. Starlink''s members promptly withdrew from their fights with Purple Shadow''s members and retreated from the battlefield, following their commander. In less than 15 seconds, all of Starlink''s members had left the area, the speed and decisive nature of their withdrawal stunning the adventurer team players. 2137 Different Level Chapter 2137 - Different Level Although many of Starlink''s experts were relieved that they hadn''t had to fight Shi Feng, anger roiled in their stomachs after leaving the battlefield. Vice Guild Leader, are we really just leaving?" a Level 67 Assassin geared in black leather armor asked, disgruntled. "Black Flame might be powerful, but this is our Guild''s territory. As long as you command it, at least three teams can converge on our location in ten minutes or less. Couldn''t we easily take him down with the strength of four expert teams?" Starlink was the Ancient Undead Country''s overlord. Even players from the Dark Night Empire''s other two superpowers had to bow their heads and walk away when they encountered Starlink''s members in this neutral map, much less Black Flame. Regardless of how powerful the Swordsman was, he couldn''t be stronger than Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor? The two superpowers'' peak and monster-level experts were far stronger than experts from ordinary Guilds, and Starlink had defeated both of them. Furthermore, if news of this retreat spread, it would damage the Guild''s reputation. Take him down? You think I don''t want to?" Bright Dawn demanded, glaring at the female Assassin. "If he were just some ordinary Domain Realm expert, then sure. But that guy defeated Sword Demon. Even ten expert teams couldn''t do anything to him, let alone four; do you understand? If he wished it, none of us would leave this forest alive. The most annoying thing about all of this is that Black Flame was just toying with us. If I had refused to withdraw, he''d take action immediately and teach me how foolish such a decision is." Bright Dawn knew that no matter what he had decided, Shi Feng would hurt Starlink''s reputation in the Ancient Undead Country eventually. Since that was the case, he''d rather take the path that incurred the least amount of losses. Every member of his team was a trusted subordinate. If he let someone kill these people, not only would Starlink''s reputation suffer, but his power-base in the Guild would also weaken. "Is he really that strong?" The Level 67 Assassin asked, shocked. Although Domain Realm experts could easily defeat a 100-man expert team like theirs in the fields, it was usually because those experts employed guerilla tactics, gradually picking off the team members. If their team split up and focused on escape, not even a Domain Realm expert could kill every one of them. However, it seemed that Bright Dawn fully believed that Shi Feng could slay them all. All of Starlink''s teams in the Psychedelic Forest were led by peak experts, and Bright Dawn even held the title of Undead Sword. He even ranked at the top among peak experts, and it wouldn''t be long before he reached the Domain Realm. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been one of Unyielding Soul''s three main pillars in the past. As Bright Dawn''s personal security team, their strength ranked at the top among Starlink''s various teams, yet their commander insisted that not even they would escape Shi Feng''s wrath. Could that really be possible? "Those monsters are not as simple as you think. Why do you think the various superpowers have such headaches when dealing with Domain Realm monsters? God''s Domain, in particular, has given these monsters a platform to exhibit their full strength, which makes them even more of a challenge," Bright Dawn spat hatefully. "However, this isn''t over. Although our team can''t defeat Black Flame, the Guild Leader will likely send someone to take him down a notch once we report back!" While Domain Realm experts were frightening, every superpower had such experts of their own. Moreover, God''s Domain offered a plethora of methods to use against Domain Realm experts. It just depended on whether or not the various superpowers were willing to pay the price for these methods. While Bright Dawn relayed the news of Shi Feng''s appearance in the Psychedelic Forest to his Guild, Purple Shadow''s members were still caught up in their momentary daze. For a time, they had no idea what to do about this turn of events. "Commander, what should we do now?" Colorful Fruit asked through the team chat. Everything had happened too suddenly. A second ago, their team had been at risk of utter annihilation, facing Starlink''s members in a bitter battle for survival. Then Shi Feng had shown up and indicated his desire for the Boss and the treasure chest. What left Purple Shadow''s members truly flabbergasted was the fact that Starlink''s team had actually acceded to Shi Feng''s claim and left the area. "This..." Staring at the Swordsman in question, Late Autumn had no idea how to proceed. Should they stay and fight Shi Feng for the Boss? Or should they take off just as quickly as Starlink''s team had? The outcome of fighting this man was obvious. Since Starlink''s team, which was stronger than theirs, had fled without a second thought, Late Autumn had a fairly good idea of how powerful Shi Feng was. Unfortunately, Shi Feng hadn''t given them permission to leave the area. If their abrupt withdraw displeased Shi Feng, he might decide to end their lives alongside the Boss''s. Suddenly, Late Autumn felt that the Purple Shadow adventurer team, which he was so proud of, was, in fact, insignificant. Before powerhouse players and superpowers, Purple Shadow wasn''t even strong enough to make its own decisions. These titanic existences could determine an adventurer team''s rise or fall with a single word... Late Autumn even wondered if the Dark Night Empire was truly just an empire. After all was said and done, Purple Shadow was one of the top-ten adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire. Many first-rate Guilds had tried to extend an olive branch to their team and treated them with great respect, but before Starlink and Shi Feng, this team was powerless. While Late Autumn hesitated, Shi Feng shifted his gaze toward the Cursemancer. "Starlink''s people are gone. I''ll leave this Boss to you, but I want one item from that Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Do you agree to my terms?" Shi Feng asked. Seeing Late Autumn''s obviously anguished indecision, Shi Feng related with the Cursemancer''s internal struggle. During his previous life and before Tier 5 players had existed in God''s Domain, most players had still been able to rely on a team against the game''s truly powerful experts. Unfortunately, once those experts had reached Tier 5, even Shadow, which had controlled ten major NPC cities, had been powerless against them. Shadow hadn''t had a choice, forced to concede any treasures those experts had demanded. If it hadn''t, the Guild would''ve lost both the treasures and its members'' lives. However, Shi Feng was no longer the ordinary expert he had been. He had become strong enough to reach God''s Domain''s apex. "Just one item? Of course, we agree." Late Autumn nodded enthusiastically once he snapped out of his daze. Realizing that Shi Feng didn''t have any ill intentions toward them, Purple Shadow''s other members breathed a sigh of relief. Kill-stealing was a common occurrence in the fields, but this was the first time they had been so powerless in such a situation. As they began to relax, Purple Shadow''s experts looked to Shi Feng with excitement and admiration. Some of the female players even turned starry eyes toward the Swordsman. Both Shi Feng''s individual strength and his identity of a Guild Leader, commanding a Guild that controlled an entire kingdom, were worthy of their admiration. With Shi Feng''s permission, Late Autumn led his team to defeat the Boss. Although a Level 69 Grand Lord was powerful, it wasn''t a difficult foe to an expert team like Purple Shadow''s. Furthermore, the magic array they had used to suppress the monster was still in place. Shi Feng didn''t even show any interest in the Boss''s loot once the Grand Lord fell. Even in a place like the Ancient Undead Country, the best loot a Grand Lord could drop was Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment. Moreover, the drop-rate was extremely low. Normally, a team would be lucky if the map''s Grand Lords dropped Level 65 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Although such quality weapons and equipment were tempting to current players, they held very little attraction to Shi Feng. He already had a large stock of Level 70 Fine-Gold Equipment; he didn''t mind passing up a few pieces of Level 65 Fine-Gold or Dark-Gold Equipment. Only the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest interested him. However, Purple Shadow''s members celebrated the Boss''s loot for some time. It had dropped a Level 65 Dark-Gold ranked cloth hat and a piece for a Level 65 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Both were considered top-tier at this stage of the game. Once the Boss died, the magic barrier around the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest lifted. As these players turned toward the glowing treasure chest, they gulped audibly, their eyes becoming bloodshot as they felt the urge to charge forward. However, Purple Shadow''s members opened a path for Shi Feng under Late Autumn''s command, allowing the Swordsman to open the treasure chest. The command didn''t surprise any of them. After all, without Shi Feng, they wouldn''t have acquired anything from this battle. They probably would''ve lost their lives. Even if Shi Feng wanted everything within that treasure chest, they wouldn''t argue. Fortunately, it isn''t a locked treasure chest. Shi Feng released a sigh of relief as he approached the chest. Normally, most treasure chests would be locked once they reached Dark-Gold rank, and unlocking a treasure chest was a troublesome process. Some even required keys of corresponding ranks. Take the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest he had obtained from the Falling Star Secret Land, for example. Although he had the treasure chest in his possession, it was locked, and it required an Inferior Legendary Key to open... When he had discovered this, he had been depressed for some time. Shi Feng spent the next 20 seconds opening the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. The instant he lifted the lid, colorful lights burst forth, illuminating a 400-yard-radius area. These lights were even visible from 7,000 yards away. 2138 Regional Treasure Chapter 2138 - Regional Treasure Purple Shadow''s members were surprised to see the brilliant lights that escaped the treasure chest. Normally, Dark-Gold Treasure Chests only caused a commotion that affected a 3,000- or 4,000-yard radius when opened, but the lights this treasure chest released were even visible from 7,000 yards away. The various adventurer teams hated this particular feature the most. Every player within 7,000 yards would now know that someone had opened a Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. Meanwhile, they were in the Ancient Undead Country, which had far more resources than other neutral maps. Naturally, the contents of this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest would be worth far more than usual. While it was amazing that Shi Feng had scared away Bright Dawn''s team by himself, he couldn''t change the predicament they were now in. Such a dazzling light show would certainly lead a large number of teams to their location. Regardless of Starlink, plenty of powerful Guilds and adventurer teams operated in the Ancient Undead Country. Although Shi Feng might escape, what were they supposed to do? Any competent team in the fields carried a Magic Mirror. Although Magic Mirrors could only view a small area, they had a very long reach. If a team spotted a treasure''s lights, they would refer to their Magic Mirrors immediately to scout the area and locate the treasure. If the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest''s lights had only been visible from 4,000 yards away, only six or seven teams might have noticed it. With their strength, the Purple Shadow team could''ve escaped with the treasure. At worst, they might have lost a few dozen members while they fled. However, a minimum of 20 teams would notice this treasure chest''s lights, and every one of them would be an expert team. While Purple Shadow''s members cursed the system, the various adventurer teams within 7,000 yards of the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest used their Magic Mirrors to search for its exact location. "A Dark-Gold Treasure Chest is radiating such a powerful light?" "Isn''t that Late Autumn from the Purple Shadow adventurer team? His team sure is lucky. They actually found a Dark- Gold Treasure Chest with such brilliant lighting." "Quick! We mustn''t let the other teams get to the treasure before us!" The nearby teams recognized the Purple Shadow adventurer team and began to move. Although Magic Mirrors only displayed images, not sound, and players couldn''t inspect the images'' data, the Purple Shadow adventurer team was famous throughout the Dark Night Empire. Recognizing its members wasn''t difficult. Normally, ordinary players would don Black Cloaks before opening a treasure chest in the fields; only powerful Guild teams or adventurer teams didn''t bother to conceal their identities. However, it was obvious that Purple Shadow''s team had miscalculated. It must not have taken into account the commotion opening this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest would cause. With the strength of this chest''s light, it undoubtedly contained extraordinary items. Knowing this, how could the various teams ignore such an opportunity? After obtaining a treasure chest''s items, players gained a two-hour debuff that guaranteed the items would drop if they died. "Commander, we used a Spatial Exploration Scroll and discovered that 26 Magic Mirrors are locked onto our location. Getting out of here won''t be easy," Colorful Fruit reported grimly. Twenty-six expert teams were watching them. They''d have to face a full force of 2,600 experts. With just 100 players on their side, getting past so many players would be incredibly difficult. "How can there be so many?" Late Autumn could not help but feel powerless. Meanwhile, Bright Dawn and his team, who were already quite far from the Purple Shadow adventurer team, were stunned when they saw the light pillar rise up behind them. "Vice Guild Leader, that treasure chest is astounding! It is releasing such a powerful light! The items inside must be extraordinary!" the Level 67 Assassin beside Bright Dawn exclaimed as he gazed at the towering shaft of light in the distance. "Hahaha! Good! Very good!" Bright Dawn began to laugh. Vice Guild Leader?" The Assassin gave his commander a confused look. Although the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest had yielded incredible items, they weren''t related to it in any way. He didn''t understand why Bright Dawn laughed. It would make more sense if the man were enraged by the situation, not joyful. That treasure chest would''ve been theirs if not for Shi Feng''s intervention, after all. "I guess it''s not unusual that you don''t understand," Bright Dawn said, chuckling. "The teams in the Ancient Undead Country aren''t just from the Dark Night Empire. Powers from other empires and kingdoms have sent their people, as well. According to my sources, two other superpowers are operating in the Psychedelic Forest alone. They''ve disguised themselves and independent players, and both expert teams are led by monster-level experts. The Guild Leader warned me about these teams before we headed out. Neither of those teams will ignore the appearance of such notable treasure." Realization dawned on Starlink''s members after listening to their commander''s explanation. Teams with monster-level expert leadership were incredibly strong. Normally, superpowers used these teams as strategic pawns, assigning multiple peak experts to them. Even the weakest member would be a Refinement Realm expert. Even a 1,000-man legion of experts would have to avoid such a team. "We''re not going to return just yet. I want to stay and watch what Black Flame intends to do about his latest predicament!" Bright Dawn said as he told his teammates to rest. Meanwhile, astonishment overwhelmed Shi Feng has he watched the treasure chest''s colorful lights fade. Others might not recognize a Dark-Gold Treasure chest, with the ability to influence a 7,000-yard-radius, for what it was, but Shi Feng was no stranger to the phenomenon. A Regional Treasure! A Regional Treasure was the most important treasure chest in an area. Even if the Psychedelic Forest hid an Epic ranked Treasure Chest, it''s items would pale in comparison to this Dark-Gold Treasure Chest''s bounty. Whenever a Regional Treasure had been discovered in the past, massive wars had ensued. Regional Treasures actually had a chance of dropping an Ancient Document! Ancient Documents were one way players could search for treasures in God''s Domain. Many powers had discovered Legendary and Fragmented Legendary items with the help of these documents. Hence, the various powers had fought fiercely to claim any Regional Treasure they could find. Regional Treasures also gave ordinary Guilds a chance to claim Legendary or Fragmented Legendary items, giving them a fair chance to compete with the various superpowers for such items. After all, Regional Treasures appeared randomly. Not even superpowers could claim them all. Shi Feng had found multiple Regional Treasures in the past, but unfortunately, he hadn''t been able to claim any for himself. Every Regional Treasure he had encountered had been snatched away by a top adventurer team or first-rate Guild. Once the treasure chest''s light faded fully, Shi Feng inspected the items within. The Dark-Gold Treasure Chest contained a total of five items. One was a Level 70 Dark-Gold Helmet for Shield Warriors, one was a Level 70 Fine-Gold Staff, one was a cloth hat for a Level 70 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, one was a Tier 3 Magic Scroll, and one was an ancient tome with silver, divine runes on its cover. A Silver Ancient Document? Shi Feng''s heartbeat accelerated as his gaze rested on the Ancient Document. 2139 Silver Ancient Tome Chapter 2139 - Silver Ancient Tome "I want this book. The rest of the items are yours," Shi Feng told Late Autumn as he picked up the Silver Ancient Tombe and stored it in his bag, acting as if he had no interest in the four other items in the treasure chest. The four other items were indeed valuable at this stage of the game, especially the Level 70 Dark-Gold helmet for Shield Warriors. Even superpowers'' experts would drool over such an item. However, even combined, these four items weren''t worth nearly as much as the Silver Ancient Tome. God''s Domain had all kinds of Ancient Tomes to offer. Some contained clues to items, while others could cause devastating destruction. This Silver Ancient Tome could improve players'' natural response time. Normally, a player''s neural response time depended on their real-world body. Players typically had to use specialized training methods to improve their natural reaction time, as well as have the innate talent to do so. Otherwise, their success would be limited, regardless of how hard they trained. However, the Silver Ancient Tome broke this rule and could forcibly improve a player''s response time in God''s Domain. Of course, the improvement was minor, and the Silver Ancient Tome''s effects varied from person to person, but even a minor improvement could significantly impact a player''s performance in the game. This tome was a special item that could make up for a player''s congenital deficiencies. Even though the tome''s effects weren''t as substantial as a boost to physique, each Silver Ancient Tome had sold for tens of thousands of Gold during Shi Feng''s previous life. Some of the superpowers'' elderly experts had even traded Fragmented Legendary items or Basic Bloodlines to get their hands on one of these tomes, trying to make up for their deteriorating reaction time. Shi Feng was actually quite surprised to get his hands on a Silver Ancient Tome so early. If he gave it to one of his Guild''s Refinement Realm experts, it wouldn''t be long before they broke through to the Flowing Water Realm. After all, improved neural response time would indirectly improve players'' combat standards. In fact, when the various large Guilds recruited internal members, they typically prioritized players with above-average response time. Currently, Zero Wing had four experts stuck between the Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm: Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and Violet Cloud. If they could use the Silver Ancient Tome, they might become Flowing Water Realm experts very quickly. Once they reached the Flowing Water Realm, combined with their abilities in the Truth Realm, they''d finally blossom into bona fide peak experts. After Shi Feng stored the Silver Ancient Tome, Late Autumn gave the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest a hesitant look. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this item is a piece of Level 70 Dark-Gold Equipment," Late Autumn said as he examined the helmet for Shield Warriors. He then turned to Shi Feng and said sincerely, "Our Purple Shadow adventurer team has only avoided annihilation because of you. Accepting such an item is too much." At this stage of the game, even the various superpowers madly contested for Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment, not to mention Level 70 Dark-Gold Equipment. Moreover, this was a helmet for MTs. It was far more valuable than ordinary equipment of the same level and rank. "I''ve already told you that I only wanted one item from the treasure chest. Moreover, it is only Level 70 Dark-Gold Equipment. It is nothing to Zero Wing," Shi Feng responded. Seeing the Cursemancer''s guilty expression, he chuckled and continued, "If you really can''t bring yourself to accept it, why don''t you help me out with something else? Then, you can consider the helmet your compensation." He didn''t know much about the Purple Shadow adventurer team, but based on the team''s performance and camaraderie, he could see that its members were righteous people. Otherwise, they likely would''ve split up and fled from Bright Dawn''s expert team. That was one of the reasons that Shi Feng had chosen to help them. At most, he might have saved any other team from Bright Dawn''s bullying; he wouldn''t have allowed them to keep the Boss and treasure chest. "Compensation?" Late Autumn was inwardly surprised, looking at Shi Feng''s calm expression. This Swordsman had offered a piece of Level 70 Dark-Gold Equipment as if it meant nothing to him. Moreover, Late Autumn could tell that Shi Feng was telling the truth. Immediately, he replied, "That won''t be a problem. Guild Leader Black Flame, please tell us what you need us to do. Our Purple Shadow adventurer team will assist you with everything we got." "I''m heading to the Bottomless Abyss to take care of something. I''d like your help in clearing out the mobs. The whole affair will take roughly half a day. How about it?" Shi Feng asked. The Bottomless Abyss was the lowest-leveled God Mode Regional Dungeon in God''s Domain. Not only did an abundance of monsters call the Dungeon home, but they were also quite challenging to deal with. Without enough strength, most teams would find themselves on a one-way trip if they tried to enter the Dungeon. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to clear out the monsters in his path by himself. Mobilizing the Guild''s main force to help him would only be a waste of time and resources. With Zero Wing''s current predicament, the Guild couldn''t afford such an operation. However, since the Purple Shadow adventurer team had volunteered its help, he was more than glad to accept. From what he had seen thus far, Purple Shadow was quite strong overall. Although the team couldn''t compare to Zero Wing''s main force, it was close to rivaling other first-rate Guilds'' main forces. The only real difference between Purple Shadow and a first-rate Guild''s main force was their equipment. "You''re heading to the Bottomless Abyss?" Colorful Fruit''s jaw dropped, and she stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. For the players grinding in the Ancient Undead Country, the Bottomless Abyss was a forbidden land, yet Shi Feng had originally planned to head straight into the beast''s maw by himself. The various major powers had already attempted to enter the Bottomless Abyss, but every one of them had returned in defeat. Some of those teams had even been comprised of experts, led by peak experts. "Alright!" Although Late Autumn found Shi Feng''s request surprising, he decided to go through with his promise. "Are we setting off now, then?" "Mhm, the sooner we get there, the better." Shi Feng nodded. "In that case, let''s rest and recover. We''ll set off in one minute," Late Autumn announced, glancing at his teammates'' conditions. "Commander, are we really going into the Dungeon?" Colorful Fruit whispered, sounding worried. "Even the Windwolf adventurer team retreated after less than an hour!" Windwolf was the fifth ranked adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire and much stronger than Purple Shadow overall, and they hadn''t even made it a full hour in the Bottomless Abyss. Moreover, only half of the team had escaped the Dungeon alive. Because of this, the empire''s adventurer teams had begun to fear the Regional Dungeon. Asking them to spend half a day in the Bottomless Abyss was no different than asking them to commit suicide. "Of course, we''re going. I''ve already promised him our help," Late Autumn said. "Besides, we''re in just as much danger now as we would be in the Bottomless Abyss. We might as well take out chances." Currently, more than 20 expert teams were targeting them. It was almost guaranteed that they wouldn''t all make it out of the Psychedelic Forest alive. Since that was the case, they might as well try their luck in the Bottomless Abyss. After giving the matter some thought, Colorful Fruit found Late Autumn''s reasoning sound. Since both paths led to death, they could at least try to establish a friendship with an expert like Shi Feng. Once the Purple Shadow adventurer team had rested, Shi Feng led them toward the God Mode Regional Dungeon. About five minutes after Shi Feng and his new companions left the area, a team with an averaged around Level 67 found the Dark-Gold Treasure Chest. These players weakest piece of equipment was Level 65 Fine-Gold rank, and some of its experts even wore multiple pieces of Epic Equipment. Every member of the team radiated an imposing aura, as well. Overall, this was certainly no ordinary adventurer team. "Boss, those people have already left. By the looks of it, they''re heading toward the Bottomless Abyss," a bald, Level 68 Assassin in blue reported to the stalwart man in a suit of crimson armor. "They should only have departed recently." "They''re heading to the Bottomless Abyss? A wise decision," the crimson-armored man said, chuckling. "It''s a pity that they caught our attention. Notify the other scouts. We''ll give chase immediately!" 2140 God Mode Regional Dungeon Chapter 2140 - God Mode Regional Dungeon Ancient Undead Country, Bottomless Abyss: The Bottomless Abyss was a gigantic hole in the center of the Psychedelic Forest. The radius could rival that of an NPC city''s. Pitch-black fog constantly billowed from within, and even from afar, players felt a chill as they watched the fog escape. "So, this is the Bottomless Abyss?" Shock gripped Colorful Fruit as she stared at the massive pit before her. The rest of the Purple Shadow adventurer team felt the same. Not only was the Bottomless Abyss a spectacular sight, but its aura was also particularly daunting. Despite the distance between them and the Regional Dungeon, they felt stifled. They couldn''t even imagine what it would feel like to stand within the foggy pit. "It''s no wonder why Windwolf couldn''t even last an hour in there. If its aura feels so powerful from out here, I can''t imagine how horrific it feels inside. Just moving will likely be taxing," Late Autumn muttered as he watched the fog rise from the Bottomless Abyss. After seeing this pit himself, he, more or less, understood why Windwolfs members had paled whenever they had mentioned the Bottomless Abyss, claiming that the Regional Dungeon was no place for current players. The fog is still quite thin. Let''s hurry inside," Shi Feng commented, as he, too, watched the fog. He was incredibly familiar with the Bottomless Abyss, so he was used to the sight. He immediately approached the staircase leading into the pit. Many Ancient Gods had participated in the Great Ancient War, and the Bottomless Abyss was a byproduct of one of those battles. According to legend, the destruction the Gods had wrought here had been so massive that it had broken through the World Barrier that separated the God''s Domain continent from the Dark Abyss. As a result, the Dark Abyss''s dark energy had flowed into God''s Domain through the breach, creating this Bottomless Abyss. Fortunately, the Ancient Gods had set up a magic barrier here to prevent the dark energy from escaping the Regional Dungeon, protecting the nearby kingdoms and empires from ruin. Without that foresight, the Dark Abyss''s power might have devoured the entire continent. Now, the dark energy within the Bottomless Abyss sometimes spiked due to the weakening barrier. By this point, the barrier had been in place for tens of thousands of years, and even if the materials used to create it had been Godly Relic rank, they couldn''t withstand the corrosion of time. When the Bottomless Abyss''s dark energy was at its strongest, Tier 1 players could only remain within the Regional Dungeon for three or four hours. Tier 2 players could, at most, withstand the energy for 10 hours before they''d have to flee. If they exceeded this time limit, the dark energy would corrode their flesh, and their Stamina and Concentration consumption would increase exponentially. It wouldn''t be long before they died from exhaustion. To make matters worse, players that died from exhaustion within the Bottomless Abyss would suffer double the normal death penalty, and their souls would enter a Weakened state due to the corrosion. The corrosion would give them a debuff that significantly reduced EXP gain for the next three to forty-eight hours. This was why teams without sufficient strength suffered such miserable fates within the God Mode Regional Dungeon. Not even ordinary Tier 2 players had dared to set foot in the Bottomless Abyss during Shi Feng''s previous life. However, as a God Mode Regional Dungeon, the Bottomless Abyss had many benefits to offer. Its bountiful resources were only secondary. More importantly, the Dungeons'' Mana density was exceedingly high. Even though the Mana within was chaotic and impure, players could rapidly grow stronger by fighting within the Dungeon. Furthermore, the Bottomless Abyss had no lack of powerful monsters with high combat standards, which players could use as training partners. To put it simply, the Bottomless Abyss was heaven for the strong and hell for the weak. Hence, God''s Domain''s various superpowers had developed a love-hate relationship with the Dungeon in the past. As Late Autumn watched Shi Feng walk into the Bottomless Abyss without any hesitation, he gritted his teeth and led his team to follow the Swordsman. The moment Purple Shadow''s members entered the Bottomless Abyss, their bodies began indescribably heavy. Their reaction speeds also slowed slightly. However, the dense Mana allowed their minds to remain at their peaks. These players felt like they were having an out-of-body experience as the opposing sensations assaulted them. It was like trying to operate high-performance software on an ancient computer. Moreover, they realized they couldn''t see as far within the Bottomless Abyss. Normally, they could see up to 100 yards away, despite the Ancient Undead Country''s poor visibility, but now, they couldn''t see past 50 yards. At this distance, monsters could see them before they noticed, and they''d frequently come under attack. After descending the staircase for about three minutes, the Purple Shadow members realized that Level 60-plus monsters hung from the walls and dominated the staircase. The weakest among them was a Lord, and they all radiated intense auras that felt particularly deadly to Purple Shadow''s members. Before Purple Shadow''s members could react, a group of Level 60 and 61 Demonic Stone Apes charged at the team. [Demonic Stone Ape] (Elemental Creature, Lord) Level 60 HP 19,000,000/19,000,000 "Prepare for battle! MTs, prioritize the Stone Apes on the staircase! Melee players, contain the monsters on the wall! Healers, focus on everyone''s HP!" Late Autumn''s response was quick, and he cautiously issued commands. Although these Demonic Stone Apes were much lower-leveled than they were, they were in the Bottomless Abyss. Late Autumn couldn''t afford to be reckless, employing the most conservative strategy he could think. The Demonic Stone Apes slammed into Purple Shadow''s Level 66 and 67 MTs. Like seasoned warriors, these monsters used tactics against their player enemies. One Stone Ape would attack head-on, while two or three of its companions attacked from the sides. Their coordination was seamless. Purple Shadow''s expert MTs couldn''t cope with the coordinated assault, and each took two or three hits during the initial charge. Every MT instantly lost over 50,000 HP, losing more than half of their totals. The healers in the rear began to panic, swiftly casting Healing Spells. "Why are these monsters so powerful?" Colorful Fruit was stunned as she watched the four Demonic Stone Apse suppress her teammates. Purple Shadow''s lead MT was a Half-step Refinement Realm expert, and the weakest piece of equipment on him was Level 65 Fine-Gold rank. He even wore a piece of Epic Equipment. Yet, it took everything he had to hold off four Lord ranked monsters, and he wasn''t fairing well. Earlier, their lead MT had tanked the Level 69 Grand Lord by himself. The 20-plus Demonic Stone Apes on the staircase quickly broke past the MTs'' defensive line, and six of the monsters charged toward the team''s healers. The remaining dozen or so Stone Apes preoccupied the team''s melee players. Before Purple Shadow''s members could recover from their shock of seeing how powerful these Demonic Stone Apes were, a five-meter-tall Stone Ape, much larger than its companions, dropped down from the wall above, landing with a thud behind the team. [Great Stone Ape] (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 62 HP 42,000,000/42,000,000 Before the Level 66 Berserker, who guarded the healers, could react, the Great Stone Ape slammed its massive fists into him. The Berserker slammed into the wall, his HP falling to a critical level. The Great Stone Ape''s frightening Strength and speed stunned every member of the team. Although Colorful Fruit reacted immediately and attacked the Great Stone Ape with her vines, the monster easily tore the two vines to shreds. A dull, black glow then enveloped the monster''s fist, and it threw a punch at Purple Shadow''s healers. The Great Lord moved from defense to offense so smoothly that it didn''t move like any monster they had seen. Rather, the Great Stone Ape fought like an expert player with a plethora of combat experience. It''s over! Colorful Fruit''s heart sank. A Great Lord''s Skill could instantly kill a plate-wearing player, let alone a cloth-armor class player. Once the team''s healers fell, they''d lose any chance of winning this battle. However, before the Great Stone Ape''s fist could connect with the healers, Shi Feng appeared before the Great Lord. He unsheathed Killing Ray and responded to the monster with a light slash. An arc of blue lightning blinded the players for a split second before the Great Stone Ape joined the Level 66 Berserker in decorating the wall. Its chest bore a deep, oozing cut... 2141 Flying Improvements Chapter 2141 - Flying Improvements Purple Shadow''s members were stunned to see the Great Stone Ape embedded in the hard, stone wall. "How high is his Strength!?" Colorful Fruit could not help but stare at the Great Stone Ape in disbelief. She had felt the Great Stone Ape''s Strength when it had torn apart her vines so effortlessly, high enough to rival a Grand Lord''s of the same level. However, not only had Shi Feng repelled the monster''s Skill with a single swing of his blade, but he had also thrown the Great Lord with that strike. His Strength was simply absurd. Meanwhile, Purple Shadow''s healers breathed a sigh of relief at receiving Shi Feng''s help. They immediately put more distance between them and the Great Lord. "Lead MT, aggro the Boss! Guardian Knights, activate Protection Blessing, and hold down the Demonic Stone Apes!" Late Autumn shouted commands to team''s Lead MT the moment the Great Stone Ape''s offensive had halted. From this initial clash with the Stone Apes, he realized that these monsters possessed extremely high combat standards, especially the Great Stone Ape. Only their team''s lead MT could likely hold down that Boss. If he sent any of his other MTs to tank it, he''d just be sending them to their deaths. Roar! However, as soon as Late Autumn finished his command, the Great Stone Ape pulled itself away from the wall with a furious roar. Its eyes became bloodshot, its muscles bulged. Clearly, this Great Lord had just entered some kind of berserk state, charging straight for Shi Feng. "Crap! Solitary, activate your Berserk Skill, and stop that thing!" Late Autumn hurriedly ordered the Level 67, Tier 2 Berserker that stood closest to the monster. "Leave it to me!" Solitary Dragon nodded in reply. Before the Berserker could activate his Berserk Skill and face the Great Stone Ape, however, Shi Feng stopped him and said, "No need. It''s still too soon to use Berserk Skills here. Leave this to me." After saying so, Shi Feng took a step forward and appeared before the enraged Great Stone Ape in an instant. The Swordsman looked like a child compared to the five-meter-tall monster. Seeing its hated enemy standing up to it, the Great Stone Ape swung its fists at Shi Feng; the sharp sound of the movements cutting through the wind was audible from 30 yards away. In the blink of an eye, the Great Stone Ape fired six strikes at Shi Feng, the massive size of its fists making the punches impossible to dodge. The other players'' expressions darkened as they watched from the comer of their eyes. This move was enough to tell that the Great Stone Ape''s combat standards were on par with a player who reached the middle stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Combined with Attributes that rivaled a Grand Lord of the same level, how were they supposed to fight this monster? Contrary to expectations, however, the attack hadn''t sent Shi Feng flying. Instead, all six punches harmlessly passed through Shi Feng before the Swordsman began to fade out of existence, revealing that the Great Stone Ape had only struck an afterimage. Without anyone realizing it, Shi Feng had moved behind the Great Stone Ape and had already swung his Sacred Sword. Xiu! Another blue flash sliced through the Great Stone Ape, eliciting a scream and plundering over 70,000 HP from the Great Lord. Another visible cut now graced the monster''s sturdy form. The Great Stone Ape''s fury reached new heights as it took another hit. In response, it spun around and launched another barrage of punches at Shi Feng. As if Shi Feng existed in another space entirely, the Great Lord couldn''t hit him no matter how hard it tried. Instead, one cut after another joined the first two. Not only did Shi Feng continue to reduce the Boss''s HP, but he repeatedly inflicted injuries, as well, reducing the Great Stone Ape''s reaction speed. "Is this real?" Colorful Fruit watched Shi Feng give the monster a one-sided beating, utterly awestruck. For a moment, she even forgot to support her teammates. Purple Shadow''s lead MT, who had been in the midst of trying to assist, was just as stupefied. A Tier 2 Swordsman was perfectly suppressing a Level 62 Great Lord with the combat standards of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Moreover, he accomplished this feat within the Bottomless Abyss, where players'' physical bodies were severely suppressed. This was unbelievable! Most importantly, Shi Feng''s calm composure made it seem as if he were confident of slaying this Great Stone Ape by himself. It''s no wonder why Bright Dawn was so afraid of him! He is truly a monster! Late Autumn inwardly exclaimed as he watched the Great Stone Ape''s HP plummet. "Finish the fight quickly. We''ll only attract more monsters if we linger," Shi Feng shouted, noticing the dazed expressions Purple Shadow''s members wore. Although he could solo the Great Stone Ape, doing so would require a lot of time and energy, and a God Mode Regional Dungeon wasn''t a place where players could afford prolonged battles. If this fight took too long, they''d attract another wave of monsters. Shi Feng''s warning snapped Purple Shadow''s members out of their daze, and they immediately resumed their attacks against the Demonic Stone Apes. Immediately, they resumed their attack on the Demonic Stone Apes. With Shi Feng keeping the Great Stone Ape in check, Purple Shadow''s members had an easier time dealing with the Demonic Stone Apes. Moreover, they began to adapt to the Bottomless Abyss''s environment as they fought. As a result, their attacks became more efficient. Under Late Autumn''s command, the team gradually descended the staircase, never fighting in one place for too long. Although they occasionally encountered other Stone Ape groups, the number of enemies they fought at any one time was tolerable. Finally, after more than five hours of combat, the team had cleared out the Demonic Stone Apes and Great Stone Apes in their path. The loot the monsters had dropped had surprised Purple Shadow''s members. Not only did these monsters drop plenty of Magic Crystals, but they had also granted the team a few pieces of Level 60 equipment and materials. These monsters'' loot was far more abundant than outside the Regional Dungeon. Moreover, the weakest piece of equipment the Stone Apes had dropped was Level 60 Mysterious-Iron rank, and some had even granted Secret-Silver ranked items. Such high-quality equipment could fetch a lot of money on the market. It was no exaggeration to claim that the last five hours'' harvest could rival a full day of grinding elsewhere. However, the loot wasn''t the most valuable acquisition. Due to their battles against the Stone Apes, Purple Shadow''s members had been inspired, improving their combat standards. That was a benefit they definitely wouldn''t find outside of the Bottomless Abyss. "Commander, this place is heavenly! If we could spend a month down here, the Purple Shadow adventurer team could become one of the top-five adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire!" Half Feather exclaimed. As a Refinement Realm expert, he could sense himself improving throughout the five hours of constant battle. Needless to say, his teammates must''ve improved even more than he had. Furthermore, these monsters'' loot was several times better than monsters elsewhere. "That''s right! I hadn''t imagined that this place would be so helpful. It''s no wonder why the various large Guilds are so desperate to explore the Bottomless Abyss," Late Autumn said. He had a far better understanding of the Regional Dungeon''s value than his subordinates. While resources and funds were important to a Guild ,those factors weren''t nearly as valuable as its members'' expressions Purple Shadow''s members wore. Although he could solo the Great Stone Ape, doing so would require a lot of time and energy, and a God Mode Regional Dungeon wasn''t a place where players could afford prolonged battles. If this fight took too long, they''d attract another wave of monsters. Shi Feng''s warning snapped Purple Shadow''s members out of their daze, and they immediately resumed their attacks against the Demonic Stone Apes. Immediately, they resumed their attack on the Demonic Stone Apes. With Shi Feng keeping the Great Stone Ape in check, Purple Shadow''s members had an easier time dealing with the Demonic Stone Apes. Moreover, they began to adapt to the Bottomless Abyss''s environment as they fought. As a result, their attacks became more efficient. Under Late Autumn''s command, the team gradually descended the staircase, never fighting in one place for too long. Although they occasionally encountered other Stone Ape groups, the number of enemies they fought at any one time was tolerable. Finally, after more than five hours of combat, the team had cleared out the Demonic Stone Apes and Great Stone Apes in their path. The loot the monsters had dropped had surprised Purple Shadow''s members. Not only did these monsters drop plenty of Magic Crystals, but they had also granted the team a few pieces of Level 60 equipment and materials. These monsters'' loot was far more abundant than outside the Regional Dungeon. Moreover, the weakest piece of equipment the Stone Apes had dropped was Level 60 Mysterious-Iron rank, and some had even granted Secret-Silver ranked items. Such high-quality equipment could fetch a lot of money on the market. It was no exaggeration to claim that the last five hours'' harvest could rival a full day of grinding elsewhere. However, the loot wasn''t the most valuable acquisition. Due to their battles against the Stone Apes, Purple Shadow''s members had been inspired, improving their combat standards. That was a benefit they definitely wouldn''t find outside of the Bottomless Abyss. "Commander, this place is heavenly! If we could spend a month down here, the Purple Shadow adventurer team could become one of the top-five adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire!" Half Feather exclaimed. As a Refinement Realm expert, he could sense himself improving throughout the five hours of constant battle. Needless to say, his teammates must''ve improved even more than he had. Furthermore, these monsters'' loot was several times better than monsters elsewhere. "That''s right! I hadn''t imagined that this place would be so helpful. It''s no wonder why the various large Guilds are so desperate to explore the Bottomless Abyss," Late Autumn said. He had a far better understanding of the Regional Dungeon''s value than his subordinates. While resources and funds were important to a Guild ,those factors weren''t nearly as valuable as its members'' strength. This God Mode Regional Dungeon had proven to be a natural training ground, and players'' leveling speed wouldn''t slow while they trained here. On the contrary, they would enjoy a much higher leveling speed than outside of the Dungeon''s borders. If a Guild took control of the Bottomless Abyss, its development would skyrocket. As he considered this, Late Autumn''s gaze drifted back to Shi Feng, who stood some distance away. 2142 Abyss Residence Chapter 2142 - Abyss Residence After hearing Shi Feng''s instructions, Late Autumn and the others sighed in relief as they sat down to rest. As for what Shi Feng planned to do inside the labyrinth, they had no intention of asking about it. After all, Shi Feng was the leader of a Guild. He naturally had his reasons for coming to this dangerous place. If they pried too deeply, they might end up annoying or angering him. Moreover, even if they wanted to enter the labyrinth with Shi Feng, they most likely didn''t have the ability to survive for very long in there. The labyrinth was rife with Level 65-plus Undead, many of which were Great Lords. With just their adventurer team''s strength, they wouldn''t be able to progress very far into the labyrinth. Not to mention, if they came across a Grand Lord, their fates would be sealed. In the next moment, Purple Shadow''s members saw Shi Feng easily weaving through the Undead''s attacks. Moreover, the Undead here actually couldn''t keep up with his speed at all, the distance between the two sides steadily widening. After a few seconds, only the Undead remained in sight. "The difference between us is really huge," Colorful Fruit said, a bitter smile forming on her face after Shi Feng disappeared. "It is, indeed, massive, but it''s not like we can''t catch up," Late Autumn said, nodding. "An organization called the Adventurer Alliance has appeared in the Fire Dragon Empire and is currently recruiting powerful adventurer teams. I heard that even Super Guilds have to treat this Adventurer Alliance with respect. Moreover, the alliance is even nurturing experts. I received an invitation, but I didn''t put too much stock in the matter. On further thought, I feel that we should join the alliance." In the past, he had been very confident in Purple Shadow''s strength, believing that even if Purple Shadow was no match for superpowers, superpowers wouldn''t have an easy time dealing with Purple Shadow, either. After today''s fight with Bright Dawn''s team, however, he realized that he was sorely mistaken. Before a superpower, Purple Shadow didn''t even have the strength to protect itself. Unless they became monsters like Shi Feng, daunting even an expert like Bright Dawn at the thought of attacking them, they would never secure a foothold in the Dark Night Empire. Meanwhile, the Fire Dragon Empire''s Adventurer Alliance was an existence that could intimidate even Super Guilds. Needless to say, its existence was extraordinary. After all, the Fire Dragon Empire was one of God''s Domain''s Four Great Empiresand far superior to the Dark Night Empire. Many superpowers and even quite a few Super Guilds had established footholds there. The fact that the Adventurer Alliance was able to establish a foothold in the Fire Dragon Empire, despite competition from so many superpowers, proved just how powerful it was. As for joining a Guild, that was something Late Autumn was not willing to do, no matter what. Otherwise, he would''ve long since joined Starlink together with his comrades. After all, Starlink had extended an invitation to many of the powerful adventurer teams in the Dark Night Empire. "Commander, can we really catch up to him?" Colorful Fruit turned to look at Late Autumn reflexively, a hint of anticipation gleaming in her eyes. Shi Feng''s strength was already deeply ingrained in her heart. At this point, what she wanted to do most was to share the same stage with Shi Feng one day, instead of staying in the Dark Night Empire and remaining a frog in a well. "It shouldn''t be a problem. The alliance promised that as long as we pass its test and qualify for its training, we will be able to reach the apex of God''s Domain," Late Autumn said. Previously, Late Autumn had sneered at this promise, as he thought that the Purple Shadow adventurer team already stood at the Dark Night Empire''s peak. There was no need for Purple Shadow to undergo the Adventurer Alliance''s training. However, in hindsight, the gap between Purple Shadow and the Adventurer Alliance was massive. Moreover, a power that could stand shoulder to shoulder with superpowers should understand the strength of the various superpowers. Since the Adventurer Alliance had declared that it could help qualified players become apex experts, the alliance was most likely telling the truth. This is great! The next time we meet, I must stand on the same stage as him! Colorful Fruit thought to herself, her fighting spirit soaring. At this moment, aside from Colorful Fruit, Half Feather and the other top experts of Purple Shadow also had similar thoughts. Meanwhile, as Purple Shadow''s members were resting, Shi Feng had activated Gale Domain to shake off the Undead chasing him. The Undead here were living beings that died during the Great Ancient War. Not only were their combat standards extremely high, but they were also organized when fighting. He would require a lot of time to defeat them. Fortunately, the Undead here were not monsters that persistently chased players. They would give up pursuit once the distance between their target and themselves exceeded 300 yards. Shi Feng was a Level 76 player, and with his Basic Attributes, his Movement Speed was already faster than that of Great Lords of the same level. After activating Gale Domain, he shook off the Level 65-plus Undead here right away and effortlessly passed through one area after another. Meanwhile, the deeper he ventured into the labyrinth, the higher the levels of the Undead he came across, the monsters'' levels gradually increasing from 65 to 70. Finally, after traveling through the labyrinthine pathways for more than an hour, Shi Feng arrived before a dilapidated palace in a cavern that was enveloped by a magic barrier. None of the wandering Undead dared come within 100 yards of the magic barrier. Shi Feng, however, walked toward the barrier without hesitation. The magic barrier specifically targeted Undead and was totally ineffective against the living. There was no creature inside the palace besides the phantom of a gray-robed old man. If players used an Advanced Identification Skill on this old man, they would discover that he was actually a Level 180, Tier 4 Hero. The title of "Hero" was not easily obtained in God''s Domain. The existences granted the title of "Hero" were invincible in their tier. Meanwhile, not only was this old man a Hero, but his title had even been bestowed by an Ancient God. In other words, he was blessed with a portion of an Ancient God''s power, making him the strongest NPC in the entire Bottomless Abyss. "Young adventurer, this is not a place for the living," the Hero Saibu said as he opened his eyes to look at Shi Feng. Immediately, a horrific aura filled the palace. If an ordinary Tier 2 player were standing here right now, this horrific pressure would most likely scare them stiff. However, Shi Feng had the support of multiple Fragmented Legendary items and a Bloodline, so he managed to withstand the pressure brought on by this aura. "Esteemed Hero Saibu, I am here by the will of the Gods to expel the darkness," Shi Feng said respectfully as he stood 30 yards away from Saibu. Players wanting to transfer a Guild Town to the Bottomless Abyss needed to fulfill three conditions two of which were the standard conditions for transferring a Guild Town. The third condition was a hidden condition: passing Saibu''s test. The first part of the test was enduring Saibu''s aura. In the past, 90% of the powers that attempted this test had failed at the very start because ordinary experts couldn''t endure Saibu''s aura at all. One needed the Basic Attributes of a Tier 3 player of the same level to do so. Otherwise, they would be forced to kneel, then get teleported out of the palace. "Not bad. Being able to move so close to me proves that you have the strength to deal with the darkness," Saibu said, smiling and nodding in approval when he saw that Shi Feng was barely affected by his aura. "However, you cannot expel the darkness here with just this. Since you are a Bronze Legatee, I can set up a stable area for your residence, which will allow you to combat the darkness here long-term. However, you will have to contribute 6,000 Mana Stones." "Lord Saibu, here are the 6,000 Mana Stones you require," Shi Feng said as he took out the Mana Stones he had prepared beforehand. He had basically emptied out the Guild''s reserve of Magic Crystals to make these 6,000 Mana Stones. However, this price was well worth it if he could move Stone Forest Town here. "Excellent. So many Mana Stones should just barely be enough to resist the corrosion of darkness here," Saibu said. As he received the 6,000 Mana Stones from Shi Feng, he couldn''t help taking a few extra glances at the youth before him. Following which, he started incanting. As Saibu chanted, the 6,000 Mana Stones merged and transformed into a resplendent gemstone. "With this item, you can set up a magic barrier on the first floor, which we are on. The residence you set up inside this barrier will be able to avoid the corrosion of darkness. Keep in mind that this item can be used only on the first floor," Saibu said gravely as he handed the gemstone to Shi Feng. When Shi Feng accepted the gemstone, he sighed ruefully. In the past, he could only watch from the sidelines as the various superpowers established one town after another inside the Bottomless Abyss. In this life, however, he, too, could set up his own town here. 2143 Transferring Stone Forest Town Chapter 2143 - Transferring Stone Forest Town Shi Feng didn''t linger after obtaining the barrier gemstone, making his way toward the Undead Forest. The Undead Forest was located in the center of the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor. Not only did a large number of Level 70-plus Undead wander the area, but it was also where the first floor''s dark energy was densest. Without high Darkness Resistance, not even Tier 2 players could spend more than six hours in the area. However, despite the Undead Forest''s dangers, it was one of the few places on the first floor that could support a Guild City. The Bottomless Abyss''s first floor was comprised of a series of connected tunnels and caverns, which was why there weren''t many places that could house a Guild City. As far as Shi Feng could remember, fewer than ten caverns could support such a massive player base; most of them could only support an Advanced Town. As a result, players needed to select the location for their Guild Town carefully in the Bottomless Abyss. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to promote the town due to insufficient space. Of course, Shi Feng had another reason for choosing the Undead Forest; it was the closest location to the Bottomless Abyss''s second floor. The Bottomless Abyss was a Level 60 to 100, super-large-scale Regional Dungeon, and it was considerably larger than many neutral maps elsewhere, separated into a total of three floors. Each floor was more difficult than the last, and the second floor was considered a turning point. To current players, the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor was already horrific, but they didn''t realize that the first floor was only a training ground to help players adapt to the Regional Dungeon''s environment. These monsters were only between Level 60 and 75. However, the Dungeon wouldn''t be so kind once they reached the second floor, its difficulty rising to a whole new level. The second floor''s monster ranged from Level 70 to 90. But as the God Mode Regional Dungeon became more challenging, it would reveal its true benefits. From the second floor onward, not only would monsters drop Seven Luminaries Crystals, but their drop-rates for Fine- Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment would be roughly three times higher than elsewhere. Players would also find plenty of combat techniques and Skill Books. They''d even have a chance of finding a Legacy if they were particularly lucky. Unlike most Legacies found outside of the Dungeon, those in the Bottomless Abyss had survived since ancient times. The weakest Legacy players could find in this Regional Dungeon was Advanced rank. As for the Bottomless Abyss''s third floor, it was where players would discover the true essence of the God Mode Regional Dungeon. Not only would players have a chance of obtaining Peak Legacies when they killed the Bosses on that floor, but they''d also have an extremely small chance of obtaining Fragmented Legendary items. Typically, Fragmented Legendary items didn''t even drop from ordinary Mythic Bosses; only special Mythic Bosses had a chance of dropping such precious treasure. However, the Bottomless Abyss''s third floor was the typical map. Every Mythic Boss on that floor had a chance of dropping Fragmented Legendary items, and the Dungeon''s Final Boss was guaranteed to drop one. One could say the Bottomless Abyss was responsible for introducing Fragmented Legendary items to God''s Domain''s players. In the past, the various superpowers had only begun to acquire Fragmented Legendary items once they had discovered the Bottomless Abyss. After that moment, everyone had come to understand that Epic items weren''t truly the best weapons or equipment in the game and that something even stronger existed. Since Shi Feng was the first person to acquire a barrier gemstone in the Bottomless Abyss, he had to take advantage of as many opportunities in preparation for conquering the Regional Dungeon''s third floor. After an hour or so of travel, Shi Feng found himself in a massive, spacious cavern. At first glance, the cavern looked like any other forest, filled with verdant trees and bright light. It looked nothing like the cavern it truly was. This was the Undead Forest. The dark energy here was so dense it was stifling, and Level 70-plus Great Lord ranked Undead roamed through the woods. There were even quite a few Grand Lords. Dark energy affected these monsters in the same way Mana affected players. The denser the dark energy was, the higher the monsters'' combat standards would be. Even the weakest Great Lord in the Undead Forest had combat standards on par with the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Such combat standards would be impressive enough to earn a player a party leader position among a first-rate Guild''s core members. Including the monsters'' high Basic Attributes, even a first-rate Guild''s chief MT would have a tough time against these Great Lords. The Grand Lords, on the other hand, could reach the sixth floor''s early stage. They were nightmarish opponents, even for a first-rate Guild''s main force. Only the various superpowers'' top combatants had a chance against these monsters. Thank goodness I have the Bible of Darkness. I don''t know how I''d make it through this forest without it. Shi Feng was relieved as he used Omniscient Eyes to watch the Level 74 Grand Lord ranked Great Necromancers that wandered in the distance. These Level 74 Great Necromancers were extremely powerful. Not even Shi Feng would dare provoke them in his current state. If he accidentally aggroed one, he''d have no choice but to flee. Fortunately, the Bible of Darkness granted him control over the Power of Darkness. This, in turn, allowed him to resist dark energy and significantly lowered the chances of Dark Creatures noticing him. He''d be able to avoid the Undead Forest''s residents with relative ease. After about ten minutes or so, Shi Feng had circled around more than 30 Great Lords. He had also encountered more than three Grand Lords. If a superpower''s main force visited this forest at this stage of the game, their deaths would be a guarantee. It should be here, Shi Feng thought as he observed his location. He then took the barrier gemstone from his bag and began to chant an incantation. After ten verses and more than 30 seconds, the barrier gemstone disappeared. Then, two gigantic, silver magic arrays formed above and beneath Shi Feng, and every monster within the array''s range released pained cries before fleeing the area. The two magic arrays continued to grow larger, from their initial 500-yard radius to 1,000 yards, then 3,000 yards. The arrays only stopped expanding after another 30 seconds. Suddenly, a colossal magic barrier blossomed in the middle of the Undead Forest, occupying one-tenth of the entire area. Not a single monster stood within the barrier. Next, I need to guide Stone Forest Town''s transfer. Shi Feng was quite satisfied with the forest''s lush greenery within the magic barrier. He then took out the Town Transfer Token he had obtained from the Eclipse Throne and chose to transfer Stone Forest Town. Originally, he had planned to use this token to move Stone Forest Town to a neutral map neighboring Star-Moon Kingdom, but with Silverwing Town in the Ore Empire, he had set the token aside. Now, the token would finally display its potential. System: Do you wish to transfer Stone Forest Town to the specified area? Shi Feng clicked ''Yes'' without hesitation. 2144 Abyss Town Chapter 2144 - Abyss Town Once Shi Feng made his selection, another system notification rang in his ears. System: You have selected to transfer Stone Forest Town to the specified location. Transfer conditions met. System: Stone Forest Town will be closed off in one minute. Estimated transfer time is 30 minutes. Players will not be able to enter the specified transfer area during this time. You will automatically be teleported out of the transfer area in 10 seconds. Half an hour, huh? When Shi Feng heard the system notification, he could not help his growing excitement. Nothing was more important to the various large Guilds than resources and experts. As long as Stone Forest Town''s transfer completed smoothly, it would become even more important than Zero Wing City. The Guild Town would even generate more profit than the city. While Shi Feng considered his next step, he was transported out of the magic barrier. Meanwhile, back in Star-Moon Kingdom''s Stone Forest Town, the players in the town were in an uproar. "What''s going on? Stone Forest Town is moving to another location?" "Crap! I just got here to level up!" "What is Zero Wing trying to do? Stone Forest Town has just begun to recover, yet Zero Wing is moving it elsewhere? Does Zero Wing think the town will attract more players if it''s in another location?" "This is a scam! We need to boycott Zero Wing! The Guild''s abandoning new players just to become more popular! I won''t ever set foot in a Zero Wing town again! We''ll see how long Zero Wing lasts if no one visits its towns!" The players in Stone Forest Town fell into heated discussions when they received the system notification about the town''s relocation. The players new to God''s Domain were particularly boisterous. Stone Forest Town was still a holy ground for players between Level 30 and 50. Not only was the town next to a low-level Asura Mode Regional Dungeon, but it also had everything low-level players could need or want. Not even NPC cities could rival Stone Forest Town''s benefits for low-level players. However, before they had the chance to enjoy these benefits, the system had announced Stone Forest Town''s transfer to another location. This meant the time they had spent trying to reach the town had been for nothing. Meanwhile, news of Stone Forest Town''s relocation quickly reached Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers. "What? Zero Wing is moving Stone Forest Town to another location?" "Stone Forest Town''s popularity has only begun to recover. It''s still earning a significant Magic Crystal profit each day, yet Zero Wing wants to relocate the town? Has the Guild found a better location?" "I want this investigated immediately! Tell our spies in Zero Wing to find out where the Guild plans to relocate the town!" For independent players, Stone Forest Town''s relocation only meant that they''d lose a leveling spot, and that only impacted the independent players that had recently joined God''s Domain. Naturally, there were other maps where they could grind. However, Stone Forest Town''s transfer held a completely different meaning for Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers. Transferring a town meant transferring an area of influence. Since no one could oppose Zero Wing in Star-Moon Kingdom, they''d be doomed if the Guild relocated Stone Forest Town to their territories. Hence, the kingdom''s powers anxiously searched for the town''s new location. While Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers panicked, Yuan Tiexin, who resided in one of White River City''s Advanced Restaurants, stared intently at the report he had just received from a subordinate. "Uncle Yuan, have our spies learned anything?" Purple Jade asked curiously. "Is Black Flame''s claim really true? Has he actually relocated Stone Forest Town into the Bottomless Abyss?" The various superpowers were paying particularly close attention to the God Mode Regional Dungeon. If not for the Bottomless Abyss''s monsters and environment, the Secret Pavilion would''ve already dispatched a large team to explore the Dungeon. Meanwhile, according to the most recent report, quite a few Super Guilds had sent their own teams into the Bottomless Abyss. Unfortunately, they had suffered grievous losses for doing so. According to their investigation, current players simply weren''t strong enough to grind in the Regional Dungeon. They''d have to reach Level 70 before they''d have any chance of survival. Hence, she found it truly hard to believe that Zero Wing had successfully transferred Stone Forest Town to the Dungeon, but when she recalled Shi Feng''s confident expression on the day they had made their deal, she knew he hadn''t been joking about his plans. Furthermore, if Shi Feng failed to complete the transfer, the Secret Pavilion would secure the Guardian Puppet Design. "They haven''t been able to verify anything yet," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. "But based on our information, Black Flame has made an appearance in the Ancient Undead Country. He even humiliated Bright Dawn, one of Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders. I believe that your guess is likely correct. A town''s transfer, after all, requires its owner''s permission." Yuan Tiexin couldn''t help the sting of regret he felt. If the Secret Pavilion had been as confident in Zero Wing''s abilities as Shi Feng, it would''ve likely invested more in the Guild, rather than treat Zero Wing with half-hearted sincerity. "If Zero Wing has actually accomplished its goal, it''s future will be set. With Stone Forest Town alone, Zero Wing will qualify to contend with superpowers. If it can solidify its legacy foundation as well, then we can reasonably expect that it will become a super-first-rate Guild any day now!" Purple Jade said. She had a thorough understanding of how valuable the Bottomless Abyss''s resources were. If a Guild monopolized those resources, its development speed would be astonishing. Moreover, the various superpowers would have a very difficult time dealing with Zero Wing before players reached Level 100. Even Starlink would find it challenging to shake Zero Wing''s foundations. Meanwhile, within Zero Wing, Guild members excitedly discussed the latest news regarding Stone Forest Town. "I wonder where the Guild is moving Stone Forest Town to?" "I''m guessing that it''s moving the town to a neutral map. All of the large Guilds are trying to claim them, and our Guild is no exception. I can''t wait to find out which neutral map the town will occupy." "I agree. Since Starlink is so dead-set on suppressing our Guild in the Ore Empire, we can''t really do anything in the empire''s core area. We''re stuck around Silverwing Town. It''d be wonderful if the Guild transferred Stone Forest Town to that area." "Honestly, it''s not a big deal if the Guild doesn''t transfer Stone Forest Town to the Ore Empire. Starlink already has a fortress there, but it doesn''t have any bases in other neutral maps. We could secure a massive advantage if the Guild transfers Stone Forest Town to a different neutral map. Moreover, the Zero Wing Auction House now has access to a wider variety of items. Even if the Guild transfers the town to a smaller neutral map, our leveling speed won''t be any slower than it is in the Ore Empire." Many of Zero Wing''s members expressed their guesses and hopes for Stone Forest Town''s new location, every one of them filled with anticipation. Although Fire Dance had repelled the Starlink forces capped outside of Silverwing Town and restored some of the Guild''s morale, that didn''t change the fact that Starlink still harassed the Guild''s members in the rest of the Ore Empire and the other neutral maps around Star-Moon Kingdom. To make matters worse, other Guild''s members were rapidly growing stronger and exploring neutral maps. To say that Zero Wing''s members didn''t have any opinions on the matter would be a lie. As every player throughout Star-Moon Kingdom discussed this abrupt change, half an hour passed quickly. Many of the players keeping an eye on the Guild teleportation function soon noticed that Stone Forest Town''s name had reappeared among the list of available destinations. However, they were dumbfounded when they saw the Level-60 limit. "What''s going on?" "Why is there a level limit?" As players wondered about this oddity, some Guild members, those above Level 60, couldn''t help themselves and purchased a Guild Transfer Scroll to visit Stone Forest Town. When these Zero Wing members arrived, the sound of a system notification reached their ears. System: You have discovered the Bottomless Abyss. 2145 Attention Chapter 2145 - Attention "The Bottomless Abyss?" Most of the Zero Wing members that had teleported to Stone Forest Town had failed to react to the system notification, but some of those players, who had a certain understanding of the Ancient Undead Country, were excited to see it. "Is this real!? We''re actually inside a God Mode Regional Dungeon!" "All hail the Guild Leader!" "Our Guild is set for life now!" Although none of the various powers had made any progress in exploring the Bottomless Abyss, what they had learned of the Regional Dungeon gave them high hopes. Moreover, the Bottomless Abyss was the reason that Starlink had been able to suppress both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor when it had laid claim to a single fortress. Stone Forest Town''s new environment also surprised Zero Wing''s members. In the Bottomless Abyss, the town''s Mana density was likely even higher than in Zero Wing City. Players would be able to achieve the same results when training their combat standards with half the effort here. Stone Forest Town had become a sacred ground, ideal for players. Not only could players level up and upgrade equipment around the town, but they could also train their combat standards and techniques in the town. Shortly after Zero Wing''s members discovered Stone Forest Town''s new location, news spread quickly to Star-Moon Kingdom''s various major powers. "How is that possible?!" "Someone must have made a mistake with this report! That''s a God Mode Regional Dungeon we''re talking about! How could Zero Wing just transfer Stone Forest Town there!?" All of the various powers instinctively denied the validity of the news. Everyone knew that even the various superpowers were powerless in the Bottomless Abyss. Surviving in the Dungeon was nearly impossible, much less raiding it. It simply shouldn''t be possible to move a Guild Town to such a lethal location. However, when these powers began to receive similar reports from other spies within Zero Wing, they couldn''t deny the truth. There was no doubt that after today, Zero Wing would become an overlord in God''s Domain. Even if it wasn''t yet a superpower, it now qualified to contend with the various superpowers in the game. Meanwhile, in one of White River City''s Advanced Restaurants, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade received confirmation of their suspicions, and they fell silent for some time. "Zero Wing did it, Uncle Yuan! Are we going to begin the next part of our plan now?" Purple Jade asked excitedly after recovering from her surprise. Although she had known that Shi Feng hadn''t lied to them, she couldn''t help the surprise and admiration she felt once he had actually made good on his promise. "Mhm! Notify our subordinates and tell them to organize the necessary manpower to visit Stone Forest Town! We need to secure the Bottomless Abyss before the other superpowers have time to prepare," Yuan Tiexin nodded. Smiling, he continued, "This time, we''ll show the Chamber''s advanced members how ''foolish'' the Secret Pavilion''s decision was!" The Secret Chamber of Commerce''s advanced members had criticized the Pavilion for demoting Starlink to basic membership rank, and the Pavilion had been forced to offer a variety of benefits to quell their anger. To make matters worse, many superpowers that had heard of the matter had ridiculed the Secret Pavilion for being foolish enough to abandon a fortress in the Ancient Undead Country for Zero Wing. However, none of that mattered now! The Secret Pavilion owned a portion of Stone Forest Town''s shares. Not only would it earn a large number of Coins from the town, but it could also establish a Guild transfer point within its walls. The Pavilion''s members would not have to run all the way to the Ancient Undead Country to reach the Bottomless Abyss. In fact, the Pavilion''s members could now grind in the Regional Dungeon without having to leave it. Once they ran out of Stamina, they could simply return to Stone Forest Town and rest. The Pavilion now had more advantages than the other superpowers. With this relocation, Zero Wing could nullify any progress Starlink had made in the Bottomless Abyss on a whim. Moreover, Zero Wing wouldn''t have to resort to drastic measures to do so. As long as the Guild barred Starlink''s members from Stone Forest Town, allowing others in, Starlink would fall behind. If the situation persisted, it would even affect Starlink''s position in the Dark Night Empire. This was exactly what the superpower had attempted to accomplish by hindering Zero Wing''s progress in the neutral maps around Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, Starlink would likely find Zero Wing a difficult pest to crush now. Once the various superpowers discovered Stone Forest Town''s relocation, they''d reach out to the smaller Guild in an attempt to secure a partnership. Once that happened, Zero Wing wouldn''t be so easy to shake. However, if Starlink allowed Zero Wing to develop in the Bottomless Abyss freely, the superpower would only lose its advantages in its own empire. "I doubt anyone had imagined that a small Guild like Zero Wing would put the Dark Night Empire''s overlord in such a bind." As Yuan Tiexin remembered when Zero Wing had been small and weak, he couldn''t help his rueful sigh. Zero Wing''s developmental history was practically a miracle. After today, Zero Wing would qualify to stand on the same stage as the various superpowers. It was no longer an ordinary Guild that could so easily be slaughtered. While the Secret Pavilion prepared to garrison in Stone Forest Town, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s headquarters in the Dark Night Empire were in an uproar. "How did Zero Wing do it?" Both super-first-rate Guilds'' upper echelons were overwhelmed with shock and curiosity when they learned of Stone Forest Town''s new location in the Bottomless Abyss. None of them had ever thought that Zero Wing would be so capable. "Heart, I want you and Lingsha to visit Zero Wing''s headquarters in White River City. Tell them that Unyielding Soul would like to deepen our relationship. Isn''t Zero Wing trying to break into the Dark Night Empire''s market? We can offer them some of our central Shops in the empire if they''re willing to let us build a temporary Residence in Stone Forest Town!" Unyielding Soul''s Guild Leader, Silent Soul, commanded after giving the matter some thought. "You two have full authority to negotiate those Shop''s management and sales!" When the Guild upper echelons in the meeting room heard Silent Soul''s decision, they stared at him with dropped jaws. They hadn''t thought that their Guild Leader would willingly grant Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha so much authority. Financial strength was the most important aspect when running a Guild as large as Unyielding Soul. The profits from the Guild''s Shops were particularly crucial. Shops were a Guild''s lifeblood, and the fact that Silent Soul had given Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha control of the Guild''s lifeblood meant he had granted them the authority that was only second to his, the Guild Leader. Unyielding Soul wasn''t the only superpower interested in cooperating with Zero Wing. Superpowers throughout God''s Domain promptly made their way to Star-Moon Kingdom''s White River City as well. 2146 General Trend Chapter 2146 - General Trend Ancient Undead Country, Psychedelic Forest: "How can this be?" Utter shock assaulted Bright Dawn as he read the latest report on Zero Wing. It had only been a few hours since his encounter with Black Flame, yet in that time, the Swordsman had relocated Stone Forest Town into the Bottomless Abyss? No matter how he looked at it, the situation felt like a dream. Not even Starlink dared to delve too deeply into the Bottomless Abyss, but Black Flame had established a town within the Regional Dungeon in a matter of hours. Starlink had invested an astronomical amount of manpower and resources to secure a fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, but none of its effort could even compare to Black Flame''s alone. Many superpowers had already begun to make their way to White River City to negotiate with Zero Wing due to the Guild''s latest success. Needless to say, they all wanted a cut of Stone Forest Town''s shares and a temporary Guild Residence within the town. If Zero Wing agreed and accepted these superpowers'' help, Starlink wouldn''t be able to continue its assault against the enemy Guild. Moreover, Starlink''s development would descend into the pits of hell due to Stone Forest Town''s prosperity. As a result, Lu Xingluo had ordered Bright Dawn to use everything Starlink had to destroy or capture Stone Forest Town before Zero Wing could stabilize its position in the Bottomless Abyss. "Has something happened, Vice Guild Leader?" the Assassin beside Bright Dawn asked curiously when he saw his commander''s sneer. "Good news! Wonderful news!" Bright Dawn said, laughing. Black Flame had humiliated him earlier, and he hadn''t expected to find a chance to take revenge so soon. Why wouldn''t he be excited? "Good news?" The Assassin gave Bright Dawn an odd look. "Mhm. The Guild Leader has commanded me to deal with Stone Forest Town. Moreover, I get to mobilize the Guild''s full strength!" Bright Dawn explained. "All of it?" The news shocked the Assassin. He had already learned about Stone Forest Town''s relocation to the Bottomless Abyss since it had sparked a commotion among Starlink''s members. Naturally, the news had shocked them all. However, Lu Xingluo''s command to mobilize the Guild''s full strength against the town was even more unexpected. The various superpowers had far more influence than ordinary Guilds, and the Guild typically only mobilized a fraction of its strength for any of its operations. Even when Starlink had targeted Unyielding Soul, for example, it had only used a small fraction of its true power. Yet now, Starlink wanted to turn every weapon in its arsenal against a non-superpower like Zero Wing... "That''s right! Everything!" Bright Dawn nodded as he grinned wickedly. "I had expected to wait a long time before I had a chance to claim vengeance; I hadn''t expected that I''d get to move against that bastard so soon. Hopefully, Black Flame doesn''t run from me too quickly!" Dealing with an established town was normally even a headache for superpowers like Starlink. But if Starlink employed the Guild''s full power, taking down a Guild Town would be a piece of cake. Not even Advanced Towns would pose much of a challenge. Furthermore, Stone Forest Town had just completed its transfer; its defenses weren''t as strong as usual since hardly any players currently occupied the town. Although not a lot of players could traverse the Bottomless Abyss''s complex terrain at once, destroying or capturing a town didn''t require a full army. A sufficient number of peak experts and powerful tools would be enough to complete the task. "Notify the fortress and have them deliver this list of items! I also want you to summon our old monsters and all of the peak experts in the fortress!" Bright Dawn commanded. The Assassin''s eyes glowed as he began to contact the necessary personnel. Although Bright Dawn was responsible for handling the Guild''s affairs in the Ancient Undead Country, the peak experts and old monsters in the fortress weren''t under his control, not to mention the tools within the fortress. Every one of those tools would be a strategic missile on an open battlefield. They simply shouldn''t be used unless absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, a team of 100-plus players used the Undead Forest''s trees as cover while they observed Stone Forest Town. "Boss, you really are impressive! Sparing and following the Purple Shadow adventurer team actually led us to Zero Wing''s Stone Forest Town!" a Level 68, blue-clad Assassin congratulated as he watched Purple Shadow''s members enter the town. "Zero Wing has certainly proven capable, transferring a Guild Town here. Not even our Sky Dragon House could accomplish such a feat," a man in crimson armor commented as he stared at the town in admiration. If Shi Feng were present, he''d likely be shocked to hear the conversation between these two players. Sky Dragon House was one of the Fire Dragon Empire''s three overlords and a veteran Super Guild. It was far stronger than ordinary super-first-rate Guilds. Even the up-and-coming Starlink would have to bow its head before Sky Dragon House. At its peak in Shi Feng''s previous life, Sky Dragon House had even been known as one of God''s Domain''s top- ten Guilds. The virtual gaming world wasn''t the same as it had been in the past. Countless corporations now invested in the industry, and becoming one of God''s Domain''s top-ten Guilds meant that it stood among the best of the best. Not even ordinary Super Guilds had any hope of comparing to Sky Dragon House; only a transcendental existence like the Secret Pavilion could contend with such a powerhouse. "What should we do next, Boss?" the blue-clad Assassin asked. "We''re not just here to pay a visit, are we?" "Of course not," the crimson-armored man said, laughing. "Zero Wing is quite impressive to pull off such a move, but the Bottomless Abyss isn''t fit for the likes of such a small Guild. Moreover, Zero Wing hasn''t learned that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Rather than let other powers get their hands on Stone Forest Town, we should claim it." "I was hoping you''d say that!" the blue-clad Assassin said as he licked his lips, anticipation and killing intent flashing in his eyes. As far as he was concerned, treasure only belonged to those with the strength to keep it. Zero Wing, meanwhile, didn''t qualify to lay claim to such a precious place like Stone Forest Town. "But we should wait for a little while longer," the crimson-armored man decided. "Wait? Why?" the Assassin asked, confused. "Right now, we aren''t the only ones here," the crimson-armored man said, smiling as he gestured to a team hiding on a nearby plateau. "Players from Pride Empire!" The Assassin in blue frowned when he noticed the other players. Pride Empire was another of the Fire Dragon Empire''s overlords, and it wasn''t any weaker than the Sky Dragon House. Finding its Guild members here wasn''t good news for them. "They''re likely thinking the same thing that we are. If we make the first move, they''ll try to take advantage of the situation," the crimson-armored man said. "But we can''t just wait here, Boss. Plenty of superpowers have set their sights on Stone Forest Town. If we don''t move quickly, securing the town will become more of a challenge," the Assassin complained. Before the man in crimson armor could reply, he received a message. "Sure enough, they''ve discovered us," the crimson-armored man reported, chuckling as he read the message. "Moreover, they''re taking the initiative to ask for our help in securing Stone Forest Town." "What? They actually want to cooperate?" The Assassin was surprised to hear it. The Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire were rivals. Although their two Guilds had very few public confrontations, they constantly fought in secret. "This could work, too. Rather than waste each other''s time, we might as well work together to claim the town before more competitors show up," the crimson-armored man said after giving the matter some thought. "Tell everyone to get ready." "Understood!" Although the blue-clad Assassin didn''t like the idea of working with his Guild''s rival, he had no choice but to obey his commander''s orders. Under the crimson-armored man''s command, the team from Sky Dragon House snuck toward Stone Forest Town while the Pride Empire''s members did the same. 2147 Stone Forest Town Promoted Chapter 2147 - Stone Forest Town Promoted When the Purple Shadow team followed Shi Feng into Stone Forest Town and saw the large number of Level 70-plus monsters wandering outside of its walls, they were flabbergasted. Experts like Late Autumn and Colorful Fruit were especially stunned since they knew far more than the adventurer team''s ordinary members. They recognized how amazing it was to establish a Guild Town in the Bottomless Abyss. With this advantage, Zero Wing would likely become the leading force in the God Mode Regional Dungeon. As they entered the town, the Mana density within surprised them further. It was simply unprecedented. Moreover, Stone Forest Town''s Mana wasn''t nearly as chaotic as it was in the rest of the Bottomless Abyss. Not only did the Mana soothe their spirits, but it also made them feel far more agile. They felt that they could easily exhibit even greater combat power than outside of the Regional Dungeon. If they could train their combat techniques, Skills, and Spells here, their efforts would yield far better results than normal. Weapons and equipment might be very important, but these external factors weren''t nearly as integral to expert players as internal strength. "Commander, the Mana in this town has sharpened my senses by at least 10%! If we could train here, out adventurer team''s overall strength could reach a whole new level in less than a month!" Colorful Fruit exclaimed. Generally, high Mana density only allowed players to clear their minds and remain calm under pressure, but once it was dense enough, it could sharpen players'' senses as well, although not by much. The fact that Stone Forest Town''s Mana was so dense that players'' five senses were 10% more acute than normal was astonishing. Naturally, sharpened senses would be a massive help to players. Not only would players be able to detect their flaws more easily, but players would also be able to notice more than they usually did. To put it simply, players could improve their combat standards far more quickly if they had more acute senses while training. A10% difference was on par with the difference players experienced when they rose from Tier 1 to Tier 2. "I know," Late Autumn replied, smiling bitterly at Colorful Fruit. "This place is wonderful, but it also belongs to Zero Wing. A town can only hold so many people, and Zero Wing will prioritize its own members. After all, strength is necessary in God''s Domain. Outsiders will have to pay a high price if they want to train here. With our adventurer team''s current strength, I''m afraid that..." Late Autumn quickly realized this town''s value. Of all the towns and cities he had seen before, Stone Forest Town was undoubtedly the best place for training. If his adventurer team could train here long-term, he was confident that Purple Shadow would become the Dark Night Empire''s number one adventurer team. However, enjoying such benefits without paying a steep price would be impossible for non-Guild members like them. They were only allowed in Stone Forest Town now because they had accepted Shi Feng''s commission. Late Autumn doubted that he had the qualifications or connections necessary to negotiate garrisoning his adventurer team in Stone Forest Town long-term. Colorful Fruit, more or less, understood what her commander was trying to say. They had only met wdth Shi Feng by chance, and the Swordsman was the only reason that their adventurer team had avoided annihilation. They''d be delusional to think that they could train in a paradise like Stone Forest Town. "Stone Forest Town''s relocation has just completed, so many of the town''s facilities are temporarily unavailable. For now, it''s only a resting area for players. Once the town''s facilities have been readjusted, you''re welcome to return at any time," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He had a pretty good idea of what Purple Shadow''s members had been thinking when he saw their crestfallen expressions. "You don''t have to do that for us, Guild Leader Black Flame. Our adventurer team hasn''t done anything to help Zero Wing, after all. I''m sure your Guild members will complain if you let us occupy Zero Wing''s resources for nothing," Late Autumn hurriedly rejected the offer. Late Autumn recognized that Shi Feng''s offer came with good intentions, but that was precisely the reason that he couldn''t accept it. "I think you''ve misunderstood. I intended to open Stone Forest Town to the public since the beginning. As long as you''re not Zero Wing''s enemy, you''ll be welcome in the town. Naturally, you will be allowed to train here as long as you become members of Zero Wing''s Battle Arena," Shi Feng explained. If he reserved Stone Forest Town for Zero Wing''s members, he''d certainly see desirable results. However, doing so would be shallow. First, Level 100 wasn''t the maximum level in God''s Domain, and second, the town''s growth was far more important than monopolizing its benefits. "Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Colorful Fruit could not help but ask. None of the various major powers would share such a paradise with outsiders, but based on Shi Feng''s claim, he even planned to cater to ordinary players in the town. This was simply madness. "Of course. Why would I joke about something like that?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. Shi Feng''s response rendered Purple Shadow''s members speechless. He acted as if such a crucial matter were insignificant... Late Autumn couldn''t help his budding admiration for both Shi Feng and Zero Wing as a whole. Not even the various superpowers would likely be so this generous. While Purple Shadow''s members rested in Stone Forest Town, Zero Wing''s members began to flood in. Yuan Tiexin and his entourage arrived shortly after. Due to the agreement with Shi Feng, the Secret Pavilion established a temporary Residence in Stone Forest Town, allowing the Pavilion''s members to teleport to the town freely. However, it was only temporary. After multiple system updates, the Main God System had placed many restrictions on temporary Residences. One of these restrictions limited the number of players that could teleport to the temporary Residence each day. Permanent Residences, on the other hand, didn''t have such a limit. Hence, before the Secret Pavilion''s members flooded into Stone Forest Town and reached the daily transfer limit, Yuan Tiexin led a 100-man expert team, which the Secret Pavilion had prepared earlier, to the town. "Uncle Yuan, we''ve just received a message from the Guild Leader. It seems Starlink has made its move. Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire are here as well, and more superpowers are quickly approaching. By the looks of it, they all plan to capture Stone Forest Town before Zero Wing can stabilize its position," Purple Jade reported, frowning as she read the message. Clearly, Starlink was serious about taking the town this time and had armed its forces with the items it had stored in its fortress in the Ancient Undead Country. To make matters worse, two Super Guilds and a handful of superpowers had designs on the town as well. This was bad news for both Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion. "It seems that none of them can just sit by and watch," Yuan Tiexin chuckled as he caressed his beard. "That''s enough, Old Yuan. The Guild Leader didn''t send you here for a casual chat. Zero Wing can''t protect Stone Forest Town with how valuable it has become. We''ll have to contribute the most to its defense. Notify Black Flame and inform him that we''ll have to renegotiate Stone Forest Town''s shares," a white-haired old man reprimanded Yuan. "I understand, but I believe it''s too soon to discuss that with Zero Wing. We should wait and let Zero Wing realize its predicament. Then, I''ll have an advantage in the negotiations," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing as he gazed at the distant Zero Wing Residence. Although he didn''t want to take advantage of the Guild, this was the cruel reality of God''s Domain. Without sufficient strength, one would lose any valuable treasure they obtained to a stronger force. The fact that Shi Feng had accomplished this feat was impressive, but Zero Wing had no place in the struggle that would follow. Not long after the Secret Pavilion''s members arrived in Stone Forest Town, Shi Feng reached the first underground floor, and the most important location, in Zero Wing''s Residence. Walking down a dark hall and seeing Zero Wing''s flag flutter in its center, Shi Feng retrieved the Gold Town Promotion Order and merged it with the massive magic array on the ground. System: Gold Town Promotion Order detected. Do you wish to promote Stone Forest Town into a Basic City? "Promote!" Shi Feng selected the option without hesitation. 2148 Another Uproar Chapter 2148 - Another Uproar Inside Zero Wing''s Residence in Stone Forest Town... After Shi Feng chose to promote Stone Forest Town, two gigantic magic arrays suddenly appeared, one in the air and the other on the ground, enveloping the entirety of the town. The players inside Stone Forest Town could not help but grow nervous at the sight. "What''s going on?" Yuan Tiexin looked in confusion at the magic array above him. Although he did not have a great understanding of magic arrays, the one above him was no doubt the largest he had ever seen. Moreover, the Mana flowing around it was actually visible. The intensity of its aura also greatly surpassed that of Mythic monsters. While everyone was panicking over this sudden development, a system notification suddenly entered the ears of every player inside Stone Forest Town. System: Stone Forest Town has been promoted to a Basic City. You will be teleported out of Stone Forest Town in 30 seconds. Everyone in Stone Forest Town immediately fell into a daze upon receiving the system notification, wondering whether or not they had heard wrong. "How?" "Stone Forest Town actually got promoted into a city?" No one could believe this was true. The Secret Pavilion''s members, in particular, were dumbfounded by this situation. "Impossible! To become a city, a town needs not only sufficient defensive structures and an astronomical amount of Popularity but also a large number of permanent residents! Stone Forest Town just transferred to this place, so how could it possibly get promoted to a Basic City?!" the white-haired old man from the Secret Pavilion yelled in denial. Everyone else from the Secret Pavilion very much agreed with this old man''s words. After all, only a handful of people in the Secret Pavilion was more knowledgeable than this old man about the promotion of a Guild Town. Moreover, this old man was also one of the publicly acknowledged top five Master Town Architects in God''s Domain, Easy Wind. A Master Town Architect was, basically, a Master Architect. Although the architect subclass did not seem that amazing and was far from comparable to the forger and alchemist subclasses in terms of popularity, as players progressed in God''s Domain, the various major powers gained a greater understanding of the purpose of Master Architects. As a result, they also started placing greater importance on the architect subclass. This was because the development of Guild Towns often required Advanced Constructions. Moreover, the planning of a town was also extremely important. If carried out properly, it could accelerate a Guild Town''s development substantially. Meanwhile, the Guild Towns built using Easy Wind''s designs developed 30% faster than Guild Towns that used the default designs. Moreover, Easy Wind had even designed an Advanced Construction before. Due to Easy Wind''s ability and accomplishments, his position in the Secret Pavilion was superior to even Yuan Tiexin''s, who was constantly conducting negotiations and leading expeditions for the Guild. When it came to discussing the development of Guild Towns, Easy Wind held more authority than even the Secret Pavilion''s Vice Guild Leaders. In fact, the main reason why the Secret Pavilion had dispatched Easy Wind to Stone Forest Town was to help the town develop much more efficiently and become a Guild City a little sooner. Now, however, it was obvious that Easy Wind had just wasted a trip in visiting Stone Forest Town. Before everyone could react to the system notification, they were already outside Stone Forest Town. Meanwhile, after snapping out of their daze, Zero Wing''s members promptly burst out in enthusiastic acclamation. "The second city!" "Our Guild has a second city!" "Even Super Guilds don''t have a Guild City established in a neutral map right now!" At this point, God''s Domain still didn''t have that many Guild Cities. Moreover, practically all of these Guild Cities were owned by top-ranking superpowers. Now, however, Zero Wing actually possessed two Guild Cities! More importantly, Zero Wing''s second city was established in the Bottomless Abyss, a God Mode Regional Dungeon. Zero Wing could earn a fortune just by collecting entry fees in Stone Forest Town. After all, a Guild City had much more space than a Guild Town. Let alone accommodating 1,000,000 players, even accommodating 5,000,000 players wouldn''t be a problem. Previously, everyone from Zero Wing was still worried about whether Stone Forest Town could accommodate all the Guild members who wished to grind in the Bottomless Abyss. Now, however, that no longer seemed to be a problem. Meanwhile, outside the forest, some distance away from Stone Forest Town... The members of Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire automatically halted their advance when they saw the two gigantic magic arrays enveloping Stone Forest Town and a large number of players suddenly materializing outside the town. "Old Sheng, any information on your side? So many people actually got teleported out of the town. Is Stone Forest Town off limits to players?" a tall, middle-aged man with short hair from Pride Empire''s team asked as he looked at the crimson-armored man standing beside him. "How would I know? Not to mention, since when is Pride Empire''s information network slower than Sky Dragon House''s?" the crimson-armored man replied, rolling his eyes at the short-haired man dressed in exquisite mage robes. If the upper echelons of the Fire Dragon Empire''s various large Guilds were here, they would most likely be stupefied. After all, Pride Empire''s Ghost Mage, Zhan Baiya, and Sky Dragon House''s Meteor Hammer, Sheng Wuji, were actually working together. If news of this matter spread, it would definitely shock the entire Fire Dragon Empire. Ghost Mage and Falling Meteor were both capable generals of their respective Guilds. Their positions were not the slightest bit inferior to Vice Guild Leaders in their respective Guilds. They were also monstrous existences in terms of strength. If these two monsters cooperated, even superpowers would have to be extremely careful of them. Meanwhile, shortly after their exchange, both of them received a message at the same time. After they read their respective messages, both of them had a very startled expression on their faces. What kind of background does Zero Wing possess? It actually managed to promote Stone Forest Town into a Basic City! Zhan Baiya could not help but gaze at the distant Stone Forest Town in puzzlement. According to the information that Pride Empire acquired, Stone Forest Town had definitely been promoted into a Basic City. Pride Empire had a Guild City of its own, so it knew just how difficult promoting a Guild Town to a Guild City was. Pride Empire had mobilized all its resources in order to attain its Guild City. Yet, now, Zero Wing had actually succeeded in promoting Stone Forest Town into a Guild City! "Old Zhan, what does your side plan to do?" Sheng Wuji asked after he finished reading his own message. "They gave me only four words," Zhan Baiya replied. "No matter the cost!" "Mine said roughly the same thing too," Sheng Wuji said, a bitter smile on his face. "However, a Basic City is different from an Advanced Town. The difficulty of capturing Stone Forest Town is many times greater than before." Only powers that owned a Guild City would understand just how formidable it was. It was not only a gigantic ATM but also an impenetrable fortress. Just the city''s built-in defensive magic array was already enough to render current players utterly powerless, not to mention the large number of high-tiered NPC soldiers inside the city. Fortunately, promoting a town did not grant a protection period. A newly promoted city could be snatched away as soon as its promotion process ended. "Since that is the case, let''s start moving, fast. Otherwise, once the Secret Pavilion''s members arrive, we''ll have a much more difficult time capturing the newly promoted Stone Forest City!" Zhan Baiya suggested after hearing that Sky Dragon House harbored the same intentions as Pride Empire. "Alright. News of Stone Forest Town''s promotion should''ve spread already. Delaying any longer will give those several superpowers time to get here," Sheng Wuji said, nodding as he shifted his gaze to the Zero Wing members crowded outside Stone Forest Town. He then turned back to look at his team and said, "Everyone, split up and move in parties! We have to end the battle as quickly as possible!" At this point, Zero Wing was no longer their main enemy but the superpowers that were currently en route. What they needed to do now was take care of Zero Wing expeditiously before those superpowers arrived. After obeying Sheng Wuji''s order, Sky Dragon House''s and Pride Emperor''s members immediately charged toward Stone Forest Town. 2149 Divide? Chapter 2149 - Divide? "Uncle Yuan, this is bad. Stone Forest has just become a city; its foundations have yet to be stabilized. Now is the perfect time to attack it. Those superpowers that held off before are now going all out in sending manpower to this place. With just the few of us here, I''m afraid we''ll have a difficult time protecting Stone Forest," Purple Jade said, a serious expression on her face as she read the latest report from the Guild. Previously, although various superpowers were tempted into action by Stone Forest Town, they had dispatched only a small portion of their strength to capture it. However, due to Stone Forest Town''s promotion, Starlink wasn''t the only superpower going all out anymore. Other superpowers now intended to pull out all the stops for seizing Stone Forest Town. Even one superpower going all out would be enough to give the Secret Pavilion a headache, all the more a group of superpowers doing so. It might be fine if the upcoming battle took place in the outside world; however, they were inside the Bottomless Abyss. Dispatching ordinary experts here would be utterly meaningless. They would just become liabilities. Only experts at the Refinement Realm standard or above could provide useful combat power. However, the total number of Refinement Realm experts the various superpowers had easily surpassed that of the Secret Pavilion. "This Black Flame! Why didn''t he inform us of this promotion beforehand?! We are in a tight spot now!" At this moment, Yuan Tiexin was also suffering a huge headache over this matter. Prior to Stone Forest''s promotion, the town provided Zero Wing with a significant number of advantages in the Bottomless Abyss, but it did not put the Guild in an absolutely advantageous position. After all, a town could accommodate only a very limited number of players. However, with Stone Forest Town''s promotion, Zero Wing now essentially held full control over the entire Bottomless Abyss. How could this situation not make the various superpowers desperate and force them to go all out to capture Stone Forest Town? With this, even the Secret Pavilion would not be absolutely certain of defending Stone Forest Town. "Uncle Yuan, the scouts we dispatched into the periphery have discovered Sky Dragon House''s and Pride Empire''s members. They''re moving in our direction and will arrive in less than five minutes," Purple Jade said anxiously as she read her subordinate''s report. "They''ve finally appeared? Do you know who''s leading them?" Yuan Tiexin was not particularly surprised by this revelation. After all, the Secret Pavilion had long known about the presence of these two Super Guilds in the Bottomless Abyss. Otherwise, the Secret Pavilion wouldn''t have sent a team to Stone Forest Town as soon as teleportation to the town became available. They''re Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya. By the looks of it, the two of them are working together," Purple Jade said, her complexion darkening. Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya were well-known monster-level experts in God''s Domain. Moreover, the teams they led were only second to their respective Guilds'' main forces. Even the team that the Secret Pavilion sent to Stone Forest Town would have trouble dealing with just one of these teams, let alone both at the same time. "Why is it them?" Yuan Tiexin''s face sank when he heard the names of these two people. "We don''t have a choice. Jade, relay this matter to the Guild Leader immediately and have him send over as many players as possible. Also, go and stop those two. I''ll meet with Black Flame to notify him about the severity of the matter. Hopefully, he''ll make the correct decision quickly." The situation was now out of the Secret Pavilion''s control. The only way left to defend Stone Forest Town was to get Shi Feng to hand over more of Stone Forest Town''s shares and use these additional shares to recruit other superpowers into their alliance. Otherwise, only death awaited them. "I''ll head over immediately!" Purple Jade nodded. She then led the Secret Pavilion''s team to stop Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya. Meanwhile, under Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya''s command, Sky Dragon House''s and Pride Empire''s members were like fierce tigers that had just been released from their cages. Unlike the combat methods usually employed by players fighting in teams, Sky Dragon House''s and Pride Empire''s members split into six-man parties, which moved independently of each other as they traversed the Undead Forest. They did not try to focus their strength on a single point to break through Zero Wings defenses. From an outsider''s perspective, this method of combat would look very silly, as it allowed others to exploit it very easily. However, those who were aware of these two teams'' history would understand that these teams were not executing such a combat method out of foolishness at all. Instead, their doing so was due to their absolute confidence in their strength. Moreover, when traveling through a forest, players could move much more quickly in small parties instead of large teams. This was especially true for the players Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya led. They were akin to lively monkeys as they traversed the Undead Forest, moving very swiftly and leaving no traces behind. When these two teams got within 500 yards of the city and were about to exit into the clearing that surrounded it, Purple Jade''s 100-man team halted their advance. "Little missy, although you are the Secret Pavilion''s prodigy, do you really think you can stop both our teams with just these few people?" Sheng Wuji, who currently perched atop a tree, asked as he looked down at Purple Jade. He did not hurry to take action. Instead, he quietly observed the young woman standing in the clearing before him. "I have constantly been hearing that the Secret Pavilion has produced an amazing genius recently. After getting a look myself, you really are extraordinary. You''re already a peak expert at such a young age. Unfortunately, I''m afraid you''re still not enough to stop the both of us," Zhan Baiya said as he walked out of the forest. Although Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya had spoken in very amicable tones, the auras they radiated were incomparably frightening. Even the many Refinement Realm experts standing behind Purple Jade felt the threat of death when bathed in this aura. In addition, the Secret Pavilion''s members could also sense many other bone-chilling killing intents being directed at them from the forest. Every one of these killing intents was enough to make their bodies shudder. They felt that if they let their guard down for even a moment, they would definitely die a tragic death here. At this moment, the Secret Pavilion''s members were also certain that, if not for them representing the Secret Pavilion, Sheng Wuji''s and Zhan Baiya''s teams would''ve long since taken action. So, these are the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team led by Ghost Mage and Meteor Hammer? Purple Jade automatically grew vigilant as she observed the numerous parties hidden within the forest. Just the peak experts she could sense before her right now already numbered as many as fifteen. Moreover, unlike herself, these peak experts had already been in the Void Realm for a long time and had much more combat experience than she did. Not only were they much more experienced at fighting against experts that had equal or superior combat standards, but their control over their five senses was also far superior to her own. Not to mention, every member of Sheng Wuji''s and Zhan Baiya''s teams boasted top-tier equipment. Even the weakest piece of equipment on them was Level 65 Fine-Gold rank, with many of them fully geared in Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment. There were even ten-odd experts with Epic items. As for Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya, each of them sported four Epic items, with the rest being Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment. If these two teams were working together, even superpowers would receive a rough beating if they did not take the two teams seriously. Not to mention, both these teams had powerful Super Guilds as backing. They did not have to fear any repercussions for their actions the way independent players did. After calming herself, Purple Jade smiled and said, "This is a misunderstanding. I am here only to receive you two. I have no intention of fighting." "It seems the Secret Pavilion understands the current situation," Sheng Wuji laughed. "Say it, then. How do you plan on dividing Stone Forest Town''s shares?" "I''ll state it clearly first. Pride Empire wants 30%," Zhan Baiya declared. "Since Old Zhan has said so, then Sky Dragon House will settle for 30%, as well. As the Secret Pavilion is the first to occupy Stone Forest Town, it''ll get 40%. I believe the Secret Pavilion won''t have any complaints about this, right?" Sheng Wuji said. "This..." The words of these two people immediately rendered Purple Jade speechless. Their combined demand was actually for 60% of Stone Forest Town''s shares. Had these two people belonged to any other superpower, they definitely wouldn''t speak so boldly to the Secret Pavilion. However, the Super Guilds these two represented were extremely strong and not afraid of any power in God''s Domain. In fact, if she were not representing the Secret Pavilion but some other superpower instead, these two people would not have demanded just 60%. "If your Secret Pavilion has any opinions about this matter, speak up. However, you are not allowed to touch this bottom line!" Sheng Wuji said sternly when he saw Purple Jade hesitating to speak. Although Zhan Baiya did not make any additional comments, his attitude made it clear that he shared the same sentiments as Sheng Wuji. As these two people were waiting for Purple Jade''s reply, a man suddenly appeared from another corner of the forest. This man wore a quaint, old cloak and had two exquisite longswords hanging at his waist. He gave the impression of a down-and-out Swordsman that was just passing by. "Since you two want Stone Forest Town''s shares, aren''t you going to ask Zero Wing whether this is fine or not?" 2150 Lacking Qualifications Chapter 2150 - Lacking Qualifications "Who are you?" Sheng Wuji''s gaze turned chilly as he looked askance at Shi Feng. As soon as Sheng Wuji spoke, the Sky Dragon House members hiding within the forest directed their gaze toward Shi Feng. The cold killing intent they radiated could scare peak experts. Even monster-level experts would most likely grow wary upon sensing such an intense killing intent. What happened next, however, stunned both Sky Dragon House''s and Pride Empire''s members. Despite having such an intense killing intent directed at himself, Shi Feng remained at ease as he strolled toward Sheng Wuji, his demeanor making it seem as if the intense killing intent did not exist at all. "Black Flame!" Shi Feng replied curtly. "So, you''re the Sword King." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s answer, Sheng Wuji immediately looked at Shi Feng squarely. If the person Sheng Wuji was dealing with were merely the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, he wouldn''t have bothered taking a second glance at the other party. After all, in terms of strength or status, he was on another level altogether compared to a first-rate Guild''s Guild Leader. However, Shi Feng was different. Shi Feng was a bona fide apex expert, someone of equal strength. The only reason why Sheng Wuji had treated Purple Jade amicably before was the fact that she was the Secret Pavilion''s representative. The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental power in the virtual gaming world, and it very rarely participated in the struggle between the various superpowers. It mainly moved for money and information gathering. However, the Secret Pavilion was not weak by any means. After all, it was impossible for a power to transcend without sufficient strength. In reality, even Sky Dragon House feared the Secret Pavilion greatly and would normally avoid coming into conflict with it. Sky Dragon House had decided to offend the Secret Pavilion only because too much was at stake this time. "Guild Leader Black Flame, since you''ve arrived as well, let''s just speak frankly with each other," Sheng Wuji said, chuckling. "The current Stone Forest is no longer something you can afford to hold. Even the Secret Pavilion can''t do so. After all, there are simply too many superpowers eyeing this place. If you wish to hold the city, your only choice is to work with us. We''ve already stated the amount of shares we want. Each of our Guilds wants 30%. As for the remaining 40%, you can decide how you want to split it with the Secret Pavilion. Our Guilds won''t mind whatever decision you make." "That''s right. This is our bottom line. If negotiations fail, then we''ll simply switch to another method to negotiate," Zhan Baiya said, nodding. He then turned to look at Purple Jade and continued, "However, I''m afraid the end result then will be undesirable to the Secret Pavilion." Although Zhan Baiya also valued experts like Shi Feng highly, in front of the various superpowers, Shi Feng alone would be helpless to change anything. In Zhan Baiya''s calculations, Shi Feng didn''t have any authority in their negotiations at all. The one actually in control of Stone Forest Town should be the Secret Pavilion. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s appearance here was only a negotiating tactic for the Secret Pavilion to gain more benefits. "Guild Leader Black Flame, both Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire are Super Guilds with extraordinary strength. Both of them are far stronger than even the current Starlink. Now that the two of them are working together, if it really comes down to a fight, what with the interference of other superpowers, the outcome will not be pleasing," Purple Jade said. She naturally understood what Zhan Baiya was trying to say. Moreover, as a core member of the Secret Pavilion, she understood very clearly just how frightening these two Super Guilds were. However, Shi Feng didn''t know this, so she needed to explain things to him. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, as soon as Purple Jade finished speaking, Shi Feng turned his gaze toward Zhan Baiya. "Bottom line?" Shi Feng chuckled. "Isn''t this something meant to be surpassed? Also, you want to take Stone Forest Town''s shares? I''m afraid you''re still not qualified to do so." The atmosphere in the area immediately hit rock bottom. As for Purple Jade, she nearly fainted from anger when she heard Shi Feng''s words. Her intention had been to let Shi Feng understand how powerful the Guilds backing Sheng Wuji and Zhan Baiya were and have him appease these two people first. That way, they would still have hopes of negotiating for better terms afterward. Now, however... "Not qualified? Since that is the case, everyone, let''s show Guild Leader Black Flame whether our Pride Empire is actually qualified or not!" Zhan Baiya growled as he waved his hand. Immediately, the Heavenly Demon Team members hidden in the forest sprang into action. Over 20 Level 66-plus melee experts instantly surrounded and attacked Shi Feng. The coordination between these melee experts was excellent. They evenly split their attacks into four stages, with every member taking on a specific role in the assault; some focused on executing defensive maneuvers, and some focused on offense. As veterans of the battlefield, their assault was void of any flaws that could be taken advantage of. Even Domain Realm monsters would have a headache dealing with such a coordinated attack. "It seems he is still too young. He must think that nobody can stop him, now that he has reached the Domain Realm." Sheng Wuji sent Shi Feng a look of pity when he saw the coordinated assault of Pride Empire''s experts. It was very rare for someone to reach the Domain Realm at Shi Feng''s age. Hence, those that did manage to accomplish such a feat would generally feel that they were invincible existences and would not put anybody in their eyes. Unfortunately, Shi Feng''s opponent this time was the Heavenly Demon Team, a team that constantly fought monster- level experts. It was entirely different from the expert teams of other superpowers, which possessed only extraordinary combat power but not experience fighting monster-level experts. The Heavenly Demon Team''s members understood very clearly not only the combat methods of Domain Realm experts but also how to counter such combat methods. Moreover, the leaders of the 20-plus melee players attacking Shi Feng right now were two peak experts that were just one step away from reaching the Domain Realm. Either of them was more than capable of fighting Domain Realm experts to a standstill for quite some time. If they coordinated with each other and received aid from other teammates, they were fully capable of taking down a Domain Realm expert. Hence, whenever the Heavenly Demon Team succeeded in surrounding a Domain Realm expert, the fight generally ended with the Domain Realm expert''s defeat. If a monster-level expert from the older generation came across the Heavenly Demon Team, they would generally pay attention to their positioning. They definitely wouldn''t allow the Heavenly Demon Team to surround them. However, Shi Feng was far too young. Furthermore, he was someone that came from a minor power that had no background whatsoever, so it was normal for him to be ignorant of the Heavenly Demon Team. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn''t have committed such a low-level mistake. Meanwhile, when Purple Jade saw that Shi Feng was surrounded, her complexion darkened immediately. She was well aware of just how powerful the Heavenly Demon Team was and the team''s many exploits. Hence, she knew that Shi Feng was now in an extremely precarious situation. She immediately unsheathed her sword, intending to reinforce him. However, before she could even take a step forward, she suddenly felt a chilling gaze directed at herself and the threat of imminent death. Her body froze up on instinct. "Little missy, I advise you not to take action. This matter is between Zero Wing and Pride Empire. If you make a move, then I''ll have no choice but to take action as well," Sheng Wuji warned slowly. Upon hearing this, Purple Jade had no choice but to abandon her thoughts of helping Shi Feng. Judging by Sheng Wuji''s phrasing, she deduced that there was still ground for recovery. This fight was being regarded as only a small friction between Zero Wing and Pride Empire. If she were to intervene, however, the fight would take on a whole different meaning: the Secret Pavilion would be standing in direct opposition to both Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire. Then, there would no longer be any room for negotiations. When Purple Jade resumed her previous stance, Sheng Wuji nodded in approval before returning his gaze to Shi Feng. He was eager to see just how far Shi Feng had progressed in the Domain Realm. At their standard, strength could no longer be determined using common sense. Even if Shi Feng was killed multiple times today and lost a significant amount of progress, he could still climb back up to prominence one day. After all, opportunities that ordinary experts found hard to attain could be easily secured by experts of their standard. In fact, Domain Realm experts could almost certainly secure any opportunities they came across. Their levels and equipment standard wouldn''t pose a hindrance to them. This was also the reason why the various superpowers abhorred dealing with Domain Realm experts. In the next moment, two peak experts and six Flowing Water Realm experts from the Heavenly Demon Team launched a pincer attack on Shi Feng. The two peak experts focused only on offense while the six Flowing Water Realm experts divided their roles between offense and defense. As for the other melee players, they focused on preventing the Swordsman from escaping the encirclement; they were all ready to trade blow for blow with him. When dealing with a peak expert that abandoned defense and focused solely on offense, even Domain Realm experts would have to tread carefully. Normally, the best way for Domain Realm experts to cope with such suicidal peak experts was to temporarily go on the defensive and wait for an opportunity to deal a fatal blow. Now, however, Shi Feng had to deal with not only two Void Realm experts and three Flowing Water Realm experts, all of whom were attacking him, hell-bent on mutual destruction, but also three Flowing Water Realm experts defending these five suicidal experts. However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, even when the greatswords of the two peak experts were about to land on Shi Feng''s body, the Swordsman still showed no signs of wanting to dodge the attacks at all. Instead, he brandished his two swords and greeted the incoming attacks in battle. Two bright flashes entered everyone''s eyes, followed by two loud metallic clangs. In the next moment, both peak experts abruptly went flying over a dozen yards. Their bodies crashed heavily into the ground, their HP bars decreasing by a sizable chunk. The arms of both peak experts also trembled violently as they stiffened up. 2151 Slaying the Heavenly Demon Team Chapter 2151 - Slaying the Heavenly Demon Team The instant the two peak experts went flying, everyone in the Heavenly Demon Team was stunned. The six Flowing Water experts supporting the two peak experts even forgot to attack Shi Feng. They simply stared at the man before them in utter disbelief. If the two players Shi Feng had just sent flying were any other peak expert, the six would, at most, be a little surprised. However, they knew exactly how powerful those two peak experts were. The two peak experts'' combat standards aside, their weapons and equipment alone were already considered the best among the best in the current God''s Domain. Not only were both peak experts fully geared in Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment, but both of them also wielded Epic Weapons. Moreover, both peak experts were Berserkers. In a competition of Strength, they could clash directly even with their Guild''s Domain Realm experts, who boasted three or four Epic Weapons and Equipment. Despite all that, Shi Feng not only sent both of these peak experts flying but even caused their arms to stiffen up. How is his Strength so high? Zhan Baiya was also stunned as he stared at Shi Feng. The two peak experts that went flying could exhibit Strength rivaling Great Lords of the same level. They could even hold their own against Strength-based Great Lords in a frontal confrontation. However, Shi Feng effortlessly nullified the combination attack of the two peak expertsand sent both of them flying. Only Grand Lords of the same level could accomplish such a feat. A monster-level expert with the Strength of a Grand Lord of the same level? After Zhan Baiya thought up to this point, his complexion turned incomparably grim. Before the Heavenly Demon Team members could react to the unexpected development, Shi Feng took a step forward, the two swords in his hands suddenly transforming into dazzling streaks of lights. In the next moment, a beautiful lotus of light bloomed around him. Sword''s Transmigration! Twelve sword lights instantly cut through the six Flowing Water Realm experts standing idly around Shi Feng. Although these six experts had sensed the attacks, the twelve sword lights were simply far too fast for them to react to. Moreover, the sword lights were accurately aimed at their defensive blind spots. In the end, they could only watch as the sword lights pierced through their bodies. A moment later, all six Flowing Water Realm experts collapsed at Shi Feng''s feet. The entire process had been so quick that the rear line healers didn''t even get a chance to start casting their Healing Spells. "So strong! With this kind of speed and Strength, even that old thing from our Guild might be inferior to him," Sheng Wuji exclaimed in astonishment. When Sky Dragon House''s members heard Sheng Wuji''s comment, they could not help but stare at Shi Feng in shock and horror. Sheng Wuji was one of Sky Dragon House''s main pillars. There were only three people in the entire Guild that Sheng Wuji would refer to as an "old thing"and they were existences that even their Guild Leader had to treat with the utmost respect. As for the equipment these three people wore, all sorts of guesses were bandied about in the Guild. However, the consensus was that each of these three people had at least seven pieces of Epic Equipment on them. No doubt, they stood at the apex of God''s Domain in terms of equipment standards. Now, however, Sheng Wuji actually said that Shi Feng surpassed one of these three people in Basic Attributes. How could such a thing be possible? Nevertheless, these words had come out of Sheng Wuji''s mouth directly, so the Horned Dragon Team''s members had no choice but to accept them. After all, Sheng Wuji was one of Sky Dragon House''s monster-level experts. His insight and knowledge far surpassed their own. Since he said so, then there was a 90% chance that it was true. Only, they simply could not figure out how a small Guild like Zero Wing managed to equip Shi Feng to such an extent. Players needed to have compatibility with their weapons and equipment in order to wield them properly; Epic Weapons and Equipment were no exception to this. Players could strengthen their Basic Attributes by using weapons and equipment that were of a higher quality but had low compatibility. However, by doing so, they would not only fail to increase their combat power but even decrease it instead. From Shi Feng''s performance, it was evident that he was using weapons and equipment that were compatible with him. However, obtaining seven or more pieces of Epic Equipment that had high compatibility was extremely difficult. The first reason was the rarity of Epic items. The second reason was the high repetition rate of certain equipment parts. At this stage of the game, first-rate Guilds might have 20 or 30 Epic items, but the majority of these were for the head, top, and legs. Items for other parts of the body, such as capes, belts, and pauldrons, were in the minority. Some first-rate Guilds might not even have Epic Equipment for these parts. Hence, players faced extreme difficulty obtaining seven or more pieces of Epic Equipment that were compatible with them. Members of Super Guilds were no exception. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng killed the six Flowing Water Realm experts from the Heavenly Demon Team, Zhan Baiya no longer dared to take the situation lightly. He immediately took out a bottle of purple-gold potion. The potion''s bottle was made out of Mana Stone, and the potion exuded dense Mana that was palpable even from several dozen yards away. Four other players from the Heavenly Demon Team also took out the same potion and drank it. The instant the five players drank the potion, a purple-gold divine rune suddenly appeared on their heads. The aura their bodies radiated also skyrocketed in intensity. "What? The Heavenly Demon Team actually prepared five Divine Protection Potions?" The corners of Sheng Wuji''s mouth twitched slightly when he saw the potion the five players consumed. The Divine Protection Potion could be obtained only from the Fire Dragon Empire''s ancient ruins. The value of each bottle rivaled that of an Epic item, and even the Horned Dragon Team he led had only two bottles prepared. Players who consumed the Divine Protection Potion would temporarily receive a God''s blessing, which improved their Life Ratings by a significant margin. Of course, the potion was only effective for players at Tier 3 or below. Normally, when Tier 2 players consumed the potion, they would gain Basic Attributes close to the Tier 3 standard. Now that five players from the Heavenly Demon Team had consumed the Divine Protection Potion, the team essentially gained five semi-Tier 3 players. It should be known that the difference between tiers was massive in God''s Domain. Although the five players from the Heavenly Demon Team could only be considered semi-Tier 3 players right now, the combat power they could exhibit would still surpass anything Tier 2 players could hope to achieve. Not to mention, of the five players that consumed the Divine Protection Potion, four were peak experts, and one was a monster-level expert. In the next moment, the five players started fighting it out with Shi Feng, the attacks of both sides wreaking great destruction on their surroundings. From afar, the fight between these six players looked more like a battle between monsters than one between players. Right now, any one of the five players from the Heavenly Demon Team had the combat power to defeat monster-level experts. They were akin to strategic missiles in a field battle, able to slay a 1,000-man team of ordinary experts all by themselves. They were frightening existences that were basically unstoppable. Due to the high standards of the battle, the Heavenly Demon Team''s other members couldn''t interfere in the battle at all, left to watch from the sidelines. At this moment, however, Shi Feng was equally terrifying. Despite facing the joint assault of these five players, Shi Feng was actually only at a slight disadvantage. "Everyone, hold out a little longer! This place is the Bottomless Abyss! The Stamina consumption here is several times higher than in the outside world! He won''t last very long if he keeps on moving at such a pace!" Zhan Baiya said, sneering as he watched Shi Feng fervently dodging their attacks. "Once his Stamina runs out, he''ll die!" Currently, Shi Feng''s defense was practically perfect. He consistently deflected all of their attacks, making them feel as if they were pointlessly striking the air. As a result, each attack barely did him any damage. However, Shi Feng had been fighting against them at full capacity all this time. His five senses and mental state were constantly being pushed to their very limits. Doing so would place a tremendous burden on his Stamina and Concentration. What with the greatly increased Stamina and Concentration consumption in the Bottomless Abyss, the Swordsman wouldn''t be able to last very long in this battle. In contrast, the five of them received a qualitative improvement to their Life Ratings after consuming the Divine Protection Potion. Naturally, their Stamina and Concentration had received improvements as well. Not to mention, they were expending far less Stamina and Concentration than Shi Feng. It was only a matter of time before they whittled him to death. "Is that so?" Looking at the smug expression on Zhan Baiya''s face, Shi Feng leaped back, pulling away from the Heavenly Demon Team. "You want to run? It won''t be that easy!" When Shi Feng retreated, Zhan Baiya immediately commanded, "Activate the Void Magic Array! Do not let him escape, no matter what!" In the next moment, two dozen or so members from the Heavenly Demon Team each took out a Magic Array Scroll from their bags. They then activated the scrolls, trapping Shi Feng inside a magic barrier. "Black Flame is finished now. The Void Magic Array not only prevents players from escaping but also suppresses their Basic Attributes by roughly 20%." Sheng Wuji sighed involuntarily when he saw the Void Magic Array being deployed. "However, I''m afraid only a few people in God''s Domain are capable of forcing the Heavenly Demon Team to go to such lengths. Black Flame can be proud of this battle." The Homed Dragon Team''s members also expressed their agreement with Sheng Wuji''s words. The Heavenly Demon Team was Pride Empire''s trump card team, only second to the Guild''s main force. The team had killed plenty of monster-level experts before. However, the experts that had managed to force the Heavenly Demon Team to go all out could be counted on the fingers of one hand. If news of this matter were to spread in the Fire Dragon Empire, it would definitely cause a sensation in the entire empire. As soon as Sheng Wuji finished speaking, Shi Feng suddenly stopped moving. He simply watched quietly as Zhan Baiya''s group of five charged at him. "Giving up now that you know you can''t get away?" Zhan Baiya laughed when he saw that Shi Feng had stopped moving. "Noisy!" Sending a glance at Zhan Baiya, Shi Feng activated Deep Sea Meditation and charged forward. Suddenly, Shi Feng''s aura transformed. As if he had become a completely different person from before, his aura now was so violent that even the Refinement Realm experts spectating from the sidelines felt their breath stifled. Moreover, they also felt pressured due to a difference in Life Rating. Before Shi Feng''s Life Rating, even the Life Ratings of Zhan Baiya''s group of five seemed insignificant. "How is this possible?" When Zhan Baiya felt Shi Feng''s aura, his gut actually warned him that he was no match for Shi Feng. However, just as Zhan Baiya was considering retreating, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before him. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Instant Strike! Sword''s Transmigration! More than twenty sword lights flew from Shi Feng''s swords, so fast that they were imperceptible by the naked eye. When the sword lights vanished, Zhan Baiya''s group of five started collapsing to the ground, one after another. 2152 Inhuman Combat Power Chapter 2152 - Inhuman Combat Power The entire area sank into utter silence at Zhan Baiya''s death. The nearby Heavenly Demon Team members fell into a daze on the spot. Even the rear line healers, who had been casting Healing Spells continuously, froze as they stared at Zhan Baiya''s corpse. As for Sheng Wuji, Purple Jade, and the other onlookers, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw this scene. "Crap! Is he really a player?" At this moment, even Sheng Wuji could not help but curse out loud. He simply could not wrap his head around this outcome. Zhan Baiya was the commander of the Heavenly Demon Team and was nicknamed Ghost Mage. Spells would gain life in his hands. The way he connected and coordinated his Spells was something even Domain Realm experts found difficult. Not to mention, he had also consumed the Divine Protection Potion for this battle. Yet, Shi Feng had still managed to kill Zhan Baiya in one hit. Moreover, he had struck so quickly that the latter didn''t even have time to use any of his Lifesaving Skills. "What did he do?" Purple Jade googled reflexively in utter disbelief as she looked at Shi Feng, who was standing proudly on the battlefield. From start to end, the only thing she was certain of was that Shi Feng had suddenly appeared before Zhan Baiya''s group, followed by a dazzling flash crossing the distance between the two sides. Afterward, Zhan Baiya''s group of five collapsed to the ground. Everything else that happened in between had escaped her five senses. It should be known that she had already reached the Void Realm. She could exert her five senses to their very limits and clearly perceive her surroundings. Even if an action was too fast for the naked eye, said action couldn''t escape all of her senses. Even the old monsters of the Secret Pavilion couldn''t accomplish such a feat. Nevertheless, she had actually failed to perceive Shi Feng''s actions. Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, after Shi Feng killed Zhan Baiya''s group of five, he calmly shifted his gaze to the rest of the Heavenly Demon Team and asked, "Do you still want to continue?" Although Shi Feng did not speak very loudly, his voice carried, loud and clear, on the silent battlefield. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, the Heavenly Demon Team members suddenly felt as if they had just received a death sentence, and all fell into despair. Even the two remaining peak experts of the team, who were originally preparing to take action, involuntarily lowered their heads. They avoided eye contact with Shi Feng, lest he misunderstand and take it for a challenge. After all, if even a Domain Realm expert like Zhan Baiya was killed so effortlessly, what could the rest of them possibly do against Shi Feng? Choosing to continue the fight now would only result in additional losses for the Heavenly Demon Team. Immediately, the magic barrier enveloping Shi Feng crumbled and disintegrated into countless particles of light. This scene stunned Yuan Tiexin, who had just arrived at the site of the battle, his mind unable to figure out what was going on. Previously, after Yuan Tiexin had explained the situation to Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader had rushed toward the location of Sky Dragon House''s and Pride Empire''s teams without hesitation. As Shi Feng''s speed was absurdly fast, Yuan Tiexin soon got left behind. While running toward the battlefield, Yuan Tiexin saw the magic barrier appear and immediately knew that the situation had gone south. Shi Feng must''ve butted heads with the members of the two Super Guilds. Otherwise, a high- level magic barrier wouldn''t have been used in such a place. However, only a few seconds after the magic barrier went up, it actually started disintegrating. Even Yuan Tiexin, with his bountiful experience, could not figure out what had just happened. However, when Yuan Tiexin saw Zhan Baiya''s corpse lying on the ground and the looks of despair on the Heavenly Demon Team members'' faces, he became thoroughly stupefied. Who was Zhan Baiya? What was the Heavenly Demon Team? These were things that he, as an Elder of the Secret Pavilion, knew very clearly. Every member of the Heavenly Demon Team was an expert among experts. They had fought in countless battles and also attained innumerable achievements for Pride Empire. They were all incomparably arrogant people and would be more than willing to fight to the death when faced with a powerful foe. They definitely would not shrink back even the slightest bit. Now, however, no matter how Yuan Tiexin looked at the Heavenly Demon Team''s members, he could not find any trace of fighting spirit on their faces, their eyes brimming with only fear as they looked at Shi Feng. "Elder Yuan, the Secret Pavilion is truly amazing. To think you would have such a trump card hidden. You have my sincere admiration," Sheng Wuji said as he approached Yuan Tiexin. With some reluctance, he continued, "The Horned Dragon Team will be giving up on the struggle for Stone Forest Town this time. However, understand that it is only the Horned Dragon Team that is giving up. That doesn''t mean that Sky Dragon House is giving up as well." When Yuan Tiexin heard Sheng Wuji''s words, his expression remained impassive. Inwardly, however, his heart was pounding madly. At this moment, he could not help but wish he could shout out loud and ask what Shi Feng had done. Why would the almighty Homed Dragon Team choose to yield without even putting up a fight? Before Yuan Tiexin could sort out his emotions, Sheng Wuji had already led his team away from the Undead Forest. Sheng Wuji did not dare to stay here for even a moment longer and risk his team''s annihilation. Only after confirming that the Horned Dragon Team and Heavenly Demon Team had left the battlefield did Yuan Tiexin ask Purple Jade about what had happened. Without missing a detail, Purple Jade told Yuan Tiexin everything she saw. "So, that''s the case. If it were up to me, I would most likely have made the same decision as Sheng Wuji." Yuan Tiexin revealed a bitter smile as he looked at the direction Sheng Wuji and the others had taken. The word "shocking" was no longer enough to describe the fact that Shi Feng had instantly killed Zhan Baiya, who had consumed the Divine Protection Potion. Although the Heavenly Demon Team''s and Horned Dragon Team''s members were prideful, they were not idiots. If there were even a strand of hope, they would''ve definitely chosen to fight to the bitter end. However, against absolute power, the numbers they had here were utterly meaningless. Rather than pointlessly getting themselves killed, it was much better if they gave up quickly and conserved their strength. Thinking up to this point, Yuan Tiexin could not help but turn an incredulous gaze toward Shi Feng. He simply could not bring himself to believe that Shi Feng actually possessed this kind of strength. Shi Feng was far stronger than he was during the Auction Arena. His growth was ridiculous. However, what Yuan Tiexin did not know was that, in reality, Shi Feng wasn''t in a good state at all. Although his current Basic Attributes were indeed superior to when he had participated in the Auction Arena, the overall improvement in his combat power was extremely limited. The only reason why he was able to exhibit such great power just now was his combining a Taboo Skill with a combat technique. As for Deep Sea Meditation, although the Secret Law allowed players to tap their latent potential, it took a massive toll on the user''s Stamina and Concentration. Using the Secret Law in a place like the Bottomless Abyss only served to amplify its flaws. Similarly, combining Sword''s Transmigration and Instant Strike also placed an enormous demand on his Stamina and Concentration. When he used all of these things together, his Stamina and Concentration had drained away like there was no tomorrow. He had expended more than half of his total Stamina and Concentration to kill Zhan Baiya''s group of five; he wouldn''t have been able to use the move a second time. Had the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team chosen to continue fighting, he would have had no choice but to run away. ... Meanwhile, on the Horned Dragon Team''s side... The members of the team currently wore ashen expressions on their faces, their hearts filled with frustration. "Commander, are we really leaving just like that? The Guild Leader instructed us to secure Stone Forest Town no matter the cost, and even if it isn''t possible for us to secure it, we definitely can''t let other powers have it," a Level 67 Ranger asked worriedly as he looked at Sheng Wuji. Their Guild Leader''s orders were absolute. If they returned completely unharmed now, they would definitely incur their Guild Leader''s ire. "What are you worried about? The struggle for Stone Forest Town has just begun. Even if we secured the town now, we''d still have to face the full-bore assault of numerous superpowers," Sheng Wuji replied, chuckling. "Against that kind of attack, even if our Sky Dragon House worked with Pride Empire, we might not necessarily be able to defend the town successfully. Do you think Black Flame and the Secret Pavilion can accomplish this on their own? The struggle for Stone Forest Town can be considered to have truly begun only when the experts of the various superpowers are all assembled. Our teams are here merely on reconnaissance. "If the Secret Pavilion and Black Flame had worked with us, it would''ve definitely been possible to defend Stone Forest Town. Unfortunately, they chose to go down a dead end!" Now that Stone Forest Town had been promoted to a Basic City, the number of superpowers vying for it had grown to a point where even the Sky Dragon House found capturing it worrisome. This was also why Sky Dragon House had decided to partner with Pride Empire. Shi Feng was simply immature if he thought he could defend Stone Forest Town with only the Secret Pavilion''s help. Meanwhile, shortly after Sheng Wuji''s team left the Undead Forest, the opaque magic barrier around Stone Forest Town finally disappeared. A new city then appeared before everyone''s eyes. Stone Forest Town was now officially Stone Forest City! 2153 Stone Forest City Chapter 2153 - Stone Forest City The appearance of Stone Forest City immediately caused an uproar among the players present in the Undead Forest. Stone Forest Town had occupied only a small portion of the area covered by the magic barrier enveloping the center of the Undead Forest. However, Stone Forest City actually occupied nearly half of that area. Although the wall surrounding Stone Forest City was the default, six-meter-tall wall, it was engraved with divine runes that prevented players from vaulting over it. Unless players breached the wall, they had no choice but to enter the city through the main gate. The defensive capabilities of Stone Forest City were undoubtedly much greater than when it was still a town. Moreover, after getting promoted to a city, the constructions inside Stone Forest had undergone significant transformationsespecially Zero Wing''s Residence. Now, the Guild Hall sitting inside the Residence had transformed into a 60-meter-tall building. It looked like a massive mountain and was visible even from several thousand yards away. After Zero Wing''s Guild Hall, the structure that had undergone the most changes was the Zero Wing Auction House. The Zero Wing Auction House was an Advanced Construction. After Stone Forest Town became Stone Forest City, the Auction House became a 12-story-tall building that occupied a significant portion of the city''s main street. The Auction House was already larger than the Auction Houses of ordinary NPC cities. Moreover, aside from the Auction House, the other constructions in the city also received significant improvements. "Isn''t Stone Forest City a little too luxurious?!" Purple Jade could not believe her eyes as she took in the towering buildings filling Stone Forest City. As a core member of the Secret Pavilion, she had seen quite a few Guild Cities. She had even personally conducted an investigation into several of them. However, she could say with absolute certainty that Stone Forest City was visibly better than every one of the Guild Cities she had visited. In fact, Stone Forest City looked much more splendorous than even the current Zero Wing City. It looked nothing like a recently promoted city at all. At this moment, Purple Jade wasn''t the only person surprised by Stone Forest City''s appearance. Even Easy Wind was stunned. The development of a Guild City was a gradual process. All the information the Secret Pavilion had gathered supported this contention. However, Stone Forest City wasn''t following the rules at all. "Although I don''t know what is going on here, the fact that Stone Forest City has already developed to such an extent means that we''ll have a much greater hope of defending it." After Yuan Tiexin took a look at the various constructions filling the city, he promptly commanded his subordinates, "Notify the main headquarters immediately and have them transfer reinforcements through the temporary Residence. We need to get Stone Forest City''s defenses fully operational before the various superpowers arrive." In God''s Domain, the more prosperous a Guild City was, the more NPC soldiers it could employ. Meanwhile, the constructions within a city played a huge role in determining its prosperity. With how prosperous Stone Forest City was, it should have a much greater advantage than other newly promoted Guild Cities when it came to recruiting NPC soldiers. There was a huge difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2 NPCs. Tier 2 NPCs, in particular, would have their combat standards affected by a city''s prosperity. The more prosperous the Guild City they worked for was, the better their combat standards would become. Take one of the few earliest Guild Cities that had appeared in God''s Domain for example. At this point, the Tier 2 NPCs employed by these cities already had combat standards at the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Including the advantage in Basic Attributes that NPCs had over players and their high levels, they could kill Tier 2 experts as if they were toying with ants. The current Stone Forest City might not be comparable to those old Guild Cities, but the Tier 2 NPC soldiers it hired should be capable of exhibiting combat standards at the fifth floor''s early stage or middle stage. If Stone Forest City could employ a large number of such Tier 2 NPC soldiers, these soldiers would be a frightening force. This was also the reason why the various superpowers were so desperate to capture Stone Forest City now. A Guild City was at its weakest just after completing its promotion. If they allowed Stone Forest City to reach its peak state, the cost of capturing the city would become several dozens of times higher. However, despite Yuan Tiexin and the others vocally expressing their curiosity about Stone Forest City''s prosperous state, Shi Feng did not give them an explanation. He simply chuckled and entered the city via the main gate. If he had promoted Stone Forest Town to a Basic City through the normal method, it would indeed have ended up like any other newly promoted Guild City. At most, the new Stone Forest City would occupy a larger area and have a taller wall. The constructions inside the city would remain mostly the same as before. However, Stone Forest Town was promoted using a Gold Town Promotion Order. Hence, after the town''s promotion, the constructions inside it would be upgraded as well. This could be said to be the hidden benefit of upgrading a town using a promotion order. Meanwhile, after the crowd outside entered Stone Forest City, everyone received another surprise. Zero Wing''s members, in particular, revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces. At the moment, Stone Forest City''s Magic Towers were clearly still inactive, yet the city''s Mana density was absurdly highat least twice as high as Stone Forest Town''s when all three of its Magic Towers were activated. It should be known that Stone Forest Town was already treated as a sacred training ground by players, as it was capable of improving players'' five senses by 10%. Stone Forest City''s current Mana density, however, was capable of improving players'' five senses by at least 15%. Although it was only a 5% increase, it could increase a player''s training efficiency by at least 20%. After all, the greater a player''s five senses were, the more useful their five senses would be in helping them improve their combat standards. Meanwhile, it was incredibly difficult for players to improve their five senses the further up they went. "If ordinary players could train here, they might even become fifth-floor experts within a month." Purple Jade''s breathing quickened when she experienced the atmosphere inside Stone Forest City. Ordinary players might not know how much time and effort it took to become a Trial Tower fifth-floor expert, but the Secret Pavilion did. The Secret Pavilion had specifically carried out a detailed analysis of the topic. Normally, a relatively talented player would take two or three months to reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor from an ordinary player''s standard. Needless to say, the average ordinary player would take even longer to accomplish this feat. However, Purple Jade could say with absolute certainty that, so long as an ordinary player was willing to put in the effort, they could definitely reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor within a month in Stone Forest City. The reason why superpowers were able to be known as such was not only their humongous capital but also their excellent training systems. They had specialized research teams tasked with studying and formulating methods of improving the strength of players and creating experts rapidly. The various superpowers expended an unimaginable amount of time and resources in order to improve the strength of their members quickly. However, most of their investments ended up in disappointment. Moreover, the training methods they did manage to create could be enjoyed by only a small number of players. Stone Forest City, on the other hand, was a natural training ground. Not only did it yield amazing training effects, but it could also accommodate an astronomical number of players. When Purple Jade imagined a Guild filled entirely with expert players, her scalp tingled. Most likely, even current Super Guilds would shudder at this thought. However, during the time the Secret Pavilion''s and Zero Wing''s members were enthusing over the benefits Stone Forest City offered, a huge commotion suddenly erupted in the forest a short distance from the city. The noise was so loud that it echoed throughout the Undead Forest. In the next moment, three gigantic, flaming elephants walked out of the forest, each one up to 100 meters tall. Their flaming bodies also caused the space around them to blur. ... [Flaming War Elephant] (Elemental Creature, Mythic) Level 85 HP 450,000,000/450,000,000 Aside from these three Flaming War Elephants, several thousand players also emerged from the forest. Every one of these players was Level 66 or above, and they all wore Starlink''s Guild Emblem. Meanwhile, leading these players was none other than Bright Dawn, one of Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders. 2154 You Really Shouldnst Have Come Here Chapter 2154 - You Really Shouldn''t Have Come Here The three Flaming War Elephants loomed like mountains outside of Stone Forest City. Even the Undead Forest''s monsters trembled at the sight. Both players and monsters could feel the War Elephant''s auras from several hundred yards away, recognizing that these creatures were even stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters. "How did they get here so quickly?" Yuan Tiexin watched Starlink''s army from Stone Forest City''s walls in confusion. Although Starlink had mobilized a massive army, it should''ve needed several more hours to reach Stone Forest Town, according to the Secret Pavilion''s information network. While several hours might not be enough time for the Secret Pavilion to set up an impenetrable defense, it should''ve been enough time to get Stone Forest City''s defensive measures online. It also would''ve given the city time to recruit plenty of NPC soldiers. With those defensive measures in place, capturing Stone Forest City would''ve been considerably difficult. The city could''ve dragged the fight with Starlink out while it waited for more reinforcements. Unfortunately, not only had Starlink''s forces arrived a lot sooner than expected, but the Guild had also brought three Mythic monsters with it All three Flaming War Elephants were covered in glowing divine runes. They had obviously been enhanced by some kind of power, and it was clear they weren''t ordinary summoned creatures. However, the Flaming War Elephants weren''t the only problem right now. Hundreds of magical class experts escorted the summoned monsters. These experts had gathered and pooled their Mana into several dozen, dazzling Energy Stones. As these magical class experts filled the Energy Stones with their Mana, magic arrays began to manifest around the stones, devouring the ambient Mana from up to 1,000 yards away... To an ordinary Guild expert, it would only seem as if Starlink were preparing to cast a powerful Spell, perhaps a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. However, Yuan Tiexin was no ordinary expert, and he knew that wasn''t a run-of-the-mill Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Rather, it was the Tier 4 Curse ranked Ancient Spell, Elemental Destruction. As far as he knew, Starlink regarded the Spell like a family heirloom! The Guild could use the Energy Stones to collect its players'' Mana, feeding the Ancient Spell. The Energy Stones could be used indefinitely. When cast, Elemental Destruction''s power would depend on the number of Energy Stones used. The Ancient Spell required a minimum of 12 Energy Stones, and every additional 12 stones would qualitatively transform the Spell. With 12 Energy Stones, Elemental Destruction would have the power of an ordinary Tier 4 Spell. If the casters used 24 Energy Stones, the Spell would display the power of a Tier 4 Curse. Of course, the stronger the Ancient Spell became, the more it would require of its casters, and the Cooldown would become longer. The last time Starlink had used the Energy Stones, it had destroyed a heavily fortified town under the dark forces'' control. The Guild had only used 17 Energy Stones in that attack. Now, however, Starlink''s magical class experts concentrated their Mana into 29 Energy Stones. When they released the Spell, Elemental Destruction would undoubtedly have the power of a Tier 4 Curse. The Ancient Spell''s destructive power would only be slightly weaker than a Tier 5 Spell, more than enough to destroy a Basic City''s defensive magic array, which could only block ordinary Tier 4 attacks. At this stage of the game, a city''s most impressive defensive measure was its magic barrier, which players were still helpless against. Not even a full-day''s assault from an army of 100,000 players could shatter a city''s defensive magic array. They wouldn''t even put a dent in its energy reserves. However, if the defensive magic array shattered, the city''s remaining defenses would only be slightly stronger than a towns Starlink''s army had also used an Epic ranked Defensive Orb to protect its members. Although an Epic Defense Orb''s magic barrier was no match for a city''s defensive magic array, it could withstand a few Tier 4 attacks. Unless Stone Forest City''s defending forces could deplete the Defense Orb''s Mana, they wouldn''t be able to harm Starlink''s players. Meanwhile, as the Homed Dragon Team departed from the Undead Forest, it noticed the colossal magic array that hovered near the cavern''s ceiling. Despite standing several thousand yards away, the team''s members could feel its domineering aura. "Amazing! So, this is Starlink''s rumored Elemental Destruction Spell?" Sheng Wuji watched the Mana fluctuations above grow stronger in shock. "They must have originally prepared this to capture another Undead Fortress. It seems Starlink is really desperate to deal with Stone Forest City." Sky Dragon House had some understanding of the Elemental Destruction Spell since it had obtained a few Energy Stones of its own. However, as the Guild hadn''t yet reached the minimum requirement to use the Ancient Spell. Although the Energy Stones could be used indefinitely, the stones'' Cooldown would be relative to the strength of the Spell they powered. If one used 12 Energy Stones to cast Elemental Destruction, the stone''s Cooldown would be 10 days long. By Sheng Wuji''s reasoning, using 29 Energy Stones to cast Elemental Destruction would result in a 20-day Cooldown at the very least. As God''s Domain rapidly developed, a 20-day time span was incredibly precious. If Starlink had used its Energy Stones to capture another fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, rather than using them against Stone Forest City, it could''ve earned astronomical profits from the fortress during that 20-day wait. But since the superpower was in a hurry, Starlink had chosen to use the 29 Energy Stones to destroy Stone Forest City''s defensive magic array. In reality, the Guild could have relied on the three Mythic ranked Flaming War Elephants to shatter Stone Forest City''s magic barrier in a short time. The only reason Starlink would use Elemental Destruction here, despite the exorbitant cost, was that it must want to end the battle as quickly as possible. "I suppose you didn''t expect that we''d meet again so soon, Guild Leader Black Flame," Bright Dawn said, looking down on Shi Feng, who stood on Stone Forest City''s wall, with a smug grin from atop a Flaming War Elephant. "You gave me two choices earlier. Now, I''ll do the same for you! Either get lost or die! Choose!" During their earlier encounter, he had been afraid of Shi Feng, but now, the tides had turned. With three Level 85 Mythic monsters and a Tier 4 Curse ranked Elemental Destruction at his command, he could even defeat a group of monster-level experts, much less Shi Feng. "Boss, why are you wasting your words on him? Let''s just force him to hand over his treasures and an extra piece of Epic Equipment! Otherwise, he''ll have no hope of leaving this place alive!" "That''s right! How can we let him off the hook so easily after such a long trip?" Bright Dawn''s confidants expressed their opinions on the matter. They all wanted to tear Shi Feng to shreds to satisfy their resentment for the Swordsman. Of course, the conditions they''d stated were a bluff. They were merely toying with Shi Feng. Even if he handed over his treasure and Epic Equipment, they couldn''t afford to let him escape with his life. Their Guild Leader, Lu Xingluo, had personally ordered this man''s death! Yuan Tiexin and the others were livid when they heard the clamor Starlink''s experts were making. Although they wanted to teach these fools a lesson, facing off against three Mythic monsters and several thousand experts with so few on their side wouldn''t be wise. They could only buy as much time as possible or be forced to watch as Starlink destroyed Stone Forest City. You barely survived our last meeting. You really shouldn''t have come," Shi Feng calmly replied, giving Bright Dawn a condescending look. "Black Flame!" Bright Dawn bellowed, his eyes glowing with a chilling light. Immediately, he commanded, "Ready Elemental Destruction and destroy Stone Forest City! I want him to__ Before Bright Dawn could finish his statement, however, Shi Feng revealed the Tier 4 Magic Scroll he had obtained from the Lord of Fire, empowering it with an Elemental Source. He activated the scroll without hesitation. Suddenly, a humongous magic array appeared above Starlink''s force, gathering Mana far faster than Starlink''s Elemental Destruction. The Mana fluctuations even destabilized space around it. Before anyone could react, a streak of blue-purple lightning descended. Boom! The lightning bolt easily pierced through the magic barrier protecting Starlink''s army and struck the players below. Every player within the lightning bolt''s range vaporized instantly. The attack also tore space as it passed. After the lightning bolt dissipated, silence dominated the battlefield. The three Flaming War Elephants, who had been in range of the attack, were heavily injured, and despite standing apart from each other, the lightning bolt had eliminated more than 90% of Starlink''s army. For a moment, time seemed to freeze in the Undead Forest. Both the Homed Dragon Team members, who watched from a safe distance, and the players within Stone Forest City, were dazed. 2155 Suppressing Starlink Chapter 2155 - Suppressing Starlink As the dust settled, it revealed a crater extending over 400 yards across. Thousands of weapons and equipment filled the newly-formed pit. Moreover, even the most inferior item in the crater was Level 65 Fine-Gold rank. Even superpowers would be tempted into action by so many top-tier items in one place. However, not a single watching player harbored any thoughts of greed as they gazed upon the battlefield. Rather, horror dominated their hearts. A single attack had slain several thousand experts in the blink of an eye. Moreover, they weren''t ordinary experts. Most of those players were Refinement Realm experts, peak experts in first-rate Guilds, yet they had died without offering any resistance... How is this possible?! Yuan Tiexin, who observed the battlefield from Stone Forest City''s walls, could hardly believe this outcome. Starlink had used an Epic ranked Defense Orb, an item that was even more valuable than Zero Wing''s movement-type defensive magic array and capable of enduring Tier 4 attacks. It could even withstand an assault from Magic Towers. This Defense Orb was the reason that Bright Dawn had dared to move within 1,000 yards of Stone Forest City. The Defense Orb''s only flaw was its troublesome refueling process. Players would have to wait a long time before they could sacrifice more Magic Crystals to restore the Defense Orb''s energy after a use. Even so, Starlink had relied on this Defense Orb to crush Unyielding Soul''s army and foiled the Guild''s plans to capture one of the Ancient Undead Country''s fortresses. And yet, Shi Feng had shattered the Defense Orb''s magic barrier in an instant. The barrier hadn''t even given the lightning bolt pause. Once the barrier had shattered, the lightning bolt had continued, killing thousands of Starlink''s experts and injuring three Mythic monsters... Just how much strength has Black Flame hidden? Sheng Wuji, who watched from a safe position, gaped at the Swordsman''s figure though a Magic Mirror. Shi Feng''s success in slaying the Heavenly Demon Team had already been frightening, but it paled in comparison to the power he had just revealed. Had Shi Feng used this move earlier, neither the Horned Dragon Team nor the Heavenly Demon Team would''ve walked out of the Undead Forest alive. He would''ve turned them all to ash. ... Shortly after Shi Feng''s attack, Bright Dawn, who had been a pile of ash, began to reform in his previous position on the back of the Flaming War Elephant. When he saw the destruction before him, shock and rage flashed in his eyes. "Black! Flame! I want you dead!" Bright Dawn screamed, his eyes becoming bloodshot. As one of Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders, the Guild had given him an Ancient Resurrection Scroll, which would grant him a second life without the usual death penalties. Unfortunately, the Ancient Resurrection Scroll was incomparably precious, so obtaining another was practically impossible. However, the scroll wasn''t the most expensive loss. The deaths of several thousand experts were far more important! These experts weren''t some random nobodies in the Guild. The Guild had handpicked and trained them all, and even the weakest of them was capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s seventh floor. Furthermore, Lu Xingluo had granted Bright Dawn the right to mobilize a large number of the Guild''s Refinement Realm experts to ensure Stone Forest City''s capture. Refinement Realm experts! All of these players were the Guild''s lifeblood. Yet, Shi Feng had killed over 200 of these experts with just one move... Since joining God''s Domain, Starlink had never suffered such a severe loss, yet not only had the Guild lost so many experts, but it had also happened under Bright Dawn''s supervision! Bright Dawn immediately commanded the three Flaming War Elephants to attack. With a furious roar, the three Mythic monsters charged towards Stone Forest City''s defensive magic array. Starlink''s surviving members also responded, bombarding the city with every trump card they had. For a time, the Undead Forest became a world of Spells and explosions. Although the three Flaming War Elephants were heavily injured, they were still Mythic monsters. Every one of their attacks devoured a significant portion of the magic barrier''s energy reserves. Meanwhile, Starlink''s members, who could exhibit Tier 3 strength, attacked the city with everything they had. With nearly a thousand players attacking as one, they caused quite a bit of damage to the defensive magic array, as well. After one round of attacks, Stone Forest City''s defensive magic array began to shudder violently. Seeing this, the players in the city began to retaliate. They attacked with either their own Spells and arrows or with Miniature Ballistas and Defense Turrets. One of the city''s Magic Towers also activated, bombarding Starlink''s members. However, the Guild''s survivors were all experts, and aside from the Magic Tower''s attacks, they dodged most of the incoming strikes with relative ease. Furthermore, they took advantage of the longer intervals between each Magic Tower attack, and only one Magic Tower was active at the moment. Unfortunately, the city''s NPC soldiers could only attack from a distance, using Spells and other long-range attacks. Not many of these NPCs were able to exhibit their full strength due to the three Mythic monsters outside. Sending these NPC soldiers outside of the city would be no different than sacrificing their lives for nothing. Only Shi Feng, the Secret Pavilion''s peak experts, and the Pavilion''s dozen or so Tier 3 summoned creatures were strong enough to stand a chance on the other side of Stone Forest City''s walls. Although this wasn''t a large-scale battle, ordinary experts and Refinement Realm experts would be nothing more than cannon fodder on the frontlines. "Die! Die! Black Flame! Die!" Bright Dawn downed a Berserk Potion and activated his Berserk Skill without hesitation. He and his surviving subordinates then charged at Shi Feng. The three old monsters that had followed Bright Dawn to the Undead Forest joined the charge, as well, and Shi Feng recognized them all. They were Sword Demon, Wind Demon, and Heart Demon of the Four Shadow Demons. When these three Domain Realm experts worked together, they could even defeat the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team. After consuming Berserk Potions and activating their Berserk Skills, their Basic Attributes rose to the Tier 4 standard. For a short time, these old monsters could even solo Mythic monsters of the same level. Against Bright Dawn and three of the Four Shadow Demons'' coordinated assault, Shi Feng, who had activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, was at a disadvantage, continuously losing HP. Of course, this fight wasn''t a walk in the park for Shi Feng''s opponents, either. After activating Heavenly Dragon''s Power, Shi Feng''s Strength rose to a tyrannical level. With his ability to counter his opponent''s attacks, he steadily chip away at his enemy''s HPs. Furthermore, Heavenly Dragon''s Power gave Shi Feng superb Defense, and although he lost HP, he didn''t lose it quickly. As time passed, the battle grew more intense. Most players had switched to Magic Scrolls and support tools, rather than relying on their own Skills and Spells to amplify their damage output. When Heart Demon saw Shi Feng''s HP fall to 50%, he retrieved a crystal and used it in tandem with a Spell. Suddenly, his Tier 2 Spell had Tier 3 power. Including Basic Attributes that rivaled Mythic monsters'', not even such creatures could stop his enhanced attack. Suddenly, over 30 magic spears flew at Shi Feng from different directions, each with Tier 4 power. Every one of these spears was under Heart Demon''s control, and they agilely flew toward their target like fish through water. Not one to be outdone, Sword Demon activated his most powerful Skill, Slash of Light, and his greatsword lit with a brilliant glow. He swung the weapon toward Shi Feng''s back, sealing off the other Swordsman''s path of retreat. "Come!" Shi Feng shouted. Even he felt the threat of death, and since he had already used up his Lifesaving Skills, he had no choice but to activate Blade Liberation. As his Basic Attributes skyrocketed, he countered the approaching magic spears and glowing greatsword with a swing of his blade. Lightning Slash! A blue glow enveloped Shi Feng''s surroundings as a black line followed. Immediately, all 30-plus magic spears and the Slash of Light shattered, yet the blue light didn''t stop after nullifying the attacks, rapidly reaching for Sword Demon and Heart Demon. In the end, neither old monster evaded the incoming attack, dying instantly as their HPs hit zero. Every expert on the battlefield was stunned. With his strength alone, Shi Feng had fought four of Starlink''s great experts. Three of these four players were even monster-level experts, existences that could even give the various superpowers massive headaches. In the end, however, not only had Shi Feng proven to be their match, but he had also instant-killed two of them! 2156 Silence Chapter 2156 - Silence Bright Dawn and Wind Demon, who had stood a little behind Sword Demon and Heart Demon, almost instinctively slid to a halt and jumped back the moment they saw their two allies fall, not daring to step any closer to Shi Feng. After increasing the distance between them and this terrifying Swordsman, they stared at Shi Feng, who currently radiated the aura of a ferocious, wild beast. Could he actually be an old monster in disguise? Wind Demon stared at the man in question in shock. Sword Demon and Heart Demon had undoubted wielded Basic Attributes at the Tier 4 standard, yet even after combining their Attributes and combat standards, they hadn''t even survived one of Shi Feng''s attacks. Wind Demon could no longer fathom Shi Feng''s Strength. However, what truly shocked Wind Demon was the Swordsman''s temperament. Shi Feng behaved nothing like a man of his age. Previously, if he and Bright Dawn hadn''t stood behind their comrades, they wouldn''t have had the time to react to Shi Feng''s transformed aura and activate their Lifesaving Skills. Shi Feng would''ve killed them all with that last attack. Shi Feng had directed Sword Demon and Heart Demon right where he wanted them, in the midst of activating a Skill when Shi Feng had attacked. When players activated a Skill in God''s Domain, they had to wait for a brief moment before they could activate another. The stronger the Skill was, the longer they''d have to wait. Shi Feng had clearly taken into account this interval and waited for the perfect moment to strike. He fought like an Assassin, waiting for the perfect moment to land a fatal blow before revealing himself. Although Sword Demon and Heart Demon had sensed the change to Shi Feng''s aura, they had been in the midst of activating a Skill and unable to react to their enemy''s perfect timing. Strength! Technique! Temperament! Shi Feng was flawless in all three aspects. Normally, younger fighters, like Shi Feng, were eager to reveal all of their strength, wanting the world''s admiration. However, that was not the case with Shi Feng. Like a veteran fighter with decades of experience, Shi Feng didn''t reveal his cards until the very last moment. Moreover, he played every card perfectly. Wind Demon wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. Even Yuan Tiexin, who watched from afar, was astonished. Since Yuan Tiexin had met Shi Feng, the Swordsman had revealed one trump card after another. Even with the experience he had accumulated over his many years, Yuan Tiexin couldn''t predict Shi Feng''s limits. On the contrary, the more he watched the young man, the cloudier Shi Feng became. He wasn''t anything like youngsters, such as Purple Jade, who fought with all of their cards on the table. Meanwhile, now that Sword Demon and Heart Demon, the strongest melee and ranged fighter among the three Shadow Demons present, were dead, Wind Demon and Bright Dawn had no way of keeping Shi Feng in check. If they continued this battle, it would only be a matter of time before they, too, met their demise. Once Wind Demon and Bright Dawn died, Starlink would lose the last experts that could command its forces in the Undead Forest. The Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing would then have control of the battlefield. "Black Flame! I admit that you''re good! I truly didn''t expect you to be so strong," Bright Dawn said, sneering at Shi Feng, who prepared to launch another attack. "However, you still can''t save Stone Forest City from destruction today!" "Dawn, you couldn''t possibly be thinking..." When Wind Demon heard Bright Dawn''s threat, a look of horror overtook his features. Before setting off on this expedition, they had prepared for Stone Forest City''s capture and destruction. Only, destroying the city was supposed to be a last resort. Not only would they lose Stone Forest City, but they''d also have to pay a high price to destroy the city. They were supposed to avoid this option unless they had no other choice. The moment they resorted to this method, no one would leave the Undead Forest alive. Before Wind Demon could do anything to stop Bright Dawn, the Undead Knight pulled a pitch-black seed from his bag. Although the seed was only the size of his thumb, it released a bloodcurdling aura that was even stronger than that of the Mythic ranked Flaming War Elephants. Even ordinary Tier 2 players would fall to their knees from the pressure, unable to move, if they stood within 10 yards of this black seed. Moreover, the seed released a dense cloud of dark energy. Even the Bottomless Abyss''s dark energy paled in comparison. Yuan Tiexin and the other peak experts had a bad feeling the moment Bright Dawn revealed this black seed. At their standards, they could push their five senses to their very limits, and their sixth sense was just as sharp. This was why experts like them could avoid dangerous situations when exploring God''s Domain. Meanwhile, their instincts screamed a warning when they saw the black seed, insisting that they flee. As Yuan Tiexin and his comrades thought of stopping the Undead Knight, who was clearly mad, Bright Dawn threw the seed to the ground. As soon as the black seed hit the soil, it began to devour dark energy from its surroundings, quickly growing into a towering tree that bore a single, gigantic, black fruit. As the fruit fell to the ground, it cracked open and released an aura of death and destruction. Even the three Flaming War Elephants, which had been attacking Stone Forest City''s magic barrier, froze in fear. Players over a thousand yards away felt their bodies become heavy as the intense pressure washed over them. Even space seemed to freeze. A goat-headed Demon with a snake tail then emerged from the split fruit. It bore three horns that were enveloped in emerald fire and wore a full set of pitch-black armor. To be precise, this armored creature wasn''t just any Demon, but a Great Demon, far more powerful than its ordinary counterparts! [Molfins (Marquis)] (Demonic Creature, Great Demon) Level 87 HP 640,000,000/640,000,000 "Black Flame! Aren''t you such a skilled fighter?! Now, you can have your fill of combat!" Bright Dawn laughed maniacally as he watched the Great Demon spawn from the Dark Seed. The Dark Seed was the final trump card Starlink had prepared to protect its fortress in the Ancient Undead Country, but rather than ''protect'' it, this demon would ensure mutual destruction. This Dark Seed would summon a Great Demon, but not just an ordinary Great Demon. It summoned a Great Demon noble, which was even more terrifying. However, players couldn''t control this Great Demon. Once it had been summoned, this Great Demon would slaughter every player in sight. It would also call forth a Demon Gate, calling forth a Demonic army to the continent of God''s Domain. Hence, the Dark Seed was akin to a Seed of Destruction. Bright Dawn hadn''t originally planned to use the Dark Seed, but Shi Feng had foiled his plans yet again, and he had suffered a painful defeat in Starlink''s name. After such a tremendous loss, he couldn''t care less about what would happen if he used the Dark Seed. No matter what, Bright Dawn wanted Shi Feng to watch the city he had built meet its destruction and throw Zero Wing into hell. When Yuan Tiexin saw the Great Demon Molfins, his expression became indescribably grim. Unlike ordinary monsters, Demonic Creatures were segregated by their Bloodlines. Demons'' ranks depended on the purity of their Bloodlines, and the purer a Demon''s Bloodline was, the higher its noble rank would be. Similarly, purer Bloodlines meant stronger Demons. Based on the information the Secret Pavilion had gathered, a Viscount Demon could rival an Archaic Species of the same level. However, Molfins was a Marquis, two ranks higher than a Viscount. Yuan Tiexin had no idea how powerful this Great Demon truly was. "A Dark Seed?" Shi Feng could not help but shake his head at Bright Dawn, who had clearly gone mad. "Vice Guild Leader Bright Dawn, I told you that you shouldn''t have come here. Since you refuse to listen to my advice, you''ll stay here indefinitely!" Shi Feng then pulled out the Bible of Darkness and activated Divine Providence before shifting his gaze toward Molfins, who hovered in the air. He then began to chant an incantation. Demon Ruler! Suddenly, pitch-black chains appeared out of thin air and bound the Great Demon. Panicking, Molfins struggled against the chains, but Shi Feng wielded the official copy of the Bible of Darkness. Not even a Great Demon could resist its power. After struggling for a moment, Molfins''s eyes dulled as he lost his will. The Great Demon Marquis then flapped his leathery wings twice and descended toward Shi Feng, positioning himself behind the Swordsman out of respect. When they saw this, everyone on the battlefield fell silent. 2157 Great Demons Migh Chapter 2157 - Great Demon''s Might "Impossible!" When Bright Dawn saw Molfins respectfully standing behind Shi Feng like a servant, shock and confusion quickly replaced his crazed expression. The Great Demon Molfins was a disaster one summoned through the Dark Seed. In God''s Domain, anything that was considered a ''disaster'' was capable of devastating an entire country. As a Tier 4 Marquis, Molfins was practically invincible among opponents of the same tier; some Tier 4 NPCs would even be forced to flee from the Great Demon. Yet, such a terrifying existence accepted a player''s control, just like that... Bright Dawn wasn''t alone; everyone watching was in utter shock over the Great Demon''s subservience. In one second, everyone had given in to their hopelessness and despair over the Undead Knight''s final move, but in the next, Shi Feng had shown them how laughable that move truly was. "What did he do?" As Wind Demon stared at Molfins, obediently standing behind Shi Feng, he felt his entire world flip upside-down. Not even Bright Dawn, the Dark Seed''s user, cloud control Molfins once the Great Demon had been summoned, yet Shi Feng accomplished the feat so easily. No matter how Wind Demon looked at this situation, it definitely felt like a dream. However, Molfins proved to the crowd that this was no dream. It was, in fact, a despair-inducing nightmare! Under Shi Feng''s command, Molfins charged at the three Flaming War Elephants. The several hundred yards between the Demonic Marquis and its prey were practically nonexistent to Molfins, and he appeared before one of the Mythic monsters in the blink of an eye. Roar! The Flaming War Elephant responded to the Great Demon with an enraged roar, instinctively raising a front foot to flatten the creature. Although the Flaming War Elephant was heavily injured, its Basic Attributes were far higher than ordinary Mythic monsters as a Tier 4 summoned creature. Hence, even though its injuries limited its combat power, its stomp carried Tier 4 Strength. The four-meter-tall Molfins looked like an ant in comparison to the War Elephant''s gigantic foot, but despite the size difference, Molfins continued to hover in place, simply raising a hand to greet the descending foot. Boom! The explosion echoed throughout the Undead Forest, its resulting shockwave throwing the surrounding Tier 2 players off their feet. None of these players would forget what followed for the rest of their lives. Molfins had actually stopped the Flaming War Elephant''s mountain-sized foot. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that the Great Demon had accomplished the feat by using a single finger. No matter how much the Flaming War Elephant pushed, it was no stronger than a powerless infant. With a light push, Molfins forced the Mythic monster to stumble several steps backward. The difference between their Strengths was obvious. Molfins and the Flaming War Elephant were on entirely different levels. "Crap! How powerful is that Demon!?" Yuan Tiexin could not help but curse as he watched the scene play out. As an organization that mainly focused on information gathering, the Secret Pavilion had gathered far more data on God''s Domain than any other power. Naturally, the Pavilion hadn''t failed to study Demonic Creatures. According to the Secret Pavilion''s research, Demons weren''t so powerful simply due to their extraordinary Basic Attributes, but because of the many Skills and Spells in their possession and their particularly high combat standards. Although Yuan Tiexin knew that a Marquis ranked Great Demon was extremely powerful, he hadn''t thought that Molfins would be this powerful! That one exchange had made it clear that Molfin''s Strength was leaps and bounds above the Flaming War Elephants''. Even without Skills, Spells, or combat techniques, the Great Demon could easily slay the Tier 4 summoned creature. However, Yuan Tiexin didn''t know that Shi Feng controlled the Demonic Marquis with the Bible of Darkness. Due to Demon Ruler''s effects, Molfins''s current Basic Attributes were far higher than when he had initially been summoned. Originally, Molfins, at most, was slightly stronger than the Flaming War Elephants. The difference between the monsters only grew to such extremes after including the Demon Ruler''s effects. However, Molfins had also lost his free will and intellect as a result, which significantly reduced his combat standards. Overall, Molfins''s current combat power was slightly weaker than when the Great Demon had his free will. Of course, that was only true when Molfins against players. Against monsters, Molfins'' current strength was more than enough. While the watching players were stunned by the Great Demon''s overwhelming performance, Bright Dawn fell to his despair. The Dark Seed had been Starlink''s final trump card, reserved to defend its fortress in the Ancient Undead Country. But not only had that trump card failed Bright Dawn, but Shi Feng had also claimed its power for himself. How was he supposed to continue this fight? Although Bright Dawn still had three Flaming War Elephants on his side, they were utterly meaningless before Molfins. With a simple attack, Molfins had inflicted over -5,000,000 damage to the Flaming War Elephant. The Great Demon could likely finish off the summoned creature''s 450,000,000 HP in less than two minutes. In total, Molfins could end all three War Elephants in less than six minutes. In its current state, Starlink''s army had no hope of destroying Stone Forest City''s defensive magic array in such little time. The moment the three Flaming War Elephants died, Starlink''s army would be powerless against the city''s magic barrier, becoming living targets for the city''s players. Retreat! The word echoed in Bright Dawn''s mind. The Undead Knight immediately gave the command before he turned and fled. He had no desire to stay and continue this battle. However, Shi Feng''s reaction was faster than Bright Dawn had expected. The Swordsman appeared in the Undead Knight''s path the moment Bright Dawn turned away from the fight. As Shi Feng slowly walked up to Bright Dawn, he smiled and asked, "Now you want to leave?" "Just you wait, Black Flame! You may have stopped Starlink''s assault, but you won''t stop the various superpowers once they arrive! Even if you can control that Demon, its time is limited here. Once the summoning''s duration ends, you''ll have to stand by and watch as your city is destroyed," Bright Dawn snarled with a mad glint in his eyes. "Oh, you don''t have to worry about that," Shi Feng said as he executed Sword''s Transmigration. With his Twofold Berserk still active, Bright Dawn was no match for Shi Feng''s speed and Strength. Before Starlink''s commander could respond, his body split in two, and he lost the last remnants of his HP. The moment Bright Dawn died, Starlink''s army lost its commander. Stone Forest Town''s defenders then had the advantage. The Great Demon Molfins slew all three Flaming War Elephants in less than five minutes and proceeded to hunt down Starlink''s fleeing members, slaughtering them like a flock of helpless sheep. The watching players only snapped out of their daze after the battle had ended. Sheng Wuji, in particular, was shocked beyond words as he watched from a distance. Starlink had dispatched several thousand experts and three Mythic monsters to capture Stone Forest City. Even a superpower would have to take such a force seriously. However, this army had been obliterated, and it hadn''t even broken Stone Forest City''s defensive magic array before its defeat... Meanwhile, news of the battle''s unexpected results spread to the various superpowers like wildfire. For a time, the outcome shook God''s Domain to its core. 2158 Shocking Battle Chapter 2158 - Shocking Battle Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Tall buildings and large crowds filled the city''s business district. The scene was even more prosperous than most kingdoms'' capital cities in God''s Domain. Currently, a man and a woman wearing Crimson Emperor''s Guild Emblem ventured down the street. The man had a handsome, majestic appearance, while the woman looked beautiful and intelligent. Both players had already reached Level 68, and if they hadn''t concealed their levels with their Black Cloaks, they would''ve been the center of attention wherever they went. "Zero Wing is truly amazing. It has actually nurtured White River City into such a powerhouse. Even if Zero Wing loses Stone Forest City, it''ll still have a good chance of becoming an overlord in God''s Domain," Illusory Words commented as she observed the players wandering about the business district. After Zero Wing had taken control of White River City''s Auction House, White River City''s popularity and growth had skyrocketed. The city practically changed with each passing day as players surged through its gates. While most of the NPC cities with player-controlled Auction Houses had significantly improved as well, White River City''s growth was far more pronounced. White River City''s impressive development wasn''t due to an influx of new players, but the arrival of well-known adventurer teams, merchant players, and high-ranked Lifestyle players. Since new players hadn''t spent much time in God''s Domain yet, they lacked both individual and financial strength. They wouldn''t be able to contribute much to a city or its ruling Guild. However, the same wasn''t true of adventurer team members, merchant players, and Lifestyle players with relatively high standards. Expert players could become usable combat power the moment they joined a Guild, and merchant players could increase a city''s economic prowess. As for Lifestyle players, they would bring with them merchandise that supported the city''s combat players, which, in turn, would increase the development speed of the city''s players. New players could neither compete with the benefits veteran players brought to a city, nor could they increase the ruling Guild''s profits. Crimson Emperor controlled two NPC Auction Houses, both of which were located in kingdoms'' capital cities. The Guild had invested plenty of resources in these two cities'' development since the Auction Arena had ended, but both paled in comparison to White River City. Now, only an empire''s imperial capital could surpass White River City''s development speed. "Become one of God''s Domain''s overlords?" The majestic man, Crimson Gate, lightly snorted at Illusory Words'' comment. "Illusory, you think too highly of Zero Wing. Do you think it is that easy to become an overlord? Not only would one need sufficient experts and legacies, but they''d also require enough financial strength. Even if Zero Wing holds Stone Forest City, its future of becoming an overlord isn''t guaranteed. Besides, there''s no way Zero Wing will keep Stone Forest City. Although, the Guild still has some hope. As long as Zero Wing acknowledges its place and behaves accordingly, it may retain some of the city''s profits." "Acknowledges its place, huh?" Illusory Words did not try to rebuke Crimson Gate''s words. As she glanced at the various other superpowers'' members on the street, she shook her head and sighed. "I''m afraid that even if Zero Wing concedes Stone Forest City, it''ll only retain negligible profits." Too much was at stake in Stone Forest City, and many superpowers were keeping a close eye on the city. Even the superpowers that had planned to ally with Zero Wing had changed their minds, now intending to force the Guild to relinquish the city''s shares. This was even true of Crimson Emperor. To claim a share of the profits, the various superpowers had dispatched representatives to negotiate with Zero Wing. According to Crimson Emperor''s investigation, more than ten superpowers had already gathered in White River City. This situation had already become a living nightmare. Even the most valuable empires in God''s Domain had no more than seven or eight competing superpowers, but now, more than 10 superpowers had gathered to fight for Stone Forest City. They were still waiting for the various superpowers'' armies to gather around Stone Forest City, which was the only reason they hadn''t entered Zero Wings Residence yet. "Zero Wing''s opinion on the outcome doesn''t matter. It no longer has any say. Not even the Secret Pavilion can change this." Sneering, Crimson Gate continued, "If Zero Wing refuses our offer, it will only find destruction in its future. Not even Stone Forest City will survive." As one of the few transcendental powers in the virtual gaming world, the Secret Pavilion was quite powerful. Not even ordinary Super Guilds dared to provoke it. However, after all was said and done, the Secret Pavilion didn''t have a monopoly over the virtual gaming world, which was especially true after God''s Domain''s launch. Not even a ferocious tiger could defeat a pack of wolves. The Secret Pavilion definitely understood this. When the time arrived, the Pavilion would abandon Zero Wing. While Crimson Gate and Illusory Words conversed and patiently waited for the various superpowers'' armies to surround Stone Forest City, a commotion broke out among the superpowers'' representatives, who loitered around the business district. "What''s wrong with them?" Crimson Gate watched the representatives with an odd look as their expressions changed drastically. "Are the armies already in place?" "No!" Illusory Words abruptly exclaimed as she finished reading a message she had just received. With a complex look, she turned to Crimson Gate and said, "I''ve just received news that Zero Wing has fended off Starlink''s assault on Stone Forest City." "Starlink''s been defeated?" Crimson Gate asked, surprised by the news. Starlink was one of the up-and-coming superpowers in the virtual gaming world. Aside from its slightly undeveloped legacy, the Guild was even stronger than Crimson Emperor overall. "It seems Zero Wing is stronger than expected to stop Starlink''s all-out attack. It''s no wonder why those people seem shocked." "No, thafs not all According to our insider information, the army Starlink sent to Stone Forest City has been...annihilated!" Illusory Words informed her companion with a grim expression. "Annihilated? Impossible!" Crimson Gate said incredulously. "Someone must have made a mistake with the report! Let me have a look!" As someone who had been fighting Starlink for quite some time, he knew how powerful the Guild was. If Starlink went all-out, it would even defeat Crimson Emperor. If Zero Wing had merely stopped Starlink''s assault, Crimson Gate would, at most, be surprised. That victory would still be somewhat believable. After all, not only did Zero Wing have the defender''s advantage, but it also had the Secret Pavilion''s support. However, claiming that Zero Wing had annihilated Starlink''s army was simply nonsense! Even though Starlink had sent a hastily organized army, two or three thousand of the Guild''s experts should be quite formidable. If Crimson Emperor had been in Zero Wing''s place, it would''ve been fortunate to slay half of Starlink''s forces if it used everything in its arsenal. Starlink hadn''t sent ordinary experts, after all, and if those players focused on their retreat, chasing them down and killing them would be extremely difficult. Hence, Starlink''s annihilation must be a joke! However, the man''s arrogant expression froze as he finished reading the message his companion had received. One man had scared the Heavenly Demon Team and Horned Dragon Team into a retreat! One man had suppressed four great experts from Starlink! One man had controlled a Great Demon Marquis, slaughtering Starlink''s army! Everyone that had received the news, including Crimson Gate and the various superpowers'' upper echelons, was speechless. Could Shi Feng even be considered human at this point? 2159 Deaths Reward 2159 Death''s Reward Chapter 2159 - Death''s Reward The various superpowers'' representatives in White River City fell silent for a time, their expressions twisting, after receiving news of Shi Feng''s battle. "Black Flame is truly a monster. He''s not even here, and he''s still capable of influencing the situation in White River City," Illusory Words said, smiling bitterly as she looked around. She was surprised to learn that one person was so powerful. "I admit that he is amazing, but the various superpowers are far more afraid of that Great Demon Marquis than they are of Black Flame himself," Crimson Gate said after recollecting himself. As he watched Shi Feng''s figure in the battle video, he sneered and continued, "But at the end of the day, he''s only using some special tool to control that Great Demon. He can''t control it forever. Once Black Flame loses control of that monster, how does he plan to deal with the various superpowers?" In God''s Domain, the stronger a monster was, the harder it would be to control. A player''s control of such a being wouldn''t last long, either. Controlling a Great Demon Marquis for several hours would be heaven-defying. However, how much could Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion possibly fortify Stone Forest City in just several hours? Developing Guild Towns and Cities was a gradual process. Not even a dozen hours would be long enough to alter Stone Forest Town''s defenses significantly. Normally, a Guild City would need several days before it could become fully operational, and the various superpowers'' armies didn''t need that long to surround the city. Shi Feng might be able to contend with one superpower by himself, but what about the rest of them? In Crimson Gate''s opinion, all Zero Wing had achieved by defeating Starlink was gaining some more time. This wouldn''t change the end result. "Indeed. Although Zero Wing appears to have the initiative, that''s only an illusion." Illusory Words nodded in agreement. "However, I''m sure that the Guild understands that. Zero Wing needs a partner more than anything else right now. If we try to negotiate with Zero Wing now, we should be able to secure a fortune." "I''m afraid you are mistaken, Illusory. Zero Wing is too arrogant to negotiate with us right now. It has, after all, just defeated Starlink. However, as time passes and the Great Demon''s duration reaches a close, I''m sure Zero Wing will grow nervous and desperate for partners to reinforce Stone Forest City''s defenses," Crimson Gate said, chuckling. "We just need to wait for the opportune moment to approach the Guild. Once the Guild is desperate enough, it''ll accept any of our demands." Even though Shi Feng''s performance had been impressive, he was still a pest before so many superpowers. He had only bought his Guild a little more time. Crimson Gate wasn''t the only one to bide his time. The other superpowers'' representatives waited quietly, as well. It seemed as if they were all waiting to watch Zero Wing make a fool of itself. ... Meanwhile, Yuan Tiexin, who had just received a report regarding the various superpowers'' actions, could not help but frown. Sure enough, these superpowers aren''t so easily fooled. None of them are taking action. Gritting his teeth, Yuan Tiexin turned to look at Shi Feng and hurriedly asked, "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you really plan to wait?" The battle with Starlink had ended more than an hour ago, but none of the various superpowers moving toward Stone Forest City had attempted to make contact with Zero Wing or the Secret Pavilion. Although Yuan Tiexin was confident of the Secret Pavilion''s strength, he knew that a tiger had no hope of beating a wolf pack. If they did not secure enough help to defend Stone Forest City, they''d likely struggle to get past the next hurdle. Yet, despite Zero Wing''s growing disadvantage, Zero Wing hadn''t attempted to recruit allies over the last two hours. Yuan Tiexin had no idea what the Swordsman was thinking. Once the Great Demon Molfins disappeared, they''d be fish on the chopping block. "Of course not," Shi Feng answered. "That is reassuring. The Secret Pavilion has spies in the various superpowers. It shouldn''t be difficult to discover their intentions. When do you plan to make your move, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Yuan Tiexin asked, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. He had worried that Shi Feng would hold onto Stone Forest City''s shares, refusing to sell them for any price. If that were the case, both Zero Wing and the Secret Pavilion would face the worst-case scenario. However, if Shi Feng could rope in two or three more allies, their situation would be easier to handle. At the very least, they''d be able to defend Stone Forest City. The only problem would be assigning shares. But Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the Great Demon beside him and calmly stated, "We should be able to move once he dies." When Shi Feng finished his statement, the atmosphere around them froze. Yuan Tiexin couldn''t help but glare at the man. This isn''t the time for joking, Black Flame!" Yuan Tiexin was nearly speechless as he glowered at Shi Feng. The Great Demon Molfins was the only reason the various superpowers were afraid of Zero Wing right now. Once Molfins died, Zero Wing would lose its advantage from defeating Starlink. The Guild might even be in a worse position for wasting the various superpowers'' time. Yet, this Swordsman had just told him that they were just waiting to watch Molfins die? Had anyone else made such a statement, Yuan Tiexin would likely have flown into a rage and beat them to a pulp. "I''m not joking," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the bubbling elder before him. The Dark Seed was on par with a natural disaster in God''s Domain. It was a powerful enough tool to ruin kingdoms and devastate empires. Any power in the past that had obtained a Dark Seed had reserved the item as a final trump card, ensuring that it would defeat its enemies, even if it had to endure mutual destruction. However, there was one thing that current players did not know about the Dark Seed. Although the Dark Seed was a disastrous item, it was also a golden opportunity. Once the Demon summoned with the Dark Seed died, it was guaranteed to drop the Dark Tower Design! Constructing the Dark Tower was quite simple. In fact, it was more of a summoning than blueprints. Although the Dark Tower was not a Peak Construction, it was as close as possible. Not even the Four Towers of Elements were as powerful. The moment Shi Feng fell silent, Molfins cried out in anguish as silver fire began to devour its body, leaving nothing but ashes. Molfins''s death stunned the Zero Wing and Secret Pavilion members watching. They all stared, as horrified as if they had just received the death penalty. Once Molfins was gone, a golden-rimmed tome appeared on the ground in its place. The dark energy the tome exuded was no weaker than the Dark Seed''s. The closest players felt incredibly uncomfortable as the dark energy touched them. The words ''Dark Tower Design'' graced the tome''s cover. 2160 Dark Tower Chapter 2160 - Dark Tower What a powerful book. Its aura is strong enough to make my heart skip a beat. Purple Jade was astounded as she stared at the Dark Tower Design that had appeared in the Great Demon Molfins''s place. Normally, God''s Domain''s items didn''t possess an aura, but those that did were extraordinary. As one of the Secret Pavilion''s core members, Purple Jade had seen many items that exuded auras. That being said, she could count the number of items she had encountered that could make her heart skip a beat on one hand. Moreover, those items were generally tools left behind by some Ancient God. Until today, she had never seen a book with such a powerful aura. "I''m afraid this will push the various superpowers into making their move," Yuan Tiexin commented with a grim expression after watching Molfins disappear. Unlike Purple Jade, he was in no mood to pay attention to the tome the Great Demon had dropped. The Great Demon Molfins had been Stone Forest City''s protection charm, deterring any power from attacking. None of Zero Wing''s enemies were confident of defeating a monster that was practically invincible among Tier 4 beings. It didn''t even matter if the various superpowers mobilized every member. However, without Molfins, the various superpowers would no longer fear attacking the city. Not even three summoned Mythic monsters would give the various superpowers pause. Now that Molfins was gone, the superpowers'' spies within the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing would rush to their Guilds to report the matter. It wouldn''t be long before the superpowers'' armies gathered around Stone Forest City, and the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing hadn''t acquired any more allies yet... If only three to five superpowers were targeting the city, they might be fine. The Secret Pavilion would have a chance of defending the city, although the battle would be a tough one. Unfortunately, more than ten superpowers were marching toward the city, and some of them were almost as powerful as the Pavilion. This was no longer a fight the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing could win by themselves. Furthermore, the Secret Pavilion had only transferred an additional 5,000 experts to Stone Forest City within the last two hours. Stone Forest City was located within the Bottomless Abyss, and due to the Regional Dungeon''s harsh environment, ordinary experts would be little more than cannon fodder in a battle here. Only stronger experts would be of any use. However, the Secret Pavilion had assigned these experts various locations throughout God''s Domain to maximize their use, and every one of them was busy with their own important tasks. Gathering these experts to one place in such a short time would be impossible. Although this was also the case for the various superpowers attacking Stone Forest City, when more than ten superpowers banded together, their expert force would be astonishing. As Yuan Tiexin had guessed, the enemy superpowers received news of Molfins''s death less than 30 seconds after the Great Demon had turned to ash. "Good! Good! Good! Black Flame, let''s see if you can back up that arrogance now!" Bright Dawn, who had resurrected in Starlink''s fortress, revealed a maniacal grin when he received the news. Starlink''s army had been annihilated in the initial battle for Stone Forest City. As the army''s commander, escaping persecution for his failure would be quite difficult. Although Starlink wouldn''t kick him out of the Guild due to his individual strength, his days as a Vice Guild Leader were likely numbered. The fact that he''d now get to watch Zero Wing lose Stone Forest City soothed his frustrated heart. Based on the latest report, 12 superpowers were marching their armies toward Stone Forest City. The two strongest forces among them were the Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire. The rest were on par with Crimson Emperor. In total, the 12 superpowers had dispatched around 50,000 experts for this battle. Every one of these 50,000 players was an expert among experts. In a first-rate Guild, they''d all be members of the Guild''s trump card legions. Furthermore, quite a few of them were Refinement Realm experts. Not even Starlink''s forces in the Ancient Undead Country would stand a chance against this army, not to mention Stone Forest City. Meanwhile, the various superpowers'' representatives in White River City''s business district were stunned when they heard of Molfins''s death. "What''s wrong with Zero Wing? It hasn''t contacted a single superpower since the Great Demon fell. Has Black Flame lost his mind?" Illusory Words commented incredulously after reading the latest report. If Zero Wing had allied with another three or four superpowers, the matter would be settled. Although the Guild would lose a significant portion of Stone Forest City''s shares, it would still keep a cut of the city''s profits. Zero Wing had already proven its strength to the various superpowers, and they wouldn''t push too far in their negotiations. However, Zero Wing still refused to reach out to a single superpower, which had led to the tentative alliance between the slighted Guilds. Now, Zero Wing had no hope of retaining any power within Stone Forest City. "It seems Black Flame''s ego has grown out of proportion after his victory over Starlink," Crimson Gate said indignantly. "He shouldn''t blame us for being merciless since he wants to keep the city for himself!" Crimson Gate had assumed Zero Wing would rush to sign contracts with the various superpowers before losing the Great Demon Molfins. He had planned to leave the Guild hanging for a while before presenting the price for Crimson Emperor''s assistance. Unfortunately, his patience had been in vain. Since Zero Wing had refused to act, Crimson Emperor was left with no choice but to participate in the struggle for Stone Forest City. Twelve superpowers were marching toward the city, and after including the Secret Pavilion, Crimson Emperor wouldn''t gain a large percentage of the city''s shares... Every superpower upper echelon in White River City shared Crimson Gate''s sentiments. They were all furious over Zero Wing''s behavior, almost inclined to contact their Guilds'' armies and order their forces to head to Stone Forest City at full speed. In contrast, when Yuan Tiexin received the report on the superpowers'' movements, he paled to a sickly white. Even with Zero Wing''s members, there were only a little over 100,000 players in Stone Forest City, but most of Zero Wing''s members present were ordinary experts and elite players. Compared to the various superpowers''joint army of 50,000 experts, the difference between the two sides'' strength was massive. Yet, despite their impending doom, Shi Feng leisurely drew a magic array on the ground. He did nothing to recruit NPC soldiers or summon some of Silverwing Town''s experts... "Uncle Yuan, what should we do? The Guild Leader is mobilizing every expert he can and has even abandoned some of the Guild''s operations to ensure our experts can get here as quickly as possible. However, even with those experts, I''m afraid that we''re still no match for our enemies'' combat power..." Purple Jade said, frowning as she informed her superior of the latest report. The Secret Pavilion had a little over 6,000 experts in Stone Forest City thus far, which was nothing in comparison to the superpowers'' joint forces. To make matters worse, the Secret Pavilion''s forces weren''t as high-quality as their enemies''... "We have no choice but to fight," Yuan Tiexin said as he shook his head. At that moment, Shi Feng finally made the final stroke, completing his magic array. The array activated immediately, and another magic array, as large as Stone Forest City itself, appeared above the city. It glowed with a silver light, and the violent Mana it contained made the experts in the city uneasy. As this array completed, pitch-black darkness, like a moonless night, swallowed the Undead Forest. After five seconds, a steadily growing spatial tear appeared above the city. After another three seconds, the tear transformed into a colossal black hole. The black hole swallowed all light, and no player could see anything within. However, they could feel an intense aura emerge from the phenomenon. As if time and space had frozen, every player in the city stared in shocked silence as a 100-meter, five-story tower dropped into the city''s center... "What is that? How can dark energy be so dense?!" Yuan Tiexin was astonished, unable to tear his eyes away from the tower that now graced Stone Forest City. Even he struggled to move while under the influence of the tower''s aura. He''d be lucky to exhibit 10% of his combat power; in such a state, even an ordinary expert could defeat him. "Its name is the Dark Tower!" Shi Feng announced with a satisfied smile. "Of course, you can refer to it by its other name. "The Tower of Death!" 2161 Suppressing with a Snap Chapter 2161 - Suppressing with a Snap Shi Feng was quite excited to have successfully summoned the Dark Tower. He had only ever heard of the tower in the past; he had never actually seen or experienced one. The Dark Seed was extremely rare in God''s Domain, even rarer than Fragmented Legendary items. Hence, Shi Feng had been quite surprised when Bright Dawn had revealed the item. To summon a Dark Tower, players first needed to defeat the Demon summoned with a Dark Seed. However, killing that particular Demon was easier said than done. Players had often relied on NPCs to suppress and defeat these summoned Demons during Shi Feng''s previous life. Killing one without such help was extremely difficult. Although the NPCs'' participation wouldn''t interfere with the Dark Tower Design''s drop-rate, NPCs wouldn''t allow the construction to exist. They''d confiscate the Dark Tower Design the moment it appeared; players wouldn''t have a chance to get their hands on the item. Because of this, Shi Feng could count the number of powers that had successfully summoned a Dark Tower on one hand. Moreover, outsiders weren''t allowed within a tower or city that contained a Dark Tower. Only allied or subordinate Guilds would be granted entry. Shi Feng had merely been a second-rate Guild''s Guild Leader in his past. Even ordinary superpowers had been unreachable, not to mention top-ranked superpowers. They had simply lived in different worlds. Hence, Shi Feng had never expected to summon a Dark Tower now. "We don''t have much time left, Guild Leader Black Flame. The allied superpowers'' 50,000-man army will arrive in less than half an hour," Yuan Tiexin reminded the younger man when he saw Shi Feng''s relaxed expression. From his point of view, Shi Feng didn''t seem to understand the danger they were in right now. The Dark Tower might be powerful, but one or two defensive structures wouldn''t be enough to stop the enemy they were about to face. They''re all here?" Shi Feng''s smile brightened at the news. "In that case, let''s go meet them." "Meet them?" Yuan Tiexin was flabbergasted. Hurriedly, he asked, "Isn''t that too dangerous? Even with Stone Forest City''s support, stopping them will be difficult. If we lose our terrain advantage, we''ll be fish on the chopping block. With how much they have to gain, they won''t hold back." "Let''s see them try," Shi Feng said, laughing. "This..." Shi Feng''s very existence baffled Yuan Tiexin. He couldn''t tell whether the Swordsman was incredibly confident or just foolish. "It''s fine. I don''t mind going by myself," Shi Feng suggested once he noticed Yuan Tiexin''s hesitation. "That won''t do! The Secret Pavilion is one of Stone Forest City''s shareholders. Since you''re going, Guild Leader Black Flame, how can I just stand by and watch? Besides, if the Secret Pavilion makes an appearance, these superpowers might hold back out of fear, maintaining some pretense," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head as he prepared to risk his life alongside Shi Feng. He didn''t think that meeting the various superpowers was altogether a bad idea. They hadn''t reached Stone Forest City just yet, so they might have an opportunity to ally with a few of these invading superpowers. However, if they waited until the armies arrived and solidified their alliance, the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing would lose any hope of holding the city. Following which, Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin left Stone Forest City and made their way toward the various superpowers'' armies, which had just entered the Undead Forest. Both of these individuals were well-known in the virtual gaming world at this point. Even if the various superpowers'' members weren''t familiar with Zero Wing, they had heard of Black Flame. "Why are they here?" "By the looks of it, they''ve come to negotiate." You''re probably right. After all, we have 50,000 top-tier experts on our side. How could a recently promoted Guild City possibly stop us?" The various superpowers'' forces were surprised to see Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin approach, discussing the matter amongst themselves. "What is Black Flame trying to do? He actually wants to negotiate now?" Illusory Words was astonished to see the two famous players emerge from between the trees. If they wanted to negotiate, they should''ve done so before the various superpowers'' armies had gathered. Now that these superpowers had combined their forces, convincing any of them to switch sides would be practically impossible. After all, they now had the initiative. "You actually have to ask?" Crimson Gate replied with a sneer. "He must''ve realized how terrifying this army is and realized that he isn''t strong enough to stop us. He''s probably here to try to recruit three or four superpowers. If he succeeds, he might be able to hold onto a fraction of Stone Forest City." Every superpower present shared the same thought. They couldn''t think of any other reason that Shi Feng would make such a risky move. If they killed Shi Feng here, they''d deal a severe mental blow to Zero Wing as a whole. Doing so would also increase their members'' morale, making it easier to capture Stone Forest City. "Why are you here, Black Flame?" "If you''re here to negotiate, I''d advise you to turn around. Of course, we''ll let you leave safely if you obediently hand over Stone Forest City. Ultimately, we only want the city, not your pitiful lives." "Thats right! Give us Stone Forest City, and we''ll let you leave with your lives!" The superpowers'' upper echelons mocked Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin with playful, confident attitudes. Naturally, the idea that they''d let Zero Wing''s members escape if Shi Feng handed the city over was nothing more than a joke. Every player in God''s Domain had already heard of Zero Wing''s provocation. If they did not make an example of the offending Guild, how could they protect their reputations? "Hand over Stone Forest City?" Shi Feng could not help but laugh. "Aren''t you quite full of yourselves?" Every player fell silent when they heard Shi Feng''s comment. Even Yuan Tiexin stared at the Swordsman, dumbfounded as he felt his stress peak. They weren''t here to negotiate an alliance? What was going on? He even began to wonder if Shi Feng understood their current predicament. They stood before an army of 50,000 players, all of which were experts among experts. If they worked together, killing a monster-level expert would be child''s play. Yuan Tiexin''s scalp tingled just from being the center of these experts'' attention. He didn''t even dare imagine what would happen if they started a fight with these players. Illusory Words, who stood among the joint army, was just as flabbergasted. She had seen many courageous people before, but this was the first time she had encountered anyone as bold as Shi Feng. He had just openly provoked 12 superpowers with a simple comment. Only death awaited him now. "Is this guy stupid?" "Does he really believe he''s invincible? He''s only defeated Starlink. He better not run once the battle truly begins!" As the superpowers'' fury grew, Shi Feng snapped his fingers. In response, Stone Forest Town''s Dark Tower used its dark energy to manifest a vast Darkness Domain that enveloped the Undead Forest. All players within the Domain, both friend and foe, felt an immense weight drag at their bodies, losing more than half of their combat power... 2162 No Different from Ants Chapter 2162 - No Different from Ants Everyone panicked as the abrupt pressure swept through the Undead Forest. "What''s going on?" "Why have my Attributes decreased? It''s so hard to move!" "What did he do?" After noticing the change, everyone focused on Shi Feng in fear and confusion. Even a fool would realize that Shi Feng was responsible, but more than 50,000 players had gathered, easily occupying an area of several thousand yards. Not even a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell could encompass such a large area. However, not only did a faint layer of dark gas collect around them, but it also covered the entire Undead Forest. Ordinary Domain Skills only reduced players'' Basic Attributes by a small fraction, but this Domain''s suppression was extreme. Their movements were so sluggish that they were even less mobile than they had been at Tier 1... The various superpowers'' upper echelons watched the man responsible with grim expressions. If only their Basic Attributes had been suppressed, they may have been able to adapt. However, it was an entirely different story if this Domain suppressed their physiques as well. Experts were so powerful due to their quick reactions and extraordinary comprehension, which gave them far greater control over their virtual bodies than ordinary players. However, now that their bodies had reverted to their original, mortal state, they had lost their advantages. In other words, they were only as strong as ordinary players while inside this Domain... The ability is just as effective as the rumors made it out to be. When Shi Feng sensed the changes to his own body, he could not help his rueful sigh. As an Advanced Construction, the Dark Tower had two abilities. One of these abilities was Darkness Domain! The Darkness Domain did not differentiate between friend and foe, affecting every creature within its range, covering a 100,000-yard radius. Violent dark energy filled the Domain. Not only would this dark energy affect creatures'' Basic Attributes, but it would also impact their reaction speeds, neural response times, and five senses. While bathed in this dark energy, expert players would lose all of their advantages over ordinary players. It was just as effective as a death sentence. This was also why players in the past had referred to the Dark Tower as the Tower of Death. Yuan Tiexin''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets. He was even more astounded than the invading superpowers'' members. He had been following Shi Feng around all this time, so he understood what the man had done perfectly. What is this construction? How is it so powerful? Yuan Tiexin could not help but turn, his gaze settling on the Dark Tower in the distance. Although he had recognized that the Dark Tower was extraordinary, he hadn''t realized how truly horrifying it could be! The Dark Tower could actually level the playing field between expert and ordinary players. Ordinary players might not realize how amazing that was, but to the various superpowers, it was devastating. A large part of the reason for the superpowers'' great strength was the number of quality of their experts, which far surpassed ordinary players. If one removed experts from the equation, then the various superpowers were simply wealthier and larger than their ordinary counterparts. The Dark Tower''s ability would even allow an ordinary power to face off against a superpower. Although superpowers had more members than ordinary powers, they had to manage far more territory, and as a result, they could only station a limited number of players to each area under their control. There was also the fact that every location had limited resources; even if a superpower wanted to, they couldn''t afford to send all of their members to a single location. Doing so would negatively affect their development. Because of this, there really wouldn''t be a major difference between superpowers and ordinary powers when it came to numbers. "Do you still want to continue?" Shi Feng asked, casually sweeping his gaze over the players before him with neither joy nor sadness. It was as if this expert army was little more than grass on the roadside. They weren''t enough to warrant a reaction. Before the Dark Tower, experts at Tier 3 and below were equal. The tower would even heavily suppress Tier 4 experts, significantly reducing the difference between them and ordinary players. This was why the Dark Tower was only second to Peak Constructions. The tower would''ve qualified as a Peak Construction if it recognizes friend from foe. Moreover, it would''ve been one of the most powerful defensive structures in the game. As Shi Feng''s gaze rested on each of them, fear began to overwhelm the superpowers'' members. The ability to transform 50,000 expert players into ordinary mortals was simply unheard-of. However, the various upper echelons quickly stepped forward to salvage the situation. "Do you think we only planned to rely on our expert players, Black Flame?" "That''s right! You might have suppressed our experts, but we have more than players to besiege Stone Forest City!" If Starlink could employ three Mythic monsters and a Dark Seed, why wouldn''t superpowers of their caliber be able to do anything less? Even if their expert players had lost their strength, their Guilds'' could still launch a terrifying assault if they worked together. However, these threats were empty. In truth, they lost any intention of attacking the city. Even if they used everything in their arsenals to attack Stone Forest Town, they''d pay a high price to capture the city without the ability to rely on their experts. None of them could afford this outcome. "It seems that it won''t be long before another superpower rises in God''s Domain," Illusory Words said, smiling bitterly at Shi Feng''s serene expression. Recognizing that none of these superpowers had any desire to take action, it was clear that capturing Stone Forest City was no longer possible. They were merely trying to salvage what little pride they had left, hoping to gain a little profit off of Zero Wing through intimidation. Now that Zero Wing would hold Stone Forest City, it was guaranteed to become a superpower very soon. Crimson Emperor had strived over several decades to become a super-first-rate Guild. Zero Wing, however, was on the cusp of becoming one after just a couple of months, and that success was purely due to Shi Feng... "To think Stone Forest Town has such an ability. It''s no wonder why he dared to approach us." Even Crimson Gate looked upon Shi Feng with envy and admiration. He had lost any desire to refute Illusory Words. After all, she only spoke the truth. The conditions to become a superpower were not as harsh as those required of a super-first-rate Guild. As long as a superpower had enough financial strength and experts, it could rise as a superpower. As for a complete legacy, that wasn''t very important. Now, as long as Zero Wing offered a portion of Stone Forest City''s benefits, the various superpowers would withdraw, and the Guild would retain the city''s shares. Naturally, the city would generate astounding profits with the benefits it could offer, and based on the strength and potential Zero Wing had displayed, it would attract many powerful corporations interested in investing in a Guild. Zero Wing would easily fulfill the financial requirement to become a superpower. Of course, it could amass enough experts with money. However, as Crimson Gate fell silent, Shi Feng took the stage once more. "Since you still refuse to leave, you can remain here forever!" Shi Feng said as he revealed a Seven Luminaries Crystal, activating the Dark Tower''s second ability. Demon God''s Phantom! The Seven Luminaries Crystal immediately turned to dust, and a gigantic magic array formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet. The array released an endless stream of dark energy that enveloped Shi Feng. After a short moment, a 10-meter-tall giant emerged from the black smoke. It wore pitch-black armor, and two icy- blue flames flickered through the gap in the giant''s helmet. The giant''s horrific aura bathed its surroundings in death and cold. 2163 Ancient Gods Descen Chapter 2163 - Ancient God''s Descent Although the Demon God Shi Feng had transformed into was only 10 meters tall, a far cry from the size of Grand Lord and Mythic ranked monsters, everyone gasped when they saw his new form. The aura Shi Feng radiated was far too powerful. If an ordinary Mythic monster''s aura was seawater, Shi Feng''s was steel. Most of the experts in the superpowers'' army couldn''t even move when Shi Feng''s aura washed over them. To them, the Swordsman felt like an Ancient God that had just stepped onto the mortal plane. They were afraid and awestruck. None of them even dared to consider resisting this man. "How is this possible?" As the various superpowers'' upper echelons took in Shi Feng''s new form, who loomed like the incarnation of an Ancient God, they felt more than just the unprecedented pressure; they also felt their Life Ratings suppressed. Not even Archaic Species ranked monsters radiated such an intense pressure. These upper echelons felt as if the person before them wasn''t a player at all, but a true God. Tier 4?! Just how many cards has he hidden?! Yuan Tiexin was utterly flabbergasted when he saw Shi Feng''s new form. For a moment, he even wondered if he were dreaming. Although the Darkness Domain Shi Feng had activated was horrific, it was insignificant compared to this ability. After all was said and done, might was right in God''s Domain. Take the Great Demon Molfins, for example. The various superpowers hadn''t even dared to set foot in the Undead Forest due to the Great Demon''s presence, yet even after they had been swallowed by the Darkness Domain, they had remained adamant of taking a cut of Stone Forest City. However, now that Shi Feng had transformed into a Tier 4 being, he posed an even greater threat to these superpowers than the Great Demon Molfins. By this stage of the game, expert players had realized how frightening the tier system was. Even at the same level, a one-tier difference resulted in a massive combat power boost, not to mention a two-tier difference The gap between their combat powers now was like the difference between heaven and earth. Moreover, the more familiar an expert player was with their Tier 2 body, the more acutely they understood the power of tiers. This was no longer a matter of Basic Attributes, but the extraordinary boost to players'' physique. Even if two players had the same Basic Attributes and combat standards, a Tier 2 player could easily defeat a Tier 1 player. Naturally, the higher the tier, the greater the tier''s physique boost would be. Right now, Shi Feng was a bona fide Tier 4 player. His physique had reached an unimaginable level. Even if his Basic Attributes were no higher than the rest of these players, he could likely slay a Domain Realm expert as if he were slaughtering helpless sheep. Furthermore, Shi Feng had the Basic Attributes of a Tier 4 player... To ordinary players, Shi Feng''s transformation might not seem like much. The various superpowers had already slain many Tier 4 Mythic monsters by now. How hard would it be to kill a Tier 4 player? However, these superpowers'' members knew better; a Mythic monster was cute compared to a Tier 4 player. Unlike monsters, players could use the full potential of their strength. Some players could even surpass their limits in combat. Players also possessed a large number of Skills, and most importantly, they knew how to fight other players. They wouldn''t give their opponents time to prepare, nullifying attacks as soon as they had the chance. "Tier 4! How does Zero Wing have such a foundation?" Crimson Gate''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets as he stared at Shi Feng from afar. A one-tier difference resulted in such a massive combat power gap. Now that Shi Feng had a two-tier advantage, he was basically invincible. He could kill Tier 2 players as easily as stepping on ants. "You win this time, Black Flame! We''ll retreat!" The superpowers'' upper echelons realized that they had no hope of capturing Stone Forest City after seeing Shi Feng''s transformation. Retreat was their only option left. "I gave you a chance to leave, yet you refused. Why would I let you walk away now?" Shi Feng asked as he took a step forward, his massive body instantly appearing 30 yards away. He then dashed for the joint army. "Don''t push your luck, Black Flame! Although we aren''t a match for you, we are also capable of dispatching Tier 4 Mythic combatants! If we focus on assaulting Stone Forest City, neither of us will benefit!" "That''s right! Moreover, do you really want our Guilds as your enemies?" Shi Feng''s bloodlust enraged the various superpowers'' upper echelons. They were overlords in God''s Domain. Although Shi Feng''s Tier 4 combat power was daunting, it was only a matter of time before they gained their own Tier 4 players. Shi Feng could only retain his arrogance for a short time. They were already expressing a lot of respect for Zero Wing with their willingness to withdraw. Yet, Shi Feng had no sense of propriety and wanted to kill them! "So what if I do?" Shi Feng said, sneering as he increased his speed. He would''ve feared the various superpowers'' wrath if he hadn''t acquired the Dark Tower for Stone Forest City. It was true that as time passed, these superpowers would find more treasures and grow stronger. However, with the Dark Tower''s protection, no power could threaten Shi Feng''s city before players reached Level 100, and God''s Domain''s rare resources were limited. The competition for these resources would only become increasingly intense. It was only a matter of time before Zero Wing had to face these superpowers. Since the various superpowers would become his Guild''s enemies sooner or later, he might as well kill some of their members now, weakening his enemies and strengthening his Guild! "Black Flame! You''re courting death!" The superpowers'' upper echelons immediate retrieved the fruits of their respective Guild''s labor, revealing one Mythic combatant after another. These Tier 4 Mythic combatants were either summoned creatures or came in the form of tools like the Combat Puppets. In moments, 15 Mythic combatants had joined the battlefield. A force of this magnitude would be enough to intimidate any superpower. One could easily capture a Guild Town with just five or six of these Mythic combatants, yet now, these superpowers had worked together to amass a force of 15 of them. Even destroying a superpower''s nurtured Basic City wouldnt pose much of a problem with such a force. Of the 15 Mythic combatants, six moved to surround Shi Feng, while the remaining nine charged toward Stone Forest City. The Zero Wing and Secret Pavilion members in the city paled as they watched these beings run toward them. Three Mythic monsters had been enough to shake Stone Forest City''s defensive magic array, but now, nine creatures with similar combat power were heading their way... "Black Flame, you will pay for your foolishness!" The various superpowers'' upper echelons sneered as they controlled their Mythic monsters to charge at Stone Forest City at full speed. "Are you so sure about that?" Shi Feng asked, swinging his sword at the nine Mythic combatants before they could split up to attack independently. Shadow Blade! Nine shadowy blades collided with the Mythic combatants, effortlessly slicing through them, before the beings flew through the air and slammed into the ground some distance away. "How is this possible?" The superpowers'' members gaped in shock. Those were Mythic combatants they were talking about, and Shi Feng had defeated nine of them so easily. Despite how much they wanted the scene to be an illusion, they had no choice but to acknowledge the truth before them. After resolving the threat against Stone Forest City, Shi Feng turned and swung his sword at the six remaining Mythic combatants. Sword''s Transmigration! This time, two of the six Mythic combatants, which had been thrown, sustained severe injuries, and their combat powers plummeted... Although the exchange had been brief, everyone understood that the 15 Mythic combatants were no match for Shi Feng. They couldn''t even get past the Swordsman, much less destroy Stone Forest City! They had sorely underestimated Shi Feng''s combat power! 2164 Devil Chapter 2164 - Devil Every player was overwhelmed with shock and horror after watching Shi Feng toy with 15 Mythic combatants like they were infants. Although they had known that a Tier 4 player would be more powerful than a Mythic monster, they hadn''t expected Shi Feng to be this strong. Logically, a Tier 4 player''s combat power should only be slightly greater than a Mythic monster''s. Once they reached the Tier 4 standard, monsters'' combat power rose to a new level. Including monsters'' natural Attribute advantage, Tier 4 players of the same level should have a hard time facing three or four Mythic monsters at the same time. However, Shi Feng had suppressed 15 Mythic combatants with little-to-no effort. It was simply unbelievable! Of course, Shi Feng wasn''t particularly surprised. Activating Demon God''s Phantom cost a Seven Luminaries Crystal. Moreover, its user could only activate the Skill once a day, and it only lasted four short hours. During that time, the Skill would forcibly elevate the target player by two tiers to a maximum of Tier 4 Peak-rank. The Skill also upgraded a player''s Life Rating to Ancien Fiend at maximum. Because of Shi Fengs normal tier and Life Rating, Demon Gods Phantom could only elevate him to Tier 4 Upper-rank, which was still far from the Skill''s maximum. Normally, only Tier 3 players could exhibit the Skill''s full potential. Even so, a Tier 4 Upper-rank player''s combat power was more than enough to take out 15 Mythic combatants. God''s Domain hadn''t launched that long ago, and players hadn''t yet reached Tier 3, so they had no idea what happened at that Tier and beyond. Tier 4 players had still been considered peak experts even a decade after God''s Domain''s launch. Ordinary second-rate Guilds hadn''t even had any Tier 4 players in their ranks, and in first-rate Guilds, Tier 4 players had been upper echelons, tasked with safeguarding the Guild''s neutral towns. Once players reached Tier 4, their combat power would undergo a qualitative transformation with each minor threshold they crossed. It was like the difference between ordinary monsters and Ancient Fiends. Although these superpowers had summoned quite a few Tier 4 combatants, all 15 of them were at the Lower-rank. They weren''t even Tier 4 Intermediate-rank. How were they supposed to defeat a Tier 4 Upper-rank player? Purely comparing combat power, Shi Feng was only slightly weaker than Molfins when the Great Demon had been at his peak. Hence, killing 15 Tier 4 Lower-rank combatants wasn''t an issue for Shi Feng in this state. Because of the Skill''s limited duration, Shi Feng had no plans to drag out this fight. He immediately and violently attacked one of the summoned Mythic monsters. With the huge difference between their combat power, the Mythic monster was utterly powerless against Shi Feng, and every one of the Swordsman''s attacks obliterated a visible chunk of the monster''s HP. The Mythic monster''s HP fell by 20% after a few seconds. At this rate, Shi Feng would finish it off in less than a minute. "Zero Wing''s rise is guaranteed now." Illusory Words sighed ruefully as she watched the Mythic monster rapidly lose HP from a safe distance. Fifteen Mythic combatants! Facing such a force would be a disaster to any superpower, yet they couldn''t even pose a threat to Shi Feng. Now, it was clear that capturing Stone Forest City was impossible for any superpower. With the city under its control, Zero Wing would have no issues acquiring resources or funds for its development. If Crimson Emperor hadn''t been so greedy and negotiated with Zero Wing before Molfins''s death, it might not have secured Stone Forest Citys shares, but it could have secured some discounts and Shops within the city. Unfortunate^ the Guild would have to leave empty-handed. In contrast, the powers that had formed a close relationship with Zero Wing were truly blessed, especially Unyielding Soul. With Stone Forest City''s help, Unyielding Soul could stand on the same stage as Starlink in the Dark Night Empire in the future. "Retreat! Everyone, retreat immediately!" With one of the Mythic monsters so close to death, the superpowers'' upper echelons hastily commanded a retreat. If not even their Mythic combatants stood a chance against that monstrous Swordsman, their players wouldn''t fare any better. Shi Feng was still occupied with the 15 Mythic combatants. If they waited until these beings died, they would lose their chance to escape. As soon as the upper echelons issued the command, the army of 50,000 experts spread out and ran for the Undead Forest''s exit. "They''re finally retreating." Yuan Tiexin released a sigh of relief as he watched the invading players flee. Although he understood that these superpowers had lost any hope of capturing Stone Forest City the moment Shi Feng had proven capable of single-handedly suppressing 15 Mythic combatants, he couldn''t help his shock at watching the 50,000 peak experts run for their lives. "Don''t think you can get away so easily!" Noticing the fleeing players, Shi Feng threw the Mythic combatants around him with a powerful blow before charging at the escaping army. Mythic combatants might be powerful, but even they would need quite some time to destroy Stone Forest City''s defensive magic arrays. Moreover, these Mythic combatants had been summoned with Consumable items. They were as good as lost. Even if he killed them, the invading superpowers wouldn''t suffer any more than they already had. Furthermore, these Mythic beings wouldn''t drop any items when they died. But an army of players was a different story. Even within their superpowers, these players were experts among experts. The offending superpowers would suffer dearly if these experts died. Since the various superpowers had banded together to attack Stone Forest City once already, there was no guarantee that they wouldn''t do it again. Naturally, he needed to teach them a painful lesson to ensure they wouldn''t cause trouble in the future. "Black Flame! Do you really want to become our enemy?!" The superpowers'' upper echelons panicked as they watched Shi Feng dash toward them. They began to reveal one card after another, activating suppression and defensive magic arrays to slow Shi Feng down. Some even used Tier 4 Offensive Magic Scrolls against the incoming Swordsman. "So what if I do?" Shi Feng replied with a sneer, showing no intention of stopping. Whether it was magic arrays or Tier 4 Offensive Spells, all were useless against Shi Feng. Current players simply couldn''t hope to contend with a Tier 4 Upper-rank existence. Shi Feng brandished his swords, countering the magic arrays and incoming Spells with a few hits. They then proceeded toward the fleeing mass of players, ruthlessly massacring everyone in his path. Even at their peak, these expert players were no match for Shi Feng, but suppressed by the Dark Tower, they were utterly powerless. "Lunatic!" "How is that a lunatic?! He''s practically the Devil incarnate!" "He''ll definitely regret this!" The superpowers'' experts were horrified as they watched Shi Feng slaughter their allies. They couldn''t believe that this player actually dared to attack so many superpowers at the same time. Not even the Secret Pavilion would be so bold... On the other hand, Zero Wing''s members in Stone Forest City felt their excitement and joy reach a tipping point. Reverence for their Guild Leader overwhelmed them, and their pride as members of Zero Wing reached new heights. "All hail the Guild Leader!" "Our Guild Leader is invincible!" One man suppressed 15 Mythic combatants! One man made 50,000 experts flee for their lives! Who else in God''s Domain could possibly accomplish such a spectacular feat? 2165 Tide Changes Chapter 2165 - Tide Changes Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: Vendors'' cries filled the business district. Practically every item for sale was of exquisite quality. Many of the vendors sold Level 60-plus Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, Tier 2 Skill Books, and powerful Master Potions. Players who were visiting the city for the first time were mesmerized by all of the precious items for sale. "Dark Night City is amazing, Big Brother Ape! So many treasures are available for sale! A lot of vendors are even selling a wide variety of super-rare Tier 2 Skill Books! We''ll be lucky to find any of these books in Ghost Rock City!" A Level 55 female Elementalist named Flashy Leaf expressed her surprise and joy as she gazed at the various stalls hawking the tomes for magical classes. In God''s Domain, magical classes were easier to control than melee classes. The Spells they wielded affected a large portion of their combat power. In comparison, melee classes didn''t depend as much on their Skills. That is only natural. This is the Dark Night Empire''s imperial capital, and a large number of experts visit the city. Naturally, this city has more resources than our city. With enough Coins and Magic Crystals, you can even buy Level 65 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. There is simply no comparison between Dark Night City and an ordinary NPC city," Sweeping Ape, a Level 62 male Guardian Knight with a silver shield, replied, chuckling. You can even buy Level 65 Dark-Gold Weapons here?" Flashy Leaf muttered in shock. Although many players had already surpassed Level 60, monster''s drop-rates was significantly lower after Level 50 due to God''s Domain''s settings. As a result, weapons and equipment above Level 50 were extremely rare, especially Secret- Silver rank and above. Now, such high-quality equipment was a status symbol for expert and wealthy players. Most ordinary players would be limited to Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment after Level 50. Take Flashy Leaf, for example. She had only secured a full set of Level 55 Secret-Silver Equipment due to her low level, and it had still cost her a lot of money to collect the whole set. She couldn''t even imagine using Level 65 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. "Of course. However, you''ll need a strong relationship with a large Guild to get access to those items," Sweeping Ape replied. Proudly, he continued, "Our Eagle Eye adventurer team is a well-known adventurer team in Dark Night City, and we have a connection to a few first- and second-rate Guilds. Now that you''re a member of our adventurer team, Leaf, you can get your hands on one or two of these items if you save up enough Coins and Magic Crystals. Moreover, you can tell any Guild players you have trouble with in the fields that you''re from Eagle Eye, and even first-rate Guild players will step back out of respect." Suddenly, a commotion erupted on the street. Players moved aside, opening a spacious path as mounted players dashed through. Nobody dared to step in this group''s path. They all acted as if they were watching a royal procession. "These people dare to ride their Mounts here?" Flashy Leaf was astonished as she watched these players dash down the street atop their Mounts. On the way here, Sweeping Ape had constantly reminded her that players were forbidden from using their Mounts in Dark Night City, and just as he had said, she hadn''t seen a single mounted player within the city walls thus far. However, such a large group thundered through the business district on their Mounts now... "They are an exception," Sweeping Ape said, fear lacing his words as he watched the mounted group continue down the street. "Why?" Flashy Leaf asked. "They''re Starlink''s members, this city''s overlord. Not even super-first-rate Guilds like Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul are a match for Starlink," Sweeping Awe said in awe. "Although, even Starlink''s members normally walk in the city. This is the first time I''ve seen so many people on their Mounts." "Starlink? Is the Guild really that powerful?" Flashy Leaf couldn''t help the sliver of jealousy as she stared at the fading backs of Starlink''s members. Other players new to Dark Night City felt the same as they watched Starlink''s members pass. Some even played with the thought of joining the Guild. "Starlink is that powerful. The Guild is king in Dark Night City!" Sweeping Ape confirmed. However, a masked, Level 65 Ranger flashed the Guardian Knight a disdainful look when he saw Sweeping Ape''s glowing excitement. "King? Maybe it had been in the past," the Level 65 Ranger said, chuckling. "Those players are in such a hurry because Zero Wing has successfully defended Stone Forest City. Starlink''s status in the Ancient Undead Country has been threatened. I doubt it will be long before Stone Forest City replaces Starlink''s fortress as the most popular spot in the neutral map." "Replace Starlink? How is that...possi" Sweeping Ape instinctively tried to rebuke the masked Ranger and mock the man for his ignorance, but when he saw the black tiger logo on the Ranger''s cape, he snapped his jaws shut. The Evil Tiger adventurer team? The Dark Night Empire had countless adventurer teams, which rose and fell at a moment''s notice. The Evil Tiger adventurer team, however, had survived in the Dark Night Empire since God''s Domain''s launch. It was also the empire''s publicly acknowledged third-ranked adventurer team. Even first-rate Guilds'' Guild Leaders treated its members with respect. The Evil Tiger adventurer team was leagues above the Eagle Eye adventurer team. You''ll find out if it''s possible or not soon enough, but I''d advise that you begin to prepare. Major changes are coming to the Dark Night Empire," the masked Ranger said as he glanced at Sweeping Ape and Flashy Leaf. He turned away from the two and continued on his way. "Big Brother Ape, is he telling the truth?" Flashy Leaf asked, noticing how Sweeping Ape watched the masked Ranger with awe. "Evil Tiger is a peak adventurer team. There are rumors that quite a few super-first-rate Guilds have extended olive branches to the team. Many of Evil Tiger''s members are also acquainted with players from super-first-rate Guilds, so its information network is far better than ours. I suspect he was telling the truth," Sweeping Ape said as he watched the masked Ranger''s departing figure. "Zero Wing? What kind of Guild is that, Big Brother Ape? If it''s actually capable of making Starlink so afraid, could it be a super-first-rate Guild as well?" Flashy Leaf asked curiously. She was completely ignorant of the virtual gaming world. She had only joined this world out of curiosity since God''s Domain had become so popular. The moment she had joined God''s Domain, she had realized that there was no going back. "This..." Uncertainly, Sweeping Ape said, "I recall that Zero Wing is a new Guild, strong enough to rival first-rate Guilds." "A new Guild? Does that mean we have a chance of joining it?!" Flashy Leaf asked. "Maybe..." Sweeping Ape turned to Flashy Leaf, speechless. He had gone to great lengths to recruit Flashy Leaf for the Eagle Eye adventurer team, and now, she was interested in joining Zero Wing! While Dark Night City''s players discussed the prior commotion and latest news, the various large Guilds'' Residences in the empire had fallen into utter chaos. Not long ago, they had learned that Zero Wing had defeated the various superpowers'' joint army, slaying more than 10,000 expert players and solidifying its position in Stone Forest City! 2166 Wars Conclusion Chapter 2166 - War''s Conclusion Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: One team after another appeared in the Teleportation Hall, all comprised of Level 65 or above experts. Even the weakest piece of equipment on these experts was Level 60 Secret-Silver rank. However, these players didn''t linger in Star-Moon City''s Teleportation Hall, quickly moving to other platforms and teleporting to the kingdom''s other cities. With careful observation, one would recognize these players as adventurer team members. Many were even from well- known adventurer teams. Other players in the Teleportation Hall were stupefied. They didn''t understand why so many adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires were visiting Star-Moon Kingdom. While Star-Moon City''s players wondered about the odd flood of adventurer team players, a Level 67 man sat in a top- floor VIP room in one of the Teleportation Hall''s Advanced Restaurants. Quietly, he took this all in, envy and sorrow in his gaze. If the city''s players saw this man, they''d likely be taken aback. He was none other than Galaxy Past, the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader. By this point, the Star Alliance had become Star- Moon City''s king. "After this battle''s conclusion, it''s likely impossible for anyone to pressure Zero Wing within Star-Moon Kingdom," Galaxy Past enviously lamented as he watched the numerous teams teleport in and out of the Teleportation Hall. Shi Feng had recently defeated the various superpowers'' joint army, and news of his victory had yet to reach Star- Moon Kingdom''s general populace. However, as one of the Secret Pavilion''s subordinate first-rate Guilds, the Star Alliance had heard of the outcome almost as soon as the battle had ended. He certainly hadn''t expected this outcome. He truly hadn''t thought that Zero Wing would be capable of standing against such a force. Zero Wing''s Stone Forest City was akin to a diamond mine. The troublesome Guild would never have to worry about needing funds again. With the city''s income, Zero Wing could easily support its current level of development, which meant it had resolved its sole weakness within Star-Moon Kingdom. From now on, even the various superpowers would find it exceedingly difficult to pressure the Guild in its own kingdom. Moreover, doing so wouldn''t gain them much. At this point, he''d be hard-pressed to find a superpower that was willing to make such a trade. First-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance dreamed of achieving such power, but now, a new Guild, one that had only established after God''s Domain''s launch, had been the one to realize this dream. No one could''ve imagined that Zero Wing would''ve struck back as soon as Starlink had tried to hinder the Guild''s development in Star-Moon Kingdom and successfully deal such a fierce blow. Starlink''s fortress in the Ancient Undead Country was basically crippled... "Even if that is the case, Guild Leader, Zero Wing will have more problems to deal with now. Honestly, Starlink hadn''t taken Zero Wing seriously, but now, with Stone Forest City in its way, Starlink will view the Zero Wing as a sworn enemy. Moreover, Zero Wing has provoked more than a handful of superpowers this time. I doubt the Guild will find moving forward to be more difficult than expected," Purple Jade said. Galaxy Past did not try to refute Purple Jade''s logic. In his opinion, Zero Wing''s retaliation against Starlink''s bullying had been splendidly carried out. Even before Zero Wing had taken action, the two Guilds had shed all pretenses. Increasing their hatred for each other wouldn''t change things overmuch. However, the fact that Zero Wing had slaughtered the superpowers'' joint forces would come back to bite it. Those superpowers might be helpless against Stone Forest City and Zero Wing, but the Undead Forest was a small fraction of the Bottomless Abyss. The God Mode Regional Dungeon had other areas, and exploring those areas would require particularly powerful experts. The various superpowers had both stronger and more experts than Zero Wing. Once Zero Wing''s members left the forest, they''d find miserable deaths waiting for them. While the various powers in the kingdom discussed Zero Wing''s victory, adventurer teams crowded the entrance to the Guild''s Residence in White River City. Just entering and leaving the Residence had become a struggle for Zero Wing''s members. Aqua Rose, who was responsible for the Guild''s recruitment, was stunned. She had watched many expert players apply for membership before, but she had never seen this many apply at once. A rough estimate calculated more than 10,000 expert applicants... Moreover, quite a few of these experts were at the Half-step Refinement Realm, and some were even Refinement Realm experts. The Guild hadn''t experienced such a thing before. Half-step Refinement Realm experts generally served as core team leaders in first-rate Guilds. Most Refinement Realm experts were immediately promoted, becoming an upper echelon within the first-rate Guild. Even Aqua Rose was only a Refinement Realm expert. However, despite knowing that they would, at most, start out as an elite member, so many Refinement Realm experts were adamant about joining Zero Wing... "What kind of magic did you use, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose excitedly asked after contacting Shi Feng. "More than 300 well-known and 20 top adventurer teams have applied to join the Guild. After a rough estimate, more than 200 Halfstep Refinement Realm experts and 15 Refinement Realm experts have applied, as well..." Zero Wing didn''t even have 15 Refinement Realm experts in total. Even so, the Guild had far more than its first-rate competition. By accepting these 15 or so Refinement Realm experts into the fold, Zero Wing could double its total count. If it succeeded in doing so, no ordinary first-rate Guild would have a chance against Zero Wing. Only the few top- ranked first-rate Guilds would be able to rival the Guild. "Over 200 Half-step and 15 Refinement Realm experts? It seems the battle''s outcome has been quite effective," Shi Feng said, smiling. He wasn''t particularly surprised by the situation. His latest battle held extraordinary significance. Although, defeating the superpowers'' joint forces wasn''t the victory that lured all of these adventurer teams to Zero Wing; rather, they were attracted by his success in holding Stone Forest City. As long as Stone Forest City stood, Zero Wing would have a steady supply of resources and Coins. This also made Zero Wing a far tougher opponent for the various superpowers. Moreover, to become a superpower, one needed a foundation of money and resources. Now that Zero Wing had that foundation, it was almost guaranteed to become a superpower in the future, and the Guild had already proven capable of fending off the various superpowers. After hearing the news of these victories, it was only natural that a large number of experts would rush to join the Guild and ride Zero Wing''s coattails. "Some top adventurer teams have also requested an alliance, committing to fight our enemies in the Bottomless Abyss." With a little hesitation, Aqua Rose continued, "However, they want Adventurer Residences in Stone Forest City in exchange." Top adventurer teams possessed a lot of experts, and some were even led by Refinement Realm experts. There were also some that even superpowers feared. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had provoked quite a few superpowers this time, and because of that, it was fated to encounter many trials and tribulations within the Regional Dungeon. If the Guild had to face these superpowers alone, it would likely struggle to establish itself in the Bottomless Abyss''s other locations. It might even be trapped in the Undead Forest, which was only a fraction of the Dungeon and had very limited resources. "If they want Adventurer Residences for free, they can forget it," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Of course, if they''re willing to pay, it''s a different story. Each Adventurer Residence will cost 50,000 Gold or Magic Crystals of equal value." Adventurer Residences were similar to Guilds'' temporary Residences. The team''s members would be able to teleport in and out of Stone Forest City freely, but Adventurer Residences were a special type of building that could only be constructed in Guild Cities. Moreover, the ruling power could only construct a limited number. A Basic City could only support ten Adventurer Residences at a time. "Fifth thousand Gold?" The amount Shi Feng demanded startled Aqua Rose. "Are you sure?" One could afford a relatively good plot of Land in an imperial capital with so much Gold. Charging so much for an Adventurer Residence in a Guild City was absurd. No adventurer team would likely agree to that price. "That''s right; 50,000 Gold. If they''re not interested, we won''t force the issue," Shi Feng firmly declared. "I understand. I''ll notify them of our price." Knowing Shi Feng had made up his mind, Aqua Rose could only nod and agree. She could only hope that more opportunities to secure outside help appeared in the future. After disconnecting the call, Shi Feng made his way to Stone Forest City''s City Lord''s Mansion to open the city''s doors to the public. 2167 Stone Forest Citys Opening Chapter 2167 - Stone Forest City''s Opening Unlike Zero Wing City, which had been a city upon its conception, Stone Forest City''s City Lord''s Mansion wasn''t a castle. It was merely a house atop a spacious compound. Thick, stone walls lined the compound, and the only entrance was through a set of sturdy, iron gates. Two Tier 2 NPC soldier parties stood guard. When Shi Feng arrived, the NPCs opened the gates for him and respectfully welcomed him to the mansion. Sure enough, this City Lord''s Mansion is far more secure. Shi Feng could not help his rueful sigh when he saw the water barrier beyond the gates. The Isolation Barrier! Not even Zero Wing City had this mechanic. The difference between a Guild Town and a Guild City was massive in God''s Domain. The method to capture each was also different. To capture a Guild town, one simply needed to claim the Town Token from the ruling Guild''s Residence, but to capture a Guild City, players needed to secure the City Lord''s Mansion. While the difference between the two might not seem large, it was like the difference between heaven and earth. The first reason for this gap was the difference in their magic arrays. A Guild had to set up the defensive magic array around its Residence itself, and Advanced Defensive Magic Arrays were particularly difficult to acquire. However, a City Lord''s Mansion came equipped with its own defensive magic array, and it was even stronger than the magic barrier that protected the city. Only, it stored far less Mana, so it couldn''t last as long as the city''s defensive magic array. The second reason was that no Guild Residence, regardless of how powerful it was, could affect a city''s performance, but the City Lord''s Mansion would. The City Lord''s Mansion acted as the city''s heart. The stronger it became, the stronger the city would be. However, upgrading a City Lord''s Mansion wasn''t easy. Doing so required a lot of money and super-rare resources. This was why Guild Cities'' development in God''s Domain was generally quite slow. Guild Towns, in comparison, only needed Popularity, money, and players. Normally, Guild Cities that had grown from Advanced Towns were much stronger than directly built Guild Cities. Needless to say, a Guild City promoted with a Gold Town Promotion Order would be even stronger. The Isolation Barrier before Shi Feng was the best proof of this. Shadow''s Guild Cities in the past had only acquired an Isolation Barrier once they had become Intermediate Cities, yet Stone Forest City had gained one the moment it had become a Basic City. Unlike defensive magic arrays, Isolation Barriers couldn''t block incoming attacks, but they weren''t any less important. An Isolation Barrier was capable of stopping unseen attacks and isolating the City Lord''s Mansion from the outside world. If players entered the mansion without explicit permission, they wouldn''t be able to contact others outside of the compound''s walls. This ability had allowed Guilds in the past to hold meetings within the City Lord''s Mansion without having to worry about information reaching their enemies too quickly. Now that Stone Forest City''s City Lord''s Mansion had an Isolation Barrier as well, Zero Wing could use this place to discuss confidential matters. The Guild wouldn''t need to take the numerous precautions it usually did when preparing for an important operation, and it could afford to consider even riskier plans. Shi Feng entered the City Lord''s Mansion, greeted by a garden filled with plants and flourishing flowers. Birdsong and floral fragrance filled the air. The garden had an easy-to-capture vibe, a stark contrast to Zero Wing City''s heavily fortified City Lord''s Mansion. But Shi Feng remained unperturbed. After all was said and done, Stone Forest City had only recently become a city. It would still take a lot of time, money, and resources to develop this City Lord''s Mansion to rival that of Zero Wing City. This was also why the various superpowers had tried to capture Stone Forest City so soon after its promotion. The City Lord''s Mansion was still undeveloped and at its weakest. Once Zero Wing fully developed the mansion, not even Tier 5 players could infiltrate it. Although he had defeated the various superpowers and defended Stone Forest City this time, repelling future attacks wasn''t guaranteed. He needed to upgrade the city as soon as possible. Initially, the Secret Pavilion had suggested they wait for two or three days before opening Stone Forest City to the public. By then, most of the city''s defenses would be operational. However, the Secret Pavilion wasn''t aware that Shi Feng couldn''t afford to wait that long. Silverwing Town, Stone Forest City, and Zero Wing''s development desperately needed Coins and resources, but due to the ongoing war with Starlink, Zero Wing severely lacked both. Even though Shi Feng had acquired quite a few top-tier weapons and equipment pieces from the various superpowers, it was a pitiful amount compared to what the Guild needed, and selling the items would simply be foolish. Hence, to ensure Zero Wing''s future, he had to open Stone Forest City to the public as soon as possible. Shi Feng soon arrived at the three-story house within the compound. An elderly butler, the City Lord''s Mansion''s manager, waited for him. Although the old man was only Level 10, he was invulnerable; no player could damage him. "City Lord, how may I be of service?" the butler asked as he greeted Shi Feng with a smile. "I wish to remove the seal on Stone Forest City," Shi Feng answered. After its promotion, Stone Forest City had been sealed. Without the owner''s permission, players would have to destroy the city''s defensive magic array and walls to get into the city. If he wanted to attract visitors, he''d have to remove the seal. "I will see to it immediately, but once the seal has been lifted, how much would my lord like to charge as an entry fee?" the butler asked. "With Stone Forest City''s current scale, the lowest entry fee available to you is 40 Copper Coins." "The lowest is 40 Copper?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. "What about the highest?" He had gone to great lengths to relocate Stone Forest Town to the Bottomless Abyss. He had even upgraded it into a city. Naturally, he couldn''t charge the lowest entry fee. "Currently, you can collect up to 3 Silver per person. If you wish to raise the entry fee further, you will first have to upgrade the city," the butler explained. "In that case, set it to 3 Silver," Shi Feng decided without hesitation. Players couldn''t set a city''s entry fee to any amount they desired in God''s Domain. There were lower and upper limits, and the city''s geographical surroundings and development determined these limits. When Zero Wing City had first established, the lower limit had only been 30 Copper, yet Stone Forest City''s was 40 Copper. To attract more players to Zero Wing City, Shi Feng had initially set the entry fee to the minimum, gradually raising it as more players arrived. Now, players had to pay 80 Copper to enter Zero Wing City. However, Stone Forest Citys situation was different. It rested on the Bottomless Abysss first underground floor, and it was almost guaranteed that only a small number of players would visit. Unfortunately, that meant that he couldn''t choose the lowest entry fee available. He wouldn''t make any money if he did. Furthermore, Stone Forest City was the only rest area in the God Mode Regional Dungeon, and unlike Zero Wing City, this city was essential for the players that wanted to grind in the area. "Understood. I''ll get it done immediately." The butler bowed before leaving. In less than five minutes, a Regional System Announcement alerted all players in the Undead Forest that Stone Forest City was officially open. 2168 Not Like a Superpower, But Superior Chapter 2168 - Not Like a Superpower, But Superior Once the seal on Stone Forest City had lifted, Shi Feng began to draft a construction plan for the city. Although Stone Forest Town had already contained a lot of buildings, it had grown several times after its promotion. As a result, Stone Forest City looked empty and could, at most, only accommodate 1,000,000 players. This was the downside to a promoted city. A built city, on the other hand, didn''t have this problem. Although Stone Forest Town had more than enough buildings to accommodate visiting players, its visitors wouldn''t be limited to experts as mainstream players reached higher levels and improved their equipment. Eventually, even ordinary players would be able to grind in the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor with ease. It was necessary to plan the city''s constructions ahead of time to ensure that players had what they needed to live and rest in Stone Forest City. Not only would careful planning increase the value of the city''s Shops and private housing, but it was also of the utmost importance for the city''s development. While Shi Feng planned the city''s layout in the City Lord''s Mansion, the powers from the kingdoms and empires near the Ancient Undead Forest received news of Stone Forest City''s grand opening. For a time, these powers were in an uproar. "Zero Wing is actually opening such a precious city to the public?! Has the Guild gone mad?!" "How generous!" "That''s a God Mode Regional Dungeon we''re talking about! I can''t believe Zero Wing is letting just anyone into the city! Just what is Zero Wing thinking?" The many powers that had watched the battle for Stone Forest City knew how significant the city was. Whoever owned Stone Forest City would have a massive advantage when exploring the Bottomless Abyss. However, Zero Wing so willingly gave up this advantage, granting the public access to such a valuable city... Even the various superpowers were stunned by Zero Wing''s decision. They had known that the Guild would open Stone Forest City to the public sooner or later. Reaching the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor wasn''t particularly difficult, and even experts from first-rate Guilds and peak adventurer teams would be strong enough to grind in the area after another ten days or so. Once they were, Stone Forest City wouldn''t be nearly as much of an advantage. Even if Zero Wing wanted to avoid doing so, it would have to open the city to the public to earn a little money. The city''s potential income would be far more important to the Guild than limiting access to its members and allies. However, the various superpowers hadn''t dreamed that Zero Wing would open Stone Forest City''s gates so soon. Essentially, doing so now was throwing away any advantage the city could provide. "A God Mode Regional Dungeon? This is a perfect opportunity to strengthen our adventurer team!" "Zero Wing is truly amazing. It''s giving up such a massive advantage. Not even superpowers would dare to make such a sacrifice. Since no one''s explored the Bottomless Abyss yet, we can advance our Guild''s development if we can claim some of its treasures for ourselves." The various kingdoms and empires'' powers sprung into action the moment they heard of Stone Forest City''s opening. They all dispatched expert teams to the city. The various superpowers occupied most of God''s Domain''s high-resource maps, and that should''ve been the case for the Bottomless Abyss as well. Superpowers had far better weapons and equipment for their members than ordinary powers, and by the time the ordinary powers were able to explore the Regional Dungeon, the various superpowers would''ve likely combed through the Dungeon. Now that Stone Forest City was open to the public, however, ordinary powers could share the starting line with the various superpowers in the competition for the Bottomless Abyss''s resources. Although the superpowers still had a massive advantage in terms of combat power and equipment standards, it was the fairest condition that ordinary players could hope for. If these ordinary powers got lucky in the Bottomless Abyss, they might be able to elevate their development to a new level. The Regional Dungeon was the current frontline in God''s Domain, and needless to say, the loot within would be among the best available at this stage of the game. Because of this news, Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City had become more crowded than ever before. Players joined the growing crowd outside of the Residence''s entrance almost as fast as the seconds ticked by. They filled the several streets around the Residence, stupefying players who visited the city for the first time. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha, who had finally made it into the Residence, couldn''t stifle their rueful sighs as they observed the current atmosphere within. Although powers seeking refuge or alliances visited the various superpowers'' Residences as well, their traffic was nothing compared to the number of representatives currently in Zero Wing''s Residence. They had already counted more than 100 representatives thus far, including upper echelons from first- and second- rate Guilds. First- and second-rate Guilds might be insignificant to the various superpowers, but that was only true when two or three of these Guilds gathered. If dozens of first- and second-rate Guilds banded together, not even a Super Guild could afford to underestimate them. Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha even felt as if their positions had been reversed. It felt as if Zero Wing were the superpower here, and Unyielding Soul was simply an ordinary power seeking refuge... Almost every first- and second-rate Guild upper echelon in the Residence felt the same. They had all assumed that they stood on equal footing with Zero Wing and that the Guild wasn''t yet a superpower, even if it were stronger than a first-rate Guild. But looking at it now, they realized how naive the thought was. Although Zero Wing might not have the strength of a superpower, it possessed a foundation that no superpower could match. Despite its lower status, it was, in fact, more powerful. Bottomless Abyss, Stone Forest City: After working in the City Lord''s Mansion for nearly two hours, Shi Feng received a call from Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. "Guild Leader, over 100 powers have visited our Residence in the Black Dragon Empire to discuss potential cooperation. Five of them are first-rate Guilds, and 17 are second-rate Guilds. Should we agree to their offers?" Gentle Snow asked. "We''re seeing roughly the same situation in White River City, Guild Leader, although two superpowers have also visited. One of them is Unyielding Soul. Both superpowers are requesting garrison rights in Stone Forest City, and they''ve offered considerable benefits in exchange," Aqua Rose said, unable to contain her excitement. If Zero Wing accepted the benefits these Guilds offered, the Guild would undergo a qualitative transformation. Although it couldn''t match a superpower''s reach, it wasn''t far off. "So many powers have visited?" Even Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the two Vice Guild Leaders'' reports. Although he had recognized how tempting Stone Forest City would be to the various powers, he hadn''t expected it to attack so many. "What should we do, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow asked, staring at Shi Feng as they desperately waited for his answer. Too many powers had approached the Guild for partnerships for them to handle. Even if Stone Forest City was a Basic City, it couldn''t accommodate so many Guilds. It would be fortunate if the city house a total of five Guilds right now. "Since so many powers have approached us, it would be a waste to turn them away." After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng grinned and said, "The various superpowers have their own Chamber of Commerce. In that case, Zero Wing will establish its own. We''ll call it the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce. If these powers want a partnership, they''ll have to join our Chamber first. Then, we''ll cooperate as members of a Chamber of Commerce typically do." Zero Wing had certainly benefited from its membership with the Secret Chamber of Commerce, but after getting kicked out once already, Shi Feng knew that Zero Wing needed a Chamber of its own. Zero Wing hadn''t had been able to fulfill the conditions of creating a Chamber of Commerce previously, but now that the ability to do so presented itself, he couldn''t miss this opportunity. "What if they demand to garrison in the city?" Aqua Rose had already spoken with quite a few major powers'' representatives, so she knew that they aimed to secure a Residence in the city for their Guilds. Unfortunately, simply joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce wouldn''t fulfill that wish, in which case, these powers might refuse to join. "We''ll follow the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s example then. They will only gain the right to garrison in Stone Forest City if they join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce as advanced members. Normal members, on the other hand, will enjoy a 20% discount on the city''s entry fees," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "The more they contribute, the more they will gain. I''m sure they won''t have any complaints." Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow''s eyes glowed with elation and realization upon hearing Shi Feng''s decision. This was undoubtedly a solid solution. If this plan succeeded, Zero Wing''s sales channels would reach unprecedented heights. Not even ordinary superpowers would be a match for it. Even without Stone Forest City''s profits, the Guild would be able to develop smoothly by relying on the income from the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce. 2169 Gathering of Guilds Chapter 2169 - Gathering of Guilds Shi Feng''s decision inspired Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, sparking countless ideas as restless excitement filled their hearts. "Guild Leader, although I think it''s a good idea to take advantage of a competition between these Guilds for the garrison slots, I''m afraid that some of the smaller Guilds will give up altogether knowing that they won''t have any chance of winning. Most of the Guilds that have approached us with partnership proposals are small Guilds, and although they aren''t powerful individually, their combined strength is even greater than that of the larger Guilds who are interested in an alliance," Aqua Rose said, quickly pointing out the problem with Shi Feng''s suggestion. She was far more astute than Shi Feng when it came to management and business. "That''s right. These smaller Guilds don''t share the same thought process as their larger counterparts. They aren''t considering their future development, prioritizing immediate benefits over all else," Gentle Snow said as she nodded in agreement. "We might find it challenging to lure them into the Chamber if we only offer a 20% discount. The small Guilds don''t have many experts, to begin with, and they can only afford to send a small number of players to explore the Bottomless Abyss. The benefits of joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce aren''t greater than the cost. They will definitely reject our offer." Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow''s reasoning was sound. Although Shi Feng had only suggested the idea a moment ago, both women had already found flaws in his plan. His other subordinates, such as Blackie and Liang Jing, simply couldn''t compete with these two. "You''re both correct. A discount on the city''s entry fee won''t likely be enough to convince these small Guilds, but this city isn''t like others. This is Stone Forest City. Even if they wanted to, they''d find the offer difficult to refuse," Shi Feng said, smiling confidently. Listening to his Vice Guild Leaders'' suggestions, Shi Feng recognized how both had developed their respective Guilds into pseudo-super-first-rate Guilds in the past. To grow stronger, a Guild needed more than just powerful experts; it also needed skilled managers with a sharp sense for business. If Shi Feng hadn''t relied on philosophies that were beyond the current time and knowledge of God''s Domain''s future, not even he would''ve been a match for Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow''s business sense. "This..." Both women gave their Guild Leader skeptical looks. "These Guilds want to negotiate a partnership deal, correct? In that case, we''ll sit down with them in Stone Forest City''s Candlelight Trading Firm," Shi Feng declared, chuckling. "Alright. We''ll lead them there now, then." Although these women were confused over Shi Feng''s decision, they were familiar with his typical antics. Since he had come up with the idea, he must have considered certain factors. Moreover, Stone Forest City was key to Zero Wing''s development. As the Guild''s upper echelons, they had to visit the city and gain a proper understanding of what it had to offer. Disconnecting their call with Shi Feng, the women contacted the various Guilds'' representatives and informed them that the negotiations would take place in Stone Forest City. "What is Zero Wing trying to do? They could negotiate with us directly, but they want us to head to Stone Forest City for the discussion? Isn''t this just a waste of time?!" a Level 68 female Elementalist in exquisite, light-red robes snarled as she watched Aqua Rose in the distance. Over 200 Guild representatives occupied the spacious hall, but aside from Unyielding Heart and Mu Lingsha, none of them dared to look this furious woman in the eye. They lowered their heads and avoided her gaze, afraid of attracting her ire. This woman was Sixteenth Cloud, the Second Vice Guild Leader of the recently-promoted superpower, Shining Tiger. She had also earned the nickname ''Flame Empress.'' She had once been a peerless genius, nurtured by a Super Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Rain, but she had left the Super Guild abruptly and joined Shining Tiger, performing many impressive feats for the new superpower. Although Shining Tiger was not as powerful as Starlink, it ranked near the top among recently-promoted superpowers. The Guild currently controlled four kingdoms and had built a solid foundation in the Glory Empire. It was even stronger than Unyielding Soul. "We are here to gain an understanding of Zero Wing and see for ourselves if the Guild is as impressive as the White Tiger Dojo claims, Vice Guild Leader. So please, endure this for now." The middle-aged man, a Level 68 Assassin, beside Sixteenth Cloud tried to calm the woman, acting like her butler. It was obvious that he was used to the woman''s hot temper. Unyielding Heart, who sat across the subservient Assassin, kept his guard up against the man. This middle-aged man had an even greater backstory than Sixteenth Cloud. His name was Sorrowful Silence, and he had risen to fame even earlier than Unyielding Heart had. Moreover, Sorrowful Silence was a bona fide monster. The man specialized in eliminating high-profile targets. Since God''s Domain''s launch, he had been responsible for the deaths of more than six superpower upper echelons. These assassinations had foiled many of the superpowers'' plans. How strange. Shining Tiger has clearly focused on its development in the Glory Empire. So, why is it here to discuss a partnership with Zero Wing? Initially, Unyielding Heart had been a little surprised to find Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence in Zero Wing''s Residence. Is Zero Wing already allied with Shining Tiger in secret? Although Shining Tiger had only recently become a superpower and had begun its development in God''s Domain much later than Starlink had, it hadn''t developed any slower than Starlink. Shining Tiger even had the support of the Radiant Corporation, an international corporation. Like Blackwater, the Radiant Corporation specialized in the fighting and security industries. Hence, Radiant had no lack of expert players and an advantage over its competition. If the Radiant Corporation hadn''t waited so long to join God''s Domain, Shining Tiger would''ve likely risen to rival Starlink and Blackwater by now. While Unyielding Heart wondered about the other Guild''s presence here, Sixteenth Cloud returned to her seat, no longer making a fuss. "I know! I was just saying," Sixteenth Cloud grumbled. She didn''t have a great opinion of Zero Wing, which had neither a background nor any supporters. Since she had originally been a member of a Super Guild, she was very familiar with how powerful superpowers were. Although Zero Wing had made a name for itself by defeating the superpowers'' joint army, that didn''t prove anything. Zero Wing had simply accomplished the feat by relying on some fortuitous opportunity. Such opportunities appeared randomly and were available to everyone. Throughout the virtual gaming world''s long history, many Guilds like Zero Wing had risen to great heights due to fortuitous opportunities, but very few had eventually become super-first-rate Guilds or Super Guilds. In Sixteenth Cloud''s opinion, Zero Wing was little more than a lottery winner. It was nothing compared to families with wealthy histories. If the White Tiger Dojo hadn''t boasted of Zero Wing''s amazing skills when nurturing experts, her Guild wouldn''t have sent her here, much less decided to approach Zero Wing for a partnership. Not long after Sixteenth Cloud''s tantrum came to an end, the various representatives calmed as they followed Aqua Rose toward White River City''s Teleportation Hall. At the same time, Gentle Snow led her visitors toward the city from the distant Black Dragon Empire. Suddenly, several hundred powers'' representatives gathered in Dark Night City, causing a commotion that spread throughout the Dark Night Empire. 2170 Off the Charts Chapter 2170 - Off the Charts "Amazing! Why have so many Guilds gathered in Dark Night City?" "They must be here for the same reason as those adventurer teams that showed up earlier, to discuss an alliance with Zero Wing." "Zero Wing sure is impressive. If it allies with so many Guilds, not even Starlink could afford to target Zero Wing rashly." "That''s not all. Do you see those people wearing Shining Tiger''s Guild Emblem? The Guild recently became a superpower. I''ve heard that it isn''t any weaker than Starlink and far stronger than the declining Unyielding Soul. If Zero Wing partners with Shining Tiger, Starlink will find the Guild to be a far more difficult target." "If that happens and Zero Wing really intends to develop in the Dark Night Empire, we''re going to see a massive war erupt." Players from the empire''s various powers chatted amongst themselves when they noticed Sixteenth Cloud and the other Guild representatives in Dark Night City''s Teleportation Hall. Many of them could already imagine the battle between the Dark Night Empires countless Guilds. Players like them wanted nothing more than that outcome. Heroes only emerged when there was trouble. No player or power dared to act up in the empire while Starlink was in control, and most conflicts were limited to small skirmishes. Starlink would jump to quash any larger fights, and because of this, expert players struggled to make a name for themselves within the Dark Night Empire. Of course, everyone paid more attention to Shining Tiger''s presence than the potential turbulence. If Shining Tiger and Zero Wing agreed to an alliance, Zero Wing would have the capital to develop in the Dark Night Empire. Partnering with Dark Night City''s other Guilds wouldn''t help the Guild much in this matter, and no one even bothered to take into account the Secret Pavilion or Unyielding Soul. Unyielding Soul had constantly fought Starlink in the empire, so whether or not it allied with Zero Wing, its situation wouldn''t change. Furthermore, Unyielding Soul had already begun to decline. As a famous, transcendental power, the Secret Pavilion wouldn''t involve itself in the struggle between God''s Domain''s various powers. It focused solely on its business and finances. The potential profits that were at stake were the only reason that the Secret Pavilion had sided with Zero Wing in the battle for Stone Forest City. However, Shining Tiger was a different story. Shining Tiger was a foreign superpower to the Dark Night Empire, and if it were dragged into the empire''s struggles, the resulting power shift would be significant. "So, this is Starlink''s main headquarters? These players'' average standards are quite high. They''re almost a match for those in the Glory Empire. I see now how Starlink has developed so quickly," Sixteenth Cloud commented as she briefly evaluated the players in the Teleportation Hall. "If Zero Wing intends to battle Starlink to the bitter end, we''ll have to reevaluate our interest in an alliance." Overall, the Glory Empire was stronger than the Dark Night Empire, and although the former didn''t have a God Mode Regional Dungeon nearby, it had quite a few Asura Mode Regional Dungeons. These Dungeons were more than enough for Shining Tiger''s needs. The Guild wasn''t hard-pressed to secure the Bottomless Abyss''s resources. If the Guild Elders hadn''t expressed their slight interest in the Bottomless Abyss and White Tiger Dojo hadn''t made such a strong recommendation, Shining Tiger wouldn''t have been interested in Zero Wing in the least. "Indeed. These players are certainly high-quality. Obtaining fresh blood should be quite easy for Starlink. Including its possession of that item, its development speed should be astounding," Sorrowful Silence said as he nodded in agreement. "However, since we are here, we should pay Stone Forest City a visit." Superpowers typically avoided provoking each other. Even if they had to do so, they weighed the potential benefits and costs before acting. Naturally, Shining Tiger wouldn''t agree to challenge Starlink just for a particular grinding spot that it didn''t even need. "Of course. We will need a proper explanation for the Guild Elders, after all." Sixteenth Cloud nodded. As Dark Night City''s players watched, Sixteenth Cloud and the other Guild representatives teleported to an NPC town nearest to the Ancient Undead Country. Following Aqua Rose, the group crossed one neutral map after another. As their escort, Zero Wing''s main force dealt with any monsters in their way. The main force members'' performance surprised the various representatives. Once they had entered the Ancient Undead Country, Zero Wing''s main force had eliminated the Level 60-plus Great Lords they had encountered as easily as if they were chopping vegetables. Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow''s performances were particularly eye-catching. Each of the women single-handedly took on several Level 65 Great Lords at once, maintaining their upper hand in the battles. Only Level 65 Grand Lords had proven strong enough to make Gentle Snow struggle... The various Guild representatives were utterly astonished by these players'' Basic Attributes. "Aren''t Gentle Snow''s Basic Attributes a little too high? Not even our Guild''s Chief Berserker is quite as strong," Sixteenth Cloud commented as she watched the woman in question tank a Level 65 Grand Lord by herself. Although Berserkers were famed for their Strength, this was the first time Sixteenth Cloud had seen a Berserker that could solo-tank a Grand Lord. "Her Basic Attributes aren''t her only powerful quality. I doubt I''d even be a match for her in a frontal confrontation," Sorrowful Silence said solemnly. "Is she that strong?" Sixteenth Cloud gave her companion a skeptical look. Others might not know how powerful Sorrowful Silence was, but she was very familiar with the middle-aged man''s strength. Even though Sorrowful Silence was an Assassin, he had a Peak Legacy, the Blood Warrior hidden class. His Strength was no lower than normal Berserkers of the same level, and his Agility was far above what normal Assassins possessed. He certainly wasn''t a weakling in PvP. Sorrowful Silence was even more of a threat on a lawless battlefield. Unlike in official competitions, Domain Realm experts could display their full potential on a battlefield without rules. Sixteenth Cloud had watched Zero Wing''s performance in White River City''s Auction Arena, and while she could admit that Gentle Snow was strong, that had been an official competition. In a field battle, it would be a different story. "I wish I were wrong, but she is truly that powerful," Sorrowful Silence answered with a bitter smile. He was very confident in his estimation of others'' combat power. This ability allowed him to slay one superpower''s expert after another. However, Gentle Snow felt like an extreme threat. He had also failed to mention the fact that she wasn''t the only one to feel like that. Zhao Yueru and Violet Cloud, who stood beside Gentle Snow, felt just as dangerous, although they didn''t seem as deadly as their Vice Guild Leader. While the various Guild representatives gained a better understanding of Zero Wing''s main force, the group arrived in Stone Forest City. The moment they crossed the threshold to the city, they were shocked by its Mana density. "How can this place have such dense Mana?" Sixteenth Cloud, an Elementalist, was shocked as she sensed the unbelievably dense Mana around her. 2171 Sorrowful Silences Shock 2171 Sorrowful Silence''s Shock Chapter 2171 - Sorrowful Silence''s Shock Stone Forest City''s Mana density didn''t only stun the various Guild representatives, but Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and Zero Wing''s main force members were shocked as well. They were no strangers to high Mana density environments. In fact, they were accustomed to them. However, the Mana in Stone Forest City was even denser than in the Holy City of Titan, and it didn''t feel like the usual Mana they encountered. This Mana had a violent energy, although it didn''t make them feel agitated. On the contrary, they felt warm and close to their environment. This closeness gave them a newfound perception of their surroundings. This was a sensation they had never experienced before. It was as if they had just arrived at an entirely new world. Logically, Mana shouldn''t be able to cause such a sensation, even if it was particularly dense. They had all seen and experienced Mana so dense that it appeared as a fog, but it had never made them feel like this. In truth, the sensation Aqua Rose and her party experienced wasn''t related to the city''s Mana in the least. Rather, it was a hidden effect of the Dark Tower. While this sensation felt foreign to Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s members, it wasn''t all that odd to Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence. These two were particularly familiar with the strange feeling, which horrified them. This close sensation everyone felt was quite similar to the sensation one experienced when they reached the Void Realm. Although what they felt now wasn''t as intense as actually reaching the Void Realm, there was roughly a 10% resemblance. Even among the various superpowers, Void Realm experts were treated as upper echelons-level individuals. They were a Guild''s mainstays. And within Stone Forest City, players could actually experience the sensation of being a Void Realm expert. Although the city''s atmosphere could only replicate a small fraction of the sensation, it would be a massive help to expert players, particularly Refinement Realm experts. If Refinement Realm experts could examine and experience this sensation, they''d have as much as a 30% chance of reaching the Void Realm in the future. Most of the various large Guilds'' experts would scoff at this 30% chance, but the superpowers'' Refinement Realm experts would willingly bankrupt themselves for such a boost. It''s no wonder why so many superpowers fought to claim Stone Forest City. I had never dreamed that this city would offer such a benefit." Realization dawned on Sixteenth Cloud as she bathed in the city''s Mana. Once an expert reached the Refinement Realm, they were almost guaranteed to reach the Flowing Water Realm. Players only needed to be able to observe their enemies'' every action and predict their next move to enter the Flowing Water Realm, and normally, players would fulfill these requirements once they had accumulated enough combat experience. To put it simply, one merely needed to work hard to reach the Flowing Water Realm. However, climbing from the Flowing Water Realm into the Void Realm was a different story. This was a qualitative leap. Reaching the Void Realm was akin to switching one''s focus from one target to several hundred. The achievement was beyond simply observing one''s opponent. Players needed to view situations from a different perspective entirely. Although the various superpowers had plenty of Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts, very few among these experts were capable of reaching the Void Realm, even within Super Guilds. The chances of rising from the Flowing Water Realm to the Void Realm was less than 10% However, if the various superpowers had Stone Forest City''s environment, they could certainly nurture a few more peak experts. A single peak expert could command and safeguard an entire section of their Guild''s territory. With a few more peak experts, superpowers would have an easier time managing their members and territories. Moreover, these peak experts played an important role when acquiring powerful treasure. Monster-level experts were incredibly rare, after all, and most superpowers didn''t even have a handful of such experts under their command. In comparison, God''s Domain had a plethora of precious treasures and dangerous locations to explore. Vice Guild Leader, we must do whatever we can to secure a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City!" Sorrowful Silence resolutely declared. "I know; relax." Sixteenth Cloud nodded, a vibrant light replacing the dull look in her eyes. Now, she couldn''t bring herself to look down on Stone Forest City in the slightest. Shining Tiger wasn''t like the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Since it had only recently established itself, it had poached many of its experts from other Guilds. However, poaching peak experts was incredibly difficult since they were integral members of their superpowers. As a result, Shining Tiger had a lot of Refinement and Flowing Water Realm experts, but it severely lacked Void Realm experts. If the Guild wanted more Void Realm experts, it would have to nurture them on its own. Unfortunately, doing so was a major challenge. Despite investing tons of resources, Shining Tiger had only nurtured two peak experts thus far. Who knew how long it would take for the Guild to nurture more? However, if Shining Tiger could use Stone Forest City''s environment, it could ease the burden of nurturing peak experts. The Guild could then expand its territory. Even Unyielding Heart''s eyes burned with passion. He was overwhelmed with a desire to obtain a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City. Unyielding Soul and Starlink had roughly the same number of Refinement and Flowing Water Realm experts. Unyielding Soul simply didn''t have as many peak and monster-level experts as its rival. If Unyielding Soul could resolve that problem, it might become strong enough to continue its competition with Starlink. Furthermore, Stone Forest City was located within the Bottomless Abyss. With the resources Unyielding Soul could obtain from the Regional Dungeon, the Guild could certainly continue duking it out with Starlink. Before anyone had realized it, the crowd had arrived before the city''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Although Stone Forest City''s Candlelight Trading Firm was no match for the Shop in Zero Wing City, it was still a 10- story building that was as large as a sports arena. It could easily accommodate tens of thousands of customers at a time, easily outmatching White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Unfortunately, this Shop had yet to open its doors to the public, still in the midst of its renovation. When Stone Forest Town had been upgraded to a Basic City, the Shop had been promoted as well, and it was in dire need of a reorganization. As the Guild representatives entered the Shop, they were stunned by the items that were already on display in the first-floor hall. "Level 60 to Level 80, eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment?! How is this possible?!" Sorrowful Silence cried out when he saw the equipment on display in one of the glass counters. All of the various Guild representatives were dumbfounded, their mouths hanging open as they stared at the set equipment in shocked silence. Aside from Epic Equipment, the best available in the game right now was Level 65 Dark-Gold rank, but due to such equipment''s rarity, one could count the number of experts in full sets of Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment using the fingers on one hand, including those in the various superpowers'' main forces. Fully geared in Level 65 Dark-Gold Equipment, players would have no problems diving into Level 70,100-man Team Dungeons. And yet, a complete Level 60 to 80 Dark-Gold Set Equipment glittered before them. Moreover, it was an eight-piece set. Why wouldn''t they be shocked? Eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment was only inferior to Epic Equipment of the same level! However, that wasn''t even the most important aspect. What truly shocked these Guild representatives was the set equipment''s level. If players could wear this Dark-Gold Set Equipment by the time they reached Level 70, they would breeze through Level 70,100-man Team Dungeons. Moreover, this set equipment was plate armor and wasn''t restricted to a specific class. Even an MT could equip this set! If their Guilds could get their hands on this set equipment, they''d have a massive advantage over their competition when raiding level appropriate Team Dungeons. 2172 Complete Legacy Chapter 2172 - Complete Legacy The appearance of the Crystal Light Set stupefied everyone present. Some of the Guild representatives shuddered slightly upon seeing it. While the various powers were still vying for Level 65 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, Zero Wing had already obtained an entire set of Level 60 to Level 80, eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment! With such a frightening advantage, everyone could imagine how much of a lead Zero Wing would have when it came to raiding Team Dungeons. In fact, before Level 80, Zero Wing would be able to steadily secure its position as the overlord of the Bottomless Abyss. Moreover, this still wasn''t the most horrifying part. It might be fine if Zero Wing only had one Crystal Light Set, but there were currently three Crystal Light Sets in all on display inside the first-floor hall. This meant that Zero Wing could obtain more Crystal Light Sets. The impact of one person equipped in Dark-Gold Set Equipment and that of an entire team equipped with it were as different as heaven and earth. No matter how powerful an individual player was, there was a limit to how much they could contribute inside a Team Dungeon. However, if every player in the team was equipped with such equipment, the team''s overall performance would skyrocket. After all, the main impediment most powers faced in raiding a Team Dungeon was their inadequate equipment standards. This was especially true for the various superpowers. So long as the superpowers'' teams met the required equipment standards, raiding Team Dungeons would be a piece of cake for them. "It''s no wonder Zero Wing dares to provoke Starlink. It seems Zero Wing isn''t all bark, after all." Sixteenth Cloud''s eyes glowed brightly as she looked at the Crystal Light Sets on display. If Shining Tiger could secure a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City, in addition to the Crystal Light Set, she believed that it wouldn''t be long before Shining Tiger developed into the number two power of the Glory Empire, second only to King''s Return. After everyone was done admiring the Crystal Light Sets, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow led the crowd to the Shop''s top- floor reception room, where Shi Feng had been waiting for quite some time now. Currently, Shi Feng wore a suit of pitch-black armor paired with a dark-gray cape. When the various Guild representatives saw Shi Feng''s figure through the opened doors, they found that he gave off a very plain and approachable feeling, without even the slightest tinge of strength. He also did not act haughty the way overlords of kingdoms generally did. However, the instant everyone set foot inside the room, they immediately realized that they were mistaken in their assumptions of Shi Fengterribly mistaken. Sorrowful Silence even gasped involuntarily when he stepped into the room. Monster! This word simultaneously appeared in everyone''s mind. The various Guild representatives reacted this way because the moment they stepped into the room, a horrifying pressure had assaulted their bodies. Moreover, this pressure didn''t originate just from a difference in Basic Attributes but also a massive difference in Life Ratings. At this moment, everyone''s gut instincts were blaring their imminent death. It was as if the person sitting before them wasn''t a player at all, but a living Demon King instead. Didn''t they say that Black Flame is only a Domain Realm expert? How is he so powerful? Sixteenth Cloud''s complexion turned indescribably grim as she looked at Shi Feng, who currently sat in the room''s seat of honor. She had been nurtured by a Super Guild, so she had seen many monster-level experts before. Although her current self had yet to reach the Domain Realm, she was very confident of putting up a fight against an actual Domain Realm expert. However, when she stood before Shi Feng, she actually felt helpless. When she imagined getting attacked by an expert like Shi Feng out in the fields, her scalp immediately turned numb. "Welcome to Stone Forest City. Let me introduce myself. I am Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame," Shi Feng said. When he saw the various Guild representatives'' darkened expressions, particularly Sixteenth Cloud''s and Sorrowful Silence''s grim expressions, he felt very satisfied with himself. In reality, he wasn''t as powerful as everyone thought. The reason why everyone was having such a misconception about him was simply the side effects caused by Demon God''s Phantom. After Demon God''s Phantom''s duration ended, he would continue exuding Divine Might for the next 12 hours. When monsters were subjected to this Divine Might, they would instinctively run away from him. In return, however, his body would be suppressed to a mortal state, his combat power reduced drastically. Of course, unless players fought him, they would not be able to tell that he was actually incredibly weak right now. They would only be frightened by the Divine Might he exuded. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng introduced himself, everyone present, particularly Shining Tiger''s Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence, no longer dared look down on Zero Wing even in the slightest. The current Zero Wing might lack peak experts and capital, but its growth potential was extremely frightening. Not to mention, there was even an expert like Shi Feng protecting it. If Shi Feng devoted himself to ambushing the upper echelons of superpowers, the superpowers would most likely be helpless to stop him. To the various superpowers, even losing hundreds of Refinement Realm experts would be considered a recoverable loss. However, if their peak experts and monster-level experts were killed, they would suffer irreparable damage. After all, the various superpowers relied on these experts to secure treasures. The loss of even one of these experts could cause a superpower heartache. This was also the reason why superpowers feared monster-level experts so much. Monster-level experts might have difficulty defeating other monster-level experts, but they would have no problems defeating peak experts on their own. Now, however, Shi Feng was an even more frightening existence! This was because even monster-level experts were potential prey to Shi Feng. Previously, Shining Tiger had collected plenty of information on Shi Feng. The Guild concluded that although he was very strong, his chances of success when hunting ordinary monster-level experts were just slightly higher than other monster-level experts''. After personally meeting Shi Feng, however, both Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence understood that the Swordsman was much more frightening than the reports made him out to be. Just Shi Feng''s presence alone forced Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence to treat Zero Wing seriously. "Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Sixteenth Cloud, Shining Tiger''s Second Vice Guild Leader." Sixteenth Cloud took the initiative to stand out and introduce herself. "I am here representing Shining Tiger to negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing. Our demands are not very high. We just want one temporary Residence in Stone Forest City. As for Coins and resources, we are willing to pay so long as the price is reasonable. We can even provide Zero Wing with a complete Refinement Realm Legacy." The various first-rate Guild representatives present could not help but gasp at Sixteenth Cloud''s words. Even Unyielding Heart, who had taken a seat in a corner of the room, twitched slightly, never having thought that Shining Tiger would be willing to pay such a price. Current small Guilds were most likely ignorant of what a Refinement Realm Legacy was. They might even misconstrue it for a Legacy for a hidden class. However, it was something true large Guilds, particularly first-rate Guilds, dreamed of obtaining. This was also where the foundations of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds lay, something that was extremely difficult to acquire even with money. Only major corporations had the power and influence to obtain it. In the case of small corporations and companies, they should not even think of laying their hands on a Refinement Realm Legacy. They could only rely on their own Guilds'' research. Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who were now standing behind Shi Feng, also gasped when they heard Sixteenth Cloud''s offer. Previously, the fact that Unyielding Soul had volunteered to share a portion of its Realms of Refinement training resources with Zero Wing was already plenty amazing. In fact, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow had felt ecstatic over the matter. Now, however, Shining Tiger was even more amazing. It was actually offering to provide Zero Wing with a complete Refinement Realm Legacy. In other words, Shining Tiger was willing to give Zero Wing the training data necessary to turn ordinary experts into Refinement Realm experts. Now, the Zero Wing experts who did not get a chance to experience the Secret Pavilion''s or Unyielding Soul''s training system would no longer have to train themselves blindly. They, too, would get to undergo systematic training. With this, their chances of becoming Refinement Realm experts would increase substantially. Of course, there were many methods for players to reach the Refinement Realm, some simple and others difficult. However, regardless of the efficiency of the training data Shining Tiger provided, the amount of help the data would provide Zero Wing was something that could not be measured with money. "It seems that one of the temporary Residence slots is going to end up with Shining Tiger." "Sure enough, superpowers really are amazing. How are we supposed to continue competing like this?" When the various first-rate Guilds'' representatives heard the conditions Sixteenth Cloud offered, a little despair sprouted in their hearts. They were fully aware that Stone Forest City had a very limited number of temporary Residence slots. Meanwhile, to the current Zero Wing, nothing would be more attractive than a complete Refinement Realm Legacy. In comparison, the Shops and treasures their Guilds could offer were most likely insignificant in Zero Wing''s eyes. Vice Guild Leader Cloud, your offer is indeed very tempting," Shi Feng said. He, too, was very surprised by Sixteenth Cloud''s offer. In the next moment, however, he shook his head and added, "Still, that isn''t what Zero Wing wants." "What do you want, then?" Sixteenth Cloud asked as she stared at Shi Feng incredulously. A complete Refinement Realm Legacy was a priceless treasure to any first-rate Guild. Some first-rate Guilds would even do everything they could to get their hands on one because only by obtaining a Refinement Realm Legacy would they have the means to become a super-first-rate Guild. Without it, a first-rate Guild had no business talking about becoming a super-first-rate Guild. Now, however, Zero Wing was actually rejecting this legacy. She simply couldn''t figure out what could be more important to Zero Wing than a Refinement Realm Legacy. "I don''t want much. I just want you to join Zero Wing''s newly established Candlelight Chamber of Commerce!" Shi Feng replied calmly. 2173 Candlelight Chamber of Commerce Chapter 2173 - Candlelight Chamber of Commerce "Join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce?" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone present stared at him in astonishment, never having thought that the requirement would be so simple. They all knew very clearly what a Chamber of Commerce in the virtual gaming world represented. It was an organization where members shared sales connections with each other for mutual benefit. However, whether one could actually benefit from this method of cooperation would still depend on the members'' capabilities. If one sold excellent merchandise, they would naturally be able to make more money. Average merchandise, on the other hand, would soon be overshadowed by the other members'' merchandise, resulting in a drastic decrease in one''s own sales and profits. A Chamber of Commerce was a double-edged sword. Generally, there were more cons than pros for a small Guild to join a Chamber of Commerce. The reason for this was because small Guilds lacked resources and invested very little into nurturing Lifestyle players. Hence, the quality of merchandise they could offer to customers went without saying. There was simply no way for small Guilds to compete with large Guilds. For a small Guild, joining a Chamber of Commerce was akin to opening the doors for large Guilds to earn money in their territory. However, if it meant being able to obtain a temporary Residence slot in Stone Forest City, then joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce definitely had merit. After all, with sufficient strength, a small Guild could not only earn a large amount of rare resources but also nurture its experts in Stone Forest City. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you saying that, so long as we join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, we''ll receive a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City?" Sixteenth Cloud pressed Shi Feng for confirmation. She wasn''t particularly surprised that Zero Wing would attempt to establish a Chamber of Commerce. After all, there were so many Guilds currently seeking a partnership with Zero Wing. If Zero Wing could pool the strength of these Guilds together, then even superpowers would grow fearful. If Zero Wing wished to continue competing with Starlink, then establishing a Chamber of Commerce was, indeed, the best decision to make. A complete Refinement Realm Legacy might allow a Guild to nurture many Refinement Realm experts, but accomplishing this required a lot of time, which just so happened to be the resource that up-and-coming Guilds like Zero Wing lacked the most. Hence, rather than aim for an uncertain future, it was much better for Zero Wing to further enhance its current strength. "That''s not entirely correct," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "To be precise, only advanced members of the Chamber will receive a temporary Residence slot in Stone Forest City. As for how you can become an advanced member, that will depend on the amount of contributions you make." "So, that''s the case." Realization immediately dawned upon Sixteenth Cloud. Inwardly, she cursed at Shi Feng for being a sly old fox. Originally, only a few Guilds should be able to partner with Zero Wing. Now, however, every Guild present would do so. Moreover, these Guilds would all desperately contest for the limited temporary Residence slots, which would allow Zero Wing to obtain the maximum amount of benefits possible. Meanwhile, when the various Guild representatives heard Shi Feng''s condition, they understood the implications right away. Zero Wing was trying to have them compete for the limited temporary Residence slots and labor for it, indirectly making them Zero Wing''s subordinates. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''m afraid this arrangement is very unfair for small Guilds like us. Compared to the strength and resources large Guilds possess, what small Guilds have is insignificant. In the end, these Residence slots will still land in the hands of large Guilds. If that''s the case, small Guilds like ours might as well give up on competing right off the bat since we already know we won''t win. Moreover, we will even end up working for Zero Wing for free." "That''s right. Small Guilds like ours can''t compete against large Guilds at all. With your arrangement, how are we even supposed to compete? We might as well head back home now." For a while, a few representatives of small Guilds stepped forward and voiced their disagreement. These representatives even tried to get the representatives of other small Guilds to leave the venue with them. Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow frowned upon seeing this scene. Although they had expected that these small Guilds would react this way, they hadn''t anticipated such an organized refusal. As for the representatives of large Guilds, they were gleefully watching this scene play out. After all, the fewer competitors they had, the better. In fact, they hoped that every other Guild present would stand up and quit the venue. "Zero Wing''s ambitions are quite large. Unfortunately, it lacks the ability to control these small Guilds," Sorrowful Silence commented as he watched the representatives of small Guilds prepare to leave the room en masse. "At the end of the day, Zero Wing''s foundations are still too shallow. If it were a superpower making this offer, these small Guilds would''ve most likely agreed without hesitation." At this moment, aside from Sorrowful Silence, Unyielding Heart also felt this way. Zero Wing simply had too few territories under its control right now. The number of territories and sales connections it possessed couldn''t even compete with that of veteran first-rate Guilds. A weak Chamber of Commerce like Candlelight just didn''t hold any attraction for the various small Guilds. On the contrary, membership in the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce would let Zero Wing bleed them dry. However, just when the representatives of the various small Guilds were about to leave the room, a calm voice penetrated everyone''s minds. "What you''re saying is correct, but let me say this first: so long as you become a member of the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, you''ll enjoy a 20% discount on Stone Forest City''s entry fee. Moreover, you''ll get to purchase items that the Candlelight Trading Firm does not sell to the public," Shi Feng said, smiling calmly as he looked at the small Guilds'' representatives. As soon as Shi Feng was done speaking, the departing representatives fell into a daze, their breathing becoming slightly heavy. "Items not sold to the public? Does this include the Crystal Light Set displayed on the first floor?" a small Guild''s representative could not help asking Shi Feng. The discount on Stone Forest City''s entry fee might be very tempting, but a 20% discount was basically negligible to the various powers. However, Candlelight''s merchandise was a different story. After all, they had seen the three Crystal Light Sets displayed in the first-floor hall. Those could tempt even superpowers into action. "That''s right. Including the Crystal Light Set," Shi Feng affirmed, nodding. The moment he nodded his head, the entire reception room fell deathly silent. Even Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence, who were originally planning to watch Zero Wing make a fool of itself, reflexively widened their eyes as they stared at its Guild Leader. That was Level 60 to Level 80, eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about! They had believed that Zero Wing was merely flaunting its strength before the various Guilds present by putting the Crystal Light Set on display. Now, however, Shi Feng was telling them that they could actually buy those Crystal Light Sets. How could this not excite them? As for the various small Guilds'' representatives, their minds momentarily froze. They simply could not understand what Shi Feng was thinking, to be willing to sell such precious set equipment. However, after a moment of silence, everyone inside the room stopped wondering why Shi Feng pulled such an insane move. Instead, the various small Guilds'' representatives promptly returned to their seats and expressed their willingness to join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, afraid that he would regret his decision if they waited any longer. What no one present knew was that Shi Feng had never intended the Crystal Light Sets to be exclusive to Zero Wing; he had always planned to sell them as merchandise. This was because, as players continued leveling up, the Crystal Light Set would quickly fall obsolete, uncompetitive with Epic items. Hence, he naturally had to sell the set while it was still valuable, converting it into Coins and resources for Zero Wing''s development. The various small Guilds present eagerly applied to join the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, their eagerness surpassing even that of the large Guilds present. "Zero Wing is really ruthless, actually offering to give away set equipment like the Crystal Light Set just to attract these small Guilds." Sorrowful Silence marveled at Shi Feng''s generosity. In Zero Wing''s shoes, Shining Tiger would never choose to sell the Crystal Light Set to others. "No pain, no gain. While it might seem as if Zero Wing gave up a huge advantage by selling the Crystal Light Set, Zero Wing obtained the strength and sales connections of more than a hundred Guilds in return," Sixteenth Cloud said when she saw the eagerness of the Guild representatives around her. "Meanwhile, now that Zero Wing has gained such stren and connections, the various superpowers will have to think twice before targeting Zero Wing in the futo At this point, Sixteenth Cloud could already foresee the appearance of another powerhouse in God''s Domain! 2174 Frightening Stone Forest City Chapter 2174 - Frightening Stone Forest City Within the magnificent reception room, Shi Feng began to sign contracts with the various Guild representatives. Any Guild that joined the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce would qualify to participate in the auction for the Crystal Light Sets, which would take place once every three days. Candlelight would offer three to five sets in each auction session, and the Guilds would only be allowed to win a single bid. In addition, the Candlelight Trading Firm would offer other precious items, such as Exotic Stamina Potions, Stamina Gemstones, Advanced Mana Armor Kits, rare Master Potions, and more. Each member of the Chamber could even earn the rights to purchase Miniature Ballistas, depending on their contributions to the Chamber. With this revelation, every Guild representative was ecstatic, especially those from the various small Guilds. At this point, obtaining a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City didn''t matter much compared to the items Zero Wing was willing to sell. After three short hours, the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce had nearly 200 members, and Zero Wing had secured a massive alliance. Among these Guilds, Shining Tiger and Unyielding Soul had instantly become advanced members; both Guilds had presented an offer that Shi Feng couldn''t refuse. Not only had Shining Tiger offered to open two kingdoms'' markets to the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, but it had also agreed to give Zero Wing the complete Refinement Realm Legacy and a large stock of special materials. In addition, Shining Tiger had promised to fight alongside Zero Wing to protect Stone Forest City. Although Unyielding Soul had only given the Chamber access to a single kingdom''s market and a portion of the Dark Night Empire''s, it had offered to provide some of the training data it had gained from its Flowing Water Realm experts. Furthermore, it had agreed to supply training facilities and energy resources, in addition to 10 unlimited training slots for Refinement Realm experts in its training system, which would allow these players to earn the experience necessary to reach the Flowing Water Realm quickly. The unlimited training slots Unyielding Soul had offered weren''t like those from the Secret Pavilion. Zero Wing''s members would be free to fight any Refinement Realm or Flowing Water Realm expert they desired, and they could do so without limit. On the other hand, Zero Wing''s members had to earn points in the Secret Pavilion''s training system, which they would have to spend to train against their desired experts. Of course, the Secret Pavilion had chosen this approach because of the high cost of doing otherwise. Not only was High-level Energy extremely rare, but it was also quite versatile, useful in many aspects. As a result, it was strictly regulated. Even international corporations could only acquire limited amounts of High-level Energy, and simulating expert players required a lot of it. The more powerful an expert was, the more energy a system would need to mimic them. Even the Secret Pavilion could only afford for a select few talented members to use the system. If Unyielding Soul hadn''t been so desperate to secure a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City, it would never have offered 10 unlimited training slots to Zero Wing. Of course, Unyielding Soul could only afford this offer because Zero Wing had too few experts that could actually use their training slots, especially when challenging Flowing Water and Void Realm experts. Zero Wing wasn''t even a match for ordinary superpowers in this regard. Although Shi Feng knew that Unyielding Soul was taking advantage of him, he didn''t mind. Many of Zero Wing''s experts, including Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Shadow Sword, Flying Shadow, Alluring Summer, and Cola, were stuck in the Refinement Realm. However, their failure to progress wasn''t due to a lack of talent, but a lack of combat experience. They weren''t like Shi Feng, who had accumulated an abundance of combat experience in God''s Domain. If Shi Feng hadn''t retained his memories from his previous life, he would never have been able to jump from the Refinement Realm to the Flowing Water Realm so smoothly. If Aqua Rose and her companions trained with Unyielding Soul''s system, Shi Feng was confident that it wouldn''t be long before they became Flowing Water Realm experts. Then, they''d be able to help Zero Wing far more than ever before. Overall, the 10 unlimited training slots Unyielding Soul had offered were even more valuable than Shining Tiger''s complete Refinement Realm Legacy. However, Unyielding Soul and Shining Tiger''s offers weren''t the greatest harvest Zero Wing had obtained. The partnership with so many small Guilds was worth far more. With these small Guilds in the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, Candlelight had gained access to the markets in 12 kingdoms and three empires. Although these small Guilds couldn''t offer quite as much access as Unyielding Soul and Shining Tiger, it was more than enough for the Candlelight Trading Firm for now. Zero Wing even surpassed ordinary superpowers in terms of sales connections after this deal. The various superpowers would have to think twice before trying to assault Zero Wing''s financial prowess now. Starlink''s economic hindrance had only been so successful due to Zero Wing''s limited range of influence. As a result, Zero Wing''s Shops had been easy targets. However, now that Zero Wing could reach across over a dozen kingdoms and empires, not even superpowers could hamper its financial development. Moreover, Zero Wing would have a much easier time collecting materials now. With a single word, the Guild could acquire a stockpile of whatever material it needed, as long as it wasn''t a super-rare material. This would be a great help to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Once Shi Feng had signed all of the contracts with these Guilds'' representatives, he left the rest to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. He then returned his focus to managing Stone Forest City''s construction and recruiting NPC soldiers. Although Stone Forest City had been open for less than a day, more than 1,000,000 players had surged into the city. If not for the Bottomless Abyss''s harsh environment and the difficulty of traversing the Dungeon, the city''s player population would likely have been more than five times that. However, the 1,000,000-plus visitors had earned Shi Feng a fortune. It''s no wonder why the Guilds that had established cities in the Bottomless Abyss had developed so quickly in the past. Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the income Stone Forest City had generated thus far. By charging each player 4 Silver per entry, Stone Forest City had netted 51,204 Gold in entry fees alone. There was also the income from the Battle Arena and Auction House to take into account. Even though players couldn''t yet shop at the Candlelight Trading Firm, the city would earn more than 100,000 Gold per day. Not even top-ranked first-rate Guilds saw so much profit in a day. This was only the beginning. As more players visited Stone Forest City, Zero Wing could earn more than 200,000 Gold every day from the city, even after deducting the Secret Pavilion''s shares... Ordinary superpowers would count their blessings if they had 200,000 Gold in liquid funds, but Stone Forest City had the potential to earn far more than that in the future. Any ordinary superpower that wanted to target Zero Wing in a war of attrition would only regret the decision. Naturally, the Guild''s debts, such as that for Silverwing Town''s airport, were no longer a problem. The sudden influx of so much money gave Shi Feng the freedom to consider plans he hadn''t been able to attempt due to a lack of funds. For example, he could finally retaliate against Starlink on the Dark Night Empire''s market, while also developing the Lost Town and Silverwing Town. Usually, insufficient player populations and popularity were the greatest problems a Guild faced when developing its towns, but neither was an issue for Zero Wing. Rather, Zero Wing struggled with needing enough funding to develop its towns. Shi Feng used the money Stone Forest City had earned so far to construct Shops, hotels, restaurants, bars, smithies, and private housing within the city. Recruiting NPC soldiers wasn''t an issue, either, and he was able to gear them all in sets of Fine-Gold Equipment. Now, even a random Tier 2 NPC soldier in the city could slay a Tier 2 expert. Even peak experts would have to think twice before committing a crime in Stone Forest City. Shi Feng didn''t bother to gear his NPCs in Dark-Gold Equipment due to the whopping 1,500 Gold cost. He could only afford to give 10 Tier 2 NPCs with the highest Growth Potential Dark-Gold ranked items. In a one-on-one fight, even monster-level experts would have to flee from these NPCs. If three or four of these Tier 2 NPCs surrounded an offending monster-level expert, that expert would be doomed. While Shi Feng focused on Stone Forest City''s development, news of the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce spread to God''s Domain''s various powers, causing a commotion throughout the game. 2175 Times Have Changed Chapter 2175 - Times Have Changed Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City: Many players explored the city''s prosperous central district. A 60-meter-tall Guild Hall, one of the most iconic buildings within the district, sat in its core. This was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s status symbol in the Black Dragon Empire. More than 10,000 players came and went from the Guild Hall, many there to apply for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s recruitment test. Even the weakest of these players was Level 64 and wore a full set of Level 60 Secret-Silver Equipment. Level 65 experts had even shown up, fully geared in Level 65 Secret-Silver Equipment. When such experts normally applied to first-rate Guilds, they were accepted and promoted to core member immediately, but in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, even these players would be lucky to join the Guild. Even if they were accepted, they''d become, at most, elite members. However, unlike the lively scene outside the Guild Hall, a deathly silence enveloped the Guild Leader''s office on the top floor. "Damn it! Zero Wing has its own Chamber of Commerce now! Not even Starlink will be able to affect its financial foundation!" Nine Dragons Emperor, who was now Level 68, paled as he read the latest report. His competition with Phoenix Rain for the Great Pavilion Master position was almost at its climax, and he certainly hadn''t expected something like this to happen. He had still hoped to use Zero Wing against Phoenix Rain. After all, she wouldn''t sit by and do nothing if her pet Guild was in danger. She would send a portion of her strength to support Zero Wing. However, not only had Zero Wing grown stronger, but Phoenix Rain would significantly benefit from this as well. Nine Dragons Emperor knew that she was one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s shareholders. Now that Zero Wing had a Chamber of Commerce with more than 100 Guilds, albeit small ones, it had even more sales connections than ordinary superpowers. With how many Master Lifestyle players the firm had as well, it was easy to imagine how much profit Candlelight would generate in the future. "Pavilion Master, our sides are currently fervently collecting funds to build Shipyards and buy Lands on Dragonheart Island. If Phoenix Rain''s side receives a cut of Candlelight''s profits, I''m afraid we''ll be in a precarious position," Martial Dragon said solemnly. "I know that. I truly hadn''t expected an ant like Zero Wing to develop to this extent." Nine Dragons Emperor frowned again at the report regarding Zero Wing, overwhelmed with regret. Had he known that Zero Wing could become so powerful, he would''ve done everything in his power to crush the Guild in its infancy. Those small Guilds have just signed a contract with the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce; they haven''t actually begun to work with Zero Wing yet. Why don''t we take a forceful approach and show these small Guilds the consequences of allying with Zero Wing?" Martial Dragon suggested, a cold light glinting in his eyes as he clenched a fist. "It''s too late for that. Even if we kill these small Guilds'' main forces, they''ll send their main force members to the Bottomless Abyss to level. Not even Starlink''s influence can reach the Regional Dungeon, much less ours. And killing their normal and elite members won''t harm these Guilds in the least," Nine Dragons Emperor said, shaking his head. Unlike like Guilds, small Guilds didn''t offer their members many guarantees, especially their normal and elite members. Small Guilds barely paid these members any mind, only providing a few Guild benefits. These Guilds didn''t even offer significant compensation if its members died. As long as a small Guild could ensure its main force and core members'' survival, it could continue its existence. Of course, the opposite was also true. Due to this reason, the challenge these small Guilds presented depended on the situation. Now that Zero Wing could offer these Guilds'' main forces and core members a safe haven, eliminating them would be quite difficult for the Heavenly Dragon Pavilions. A battle of finances was the only reliable way the Pavilion could deal with these small Guilds now, but doing so would be expensive, and the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion couldn''t afford the expenditure right now. "There really isn''t anything we can do about this?" Martial Dragon asked. "There is only so much profit to go around in God''s Domain. Now that they''ve established such a powerful Chamber of Commerce, the others won''t be able to remain idle. Moreover, Starlink won''t stand for this. This matter will certainly affect Starlink''s development in the Dark Night Empire," Nine Dragons Emperor said, sneering. "Starlink has always been so arrogant and unwilling to negotiate an alliance. Martial, quietly visit Dark Night City and negotiate our terms with Lu Xingluo. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I''m sure Starlink will fund us now." Starlink was well-known for its wealth in God''s Domain. At the moment, Nine Dragons Emperor''s chances of defeating Phoenix Rain were only 40%, but if he had Starlink''s help, he was certain his chances of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master would double. "You''re truly awe-inspiring, Pavilion Master. With this, we''ll be able to turn the tables. If Phoenix Rain and Black Flame knew what we were planning, they''d likely go mad," Martial Dragon said, smiling. "I''ll head to Dark Night City right away." Following which, Martial Dragon left the office and made his way toward Dark Night City. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had finally completed his tasks in Stone Forest City. All he needed to do now was to leave the city in Melancholic Smile''s hands and wait for the influx of players. He didn''t remain idle after dealing with the city''s construction. He made his way to one of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s forging rooms and started to forge Crystal Light Sets and Advanced Mana Armor Kits. Zero Wing and the various Guilds needed both the Crystal Light Sets and Advanced Mana Armor Kits desperately, but the Set Equipment was too difficult to mass-produce. Only Shi Feng was able to forge the sets at a reliable cost. If he tasked Cream Cocoa and the other Basic Master Forgers to produce the set, he wouldn''t even recoup his production costs, much less make a profit. Shi Feng spent more than four days in the forging room and forged 26 Crystal Light Sets and over 1,300 Advanced Mana Amor Kits. Not only had he earned a ton of Forging Proficiency during the past few days, but he had also gained enough EXP to hit Level 77. Meanwhile, Stone Forest City''s player population had skyrocketed, crossing the 3,000,000 threshold already. After deducting the city''s operational costs, Zero Wing had made over 100,000 Gold in pure profit from Stone Forest City alone. Stone Forest City''s income surpassed that of Zero Wing City and Silverwing Town by multiple times. Not only could Zero Wing afford to pay off all of its debt, but it could also set aside a fortune in savings. However, what had Shi Feng truly ecstatic was the leveling speed of his Guild''s core members. Maybe it was because the Bottomless Abyss was a God Mode Regional Dungeon, but over the past four days, most of Zero Wing''s core members had reached Level 68. Some had even risen to Level 70. Even superpowers'' peak experts were just reaching this level by now. The core members'' combat standards had rapidly improved as well, thanks to the complete Refinement Realm Legacy Shining Tiger had provided. Although Fierce Snake was the only one of them to reach the Refinement Realm thus far, more than a dozen core members had reached the Half-step Refinement Realm. Their development speed was simply marvelous. While Shi Feng instructed Zero Wing''s internal members in the Guild''s real-world headquarters, Liang Jing approached him with an anxious expression. "Head Instructor Shi, the Big Dipper Dojo has contacted us to inform us that it will cease all cooperation with our Workshop and will no longer supply talented recruits. It has also instructed its members to leave Zero Wing..." 2176 Meeting Chapter 2176 - Meeting They''re ending our cooperation?" The news blindsided Shi Feng. "What happened? Are you sure you''re not mistaken?" Although Zero Wing had grown quite strong and countless players applied to join the Guild each day, it still had very few internal members. It took a long time to research all of the applicants'' backgrounds through God''s Domain, and no one could tell whether or not an applicant was a spy from another Guild. Most players in God''s Domain also had jobs in the real world. They couldn''t fully devote themselves to the game and treated it as a way to earn some additional income. This was why Zero Wing lacked internal members, despite how many experts joined the Guild in God''s Domain. Now that Zero Wing had nearly a million members in God''s Domain, it needed enough internal members to manage these players. Hence, the Guild had been doing its best to recruit internal members. Zero Wing had two main sources for internal members; the Big Dipper Dojo, and Zero Wing''s other main headquarters. Among the two, the Big Dipper Dojo was the most important. God''s Domain was a virtual reality game that mimicked reality to a frightening degree. The state of one''s body in the real world would affect their body in God''s Domain to a certain extent. Most of the Big Dipper Dojo''s members had excellent physical fitness, and since they were already used to combat, they had a natural advantage in God''s Domain. In contrast, the internal members recruited through the main headquarters weren''t as high-quality. Most of these internal members had to be trained from scratch. They needed far more time to become combat-ready in the game, something which Zero Wing didn''t have much of. However, not only had the Big Dipper Dojo informed Zero Wing that it would no longer cooperate with the Workshop, but it was also withdrawing its members. This would severely hamper the Guild''s operations. Many of Zero Wing''s managers were Big Dipper Dojo members. Shi Feng couldn''t understand what would have prompted this sudden change of heart. His relationship with the Bid Dipper Group had always been good. In fact, they were mutually beneficial partners, with the Dojo providing talented fighters and Zero Wing training the Dojo''s members. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, the Big Dipper Group had no reason to dismiss their partnership. "I have confirmed the news already. The Big Dipper Group''s Board of Directors made this decision themselves. Not even Chairman Xiao has the power to change it," Liang Jing said with a grim expression. "Moreover, the Big Dipper Dojo isn''t the only one. The several other dojos and training centers in the city that we had been negotiating with have declined any partnership as well." The others have abandoned us, too?" Shi Feng was astonished. Because of Zero Wing''s rapid development, the Guild urgently needed internal members for its management. Relying on the Big Dipper Dojo''s members simply wasn''t enough. Hence, Shi Feng had instructed Liang Jing to negotiate with the city''s other dojos and training centers. Now, however, not only had the Big Dipper Dojo abandoned Zero Wing, but the other dojos and training centers had as well. No matter how he looked at it, this couldn''t be normal. "Chairman Xiao recently contacted me, informing me that he has some important matters to discuss. He hopes that you will take some time to listen to what he has to say," Liang Jing reported awkwardly. After giving the matter some thought, she asked hesitantly, "Should I reject him?" "It''s fine. I want to meet with Chairman Xiao." Shi Feng understood why Liang Jing felt so awkward. Her prior home had just betrayed Zero Wing, and anyone in her position would feel uncomfortable. It wouldn''t even be strange if he suspected that she had been untrustworthy. However, throughout his time working with Liang Jing, Shi Feng knew that she was more than just a capable manager; she was also consistently professional. Even Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow trusted her enough to give her important work. "I''ll make the arrangements right away," Liang Jing replied. When she realized that Shi Feng didn''t treat her any differently than he normally did, she mentally released a held breath. She then contacted Xiao Yu to notify him of Shi Feng''s decision. Liang Jing and Xiao Yu quickly decided on the time and place for their meeting. They would discuss matters in the Redstone Restaurant, the most luxurious eatery in the city. Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear that he''d sit down with Chairman Xiao there. Although he wasn''t particularly familiar with Fenglin City, the first-tier city that housed Zero Wing''s main headquarters, he had heard of Redstone Restaurant. Rumors had it that the restaurant had a powerful background. Not only was its food incredibly delicious, but it also provided more for the human body than A-rank Nutrient Fluid. Of course, the food was also more expensive than A-rank Nutrient Fluid. Even so, countless professional fighters dreamed of dining in the Redstone Restaurant. Naturally, Shi Feng had wanted to visit the restaurant in his previous life as well, but unfortunately, Redstone didn''t cater to outsiders. Simply being able to afford the meals wasn''t enough. Individuals would only be allowed to dine in its halls after becoming a member. Shadow had become a titan in Jin Hai City in the past, holding a frightening amount of assets. It had far surpassed the current Big Dipper Group. Even so, Shadow had never become a member of the Redstone Restaurant. Yet now, Xiao Yu had invited Shi Feng to meet there... Shi Feng arrived with Liang Jing at his side at 6 p.m... Contrary to most assumptions, the Redstone Restaurant wasn''t particularly large, only nine stories. It also wasn''t in the city''s business district, but in the outer district. The interior, however, had an antique flair and impressive elegance. As he stepped inside, Shi Feng felt as if he had entered paradise as an indescribable pleasant feeling washed over him. "Hello, sir. May I know the room number of your reservation?" a tall beauty in a blue dress asked, smiling as she approached Shi Feng and Liang Jing. Although this woman was only a receptionist, Shi Feng could tell with a glance that she was excellently fit and likely a skilled martial artist. The woman''s movements were simple, without any excess motion as she approached. It was no exaggeration to claim that an ordinary, provincial-level professional fighter would be a match for this receptionist. In the Big Dipper Dojo, she would''ve been one of the best fighters and lavished with attention during her training. Yet, this woman was only a receptionist in the Redstone Restaurant... "Room 908," Shi Feng answered after recovering from his moment of surprise. "Room 908? Please, follow me," the female receptionist answered, astonishment flashing in her eyes when she heard Shi Feng''s answer. She immediately adopted a more respectful attitude toward Shi Feng. A short moment later, Shi Feng arrived in a large, lavish room. He felt a gaze lock onto him the moment he stepped through the doorway as a powerful aura washed over him. However, this aura felt nothing like that of a professional fighter. Rather, it felt like that of an assassin with immense experience in life-or-death combat. What a powerful person! When Shi Feng had reached the Domain Realm, his mental abilities had reached new heights as well. His five senses had sharpened beyond an ordinary person''s, so he was able to identify the source of the piercing gaze and powerful aura. The man was thin, middle-aged, and wearing a black suit. He didn''t look anything like a professional fighter or martial artist. He looked more like a butler as he currently stood next to an indifferent youth. Xiao Yu sat across from the youth with a nervous expression. Shi Feng faintly noticed a few droplets of sweat crawling down his forehead. At the moment, the man looked like a greenhorn in the industry, not the veteran businessman he truly was. "Head Instructor Shi, you''ve finally arrived." When Xiao Yu saw Shi Feng entering the room, he felt as if he had been granted amnesty, and he stood and quickly welcomed Shi Feng. Instead of bothering with idle chit-chat, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the youth and asked, "And this is?" "Let me introduce you. This is Young Master Han Yifeng, the Five States Corporation''s successor," Xiao Yu said solemnly. "Head Instructor Shi, to be honest, I invited you here at Young Master Han''s request." When she heard the introduction, Liang Jing turned to stare at the indifferent youth from behind Shi Feng. The Five States Corporation was one of the most powerful companies in the country. It dabbled in a variety of industries, including energy, combat, food, and entertainment. The corporation could easily squash the Big Dipper Group with a single finger. You''re Zero Wing''s representative?" Han Yifeng asked as he observed Shi Feng, his face void of human emotion. You could say that." Shi Feng nodded as he watched Han Yifeng in return. From what Shi Feng could sense, this youth didn''t possess the typical arrogance of a wealthy family''s heir. Han Yifeng felt transcendent as if the youth were a God, overlooking all beings in his domain. He also sensed a peerless strength radiating off of Han Yifeng. The boy was among the most physically fit Shi Feng had ever met. "If you can represent Zero Wing, I''m satisfied," Han Yifeng said. "Your Guild is quite impressive to make Lu Xingluo suffer so grievously. I am prepared to establish a Guild in God''s Domain, and I want the entirety of your Guild to join it. I''ll ensure that Zero Wing doesn''t miss out on any benefits, and you will enjoy far more wealth and better status than you have now. You''ll also have access to more resources than you can imagine." "And what happens if I say no?" Shi Feng asked humbly. 2177 Clash in Reality Chapter 2177 - Clash in Reality The moment Shi Feng finished his question, the temperature in the room seemed to plummet. Even Xiao Yu, who had fought in business for so many years, stared at Shi Feng in horror. It''s over! Everything''s over now... Xiao Yu felt as if the sky were crumbling down around him. Through Liang Jing, he had learned about some of Zero Wing''s accomplishments. He knew that Zero Wing had ties with a few major corporations and that it had even met with these corporations'' upper echelons. Zero Wing had been doing quite well in God''s Domain, a virtual reality game that had become incredibly popular. However, after all was said and done, Zero Wing was only powerful within the virtual reality game. On the other hand, the Five States Corporation was one of the most powerful corporations in the country, wielding unimaginable authority and status. As the chairman''s only son, no one in the country''s higher social circles could afford to offend Han Yifeng. Countless companies and corporations would do anything to get into the boy''s good graces. Shi Feng, however, had rejected Han Yifeng''s offer without hesitation. He hadn''t held back in the least... If Shi Feng angered this youth, not even the major corporations that had invested in Zero Wing would escape Han Yifeng''s wrath, not to mention Zero Wing itself. After the silence stretched for a moment, the youth finally opened his mouth to break it. "Very good! As expected of the person that has made Lu Xingluo so miserable!" Contrary to Xiao Yu''s expectations, Han Yifeng hadn''t reacted in rage or disdain. The youth remained strangely calm as if this matter had nothing to do with him. "Since that is the case, let''s forget about this matter altogether. However, I have to warn you that the Starline Corporation isn''t an easy foe. Lu Xingluo has already begun to use his connections against your Guild. I''m sure you''ve noticed, but this is only the beginning. "God''s Domain is involved in far more than you could possibly imagine, and Zero Wing has begun to touch upon too many people''s interests. Without sufficient backing, you''d best be careful." Following which, Han Yifeng glanced at the thin man beside him. The thin man then promptly revealed a card and handed it to Shi Feng. "This is my card. If a day comes when you change your mind, you can contact me," Han Yifeng said, his voice just as void of emotion as it had been during their introduction. Xiao Yu was surprised to see Han Yifeng offer Shi Feng his card. He had never realized that the youth viewed Zero Wing so highly as to offer his card. To ordinary people, offering one''s card had very little meaning, but for those of Han Yifeng''s status, it was a sign of recognition. It meant that the receiver was allowed to contact the giver directly. Han Yifeng''s status was on par with a dynasty''s imperial prince. Even Xiao Yu, a company''s chairman, didn''t qualify to reach out to this youth. If Xiao Yu wished to speak with Han Yifeng, he''d have to make an appointment with his secretary. Moreover, whether or not Han Yifeng agreed to meet with him was an entirely different story. Shi Feng accepted Han Yifeng''s card graciously. Even if they couldn''t reach an agreement, a friendship was possible. Moreover, holding a person like Han Yifeng''s card was the equivalent of securing a major customer. If Zero Wing had something valuable enough to sell in the future, it could do so with this contact. Moreover, Shi Feng could tell that Han Yifeng wasn''t like the usual wealthy young masters. He certainly wasn''t anything like Lu Xingluo. The youth felt inhuman. Throughout their discussion, Han Yifeng had remained absolutely calm and was in better physical shape than Shi Feng had ever seen. Even if he hadn''t been the heir to the Five States Corporation, he would''ve had an extraordinary future. If he wanted to become a professional fighter, he''d easily make it to the international level. Not even an internal force expert like Lei Bao would be a match for Han Yifeng. If Han Yifeng continued to grow stronger, he could even claim the world championship. Following which, Han Yifeng and Shi Feng chatted about the situation in God''s Domain. Shi Feng then left the Redstone Restaurant with Liang Jing and Xiao Yu. Once the trio left, only Han Yifeng and his middle-aged escort lingered in the room. "Young master, aren''t you a little disappointed that Zero Wing refused to sell? If we pull a few strings, taking the Guild wouldn''t be difficult," the middle-aged man asked softly. "Zero Wing''s foundations are impressive, but it faces too many challenges at the moment. If we try to take it by force or push the issue of purchasing it, Zero Wing will unravel. That wouldn''t be beneficial to our entry into God''s Domain," Han Yifeng said, shaking his head. "Moreover, Zero Wing isn''t the only available option. Although Zero Wing has more of an advantage, the others have far fewer problems. Overall, they are a better match for our needs than Zero Wing." "If that is the case, why did you request to meet Zero Wing''s representative, young master?" the middle-aged man asked. "I wanted to see its behavior and circumstances. I want to confirm whether or not Zero Wing can truly cause Starlink trouble," Han Yifeng said. "Young master, is there a need to concern yourself with a minor existence like Lu Xingluo?" the middle-aged man asked. "You don''t understand. If it were only Lu Xingluo, Starlink wouldn''t be a problem, but those behind him aren''t easy to remove. I only hope that Zero Wing can buy me some more time. If it proves up to the task, I''ll have enough time to prepare," Han Yifeng explained, glancing at the man. Realization dawned on the butler. However, in the middle-aged man''s opinion, Zero Wing will have more trouble making waves now that Lu Xingluo had used some of his connections. Since he had some understanding of management, he also knew that if Zero Wing didn''t have enough trustworthy internal members to operate the Guild, it would fall into ruin in the long run. Furthermore, Lu Xingluo had only begun to use his connections, yet Zero Wing was already in such great danger. The Guild had no hope of surviving very long. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu had remained silent until the trio had moved into a limousine and left the Redstone Restaurant. Turning to Shi Feng, he asked, "Head Instructor Shi, this is a rare opportunity. How could you reject his offer? The Five States Corporation''s influence is extensive. Even the slightest of relationships with the corporation could help a company''s value skyrocket. If the Zero Wing Workshop became a subordinate company, it could operate unhindered even in a first-tier city like Fenglin City. Even Starlink would struggle to take down Zero Wing." The Big Dipper Group dreamed of establishing in a first-tier city like Fenglin City, but it didn''t even dare to imagine the freedom of moving without hindrance. Yet, Shi Feng had declined such a golden opportunity... Moreover, Zero Wing''s current position wasn''t particularly optimistic. Due to Lu Xingluo''s interference, no company or corporation had any interest in working with the Guild. If this persisted, how would the Workshop solidify its position in Fenglin City? Even Liang Jing began to worry as she sat quietly next to Shi Feng. She hadn''t known the full story. Now that she knew that the Starline Corporation was responsible for the Big Dipper Group''s abandonment, she understood the severity of the situation. Zero Wing truly stood on a precipice. Their current opponent fought in the real world, not in the game, and the power capital held in reality was no trivial matter. "The Five States Corporation might be incredibly powerful, but Zero Wing isn''t completely helpless without it. The Starline Corporation cant just push my Guild around," Shi Feng calmly replied. __Lu Xingluo wants to preve^^ allying with any training centers or dojos? In that case, we''ll open a dojo of our own!" 2178 Insane Shi Feng Chapter 2178 - Insane Shi Feng "Open one of your own?" Xiao Yu was a little taken aback and saw Shi Feng''s idea as a little too immature. "Head Instructor Shi, without exaggerating, opening a training center in Fenglin City would be extremely challenging. Not even the White Clan Group is powerful enough to succeed." Establishing its own training center was a good idea for Zero Wing. At the very least, the Workshop wouldn''t need to rely on others. However, opening up a training center in this day and age was not an easy task. First, in this era of physical fitness, countless people had tried to capitalize on humanity''s focus in this aspect and opened training centers and dojos, and as a result, competition was fierce. Second, starting a new business required a massive amount of capital. Even ignoring venue costs, the latest training equipment cost a fortune. The state-of-the-art facilities were a minimum requirement for any training center or dojo in a first-tier city like Fenglin, but to attract more consumers, one would need nutrition and medical facilities. Without these basic amenities, nobody would join. The only reason the Big Dipper Group had earned its current status and fame in Jin Hai City was its decision to follow the evolving trends early and its decades-long history. Just to open a training center or dojo in Jin Hai City required a powerful corporation''s full financial support Naturally, one would need far more capital to open one in a first-tier city like Fenglin. Even the current Big Dipper Group would struggle to succeed. This was why the Big Dipper Group hadn''t opened a branch in a first-tier city. Xiao Yu couldn''t even imagine where Shi Feng would find the money necessary to open a training center here. He knew quite a bit about Zero Wing, and although it had the support of the White Clan Group, which was slightly more generous than that from the Big Dipper Group, White Clan was already struggling to support Zero Wing''s headquarters. How could it possibly afford to establish a training center in Fenglin City? Furthermore, the Starline Corporation had set its sights on the Workshop. No financial group or corporation would dare to ally itself with or lend money to Zero Wing. "Then, would you be interested in investing in Zero Wing, Chairman Xiao?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. He did not try to rebuke Xiao Yu''s claim, quietly observing the man, instead. Shi Feng was fully aware of how difficult it would be to open a training center. Aside from his inexperience in managing a training center, the required capital was indeed a massive issue. He had already spent all of the funding Phoenix Rain had invested in Zero Wing to secure Ouroboros''s old training ground, although Phoenix Rain hadn''t supplied her full investment yet. The funding she had given him was a deposit, which Zero Wing would slowly pay back through a portion of the rent from Stone Forest City''s Shops and virtual stores. If Zero Wing lost Stone Forest City, the Guild would have to return the remaining funds. Xiao Yu, on the other hand, had years of experience with running a training center. If Shi Feng could enlist Xiao Yu''s help, establishing a training center for Zero Wing would become much easier. You sure know how to ask," Xiao Yu replied after a moment of silence, smiling bitterly as he examined Shi Feng''s serious expression. "I have dreamed for many years of opening a training center in a first-tier city like Fenglin, but the Big Dipper Group isn''t capable of doing so. The Board of Directors will never agree to a partnership. They won''t even agree to lend you a single cent." "I''ll think of something to resolve the financial issue. What I''m asking right now is whether or not you, as an individual, are interested in becoming a partner with Zero Wing," Shi Feng clarified. He recognized Xiao Yu''s concerns. Even though Xiao Yu was Big Dipper''s chairman, the Board of Directors had the final say in all matters. Unfortunately, who would dare side with Zero Wing while the Starline Corporation targeted the organization? "If you are willing to become a partner, I''m willing to offer you 5% of the training center''s shares." Shi Feng valued Xiao Yu far more than the Big Dipper Group as a whole. Not only did Xiao Yu have a wealth of experience with managing training centers, but he also had connections throughout the industry, far more than an outsider like Shi Feng. Not even Gentle Snow was a match for the man before him. The White Clan Group, after all, dabbled in a variety of industries. Xiao Yu had to admit that he found Shi Feng''s offer a little tempting. He had always wanted to manage a training center in a first-tier city, but doing so was a larger challenge than he could afford. Not only would he need enough funding, but he''d also need sufficient strength. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was even more skilled as an internal force expert than Lei Bao. Even in a first-tier city brimming with experts, he was a force to behold. Shi Feng''s only flaw was his lack of fame, but that could easily be resolved with enough money. "How large of a training center are you preparing to open?" Xiao Yu asked. A training center''s size was particularly important. Small training centers, with only one or two floors, had no place in first-tier cities. Such minuscule facilities wouldn''t even be large enough for state-of-the-art training equipment, much less nutrition and medical facilities. But if Shi Feng could secure a five- or six-story building within the city center for his training center, he might just have a chance of survival. Unfortunately, he''d need to own the building, not rent it. With Starline Corporation''s harassment, it could easily force the building''s owner to dissolve the lease half-way through. "I''m thinking about one of the skyscrapers in the city center," Shi Feng replied after giving the matter some thought. If he were to establish a training center under Zero Wing''s name, a small building wouldn''t do. It wouldn''t even be enough for Zero Wing''s uses. During his previous life, even second-rate Guilds like Shadow had the full support of multiple training centers and dojos, and only with that support had Shadow filled its management positions with trustworthy experts, ensuring the Guild''s normal operations could continue. If he didn''t secure a training center that was on a similar scale to the Big Dipper Training Center, Zero Wing could stagnate. "An entire skyscraper?" Xiao Yu could not help but roll his eyes. Fenglin City was a first-tier city, and its land cost far more than in Jin Hai City. Even if the Big Dipper Group invested everything it could, it would, at most, secure an eight- or nine-story building in the city center. Meanwhile, most skyscrapers in Fenglin City had more than forty floors." "Is it not enough?" Shi Feng asked as he gave Xiao Yu a curious look. "If you can purchase a skyscraper, then I wouldn''t mind partnering with you," Xiao Yu decided. He felt that Shi Feng had played God''s Domain too much and gone mad. He had held on to a thread of hope at the thought of managing a training center in a first-tier city, but now, Shi Feng''s madness had dashed that hope. Securing a skyscraper in Fenglin City''s city center was easier said than done. Did Shi Feng really think it was some cabbage, easy to buy and widely available? Satisfied with Xiao Yu''s agreement, Shi Feng returned to Zero Wing''s main headquarters and logged back into God''s Domain. 2179 Stone Forest Citys True Value Chapter 2179 - Stone Forest City''s True Value Bottomless Abyss, Stone Forest City: As soon as Shi Feng came online, he noticed that he had more than a dozen unread messages, all from Melancholic Smile, Youlan, and Blackie. Among the three, Melancholic Smile had sent him six messages. Something urgent must have happened in the Guild, and Shi Feng immediately sent the woman a call request. "What''s happened?" Shi Feng asked as Melancholic Smile''s face appeared on the screen. Zero Wing had considerable savings set aside now and could afford to recruit new members en masse with plenty of funding to spare. The bounty Starlink had placed on Zero Wing''s members was of little concern at this point, as well. Practically all of the Guild''s core members grinded in the Bottomless Abyss thanks to Stone Forest City''s relocation, and as a result, the burden on Zero Wing''s leveling resources had lightened. Now, even the Guild''s normal and elite members could safely develop within its territories since other players rarely dared to provoke the Guild in these locations. Although Starlink secretly dispatched experts to ambush Zero Wing''s members, they weren''t able to cause much damage. On the contrary, Starlink had suffered significantly due to the counter-bounty Zero Wing had issued. Every day, a large number of players visited Zero Wing to claim their bounties. Although the situation wouldn''t shake Starlink''s foundation if it persisted, it would continue to drain the enemy Guild''s liquid assets, slowing Starlink''s development. Starlink expended a lot of high-ranked Consumables each day to wrestle control over neutral maps'' resources, but even as a superpower, it couldn''t produce enough Consumables to satisfy its needs. As a result, the Guild continued to spend its Coins on additional Consumables. If Starlink did not have enough funding saved, its neutral map exploration would begin to stagnate. "Guild Leader, Starlink has recently allied with a few other superpowers and three Chambers of Commerce to monopolize the materials for brewing Advanced Darkness Potions and Advanced Forest Potions. Whenever these materials show up on the market, someone from the Guild snatches them up at a high price. The prices for these materials have climbed to three times the normal rates. Although we have tried to contest for the materials, we''ve only managed to acquire a small stock. I''m afraid we don''t even have enough to brew potions for our own uses," Melancholic Smile reported anxiously. "They''ve monopolized the materials for two Advanced Potions? It seems Starlink is starting to get nervous." The situation actually surprised Shi Feng. Advanced Darkness Potions were one of the rarer Advanced Potions in the game. Not only did they increase players'' Darkness Resistance, but they also enhanced players'' night vision. It was the perfect potion when exploring areas with dense dark energy. The Advanced Forest Potion was also quite rare. It would increase player''s resistance to corrosive effects and slightly improve their perception range. These two potions worked wonders within the Ancient Undead Country and Bottomless Abyss. By consuming both, players could increase their leveling efficiency by at least 30%. Meanwhile, producing these potions required quite a few types of materials. Monopolizing all of them should be impossible for one superpower. These materials originated from different locations, and trying to control all of them would cost an astronomical sum of money. However, if one could monopolize these potions, they''d hamper their opponent''s exploration in the Ancient Undead Country and its Regional Dungeon. "Unfortunately, that isn''t what''s making me anxious. Starlink has begun to offer insane salaries to poach Candlelight''s Lifestyle players. Not only is it offering huge monthly salaries, but it''s also offering to provide a wealth of developmental resources. I''ve heard that the Guild is offering 20,000 Credits per month for Advanced Lifestyle players, and 100,000 per month to Master Lifestyle players. We''ve already lost more than 50 Advanced players and two Master Lifestyle players. Everyone in Candlelight is talking about it," Melancholic Smile said. "We''ve just established the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce, and we still need a lot of merchandise to benefit from it. If we continue to lose so many Advanced Lifestyle players, we''ll be left crippled." The Candlelight Trading Firm''s Lifestyle players relied on their shares of the revenue to earn a living, exchanging Coins for Credits. Starlink''s offer of a stable salary was sorely tempting. As players continued to level up, Coins would become more attainable, and as a result, their value would depreciate. However, if one were paid in Credits, they wouldn''t have to worry about losing income as Coins became less valuable. It was only natural that Starlink''s offer would attract Lifestyle players. "Starlink is using its capital now?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. The concept of paying Lifestyle players with Credits wasn''t foreign to Shi Feng. On the contrary, he was very familiar with the idea. When players had reached Level 80 during his previous life, the various superpowers had gradually realized how important Lifestyle players truly were. As a result, they had begun to use this method to poach capable Lifestyle players, and in the end, even the various major powers had to resort to such a tactic. Many of the poorer powers had been thrown back to the stone age, with some crumbling as a result. "Guild Leader, if we don''t take any countermeasures, I''m afraid that we''ll lose even more people," Melancholic Smile said worriedly. "However, if we use the same tactic, will we have enough Credits to support the Candlelight Trading Firm with how much our Guild is earning right now? If we sell our Coins, we''ll play right into Starlink''s hands." It was at this moment that Melancholic Smile realized how truly terrifying a superpower could be. It was actually possible to kill someone with money alone. "I''m not sure who gave Starlink this idea, but it should prepare to lose a few teeth if it thinks it can use capital to compete with Zero Wing!" Shi Feng declared with a smile. If this had happened before Shi Feng had upgraded Stone Forest Town into Stone Forest City, Zero Wing would''ve likely suffered, but it was no longer the Guild it had been. The various superpowers simply did not realize what Stone Forest City represented. "How are the private houses around the Battle Arena coming along?" Shi Feng asked. "We finished 70% of them. The remaining 30% will require another two or three days," Melancholic Smile replied. Although she didn''t know why Shi Feng asked, she quickly sent him a report on the construction process. Zero Wing had spent over 160,000 Gold over the past few days to build these private houses, and it was, undoubtedly, the largest investment the Guild had made thus far. "We have 70% complete?" Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction as he inspected the report. "Over 7,000 houses should be enough. Publish an announcement that Stone Forest City is renting its private houses to the public. We''ll hold an auction for them throughout the Candlelight Trading Firm''s branches simultaneously. We''ll only accept Credits as payment, and we''ll start the bid at 30,000 Credits per month." "Thirty thousand Credits for one month? Isn''t that a little too expensive?" Shi Feng''s price shocked Melancholic Smile. Private houses weren''t like Shops, which could generate profit for players. Renting a private house was akin to buying a Consumable item. They''d be fortunate enough to find players that were willing to rent a private house for a few thousand Credits. Thirty thousand Credits per month was just absurd. "Relax. Just have someone spread the news. The sooner we get this done, the better," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not offer any further explanation. Cities within the Bottomless Abyss had been holy sites for players in the past. Countless expert players had dreamed of owning private houses in these cities. Unfortunately, the ruling powers had only leased these private houses, but even so, experts had fought desperately to acquire one for themselves. At one time, renting these holy cities'' private houses had cost more than 50,000 Credits per month. That situation had enlightened God''s Domain''s players hof just how much money one could make in the game. Compared to the past, 30,000 Credits was quite cheap. Melancholic Smile followed her orders and posted the announcement on the official forums in God''s Domain''s various kingdoms and empires. 2180 Crazy Auction Chapter 2180 - Crazy Auction The moment God''s Domain''s players heard that Stone Forest City''s private houses would be available to rent, the news caused a sensation throughout the various kingdoms and empires. "I''m not seeing things, right? Zero Wing is actually leasing its private houses to the public?!" "This is wonderful! If we can rent a private house in Stone Forest City, we can teleport there anytime we want!" "Crap! Zero Wing is so scummy! It''s only leasing the private houses, not selling them!" Almost every player in the game paid close attention to Stone Forest City since they all had optimistic hopes for the Bottomless Abyss, especially now that players had begun to explore the Regional Dungeon, spreading the news of their harvests. Many independent players had found Fine-Gold Treasure Chests, and independent teams had obtained Advanced Legacies after killing Grand Lords. Even the weakest Boss in the Bottomless Abyss dropped Level 65 Secret-Silver Equipment, and that was when their luck had failed them. If players'' luck held out, even Level 65 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment dropped from the weaker Bosses. However, the various kingdoms and empires'' players were focused on something else entirely. Players'' leveling speed in the Regional Dungeon excited them far more than its frightening drop-rates. Everyone had been impressed with their leveling speed in neutral maps, but they could level twice as fast in the Bottomless Abyss. Because of this, the Bottomless Abyss had become a sacred leveling ground. Unfortunately, it wasn''t easy to reach the Dungeon''s first floor. Even ordinary expert teams suffered annihilation before they got that far. However, the announcement regarding Stone Forest City''s private houses alleviated this problem. With a private house, players could teleport to the Bottomless Abyss at any time, from anywhere. They could also teleport to their private houses from within the Regional Dungeons. It would save them plenty of travel time, and they could explore farther than before. However, when the public discovered Zero Wing''s intentions to auction off the private houses and the starting bid, they burst into heated discussions. "Not only is Zero Wing refusing to sell the private houses, only rent them, but it''s starting bid is 30,000 Credits per month? Is Zero Wing insane?" "Zero Wing is too greedy! I don''t even make 10,000 Credits per month! You''d have to be wealthy to afford these houses!" "That''s right! Who would want to rent those private houses at such a high price?" Countless players cursed Zero Wing for its fraudulence when they saw the minimum bid. The Guild had essentially excluded ordinary players from the auction with such a high price. Only wealthy players would be able to afford to grind freely in the Bottomless Abyss. Meanwhile, several flashes illuminated Dark Night City''s Teleportation Hall as a 6-man party arrived. These six players were not particularly high-leveled, with most of them around Level 56 or 57. The party''s highest-level player was only Level 60. However, she wore a full set of Level 60 Fine-Gold Equipment and carried two longswords of indiscernible rank. Despite her low level, many of the Level 65-plus experts in the Teleportation Hall sensed danger the moment she arrived. They couldn''t help but turn to look at the elegant girl, who appeared to be barely 20-years-old. "Tian Tong, do you really plan to compete for a private house in Stone Forest City? The starting bid is 30,000 Credits. How can a student like you afford that?" the Level 56 female Cleric, the Level 60 female Swordsman''s companion, asked worriedly. "If worse comes to worst, I''ll just sell those items. Including what I have on me, I should have enough. My level isn''t high enough yet, and I have no choice but to try if I want to level up quickly. I have to catch up to the game''s frontline players if I want to compete with Black Flame," Tian Tong, the female Swordsman, declared. "Big Sis Tong keeps telling me that I''m not qualified to follow her, and the only way I can change that is by defeating him. I''m curious to see how strong Black Flame is to gain Big Sis Tong''s recognition." "Black Flame is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. He even earned the title of Sword King from the Secret Pavilion. Do you really think he''ll be so easy to defeat?" a Level 57 Shield Warrior said. "That is only true right now. Once I''ve caught up with the frontline experts'' levels, it will be a different story," Tian Tong confidently replied as she glanced at the dilapidated longswords hanging at her waist. Her companions had nothing more to say about her ambitions and fell silent. They, more or less, understood the young woman''s strength. She was a monster in human skin. If she hadn''t joined God''s Domain so late, she might have already become famous in the game. The party then made their way to Dark Night City''s Candlelight Trading Firm to participate in the auction for Stone Forest City''s private houses. Independent players and Guild representatives did the same throughout the various kingdoms and empires. For a time, players squeezed into Candlelight''s many Shops. Even the various large Guilds'' upper echelons were shocked to see such massive gatherings of independent players, adventurer team members, and Guild representatives. There sure are a lot of participants." "I know, right? Well, who could possibly resist the temptation of grinding freely in the Bottomless Abyss?" "Honestly, I hadn''t expected Zero Wing to lease its private houses. I had assumed the Guild would keep them for its own members and bolster its strength." "We have Starlink to thank for this. I''ve heard that Starlink has been spending insane amounts of money to poach Zero Wing''s Lifestyle players, and Zero Wing is suffering for it. The Guild must have decided to rent Stone Forest City''s private houses to alleviate some of the pressure." "But how much can Zero Wing actually earn from renting the private houses? The amount of Credits it rakes in will only be a drop in the bucket to Starlink. It might be a different story if Zero Wing sells the private houses, though. Doing so might give it a chance of contending with Starlink." The various powers'' upper echelons attending the auctions were more than happy to watch Zero Wing and Starlink continue their feud and take advantage of the situation. Only, in their opinion, Zero Wing was trying to get itself killed by competing with Starlink''s on a financial front. Giving up those Lifestyle players would be a much wiser move. While Candlelight''s guests chatted about the situation, its staff began the auction for Stone Forest City''s private houses. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Candlelight Trading Firm. First, I must inform you that due to the limited number of private houses in Stone Forest Town, our firm can only afford to lease a small number. Any player that wins a bid in this auction will gain priority bidding rights in the next. If two players bid the same value in the next auction, we will prioritize the player who has rented from us before. So, everyone, please take advantage of this opportunity," the Candlelight Trading Firm''s auctioneer explained, smiling as she glanced over the crowd before her. Every guest gulped audibly and glowed with excitement. Players could grind to Level 100 in the Bottomless Abyss, which would take more than two or three months. Needless to say, players would need to rent Stone Forest city''s private houses for more than one. With prioritized bidding rights, players would have a massive advantage in the next auction. "Now that we have that out of the way, let''s start the auction for Stone Forest City''s first private house! The starting bid is 30,000 Credits! Each increment must be no lower than 500 Credits!" As the auctioneer finished speaking, the venue exploded with sound. "Thirty-five thousand!" "Forty thousand!" "Crap! Everyone''s gone crazy! I bid 45,000!" "Don''t compete with me! This one''s mine! Fifty thousand!" 2181 Gods Domains Influence Chapter 2181 - God''s Domain''s Influence Contrary to ordinary players'' beliefs, the auctions for Stone Forest City''s private houses had begun with a bang. The prices rapidly climbed as participants placed bids like they were fighting over cabbages. They shouted their bids with bloodshot eyes and fierce expressions as if they would take a bite out of anyone who outbid them. The tension in Dark Night City''s Candlelight Trading Firm was electric. "Are you kidding me? This is just for one month of rent, yet someone''s bidding 50,000 Credits? Are these people insane?" the Level 56 female Cleric sitting beside Tian Tong exclaimed, astonished. The original price, 30,000 Credits, was already quite high, in her opinion. Stone Forest City''s private houses were valuable, but they only made it easier for players to reach the Bottomless Abyss and dlowed them to recover Stami^^ and Concentration slightly faster than normal. At most, players with a private house would only get to spend a little more time grinding in the Regional Dungeon than those without. Zero Wing should thank its stars that players were even willing to rent the houses for 30,000 Credits, especially since not many players could afford the price, to begin with. Yet, hundreds of players were placing one bid after another. Some players didn''t get the chance to finish placing their bid before someone else''s voice rose above theirs. In the blink of an eye, the first private house''s price had risen to 50,000 Credits, and that was just for a one-month lease... "No. They just recognize the value of Stone Forest City''s private houses," Tian Tong said as she shook her head. "In reality, being able to level up faster is a secondary benefit to them. I heard that the Mana in the city is even denser than in the Divine Colosseum. Even after a short stay, players'' minds sharpen, and their reaction speed increases. Being able to teleport back to their private houses from within the Bottomless Abyss will also allow players to spend more time training in the city. If players spend a fair amount of time training there, they might be able to improve their combat standards far faster than training elsewhere." Improving one''s combat standards was the foundation for growing stronger in God''s Domain. Levels and equipment were only temporary measures. To a true expert, nothing was more important than improving their combat standards. This was also why Tian Tong wanted to rent her own private house in the city. While Tian Tong had explained the reason behind these players'' passionate abandon to her companion, the bidding for the first private house had risen to 65,000 Credits, which made the ordinary participants sigh with disappointment. Seventy thousand!" Tian Tong shouted. "Eighty thousand!" a Level 68 Ranger almost immediately outbid Tian Tong. "Two hundred thousand! This first house is mine!" a Level 69 Berserker boldly declared. An uproar shook the venue as soon as the participants heard this Berserker''s bid. Two hundred thousand? That''s enough to rent a mansion in a city!" The Dark Night Empire''s 26th ranked Berserker is here?" "No. I''ve heard that Fei Yu has defeated two of the Blood Jade Family''s peak experts. He''s now ranked 23rd. Even superpowers have been trying to recruit him." "It seems Fei Yu will claim Stone Forest City''s first private house." The players present, especially the ordinary players, could not help but silently marvel at Fei Yu''s imposing figure. They couldn''t understand why an expert like him would be willing to spend 200,000 Credits for a month-long claim to a private house in Stone Forest City. The man was simply insane. However, before the auctioneer could slam her gravel once, another voice rose through the clamor. "Four hundred thousand Credits! The Blue Sky adventurer team wants this house. I hope that you all can step aside out of respect!" a Level 70 Shield Warrior abruptly shouted. As one, the crowd turned toward this Level 70 Guardian Knight, their mouths hanging open in shock. "What?! Empty Miracle is here, too?!" Blue Sky was the fifth-ranked adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire, and Empty Miracle, the team''s commander, was one of the empire''s top-ten Guardian Knights. It was rumored that his strength could even rival that of superpowers'' peak experts. The man was a large part of the reason that Blue Sky had earned its current position. One of Starlink''s Elders had even tried to recruit Empty Miracle due to his impressive prowess and extraordinary achievements. He was undoubtedly a powerhouse in the Dark Night Empire. "This is an auction, Empty Miracle! Speak with your money!" A robust, Level 70 Assassin suddenly stood from his seat. "Our Windwolf adventurer team has no time for your nonsense. Five hundred thousand!" "Five hundred and fifty thousand!" "Six hundred thousand!" "Six hundred and fifty thousand!" Blue Sky and Windwolf fought, outbidding one another for a time. The watching crowd fell silent as they watched. "Do they really need to go this far? Isn''t it just a private house?" "That''s right! And this is only the first one. Aren''t there still plenty available?" "Can''t these two adventurer teams let others have a chance as well?" No one understood why two of the Dark Night Empire''s top adventurer teams were so desperate to rent one of Stone Forest City''s private houses that they''d continue to outbid each other. The auction had just begun, and Candlelight had promised to present multiple private houses. If the two adventurer teams were willing to set aside their differences, they could rent a private house for a much lower price. "How can this be happening?" Tian Tong''s expression darkened as she watched the scene play out. She had sold one of her valuable treasures to increase her chances of winning a bid. Before she had arrived at the venue, she had collected 300,000 Credits. She hadn''t thought that she''d have any problems winning a private house with so much money on hand. She had even hoped to rent a private house until she reached Level 100 with these funds, but now, she didn''t even qualify to participate in the auction... In the end, Blue Sky''s Empty Miracle had won the first private house for 860,000 Credits, shocking every player in the venue. However, just as everyone believed that the astronomical price was only a result of Blue Sky and Windwolf butting heads and that the auction would continue at a far more reasonable pace... "Five hundred thousand!" "Five hundred and fifty thousand!" The moment the second private house''s auction began, someone placed a bid for 500,000 Credits. The second private house eventually sold for a total of 930,000 Credits... The third and fourth private houses sold for 880,000 and 890,000 Credits, respectively. Moreover, every winner was an adventurer team''s commander. None of the ordinary participants had even had a chance. When the auctioneer announced the 11th private house, the various Guild upper echelons in their VIP rooms made their move. "One million!" "One million, two hundred thousand!" Once the various Guilds stepped in, the lowest closing price skyrocketed to 1,500,000 Credits. "This is insane! These people must be paid actors!" Tian Tong''s Cleric companion exclaimed. They have to be!" Tian Tong couldn''t bring herself to agree with her friend, and neither could the other expert players in the venue. All of the auction''s victors were respectable individuals in the Dark Night Empire. Regardless of Zero Wing''s reputation, it couldn''t afford to hire so many VIPs to fight over these private houses so desperately. As the Guild upper echelons continued to compete, many players realized why Blue Sky and Windwolf had fought so fiercely for the first private house. Obviously, the various Guilds had decided to concede the first ten private houses, which were more than enough for the empire''s top adventurer teams. "So, independent players like us never had a chance of claiming Stone Forest City''s private houses." Tian Tong couldn''t help her bitter smile as she watched the empire''s Guilds rent one private house after another. A similar scene played out in other kingdoms and empires'' Candlelight Trading Firms. For a time, a commotion erupted across God''s Domain. 2182 Frightening Wealth Chapter 2182 - Frightening Wealth When news of the auction for Stone Forest City''s private houses had spread, God''s Domain''s ordinary players began to wonder if the various Guilds had lost their minds. Multiple Guilds had willingly spent more than 1,000,000 Credits to rent a private house for a single month. With that kind of money, they could stay in a 7-star hotel for a month and still have plenty to spare. Yet, these Guilds had spent so much to rent an ordinary private house. "Crap! Those private houses are only convenient for travel. Do they really have to go this far?" "The day I own such a city in God''s Domain will be the day I become a wealthy tycoon." "An act! This has to be an act!" For a time, everyone in God''s Domain talked about the matter. Many players had even pushed back their grinding schedules to watch the auctions. When the game''s other powers, those that weren''t participating in the auctions, found out about the situation, they realized how frightening Gods Domain tmly was. With the right opportunity, one could earn a truly terrifying amount of money through this game. Before this, most high-value transactions were conducted with Coins. Although God''s Domain was quite realistic, and players could trade Coins for Credits, most people stuck with the idea that this was only a game. However, these players realized their mistake as Stone Forest City''s private houses sold for Credits. God''s Domain was more like another country in the real world than a game. As the private houses sold, one after another, an uproar shook Zero Wing to its core. "Guild Leader, we have already rented out 1,667 units. The lowest closing price is 600,000 Credits, while the highest is 1,740,000 Credits! Weve officially earned more than 2 billion Credits!!" Melancholic Smile energetically reported. She had assumed that they''d be lucky to earn enough to offer Candlelight''s Lifestyle players a stable monthly salary, but they hadn''t even sold one-third of the houses they''d constructed, and they''d already earned far more than they had expected. They could even afford to replace the Lifestyle players they had lost, not to mention retain the trading firm''s current Lifestyle players. Moreover, Stone Forest City''s income restored the confidence their players had in Zero Wing and the Candlelight Trading Firm. In fact, Advanced Lifestyle players from other large Guilds had begun to approach Candlelight, interested in joining the firm. Although Candlelight had been considered a sacred place for Lifestyle players, Star-Moon Kingdom''s various large Guilds had offered competitive wages to retain their players. This was the only reason that the kingdom''s Advanced Lifestyle players hadn''t flooded Candlelight. However, now that Candlelight offered Advanced Lifestyle players a monthly salary in Credits, these players couldn''t afford to ignore the trading firm. Ordinary people couldn''t even dream of earning 20,000 Credits per month. As long as an Advanced Lifestyle player joined the Candlelight Trading Firm, they wouldn''t have to toil in a job they hated in the real world. Furthermore, they could earn 100,000 Credits each month if they became a Master Lifestyle player. During the few hours the auction was happening, Candlelight had received applications from over 600 Advanced Lifestyle players and 5 Master Lifestyle players. With so many capable crafters, Candlelight wouldn''t have to worry about its development stagnating. "It seems I''ve underestimated these Guilds and adventurer teams'' desperation," Shi Feng said. Even he was a little surprised to hear Melancholic Smile''s report. He had expected the private houses to rake in more than the 50,000-Credit record of his previous life. He had, after all, established Stone Forest City in the Bottomless Abyss far sooner than any town had done so in the past. Stone Forest City didn''t have any competition, either, so demand for its private houses would be far greater than normal. Still, he hadn''t expected the demand to be this intensive. However, after giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng found the situation reasonable. Training, leveling, and treasurethe Bottomless Abyss ranked at the top in all three aspects. It was only natural that expert players would go mad over the Regional Dungeon, especially peak experts from the various large Guilds. These experts wouldn''t even mind parting with 2,000,000 Credits for such an opportunity, much less a mere 1,000,000. If they got lucky and encountered a few fortuitous opportunities, they''d gain a massive advantage over their competition. They could even earn back far more income through such opportunities. "At this rate, Guild Leader, it won''t take long to rent out all of the 3,000 private houses we''ve prepared for today. With the money we''ve earned, Starlink doesn''t have a snowball''s chance in hell of poaching our members," Melancholic Smile confidently declared. Starlink might be able to offer a higher salary to lure away Candlelight''s members, but Candlelight could simply recruit more talented players with their current rates. The trading firm would have no issues maintaining its operations. They might even be able to expand. "No! I don''t want to rent all 3,000 units today. Let''s stop after 2,000 units. Then, we can rent out another 1,000 units each day," Shi Feng decided, shaking his head. Demand would only increase if they maintained a limited supply. Since he had such a rare opportunity before him, he had to take full advantage of it. By this time next month, he''d have a very difficult time fetching such high prices for Stone Forest City''s private houses. Moreover, players hadn''t discovered all of the benefits these private houses had to offer. Once they did, prices would rise even higher. Two billion Credits were enough to settle the crisis Candlelight and Zero Wing faced, so he didn''t mind waiting a few more days before renting off the rest of the houses. He also wanted to set up his own training center in Fenglin City, which would cost a huge sum of Credits. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to build even more private houses and Shops in Stone Forest City to earn the necessary funding for his training center, but looking at it now, the first batch should be more than enough. "We''re only renting out 2,000 units today? I''ll inform our auctioneers right away!" It didn''t take long for Melancholic Smile to recognize what Shi Feng was trying to do. She immediately contacted her staff members in Candlelight''s many Shops. Shortly after Melancholic Smile relayed the command, the remaining private houses had been rented. "Everyone, we''ve rented out all of the private houses we had prepared for today. Please, visit us tomorrow," the excited auctioneers announced to their audiences'' disappointment. The announcement caused a ruckus throughout the various auction venues. "What''s going on? Why aren''t there more available?" "Crap! You guys barely gave us anything! How could you run out so quickly?!" "I was just about to make my move!" The various Guild representatives expressed their frustration about the auctions'' sudden conclusion. Many of the representatives that had held back regretted their decisions. Originally, they had planned to wait out their competition before making a move. That way, they could win a private house for much cheaper, but it seemed that their plans had backfired. "Tian Tong, everyone has gone insane today. Let''s wait a few days before we return. The various powers'' experts should''ve sated their appetite by then. You shouldn''t have any issues winning a bid," the Level 56 Cleric beside Tian Tong advised. "I agree." Tian Tong nodded. The auctions'' first few days would be particularly lively, but once the various powers had their fill, prices would fall. The various representatives then returned to their respective cities. Some of the visiting powers had left behind players to keep an eye on the trading firm and report back if anything new surfaced regarding the private houses. Naturally, the players that had won a private house promptly made their way to Stone Forest City to prepare for their conquest in the Bottomless Abyss. Now, every second counted. 2183 Private Houses Hidden Effec Chapter 2183 - Private House''s Hidden Effect Bottomless Abyss, Stone Forest City: As the auctions ended, the players that had won their bids made their way to their new properties. However, these experts were stunned after teleporting to their private houses. "How is this possible?!" Everyone was astonished to find a new buff icon in their status window. High Mana State! While this buff was in effect, players would receive another buff that increased their maximum Stamina and Concentration by 20% for 12 hours after resting for 8 hours in their private houses. If players rested for 12 hours, the buffs duration would increase to 18 hours. These experts were ecstatic over the new discovery. In the Bottomless Abyss, Stamina and Concentration consumption rates were a player''s biggest weakness. They could only grind in the God Mode Regional Dungeon if they found a way to maintain these stats. Now, they discovered that they could have 20% more Stamina and Concentration by simply resting for some time in their private houses. This would greatly extend their activity time and boost their leveling speed. The visiting expert players wasted no time in reporting this to their respective superiors. "What''s going on? Players can only accumulate the Double EXP buff in Stone Forest City''s hotels, but they can gain more Stamina and Concentration by relaxing in a private house?" "Doesn''t that mean players with private houses will level 20% faster than players who don''t have one?" "If that''s the case, we have to get more private houses tomorrow!" For a time, the various powers received notifications regarding the private houses'' hidden effect, re-evaluating their previous opinions. The various powers had only viewed Stone Forest City''s private houses as a convenient travel tool, but now that they had learned that these houses could increase players'' Stamina and Concentration, they had taken on a whole new meaning. If they could secure 20 private houses and send an entire team to take advantage of this buff, the team''s leveling speed would be far faster than a mere 20% boost allowed. The combat power an individual could exhibit was on a different level than fighting with a team. Moreover, players would drastically reduce their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates by fighting alongside teammates. If an entire team had a 20% maximum Stamina and Concentration buff, they''d be able to last in the Bottomless Abyss for more than 30% longer than teams without the buff. With so much more time, the team could explore more of the Dungeon, reducing the number of competitors it would face. Much of the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor was home to Dark Demonkin, as well. These Dark Demonkin looked similar to humans, but unlike humans, magic circuits covered these Demonkin''s entire bodies. They also bore a third eye on their foreheads, and they had an affinity for Mana that rivaled the Elves. Factoring in the Bottomless Abyss''s environment, a random Level 65, Chieftain ranked Dark Demonkin could effortlessly defeat ordinary expert players. If an expert party encountered a Lord ranked Dark Demonkin, the party would lose half of its members before it killed the monster if it didn''t react appropriately. To make matters worse, Dark Demonkin were very difficult to sense unless players spotted them. They were skilled with ambush tactics and hid their auras with magic. When exploring the Bottomless Abyss, players had to remain on high-alert, which substantially increased their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. Unfortunately, players had no other choice as even Refinement Realm experts would die if they weren''t careful. This situation instilled a deep fear for the various powers'' teams, making them hesitant to venture too far into the first floor. They constantly worried that they wouldn''t have enough Stamina and Concentration for the return trip, and if that happened, they''d likely die and lose several days of effort. Thus, the various powers'' expert teams had remained in the first-floor''s outer region so far. However, if an entire team had the buff Stone Forest City''s private houses provided, they could easily venture farther into the first floor. God''s Domain''s powers immediately began to collect their funds. They also sent more people to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s Shops, those that would participate in the auction, to increase their chances of winning more bids. For a time, Candlelight''s Shops were packed with players. The Shops in Stone Forest City, Zero Wing City, White River City, and Dark Night City, in particular, held massive crowds. The crowds were so large that players were nearly forced to wait outside. Passing players, who had hoped to visit the Shops, were stupefied. "What''s going on? Why have so many Guilds gathered here?" "That''s right! There weren''t this many people during the last auction for Stone Forest City''s private houses!" Peaking in from the doorways, players spotted representatives from more than 100 Guilds in Candlelight''s Shops. Although most were from small Guilds, there were quite a few players form first- and second-rate Guilds. While everyone wondered why so many powers had flooded the Candlelight Trading Firms, the firm began the second auction for Stone Forest City''s private houses. Due to the increased number of participants, Candlelight had employed entry restrictions. Now, players had to hold more than 500,000 Credits to participate. This change elicited curses from the various independent players. Some even criticized Zero Wing for being full of itself, claiming that the Guild would never sell so many houses for such high prices. However, when the auction began and news spread, everyone was forced into silence. Unexpectedly, every bid on the second day opened at 2,000,000 Credits, and all of the participating Guilds fought to outbid each other. Most of the adventurer teams taking part hadn''t even gotten a chance to call out a bid before they had been disqualified from the auction. Only top adventurer teams barely held on. By the time players had claimed the second day''s 1,000 units, the income from a single private house had hit a new record at 2,360,000 Credits, far more than the 500,000 Credits on the previous day. For a time, every player in God''s Domain was shaken. "Insane! These Guilds have gone insane!" The independent players that had hoped to compete stared at the price incredulously. Did they really need to spend so much on a private house? However, the record broke once again on the third day, with the highest bid closing at 2,570,000 Credits. Seeing this, Tian Tong began to despair. On the fourth day, the highest closing bid reached 2,71, Credits, and on the fifth, it hit 2,820,000 Credits. By this point, the various adventurer teams were little more than decoration in the auction venues. Only the various Guilds could afford to compete. Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were astonished. They had never dreamed that Stone Forest City''s private houses would be so lucrative. By the time the sixth day''s auction had ended, and players had claimed all 7,000 private houses, Zero Wing had accumulated 13.7 billion Credits. To hold that kind of money, a first-rate Guild would need investments from multiple financial groups and corporations. However, Shi Feng knew that he would only earn this much money once. As players reached higher levels and gained better equipment, they wouldn''t need to depend on private houses nearly as much as they did now. Moreover, now that the various powers had seen how much potential wealth there was to gain, they would do everything in their power to establish Guild Towns in the Bottomless Abyss. Once they did, these private houses would only go for between 30,000 and 50,000 Credits. This was Shi Feng''s only chance to make such a fortune. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had rapidly developed during the past six days. Almost all of the Guild''s expert players had reached Level 70, and it now had 43 Refinement Realm experts in its midst. Since Shi Feng had sent Fire Dance to train in Unyielding Soul''s system, which didn''t limit her options, she had broken through to the Flowing Water Realm. Because Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow had been bogged down with the Guild''s affairs, they hadn''t been able to devote themselves to their training fully. Hence, they were shy of reaching the Flowing Water Realm, but it was only a matter of time before they crossed the threshold as well. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s recent development had brought a lot of issues to the surface. Due to the sudden loss of so many internal members, the Guild wasn''t able to raid as many Dungeons or complete as many field operations as before. As a result, the gap between the Guild''s upper and lower hierarchies grew. If this persisted, Zero Wing''s development would start to stagnate. It''s about time that I set up that training center. Inspecting the Guild''s current funds, Shi Feng decided that he couldn''t set the matter aside any longer. God''s Domain''s various large Guilds in the past had either had access to their own training centers or partnered with already established centers. Not only had this provided fresh blood, but it had also earned these Guilds a stable income. Only the Guilds with strong support from training centers or dojos had had a chance of becoming overlords in the game. Without that support, stronger competitors had stifled their development. 2184 Opening a Training Center Chapter 2184 - Opening a Training Center The sun shone brilliantly that morning, and a cool breeze brushed by. As soon as Shi Feng left his virtual gaming cabin, he contacted Liang Jing and took her with him to the center of Fenglin City to purchase a training center. Due to the current trends, professional fighters were far more famous than actors or singers, so tons of people aspired to become one. Naturally, plenty of people wanted to capitalize on that aspiration and open their own training centers and dojos. However, this was also why the competition between training centers and dojos in big cities was so intense, even cruel. Aside from the costs of upgrading training and medical facilities, training centers and dojos had to pay significant fees to research and produce nutritious meals. Only then would their members be able to train efficiently. Individuals would see twice the results with half the training as long as they maintained proper nutrition. Overall, running a training center or dojo was a very expensive business. If one failed to manage their business properly or lacked sufficient capital, they might not even last a few years, especially in a first-tier city like Fenglin City. Plenty of training centers or dojos from smaller cities tried to establish themselves in Fenglin City every year, but most never succeeded. Aside from forging Crystal Light Sets and Advanced Mana Armor Kits in God''s Domain, Shi Feng had a team grind Bosses on the Bottomless Abyss''s first-floor over the past few days. During the day, he spent most of his time surveying potential buildings for his training center. After several days of searching, he finally decided to buy the Century Training Center, which was only a short distance away from the city''s fighting arena. Although the Century Training Center''s facilities were somewhat outdated, it had an excellent location. Most importantly, it was large enough for Shi Feng''s purposes. The training center occupied a 51-story skyscraper. It had only been open for a little over a year, so the building was still quite new. Although it wasn''t quite as large as Zero Wing''s main headquarters, it shouldn''t have any issues accommodating nearly 10,000 people, more than enough for Zero Wing''s current internal members. Moreover, the Century Training Center''s previous owners were selling the building for relatively cheap, only 8.9 billion Credits. Shi Feng wouldn''t need to redesign the building''s interior, either. He only needed to purchase the latest training and medical equipment, and the training center would be ready for business. Shi Feng spent nearly half a day signing the necessary documents. Once he completed the purchase, he called Xiao Yu. "Chairman Xiao, I''ve settled the matter regarding the training center. Would you like to come see it??" Shi Feng asked, smiling. "It''s done already?" Xiao Yu was stunned. In Xiao Yu''s opinion, Shi Feng should''ve needed two or three months to secure a training center. Gathering the necessary funding would be a major problem, and Shi Feng''s hope of purchasing a skyscraper in the heart of Fenglin City was a fool''s dream. Moreover, in his opinion, the fact that Shi Feng was trying to buy a skyscraper in the heart of Fenglin City was a fool''s dream, to begin with. Not even the White Clan Group would be able to afford such a massive expenditure unless it sold some of its assets, and the Big Dipper Group''s investment wouldn''t change anything for Zero Wing. Yet, only a few days since their last meeting, Shi Feng called to say he had bought a skyscraper. "That''s right. Now, I just need to purchase equipment and upgrade its facilities," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Alright! I''m on my way!" Xiao Yu said. Shi Feng''s earnest expression did nothing to quell the old man''s skepticism, so he had to verify the information himself. A few hours later, Xiao Yu arrived at the address Shi Feng had given him. He was dazed when he saw the skyscraper. The Century Training Center? How can this be? Xiao Yu stared up at the towering building in utter shock. As the Big Dipper Group''s chairman and someone who dreamed of opening a training center in a first-tier city, Xiao Yu knew a little about Fenglin City''s training centers and dojos. He recognized the Century Training Center the moment he arrived. Since it had failed to produce any skilled fighters in the national fighting competition, it had lost business. Because of that, the Century Training Center had been trying to sell its branch in Fenglin City to recoup some of its losses and fortify is position in second-tier cities. One would need nearly 10 billion Credits to purchase Fenglin City''s Century Training Center. Ten billion! Not even the Big Dipper Group could afford one-third of this building. "Chairman Xiao, will a training center of this size be sufficient?" Shi Feng asked politely. "Sufficient? Of course, it''s sufficient! As long as we promote the training center and upgrade its facilities, we''ll have no issues recruiting new members!" Xiao Yu exclaimed, already considering multiple plans for the future. "Wonderful. Then, I''ll have to trouble Chairman Xiao to see to the remaining issues. I''ll transfer funds to you in a moment for purchasing equipment and advertising," Shi Feng said. When he saw the confident light in Xiao Yu''s eyes, he knew the matter was as good as dealt with. Now, he''d just need to wait for the training center to recruit and supply skilled fighters for Zero Wing. As long as the training center supplied enough internal members, Starlink would find it far more difficult to hinder Zero Wing''s development. The Guild simply had too many advantages. "Once I receive the funds, I''ll contact my suppliers. I believe they can transfer everything we''ll need in one or two days," Xiao Yu said, nodding. Noticing that Shi Feng didn''t waver when he spoke of spending so much money, the young man became even more of a mystery to him. Xiao Yu was very familiar with Shi Feng''s background. The young man and his niece had been classmates, so he had looked into him. Even though Shi Feng was a combat genius, Xiao Yu had considered him a fledgling in high society. Since Shi Feng was from a family without a background, he should''ve needed a decade or so to accomplish anything impressive. Yet, the more time the old man spent with Shi Feng, the more he became unfathomable he became. First, Shi Feng had snagged Fenglin City''s White Clan Group as a partner. Then, he had purchased Century Training Center''s old building. Xiao Yu could also tell that Shi Feng was responsible for these decisions. "Everything should arrive in two days? If that''s the case, we should host our grand opening in three days. I''ll also have to trouble you with hiring instructors and management staff," Shi Feng replied after giving the matter some thought. Time waited for no one. He needed to recruit more internal members for the Guild as soon as possible. "That won''t be a problem, but what do you plan to name the training center?" Xiao Yu asked. "We can''t promote it without a name." "Let''s call it Heaven''s Rumble Training Center," Shi Feng decided. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to give the training center Zero Wing''s name as well, but it was too well-known right now. Naming it after the Guild would only bring the various major powers down on their heads. It was best that he gave it an ordinary name. "Alright, then. I''ll see to the necessary arrangements," Xiao Yu said, nodding. Xiao Yu left, immediately turning his focus to Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s management. Of course, the news that the Zero Wing Workshop was preparing to open a training center in Fenglin City quickly spread. 2185 Experts Gather Chapter 2185 - Experts Gather Fenglin City, Redstone Restaurant: A thin, middle-aged man respectfully entered one of the restaurant''s top-floor VIP rooms. Once inside, he approached an indifferent youth who currently meditated. Although the young man sat there quietly, he felt like the room''s overlord. Any enemy of his would become everyone''s enemy in the room. "Why are you in such a hurry, old Zhuo?" Han Yifeng asked as he opened his eyes, glancing up at the middle-aged man. "I''ve just received news that Zero Wing is opening a training center in Fenglin City. Moreover, it purchased one of the city''s well-known training centers to do so, the butler, Zhuo Lingqiu, reported. "Interesting. It seems Zero Wing is quite capable, after all. I had thought that the organization would run to me for help once it faced a financial crisis. I hadn''t expected it to earn a fortune through leasing Stone Forest City''s private houses. And now, it''s even opening its own training center," Han Yifeng calmly mused. "Young master, although Zero Wing can afford to open a training center, how can setting one up in Fenglin City be so easy?" Zhuo Linqiu commented disdainfully. "According to our information, Lu Xingluo has prepared for this and hired a particularly skilled expert. By the sounds of it, he wants his expert to cause a ruckus in the training center, preventing it from taking root in the city." It was true that one needed enough capital to open a training center, but money wasn''t enough to keep one alive. One also needed sufficient strength to defend it, especially in a city as competitive as Fenglin. "In that case, I want you to visit Zero Wing''s new training center. At the end of the day, we can still use the organization to slow Starlink down," Han Yifeng said as he sent a glance at Zhuo Linqiu. "Understood." With a bow, Zhuo Linqiu turned and left the room. Meanwhile, news of Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s grand opening shook Fenglin City''s fighting industry. With the Starline Corporation''s Lu Xingluo targeting Zero Wing, no one dared to ally with the organization for fear of attracting the corporation''s ire. Now that Zero Wing had opened its own training center, even a fool knew that Lu Xingluo would make his move. At least it would be interesting to watch. Moreover, the various training centers and dojos throughout the city viewed the fact that this company, which focused its business within virtual reality games, was trying to make a name for itself in Fenglin City''s fighting industry as both foolish and a blatant insult. Even on the off chance that Lu Xingluo left Zero Wing''s training center alone, they wouldn''t let the organization get away with this transgression. Otherwise, they''d become laughingstocks in the industry. While the various training centers and dojos discussed Zero Wing''s new facility, Xiao Yu had been methodically planning the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s grand opening. Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Not only had Xiao Yu purchased the latest training and medical equipment available over the last three days, but he had also invited many of Fenglin City''s VIPs to attend the grand opening. Fortunately, he had far more connections than a young man like Shi Feng. On the day in question, luxury cars stopped by the building''s entrance in droves, and many passersby grew interested in visiting the training center as a result. However, most of the people that visited Heaven''s Rumble Training Center that day were young, passionate fighters. They had all seen the advertisements boasting Heaven''s Rumble''s state-of-the-art facilities, and they were curious to inspect the training center themselves. The world''s technology constantly improved, and with the help of proper data analysis, one could build the best training routine possible, improving far faster than training under a famous instructor. The instant these combat enthusiasts entered Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, they were flabbergasted. People wearing the uniforms of Fenglin City''s various training centers and dojos filled the main hall. Some of them were even well-known experts in the city, and a few of the upper echelons from the city''s training centers and dojos had even made an appearance. "Crap! What''s going on? Why are so many of Fenglin City''s experts here?" "Isn''t that Luo Qianxing, who won third place in Fenglin City''s annual fighting competition last year?" "Quick, look! It''s Master Yang from the Extreme Light Dojo! I''ve heard rumors that he''s stopped participating in public events to prepare for the international fighting competition". "Am I seeing things? Isn''t that Chen Tianhe, the Martial Heart Dojo''s master? I thought he already retired from the public scene. Why is he here?" "What kind of power does this training center have behind it?" With so many of Fenglin City''s experts gathered, the young men and women who visited the training center out of curiosity grew excited. They even wondered if they had stumbled upon Fenglin City''s annual fighting competition, rather than a new training center''s grand opening. Why else would so many well-known experts be here? While the young fighting enthusiasts were shocked over finding so many of the city''s VIPs in one place, a group consisting of two young women and a young man entered the hall, immediately attracting everyone''s attention. The reaction was mostly due to the two young women. One wore an elegant, white dress, which highlighted her long, flowing hair and exquisite appearance. She had the body of a goddess, and many of the women in the crowd became self-conscious. A second exceptional beauty in a bright, red dress stood next to her. When the two women entered the hall, they instantly became the center of attention. Even the young man that accompanied these women was exceptionally handsome, and many of the ladies in the hall swooned. The handsome young man was the previous year''s champion of Fenglin City''s annual fighting competition, known for possessing a talent that only emerged once a decade in the city. He had also qualified to participate in the international fighting competition, and his status as the heir to the Zhang Clan Group, one of the city''s top-five financial groups, was just icing on the cake. "Qingxue, most of these experts don''t seem to be here with honest intentions. I''m afraid that this friend of yours will have a very difficult time maintaining a training center in Fenglin City," Zhang Wuya told Bai Qingxue[l] as he glanced over the crowd. "If your friend can''t handle the pressure, I''m willing to step up for him. I suspect that most of these training centers and dojos will take a step back out of respect." "Shi Feng is an internal force expert as well, Big Brother Zhang. Shouldn''t he be able to handle the situation?" Zhao Yueru asked. "An internal force expert might be impressive in second- and third-tier cities, but this is Fenglin City. Every well- known training center and dojo in the city has its own internal force expert. Moreover, they are experienced veterans. Their accomplishments with internal force are far more impressive than a youngster who has just mastered the techniques," Zhang Wuya explained. Bai Qingxue and Zhao Yueru''s expressions darkened slightly after listening to their companion. They had never thought that opening a training center would be so difficult. While Bai Qingxue''s group chatted amongst themselves, another commotion rattled the crowd in the main hall. An imposing, bear of a man entered the room. Two knife scars decorated his face, and his arrival shocked many of the training centers and dojo''s upper echelons. The instant this man appeared, many of the training center and dojo upper echelons present could not help but reveal shocked expressions. "Why is he here?" When Zhang Wuya saw the new arrival, fear flashed in his eyes. "Is he someone powerful?" Zhao Yueru asked when she noticed Zhang Wuya''s trepidation. "Powerful?" Zhang Wuya shook his head. "That word is no longer sufficient. He''s practically a devil. He has earned the nickname ''T-Rex'' for how heavy-handed he is in combat. No fewer than twenty internal force experts have suffered defeat at his hands. Some of them are still lying in their hospital beds. He was banned from the fighting world for that very reason. Most of that happened more than a decade ago, but according to recent rumors, it seems he has defeated another internal force expert overseas. I don''t even think I can stop him if he tries to make a move." While everyone made a fuss, Wang ''T-Rex'' Zhongquan stepped into the center of the hall. "I''ve heard that Heaven''s Rumble has set up shop here! Who''s in charge? I, Wang Zhongquan, want to spar! I want to see whether or not Heaven''s Rumble qualifies to do business in Fenglin City!" Wang Zhongquan shouted, his voice echoing throughout the hall. Most people immediately took a step back. "Heaven''s Rumble is doomed. I doubt anyone in Fenglin city can save it now that this demon has shown up." "The Starline Corporation is certainly powerful. It''s even hired this monster to cause trouble." "Zero Wing should''ve just stayed in its virtual reality game instead of meddling in the fighting industry." As the various training centers and dojo''s experts watched Wang Zhongquan, they knew that Heaven''s Rumble Training Center would soon go out of business. It would also be the first training center to close on the same day it opened. Suddenly, however, a crisp voice rang out over the crowd''s muttering. "I don''t know who you are, but I''m afraid that you don''t qualify to challenge our Hall Master!" Instinctively, the crowd turned toward the voice''s origin. The speaker was a graceful, mesmerizing woman, and none other than Fire Dance''s player. 2186 Fighting an Internal Force Exper Chapter 2186 - Fighting an Internal Force Expert The various training centers and dojos'' experts were stunned when they saw Fire Dance. "Who''s this little lady?" "Is she tired of living?" Although none of them recognized Fire Dance, her identity didn''t matter, even if she was an heiress to a large corporation or a member of a powerful family. Wang Zongquan was still a merciless person. Ordinary people, at most, knew this man had recently defeated Demon Wolf, an apex internal force expert overseas. However, these experts knew that Wang Zongquan had been banished from the fighting industry in the past and had resorted to mercenary work. He was a cold-blooded monster that had secretly ended many experts'' lives with his own hands. It was rumored that he was even responsible for the deaths of a few great families'' upper echelons. If Wang Zongquan wanted to, he could even slay a large family''s heirs, regardless of how many bodyguards protected them. As far as the crowd was concerned, Fire Dance was suicidal to provoke Wang Zongquan so blatantly. Unexpectedly, however, the bear-like man didn''t seem angry. He watched her for a moment before grinning, then asked, "If thats the case, little lady, how do I earn this qualification you speak of?" His goal was simple; he wanted to ensure that Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s reputation hit rock-bottom. His biggest concern was that Heaven''s Rumble would refuse to fight him. He had earned quite a reputation, after all. No one would look down on the training center if it declined his challenge. Hence, when this ignorant girl had stepped up to provoke him, he inwardly celebrated. Now, Heavens Rumble would have no choice but to accept his challenge, and he could take his time toying with the training center and humiliating its management. Heaven''s Rumble would never gain a foothold in Fenglin City. "Our youth are so impatient. After hearing a few insulting words, she leaped into his trap. Her comment has ensured that Heaven''s Rumble will have to face Wang Zongquan," Chen Tianhe, the Martial Heart Dojo''s master and an old man in his 50s, said, shaking his head. He then turned to Xiao Yu, and said, "Old Xiao, I''m afraid that disaster will befall the young man you mentioned." "Won''t Wang Zongquan back out if you make an appearance, Master Tianhe?" Xiao Yu anxiously asked. He was exasperated over Fire Dance''s impatience. He knew she was an expert that had proven herself against one of the White Tiger Dojo''s intermediate disciples, but Wang Zongquan was an expert among experts. When she had stepped forward, she had only caused more trouble for Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. Now, Chen Tianhe was their only hope. Chen Tianhe had risen to fame for his martial art mastery many years ago. Even the White Tiger Dojo''s Jiang Tianyuan had to show a little respect before this old man. Chen Tianhe was unquestionably powerful; he had ranked among the top 32 in the international fighting competition during his peak. Ranking among the top 32 fighters might not seem impressive, but they were talking about the largest fighting competition in the world. One had to be an expert among experts just to qualify for the competition, and hundreds of martial artists participated. Wang Zongquan had only ranked among the top 64 fighters during his peak. "If I were 15 years younger, I might be able to contend with him, but now...," Chen Tianhe said, shaking his head. Youthful vigor was gold in martial arts. This saying rang true both in the past and the present. Wang Zongquan was only 38 this year, and with today''s technology, he was still in his prime. Proving the point, the bear-like man had defeated Demon Wolf, who wasn''t any weaker than Chen Tianhe during his peak. "Is it really over, just like this?" Xian Yu felt as if his soul were leaving his body. He had gone to great lengths to employ Chen Tianhe''s help to ensure that Heaven''s Rumble Training Center would have a home in Fenglin City. He had even called in the favor the old man had owed him for so many years. But now... "That youngster, Shi Feng, is really pitiful. He grasped internal force at such a tender age, yet he will have to face Wang Zongquan," Chen Tianhe lamented, sighing as he stared at the monstrous, scarred man. Shi Feng had definitely earned the title ''genius'' for grasping internal force, despite being in his early 20s. He had a bright future ahead of him. Controlling internal force not only helped one improve their physical control, but it also enhanced comprehension. Moreover, Shi Feng hadn''t yet reached his prime. He had plenty of room for growth. With the help of today''s technology, he could gain substantial strength. With another five or six years, Shi Feng could fight Wang Zongquan to a standstill. Meanwhile, a thin, middle-aged man watched the exchange between Fire Dance and Wang Zongquan from a corner of the room, frowning. This man was none other than Zhuo Linqiu. It seems Lu Xingluo can''t be underestimated. To think he would actually employ Wang Zongquan. The situation will be harder to handle now. Zhuo Linqiu felt on-edge as he watched the newcomer. He had thought that Lu Xingluo would, at most, hire an advanced internal force expert. He hadn''t expected the apex internal force expert, Wang Zongquan, to show up. Experts of his caliber were extremely rare, even on a national scale. They were also particularly difficult to employ. These experts had no interest in money; they simply didn''t need any. Hence, tempting them into action was a challenge. Although Zhuo Linqiu was also an apex internal force expert, he was likely no match for Wang Zongquan due to his age. If it came down to a fight, Zhuo Linqiu felt that he only had a 40% chance of winning. While everyone whispered to each other, Fire Dance approached the large man in the center of the hall. She calmly declared, "If you want to spar with our Hall Master, you''ll have to get through me." A series of gasps and silence answered the young woman''s declaration. "Has she gone insane?" "Doesn''t Heaven''s Rumble have any capable fighters. Do they really need to send this young woman to her death?" Astonished, the crowd stared at Fire Dance, who maintained her composure even after her bold statement. They wouldn''t have been worried for her if she had challenged any other internal force expert, but she had just asked Wang Zongquan to spar. He wasn''t kind; he was ruthless. Almost every opponent the scarred man had defeated had spent at least six months in a hospital bed, and that was when medical experts had been nearby during the fight. Without the money to afford the best medical services, they would''ve spent the rest of their lives in a hospital! "What is she trying to do?" Bai Qingxue began to worry as she watched her comrade. She knew that Fire Dance had trained bitterly in God''s Domain, and she was quite powerful. However, this was reality, not the virtual world. Even if she frequently trained in the real world, she''d be lucky to survive against ordinary martial arts experts. Trying to fight an expert of Wang Zongquan''s caliber was suicidal. "Is she a friend, Qingxue?" Zhang Tianya asked, to which Bai Qingxue nodded. "Don''t worry, then. Although I''m not his match, I can stop that monster for a moment if necessary," Zhang Tianya comforted his escort. He had pursued Bai Qingxue for a long time now, although he wanted more than her perfect body and pretty face. He was far more interested in the White Clan Group that stood behind her. Only a woman of her standards was fit to stand beside him. However, he rarely encountered an opportunity to show off his strength to her. Hence, he was quite pleased with the situation. He wasn''t a match for an apex internal force expert like Wang Zongquan, but he''d have no issues stopping one of the man''s attacks. Is your training center out of fighters, little lady? If you wish to spar with me, you should know that I never show mercy to my opponents. You can''t blame me for the outcome." Wang Zongquan''s expression darkened, and a flash of killing intent lit his eyes. He could''ve brushed off her interruption as youthful ignorance, but a public challenge was an entirely different matter. He was an internal force experta master martial artist. It was humiliating to have some random nobody challenge him. If he did not teach this girl a proper lesson, he''d become a laughingstock. "The state of Heaven''s Rumble is none of your concern! You can talk after you defeat me!" Fire Dance stepped forward, and her fist shot straight toward Wang Zongquan. 2187 Defeated with One Palm Chapter 2187 - Defeated with One Palm Although Fire Dance had executed her punch smoothly, without making a sound, her punch seeming as natural as a passing breeze, when the various experts present saw her attacking Wang Zongquan, varying degrees of shock appeared on their faces. "Is this girl insane!?" Chen Tianhe blurted out when he saw Fire Dance''s actions. Wang Zongquan had trained his internal force to the apex. Every one of his movements was accompanied by internal force. He was different from experts that had just grasped internal force, who only used it as a trump card during critical moments. Not to mention, a sudden attack like the one Fire Dance executed would hardly be effective against a master like Wang Zongquan. If she was not careful in dealing with Wang Zongquan''s inevitable counterattack, she would undoubtedly lose her life. Sure enough, Wang Zongquan did not grow flustered at all at Fire Dance''s sudden attack. He calmly took half a step back, accurately moving out of her attack range. In the end, her fist did not even manage to graze his clothes. Immediately after, he counterpunched twice at Fire Dance, first at her face and then at her abdomen. Although both his punches looked identical, the one aimed at Fire Dance''s abdomen was actually a little faster than the one aimed at her face. "It''s over!" Zhang Tianya''s complexion darkened when he saw this scene play out from a short distance away. Originally, he had been planning to save Fire Dance. However, he never thought that Fire Dance would be so crazy as to attack Wang Zongquan without hesitation. To make matters worse, even after seeing her attack fail, she didn''t pull back immediately. Now that Wang Zongquan had counterattacked, her life was as good as gone. Although Wang Zongquan''s two punches might look very simple to the eyes of ordinary people, they were actually extremely ruthless. A person being attacked in the face would instinctively move to defend their face. In such a situation, attacks directed to other parts of their body would be easily overlooked. Meanwhile, as an apex internal force expert, Wang Zongquan had an extremely precise grasp on timing and distance. Even well-trained internal force experts would get caught by this move of his if they were not careful, let alone a newbie without any special training like Fire Dance. Just as everyone thought that this fight was already over, however, contrary to everyone''s expectations, Fire Dance actually ignored the punch aimed at her face. Instead, she suddenly sidestepped and promptly rotated her body. In the torque of her body, she then sent a lightning-fast chop straight at his neck. The sudden development in the battle caught Wang Zongquan slightly off guard. Originally, he thought that his opponent was merely an inexperienced little girl. He never expected this little girl to easily evade his attack, much less launch a counterattack of her own. However, Wang Zongquan was a hitman with many years of experience. He was fully capable of reacting to abrupt changes immediately. Although he wouldn''t be able to defend against Fire Dance''s attack in time, he could still dodge it. He hastily bent his body forward and leaped backward, narrowly avoiding Fire Dance''s chop. Upon seeing Wang Zongquan retreating, the spectating crowd could not help gasping in shock. "Is this for real? Wang Zongquan actually got repelled!" "Who is this young lady?" Everyone present was aware of just how powerful Wang Zongquan was. Even experts of the same rank would have difficulty forcing him to retreat. After all, taking the initiative to retreat in a duel meant that one was at a disadvantage. Now, however, a young lady like Fire Dance had actually made Wang Zongquan fall back. This was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, when Fire Dance saw Wang Zongquan taking the initiative to retreat, she did not give chase and exploit her advantage. Instead, she simply stood in place and quietly observed him. Mter a short moment, she stated calmly," you''re only at this standard, I advise you to give up on challenging our hall master." When Fire Dance said these words, the spectating crowd could not help but nod in agreement. After all, if Wang Zongquan had already fallen into a disadvantage in his fight with Fire Dance, what qualifications did he have to challenge Heaven''s Rumble''s hall master? You!" Wang Zongquan''s rage shot through the roof, the intense killing intent his body radiated making everyone in the hall shudder involuntarily. In the next moment, Wang Zongquan took a step forward, the marble floor under his feet cracking. His body then transformed into a blur as he dashed at Fire Dance like a ferocious tiger. The instant Wang Zongquan appeared before Fire Dance, he canted his body slightly to ram his side into her. Mountain Slam! Although this ramming attack looked incredibly plain and simple, none of the experts present would dare to face this attack directly. After all, a ramming attack carried out by an ordinary internal expert could already topple a big tree. Wang Zongquan''s ramming attack could most likely send even a small car flying back. If a person were to receive this attack, all the bones in their body would shatter. Moreover, Wang Zongquan''s ramming attack was incredibly fast, so fast that many of the experts present didn''t even react to it. "Why must this little girl put herself in such a difficult position?" Chen Tianhe sighed at this scene. Chen Tianhe had been very shocked by Fire Dance''s previous performance, where she managed to not only maintain her cool, despite going up against such a powerful opponent, but even turn a dangerous situation into an opportunity to attack. She was definitely a gifted fighter. He was even tempted to take her in as a disciple. Meanwhile, had Fire Dance not provoked Wang Zongquan further, Chen Tianhe could have forced Wang Zongquan to leave the premises by making an appearance. After all, the fact that Wang Zongquan had taken the initiative to retreat in a fight against a little girl, who was probably only half his age, was already humiliating enough. Insisting on continuing the fight would only further damage his reputation. However, now that Wang Zongquan had blown his top, he wouldn''t care even if he was called out for bullying the weak. Nobody could stop him now. To everyone''s surprise, however, Fire Dance actually did not try to dodge Wang Zongquan''s ramming attack. On the contrary, she even took the initiative to meet him in battle. "Is she crazy?" Her decision shocked everyone. No one expected Fire Dance to respond so boldly. Wang Zongquan surpassed even national-level athletes in terms of physical fitness. Only a few people in the entire country was superior to him. Trying to use brute force against him was akin to smashing an egg against a rock. Arrogant brat! When Wang Zongquan saw Fire Dance moving to greet him in battle, a ruthless sneer appeared on his face as he further accelerated his body. A moment later, Wang Zongquan''s body crashed into Fire Dance''s. However, just as everyone thought that she would go flying over ten meters, a shocking scene occurred. Wang Zongquan actually passed through Fire Dance! An afterimage? Zhang Tianya gaped in shock involuntarily when he saw Fire Dance''s figure fading out of existence. A visual residue! Chen Tianhe immediately realized what had happened. An afterimage could be created so long as a person was moving fast enough. However, creating a visual residue did not require a person to be moving quickly, only sufficiently rapid reactions. The human mind took time to process the images the eyes saw. If one''s reaction speed was sufficiently fast, they could misperception that they were still in their original position when, in reality, they had already moved elsewhere. However, accomplishing such an action was extraordinarily difficult. This feat required one to transition from being static to dynamic motion at an extreme speed. In addition, not only did one''s body have to keep up with this rapid transition, but their neural response time needed to be able to keep up as well. However, it was incredibly difficult to improve one''s neural response time and impossible to do so through ordinary training. Moreover, regardless of how powerful a person became, they could improve their neural response time by only an extremely limited amount. Meanwhile, by the time Wang Zongquan reacted to the situation, Fire Dance had already moved aside and turned to face him. She then sent a palm strike at his chest, her attack looking as gentle as a falling leaf. Peng! However, the moment Fire Dance''s palm collided with Wang Zongquan''s body, he felt as if a hammer had just struck his chest. His face instantly turned beet red as he stumbled a few steps back before dropping down to one knee. "Internal force!" "She''s an internal force expert!" Upon seeing Wang Zongquan''s kneeling figure, the spectating crowd could not help but turn to stare at the completely unharmed Fire Dance in shock. 2188 Do You Have an Opinion? Chapter 2188 - Do You Have an Opinion? Everyone was stunned to see Wang Zongquan down on one knee. Wang Zongquan''s physique completely surpassed an ordinary person''s. Even the professional fighters of Fenglin City would have an extremely difficult time inflicting any external damage on him, much less internal damage. Yet, he actually sustained considerably severe internal injuries from Fire Dance''s gentle palm strike. Based on his current complexion, he would most likely need half a month to recover from his injuries. This outcome was simply unbelievable. The only explanation anyone could come up with for this situation was that Fire Dance had utilized internal force. "She not only grasped internal force at such a young age but also managed to injure Wang Zongquan? Could she be the disciple of some ancient aristocratic family?" Chen Tianhe also could not help his astonishment as he looked at Fire Dance. Even with the help of modern technology, internal force experts were still incredibly rare. One would already be considered very talented to grasp internal force by the age of 30. Every one of such experts would become celebrities in the fighting industry. Even a top-ranking dojo like the White Tiger Dojo would treat such an expert as an honored guest. Nevertheless, Fire Dance had successfully grasped internal force at such a young age and even managed to heavily injure Wang Zongquan in one move. This was incredible. The only possibility Chen Tianhe could think of to explain this situation was that Fire Dance was the disciple of an ancient aristocratic family since such disciples practically started training in their mothers'' wombs. These disciples enjoyed the best resources, legacies, and teachers. As a result, they generally grasped internal force in their teens. By the time they entered their 20s, they were already strong enough to rank within the top 20 in international fighting competitions should they choose to participate. However, ancient aristocratic families generally kept a low profile and never fought for fame. Hence, the general populace did not know about these ancient aristocratic families. All the same, the influence these ancient aristocratic families held in the world was not the slightest bit weaker than that of major corporations. "She''s an ancient aristocratic family''s disciple?" Xiao Yu revealed an excited expression when he heard Chen Tianhe''s words. Xiao Yu had heard a little regarding ancient aristocratic families, so he had an idea just how frightening they were. They were not existences ordinary people like himself could come into contact with. Only well-established martial arts masters like Chen Tianhe had the opportunity to do so. If Fire Dance really was an ancient aristocratic family''s disciple, then the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center would truly become powerful. Even the Starline Corporation would probably be helpless against it. Meanwhile, at this moment, the upper echelons of the various training centers and dojos present in the hall had lost their complacent attitude altogether. Now, only shock and fear filled their minds. If even Wang Zongquan was defeated, then who in Fenglin City could possibly be a match for Fire Dance? Moreover, Fire Dance was still so young. She would definitely continue growing stronger. One could even describe her future as limitless. With such a talent present, who would dare provoke the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center? After a brief round of exclamations from the spectating crowd, Wang Zongquan managed to recover slightly and slowly stand back up. Now, his eyes held only fear when he gazed at Fire Dance. "I never thought that I would actually lose to a little girl like you. May I know which aristocratic family''s disciple you are?" Wang Zongquan asked politely, his previous arrogant attitude gone. Now, he was treating Fire Dance as his equal. Wang Zongquan was far more knowledgeable than Chen Tianhe, so he knew just how powerful the disciples of aristocratic families were. The moment Fire Dance sent him stumbling back, he concluded that she was a disciple of an ancient aristocratic family. After all, everyone from the younger generation capable of surpassing him was an expert famous throughout the country. They definitely wouldn''t be an unknown existence like Fire Dance. Fortunately, Fire Dance''s strength and physical fitness were greatly inferior to his own. Had that previous strike been executed by an expert of equal standards, he definitely wouldn''t have been able to stand back up. Fire Dance''s victory was due entirely to her calm mind and frightening reaction speed. Her grasp of distance was also frighteningly accurate. Had he known that Fire Dance possessed such abilities early on, he definitely wouldn''t have used such aggressive maneuvers. Instead, he would''ve opted for a more secure fighting style. Then, he wouldn''t have been defeated so decisively. However, Fire Dance was still very young. Her physical fitness could continue improving in the future. The same was true for her technical standards. Wang Zongquan did not feel ashamed of being defeated by such a prodigy. "An aristocratic family''s disciple?" The heartstrings of Zhang Tianya, who was standing a short distance away, quivered when he looked at Fire Dance. Both Fire Dance''s appearance and body were extraordinary. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that she was Zhao Yueru''s equal. Moreover, Fire Dance''s martial artist''s temperament lent her an additional elegance that Zhao Yueru did not have. If it was indeed true that Fire Dance had the backing of an ancient aristocratic family, then she would definitely be of great help to him in the futureif he could obtain her. "Aristocratic family''s disciple?" Fire Dance, however, was confused by Wang Zongquan''s words. She then explained, "I am not a disciple of some aristocratic family. I am only a member of the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center." As soon as Fire Dance was done speaking, the entire hall fell silent momentarily. "Impossible! You grasped internal force at such a young age! You also have that frightening reaction speed and a talent for combat! How can you simply be a member of a small training center?!" Wang Zongquan was enraged by Fire Dance''s response. "If you don''t want to tell me which aristocratic family you''re from, just say so! Is there a need to humiliate me this way?!" While he could accept being defeated by Fire Dance, as a martial arts master, he definitely would not accept being humiliated. Moreover, what he was truly adept at was not fighting but assassination. Outside official settings, he would have plenty of means to kill Fire Dance without anybody tracing the deed back to him. Everyone present also nodded in agreement with Wang Zongquan''s words. A member of a training center? What a joke. Even the top-ranking training centers and dojos in the country did not have the ability to produce an expert like Fire Dance. "I''m telling the truth. I am not a disciple of some aristocratic family. I am only a member that has been training under our hall master all this time. I can''t do anything about it even if you don''t believe me," Fire Dance said, shaking her head. She gave no further explanation after that. "I heard that your hall master is just in his early 20s. If you insist on trying to raise your hall master''s reputation, then I have nothing else to say. However, I will firmly engrave today''s matter in my heart!" Wang Zongquan was now thoroughly enraged. However, with his defeat at Fire Dance''s hands, he no longer had any qualifications to challenge Heaven''s Rumble''s Hall Master. Even so, he still had many ways to destroy both the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center and Fire Dance. "Was there a need for this little lady to humiliate him like so?" Chen Tianhe could already see that Wang Zongquan bore killing intent toward the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center and Fire Dance. The man definitely wouldn''t let this matter rest. Even a fool wouldn''t believe that a youth in his early 20s could nurture Fire Dance, who was of roughly similar age, into her current state. Let alone Wang Zongquan, even Chen Tianhe would become very angry if he were in Wang Zongquan''s shoes. However, just as Wang Zongquan was about to turn around and leave, a crisp voice echoed throughout the entire hall. "I am her instructor. Do you have any opinions about it?" Immediately, everyone automatically turned their heads toward the origin of the voice, and what they saw was a young man currently descending the staircase from the second floor. This young man in black was none other than Shi Feng, who had just completed his daily training. 2189 Shocking the Audience Chapter 2189 - Shocking the Audience Everyone present inside the hall gazed at Shi Feng in astonishment. Wang Zongquan was no minor character. Although he had lost to Fire Dance, there was still no doubt that he was an apex internal force expert. Even the masters of top-ranking training centers and dojos had to treat him with respect. Not to mention, Wang Zongquan had been working as a hitman for the past decade. Even if he couldn''t openly cause problems for a training center or dojo, he was more than capable of doing so in secret. "Is this guy tired of living? He actually dares to come out now? Does he really think Wang Zongquan won''t dare to challenge him again?" "What bold words! Does he actually believe he can produce an internal force expert?" The many experts present looked at Shi Feng with disdain when he appeared in the hall. They all felt that Shi Feng was getting too full of himself. Fire Dance had just fought a dangerous battle in order to pull the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center out of a crisis. All Shi Feng needed to do was lie low and wait for Wang Zongquan to leave. He simply had to be tired of living, to reveal himself now. "Old Xiao, is this the young man you were talking about?" Chen Tianhe shook his head as he looked at Shi Feng. "He''s far too immature and arrogant. Although he has the support of an aristocratic family''s disciple, he still shouldn''t have provoked Wang Zongquan like this." Although Wang Zongquan could not afford to run afoul of ancient aristocratic families, he would have no problems killing the other members of the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. He could also make it so that the deed couldn''t be traced back to him. Even though Shi Feng had already grasped internal force, it wouldn''t change his fate. After all, according to the rumors Chen Tianhe had heard, more than ten internal force experts had fallen at Wang Zongquan''s hands, including apex internal force experts. So, he is Shi Feng? Zhang Tianya could not help but reveal some envy as he eyed Shi Feng. An aristocratic family''s disciple! The status of every one of these disciples was not the slightest bit inferior to that of an heir of a major corporation. They were existences that even someone like Wang Zongquan had to show respect to. Yet, despite having ordinary looks and an average family background, Shi Feng actually managed to gain Fire Dance''s favor and even her support. How could Zhang Tianya not envy him? In fact, Zhang Tianya believed there was an 80% chance that Shi Feng''s success in becoming an internal force expert was due to Fire Dance''s help. After all, the legacies and resources that ancient aristocratic families possessed were far superior to those of top-ranking training centers and dojos. So long as one possessed even the slightest amount of talent, they would have no problem becoming an internal force expert. If Zhang Tianya had obtained these resources, he would''ve most likely become an expert on Wang Zongquan''s level by now. Meanwhile, during the time the spectating crowd was quietly discussing Shi Feng, Shi Feng had arrived at the center of the hall. Fire Dance promptly took the initiative to stand behind him as if she really was just a member of the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. This scene immediately provoked the envy of many of the spectating experts. "Crap! What kind of luck does that kid possess to earn the favor of that goddess!?" "What a lucky bastard! With an aristocratic family backing him, even Wang Zongquan can''t do anything against him on the surface." "That''s right! If we could sponge off such a goddess as well, even setting up a top-ranking training center wouldn''t be a problem!" Many of the men present derided Shi Feng, and as if they were afraid Shi Feng could not hear them, their voices grew steadily louder as they spoke. To most of the experts present, being able to grasp internal force was already a matter worth rejoicing. As for setting up their own training center in a first-tier city and developing it into a top-ranking training center, that was something that they didn''t even dream of. However, if they had the help of an aristocratic family''s disciple, then such a feat would be a piece of cake. Now that Shi Feng had Fire Dance''s support, his becoming one of Fenglin City''s powerhouses was almost guaranteed. Fenglin City''s fighting industry might even have to adhere to his wishes in the future. Other top-ranking training centers and dojos also wouldn''t dare to act against him rashly. Meanwhile, seated in a comer of the hall was Zhuo Linqiu, who was quietly observing the event. So, that''s the case. It''s no wonder Zero Wing is confident of establishing itself in Fenglin City, Zhuo Linqiu thought to himself as he observed Fire Dance, disregarding Shi Feng entirely. With this, Zero Wing indeed merits the young master''s attention. As the butler of the Five States Corporation''s heir and an apex internal force expert himself, Zhuo Linqiu knew a lot more regarding ancient aristocratic families than Chen Tianhe and Wang Zongquan did, so he understood just how valuable the support of an aristocratic family''s disciple was. During the time everyone was discussing Shi Feng, Wang Zongquan had also arrived before him, his gaze filled with disdain and anger as he glared at the young man. "And here I thought you wouldn''t have the courage to show yourself," Wang Zongquan sneered. "Since you''re here, do you dare exchange a few moves with me? I want to see whether you truly are capable of instructing such an excellent member or not, Hall Master Shi." Originally, Wang Zongquan thought that he would not have a chance to reclaim the reputation he had lost due to Fire Dance today. However, since Shi Feng had taken the initiative to appear before him, this was the perfect opportunity for him to do so and fulfill his agreement with Lu Xingluo to wreck the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s reputation, killing two birds with one stone. He naturally couldn''t miss this opportunity. That won''t be a problem. Only, Master Wang, you were just injured. Do you need a few days to recover? It won''t be too late to spar at that time," Shi Feng said. "No need! It is only a minor injury! I wish to experience Hall Master Shi''s brilliant moves now!" Wang Zongquan said. He launched an attack at Shi Feng without hesitation, not giving him any more time to speak. In Wang Zongquan''s opinion, Shi Feng was simply trying to find an excuse to buy time and eventually let the matter be forgotten. He naturally couldn''t let Shi Feng have his way. Meanwhile, the best method to get Shi Feng to take action was to leave the man with no choice but to take action. The spectating crowd shook their heads and sneered at Shi Feng. "That guy is so dumb. Did he really think Wang Zongquan would let such a great opportunity slip by?" "Hahaha! He''s going to make a fool of himself now!" "He''s just a brat who has just learned internal force. Does he actually think an apex internal force expert like Wang Zongquan will be afraid of him because of a little injury?" "How foolish! Does he believe he can run rampant just because he has the backing of an aristocratic family''s disciple?" Everyone understood that Shi Feng was planning to get Wang Zongquan to give up on today''s match with the excuse that Wang Zongquan was injured. Unfortunately, how could someone of Wang Zongquan''s caliber not see through his ploy? Moreover, the spectating experts could also see very clearly that, although Fire Dance had defeated Wang Zongquan, she should have grasped internal force only recently. Her physique was also far inferior to his. Although she had indeed managed to injure Wang Zongquan, he should still be able to exhibit 80% of his normal standardwhich would be sufficient for him to beat up a basic internal force expert. In the next moment, however, Wang Zongquan''s fast and powerful fist suddenly came to an abrupt halt before Shi Feng''s face, unable to move forward by even the slightest. How is this possible?! Wang Zongquan stared at his wrist, which Shi Feng was gripping tightly, in extreme confusion. Wang Zongquan had given his all in that punch. Despite his injury, his full-powered punch still wasn''t something a basic internal force expert could block directly. In his opinion, Shi Feng should''ve chosen to dodge or deflect his attack. However, Shi Feng had actually used one of the most impossible-to-execute methods to stop his attackgrabbing his wrist. Before Wang Zongquan could shake off Shi Feng''s hold, Shi Feng suddenly tightened his grip and swung Wang Zongquan''s arm as if he was swinging a sword. Immediately, Wang Zongquan felt himself getting yanked off his feet, then propelled through the air. For a moment, the surrounding crowd even felt a strong wind blowing past their faces. Soon after, a loud boom entered everyone''s ears as the floor beneath them shook slightly. By the time everyone realized what was going on, Wang Zongquan was already lying unconscious on the floor some distance away from Shi Feng, the marble beneath him cracked. 2190 He Is a Grandmaster? Chapter 2190 - He Is a Grandmaster? Upon seeing Wang Zongquan''s body lying motionless on the cracked marble floor, the spectating crowd froze, and a deathly silence fell over the entire hall. A short moment later... "How is this possible?!" "This is a lie, right?! Wang Zongquan actually got defeated, just like that!?" "Who is this Shi Feng!?" The spectating experts simply couldn''t believe their eyes as they gazed at the unconscious Wang Zongquan. This was an apex internal force expert they were talking about. Wang Zongquan stood at the apex of Fenglin City, yet, now, he was actually defeated effortlessly by an ordinary youngster who did not give off even the slightest hint of an aura. The exchange between Shi Feng and Wang Zongquan had been so decisive that it couldn''t even be considered a fight. It was practically a drubbing. "So many of the experts here reacted with fear toward Wang Zongquan before, so shouldn''t he be very strong? Why did he get defeated so easily?" "Could Heaven''s Rumble have paid Wang Zongquan to stage an act?" "I''m guessing that''s most likely the case. Wang Zongquan is an internal force expert. On the other hand, that Shi Feng is so young. Even if he is powerful, how powerful could he possibly be? Moreover, the fact that someone like Wang Zongquan even appeared here is very strange, to begin with. Heaven''s Rumble must''ve hired Wang Zongquan to pretend to fight to raise its fame." Unlike the experts in the hall, the spectating fighting enthusiasts felt that Wang Zongquan had acted out a play when they saw him so easily defeated. After all, when Wang Zongquan was fighting Fire Dance earlier, they could more or less tell how powerful he was. However, when Wang Zongquan fought Shi Feng, from start to end, they hadn''t seen any hint of that power Wang Zongquan had displayed before. They felt that Wang Zongquan had deliberately coordinated his movements with Shi Feng, jumping into the air the moment Shi Feng grabbed his wrist and letting Shi Feng freely throw him. The fight could not be any faker. At this moment, aside from the fighting enthusiasts, the training center and dojo members present also found this fight fake. The strength an internal force expert wielded far surpassed that of ordinary people. If Wang Zongquan had thrown his punch with his full strength, even an internal force expert couldn''t have stopped his punch by grabbing his wrist. A fake match? At this moment, even Xiao Yu was dumbfounded by this scene. However, he instinctively refuted the possibility, as he had never heard about such plans from Shi Feng earlier. Moreover, the Starline Corporation had been keeping an eye on the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. Only an existence like the Starline Corporation could employ the services of someone like Wang Zongquan. Most importantly, why would an apex internal force expert agree to min his own reputation just to uplift the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s reputation? As Xiao Yu was wondering why Wang Zongquan would put on a fake fight, Chen Tianhe, who stood beside Xiao Yu, suddenly revealed a look of horror. "Neu...tralizing... He is...a neutralizing grandmaster!" Chen Tianhe muttered quietly as he stared at Shi Feng, his complexion paling as if he had just seen a ghost. "Neutralizing...grandmaster?" Xiao Yu momentarily fell into a daze when he heard Chen Tianhe''s words. Compelled to seek confirmation, he asked, "Master Chen, you''re saying that Shi Feng is a neutralizing grandmaster?" In the fighting industry, those capable of grasping internal force were considered absolute experts. Less than 0.1% of professional fighters would ever succeed in grasping internal force. For those that did, their understanding and usage of their body and strength would far surpass those of ordinary people. No matter where these experts went, they would have the qualifications to establish a training center or dojo and accept discipleshence, internal force experts were labeled masters. However, above internal force experts, there were still neutralizing experts. Ordinary people would already be fortunate to come across an internal force expert. As for neutralizing experts, most ordinary people would most likely never meet one. Every neutralizing expert was a titan in the fighting industry. They were people who could contest for first place in international fighting competitions. The fame and status they enjoyed were far superior to those of people like Chen Tianhe and Wang Zongquan. If one were to draw a comparison between internal force experts and neutralizing experts, the former would be candlelight while the latter would be the blazing sun. "It is possible," Chen Tianhe said hesitantly. "Only, since when has there ever been such a young neutralizing grandmaster in this world? Even the ancient aristocratic families are incapable of producing a neutralizing grandmaster this young." Ordinary people most likely wouldn''t find anything special about Shi Feng''s grabbing and throwing motions; in fact, most of the professional fighters present wouldn''t. However, Chen Tianhe, who had already mastered internal force to the apex, could tell just how frightening Shi Feng''s usage of his body and strength was. First, upon grabbing Wang Zongquan''s wrist, Shi Feng had immediately redirected and nullified the force in Wang Zongquan''s arm. Then, when Wang Zongquan put more strength into his arm to break free of Shi Feng''s hold, Shi Feng made use of Wang Zongquan''s strength and coupled it with his own to lift and throw Wang Zongquan to the ground. Although this series of actions appeared very simple, executing it within a mere instant was exceedingly difficult. Only neutralizing grandmasters, who could push their muscles to the limit, could accomplish such a feat. What made Chen Tianhe doubt his conclusion was that Shi Feng was simply too young! Even now, Chen Tianhe was considered one of the top-ranking experts in the country. He had also been famous for a long time already. In his many years mingling in the fighting industry, he had come across plenty of internal force experts of varying standards and even neutralizing grandmasters. However, despite his extensive experience, he had never even heard of a neutralizing grandmaster who was in his 20s. At this moment, aside from Chen Tianhe, Master Yang from the Extreme Light Dojo, Zhang Tianya, and the other internal force experts present were similarly gazing at Shi Feng in astonishment and horror. "Impossible! How can he be a neutralizing grandmaster?!" Zhang Tianya blurted out in shock. Ordinary people might have failed to discern the intricacies of Wang Zongquan''s fight with Shi Feng, but internal force experts like Zhang Tianya managed to roughly discern its crucial parts. In most people''s eyes, Wang Zongquan''s fight did indeed look like an act. However, this was because Shi Feng''s usage of his strength was too ingenious. He was already at the stage of simplifying complex movements; hence, his fight with Wang Zongquan looked very fake. "A neutralizing grandmaster?! Shi Feng is actually this powerful?!" Zhao Yueru could not help growing excited when she heard Zhang Tianya''s words. Although she did not have a clear concept of what a neutralizing grandmaster was, she still understood how powerful grandmaster martial artists were. They were supreme existences within the country, experts that even the various top- ranking dojos and training centers feared greatly. Meanwhile, when Gentle Snow saw the exchange between Shi Feng and Wang Zongquan, she felt an indescribable sense of shock and familiarity. This was because she could tell that Shi Feng''s usage of his strength and body very closely resembled the principles of the Refinement Realm and Truth Realm. It was as if he had just merged these two concepts and demonstrated them. Only, this should be a technique that existed only in God''s Domain. Now, however, he had actually displayed it in the real world. As for Zhuo Linqiu, who sat in a corner of the hall, he was gaping in shock at Shi Feng. Zhuo Linqiu had never imagined that Shi Feng was such a powerful expert! He was actually telling the truth! Although an aristocratic family''s disciple would indeed daunt an apex internal force expert like Zhuo Linqiu, this would not deter him from taking action against one. However, a neutralizing grandmaster was a different story. It was no exaggeration to describe a neutralizing grandmaster as superhuman. Compared to Shi Feng''s identity as a neutralizing grandmaster, Fire Dance''s identity as an aristocratic family''s disciple was utterly insignificant. Neutralizing grandmasters were existences that even major corporations had to show respect to, because these people held massive influence in the fighting industry. Moreover, there were times when major corporations also needed the help of these experts. After all, the various major corporations'' upper echelons were frequent targets for assassination. Only with the protection of a neutralizing grandmaster would one be able to guarantee their safety. At this moment, the various internal force experts present finally understood that Shi Feng had not been lying before. Fire Dance''s achievement could very well have been thanks to Shi Feng''s guidance. After all, it wasn''t impossible for a neutralizing grandmaster to nurture an internal force expert. In fact, there were many precedents. During the time everyone was quietly discussing this situation, Wang Zongquan had regained consciousness. However, when he came to, his mind was a huge blur, and his body ached all over. He could tell that he had several broken bones. He would need more than a month to recover fully from such injuries. "Well? Master Wang, do you still wish to continue sparring?" Shi Feng asked as he watched Wang Zongquan struggle to his feet. 2191 Fame Spreads in Fenglin City Chapter 2191 - Fame Spreads in Fenglin City When Wang Zongquan saw the faint smile on Shi Feng''s face, a chill suddenly swept through him, his body shuddering involuntarily. "No! No need to continue! I admit defeat!" Wang Zongquan said hurriedly, afraid that he would be executed if he delayed his answer by even the slightest bit. Although he had clashed with Shi Feng for only a very brief moment, he understood more clearly than anybody else present just how frightening Shi Feng was. It was no exaggeration to say that, if Shi Feng had wanted to, he definitely could have consigned Wang Zongquan to eternal rest with that previous move. Now, when Wang Zongquan looked at Shi Feng, he felt that he was seeing a humanoid demon. Aside from this conclusion, he could not think of any other possibility. After all, despite having wandered the entire world, he had never heard of anyone becoming a neutralizing grandmaster in their early 20s. Moreover, unlike other people, Wang Zongquan had personally clashed with neutralizing grandmasters before, so he knew full well just how frightening an existence they were. Neutralizing grandmasters could no longer be considered human; they were superhuman. Even ordinary firearms were useless against neutralizing grandmasters, as grandmasters could preemptively take evasive maneuvers by relying on their extraordinary senses. Meanwhile, before a neutralizing grandmaster, apex internal force experts like Wang Zongquan were akin to little children. Their life and death were no longer within their control. At this moment, Wang Zongquan started to feel animosity for Lu Xingluo. Had he known that Shi Feng was a neutralizing grandmaster, with even ten times his courage, he still wouldn''t have dared to kick up a ruckus at the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. "Since we have solved your concerns, then we can discuss the matter of you coming here to cause a commotion, Master Wang," Shi Feng said. As soon as Shi Feng was done speaking, Wang Zongquan''s complexion turned ashen. Even top-ranking training centers and dojos could not bear the wrath of a neutralizing grandmaster; the fate of a lone apex internal force expert like himself went without saying. Not to mention, he was currently right in front of Shi Feng. He couldn''t run away even if he wanted to now. "Hall Master Shi, just state however much compensation you want. I''ll pay it so long as I have it," Wang Zongquan said with great anxiety. "Right, I just received six bottles of the Green God Company''s Life Potion. Let''s add them to the compensation as well." Neutralizing grandmasters were different from the average person. The amount of nutrients their bodies required daily far exceeded the average person''s. Moreover, if they wanted to improve their physical fitness further, consuming ordinary food and Nutrient Fluids would no longer suffice. At the very least, they needed S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Meanwhile, the Life Potion was something even more valuable than S-rank Nutrient Fluids. In fact, these six Life Potions were the reason why Wang Zongquan had agreed to undertake Lu Xingluo''s request. After all, Life Potions were extremely difficult to come by. Even neutralizing grandmasters could get their hands on only a small amount. "Six Life Potions?" Shi Feng could not help but be moved. He had never expected Wang Zongquan to possess Life Potions, the Green God Company''s latest creation. Shi Feng naturally understood what was going through Wang Zongquan''s mind right now. After all, Shi Feng had had the fortune to meet a neutralizing grandmaster in his previous life, so he knew that these grandmasters were truly superhuman. He also knew that their nutritional requirements were different from the ordinary person''s. Only, Shi Feng wasnt actually a neutralizing grandmaster yet. He had merely touched upon the realm after combining the principles of the Truth Realm and Refinement Realm. In God''s Domain, every player''s body had long since reached an extraordinary level; hence, players could exhibit the principles of the Realms of Truth and Realms of Refinement to their greatest limits. The human body in the real world was very weak in comparison, making it impossible for people to fully exhibit the strength of these two realms in the real world. This was akin to running state-of-the-art software on an ancient computer. The hardware simply couldn''t support the software at all, and the computer would crash when trying to run the application. The reason why Shi Feng was able to apply the principles of the Truth Realm and Refinement Realm in the real world was mainly his having reached the Ascension Realm and Domain Realm in God''s Domain. Even so, he had already sustained some minor internal injuries from executing that one move. He still needed to improve his physical fitness further before he could reliably display the principles of the Truth Realm and Refinement Realm in the real world. Meanwhile, the Life Potion was something Shi Feng had only heard of during his previous life. He had never actually seen one before, much less consumed one. The Life Potion was not sold to the public. It was many times more valuable than even S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Although the Life Potion couldn''t resurrect the dead, it could cure all internal injuries and strengthen the user''s physique. It was even rumored that long-term consumption of the Life Potion could rejuvenate the user. Moreover, these were still not the most important point about the Life Potion. The truly amazing aspect of the Life Potion was its ability to invigorate a person''s brain cells, making cerebral development easier. Due to these reasons, after God''s Domain had spread its influence throughout the entire world, the Life Potion became something all powers fervently competed over. Those powers that managed to secure themselves a stable supply of Life Potions had been able to nurture a batch of peak experts and apex experts quickly. Shi Feng found Wang Zongquan''s possession of six Life Potions simply unbelievable. However, Wang Zongquan misconstrued Shi Feng''s comment as a complaint that this amount was too little. He hurriedly explained, "Hall Master Shi, this is really all that I have. However, I heard that Nine States City is about to hold an internal auction and that Life Potions will be sold there. Here is the invitation card I received. Aside from this, I really don''t have any more Life Potions." Shi Feng could tell that Wang Zongquan was not lying. He also understood that it was already plenty amazing for someone like Wang Zongquan to obtain six Life Potions. After all, ordinary martial arts masters couldn''t get their hands on even one bottle, let alone six. "Fine. We''ll forget about monetary compensation, but I need you to help me with a matter," Shi Feng said, nodding as he accepted the invitation. Wang Zongquan inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief at Shi Feng''s words. He then said confidently, "Hall Master Shi, please speak freely. As long as it is something I can accomplish, I''ll definitely do it." "It''s very simple. I want you to go teach Lu Xingluo a lesson," Shi Feng said, smiling as he patted Wang Zongquan''s shoulder. Since Lu Xingluo had already taken the initiative to make trouble for him, Shi Feng naturally had to respond in kind. Although Shi Feng was currently slightly stronger than Wang Zongquan, he was quite inferior to the professional hitman when it came to dealing with people outside of an official competition. If he tried to take action against Lu Xingluo, his actions would no doubt get exposed very quickly. Not to mention, Shi Feng didn''t have that much free time to take part in such matters; he had his hands full dealing with Zero Wing. "This..." Wang Zongquan could not help being shocked by Shi Feng''s request. "Hall Master Shi, Lu Xingluo is the Starline Corporation''s heir. If I do so..." "Since that is the case, let''s continue discussing the commotion you''ve caused!" Shi Feng said, his voice taking on a chill. If not for Shi Feng having improved sufficiently quickly and displaying absolute strength against Wang Zongquan, Wang Zongquan would''ve definitely continued trying to make trouble for the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center even after suffering defeat at Fire Dance''s hands. Hence, Shi Feng naturally couldn''t let him off the hook too easily. Shi Feng did not doubt Wang Zongquan''s ability to meet his demand in the slightest. As for the consequences for Wang Zongquan after carrying out this feat, this was not something Shi Feng cared about. "I''ll do it! I''ll make sure Hall Master Shi won''t be disappointed!" Wang Zongquan assured hurriedly while nodding after sensing a trace of killing intent from Shi Feng. Wang Zongquan had an instinctive fear of neutralizing grandmasters stemming from his understanding of their power. So long Shi Feng wanted to, unless Wang Zongquan fled to the ends of the world, he wouldn''t be able to escape Shi Feng. Compared to earning Shi Feng''s ire, provoking a major corporation''s heir held much lighter consequences. Not to mention, Shi Feng had only told him to teach Lu Xingluo a lesson, not to kill the man. If Wang Zongquan limited his actions, the Starline Corporation wouldn''t go all-out in dealing with him. In fact, the corporation would avoid making a huge fuss about this. After all, if news of this matter were to leak to the public, the Starline Corporation would become a laughing stock for its rivals. Moreover, Wang Zongquan was originally already furious at Lu Xingluo for sending him to pick a fight with a neutralizing grandmaster. He could use this opportunity to get some payback as well. Upon seeing Wang Zongquan leave the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center dejectedly, the upper echelons of the various training centers and dojos present promptly went to Shi Feng and Xiao Yu to congratulate them. They even sent the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center huge gifts. These training centers and dojos no longer entertained any thoughts of causing trouble for Heaven''s Rumble. In fact, they even showed signs of submitting themselves to Heaven''s Rumblea scene that stupefied the fighting enthusiasts in the hall, who all wondered what kind of background the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center possessed. News of this matter quickly spread throughout Fenglin City. 2192 Seizing Fenglin City Chapter 2192 - Seizing Fenglin City After Wang Zongquan''s departure, many of the training center and dojo members present were tempted to join the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. The various fighting enthusiasts present, on the other hand, immediately started applying to join Heaven''s Rumble. Previously, everyone thought that the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center was a sham. However, after seeing Shi Feng, Heaven''s Rumble''s Hall Master, defeat Wang Zongquan easily and overhearing the comments of the various internal force experts present stating that Shi Feng was a grandmaster martial artist, they realized that Heaven''s Rumble possessed genuine ability that was far superior to that of the other training centers and dojos in Fenglin City. Moreover, Heaven''s Rumble was equipped with state-of-the-art training and medical facilities. Just these points alone already held a great temptation for the various fighting enthusiasts. After just a few hours, the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center had gained more than 5,000 members already. As for becoming a disciple[l] of Heaven''s Rumble, not everyone could do so since Shi Feng had set certain requirements. The Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s main purpose wasn''t to generate profits. It would serve as a talent pool for Zero Wing to recruit from. Hence, ordinary people couldn''t become disciples of the training center. Moreover, the disciples of training centers and dojos generally enjoyed much better treatment than ordinary members. They would be taught things that were not shared with the public. The recruitment requirements for disciples naturally had to be strict. Even so, after half a day of testing, Heaven''s Rumble still managed to recruit more than 200 disciples. This situation excited Xiao Yu greatly. Despite having managed the Big Dipper Training Center for many years now, he had never seen so many people joining a training center on the day of its grand opening. Moreover, this was only the beginning. As Heaven''s Rumble''s name spread, even more people would join. Afterward, so long as Heaven''s Rumble managed to nurture some disciples that achieved high rankings in Fenglin City''s annual fighting competition, the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center could easily become the head of Fenglin City''s fighting industry. As the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center bustled with activity, Zhuo Linqiu suddenly approached Shi Feng. Zhuo Linqiu''s appearance had been completely silent. Most of the people inside the hall had overlooked his existence. Only a small number of internal force experts had managed to notice him. What a powerful person! His strength is most likely on par with Wang Zongquan''s, Chen Tianhe exclaimed in his heart when he saw Zhuo Linqiu approaching Shi Feng. Wang Zongquan had an overbearing and explicit aura. On the other hand, Zhuo Linqiu gave off a sense of emptiness and restraint. The two of them were polar opposites of each other. If an ordinary person were to compare the two of them, they would definitely judge Wang Zongquan to be stronger. However, those who had trained to Chen Tianhe''s standards no longer judged people''s strength based on aura alone. Moreover, concealing one''s aura was much more difficult than simply letting it run wild. This was also a technique Chen Tianhe had been studying for quite some time now. Unfortunately, he had just barely scratched the surface of the technique thus far and was definitely inferior to Zhuo Linqiu. One could say that, in terms of technique and spirit, Zhuo Linqiu was above Wang Zongquan. Zhuo Linqiu! Why is he here!? Zhang Tianya was stunned when he saw Zhuo Linqiu. Unlike Chen Tianhe, Zhang Tianya was not only an internal force expert but also the heir of one of Fenglin City''s top five financial groups. Zhuo Linqiu had once visited Fenglin City. Back then, the various financial groups of Fenglin City had promptly gathered to welcome him to the city. Moreover, the leaders of every financial groupincluding the Zhang Clan Grouphad been present during this gathering. These leaders all treated Zhuo Linqiu with great respect. As for Zhang Tianya, as he was part of the younger generation, he could only watch the gathering of VIPs from the sidelines. Zhuo Linqiu was someone who was only half a step away from becoming a neutralizing grandmaster. Unfortunately, due to his advanced age, his physique could no longer keep up with his mind. As a result, he could never cross the final threshold and remained stuck at the apex of the internal force realm. Whether it was in terms of status or strength, Zhuo Linqiu was an existence that Zhang Tianya could only look at in awe. Now, however, Zhuo Linqiu was actually taking the initiative to greet Shi Feng. During the time Chen Tianhe and Zhang Tianya were wondering about Zhuo Linqiu''s purpose here, Zhuo Linqiu arrived before Shi Feng. "Hall Master Shi, are you free for a private chat?" Zhuo Linqiu asked in a low tone. At this moment, Zhuo Linqiu no longer viewed Shi Feng with contempt. On the contrary, he now looked at the youth with a trace of fear and respect. Neutralizing grandmasters were existences beyond the circle of ordinary internal force experts. However, as the butler of the Five States Corporation''s heir, Zhuo Linqiu was quite familiar with the existence of neutralizing grandmasters, so he knew intimately how powerful they were. Even major corporations would not dare slight neutralizing grandmasters. "Sure, let''s head upstairs," Shi Feng said, nodding. He had long since known about Zhuo Linqiu''s arrival in the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center as well as the man''s purpose for visiting. He also knew about Han Yifeng''s determination to invest in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, with how successful Zero Wing currently was in God''s Domain, the temptation it held for Han Yifeng went without saying. Given these two things, it was obvious that Han Yifeng was waiting for an opportune moment to make Zero Wing an offer it could not refuse. Only, Zero Wing''s strength surpassed Han Yifeng''s expectations. Now, even Starlink could not make short work of Zero Wing and could only pursue a war of attrition. After today''s performance, it would be very normal for Han Yifeng to grow impatient and take action immediately. Shi Feng led Zhuo Linqiu to the top-floor reception room, leaving the training center''s matters to Xiao Yu, Fire Dance, and Bai Qingxue to manage. How is this possible?! Zhang Tianya gaped in shock at the respectful attitude Zhuo Linqiu showed Shi Feng. Zhang Tianya could tell that Bai Qingxue and Shi Feng''s relationship was not simple at all. Otherwise, Bai Qingxue wouldn''t have invited him to help the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. Previously, although Zhang Tianya felt that Shi Feng''s strength as a neutralizing grandmaster was indeed amazing, he did not consider himself inferior to Shi Feng. After all, he was still young. He was also one of Fenglin City''s top fighting prodigies. He still had plenty of room for improvement and a chance to become a neutralizing grandmaster himself in the future. Moreover, he also had the Zhang Clan Group behind him. Even though Shi Feng currently had his identity as a neutralizing grandmaster, he would still need at least a decade to develop the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center to a level that rivaled the Zhang Clan Group. Now, however, even Zhang Tianya''s sole redeeming feature appeared laughable. The only person capable of commanding Zhuo Linqiu to pay someone a personal visit was Han Yifeng, the heir of the Five States Corporation. This meant that Han Yifeng was trying to make contact with Shi Feng. If Shi Feng had Han Yifeng''s backing, then getting the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center to surpass the Zhang Clan Group would truly be a piece of cake. Inside the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s top-floor reception room... "Mister Zhuo, may I know what business you have with me?" Shi Feng asked as he sat down. "I am here to relay a message from my young master, Hall Master Shi. Starlink is not as simple as you think it is. Lu Xingluo is receiving guidance from someone higher. Sending Wang Zongquan to Heaven''s Rumble this time was merely a test. Once Lu Xingluo has a clear idea of the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, I''m afraid he and the person behind him will take serious action. My young master advises you to be extra careful against Lu Xingluo," Zhuo Linqiu said gravely. The strength Shi Feng displayed this time was indeed frightening. Even an existence like the Starline Corporation would not wish to provoke a neutralizing grandmaster casually. However, with Zero Wing standing in Starlink''s way and forming quite an enmity with Starlink, it did not matter even if the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center had the backing of a neutralizing grandmaster. The Starline Corporation still had plenty of ways to destroy the training center in secret. Moreover, even if the Starline Corporation couldn''t touch Shi Feng himself, it could still deal with the other members of Zero Wing. "Please give my thanks to Young Master Han for his reminder. I''ll make sure to be more careful from now on. If Young Master Han needs any help in God''s Domain, please feel free to seek out Zero Wing," Shi Feng said. He understood that Han Yifeng was trying to sell him a favor this time. Moreover, Han Yifeng was also finally treating him as a potential partner rather than another pawn or subordinate. "I will relay this to my young master. If there are no other matters, I will take my leave now," Zhuo Linqiu said as he stood up, showing no intention of staying even a moment longer. After Zhuo Linqiu left, Shi Feng sank into deep thought. Although his strength had already improved by a significant margin and many of the dangers he would normally have to worry about were no longer a concern, just like Han Yifeng said, the various major corporations were not as simple as they made themselves out to be. The Starline Corporation would have no difficulty dealing with both the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center and Zero Wing from the shadows. It seems I have to improve my strength quickly, nurture more experts, and develop my power in Fenglin City. Shi Feng understood that even though the Starline Corporation seemed helpless against the current Zero Wing, if it took covert action, Zero Wing would be helpless to do anything about it. The only way to avoid such an outcome was to increase Zero Wing''s status and influence in the real world. Afterward, Shi Feng took out one of the Life Potions, which Wang Zongquan had someone secretly deliver to him. He admired the icy-blue liquid contained inside the glass bottle, then popped the cap and drank the liquid. He needed to improve his own physique first, above all else. 2193 Life Potions Effects Chapter 2193 - Life Potion''s Effects The instant Shi Feng consumed the Life Potion, a cool sensation spread across his entire body. Shortly after, his body started heating up as if all its cells had just gained new life. Amazing. My injured muscles recovered significantly as soon as I drank it. With this, I''ll be completely healed in less than half an hour. Shi Feng was shocked to feel his injuries healing at a rapid pace. The injuries he sustained from overexerting his muscles had been severe and would have taken at least two or three days to fully recover even with the help of the most advanced medical facilities in the world. Now, however, he would need only half an hour to make a full recovery. The Life Potion''s effects were truly divine. Moreover, aside from it healing his injuries, Shi Feng could also sense it starting to invigorate and strengthen his body''s cells. By the time his body completely absorbed the Life Potion, his physical fitness would''ve definitely improved by quite a significant margin. It''s no wonder Life Potions sold for such ridiculous prices in the past. With my current condition, if I use this longterm, I''ll gain the physical fitness of an actual grandmaster within two months, Shi Feng thought to himself, a passionate flame burning in his eyes as he gazed at the five remaining bottles of Life Potion on the table. Recently, his physical fitness had hit a bottleneck. Despite a greater training load, his gains were negligible. He would have to train for a very long time to see any noticeable improvements. If he wished to improve his strength quickly, the only way to do so was by becoming a neutralizing grandmaster. Neutralizing grandmasters were known as such because their control over their bodies had already reached the acme of perfection. This was especially true for their control over their brains, which allowed grandmasters to accelerate their hormone production and metabolism, thereby further improving the body''s performance. Meanwhile, the Life Potion would help him break through this bottleneck and further improve his physical fitness by a significant margin. However, each bottle of Life Potion was effective for only six days. Even if he used all six bottles himself, they would last him only 36 days. He would need a few more bottles to reach the grandmaster standard. So long as his physical fitness was at the grandmaster standard, even if his control was still wanting, he would be able to exchange moves with a true neutralizing grandmaster. An hour later, seeing as it was close to six in the evening alreadywhich meant that daytime was approaching in God''s DomainShi Feng decided to make his way back to Zero Wing''s headquarters and further strengthen the headquarters'' security. Indeed, just like Zhuo Linqiu had said, it was very likely that Lu Xingluo had sent Wang Zongquan just to probe the situation on Zero Wing''s side. Once Lu Xingluo and the ones behind him were done with their investigation, they would most likely start taking action in secret. Hence, he needed to strengthen Zero Wing''s security measures and its core members. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to let Fire Dance and the others use the Life Potion as well. However, on second thought, he decided against it. Although the Life Potion was useful to everyone, using it on ordinary people and basic internal force experts was too much of a waste because the physical fitness of these people was still far from hitting a bottleneck. They had many other means to improve themselves rapidly. Moreover, through the experiment Shi Feng had conducted using Wang Zongquan, he had confirmed that one could improve one''s strength in the real world by reaching the Refinement Realm and Truth Realm in God''s Domain. By combining the principles of these two realms with his guidance and training, Fire Dance and the others could contend against internal force experts, even if they had yet to grasp internal force. If one possessed such combat standards in the real world, they could cope with many troublesome matters in the real world. Once he trained Zero Wing''s core members to an adequate level, all they needed to do was participate in various fighting competitions and achieve stunning results. Once that happened, the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s status and influence in Fenglin City would increase drastically, and the training center would become the true leader of the city''s fighting industry. At that time, even if Lu Xingluo wanted to, he would have great difficulty hindering Zero Wing''s operations in the city. Meanwhile, to achieve this goal of his, Shi Feng intended to prepare the Lost Town to receive more of Zero Wing''s members immediately instead of limiting access to just the Guild''s main force. Having more members reach the Truth Realm would greatly bolster Zero Wing''s strength and increase its ability to cope with the various superpowers of God''s Domain. After all, now that Stone Forest City was achieving such enormous success, the superpowers definitely wouldn''t just sit still and let it be. After Shi Feng finished updating the security measures in Zero Wing''s headquarters, he logged back into God''s Domain. When Shi Feng appeared back inside his special forging room in the Candlelight Trading Firm, he suddenly felt his mind was more unrestrained than before as if it had more scope for processing things now. So, this is the effect of the Life Potion? Shi Feng could not help but be surprised. With his current state, he felt that he could learn even a Silver Combat Technique. Previously, although he had obtained a Silver Legacy Stone Tablet, he had yet to use it even now because he already difficulty learning Bronze Combat Techniques, let alone Silver Combat Techniques. Even Domain Realm experts would have a very low likelihood of mastering one. The reason why this was the case wasn''t a deficiency in combat standards but two other issues. The first issue was an inadequate physique. Executing a Silver Combat Technique required a physique at the Tier 3 standard at minimum. The second issue was an insufficient brain capacity. Silver Combat Techniques were extremely complex. If one''s brain was not sufficiently active, it would not be able to process the complex actions required to execute the technique. Of course, this problem could be solved so long as one continuously improved their physique in God''s Domain. However, a Tier 2 physique was still far from the point where it could lower the mental difficulty of learning a Silver Combat Technique. During the time Shi Feng was researching the benefits of the Life Potion, Aqua Rose suddenly called him. "Guild Leader, I have two people here who say they want to meet you," Aqua Rose said. "Both of them are here on someone else''s behalf. They say it''s related to an agreement you have with the Midnight Tea Party''s vice commander, Endless Scars." "Endless Scars?" Nodding, Shi Feng said, "Alright, I''ll head over right away." Endless Scars had previously sought his help with a matter, and he had agreed to help her out in his personal capacity. However, there had been no word from her after that, so he had gotten the impression that the woman had already forgotten about their agreement. He never thought that she would contact him now. However, an agreement was an agreement. Since Endless Scars had sent someone to contact him, he naturally had to go meet with these representatives. He took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported back to the White River City Guild Residence. Inside the top-floor reception room of Zero Wing''s Residence in White River City... Aside from Aqua Rose, there were currently two other peoplea man and a womanin the reception room. Both looked to be around 30 years old. Although the man had a gaunt frame, he gave the impression of a wild wolf; the aura he radiated was sharp and unruly in nature. As for the woman, her appearance was not the slightest bit inferior to Aqua Rose''s, only more mature. She also radiated the aura of a predator. "Burning, what do you think is going through Scars''s mind? She''s actually wasting a slot on Black Flame," the other woman in the room asked the man sitting beside her, her eyes filled with confusion. "Although Black Flame has indeed reached the Domain Realm, our task isn''t something that can be accomplished with just superior combat standards. In my opinion, Black Flame isn''t comparable even to Lie Jia." "I don''t know, but the slot belongs to Scars. How she decides to use it is beyond my control. If we find out that Black Flame really isn''t good enough, it won''t be too late to replace him with someone else," the man named Burning Sea replied, smiling as he shook his head. While the two were conversing in private, Shi Feng had entered the room. The instant Shi Feng entered, the pair started scrutinizing him. Similarly, Shi Feng studied the duo. Who are these two people? Shi Feng was surprised when he inspected the duo using Omniscient Eyes. The man was a Level 72 Berserker named Burning Sea, and he had five pieces of Epic Equipment on him. As for the woman, she was a Level 72 Cleric named Frozen Gem. Although she sported only three pieces of Epic Equipment, the quality of her staff was indiscernible even with Omniscient Eyes. The equipment standards of these two players were undoubtedly among the best available in God''s Domain right now. Ordinary peak experts definitely were no match for them. Moreover, both players actually radiated an aura that was much more intense than that of a Great Lord. They also gave Shi Feng a strong sense of danger. However, Shi Feng couldn''t pinpoint the source of that danger. "You''re Black Flame?" Burning Sea asked in a questioning tone. "That''s right," Shi Feng answered, nodding. "May I know what business Scars has sent you two over for?" "Good! In that case, let me see whether you are qualified or not!" Upon receiving a positive answer from Shi Feng, Burning Sea immediately unsheathed the greatsword slung on his back and sent a sword light slashing at him. In the next moment, the sword light split into 12 copies of itself, each copy seemingly having a life of its own as they cut at Shi Feng from 12 different directions. Moreover, each sword light carried Strength rivaling that of a Great Lord of the same level. All 12 sword lights attacked together like 12 Great Lord ranked wolves pouncing on him simultaneously. Even Domain Realm experts might not be able to replicate Burning Sea''s proficiency in combining a combat technique and a Skill. 2194 Spiritualization Realm Chapter 2194 - Spiritualization Realm Although Burning Sea was a Tier 2 Berserker, his attacks were faster than even that of Tier 2 Assassins. As if they had a life of their own, the 12 sword lights locked down Shi Feng, leaving him no room to dodge at all. How merciless. Frozen Gem was surprised by Burning Sea''s attack. She had never thought that he would be even more ruthless than herself. The combat technique Burning Sea was using was an Advanced Combat Technique called Wolfpack and was his trademark move. When he combined it with the Tier 2 Skill Chaotic Flash, even Domain Realm experts would have an extremely difficult time coping with this move. After all, this was not a move that could be seen through and blocked easily. If Shi Feng wished to retreat unscathed in this cramped space, he would have to use a Lifesaving Skill. Otherwise, if even one of the sword lights hit, Burning Sea would be able to capitalize on the situation and follow up with a series of moves, giving Shi Feng no room to breathe at all. Against such an assault, even Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights would fall quickly. However, contrary to Frozen Gem''s and Burning Sea''s expectations, Shi Feng did not activate a Lifesaving Skill despite the imminent arrival of the 12 sword lights. Instead, he brandished his two swords and met the 12 sword lights in battle. Sword''s Orbit! The Sword''s Orbit that Shi Feng was executing was markedly different from before. Now, the technique looked much plainer and simpler. He also executed only a handful of slashes. Even so, these few slashes created a seemingly airtight defense around him, as all 12 sword lights had their attack trajectories twisted by an invisible force in the next moment. Like a pack of hungry wolves that stumbled across a mighty lion, the 12 sword lights took the initiative to detour around the Swordsman. "Spiritualization! His technique usage has already reached such a standard?" Frozen Gem exclaimed when she saw Shi Feng smoothly and effortlessly neutralizing Burning Sea''s attacks. Meanwhile, when Burning Sea saw this scene, he promptly halted his offensive and quietly eyed Shi Feng as if he had just found some kind of treasure. "Amazing! I never thought that you''d already be in the Spiritualization Realm! No wonder Scars wants to give her last slot to you!" Burning Sea raved in excitement. While Burning Sea was talking, Aqua Rose had completed the incantation for her Spell and was about to attack Burning Sea. However, Shi Feng stopped her midway, then calmly asked, "May I know what you two are doing here? Also, what is this Spiritualization Realm you mentioned?" Shi Feng was aware that Burning Sea''s attack was some sort of test for him. This was obvious from how Burning Sea had stopped attacking as soon as Shi Feng neutralized the Berserker''s first move. As for the Spiritualization Realm the two spoke of, this was Shi Feng''s first time to hear about such a thing. "Sorry, sorry! We are inviting you to help us with a very important mission. We cannot afford any carelessness on this mission, so we needed to test you. Still, I never thought you would be this powerful. As expected of the person Scars views favorably," Burning Sea apologized sincerely. "As for the Spiritualization Realm, it is a realm referring to the usage standard of combat techniques, which we discovered in God''s Domain. Of course, this is only a name we coined ourselves. As for what it is actually called, we aren''t very sure, either." "I see." Realization immediately dawned upon Shi Feng when he heard Burning Sea''s words. "May I know what Scars is asking me to do?" The only realm he could think of that could be found in God''s Domain was the Realms of Truth. Apparently, Burning Sea''s group had yet to come into contact with NPCs knowledgeable about the Realms of Truth or find any related information; hence, they were referring to the Realms of Truth using a name of their own. It was also no wonder Shi Feng felt that Burning Sea''s Wolfpack was special. The Berserker''s execution of Wolfpack was completely different from the average combat technique; he had obviously applied the principles of the Realms of Truth. However, when Shi Feng thought about how other people had also come into contact with the Realms of Truth and had even achieved a certain amount of success in them, he was still surprised. Burning Sea, in particular, had clearly entered the Truth Realm already. This definitely wasn''t good news to Shi Feng. Now that other people were exploring the Realms of Truth, Zero Wing''s advantages would undoubtedly decrease considerably. The only thing worth celebrating now was that Zero Wing had a systematic training system for the Realms of Truth, whereas other people would have to slowly explore and master the Realms of Truth on their own. "We discovered a mysterious secret land in the Sea of Death, and we wish to raid it. Only, that place is very special: tools cannot be used there, and everyone is suppressed to Tier 0. We can use only the most basic Skills and Spells. Moreover, entering and leaving the secret land are extremely difficult. Contact with the outside world is also impossible. We have gone through great lengths to obtain the entry slots for this secret land, so we need the help of experts like yourself to secure the treasures there," Frozen Gem explained. In a situation where tools could not be used and Skills and Spells were heavily suppressed, players could rely only on their own combat standards to fight inside the secret land. A mysterious secret land in the Sea of Death? Shi Feng concealed his surprise at Frozen Gem''s words. Could they be talking about one of the Thunder God''s Secret Lands? The Sea of Death was considered a forbidden land for players because the Sea of Death was where the Thunder God had perished. The Thunder God had set up plenty of secret lands in the Sea of Death, every one of which contained a considerable number of treasures. There were even Fragmented Legendary items and Peak Legacies in some of these secret lands. In the past, players had gradually discovered the Thunder God''s Secret Lands after Level 80. The various powers then frantically explored these secret lands. Since these secret lands were one of the first few places where players started encountering Fragmented Legendary items, the intensity of the competition over these secret lands was obvious. However, the Thunder God''s Secret Lands were located in another space, making them impossible to enter and leave through normal means. There were several ways to enter these secret lands, and one of the most reliable ways was by obtaining special quest items that were dropped only by Level 70-plus sea monsters in the Sea of Death and then completing the quest these items provided. Another method was by obtaining the entry pass through killing special sea monsters. However, these special sea monsters did not appear in specific locations. Even if a first-rate Guild went all-out in search of these special sea monsters, they might not necessarily find one. The last method was by obtaining the guidance of the Thunder God''s Legacy and then completing a series of quests, which would then allow one to enter the Thunder God''s Secret Lands. Shi Feng had never imagined that Endless Scars would be lucky enough to be able to enter one of the Thunder God''s Secret Lands now. "Alright, but I want priority selection over one of the dropped items," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. He naturally couldn''t provide his help for free. There were far too many excellent items inside the Thunder God''s Secret Lands. Every item in these secret lands was a treasure that could help improve a player''s strength significantly. However, these were not the things Shi Feng was aiming for. Currently, the various superpowers were keeping a close eye on Zero Wing. So long as these superpowers spotted an opportunity, they would surely strike at the Guild. Moreover, even with the advantages Stone Forest City provided, Zero Wing was only capable of keeping itself alive but not contending against these superpowers. If Zero Wing wished to face the various superpowers in a frontal confrontation, the Guild itself needed to grow stronger. Now that Zero Wing had a stable supply of internal members, it was only a matter of time before the Guild gained a new batch of experts. The only problem now was that these new experts would be very underleveled and would not be able to exhibit their full strength. Although the veteran experts of the Guild normally helped the Guild''s low-leveled experts level up, these low-leveled experts would still take a long time to catch up to the frontline experts. Meanwhile, there was one item available inside the Thunder God''s Secret Lands that could help players level up quickly. It was also something that countless powers had sought to obtain in the past. The Guild Alchemy Workshop Design! The Guild Alchemy Workshop was an Advanced Construction that allowed the production of potions exclusive to Guilds, such as the Experience Potion. Guild members could purchase up to two Experience Potions from the workshop every day. Moreover, only players that were at least five levels lower than the average level of frontline players could purchase and use this potion. This potion was a miracle drug that enabled new players to catch up to frontline players quickly. However, the Guild Alchemy Workshop Design was extremely rare. It dropped in only a select few secret lands and special Team Dungeonsincluding the Thunder Gods Secret Lands. "This..." Hesitating, Burning Sea said, "We''ll have to discuss this with our team leader. After all, this is something that concerns the entire team. The two of us don''t have the power to decide on this." "That won''t be a problem." Shi Feng nodded in understanding. Burning Sea and Frozen Gem then went offline. By the looks of it, they were going to contact their team leader through the real world. After a short delay, Burning Sea and Frozen Gem came back online. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''m afraid we cannot agree to your request," Frozen Gem said resolutely. 2195 Nameless Team Chapter 2195 - Nameless Team "Although you are an expert Scars has invited, there are still nine other people in the team. Every one of them is an expert as well. If we give you priority in choosing the loot, it will not be fair to the other experts. Moreover, we are only working on commission. We won''t be distributing the loot we obtain," Burning Sea explained. "Hence, our team leader has rejected your suggestion. Of course, the remuneration we are offering for your help definitely won''t disappoint you, Guild Leader Black Flame. "Our team leader knows that Zero Wing has recently recruited a lot of new people in the real world and is also being targeted by Starlink, so it should be fast-tracking a batch of experts through the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. Our team leader is willing to pay you 30 S-rank Nutrient Fluids." "Thirty S-rank Nutrient Fluids?" Aqua Rose could not help being moved by Burning Sea''s words. She was no longer an ordinary Guild Elder who was ignorant about the world. Instead, she was part of Zero Wing''s core upper echelon and knew just how valuable S-rank Nutrient Fluids were. Originally, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were used only by fighting experts to recover quickly from a heavy injury. However, S-rank Nutrient Fluids'' utility wasn''t limited to healing injuries. If consumed after fighting an intense battle in God''s Domain, S-rank Nutrient Fluids aided in the development of one''s brain capacity by providing the necessary nutrients. This was something Aqua Rose had personally experienced before. In fact, her consumption of S-rank Nutrient Fluids was a major factor behind the rapid improvement of her combat standards. Moreover, aside from herself, others such as Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Cola, Shadow Sword, Alluring Summer, and Silent Blade also had similar experiences. However, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were extremely difficult to come by even if one had the money to purchase them. After making use of both Aqua Rose''s and Gentle Snow''s connections, Zero Wing had managed to secure only an additional dozen or so bottles. Since then, the Guild had used up all its S-rank Nutrient Fluids, including the ones the White Tiger Dojo provided. As a result, the rate of improvement of Zero Wing''s core upper echelons had recently been gradually decreasing. If Zero Wing could secure an additional 30 S-rank Nutrient Fluids, combined with the training slots Unyielding Soul provided, Aqua Rose was confident that at least she and Gentle Snow could reach the Flowing Water Realm within half a month, instantly increasing the number of Flowing Water Realm experts Zero Wing had by a large margin. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this is the greatest sincerity we can offer. May I know what you think of this?" Frozen Gem asked. It was not easy to find a spiritualized expert. Even experts like Burning Sea and herself had managed to reach the Spiritualization Realm just recently. Now that she knew that Shi Feng was a spiritualized expert, she naturally wanted to rope him in. However, at the end of the day, this team of theirs was established by their team leader, who wanted to secure the item inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land no matter what, and he was unwilling to give others a share of it. This was something beyond her control. Nevertheless, the price of 30 S-rank Nutrient Fluids could be considered extremely high. Even hiring a Super Guild''s old monster would not require such a price. However, doing so would also expose the Thunder God''s Secret Land''s existence to the various Super Guilds, something they definitely didn''t want to happen. Of course, if Shi Feng refused to help, then they would have no choice but to seek the help of those Super Guilds'' old monsters. After all, once they secured the item inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land, they wouldn''t really care whether those Super Guilds entered the secret land or not. "What an irresistible offer. Alright, I agree," Shi Feng said, nodding while revealing a bitter smile. At the same time, Shi Feng also grew curious about the team leader Burning Sea and Frozen Gem mentioned. This team leader was truly generous to be able to offer 30 S-rank Nutrient Fluids as remuneration. Moreover, this person''s information network was very powerful. Shi Feng had just resolved the problem at the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, yet this person already knew about the troubles he faced and what he needed most right now. As for the Guild Alchemy Workshop Design, Shi Feng had no choice but to think of another way to obtain it. Not to mention, the design didn''t have a 100% drop-rate. His request before was merely for insurance. Afterward, Shi Feng signed a contract with Burning Sea. If the mission was a success, he would receive 30 S-rank Nutrient Fluids as payment. In the event of failure, he would still receive ten bottles. After confirming that the contract was signed, Burning Sea took out a crystal that crackled with electricity. Golden divine runes were carved all over the crystal. The crystal itself gave off a faint trace of Divine Might. In the next moment, Burning Sea threw the crystal to the floor. Suddenly, the space within the reception room started trembling violently. A moment later, a black hole the size of an adult male opened up inside the room. "Here''s your entry pass. Let''s go," Burning Sea said as he took out a token made of Magic Crystal and handed it to Shi Feng. He then took the lead and walked into the black hole. Once Shi Feng accepted the entry pass, he followed Burning Sea into the black hole, leaving Zero Wing''s affairs to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow to handle. After Shi Feng entered the black hole, his vision turned black. When he could see again, he found himself in a desolate wasteland filled with electricity and flames. The wasteland was endless. From time to time, horrific lightning bolts would strike the ground, creating huge craters. Occasionally, towering pillars of fire would rise from the ground. The scenery here was the epitome of Armageddon. Be it the lightning strikes or fire pillars, even an ordinary person could tell that, so long as they were struck by these things, they would definitely lose their lives. At this moment, however, a large number of Demonic Creatures was actually roaming this wasteland. These Demonic Creatures were all Level 70 or above, and even the weakest among them was at the Lord rank, with many of them being Great Lords and Grand Lords. Moreover, the instant Shi Feng stepped into this wasteland, his tier was suppressed to Tier 0. This wasteland was undoubtedly a forbidden land for players. If an ordinary expert were to come here, they would most likely lose hope immediately. After all, if a player''s tier dropped to zero, the effectiveness of their Skills and Spells would fall drastically. Their Basic Attributes and physique would decrease as well. Under these circumstances, ordinary expert players would have difficulty fighting even Special Elite ranked monsters of the same level, let alone Lords and Great Lords. This would be akin to tossing an ordinary player into a Team Dungeon filled with Boss monsters. "The new guy''s here?" "Now that everyone''s here, we can start advancing." At this moment, several voices came from a short distance behind Shi Feng. Turning around, Shi Feng noticed seven people sitting on a gravel pile and resting. The group consisted of both young and old, male and female. Even the lowest-leveled player in this group of seven was Level 72. Moreover, their equipment standard was not the slightest bit lower than Burning Sea''s. Endless Scars sat among this group of seven. Only, the current Endless Scars was a lot different from the last time Shi Feng met her. Now, not only had her weapon and equipment undergone a massive improvement, but even the aura she exuded had transformed significantly. As if she were a Demon that had just walked out of the abyss, her aura was filled with coldness and madness, entirely different from her calm and cheerful aura from before. When Endless Scars saw Shi Feng, she simply greeted him with a nod. "Hello, I am the leader of this expedition team, Samsara," a white-haired man who appeared to be in his 30s said as he approached Shi Feng. The white-haired man gave off a friendly vibe; Shi Feng did not feel uncomfortable in the slightest while in the man''s presence. However, the white-haired man was actually the highest-leveled player present, having already reached Level 73. He could already rival Fire Dance, who was currently grinding relentlessly in the Bottomless Abyss, in terms of levels. As for the equipment the man wore, even the weakest piece was Level 70 Dark-Gold rank. In addition, he also sported six pieces of Epic Equipment. The shield and one-handed axe he carried were also of indiscernible rank. However, even though Omniscient Eyes could not discern the rank of the white-haired man''s shield and axe, Shi Feng recognized them because they had been extremely famous in his previous life. They were a set of Magic Weapons called the Purple Thunder Set. The set''s overall performance was much better than that of individual Magic Weapons. "Hello." Shi Feng nodded as he looked at Samsara, his mind filled with confusion. His confusion was because he had never heard of the name Samsara in his previous life. Moreover, the Purple Thunder Set''s owner should be a Tier 5 female Guardian Knight, and the Purple Thunder Set had never changed owners, as far as he knew. The female Guardian Knight had relied on this Magic Weapon Set to rise to fame in God''s Domain. "Our mission this time is to reach the Thunder Temple in the deeper area of this plain. You''ve seen the situation here for yourself already. Since you''re a Swordsman, you and Happy Art will be responsible for the healer''s safety as well as supporting the others in the team. Do you have any problems with this arrangement?" Samsara asked as he pointed at a female Shield Warrior with a beautiful appearance and a magnificent body. At this time, Shi Feng was only one level away from the Level 80 threshold. Currently, however, he had disguised himself as a Level 72 Swordsman, a very standard level in this team. As for his equipment standard, he had matched it to the equipment standard of current apex experts. Anyone using an Identification Skill on him now would find that he was wearing five pieces of Epic Equipment, with the rest being Level 70 Dark-Gold Equipment. Unless someone in the team could see through the concealment ability of his Fragmented Legendary ranked Nightwalker''s Cape, they would see only this information and nothing more. "That''s fine." Shi Feng nodded. In such a poor environment, fights would undoubtedly be drawn-out and challenging. Hence, the healer could be said to be the backbone of the team. If the healer died, the team would not be able to advance at all. Moreover, the poor environment here had a much greater effect on magical-class players, as their Lifesaving Skills would be much less effective than usual. Hence, prioritizing the protection of the healer was indeed the best decision. "Since there are no problems, everyone, let''s move according to the original plan," Samsara said to the others in the team. Upon hearing Samsara''s command, everyone quickly fell into formation. The Guardian Knight Samsara took the lead while Burning Sea and Endless Scars supported him from the sides. The Assassin and Ranger of the team went to lure monsters over. As for Shi Feng and the Shield Warrior Happy Art, they flanked Frozen Gem, who was the team''s healer. "New guy, the monsters here are very powerful. Run to me if you find yourself unable to hold on," Happy Art said as she clapped Shi Feng''s shoulder in a friendly manner. "Alright, I''ll be troubling you at that time," Shi Feng responded. Shi Feng could tell that this beautiful Shield Warrior was very powerful. Her strength was most likely on par with Burning Sea. She would be treated as a genius even in Super Guilds, although he had never heard of the name Happy Art in both his past and current lives. As a Shield Warrior, she would be much better at tanking monsters than a Swordsman like himself. Since the other party was showing him goodwill, he naturally wouldn''t reject it. After Samsara finished making sure everyone knew what they needed to do later, he led the team deeper into the desolate wasteland. 2196 Monstrous Strength Chapter 2196 - Monstrous Strength Lightning bombarded the desolate wasteland. Even expert players, if they weren''t careful, would be struck and turned to ash. However, Samsara and the others advanced through the wasteland as if the lightning didn''t exist at all. Only the swarming Demonic Creatures gave them any trouble. [Thunder Tiger] (Demonic Creature, Lord) Level 76 HP 36,000,000/36,000,000 [Hell Python] (Demonic Creature, Great Lord) Level 77 HP 63,000,000/63,000,000 Even under normal circumstances, these Demonic Creatures were already tough opponents, but in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, where players'' tiers were reduced to zero, these monsters were even more of a challenge. These monsters attacked in groups of 20 or more and could easily annihilate a 100-man team of ordinary experts. "Everyone, get ready! Old Locust and Formless, lure some of the monsters away. Everyone else, follow the plan!" Samsara calmly directed his team as he watched the approaching Demonic Creatures. "Leave it to this old man!" the elderly Assassin named Maple Locust declared as he charged forth. Meanwhile, the young Ranger, Formless Arrow, freed his bow and fervently fired his arrows. He released 36 arrows, hitting 18 three-meter-tall Thunder Tigers, in the blink of an eye. Moreover, every arrow found its target in the Thunder Tiger''s eyes, blinding the Demonic Creatures even if they didn''t cause any substantial damage. Unable to see their prey, the Thunder Tigers halted their advance and swung their heads in confusion. Maple Locust made his way to the group of Demonic Creatures and used a Smoke Bomb, obscuring the area with smoke. The smoke drastically limited visibility in the area, and the Thunder Tigers were not immune to its effects. Meanwhile, Maple Locust quickly located the seven Demonic Creatures he hadn''t blinded and threw his daggers, each dealing over -6,000 damage. His damage was overwhelmingly low for a Tier 2 expert. The two Hell Pythons and five Thunder Tigers bellowed with fury as the daggers found their marks. Enraged, they charged through the smokescreen and pounced on the Assassin. Even ordinary Tier 2 experts would likely die instantly under an assault from two Great Lords and five Lords, but Maple Locust had predicted these attacks and dodged the Thunder Tigers'' strikes. Although he failed to dodge the Hell Pythons'' attacks, his timing with Wind Steps was perfect, and using the Skill''s brief invulnerability to block the Great Lords'' attacks, he used the impact to pull more than a dozen yards away from the Demonic Creatures. The techniques Maple Locust and Formless Arrow displayed were frighteningly impressive. Their timing and use of their surroundings were amazing. Even peak experts would be shocked to see it. After all, both players were currently Tier 0, not Tier 2. The Assassin quickly lured the seven Demonic Creatures through the smokescreen and toward the team. Seeing this, Samsara, Burning Sea, and Endless Scars promptly aggroed the two Hell Pythons, with Samsara and Burning Sea working together against one, while Endless Scars pinned down the other by herself. The Shield Warrior, Happy Art, aggroed three of the remaining Thunder Tigers, and Shi Feng worked with Heartless Sword against the last two. Maple Locust and Formless Arrow then got to work, luring the other 18 Thunder Tigers away from the team. All of these players wore the best equipment available in the game right now, and although their tiers had been suppressed, their Basic Attributes rivaled ordinary Tier 2 players of the same level. Hence, they had no trouble pinning down a Level 76 Lord. However, whether or not they killed the Lord would depend on their individual standards. The tier suppression in the Thunder God''s Secret Land also affected players'' Skills and Spells. As a result, players would not deal a lot of damage within the secret land. If players wished to increase their damage against these monsters, they had to maximize their efficiency with their combat standards, Skills, and Spells. As the team fought, each member skillfully combined their combat techniques with their Skills and Spells. The power they exhibited was far beyond what ordinary Skills and Spells were capable of, and they didn''t waste a single hit as every attack struck the Demonic Creatures. As a result, the Demonic Creatures'' HP continuously decreased. The team''s overall DPS was only slightly less than that of ordinary Tier 2 experts. Who are these people? Shi Feng watched his teammates fight, shocked. Could this be the butterfly effect? The fact that five of his nine teammates were Domain Realm experts was already surprising, but the fact that these nine players had reached the Truth Realm was even more frightening. However, aside from Endless Scars, Shi Feng had never heard of these experts. While Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild in the past, he hadn''t exactly had access to a lot of information, but he had enjoyed greater access than ordinary players. Any expert capable of reaching the Domain Realm had been an apex powerhouse in God''s Domain, able to reach Tier 5 at the very least. However, Samsara and these others'' names hadn''t been among the Tier 5 and 6 players he had known about. Of course, Shi Feng may find his teammates'' performances surprising, but he didn''t fall behind in this fight. Shi Feng''s tier had been reduced to zero as well, but his Basic Attributes could still rival current peak experts. Including the fact that he was a Level 79 player, he easily suppressed the Thunder Tiger before him. As he fought, damages ranging from -30,000 to -50,000 began to appear above the Thunder Tiger''s head, one after another. "How is his Strength so high?" Happy Art''s eyes widened in shock when she saw the damages appear above the Demonic Creatures. Even Endless Scars, the team''s strongest player, and her Strength was on par with the Thunder Tiger''s. Knowing the woman''s combat standards, this was why Samsara had her pin down one of the Great Lord ranked Hell Pythons by herself, keeping it busy. However, Shi Feng literally pinned the Thunder Tiger he faced to the ground... "We found a diamond in the rough!" Maple Locust, who kited a group of Thunder Tigers, could not help but comment when he saw Shi Feng. "With this kid, we''ll reach the Thunder Temple much sooner than anticipated." "That''s right. We really owe Scars for this. It''ll also be much easier to clear out these monsters," Samsara chimed in, nodding happily. The monster they had to deal with on the way was the most challenging aspect of reaching the Thunder Temple. Having a team member with such high Attributes would undoubtedly relieve some of the pressure they had to face and significantly increase the team''s survivability. Endless Scars only nodded in response to Samsara''s praise, but even she was surprised to see Shi Feng handle his monster so easily. Shi Feng''s extraordinary Basic Attributes were precisely the reason that she had chosen him to help with this mission, but she hadn''t expected his Attributes to be this high. She had drastically improved since they had last seen each other, replacing almost all of her previous equipment. She had also encountered a few fortuitous opportunities. Now, the power of her Spells could easily overwhelm ordinary Berserkers. And yet, Shi Feng still surpassed her. It was unbelievable. Seeing the Swordsman''s powerful Attributes also changed Samsara''s attitude towards the boy. He stopped treating Shi Feng like a simple mercenary. Instead, he entertained the fleeting thought of recruiting this Swordsman into his team. Meanwhile, the team advanced far faster than their last visit due to Shi Feng''s contributions. After three days of fighting and resting, these players finally arrived before a magnificent temple. The temple was ten meters tall, with a total of three floors. The very building radiated Divine Might that kept monsters at bay, creating a natural haven. Every member of the team had leveled up once after defeating higher-tiered monsters. Now, Shi Feng was only 9% away from reaching Level 80. However, Shi Feng detected several dozen sources of killing intent as the team approached the Thunder Temple. "Players?" Shi Feng mumbled as he spotted several dozen people exit the temple. Entering a Thunder God''s Secret Land was not an easy task, especially for current players. Shi Feng had already been surprised to learn that Samsara''s group had entered one, yet they encountered other people in this secret land, as well. Moreover, Shi Feng found a familiar face among this group. Hidden Soul, the player known as ''Pride'' in the Flower of Seven Sins! "You''re late, Samsara. Unfortunately, the Flower of Seven Sins has claimed this Thunder Temple!" a keen-witted man in his 40s said. Smiling at Samsara, he continued, "Hand over the Thunder God''s Secret Key, and I won''t hold you accountable for your previous transgressions!" "Supreme Sky?! Crap! Everyone, retreat!" Samsara shouted, paling when he saw the middle-aged man. "It''s too late! Activate the array!" the man named Supreme Sky barked with a scornful expression. Immediately, over 20 Tier 2 Assassins appeared around Samsara''s team. They exploded into scattering blood mist. Despite the fact that players couldn''t use tools in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, this strange blood mist formed a magic array that enveloped the Thunder Temple and the players around it. 2197 Reckless Chapter 2197 - Reckless The instant the blood-red magic array formed around the Thunder Temple, Samsara''s team lost 20% of their Basic Attributes. A Blood Magic Seal! Samsara''s expression darkened further when he saw the blood-red magic array that had manifested above the Thunder Temple. The Blood Magic Seal wasn''t a magic tool, but a special Spell that players could learn. The Flower of Seven Sins had acquired its Skill Book in an ancient demonic ruin. Unlike normal Spells players could learn, the Blood Magic Seal didn''t have a tier requirement. To cast, it required a minimum of six players, and the moment they cast the Spell, they''d sacrifice themselves to the Demon God to create the sealing magic array. The strength of the sealing array was relative to the number of sacrifices made. The more players that sacrificed themselves, the stronger the magic array would become. With the minimum six players, the magic array would be powerful enough to trap a Great Lord. Since the Flower of Seven Sins'' team had sacrificed more than 20 players to cast the Spell, not even a Mythic monster could break out. "Why should we fear them, Leader? They may outnumber us, but we''re no pushovers!" Happy Art said. Every member of their team was even stronger than God''s Domain''s peak experts. Even the various superpowers would fear them. Now, without the sacrificial Assassins, the enemy team only had a little over 30 players. Even under the magic array''s suppression and facing the Flower of Seven Sins'' experts, their team shouldn''t have any issue killing these people. They didn''t need to flee. "Art, the situation is not as simple as you assume. These people are the Flower of Seven Sins'' cadre. Even the weakest of them can rival peak experts," Frozen Gem explained as she stared down their enemies. "Moreover, their leader is Supreme Sky, one of the Flowers'' seven commanders!" She wouldn''t have paid their opponent any mind if they were facing another superpower''s expert team, even a 100- man team, but these weren''t some random nobodies. Every one of them was just as strong as she was. "One of the Flower of Seven Sins''s commanders?" Happy Art felt a chill crawl down her spine, and her expression changed. She was not some ignorant player. In fact, she had far more access to information than superpowers'' peak experts. She was, after all, one of the top prodigies the Super Guild, Thirteen Thrones had nurtured. Thirteen Thrones was even stronger than Battle Wolves, and it had far more information than most superpowers. The Flower of Seven Sins, however, was a transcendental assassin organization. Countless experts worked for the organization, and its inner structure was a mystery. Even until now, the various Super Guilds knew very little about the Flower of Seven Sins. They didn''t even know how many cadres worked for the organization. Information about the Flowers of Seven Sins'' seven commanders, who held the most power within the organization, was scarce. Most players only knew the identities of three commanders, all of which possessed unfathomable strength. Even the various Super Guilds'' old monsters feared them. With Happy Art''s current strength, she would be fortunate if she could last two or three moves against one of these commanders. Happy Art had never realized that Supreme Sky was one of these seven commanders... "I already told you that you can''t get away from me, Samsara. Now, are you going to hand the key over willingly, or must I take it from you?" Supreme Sky asked. "What''s the point of wasting your words on them, Brother Sky? Let''s just kill them and take everything they have," a Level 74 male Berserker beside Supreme Sky said, licking his lips greedily as he watched Samsara''s group. The Berserker wore a set of white-bone armor and carried two dark-blue greatswords across his back. "That''s right. They''re merely a bunch of reckless fools. Since they have designs on what belongs to the Flower of Seven Sins, we need to teach them a lesson," a Level 74 female Elementalist wielding an icy-blue staff commented indifferently. The pressure Samsara and his team felt doubled when these two players had spoken, and their expressions had darkened even further. Both players were members of the Flower''s senior cadre. The man was called Sand Bones, and he was both extremely strong and talented. Recently, he had single-handedly killed a heavily guarded upper echelon from a Super Guild, as well as two Domain Realm experts. The woman was Diverging Phoenix. Although she rarely took action, she had once killed a superpower''s 100-man team. Moreover, the team''s leader had been a Domain Realm expert. Although the superpower in question tried to avenge their fallen members, dispatching multiple 1,000-man teams to hunt this woman down, it had only suffered, never accomplishing anything. In the end, the superpower had been forced to give up its pursuit. Both players were deadly when they operated alone, but if they cooperated, they''d be an absolute nightmare. "I''ll give you the Thunder God''s Secret Key, but you have to promise to let these people leave. They have nothing to do with this," Samsara said. As he gazed at the 30-plus experts behind Supreme Sky, he knew that he would not escape them today. He wasn''t optimistic about their chances if they stood their ground and fought Supreme Sky''s team, either. Furthermore, the Thunder God''s Secret Key had a 20% to 30% chance of dropping if he died, and with the Flower of Seven Sins'' capabilities, they could likely increase that drop-rate. Rather than risk losing everything, he should cut their losses. "Leader?" Burning Sea gave Samsara an anxious look. Burning Sea knew just how much time and resources Samsara had invested into obtaining the Thunder God''s Secret Key, which had the potential of leading them to an Ancient God''s Legacy and treasures. However, Samsara was willing to give all of that up to someone else. "Since you''re willing to hand over the key, I can let them off the hook, but each of them must offer two Epic items, first," Supreme Sky agreed as he eyed Burning Sea and the others, his voice clearly hinting that there was no room for negotiation. Hearing this, Samsara and his teammates frowned. Even the various superpowers valued Epic items, and handing over two such items was akin to halving their combat power. "This is daylight robbery, Supreme Sun! Even if we die, we''ll, at most, lose one Epic Equipment! We might as well fight if you''re demanding such a high price! You won''t get off so easily, either! I am one of Thirteen Throne''s internal core members, and the Guild won''t let this matter rest!" Happy Art denounced. Although the Flower of Seven Sins had a numerical advantage, she and her teammates were no weaklings. If they were going to suffer so grievously regardless of what choice they made, they might as well take some of these players down with them. Furthermore, if they died, they''d only lose one piece of Epic Equipment each. They might only lose a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment if they were lucky. The moment Happy Art finished speaking, Endless Scars and the others, who were familiar with the Flower of Seven Sins, inwardly shook their heads and frowned. At the end of the day, Happy Art was still too young. She had been protected by her Super Guild, so she wasn''t aware of the Flower of Seven Sins'' true power. Trapped within this seal, the Flower of Seven Sins'' members likely had a way to resurrect them. If they truly fought these players, they''d likely at least die twice. Moreover, each death would incur a more severe penalty than normal. "Is that so? Then, why don''t we put your conviction to the test?!" Supreme Sky said, laughing at Happy Art. 2198 Black Flame Takes Action Chapter 2198 - Black Flame Takes Action The Flower of Seven Sins'' members unsheathed their weapons, and the killing intent they radiated skyrocketed. Even Happy Art paled as their powerful auras washed over her. These players had intentionally suppressed their auras previously, so Happy Art hadn''t realized what was so special about them, but now, she knew that every one of them was a threat to her life. She couldn''t even imagine what kind of combat power all 30-plus players could display if they attacked together. You aim for mutual destruction? With just the 10 of you?" Sand Bone laughed at Happy Art. "Brother Sky was doing you a favor by letting you offer two Epic items, yet you don''t know how to cherish such a thing! Not even all of the old monsters in your Thirteen Thrones would dare utter a word before Brother Sky!" Samsara and his team did nothing to refute Sand Bone''s arrogant claim. What Sand Bone had said was indeed true. Although Thirteen Thrones was a veteran Super Guild, and its old monsters were amazing, they were nothing compared to Supreme Sky and the Flower of Seven Sins. Even if Supreme Sky killed its Guild Leader, Thirteen Thrones could do nothing but endure, much less if he killed a budding prodigy like Happy Art. Only the top five Super Guilds had any hope of picking a fight with the Flower of Seven Sins. "Samsara, the young lady on your team is quite interesting to be brave enough to challenge me," Supreme Sky said. However, he did not issue the order to attack. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward Happy Art and laughed, saying, "It''s been many years since I''ve faced such a situation. It really makes me feel nostalgic. Let''s forget about the two Epic items. Each of you can hand over a single Epic item and leave, but as for the little girl, she''ll have to give me four items!" You...!11 Happy Art could feel rage boil within her. Supreme Sky was clearly toying with her. "Don''t involve others in your vendetta with me, Supreme Sky! Even if you have a way to increase the Thunder God''s Secret Key''s drop-rate, you''re not guaranteed to get it!" Samsara snarled. If he instructed his team members to give into Supreme Sky''s demands, their reputation would be in tatters. "Samsara, don''t offer worthless threats. Do you think I would trap you here without preparing properly?" Supreme Sky asked as he glanced at Samsara. "The moment the magic array activated, the Blood Curse affected every one of you. Your death penalties have been increased by 300%, and any special item that has a chance of dropping upon death is now guaranteed to drop. Once you''re dead, I can forcefully resurrect you once. Do you think it''ll really be so hard for me to obtain that key?" "Since you have refused the opportunity I so graciously offered, you can sacrifice your lives!" After saying so, Supreme Sky waved a hand. Immediately, Sand Bone and the other experts behind Supreme Sky charged at Samsara''s group. "It seems we have no choice but to fight." As Samsara watched the Flower of Seven Sins'' members rush at his team, he issued a command in the team chat. "We''re adjusting our formation. Art, you and I will stand at the forefront. Old Locust, protect Gem. Formless, support Scars!" "I''ve been waiting for you to say that, Leader! I''ve grown bored of fighting monsters! I finally get to play with some peak experts!" Formless Arrow exclaimed. "That''s right! It''s not every day that we get to meet a commander of the Flower of Seven Sins. I finally get the chance to see the Flower''s rumored strength," Heartless Sword commented, clearly anticipating the fight. The Flower of Seven Sins had always been incomparably mysterious. Most of the organization''s outer members carried out its commissions. The Flower''s inner members rarely took action, and cadre members rarely ever exposed themselves to the public. To battle maniacs like Heartless Sword, fighting so many cadre members from the Flower of Seven Sins was a dream. "My apologies, Black Flame. You''ve just joined the team, yet we''ve already dragged you into such a situation," Samsara sincerely apologized to Shi Feng. Endless Scars couldn''t help but do the same. She was responsible for introducing Shi Feng to the team, after all. She had never thought that they''d become embroiled in such a dangerous predicament. However, before Samsara and Endless Scars could say anything more, Sand Bone and his comrades were already within 30 yards of the team. Over a dozen ranged players from the Flower of Seven Sins immediately launched their attacks, sending hundreds of Spells and arrows, all of which were incredibly accurate, flying toward Samsara and his teammates. As if they possessed a life of their own, they danced in the air, making it difficult for anyone to predict their trajectories. Happy Art, who had already reached the Void Realm, felt an immense amount of pressure bear down on her. She activated Shield Wall and focused her attention on dodging the incoming attacks, but even so, she had been struck three times and lost a considerable amount of HP. Samsara''s situation was only slightly better, but when a few combination attacks struck, he stumbled backward as damages in the hundreds appeared above his head. When Formless Arrow tried to fire counterattacks, his arrows, which could pinpoint monsters'' weaknesses, were utterly useless against Sand Bone and the others. His enemies either dodged or blocked his arrows, failing to deal any damage. The difference between the two sides'' combat power was obvious at a glance. Before Formless Arrow could fire a third volley, Sand Bone and a dozen other melee players reached Samsara and Happy Art. Three Flower''s members worked together to pin down Samsara, and with the support from their ranged players, Samsara wasn''t able to break free from their encirclement. Three other experts pushed back Burning Sea. Although Endless Scars wanted to help Burning Sea and Samsara, Diverging Phoenix sniped at her from a distance, and she couldn''t afford to split her attention. Meanwhile, Sand Bone reached Happy Art, swinging both of his greatswords at the young woman. Chaos Slash! The two greatswords transformed into 16 phantoms, each flying toward Happy Art''s blindspots like cunning snakes. Players'' tiers were reduced to zero in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, but all 16 of Sand Bone''s attacks were capable of causing sonic booms. His Strength was definitely on par with a Great Lord''s of the same level. Seeing this, Happy Art quickly adjusted her footwork and tried to deflect the attacks. "You''re overestimating yourself!" Sand Bone sneered as he abruptly altered his attack trajectories, ensuring that Happy Art could only block them, not deflect them. Happy Art''s defense was thorough, but Sand Bone''s combat standards and Basic Attributes were higher. When his attacks collided with her shield, they gradually shook apart her defensive stance. After taking a dozen or so hits, Happy Art finally exposed a hole in her defense, allowing one of the greatswords to slip past her shield. But just before the greatsword bit into Happy Art, a blue longsword stopped the weapon three inches away from the girl''s side, and no matter how Sand Bone pushed, he couldn''t budge his weapon an inch farther. The unexpected development surprised Sand Bone. His slash had contained a Grand Lord''s Strength. No one inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land should be able to block his attack, yet when his greatsword had met the blue longsword, he felt as if he had struck an impenetrable wall. Before Sand Bone could react, another blue longsword flew toward him. On instinct, Sand Bone brandished his other greatsword to defend himself. Boom! The impact forced Sand Bone to stumble two steps back, the greatsword in his hand trembling violently. "Who are you?" Sand Bone demanded, staring at the figure that had appeared beside Happy Art with a seriously unhappy expression. Anyone that could neutralize his attack and wielded even greater Strength than his wasn''t an ordinary expert. Not even Samsara could perform the feat. "Black Flame!" 2199 Suppressing the Mighty with Technique Chapter 2199 - Suppressing the Mighty with Technique "Black Flame?" Sand Bone''s lips curled slightly when he heard the name, a trace of excitement flashing in his eyes. "So, you''re the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, the Guild that foiled one of our previous operations. I''ve heard that you''ve defeated Sword Demon. It seems the rumors were true. With such Strength, you qualify as a serious opponent." After saying so, Sand Bone''s aura transformed. If he had felt like a tiger, freed from its cage, he now felt like the calm ocean. Despite the lack of aura, great danger hid within him. "Be careful, Black Flame. His attack trajectories constantly change and are unpredictable," Happy Art hurriedly warned Shi Feng when she noticed the transformation to Sand Bone''s aura. The fact that Shi Feng had saved her and that his Strength was higher than Sand Bone''s had surprised her, but she had learned just how frightening this Berserker was after her brief clash with the man. Experts like her were stronger than ordinary experts because they could sense an enemy''s attack trajectories and defend themselves or launch fatal counterattacks. However, she had been overwhelmed against Sand Bone''s assault. She couldn''t predict any of his trajectories and as a result, couldn''t defend herself effectively. If a shield-wielding Shield Warrior had struggled to block Sand Bone''s attacks, then melee classes without shields, like Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins, would have an even more difficult time fighting this Flower''s member. But before Happy Art could finish her warning, Sand Bone had activated Charge against Shi Feng, transforming into a blur before he reached his target. The Charge Skill was guaranteed to inflict the Fainted debuff. Normally, ordinary experts avoided the debuff by activating a Skill that made them immune, but Shi Feng was quite familiar with God''s Domain''s various main classes. He knew that the Fainted debuff would not take effect until less than one yard separated the user and their target. Hence, Shi Feng responded with a slash. Shadow Blade! Multiple sword lights cut at Sand Bone. Players, including Domain Realm experts, in the midst of activating Charge couldn''t easily move while using the Skill. Sand Bone had no hope of stopping all ten of Shi Feng''s attacks, each of which had enough power to make a Great Lord stumble. In a clash between experts of their standards, the slightest sign of weakness could be fatal. Knowing this, Sand Bone forcibly canceled his Charge and followed up with a Whirlwind Slash, deflecting all of the incoming sword lights with his greatswords. Meanwhile, he relied on his forward momentum to reach Shi Feng. Suddenly, Sand Bone''s two greatswords merged, and the resulting weapon radiated a blue glow. He then swung the glowing greatsword at Shi Feng. The two swords merged?" Happy Art was stunned. Aside from specific teleportation stones that only dropped in the secret land, tools couldn''t be used in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. This included weapons and equipment''s Additional Skills. However, Sand Bone''s two greatswords had merged into one, powerful weapon. It was unbelievable! The glowing greatsword was so powerful that space around it trembled. It definitely contained more power than a Great Lord. As the greatsword was about to smash into Shi Feng, it transformed into four clones of itself. Even a Domain Realm expert would struggle to respond to such an abrupt change. Weapon Merging and Quadruple Shadow Slash? Shi Feng also could not help his surprise to see the four sword lights fly toward him. Weapon Merging was a super-rare Skill for the Berserker class, one that would be useful even after reaching Tier 5. The Skill was even rarer than a Fragmented Legendary item, and it was so powerful because it allowed the user to elevate their weapon''s quality by one rank. If the user used Weapon Merging on two Dark-Gold Weapons, they would become a single Epic Weapon. If the user wielded two Epic Weapons, however, the result would be a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. The only downside to the Skill was its short, 20-second duration. Of course, the resulting combat power from combining two Epic Weapons into a Fragmented Legendary Weapon was no laughing matter. In a fight between peak experts, the sudden increase could decide the fight''s outcome in an instant. Fortunately, Weapon Merging could, at most, produce a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. If it were possible to create a Legendary Weapon, any Berserker with this Skill would be nearly invincible among players of the same tier. The four sword lights closed the distance to their target in an instant. However, Shi Feng didn''t activate a Lifesaving Skill as Sand Bone had expected. Rather, the Swordsman unsheathed the second longsword that hung at his waist and brandished it. Sword''s Transmigration! The trajectories of Sand Bone''s four powerful sword lights abruptly altered, and two of them spun to attack their own wielder. Caught off guard, Sand Bone defended himself with his merged weapon, but he had only deflected one of the sword lights, taking the full brunt of the other. Like a cannonball, he shot backward by more than 30 yards before crashing into the ground, losing over half of his HP in the process and entering a heavily injured state... In response, the battlefield fell silent. How is that possible? Diverging Phoenix, who fought Endless Scars, was flabbergasted. She was very familiar with Sand Bone''s strength, particularly when the Berserker used Weapon Merging. Unless she activated a Berserk Skill, even she would have to focus on her defense for a time. However, Berserk Skills were prohibited in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, and she couldn''t believe that someone had actually thrown her companion. Even Maple Locust, who battled Hidden Soul, was astonished when he saw this. Black Flame? When Happy Art saw the collapsed Sand Bone, she could not help but turn to look at the Swordsman beside her. She felt as if she were meeting this Swordsman for the first time. He is actually so powerful? Had he hidden his strength earlier? Endless Scars wondered, watching Shi Feng in confusion. She knew he had high combat standards, but she hadn''t known they were this high. Even the various Super Guilds feared the Flower of Seven Sins'' senior cadre members, yet Shi Feng had rendered one of these players powerless. No one would believe her if she retold this tale. During the brief moment of silence, Shi Feng glanced at the Thunder Temple and shouted in the team chat, "Everyone, retreat to the Thunder Temple''s side building! I''ll cover you!" His and his teammates'' Basic Attributes were suppressed while they were in the magic array. They were dreaming if they thought they could kill the Flower of Seven Sins'' cadre members. Not even Shi Feng had much hope of success. Although he had repelled Sand Bone, he couldn''t kill him. In fact, while he had told his team to run, the Flower''s healers had already restored Sand Bone''s HP to full. Unfortunately, Shi Feng could only afford to use Sword''s Transmigration a limited number of times, and it was only a matter of time before his enemy wore him down. As if Supreme Sky understood the Thunder God''s Secret Key''s value, he hadn''t moved from the Thunder Temple''s main entrance since the fight had begun. He was also flanked by more than ten ranged players. Breaking past that blockade and escaping into the Thunder Temple itself wasn''t possible. Hence, the Thunder Temple''s side temple was their only hope. The side temple was a special Level 90,100-man Team Dungeon and a land of death for current players. However, fleeing into the Dungeon was better than staying and letting the Flower of Seven Sins slaughter them. When he heard Shi Feng''s command, Samsara glanced at the side temple and noticed the dark-red Dungeon entrance. The color signified the wide gap between the Dungeon''s level and the team''s average level, but after some quick mental calculations, he realized that entering the Dungeon was better than staying out here. "Everyone, listen to Black Flame! Maintain formation and move toward the side temple!" Samsara said. "I''ll open a path! Cover me!" Endless Scars said, gritting her teeth as she glared at the ring of Flower''s members around their team. She then used the dozen or so Elemental Blades rotating around her to form a defensive net that would block incoming ranged attacks. She followed up with chanting an incantation, pulling some of her attention away from Diverging Phoenix. In response, a powerful force suppressed the area around her, blurring it. The Mana within the space began to rampage, somewhat affecting players that came in contact with it. When Diverging Phoenix recognized what Shi Feng and his teammates were planning, she pointed a finger at Endless Scars and growled, "Don''t think you can get past us so easily! Everyone, focus your attacks on her!" Receiving the command, eight of the Flowers of Seven Sins'' melee players charged at Endless Scars to interrupt her casting, but before they could come within 20 yards of her, arcs of lightning snaked out to counterattack. These lightning strikes were the result of Shi Feng''s Lightning Edge, and the eight melee players were forced to scurry back. Suddenly, a massive gash, three meters deep, split the ground between the Flower''s melee players and Endless Scars. "If you want to get to her, you''ll have to go through me, first," Shi Feng said, smiling as he appeared beside Endless Scars. "Black Flame!" Diverging Phoenix bellowed. She immediately activated her strongest Legacy Skill, Divine Frost Lance. Under Diverging Phoenix''s control, hundreds of frost lances flew toward Shi Feng and Endless Scars. She planned to blow both players to smithereens. Meanwhile, the eight melee players continued to make their way toward their target. Although Shi Feng had incredible Strength and had defeated Sand Bone, all of them were peak experts. He couldn''t protect Endless Scars from their coordinated and focused attacks. However, before the eight melee players could move within 15 yards of the woman in question, the surrounding temperature abruptly plummeted. As the cold embraced their bodies, their Movement Speed and Basic Attributes decreased slightly. Chilling Field! Due to the Thunder God''s Secret Land''s effects, Chilling Field had been reduced to a Tier 0 Skill, but it was still a Domain Skill, suitable for group combat. Each containing 70% of Shi Feng''s strength, six icicles formed around the Swordsman with more than enough power to deal with the Flower of Seven Sins members before him. Sword''s Orbit! Dazzling stars glittered within a 15-yard radius around Shi Feng. His defense was far more solid when he combined the technique with his six icicles than when he executed it with two swords. Not only had his use of the technique prevented the eight melee players from approaching, but he had also stopped the hundreds of descending frost lances. "This... Isn''t this a little too powerful?" Burning Sea, who watched from afar, was astonished. He was already struggling against three Flower''s members and the occasional ranged attack. From time to time, he even took a hit, yet despite facing eight melee players and Diverging Phoenix''s vicious bombardment, Shi Feng emerged unscathed. The man was simply a monster. The situation even surprised Shi Feng. He had never expected the Life Potion to be so effective that it improved his Sword''s Orbit. Without it, his defense wouldn''t have been nearly as solid. With Shi Feng to defend her, Endless Scars finally finished casting her Spell. Under her control, powerful streams of air shot up from the ground, each with the Strength of a Great Lord. The Flower of Seven Sins'' members were forced to evade, which allowed Samsara and the others to break away from their opponents. "Quick! This Spell won''t last long!" Endless Scars shouted. Samsara and his companions shook off the Flower''s members and followed Shi Feng into the side temple. Their enemies were left to watch as their prey escaped their grasp. Just before Shi Feng and his team could enter the side temple, a frosty sensation assaulted them. Instinctively, Shi Feng turned toward the sensation''s source. "Black Flame, is it? Very good! I''ll remember you," Supreme Sky coldly told the Swordsman. Samsara and the other experts on the team shuddered when they heard Supreme Sky''s declaration. For a moment, they felt as if the Grim Reaper had set his sights on their lives, which were no longer under their control. "Is that so? I''ll be waiting!" Shi Feng said, flashing Supreme Sky a grin. Shi Feng had heard plenty about Supreme Sky during his previous life. The man had been famous for killing Super Guilds'' Guild Leaders many times, after all. However, since he had already ruined the man''s plans, provoking him further didn''t matter. Shi Feng was no longer the player he had been in the past, and now, he, too, stood at the apex of God''s Domain. As the Flower of Seven Sins'' members watched, Shi Feng led Samsara and the team into the Thunder Temple''s side temple. 2200 Bloodline Creature Chapter 2200 - Bloodline Creature As Shi Feng and the others disappeared into the side temple, silence reigned outside of the Thunder Temple. "Damn it! They actually managed to escape!" Diverging Phoenix cursed. They had gone to great lengths to set up this ambush; not even a Super Guild''s Guild Leader should be able to slip through their grasp. However, due to Shi Feng, their preparation had gone down the drain. If news of this failure spread, the Flower''s other members would likely ridicule them. "Escape? They''re not out of the water yet!" Supreme Sky said, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes. He then commanded, "Call in a group of Blood Guards from the main headquarters, immediately. Phoenix, you and Sand will guard the side temple. This is the Thunder God''s Secret Land; even if Samsara''s party dies, they''re stuck here. They''ll only be able to leave through those teleportation arrays. Let''s make sure that side temple becomes their new home!" Without someone to resurrect them, players that died inside a Dungeon would automatically resurrect outside of the Dungeon after some time, and in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, players couldn''t use any tools, including Return Scrolls. As long as they guarded the Dungeon''s entrance, Samsara''s team wouldn''t escape. Having entered the Thunder Temple''s side temple, Supreme Sky knew that it was no place for current players. Not only was it a Level 90 Team Dungeon, but it was also a special Dungeon that didn''t provide difficult options. In other words, this Team Dungeon only had one difficulty rank. Based on his experience, Supreme Sky deemed that it was the equivalent of a Level 90,100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Entering this Team Dungeon before Level 90 and without top-tier Level 90 equipment was suicidal. Samsara''s party only consisted of 10 players, so their chances of survival were abysmal. "Understood!" Diverging Phoenix and Sand Bone nodded. Meanwhile, after passing through the side temple''s entrance, Shi Feng and the others felt as if they had arrived in another world. The hall, in which they stood, was full of 40-meter-tall divine statues. Although these statues were dilapidated after the ravages of time, they still emitted a faint trace of Divine Might. The hall contained 22 divine statues, each located beside a gigantic pathway. None of them knew where the pathways led, and the team began to wonder if they stood in an underground maze. "Is this really a 100-man Team Dungeon?" Burning Sea began to grow afraid as he looked around the colossal temple. He had felt the threat of death loom over him the moment he had arrived, and when he saw the 22 pathways, he felt as if he were looking down the maws of massive beasts. He knew players of their levels shouldn''t be in this Dungeon yet, and he couldn''t help the powerless feeling he had once inside it. Just the idea of taking on the fully-armed Naga guarding the pathways was enough of a reason to despair, not to mention exploring the pathways. [Naga Guard (Thunder God''s Kin)] (Bloodline Creature, Lord) Level 87 HP 45,000,000/45,000,000 [Naga Guard Captain (Thunder God''s Kin)] (Bloodline Creature, Great Lord) Level 88 HP 96,000,000/96,000,000 Twenty of these monsters stood by each pathway''s entrance. With their team''s equipment and combat standards, dealing with one Level 87 Lord wouldn''t be a problem, but taking on a group of them was a fool''s dream. Furthermore, these Lords were led by a Level 88 Great Lord. But that wasn''t the worst part. More importantly, all of these monsters were Bloodline Creatures and the Thunder God''s Kin. Ordinary experts might not understand these title''s implications, but peak experts like Burning Sea, who had a deep understanding of God''s Domain''s mechanics and history, were very familiar with the power Bloodline Creatures wielded. A Bloodline Creature had inherited strength from a more powerful being, bom with superior Bloodlines, as the name suggested. Although their Bloodlines weren''t on the level of Archaic Species, they weren''t far from it. Meanwhile, being the Thunder God''s Kin meant these Nagas had inherited certain special abilities from the Thunder God. With these two factors combined, these Nagas would command extraordinary strength. Outside of the Thunder God''s Secret Land, their team would, more or less, be able to cope with these Nagas, but here, they were Tier 0 players. Even if they worked together, they might not be a match for a single Naga Guard... "These monsters are too strong for us right now. Our only option is to wait," Happy Art reasoned with a bitter smile. Although they had escaped the Flower of Seven Sins'' ambush, they weren''t anywhere close to being in a safer position. The only thing worth celebrating was the fact that as long as they didn''t move, these monsters wouldn''t attack. Even Samsara and Endless Scars were at a loss for words when they saw the monsters. Moving forward would mean their deaths, and the Flower of Seven Sins definitely waited for them outside the Dungeon, but doing nothing wasn''t a solution, either. "No! We''re not out of options!" Shi Feng said as he watched the Nagas guarding the pathways. "We''ll just have to take a huge risk." "Any option is better than sitting here and doing nothing. Besides, it''s not like we expected such a high-difficulty Dungeon to not have risks." Samsara said. "In that case, I have some things to settle first. I have fulfilled my end of our agreement. I want first pick of one item among the Dungeon''s loot, and I want command over the team throughout the raid," Shi Feng told Samsara. In their previous deal, Shi Feng had agreed to help Samsara''s team until they reached the Thunder Temple. Since his mission was complete, he had no obligation to help Samsara or his people. "That won''t be a problem," Samsara said, nodding as he set Shi Feng as the new team leader. No one else on the team voiced any objections to the arrangement. Most of them were under Samsara''s employ, and since Shi Feng had fulfilled his prior obligations, he had every right to negotiate new terms. Moreover, they had only avoided annihilation at the Flower of Seven Sins'' hands thanks to Shi Feng. Once Shi Feng became the team leader, he assigned each member their tasks. He wasn''t unfamiliar with the Thunder Temple''s side temple in the least. The Thunder Temple itself had been quite famous throughout God''s Domain in the past. During his previous life, many superpowers'' main forces had suffered tremendously in the Thunder Temple''s side temple. Even after reaching Level 90, those main forces had been helpless against the Dungeon''s Nagas. Not only were these Nagas stronger and faster than monsters of the same rank and level, but they also had extremely high Lightning Resistance as the Thunder God''s Kin. Moreover, they could command their own lightning abilities, imbuing their physical attacks with lightning-type magic damage and a certain chance of inflicting a paralysis debuff. Melee players had a particularly miserable time in this Dungeon, especially MTs. Even if an MT successfully blocked the Nagas'' attacks, there was a chance that they''d be paralyzed for one or two seconds. To make matters worse, this Dungeon''s Nagas had high combat standards. One or two seconds was more than enough for them to land two or three more hits. Fortunately, the various superpowers had discovered these Nagas'' weakness after repeated attempts to raid the Dungeon. This weakness was the Nagas'' slow turn-rate! Although the Nagas had very high Movement and reaction speeds, they couldn''t immediately follow a player in a sudden turn that was greater than 100 degrees. The Nagas often overshot, missing their fleeing prey and forced to make a U-turn. Although Nagas could make the U-turn in one or two seconds, that was more than enough time for peak experts to distance themselves from the monsters. If peak experts used this moment appropriately and had an accurate grasp of timing and distance, they could easily kite the Nagas. They wouldn''t have to face these monsters head-on. Of course, a single mistake would send any player to their grave. This tactic didn''t change the fact that Nagas were far faster than players. Hence, Shi Feng had Maple Locust and Formless Arrow replace their current equipment with items that focused on Agility and Movement Speed. As those Attributes were his focus already, Shi Feng didn''t need to readjust his equipment at all. Even with his tier suppressed, his Movement Speed was still far higher than ordinary Great Lords. Later, Shi Feng took the lead, luring a lone Naga Guard that wandered the hall, with Formless Arrow and Maple Locust moving alongside the Lord. The three of them then took turns aggroing the Naga, and when the monster moved wdthin 20 yards of a player, someone else would attack and draw its aggro. With Shi Feng''s high damage and Formless Arrow''s Provoke Skill, the team''s other ranged players could attack the Naga Guard with impunity. Since the hall was so spacious, Shi Feng and his companions had plenty of room to kite around the monster. Their low DPS was the only problem they faced. Even with Endless Scars and the others attacking the Naga Guard with everything they had, its HP fell at a snail''s crawl. Yet, the team persisted. A moment ago, they had been stuck with no options. They were fortunate to have the opportunity to kill these Nagas. Time passed quickly as they fought. Finally, after fighting for more than 20 minutes, one of Endless Scars'' Spells took down the first Level 87 Naga Guard. Everyone''s experience bars immediately grew by a small chunk, and as they did, the crisp sound of a system notification reached their ears. 2201 Flying Levels Chapter 2201 - Flying Levels System: You have killed a Naga for the first time. Activating the Thunder God''s Trial. Kill 1,000 Nagas. Current kill count -1. System: This trial is a reward quest for entering the Dungeon for the first time. You will automatically fail the quest if you die or leave the Dungeon. Quest rewards unknown. You will not suffer penalties for failing the quest. A kill counter, displaying the number of slain Nagas, then appeared in the corner of everyone''s system interface. "Kill 1,000 Nagas? Isn''t this a little too demanding?" Happy Art frowned as he read the system notification. They had spent more than 20 minutes just to kill one Naga Guard, the weakest monster in this Dungeon. They would need an absurd amount of time to slay 1,000 Nagas. Moreover, this was only a Dungeon Quest. They could complete multiple quests elsewhere with how much time it would take to complete the Dungeon Quest. Yes, it will be time-consuming, but these Nagas provide a lot of EXP. Our leveling speed here will be at least 50% faster than grinding outside of the Dungeon," Burning Sea said in astonishment as he examined his experience bar. Their leveling speed in the Thunder God''s Secret Land was already impressive, but leveling in this Dungeon was 50% faster than grinding outside of it. This Dungeon was an amazing leveling spot. Of course, a large part of the reason that they earned so much EXP was the fact that they were severely under-leveled, and their team only had 10 players. If a Level 90,100-man Team grinded in this Dungeon, their leveling speed would be subpar, at best. "In any case, we''re stuck here for the moment. Let''s just grind and consider the quest an additional bonus," Samsara said. "That''s right. Our leveling speed in here is awesome. If the Flower of Seven Sins'' members knew that we were having such a great time leveling up, they''d likely die with anger," Frozen Gem said, laughing. "They forced us into a comer, thinking that we''d cave in sooner or later, but we''ll see who outlasts who!" Frozen Gem could easily guess what was happening outside the Dungeon right now. Supreme Sky had likely stationed a large amount of his manpower to guard the Dungeon''s entrance. Once their team left the Dungeon, the Flower''s members would pounce and make them suffer. Previously, she had been feeling anxious about their situation as they were not able to do anything inside the Dungeon while people in the outside world were continuously improving themselves. Now that they could level up far faster than players elsewhere, she didn''t mind completing an unexpected quest while the Flower of Seven Sins wasted their time. The Thunder God''s Trial? When Shi Feng saw the name of the quest, he seemed to recall such a quest from his past. However, no one had bothered to complete it back then. The reason for this was very simple. In an era when every second mattered, no one wanted to waste so much time on a Dungeon Quest. Even a Level 90,100-man team would need five or six days of grinding to slay 1,000 Nagas, and rather than wasting that time, players could focus on leveling up and improving their equipment through other quests. Moreover, the true treasure lay in the Thunder Temple''s main temple. The side temple was only a transition for players who wanted to explore the main temple. Who would possibly be willing to waste so much time in the side temple? However, since their team couldn''t leave the Dungeon right now, completing the Dungeon Quest was better than doing nothing. Unfortunately, most of the Naga Guard''s loot consisted of low-value items. The Lord hadn''t even dropped a Common Weapon or Equipment piece. The only items worth mentioning, aside from one Magic Crystal, were the Amethyst Coins, a currency unique to the Thunder God''s Secret Land. With these Amethyst Coins, players could purchase some of the specialty products sold in the Thunder Temple. They could also trade these coins for Gold for a one-to-one ratio. The underwhelming loot didn''t surprise any of the team members. The Naga Guard was the weakest monster in the Dungeon, and although it was a powerful foe to them, that was simply due to their low levels and inferior equipment. Seeing a random mob in a Dungeon drop top-tier equipment would be strange. Following which, the team continued to grind the hall''s Nagas. Although the method they used to slay these monsters was tedious, every time one fell, they watched their experience bars grow and rejoiced. As they finished off their sixth Naga Guard, the Lord dropped a blood-red stone fragment that immediately attracted Shi Feng''s attention. A Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragment! Although it was only a gemstone fragment, not a piece of top-tier equipment, it had been incredibly famous in God''s Domain during Shi Feng''s previous life. One could synthesize 10 Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragments into a Thunderbolt Gemstone, an item the Thunder God had personally created to arm his soldiers. On its own, the Thunderbolt Gemstone only increased players'' Basic Attributes by 2% when equipped, and each player could equip a total of three Thunderbolt Gemstones. Most experts would sneer at such a minimal boost. Even with three Thunderbolt Gemstones, they''d only gain a 6% boost to their Basic Attributes, which certainly couldn''t compare to the boots other high-tiered gemstones offered. However, when players equipped three Thunderbolt Gemstones, they triggered the hidden effect, Thunder God''s Protection, which increased players'' Basic Attributes by 9% and physique by 20%. In other words, players could equip three Thunderbolt Gemstones and gain a 15% boost to their Basic Attributes and a 20% boost to their physique. The Thunderbolt Gemstones had even been useful after players had reached Tier 3. Moreover, the Thunderbolt Gemstones provided an additional 10% boost to players Basic Attributes while inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land. It was a perfect addition for those who wanted to explore the area. A fragment dropped after only the sixth kill? The situation surprised Shi Feng a little. Could this be an additional reward for players entering the Dungeon for the first time? As far as Shi Feng could remember, the Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragments had a less than 1% chance of dropping, but this fragment had dropped after slaying their sixth Naga Guard. The only explanation he could think of was that they had gotten extremely lucky, or the drop-rate had increased. When Shi Feng and his team had slain their 17th Naga Guard, another Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragment had dropped. Sure enough, it has to be a benefit of entering the Dungeon for the first time! Shi Feng''s excitement grew when he saw the second fragment. Initially, he had only planned to kill some monsters and grind levels in the Dungeon. He had only planned to look for a way out of the Flower of Seven Sins'' trap after everyone had reached a high enough level. He hadn''t actually considered raiding the Dungeon completely, but if they could collect enough Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragments, his plans would have to change. Samsara and his teammates'' Basic Attributes were still far from meeting the Dungeon''s minimum requirements, but if they could all equip three Thunderbolt Gemstones, they could significantly shorten that gap. Considering their combat standards, raiding the Thunder Temple''s side temple was entirely possible. After all was said and done, the Thunder Temple''s side temple was a Dungeon within an Ancient God''s secret land. The potential loot''s quality could easily surpass that of a super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Shi Feng then informed the rest of the team about the Thunderbolt Gemstones, which instantly motivated them to grind more Naga Guards. Their goal in visiting the Thunder God''s Secret Land was to improve themselves, and they had given up on that hope earlier. Now that another opportunity had presented itself, they couldn''t miss this chance. As everyone''s fighting spirits lifted, they fervently hunted the Dungeon''s Nagas. Once they recovered their Stamina, they bounced back to continue the grind. Moreover, as everyone''s levels continued to increase, their grinding speed also increased. These Nagas awarded a lot of EXP, and after grinding for almost nine days, each member of the team had risen to Level 80. Since their Epic Equipment had leveled with them, they had also received a major increase to their Basic Attributes, as well. As for Shi Feng, he had reached Level 84. Their leveling speed was astonishing. After collecting 28 Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragments, only 11 away from their goal, the sharp sound of a system notification reached their ears once more. System: Congratulations! You have killed 1,000 Nagas and completed the Thunder God''s Trial. 2202 Rewards of the Thunder Gods Trial 2202 Rewards of the Thunder God''s Trial Chapter 2202 - Rewards of the Thunder God''s Trial The team had only realized that they had completed the Thunder God''s Trial after they received the notification. They had been so focused on eliminating the Naga Guards and Guard Captains, excited by the prospect of collecting Thunderbolt Gemstone Fragments, that they had pushed the trial to the back of their minds. After all, the Thunderbolt Gemstones were wonderfully effective ? Now, aside from Samsara and Happy Art, the two MTs, each team member had three Thunderbolt Gemstones equipped, their Basic Attributes rising by a total of 25%. Moreover, they had regained the physique of a Tier 1 player. Since they had also reached Level 80, slaying these Naga Guards and Guard Captains had become much easier. In fact, Samsara and Happy Art could now tank a Naga Guard Captain all on their own. However, doing so placed a huge burden on the team''s two healers, so they continued to use their earlier strategy to kite the Nagas. That way, the two healers didn''t have to concentrate on casting Healing Spells and could launch their own attacks from time to time, increasing their grinding speed. We''re finally done. When Shi Feng saw the system notification, he could not help but feel that this quest had been a true challenge. If not for their special circumstances, they wouldn''t have bothered to attempt it. It was just too time- consuming. System: You have completed the Thunder God''s Trial. Rewarding Thunder God''s Pearl. [Thunder God''s Pearl] (Dark-Gold Rank) This pearl contains the Thunder God''s power. Can be used inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land to activate the Thunderbolt Barrier. The more Thunder God''s Pearls that are used to activate the Thunderbolt Barrier, the stronger the barrier will become. Up to a maximum of six Thunder God''s Pearls can be used at the same time. Duration: 20 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour The Thunderbolt Barrier? When Shi Feng saw the Thunder God''s Pearl, an ecstatic expression lit up his face. He had never expected the Thunder God''s Trial to provide the very key to conquering the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Players couldn''t use powerful tools, such as magic arrays or Summoning Scrolls, in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. On top of the fact that players'' tiers were reduced to zero, exploring the secret land was a daunting task. This was especially true when players faced the Bosses in the Thunder Temple''s side temple. Normally, when Tier 0 players couldn''t rely on external items, they''d reach their limit when fighting Great Lord ranked monsters, but the weakest Boss in the side temple was a Grand Lord. Moreover, they were not ordinary Grand Lords. All of the Grand Lord Bosses in the side temple possessed special Bloodlines, which made them far stronger than ordinary Grand Lords and a nightmare to raid. The various superpowers had only truly started to raid the Thunder God''s Secret Land after they had acquired Fragmented Legendary items during Shi Feng''s previous life. Had those superpowers had the Thunder God''s Pearls, their teams would''ve been at least 50% more efficient in the raids. Fragmented Legendary items had still been extraordinarily rare at the time, and just obtaining one re^ massive investment of blood and sweat. Following which, Shi Feng activated the Thunder God''s Pearl and created a Thunderbolt Barrier that enveloped a 200- yard radius. Pitch-black lightning arced around the barrier''s edges. The moment the barrier manifested, all Naga Guards and Guard Captains suffered a significant Basic Attribute reduction. The Naga Guards'' Basic Attributes dropped by 30%, and the Naga Guard Captains lost 25% of their Attributes. In addition, the barrier reduced the Nagas'' reaction speed by 20%. Now, the team faced nearly half as much pressure when fighting the Naga patrol squads. "Amazing! I can probably solo a Naga Guard now!" Burning Sea exclaimed as he watched the Guards'' sluggish movements. Experts like them preferred to deal with strong monsters, rather than fast monsters. Fast monsters had a higher chance of blocking their attacks, which would reduce their total DPS and prolong the fight. Depending o circumstances, winning the fight might even be impossible for the players. Sure enough, this really is the key to conquering the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement when he saw the weakened Nagas. Moreover, this was only the effect of one Thunder God''s Pearl. If he activated the Thunderbolt Barrier with six pearls, it would even suppress a Grand Lord ranked Boss. Previously, he had only been 30% confident of his team slaying the Dungeon''s first Boss, Naga General, Volenka. After all, their team didn''t have enough players. Even if every member of the team commanded extraordinary combat standards and had three Thunderbolt Gemstones equipped, making up for the missing numbers would be very difficult. However, now that they had the Thunder God''s Pearl, he felt that they had at least a 50% chance of defeating the first Boss. With the Thunder God''s Pearl now in hand, the team slew Nagas far faster than before. After less than half a day of grinding, they had collected the remaining 11 fragments, and both Samsara and Happy Art could equip three Thunderbolt Gemstones. "Amazing! With these Attributes and physique, I''ll have no problems tanking a Grand Lord!" Samsara could not help his rueful sighs as he experienced the Thunderbolt Gemstones'' effects. He felt as if he had activated a mini Berserk Skill. It was no exaggeration to claim that these Thunderbolt Gemstones were his greatest harvest from the Thunder God''s Secret Land thus far. Three Thunderbolt Gemstones were easily worth more than one Epic item. Epic items might have a wide level range, but they still had a level limit. Take the Epic Weapons and Equipment he currently used, for example. He could use most of them until he reached Level 100, but the Thunderbolt Gemstones, on the other hand, would even be useful after that. In fact, these gemstones might even be useful after he reached Tier 4. Once Samsara and Happy Art had gained their sets of Thunderbolt Gemstones, the team grew restless and suggested that they challenge the side temple''s first Boss. Naturally, Shi Feng didn''t object. He, too, had been waiting for this moment for a long time. Although he had explored the Thunder God''s Secret Land in the past, by the time he had first visited it, the various superpowers had raided the side temple several times. Furthermore, he had tagged along with other Guilds'' experts, and the expedition had been led by first-rate Guilds'' peak experts. Naturally, the leading first-rate Guilds had claimed all the good loot. Experts from lesser Guilds, like himself, who had come across a few entry passes to the Thunder God''s Secret Land, had only been able to claim the scraps the first-rate Guilds didn''t want. Even so, he had obtained more than enough treasure to celebrate. An Ancient God''s secret land was far higher-quality than other secret lands. Even after some other team had claimed the side temple''s First Clear, and the quantity and quality of the drops had fallen, the Dungeon''s loot had still been considered top-tier. Now that he had an opportunity to join the first team of players to raid the Thunder Temple''s side temple in this life, why wouldn''t he be eager to get started? Later, after Shi Feng and the team had rested for an hour or so, he led them straight toward the Guardian Hall, where the Naga General waited. The team had long since annihilated the Nagas outside the Guardian Hall. Now, only the Naga General and two of its bodyguards remained within. However, when the team entered the hall and saw the Boss they intended to raid, they couldn''t help but gasp. [Naga General, Volenka] (Bloodline Creature, Archaic Species, Grand Lord) Level 89 HP 320,000,000/320,000,000 2203 Pioneer-rank Boss Chapter 2203 - Pioneer-rank Boss "An Archaic Species?" Everyone''s confidence plummeted when they saw Volenka and the purple-blue trident it wielded. Players'' tiers were reduced to zero while inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land, and Grand Lords were nearly invincible against Tier 0 beings. The only reason they even dared to challenge the Naga General, which they had assumed would only be a Grand Lord ranked Boss, was because they had the Thunderbolt Gemstones and Thunder God''s Pearl. Including their Epic Weapons and Equipment, they had thought that they had a high chance of defeating the side temple''s first Boss. Now, however, they learned that the first Boss was a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Even outside of the Thunder God''s Secret Land, Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species were troublesome to deal with. Trying to raid one with the Thunder God''s Secret Land was simply a joke. Could the pioneer Boss be different? Even Shi Feng frowned when he saw Volenka. The current Naga General was not the same Boss he had encountered during his previous life. In the past, Volenka had only been an ordinary Grand Lord. Moreover, it had wielded a two-handed axe, not a trident. Monsters'' combat standards in God''s Domain largely differed depending on what weapon they used. For example, monsters that used a two-handed axe would rely on simple combat methods and great destructive power. Every one of Volenka''s attacks with a two-handed axe had been akin to AOE Spells. Even for MTs of the same level, receiving one of this monster''s attacks head-on was suicidal. Yet, in this life, Volenka held a trident. Unlike the clumsy but powerful two-handed axe, a trident was a type of spear. Not only did it have a much longer attack range that a two-handed axe, but it was more flexible in its attack patterns as well. With a trident, Volenka would not have to worry about numerous attacks at the same time. Moreover, as an Archaic Species, Volenka''s Basic Attributes was much higher than ordinary Grand Lords''. Hence, this Boss could likely command as much raw power with its trident as it had in Shi Feng''s past. This Volenka was both powerful and agile. This raid would definitely be twice as difficult as Shi Feng had expected. More importantly, Bosses had a natural advantage. The normal Volenka, the one Shi Feng remembered, had only had 180,000,000 HP, but this Naga General had 320,000,000 HP. With its battle recovery, it could recover 3,200,000 HP every five seconds. If the team couldn''t deal more than 640,000 DPS, raiding this Boss would be impossible. "This Boss is too powerful. Even if it just stands there and lets us hit it, I doubt we could put a dent in its HP," Happy Art said as she watched Volenka with a bitter smile. "Even if our DPS can surpass his battle recovery, it can kill us several times over by the time we''ve whittled it down to zero." Their team was already severely undermanned for this Dungeon. Slaying an ordinary Grand Lord would be an extreme challenge, and now that they discovered that their opponent was a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, they had no hope of success. "Are you sure we can defeat this thing?" Endless Scars quietly asked Shi Feng. Every member of the team was either a peak expert or an apex expert in God''s Domain. They had all slain many Bosses, and could easily gauge their team''s limits. In Endless Scars'' opinion, their team wasn''t capable of defeating Volenka. She couldn''t figure out how they could raid this Boss. Shi Feng''s prowess might be astonishing, but raiding a Dungeon Boss wasn''t a one-man job. "I think we have roughly a 20% to 30% chance of defeating the Naga General depending on how effective six Thunder God''s Pearls are," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. He hadn''t expected this Boss to be different from the one in the past, but their team had also collected crucial items needed to raid the Dungeon. Fortunately, the Naga General was the easiest of the side temple''s Bosses to raid since it had very simple Skills. Players just needed high enough Basic Attributes and the ability to dodge incoming attacks. "Twenty to thirty percent?" Endless Scars gave the Swordsman an astonished look. As far as she was concerned, a 5% chance of raiding this boss would be heaven-defying, yet Shi Feng was almost confident of a 30% chance of success. He had to be joking! The rest of the team members stared at Shi Feng in shock as well. "Let''s give it a try. Gem, stay close to the entrance. If the raid seems impossible, run. The Boss shouldn''t chase you beyond the hall," Shi Feng said. "Alright," Frozen Gem nodded as she walked toward the hall''s entrance. Even if Shi Feng and the others died, she would be able to resurrect them. The death penalty inside the Dungeon was quite light, and her Resurrection Spell could reduce it further. Shi Feng then instructed Happy Art to tank the Boss while Samsara tanked the two Level 88 Great Lord ranked Naga Bodyguards. Meanwhile, Shi Feng would stay close to Happy Art. Shi Feng''s arrangement confused his teammates. Samsara was clearly stronger than Happy Art, yet Shi Feng instructed him to manage the side mobs. However, none of them objected to their team leader''s plan. "Let''s get started!" Shi Feng commanded once everyone was in position. Six team members immediately activated the Thunder God''s Pearls they had received from completing the Thunder God''s Trial. The six-pearl Thunderbolt Barrier covered a 400-yard radius, enveloping the entire hall. Volenka and its bodyguards'' Basic Attributes immediately plummeted. In the blink of an eye, the Naga General had lost 30% of its Basic Attributes while the two Naga Bodyguards had lost 45%. "Amazing!" Shi Feng could not help but exclaim when he saw how effective the barrier was. He had thought they''d be lucky if the barrier could reduce the Naga General''s Basic Attributes by 20%, but Volenka had lost 10% more than that. This Thunderbolt Barrier could rival the strength of an Advanced Magic Array. Shi Feng then had Frozen Gem rejoin the team''s formation, and Happy Art and Samsara bolted forward to tank the Boss and its minions. Volenka paid no heed as its two bodyguards were lured away. Rather, it raised its trident and thrust it at the female Shield Warrior. The trident could reach up to 25 yards away and contained enough power that space around it trembled. In the blink of an eye, Volenka had sent four stabs at Happy Art. Despite being a peak expert, Happy Art had a hard time dodging the four consecutive attacks. The fourth attack lightly grazed Happy Art''s shield, and the resulting impact caused her to stumble a step back and lose more than 40,000 HP. Volenka''s power with the trident was horrific. Moreover, this was the result after the Boss had been suppressed by the Thunderbolt Barrier. If Volenka were at its peak, the consequences for daring to challenge it would''ve been dire. Fortunately, Happy Art was no weakling. With the boost provided from the three Thunderbolt Gemstones, she had more than 170,000 HP at her maximum even after her tier had been reduced to zero. Losing 40,000 HP was just barely tolerable. However, Volenka wasn''t done as it thrust its tail into the ground to resurface behind the Shield Warrior. Although Happy Art had sensed the attack, she couldn''t turn around in time to defend herself due to the prior impact. Just before the tail slammed into Happy Art, Shi Feng grabbed her arm and dragged her out of harm''s way. Wielding Killing Ray in his other hand, he sliced at the Naga General''s tail, sending it smashing into the Boss with more speed than before. -2,213,796! An eye-catching amount of damage appeared above Volenka''s head, stunning the team members. Thus far, these players had only dealt around -20,000 damage with each attack, so it was hard not to notice a damage of over -2,000,000. "Even that is possible?" Burning Sea gaped in shock when he saw Shi Feng turn the Boss''s attack against itself. He had never thought that it was even possible for a Boss to damage itself. Boss monsters generally had above-average combat standards, and trying to force a Boss to damage itself was like getting a player to turn their own attacks against themselves. It should be utterly impossible. Yet, Shi Feng had done just that... Over two million damage? We should be able to defeat him within 20 minutes! When Shi Feng saw how much damage Volenka had dealt to itself and took into account the team''s overall DPS, he breathed a sigh of relief. Throughout the side temple, Volenka was the only Boss capable of harming itself. This was due to its Tail Puncture Skill. This Skill had sent countless MTs to their graves in the past, but it had also given players a more efficient way to defeat the Naga General. Of course, players needed very high Strength and an almost-perfect grasp of timing to use this method. Their efforts would fail with the slightest mistake, and MTs couldn''t dodge Volenka''s Tail Puncture too early. If they did, the Naga General would retract its tail. This was why Shi Feng had assigned Happy Art to Volenka. Samsara would have no issues dodging Tail Puncture if he tanked the Boss, which would disrupt Shi Feng''s timing. Happy Art''s combat standards were perfect for the job. She could defend herself against Volenka''s frontal attacks but wouldn''t be able to evade Tail Puncture. After seeing what Shi Feng had done, the team''s confidence rose substantially. Volenka would use Tail Puncture almost every two seconds, which meant they could cause over -2,000,000 damage every two seconds. It was certainly enough to overcome the Naga General''s battle recovery. Now that they had eliminated the greatest challenge in this raid, defeating this Boss would be much simpler. Following which, Volenka''s HP rapidly decreased. However, every time Volenka''s HP fell by 20%, it would summon two new bodyguards. Fortunately, with the Thunderbolt Barrier''s suppression and Samsara''s combat standards, keeping a couple of Level 88 Great Lords busy was not a problem. Eventually, when Volenka''s HP fell to 20%, the Naga General went berserk, and its speed and Strength skyrocketed. Seeing this, Happy Art immediately activated Shield Wall, while Shi Feng activated Chilling Field, reserving one icicle to shove Happy Art out of harm''s way when necessary. He also reserved two icicles for redirecting Volenka''s tail. He used the remaining three to bombard the Naga General. However, Volenka''s attacks were simply too fast. Even though Happy Art did her best to defend herself, her tier wasn''t high enough for this fight, and she couldn''t keep up. In the end, Happy Art had died after enduring the berserk Naga General''s attacks for around 40 seconds. At this point, Volenka still had 8% of its HP remaining. When their Shield Warrior fell, Maple Locust and Burning Sea moved to the forefront and took her place. However, they had both died after less than ten seconds. Heartless Sword then stepped in and activated his Lifesaving Skill to tank the Boss. Unfortunately, he had only lasted seven seconds, only withstanding two of the Naga General''s attacks. "Quick! Attack!" The players'' eyes were bloodshot as they watched Volenka''s HP drop to 4%. With their expendable members dead, Samsara activated his Lifesaving Skill and took over as the tank, but against both the Naga General and its two bodyguards, he didn''t last more than six seconds. Volenka had 1% of its HP remaining... "Die!" With no other melee players remaining, Shi Feng activated Instant Strike and appeared before the Boss. Sword''s Transmigration! Although Instant Strike had also been reduced to Tier 0, the Skill still increased his Attack Speed by 300% and damage by 240% for three seconds. As he struck, damages of over -120,000 flashed above Volenka''s head, one after another. As a finishing touch, Shi Feng redirected Volenka''s Tail Puncture and caused the Naga General to take over two million damage, obliterating the last of its HP. 2204 Naga Generals Loo Chapter 2204 - Naga General''s Loot As Valenka cried out in agony and collapsed to the ground, the Naga Bodyguards split up and scattered. A short moment later, only five players and a small pile of loot remained in the hall. "We did it!" Frozen Gem could not help but cheer. Even Endless Scars and Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. The Naga General had been a little too powerful for them when it had gone berserk. Had the battle continued for another five seconds, they would''ve been annihilated. Meanwhile, Valenka''s death granted the survivors an astronomical amount of EXP. Even Shi Feng, who had already reached Level 84, watched as his experience bar filled. 79%... 85%... 90%... The Naga General''s death awarded them even more EXP than any of the Guard Captains they had slain earlier. After five seconds, a golden glow surrounded Shi Feng, and he rose to Level 85. Endless Scars and the others also rose from Level 80 to 81. The frightening amount of EXP awarded stunned everyone for a moment. After Level 80, players had to grind for four or five days elsewhere to reach the next level, but after killing one Naga General, they had gained enough EXP to do just that... "This Boss gave us so much EXP. If we can kill a few more of these Bosses, we''ll be able to take those people from the Flower of Seven Sins by storm when we get out of here," Formless Arrow excitedly stated. Right now, they stood at the very peak of God''s Domain with their levels. Although they had not left the side temple, they had received reports regarding the outside world. Even the highest-leveled expert among the various superpowers was only Level 79, and most peak experts were only Level 77. On the other hand, their team had reached Level 81. Everyone would be shocked when this came to light. In God''s Domain, players'' levels were extremely important, after all, especially for peak experts. Once they reached a certain level, they could explore new maps and secure better items and benefits. Furthermore, they would have less competition when exploring these higher-level maps. Moreover, level suppression had always been a factor in this game. Although level suppression wasn''t incredibly effective, it would be significant with a gap of five or more levels. "That''s right. They''ve likely never expected us to level up so quickly," Frozen Gem said, smiling. "If we can survive in here for a while longer and increase the level gap to five, we''ll have a chance of turning the tables. Furthermore, the various superpowers have begun to show up in the Thunder God''s Secret Land." Endless Scars also nodded in response to Formless Arrow and Flower Gem''s sentiments. Ordinary powers might have a difficult time entering the Thunder God''s Secret Land right now, but the various superpowers had already discovered it. This was also why their team had been in such a hurry to enter the Thunder Temple. Now that so many days had passed since they had entered the Dungeon, the various superpowers had already sent in expedition teams. Once the various superpowers entered the Thunder God''s Secret Land, the Flowers of Seven Sins would find the place harder to hold within its iron fist. In turn, this would increase their team''s chances of escaping. "Alright, we need to resurrect everyone quickly. We''ll be in trouble if they resurrect automatically," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Valenka was the easiest Boss in the Thunder Temple''s side temple, and the only one they had the strength to kill right now. Even with the six Thunder God''s Pearls, they''d need a 100-man team to raid the rest of the Dungeon''s Bosses. "Oh!" Frozen Gem only remembered that she needed to resurrect her fallen comrades after Shi Feng''s statement. She then got to work. Samsara and the others returned to life a moment later. They couldn''t help their elated grins when they saw Valenka''s corpse. They hadn''t actually expected the raid to succeed, and they couldn''t help but look upon Shi Feng with admiration. They had just taken down a Level 90 Team Dungeon''s Boss! Moreover, this was a Team Dungeon inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Normally, raiding such Bosses without a Level 90,100-man team should be impossible, but they had accomplished the feat with a team often Level 80 players. Shi Feng''s leadership and combat power were among the best they had ever seen. After their moment of excitement, the team members turned their gazes to the loot beside Valenka''s corpse. Although Valenka was only a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, it had dropped an astonishingly high number of items. There were easily more than 20 items in the pile, and every one radiated a dazzling glow. It was easy to tell that these were all top-tier items. As the team watched, Shi Feng began to appraise the loot. Valenka was the side temple''s first Boss. Shi Feng had expected it to drop average loot at best, but he couldn''t help but gasp as he appraised the items. The Naga General had dropped a total of 23 items. There were 3 pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment that could be used from Level 80 to 100, a plate armor helmet, a pair of cloth bracers, and a leather belt. All three pieces of equipment could definitely be considered top-tier at this stage of the game. Even Samsara, who had seen his fair share of top-tier equipment, audibly gulped. Normally, equipment that dropped in Dungeons had a fixed level, but all three pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment Valenka had dropped could level with their users. Valenka had also dropped 6 pieces of Level 80 to 90 Fine-Gold Equipment. Four of the 6 pieces were parts of the Thunderbolt Set, a set equipment players could only obtain from the Thunder God''s Secret Land! Although the Thunderbolt Set was only a four-piece, Fine-Gold Set Equipment, it had been incredibly famous among those who grinded in the Thunder God''s Secret Land in the past. Once a player collected all four pieces, the set would provide Basic Attribute buffs that could rival Dark-Gold Equipment. The two-piece set effect also increased Spell effectiveness by 30%, while the four-piece set effect increased players'' Basic Attributes by 10% and weakened the Thunder God''s Secret Land''s suppression. If players equipped the complete Thunderbolt Set, their tier would only fall to Tier 1. The Thunderbolt Set''s effects might be a joke in the outside world, but within the Thunder God''s Secret Land, they worked wonders. When players had first discovered the Thunderbolt Set in the past, it had instantly become a treasure that countless magical class players had sought. And now, Valenka had dropped the entire set. It was a miracle! When the rest of the team saw the Thunderbolt Set''s effects, their eyes glowed. They knew how bitter it felt being reduced to a Tier 0 player in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, so they recognized how astounding it would be if they could fight as Tier 1 players in this secret land. It was no exaggeration to claim that the Thunderbolt Set was even more valuable than an eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. While everyone cooed over the Thunderbolt Set, Shi Feng shared the next item''s Attributes in the team chat. When the team saw this item, they all gasped, including Samsara and Endless Scars. The Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute! 2205 Flying Moun Chapter 2205 - Flying Mount The Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute looked just like any ordinary flute, made of wood, with dark-purple runes carved into it. "How is this possible?" "Am I seeing things?" "I thought Flying Mounts only dropped from Level 100-plus maps?" When Burning Sea and the others saw the summoning flute, they audibly gulped; they couldn''t believe their eyes. As Domain Realm experts, they had seen countless top-tier treasures. Each of them even carried several Epic Weapons and Equipment pieces, but they couldn''t help their surprise and excitement when they saw a flying mount. Although almost all Level 50-plus players had their own Mounts by now, not a single player in God''s Domain had their own Flying Mount. Nobody even knew where to find one. Players, especially expert players, now knew the benefits of owning a Mount. Due to players'' limited Stamina, they could only afford to operate within a limited area. With how large God''s Domain was, trying to explore the game''s maps by relying on Stamina would be impossible. Naturally, Mounts allowed players to increase their range of activity. Furthermore, after Level 50, not many maps had teleportation points, and players would find even fewer as they explored higher-level maps. As a result, players would have to explore and find these maps on their own power, which made Mounts even more important. Countless experts currently contested over Mysterious-Iron Mounts, while Secret-Silver Mounts were easily as valuable as Epic items. Even if experts of Burning Sea''s caliber had multiple pieces of Epic Equipment on them, they typically only had Secret- Silver or Fine-Gold ranked Mounts. Even so, these Mounts were a large part of the reason that their leveling speed was so much faster than ordinary experts''. However, a Flying Mount was in a different league than Land Mounts. A Flying Mount could ignore the terrain and travel to a destination in a straight line. A Flying Mount would be several times faster than Land Mounts! God''s Domain was a virtual reality game that fully immersed its players'' consciousness into the game, unlike past virtual reality games, which only allowed partial immersion. Because of this, God''s domain felt frighteningly real. In addition, it had NPCs with incredible intelligence, which players could befriend. If not for the ever-present system interface and in-game aspects, such as levels and Basic Attributes, players would''ve likely treated God''s Domain as a second real world. And countless people dreamed of flying through the sky. Based on the information they had collected thus far, Flying Mounts were intensely difficult to obtain in God''s Domain. Unlike Land Mounts, players couldn''t use their Coins to purchase Flying Mounts from NPCs. Even Shi Feng was shocked to see the Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute, not to mention Burning Sea and his companions. He remembered the Thunder Eagle Flying Mount from his past and knew that it could drop in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. However, he only recalled that the Thunder Eagle dropped in the secret land''s deeper regions. To be precise, I should_ve only dropped within the Level 100 Dungeon, Thunder Gods Mountain, and with an ab^ rate, at that. Even after 10 years in God''s Domain, less than ten players had owned one. And yet, their team had obtained a Thunder Eagle after slaying the Naga General. It was unbelievable. This was why he had gasped while appraising Volenka''s loot. He had never expected the Dungeon''s first Boss to drop such amazing items. Even a Common Flying Mount was as valuable as three pieces of Level 100-plus Epic Equipment Moreover, that had been the common exchange rate after Flying Mounts had become more common. When Flying Mounts had first appeared in the past, a Common Flying Mount could''ve easily gone for five pieces of Level 100-plus Epic Equipment. However, the Thunder Eagle wasn''t just a Common Flying Mount; it was an Extraordinary Flying Mount. Flying Mounts didn''t follow the same ranks as Land Mounts. They were split into Common, Extraordinary, and Legendary ranks. There had been rumors in Shi Feng''s previous life of a Mythic ranked Flying Mount, as well, but no one had ever seen it. Meanwhile, these ranks represented the Growth Potential of Flying Mounts. Flying Mounts were similar to Guild Mounts in that players could continue to nurture their growth. It was even possible to nurture a Flying Mount into a Tier 6 God. However, nurturing Flying Mounts was far more difficult than nurturing a Guild Mount. [Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute] Summon an Extraordinary ranked Thunder Eagle as a companion to fly and fight in the air. If the Thunder Eagle dies, it will need 15 natural days to resurrect. (The Thunder Eagle has been blessed by the Thunder God and as such, can be used inside the Thunder God''s Secret Land.) "According to our previous agreement, I have priority to choose one of the dropped items in this Dungeon. I choose the Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute," Shi Feng declared. The Naga General had dropped plenty of top-tier items, including Epic Equipment. However, these items were all worthless compared to an Extraordinary Flying Mount. Although the Thunder Eagle was the second-lowest rank of the four, 90% of the Flying Mounts players had used in Shi Feng''s previous life had been Common Rank. Most Common Flying Mounts reached their limit after growing to Tier 3 Peak-rank and getting them that far would cost an astronomical amount of resources. They only had a 3% chance at breaking through to Tier 4. Extraordinary Flying Mounts, however, could easily reach Tier 3 Peak-rank and had a 30% chance of climbing to Tier 4. In addition, the two ranks started at different tiers. Common Flying Mounts started as Tier 2, while Extraordinary Flying Mounts started as Tier 3. Moreover, the Thunder Eagle wasn''t your average Extraordinary Flying Mount. Aside from the four major ranks, Flying Mounts fell into three minor ranks: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. However, one had to summon their Mount before they would learn which minor rank it belonged to. The Thunder Eagle, Shi Feng remembered, was an Intermediate Extraordinary Flying Mount. Although Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, he had only gotten his hands on an Advanced Common Flying Mount. He had invested an astronomical amount of resources to nurture his Mount to Tier 3 Peak- rank, and it had just barely been able to contend with ordinary Tier 4 experts. If he had acquired an Intermediate Extraordinary Flying Mount, even ordinary Tier 4 experts would''ve had to move out of his way. None of Shi Feng''s teammates expressed any arguments to Shi Feng''s declaration. They merely looked on in envy. Even Endless Scars was a little reluctant to give up the Thunder Eagle, but they had given their word. Furthermore, they wouldn''t have had a prayer of slaying Volenka without him. After Shi Feng took the Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute, Samsara and the others split the rest of the loot. By the time the items had been distributed, Endless Scars had obtained the full Thunderbolt Set, while Samsara had claimed the Epic ranked belt. The rest of the team members had claimed the remaining Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold Equipment. After they took a moment to replace their old items, everyone watched their Basic Attributes rise slightly. The team continued to grind Naga Guards and Guard Captains for another two days, allowing Samsara and the others that had died during the Boss fight to rise to Level 81. Meanwhile, Samsara and Endless Scars had received news that multiple superpowers had shown up to the Thunder Temple. They had encountered the Flower of Seven Sins, and there seemed to be some friction. "It''s about time we got out of here!" Shi Feng said, smiling when he heard the news. 2206 Commotion Outside the Temple Chapter 2206 - Commotion Outside the Temple Hundreds of players had gathered before the Thunder Temple''s main entrance. If ordinary players saw this gathering, they''d be alarmed. The lowest-level player here was Level 77 and could easily rank among the top three on any kingdom''s Ranking List and within the top 20 in an empire. And yet, hundreds of such players had come to the same place, standing in multiple teams. One particular team of 100 players, however, prevented anyone from entering the Thunder Temple. If God''s Domain''s expert players saw this, their jaws would drop. Every one of these teams consisted of well-known experts from the various superpowers, and a significant number were peak experts. However, none of them could get past the team guarding the Thunder Temple''s main entrance. "Diverging Phoenix! We have played along with your whims for long enough! You and your people have hogged the main temple to yourselves! Now that five superpowers'' teams have arrived, don''t you think you''re going a little too far?" Melody, one of the Sacred Temple''s Vice Temple Masters, coldly challenged Diverging Phoenix. "The Flower of Seven Sins is conducting an important mission right now. Once our mission is complete, we''ll move out of the way. But you''re more than welcome to try forcing your way through us," Diverging Phoenix impassively replied, glancing at Melody. As Diverging Phoenix spoke, the 20 players around her stepped forward. Every one of them wore a blood-red emblem, and a thick layer of black fog surrounded their bodies. Every player in the area felt a sense of dread as these players'' frightening aura touched them. The moment these 20 players stepped forward, the waiting experts'' expressions darkened. The Blood Guards? Melody frowned at the experts on the elevated platform, noting their blood-red emblems. The Thunder Temple had more than just a Dungeon inside; it was also a place that offered quests and items for exchange. At first, the Sacred Temple had only sent a little over 20 players to the Thunder Temple, and as a result, they hadn''t been able to do anything about the Flower of Seven Sins'' blockade, but now that four more superpowers had arrived, they had just as many players as the Flower''s team. However, the Blood Guards altered the situation. The Flower of Seven Sins'' Blood Guards were even famous among the various superpowers. The Blood Guards had risen to fame after their participation in a war on the western continent. A newly-promoted superpower had fought with the Super Guild, Rashomon, over a key town. Knowing that it was no match for Rashomon, the new superpower had paid a high price to hire the Flower of Seven Sins'' help in the battle. Rashomon was no weaker than Battle Wolves, considered an above-average Super Guild. However, once the Flower of Seven Sins'' Blood Guards had joined the battle, Rashomon had lost its commanding Vice Guild Leader and peak experts. The Vice Guild Leader had been protected by 5,000 of Rashomon''s experts, including four Domain Realm experts and over a dozen peak experts, but with a 100-man team, the Blood Guards had slain the Vice Guild Leader... After that, the Blood Guards'' fame had spread through the various superpowers, and everyone had learned to fear the Flower of Seven Sins even more than before. Although only 20 Blood Guards stood before them, Melody wasn''t confident that the five superpowers'' 100-plus experts were enough to take them on. Vice Temple Master, these Blood Guards are quite powerful, but I believe that we still have a chance of victory. As we wait, more superpowers will start to enter the Thunder God''s Secret Land. If that happens, we''ll lose our advantage," Ruthless Sky, the Gale Sword Meister, said. The Blood Guard was quite famous, but more than a month had passed since their battle with Rashomon. At this point, the various superpowers had obtained more Epic items, combat techniques, and Legacies, growing far stronger than they had been. Furthermore, these superpowers, excluding the Sacred Temple, had each sent a Domain Realm expert to accompany their teams. Even if their five teams were no match for the Blood Guards, they should be able to distract these players while Melody and the other superpowers'' upper echelons made it into the main temple to investigate the situation. "Alright, tell everyone to get ready to move!" Melody commanded. She understood that the longer they let this continue, the less of an advantage the Sacred Temple would have. "Leave it to me!" Ruthless Sky said, laughing. The Secret Pavilion had titled him one of the Eight Sword Meisters, and since then, he had improved himself considerably. He had even mastered a Bronze Combat Technique and was confident of contending with the Sword Freak, Miracle Dragon, who had recently reached the Domain Realm. He should have no problems against these 20 Blood Guards, who mainly consisted of Flowing Water Realm experts. With the Sacred Temple leading the charge, the four other superpowers'' teams followed Ruthless Sky. "You''re overestimating yourselves!" Diverging Phoenix snarled disdainfully as she watched the 100-plus experts charge toward her. Calmly, she commanded, "Blood Guards, get rid of them!" As Diverging Phoenix issued the order, a flash of madness appeared in the Blood Guards'' eyes as the dark fog around them began to expand. Their bodies began to grow slightly, and pitch-black scales and spikes burst through their skin. A crimson gem manifested in the center of their foreheads, as well. None of these players looked human at this point, and their frightening auras made the feel like Demonic Creatures that had crawled up from the Dark Abyss. "What''s going on?" These Blood Guards'' transformation confused the various superpowers'' experts. Players couldn''t use Berserk Skills in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, but based on the intensity of the Blood Guards'' auras, they had done something to increase their Basic Attributes. Before the various superpowers'' experts could react, the 20 Blood Guards left afterimages in their wake as they appeared before Ruthless Sky and the others. A Level 77 Blood Guard Berserker swung his greatsword straight at Ruthless Sky, simple and swift. The attack didn''t contain the slightest hint of excess movement as if the player were a natural killing machine. "Don''t even think you can stop me that easily!" In response, Ruthless Sky executed Twisting Space, the Bronze Combat Technique he had recently learned. Ruthless Sky sent three sword lights at the Blood Guard, which merged to form a devastating attack just before they hit the opposing greatsword. Boom! The sound of colliding metal echoed throughout the secret land. The Blood Guard stumbled back two steps, staring at Ruthless Sky in astonishment. The latter also slid a half-step backward. Impossible! Ruthless Sky was stunned as he stared back at the Blood Guard. The Bronze Combat Technique, Twisting Space, allowed him to combine three attacks into one. Although he hadn''t been able to combine the power of all three attacks perfectly during his past experiments, he could still exhibit 240% of his Strength in the one attack. However, even after more than doubling his Strength, the Blood Guard''s Strength was only slightly less than his own. Had he not used Twisting Space, he would''ve been at a disadvantage in that clash. Executing a Bronze Combat Technique cost a lot of Stamina and Concentration, and Ruthless Sky could only afford to use Twisting Space six or seven times before collapsing. The other superpowers'' experts were just as shocked by the Blood Guards'' Strength. Thus far, the Blood Guards had killed a few of the superpowers'' Flowing Water Realm experts before the healers had a chance to cast their Healing Spells. "Did you really think a numerical advantage was enough to deal with the Blood Guards? How foolish!" Diverging Phoenix ridiculed as she watched Ruthless Sky and his companions. Even Domain Realm experts would have to expend a lot of effort to defeat the Blood Guards in a one-on-one fight outside of the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Within this secret land, even Diverging Phoenix found the idea of facing a Blood Guard daunting. How could these peak experts possibly be a match for the Flower''s Blood Guards? However, as these Blood Guards pushed back the various superpowers'' experts, 10 figures appeared before the Thunder Temple''s side temple. These players'' abrupt arrival immediately caught everyone''s attention. "Why are other players still here?" "Who are those people? Why did they just come out from the side temple?" While the various superpowers'' experts wondered about this small group, Sand Bone, who stood beside Diverging Phoenix, excitedly shouted, "So, you finally accepted your deaths? "Activate the magic array! We cannot let them escape back into the Dungeon!" Immediately, a group of Assassins revealed themselves from their hiding spot near the side temple and activated the Blood Magic Seal. A crimson magic array then appeared above the secret land, enveloping Samsara''s group, as well as the various superpowers'' experts. However, unlike the Blood Magic Seal the Flower of Seven Sins had used previously, this one completely separated Shi Feng''s team from the side temple. The small team couldn''t escape back into the Dungeon unless they destroyed the magic barrier. "I''ll make sure to take my time with you this time!" Once the magic array had locked down the area, he returned his gaze to Samsara and his companions, but just before he could comment further, he noticed his prey''s levels. He couldn''t help but gasp in shock. "Level 81?! You all... How can you be..." 2207 Repelled in One Move Chapter 2207 - Repelled in One Move "Level 81?!" "How are their levels so high?!" When the rest of the players in the secret land noticed Samsara and his teammates'' levels, they stared with wide, disbelieving eyes, but when they used their Identification Skills, the system confirmed that every member of Samsara''s team had reached Level 81. Who are these people? Melody, who commanded the Sacred Temple''s members, could not help but glance at Samsara''s group in surprise. She very quickly noticed a familiar figure among the group. Black Flame! Unlike the last time she had run into Shi Feng, he now wore a suit of red-black armor and carried two exquisite longswords-one blue and one white-at his waist. His aura felt as vast as the great ocean, boundless and unfathomable. In comparison, Shi Feng''s aura in the past had felt like a sheathed blade. He felt like a completely different person. In the past, Melody had, more or less, seen the depths of this Swordsman''s strength, but now, she couldn''t see anything. Moreover, the fact that Shi Feng was Level 81 left Melody speechless. Every level after Level 70 required an astonishing amount of EXP to reach. Despite grinding continuously and completing one high-ranked quest after another, she had only reached Level 78 thus far. Even so, she was one of the highest-leveled players in the Sacred Temple. She''d be amazed to find a player even one level higher than her, yet Shi Feng was three levels higher. She had no idea how he had gotten so far. Moreover, Level 80 was a minor threshold. Depending on one''s equipment, a Level 80 player could have far higher Basic Attributes than a Level 79 player. She wouldn''t have been so surprised if Shi Feng had been the only player to reach such a high level. After all, he was responsible for plenty of miracles in God''s Domain already. It was certainly possible that he would attain a higher level than she, but the problem was that he wasn''t the only player to reach Level 81. The nine players alongside him were the same Level. Just what had they done? Most importantly, Melody didn''t recognize any of the nine players... Although levels couldn''t reflect a player''s true strength in God''s Domain, they offered a rough estimate of a player''s standards. The fact that Samsara and the others had reached Level 81 meant that they should, at the very least, be peak experts. Just how many secrets does Zero Wing have? As she watched the small group of players, Melody could tell that their relationship with Shi Feng was a relatively close one. Moreover, they vaguely seemed to treat Shi Feng like their leader. These were peak experts they were talking about! Peak experts were treated like upper echelons even in a Super Guild like the Sacred Temple. In a budding superpower, such experts would be absolute mainstays. Budding superpowers would pay astronomical sums just to recruit a peak expert. Unfortunately, doing so was extremely difficult. Experts of such caliber were incredibly rare, with every one of them looming like a dragon among men. They also didn''t lack money, which was why it was so difficult to recruit them with offers of wealth. On top of that, peak experts tended to have different goals in mind. Since she had discovered that Shi Feng was close with nine unknown peak experts, the Secret Temple would have to re-evaluate its opinion of Zero Wing. Although Zero Wing had held onto Stone Forest city and gained access to an abundance of resources, the Guild still didn''t have a background. The number of experts in the Guild was pitifully low compared to superpowers, and experts were essential for any developing Guild. To make matters worse, Zero Wing had made plenty of powerful enemies. Its feud with Starlink, in particular, had reached a point of no return. Starlink might not be able to touch Zero Wing right now, but that wouldn''t last. The advantages Stone Forest City provided were only temporary. Once players reached higher levels, Stone Forest City wouldn''t be as useful in the Bottomless Abyss. Moreover, unlike Zero Wing, Starlink''s background was sturdy. The Guild was not as simple as it seemed. Taking care of Zero Wing wouldn''t be a challenge to Starlink. Hence, none of the various superpowers were optimistic about Zero Wing''s future and refused to partner with the Guild. By allying themselves with Zero Wing, they''d gain Starlink as an enemy, which wasn''t a worthwhile trade. However, if Zero Wing gained an additional ten or so peak experts, its circumstances would change. At the very least, Zero Wing would be just as capable of raiding Team Dungeons as the various superpowers. Including the massive benefits from Stone Forest City, Zero Wing would be a lot closer to becoming a true superpower. However, Sand Bone and Diverging Phoenix were even more shocked than Melody. "How did they level up so quickly?" Diverging Phoenix stared at Samsara and his teammates, confused. She had clearly seen their levels before they had fled into the side temple. She had also experienced the Thunder Temple''s side temple personally. Current players shouldn''t have a shred of hope of surviving in there, and Samsara''s team only had 10 players!. They should''ve been lucky to survive, let alone level up in the Dungeon. Not only had Samsara and his people leveled up, but they had also done so multiple times, reaching Level 81. How could she possibly believe this wasn''t some kind of illusion? "You''ve reached Level 81? No wonder why you finally dared to emerge," Sand Bone said after snapping out of his daze, but rather than feel intimidated, his excitement grew as he looked at the small party. "It seems that Brother Sky was right. The Thunder God''s Secret Key is crucial for conquering the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Once we obtain that key, we''ll pull ahead of the various Super Guilds'' experts." Even the Flower of Seven Sins had been helpless within the side temple, but Samsara and his comrades had leveled with flying speeds in the Dungeon. Sand Bone could only think of one reason for this situation. The Thunder God''s Secret Key! Originally, Sand Bone had only considered the Thunder God''s Secret Land as a good place to find treasure, but after seeing this, he realized that this secret land was a heavenly leveling spot, as well. "To think that the Thunder God''s Secret Key has such an ability, as well. We have to get our hands on it!" Diverging Phoenix''s eyes also glowed with excitement when she considered the possibility. "Blood Guards, ignore the Guilds, and help me get rid of those players first!" The 20 Blood Guards promptly broke away from their opponents and charged toward Samsara''s party. "Should we help them, Vice Temple Master?" Ruthless Sky asked Melody as the Blood Guards changed targets. "Help them. The magic barrier affects us, too. The Blood Guards will likely return their attention to us once they eliminate Black Flame''s team. If we want to enter the main temple, we''ll have to work with Black Flame," Melody said. Ruthless Sky nodded in response. He agreed that the Flower of Seven Sins wasn''t likely to let them go after killing Shi Feng and his companions. Moreover, with how powerful Shi Feng''s team was, they''d have a better chance against the Blood Guards if they cooperated. Ruthless Sky immediately led a small detachment to help Shi Feng''s team. Melody then led the rest of the Sacred Temple''s team to distract the Flower of Seven Sins'' ranged members. However, the Blood Guards were clearly a fraction faster than Ruthless Sky''s team, and the gap between them grew. After a short moment, the Blood Guards stood within 30 yards of Shi Feng''s team, spreading out to surround the players. "I want to see how you plan to escape us this time!" Diverging Phoenix snarled. Glaring at Shi Feng, she commanded, "Prioritize the healers! And be careful of Black Flame! His Strength is very high!" "Understood!" Hearing Diverging Phoenix''s command, the Blood Guards turned their focus to Samsara''s healers. Seeing the Blood Guards in position, Ruthless Sky shouted, "Be careful! Those Blood Guards'' Strengths are absurd! If they get close to you, you''re finished!" After fighting the Blood Guards himself, he knew how powerful they were. Even he would''ve been at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight without the help of his Bronze Combat Technique. And yet, Shi Feng and his comrades showed no intention of moving even as the Blood Guards moved within 20 yards of the team''s healers. It made Ruthless Sky nervous. He felt that Shi Feng and the others were being overconfident and careless. You''re not going to flee? Do you think you can stand against us just because you''re Level 81?" Diverging Phoenix sneered at Shi Feng as his team prepared to face the Blood Guards head-on. The Blood Guards'' Basic Attributes were even higher than the Flower of Seven Sins'' cadre members, especially their Strength Attribute. Not even Sand Bone was a match for their Strength. Trying to face the Blood Guards head-on in the Thunder God''s Secret Land was the epitome of foolishness. By the time the Blood Guards were within 10 yards of the small party, Endless Scars had finished casting her Spell from behind Shi Feng. Immediately, over 100 magic blades shot toward the approaching Blood Guards. What a powerful offensive Spell! At such a close distance, it would normally be quite effective, but against the Blood Guards... Ruthless Sky felt his scalp tingle when he saw the 100-plus magic bladed under Endless Scars'' control. The closer a target was, the easier they''d be to hit with a Spell, but when attacking expert players with superb Strength and Speed, such a powerful Spell would backfire on the caster. Expert players could use the Spell to propel themselves forward and instantly shorten the gap between them and the caster. And sure enough, the Blood Guards showed no intentions of dodging the incoming magic blades, raising their weapons to receive the magical projectiles. The instant the magic blades crashed into the Blood Guards'' weapons, however... Boom! A series of explosions shook the battlefield, immediately halting the Blood Guards'' advance. The outcome stunned these strangely demonic players. They certainly hadn''t expected the magic blades to be so powerful, and before the Blood Guards could react, the remaining magic blades split into pairs and merged, attacking once more. These Blood Guards were no weaklings, though, and they readied their weapons to defend themselves against the new wave of attacks. Boom! As if they had been hit by a truck, the 20 Blood Guards were thrown through the air, landing over eight yards away with damages in the hundreds appearing above their heads. The weapons in their grips trembled violently. Surprised by the outcome, the battlefield fell silent. 2208 Overwhelming the Blood Guards Chapter 2208 - Overwhelming the Blood Guards "How are her attacks so powerful?" Shock colored both Diverging Phoenix''s and Sand Bone''s faces as they watched a single attack repel the Blood Guards. After their transformation, those players wielded Strength that could rival Great Lords of the same level within the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Even Diverging Phoenix and Sand Bone would have to rely on Advanced Combat Techniques to stand against the Blood Guards. Diverging Phoenix had fought Endless Scars personally, so she knew how powerful those magic blades were, and they definitely weren''t a match for a Great Lord''s attacks. At best, Endless Scars'' standard was roughly on par with Diverging Phoenix''s. However, after emerging from the side temple, Endless Scars'' magic blades were powerful enough to rival the Blood Guards'' attacks. Moreover, she could now merge 40 of her black blades to send the 20 Blood Guards flying. Endless Scars'' current Basic Attributes and combat standards were on an entirely different level than before she had entered the side temple. Even the various superpowers'' experts gaped in shock after seeing the incredible attack. "Who is she?" Ruthless Sky muttered as he tried to recall the formidable caster, but no matter how hard he searched for her in his memory, he couldn''t find a trace of Endless Scars. Endless Scars had repelled the 20 Blood Guards in one move! The Blood Guards had even suppressed the superpowers'' peak experts, yet Endless Scars had single-handedly thrown the players... Moreover, Ruthless Sky had recognized the technique she had employed, Strength Combination. Ruthless Sky knew the technique and just how challenging it was to execute. With his combat standards, controlling four or five combination attacks was his limit, yet Endless Scars had controlled 20 combination attacks. She was a monster! So, this is her true strength? Shi Feng also could not help his astonishment as he watched Endless Scars manipulate the magic blades. Although the Thunderbolt Set had restored Endless Scars to Tier 1, a Tier 1 player''s physique wasn''t sufficient to allow a peak expert to control 20 combination attacks. Not even Shi Feng could accomplish the feat. But when Shi Feng thought back to how Endless Scars had held the number-one position on the God''s Domain Experts List in the past and been responsible for numerous miracles, such as defeating Tier 6 God-ranked players as a Tier 5 player, he found the current situation quite reasonable. Only, Endless Scars'' performance had further excited Diverging Phoenix and Sand Bone. The fact that Samsara and the others had leveled so quickly in the side temple was astonishing, but they had never thought that players could increase their overall strength so quickly in the Dungeon, as well. This only fanned the flames of their desire to obtain the Thunder God''s Secret Key. "Kill them! We need to kill them no matter the cost!" Diverging Phoenix shouted as she focused on Samsara. The woman then began to cast the strongest Spell in her arsenal. Sand Bone, on the other hand, charged toward Samsara. With Diverging Phoenix''s command to go all-out, the 20 Blood Guards revealed maddened expressions as the dark fog around them grew more intense, and their auras grew stronger. These players'' figures blurred as they rushed at Shi Feng and his teammates. Suddenly, the Blood Guards were at least 30% faster, and their reaction speeds had improved drastically. The Blood Guards could now deflect Endless Scars'' attacks, and some of them even had the leeway to dodge. "How has their Movement Speed and reaction speed risen so much?" Endless Scars could feel that these Blood Guards'' had suddenly become much stronger, especially regarding their physiques. "Crap! These Blood Guards weren''t this strong when we fought them earlier!" The various superpowers'' experts, who had moved to reinforced Shi Feng''s team, revealed grim expressions as the Blood Guards became even more of a challenge. Humiliation! Anger! Powerlessness! The majority of them were Flowing Water Realm experts, and a few were even Void Realm experts. Even the various superpowers would have to be cautious around them in the outside world, and yet, these Blood Guards had only been toying with them during the previous fight... In a split second, the Blood Guards had reached Samsara and his melee comrades. However, Samsara and his team were no weaklings. Now that they had reached Level 81, their Epic Equipment had improved, as well. Including the Thunderbolt Gemstones they wore, their Basic Attributes were only slightly lower than the Blood Guards'', and with their combat standards, they had no issues facing the Blood Guards in one-on-one combat. They could even take on two at once, albeit barely. Naturally, Shi Feng had an overwhelming advantage against these Blood Guards. He was Level 85, two minor thresholds above the Level 77 Blood Guards, and he currently had multiple Fragmented Legendary items on him. Even though his tier had been reduced to zero, his Basic Attributes were leaps and bounds higher than the Blood Guards''. As a result, Shi Feng practically sent a Blood Guard flying with every swing of his blade. Shi Feng didn''t even take damage when six Blood Guards had ganged up on him. On the contrary, the six Blood Guards continuously lost HP as they clashed with Shi Feng. If the Flower of Seven Sins'' healers hadn''t frantically cast their Healing Spells, the six Blood Guards would''ve fallen after exchanging a few moves. Even so, Shi Feng still found an opportunity to activate Flame Burst and kill two of the Blood Guards instantly. His display was even fiercer than Endless Scars'', and the remaining Blood Guards felt an immense pressure weigh on them after witnessing his performance. "Is Black Flame even stronger than the rumors made him out?" "It looks like they can kill these Blood Guards even without our help." The various superpowers'' experts were at a loss for words as they watched Shi Feng and his team overwhelmed the Blood Guards. They finally realized why Zero Wing openly dared to provoke multiple superpowers. With such a powerful team, Zero Wing certainly qualified to do so. Meanwhile, when Ruthless Sky and the various superpowers'' other experts eventually joined the fray, the Blood Guards steadily lost their advantage. "Phoenix, at this rate, it''ll be our lives on the line! The Blood Guards'' Stamina won''t last much longer!" Sand Bone, who pinned down Burning Sea, shouted to Diverging Phoenix. The Blood Guards'' transformation was already a heavy burden on their Stamina. Now that they had improved their physiques further, their Stamina consumption rate had reached frightening levels. This was why these Blood Guards avoided casually using this move. "I know!" Diverging Phoenix growled back. She couldn''t help but grind her teeth in fury as she glared at Shi Feng. "Black Flame! I''ll admit that you''re quite impressive to push us this far, but this ends here!" Diverging Phoenix pulled a piece of parchment from her bag space. It looked like a relic, but the moment she revealed this parchment, its energy pulled everyone''s attention to it. The parchment radiated horrific Divine Might that made everyone''s bodies feel heavier. Moreover, the parchment transformed its surrounding space into its own territory, and the Thunder God''s Secret Land''s rules no longer applied within the affected area. Diverging Phoenix began to chant an incantation, and skeletal warriors in exquisite armor, wielding all sorts of weapons, began to emerge from the void. The skeletal warriors'' equipment had been engraved with magic runes, and every piece shared a similar pattern. Based on the equipment''s glow, it was obvious that these undead creatures wore Epic Set Equipment, far better than many of the peak experts present. After three short seconds, a total of 12 skeletal warriors had surrounded Diverging Phoenix. [Heroic Warrior] (Undead, Tier 3 Berserker King) Level 88 HP 28,000,000/28,000,000 "How is this possible?" Everyone gasped when they saw the Heroic Warriors. The Thunder God''s Secret Land did not permit players to use tools, yet Diverging Phoenix had done just that. Moreover, she hadn''t just summoned ordinary monsters. These creatures rivaled NPCs and Tier 3 NPCs, at that... "Black Flame, I really hadn''t expected you to force me to use this trump card, but no matter how much stronger you''ve grown in the side temple, it means nothing before the Flower of Seven Sins!" Diverging Phoenix hissed as she glared daggers at Shi Feng. The tool she had just used wasn''t an easy one. Once she activated the parchment, she would be cursed, and her soul would enter a Weakened state for a long time, preventing her from improving herself. After her comment, Diverging Phoenix ordered her Heroic Warriors to slay Shi Feng and his comrades. "Is that so?" Glancing at the 12 Heroic Warriors, Shi Feng retrieved the Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute and blew in it. 2209 Powerful Flying Moun Chapter 2209 - Powerful Flying Mount The moment Shi Feng blew into the flute, a gigantic, silver magic array manifested above him. After a few seconds, a ten-meter-tall eagle with light-blue feathers emerged, surrounded by dancing arcs of electricity. The eagle announced its arrival with a deafening screech that echoed throughout the area around the Thunder Temple. An intense pressure bore down on every player in the area, even forcing the Heroic Warriors that charged at Shi Feng''s group to pause for a moment. Even the Heroic Warriors charging at Shi Feng''s group could not help but stop momentarily. "What?! Black Flame can summon a monster, too?! I thought tools couldn''t be used in the Thunder God''s Secret Land?!" "Level 100! Crap! Black Flame summoned a Level 100 Great Lord!" "What''s the point of summoning a Level 100 Great Lord? The Flower of Seven Sins has 12 Level 88, Tier 3 Undead." Although Shi Feng''s ability to summon such a high-leveled monster surprised the various superpowers'' experts, the inwardly shook their heads. Level 100 was a very high level, but the Thunder Eagle was only a Great Lord. Even if it was individually stronger than the Heroic Warriors, there was a limit to its strength. At most, it could take on two or three Heroic Warriors simultaneously. Meanwhile, the remaining Heroic Warriors would work alongside the Flower of Seven Sins'' members to slay the rest of them... When Samsara and his teammates saw the Thunder Eagle, however, shock and envy filled their hearts. They had never thought that the Flying Mount would start out as a Great Lord. It was far stronger than what Land Mounts started as. Not only could Shi Feng use his Thunder Eagle as aerial transportation, but it could also serve as a true combat companion. Even after reaching Tier 3, the Thunder Eagle would be useful. In comparison, current Land Mounts could only assist ordinary experts and weaker players. They were simply excess baggage to experts of their caliber. So, this is a Flying Mount? I''ll need to get one for myself later, Endless Scars inwardly swore as she gazed up at the Thunder Eagle. The rest of the team shared her silent sentiment. The Thunder Eagle''s Tier 3 combat power could help them accomplish many things that had been impossible before. "Black Flame, it seems you''re at your wit''s end. Do you really think one Great Lord can save you?" Diverging Phoenix laughed when she saw the Thunder Eagle. "Since you think that''s the case, you can bear witness to the power of my Heroic Warriors!" Diverging Phoenix controlled six of her Heroic Warriors to attack the Thunder Eagle while she sent the remaining creatures after Shi Feng and the others. "Diverging Phoenix is being quite cautious, sending six Heroic Warriors after that eagle. The creature is doomed, now." Melody, who saw this from afar, could not help but despair. The Sacred Temple had uncovered some information regarding Heroic Warriors. Heroic Warriors weren''t like ordinary monsters; they were more akin to NPCs. They had their own Skills and Spells, and when enough of them worked together, the Heroic Warriors could exhibit even greater combat power. Six cooperating Heroic Warriors could even take down a Grand Lord of the same level. Although the Thunder Eagle was 12 levels higher than the Heroic Warriors, its Basic Attributes should, at best, be on par with a Level 88 Grand Lord. It wouldn''t be of any help to Shi Feng. "Just one Great Lord?" Shi Feng chuckled at Diverging Phoenix''s comment. "You sure are taking a Level 100 monster lightly. In that case, I''ll show you how immense the difference is!" Shi Feng immediately instructed his Thunder Eagle to attack the approaching Heroic Warriors. With a flap of its massive wings, the Thunder Eagle sent hundreds of lightning bolts arching toward the six Heroic Warriors. Reacting quickly, the Heroic Warriors tried to activate Skills to defend themselves. Boom... Boom... Boom... In the next moment, all six Heroic Warriors were thrown over 20 yards away, their bodies scorched black. They lost over 2,000,000 HP in the process. The Thunder Eagle screeched again as it transformed into a blue lightning bolt and shot towards its targets. The Flying Mount was incredibly fast, practically crossing 100 yards in an instant as it crashed into the six Heroic Warriors that were about to attack, sending all six Tier 3 Undead flying another 20 yards back. The Heroic Warriors were utterly powerless against the Thunder Eagle... For a time, the various experts were dumbfounded. These powerful, NPC-like, Tier 3 Heroic Warriors were little more than helpless children before the Thunder Eagle, which was the same tier. "Impossible! My Heroic Warriors are Tier 3!" Diverging Phoenix shouted in shock as she watched the summoned creatures suffer an absolute disadvantage. Both the Heroic Warriors and Thunder Eagle were Tier 3, so how could the gap between them be so large? "That Flying Mount is too powerful! I''ll have to get one for myself when I return!" Burning Sea could barely stop his jaw from hanging open as he watched the Thunder Eagle''s performance. How was this a Great Lord? The Thunder Eagle was almost stronger than Grand Lords! It was nearly as powerful as a Mythic monster! "Big Brother Black Flame, you must treat us to a meal after we get out of here!" Happy Art said, her eyes glued on the Thunder Eagle. She had known that Flying Mounts were powerful, but she had never dreamed that they would be this powerful. If she had a Thunder Eagle as her companion, she could easily solo Grand Lords out in the fields. "Sure, no problem," Shi Feng replied, chuckling. Every 50 levels was a major threshold in God''s Domain. Not only would players'' weapons and equipment undergo a qualitative transformation, but monsters would grow stronger, as well. Meanwhile, Level 100 was the second major threshold in the game, and it was a far greater one than Level 50. To be precise, Level 100 was a major turning point when it came to monsters'' Basic Attributes. Everything, including the monsters'' HP, Strength, and Agility, would undergo a qualitative transformation. In comparison, there wasn''t much of a difference when it came to players'' equipment. After reaching Level 100, the Main God System stopped sheltering players and fully removed its binding on God''s Domain''s monsters. When players in the past had begun to explore Level 100 maps, many Tier 2 players had been demoted to commoners. Even killing Chieftain ranked monsters would require full parties or teams of Tier 2 experts, not to mention Lord ranked monsters. This was why it was so dangerous for Tier 2 players to explore Level 100 maps. Normally, only Tier 3 players could afford to roam these areas by themselves. Although the Thunder Eagle was only a Great Lord, its Basic Attributes were roughly two tiers higher than the Heroic Warriors''. It might not be a match for Level 88 Mythic monsters, but it could rival Level 88 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. How could the Tier 3 Heroic Warriors possibly be a match for the Thunder Eagle? The first Heroic Warrior fell after just 20 seconds. The remaining five only had half of their HPs remaining as they tried to deal with the Thunder Eagle. The Flower of Seven Sins'' healers couldn''t keep up with the Thunder Eagle''s damage. In contrast, the Flying Mount still had 93% of its HP remaining. The Thunder Eagle''s strength and the Heroic Warriors'' were on entirely different levels. It was only a matter of time before the feathered creature annihilated the skeletal monsters. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Diverging Phoenix commanded, gritting her teeth. It was obvious that the Flower of Seven Sins no longer controlled this situation. Once the Thunder Eagle finished off the Heroic Warriors, it would doubtlessly set its sights on her and the other Flower''s members. In the outside world, they might be able to take it down, but they were in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, where the Thunder Eagle was basically invincible. "Don''t think you can get away that easily! You won''t leave here alive!" As Diverging Phoenix and her people tried to flee into the main temple, Shi Feng activated Wind Blade and gave chase. He was far faster than his opponents, and once he was within 40 yards of Diverging Phoenix, he activated Instant Strike to appear before the Elementalist. Sword''s Transmigration! Diverging Phoenix wanted to defend herself, but her physical control was hanging by a thread since her soul had been Weakened. She simply couldn''t block or evade Killing Ray in time. Shi Feng''s blade bit into the woman, and her HP fell to zero instantly. Collapsing as she died, she dropped two items: a pair of Dark-Gold ranked cloth gloves and the parchment she had used to summon the Heroic Warriors. 2210 Ancient Gods Document Fragmen Chapter 2210 - Ancient God''s Document Fragment Chaos tore at the Flower of Seven Sins'' members when Diverging Phoenix had died. Furthermore, the Heroic Warriors hadn''t disappeared when she had died, but without the woman to control them, they had gained their freedom and no longer cooperated. As a result, their combat power plummeted drastically, and the Thunder Eagle had a much easier time taking them out. Realizing that the Heroic Warriors couldn''t even keep the Thunder Eagle distracted anymore, the Flower''s members began to panic further. The mindless charged toward the Thunder Temple''s main temple. Getting into that main temple was their only hope for survival. The main temple was guarded by Tier 3 Temple Guards, who didn''t allow combat between players. This was also why Supreme Sky had been so adamant about blocking the main temple''s entrance. He wouldn''t have been able to touch Samsara''s team if they had made it into the main temple. Shi Feng didn''t bother to chase down the fleeing Flower of Seven Sins'' members, pausing to collect the two items Diverging Phoenix had dropped, instead. Although he had no interest in the Level 75 Dark-Gold Equipment piece, it was top-tier equipment for other experts. Most current peak experts might not have a single piece of Level 75 Dark-Gold Equipment on them; only monster-level experts like Diverging Phoenix were strong enough to acquire such top-tier items. Current peak experts were only around Level 77, and acquiring Level 75 Dark-Gold Equipment was still a major challenge for the various superpowers. Shi Feng was far more interested in the parchment the Elementalist had dropped than the cloth gloves. Any item that could summon Heroic Spirits within the Thunder God''s Secret Land was definitely an extraordinary item. At the very least, Shi Feng couldn''t think of an item that could do such a thing. The Thunder God''s Secret Land followed the world rules the Thunder God himself had created. Not even Fragmented Legendary items could break those rules without the Thunder God''s permission, yet this mysterious parchment had successfully done so. Pursuing the remaining Flower of Seven Sins'' members wasn''t worth the risk of losing this mysterious parchment. This is...an Ancient God''s Literature Fragment! When Shi Feng inspected the mysterious parchment and learned its name, he was taken aback. Ancient Gods, referred to the earliest Gods to manifest. There were rumors that these Ancient Gods had been responsible for creating the continent of God''s Domain, but due to war, they had vanished, never to appear again. Any item that was related to an Ancient God was a precious treasure. The most famous of the Ancient God''s many items had to be the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. Many Guild wars had erupted across entire kingdoms and empires over these Literature Fragments in Shi Feng''s previous life. Every Ancient God''s Literature Fragment possessed unbelievable power. It was rumored that if one could collect a complete volume, they''d gain devastating power, even enough to fight the Gods. This rumor didn''t refer to Tier 6 God-ranked players, but true Tier 6 Gods. It was also said that some kingdoms and empires had only appeared after the Great Ancient War, created and ruled by those with an Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. Claiming territory from the world''s various races would''ve been impossible for a human without such power. Shi Feng finally realized how Diverging Phoenix had summoned so many Heroic Spirits in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, ignoring the Thunder God''s rules. Accomplishing such a feat wouldn''t have been possible with an Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. The Ancient Gods were far more powerful than the Gods that had been born on the continent of God''s Domain, after all. The Thunder God''s world rules simply couldn''t contend with a Literature Fragment an Ancient God had created. Shi Feng took a moment to inspect the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment carefully. [Ancient God''s Literature Fragment - Page V] (Epic Rank Item) An ancient parchment that has undergone the baptism of time. Its divine runes remain intact and contain unbelievable power. Skill 1- Summon Heroic Spirit: Sacrifice a portion of the user''s soul to summon 12 ancient Heroic Warriors to do battle. The summoned Heroic Warriors will be one tier higher than the user up to Tier 3. Duration: 12 hours Cooldown: 5 natural days (A Weakened Soul cannot conduct the summoning.) Skill 2- Soul Absorption: Absorbs the souls of half-dead creatures for a chance to generate a drop of Soul Essence. Cooldown: 6 hours (Stronger targeted creatures increase the chances of generating Soul Essence.) Skill 3- Soul Strengthening: Consume Soul Essence to strengthen a creature''s soul. Cooldown: 1 natural day (Stronger targeted creatures require more Soul Essence for Soul Strengthening.) This item is bound to the owner''s soul and cannot be traded or stored in a warehouse. This Fragment also has a chance of dropping on death. (Drops on death if in a Weakened Soul state.) Amazing! Truly amazing! Indescribable shock and excitement filled Shi Feng as he finished reading the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment''s Attribute Panel. It''s no wonder why those powers contested over these Literature Fragments so desperately! If a single fragment can exhibit such power, how much power does a complete volume offer? Summon Heroic Spirit was a godly Skill against current expert players. The Combat power 12 Tier 3 NPCs wielded would be no trivial matter. If not for the Level 100 threshold, the Thunder Eagle would never have been a match for the 12 Heroic Warriors. However, Shi Feng valued the Soul Strengthening Skill far more than the Summon Heroic Spirit Skill. Current players might not truly understand the importance and meaning of their souls, but as they continued to level up and encountered far more NPCs and monsters, they would figure it out. Without a powerful soul, players had no hope of reaching Tier 5, much less Tier 6. Moreover, the Soul Strengthening Skill clearly stated that it could be used on ''creatures.'' In other words, the Skill wasn''t limited to players, affecting NPCs, as well. In NPCs, their souls represented their potential. The stronger an NPCs soul was, the more Growth Potential it would have. Higher Growth Potential also meant that NPCs would have an easier time reaching higher tiers. At this stage of the game, Personal Guards were a common sight. However, there were very few Personal Guards with high Growth Potential. Even first-rate Guilds would celebrate if they obtained another Secret-Silver Guard. First, Secret-Silver Guards wielded incredible combat power. If they had level and equipment advantages, they could easily suppress current peak experts. Second, Secret-Silver ranked Personal Guards wouldn''t reach a bottleneck when reaching for Tier 3. Once they rose to Level 100, they''d have no problem advancing to the next tier. Moreover, they had a chance of reaching Tier 4. At Tier 4, not only would Personal Guards be a massive help when defending Guild Towns or Cities, but they''d also be meat grinders in large-scale combat. However, obtaining a Secret-Silver Personal Guard was extraordinarily difficult. Even Zero Wing only had 22 Secret- Silver Guards, and that was largely thanks to Shi Feng''s past knowledge of these guards. Otherwise, Zero Wing wouldn''t even have 10 Secret-Silver Guards right now. However, obtaining NPCs with high Growth Potential wouldn''t be a problem now that he had the Soul Strengthening Skill. Secret-Silver Guards might be difficult to find, but Mysterious-Iron Guards were abundantly available. Once he collected enough Soul Essence, he could nurture a powerful NPC army, reinforcing Zero Wing until it could easily stand up against superpowers. While Shi Feng pondered on the potential of a Personal Guard army, the battle with the Flower of Seven Sins had come to a close. Over half of the Flower of Seven Sins'' players had died in the battle, and every one of them had been a cadre member in the organization. Furthermore, 15 of the 20 Blood Guards had died. It was a tremendous loss to the Flower of Seven Sins. The organization would most likely need a long time to recover. Meanwhile, the various superpowers would''ve long since stabilized their positions in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. "Big Brother Black Flame, the Blood Magic Seal has lifted, and the superpowers'' people have entered the temple. We should hurry in, as well," Happy Art ecstatically reported as the barrier around them faded. The Thunder Temple''s main temple was the most important location within the Thunder God''s Secret Land. It was also their team''s true goal. If the side temple had so many awesome items to offer, she couldn''t even imagine what waited in the main temple. "Alright, let''s move out, then," Shi Feng said, nodding. 2211 Sacred Land Chapter 2211 - Sacred Land Walking into the Thunder Temple''s main temple was like entering a bustling shopping mall. Rare items and top-tier equipment had been put on display. Even Bronze Mounts, which were a rare sight anywhere else, were available for purchase. The spectacular view mesmerized these players as they entered the temple. "So, this is the main temple? It''s amazing! There''s even Level 80 to Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment \here!" Happy Art exclaimed when she saw the equipment displayed on one of the numerous counters. Samsara and the others were similarly thrilled. Experts like them wanted Level 80 Dark-Gold Equipment now more than anything, but raiding Level 80,100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons was the only reliable way to acquire such equipment right now. Needless to say, Level 80 Dark- Gold Set Equipment would be even harder to collect. And yet, the Thunder Temple''s main temple actually had such high-level Dark-Gold Set Equipment for a fixed price. One could purchase the complete Phantom Thunder Set, a six-piece, Level 80 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, for 300 Thunder Source Crystals. Aside from the incredible Basic Attributes bonuses the set provided, the Phantom Thunder Set''s set effects were astounding. The six-piece set effect even increased the wearer''s physique and Stamina by 30%. Both physique and Stamina were incredibly important when players explored high-level maps, even more so than Basic Attributes. Unfortunately, equipment that improved these two Attributes was scarce on the market. However, the Thunder Temple sold such items... The various superpowers'' experts drooled over the Phantom Thunder Set even more than Samsara''s group. They gazed upon the set equipment with bloodshot eyes, and some even considered stealing the set. "If we can get our hands on a few dozen of these sets, Vice Temple Master, we''ll have no problems capturing one of the fortresses in the Gravity Mountain Range," Ruthless Sky reasoned as he gave the Phantom Thunder Set an adoring look. Epic Equipment did provide significant boosts to players'' combat power, but it was just too rare. Moreover, most Epic Equipment didn''t improve Stamina and physique, merely providing higher bonuses to players'' Basic Attributes. When exploring new maps, players would perform far better with the Phantom Thunder Set than with six pieces of Epic Equipment. As for the Gravity Mountain Range, the various superpowers had recently discovered the deadly forbidden land. It wouldn''t have caused such a stir if the area had only offered abundant resources, but the superpowers had also discovered that the map had a unique aspect. The map was unusually free in that no kingdom or empire had jurisdiction over it. Players could take control of the map as their own territory. The various superpowers had gone crazy over the discovery. Normally, utilizing the territory around a city was enough for a first-rate Guild to become immensely wealthy. Even superpowers would be tempted to claim such an area, but now, players had discovered that it was possible to take control of an entire map. Moreover, the map in question was particularly resource-rich. The potential profits one could earn from the Gravity Mountain Range was unimaginable. Laying claim to the Gravity Mountain Range would the equivalent of obtaining a super-miniature kingdom. The area was also surrounded by Level 100 maps, which was extremely important to the various superpowers'' development. This discovery was also the reason that many of the superpowers hadn''t bothered Zero Wing, despite the fact that it maintained ownership of Stone Forest City. After all, this forbidden land was far more important than a God Mode Regional Dungeon. However, the Gravity Mountain Range was still a forbidden land; Regional Dungeons and secret lands simply couldn''t compare. Not only was players'' Stamina consumption amplified in the mountain range, but the Mana there was also quite thin. Despite the fact that monsters in the Bottomless Abyss were far stronger than those in the Gravity Mountain Range, the various superpowers'' teams had a much harder time fighting the mountain range''s monsters. Naturally, capturing the ancient fortresses in the Gravity Mountain Range and transforming them into fortified bases would be even more of a challenge. "I agree, but what is a Thunder Source Crystal?" Melody understood what Ruthless Sky was trying to say. In fact, this was one of the main reasons that the Sacred Temple had visited the Thunder God''s Secret Land in the first place. The Sacred Temple hadn''t made any progress in exploring the Gravity Mountain Range, so the Guild had shifted its focus to strengthening its exploration teams. The Thunder God''s Secret Land was the perfect place to do just that. This was an Ancient God''s secret land, and it would have plenty of valuable items available. However, players needed Thunder Source Crystals to purchase any of the items for sale in the main temple. While the various superpowers'' experts wondered what the Thunder Source Crystals were, Samsara and his team found the name familiar. "Didn''t that Boss drop a Thunder Source Crystal?" Burning Sea whispered. "I see. So, these items won''t be so easy to acquire," Samsara commented as he nodded to Burning Sea. Somewhat disappointed, he continued, "It seems we''ll have to start with the guidance quest." The Thunder Source Crystal was one of the items the Naga General, Volenka, had dropped. To be precise, it had come from an item called the Crystal Box. One Crystal Box only contained a dozen or so Thunder Source Crystals, but Volenka had only dropped two boxes. After dividing the loot, there hadn''t even been enough to give each team member three Thunder Source Crystals. To purchase the Phantom Thunder Set, they''d have to kill all of the side temple''s Bosses several dozen times. Unfortunately, the Dungeon only reset once every three days, and current players were helpless against the side temple''s Bosses. In other words, current players could only gaze longingly at the main temple''s top-tier equipment. Of course, Shi Feng had long since gotten used to that. The Thunder Temple within the core of the Thunder God''s Secret Land was a treasure trove. Even Tier 5 players would find tempting items, not to mention Tier 2 players. However, it would take more than a few days of hard work to afford these items. After browsing the items inside the main temple for a little while longer, Samsara led Endless Scars, Burning Sea, and Frozen Gem to turn in their Epic Guidance Quest on the main temple''s second floor. As for Shi Feng and the others, they had only been hired to escort the three players and were free to leave and do their own thing. Fortunately, leaving the Thunder God''s Secret Land was quite simple. One just had to use the teleportation array within the main temple. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I really have to thank you for your help. If not for you, the Flower of Seven Sins would''ve annihilated us, and we never would''ve reached the main temple," Samsara expressed his gratitude and admiration. "For your remuneration, I am willing to offer an extra 10 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. I hope that you can accept them." "You''re being too courteous, Brother Samsara. I was only fulfilling my part of the contract." Shi Feng was at a loss when Samsara offered 10 more bottles. Although Zero Wing didn''t lack funds, obtaining a single bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid was excruciatingly difficult, yet Samsara casually handed them out... "Guild Leader Black Flame, please don''t be polite. With your strength, I''d like to trouble you more in the future. Consider the extra bottles as a deposit," Samsara said, shaking his head. Burning Sea and Frozen Gem nodded in agreement with their leader. To experts like them, Shi Feng was far more valuable than the various superpowers. They hadn''t realized Shi Feng''s strength when he had first shown up, but after witnessing his heaven-defying performance, not taking the chance to befriend him would be a huge waste. Since Samsara''s intentions to form a relationship were genuine, Shi Feng didn''t reject his offer again. Even a Super Guild would be fortunate to befriend such powerful experts. Even if recruiting these experts were impossible, Shi Feng could hire them to help in the future. God''s Domain wasn''t a single-player game, and many aspects would require powerful experts. Moreover, it was not very often that Shi Feng met someone as generous and wealthy as Samsara. His ability to hand out dozens of S-rank Nutrient Fluids was just frightening. Shi Feng, Samsara, and the rest of the party then added each other as friends, promising to reach out if any of them needed help. Once the team disbanded, Shi Feng planned to return to Zero Wing. He had spent quite a bit of time in the Thunder God''s Secret Land, and he still had responsibilities in the Guild. Although he hadn''t obtained the Guild Alchemy Workshop Design, he had acquired an Ancient God''s Literature Fragment, so his trip hadn''t been a complete waste. In fact, he considered it to have been a profitable journey. Just as Shi Feng turned toward the Teleportation Hall in the main temple, Happy Art approached him. "Big Brother Black Flame, do you have anything urgent to take care of right now?" Happy Art asked. "Not in particular," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. "In that case, would you mind joining me to meet with someone?" Happy Art mysteriously asked. "Meet with someone? Who is it?" Shi Feng responded, curious about Happy Art''s serious expression. "Our Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader!" Happy Art answered. 2212 Shocking Appearance of a Flying Moun Chapter 2212 - Shocking Appearance of a Flying Mount ''Your Guild Leader?" Shi Feng could not help his surprise to hear that the Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader wanted to meet him. Thirteen Thrones was a Super Guild. Many superpowers had begun to emerge in God''s Domain at this stage of the game, but most of them could only rival veteran super-first-rate Guilds. Some couldn''t even manage that. One could count the number of superpowers that rivaled Super Guilds on one hand. Even among Super Guilds, Thirteen Thrones was stronger than average. Although the Super Guild had been stuck in a corner of the God''s Domain continent, far from the continent''s richest locations, during Shi Feng''s previous life, it had nearly been as strong as the Five Great Super Guilds at its peak. At the time, it had controlled three empires and almost ten kingdoms. "That''s right. Our Guild Leader wishes to meet with you," Happy Art said, nodding. She, too, found the situation surprising. "He told me that he has something that might interest you." She had only reported about what had happened in the side temple and the party''s encounter with the Flower of Seven Sins. She hadn''t expected her Guild Leader to request a meeting with Shi Feng. Thirteen Thrones was a veteran Super Guild that maintained its rank among the top 10 Super Guilds. It employed countless experts, and the Guild Leader was always busy with endless responsibilities. Other superpowers'' Guild Leaders would have a hard time arranging a meeting with Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, not to mention core upper echelons or old monsters. And yet, her Guild Leader had sent this Swordsman an invitation. "Something that might interest me?" After giving the matter some thought and ensuring that he didn''t have any urgent matters to attend to, Shi Feng agreed, "Alright, let''s go." It wasn''t easy to meet with a Super Guild''s Guild Leader. Generally, these people operated behind the scenes, issuing a single word to mobilize hundreds of thousands of experts. Moreover, Shi Feng was curious about what this Guild Leader wanted to discuss. He accompanied Happy Art as they teleported out of the Thunder God''s Secret Land, instantly arriving on an island in the Sea of Death. Several hundred teams, mostly consisting of Level 73 and 74 players, were busy grinding the island''s monsters. To ordinary players, these people were definitely experts. Shi Feng and Happy Art''s sudden arrival instantly attracted many of the teams'' attention. "Where did those two suddenly come from?" "They teleported here?" "They dared to come here with just the two of them? Are they tired of living?" The island''s players chatted as they wondered about Shi Feng and Happy Art. This was no ordinary island, and its monsters were quite powerful. The weakest monster here was a Level 75 Chieftain, while most were Lords and Grand Lords, and they all typically worked in groups of 100 or more. To make matters worse, the island was astoundingly cold, and without more than 70 Ice Resistance, players wouldn''t survive on the island. Even a 20-man team of expert players would quickly die. Why wouldn''t these teams be surprised to see a 2-man team suddenly appear? While the several hundred nearby experts watched Shi Feng and Happy Art, who had hidden their identities and levels, out of curiosity, the two experts in question ignored them and inspected a map to identify their location. This is Frosthell Island. My Guild Leader is currently on Dragonheart Island. If we take a Bronze Speedboat, we should arrive in eight or so hours," Happy Art said, breathing a sigh of relief when she recognized their location. Due to a lack of teleportation points, travel at sea wasn''t as convenient as travel on land. Players could spend 10 hours just to get from one place to another. Fortunately, Frosthell Island was in the Sea of Death''s inner region, very close to Dragonheart Island. It was too bad she only had a Bronze Speedboat. A Mysterious-Iron Speedboat would get them to their destination a lot sooner, but such speedboats were painfully rare, even in a Super Guild like Thirteen Thrones. Normally, they would be assigned to peak experts that focused on naval prowess. Experts like her, who shifted between land and sea, were only given Bronze Speedboats. "We''re heading to Dragonheart Island?" Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, "A boat will take too long, and we''ll have to deal with plenty of sea monsters. Let''s just fly there." After saying so, Shi Feng retrieved the Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute and activated it. In the next moment, the ten-meter-tall Thunder Eagle descended from the sky. It looked like a medium-sized passenger aircraft with its massive wingspan, stretching across several dozen meters. The eagle''s impressive aura even dwarfed that of the island''s Great Lords. As the Thunder Eagle landed, its wings stirred the air into a small storm that engulfed nearby players. At the same time, these players felt an immense pressure press down on them. "Let''s go," Shi Feng said as he hopped onto the Thunder Eagle''s back. In God''s Domain, most Land Mounts could only carry two to seven people, depending on their strength. The weakest Flying Mount, however, could carry up to ten people. An Extraordinary Flying Mount like the Thunder Eagle was capable of carrying up to 20 people at one time. Hearing Shi Feng''s invitation, Happy Art nodded and eagerly jumped onto the Thunder Eagle''s back. With a flap of its wings, the Thunder Eagle blurred as it left its position. By the time the watching players spotted it again, the Mount was several dozen meters above the ground. With its lightning speed, the Thunder Eagle vanished after several seconds. The experts on Frosthell Island only snapped out of their daze after the Thunder Eagle was gone. Shocked, they stared at the horizon, where Shi Feng and his companion had vanished. "Crap! That was...a Flying Mount! It''s the rumored Flying Mount!" "I must be seeing things! How can those two have a Flying Mount when the various superpowers haven''t even found one? Were they NPCs?" "Nonsense! I used an Advanced Identification Skill on them before they left! I couldn''t see any of their information, but I did see player markers above their heads! They are definitely players!" "So, that was a Flying Mount! Amazing! Truly amazing! Our Land Mounts are no more than turtles compared to that eagle!" "That eagle looked so cool! I''ll have to get Flying Mount for myself someday!" The expert players on Frosthell Island quickly published the situation on the Sea of Death''s official forums, starting a heated discussion about the two players'' identities. Since the forum post had included pictures and video of the Flying Mount, it quickly became a hot topic. Most ordinary experts were still searching for a Bronze Mount of their own. They could only dream of riding a Mysterious-Iron or Secret-Silver Mount. Only large Guilds'' upper echelons might own such a high-quality Mount, and not even first-rate Guilds were guaranteed to have a Fine-Gold Mount. Yet, they had just witnessed a Flying Mount! With the ability to ignore terrain, Flying Mounts were even faster than Epic Land Mounts. Moreover, they had all seen the Thunder Eagle''s speed. With such a fast Mount, traveling across God''s Domain wouldn''t be a problem. When the various superpowers received news of the Thunder Eagle, the matter became a sensation. They frantically began to search for the identities of the Thunder Mount''s riders. 2213 Twelve Holy Swords Chapter 2213 - Twelve Holy Swords "I want this matter investigated! Find out who those people are!" "Once you learn their identities, figure out how they got that Flying Mount!" "They came from Frosthell Island! They should still be in the area! Notify everyone there to search for those players and report back when they find them!" Once the various superpowers found out about the Thunder Eagle, they poured manpower into investigating the Flying Mount. Its appearance had stirred the previously peaceful Sea of Death to life. While the various superpowers searched frantically for the Thunder Eagle, Sand Bone, who had just escaped the Thunder God''s Secret Land, received news of the Flying Mount as well. "Isn''t this the monster Black Flame had summoned?" Sand Bone stared at the pictures he had received in shock. "It''s actually a Flying Mount?" As an apex expert, he knew just how valuable a Flying Mount was in God''s Domain. Apex experts often found resource- rich areas when exploring the continent, but since they were so far from civilization, these players couldn''t exploit these regions. However, they could increase their harvests by several-fold if they had a Mount, exploring regions that other players couldn''t reach. Needless to say, their leveling speed would substantially increase as well. The main reason that players'' leveling speeds decreased as they reached higher levels was due to the fact that high- level maps were very far away from teleportation points, and building or relocating a Guild Town was easier said than done. "Boss Sand, why don''t we publicize this matter? Even if we do nothing, the various superpowers will take Black Flame out if they know that he is the one riding that Flying Mount," the Level 77 Assassin suggested from beside Sand Bone. Now that they had discovered the existence of Flying Mounts, the various superpowers would stop at nothing to find their own. Their players'' leveling speeds and ability to gather resources would skyrocket with a Flying Mount. It was the perfect opportunity for these superpowers to gain an advantage over their rivals. If they found out that Black Flame was the Thunder Eagle''s owner, they would go after him. "No! We mustn''t let anybody know about this!" Sand Bone said, shaking his head. "This is a good opportunity for us!" "An opportunity?" the Level 77 Assassin asked in confusion. Your idea might be useful if that were an ordinary Flying Mount, but Black Flame had summoned it within the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Only tools from within the secret land will work there, and Black Flame hadn''t summoned the eagle before entering the side temple. Had he done so, his team wouldn''t have fled from us," Sand Bone said, chuckling. "Do you know what that means?" "It means that Black Flame obtained the Flying Mount from the side temple!" the Level 77 Assassin answered, his eyes glowing with excitement. "Correct, and the various superpowers don''t know that yet. The few superpowers'' teams inside still can''t communicate with their Guild members outside of the Thunder God''s Secret Land. They likely don''t know that the eagle Black Flame summoned is a Flying Mount," Sand Bone said, sneering. "Black Flame may have disrupted Brother Sky''s plans, but he led us straight to a Flying Mount''s origin. We need to secure the side temple before other powers figure this out. Then, we can take our time with Black Flame and Samsara''s group!" Sand Bone had witnessed the Thunder Eagle''s strength personally. Not even the 12 Tier 3 Heroic Warriors had been a match for it. If the Flower of Seven Sins could acquire a few Thunder Eagles of their own, no one could stop the organization within God''s Domain. While entering the Thunder God''s Secret Land was a challenge for the various superpowers, it wasn''t hard for the Flower of Seven Sins. Sand Bone immediately contacted Supreme Sky to inform him of the situation. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s Thunder Eagle hovered above the sea near Dragonheart Island. He had Happy Art summon her Bronze Speedboat to carry them the rest of their way. The Thunder Eagle was too eye-catching to fly directly to the island; it would almost certainly attract trouble. Dragonheart Island was, after all, a hub for the various superpowers. As Happy Art watched the Thunder Eagle vanish, she couldn''t help her disappointment that she hadn''t gotten to ride it for a while longer. Aside from the wonderful feeling of soaring through the sky, the Flying Mount''s speed was aweinspiring. Thanks to the Thunder Eagle, the trip that would''ve taken eight hours by Bronze Speedboat, had lasted less than an hour. With such speed, she could visit any leveling spot she wanted. After a moment, Shi Feng and Happy Art reached Dragonheart Island''s port. Easily several hundred ships floated at the docks, and Bronze Speedboats were a particularly common sight. There were even more than 20 extremely rare sailboats. The entrance to Dragonheart City lay beyond the port. Majestic walls, over 100 meters tall, surrounded the city, and the lowest-level player they saw entering or leaving was Level 75. Moreover, most of these players were experts from the various superpowers. Some experts, who had just arrived, were shocked by what they saw. As the only large-scale democratic NPC city in the Sea of Death, Dragonheart City was a forest of unique, monumental buildings. Occasionally, players could even spot flying ships as they glided through the sky above. NPCs of various races, such as Half-ores, Half-elves, Naga, and Dwarves, roamed the city streets. The majority of these NPCs were merchants, carrying massive backpacks or driving freight wagons. These NPCs hawked their wares all over the city. If one paid close attention to the NPC merchants'' comments, they''d learn that many of the items for sale were unique, not available elsewhere. Most of these merchants'' stocks, in fact, included incredibly rare, valuable items. Some NPCs even sold Mysterious-Iron Mounts and Holy Fruit, which could permanently increase a players'' Attributes. Players could even buy Tier 3 Slave Guards. Much of what they saw sorely tempted players who were new to the city. Unfortunately, these NPCs did not accept the human race''s Coins as currency. They only accepted Ancient Coins. Without Ancient Coins, surviving in Dragonheart City was nearly impossible. The Ancient Coin was a type of currency that had been used since ancient times. The Mana these coins carried made them different from ordinary Coins, and when players collected a certain amount, they could even increase the Mana density around them. However, actually acquiring Ancient Coins was an extreme challenge for players. Even Zero Wing struggled to earn Ancient Coins. After Happy Art guided Shi Feng through the city for about half an hour, they arrived before an Advanced Bar named Dragon Blood. Passersby marveled at the two for their assumed wealth when Shi Feng and Happy Art entered the tavern. Everything in Dragonheart City cost Ancient Coins, and the products and services that Dragon Blood offered were particularly expensive. The cheapest fruit wine the bar sold cost 10 Ancient Coins per bottle. Expert players like themselves couldn''t even earn that much after two days of questing in Dragonheart City. Once they entered the bar, Happy Art led Shi Feng to one of the top-floor rooms. When they entered the room, they were greeted by a young, white-haired Swordsman in white clothes who sat by the window, enjoying a glass of wine. Aside from the young man''s name, Shi Feng couldn''t see any of his information. Despite sitting there quietly, the young man felt like the most important thing in the room. Amazing! So, this is Melancholy, Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader? Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed as he watched the youth before him. Although he could not see Melancholy''s level or equipment, the man felt dangerous. Shi Feng also spotted something familiar on Melancholy''s body. That weapon was the reason that Melancholy had risen to fame in God''s Domain-the Sacred Dragon''s Blade. The sword was a bona fide Fragmented Legendary Weapon and one of God''s Domain''s Twelve Holy Swords. It was leagues stronger than Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations. Someone else stood in the room, as well, and Shi Feng was very familiar with this player. Starlink''s Guild Leader, Lu Xingluo! 2214 Meeting Lu Xingluo Again Chapter 2214 - Meeting Lu Xingluo Again Why is he here? Shi Feng could not help his surprise as he looked at Lu Xingluo. Lu Xingluo was an insufferable young master. Before entering God''s Domain, he most likely hadn''t even been aware of the superpowers that existed in the virtual gaming world. Needless to say, he wouldn''t have had any relations with the Super Guilds in the virtual gaming world, much less the Guild Leaders of Super Guilds. Shi Feng found it incredible that Lu Xingluo was acquainted with Melancholy. Melancholy was extremely secretive with his movements; let alone someone like Lu Xingluo, even the Guild Leaders of other Super Guilds had a very difficult time meeting with him. Although Lu Xingluo was the heir of the Starline Corporation, he did not actually hold much authority. In comparison, Melancholy had direct control over Thirteen Thrones. Not only was Thirteen Thrones itself a major corporation, but the Guild also received the full support of multiple major corporations. Melancholy was someone with true power, someone leagues above Lu Xingluo. Comparing Lu Xingluo with Melancholy was akin to standing a child beside an adult. Even if the child was dressed luxuriously, a child was still a child. Moreover, Starlink had always focused its development in the Dark Night Empire, whereas Thirteen Thrones'' development was in a far corner of the continent. The two Guilds'' bases of operations were extremely distant from each other, giving them no opportunity to come into contact. Now, however, Lu Xingluo was actually sitting in the same room as Melancholy. Shi Feng found this situation truly surprising. Meanwhile, the originally calm atmosphere inside the room suddenly became tense with Shi Feng''s appearance, as Lu Xingluo started glaring at him hatefully. However, similar to Shi Feng, Lu Xingluo was also surprised to see him here. In Lu Xingluo''s opinion, Shi Feng was merely the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Even if Shi Feng was strong, the man was just a slightly stronger ant. He and Shi Feng stood on entirely different levels. Although Zero Wing currently possessed the ability to provoke superpowers, that was merely due to Stone Forest City''s existence. The number of experts in Zero Wing was extremely low. The Guild itself did not have any noteworthy strength at all. Once Stone Forest City''s advantages disappeared, Zero Wing''s days would be numbered. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually appeared in this venue. Meanwhile, when Melancholy looked at Shi Feng, surprise briefly flashed in his eyes. However, he quickly calmed himself and took the initiative to greet Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Black Flame, please, sit." What''s going on here? Lu Xingluo was further confused when he saw Melancholy greeting Shi Feng first. Previously, when he had been conversing with Melancholy, the latter had consistently maintained an indifferent attitude. On the other hand, Melancholy''s attitude toward Shi Feng actually contained a trace of friendliness. Since Melancholy had taken the initiative to greet him, Shi Feng responded with a nod and went straight to business, asking, "Guild Leader Melancholy, may I know your reason for calling me here?" "Just like Happy Art has said, you really are a straightforward person," Melancholy said, chuckling. He then pointed at the city outside the window and asked, "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know your thoughts on Dragonheart City?" "A sacred land for commerce," Shi Feng answered after pondering the matter. During his previous life, Dragonheart City was one of the strongest commercial cities in God''s Domain. Every inch of land here had been worth its weight in gold as one of the main areas of activity for Tier 3 naval players. The resources available here were much more abundant compared to what Thunder Island had. Not to mention, Dragonheart City was the sole large-scale free NPC city in the Sea of Death. Unlike the NPC cities on the main continent, Dragonheart City was a place where players could become king. Of course, this did not mean that players could capture it. Instead, players had the option to purchase it. Every construction in Dragonheart City-including the Auction House, City Lord''s Mansion, Teleportation Hall, and other key constructionscould be purchased so long as one had the money to do so. Players could do anything they wanted with the construction they purchased. They could even demolish the original construction and build another construction of their choosing. Moreover, Dragonheart City was also home to the famous World Tower. The World Tower was a place that the mainstream powers in God''s Domain would keep an eye on. When compared to the World Tower, the value of Otherworld Gates was insignificant because one could find super-rare Epic materials inside the World Tower and even the main materials needed to produce Fragmented Legendary items. Due to this reason, Dragonheart City had become one of the strongest commercial cities during Shi Feng''s previous life. At its peak, the city''s commercial influence had surpassed even that of an empire. "That''s right. This place will become a sacred land for commerce." Melancholy nodded approvingly. He never thought that Shi Feng would be so on point with his answer. Smiling, he continued, "May I know if Guild Leader Black Flame is interested in setting up a Shop here?" "Setting up a Shop here?" Shi Feng looked at Melancholy in confusion. If possible, he really wished to set up a Shop in Dragonheart City. Unlike the player Shops in ordinary NPC cities, those in Dragonheart City could do business with the NPCs of other races. Meanwhile, Dragonheart City hosted a very large number of foreign races, far more than even Thunder Axe City. Obtaining Epic materials and ancient designs was much easier here. In the entire Gods Domain there were only a handful of NPC cities capable of rivaling Dragonheart Hence, Dragonheart City''s Shops were incredibly valuable. However, setting up a Shop here was not an easy task. Even Zero Wing couldn''t do so right now since all Shops in Dragonheart City utilized only Ancient Coins as currency. Ancient Coins were different from ordinary Coins. Not only were Ancient Coins difficult to obtain, but exchanging them was also a big problem. Unlike ordinary Coins, Ancient Coins were not automatically converted to a higher denomination after a certain amount was collected. The system did not convert Ancient Copper to Ancient Silver, or Ancient Silver to Ancient Gold automatically. Meanwhile, the merchandise sold in Dragonheart City required specific Coins. In other words, items priced in Ancient Silver could not be purchased using Ancient Copper. The same was true for items selling for Ancient Gold. However, items sold for Ancient Silver could be purchased with Ancient Gold. The conversion used the official exchange rate, which was a l-to-100 ratio. Due to this reason, the value of Ancient Gold was extremely higheven after ten years had passed in God''s Domain. Moreover, even the cheapest Shop in Dragonheart City cost 8,000 Ancient Gold, which was not a sum the current Zero Wing could acquire. "That''s right! Setting up a Shop here!" Melancholy affirmed. "Of course, there is a price for this Shop. I wish to borrow Zero Wing''s strength to capture a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range. As long as we succeed, I''ll give you 10,000 Ancient Gold to purchase a Shop in Dragonheart City." Realization immediately dawned upon Shi Feng at Melancholy''s words. It was no wonder Melancholy could offer him such remuneration. The Gravity Mountain Range was located beneath the World Tower. Not only was the Gravity Mountain Range rich in resources, but the fortresses found there were also the main method for the acquisition of Ancient Gold Coins. By securing a fortress there, one could net a profit of two or three thousand Ancient Gold every day. Moreover, as more time passed and the fortress became better-equipped, more NPCs of foreign races would visit the fortress, further increasing the fortress''s income of Ancient Gold. Only, the fortresses found in the Gravity Mountain Range were not easy to capture. Setting aside the countless monsters that resided in these fortresses, just the Level 100-plus Mythic monsters serving as the Guardian Boss of these fortresses were sufficient to annihilate any of the current superpowers. Just as Shi Feng was about to reply to Melancholy, Lu Xingluo suddenly frowned and said, "Guild Leader Melancholy, aren''t you thinking too highly of Zero Wing? With our two Guilds cooperating with each other, we are almost certain to secure the fortress. Zero Wing is merely lending a little help, yet you''re giving them 10,000 Ancient Gold? Isn''t that a little too much?" 2215 Yousre Not Fi Chapter 2215 - You''re Not Fit Lu Xingluo''s words made Melancholy frown for a moment. "What are you trying to say, Guild Leader Lu?" Melancholy asked coldly. He had long since known about the feud between Starlink and Zero Wing. However, as a Guild Leader, he had to prioritize profits above all. There were no eternal enemies, only eternal profits, which was also why he had invited Shi Feng over for a negotiation. Not only did Shi Feng himself possess the ability to summon the powerful Thunder Eagle, but Zero Wing''s Combat Puppets and Tanks were also very suitable for siege battles. The matter regarding the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortress was of utmost importance. Although Thirteen Thrones and Starlink already had an 80% chance of securing the fortress they were aiming for, having a little more insurance would never hurt. Melancholy had never imagined that Lu Xingluo would throw a tantrum over such an important matter. If not for the great personage backing Lu Xingluo, as well as Starlink indeed having the strength to deal with the monsters inside the fortress and its territory being very far away from Thirteen Thrones'' territory, Melancholy wouldn''t have bothered cooperating with Lu Xingluo at all. "A thousand Ancient Gold should be more than enough. After all, Zero Wing will only play the role of a spectator. Countless other Guilds would be willing to accept 1,000 Ancient Gold to take on such a role," Lu Xingluo said, chuckling as he glanced at Shi Feng. "Don''t you think so as well, Guild Leader Black Flame?" "You..." Happy Art, who stood at a corner of the room, could not help gnashing her teeth in anger at Lu Xingluo''s words. Shi Feng was her Guild Leader''s guest, yet Lu Xingluo was speaking as if he was the one presiding over this business transaction. He was showing Thirteen Thrones no respect whatsoever. She had personally witnessed Shi Feng''s strength. The Thunder Eagle''s combat power would definitely increase Thirteen Thrones'' chances of securing the fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range. Moreover, she knew what kind of remuneration Samsara had paid Shi Feng. That was several dozen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid they were talking about, something one could not buy even if they had the money to do so. Although an individual''s combat power would indeed have a limited effect in a siege battle, if it became public that Thirteen Thrones was offering to hire Shi Feng at a price lower than Samsara''s, Thirteen Thrones would definitely be the butt of everyone''s jokes. However, before Happy Art could say anything, Shi Feng preempted her, smiling and saying, "What Guild Leader Lu said is indeed correct. It would be very wonderful if a Guild could receive 1,000 Ancient Gold just for spectating. Only, I wonder how much a Guild that can''t even beat a spectating Guild should receive?" Shi Feng was well aware of Melancholy''s habit of developing partners. Meanwhile, it was quite obvious that Lu Xingluo had grasped this point as well. If Zero Wing partnered up with Thirteen Thrones this time, the relationship between the two Guilds would undoubtedly become stronger. Meanwhile, Thirteen Thrones was an existence far above super-first-rate Guilds like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul. If Zero Wing received Thirteen Thrones'' support, Starlink would definitely have plenty of trouble dealing with Zero Wing in the future. Knowing this, Lu Xingluo naturally couldn''t allow the partnership between Zero Wing and Thirteen Thrones to succeed, even if it meant earning Melancholy''s dislike. Not to mention, Melancholy''s goal was profits. The man wouldn''t dismiss Thirteen Thrones'' partnership with Starlink just because of a little dislike. Hence, Shi Feng couldn''t allow Lu Xingluo to have his way. Moreover, securing a Shop in Dragonheart City was a great temptation. Although the value of Dragonheart City''s Shops was nowhere close to the value of the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses, the Shops were still one of the main avenues of earning Ancient Gold. However, Zero Wing would need a lot of time to collect enough Ancient Gold to purchase a Shop in Dragonheart City. During this period, Zero Wing would lose out on many opportunities. If it could receive some startup funds from Thirteen Thrones, earning Ancient Gold would become much easier later on. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, Happy Art silently snickered. The feud between Starlink and Zero Wing was already common knowledge among the various superpowers. Meanwhile, Starlink had suffered not only failure in its multiple attempts to destroy Zero Wing but even significant losses. "Black Flame!" Lu Xingluo burst out in rage at Shi Feng''s words. "Don''t think that you''re amazing just because you managed to protect your turtle shell! Attacking a fortress requires absolute strength! It is not something that can be accomplished with your little tricks! You think your Guild is amazing, right? Why don''t we have a true comparison of our Guilds? I won''t take advantage of your lack of numbers, either. We''ll each send 10,000 players to fight it out in the Divine Colosseum! "If Zero Wing wins, I will no longer doubt Zero Wing''s strength and will admit that Zero Wing is qualified to receive that 10,000 Ancient Gold. If Zero Wing loses, then obediently take your spectator fees! "We''ll have Guild Leader Melancholy preside over this match. How about it? Do you dare accept this challenge?" Happy Art could not help but curse Lu Xingluo for his shamelessness. Zero Wing had just recently stepped onto the path of becoming a superpower. The quantity and quality of experts Zero Wing possessed were still far from comparable to what an actual superpower like Starlink had. Moreover, at this stage of the game, expert players had long since gotten used to the combat style of God''s Domain. Everyone''s equipment was also continuously improving. Now, it was very difficult for anyone to have an edge in terms of equipment quality. It might be fine if the competition this time was only a 100-versus-100 match. In such a case, Zero Wing would still have a chance of victory. However, in a battle involving 20,000 players, Zero Wing wouldn''t even have enough expert players to fill its slots. In contrast, Starlink had a bunch of old monsters and peak experts under its command. It seems he is still too young, Melancholy thought as he turned to look at Shi Feng. However, he did not address Lu Xingluo''s words. This was because what Lu Xingluo said was indeed true. Being on the defensive side of a siege battle held a completely different meaning to being on the offensive side. It was much easier to defend a fortified location. Generally, the one on the offensive side had to pay a much higher price than the defensive side to achieve victory. Although Zero Wing could indeed repulse Starlink''s forces, its actual strength was still far from comparable to Starlink''s. In Melancholy''s opinion, Shi Feng''s provocation of Lu Xingluo now was a very unwise move. Otherwise, Lu Xingluo wouldn''t have had the opportunity to take advantage of Zero Wing''s weakness. As for the matter of partnering up with Zero Wing, it was obviously no longer possible this time. After all, if Melancholy allowed Zero Wing to fight Starlink, Thirteen Thrones'' reputation would only suffer. Nevertheless, after all was said and done, Black Flame was his invited guest. He had no choice but to smooth things over and have Black Flame take a step back in this struggle. However, just as Melancholy was about to speak up, Shi Feng looked at Lu Xingluo and replied calmly, "Whether Zero Wing is qualified or not is not up to you to decide, Guild Leader Lu. Moreover, you''re not fit to do so, either. Since Guild Leader Lu wishes for a fight, let''s just fight. Only, I wonder, what do you plan to do if you lose, Guild Leader Lu?" Is he insane? Surprise flashed across Melancholy''s face when he heard Shi Feng''s reply. At this point, Starlink''s strength was already close to rivaling that of Super Guilds. Moreover, the Guild''s background was one that even Thirteen Thrones would not dare to take lightly. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was currently in the limelight of God''s Domain and had recruited many talented people from the Dark Night Empire and various other kingdoms. A defeat at Starlink''s hands would wash all of the reputation it had accumulated before down the drain. In the aftermath, the loss of this competition might even bring about Zero Wing''s thorough demise. "I''m not fit?" Lu Xingluo laughed at Shi Feng''s reply. "If I lose, I''ll give you 10,000 Ancient Gold! Three days! Don''t say that I didn''t give you time to gather your men. In three days, we''ll fight it out in Dark Night City!" "Good! We''ll fight in Dark Night City in three days!" Shi Feng nodded. Following which, Shi Feng said his goodbyes to Melancholy before leaving the room. He then returned to Zero Wing''s main headquarters in White River City. Before Shi Feng had acquired a Flying Mount, he indeed had not possessed the confidence to fight Starlink in a frontal confrontation. However, the situation was different now that he had a Flying Mount. With the Thunder Eagle, he could now visit distant locations that he originally couldn''t. Three days was more than enough for Zero Wing''s strength to undergo a qualitative transformation! 2216 Emergence of Talents Chapter 2216 - Emergence of Talents Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: As soon as Shi Feng walked out of the Guild Residence''s teleportation area, he noticed that the Guild Hall was crowded with players. The bars and restaurants set up there, in particular, were packed with chatting players, the majority of them talking about their recent harvests. When they saw Shi Feng walking out of the teleportation area, they fell silent. In the next moment, however, everyone went into an uproar. "Guild Leader! It''s the Guild Leader!" "The Guild Leader actually came to White River City''s Residence!" The Guild members present were all excited to see Shi Feng, and everyone started greeting him. To Zero Wing''s members, their Guild Leader was a true legend. Not only was he Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert, but he had also personally established Zero Wing and developed it into the kingdom''s number one Guild. Now, Zero Wing was even being recognized as a pseudo-super-first-rate Guild, and it was only a matter of time before it became a real one. Nowadays, Zero Wing was the most famous Guild in Star-Moon Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms and empires. If one mentioned Zero Wing''s name in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the Twin Towers Kingdom, and the Black Dragon Empire, the Guilds and powers of these countries would react with awe and fear. Moreover, after Zero Wing secured its hold over Stone Forest City, countless experts had started fighting to join Zero Wing. At this point, Zero Wing''s expert count had long since surpassed that of first-rate Guilds by leaps and bounds. The average level of Zero Wing''s expert players was also shooting up, thanks to the Bottomless Abyss. Due to these positive developments, the Guild was also making rapid progress in Team Dungeons, and its inventory of weapons, equipment, and resources had expanded considerably. Now, Zero Wing was inferior only to the various superpowers. However, compared to the superpowers, the conditions to acquire the weapons and equipment inside Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse were much looser. Most importantly, the top-tier Crystal Light SetDark-Gold Set Equipment that could be used up to Level 80was exclusive to Zero Wing. "Guild Leader, you''re back." When Aqua Rose came across Shi Feng, she quickly reported, "During the time you were absent, the Guild has been developing rapidly. We have recruited many Refinement Realm experts. After including the Lost Town''s special training and the complete Refinement Realm Legacy we obtained, we now have 86 Refinement Realm experts. The S-rank Nutrient Fluids you brought back also allowed quite a few of us to break through. Now, we have seven Flowing Water Realm experts in the Guild." When Aqua Rose spoke, her voice bubbled with excitement. Refinement Realm experts were far stronger than ordinary experts. Although God''s Domain provided the perfect environment and tools for players to train themselves, the number of experts capable of reaching the Refinement Realm standard was still extremely low. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds had only a handful of Refinement Realm experts, much less Flowing Water Realm experts. Logically, even if Zero Wing had the support of all these tools, it shouldn''t have many people reaching the Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm. Hence, Aqua Rose found this outcome truly unbelievable. Now, after including the Domain Realm expert Yan Tianxing and Void Realm expert Yi Luofei, Zero Wing possessed a considerably dazzling array of experts. Although the overall strength of Zero Wing''s top-tier combatants currently could not rival that of superpowers, the Guild had already gained a portion of the strength necessary to face superpowers in a frontal confrontation. "We already have so many Refinement Realm experts?" Shi Feng was also surprised by this outcome. He had been gone for only two weeks or so. Before he left, the Guild had only a little over 30 Refinement Realm experts. Now, that number had actually more than doubled. Zero Wing''s rate of improvement was simply terrifying. "This is mostly thanks to our Guild being at its peak. Previously, many members had been stuck at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Now that we have the Bottomless Abyss and a complete Refinement Realm Legacy, many finally managed to cross the threshold. In addition, this growth spurt isn''t over yet. I believe that in a few more days, the number of Refinement Realm experts our Guild has will increase to 100," Aqua Rose said confidently. "At that time, our Dungeon raiding and map exploration ability will not lose out to those superpowers anymore." As long as Zero Wing had 100 Refinement Realm experts, it could form 100-man teams to raid the truly top-tier Dungeons and even explore the Bottomless Abyss''s second floor. Raiding powerful Field Bosses wouldn''t be a problem anymore, either. Now, Zero Wing could also take advantage of the resources the various superpowers had been monopolizing all this time. "No, we have enough already," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Have everyone gather. I''m forming a 100-man exploration team." Zero Wing''s development speed truly exceeded his expectations. Originally, he thought that he would have to wait another month or two before the Guild would have so many Refinement Realm experts. Now, he was even more confident of defeating Starlink in the upcoming competition. "Exploration?" Aqua Rose fell into a daze momentarily when she heard Shi Feng''s words. However, she quickly snapped out of it and said excitedly, "Wonderful! I''ll contact them immediately!" Zero Wing''s members had been eagerly awaiting the day when they could explore high-level maps. Previously, they could only watch as the various superpowers explored these maps and collected all sorts of top-tier equipment and treasures. Although Zero Wing had the Crystal Light Set, after all was said and done, the set equipment was useful only to plate armor classes. The equipment standards of Zero Wing''s cloth and leather armor classes were still far from comparable to that of the superpowers. Zero Wing also did not possess as many powerful tools as the superpowers. After merely 30 minutes, all the players Aqua Rose contacted had gathered in White River City''s Guild Hall. Of the assembled players, the majority were at Level 75, and even the weakest piece of equipment on them was Level 75 Fine- Gold rank. This would definitely be considered top-tier equipment in the outside world, and even the main force members of first-rate Guilds would envy these players. After all, most Guild experts had just reached Level 75 recently. Obtaining Level 75 top-tier equipment was still incredibly difficult. "Guild Leader, which location are we going to explore? The Bottomless Abyss''s second floor?" Blackie asked when he saw the gathered players. He had been to the Bottomless Abyss''s second floor before, and the drop-rate of equipment and treasures there was on a whole new level compared to the first-floor''s drop-rate. The quality of the loot was also much higher. Killing any random Field Boss would net Level 75 Dark-Gold Equipment with absolute certainty. It was even rumored that some superpowers had obtained individual parts of Level 75 Dark-Gold Set Equipment from these Field Bosses. However, the monsters on the second floor were not only extremely powerful but also endless. Unless players could simultaneously raid a Field Boss and deal with an endless stream of mobs, survival was almost impossible. Unfortunately, Zero Wing did not have the strength to survive on the second floor right now; at this point, only the various superpowers did. Hence, both Blackie and everyone else present had been looking forward to the day when they, too, could set foot onto the Bottomless Abyss''s second floor. "No, we''re not going to the Bottomless Abyss," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Smiling, he continued, "We''re going to the Level 100 neutral map, the Endless Desert!" Level 100 was a major turning point in God''s Domain. The changes didn''t apply to just players and monsters but also maps. It was no exaggeration to say that the resources contained in pre-100 maps and post-100 maps were as different as heaven and earth. The amount of EXP monsters provided, in particular, was a whole magnitude more. Meanwhile, the Endless Desert was a vast desert located in the Abandoned Land in the main continent of God''s Domain. Not only was teleportation impossible in the Abandoned Land, but this map was also located extremely far from any kingdom or empire. Moreover, as a Level 100 map, even Level 100, Tier 2 experts would have only a 10% chance of survival when exploring the map, even if players went as a team of 100. The reason for this wasn''t just the presence of extremely powerful monsters; it was also the poor environment there. Players below Tier 3 would have a tough time surviving there. If Tier 2 experts tried entering the Endless Desert, death was almost certain, as the monsters there were even more dangerous than the monsters in the Bottomless Abyss. Of course, this was only true for the Endless Desert''s outer area. The inner area was much safer in comparison. In the past, after mainstream players'' levels exceeded 100, many large Guilds would frequently power-level their low- level members in the Endless Desert''s inner area. To enter the Endless Desert''s inner area safely, one had to either be escorted by a powerful team or be familiar with the terrain there. However, even players familiar with the Endless Desert''s terrain needed to meet stringent strength requirements. At this stage of the game, aside from Shi Feng, nobody else in Zero Wing qualified. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to bring the Guild''s experts there only after they reached Level 95, to help them reach Level 100 quickly. However, now that he had obtained the Thunder Eagle, ferrying players into the Endless Desert''s inner area would be a piece of cake. 2217 Abandoned Land Chapter 2217 - Abandoned Land "We''re going to a Level 100 map?" Zero Wing''s gathered experts were dazed when they heard Shi Feng''s plan. Current peak experts could only afford to explore Level 80 to 85 maps, not because they were incapable of defeating Level 90-plus monsters, but because it took so much time and effort to do so. Furthermore, Level 90-plus maps were far more dangerous and required more travel time to reach. Higher-level monsters also had a wider perception range. Level 80 monsters would only notice Level 75 players within 100 yards, but Level 90 monsters would notice a Level 75 player from 200 yards away. This made it much harder to avoid unwanted fights. This was why most experts decided against grinding in high-level maps right now. They wanted to, but the endeavor was too dangerous and not worth the effort. Most players didn''t even harbor the thought of grinding in Level 100 maps. "Guild Leader, we''re not even Level 80 yet. Won''t exploring a Level 100 map be a little too risky?" Yan Tianxing worriedly asked. "The various superpowers have already made more progress in exploring the Bottomless Abyss than our teams. If we take off to explore a Level 100 map, I''m afraid that they''ll only widen the gap between us..." Yan Tianxing knew that these players were experts among experts, and only the various superpowers would be capable of forming such a powerful 100-man team, but it was too risky to explore a Level 100 map. In contrast, the Bottomless Abyss was perfect for players of their level. It was the best leveling spot for them right now. "Everyone is a high enough level already." Shi Feng understood Yan Tianxing''s concerns. Chuckling, he said, "Moreover, the area we''re going to isn''t inferior to the Bottomless Abyss in the least." Normally, the Bottomless Abyss was the best leveling spot available for players at this stage of the game, but when one considered Level 100 maps, that wasn''t the case. Moreover, there were more than 10 superpowers within the Bottomless Abyss right now, and competition within the Dungeon was intense. In comparison, no one currently occupied the Endless Desert. The team of experts couldn''t help their excitement when they heard Shi Feng''s insistence. They all trusted his word, and since he was so confident, the map they were heading too definitely offered better resources than the heavily contested Bottomless Abyss. However, quite a few players were still concerned about the expedition. They were, after all talking about a Level 100 map. The monsters in the area would be the same level at the very least. Even if they wore equipment with the Ignore Levels mechanic, they could, at most, ignore 10 or so levels. They would still have to cope with more than 10 levels of suppression. But Shi Feng disregarded his team''s concerns and led his players to White River City''s Teleportation Hall. He instructed them to travel to the closest teleportation point to the Abandoned Land. With each person spending a little over 11 Gold in teleportation fees, the 100-man team had spent more than a 1,000 Gold. Even large Guilds would ache over the expense. Once they arrived in a remote town, Shi Feng sent everyone to Precipice Valley, a map that bordered the Abandoned Land with his Seven Luminaries Ring''s Spatial Gate. The team only reached their destination after four teleportations. Precipice Valley was a Level 80 map, relatively high-leveled for current players. Only superpowers'' expert teams or first-rate Guilds'' main forces could survive here. However, since the valley was so far from civilization, players weren''t willing to visit the map. As Zero Wing''s members stood before the Precipice Valley''s Great Precipice, their expressions darkened. Then all felt an intimidating aura from atop the thousand-meter-tall cliff. A visible layer of deadly energy enveloped the crag. They felt a stinging pain, even from so far away, as if something were sapping their strength. After a moment, every Zero Wing member was overwhelmed with an intense hunger. They started to shiver as if they had been starved for too long. "Crap! What is this place?!" Blackie couldn''t help the thread of fear he felt as he stared up at the Great Precipice. "Guild Leader, we''re not really going in there, are we?" This was the first time he had felt death linger around him so intensely. If he felt like this as he just stood before the Great Precipice, he didn''t even want to imagine how he''d feel once he moved beyond it. The environment alone was likely more than enough to kill him. "This precipice is special. It has an extremely powerful suppression force. I doubt ordinary Tier 2 experts would survive the climb," Gentle Snow commented, surprised as she rested her hand against the steep stone side. She hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would bring them to such a place. She possessed a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment and a Peak Legacy. Her Basic Attributes were among the best in God''s Domain right now, yet even she found the idea of climbing this rock face daunting. One could easily imagine the outcome other Tier 2 experts would face if they tried to climb the precipice. "That''s right. Tier 2 experts have no hope of climbing this cliffside. Anyone who tries will likely fall and die before they reach the halfway point," Shi Feng agreed, nodding. This was the boundary that separated the Abandoned Land from the outside world. Players couldn''t simply enter the Abandoned Land''s outer region on a whim. Chuckling, Shi Feng continued, "However, we don''t need to climb up it. I can just take you over." After saying so, Shi Feng summoned the Thunder Eagle. When the Thunder Eagle, which was as large as a medium-sized passenger plane, appeared, Blackie and the others'' eyes nearly fell from their sockets. "Gu-Guild Leader... That... Isn''t that a Flying Mount?!" Blackie stuttered. The appearance of a Flying Mount on Frosthell Island had caused a commotion throughout God''s Domain. Naturally, Zero Wing had paid very close attention to the matter. However, since it had only appeared once on the island, Zero Wing had no way of investigating the situation. The Thunder Eagle that hovered before them, however, looked exactly like the one on Frosthell Island. Although Blackie had been 99% sure that Shi Feng was responsible for causing the commotion, he hadn''t wanted to jump to conclusions. After all, that was a Flying Mount they were talking about! Everyone in God''s Domain was going crazy over the discovery. Not only could players soar through the sky with a Flying Mount, but they could also visit far more maps across the God''s Domain continent. The rest of the team eagerly stared at their Guild Leader, as well. They wanted to hear the truth from Shi Feng''s lips. "Mhm, this Thunder Eagle is indeed a Flying Mount." Seeing the madness in his players'' eyes, Shi Feng couldn''t help but nod and laugh. 2218 Frightening EXP Chapter 2218 - Frightening EXP When Shi Feng confirmed his team''s suspicion, they gasped as their faces lit up with joy. "Guild Leader, you''re so amazing! You actually own the Flying Mount that has caused such a commotion throughout God''s Domain!" "So, this is a Flying Mount?" "Guild Leader, why didn''t you tell us earlier?" Even as Aqua Rose and the others bombarded Shi Feng with questions, they were a little upset that he had hidden the Thunder Eagle from them, only telling them now. Yet, despite their irritation, they couldn''t help but rejoice over the fact that their Guild Leader owned the majestic Thunder Eagle. It was the first known Flying Mount in God''s Domain. If news of this spread, even more experts would swarm to the Guild''s Residences to join Zero Wing. Flying Mounts were many times rarer than Land Mounts, and even the most powerful experts would have to get lucky to acquire one. The best way to secure a Flying Mount was to join a Guild that already had one. Naturally, that meant that Zero Wing was experts'' best option as the first Guild to obtain a Flying Mount. Their Guild would have more of an advantage when acquiring such Mounts. Of course, they had to keep this information contained for as long as possible. Once the various superpowers found out, they would target Zero Wing with even greater ferocity. "I''m sure you''ve all realized the benefits of having a Flying Mount already. They are difficult to come by, but if any of you pass the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor, I''ll reward you with one of your own," Shi Feng said, smiling as he saw the desire flash in everyone''s eyes. Quite a few of Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts had already reached the Truth Realm. Unfortunately, they might be considered peak experts in a first-rate Guild, but they would still be trivial in a superpower. However, it would be a different story if they reached the Ascension Realm. Once players reached the Ascension Realm, they could effortlessly execute a Basic Combat Technique with every action. Executing Advanced Combat Techniques would also become a lot easier. Moreover, even if one were only in the Refinement Realm, they''d have a high chance of mastering a Bronze Combat Technique once they had entered the Ascension Realm. If a Flowing Water Realm expert entered the Ascension Realm, they''d be able to contend with peak experts with the same Basic Attributes as long as they had mastered a Bronze Combat Technique. "Are you serious, Guild Leader?" Fire Dance breathlessly asked. Shi Feng''s declaration even moved Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. Based on what they had learned thus far about Flying Mounts, they knew how rare they were. The fact that Shi Feng had obtained one was a miracle. Obtaining a second one would likely be impossible. "Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling at his players'' incredulous looks. Flying Mounts were incomparably valuable and even rarer than Epic items, but he had already spent more than a decade in Gods Domain. Although he couldnt easily acquire Extraordinary Flying Mounts, he could obtain a Common Flying Mount. In fact, he had originally planned to obtain a Common Flying Mount once he had reached Level 100, but now that he had the Thunder Eagle, it would be a lot easier to obtain that Common Flying Mount. Shi Feng''s confident tone only motivated his team even more to clear the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor. Fire Dance and Violet Cloud were especially inspired since they had already cleared the first floor and had made significant progress on the second floor. They were only a few short steps away from the Ascension Realm. After the conversation, Shi Feng flew the first group of players into the Abandoned Land. As they crossed the border, they felt a chill wrap around them. Everyone, aside from Shi Feng, who had an extraordinary physique, felt an intense hunger overtake them, including Gentle Snow. They could feel energy leave their bodies, and if they didn''t replenish it, they would likely die after five or six hours. Fortunately, the Thunder Eagle was extremely fast. Although the Mount shared the sky with flying monsters, as an Extraordinary Flying Mount, the Thunder Eagle''s speed was leaps and bounds higher than the Level 100-plus flying monsters. It easily shook off any monsters it aggroed. After nearly two hours, the first group finally arrived at the Endless Desert''s inner region. The sand in the inner region was silvery-white, and once they entered the area, the first group''s hunger eased. Now, Advanced Food and Beverages was enough to restore their lost Life Energy. However, when Aqua Rose saw the monsters on the ground, her expression darkened. [Skeleton Spirit] (Undead, Lord) Level 101 HP 70,000,000/70,000,000 [Skeleton General] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 102 HP 180,000,000/180,000,000 "So, these monsters are over Level 100?" Yan Tianxing frowned as he gazed at the monsters below. A Lord ranked Skeleton Spirit already had more HP than a Level 80 Great Lord, and its aura even felt deadly to a Domain Realm expert like him. Meanwhile, there were thousands of Skeleton Spirits roaming the desert below... If they hadn''t been flying, they''d already be dead. The Skeleton Generals in runic, silver armor were even more powerful. Yan Tianxing''s instincts screamed at him to run when he sensed their auras. "That''s a good spot. We''ll grind there," Shi Feng said as he pointed to a nearby sandstone pillar. The sandstone pillar was even larger than a seven-story house, with enough room at its peak to fit 100 players. Fortunately, there weren''t a lot of monsters near the pillar, so they didn''t have to worry about accidentally aggroing too many. Shi Feng soon landed the Thunder Eagle on the gravel pillar, but when his teammates saw the number of Skeleton Spirits around them, they were at a loss for words. To defeat a random Skeleton Spirit, they''d likely need to work as a full 20-man team, going all out. These Skeleton Spirits moved in groups of 10 or more, however. How were they supposed to kill these monsters? While the group was at their wit''s end, Shi Feng retrieved the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. Shi Feng wouldn''t have dared to grind here before reaching Level 85. After all, the Bible of Darkness could only summon a Demon that was 15 levels higher than he was, and the difference between Level 99 and 100 was massive. He would only be asking for a beating if he had tried to send a Level 99, Tier 3 Demon against a group of Level 100-plus Lords. However, now that he had already reached Level 85, the Tier 3 Demons he summoned would be Level 100. Although a Level 100, Tier 3 Demon would have a tough time against a dozen or so Level 101 Lords, it could manage it with sufficient healing. With the Tier 3 Demon serving as the MT, the rest of the team could attack with everything they had, and they wouldn''t have to worry about splash damage as long as they remained on top of the sandstone pillar. Once they saw the Tier 3 Demon, the team realized what Shi Feng intended even without further explanation. As soon as the Demon lured in a group of Skeleton Spirits and solidified its hold on the monsters'' aggro, the team bombarded the Skeletons. Violet Cloud and the other healers focused on maintaining the Demon''s HP in the meantime. Since the team members were underleveled, their attacks barely dealt -10,000 damage. Even when they focused on one Skeleton Spirit, they couldn''t deal enough damage to overcome the monster''s battle recovery. Fortunately, the Tier 3 Demon was quite powerful, and it was only a matter of time before they killed these Skeleton Spirits. Seeing that his players could handle the situation, Shi Feng returned to Precipice Valley atop his Thunder Eagle. The Level 100-plus monsters granted an abundance of EXP when they fell, even more than Level 99 Great Lords. Including the bonus EXP everyone received from killing a monster of a higher level, Gentle Snow and the others had leveled up more than once by the time Shi Feng returned with the second group. Their leveling speed stupefied Shadow Sword and the others, who were part of the second batch of players Shi Feng ferried. Before entering the Endless Desert, Gentle Snow and her comrades had been Level 77. The amount of EXP they needed to level up was horrific, yet after only a few hours, they were very close to Level 79... By the time Shi Feng had farried the entire 100-man team, Gentle Snow and the rest of the first group had reached Level 80. Moreover, the team''s grinding speed increased as Shi Feng continued to summon more Level 100, Tier 3 Demons when the Bible of Darkness''s Summon Demon Skill finished its Cooldown. The team''s leveling speed didn''t slow in the slightest, even after splitting the EXP between more players. Once Shi Feng had summoned three Tier 3 Demons, he began to challenge the Great Lord ranked Skeleton Generals. Even in Level 100 maps, Great Lords were relatively rare. They could be considered mini Bosses in Level 100 maps, and even Tier 3 experts would have to flee from a one-on-one battle with such a monster. However, by combining the strength of three Tier 3 Demons, in addition to the effects of Demon Ruler, Shi Feng was able to stand against a Level 100 Great Lord. Unfortunately, Aqua Rose and the others could only watch from the sidelines. With the exception of Cola, one of the Skeleton General''s AOE Skills would instant-kill any of these team members. "Die!" Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and landed the final blow on the Skeleton General, obliterating the Great Lord''s last strand of HP. As a result, many of these Zero Wing experts leveled up, and Shi Feng rose to Level 86. Meanwhile, the Skeleton General dropped about a dozen or so items. Every item radiated a dazzling glow. It was obvious that these items were all extraordinary. Meanwhile, lying among these items was a broken blade, surrounded by a faint, bloody mist. The blade steadily devoured any Life Energy around it, looking the most conspicuous among the loot. "A Blood Smelting Fragment!" Shi Feng was surprised to see the broken blade. 2219 Level 100 Secret Forging Design Chapter 2219 - Level 100 Secret Forging Design "Blood Smelting Fragment?" Everyone grew curious, shifting their focus to the broken blade on the ground, when they noticed Shi Feng''s surprise. At a glance, it was obvious that this broken blade was extraordinary, but their Guild Leader didn''t usually seem shocked, even when an Epic item dropped. "This is interesting. We''ll prioritize the Skeleton Generals from now on," Shi Feng said as he collected the Blood Smelting Fragment. "Guild Leader, is that thing valuable?" Aqua Rose could not help but ask. She had already inspected the Blood Smelting Fragment''s Attribute Panel, discovering that it was only a Common item. [Blood Smelting Fragment] (Common Rank Item) A shattered fragment of a weapon, containing a mysterious energy that absorbs the Life Energy around it. Although the introductory text mentioned some sort of mysterious energy, the Blood Smelting Fragment was just junk. It didn''t have a use; at most, it could be a collection item. "It''s extremely valuable. Even the value of all the other items combined don''t come close," Shi Feng said, smiling. "You shouldn''t look down on it just because it is a Common item. Even Master Forgers would go crazy to get their hands on this." "An item that Master Forgers would go crazy for?" Aqua Rose grew even more confused. The Blood Smelting Fragment was only a Common item. What relation did it have to Master Forgers? "That''s right. There is a chance to extract Secret Forging Designs from this thing," Shi Feng explained. "As long as we collect enough fragments, we could even extract Advanced Secret Forging Designs." "What?! Extracting Secret Forging Designs?!" Aqua Rose exclaimed. Nowadays, subclasses were becoming more important in God''s Domain, yet among the various subclasses, the forger subclass stood out. A forger with Secret Forging Designs was treated far differently than those without, enjoying a much higher status. Secret Forging Designs couldn''t be copied, and the items produced possessed extraordinary effects. Take Shi Feng''s Mana Armor Kit, for example. Among the many armor kit designs found in God''s Domain, none could compare to the Mana Armor Kit. Shi Feng''s Secret Forging Design was also the reason that Zero Wing had acquired so many advantages over its competition. One could easily imagine how valuable the Blood Smelting Fragment was if it truly were possible to extract a Secret Forging Design from it. It was no wonder why Shi Feng had been so surprised. Hearing the conversation between Shi Feng and Aqua Rose, realization dawned on the rest of the team. Their faces lit up with excitement and anticipation. Shi Feng simply chuckled when he saw his teammates'' reactions. He didn''t bother to explain further, instructing everyone to continue grinding Skeleton Spirits and Generals. The Secret Forging Designs that could be extracted from the Blood Smelting Fragment were not as simple as everyone assumed. The items one could produce with these designs would even be a great help to Level 100-plus players. They were on an entirely different level than the Secret Forging Designs players had found thus far. Furthermore, there was the chance of extracting an Advanced Secret Forging Design! In the past, any forger that had learned an Advanced Secret Forging Design had been treated as well as Grand Master Forgers, even within the various superpowers. It didn''t matter if said forger was only a Master Forger. This was because, in God''s Domain, the stronger players became, the less helpful external items would be. However, that was not the case for items produced with an Advanced Secret Forging Design. These items would even be useful to Tier 5 players, which were considered upper-echelon-level experts in the various superpowers, not to mention Tier 3 players. The fact that the Skeleton Generals had a chance of dropping the Blood Smelting Fragment completely exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Normally, only monsters near the Abandoned Land''s core had a chance of dropping these fragments, but not even Tier 3 players could survive in the area. Now that he knew he could collect Blood Smelting Fragments from the Skeleton Generals, he had to go all-out in hunting them down and collecting as many as he could. That way, he would have a much greater chance of extracting a Secret Forging Design or an Advanced Secret Forging Design. The designs within the Blood Smelting Fragments had been created by the God of War, and every one of these designs would help a Master Forger create an unbelievable item. It was even rumored that the items could even allow Tier 4 players or below to challenge opponents that were one tier higher. Normally, players could only gain such power though Legendary items, but the items produced with the God of War''s top three designs would be similarly effective. Even if these effects were limited to Tier 4 players or below, they were still astonishing. If a first-rate Guild had one of these designs, it could instantly rise as a superpower and overlord in God''s Domain. Following Shi Feng''s lead, the team went into a frenzy as they searched for and hunted Skeleton Generals. Fortunately, nobody else had come to explore the Endless Desert yet, so, despite being mini Bosses, Skeleton Generals were quite common. The Skeleton Spirits in the way were the only problem, but Zero Wing''s members didn''t mind slaying them. With Shi Feng''s three Tier 3 Demons, these Skeleton Spirits didn''t present much of a challenge. They were little more than walking EXP. In addition, the team members activated their Berserk Skills from time to time, ramping up the team''s overall DPS. Most importantly, as Shi Feng continued to level up, his Demons grew stronger. Occasionally, Shi Feng would spend some Magic Crystals to activate Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance to speed up the grinding process, as well. After just two short days, every member of the team had risen to Level 87. They couldn''t help their desire to stay here forever after witnessing their leveling speed. As for Shi Feng, he had reached Level 90. If he made his level public, the various superpowers would likely faint with anger. Most of the various superpowers'' peak experts were still far from Level 80, yet Shi Feng had reached Level 90 so quickly. Even if he only wore Level 90 Mysterious-Iron Equipment, his Basic Attributes would be leagues higher than those peak experts''. Sure enough, everyone''s leveling speed is slowing down, Shi Feng thought to himself as he killed another Skeleton General and saw the change to his experience bar. He recognized that it was impossible to get his team members to Level 90 before the competition. If he could get Aqua Rose and the others to Level 90 and gear them out with Epic Equipment and Level Reduction Gemstones, they could all use Level 100 items. Starlink would then have to beg for mercy. "Guild Leader, another Blood Smelting Fragment has dropped," Fire Dance joyfully announced as she snatched up a broken blade from the pile of loot the Skeleton General had dropped and handed it to Shi Feng. "Another one?" Shi Feng could not help his grin as he looked at the broken blade, enveloped in a bloody mist. "With this, we finally have 10 fragments." Over the past two days, they had hunted down Skeleton Spirits and Generals nonstop. They hadn''t even logged out to rest. As a result, not only had they gained a lot of levels, but they had also acquired a lot of Blood Smelting Fragments. The reason Shi Feng had pushed his team so hard was to increase their chances of extracting a Secret Forging Design, which they could only do by obtaining more fragments. According to the various superpowers'' experimentation, one would have a 20% chance of extracting a Secret Forging Design from five Blood Smelting Fragments. By attempting the extraction from ten fragments, they''d increase their chances to 30%. With ten fragments, they also had a small chance of obtaining an Advanced Secret Forging Design. Although it was possible to increase the extraction success rate by using more Blood Smelting Fragments, Shi Feng didn''t have much hope of collecting 15 or 20 fragments. He had discovered that only the Skeleton Generals'' first spawn had a high chance of dropping Blood Smelting Fragments, and once they spawned a second time, they wouldn''t drop a fragment at all. Unfortunately, there were only so many Skeleton Generals in the Endless Desert, and it was simply impossible to collect 15 or 20 fragments. He felt fortunate already to collect 10 fragments. Please let it be a success! Shi Feng prayed as he activated Divine Providence. Although he wasn''t sure whether Divine Providence would be of any help, he couldn''t care less. He needed all the help he could get. After activating Divine Providence, Shi Feng used Mental Extraction, a skill unique to Master Forgers, on the Blood Smelting Fragments. 2220 28 Blood Refining Designs Chapter 2220 - 28 Blood Refining Designs[l] Under Shi Feng''s control, the 10 Blood Refining Fragments floated into the air and stopped, suspended. The bloody mist grew denser, and a short moment later, it flowed away from the fragments and toward Shi Feng. At the same time, the 10 fragments visibly disintegrated. After five seconds, all 10 Blood Refining Fragments had turned into dust, and the bloody mist that lingered around Shi Feng formed a threefold magic array. Wonderful! It succeeded! Shi Feng rejoiced as he watched the magic array manifest. Each subsequent layer of the threefold magic array was more complex than the last. The first layer was already three times more complex than an Intermediate Magic Array, and each subsequent array contained more power. Despite the three magic arrays manifesting with completely different sets of runes, all three felt united and whole. Not long after the threefold magic array completed, a streak of bloody light shot from the array and into Shi Feng''s brain. Suddenly, line after line of information swam in Shi Feng''s brain. [Casting Goldstone Design] One of the God of War''s 28 Blood Refining Designs. The Forged Lava Stone can be merged with the user''s main weapon and liberate the weapon''s potential. The greater one''s mastery with the design, the stronger the Casting Goldstone''s effects will be. I struck gold! Shi Feng was elated as he took a rough glance at the information. Although he only received a Basic Blood Refining Design, not an Advanced one, it was the extremely rare casting design. In God''s Domain, forgers fell into three categories. The first type focused on weapons and equipment. The second type focused on support items, such as armor kits and whetstones. The third type focused on items that strengthened existing weapons and equipment, such as combat devices. Among the three, the third category''s designs were the rarest. Moreover, most strengthening items were temporary, so they tended to be the least valuable of forgers'' products. However, the third category forgers were the most popular among the various superpowers. Strengthening items were easier to produce, had higher production rates, and shorter production times than items from the other categories. This made mass-producing these items possible. During Shi Feng''s previous life, any forger that successfully learned a Secret Forging Design from this category would be treated like a god by the various major powers. Although the Blood Refining Designs only belonged to the second or third category, there had been less than a handful of players who had learned these third category designs during Shi Feng''s previous life. Shi Feng had never thought that he would acquire a third category Blood Refining Design in this life. After a brief, excited moment, Shi Feng earnestly inspected the Casting Goldstone''s details. The moment he did, however, he was astonished. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers and forgers went mad over the Three Great Advanced Blood Refining Designs back then. If the Casting Goldstone is already this powerful, those Advanced designs'' items can allow players to transcend tiers. Shi Feng was inwardly shocked as he read about the Casting Goldstone''s effects. Although the Casting Goldstone could only strengthen players'' main weapon, it was not limited to metallic weapons. It could also be used on wood or crystal weapons like staves and bows. Moreover, the strengthening effects were permanent. This category''s forged items shouldn''t be capable of such a thing, but the God of War had made the impossible possible. The Casting Goldstone could accomplish the feat because it didn''t strengthen the weapon itself. Instead, it reinforced the connection between the weapon and its wielder, giving the player a portion of the weapon''s strength. The amount of the weapon''s strength the user could access depended on the quality of the Casting Goldstone. The threefold magic array that had appeared before Shi Feng was none other than the Casting Goldstone''s core. To increase the forged Casting Goldstone''s quality, one would have to increase their mastery of the threefold magic array. As long as one fully mastered the magic array, the Casting Goldstone could double up to a Tier 3 players'' combat power. It would even be significantly helpful to Tier 4 players. The Casting Goldstone''s only flaw was the required materials. Every material needed to produce the Casting Goldstone was incredibly rare and valuable, especially the Magic Molten Gold. A single ingot currently cost 20 Gold on the market. In total, each production attempt would cost 40 Gold or so. With that kind of money, one could purchase a piece of Level 70 Fine-Gold Equipment. It seems I''ll have to research this Blood Refining Design carefully. Shi Feng could not help his grin as he looked at the Casting Goldstone Design. He had still felt that the upcoming competition against Starlink would be quite difficult if he relied on Aqua Rose and the others. Starlink was no pushover, after all. With the Casting Goldstone, however, he was no longer concerned. Ordinary powers might struggle to collect Magic Molten Gold, but for Zero Wing, it was a simple task. One word was all it would take for Zero Wing to acquire a stock of Magic Molten Gold from the Secret and Candlelight Chambers of Commerce. Needless to say, he could acquire the rest of the required materials through the same routes. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng had everyone return to White River City and get some rest. They hadn''t rested for the past two days, and Aqua Rose and the others still had plenty of responsibilities in Zero Wing to attend to. The team was a little disappointed that Shi Feng dismissed their grinding session, but it was true that they needed to return to their tasks. Following which, everyone took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to their respective bases of operations. Although most teleportation means weres prohibited in the Abandoned Land, Return Scrolls and Guild Transfer Scrolls were, fortunately, an exception. After Aqua Rose and the others left, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and teleported to White River City. He intended to research the Casting Goldstone''s production method in the Candlelight Trading Firm. When Shi Feng returned, the city was as crowded as always. Only, far more Guilds occupied the city now than before. As Shi Feng walked through the city''s business district, he saw players from several dozen Guilds. Many were even from large Guilds that were based in other kingdoms and empires. These Guilds had gathered in White River City to visit the city''s Auction House. Since White River City''s Auction House was linked with the one in Stone Forest City, players could find rare items and equipment that only dropped in the Bottomless Abyss. The Bottomless Abyss was the current frontline in God''s Domain. Ordinary expert players coveted the items found in the Regional Dungeon. Naturally, the various large Guilds'' members couldn''t miss this opportunity. Traveling to the Bottomless Abyss was a particularly challenging endeavor for players from outside of the Dark Night Empire, and entering the Regional Dungeon wasn''t easy, either. At this point, a team shouldn''t even dream of entering the Dungeon without five ordinary experts. Because of this, White River City had become a hub for the players in the kingdoms and empires neighboring Star- Moon Kingdom. This situation instantly transformed White River City into a super-large-scale NPC city, with a player population of nearly twenty million. Players from the various large Guilds ran to White River City''s Auction House to purchase items. In addition, Zero Wing hosted and monitored daily bartering sessions for rare items in White River City''s Auction House, which further enticed the various Guilds and expert players. The easiest currency players could earn in God''s Domain was Coins. Powerful players no longer needed Coins so desperately. Instead, they needed rare materials and top-tier equipment. However, most people selling these items were generally unwilling to accept Coins as payment, seeking items of equal value. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s bartering sessions had made White River City a hub for rare materials and top-tier equipment. White River City even began to show signs of becoming the main trade hub for Star-Moon Kingdom and its several neighboring kingdoms. Just as Shi Feng had almost reached the Candlelight Trading Firm, the crisp sound of the system reached his ears. System: White River City Auction House has met the conditions to unlock its advanced features. Do you wish to enable the advanced features? 2221 Auction Houses Advanced Features Chapter 2221 - Auction House''s Advanced Features The conditions have already been met? Shi Feng stared at the system notification, shocked. NPC Auction Houses were unlike player-built Auction Houses. Like Shops, they could be upgraded as long as they met the requirements; however, an Auction House''s requirements were stricter than a Shop''s. Not only did the Auction House in question need a certain amount of daily traffic, but it also required a certain trade volume. Moreover, the Auction House would have to maintain these conditions for some time to qualify for a promotion. NPC Auction Houses had only qualified for their promotions after players had reached past Level 100 during Shi Feng''s previous life. Players could only enter Auction Houses'' noble section after reaching that level and becoming a noble NPC Auction Houses'' noble sections were particularly attractive to players, and they only started to show their value after players reached Level 100. After that, player-built Auction Houses didn''t stand a chance against NPC Auction Houses. The noble section was the trading platform for NPC nobles. To put it simply, it was where NPC nobles sold their items, not players. NPC nobles owned extraordinary items, which were far more valuable than NPC wandering merchants'' goods. Sometimes, these NPC nobles even sold Epic items. The quantity and quality of the items in the noble section depended on how prosperous the NPC city was. The more prosperous a city was, the higher the quantity and quality would be. This was also why the various major powers had done everything they could to develop the NPC cities they had been based in during Shi Feng''s previous life, especially the various superpowers. If the NPC cities under their rule were prosperous, they could earn more profit from the cities'' Auction Houses. These noble sections had also become a source for top-tier equipment and super-rare items for ordinary players. Once the noble sections activated, God''s Domain''s players would truly become active. They would no longer limit themselves to a specific location. Every NPC Auction House would have different items to offer. Although one Auction House might not have the items players wanted, another might. Hence, players in the past had tried to visit as many NPC Auction Houses as possible, but to enter the noble sections, they had to earn a noble title in the city. This forced players to become more active in other cities, grinding for Reputation Points. The increased player activity in the past had also brought turmoil to God''s Domain. To secure more profit, the competition between the various major powers had intensified, and they had desperately developed the NPC cities under their rule. There were two methods to develop an NPC city. The first method increased the city''s player population and commercial prosperity. The second required the power''s players to complete City Development quests, which players would only gain access to after reaching Level 100. Level 100 was a massive turning point. During the lower levels, the Main God system provided special treatment for players, but after Level 100, players were on their own. This was especially true for the various major powers. After players reached Level 100 and activated the City Development Quests, the various major powers had gone into a frenzy to complete these quests to develop their NPC cities and increase their player population as much as possible. However, every one of these City Development Quests required players to secure various resources from Level 100- plus maps. Furthermore, players would clash with the dark forces, various kingdoms, and empires as they acquired some of these resources. This was when players started to influence the various kingdoms and empires in the truest sense. Because of this, it hadn''t been unusual to see kingdoms and empires fall into ruin. The various major powers had loved to see this happen. When a kingdom or empire fell, the various major powers would gain the land and the ability to establish their own kingdoms and empires. This was also why Shi Feng was trying to prepare for the day players reached Level 100. Once the many restrictions on players and monsters were gone, the various major powers would realize that the peace they had once known no longer existed. The various major powers and superpowers were dreaming if they thought they could continue as they had been once players reached Level 100. NPC cities would fall, and all of a Guild''s investments would go to waste. There were only two methods to prevent such a situation. The first method was to upgrade their NPC cities. The second involved improving their own strength. Sure enough, there are many benefits to linking the Auction House to a Guild Auction House so early. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng chuckled and chose to enable the White River City Auction House''s advanced features. He had worried that he wouldn''t have enough time to prepare. Starlink had already established a foothold on Dragonheart Island and had mingled in the Gravity Mountain Range for some time now. From a certain perspective, Dragonheart Island and the Gravity Mountain Range had even better resources to offer than the Bottomless Abyss, especially Dragonheart Island. The island was tailored for players over Level 100. However, that was no longer an issue since he had promoted White River City''s Auction House sooner than expected. Another system notification immediately rang in Shi Feng''s ears. At the same time, the system interface for White River City''s Auction House appeared before him. System: The White River City Auction House''s advanced features have been enabled. Activating the Auction House''s first Level 1 advanced features. There were two Level 1 advanced features he could activate right now. The first was a level reduction feature. This feature would reduce the level requirement to enter the noble section from 100 to 90. Activating this feature would cost 600,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals. The second was the auction proxy feature. This feature gave a large-scale, player-owned, 3-star Shop the NPC consignment function. Activating this feature would cost 1,000,000 Gold and 150,000 Magic Crystals. Why are the prices so much higher than in the past? Shi Feng was speechless when he saw the costs. During his previous life, the level reduction feature had only cost 300,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals to activate. As for the auction proxy feature, it had only cost 500,000 Gold and 150,000 Magic Crystals. Now, the Gold cost had doubled. Even superpowers would be startled to see these prices. Although Zero Wing had considerably improved its profit margins, accumulating 1,000,000 Gold would still take some time. There were many aspects of its Guild Cities that required funding, and Zero Wing''s member count was rapidly increasing. At this point, Zero Wing only had around 200,000 Gold in savings. Fortunately, the Magic Crystal cost would not be a problem since the Guild had close to 300,000 Magic Crystals saved up. But after a moment to consider the situation, Shi Feng didn''t find these increased prices unacceptable. Mainstream players had yet to reach Level 75, and the fact that White River City''s Auction House had gained access to its advanced features so soon was a huge advantage. The level reduction feature, for example, would attract far more players. Once players reached Level 90, White River City''s Auction House would also become more popular than those in other cities. Furthermore, the auction proxy feature was no different than transforming a Shop into a miniature Auction House, one that could also sell NPCs'' items. Even NPC commoners'' items would interest players, and if the Shop was popular enough, it could tempt NPC nobles to sell their items. Not only would this feature give the Shop access to plenty of rare resources, but the Shop would also have an absolute advantage over its competition. It seems I''ll have to stop spending money for a while. Shi Feng decided to have Aqua Rose reduce the Guild''s expenditures slightly. With this, Zero Wing would be able to activate both features after ten or so days. With the Auction House''s matters settled, Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm and began his research into the Casting Goldstone Design. As one of the God of War''s Secret Forging Designs, the Casting Goldstone''s production process was quite different from that of ordinary weapons and equipment. It was a combination of magic arrays and forging. Although Master Forgers generally researched magic arrays as well, they didn''t typically specialize in the field since they only needed arrays as support for their creations. However, the complexity of the threefold magic array that served as the Casting Goldstone''s core was simply absurd. The first layer was already three times as complex as an Intermediate Magic Array. Even though Shi Feng was an Advanced Magician, mastering this threefold magic array would be a challenge. Once he reached the quiet Meditation Room, Shi Feng carefully studied the threefold magic array. Time quickly passed. The more Shi Feng studied the magic array, the more shocked he became. He had never dreamed that magic arrays could be used in such a way. The Casting Goldstone''s three magic arrays were unlike the average magic array. The God of War had faintly touched on the Realms of Truth''s principals to link and use these arrays, practically using them to their fullest potential. In the end, Shi Feng had spent over an hour to master the first layer. However, when he turned his attention to the second magic array, he realized that it would be significantly more challenging to master. The second layer was at least three times more complex than the average Advanced Magic Array. In fact, it was nearly as complex as a Master Magic Array. If he allowed another Advanced Magician to tackle this task, they''d likely fail to make any progress. Fortunately for Shi Feng, his brain function had increased after he had drunk the Life Potion, so he could process information far faster than before. In addition, Shi Feng had already reached the Ascension Realm. With these factors, he was just barely able to learn the second layer of the magic array. Success! Shi Feng was ecstatic when he finally formed the threefold magic array''s second layer. Following which, Shi Feng began to forge the first Casting Goldstone. He wasn''t currently concerned with studying the magic array''s third layer until he became a Master Magician; until then, completing the task would be impossible. So, he gave up on the third layer, content with relying on a twofold magic array to produce the Casting Goldstones. Although the production process was troublesome, Shi Feng had dealt with the most challenging aspect and could complete the rest with relative ease. In less than five minutes, he looked down at the shining goldstone in his hand. As the Casting Goldstone took form, it absorbed Mana from its surroundings and decreased the room''s Mana density. I wonder what the effects look like? Once it was complete, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and merged it with the Casting Goldstone. 2222 Qualitative Transformation Chapter 2222 - Qualitative Transformation The first Casting Goldstone Shi Feng had produced was so hard that not even a Dark-Gold Weapon could damage it, yet the instant it had touched Killing Ray, it liquefied and flowed into the Sacred Sword. Golden, divine runes then emerged down Killing Ray''s blade. In the blink of an eye, the divine runes covered the entire sword. Some even manifested on the hand Shi Feng used to wield the weapon. It was as if these runes connected Shi Feng''s hand with the Sacred Sword. After the last rune formed, Shi Feng felt a stream of dense energy flow into his body, and his mind cleared. Amazing! It can even improve my mental state! Shi Feng could not help his excitement as he gazed down at Killing Ray. Improving one''s mental state was incredibly difficult. Generally, players could maintain a clear mind when in a high Mana density environment, but now, holding Killing Ray was even more effective. As Shi Feng held his sword, his mind felt sharp and alert, as if he had just swallowed a stimulant. With this, his performance would be extraordinary. However, Shi Feng''s mental state wasn''t the only thing that had improved. Killing Ray itself had changed slightly. Now, divine runes circulated the Sacred Sword as it steadily absorbed the Life Energy around it. The divine runes only vanished after this continued for three to four seconds. Once they had disappeared, a faint layer of bloody mist took their place. But Killing Ray''s new Attributes were even more astounding than the external changes. The weapon had gained another Passive Skill after merging with the Casting Stone. Blood Refining Power: Increases all of user''s Basic Attributes by 15% and main Basic Attribute by an additional 5%. Increases user''s physique by 25%, as well. All attacks claim some of the target''s Life Energy to restore the user''s Concentration. The Casting Goldstone is already so powerful with a twofold magic array? Shi Feng was stunned after reading Blood Refining Power''s introduction. Killing Ray was nearly as powerful as Fragmented Legendary items in terms of Basic Attribute bonuses now. It was only somewhat inferior in its Attack Power and Skills. The bonus to his physique was truly horrific. A 25% increase could almost rival the boost players received when they rose from Tier 0 to Tier 1. With the Casting Goldstone''s massive improvements, ordinary experts would have a high chance of defeating Refinement Realm experts if both had the same levels and equipment standards. An improvement to physique alone would improve players'' perception, kinetic vision, and reaction speed. Even if players didn''t have the fine physical control to exhibit their combat power to the fullest, they could dodge attacks from Refinement Realm experts with these advantages. Furthermore, the Blood Refining Power significantly increased the bonuses to players'' Basic Attributes. Of course, the Blood Refining Power was so effective here because of Killing Ray''s extraordinary quality. The Casting Goldstone''s power didn''t just originate from the magic arrays used to create it. A small portion of that power came from the weapon it merged with. Resheathing Killing Ray, Shi Feng returned his focus to producing another Casting Goldstone, merging it with a Level 75 Dark-Gold ranked battle axe when it was finished. As Shi Feng had guessed, the Blood Refining Power''s effects weren''t as intense with this battle axe as they were with Killing Ray. Even so, it still increased all Basic Attributes by 13% and the user''s main Basic Attribute by an additional 4%. It also increased physique by 22% and absorbed a portion of the enemy''s Life Energy to restore the user''s Concentration. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers had been so desperate to obtain the Advanced Blood Refining Designs. If even a Basic Blood Refining Design can produce such an item, the items crafted with the Advanced designs can likely empower a first-rate Guild to stand against a Super Guild''s assault for some time. Not even he could help his desire for the Advanced Blood Refining Designs. If the Casting Goldstone were already so powerful, Tier 2 experts could likely take on Tier 3 experts with the items crafted from the Advanced Blood Refining Designs. Tier 3 experts would even be able to face Tier 4 experts. A Tier 2 Domain REalm expert could only face ordinary Tier 3 experts of the same level without such a boon. If a Tier 2 Refinement Realm or Flowing Water Realm expert challenged an ordinary Tier 3 expert, they might not even escape with their life. However, Shi Feng did not give the matter too much thought. Aside from how difficult obtaining the Advanced Blood Refining Designs was, he hadn''t even mastered the Casting Goldstone''s production process yet. He was only able to draw two of three of the core magic arrays right now. Even if he had an Advanced Blood Refining Design, he wouldn''t likely be able to craft the item. Following which, Shi Feng focused on forging more Casting Goldstones. Although the Casting Goldstones he could currently forge weren''t perfect, they would still significantly increase players'' combat power. These Casting Goldstones would boost the Guild''s overall combat power much faster than nurturing Refinement Realm experts, and they didn''t cost nearly as much. Each Casting Goldstone only cost around 40 Gold to produce. That might be an abhorrent expense to most ordinary experts, but it was spare change to Shi Feng. Gathering the necessary materials was the only thing that troubled him. Even after utilizing all of Zero Wing''s connections, he had only collected several hundred sets of materials. To the massive Zero Wing, several hundred Casting Goldstones was simply not enough. At the very least, he would need 10,000 Casting Goldstones to arm Zero Wing''s members enough to confront superpowers in the fields. Even so, these several hundred sets of materials were not completely useless. At the very least, he had enough to boost the combat power of Zero Wing''s main force. As one Casting Goldstone after another took form, Shi Feng''s production speed increased. Since he hadn''t yet been familiar with drawing the magic arrays and worried that he''d fail the production process, he had been very careful when he had started. However, after merging Killing Ray and the first Casting Goldstone, the boost to his mental state made it easier to draw the magic arrays. After more than 20 hours of continuous work, Shi Feng had gone through 326 sets of materials. Although he had occasionally failed the process and excluding the first two goldstones, he had forged 300 Casting Goldstones. As Shi Feng was about to begin the next forging process, he received a call request. It was Unyielding Heart, and Shi Feng immediately accepted the call. "Brother Heart, how are you free to give me a call?" Shi Feng asked while forging a Casting Goldstone. "I''ve heard that you''ve been grinding restlessly in the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor." Once Unyielding Soul had garrisoned in Stone Forest City, the Guild had turned its focus to the Bottomless Abyss. Both of its Vice Guild Leaders had devoted themselves to exploring the Regional Dungeon, barely leaving the first floor since they had entered. "Brother Black Flame, how do you have time for jokes?" Anxiously, Unyielding Heart asked, "Is it true that you''ve agreed to fight Starlink in Dark Night City?" "Oh? So you''ve heard about it?" Shi Feng said, nodding. "Every player in the Dark Night Empire knows by now," Unyielding Heart stated, flabbergasted by Shi Feng''s lackluster reaction. "Starlink recently, and quite loudly, announced the situation to the public. Every player in the empire is talking about this. How could you agree to such a match?" Since Zero Wing had secured its hold on Stone Forest City, its fame in the Dark Night Empire had become unmatched. As a result, the Guild had finally established a foothold in the empire, and Starlink couldn''t do anything about it. Yet, Starlink had found an opportunity. A 10,000-versus-10,000 fight might seem like a fair match, but in reality, Zero Wing had an overwhelming disadvantage. Starlink had been in the Dark Night Empire for a long time already and had recruited many talented experts within the empire. It had more than enough high-quality experts to fill the 10,000 slots. On the other hand, Zero Wing had just established itself in the empire and recruited a small number of powerful experts. How was it supposed to compete with Starlink? If Zero Wing lost this fight, its hard-earned reputation in the empire would crumble. Everyone would think of the Guild as a one-trick pony. Zero Wing had only established a foothold in the Dark Night Empire because the various major powers and powerful experts saw the Guild''s potential to resist Starlink. Thus, many of these powers and experts had formed secret alliances with Zero Wing to band together against the larger superpower. Although Starlink had many experts under its command, its territory was too vast. It had barely been able to manage its territory, and now that the various major powers were working against the Guild, Starlink was struggling even more to do so. As a result, it had no choice but to dispatch more manpower to these areas, preventing the Guild from concentrating its forces. However, once the various major powers saw that Zero Wing couldn''t withstand Starlink''s assault, they''d abandon the Guild and ally with Starlink. Some might even move against Zero Wing to curry favor with Starlink. If that happened, Zero Wing would be doomed. Shi Feng could only offer a bitter smile as a reply to Unyielding Heart''s concern and confusion. The situation regarding the fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range was confidential, so he couldn''t say anything about it. Unyielding Heart could not help but sigh. He then said, "I have a group of hidden experts under my command. Although there are only a little over a thousand of them, they should be helpful to Zero Wing. I also have some weapons and equipment that we obtained from the Bottomless Abyss. If your main force members use them, their combat power should increase quite a bit." "Thank you, but let''s not do that. If my Guild suddenly gains an extra thousand or so experts, Starlink will grow suspicious. It will look into the matter, and news will spread that Zero Wing requested external aid. In addition, it will expose Unyielding Soul''s strength," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Chuckling, he continued, "Starlink might have an advantage in this match, but Zero Wing''s no pushover." "Alright, then. If you need any help, feel free to ask," Unyielding Heart said, sighing. A l,000-versus-l,000 fight might not have been an issue. With a few peak experts and apex experts, one could easily turn the tide of battle. However, a 10,000-versus-10,000 match was a different story. It was very difficult for a handful of players to change such a large-scale battle''s outcome. Furthermore, Starlink was a powerhouse. Not even some of the weaker Super Guilds would be guaranteed to win a 10,000-versus-10,000 battle against Starlink. After Shi Feng exchanged a few more words with Unyielding Heart, he disconnected the call. He then contacted Aqua Rose and had her send the main force members and some core members to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Once they arrived, Shi Feng distributed the 300 Casting Goldstones he had made. When she used her own Casting Goldstone, Aqua Rose was stunned by how powerful its effects were. She had never expected to find such an amazing item in God''s Domain. The Casting Goldstone would even be useful to Flowing Water Realm experts like herself, not to mention Refinement Realm experts. Later, Shi Feng instructed Aqua Rose to gather the top 10,000 experts in the Guild and recall them to White River City''s Guild Residence. Zero Wing''s White River City Residence was quite lively for a while as experts from across the Guild''s territories gathered. It was truly an impressive sight. The lowest-leveled of these experts had already reached Level 77, while most of them were already Level 78. These experts were a cut above mainstream experts, who had only reached Level 75. "Everyone''s here, Guild Leader. We can depart at any time," Aqua Rose reported, smiling at Shi Feng, who stood before the gathered experts. "Good! Let''s set off!" Glancing over the crowd before him, Shi Feng nodded approvingly and led his players out of the Residence. The group then boldly marched toward White River City''s Teleportation Hall. 2223 Six Wing Appears Chapter 2223 - Six Wing Appears Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: Currently, players crowded the central plaza outside the Divine Colosseum. If one observed these players carefully, they would notice that even the lowest-leveled player had reached Level 75, and all of these players were either from main force members from well-known adventurer teams or large Guilds'' experts. "Amazing! There are actually so many experts here! Is the Divine Colosseum holding some kind of event?" a Level 72 Ranger, who had just arrived in Dark Night City, exclaimed. "Don''t you know? In a moment, 10,000 experts from Zero Wing are going to face off against 10,000 from Starlink. One is the Dark Night Empire''s overlord, while the other is Stone Forest City''s overlord. This is a rare treat in the Dark Night Empire. None of these experts would miss the chance to watch such a spectacular show," a Level 74 Berserker that happened to overhear the Level 72 Ranger''s comment explained. "What?! Something that exciting is going on?! Let''s go! We can replace our equipment later," one of the Level 72 Ranger''s teammates urged. It was not every day that one could watch two superpowers duke it out. Even when they did, the public only got to see the tip of the iceberg, but this was an opportunity to watch two of God''s Domain''s overlords go head-to-head. The upcoming match would be even more exhilarating than watching a war movie. The Ranger agreed with his teammate''s idea. Aside from the invigorating show, they could learn quite a bit from watching peak experts clash. It wasn''t very often that peak experts fought each other; they normally just fought larger groups of ordinary experts. "You guys want to watch?" The Level 74 Berserker chuckled at the Ranger and his team. "See those experts in the plaza?" "What about them?" the Ranger asked. "They want to watch the fight, too, but they can''t. They can''t even get into the Divine Colosseum, so they''re watching from out here," the Level 74 Berserker explained. "Starlink has reserved the entire Divine Colosseum. Anyone who wants to watch the fight directly will have to prove their ability to clear the Trial Tower''s sixth floor or pay 100 Gold." The Ranger and his teammates gasped. "That''s fraudulent! Don''t they want players to watch the battle!?" the Ranger objected. Players who could reach the middle stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor were already considered experts, and those that could reach the sixth floor were some of the best of the best. Not even ordinary Guilds had many of these experts. Although the Level 72 Ranger was a capable expert, he had only reached the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor; he was still a step away from the sixth floor. The Ranger couldn''t even dream of completing the sixth floor and reaching the seventh. The 100 Gold entry fee was just as fraudulent. Ordinary experts barely had more than 20 Gold on them; most of their money went into repair and teleportation fees. They also had to replace old equipment on occasion. For experts like this Ranger, it would be a luxury to have an extra 100 Gold lying around. The Ranger finally realized why so many players were standing in the plaza, rather than in the Divine Colosseum itself. However, a moment after the Ranger fell silent, a 30-man team approached the Divine Colosseum''s entrance. None of this team''s members wore a Guild Emblem, proving that they were independent players. When the crowd noticed them, they opened a path for these players. The 30-man team passed through the crowd, disappearing through the Divine Colosseum''s entrance. "Who are they?" the Ranger asked with wide eyes. Every player in the plaza was an expert, and some were even stronger than the Ranger, but they had all stepped aside for those 30 independent players. It was unbelievable. However, that wasn''t the most shocking part. The Ranger was even more shocked that none of those 30 players had paid a single Coin to enter the Divine Colosseum. In other words, every member of that team had already reached the Trial Tower''s seventh floor... "They''re members of the Windwolf adventurer team, a top adventurer team in the Dark Night Empire. The man leading the team is Windwolfs commander, North Wind. I hadn''t expected him to make a personal appearance, though. He''s normally very secretive, rarely appearing in public. It''s a pity I don''t have 100 Gold. I''d definitely pay the entry fee to watch this fight," the Level 74 Berserker said as he longingly gazed at the Divine Colosseum. Although 100 Gold was a huge sum, it was nothing compared to the knowledge and experience he could gain from watching a large-scale battle between two of God''s Domain''s overlords. Players would be able to experience the battle physically from inside the Divine Colosseum, which would be entirely different than just watching a video recording. Shortly after the Windwolf adventurer team disappeared into the Divine Colosseum, a large army of players arrived. Everyone in the plaza felt overwhelmingly stifled the moment this army reached the plaza. "Starlink! Starlink''s members are here!" "Amazing! They''re so strong! I can actually feel how much stronger they are than me!" Despite being experts, many of the players in the plaza gasped when they saw Starlink''s army. Their reactions were so intense because of how incredibly powerful every member of Starlink''s army was. Even the lowest-leveled player had reached Level 77 and was fully geared in Level 75 Secret-Silver Equipment. They were on an entirely different level than the experts in the plaza. "So, this is a superpower''s strength?" "Are you kidding me? Our Guild doesn''t even have more than 100 people at Level 77 right now! Those players'' leveling speed is insane!" "Why are you looking at their levels? Their equipment is so much more impressive! Not even our Guild Leader has a full set of Level 75 Secret-Silver Equipment yet! Look, over a dozen of them are wearing the Level 75 Fine-Gold ranked Evil Spirit Set! You can only get that set equipment from the Bottomless Abyss!" None of the various major powers had even collected one complete Evil Spirit Set yet. The Level 75 set equipment was god-tier equipment to most experts. They could only dream of wearing such items, yet Starlink had collected more than a dozen sets. The difference between Starlink and the various major powers'' strength was like the difference between heaven and earth. When the various major powers'' upper echelons, who waited in the Divine Colosseum, noticed Starlink''s army, they were in awe of the Guild''s foundation. "As expected of Starlink. It''s no wonder why even the various Super Guilds are wary of it. I hadn''t expected the Guild to successfully annex the Battlescar Workshop as well," a woman in the Divine Colosseum commented as Starlink''s army entered the building. She wore a suit of pitch-black armor, with long, red hair spilling down her back and an intimidating aura. The woman turned to Unyielding Heart, who sat in a comer, and commented, "Heart, it seems that your ally is in for a rough time." Battlescar had been a Dark Workshop that operated on the western continent. Although the Workshop was small, with fewer than 300 members, no Super Guild dared to underestimate it. This was due to the many astonishing feats the Workshop had achieved. Battlescar had specifically targeted the various superpowers'' main force members. On the western continent, it had focused on ambushing superpowers'' main forces, and the various superpowers had suffered tremendously for it. Although many of the superpowers had tried to avenge their members, none had succeeded. On the contrary, they had only suffered further. Battles involving tens of thousands of players were little more than playing house to the Battlescar Workshop. Unyielding Heart''s expression was grim. He hadn''t expected Starlink to hide so much of its strength. Not only had it recruited the Mad Beast Legion from the western continent, but it had also roped in the Battlescar Workshop. "Blood, haven''t you been focusing on the Fire Dragon Empire? Why are you here?" Unyielding Heart asked the red-haired beauty walking toward him frostily. This woman was as strong and famous as the Mad Beast Legion''s commander, Startled Wind. He had no choice but to treat her with caution. "I''m here to see if the Dark Night Empire has any good seedlings, of course. However, I really hadn''t expected to find the almighty Unyielding Soul in such a state, forced to ally with an up-and-coming Guild," the woman, Delicate Blood, said, chuckling. "Why don''t you leave Unyielding Soul, Heart? Once Zero Wing has been defeated, the situation in the empire will be beyond salvation, and after Starlink finishes with Zero Wing, it''ll turn its attention to Unyielding Soul. You know your Guild is no match for Starlink. You might as well join me as my vice commander. You''ll have a far better future with me than in Unyielding Soul." "I will never leave Unyielding Soul. Moreover, Zero Wing''s defeat isn''t a guarantee," Unyielding Heart snarled softly. "Perhaps. In any case, give me a call if you have nowhere to go," Delicate Blood said, chuckling. She did not try to argue with Unyielding Heart. She knew he was only trying to delude himself. While the various powers discussed Starlink, another army emerged though the Divine Colosseum''s entrance. The lowest-leveled player among this army was Level 77, and many of them had reached Level 78. In fact, this force had even more Level 78 players than Starlink''s. And every one of these players wore a silver, six-winged emblem on their chests. "Zero Wing?" 2224 Zero Wings Foundations Chapter 2224 - Zero Wing''s Foundations Everyone in the Divine Colosseum was stunned when Zero Wing arrived. "How are their levels so high?" "So many of them have already reached Level 78! Starlink doesn''t even have 1,000 Level 78 players, yet Zero Wing has more than 3,000!" "Is this because of the benefits in Stone Forest City?" The various powers'' upper echelons were especially shocked when they saw the levels of Zero Wing''s members. The fact that Zero Wing had Level 78 players wasn''t particularly surprising. Many of God''s Domain''s peak experts had long since reached that level and were only a step away from Level 79. What truly shocked them was the number of Level 78 players Zero Wing possessed. The Guild had far more than the various superpowers, which suggested that their leveling speed was even greater than the various superpowers'' members. Previously, the average level of Zero Wing''s experts hadn''t been a match for the various superpowers'', but after establishing a city in the Bottomless Abyss not so long ago, these experts'' average level was so much higher than the superpowers'' experts. The level difference wasn''t even half a level, but as time passed, that gap could grow to a full level or more. While a single level might not seem like much, the benefits of such a lead were massive. This was especially true when it came to the minor thresholds every five levels. A one-level lead could give Zero Wing a three to five headstart in Dungeons over the various superpowers. "Sure enough, Stone Forest City provides some major benefits. It''s no wonder why Zero Wing dares to clash with Starlink," Delicate Blood commented. Even she was a little jealous when she saw the levels of Zero Wing''s members. Levels were the foundation of players'' strength in God''s Domain. A higher-level meant players could hunt stronger monsters and gain better resources, and as players leveled up, they could use higher-level equipment. Moreover, as players leveled up, they could also use higher-leveled equipment. "I told you Zero Wing''s loss isn''t assured," Unyielding Heart delightfully responded when he saw the envious look on Delicate Blood''s face. Ordinary players might not notice anything odd about Zero Wing''s levels, but Guild upper echelons knew exactly what they meant. There were no leveling shortcuts in God''s Domain. The fact that Zero Wing''s members had leveled up so quickly meant they had gained more EXP than others. The only way to do that was to kill more monsters, higher-leveled monsters, or complete more quests. Regardless of which method Zero Wing employed, it was certain that they had gained more resources than their competition. Now that Zero Wing''s experts were a higher level on average than Starlink''s, Zero Wing had amassed just as many, if not more, resources than the larger Guild. That fact was also clear in the equipment Zero Wing''s members wore. Even the weakest piece of equipment they wore was Level 75 Secret-Silver rank. Unyielding Heart could tell that although Starlink had explored more of the Bottomless Abyss''s first floor than Zero Wing, Zero Wing had secured more resources from the Regional Dungeon. He knew that Zero Wing didn''t lack top-tier equipment. Starlink might have a large number of Evil Spirit Sets, but Zero Wing could mass-produce the Crystal Light Set, which was one rank higher. Most importantly, the Crystal Light Set could level up with its user. Although the Crystal Light Set would not undergo a qualitative transformation at Level 78, it was still superior to Level 75 Dark-Gold Set Equipment in terms of Basic Attributes. Needless to say, it was leaps and bounds ahead of the Level 75 Fine-Gold ranked Evil Spirit Set. "Don''t celebrate so soon, Heart. Levels are important, but a small level gap won''t make a difference. The experts'' quality will decide the victor of this match," Delicate Blood retorted, rolling her eyes at Unyielding Heart. Zero Wing might have a slight edge when it came to levels, but the quality of its experts still couldn''t compare to Starlink''s. Any Refinement Realm expert could tell the difference between Zero Wing''s standards and Starlink''s. Of the 10,000 experts Starlink had dispatched, more than 700 were Refinement Realm experts! A current first-rate Guild would be impressive if it had 10 Refinement Realm experts. An ordinary superpower, at most, would only have around 400 such experts. Yet, Starlink had sent more than 700 Refinement Realm experts to this match. Starlink''s foundations were much sturdier than an ordinary superpower''s. This was why the various superpowers'' upper echelons had been so surprised to see Starlink''s experts. With so many Refinement Realm experts, Starlink''s army could easily trample over a 10,000-man expert army. Although these upper echelons were surprised to see that Zero Wing had nearly 100 Refinement Realm experts, it was nothing compared to Starlink. Once experts had reached the Refinement Realm, they could exhibit far greater combat power when they cooperated. A three-on-one fight between Refinement Realm experts would end in seconds, and Starlink had nearly eight times more Refinement Realm experts than Zero Wing. Seven or eight Refinement Realm experts could even take down Flowing Water Realm experts. Unyielding Heart fell silent after Delicate Blood''s last comment. Starlink''s foundations were even stronger than he had expected. Even Unyielding Soul wouldn''t be a match for the larger Guild, much less Zero Wing. Meanwhile, a white-clad youth watched Zero Wing''s members, surprised, from within one of the Divine Colosseum''s VIP rooms. It was none other than Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, Melancholy. Zero Wing is certainly impressive. It has grown so powerful in such a short time. With a little more time and resources, it could certainly become a superpower in God''s Domain. It''s a pity that it has to face Starlink. Zero Wing might have a chance of winning if it had to face any other superpower. Melancholy''s investigation into the Guild had been brief, and rumors circulated, stating that Zero Wing only had a handful of experts, while the rest of the Guild''s members were quite weak. However, seeing Zero Wing''s force for this match, it seemed those rumors had been mistaken. Zero Wing had the ability to form a 100-man raid team of Refinement Realm experts. It was an amazing foundation. Not a single first-rate Guild was a match for Zero Wing. Not even ordinary superpowers could shake Zero Wing''s foundations without taking damage. Moreover, Melancholy was shocked to see that Zero Wing had a Domain Realm expert other than Shi Feng. If he included Zero Wing''s main force commander, Fire Dance, and Vice Guild Leader, Gentle Snow, the guild should have four apex combatants in total. That was nearly as many as an ordinary superpower. If Zero Wing were truly this powerful, he''d definitely get his money''s worth in the upcoming fortress siege. Although Zero Wing was still much weaker than Starlink, many of the superpowers in the Divine Colosseum reevaluated their opinions of the Guild. "I have to say, Black Flame; you''ve really surprised me. To think you could actually gather so many experts without anyone finding out, it''s no wonder why you spouted such nonsense," Lu Xingluo said, smiling at Shi Feng, who led Zero Wing''s army. "Unfortunately, your force isn''t strong enough. I''ll give you one last chance. Admit defeat now and permit Starlink''s members to enter Stone Forest City. Do that, and I''ll forget everything that has happened between us." The watching crowd was dumbfounded to hear Lu Xingluo''s offer. This was Starlink''s opportunity to destroy Zero Wing in the Dark Night Empire, yet Lu Xingluo offered to let Zero Wing off the hook? I''ve really underestimated Lu Xingluo. It seems he''s not as simple as I assumed. Melancholy carefully watched Lu Xingluo with narrowed eyes. The outcome of this match was already obvious. Regardless of whether or not these two Guilds fought, the Dark Night Empire''s major powers recognized how powerful Starlink truly was. Not only could Lu Xingluo continue to hide Starlink''s strength by offering such a deal, but he''d also gain entry into Stone Forest City, killing two birds with one stone. Zero Wing could also benefit from the deal. If Starlink''s members entered Stone Forest City en masse, Zero Wing''s income would rise significantly, and if Starlink stopped harassing Zero Wing, the smaller Guild could increase its development speed. Moreover, by admitting defeat, rather than fight a losing battle, Zero Wing could hide a portion of its strength from the public. Unyielding Heart breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn''t a perfect outcome, but it wasn''t the worst scenario, either. The rest of the various powers'' upper echelons sighed with disappointment. None of them had expected Lu Xingluo to make such an offer. Now, they wouldn''t get the show they were hoping for. The attending superpowers were particularly disappointed as they had hoped to discover Starlink''s exact strength. The Guild had simply been growing too fast. Unfortunately, that was no longer possible. Even a fool could recognize the best decision here, not to mention a Guild Leader like Shi Feng. However, as everyone expected this farce to end, a low voice echoed throughout the hall. "Admit defeat? I''m afraid you don''t qualify to demand such a thing!" 2225 Shattering Thousands of Attacks with One Move Chapter 2225 - Shattering Thousands of Attacks with One Move Everyone in the Divine Colosseum turned to Shi Feng in utter shock. "Is Black Flame tired of living?" Starlink''s strength was obvious. With over 700 Refinement Realm experts under Starlink''s command, even ordinary superpowers would have to bow their heads before the Guild, not to mention Zero Wing. Furthermore, Starlink had both the Mad Beast Legion and the Battlescar Workshop, both of which were comprised of lunatics. However, rather than temporarily concede and allow his Guilds to develop unimpeded, Shi Feng chose to fight Starlink. For a moment, they wondered if Starlink''s display had scared Shi Feng silly, and he had blurted out his refusal without thinking. "Hahaha! Heart, it seems that your ally is quite stubborn!" Delicate Blood said with a glance at Unyielding Heart. Is this really necessary? Ignoring Delicate Blood''s jab, Unyielding Heart could not help but shake his head as he watched Shi Feng. In response, Starlink''s members radiated powerful killing intent as they coldly glared at Shi Feng. The combined killing intent was so powerful that even Domain Realm experts would likely shudder. "Black Flame! Our Guild Leader has kindly offered you this opportunity! Don''t be a fool! If our Guild Leader gets angry, not even Unyielding Soul will survive his wrath, let alone Zero Wing!" Bright Dawn, one of Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders, declared. Everyone in the hall heard Bright Dawn''s claim, but despite the arrogance in his tone, none of them tried to rebuke the statement. Not even Unyielding Heart commented on it. What Bright Dawn had said was true. A lot of things had become clear the moment Starlink had dispatched over 700 Refinement Realm experts. The various superpowers always hid a portion of their strength, only revealing a small fraction to the public. However, the small fraction Starlink had revealed was far more than Unyielding Soul''s total power. If Lu Xingluo were resolved to accept some losses, Starlink could thoroughly destroy Unyielding Soul. While everyone discussed Bright Dawn''s comment, Shi Feng ignored the man and shifted his gaze to Lu Xingluo. You can certainly try!" Shi Feng''s declaration further shocked the crowd. "Black Flame is insane! Does he doubt that Starlink will go all-out to annihilate Zero Wing?" "He really is courageous, but he''s also doomed his Guild." "Black Flame''s actually trying to drag his entire Guild down with him! I feel sorry for Zero Wing''s members!" Bright Dawn''s declaration proved that today''s match wouldn''t be a simple fight. If Zero Wing refused to admit defeat, Starlink would stop at nothing to eliminate the Guild. It would no longer give Zero Wing room to breathe. Moreover, this declaration had been made before the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers, proving that it was no idle threat. And yet, Shi Feng still dared to oppose Starlink. He was simply insane! When Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and Zero Wing''s other experts saw the pitiful looks the crowd gave them from behind Shi Feng, they could only respond with bitter smiles. In a second-floor VIP room, Happy Art watched the conversation between Shi Feng and Starlink''s upper echelons anxiously from her position behind Melancholy. "Is there no way to stop this, Guild Leader? Zero Wing will be a massive help in the upcoming fortress siege with its current strength. If Starlink defeats Zero Wing, however, it will affect the siege''s outcome," Happy Art said. "I can''t interfere. Starlink is one of our partners, as well, and it will also be a great help in the siege. Black Flame is still a little naive," Melancholy said. He shook his head disappointedly as he watched Shi Feng. "I had hoped that we could deepen our relationship with Zero Wing, since Black Flame is so capable, but it seems that I was mistaken." Guild Leaders should always prioritize their Guild''s development over all else. When Melancholy had first met Shi Feng, he had been surprised by the man''s individual strength. The other Guild Leader had made a good impression, but the fact that Shi Feng was willing to take his Guild down with him for the sake of his personal reputation was simply foolish. Melancholy''s opinion of Shi Feng''s current performance could be summed up in one word-disappointing! While everyone discussed Shi Feng, Lu Xingluo, who had been silent, finally spoke up. "Good! Very good! I hope that you will be this stubborn after the match!" Lu Xingluo exclaimed with a grim expression. Even a fool could hear the fury in his tone. No one would''ve been surprised to hear Lu Xingluo order his players to attack Zero Wing''s, ensuring that none of them left alive, if not for the Divine Colosseum''s strict policy against PvP. Instead, Lu Xingluo led his men to their designated waiting area. Although he hadn''t said anything more, the crowd understood that a storm would sweep through the Dark Night Empire after this match. "Lu Xingluo is really furious now. Your Guild best be careful after this. Starlink might decide to remove Unyielding Soul from the empire before annihilating Zero Wing to ensure absolute stability within the Dark Night Empire," Delicate Blood warned Unyielding Heart as she watched Lu Xingluo leave the main hall. "It seems a battle is unavoidable." Unyielding Heart nodded gravely in response. He knew that Starlink had grown stronger. In fact, the Guild''s foundations were so solid that it had already begun its conquest of the western continent. Very few superpowers were capable of such a feat at this stage of the game. There was a vast distance between God''s Domain''s two continents. One could only travel between them by relying on special methods. Naturally, the ability to travel between continents would greatly benefit a Guild. Each continent had different terrain, and as a result, they had different specialties. If a Guild could take advantage of both continents, their development would be nearly assured. As the crowd watched Zero Wing''s members leave the hall as well, they turned their attention to the arena. The various superpowers'' upper echelons were particularly eager for the match to start. Starlink had been developing in secret for a while, rarely clashing with other superpowers. Even when it did, it would limit the scale of the conflict. Hence, no one had any idea of the Guild''s depths. Now that Starlink intended to go all-out against Zero Wing, this was the perfect opportunity to gain more intel on the larger Guild. Although Zero Wing wasn''t as strong as the various superpowers, with only 100 Refinement Realm experts, it should have enough strength to expose Starlink''s experts. An expert''s power wasn''t limited to their combat standards. Weapons, equipment, combat techniques, Skills, Spells, and special items all played a role. There were many aspects of an expert''s strength one couldn''t see until that expert fought. Fortunately, the Divine Colosseum''s 10,000-man battlefield was the perfect place to witness a Guild''s comprehensive strength. The 10,000-man battlefield was an outdoor map, half as large as an ordinary map in the outside world. Naturally, one had to eliminate every opponent to claim victory. After a moment, both Zero Wing and Starlink''s armies appeared in the outdoor clearing. A dense forest lay behind the armies, offering cover. "Zero Wing''s only hope is to retreat into the forest and use guerilla tactics against Starlink." "That''s right! A head-on clash would be suicide for Zero Wing, but even guerilla tactics will be a problem for them. Starlink''s 700-plus Refinement Realm experts will be a frightening force in the forest." Many of the spectators were upper echelons from major powers. They had all experienced field battles, so they knew how terrifying Refinement Realm experts could be in a dense forest. However, Zero Wing''s members didn''t feel into the woods as expected. Instead, they charged at Starlink''s army the moment the match began. "Zero Wing''s going for a straight-up brawl?" The development took everyone by surprise. A team would have to rely on comprehensive strength to win a frontal clash on an open clearing, and Starlink''s was far greater than Zero Wing''s. "Bastards!" Lu Xingluo cursed as he watched Shi Feng lead the charge with a 300-man team close behind him. He then commanded, "Concentrate your attacks! Get rid of them first!" Following their leader''s order, Starlink''s ranged members took action. Thousands of Spells and arrows flew toward Shi Feng''s group. Even peak experts'' scalps would tingle against such a fierce assault. Normally, both sides'' MTs would for a defensive wall, slowly advancing toward their opponents during such a large- scale battle, but Shi Feng and the others disregarded normal protocol as they ran toward Starlink''s army like lunatics. Every Starlink member present was an expert among experts, with far more accurate attacks than ordinary experts. Most importantly, they properly coordinated their attacks. Moreover, Starlink''s Refinement Realm experts launched their attacks a moment after the first barrage, taking advantage of any blind spots players would expose after blocking the first attacks. Such an overwhelming assault could even take down peak MT experts in an instant. But just as the Spells and arrows fell on Zero Wing''s members like ravenous wolves, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and swung the blade forward. Lightning Edge! Countless arcs of lightning shot forth, forming a blue river that slammed into the descending Spells and arrows. The instant these ranged attacks encountered this river of lightning, they vanished. After both sides'' attacks dissipated, a small crater, stretching across 50 yards, separated the armies. 2226 Annihilating Tier 3 Chapter 2226 - Annihilating Tier 3 Everyone gasped as the river of lightning disappeared. "How is that even possible?!" The spectators were astonished to see a single move counter thousands of Spells and arrows. Some of the many incoming attacks Zero Wing''s members had faced were even as powerful as Tier 3. That first wave could''ve wiped out a 100-man expert team focused fully on defense. Yet, Shi Feng had countered every incoming attack by himself! Amazing! He actually managed to execute such a move! Unyielding Heart, who was watched from the spectator stands, was amazed by the way Shi Feng had used his Skill. Although Unyielding Heart normally used Offensive Skills to defend himself, too, he hadn''t thought it was possible to use an Offensive Skill to counter several thousand attacks. He realized that his thinking was still stuck in the earliest days of God''s Domain. He had thought that one could only cope with such a massive assault by dodging or blocking individual attacks. While the crowd reeled over Shi Feng''s performance, Lu Xingluo, who led Starlink''s army, sneered and said, "You might be clever for using an AOE Skill to block those attacks, but how many times can you repeat that feat?" AOE Skills and Spells were extremely rare in God''s Domain, and the majority of them were exclusive to magical classes. How many AOE Skills could Shi Feng possibly possess? On the other hand, Starlink''s army was more than capable of replicating that first wave without end. Lu Xingluo''s question snapped Starlink''s members out of their daze, and they launched the second wave. Just as the second assault was about to slam into Zero Wing''s vanguard, Aqua Rose waved her Sea Dragon Staff. Under her command, violent, water-type Mana gathered in front of Shi Feng. Water Raid! The water-type Mana formed an eight-meter-tall tidal wave in the blink of an eye, halting the incoming attacks as it surged toward Starlink''s army. But before the tidal wave crashed into Starlink''s members, the magical class forces at the rear of the army completed their incantations. As a result, defensive barriers rose before the army, blocking Aqua Rose''s Water Raid. The various powers'' upper echelons were shocked to see these defensive barriers manifest. "What?! Starlink already has so many Defensive Combination Spells?!" "Based on the power of those barriers, they must have cast Tier 2 Advanced Defensive Spells, but how did Starlink get so many of them ?" "Amazing! Zero Wing doesn''t stand a chance against Starlink!" Players were prohibited from using tools or Berserk Skills in the Divine Colosseum. At most, they could use their weapons and equipment''s Skills. In other words, the defensive barriers Starlink''s members had used didn''t involve Magic Array Scrolls. As players leveled up in God''s Domain, they''d encounter more Spells and Skills that required more than one player to cast. These were known as Combination Skills and Spells, and they were far more powerful than the ordinary Skills or Spells. However, they were also extremely rare, and Tier 2 Advanced Defensive Combination Spells were particularly so. And yet, Starlink had clearly obtained over a dozen of these Defensive Spells, enough to call forth barriers to envelop its entire army. With Tier 2 Advanced-rank barriers, Starlink''s advantage over its opponent was massive. Even a Grand Lord of the same level would struggle to destroy the barriers, not to mention Tier 2 players. So, this is Starlink''s foundation? Unyielding Heart felt disheartened as he gazed at the many Defensive Combination Spells. Defensive Combination Spells could also be used in Team Dungeons, and with such powerful barriers, Starlink''s teams would have a much easier time defeating Dungeon Bosses. Moreover, unlike Magic Array Scrolls, players could use their Combination Spells as often as necessary. When the various superpowers'' upper echelons saw this, their fear of Starlink grew a little. Although they knew that Starlink had hidden a huge fraction of its strength, they hadn''t expected it to hide this much. It was no wonder why Bright Dawn had boasted that Starlink could easily take out Unyielding Soul. It seemed that he had told the truth, and Starlink certainly was strong enough to do so. However, Lu Xingluo watched his opponents with a gloomy expression. "Everyone, switch targets! Attack Zero Wing''s main army! Startled Wind, I want the Mad Beast Legion to form battle arrays and eliminate Zero Wing''s vanguard! Let''s show everyone what the consequences are for defying Starlink!" Lu Xingluo snarled as he glared at Aqua Rose and the other players behind Shi Feng. He had wanted to secure such an overwhelming victory that no power in the Dark Night Empire would ever consider rebelling against Starlink in the future. Yet, even after two waves of attacks, Starlink had failed to harm a single player from Zero Wing. It was just humiliating. "We''re going to use the battle array this soon?" Startled Wind asked, surprised. The battle array they spoke of wasn''t a weapon or equipment piece''s Additional Skill, but a Combination Battle Array they had obtained from a Tier 2 Skill Book. Up to 100 players could work together to manifest the array, and once it activated, all players involved would receive a huge boost to their physiques and Basic Attributes. These players would share their senses, as well. With these boons, the 100 Tier 2 players involved could even contend with one Tier 3 player. Startled Wind had hoped to take his time with Shi Feng, but it seemed that he wouldn''t get the opportunity. Starlink had obtained three battle array Tier 2 Skill Books thus far, which gave it the equivalent of three Tier 3 experts. Moreover, a peak expert led the activation for each battle array. For these teams, killing Tier 2 players would be child''s play. Receiving their orders, 300 players from the Mad Beast Legion moved into position to activate their battle arrays. As they did, crimson runes began to appear on their bodies, linking them together. The 300 players'' combined aura even felt like impending doom to the spectators. Before anyone could react, the three 100-man teams broke away from Starlink''s army and charged for Zero Wing''s vanguard. "Sword Demon, how many hits do you think Black Flame can take before he falls?" a man with tousled hair asked from the rear of Starlink''s army. This man''s attitude would surprise any superpower expert. He actually had the gall to speak to Sword Demon with such disrespect. Sword Demon was a monster that had made significant progress in the Domain Realm. Even a Super Guild''s Guild Leader would treat him with respect, yet this unkempt man dared to question him directly. What was even more surprising, however, was the fact that Sword Demon didn''t seem angry with him. Rather, he simply glanced at the man. Sword Demon wouldn''t hesitate to put any other expert in his place for such an insult, but he didn''t dare do so with this unkempt man. The man beside him was Evil Blade, the Battlescar Workshop''s commander. Evil Blade was a true lunatic and inhumanly strong. "The Mad Beast Legion''s strongest team leaders are leading those three teams. They are all peak experts who are more than capable of using the battle array''s power to its fullest extent. Black Flame should only last seven or eight moves against any one of them. He''ll have to flee if he wants to survive longer than that," Sword Demon replied after giving the matter some thought. Shi Feng had defeated Sword Demon once already, so he wanted the other Swordsman to last as long as possible against the Mad Beast Legion. Unfortunately, he had witnessed the battle array''s power personally and knew it wasn''t something current players could contend with. "How boring. And I thought I had found a good opponent. It seems the rumored Sword King isn''t as impressive as rumors say," Evil Blade said, the excitement in his eyes dying away. Sword Demon could not help his frown. He wanted to rebuke the man''s words but decided to remain silent. Instead, he returned his gaze to Shi Feng, hoping the man wouldn''t fall too quickly. At this time, the Mad Beast Legion had also arrived before Zero Wing''s vanguard. The 300 players then spread out and accelerated toward Zero Wing''s members. In response, another massive lightning bolt escaped Shi Feng''s Killing Ray. Lightning Slash! From the sidelines, it looked like a black screen appeared, disrupting the battlefield as it extended and sliced through the Mad Beast Legion. In the blink of an eye, several dozen Mad Beast Legion members collapsed before transforming into particles of light. Black Panther, the Guardian Knight in the core of the central battle array, flew away from the group, scorched black. Before he even hit the ground, Black Panther''s body had dispersed into particles of light... 2227 Overwhelming the Battle Arrays Chapter 2227 - Overwhelming the Battle Arrays Not even Domain Realm experts would take a 100-man battle array lightly, but as the blue lightning bolt passed through the central array, even the charging Mad Beast Legion members were stunned when they noticed Black Panther''s disappearing corpse. "How is that possible?" Even Sword Demon and the others watching from a distance were flabbergasted. Although Black Panther was a member of the Mad Beast Legion, they knew how strong the Guardian Knight was. Not only did Black Panther wear a full set of Level 75 top-tier equipment, but he also carried an Epic Shield and a piece of Epic Equipment. Normally, he had no trouble tanking a Grand Lord of the same level by himself. With the boons from the battle array, Black Panther could even rival a Tier 3 players'' physique and Basic Attributes. Not even Domain Realm experts could contend with Black Panther when he had the battle array''s boons. A Domain Realm expert might be able to predict the Guardian Knight''s movements, but Black Panther could still overwhelm them with his extraordinary reaction speed and Attack Speed. In the end, the Domain Realm experts that had sparred with Black Panther had only received a beating for their efforts. If the Domain Realm experts weren''t careful, they could die in an instant. Yet now, Shi Feng had instant-killed Black Panther. However, Shi Feng''s damage wasn''t what astonished Sword Demon and the others the most. If the Skill Shi Feng had used was a powerful Taboo Skill, Black Panther''s death wouldn''t be that strange. What really surprised Sword Demon was how fast Shi Feng had taken action. Shi Feng could execute his attacks so quickly that not even Black Panther, who had the physique of a Tier 3 player, had reacted in time. How did he attack so quickly? Sword Demon watched Shi Feng in confusion. Shi Feng was just a Tier 2 player. Even if his Basic Attributes were incredibly high, he shouldn''t be able to launch an attack that not even Black Panther could block. Of course, Sword Demon and his companions didn''t know that Shi Feng had already reached Level 90. Not only was he more than 10 levels higher than Starlink''s members, but most of his weapons and equipment were Epic or Fragmented Legendary rank, as well, and they could all level with their owner. Furthermore, Shi Feng possessed a Bloodline and the strengthened Killing Ray. His Basic Attributes were even higher than those of a Level 80, Tier 3 player, and his physique wasn''t, in any way, inferior to a Tier 3 player''s. All he was missing was the ability to use Tier 3 Skills. Black Panther might be able to face a Tier 3 player, but that was limited to a player of the same level. Moreover, Black Panther had only reached the Void Realm and had no progress in the Realms of Truth. On the other hand, Shi Feng had reached the Domain Realm and Ascension Realm. Most importantly, Lightning Slash was an insanely fast attack and could easily reach across several dozen yards. It wasn''t that unusual that Black Panther had failed to cope with the attack. Although Shi Feng''s counter-attack had been shocking, Startled Wind, who commanded the Mad Beast Legion from the rear line, continued to bark orders. "Everyone, surround him! He can''t use that kind of Skill multiple times!" Startled Wind shouted. He had wanted to rely on the battle array to overwhelm Zero Wing''s forces, but the strength Shi Feng had displayed thus far made it clear that a single peak expert like Black Panther wouldn''t be enough to take him down. In that case, they needed to gang up on him. After all was said and done, there was a limit to an individual''s strength. Fortunately, the Mad Beast Legion members shared their senses when under the battle array''s effects. Ordinary experts were no match for their coordination in this state. The scattered Mad Beast Legion members immediately reconcentrated their strength. They gave up on any hope of individual battles. Moving as one, dozens of ranged players fired over a hundred Spells and arrows at Shi Feng. With well-practiced timing, they sealed off any path of escape for the Swordsman. These attacks were nothing like the first two waves Starlink''s army had previously launched. Facing the coordinated assault, even Shi Feng had to execute Sword''s Orbit to defend himself. He had no room to dodge the incoming projectiles. This was where battle arrays shined the brightest. Normally, not even 100 Tier 2 experts would be a match for a single Tier 3 expert, but if these Tier 2 experts perfectly coordinated their attacks and focused their strength on a single location, they could even render Tier 3 experts powerless. As the rain of ranged attacks pinned down Shi Feng, Ink Rain and Brilliant Python, who led the other two battle array teams, joined the assault. Brilliant Python was a Berserker, so he took the lead in the two-man charge. When he swung his greatsword, even space itself began to crack. Moreover, every one of his attacks moved like a vicious snake that struck at Shi Feng''s weak spots. Brilliant Python neglected his defense, focusing on his assault and fully intent on trading Shi Feng blow for blow. As for Ink Rain, the female Assassin executed the combat technique Nine Phantom Steps, manifesting nine copies of herself. She surrounded Shi Feng and patiently waited for an opportunity to land the final blow. This forced Shi Feng to focus on his defense, and as a result, he continued to shove Brilliant Python back two or three steps, not giving the Berserker the chance to land a direct hit. Although Shi Feng wanted nothing more than to follow up with a fatal strike, Ink Rain and the Mad Beast Legion''s ranged forces interrupted him before he had the chance. Whenever Shi Feng tried to target the ranged players, Brilliant Python and Ink Rain did everything they could to stop him, giving the ranged players the time they needed to pull back. Although the two team leaders were no match for Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes, he couldn''t kill either of them without using a powerful Skill. Both had the support of more than a dozen healers. For a time, the two sides were locked in a stalemate. Although Shi Feng successfully suppressed the Mad Beast Legion by himself, he wasn''t dealing any permanent damage. Regardless, the watching crowd was shocked by Shi Feng''s prowess, especially Starlink''s members. They hadn''t dreamed that Shi Feng would be so powerful. Despite facing an all-out assault from two battle array teams, he stood his ground. Even the weakest player on these battle array teams was a Refinement Realm expert, yet despite the boons from the battle arrays, Shi Feng single-handedly contended with 200 of these experts. He was simply inhuman. "Amazing! To think one player can wield such immense combat power. It''s no wonder why you were spouting such nonsense earlier, but no matter how powerful you are, Black Flame, you''re still only one man," Lu Xingluo said as he watched Shi Feng. The situation even surprised him. The combat power Shi Feng displayed was truly frightening. Startled Wind and Evil Blade nodded in agreement. In such a high-speed battle where one did not even have the time to breathe, their Stamina consumption would be extremely high. If Shi Feng continued fighting at this pace, he would soon deplete his Stamina, even if he still had HP remaining. After a few more minutes, Shi Feng abruptly retreated, shaking off Ink Rain, Brilliant Python, and the rest of the Mad Beast Legion. Sure enough, dealing with Tier 2 battle arrays is tough without a Sure-kill Skill, Shi Feng thought as he eyed Brilliant Python and Ink Rain. Battle arrays were one of the main weapons players relied on to defeat high-tiered players. Even Shi Feng had used battle arrays to do so during his previous life, but he had never expected to be on the receiving end one day. He wouldn''t have had so much trouble against a single 100-man battle array, but he currently had to deal with two. In addition, both Ink Rain and Brilliant Python, the core of the two battle arrays, had impressively high combat standards. If he couldn''t kill these two, even he''d be helpless. "What? Are you giving up already, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Ink Rain teased. "Mhm. This game is too exhausting to continue. I don''t want to play anymore," Shi Feng replied. "I''m afraid that is not up to you!" Ink Rain said, smiling. She then led her team and charged at Shi Feng once more. As the woman and her companions approached, Shi Feng turned to Aqua Rose and his elite team, saying, "You guys can jump in now." 2228 One After Another Chapter 2228 - One After Another When they heard Shi Feng''s invitation, Aqua Rose and her comrades, who had remained on standby, revealed excited grins as they turned to the Mad Beast Legion before charging to meet their opponents. When Lu Xingluo noticed that Aqua Rose and the others were joining the fray, he glanced at Shi Feng with a sneer. "Black Flame, I suppose you want to rely on your people to cause chaos while you pick off the Mad Beast Legion members, one by one?" Smiling, Lu Xinguo continued, "Unfortunately, you''re only digging your own graves!" Although the battle array allowed players to fight higher-tiered opponents, it was truly a weapon to use against large groups. Shi Feng''s decision to take on the Mad Beast Legion by himself had been the wisest decision. If Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s vanguard joined the battle, they''d only be a liability, not an asset. Once the two armies truly clashed, chaos would rule this battlefield, and amidst such chaos, players couldn''t rely on AOE Skills or Spells. A single misfire could kill one''s allies. Without AOE Skills or Spells, even peak experts would find the Mad Beast Legions challenging in a one-on-one, not to mention Aqua Rose and the others, who were only Flowing Water and Refinement Realm experts. However, Brilliant Python realized that the atmosphere around Zero Wing''s members felt odd. What''s up with these people? As Brilliant Python watched Zero Wing''s players charge forth, he was confused. Aqua Rose and the others didn''t look at him and his teammates like they were powerful foes. Rather, their expressions seemed like they had just found the perfect practice targets. "Ignore them! They are fools if they think they can defeat us in our own battle array!" Ink Rain shouted to her team. She then turned her sights to Fire Dance, radiating intense killing intent. Her previous clash with Fire Dance was still fresh in her mind. Her strength was only second to the Mad Beast Legion''s commander and vice commander, yet someone with weaker combat standards had defeated her. It would be hard not to remember such a humiliating defeat. Although she didn''t know how Fire Dance had increased her Life Rating so drastically last time, she had the battle array. She was going to use this chance to toy with the other Assassin. Ink Rain''s figure blurred as she dashed forward, only taking a moment to reach her opponent. She thrust her blade at Fire Dance, who ran at the forefront of Zero Wing''s team. As Ink Rain''s dagger shot forth, she split into nine identical copies. When Happy Art saw this from one of the VIP rooms, she couldn''t help but gasp. "That''s...Nine Phantoms, One Kill!" Happy Art was astonished to see Ink Rain''s nine phantoms. Nine Phantoms, One Kill was a Bronze Combat Technique and one of the most powerful the Thirteen Thrones had obtained from Bronze Legacy Tablets. With a fraction of the combat technique, a Void Realm expert would be unrivaled among their peers. Had Happy Art fully mastered Nine Phantoms, One Kill, she could''ve even fought Sand Bone, one of the Flower of Seven Sins'' senior cadre members, without losing ground. Unfortunately, despite the extensive time Happy Art had dedicated to learning the combat technique, she had failed to make any progress. It was simply too complex for her to comprehend and execute. Not even a Domain Realm expert was guaranteed to learn the technique. Why wouldn''t Happy Art be surprised to see that Ink Rain execute Nine Phantoms, One Kill, despite the difficulties of learning the technique? However, Happy Art didn''t know that the battle array''s boons were the only reason that Ink Rain could execute Nine Phantoms, One Kill. Without those effects, she wouldn''t be able to use the combat technique, either. "Ink is taking this too seriously. She''s actually relying on such a forbidden move," Cloudy Mountain, the Mad Beast Legion''s vice commander, muttered with a frown. Nine Phantoms, One Kill was Ink Rain''s greatest trump card. They had wanted her to reserve this move for a Domain Realm expert, but now that she had used it, word would spread. "Forget it. Just let her be. She might be able to take that final step after exacting her revenge," Startled Wind said, chuckling. Ink Rain was a prodigy he had set his sights on, and he had been surprised to learn that Fire Dance had actually defeated the young woman. Unfortunately, that defeat had maddened Ink Rain with thoughts of revenge. It had severely impacted her development. If Ink Rain could avenge her prior defeat and clear it from her mind, she would have a high chance of reaching the Domain Realm. Just when everyone assumed that Ink Rain''s attack had been successful, a metallic clang echoed across the battlefield, stupefying the spectators. "What''s going on?" They had only seen Fire Dance lightly swing her short sword before Ink Rain''s phantoms had disappeared. Ink Rain stumbled a step back, her dagger vibrating violently as if she had struck an adamantine wall. "Who is she?" Happy Art muttered as she stared at Fire Dance in surprise. Ink Rain''s assault could likely even kill Domain Realm experts, yet Fire Dance had so casually nullified the attack. Moreover, Fire Dance''s Strength was clearly superior to Ink Rain''s... Yet, Happy Art''s surprise was nothing compared to the shock Starlink''s members felt. Ink Rain was the core of one of the battle arrays, and the boost to her physique and Basic Attributes was even greater than what her comrades had received. With this boost, she shouldn''t have any issues contending with Tier 3 players of the same level, yet her Strength was no match for Fire Dance''s... Before Ink Rain could recover from her momentary shock, Fire Dance swung Thousand Transformations once more. As the short sword sliced through the air, countless blades bit into Ink Rain, giving the woman no room to dodge. Peng! This time, Ink Rain felt as if a hammer had struck her hand, leaving it completely numb. She was forced to stumble two steps backward, as well. Seeing the weakness in Ink Rain''s defense, Fire Dance didn''t hold back as she continued to attack the enemy Assassin. She continued to push Ink Rain back, forcing the woman to defend herself. The Mad Beast Legion members, who were preparing to face off against Zero Wing''s members, were stunned. They had never expected to find yet another powerful player among Zero Wing''s members. Before anyone could recover from their shock, however, the battle between Zero Wing''s vanguard and the Mad Beast Legion stunned the spectators once more. The clash hadn''t ended as everyone had expected. They had expected the Mad Beast Legion''s charge to shatter Zero Wing''s formation. After all, every Mad Beast Legion member was a Refinement Realm Expert, and they were all empowered by their battle arrays. They should be able to annihilate Zero Wing''s vanguard in a few moves. However, Zero Wing''s vanguard repeated pushed back the powerful Mad Beast Legion, and even Brilliant Python, one of the battle array''s cores, suffered a worse fate than Ink Rain at Gentle Snow''s hands. As if swatting a helpless fly, every one of Gentle Snow''s casual swings with her greatsword sent Brilliant Python flying five or six yards away. "What is going on?" Lu Xingluo''s smile froze as he watched his Mad Beast Legion suffer. Baffled, he watched Fire Dance and Gentle Snow. Even the various spectating powers gaped in shock. They simply couldn''t process what was happening before their very eyes. 2229 Group Figh Chapter 2229 - Group Fight The spectating crowd felt stifled by Zero Wing''s unstoppable performance. "Zero Wing is actually this strong?" The players watching this battle from within the Divine Colosseum weren''t ordinary experts; some were even superpowers'' upper echelons. They had all seen the strength of the Mad Beast Legion''s battle arrays. The boons the arrays provided were undeniably massive, yet despite such power, the Mad Beast Legion was no match for Zero Wing''s 300-player vanguard. It was unbelievable! Fire Dance''s and Gentle Snow''s performances were especially stunning. Based on the combat power Ink Rain and Brilliant Python had displayed, the crowd knew they were peak experts. Even in a Super Guild, they''d be top-ranked players. With the boots from the battle array, even Domain Realm experts would have to avoid a fight with those two. But neither Ink Rain nor Brilliant Python was a match for Fire Dance and Gentle Snow. The spectators simply couldn''t understand how Zero Wing had gained two such powerful experts. Even Delicate Blood, who sat in the stands, was surprised as she watched the women. "How are their Attributes so high?" Delicate Blood had a better understanding of what was happening on the battlefield than many of the experts around her. Although the two women''s moves seemed special, as if they used a combat technique with every swing of their weapons, Delicate Blood could tell that they had only reached the Flowing Water Realm. While incorporating combat techniques into every attack would increase their combat power, Basic Combat Techniques could only offer a small boost. Furthermore, Basic Combat Techniques didn''t pose much of a threat to experts like Ink Rain and Brilliant Python. The real reason that Ink Rain and Brilliant Python were so miserable right now was because of how much higher Fire Dance''s and Gentle Snow''s Basic Attributes were. However, the two team leaders served as the cores for their respective battle arrays, and the Attribute boots they had received was no trivial matter. Moreover, they should be wearing multiple pieces of Epic Equipment as peak experts, yet for some reason, they were no match for Fire Dance and Gentle Snow... In contrast, Unyielding Heart brimmed with joy. His eyes were practically glowing as he watched Fire Dance and Gentle Snow. He didn''t know how the two women had amassed such high Basic Attributes, either, but with their strength, there was no doubt that Zero Wing''s vanguard could suppress the Mad Beast Legion. In fact, it was only a matter of time before the vanguard annihilated the 300 Mad Beast Legion members. The 300 Mad Beast Legion members were Refinement Realm experts, and if Zero Wing''s peak combatants could suppress these players, it would prove that Zero Wing had its own peak legion that could rival the various superpowers''. Combined with Unyielding Soul''s peak combatants, not even Starlink would find the two Guilds an easy opponent to deal with. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the fights continued for a short time as the Mad Beast Legion rapidly lost members. "Guild Leader, I''m afraid that the Mad Beast Legion won''t last much longer at this rate," Startled Wind reported as he watched one legion member die after another. He didn''t want to admit it, but Zero Wing was stronger than he had expected. The team Fire Dance and Gentle Snow led was more than capable of rivaling a superpower''s main force. There was also Shi Feng to take into account, and he was capable of suppressing two battle array teams by himself. "Alright, join the battle! But make sure that you end it quickly!" Lu Xingluo said as he shot Shi Feng a fierce look. Lu Xingluo wanted to hide as much of Starlink''s strength as possible, but Shi Feng had given him on choice but to reveal his cards. Startled Wind nodded sharply and left to gather Sword Demon, Evil Blade, and the Guild''s other Domain Realm experts. The watching superpowers gasped as these experts broke away from Starlink''s main force. Even Unyielding Heart felt a chill crawl down his spine. They watched as Startled Wind, the Mad Beast Legion''s commander, Cloudy Mountain, its vice commander, the Four Shadow Demons, Three Kills, and the Battlescar Workshop''s commander, Evil Blade, charged forth. That was a total of eight Domain Realm experts, and among them, Startled Wind and Evil Blade were powerful enough to have shaken the western continent in God''s Domain. Moreover, all eight experts radiated strange auras. A crimson mark also graced their foreheads, and their eyes were completely black. Not one of them looked like an ordinary human. "Demon God Transformation! So, that''s what Starlink has been hiding?" Delicate Blood was stunned as she watched Starlink''s eight Domain Realm experts. Most superpowers were likely still unfamiliar with the term ''Demon God Transformation.'' Only an extremely small number of players knew about what it was right now. The Demon God Transformation was one of the few ways players could increase their Life Ratings, but trying to perform the act was extremely difficult. Not only did it require a ton of super-rare materials, but the players undergoing the transformation also had to find the legacy entrance and clear the Demon God''s trial. The materials alone were an intense challenge to procure. Any superpower would struggle to secure a single set, yet Starlink had collected at least eight... Startled Wind and his companions had reached Fire Dance and Gentle Snow before Delicate Blood could even react. Although Startled Wind and the others'' Basic Attributes and physiques weren''t quite as powerful as Ink Rain and Brilliant Python''s, their combat standards were leagues above. Among the eight, Startled Wind and Evil Blade''s Basic Attributes and physiques could rival Ink Rain and Brilliant Python''s, and as a result, they led the charge. Relying on their superior combat standards, Startled Wind and Evil Blade deflected all of Fire Dance and Gentle Snow''s attacks. They responded with their own Advanced Combat Techniques, targeting the women''s weak points. At the same time, Cloudy Mountain, Sword Demon, and the Domain Realm experts coordinated their attacks with Startled Wind and Evil Blade''s. After just a few exchanges, Fire Dance and Gentle Snow had taken several hits. They had no choice but to use their Skills and focus on defense. "It seems that this fight ends here. Although Zero Wing''s experts have higher Basic Attributes, it still lacks capable manpower." Delicate Blood could not help but sigh as she watched Starlink''s experts push back Fire Dance and Gentle Snow. At the end of the day, Zero Wing''s foundations weren''t solid enough. Fire Dance and Gentle Snow might be very strong, but God''s Domain was not a single-player game. Starlink''s foundations were far too sturdy. It had eight Domain Realm experts that had undergone the Demon God Transformation, and with that kind of strength, Starlink could decimate any ordinary superpower. Only Super Guilds would have a chance of putting Starlink in its place. But before Startled Wind and his team could land the final blow, ten sword lights rained down on them from above. Not only were these sword lights incredibly powerful, but they were also quite fast and accurate. Startled Wind and his companions had no choice but to defend themselves. Peng... Peng... Peng... The crowd heard a series of metallic clangs as Startled Wind and the others were forced two or three steps back. All eight Domain Realm experts instantly turned toward the sword lights'' origin, and they clearly weren''t happy with what they found. Their attacker was none other than Shi Feng. Shi Feng''s attacks were even heavier than Gentle Snow''s. If any of them had to face the ten sword lights alone, they''d likely take immense damage. "Eight Domain Realm experts dare to gang up on two players who haven''t even reached the Void Realm yet?! You must be insane!" Shi Feng said as he looked at Startled Wind and the others. "Don''t insult us, Black Flame. This is war. There is only victory or defeat. We''ll still fight with everything we have, even if you join the fight!" Startled Wind stated, unperturbed by Shi Feng''s provocation. However, Startled Wind and his companions still watched Shi Feng with serious expressions. They hadn''t fought him yet, so they didn''t know exactly how high Shi Feng''s Strength was, but after blocking the previous attack, they knew it must be horrifically high. None of them would be a match for him in a one-on-one. "Indeed, this is a war. Since that is how you feel... Everyone, attack!" Shi Feng ordered. Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Shadow Sword, Yan Tianxing, Alluring Summer, Yi Luofei, Flying Shadow, Zhao Yueru, and a dozen or so other core upper echelons from Zero Wing, who had refrained from combat, surrounded Shi Feng. 2230 Violent Suppression Chapter 2230 - Violent Suppression When Aqua Rose and the others stepped forward, they unleashed the auras they had kept contained. Although each of their auras was not as powerful as Fire Dance and Gentle Snow''s, the combined pressure easily surpassed their two comrades''. Startled Wind and his team were stunned. Aqua Rose and the others hadn''t seriously joined the battle yet, so Fire Dance and Gentle Snow''s brilliance had easily overshadowed their performances. As a result, Startled Wind and his companions hadn''t been able to get a clear estimation of their strength. However, as Aqua Rose''s group revealed their true selves, Startled Wind and Starlink''s other Domain Realm experts recognized how powerful these players were. "Are you kidding me?!" "How can a Guild like Zero Wing have so many experts with such incredible Attributes?!" Aqua Rose and her comrades no longer felt like current players. The weakest among them likely had Basic Attributes that could even rival Ink Rain and Brilliant Python. Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Cola, and Zhao Yueru were only slightly weaker than Fire Dance and Gentle Snow. When the Mad Beast Legion members felt this combined aura, they couldn''t help their instinct to retreat. None of them dared to approach Aqua Rose''s group. Only the legion''s peak experts withstood the powerful aura, although they were still afraid. The Mad Beast Legion felt as if they stood before over 20 Great Lords. How could they possible face such a powerful force? "Have they already reached Tier 3?" Brilliant Python muttered in shock. Brilliant Python was his battle array''s core, and the boost was even great enough that he could contend with a Tier 3 player of the same level, yet Aqua Rose and the others'' auras were no weaker than his own. He couldn''t think of any possibility other than the fact that they must have reached Tier 3. "No, that''s not possible. Players can''t take the Tier 3 Promotion Quest until they''ve reached Level 100. No matter how incredible their leveling speed is, it''s not possible to reach Level 100 at this stage of the game. Even if they have reached that level, they''d still have to complete their Promotion Quests. They can''t even challenge the quest until they''ve met the minimum equipment standards, not to mention complete it," Ink Rain said, shaking her head. Ink Rain refused to believe that Aqua Rose and the others had reached Tier 3 already. Just from their Life Ratings, she could tell they hadn''t. There was, after all, a significant difference between a Tier 2 player''s Life Rating and that of a Tier 3 player. Ink Rain didn''t feel the pressure that would result from such a difference in Life Ratings. However, even if Aqua Rose and the others weren''t Tier 3, they weren''t any weaker than an actual Tier 3 player of the same level. "Calm down, everyone! These people might have very high Attributes, but their combat standards are subpar. Our Refinement Realm experts easily outnumber theirs by several times! Avoid direct fights! Split up, and keep them distracted! Follow-up units, attack with Combination Spells! Evil Blade, you''ll work with me to distract Black Flame! I want everyone else to work with the Combination Spells to keep Zero Wing''s vanguard busy! Once we''ve annihilated the rest of Zero Wing''s army, we''ll take out time whittling these players down!" After taking a moment to calm down, Startled Wind commanded the Mad Beast Legion''s Refinement Realm experts. It was impressive that Zero Wing had 20-plus players with the combat power to rival Tier 3 players, but the difference between experts wasn''t limited to Basic Attributes. Combat standards also played a massive role. After all was said and done, Zero Wing did not even have 100 Refinement Realm experts. Even if Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts had higher Basic Attributes, they couldn''t one-shot other players. They could simply split up and tackle these Refinement Realm experts using Boss raiding methods. With Startled Wind''s orders, realization dawned on Starlink''s members. Aqua Rose and the others were quite powerful, but the fact remained that Starlink had more Refinement Realm experts. Starlink''s forces then took action. The Refinement Realm experts that had stood with the main army began to cast their Tier 2 Combination Spells, targeting Zero Wing''s vanguard. These Tier 2 Combination Spells were even stronger than single-target Tier 3 Spells, and could even cause a significant amount of damage against Grand Lords. Moreover, these Refinement Realm experts'' aim was incredibly accurate. In the meantime, the Four Shadow Demons, Cloudy Mountain, and Three Kills made their way toward Aqua Rose''s group. Their Basic Attributes might not be as high, but they had higher combat standards. With a single glance, they found plenty of weak points in the vanguard''s defenses. If they coordinated their attacks with the Combination Spells, killing Aqua Rose and the others would not be difficult. But the instant Starlink''s members reached their targets, they discovered that they had been mistaken-outrageously mistaken. Naturally, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and Zhao Yueru didn''t hold back. Facing several dozen incoming Combination Spells, Aqua Rose lightly waved her Sea Dragon Staff and cast Aqua Precinct. Twelve water serpents immediate appeared around Aqua Rose, radiating an aura no weaker than that of a Level 75 Grand Lord. Under Aqua Rose''s control, the serpents blocked most of Starlink''s Combination Spells. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud activated her Death''s Sigh''s Shadow Rage, summoning a total of 300 shadow blades. Every shadow blade effortlessly struck down a Combination Spell, and in the end, Aqua Rose shattered the remaining incoming attacks in an instant. In the end, it took only an instant for Aqua Rose to shatter the remaining Combination Spells. Zhao Yueru took a more direct approach than her companions. Her Frostflame''s Wrath was already capable of upgrading her Spells by one tier, so they were currently Tier 3 Spells. With her extraordinary Basic Attributes and physique, she''d have no issues defeating an actual Tier 3 Great Mage, much less a bunch of Tier 2 magical class players. After casting the Tier 2 Spell Flame Sanctions, over 30 crimson magic arrays appeared around Zhao Yueru. Each released a fiery spear, which was powerful enough on its own to warp the space around it. These spears were easily more powerful than Starlink''s Tier 2 Combination Spells, and Zhao Yueru used them to bombard the Mad Beast Legion members. The Mad Beast Legion members responded in time and blocked the incoming spears, but they still stumbled back seven or eight steps, their arms trembling from the impact and their HPs plummeting. Zhao Yueru''s attacks made her just as powerful as a humanoid Defense Turret. As long as magical class players had enough time to cast their Spells, they''d wreak even more havoc on an open battlefield than their melee counterparts. A magical class player with a special Legacy and a Fragmented Legendary Weapon would be no more than a natural disaster. Although the Four Shadow Demons and their companions wanted to stop the three women, Cola, Shadow Sword, Alluring Summer, Yi Luofei, Flying Shadow, and Yan Tianxing halted their advance. Despite having higher combat standards, the Four Shadow Demons'' party struggled against Cola''s due to the huge level gaps. Yan Tianxing, in particular, could suppress Sword Demon on his own. Meanwhile, Yi Luofei kept Three Kills, who was only second to Sword Demon''s strength, busy. Fire Dance and Gentle Snow continued to push back Ink Rain and Brilliant Python, who fared far worse than Sword Demon and Three Kills. Elsewhere on the battlefield, the more Startled Wind and Evil Blade fought Shi Feng, the more afraid they became of the Swordsman''s prowess. Not only could Shi Feng incorporate a combat technique in every move, but he also used his horrifying speed and Strength to increase the lethality of his attacks. The two Domain Realm experts couldn''t get close to him, forced to dodge or use Skills to defend themselves. Even so, their HPs continued to decrease. If not for the rear line healers'' support, they would''ve likely died already. However, even though Zero Wing had the advantage, Starlink simply had too many Refinement Realm experts. Although Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts could face five opponents by themselves, it wasn''t enough to compensate for Starlink''s numerical advantage. Unfortunately, most of Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts weren''t quite that strong. After several minutes, Zero Wing''s vanguard had lost over 100 players, including over a dozen Refinement Realm experts. In contrast, Starlink had only lost around 300 players. As both Guilds'' main armies clashed, Zero Wing''s losses were more severe. It wasn''t just because of the quality difference between their experts, but the defensive barriers that protected Starlink''s members. "Black Flame, Zero Wing''s story ends here. If it were merely a 1,000-man-battle, you might''ve had a chance of victory. Unfortunately, this is a 10,000-versus-10,000 battle. You, alone, aren''t enough to influence the outcome!" Startled Wind snarled, breathing a sigh of relief once he saw that this battle''s outcome was assured. Zero Wing had already suffered more than 2,000 casualties on the main battlefield, while Starlink had only sustained around 500. As long as they could hold out until Zero Wing''s main army fell, the rest of Starlink''s players could wear Shi Feng and his companions down, even if Starlink''s Domain Realm experts were annihilated. In such a high-speed battle, experts of their caliber were no trivial matter. Fighting at their peak consumed a lot of Stamina and Concentration, and executing one Advanced Combat Technique after another would increase their consumption. Startled Wind only had around half of his Stamina remaining, and with Shi Feng facing two Domain Realm experts at the same time, he shouldn''t fare any better. Startled Wind wasn''t the only one to consider the issue. Everyone was aware of it. Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other magical class experts had already blown through more than half of their Mana. Even if Zero Wing''s vanguard team eliminated Starlink''s 700-plus Refinement Realm experts before its main army fell, the surviving vanguard members wouldn''t be useful combat power. How exactly did Zero Wing plan to defeat Starlink''s forces? "You''re not wrong. I can''t turn the tide of this battle by myself, but what happens if I''m not alone?" Shi Feng asked, flashing a grin at Startled Wind and Evil Blade. Shi Feng''s question made them realize something, and they stared at him with grim expressions. The moment Shi Feng finished his question, he activated Twilight''s Shadow and Twilight of the Gods. The Swordsman then split into eight identical clones, each looking straight at Startled Wind and Evil Blade. "Crap!" Many of the watching players gasped when they saw Shi Feng split into eight copies of himself. Some even cursed aloud in surprise. Startled Wind and his comrades, who shared a battlefield with Shi Feng, felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over their heads. 2231 Instant-killing Apex Experts Chapter 2231 - Instant-killing Apex Experts Shi Feng was already unstoppable on his own. He could, single-handedly, destroy a 1,000-man legion of expert players. And now that he had split into eight clones of himself, even a fool could predict what was about to happen. Startled Wind and Evil Blade stared with grim faces. They wanted to curse this Swordsman for cheating. Although Doppelganger Skills were very rare in God''s Domain, they were apex experts and had seen quite a few before, but they had never seen a Doppelganger Skill as despicable as the one Shi Feng had just used. "Run!" Before anyone could recover from their shock, Startled Wind shouted for a retreat. He turned and fled without any hesitation. Startled Wind could sense Doppelganger Skils'' effects, and although Shi Feng''s doppelgangers had lower Attributes than the main body, he could tell that their Basic Attributes were still higher than his and Evil Blade''s. As for combat standards, Shi Feng might not be able to control all eight doppelgangers as efficiently as his own body, but each doppelganger could likely rival Ink Rain and Brilliant Python. If that were the case, they had no chance of victory, even if he worked with Evil Blade. Moreover, since the doppelgangers shared a single consciousness, their coordination would be seamless. Following Startled Wind''s order, Evil Blade ran in the opposite direction. Even he recognized that only one outcome awaited them if they tried to fight Shi Feng head-ondeath. The only way out of this predicament was to buy time and run. No Doppelganger Skill lasted forever, and as long as they could survive the Skills'' duration, all would be well again. Doppelganger Skills were quite powerful, but they had an obvious flaw; they were a huge burden on players'' Concentration. Every summoned doppelganger increased the user''s Concentration consumption by 100%. If Shi Feng were facing Boss monsters or ordinary experts, he might be fine, but he was fighting apex experts. His Concentration consumption would be just as high as his Stamina Concentration. Once his Concentration fell to a critical low, it would affect his mental state, which would, in turn, severely impact his performance in battle. In other words, if they could survive until Shi Feng''s Doppelganger Skill ended, they could defeat the Swordsman. Startled Wind and Evil Blade weren''t the only ones to flee for their lives. The experts that clashed with Zero Wing''s vanguard retreated, as well, especially Starlink''s Domain and Void Realm experts. They practically ignored their opponents and fled. They knew how great the difference was between their strength and Shi Feng''s. Once Shi Feng killed Startled Wind and Evil Blade, they''d be next on his menu. Even on the off chance that Shi Feng couldn''t slay his current two opponents, he''d make the best use of his Doppelganger Skill by attacking weaker enemies like them. For a time, chaos reigned over Starlink''s Refinement Realm and higher experts as everyone ran for their lives. The audience in the stands was stupefied. The weakest player among Starlink''s main force was a Refinement Realm expert, and the force was more than capable of annihilating a 10,000-man army of ordinary experts. However, these experts fled just because Shi Feng had used a Skill. They looked like mice that had just run into a cat... "It''s too late!" With a glance at Startled Wind and Evil Blade, Shi Feng directed his doppelgangers to surround the two experts. If he wanted Zero Wing to win this competition, he couldn''t let these two live, no matter what. Shi Feng had avoided using Twilight Blade''s Skills precisely because he worried that Startled Wind and Evil Blade would flee. Naturally, the rest of Starlink''s main force would run the moment their commanders did so, and that wasn''t the desired outcome. Starlink''s Refinement Realm experts far outnumbered Zero Wing''s. If these Refinement Realm experts split up and targeted Zero Wing''s main army, they''d pose a much greater threat than if they operated as a single unit. Not even Shi Feng would be able to kill every one of these Refinement Realm experts before exhausting his Stamina. Hence, Shi Feng''s plan since the beginning was to gather Starlink''s members as close to each other as possible. He could then pick off these experts and reduce the threat to Zero Wing''s main army. By this point, only half of Starlink''s Refinement Realm experts were still alive. Shi Feng had hoped to continue this stalemate for a while longer, slowly reducing their numbers, but as Zero Wing''s main army was close to falling, he decided to change his plans. Although Zero Wing''s main army still had over 7,000 experts, a battle between such large armies would snowball. The casualty rate at the start of the battle might not be that high, but as time passed, players would begin to die faster. Shi Feng could no longer wait. The moment Shi Feng''s doppelgangers surrounded Startled Wind and Evil Blade, all eight attacked together. Shi Feng held a massive advantage over the duo when it came to Basic Attributes. Hence, even though each doppelganger only possessed 85% of Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes, they were still far superior to Startled Wind and Evil Blade when it came to speed. Moreover, ever since Shi Feng started using the Life Potion, his brain capacity had been continuously improving. After including the Casting Goldstone''s effects, Shi Feng was now capable of getting two of his doppelgangers to exhibit combat standards close to the Domain Realm. Not only did these two apex experts have to face a Domain Realm expert with higher Basic Attributes, but they also had to face seven other experts that could rival Ink Rain. In the first exchange, Startled Wind and Evil Blade each suffered at least three direct hits, instantly losing more than 50% of their HPs. "Damn it!" The outcome both shocked and enraged Startled Wind. He stopped holding back and desperately executed every Advanced Body Technique and Lifesaving Skill he had. Evil Blade bellowed with fury as he summoned his own doppelganger to assist him in this fight, but his doppelganger was significantly inferior to Shi Feng''s, only possessing 70% of his total Attributes. At most, Evil Blade''s doppelganger could act as a meatshield, taking hits. It wouldn''t be able to exhibit any significant combat power against Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Starlink''s rear line healers frantically cast Healing Spells on the two apex experts. Some even used their trump cards to keep Startled Wind and Evil Blade alive. This allowed the two apex experts to fight and run without worrying about dying. But even after crossing over 50 yards, Startled Wind and Evil Blade couldn''t shake off Shi Feng. Not even Refinement Realm experts could keep up with the fight, and the three apex experts consumed Stamina and Concentration at an alarming rate. "Die!" Shi Feng held nothing back, either, as all eight of his doppelganger executed Sword''s Transmigration simultaneously. The technique pushed aside every attempt Startled Wind and Evil Blade made to defend themselves, creating the opening necessary for the remaining attacks to strike. One hit... Two hits... Three hits... In the blink of an eye, Startled Wind and Evil Blade had each gained an additional dozen or so wounds. Before the rear line healers could do anything about it, both apex experts'' HPs hit zero, and their bodies fell to the ground, lifeless. Every player watching the fight gasped when Startled Wind and Evil Blade died. Even Melancholy, who watched from a second-floor VIP room, was shocked. Both Startled Wind and Evil Blade stood at the apex of God''s Domain. Just trying to kill one of them would give the various superpowers massive headaches, yet Shi Feng had killed both in the same moment. While it was easy to repel experts of such caliber in God''s Domain, killing them was dozens of times more difficult. If an apex expert focused on escaping, even a slightly stronger expert would find it challenging to stop them. Furthermore, both Startled Wind and Evil Blade had the support of multiple healers, yet neither had survived Shi Feng''s onslaught... 2232 Abyss Unsheathed Chapter 2232 - Abyss Unsheathed They died?" Delicate Blood turned her gaze to Shi Feng, shocked after watching Startled Wind and Evil Blade vanish from the battlefield. Startled Wind and Evil Blade''s strength was top-notch, even among God''s Domain''s apex experts. On their own, they could even survive a fight against three or four Domain Realm experts, yet Shi Feng had slain both of them by himself. However, Shi Feng had actually succeeded in killing both of them all by himself. Shi Feng''s strength was simply horrifying! However, before the audience could recover from the shock of Startled Wind and Evil Blade''s deaths, Shi Feng charged toward Sword Demon and Starlink''s other Domain Realm experts. Although Shi Feng''s fight with Startled Wind and Evil Blade had seemed slow, it had only lasted a handful of seconds. To Sword Demon and the others, who struggled against Aqua Rose and her companions'' harassment, these several seconds weren''t enough for them to cross 100 yards. Shi Feng, on the other hand, only needed an instant. Naturally, Shi Feng didn''t let the enemy Refinement Realm experts he came across in that instant off the hook. Like a group of Grim Reapers, Shi Feng''s doppelgangers brandished their swords, reaping a life with each swing of their swords. "Is he even human?!" The various major powers'' experts watched with wide eyes as Shi Feng left the Refinement Realm experts'' corpses in his wake. Unlike the various superpowers'' upper echelons, they knew that Startled Wind and Evil Blade were quite powerful, but they didn''t know exactly how strong the two Domain Realm experts were. However, most of them quite familiar with the kind of strength Refinement Realm experts wielded, having personally fought such experts. Many of these watching experts worked towards reaching the Refinement Realm themselves. And yet, the Refinement Realm experts they looked up to couldn''t even last more than one move against Shi Feng. They only saw Shi Feng walk past these experts, and a moment later, the players he passed transformed into particles of light and disappeared... When Sword Demon and his comrades saw this, their hearts skipped a beat. They hadn''t considered that their Refinement Realm experts would fail to stall Shi Feng for even a moment. In the end, they could only watch as the distance between Shi Feng and themselves shrank. "Black Flame, you bastard!" Lu Xingluo bellowed as he watched Shi Feng''s rampage through the rear of Starlink''s main army. "Everyone, switch targets! Attack him with everything you''ve got!" Those Domain Realm experts were the core of Starlink''s army in this competition. If Shi Feng annihilated them, Starlink would struggle to win the battle. Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Zero Wing''s other core upper echelons were simply too strong. The ranged players of Starlink''s main army immediately turned their attention to Shi Feng, bombarding him with frenzied attacks. They loosed several thousand Spells and arrows in the blink of an eye, all aimed at Shi Feng. Even Domain Realm experts'' scalp would tingle if they had to face so many attacks. However, before these attacks could get close to him, Shi Feng replaced Killing Ray with the Abyssal Blade. He then activated Nine Dragons Slash, summoning 16 phantoms of the Magic Weapon around him. Sword''s Orbit! The Abyssal Blade phantoms began to rotate around Shi Feng with astonishing speed, their gleaming blades creating a galaxy of stars. The scene was mesmerizing. A moment later, the thousands of Spells and arrows collided with the rotating stars, instantly shattering. Not a single attack made it through that bladed galaxy. Despite taking the time to execute Sword''s Orbit, Shi Feng''s pace didn''t slow as he continued to approach Sword Demon and the other Domain Realm experts. "Crap! What kind of Skill is he using? Is that an Invulnerability Skill?" "No, it''s not an Invulnerability Skill. If it were, the Mana around him would''ve fluctuated. Since that didn''t happen, Black Flame must be using a combat technique." "How can a combat technique be that powerful?! That''s several thousand attacks we''re talking about!" "Players can become so incredibly powerful with combat techniques?" The many spectating experts were stunned as they watched the scene play out. They had all watched experts charge into large forces to slay an army''s commander before. In fact, it was a common occurrence in God''s Domain. There were so many Skills, Spells, and tools available in God''s Domain, and with a powerful enough tool, players could wipe out armies of tens of thousands of players by themselves. However, they had never seen a player effortlessly walk through thousands of attacks by relying on a combat technique. Some of those attacks had been as powerful as Tier 3 attacks, and every one of them had originated from an expert. They had all been incredibly accurate. Even peak experts would be reduced to a pincushion. However, none of these attacks could reach Shi Feng. The galaxy of stars he had summoned struck every one of them down. Although the Abyssal Blade couldn''t keep up with Shi Feng''s leveling, the Magic Weapon''s incredible Skills were still useful. Nine Dragons Slash, in particular, was a major help in group fights. The summoned phantoms were even more useful than the Abyssal Blade itself since attacks wouldn''t affect them. When Shi Feng used these phantom swords in conjunction with Sword''s Orbit, the technique could be Shi Feng''s strongest defensive maneuver. "Don''t think that I''m so easy to kill!" Sword Demon knew that escape wasn''t possible as he watched Shi Feng''s rapid approach. He immediately used his strongest move against the Swordsman. The twin swords in Sword Demon''s grip began to release a dense, dark energy, and the atmosphere around him began to feel much heavier. It felt as if the space around him couldn''t bear the existence of this dark energy. Following which, Sword Demon used Cross Slash, sending a pitch-black cross of dark energy flying toward Shi Feng. This attack was Sword Demon''s last hope for survival. As long as the galaxy of stars around Shi Feng remained, Starlink''s ranged players would be useless, but if Sword Demon could shatter that galaxy, Starlink could continue its assault against Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Shi Feng would be forced to deal with the attacks, allowing Sword Demon to escape. Boom! A massive explosion rocked the battlefield the instant the dark cross collided with the galaxy of stars, creating a powerful storm that swept through the area. Black tears appeared as space began to unravel. However, when the dust cleared, what Sword Demon saw left him stupefied. His attack, which had the strength to rival Mythic monsters'' attacks, had done nothing to the defensive galaxy around Shi Feng. He had done nothing more than push the swirling lights closer to the Swordsman for a brief moment before they returned to their original positions. What power. If I hadn''t reached the Ascension Realm during my fight with Startled Wind and Evil Blade, my Sword''s Orbit would''ve broken. Shi Feng flashed Sword Demon an amazed look. Players couldn''t use Berserk Skills on this battlefield, so it was practically impossible for a Tier 2 player to display Tier 4 power. Not even Shi Feng could do so. As a result, he had no choice but to combine his Abyssal Blade phantoms'' Strength to deflect Sword Demon''s attack. After that last attack, Sword Demon''s aura had weakened substantially. Using this opportunity, Shi Feng ganged up on Sword Demon with his doppelgangers. This Domain Realm expert was much easier to defeat than Startled Wind and Evil Blade. The instant Sword Demon ran out of Lifesaving Skills, Shi Feng killed him and moved on to his next target. The scene rendered the spectating crowd speechless. Despite several thousand attacks bombarding him, Shi Feng had slain Sword Demon, His strength was absurd! When Lu Xingluo watched another Domain Realm expert fall, he paled. Shortly after Sword Demon died, Wind Demon and Cloudy Mountain, the closest Domain Realm experts, fell under Shi Feng''s blades. Surprisingly, Gentle Snow and Yan Tianxing had successfully killed Three Kills, while Fire Dance and Yi Luofei ended Ink Rain. Because of this development, Starlink''s morale plummeted. In less than two minutes after Shi Feng had activated Twilight of the Gods, all of Starlink''s Domain Realm experts had died. Furthermore, Starlink had less than 200 Refinement Realm experts remaining. Everyone could see that Zero Wing''s main army had suffered over 6,000 casualties, yet it had secured a chance of emerging victorious. If Zero Wing''s remaining members hid in the nearby forest, they could recover their Stamina and Concentration, turning the rest of this competition into a battle of attrition. "What should we do next, Guild Leader? Should we use that move?" a woman in a strange, black robe asked from beside Lu Xingluo. "That is my final trump card! I will not use it here!" Lu Xingluo said, shaking his head. Viciously glaring at Shi Feng, Lu Xingluo continued, "We''re retreating!" Lu Xingluo then left the battlefield, as did the rest of Starlink''s experts, one after another. In less than a minute, the battle ended, and a message appeared above the battlefield. Victor: Zero Wing! 2233 New Powerhouse Chapter 2233 - New Powerhouse As the system announced the competition''s victory, silence descended on the entire venue. Only after some time did the audience snap out of their daze. "What?! Zero Wing won, just like that!?" The spectators couldn''t believe their eyes as they stared at the words hovering above the battlefield. Although Zero Wing had killed all of Starlink''s top combatants, Zero Wing''s army had suffered. After such a long fight, Zero Wing''s top combatants should have exhausted much of their Stamina and Concentration. If they had continued this battle, they would''ve likely collapsed from exhaustion. Moreover, Zero Wing''s 300-man vanguard only had a little over 100 survivors remaining. Among them, less than 70 were Refinement Realm experts. In contrast, although Starlink had lost all of its Domain Realm experts, it still had over 200 Refinement Realm experts. Overall, Zero Wing had still been at a disadvantage. Most importantly, Starlink''s main army had crushed Zero Wing''s main army to a point where it couldn''t even be considered an army anymore. The situation wouldn''t be easy for Zero Wing to salvage. And yet, Starlink had taken the initiative to admit defeat... "Starlink surrendered?" Delicate Blood watched Lu Xingluo, who had already returned to the Divine Colosseum''s main hall, in astonishment. She had never expected this outcome. Starlink was the Dark Night Empire''s overlord and a Guild that developed on both the eastern and western continents simultaneously. The Guild had countless experts under its command, yet Starlink had surrendered so strangely... "Hahaha! I told you that the outcome wasn''t set in stone! Zero Wing has won!" Unyielding Heart exclaimed, grinning at Delicate Blood. "Don''t celebrate so soon. Starlink might have lost, but there is a high chance that it only surrendered to keep its true strength hidden," Delicate Blood said, clicking her tongue. "If Starlink accepted defeat in such an important competition to hide its strength, it must have something massive in store." "That doesn''t change the fact that Zero Wing won," Unyielding Heart said, chuckling. "Every player in the empire was watching this match. Now that Zero Wing has won, the powers that previously doubted the Guild''s strength will begin to side with Zero Wing." Unyielding Heart didn''t know what Starlink was planning, but the fact that Zero Wing had won this 10,000- versus-10,000 match was undisputable. Today, the Dark Night Empire entered a new era. Starlink would no longer have full control over the empire. Instead, two powerhouses would contest for control. The various major powers that had hesitated to pick a side would swarm toward Zero Wing. The Dark Night Empire was very large, and although it appeared to be under Starlink, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor''s control, the three superpowers only commanded the empire''s core areas. There were plenty of small, obscure cities that were free of these three superpowers, controlled by upstart powers. Corporations around the world were actively trying to invest in God''s Domain, and while some invested in existing Guilds, others had chosen to form their own. As a result, upstart powers were secretly rising all over God''s Domain. Naturally, the Dark Night Empire was no exception. Meanwhile, these upstart powers had been annexing small Guilds and adventurer teams across the empire, and by this point, they were no weaker than first-rate Guilds. Some were even stronger. Since these upstart powers had their own agendas, they weren''t willing to submit to Starlink. That being said, they didn''t dare oppose the superpower, either. As a result, they had remained in an awkward position. However, now that Zero Wing had defeated Starlink and proven itself to be just as powerful in the Dark Night Empire, these upstart powers would eagerly ally themselves with Zero Wing to work against Starlink. Delicate Blood had no response to offer Unyielding Heart. Instead, she shifted her gaze to Shi Feng, who had just left the battlefield. It seems I''ll have to report this to the old commander, Delicate Blood thought as she watched Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Unyielding Heart hadn''t been wrong. A victory was just that. From today on, the Dark Night Empire had a new powerhouseZero Wing. Meanwhile, in one of the Divine Colosseum''s second-floor VIP rooms, Happy Art could not believe her eyes as she stared at the outcome of this competition. "Guild Leader, Zero Wing...won," Happy Art muttered, dazed. She had insisted that Zero Wing was an excellent Guild, but she hadn''t actually expected it to defeat Starlink in this competition. The difference between the two Guilds was just so massive. "I can see that," Melancholy said, smiling at Happy Art''s dazed expression. "Zero Wing has certainly surprised me. With such strength, we''ll have a much better chance of securing the fortress. I really must thank you for your recommendation and reports. I will leave our cooperation with Zero Wing to you. Also, I want you to tell Black Flame something for me; others will always envy those who stand out. Even Super Guilds will be envious of Zero Wing''s incredible development speed." Melancholy didn''t particularly care about Zero Wing''s other experts, but the strength its vanguard had displayed in this battle had surprised him. Now, he, more or less, understood why Shi Feng had been so confident. Zero Wing''s growth rate was too frightening. It had grown from an obscure Guild in a kingdom into Starlink''s rival in such a short time. Moreover, it had successfully nurtured so many powerful experts. There was definitely a secret behind Zero Wing''s success, one that even tempted Melancholy. "I understand," Happy Art said, nodding. While everyone discussed the competition''s outcome, Shi Feng, who had just left the battlefield, was puzzled. He had been prepared to order a retreat into the forest, employing guerilla tactics against Starlink''s remaining forces. Not only would his strategy compensate for Zero Wing''s numerical disadvantage, but it would also give his players time to recover their Stamina and Concentration. With their level and Attribute advantage, they could whittle Starlink''s survivors down. He had never expected Lu Xingluo to give up so quickly. Shi Feng found the situation strange since it didn''t fit with Lu Xingluo''s usually rash behavior. Just forget about it. In any case, we''ve won. Shi Feng shook his head as he dismissed the issue. What mattered the most was the reputation boost Zero Wing would gain with its victory. Although Zero Wing had established a foothold in the Dark Night Empire, it hadn''t made any developmental progress yet, even with the benefits Stone Forest City provided. Starlink was simply far too strong. However, Starlink''s prestige in the empire would suffer, while Zero Wings would soar. After this, Zero Wing could finally absorb the empire''s talented players. If a Guild wanted to become a true superpower, it needed enough talented players and experts. Although Zero Wing had already surpassed first-rate Guilds in this aspect, it wasn''t a match for superpowers. This competition had made that much obvious. The difference between each side''s Refinement Realm experts had been massive. There was no need to mention other aspects. To gain more Refinement Realm experts, Zero Wing needed to recruit a large number of talented players and experts, but relying on Star-Moon Kingdom''s player population wasn''t enough. Most importantly, Zero Wing had exposed too much of its strength during this competition. Superpowers would start to become interested in the Guild. Shi Feng needed to increase Zero Wing''s overall strength as quickly as possible. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng''s gaze drifted toward the 10,000 Ancient Gold he had won from Lu Xingluo. Ten thousand Ancient Gold Coins! Even for Starlink, this amount was extremely difficult to acquire. If Shi Feng hadn''t signed a contract with Lu Xingluo before the competition, Lu Xingluo would likely have gone back on his word, even if his reputation would take a hit for it. Ancient Gold Coins were immensely difficult to acquire. Most independent experts on Dragonheart Island only earned Ancient Copper, with an extreme few earning Ancient Silver Coins. Only superpowers were strong enough to earn Ancient Gold Coins. It''s about time I pay Dragonheart Island a visit, Shi Feng thought, smiling. He had assumed that he''d only earn so many Ancient Gold Coins after fulfilling his agreement with Thirteen Thrones, but now that he had them in hand, he could secure a foothold on Dragonheart Island. Later, Shi Feng left the Dark Night Empire''s affairs to Aqua Rose while he made his way to Dragonheart Island. 2234 Purchasing a Shop Chapter 2234 - Purchasing a Shop Dark Night Empire, Starlink''s Residence in Dark Night City: As soon as Lu Xingluo entered his quiet office, he noticed someone sitting in the room. As Bright Dawn noticed the visitor as well, he positioned himself in front of his Guild Leader. Starlink''s Residence was heavily guarded, and the Guild had a rule that no one was allowed in the Guild Leader''s office on their own without the Guild Leader''s permission. Not even Bright Daw, Starlink''s Vice Guild Leader, was an exception. And yet, someone sat, apparently waiting, in the Guild Leader''s office. Even more frightening, this player wasn''t wearing Starlink''s Guild Emblem, and if Bright Dawn hadn''t spotted this player, he wouldn''t have noticed their visitor at all. It was as if this person did not actually exist inside this room. Although Bright Dawn wasn''t a Domain Realm expert, he was a Void Realm expert, a peak expert. He had sharpened his five senses to their very limits. He''d notice a tiny fly, let alone a living person. However, when it came to the young man in silver leather armor, he couldn''t sense the youth even as he looked straight at him. As Bright Dawn stared, he felt cold sweat drip down his back, yet he couldn''t sense where the danger came from. While Bright Dawn struggled with what he should do, Lu Xingluo spoke, "Dawn, leave us." "Understood!" The command informed Bright Dawn that his Guild Leader was acquainted with this stranger. Before he left, however, he spared one last glance for the thin young man on the sofa. Once Bright Dawn left the Guild Leader''s office, Lu Xingluo took a seat opposite of the youth. "Why are you here, Blue Mask?" Lu Xingluo asked frostily. "I''m here to ascertain your progress with the task that great personage has assigned you, of course," the youth, Blue Mask, replied, unperturbed by Lu Xingluo''s cold treatment. "Rest assured, everything is progressing smoothly. I will personally report on this matter. You don''t need to concern yourself," Lu Xingluo said. "Good." Blue Mask nodded. Smiling, he continued, "However, I''ve heard that Zero Wing has defeated your Guild. This is quite interesting." "I am merely letting Zero Wing live a little while longer," Lu Xingluo said, his expression darkening. "Once I''ve finished my tasks, I''ll teach Zero Wing the meaning of despair!" He had no choice but to surrender to keep his trump card hidden. There was no way he''d let Shi Feng and Zero Wing off the hook. When the time was right, even Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor would meet their doom, not to mention Zero Wing. "Don''t misunderstand. I''m not trying to mock you. I am merely talking about Zero Wing. Despite its lack of background, it has developed with such ferocious speed and nurtured so many powerful experts. Zero Wing has even defeated your subordinates," the youth said, shrugging. Every existing superpower had only developed into such due to an abundance of capital and resources. This was especially true when it came to nurturing experts. Money wasn''t enough to accomplish this feat. However, despite lacking investors, Zero Wing had repeated displayed an astonishing growth rate. No one believed that Zero Wing wasn''t hiding some kind of secret. "What? Are you actually interested?" Blue Mask''s comment surprised Lu Xingluo. The young man had never paid attention to anything outside of his own concerns and had zero interest beyond his own. "I''m on the one who''s interested. That great personage is," Blue Mask said, smiling faintly. "That great personage will likely seek out Zero Wing for a chat." "That great personage is interested in Zero Wing?" Lu Xingluo was stunned. Lu Xingluo was the Starline Corporation''s heir and enjoyed high status and an immense amount of influence in the real world, but compared to that person, he was little more than an ant. Lu Xingluo had never thought that an insignificant pest like Zero Wing would catch that person''s interest. "That''s right. I''d suggest that you avoid messing with Zero Wing. At least, not until you''ve completed your tasks," Blue Mask said. "I understand." Lu Xingluo nodded. Since that great personage had decided to make a move on Zero Wing, there was nothing Lu Xingluo could do about it. If negotiations were successful, he''d be fine, but if they failed, Zero Wing would be doomed, even if he didn''t make a move. While the Dark Night Empire was in an uproar about the match between Starlink and Zero Wing, Shi Feng secretly arrived on Dragonheart Island in the Sea of Death. Dragonheart City was currently crowded with people, and as Shi Feng wandered down the city streets, he could tell that the city was even more prosperous than empires'' imperial capitals. As the only large-scale independent NPC city in the Sea of Death, many powers had gathered here. Even the rarely- seen neutral powers and naval powers frequently visited, especially the neutral powers. Neutral powers were strong enough that not even superpowers dared to provoke them at sea. These neutral powers consisted of non-human players. Unlike on land, non-human players weren''t restricted at sea. With the superior racial traits, it was easy to imagine how powerful these non-human powers would be on the open ocean. Non-human players were superior to human players in both leveling speed and combat power achievements. The only downside these players had to deal with was the Promotion Quests, which were far more challenging than those human players had to face. As for naval powers, they spoke with their ships. Naval powers fought in such a way that made individual players'' strength nearly ineffective. This was why it was so difficult to secure a foothold on Dragonheart Island and why so many powers tried to do so, regardless. Shi Feng hadn''t had an opportunity to establish a foothold on Dragonheart Island in his previous life. At most, he had been able to lead teams to the island to challenge the World Tower. His Guild hadn''t even had a temporary Residence on the island. However, Shi Feng had reached Dragonheart Island much sooner in this life. Moreover, he had the ability to establish a foothold here. He couldn''t help but sigh ruefully at the situation. I missed the best chance to prepare for the Tier 3 promotion in my last life. I won''t let it happen this time, Shi Feng swore to himself as he gazed at Dragonheart City''s City Hall, his heart pounding with excitement. Completing the Tier 3 Promotion Quest was an intense challenge. Not only did players need a certain degree of strength, but they also needed the help of specific external items. Fortunately, Dragonheart City had a large variety of items to offer. As long as he could purchase a Shop here, he could buy many of the items NPC had for sale. It was one of the most reliable methods of acquiring items in Dragonheart City. Of course, the quality of the items available would largely depend on the Shop''s location and rank. Many powers had failed to establish a Shop in Dragonheart City in the past, and as a result, they had lagged behind when it came to Tier 3 players. Shi Feng would not miss this opportunity in this life. Shi Feng quickly entered the City Hall, and following an NPC administrator, he arrived in an elegant reception room. The NPC administrator then retrieved a list of available Shops in Dragonheart City, allowing Shi Feng some time to browse through his options. Purchasing a Shop with a high star-rank was the most important thing to Shi Feng right now, but considering the amount of Ancient Gold he had on hand, his choices were limited. If he wished to purchase a 2-star Shop, his only options were grocery stores. He simply couldnt afford a 2-star alchemy workshop or smithy. Sure enough, I''m limited to a grocery store in the city''s inner area. After browsing through the list for some time, Shi Feng felt like a pauper. Almost all of the 2-star Shops available cost more than 10,000 Ancient Gold. Some of the more expensive Shops even cost upward of 30,000 Ancient Gold. However, as Shi Feng considered purchasing the 2-star grocery store, he noticed a 1-star Shop at the very bottom of the list. Unlike the other Shops, this 1-star Shop''s name was written in gray. When he read the Shop''s name, Shi Feng was stunned. The Wanderer''s Shop? 2235 Shops Secre Chapter 2235 - Shop''s Secret When Shi Feng saw the words ''Wanderer''s Shop,'' excitement and shock filled his heart. He had never dreamed that he''d get lucky enough to come across such a golden opportunity. "Can I purchase this Wanderer''s Shop?" Shi Feng asked the female elven NPC beside him. Most players wouldn''t recognize the Wanderer''s Shop. Even the current superpowers were likely unaware of what it was. However, every power would recognize the Wanderer''s Shop by its other name. The Black Market! The Black Market existed on the dark side of God''s Domain, but its influence could be found in many of the game''s neutral areas, and the Black Market always had a variety of items for sale. No NPC Auction House could even hope to rival the Black Market''s items. Powerful potions and combat techniques were often available, and if one were truly lucky, they might even find a Flying Mount or Fragmented Legendary item. One could say that the Black Market was a heaven for the rich. Naturally, purchasing the Wander''s Shop wasn''t easy. It would appear randomly in the various neutral NPC cities. Moreover, it would only remain in a city for a certain amount of time before disappearing. Purchasing it would require incredible luck. And now, the Wanderer''s Shop was in Dragonheart City and only Cost 9,000 Ancient Gold, which just so happened to be within Shi Feng''s budget. "Of course, you may. However, you are not allowed to convert this Shop for other uses after purchasing it. You will also be required to pay a 3,000 Ancient Gold management fee once every ten days. If you fail to make the payment, we will repossess the Shop," the elven NPC explained. How vicious. It''s no wonder why none of the powers here have bought the Wanderer''s Shop. Shi Feng was astonished when he heard the pricing for the Shop. A 1-star Shop in Dragonheart City''s outer area only cost 1,000 Ancient Gold per month to maintain. Even the 1-star Shops in the city''s inner area only cost 1,500 to 1,800 Gold per month to maintain. On the other hand, despite occupying the city''s outer area, the Wanderer''s Shop''s maintenance cost 3,000 Ancient Gold every ten days. In other words, maintaining this Shop each month would cost 9,000 Ancient Gold. Nine thousand Ancient Gold Coins! Even the first-rate powers that had operated in Dragonheart City for some time now only earned around 9,000 Ancient Gold per month. Only superpowers could afford such a high management fee. Of course, no superpower would be willing to spend that kind of money on a 1-star Shop. Even the 1-star Wanderer''s Shop wouldn''t have anything particularly valuable to sell. It mostly sold ordinary clothing and groceries. At best, one could purchase ordinary herbs and ores from the Shop. There was simply no profit in owning the 1-star Wanderer''s Shop. In fact, it would be even less profitable than owning an ordinary grocery store. Players could sell their crafted products to an ordinary grocery store, but they couldn''t do so in the Wanderer''s Shop. Investing in this Shop would be no different than investing in a bottomless pit. Only a lunatic would pay a monthly management fee of 9,000 Ancient Gold for such a worthless Shop. "Are you sure you wish to purchase the Wanderer''s Shop, Lord Bronze Legatee?" the NPC administrator asked for confirmation. "That''s right; I wish to buy it." Shi Feng nodded. The Wanderer''s Shop was a dying business, but that was only true until it was promoted to 2-star status. Once the Wanderer''s Shop reached 2-star status, it would start to reveal its true purpose. At 2-stars, the Wanderer''s Shop would gain two divine abilities. First, it could purchase rare items that weren''t usually on the market, such as magic array designs, which kingdoms and empire considered national secrets, and Tier 3 and higher Skill Books. Tier 3 classes were an intermediate force anywhere across God''s Domain''s main continent. Tier 3 NPCs could even serve as some NPC cities'' Magistrates. Hence, the various kingdoms and empires typically regulated items for Tier 3 and above classes. This was also why players had to visit neutral maps for their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, rather than in a kingdom or empire. The second ability was the Black Market Teleportation Gate. This ability allowed players to teleport to the Black Market''s marketplace. However, the entry slots were severely restricted. Not only was there a limited number of entry slots, but each slot could also only be used a certain number of times. These entry slots were the Wanderer''s Shop''s true merchandise. Naturally, anyone who owned the Wanderer''s Shop would be first in line to purchase these slots. Many powers in the past had been unaware of the 2-star Wanderer''s Shop''s abilities and had missed out on such a rare opportunity. Very few had been lucky enough to purchase a Wanderer''s Shop for themselves. Only a fixed number of Wanderer''s Shops would appear in each neutral NPC city. At most, only 15 Wanderer''s Shops would appear in a large- scale NPC city like Dragonheart City. Once that maximum number had been reached, Dragonheart City would not gain another Wanderer''s Shop unless an existing Shop were repossessed. Once Shi Feng confirmed his desire to purchase this Wanderer''s Shop, the NPC administrator saw to the purchasing procedures. In less than five minutes, 9,000 Ancient Gold vanished from Shi Feng''s bag. In exchange, he obtained the Deed to the Wanderer''s Shop and all information relating to the Shop. After Shi Feng inspected the Shop''s details, he began to get a headache. It''s no wonder why those powers had taken so long to promote their Wanderer''s Shops to 2-star status. This promotion condition is really something... Shi Feng frowned at the Wanderer''s Shop''s promotion condition. To promote an ordinary NPC Shop, one only needed a certain level of popularity and transaction volume. The Wanderer''s Shop, however, was a different story. Perhaps it was because the Shop didn''t have much merchandise to sell, but it actually required a Bronze Shop Promotion Order to reach 2-stat status. Without that, it would forever be a 1-star Shop... The Bronze Shop Promotion Order, meant for NPC Shops, was far more difficult to obtain than Promotion Orders for player Shops[l]. Generally, these Promotion Orders only dropped in Level 100-plus, large-scale Team Dungeons, and every one of them was worth tens of thousands of Gold. After all, there were a lot of benefits to promoting an NPC Shop. Unfortunately, the thought of raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons with current players was a joke. If a team of Level 90 experts tried raiding a Level 100 Dungeon, they''d even struggle to defeat the Dungeon''s mobs. Level 100-plus Dungeons catered to Tier 3 players and above. Tier 2 players could do nothing more than spectate or die. This was also why Tier 3 existences were considered an intermediate force in God''s Domain. It seems I''ll have to kill a World Boss, Shi Feng thought to himself. As far as he could remember, the only other way to obtain a Bronze Promotion Order was to kill World bosses. Although World Bosses were challenging to raid, he had to upgrade the Wanderer''s Shop to 2-star status as quickly as possible. He simply didn''t have another way of acquiring a large amount of Ancient Gold, and Zero Wing didn''t have any members in Dragonheart City yet. Considering his options, Shi Feng retrieved a Return Scroll and teleported to White River City. World Bosses were extremely rare and incomparably strong. Even Zero Wing would be limited to raiding Level 70 World Bosses, and that included a little risk. The higher-leveled a World Boss was, the more difficult it would be to defeat. World Bosses'' growth rate was far beyond players''. Unfortunately, if he wanted a high chance of securing a Bronze Shop Promotion Order, he would have to raid the Frost Monarch, a Level 90 World Boss. He had heard that this Boss would drop a Bronze Shop Promotion Order in the past. However, Shi Feng decided to increase Kite and Annas strength before attempting such a challenging raid. He had absorbed plenty of souls from the Skeletal Generals in the Endless Desert. Although the Skeletal Generals were only Great Lords, they were Level 100-plus monsters and considered mini-Bosses. It hadn''t been too difficult to collect Soul Essence while killing them. In total, Shi Feng had collected eight drops of Soul Essence. Initially, he had planned to save them for Fire Dance and the others. If he used Soul Strengthening on his strongest players, they might be able to break through to the Ascension or Void Realm. But considering his current predicament, Shi Feng decided to use the ability on his Personal Guards first. Once Shi Feng arrived in the Candlelight Trading Firm, he summoned his two Personal Guards. Kite had already reached Level 95, while Anna had reached Level 96. Their leveling speeds were simply frightening. In comparison, most mainstream Secret-Silver Personal Guards had only reached Level 90. Personal Guards didn''t earn bonus EXP when killing higher-leveled monsters. They could only level up by completing quests. After summoning his two Personal Guards, Shi Feng used the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment to scan Anna. Isn''t the required number of Soul Essence a little too high? Shi Feng inwardly cursed when he saw that he''d need 15 drops of Soul Essence to use Soul Strengthening on Anna. Soul Essence was not easy to obtain, and he could only use Soul Absorption once every six hours. The only reason that he had collected so many drops thus far was that he had been fighting Level 100 Great Lords. He doubted that even Great Lords below Level 100 would grant him any Soul Essence. Shi Feng then proceeded to scan Kite. When Shi Feng saw that he only needed five drops of Soul Essence to use Soul Strengthening on Kite, he released a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Kite was only a Dark-Gold Personal Guard, while Anna was an Epic Personal Guard. "Since that''s the case, let''s strengthen you first." Shi Feng began to chant an incantation, using the power within the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. 2236 Soul Strengthenings Effec Chapter 2236 - Soul Strengthening''s Effect As soon as Shi Feng finished chanting the incantation on the Ancient God''s Literate Fragment, silver armor began to encase Kite''s body. A fivefold magic array appeared beneath Kite, who carried two black iron swords across his back. As the magic array completed, Shi Feng felt as if space around him had frozen, and everything around him had turned gray. The dense, violent Mana around Kite also began to increase at an unprecedented rate. Three times... Six times... Ten times... So much Mana gathered around the Personal Guard that the ambient Mana around the magic array had been sucked dry, and drops of liquid Mana formed around Kite. With the magic array to guide it, the liquid Mana encased the five drops of Soul Essence the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment had released. These five drops slowly moved toward Kite''s forehead, merging with his soul. As more of the Soul Essence merged with Kite''s soul, he began to scream in agony. The very sound of his screams stung. As the last of the Soul Essence merged with Kite''s soul, his aura exploded from his body. Shi Feng could sense the changes that were happening to Kite''s body. This new aura was nothing like the aura Kite had released before merging with the Soul Essence. It was obvious that the Personal Guard had grown significantly stronger. Is Soul Strengthening truly this powerful? Shi Feng stared at Kite in astonishment. Shi Feng had assumed that Soul Strengthening would only increase Kite''s Growth Potential, not affect his current combat power overmuch, yet Kite''s current Attribute Panel proved that Shi Feng had been greatly mistaken. However, Kite''s current Attribute Panel proved that Shi Feng was greatly mistaken. Aside from his Growth Potential, Kite''s body had improved. After the Soul Strengthening, Kite''s Growth Potential had risen from 94 to 96. All of his Basic Attributes had increased by roughly 5%, as well. A 5% increase might not be much to ordinary players, to it was a huge boost to NPCs. Furthermore, the 5% was a direct boost to his Basic Attributes; it didn''t factor in the bonuses from his weapons and equipment. Personal Guards typically used stronger weapons and equipment than players. Not only was Kite wearing a full set of Epic Equipment, but the black iron swords across his back were Epic Set Weapons, as well. Hence, Kite''s weapons and equipment massively increased his total Basic Attributes. According to Shi Feng''s estimates, Kite''s overall strength had increased by at least 20% after the Soul Strengthening. Moreover, that didn''t take into account his new Growth Potential. A two-point increase was immensely meaningful for a Dark-Gold Guard. There would be visible differences as Kite leveled up. With a Growth Potential of 96, Kite could rank among the top Dark-Gold Guards. Very few Dark-Gold Guards throughout God''s Domain would be a match for Kite, now. If I use Soul Strengthening a few more times on him, could he become an Epic Guard? Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement as he considered the possibility. If each Soul Strengthening increased Kite''s Growth Potential by two points, then Kite would only need to undergo Soul Strengthening two more times to reach 100 Growth Potential and upgrade to an Epic Guard. With this thought in mind, Shi Feng used the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment to scan Kite again, trying to determine the cost of using Soul Strengthening a second time. Once the scan was complete, Shi Feng gasped when he saw the required number of Soul Essence. How vicious! Shi Feng silently cursed. Kite''s second Soul Strengthening cost 50 drops of Soul Essence! This was ten times more than the first Soul Strengthening. Collecting 50 drops of Soul Essence was possible with enough time, but if the second Soul Strengthening cost 50 drops, wouldn''t the third cost a minimum of 500 drops? "Sure enough, upgrading Personal Guards with the Literature Fragment isn''t going to be easy," Shi Feng muttered to himself, smiling bitterly. He had hoped to form an army of powerful Personal Guards though the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment, but it seemed the chances of such a thing happening weren''t optimistic. Based on the scale of Soul Strengthening''s cost, he could, at most, upgrade each Personal Guard twice. For Personal Guards like Anna, he''d only be able to afford to upgrade their souls once. The cost for a second Soul Strengthening would be astronomical. However, after giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng realized that the scaling might be lower for lower- ranked Personal Guards. If that were the case, he could then afford to upgrade them a few more times than he could with Kite and Anna. If he could upgrade Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, and Fine-Gold Guards that were close to the next Growth Potential rank, he could use them to boost Zero Wing''s overall strength. The only problem was that such Personal Guards were not easy to come by. Even so, they would be easier to find than higher-quality Personal Guards. Once Shi Feng had finished upgrading Kite, he left to gather Ice Resistance items. The Frost Monarch was not an easy opponent. If they entered the World Boss''s Domain without enough Ice Resistance, even Tier 3 experts would freeze to death. Fortunately, Zero Wing had been developing its potion and equipment production excellently. The Master Ice Resistance Potions, which the various major powers still considered rare, were relatively easy for Zero Wing to obtain. In fact, several hundred bottles already sat in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s warehouse. Zero Wing also had the Advanced Ice Resistance Armor Kits, which Melancholic Smile had been researching and crafting. Not only would these Armor Kits increase players'' Ice Resistance by 10 points when equipped, but they''d also increase players'' base Ice Resistance by 3%. Furthermore, each player could equip a total of five kits. In other words, players could increase their Ice Resistance by 50 points and base Ice Resistance by 15% if they equipped the total number of Advanced Ice Resistance Armor Kits. It was an absurd amount compared to the Ice Resistance equipment that was currently available. If the required materials weren''t so rare, Zero Wing would''ve made a fortune by selling off these kits. Players had already begun to explore Level 80 maps, a few of which included snowy environments. If players could equip five Advanced Ice Resistance Armor Kits, they''d have no trouble traversing these maps. They wouldn''t need to sacrifice their Basic Attributes by unequipping their normal armor, either. While Shi Feng crafted these Armor Kits, he received a call from Melancholic Smile. "Guild Leader, the Asura adventurer team''s members have arrived at White River City''s Teleportation Hall. Should I call them here?" Melancholic Smile asked. "They''re here? Good. Have them wait at the Teleportation Hall for a little while longer. I''ll head over once I''m done handling my affairs here," Shi Feng said, nodding. World Bosses were not easy to raid. Normally, one would take on a World Boss with a 200-man raid team, while some allowed up to 1,000 players. Of course, players were allowed to bring larger raid teams, but the World Boss''s Basic Attributes would significantly increase as a result. Meanwhile, a team could raid the Frost Monarch with 200 players before the World Boss''s Basic Attributes rose. Raiding a Level 90 World Boss was a monumental matter. Since Shi Feng didn''t want any of his plans to leak, he had to select trustworthy players for this raid. The only players he could truly trust right now were Zero Wing''s and Asura''s main forces. Players had to meet strict requirements and were thoroughly vetted before they could join either main force. Zero Wing''s main force members were selected from thousands of Guild experts, while Asura''s were selected through a fierce competition held among the Adventurer''s Alliance. Both main forces'' members were experts among experts. Hence, Shi Feng had asked Melancholic Smile to request Asura''s participation for the Frost Monarch raid. Melancholic Smile relayed Shi Feng''s message to the Asura adventurer team''s members in White River City''s Teleportation Hall. ... A group of Level 78-plus players had gathered in the third-floor bar in White River City''s Teleportation Hall. When passersby saw this group, they were astonished by how high the players'' Levels were. Moreover, every member of the group wore dazzling equipment, with the weakest piece at Level 75 Secret-Silver rank. The dozen or so players that clearly led the group even wore Epic Equipment. The man carrying a bluish-purple spear was particularly eye-catching. Not only had he reached Level 79, but the weakest piece of equipment he wore was also Level 75 Dark-Gold rank. Aside from the spear, whose rank couldn''t be determined, the man had a total of four pieces of Epic Equipment on him. Even a superpowers'' peak experts would be jealous of this man. This group''s aura deterred any players from entering the bar. Not even expert players dared to do anything more than watch from a distance. Vice Commander, do you think the commander will be surprised when he sees our current stats?" Yan Ya, who currently sat by a window, asked, smiling at the man carrying the spear. Since the Asura adventurer team had begun to grind on God''s Domain''s main continent, their development had skyrocketed. Thanks to the constant supply of combat techniques and potions from Zero Wing, the Asura adventurer team had been able to take on dangerous expeditions, as well. Both the adventure team''s combat and equipment standards had improved by leaps and bounds. Nowadays, Asura ranked as one of the top-ten adventurer teams in the Fire Dragon Empire, one of the Four Great Empires on the God''s Domain continent. "Maybe," Lifeless Thorn muttered. Lifeless Thorn had thirsted for a rematch with Shi Feng for a long time now. Shi Feng was, after all, the first person to defeat him in the Ice Crystal World, and after arriving on the God''s Domain continent, Lifeless Thorn had continued to challenge experts from the various major powers, rapidly growing stronger. Now, he wanted nothing more than to challenge Shi Feng. "Maybe? He''ll definitely be surprised!" Cleansing Whistle confidently declared. "We''ve even raided a Level 80,100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Our weapons and equipment are just as powerful as the main force members from the Fire Dragon Empire''s superpowers." Solitary Nine and the others nodded their agreement. At this point, only superpowers could successfully raid Level 80, 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Not even first-rate Guilds had survived the Dungeons. After waiting for about two hours, Asura''s members spotted a group of players wearing six-winged emblems as they entered the bar. 2237 Difference in Growth Chapter 2237 - Difference in Growth Asura''s members fell silent as they watched Shi Feng and the others enter the bar. When they saw Aqua Rose and her companions, in particular, they were overwhelmed with shock. "How does Zero Wing have so many Refinement Realm experts?" Cleansing Whistle muttered, dazed. Although Zero Wing''s members hid their levels with Black Cloaks, Cleansed Whistle could tell by their movements that these players had already reached the Refinement Realm. As Zero Wing''s members walked, they used subtle movements, minimizing their Stamina consumption. It was almost a form of training for them. Ordinary experts might not see the difference, but as someone who had reached the Refinement Realm as well, Cleansed Whistle noticed immediately. In fact, She had even incorporated that subtlety in her daily life as a form of continuous training to minimize her Stamina consumption while in the fields. Once she had become familiar with this form of subtle movement, she had begun to subconsciously use the technique while fighting powerful Bosses or other experts in high-speed battles, significantly reducing her Stamina consumption. This was the greatest difference between Refinement Realm experts and ordinary experts. However, reaching the Refinement Realm wasn''t easy. Cleansed Whistle had run around and fought countless experts to train. She had also run across multiple fortuitous encounters in the game. This combination was the only reason she had successfully reached the Refinement Realm. And yet, every Zero Wing member before her was a Refinement Realm expert. The situation was both unbelievable and frustrating. "Is this really the Zero Wing we know?" The situation even shocked Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine. They were very familiar with the power Refinement Realm experts wielded. First-rate Guilds, which ordinary players thought of as unreachable, would be fortunate to have 10 or so Refinement Realm experts at this stage of the game. Even after carefully recruiting the best of the best among the Ice Crystal World''s Adventurer''s Alliance and putting them through countless life-or-death battles, the Asura adventurer team only had a little over 20 Refinement Realm experts. On the other hand, despite remaining in Star-Moon Kingdom and rarely venturing out on dangerous expeditions, Zero Wing had 100 Refinement Realm experts... For a moment, Lifeless Thorn and the others wondered if they had teleported to the wrong city and were looking at some superpower''s main force, not Zero Wing. However, when they saw Shi Feng''s familiar figure, as well as Shadow Sword and the others, whom they had previously met, they had no doubt that these were Zero Wing members. Just what have the commander and his Guildmates been doing? Yan Ya wondered as she gazed at Shi Feng. When she had lived in the Ice Crystal World, the Matchless Family, a Guild that hadn''t even been first-rate, had been colossal to her, not to mention a Guild like Zero Wing, but after adventuring around the various kingdoms and empires on God''s Domain''s continent, she had learned one thing. Although Zero Wing might be very powerful, it was only as strong as a first-rate Guild. Across the expansive God''s Domain, first-rate Guilds could, at most, lord over a small kingdom. Compared to the various superpowers, a first-rate Guild was nothing. However, Zero Wing had a team that wasn''t any weaker than a superpower''s main force... While Solitary Nine and the other Asura members focused on Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts, Lifeless Thorn''s gaze shifted to Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and the few others that stood beside Shi Feng. His expression shifted as complex emotions overcame him. Even if he weren''t a match for Shi Feng, Lifeless Thorn had assumed that no other player in Zero Wing could defeat him after he had reached the Flowing Water Realm, yet as he stared at Fire Dance and the others, they felt immensely dangerous. He could tell that they had also reached the Flowing Water Realm, and their combat standards were no weaker than his. There was also Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei. Lifeless Thorn could sense that those two had even greater combat power than his own. They were even stronger than the superpowers'' peak experts he had met thus far. After a moment of silence, Shi Feng swept his gaze across Asura''s members and nodded approvingly. He had to admit that Asura''s development speed was impressive, and it was now full of talented players. Asura had been faring far better than he had expected. Although it didn''t have the support of a complete Refinement Realm Legacy, Asura had nurtured so many Refinement Realm experts. It was an amazing feat. Lifeless Thom, in particular, had already reached the peak of the Flowing Water Realm and was only one step away from the Void Realm. Any superpower would try to recruit him at all costs. If he had already reached the Flowing Water Realm without the support of a legacy, he might rise to become a Domain Realm expert with such help in the future, something that even the various superpowers dearly lacked. "Since everyone''s here, let''s head out," Shi Feng said. "Where are we going, commander? We''ve just arrived in White River City and haven''t prepared anything," Solitary Nine asked. As players who constantly fought on God''s Domain''s frontlines, they had made it a habit to prepare before heading off to complete a task, regardless of whether they intended to raid a Dungeon or explore a new map. Most of these players had different environments, and players could easily die if they weren''t prepared. "We''re going to the Purple Frost Field, and I''ve already seen to the necessary preparations. Here, distribute these to everyone," Shi Feng said as he revealed a bunch of Master Ice Resistance Potions and Advanced Ice Resistance Armor Kits. "Purple Frost Field?" Solitary Nine hadn''t expected that answer; he had never heard of that place. However, he did not pay it much mind. God''s Domain was quite large, after all, and there were many Level 80 maps he hadn''t heard of before. He obediently accepted the potions and armor kits Shi Feng handed him. When Solitary Nine inspected the items, however, his eyes went wide with shock. Master Ice Resistance Potions were practically impossible to find on the market at this stage of the game. Even if they showed up, they usually sold for at least 60 Gold, yet Shi Feng had handed him 200 bottles. Solitary Nine hadn''t even seen the Advanced Ice Resistance Armor Kits before, and when he saw their Attributes, he knew that these items were extraordinarily valuable. One could easily fetch several hundred Gold if they sold the armor kits as a five-piece set. When Asura''s members received their share, they were similarly astonished. Even superpowers would likely struggle to obtain so many of these precious items, yet Shi Feng handed them out without any hesitation... Once everyone was ready, Shi Feng instructed Asura''s members to use their Black Cloaks and head to the teleportation area. The team then teleported to one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s border towns before using Shi Feng''s Spatial Gate and their Mounts to traverse the remaining distance. After three teleportations and riding their Mounts for several hours, the team reached a snow-covered field. This was none other than the Purple Frost Field, a Level 90 to Level 100 neutral map. As the biting-cold winds assaulted them, the team noticed Level 90 monsters roaming the winter field. Every monster had a humanoid shape made entirely of crystal. Even the weakest of these monsters was a Lord, and they all traveled in groups of 20 to 30, each led by several Great Lords. [Frost Giant] (Elemental Creature, Lord) Level 90 HP 55,000,000/55,000,000 [Frost Wanderer] (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 91 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 Asura''s members gasped when they saw these monsters. These monsters were more than 10 levels higher than they were, and with how harsh this map''s environment was, their combat power would be limited. Trying to defeat a single group of these monsters would be suicidal. "Commander, are we really going to explore this place?" Solitary Nine could not help but ask. He was Asura''s lead MT, but even he doubted that he could hold his own against one Frost Wanderer, not to mention a group of Frost Wanderers and Giants. "We''re not here to explore. We''re here to kill a Boss," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then turned to Cola and said, "Cola, open a path for us! We dont have a lot of time to waste! The longer we take, the more Stamina well lose to cold." "Alright, leave it to us!" Cola grinned when he heard Shi Feng''s orders. He immediately led Turtledove and Ye Wumina to lure every Frost Wanderer and Frost Giant in the area. 2238 Bloodline Lord Chapter 2238 - Bloodline Lord As they watched Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian charge toward three separate groups of frost monsters, Solitary Nine and the other Asura members'' expressions changed. "Are they insane?" Cleansing Whistle blurted out. How could Cola and his fellow MTs lure monsters like this? Even one group of frost monsters was more than enough to annihilate their team. Luring three groups at once was simply suicidal. Asura''s members began to panic, preparing to activate their Berserk Skills to escape this madness at a moment''s notice. They had already spent a long time exploring neutral maps, so they knew that the monsters in these maps would be better coordinated as they reached higher levels. The monsters'' individual combat standards would also rise with their levels. If these monsters hadn''t had little-to-no Sills, relying on brute strength in battle, not even a six-man party of Level 80 ordinary players would be able to defeat a single Level 80 Lord. Not only did the Level 90 Lord ranked Frost Giants have greater combat standards than Level 80 Lords, but they also had higher Basic Attributes. Not even a Level 80 Great Lord was a guaranteed match for a Level 90 Frost Giant. They were an absolute nightmare for current players. Furthermore, each group had Level 91 Great Lord ranked Frost Wanderers. Each of these monsters likely had high enough Strength to send an MT like Solitary Nine flying. If two Frost Wanderers ganged up on him, not even the healers could save him. Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian didn''t need long to reach their respective targets. The frost monsters noticed the three MTs immediately and responded with deafening roars. The 20-plus Frost Giants immediately moved to surround the MTs, while the spear-wielding Frost Wanderers led the charge against them. Unlike lower-level monsters, these frost monsters didn''t try to attack like an angry mob. Instead, they cooperated like a pack of wolves. Each member of the groups had their own tasks, and they all worked together to cut off any path of retreat for the MTs. Asura''s members gasped as they watched. "Crap! Are those things still monsters? How is their intellect so high?" Solitary Nine wondered aloud. The Level 80 Lords they had fought earlier only had slightly higher combat standards than Level 70 Lords, but these Level 90 frost monsters moved like well-trained soldiers. They actually knew how to use strategy to corner their opponents. Before Asura''s members could snap out of their daze, the Frost Wanderers had arrived before Zero Wing''s MT trio and brandished their spears. The Frost Wanderers were six-meter-tall giants, and their frost spears were even longer than they were tall. As the three Frost Wanderers brandished their spears, it looked like they were swinging large tree trunks. Their swings sent snow flying into the air as if these Frost Wanderers were trying to use their environment to attack the MT trio. Solitary Nine, who had been confident about tanking at least one Frost Wanderer by himself, revealed a grim expression when he saw this powerful display. Boom! Boom! Boom! Three loud explosions echoed throughout the snowy field, yet to everyone''s surprise, Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian remained in their original position after receiving the Frost Wanderers'' attacks. Although the snowy ground had cracked a little under their feet, each of the MTs had only lost around 5,000 HP. "They blocked that?" Solitary Nine stared at Cola and his companions in shock. Even from so far away, Solitary Nine had felt that collision''s shockwave, and he had been able to tell how frightening the Frost Wanderers'' Strength was based on the intensity of that shockwave. Just one of those attacks would''ve sent him flying, yet not only had Zero Wing''s MT trio held their ground, but they had only lost 5,000 HP, as well. Cola, in particular, had taken than -3,000 damage. His Strength and Defense were heaven-defying. The rest of Asura''s members were just as stupefied. Cola and the others had stopped three Level 90 Great Lords, just like that. Their Strength and Defense was unheard-of, even in the Fire Dragon Empire. Before Asura''s members recovered from their daze, Cola and his comrades charged at the Frost Giants that surrounded them. The three MTs effortlessly broke through the encirclement and lured the three groups of frost monsters toward Shi Feng. That actually worked?" Cleansing Whistle gaped. She''d have no way to escape such an encirclement without activating a Berserk Skill, yet Cola and the other two MTs had made it look so easy, simply barreling their way through. Their Strengths were ridiculously high. Not even Lifeless Thorn, who had the highest Strength of any Asura member, would be a match for anyone of those MTs. "Aqua, get ready to attack!" Shi Feng commanded as he watched the three groups of frost monsters approach. Nodding, Aqua Rose gave the magical class players behind her their priority targets. As soon as the three monster groups came within 50 yards of Shi Feng, Spells flew at them in rapid succession. Damages exceeding -50,000 immediately appeared above the frost monsters'' heads, and the impact from these Spells forced the monsters to halt their charge. Aqua Rose, Zhao Yueru, and Violet Cloud''s attacks even managed to stop the Frost Wanderers in their tracks. Zhao Yueru, in particular, had forced a Frost Wanderer to stumble back several steps. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s MT trio stopped the few frost monsters that managed to evade the incoming Spells. Once the monsters had been properly herded, Zero Wing''s melee players joined the assault. The battle progressed in an orderly fashion as the three groups rapidly lost HP, stunning Asura''s members once more. For a moment, Asura''s players even wondered if these frost monsters were truly high-level monsters. "How have these people grown so fast? Not only have they reached the Refinement Realm, but their Basic Attributes are also insanely high! Based on their auras, I think my Basic Attributes are only slightly higher after I''ve activated a Berserk Skill," Yan Ya exclaimed as she watched Zero Wing''s team give these Frost Giants and Wanderers a one-sided beating. She couldn''t even believe her eyes. Since they had arrived on God''s Domain''s continent, the Asura adventurer team had constantly fought the Fire Dragon Empire''s many experts, eventually becoming one of the empire''s top 10 adventurer teams. Every member of the adventurer team was proud of their development speed. But compared to Zero Wing''s members, their development speed was laughable. Yan Ya had looked forward to showing Shi Feng the fruits of their labor in the Fire Dragon Empire, but it seemed that they wouldn''t get that opportunity. In this map, they''d be nothing more than spectators. "Hey, I want you guys to attack, too. If we work together, we''ll take these monsters down faster," Shi Feng addressed Asura''s members, who weren''t sure what they should do. Current players couldn''t afford to provoke Level 90 monsters, especially those in the Purple Frost Field. This map was special; not only did it prohibit all forms of teleportation, but these monsters were also quite adept at group combat. Moreover, the Power of Frost these monsters wielded made them difficult to fight in melee combat. If players tried to face these monsters in close quarters, the Power of Frost would corrode their bodies and increase their Stamina and Concentration consumption. While these Level 90 monsters were a major challenge for other players, they were easy opponents for Zero Wing''s main force members. The players on Zero Wing''s main force had already reached Level 86 and 87, and every one of them had merged their main weapons with a Casting Goldstone. If one compared their Basic Attributes, these players were already as strong as Level 90 players. Naturally, taking out Level 90 monsters would be relatively easy. Aside from filling the raid team''s slots, Shi Feng had called the Asura''s main force members to join them on the Frost Monarch Raid to help power-level them. The Ice Crystal World was a massive goldmine, and by this point, the various superpowers had already begun to reach into that world and plunder its resources. Contending with these superpowers would be impossible with the Adventurer''s Alliance and Asura''s current strength. Shi Feng needed to help them grow stronger. With Shi Feng''s command, Solitary Nine and his comrades regained their senses and moved to join the fray. Although their DPS was a far cry from Zero Wing''s main force members, they were still capable of dealing a significant amount. After nearly 20 minutes, all three frost monster groups had fallen. As the battle reached its end, Asura''s members gained a huge chunk to their experience bars, surprised that their current leveling speed was several times faster than normal. The team continued deeper into the Purple Frost Field for another seven or so hours, during which time, many of Asura''s members had gained another level, reaching Level 79. Lifeless Thorn was now only a step away from the Level 80 threshold. Under Shi Feng''s lead, the raid team arrived before a colossal, snowy mountain. A huge cave lay at the foot of the mountain, containing a sleeping, twenty-meter-tall giant with a body made of crystals. [Frost Monarch (Torre)] (Realm Lord, Bloodline Lord, Mythic) Level 90 HP 960,000,000/960,000,000 When they saw the Frost Monarch''s statistics, everyone shuddered. They didn''t react this way due to the Frost Monarch''s Mythic rank, but because this World Boss had a total of nine HP bars hovering above its head. In other words, the Frost Monarch was a Level 90 World Boss. A Bloodline Lord? Even Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the Frost Monarch with his own eyes. 2239 Kites Strength Chapter 2239 - Kite''s Strength When Shi Feng saw the Frost Monarch''s statistics, his expression revealed both surprise and excitement. At this stage of the game, most players wouldn''t recognize the term ''Bloodline Lord.'' To put it simply, Bloodline Lords were the evolved versions of Bloodline Creatures. In God''s Domain, Bloodline Creatures could only use their Bloodline''s strength on an instinctive level in battle, but Bloodline Lords could fully control their Bloodline, actively using the advantages it provided in combat. To put it into perspective, a Bloodline Lord was a player that had learned a combat technique, while a Bloodline Creature was a player that hadn''t. Combat techniques allowed players to perform stronger attacks than normal without using Skills or Spells. If two players with similar Basic Attributes faced-off against each other, the player with a combat technique would exhibit drastically higher combat power than the player without. Although Bloodline Lords were incredibly powerful, they were just as rare in God''s Domain. Mastering a Bloodline was an extremely challenging task. Shi Feng had only heard of Bloodline Lords; he had never actually seen one in person. Encountering a Bloodline Lord was as dangerous as it was a blessing. Bloodline Lords commanded incredibly high combat power, akin to kings among monsters of the same rank and level. Fortunately, they were also guaranteed to drop a Bloodline when they died. During Shi Feng''s previous life, hunting Bloodline Lords was one of the more reliable ways to obtain Bloodlines. Even the most common Bloodline was worth as much as a Fragmented Legendary item. Players might not see any significant effects after first using a Bloodline, but as they leveled up, those effects would become more prominent. Eventually, the Bloodline''s benefits would evolve from a quantitative transformation into a qualitative transformation. "Commander, that''s a Level 90 World Boss. Is that what we''re here to raid?" Solitary Nine nervously asked Shi Feng. A World Boss! Even in a massive country like the Fire Dragon Empire, World Bosses were extremely rare. The empire''s various superpowers had targeted a few of the World Bosses within their borders, but they had only dared to raid Level 60- plus World Bosses. Even so, they had incurred severe losses during those raids, sacrificing several teams to whittle the Boss down and kill it. None of the Fire Dragon Empire''s superpowers had even considered raiding Level 70 World Bosses yet. And yet, the monster before them was a Level 90 World Boss. This Frost Monarch could likely kill an MT like Solitary Nine in a single hit. He doubted that even Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian could tank the Frost Monarch. After all, there was a full-tier difference between a Great Lord and a Mythic monster. Moreover, the Frost Monarch would be even more of a challenge than an ordinary Mythic monster as a World Boss. Even Lifeless Thorn turned to stare at Shi Feng. Although a part of him wanted to raid the Frost Monarch as well, current players had no hope of defeating a Level 90 World Boss. Moreover, it was common knowledge that players couldn''t use external items during World Boss raids. Players could not summon powerful monsters or use magic arrays to aid them in battle; any external tools would lose their effects and vanish after use. Players could only rely on their strength to defeat these monsters. With these restrictions in place, they''d likely need a team of Level 100 players to defeat the Frost Monarch. "That''s right, we''re going to raid that Boss," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the anxious looks Asura''s members were giving him. "A Level 90 World Boss is very powerful, but that is only true for other teams. Our team is an exception." A Level 90 World Boss was terrifying. Most of God''s Domain''s players would despair over the Frost Monarch''s nearly one billion HP alone. With its battle recovery, the Frost Monarch would recover 9,600,000 HP every five seconds. If a team couldn''t deal an average DPS of -2,000,000, the raid would be impossible. World Boss raids might prohibit external items, but they didn''t disallow Personal Guards. Fortunately, Shi Feng just so happened to have a Dark-Gold Guard and an Epic Guard. Moreover, Cola carried a Fragmented Legendary Shield. He should have no problems tanking the Frost Monarch. Overall, Shi Feng was fairly confident in their chances of taking down the Frost Monarch. The only thing that Shi Feng hadn''t expected was the Frost Monarch''s status as a Bloodline Lord. However, a monster wouldn''t receive a Basic Attribute boost just because it was a Bloodline Lord. They''d simply gain the ability to use combat techniques and could exhibit greater combat power. Hence, completing the raid was still well within the realm of possibility. Moreover, Shi Feng could not afford to not raid the Frost Monarch. This was one of the few World Bosses that had the highest likelihood of dropping a Bronze Shop Promotion Order. As it was, he couldn''t afford the Wanderer''s Shop''s weekly management fee; he needed that Promotion Order. If he couldn''t make the payments and the Shop was repossessed, he''d likely lose the opportunity to own a Wanderer''s Shop for the rest of his career in God''s Domain. After all, the Wanderer''s Shop only appeared at random. After confirming their target, Shi Feng began to give his team their orders. "Cola, you''ll be the sub-tank later in the raid. I want everyone else to attack with everything you''ve got," Shi Feng said. His orders confused both Asura''s and Zero Wing''s members. They did not understand why Shi Feng had assigned Cola as the sub-tank. Did they have a stronger MT than Cola? Not bothering to explain, Shi Feng retrieved two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag and summoned Kite and Anna. Two figures appeared before the raid team a moment later. One was a Swordsman with two black iron swords, while the other was a staff-wielding Summoner. "Crap! A Level 95 Swordsman and Level 96 Summoner?!" Everyone gasped when they saw the Personal Guards'' levels. At this stage of the game, the various superpowers'' best Personal Guards had only reached Level 90, and that was after the superpowers had invested astronomical sums of money, allowing their Personal Guards to accept all sorts of high- ranked quests. Ordinary experts'' Personal Guards hadn''t even reached Level 85 yet. When they saw Kite and Anna, Lifeless Thorn and his comrades finally understood why Shi Feng dared to pick a fight with a Level 90 World Boss. Personal Guards were far more powerful than players. At the same Level, a Secret-Silver Guard could slay a Void Realm expert. If their team had the help of two Level 95-plus peak experts, raiding a Level 90 World Boss would definitely be possible. However, it was extremely risky to use Personal Guards in a World Boss raid. Unlike players, resurrecting NPCs was incredibly challenging. Not being able to resurrect one''s Personal Guards would mean permanent death for these NPCs. If that happened, all of the time and money they had poured into these guards would go down the drain. This was also why the various superpowers didn''t even dare to use their Personal Guards in Dungeon or Field Boss raids. The various superpowers treated their high-ranked Personal Guards, in particular, like precious children. These Personal Guards had yet to reach their full potential. The higher a Personal Guard''s rank was, the faster they could level up, and the easier their Tier 3 and 4 promotions would be. Hence, risking a high-ranked Personal Guard''s permanent death while they were still Tier 2 was considered atrociously wasteful behavior. And yet, Shi Feng clearly intended to use his Personal Guards to raid a World Boss. He had to be insane! Once everyone was in position, Shi Feng commanded Kite to charge at the Frost Monarch with Cola closely behind. World Bosses had incredibly large perception ranges, and the Frost Monarch noticed Kite from 300 yards away. When it sensed the NPC, the slumbering Mythic monster''s eyes opened, glowing with a crimson light. The moment the raid team saw the monster''s eyes, they felt chills crawl down their spines. The Frost Monarch''s frightening aura even affected its surroundings, and after a moment, purple snow began to drift down from the sky. The instant the purple snow landed on the players'' shoulders, everyone within 1,000 yards of the Frost Monarch felt an intense cold envelop them, and their movements became a little sluggish. "A group of puny ants has dared to invade my land?! I shall turn you all into ice sculptures to decorate my home for all time! The Frost Monarch stood and revealed a humanlike sneer. With a wave of its hand, the Frost Monarch summoned a translucent, crystalline spear. Grabbing the weapon, the World Boss threw it at Cola, the spear transforming into a streak of light as it tore space on its way to the Guardian Knight. So fast! Cola''s expression darkened as the attack approached, but by the time he noticed the spear, it was too late to dodge the weapon. However, as the spear came within 30 yards of Cola, just about to slam into him, a figure appeared before the MT. It was none other than Kite. Without any hesitation, Kite swung his twin swords at the frost spear. Boom! As the weapons collided, the ground under Kite''s feet caved under the powerful impact, forming a crater that was over two dozen meters wide. As the snow and ice cleared, however, it revealed Kite still standing in his original position, unscathed. 2240 Twin Darkmoon Blades Chapter 2240 - Twin Darkmoon Blades Solitary Nine and the other Asura members gaped in shock after watching emerge, unharmed, from the Frost Monarchs attack. "Isn''t that Personal Guard a little too strong?!" Cleansing Whistle exclaimed, refocusing on the battle. Even a Level 90 World Boss''s casual attack carried devastating power. Even a Level 100, Tier 3 NPC would have to take care to block such an attack. After all, this was a Mythic ranked World Boss they were talking about. The Frost Monarch''s Basic Attributes were even higher than an ordinary Mythic monster''s. However, despite being only a Level 95, Tier 2 Swordsman, Kite had blocked the Frost Monarch''s attack without taking any damage "Of all the Fine-Gold Guards I''ve seen before, none have been strong enough to tank a World Boss. Moreover, this Personal Guard is only five levels higher than the Boss and still at Tier 2. Could it be a Dark-Gold Guard?" Solitary Nine muttered, his heart pounding as he watched Kite stop one of the Frost Monarch''s attacks after another. Throughout his time in the Fire Dragon Empire, Solitary Nine had become familiar with the ranks of the various powers'' Personal Guards. It was something that many players paid attention to. Ordinary players and experts understood that they were no match for the various superpowers'' experts. Finding a powerful Personal Guard was the only way they could raise their standings in God''s Domain. So long as they nurtured a high-ranked Personal Guard, their Personal Guards could rival, or even surpass, peak experts'' strength. Even the best Personal Guards at this stage of the game were only Fine-Gold rank, and only 30 or so had been found thus far. No one had found a single Dark-Gold Guard in the empire. Because of this, the general public had assumed that Dark-Gold Guards simply didnt exist. Yet, Solitary Nine had just learned that Zero Wing had such a Personal Guard. If news of this spread, it would cause a huge commotion in the Fire Dragon Empire. Even Secret-Silver Guards could surpass peak experts of the same level, and although the public didn''t know exactly how powerful Fine-Gold Guards were, they were certain that they could surpass apex experts'' strength. Not even two or three apex experts were guaranteed to defeat a single Fine-Gold Guard of the same level. As for Dark-Gold Guards, their strength was beyond imagining. Many of the Fire Dragon Empire''s players assumed that these Personal Guards would be invincible among those of the same level and tier, and as long as one nurtured a Dark- Gold Guard properly, they''d be able to explore God''s Domain undeterred. However, after witnessing Kite''s performance, Solitary Nine decided that Dark-Gold Guards were even more powerful than anyone had imagined. Despite being a Level 95, Tier 2 Swordsman, Kite could already contend with a Level 90 Mythic ranked World Boss. The NPC''s prowess was simply heaven-defying! Shi Feng could tell what Asura''s members were thinking the moment he saw their shocked expressions. However, he did not bother to explain the situation, only responding with a chuckle and a grin. Kite was indeed a Dark-Gold Guard, but even among Dark-Gold Guards, he was exceptional. Now that Shi Feng had used Soul Strengthening on the NPC, Kite''s combat power had risen, as well. Most importantly, the black iron swords Kite wielded were the Darkmoon Twins, a Fragmented Legendary Weapon Set. It was a set Kite had obtained after completing an Epic Quest in a secret land. Even if Kite combined the Strength of two attacks, he wouldn''t have blocked the Frost Monarch''s attacks so easily without the Darkmoon Twins. He would have definitely taken some damage after blocking those attacks. When Shi Feng had discovered that Kite had obtained the Darkmoon Twins, he had been incredibly jealous, but since the set was reserved for NPCs, he couldn''t have used them even if he had taken them from Kite. With Kite acting as the lead MT, the rest of the raid team moved within 50 yards of the World Boss without issues. They promptly bombarded the Frost Monarch with attacks. However, when Kite moved up to the Frost Monarch, the World Boss stopped throwing its spears. Instead, the Frost Monarch wielded its weapon with both hands, sweeping the spear in a horizontal arch against the Personal Guard. The weapon was as thick and long as a large tree trunk, and the Frost Monarch easily reached targets that were over 20 yards away. As the spear swept across the battlefield, the melee players in its trajectory felt their hearts skip a beat. The Frost Monarch''s long reach made its attacks impossible to dodge. Moreover, that horizontal sweep carried far more power than the Frost Monarch''s ranged attacks. Everyone within 50 yards of the World Boss felt suffocated as the wind the attack generated assaulted them. It felt as if the attack had created a vacuum. However, Kite moved to intercept the attack before it could strike any of the raid team''s players. Boom! An explosion shook the battlefield, and Kite stumbled three steps back, a damage of over -230,000 appearing above his head. The Strength in the Frost Monarch''s latest attack was obviously much higher than before. When the team''s players saw the damage, they couldn''t help but gasp. Even Cola broke out in cold sweat. If even a Level 95 Personal Guard like Kite took -230,000 damage after successfully blocking the Frost Monarch''s attack, he''d die instantly if he tried to do so without activating a Lifesaving Skill. Of course, the system reduced monsters'' damage to a certain degree when they attacked players, but even so, how could any player have higher Strength than Kite? Good! He blocked it! Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Kite had only lost a little over 230,000 HP. "Everyone, attack the Boss with everything youve got!" The Frost Monarch was a Bloodline Lord, and it could use that Bloodline to increase the power of its attacks. The thrown frost spears had been a casual attack at best, and now that Kite was within melee range, the Frost Monarch had gotten serious about this battle. However, the situation was far better from what Shi Feng had expected. Kite had more than 2,000,000 HP, so losing 230,000 HP was well within his tolerance. Shi Feng''s reminder to attack snapped his teammates out of their daze, and they turned their attention to bombarding the Frost Monarch. The raid team''s Spells and arrows were the first attacks to strike the Frost Monarch''s colossal form. -34,174.00 -31,647.00 -17,548.00 When these players saw how much damage their attacks dealt, they felt like crying, especially Asura''s members. Although Zero Wing''s members didn''t deal astounding damage, they still dealt over -30,000 with each attack. Asura''s members, on the other hand, dealt less than -20,000 with their attacks. When they normally fought Level 80 monsters, they easily dealt mover than -50,000 damage. The damages they dealt were little more than pelting raindrops to the Frost Monarch... Fortunately, not everyone''s damage was so low. A few attacks were particularly eye-catching, originating from Shi Feng, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Zhao Yueru. Zhao Yueru''s fire-type Spells were especially effective, dealing bonus damage. In addition, she forcibly elevated all of her Tier 2 Spells to Tier 3. As a result, every one of her attacks dealt over -150,000 damage to the World Boss. Her overall DPS was even higher than Shi Feng''s. Asura''s members were thoroughly stunned. Zhao Yueru was doing the work of 10 Asura members right now... Even so, the Frost Monarch''s HP bar hardly moved. "Commander! Killing this Boss with our current damage is going to be a problem!" Lifeless Thorn shouted as he watched the Frost Monarch''s HP Bar. Even after such a long fight, they hadn''t even dropped the World Boss''s HP by 1%. At this rate, they''d die from exhaustion before the Frost Monarch could kill them. Although the raid team''s DPS was relatively high, the Frost Monarch''s attack range was too vast. Moreover, the Frost Monarch''s extraordinary strength did not permit the slightest mistake, since the lightest touch from its spear could kill a player instantly. As a result, the team''s players had to allocate much of their attention to dodging the World Boss''s attacks, which prevented them from maximizing their DPS. "We should have a good hold on its aggro by now." Shi Feng was well aware that their team lacked DPS. They were fighting a Level 90 World Boss, after all. How could a half-baked team like theirs deal enough damage to defeat it? Shi Feng then turned to Anna and said, "You can begin!" 2241 Annas Migh Chapter 2241 - Anna''s Might Once Shi Feng gave the command, Anna raised her staff and began to chant an incantation. Two gigantic magic arrays, both with a 30-yard radius, appeared beside Anna, one pitch-black and one silvery-white. The instant these two magic arrays appeared, the surrounding Mana rapidly gathered to Anna. "What a powerful Spell!" Astonished, Lifeless Thorn turned to look at the Personal Guard, who had remained idle near the rear line thus far. Although he wasn''t a magical class player and wasn''t so sensitive toward Mana, he had seen powerful NPCs cast their Spells before, yet not even the Tier 3 NPCs he had seen could manipulate this much Mana with their Spells. Normally, the amount of Mana a Spell manipulated was indicative of the Spell''s strength. The more Mana the Spell affected, the stronger the Spell would be. In other words, the Spell Anna was casting was even stronger than a Tier 3 magical class NPCs Spells. Meanwhile, Yan Ya, a Druid, could detect Mana far better than a Berserker like Lifeless Thom. In fact, her ability to perceive Mana could be considered above average among the many magical class experts on the raid team. She specializes in both light and darkness?! Yan Ya stared at Anna for a moment, a little surprised. Normally, magical class NPCs and players only specialized in one element. For example, some Elementalists specialized in fire-type Spells, while some specialized in ice-type. Although Elementalists could use other elements'' Spells, those Spells were generally weaker than those of the caster''s main element. And yet, Anna was absorbing a frightening amount of both light- and darkness-type Mana from her surroundings. It was clear that the Personal Guard specialized in both elements. Specializing in two elements wasn''t as simple as being able to use Spells from two different elements. A caster needed to be capable of merging both elements'' Spells as well. If one were successful, the resulting power of their Spells would be exponential. Yan Ya could only think of two magical class players that specialized in duel-element casting, and both commanded an astonishing amount of combat power. The Fire Dragon Empire''s magical class players had dubbed both players ''Duel Dragons,'' and there were rumors that these two had the combat power to rival Tier 3 NPCs of the same level. However, she now learned that Anna was similarly a duel-element caster, as well. She was even rarer than Dark-Gold Guards. Before anyone could shake off their shock after sensing the Mana surge Anna had caused, the NPC in question raised her staff and completed her Spell. Thirty-six magic arrays appeared around the Frost Monarch, some black and some white. Ying Yang Spears then shot forth from these magic arrays. Every Yin Yang Spear was powerful enough to tear apart space itself. When the 36 Yin Yang Spears pierced the Frost Monarch''s body, the World Boss could not help but cry out in agony. -510,354! -503,474! ... A series of damages exceeding -500,000 appeared above the Frost Monarch''s head, stupefying everyone present. With just one Spell, the Frost Monarch''s HP, which had barely budged before, had visibly fallen. Anna''s DPS easily surpassed the entire team''s. "Is she a Tier 3 NPC?" Lifeless Thorn voiced his thoughts, starting at Anna. Asura''s members hadn''t even dealt -20,000 damage with each attack, yet just one of Anna''s attacks had dealt over -500,000. She was 10 levels higher than they were, but the difference between their damage outputs shouldn''t be that large. The only reasonable explanation was that Anna was a Tier 3 NPC. However, there was no doubt that Anna was only Level 96 and wore a Tier 2 Class Insignia. This proved that Anna was only a Tier 2 NPC, which confused Lifeless Thorn. Anna''s performance even stunned Zero Wing''s main force members. None of them had thought that she would be this powerful. Only Shi Feng remained unperturbed after witnessing the display. Anna was an Epic Guard. Moreover, her Growth Potential had risen from 105 to 113 points after she became a Peak Class Yin Yang Saint. It was the highest Growth Potential he had seen in any NPC. Anna had only been a Level 80 NPC when she had changed classes. Now that she had reached Level 96, the boons her Growth Potential provided were massive. After factoring in her Yin Yang Saint class''s other abilities, she had even greater combat power than ordinary Tier 3 NPCs. This was why Shi Feng dared to challenge the Frost Monarch with such a half-baked team. Initially, he had wanted Anna to summoner her monsters to assist in the battle, but he had decided against that since controlling so many summoned creatures would waste some of Anna''s energy. That would prevent Anna from exhibiting the full strength of the Yin Yang Saint class. Moreover, he had Kite to tank the World Boss, so summoning a Lord or Great Lord into battle would be meaningless. As the Tier 2 Curse, Yin Yang Baptism, ended, Anna followed up with the Tier 3 Spell, Yin Yang Burst. This was also theLegacy Spell Anna had learned after reaching Level 90. Anna raised her left hand as two energy balls appeared in her grip. The energy balls then transformed into beams oflight that slammed into the Frost Monarch. -1,434,884! -1,441,067! Everyone was flabbergasted once more when they saw these two damages. Her damage can practically cover the entire team''.. As Solitary Nine watched Anna bombard the Frost Monarch withone powerful Spell after another, he gained a newfound appreciation for magical classes. Even if Asura and Zero Wing''s members stopped attacking, Anna could likely finish this raid by herself with the damageshe could deal. She might just need a little more effort to defeat the World Boss. With Anna''s participation, the raid team''s confidence skyrocketed. They turned their attention to dodging the FrostMonarch''s AOE attacks, rather than risking death to deal more damage. Time passed quickly, and the Frost Monarch''s HP eventually fell to 20%. After such a long fight with the Frost Monarch, the raid team''s members had to admit that World Bosses had a varietyof Skills. Even with Kite tanking the Frost Monarch, players had died from time to time. Moreover, the Power of Frostthat continued to seep into their bodies had rapidly depleted their Stamina and Concentration reserves. Despite fighting for less than 30 minutes, they all had less than 30% of their Stamina remaining Without Anna''s help, this raid would''ve been impossible. The Boss is going berserk! Everyone, activate your Berserk Skills and attack with everything you''ve got! Shi Fengshouted when the Frost Monarch''s frost spear suddenly vanished. The Frost Monarch would become even more terrifying when it went berserk. It would directly manipulate the Powerof Frost around it to layer its attacks. Normally, a team would need around six MTs to stop these layered attacks, but among the MTs present, only Cola wascapable of surviving one of these attacks, and that was if he had already activated his Berserk Skill. The World Bosswould instant -kill the rest of the MTs, whether or not they had activated their Berserk Skills. The only option they hadleft was to kill the Boss before it slaughtered the team. The Frost Monarch bellowed as soon as Shi Feng finished issuing his orders. The Power of Frost began to grow turbulent as it gathered to the World Boss. Not only did this significantly increase the Frost Monarch''s Defence, but it also manifested six gigantic hands of frost energy around the World Boss. These six gigantic hands began to swat at the offending players. Every hand was as powerful as the frost spears the Frost Monarch had thrown at the start of this raid. Only, the hands'' Attack Speed wasn''t as high as the frost spears''. In exchange for the reduced speed, the hands had a much larger attack range, with each possessing a 12-yard-radius AOE. The moment the six hands descended, three Asura members died instantly. However, the Frost Monarch''s increased Defense shocked the raid team''s members far more than the six gigantic hands. They had already activated their Berserk Skills, yet they dealt less damage than they had earlier... As expected of the Frost Monarch, its famed Defense wasn''t an exaggeration. When Shi Feng''s sword struck the Frost Monarch''s body, his entire arm went numb from the impact. Getting past the Frost Monarch''s frost armor with Dark-Gold Weapons had already been quite difficult, and now that it had entered its Berserk state, even Shi Feng''s Killing Ray barely left a scratch. As several more players died, Shi Feng knew that he couldn''t afford to hold back, and he ordered Anna to use Summon Angel. Within seconds, a spear-wielding Valkyrie dropped from the sky, and everyone felt their bodies grow heavier as her horrific aura washed over them. Before anyone could react, the Valkyrie had appeared before the Frost Monarch and swung her Spear of Thunder at the World Boss. Peng! The Valkyrie''s spear sliced through the Frost Monarch''s armor like a streak of lightning before cracks began to form across the previously indestructible ice armor. The Frost Monarch cried out as it stumbled several steps back, and a damage of over -6,000,000 appeared above its head. The Valkyrie was even several times stronger than Anna. When Asura''s members saw the Frost Monarch stumble backward, their jaws nearly hit the ground. The Valkyrie''s attacks were extremely fast. Even after transforming its two hands into sharp blades, the Frost Monarch had failed to defend itself. It had been forced to use the six gigantic hands it had summoned against the Valkyrie''s attacks. However, a Tier 4 Valkyrie was no easy opponent, and her Life Rating was considerably higher than the World Boss''s. Even while using the six colossal hands to protect itself, the Frost Monarch took one hit after another. The World Boss was utterly helpless against the Valkyrie. When the Valkyrie''s 10-second duration was almost up, she went berserk and used Thunder''s Judgement. A purple lightning bolt then shot down from the sky and through the Frost Monarch''s body, dealing over -15,000,000 damage. "Good! The Boss is heavily injured! Everyone, focus on your attacks!" Shi Feng hurriedly shouted as the Frost Monarch''s aura weakened. The surviving raid team ignored the World Boss''s six hands and desperately bombarded the monster. 12%... 10%... 8%... As the Frost Monarch grew closer to its death, it began a frenzied slaughter. By the time there were less than half of the original 200-man raid team, the Frost Monarch had 2% of its HP remaining. Gentle Snow, Zhao Yueru, and Violet Cloud stopped holding back and used their strongest moves. Myth of Light! Frostflame Hell! Dimensional Fracture! ... As these attacks struck the Frost Monarch, its HP bar visibly shrunk. "Die!" When the World Boss had less than 1% of its HP left, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence, Flame Burst, and Lightning Slash. "I am immortal, human! You will not get away with this!" The Frost Monarch snarled, its voice echoing throughout the Purple Frost Field, as its HP fell to zero, and its crystalline body crumbled to the ground... 2242 Frost Monarchs Loo Chapter 2242 - Frost Monarch''s Loot The instant the Frost Monarch died, everyone''s experience bars exploded. The Level 90 World Boss had provided a bounty of EXP. Lifeless Thorn and Asura''s other members instantly climbed to Level 80. Although Zero Wing''s main force members didn''t level up, having already reached Level 86 and 87, their experience bars did grow by a large chunk. They had earned enough EXP to cover more than a full day of grinding. "It''s finally dead!" As their experience bars filled, the raid team members breathed a sigh of relief. They celebrated their survival throughout the raid. When the Frost Monarch had gone berserk, its attacks had become faster as its HP decreased. They hadn''t been able to keep up, relying on luck to survive. Fortunately, their overall DPS had been high enough for this raid. Had the battle continued for another 30 or so seconds, they might have lost their lives before the Frost Monarch died. Once they had a chance to catch their breath, they turned toward the numerous items scattered around the World Boss''s corpse. "So many items dropped!" "We''re rich! That''s the loot of a Level 90 World Boss!" "That''s right! Based on how much Mana is gathering around those items, they must be extraordinary!" The survivors'' eyes glowed with excitement when they saw the Frost Monarch''s loot. With a casual glance, they could count more than 10 pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment and a few rare Dark-Gold Weapons. After Level 50, monsters'' drop-rates drastically decreased. High-ranked items like Dark-Gold Equipment became very difficult to acquire. Normally, players had to challenge 100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeons to acquire weapons and equipment of such rank. Moreover, players would be lucky if a single piece of Dark-Gold Equipment dropped from each of the Dungeon''s Bosses. One raid wouldn''t even be enough to fully gear a player, not to mention a 100-man team. Most of God''s Domain''s expert players would be envied among their peers if they had a single piece of up-to-date Dark-Gold Equipment. Even among the Asura adventurer team, the main force members only wore a few pieces of Level 75 Dark-Gold Equipment, despite being one of the Fire Dragon Empire''s top 10 adventurer teams. Yet, the Frost Monarch had dropped more than a dozen Dark-Gold Equipment pieces. It''s drop-rate was many times higher than the Bosses in 100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeons. Naturally, the weakest piece of equipment the Frost Monarch had dropped was for Level 90. Even the various superpowers only dreamed of acquiring Level 90 Dark-Gold Weapons, and players could likely rely on these weapons even after they reached Level 100. The World Boss had even dropped Epic Equipment. The chances of such equipment dropping in a 100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeon were abysmal; players would only have a reasonable chance of acquiring such items if they secured the First Clear. "Alright, healers, resurrect our fallen comrades. We''ll distribute the loot once you''re done," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the hunger in everyone''s eyes. There likely wasn''t a single player in God''s Domain who wouldn''t be tempted by a World Boss''s loot. World Bosses represented the peak of power among monsters of the same level, and any random item they dropped could raise a player''s strength by a considerable margin. Shi Feng''s reminder snapped the healers out of their daze, and they promptly went to work, resurrecting their fallen allies. Meanwhile, Shi Feng turned to organize the Frost Monarch''s loot. The rest of the raid team took a seat and watched Shi Feng with eager looks since they didn''t have anything better to do. Even Cola stared at the pile of items in the snow. The healers finished resurrecting the fallen players after a short moment, and Shi Feng quickly appraised the items, sharing the statistics in the team chat. "Isn''t this World Boss''s loot a little too generous!?" "This loot is ten times better than the items a Hell Mode Team Dungeon''s Final Boss drops." Zero Wing''s members were no strangers to a World Boss''s loot, so they, more or less, held their composure when they saw shared information. However, Asura''s members were a different story. They were ecstatic after reading the loot''s details. The Frost Monarch dropped a total of 115 items, far more than what ordinary Mythic Bosses typically dropped. Among the 115 items, there were 17 pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment and 3 Dark-Gold Weapons. The World Boss hadn''t even dropped one Fine-Gold Weapon or Equipment piece. They''d likely have to raid eight or nine Mythic Bosses in Hell Mode Team Dungeons to acquire so many pieces of Dark- Gold Equipment. Unfortunately, Team Dungeons had very long Cooldowns, and players couldn''t raid them as often as they''d like. Furthermore, every Dark-Gold Weapon and Equipment piece the Frost Monarch had dropped was top-tier. This Golden Razor''s Attributes are just as high as an Epic Weapon''s," Cola said, astonished as he inspected a Dark-Gold ranked greatsword. Although the Golden Razor was only Dark-Gold rank, its Attack Power and Strength were on par with Epic ranked two- handed weapons. Most importantly, the Golden Razor had a Passive Skill that allowed players to wield it as a one- handed weapon as long as they had the required 1,800 Strength. In other words, players could wield a one-handed weapon with the Attributes and Attack Power of a two-handed greatsword. This Passive Skill alone placed the Golden Razor at the top among Level 90 Dark-Gold Weapons. Although the required 1,800 Strength was relatively high to ordinary Tier 2 Berserkers, it wouldn''t be an issue for expert players of Cola''s caliber. In fact, Cola already met the requirement, despite being a Guardian Knight under Level 90. He couldn''t help his growing excitement when he thought about wielding a two-handed weapon alongside his shield. "That''s nothing. Take a look at the Extreme Frost Set! It''s practically made for Berserkers! The four-piece set effect even lower''s the level requirement by five levels, on top of increasing the wearer''s Ice Resistance by 100 and maximum Stamina by 10%. The six-piece set effect even increases the user''s Strength by 20% and all Berserker Skills by one tier!" Blackie nearly drooled as he examined the Extreme Frost Set''s Attribute bonuses and set effects. He even wished he had chosen the Berserker class, instead of becoming a Cursemancer. Moreover, the Frost Monarch had dropped the complete Extreme Frost Set. This meant that Berserkers could equip the set at Level 85, and the armor would forcibly elevate all Berserker Skills by one tier to a maximum of Tier 3. Tier 3 Skills! Tier 3 Skills were far more powerful than Tier 2 Skills. Zhao Yueru had already made that much clear. Despite the fact that Gentle Snow and Fire Dance had higher Basic Attributes, Zhao Yueru had dealt considerably more damage in the raid than her companions. Her total damage had almost been as high as Shi Feng''s monstrous damage. If a Tier 2 Berserker equipped the Extreme Frost Set, they''d be on par with an actual Tier 3 Berserker, not including their Basic Attributes and physique. "Indeed. This Extreme Frost Set''s effects are truly amazing. The Berserkers in the team have just won the lottery," Yan Tianxing chimed in. Even he was moved when he saw the Extreme Frost Set. If the set were meant for Assassins, he wouldn''t have hesitated to replace three of is Epic Equipment pieces for the set. Tier 3 Skills would drastically increase a player''s combat power. If the Extreme Frost Set''s effects were specialized for Assassins, Yan Tianxing would even be confident of contending with Sword Demon. While the team discussed the Extreme Frost Set, Shi Feng shared the next item''s Attribute Panel. When they saw this item, every one of them gasped. This next item was a weapon, and one the team recognized and feared. This weapon was none other than the icy-blue spear the Frost Monarch had used against them throughout the raid! 2243 Winter Spear Chapter 2243 - Winter Spear The entire raid team had personally experienced how powerful this spear, which the Frost Monarch had manifested with condensed Power of Frost, was. The Frost Monarch''s extraordinary Strength and speed hadn''t been the main reason that the raid team had struggled against it. They had relied on Kite as the lead MT, and the NPC was more than capable of surviving the World Boss''s attacks, taking barely any damage. Rather, the Frost Monarch''s frost spear had been the main reason that these players had had so much trouble. Despite the Frost Monarch''s focused attacks against Kite throughout the raid, it had used its attacks'' residual power to assault the players, sapping their Stamina and Concentration. This, in turn, had steadily decreased the team''s combat power, and to make matters worse, they hadn''t been able to block or dodge this residual power. If Anna hadn''t been so powerful, the team would''ve died from exhaustion before they could kill the World Boss. "It''s even possible for such a weapon to drop?" "Its Attributes are insane! The team''s Berserkers have truly hit the jackpot!" When they saw the frost spear''s Attribute Panel, everyone on the team felt jealous. Even Shadow Sword and Rampant Blade, who both used an Epic Weapon, couldn''t help their desire for the spear. Its Attribute bonuses were just that awesome. [Winter Spear (Replica)] (Spear, Epic Rank) Level 50 - Level 100 Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,100 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +2,550 (Level 50) Strength +301, Agility +210, Endurance +270 Attack Speed +12 Attacks carry the Power of Frost. When attacking, all attacks reduce the target''s Stamina and Concentration. Attacks have: 30% chance to deal frost damage to all enemies in a 10-yard radius; 20% chance to trigger Frost Possession, increasing Strength by 20% by 3 seconds. During this time, attacks also deal an additional 270% frost damage and reduce targets Movement Speed when struck by 30%. When equipped: Main Attribute increased by 25%; All secondary Attributes increased by 15%; Reaction speed increased by 10%; Ignore Levels +10; All Berserker Skill effects increased by 30%; All item level requirements reduced by 5 Levels; Additional Passive Skill 1- Chaotic Battle: Strength, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed increased according to the number of enemies hit. Each enemy hit will grant a 3% increase for 5 seconds. Bonus can stack to 30%. Additional Passive Skill 2- Ice Guard: When HP falls below 50%, Power of Frost triggers to improve the user''s physique by 15%, main Attribute by 15%, and Defend Skill by 3 levels. Additional Active Skill- Frozen Century: Converts a 100-yard radius into a frozen realm, using the Power of Frost to corrode all enemies in range. At the same time, the user creates two frost doppelgangers, each with 115% of the main body''s Strength. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour ... Even Shi Feng was relatively surprised to see the Winder Spear Replica drop. The original Winter Spear was a Legendary Weapon, but even a Replica would be extraordinarily powerful. The Epic ranked Replica could likely rival an ordinary Fragmented Legendary Weapon''s strength. In terms of Attack Power, this Replica was even stronger than Gentle Snow''s Glorious Will. The only difference between the Winter Spear''s Replica and Glorious Will''s was that the latter could be upgraded to Fragmented Legendary rank, while the former could not. Even so, the Winter Spear was the best weapon under Fragmented Legendary Rank for Berserkers at Level 100 or below. If current players wielded this spear, their Attack Power would be among the best in God''s Domain. Moreover, players wouldn''t have to worry about fighting groups or a single opponent with the Winter Spear''s effects. Naturally, ever Berserker on the raid team grew restless after seeing the Winter Spear''s Attribute Panel, and they all turned toward Shi Feng almost as one, waiting to learn how he intended to distribute the weapon. According to Shi Feng''s rules, everyone that participated in the raid would have a chance of competing for any Dark- Gold Weapon. Unfortunately, those rules didn''t hold true for Epic ranked weapons. Even the various superpowers treated Epic Weapons and Equipment as a part of the Guild''s foundation, and not even the Guild''s upper echelons could claim such an item simply because they wanted it. Guilds had strict inspections and evaluations before they''d assign an Epic item to their members, especially when it came to a top-tier Epic Weapon like the Winter Spear. "The Winter Spear and Extreme Frost Set will go to Lifeless Thorn," Shi Feng announced after giving the matter some thought. Although he was Asura''s commander, Shi Feng hadn''t contributed to the adventurer team recently since he''d been so busy with Zero Wing. As a result, Lifeless Thorn had taken full responsibility for leading the Asura adventurer team and the massive Adventurer''s Alliance. By now, many superpowers had begun to compete for resources and player population in the Ice Crystal World. If the Adventurer''s Alliance wished to maintain its standing, it needed to rely on more than a Flowing Water Realm expert like Lifeless Thom. The Alliance would need a peak expert, at the very least, to defend it. "Commander?" Lifeless Thom stared at Shi Feng, moved. He had never expected his commander to hand him the Winter Spear and Extreme Frost Set. Not even superpowers'' upper echelons had the privilege of using such high-quality weapons and equipment, yet despite being Asura''s vice commander, he had earned the right. Adventurer teams weren''t nearly as restrictive as Guilds, and even though Lifeless Thorn was Asura''s vice commander, he enjoyed far more freedom than large Guilds'' elite members. Moreover, Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t be pleased to hear that their Guild Leader had given him such powerful items. The consequences were just too high. Lifeless Thom couldn''t understand what Shi Feng was trying to do. And yet, despite carrying an Epic Weapon and multiple pieces of Epic Equipment, he was sorely tempted to wield and wear the Winter Spear and Extreme Frost Set. Refusing such a generous offer wasn''t easy. Naturally, Shi Feng understood what Lifeless Thorn was thinking. Taking the initiative, he said, "There''s no need to say anything. Zero Wing isn''t like other Guilds. Asura may only be Zero Wing''s subordinate adventurer team, but it''s still a part of Zero Wing. As long as you perform well, I have no problems giving you weapons and equipment of this quality. I hope that you will use this weapon and set equipment to improve Asura further." Zero Wing was quite different than the various superpowers. It didn''t have the support of major corporations, and it wasn''t as attractive to expert players. If Zero Wing wanted to contend with super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds, subordinate, independent organizations like the Asura adventurer team were necessary. Furthermore, if an adventurer team wasn''t led by a powerful expert, it would struggle to develop. Although Asura was impressive enough to become one of the Fire Dragon Empire''s top 10 adventurer teams, that was its limit. Growing any stronger would be an incredible challenge for the adventurer team. Unless Lifeless Thorn increased his strength, it would only be a matter of time before another adventurer team, one with a powerful background, surpassed Asura. If possible, Shi Feng wanted to help Lifeless Thorn reach the Void Realm, but doing so wouldn''t be easy. One would have to improve their senses on a qualitative level, which couldn''t be done by simply improving one''s combat standards. If it were that easy, the various Super Guilds would have more than just a few peak experts among their ranks. After Shi Feng''s comment, Lifeless Thorn turned to Zero Wing''s members to see their reactions, but to his surprise, none of the main force members seemed dissatisfied with the situation. They didn''t actually seem to care who received the Winter Spear and Extreme Frost Set. When Asura''s other members saw this, they couldn''t help but feel a little ambitious. As players that had chosen to join an adventurer team, they had knowingly forsaken the resources a Guild could provide in exchange for more freedom. However, enjoying the freedom of an adventurer team, as well as access to a Guild''s important resources was better than they could''ve hoped for. In that moment, Asura''s members silently decided that they would become an even more powerful adventurer team in the future. Even if they couldn''t obtain top-tier Epic Weapons like the Winter Spear, they''d still have a chance of securing ordinary Epic Weapons. Such a situation was normally unthinkable for adventurer team members like them. While everyone secretly envied Lifeless Thom, Shi Feng revealed a playful grin as he shared the Attribute Panel for a jade flute. When the raid team saw this item, their jealousy of Lifeless Thorn vanished. "Crap! Am I seeing things?! This is...a Flying Mount!" 2244 Another Flying Moun Chapter 2244 - Another Flying Mount Upon seeing the summoning flute decorated with blue runes, every member of the raid team was ecstatic. Thanks to the Flying Mount that had appeared in the Sea of Death, players were no longer strangers to the concept of Flying Mounts. News of that Mount had spread across God''s Domain, giving countless players a new dream of obtaining one for themselves. Even Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other main force members, who already knew that Shi Feng was the owner of that mysterious Flying Mount, were at a lost for words, not to mention Asura''s members. Except for Shi Feng, they hadn''t heard of any player owning a Flying Mount at this stage of the game. In other words, this summoning flute was only the second Flying Mount found in God''s Domain! Epic Weapons and Equipment might be incredibly precious, but not even the top-tier Epic Weapon, Winter Spear, was worth one-tenth of a Flying Mount. They had already experienced the benefits Flying Mounts had to offer, and their travel speed was simply unbelievable. A Flying Mount could even cross a large-scale map in no more than two or three hours. Most importantly, Flying Mounts'' combat power was incredible. Take Shi Feng''s Thunder Eagle, for example. The Thunder Eagle was a bona fide Tier 3 combatant with the ability to contend with Level 100 Great Lords. If they had a Flying Mount, they''d have their own powerful companion in battle. "I won''t say much about this Flying Mount. If you want it, fight for it. The starting bid will be 300,000 GCPs or 300,000 Asura Contribution Points. The highest bid wins!" Shi Feng said, chuckling as he glanced at the excited crowd before him. In truth, even Shi Feng had been quite surprised to see the Frost Monarch drop a Flying Mount. Even a Common Flying Mount was easily worth several Level 100-plus Epic items. Although this Frost Bone Dragon, the Flying Mount the Frost Monarch had dropped, wasn''t as powerful as his Thunder Eagle, it was an Intermediate Extraordinary Flying Mount. It was even more valuable than ordinary Fragmented Legendary items. Initially, he had intended to give the Flying Mount to someone of his choosing to maximize its usefulness, but everyone''s intense desire for the Mount had changed his mind. Hence, he had resorted to an internal auction. Three-hundred-thousand Contribution Points was exceedingly cheap for a Flying Mount like the Frost Bone Dragon. Normally, he should''ve set the starting bid at 3,000,000 CPs, but since this was an internal auction, he didn''t mind lowering the price. Moreover, the sooner one of his players was spotted using the Flying Mount, the more Zero Wing or Asura could benefit. Naturally, there was no chance of some low-rank player claiming the Frost Bone Dragon. Three-hundred-thousand Contribution Points was an astronomical amount for both Zero Wing''s and Asura''s members. Not even ordinary core members could afford that price. Of the 200 players participating in this raid, only a dozen or so had enough CPs to bid for the Flying Mount. Every member of the raid team stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. They had never expected him to sell off the Flying Mount in an internal auction. He had even assigned the Winter Spear and Extreme Frost Set to a specific player, yet the Flying Mount would go to the highest bidder. Most importantly, Shi Feng was actually allowing them to compete for it, not keeping such a precious Flying Mount for himself. No other Guild Leader or commander would be as generous as Shi Feng. It didn''t take long for the raid team members to snap out of their daze after Shi Feng''s announcement. "I bid 300,000 GCPs!" Blackie shouted, placing the first bid. "In that case, I''ll bid 310,000!" Cola shouted, not willing to concede. "Commander, I bid 320,000 CPs!" Solitary Nine shouted, unable to help himself from participating in the auction. Asura''s Contribution System was similar to Zero Wing''s, and earning Contribution Points wasn''t easy. Of course, as one of Asura''s two vice commanders, he could afford to hand over 300,000-plus CPs. "I bid 350,000 CPs!" Lifeless Thorn announced. Although Lifeless Thom had already acquired a top-tier Epic Weapon and Dark-Gold Set Equipment, the idea of owning a Flying Mount was simply too tempting. A Flying Mount would also affect his development rate, so he couldn''t just give up this chance. Zero Wing and Asura''s members frantically bid on the Frost Bone Dragon, the price quickly climbing to 450,000 CPs. Once the price rose that high, Asura''s Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine had to drop out of the auction. Unlike a Guild, there were fewer means for adventurer team members to earn Contribution Points. Adventurer teams didn''t have access to Guild Quests, for example. Now, only Zero Wings upper echelons could compete over the Flying Mount. In the end, Gentle Snow had won the Frost Bone Dragon for 580,000 Contribution Points. Although Shi Feng didn''t prohibit his players from borrowing points, they had silently agreed to rely on their own Contribution Points due to the importance of a Flying Mount. Their Contribution Points, after all, represented how much they had contributed to the Guild or adventurer team. The player who had contributed the most deserved something as important and valuable as a Flying Mount. After the auction, Shi Feng handed Gentle Snow her new Frost Bone Dragon summoning flute, and she rejoiced. Ideas of how to use this Flying Mount swam in her head. Shi Feng then let the raid team members bid for the remaining Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, and every item had been auctioned off in less than 10 minutes. As for the other items the Frost Monarch dropped, Shi Feng didn''t share their information or add them to the internal auction. These items touched on Guild interests. The Bronze Shop Promotion Order, for example, had to be kept a secret. Moreover, since the Frost Monarch was a Bloodline Lord, it had dropped a Bloodline. Normally, Shi Feng would''ve let his players take a look at an ordinary Bloodline. It''s not like they were a secret among the various superpowers anymore, and some were even available for purchase in the World Summit''s Divine Shrine. If players had enough points, they could even purchase a Peak Bloodline. However, the Frost Monarch''s Bloodline was special, and Shi Feng couldn''t afford to reveal it casually. ... [Arctic Bloodline] (Special Bloodline) Can be fused with a normal Bloodline to produce a new Bloodline. The resulting Bloodline has one opportunity to evolve, and the evolution''s benefits depend on the Bloodline Power the resulting Bloodline has absorbed. The more Bloodline Power absorbed, the more benefits the resulting Bloodline will provide. Can absorb a maximum of 100 Bloodline Power. Current Bloodline Power absorbed: 0 points (Warning: The resulting Bloodline will automatically bind to the user after using the Arctic Bloodline. It cannot be traded and can only be stored in the user''s bag space. If the user dies, the Bloodline will drop and be forever lost.) ... System: Do you wish to fuse with the Arctic Bloodline? System: You have one hour to decide. If you fail to decide or refuse the fusion, the Arctic Bloodline''s power will be lost. ... Although Shi Feng trusted these players, he had no plans to inform them of the Arctic Bloodline. While the team rested, Shi Feng wandered off to find a place to sit. He then agreed to fuse with the Arctic Bloodline. 2245 New Bloodline Chapter 2245 - New Bloodline The instant Shi Feng agreed to the fusion, the Arctic Bloodline in his bag shot through his body and began to merge with the Dark Iron Bloodline. Thus far, Shi Feng had been quite satisfied with the Dark Iron Bloodline. Although it was only a Basic Bloodline, it was the perfect Bloodline for melee classes, far more valuable to melee players than other Basic Bloodlines. In fact, Shi Feng wouldn''t necessarily trade the Dark Iron Bloodline for a bona fide Advanced Bloodline if given a chance. Compatibility was incredibly important, and the Dark Iron Bloodline improved his compatibility with his melee Skills. It was a rare Attribute. Although the Dark Iron Bloodline''s Attribute Panel didn''t clearly outline how much the Bloodline improved his compatibility, Shi Feng had discovered, through trial and error, that his Bloodline improved his Skill Completion Rates by roughly 2%. While 2% might not seem that high, and even some Epic Equipment could provide a similar bonus, Shi Feng''s Skill Completion Rate was already impressive. Shi Feng was very close to 100% Skill Completion Rate with his Tier 2 Skills. For any other player, the Dark Iron Bloodline would likely increase their Skill Completion Rate by more than just 2%. Even so, a 2% improvement was extremely valuable for Shi Feng. As God''s Domain evolved into a more perfect game, higher-tiered Skills and Spells would become increasingly difficult to use properly. A player who had a 100% Completion Rate with their Tier 1 Skills wouldn''t be guaranteed to perform as well with Tier 2 to 6 Skills and Spells. Take Fire Dance, for example. When she had been a Tier 1 player, she had executed her Tier 1 Skills with a 95% or higher Completion Rate, but after reaching Tier 2 and the Flowing Water Realm, she barely achieved a 90% Completion Rate with her Tier 2 Skills. If she wanted to increase her Skill Completion Rate, she had to continue her training and find more inspiration. In reality, not even Domain Realm experts fared better than Refinement Realm experts with Skill or Spell Completion Rates. Completion Rates depended on a player''s physical control and their understanding of the Skill or Spell in question. Refinement Realm experts already had precise control of their bodies, and Domain Realm experts'' physical control wasn''t that much better. Domain Realm experts merely had superior perception. Shi Feng only had such a high Completion Rate with his Tier 2 Skills because he had already grown incredibly familiar with the various Tier 2 Skills in God''s Domain. Not a single player in the game could compete with his experience in this regard. Moreover, the Dark Iron Bloodline would offer greater benefits as he continued to level up and reach higher tiers, particularly as he rose through the tiers. Although he had already absorbed the Dark Iron Bloodline, he couldn''t yet fully exhibit the Bloodline''s power. Bloodlines'' strength was simply too great for low-tiered players like him to tolerate. He could only unlock more of the Bloodline''s abilities as he increased his tier. Otherwise, Bloodlines wouldn''t have been as valuable as Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items, becoming one of the best tools to support God''s Domain''s players as they became powerhouses. As the Arctic Bloodline continued to fuse with the Dark Iron Bloodline, Shi Feng felt an indescribable power spread throughout his body. This power felt violent and cold, the sensations mixing within him. If he hadn''t deliberately concealed his aura with the Nightwalker''s Cape, Fire Dance and the others would''ve sensed his transformation. After 10 seconds, the turbulent power within Shi Feng had calmed. The moment it did, the crisp sound of a system notification reached his ears. ... System: Congratulations! You have successfully fused the Arctic Bloodline and Dark Iron Bloodline. The Frost Iron Bloodline has now bound with you. ... Eagerly, Shi Feng inspected the resulting Bloodline. ... [Frost Iron Bloodline (Fused Bloodline)] Increases player''s compatibility with melee Skills and reaction speed. Mainly improves Strength, followed by Agility, Endurance, Vitality, and Intelligence. (Can absorb Bloodline Power to evolve once. The more Bloodline Power absorbed, the greater the evolution''s effects will be. Can absorb up to 100 Bloodline Power. Currently absorbed Bloodline Power: 0 points.) ... So, this is a Fused Bloodline? As he inspected the Frost Iron Bloodline''s Attributes, Shi Feng couldn''t believe his eyes. He had assumed the fusion would only improve the Dark Iron Bloodline''s inherent Attributes, not birth an entirely new ability. The Frost Iron Bloodline could practically rival Advanced Bloodlines[l]. The only real difference was the increased Basic Attributes. Fortunately, the missing Basic Attributes weren''t that important to Shi Feng. He valued the Bloodline''s ability far more, especially the Frost Iron Bloodlines new ability. Increased reaction speed would be significantly helpf^^ players. The improved reaction speed would be especially useful when fighting monsters. Unlike players, monsters'' reaction speed continued to increase with their levels, which was why higher-leveled monsters were so difficult to deal with. Normally, the only way players could improve their reaction speed was by increasing their Basic Attributes and physique, but the resulting improvement would be minor. Meanwhile, weapons and equipment that increased reaction speed directly were painfully difficult to acquire. Now that the Frost Iron Bloodline could do just that, it was easily more valuable than the Advanced Bloodlines players could buy from the Divine Shrine. Amazing! Truly amazing! With this boost, my reaction speed is just as fast as true Tier 3 classes''! Shi Feng was ecstatic when he sensed the change to his reaction speed. The Tier 3 Promotion Quest was far more difficult to complete than the Tier 2 version, and players'' results would largely influence their future development. Shi Feng had hoped to obtain an Advanced Bloodline before Tier 3 Promotion Quest to increase his chances of securing a good result. After all, his Blade Saint class was one of God''s Domain''s Ten Great Saint Legacies, and his Promotion Quest would be considerably more challenging than other classes. Now that he had the Frost Iron Bloodline, he was far more confident of clearing his Tier 3 Promotion Quest. If this Bloodline is so powerful after the fusion, just how powerful will it become after evolving with 100 points of Bloodline Power? Anticipation overwhelmed Shi Feng as he read the Bloodline''s Attribute Panel again. To obtain Bloodline Power, players had to extract it from Bloodline Creatures or Archaic Species. Unfortunately, the former were incredibly rare in God''s Domain. It seems I''ll have to find some time to explore the Thunder God''s Secret Land. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided that hunting in the Thunder God''s Secret Land would be the most reliable way to collect Bloodline Power. Although he knew where to find a few low-level Bloodline Creatures, the Main God System wouldn''t give him any chance to exploit such a loophole. His chances of extracting Bloodline Power from low-level Bloodline Creatures would be abysmal. To increase his chances, he had to hunt Bloodline Creatures in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. Unfortunately, it wasn''t easy to gain access to the secret land. He would need an entry pass, and entering the secret land by himself wouldn''t be efficient. He''d need to obtain enough entry passes for a group of players. As a result, Shi Feng decided to prioritize Zero Wing''s development in the Sea of Death. However, he hadn''t come to that decision simply because he wanted entry passes to the Thunder God''s Secret Land. After Level 100, the various major powers would turn their attention to the sea due to its many available resources, and if Zero Wing wanted a cut of that pie, it would have to secure a foothold in the Sea of Death as soon as possible. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng''s gaze drifted tot he Bronze Shop Promotion Order in his bag, his desire to upgrade the Wanderer''s Shop as soon as possible growing. The naval resources he obtained through his partnership with Phoenix Rain wouldn''t be enough for Zero Wing to establish itself in the Sea of Death, and Zero Wing still had to deal with Starlink''s harassment. Once the raid team had rested, Shi Feng returned to White River City alongside his companions. 2246 Turmoil at Dragonheart City Chapter 2246 - Turmoil at Dragonheart City Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Hashes of light illuminated the Teleportation Hall as Shi Feng''s team returned to White River City. After Monarch raid, they had spent almost all of their Stamina and Concentration. Although they had rested in the Purple Frost Field for some time, they were visibly exhausted. "How strange. I_m back in the city, yet my Stamina still feels like its barely recovering?" Aqua Rose muttered as she concentrated on her physical state. Fire Dance, Yan Tianxing, and the other Refinement Realm experts felt the same. Once players reached the Refinement Realm, they gained more precise control over their bodies, and when they lacked Stamina, it subtly influenced their physical performance. Hence, Refinement Realm experts could sense how much Stamina they had remaining based on their physical condition. Normally, players'' Stamina rapidly regenerated when they returned to a town or city, yet Aqua Rose and her companions'' Stamina had barely changed. Their Stamina recovery rate was surprisingly slow. "Don''t worry about it. It''s just the result of the Power of Frost that infected your bodies. Once the Power of Frost dissipates, you''ll return to normal," Shi Feng explained. Not only were high-level maps dangerous, but they also inflicted lasting negative effects on the players that dared to explore them. Even among high-level maps, the Purple Frost Field was considered a special place. All forms of energy, with the exception of the Power of Frost, had been expelled from the map. Not only would players'' Stamina deplete far faster than usual if they remained in the map for a long time, but their Stamina recovery rate would also be affected. Fighting a World Boss like the Frost Monarch would only make their condition worse. In their current state, these players would need to rest in a city for at least 10 hours to recover fully. "Doesn''t that mean that we''ll have to rest for a long time, unable to do much else?" Gentle Snow asked, frowning. She had just obtained the Frost Bone Dragon, and she wanted to lead a team to grind Field Bosses in unexplored high- level maps as soon as possible to utilize this advantage and secure a large stock of high-level equipment. Zero Wing''s main force members had reached such a high level, but most of their weapons and equipment hadn''t. If they had had up-to-date weapons and equipment in their competition with Starlink, securing their victory would''ve gone much smoother. "Mhm, but it can''t be helped. High-level resource maps aren''t like they were before," Shi Feng responded with a shrug. Reaching Level 100 in God''s Domain wasn''t difficult. The true difficulty lay in obtaining top-tier weapons and equipment that corresponded with their levels. The Purple Frost Field was one of the best places to acquire top-tier Level 90 equipment. Not only did the map have its own Level 90 World Boss, but it was also home to quite a few Level 90-plus Mythic Bosses. Unfortunately, maps like the Purple Frost Field had their own form of special energy, so grinding for top-tier weapons and equipment was even harder than normal. In reality, the Purple Frost Field''s harsh environment was gentle compared to the various maps available at that level. Some environments even affected players'' physiques and Basic Attributes. This was also why the various minor powers and adventurer teams had survived in God''s Domain in Shi Feng''s previous life. Grinding in these special maps for long periods was impossible due to their environments, and as a result, the various major powers hadn''t been able to monopolize these maps'' Field Bosses. To dominate these maps, God''s Domain''s major powers would need a lot more manpower. This was precisely why Shi Feng wanted to develop the Asura adventurer team, using it to attract more expert players. Although Zero Wing had an incredible main force, the Guild''s other teams lagged far behind them. Gentle Snow''s and Aqua Rose''s frowns deepened. This meant that their level and Mount advantages weren''t as great as they had thought. "Forget about farming top-tier weapons and equipment for now. You should help our other members level up. Once the Power of Frost''s effects wears off, you can organize teams to raid Team Dungeons and get our raiding progress up to speed," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Collecting a large stock of top-tier weapons and equipment wasn''t a walk in the park. If it were, the various superpowers would have squashed the game''s minor powers and adventurer teams. They wouldn''t have poured so much attention into nurturing Lifestyle players and grinding for resources, either. "I''ll do that, then." Gentle Snow felt helpless. She had no choice but to accept Shi Feng''s suggestion and take things one step at a time. After their conversation, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose left the Teleportation with the rest of Zero Wing''s members. They planned to take the Guild''s members out to power-level in high-level maps. Shi Feng, on the other hand, led Asura''s members to the Candlelight Trading Firm and loaded them up with Advanced Mana Armor Kits, All-rounded Devices, and other Consumables that the trading firm only sold internally. He also instructed Melancholic Smile and her team to produce some Resistance equipment for the adventurer team members to help them develop at a higher rate. Shi Feng then found a Special Forging room before using the Abyss Pendant to teleport to Dragonheart Island. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng appeared in an alleyway in Dragonheart City''s outer area. But for some reason, Dragonheart City seemed livelier than during Shi Feng''s last visit. Hardly any players had spent their time in the city''s outer area before, but now, he noticed a large number of players in this area of the city. Moreover, most of these players were neutral-race players, not human. Why are so many neutral players here? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw how many neutral players roamed the street. These neutral players were very high-leveled, with most of them at Level 76 or higher. There were even quite a few Level 78 players. Mainstream players had just reached Level 72 and 73 at this stage of the game, so these neutral players'' levels were surprising. Even most large Guilds'' peak experts had only just reached this level. Meanwhile, Dragonheart City was located in the Sea of Death''s inner region, and the closest neutral city was very far away. There should only be a small number of neutral players that would bother traveling this far. Neutral experts weren''t the only players in the city right now. There were also large crowds of experts from the various major powers and many from second- and third-rate Guilds. As Shi Feng observed the passing players, he noticed a familiar group. It was none other than Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo, who loved to vanish from the Guild, and they seemed to be in the company of Melody and a few other Ninth Heaven members. Since Shi Feng was still disguised as Black Flame, Thoughtful Rain and her companions quickly recognized him. You''re here, too, Big Brother Black Flame?" Blue Bamboo promptly walked up to Shi Feng as soon as she saw him. "Guild Leader Black Flame," the Half-elf Melody greeted. "Why are you guys here?" Shi Feng asked, surprised. The Fairy Country, Melody''s home country, was quite a distance away from Dragonheart Island. Traveling so far was a major challenge. "Oh? You don''t know, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Melody asked, giving Shi Feng an odd look. "Know what?" Shi Feng asked. "We''re here because we''ve received news that a pathway to the western continent has appeared in Dragonheart City. All of the various major powers are heading this way to test their luck and see if they can make it to the western continent," Melody explained. 2247 Wanderers Shop Promoted Chapter 2247 - Wanderer''s Shop Promoted "A pathway to the western continent?" Shi Feng was surprised to hear the news. God''s Domain consisted of two main continents, separated by a massive distance. Even with a Flying Mount, it would take several days to travel from one continent to the other. To make matters worse, one would encounter many Level 180 and 200-plus sea monsters and flying monsters. Even after players reached Tier 3 during Shi Feng''s previous life, very few people had been strong enough to travel between the continents. Normally, players would have to rely on teleportation arrays or special paths that had survived since ancient times. Take Starlink, for example. The Guild must''ve secured a teleportation array that only it, alone, knew of. However, Shi Feng had never heard of a path leading to the western continent in Dragonheart City during his previous life. Shi Feng was also certain this wasn''t because of a weakness in his information network or his Guild''s inability to learn it. If a path had appeared in the middle of a city, it would''ve shaken every power on the continent. The current situation was the best proof of this. Guilds from the eastern continent''s various kingdoms and empires were rushing to Dragonheart City after learning of the pathway. Even the various neutral powers were making the trip. It would be very difficult not to learn of this pathway''s discovery. A pathway between the two main continents represented unimaginable opportunities and wealth. The two continents had different cultures and development goals, which was why neither Unyielding Heart nor Crimson Emperor was a match for Starlink''s economic development. "I''m not sure about the exact details. I came here with a friend who is trying to find out more about the situation," Melody explained. "Big Brother Black Flame, why don''t you come with us and take a look at this pathway? Rain and I have explored so many places, but we''ve never visited the western continent," Blue Bamboo invited Shi Feng. "My friend has been in Dragonheart City for quite some time now, so his connections and information network are quite impressive. I''m sure he''ll find the facts soon," Melody said, nodding in agreement. She had considered inviting Shi Feng to join them as well, but it wouldn''t be proper to invite another Guild Leader without a good enough reason. Since Blue Bamboo had taken the initiative to invite him, she might as well go with the flow and use this opportunity to develop the relationship between Ninth Heaven and Zero Wing. Zero Wing had prospered lately, and because of that, the Death God Workshop had calmed quite a bit in the Fairy Country, allowing Ninth Heaven to develop peacefully. Since Shi Feng clearly didn''t know much about the western continent, she could use this opportunity to earn a favor. "Alright, but I have some matters to see to before I can join you," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. A pathway to the western continent was indeed a tempting issue. If he could visit the western continent this early, Zero Wing could gain access to endless wealth and resources. Since Melody was trying to do him a favor, likely to earn one back, he didn''t mind taking advantage of this situation. "That won''t be a problem. In any case, my friend still needs some time to investigate. We''ll be wandering around this area of the city in the meantime," Melody said. She secretly rejoiced when she heard Shi Feng''s answer. Zero Wing was already incredibly strong as a Guild and was almost guaranteed to become a superpower in the future. If Ninth Heaven could secure a close relationship with the Guild now, Ninth Heaven would only benefit later. Once Shi Feng and the others agreed on where to meet later, he hurried toward the Wanderer''s Shop. Due to news of the pathway, the street the Wanderer''s Shop occupied, which had been deserted during Shi Feng''s last visit, was crowded with players. Everyone was here to learn more about this mysterious path to the western continent. Although I''m surprised that someone has discovered the pathway, it has saved me a lot of trouble in luring customers to the Shop. With a quick glance, Shi Feng realized that most of the players on the street were experts. These expert players were either from Guilds or well-known adventurer teams. Naturally, they''d have stronger information networks than ordinary experts. Shi Feng had been worried about how to lure in customers after upgrading the Wanderer''s Shop. Without enough customers, he wouldn''t be able to sell the Black Market teleportation slots for a good price, but it seemed that he no longer had to worry about that. He immediately headed into his Wanderer''s Shop. The Wanderer''s Shop had a total of three floors, and the building itself was quite old. The items it currently sold were of little value, as well. Not even ordinary players would be interested in these items, much less expert players. The only customers currently in the Shop were NPCs, and when Shi Feng checked the daily transaction volume, it was pitifully low. ... System: Bronze Shop Promotion Order detected. Do you wish to upgrade the Wanderer''s Shop? ... "Upgrade." Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Shop without hesitation. The Bronze Shop Promotion Order sitting in Shi Feng''s bag transformed into particles of light and disappeared. As it did, the Shop itself began to change. The changes were not visible from outside the Shop, but internally, the Wanderer''s Shop underwent a metamorphosis. Although the Shop''s first floor still looked old and tattered, the system replaced the old, garbage items. Now, the shelves held magic tools that could even tempt expert players, including Tier 2 Magic Scrolls. Among the various new items, one stood out to Shi Feng, surprising him. The Spirit Stone! The Spirit Stone was a special type of gemstone, a Consumable. It was incredibly rare, and when equipped, it would improve players'' Mana perception. The improved Mana perception would be useless to physical-class players, but to magical class players, the Spirit Stone was a priceless treasure. Their Mana perception directly affected their Spell Completion Rates. Unlike Skills, casting a Spell didn''t rely on physical movement. Instead, it relied on players'' control over Mana. Naturally, a caster with stronger Mana perception would have better control of their Spells. Once God''s Domain''s magical class players discovered the Spirit Stone, they''d go crazy over it. However, when Shi Feng saw the Spirit Stone''s price, he broke out in a cold sweat. Each Spirit Stone actually cost 400 Ancient Gold! The Spirit Stone was a Consumable item and would vanish after seven days of use, but even incredibly powerful experts would need several months to earn 400 Ancient Gold. As expected of the Black Market. The prices are all fraudulent. Shi Feng realized that earning Ancient Gold through the Wanderer''s Shop alone wouldn''t be as easy as he had hoped. Although the Wanderer''s Shop''s merchandise was incredible, very few players would be able to afford any of it. As for the Black Market teleportation slots, the 2-star Shop would only sell 20 slots each day, and the minimum price for each slot was 200 Ancient Gold, 10% of which would go to the Shop''s owner. Even if all 20 sold for the minimum price, Shi Feng would earn 400 Ancient Gold from the Wanderer''s Shop each day. It was an absurd amount. Players would be lucky to earn 200 Ancient Gold from ordinary 2-star grocery stores or smithies each day. With the Wanderer''s Shop, on the other hand, a player could earn double that though the teleportation slots alone. And that was only the beginning. As the Shop''s traffic and transaction volume increased, more teleportation slots would become available for purchase, increasing the Shop''s total income. It''s no wonder why the various superpowers were so desperate to own a Wanderer''s Shop. Every Wanderer''s Shop is a goldmine. The daily profit from one of these Shops can rival one-fifth of the income from a newly-captured fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range. As Shi Feng browsed the Shop''s wares, he determined that he could earn 500 Ancient Gold per day if sales were good. Even the well-established first-rate powers in Dragonheart City only earned that much Ancient Gold per day. As for the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses, players couldn''t just capture one on a whim. Unlike other fortresses, a power would need a large number of experts to garrison the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses long-term. Swarms of monsters would attack the fortresses every day, and the amount of manpower needed to run a fortress was no trivial matter. Not even ordinary superpowers would have the necessary strength to secure and profit from one of these fortresses. In comparison, the Wanderer''s Shop could generate one-fifth of a newly-captured fortress''s income without any risk. ... System: The Wanderer''s Shop has been upgraded. Do you wish to open it to the public? 2248 Blackhearted Shop Chapter 2248 - Blackhearted Shop Shi Feng immediately agreed to open the Wanderer''s Shop to the public after hearing the system notification. Although it was possible to hire more NPC staff and renovate the Shop after the upgrade to 2-star status to lure in more customers, Shi Feng did not have the money to do so. He only had 1,000 Ancient Gold remaining, and every item and service in Dragonheart City cost Ancient Coins. Players even had to pay to enter the World Tower. To enter the World Tower''s first floor, where the Gravity Mountain Range was located, a team had to pay 5 Ancient Copper per player. If one wished to explore the World Tower''s second floor, it would cost 1 Ancient Gold per player. Dining in Dragonheart City was also very expensive. However, it was an unavoidable expenditure as the food and drink in Dragonheart City accelerated Stamina and Concentration regeneration, as well as expelling the Otherworld Energy that infected players'' bodies, allowing players to reenter the World Tower sooner. This was also why minor powers couldn''t survive in Dragonheart City. Otherwise, the World Tower would''ve been crowded with players since it was such a wonderful place to level up and obtain resources. Players wouldn''t need to waste hours traveling to high-level maps, subjecting themselves to strange energies. Shi Feng planned to bring Zero Wing''s members to develop in Dragonheart City in the near future, so he couldn''t afford to waste money. Most importantly, he needed to pay 3,000 Ancient Gold once every ten days to maintain the Wanderer''s Shop. It was best that the Shop started conducting business as soon as possible. Shortly after the Wanderer''s Shop opened to the public, an NPC entered the Shop to sell his item. Surprisingly enough, the NPC was selling a Tier 2 Skill Book. Unfortunately, his asking price was 60 Ancient Gold. Not long after this NPC entered the Shop, players began to cross its threshold. These players had only intended to window shop, but once they saw the available merchandise, they froze, their feet glued to the ground. "Crap! Isn''t this a Resurrection Scroll!? These are even rare in empires'' Auction Houses! The last one I saw even went for 200 Gold, yet this place is only selling it for 50 Gold!" Take a closer look. It cost Ancient Gold, not normal Gold." The players'' eyes glowed with excitement when they saw the Shop''s merchandise, but once they saw the listed prices, that excitement vanished. Well-known adventurer team experts like themselves could save up 50 Gold, but even if they sold everything they had on them, they still wouldn''t have 50 Ancient Gold. Yet, every item in the Wanderer''s Shop cost Ancient Gold... When Shi Feng heard this group curse the Wanderer''s Shop for its blackhearted prices, he couldn''t help but shake his head and chuckle. He had felt the same in the past. Despite being the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, the Wanderer''s Shop''s goods had been too expensive for him. Needless to say, adventurer team members wouldn''t fare any better. Shi Feng then left the Shop and hurried toward the agreed-upon meeting place to meet up with Melody and the others. Since the Wanderer''s Shop was now open for business, it would only be a matter of time before the various major powers in the city discovered it. He would not have to worry about the Black Market teleportation slots selling. He had also left 500 Ancient Gold with the Shop and instructed its NPC staff to purchase Epic materials. He decided to refuse NPCs'' other items since he couldn''t afford them at the moment. He could only slowly accumulate Ancient Gold through the Wanderer''s Shop. After a few minutes, Shi Feng arrived at a bar in the city''s inner area. The bar was called the Blue Rose, and as soon as he arrived, he discovered Melody''s group, happily chatting with a Level 79 Tigerkin Berserker. Not only was this Tigerkin Berserker very high-leveled, but his equipment was also quite impressive. The Berserker currently wore the Raging Punishment Set, a Level 75 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. His two-handed axe also gave off the glow effect unique to Epic items. The wild and powerful aura he radiated was even powerful enough to deter first-rate Guilds'' peak experts. Moreover, Shi Feng could tell he was a Refinement Realm expert by the Tigerkin''s movements. The Tigerkin Berserker''s strength was even stronger than Melody. "Big Brother Black Flame, have you settled your affairs?" Blue Bamboo asked when she saw Shi Feng enter the bar. "Mhm, they''re done." Shi Feng nodded. You''re just in time. Here, let me introduce you. This is my friend, Swimming Dragon. He''s the commander of the Dragon Riders adventurer team," Melody said. She then turned to Swimming Dragon and continued, "This is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame." "So, you''re that famous Sword King!" Swimming Dragon looked at Shi Feng in surprise. As Dragon Riders mainly operated on Dragonheart Island, Swimming Dragon was not particularly familiar with Guilds and experts outside of his home base. However, the top 50 experts on the God''s Domain Experts List were a different story. Furthermore, Shi Feng''s rank had recently risen on the Experts List. In the latest issue, Shi Feng had been ranked 14th. The man was difficult to miss. Although the God''s Domain Experts List was not a clear indicator of an expert''s strength, those who could earn a high rank were definitely extraordinary. However, Shi Feng didn''t seem any different than an average person as he sat before Swimming Dragon. If not for Melody''s introduction, he might''ve dismissed the Guild Leader as an ordinary player. He couldn''t sense the imposing aura that was typical of powerhouses. In fact, Shi Feng''s aura felt quite weak. "Hello," Shi Feng replied with a slight nod. After a brief introduction, Swimming Dragon informed the group of what he had learned about the pathway to the western continent. However, to everyone''s disappointment, the pathway didn''t actually exist. Players had simply discovered a King-class sea monster a short distance away from Dragonheart Island. Based on what the various superpowers had discovered, this sea monster had a chance of dropping a teleportation stone that could transport players to the western continent. The various superpowers had only spread the news because of how powerful the King-class sea monster was. There was also a group of powerful sea monsters protecting this King-class, and it would take more than two superpowers to take the King-class sea monster down. Hence, the various superpowers intended to use the various major powers'' strength for the raid. When they found this out, the various naval powers that had gathered in Dragonheart City hurried toward the island nearest to the King-class sea monster. They would begin the raid once they had enough overall combat power. Swimming Dragon had voiced his intentions to join the raid to see if he could get a piece of the pie. Melodys group was interested in taking a look, as well. Naturally, Shi Feng wouldn''t refuse this opportunity and decided to travel to the island with Swimming Dragon and the others. "There are so many people here!" Blue Bamboo was astonished when she saw the number of ships in the port. There were usually plenty of ships in Dragonheart City''s port, but right now, there were at least 10 times more ships than normal. Just leaving the port was a challenge. "It will take too long to get to Tranquil Mine Island by ship. Dragonheart City has a specialized transport ship that travels to that island. The trip will be easier if we take the transport ship," Swimming Dragon said. "Previously, I''ve already asked someone to purchase our tickets. We can just get on board the transport ship directly." After saying so, Swimming Dragon led Shi Feng and the others to the transport ship''s dock. Players crowded around the docked transport ship, everyone waiting to board. With no other choice, Shi Feng and his latest companions patiently waited in line. After waiting for more than half an hour, it had come time for Shi Feng''s group to board the ship, but suddenly, to burly men approached them. One of these players was Level 78, while the other was Level 79. When the surrounding players saw these men, they promptly stepped out of the way and did their best to avoid meeting their eyes. Both of these experts possessed powerful backgrounds in Dragonheart City, and ordinary experts wouldn''t dare provoke them. "Swimming, I''ve heard you''ve purchased tickets to board the ship. Give them to me; I''m in a rush," the Level 78 Shield Warrior said, grinning at Swimming Dragon. "Relax, I won''t just take advantage of you. I''ll pay the favor back later." "You''re too late, Ironhand. I''ve already given my tickets away," Swimming Dragon said, shaking his head. "Does that matter? People are easy to replace. Tell me who they are, and I''ll negotiate with them. I''m sure they''ll gladly agree to give me their tickets," the Shield Warrior named Ironhand said, laughing. 2249 Stormy Situation Chapter 2249 - Stormy Situation Swimming Dragon''s expression darkened at Ironhand''s words. "Stop messing around, Ironhand! The Dragon Riders adventurer team is working under Heaven''s Blade!" Swimming Dragon warned. The Shield Warrior, Ironhand, was nobody of significance. Like Swimming Dragon, Ironhand was only a Refinement Realm expert. However, the Nine Snakes adventurer team stood behind the man. Plenty of powers operated on Dragonheart Island, and the various adventurer teams ruled over a significant portion. Naturally, the island''s top 10 adventurer teams led the way. These 10 adventurer teams were extremely powerful and had support from various corporations. They walked the path of the elite and had a large number of capable experts. In terms of strength, these top 10 adventurer teams were even stronger than the various first-rate Guilds on Dragonheart Island. Meanwhile, Nine Snakes was one of the top 10 adventurer teams. Due to Nine Snakes'' position on Dragonheart Island, the adventurer team''s members were particularly arrogant. Unfortunately, very few players and powers had the strength to put Nine Snakes in its place. As a result, most of the adventurer teams and independent players on Dragonheart Island tried to avoid Nine Snakes'' members as much as possible. The Sea of Death''s situation wasn''t like that of the main continent. Not only was the competition here extremely intense, but the consequences for dying were also more severe. On land, players would only lose a piece of equipment and a level if they were killed. Out at sea, however, one would lose a ship. These ships were the key to naval players'' survival. Without a ship, naval players'' development would stagnate. Of course, as Dragon Riders was a well-known adventurer team as well, it had caught the eye of many powerful adventurer teams. As a result, Dragon Riders could ally itself with one of these adventurer teams for protection. The adventurer team Dragon Riders had chosen to ally with was none other than the Heaven''s Blade adventurer team. Like Nine Snakes, Heaven''s Blade was also one of the top 10 adventurer teams on Dragonheart Island. You think Heaven''s Blade is that awesome? Do you know who this expert beside me is?" Ironhand asked, sneering. "This is the War Blood adventurer team''s newly promoted team leader, Snowy Afterglow!" "He''s that genius from War Blood?" Swimming Dragon''s expression turned serious as he looked at the slightly arrogant-looking Level 79 Berserker youth beside Ironhand. Practically every adventurer team on Dragonheart Island knew the name ''Snowy Afterglow.'' The man had become one of War Blood adventurer team''s team leaders despite being only 22-years-old. War Blood was the third-ranked adventurer team on Dragonheart Island, and overall, it was even stronger than Nine Snakes and Heaven''s Blade. In fact, the two adventurer teams combined might not be a match for War Blood. It was no exaggeration to say that War Blood was half as strong as a superpower. Of course, one had to be a peak expert to become one of its team leaders. "That''s right, and we''re in a hurry. We don''t have time to waste with you," Ironhand snapped, annoyed. His gaze then shifted to Shi Feng and the others before he said, "I''ve never seen you before. You guys must be Swimming Dragon''s friends, right? I_ll get straight to the point. Give me two of your tickets. If anyone tries to give you a hard time on Dragonheart Island, you can give them our names." After all was said and done, Swimming Dragon commanded Dragon Riders, one of Heaven''s Blade''s subordinate adventurer teams, so Ironhand couldn''t take his ticket from him. However, he shouldn''t have any problems taking one of his companions'' tickets. When the nearby players heard Ironhand''s demand, they gave Shi Feng''s group envious looks. Earning Ironhand''s favor was worth the price of a ticket, not to mention Snow Afterglow''s. PvP was more common in the Sea of Death than it was on the main continent, and without sufficient strength, surviving here would be impossible. If one were protected by a VIP like Ironhand or Snowy Afterglow, they could develop on Dragonheart Island without worry. The only problem was the blow one would suffer to their reputation by conceding their tickets. Unfortunately, there wasn''t much Swimming Dragon could say against it. It might not have been an issue if Ironhand had been alone, but he couldn''t afford to offend Snowy Afterglow. Heaven''s Blade might not protect him from the young man. However, Melody and the others were his friends, and he couldn''t let someone bully them out of their tickets. As Swimming Dragon was about to offer his own ticket, Shi Feng, who had been silent throughout the conversation, opened his mouth and snarled, "Scram!" With one word, silence fell over the area. Even the adventurer team expert players who hadn''t been paying attention, happy chatting among themselves, stopped and turned toward Shi Feng. This situation was simply too shocking to ignore. "Has this guy lost his mind?" "Based on his looks, he must be new to Dragonheart City. He probably doesn''t know who Snowy Afterglow is." The various adventurer team players were already used to the arrogance Nine Snake''s members displayed. Moreover, Nine Snakes'' influence on Dragonheart Island had been growing stronger recently. Anyone with more than half a brain would avoid picking a fight over such a small issue. And yet, someone had actually dared to provoke a Nine Snakes member. This was the first time anything like this had occurred on Dragonheart Island. Furthermore, Ironhand was accompanied by one of War Blood''s newest team leaders. By disrespecting both Ironhand and Snowy Afterglow, Shi Feng had practically sacrificed his development on Dragonheart Island and in the Sea of Death. Shi Feng''s response even stunned Ironhand for a moment. After snapping out of his daze, Ironhand coldly asked, "Are you looking to die?" "What? You want to try me?" Shi Feng shot back, smirking at Ironhand. "Good! I''ll remember you!" Ironhand growled as he glared at Shi Feng. Strangely calm, the two experts left. However, none of the watching players were surprised by Ironhand''s reaction. They were still in Dragonheart City, and anyone that tried to assault another player was simply suicidal. Not event the War Blood adventurer team would dare attack another player inside the city. There wasn''t a single power in the game that could contend with the NPC soldiers that patrolled this city. "That guy is dead for sure. His life in the Sea of Death is likely over now. Not even Swimming Dragon can protect him." "Regardless, it was awesome to see Ironhand so pissed!" Many of the expert players on the docks flashed Shi Feng pitying looks. There would now be bad blood between Shi Feng and the Nine Snakes adventurer team, and Nine Snake''s members were well-known for seeking vengeance for the smallest insult. Ironhand definitely wouldn''t let this matter rest. While the crowd quietly discussed the disruption, Shi Feng''s group boarded the transport ship without any more interruptions. They then made their way toward Tranquil Mine Island. As this was the first time they had boarded a transport ship, Blue Bamboo and Thoughtful Rain were surprised by the ship''s size. The transport ship was almost as large as a destroyer in the real world, with a total of four floors. It was considerably larger than God''s Domain''s sailboats. There were even break rooms on the ship, which would accelerate players'' Stamina and Concentration recovery. No other ship had this ability. Moreover, the transport ship was very fast, even faster than a Bronze Speedboat. It was the ideal ship for most players who wished to develop out at sea. "It''s a pity that only NPCs can own transport ships. If players like us could own one, we wouldn''t have to worry about our development at sea," Thoughtful Rain said. When she had inspected the break rooms'' effects, she had discovered that time flowed differently in these rooms. The time in the break rooms passed as quickly as it did in the real world, which meant that the travel time players experienced would be halved while they rested. They wouldn''t have to be bored or irritated that the journey took so long. Transport ships, huh? When Shi Feng heard Thoughtful Rain''s comment, he remembered a shipyard in Dragonheart City. It was a Large Shipyard that was capable of producing a unique transport ship. Although that ship wouldn''t be as powerful as the transport ship they currently rode, it had a transport ship''s basic functions. Back when player-owned transport ships had emerged in the past, it had caused quite a commotion among the various naval powers. Players had only discovered which shipyard had been responsible for these transport ships after in-depth investigations. However, a superpower had long since purchased the Large Shipyard in question by then. Players had only started developing on Dragonheart Island, and the shipyards here were still extremely expensive. Even the cheapest shipyard cost 80,000 Ancient Gold, a price only superpowers could afford. However, the various superpowers were busy contesting over Dragonheart City''s Shops. They had no time to pay attention to these shipyards. If Shi Feng could purchase the Large Shipyard in question early on, not only would it generate a significant amount of wealth, but it would also drastically increase Zero Wing''s naval strength. While Shi Feng pondered over how to earn a large sum of Ancient Gold as quickly as possible, Swimming Dragon approached with a worried expression. "Guild Leader Black Flame, Nine Snakes, the adventurer team Ironhand that belongs to, is one of the local tyrants on Dragonheart Island. I don''t think we should participate in the joint sea monster raid near Tranquil Mine Island. Nine Snakes will definitely try to pull something to punish us," Swimming Dragon said. Although Swimming Dragon knew that Shi Feng was very powerful, they were in the Sea of Death. The rules here were drastically different than those on land. Otherwise, the various adventurer teams wouldn''t have been able to secure territory on Dragonheart Island despite so many superpowers present. "Relax. I know what I''m doing," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He did not bother to explain further. Swimming Dragon sighed inwardly. He thought that Shi Feng was acting a little too full of himself. He simply didn''t know how powerful naval adventurer teams were. After a little over two hours, the transport ship finally docked on Tranquil Mine Island. A thick layer of dark fog enveloped Tranquil Mine Island, and other than the port, a ghostly atmosphere devoured the island. Once players set foot on the island, they''d succumb to a chill, and their reaction speeds would significantly decrease. Players could even freeze to death if they lingered for too long on the island. This was practically an island of death. However, the port was full of Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Speedboats. There were even a few sailboats here. The scene was even grander than in Dragonheart City''s port. Shortly after the transport ship docked and just as Shi Feng and the others were about to step onto the wooden platform, they discovered a group of players before the transport ship. Every one of these players emitted a dense killing intent, and a few of them had already reached Level 80. Even an expert like Swimming Dragon was afraid as he felt these players'' dangerous auras washed over him. Meanwhile, two familiar figures led this group of experts, and they were none other than Ironhand and Snowy Afterglow. "Brat! You were quite bold earlier! Would you dare repeat yourself now?" Ironhand demanded, sneering at Shi Feng. 2250 A Person You Shouldnst Provoke Chapter 2250 - A Person You Shouldn''t Provoke When the players on the transport ship saw the small fleet surround them, they couldn''t help but grow nervous. Combat was a daily occurrence for Dragonheart Island''s players, whether it be against sea monsters or players. Although large-scale naval PvP was common as well, none of those battles had involved a fleet as powerful as the one around the transport ship. Over 20 speedboats had the larger ship surrounded, eight of which were Bronze Speedboats, and one was Mysterious-Iron rank. Nine Snakes'' grand display of strength even surprised the other powers on Tranquil Mine Island, not to mention the players aboard the transport ship. These powers upper echelons immediately ordered an investigation into this matter. "We''re doomed..." Swimming Dragon stared at Nine Snakes'' fleet with a grim expression. He hadn''t expected Ironhand to be so vicious. An ordinary adventurer team would be fortunate to have a single advanced speedboat in their fleet. The Dragon Riders were lucky enough to have two Bronze Speedboats, which were the reason that the adventurer team had become quite famous and gained some influence on Dragonheart Island. Yet, the Nine Snakes adventurer team had dispatched a Mysterious-Iron rank and eight Bronze ranked Speedboats. Even if they could sprout wings and fly, they wouldn''t escape Nine Snakes'' encirclement. Unlike on land, there wasn''t anywhere players could flee to at sea, especially when they were surrounded by a powerful enemy. Even if they had a Bronze Speedboat on their side, escape would be impossible. "Are we in trouble, Big Brother Dragon?" Blue Bamboo asked curiously. Since she was not familiar with naval players'' ways, she didn''t understand why everyone seemed so nervous about the few speedboats around them. "''Trouble'' is an understatement..." Swimming Dragon replied, gesturing to an Elementalist abord Nine Snakes'' Mysterious-Iron Speedboat with a bitter smile. This Elementalist was clad in pitch-black robes and wore a silver mask. "If we only had to face Ironhand, I could find a way out of this, but that is Nine Snakes'' vice commander, Undefeated Star. He used to be the Nine Star Family''s Vice Guild Leader, but he left the super-first-rate Guild a few years ago for some unknown reason and joined Nine Snakes. He is also one of the few Naval Legacy holders in the Sea of Death." Countless seafaring players dreamed of obtaining a Naval Legacy. Naval Legacies might not be of much help, or any, to players on land, but they could help a seafaring player become an overlord on the open water. Picking a fight with a Naval Legacy holder at sea was suicidal. After listening to Swimming Dragon''s explanation, the other players on the transport ship turned to Shi Feng. "Sure enough, the Nine Snakes adventurer team really shouldn''t be provoked. That guy might''ve enjoyed a moment of glory, but now, he''ll pay for it." "I hadn''t thought that Nine Snakes would respond so ruthlessly. Even Undefeated Star is here." "Friend, Undefeated Star is vicious. It''s best if you apologize. Otherwise, they might hunt you down and kill you back to Level 0!" "I''ve heard that Undefeated Star has a special tool that can double the death penalty, and Nine Snakes has quite a few expert trackers. Another adventurer team''s commander had provoked Undefeated Star not that long ago and lost over 10 levels as a result. That commander had no choice but to lead his adventurer team away from the Sea of Death." Many of the players on the transport ship pitied Shi Feng. If he hadn''t acted so rashly earlier, he wouldn''t be in this situation. Some kind-hearted players even offered him advice. Being able to mingle on Dragonheart Island was already proof of one''s strength, and everyone present knew how difficult it was to reach this point in the game. Losing 10 levels would be more than enough to despair over, not to mention dying back to Level 0. "Punk, if you accept your death and obediently hand over all of your equipment, we might consider letting the insult slide!" Ironhand shouted. "It''s only a ship ticket, Ironhand. Do you really have to make such a fuss over this?" Swimming Dragon pleaded through gritted teeth, stepping forward. "Will you let me apologize for my friend?" "Why would I want an apology?!" Ironhand snapped, disgusted. "I had to mobilize Nine Snakes'' Mysterious-Iron Speedboat just to get to Tranquil Mine Island! Do you really think an apology can make up for that?" "I know you''re a righteous person, Swimming Dragon, but your friend has disrespected our adventurer team. Do you think we can let him get away with that without paying a price?" Undefeated Star asked Swimming Dragon before shifting his gaze toward Shi Feng. "What do you want?" Shi Feng asked. "Kneel, apologize to my friend, and offer 1,000 Ancient Gold as compensation. Do that, and we''ll consider this matter settled," Undefeated Star said as he gestured to Snowy Afterglow, who stood beside him. "One thousand Ancient Gold?" "Nine Snakes really is ruthless. An ordinary adventurer team on Dragonheart Island would be lucky to have a few dozen Ancient Gold. I''m not sure even well-known adventurer teams can fork out 1,000 Ancient Gold." Many of the spectating players gasped when they heard Undefeated Star''s demands. Every player on Dragonheart Island knew how difficult it was to acquire Ancient Gold Coins, yet Undefeated star demanded 1,000 Ancient Gold as compensation, in addition to an apology. Undefeated Star was practically shoving Shi Feng toward his doom. "Isn''t this going a little too far, Vice Commander Star? My Dragon Riders adventurer team is working under Heaven''s Blade. I hope that you will consider taking a step back out of respect for Heaven''s Blade." Swimming Dragon tried to reason with the man again. Swimming Dragon hoped that he could convince Undefeated Star to back off by dropping Heaven''s Blade''s name. Heaven''s Blade was the fifth-ranked adventurer team on Dragonheart Island, a rank higher than Nine Snakes. If Heaven''s Blade found out that Nine Snakes refused to show respect, the larger adventurer team would take action. "You''re so brave to negotiate with Brother Star, Swimming Dragon. Not even Heaven''s Blade''s vice commanders would dare to speak to him that way!" Ironhand said, sneering at Swimming Dragon. "Of course, if Commander Zwei were here, it might be a different story." Heaven''s Blade had four vice commanders, but none of them was a match for Undefeated Star. Only Zwei, Heaven''s Blade''s commander, could suppress him. Swimming Dragon couldn''t think of a response. He simply wasn''t important enough to ask for help from Heaven''s Blade''s vice commanders, much less from Commander Zwei. "Since Nine Snakes'' Undefeated Star has spoken, that guy can only pay his due." "I know some people are strong enough to save him, but those powerhouses don''t just show up to help anyone." None of the spectators found anything wrong with Ironhand''s statement. It was true that Swimming Dragon didn''t qualify to negotiate with Undefeated Star. In fact, if Undefeated Star was in a foul mood, he might decide to take out Swimming Dragon along with Shi Feng. "I don''t know who you are, punk, but you should be careful of who you provoke in the Sea of Death," Ironhand said, smirking at Shi Feng. "Well? Hurry up and apologize to Brother Afterglow!" The moment Ironhand finished speaking, a blue sword light shot toward him. Instinctively, he tried to defend himself, but the attack had been too fast. The sword light had sliced through him, devouring all of his HP. Ironhand tried to speak, but his vision had already darkened, and his body fell to the deck of the ship. His corpse then transformed into particles of light and left behind a piece of equipment. "What incredible Attack Speed!" Shocked by the abrupt attack''s speed, the watching crowd gasped. Almost as one, they all turned toward the attack''s origin. To their surprise, the attacker was none other than Shi Feng, the player who had dared to provoke the Nine Snakes adventurer team. "Just who are you?" Undefeated Star watched Shi Feng carefully after Ironhand''s body had vanished. "A person you shouldn''t provoke," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he sheathed Killing Ray and stared back at Undefeated Star. 2251 Fury Chapter 2251 - Fury Silence fell over the area after Ironhand''s death, and everyone stared at Shi Feng in shock. "He''s dead?" Swimming Dragon muttered, utterly stupefied after watching Ironhand''s body transform into particles of light and disappear. However, he wasn''t just shocked that Ironhand hadn''t responded to the attack in time to save himself and died instantly as a result. Rather, Shi Feng''s decisiveness astounded him. Swimming Dragon had known that Shi Feng wouldn''t tolerate humiliation, especially since Zero Wing had become a pseudo-super-first-rate Guild. As Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Shi Feng was like a king. If he weren''t, Melody wouldn''t be working so hard to strengthen her relationship with him. However, Zero Wing might be Star-Moon Kingdom''s absolute overlord, but there were plenty of overlords on Dragonheart Island. The weakest Guilds on the island was a first-rate Guilds, and even they had to show Nine Snakes respect. The adventurer team was simply that powerful. This was also why Swimming Dragon had been trying to ease the tension between Shi Feng and Nine Snakes, yet all of his efforts were for nothing. Not only had Shi Feng slain Ironhand, but he had spoken so arrogantly to Undefeated Star in front of a large crowd. It was akin to a slap in the face. Powers like Nine Snakes, which prioritized their reputations, wouldn''t take this insult lying down. We''re truly doomed now. Swimming Dragon couldn''t help his bitter smile when he saw Undefeated Star''s ashen complexion. Undefeated Star was one of the top-ranked experts on Dragonheart Island. Moreover, he was accompanied by his squad of powerful bodyguards, all of which carried a special item that allowed them to form a specific magic array. This magic array would massively boost these bodyguards'' strength when they were on the open ocean. Every one of these bodyguards was like a humanoid sea monster when the array was active. Because of this, very few people dared to disrespect Undefeated Star. Even Heaven''s Blade''s vice commanders treated the man with respect. You are the first person to speak to me in such a way in the Sea of Death," Undefeated Star said, staring at Shi Feng like he was a dead man walking. "Let''s see whether or not I can afford to provoke you! "Wolf, I want him to suffer 100 deaths today!" Every one of Undefeated Star''s last few words had been spoken in an incredibly chilling tone. Even unrelated players shuddered when they heard it. "Understood!" a man named Devouring Wolf, who stood beside Undefeated Star, replied. Devouring Wolf then led the dozen or so bodyguards in a charge against Shi Feng. Not only were these bodyguards all Level 79, but they were also experts that had followed Undefeated Star when he had left the Nine Stars Family, giving up his position as Vice Guild Leader. Every one of them was a veteran Refinement Realm expert. As these bodyguards approached Shi Feng, magic runes began to appear on their bodies. At the same time, a gigantic magic array, covering a 300-yard radius, appeared in the sky above them. As the array manifested, the bodyguards'' Basic Attributes began to rise. Their auras also underwent a tremendous transformation. Now, they felt more like ancient sea monsters rather than human players. "Careful! Their Basic Attributes are higher than a Great Lord''s of the same level while they''re in the magic array! You can''t face them head-on!" Swimming Dragon hurriedly warned Shi Feng. "Thanks." Shi Feng responded to Swimming Dragon''s warning with a light nod. "So what if you know about the magic array? You might be able to avoid a fight with one of us, but can you avoid us all?'' Devouring Wolf, the bodyguards'' leader, asked disdainfully. Devouring Wolf swung his battle axe at Shi Feng, and the weapon''s Strength was even high enough to warp space around it. However, before the battle axe could come anywhere near Shi Feng, the Swordsman used Killing Ray to deflect the attack. The moment the sword and axe collided, an intense shockwave shook the players'' surroundings. The clash of metal echoed throughout the magic array. Surprisingly, Shi Feng didn''t stumble backward after the exchange, yet Devouring Wolfs expression changed as if he had just seen a ghost. How is his Strength so high? Shock and confusion filled Devouring Wolfs mind as he glanced down at his trembling arms and the 1,000-plus HP he had just lost. He was as strong as a sea monster while the magic array affected him. He even had enough Strength to frighten a peak MT. However, when his axe had met Shi Feng''s sword, he had actually taken damage. Swimming Dragon gaped at the two fighting players. Devouring Wolf wore even better equipment than he did, and while the magic array affected the bodyguard, even he''d have to activate a Berserk Skill to match Devouring Wolf''s Strength. However, Devouring Wolf had taken damage after charging at Shi Feng... "Not bad. I can see why Nine Snakes has become one of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams," Shi Feng said, chuckling at Devouring Wolf''s frightened expression. "Now that you''ve attacked me, I should return the favor." Shi Feng then swung Twilight Blade. A sword light sliced at Devouring Wolf, and although he had seen it coming, he hadn''t been able to keep up with the attack''s speed no matter how hard he tried to block it with his axe. In the end, Devouring Wolf could only watch as the sword light passed through his body. His HP then plummeted, only stopping after it had hit zero. A moment later, Devouring Wolfs vision faded to black, and his body collapsed to the deck of the transport ship. Devouring Wolf was dead! Despite their many years of combat experience, Undefeated Star''s other bodyguards were stunned when they saw this. For a moment, they even forgot to surround and attack Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not wait for these players to recover from their daze, and he charged forward. Shadow Blade! Immediately, 10 sword lights flew at the remaining bodyguards. After acquiring the Arctic Bloodline, Shi Feng had practically become a Tier 3 player. He only lacked the ability to use Tier 3 Skills. The difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 players was even larger than the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2. The most obvious difference was the players'' reaction speed. It was no longer a gap that could be shortened through Basic Attributes. Every one of Undefeated Star''s bodyguards died in less than 20 seconds, and as a result, the magic array vanished. The only evidence that they had been here was the several equipment pieces they had left behind. "Vice Commander Star, do you still think you can afford to provoke me?" Shi Feng calmly asked as he sheathed his swords. 2252 Shocking Tranquil Mine Island Chapter 2252 - Shocking Tranquil Mine Island Shi Feng''s words, combined with the fact that all of Undefeated Star''s bodyguards were now dead, stunned the spectating players. They had ridiculed him for his ignorance and arrogance, yet now, they were silent, staring at Shi Feng as if he were a frightening monster. On the other hand, Swimming Dragon''s eyes were so wide they might fall from their sockets. Staring at Shi Feng, Swimming Dragon unconsciously muttered to himself, "Isn''t he a little too strong?" Although Swimming Dragon had known that Shi Feng was extraordinarily strong, he hadn''t dreamed that the Swordsman was this powerful. Swimming Dragon had seen many peak experts before, but the difference between them and Shi Feng was like the difference between heaven and earth. If he hadn''t known that Undefeated Star''s bodyguards had been trying to kill Shi Feng, he would''ve suspected that they had been putting on a play, with Shi Feng as the hero. Those bodyguards'' Basic Attributes were monstrous, and their combat standards were no weaker than his. Even Zwei, Heaven''s Blade''s commander, would have to retreat from Undefeated Star''s bodyguards if they ganged up on him. None of those players feared death, and they were more than willing to disregard their defense to go blow for blow with their opponents like lunatics. However, those bodyguards had been as weak as toddlers before Shi Feng. The Swordsman had only needed one hit to kill each of those players. He had acted as if that fight had been nothing more than a walk in the park. Shi Feng''s strength was simply inhuman! Swimming Dragon couldnt help but turn toward Melodywho stood beside him. He had wondered why she and her companions had tolerated Shi Feng''s rash actions. Their opponent was Nine Snakes, one of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams, but after this latest display, it seemed they didn''t have to worry about dissuading Shi Feng... What Swimming Dragon didn''t realize, however, was that Melody and her companions were just as shocked as he was. Of course, they had been confident in Shi Feng''s prowess, not worried that he''d have issues when dealing with Nine Snakes. Even if Nine Snakes were Dragonheart Island''s local tyrant, the adventurer team wouldn''t find a Domain Realm expert like Shi Feng easy to deal with. Even if the Swordsman weren''t a match for Nine Snakes, he was more than capable of evading their grasp. Only, Melody and the others hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would be this strong, even able to kill strengthened Refinement Realm experts without activating a Berserk Skill. Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were simply heaven-defying. "It seems you''re not all talk after all," Undefeated Star said suddenly, laughing. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, Undefeated Star had remained calm, even after watching his bodyguards die. "However, this isn''t some competition. You might be able to deal with a dozen or so players, but do you think your Basic Attributes can outmatch players with active Berserk Skills? If I send expert group after expert group to attack you, how long do you think you''ll last? "Moreover, we are on an island right now, surrounded by the sea. Don''t think you can escape me." As soon as Undefeated Star finished speaking, another group of a dozen or so players stepped forward, sneering at Shi Feng. Their combat standards might not be as high as the bodyguards, but their equipment was just as high-quality. Moreover, every one of them possessed Berserk Skills. If they activated their Berserk Skills, their Basic Attributes would be even higher than the bodyguards'', who had been strengthened by the magic array. "Crap! Undefeated Star''s aiming for a rotational battle!" Swimming Dragon''s expression darkened. Shi Feng''s strength was shocking, but they were still out at sea. These players didn''t fight like those on land. On land, one could simply flee from an opponent with an active Berserk Skill, waiting until the duration ended, but an island was only so large. Where could players possibly run to? Moreover, Shi Feng was greatly outnumbered. Even if he activated his own Berserk Skill and widened the gap in Basic Attributes, Undefeated Star''s subordinates could take their time, dragging the fight out and waiting for Shi Feng''s Berserk Skill to end. Once it did, hundreds of experts with Berserk Skills would besiege Shi Feng. You''re really quite brave to insist on provoking me. Unfortunately, you simply don''t know how foolish it is to make me your enemy at sea," Undefeated Star said, glaring at Shi Feng. However, he did not hurry to order an attack; he enjoyed seeing his opponents despair before him. The stronger his opponent was, the more pleasure he''d get from seeing their anguish. "Are you not afraid that I''ll kill you before my Berserk Skill ends?" Shi Feng asked, curious. Berserk Skills had short durations, but Undefeated Star only had so many players. Shi Feng only counted 100 or so Nine Snakes members. If he activated his Berserk Skill, he could easily take these players out within a few minutes. You think our adventurer team has so few members on this island, punk?" a bald man beside Undefeated Star spoke up, laughing. "Dragonheart Island''s various major powers have dispatched several hundred players to Tranquil Mine Island to raid the King-class sea monster. Some of them have sent over a thousand members. How many players do you think Nine Snakes, an adventurer team famed for its high member count, has sent? Moreover, everyone knows that Thirteen Thrones, a bona fide Super Guild, backs Nine Snakes! Do you really think you can take on Thirteen Thrones?" None of the watching experts commented on the bald man''s statement. What he had said was true, after all. Thirteen Thrones'' support was the reason that so many major powers feared Nine Snakes, allowing the adventurer team to develop as rapidly as it had. Thirteen Thrones?" The revelation surprised Shi Feng slightly. "What? Afraid now, punk?" Undefeated Star chuckled when he saw the change in Shi Feng''s expression. "Unfortunately for you, it is too late for regrets. Nine Snakes'' members aren''t the only ones on their way. Thirteen Thrones'' experts are almost here. How long do you think you can evade us all?" This latest information made Melody and her companions nervous. Nine Snakes was enough trouble on its own. They had never thought that the adventurer team had the support of a Super Guild. This mess had really blown out of proportion. God''s Domain only had a small number of Super Guilds, and every one of them was an overlord. Ordinary superpowers simply couldn''t compare. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you should leave. We''ll figure out a way to stop them. If we wait until their reinforcements arrive, it will be too late to escape," Melody said in the team chat as she disembarked from the transport ship. Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader and the main reason for the Guild''s success. He couldn''t afford to let other players kill him. If that happened, and word spread, Zero Wing''s reputation would take a massive hit. Moreover, she was responsible for inviting Shi Feng on this trip, so it was imperative that she keep him safe. Thoughtful Rain also nodded her agreement, following Melody as she approached Shi Feng. As the two women reached Shi Feng''s side, a large group of players emerged from the island''s forest. This group was comprised of Nine Snakes and Thirteen Thrones'' members, led by a savage man. This man was none other than Nine Snakes'' commander, Halfstep Victor. Crap! How is this possible?! Why is a VIP like him here?! Swimming Dragon stared at Halfstep Victor in shock, unable to believe his eyes. "How did they get here so soon?" Melody''s anxiety spiked as she watched reinforcements arrive. "You''re really unlucky, punk!" Undefeated Star smiled when he saw Halfstep Victor''s figure. "If you have any last words, now''s the time to speak up." When the spectating experts saw Halfstep Victor, they shook their heads and sighed. That man was a VIP that could shake Dragonheart Island with a stomp of his foot, and now that he was here, Shi Feng''s fate was sealed. However, while Undefeated Star and his companions basked in their assumed victory, a rugged voice echoed across the port. Star, get over here this instant!" 2253 Bigshot? Chapter 2253 - Bigshot? Halfstep Victor''s arrival alone had surprised the various experts in the port, but when they heard what he had to say upon his arrival, they were utterly dumbfounded. "What''s going on?" As one of the top 10 adventurer teams on Dragonheart Island, Nine Snakes was even stronger than some of the first- rate Guilds in the area. It was no exaggeration to say that Nine Snakes was only inferior to Dragonheart Island''s superpowers. Halfstep Victor was resoundingly famous on Dragonheart Island for his numerous victories on the battlefield. He had earned the nickname ''Ironblooded Berserker'' and was one of the island''s publicly acknowledged top 10 Berserkers. Plenty of superpowers had focused their attention on Dragonheart Island, and they had countless experts under their command. It was easy to imagine how powerful Halfstep Victor was to rank among the top 10, despite such impressive competition. When such a bigshot had arrived, the crowd had immediately assumed that Shi Feng was a dead man. Unexpectedly, however, Halfstep Victor had disregarded Shi Feng, yelling at his own vice commander instead. Based on the man''s tone, he clearly wasn''t pleased with Undefeated Star''s latest behavior. Even Nine Snakes'' members were stunned. You called for me, commander?" Undefeated Star approached Halfstep Victor, confused. He had no idea what was happening, either. "Order your men to pull back immediately!" Halfstep Victor snarled, glaring at Undefeated Star. "But, Commander, we haven''t taught that punk a lesson yet," Undefeated Star quickly insisted. "We invited Snowy Afterglow to further our relationship with War Blood, yet that punk dared to disrespect us in front of him. If we don''t deal with this properly..." "Enough! I will not repeat myself!" Halfstep Victor frostily declared. Halfstep Victor commanded great respect, even on Dragonheart Island. Needless to say, his word was law within the Nine Snakes adventurer team. Not even Undefeated Star would dare to defy him. Obediently, Undefeated Star ordered his subordinates to retreat. The spectators on the docks were astonished as they watched Nine Snakes'' members withdraw. None of them understood what the adventurer team was up to. "They''re not fighting anymore?" "What?! Is this for real?! Nine Snakes'' members are leaving, just like that?!" Undefeated Star had been adamant about killing Shi Feng a moment ago, yet now, his subordinates were pulling away from the fight. The watching experts simply couldn''t keep up with this situation''s development. Even Melody, Swimming Dragon, and their companions were confused. They didn''t understand why the adventurer team would retreat so suddenly. While everyone wondered about Nine Snakes'' intentions, Halfstep Victor approached Shi Feng. "Friend, this has all been a misunderstanding. I hope you won''t take this matter to heart," Halfstep Victor said with an apologetic look. "Here, take this Sea Barrier Stone as compensation for the Nine Snakes adventurer team''s mishap." Halfstep Victor then revealed a fist-sized, light-blue globe and handed it to Shi Feng. Right now, the man looked nothing like Nine Snakes'' peerless commander. Undefeated Star''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets as he watched the exchange. He even wondered if the player he was looking at was the same Halfstep Victor he knew. Halfstep Victor was an overlord on Dragonheart Island, standing at the very apex of the island''s experts. Even superpowers'' Guild Leaders treated him with respect, yet now... Melody and Thoughtful Rain, who stood by Shi Feng''s sides, were at a loss, and Swimming Dragon stared at the Swordsman as if he were some unknown god. Melody and Thoughtful Rain''s group were new to Dragonheart Island, so they weren''t familiar with Halfstep Victor''s status and normal behavior. Swimming Dragon, however, was very familiar with what kind of person the commander was. Halfstep Victor was the Demon King of Disasters! He was absolutely ruthless! He wouldn''t have been able to tame Nine Snakes'' arrogant members, otherwise. He was so ruthless that not even Undefeated Star dared to show any disrespect before him. And yet, Halfstep Victor apologized and offered Shi Feng compensation. It was the first time many of the spectating experts had ever seen such a thing. Moreover, the item Halfstep Victor had offered was the Sea Barrier Stone. Players outside of the Sea of Death might not be familiar with the Sea Barrier Stone, but those who frequented the map knew it was a priceless treasure. First-rate naval Guilds would go crazy over the item. The Sea Barrier Stone would generate a magic array that was strong enough to suppress any sea monsters caught within. Not only would players have an easier time defeating the sea monsters, but it also increased players'' chances of escaping powerful sea monsters they encountered and couldn''t defeat. However, the Sea Barrier Stone only dropped from Level 70-plus Mythic ranked sea monsters. Mythic sea monsters were many times more difficult to defeat than Mythic monsters on land. Even the various superpowers would have to pay a high price to take down such a powerful target. Hence, very few powers were willing to raid Mythic sea monsters. Swimming Dragon was utterly flabbergasted that Halfstep Victor was actually willing to offer Shi Feng such a precious item. "Do we know each other?" Shi Feng asked. Halfstep Victor''s behavior surprised him, as well. Shi Feng had been prepared for a fight. Although the Nine Snakes adventurer team was quite formidable, the team had no hope against the cards he had on hand. Shi Feng certainly hadn''t expected Halfstep Victor to submit before him. He knew quite a bit about Nine Snakes'' commander. The man was undoubtedly a ruthless player. Not only was Halfstep Victor a Domain Realm expert, but he would also grow into a Tier 6 Berserker God in the future. Halfstep Victor had been known as the Ironblooded Wargod during Shi Feng''s previous life. "No," Halfstep Victor said, shaking his head. "However, we have a shared acquaintance on Tranquil Mine Island. You''ll understand once you meet them." "A shared acquaintance?" Halfstep Victor''s answer confused Shi Feng. He did not remember having any acquaintances on Dragonheart Island or Tranquil Mine Island. "Since that is the case, let''s forget about this issue. Take me to them." "Please, follow me." Halfstep Victor released a held breath, relieved after hearing Shi Feng''s reply. He then led Shi Feng away from the docks. When the spectating crowd saw this, they were dumbfounded. Undefeated Star had been out for Shi Feng''s blood a moment ago, yet a bigshot like Halfstep Victor had shown up, offering peace and leading Shi Feng away. Moreover, Halfstep Victor smiled amicably and treated Shi Feng with immense respect. For a moment, the watching experts wondered if they were hallucinating. "Who is that player?" "For Halfstep Victor to apologize and act as a guide, he must be some kind of VIP." The spectators discussed their guesses about Shi Feng''s identity, but since he wore a Black Cloak, they couldn''t learn anything about him other than the fact that he was a Level 80 Swordsman. They had no idea who Shi Feng really was. The experts from the various major powers promptly reported the situation to their superiors, while the adventurer team players spread the news throughout the Sea of Death. For a while, Dragonheart Island was in an uproar. 2254 Sea Gods Kin Chapter 2254 - Sea God''s Kin As Undefeated Star watched Halfstep Victor lead Shi Feng''s group to Tranquil Mine Island''s inner region, he was overwhelmed with shock. "May I know what is going on here, Vice Commander Star?" Snowy Afterglow asked. As the War Blood adventurer team''s youngest team leader, Snowy Afterglow qualified to look down on Nine Snakes'' vice commanders. He wasn''t a match for Undefeated Star, but his combat power did rival peak experts''. Of course, Nine Snakes'' commander, Halfstep Victor, was an entirely different story. Nine Snakes was far weaker than War Blood, but it was still one of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams, and as such, Halfstep Victor stood on the same level as War Blood''s commander. "I don''t know, but we have to put this matter to rest. I hope Brother Afterglow can forgive us for this," Undefeated Star said, shaking his head as he smiled bitterly. Undefeated Star had assumed Shi Feng had been joking; he hadn''t actually thought that the man''s claim was true. If even someone like Halfstep Victor had to treat Shi Feng with such great respect, how could a vice commander possibly afford to provoke the Swordsman? "You jest, Vice Commander Star. Encountering such an important person had made this trip worth my time," Snowy Afterglow said, chuckling. Not even he could afford to provoke someone that even Halfstep Victor clearly feared. At this moment, he only hoped that Shi Feng would forget about what had happened between them. The various major powers had set up Advanced Tents on a vast, open plain within the Tranquil Mine Island''s forest. Swimming Dragon, who had followed Shi Feng, was stunned when he saw it. Every one of these tents housed a power that was much stronger than the Dragon Riders adventurer team. With just a casual glance, Swimming Dragon noticed quite a few of Dragonheart Islands top 50 adventurer teams and those were the powers on the edge of the clearing. As Halfstep Victor led the group toward the clearing''s center, Swimming Dragon noticed increasingly stronger powers, many of which were first-rate powers on Dragonheart Island. Since Halfstep Victor was their guide, Shi Feng''s group attracted a lot of attention as they passed. "Who are those people? Halfstep Victor is treating them so respectfully, acting like a tour guide." "Isn''t that Swimming Dragon, the commander of the Dragon Riders adventurer team? Why is he with that group?" These players weren''t familiar with Shi Feng and Melody''s group, but they did recognize Swimming Dragon. The Dragon Riders adventurer team ranked among the top 100 adventurer team son Dragonheart Island, albeit barely. Since it was a second-rate power on the island, Dragonheart Island''s players would have some familiarity with the adventurer team''s commander. As Swimming Dragon felt the various first-rate powers watching him, his heart pounded with excitement. Normally, Dragon Riders didn''t qualify to stand on equal footing with Dragonheart Island''s first-rate powers, even if it was a well- known adventurer team, yet because of Shi Feng, he received these powers'' attention. He had never dreamed of such a thing happening. "Commander Dragon, I''ve caused you quite a bit of trouble. This Sea Barrier Stone should be helpful to your adventurer team while at sea. I hope you can accept it as my apology," Shi Feng said as he handed Swimming Dragon the Sea Barrier Stone. Shi Feng greatly admired Swimming Dragon''s righteous behavior. The man had stood up for him, despite knowing how powerful the Nine Snakes adventurer team was. Although the Sea Barrier Stone was a valuable item, it was useless to Shi Feng. The stone was only effective against Great Lord rank and below sea monsters. It''s effects against Grand Lords and Mythic sea monsters would be minimal. One Sea Barrier Stone would mean nothing to a Guild of Zero Wing''s size. Otherwise, why would Halfstep Victor have been so willing to part with it? In comparison, the stone would provide a massive boon to a weak adventurer team with few members. "How can I accept such a valuable item? I barely did anything, anyway," Swimming Dragon instinctively rejected Shi Feng''s offer. "Guild Leader Black Flame has made the offer. You should accept it, Dragon," Melody advised. "Big Brother Dragon, just take it. Our Guild Leader rarely offers gifts," Blue Bamboo chimed in. "In that case, I''ll take it." Realization dawned on Swimming Dragon after listening to Melody and Blue Bamboo''s insistence. Turning back to Shi Feng, he said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, if ever you find yourself in need of the Dragon Riders adventurer team''s help, please, feel free to give us a call. We''ll use everything we have to assist you." The apology had confused Swimming Dragon, but after listening to Melody and Blue Bamboo, he realized that Shi Feng was trying to offer him a favor. How could he possibly ignore the opportunity to form a connection with someone that even Halfstep Victor respected? "I might have to take you up on your offer in the future, Commander Dragon," Shi Feng said, nodding. Dragonheart Island would become the heart of navel development in the future. If Zero Wing wanted to gain strength on the open sea, it would have to develop on the island as well. Fortunately, Swimming Dragon was familiar with matters that related to the Sea of Death, and if he could convince the Dragon Riders to become one of Zero Wing''s subordinate adventurer teams, Zero Wing would have an easier time developing on the island. Most importantly, Zero Wing could recruit Dragonheart Island''s independent experts through the Dragon Riders adventurer team. Not all of God''s Domain''s experts wanted to join a Guild; most of them preferred adventurer teams that offered far more freedom. Swimming Dragon silently rejoiced that Shi Feng was willing to accept his offer. With this connection, he wouldn''t have to worry about his adventurer team''s development on Dragonheart Island. He couldn''t help but flash Melody a grateful look. While Shi Feng and his companions chatted and followed Halfstep Victor, they quickly arrived before a three-story-tall Bronze Tent. Six Level 80 Refinement Realm experts stood guard outside of the tent''s entrance. Although they were only Refinement Realm experts, they radiated unique auras, which didn''t feel that those of human players. Their auras resembled Undefeated Star''s, who possessed a Naval Legacy, yet somewhat different. Sea God''s Kin? Shi Feng looked at the six players in surprise. Bloodlines could increase players'' Life Ratings, but there were other items and methods that could do the same in God''s Domain. One of these methods involved receiving a God''s blessing and becoming said God''s kin. This was akin to becoming a Bloodline Creature. In other words, the six players before him were Bloodline Creatures. Unlike players with Bloodlines, Bloodline Creature players didn''t receive boons to all aspects. Only certain aspects were improved. Not only would the six Refinement Realm experts before him receive a boost to their Basic Attributes and physiques when fighting out at sea as a Sea God''s Kin, but they''d also be able to trigger the Bloodline Abilities the Sea God had granted them. Although these benefits couldn''t rival those a Peak Naval Legacy provided, they could rival and Advanced Legacy. In other words, these six Refinement Realm experts were even stronger than ordinary Refinement Realm experts. Every one of them should have the strength to rival ordinary peak experts. The only downside to becoming a Sea God''s Kin was that players would be barred from many of the kingdoms and empires on the main continent, which weren''t friendly to non-human races. Obtaining a Sea God''s blessing and becoming a Bloodline Creature wasn''t an easy process, yet these six players had succeeded. Suddenly, a young, Level 80 player emerged from the tent. His aura was similar to the guards, but more intense. Based on the young man''s movements, Shi Feng could tell that he had reached the Void Realm and was a bona fide peak expert. "You may enter. The lord is waiting inside," the young man said, glancing at Halfstep Victor with an indifferent gaze. "Remember; you must show respect once you''re inside!" Halfstep Victor nodded in response before leading Shi Feng and his companions into the tent. 2255 Tower of Four Gods Chapter 2255 - Tower of Four Gods Confused, Shi Feng followed Halfstep Victor into the tent. Just who was this shared acquaintance that could make Halfstep Victor submit? Halfstep Victor was a Domain Realm expert that would be considered an apex combatant in a Super Guild. Even Super Guilds'' Guild Leaders had to show him respect, especially at sea. Naval transportation was both dangerous and inconvenient. The sea was vast, and because of this, the various superpowers couldn''t control as much of the ocean''s maps as they did on land. Since the various superpowers gathered on the sea, the competition here was far more intense than on the main continent, as well. Even Melancholy, Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, couldn''t demand so much respect from Halfstep Victor. Every expert had their pride, after all, especially Domain Realm experts. While Shi Feng wondered who this acquaintance was, he and his group entered the tent''s main hall. Although the Bronze Tent only revealed three floors from the outside, occupying a relatively small area, it was many times larger within. It was as if the Bronze Tent contained a miniature world, and its main hall was a spectacular sight to behold. As they entered the main hall, Shi Feng and his companions felt as if they had stepped inside an ancient shrine. A dozen Level 80 experts lined the two walls, radiating imposing auras. Every one of these experts wore two to five pieces of Epic Equipment, and even the weakest player had reached the Void Realm. Their frightening auras weren''t that of a human player, but of Bloodline Creatures or wielders of Advanced Naval Legacies. As these experts watched Shi Feng''s group, even Swimming Dragon broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn''t help but lower his head and avoid their gazes. Blue Bamboo, on the other hand, turned deathly pale when she sensed the experts'' horrific auras. Only Thoughtful Rain fared better than her companions. Even Shi Feng was a little astonished to see these players. These experts could likely kill Halfstep Victor with very little effort if they wished to. Shi Feng would have to rely on his trump cards to escape their pursuit. Among the dozen experts, Shi Feng sensed six Domain Realm experts, two of which had even progressed even further in the Domain Realm than he had. However, since these players held special tools and wore black masks to hide their faces, he couldn''t determine their identities. He couldn''t even see their current levels. There were three other players in the hall, two males and one female. One of the two men was young, while the other was older. Their female companion was a beautiful youth, and when Shi Feng saw the young man and woman, he was surprised to recognize both of them. The young man was none other than his old acquaintance Lu Xingluo, while the beautiful woman was Happy Art. "Elder Wu, I''ve brought the player you requested to see," Halfstep Victor respectfully announced as he gazed at the elderly man who sat in the hall''s seat of honor. He behaved like a subordinate reporting to his superior. Elder Wu didn''t radiate the terrifying aura the other experts in the room had. On the contrary, his aura felt ethereal, as if he had one foot in the grave. The elder was Level 79, and there was no comparison between him and the other experts in the room. Shi Feng didn''t recognize the older man at all, and he had never heard of him in this life or his previous one. However, the fear and respect Halfstep Victor showed this elder were legitimate; this wasn''t some act. "You may go," Elder Wu said, nodding. Hearing this, Halfstep Victor bowed and left the hall, his usual arrogance in the Sea of Death nowhere to be seen. Swimming Dragon was stupefied was so anxious he began to sweat. To Swimming Dragon''s knowledge, Halfstep Victor could demand respect from superpowers'' Guild Leaders, even if he didn''t stand on equal footing, yet... While the Dragon Riders'' commander wondered about the elderly man''s identity, the player in question shifted his gaze to Shi Feng. Shi Feng felt as if this old man could look straight through him, and for a moment, even he felt a little afraid. "Sure enough, the younger generation will always surpass the old. It''s no wonder why Little Melancholy is so optimistic about your prospects," Elder Wu said, chuckling. Little Melancholy? Hearing the way Elder wu referred to Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader confused Shi Feng. How is he still little? Melancholy might seem young in God''s Domain, but that was just his appearance. The man should be nearing his 60s. Moreover, Melancholy was Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, and he had held that position for over two decades. His word was practically law within his own Guild. Who would dare call him ''little?'' "Big Brother Black Flame, Elder Wu is Thirteen Thrones'' largest shareholder and one of the Guild''s founders. You might not know of him since he had been in seclusion for some time. Our Guild Leader is two generations younger than Elder Wu," Happy Art explained in a whisper to Shi Feng when she saw his confusion. The explanation stunned Shi Feng. Thirteen Thrones had been established nearly a century ago. Initially, the Guild had been supported by two major corporations. In other words, this Elder Wu was more than 100 years old. Although Elder Wu had the support of a Super Guild, it was astounding that a man like him had reached Level 79 at this stage of the game. It was true that a person''s physical body in the real world wouldn''t impact their virtual body in God''s Domain, someone as old as Elder Wu should have some mental deterioration. It was simply impossible for him to behave like a lively, young man, even in God''s Domain. If Elder Wu kept up with peak experts despite his extreme age, Shi Feng couldn''t imagine how powerful this man had been during his prime. "May I know what business you have with me, Elder Wu?" Shi Feng asked after taking a moment to calm down. He didn''t know Elder Wu, and no one of this man''s status would call him here for a simple greeting. "Smart young man," Elder Wu nodded approvingly. Smiling, he continued, "I''ve heard about your situation from Little Melancholy. I''ll be direct. I want Zero Wing to withdraw from the deal involving Gravity Mountain Range''s fortress. My reasoning is simple. This operation involves some of Thirteen Thrones'' valued secrets. "However, Little Melancholy has still made you a promise. As compensation for breaking this promise, I will give you one of the Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stones we will obtain after raiding this King-class sea monster. The Tower of Four Gods has existed since before the Great Destruction, and it''s rumored to contain countless opportunities. Some of the current empires'' founders even attributed their success to the Tower of Four Gods. In fact, the Ore Empire''s Founding Emperor had only gained enough strength to unify the Ore race, forming his empire, due to his experience in the Tower of Four Gods. "Each teleportation stone can transport two players into the Tower of Four Gods. Whomever you choose to accompany you will be none of my business." Realization dawned on Shi Feng after listening to Elder Wu''s explanation. He had never heard of Dragonheart Island containing a path to the western continent in the past. How could such a trip be so easy, after all? It was more likely that the rumor about the teleportation stone had been blown out of proportion as it had spread. The fact that various superpowers were keeping a tight lid on the information likely played a factor. Although the true teleportation stone didn''t allow one to visit the western continent, its ability to access the Tower of Four Gods was just as valuable. As Elder Wu had stated, the Tower of Four Gods was an amazing place. To be precise, it was a land for Gods. Every teleportation stone that allowed entry into the Tower of Four Gods was incomparably valuable, easily worth an Epic item. "What are your thoughts?" Elder Wu asked. Happy Art couldn''t do anything about this situation due to Elder Wu''s immense authority within Thirteen Thrones. Not even Melancholy would dare go against this man. Lu Xingluo couldn''t help his inward sneer as he glared at Shi Feng. The higher-ups have forbidden me from touching you, but they never said anything about impeding your development! Don''t even dream that you''ll get access to Dragonheart Island through Thirteen Thrones! Thirteen Thrones was a Super Guild. Melancholy might be interested in Shi Feng, but he wasn''t the only person with authority over the Guild. Although Elder Wu offered the Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stone due to the broken partnership, not everyone would find success within the tower, especially with a single teleportation stone. As Lu Xingluo felt pleased with himself for pulling this coup off, Shi Feng opened his mouth and replied, "Thank you for your offer, Elder Wu, but since Zero Wing will not be participating in the fortress''s capture, we will not need compensation. Zero Wing has its own strength, and we will fulfill our dreams on our own." 2256 Youthful Arrogance? Chapter 2256 - Youthful Arrogance? Lu Xingluo was stunned to hear Shi Feng''s reply, but his lips curled into a sneer. Black Flame, do you really think such a noble attitude will gain Elder Wu''s favor? Lu Xingluo inwardly chuckled. Unfortunately, you''ve made the wrong bet! Elder Wu is not Melancholy! Lu Xingluo was very familiar with Elder Wu''s personality. Elder Wu was a man of his word. Since Elder Wu had promised to give Shi Feng the Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stone, he would ensure Shi Feng took it. Rejecting the offer would only disgust Elder Wu. Moreover, the old man wouldn''t mind retracting his offer after such a rejection. The experts standing guard along the hall''s sides stared at Shi Feng in astonishment, looking at him as if he were a fool. "Has this kid gone crazy?" "Even if he isn''t, I''m sure he is very close. Does he really think he can obtain an entry slot to the Tower of Four Gods with his strength alone?" "He might be trying to boast about his bravery before Elder Wu." The Tower of Four Gods'' entry slot presented a very rare opportunity, and only one King-class Sea Monster dropped the tower''s teleportation stone. However, an extremely large number of powers was currently vying for these teleportation stones. There were already more than 10 superpowers preparing for the upcoming raid. At this point, only Thirteen Thrones was confident of securing these teleportation stones. The other superpowers had no guarantee of success. Shi Feng had only recently reached Dragonheart Island, and even though Zero Wing had some naval power, it couldn''t dispatch its forces to Tranquil Mine Island on such short notice. Swimming Dragon''s Dragon Riders adventurer team could help the Guild by adding to its combat power, but the adventurer team wasn''t even strong enough to defeat the sea monsters that guarded the King-class Sea Monster, much less the main boss. The idea that Shi Feng intended to rely on his strength to obtain the teleportation stones was simply a joke. However, the moment Shi Feng finished his statement, he turned and left the tent. He didn''t even pause to wait for Elder Wu''s response. Startled, Melody and her companions followed Shi Feng out of the tent. Youthful arrogance," Elder Wu indifferently commented as he watched Shi Feng leave. His gaze then shifted to Lu Xingluo as he began to address their plans, reacting as if Shi Feng had never arrived. The expert guards found nothing strange about Elder Wu''s reaction. They had watched many arrogant players behave as Shi Feng had, and they received nothing from Elder Wu after rejecting his offers. Youthful arrogance, huh? Inwardly, Happy Art couldn''t disagree with Elder Wu more. She had gained some understanding of Shi Feng''s mindset during her time with him in the Thunder God''s Secret Land. He didn''t act unless he was absolutely confident in succeeding. Since Shi Feng had claimed that he''d secure the teleportation stones by himself, then he was confident he''d succeed. However, Happy Art couldn''t help but worry. Trying to claim the Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stones from the various superpowers wouldn''t be easy, and they were currently out at sea. One would need ships to defeat sea monsters. "If you''re worried, little Art, I can let them tag along with our fleet. At least that would give them a chance to approach the boss. It will also avoid giving the others a reason to call out our Guild for being unscrupulous," a young, robust Level 80 male Ranger said when he noticed Happy Art''s concerned expression. "Really?" Happy Art asked, giving the Ranger youth an excited, joyful look. The youth before her was the commander of Thirteen Throne''s Third Fleet, Modern Rain. If Modern Rain were willing to help, they wouldn''t have any trouble getting Shi Feng''s group close to the King-class Sea Monster. "Rest assured; if they''re with me, they''ll reach the Boss''s side," Modern Rain declared. Happy Art was Thirteen Thrones'' prided daughter. Modem Rain was a little annoyed with how highly Happy Art thought of Shi Feng, but he could use this opportunity to show off his power before the young woman. Once Elder Wu and Lu Xingluo finished their business, Happy Art and Modern Rain left in search of Shi Feng. Countless ships, all belonging to the various major powers, were tied to the docks in Tranquil Mine Island''s port, including hundreds of Bronze Speedboats, which the various well-known adventurer teams considered quite rare and precious. There were also quite a few Small Sailboats, and many of the expert players on the island were shocked by the spectacular scene. This was especially true when these experts saw the fleets the various superpowers had dispatched. Every fleet consisted of 100 ships, and even the weakest among them was an advanced speedboat. Each fleet had over 20 Bronze Speedboats and two or three Mysterious-Iron Speedboats, as well. Every one of them was led by a Medium Sailboat. "So, this is the strength of various superpowers'' foundations?" Melody gazed at the fleets, surprised. These superpowers were on an entirely different level compared to Dragonheart Island''s adventurer teams. Melody even spotted Bronze Sailboats among the multiple fleets. A single Bronze Sailboat was more than enough to annihilate the Dragon Riders adventurer team. Of course, adventurer teams had their own powerhouses. Take Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams, for example. All of these top adventurer teams had their own Medium Sailboats as the core of their fleet. They only lacked the Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Speedboats that the various superpowers employed. "With so many ships heading toward the Boss, I''m afraid that there won''t be any room for us to squeeze through, Guild Leader Black Flame," Swimming Dragon said, smiling bitterly as he watched the powerful fleets sail toward the King- class Sea Monster''s last known sea zone. Although Swimming Dragon was confident in his Bronze Speedboat, every one of the powers participating in this raid had their own Bronze Speedboats. It was no exaggeration to call these speedboats cannon fodder in this upcoming raid. Trying to claim a teleportation stone with a Bronze Speedboat was simply impossible. While the group stood in the port, watching the ships, Modern Rain and Happy Art found Shi Feng and approached to greet him. "Big Brother Black Flame, our Guild Leader''s initial offer was sincere. Unfortunately, Elder Wu has too much authority in the Guild. Even our Guild Leader had no choice but to follow his wishes. Please, don''t be upset with this outcome," Happy Art explained. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded. In truth, he hadn''t paid the matter much mind, to begin with. "Since that is the case, why don''t you tag along with us, Big Brother Black Flame? With Vice Guild Leader Rain''s fleet, approaching the King-class Sea Monster won''t be a problem," Happy Art said. "Since you are Happy Art''s acquaintance, Guild Leader Black Flame, please leave the journey to the Boss to me," Modern Rain stated as he gestured to the Bronze Sailboat that was the core of Thirteen Thrones'' Third Fleet. The various major powers would step aside and open a path to the King-class Sea Monster for Thirteen Thrones'' Third Fleet. They wouldn''t need to fight or squeeze through the countless ships. "Thank you, but we can get there by ourselves," Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he rejected the offer without a second thought. "Big Brother Black Flame?" The response surprised Happy Art. You''re going there yourselves? I don''t mean to look down on you, but even if you have a relatively formidable fleet, I''m afraid that you won''t even reach the mobs around the Boss, not to mention with just the five of you," Modem Rain said, smirking. While Modern Rain spoke, however, Shi Feng retrieved the Thunder Eagle''s flute and blew into it. The deafening screech of an eagle echoed throughout the port, heralding the arrival of a gigantic eagle with a wingspan of 20 meters. It gracefully descended from the sky, landing before Shi Feng. 2257 Reappearance of the Flying Moun Chapter 2257 - Reappearance of the Flying Mount Silence fell over the port after the Thunder Eagle''s arrival. Everyone stared at the massive bird, surrounded by arcs of blue electricity, with wide eyes. A Flying Mount?! Modem Rain was stunned when he saw the Thunder Eagle stand obediently before Shi Feng, unable to believe his eyes. Is he the player that appeared on Frost Hell Island? Ships might be precious, but compared to a Flying Mount, they were utterly worthless. Not even Medium Sailboats were as valuable as Flying Mounts. The various superpowers had been in a frenzy, searching for any trace of another Flying Mount. Some superpowers even offered 10,000 Gold for a clue that would lead to a Flying Mount. However, their search had been fruitless thus far, which was only a testament to how rare and valuable Flying Mounts were. The only player-owned Flying Mount anyone had heard of was the one that had appeared on Frost Hell Island. There hadn''t been another sighting. Melody, Thoughtful Rain, and Blue Bamboo, who stood beside Shi Feng, were dumbfounded, as well. They had only heard of Flying Mounts before. They hadn''t bothered to look further into the matter or try to acquire one for themselves, however. If not even the various superpowers were having any success, what were their chances? "Rain, look! It''s a Flying Mount! A Flying Mount!" Blue Bamboo excitedly exclaimed as she grabbed Thoughtful Rain''s arm. Only Happy Art maintained her composure, yet even she envied Shi Feng for his Thunder Eagle. Thus far, the only person Happy Art had talked to about Shi Feng''s Thunder Eagle was Melancholy. To prevent others from finding out, Melancholy had decided to keep the information between them. As a result, neither player had mentioned anything about the Thunder Eagle''s origin or owner to anyone. Instead, they secretly assigned more teams to grind for Thunder God''s Secret Land entry slots to prepare to raid the side temple. "Let''s go," Shi Feng told Melody and the others as he hopped onto the Thunder Eagle''s back. He no longer cared whether or not people knew that he owned the Flying Mount. The current Zero Wing was no longer the Guild it had been, and since he intended to develop Zero Wing on Dragonheart Island in the future, he could use the Flying Mount to garner some fame for the Guild in the area. Melody and her companions quickly jumped up to join Shi Feng on the Thunder Eagle''s back as everyone around them watched. Once everyone was on-board, the Thunder Eagle screeched and flapped its wings. In the blink of an eye, it rose several dozen meters above the ground. With another flap, the Flying Mount broke the sound barrier, disappearing on the horizon and leaving behind a bunch of stunned players. Naturally, news of the Thunder Eagle quickly reached the various superpowers. "So, it turns out this kid had such a trump card. It''s no wonder why he was confident of securing teleportation stones to the Tower of Four Gods by himself," the masked man beside Elder Wu muttered, smiling as he watched the video of Shi Feng leaving Tranquil Mine Island''s port on the Thunder Eagle. The masked man''s information was thoroughly hidden; not even his name or level was visible. "So what if he has a Flying Mount? Does he think that King-class Sea Monster is so easy to approach? Would we have lost so much to that sea monster if it were?" a similarly masked woman next to him said disdainfully. Although a Flying Mount would give one an advantage in terms of speed, ships were king in a naval battle. "Enough!" Elder Wu snapped in a low tone. "This matter is of no concern. Our goal is to secure as many teleportation stones as possible, as well as that item." Elder Wu was surprised to learn that Shi Feng possessed a Flying Mount, but it was of little significance to him. It was not worth his attention and time. "Understood!" Berated by Elder Wu, the masked man and woman lowered their heads and promptly left the tent to see to the final preparations for the raid against the King-class Sea Monster. Meanwhile, on a Bronze Sailboat amidst Starlink''s fleet... "What? The Flying Mount that was spotted on Frost Hell Island belongs to Black Flame?" When Lu Xingluo heard his subordinate''s report, envy flashed in his eyes. A Flying Mount! As someone with the ability to travel between God''s Domain''s two main continents, he knew just how valuable and useful a Flying Mount could be. Information about Flying Mounts might be scarce on the eastern continent, but it had already become a well- topic on the western continent. Some superpowers had even obtained clues leading to Flying Mounts. Based on what they had discovered, not only were Flying Mounts powerful tools for leveling, but they were also a miraculous addition to a team''s strength. Flying Mounts were particularly useful at sea. Ship travel was still incredibly inconvenient, and a single Flying Mount could carry multiple players at once. A Flying Mount could transport a team to various islands and provide a massive advantage when exploring new islands. Unfortunately, despite the discovery of quite a few clues, no one on the western continent had acquired a Flying Mount, yet the Flying Mount Lu Xingluo had been searching for belonged to Shi Feng. "Why don''t we shoot it down, Guild Leader? Although resurrecting a Flying Mount should be easier than reviving a Personal Guard, he won''t be able to use it for some time," Bright Dawn ruthlessly suggested. His hatred for Shi Feng was truly immeasurable! Flying Mounts had a certain degree of combat power and were much stronger than Land Mounts, but there was no way they could compete with speedboats and sailboats at sea. They wouldn''t be able to destroy Shi Feng''s Flying Mount completely, but he could use this chance to let off some steam. "No need," Lu Xingluo said, shaking his head. Sneering, he continued, "Black Flame is a gullible fool if he thinks he can approach the King-class Sea Monster just because he has a Flying Mount!" They were going to raid a Level 91 Mythic ranked King-class Sea Monster. Every one of its attacks had Tier 4 power. They were prepared to use their ships'' extraordinary defensive capabilities to tank the Boss. Even before this King- class Sea Monster, a Level 100 Flying Mount was a joke. The shockwaves from the Boss''s attacks alone would likely be enough to throw the Thunder Eagle. ... Meanwhile, Shi Feng rode his Thunder Eagle through a stormy patch of the Sea of Death. If the Thunder Eagle hadn''t been an Extraordinary Flying Mount, it would''ve had quite a bit of trouble navigating through the powerful storm. Sure enough, ships still have an advantage when passing through special sea zones. When Shi Feng glanced at the Mysterious-Iron Sailboats below, he noticed that they made more progress than the Thunder Eagle. Of course, not even Dark-Gold Speedboats would be a match for the Flying Mount''s speed through normal sea zones. After nearly half an hour, Shi Feng''s group arrived in the heart of the stormy sea zone. When they saw the spectacle before them, Blue Bamboo and her companions gasped. A giant tornado stretched between the water and the sky, spinning in the very center of the stormy sea zone. Nestled within the eye of the tornado was a colossal sea serpent that was several thousand meters long. The sea serpent''s body was pitch-black, and a silvery-white horn grew from its head. ... (Storm Serpent King) (Marine King Creature, King-class Sea Monster, Mythic) Level 91 HP 2,250,000,000/2,250,000,000 ... The Storm Serpent King''s 2.25 billion HP was more than enough to induce despair, yet the Boss was protected by a group of Lord and Great Lord-ranked One-horned Sea Serpents. At a glance, they were easily more than 300 of these monsters. The One-horned Sea Serpents would likely devour an ordinary fleet before it even reached the Boss. For the moment, every ship in the area remained at least 1,000 yards away from these monsters. None dared to approach, yet as more powers gathered, the various superpowers began to assign tasks to their ships. The fleets then began to surround the Storm Serpent King. As all 10,000-plus ships spread out, even Swimming Dragon, who had seen many naval battles, was shocked. When these ships began to attack, the results were catastrophic. The Level 90 Great Lord ranked sea serpents rapidly lost HP, unable to survive a bombardment from so many ships. However, as they fell, new sea serpents surfaced to replace them. Prepared for this, the various superpowers lured these sea monsters away with their weaker ships, leaving their main ships behind to attack the Storm Serpent King. "Foolish humans, I will tear you to pieces to feed the fishes!" The Storm Serpent King bellowed in rage as the numerous ships approached. A massive tidal wave rose around the Boss and swept toward the offending ships. "Defend yourselves!" The main ships promptly activated their defensive abilities. Among the various superpowers ships, the Mysterious-Iron Speedboats in the lead took the brunt of the Serpent King''s attack. Boom... Boom... Boom... As the tidal wave slammed into the Mysterious-Iron Speedboats, their defensive barriers flickered with light. It was obvious that the barriers'' durability had decreased by a sizable chunk. The lesser powers in the raid weren''t as fortunate as the various superpowers. The tidal wave crushed their advanced speedboats, dragging ship and crew to their watery graves. Only their Bronze Speedboats had withstood the attack, yet they had lost nearly 100 durability from the blow. At this rate, the Storm Serpent King only needed four or five more attacks to skin the Bronze Speedboats. With its first attack, the King-class Sea Monster had sunk nearly a hundred advanced speedboats. The attack''s ferocity instilled fear in the various adventurer teams'' members. Of course, the superpowers didn''t stop their assault, despite witnessing the Storm Serpent King''s power. Immediately, several dozen sailboats responded with attacks of their own. Sailboats'' cannons were far more powerful than speedboats'', and the various superpowers had invested a large number of resources into reinforcing these ships. As a result, every one of their attacks had peak Tier 3 destructive power, and each sailboat carried five or six cannons. Each sailboat dealt over -1,000,000 damage to the Storm Serpent King after a single round of attacks. The Storm Serpent King''s HP fell by several tens of millions, inspiring hope in the various powers. They charged toward the Boss without any regard for the sea monster''s attacks. The Storm Serpent King shattered one speedboat after another, and in return, its HP rapidly decreased. The scene even shocked Shi Feng. Not even a creature as powerful as the Storm Serpent King could withstand a bombardment from 10,000-plus ships. As the Storm Serpent King''s HP continued to fall, the intervals between each attack grew shorter. As a result, more ships began to skin. The tragic scene was even more frightening than a large-scale war between two Guilds. "We should make our move, too," Shi Feng said once the Storm Serpent King''s HP fell below the 10% threshold. He directed the Thunder Eagle to fly into the King-class Sea Monster''s domain. "We''re going in?" Shi Feng''s comment took Melody and her companions off guard. They had witnessed the Storm Serpent King''s strength; charging toward it now would be suicidal. When Lu Xingluo, who commanded Starlink''s fleet, noticed the Thunder Eagle''s approach, he sneered. The Storm Serpent King''s attacks bombarded the entire area and were impossible to avoid, even from above. The sailboats'' defensive magic arrays were the only reason that the various superpowers had survived the attacks thus far. How could a Level 100, Great Lord ranked Flying Mount possibly stand up against the Storm Serpent King''s attacks? "Another attack is coming! Prepare to defend yourselves!" The Storm Serpent King growled again, and the various superpowers fleets deployed their defensive barriers once more. A powerful storm swept toward the players, and not even the Thunder Eagle, which had entered the Storm Serpent King''s range, was spared. As the approaching blast of wind was about to strike the Flying Mount, Shi Feng retrieved a Summon Guard Scroll and called forth Anna. 2258 Might of a Magical Class Chapter 2258 - Might of a Magical Class As soon as Anna appeared on the Thunder Eagle''s back, she pointed her staff at the approaching blast of wind. Violent Mana immediately gathered around the Level 96 Summoner, forming a duel-colored, twofold magic array. Tier 3 Overtier Spell, Yin Yang Pillar! With Anna in the center, the 30-yard-radius Yin Yang Pillar, a Legacy Defensive Spell Anna had learned after reaching Level 95, manifested. As the pillar completed, the blast of wind transformed into a lance that flew toward it. The wind lance was so horrifically powerful that space around it began to shatter, and its speed and range made it impossible to dodge, even for the Thunder Eagle. Melody and her companions paled, terrified, as the wind lance approached. They had only watched from afar before now, and although they knew that the Storm Serpent King''s attacks were incredibly powerful, they hadn''t been able to get a clear sense of just how powerful the attacks were. Now that they faced one of these attacks personally, they felt nothing but despair as they felt the attack''s devastating aura. It was this moment when Melody and the others finally understood how frightening the Storm Serpent King truly was. The strongest monster they had faced thus far was a joke compared to the Storm Serpent King. Before this sea monster, Tier 2 players were little more than ants. Boom! A massive explosion blasted through the sky as the wind lanced plowed into the Yin Yang Pillar. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that it even pushed away the water below, creating 10-meter-high waves around the impact. "Fool!" Lu Xingluo sneered up at the Thunder Eagle. The mist the explosion had created obscured his vision, but he was certain that both Shi Feng and the Thunder Eagle must be dead. "Do you think the Storm Serpent King''s raid is a battle you can just stroll into?" The King-class Storm Serpent King was just as powerful as a World Boss of the same level. In fact, the sea monster might actually command even more destructive power than a World Boss. The Storm Serpent King was impossible to raid with normal methods. They could only defeat this Boss by relying on powerful war weapons. Even the various superpowers'' ships, which had been upgraded multiple times, rapidly lost durability as the Storm Serpent King''s attacks slammed into them. Trying to contend with this Boss with the power of a single individual was extremely foolish. So what if you can fly? Did you really think that could save you? Modem Rain, who watched from his Bronze Sailboat''s deck, was quite satisfied to see the Thunder Eagle collide with the Storm Serpent King''s attack. A Flying Mount could cross the sea quickly, but one still needed ships for naval combat. However, to everyone''s surprise, the mist revealed the Thunder Eagle, still hovering above them, as it dissipated. Shi Feng and his comrades appeared completely unharmed atop the Flying Mount. "How is that possible?" Lu Xingluo stared, stunned. That had been a Tier 4 AOE attack, with just as much power as an Intermediate Mana Pulse Cannon. Such an attack would even shatter an Intermediate Defensive Magic Array, yet Shi Feng''s group had emerged unscathed... "What?! They blocked it?!" Quite a few powers, aside from Starlink and Thirteen Thrones, were paying attention to Shi Feng''s group. The Thunder Eagle was just too eye-catching, after all. While the players below were surprised to see that the Thunder Eagle had survived, Shi Feng flew toward the Storm Serpent King. The King-class Sea Monster''s attacks were immensely powerful, but Anna was no ordinary Tier 2 Personal Guard. Her Yin Yang Pillar was just as strong as an Advanced Defensive Magic Array; Tier 4 attacks wouldn''t be enough to break it. Unfortunately, Shi Feng''s group couldn''t rely on the Yin Yang Pillar to block every one of the Storm Serpent King''s attacks. That last blow had already depleted almost 6% of Anna''s Mana reserves. At most, the Personal Guard could block another 15 or 16 attacks. Shi Feng needed to end this battle as quickly as possible. However, he was not a ship, and he couldn''t attack from hundreds of yards away. He had to get closer to the sea monster Boss if he wanted to hit it. Due to the looting rules for sea monsters, he wanted to attack the Storm Serpent King personally. If he did not deal any damage, he wouldn''t have any claim to the items the Boss would drop. He would have to wait until someone else picked them up and kill that player to get what he wanted. However, trying to take an item from another player was easier said than done. The various powers would do everything in their power to protect the players that collected the loot. The moment the Boss died would be the only opportunity he''d have to claim any of the loot. Everyone would be busy contesting for their share and wouldn''t pay attention to him. This was why he had decided to attack once the Storm Serpent King had very little HP remaining. "Don''t even think of touching the Boss that easily! Attack him!" Lu Xingluo commanded. He recognized what Shi Feng intended to do the moment he noticed the Swordsman approach the Storm Serpent King. Several dozen ships within the Boss''s range immediately turned their attacks on the Thunder Eagle. Gnome Cannons! Magic Cannons! Several hundred cannonballs and beam attacks flew toward the Thunder Eagle each with peak Tier 3 power. Moreover, every player in charge of these cannons was a Refinement Realm expert, and they all had an accurate grasp of the Thunder Eagle''s flight trajectory. They were able to get an accurate grasp of the Thunder Eagle''s flight trajectory. It''s over! Swimming Dragon''s expression darkened as he watched hundreds of beam attacks and cannonballs fly toward him. These attacks might not be as powerful or cover as much area as the Storm Serpent King''s attacks, but there were many of them. Not even a fly could evade these attacks in time. "Don''t think I''m that easy to stop!" Shi Feng growled as he glanced at the incoming attacks. "Do it, Anna!" All players still had the opinion that magical classes were weaker than melee players in PvP. At best, a team treated its magical class members like mobile turrets. However, God''s Domain''s magical class Personal Guards were far more valuable than melee Personal Guards. The value of a magical class Fine-Gold Guard could even rival that of a melee Dark-Gold Guard. During Shi Feng''s previous life, most players with magical class Fine-Gold Guards had refused to trade, even when offered melee Dark-Gold ranked Personal Guards. At most, a powerful melee Personal Guard could annihilate a city by themselves, but a powerful magical class Personal Guard could obliterate an entire country. Hearing the command, Anna, who had completed her next Spell''s chant, waved her staff. Suddenly, a frightening amount of Mana gathered around Anna. These Mana fluctuations were even stronger than that of her previous Spell. Several hundred magic arrays then manifested around Anna, their glowing light illuminating the stormy sky. Black and white chains shot forth from these arrays. Tier 3 Overtier Spell, Yin Yang Chains! Every one of these chains had peak Tier 3 power, and they were all under Anna''s control. The chains blocked and countered every cannonball and energy beam in the air, and none of the attacks reached the Thunder Eagle. "Impossible!" The players below were dumbfounded by the scene. The sight astonished Melody and her companions on the Thunder Eagle, as well. They had never thought that a Personal Guard could be so powerful that she could render Starlink''s several dozen ships powerless. While everyone watched Anna block one round of Starlink''s attacks after another, the Thunder Eagle came within 100 yards of the Storm Serpent King. With less than 5% of the Boss''s HP remaining, it had gone berserk, but since there were so many ships participating in this raid, several thousand remained, despite the several thousand the King-class Sea Monster had already destroyed. Once the Flying Mount was within range of the Storm Serpent King, Shi Feng ordered Anna to attack the Boss. Meanwhile, he pulled a Tier 4 Magic Scroll, which he had obtained from the Frost Monarch, from his bag. This Tier 4 Magic Scroll contained a single-target Spell, one that would be perfect against this Boss. As the Storm Serpent King''s HP fell to a critical low, Shi Feng unfurled the Magic Scroll and activated it. The Mana around him grew turbulent, and the surrounding temperature plummeted. Tier 4 Spell, Arctic Fall! Immediately, countless ice shards appeared and rained down from the sky. As the ice shards collided with the Storm Serpent King, they formed an icy shell around the Boss. One second after the Storm Serpent King had been imprisoned, the shell shattered, and a damage of over -10,000,000 appeared above the Boss''s head, even surprising Shi Feng. This attack decimated the Storm Serpent King''s remaining HP, and its titanic body slammed into the ocean, the impact forming a 30-meter-tall tidal wave that swept across the water''s surface in a perfect ring. 2259 Snatching Loo Chapter 2259 - Snatching Loot The moment the Storm Serpent King died, Shi Feng''s experience bar skyrocketed. Since he hadn''t been a part of a raid team, that last hit had allowed him to claim nearly half of the Storm Serpent King''s EXP. The Boss definitely awarded a lot of EXP. I really got my money''s worth for that Tier 4 Magic Scroll. Shi Feng was quite satisfied with his rising experience bar. Shi Feng had already reached Level 90, and normally, it would take him four or five days, at least, to fill his experience bar. However, the Storm Serpent King wasn''t the usual Boss. Sea monsters originally already granted more EXP than ordinary monsters, and combined with the fact that the Storm Serpent King was King-class, it granted even more abundant EXP than a World Boss of the same level. Each player would receive a sizable amount of EXP if they split it between two fleets. It was easy to imagine how much EXP Shi Feng had earned by monopolizing nearly half of the Storm Serpent King''s EXP. In less than a second, Shi Feng had risen to Level 91. After two more seconds, he reached Level 92. His experience bar only began to slow after he had climbed to Level 93. Eventually, Shi Feng''s experience bar stopped at 24% of Level 93. Not even he had expected to receive so much EXP. Once the Storm Serpent King had died, the various major powers in the sea zone went mad, charging toward the Boss''s corpse without any hesitation. "Quick! Get the loot!" Everyone''s eyes were bloodshot as they rushed to claim the items. A Mythic ranked King-class Sea Monster''s loot was unimaginably tempting to current players. Not even the various superpowers'' upper echelons could resist. Thousands of ships sped toward the sinking sea monster''s corpse. The Storm Serpent King''s corpse slowly began to disintegrate, and orbs of light began to appear around it. These orbs of light were none other than the Boss''s loot. However, unlike ordinary Boss''s loot, the Storm Serpent King didn''t drop a single pile of items. Instead, the items scattered, floating through the air. By the time the loot reached the water''s surface, a significant distance separated each orb. Players would have to swim for quite some time to get from one item to another. This setting prevented players from claiming all of the Storm Serpent King''s loot for themselves. The Storm Serpent King had dropped a very large number of items. Easily more than 300 items had scattered within 200 yards of the Boss''s corpse, their beautiful lights decorating the area. Unfortunately, none of these players had the patience to admire the graceful scene. They all rushed toward the globes with everything they had. The various superpowers, on the other hand, began to work together to claim the items as if they had already negotiated a deal. They formed a barricade around the area, preventing outsiders from approaching the sea of lights. "If you won''t let us claim any of the treasure, you should forget about getting any, either!" The various adventurer teams didn''t need long to figure out the superpowers'' goals. Instead of speeding toward the floating orbs, they put themselves in range of the superpowers AOE attacks, launching an assault. The adventurer teams had an overwhelming numerical advantage. Even if they weren''t a match for the superpowers'' quality, they could make up for it by swarming their opponents. The various adventurer teams were fully capable of standing up to the various superpowers as equals. For a time, cannon fire filled the sea zone, especially near the sea of lights and the Storm Serpent King''s corpse. Flying cannonballs blanketed the ocean, and anyone that tried to enter the area died instantly. Some of the superpowers, who thought their defenses were strong enough, had tried to send Mysterious-Iron Speedboats to claim the loot, yet in the end, the ships and crew were blown to smithereens. "What should we do, Guild Leader?" Blue Bamboo grew very anxious as she looked at this scene. Despite how close to the Boss they were, ships had begun to fire at them before they had a chance to claim any of the loot. Moreover, far more ships attacked than when Starlink had assaulted them earlier. As a result, they had to distance themselves from the loot. Superpowers and adventurer teams hammered the loot area with constant attacks, preventing anyone from getting close to the dropped items. Anyone that dared approach the loot would become everyone''s enemy, and every ship in the area would attack. Not even the various superpowers dared to approach the area, stuck in a stalemate with the adventurer teams while they tried to think of a solution. Not even a Bronze Sailboat would last long against thousands of ships. "Wait here. I''m going to give it a try," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. The various adventurer teams and superpowers kept a close eye on the loot, and as more time passed, it would become harder to get one''s hands on those items. At this rate, the adventurer teams and superpowers would be forced to sit down and negotiate terms, or the various superpowers would reveal a trump card to clear the area by force. Regardless of which outcome occurred, Shi Feng wouldn''t get anywhere near the Storm Serpent King''s items. If he wanted to claim his share, he''d have to brave the cannon fire. Shi Feng activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Gale Domain and flew straight toward the loot area. Since he was significantly smaller than the Thunder Eagle, the ships would have a very hard time targeting him. In addition, Shi Feng was far more agile than the Thunder Eagle, and with Tier 3 reaction speed, he had no trouble dodging the monotonous cannon fire. "Black Flame''s approaching the loot!" "Kill him! Those items are ours!" Many players quickly notice Shi Feng, and none of them showed any mercy as they bombarded him together. Cannonballs and energy beams flooded the loot area. The various powers attacked Shi Feng with even more ferocity than their assault on the Storm Serpent King... Does Black Flame really think he can snatch the loot by relying on his own strength? When Modern Rain saw the various powers target Shi Feng, the corners of his lips curled to form a delighted grin. While the idea was that everyone would have an opportunity to claim some of the Storm Serpent King''s loot, the true outcome of this raid would be based on the later negotiations. The quantity and quality of items each power would receive would be determined by their strength. This was also why Elder Wu had dared to offer Shi Feng a teleportation stone to the Tower of Four Gods. Shi Feng seemed to have some difficulty dodging the various powers'' attacks, and as he got closer to the loot area, the more concentrated the attacks became. Some superpowers had even begun to use their Basic Mana Pulse Cannons against the Swordsman. Not only did the Basic Mana Pulse Cannons''s attacks possess a huge, 20-yard-radius AOE, but they also carried incredible power. Anna was only able to stop a few of the shots with her Yin Yang Pillar. How ruthless! The superpowers'' bombardment astonished Shi Feng. Basic Mana Pulse Cannons were war weapons. Installing them on a city''s walls was troublesome enough, and trying to install them on a ship was even more of a challenge. Installing a single Basic Mana Pulse Cannon would cost around 70,000 Gold, and once it had been installed, it couldn''t be removed. If the ship sank, all of the invested money would go to waste. As a Mana Pulse Cannon''s energy beam swiftly approached, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and activated Absolute Domain, gaining damage immunity for 10 seconds. Although the Skill protected him from damage, he wasn''t immune to the resulting impact. That one hit nearly plunged him into the ocean. Fortunately, Basic Mana Pulse Cannons had a very long Cooldown. Even if multiple superpowers had them equipped, they couldn''t fire unceasingly at Shi Feng. A second later, Shi Feng entered the loot area. Cannonballs continued to buzz through the area, but Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were incredibly high. Even if a cannonball hit him, it barely affected his movement. However, since the various powers concentrated their cannon fire, Shi Feng only caught a glimpse of a few items. He couldn''t tell what any of the other items were. With little choice, Shi Feng dashed for the items that were closest to him and those surrounded by dense Mana. One item... Two items... Three items... Shi Feng picked up more items, and the various superpowers went mad, firing one Mana Pulse Cannon at him after another. "Die! Kill him! Those treasures are mine!" Lu Xingluo''s eyes were almost fully red with rage as he watched Shi Feng claim the loot. With how bright the light globes were, it was easy to watch them vanish from so far away. According to Lu Xingluo''s count, Shi Feng had already picked up 17 items, which was likely even more than Starlink would get after the negotiations ended. Unfortunately, no matter how loudly Lu Xingluo bellowed, it didn''t affect Shi Feng''s looting spree. With less than a second of Absolute Domain''s duration, Shi Feng sighed as he pulled a Tier 1 Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll from his bag. He activated the scroll immediately, vanishing from the loot area. 2260 Big Harves Chapter 2260 - Big Harvest The various powers'' craze grew even more intense after Shi Feng had left the loot area. In less than 10 seconds, as many as 26 light globes had disappeared from the sea of lights. The Storm Serpent King had only dropped a little over 300 items, and even if each participating power only received one, there wouldn''t be enough items for everyone. And now, Shi Feng had gotten away with nearly one-tenth of the King-class Sea Monster''s loot. The most infuriating part about all of it was how little Shi Feng had contributed to the raid. The various powers, on the other hand, had lost a large number of speedboats. The imbalance of the situation only incited a deep hatred for Shi Feng. "Kill him! Kill him at all costs!" Some particularly furious superpowers stopped focusing on the loot area and fired their Mana Pulse Cannons when they found where Shi Feng had reappeared. The various adventurer teams saw their opportunity. With the loot in a single location, the various superpowers could guard the items easily, but now that Shi Feng had taken some of these items and teleported elsewhere, the Storm Serpent King''s loot had been split. This would make safeguarding the loot a much greater challenge for the various superpowers, which presented an opportunity they could take advantage of. The various adventurer teams immediately used their trump cards against Shi Feng. Tier 4 Magic Scroll, Spatial Lock! Tier 4 Magic Scroll, Soul Chaser! Tier 4 Magic Scroll, Stormy Weather! Any adventurer team that could survive on Dragonheart Island, especially the island''s top 10, was far stronger than an ordinary adventurer team. Even the weakest of them had a foundation that could rival a pseudo-super-first-rate Guild. These top 10 adventurer teams might not possess large-scale war weapons like the Basic Mana Pulse Cannons, but acquiring Tier 4 Magic Scrolls wasn''t impossible. Spatial Lock would prevent all players in an area from teleporting, while Soul Chaser would lock the target in place, allowing the user to keep track of their position for a certain time. As for Stormy Weather, it summoned a powerful magic barrier that trapped targets within. All three Spells were Tier 4 and practically impossible for current players to escape. "These people are insane!" Swimming Dragon paled as he watched the magic barrier form around them. "Do they really need to go this far?" Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were incomparably precious. Although they were not as valuable as Epic items, each Tier 4 Magic Scroll was worth half as much, yet the adventurer teams below had used three Tier 4 Magic Scrolls in a row. Their small party had practically no hope of escape now. ... "This kid really is amazing. He actually snatched 26 items on his first try. I doubt we''ll even get that many after the negotiations," the masked man beside Elder Wu commented. He sighed ruefully, however, and continued, "It''s a pity that this is a superpowers'' game. How could it be so easy to steal food from a tiger''s mouth?" Even if the various adventurer teams hadn''t attacked Shi Feng, the superpowers would certainly take him down. Shi Feng had simply taken too much of the loot. Worse, he had gotten close enough to pick and choose which items he took. Even if he hadn''t taken the best of the loot, he definitely hadn''t claimed the worst of it. It didn''t take much effort to determine an item''s quality based on the Mana density around it. Shi Feng had taken at least 10% of the loot''s total value. How could the various superpowers afford to let Shi Feng and his party leave with their lives? "He is a fool that doesn''t recognize his own limitations," the masked woman coldly commented. "If he hadn''t been so stubborn, he would''ve acquired a Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stone, at least. Now, he''ll have nothing at all." The masked woman was still annoyed with Shi Feng''s prior behavior. Thirteen Thrones was a bona fide Super Guild and had existed in the virtual gaming world for nearly a century. Moreover, it occupied a significant portion of God''s Domain''s eastern continent. Countless powers sought an alliance with the Guild, yet Shi Feng refused to cherish the opportunity he had been offered. Hence, she was quite pleased to see him in such a precarious situation. Even Mythic monsters would have trouble escaping the Tier 4 Stormy Weather''s magic barrier. Surrounded by so many enraged powers in such a cramped space, Shi Feng wouldn''t even escape death if he had multiple Vulnerability Skills. ... "Guild Leader Black Flame, we''re in trouble. With us trapped in this barrier, we''ll become moving targets for the powers below us," Melody stated grimly as she looked at the magic barrier that had completed around them. Targeted by several thousand ships, not even Anna could protect them from every attack. Moreover, the various powers had marked their souls. Even if they dove into the ocean, there was nowhere they could hide. "These powers certainly came prepared." Shi Feng smiled at the magic barrier surrounding them. "You''re still in the mood to smile at a time like this, Big Brother Black Flame?" Blue Bamboo whined when she saw his grin. They had gone to great lengths to claim some of the Storm Serpent King''s loot, yet before they had a chance to inspect the items, they were going to die. It was a huge loss. "Here, take these," Shi Feng said as he took out two tokens made of Seven Luminaries Crystals. He then handed Thoughtful Rain and Melody one each. "Seven Luminaries Crystal!?" Melody''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when she saw the token in her hand. At this stage of the game, everyone in God''s Domain knew how valuable Seven Luminaries Crystals were. They were necessary for upgrading players'' Mind Space Systems, which was useful both in-game and in the real world. Even when a large Guild like Ninth Heaven found some, they only obtained two or three units at most, yet the palmsized token in Melody''s hand was made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystal. By her estimates, the token should be more than 40 units. It could easily fetch an astronomical sum on the market. One wouldn''t even have a problem trading it for two or three Epic items. However, Melody quickly discovered that this token was not as simple as it appeared. As she held the token, the ambient Mana began to gather around her. As a Half-elf, she was far more sensitive to Mana than human players. Hence, she could tell that the Mana around her had grown at least 20% denser during the brief moment she held the crystal token. This was definitely a priceless treasure. "Stop daydreaming! This is the teleportation stone to enter the Tower of Four Gods! Melody, take Dragon with you. Rain, you''ll take Bamboo! Teleport away from here now!" Shi Feng barked when he noticed Melody''s dazed expression. Although he had blindly picked up loot, he had obtained quite a few items by searching for higher Mana density. Among these items, he had claimed five Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stones. These teleportation stones were incomparably valuable. Not even a Mythic ranked King-class Sea Monster would drop more than 30 teleportation stones on its First Kill, yet Shi Feng had claimed five for himself. He had profited greatly from this trip. If Thirteen Thrones'' people learned this, they''d die from envy. With so many superpowers participating in the raid, even a top-ranked Super Guild like Thirteen Thrones would be lucky to claim three or four teleportation stones after the negotiations. The ordinary superpowers would likely be limited to a single stone. The Tower of Four Gods had been created by an ancient civilization for the Gods. As long as one had one of the tower''s teleportation stones, they could enter the tower from anywhere in God''s Domain, even from a special place like the Thunder God''s Secret Land. A measly Tier 4 Magic Scroll couldn''t disable such a powerful teleportation stone. Hearing Shi Feng''s orders, realization dawned on Melody and Swimming Dragon, and they flashed the Swordsman a grateful look. The Tower of Four Gods'' entry slots were beyond precious. The various superpowers'' madness to reclaim the teleportation stones made that clear. Receiving an entry slot was akin to encountering a golden opportunity to further one''s development, yet most experts would never have such a chance. No one would''ve been surprised if Shi Feng had given a teleportation stone to Thoughtful Rain and Blue Bamboo since they were Zero Wing members, but he had handed Melody and Swimming Dragon, both outsiders, entry slots. Not even a superpower''s Guild Leader would be so generous. "Alright, hurry it up! If you don''t go now, it''ll be too late!" Shi Feng urged his companions as the ships below prepared to open fire. Melody and Swimming Dragon nodded and stopped hesitating. Following which, Shi Feng, Melody, and Thoughtful Rain began to activate their teleportation stones. A moment later, three large-scale magic arrays enveloped Shi Feng''s group. The arrays remained intact even as the various powers'' cannon fire struck them. Similarly, Shi Feng and his comrades were safe within the magic arrays. "What''s going on?" "A defensive magic array?" When the players below realized that Shi Feng''s group hadn''t taken any damage from their bombardment, they were stunned. They had fired several thousand cannonballs, in addition to a few energy beams from Basic Mana Pulse Cannons. Each of those energy beams contained Tier 4 power, and they were even capable of punching a hole through a city''s defensive magic array, yet they had done nothing to the array protecting Shi Feng''s party... While the various powers stared at Shi Feng''s group in confusion, a spatial tear opened before the flying players. Shi Feng and his companions than transformed into five streaks of light as they shot through the tear, vanishing. They''re gone?" "How is that possible? Didn''t we seal the area with a Tier 4 Magic Scroll?" Frustrated and confused, the various major powers wondered how Shi Feng''s group had managed to escape. The various superpowers'' upper echelons, on the other hand, had turned ashen. There was only one way they could think of that Shi Feng had been able to ignore the cannon fire and Tier 4 Spatial Lock''s effects; he had used the Tower of Four Gods'' teleportation stones. 2261 Land of Gods Chapter 2261 - Land of Gods After Shi Feng''s group had left the sea zone, silence fell over the area. "Now that he''s used the teleportation stone to escape, there''s no point in chasing him," the masked man beside Elder Wu said. With a slight hint of admiration in his tone, he continued, "He managed to secure 26 items by himself. He''ll likely have benefited the most from raiding the Storm Serpent King." Thirteen Thrones wasn''t even likely to secure three teleportation stones after the negotiations, yet Shi Feng had used three to escape. Since the Swordsman had gotten away with 26 items in total, he had certainly acquired more than just three teleportation stones. In other words, Shi Feng had walked away with more teleportation stones than Thirteen Thrones would see from this raid. The participating powers have severely suffered to slay the Storm Serpent King. Since Shi Feng stole so much of the loot, he''s made every one of them his enemy," the masked woman stated dryly. "He might''ve escaped with the treasure, but he nor Zero Wing have any hope of developing on Dragonheart Island." Many superpowers had gathered on Dragonheart Island, and one couldn''t discount the top 10 adventurer teams that led various independent powers. Not even Thirteen Thrones dared to provoke all of these powers at once, yet Shi Feng had done just that. His very survival on Dragonheart Island would be a miracle. Dragonheart Island was an important trade hub. No one who wanted to develop in the Sea of Death could avoid the island. If the various land-based powers wanted to further their development, they couldn''t ignore their naval expansion. Resources were far more abundant in the Sea of Death than they were on land, and the sea had the highest concentration of neutral races. Furthermore, many resources required naval transportation. If a power ignored its naval development, it would have to depend on other powers for many aspects of its growth. This would severely restrict its development. This was why the various powers, particularly the first-rate and stronger powers, frantically invested in their naval development. "And yet, he managed to secure quite a few teleportation stones for the Tower of Four Gods. His future might not be as bleak as you think," the masked man countered while shaking his head. He very much disagreed with the masked woman. The Tower of Four Gods had existed long before the Great Destruction. Not even the Ancient Gods could destroy the tower. After the Great Destruction, the Tower of Four Gods had been involved in the rise of many kingdoms and empires. That fact alone made it clear that the tower had plenty of opportunities to offer. "Alright, that''s enough. Whether that kid has provoked the various powers or not is none of our business. For now, focus on the remaining treasures!" Elder Wu snapped, glancing at the masked man and woman. Shi Feng''s success in seizing many of the dropped items had surprised him, but that was all. He felt nothing about the situation beyond that. ... Meanwhile, among Starlink''s fleet... "Guild Leader, what should we do? We have no way to reach Black Flame now that he''s teleported to the Tower of Four Gods," Bright Dawn asked, staring at where Shi Feng had been with a twisted expression. "Oh? We have no way?" Lu Xingluo suddenly laughed. "How can we have no other method to reach him? Since Black Flame dares to steal food from the tiger''s mouth, I will send him to hell! "Have someone spread the rumor that Black Flame has obtained a Fragmented Legendary item and a large number of entry slots to the Tower of Four Gods. I want to see how he intends to survive in God''s Domain as the rumor spreads!" The Storm Serpent King was a Mythic ranked King-class Sea Monster. Although Lu Xingluo did not know if the Boss would actually drop Fragmented Legendary items, this had been the Boss''s First kill. As far as the public knew, it wasn''t impossible for the Storm Serpent King to drop a Fragmented Legendary item. Every player in the stormy sea zone had watched Shi Feng snatch a bunch of items. Meanwhile, a Fragmented Legendary item was so rare that not even every superpower in God''s Domain had one. It was easy to imagine how tempting a Fragmented Legendary item would be. A Fragmented Legendary item wasn''t like a Flying Mount, which bound to a player upon use. A Flying Mount wouldn''t drop if its owner died, but Fragmented Legendary items were a different story. "Understood! I''ll get it done immediately!" Bright Dawn said, a big grin appearing on his face. Not only had Shi Feng provoked Dragonheart Island''s various powers, but now, the public would assume he held a priceless treasure. He had no hope of avoiding death now. Shortly after Shi Feng''s group had disappeared, the various superpowers and adventurer teams resumed their intense struggle over the remaining loot. ... When Shi Feng and the others opened their eyes, they were flabbergasted by the scene before them. They were surrounded by a galaxy of stars; it was simply beautiful. Waiting within the core of this galaxy was a tower of immeasurable height. Not only was the tower''s aura unimaginably powerful, but it also felt strangely eternal. The Gods'' Divine Might couldn''t even rival one-hundredth of a percent of the tower''s aura. So, this is the Tower of Four Gods? Shi Feng was overwhelmed with emotion as he gazed at the colossal set of golden doors before him. The doors were easily several thousand meters tall. He had seen Gods in God''s Domain before, and they couldn''t even compare to these golden doors, much less the Tower of Four Gods, itself. If the five of them hadn''t stood so far away from the doors, the pressure radiating off of the doors would''ve been enough to flatten them. Even from this distance, Shi Feng felt as if he were carrying several hundred kilograms on his back. The smallest movement was incredibly difficult, let alone walking forward. He had only ever heard about the Tower of Four Gods in the past, never actually visited it. However, after standing here now, he finally understood why even Tier 6 God-ranked experts had repeated visited this place. The Eternal Energy in this space was simply astounding. Eternal Energy was far superior to Elemental Mana. Just by being in this space, Shi Feng''s mind was unprecedentedly clear. He could now understand and solve many of the problems he had faced before with ease. The Tower of Four Gods was definitely the perfect place for players to improve their combat standards and master their Skills and Spells. While Shi Feng''s group was intoxicated on the Eternal Energy, the phantom of a man appeared from the void. He was over a dozen meters tall and fully equipped in silver armor. The man also radiated a boundless Divine Might, yet Shi Feng couldn''t discern any details about this NPC. "Outsiders, welcome to the Tower of Four Gods," the man lowered his head to look at Shi Feng and the others. "Since you have arrived via teleportation stones, according to the agreement the Ancient Gods had made so long ago, you will be allowed into the tower. The Tower of Four Gods had seven floors, and each has several trials awaiting you. As you clear these trials, you will be able to ascend within the tower. In return, you will gain more abundant rewards. Each of you will have three chances within the Tower of Four Gods. After three deaths, your trial will come to an end, and you will be barred from this place for 360 natural days. I hope you cherish this opportunity. If you don''t have any questions, you may enter the tower now." After saying so, the man waved a hand. Shi Feng and his companions then transformed into five streaks of light and vanished through the golden doors. 2262 Storm Serpent Kings Loo Chapter 2262 - Storm Serpent King''s Loot After entering the tower, Shi Feng found himself in a vast, endless plain. Packs of wild wolves, each consisting of three to five, wandered this endless plain. These wolves bore two heads, and each possessed a pair of glowing, green eyes. Scorching flames enveloped their bodies, and the wolves'' eerie auras felt as if they had climbed up from the pits of hell in search of fresh souls. (Twin-headed Netherfire Wolf) (Demonic Creature, Lord) Level 93 HP 27,000,000/27,000,000 ... As soon as Shi Feng inspected one of the two-headed wolves, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. ... System: Kill 1,500 Twin-headed Netherfire Wolves within 3 days. If you fail to complete this task in the stipulated time, the challenge will automatically be regarded as a failure. So, this is a trial of the Tower of Four Gods? Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief after reading the notification. The first floor''s trial was not as difficult as he had assumed. Although he hadn''t entered the Tower of Four Gods himself, he had heard quite a bit about it during his previous life. The Tower of Four Gods had a total of seven floors, and each floor was a world of its own. Meanwhile, each world had a total of three trials. These trials were straightforward. Players were only required to kill monsters, nothing else. After all, might was right in God''s Domain, and everything other than strength was inconsequential. Without sufficient might, the various kingdoms and empires wouldn''t have defeated the other powerful races and ruled over the God''s Domain continent for tens of thousands of years. The rewards for clearing the tower''s trials were secondary to most expert players. The experience was far more important. Due to the Tower of Four Gods'' Eternal Energy, this was the best place in God''s Domains for players to train. Not only could players exert their Skills and Spells to their full potential, but they could also execute combat techniques without worrying about running out of Stamina and Concentration. Players could rapidly develop their combat standards here. This was also why Tier 6 God-ranked players had still tried to enter the Tower of Four Gods despite their standing. Even for Tier 6 God-ranked players, exerting 100% of Tier 5 Skills and Spells'' effects was an extreme challenge, not to mention Tier 6 Skills and Spells. They had the same issue with their more powerful combat techniques. Unfortunately, not even the Mana in a Main City could assist Tier 5 and 6 classes. They''d have to rely on a location like the Tower of Four Gods to practice their high-tiered Skills, Spells, and powerful combat techniques. This feature drove any player that visited the tower to remain within it for as long as possible, rather than rushing through the trials. If they missed this opportunity, they''d have to wait 360 natural days before they could enter the tower again. After a glance at the wandering Netherfire Wolves, Shi Feng sat on the grassy plain and inspected the loot he had obtained from the Storm Serpent King, instead of rushing to kill the nearby monsters. Killing Level 93 Lords wouldn''t be difficult for Shi Feng. In fact, this first trial was quite simple. Three days was more than enough time to kill 1,500 Netherfire Wolves. Since he had been in such a hurry, he had only spared a glance for the items he had picked up. Now that he had some time, he had to inspect his gains properly. If he had gotten lucky, he might have acquired something that could increase his combat power and his chances of clearing the Tower of Four Gods'' trials. After several minutes of looking through his harvest, Shi Feng took a sharp, deep breath. Most of the 26 items he had picked up were Level 90 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. None of the weapons or equipment pieces were Epic rank, so they were of no use to Shi Feng. If he sold these items, however, the various major powers would fight over them like madmen. Current players were nowhere near Level 90, and top-tier Level 90 weapons and equipment would provide the various powers an edge over their rivals. Most of the other items were materials from the Storm Serpent King''s body, such as Storm Serpent King''s Scales. All of these materials were Epic rank and could increase sailboats'' defenses and durability. Of the two most valuable items, one was the extremely rare Epic material, Spatial Crystal, and the other was a design for the Bronze ranked Storm Speedboat. "If the various powers knew that I picked this up, they''d do everything in their power to kill me," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at the Storm Speedboat Design. The Spatial Crystal could be used to repair the Mysterious-Iron ranked Hurricane Sailboat, but it wasn''t nearly as valuable as the Storm Speedboat Design. The Hurricane Sailboat might be the strongest ship available at this stage of the game, but it couldn''t withstand attacks from several thousand ships. If he had enough materials, however, he could produce an unlimited number of Bronze Speedboats with the Storm Speedboat Design. Not even the various superpowers could form a fleet of Bronze Speedboats, led by a Mysterious- Iron Speedboat, yet now, Zero Wing could. For some time now, Zero Wing had been stockpiling Ancient Origin and Diamond Wood, the two main materials to construct the Storm Speedboat. Zero Wing could definitely create the strongest player fleet in the game. This would also resolve the Guild''s lack of naval strength. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng even considered leaving the Tower of Four Gods to start production on the Storm Speedboats immediately. Fortunately, he suppressed the urge. Entering the Tower of Four Gods hadn''t been easy, and if he left now, he''d suffer an incredible loss. The environment he was in would even be helpful to Tier 5 and 6 players, not to mention a Tier 2 player like himself. Finished with his loot, Shi Feng decided to stop wasting time. He stored the Spatial Crystal and Storm Speedboat Design and hastily walked toward the nearest pack of Twin-headed Netherfire Wolves. The five Netherfire Wolves noticed Shi Feng as soon as he was within 100 yards of the pack. Their perception was far more sensitive than ordinary Level 93 Lords. The five Netherfire Wolves were very smart. Like real wolves, they did not move alone. They slowly surrounded Shi Feng and planned their attack from multiple sides, searching for weaknesses. Why are they so intelligent? The Netherfire Wolves'' behavior surprised Shi Feng. Ordinary Level 93 Lords couldn''t employ such a strategy. Monsters this intelligent generally had combat standards on par with the Trial Tower''s third floor. Before Shi Feng could refocus, the five Netherfire Wolves pounced from five different directions. The Netherfire Wolves were even larger than a normal lion. If five of them attacked together, they could topple a large elephant. However, these Netherfire Wolves were still only Lord ranked monsters. They might be a threat to ordinary Tier 2 players, but their Attack Speed was too low to be effective against Shi Feng. Their attack patterns were also quite obvious. Shi Feng evaded the Netherfire Wolves'' attacks with slight movements. As the monsters brushed passed him, he brandished Killing Ray and Twilight''s Blade. Shadow Blade! Like shooting stars, ten sword lights sliced at the five Netherfire Wolves. The impact threw all five Netherfire Wolves as two damages of over -200,000 appeared above each of their heads. The counterattack heavily injured all five monsters, and with pained whimpers, they turned back to Shi Feng with fear in their eyes. System: Shadow Blade Completion Rate 100%, resulting in 150% of Skill''s effect. Skill Proficiency +5. One hundred percent?! Is this the Tower of Four Gods'' effect? Shi Feng was stunned to see the system notification. Shadow Blade was a Tier 2 Skill. Normally, his Completion Rate with the Skill was only at 90%. He only achieved a 91% or 92% Completion Rate on rare occasions. Tier 2 Skills were far more complex than Tier 1 Skills, and if he hadn''t had a decade of experience playing God''s Domain, he wouldn''t even have executed Shadow Blade at 85% Completion Rate. And yet, despite his casual manner, the results had been so excellent. If he could reliably execute his Skills with such a high Completion Rate, his combat power would increase tremendously. He''d even achieve an overwhelming victory against an opponent with equal Attributes and combat standards. Flaming passion began to burn in his eyes. Shi Feng immediately charged at the frightened Twin-headed Netherfire Wolves in an attempt to replicate the feeling of his previous attack. 2263 Sacred Training Ground Chapter 2263 - Sacred Training Ground As soon as Shi Feng stepped forward, the five Twin-headed Netherfire Wolves did something that even surprised Shi Feng. As if they had pre-planned it, the Netherfire Wolves turned and fled. They weren''t behaving like normal monsters at all. Their intellect is this high? Shi Feng frowned slightly as he watched the monsters flee. He had seen monsters run from players before, but he rarely saw monsters flee the moment they were injured, despite having most of their HP remaining. This wouldn''t have been such an issue if he had been hunting monsters in the fields, but he was on a time limit here. If every Netherfire Wolf reacted like this, this trial would be far more difficult than Shi Feng had assumed. These Netherfire Wolves'' Movement Speeds were high, and if they split up and fled to other wolf packs, he would need far more time to kill a single Netherfire Wolf. A Half-step Refinement Realm expert would very likely fail the trial. However, before these Netherfire Wolves could even put a few yards between them and Shi Feng, he had already executed Void Steps and appeared beside one of them. The Netherfire Wolf didn''t even notice him. My technique execution has improved so drastically? As Shi Feng looked down at the oblivious Netherfire Wolf beside him, he was shocked. Unlike players, monsters didn''t heavily rely on their vision to notice opponents. Trying to approach a monster with a technique like Void Steps without being detected was a major challenge, akin to using Void Steps against a Void Realm expert. Experts wouldn''t have to rely on their vision to perceive the world around them once they reached the Void Realm. Yet now, Void Steps forced his opponent to ignore more than just his visible presence. When he executed Void Steps, while bathed in Eternal Energy, he became one with the environment. Now, even the Netherfire Wolfs bestial senses couldn''t find him. Before the Netherfire Wolf could react, Shi Feng slashed at it again with Killing Ray. The Sacred Sword suddenly vanished, and blood gushed from multiple lacerations on the Netherfire Wolfs body. Damages exceeding -100,000 appeared above the Lord''s head, one after another, and this all happened in an instant. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! Lightning Flash was a Bronze Offensive Combat Technique Shi Feng had obtained from the Ore Empire''s Primordial Divine Ruins, but like his Sword''s Transmigration, Lightning Flash was far more complex than an ordinary Bronze Combat Technique. Despite having reached the Ascension Realm, Shi Feng found it difficult to master. Originally, Shi Feng had wanted to reach Tier 3 before attempting to master Lightning Flash. However, now that he had the help of Eternal Energy, he barely managed to execute the technique properly. With just one attack, the Netherfire Wolf had lost nearly one-twelfth of its HP, yet Shi Feng had depleted more than half of his Concentration to execute Lightning Flash, and his mental clarity plummeted. It''s a pity that I''m still a little off the mark, but at least, I know that it isn''t entirely impossible to use Lightning Flash at Tier 2. Regardless of Shi Feng''s mental state, he was satisfied. Lightning Flash was different from Sword''s Transmigration in that it was a fully offensive-type combat technique. Although he could attack with Sword''s Transmigration, the technique''s movements involved defensive maneuvers. The Bronze Combat Technique incorporated both offense and defense. With a fully offensive Bronze Combat Technique, a Void Realm expert could thoroughly suppress a Domain Realm expert if there were a negligible difference between the combatants'' Basic Attributes. However, his Lightning Flash wasn''t complete. He could only employ a portion of the technique''s true strength. Executing Lightning Slash perfectly meant using a series of 17 attacks and merging them all seamlessly. The technique allowed its user to harm opponents of a higher tier for a brief moment. Unfortunately, Shi Feng could only combine 13 attacks right now, barely achieving Lightning Flash''s minimum requirement. At this standard, Lightning Flash operated like an Advanced Combat Technique, not a Bronze Combat Technique. After landing the attack, Shi Feng adjusted his posture and executed Lightning Flash once more. Within the Tower of Four Gods, his Stamina and Concentration recovery speeds were far faster than in the outside world. Even if he repeatedly employed Bronze Combat Techniques here, his Stamina and Concentration would quickly replenish. Naturally, he couldn''t waste his time in such a beneficial environment. The first Level 93 Twin-headed Netherfire Wolf fell at Shi Feng''s hands in less than 20 seconds. Not even a six-man party of the same level could slay a Netherfire Wolf as quickly as Shi Feng had. While Shi Feng continued to train, Swimming Dragon, Melody, Thoughtful Rain, and Blue Bamboo began to do the same after discovering the Tower of Four Gods'' benefits. For three days, the five of them slew Netherfire Wolves without rest. At the rate Shi Feng killed the monsters, he could''ve completed the first trial in less than a day, but he didn''t hurry to do so. Instead, he reflected on his actions and practiced Lightning Flash and his Tier 2 Skills. He also gained a significant amount of EXP from killing the Netherfire Wolves. His leveling speed was just as fast as his normal grinding speed elsewhere. Moreover, the Netherfire Wolves also dropped considerably good loot, earning Shi Feng a lot of Level 90 Bronze Weapons and Equipment. His improvement speed over the three days was off the charts. By the time the trial was close to ending, Shi Feng could reliably execute Lightning Flash, only consuming one-third of his Concentration with each use. Unfortunately, he was still limited to 13 slashes. He was missing something. Shi Feng only killed the last Netherfire Wolf as the three-day time limit was nearly up. As the last Twin-headed Netherfire Wolf died, the scenery around Shi Feng changed again. Although he was still in an endless plain, the monsters had changed. Now, Ghost Warriors roamed the plain, carrying weapons and shields. These Ghost Warriors moved in groups of six, with some on defense, some focusing on melee offense, and others assigned to ranged attacks. They were like a well- rounded raid party for Bosses. (Ghost Warrior] (Undead, Lord) Level 93 HP 30,000,000/30,000,000 System: Kill 600 Ghost Warriors within 3 days. If you fail to complete this task in the stipulated time, the challenge will automatically be regarded as a failure. Wasting no time, Shi Feng charged at a Ghost Warrior party. The Ghost Warriors didn''t attack the moment they noticed Shi Feng. Instead, the two shield-wielding Ghost Warriors moved to intercept his charge, while the two spear-wielding warriors moved behind them. The two spear-wielders prepared to attack the instant Shi Feng encountered the tanks. Meanwhile, the two Ghost Warriors carrying bows spread out to attack Shi Feng from the sides. The Ghost Warriors'' combat standards were clearly a cut above the Netherfire Wolves''. Using the Trial Tower as a reference, they were at the third-floor, middle-stage standard. If an ordinary Tier 2 expert tried to take on this six-man monster party, they''d likely struggle to escape, much less defeat their opponents. Fortunately, these Ghost Warriors were no threat to Shi Feng. Like the previous trial, he continued to practice his Lightning Flash. Fighting humanoid monsters would help him improve far faster than fighting beasts. The Ghost Warriors also provided better loot and more EXP than the Netherfire Wolves. The Netherfire Wolves hadn''t dropped a single piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, yet the Ghost Warriors did on occasion. As for the EXP, the Ghost Warriors provided three-times more than the Netherfire Wolves, which had already granted more EXP than ordinary Level 93 Lords. As a result, Shi Feng''s experience bar filled rapidly. By the time Shi Feng cleared the second trial, he had reached 94. The scene around Shi Feng changed after he cleared the second trial, but when he saw his new opponents, he was astonished. The third trial took place in an ancient colosseum, which was home to 10 fully-armed Giants. Every one of these Giants was Tier 2. They weren''t monsters; they were bona fide Tier 2 NPCs. ... (Giant Gladiator) (Giant, Tier 2) Level 94 HP 5,400,000/5,400,000 ... The Giant race was a talented one. Not only did Giants command immeasurable strength, but their earth affinity was unparalleled, as well. They were natural-born warriors. Moreover, unlike players, NPC Giants had inherited the Giant race''s attributes perfectly. They wielded far more combat power than ordinary Tier 2 NPCs. And now, Shi Feng had to face ten of them... System: Kill 10 Giant Gladiators within 1 day. If you fail to complete this task in the stipulated time, the challenge will automatically be regarded as a failure. 2264 Breaking Through 100% Chapter 2264 - Breaking Through 100% Although the time limit isn''t that short, this trial is far more difficult than the last, Shi Feng thought as he observed the 10 Giant Gladiators standing on the elevated platform in the center of the colosseum. If a Half-step Refinement Realm expert attempted this challenge, they''d likely need a full set of up-to-date Dark-Gold Equipment to have a chance of passing. Unlike monsters, NPCs had many Skills and Spells under their command. Their combat standards were also leagues above monsters''. Moreover, there was a huge difference between NPCs'' strength within the same tier. This was due to the individual NPC''s weapons and equipment. An NPC in full Dark-Gold Equipment would undoubtedly have a huge Basic Attribute Advantage over one in Bronze Equipment. Of the ten NPC Giants on the platform, the weakest wore Bronze Equipment, while the strongest was geared in Fine- Gold ranked items. With the Giant Race''s innate talents, a human player''s Basic Attributes might not be as high, even fully geared in Dark-Gold Equipment. Players could only clear this trial by relying on their techniques. External items and Berserk Skills were prohibited within the Tower of Four Gods. Players could only rely on their strength to clear the trials. The third trial''s difficulty level made the first two trials look like warm-ups, while this was the beginning of the true test. However, Shi Feng did not give the matter much thought and approached the elevated platform. After six days of training, he had hit a bottleneck. No matter what he tried, he could only perform, at most, 14 slashes with Lightning Flash. He had only reduced his Concentration consumption to one-fourth of his total, as well. He would need far more time to improve with the technique. Hence, instead of wasting an entire day training, without seeing any improvement to his combat power, he decided to clear the first floor''s trials and move on to the second floor. The moment Shi Feng set foot on the platform, one of the NPC Giants stepped forward and moved into the platform''s center. As the Giant reached Shi Feng, it swung its two-handed axe at the Swordsman. Dense, earth-type Mana enveloped the axe. Not only did the earth-type Mana increase the axe''s weight by a substantial degree, but it also intensified the gravitational force where Shi Feng stood, reducing his mobility. A combat technique!? Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as the Giant''s attack approached. Combat techniques were not unique to players. In fact, they had always existed in God''s Domains. The Legacy Stone Tablets were evidence of this. However, NPCs had a much harder time learning combat techniques than players. Normally, NPCs would only encounter combat techniques after reaching Tier 3. Even so, a small minority were actually capable of executing these combat techniques. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be surprised to see this Tier 2 Giant use a combat technique against him? Even a Basic Combat Technique could significantly elevate an NPCs combat power. Taking into account that the Tier 2 Giant''s combat standards were at the Trial Tower''s fifth-floor early stage, this NPC could easily pummel a Half-step Refinement Realm expert. Only, to Shi Feng, the Giant''s attack was quite crude. He blocked the Giant''s axe with a light swing of the Twilight Blade, countering with a slash from killing Ray and taking advantage of the Giant''s blind spot. Shadow Blade! Ten dazzling stars flew toward the Tier 2 Giant. Just as they were about to hit their target, their paths intersected as pairs merged. The five resulting stars radiated an even more resplendent glow. ... System: Shadow Blade Completion Rate 101%, resulting in 170% of Skill''s effect. Skill Proficiency +10. ... When the five stars collided with the Giant, the impact threw the NPC, and five damages of over -200,000 appeared above his head, one after another. By the time the Giant hit the ground, he was momentarily paralyzed. What a powerful effect! The result of Shi Feng''s counterattack astonished him. After six days of continuous training, he could reliably execute Shadow Blade with a 100% Completion Rate. He certainly hadn''t expected to break past that now. As a result of crossing the 100% threshold, Shadow Blade had gained a new effect that paralyzed the target for one second. Of course, surpassing a 100% Completion Rate with a Skill was intensely difficult, but after experiencing it, Shi Feng had a rough understanding of Shadow Blade''s essence. Now, even once he left the Tower of Four Gods, he was confident in achieving a 100% Completion Rate with the Skill. Shi Feng appeared by the Giant and swung Killing Ray before the paralyzed NPC had time to recover. Lightning Flash! Fourteen sword lights simultaneously cut through the NPC Giant, reducing the Giant''s HP to a critical low. Shi Feng immediately followed up the Twilight Blade, executing Purgatory Pentaslash, removing the last of the Giant''s HP. The fight with the first Giant lasted no more than three seconds. The other NPC Giants watched from a corner of the arena with grim expressions. "Alright, next!" Shi Feng demanded, flashing the Giants a hungry look. Swimming Dragon and the others would likely struggle to defeat these NPC Giants, but Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were even higher than a Tier 3 player''s of the same level, and his physique and reaction speed were only slightly inferior. If he had trouble with these Tier 2 Giants despite his massive advantages, he might as well retire from God''s Domain now. However, Shi Feng had to admit that these NPC Giants granted a lot of EXP, even more than Great Lords of the same level. His experience bar had risen by a sizable chunk after killing the first Giant. Unfortunately, the NPC hadn''t dropped any loot. Shi Feng defeated all 10 NPC giants in less than five minutes. As the last NPC died, the scenery changed yet again. This time, Shi Feng had been transported into a temple. The instant Shi Feng arrived, he sensed that the Eternal Energy here was far less dense. There was simply no comparison to the first floor''s Eternal Energy. Meanwhile, a large number of snake monsters wandered the temple. Not only were these monsters massive, almost as tall as a two-story building, but they each had a total of six heads as well. ... (Six-headed Hellsnake) (Bloodline Creature, Lord) Level 94 HP 42,000,000/42,000,000 ... Bloodline Creatures? Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he saw the temple''s Six-headed Hellsnakes. He hadn''t expected the second floor to be much more of a challenge than the first floor. Bloodline Creatures were elite existences among creatures of the same tier. They also possessed Bloodline abilities and extraordinary combat power. Not even the Tier 2 Giant NPCs were guaranteed to win against these Hellsnakes in a one-on-one fight. But after his brief shock, Shi Feng''s face lit up with joy. Bloodline Creatures were extremely rare. Even Shi Feng only knew of a few places that possessed Bloodline Creatures. He had considered grinding the Nagas in the Thunder Temple''s side temple to collect Bloodline Power, but it seemed that he could save himself the trip. ... System: Congratulations! You have cleared the first floor''s trials and reached the Tower of Four Gods'' second floor. You may choose to rest here for one day or begin the second floor''s trials immediately. ... I''ve been training without rest for quite some time. Even if my mind is clear, my physical body has been, more or less, affected. I should log off and rest for now. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to accept the system''s offer to rest. By the time Shi Feng exited his virtual gaming cabin, sunlight streamed into his room. It was already afternoon. Shi Feng stretched, suddenly feeling physically powerless. Moreover, he was intensely hungry, and every cell in his body practically screamed for nutrients. He was also quite light-headed and sleepy. What''s going on? Shi Feng''s physical state surprised him. If he hadn''t willed himself awake, he likely would''ve lost consciousness. 2265 Tower of Four Godss Effec Chapter 2265 - Tower of Four Gods'' Effect Shi Feng rapidly lost stamina due to his severe lack of energy. Ignoring the cause of his deprivation, for now, Shi Feng moved to the fridge in his room and retrieved one of the Life Potions within. He popped the cap and downed the bottle''s contents without hesitation. As the Life Potion flowed down his throat, Shi Feng felt a warmth spread throughout his body, and his mind started to clear. After the drink warmed him, his cells devoured the nutrients like ravenous wolves. When he had first consumed the Life Potion, his body had needed three to five days to process it, yet now, his body rapidly absorbed its nutrients. After about ten minutes, Shi Feng felt as if he had been resurrected. He had also completely digested the Life Potion. If any internal force expert saw this, their eyes would likely fall from their sockets. The Life Potion contained a frightening amount of nutrients, and even an internal force expert would need three days to process the powerful drink after training to their physical limits. Moreover, they would have to continue training like a madman during that time, yet Shi Feng had digested the Life Potion in ten minutes and still felt as if he needed more. This Life Potion really is good stuff. Without it, I would''ve needed around five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid to recover from my starvation, Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed as he stared at the empty container in his hand. Although he had been conserving the Life Potions, he had used far more than he had initially expected. He was already down to his last bottle. Once he was out, his physical and mental progress would plummet. In fact, the Life Potions were a large part of the reason for his rapid improvement in the Tower of Four Gods. As Shi Feng recovered from his hunger and looked around him, he felt as if he had emerged in an entirely new world. To be precise, his perception had sharpened drastically. What''s going on? The development stunned Shi Feng. It wasn''t just the world around him that felt different. He could also sense that his cells had become significantly stronger. Now, he felt that he could achieve a punching strength of 1,000kg even with a casual hit. His reaction speed had also improved. With these changes, his physical control had reached a new level. Shi Feng had endured a constant headache over how to improve his reaction speed and physical control. He had never expected to make a breakthrough now. He could push his mental agility to its very limits in God''s Domain because he had an incredibly powerful body and sufficient reaction speed, but that wasn''t the case in the real world. Because of this, he couldn''t replicate many of his in-game actions in the real world. Now that his physical fitness and reaction speed had significantly improved, he would be able to exhibit greater strength. Moreover, Shi Feng could tell that his physical condition hadn''t reached its peak. After making a mental breakthrough, his endocrine system had grown stronger, steadily flooding his bloodstream with more hormones and slowly altering and improving his physical fitness. Have I risen to the grandmaster standard during my training in the Tower of Four Gods? Shi Feng considered the large possibility that he had become a neutralizing grandmaster throughout his training. He couldn''t think of another explanation for the changes his body had experienced. With his superhuman fitness and reaction speed, his overall strength was leaps and bounds greater than apex internal force experts. He wouldn''t need any fancy techniques to take care of Wang Zongquan if the man appeared before him again. He could easily finish the man with a straight punch. For a moment, Shi Feng was overwhelmed with the urge to run to the headquarters'' training room to test his physical state. He still had two teleportation stones, which meant he could send four more players into the Tower of Four Gods. If his guess was correct, and players could gain real-world strength by training in the tower, as well as crossing the 100% Skill Completion Rate threshold, he needed to send some of his Guild''s experts, those with great potential, to train in the tower. Although Lei Bao led the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, and Fire Dance and the others were extraordinarily strong, Lu Xingluo wasn''t to be trifled with. Wang Zongquan''s interruption during the training center''s grand opening had merely been an attempt to test the waters. If Lu Xingluo decided to get serious and attack the training center in secret, he would have many methods to catch the training center off-guard. An experienced master martial artist like Lei Bao might cope with these secret attacks, but Fire Dance and the others simply weren''t strong enough. Moreover, they needed people to protect Zero Wing''s main headquarters at all times. If Zero Wing could nurture another grandmaster, the Zero Wing headquarters and the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s safety would be assured. Neutralizing grandmasters transcended ordinary human limits. Their highly-developed minds utilized a seventh sense, which reached beyond their instinctual sixth sense. Their perception of danger and survivability reached inhuman levels. Even if Lu Xingluo tried to attack Zero Wing from the shadows, he''d be hard-pressed to achieve anything against a neutralizing grandmaster. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng contacted Liang Jing, asking for a report on Zero Wing''s development and gather the Guild''s upper echelons for a meeting. He intended to discuss the Tower of Four Gods with everyone before making a decision. He only had four remaining slots, after all. Zero Wing had been developing smoothing before he had entered the Tower of Four Gods, and according to Liang Jing''s report, not only had Gentle Snow helped her experts level up rapidly after acquiring her Flying Mount, but she had also hunted down quite a few rare Field Bosses. As a result, she had collected plenty of resources and equipment for the Guild. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the others relied on Stone Forest City''s advantages, surpassing the various superpowers'' exploration progress in the Bottomless Abyss. However, while all was well after the Storm Serpent King''s raid, Starlink had spread a rumor that Shi Feng had stolen a Fragmented Legendary item. This caused a huge commotion in the Sea of Death. Every power in the area had begun to target Zero Wing''s members, and as a result, Zero Wing had been unable to continue its naval development or contest for naval resources. Many experts were also searching for Shi Feng, especially those from the many dark powers. These dark powers'' desire for a Fragmented Legendary item was particularly frenzied, and they had sent more than a few spies into Zero Wing to track Shi Feng down. "Although we''ve secured the necessary materials for producing Master Potions and Fine-Gold Resistance Equipment from the Bottomless Abyss, our naval supply line has practically been cut off. It has significantly slowed our material collection," Blackie said. "Lu Xingluo really is ruthless." Shi Feng smiled bitterly. He had not acquired a Fragmented Legendary item from the Storm Serpent King, yet no one would believe him. The Storm Serpent King was the strongest boss anyone had killed in God''s Domain thus far. Not even the Frost Monarch was as powerful as the King-Class Sea Monster. Meanwhile, when players advanced into Level 100 maps, Master Potions and high-level Resistance Equipment would be a necessity. Level 100 was a massive turning point in the game, and maps of that level would change drastically, not to mention the monsters. Without Master Potions and high-level Resistance equipment, players would have no hope of survival in these maps. If players couldn''t even survive in these areas, they''d have no chance of surviving in their Tier 3 Promotion Quest venues, which were far more dangerous. To take advantage of the various powers'' ignorance on the matter, Zero Wing had secretly stockpiled the necessary materials to produce these items. However, with Zero Wing''s naval supply line severed, its material collection had slowed by half. "Why isn''t Qingxue here?" Shi Feng asked after listening to everyone''s reports, glancing at the empty Vice Guild Leader''s seat beside him with a strange look. Gentle Snow was responsible for Zero Wing''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire. She had a significant amount of the Guild''s resources and manpower under her management. This..." Blackie fell silent for a moment. "Has something happened?" Blackie''s response, or lack thereof, gave Shi Feng a bad feeling. "Actually, the Fang Family, Fenglin City''s number one family, has proposed marriage to Big Sis Qingxue. The Fang Family had influence all over the city and in many of its industries, so Big Sis Qingxue''s parents don''t have much choice in the matter. Big Sis Qingxue is absent because she''s trying to find a way to deal with the issue," Violet Cloud said. Even with the White Clan Group''s backing, the Bai Family was only considered second-rate in Fenglin City. In comparison, the Fang Family was the top first-rate family in the city. Destroying the Bai Family would be child''s play for the Fang Family. "The Fang Family?" Shi Feng could not help his smile after hearing the news. "I just so happen to have some business with the Fang Family. Since that is the case, Liang Jing, prepare the car, please." "Guild Leader, you shouldn''t do anything reckless. The Fang Family is guarded by a neutralizing grandmaster," Lei Bao hurriedly cautioned. Most might not know of the Fang Family, but as one who had spent a good portion of his life in the fighting world, Lei Bao was very familiar with the power the Fang Family wielded. The Fang Family had become the top first-rate family in Fenglin City due to that neutralizing grandmaster''s support. "A neutralizing grandmaster? What a coincidence! I also happen to be one!" Shi Feng announced as he glanced at Lei Bao. He then stood and left the meeting room. 2266 Consequences? Chapter 2266 - Consequences? Fenglin City''s Redstone Restaurant: As the most prestigious restaurant in Fenglin City, the Redstone Restaurant was strictly members-only. Regardless of how much money one had, non-members had no hope of dining in the restaurant. However, many of the city''s high- profile individuals frequently visited the establishment to discuss business. The Redstone Restaurant was a particularly safe place, and one wouldn''t have to worry about other professionals eavesdropping on a sensitive discussion. The establishment''s capable waiters and waitresses made this point clear. Secondly, the restaurant''s food was amazing. Even people who ate delicacies every day would never forget the taste of the food here, and since the Redstone Restaurant didn''t offer takeout, anyone who wished to dine had to visit personally. Because of these two factors, practically every respectable individual in Fenglin City took every opportunity they had to dine in the restaurant seriously. Naturally, the Fang Family were frequent customers. Two young men currently occupied one of the restaurant''s seventh-floor VIP rooms. While they conversed, the young men took their time to enjoy the delicacies that covered the table between them. One of the men was rough and robust, while the other seemed scholarly. No outsider would assume that these two were brothers by blood. The scholarly young man was the Fang Family''s current head, Fang Xiaotian. Fang Xiaotian currently wore a set of white robes, and although he looked to be in his mid-twenties, he was already in his thirties. He was the Fang Family''s eldest young master. The muscular man across from him was the family''s second eldest son, Fang Mingyu. "Little Two, how are the preparations going for the annual martial arts competition between the Five Great Families?" Fang Xiaotian asked, looking up at Fang Mingyu. Unlike most families, the Fang Family was an ancient martial arts family. To them, the annual martial arts competition between the Five Great Families was even more prestigious than the national fighting competition. "Rest assured, big bro; this year''s competition is ours for the taking," Fang Mingyu responded with a laugh. He then pointed at the dozen or so youths standing behind him and explained, "I''ve trained every one of them personally. Two have even grasped internal force." The dozen or so combatants behind Fang Mingyu looked very young. None of them were older than 20, and the youngest was only 17. However, not even national-level fighters were a match for these youths'' fitness. "Good." Fang Xiaotian nodded approvingly. "God''s Domain has been growing more popular recently, and many major corporations have already invested in the game. Grandpa wants us to join the game as well, so you''d better be prepared." "We''re going to play, too?" The revelation surprised Fang Mingyu. "Mhm. The game touches upon certain important secrets, so the Fang Family intends to take part," Fang Xiaotian said. This is also why I suggested that we send a representative to propose a marriage with the Bia Family. "Not only is the Bai Family''s Bai Qingxue beautiful, but she is also quite capable. She successfully defended her elder brother''s Guild, albeit for a short time. With another decade to develop, the Bia Family might be able to join our circle. It''s a pity that the Blackwater Corporation interfered so soon, but I''ve recently heard that she''s prospering in God''s Domain and had earned quite a bit of profit for the White Clan Group. She''s just perfect for Little Three." "Hopefully, this will help Little Three finally control himself. Despite several scoldings from Grandpa, he refuses to change and continues to fool around," Fang Mingyu said, chuckling. Although their third brother was useless, he was still a member of the Fang Family. Although the Bai Family was second-rate in Fenglin City, the Fang Family had displayed immense respect by allowing Bai Qingxue to marry into the family. "Unfortunately, it seems that little girl has been playing tricks. If you have the time, pay the Bai Family a visit and shake them up a bit. If she continues to be a problem, invite the Bai Family''s old man to speak with us. Tell him that our family''s head wishes to meet with him," Fang Xiaotian said. "Sure, I''ll make sure it gets done," Fang Mingyu replied, nodding. Honestly, Fang Mingyu didn''t think it was necessary for him to take action. The Fang Family had already offered them a marriage, and if the Bai Family didn''t know how to appreciate that kindness, the Fang Family could simply remove them from Fenglin City. The Bai Family should understand this point and know which decision they should make. ... At this point, Shi Feng arrived outside the Redstone Restaurant. According to Liang Jing, Fang Xiaotian, the Fang Family''s current head and eldest son, was currently dining in the restaurant. Since Fang Xiaotian was responsible for this marriage proposal, Shi Feng had to discuss the matter with him directly. "Let''s head inside," Shi Feng said as he glanced at Xiao Yu, who had just arrived. Shi Feng wasn''t a member and couldn''t simply enter the Redstone Restaurant. Xiao Yu, however, had gained membership through his connection with Han Yifeng. Even so, Xiao Yu still had to pay 2,000,000 Credits per year to maintain his membership. Ordinary citizens could only afford the membership fees in their dreams. "Are you really planning to speak with Fang Xiaotian, Head Instructor Shi?" Xiao Yu asked anxiously. "The Fang Family can''t compare to the Starline Corporation, but it has very deep roots in Fenglin City. Its influence across the city is immensely powerful, especially in the city''s fighting industry. We''ve only opened the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center recently. If we provoke Fang Xiaotian, I''m afraid the consequences will be..." "Old Xiao, you''re afraid that we''ll provoke him, but I''m afraid that he doesn''t understand the consequences for provoking us," Lei Bao, who stood beside Shi Feng, said, chuckling. "Alright, that''s enough. Let''s head inside." Lei Bao''s comment rendered Xiao Yu speechless. He was sure that the man was messing with him. When Xiao Yu saw Shi Feng''s determination, however, he gritted his teeth and followed the two men into the restaurant. Once inside, a waiter quickly led Shi Feng''s party to a VIP room on the seventh floor. Four men in black suits stood by the doors, guarding the room. These people were none other than Fang Xiaotian''s bodyguards, and they all radiated imposing auras. Although they merely stood there, it was clear that the seventh floor was under their observation. They would notice and react to any suspicious movement in the hall instantly. Even Lei Bao was a little intimidated by the four bodyguards. All four bodyguards were internal force experts, and in a small city, they''d easily become the bosses of the local fighting industry. However, these individuals had lowered themselves to guarding the Feng Family''s members. It was clear how much power the Fang Family had. "Sir, this is a private room. Outsiders are not allowed inside," one of the bodyguards declared as Shi Feng''s group approached. "Tell Young Master Fang that Heaven''s Rumble''s Shi Feng wishes to chat with him," Shi Feng replied, unperturbed. "Please wait a moment," the bodyguard said. He then communicated Shi Feng''s request to the bodyguard in the room through his earpiece. The bodyguard in the room relayed the message immediately. "Shi Feng? Heaven''s Rumble''s Hall Master?" Fang Xiaotian chuckled. "It seems he''s here to stand up for Bai Qingxue." "He overestimates himself. He''s just a new training center''s Hall Master, yet he dares to interrupt us?" Fang Mingyu said, frowning. "It seems I''ve been away from Fenglin City for so long that these people have forgotten about me!" "Forget it. We''ll just send them away," Fang Xiaotian decided after giving the matter some thought. The bodyguard beside Fang Xiaotian informed the bodyguards outside the room of his employer''s reply and told them to deal with the problem. Suddenly, however, the room''s doors burst open, and a young man entered the room, followed by Lei Bao and Xiao Yu. 2267 Initial Confrontation Chapter 2267 - Initial Confrontation As Shi Feng and his two companions entered the graceful, antique-styled room, Fang XiaoTain and Fang Mingyu stared at them in shock. "Who allowed them inside?" Fang Xiaotian demanded coldly as he glared at the open doors. He was furious. He had clearly instructed his bodyguards to chase Shi Feng''s group away, yet they had made it into the room. He hadn''t heard a commotion outside the room, so he could only assume his bodyguards had allowed them to pass. However, Fang Xiaotian received no response as the seconds ticked by. The situation confused him. Had they all betrayed him? After considering the idea, he realized that would be impossible. The Fang Family had paid a huge sum to train their bodyguards, so the men were absolutely loyal. Even if one of them had become a turncoat, there was no way that all four bodyguards had turned against him simultaneously. "Save your energy, Young Master Fang. Your bodyguards are already asleep," Shi Feng explained when he noticed Fang Xiaotian''s confusion. "That''s impossible!" Fang Xiaotian denied Shi Feng''s claim instinctively. He was very familiar with the four bodyguards'' skills. They were only basic internal force experts, but if they worked together, they could even give a national fighting champion a run for his money. How could anyone knock all four of them unconscious without making a sound? Lie Bao could only shake his head and sigh from behind Shi Feng. The cooperation between four basic internal force experts would certainly be a magnificent scene to behold, but compared to a true neutralizing grandmaster, they were little more than infants. With exceptional reaction speed, perception, and physical prowess, if a neutralizing grandmaster wanted to go somewhere, how could a bunch of bodyguards stop him? Fang Xiaotian ordered one of the bodyguards behind him to check on the four outside. When he reached the door, he found the four bodyguards unconscious in a corner of the hall. Young Master, Ah Tao...the others, they''re really unconscious," the bodyguard stammered. Silence filled the room, and Feng Xiaotian turned to evaluate Shi Feng''s group. "It''s no wonder why you were so confident to meet me here," Fang Xiaotian said. Despite his passed-out bodyguards, he didn''t seem flustered. On the contrary, he maintained a calm attitude as he said, "However, do you think this display will change my mind? Stop dreaming. "I know who you are, Shi Feng. You''re Heaven''s Rumble''s Hall Master. You''ve already defeated Wang Zongquan and shook Fenglin City''s various dojos and training centers with your name alone. Moreover, you are one of Zero Wing''s core upper echelons. Zero Wing has been developing quite nicely in God''s Domain and has become a pseudosuperpower. It is now an overlord on the eastern continent. Now, the Guild has been recruiting a large number of talented fighters through the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center and is rapidly growing stronger in the game. "However, this is the real world, not some game! In the real world, Zero Wing has no background or supporters. It''s nothing! I wouldn''t even need to lift a finger to deal with you! A few words would be more than sufficient to end your business in Fenglin City!" Xiao Yu felt an immense weight drop on his shoulders as Fang Xiaotian spoke. Zero Wing wasn''t afraid of financial suppression. Only small, hostile tricks could affect the Guild and Workshop. Fang Mingyu stood abruptly, looming like a brown bear in the room. Standing at 2.3 meters[l]. His arms were thicker than a woman''s thighs, and his tanned complexion made him look like a golden statue. Unbreakable! Someone''s actually trained in the Henglian Style to the unbreakable realm?! Lei Bao stared at Fang Mingyu as he walked toward the group in utter shock. Training with the Henglian Style was a painful toil. One had to submit themselves to hellish training tactics to master this martial art, which was several times more challenging than other styles. Even internal force experts would struggle to deal with the difficult training regiment, but if one could master the Henglian style, they''d become horrifically strong. With basic mastery, one could face-off against ordinary internal force experts. Not only would a combatant''s punch carry 1,000 kilos of force as an advanced master, but they''d also be able to take hits from an internal force expert without injury. Not even apex internal force experts would want to mess with an advanced Henglian Style practitioner. And yet, Fang Mingyu had fully mastered the Hengliann Style, reaching the unbreakable realm. If he fought someone like Wang Zongquan, he could end the fight in one hit. Wang Zongquan would be utterly helpless against Fang Mingyu. "You are quite strong to take out four of my elder brother''s bodyguards simultaneously. I''ll give you a chance. Join the Fang Family and sell us all of your Zero Wing shares. You''ll receive your share of the pie once the Fang Family owns Zero Wing. You will enjoy greater status and authority than you could ever enjoy in Zero Wing," Fang Mingyu offered as he approached Shi Feng, his firm tone leaving no room for negotiation. Xiao Yu, who stood behind Shi Feng, felt the strength drain from his legs. Fang Mingyu''s aura was simply too frightening. Xiao Yu normally trained as well and had cultivated a relatively formidable aura though his years work, yet he felt tiny before Fang Mingyu. Moreover, Fang Mingyu had something on him that most professional fighters did not-killing intent. As the man walked toward the trio, it felt like a mountain of corpses were lumbering toward him. "What if I refuse?" Shi Feng calmly replied. "Then I''ll just have to take you back to the family. Once you''re there, I''m sure you''ll change your mind," Fang Mingyu said, laughing. You say that if I join the Fang Family, I''ll enjoy greater status and authority than I currently do in Zero Wing?" Shi Feng asked. "That''s right. You certainly qualify to receive such power," Fang Mingyu answered, nodding. "My position in Zero Wing is quite high. Not only do the Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders have to listen to my commands, but every large-scale operation the Guild considers must receive my permission first. Moreover, I am responsible for approving any decision regarding the Guild''s finances and development," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence returned to the room. "Are you toying with me?" Fang Mingyu demanded, his expression darkening. If the Fang Family annexed Zero Wing, not even Fang Xiaotian would have such immense authority, much less Fang Mingyu. "I''m not. It is simply the truth," Shi Feng said honestly. "It seems you won''t be convinced until you face reality. Since that is the case, you''ll return with me!" Fang Mingyu declared as he extended a hand to grab Shi Feng by the shoulder. Although the action seemed innocent, how could the touch of one who had reached the unbreakable realm in the Henglian Style be so simple? The grab was actually a technique with thirteen transformations. Even if Shi Feng were a lively monkey, there was no escaping Fang Mingyu''s grip. However, as Fang Mingyu was about to clamp down on Shi Feng''s shoulder to immobilize the young man, Shi Feng shrugged his shoulder slightly, so faint that the movement was barely discernible. As if he had been electrocuted, Fang Mingyu jerked back his hand. To an outsider, it would''ve looked like the larger man''s hand had bounced off an invisible barrier. Losing his posture, Fang Mingyu stumbled back a few steps... 2268 Threa Chapter 2268 - Threat What did he do? Although Fang Mingyu had only stumbled back a step, the Fang Family members were shocked. This was especially true for Fang Xiaotian. Every member of the Fang Family knew how powerful Fang Mingyu was. The family''s old man had even called him a talent that only appeared once a century in the Fang Family and was the strongest member of the younger generation. Fang Mingyu''s strength had been unparalleled among Fenglin City''s younger generation even before he had mastered the Henglian Style. Later, Fang Mingyu had gone overseas to continue his training and master the Henglian style, gaining monstrous strength. Yet, not only had he failed to affect Shi Feng, but he had taken a blow, as well. Why wouldn''t his family members be shocked to see it? Even Lei Bao, who stood some distance behind Shi Feng, was stunned. He knew that Shi Feng had become a neutralizing grandmaster, but that should''ve achievement should be recent. Neutralizing grandmasters'' superior mental capacity allowed them to improve their strength in all aspects, which was a part of the reason that they were so powerful. It especially affected their physical fitness, but even with the help of various hormones, these improvements weren''t immediate. Rather, these alterations would take place over a long time. Fang Mingyu, on the other hand, had already reached the Henglian Style''s unbreakable realm. Physically, he was a humanoid monster. Even some of the weaker grandmasters wouldn''t be a match for his raw power, not to mention Shi Feng, who had so recently become a grandmaster. And yet, contrary to Lei Bao''s expectations, Shi Feng had won a direct confrontation. It was simply unbelievable. "To counterattack in the brief moment when I relied on my strength, it seems that you''re not all talk after all," Fang Mingyu said, frowning. He realized what had happened immediately. "But I won''t give you another chance!" Fang Mingyu''s fist shot toward Shi Feng in a straight, simple punch. It was even cleaner and more straightforward than a textbook punch. However, this simplicity was precisely the reason that not even a neutralizing grandmaster would find a gap to take advantage of. Lei Bao couldn''t help but flinch. He felt as if the sky were falling as the punch shot toward Shi Feng. There was simply no room to flee. There were no holes to exploit. If he were on the receiving end, he''d have no choice but to take the hit. Worse, this punch hadn''t made any sound that Lei Bao could hear. This meant that Fang Mingyu''s punch was even faster than the speed of sound. Combined with Fang Mingyu''s ferocious strength, the hit could likely kill an adult elephant. However, just as Fang Mingyu''s fist was about to collide with Shi Feng''s cranium, Shi Feng moved forward to greet the attack. Before meeting with the hit, Shi Feng side-stepped and allowed Fang Mingyu''s fist to brush past his head. Shi Feng moved to the larger man''s side, while Fang Mingyu''s fist met nothing but air. Shi Feng''s arm swayed as he placed his palm on Fang Mingyu''s chest and shoved. Fang Mingyu lost his balance and fell, pinned to the ground by Shi Feng''s hand. Boom! Fang Mingyu lay flat on his back, and the impact of his fall was so powerful that it cracked the marble floor and shook the room. The large man''s consciousness wavered, his insides shaken. From an outsider''s perspective, it had looked like Shi Feng had just appeared beside Fang Mingyu, grabbed the giant, and slammed him to the ground. Everyone in the room fell deathly silent. Are neutralizing grandmasters really this powerful? Lei Bao was at a loss for words as he stared at Fang Mingyu on the ground. Lei Bao had seen Shi Feng''s every action, so he knew the movements had been quite simple, yet these simple actions had become magical when Shi Feng performed them. Not only had Shi Feng effortlessly neutralized Fang Mingyu''s punch, but he had also reversed the situation, pinning the bear of a man to the ground. Lei Bao had never thought that such a great expert, who had reached the Henglian Style''s unbreakable realm, would be so frail before a neutralizing grandmaster. At this point, he couldn''t even fathom how powerful neutralizing grandmasters truly were. The rest of the room''s occupants stared at Shi Feng as if he were a monster. However, the young man''s gaze never left Fang Mingyu, who lay beside his feet. This unbreakable realm is really something. Shi Feng was quietly amazed as he stared at the dizzy Fang Mingyu. He hadn''t thought it possible for someone to nurture their strength to such an extent. If he hadn''t become a grandmaster, he wouldn''t have been a match for this man. Shi Feng''s fight with Fang Mingyu had seemed one-sided to everyone else in the room, but Shi Feng didn''t think so. If anyone else had faced Fang Mingyu, that punch would''ve blown them away. The larger man was even more physically fit than Shi Feng. At the very least, Shi Feng would need quite a bit of time to catch up. In a frontal confrontation, Fang Mingyu would thoroughly outmatch Shi Feng. However, neutralizing grandmasters'' reaction speed and precise control of their power were what made them so powerful. Shi Feng had moved to dodge the hit the moment Fang Mingyu''s fist had moved. Once Shi Feng had pushed the man off balance, he had relied on Fang Mingyu''s weight and his own strength to achieve the shocking results. Despite such a heavy blow, Fang Mingyu had suffered barely any damage as if his body were truly made of steel. He had merely suffered a minor disruption to his blood circulation and had been temporarily incapacitated. After inspecting Fang Mingyu''s condition, Shi Feng looked up at the dumbfounded Fang Xiaotian, who sat on the other side of the table. Sensing Shi Feng''s gaze, Fang Xiaotian felt a chill crawl down his spine. "What are you trying to do?! I''d advise you against messing around! This is the Redstone Restaurant!" Fang Xiaotian blurted out. The Redstone Restaurant had branches all over the world, residing in any second-tier or above city. Although many major powers had desired the restaurant''s special food and beverages, no one had successfully stolen the recipes. The restaurant''s power was obvious. A little commotion within the Restone Restaurant was acceptable, but it wouldn''t tolerate anything more than that. "Young Master Fang, you jest. Why would I act recklessly here?" Shi Feng asked with a chuckle. Shi Feng knew a little about the Redstone Restaurant situation, so he knew the restaurant''s rules. Even a neutralizing grandmaster would suffer if they tried to provoke the Redstone Restaurant. The moment Shi Feng had entered the VIP room, he had sensed a powerful aura lock on to him. Although the aura didn''t originate from a grandmaster, the individual''s spiritual prowess was quite high. Shi Feng guessed that the individual was only a half-step from becoming a grandmaster. Shi Feng approached the table, and Fang Xiaotian instinctively wanted to retreat. However, the mentality of a superior he had nurtured over many years allowed him to remain firm in his position. "What are you trying to do?" Gloomy, Fang Xiaotian snarled, "Even if you''re immensely powerful, the Fang Family''s might in Fenglin City is beyond imagining!" "You shouldn''t get so excited, young Master Fang. I''m here merely to chat with you," Shi Feng said as he sat in Fang Mingyu''s original seat. He glanced at Fang Xiaotian and continued, "I know you wish to annex Zero Wing starting with Gentle Snow, but I''d advise that you abandon that notion while you still can. Zero Wing will be taking charge of this matter. "You might have great authority and strength under your command, but you shouldn''t forget that not even an entire country can protect you if your enemy is close." After Shi Feng''s statement, a biting cold assaulted everyone in the room. For a moment, these individuals felt as if they stood before the gates of hell. After two seconds of this cold, it vanished as if it had never happened. However, Fang Xiaotian''s back was drenched in sweat, and by the time he snapped out of his gaze, Shi Feng had stood and left the room. 2269 Silver Membership Chapter 2269 - Silver Membership When they realized Shi Feng was leaving, Lei Bao and Xiao Yu followed after him. "Are we really going to leave, just like that?" Xiao Yu worriedly asked Shi Feng. "I doubt those brothers will let this matter rest so easily." "They definitely won''t let this matter rest, but I merely came to greet them and ensure that they understand how useless little tricks are against us," Shi Feng nonchalantly explained. "Moreover, I think that many people will realize that they shouldn''t casually provoke Zero Wing after today''s display. Even if the Fang Family''s influence is extensive, they''ll have to evaluate the risk properly." Realization dawned on Xiao Yu as he listened to Shi Feng. Although it was true that the Fang Family had an iron grip on Fenglin City, the Fang Family had to rely on others to complete many tasks. Now that Shi Feng had shown that he could suppress Fang Mingyu, the strongest member of the Fang Family''s younger generation, the Fang Family''s prestige would take a blow, while the event would bolster Zero Wing''s reputation. This, in turn, would warn many of Fenglin City''s various major powers against provoking Zero Wing, and they''d hold back before following Fang Family''s orders. In fact, they might even refuse to target Zero Wing. One had to consider their own position before acting on someone else''s behalf, after all. While the Fang Family ruled Fenglin City, everyone would follow the family''s wishes, but when another power, one just as strong as the Fang Family, rose, the general populace would hesitate before leaning on one side or the other. "We need to accelerate our development and bolster Zero Wing''s internal member count. The Heaven''s Rumble Training Center has to open more branches as quickly as possible to increase our recruitment rate!" Shi Feng announced. "At the same time, we''ll buy some of the latest God''s Domain combat facilities and open a virtual combat platform in the training center. We''ll also need to organize a reward system." God''s Domain''s influence in the real world had been even greater than that of the fighting industry in Shi Feng''s previous life. In fact, not a single industry in the world had been able to compete with the game''s influence. Meanwhile, virtual combat platforms played a massive role in God''s Domain''s power in the real world. God''s Domain had replaced fighting competitions in the past, becoming the most popular activity across the globe. At this point, God''s Domain''s influence had grown intensely in the real world. One would almost always overhear conversations about the game as they walked the city''s streets. School students even began to introduce themselves with their in-game IDs and levels in God''s Domain. Since the virtual combat platforms hadn''t gained much popularity yet, he had to set one up in Fenglin City as soon as possible. Shi Feng hadn''t done so yet because Zero Wing had simply lacked the ability to. The timing hadn''t been right, either. However, as more competitions were held in God''s Domain, in-game combat would become increasingly popular. It was now time to secure a virtual combat platform. "Setting up new branches in Fenglin City and purchasing the facilities you mentioned will cost a significant amount of money. With our current finances, I''m afraid..." Xiao Yu agreed with Shi Feng''s idea, but Heaven''s Rumble could barely make ends meet. Moreover, Zero Wing wasn''t having a particularly good time in God''s Domain. Although Xiao Yu was mainly responsible for managing the training center, he frequently discussed finances with Liang Jing, so he knew quite a lot about Zero Wing''s situation. Currently, Zero Wing possessed the goldmine known as Stone Forest Town. However, as Zero Wing had been purchasing large quantities of materials and the Guild had been rapidly expanding, its expenditures had been rising. The Guild had also constructed new towns in many locations. Most importantly, other Guild Towns had begun to appear in the Bottomless Abyss. As a result, Stone Forest Town''s customer base had significantly decreased, which, in turn, reduced Zero Wing''s income. The Guild simply didn''t have the money to spare. "We can set up more branches later, then, but we cannot delay establishing a virtual combat platform," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. Naturally, he was familiar with Zero Wing''s situation. Zero Wing might not have the money to open new branches for the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, but it had the money to purchase virtual combat facilities. Any corporation that wanted to expand would need a huge amount of capital. Thus, corporation owners would try to attract as much investment as possible, but doing that would reduce the owner''s shares and their authority in the company. Without sufficient authority, these owners would be restricted in what they could accomplish. Moreover, a corporation risked betrayal by accepting investors. Investors weren''t impervious to threats and bribery. Such situations had been common in God''s Domain during Shi Feng''s previous life. Although Zero Wing was developing slowly, every step was firmly rooted. Hence, outsiders had a very difficult time attacking and influencing Zero Wing from within. This was also why the various superpowers had a difficult time annexing Zero Wing. If these superpowers targeted any other Guild, they''d quickly devour it. "I understand," Xiao Yu said, nodding. "I''ll contact the vendors later." As Shi Feng and his companions reached the restaurant''s first floor, they were greeted by a middle-aged man and two youngsters. The middle-aged man looked to be around 50 and wore black martial artist robes. Although he did not look physically strong, one would notice how steady his steps were if they watched him carefully. However, due to his faint aura, an ordinary expert might dismiss the man as a harmless, middle-aged uncle. To Shi Feng, however, this man''s aura was as deep as the great ocean. He was certain that this was the same aura that had locked onto during his conversation with Fang Xiaotian. The young man and woman behind him looked to be in their early 20s. The woman was curvy and graceful, while the man was as robust as a leopard. He was also handsome enough to earn a modeling job. Both youngsters wore the Redstone Restaurant''s uniform, and their auras were comparable to a national fighter''s. "Hello, Mister Shi Feng. I am this restaurant''s manager, Huang An," the middle-aged man said, smiling as he introduced himself. Xiao Yu, who stood beside Shi Feng, was shocked. Not even the Fang Family could afford to provoke the Redstone Restaurant, and the various branches'' managers were mysterious, rarely showing themselves in public. Xiao Yu had never expected Fenglin City''s branch manager to introduce himself to them. "May I know what business you have with me, Manager Huang?" Shi Feng asked. "Mister Shi Feng, you are currently one of the most famous individuals in Fenglin City, and our Restone Restaurant wishes to befriend you. Here is our restaurant''s silver membership card. If you choose to dine at our restaurant in the future, you will receive a 10% discount on all purchases," Huang An explained as he revealed a silver card, presenting it to Shi Feng. "Silver membership?" Xiao Yu''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he heard Huang An''s words. Despite relying on his connection with Han Yifeng, Xiao Yu had only acquired a normal membership card. Moreover, he had to pay an annual membership fee of 2,000,000 Credits. Silver members, on the other hand, weren''t required to pay a membership fee. Even in Fenglin City, very few people possessed a Redstone Restaurant silver membership card. "Thanks." After glancing at the membership card, Shi Feng slid it away and left the restaurant without another word. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to re-enter God''s Domain. After today''s events, he was determined to return from the Tower of Four Gods as soon as possible. As Shi Feng''s group left the Redstone Restaurant, the young man and woman behind Huang An spoke up. "That guy doesn''t know how to appreciate a favor. He just left after receiving the card. He didn''t even bother with any light conversation," the young woman grumbled. "He''s likely been frightened off. He just slapped the Fang Family in the face, and they won''t let him get away with it. He might be considering leaving Fenglin City as soon as he''s able," the young man commented, snickering. "That''s right. The Fang Family is guarded by a neutralizing grandmaster like Old Man Fang. Who would dare provoke the Fang Family? The Old Man won''t be able to ignore the slight," the young woman said, admiration brightening her features as she spoke of ''neutralizing grandmasters.'' "It seems you two need more training. You have no business discussing this," Huang An said, shaking his head. "Why is that, instructor?" the young woman asked. Rather than replying, however, Huang An waited until Shi Feng disappeared before he continued, "I suspect that Shi Feng might be...a neutralizing grandmaster!" 2270 Second Floors Effec Chapter 2270 - Second Floor''s Effect With his business in the Redstone Restaurant complete, Shi Feng quickly returned to Zero Wing''s main headquarters, instructing his people to work on improving their Tier 2 Skills and Spells'' Completion Rates. He also reserved some advanced combat rooms for the Guild''s core members in Zero Wing''s various Battle Arenas. The advanced combat rooms might not be as effective as the Tower of Four Gods, but they were better than nothing. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu began to organize the purchases to set up the virtual combat platform for the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. "Blackie, I''m afraid I''ll have to spend quite some time in the Tower of Four Gods. While I''m gone, I want you to focus on collecting Ancient Origin Wood and Diamond Wood. Also, have Qingxue lead the main force members to the Sea of Death''s Tide Vortex to grind monsters. The monsters there should drop something called the Tide Stone Fragment," Shi Feng said. "Collect as many fragments as you can. I will need them." Players could only enter the Tower of Four Gods once every 360 days, and he couldn''t just leave the tower and waste the opportunity. After completing the trials on the first floor, however, he realized that completing the rest would take a long time. Meanwhile, more powers had begun to shift their focus to the sea. As a result, Dragonheart City had become more important in the game. If Zero Wing wished to continue its rapid development while collecting enough funds to set up more Heaven''s Rumble Training Center branches, it would have to establish itself in Dragonheart City as soon as possible. To do that, Zero Wing needed to increase its Popularity in the city. That way, Zero Wing could establish a Guild Residence, allowing easy teleportation to the city for its members. This was also why the various large Guilds were pushing their members to complete quests in Dragonheart City. Although many of these Guilds had collected the necessary Ancient Gold to purchase Land and build a Guild Residence, they didn''t have enough Popularity to establish a teleportation array within the Residences. As a result, their established Guild Residences could only serve as a resting place for Guild members, nothing more. Unfortunately, gaining Popularity in Dragonheart City wasn''t an easy task. As an independent, neutral city, very few quests offered Guild Popularity, and with so many Guilds contesting for these quests, accumulating 50,000 Guild Popularity was incredibly difficult. However, quests weren''t the only method of gaining Guild Popularity. A Guild could also accumulate Popularity in Dragonheart City through Tide Stone Fragments. The only monsters that dropped these fragments were in the Tidal Vortex, which was located in the Sea of Death''s core area. Even the weakest monster in the area was a Level 90 Great Lord, and the Tidal Vortex was home to quite a few Level 90-plus Grand Lords. One would frequently encounter Level 90-plus Mythic monsters, as well. There was no doubt that the Tidal Vortex was a very dangerous place. If a team entered the Tidal Vortex without a Tier 3 expert, even survival would be an immense challenge. Initially, Shi Feng had wanted to lead a team to the Tidal Vortex to grind for EXP and Tidal Stone Fragments himself, but since he was stuck in the Tower of Four Gods and Zero Wing''s situation was growing tenser, he had to rely on Blackie and the others to complete the task. Zero Wing''s main force was no longer weak; its members were Level 90 on average. The main force also had an MT like Cola, who wielded a Fragmented Legendary Shield. The main force members should barely be strong enough to grind efficiently in the Tidal Vortex. "Alright, I''ll notify the others right away," Blackie replied. He took the situation seriously when Shi Feng had stated that the Tidal Stone Fragments were of great importance. He left Shi Feng''s room immediately to notify the other main force members. Once Blackie left, Shi Feng lay in his virtual gaming cabin and logged back into God''s Domain to clear the Tower of Four Gods'' trials as quickly as possible. As God''s Domain appeared around him, he returned to the temple with the Six-headed Hellsnakes. System: Kill 1,000 Six-headed Hellsnakes within 3 days. If you fail to complete this task in the stipulated time, the challenge will automatically be regarded as a failure. Kill 1,000 of these things in three days? The second floor''s first trial is much harder than the first floor''s. Shi Feng could not help but frown when he read the system notification. Although the first floor''s first trial had required him to slay 1,500 Twin-headed Netherfire Wolves, the wolves had been ordinary Lords. These Six-headed Hellsnakes, on the other hand, were Bloodline Creatures. Not only did the Hellsnakes have far more HP, but they also had special Bloodline abilities. Killing these monsters would be far more difficult than killing the Netherfire Wolves, and the Six-headed Hellsnakes roamed the temple in groups of two or three. Even a Refinement Realm expert of the same level would struggle to kill all 1,000 Hellsnakes in three days. Once the brief invulnerability buff he received for logging back in faded, Shi Feng wasted no time as he charged toward a group of two Six-headed Hellsnakes. Sure enough, the Six-headed Hellsnakes were far more challenging than the Twin-headed Netherfire Wolves. The moment the two Hellsnakes noticed Shi Feng, all twelve heads attacked the Swordsman with perfect coordination. Such a well-coordinated attack could likely kill an ordinary Tier 2 expert. To Shi Feng, however, the Hellsnakes'' attacks lacked finesse. He responded by unsheathing Killing Ray, countering the two Hellsnakes* attacks with his own. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! When the attacks collided, sparks flashed between them. Both Six-headed Hellsnakes were thrown back as a series of damages exceeding -90,000 appeared above their heads. What high Defense, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the two monsters. Killing Ray had only left a white mark on the Hellsnakes* scales, failing to cut through. The Hellsnakes'' Defense could practically rival a Grand Lord''s. Could this be their special ability? Killing Ray was a top-tier Epic Weapon, and when paired with his Strength, he could easily slice through the flesh and meat of a Grand Lord of the same level, yet he had failed to injure the Lord ranked Six-headed Hellsnakes. The only explanation he could think of was their Bloodline ability. This was the Bloodline ability that players detested more than any other. Players'' damage in God''s Domain depended on their Basic Attributes, as well as any injuries they inflicted on monsters. Skin, muscle, and bone damage could significantly affect players'' overall damage. This was why players constantly sought high-quality weapons later in the game. Even without incredibly high Basic Attributes, players could rely on sufficiently powerful weapons to deal even more damage than players with high Attributes and weaker weapons. Fortunately, Shi Feng found Lightning Slash easier to execute here than on the first floor. Moreover, he had consumed 20% less Concentration. Before Shi Feng could test the second floor''s effects, the two Six-headed Hellsnakes had launched another round of attacks. Suddenly, inspiration struck as Shi Feng instinctively executed Lightning Flash. This time, instead of 14 slashes, Shi Feng struck the two Hellsnakes with 15 slashes. Lightning Flash''s power instantly increased. Not only did Shi Feng''s counterattack repel all 12 heads, but it also left a bone-deep gash in each head, the injuries slightly affecting the Hellsnakes'' combat power. At the same time, damages of over -100,000 appeared above each head. The technique already possesses such great destructive power with just 15 slashes? Shi Feng was stunned, staring at the injured Hellsnakes. However, Shi Feng instantly felt the aftereffects. Not only had his entire body gone numb, but he had also lost nearly half of his maximum Concentration. Fortunately, the numbness lasted less than a second, and Shi Feng was able to defend himself against the Hellsnakes'' next attacks. The 15-slash Lightning Flash''s side effects were far more severe than Shi Feng had expected, but that didn''t stop Shi Feng from using the technique. Once he had recovered enough Concentration, he used the technique again to familiarize himself with the improved version. After roughly eight minutes, Shi Feng slew the two Six-headed Hellsnakes. The instant the two Hellsnakes died, Shi Feng felt a trace of their Bloodlines flow into his body, granting him one point of Bloodline Power. At the same time, the two Hellsnakes dropped a shining, crimson stone that radiated a strange, alluring energy. 2271 Tower of Four Godss Secrets Chapter 2271 - Tower of Four GodsJecrets As more time passed, the strange energy the crimson stone radiated became so dense that even Shi Feng could feel it affect him from five yards away. He felt his bloodlust rise and rage fill his mind. What is this thing? Despite being inactive, it has such a powerful, mental influence on those around it. Shi Feng stared at the crimson stone in shock. Eternal Energy filled the Tower of Four Gods, allowing players to maintain ideal mental clarity and focus. However, the strange energy this crimson stone radiated had the complete opposite effect. Shi Feng picked up the stone to inspect it. The instant his fingers touched the crimson stone, however, his very soul shuddered. He felt, for a moment, as if he stood in a sea of blood and gore. Powerful, violent energy assaulted his body, weakening the Eternal Energy''s effects. Contaminated Soul Fragment? Shi Feng was dumbfounded after inspecting the stone. How is this possible? The crimson stone was a fragment of condensed souls. A soul was intangible in the real world and in God''s Domain. Trying to make a soul tangible was an excruciatingly difficult process. Normally, a soul could only take on a physical form with the help of divine items. Take the Soul Orb, a fragment of the Treasure of Illusion, for example. It could be used to absorb a portion of a player''s soul and use the collected souls to create Soul Water. The Ancient God''s Literature Fragment could also absorb the souls of half-dead creatures to create Soul Essence. However, Soul Water and Soul Essence were significantly smaller items than this fist-sized crimson stone. ... (Contaminated Soul Fragment) (Special Item) This fragment is comprised of countless condensed and violent souls. It contains dense Soul Power and can be merged with any creature''s soul to achieve ascension. However, doing so will subject the target to intensely oppressive effects. (This fragment can only exist within the Tower of Four Gods. It will disappear upon leaving the tower.) ... It''s no wonder why the Ore Empire''s founding emperor was so bloodthirsty. So, that was due to this thing. Realization dawned on Shi Feng after reading the Contaminated Soul Fragment''s description. So, the ''opportunity'' everyone referred to was this stone. The Tower of Four Gods had been responsible for the rise of countless powerhouses in God''s Domain, including the founders of empires. These individuals'' powerful souls were a large part of the reason they had gained the strength to lord over a country. After all, souls were the root of everything, including players. If players'' souls were extinguished, they''d have to start a new account if they wished to continue in God''s Domain. If players could strengthen their souls, they''d have an easier time mastering Skills, Spells, and combat techniques. Their physiques would improve, as well. When one gained a new tier in God''s Domain, their soul ascended. If a person''s soul ascended by other means, they''d improve in all aspects. And now, Shi Feng learned that Soul Fragments, which could help one''s soul forcibly ascend, dropped in the Tower of Four Gods. One could easily imagine how great of an opportunity this was. It was no wonder why even Tier 6 God- ranked players had fought to enter the tower. Absorbing such violent souls will likely be a major challenge for players. Absorbing too many of these Contaminated Soul Fragments is likely impossible. Shi Feng gave the crimson stone in his hand a disappointed look. He only held the Contaminated Soul Fragment, yet it had such a powerful effect on his mental state. Moreover, it was surrounded by Eternal Energy. Its effects would likely be many times stronger in the outside world. Shi Feng couldn''t even imagine what would happen if he absorbed this thing. He estimated that absorbing two Contaminated Soul Fragments would be his limit. Any more, and it would affect his mental state. Of course, his limit was only this low because he was a Tier 2 player. He''d likely be able to absorb more Contaminated Soul Fragments as he rose in tier. It was like adding salt to water. Once the water was saturated, no more salt would dissolve. In this case, the violent energy within the Contaminated Soul Fragment was the salt, while his soul was the water. If his soul couldn''t absorb the violent energy, the excess would affect his mind. Suddenly, Shi Feng had an idea. It was too risky to absorb the violent energy, but the crimson stone itself was condensed souls'' essence. He might be able to absorb only the Soul Power within the fragment by relying on the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. The Ancient God''s Literature Fragment''s Soul Absorption Skill absorbed Soul Power. The ''half-dead creatures'' only referred to monsters when their HPs hit zero. As the corpses disappeared, their physical bodies no longer protected their souls, and the souls could wander. In this state, the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment could then absorb the souls. The Soul Fragment was the condensed form of these wandering souls. Shi Feng then pulled the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment from his bag to experiment. If his experiment failed, so be it. If it succeeded, however, he would hit the jackpot. The Ancient God''s Literature Fragment could, after all, strengthen a creature''s soul without any side effects. He grew nervous as he used Soul Absorption on the Contaminated Soul Fragment. The Ancient God''s Literature Fragment began to glow, and the violent energy within the Contaminated Soul Fragment flared as if it were trying to resist the Literature Fragment''s power. However, the Literature Fragment had been carefully crafted by an Ancient God; how could violent souls possibly resist? The fist-sized crimson stone turned to dust in Shi Feng''s hand in less than five seconds, and Shi Feng had acquired a single drop of Soul Essence. Wonderful! Shi Feng rejoiced over the result. Condensing a Soul Essence was extremely difficult. First, he had to choose a monster that met the minimum level requirement. Soul Absorption would not work on monsters that were a lower level than he was. Second, the target had to be sufficiently powerful. Great Lords were likely the lowest limit. Considering that he hadn''t reached Level 90 when he had hunted the Level 102 Great Lord ranked Skeleton Generals, he guessed that not even souls from Level 100 Great Lords would yield him any Soul Essence once he reached Level 100. At the very minimum, he had to target Level 100 Grand Lords. Moreover, Soul Absorption had a six-hour Cooldown. It wouldn''t do him any good to grind one Boss after another, and he didn''t have the free time to hunt a powerful Boss every six hours. However, he was currently stuck in the Tower of Four Gods and had nothing better to do. So, he might as well use this opportunity to collect Soul Essence. Moreover, he couldn''t take the Contaminated Soul Fragments outside the Tower of Four Gods. It was wonderful news that he could use the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment to convert the Contaminated Soul Fragments into a form that he could take with him when he left. Following which, Shi Feng continued through the tower''s trials, collecting Bloodline Power and stockpiling Soul Essence. Due to the generous EXP these monsters provided, he leveled even faster than he would grinding elsewhere. Fortunately, these trials, which would be challenging to normal Tier 2 players, were no problem for Shi Feng. His life within the Tower of Four Gods was actually quite relaxing. Once he cleared a floor, he rested for a day and returned to the real world to check up on Zero Wing''s situation. However, once he reached the third floor, he found the trial to be a bit challenging. Not only were the third floor''s monsters Bloodline Creatures, but they were also of a higher rank than those on the second floor. The first trial alone tasked Shi Feng with killing 900 High Lords of the same level. Even peak experts would need a long time to complete the task. Killing all 900 would be utterly impossible in three days. Shi Feng had only completed the task thanks to his superior Basic Attributes and the Secret Technique, Lightning Flash. During the third floor''s second trial, Shi Feng had to face Great Lords, and he had to kill 300 of them in three days. Even Shi Feng had barely managed to complete the trial. After killing the 300 Great Lords, Shi Feng had risen to Level 99, only one level away from the Level 100 threshold. It was at this point that he had finally collected the 100 Bloodline Power he needed and accumulated 86 drops of Soul Essence. If not for the Contaminated Soul Fragment''s low drop-rate, he would''ve had more. When Shi Feng completed the third floor''s second trial, the scene around him changed, and he found himself in the same colosseum he had visited during the first floor''s third trial. However, instead of 10 Giant Gladiators, an ordinary human stood on the elevated platform. This human wore dazzling armor and carried a pitch-black greatsword. When Shi Feng saw this Swordsman, he could not help but gasp. A Tier 3 Hero! 2272 Bloodline Evolves Chapter 2272 - Bloodline Evolves The third floor''s trial is this challenging? Shi Feng was rendered speechless as he stared at the human Swordsman standing in the center of the elevated platform. ... (Crow Byson (Black Sword Knight)) (Hero, Tier 3 Sword King) Level 99 HP 13,000,000/13,000,000 ... Practically every player in God''s Domain knew that NPCs were not to be provoked by this stage of the game, yet many were still unaware that there were even massive differences between NPCs. Take the NPC Giants Shi Feng fought on the first floor, for example. They possessed powerful racial traits that granted them superior combat power. The combat power Giant''s wielded ranked at the top among NPCs of the same Tier, but comparing an ordinary NPC Giant to a Hero was like comparing a candle flame to the sun. However, comparing an ordinary NPC Giant to a Hero was like comparing a candle flame to the sun. Heroes had completed the Trial of God and received a God''s blessing. Their combat power was unparalleled among those of the same rank. Powerful Heroes could even slay an adult Dragon by themselves. They were akin to kingdoms and empires'' guardian saints. Many Tier 5 apex experts in Shi Feng''s previous life had grown conceited and would frequently attack kingdoms and empires'' caravans. In the end, many of them had encountered hidden NPC Heros and received a painful beating. These experts hadn''t been able to escape and had been locked up in prison for their crimes. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be stunned to learn that he had to face a Tier 3 Hero? ... System: Kill Crow Byson, the Black Sword Knight, within 1 day. If you fail to complete this task in the stipulated time, the challenge will automatically be regarded as a failure. ... Shi Feng''s last spark of hope faded the instant he heard the system notification. He had hoped that he''d only have to survive against the Tier 3 Hero for a certain time to clear the third floor''s trial. If that were the case, he''d have a chance, but he actually had to kill a Tier 3 Hero. Shi Feng wouldn''t be able to defeat a Tier 3 Hero even if he were a Tier 3 player, let alone right now, as a Tier 2 player. The Tier 5 apex experts of the past had commanded incredibly powerful combat techniques, and the weakest piece of equipment they had worn had been Epic Rank. They had also carried a few Fragmented Legendary items, yet they had only earned a one-sided beating during their encounters with Tier 5 Heroes. Wait, why is that Hero only wearing Dark-Gold Equipment? Just as Shi Feng was about to give up on the trial and stop wasting his time in the Tower of Four Gods, he noticed that the glow effect on Crow Byson''s weapons and equipment was effect unique to Dark-Gold ranked items. Normally, NPC Heroes wore a minimum of Epic Set Equipment, while some of the stronger individuals were fully geared in Fragmented Legendary Equipment. An NPC would have an easier time collecting such equipment than players, after all. However, the Tier 3 Hero before him only wore Dark-Gold Equipment. Moreover, by the looks of the Hero''s equipment, it wasn''t even a Dark-Gold Set Equipment. I have a chance! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement at this discovery. There was a three-rank difference between Epic Set Equipment and individual Dark-Gold Equipment. In other words, this Hero''s combat power would be three ranks lower than usual. Most importantly, Crow Byson was not Level 100, but Level 99. Level 100 was a massive turning point in God''s Domain for monsters and NPCs. Until monsters and NPCs reached that threshold, they''d be restricted by the system, only able to exhibit a portion of their full strength. Hence, Shi Feng still had a chance of completing the trial. Considering the situation, Shi Feng quickly calmed himself and stepped onto the platform. "I advise you to turn back, young adventurer. You are not strong enough to defeat me," Crow Byson said. "How will I know that without trying?" Shi Feng countered. "Then, I have no choice but to remove you myself!" Crow Byson declared, unsheathing the pitch-black greatsword from his back. The intensity of his aura skyrocketed as he charged at Shi Feng. Crow Byson was extremely fast, and mid-charge, he split into six clones, which were impossible to differentiate between. Sure enough, he''ll execute all of his Skills and Spells with a 100% Completion Rate. Shi Feng wasn''t surprised in the least to see the six Heroes charge at him. The move Crow Byson just used was the Swordsman class''s Tier 3 Skill, Sword Phantom. Normally, the Skill only allowed the user to split into four copies, but one would gain two more if they achieved a 100% Completion Rate. Not only would these additional doppelgangers confuse the enemy further, but all six were also physical copies. Of course, Shi Feng wouldn''t take Crow Byson''s attack lying down. He immediately brandished Killing Ray. Shadow Blade! Thanks to his incessant training, Shi Feng could now execute Shadow Blade with a 103% Completion Rate. As a result, the number of sword lights he summoned had increased from 10 to 12. Although Crow Byson was a Tier 3 Hero, his Basic Attributes were only slightly higher than a Strength-type Great Lord due to the limitations of his equipment. Meanwhile, Shadow Blade''s power had risen with a 103% Completion Rate. Now, a single sword light had enough Strength to rival this NPC Hero. However, Crow Byson''s six doppelgangers altered their footwork and agilely evaded all 12 attacks like nimble cats just as Shi Feng''s sword lights were about to slam into him. Without pause, the NPC continued toward Shi Feng. The evasion surprised Shi Feng. An Advanced Combat Technique! All six doppelgangers had executed an Advanced Combat Technique simultaneously... Facing so many enemies, Shi Feng had no choice but to defend himself with Sword''s Transmigration. Shi Feng had improved his use of Sword''s Transmigration during his training in the Tower of Four Gods as well. Now, he could deflect six simultaneous attacks without trouble. However, the instant the two Swordsmen''s attacks were about to collide, Crow Byson''s six strikes converged into two. Shi Feng felt two powerful forces strike his blades, the combination attack containing so much Strength that he couldn''t defect. The impact threw Shi Feng over 10 yards away as he lost nearly 10,000 HP. A Bronze Combat Technique? Shi Feng stared at the Tier 3 NPC Hero in shock. Shi Feng had used a Bronze Defensive Combat Technique, yet he hadn''t been able to deflect Crow Byson''s attacks. Moreover, he had taken damage from the attempt. He could only assume that this was because Crow Byson''s offensive combat technique was Bronze rank as well. Although Shi Feng had known that NPC Heroes were immensely powerful, unparalleled among those of the same tier, he hadn''t expected them to be this powerful. It was no wonder why Crow Byson could exhibit 100% of his combat power if NPC Heroes could casually execute Advanced and Bronze Combat Techniques. Not even a Domain Realm expert could achieve such a feat. Before Shi Feng could steady himself, Crow Byson''s main body transformed into a streak of pitch-black light, arriving before his opponent almost instantly. Tier 3 Skill, Spatial Slash! Normally, Spatial Slash only yielded one attack, yet in Crow Byson''s hands, it had produced three, each with the Strength of a Mythic monster. Unfortunately, Shi Feng didn''t have time to employ a defensive maneuver against the speed of this attack. As a result, he was forced to activate Defensive Blade. Shi Feng suffered defeat in less than a minute due to his disadvantage in terms of Basic Attributes, Skills, and combat standards. After his death, he automatically respawned at the bottom of the elevated platform. His combat power might be three ranks lower than normal, but he''s still so powerful. It is no wonder why most apex experts in the past ran away from Heroes. Looking up, Shi Feng gave Crow Byson a bitter smile. Not only was Crow Byson capable of effortlessly executing Bronze Combat Techniques, but he also had a 100% Completion Rate with all of his Skills. A Tier 3 player had no hope of defeating him. Not even Shi Feng''s current combat power was a match for this NPC Hero. My combat power is still weaker than his, but I might have a chance of victory if I can gain a Basic Attribute advantage. After the first fight, Shi Feng realized that the difference between their strength wasn''t as large as he had assumed. His gaze shifted toward the Frost Iron Bloodline''s Attribute Panel. The Frost Iron Bloodline has already increased my strength so drastically. If I can upgrade it to an Advanced Bloodline, my Attributes should climb even higher. With little choice, Shi Feng tapped on the Frost Iron Bloodline''s Attribute Panel and chose to evolve it. 2273 Advanced Fused Bloodline Chapter 2273 - Advanced Fused Bloodline As soon as Shi Feng chose to evolve the Frost Iron Bloodline, the 100 Bloodline Power he had accumulated transformed into a purple and gold gas that flowed throughout Shi Feng''s body. As the gas spread throughout his body, Shi Feng felt as if he were being burned alive. His heart, however, remained icy cold. At the same time, divine runes began to appear on his body. Initially, the divine runes seemed fragmented, but as the purple-gold gas fused with Shi Feng, the divine runes completed. After 10 seconds or so, the gas had fused with Shi Feng, and a set of complete divine runes had tattooed his body. His aura had changed slightly, as well. If Shi Feng had felt like a mighty wolf before, he was now as imposing as a majestic lion. His strength had undergone a qualitative transformation. There''s such a huge difference between the Frost Iron Bloodline''s Basic and Advanced versions? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he sensed the changes to his body. ... (Frost Iron Bloodline (Fused Bloodline)) Increases player''s compatibility with melee Skills and reaction speed. Mainly improves Strength and Agility, followed by Endurance, Vitality, and Intelligence. ... Statistically, the Frost Iron Bloodline had barely changed, yet Shi Feng could feel the difference in him quite clearly. Currently, he had massively improved in various aspects. His Strength Attribute was now only slightly lower than that of a Grand Lord of the same level, and his reaction speed had risen to rival what he had enjoyed in his previous life as a Tier 3 Sword King. Shi Feng immediately unsheathed Killing Ray and executed Shadow Blade. The moment he did, however, he was stunned. Before his transformation, he had been able to produce 12 sword lights with Shadow Blade, yet now, he commanded 14 sword lights. His Skill Completion Rate had climbed to 105%, 2% more than his previous limit, as well. The improvement was frightening. It was incredibly difficult to increase a Skill Completion Rate by a single percent after reaching 100%. It was even more of a challenge than raising one''s Completion Rate from 99% to 100%. After nearly two weeks in the Tower of Four Gods, he had only increased his Shadow Blade Completion Rate to 103%, and he still couldn''t hit that rate reliably. And yet, Shi Feng had just achieved a 105% Completion Rate with Shadow Blade. Why wouldn''t he be surprised? Moreover, every sword light was as powerful as a Grand Lord''s attack. If he combined all 14, he could even severely injure a Grand Lord of the same level. Level 90-plus Grand Lords possessed very high Defense, and their physical bodies were incredibly tough. Even a Berserker would have a hard time injuring a Level 90-plus Grand Lord. At best, the Berserker''s attack would leave a small scratch, not weakening the Grand Lord''s combat power in the least. After examining the effects of evolving the Frost Iron Bloodline, Shi Feng walked toward Crow Byson. He hadn''t been a match for the NPC Hero since his Basic Attributes had been slightly weaker than his opponents. Crow Byson was a bona fide Tier 3 existence, and every one of his Skills was at Tier 3. Shi Feng''s reaction speed had also been slightly lower than Crow Byson''s. However, the evolved Frost Iron Bloodline gave Shi Feng a Strength advantage, and he could now execute his Skills with a 105% Completion Rate. In terms of raw power, Shi Feng''s Tier 2 Skills were in no way inferior to Crow Byson''s Tier 3 Skills. Shi Feng had also become Crow Byson''s equal in terms of reaction speed. His chances of defeating the Tier 3 Hero had definitely improved. You still refuse to give up, young adventurer?" Crow Byson frowned as Shi Feng returned to the platform. "You are only Tier 2. The Tower of Four Gods'' third-floor trial has been prepared for Tier 3 beings." "Of course, I refuse to give up. This is the third floor''s final trial. Once I clear it, I''ll have cleared the entire floor and receive the reward for doing so. Why would I give up?" Shi Feng replied. In the Tower of Four Gods, rewards were based on the number of floors the challenger had cleared, and the difference between clearing two floors and three was massive. To put it into perspective, it was akin to the difference between Dark-Gold Equipment and Epic Equipment. "Fine, then I have no choice but to send you back!" Crow Byson said. Crow Byson''s figure blurred immediately, and in the blink of an eye, he loomed above Shi Feng, swinging his pitch- black greatsword in a downward arch. As the greatsword descended, Crow Byson split into three identical copies. As a result, three attacks soared toward Shi Feng, converging toward a single point. The power of this attack tore apart space itself. It wasn''t any weaker than a Mythic monster''s attack. Was he holding back? Shi Feng wondered, his expression darkening as he watched the incoming blade. Crow Byson had perfectly incorporated a combat technique and Skill in this attack. First, the Hero had used the Tier 3 Skill, Mountain Splitter. He then used an Advanced Combat Technique to combine the three attacks, stacking each attack''s Strength. Not even Domain Realm experts could use this move. Mountain Splitter was an AOE Skill. Thus, Lifesaving Skills, such as Defensive Blade, couldn''t block it. Only Invulnerability Skills could stop it. Unwilling to expose weakness, Shi Feng executed Purgatory Pentaslash to counter the attack. Each of Purgatory Pentaslash''s strikes was stronger than the last, and Shi Feng executed the Skill with a 104% Completion Rate, combining it with the Strength Combination technique. All five strikes merged perfectly as the cut through the convergence point of Crow Byson''s three attacks. Boom! As the blades clashed, a massive explosion shook the arena. The resulting shockwave threw Crow Byson, who had been suspended in the air. Although Shi Feng hadn''t taken damage, he had depleted a huge chunk of his Concentration due to the difficulty of combining the Skill and the combat technique, leaving him sluggish. If he hadn''t evolved the Frost Iron Bloodline to Advance rank, pulling off that move would''ve been impossible. Fortunately, Shi Feng was currently in the Tower of Four Gods, which was full of Eternal Energy. As a result, he had recovered a significant portion of the lost Concentration before Crow Byson had even hit the ground. Just before the NPC Hero landed, Shi Feng executed Wind Blade and charged forth. It wasn''t easy to move while suspended in the air, leaving one vulnerable to attack. Naturally, Shi Feng wouldn''t miss this opportunity. Achieving a 105% Completion Rate with Wind Blade, Shi Feng only needed an instant to cross the 20 or so yards between them. As soon as Shi Feng reached Crow Byson, he brandished Killing Ray and executed Lightning Flash. Since Lightning Flash was a combat technique, he didn''t need any preparation time to use the attack. As Shi Feng swung Killing Ray, his attack felt smoother than ever before. Previously, Shi Feng hadn''t been able to perform Lightning Flash''s 16th slash, yet now, 16 sword lights flew toward Crow Byson like an all-encompassing net, each carrying enough raw power to force a Grand Lord to stumble backward. Crow Byson had reacted very quickly and performed a defensive combat technique. Unfortunately for the NPC, Lightning Flash was a full offensive technique. Even with only 15 slashes, the technique had enough power to rival ordinary Bronze Combat Techniques. Now that Shi Feng had performed the 16th slash, the Hero could only nullify five of the sword lights when focusing on defense, and the remaining 11 attacks struck him squarely. Crow Byson immediately lost over 1,000,000 HP. However, Crow Byson was not an easy opponent. The Hero launched a counterattack the moment he landed, his black greatsword releasing an endless darkness that devoured all light around him. The NPC Hero sent nine slashes at Shi Feng, and like the darkness around him, the attacks surrounded Shi Feng. Even with his sharp senses, Shi Feng couldn''t sense the attacks'' trajectories and had to rely on Sword''s Orbit to protect himself. Even with the technique, however, two of the attacks struck, dealing more than -100,000 damage. To With a maximum HP at 630,000, Shi Feng could only afford to take six more of those hits. What an amazing move! Shocked, Shi Feng stared at Crow Byson. As a Domain Realm expert, he no longer had to rely on his sight to sense incoming attacks. However, Crow Byson''s previous move robbed him of more than his vision; his other senses had significantly weakened, as well. If he hadn''t had the reaction speed of a Tier 3 player, he would''ve lost half of his HP from that attack. It seems this will be a battle of attrition. Shi Feng adjusted his approach and activated Twilight of the Gods and Twilight''s Shadow. Since these abilities would lower his Basic Attributes, Shi Feng hadn''t bothered to use them during the first fight with Crow Byson. Widening the gap between their Basic Attributes wouldn''t help him defeat the Tier 3 Hero. However, now that he had an edge with his Strength, his doppelgangers1 strength wouldn''t be as high as Crow Byson, but the difference wouldn''t be so vast. They could, more or less, contend with the Hero. With the help of his doppelgangers, Shi Feng focused on offense and traded blow for blow with Crow Byson. Crow Byson was just too powerful, however, and by the time he had finished off one doppelganger, Shi Feng had only dealt a little over -800,000 damage in total. After another two minutes, the NPC Hero still had one-third of his HP remaining. In contrast, Shi Feng''s HP was nearly at zero. At his current state, he''d only last three more moves against Crow Byson. "It seems this is my limit." Looking at Crow Byson, Shi Feng smiled and said, "Let''s start the second round, then!" He then activated the Aura of Water''s Life Domain, and he began to recover 20% of his HP each second. Unless Crow Byson could kill him in one hit, the Hero couldn''t defeat him while Life Domain was in effect. This was the final trump card Shi Feng had saved throughout the fight. It would only last 30 seconds, after all. Shi Feng charged at Crow Byson, repeatedly executing Lightning Flash and not giving the Hero an opportunity to activate a Skill. He rapidly shaved away the NPC''s HP. But Crow Byson wasn''t a fool, either. He focused on his defense, slowing his HP loss. As Life Domain''s 30-second duration was almost over, Crow Byson still had 7% of his HP remaining. Shi Feng, however, adjusted his footwork as he activated Instant Strike, the Tier 2 Taboo Skill he had reserved. He gambled the last of his Concentration to execute Lightning Flash. The massive Attack Speed boost Instant Strike provided allowed Shi Feng to execute the combat technique perfectly. Seventeen sword lights flew toward Crow Byson with such speed that the Tier 3 Hero had no time to defend himself while executing a Bronze Defensive Combat Technique. As a result, the combined power of the 17 sword lights slammed into Crow Byson, devouring the last of his HP. ... System: Congratulations! You have defeated the Hero, Crow Byson, and cleared the Tower of Four Gods'' third-floor trial. 2274 Level 100 Restriction Removed Chapter 2274 - Level 100 Restriction Removed The instant Crow Byson died, Shi Feng''s experience bar skyrocketed. He had already been very close to Level 100, and in the end, his experience bar took less than two seconds to fill completely. Level 100! Suddenly, a faint purple glow enveloped Shi Feng''s body. The phenomenon wasn''t like his previous level-ups, and as soon as the glow faded, invisible chains appeared around him. These chains then cracked and shattered, freeing Shi Feng of his prior restrictions. I''ve already reached Level 100? Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at his level. He both desired and detested Level 100. Level 100 might not seem like much, but Shi Feng understood that it was the greatest milestone in God''s Domain. The Main God System didn''t only release monsters and NPCs from their restrictions. Players would also undergo a qualitative transformation upon reaching Level 100. Unfortunately, they''d also lose the Main God System''s protection. The invisible chains that bound players were a form of restriction and protection. Not only would players Basic Attributes rise by a large margin, but their sensitivity and reactions would also reach 100%. Of course, this meant they would also fully experience the pain when receiving damage, and their mental exhaustion would begin to affect their physical bodies. What everyone knew of God''s Domain before Level 100 was an illusion. It was a watered-down simulation that allowed players to adapt to the actual game. As players continued to level up, they''d experience fewer restrictions, and once they hit Level 100, the restrictions would be completely removed, and God''s Domain''s virtual world would truly begin to mimic reality. I''ve leveled far faster than I had expected. I''ll have to complete my Tier 3 promotion as soon as possible, Shi Feng thought after getting a feel for his Level 100 body. Although combat would be more of a struggle after Level 100, the hazy sensation he had felt all this time had finally disappeared. He had regained the body he had been so familiar with during his previous life. While his virtual body had been under the Main God System''s protection, he hadn''t been able to exhibit 100% of his strength. Hence, he hadn''t been able to immerse himself in battle fully. That also meant that he hadn''t lost much Concentration when taking damage. That body hadn''t felt like it had truly belonged to him, but now, his Concentration would decrease when he took damage. He could finally enjoy a true sense of realism. Although players gained massive improvements when they reached Level 100, they would also be at their weakest in God''s Domain. Monsters and NPCs would be liberated when they reached Level 100, as well. An ordinary Level 100, Tier 2 expert wouldn''t even be a match for a Chieftain ranked monster. In fact, the player would die the moment they entered a Level 100 map. Even with a 6-man party, Tier 2 players had to be extremely careful in Level 100-plus maps. If players wanted to survive in Level 100-plus maps, they had to cross the Tier 3 threshold. Before Shi Feng could grow accustomed to his new body, the scene around him blurred. This time, he was teleported to the top of a mountain. Ancient stone pillars decorated the area, and a large number of Dragonkin roamed the mountain. Dragonkin looked a lot like humans, but they were covered in scales, and draconic heads, and rough, robust tails. These Dragonkin were fully armed with weapons and armor, and they looked like an organized army, guarding these ruins. ... (Blackscaled Dragonkin)(Bloodline Creature, Great Lord) Level 100 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 ... Although the Blackscaled Dragonkin were only Great Lords, they felt even more dangerous than the Hero, Crow Byson, had, and the ruin Shi Feng had teleported to was full of them. If he attacked a single Dragonkin, at least three of its companions would come to its aid. ... System: Congratulations! You have cleared the third floor''s trials and arrived at the Tower of Four Gods'' fourth floor. You may choose to rest here for one day. You may also choose to start the fourth floor''s trials immediately. ... The fourth floor really isn''t a place for Tier 2 players. I''ll need to reach Tier 3 to clear these trials. Shi Feng watched the roaming Dragonkin with a bitter smile. Dragonkin''s Life Rating was considerably high, even surpassing Inferior Dragons and Giants. Dragonkin had inherited a part of the Dragon Bloodline. Even ordinary Tier 3 players would have to flee from a Level 100-plus, Great Lord ranked Dragonkin. Although Shi Feng could rival actual Tier 3 players, he wasn''t an actual Tier 3 player. Furthermore, these Blackscaled Dragonkin had awakened their Bloodline abilities. Initially, Shi Feng had wanted to try his luck with the fourth floor''s trials, but he dismissed the thought. He decided to give up on the challenge, throwing away his two remaining lives and leaving the Tower of Four Gods. As he was, he couldn''t gain anything more from the tower, so there wasn''t any reason to stay. Once Shi Feng gave up on the challenge, the system teleported him to a temple. Various treasures were on display within the temple, all intensely dazzling. Every one of the treasures radiated an incredible pressure, and some had an aura that was even stronger than that of a Mythic monster. "Young adventurer, your success in clearing the third floor is quite the achievement. Even the strongest of your four companions barely managed to clear the second floor," The man that had first greeted Shi Feng by the tower''s golden doors congratulated. Smiling, the man continued, _As your reward for clearing the third floor, I will present three items to choose from. You may only take one item with you." After the man''s statement, three brilliant treasures appeared before Shi Feng. As soon as they did, Eternal Energy began to gather around them. As expected of the Tower of Four Gods. The rewards are amazing. Shi Feng stared at the three items in shock. The first item was the Draconic Eagle''s Summoning Flute. The Draconic Eagle was an Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mount with the Dragon Bloodline. Although it was only one rank higher than the Thunder Eagle, the difference between them was massive. The only Flying Mount stronger than this Draconic Eagle was Legendary rank, and very few Legendary Flying Mounts existed in God''s Domain. As for the two other items, they were... ... (Dragonblood Sacred Stone) (Consumable) Has a 20% chance to upgrade a piece of Epic Equipment to Fragmented Legendary rank. There is a 50% chance that the Dragonblood Sacred Stone will mutate and strengthen the target equipment. (Hero''s Tome) (Special Item) Sacrifice 50,000 Magic Crystals to summon a Tier 4 Hero that is 20 levels higher than the user for 12 hours. Can only be used three times. Cooldown: 10 days ... Although none of the items were Fragmented Legendary rank, they were no less valuable, and every one of the greatly tempted Shi Feng. Upgrading an Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mount to Tier 4 would be a very simple task. On the other hand, he would have to invest a ton of resources in the Thunder Eagle to get it to Tier 4. The Dragonblood Sacred Stone''s value went without saying. Even if it failed to upgrade the target Epic Equipment piece to the Fragmented Legendary rank, there was still a 50% chance for the piece would mutate. The Hero''s Tome was also a priceless item. A bona fide Tier 4 Hero would be many times stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters. You have 10 minutes to decide. Then, you will be teleported to where you came from. Choose wisely," the majestic man said. "I choose the Hero''s Tome," Shi Feng announced after giving the matter some thought. Although an Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mount was immensely powerful, he would need to invest a lot of time to nurture it. Furthermore, that item wasn''t entirely out of his reach. As he grew stronger, he was bound to encounter an opportunity to obtain one. As for the Dragonblood Sacred Stone, it only had a chance of granting him a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. It wasn''t a guarantee. The Hero''s tome would be more helpful to him than the Draconic Eagle or Dragonblood Sacred Stone. He wouldn''t be able to use external items during his Tier 3 Promotion quest, but he could use a Tier 4 Hero. In response, the majestic man waved a hand, and an ancient, dilapidated tome appeared in Shi Feng''s grip. The sight of the book elated Shi Feng. With this Hero''s Tome, he was far more confident of completing the high-difficulty Tier 3 Promotion Quest. With Tier 3 being a major turning point in God''s Domain, his performance in the Promotion Quest would greatly affect his chances of reaching Tier 4 and 5 in the future. He could not afford to be careless. "Since you''ve received your reward, you may leave now." The majestic man waved a hand again, and Shi Feng transformed into a streak of light as he was evicted from the temple. 2275 Black Flame Reappears Chapter 2275 - Black Flame Reappears After leaving the Tower of Four Gods, Shi Feng found himself on an island enveloped in death energy. Not only was the atmosphere chilling, but it also reduced Shi Feng''s reaction Speed, and Level 90-plus Lord ranked Undead roamed all around him. The Buried Bones Ruin? Looking around, Shi Feng quickly recognized where he was. The system really knows how to teleport people. To think it would send me to such a dangerous location. The Buried Bones Ruin was located in the Sea of Death''s core area. Although the island wasn''t as dangerous as the Tidal Vortex, it was still a risky place for current players. Ordinary Level 90 experts would almost certainly die if they visited this place alone. Not only was flight unallowed in the Buried Bones Ruin, but all means of teleportation were also prohibited. Players had to rely on their own two feet to venture in and out of the ruin. Because of this, players had a difficult time escaping dangerous situations in the area. Only 20-man teams or greater would have any chance of exploring the ruin safely. However, Shi Feng was powerful enough to come and go as he pleased. Once he had his bearings, Shi Feng made his way to the Buried Bones Ruin''s entrance. Although the Buried Bones Ruin was a small, isolated island, it was unique. Docking on the island''s shore was akin to entering a miniature world. The island wasn''t any smaller than large-scale grinding maps on the main continent. After over 20 minutes of running, Shi Feng finally found the exit of the canyon that housed the Buried Bones Ruin. As he arrived, he encountered over a thousand players crowding the exit. These players were split into two different teams. One only had 100 players, while the team that blocked the exit consisted of more than 1,000. These were high-leveled players, with the lowest among them at Level 86, and quite a few at Level 87. The weakest equipment they wore was Level 85 Secret-Silver rank. At this stage of the game, a Guild would have to be first-rate at the very least to arm their experts with such high-quality equipment. Shi Feng, however, was more surprised by their identities than their levels and items. The members of the 100-man team sported the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s guild Emblem, and the team''s leader was none other than Phoenix Rain''s trusted aid, Blue Phoenix. In contrast, every member of the 1,000-man team blocking the canyon''s exit was an independent player, and they all wore the same adventurer team logo, sewn into their capes. Interesting. An adventurer team dares to challenge the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion? The matter piqued Shi Feng''s curiosity. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild. With the exception of other superpowers, no one would dare provoke it. And yet, an adventurer team had ambushed the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members. Nobody would believe this. While Shi Feng watched in surprise, a man broke away from the adventurer team. The atmosphere in the area intensified as he appeared. This man was a Level 87 Half-elf Elementalist, and the weakest of his equipment was Level 85 Fine-Gold rank. He also carried four items that radiated with the Epic glow effect, including the icy-blue staff in the man''s hand. Overall, the man''s equipment standard was just as impressive as Blue Phoenix''s. Blue Phoenix, who had seemed quite calm, tensed the moment this man appeared. "To think that you would come to deal with us as well, Vice Commander Autumn Plant. It seems War Blood thinks quite highly of us," Blue Phoenix sarcastically spat. War Blood was the publicly acknowledged, third-ranked adventurer team on Dragonheart Island. Although the adventurer team didn''t have as many members as a first-rate Guild, its overall strength and experts could rival that of an ordinary superpower. Everyone on Dragonheart Island knew War Blood''s Four Great Vice Commanders, all of which possessed monstrous strength. Autumn Plant had earned the nickname ''Bloody Mage'' after destroying an entire fleet at sea by himself. Now, he had been recognized as one of the top 10 Elementalists on Dragonheart Island. "You can only blame yourself for your unwise decisions. Do you think you''ll be safe here?" Plant Autumn asked nonchalantly. "Starlink and Thirteen Thrones have already captured a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range, acquiring access to unimaginable resources. Despite the invitation Guild Leader Lu sent the Phoenix Pavilion to cooperate against Zero Wing, you people rejected the offer. Since you have made your decision, like Zero Wing, you will have no hope of surviving in the Sea of Death." "First, well see if you have the power to keep us here," Blue Phoenix snarled as she revealed a purple-red crystal, chanting an incantation. The crystal shattered and transformed into a crimson magic array before Blue Phoenix. A Level 92 Great Lord ranked Magma Giant then emerged from the magic array. Moreover, the Magma Giant was an Archaic Species. The instant this Magma Giant arrived, the temperature in the area soared. This Magma Giant was Blue Phoenix''s trump card. A Level 92 Great Lord might not be a tough opponent for current players, but as an Archaic Species, it would give them a run for their money. Under a player''s control, such a Great Lord could easily slaughter a 1,000-man team. Not even Autumn Plant would survive. However, War Blood''s members didn''t seem flustered. Rather, they all gave Blue Phoenix playful expressions. "Do you think we came here unprepared, Blue Phoenix?" Autumn Plant said. "I already knew about this summoning crystal of yours, but I suppose that since you''ve revealed your trump card, we should show you what we''ve prepared." As soon as Autumn Plant said so, 60 War Blood members each took a Magic Array Scroll from their bags and activated it. Suddenly, a gigantic magic array appeared, enveloping the canyon''s exit. A lightning bolt then struck the exit, shattering the ground before a colossal hand emerged. The hand belonged to a gigantic skeletal warrior that pulled itself free of the rubble. This skeletal warrior was fully geared in magical armor and wielded a two-handed battle axe. Eerie flames burned in its hallowed eye sockets. ... (Hell''s Guardian) (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 96 HP 150,000,000/150,000,000 ... A Grand Lord? Blue Phoenix''s expression darkened when she saw the Hell''s Guardian. A Great Lord ranked Archaic Species might be very powerful, but it wasn''t as strong as an actual Grand Lord. Moreover, the Hell''s Guardian was Level 96. Not even their entire 100-man team would last more than five moves against it. "What do you think? Our adventurer team has gone to great lengths to obtain this summoning array," Autumn Plant said, sneering at Blue Phoenix. "I thought you were so confident. Where did that confidence go? Do you think you can get away from me now?" The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members were instantly disheartened. War Blood had an overwhelming advantage both in terms of numbers and trump cards. The outcome was obvious even before the fight began. As Autumn Plant spoke, the Hell''s Guardian raised its battle axe and swung the weapon at Blue Phoenix, catching the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members off-guard. The Hell''s Guardian''s axe felt like a small mountain as it descended, generating an immense amount of wind pressure. Every player within 8 yards of the weapon struggled to move. With this added effect, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members couldn''t even defend themselves, let alone dodge the incoming attack. Suddenly, a sword light flashed between the teams, striking the side of the colossal axe. As if it had been struck by a massive boulder, the axe''s trajectory drastically deviated, and the blade landed eight yards away from Blue Phoenix, hitting nothing but the ground. "Who''s there?" Autumn Plant spun toward the origin of the sword light. With a dark look, he growled, "Are you so desperate to die in the Sea of Death, daring to interfere with War Blood''s matters?" A figure then emerged from the nearby forest, fully clad in pitch-black armor and wielding a light blue sword surrounded by faint arcs of electricity. As this figure approached the battlefield, a deep voice reached everyone''s ears. "I''m Zero Wing''s Black Flame!" 2276 Difference between Tier 3 Chapter 2276 - Difference between Tier 3 Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone present could not help but gape at him in astonishment. Even Blue Phoenix was surprised. "Guild Leader Black Flame?" After Blue Phoenix confirmed that the person who had emerged from the forest was Shi Feng, her eyes filled with even greater shock. After the Storm Serpent King raid, Shi Feng had disappeared from the public eye. Despite launching a frantic manhunt, the various major powers of Dragonheart Island failed to find any traces of him even after searching relentlessly for 20 days. It was as if he had disappeared completely from God''s Domain. This situation had caused quite the commotion in the game. Due to this situation, many had rumored that Shi Feng had hidden himself out of fear of retaliation by the various superpowers. Gossip was that he had stopped logging into the game completely. It was even bruited about that a superpower had secretly taken action against Shi Feng in the real world already. She never thought that Shi Feng would actually appear in this place. "So, it is Guild Leader Black Flame." When Autumn Plant saw Shi Feng approaching the battlefield, he revealed an excited expression. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the Sea of Deaths various major powers have constantly been searching for you these days. I never thought you would be here in the Buried Bones Ruin. I really am fortunate today." Before Autumn Plant had even finished speaking, four Level 87 players standing behind him suddenly moved to surround Shi Feng. "Guild Leader Black Flame, be careful! They''re War Blood''s Four Naval Generals! They all possess a Naval Legacy and can form a natural battle array!" Blue Phoenix warned hurriedly. Every one of the Four Naval Generals was a team leader-level individual in War Blood. Unlike other adventurer teams, those capable of becoming team leaders in War Blood were either peak experts or players strong enough to rival peak experts. Among them, the Four Naval Generals were veteran team leaders of War Bloodall bona fide peak experts. Moreover, all four of them possessed Naval Legacies. Out at sea, they could contend against even Domain Realm experts. Meanwhile, under circumstances where they were further strengthened by a battle array, even Domain Realm experts would fall to them quickly. "Too late!" Autumn Plant said, smirking. He had deliberately spoken so much and so slowly before in order to buy the Four Naval Generals time to activate the Legacy Battle Array they possessed. In the next moment, the Four Naval Generals appeared at Shi Feng''s four corners, a dark-blue magic array forming beneath each of them. Suddenly, a dark-blue pillar rose into the air, creating a battle array with a 300-yard radius. Immediately after, the intensity of the Four Naval Generals'' auras burgeoned. Their physical appearances started transforming as well. After just three short seconds, all four of them had become six-meter-tall giants lavished with mysterious, dark-blue runes. "The Sea Giant Legacy?" Shi Feng concluded as he looked at the Four Naval Generals. Although the Sea Giant Legacy was not a Peak Legacy, it was still a very rare Advanced Legacy, which had been very famous in Shi Feng''s previous life. Upon activating the Sea Giant hidden class''s Legacy Battle Array, players would transform into a Sea Giant and have their Life Rating increased until it was only slightly inferior to that of Archaic Species. If the battlefield was out at sea, a Tier 2 Sea Giant would even be capable of fighting an ordinary Tier 3 player. At this moment, Shi Feng more or less understood why War Blood ranked third among the numerous adventurer teams on Dragonheart Island and that its naval strength could rival even that of superpowers. War Blood daring to send a team to target Blue Phoenix was also natural. With such strength, Phoenix Rain''s faction alone was no match for War Blood; Phoenix Rain would have to become the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master and unite the entire Pavilion to be able to contend with the adventurer team. "I never thought that you would know about this Sea Giant Legacy, Guild Leader Black Flame. You really are a knowledgeable person." Autumn Plant was slightly surprised when he heard Shi Feng''s words. At this point, most people only knew that the Four Naval Generals had obtained a Naval Legacy but not what it was exactly. "Since you know about the Sea Giant Legacy, then you should know of its capabilities. I won''t trouble you too much, Guild Leader Black Flame. If you hand over the Fragmented Legendary item you got from the Storm Serpent King, then I can let you all leave this place safely!" "You think you can stop me with just four Sea Giants?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. "How would I dare underestimate you, Guild Leader Black Flame? The Four Naval Generals would indeed have a very difficult time stopping you, but I''m afraid that you aren''t aware that the current era has already changed," Autumn Plant said, looking at Shi Feng with a playful expression. "What do you mean?" Shi Feng asked, unsure what Autumn Plant was talking about. "What I mean is that you are already outdated!" Autumn Plant said as he suddenly fished a dark-blue crystal from his bag, the crystal looking somewhat similar to the one Blue Phoenix took out earlier. He then squeezed and shattered the crystal. "While you were hiding here in the Buried Bones Ruin, Starlink led the various major powers to capture the Gravity Mountain Range''s Gravity Temple and secured the ancient civilization''s strength!" In the next moment, a threefold magic array formed on Autumn Plant, then rapidly absorbed the surrounding Mana and condensed it on him. As a result, the intensity of Autumn Plant''s aura skyrocketed. His aura became so strong that it even surpassed the Four Naval Generals'' and now stifled those who were bathed in it. "Not good! That''s a Deification Crystal!" Blue Phoenix revealed a look of despair when she saw Autumn Plant''s transformation. "That''s right! This Deification Crystal is the ancient civilization''s power!" Autumn Plant stated proudly as he looked at Shi Feng. "Thanks to the Deification Crystal''s power, I am now a bona fide Tier 3 player. Do you think you can still escape me?" After saying so, Autumn Plant raised his staff and cast a Spell. Suddenly, a twofold magic array appeared in the sky, enveloping a 50-yard radius. Immediately, Shi Feng, Blue Phoenix, and the other members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion felt intense pressure assaulting their bodies. At the same time, their Basic Attributes also decreased by 20% and Movement Speed by 30%. Tier 3 Legacy Spell, Oceanic Sky Domain! Domain Skills and Spells were incredibly powerful. A Domain Spell might not seem very powerful at Tier 2, but after reaching the Tier 3 standard, it would allow a magical class''s combat power to undergo a qualitative transformation. Moreover, players would no longer have to stand still while channeling the Domain and could move around freely. In addition, all Mana within the Domain''s AOE would be under the caster''s control, allowing chantless spellcasting. "Guild Leader Black Flame, run away quickly! The Deification Crystal not only transforms him into a Tier 3 player but also allows him to enter the Nothingness Realm, which greatly increases his Spells'' Completion Rate!" Blue Phoenix hurriedly warned when she saw Autumn Plant getting ready to take action. An increase in Spell Completion Rate would provide instantaneous improvements to a magical class player''s combat power. In addition, Autumn Plant owned a Naval Legacy, so his current combat power was far superior to that of an ordinary Tier 3 player. "Run away? Do you think that''s possible?" Autumn Plant sneered. In the next moment, the Level 96 Hell''s Guardian appeared behind Shi Feng, cutting off his path of retreat completely. With the Oceanic Sky Domain in effect, there was no way he could surpass the Hell''s Guardian in terms of Movement Speed. Now, just the Hell''s Guardian alone would be more than enough to finish him off. Not to mention, Autumn Plant could also control the Elemental Mana inside his Domain to attack Shi Feng. After speaking, Autumn Plant directed the drifting Mana to create six water torrents and sent them shooting at Shi Feng. Each of the six water torrents carried Strength rivaling that of a Level 87 Grand Lord. Under Autumn Plant''s control, the water torrents were like nimble snakes, their attack trajectories simply unpredictable. If these six water torrents coordinated with the Hell''s Guardian, killing a Domain Realm expert would be a piece of cake. Moreover, the Four Naval Generals were still patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike at Shi Feng from the sidelines. So long as Shi Feng suffered an attack and revealed an opening in his defense, they would immediately move in to deal him a fatal blow. However, even when the Hell''s Guardian''s battle axe and the six water torrents were about to devour Shi Feng, he did not activate a Lifesaving Skill, contrary to everyone''s expectations. Instead, he simply unsheathed the Twilight Blade and started brandishing it together with Killing Ray. Sword''s Transmigration! After the arduous training in the Tower of Four Gods, Shi Feng had further perfected and simplified Sword''s Transmigration. When he executed the technique now, the descending battle axe and the approaching water torrents all seemingly avoided him, as they merely brushed past his body without harming him in the slightest. Impossible! Autumn Plant gasped involuntarily. Autumn Plant had thought that Shi Feng might defend against his attacks with a Lifesaving Skill. He had also considered the possibility of him using a Berserk Skill. However, he never imagined that Shi Feng could actually defend against such a powerful assault with just his two swords. Shi Feng didn''t even use a Skill throughout this process! Before Autumn Plant could snap out of his daze, Shi Feng executed Wind Blade with a 103% Completion Rate, disappearing from his original location and arriving before Autumn Plant in the blink of an eye. Shi Feng''s Movement Speed far surpassed even that of the Hell''s Guardian. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! In the next moment, an all-encompassing net of sword lights flew toward Autumn Plant. In response, Autumn Plant activated Blink and instantly appeared 20 yards away from Shi Feng. However, before Autumn Plant could do anything else, his body suddenly crumpled forward powerlessly because, at this moment, his HP had already reached zero. 2277 Fragmented Legendary Item? Chapter 2277 - Fragmented Legendary Item? The instant Autumn Plant collapsed to the ground, silence descended across the entire battlefield. War Blood''s members, who originally wore playful expressions on their faces, were thoroughly stupefied, gaping at Autumn Plant''s motionless corpse. "Vice commander?" The Four Naval Generals, who were poised to help Autumn Plant, were similarly dumbfounded by this scene, their bodies petrified from shock. Autumn Plant died! The man nicknamed the Bloody Mage was killed, just like that. Despite having used a Deification Crystal to upgrade himself into a Tier 3 player temporarily, Autumn Plant still died so decisively, without even a chance to retaliate. This situation was simply unbelievable. A Tier 3 player! That was a bona fide Tier 3 player they were talking about! That was not something pseudo-Tier 3 players like themselves could hope to contend with. The Four Naval Generals simply could not fathom how Shi Feng had pulled off such a straightforward victory over Autumn Plant. "Could the rumor be true?" During the time everyone was shocked over Autumn Plant''s death, someone among War Blood''s members suddenly remembered the rumor that had been circulating in the outside world for quite some time now. "Right! Black Flame must''ve gained the strength of a Fragmented Legendary item! That''s why he''s able to instantly kill the vice commander!" A Fragmented Legendary item? At this moment, aside from War Blood''s members, even the distant Blue Phoenix entertained such thoughts. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had not seen a Fragmented Legendary item before. Although one was rumored to have been among the Storm Serpent King''s loot, as a member of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelon, she knew that this remained only a rumor. After all, even now, she had not heard of any superpower obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item. However, seeing how Shi Feng could kill Autumn Plant instantly, she could not help wondering whether the rumors were actually true. Otherwise, she had no way to explain this situation. Previously, the concept of Tier 3 classes was still very foreign to everyone. However, as players continuously leveled up and got increasingly closer to Level 100, they became more aware of just how frightening Tier 3 classes were. A Tier 3 class was something mere Tier 2 classes could not hope to compete against, standing already on a whole different level. Meanwhile, even being fully geared in Epic Equipment was not sufficient for one to cross the divide while still Tier 2. The only possibility of doing so was by relying on the rumored Fragmented Legendary items. After all, according to God''s Domain''s information, Fragmented Legendary items granted its users the ability to transcend tiers. Aren''t Fragmented Legendary items a little too powerful? Blue Phoenix was filled with an indescribable sense of shock and envy as she gazed at Autumn Plant''s corpse on the ground. The Deification Crystal was a Consumable with a short duration of three hours. Obtaining even one such crystal was incredibly difficult. A Fragmented Legendary item, on the other hand, could be used forever. Most importantly, Fragmented Legendary items could actually grant a Tier 2 player combat power superior to even ordinary Tier 3 players''. Suddenly, aside from Blue Phoenix, everyone else present started eyeing Shi Feng with a different type of gaze. Rather than fear and awe, they looked at him with admiration and envy instead. It seems I''ve shown off too much. Shi Feng quickly picked up the sudden change in the atmosphere and could not help revealing a bitter smile at this situation. Originally, he had thought to shock War Blood''s members by instantly killing their vice commander. He never thought that his actions would give rise to a misunderstanding. Part of the reason why Shi Feng could kill Autumn Plant was indeed because he possessed Fragmented Legendary items. However, a larger part of the reason for this was his having reached Level 100 already. With all of his restrictions removed, his reaction speed naturally surpassed Autumn Plant''s, who was only a Level 87 player and still had his body restricted. If Autumn Plant had been Level 100 as well, then Shi Feng would not have had such an easy time killing the Elementalist. At the very least, Autumn Plant would have evaded his Lightning Flash. Disregarding the envious gazes he was receiving, Shi Feng turned to the Four Naval Generals, who were similarly looking at him with a trace of greed in their eyes. "What? You still want to continue?" Shi Feng asked, smirking. Shi Feng''s words were spoken very calmly. However, an invisible killing intent suddenly spread across the entire battlefield. Upon sensing this killing intent, the Four Naval Generals shuddered involuntarily, the greed in their eyes instantly disappearing without a trace as they realized that their lives and deaths now lay in Shi Feng''s hands. "No! We''ll retreat. We''ll retreat immediately!" the Four Naval Generals said hurriedly. Shortly after, all of War Blood''s members disappeared from the Buried Bones Ruin, leaving behind only Blue Phoenix and the other Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members. "Guild Leader Black Flame, even if you let them leave now, I''m afraid the War Blood adventurer team will not let this matter rest. Moreover, War Blood will definitely spread the news about your Fragmented Legendary item. At that time..." Blue Phoenix said worriedly after Shi Feng allowed War Blood''s members to leave with their lives. Previously, everyone was still dubious about the rumor of Shi Feng owning a Fragmented Legendary item. Even so, the various major powers and experts of dark forces had put in quite a lot of effort to search for Shi Feng. Now that the rumor was verified, countless powers and experts would definitely go crazy. "If news about it is going to spread, so be it. Even if I kill them, the news will still be spread. Why should I waste my time killing them? When the time comes, anyone who wishes to take action against me can try as much as they want," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He paid no heed to this matter at all. "Right, why are you grinding here? This place is very dangerous for players of your level." Shi Feng''s words rendered Blue Phoenix speechless. Although he was indeed frighteningly strong, he was still susceptible to ambushes and assassinations. Even the Guild Leader of a Super Guild would lose his life at some point if so many powers and experts targeted him. She never thought that Shi Feng would actually treat this matter so lightly. Although Fragmented Legendary items had a low probability of dropping and Shi Feng surely wouldn''t lose his after dying just once or twice, he was bound to lose his Fragmented Legendary item eventually, the more he got killed. Not to mention, there were many tools in God''s Domain that could be used to increase the death penalty of players. However, Blue Phoenix could only sigh in regard to this situation. After all, this was Shi Feng''s problem. It was not her place to tell him how he should handle it. "We are here for a quest. Originally, Big Sis Rain had already secured an advantage in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, due to Nine Dragons Emperor''s close relationship with Starlink, he received a large number of resources from Starlink as support. Now, his side is prospering on Dragonheart Island while we can only run to this dangerous place. Recently, Nine Dragons Emperor even worked with Lu Xingluo to secure an ancient civilization''s ruin in the Gravity Mountain Range. A short while ago, Nine Dragons Emperor suddenly called for an emergency Elder''s meeting on Dragonheart Island. By the looks of it, he plans on taking action against Big Sis Rain. After receiving news about this, I tried to hurry back to Dragonheart Island, but ran into War Blood''s members as you saw just now," Blue Phoenix explained helplessly. "It seems Nine Dragons Emperor plans on snatching the position of Great Pavilion Master," Shi Feng said. "I think so as well." In a slightly anxious tone, Blue Phoenix continued, "Guild Leader Black Flame, I need to return as quickly as possible. I won''t be able to continue chatting with you." No, I''ll go with you," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, Blue Phoenix simply nodded in agreement. After all, he represented Zero Wing. Having him present would undoubtedly give Phoenix Rain more authority at the meeting. Following which, Shi Feng led Blue Phoenix to the canyon''s exit and summoned the Thunder Eagle, the appearance of the Flying Mount filling the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members with envy. "Let''s go," Shi Feng said as he hopped onto the Thunder Eagle''s back. He planned on bringing Blue Phoenix back to Dragonheart Island first. As for the other Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members, they would have to slowly sail back to the island on their ships. While Shi Feng was flying toward Dragonheart Island, news of his appearance in the Buried Bones Ruin as well as his possession of a Fragmented Legendary item spread rapidly throughout the Sea of Death. For a time, the entire Sea of Death was in an uproar. 2278 Shocking Dragonheart City Chapter 2278 - Shocking Dragonheart City Dragonheart Island, Dragonheart City: The streets of the city were currently full of traffic, especially at the city''s port. Ship after ship could be seen docking at the port and offloading numerous carts of cargo into the city. Most of the merchandise being transported into Dragonheart City belonged to players, aside from a portion belonging to NPCs. Meanwhile, of the player merchandise transported, a large majority consisted of the various neutral races'' specialty products, such as Thunder Wood, Primordial Magic Stone, and Magic Steel, items that could not be stored in a player''s bag space. Every one of these items was something the various major powers needed. Thunder Wood was the main material needed to produce advanced speedboats and even Bronze Speedboats. It possessed very high Magic Resistance, and the ships made with this type of timber were insusceptible to magic attacks. The Primordial Magic Stone, on the other hand, was an ideal material for tool production due to its toughness and the Mana it contained. If made into a test bench, it could increase the production success rate of Lifestyle players by a large margin. As for Magic Steel, it could be used to strengthen ship cannons. Cannons strengthened by Magic Steel could enhance their cannonballs with Mana, significantly increasing the cannonballs'' power and Attack Speed. Due to the properties of these rare items, they were in high demand among players, yet they were all very difficult to procure in human kingdoms and empires. However, since Dragonheart City was a neutral trade city, many neutral races would ship their specialty products here to sell and earn Ancient Coins to exchange for other resources. Moreover, the appearance of an ancient civilization in the Gravity Mountain Range was attracting an increasingly larger number of neutral players to Dragonheart City. This situation served to boost the city''s prosperity, allowing Dragonheart City to cast even imperial capitals in the shade. During the time everyone was busy traveling in and out of Dragonheart City''s port, a figure suddenly popped into view on the horizon. In the next few moments, this figure could be seen approaching Dragonheart City. After just eight short seconds, a gigantic eagle with a wingspan of 20 meters appeared before everyone. Faint, blue arcs of electricity crackled around this giant eagle''s body. The frightening aura the bird gave off plunged the horse carriages moving about at the port into chaos. Players that were below Level 70 even felt an intense, stifling pressure on their bodies. For a time, the entire port went into an uproar. "Crap! That''s...a Flying Mount!" "A Flying Mount is actually this powerful?" "Doesn''t that eagle look like Black Flame''s Mount?" "What?! Black Flame actually came to Dragonheart Island?! Is he tired of living?!'' ... As the giant eagle descended before Dragonheart City''s entrance, everyone quickly recognized the eagle''s identity. A heated discussion immediately broke out as they looked at the black-armored man riding the giant eagle. Nowadays, everybody operating in the Sea of Death knew Black Flame''s name. After all, there was nobody who would not pay attention to a Fragmented Legendary item. Previously, when Starlink announced that Black Flame had obtained a Fragmented Legendary item from the Storm Serpent King, everyone was skeptical. However, after news of Black Flame''s performance in the Buried Bones Ruin spread, people changed their minds. This situation ignited a burning desire in countless players. This reaction was because Black Flame''s Fragmented Legendary item was the sole Fragmented Legendary item known to exist thus far. If they could get their hands on it, then their future would be limitless. After all, the strength of a Fragmented Legendary item enabled Black Flame to kill Autumn Plant, one of War Blood''s vice commanders, without breaking a sweat. At that time, Autumn Plant had even used a Deification Crystal to forcibly upgrade himself into a bona fide Tier 3 player. One could easily imagine how much improvement a Fragmented Legendary item provided players. Due to this reason, every expert and power operating in the Sea of Death was frantically searching for Shi Feng''s whereabouts. Hence, his arrival in Dragonheart Island was no different from him walking straight into the tiger''s den. While Dragonheart Island''s security level might surpass that of imperial capitals and rival even that of Blackwing City, it did not stop players from tracking Shi Feng''s movements. After all, there were many tracking magic in God''s Domain that would not alarm NPCs. Then, so long as Shi Feng dared leave the safe zones of God''s Domain, he would face endless pursuit and ambush. After Shi Feng alighted from the Thunder Eagle, the various major powers'' members at the port quickly relayed this information to their superiors. "What? Black Flame actually appeared in Dragonheart City?" "Keep an eye on him! I''ll send experts to track him right away! Do not let him get away, no matter what! That Fragmented Legendary item is mine!" Upon receiving news of Shi Feng''s arrival in Dragonheart City, the various major powers promptly dispatched all their expert trackers to Dragonheart City. Some powers even canceled set plans in order to head over to Dragonheart City immediately. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you really fine with this?" Blue Phoenix asked worriedly as she looked at Shi Feng. From the moment she alighted from the Thunder Eagle, she already sensed several hundred players staring at Shi Feng. Despite not being the focus of this attention, she still could not help but feel her scalp tingle. Moreover, this was only the beginning. There would definitely be more people keeping track of Shi Feng''s movements later. "Relax. Right now, the most they can do is stare at me," Shi Feng said, utterly unperturbed by this situation. Letting out a chuckle, he set off into Dragonheart City. During his previous life, all known owners of Fragmented Legendary items had frequently received such stares, so this kind of trouble right now was only natural. Not to mention, he was currently the only person known to own a Fragmented Legendary item. This was also the reason why he constantly reminded Fire Dance and the others to keep their Fragmented Legendary items secret. If it were before he had reached Level 100, the exposure of this secret of his would indeed have brought him a lot of trouble. However, now that he had reached Level 100, nobody in God''s Domain could do anything against him. Even if he went out into the fields, he would not have to worry about getting ambushed by players. After all, the maps he would be visiting would be Level 100-plus maps. To players below Level 100, Level 100-plus maps were no different from forbidden lands. Let alone targeting him, they wouldn''t even be able to guarantee their own survival there. This was also the reason why Shi Feng dared to arrive boldly at Dragonheart City using the Thunder Eagle. Blue Phoenix fell speechless at Shi Feng''s confident behavior. However, her evaluation of Shi Feng had also risen considerably as a result. Very few people would willingly put themselves in danger to help Phoenix Rain during her time of needparticularly when a Fragmented Legendary item was at stake. Even the Guild Leaders of Super Guilds would not dare take such a risk. Afterward, Blue Phoenix led Shi Feng toward the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. ... At this moment, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence in Dragonheart City bustled, as various Guild upper-echelon members, who were rarely seen, had all gathered here. Moreover, aside from the Guild''s upper echelon, the Pavilion''s Elders were also present. These people were normally scattered across the various kingdoms and empires. Their assembly here greatly excited the members in the Residence. Nowadays, with the increasing popularity of God''s Domain in the real world, it was almost impossible for people to avoid talking about the game during their free time. Meanwhile, members of the upper echelons of large Guilds were akin to celebrities. For ordinary players, just getting to see them was already worthy of conversation. As for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelon and elders, these people were all unreachable existences to ordinary players. During the time the players in the Residence were chatting, a majestic woman with shoulder-length hair strode into the Residence. The woman was clad in light-blue armor and possessed a beauty that was in no way inferior to Zhao Yueru''s. Upon seeing this woman''s appearance, the players inside the Residence gasped. "Quick, look! Even the Heavenly Knight is here!" "I heard that she''s never been interested in the Guild''s internal affairs. Why is she here now?" At this moment, aside from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s normal members, even the Pavilion''s upper echelon was surprised by this majestic woman''s arrival. The reason for their reactions was this beauty''s extraordinary status in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Titled as the Heavenly Knight by the Secret Pavilion, Windy Moon was originally Phoenix Rain''s greatest competitor for the position of Phoenix Pavilion Master. However, as Windy Moon was not interested in the position, she had withdrawn from the competition and shifted her development to a neutral kingdom. As a result, Phoenix Rain became the new Phoenix Pavilion Master without any difficulty. Meanwhile, Windy Moon had defeated the various superpowers operating in the neutral kingdom she had shifted to and taken control of the entire neutral kingdom. It was only thanks to her achievements that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was able to secure a large number of resources unique to neutral races. Just recently, she had even broken through to the Domain Realm, becoming one of the true pillars of the Guild. Nobody had anticipated that she would actually appear in Dragonheart City''s Residence today. While everyone was discussing Windy Moon''s purpose here, the Heavenly Knight headed straight for Nine Dragons Emperor. Seeing this situation further amplified everyone''s shock. "Nine Dragons, I hope you stick to your word! I''ll let you know the consequences otherwise!" Windy Moon said coldly as she approached Nine Dragons Emperor. "Of course," Nine Dragons Emperor said, chuckling. He then gestured to the two men beside him. "Let me introduce you. This person here is Starlink''s Guild Leader, Lu Xingluo. This other person here is the War Blood adventurer team''s commander, Blood Oath. I believe you should be able to rest assured with this." "So that''s the case. No wonder you are so confident." After Windy Moon sent a glance at Lu Xingluo and Blood Oath, she did not say anything more. With Windy Moon''s arrival, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion upper echelon present could not help but start to pity Phoenix Rain. Although the normal members of the Guild were unaware of the purpose of today''s meeting, those in the upper echelon like themselves were not. Today was the day when the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s next Great Pavilion Master would be chosen. Now, however, not only did Nine Dragons Emperor have the support of two superpowers, but even Windy Moon was standing on his side. Even if Ku Rong, the current Great Pavilion Master, personally favored Phoenix Rain over Nine Dragons Emperor, he was most likely powerless to do anything about the situation. While the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelon were having a quiet discussion among themselves, a commotion suddenly occurred at the entrance of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. In the next moment, a man and a woman came into sight, walking toward the Residence. Meanwhile, following behind this man and woman were actually several thousand other players. All of these players eyed the pair like ravenous wolves. Moreover, these players were all relatively powerful experts. Some of them were even Refinement Realm experts. Upon seeing this crowd of experts, even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s top brass got goosebumps. Meanwhile, as these experts strode increasingly closer to the Residence, many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members recognized the pair walking at the forefront. "Black Flame!" This man and woman were none other than Shi Feng and Blue Phoenix. "What?! Zero Wing''s Black Flame is here!?" "He actually dares to show his face here?" 2279 Shocking Everyone with One Sentence Chapter 2279 - Shocking Everyone with One Sentence Shi Feng''s arrival caused an uproar in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence as every player discussed his arrival. "Black Flame''s gone insane! He actually dares to show up here!" "If so many people stared at me like this, I wouldn''t even have the courage to get near Dragonheart City. Isn''t he worried that someone will try to take his Fragmented Legendary item?" As far as the public was concerned, the rumor of Shi Feng holding a Fragmented Legendary item had been verified. However, not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members had thought such an item would earn such a passionate reaction. Several thousand players followed after Shi Feng, and none of them bothered to hide their intentions. There were even Refinement Realm experts among the crowd, and even the Pavilion''s experts felt goosebumps on their skin as they stared at the massive crowd of experts. "Black Flame is too arrogant! He just killed one of our adventurer team''s members, yet he dares to stand before us now! He''s not taking War Blood seriously!" a female Ranger beside Blood Oath said grimly. She wore silvery-white chainmail and carried an ancient, crystalline longbow across her back. Although this female Ranger looked ordinary, barely considered a beauty, a faint, bloody mist circulated her body, adding to her appearance. Many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members couldn''t seem to pull their eyes off of her. However, they only dared to stare for a short moment before averting their gazes. This female Ranger was Ink Feather, one of War Blood''s Four Great Vice Guild Leaders. Although she hadn''t reached the Domain Realm yet, her combat power was just as great as an ordinary Domain Realm experts'' due to her Half-elf Bloodline and Ancient Legacy. When it came to hunting and sniping players, she ranked among the top five on Dragonheart Island. She had sniped countless experts out at sea thus far, including a few Domain Realm experts. "Feather, leave the matter be for now," Blood Oath said as he glanced at Shi Feng. "We''re still in Dragonheart City. Lock onto his soul for now, and we''ll take care of him properly later." Blood Oath had already learned about Autumn Plant''s battle with Shi Feng from a subordinate. Shi Feng was quite powerful, but since the man had dared to kill one of War Blood''s vice commander, and news of the event had spread throughout Dragonheart City, Shi Feng was a dead man in Blood Oath''s eyes. "I understand." Ink Feather nodded and fell silent. When Lu Xingluo overheard Blood Oath''s conversation, a joyful glimmer flashed in his eyes. Starlink was frantically exploring the ancient civilization''s ruins in the Gravity Mountain Range, so he had no spare manpower to send after Shi Feng. Thus, he couldn''t be any more pleased to hear that the War Blood adventurer team wanted to go after the man. Very few powers on Dragonheart Island were a match for War Blood''s prowess at sea, which was why Lu Xingluo wanted to form an alliance with the adventurer team. When Shi Feng had entered the Residence, Nine Dragons Emperor had shifted his gaze toward the distant Phoenix Rain. Several influential Guild upper echelons stood by her side, as well as two first-rate Guilds'' Guild Leaders, yet despite such powerful allies, Nine Dragons Emperor''s eyes held nothing but pity and ridicule. Phoenix Rain, your investments might''ve earned great returns, but those same investments will drag you down! Nine Dragons Emperor thought. He hadn''t expected Shi Feng to make an appearance, but now that Dragonheart Island''s major powers were targeting Zero Wing, the Guild couldn''t help Phoenix Rain. In fact, it had become a burden. So, he is the rumored Black Flame? After glancing at Shi Feng, Cloudy Moon turned her gaze to Phoenix Rain. Shaking her head, she thought, It seems this will be as far as you rise. Cloudy Moon felt an immense pressure from Shi Feng, proving that he wielded great strength, but the title of Great Pavilion Master couldn''t be won due to a single player. This would be a competition of foundation and influence. Cloudy Moon knew that Phoenix Rain had refused to cooperate with Starlink against Zero Wing, and as a result, Nine Dragons Emperor had taken advantage of the opportunity instead. In her opinion, abandoning a chance to cooperate with a superpower like Starlink over a lesser Guild was simply foolish. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders pitied Phoenix Rain, as well. "It seems there won''t be any suspense in the competition for the Great Pavilion Master''s position." "What a pity. Phoenix Rain is clearly more capable than Nine Dragons Emperor." "There''s Zero Wing on one side, which had become Dragonheart City''s public enemy, and on the other, we have the rapidly growing Starlink and War Blood adventurer team. The Great Pavilion Master wouldn''t choose Phoenix Rain as his successor even if he''d lost his mind." In truth, the Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders had a favorable opinion of Phoenix Rain''s abilities, but the difference between the two Pavilion Masters'' overall strength was too great. This meeting was practically a farce, and it was obvious who would become the next Great Pavilion Master. While everyone discussed the matter in hushed tones, Shi Feng arrived before Phoenix Rain. "I''ve really caused you some trouble this time, Guild Leader Black Flame." Phoenix Rain was both ecstatic and grateful to see Shi Feng here. Shi Feng had taken a huge risk to show up here to support her. Not everyone would have the mental fortitude to do so, especially after obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item. A Fragmented Legendary item would be immensely helpful when exploring high-level maps and completing high-ranked quests. It could even help one complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Losing a Fragmented Legendary item would be a huge setback for both Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s development. "Nonsense. You''ve helped Zero Wing plenty of times, Phoenix Pavilion Master. Now that you are fighting for the Great Pavilion Master''s position, I had to come," Shi Feng said. If not for the capital and assistance Phoenix Rain had provided early on, Zero Wing wouldn''t have become the Guild it was today. "Thank you for your support, Guild Leader Black Flame. The meeting will begin soon, so we should head inside," Phoenix Rain said as she gave Shi Feng a grateful look. However, she had already abandoned any hope of winning this competition and the position. She was merely putting up her final struggle. Phoenix Rain then led Shi Feng and her other supporters into the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Hall, and the Pavilion''s Elders and upper echelons followed shortly after. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Hall in Dragonheart City was a four-story-tall Advanced Guild Hall. It might not be a match for the Pavilion''s other Guild Halls in the various NPC cities, but in Dragonheart City, it was quite extravagant. Very few first-rate Guilds could afford a Guild Residence on Dragonheart Island, much less an Advanced Guild Hall. By the time Phoenix Rain and her entourage entered the top-floor meeting room, several hundred players had already taken their places inside. The lowest-leveled player here was Level 87 and fully geared in Level 85 Fine-Gold Equipment. Every one of the players in the room was a Refinement Realm or above expert, as well, and quite a few of them were peak experts in two or three pieces of Epic Equipment. The sight was a testament to how powerful the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s foundations were. Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor''s supporters had split the room, sitting on opposite sides. After a short moment, the doors that connected this meeting room to a lounge next door opened, and an elderly man entered the meeting room. This elderly man was a Level 88 Summoner, wearing robes that resembled a nebula. The Epic Staff in the man''s hand was a Replica of the Legendary Staff, Spiritcaller, and the elder''s aura was no weaker than Blood Oath''s, War Blood''s commander. As this elderly man entered the room, silence fell. This elderly man was none other than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s current Great Pavilion Master, Ku Rong. Two men, both radiating extraordinary auras, followed behind Ku Rong. Although they were only Level 87, both of the men were bona fide Domain Realm experts. As Ku Rong lowered himself in the seat of honor, the two men guarded his sides. The Guild upper echelons and Elders didn''t dare to speak or display any of their usual arrogance, merely waiting for Ku Rong to speak. "I believe that you all know why I called you here for this meeting. I am getting old and can no longer take charge of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Hence, I am going to choose my successor for the Great Pavilion Master position today," Ku Rong slowly explained. "My successor will have to contribute greatly to the Guild, providing a better future than I have. You all know this. Hence, I recommend Nine Dragons Emperor to be my successor. If there are no objections, we will consider this matter settled." None of the Guild upper echelons or Elders seemed surprised by Ku Rong''s decision, and Nine Dragons Emperor revealed an ecstatic expression. He had waited for this moment for a long time. Suddenly, however, a low voice filled the meeting room. "I have an objection." Although the words hadn''t been very loud, a deathly silence had followed them, enveloping the meeting room as everyone turned toward their origin. When everyone saw who had spoken, they were shocked. The person that had objected to the decision was Black Flame! 2280 Qualification? Chapter 2280 - Qualification? With Shi Feng''s statement, silence descended over the meeting room. Nobody had expected Shi Feng to stand up and object to the Great Pavilion Master''s decision. Blue Phoenix and the other Guild upper echelons by Phoenix Rain''s side were particularly surprised, and the blood drained from their faces. In contrast, Nine Dragon Emperor''s supporters couldn''t help but grin. It''s over... Blue Phoenix stared at Shi Feng, speechless. Although Ku Rong had chosen Nine Dragons Emperor as his successor in this meeting, Nine Dragons Emperor couldn''t take the position for another ten days, during which time, Phoenix Rain had the right to call another meeting with the Elders. If more than half of the Guild''s Elders decided that Nine Dragons Emperor was unfit for the position, someone stronger would be chosen. A meeting of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Elders was of the utmost importance in the Pavilion. Not even the Guild''s ordinary upper echelons would qualify to participate, much less the core members. Normally, outsiders like Shi Feng shouldn''t have been allowed in today''s meeting, but since they had been invited by the two Pavilion Masters to show their support, everyone had turned a blind eye. At most, Shi Feng and the others were allowed to listen, nothing more. Since Ku Rong had chosen a successor, not even a Guild upper echelon like Blue Phoenix could object, much less Shi Feng. Only the Pavilion Masters and the Guild Elders were allowed to speak up. Since Shi Feng had objected to the decision, not only would the Guild Elders look unfavorably on Phoenix Rain, but Ku Rong''s opinion would likely fall, as well. Shi Feng was a member of Phoenix Rain''s entourage, after all. If she couldn''t control her supporters, ensuring that they''d respect the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, the Guild Elders and Ku Rong would doubt her power. Trying to replace Nine Dragons Emperor as the Great Pavilion Master would become a pipe dream. "Guild Leader Black Flame! This is the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion! You are but an outsider! You do not qualify to object! Even as the Phoenix Pavilion Master''s guest, we will remove you from this meeting if you wish to cause a scene!" Martial Dragon, who sat beside Nine Dragons Emperor, snarled, sneering at Shi Feng. Although Martial Dragon''s statement had been a warning for Shi Feng, his words reminded the Guild Elders and Great Pavilion Master that he was Phoenix Rains supporter. This implied that this disruption was due to Phoenix Rain''s inability to control her people. Ku Rong frowned in response. Shi Feng''s interruption had soured his mood, and the Guild Elders chatted quietly amongst themselves. "What does Black Flame think the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is? Zero Wing can barely rival a superpower, yet he dares to show such arrogance before us!" "How does Phoenix Rain normally manage her Pavilion? I can''t believe she brought such a disruptive supporter to such an important meeting. I had thought she was quite capable, but it seems that Nine Dragons Emperor is more suited for the position." "I know, right? Nine Dragons Emperor has managed to ally himself with Starlink and War Blood. With such success, Phoenix Rain has no hope of catching up." For a time, the various Guild Elders began to question Phoenix Rain''s authority and re-evaluate their criticisms of Nine Dragons Emperor. Even Cloudy Moon, who had remained indifferent, turned to look at Phoenix Rain. Cloudy Moon had previously been impressed by Phoenix Rain''s judgment of others, but it seemed that she had been severely mistaken. Shi Feng was a courageous fool, all brawn and no brains. First, he had provoked Dragonheart Island''s various major powers. Then, ignorantly, he returned to Dragonheart Island, revealing himself. Now, he had even upset the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion''s Elders. But despite the opinions everyone in the room expressed about him, Shi Feng didn''t react in the slightest. Instead, he calmly turned to Martial Dragon. "Everyone is aware that Zero Wing has allied with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Thus far, our Guilds have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Phoenix Pavilion Master on Thunder Island. Why can''t Zero Wing object since it is uncomfortable with the proposed successor?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. "If he is to become the Great Pavilion Master, Zero Wing will have to reconsider selling the Pavilion 100 Bronze Speedboats." As Shi Feng finished speaking, the meeting room''s occupants gasped. "What? One hundred Bronze Speedboats?" "Impossible! Even our Guild doesn''t have 100 Bronze Speedboats in total!" The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members were flabbergasted by the idea of 100 Bronze Speedboats. Their reaction wasn''t due to a lack of experience, but because Shi Feng had mentioned such a frightening number. Although the various superpowers had constructed powerful fleets, they mostly consisted of advanced and ordinary speedboats. Most fleets had less than a handful of Bronze Speedboats. Even the superpowers'' top fleets only had a dozen or so. Even Starlink and War Blood, organizations that had the most powerful naval forces in the Sea of Death, only had 30 or so Bronze Speedboats. Not even a Super Guild like Thirteen Thrones could form a force of nothing but Bronze Speedboats, much less Starlink. Superpowers needed to consider their average strength. They couldn''t just assign all of their Bronze Speedboats to a single force, much less sell an entire fleet of such ships to another power. Only a lunatic would do something like that! Bronze Speedboats were a power''s main combatants at sea. The number of Bronze Speedboats a power owned determined how much influence it commanded, and the greater one''s influence was at sea, the more naval resources they could obtain. Needless to say, they would also wield far greater authority. Ku Rong turned toward Phoenix Rain, and although he said nothing, his intentions were clear. He wanted to know what was going on. Why hadn''t he been made aware of such a monumental deal before this meeting? Unfortunately, Phoenix Rain didn''t have an answer for her Great Pavilion Master. Shi Feng''s declaration had shocked her just as much as it had stunned him! She didn''t remember discussing a massive transaction, involving 100 Bronze Speedboats, with Shi Feng. If she had, she wouldn''t have acted as passively as she was. Fortunately, Phoenix Rain hid her emotions and adjusted her shocked expression. She then gave Ku Rong a look that confirmed Shi Feng''s claim. However, she was still confused. She did not know what Shi Feng was trying to do, and she felt that he was playing with fire. In contrast, Nine Dragons Emperor''s expression had darkened. "Impossible! There is no way Zero Wing can produce 100 Bronze Speedboats!" Nine Dragons Emperor instinctively stood to deny Shi Feng''s words. "If Zero Wing has so many Bronze Speedboats, it would''ve prospered on Dragonheart Island, yet Zero Wing doesn''t even have a Guild Residence in the city!" "That''s right. Guild Leader Black Flame, this behavior is shameless. You spout lies just to prevent the Dragon Pavilion Master from becoming the Great Pavilion Master," Lu Xingluo added. Everyone in the room agreed with Nine Dragons Emperor''s statement. If Zero Wing had so many Bronze Speedboats under its command, it would''ve become an overlord in the Sea of Death. "Is that so?" Shi Feng asked, flashing Nine Dragons Emperor and Lu Xingluo a confident look. He then pulled an ancient, dilapidated tome from his bag, sharing its details on the meeting room''s holographic screen. "What is this, then?" When the room''s occupants saw the information displayed, they were dumbfounded. It was the design for the Bronze ranked Storm Speedboat! "May I know if I qualify to object, now?" Shi Feng asked as he surveyed the people in the room. 2281 Going Too Far? Chapter 2281 - Going Too Far? Shi Feng''s voice echoed throughout the quiet meeting room for a long time. No one dared to question or complain about his presence. Even Nine Dragons Emperor, who had wanted to silence the man, couldn''t find the strength to open his mouth. While Shi Feng might not have 100 Bronze Speedboats right now, he could produce them without a problem with the Bronze Speedboat Design in his hand. Even if securing the necessary materials were a challenge, crafting the Bronze Speedboats would be much easier than questing or grinding powerful Field Bosses for them. With the necessary materials, one was guaranteed to obtain a Bronze Speedboat. In comparison, quests that awarded Bronze Speedboats were extremely rare, and their drop-rate from Field Bosses was abysmally low. To the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, 100 Bronze Speedboats were immeasurably valuable. With another 100 Bronze Speedboats, the Pavilion could instantly become a top-ranked superpower in the Sea of Death. Would the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion dare to slight Shi Feng when he had such a card? Nine Dragons Emperor was very familiar with the Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders, and God''s Domain only respected the strong. It was far more important to grow stronger as an individual, rather than rely on others. Blue Phoenix and her companions, who sat opposite of Nine Dragons Emperor, only snapped out of their daze after losing themselves to the holographic projection. They immediately turned to Shi Feng with an intense excitement in their eyes. "Black Flame is too awesome, Big Sis Rain! Not even Starlink and War Blood''s support can help Nine Dragons Emperor now," Blue Phoenix whispered to Phoenix Rain. Blue Phoenix had never thought that Shi Feng would have such an amazing trump card. The Storm Speedboat Design was a priceless treasure that could strongly influence the status quo in the Sea of Death. If the Storm Speedboat Design hadn''t been in Shi Feng''s bag space, essentially reducing its chances of dropping to zero, Blue Phoenix had no doubt that everyone in the room would''ve pounced on him. "Don''t get too excited. We still need to hear the Great Pavilion Master and Guild Elders'' thoughts on this. I don''t think they would''ve chosen Nine Dragons Emperor as the next Great Pavilion Master so quickly simply because he''s gained Starlink and War Blood''s support," Phoenix Rain quietly replied. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion wasn''t as powerful as Starlink, and its naval strength was no match for War Blood. However, it was still a super-first-rate Guild. Moreover, the Pavilion had been growing stronger recently. Hence, Nine Dragons Emperor''s alliance with Starlink and War Blood wasn''t that surprising. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion wanted to, it could easily form alliances with various Super Guilds, let alone these two organizations. Ku Rong knew that. Phoenix Rain could only assume that Nine Dragons Emperor had revealed some reason or item that forced Ku Rong to make such a hasty decision. There was also the fact that Cloudy Moon had joined them to show her support for Nine Dragons Emperor. Cloudy Moon had never cared about who would become the next Great Pavilion Master. The decision simply wouldn''t affect her standing in the Pavilion, especially since she''d reached the Domain Realm. Her position in the Guild was practically unshakable. "But not even the Great Pavilion Master can ignore how tempting 100 Bronze Speedboats are, right?" Blue Phoenix said. Phoenix Rain''s statement had helped her realize how peculiar this meeting was, but she couldn''t help her excitement. Shi Feng had clearly stated that if Ku Rong chose Nine Dragons Emperor as the next Great Pavilion Master, the matter of the 100 Bronze Speedboats was moot. This was an opportunity for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to rise to the top out at sea. There was no way the offer wouldn''t tempt Ku Rong. After the silence stretched on for a moment, Ku Rong, who hadn''t said a word, finally spoke. "Guild Leader Black Flame, as an invited guest and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s ally, of course, you qualify to express your opinions in this meeting. Since Martial Dragon was unaware of our rules, I ask that you forgive him," Ku Rong stated, giving Shi Feng a friendly smile. The Guild Elders and upper echelons stared at their Great Pavilion Master in astonishment. None of them had thought that Ku Rong would admonish Martial Dragon. Martial Dragon was Nine Dragons Emperor''s capable and trusted aide, as well as the commander of Nine Dragon Emperor''s main force. He took care of the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master''s normal affairs. As a Domain Realm expert, he was also a pillar of strength in the Guild. Martial Dragon would know the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s rules more intimately than most people in the Guild. Ku Rong''s statement only proved how much he valued the 100 Bronze Speedboats. "I see, so he didn''t know of the rules. If that''s the case, I can understand." Revealing a faint smile, Shi Feng turned to Martial Dragon and said, __I.11 forgive him with an apology." Shi Feng hadn''t minded Martial Dragon''s rudeness, but he wanted the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Elders and upper echelons to understand what Zero Wing was. Otherwise, these people continue to take his Guild lightly, and they wouldn''t recognize the significance of Zero Wing''s alliance with Phoenix Rain. Martial Dragon had just made himself the best tool to get this point across. "Don''t go overboard, Black Flame!" Martial Dragon bellowed as veins popped across his forehead. The room''s temperature dropped several degrees as his cold killing intent swept toward Shi Feng. Martial Dragon commanded the War Dragon Legion, the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion''s main force. He was also a Domain Realm expert. Only the Great Pavilion Master, the Guild Founders, and the two Pavilion Masters held a higher position than he did in the Guild. A public apology to Shi Feng would ruin his reputation in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. He would not be able to show his face in the Guild ever again. Even the Pavilion''s Guild Elders and upper echelons thought that Shi Feng was going a little overboard. The Great Pavilion Master had taken a step back and acknowledged Shi Feng''s qualifications to express his opinion in this meeting, yet Shi Feng refused to let the matter rest, pushing the envelope. Even Ku Rong''s expression darkened slightly. Phoenix Rain wanted to advise Shi Feng against this tactic. Since Ku Rong had recognized Zero Wing''s position, this meeting would likely conclude without a victor. There was no need to arouse everyone''s disgust and aversion. But Shi Feng didn''t give her the chance. "Going too far?" Shi Feng could not help but chuckle. Looking at Martial Dragon, his gaze turned cold as he said, "You know you''ve erred, yet you refuse to apologize. Do you think I, Black Flame, am a pushover? Or does the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion think that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is of no importance?" Shi Feng then released his horrific aura, which spread throughout the room as if some primordial beast had woken from its slumber. Everyone in the room felt an immense pressure bear down on them, resulting from the considerable difference in Life Rating and Basic attributes. This pressure felt even more powerful than that of a Grand Lord of the same level. Some of the Refinement Realm experts even felt their legs tremble. Fortunately, everyone was currently seated. Otherwise, many of them would''ve caved in, collapsing. Furthermore, Shi Feng exposed his true level for all to see. Level 100! When they saw the eye-catching number, the room''s occupants felt as if a mountain had fallen on their heads. 2282 Insane "Level 100?!" "How is this possible?!" "Even the highest-leveled player on Dragonheart Island is only Level 89! And he only reached that level yesterday! How could Black Flame have already reached Level 100?!" Since Shi Feng had revealed his level, anyone who took a close look could see his statistics. Chaos tore through the meeting room as its occupants saw his level. All of these players were Refinement Realm experts or stronger, so they knew just how difficult it was to level up as one progressed in the game. At their levels, acquiring two or three levels more than ordinary experts was an amazing feat. They might have been able to earn five or six levels more than ordinary experts around Level 50, but the gap would shrink as they leveled up. For example, current ordinary experts on Dragonheart Island had only reached Level 85, while even these Refinement Realm experts were only two or three levels higher than that. And yet, they had just learned that Shi Feng was more than 10 levels higher than they were. ? How is his level so high? The revelation even surprised Phoenix Rain. She knew that Shi Feng was mysterious and powerful, but the fact that he had reached Level 100 at this stage of the game was too much of a shock for her. The fact that Shi Feng had reached Level 100 when no one had even climbed to Level 90 not only proved that his leveling speed was superior, but he was also far stronger as an individual. It was common knowledge that not all experts were high-level players, but all high-level players were undoubtedly experts. Ignoring all else, Shi Feng''s level meant that his Basic Attributes were far ahead of everyone else''s. Moreover, as a Level 100 player, he qualified to explore Level 100-plus maps, which no one else could set foot in at this stage of the game. This meant that he could get his hands on resources that none of God''s Domain''s current powers even knew existed, giving Zero Wing a huge advantage. Ordinary powers might not have realized it yet, but the various superpowers knew that the higher-leveled a map was, the more precious its resources would be. Some high-level maps even contained unimaginably powerful items. Take the ancient civilization''s tools that players had recently discovered, for example. Players had only encountered these tools after they had started to explore Level 90 maps. In other words, Zero Wing could obtain resources that the various superpowers had no access to yet. Once he saw Shi Feng''s level and realized the implications of it, Martial Dragon, who had wanted to berate Shi Feng further, kept his mouth shut. He only dared to glare at the Swordsman, nothing more. The Bronze Speedboat Design Shi Feng had revealed earlier would, at most, for the Guild upper echelons and Elders to forgive his transgressions and treat Zero Wing as a valuable asset. However, now that they knew Shi Feng had reached Level 100, they had no choice but to treat Zero Wing like an equal. At the very least, Zero Wing had the capital and strength to stand up to the various superpowers in the Sea of Death. A design was just that, after all. Mass-producing the Storm Speedboat required an astronomical amount of precious resources, and obtaining these resources would be a challenge, even for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, Shi Feng had the strength to do so. Including Zero Wing''s already formidable naval strength, the Guild would likely have an easier time collecting the necessary resources to mass-produce the Storm Speedboats. Even without other powers'' support, Zero Wing could produce 100 Bronze Speedboats, becoming one of the Sea of Death''s apex overlords. Now that the various upper echelons and Elders understood Zero Wing''s status, they''d have to treat Shi Feng and his Guild seriously. How is this possible?! How is his level so high?! Nine Dragons Emperor was dazed when he saw Shi Feng''s level. He couldn''t believe his eyes. Even Cloudy Moon, who sat beside the Heavenly Dragon Pavilion Master, stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. Level 100! Phoenix Rain really knows how to take people by surprise! She actually recruited such a powerful ally! It''s no wonder why she''s remained calm throughout the meeting. Cloudy Moon glanced at Phoenix Rain, who, in reality, had gone stiff with shock, in admiration. After the commotion continued for a moment, Ku Rong, who had maintained his light smile, hesitated as he said, "Martial, how about you just..." After giving the matter some thought, Ku Rong thought it was wisest to make Martial Dragon apologize for his earlier slight. Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, and Martial Dragon had provoked him first. Suddenly, however, a rough voice echoed throughout the meeting room. You really have a bad temper, Guild Leader Black Flame. Commander Martial has merely misspoken, yet you''re demanding an apology from one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s pillars of strength. If I didn''t know any better, I would''ve assumed you were the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master," the rough, middle-aged man beside Nine Dragons Emperor spoke up, poking fun at Shi Feng. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders nodded in agreement. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild, and Martial Dragon commanded one of its two main forces. He was a Domain Realm expert, a true pillar in the Guild. Demanding a public apology was too much. This person certainly knows how to counter. Not only has he suppressed Black Flame, but he''s also minimized the severity of Martial Dragon''s insult. Phoenix Rain turned to the rough man as the Guild upper echelons and Elders began to discuss the situation amongst themselves. Phoenix Rain could tell that Shi Feng was trying to improve the upper echelons and Elders'' opinion of Zero Wing. It would give her a better chance of undermining Nine Dragons Emperor and replacing him as the next Great Pavilion Master. However, this middle-aged man had elevated the conflict between Shi Feng and Martial Dragon to one between Zero Wing and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Now, even if the upper echelons and Elders hadn''t seen a problem with pushing Martial Dragon to apologize, they''d have to support Martial Dragon. If this insult concerned the Guild''s reputation, they couldn''t afford to concede. "And you are?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to the rough, middle-aged man. "Blood Oath, commander of the War Blood adventurer team," the man responded, smiling faintly. The many Guild upper echelons and Elders that supported Nine Dragons Emperor mimicked the grin. Shi Feng had only been allowed to act so arrogantly because he had an item that could tempt the Pavilion, and Martial Dragon''s status wasn''t as high as his. However, Blood Oath was a different story. Blood Oath commanded War Blood, the third-ranked adventurer team on Dragonheart Island. The adventurer team had just as many experts as the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, and its naval prowess was even slightly stronger than the Pavilion''s. Even Ku Rong had to treat Blood Oath with respect, and now that he had spoken, Shi Feng could no longer suppress Nine Dragons Emperor''s position. "So, you''re War Blood''s commander," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. "Your adventurer team ambushed Commander Blue Phoenix''s people in the Buried Bones Ruin and nearly too her life. She''s a friend of mine, you know. I had planned to seek you out, but since you''re here, things have become a lot simpler. Compensate for the damage and apologize to my friend!" As Shi Feng finished speaking, a deathly silence descended upon the room again, and everyone turned to stare at him with stupefied expressions. Insane! He was insane! 2283 Power of Level 100 Chapter 2283 - Power of Level 100 "What is Black Flame trying to do?" "Is he trying to start a war?" "Is he insane? Doesn''t he know who Blood Oath is?" The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders couldn''t bring themselves to look at Blood Oath. None of them had thought Shi Feng would go so far as to provoke the man. Even Nine Dragons Emperor, who sat across from Phoenix Rain, stared at Shi Feng in shock. They were all aware that Blood Oath had targeted Blue Phoenix. Ku Rong, in particular, must''ve watched the battle multiple times, but what difference did that make? It was common for the various powers to attack their rivals in the fields. With War Blood supporting Nine Dragons Emperor, its assault against Phoenix Rain''s aid wasn''t unusual. However, there was a limit to how far the various powers would go. As long as they kept the situation in the dark, everyone involved would turn a blind eye. And yet, Shi Feng had brought the attack into the light. He refused to conform, and because of this, the Pavilion''s and War Blood''s members wore ugly expressions. It would''ve been fine if Shi Feng had simply insisted on an apology from Martial Dragon. He was, after all, a Guild Leader, while Martial Dragon was merely an upper echelon. It was understandable to expect Martial Dragon to apologize, but it was an entirely different story to demand an apology from Blood Oath. Setting aside War Blood''s attack on Blue Phoenix, very few people on Dragonheart Island dared to disrespect Blood Oath. Even Ku Rong feared the man in the Sea of Death. Yet, not only did Shi Feng demand an apology from Blood Oath, but he also wanted Blood Oath to apologize to Blue Phoenix, not the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Not even Melancholy, Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, would dare to do such a thing. The meeting room was frighteningly silent, and the temperature seemed to drop steadily. Even the Void Realm experts in the room felt stifled, not to mention the Refinement Realm experts. Their reactions weren''t a result of the powerful pressure in the room, but because the meeting room''s atmosphere had become oppressive. The had no doubt that the slightest movement would spark a fight. After a long period of silence, Blood Oath opened his mouth and asked, "What if I refuse? What will you do about it?" Blood Oath''s questions were simple and straightforward. Not only did his statement blatantly provoke Shi Feng, the smile he wore and his frosty tone made the room feel even colder. Even the Guild upper echelons around Phoenix Rain struggled to breathe, their vision fading. Their heartbeats grew increasingly louder as if their hearts would jump out of their chests. The killing intent and pressure they felt from Blood Oath was almost ten times stronger than that of Mythic monsters. Ku Rong''s expression twisted into something unpleasant. He had never thought that Shi Feng would be this bold. Blood Oath was a murderous god in the Sea of Death. He didn''t even respect Super Guilds'' Guild Leaders, let alone the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Trying to force a public apology out of this murderous god was suicidal. Even if Ku Rong stepped forward to ease the tension, he''d be powerless to calm Blood Oath''s fury. "It''s simple." Shi Feng could not help his grin after hearing Blood Oath''s statement. "I''ll just drag you over here to apologize." The room''s occupants nearly collapsed with shock after listening to Shi Feng''s reply. They stared at him in astonishment, with no idea of what he was trying to accomplish. That was War Blood''s commander they were talking about! As an individual, Blood Oath was the third-ranked Berserker on Dragonheart Island. Not only did he wear six pieces of Epic Equipment, but he also wielded the Magic Dragon Spear, a well-known Magic Weapon in the Sea of Death. Moreover, he had a special Bloodline related to the Sea God. He was basically invincible at sea. On top of that, at least one Vice Guild Leader and three bodyguards were constantly by his side. Although the bodyguards couldn''t rival Domain Realm experts, they had a mysterious item that allowed them to manifest a special Domain. This Domain could suppress their enemies in every aspect, as well as form a barrier around specific targets. This barrier could even withstand Mythic monsters'' attacks. Blood Oath was practically impossible to kill, much less capture. "Good! Very good!" Blood Oath laughed, his killing intent so intense that it even made Phoenix Rain shudder. "It''s been a long time since anybody has dared to joke with me in the Sea of Death. If you don''t mind, Great Pavilion Master Ku Rong, I''d like to take Guild Leader Black Flame to War Blood''s headquarters and teach him the rules on Dragonheart Island!" Ink Feather and Blood Oath''s three bodyguards moved as soon as the words left their commander''s mouth. Dragonheart City''s NPC soldiers would kill anyone who attacked another player within the city, but the Guild Residences, which were private property, were an exception. Players were free to do whatever they wished within their own Guild Residence. Ku Rong''s expression darkened when he heard Blood Oath''s ''request.'' The commander might sound like he was asking for permission, but he was merely notifying the room of his intentions. Each of Blood Oath''s bodyguards retrieved a crystalline totem from their bags, sacrificing 1,000 Magic Crystals to the items. The crystalline totems then formed a Domain that enveloped the meeting room, and everyone felt as if a weight had dropped on their shoulders. Not only had the Domain reduced their Basic Attributes by 15%, but their physiques had also weakened by 20%. To make matters worse, the gravitational force they experienced had significantly increased, making movement inconvenient. The moment the Domain took form, Ink Feather squeezed and shattered a Deification Crystal, forcibly upgrading herself to Tier 3. She then pulled multiple purple, crystalline arrows from her bag. Many of the players in the room gasped when they saw the arrows. Starburst Arrows! These arrows had been created by an ancient civilization that had lived in the Gravity Mountain Range. Each arrow contained incredible power and could elevate its user''s attack by one tier to a maximum of Tier 4. Because of this, the Starburst Arrows cost an exorbitant sum on the market. One could even trade 20 Starburst Arrows for a piece of ordinary Epic Equipment. What truly surprised the meeting room''s occupants was the act that Ink Feather had 12 of these arrows! "Don''t think that you''re unstoppable just because you''re Level 100! I will ensure that you suffer the consequences for provoking War Blood!" Ink Feather said, her lips curling slightly as she glared at Shi Feng. She pulled back the string of her ancient bow and activated the Tier 3 Skill, Heartseeking Arrow. Heartseeking Arrow gave players full control over the arrow they fired during the Skill''s activation and allowed the player to control a maximum of 36 arrows at once. Although Ink Feather couldn''t yet control all 36 arrows, she''d have no problems controlling 12 with perfect precision. Twelve Starburst Arrows flew toward Shi Feng, each with enough power to knock back a Mythic monster. All 12 arrows could even instant-kill a true Tier 3 player. Everyone in the room squeezed their eyes shut as the arrows flew. A Level 100 player might be very strong, but not all fights in God''s Domain required a frontal confrontation. One could use tools to end a fight. However, just before the 12 arrows found their target, Shi Feng brandished Killing Ray. Shadow Blade! Immediately, 12 sword lights flashed as Shi Feng achieved a 100% Completion Rate with Shadow Blade. Each sword light slammed into one of Ink Feather''s Starburst Arrows, altering their trajectories. "You have quite a bit of power behind your attacks. Unfortunately, raw power isn''t enough to win all battles in God''s Domain," Shi Feng said, glancing at the Starburst Arrows as they brushed past him. Although he was not a Tier 3 player, the difference between a Level 100 player and a lower-leveled player wasn''t easy to make up. Shi Feng then activated Wind Blade and charged at Blood Oath. "Don''t think I''ll let you get close to the commander so easily!" As Shi Feng approached, the three bodyguards formed a barrier before Blood Oath, separating the two. In response, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray again. Lightning Slash! A massive thunderbolt tore through the magic barrier, stupefying the bodyguards. At the same time, Blood Oath reacted, lifting his Magic Dragon Spear to counterattack. Unfortunately, he wasn''t fast enough to keep up with Shi Feng, even with the Domain suppressing the Swordsman. Shi Feng''s Twilight Blade pushed aside the spear, and his Sacred Sword stopped right before it touched Blood Oath''s throat. Less than three seconds had passed since Ink Feather had attacked... 2284 Confounding the Venue Chapter 2284 - Confounding the Venue When Shi Feng''s Killing Ray stopped at Blood Oath''s throat, astonished silence filled the meeting room, and not a single player could pull their eyes away from the sight. None of them could have dreamed that this meeting would turn out like this. Despite War Blood''s Vice Guild Leader and three bodyguards by his side, Blood Oath had ended up at the end of Shi Feng''s blade. Nobody would believe them even if they retold this tale to others. "This is some trick, right? Blood Oath couldn''t actually stop Black Flame?" "So strong! How high are Black Flame''s Basic Attributes? Even with a Domain suppressing him, he still pushed away Blood Oath''s two-handed weapon so easily!" "No! Black Flame''s reaction speed is far more frightening than his Basic Attributes! If it weren''t, Blood Oath would''ve been able to use a Defensive Skill and wouldn''t have had to rely on his weapon." None of these players were ordinary experts. Some of them had even reached the Void Realm. Although Shi Feng was very fast and imperceptible to the naked eye, his movement couldn''t escape a Void Realm expert''s notice. Thus, many of the room''s occupants had caught a clear glimpse of what had just happened. Of course, witnessing that exchange was the very reason for their shock. The Domain Realm experts in the room evaluated Shi Feng with a far more serious gaze than before. They had watched the recording of Shi Feng killing Autumn Plant, and they had assumed the Swordsman only had high Basic Attributes, combat techniques, and reaction speed. They had assumed that these factors were the only reason that Shi Feng had been able to instant-kill Autumn Plant. However, this display made it clear that they had been severely mistaken. The fluidity of Shi Feng''s movements was the true reason that he was so frightening. They had no doubt that even if Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were on par with Blood Oath''s, the result of this exchange would''ve been the same. If not even Blood Oath was a match for Shi Feng, they, who were weaker than the War Blood''s commander, had no hope against Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. "Stop messing around, Black Flame! Blood Oath is the War Blood adventurer team''s commander!" Ink Feather coldly warned Shi Feng, watching him hold Blood Oath captive. Shi Feng''s strength was far beyond her expectations. She had never expected an outcome like this. God''s Domain was a virtual reality game that mimicked reality to a frightening degree. Although players could view details that weren''t available in the real world, there was little difference between the two. Unlike monsters, players didn''t have thick hides and powerful life forces, and because of that, players had to don armor to protect their vulnerable bodies. Even an ordinary Tier 2 player could deal an absurd amount of damage if they attacked Blood Oath''s unprotected neck, not to mention Shi Feng, who had incredible Basic Attributes and wielded an Epic Weapon. With Shi Feng''s blade against his throat, Blood Oath''s life was in Shi Feng''s hands. Although a player would only lose one level if they died in God''s Domain, the significance of one leveled differed from player to player. An ordinary expert would have no problem coming back from the loss. They couldn''t catch up to God''s Domain''s frontline players, to begin with, and they weren''t strong enough to contest for resources in new, unexplored maps. However, dying and losing a level was an immense loss to a frontline player like Blood Oath. With Ink Feather''s warning, the meeting room fell silent again as everyone stared at Shi Feng. Even Phoenix Rain was extraordinarily tense. Shi Feng might have control of Blood Oath''s life, showing off his strength before every player in the room, but he had also grievously offended the War Blood adventurer team. For War Blood, allowing its commander to be taken captive in such a public setting was immensely embarrassing. To save its reputation from this blow, the adventurer team couldn''t allow Shi Feng to get away with this. You really know how to dig your own grave, Black Flame! I won''t even need to lift a finger to deal with you now! As Lu Xingluo watched Shi Feng, he silently celebrated the Swordsman''s folly. After all was said and done, War Blood''s relationship with Starlink was only one of cooperation. Lu Xingluo didn''t have the authority to command the adventurer team, but now that Shi Feng had humiliated War Blood, the adventure team would find a variety of ways to kill the man. If War Blood were hellbent on killing someone, even a Super Guild''s Guild Leader would have a headache trying to stop the adventurer team. "Messing around? Why would I be messing around?" Shi Feng laughed. "I told Commander Blood Oath that if he''s unwilling to apologize, I''ll have to drag him to Commander Blue Phoenix and make him do it." Shi Feng extended a hand to grip the back of Blood Oath''s neck. "Black Flame!" Blood Oath understood what Shi Feng intended the moment the Swordsman moved. He immediately activated his Berserk Skill, disregarding the blade pressed against his throat. However, Blood Oath did not stop with just one Berserk Skill. Following which, he activated his Legacy Berserk Skill, the intensity of his aura instantly skyrocketing to the standard of a Mythic monster of the same level. Tier 2 Taboo Skill, Storm Rage! With the power to rip apart space itself, Blood Oath thrust his Magic Dragon Spear at Shi Feng. However, golden, divine runes began to appear across the Swordsman''s body, and his aura''s intensity skyrocketed. Heavenly Dragon''s Power! Shi Feng then pulled back Killing Ray, swinging it at the incoming spear. Boom! The collision''s shockwave was so powerful that it threw the spectating players back against their chairs. The Magic Dragon Spear, which had far more power than Ink Feather''s Starburst Arrows, came to an abrupt halt, unable to harm Shi Feng in the slightest. Blood Oath''s expression darkened. He hadn''t expected that, even after activating Twofold Berserk, he''d still be helpless against Shi Feng. He quickly activated another Skill to put some distance between him and Shi Feng. Unfortunately for Blood Oath, Shi Feng was a step ahead. Tugging Killing Ray sharply, he dragged the Magic Dragon Spear, and Blood Oath with it, forward. Taking advantage of the momentum, he snatched the back of Blood Oath''s neck. Blood Oath had seen Shi Feng''s movements, yet he failed to react in time. The instant he felt Shi Feng''s hand on the back of his neck, Blood Oath felt as if a Dragon had grabbed him. He couldn''t move at all. Shi Feng jumped into the air with his burden, dodging Ink Feather''s attacks and landing before Blue Phoenix. He then tightened his grip on the back of Blood Oath''s neck and pressed down. Boom! Boom! Boom! Shi Feng smashed Blood Oath''s head into the ground three times, the marble floor shattering and shaking the meeting room with his strength. Blood Oath rapidly lost HP before it eventually hit zero. The scene even dumbfounded Nine Dragons Emperor and Lu Xingluo, not to mention the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders. Ink Feather, who had been preparing to launch another attack, was utterly dazed. As if time had stopped, everyone in the room froze. For a moment, they even forgot to breathe... 2285 Dragonheart Shaken Chapter 2285 - Dragonheart Shaken "Blood Oaths dead" "How dare he..." As they stared at Shi Feng, everyone felt a chill crawl down their spines. He stood nonchalantly before the meeting table with Blood Oath at his feet, the man''s head buried in the broken marble floor. Blood Oath''s death didn''t shock the meeting room''s occupants overmuch. What truly shocked them was the method Shi Feng had used to kill him. Shi Feng had dragged Blood Oath to Blue Phoenix and forced War Blood''s commander to kowtow and apologize... Not even Nine Dragons Emperor and Lu Xingluo had thought the Swordsman would be so vicious, let alone Blue Phoenix. He''s definitely crazy! War Blood definitely won''t rest until Zero Wing is destroyed! Nine Dragons Emperor thought, flabbergasted as he watched Shi Feng. Had Shi Feng simply killed Blood Oath out of rage, War Blood would, at most, target Shi Feng, but since the situation had devolved, the adventurer team would become a laughingstock if it didn''t annihilate Zero Wing as a whole. Even the major corporations that supported War Blood would support their vengeance, and there would be no hope for reconciliation between the two organizations. In an era where every second mattered, two powers would suffer tremendous losses if they went to war against each other, regardless of who won in the end. Only a lunatic would start a war with a superpower like War Blood. "You''re dead, Black Flame! Our adventurer team won''t let this matter rest! So what if you''re strong? From this moment, War Blood declares war against Zero Wing! We will hunt Zero Wing''s members relentlessly if they set foot in the Sea of Death!" Ink Feather bellowed when she saw her commander''s corpse with such powerful killing intent that even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members shuddered. It felt as if some hellish curse had echoed throughout the room. Ink Feather and Blood Oath''s bodyguards stormed out of the room. Clearly, she intended to relay these events to War Blood''s other upper echelons and prepare to move against Zero Wing. This is going to be troublesome. Phoenix Rain watched Ink Feather and her companions leave with a heavy expression. She felt that Shi Feng had been too impulsive. Unlike on land, the status quo between adventurer teams and Guilds had more balance in the Sea of Death. Naval travel was incredibly inconvenient, and because of this, Guilds couldn''t rely on their large armies. That wasn''t the case for adventurer teams, however. Adventurer teams were small organizations that operated in multiple locations. would be able to take out an adventurer team regardless of the provocation. Naval adventurer teams had many methods to deal with small groups of players, as well. This was especially true for an adventurer team like War Blood. As one of the top ten adventurer teams on Dragonheart Island, many adventurer teams had subjected themselves to War Blood''s rule. One word from War Blood was all it would take to ensure that Zero Wing''s members had no place in the Sea of Death. Moreover, War Blood had Starlink''s support. Starlink''s progress in the ancient civilization''s ruins in the Gravity Mountain Range was impressive, and as a result, both the Guild and War Blood''s naval prowess grew with each passing day. This was the reason Ku Rong had chosen Nine Dragons Emperor as his successor. In comparison, Zero Wing''s naval strength was infantile. Even with the Bronze Speedboat Design, Zero Wing would need a lot of time and materials to construct a full fleet. Furthermore, adventurer teams supplied 80% of the naval resources on the market, and after today, not a single adventurer team would dare sell their resources to Zero Wing. With one of Zero Wing''s main supply lines severed, War Blood and Starlink would occupy a large number of Shops and resources in Dragonheart City by the time Zero Wing developed its naval forces. If they purchased Dragonheart City''s Large Shipyard, they''d become unimaginably powerful at sea. How, exactly, was Zero Wing supposed to fight War Blood? Zero Wing wasn''t even guaranteed to survive this war, let alone prosper in the Sea of Death. However, Phoenix Rain had to admit that Shi Feng''s performance had been effective. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelons and Elders had a newfound respect and fear of Zero Wing. Shi Feng had followed through with his threat of dragging War Blood''s commander to Blue Phoenix and forcing him to apologize. Not even a Super Guild''s Guild Leader would dare to pull such a stunt. For a time, everyone in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion re-evaluated their opinions of Phoenix Rain. Shi Feng might be a lunatic, but he was a powerful lunatic. Moreover, he had a Bronze Speedboat Design. Because of this, Ku Rong decided to postpone the matter of his successor. At the very least, he''d wait to announce a decision until the war between Zero Wing and War Blood had reached a conclusion. Fortunately, this meant that Nine Dragons Emperor''s plans had gone to waste. "It seems Black Flame is quite capable after all," Cloudy Moon, who was about to leave the meeting room, said, smiling gently as she glanced at Shi Feng. "His good luck will only last a short moment," Nine Dragons Emperor hissed with a sneer. "You''re new to the Sea of Death, so you might not understand what kind of power War Blood is. Not even Starlink is a match for the adventurer team''s naval prowess, much less the Pavilion. Not only has War Blood secured a stable source of Naval Legacies, but it has also acquired a source for hidden Bloodline Legacies. It can nurture experts with horrific combat power at sea. "Moreover, I''ve heard that War Blood has gained a large number of Deification Crystals and ancient contract scrolls that allow players to tame sea monsters as Mounts due to its partnership with Starlink. Even Thirteen Thrones shows War Blood some respect at sea. Why else would the Great Pavilion Master choose me as his successor so quickly? "Black Flame doesn''t realize who he just provoked. He thinks everything will be fine just because he''s so powerful as an individual. If War Blood goes all-out, Dragonheart City will tremble at its might. There''s no guarantee that Zero Wing will even be able to enter Dragonheart City, much less gain any standing." Nine Dragons Emperor''s explanation surprised Cloudy Moon. She hadn''t thought that an adventurer team could be so powerful, even having the ability to tame sea monsters as Mounts. It was no wonder why Ku Rong had been so lenient about Blood Oath''s disrespect and arrogance. Although her main activities were on land, she knew a little about sea monsters. With a sea monster as a Mount, a player''s combat power at sea would be impressive. If a power had enough sea monster Mounts, it would usher in a new ear in the Sea of Death. Despite the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s efforts to keep the incident quiet, news quickly reached Dragonheart City''s various major powers. It caused an uproar in the city. "Is Zero Wing trying to dig an early grave?" "This is going to be an interesting show!" Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain worried as she read the report on War Blood''s declaration of war in an office in the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Hall. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''m afraid that War Blood is already on the move. If you need any resources, I''ll try to get you as many as I can from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion," Phoenix Rain offered, watching Shi Feng as he prepared to leave the office. Shi Feng had only started a war with War Blood on her behalf, so she couldn''t just sit aside and do nothing, but she couldn''t help but feel powerless with their opponent being the War Blood adventurer team. "That''s wonderful. In that case, I''d like to borrow some of your people," Shi Feng said, nodding. He wouldn''t refuse the help. Zero Wing''s foundations in Dragonheart City were just too fragile. "Borrow some of my people? What are you planning?" Shi Feng''s request confused Phoenix Rain. "I want to capture the Gravity Mountain Range''s Northern Fortress," Shi Feng calmly stated. 2286 Size Upgraded Chapter 2286 - Size Upgraded "Capture the Northern Fortress?" Phoenix Rain stared at Shi Feng with wide eyes. There were quite a few fortresses in the Gravity Mountain Range, with over a dozen of varying sizes scattered across the map. The Northern Fortress was a Medium Fortress in the map''s northern region, the largest in the area. Even working together, Thirteen Thrones and Starlink had gone to great lengths to capture a Small Fortress. While that might not seem like a great feat, they were the only superpower to capture a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range. And Shi Feng intended to capture a Medium Fortress. No matter how Phoenix Rain considered the idea, she had little hope of the operation succeeding. Even if the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Zero Wing went all out, working together, their chances of capturing a Small Fortress were less than 10%. "That''s right. Zero Wing isn''t quite strong enough to succeed, so I''d like to borrow 30,000 elites and experts for the operation," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Of course, I won''t borrow them for free. If we succeed, I''ll give you 20% of the fortress''s shares." The majority of Zero Wing''s forces were stationed in the Bottomless Abyss and Ore Empire. There were barely any members in Dragonheart City. Although the Guild could gather its members here, it would take a long time to do so, and he couldn''t afford to wait. The main reason that the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses were so difficult to capture was the Level 100-plus Mythic monsters that guarded each of them. The fortresses were also full of Level 100-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords. Medium Fortresses, in particular, were guarded by significantly more monsters, and these monsters operated like a well-trained army. Zero Wing hadn''t previously had the strength to capture a Medium Fortress, but that had changed. While Shi Feng had been in the Tower of Four Gods, both Anna and Kite had reached Level 100 and completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Including the Level 100-plus Demons Shi Feng could summon with the Bible of Darkness, Zero Wing qualified to challenge a Medium Fortress. It would be less risky to challenge a Small Fortress, but the Northern Fortress was near the Gravity Mountain Range''s vein area. Not only could the rare ores in the area be used when crafting ships, but they would also be useful for producing Level 100-plus weapons and equipment. After Level 100, the system reduced equipment drop-rates even further. One would already be quite lucky to obtain a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment from a Great Lord, and Lord ranked monsters had practically no chance of dropping Level 100-plus Bronze Equipment. Hence, demand for player-made weapons and equipment would skyrocket after Level 100. Since no one was paying attention to the Northern Fortress, he had to secure it as quickly as possible. If he waited until this fortress attracted attention, not only would he have to deal with the monsters that guarded the Northern Fortress, but he''d also have to deal with player interference, which would significantly reduce his chances of capturing it. "Is 30,000 enough?" Phoenix Rain gave Shi Feng a skeptical look. Although gathering 30,000 elites and experts on Dragonheart Island would be difficult, it wasn''t impossible for her. However, Thirteen Thrones and Starlink had sent a massive, 150,000-player army to capture a Small Fortress, and over 70% of their forces had been slaughtered by the end of the battle. And yet, Shi Feng only asked for a fraction of that... "They''ll be enough, but we''ll need to move quickly," Shi Feng said. The most important factor when attempting to capture a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range was whether or not one could hold their ground against the monsters. If an army could stand strong, even 10,000 players would be enough to capture a fortress, not to mention 30,000. However, they would need a lot more time to succeed. "That won''t be a problem. I''ll contact them immediately. I should be able to get 30,000 players here within a day," Phoenix Rain said. She knew that Shi Feng was no fool. If he thought it was possible to capture a Medium Fortress, she had to take the risk. Starlink and Thirteen Thrones had gained massive advantages in Dragonheart City due to the Small Fortress they had captured. If she could get her hands on a Medium Fortress''s shares, Nine Dragons Emperor would have an extremely difficult time shaking her position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the future. Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix got to work contacting the necessary players. They called in the Pavilion''s various elite and expert players scattered in the Sea of Death and various countries on the main continent. Meanwhile, Shi Feng headed toward the Wanderer''s Shop after leaving the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. Since he had been stuck in the Tower of Four Gods, he hadn''t been able to manage the Wanderer''s Shop, allowing it to operate itself. After so many days, the Shop should have accumulated a fortune. According to Shi Feng''s estimates, his share should amount to at least 10,000 Ancient Gold. More customers had been visiting the Shop, and as a result, its sales continued to improve, especially those of the Black Market''s entry slots. With 10,000 Ancient Gold, Shi Feng could purchase a plot of Land and construct an ordinary Guild Residence in Dragonheart City''s outermost area. This would allow Zero Wing''s members to rest and recover in the Residence for free, rather than waste their money on hotels. But as soon as Shi Feng stepped out of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence, an uproar rose through the crowd outside. "He''s out!" "And here I thought he would hide in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion for the rest of his life. I didn''t expect him to show himself so soon. Keep an eye on him, everyone! The higher-ups have announced that we''ll earn three pieces of Epic Equipment if we can kill Black Flame!" "Notify the boss! Black Flame has left the Residence!" By now, everyone had heard of Blood Oath''s death, and War Blood''s declaration of war had caused a sensation in Dragonheart City. Moreover, War Blood had offered the highest bounty ever seen in God''s Domain for Black Flame''s head. Three pieces of Epic Equipment! An ordinary player''s strength would undergo a qualitative transformation if they acquired three pieces of Epic Equipment, let alone an expert''s strength. Thus, every player in Dragonheart City was going mad over the news. Even if they had killed Shi Feng before this, he wasn''t guaranteed to drop his Fragmented Legendary item, but now, they were promised Epic Equipment if they killed the Swordsman. Not a single player in the Sea of Death could ignore such temptation. Shi Feng finally reached the Wanderer''s Shop after half an hour, utterly ignoring the crowd of experts and War Blood members that followed him. None of them would dare attack him in Dragonheart City. However, when he saw the Wanderer''s Shop, Shi Feng had wondered if he had gone to the wrong place. The originally tattered Wanderer''s Shop looked completely different. Now, it was a four-story-tall building with an extravagantly decorated exterior. An endless stream of players entered and exited the building, and they were all Level 85-plus experts. The Wanderer''s Shop looked more like a Guild Hall than a Shop. The Shop''s size upgraded automatically? Shi Feng could not help his shock. Just how popular is the Wanderer''s Shop right now? It wasn''t particularly unusual for independent Shops to upgrade automatically, but fulfilling the conditions for such an upgrade was immensely difficult. Not only did the Shop require enough popularity and traffic, but it also needed to reach a certain sales volume. Shi Feng entered the Shop, only to find that the first-floor hall had more than doubled in size. There were also more than 100 types of items available for sale, and they were all treasures that were rarely seen on the market. However, Shi Feng didn''t pay these details much mind. He immediately opened the Shop''s interface to learn how much Ancient Gold he had earned. Is this real?! Shi Feng couldn''t believe his eyes when he saw the numbers. 27,615 Ancient Gold! 2287 Special Area Chapter 2287 - Special Area Shi Feng had earned a lot more Ancient Gold than he had expected from the Wanderer''s Shop. He still couldn''t shake off the shock after staring at the numbers for a long time. It''s no wonder why the powers that secured a Wanderer''s Shop in the past developed so rapidly. This Shop is a goldmine! Realization dawned on Shi Feng after seeing his share of the profits. Many first- and second-rate Guilds had mingled in independent cities in Shi Feng''s previous life, and despite not occupying high-resource maps, they had established themselves among the many superpowers, with some eventually becoming superpowers themselves. Meanwhile, a large part of the reason for these Guilds'' success was likely the Wanderer''s Shops they had owned. Shi Feng had only spent a little over 20 days in the Tower of Four Gods, yet he had earned over 27,000 Ancient Gold through the Wanderer''s Shop. This meant that the Shop generated more than 1,000 Ancient Gold per day. No Shop in Dragonheart City earned as much income. Only the fortresses in the Gravity Mountain Range could surpass the Wanderer''s Shop''s profits. Moreover, the Wanderer''s Shop had earned so much income despite being a 2-star Shop. Once he promoted it to 3- star status, the Shop would sell items that would even tempt superpowers. Most importantly, the Wanderer''s Shop would undergo a qualitative transformation upon reaching 3-star status, periodically hosting a Miniature Black Marketplace. The items available in this marketplace couldn''t compare to those in the actual Black Market, but there were looser entry restrictions. Players could participate as long as they had the Wanderer''s Shop''s customer membership. The Wanderer''s Shop''s income would significantly increase. After withdrawing the 27,615 Ancient Gold, Shi Feng made his way to the City Hall. He had originally planned to construct a Guild Residence for Zero Wing''s members on Dragonheart Island, but since he had more Ancient Gold than he had expected, his plans had changed. Dragonheart City was split between its inner and outer areas, but there was also a special location within the city. It was the area closest to the World Tower! Not only did this special area provide more convenient access to the World Tower, but the Mana density there was also incredible. Moreover, this secret area had a hidden secret-the World Power Tolerance Value. As players roamed the World Tower''s first underground floor, they might not notice a difference, sensing an ever- present malicious energy in the underground world. This malicious energy was World Power, and it discriminated against and rejected all outsiders. Not only would this World Power weaken players'' physiques, but it would also interfere with their five senses, severely affecting their combat power. Of course, one could counter these negative effects by consuming the food and drink available in Dragonheart City, but doing so carried a high price. Even ordinary experts would blow through their savings if they relied on this method. However, after a long investigation, some players had discovered that one could reduce the World Power''s suppression by resting in an area near the World Tower. It wouldn''t make them immune to the World Power''s effects, but it could reduce them by half. With this reduction, players could continue to explore the World Tower without relying on Dragonheart City''s expensive consumables. Because of this, the Shops around the World Tower had been incredibly popular in the past. The various superpowers had spared no expense to purchase these Shops, modifying them into hotels. If players had been allowed to construct Guild Residences in the area, such buildings would''ve surrounded the World Tower in the past. Even so, the area around the World Tower had become something of a famous tourist spot during Shi Feng''s previous life due to its many hotels. Unfortunately, first-rate Guilds hadn''t had a chance to build a hotel of their own. In fact, many superpowers had gone without, as well. There were only 34 plots of Land around the World Tower, and these plots'' sizes were fixed. Guilds didn''t have the option of expanding their hotels, regardless of their desire to do just that. Since none of Dragonheart City''s various powers had figured this out yet, Shi Feng couldn''t miss this opportunity. When he had first visited Dragonheart City in search of a Shop, he had only had 10,000 Ancient Gold on hand. It hadn''t even been enough to purchase the Shops in the city''s outer area, much less those near the World Tower. Now that he had over 27,000 Ancient Gold, however, he should be able to afford a Shop around the World Tower. After waiting for some time in one of the City Hall''s second-floor reception rooms, Shi Feng watched an Elven beauty with a crescent-moon insignia enter the room. Unlike the City Halls ordinary administrators, this female Elf was the City Halls senior administrator and responsible for selling the Shops around the World Tower. She was a Level 180, Tier 4 Great Wizard. Ordinary players wouldn''t even have the chance to meet and speak with this senior administrator, much less purchase the Shops near the World Tower. Fortunately, Shi Feng was a Bronze Legatee, so his rank was high enough to earn her attention. "Lord Bronze Legatee, here is the information on the 34 Shops around the World Tower. May I know which one you wish to purchase?" Senior Administrator Irene Lauren asked. Shi Feng fell speechless as he read down the list he had been given. Although he had known that these Shops and Lands would be very expensive, he hadn''t expected them to cost this much. Even a barren plot of Land cost 24,000 Ancient Gold, and it was a considerably small plot. A medium-sized plot of Land cost 45,000 Ancient Gold, and of the Lands that already had Shops, the cheapest was a small-size, 1-star Restaurant, costing a total of 40,000 Ancient Gold. To purchase a medium-size, 2-star Hotel, Shi Feng would have to pay a whopping 128,000 Ancient Gold! Suddenly, Shi Feng felt like a pauper in Dragonheart City, even with the Wanderer''s Shop... "I want this small-sized Land," Shi Feng said, gritting his teeth as he chose the small-sized plot closest to the World Tower. These Shops and Lands were no less rare than the Wanderer''s Shop. Not only could one earn a fortune though one of these plots of Land, but it would also help accelerate a Guild''s growth. Very well. That will be 26,500 Ancient Gold Coins," Irene Lauren said, nodding. Shi Feng struggled with the decision as he handed the money over, leaving him with little over 1,000 Ancient Gold. Irene Lauren, however, didn''t care about Shi Feng''s struggles, and as soon as she received the payment, she handed Shi Feng an ancient contract. Shi Feng felt his chest tighten for a moment when he saw the information on the contract. Although the plot of Land had nothing on it, he was required to pay 10,000 Ancient Gold in monthly maintenance fees. The monthly fees were even more exorbitant than the Wanderer''s Shop''s. Forget it. You can''t make money without losing money. Besides, the various superpowers in the past were willing to pay over a million Ancient Gold to purchase a plot near the World Tower. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng felt that he had still gained a huge advantage. Next, I''ll have to collect 4,000 Ancient Gold to construct an Advanced Hotel. Then, I can open for business. After signing the contract and preparing to leave the City Hall, Shi Feng received a call request. He answered the call as soon as he saw it was from Gentle Snow. "Guild Leader, we''ve arrived in Dragonheart City," Gentle Snow reported. 2288 Zero Wings Team Chapter 2288 - Zero Wing''s Team You guys sure are fast!" Shi Feng was a little surprised to see Gentle Snow''s smile so soon. He had only notified Gentle Snow and the others to travel to Dragonheart City a few hours ago. He hadn''t expected them to reach the city so quickly. The Tidal Vortex was located in the Sea of Death''s core region. Even with a Flying Mount, it would take some time to return to Dragonheart City. Furthermore, there were 100 players in Zero Wing''s main force. Gentle Snow would need several trips to fly everyone back to the city. "It would''ve taken a few more hours to get everyone back to Dragonheart City, but the last Level 95 Mythic Boss we killed dropped a Twin-headed Flying Dragon. Cola won the bid for the Mount, and it substantially reduced our travel time," Gentle Snow said excitedly. She had already enjoyed the benefits of having a Flying Mount, and now that another Zero Wing main force member had one, the team''s overall strength and leveling speed had significantly increased. "A Twin-headed Flying Dragon? Aren''t you guys a little too lucky? That thing only has a 1% drop-rate." The news stunned Shi Feng. The Tidal Vortex''s Mythic Bosses did have a chance of dropping Flying Mounts. Grinding these Bosses was one of the few ways players could obtain an Extraordinary Flying Mount, but the 1% drop-rate made it incredibly difficult. Shi Feng had never thought that Gentle Snow and her team would acquire one on their first trip. "We have to thank Blackie''s luck to thank for it," Gentle Snow said, smiling. "Guild Leader, I''ve heard that the War Blood adventurer team has declared war on Zero Wing. Should we prepare for an offensive?" Dealing with the War Blood adventurer team would''ve likely given her a huge headache before they had explored the Tidal Vortex, but now, Cola had the Twin-headed Flying Dragon, bringing Zero Wing''s total to three Flying Mounts. Flying Mounts already had a massive advantage at sea, and if three Flying Mounts worked together, their team could take on any fleet. Three Flying Mounts could carry up to 60 players, and with such a force, annihilating players on three Bronze Speedboats wouldn''t be a problem. Most fleets currently in the Sea of Death only had a few Bronze Speedboats. They could easily destroy any fleet''s core combat power with a few rounds of attacks. Zero Wing might not be able to establish itself in the Sea of Death, but they wouldn''t give the War Blood adventurer team an easy time, either. "No. Our current priority is to capture the Gravity Mountain Range''s Northern Fortress," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Make your way to the World Tower''s entrance for now. I''ll meet you there." Although they could rely on the Flying Mounts'' mobility to cause trouble for War Blood, doing so would slow their development speed. It wasn''t a worthwhile trade. The struggle between powers required resources and experts. Securing the Northern Fortress was the best way to defeat War Blood. "We''re capturing a fortress?" Shi Feng''s statement stunned Gentle Snow, but after a moment, a grin spread across her face. Everyone on the team, including her and Cola, were eager to show Shi Feng how strong they had grown. "Alright, we''ll head over immediately." Shi Feng then disconnected the call and made his way to the World Tower. ... World Tower''s underground first floor: Due to Phoenix Rain''s summons, a large number of Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion experts had gathered near the first underground floor''s entrance. Visiting players were shocked to see so many experts. "Why are so many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s experts here?" "Amazing! Even the lowest-leveled player among them is Level 86. Our adventurer team has several thousand members, but fewer than 10 have reached such a high level, yet the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has more than 7,000 of them!" "That''s nothing. Look at their equipment. They''re all wearing Level 85 equipment. Moreover, even the lowest-quality piece is Secret-Silver rank. Some of them even have Level 85 Dark-Gold Equipment. I thought I''ve been doing quite well in my Guild, but I only have a few pieces of Level 85 Secret-Silver Equipment, while the rest is Level 80 equipment." "I wonder why the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion has gathered so many experts? Are they planning to complete a quest, maybe?" The various players nearby couldn''t help but wonder why so many of the Pavilion''s experts had gathered. They rarely saw so many in one place. "Big Sis Rain, 9,000 people have arrived thus far. It''ll take another two or three hours for the rest to get here," Blue Phoenix reported as Phoenix Rain examined the supplies she had prepared for the operation. Worriedly, she continued, "However, Nine Dragons Emperor has found out about the operation." "So be it. How could such a large-scale operation escape the notice of Nine Dragons Emperor''s men?" Phoenix Rain nodded. The news didn''t affect her in the slightest. "We just need to take down the Northern Fortress before Nine Dragons Emperor can gather enough players to do anything about it." It was too easy for information about such large-scale operations to reach other powers. There was no way to ensure that there weren''t any spies among their people. Now, they were in a race against time. ... Meanwhile, a report stating that Zero Wing and Phoenix Rain intended to capture the Northern Fortress sat on the Guild Leader''s desk in Thirteen Thrones'' Dragonheart City Residence. "Black Flame never ceases to surprise me," Melancholy said, smiling at the report before him. He then turned to Happy Art and asked, "Art, what do you think of this matter?" His favorable opinion of Shi Feng was the reason he had invited Zero Wing to participate in the mission to capture a Small Fortress. Unfortunately, he was forced to go back on his word. "Zero Wing should have some confidence in succeeding," Happy Art said, uncertain. While capturing the Northern Fortress might be extremely challenging, she didn''t think that Shi Feng was foolhardy. Since he had decided to attempt the capture, he was confident of succeeding. "Confidence? Do you think capturing a fortress is so easy?" the masked woman beside Elder Wu commented disdainfully. "In my opinion, this is simply the Guild''s death throes. It''s run out of moves. After all, Black Flame so foolishly provoked War Blood." Thirteen Thrones had gone all out, even cooperating with Starlink, to secure a Small Fortress. What, exactly, did Zero Wing have to rely on to capture the Northern Fortress, a Medium Fortress? "Little Melancholy, are you planning to help this Zero Wing?" Elder Wu, who sat quietly in a corner, asked. "I had considered it. Zero Wing has a lot of potential. It could become a formidable ally in the future," Melancholy answered truthfully. He had no reason to hide his thoughts. More major corporations continued to invest in God''s Domain, and as a result, the competition between the game''s powers grew more intense. Even a Super Guild like Thirteen Thrones would have to consider alliances if it wished to continue its smooth development in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, Zero Wing''s development speed had been quite impressive. It was an optimal candidate as an ally. Moreover, if Thirteen Thrones lent aid during Zero Wing''s time of need, the Guild would have a more friendly view of Thirteen Thrones. "I understand what you''re thinking. That kid certainly knows how to get things done, but you need to understand that War Blood isn''t the only power Zero Wing has provoked. Starlink is hell-bent to see the Guild destroyed. If you help Zero Wing, our relationship with Starlink will become complicated," Elder Wu said calmly. "Moreover, we already have plans to capture another fortress with Starlink, and the Guild has something crucial for the siege. As Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, you need to consider the Guild''s benefit carefully." With Elder Wu''s warning, Melancholy had no choice but to dismiss the thought. Elder Wu was one of the Thirteen Thrones'' founders, and the old man had immense influence in the Guild. He wasn''t wrong, either, and Melancholy didn''t have a good enough reason to move against the old man''s advice. ... While the various superpowers in Dragonheart City discussed the news, Shi Feng and the rest of Zero Wing''s main force arrived in the main hall of the World Tower''s first underground floor. The instant Shi Feng appeared, a commotion erupted throughout the hall. "Is Black Flame stupid? He actually dares to visit the Gravity Mountain Range. Doesn''t he know how many experts want his head?" "He''s probably betting on the fact that no one will mess with him with so many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members here." "I guess you''re right, but the moment he wanders off from the Pavilion''s group, he''s dead." ... The players in the main hall watched Shi Feng with admiration and ridicule. They all wondered what the Swordsman would do next. Once he left the main hall, he wouldn''t have a safe zone to protect him. Many people would likely try to take his life to claim War Blood''s bounty, and not even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could guarantee his safety. "Guild Leader Black Flame, over 23,000 of the 30,000 players you''ve requested have arrived. The rest should be here in another hour or so. How are the preparations on your side coming along?" Phoenix Rain asked as Shi Feng entered the main hall. "Based on the information I''ve received, several thousand players are camped outside the main hall, all aiming for your life. Although they won''t dare attack with so many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members around you, more people will gather as time passes. Once there are enough players, I can''t be sure that they won''t make a move." Completing this mission as quickly as possible was crucial. The various major powers'' experts were targeting Shi Feng, and if the battle dragged on for too long, there was a high likelihood that other powers would try to interfere, and the operation would fail. "All of my players have arrived already," Shi Feng said, smiling as he gestured to Gentle Snow and the others behind him. "A 100-man team?" Phoenix Rain was stunned when she saw the cloaked figures of Gentle Snow and the rest of Zero Wing''s main force. Although she had known that Zero Wing couldn''t dispatch a lot of players for this operation, she hadn''t expected Shi Feng to only bring a 100-man team to capture the Northern Fortress. This had to be a joke. While Phoenix Rain was silent, Aqua Rose spoke up. "These people dare to target you, Guild Leader. If we don''t teach them a lesson, they''ll likely think that Zero Wing is just a pushover," Aqua Rose coldly stated as she glanced at the players outside the main hall. "That''s right! We might as well take care of these fools since we''re still waiting on some of the others; it''ll save us some trouble," Cola insisted. "Alright, let''s take care of them first, then," Shi Feng agreed, nodding after giving the matter some thought. He did not want to deal with unceasing stalkers, either. They''d constantly pose a problem. "You guys shouldn''t mess around. Those aren''t ordinary players. There are quite a few Refinement Realm experts among the group, including some experts from Dragonheart Island''s top adventurer teams," Phoenix Rain interjected. Phoenix thought that Aqua Rose and her companions were insane. Naturally, Shi Feng was even more mad to agree to the suggestion... Although Phoenix Rain was aware that Aqua Rose and the others were incredibly powerful. Even her forces would have a hard time taking down these experts. Even if her forces won the battle, they''d suffer grievously for it. Furthermore, there were only 100 of these experts. As Phoenix Rain was about to continue, Aqua Rose and the other removed their Black Cloaks, revealing they every one of them had reached Level 95 and 96... 2289 Zero Wings Blade Chapter 2289 - Zero Wing''s Blade The instant Aqua Rose and the others removed their Black Cloaks, the players in the hall, who had been busy talking about Shi Feng, gasped in shock. They stared at Zero Wing''s players as if there were horrifying monsters. "Level 95?! How is that possible?!" "How are they so high-leveled? Haven''t the superpowers'' peak experts just reached Level 87? Are they monsters in disguise?" Everyone was confused over Aqua Rose and her companions'' levels. The fact that Shi Feng had already reached Level 100 was shocking enough. They all knew how difficult it was to level up from such a high level. The fact that Shi Feng had reached Level 100 wasn''t entirely unbelievable. God''s Domain had many special opportunities to offer, and it wasn''t strange for these opportunities to grant players tremendous amounts of EXP. Now, however, Zero Wing revealed that it had 100 players at Level 95 and 96. How were they so powerful? After a brief moment of shock, a terrifying pressure washed over them. Even Phoenix Rain, who stood near Aqua Rose, shuddered, not to mention the ordinary experts in the room. After this display, Phoenix Rain gave up trying to dissuade Aqua Rose and her companions from attacking the group of hostile players. She could only smile bitterly about the situation. Just how many secrets does Zero Wing possess? This thought echoed in Phoenix Rain''s mind for a long time. She couldn''t understand how Shi Feng had helped Aqua Rose and the rest of his main force level up so quickly. Of course, she also understood why Shi Feng had so fearlessly provoked the War Blood adventurer team in the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. Although Shi Feng had previously revealed his level, there was a limit to how much an individual could accomplish, especially when exploring new maps. Shi Feng could only secure so many resources by himself, and he could clear Team Dungeons alone, which were one of the largest resource sources for a Guild. However, he wouldn''t have that problem with a 100-man team that was almost as high-leveled as he was. After Aqua Rose and the other exposed their levels, many of the players in the hall that had considered targeting Shi Feng abandoned the idea. Teams with fewer than 50 members, in particular, immediately abandoned their plans to move against Shi Feng. If Shi Feng were the only powerhouse they had to worry about, they could rely on special tools to restrain him, preventing him from exhibiting his full strength, but since such a group of high-leveled experts guarded him, what was the point in restraining Shi Feng? They couldn''t even get close to the Swordsman, much less attack him. "I hadn''t thought that Zero Wing had hidden so much of its strength. Targeting Black Flame will no longer be possible. With so many high-leveled expert guards, even assassination experts will be powerless against him." "That''s right! I doubt War Blood expected Zero Wing to have a card like this. The adventurer team''s plan to send everyone in the city after him is likely moot." "That might not necessarily be the case. Small teams like ours might not have a chance, but those large adventurer teams could succeed. Zero Wing''s members might be very high-leveled, but a team can bridge that gap by outnumbering them. With enough experts, the various adventurer teams might be able to suppress Zero Wing''s members long enough to kill Black Flame." "I guess you''re right. Ordinary experts won''t have high enough Basic Attributes to make a difference, but peak experts could do it if they rely on external items. Besides, even if they have high levels, it means nothing if their weapons and equipment can''t keep up." "I heard that the Heavenly Beast adventurer team has dispatched all of its experts to kill Black Flame and steal his Fragmented Legendary item. Heavenly Beast is quite famous among the dark forces. I don''t think it''s a match for Dragonheart Island''s top ten adventurer teams in an open battle, but its ability to kill individual players is lightly even stronger than those adventurer teams." "Heavenly Beast is powerful, but Black Flame is no fool. As long as he sticks with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s army, Heavenly Beast''s members won''t get near him." "At this point, only the various major powers have any hope of taking out Black Flame." Many of the independent players in the hall sighed and turned to leave after seeing Zero Wing''s high-level team. With such powerful players around him, a small team didn''t have a chance of taking Shi Feng down. The various major powers'' experts, on the other hand, chose to stay and continue stalking after him. Unlike independent players, major powers would have no problems sending several thousand experts after the Swordsman. "A Level 95,100-man team? Black Flame sure has a lot of trump cards." "So, this is why Black Flame''s so confident?" "Remember to keep a close eye on Black Flame! Report back as soon as you see him leave the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s protection! I refuse to believe that the Pavilion is willing to protect him forever!" It took no time for every major power on Dragonheart Island to hear about the levels of Zero Wing''s main force members, but although they were shocked by the news, they had no intention of giving up on the bounty. A Fragmented Legendary item was simply too tempting, not to mention the three pieces of Epic Equipment and War Blood''s favor. However, they had decided to avoid taking direct action against Shi Feng for now. He was, after all, protected by the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s army. When the major powers'' experts received the commands from their upper echelons, they prepared to follow Shi Feng further into the World Tower. However, they were shocked by what they saw as they passed through the main hall''s exit. Corpses littered the ground outside the main hall, every one of them a slain expert. Many experts from Dragonheart Island''s well-known and top adventurer teams lay among them. These players had all planned to ambush Shi Feng as soon as he left the main hall. What shocked the newcomers more, though, was Aqua Rose''s team, which was busy fighting several thousand players. A 10-level difference wasn''t insurmountable, yet Zero Wing''s 100-man team slaughtered the several thousand players before them as if they were slicing vegetables. Despite facing dozens of experts'' frenzied attacks, Cola, who led Zero Wing''s team in the battle, didn''t even try to dodge. He took every hit with his shield, and none of the attacks from the enemy Tier 2 experts dealt more than -500 damage. To Cola, who had a total of 520,000 HP after reaching Level 95, the damage was practically negligible. A single Healing Spell was more than enough to restore his lost HP. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose, Zhao Yueru, Alluring Summer, and Violet Cloud acted as mobile turrets. Every Spell they cast claimed at least a dozen experts'' lives. Sometimes, their Spells even blew apart several dozen experts at once. One of Zhao Yueru''s Spells even took out a Level 87 Shield Warrior with an Epic Shield and two pieces of Epic Equipment in an instant The two forces'' Basic Attributes were on entirely different levels. Gentle Snow''s team hadn''t just gained EXP while they were grinding in the Tidal Vortex. They had also acquired plenty of high-level items. The Tidal Vortex''s Bosses all dropped Level 90 and 95 equipment, and as a result, they were all armed with Level 95 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. Gentle Snow and the others had frequently hunted the Tidal Vortex'' Mythic Bosses, as well. In addition, the team had been the first players to slay these Mythic Bosses, which increased the Bosses'' drop-rates. Overall, Zero Wing''s main force members had also acquired quite a few pieces of Epic Equipment. Even the weakest piece Gentle Snow and her companions wore was Level 95 Fine-Gold Equipment. Their combat power was on an entirely different level compared to the Level 85-plus experts they fought. Moreover, Gentle Snow and the others had improved their combat standards. Most of the players attacking them hadn''t even reached the Refinement Realm yet. To Zero Wing''s main force, these players were easier to defeat than the Level 95 sea monsters in the Tidal Vortex. Over 95% of the 4,000-plus experts that had planned to ambush Shi Feng outside the main hall were dead in less than 15 minutes, while the rest tried to escape with special tools. The valley''s ground was dyed red with blood, and weapons and equipment littered the ground. In contrast, Zero Wing''s team hadn''t lost a single player. They had only lost a little Stamina and Concentration... 2290 Fame Spreads Across Dragonhear Chapter 2290 - Fame Spreads Across Dragonheart The various major powers'' experts, who had intended to follow Shi Feng, came to a halt when they saw the remains of the army that had tried to ambush the Swordsman. As if the main hall''s exit were the entrance to hell, none of them dared to cross the threshold. "They killed so many players so easily? Are they even human?" "This won''t do. I need to report this to the boss immediately." The had assumed that Zero Wing wouldn''t dare retaliate since they had such a massive numerical advantage. Hence, they had boldly followed after Shi Feng, but seeing the thousands of corpses on the ground, none of the various major powers'' experts dared to leave the main hall. If Zero Wing''s members could kill several thousand experts so effortlessly, then they, with only several hundred players, would only meet their doom by leaving. They needed to reevaluate their plans. As long as Shi Feng had Zero Wing''s main force by his side, several thousand players wouldn''t be enough to take him down. They would need, at least, an army of 10,000 players, perhaps even several tens of thousands, to take him down. Otherwise, they''d merely be giving their equipment to Zero Wing. However, Phoenix Rain was even more shocked by the results than the major powers'' experts. They''ve already obtained Level 95 equipment? Phoenix Rain was no ordinary expert. Not only was she the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Pavilion Master, but she was also very nearly a Domain Realm expert. She could discern a lot of information that ordinary experts could not. Although Aqua Rose and the others had considerably high combat standards, their incredibly high Basic Attributes were a larger part of the reason for their overwhelming victory. The experts that had tried to ambush Shi Feng weren''t weaklings. Many of them were even experts from Dragonheart Island''s various well-known and top adventurer teams. Their equipment standards were quite high, with even the weakest piece they wore at Level 85 Fine-Gold rank. If Aqua Rose and the others had worn Level 90 Dark-Gold Equipment, they wouldn''t have achieved such a one-sided victory. The only explanation was that Aqua Rose and her team wore Level 95 Fine-Gold Equipment or better. Upgrading one''s weapons and equipment was far harder than leveling up. A team could only raid Team Dungeons, obtaining weapons and equipment that corresponded to their levels, after reaching a high enough level, and although it was possible to grind for higher-level weapons and equipment, the cost was so immense that it wasn''t worth the effort. Most of the time, players'' weapons and equipment couldn''t keep up with their levels. In some cases, players would wear items that were of a far lower level. However, not only had Aqua Rose and her companions reached Level 95 or higher, but their weapons and equipment were also Level 95 Fine-Gold rank or better. Their equipment standard was at least two realms higher than the various major powers'' experts. Meanwhile, news of the slaughter soon spread throughout Dragonheart Island. "Zero Wing is amazing! Not even the various major powers will dare target Black Flame now." "I know, right? I''ve heard that many adventurer teams have already given up the hunt. War Blood will likely have to act on its own to deal with Black Flame and Zero Wing." ... The various major powers had been shocked to learn that Zero Wing''s main force members had reached Level 95 and 96, but after hearing about the slaughter of several thousand experts in the Gravity Mountain Range, that shock transformed into fear. Many of them had given up on Shi Feng''s Fragmented Legendary item after witnessing the incident. After this display, Zero Wing had proven that it could no longer be taken out by a few major powers working together. Even some of Dragonheart Island''s ordinary superpowers grew wary of Zero Wing. ... Meanwhile, in one of the lounges of Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Residence... "Elder Wu, according to our estimates, Zero Wing''s main force members should be wearing Level 95 Fine-Gold Equipment," the masked, middle-aged man beside Elder Wu reported after examining the data a subordinate had sent him. Not even Thirteen Thrones could fully gear a 100-man team in such high-quality equipment. "So, is this why that kid is so confident?" Elder Wu muttered as he shut his eyes. "Zero Wing is indeed impressive if it has such solid foundations. Unfortunately, Starlink''s foundations are much sturdier. Notify our teams that we''ll be raiding another fortress with Starlink soon. Have them prepare." "Understood. I''ll get it done immediately," the masked, middle-aged man said, nodding. He then left the lounge. As Melancholy had said, Zero Wing was an excellent choice for an ally, but in God''s Domain, nothing was more important than resources. Securing a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range offered far more benefits than having a Level 95,100-man team. ... While the various major powers discussed Zero Wing, Shi Feng and his army had arrived at the Gravity Mountain Range''s Northern Fortress. As the most important fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range''s northern region, not only was the Northern Fortress situated at the top of a mountain range, which made it easy to defend, but it also had far more powerful defenses than a Small Fortress. Over 30 Defense Turrets and Heavy Ballistas had been lined up along the fortress''s walls, and plenty of Level 90-plus Lord ranked Undead Soldiers stood guard beside the war weapons. Not only were these Undead Soldiers Lord ranked monsters, but they also had weapons and armor that had been enchanted with magic runes. These Undead Soldiers'' Defense and destructive power could even rival that of Great Lords of the same level. "Guild Leader Black Flame, four Defensive Magic Towers have formed a magic barrier around the Northern Fortress. Do you have any ideas on how to take it down?" Phoenix Rain asked with a grim expression as she read the scouts'' report. She had known that the Northern Fortress would be difficult to capture, but after seeing the details on the fortress''s defenses, she finally understood how difficult it would be. Ignoring the number of Undead monsters inside the fortress, her forces were incapable of overcoming the magic barrier around it. Four Defensive Magic Towers created that barrier, and not only did these towers have a massive reserve of Mana, but they could also reform the magic barrier in a short time after it had been destroyed. Unless they could destroy the four Defensive Magic Towers quickly after destroying the magic barrier, the fortress would gain another barrier. If they relied on Tier 4 Magic Scrolls and war weapons, they could destroy the Northern Fortress''s magic barrier, but it would cost an astronomical number of resources to destroy the barrier once. It would also require a lot of time. By doing so, they''d risk losing their war weapons under the bombardment from the fortress''s Defense Turrets and Heavy Ballistas. To make matters worse, all four Defensive Magic Towers were located within the well-fortified fortress and protected by Guardian Bosses. Those Guardian Bosses were Level 100-plus Mythic monsters... "Simple. We just need to destroy the magic barrier as quickly as possible and charge into the fortress to destroy the Defensive Magic Towers," Shi Feng casually responded. Phoenix Rain stared at Shi Feng, speechless. She knew that they could take down the barrier by destroying the towers, but how were they supposed to do that? This problem wasn''t one that could be solved with enough players and war weapons. However, while Phoenix Rain wracked her brain to come up with a plan, Shi Feng took out the Hero''s Tome and sacrificed 50,000 Magic Crystals to it. He then began to chant the summoning incantation. 2291 Tier 4 Hero Chapter 2291 - Tier 4 Hero As Shi Feng chanted the summoning incantation some distance below the Northern Fortress''s mountain peak, a pillar of golden light rose from the ground beneath him, shooting toward the sky. The light pillar had a 400-yard radius and was even visible from several thousand yards away. Mana from across the mountainside surged toward the light pillar, condensing until it became liquid before Shi Feng. After 20 seconds of this, the Mana finally took on a humanoid form. A moment later, a knight in white clothing and carrying a sacred, golden sword stood before the player army. Although this white-clad knight only stood two meters tall, nowhere near the size of a Mythic monster, his appearance made everyone shudder. [Arslet] (Hero, Tier 4 Sword Saint) Level 120 HP 55,000,000/55,000,000 A Tier 4 Hero? Phoenix Rain could not believe her eyes as she stared at Arslet. NPCs were originally already far more powerful than players; only peak experts had any hope of defeating ordinary NPCs. Heroes, on the other hand, were peak combatants among NPCs, treated as kingdoms and empires'' absolute pillars and protectors. They were treated as the absolute pillars and protectors of kingdoms and empires. She had suspected that Shi Feng''s trump card would be a Tier 4 combatant A fighter of that power would be crucial when capturing a fortress, especially the well-fortified Northern Fortress. Current players simply didn''t have the strength to succeed. Considering that Zero Wing had relied on the Tier 4 Divine Magic Dragons in defensive and offensive sieges in the past, Phoenix Rain had assumed Shi Feng would rely on one this time, too. She had never expected Shi Feng to summon a Hero, and a Tier 4 Hero, at that. The NPC could single-handedly crush an entire NPC city. Shi Feng had considered using a Divine Magic Dragon, but the materials needed to summon one were incredibly rare and valuable. Collecting them would not be easy. Moreover, the Divine Magic Dragons were only really useful against players. They wouldn''t be particularly effective against monsters since monsters had such high Basic Attributes. They did not fear a frontal confrontation. Furthermore, the Divine Magic Dragons had an obvious weakness-the players that managed the summoning array. If a single one of these players died, the array would quickly crumble. The Mythic monsters that defended these fortresses generally had relatively high intellect. The moment they noticed the Divine Magic Dragon''s summoning array, they''d do anything to destroy it. While Shi Feng was confident of standing against an all-out assault from players, trying to stop powerful monsters hellbent on getting near the array would be impossible. When sieging a monster-protected fortress, very few players would rely on summoning arrays. He wouldn''t have waited until now to capture a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range until now, otherwise. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, have your men get ready!" Shi Feng said. Now that he had summoned Arslet, he couldn''t afford to waste time. He continued, "Once the magic barrier is down, I want everyone to push into the fortress. Leave the mini Bosses to Zero Wing. Your team just needs to clear out the mobs inside and don''t let them get close to the mini Bosses." "Alright, leave it to us," Phoenix Rain said, a trace of excitement flashing in her eyes. The Bosses were the most troublesome aspect of sieging a fortress. If Arslet were merely an ordinary Tier 4 combatant, this upcoming battle would be a tough one. The Tier 4 Bosses in the Northern Fortress were much stronger than ordinary Tier 4 monsters since their power was reinforced by the fortress''s magic array. An ordinary Tier 4 combatant would be little more than a punching bag for the Bosses. Bosses also had far higher intellect than ordinary monsters. They might not be as intelligent as players, but they weren''t stupid. They would try to kill as many invaders as possible, rather than focus on one target. Unless one had enough strength to overwhelm the Bosses, capturing the Northern Fortress was a pipe dream. This was why, even now, Thirteen Thrones and Starlink were the only powers to capture a fortress successfully. Fortunately, Shi Feng''s army had a Tier 4 Hero, so suppressing the Northern Fortress''s Bosses shouldn''t be a problem. As Phoenix Rain began to bark out orders, Shi Feng sent Arslet after the magic barrier. The Northern Fortress''s magic barrier was extraordinarily powerful. Even an ordinary Tier 4 combatant would have to attack for a long time to deplete its Mana reserve. However, the magic barrier was incredibly fragile to Arslet. Once the Hero struck it with his Tier 4 Taboo Skill, Spatial Rend, it shattered. When Phoenix Rain saw this, she was dumbfounded. She had never thought that a Tier 4 Hero would be this formidable. "Charge!" Shi Feng shouted. The outcome didn''t faze him in the least. NPC Heroes were considered invincible among those of the same tier, and they were the human''s final trump card against Dragons. How could a measly Medium Fortress''s defensive magic array sustain an attack from such a being? Hearing Shi Feng''s command, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s 30,000-strong army and Zero Wing''s main force charged into the fortress. At the same time, the Northern Fortress''s Undead Army spilled out of the fortress''s entrance, while the Undead Soldiers on the walls began to attack the invading players. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members, who had defeated plenty of powerful monsters before, couldn''t help but shudder as they watched the Undead army charge to meet them. [Undead Soldier] (Undead, Lord) Level 94 HP 22,000,000/22,000,000 [Undead Captain] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 96 HP 63,000,000/63,000,000 [Undead Warrior] (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 101 HP 260,000,000/260,000,000 [Undead General] (Undead, Mythic) Level 102 HP 580,000,000/580,000,000 Although most of the monsters leaving the fortress were Undead Soldiers and Undead Captains, the Undead Warriors and the General were quite eye-catching. These Bosses'' frightening auras were even more powerful than the Grand Lords and Mythic monsters they typically faced. "Why are there so many mini Bosses?" Phoenix Rain''s expression darkened when she saw the dozen or so massive Undead Warriors and the Undead General. Dealing with the Undead Soldiers and Captains was within the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s capabilities, but the Undead Warriors and the General were beyond them. There were more than a dozen Undead Warriors among the army and a single Undead General... These were only the monsters stationed at the fortress''s entrance, the weakest of the monsters within the Northern Fortress. Just getting into the fortress was likely impossible, much less capturing it. Not even a Tier 4 Hero could stop the Undead General and his dozen or so Undead Warriors at once. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the situation is direr than we expected. We should retreat," Phoenix Rain called out to Shi Feng. There were more Undead Warriors protecting the Northern Fortress''s entrance than their scouts had reported. To make matters worse, there was a Mythic ranked Undead General among these monsters. The players would be at a severe disadvantage if they tried to face this Undead army head-on. She was very familiar with just how powerful Level 100-plus monsters were. Thirteen Thrones had contained a lot of information regarding the fortress it had captured from ordinary Guilds and powers, but hiding such details from superpowers like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was impossible. One Level 100 Great Lord could easily annihilate a 1,000-man legion of current players, not to mention Level 100-plus Grand Lords. Not even Tier 3 players had the strength to contend with these monsters. By the time Arslet defeated the Undead General, the Undead Warriors would have wiped out half of their forces. As expected of the Northern Fortress. The force protecting its entrance is already so powerful. It''s no wonder why the Northern Fortress had been the last captured in the Gravity Mountain Range. The situation even surprised Shi Feng. It seems I can''t hide them any longer. Following which, Shi Feng took out two Summon Guard Scrolls and called forth Kite and Anna. 2292 One-man Army Chapter 2292 - One-man Army He''s summoning his Personal Guards? Phoenix Rain watched Shi Feng, a little surprised. Personal Guards were powerful beings, but unlike players, they were incredibly difficult to resurrect. Thus, the various powers avoided risking their Personal Guards and would never use them to siege a fortress. And with how powerful this Undead army was, what could a few Personal Guards possibly accomplish? Two figures appeared before Shi Feng, a man carrying two longswords, and a woman in luxurious, purple-gold robes with a staff. The instant these NPCs appeared, all of the Mana within 50 yards began to gather toward them. "Is this for real?! Both of those Personal Guards are over Level 100! Even the strongest Personal Guard in our Guild is only Level 96!" "Crap! Those Personal Guards are actually Tier 3 NPCs!" When they saw Anna and Kite, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members gasped, feeling a little jealous. Shi Feng''s two Tier 3 Personal Guards shocked them even more than the Tier 4 Hero had. Shi Feng had relied on a special tool to summon the Tier 4 Hero, which meant he couldn''t casually summon the NPC, but that wasn''t the case for Personal Guards. So long as the Personal Guards in question were alive, he could summon them at any time, and he could continue to nurture them, growing their strengths. There was also the fact that completing the Tier 3 Promotion Quests wasn''t easy for Personal Guards. Although Personal Guards could reach Tier 3, they couldn''t necessarily be promoted as soon as they hit Level 100. Like players, Personal Guards had to complete a Promotion Quest, but the Promotion Quests for these NPCs were actually easier than the ones players had to face. Personal Guards could complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests in a short time. Bronze Guards only had a 20% chance of clearing their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, and if they failed, they''d have to wait seven days before challenging the quest again. Without enough luck, it was practically impossible for a Bronze Guard to complete their Promotion Quest as soon as they reached Level 100. Fine-Gold Guards, on the other hand, had a 50% success rate. Once a Personal Guard reached Tier 3, they''d be significantly more helpful to their player. Personal Guards were NPCs and considerably more powerful than Tier 3 players. With a Tier 3 Personal Guard, a player would have an easier time grinding, questing, and raiding Field Bosses. This was why the various powers desperately nurtured their Personal Guards while protecting them from harm as much as possible. Now that they had seen Shi Feng''s two Tier 3 Personal Guards, these players couldn''t even imagine how fast Shi Feng would develop in the future. Phoenix Rain couldn''t help but feel a little envious. With two Tier 3 Personal Guards, Shi Feng could explore Level 100 neutral maps immediately and start preparing for his Tier 3 Promotion Quest. However, the two Tier 3 Personal Guards did nothing to alter their current predicament. There were still over a dozen Grand Lord ranked Undead Warriors to contend with. While the rest of the Pavilion''s members worried about the same issue, Shi Feng commanded Anna and Kite to distract the Undead Warriors. The Level 102 Anna and Level 101 Kite then charged at the 15 approaching Grand Lords. "Black Flame has gone insane, Big Sis Rain!" Blue Phoenix watched the scene with wide, shocked eyes. Sending two Tier 3 Personal Guards against 15 Undead Warriors was suicidal. Tier 3 Personal Guards were exceedingly valuable. If they died in battle, resurrecting them would cost tens of thousands of Gold. "Blue, get ready to use our Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls and magic arrays!" Phoenix Rain hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would be so maddeningly bold, either. She had no choice but to rely on the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls and magic arrays she had prepared. Great Lord ranked summoned creatures wouldn''t be a match for the Undead Warriors, but with their high HP, they should last for some time. If they included the magic array''s suppression, the summoned creatures could survive even longer. However, as Phoenix Rain finished her command, Anna, who had reached the Undead army, began to chant an incantation, swinging her staff gracefully. Under her command, 18 magic arrays appeared around Anna. Level 102 Great Lord ranked Rock Guardians emerged from each array, stupefying Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix. They had prepared 16 Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls for this siege, and that was Phoenix Rain''s limit. She wasn''t the Great Pavilion Master, so she only had access to a fraction of the Guild''s resources. Even so, this fraction was far more than what any ordinary first-rate Guild possessed. And yet, not even the 16 Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls were a match for one of Anna''s Summoning Spells... Anna began to chant another incantation before Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix had time to snap out of their daze. Golden runes began to appear on the Rock Guardian''s bodies, increasing their Basic Attributes and Defense significantly. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members were utterly flabbergasted. Summoning 18 Great Lords was already ridiculous, yet Anna could strengthen every one of her Great Lords. Her very existence was beyond absurd. However, Anna hadn''t finished her spellcasting. She then began to cast her third Spell. This time, her chant lasted for five seconds. When she completed her Spell, a magic array with a 40-yard radius appeared above the two armies. After a short moment, a golden-armored warrior with a shield and longsword fell from the array. [Holy Knight] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 102 HP 320,000,000/320,000,000 "Crap! Is she really just a Tier 3 Personal Guard!?" Many players nearly cursed when they saw the Holy Knight. Anna was practically a one-man army. Only Shi Feng maintained his composure. After all, he knew just how powerful Anna was. Anna was an Epic Guard with a 113 Growth Potential. He hadn''t even heard of a Personal Guard with such high Growth Potential in his previous life. Moreover, magical classes were more suited to large-scale combat. Anna would perform even better than a Tier 4 melee-class Hero in a group battle. In truth, Anna''s performance had exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Anna had only used her Summoner class Spells thus far. She hadn''t even begun to use her Yin Yang Saint class Spells. With Anna at their side, the players regained their advantage on the battlefield. Of the 18 Rock Guardians Anna had summoned, 15 rushed forth to distract the Undead Warriors. The remaining Rock Guardians worked with the Holy Knight and Zero Wing''s main force to target each Undead Warrior, one by one. Meanwhile, Kite worked with Arslet against the Undead General. Although he wasn''t as proficient in large-scale combat as Anna, his one-on-one combat power was superior to Anna''s. With Arslet suppressing the Mythic monster, Kite could attack, unobstructed. All 15 Undead Warriors were dead in less than half an hour, and facing both Kite and Arslet, the Undead General had fallen, too, leaving behind a pile of loot by its now-still corpse. 2293 Capturing the Northern Fortress Chapter 2293 - Capturing the Northern Fortress The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members gaped in shock when they saw the Undead General and 15 Undead Warriors die. We won, just like that? Even Phoenix Rain felt as if she were dreaming. She had read the report on Thirteen Thrones'' attempt to capture the Small fortress. Both Thirteen Thrones and Starlink had suffered over 10,000 casualties just to get through the fortress''s entrance. Moreover, they had only faced Level 100-plus Grand Lords, not a Level 100-plus Mythic monster, during that battle. And yet, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had only lost a few hundred players, and Zero Wing''s forces had already slain the Undead Warriors and Undead General that served as the Northern Fortress''s gatekeepers. All it had taken was one Tier 4 Hero and two Personal Guards. Moreover, the Hero wasn''t as responsible for their success as the Personal Guard, Anna. No one would believe her if she told this tale. The Undead General and Undead Warriors had also dropped better loot than any of them had expected. Not only had they dropped a lot of Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment, but several pieces of Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment had also dropped. The sight of their harvest even excited Phoenix Rain. The equipment''s Attributes were awe-inspiring. It was no exaggeration to say that a player in full Level 100 Secret- Silver Equipment could easily defeat a player in Level 90 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Furthermore, the loot included the Mountain Copper Set, a Level 100 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. "Everyone, get into the fortress! Ignore the mobs!" Shi Feng hurriedly commanded once the mini Bosses had died. "We need to destroy the Defensive Magic Towers before they repair the magic barrier!" As long as the Northern Fortress''s four Defensive Magic Towers remained, they would automatically reconstruct the defensive magic barrier around the fortress. If they wanted this operation to succeed, they had to be extremely fast. Although destroying each Defensive Magic Tower would significantly increase the time needed to reconstruct the array, the towers weren''t easy to take down. As soon as players entered the fortress, they''d encounter an endless stream of monsters trying to stop them, and it wouldn''t be long before the fortress''s Guardian Boss joined the battle. With how large and spacious the Northern Fortress was, it was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to destroy the towers while keeping the Guardian Boss and mobs at bay. With Shi Feng''s command, the players swarmed toward the fortress''s entrance, with everyone following the Tier 4 Hero as Arslet opened a path. Beyond the walls, the Northern Fortress was organized like a town. As soon as they entered, the players were greeted by the sight of tattered houses. Undead filled the streets, and the Defensive Magic Towers stood in the fortress''s four corners, looking inconspicuous. Once the players crossed the entrance''s threshold, they gasped. Numerous Grand Lord ranked Undead Warriors roamed the streets, and when they saw the invaders, two Mythic ranked Undead Warlords emerged from the Undead army''s ranks. A six-meter-tall Undead followed behind the two Undead Warlords, wearing black armor and a crown on its head. When the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s experts sensed the crowned Undead''s horrific pressure and death energy, they couldn''t help but shudder. Some of them even struggled to move. [Undead Warlord] (Undead, Mythic) Level 102 HP 630,000,000/630,000,000 [Undead King] (Undead Creature, Ancient Fiend, Mythic) Level 103 HP 1,420,000,000/1,420,000,000 "Why does it have to be an Ancient Fiend?" Even Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the Undead King''s statistics. He had known the Northern Fortress would be immensely difficult to capture, but he had never dreamed that the challenge would be this great. Based on what he remembered from his previous life, the Northern Fortress''s Guardian Boss should only have been a Mythic ranked Realm Lord, yet the Guardian Boss before him was a Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend... Once it crossed the Level 100 threshold, and its restrictions had been removed, a Mythic ranked Ancient Fiend could nearly rival a Dragon. Before anyone could react, the Undead King vanished. It reappeared above the player army, swinging down its skeletal greatsword. Overwhelming death energy poured down on the player army, so powerful that it cracked the space around it. Not good! Shi Feng''s expression turned grim at the sight. The Undead King''s intellect was far higher than the Undead General they had faced moments ago. Once the Guardian Boss sensed the invaders, it launched an attack, targeting the most densely packed area. If they allowed the Undead King to land its AOE attack, several thousand players would die instantly. However, just as the wave of dark energy was about to land on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members, a figure suddenly appeared in the air above them. This figure belonged to none other than Arslet. Arslet had activated a Skill, sending a towering pillar of light crashing into the wave of dark energy. The light pillar neutralized the attack in the collision, and the resulting shockwave devoured a significant portion of the players'' HPs. Some of them hadn''t been able to cope at all and died. Although Arslet had the upper hand against the Undead King, he couldn''t suppress the Ancient Fiend completely. As a result, the Undead King attacked the player army from time to time, each blow reaping several hundred lives and devastating the surrounding terrain. The Pavilion''s players began to despair. The difference between their strength and the Undead King''s was too massive. This was no longer a fight Tier 2 players had any hope of surviving. If the Undead King was so terrifying, even while it was distracted, how were they supposed to deal with the two Undead Warlords and numerous Undead Warriors? "Phoenix Pavilion Master, leave the Bosses to us. Your team should try to destroy the Defensive Magic Towers as quickly as possible," Shi Feng quickly reminded Phoenix Rain. Not only could the Defensive Magic Towers regenerate the defensive magic array around the Northern Fortress, but they could also reinforce the Guardian Boss. Without those towers, the Undead King, which was 17 levels lower than Arslet, wouldn''t be able to attack the surrounding players while fighting the Hero. The only hope they had of defeating the Undead King relied on the Defensive Magic Towers'' destruction. If that failed, the fortress''s Undead would slay every player, regardless of whether nor not Arslet could survive against the Ancient Fiend. "But those two Undead Warlords..." Phoenix Rain insisted, worried as she glanced at the Mythic monsters that guarded the path to the Defensive Magic Towers. The two Undead Warlords were no trivial opponents. They might not be as strong as the Undead King, but if they ambushed her army''s healers, the rest of her players would fall. "Don''t worry about them! We''ll keep those two Undead Warlords busy!" Shi Feng shouted back. Shi Feng then retrieved the Ring of Gospel, sacrificing 7,000 Magic Crystals to activate Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance. Within a 5,000-yard radius, space froze, and all enemies'' physiques and Basic Attributes dropped. At the same time, all allies within 2,000 yards of Shi Feng received a boost to their physiques and Basic Attributes. Everyone immediately sensed the gap between themselves and the Undead army shortening significantly. Once that was done, Shi Feng sent Anna and Kite after the two Undead Warlords. Although the Undead Warlords were powerful, the two Mythic Bosses would need quite some time to deal with the players when faced with the strengthened Holy Knight, Kite, and the suppressing barrier the 18 Rock guardians had formed. When she saw this, Phoenix Rain stopped holding back, activating all of the Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls she had prepared to open a path to the Defensive Magic Towers. She also used quite a few defensive magic arrays and Tier 4 large-scale destruction Magic Scrolls. Once the force had reached one of the towers, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members bombarded it with their attacks. Time passed quickly. As each Defensive Magic Tower fell, the Undead King''s attacks became more powerful. As a result, the player armor suffered more casualties. When only one Defensive Magic Tower remained, the Undead King began to attack the Rock Guardians'' magic barrier to free the Undead Warriors. "Hurry! That barrier won''t last much longer!" Shi Feng urged Phoenix Rain and the others as he watched the barrier''s Mana reserves rapidly deplete. Just before the magic barrier shattered, the sound of a collapsing building echoed throughout the fortress. After fighting for more than an hour, suffering over 10,000 casualties, and expending all of their Tier 3 and Tier 4 Magic Scrolls, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members had finally destroyed all four Defensive Magic Towers. As the fourth and final Defensive Magic Tower fell, the death energy and Mana within the Northern Fortress substantially decreased. The Undead King''s Basic Attributes also fell by as much as 20%, instantly giving Arslet an overwhelming advantage. With Arslet suppressing the Ancient Fiend, the players were able to attack the Undead Warlords without interruption. Finally, after nearly two hours, the Undead King and the two Undead Warlords died. "We did it!" "We won!" The surviving players cheered as the Undead King collapsed to the ground. Even Phoenix Rain was immensely excited. She hadn''t actually thought that they''d successfully capture the Northern Fortress. Shi Feng stepped up to the Undead King''s corpse, quickly locating a dark-gold token and picking it up. The moment Shi Feng touched the token, the sound of a system notification reached every player''s ears. Gravity Mountain Range Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for capturing the Northern Fortress and becoming its lord. Guild Popularity in Dragonheart City increased by 10,000. 2294 Medium Fortress Chapter 2294 - Medium Fortress The regional announcement repeated three times, its contents stunning the players grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range. "The Northern Fortress''s been captured? What''s going on?" "Isn''t the Northern Fortress the largest fortress in the northern region?" "Are you kidding me? Zero Wing actually took down the Northern Fortress?" "Is Zero Wing really so powerful?" Practically every player in the Gravity Mountain Range knew about the Northern Fortress. It was one of only three Medium Fortresses in the Gravity Mountain Range and a hot topic among players. Thus far, the only power to secure a fortress the Gravity Mountain Range was Thirteen Thrones, but the Guild had only claimed a Small Fortress. Taking into account the number of players on Dragonheart Island, a Small Fortress wasn''t enough to satisfy demand. A Medium Fortress, on the other hand, was several times larger. Now that Zero Wing had captured the Northern Fortress, players grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range wouldn''t have to worry about a safe place to rest and recover. Everyone had assumed that the first power to capture a Medium Fortress would be one of Dragonheart Island''s Super Guilds, yet Zero Wing had accomplished the feat. No one had expected this outcome. However, the masses'' shock was nothing compared to how stunned the island''s various powers were over the news. "How is this possible?! That''s the Northern Fortress we''re talking about! How could a Guild like Zero Wing possibly capture it?!" "Start an investigation! I want to know every detail of the event! Not even Thirteen Thrones dared to assault the Northern Fortress! Zero Wing must''ve used some special method to capture it! If we can learn this method, the rest of the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortress will be ours!" The various powers knew just how difficult these fortresses were to capture. Many of the island''s superpowers had attempted such operations, only to fail. These powers also knew what kind of Guild Zero Wing was. Even with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s help, capturing the Northern Fortress should''ve been impossible for Zero Wing. If it were that easy, the various Super Guilds would''ve already occupied every fortress in the map. Zero Wing must have used some tool or special method to succeed. Meanwhile, a report regarding Zero Wing''s success in capturing the Northern Fortress quickly made it to Melancholy''s desk in the Thirteen Thrones'' Dragonheart City Residence. "Interesting. I hadn''t really thought that they''d succeed," Melancholy commented, surprised as he read the initial report. As Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader, Melancholy knew better than anyone on Dragonheart Island how challenging the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortress were to capture. When he had first heard of the operation, he had assumed Zero wing was going for broke, hoping it would work out somehow. The War Blood adventurer team was still going mad over trying to destroy the Guild, after all. "Guild Leader, now that Zero Wing has captured the Northern Fortress, it will gain more influence on Dragonheart Island. Many powers will likely try to ally with the Guild. Should we..." Happy Art carefully asked Melancholy while eyeing Elder Wu. Elder Wu had been a strong advocate for their Guild''s relationship with Starlink since the superpower could be so helpful in capturing the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses. And yet, Zero Wing had successfully claimed the Northern Fortress, a feat that not even Thirteen Thrones had the strength to accomplish. Naturally, a Medium Fortress would offer far more and better benefits than a Small Fortress, and the various major powers already saw Zero Wing as a tempting ally. If Thirteen Thrones waited until other powers had allied with Zero Wing first, it would lose a significant amount of potential profit. "Happy Art, you reach conclusions too quickly," the masked woman behind Elder Wu spoke up. "Although Zero Wing has the Northern Fortress, capturing it is a lot easier than defending it, especially now that the Guild has angered both Starlink and War Blood. If we negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing, and it failed to defend the fortress, our Guild will be in an awkward position?" Happy Art fell silent for a moment. Other powers might not know much about the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses, but Thirteen Thrones was very familiar with them. It was true that defending a fortress was far harder than capturing one. Thirteen Thrones had gone as far as stationing a large number of experts in the fortress long-term to protect it from periodic monster attacks, even utilizing a few of the Guild''s trump cards. Needless to say, even stronger monsters would assault a Medium Fortress. If Zero Wing couldn''t protect the Northern Fortress during one of these monster attacks, the consequences would be dire. "That kid has exceeded my expectations, but we should see if Zero Wing can defend the fortress before we make a decision," Elder Wu said. "It won''t be too late to negotiate a partnership once Zero Wing proves that it can hold the Northern Fortress." Elder Wu then stood and left the room. He didn''t linger in the Guild Leader''s office any longer. While Dragonheart Island''s various superpowers discussed Zero Wing''s success, Shi Feng and his team were busy clearing the Undead mobs out of the Northern Fortress. Capturing a monster-infested fortress wasn''t the same as capturing a monster-infested town. Once a town''s Guardian Boss was defeated, the remaining monsters would flee and disappear. However, in monster-invested fortresses, players had to kill the remaining monsters after defeating the Guardian Boss and claiming the fortress. Fortunately, once the monsters were dead, they wouldn''t respawn. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we should have these Undead mobs taken care of in a few more hours," Phoenix Rain reported. Worriedly, she continued, "However, according to the information I''ve recently received, War Blood and Nine Dragons Emperor can no longer sit still. Not only have they locked down the Gravity Mountain Range, but they''ve also begun to gather forces to capture the northern canyon''s Rock Nest Fortress." Although the Northern Fortress was the largest in the Gravity Mountain Range''s northern region, its location was remote. In reality, the Northern Fortress wasnt that attractive to players. Fortunately, there werent an^ areas for players in the Gravity Mountain Range, excluding Thirteen Thrones Small Fortress. Players would have no choice but to visit the Northern Fortress, regardless of how remote it was. However, if another fortress in the northern region were captured, that situation would change, especially if it were the Rock Nest Fortress. The northern canyon, where the Rock Nest Fortress was located, was the sole path leading to the Gravity Mountain Range''s northern region. If War Blood captured it, it would severely affect the Northern Fortress''s popularity. They have the right idea. We''ve just captured the Northern Fortress and still need some time to clean it up. If they can stop the flow of players and resources from reaching our fortress, they''ll weaken the Northern Fortress''s development speed. We might not even survive the first wave of monsters," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Unfortunately, they don''t know what it means to own a Medium Fortress." After his comment, Shi Feng approached one of the destroyed Defensive Magic Towers. There was a strict divide between the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses. A Medium Fortress wasn''t just larger than a Small Fortress; it also had Defensive Magic Towers. These towers were the main reason why Medium Fortresses had a qualitative advantage over Small Fortresses. 2295 Peak Construction Chapter 2295 - Peak Construction As he stepped into one of the dilapidated Defensive Magic Towers, Shi Feng used the Fortress Management Token he had obtained to call up the four towers'' combined system interface. Sure enough, repairing the towers will cost a ton. Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the repair cost for the four towers. If he wished to repair all four Defensive Magic Towers, he would have to pay a total of 320,000 Magic Crystals and 120 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Zero Wing could afford the 320,000 Magic Crystals. After all, the Guild had full control of a Manatite vein and an Attributed ore vein. It earned more Magic Crystals than an ordinary superpower. Unfortunately, the Seven Luminaries Crystals weren''t as common. Although Seven Luminaries Crystals dropped in certain Team Dungeons and maps, the drop-rate was painfully low. Even now, Zero Wing had barely saved up 200 units. He would have to part with more than half of Zero Wing''s stock if he wanted to repair all four Defensive Magic Towers. In the end, however, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and accepted the cost. Only Medium Fortresses and larger had the privilege of using Defensive Magic Towers, and these towers were not limited to creating a defensive magic array to protect the fortress from invaders. They could also gather and concentrate the fortress''s Mana, as well as act as a teleportation point. Players couldn''t rely on Return Scrolls or Guild Transfer Scrolls to return to a rest area while in the World Tower. They''d have to rely on their own feet to travel back and forth. Of course, players could rely on Land or Flying Mounts, but this was a lot more difficult than using a Return Scroll. Players would have to conserve some of their Stamina for the return trip, which limited how long they could grind. Meanwhile, the Defensive Magic Towers could nullify some of the World Tower''s suppression, and players could connect Return Scrolls to the towers'' teleportation point. This way, players could teleport to the Defensive Magic Towers freely. Although the Defensive Magic Towers were only effective on their own floor, meaning that players couldn''t teleport to the fortress after descending to the next underground floor, these towers had been immensely popular during Shi Feng''s previous life. Every floor in the World Tower was massive, and traveling across them was inconvenient. Because of the Defensive Magic Towers, the World Towers'' Medium Fortresses could make more profit than their smaller counterparts. Aside from profiting from visiting players, Medium Towers could also earn money from NPCs through the Defensive Magic Towers. These towers significantly increased a fortress''s Defensive Value, and NPC merchants, who disliked risk, would only visit fortresses with a high enough Defensive Value. Naturally, there was a massive difference between player-generated profit and profit earned from NPC merchants. Although Ancient Coins were Dragonheart City''s only currency, players generally spent Ancient Copper and Ancient Silver. They rarely spent Ancient Gold. This was why Thirteen Thrones had earned much Ancient Gold since capturing a Small Fortress. However, NPC merchants were a different story. If an NPC merchant rented one of a fortress''s Shops, they''d pay with Ancient Gold. The more NPCs that visited a Fortress, the more Ancient Gold a fortress''s ruling power would earn. Shi Feng desperately needed Ancient Gold. His desire for it had become even greater after defeating the Ancient Fiend ranked Undead King. Normally, a fortress''s Bosses only dropped average loot. That was clear based on the loot the Mythic ranked Undead General had dropped. Compared to the Bosses'' loot, the fortress itself was the true prize. Aside from the Fortress Management Toke, the Undead King had dropped an extremely rare item. The Freedom Hotel Design! Shi Feng had thought he was hallucinated when he had seen the design. The Freedom Hotel was a Peak Construction in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, and it was even more valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item. For a Guild City to become a Main City, it needed a Peak Construction; thus, owning the design for one was akin to obtaining a Main City. Furthermore, a Peak Construction''s abilities were out of this world. If he could construct a Freedom Hotel, he could elevate Stone Forest City into an Intermediate City. The difference between an Intermediate City and a Basic City in a Level 100-plus map was like the difference between heaven and earth when it came to helping players complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Of course, building a Peak Construction was extremely difficult. Every required material was exceedingly rare in God''s Domain, and many of them couldn''t be stored in a player''s bag space. The precious Boundary Stone was one such example! One could only find a Boundary Stone by luck. The only place that sold them was the Black Market, and each stone cost 8,000 Ancient Gold. Meanwhile, constructing the Freedom Hotel required three Boundary Stones, and including the cost of the other materials, the Freedom Hotel''s construction would cost at least 40,000 Ancient Gold... Moreover, organizing a large-scale mining operation for the Gravity Mountain Ranges'' rare ore veins would be a massive Ancient Gold expense. The ore veins in the World Tower were crawling with monsters, especially at night. Every ore vein in the World Tower was practically a monster nest. Even expert teams would be annihilated if they weren''t careful. A small-scale operation wouldn''t be a problem, but to set up a large-scale operation, one would need to construct a mine and defensive structures, both of which cost Ancient Gold. If Shi Feng wanted to develop Zero Wing in the World Tower quickly, he needed Ancient Gold. Time passed quickly. While Shi Feng and the others slew the remaining monsters and repaired the fortress''s various buildings, a system announcement reached every player in the map. Gravity Mountain Range Region System Announcement: Congratulations to the War Blood adventurer team for capturing the Rock Nest Fortress and becoming its lord. Guild Popularity in Dragonheart City increased by 5,000. The system announcement caused another uproar throughout the Gravity Mountain Range. "What?! Zero Wing has just captured the Northern Fortress, yet War Blood has already captured the Rock Nest Fortress?" "War Blood really is vicious. With two fortresses in a single region, Zero Wing won''t be able to generate as much income from the Northern Fortress. To make matters worse, the Rock Nest Fortress occupied the path to the northern region." "That''s nothing. War Blood has also allied itself with quite a few of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams. They''re going to work together to seal off the northern region. They''ve declared that anybody who visits the Northern Fortress will be considered one of the adventurer team''s enemies." "How vicious! Even with a fortress, Zero Wing has no hope of surviving in Dragonheart City." "Zero Wing can only blame itself for provoking so many of the island''s powers." The players grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range were astonished by how fast and decisively War Blood had captured the Rock Nest Fortress. They hadn''t expected the adventurer team to strike down Zero Wing as soon as it had some success on Dragonheart Island. "What should we do, Big Sis Rain?" Blue Phoenix paled when she read the latest report. "Because of War Blood''s declaration, players that had been preparing to visit our fortress are backing out due to fear." Maintaining a fortress wasn''t easy. They''d have to station players here long-term to deal with the occasional monster raids. Meanwhile, players were a fortress''s main source of income. If players weren''t willing to visit the Northern Fortress, they''d be lucky not to hemorrhage money on the fortress''s upkeep. "How did they secure the Rock Nest Fortress so quickly?" Phoenix Rain''s expression darkened when she heard the news. Although she had known that War Blood planned to capture the fortress, she hadn''t thought that it would succeed so soon. "Why don''t we go teach them a lesson, Guild Leader" Aqua Rose suggested in a chilly tone after reading about War Blood''s threat. "Forget it. Their fortress is under a 3-day protection period. Attacking them would be meaningless right now," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Chuckling, he continued, "However, since they want to play, we''ll play. Spread the word that whoever visits the Rock Nest Fortress will be declaring Zero Wing an enemy. None of them will be allowed through the Northern Fortress''s gates!" 2296 Fortress Opens Chapter 2296 - Fortress Opens Gravity Mountain Range, Rock Nest Fortress: The Rock Nest Fortress stood atop the northern canyon. From afar, it looked like a nest, which was how it had earned its name. The fortress was easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, the fortress was filled with tens of thousands of Level 85-plus players that were busy slaying the fortress''s prior residents, the Blackstone Ores. Several tens of thousands of Blackstone Ores had garrisoned the fortress, but less than 10,000 remained. Lying quietly in the fortress''s heart was the four-meter-tall Ore King, and all sorts of weapons, equipment, and materials were scattered around its corpse. "I hadn''t thought that capturing a fortress would be this profitable. It''s no wonder why Thirteen Thrones is so eager to capture a second one," Nine Dragons Emperor said, sighing ruefully as he gazed at the items on the ground. Even in the Gravity Mountain Range, Great Lord rank and higher monsters were relatively rare, yet the Rock Nest Fortress had been home to tons of them. Since this was the first time these monsters had been slain, their drop-rate was much higher than the monsters that wandered the map. Clearing out the Blackstone Ores had yielded over 10,000 weapons and equipment pieces. Moreover, every item as Level 90 or above. There were even some Level 100 weapons and equipment among the loot. Although most of the weapons and equipment were only Secret-Silver rank, with a few Fine-Gold rank items, it was more than enough to serve as interim equipment. At the very least, his subordinates could use these items to start raiding Level 90 super-large-scale Team Dungeons as soon as they were the appropriate level. "It''s only natural. Every fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range is a treasure trove. We had planned to work with Starlink to capture a Medium Fortress, but I hadn''t expected Zero Wing to claim the Northern Fortress successfully. We had no choice but to move forward with our plans," Blood Oath said. His voice cold, he continued, "Even with the Northern Fortress, I''ll ensure that Zero Wing has no place on Dragonheart Island." "That''s right! That Zero Wing is too arrogant! They look down on you, Commander Blood," Nine Dragons Emperor said, nodding. "I suspect the Guild''s members have already begun to panic. Without any visiting players, even the best fortress in the world is useless." War Blood, Crimson Shadow, and Knight''s Sword, three of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams, had agreed to work together against Zero Wing. Not a single adventurer team on the island would dare cross these three. Furthermore, War Blood and Starlink were collaborating to seal off the northern region. Anyone that dared to explore the area would be making a one-way trip. Aside from Zero Wing''s members and Phoenix Rain''s subordinates, no one would visit the Northern Fortress. They had ensured that the Northern Fortress would be nothing more than a bottomless pit, steadily devouring Zero Wing''s funds. The Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses weren''t like the fortresses in the outside world. Monster attacks were more frequent here. Maintaining a Small Fortress cost enough of a fortune to give superpowers a headache, not to mention a Medium Fortress''s maintenance, and that was excluding the subsidies a power would need to pay the players that guarded the fortresses. While Nine Dragons Emperor and Blood Oath conversed, a woman with an ancient bow approached. "Commander, Zero Wing has made a move. They''ve mimicked out declaration, announcing that any player that entered the Rock Nest Forest will have no place in the Northern Fortress," Ink Feather announced, smiling as she read the report she had just received. "They''re trying to compete with our influence on Dragonheart Island? Black Flame is a fool. Does he really think Dragonheart Island is the same as Star-Moon Kingdom?" Blood Oath laughed. "Commander Blood, I doubt that Black Flame knows that we''ve found a Mana Well in the Rock Nest Fortress. Otherwise, he''d have never made this decision," Nine Dragons Emperor said, smirking. The Mana Well was the Rock Nest Fortress''s exclusive construction. Although repairing it would deplete their liquid funds, the Mana Well''s effects were well worth the cost. With this Mana Well, players could fully recover their Stamina and Concentration within half an hour. The Mana Well''s effects would tempt every player grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range. The main reason that players visited fortresses was to rest and recover their Stamina and Concentration, and for the cost of one Ancient Gold Coin, players could make a full recovery within 30 minutes. Countless players on Dragonheart Island would seek this benefit. As news of the Mana Well spread, even the players that visited the Thirteen Thrones'' Small Fortress would likely shift their attention to the Rock Nest Fortress, not to mention the powers that were considering setting up a base in the Northern Fortress. "Since Black Flame is so eager to die, I don''t mind sending him to his grave." Turning to Ink Feather, Blood Oath commanded, "Ink, quietly inform the various major powers on Dragonheart Island of the Mana Well. I''m sure they''ll know what to do once they receive the news." "Understood!" Ink Feather grew even more eager to see Shi Feng despair. Unless they were stupid, the various powers would recognize the most beneficial fortress once word of the Mana Well spread. ... Meanwhile, in Thirteen Thrones'' Residence in Dragonheart City... "Zero Wing thinks that it can suppress War Blood just because it has captured a Medium Fortress? The Guild still isn''t aware of how foolish its being," Elder Wu, who rested in his office, said as he read the report his subordinate had sent. "Thousand, have Lu Xingluo pay me a visit. Tell him that it''s about capturing a Medium Fortress." "Understood." The masked woman named Thousand Lives smiled and nodded. In her opinion, Zero Wing was extremely foolish. The Guild simply didn''t realize how powerful superpowers'' foundations were. Elsewhere, in the Gravity Mountain Range''s Northern Fortress... While Phoenix Rain organized the fortress''s repairs, Shi Feng concentrated on restoring the Defensive Magic Towers'' magic arrays. The Magic Crystals and Seven Luminaries Crystals he had spent to repair the towers only repaired the core crystals. It was barely enough to activate the towers. To restore the Defensive Magic Towers to full power, players needed to repair the magic arrays and magic circuits within the towers. However, this wasn''t an easy task. It required an Advanced Magician at the very least, and the work was intensively time-consuming. Fortunately, Shi Feng was almost a Master Magician, so he could repair the arrays and circuits smoothly and swiftly. Once the four Defensive Magic Towers'' final magic circuit had been repaired, the towers'' system interface reported that the towers were complete. System: The Northern Fortress''s Defensive Magic Towers have been fully repaired. It will cost 8,000 Magic Crystals to activate them and 6,000 Magic Crystals per day to maintain them. Do you wish to activate the Defensive Magic Towers? Running at 100% efficiency is certainly expensive. Shi Feng was a little astonished when he read the system notification. The towers'' operation cost was much higher than an ordinary Magic Tower. Not even ordinary first-rate Guilds could afford to keep the Northern Fortress''s Defensive Magic Towers running constantly. However, Shi Feng did not hesitate, activating the towers immediately. After Shi Feng had sacrificed the required Magic Crystals, a twofold magic array appeared above the Northern Fortress, enveloping it. The twofold magic array then created a double-layered magic barrier around the fortress, which was much stronger than the barrier Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain''s army had broken through. At the same time, all of the Mana within a 10,000-yard radius of the Northern Fortress began to gather within the fortress''s walls. The fortress''s Mana density skyrocketed, especially in the fortress''s core. The Mana there was so dense that it transformed into a white mist. The players within the mist felt an indescribably pleasant sensation course through them, and a second experience bar appeared below their main bar, show that they had accumulated the Double EXP buff... The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members were dumbfounded. "Aqua, how are the fortress''s repairs coming along?" Shi Feng asked after contacting Aqua Rose. "We''re 60% done. According to your instructions, we''ve prioritized hotels and accommodations, so they''re ready now," Aqua Rose reported. "Good. In that case, we can open the fortress to the public," Shi Feng said, smiling. He then called up the Northern Fortress''s system interface and did just that. 2297 Heading to the Northern Fortress Chapter 2297 - Heading to the Northern Fortress After Shi Feng opened the Northern Fortress to the public, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s and Zero Wing''s members quickly disseminated news of this throughout the Gravity Mountain Range and Dragonheart City. "Zero Wing opened the Northern Fortress so quickly!" "Zero Wing is probably trying to snag some advantages. However, now that War Blood has made that kind of threat, who would dare visit the Northern Fortress?" The various adventurer teams in the Gravity Mountain Range shook their heads and sighed at this piece of news. The Small Fortress Thirteen Thrones captured was hardly enough to accommodate the players operating in the Gravity Mountain Range. Hence, the capture of the Northern Fortress was naturally good news. However, War Blood had already stated that whoever dared visit the Northern Fortress would become its enemy. The various adventurer teams with weak foundations did not dare provoke the War Blood adventurer team at all. Meanwhile, over at the Rock Nest Fortress, War Blood and Nine Dragons Emperor had also received news of the Northern Fortress''s opening. "Commander Blood, it seems Zero Wing is really anxious. Instead of properly making use of the fortress''s three-day protection period, it actually opened the fortress so quickly. With this, before we can even take action, the Northern Fortress will most likely fall to the monster tides first." This situation elated Nine Dragons Emperor. The various superpowers operating on Dragonheart Island all knew that defending a fortress in the Gravity Mountain Rangeespecially against the first monster tide a fortress would facewas much more difficult than capturing one. Hence, the wisest decision was to utilize every second of the three-day protection period after a fortress''s conquest to enhance the fortress''s defenses as much as possible. Now, however, just one day after seizing the Northern Fortress, Zero Wing had taken the initiative to lift the protection mechanism and open the Northern Fortress to the public. Since the Rock Nest Fortress had yet to open, such an action would indeed attract some players to the Northern Fortress. However, the monster tide at the Northern Fortress would not weaken just because the Guild didn''t take full advantage of the protection mechanism. "Zero Wing is indeed quick. Unfortunately for it, I won''t leave it with even the slightest shred of hope," Blood Oath said coldly. "Ink, spread the news that we''ll be opening Rock Nest Fortress tomorrow. We''ll thoroughly eliminate the various adventurer teams, and Guilds thoughts of moving to le Northern Fortress!" Upon hearing Blood Oath''s words, Nine Dragons Emperor was surprised. He never thought that Blood Oath would be so vicious as to give Zero Wing no opportunities whatsoever. In reality, although opening the Northern Fortress so soon was very risky, Zero Wing''s decision was still a considerably effective move. After all, the number of players grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range increased with each passing day. Thirteen Thrones'' Small Fortress couldn''t satisfy the needs of all of these players by itself. Hence, despite War Blood''s influence and deterrence, some adventurer teams and Guilds would still rest in the Northern Fortress. After all, traveling between the Gravity Mountain Range and Dragonheart City required a lot of time, time which they could spend earning more income. However, if the various adventurer teams and Guilds only had to wait one more day for Rock Nest Fortress''s opening, then they would generally show War Blood some respect and avoid visiting the Northern Fortress, thereby rendering Zero Wing''s actions meaningless. Meanwhile, shortly after War Blood issued its new announcement, Ku Rong, who was in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence in Dragonheart City, received news about it. "Moon, what do you think of this situation?" Ku Rong asked as he looked at the majestic woman seated at a comer of his office. "Originally, I had a considerably high opinion of Zero Wing," Cloudy Moon said unhurriedly. "Unfortunately, War Blood and Starlink''s influence is far too great. Their foundations are also extraordinary. Even if Black Flame possesses frightening combat power, he alone can''t change the overall situation. Moreover, I heard that Thirteen Thrones is already planning on working with Starlink again to capture a Medium Fortress. Once that happens, Zero Wing would lose all its advantages." In Cloudy Moon''s opinion, Phoenix Rain''s decision was simply too immature. Had Phoenix Rain accepted Starlink''s offer for partnership before, then her promotion to Great Pavilion Master would have been practically guaranteed. Unfortunately, Phoenix Rain ended up giving away that opportunity to Nine Dragons Emperor. "Alright, I understand. Go make the necessary preparations," Ku Rong sighed. Now that the situation was clear for all to see, if the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion wished to form a good relationship with Starlink, then Phoenix Rain, who was now considered Starlink''s enemy, was unsuitable for the position of Great Pavilion Master. While the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was secretly making its preparations, the various powers of Dragonheart City were in an uproar over War Blood''s decisiveness. This situation allowed the general population in Dragonheart City to realize once more how frightening superpowers were. Even though Zero Wing was a large Guild that successfully captured the Northern Fortress, it was still no more than an ant before a superpower. Meanwhile, on a gravel hill in the Gravity Mountain Range, 100 Level 85-plus experts geared in Level 85 Secret-Silver Equipment were frantically besieging a Level 89 Grand Lord. The Grand Lord ranked Six-armed Demonic Bear possessed extremely high Defense and destructive power. It could easily send several MTs flying with a single attack. However, facing the Level 90 Tigerkin Berserker at the helm of the team, the Demonic Bear was actually getting pushed back one step after another, no match for the Berserker in terms of Strength. After battling 20 more minutes, the Six-armed Demonic Bear finally fell at the feet of this 100-man team. "Our boss is too amazing! He actually managed to contend against the Six-armed Demonic Bear. With this kind of strength, he can definitely rank within the top 50 Berserkers on Dragonheart Island," a Level 87 Shield Warrior said in admiration. "I know, right? Previously, Heaven''s Blade''s commander even invited our boss to become a vice commander at Heaven''s Blade," a Level 87 Ranger said, the female Half-elf s eyes glowing as she looked at the Level 90 Berserker. Heaven''s Blade was one of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams. Heaven''s Blade''s commander, Zwei, was even the idol of countless female players. An invitation from Zwei to become one of Heaven''s Blade''s vice commanders was considered a great honor on Dragonheart Island. "Stop spouting nonsense about me," Swimming Dragon said, rolling his eyes at his teammates. "We don''t have much Stamina left. Once everyone''s recovered, we''ll make our way to the Northern Fortress to rest." "Boss, War Blood has already set the Northern Fortress off-limits. Heaven''s Blade also warned us that we''ll definitely get targeted by War Blood if we patronize the Northern Fortress. If that happens, it''ll be very difficult for us to squeeze into the top eight adventurer teams subordinate to Heaven''s Blade." Upon hearing Swimming Dragon''s words, the other players on the team hurriedly tried to dissuade him. The Dragon Riders adventurer team was improving so rapidly that they now had a chance at becoming one of the top eight adventurer teams subordinate to Heaven''s Blade. This was something that they never imagined was possible. After all, Heaven''s Blade was the fifth-rank adventurer team on Dragonheart Island. Plenty of adventurer teams subordinated themselves to Heaven''s Blade, but only eight adventurer teams would receive priority treatment. So long as Dragon Riders became one of these top eight adventurer teams, its position on Dragonheart Island would skyrocket. At that time, even first-rate Guilds would not dare to provoke it. "Enough! I know what I''m doing! Tidy up immediately! We''re heading to the Northern Fortress right now!" Swimming Dragon berated, completely ignoring everyone''s opinion. He had his current success only because of Shi Feng. While training inside the Tower of Four Gods, he had not only entered the Flowing Water Realm but also mastered an Advanced Combat Technique and improved his Completion Rate for Tier 2 Skills by a significant margin. After his challenge ended, he even received an Epic ranked Replica of the Legendary Weapon Hurricane''s Injury. This Replica was top-tier even among Epic Weapons. Moreover, the greatsword also had high compatibility with him. As a result, his combat power underwent a qualitative improvement after he equipped the weapon. Now that Zero Wing was in trouble, how could he just stand by and do nothing? Since War Blood wished to seal the pathway leading toward the northern region and prevent players from entering or exiting the area, then Swimming Dragon could just stick to grinding in the northern region. In any case, with the Northern Fortress around, he would not have to worry about having nowhere to rest. War Blood wouldn''t be able to do anything against him. The other members of Dragon Riders had no choice but to listen to their commander''s words and head off toward the Northern Fortress. After traveling by Mount for several hours and carefully avoiding War Blood''s members, Swimming Dragon and the others finally arrived at the Northern Fortress. However, the moment everyone walked through the fortress''s gates, they were stunned. "What''s going on?" "Why is the Mana density here so high?" "No, it''s not just the Mana here. I can feel my body becoming significantly lighter as well. It''s as if the suppression outside is gone." 2298 Heavenly Fortress Chapter 2298 - Heavenly Fortress After momentarily falling into a daze, Dragon Riders'' members promptly revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces. "It''s true! That pressure really has disappeared!" "Boss, if we can rest here long-term, we can keep grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range without returning to Dragonheart City! If that''s the case, we won''t need more than half a month to surpass those top eight adventurer teams subordinate to Heaven''s Blade!" Previously, they had not expected much of the Northern Fortress. After all, they had visited Thirteen Thrones'' fortress before, so they knew what purpose the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses served. These fortresses were merely temporary rest areas. Aside from allowing players to recover Stamina and Concentration, they only provided materials replenishment and weapons and equipment repair. However, the Northern Fortress completely overthrew their understanding of the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses. Setting aside accumulating the Double EXP buff inside the Northern Fortress, just the fact that the fortress could remove the ever-present pressure they felt while grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range was already plenty amazing. Since the Northern Fortress had this kind of ability, they would not need to head back to Dragonheart City to relieve themselves of this pressure. Although the pressure the Gravity Mountain Range exerted on them had only a minuscule effect, long-term exposure would still build up mental fatigue, which would rise especially quickly when they were fighting against powerful monsters. Hence, even with the opportunity to rest in Thirteen Thrones fortress, they would still return to Dragonheart City once every four or five days to relax and refresh their minds. At this point, it was already their third day in the Gravity Mountain Range, so the mental fatigue they had accumulated was quite significant. However, the moment they entered the Northern Fortress, said mental fatigue had disappeared completely. Normally, this pleasant sensation was something they would feel only after returning to Dragonheart City. If they could rid themselves of the Gravity Mountain Range''s pressure just by entering the Northern Fortress, then they could forgo returning to Dragonheart City and remain in the Gravity Mountain Range. With this, they could save plenty on the travel time between the World Tower and Dragonheart City, thereby increasing their leveling speed and resource acquisition rate. In this situation, Swimming Dragon could not help being overjoyed. The Northern Fortress''s benefits might not seem like much, but with persistence, a drop of water could wear out even a stone. With the help of the Northern Fortress''s ability, the Dragon Riders adventurer team could slowly pull ahead of Dragonheart City''s adventurer teams. Surpassing the top eight adventurer teams subordinate to Heaven''s Blade would also be a piece of cake. During the time Dragon Riders'' members were strolling about, enjoying the Northern Fortress''s pressure-free environment, a gasp suddenly appeared in the team chat. "Boss, come over here, quickly! I discovered something good!" a Level 87 Tigerkin Shield Warrior yelled excitedly. "What is it? What''s so important that you need to make such a huge fuss?" Swimming Dragon asked, exasperated. Dragon Riders was a well-known adventurer team on Dragonheart Island. Having one of its members act like a country bumpkin in front of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s and Zero Wing''s members after entering the Northern Fortress was a huge embarrassment to the adventurer team. "Boss, it''s the teleportation scroll for this fortress! Return Scrolls for the Northern Fortress are available at the Defensive Magic Towers!" the Tigerkin Shield Warrior replied. "What? Return Scrolls?" Swimming Dragon''s breathing momentarily grew heavier. Return Scrolls for locations in the outside world were unusable inside the World Tower. Meanwhile, the Gravity Mountain Range was an extremely dangerous place, and players could enter a death zone unawares at any time. Players might be able to escape momentarily using Instantaneous Transfer Scrolls, but without the help of a Return Scroll, they would still encounter countless perils on their way back to safety. If players could utilize Return Scrolls inside the Gravity Mountain Range, they would no longer have to be afraid of exploring unknown and dangerous regions. Moreover, with Return Scrolls, players would no longer have to conserve their Stamina and Concentration to walk back to the nearest rest area, increasing their range of operations drastically. "Buy them! Buy them all, quickly! It doesn''t matter even if they cost 1 Ancient Gold each!" Swimming Dragon ordered, his eyes glowing with excitement. Ancient Gold might be difficult to earn, but compared to their lives, let alone 1 Ancient Gold, even 10 Ancient Gold would not be comparable. After all, even a single death at their levels would deprive them of plenty of opportunities. "Boss, relax. These Return Scrolls are sold by NPCs. You can have as many as you want. Moreover, each Return Scroll costs only 10 Ancient Silver. However, these Return Scrolls are bound to the buyer and cannot be transferred to other players," the Tigerkin Shield Warrior said, grinning. "What? Only 10 Ancient Silver?" For a moment, Swimming Dragon thought he had misheard. Ordinary players might not be able to bear the price of 10 Ancient Silver, but this was easily affordable for experts like themselves. After all, just entering the Gravity Mountain Range cost 5 Ancient Silver while entering a fortress was 1 Ancient Silver and staying in a hotel, 2 to 3 Ancient Silver. Following which, Swimming Dragon had everyone in his team immediately go and purchase some Return Scrolls at the Defensive Magic Towers. In fact, aside from some money for accommodation and repair fees, he told his teammates to spend all their Ancient Silver to purchase the Northern Fortress''s Return Scrolls, afraid that the Return Scrolls would become unavailable or increase in price in the future. However, what Swimming Dragon did not know was that the system handled the price for the Northern Fortress''s Return Scrolls, which could be considered one of the special abilities of the Defensive Magic Towers. This ability was something similar to the Additional Skills found on weapons and equipment. Shi Feng had no say in the settings and could only collect a portion of the profits. Meanwhile, even after having his teammates spend all their spare Ancient Silver on Return Scrolls, Swimming Dragon was still not satisfied. After all, he knew that so long as they exploited this opportunity to the fullest, the Dragon Riders adventurer team could see a qualitative leap in development. "Notify everyone in the adventurer team and have them come to the Northern Fortress! From now onwards, the Northern Fortress will be Dragon Riders'' main headquarters!" Swimming Dragon said. After saying so, he immediately visited four of the Northern Fortress''s Basic Hotels and rented all four long-term for 60 Ancient Gold per day. He intended to have these four hotels serve as Dragon Riders'' temporary headquarters and lodging for the adventurer team''s members. That way, members would not have to worry about accommodations and end up sleeping on the streets. Shortly after Swimming Dragon gave his command, Dragon Riders'' members promptly sprang into action. All 2,000- plus members of the adventurer team suddenly headed to the World Tower. The large-scale movement piqued the curiosity of many of the adventurer teams that had close relations with Dragon Riders. Some players that were friends with Dragon Riders'' members also asked their friends about this situation. "What are you guys trying to do? Is Dragon Riders conducting some kind of large-scale operation?" "It''s not a large-scale operation. Our adventurer team is just moving our main headquarters to the Northern Fortress." "Are you guys insane? Didn''t you hear the threat War Blood made?" "War Blood might be powerful, but we can simply stick to the northern region. At worst, we''ll just avoid grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range''s other areas. Here, let me tell you a secret. Zero Wing''s Northern Fortress is freaking amazing. Not only can you accumulate the Double EXP buff there, but my team leader says that you can even rid yourself of the Gravity Mountain Range''s ever-present pressure by entering the Northern Fortress. What''s even more amazing is that there are Return Scrolls on sale at the Northern Fortress. With those, even ordinary experts like us can grind freely and efficiently in the Gravity Mountain Range." "You''re kidding me, right? I''ve been to Thirteen Thrones'' fortress before." "It''s fine if you don''t believe me, but once my level surpasses yours, don''t say that I never told you about this." After saying so, the members of Dragon Riders hurried toward the Northern Fortress. They all wished to start competing for the Gravity Mountain Range''s leveling resources as soon as possible. While the Dragon Riders adventurer team was rushing to the Northern Fortress, information about the Northern Fortress started spreading among some of Dragonheart City''s adventurer teams. Shortly after, news of it also reached Dragonheart City''s major powers. 2299 Popular Fortress Chapter 2299 - Popular Fortress Dragonheart City was originally already bubbling over the conflict between Zero Wing and War Blood. Hence, the city''s various powers were keeping an eye out for news about the Northern Fortress. The World Tower could be said to be Dragonheart City''s greatest resource; the various powers had all obtained a large number of leveling and material resources from it. Meanwhile, the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses played a crucial role in further enhancing their resource acquisition rate. With rumors regarding the Northern Fortress''s devastating abilities proliferating, Dragonheart City''s various powers immediately launched an investigation to ascertain the truth. "Return Scrolls?" "Investigate! I want this information verified as soon as possible!" Previously, the various powers had nothing much to say much about War Blood''s threat, as War Blood had also captured a fortress in the northern region and was going to open it just one day after the Northern Fortress opened. A one-day difference wouldn''t affect their development by much. Moreover, the Northern Fortress''s location was remote, so it wasn''t particularly attractive to the various powers. At best, it could only serve as a rest area. However, things were different now. The Northern Fortress''s Return Scroll would be a game-changer in the Gravity Mountain Range. The difference between having a Return Scroll and not having one while grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range was massive. Moreover, the effects would snowball as time passed. The reason the various powers had set up a base of operations in Dragonheart City was to gain better development resources. If their own profits were not affected, the various powers would show War Blood some respect and avoid provoking it as much as possible. However, it was a whole other story if conceding to War Blood''s demands affected their development by a significant margin. Dragonheart City''s various powers sent scouts to check out the Northern Fortress, which crowded the hall of the World Tower''s first underground floor. The moment the various powers'' scouts entered the Northern Fortress, they were shocked by the fortress''s environment. The high Mana density and lack of mental pressure here made the Northern Fortress no different from Dragonheart City. It was entirely possible for players to use the Northern Fortress as a temporary base. With the Northern Fortress, they would no longer have to shuttle between the World Tower and Dragonheart City. Most importantly, the Northern Fortress possessed Return Scrolls. The price of 10 Ancient Silver nearly had the visiting players wondering whether they were hallucinating. After the various powers'' scouts reported back about the situation inside the Northern Fortress, a huge commotion erupted in Dragonheart City. The Gravity Mountain Range''s resources were incomparably abundant. Until now, the various powers had yet to explore even two-thirds of the entire map. This was especially true for the ruins of the ancient civilization. These ruins contained a plethora of precious treasures. Only, due to the Gravity Mountain Range''s environment, exploring these ruins was still incredibly difficult, even with the help of a Small Fortress. Meanwhile, although the Northern Fortress was in a remote area, it perfectly solved the hindrance to staying in the Gravity Mountain Range long-term. This meant that Guild members could start exploring the various ancient ruins with much greater efficiency than before and secure even more resources for themselves. Their exploration progress might even surpass that of Thirteen Thrones, which possessed a Small Fortress. "Notify everyone immediately! We''re shifting our Guild''s base of operations on Dragonheart Island to the Northern Fortress!" "But what about War Blood?" "Screw them! This is an opportunity for our Guild! We''ll kill anybody that stands in our way!" Less than an hour after the various powers based in Dragonheart City verified the rumors regarding the Northern Fortress, many started sending a large number of experts there lest other powers get ahead of them. After all, the Northern Fortress was only a Medium Fortress. Unlike a city, a Medium Fortress could accommodate only a very limited number of players. The number of hotels in a fortress was especially limited. Not resting in a hotel would severely impact players'' recovery speed. Moreover, according to the powers'' investigations, the Northern Fortress''s hotels could even hasten the Double EXP buffs accumulation rate. The difference between having a hotel to rest in and not having one would drastically affect their leveling speed. Meanwhile, over at the Gravity Mountain Range''s Northern Fortress, the sudden influx of players made the fortress bustle. "Big Sis Rain, according to our latest statistics, over 150,000 players have visited the Northern Fortress thus far, and estimates state that we should hit the 400,000 mark by the end of today," Blue Phoenix reported excitedly as she approached Phoenix Rain. Back when Thirteen Thrones had successfully captured a fortress, despite the huge commotion in Dragonheart City, the fortress had managed to attract only around 200,000 visitors on its first day. Meanwhile, the fortress had a player population of only 700,000, which was also the maximum capacity of a Small Fortress. In comparison, the Northern Fortress was expected to attract over 400,000 visitors on the opening day alone. It would most likely take only two or three days to exceed the 700,000 threshold. Reaching the maximum capacity of 1,500,000 players was only a matter of time. It should be known that even with just a 700,000 player population, Thirteen Thrones'' Small Fortress generated tons of wealth and resources every day. Although Blue Phoenix did not know how much the Small Fortress was earning exactly, according to the investigations of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s spies, the fortress''s daily income was at least 5,000 Ancient Gold and 600,000 Ancient Silver. Once the Northern Fortress''s player population reached maximum capacity, one could easily imagine how much income it would generate. Moreover, the Northern Fortress had many more sources of revenue than Thirteen Thrones'' Small Fortress. Even though Phoenix Rain held only 20% of the Northern Fortress''s shares, the income she would receive could rival half of a Small Fortress''s total income, at the very least. Half! Even Starlink did not receive half of the income from Thirteen Thrones'' Small Fortress. At that time, who would dare question Phoenix Rain''s position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion? "I''m afraid that even War Blood and Starlink did not expect such an outcome." When Phoenix Rain looked at the statistics report in her hand, she could not help but sigh ruefully. Previously, even after successfully capturing the Northern Fortress, she had still felt that Shi Feng had gone overboard with his actions in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. Now, however, it would seem that the one to regret their actions would not be Zero Wing, but War Blood instead. The Northern Fortress''s future was already clear for all to see. Once a sufficient number of players gathered and the Northern Fortress was in full operation, it would be impossible for War Blood to exhaust and destroy Zero Wing in the Sea of Death. After all, the disparity in the incomes of the two sides would be simply too massive. Aside from Phoenix Rain, Dragonheart City''s various superpowers were entertaining such thoughts as well. Although War Blood had captured the Rock Nest Fortress, the difference between that and the Northern Fortress was far too massive. With this, War Blood had backed itself into a corner. After all, War Blood had previously declared that it would ban all those who entered the Northern Fortress from the Rock Nest Fortress. Now, the players that were originally planning on resting at the Rock Nest Fortress would not dare approach the fortress at alla situation that would definitely reduce the Rock Nest Fortress''s income. While the various powers were paying attention to the Northern Fortress, Shi Feng was hustling in the Northern Fortress. Not only did he have to reorganize the Northern Fortress''s construction plans, due to the explosive increase in player population, but he also had to deal with the partnership offers and Shop purchase requests from the various powers. "Guild Leader, the Fang Family''s people have visited our main headquarters and stated that they wish to meet you," Gentle Snow, who was currently organizing the information on the Northern Fortress''s Shops, said, a grim expression on her face. Previously, due to her personal matters, Shi Feng had stepped forward to provoke the Fang Family, the number one family in Fenglin City, which possessed extraordinary influence in the city. The fact that the Fang Family was paying Zero Wing a visit now definitely wasn''t good news for the Guild. "The Fang Family?" Shi Feng nodded. "Let''s go meet them, then." 2300 Clash with the Fang Family Chapter 2300 - Clash with the Fang Family Zero Wing''s main headquarters, top-floor reception room: Four people waited in the reception room, and the atmosphere was unusually depressing. Xiao Yu, who acted as the receptionist, wore a particularly ugly expression. Xiao Yu''s reaction to the middle-aged man was the cause of the atmosphere in the room. The older gentleman wore gray, martial artist robes and loomed like a mountain. His aura was also quite oppressive. However, his physical presence wasn''t the only reason for Xiao Yu''s reaction. His identity was the true reason. The middle-aged man was the current head of the Fang Family and the chairman of the Qilin Corporation, Fang Zhenyuan! The Qilin Corporation might not be on the same level as the Five States Corporation, but it was one of the first-rate corporations in the country. It was also why the Fang Family stood at the top among Fenglin City''s powerful families. If Fang Zhenyuan wished it, he could destroy the Big Dipper Group with a word. Why wouldn''t Xiao Yu be afraid with such an important individual before him? Fang Zhenyuan was a true mogul in the business world, nothing like the youngsters that had inherited their families'' businesses. A young man and woman accompanied Fang Zhenyuan in the room. The young man was none other than Fang Mingyu, the Fang Family''s strongest expert of the younger generation. On the other hand, Xiao Yu didn''t recognize the young woman with long, wavy hair and wearing a bright-red dress. However, he knew she must be of high status, considering that she visited Zero Wing''s headquarters alongside Fang Zhenyuan. As Xiao Yu wondered why a VIP like Fang Zhenyuan would visit Zero Wing''s headquarters, the reception room''s doors opened, and Shi Feng, Bai Qingxue, and Lei Bao entered. Fang Mingyu''s indifferent expression vanished the moment he saw Shi Feng. Even Xiao Yu could see the fear in the large man''s eyes. However, Fang Mingyu''s gaze also contained a trace of killing intent. Xiao Yu found the man''s reaction reasonable after giving the matter some thought. Fang Mingyu was the Fang Family''s prided genius, yet Shi Feng had subdued him with a single move in the Redstone Restaurant. To make matters worse, Fenglin City''s upper society frequently visited the Redstone Restaurant, and they wouldn''t miss the news of Fang Mingyu''s miserable defeat. "I had my doubts about Mingyu''s claim, but looking at you now, it seems he had been correct. You are both courageous and strong. I''m afraid none among the younger generation is a match for you," Fang Zhenyuan said, a trace of shock flashing in his eyes as he examined Shi Feng. Gentle Snow, who had already been worried about this visit, began to panic when she saw Fang Zhenyuan. She had never expected him to visit Zero Wing personally. "Mister Fang''s praise is too generous. May I know what business the Fang Family has with me today?" Shi Feng asked, getting straight to the point. The Fang Family''s visit didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. Since they had made a personal appearance, they must have important business to discuss, but Shi Feng had no desire to play their word games. He still had a lot he needed to do. "Since you''ve asked, I''ll just put it bluntly. You''d caused quite a commotion in the Redstone Restaurant. After all is said and done, the Fang Family is one of the most reputable families in Fenglin City. If we don''t take act, how do you think the other families will view ours?" Fang Zhenyuan peacefully explained. "However, I''ve heard that Zero Wing''s development in God''s Domain is quite impressive, and the virtual combat platform you''ve recently set up has been performing considerably well. The Fang Family has interests in these aspects, so we plan to invest in Zero Wing. In return, the Fang Family only wants 51% of Zero Wing''s shares. "Not only will Zero Wing receive a massive capital deposit from the Qilin Corporation too boost its development, but you''ll also have access to the various dojos and training centers in Fenglin City for recruiting and nurturing talented players. What are your thoughts?" After Fang Zhenyuan''s statement, the room fell silent. Xiao Yu stared at the man in astonishment. He had never thought that this colossal existence would be interested in Zero Wing enough to offer full investment. Although many Guilds in God''s Domain were supported by major corporations, that support was limited. No corporation would invest so much in a single Guild. If Zero Wing had the Qilin Corporation''s full support, both Zero Wing and the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s development speed would undergo a qualitative transformation. However, Fang Zhenyuan''s demand for 51% of the organization''s shares would set him up as Zero Wing''s owner. Gentle Snow paled instantly. She hadn''t expected the Fang Family''s appetite to be this large. "This is the friendliest threat I''ve ever heard," Shi Feng said, chuckling. To put it simply, Fang Zhenyuan wanted to become Zero Wing''s majority shareholder in exchange for letting the previous insult slide. "Do you intend to make an enemy of the Fang Family?" Fang Zhenyuan asked, frowning. Coldy, he continued, "Or do you think that you can lead Zero Wing and Heaven''s Rumble against the Fang Family with your martial prowess alone?" As Fang Zhenyuan''s tone chilled, the intensity of his aura spiked. The room grew heated as if a volcano had begun to erupt. "A neutralizing grandmaster!" Lei Bao exclaimed from behind Shi Feng, stunned by the revelation. Although Lei Bao had felt substantial pressure from Fang Zhenyuan and knew this man was no ordinary person, he hadn''t expected the head of the Fang Family to be a neutralizing grandmaster. It was impressive enough for one family to nurture a single neutralizing grandmaster. A family could prosper for an entire century with just one such individual. The Fang Family only enjoyed its current status today due to Old Man Fang, Fang Zhenyuan''s father. And yet, Fang Zhenyuan exposed the fact that he was also a neutralizing grandmaster, which meant the Fang Family had two such individuals. When Xiao Yu heard Lei Bao''s statement, he was just as stunned. With two neutralizing grandmasters, it had enough influence to force the various families, dojos, and training centers in Fenglin City to obey its every command, regardless of the rest of the Fang Family''s martial prowess. Fang Mingyu, who reclined on a sofa, sneered at Shi Feng. Everyone had assumed the Fang Family''s rise was due to his grandfather. They also believed that once his grandfather reached his 101st birthday, the family would crumble. However, the public didn''t realize that the Fang Family''s foundations had grown since his grandfather had led the family. If they hadn''t, his grandfather would never have passed control of the family to his father, Fang Zhenyuan. Fang Mingyu acknowledged that he was no match for Shi Feng, but the tricks Shi Feng had played against him wouldn''t work with his father. When he faced his father, Fang Mingyu didn''t even have the heart to resist. He had no hope of contending with his father''s inhuman fitness in a direct confrontation. "How can I know if I don''t try?" Shi Feng nonchalantly replied. "Good! Let me see if you''re as strong as you claim!" Fang Zhenyuan''s fist then shot toward Shi Feng with exceptional speed and grace. 2301 Rivaling a Grandmaster Chapter 2301 - Rivaling a Grandmaster So fast! Lei Bao''s expression turned sour as he watched Fang Zhenyuan move. He hadn''t expected the man to attack without hesitation. Fang Zhenyuan had none of the magnanimity of a martial arts grandmaster. Fang Zhenyuan''s punch was so fast that the human body had practically no time to react. "Come!" However, Shi Feng had reacted as Fang Zhenyuan''s fist had begun to move. Neutralizing grandmasters'' mental processing speed was far faster than an ordinary human''s. Their sensitivity to danger was easily ten times sharper than an ordinary person''s, as well. They could sense an incoming attack before the enemy even moved, which was why neutralizing grandmasters were so frightening. Since this was his first time fighting a neutralizing grandmaster in the real world, Shi Feng decided to greet the hit with a punch of his own, rather than dodge. Like Fang Zhenyuan''s punch, Shi Feng lacked any flowery movements. It was standard, textbook punch. Suicidal bastard! Fang Mingyu could not help but grin as he watched. Fang Mingyu had recognized that Shi Feng was weaker than he was during their clash in the Redstone Restaurant, not to mention his father. His father might be old, but thanks to modem technology like the Life Potion, he maintained his peak condition even at his age. In fact, Fang Zhenyuan''s body wouldn''t even begin to deteriorate for another two decades. The fact that Shi Feng chose to face the hit head-on was suicidal. Boom! As the two fists collided, the air between them compressed and shattered, the shockwave cracking the marble ground beneath them. The room shook slightly, and even Bai Qingxue stumbled backward. After the clash, Shi Feng and Fang Zhenyuan took a step back, the ground under their feet slightly sunken. How is this possible?! Fang Mingyu stared at Shi Feng with wide, shocked eyes when he saw the younger man completely unharmed from the exchange. Ten days ago, Shi Feng had been weaker than he was, yet now, Shi Feng had taken his father''s punch without suffering any damage... He stopped it? The outcome greatly shocked Lei Bao, as well. He knew that Shi Feng was a neutralizing grandmaster, but Fang Zhenyuan had walked this path for decades now. Regardless of when he had become a neutralizing grandmaster, his fitness was inhuman. Shi Feng should have no hope of matching the older man in this regard. Moreover, Fang Zhenyuan''s punch had been out of this world. Lei Bao was sure that if he had tried to take that hit head-on, he would''ve either died or been severely injured. In truth, even Shi Feng was relatively surprised. He hadn''t considered that he''d improve so massively after his training in the Tower of Four Gods. Not only had his fitness rapidly improved, but he had also substantially increased his control. He had successfully implemented some of the Sword''s Transmigration''s principles in his punch, diverting a portion of Fang Zhenyuan''s strength downward. This was why he had been able to face that hit without injury. If this fight had taken place after Shi Feng had just broken through to the grandmaster realm, he would''ve definitely taken damage from Fang Zhenyuan''s punch. Is this the strength of neutralizing grandmasters? Bai Qingxue thought as she gazed down at the shattered floor and felt the stifling auras radiating off of Shi Feng and Fang Zhenyuan. This seemed more light a fight between mechanical beasts, rather than a fight between humans. It was no wonder why Fenglin City''s various families were so afraid of the Fang Family. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and Fang Zhenyuan didn''t continue to fight after exchanging hits. Instead, they took a moment to observe each other in silence. "Excellent. To reach such a standard at such an age, it''s no wonder why you''re so confident," Fang Zhenyuan said as he calmly watched Shi Feng. Smiling, he continued, "However, how long do you think you can protect Zero Wing by yourself? You know that more than one organization is targeting Zero Wing. Partnering with the Fang Family is your best option. Zero Wing can only contend with these organizations with the Fang Family''s resources and strength. If you refuse, only death will await you!" "You don''t need to concern yourself with such matters, Mister Fang," Shi Feng said. "Zero Wing will take care of its own." Zero Wing had already grown powerful enough that not even first-rate Guilds were a match for it, yet as luck would have it, Zero Wing didn''t have a powerful background. It was only natural that other organizations would have set their sights on the Guild. It was why Shi Feng was trying to accelerate the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s development. However, he hadn''t thought that a power like the Fang Family would try to annex Zero Wing so soon. "Is that so?" Fang Zhenyuan laughed. "I hope you can keep this kind of confidence when the time comes." Fang Zhanyuan then turned and left the reception room, showing no intention of trying to persuade Shi Feng further. Fang Mingyu and the girl in the red dress stood from their seats, following after the older man. After leaving Zero Wing''s main headquarters and climbing into his luxury car, Fang Zhenyuan turned to the young woman, who had remained silent, with a serious expression. "Shihan, I''ll contact Fenglin City''s dojos and training centers later. I''ll leave Heaven''s Rumble''s virtual combat platform to you," Fang Zhenyuan said coldly. "With your position in Mythology, you should have no problem suppressing a Guild like Zero Wing, correct?" If a Guild wished to develop in God''s Domain, it needed sufficient manpower. Heaven''s Rumble had attracted quite a few talented fighters with the virtual platform it had set up, and as long as they dealt with the platform, Zero Wing''s development in the game would stagnate. Once they had suppressed Zero Wing from every angle, it would only be a matter of time before Shi Feng submitted to the Fang Family. "Of course. Mythology is one of the top five Super Guilds of God''s Domain. However, Mythology is based on the western continent, and there''s no connection between the east and west continents yet. It''s not possible to connect to easter players'' data via the virtual combat platform yet. I''ll need some time before I can lead a team to the eastern continent," the red-dressed girl named Fang Shihan said, smiling. "Once we cross over, we''ll trample over Zero Wing''s experts. Guilds on the two continents have different areas of focus, and the difference between combat standards is massive." "Alright. I''ll leave the situation to you. Mingyu will help you where he can," Fang Zhenyuan said, nodding. After Fang Zhenyuan''s group had left, an uproar rose in Zero Wing''s headquarters. Zero Wing''s members knew about the conflict between the Guild and the Fang Family. Shi Feng had caused quite the scene in the Redstone Restaurant, after all, and as a result, the situation with the Fang Family weighed on everyone''s minds. Since the Fang Family had left without achieving anything, Zero Wing''s players breathed a sigh of relief. "Hall Master, now that the Fang Family has revealed that it has two neutralizing grandmasters, Fenglin City''s dojos and training centers will side with the family. Some of the dojos and training centers we''ve signed partnership agreements with will likely pull out of the deals. I''m afraid that it won''t be possible to recruit a large number of talented combatants quickly," Xiao Yu said. "Moreover, the Fang Family will most likely work with other dojos and training centers to compete with our pricing..." "If they don''t want to work with us, so be it. Our priority is to set up more virtual combat platforms, so I want you to try to set up some small-scale training centers around the city," Shi Feng replied. He, too, understood the influence the Fang Family would command with two neutralizing grandmasters. Furthermore, the Fang Family had the Qilin Corporation''s support. Zero Wing was utterly outmatched when it came to strength and financial resources. However, the virtual combat platform would become the mainstream platform for combat in the future. As long as the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center developed its virtual combat platforms, it had some chance of competing with the Fang Family. "Developing the platforms won''t be a problem, but with our current finances, setting up the training centers will be..." Xiao Yu said helplessly. Although Zero Wing had recently earned quite a few Credits through Stone Forest Town, setting up a large enough virtual combat platform would cost a lot of money. The set up for a platform in the training center was already a huge burden on Zero Wing''s finances. Trying to set up more was simply unrealistic. "Relax. Zero Wing is quite rich right now," Shi Feng said, smiling. "I''ll start searching for suitable locations then," Xiao Yu said, his eyes glowing with excitement upon hearing Shi Feng''s response. If they had sufficient capital, Heaven''s Rumble wouldn''t have to worry about its development even without Fenglin City''s various dojos and training centers. After discussing the training center''s future with Xiao Yu, Shi Feng returned to God''s Domain. Other Guilds might struggle to earn money in God''s Domain at this stage of the game, but that wasn''t an issue for Zero Wing, especially after capturing the Northern Fortress. After all, the Gravity Mountain Range was becoming a hub for various wealthy powers. 2302 Renting Shops Chapter 2302 - Renting Shops Gravity Mountain Range, Northern Fortress: As soon as Shi Feng came online, he was greeted by the sight of a very busy street. As he walked through the city streets, he saw large groups of Guild players running toward the fortress''s hotels, reserving all of the rooms and turning them into temporary residences for their Guilds. At this point, the Northern Fortress was just as prosperous as an ordinary city. Shi Feng could already tell that the Northern Fortress would become the center of attention in the Gravity Mountain Range. Meanwhile, independent players crowded outside of Zero Wing''s residence, eager to apply to join the Guild. They all wanted to take advantage of the benefits the Guild''s Residence offered, and because of this, Blackie and the others were swamped with work. "Guild Leader, you''re back." When Aqua Rose, who was busy organizing documents in the Guild Leader''s office, noticed Shi Feng enter the room, she worriedly asked, "How did the matter with the Fang Family go?" Although she wasn''t in Fenglin City, she was aware of the Fang Family''s position there. Zero Wing had just established itself in Fenglin City, and if the Fang Family decided to target the Guild, it would affect Zero Wing''s in-game development and in the real world, especially now that the various Guilds understood the importance of dojos and training centers. Many large Guilds in God''s Domain had already partnered with dojos and training centers by this point, with some Guilds even opening their own. With a dojo or training center, not only could they nurture their own talented individuals, but they could also recruit new players to bolster their strength. With the country''s various training centers and dojos allying themselves with God''s Domain''s large Guilds, Zero Wing would have a difficult time establishing itself in new cities. Hence, Zero Wing would have to rely on the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center in Fenglin City to pump new blood into the Guild. "Everything''s fine. Negotiations to purchase Zero Wing simply broke down," Shi Feng said, waving his hand. "Isn''t that really bad?!" Shi Feng''s nonchalant attitude exasperated Aqua Rose. "The Fang Family owns the Qilin Corporation and is based in Fenglin City. The Fang Family won''t have any trouble targeting us. All it would need to do is contact Fenglin City''s dojos and training centers and instruct them to compete with our prices. If that happens, nobody will visit the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center." The Heaven''s Rumble Training Center was Zero Wing''s main source of new, talented players right now. If nobody visited the training center, Zero Wing wouldn''t have anyone new to recruit. Moreover, the Fang Family could easily afford to poach Heaven''s Rumble''s new members by offering them a high pay-out. Not only would the Fang Family cut off Zero Wing''s supply of new blood, but the Heaven''s Rumble would become a burden on Zero Wing''s finances, as well. Keeping the training center open every day cost a huge sum of money. "Relax. Zero Wing isn''t the same Guild it used to be. The Fang Family overestimates itself if it thinks it can annex us," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "How is the construction for the fortress''s Shops coming along?" They''re done, but if we only rent the Shops, we won''t be able to earn much. As a Medium Fortress, the Northern Fortress can only accommodate so many players at once," Aqua Rose reported. "Very few powers visiting the fortress have expressed any interest in the Shops. Most people are asking to rent the hotels long-term, instead." The various major powers were typically quite interested in obtaining Shops, but only if there was enough traffic. It would likely be quite difficult to rent the fortress''s Shops for a high price with the Northern Fortress''s maximum player population. Furthermore, the number of Shops in the fortress couldn''t compare to those in a Guild City. Based on God''s Domain''s settings, fortresses could only house a limited number of Shops. A Small Fortress only had room for 100 Sops, while a Medium Fortress could contain 240 Shops. In comparison, a Basic City could easily hold more than 1,000 Shops. "As long as they''re done, I''m satisfied," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "See to the necessary preparations and announce that the Northern Fortress will begin to lease its Shops. The bid for each Shop will start at 5,000,000 Credits per month, and we''ll only lease 200 Shops in total. First come, first served." "Guild Leader, you...." Aqua Rose stared at Shi Feng as if he had gone mad. If they couldn''t even lease Zero Wing City''s Shops for 5,000,000 Credit per month, how were they supposed to rent those in the Northern Fortress, which had less than 500,000 players right now? And Shi Feng''s high price was only the starting bid... "Just get it done. When the time comes, you''ll understand," Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain further. Fortresses in neutral maps were far more profitable than Guild Cities in God''s Domain. Guild Towns and Cities couldn''t be constructed in many neutral maps due to their environments, and players would have to rely on fortresses to rest. Most of God''s Domain''s players were also independent players, and when they obtained items they didn''t need, they almost always sold them in their favored rest areas. Naturally, Shops were the best platform for Guilds to purchase and store these items, especially the items that couldn''t be stored in one''s bag space. Aside from purchasing and storing materials and items, neutral fortress''s Shops had a hidden benefit; they could conduct transactions with wandering merchant NPCs and purchase specialty items. Wandering merchants would visit a neutral fortress as long as it had enough security, and these NPCs frequent conducted business with individual players and Shops. However, wandering merchants would only offer to sell their specialty items to Shops. One such specialty item was the Advanced Wanderer''s Camp. With this item, a team could set up a temporary resting area in a neutral map. Although each Advanced Wanderer''s Camp could only be used three times, and each use had a one-day duration, it would help a team fully recover their Stamina and Concentration without cutting their exploration short to return to a city or fortress. The Advanced Wanderer''s Camp was an absolute treasure to exploration teams. Sometimes, if players were lucthey would even encounter wandering merchants that were interested in selling super-rare Mini Mobile Camp. Unlike the Advanced Wanderer''s Camp, the Mini Mobile Camp was permanent. It could only accommodate 100 players at a time, but a team could use it indefinitely. It only cost a few Magic Crystals for each activation. The smallest fortress wandering merchant NPCs would visit was a Medium Fortress, which was why the various powers had fought so desperately to capture neutral Medium Fortresses and larger during Shi Feng''s previous life. Every neutral Medium Fortress was a goldmine and definitely worth waging a war to acquire. To increase their chances of developing in neutral maps, the various powers wouldn''t spare any cost when renting a fortress''s Shops. As long as one owned a Medium Fortress or larger in a neutral map, they wouldn''t have to worry about needing a source of income, especially if that fortress was the Northern Fortress. Currently, it was the only fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range that had Return Scrolls, and there were plenty of unexplored ruins in the Gravity Mountain Range. Zero Wing wouldn''t need to worry about no one renting the fortress''s Shops. After verifying Shi Feng''s instructions, Aqua Rose informed the public that the Northern Fortress''s Shops were available for rent. 2303 Beginning of Turmoil Chapter 2303 - Beginning of Turmoil When news of the Northern Fortress''s Shops availability went public, the various major powers that had already shifted their bases to the fortress heard about it immediately. No power would turn down the opportunity to own a fortress''s Shop, especially one in the Northern Fortress. At this point, the Northern Fortress was almost guaranteed to become the heart of the Gravity Mountain Range. The various superpowers might capture the map''s other fortresses, even one of the two remaining Medium Fortresses, but they weren''t likely to secure a fortress as popular as the Northern Fortress. The Northern Fortress had already begun to build its advantages, while none of the others had been captured yet. However, before Dragonheart Island''s various powers could focus on the Northern Fortress''s Shops, a system announcement reached every player in the game. System Announcement: A player has triggered an Epic Main Storyline Quest and activated the new expansion pack, ''Invasion of Other Planes.'' Planar Passages connecting to Otherworlds will begin to open in three hours. Every player on the God''s Domain continent was stunned, not to mention the players on Dragonheart Island. After a dazed moment, they were all ecstatic. Everyone knew that Otherworlds were resource treasure troves, but it wasn''t easy to enter an Otherworld. It was wonderful news that passages to multiple Otherworlds were about to open. "Guild Leader, this is wonderful! With these Planar Passages, we won''t have to worry about securing Level 100 weapons and equipment anymore!" Aqua Rose exclaimed. Zero Wing had a better understanding of Otherworlds'' available resources than other powers. Take the Ice Crystal World, for example. The Ice Crystal World possessed various unique materials and superior forging techniques. The Guild had earned a fortune by exploiting these advantages. Unfortunately, when the teleportation gate to the Ice Crystal World had opened in Lake Heart City, Zero Wing''s income from the Otherworld had significantly decreased. This system announcement regarding the Planar Passages was undoubtedly good news for Zero Wing. How did this happen so soon? In contrast to Aqua Rose''s reaction, Shi Feng''s expression turned gloomy when he heard the system announcement. The Planar Passages'' activation would bring an abundance of rare resources to God''s Domain''s main continent, but it would also bring trouble. The flood of new players to the continent would be one of the biggest problems. Many players resided in Otherworlds, and once these Planar Passages began to open, those players could travel between the main continent and the Otherworlds as well. Because of this, these Otherworlds'' players would surge to the main continent in droves, as would many new powers. Competition on the main continent was already intense. It was easy to imagine what kind of outcome God''s Domain would see if a large number of new competitors suddenly joined the fray. Even now, Shi Feng could clearly remember what had happened when the Planar Passages had opened during his previous life. A massive change had rocked God''s Domain''s various powers, with countless powers perishing during the invasion. Not even superpowers had been spared. Although Otherworlds were small, only half the size of a kingdom, their players'' standards differed due to the Otherworlds'' environments. Some Otherworld players were weaker than those on the main continent, while others were stronger. The Ice Crystal world was among average among the multitude of Otherworlds. In some of the stronger Otherworlds, players had no issues obtaining Legacies, while others made it easier for players to convert to stronger races. These players tended to have greater combat power and higher levels than those on the main continent. Zero Wing had just recently become a pseudo-superpower and had yet to reinforce its foundations. Dealing with these Otherworld players and powers wouldn''t help Zero Wing. As far as Shi Feng could remember, many players had already risen to Tier 3 when the Planar Passages had activated in the past. Since this expansion had been triggered so early in this life, the competition between players would become even more intense than he remembered. Back then, the main continent''s powers had already solidified their rule in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Attempting to dethrone them had been an incredibly difficult task. However, players hadn''t claimed the Level 100-plus neutral maps in this life yet, and once the Otherworld players and powers arrived on the continent, the competition for these maps would grow to unprecedented levels. I need to move forward with my plans. Shi Feng gritted his teeth as he examined at Zero Wing''s current statistics. After giving the matter some thought, he turned to Aqua Rose and commanded, "Aqua, notify the management in Zero Wing City and tell them to only accept credits in the Shops! Also, we need to expand and recruit throughout the Dark Night Empire!" The Planar Passages would open all over the main continent. If Zero Wing wanted to survive the upcoming war, it needed to increase its overall strength as soon as possible. Shi Feng hadn''t wanted to expand the Guild too quickly, originally. More Guild members meant higher costs for the Guild, and if Zero Wing couldn''t afford the new expenditures, the Guild''s development would regress. Thus, Shi Feng had decided to slow the Guild''s expansion, allowing Zero Wing to develop organically, unlike powers that rapidly increased their member count. Unfortunately, he couldn''t afford to wait with the Planar Passages about to open. The gears of a new era had already begun to turn. If Zero Wing didn''t have enough manpower, others would easily invade and usurp its territories, especially now that the Fang Family had decided to target the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. Having received her orders, Aqua Rose quickly contacted the players that managed Zero Wing City, informing them that the Guild would only accept Credits as payment in its Shops. Shi Feng also instructed Aqua Rose to find a method to recruit more Secret-Silver Guards with the Growth Potential to nearly rival Fine-Gold rank. He currently possessed quite a bit of Soul Essence on him, which he could use to increase Personal Guards'' Growth Potential. Although he could also use the Soul Essence on the Guild''s Fine-Gold Guards, it wasn''t so easy to collect. Even after slaying all of the monsters in the Northern Fortress, he had only acquired 90 drops. With so little, he''d only be able to upgrade a few Fine-Gold Guards. Rather, he could upgrade a large number of Secret-Silver Guards with high Growth Potential to Fine-Gold rank. Although there was only one rank between Secret Silver and Fine-Gold Guards, the difference between them was akin to the difference between peak experts and apex experts. If he could acquire a large group of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Guards at this stage of the game, he''d have a mobile killing machine. Shi Feng also intended to use the two remaining teleportation tokens to send Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose to train in the Tower of Four Gods. Zero Wing had more than 100 Refinement Realm experts and barely any peak experts. It was the Guild''s fatal flaw. As players started to reach Level 100, and the system removed their restrictions, the difference between experts'' combat standards would grow, as well. It would become a lot more challenging to make up for that difference by relying on Basic Attributes. It was absolutely crucial that Zero Wing nurture more peak experts as quickly as possible. Once Shi Feng had handled these affairs, the sound of another system notification reached his ears. System Announcement: Planar Passages have opened. Players can now visit their local Planar Passage to travel between worlds. 2304 Planar Passages Activated Chapter 2304 - Planar Passages Activated Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: Players flowed in and out of the lively Teleportation Hall. Merchant players and well-known adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires were a common sight in and around the building. Although Star-Moon City wasn''t as prosperous as White River City, as Star-Moon Kingdom''s transit hub and the closest city to the Ore Empire in the kingdom, many players frequented the city. Star-Moon City was already a large city with more than 9,000,000 player residents. It was above average among God''s Domain''s various capital cities. Suddenly, a group of players with dark marks on their foreheads arrived in the Teleportation Hall. When the other players in the hall noticed them, they fell silent. Every one of these 100-plus players had reached Level 92 or 93. Right now, the highest-leveled player on the kingdom''s Ranking List was only Level 88. Moreover, the experts in the area felt a powerful pressure from the group of strangers as if they stood before a small force of high-level Great Lords. The combined aura could even deter Refinement Realm experts from approaching. "There sure are a lot of people here, Commander, but their levels are pretty low. They clearly haven''t received a God''s Blessing, either," a Level 92 female Ranger commented as she watched the players in the Teleportation Hall. "It seems the main continent''s players haven''t developed as quickly as those in the Shadow World. Only their weapons and equipment are better than ours." "Apparently, different areas have varying degrees of development. This is an opportunity for our Shadowless adventurer team. Obviously, weapons and equipment are easier to obtain here. We were lucky to find the Planar Passage in our world so quickly. We should take time to secure a foothold here first," the bald, Level 93 youth in black said as he led the group. "Star-Moon Kingdom is the perfect place for Shadowless to establish on the main continent. I want you to investigate the powers in this kingdom. If they''re not willing to submit, we''ll get rid of them!" The 100-plus players promptly split up, and every other player who had overheard the bald youth''s order began to panic. Meanwhile, Otherworld players began to arrive in the main continent''s various kingdoms and empires, intensifying the chaos on the main continent. While Otherworld players began to flood the main continent, something surprising occurred in the Gravity Mountain Range''s Northern Fortress. Shi Feng had estimated that it would take some time to lease out the fortress''s Shops. It would be a while before players discovered the benefits of a Medium Fortress''s Shops, after all. However, in less than a day, Dragonheart Island''s various powers had claimed over 100 Shops for themselves. Although these powers didn''t plan to rent the Shops long-term, only agreeing to the first month, it instantly earned Shi Feng over 600 million Credits. Including the income from Zero Wing City, he had a total of 800 million Credits on hand. Once the Credits were in his account, Shi Feng instructed Xiao Yu to move forward with their agreed plans. They might not be able to establish many large-scale training centers in Fenglin City, but seven or eight small training centers wouldn''t be a problem. Furthermore, the branch training centers, main purpose was to promote the virtual combat platform and encourage the city''s players to train in the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center habitually. Hence, they wouldn''t need to purchase a lot of equipment for the branch locations. Once the branches opened to the public, and with Zero Wing''s fame, they wouldn''t need to worry about a lack of God''s Domain players visiting Heaven''s Rumble. This would also allow Zero Wing to recruit fresh blood in God''s Domain. Shi Feng had also earned a lot of Ancient Gold from the Northern Fortress. Normally, a Small Fortress, at its peak, would only earn four or five thousand Ancient Gold per day, and Small Fortresses that had recently opened to the public would be lucky to earn 1,000 per day. Fortunately, the Northern Fortress was unimaginably popular. The various powers'' players already filled every hotel in the fortress. To reserve every room in a hotel, players would have to pay with Ancient Gold, not Ancient Copper or Silver. Naturally, Zero Wing''s share of the profits would consist of Ancient Gold, as well. After a single day of business, Zero Wing had earned 7,000 Ancient Gold from the Northern Fortress, and that was after splitting the profits with Phoenix Rain. As more time passed and more players visited the fortress, Zero Wing would be able to upgrade its facilities. As Basic Hotels became Advanced Hotels, Zero Wing and the Phoenix Pavilion would earn even more Ancient Gold. "War Blood''s people would have a heart attack if they saw our profits, Guild Leader," Blackie said, laughing as he watched the Northern Fortress''s profits increase. "It won''t be long before our Guild secures a foothold in Dragonheart City. With more Guild members here, I''d like to see War Blood interfere with our development!" "Blackie, don''t underestimate War Blood. The adventurer team has captured its own fortress, and it still has Starlink''s support. It would be unwise to underestimate its development, and War Blood''s naval prowess is particularly impressive. Even Thirteen Thrones watches its step around the adventurer team," Yan Tianxing solemnly warned his companion. Resources were important for competing Guilds, but the deciding factor would come down to the size of one''s fist. War Blood might not be a match for Zero Wing in the Gravity Mountain Range, but in the Sea of Death, Zero Wing would be at its mercy. Unfortunately, there were more resources available in the sea of death than in the Gravity Mountain Range. "Tianxing is right. Now that we have resources, we need to convert them into combat power." Shi Feng nodded. He then retrieved the Storm Speedboat Design from his bag and handed it to Yan Tianxing, who would supervise the speedboats'' production. They would use the profits they had earned from the Northern Fortress to acquire the necessary materials. Fortunately, Shi Feng had been stalking up on these materials for a while. When Yan Tianxing saw the Storm Speedboat Design, his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Although he was not a naval player, he had learned how valuable Bronze Speedboats were during the several weeks he had spent grinding in the Sea of Death. If Zero Wing had a full fleet of Bronze Speedboats, they could explore the Sea of Death unhindered. Once he had set Yan Tianxing with everything he needed for the Storm Speedboat''s production, Shi Feng left the Northern Fortress. Once he emerged from the World Tower, he used a Return Scroll to teleport to White River City. He was finally prepared to challenge his Tier 3 Promotion Quest! 2305 Tier 3 Promotion Ques Chapter 2305 - Tier 3 Promotion Quest Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City''s library: Following a Level 180, Tier 3 Templar Knight, Shi Feng arrived before the Star-Moon Hall on the library''s top floor. As he entered the hall and spotted Sharlyn, who wore luxurious red robes and sat in her throne on the far end of the room, something surprised Shi Feng. Now, he could sense a trace of Divine Might from Sherlyn, and it was nothing like the Divine Might items radiated. Although it wasn''t as strong as the Divine Might from items Gods had used, it was incredibly pure. The closer he got to the woman, the stronger the pressure felt. Even with his powerful Basic Attributes, Shi Feng couldn''t step within 10 yards of Sharlyn. He suspected she was already more powerful than Demigods. "You''re here. Looking at you, I assume you intend to challenge your Tier 3 promotion; am I correct?" Sharlyn asked, giving Shi Feng a natural, humanlike smile. She looked at him like an old friend. "That''s right." Shi Feng nodded. He might be quite powerful, even enough to give the various superpowers a huge headache, but to truly contend with the superpowers, he had to reach Tier 3 at the very least. Once he was a Tier 3 player, he could freely explore Level 100-plus maps and qualify to become a Lord, gaining full rights to manage a territory. As true Lords, players could gain full control over the land they had earned. Their authority would no longer be limited to a town or city. Not only would they have the authority to slay anyone they wished within their territory, but they could also hire NPC soldiers to protect the area and remove intruders. This would make it a lot easier to harvest resources within one''s territory. Zero Wing had the strength to protect its assets, but it couldn''t contend with the various superpowers in the fields. Even an ordinary superpower had countless experts under its command, and Zero Wing would need more time before it could rival these superpowers in that regard. There were only so many Level 100-plus neutral maps in God''s Domain, and once players reached Level 100, the various superpowers would begin to take their territories seriously. They would no longer be as peaceful. Shi Feng''s only option was to become a Lord. Once he had that status, not only would Zero Wing''s ability to protect itself increase by tenfold, but the Guild''s development speed would also undergo a qualitative transformation. "Since you''ve already prepared, I won''t waste your time," Sharlyn said, smiling. She extended a hand toward Shi Feng and continued, "Three hundred Mana Stones and 20 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal." Shi Feng''s lips twitched when he heard Sharlyn''s price. This was daylight robbery! Since his Tier 3 Promotion Quest''s Mana Stone cost had been so high, he had prepared over 300 Mana Stones before revisiting Sharlyn. Fortunately, he had also prepared 30 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals just in case. And of course, Sharlyn casually demanded 90% of the Mana Stones and Seven Luminaries Crystals he had on hand... "Here!" Shi Feng growled, gritting his teeth. In the end, he had no choice but to hand the items over. Tier 3 was a huge turning point for players, and he was a Blade Saint. His wouldn''t be an ordinary Promotion Quest. He couldn''t exactly avoid challenging the quest due to the cost. "Not bad. This should just be enough to support the magic array''s activation," Sharlyn said, smiling as she received the Mana Stones and Seven Luminaries Crystals. "However, I must warn you that you''ll be heading to a special location. The dangers you will encounter there are beyond your imagination. Even a true Tier 3 being would struggle to survive. How much you accomplish will be entirely up to you." Sharlyn began to chant an incantation, and a threefold magic array appeared in the center of the hall. Gradually, a set of pitch-black doors began to appear, and Shi Feng''s knees nearly buckled under the door''s horrific pressure. I''m not going to a Level 100 neutral map to find my lost Legacy? Shi Feng frowned as he watched the spatial tear form between the black doors. The Tier 3 Promotion Quest wouldn''t be like the previous Promotion quests. Since the various kingdoms and empires lacked Tier 3 Legacies, players would have to search ancient ruins in Level 100-plus neutral maps for them. Not even Peak Legacies were exempt from the process. However, it was clear that he wouldn''t be visiting some Level 100 neutral map on the main continent. The unexpected development interfered with his plans. His past experiences and knowledge about Tier 3 Promotion Quests would be useless. Shi Feng didn''t give the matter much thought, however, as he approached the black doors. These doors wouldn''t remain for long, and if they disappeared before he entered the spatial tear, the system would deem the Promotion Quest a failure. Not only would he have wasted a ton of valuable resources, but he''d also have to wait a long time before he could attempt the Promotion Quest again. The moment Shi Feng stepped into the spatial tear, he transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from the large hall. He had no idea how long he had been stuck in the space-time tunnel, but when he reopened his eyes, he found himself on a huge island floating in an endless void. The island was barren and quiet, containing multiple spatial tears that had enough power to tear a Mythic monster to shreds. The island''s environment was a complete mess. Shi Feng constantly felt some berserk energy assault his body, causing damage and limiting his perception. A Void Land? Shi Feng was speechless as he examined his surroundings. A Void Land was a land of death in God''s Domain. Even a Domain Realm expert would be as weak as a noob when subjected to a Void Land''s environment, barely able to exhibit any of their combat power. When he spotted the island''s Level 100-plus Void Creatures, a chill crawled down his spine. [Void Worm] (Void Creature, Great Lord) Level 101 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 [Void Viper] (Void Creature, Grand Lord) Level 102 HP 300,000,000/300,000,000 Void Creatures had extremely high resistance to physical and magical damage. Normally, even Tier 3 players would have to work with a full party to defeat a Level 100 Great Lord ranked Void Creature. Unfortunately, not only was this barren island home to thousands of Void Worms, but they also moved in groups of three to five. As for the Void Vipers that floated in the air, a single one of them could easily annihilate an entire Tier 3 team. Not even Tier 3 players would survive long on this island, much less Tier 2 players. System: You have accepted your Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Quest content: Locate the Blade Saint Legacy sealed in this Void Land and remove the seal to obtain the Legacy. Sure enough, the Promotion Quest for one of the Ten Saint Legacies is vicious. The corners of Shi Feng''s lips twitched as he read the system notification. He''d be at his limit fighting a single Void Worm. He''d have no choice but to flee if he encountered two at the same time, yet these Void Worms roamed in such large groups. Just exploring the island would be a problem, not to mention finding the Blade Saint Legacy. Fortunately, he was allowed to use items in this Void Land, and as such, he immediately pulled the Bible of Darkness from his bag and summoned a Tier 3 Demon. He summoned Anna and Kite as well. He then relied on the Tier 3 Demon as his MT, while Anna and Kite offered support from the sides. The Void Worms might be a problem for ordinary Tier 3 players, but they were merely practice targets with high HP to Anna and Kite. Their battle with the Void Worms was completely one-sided, and after just half an hour, five Void Worms had fallen. As they died, the Void Worms granted Shi Feng a ton of EXP and dropped a crystal that was as dark as night. A Mana Crystal! Shi Feng could not believe his eyes as he held the crystal. How is this possible? 2306 Tier 3 Evolution Chapter 2306 - Tier 3 Evolution Mana Crystal! To most players, this item was only a relatively rare material or decent energy source, but to Shi Feng, a Mana Crystal was just as valuable as Seven Luminaries Crystals. They were so valuable to him because he could use Mana Crystals to evolve the Abyssal Blade. Shi Feng had tasked Melancholic Smile to purchase Mana Crystals for that very purpose, but she had yet to find any. Learning that these Void Worms dropped the Mana Crystals had certainly come as a surprise. The Abyssal Blade was significantly helpful. In its current state, the Magic Weapon was as powerful as a top-tier Epic Weapon of the same level. Unfortunately, Shi Feng couldn''t afford to level up the weapon due to how many Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold weapons the upgrade required. The higher-level a weapon was, the rarer it would be. Obtaining Level 90-plus Fine-Gold Weapons was quite challenging at this stage of the game, not to mention Level 90-plus Dark-Gold Weapons. Because its level had stagnated, the Abyssal Blade wasn''t suitable for Shi Feng at this point. However, Shi Feng couldn''t just abandon the weapon. Even if he stopped using it, the curse within the Abyssal Blade would still exist, and he''d periodically have to face the Backlashes. Not only would the curse grow stronger as the Magic Weapon evolved, but it would also grow stronger as time passed, which was why players had been so afraid of Magic Weapons in Shi Feng''s previous life. Although Magic Weapons could be a massive asset to players, they''d also become a greater burden as players leveled up. Of course, if players could maintain the Magic Weapons'' growth as they reached higher levels, the weapons would offer more pros than cons, and after a certain point, they''d become even stronger than Epic Weapons. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to maintain that growth rate during the later stages of the game. Otherwise, fewer players would''ve fallen to their Magic Weapons'' Backlash in the past. Shi Feng stored the Mana Crystal in his bag and continued to hunt Void Worms while steadily approaching the center of the island. The Void Land was as large as a medium-size leveling map in the outside world, and as Shi Feng grew closer to the island''s core, he encountered more Void Worms. The monsters'' respawn rate increased as he traveled, as well. Even with Anna and Kite''s help, Shi Feng prioritized caution. While the two Personal Guards could withstand the Great Lords'' attacks, he couldn''t. Although slaying these Void Worms was monotonous, the bountiful EXP and occasional Mana Crystal motivated Shi Feng. He took barely any breaks from hunting the Great Lords. After a full day of combat, Shi Feng''s experience bar had reached 99% of Level 100. He just needed one more kill to level up, but he decided to wait for a moment. He locked his experience bar and summoned his Thunder Eagle, allowing the Flying Mount to benefit from the awarded EXP instead. Flying Mounts and Land Mounts had different mechanics. While Land Mounts'' levels would be determined by their owners'' level, Flying Mounts had their own experience bars. This was why nurturing a Flying Mount was so troublesome. This quest, fortunately, offered the perfect opportunity for Shi Feng to nurture his Thunder Eagle. Flying Mounts in God''s Domain were an exceptional mode of transportation, but they were also capable fighters. For players to grow stronger, they had to constantly improve their levels, equipment, Skills, and other aspects. Flying Mounts, however, only needed to level up. It was easier for these Mounts to evolve through their Tiers than it was for players. Thus, it had become common practice for experts to disregard their levels temporarily to level up their Flying Mounts. The Thunder Eagle was an Intermediate Extraordinary Flying Mount, born with the strength of a Great Lord and extremely high Growth Potential. At Level 100, it''s combat power might only be at the Lower Tier 3 rank, but once it reached Level 110, it would rise to the Intermediate Tier 3 rank. At Level 120, its combat power would further increase to the Tier 3 Upper-rank standard. Aside from frantically grinding, Shi Feng occasionally logged out to rest his mind and provide guidance for some of his Guild members. "Guild Leader, War Blood and Starlink are growing restless. They''re not doing much right now, but I''ve heard that they''ve decided to help Thirteen Thrones capture a Medium Fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range," Blackie reported. "Currently, the Northern Fortress''s player population is only over 900,000. If War Blood and Starlink succeed, I''m afraid it''ll affect the Northern Fortress''s development. Should we send people to sabotage their plan?" Since the Northern Fortress was the sole Medium Fortress in the Gravity Mountain Range, it generated astronomical sums of Credits and Ancient Gold each day, but if the various powers captured another Medium Fortress, the Northern Fortress''s profits would decrease. "That won''t be necessary. Although we have a feud with War Blood and Starlink, we have nothing against Thirteen Thrones," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Moreover, capturing a Medium Fortress is easier said than done. Just focus on managing our own fortress. I''m still busy with my Tier 3 Promotion Quest and won''t be back anytime soon. For now, try to buy as many plots of Land near the World Tower as possible with the Ancient Gold we''ve earned." If he hadn''t summoned the Tier 4 Hero, Zero Wing wouldn''t have been able to capture the Northern Fortress, even with the Phoenix Pavilion''s help. Moreover, securing the lands around the World Tower was far more important than worrying about a fortress in another corner of the Gravity Mountain Range. "Alright. I''ll make the purchases as soon as we have the money," Blackie responded. Although he was a little disappointed that he couldn''t cause some trouble for Starlink and War Blood, his anticipation began to build with the thought of the Lands near the World Tower. Shi Feng had explained these plots function, and if Zero Wing could claim every one of the Lands available, Dragonheart City''s various powers would live in fear of their Guild. After training the Guild''s members, Shi Feng quickly returned to God''s Domain and continued to venture deeper into the barren island. With the Thunder Eagle as a part of his party, the party''s overall DPS had considerably increased, and as a result, Shi Feng was able to advance much faster than before. After three days of grinding, Shi Feng had moved into the island''s inner region. The three-day grind also allowed the Thunder Eagle to climb to Level 103. Shi Feng knew that Flying Mounts didn''t need as much EXP as players to level up, but he couldn''t help his surprise at the Thunder Eagle''s leveling speed. Shi Feng had also obtained 73 Mana Crystals from the slain Void Worms. His harvest here was more than enough to cover the Mana Stone cost of entering the Void Land. When he reached the inner region, he found a translucent barrier enveloping the area. The inner region looked like a completely different world compared to the outer region. The island''s outer area had been a barren wasteland, while a lush forest occupied the inner region. Within this lush forest, Shi Feng spotted graves of varying sizes. The smallest were simply dirt mounds, while the larger graves looked like majestic palaces. He also spotted a large number of Undead wandering through this graveyard. [Forgotten Spirit] (Undead Creature, Lord) Level 101 HP 40,000,000/40,000,000 These Forgotten Spirits weren''t much of a threat; Shi Feng could easily take them out in a one-on-one fight. Unfortunately, these Undead moved in groups of several dozen. Not even Shi Feng was confident of surviving a battle against so many Lord ranked monsters. Each grave was also guarded by Heroic Spirits of varying strengths... Heroic Spirits were the remnants of departed NPC Heroes. They might not be as powerful as they had been in life, but the Tier 3 Heroic Spirits could easily slaughter Tier 3 players, not to mention a lowly Tier 2 player like Shi Feng. Even Tier 3 players have little hope of surviving in this place. Shi Feng could not help but frown at the Undead wandering within the magic barrier. He''d have no choice but to flee from a one-on-one battle with a Level 100, Tier 3 Heroic Spirit. Fortunately, he had Personal Guards like Anna and Kite to support him. Otherwise, finding the Blade Saint Legacy would be utterly impossible. The instant Shi Feng stepped through the translucent barrier, however, Kite, Anna, the Tier 3 Demons, and his Thunder Eagle vanished. A Silencing Barrier?! Shi Feng stared at the barrier, stunned. God''s Domain had many types of magic barriers, and although barriers that nullified summoning-type magic arrays were rare, they could be found in certain ancient ruins. Finding such a magic barrier here was a nightmare. An ordinary Level 100, Tier 2 expert wouldn''t even be a match for the Lord ranked Forgotten Spirits in a one-on-one fight. Even a Domain Realm expert would have to flee for their lives when encountering several dozen Forgotten Spirits. As for the Level 100, Tier 3 Heroic Spirits, Domain Realm experts wouldn''t even last more than three seconds. It''s no wonder why so few people with Peak Legacies managed to complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he observed the Undead around him. With how the Forgotten Spirits were positioned, Shi Feng couldn''t find any loopholes to exploit. Defeating these Undead would be impossible with the strength of a Level 100, Tier 2 player. He would need an entire 100-man team of Level 100, Tier 2 experts to accomplish the feat. "Right! If one''s not enough, I just need to face them in a group!" Struck with inspiration, Shi Feng stepped through the barrier and summoned Kite and Anna again. He returned to grinding Void Worms, planning to collect the 100 Mana Crystals he needed to evolve the Abyssal Blade. Of the weapons at hand, the Abyssal Blade allowed him to execute the highest number of attacks simultaneously. With Nine Dragons Slash, he could summon 16 Abyssal Blade phantoms, which not even the Twilight Blade could do. If he could upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Tier 3, Nine Dragons Slash would undergo a qualitative transformation, allowing him to summon even more phantoms. It might just be enough to help him defeat so many monsters. With this plan in mind, Shi Feng spent another day or so slaying Void Worms, eventually gathering the 100 Mana Crystals. The instant Shi Feng picked up the 100th Mana Crystal, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: One hundred Mana Crystals detected. Conditions to evolve the Abyssal Blade met. Do you wish to evolve the Abyssal Blade? Retrieving the long-forgotten Magic Weapon from his bag, Shi Feng took a deep breath and declared, "Evolve!" 2307 Tier 3 Abyssal Blade Chapter 2307 - Tier 3 Abyssal Blade The moment Shi Feng tapped on the ''Evolve* button, the Abyssal Blade transformed into a cloud of black fog that moved toward his bag. The black fog began to devour every Mana Crystal in his bag like a ravenous wolf. The Mana within the Mana Crystals was only slightly less pure than within Seven Luminaries Crystals, and a single Mana Crystal contained enough mana to obliterate a small town from the face of the continent. When the Abyssal Blade devoured all 100 Mana Crystals, space around Shi Feng trembled violently with the transfer of such a frightening amount of energy. At the same time, a Dragon''s roar echoed across the island. It felt as if space were about to explode, making room for a Dragon''s arrival. Is this a Backlash? Shi Feng''s expression darkened. With every evolution, there was a chance that the Magic Weapon would release a Backlash, and each Backlash would be stronger than the last. If the weapon''s owner couldn''t cope with a single Backlash, it would cripple their account. Initially, Shi Feng had been confident of contending with a potential second Backlash, but based on the Mana fluctuations he sensed, he doubted that he had more than a 50% chance of surviving. Fortunately, the Mana only fluctuated for a few moments. After three seconds, the island returned to normal, and a pitch-black sword, decorated with engraved, draconic patterns, appeared some distance away. Despite standing five yards away from the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng could feel the Magic Weapons'' intense Dragon Might weighing him down. His heels even sunk into the ground. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon) Attack Power +4,055 All Attributes +320 Attack Speed +33 Ignore Levels +25 Attacks have: 70% chance to cause 250% damage. 40% chance to cause 300% damage. Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 30%. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +6. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Level 80. Can be upgraded (Devour forty Level 85 Dark-Gold Weapons to upgrade to Level 85). Equipment Tier 3. Can be evolved (Devour 5 God Crystals to evolve to Tier 4). Additional Active Skill 1: Phantom Kill (Tier 3). Instantly creates a doppelganger under the wielder''s control. Doppelganger has 95% of the wielder''s Attributes and all Skills. The wielder can swap positions with the doppelganger at any time. Duration: 2 minutes Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2: Abyssal Bind (Tier 3). Binds up to 5 enemies simultaneously and prevents movement, reducing Defense and Magic Resistance by 100%. The higher tiered the target is, the weaker the effect will be. Duration: 5 seconds Cooldown: 40 seconds Additional Active Skill 3: Nine Dragons Slash (Tier 3). Instantly creates 21 phantoms of the Abyssal Blade for wielder''s use; each phantom sword deals up to 80% damage. Duration: 60 seconds Cooldown: 8 minutes Additional Active Skill 4: Abyssal Curse (Tier 3). Prevents all targets within a 100-yard radius from moving or attacking for 6 seconds and reduces their Attributes by 20% for 10 minutes. Effect doubles if there is only one target in range. Cooldown: 30 minutes Additional Active Skill 5: Dragon Soul (Tier 3). Grants a doppelganger a Dragon Soul, transforming it into a Black Dragon. The transformed doppelganger will have the same Life Rating as a Black Dragon and can use the Skill Dragon Breath. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 24 hours Additional Passive Skill: Abyssal Will. Improves wielder''s physique depending on the surrounding Mana density. The higher the Mana density, the greater the improvement. Additional Profound Inheritance: Black Emperor (Tier 3). When activated, every critical hit will accumulate one stack of Death Aura. Each stack can be used to increase all Attributes by 4% and Attack Speed and Movement Speed by 3% for 12 seconds or to reduce the Cooldown of a skill by 5 seconds. Maximum of 27 stacks of Death Aura. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 6 hours The Famed Smith Olysses personally created the Abyssal Blade using the Black Dragon King''s fangs as material. It is one of thirty-six Famed Swords, ranking 31st. However, the Black Dragon King himself has cursed this sword. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. However, after Jack had remodeled the Abyssal Blade with a Star Crystal, the strength of the Backlash has been reduced greatly. If the wielder is unable to suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 50%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. So powerful! Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the evolved Abyssal Blade''s Attribute Panel. The Abyssal Blade''s Attributes might not compare to the Twilight Bade and Killing Ray quite yet, but its Attributes could rival that of a top-tier Level 85 Epic Weapon, despite being only a Level 80 Magic Weapon. However, the improved Attributes weren''t the most shocking aspect. The Abyssal Blade''s Skills had drastically improved now that it was a Tier 3 weapon. Now, it was the perfect weapon to use against groups. Not even an ordinary Fragmented Legendary Weapon would be its match in this regard. Seeing the Tier 3 Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng couldn''t even imagine how much it would improve once it reached Tier 4. Of course, evolving the Magic Weapon further would be immensely more difficult than it had been thus far, requiring God Crystals, and five of them, at that. One could only rely on luck to find God Crystals, which were even rarer and more difficult to locate than Epic Weapons. She Feng then unequipped Killing Ray, replacing it with the Abyssal Blade. So, this is the Abyssal Blade''s power after another evolution? As he equipped the Magic Weapon, Shi Feng was astounded. His Attack Power and Basic Attributes might have decreased, but he was more compatible with the Abyssal Blade than he was with Killing Ray. The weapon felt like an extension of his body in his hand, and it was now unimaginably sharp. In its current state, the Abyssal Blade could easily slice through a Level 100-plus Great Lord''s scales. Moreover, the Magic Weapon''s effects had substantially improved, and he could feel his physique growing considerably stronger. Despite replacing Killing Ray with a lower-leveled weapon, his overall combat power hadn''t decreased in the slightest. Rather, it had risen. After taking a moment to familiarize himself with the upgraded Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng shifted his attention to the graves within the inner region. The goal of his Promotion Quest was to locate the lost Blade Saint Legacy. Obviously, it should be inside one of those graves. The countless Forgotten Spirits wandering through the forest and the Heroic Spirits guarding each grave were the only obstacles in his way. A few minutes ago, Shi Feng had been helpless against the wandering Forgotten Spirits, but now that he had the Tier 3 Abyssal Blade, defeating the Undead wouldn''t be a problem.. Now, he only had to figure out a way to distract the Heroic Spirits while he opened the graves. Unfortunately, since he didn''t know which grave contained the Legacy, he decided to challenge Heroic Spirit guarding the nearest and smallest grave. The instant Shi Feng crossed through the translucent barrier, the Undead roaming near the chosen grave sensed Shi Feng''s aura and charged toward him. Although the Forgotten Spirits didn''t have very high intellect, even a peak expert would have to flee if several dozen attacked together. "Go!" Shi Feng immediately activated Nine Dragons Slash. Like a group of experts, the 21 Abyssal Blade phantoms flew forth to open a path for Shi Feng. Although each phantom only possessed 90% of Shi Feng''s Strength, the Attribute was just as high as an actual Level 100, Tier 3 player''s. As a result, the Abyssal Blade phantoms effortlessly suppressed the approaching Forgotten Spirits. With one exchange, the phantoms shoved aside the several dozen Undead, allowing Shi Feng to reach the small grave. "This is a resting place for the dead! The living have no place here!" the spear-wielding Tier 3 Heroic Spirit guarding the grave bellowed as he thrust his spear at Shi Feng. [Forgotten Heroic Spirit] (Undead, Tier 3 Berserker King) Level 10 HP 54,000,000/54,000,000 Although the Heroic Spirit did not have a lot of HP, he employed an Advanced Combat Technique with that simple thrust, causing his opponent to ignore the weapon unconsciously. Moreover, the attack contained Peak Tier 3 power, easily enough to repulse Level 100-plus Grand Lords. If this attack struck a Tier 3 player, they''d die instantly. Witnessing the Heroic Spirit''s strength, Shi Feng lost any confidence in defeating the Undead. Fortunately, he didn''t actually plan to fight the Heroic Spirit. Shi Feng responded to the attack by using Phantom Kill, sending his doppelganger forward while activating Defensive Blade to block the strike. Shi Feng then rushed toward the grave. The moment Shi Feng touched the grave, a prompt window appeared before him. System: Do you wish to activate the grave and absorb a portion of the grave owner''s Legacy? Ecstatic, Shi Feng activated the grave. However, a loading bar appeared the moment he did. Activating the grave would require a total of eight seconds. When the Heroic Spirit sensed the grave''s activation, he flew into a rage. Ignoring Shi Feng''s doppelganger, the Heroic Spirit dashed toward the offending player. Sure enough, this won''t be that easy. As the Heroic Spirit ran toward him, Shi Feng stopped holding back. He had his doppelganger activate its Legacy Berserk Skill, Blade Liberation, focusing all of his attention on controlling the doppelganger as it attacked the Heroic Spirit. Lightning Flash! A web of sword lights enveloped the Heroic Spirit, yet the Undead didn''t seem concerned in the least. He spun and met the attack with his spear. Peng... Peng... Peng... The sounds of clanging metal echoed throughout the forest. Not only had the Heroic Spirit blocked every sword light the doppelganger had sent at him, but he managed to do so without stumbling a single step backward. The doppelganger wasn''t a match for the Heroic Spirit, but Shi Feng didn''t care. His only goal was to delay the Tier 3 Heroic Spirit for eight seconds, not defeat him. Shi Feng finally absorbed a portion of the grave owner''s Legacy as he sacrificed his doppelganger. As he did, a Legacy Completion Rate section had appeared in his quest window. System: Legacy Completion Rate 15%. Do you wish to accept this Legacy? So, that''s how this works. Shi Feng immediately understood how he was supposed to complete his Promotion Quest. Every grave in this lush forest contained the Blade Saint Legacy, but each grave contained a different Completion Rate of the Legacy, which couldn''t be combined. It was up to him to decide how much of the Legacy he wanted to leave with. Following which, Shi Feng abandoned the Completion Rate he had acquired from the small grave and escaped through the barrier. The moment he crossed the magic barrier, the Forgotten Spirits and Heroic Spirit chasing him gave up and returned to their original positions. Now that he understood his quest''s mechanics, Shi Feng set his sights on the higher-quality graves in the island''s inner region. Naturally, the more magnificent graves were guarded by stronger Heroic Spirits. The largest grave sat within the forest''s core, as opulent as a palace with a Level 100, Tier 4 Heroic Spirit standing guard. The graves that were a grade inferior to the palace-like grave in the center were protected by Heroic Spirits with titles. Heroic Spirits that earned a title after their deaths had been Heroes among Heroes during their lives. Killing apex experts of the same tier would''ve been child''s play. Although they had lost a significant portion of the strength after death, they could still kill apex experts with little-to-no effort. I can only give it a try. Shi Feng gritted his teeth as he set his sights on a greatsword-wielding, titled Heroic Spirit. He knew he had no hope of activating the grandest grave in the cemetery. The gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 existences was massive, let alone the gap between Tier 2 and Tier 4. The moment the Tier 4 Heroic Spirit noticed him, he''d die. However, he wasn''t willing to settle for third-grade graves. After all, the Legacy''s Completion Rate would severely affect the Tier 3 Promotion Quest''s rewards. At the very least, he had to try for the second-grade graves. Once his Skills'' Cooldowns had finished, Shi Feng dashed into the inner region once more, running straight for a grave that was the size of a small high-rise. 2308 Abyssal Blades Migh Chapter 2308 - Abyssal Blade''s Might Shi Feng''s target was near the center of the forest. Simply approaching it would be incredibly difficult due to the groups of Forgotten Spirits that moved closer together near the forest''s core. If Shi Feng relied on his own strength to reach the grave, he wouldn''t get close to it, much less activate it. Several hundred Forgotten Spirits flew toward him, and Shi Feng felt his scalp go numb. Fortunately, he was barely able to keep the Forgotten Spirits out of attack range with the 21 Abyssal Blades fighting for him. Nine Dragons Slash had a time limit, however, so he couldn''t stop the Undead like this forever. Although Shi Feng was confident that he could escape these monsters with his life, if he couldn''t keep the Forgotten Spirits at bay, that would be it. He wouldn''t be able to do anything more. If he wished to secure the second-grade Legacy, it was crucial that he utilized Nine Dragons Slash''s duration efficiently. It took me 42 seconds to reach this grave, which is about as long as I estimated. Glancing at Nine Dragons Slash''s remaining duration, Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. I should be able to activate the grave within the remaining time. There were two reasons that Shi Feng had passed up the highest-grade grave. Naturally, the first was the Tier 4 Heroic Spirit that guarded it. His second reason was the lack of time. Reaching and activating the second-grade graves within Nine Dragons Slash''s 60-second duration was his limit. Before Shi Feng could catch his breath, the silver-armored, greatsword-wielding Heroic Spirit that guarded the gravestone abruptly opened his eyes. A faint, red barrier then enveloped the gravesite, decreasing Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes and physique by 20%. [Urdia (Flame Knight)] (Heroic Spirit, Tier 3 Berserker King) Level 101 HP 78,000,000/78,000,000 A Domain?! Shi Feng''s expression darkened as he stared at Urdia. Shi Feng had assumed that Urdia had the strength to instant-kill Tier 3 players, but he had never thought that the Heroic Spirit would be this powerful. Urdia might not have a lot more HP than the Heroic Spirit he had fought earlier, but he was definitely much stronger. Purely regarding Basic Attributes, he had to be 30% stronger than the Forgotten Heroic Spirit. In combination with its Domain, which only Tier 4 NPCs and above could grasp, Urdia could squash Tier 3 players like ants. "I commend your bravery, adventurer. Over the several millennia I have stood guard, you''re the first to dare approach in search of the Blade Saint''s Legacy. I hope you can offer some entertainment," Urdia leisurely commented. Unlike the Forgotten Heroic Spirit, which had attacked immediately, he joked around like a player as he slowly approached Shi Feng. Seeing this, a chill crawled down Shi Feng''s spine. They might be dead Heroes, but Heroic Spirits weren''t considered NPCs in God''s Domain. Because of this, their intellect shouldn''t be as high as NPCs''. However, that was obviously not the case for Urdia. This was also the first time Shi Feng had encountered such an intelligent Heroic Spirit. Seeing that Urdia was already 50 yards away, Shi Feng activated the Ring of Gospels Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance as a precaution. Unfortunately, Shi Feng could tell that wouldn''t be enough after the two Skills had taken effect. He then activated Blade Liberation to bolster his Basic Attributes further, and at the same time, he activated the Twilight Blade''s Twilight of the Gods and Twilight''s Shadow, splitting into eight clones. With Twilight of the Gods and Blade Liberation active, Shi Feng''s physical doppelgangers inherited the Skills'' effects. Now, every one of his doppelgangers had the Strength to rival Grand Lords of the same level. If eight Level 100 Grand Lords worked together, they could even take on a Level 100 Mythic monster. However, before Shi Feng could control his doppelgangers, Urdia vanished, reappearing before Shi Feng''s clones. The Heroic Spirit brandished his flaming greatsword, sending eight crimson sword lights at all eight doppelgangers. Shi Feng''s doppelgangers reacted quickly, intercepting the attacks with their swords. However, the moment the crimson sword lights met the doppelgangers'' blades, the impact threw them over a dozen yards before they slammed into the ground, their swords humming. Each doppelganger instantly lost over 20,000 HP... A Bronze Combat Technique? Shi Feng''s expression turned grim when he saw the outcome. Extreme Slash! Although Urdia had only executed Eight Extreme Slashes, one fewer than Miracle Dragon''s Nine Extreme Slashes, Urdia''s mastery with the technique was far greater than Miracle Dragon''s. He had mastered the Advanced Combat Technique until he had upgraded it into a Bronze Combat Technique. This was a Tier 3 Heroic Spirit that could use Bronze Combat Techniques! No one would''ve believed Shi Feng if he had told them about Urdia''s abilities in his previous life. Some might even mock him for his stupidity. Heroic Spirits might have once been Heroes, but they weren''t anymore. They particularly lacked intellect and weren''t even a match for ordinary NPCs regarding this aspect. Seeing a Heroic Spirit execute an Advanced Combat Technique was already quite impressive. Most Tier 3 NPCs couldn''t even master a Bronze Combat Technique, much less a Tier 3 Heroic Spirit. And yet, the impossible had just happened... After repelling the eight doppelgangers, Urdia shifted his gaze to Shi Feng''s main body. He executed Flame Charge, transforming into a fiery meteor as he flew toward the Swordsman. Based on how this Flame Charge appeared, Urdia''s Skill Completion Rate should be 99% or 100%. Shi Feng didn''t dare take Urdia''s charge head-on. If the Heroic Spirit had already thrown his doppelgangers, he could definitely send Shi Feng flying. Shi Feng activated Phantom Kill, summoning another doppelganger and having it activate Blade Liberation and Defensive Blade to intercept the approaching Berserker King. If he died during his Tier 3 Promotion Quest, he''d have to wait a long time before he could challenge it again. It was a risk he wasn''t willing to take. However, the moment Shi Feng''s doppelganger activated Defensive Blade, urdia canceled his Flame Charge and thrust his flaming greatsword into the ground. Dozens of fiery blades the rose from the dirt, flying toward the doppelganger. Tier 3 Skill, Storm Garrote! Defensive Blade''s block counts were exhausted in an instant. Seeing this, Shi Feng had no choice but to focus most of his attention on his doppelganger and executed Sword''s Orbit. When the galaxy of stars and the flaming blades met, both attacks shattered. Although the doppelganger had successfully blocked the attacks, it had been forced to stumble over a dozen steps backward. Moreover, each attack had devoured nearly 10,000 of the doppelganger''s HP. With just one Skill, Urdia had dealt over -200,000 damage... As they kept the Forgotten Spirits away from the gravesite, the Abyssal Blade phantom''s duration continued to decrease, and Shi Feng''s doppelganger couldn''t keep Urdia distracted. It began to make Shi Feng even more nervous. If he activated Twofold Berserk, he could hold Urdia off, but he needed to activate the grave with his main body. There was no point in trying to distract the Heroic Spirit himself. He intended to reserve Absolute Domain for his escape from this place. Even if he activated the grave and obtained the Legacy contained within, he would fail his quest without it "Your doppelgangers are quite good, but this is as far as you''ll get!" Urdia declared, chuckling when he realized Shi Feng''s doppelganger had survived his Storm Garrote. Urdia pulled his greatsword from the ground and appeared before the doppelganger. He executed Eight Extreme Slashes once more, but this time, he concentrated all eight attacks on a single target. "Dragon Soul!" Shi Feng understood that if his doppelganger died, this quest would come to an end. Hence, he decided to use the Abyssal Blade''s strongest Skill, Dragon Soul. Right now, every Attribute point mattered. Shi Feng''s doppelganger roared, the sound filling the entire forest. As it did, the doppelganger transformed into a ten- meter-tall, pitch-black Dragon. It had more than doubled in size than when the Abyssal Blade had only been a Tier 2 weapon. Seeing the eight sword lights fly toward it, Shi Feng''s doppelganger swiped a single claw to block them all. Boom! The sword lights slammed into the doppelganger''s claw, and an intense shockwave shook the forest, only fading after extending 100 yards away. A spatial tear had even appeared before the Dragon''s claw, and the doppelganger only stumbled a step back. 2309 Blade Saint Legacy Secured Chapter 2309 - Blade Saint Legacy Secured So strong! Shi Feng was surprised to see his doppelganger only lose a little over 5,000 HP after receiving Urdia''s Eight Extreme Slashes. Although his doppelganger had already been quite powerful with Dragon Soul active, nearly invincible among beings of the same tier, it had grown even stronger, especially its Strength and Defense. In these two Attributes, his doppelganger could practically rival Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Moreover, the size of the Black Dragon''s body afforded Shi Feng plenty of advantages. Before the Black Dragon''s ten- meter-tall frame, Urdia looked like little more than a small animal. The doppelganger wouldn''t have any issue stopping the Heroic Spirit''s attacks. However, Urdia didn''t pause after his attack failed. He immediately appeared before the Black Dragon''s head, his flaming greatsword transforming into a colossal pillar of fire. Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Burning Sword! When the fire pillar completed its transformation, it stretched across 100 yards. The Black Dragon looked tiny before the flaming weapon, and Urdia swung it down on the doppelganger. Not even Shi Feng could escape the pillar''s range, much less the Black Dragon. "Don''t think I''m so easy to kill!" As the fire pillar descended, Shi Feng had his Black Dragon use Dragon Breath. Unlike the Dragon Breath Skill from his Heavenly Dragon''s Breath ring, the Black Dragon''s ability was the real deal. According to legend, a Tier 5 Dragon Breath could vaporize an entire city instantly. The true Dragon Breath was easily more powerful than any Taboo Skill or Curse, essentially rivaling Divine Arts. The Black Dragon opened its maw, and a horrific amount of Mana concentrated between its jaws. In the blink of an eye, a pitch-black energy ball as large as a small house had taken shape, and as the Black Dragon released a deafening roar, the energy ball reformed as a pillar of pitch-black light, firing toward the Heroic Spirit''s pillar of fire. Boom! The Dragon Breath and Burning Sword slammed into each other, creating a shockwave that shook their surroundings and didn''t dissipate until it had spread 500 yards away. At the point of impact, space had crumbled, forming a black hole. It felt as if Armageddon had begun. Sure enough, the true Dragon Breath is far more powerful! Shi Feng could not help but be astonished when he saw Urdia being sent flying. Shi Feng had only hoped that the Black Dragon would stop Urdia''s killing move; he hadn''t actually expected the doppelganger to win that exchange, dealing over -30,000 damage to the Heroic Spirit. Urdia wasn''t in danger of dying after losing 30,000 HP, but it was enough damage for the Black Dragon to hold the Heroic Spirit''s aggro. Now, Urdia''s focus had turned away from Shi Feng''s main body. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shi Feng charged at the gravestone. System: Do you wish to activate the grave and absorb a portion of the grave owner''s Legacy? Without any hesitation, Shi Feng activated the grave the moment the prompt window appeared. Like the previous grave, a loading bar appeared when he activated. However, this loading bar required 12 seconds, rather than the 8 seconds the previous grave had required. Shi Feng celebrated the fact that he had decided to keep Absolute Defense in reserve. Had he used the Skill to stop Urdia, rather than rely on Dragon Soul, he would''ve died halfway through the activation process. Unfortunately, the instant Shi Feng activated the grave, Urdia went berserk. Ignoring the Black Dragon, the Heroic Spirit dashed toward Shi Feng. Only a little over 100 yards separated Urdia and Shi Feng, and a titled, Tier 3 Heroic Spirit would only need a few steps to cross that distance. However, the Black Dragon intercepted Urdia near the halfway mark, using its massive frame to keep the Heroic Spirit away from Shi Feng. The Black Dragon then swiped a claw at its foe. The Black Dragon''s claw was the size of a car, and although Urdia sensed the incoming attack, he couldn''t dodge it in time, relying on his greatsword to block it. As the claw slid along the massive blade, dazzling sparks flew from the weapon. Urdia knocked away the Black Dragon''s claw with his greatsword. Now, he fully displayed the Strength of a Tier 3 Heroic Spirit. Even a Tier 2 Dragon would find him a difficult opponent. Fortunately, there wasn''t a particularly large difference between the two combatants'' Basic Attributes. Although the Heroic Spirit had knocked away the Black Dragon''s claw, the Dragon steadily remained in its original position. It had only taken a little over -2,000 damage from the clash. The Black Dragon had tens of millions of HP, so this amount of damage was nothing. Realizing this, Urdia stopped relying on brute-force to break past the Black Dragon. Instead, he executed a combat technique, transforming into seven phantoms that charged at Shi Feng''s main body. Advanced Combat Technique, Flowing Shadow! The seven phantoms looked and felt exactly the same; not even Shi Feng could tell the difference. But he wasn''t ready to give up just yet. In response, he executed Lightning Slash through his Black Dragon. As a Bronze Combat Technique, Shi Feng even had trouble executing Lightning Flash with his main body, not to mention with a doppelganger, but the Black Dragon''s physique was far superior to his, so Shi Feng barely managed to pull it off. Fourteen claw strikes then plowed into the seven phantoms. Peng... Peng... Peng... Metallic clangs echoed through the cemetery as Urdia blocked all 14 strikes. The Black Dragon lost over 30,000 HP and stumbled a step back, but it had achieved its goal and stopped Urdia''s advance. Only, Shi Feng had paled from the effort of executing Lightning Flash with the Black Dragon. It consumed so much Concentration? Shi Feng could feel a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He had expended significantly more Concentration when executing the Bronze Combat Technique through the Black Dragon than when he used the technique himself. Of course, Urdia hadn''t given up. He executed Flowing Shadow again, trying to reach Shi Feng. With no other options, Shi Feng continued to rely on Lightning Flash to stop Urdia. Two times... Three times... Four times... Every time Shi Feng executed Lightning Flash, a considerable portion of his Concentration slipped away. By the time he executed the technique for the sixth time, he felt mentally lethargic. However, he still needed five more seconds to complete the activation process. By the time Shi Feng executed Lightning Flash a ninth time, his complexion was as white as paper. He felt a stinging pain in his head, and the world seemed to spin around him. Now, he couldn''t even control the Abyssal Blade phantoms to stop the swarming Undead. A large number of Forgotten Spirits flew toward Shi Feng, and Urdia circled the Black Dragon, appearing before Shi Feng''s main body. The Heroic Spirit swung his flaming greatsword down on the Swordsman. Eight Extreme Slashes! Eight massive sword lights appeared and threatened to devour Shi Feng completely. When the eight sword lights were only an inch away from him, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and activated Absolute Domain. Golden, divine runes immediately began to appear on his body. As the eight sword lights crossed that final inch, they came to an abrupt halt against the divine runes, unable to touch Shi Feng. With Absolute Domain''s protection, neither Urdia nor the Forgotten Spirits could harm Shi Feng. Needless to say, they couldn''t stop Shi Feng from activating the grave, either. System: Legacy Completion Rate 85%. Do you wish to accept this Legacy? 2310 Urdia Versus Anna Chapter 2310 - Urdia Versus Anna As soon as he saw the system notification, Shi Feng accepted the Legacy. He didn''t know how good a Legacy with an 85% Completion Rate would be, but it was undoubtedly better than the 15% Legacy he had found earlier. After Shi Feng accepted the Legacy, countless divine runes began to flow from the grave toward him, forming a glowing imprint on the back of his hand. Suddenly, Shi Feng bore the mark of a purple-gold sword. The moment the mark formed, Urdia descended into madness. His muscles bulged, and a cloak of fire enveloped his frame. The temperature around him soared, and the flaming cloak burned the earth under his feet to black ash. If Shi Feng hadn''t activated Absolute Domain, he''d likely lose astonishing amounts of HP due to his proximity to the Heroic Spirit. With Urdia going into full berserk mode and his Absolute Domain''s duration almost up, Shi Feng switched the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Aura of Earth to the Aura of Wind and activated Gale Domain to make a hasty retreat. While all forms of teleportation were prohibited in the Void Land''s inner area, flying, fortunately, was not. Gale Domain was Shi Feng''s only hope of escaping from the inner area. Without it, he wouldn''t have any chance of leaving the inner region even if he had the Legacy. He no longer had Nine Dragons Slash to rely on, and he had a titled, Tier 3 Heroic Spirit after him. However, before Shi Feng could leave the grave, Urdia charged forth like a meteor. The Heroic Spirit was so fast that not even the Black Dragon could stop him in time. Boom! Urdia crashed into Shi Feng, and the golden, divine runes that protected him actually trembled. This hadn''t even happened when Urdia had hacked and slashed at Shi Feng earlier. The Heroic Spirit proceeded to brandish his flaming greatsword at Shi Feng, over and over. For a moment, even Shi Feng was helpless against the countless sword lights; he couldn''t keep up with the speed of any of these attacks. Urdia''s Attack Speed wasn''t that much faster than his, but he couldn''t keep up with the Heroic Spirit''s reaction speed. With Urdia''s Basic Attributes, the Heroic Spirit could finish Shi Feng off in two or three hits, even if Shi Feng activated Twofold Berserk. Absolute Domain only had six seconds remaining, and Shi Feng was still nearly 1,500 yards away from the inner region''s barrier. Throwing caution to the wind, he flew straight for the barrier. Despite the fact that Urdia couldn''t fly, the Undead had no issues keeping up with Shi Feng, continuously attacking the fleeing Swordsman. Every one of Urdia''s attacks had enough power to injure Mythic monsters. Shi Feng would''ve already died several times if it hadn''t been for Absolute Domain''s protection. Five seconds! Three seconds! One second! Unfortunately, Shi Feng''s flying speed was fast, but he couldn''t reach the barrier within six seconds. He was still roughly 500 yards from his target when Absolute Domains effects wore off. As soon as they did, Shi Feng felt a scorching heat envelop his body, dealing -10,000 damage per second. Seeing the divine runes fade from Shi Feng''s body, Urdia sneered at his prey. He pushed off the ground and arrived before Shi Feng in an instant, plunging his flaming greatsword down on Shi Feng''s head. Eight Extreme Slashes! This time, every one of the eight sword lights contained Tier 4 power. Not even the Black Dragon would be strong enough to block the attack, much less Shi Feng. Fortunately, Shi Feng had prepared for this moment and activated Defensive Blade. Peng... Peng... Peng... Another series of metallic clangs echoed throughout the forest. Urdia had exhausted over half of Defensive Blade''s block counts in that one exchange. By the time Defensive Blade ended, Shi Feng had only moved 50 yards closer to the barrier. As Urdia was about to launch another attack, Shi Feng activated Abyssal Bind. Over 20 pitch-black chains emerged from the void, binding Urdia and forcing the Heroic Spirit to a grinding halt. At Tier 3, Abyssal Bind could hold a target for up to five seconds, and it should be 100% effective against a Tier 3 being like Urdia. It was also Shi Feng''s final trump card. Peng! However, before Shi Feng could relax, he heard the sound of a chain shattering. When he had gone berserk, Urdia had become nearly stronger than a Mythic monster. It had only taken the Heroic Spirit an instant to shatter one of the chains. As if they were made of paper, the other chains began to break, one after another. "For the crime of desecrating a saint''s grave, you will die!" Urdia bellowed as he swung his freed arms, slashing his greatsword at Shi Feng, who stood over 50 yards away. As Urdia swung his greatsword, a torrent of fire swept toward Shi Feng. Shi Feng spun, meeting the attack with his swords as the flames were about to hit him. Void Shield! Boom! The Void Shield, which had 10 times Shi Feng''s maximum HP, nearly shattered as a result of the attack, and the impact threw Shi Feng backward over 30 yards. What a frightening move! Shi Feng silently celebrated when he saw that his Void Shield had only cracked. If he hadn''t responded appropriately, that attack would''ve killed him. Urdia was far more powerful than Shi Feng had imagined. Had he allowed his strength and greed to blind him, challenging the largest grave instead, he would''ve died the moment his Absolute Domain''s duration ended. Meanwhile, thanks to Urdia''s attack, Shi Feng and the Heroic Spirit were now separated by 100 yards. Although Abyssal Bind wouldn''t hold down Urdia for five seconds, it should be able to keep him in place for two. Fortunately, as a Tier 3 Heroic Spirit, Urdia couldn''t attack a target that was so far away. In the remaining two seconds, Shi Feng widened the gap between him and his pursuer by more than 300 yards. Urdia''s Movement Speed was much higher than Shi Feng''s, but during a chance, Urdia would need some time to get within attack range. Meanwhile, Shi Feng continued to move closer to the barrier. 150 yards... 100 yards... 50 yards... When Urdia was less than 80 yards away from Shi Feng and was about to bombard the fleeing Swordsman once more, Shi Feng finally slipped through the magic barrier. Enraged, Urdia sent another wave of fire at Shi Feng, but this time, Shi Feng retrieved a Summon Guard Scroll and called forth Anna. As Anna appeared before him, Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. He might not be a match for a titled, Tier 3 Heroic Spirit, but that wasn''t the case for Anna. Anna was an Epic Guard with a 113-point Growth Potential. She might not rival an NPC Hero of the same Tier, but she wasn''t far from it. She''d have no problems holding off Urdia. Calmly, Anna swung her staff and cast a Spell in response to Urdia''s fiery attack. A black-white, two-fold magic array appeared before the Personal Guard. The moment Urdia''s flames encountered the array, it looked like they had crashed into the side of a rocky mountain. No matter how much fire crashed into and burned the magic array, they didn''t do any damage. "Alright! Let''s leave!" With Urdia chasing after him, even after he had crossed the inner region''s magic barrier, Shi Feng immediately activated the Tier 2 Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll he had pulled from his bag earlier, leaving the island with Anna by his side. 2311 Mana Body Chapter 2311 - Mana Body Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Once Shi Feng and Anna had arrived in the Void Land''s safe zone, he used a Return Scroll and teleported back to White River City. However, he nearly thought he had arrived at the wrong place when he emerged from the teleportation array. Many of the players in the Teleportation Hall had already reached Level 90, and there were quite a few Level 91 players among the crowd. Not even Dragonheart Island''s experts should''ve reached this level yet. He had only been busy with his Tier 3 Promotion Quest for a few days. The effects of the Planar Passages opening early are so drastic? The open Planar Passages was the only explanation Shi Feng could think of. The Planar Passages'' activation wouldn''t just lead to new players on the main continent; it would also bring in an abundance of resources, including leveling resources. During Shi Feng''s previous life, the Planar Passages'' activation had triggered a leveling frenzy among the main continent''s players, but it had been nothing compared to this. However, after giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng knew such a situation wasn''t impossible. His presence in God''s Domain had already caused a significant butterfly effect, and players in this life leveled much faster than in the past. With the Planar Passages activating before mainstream players had even reached Level 100, the increased resources would have a greater effect on players. With so many excellent grinding spots available, it was only natural that players would level up faster than before. As Shi Feng was about to leave the Teleportation Hall, a 100-man team of independent players walked into the building. Noticing the team''s arrival, many players in the hall turned their attention to the newcomers, chatting quietly amongst themselves. "Quick, look! It_s Silver Arrow!" They must be heading out to raid another Level 95 Team Dungeon. I wonder when our adventurer team will be ready to do the same." "Your adventurer team? Dream on. Even the Black Dragon Empire''s players are just starting to raid Level 95 Team Dungeons, not to mention Star-Moon Kingdom''s players. Moreover, Silver Arrow was one of the first adventurer teams to join the Shadowless Adventurer Alliance, and it''s received a lot of help from the Shadow Empire adventurer team[l]. "I guess you''re right. But joining the Shadowless Adventurer Alliance is so difficult. I''ve heard that many of the well- known adventurer teams from the neighboring kingdoms have been rejected." "That''s right. The passing rate is incredibly low, but as long as an adventurer team becomes a member, it''ll undergo a metamorphosis. Not only will its overall strength significantly increase, but not even first-rate Guilds and superpowers'' experts would dare to mess with it." The various players discussing the Silver Arrow adventurer team did so in envy. Most of Silver Arrow''s members had already reached Level 92, which not even superpowers'' main force members had reached. The surrounding players were even more jealous when they saw the equipment Silver Arrow''s members wore. Every member of the adventurer team had a full set of Level 90 Fine-Gold Equipment. Although many expert players had climbed to Level 90 or above due to the Planar Passages, very few had acquired Level 90 weapons and equipment, much less top-tier items. With a full set of Level 90 Fine-Gold Equipment, players would qualify to raid Level 95 Team Dungeons. The Otherworlds'' adventurer alliances have already developed this far? Shi Feng had to admit that he was a little surprised to see Silver Arrow''s members. The Otherworlds'' adventurer teams had only begun to form adventurer alliances after the main continent''s various powers had tried to invade these Otherworlds multiple times in the past. The adventurer alliances had then relied on independent players to contest for the Level 100-plus neutral maps on the main continent, at which point, many of the main continent''s powers had begun to perish. Shi Feng had never thought the butterfly effect would be so massive that Otherworlds'' powers would form adventurer alliances by this stage of the game. With this, these Otherworld powers would pose a much greater threat to the main continent''s powers than they had during his previous life. After the commotion Silver Arrow''s team had caused, Shi Feng rushed out of the Teleportation Hall and made his way to the library. He had thought that he was far ahead of most players since he had reached Level 100 and completed his Tier 3 Promotion Quest. He also had Cola and the others, who had already reached Level 95 and beyond. They should reach Level 100 soon. However, it seemed that the butterfly effect he had caused would be disastrous for him. If he couldn''t quickly become a Lord of a neutral map, as the various superpowers in the past had, both he and Zero Wing would vanish into history. Half an hour later, Shi Feng arrived at the top floor of White River City''s library. He found Sharlyn quietly reading an ancient tome from her throne at the far end of the Star-Moon Hall. You really know how to surprise people. I thought you''d be stuck there for several months," Sharlyn said, smiling as she pulled her gaze from the book and looked at Shi Feng. "Are you really prepared to inherit your Legacy? You only have one opportunity. Your performance will greatly affect your future." Yes, I''m ready." Shi Feng nodded. The Tier 3 Promotion Quest consisted of two parts. Locating the lost Legacy was the first part, and inheriting it was the second. The second part was also the most important of the Promotion Quest, in which, one would change their body''s Mana framework. As a major turning point in God''s Domain, players'' physiques and their body''s Mana framework would transform when they reached Tier 3. Of course, not all Mana frameworks were equal. The difference in their strengths would even exist among players with ordinary Tier 3 classes. Players inherited a variety of Legacies, and those with different Mana frameworks would display varying levels of strength. However, these differences wouldn''t display in a player''s physique, but would affect the world''s rules. For example, Tier 2 players could only survive for a short time in Level 100-plus neutral maps due to the areas'' environments, even if they just stood there and did nothing. In comparison, Tier 3 players could survive for a long time in a Level 100-plus neutral map due to their body''s Mana framework. The stronger a player''s Mana framework was, the greater their survivability would be in poor environments. Their Mana framework would also largely impact their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates. This was why Tier 3 classes had such a huge impact in God''s Domain. Although Shi Feng had already obtained his Legacy, he wasn''t out of the woods yet. His ability to inherit the Legacy was far more important. Shi Feng had only completed a Tier 3 Bronze Legacy in the past, and although the Bronze Legacy had been among the best of its peers, and he had formed a nearly perfect Mana Body, it hadn''t been enough to get him through his Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Normally, only players with a Silver ranked Mana Body could survive in the harsh environments that served as the venue for Tier 4 Promotion Quests. As a result, he had always been a step away from clearing the quest in his previous life. Of course, if he had had a piece of Legendary Equipment back then, the results would''ve been different. Even a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment would''ve changed the outcome significantly. Unfortunately, he never managed to find one, so he hadn''t been able to cross that threshold. "Alright, this is your decision, but you must remember that your time is limited! Don''t bite off more than you can chew!" Sharlyn warned. Seeing how determined Shi Feng was to see the rest of his Promotion Quest through, she began to chant the incantation. The sword mark on the back of Shi Feng''s right hand began to burn, and at the same time, countless divine runes appeared across his body, gradually forming a gigantic, fourfold magic array. Three windows displaying Mana Body samples then appeared before him, each more complex than the last. Shi Feng was ecstatic the moment he saw the magic array and sample Mana Bodies. The number of layers the magic array had, which would construct the Mana Body, represented the rank of the Mana Body that could be created. A single-layered magic array represented Bronze rank, a two-layered magic array represented Silver rank, and so on. The Mana Body samples represented the complete Mana Body''s standard. The first sample represented the Basic standard, the second represented the Intermediate standard, and the third represented the Advanced standard. However, the magic array that enveloped Shi Feng now had four layers. He had never heard of a fourfold magic array creating a Mana Body before. 2312 Advanced Epic Chapter 2312 - Advanced Epic Once Sharlyn had formed the magic array, a series of system notification rang in Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations on completing your Tier 3 Promotion Quest and obtaining the Blade Saint Legacy. Legacy Completion Rate 85%. Advanced Epic Legacy received. You have four hours to construct your Mana Body. System: Congratulations on being the first player to complete the Tier 3 Promotion Quest. You will have one additional hour to construct your Mana Body. Epic rank?! Shi Feng was stunned when he read the system notifications. The highest-rank Mana Body he had heard of during his previous life had only been Gold rank, and only one out of every 10,000 experts had earned a Gold ranked Mana Body during their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. These experts had been powerhouses in Level 100-plus neutral maps, strong enough to give the various superpowers massive headaches. A Gold Mana Body provided more than high adaptability to harsh environments; it also elevated players'' Stamina and Concentration recovery rates to extraordinary highs. Players'' Stamina and Concentration would recover by absorbing the Mana around them. Depending on the density of the Mana in the area, their recovery rates would increase by 30% to 60%. With such a significant improvement to their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates, players would no longer have to rely on Stamina equipment, replacing such items with equipment that provided more raw power. This was why players with Gold Mana Bodies were so much stronger than ordinary experts and could freely roam in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Even superpowers would find these players quite challenging to hunt down. This was also why the various superpowers'' influence on independent players would significantly decrease when they reached Tier 3, even to the extent that top adventurer teams could begin to contend with superpowers. The Midnight Tea Party was a prime example of this. After Level 100, players had had an absurdly difficult time trying to join the Midnight Tea Party during Shi Feng''s previous life. Once the adventurer team''s members had reached Tier 3, a Gold ranked Mana Body had become a requirement for joining the team. Even superpowers had been helpless against an entire group of experts with Gold Mana Bodies in Level 100-plus neutral maps. And Shi Feng hadn''t even heard of an Epic Mana Body. Moreover, he now had a total of five hours to construct his Mana Body. In the past, he had only had one hour to construct his Bronze Mana Body, and players with Gold Mana Bodies had only been given two hours. The process of constructing a Mana Body was mostly the same across the board. The outcome depended on how much one could complete in the allotted time, and one''s progress depended on how much time they invested in the trials. "You can begin your Mana Body''s construction now. Remember, you only have five hours. If you fail to complete a Mana Body before time runs out, the magic array will grant you the most basic Mana Body available, and your efforts will have gone to waste," Sharlyn reminded Shi Feng seriously. "Understood." He nodded, understanding how important this matter was. Immediately, Shi Feng carefully inspected the three Mana Body samples hovering before him. Each of the Mana Bodies displayed was different and more complicated than the last. The simplest of the three was several times more complex than the Peak Bronze Legacy''s Mana Body he had obtained in the past. Not only did these samples involve magic arrays, but they also required divine runes and refined Mana manipulation. Any ordinary player might be able to copy the Mana Body samples blindly, but their Completion Rate wouldn''t be high. Naturally, a low Completion Rate would severely affect one''s combat power. A player''s Mana Body would affect their control with their Skills and Spells in the future. A poorly constructed Mana Body would result in low Mana conductibility. This would limit players'' ability to use Tier 3 Skills and Spells with a Completion Rate of 90% or higher since players had to actively guide and control their Mana during the process to amply their Skills or Spells'' power. This was also why experts in Shi Feng''s previous life had preferred to aim for less complex Mana Bodies to ensure high Completion Rates, rather than aim for a more complex Mana Body with a low Completion Rate. If players constructed a perfect Mana Body, it wouldn''t negatively affect their combat power, which would be a significant help when challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quests in the future. Shi Feng spent around 10 minutes inspecting the three Mana Body Samples he had been given. Although the Advanced Mana Body is extremely complex and even involves multi-line Mana manipulation, I have five hours to play around with. I should give it a try. Having made his decision, Shi Feng focused on the Advanced Mana Body sample and began to manipulate the Mana within him. There might not be a huge difference between an Intermediate Mana Body''s environmental adaptability and that of an Advanced Mana Body, but the difference between the two options'' recovery rates and Defense was massive. Naturally, players'' Defense would undergo a considerable transformation when they reached Tier 3 and obtained their Mana Body. Their toughness as a Tier 2 player couldn''t even compare. With a Mana Body, a layer of protective Mana would envelop their frame, making them less prone to physical injury, which would reduce their combat power, from ordinary attacks. Naturally, the higher the Mana Body''s rank was, the stronger this protective layer would be. It would also help players recover from physical injuries much faster. Time flew by. After nearly 20 minutes, Shi Feng had finally finished constructing his first Mana Body. Shi Feng could feel himself grow much stronger the instant he completed his Mana Body. Now, the surrounding Mana actively flowed into him, giving him a mentally refreshed feeling. System: Mana Body constructed. Completion Rate 64%. Do you wish to keep this Mana Body? I barely passed? Sure enough, the Advanced Mana Body isn''t easy to construct. Shi Feng gave the Completion Rate a bitter smile. But to think that this Mana Body is so powerful despite a 64% Completion Rate, an Epic Mana Body is really amazing. Normally, a Mana Body with a 60% Completion Rate was only considered passable. If one failed to achieve a passing Completion Rate in the designated time, they''d be stuck with the default Mana Body. With the default option, achieving a 90% Completion Rate with Tier 3 Skills and Spells would be practically impossible. Players typically needed a 75% Completion Rate Mana Body to ensure their Skills and Spells would remain unaffected. In the past, Shi Feng had constructed his Bronze Mana Body with a 95% Completion Rate. At that standard, a direct hit from a Mysterious-Iron Weapon had, at most, left a small scratch, hardly affecting his combat power. However, he didn''t have much hope of achieving a 95% Completion Rate with his Mana Body in this life. An Epic Mana Body was simply too complex. His only goal was to get an 80% Completion Rate to avoid any negative effects to his combat power. Even with an 80% Completion Rate with an Epic Mana Body, only Secret-Silver Weapons and better would be capable of physically injuring him. Shi Feng then started his second attempt. After the first attempt, he chose not to focus on speed. Rather, he took great care, slowly constructing the Mana Body. After more than half an hour, Shi Feng had ended up with a 72% Completion Rate, just short of the 75% threshold. Shi Feng invested a full hour for his third attempt, but he had only earned a 74% Completion Rate. What am I missing? He began to grow frustrated as he examined the Advanced Mana Body sample again. He had already spent nearly half of his allotted time, yet he hadn''t constructed an adequate Advanced Mana Body. If he continued to waste time, he wouldn''t even have enough time to attempt the Intermediate Mana Body''s construction. He had performed every step with great precision, yet he still only achieved a 74% Completion Rate. During his previous life, he hadn''t been anywhere near the Refinement Realm standard, yet he had still managed a 95% Completion Rate with his Mana Body. However, even as a Domain Realm expert, he had only reached a 74% Completion Rate. It was unbelievable. No, that''s not right! Shi Feng suddenly snapped out of his daze. My Mana manipulation hadn''t been nearly as refined as it is now. I had glossed over some of the construction processes then, yet I still earned a 95% Completion Rate. This Mana Body sample is far more complex, but with my current standards, it shouldn''t be this hard to achieve the same results. Is my thirst for perfection having the opposite effect? Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began another attempt. This time, instead of trying to perfect all aspects of the construction process, he focused on certain parts, while glossing over the rest. This time, he completed the Mana Body in less than half an hour. The instant he completed his Mana Body, his five senses underwent a qualitative transformation. His affinity with the ambient Mana skyrocketed. System: Mana Body constructed. Completion Rate 91%. Do you wish to keep this Mana Body? 2313 Prototype Domain Chapter 2313 - Prototype Domain I succeeded? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he heard the system notification. He had never considered that he''d achieve a 91% Completion Rate. An Epic Mana Body was many times more complex than a Bronze ranked version, and even achieving a 90% with a Silver Mana Body was immensely difficult. There were very few players in God''s Domain that were capable of achieving a 90% Completion Rate with a Gold Mana Body. As far as Shi Feng could remember, the player with the highest Completion Rate Gold Mana Body had been Alice, the Witch of the West, in the past. She had managed to secure a Peak Gold Mana Body with a 98% Completion Rate. Of course, Alice was extraordinarily talented, which was why she had obtained such a high Completion Rate. Her manipulation of Mana was simply godlike. Not even veteran Domain Realm experts could match her. Thanks to her powerful Mana Body, she had remained at the peak of God''s Domain even after becoming a Tier 6 Mage God. The higher a Mana Body''s Completion Rate, the more frighteningly powerful the Mana Body would be, especially for high-ranked Mana Bodies. Mana Bodies might not provide any bonus Basic Attributes, but they offered significant increases to Stamina and Concentration recovery, Defense, and self-healing capabilities. A Gold Mana Body with a 98% Completion Rate could even reinforce players'' control over their Mana, allowing them to exhibit greater power with their Skills and Spells. Because of this, Alice had undergone a qualitative transformation after reaching Tier 3. Her Mana manipulation had already been impressive, and after receiving the boons from her Mana Body, she had been able to achieve a 100% Completion Rate with practically all of her Tier 3 Spells. Most peak experts had only been able to maintain a 90% Completion Rate with their Tier 3 spells after arduous training, yet Alice managed to level out at 100% in a very short time. After reaching a 90% Completion Rate with a Tier 3 Spell, every additional percentage would significantly increase the Spell''s power. At 100% Completion Rate, a player''s Tier 3 Spell could even contend with the Spells Tier 3 Heroes used. It was easy to imagine how devastating these Spells would be against players. Although Shi Feng hadn''t achieved a 98% Completion Rate, earning a 91% was beyond his expectations. "I''ll keep it!" Snapping out of his daze, Shi Feng promptly chose to keep his current Mana Body. There was no save option when constructing a Mana Body. If players gave up on a construction attempt, they''d have to start over. Hence, players had to have a clear goal in mind when constructing their Mana Body. Once they''d reached that goal, it would be wise to accept the Mana Body and avoid any further attempts. If one continued to seek a better outcome, they''d eventually run out of time and lose everything. Shi Feng had seen many players make that mistake in his previous life. The endless pursuit of perfection was the reason that many expert players had been forced to delete their accounts and begin again. While players could set up a stronger foundation by starting a new account, they''d also lose out on many opportunities. Others would''ve already explored the low-level maps, leaving little for new players. When starting a new account, players weren''t guaranteed to become as powerful as they had been with their old one. While part of the reason that Shi Feng had achieved a 91% Completion Rate was his discovery of the correct thought process, luck was a larger part. He wasn''t confident of repeating these results, and if he tried and earned an 89% Completion Rate, he''d just cry. There was a huge difference between a Mana Body with an 89% Completion Rate and one with a 90%. Mana Bodies with a 75% Completion Rate or above wouldn''t negatively affect players, and those with an 85% to 89% Completion Rate would receive a significant boost to their Defense and Stamina and Concentration recovery. Mana Bodies with a 90% to 94% Completion Rate, however, were considered top-grade, and all of the aforementioned bonuses would be maxed out. If he had a high probability of achieving a 95% Completion Rate or above, another attempt might be worth the risk. A 93% or 94% Completion Rate wouldn''t make much of a difference, after all. However, he''d be ruined if he earned a Completion Rate below 90%. After Shi Feng accepted the Mana Body, the magic array around him flashed with a blinding light, and a horrific amount of Mana gathered rapidly before flowing into him. As the torrent of Mana filled him, Shi Feng felt like his body had been set on fire. The burning sensation was far more intense than it had been with his Peak Bronze Mana Body. But as his Advanced Epic Mana Body began to take shape, Shi Feng''s perception of the world around him grew sharper. After six seconds, magic circuits began to surface across Shi Feng''s body, and the ambient Mana steadily gathered within him. Although the magic circuits faded away two seconds later, the Mana didn''t stop flowing into him. System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 3 Blade Saint and obtained an Advanced Epic Mana Body. All Basic Attributes +400, all Resistance +80, Attack Power and Attack Speed increased by 30%, all Basic Attributes increased by 60%, and physique increased by 70%. Rewarding 80 Legacy Skill Points. Finally! I got my body back! Shi Feng was ecstatic as he felt the new changes. Tier 3! He had spent nearly a decade as a Tier 3 player during his previous life, so he was most familiar with this tier. Now that he had recovered to his peak, he could finally exhibit his true combat power. While Shi Feng basked in the familiar strength, he noticed that his perception had become drastically sharper than before. He could even sense the flow of Mana in the air. A Prototype Domain?! The sensation astonished Shi Feng. Is this an Advanced Epic Mana Body''s ability? Previously, he''d only been able to perceive such details within a 30-yard radius around him by relying on his five senses. Now, however, his perception had extended to 50 yards away. Moreover, he felt like an absolute overlord within the 50-yard radius. Of course, he didn''t actually have control over this area. He only had rudimentary control of the ambient Mana. Even so, this was a Prototype Domain. A Domain operated on the principle of controlling the Mana in a specific area to create a miniature world that favored the player. Although he couldn''t suppress his enemies with a Prototype Domain, he could manipulate the ambient Mana and reduce the Mana density where his enemies stood. The decreased density wouldn''t affect players'' Basic Attributes, but it would impact their concentration in battle. Such an ability would definitely grant him an edge in combat. Moreover, he could sense that his Stamina and Concentration recovery rates had improved by at least 70% due to his new Mana Body. He had also become tough enough that not even full-powered attacks from a Secret-Silver Weapon could easily injure him. In other words, if a player wielding a Secret-Silver Weapon struck the unprotected parts of his body, their damage would be reduced to the lowest possible value as if they had struck a piece of armor. Now that he had obtained his Mana Body, Shi Feng opened his Legacy Skill Menu to check for new Skills. There were over 20 Tier 3 Skills available, and every one of them required at least 20 Legacy Skill Points to learn. Some of the more powerful Skills even required 50 points. Players that had failed to collect Legacy Skill Points from unconventional means would be fortunate to learn two Tier 3 Skills upon reaching Tier 3. Fortunately, that wasn''t the case for Shi Feng. With the points he had saved up thus far and the points he just obtained, he had nearly 100 Legacy Skill Points to spend. Shi Feng immediately spent 40 Legacy Skill Points to upgrade Blade Liberation and Blade Awakening to Tier 3. He then spent another 50 points to learn Void Slash, the strongest Skill a Tier 3 Blade Saint could learn. [Void Slash] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 3 (Proficiency needed to upgrade to Tier 4: 0/100,000) Manipulate the power of the void to execute six slashes. Each slash carries 150% of user''s Strength and causes 200% divine damage. User may transfer to the location of any of the six slashes. Cooldown: 8 seconds Not only did Tier 3 Skills possess greater raw power than Tier 2 Skills, but they were also more capable of injuring high-tiered monsters. However, Tier 3 Skills had very long Cooldowns; those with immense power and short Cooldowns, like Void Slash, were exceptionally rare. Normally, players tried to learn several Tier 3 Skills and link them together to make up for the long Cooldowns. However, with Void Slash alone, Shi Feng could exhibit nearly the full potential DPS of a Tier 3 player. Now that I''ve reached Tier 3, it''s time I lead everyone to a Level 100 neutral map! With his new strength, Shi Feng was confident that he could eliminate a Level 100 Great Lord, even without Anna and Kite''s help. 2314 Tier 3 Powerhouse Chapter 2314 - Tier 3 Powerhouse When Shi Feng left the library, he made his way toward the Adventurer''s Association. Although he was now officially a Tier 3 player, he still needed to register his achievement at the Adventurer''s Association to gain the appropriate certification. Gaining Tier 3 certification at the Adventurer''s Association was very important. Not only would it allow players to accept high-ranked quests appropriate for their tier, but they would also be acknowledged as true powerhouses in God''s Domain. They would then qualify to raid the Monarch Bosses in neutral maps and become the area''s ruler. This was also why the various powers had been so desperate to get their members to Tier 3 in the past. The Tier 3 turning point didn''t simply differentiate experts from each other. It also determined whether or not one qualified to become a true overlord. After all, the various powers'' true battlefield for hegemony in God''s Domain was in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to establish a Guild Town in a Level 100 neutral map and slowly, steadily progressing towards lordship, but now that the Planar Passages had opened, and adventurer alliances had formed sooner than he had expected, he needed a more efficient plan. The Planar Passages'' activation hadn''t just accelerated independent players'' leveling speed. It had done so for the various powers, as well. Now, he didn''t have as much time to conquer Level 100-plus neutral maps. Zero Wing wasn''t like the various superpowers. It lacked the manpower and resources to secure a foundation in Level 100 neutral maps as quickly as superpowers could. Moreover, Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to secure as much territory as the various superpowers. To establish a Guild Town in a Level 100 neutral map, the ruling power would need to station a large number of players in the map longterm. Level 100 neutral maps were very far away from kingdoms and empires, considered free zones that were outside of any kingdom or empire''s protection. In addition, NPCs weren''t particularly interested in visiting these Guild Towns due to the neutral maps'' harsh environments. As a result, very few NPCs would apply as soldiers, and those that did would ask for exorbitant salaries. Hence, unlike in Guild Towns within kingdoms, empires, and low-level neutral maps, players had to handle the majority of their Guild Town''s defenses in Level 100 neutral maps. This was also why Guilds that wanted to secure a foothold in Level 100-plus neutral maps needed to upgrade their towns into Guild Cities as quickly as possible. They''d only be able to solidify their rule over the map with a Guild City. After all, not only would Guilds have to face monster assaults, but they''d also have to deal with enemy powers. Establishing rule in a Level 100-plus neutral map was already an intense challenge for Guilds, and it would be especially difficult for Zero Wing, which lacked certain foundational aspects. The only solution Shi Feng could think of was to become a Lord! As a Lord, players would have full authority over the territory they controlled, and they''d be able to recruit various neutral race NPCs. A Lord could also establish their own Knight Division. The NPCs players could recruit for a Knight Division were different from the NPC soldiers one could hire to protect a Guild Town. They were more akin to Personal Guards, and players could recruit these Knights from various kingdoms and empires, nurturing them as they did Personal Guards. Once a player became a Lord of a land, they could recruit up to 5,000 Knights. Although that didn''t seem like a lot, these Knights were bona fide NPCs and would be immensely helpful when defending a Guild''s territories. While Shi Feng traveled toward the Adventurer''s Association, he called Blackie. "Blackie, how are things coming along in the Northern Fortress?" Shi Feng asked. He had spent quite a lot of time completing his Promotion Quest. Although he had told Blackie and the others not to contact him unless something important happened, and he hadn''t received any calls, he refused to believe that Dragonheart Island''s various superpowers were content to sit by and watch while Zero Wing earned a ton of profits from its newfound goldmine. "The fortress''s player population has already reached 1,500,000, and we''re earning roughly 14,000 Ancient Gold per day. Dragonheart Island''s various powers are practically dying with envy, especially War Blood. Because of the Northern Fortress''s benefits, almost no one is visiting War Blood''s Rock Nest Fortress. Blood Oath is likely losing his mind right now," Blackie said, chuckling. "Also, as per your instructions, I purchased a plot of Land near the World Tower a few days ago, and I bought a Guild Residence in Dragonheart City''s inner area, so our Guild has a temporary resting point in the city." Hearing how much Blackie had purchased over the last few days, Shi Feng sighed ruefully. He had considered several thousand Ancient Gold an astronomical sum in his past life, yet now, he earned 14,000 Ancient Gold each day from the Northern Fortress alone... It was no wonder why the various superpowers had fought so hard to capture the Gravity Mountain Range''s fortresses in the past. "However, Dragonheart Island''s powers have been developing rapidly due to the Planar Passages opening. Quite a few superpowers now have their own Small Fortresses, and based on the reports I''ve received, War Blood, Starlink, and Thirteen Thrones are marching toward the Southern Tower Medium Fortress," Blackie said worriedly. "If they''re successful, we''ll likely see a significant decrease to the Northern Fortress''s income. It certainly won''t benefit our development in Dragonheart City. Why don''t we capture a few more fortresses, Guild Leader?" Zero Wing now had quite a bit of manpower in the Gravity Mountain Range. With Phoenix Rain''s subordinates protecting the Northern Fortress, they had enough strength to capture the other fortresses. The Gravity Mountain Range only had so many fortresses. If they captured a few more, they should be able to maintain 70% to 80% of their profits, even if the Northern Fortress''s income decreased. "Let the other powers fight for the fortresses. We only need the Northern Fortress," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Also, notify all of the main force members to gather in White River City. We''ll be heading to a Level 100 neutral map. That''s where we really need to be right now." The Gravity Mountain Range was an excellent place for players to grind for levels and resources right now, but it couldn''t help players rise to prominence. "A Level 100 neutral map?" Blackie''s eyes glowed when he heard Shi Feng''s plan. "Alright! I''ll notify them right away!" The Gravity Mountain Range had bountiful resources, but it paled in comparison to unexplored Level 100 neutral maps. Moreover, Zero Wing''s main force members would benefit more from grinding in Level 100 neutral maps at their levels than they would from grinding in the Gravity Mountain Range. After disconnecting the call, Blackie began to gather Zero Wing''s main force members and head toward White River City. Meanwhile, Shi Feng arrived at the Adventurer''s Association. The Adventurer''s Association was quite lively at the moment, with just as many visiting players as the city''s Auction House. The Auction House wasn''t the only construction that transformed after White River City''s promotion. The Adventurer''s Association had similarly undergone a metamorphosis and now contained a lot more NPCs who visited to consign quests. Some of these quests included those in high-level neutral maps and escort quests to the kingdom''s borders. If one were lucky, they might even find Crusade quests to slay monsters in neutral maps. With the opportunity to earn both equipment and money available, the Adventurer''s Association had become a hub for many independent players. As Shi Feng entered the first-floor hall, he was greeted by the sight of a ton of Level 90-plus players. Now, not even the Adventurer''s Associations in imperial capitals could compare to the prosperity the Association in White River City enjoyed. Pushing his way through the crowd, Shi Feng quickly made his way to the second-floor hall and applied for his certification as a Tier 3 adventurer. After completing the process in a VIP reception room, the Adventurer''s Association officially recognized Shi Feng as a Tier 3 powerhouse. "Lord Bronze Legatee, is there anything else I can help you with today?" the Elven woman who had received him asked, smiling. "I wish to see the Monarch Crusade Quests for Cold Spring Forest," Shi Feng declared. Cold Spring Forest was the closest Level 100 neutral map to Star-Moon Kingdom, and it was one of the few Level 100 maps with a relatively comfortable environment. Many Tier 2 players had grinded in the Cold Spring Forest after reaching Level 100 in the past, including Shi Feng himself. However, the various superpowers had taken control of the map''s six regions by the time he had reached Tier 3. Now that he was the first Tier 3 player in the game, he couldn''t miss this opportunity. 2315 Ice Dragon Heathwaite Chapter 2315 - Ice Dragon Heathwaite After Shi Feng made his request, the Elven administrator made a quick trip to the Adventurer''s Association''s reference room and returned with seven parchment scrolls. "Lord Bronze Legatee, here are the Crusade Quests you''ve requested. Here is the information on all seven of Cold Spring Forest''s Monarchs," the Elven administrator said as she placed the scrolls on the table. Seven Monarchs? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the seven ancient scrolls. In God''s Domain, only one Monarch would manage a region, and as far as he knew, Cold Spring Forest only consisted of six regions. This meant that there should only be six Monarchs. He had never heard of a seventh. "My lord, I have to remind you that you may only accept one Crusade Quest. Whether or you succeed or fail, you may only accept another Crusade Quest after ten days. The materials needed to create the Transfer Stones are quite expensive, as well. Please, choose wisely," the Elven administrator explained. Shi Feng had already known all of that, and nodding silently, he began to inspect the scrolls. He wanted to know if the information he had obtained during his previous life had changed. If Cold Spring Forest''s Monarchs had massively changed due to his reincarnation, his plans would come to an abrupt end. A Monarch was no ordinary Field Boss. They might not be as powerful as Level 100-plus World Bosses, but they were considered Superior Mythic monsters. They could kill Tier 3 players as effortlessly as squishing ants. Trying to raid such a Boss with a Tier 3,100-man team the same level would be futile. Players needed to rely on special means to raid a Monarch. After browsing through the information for ten or so minutes, Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness everything''s the same as I remembered. The only difference is the extra Monarch. But even as he sighed, his gaze was glued on the extra Monarch''s information. The seventh Monarch was part of the legendary Dragon racethe Ice Dragon, Heathwaite. Meanwhile, the region Heathwaite ruled over was the Cold Spring Canyon, which was located in the Cold Spring Forest''s central region. Cold Spring Canyon had been quite famous in the past in God''s Domain due to the extremely rare Arctic Water it produced. Arctic Water was one of the few items in God''s Domain that could improve a player''s adaptability to their environment. The effects might not be astounding, and the item was useless to players with Gold Mana Bodies or better, but it would be tremendously helpful to Tier 2 players when they challenged their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. This was why so many powers had fought for control of the Cold Spring Canyon during Shi Feng''s previous life. Shi Feng had never dreamed that someone could actually rule over the Cold Spring Canyon. Without any more hesitation, Shi Feng accepted the Crusade Quest to hunt the Ice Dragon, Heathwaite. "Are you sure you wish to accept this quest, Lord Bronze Legatee? We only have one Transfer Stone connected to the Ice Dragon''s lair left. If you fail this quest, you will not be able to accept it again in the future," the Elven administrator warned when Shi Feng selected the Crusade Quest that had remained untouched for over a century. "I''ll take it," Shi Feng said with determination. He''d have a high chance of success with hunting the other Monarchs thanks to his memories, but the Cold Spring Canyon was simply too valuable to give up. Technically, he could hunt one of the other six Monarchs first and raid the Ice Dragon after the ten-day wait, but covering one area would be quite taxing on the Guild with Zero Wing''s current standards. Zero Wing simply couldn''t manage two areas. Since he was limited to a single area, he had to choose the best option available. Even if he failed, he could prevent another power from obtaining the Cold Spring Canyon. "The cost to teleport to Heathwaite''s lair is quite high. You will have to pay 10,000 Gold and 20,000 Magic Crystals as a deposit. If you complete the quest, we will return the deposit in full, as well as pay you your deserved remuneration. If you fail, however, your deposit will be forfeit," the Elven administrator said seriously. "That''s fine." Shi Feng had already prepared for this cost. He handed the Elven administrator the deposit in exchange for a gray- white crystal. This crystal was none other than the Transfer Stone for the Ice Dragon''s lair. After obtaining the Transfer Stone, Shi Feng made his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm to retrieve some of the Dark-Gold Weapons that had been stored there. He then upgraded the Abyssal Blade to Level 90, which was as high as he could upgrade the Magic Weapon right now. Level 95 weapons were still considered a luxury, not to mention Level 95 Dark-Gold Weapons. Fortunately, the Abyssal Blade''s Attack Power and Attributes were only slightly lower than those of a Level 100 Epic Weapon, despite the fact that it was only a Level 90 Magic Weapon. The Abyssal Blade would be more than enough for Shi Feng''s needs. Shi Feng then visited the Candlelight Trading Firm''s second basement floor, which was where he stored his most important items. A Guild Residence was quite secure, but the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City was many times safer than Zero Wing''s Guild Hall. At this point, only Tier 4 players would have any hope of breaking past the Shop''s defenses. At this moment, an NPC guard stood before the warehouse on the second basement floor. He was a Level 100, Tier 3 Fine-Gold Guard, and unless one had permission, not even a Tier 3 apex expert would get past him. The Candlelight Trading Firm''s defenses were impressively strict. With the help of the Grandmaster Forger Seliora, Shi Feng had previously recast the Disintegration Armor, a piece of Legendary Equipment, yet despite being unfinished, it was too powerful for Shi Feng to use. Moreover, carrying the Disintegration Armor on him wasn''t safe, so he had stored it in the Candlelight Trading Firm''s underground warehouse. First, he didn''t want to risk losing it, even if the chance of it dropping upon his death was negligible. Second, even after recasting it, the Disintegration Armor''s aura would still attract Ores, especially powerful, hightiered Ores. If he had attracted a powerful Ore''s attention as a Tier 2 player, he would''ve been helpless. Furthermore, he couldn''t equip it yet. He had coveted Legendary items for a long time. He had heard countless stories of players who owned a Legendary item in his previous life. There were tales of Tier 4 players defeating Tier 5 players and Tier 5 players slaying Tier 6 God-ranked players. One player had even soloed a Tier 5 Dragon. Yet, the piece of Legendary Equipment he had gone to great lengths to obtain was an unfinished product, and its minimum use requirement was Tier 3. To make matters worse, he hadn''t even been able to inspect its Attribute Panel until he had reached Tier 3. Holding onto the Disintegration Armor would''ve only frustrated him. Now that he had finally reached Tier 3 and met the minimum requirements to equip the Disintegration Armor, it was time to retrieve it. With a piece of Legendary Equipment, defeating the Ice Dragon, Heathwaite, would be far easier. Legendary items could, after all, allow players to transcend tiers, and as a Tier 3 player, he should be able to contend with a Tier 4 Ice Dragon with the Disintegration Armor equipped. Once he entered the warehouse and arrived before the Disintegration Armor, Shi Feng chanted an incantation to release the seal protecting it. As soon as the seal faded, crimson energy pulsed away from the pitch-black chest piece, spreading. A pressure that would even make Tier 2 experts uncomfortable began to fill the warehouse. As the Disintegration Armor''s aura swept over him, Shi Feng felt his blood begin to boil as bloodlust wormed its way into his mind. Taking several seconds to suppress the maddening feeling, Shi Feng tapped on the Disintegration Armor to inspect its Attribute Panel. 2316 Armor of Legends Chapter 2316 - Armor of Legends Space itself faintly began to crumble as it was exposed to the Disintegration Armor''s Disintegration Power. Despite having reached Tier 3, the moment Shi Feng touched the armor, he could feel the Mana in his right arm vibrate and felt signs of it beginning to break down. Mana Dispersal?! The sensation in Shi Feng''s right arm stunned him. He hadn''t had a particularly clear idea of what the Disintegration Armor had done to him when he had been Tier 2. He had only felt a strong, stifling pressure from the armor. Now that he was Tier 3, however, he could sense the Disintegration Power blocking and destroying the Mana within him. After a slight touch, the Mana density in his right arm had significantly decreased. If he maintained contact with the Disintegration Armor for a long period, it would utterly destroy the Mana that coated his body. Losing this Mana coating didn''t seem like a major problem, but it would deal a fatal blow to Tier 3 players and above. After reaching Tier 3, a player''s Mana Body would drive every action they took in God''s Domain. If their Mana Body couldn''t conduct Mana, they''d be as good as crippled. The Mana Body played a crucial role when players used Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Without a working Mana Body, activating those abilities would be nearly impossible. Naturally, the difference between the combat power a Tier 3 player could display with Tier 3 Skills and Spells and a Tier 3 player, who couldn''t, would be obvious at a glance. Once Shi Feng had tapped on the Disintegration Armor, its Attribute Panel appeared before him. [Disintegration Armor (Unfinished Product)] (Chest Plate, Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 9,000, Agility 7,000 Tier Requirement: Tier 3 Divine Defense +15,000 (Affected by player''s Level.) All Basic Attributes +1,000 (Affected by player''s Level and Tier.) Physique increased by 100% (Affected by player''s Tier.) When equipped: Strength increased by 120%, Agility increased by 100%, and Endurance increased by 100%; All Resistance +300; Magic Resistance increased by 40%; Mana Body''s effects increased by 50%; Ignore Levels +30; All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. Additional Passive Skill- Disintegration Body: Reduces the damage from Tier 3 or below attacks by 70%, reduces damage from Tier 4 or above attacks by 40%, immune to all control effects, weakens stiffening effects by 70%, and increases reaction speed by 20%. Additional Active Skill 1- Disintegration Field: Disintegrates all Skills and Spells within a 100-yard radius (Skills and Spells at Tier 2 and below will be nullified, while Skills and Spells above Tier 2 will be weakened by 60%). All entities within range will suffer a 40% reduction to Basic Attributes, physique, and Stamina, in addition to a 400% increase to their Stamina and Concentration consumption rates. No Cooldown. Additional Active Skill 2- Disintegration Power: Gathers all of the Disintegration Armor''s power and temporarily sacrifice all of its Attributes to upgrade user by one tier for 60 seconds. Cooldown: 12 hours (Cannot be stacked with Skills and Spells of similar effect.) The Disintegration Armor is a divine armor that the Ore Empire''s Founding Emperor had created with various divine items. This armor had been destroyed during a battle against Gods. The Disintegration Armor has recovered a portion of its original strength after Seliora recast the chest piece using a Blood Contract. Due to the armor''s Disintegration Power, the armor''s Attributes suffer an 80% reduction when equipped. If equipped by the Blood Contractor, the armor''s Attributes will only be reduced by 50%. God Crystals required to repair the Disintegration Armor fully (0/10). Amazing! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he read the Disintegration Armor''s Attribute Panel. Before this, he hadn''t had a clear idea of what a true Legendary item''s Attributes would look like. He had only heard of Legendary items during his previous life. He hadn''t actually seen a real Legendary item''s Attribute Panel since anyone with such an item had rightfully kept a tight lid on its abilities. Although the Disintegration Armor was an unfinished product, it was the strongest piece of equipment he had ever laid eyes on. Even Gentle Snow''s Fragmented Legendary ranked Seven Luminaries Battle Armor was far weaker than this chest piece. The Seven Luminaries Battle Armor had originally been a Legendary item, but after taking significant damage, its rank had fallen. And yet, despite being a damaged piece of armor as well, the Disintegration Armor was leagues stronger than the Seven Luminaries Battle Armor in all aspects. The fact that the Disintegration Armor granted Divine Defense, rather than a simple boost to ordinary Defense, was particularly astounding. This meant that even Skills and Spells that dealt true damage wouldn''t be as effective against the Disintegration Armor''s wearer. It would also reduce lower-tiered players'' damage, and higher-tiered players wouldn''t be able to deal any additional damage due to their tier advantage. Divine Defense was the highest grade of Defense in God''s Domain. It''s a pity that the armor is so badly damaged. Even if I equip it, I''ll only exhibit a fraction of its true might. If I could display the Disintegration Armor''s full power, dealing with the Ice Dragon would be a piece of cake, Shi Feng thought. The Disintegration Power''s instability limited the armor''s true strength. At the armor''s peak, Shi Feng could likely defeat the Mythic ranked Ice Dragon head-on with the additional 100% physique and 120% Strength. Even so, Shi Feng was overjoyed that he could finally equip the Disintegration Armor. A piece of Legendary Equipment! Countless players, including apex experts, dreamed of equipping such an item. Legendary items were simply too rare in God''s Domain. Just obtaining a single clue that might lead to one required an astronomical amount of manpower and resources. In some cases, these clues would only lead to a fragment of a Legendary item. Players would then have to find the remaining fragments and invest even more resources to repair it. Unless one were ridiculously lucky or had particularly powerful support, getting their hands on a Legendary item would be utterly impossible. Now, Shi Feng finally had a Legendary item of his own, and he could even equip it now. The Disintegration Armor''s Attributes might be halved, but it was still slightly more powerful than a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Shi Feng immediately equipped the Disintegration Armor. The 9,000 Strength and 7,000 Agility were incredibly difficult requirements to meet; even a Tier 3 player in full, top-tier equipment would have to wait until Level 120 to fulfill them, but it wasn''t an issue for Shi Feng. Not only did he have an Advanced Bloodline, but he also wielded one of the Ten Great Saint Legacies. Furthermorehe carried a Magic Weapon and multiple Fragmented Legendary items. Meeting the two requirements at Level 100 was actually quite easy for him. The instant Shi Feng equipped the Disintegration Armor, he felt power course through him. His Basic Attributes skyrocketed, and his perception considerably improved. Even his mind felt far clearer than before. If he fought Urdia, a titled, Tier 3 Heroic Spirit, in his current condition, he''d have a high chance of defeating the Undead. It''s about time to leave. Glancing at the time, Shi Feng realized it was time to meet up with Blackie and the others. He activated the Nightwalker''s Cape''s Nightwalker Skill to conceal the Disintegration Armor''s aura and information before heading toward White River City''s Teleportation Hall. 2317 Shadowless Empire Chapter 2317 - Shadowless Empire White River City''s Teleportation Hall: Once in the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng made his way to one of the high-class bars on the third floor. Blackie and the others had been waiting for some time now. When they noticed Shi Feng enter the establishment, they stood, surprised. Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei were particularly shocked as their Guild Leader pulled their attention away from their 10-Gold bottles of Five-colored Fruit Wine. "So, this is a Tier 3 class?" Blackie had already informed the group that Shi Feng had left to challenge his Tier 3 Promotion Quest, and none of them had been particularly surprised. Shi Feng had already reached Level 100, so it was expected that he''d challenge his Promotion Quest. Although Shi Feng''s Nightwalker''s Cape concealed his aura, it couldn''t hide the fact that the ambient Mana actively flowed toward him. God''s Domain did have weapons and equipment that would attract Mana to their user, but those items generally only increased the Mana density around the player. However, despite so much Mana flowing toward Shi Feng, Yan Tianxing, whose senses were quite sharp, and Yi Luofei, who was a magical class player and only a step away from reaching the Domain Realm, recognized that the Mana density around Shi Feng hadn''t actually increased. It felt as if the Swordsman were a black hole, steadily devouring the ambient Mana. Mana was the root of all in God''s Domain. A players'' physical and mental condition, Skills, and Spells were all closely tied to Mana. As players at the peak of God''s Domain, Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei had spent a considerable amount of time researching the game''s mechanics, especially the relationship between Mana and a player''s virtual body. Players constantly absorbed Mana from their environments, and as players'' physiques grew stronger, they''d absorb more Mana. This was why areas with thin or no Mana were considered forbidden lands. As a Tier 3 player, Shi Feng''s Mana absorption was astounding. If the Mana that flowed into Tier 2 players was like a small creek, the Mana flowing into Shi Feng was a raging river... "Everyone''s here, Guild Leader. We can set off when you''re ready," Blackie excitedly reported. Thanks to the Northern Fortress, Zero Wing''s overall strength had increased considerably. Not only did the Northern Fortress provide the huge Ancient Gold profits, but it also gave players a place where they could rapidly grow stronger. By this point, Zero Wing had explored multiple ancient ruins in the Gravity Mountain Range''s northern region, securing plenty of precious treasure. The Guild''s main force members had also reached Level 97 and 98 and had upgraded most of their equipment with Level 95 Dark-Gold Equipment. However, their combat standards had improved far faster than their levels and equipment. As many as 26 main force members had now reached the Truth Realm. Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei had even reached the Ascension Realm. In addition, Alluring Summer, Silent Blade, Shadow Sword, Stubborn Bone, and Zhao Yueru had entered the Flowing Water Realm thanks to Unyielding Soul''s legacy training slots. Seeing how much his comrades had improved, Shi Feng was a little surprised. He hadn''t expected them to grow so strong so quickly. Now, Zero Wing''s main force was likely only a little weaker than superpowers'' main forces. If Fire Dance and the others could make some progress in the Tower of Four Gods, Zero Wing''s main force might even be able to stand toe-to-toe with the various superpowers'' main forces. "Alright, let''s go." Shi Feng nodded as he joined the team. He led everyone to a teleportation array and traveled to the border town closest to the Cold Spring Forest. He then used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Spatial Gate to transport the team the rest of the way. Cold Spring Forest was a Level 100 neutral map, as well as a junction to other Level 100-plus neutral maps. Thus, it was quite far from civilization. Players would have to cross over a dozen large maps to reach the Cold Spring Forest from Star-Moon Kingdom. Getting there was especially troublesome without a Flying Mount. Of course, Shi Feng had the Thunder Eagle and the Seven Luminaries Ring. After teleporting multiple times, Shi Feng and his team finally arrived before the cave that led to the Cold Spring Forest. The Cold Spring Forest was meant to help players transition from Tier 2 to Tier 3, unlike other Level 100 neutral maps with harsh environments. Not only was this a comfortable area for players to grind, but it was also home to a large number of ancient races. The forest was also under an ancient seal''s protection, so players would have to defeat the map''s Guardian Boss and remove the seal before they could explore the map. Even with a Flying Mount, entering the map was impossible without completing those tasks. "Guild Leader, I see people!" Minor Wind, who had long since reached both the Refinement Realm and Truth Realm, quickly discovered players'' tracks as they arrived before the cave. "It looks like there''s a lot of them. I''m guessing these tracks are from a 200-man team." Others have already found this place? Shi Feng was stunned. Although this cave wasn''t as dangerous as a Level 100 neutral map, the monsters within were still Level 97-plus Lords and Great Lords. Quite a few Grand Lords wandered within the cave, as well. Surviving here was no easy task. In addition, the cave was particularly dark, suppressing players'' five senses to a certain degree. A 100-man team of current experts wouldn''t last more than ten minutes inside the cave. Even a superpowers'' main force would struggle to get through. There were simply too many monsters, especially since the cave should still be largely unexplored. "Guild Leader, should we head inside?" Blackie asked. They were trying to maintain a level of secrecy. If they encountered other players, news of their operation would spread. Although they were only heading out to explore a Level 100 neutral map, which shouldn''t be much of a problem, they couldn''t guarantee that other powers wouldn''t try to take advantage of their operation. "No need to worry. Let''s just go," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Even if other powers learned that they were exploring the Cold Spring Forest, they couldn''t cause any problems for Zero Wing''s team. Other players weren''t even guaranteed to get through the cave and into the forest, much less take advantage of the operation. Following which, with Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove led the way into the cave. Visibility was poor in the dimly lit cave. Even Tier 2 players could only see up to 200 yards away, and dodging ranged attacks from multiple directions would be particularly challenging in the cave''s narrow, maze-like structure. Fortunately, Zero Wing''s main force members had trained in the Extraordinary Tower, so they coped with the cave monsters'' ambushes relatively well. With an MT like Cola leading the way, the team had little issue pushing through the cave quickly. They didn''t have to come to a halt to deal with the monsters. The cave had two floors, and after three hours, Shi Feng and his comrades finally reached the second floor. This was also where they''d find the Guardian Boss. Unlike the first floor, the second floor was an open canyon. It was so large that a large team wouldn''t have to worry about needing room for their usual formations in battle. Moreover, the second floor was much brighter than the first. However, the suppression on players'' senses had increased in exchange. Less than 30 minutes after reaching the second floor, Shi Feng and his team heard explosions and noticed dazzling lights at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel led to a cavern, which contained a town. Zero Wing''s main force found a 200-man team clearing out the Demonkin Soldiers and Guards that guarded the town, while gradually approaching an ancient giant in the town''s center. Every player on the 200-man team was Level 96 or above, and they all ore a dark mark on their foreheads. They also radiated a faint, black glow. Even as they fought the High Lord ranked Demonkin Soldiers one-on-one, these players had an overwhelming advantage. Not even the Great Lord ranked Demonkin Guards could halt these players'' advance for more than a moment. As for the ancient giant in the town''s center, it stood at over a dozen-meters-tall and had six arms. Each of the giant''s hands held a pitch-black spear, and it loomed like the ancient God of Destruction. [Demonkin Soldier] (Dark Creature, High Lord) Level 98 HP 49,000,000/49,000,000 [Demonkin Guard] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 99 HP 88,000,000/88,000,000 [Purgatory Giant] (Dark Giant, Mythic) Level 99 HP 460,000,000/460,000,000 "Guild Leader, they look like Shadowless Empire''s members. It''s an adventurer team from the Shadow World," Blackie said, quickly discerning the players'' identities once he saw them. Shadowless Empire? It''s no wonder why those two are here. Shi Feng thought, spotting a familiar man and woman at the lead of the small army. Blackie''s comment reminded him of exactly who those two were. Shadowless Empire had been a very famous superpower during his previous life. It had taken over the Shadow World even before the Planar Passages had opened. With the excellent leveling resources and special Legacies the Shadow World contained, Shadowless Empire had flourished wonderfully after arriving on the main continent. Two of Shadowless Empire''s members, in particular, had forced the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion into a disadvantageous position during a contest for territory in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Those two were the same man and woman that led Shadowless Empire''s 200-man team. They were the Dark Assassin, Vast Lock and the Shadowless Ranger, Night Reader. These two players hadn''t reached the Domain Realm empire before moving to God''s Domain''s main continent, yet even Domain Realm experts had been terrified of their assassination capabilities. Once they had reached the Domain Realm, they had been akin to Demon Kings in the dark. Those two had been responsible for plenty of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s losses, even going as far as stealing one of the Pavilion''s territories. Meanwhile, shortly after Zero Wing''s members discovered Shadowless Empire''s team, Shadowless Empire''s members noticed them, as well. "Commander, those are Zero Wing''s members. Should we get rid of them?" a Level 96 Dark Berserker asked, making a throat-cutting gesture as he glanced at Zero Wing''s main force. "I hadn''t thought Zero Wing would reach this place. It''s no wonder why everyone''s insisted that Starlink and the various superpowers can''t seem to deal with the Guild," Night Reader said, chuckling. Night Reader was a slender woman with vibrant red hair. She wore Epic chainmail and wielded an ancient, crimson bow, as well. "It''s a pity that their era in God''s Domain has come to an end. Zero Wing is simply wasting its time by coming here." Because the Shadow World lacked top-tier weapons and equipment, Shadowless Empire''s equipment standards had been lacking when they had first arrived on the main continent. However, their equipment standards had undergone a qualitative transformation rather quickly, and Shadowless Empire''s members had caught up with the main continent''s players. With their advantage in terms of Legacies, levels, and combat standards, not even the various superpowers with vast foundations were a match for Shadowless Empire now. As for the main continent''s non-superpowers, they were utterly helpless before Shadowless Empire''s strength. When he heard Night Reader''s comment, the bald youth leading the team, Vast Lock, nodded his agreement. "Ignore them and prioritize killing the Purgatory Giant. They''ll know what to do once they realize the difference between our strengths," Vast Lock said. He returned to commanding his team as they advanced on the Purgatory Giant. 2318 Sword Rises Chapter 2318 - Sword Rises After Vast Lock declared his decision, Shadowless Empire''s 200-man team accelerated their advance toward the Purgatory Giant, completely ignoring Shi Feng and the others'' existence. "These people really don''t care about us at all." Yan Tianxing could not help but shake his head and chuckle when he saw Shadowless Empire''s members'' nonchalant reaction toward Zero Wing''s arrival. Normally, when players came across other players out in the fields, especially when they were raiding a Boss, they would give out a reminder or warning to the approaching players. However, Shadowless Empire''s members simply treated Zero Wing''s team as if it were air and did not even bother trying to make contact. The only explanation for such a reaction was that Shadowless Empire had deemed them to be no threat and not worthy of any attention whatsoever. "Guild Leader, are we really not going to make a move?" Blackie asked as he looked at the distant Purgatory Giant. He did not particularly care about Shadowless Empire''s treatment of them. However, since the Guardian Boss of this cave served as the key to the Cold Spring Forest, its loot might provide them with some help once they entered the neutral map. "We''re only traveling toward the Cold Spring Forest. Having someone to open up a path for us is a good thing," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then instructed everyone to get some rest first. He had no intention of snatching the Boss from Shadowless Empire at all. The Purgatory Giant was indeed a very important Boss. After killing it, not only would players gain access to the Cold Spring Forest, but they would also obtain a special item called Purgatory Core. When activated, the Purgatory Core would create a natural barrier with a 200-yard radius that would help players adapt to Level 100 neutral maps. The barrier''s effects were similar to Arctic Water, except that Arctic Water was only effective for one player while the Purgatory Core applied to a specific area. For Tier 2 teams looking to grind in Level 100-plus neutral maps, the Purgatory Core was a very useful item. Killing the Purgatory Giant provided no other benefits aside from these two. Meanwhile, his goal was to kill the Ice Dragon Heathwaite and occupy the Cold Spring Canyon. To him, the Purgatory Core held no meaning. After all, once he occupied the Cold Spring Canyon, he could obtain Arctic Water much more easily. At that time, let alone a 100-man team, even strengthening a 1,000-man team wouldn''t be difficult. "I guess you''re right." Blackie nodded, as he found Shi Feng''s words reasonable. He then sat down on the ground and started recovering his Stamina and Concentration. The Purgatory Giant was a Level 99 Mythic Boss. Moreover, it belonged to the Giant race. Its Life Rating was considerably high, so raiding it would not be easy. Since Shadowless Empire was willing to raid it for them, they could use this opportunity to conserve their strength for the Cold Spring Forest. While Zero Wing''s members rested in a distant location, Shadowless Empire''s members, who were only 500 yards away from the Purgatory Giant now, also noticed what Zero Wing''s members were doing. "It seems these people are quite smart. Had they dared try to snatch the Boss, I''d make sure they got a good beating!" a Level 96 Dark Berserker said, smirking when he saw Zero Wing''s members sitting down and resting. "I doubt that''s the case. I bet they want to use us to test the Purgatory Giant''s prowess, so that they can have an easier time raiding it afterward," Night Reader said as she glanced at Shi Feng and the others, a bright smile blooming on her face. "It''s a pity that they''re looking down on us too much." Shadowless Empire was the ruler of the entire Shadow World. Its capabilities were far beyond anything the main continent''s various superpowers could imagine. Although the Shadow World was only the size of a kingdom, as one of the higher-standard Otherworlds, it possessed resources that many superpowers coveted. However, despite the superpowers'' numerous attempts to seize the Shadow World, Shadowless Empire always emerged victorious. "Alright, focus! The Boss has already sensed us! Everyone, get ready!" Vast Lock suddenly shouted when he saw the Purgatory Giant opening its eyes. The Purgatory Giant''s awakening immediately panicked the wandering Demonkin Soldiers and Demonkin Guards. The moment the Purgatory Giant opened its eyes, everyone present felt a horrific aura wash over themeven Zero Wing''s members, who sat several thousand yards away. Based on its aura, the Purgatory Giant was definitely much stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters. Moreover, space within a 500-yard radius of the Purgatory Giant started changing upon the Guardian Boss''s awakening, the gravel on the ground shattering. After awakening, the Purgatory Giant immediately advanced toward Shadowless Empire''s members and thrust its six spears at them, the spears tearing apart the space they passed through. Just as the six spears were about to reach Shadowless Empire''s members, six shield-bearing Dark Knights jumped forward and met the spears in battle, the bodies of these Dark Knights radiating a bright, black light while the dark mark on their foreheads glowed a faint crimson. Boom... Boom... Boom... A series of explosions echoed throughout the entire tattered town. After receiving the Purgatory Giant''s spear, each of the six Dark Knights stumbled only three or four steps back before stabilizing their bodies. They also lost only 25% or so of their HP, which was quickly regenerated thanks to the rear-line healers. When the Purgatory Giant started launching its second round of attacks, the six Dark Knights had yet to recover their balance. At this time, however, six more Dark Knights emerged from Shadowless Empire''s te to block the Purgat^ Giant''s spears. Like so, the two parties of MTs took turns receiving the Purgatory Giant''s attacks, their coordination perfect. Due to their perfect execution and timing, the 12 MTs prevented the Purgatory Giant from inflicting any harm on the rest of the team. "Start!" Vast Lock shouted. Upon hearing Vast Lock''s command, the Cursemancers at the rear line immediately cast Dark Devour. In the next moment, a black puddle formed beneath the Purgatory Giant''s feet, the black liquid continuously crawling up the Giant and threatening to consume it. Although the Spell did not deal any damage, it applied a significant speed debuff. This situation instantly reduced the pressure on the team. Immediately after, Shadowless Empire''s members started bombarding the Boss in a frenzy. Taking the lead to attack, Night Reader drew her crimson bow and sent a crimson light pillar shooting at the Purgatory Giant. -331,564! With just one attack, Night Reader halted the movement of one of the Purgatory Giant''s arms. At this time, Vast Lock had also made his way to the Purgatory Giant''s back and stabbed his two pitch-black, glowing daggers at the Mythic Boss. The instant the two daggers touched the Purgatory Giant''s skin, two black beams pierced through the Boss, each beam causing over -200,000 damage. The Basic Attributes of these people are high. Every one of them is like a Great Lord. This is especially true for that Assassin and Ranger. Those two are most likely superior to Great Lords of the same level in terms of Basic Attributes. Moreover, these people can perfectly combine their combat techniques with their Skills and Spells. It''s no wonder they''re so confident in taking down the Purgatory Giant," Yan Tianxing praised as he watched Shadowless Empire''s members fight. At this stage of the game, the majority of the main continent''s experts were still experimenting with combining combat techniques with Skills and Spells. However, Shadowless Empire''s members had already accomplished this feat, allowing their Tier 2 Skills and Spells to undergo a qualitative improvement. Just 30 minutes later, the Purgatory Giant finally went berserk. Shadowless Empire''s members started activating their Berserk Skills, one after another, in response. When Vast Lock and Night Reader activated their Berserk Skills, without even activating Twofold Berserk, their Basic Attributes already reached the standard of Mythic monsters. As a result, they managed to endure the Purgatory Giant''s berserk phase and eventually slew the Mythic Boss. Along with the Purgatory Giant''s death, the magic barrier that protected the Cold Spring Forest started crumbling. The seal on the cave leading to the Cold Spring Forest was also removed. Meanwhile, beyond the cave, one could now see a snow-covered forest. After killing the Purgatory Giant, Shadowless Empire''s members did not rest for long. As soon as they finished collecting the Boss''s loot, they made their way into the Cold Spring Forest. As they left, they glanced at the distant Zero Wing members, with gleeful expressions. "Hahaha! Zero Wing''s members must be dumbfounded after seeing us defeat the Purgatory Giant!" the Dark Berserker carrying a two-handed axe laughed. "Although we got to show them the gap in strength between us, they now get to enter the Cold Spring Forest without putting in any effort," Night Reader grumbled. "There''s nothing wrong with letting them gain some advantage. Zero Wing is Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild. Its influence also reaches multiple kingdoms and empires. If we want to establish a foothold in the main continent quickly, we can make use of Zero Wing''s strength," Vast Lock said. After Vast Lock''s words, Shadowless Empire''s members no longer said anything. Instead, they simply focused on traveling to the Cold Spring Forest''s inner area. Roughly five minutes after Shadowless Empire''s members entered the forest, a deafening roar suddenly echoed throughout the forest. "How is this possible?!" A grim look surfaced on Night Reader''s face when a group of fully armed Dragonkin suddenly emerged from the snowy forest ahead. However, what shocked her the most were the numbers and strength of these Dragonkin. [Dragonkin Fighter] (Dragonkin, Lord) Level 100 HP 63,000,000/63,000,000 [Dragonkin Captain] (Dragonkin, High Lord) Level 101 HP 135,000,000/135,000,000 [Dragonkin Warrior] (Dragonkin, Great Lord) Level 101 HP 220,000,000/220,000,000 The Inferior Dragons standing before their team numbered more than a thousand, and even the weakest Dragonkin Fighter had an aura that was no weaker than that of the Great Lord ranked Demonkin Guards they faced before. As for the Great Lord ranked Dragonkin Warriors, their auras were just slightly weaker than that of the Purgatory Giant; moreover, there were three of them. "Defensive formations!" Vast Lock shouted. By the time Vast Lock gave his command, however, the Dragonkin army was already charging at them. Although Shadowless Empire''s members could barely hold their ground against the Lord ranked Dragonkin Fighters, they were at a severe disadvantage against the Dragonkin Captains, inferior in terms of both Basic Attributes and reaction speed. When one of the Dark Knights failed to defend himself in time and got hit by the saber of a Dragonkin Captain, he instantly lost over one-quarter of his HP. As for the Dragonkin Warriors, Vast Lock and Night Reader had to coordinate with each other just to pin down one. Stopping the remaining two Great Lords was beyond them. "Retreat! Retreat to the cave!" Vast Lock shouted when he saw the two unfettered Dragonkin Warriors slaughtering his teammates. Retreating was now their only option. Otherwise, a team-wipe was inevitable. As Shadowless Empire''s members continuously fell back, they eventually came across Zero Wing''s members, who had also entered the Cold Spring Forest. "You guys, hurry up and retreat! These Dragonkin are much stronger than the Lords and Great Lords in that cave! You''ll die if you go up against them!" Vast Lock warned as he looked at Shi Feng. However, as soon as the Dark Assassin gave this advice, one of the Dragonkin Warriors slaughtering Shadowless Empire''s members shifted its gaze toward Zero Wing''s team, which was less than 100 yards away from it. Squinting its eyes, it immediately charged toward Zero Wing. "They''re doomed!" Night Reader could not help but look at Zero Wing''s members in pity at this sudden turn of events. The Dragonkin Warriors possessed very high reaction speeds and intellect. These Great Lords posed an enormous threat even to Shadowless Empire''s members, not to mention Zero Wing''s members. However, just as the Dragonkin Warrior arrived before Zero Wing''s team and was swinging down its saber... A sword light suddenly struck at it. Suddenly, the Dragonkin Warrior let out a wheeze as its four-meter-tall body shot backward like a bullet and crashed heavily into a nearby tree, the massive tree shuddering at the impact. 2319 Tier 3? Chapter 2319 - Tier 3? As if time had stopped, silence fell over the entire Cold Spring Forest. Whether it was the Dragonkin or Shadowless Empire''s members, they were all in a daze as they looked at the Dragonkin Warrior that had collapsed before the large tree. At this moment, not only was the Dragonkin Warrior in a heavily injured state, but its silver armor even sported a large cut. If one looked closely, one could even see the white, broken bones of the Dragonkin Warrior beyond this cut. If not for God''s Domain''s setting that made it so that creatures would die only if their HP fell to zero, the slash from before would undoubtedly have taken the Dragonkin Warrior''s life. Even so, the attack still took away a large chunk of the Dragonkin Warrior''s HP. "What did he do?" Night Reader could not help her shock as she stared at Shi Feng, the person who executed the attack on the Dragonkin Warrior. Previously, when she used her trump card to attack the Dragonkin Warrior, she had only managed to make it stumble back one step. Shi Feng, on the other hand, heavily injured the Dragonkin Warrior with just one stroke of his sword. For a moment, she wondered if the Main God System was playing a joke on her. After all, she was currently Level 97. She was also equipped in four pieces of Epic Equipment and a top-tier Epic Weapon. In addition, she had a special Legacy that increased her Basic Attributes and physique by a significant margin when fighting in darkness. Even the apex experts of Super Guilds were most likely no match for her when it came to Basic Attributes. Now, however, Shi Feng, who looked very ordinary and gave off no aura whatsoever, actually surpassed her Strength by several degrees. No matter how she looked at this situation, she simply could not bring herself to accept it. "He is probably Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. According to rumors, he has already reached Level 100," Vast Lock guessed as he looked at Shi Feng, his evaluation of Zero Wing increasing by a grade. "Even if he is Level 100, there is no way he can have enough Strength to send the Dragonkin Warrior flying. We can''t, even if we activated our Berserk Skills," Night Reader said. Although the Dragonkin Warrior was only a Great Lord, its Strength was just slightly inferior to the Mythic ranked Purgatory Giant''s. Even if they activated a Berserk Skill, they would, at most, just match the Dragonkin Warrior. In order to send it flying over 20 yards, they would need Strength at the standard of Mythic monsters, at the very least. "Of course, it''s impossible just by reaching Level 100. However, I suspect that he has already completed his Tier 3 Promotion Quest," Vast Lock said in a definite tone. "Tier 3? How is that possible?" Night Reader simply could not bring herself to believe Vast Lock''s speculation. Previously, she already considered the rumor of Shi Feng reaching Level 100 a wild exaggeration. The Shadow World had much more abundant leveling resources compared to the main continent, yet even they, the top players of Shadowless Empire, had only managed to reach Level 97. Now, however, Vast Lock was telling her that Shi Feng had not only reached Level 100 but also completed his Tier 3 Promotion Quest. This was unbelievable. The difficulty of Promotion Quests increased with each subsequent tier. The difficulty of the Tier 3 Promotion Quest was especially high. To complete the Tier 3 Promotion Quest, players would not only have to be of a sufficiently high level but also needed to invest a lot of time into making preparations. For Night Reader herself, even if she had made all the preparations she could, she still wouldn''t be confident of completing her Tier 3 Promotion Quest. After all, experts of their caliber couldn''t settle for a mediocre result in their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Needless to say, someone like Shi Feng wouldn''t settle for this, either. While Night Reader and Vast Lock were talking about Shi Feng, the heavily injured Dragonkin Warrior suddenly stood up and let loose a deafening roar, which echoed throughout the forest. Moreover, the Dragonkin Warrior did not stop at just one roar. Instead, it repeatedly roared again and again. "Did it get hit too hard in the head?" Night Reader found the Dragonkin Warrior''s incessant roaring strange. Moreover, the injured Dragonkin Warrior wasn''t the only one acting strangely. Every other Dragonkin in the army also started roaring. "No!" Vast Lock''s complexion darkened as realization struck him. "They''re calling for reinforcements!" As soon as Vast Lock finished speaking, a deafening roar came from the depths of the forest. Following which, a commotion broke out in the distant forest, and very quickly, a huge swarm of Dragonkin charged out of there. The newly arrived Dragonkin numbered more than 3,000, including as many as five Dragonkin Warriors. "Run!" Vast Lock shouted, his scalp turning numb at this sight. At Vast Lock''s order, Shadowless Empire''s members immediately dropped what they were doing and fled for the cave they had come from, without hesitation. However, despite seeing Shadowless Empire''s members retreating, Shi Feng and the others still maintained their positions. "Why aren''t you guys running yet?" Night Reader asked as she looked at Shi Feng. "We''ll block them, so you guys should use this opportunity to retreat. It is still too soon for you all to come here," Shi Feng said before walking toward the Dragonkin army, together with Zero Wing''s members. Since Vast Lock had warned him before out of goodv^ll, Shi Feng naturally didn''t mind helping Shadowless Empire now. "You''re crazy! Do whatever you want!" Night Reader huffed when she saw Zero Wing advancing toward the Dragonkin army. She then turned her head away and left. Shi Feng might have reached Tier 3, but he was only one person. He wouldn''t be able to keep the several thousand Dragonkin at bay all by himself. Not to mention, five more Dragonkin Warriors had joined the fight now. Even if the Swordsman could suppress these Great Lords, could he suppress all eight of them? However, before Night Reader had gone 100 yards away from her previous position, she saw Zero Wing''s team clashing with the Dragonkin army. When the two sides came into contact, Shi Feng initiated the battle by executing Void Slash, using the six slashes his Skill generated to send six Dragonkin Warriors flying back and crashing into the Dragonkin behind them. As for the two remaining Dragonkin Warriors, Cola stopped one of them while Turtledove stopped the other. Cola''s Strength might not be comparable to the Dragonkin Warrior''s, but with the Fragmented Legendary ranked Titan Guard and his Dragonslayer Legacy, he neutralized all of the Dragonkin Warrior''s attacks without fail. As for Turtledove, although she was inferior to Cola in terms of both Defense and Strength, she had Yan Tianxing assisting her from the side. Yan Tianxing influenced the Dragonkin Warrior''s attacks, such that they all landed on Turtledove''s shield and nowhere else. After seeing that all eight Dragonkin Warriors were stopped, Alluring Summer, Yi Luofei, Zhao Yueru, and the other magical-class players started bombarding the approaching Dragonkin Captains and Dragonkin Fighters. Like a mobile turret, Zhao Yueru sent even the High Lord ranked Dragonkin Captains flying with her Spells. With just one AOE Spell, she created a large clearing amid the Dragonkin army. Even the Dragonkin Warriors stumbled when struck by her attacks. Despite the severe numerical disadvantage, Zero Wing''s 100-man team coped with the Dragonkin army without suffering any casualties and relentlessly pressed deeper into the Cold Spring Forest, suppressing the Dragonkin army thoroughly. Dragonking Fighters and Dragonkin Captains died quickly, one after another, under Zero Wing''s bombardment. "Crap! Are they even human?" an axe-carrying Dark Berserker, who had already arrived back at the cave, cursed aloud when he saw the Dragonkin army getting repulsed. He had had a tough time dealing with just one Dragonkin Captain, yet Zero Wing''s members were toying with the High Lords as if they were children. Zhao Yueru, Alluring Summer, and Yi Luofei, in particular, had devastated the several dozen Dragonkin Captains with their attacks, preventing the High Lords from reaching Zero Wing''s rear line. Shi Feng was even more frightening, single-handedly suppressing six Dragonkin Warriors. Let alone damaging the Swordsman, the six Dragonkin Warriors couldn''t even get within five yards of him. Their HPs also plummeted. After only a short moment, the six Dragonkin Warriors had already lost one-tenth of their HPs. At this rate, the deaths of all six were just a matter of time. "How is Zero Wing so strong?" After Zero Wing''s team disappeared into the snow-mantled forest, Night Reader was in a daze for a long time. When she remembered how they had thought to prove their superiority over Zero Wing by defeating the Purgatory Giant, she felt a little embarrassed. She had never imagined that things would turn out this way. Shi Feng''s performance, in particular, had shocked her. Every one of his actions was beyond her perception. If he had decided to contest for the Purgatory Giant back then, the consequences would have been dire. Most likely, he could annihilate their entire 200-man team all by himself. "Let''s return now. Zero Wing is much stronger than we initially thought. The higher-ups will need to adjust our approach to Star-Moon Kingdom," Vast Lock said after giving the matter some thought. Shi Feng''s strength was simply too frightening. He was no longer an existence Tier 2 players could hope to contend with. Moreover, the other members of Zero Wing also possessed considerable strength. With the Guild definitely much stronger than ordinary major powers, Shadowless Empire would have to tread carefully in Star-Moon Kingdom from now on. After saying so, Vast Lock turned around and had everyone prepare to leave the Cold Spring Forest. As for Night Reader, she turned involuntarily for one last look towards the direction Shi Feng disappeared. So what if you''re Tier 3? Just you wait! I''ll catch up with you soon! At that time, I''ll show you just how powerful I am! I''ll make you regret looking down on me! When Night Reader thought of the words Shi Feng said to her before, she gnashed her teeth in anger and frustration, feeling as if she had been treated like a fool. Immediately afterward, she turned around and left the Cold Spring Forest. 2320 Level 100 Exploration Chapter 2320 - Level 100 Exploration Zero Wing''s members gradually advanced deeper into the Cold Spring Forest. As the map had never been explored by players before, the number of Dragonkin Zero Wing''s members encountered along their journey kept increasing; fortunately, the number of Dragonkin Warriors they came across did not, so the growing number of enemies did not affect the team negatively. It only provided the team with even more EXP. The EXP granted by Level 100 monsters was far greater than that of Level 99 monsters. Although Shi Feng had brought Zero Wing''s main force to grind at a Level 100 forbidden land before, everyone''s level had been very low. As they had to rely on Tier 3 Demons to do most of the fighting back then, their grinding efficiency had been considerably low. Now that everyone in the team had the combat power to contend against Level 100 Lords, they made short work of the Level 100-plus Dragonkin. As a result, everyone''s experience bar increased at a very rapid rate. After grinding for just six hours, everyone in the team had already leveled up once. Now, even the lowest-leveled player in Zero Wing''s main force was Level 98, whereas the Guild''s top experts like Yan Tianxing had reached Level 99. As for Shi Feng, he, too, had gained his final percent and reached Level 101. However, in contrast to the team''s leveling speed, the Dragonkin''s loot rendered everyone speechless. Even the best piece of equipment dropped by the High Lord ranked Dragonkin Captains was Level 100 Mysterious-Iron rank. Moreover, this was from the first kill of these Dragonkin Captains. Otherwise, the weapons and equipment they dropped would be only Bronze rank. The quality of the Dragonkin Captains'' loot was far inferior to that of Level 99 High Lords. Shi Feng, however, did not find this situation surprising. After reaching Level 100, ordinary experts would be able to gear themselves only in Level 100 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. If they wished to get Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment through killing monsters, they needed the support of a sufficiently strong team. As for obtaining Level 100 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment from monster drops, that was absolutely impossible for them. Only Tier 3 experts would have the ability to grind for Level 100 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. As for Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, players would need both superb strength and luck. This was also the reason why, after frontline players reached Level 100, the various powers of God''s Domain would start frantically investing in Tier 3 experts and Master Lifestyle players. Past Level 100, quantity no longer mattered. Instead, what mattered the most was quality. One could say that Tier 3 experts and Master Lifestyle players were the true foundation of the various powers. Without Tier 3 experts and Master Lifestyle players, Level 100-plus weapons and equipment at the Fine-Gold rank or better would be inaccessible. Meanwhile, if a Guild did not possess top-tier Level 100 weapons and equipment, how was it supposed to develop? Level 100-plus monsters weren''t easy opponents, especially after players reached Level 105. Before reaching Level 105, players could still rely on Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment that were below Level 100 to fight monsters and Bosses that were below Level 105. However, that would no longer be possible at Level 105. Past Level 100, monsters would receive a significant improvement in strength every five levels. Without top-tier weapons and equipment of a corresponding level, Tier 2 players would not be able to contend with monsters and Bosses of the same level at all; only Tier 3 players would be able to. However, players capable of getting promoted to Tier 3 as soon as they reached Level 100 were extremely rare. Moreover, although Tier 2 players might have an easier time completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest as their levels increased, they would still require the assistance of top-tier weapons and equipment to succeed. "Guild Leader, I found a parchment that can''t be appraised!" Blackie said excitedly after picking up a parchment dropped by a Dragonkin Warrior. He then handed it to Shi Feng, anticipation filling him. His Appraisal had already reached the Advanced standard and was only one step away from the Master standard. An item that he could not appraise definitely wasn''t ordinary. "A parchment?" After Shi Feng used Omniscient Eyes to appraise the parchment, surprise and joy filled him. "Not bad! This is a Magic Trap Design!" "A Trap Design?" Blackie, however, was disappointed when he heard Shi Feng''s words. "How unlucky. I thought we got a design for a weapon or equipment." Traps were common in God''s Domain. Some players would even use traps to deal with Field Bosses. However, compared to magic arrays, traps were very much inferior. Some traps were even ineffective against monsters at Great Lord rank or above. However, Tier 2 players could easily deal with Lord ranked monsters. Setting up traps to deal with a Lord would be a waste of time and materials. "This is something very good," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "In any case, have everyone keep an eye out for it. If any more drop, bring them to me. Also, have Melancholic''s side prepare the materials necessary for making this trap. Prepare as many as possible." Most likely, every player in God''s Domain had suffered at the hands of traps before. In fact, many experts had been killed by traps. However, as players couldn''t properly utilize traps against monsters, traps never gained much popularity among players. However, traps were almost guaranteed when exploring ruins in God''s Domain, so how could they be useless? The reason for everyone''s misconception about traps being useless was simply current players being limited to using and producing Basic Traps. The materials and production method for Basic Traps were common and simple, so it was only natural that they had very little effect against monsters. As for why players were capable of making only Basic Traps right now, it was because the Main God System intended for players to slowly adapt to and learn about traps before reaching Level 100. However, after reaching Level 100, the Main God System would remove all restrictions on players. Naturally, this included the limitation on traps, and players would be able to make Intermediate Traps. Not only would Intermediate Traps use much rarer materials, but their production difficulty would also increase significantly. In return, however, their effectiveness against monsters would improve substantially. Let alone dealing with Level 100 Lords, Intermediate Traps could deal serious damage even to Level 100 Great Lords and place them in a heavily injured state for a short time. Moreover, traps were more suitable for the general public than precious magic arrays, as they were much less costly to produce. During Shi Feng''s previous life, many Tier 2 experts had relied on Intermediate Traps to hunt high-ranking Bosses and grind monsters. If not for these traps, the majority of Tier 2 players wouldn''t have been able to survive in Level 100- plus neutral maps at all. Meanwhile, the design the Dragonkin Warrior dropped was for the Countercurrent Swamp, a Magic Trap that was effective against monsters below Level 120. When triggered, it would not only immobilize monsters for a brief period but also reduce the reaction speed and Basic Attributes of the trapped monsters by 15%. Of course, the stronger a monster was, the less effective the trap would be against them. Even so, the Countercurrent Swamp was very useful against Great Lords below Level 120. Past Level 100, even Great Lord ranked monsters were considered Bosses. Ordinary Tier 3 experts would have to flee if they came across a Great Lord of the same level; soloing the Boss would be impossible. With the Magic Trap, however, even Tier 2 players could kill Level 100 Great Lords, so long as they had a sufficiently large team. "Alright, I''ll notify the others about it," Blackie said, nodding. Even so, he still wasn''t particularly interested in the Magic Trap. After all, he didn''t believe the Countercurrent Swamp''s effects could compare to those of a magic array. Following which, Shi Feng had his team slaughter the Dragonkin armies that they came across. He did not rush to the Cold Spring Forest''s central region. After one day of steady grinding, Shi Feng obtained another four Trap Designs: two were for the Countercurrent Swamp while the other two were for a Physical Trap called Burning Fire. Physical Traps had many more weaknesses than Magic Traps. For example, they were quite useless against flying monsters. However, Physical Traps also had very obvious benefits. For example, they could be used to target a group of monsters. Moreover, they could cause very high amounts of damage continuously, so long as a monster remained trapped inside them. If Magic Traps and Physical Traps were properly paired up, even Tier 2 players could live a profitable life in Level 100- plus neutral maps. They would be inferior to Tier 3 players only when it came to raiding Dungeons. Meanwhile, after the team killed another Level 102 Dragonkin Warrior, a purple glow enveloped the bodies of many members as these people reached Level 100. The invisible chains that previously bound these players also shattered. 2321 Superior Mythic Chapter 2321 - Superior Mythic The players that had reached Level 100 were astonished. "My Attributes are so high! And I feel so much more coordinated than before!" "That''s not all that''s changed. My senses are so much sharper and more realistic. In this state, my combat power has increased by at least 30%!" "Amazing! There''s such a huge gap between Level 99 and 100! Once I complete my Tier 3 promotion, Tier 2 experts under Level 100 won''t stand a chance against me!" Ordinary players might not sense the changes that occurred when they reached Level 100 right away, but Yan Tianxing and his companions noticed the changes immediately. They were stunned when they did. None of them had realized how great the difference was between Level 99 and 100 before now. After leveling up once, their combat power had reached a whole new standard, and this was considering that most of their weapons and equipment were still Level 95. If they equipped Level 100 weapons and equipment, their combat power would skyrocket. Naturally, there was a major difference between Level 95 and Level 100 equipment. The Level 100 Mysterious-Iron items they had obtained after slaying the Dragonkin made that obvious. A Level 100 Mysterious-Iron Weapon''s Attack Power could almost rival that of a Level 95 Dark-Gold Weapon, and the Basic Attribute bonuses were even slightly higher. It was easy to imagine how much their Attack Power, Defense, and Basic Attributes would rise if they fully geared themselves with Level 100 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Furthermore, they had yet to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. "Now that a number of us have reached Level 100, Guild Leader, we should start raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons," Blackie eagerly suggested after experiencing the changes due to his new level. They hadn''t even dared consider setting foot in a Level 100 Team Dungeon previously. Dungeons'' monsters were far stronger than monsters in the fields, after all, and without Shi Feng''s help, they had barely held their ground against Level 100-plus field monsters before reaching Level 100. Trying to raid a Level 100 Team Dungeon would''ve been suicide. However, they had grown considerably stronger after leveling up, especially the players with Epic Weapons and Equipment. These players'' combat power had risen by far more than a mere 30%. Now, they''d have no issues taking on a dozen or so Dragonkin Warriors, even without Shi Feng''s help. They definitely qualified to challenge Level 100 Team Dungeons. Not only could they test their newfound strength by successfully raiding such a Dungeon, but they''d also acquire high- quality Level 100 weapons and equipment. In addition, their achievement would help spread Zero Wing''s fame across the eastern continent, maybe even throughout God''s Domain. The other Level 100 players voiced their agreement with Blackie''s suggestion. They were all eager to challenge a Level 100 Team Dungeon. "Don''t get so excited just yet. The systems restrictions on your bodies have been lifted now that you''ve reached Level 100, so your physical condition is slightly different. Fight the Dragonkin first and give yourselves a chance to adapt," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Smiling, he continued, "If you''re so eager to test your new limits, I know the perfect place for you to do that." Players'' combat power would substantially increase upon reaching Level 100. They could now use their five senses and reaction speed to its full potential, but exerting all of their strength wasn''t an easy task. Even Domain Realm experts would need quite some time to adjust, not to mention Refinement Realm experts. Shi Feng had only been able to adapt so quickly because he was most familiar with this body. Although there were some minor differences between his current form and the body he had used during his previous life, he had sensed and adapted to these minor changes easily as a Domain Realm expert, perfectly exhibiting his full potential. "A perfect place to test our strength? Where is it, Guild Leader?" Cola excitedly asked. Unlike the others, he carried the Titan Guard, a Fragmented Legendary Shield. Once he reached Level 100, the restrictions on his shield had also vanished. As a result, he sensed a massive boost to his combat power. Overall, he had likely improved more than anyone else on the team. "A Superior Mythic Boss''s lair!" Shi Feng announced, gesturing to the Cold Spring Forest''s central region. Every member of the team was stunned when they heard Shi Feng''s answer. God''s Domain''s Mythic monsters weren''t equal in terms of strength. Among them, Superior Mythics stood at the apex of their kind, wielding even more power than Mythic ranked Archaic Species. Everyone here was an expert, and they all had an idea of how powerful Mythic monsters would become after Level 100. Trying to challenge a Level 100 Mythic monster before they reached Tier 3 was tantamount to throwing themselves into the jaws of death, let alone challenging a Level 100 Superior Mythic. Relax. Im quite confident that we_ll be victorious,''1 Shi Feng assured them, chuckling at his ^ now, take some time to adapt to your new bodies." A Tier 4 Dragon was an incredibly powerful being, but he had his Heavenly Dragon''s Breath. The ring was capable of suppressing Dragons to an intense degree. Including Anna and Kite''s assistance, they definitely had a chance of defeating the monster. Hearing that Shi Feng was confident of their victory, his teammates breathed a sigh of relief. They obediently followed their leader''s orders and used the nearby Dragonkin as training dummies. After around four hours of training, the team had a basic grasp of their unrestricted strength. Once his team was ready, Shi Feng led them toward the Cold Spring Canyon. The Cold Spring Canyon was far more dangerous than the Cold Spring Forest''s other areas, home to many Level 103 and 104 Dragonkin. Even Level 105 Grand Lord ranked Dragonkin Commanders wandered the area. If Zero Wing''s members had come here before reaching Level 100, they would''ve died the moment they aggroed a Dragonkin Commander. Fortunately, Cola could single-handedly tank one of these Grand Lords at Level 100, preventing the Dragonkin from targeting any of his comrades. Once he had a hold on the Dragonkin Commander''s aggro, the rest of the team slowly shaved away the Grand Lord''s HP, eventually killing it. When Blackie looted the Dragonkin Commander, he obtained the Dragontooth Pendant, a Level 100 Fine-Gold Necklace. Its Basic Attributes were more than two ranks higher than a Level 95 Dark-Gold Necklace, and it increased the power of the wearer''s Dragon Bloodline. Cola ended up winning the bid for the necklace, and when he equipped it, not only did it increase his Basic Attributes, but it also improved the purity of his Dragon Blood, improving his physique. Shi Feng and his team finally reached the heart of the Cold Spring Canyon after another six hours or so of combat. He then retrieved the Transfer Stone he had received from the Adventurer''s Association and began to chant the incantation. The Transfer Stone transformed into violent energy that pierced an invisible barrier before Zero Wing''s main force. As the barrier shattered, it revealed a paradise. Zero Wing''s members could hear birds chirping and smell fragrant flowers, and as they entered the space, they felt a pleasant sensation encompass their bodies. The fatigue from their long hours of grinding faded quickly as their Stamina and Concentration began to recover. This space was nothing like the outside world. However, before any of them had the chance to inspect this area, a horrific aura washed over them, so intense that it nearly knocked them on their backs. "A Dragon?!" Turning toward the auras origin, their gaze rested on a thirty-meter-tall Infant Dragon. Protected by its sno^ scales, the Infant Dragon was sound asleep. Every breath it took was powerful enough to shake the entire area. [Ice Dragon, Heathwaite] (Dragon, Mythic) Level 101 HP 1,840,000,000/1,840,000,000 When the team saw Heathwaite''s statistics, they had no doubt that if this Infant Dragon wished it, it could likely shatter this entire space, plunging it into the void. Dragons had always been the symbol of destruction in God''s Domain. The various NPC cities'' libraries contained a vast amount of information on these beings, always depicting Dragons as natural disasters that could bring about the downfall of an entire country. If there hadn''t been so few Dragons in existence, they would likely have become God''s Domain''s absolute overlords. "Are we really going to raid a Dragon, Guild Leader?" Cola asked, gulping as he watched the slumbering Ice Dragon. For a moment, Cola wondered if Shi Feng were playing some kind of joke on them. Even if he were Tier 3, Heathwaite could likely kill him in one hit, much less now. "That''s right! That''s what we''re going to raid!" Shi Feng nodded after taking a deep breath. He then pulled two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag and summoned Anna and Kite. 2322 Draconic Spell Chapter 2322 - Draconic Spell Heathwaite was a Tier 4 Dragon, and normally, Shi Feng would''ve tried to stay as far away from it as possible. Heathwaite might merely be an Infant Dragon, but it still stood at the peak among Tier 4 beings. It was no exaggeration to say that this Dragon was invincible among Tier 4 beings of the same level. Even 1,000 Tier 3 players would meet their doom if they encountered a Tier 4 Infant Dragon of the same level, let alone Tier 2 players. The gap between their Life Ratings was simply too vast. Normally, only Tier 4 Heroes, who had passed a Trial of God and received a God''s blessing, would have the strength to contend with an Infant Dragon. However, Heathwaite was under a Life Curse, which significantly reduced the effects of its Life Rating. If that weren''t the case, it wouldn''t have only had 1.84 billion HP and only be categorized as a Monarch ranked Boss. Even a random Dragon had the strength of a World Boss, and a top-ranked World Boss at that. Normally, defeating a true Dragon without a Tier 6 God-ranked player would be impossible. Otherwise, the players that had successfully defeated a Dragon of the same tier wouldn''t have been regarded as legends and inspiration for countless players in God''s Domain. As the two summoning arrays gathered the necessary Mana, the Level 106 Summoner, Anna, and the Level 105 Swordsman, Kite, emerged. During the short break Shi Feng had taken after completing his Tier 3 Promotion Quest, Anna and Kite had completed another Epic Quest. As a result, their weapons and equipment had changed. Previously, they had both worn Epic Equipment that could grow with them to Level 100, but now, they both had Epic Set Equipment that would grow until they reached Level 150. They had also both reached or surpassed Level 105, and their Basic Attributes had undergone a considerable transformation. Despite the fact that Shi Feng had reached Tier 3 and wore the Disintegration Armor, his Attributes were no match for Anna''s and Kite''s. Once he had summoned his Personal Guards, Shi Feng retrieved the Bible of Darkness and called forth a Demon. Shi Feng''s Bible of Darkness was the real deal, so its power was unmatched. Moreover, as its user rose to a new tier, the Bible of Darkness would exhibit even greater strength. After a moment, a twenty-meter-tall Demon Gate appeared before Shi Feng. As the Demon Gate slowly opened, a Tier 4 Great Demon, enveloped in blue flame, stepped through. [Blaze Demon] (Dark Creature, Great Demon) Level 116 HP 420,000,000/420,000,000 Zero Wing''s main force members gasped when they saw the Blaze Demon. They then turned to stare at Shi Feng with incredulous looks. "You''re too vicious, Guild Leader. You can actually summon a Great Demon to do your bidding. The various superpowers would likely go crazy if they knew about this," Blackie said as he glanced at the Bible of Darkness in Shi Feng''s hands. Blackie had seen the Bible of Darkness before, so he knew just how powerful it was. Its ability to summon Tier 3 Demons was particularly useful to Tier 2 players. A Tier 3 Demon would even be useful after players reached Tier 3. Such Demons had many Skills and Spells and were far more powerful than ordinary Tier 3 summoned creatures. However, Blackie hadn''t dreamed that the Bible of Darkness could summon a Tier 4 Great Demon once Shi Feng had reached Tier 3. This power was ridiculous. Tier 4 Summoning Scrolls were even rarer than Epic Weapons and Equipment, and the various superpowers treated such items like priceless treasures, avoiding using them unless absolutely necessary. And yet, Shi Feng could summon a Tier 4 Great Demon with the Bible of Darkness at no cost... Although a Great Demon had far less HP than ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level, its combat power would be far greater than ordinary Mythic monsters. "Alright, everyone, get ready! The Blaze Demon will tank the Ice Dragon later during the raid. You guys only need to support and attack from the sidelines," Shi Feng announced, chuckling as he returned the Bible of Darkness to his bag. The Spirit Emperor, Fantasy Extinguisher, had caused a sensation throughout God''s Domain during Shi Feng''s previous life due to the Bible of Darkness. With it, he had developed Fantasy Shrine from a first-rate Guild into a superpower that could even suppress the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in the Black Dragon Empire. Since Shi Feng now had the real Bible of Darkness, he had even greater power. The Bible of Darkness was the very reason that Shi Feng even dared to consider challenging the Cold Spring Forest''s Monarchs. He wouldn''t have harbored the thought if he only had Anna and Kite to rely on. After all, a Mythic ranked Monarch was even stronger than a "Tier 4 Hero. With Shi Feng''s command, Zero Wing''s main force members went to work. Once his teammates were in position, Shi Feng sent the Blaze Demon to charge at the Ice Dragon. Within seconds, the Blaze Demon was within 500 yards of Heathwaite. As the Blaze Demon approached, the Ice Dragon''s eyes opened abruptly, and it woke from its slumber, turning its amber gaze on the intruder. Needing neither chants nor gestures, Heathwaite spread its jaws. With Heathwaite as the center, the Ice Dragon sucked a 300-yard radius dry of Mana before a towering, white beam shot toward the Blaze Demon. Tier 4 Dragon Breath! Compared to the Dragon Breath Shi Feng''s Black Dragon doppelganger had used, a true Dragon''s Dragon Breath was on an entirely different level. The Blaze Demon transformed into an ice sculpture before flying back over 500 yards. At the same time, the area around Heathwaite became a world of ice, the attack utterly transforming the terrain... Aside from Shi Feng, every member of Zero Wing''s team was dumbfounded. They had all heard legends and details about Dragons, but they hadn''t actually seen one in action. At this moment, they finally understood what a Dragon truly was. If they hadn''t stood over a thousand yards away, that Dragon Breath attack would''ve killed every one of them. Fortunately, the Blaze Demon had initiated the raid. Even so, the Blaze Demon had lost over 20 million HP after taking a direct hit from Heathwaites Dragon Breath." "All of you, snap out of it! Once you get close to the Boss, make sure that you''re spread out! Healers, throw everything you have at the Blaze Demon!" Shi Feng barked. He couldn''t help his sigh of relief as he watched the Blaze Demon break free from its icy prison, appearing mostly intact. If that Dragon Breath had heavily injured the Blaze Demon, this raid would be over. Neither Anna nor Kite could tank the Ice Dragon, and their combat power couldn''t even compare to the Level 116 Blaze Demon''s. They''d either die instantly or be heavily injured if they took a direct hit from a Tier 4 Dragon Breath. The Blaze Demon ran at Heathwaite again. Fortunately, Dragon Breath had a relatively long cooldown, and because of that, the Ice Dragon switched to using its claws to attack the incoming Demon. The Blaze Demon proved to be no match for Heathwaite. Each time it blocked an attack, it lost over 8 million HP. Although the Blaze Demon launched a counterattack from time to time, its Tier 4 Spells only dealt a few million damage. The two creatures'' strengths were on completely different levels. Shi Feng only activated Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance to suppress the Ice Dragon and enhance his allies'' combat power once the Blaze Demon had secured Heathwaite''s aggro. Unfortunately, Miniature World was barley effective against the Infant Dragon. However, Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s Dragon Domination was fully effective, reducing the Dragon''s Basic Attributes by 20%. Once Heathwaite''s Basic Attributes had been suppressed, Zero Wing''s healers were barely able to keep up with the damage the Ice Dragon dealt to the Blaze Demon. Shi Feng also used Life Domain to restore the Blaze Demon''s HP to full, on occasion. For a time, the Ice Dragon was helpless against the summoned Demon, during which, Heathwait''s HP continued to decrease under Zero Wing''s bombardment. 95%... 90%... 85%... However, Heathwaite was not an easy opponent, and it turned its Dragon Breath on a random target from time to time. The players who had failed to dodge the attack had become ice sculptures, losing all of their HP in the blink of an eye. Dragon Breath had even slain Turtledove, despite her active Lifesaving Skill. As Heathwaite''s HP continued to fall, the intervals between each Dragon Breath grew shorter. By the time Heathwaite''s HP reached 30%, only a little over half of the team remained standing. "Despicable ants! I''ll burn you to ash!" Heathwaite bellowed before chanting an incantation. A threefold magic array with a 500-yard radius then appeared above the Ice Dragon, plundering all of the Mana within a 1,000-yard radius. Tier 4 Draconic Spell, Meteorite Fall! Suddenly, a colossal meteorite, which blocked out the sun, descended from the magic array, growing larger as it emerged. When Zero Wing''s survivors saw this, they began to despair. A Tier 4 Draconic Spell?! Even Shi Feng''s expression darkened at the unexpected sight. How is this possible? Draconic Spells were some of the most primitive Spells in God''s Domain, beginning at Tier 4. Even Dragons rarely possessed Draconic Spells of the same tier. Meanwhile, a Draconic Spell was even more powerful than a large-scale destruction Spell, capable of rivaling the Gods'' Divine Arts. A single blow from such a Spell could annihilate tens of thousands of creatures. Not even Invulnerability Spells could stop their devastation... "Anna, summon the Valkyrie!" Shi Feng shouted. Not even he had a countermeasure for a Tier 4 Draconic Spell. Anna''s Valkyrie was his only hope. Anna immediately began to chant her Angel Summoning incantation. 2323 Valkyrie Versus Dragon Chapter 2323 - Valkyrie Versus Dragon Anna finished the Angel Summoning incantation in two seconds, and the moment she did, a gigantic magic array appeared above her, no smaller than Heathwaite''s Meteorite Fall. A Valkyrie with three sets of pure-white wings then emerged, landing before Anna. A Tier 4 Higher Valkyrie? When he saw the upgraded version, Shi Feng was stunned. Angel Summoning was Anna''s Legacy Skill, and Shi Feng had always treated it as his final trump card since the Skill allowed Anna to summon a Valkyrie that was two tiers higher than her. When Anna had been a Tier 2 personal Guard, she had been able to summon a Tier 4 Valkyrie. Now that Anna had reached Tier 3, she should logically be able to summon a Tier 5 Valkyrie. With such a powerful ally, Zero Wing''s remaining team should have no problem suppressing a Tier 4 Infant Dragon. However, Anna''s Valkyrie was still only Tier 4. The only difference between the previous Valkyrie and this one was the extra set of wings. Angels'' wings represented their status. An Angel with three sets of wings was considered a Higher Ang^ with four sets were considered Archangels. In terms of Life Rating, Archangels rivaled Dragons, while Higher Angels were slightly weaker. But before Shi Feng had any time to ponder the matter, the meteorite above them had nearly completed. "Block it!" Shi Feng couldn''t care less about the Valkyrie''s status at the moment. He immediately commanded Anna to send her Valkyrie to stop Heathwaite''s Meteorite Fall. The Higher Valkyrie began to chant an incantation as soon as Shi Feng gave the command. The Higher Valkyrie''s incantation was unique. Rather than draw Mana from her environment, it drew on a primitive form of Mana from the void. In less than a second, a dazzling, golden Spear of Thunder manifested in the Valkyrie''s hands. An Origin Spell! Shi Feng was ecstatic to see the Spear of Thunder form from the void''s Mana in the Valkyrie''s hands. Origin Spells were the most primitive form of magic in God''s Domain. They were the root of all Spells, capable of rivaling Divine Arts. However, humanity had lost track of Origin Spells due to repeated wars between the Gods. Shi Feng had never expected the Higher Valkyrie to use such magic. Before Shi Feng could get over his excitement, the giant meteorite, so large that it covered the sky and so heavy that it shattered space around it, began to descend. It looked as if Armageddon had begun for a moment, and Zero Wing''s members fell further into despair. As the meteorite began to fall, the Higher Valkyrie finished her incantation. She then threw her spear at the meteorite. Soundlessly, the thunder spear transformed into a streak of golden light as it struck the incoming meteorite. Boom! The moment the two attacks met, the impact caused a powerful explosion. The resulting shockwave was so powerful that it nearly lifted the players below off their feet. The gigantic meteorite disintegrated into countless, smaller meteors that rained down, creating craters as they struck the ground. Every meteorite was nearly as powerful as a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Zero Wing''s members gaped as they watched the stones slam into the ground. Tier 2 and 3 players were little more than ants in a battle of this scale. If this battle had taken place in a city, rather than in this special space, the Spells'' residual effects alone would be more than enough to level half the city. After blocking Heathwaite''s Meteorite Fall, the Higher Valkyrie shifted her attention to the Ice Dragon itself. She formed another spear of golden electricity in her hands before vanishing. By the time Zero Wing''s players realized where she had gone, the Valkyrie had appeared before Heathwaite. Tier 4 Superior Instantaneous Movement! Not only did Superior Instantaneous Movement have more range than the normal spell, but there was also almost no delay between the caster''s disappearance and reappearance. Moreover, the Spell didn''t affect the ambient Mana, making it impossible for enemies to determine the caster''s destination. When she appeared before Heathwaite, the Higher Valkyrie thrust her spear at the Ice Dragon. The attack was so fast that not even Shi Feng would have enough time to react. If that attack struck him, he''d die instantly. However, Heathwaite was a Dragon and reacted instantly, countering the golden spear with a rage-filled claw strike. Boom! The impact of the collision created a deafening boom that echoed throughout the area. Surprisingly, the Valkyrie''s Strength was too much for Heathwaite, and the Infant Dragon stumbled two steps backward. After suffering this humiliating blow, Heathwaite turned a wrathful glare on Shi Feng. Heavenly Dragon''s Breath''s suppression on Dragons was simply too powerful, and the Passive Ability had plundered 20% of Heathwaite''s Basic Attributes. Heathwaite already suffered a Life Curse so its Stren was slightly lower thץ the Higher Valkyries. Now Dragon''s Domination affected it as well, it was no match for the summoned Angel. "Good! Everyone, attack with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng quickly shouted when he realized that Heathwaite was thoroughly suppressed. He had originally planned to use Angel Summoning only after Heathwaite had gone berserk, but he had been forced to use it early due to Meteorite Fall. Although Anna had risen to Tier 3, which strengthened her Angel Summoning, its duration had only increased from 10 seconds to 15 seconds. Unfortunately, Heathwaite still had nearly 30% of its HP remaining, and 15 seconds wouldn''t be enough to kill it. "Attack!" Yan Tianxing shouted. Yan Tianxing realized the predicament they were in, as well. He immediately activated his Berserk Skill and his trump card, Shadow Stink, a Tier 2 Taboo Skill. In a frenzy, Yan Tianxing transformed into three streams of fog, attacking the Ice Dragon and dealing over -70,000 damage with each hit. Occasionally, the fog streams landed a critical hit, dealing over -150,000 damage. The rest of Zero Wing''s survivors activated their trump cards as well, with the weaker players dealing around -50,000 damage, while the stronger members of the team, such as Zhao Yueru, dealing upwards of -200,000 damage. Zhao Yueru''s critical hits even dealt over -500,000 damage to the Ice Dragon. Her Tier 3 fire-type Spells were a massive advantage in this raid. However, Shi Feng''s DPS was undoubtedly the highest. After activating Heavenly Dragons Power, his Strength could even surpass an ordinary Mythic monster''s, and as a result, he dealt over -1,000,000 damage, even without fire-type Skills or Spells. When he used Void Slash, he instantly devoured over 10,000,000 of Heathwaite''s HP. With the Higher Valkyrie, Anna, Kite, and the Blaze Demon attacking as well, Heathwaite''s HP rapidly decreased. 25%... 20%... 15%... The Higher Valkyrie continued to suppress Heathwaite after the Dragon had gone berserk. However, she didn''t deal quite as much damage. When Heathwaite''s HP dropped below 10%, the Higher Valkyrie''s duration ended, and she vanished. "Humans, you''re dead!" Heathwaite bellowed as the Higher Valkyrie disappeared. The Ice Dragon swiped its tail at the Blaze Demon and Anna''s Holy Knight, sending both of them flying. It then swiped a claw at Anna, ignoring the Blaze Demon completely. The Ice Dragon intended to rid itself of the most troublesome opponents before dealing with the remaining pests. Even without her army of summoned creatures, Anna''s DPS was exceptionally high. With her summoned creatures, she was the Infant Dragon''s most challenging opponent. Although Anna''s Spells could overwhelm ordinary Mythic monsters, they were utterly useless against the berserk Heathwaite. "Don''t think you can take out our main DPS so easily!" Suddenly, Shi Feng appeared before Anna and activated his Disintegration Power, swinging Killing Ray at Heathwaite''s incoming claw. The moment Shi Feng activated Disintegration Power, it canceled out Heavenly Dragon''s Power. In return, however, the ability temporarily elevated Shi Feng to Tier 4. Not only did he now wield Tier 4 Strength, but his physique, reaction speed, and Skills had risen as well. Boom! When the attacks collided, Shi Feng stumbled three steps backward due to the impact, losing more than 50,000 HP. He was still at a disadvantage, but he had successfully blocked Heathwaite''s berserk attack. When that attack had failed, Heathwaite responded with another claw strike. This time, however, the Ice Dragon activated a Skill in the process. Tier 4 Skill, Sky Splitter! Five razor-sharp claws flew toward Anna from different directions, each with more power than the previous claw strike. As soon as Shi Feng steadied himself, he executed Lightning Flash to counter the attacks. Executing the Secret Technique proved far easier after his forceful upgrade to Tier 4, and he sent 17 sword lights at the approaching claws. Peng... Peng... Peng... A series of explosions blew apart the ground around Shi Feng, but even after all five attacks, he had only stumbled back three steps. He also only lost around 200,000 HP. Even at Tier 3, Shi Feng had over 1,700,000 HP, far less than he currently had. Losing 200,000 HP was nothing life-threatening. After watching Shi Feng pin down the Ice Dragon, his teammates breathed a sigh of relief and continued their frenzied assault against Heathwaite. Time passed quickly. As the battle progressed, Heathwaite''s attacks grew stronger, but with the Blaze Dragon and the Holy Knight''s help, Shi Feng kept the Ice Dragon in check, preventing it from harming Anna or Kite. However, the team suffered the occasional casualty when Heathwaite fired its Dragon Breath. 5%". 4%". 3%... When Disintegration Power''s duration ended, Shi Feng followed it up by activating Power of Darkness and Blade Awakening, relying on his Twofold Berserk''s effects to tank Heathwaite''s attacks. When less than five seconds of Shi Feng''s Twofold Berserk remained, Heathwaite''s HP had fallen below 7,000,000. Meanwhile, fewer than 30 players were still standing, and the surviving healers could no longer keep up with the Ice Dragon''s damage output. Die!" Shi Feng activated Divine Providence and swung Killing Ray for a final blow. Lightning Slash! A massive lightning bolt sliced through Heathwaite''s neck, leaving a deep gash across its throat. That lightning bolt also destroyed the last of the Infant Dragon''s HP. 2324 Ice Dragons Loo Chapter 2324 - Ice Dragon''s Loot Everyone''s experience bars exploded with EXP as Heathwaite''s colossal body crashed to the ground. A Level 100-plus Mythic Boss would already provide a lot of EXP, and as a Monarch ranked Boss, Heathwaite would award even more. In the end, the two dozen or so survivors watched as their experience barse rose beyond 90%. Although they had only reached Level 100 less than a day ago, they were almost at Level 101. Shi Feng was now at 63% of Level 101, as well. The EXP from the Ice Dragon alone was worth nearly three days of normal grinding. "It''s finally dead. And I thought we were finished," Blackie said, sighing deeply as he plopped down on the ground. He was ecstatic that they had finally won. Near the end of the raid, Heathwaite''s Defense and Attack Speed had steadily increased. At one point, Shi Feng hadn''t even been able to pin down the Ice Dragon with the Blaze Demon and Holy Knight''s help. Moreover, Heathwaite''s battle recovery generated over 10 million HP every five seconds, and as a result, they had barely moved the Infant Dragon''s HP Bar toward the raid''s end. Yan Tianxing and the others felt like survivors of some great disaster. None of them wanted to imagine how the raid would''ve gone without Shi Feng''s Bible of Darkness and two Personal Guards. When Heathwait had died, it had dropped over a hundred items beside its corpse, forming a small mountain that radiated waves of intense pressure. "It''s so powerful!" "This is the first time I''ve ever seen items that emitted such intense pressure. I wonder what kind of items dropped?" "Maybe there''s a Legendary item." Everyone stared at the mountain of loot with glowing eyes, and when they heard mention of a ''Legendary item,'' the eager light in their gazes grew even brighter. They all forgot about their exhaustion for a moment, wanting to charge forth and inspect the dropped items. The strongest known item at this stage of the game was Fragmented Legendary rank, which everyone assumed Shi Feng possessed. However, Zero Wing''s main force members knew the truth; there was more than one Fragmented Legendary item. Naturally, this was a Guild secret. Exposing this truth would only invite God''s Domain''s various powers to target Zero Wing, and only an expert of Shi Feng''s caliber could openly own a Fragmented Legendary item without having to fear for his life. If anyone else were in his position, they wouldn''t even dare to set foot outside of an NPC city. Epic items couldn''t even compare to the benefits a Fragmented Legendary item provided, much less a true Legendary item. Based on what players had learned from the game''s libraries, every Legendary item in the game had the strength to decimate heaven and earth. With such an item, players would have the power to transcend tiers! Before their fight with Heathwaite, these players wouldn''t have been so concerned about such a power, convinced that they could bridge the gap between tiers with high enough Basic Attributes, but now, they understood what that kind of strength truly meant. Without the strength to transcend tiers, Tier 3 players had no hope of contending with Superior Mythic Bosses. "Alright, let''s resurrect our fallen!" Shi Feng simply chuckled when he saw the hunger in everyone''s eyes. He found their assumptions hilarious. Obtaining a Legendary item with so little effort was impossible, and after Level 100, weapons and equipment drop- rates decreased considerably. On average, even Mythic Bosses'' loot would consist of Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. One would have to be incredibly lucky to acquire Dark-Gold Weapons or Equipment from a Mythic Boss. However, Shi Feng had to admit that he was surprised by how much Heathwaite had dropped. This was the first time he had felt such an incredible pressure from a Boss''s loot, as well. Having received their orders, the surviving team members pushed aside their curiosity for the moment and began to resurrect their teammates. Fortunately, a Monarch Boss''s lair was similar to the space within Dungeons. Even if players died here, they''d only lose 10% of their EXP, and only 5% if a healer revived them. Thus, the Level 100 players that had fallen hadn''t dropped back to Level 99. While his companions revived, Shi Feng organized the Infant Dragon''s loot. Amazing! Is this a benefit for the First Kill? Shi Feng was stunned as he examined the items. His only aim in killing Heathwaite was to complete his Crusade Quest and become Cold Spring Canyon''s Lord. He hadn''t expected to gain much from the raid itself, yet he was elated that he had chosen this Monarch Boss to raid. The Ice Dragon had dropped a total of 121 items, which was normal for a Monarch. However, the items'' quality far exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. There were as many as 24 Inferior Legendary materials among the loot, all necessary for producing Epic and Fragmented Legendary items. Even without a design for such items, these materials could increase one''s production success rates when crafting Level 100 Dark-Gold items. Level 100-plus Dark-Gold items were incredibly rare in God''s Domain, only slightly more common than Epic items under Level 100. They''d still be rare even after Master Lifestyle players gained the ability to craft Level 100-plus Dark- Gold items. The required materials for producing such items were incredibly precious. They only dropped from powerful Bosses, and each Boss dropped very few at a time. Moreover, the production success rate for Level 100-plus Dark-Gold items was very low. Advanced Master Lifestyle players would only have a theoretical success rate of 35%. Every player that focused on their subclass knew that theoretical success rates were nowhere near the actual success rates. It was merely the highest possible success rate players could achieve. In practice, a minor deviation in the process could reduce the success rate to 20% or 30%. If one included an Inferior Legendary material in the process, however, their production success rate with Level 100- plus Dark Gold items would increase by at least 5%. With these 24 materials, Zero Wing could produce a dozen or so Level 100-plus Dark Gold items. Surprising Shi Feng further, Heathwaite had also dropped Legendary materials. The Ice Dragon''s Claw! Countless Grandmaster Forgers dreamed of obtaining this item. Dragons were one of the rarest types of monsters in God''s Domain, and they were immensely formidable. Acquiring a Dragon''s claw was nearly impossible. When used to forge weapons, Dragons'' claws were godly materials. As long as the player made some minor modifications to the claw, they could easily produce an Epic Weapon, even without an appropriate design. If they had an Epic Weapon Design, they could craft a Fragmented Legendary Weapon by using a Dragon Claw as the base material. Any Dragon Claw that had appeared on the market during Shi Feng''s previous life had easily fetched the price of two Fragmented Legendary items in an auction. After all, one could sacrifice two random Fragmented Legendary items to secure a weapon of the same rank that was more compatible with its wielder. And Heathwaite had actually dropped two Ice Dragon''s Claws. Why wouldn''t Shi Feng be excited?? It was no wonder why the Ice Dragon''s loot had radiated such an incredible pressure. Aside from materials, Heathwaite had dropped five Dragon''s Blood vials that could boost Cola and Alluring Summer''s Dragon Bloodlines, further strengthening their Dragonslayer classes. While Shi Feng appraised the several designs the Infant Dragon had dropped, one result left him utterly dumbfounded. How is this possible?! A Flying Ship Design! 2325 Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Chapter 2325 - Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Shi Feng fell silent for a long time as he stared at the tattered design in his hands. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn''t believe that Heathwaite had dropped a Flying Ship Design. Flying Mounts were incredibly rare in God''s Domain, and even with a Common Flying Mount, one would have endless bragging rights. Even the weakest Flying Mount was rarer and more precious than a Level 100-plus Epic Weapon. Flying Ships, on the other hand, were even more amazing. The most ordinary Flying Ship''s Movement Speed could rival an Extraordinary Flying Mount, and one could accommodate up to 100 people at a time. Their aerial combat abilities were even at the peak of Tier 3. However, the main continent''s various countries had monopolized the technology for Flying Ships, and players typically had no way to get their hands on one. At best, players could rent an Airship, which could only transport goods and people, from one of the kingdoms or empires. One would be dreaming if they thought to rent a Flying Ship, an aerial weapon of mass destruction. Shi Feng had never even heard of anyone obtaining a Flying Ship Design by killing a boss. If players wanted to acquire a Flying Ship Design, they''d have to raid a major NPC power''s main headquarters or steal one from one of the NPC kingdoms or empires. Of course, both methods were exceedingly dangerous. There was a safer method; players could create one themselves. The subclass requirements for creating a Flying Ship, however, were immensely demanding, and players would have to invest a lot of effort and time into the research. As for the cost of creating one from scratch, even superpowers would have a hard time justifying such a massive expense. Most superpowers would rather purchase a completed Flying Ship. Purchasing a Flying Ship was much easier than purchasing a Flying Ship Design. A Guild could do so through the Black Market or by earning a sufficiently high status in an NPC country. Regardless of which method a player or power relied on, the price would be exorbitant. Furthermore, players could only purchase a very limited number of Flying Ships. As far as Shi Feng knew, the easiest way to buy a Flying Ship was to become a Duke in a kingdom. As a Duke, a player could purchase one Flying Ship for 80,000 Gold. To acquire more, they''d have to try their luck in the Black Market. Unfortunately, the Black Market only accepted Ancient Gold, not regular Gold. And yet, Shi Feng had just obtained a Flying Ship Design after killing Heathwaite. If the various powers of his previous life had known this, they would''ve slaughtered every Ice Dragon in God''s Domain. Unable to contain his excitement any longer, Shi Feng clicked on the design to inspect its statistics. He wanted to know what rank this Flying Ship Design was. [Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Design] Can be used to construct a Common Flying Ship with a maximum capacity of 100 people and peak Tier 3 combat power. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship carries eight Magic Cannons and one Magic Crystal Cannon. Piloting the Flying Ship requires a minimum of six people. Producing the Flying Ship requires 1,000 Titan Silver, 10,000 Void Iron, 2,000 Mana Stones, and 100 Magic Elven Stones. Sure enough, it is the most common type. Shi Feng inwardly sighed when he saw the statistics. If he had obtained a Bronze Flying Ship Design, he could''ve ruled over the entire Cold Spring Forest without any issues. Bronze Flying Ships had Tier 4 combat power, after all, and would be a massive threat to Tier 3 players. Not even Shi Feng would escape from a Bronze Flying Ship''s all-out assault with his life. A Flying Ship wasn''t a monster. It did not have the mobility flying monsters possessed, and it didn''t have monsters'' vast repertoire of Skills and Spells. The so-called ''Tier 4 combat power'' didn''t mean that the Flying Ship''s overall combat power was limited to Tier 4. Rather, each of the Flying Ship''s attacks had peak Tier 4 power. With over a dozen cannons, a Flying Ship''s bombardment could even blow a Tier 4 apex expert to smithereens. Without a Tier 4 Legendary Flying Mount or something even more powerful, they''d have to flee the moment they spotted a Bronze Flying Ship. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng realized that he was being too greedy. Superpowers struggled just to obtain a single Common Flying Ship, let alone a Bronze Flying Ship. One thousand Titan Silver and one hundred Magic Elven Stones... The production cost is vicious. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s necessary materials astonished Shi Feng. Titan Silver was a rare by-product that could be obtained from mining Fine Titan Ore. Thus far, Zero Wing had only compiled a little over 2,000 Titan Silver ingots. Magic Elven Stone was even rarer and more valuable. One could only obtain the super-rare ore from Grade 2 ore veins. It was just slightly more common than Seven Luminaries Crystals. Including the other materials, producing the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship would cost roughly 50,000 Gold, several times more than the Bronze ranked Guardian Puppets'' production cost. However, it was still cheaper than trying to become a Duke. Moreover, he would get more value for his money. A Common Flying Ship would be far more useful to players than Bronze Combat Puppets. Even though a Common Flying Ship''s combat power was only at the peak of Tier 3, it could transport 100 players, allowing them to travel across the continent freely. Moreover, players could rest and recover while on a Flying Ship, which they couldn''t do while riding a Flying Mount. The recovery ability wasn''t very powerful, but it was a precious asset when exploring Level 100- plus neutral maps. Moreover, players would be able to flee when they encountered Mythic ranked flying monsters thanks to the Flying Ship''s defensive capabilities. "Did the Boss drop something good, Guild Leader?" Blackie asked, curious about the joyful expression on Shi Feng''s face. "Here, take a look for yourselves," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Aside from the Flying Ship Design, he shared the loot''s information in the team chat. "Crap! Legendary materials!" "And that''s a design for a Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment!" "This Fine-Gold ranked Polar Ice Set is amazing!" When they saw the Boss''s loot, every member of the team was excited. Heathwaite might not have dropped an Epic item, but these players weren''t fools. They knew how precious Inferior Legendary and Legendary materials were. These were all top-tier materials that could be used to produce Epic items. Moreover, the Ice Dragon had dropped seven pieces of Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment and over 30 Level 100 Fine- Gold Weapons and Equipment pieces. These weapons and equipment would grant many of the team members a massive boost to their combat power. The Polar Ice Set Heathwaite had dropped was particularly eye-catching. It might only be a six-piece, Level 100 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, but its Attributes were nearly three ranks stronger than that of Level 95 Dark-Gold Equipment. With this set, a Level 100 Elementalist could easily defeat lower-level experts in full Epic Equipment. Following which, Shi Feng held an internal auction, and Yi Luofei claimed the Polar Ice Set. Now, only Shi Feng, Cola, and Zhao Yueru, who had at least one Fragmented Legendary item and multiple pieces of Epic Equipment, had higher Basic Attributes than she did. Once the weapons and equipment had been distributed, Shi Feng returned to White River City with his team. Since Zero Wing''s main force members had finally reached Level 100 or higher, they qualified to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Naturally, he couldn''t continue to help them level up in the Cold Spring Forest, and more than a dozen of the team members were ready to challenge their Promotion Quests now. Wasting time would be a pity. Players would only become true powerhouses in God''s Domain once they reached Tier 3, after all. Shi Feng spent some time advising his players on how to complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests before he dismissed them. Those that weren''t strong enough yet left to prepare a bit more, and the players that were strong enough headed to the Adventurer''s Association immediately. Meanwhile, Shi Feng headed toward White River City''s Adventurer''s Association for another matter. Within one of the Adventurer''s Association''s second-floor VIP reception rooms... "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service?" the female Elven administrator asked as she entered the room. "I wish to turn in my Crusade Quest for Cold Spring Forest''s Ice Dragon, Heathwaite," Shi Feng announced as he retrieved a colossal, silvery-white Dragon Horn and placed it on the table between them. This Dragon Horn was proof that he had slain Heathwaite. As soon as Shi Feng proved that he had completed his Crusade Quest, the sounds of a series of system notifications reached his ears. 2326 1-star Lord Chapter 2326 - 1-star Lord System: You have completed the Crusade Quest for the Ice Dragon, Heathwaite. Rewarding Lord''s Token, Level +1, Star-Moon Kingdom Reputation +300, Guild Popularity +10,000 System: Congratulations! You are the first player to become a Lord in God''s Domain. Rewarding Lord Popularity +100. System: Congratulations! For acquiring 100 Lord Popularity Points, you have been promoted to a 1-star Lord. The system notification repeated three times while Shi Feng rose to Level 102. The system promoted me to a 1-star Lord just for being the first player to become one? Shi Feng couldn''t believe his eyes as he stared at the system notifications. The concept of a Lord was still likely foreign to most players, not to mention Lord Popularity. When players became a Lord in God''s Domain, they''d gain the ability to recruit NPCs to form their own Knight Division. However, the process was similar to searching for Personal Guards, so it had its challenges. Furthermore, a Knight Division had 5,000 slots. It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to fill these slots with high-quality NPCs. The only method to ease the process was to increase one''s Lord Popularity. The higher a Lord''s Popularity was in God''s Domain, the easier it would be to persuade and recruit NPCs with high Growth Potential. Unfortunately, increasing one''s Lord Popularity was incredibly difficult, only possible by completing special quests. Moreover, one would only gain a handful of Popularity Points with each quest. Accumulating 100 Lord Popularity normally required a lot of time and effort. Meanwhile, every 100-point increment was a turning point. The first 100 points would elevate one to a 1-star Lord, at which point players wouldn''t have to run around NPC cities in search of appropriate NPCs. They could simply start a draft though the Adventurer''s Association. These drafted NPCs might not be uniformly powerful, but there would be quite a few with high Growth Potential. If one were lucky enough, they might even recruit a Secret-Silver Guard. Of course, with more Lord Popularity, the standard of their drafted NPCs would increase. The problem of increasing his Lord Popularity to 100 points had troubled Shi Feng. Without a solution, he''d have to spend several months finding capable NPCs to fill his 5,000 Knight slots. Fortunately, God''s Domain solved that problem for him. "Administrator Lorrain, I wish to draft members for my Knight Division through the Association," Shi Feng declared as he showed the Lord''s Token to the Elven administrator. Very well. However, the fee will depend on the scale of the draft you wish to implement. Generally, a draft in a town costs 10 Gold per week, 100 Gold per week in a city, 300 Gold per week in a kingdom''s capital, and 1,000 Gold per week in an imperial capital. Where would you like to implement your draft?" Lorrain asked. How expensive. It''s no wonder why the Adventurer''s Association is the fourth wealthiest power in God''s Domain. Shi Feng was speechless after hearing the prices. Second- and third-rate Guilds had no hope of obtaining a Lord''s position in the past. The various superpowers and top-ranked first-rate Guilds had monopolized this benefit. Hence, Shi Feng hadn''t actually known how much it would cost to implement a draft. He certainly hadn''t expected it to cost this much to form a Knight Division. The results of a draft depended on one''s luck. NPCs would not simply respond to a draft because the Adventurer''s Association had issued it. According to Shi Feng''s calculations, he would need to implement a draft in several hundred cities to recruit 5,000 Knights with relatively high Growth Potential in a short time. "I''d like to implement the draft in these countries'' cities," Shi Feng decided. After giving the matter some thought, he felt it would be best to recruit from cities in flourishing kingdoms and empires. In the end, he paid 44,500 Gold to implement his draft in more than 400 cities. It was a large enough expenditure to put a first-rate Guild''s finances in the red. God''s Domain''s Guilds were pushing their experts to reach Level 100 right now, and as a result, it was only natural that their expenses would rise. Fortunately, Zero Wing had the Candlelight Trading Firm and multiple Guild Towns and Cities to generate income. The Guild earned just as much profit as an ordinary superpower. However, Zero Wing still needed to support its main headquarters in the real world and the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. The Guild wasn''t particularly wealthy at the moment. It seems I''ll have to find ways to increase the Guild''s profits. With how much Zero Wing has right now, financing 5,000 Knights is impossible. After paying for the drafting fee, Shi Feng mentally calculated how much he''d need to spend on his future Knight Division. A 5,000-man Knight Division would definitely be an amazing asset, but it would be expensive to maintain. Unlike the NPC soldiers one could recruit to defend Guild Towns and Cities, Knights weren''t affiliated with a kingdom or empire. Rather, they were considered a Lord''s personal combat power. Hence, players would not receive subsidies from a kingdom or empire, relying on their own funds to pay their Knights'' salaries. Affording a Knight Division wasn''t easy, and to make matters worse, each Knight''s salary would depend on the NPC''s Growth Potential. To hire and nurture a Bronze ranked, Tier 2 Knight, one would have to spend 50 Gold per week. Multiplied by 5,000, a Division of Bronze, Tier 2 Knights would cost 250,000 Gold per week. Moreover, this cost didn''t include the price of weapons and equipment for these Knights... For a moment, Shi Feng couldn''t help but admire the first-rate Guilds that had ruled their own territories in the past. Once he had taken care of the draft order, Shi Feng left the Adventurer''s Association and made his way to the Candlelight Trading Firm. He intended to start the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s production immediately. After reaching Level 100, the various powers would prioritize their aerial development. Whoever controlled the sky would become an overlord in God''s Domain. Level 100-plus maps were very far from civilization, after all, and the ability to travel through the sky would give players a huge advantage when grinding for resources. Moreover, this advantage would become more prominent as time passed. If he wanted to bolster Zero Wing''s development, he had to arm the Guild with Flying Ships. 2327 Producing a Flying Ship Chapter 2327 - Producing a Flying Ship White River City, Candlelight Trading Firm: The Special Room, which was the size of a basketball court, contained various piles of rare materials. Any ordinary player would likely go into a frenzy trying to claim them all if they saw this room. These materials were easily worth more than 15,000 Gold altogether, and even though the value of Coins had significantly depreciated by this stage of the game, that was still an astronomical amount of money to ordinary players. Converted into Credits, it would be enough for the average citizen to live out the rest of their lives without worry about food or shelter. "Here are the last of the materials you requested, Guild Leader," Melancholic Smile said as she handed 100 Magic Elven Stones to Shi Feng. Shi Feng had basically asked for everything the Candlelight Firm had in stock of the rare materials he needed, particularly the Titan Silver and Magic Elven Stone. These were rare drops, even from the Flame Demon''s Valley''s Attributed ore vein. No other Guild could likely fulfill Shi Feng''s demand for 100 Magic Elven Stones. "Good!" Shi Feng nodded approvingly after inspecting the materials in the room. He then continued in a serious tone, "I''ll need you to help me with something later, but you must keep it an absolute secret." "I can''t tell anyone?" Melancholic Smile was a little confused. The Candlelight Trading Firm rigorously screened any potential members before they were recruited. Moreover, all core members were required to sign a series of strict contracts, ensuring the smallest chance possible that the firm''s technology and methods leaked. Sharing such technology required one to transfer designs. Without the correct design, it didn''t matter if a player knew how to produce an item. Now, however, Shi Feng forbade her from even mentioning their discussion. It was a bit unusual. You''ll understand soon," Shi Feng said. He then carefully pulled the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Design from his bag and placed it on the stone table before him. Melancholic Smile didn''t think much of the design initially. She had seen plenty of precious and rare designs and recipes in her line of work. She had grown numb to such surprises. However, when she realized what this design booklet depicted, she froze in shock. "Flyflying ship!" Melancholic Smile could not believe her eyes. As a Lifestyle player and the Candlelight Trading Firm''s manager, she could only dream of crafting an airship, which was only a method of transportation, let alone a flying ship. Countless Lifestyle players dreamed of creating flying ships, especially after seeing airships fly from one city to another. However, they assumed that would remain a dream. Players had absolutely no access to designs for airships and flying ships due to the various kingdoms and empires'' heavy restrictions regarding their flying technology. Creating one would require an immense amount of knowledge and skill, not to mention a ton of materials for the necessary experiments. And yet, Shi Feng had just dropped a Flying Ship Design on the table between them! It was at this moment that Melancholic Smile, more or less, realized why Shi Feng had forbidden her from speaking of this to anyone. Although the trading firm had restrictions in place that prevented members from sharing trade secrets, those restrictions were only effective in the game. Candlelight couldn''t stop these players from running their mouths off in the real world, and if news that Zero Wing had obtained a Flying Ship Design went public, the consequences would be unimaginable. The various powers already hungered for their own airships. On the other hand, flying ships were capable of transportation and aerial combat. Needless to say, the various powers'' desire for flying ships was even greater, nearly maddening. If the various powers learned that Zero Wing had a Flying Ship Design, they''d do anything they could to take it, and if they couldn''t, they''d ensure that Zero Wing didn''t keep it. Acquiring a flying ship wasn''t easy, but with the design, one could create as many flying ships as they wanted. After a certain point, flying ships would be significantly more useful than Combat Puppets in battle. Players had ways to deal with Combat Puppets, after all, but none of them knew how to deal with a flying ship. Hence, the various powers would do whatever necessary to ensure that Zero Wing failed to develop and theyd strike while they still had an opportunity. "That''s right; it''s a flying ship. I intend to produce one, but I can''t handle the task alone. Aside from forgers, I''ll need a large number of engineers and alchemists," Shi Feng said. "To protect this secret, however, I''ll need you to split these players into multiple groups and assign them various parts to work on. I''ll handle the final assembly." "We''re going to make one now?" The very idea began to make Melancholic Smile nervous. "Guild Leader, just the core engine is so complex that I''m not even sure an Advanced Master Forger can handle it. If we fail, all of this Magic Elven Stone will be useless. Why don''t we wait a little while longer?" If it were only an issue of money, Zero Wing could handle it, but these Magic Elven Stones were incredibly rare. Collecting more wasn''t simply an issue of money. If they failed in producing the Flying Ship''s engine, they would have to wait for a very long time before they''d have enough Elven Magic Stone to attempt it again. "I wish it could wait, too, but Zero Wing can''t afford that," Shi Feng explained, flashing her a bitter smile. The various major powers were desperately leveling up, and many of them have already begun to explore Level 100 neutral maps. The Shadowless Empire''s members had made that clear. Once they secured a foothold in Level 100 neutral maps, the various superpowers would finally be able to exhibit their true strength. Zero Wing didn''t have support from any major corporations. Thus, it couldn''t afford to continuously recruit large numbers of experts, especially Refinement Realm and above experts, rapidly expanding. Zero Wing would have to nurture such experts on its own. There was simply no comparison between the various superpowers and their Guild. Obtaining more resources and ensuring it had time to develop was the only way Zero Wing could secure its position in God''s Domain. That was the only way the Guild would survive the intense struggle between the various superpowers in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Now that Zero Wing had its own territory and had begun to draft NPCs for a Knight Division, the Guild needed more funds and resources to arm its Knights. Maintaining a proper Knight Division with Zero Wing''s current income was impossible. Unfortunately, it had become considerably more difficult to earn profits and resources from Otherworlds now that the Planar Passages had opened. That left Zero Wing with only one method to increase its income-transportation of goods! The industry would be particularly profitable when it came to moving non-bag space items. Shi Feng had intended to produce Intermediate Traps to earn more funding, but it was too soon to introduce these items to the public. Most of the various large Guilds'' main forces hadn''t begun exploring Level 100 neutral maps yet, and demand for Intermediate Traps would be limited. Furthermore, Zero Wing''s members would need these traps as well. Without at least 100 Intermediate Trap Designs, it would be very difficult for Candlelight to produce enough Intermediate Traps for Zero Wing''s purposes and to earn substantial profits. However, transportation methods were a different story, especially when it came to flying ships. Even a Common Flying Ship could carry up to 500 non-bag space items, far more than any sailboat. In addition, flying ships'' Movement Speed was much higher than sailboats. If Zero Wing resold non-bag space materials, it would make a killing. This was why the various superpowers had gone crazy for airships and flying ships during Shi Feng''s previous life. "I understand. I''ll copy the design for these parts and split them between multiple groups. I''ll ensure that no one has any idea that we''re making a flying ship," Melancholic Smile promised, nodding. She then began to examine the flying ship''s design and plan accordingly. It shouldn''t be very difficult to hide what they were doing. Some of the flying ship''s parts were similar to those in ordinary ship designs. Most of the parts that were different would require forgers. As long as Shi Feng crafted those parts himself, they shouldn''t have any issues keeping this a secret. Melancholic Smile then left to distribute the construction materials and designs among the Candlelight''s Master Lifestyle players. None of these players suspected a thing when they received their orders. This wasn''t a usual process, after all, especially after Zero Wing had recently begun to craft Bronze Speedboats. Meanwhile, Shi Feng turned his full attention to forging the flying ship''s engine. After producing the Guardian Puppets and Hell Tanks, he was quite familiar with engine production. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s engine was simply a more complex version. Sure enough, this is beyond an ordinary Advanced Master Forger. As Shi Feng examined the engine''s design, he could feel a headache begin to brew. Fortunately, his forging standard wasn''t a problem. With the Philosopher''s Hand, he could elevate himself into an Advanced Master Forger, so he met the engines minimum requirements. However, the magic array that he needed to inscribe on the engine would be a challenge. It was so complex that it nearly required a Master Magician to complete. However, Shi Feng did not panic. Instead, he calmly and slowly researched the engine''s magic array and repeatedly attempted to draw it. After over a dozen hours of practice, Shi Feng had finally learned how to draw the magic array successfully and barely finish it in one go. Good! Let''s make the engine now! Shi Feng took a short break before he focused on producing the engine. The engine''s production process wasn''t simple, and Shi Feng had decided to use a Dragon Blood Crystal, a top-tier Inferior Legendary material Heathwaite had dropped, to increase his success rate. Crystalized Dragon power, the Dragon Blood Crystal was the size of a fist and contained energy that was nearly as pure as that in Seven Luminaries Crystals. Not only could one use a Dragon Blood Crystal as a power core for a city''s defensive magic array, but it could also reinforce magic arrays. It was easily as valuable a Level 100-plus Epic Weapon. Unfortunately, Heathwaite had only dropped one Dragon Blood Crystal. Shi Feng had considered saving it to strengthen one of his cities'' magic arrays, but after giving the matter some thought, he decided to use it to increase his production success rate. A flying ship would be an immeasurable asset, after all. Time passed quickly, and the engine slowly took shape. Although others would have struggled to temper the materials, it was quite easy for Shi Feng with the help of the Soul Flame. It saved Shi Feng plenty of time and Concentration. Shi Feng finally finished the engine''s body after six hours of restless work. As the engine took shape, the Special Forging Room''s Mana surged toward it. Sensing the change, Shi Feng began to engrave the magic array immediately. Whether or not the production process was a success would largely depend on the engraved magic array at the end. Not only did the array have to be completed within a short time, but it also had to be completed in one move. Shi Feng couldn''t afford to pause during the process. This was the only way the engine''s Mana would be able to flow smoothly. A single, minor deviation would waste all of his efforts thus far. One minute... Three minutes... Five minutes... As the Mana flowing into the engine began to thin, Shi Feng engraved the array faster. His Concentrated rapidly depleted as if he were executing Lightning Flash with every second that passed. Just as the Mana flow was about to cut off, Shi Feng finished the last connection, completing the magic array. 2328 Advanced Flying Ship Chapter 2328 - Advanced Flying Ship Did it succeed? As a storm of Mana enveloped the engine, Shi Feng began to grow nervous. The engine was the most difficult part of the flying ship to produce, but once it was complete, the remaining parts would be fairly easy to craft. The most troublesome aspect of the remaining parts was how much manpower they required to produce. Fortunately, with Candlelight''s strength, the trading firm had the manpower to simultaneously construct the parts of three flying ships, let alone one. The magic array engraved in the engine began to glow as the Mana calmed down, actively gathering the Mana into the engine. The engine consumed so much Mana that the density in the room increased. Wonderful! It''s a success! As Shi Feng watched, his expression shifted to one of elation. This wasn''t the first time he''d forged an engine, and if it had failed, he knew the stream of Mana flowing into it would''ve been unstable. Now that this was done, he was practically guaranteed to produce a Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Moreover, he hadn''t expected the Mana density in the room to rise to such an extent. The flying ship''s engine drew in at least three times more than the Bronze Combat Puppet''s engine. An engine was the very heart of a machine and played a major role in determining the machine''s strength. Following which, Shi Feng tapped on the engine to appraise it. System: Bronze Flying Ship Engine has been forged successfully. Forging Proficiency increased by 1,000 points. Obtained 40,000,000 EXP. The Dragon Blood Crystal''s effects are so powerful? Shi Feng stared at the results with wide, bloodshot eyes. He had already been relieved that the production process had been a success, but he hadn''t expected the Dragon Blood Crystal to upgrade the engine''s rank from Common to Bronze. Normally, Bronze Engines only powered Bronze Flying Ships. An engine like this would definitely increase a Common Flying Ship''s rank. After all, Common and Bronze ranked flying ships required roughly the same quality of materials. Their engines were the main factor that made a difference. Shi Feng immediately notified Melancholic Smile to hasten the remaining parts'' construction. After more than 20 hours, Candlelight''s Master Lifestyle players finally produced all of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s various parts. However, Shi Feng didn''t start the assembly process when Melancholic had delivered them. Rather, he used the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Spatial Gate to transport Melancholic Smile and himself to an open field within the White River City Region. A flying ship was massive, much larger than a sailboat. The Special Forging Room just didn''t have enough space. Hence, Shi Feng needed an open location for the final assembly. Of course, to protect this Guild Secret, he decided to construct the flying ship in an empty, open plain. There was an extremely large number of parts to a flying ship. Normally, if a player tried to assemble one themselves, they''d need at least two days to complete the task. However, Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile had already become Intermediate Master Forgers, saving a lot of time with their skills. With Shi Feng''s Soul Flame, in particular, he could assemble and weld parts together quite quickly. After the two players worked for a dozen or so hours, they had finally completed the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. They marveled at the sixty-meter-long, twenty-meter-tall mechanical ship with a crimson hull before them. "So, this is a flying ship?" Despite taking part in the assembly process, Melancholic Smile couldn''t believe her eyes. Even from far away, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was a shocking sight to behold. Next to its colossal frame, even an Extraordinary Flying Mount looked like an infant. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he gazed at the vessel. [Crimson Dragon Flying Ship] (Advanced Flying Ship) Maximum capacity: 130 people Durability 5,000/5,000 Possesses Tier 3 Upper-rank defensive capabilities. Item storage when liberated: 20,000 bag space slots and 800 non-bag space slots. Additional Active Skill 1- Magic Shield: Absorbs up to 50,000,000 damage for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 15 minutes. Additional Active Skill 2- Mana Pulse Cannon: 4,000-yard range. Deals Tier 4 damage to a radius of 50 yards. Cooldown: 45 seconds (Eight cannons are currently equipped. Up to 12 cannons can be equipped.) Additional Active Skill 2- Magic Elven Cannon: 5,000-yard range. Deals Tier 4 Peak-rank divine damage to a radius of 200 yards. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 4- Mana Field: Disrupts the flow of Mana within a 2,000-yard radius, weakening all incoming magic damage from Tier 3 Spells or below by 30% for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 20 minutes Each activation costs 300 Magic Crystals. The Bronze Engine Shi Feng had crafted elevated the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to Advanced rank. Now, this flying ship was even faster than Extraordinary Flying Mounts, and its cannons and defenses had increased by a rank, as well. This Crimson Dragon Flying Ship could even contend with Level 100-plus Mythic monsters. If his Guild had had an Advanced Flying Ship like this in the past, his and Shadow''s development would''ve been massively different. Even if Shadow hadn''t been able to contend with a superpower, it would''ve had enough strength to instill fear in first-rate Guilds. Tier 4 experts would''ve have dared mess with the Guild. "If Dragonheart Island''s superpowers find out that we have this Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, they''ll die from envy," Melancholic Smile said, astonished as she inspected the flying ship''s statistics. She had forged Hell Tanks, so she understood how powerful this Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was. Aside from its cannons'' frightening power, its Tier 3 Upper-rank hull was enough to render any attack below Tier 4 powerless. Without a Mythic combatant, the various superpowers would have no hope of damaging the flying ship. Even if they launched Tier 4 attacks, it would take ages for them to get past the flying ship''s 5,000 durability. "Envious? I''m more afraid that they''ll go mad when they see it," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Melancholic Smile was a Lifestyle player, not a combat power. She didn''t truly understand what it meant to have a flying ship that could stand against Mythic monsters. Players would be able to reach most places in God''s Domain with a flying ship like this. They wouldn''t have to worry about the limitations Flying Mounts faced or attacks from powerful flying monsters. This vessel would give players a tremendous advantage when grinding for levels or transporting non-bag space items, which were becoming more valuable nowadays. Non-bag space items were becoming useful for more than just producing war weapons, buildings, and ships. Now, such items could even be used to craft players'' weapons and equipment, especially Level 100-plus Secret-Silver and above weapons and equipment. This was also why these weapons and equipment pieces were so valuable. "It''s a pity that the flying ship''s production requires so many materials. Even if we focused everything on collecting materials, it would still take a week or so before we''d have enough for a second flying ship. We''d have to get really lucky to collect enough for a third," Melancholic Smile surmised, sounding disappointed. If they could produce a fleet of flying ships now, no one would be able to get in Zero Wing''s way in God''s Domain. Unfortunately, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship required too many rare and precious materials, some of which were non-bag space items and particularly tedious to transport. If the Candlelight Trading Firm''s main headquarters hadn''t had such a large stockpile of these materials, they wouldn''t have been able to construct the first flying ship so quickly. "Just keep collecting the materials. Every flying ship we make right now counts," Shi Feng said. As soon as Shi Feng finished giving Melancholic Smile her next duties, he received a message notification. The sender was none other than Sinned Heart, Immortal Light''s Guild Leader. When he read the message, Shi Feng frowned. "Guild Leader, has something happened?" Melancholic Smile asked, noticing that Shi Feng''s mood had soured after receiving that message. "Immortal Light has been working with the Freedom Alliance in Sea''s End, and it seems that there''s been some trouble that''s preventing Immortal Light from transporting materials out of the area," Shi Feng said. "The Freedom Alliance has invited its allied Guilds to send representatives for a meeting, and Sinned Heart is hoping that we''ll send one to investigate the situation." Immortal Light was the naval Guild that Zero Wing secretly controlled in the Apocalypse Empire. It had been relying on Immortal Light to secure its naval resources, especially those from Sea''s End. The area was home to many materials that were imperative to producing ships and Level 90-plus Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. If Immortal Light couldn''t secure resources from Sea''s End, Zero Wing would suffer, which was why Sinned Heart had requested a representative from Zero Wing to resolve the matter. "I think it''s best if I go myself. These materials are important for Candlelight''s merchandise. If we lose access to these materials, Candlelight''s income will plummet," Melancholic Smile suggested. "Don''t worry about it. I''ll go. Right now, you need to focus on collecting the materials we need to construct the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was crucial to Zero Wing''s survival. Without it, the Guild wouldn''t be able to exert dominance in the Cold Spring Canyon; relying on a 5,000-man Knight Division wouldn''t be enough. Not only was a flying ship faster than Flying Mounts, but it also had the combat power to squash Tier 3 experts like ants. Meanwhile, Shi Feng wasn''t as skilled as Melancholic Smile when it came to collecting materials. After all, she had long since grown familiar with the Candlelight Trading Firm and its connections. "I''ll do that, then," Melancholic Smile answered, nodding. As Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Shi Feng would naturally be a stronger representative. Moreover, she didn''t have the energy to manage the material collection while addressing the issues in Sea''s End. Melancholic then used a Return Scroll to teleport back to White River City, while Shi Feng stored the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship in his Epic Spatial Bag and made his way toward the Apocalypse Empire. 2329 Times Have Changed Chapter 2329 - Times Have Changed Apocalypse Empire, Blue Bay City: After teleporting to Apocalypse City, Shi Feng continued toward Blue Bay City, one of the empire''s port cities. Although Blue Bay City wasn''t a particularly large NPC city, its player traffic was intense. Shi Feng saw an endless stream of players entering and leaving the city''s Teleportation Hall. Moreover, many of these players wore exquisite clothing and the 2-star Merchant''s Insignia. Some even had the 3-star insignia. The Merchant''s Insignia was proof of a merchant player''s ability. The higher a merchant player''s star-rank was, the greater their ability. Normally, 3-star merchant players were supported by a large Guild, and they possessed significant resources and sales connections. Hence, they were known as Great Merchants and were even rare in imperial capitals. And yet, Shi Feng encountered quite a few Great Merchants in Blue Bay City. Based on the bland reactions to these merchant players, their presence in the city didn''t seem to be unusual. So many Great Merchants gathered in Blue Bay City because it was a trading port. Countless players came into port each day with resources from the various neutral powers out at sea, which allowed the merchant players in the area to earn huge profits. This city''s development speed is amazing. I doubt it''ll be long before Blue Bay City is promoted to a large-scale city and gains a Tier 4 NPC Magistrate manager. As he watched the various horse and transport carriages rolling down the streets, Shi Feng had to admit that Sinned Heart had impressed him. When Sinned Heart had wanted to move Immortal Light to a new city, Shi Feng had suggested that he develop near the sea. The various first-rate Guilds hadn''t been paying much attention to the ocean at that time, after all. By relying on the few resources Zero Wing had provided, Sinned Heart had established Immortal Light in one of the Apocalypse Empire''s port towns, eventually expanding the Guild to occupy all of Blue Bay City. Now, Blue Bay City was almost ready for its promotion into a large-scale NPC city, and Immortal Light''s naval prowess had grown powerful enough that the Guild didn''t need to fear first-rate Guilds. Sinned Heart''s management was even more impressive than Gentle Snow or Aqua Rose''s. Not only would Blue Bay City grow larger once it became a large-scale NPC city, but the conveniences it offered would also improve. The city would have no trouble accommodating a large number of players, and Immortal Light would even qualify to contend with the Apocalypse Empire''s first-rate Guilds. As Shi Feng left the Teleportation Hall, he headed toward a nearby Advanced Restaurant. A Level 96 man approached him as he arrived. The Elementalist wore five pieces of Epic Equipment, and the weakest piece on him was Level 95 Dark-Gold rank. Two more Level 96 players followed the Elementalist, one of which was a Cleric, while the other was a Berserker. Both wore three pieces of Epic Equipment. Seeing these three greet Shi Feng, the rest of the players in the restaurant were surprised. "Who is that guy? Immortal Light''s Guild Leader and two of its great experts are actually welcoming him." "Could he be some bigshot?" Every player in Blue Bay City knew of Immortal Light''s Guild Leader, Sinned Heart, as well as the two great experts that accompanied him. To secure control of the city, Immortal Light had challenged and defeated many of the large Guilds that had occupied Blue Bay City. It had even sunk a first-rate Guild''s fleet, which had spread its fame across the Apocalypse Empire. Moreover, Sinned Heart was even one of the top 10 Elementalists in the empire. Even first-rate Guilds'' Guild Leaders treated him with respect. Yet now, Sinned Heart had been waiting to greet an ordinary-looking player. Why wouldn''t this surprise them? Hearing the hushed discussions around him, Sinned Heart had Immortal Light''s members clear out the restaurant. The spectators obediently stopped talking and scattered. "I hadn''t expected you to make the trip here, Brother Ye Feng. With you, we''ll stand a much better chance in Sea''s End," Sinned Heart said as he greeted Shi Feng. "Brother Sinned Heart, you jest. May I know what happened with the Freedom Alliance? Why is it calling in its allies for a meeting?" Shi Feng asked, getting straight to the point. "I''ve just received some information regarding the situation. Let''s head inside to continue our conversation," Sinned Heart insisted, his expression becoming disheartened at the mention of the Freedom Alliance. He led Shi Feng into the Advanced Restaurant he had fully reserved earlier. As Shi Feng and Sinned Heart entered the restaurant, the Cleric and Berserker gave each other disgruntled looks behind Shi Feng''s back. "This guy doesn''t think much of our Guild, does he? He started demanding answers as soon as the boss walked up to him." "Our boss is too mild-tempered. If I were in his position, I would''ve given this guy a piece of my mind. I don''t want him thinking that Immortal Light is the same small Guild it had been in the past." "Forget it. He''ll see how powerful Immortal Light has become once we get to Sea''s End." The two experts weren''t pleased with Shi Feng''s behavior. Immortal Light might have received a lot of resources from Zero Wing and shared half of its shares with the Guild, but Immortal Light had changed. Now, it was only slightly weaker than the empire''s first-rate Guilds, and on the water, it was even stronger than some of them. Not only was Sinned Heart Immortal Light''s Guild Leader, but he was also an extraordinary expert who had successfully repelled the peak experts King''s Return had sent. Even superpowers were wary of his strength at sea, yet Shi Feng treated the man so casually. Once they had taken their seats in the restaurant, Sinned Heart filled Shi Feng in on the details regarding the Freedom Alliance''s recent actions. A new power had joined the Freedom Alliance, and now, the alliance had 12 major fleets, not 11. This new power was exceptionally powerful. It had started out as the last-ranked Twelfth Fleet, but it had soon taken the top position in the Freedom Alliance. This had significantly changed the status quo in the Freedom Alliance. The alliance had only controlled three of the major cities in Sea''s End, but now, it controlled five. Naturally, this had caused a qualitative improvement regarding its resource income. Normally, this development would be a good thing, but the newly-minted First Fleet wanted to reorganize the Freedom Alliance''s partnerships with the various powers, including disqualifying some of them. Hence, the alliance had invited the various powers to visit Starfall Island for this meeting. Starfall Island was a particularly dangerous location in Sea''s End. Ordinary ships wouldn''t make it into the sea zone, torn apart by the area''s powerful sea monsters. One could only get through with a sufficiently strong fleet. A new power has joined the Freedom Alliance? Realization dawned upon Shi Feng when he heard Sinned Heart''s explanation. A commotion had occurred in the Freedom Alliance during Shi Feng''s previous life, but Silent Entropy, the original First Fleet''s commander, had eventually suppressed it. Unfortunately, Silent Entropy and his fleet had suffered a massive setback thanks to Shi Feng, which must have prevented him from controlling the situation. This resulted in a new power taking over the Freedom Alliance. "Since the Freedom Alliance has grown stronger, they want to see whether their partners still qualify to participate in their alliance. While I can understand its reasoning, I had never thought something like this would happen so suddenly," Sinned Heart said, smiling bitterly. "I''ve recalled all of Immortal Light''s best ships, but it''ll probably be another three or four hours before they return. If we wait until then to leave, we''ll likely be a little late to the Freedom Alliance''s meeting." They would need a small fleet of Bronze Speedboats just to get to Starfall Island. Without sufficient strength, they''d only find death waiting for them. "How many Bronze Speedboats and stronger have you gathered so far, Brother Heart?" Shi Feng asked. "We currently have eight Bronze Speedboats and one Mysterious-Iron Speedboat ready to depart," Sinned Heart said, shaking his head. "It won''t be enough to make it to Starfall Island. We''ll need at least 20 Bronze Speedboats and a sailboat." "Eight Bronze Speedboats and one Mysterious-Iron Speedboat? That''ll be enough. We should set out right away," Shi Feng declared. 2330 Mysterious-Iron Sailboa Chapter 2330 - Mysterious-Iron Sailboat "They''re enough?" Sinned Heart gave Shi Feng a confused look. Normally, a small fleet of eight Bronze Speedboats and a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat would be a formidable force, but they needed to reach Starfall Island. Starfall Island served as a transit point for players who wanted to explore Level 100-plus sea zones. Every sea monster near the island was Level 95 or higher, and their population density was terrifying. One could even encounter Mythic ranked King-class Sea Monsters in the area. Without a sufficiently powerful fleet, their journey to Starfall Island would be a one-way trip. "I''ve brought a sailboat with me. With it, we should have enough combat power," Shi Feng tried to reassure Sinned Heart when he saw the man''s worried expression. He then took out the crystalline bottle housing the Storm Sailboat from his bag. "A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat?!" Sinned Heart''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw the Storm Sailboat. Sinned Heart had long since known that Zero Wing possessed superb naval power. The Guild had both the Secret- Silver ranked Swift Dragon Speedboat and Bronzed ranked One-Horned Sailboat, after all. Even now, there were only two known Secret-Silver Speedboats throughout the Apocalypse Empire: Pantheon''s and Zero Wing''s. Although a Secret-Silver Speedboat was only one rank higher than a Mysterious-Iron Speedboat, the difference between the two boats'' combat power was like the difference between heaven and earth. Not even an ordinary sailboat was a match for a Secret-Silver Speedboat. When Phoenix Rain had secured her position on Thunder Island, Zero Wing''s Swift Dragon Speedboat had been a large part of the reason for her success. Moreover, the Freedom Alliance''s Passing Monarch had relied on the Swift Dragon and One-horned Speedboats to secure the best territories the Freedom Alliance occupied. Although Passing Monarch hadn''t been able to claim his as the alliance''s First Fleet, he had secured the second rank enough authority that his word in the Freedom Alliance was only second to Silent Entropy''s, the original First Fleet''s commander. Passing Monarch had also become the reason that Immortal Light had been able to continue developing in the Apocalypse Empire. Sinned Heart had never dreamed that Zero Wing would have an even stronger ship... Reaching Starfall Island shouldn''t be much of a problem with this Storm Sailboat, but it''s getting pretty late. We should head out," Shi Feng said as he stored the repaired Storm Sailboat. "This is wonderful! We''ll have a much better chance of securing our position now!" Sinned Heart exclaimed, brimming with confidence. Setting aside Zero Wing''s strength as a pseudo-superpower and the relationship between Passing Monarch and Shi Feng, the Storm Sailboat would be more than enough to ensure Immortal Light retains its position as one of the Freedom Alliance''s partners. In fact, it might even help improve relations between Immortal Light and the Freedom Alliance. Sinned Heart gathered his men immediately, and they teleported to Sea''s End''s Blue Jade City with Shi Feng. Once they arrived, they''d set sail toward Starfall Island''s sea zone. Sea''s End, Starfall Island: As a transit hub for players traveling to Level 100-plus sea zones, the island wasn''t very populated right now. However, due to the Freedom Alliance''s invitation, any power that wanted to remain a member of the alliance had no choice but to brave the dangerous journey to the island. As a result, a large number of speedboats and sailboats filled Starfall Island''s port. The weakest speedboat at the dock was Bronze rank, and quite a few of them were Mysterious-iron rank. Even naval superpowers would be stunned by the grand sight. "I wonder what stunt the Freedom Alliance is trying to pull this time? They called us all the way out here." "It''s likely that they''re trying to determine whether or not we''re strong enough to get this far. Ordinary powers have no hope of reaching this sea zone. We lost a considerable amount of durability just from the fights with the sea monsters on the way here." "That''s right! I came with a fleet of 20 Bronze Speedboats and one sailboat. If my fleet had been any waker, I wouldn''t have made it here." As the various powers'' representatives discussed their journey to Starfall Island, they couldn''t help but frown. They all had questions regarding the Freedom Alliance''s invitation to such a dangerous place, and none of them knew what the alliance intended. They could not figure out what the Freedom Alliance was trying to do. It should be known that the Freedom Alliance was a giant in Sea''s End, and any power it allied itself with was formidable at sea. Otherwise, they couldn''t guarantee the cargo''s safety as they transported it across the sea, earning a stable income of resources and Coins. "I wonder how the Freedom Alliance intends to choose which partnerships it will maintain? The alliance is nearly as powerful as the House of Seas and controls five of Sea''s End''s major cities. Even naval superpowers in other locations are afraid of the Freedom Alliance at this point." "I assume they''ll base their decisions on each power''s strength and connections. Take Immortal Light, for example. As a second-rate Guild, it doesn''t qualify to partner with the Freedom Alliance, but because of its close relationship with Passing Monarch, the Third Fleet''s commander, it can collect resources that not even first-rate Guilds like ours can reach." "Indeed. Immortal Light should be responsible for as much as 10% of the Freedom Alliance''s resources. Even naval superpowers are envious. However, based on my information, Zero Wing stands behind Immortal Light. The Guild is a large part of the reason that Passing Monarch had risen to his current position. It is only natural that Immortal Light has been assigned better resources than other powers." As the various representatives chatted about Immortal Light, envy flashed in their eyes. There were over 30 powers cooperating with the Freedom Alliance, yet Immortal Light claimed 10% of the Freedom Alliance''s resources. "Immortal Light''s luck will run out soon. I''m sure the Freedom Alliance intends to redistribute its resources during this meeting, and not even Silent Entropy has as much authority in the alliance as he used to, much less Passing Monarch." "I agree. Based on what insider information I''ve received, not only has the Freedom Alliance invited major powers like ours to this meeting, but it''s also invited Giant''s Heart from the Sea God''s Realm." "Giant''s Heart? You mean the Guild that stole the Flare Fortress from the Pride Empire in the Fire Dragon Empire?" "The very same. Is there another Giant''s Heart I don''t know about?" When the various representatives heard mention of Giant''s Heart, their expressions darkened. They had never thought the superpower from the Sea God''s realm would try to claim a piece of the pie. Ordinary players might not have heard of Giant''s Heart, but the various major powers that paid constant attention to the shifts of power within God''s Domain would be quite familiar with the name by now. The superpower had successfully stolen a fortress from the Pride Empire, a Super Guild. With that move, Giant''s Heart had proven that it was powerful enough to shake the various superpowers on the main continent. If Giant''s Heart intervened in the Freedom Alliance''s matters, it was almost certain to claim a large fraction of the alliance''s resources. Meanwhile, while the various major powers'' representatives conversed, another fleet approached Starfall Island. Once they noticed the fleet, these representatives gaped, shocked. This fleet consisted of 60-plus Bronze Speedboats, 11 Mysterious-Iron Speedboats, and five sailboats, two of which were Bronze rank. This fleet was easily several times stronger than the various powers'', and every ship bore the Giant''s Heart Guild Emblem on its sails. As these ships docked, over a thousand players disembarked. Every one of these players was Level 96 or above, with many at Level 97. The weakest piece of equipment on these players was Level 95 Fine-Gold rank, and over a dozen of them wore Level 95 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. As for the several players leading the group wore a minimum of five pieces of Epic Equipment. As these players walked through the port, the various major powers'' members unconsciously stepped aside to open a path. "Amazing! Too amazing!" "So, this is Giant''s Heart?" "Even if Zero Wing makes a personal appearance, Immortal Light will get nothing but the Freedom Alliance''s scraps." These representatives couldn''t help but admire the strength of Giant''s Heart''s fleet and members. Shortly after Giant''s Heart''s fleet docked, more ships appeared on the horizon. A sailboat, which was much larger than Bronze Sailboats and required three mainsails, led this small fleet. A faint layer of Mana enveloped the entire sailboat. "What is that? That sailboat is actually protected by a magic barrier!" "Wait! That''s a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat!" 2331 Times Have Changed Chapter 2331 - Times Have Changed When someone had mentioned a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat, silence descended on the port as everyone stared intently at the approaching fleet. "A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat?" "Impossible!" To small Guilds and adventurer teams, sailboats were unattainable treasures, but that wasn''t the case for the major powers on Starfall Island. Ordinary sailboats were nothing special, and Bronze Sailboats, at most, would earn a surprised glance. For major powers, it was only a matter of time before they had their own Bronze Sailboats. Many of them already had clues and information that would lead to Bronze Sailboats, and as long as they had the strength and were willing to put in the time and resources to follow these clues, it wouldn''t be difficult to secure a Bronze Sailboat. Otherwise, so many powers wouldn''t have acquired their own by now. However, Mysterious-Iron ranked Sailboats were an entirely different story. Not one power had found a single clue pertaining to Mysterious-Iron Sailboats'' locations, much less acquired one. Although there was only one rank between a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat and a Bronze Sailboat, the difference between the two boats'' strength was like the difference between heaven and earth. A Bronze Sailboat had slightly stronger defense and firepower than an ordinary sailboat, but at Mysterious-Iron rank, its defense would undergo a qualitative transformation. At that point, a sailboat could block Great Lord ranked sea monsters'' attacks without losing any durability. As players explored higher-level sea zones, they''d encounter Great Lord ranked sea monsters more frequently. Coming across two or three Great Lords at a time might not be an issue, but even a Bronze Sailboat would lose some durability during a fight with five or six Great Lords. Without multiple ships, long journeys at sea would be impossible, as would exploring dangerous sea zones. "Crap! It really is a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat!" "A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat! Our Guild could practically move unhindered through a Level 100 sea zone if we had one of those!" "Amazing! Whose fleet is that? They actually sent a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat to lead it!" The various major powers couldn''t help their shock and curiosity as they watched the gradually approaching Storm Sailboat. Aside from the up-and-coming superpower, Giant''s Heart, they hadn''t expected another power with the ability to field a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat to participate in this meeting on Starfall Island. The Storm Sailboat glided to a stop by one of the port''s docks while the representatives quietly chatted amongst themselves. As Immortal Light''s members stepped onto the dock, many players quickly recognized Sinned Heart. His arrival caused an instant sensation at the port. "Sinned Heart? That Mysterious-Iron Sailboat belongs to Immortal Light?" "Impossible! How can a Guild like Immortal Light have a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat? Our Guild has thoroughly investigated Immortal Light. That Guild doesn''t even have a Bronze Sailboat, much less a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat!" The various major powers that had cooperated with the Freedom Alliance for a while knew, more or less, details about their competitors, especially the powers that were on friendly terms with the Freedom Alliance''s upper echelons. Since Immortal Light received 10% of the Freedom Alliance''s resources, the other powers had paid particularly close attention to the Guild. Thus, all of these representatives knew how powerful Immortal Light was as a Guild. However, none of them knew how to rationalize the Storm Sailboat they saw before them. "No, that''s not it! I don''t see Immortal Light''s Guild Emblem on the sailboat!" It wasn''t long before one of the players noticed something amiss. "Moreover, the person beside Sinned Heart looks like Zero Wing''s Ye Feng!" The declaration inspired everyone to take a closer look at the player accompanying Immortal Heart''s Guild Leader. "It''s true! That''s Zero Wing''s Ye Feng! If that''s the case, then the Storm Sailboat must be Zero Wing''s." "Zero Wing is stronger than even the rumors have made it out to be. It actually possesses a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat." "It seems Immortal Light has come prepared!" "So what if Immortal Light has Zero Wing''s support? Strength is everything on the ocean, and Zero Wing is only a pseudo-superpower on land. How could it possibly contend with naval Guilds like ours?" The various representatives sneered at Shi Feng and Immortal Light''s members. The status quo wasn''t the same as it had been at sea. In the past, a powerful ship had been a significant asset to a power. After all, the various naval powers barely had enough ships to form a full fleet back then. However, even third- rate powers had their own fleets by now, not to mention first-rate powers. "So, that''s the rumored Zero Wing? I hadn''t expected it to have a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat as well. It''s no wonder why it dared to provoke War Blood on Dragonheart Island," a tall, handsome man some distance away from the port stated. The man wore Giant''s Heart''s Guild Emblem, and a hint of interest flashed in his eyes when he saw the Storm Sailboat. "A Mysterious-Iron Sailboat is quite powerful, but unfortunately, it''ll at most offer some convenience when grinding sea monsters. A single Mysterious-Iron Sailboat isn''t enough to affect the power struggle at sea," a blue-haired woman added indifferently. "Moreover, Zero Wing has provoked Starlink, which Old Undying has nurtured. Its future is quite bleak." Although Zero Wing''s Storm Sailboat had indeed caused quite a commotion at Starfall Island''s port, it was only a minor interlude to the Freedom Alliance''s announcement regarding how it would redistribute its resources among its partners. Following which, the Freedom Alliance''s members guided the various representatives to a reception room in the Freedom Alliance''s Residence on Starfall Island. Once everyone had arrived, the Freedom Alliance''s twelve commanders entered and took their seats on the stage at the front of the room. These experts'' standards had clearly improved since the last time Shi Feng had attended one of the Freedom Alliance''s meetings. This was especially true for the First Fleet''s representatives, who sat in the center of the stage. Although the First Fleet had only sent two representatives, both were apex experts. The middle-aged man, the First Fleet''s commander, was particularly powerful. The First Fleet''s commander only looked to be around 40, but Shi Feng could sense a wild energy deep within the man. He felt like a veteran mercenary that had seen countless battlefields before. He was also a Level 97 Berserker. A young man with short hair stood behind the commander. The Assassin youth radiated a chilling aura, and even Sinned Heart, who sat quite a distance away, felt an intense pressure from this youth. These two people alone would be more than enough to give the various superpowers a huge headache. It was no wonder why Silent Entropy, Passing Monarch, and the Freedom Alliance''s other commanders had been overtaken. "Since everyone''s here, I''d like to begin with discussing our resource redistribution," Flame Robber, the First Fleet''s commander, said as he swept his gaze over the gathered players. "The resources under the Freedom Alliance''s control have changed, and more powers have begun to target us. Hence, we have decided to reexamine our current partners'' strength to ensure the safety of our future benefits. "The method we will use to determine your strength is simple. We have stored some precious, non-bag space materials on Starfall Island, and we''d like you to deliver these materials to the Chaos Sea''s Ghost City. As long as you arrive safely with the materials, you will pass the test." The various representatives'' expressions twisted when they heard Flame Robber''s announcement. Even Sinned Heart''s expression turned dark. God''s Domain''s dark forces ruled over the Chaos Sea, and the players in the area were lunatics who only thought of slaughter. Dark Players in the Chaos Sea were particularly powerful; some of them could even control sea monsters, using them as tools for transportation and combat. In the Chaos Sea, even an expert fleet would suffer tremendously, and some would simply be annihilated. Most of the various superpowers tried to avoid the sea zone at all costs. If Immortal Light, a Guild that was barely considered a first-rate power on land, tried to sail through the Chaos Sea, it was almost guaranteed that the journey would be a one-way trip. "Flame Robber must''ve lost his mind, Big Sis Leaves! He actually set up such a brutal test! If we agree to this, we''ll lose over 80% of our partners, including many of his own supporters! What is he thinking?" a Level 96 female Cleric asked from her seat with the Fourth Fleet''s members. As far as she was concerned, Flame Robber''s decision might weaken the other fleets'' influence in the Freedom Alliance, but it would also weaken First Fleet''s. "No, he hasn''t gone mad. I''m afraid that Passing Monarch will get hit the hardest with this decision," Hundred Leaves, the Fourth Fleet''s current commander, said as she watched Passing Monarch, who wore a similarly ugly expression. At the same time, she couldn''t help but applaud Flame Robber''s determination. "Passing Monarch''s fleet consists of independent adventurer teams, none of which have any background or support from major corporations. Passing Monarch has gone to great lengths to strengthen Immortal Light as his supporter, but after this redistribution, he''ll lose the Guild. If that''s the case, Passing Monarch might also lose his position among the top five fleets in the Freedom Alliance during the next resource competition." While most of the Freedom Alliance''s fleet commanders celebrated Passing Monarch''s misfortune, the tall, handsome man from Giant''s Heart, who sat with the other representatives, shifted his gaze toward Shi Feng. "What a pity. I had hoped I would get to see the power of a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat, but it seems that won''t be the case," the handsome man said, sighing. "I told you that a single ship means nothing at sea," the blue-haired woman said, rolling her eyes. "Let''s get moving. Once the sun sets, the Chaos Sea will become far more dangerous." The handsome man fell silent and followed his companion out of the reception room. The other first-rate powers began to move, as well. They might not be a match for the various naval superpowers and wouldn''t survive a direct clash with the Chaos Sea''s Dark Players, but if they were careful and lucky, they could pass this test. "Brother Ye Feng, it seems this trip has been a waste of your time. I hadn''t expected the Freedom Alliance to set up such a vicious test. However, I still intend to try. The Chaos Sea is the dark forces'' territory, but with how vast it is, I might be able to avoid Dark Players if I''m lucky," Sinned Heart said, gritting his teeth. The Freedom Alliance''s resources were too important for Immortal Light to give up. He had to take this risk and try to pass the test. "You don''t need to take everything on yourself, Brother Heart. Zero Wing is Immortal Light''s major shareholder, and this matter involves resources that my Guild requires. Naturally, Zero Wing will participate as well," Shi Feng declared, shaking his head. He then glanced at Flame Robber, who had stood and was about to leave the room. Flame Robber had certainly played his cards well. Unfortunately, he had chosen the wrong opponent. 2332 Steel Gian Chapter 2332 - Steel Giant "I''ll have to trouble you then, Brother Ye Feng," Sinned Heart said. He felt both grateful and ashamed when Shi Feng had offered to help. Zero Wing''s help was a large part of the reason that Immortal Light had acquired its current strength. Sinned Heart had thought that with Immortal Light''s development, it could return the favor, more or less, but it seemed that the Guild needed to rely on Zero Wing once again. However, Immortal Light''s fleet would have a greater chance of reaching Ghost City with Zero Wing''s Storm Sailboat. Sinned Heart then began to make the necessary arrangements for Immortal Light''s remaining Bronze Speedboats and sailboat to meet him at Starfall Island for a final struggle. If Immortal Light could secure the Freedom Alliance''s resources, it would qualify as a first-rate naval power. It might even become an overlord in the Apocalypse Empire. After all, the Freedom Alliance controlled five major cities in Sea''s End, with more than double the resources it used to have. Moreover, it would likely acquire more as time passed. Naturally, Immortal Light could reap more benefits from its partnership with the Freedom Alliance, as well. While Sinned Heart mobilized Immortal Light''s experts, the other major powers began to do the same. After just eight hours, sailboats and speedboats crowded Starfall Island''s port. The spectacular scene stupefied the adventurer teams and Guilds that rested on the island. More than 30 expert fleets had docked, and the weakest ship among them was a Bronze Speedboat. Moreover, the weakest fleet had a minimum of 30 Bronze Speedboats and three sailboats. If these fleets cooperated, they could even take on Level 90-plus Mythic ranked sea monsters. Of all of the fleets present, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly Giant''s Heart''s. Giant''s Heart''s fleet consisted of 100 Bronze Speedboats, over 20 Mysterious-Iron Speedboats, and 10 sailboats. Of the 10 sailboats, four were Bronze rank. Not even the Freedom Alliance''s First Fleet had such combat power, yet this wasn''t all that Giant''s Heart possessed... "Giant''s Heart is terrifyingly powerful. It''s no wonder why it defeated Pride Empire in the Fire Dragon Empire," Hundred Leaves, who watched the ships gather from one of Starfall Town''s lookout towers, commented as she inspected Giant''s Heart''s fleet. "Giant''s Heart had sought out Passing Monarch to cooperate, but Passing Monarch was too stubborn and refused the offer. He''s likely regretting his decision to continue his partnership with Immortal Light." Even the Sacred Temple was afraid of the naval power Giant''s Heart displayed. If Passing Monarch had agreed to work with the Guild, he could''ve competed for the First Fleet position. However, Passing Monarch had given this opportunity to Flame Robber. "Big Sis Leaves, are we really going to hold back the Guilds strength?1, the female Cleric beside Hundred Leaves anxiously asked. "Our position in the Freedom Alliance isn''t stable enough. If we openly rely on the Guild''s strength, even a fool would realize that we''re members of the Sacred Temple, not just a team with the Guild''s support," Hundred Leaves said, shaking her head. She then turned toward Silent Entropy''s group nearby with a bright smile. "Flame Robber might have Giant''s Heart''s support, but Silent Entropy won''t just take this lying down. All we need to do is watch those two go at each others'' throats and wait for an opportune moment." When Sinned Heart saw the various major powers'' fleets from the port, he suddenly felt tiny. Immortal Light was a top-ranked naval power in the Apocalypse Empire, but if it weren''t for the Storm Sailboat, it would be the weakest power here. Even Shi Feng was surprised when he saw the multiple fleets. He hadn''t expected God''s Domain''s naval powers to develop so quickly, especially Giant''s Heart. Even on Dragonheart Island, very few powers could contend with the Guild. Dragonheart Island''s powers weren''t limited to the human variety. Many neutral powers also operated from the island, including super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Once the fleets were ready, the Freedom Alliance''s members began to move crate after crate of cargo onto the various powers'' ships. When the representatives saw the cargo, they were stunned into a moment of silence. "How is this possible!? They want us to transport Primal Void Stone?!" "There are so many Primal Void Stones here. Has the Freedom Alliance discovered a Primal Void vein?" Everyone was shocked when they saw the translucent crystals within the crates. All of these players were either experts or upper echelons from major powers, so they had seen many precious items in God''s Domain. However, they couldn''t help their astonishment when they saw the Primal Void Stones. Primal Void Stone was a top-tier material that could be used to construct all sorts of high-ranked workshops. Primal Void Stone could absorb Mana from the void, and although the amount it could store was minute, this Mana could enhance players'' mental processing, which was particularly useful to Lifestyle players when they produced items. Buildings made with Primal Void Stone could also help Combat players when training their Skill or Spell Completion Rates. Hence, the various large Guilds had been desperately collecting Primal Void Stone to construct training rooms or workshops within their Guild Towns to help their members improve. Unfortunately, Primal Void Stone was a non-bag space item and incredibly rare. Collecting enough stones to construct a training room was a dream at this stage of the game. And yet, the Freedom Alliance revealed that it had so many available. Why wouldn''t this shock the various major powers present? Seeing so many Primal Void Stones even stunned Shi Feng. He hadnt thought that the Freedom Alliance would have so many in its possession. The various superpowers had treated buildings constructed with Primal Void Stone as sacred places for their players to improve Skill or Spell Completion Rates and craft items during his previous life. However, due to the scarcity of the stone, even those superpowers had only been able to construct a small number of buildings. Hence, the superpowers'' Guild members had had exclusive access to these buildings, and some of these superpowers hadn''t even given access to their low-ranked members. It''s no wonder why they want us to head to Ghost City. Shi Feng immediately understood the Freedom Alliance''s plans when he saw the crates'' contents. Primal Void Stone could be used for more than constructing buildings. It would also be helpful when improving certain Dark Players'' Bloodline density. Hence, Primal Void Stone was extremely popular among Dark Players, who were generally willing to pay three or four times more than the market price. "I''m sure that you''ve all seen the Primal Void Stones. As you''ve probably guessed, the Freedom Alliance has taken control of a Primal Void vein," Flame Robber suddenly announced, smiling. "However, the vein''s output is quite high, which makes it difficult to transfer all of the stones. Not even the Freedom alliance can monopolize all of the stones. Thus, we wish to share our harvest with a sufficiently powerful partner. In return, the Freedom Alliance will only ask for half of the generated profits. "Not only will this delivery test to Ghost City determine who qualifies to remain a partner with the Freedom Alliance, but we also hope to use the results to find a suitable collaborator for the Primal Void vein''s products. "Whoever among you delivers their shipment to Ghost City first will be invited to work with the Freedom Alliance regarding the Primal Void vein. I do not believe any of our commanders are opposed to this, correct?" As Flame Robber finished speaking, he glanced at the Freedom Alliance''s fleet commanders beside him. Although he seemed as if he were asking for their opinions, he had no intention to negotiate. "How despicable! Which commander would dare oppose such an idea under such circumstances?" the female Cleric behind Hundred Leaves quietly cursed. Flame Robber was clearly trying to hand the share of the Primal Void vein to Giant''s Heart. Silent Entropy, who had seemed relatively calm, revealed an ugly expression. On the other hand, the other commanders silently celebrated the decision. The Primal Void vein''s harvest would be distributed according to rank, with the First and Second Fleets gaining the most benefits. The remaining fleets would only acquire a small percentage of the goods, so it didn''t really matter if they shared the harvest with a foreign power. This distribution would only harm the top-ranked fleets. None of the various major powers voiced any complaints. Even a fool could tell that Flame Robber was trying to ensure that Giant''s Heart received these resources. Anyone that objected now would be setting themselves up for the Freedom Alliance to sever their relationship. Since none of his fellow commanders had anything to say, Flame Robber announced the beginning of the test. Like a raging tide, the various major powers'' fleets swarmed toward the Chaos Sea. They all wanted to reach Ghost City by nightfall. Not only would the Chaos Sea''s Dark Players have more of an advantage at night, but more sea monsters would become active, as well. "We should go, Brother Ye Feng." As Sinned Heart watched the various fleets leave the port, he, too, felt an urgent need to move. "Hold on a second. I have something I''d like to ask Commander Flame Robber before we leave," Shi Feng said. Instead of hurrying as everyone else did, he turned to Flame Robber nearby, and asked, "Commander Flame, to acquire partnership rights for the Primal Void vein, we only need to be the first to deliver our shipment of Void Stones to Ghost City; is that correct?" Shi Feng''s question confused the fleet commanders and the representatives that lingered. "Why is he asking such a question? Does he think this situation is unfair?" "What''s unfair about it? Strength is everything in God''s Domain. If he thinks this is unfair, he can bring it up with Giant''s Heart! We watch as they beat this brat to death!" "He has helped Passing Monarch quite a bit in the past. Does he think Passing Monarch will do something to return the favor?" All of the Freedom Alliance''s commanders remembered Shi Feng, especially Identical Summer, the original Second Fleet''s commander. It was Shi Feng''s interference that he had fallen to the Fifth Fleet position. Identical Summer wanted nothing more than watch Shi Feng die. Passing Monarch, on the other hand, could only offer a bitter smile. Even Flame Robber was puzzled as to why Shi Feng had asked such a question. "That''s right. So long as you are the first to deliver your shipment of Primal Void Stones to Ghost City, you''ll become the Freedom Alliance''s partner regarding the Primal Void vein," Flame Robber firmly stated. "Ah, then I can rest assured," Shi Feng said, smiling before he walked toward the crates assigned to Immortal Light. "Rest assured?" Everyone''s confusion grew as they watched Shi Feng leave. They couldn''t figure out what Flame Robber had said to assure him. Shi Feng then moved to a clearing near Immortal Light''s shipment. He placed a hand on his bag and began to chant an incantation. Two seconds later, a crimson, steel ship appeared above him. Even the Storm Sailboat looked insignificant compared to the gigantic, steel beast. However, that wasn''t what fascinated the players watching. What held their attention was the fact that this steel ship was floating above the ground... 2333 Starfall Shaken Chapter 2333 - Starfall Shaken "A flying ship!" "How is this possible?!" The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s appearance sent Starfall Island into an uproar. The Freedom Alliance''s commanders and the players that rested on the island stared at the steel giant with dropped jaws. By now, practically every God''s Domain player was familiar with the concept of flying ships. Players who lived in or had visited an NPC city that had an airport would''ve seen flying ships soar through the sky, and almost every player that had seen one dreamed of one day traveling through God''s Domain aboard their own flying ship. "Zero Wing actually has a flying ship, Big Sis Leaves!" Short Clarity, the female Cleric standing behind Hundred Leaves, exclaimed, staring at the distant Crimson Dragon Flying Ship in astonishment. "Am I dreaming?" Everyone, ordinary and superpowers alike, was desperately searching for Flying Mounts nowadays. Naturally, the Sacred Temple was no exception, but it had yet to find a single one. And yet, Zero Wing already had a flying ship! For a moment, Short Clarity wondered if the Main God System were playing a joke on her. "A Flying Ship! It''s no wonder why Zero Wing dared to provoke both War Blood and Starlink on Dragonheart Island!" Hundred Leaves was similarly shocked. "Zero Wing has fooled everyone!" Although Dragonheart Island was very far away from Sea''s End, as one of the Sacred Temple''s upper echelons, Hundred Leaves would''ve been informed of matters on Dragonheart Island. The Sacred Temple had launched a detailed investigation on Zero Wing. It was the first Guild in God''s Domain to obtain a Flying Mount, after all, which would have a major impact on the game. However, after watching Zero Wing blatantly provoke War Blood and Starlink, even the Sacred Temple had begun to wonder where Zero Wing found its confidence. A Flying Mount might possess incredible combat power and significantly reduce players'' travel time, but it was only a Mount. It did not have enough combat power for a single player to face an entire superpower, much less two. However, the same couldn''t be said for a flying ship. Such a vessel was a bona fide war weapon. Sinned Heart, who stood a short distance from Shi Feng, was just as stupefied. The two great experts behind him couldn''t even piece a thought together as they stared at the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. They had been able to accept the fact that Shi Feng had the Storm Sailboat. The Guild had revealed that it owned a Bronze Sailboat a long time ago, after all. It wasn''t that surprising to learn that Zero Wing had a Mysterious-Iron Sailboat. But Shi Feng had just pulled a flying ship from his bag. What was up with that? Meanwhile, Shi Feng quickly loaded the Primal Void Stones on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Silence descended on the port as the nearby payers watched him do it. To everyone''s surprise, the shipment that would require three sailboats to transport fit on the single Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. "Brother Heart, let''s go!" Shi Feng called out once he finished transferring the crates. Shi Feng''s shout shook everyone from their stupor. Sinned Heart replied with a stiff nod, robotically following Shi Feng as he boarded the flying ship. Once Immortal Light''s other members figured out what was happening, they scurried aboard the flying ship as well. As everyone watched, over a hundred Immortal Light members took their places on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. From the flying ship''s deck, Immortal Light''s members noticed the spectators'' envious gazes. At the moment, they felt as if they had reached the peak of their lifetimes. "Crap! Immortal Light''s members are so lucky! They actually get to ride a flying ship!" "I wish I could ride the flying ship, too. My friends would die from jealousy if they saw me on one." "I knew I should''ve joined Zero Wing!" The crowd at the port wanted nothing more than to drag Immortal Light''s members off the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and take their place, but when they saw the patrolling NPC soldiers, they abandoned the idea. "Good! Let''s set off!" Once Immortal Light''s members were on board, Shi Feng piloted the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, and it slowly ascended into the air. As the flying ship rose roughly a kilometer above the ground, he ramped up the engine. The flying ship transformed into a crimson blur as it short forth, crossing 300 yards in the blink of an eye. It was far faster than an Extraordinary Flying Mount. After a few short seconds, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship vanished over the horizon. "So, that was a Flying Ship?" "It''s insanely fast! Giant''s Heart won''t stand a chance against Immortal Light!" "Cool! That flying ship was so cool! No matter what, I''ve got to join Zero Wing!" After watching the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship fly off, a commotion erupted among the independent players and major powers members on Starfall Island. They had all known that flying ships were powerful, but they hadnt expected the vessel to be this powerful. Speedboats and sailboats were little more than snails compared to a flying ship! Furthermore, the flying ship''s capacity for non-bag space items was unbeatable! The remaining representatives on the island stared after the flying ship with wide, bulging eyes. They had never dreamed that a land-based Guild would pull such a move against them. "A flying ship?! That''s impossible! Players can''t get their hands on such an item! Just how did Zero Wing do it?!" the blue-haired woman on one of Giant''s Heart''s Bronze Sailboats exclaimed, surprised and confused after watching the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship soar over Giant''s Heart''s fleet. The Sea God''s Realm was one of the strongest Otherworlds. Players from the Otherworld had even more access to resources, Legacies, and information than those on the main continent. The only thing the Sea God''s realm lacked, compared to the main continent, was technology. The Sea God''s Realm simply didn''t have the resources to support its Lifestyle players as the main continent did. The Otherworld''s Lifestyle classes even struggled to produce Secret-Silver Equipment. Despite the advantages the Sea God''s Realm''s players possessed, a flying ship was still out of their reach, yet Zero Wing had one of its own. She couldn''t understand how this had happened. "Zero Wing, is it?" The handsome man beside the blue-haired woman revealed a rare smile as he watched the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship fade into the distance. "This is interesting. I wonder what the boss will do with this information?" Once the flying ship was gone, the Freedom Alliance''s commanders revealed a myriad of expressions. Some commanders were enraged, while others rejoiced. Some expressed their admiration, and some voiced their envy. "Passing Monarch''s luck is impressive. Flame Robber has gone to great lengths to set up this ploy, yet it''s turned around to bite him," Hundred Leaves surmised, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes as she glanced at Passing Monarch. Regardless of what would happen to the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship in the future, there was no doubt that Immortal Light would win the partnership rights to the Primal Void vein. At that time, Immortal Light was guaranteed to grow stronger, which would, in turn, bolster Passing Monarch''s authority in the Freedom Alliance. "What should we do about the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, Big Sis Leaves?" Short Clarity asked. "We don''t have the authority to decide that. We''ll just report these events to the higher-ups," Hundred Leaves said, an excited brightening her expression. "A flying ship! This news will shake the very foundation of God''s Domain!" 2334 Start of a New Era Chapter 2334 - Start of a New Era Shortly after Shi Feng piloted the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship away from Starfall Island, the various major powers'' members frantically began to report to their superiors. At this point, none of them paid any mind to the Freedom Alliance''s decision to reevaluate its partners. After all, the appearance of a flying ship represented the start of a new era! "Guild Leader, guess what I just saw on Starfall Island?" "A flying ship! Someone already obtained a flying ship!" "What? Don''t believe me? I''ll send you a video of it! You''ll know once you see it! That flying ship is amazing!" Excitement sparked among the independent players and various powers'' members on Starfall Island as they discussed the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. When the various powers'' upper echelons received the reports, they lost their minds. Thus far, they only knew of one Flying Mount in a player''s possession right now, let alone a flying ship. How could someone have already obtained a flying ship? However, when these upper echelons saw the video clips from their subordinates, they were utterly dumbfounded. Passion! Envy! Greed! These emotions overwhelmed the various major powers'' upper echelons as they watched the recordings of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Almost immediately, they ordered all-out investigations on Zero Wing. They were all determined to learn how Zero Wing had gotten its hands on the flying ship. Some powers even offered a reward of several Epic Weapons and Equipment for any information related to the vessel on the public forums. When Shi Feng saw the posts, the rewards even tempted him, and for a moment, he even considered selling the information himself. While these major powers looked into Zero Wing and its Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, Shi Feng''s group reached the expansive Chaos Sea. The Chaos Sea was the dark forces'' territory, and the sea zone was a mess of chaotic and violent energy, which was harmful to normal players'' mental states. It wouldn''t affect Dark Players, however. Rather, it would strengthen them, which was why normal players tended to avoid the area. As a sea zone, the Chaos Sea was a dangerous place to grind. Once enemy players surrounded newcomers, there''d be nowhere to run for cover. The Chaos Sea was a forbidden land for normal players. The instant the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship crossed into the Chaos Sea, Sinned Heart and his companions felt an indescribable weight bear down on them. Their senses became less sensitive, as well, which made it impossible to exhibit their normal combat power. "So, this is the Chaos Sea?" Sinned Heart was relieved he was aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship as he gazed at the thin layer of fog that covered the ocean below. The Chaos Sea was far more dangerous than he had expected. The thin fog that covered the water wasn''t actual fog; it was the physical manifestation of some kind of chaotic energy. This chaotic energy had a powerful influence on normal players. While surrounded by the fog, he could, at most, see up to 1,000 yards away. However, it wouldn''t affect Dark Players in the slightest. In other words, Dark Players would discover normal players in the Chaos Sea long before normal players could realize they were being targeted. The Dark Players would have the initiative in battle, and normal players would have no way to escape. After a few minutes, Sinned Heart and the others noticed a group of players ganging up on a Level 93 Mythic ranked sea monster. Every one of those players rode an eight-meter-tall Demonic Creature into battle. Players had nicknamed these Demonic Creatures ''mini sea monsters.'' The Demonic Creatures were incredibly powerful, with the weakest among them possessing the strength of a lord. The stronger creatures could even rival a Great Lord''s strength. They were far more powerful than Land Mounts. Meanwhile, bombarded by the fierce attacks of several hundred Demonic Creatures, the Level 93 Mythic sea monster rapidly lost HP. Oceania Demonic Creatures might not have as much Attack Power as an actual ship, but they were easily more mobile. Moreover, they could easily tank a Mythic sea monster''s attacks with their high HPs and player-made armor. It was only a matter of time before the Level 93 Mythic sea monster fell. "They''re looking this way! They''ve discovered us!" "Thankfully, we''re flying. If we were sailing, they''d likely annihilate us." Immortal Light''s members felt an immense pressure bear down on them as they watched the Dark Players below. Even the lowest-leveled player among those Dark Players was Level 95, and they all radiated auras that were as strong as Great Lords of the same level. If these several hundred Dark Players attacked with their Demonic Creatures, they could likely decimate an entire expert fleet. Meanwhile, countless dark teams of their caliber filled the Chaos Sea. Just the thought of sailing through all of those players made their scalps tingle. Fortunately, Immortal Light''s members rode Zero Wing''s flying ship. Even if those Dark Players had noticed them, they couldn''t do anything about it. The Dark Players could only stare as they flew away. The Dark Players fighting the Mythic sea monster were even more shocked than Immortal Light''s players. "A flying ship? What''s going on?" "I thought only one player in God''s Domain has found a Flying Mount thus far? How does someone already have a flying ship?" "They''re not here to kill-steal, are they?" The Dark Players nervously watched the steel giant fly across the sky. They were all afraid that the vessel''s pilot had set their sights on their team. Their team had gone to great lengths to locate this Mythic sea monster, and they were banking on it to elevate their overall combat power so they could contest for better hunting grounds later. If that flying ship decided to steal the kill, they''d only be able to cry as they watched someone else claim their prey. None of them were afraid of a fight, but a battle was only worth fighting if they had a chance. A flying ship was a war weapon and an overlord of the sky. Its combat power was on an entirely different level. Their Demonic Creatures wouldn''t be much help, either. Demonic Creatures were quite mobile, but they had very few long-range attacks. If the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship stopped four or five hundred meters above them and bombarded the team from there, they wouldn''t have any means to retaliate. As the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship drifted out of sight, the Dark Players breathed a sigh of relief and continued their raid on the Level 93 Mythic sea monster with peace of mind. The Chaos Sea was large enough that it could contain multiple land-based empires. Even a Bronze Sailboat would need more than a day to travel from Starfall Island to Ghost City. However, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship could complete the journey in several hours. As the city came into sight, Sinned Heart felt as if he were dreaming. 2335 Profitable Trading Chapter 2335 - Profitable Trading As the gigantic Crimson Dragon Flying Ship appeared above Ghost City, it attracted everyone''s attention like a dazzling sun. The flying, steel giant was impossible not to notice. The roar of the flying ship''s engine reverberated like the roar of a Dragon. One could even hear it from several thousand yards away. "What''s going on? Did someone trigger an event?" "No, that should be the rumored flying ship that appeared at sea not long ago! It''s come to Ghost City!" "Which power owns that flying ship? Aren''t they a little too strong?" Heated discussions erupted across Ghost City when players noticed the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. The Dark Players it had flown over earlier had already posted about it on the Chaos Sea''s official forums, which had already caused a huge commotion. Now that the ship had appeared above Ghost City, how could the city''s players ignore it? As they arrived, Shi Feng didn''t linger above the city for too long, piloting the flying ship toward Ghost City''s airport. There were a total of 24 cities within the Chaos Sea, and they were all very far apart from each other. Normally, players had to rely on sea or air transportation to travel from one city to another. Thus, every one of the Chaos Sea''s cities had well-developed ports and airports. Disembarking, Shi Feng stored the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and entered the airport terminal. As he did, he was greeted by a large crowd of Dark Players and a smattering of normal players. The Dark Players didn''t seem surprised to see normal players like Shi Feng and Immortal Light''s members. It wasn''t unusual for players to risk the trip through the Chaos Sea for a profit. Player-owned counters filled the terminal, all selling a variety of precious items. Ghost City''s airport was just as lively as the Auction Houses in the capital city of kingdoms. "This place is bustling!" Sinned Heart could not believe his eyes when he saw the number of players and precious items in the terminal. "Is this city really controlled by the dark forces?" From his impression of the dark forces, their territories should be chaotic, filled with endless slaughter. They shouldn''t look anything like this prosperous city. Moreover, the items available for purchase were so valuable that even Sinned Heart, Immortal Light''s Guild Leader, was tempted. These vendors sold Secret-Silver Mounts and Tier 3 Summoning Scrolls that were quite rare in the Apocalypse Empire. Moreover, these items were available in abundance. He even spotted one player selling over a dozen Bronze Speedboats, which weren''t available at all in the Apocalypse Empire. The rest of Immortal Light''s members were just as excited, wanting nothing more than to claim every one of these items. Only Shi Feng maintained his composure when he saw the wide variety of products for sale in the airport terminal. Chaos did reign over the dark forces'' territories, but that chaos stopped at a city''s borders. As the only safe havens for Dark Players to rest, the dark forces ensured safety within their NPC cities, allowing players to conduct their business. Due to how few cities there were in the Chaos Sea, it was only natural that these cities would prosper. In addition, Dark Players had very different values than their normal counterparts. Some items that were quite important to normal players had no value to Dark Players. Since the Chaos Sea''s Dark Players used oceanic Demonic Creatures as their preferred mode of transportation at sea, Land Mounts and ships were worthless to them. Moreover, Dark Players prioritized their own strength over all else, so they weren''t particularly interested in external tools. Those that relied on such tools would struggle to secure powerful Legacies. Thus, players generally sold external tools for low prices in the dark forces'' domain. This was also why the various naval powers were interested in conducting business in the Chaos Sea. When Sinned Heart noticed the Primal Void Stones for sale and saw their prices, he had the urge to curse, even with as mild-tempered as he typically was. Primal Void Stones sold for as high as 5 to 10 Gold per stone on the main continent. The inconvenience of transporting the stones was a large part of the reason that they sold for such a high price, but compared to the Primal Void Stones in Ghost City, the stones on the main continent were dirt cheap. These players were selling Primal Void Stones for 40 Gold a piece! Moreover, these Dark Players fought to purchase any Primal Void Stones they could, even at such a high price. The cleaned the vendors of every stone in no time. Only the counters that demanded 60 Gold per Primal Void Stone had any remaining stock. Here, Primal Void Stones were incredibly profitable! The Freedom Alliance had tasked each power to transport 300 Primal Void Stones for its test. As an incentive, the Freedom Alliance had also offered each power that completed the task half of their shipment. Even if they sold their Primal Void Stones at 50 Gold each, they''d make 7,500 Gold from this trip alone. If they could deliver such large shipments to Ghost City each day, they''d walk away with an astounding amount of profit. Sinned Heart finally understood why Shi Feng had insisted on competing for the partnership rights to the Primal Void vein, going so far as to expose the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to the other major powers, becoming a target. If they could deliver Primal Void Stones to Ghost City long-term, they''d likely earn more profit than a Guild City. Even a lousy Primal Void vein should generate several thousand Primal Void Stones each day. Even if Immortal Light and Zero Wing only secured 1,000 Primal Void Stones per day and shared half of the profits with the Freedom Alliance, they''d make over 25,000 Gold a day. If they sold the stones at a higher price, they could even rake in 30,000 Gold per day. Even a first-rate Guild would go crazy for such massive profits. Sinned Heart wasn''t the only one surprised by the Primal Void Stone''s prices. The situation even shocked Shi Feng. Within the dark forces'' territories, Primal Void Stone had only sold for 20 Gold per stone during his previous life, yet now, that price was more than double. It was no wonder why the Freedom Alliance wanted to find partners to help deliver its stock. Shi Feng quickly handed off half of his shipment to the Freedom Alliance''s representatives in Ghost City, putting the other half of the Primal Void Stones up for sale. By the time all 150 of his Primal Void Stones had sold, he had earned a net profit of 7,650 Gold. If they secured the Freedom Alliance''s partnership rights, both Zero Wing and Immortal Light would secure a long-term source of Coin and Primal Void Stone income. Once they completed the Freedom Alliance''s test, Shi Feng and his companions left Ghost City. They wanted to sign their partnership contract with the Freedom Alliance as soon as possible, so they used Return Scrolls to teleport back to Blue Jade City. From there, they flew to Starfall Island aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. As soon as they arrived in Starfall Town, they sensed a tense atmosphere around the town. For some reason, the various major powers'' representatives now stood outside of the entrance to Freedom Alliance''s Residence. These representatives didn''t seem surprised or envious as they watched Shi Feng and the others return. Rather, some of them sneered at the group, while others watched with pity. Shi Feng approached the Residence''s entrance, and five players, a woman and four men, wearing Giant''s Heart''s Guild Emblem blocked his way. The woman was the player with blue hair that Shi Feng had met during the meeting, and the four men behind her were all Level 97 players, radiating auras that were no weaker than a Great Lord''s of the same level. Unlike Sinned Heart, who only had the combat power of a peak expert, all four of the men were bona fide peak experts. You''re back. Come with me. Our boss wants to meet with you!" the blue-haired woman coldly stated as she glanced at Shi Feng. 2336 Giants Invitation Chapter 2336 - Giant''s Invitation When they heard the blue-haired woman''s declaration, the various powers'' representatives glanced at Shi Feng with varying expressions. "Sure enough, Giant''s Heart is making its move!" "I knew this would happen. With the Primal Void Stones potential profits, neither the First Fleet nor Giant''s Heart can let this go so easily." "Zero Wing doesn''t know how to take a hint. Flame Robber is clearly trying to share the Primal Void vein with Giant''s Heart, yet Zero Wing dared to interfere." All of these powers wanted the partnership rights to the Primal Void vein as well, but they knew that they couldn''t get their hands on it with a superpower like Giant''s Heart already in the way. Zero Wing''s determination to win the competition was no different than pulling a tiger''s whiskers. The Freedom Alliance might be a powerhouse in Sea''s End, but its strength was limited to the sea. However, even Super Guilds were wary of Giant''s Heart, both on land and at sea. Now, retribution had come for Zero Wing. Just as Sinned Heart was about to step forward, the four experts behind the blue-haired woman noticed, and the intensity of their auras skyrocketed. All four of the men stared Sinned Heart down. These four were bona fide peak experts with extraordinary Legacies and equipment standards to rival Sinned Heart''s. When their aggressive auras washed over Sinned Heart, he felt as if he were being watched by four ferocious beasts. He sensed that these four would pounce and kill him if he made any sudden movements. So, this is Giant''s Heart''s strength? Suddenly, Sinned Heart didn''t feel in control of his own life as he squirmed under the experts'' gazes. He was one of the top 10 Elemenatalists in the Apocalypse Empire, and he had defeated his fair share of peak experts. However, every one of the four experts before him felt like a major threat. Even if he had backup from Immortal Light, he was certain that he''d die here if all four attacked together. Moreover, he suspected that the blue-haired woman was the most frightening of the five. Sinned Heart didn''t know exactly how strong the blue-haired woman was, but it was clear that the four experts behind her respected her greatly. In God''s Domain, players that had risen to the standard of peak experts would even enjoy very high status within superpowers. The various superpowers would fight to recruit such players, and it was no exaggeration to say that a peak expert could join any superpower they wished. Because of this, peak experts tended to be quite prideful. Peak experts only truly respected more powerful experts. "Giant''s Heart is quite impressive to nurture such a young Domain Realm expert, such as yourself," Shi Feng flattered, smiling at the indifferent, blue-haired woman. "Since you''re Guild has invited me, please, lead the way." Shi Feng was not surprised that Giant''s Heart had sought him out. The Primal Void Stones would be a huge source of income, even to the various superpowers. He would''ve actually been surprised if Giant''s Heart hadn''t made a fuss. Astonished, Sinned Heart glanced between Shi Feng and the blue-haired woman. He hadn''t been aware of a Domain Realm expert''s true strength a few months ago, but as he grew stronger, that factor became clear. Defeating an expert of his caliber would be child''s play for a Domain Realm expert. But as far as he knew, only old monsters were Domain Realm experts. This blue-haired woman appeared to be, at most, 23-years-old. Even the term ''genius'' wasn''t a sufficient description. Meanwhile, the blue-haired woman couldn''t help but pay more attention to the man before her, surprised and confused by Shi Feng''s statement. She had only reached the Domain Realm seven days ago, and very few people in her Guild knew about the accomplishment. She was very careful to hide her combat standards, ensuring that even Domain Realm experts would dismiss her as a Void Realm expert, at most. She had never expected Shi Feng to recognize her for what she truly was. "Are we really going to go with them, Brother Ye Feng?" Sinned Heart asked worriedly in the team chat. Just standing before these five players put their lives at risk. If they entered Giant''s Heart''s territory, they''d be at the Guild''s mercy. "Since we''ve received such a grand reception, why wouldn''t we?" Shi Feng countered, chuckling. Shi Feng''s response rendered Sinned Heart speechless. Shi Feng wasn''t wrong about this being a grand reception. A Guild wouldn''t even send four peak experts and a Domain Realm expert to escort the Guild Leaders of the Apocalypse Empire''s top-ranked first-rate Guilds. However, this party clearly harbored ill intentions. "Let''s go. Our boss doesn''t have much time to waste," the blue-haired woman said, annoyed. She had wanted no part in this situation in the first place. As far as she was concerned, Giant''s Heart already showed enough respect by sending four peak experts to escort Shi Feng, but her superiors had given her a command, and she hadn''t had a choice. The blue-haired woman then turned and led Shi Feng and Sinned Heart into the Freedom Alliance''s Residence. The other Immortal Light members, however, were forced to wait outside. Following the young woman, Shi Feng and his companion soon found themselves outside of the Residence''s top-floor reception room. Sinned Heart was dumbfounded to see eight Giant''s Heart experts guarding the doors. Although these eight experts were only Level 96, they all radiated incredibly powerful auras. Sinned Heart could tell that they all had stronger Life Ratings than the four peak experts that had greeted them at the Residence''s entrance. Only, these experts hadn''t reached the Void Realm yet. Even so, their combat power should only be slightly weaker than the four peak experts. With such a formidable foundation, Giant''s Heart could annihilate Immortal Light with little effort. "Go in," the blue-haired woman said as she pushed open the reception room''s doors. Nodding, Shi Feng entered the room with Sinned Heart by his side. From the nearby hallway, several Freedom Alliance commanders watched this unfold. "Hahaha! It seems Passing Monarch will be disappointed!" Identical Summer, the current Fifth Fleet''s commander, commented, laughing. When he had seen Zero Wing''s flying ship and knew it would win the partnership rights to the Primal Void vein, he had nearly gone mad, but now that Giant''s Heart had stepped in, he couldn''t wait to see how Zero Wing intended to get out of this mess. "At the end of the day, some things are simply impossible to obtain. If Zero Wing gives up the partnership rights, it should be able to continue working with the Freedom Alliance," Hundred Leaves surmised with a sigh. Zero Wing had won the partnership rights, but the Guild was still too naive. In one of the past''s virtual reality games, the various superpowers would''ve likely let the matter slide, but in God''s Domain, there were just too many benefits and secrets. It would not be easy for non-superpowers to claim such a valuable resource in this game. Meanwhile, a handsome, white-haired man reclined on one of the sofas in the reception room. The moment Sinned Heart entered the room, he was overwhelmed by a strange, stifling sensation. Is that man a monster? Sinned Heart felt cold sweat slide down his back as he looked at the white-haired man before him. The man didn''t reveal any killing intent or seem dissatisfied, yet Sinned Heart was terrified. His instincts screamed at him to stay away from that man and run. "So, youre Zero Wing"s Ye Feng? I am ite Autumn, one of Giant''s Hearts Vice Guild Leaders," the white-hai introduced himself. He sipped from his teacup before smiling at his guests and continued, "I''ve heard about you before. It seems you have a lot of authority in Zero Wing and have even led some of the Guild''s major operations." "That''s right," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding. "That makes this simple. I have come here in hopes of purchasing Zero Wing''s Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Are you willing to sell it? If you agree, not only will Giant''s Heart help you stabilize your claim on the Primal Void vein''s benefits, but we''ll also sell you some Ocean Boundary Stones, a resource unique to the Sea God''s Realm," White Autumn explained. "Ocean Boundary Stone is a precious item that can help players learn combat techniques more efficiently. It can even help peak experts master the incredibly complex Bronze Combat Techniques." When the blue-haired woman heard White Autumn''s offer to sell Ocean Boundary Stones, she was stunned. Ocean Boundary Stones were extremely rare in the Sea God''s Realm, just as rare as Epic Equipment. Even Giant''s Heart only had a small number on hand and had refused to sell its stock to outsiders. "Your offer is quite attractive, Vice Guild Leader White, but Zero Wing has no intention of selling the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship." Shi Feng shook his head, rejecting the offer without a second thought. 2337 Ocean Boundary Stone Chapter 2337 - Ocean Boundary Stone Silence filled the room after Shi Feng had rejected Giant''s Heart''s offer. Sinned Heart looked particularly gloomy. He hadn''t expected Shi Feng to refused White Autumn so curtly. The blue-haired woman behind White Autumn could only stare at Shi Feng in astonishment. Shi Feng should''ve been ecstatic to accept White Autumn''s offer. Giant''s Heart was incredibly powerful, even strong enough to contend with Super Guilds. It ruled over all of the Sea God''s Realm. If Zero Wing had agreed to trade with Giant''s Heart, it would''ve earned the superpower''s favor, which countless powers dreamed of. This was especially true now that God''s Domain had entered such a chaotic era with the Planar Passages opening. A flying ship was very valuable, but the various superpowers now knew of it and had begun to set their sights on Zero Wing. Holding on to the flying ship wouldn''t be easy for the Guild. If Zero Wing had accepted the offer, not only would it have gained Giant''s Heart''s favor, but it would have also secured a ton of resources to help its experts grow stronger. Not even Starlink would''ve casually attacked Zero Wing, much less War Blood, yet Shi Feng had rejected the offer without any hesitation. Is he unaware of our Guild''s strength? It was the only possibility the blue-haired woman could think of. There was no other reason that Shi Feng would refuse such an excellent opportunity. "Zero Wing doesn''t intend to sell it? How unfortunate," White Autumn said, sighing. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, he didn''t seem angry about Shi Feng''s response. Rather, he maintained his composure as he continued, "Since that is the case, may I ask to borrow the flying ship to complete a quest? I''m willing to offer five Ocean Boundary Stones as remuneration." "Help with a quest?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "I don''t see an issue with that. How long will the quest take to complete?" Shi Feng did find the Ocean Boundary Stones tempting. They were the fifth-best tool in God''s Domain to improve players'' efficiency with learning combat techniques. Two Ocean Boundary Stones had been as valuable as a piece of Level 100-plus Epic Equipment during his previous life, but even when offered such a trade, very few powers had been willing to part with their stones. White Autumn''s offer of five Ocean Boundary Stones was the equivalent of two and a half pieces of Level 100-pus Epic Equipment, which was a considerably high price to rent a flying ship. With five Ocean Boundary Stones, five of Shi Feng''s peak experts could learn a Bronze Combat Technique and acquire the combat power to face Domain Realm experts. Most powers lacked Bronze Combat Techniques, but Zero Wing wasn''t one of them. The Guild had found quite a few Bronze Legacy Tablets thus far and had the Secret Technique, Lightning Flash. Shi Feng was the only Guild member to grasp the technique. If Fire Dance or Gentle Snow could master it as well, they''d display extraordinary combat power with the help of their Fragmented Legendary items. "It''ll take roughly three days. If we can complete the quest ahead of time, I''m willing to offer an additional Ocean Boundary Stone," White Autumn said after some mental calculations. Chuckling, he continued, "Even if we fail the quest, I will pay you one Ocean Boundary Stone in exchange for the flying ship''s rental and any damage it sustains." "We have a deal," Shi Feng agreed. Ocean Boundary Stones were an incredibly important resource to the various Super Guilds, not to mention Zero Wing. "May I know when this quest will begin?" If Zero Wing had had enough materials to produce two Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, Shi Feng would''ve agreed to trade one for a large batch of Ocean Boundary Stones, using them to nurture a large force of peak experts. "We''ll set off in 15 hours," White Autumn answered. "Our destination is a very dangerous one. I should take this time to rest and prepare." "Alright. Let''s sign a contract now, then," Shi Feng said after a quick look through his schedule. He had some free time, so he might as well use it to make some extra income. White Autumn and Shi Feng signed the contract, and now that they were bound, Giant''s Heart could proceed with the quest with peace of mind. Shi Feng then left the room to sign his partnership agreement with the Freedom Alliance. Meanwhile, the blue-haired woman, who had remained silent during the meeting, finally spoke up. "Vice Guild Leader, are you really planning to challenge that quest again?" the blue-haired woman asked. White Autumn kept most people in the dark, but as one of the Guild''s Domain Realm experts, she knew what was happening. The man intended to challenge one of the Sea God''s Realm''s Epic Main Storyline Quests. Giant''s Heart had three chances to complete the quest but had already failed twice. Clearly, White Autumn hadn''t given up, but if they failed again, the quest would vanish. "Our chances of success will be much higher with a flying ship on our side. Moreover, we''re running out of time to complete the quest," White Autumn said, chuckling. "If we can complete it, Giant''s Heart will have all it needs to establish itself in the Fire Dragon Empire. Even if the Pride Empire sends everything it has at us, it won''t have the power to remove us from the empire." "But is it really okay to take Ye Feng with us?" the blue-haired woman asked worriedly. "Only ten players can enter that place, and without a special Legacy, not even a peak expert will last more than 10 seconds. If he dies, he''ll be thrown out of the area without any opportunity for a healer to resurrect him." Things will become difficult once we''re inside, but I''ll have Blue Claw and the others share the burden. You''ve also reached the Domain Realm. With our current strength, we should be able to complete the quest," White Autumn insisted. "I''ll notify Blue Claw and the others, then," the blue-haired woman said, nodding. Inwardly, she prayed that Shi Feng would not hold them back. Elsewhere, the various major powers and the Freedom Alliance''s commanders were shocked as Shi Feng signed the contract for the Primal Void vein partnership rights. None of them had expected Zero Wing to win the competition, and Giant''s Heart hadn''t tried to oppose the situation. Now that Zero Wing had the partnership rights to the Primal Void vein, both Zero Wing and Immortal Light had secured another stable source of income. Since Immortal Light lacked sufficient naval power, Shi Feng decided to lend the Guild the Storm Sailboat for now. Shi Feng then made another delivery to Ghost City aboard his Crimson Dragon Flying Ship during his 15-hour wait. During their second visit to the city, Sinned Heart had emptied his pockets to purchase seven Bronze Speedboats and two Sailboats, instantly boosting Immortal Light''s naval prowess. Moreover, Passing Monarch spared no effort to help Sinned Heart, sending one of his expert fleets to assist Immortal Light. Now, even without the flying ship, Immortal Light could deliver Primal Void Stones to Ghost City without fearing the Chaos Sea''s Dark Players. The Guild would also deliver Zero Wing''s share to its Branch Guild in the Apocalypse Empire. Selling Primal Void Stones to the dark forces was an excellent way to make a fortune, but to Shi Feng, the Primal Void Stones themselves were more valuable than the Coins he could gain by selling them, especially when he had access to so many. The more he had, the valuable the stones would be. Current players just didn''t know it yet. Time passed quickly while Shi Feng made these arrangements. Before he knew it, the 15 hours were nearly up. I should head to Blue Jade City now. Taking a look at the time, Shi Feng pulled a Return Scroll from his bag and teleported to Blue Jade City. 2338 Legacy Combat Technique Chapter 2338 - Legacy Combat Technique Sea''s End, Blue Jade City: After appearing in Blue Jade City''s Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng noticed the blue-haired woman from Giant''s Heart. She carried a Legacy Crystal Ball and was in the midst of learning a combat technique. A Legacy Combat Technique! Shi Feng was stunned to see the crystal ball in the woman''s hands. God''s Domain''s combat techniques fell into various categories, each rarer than the last: offensive techniques, defensive techniques, footwork, and physical techniques. The rarest and most unique of these were Legacy Combat Techniques! Legacy Combat Techniques were a special type, unlike ordinary combat techniques. They were limited to specific classes; players without the appropriate class couldn''t learn one even if they obtained it. Every Legacy Combat Technique was as rare as a Fragmented Legendary item, and they didn''t possess fixed ranks. The standard of the techniques depended on the user''s mastery of them. All Legacy Combat Techniques started out at Bronze rank, and the greater a player''s master was, the more power they could wield with the technique. According to rumors Shi Feng had heard, a player could acquire the strength to transcend tiers if they could fully master a Legacy Combat Technique, even without relying on Fragmented Legendary or Legendary items. Shi Feng had never thought that he''d run into the woman form Giant''s Heart carrying a Legacy Combat Technique around. By the looks of it, she''d already gained a certain level of mastery over the technique, too. "You''re here." The blue-haired woman stored the Legacy Crystal Ball in her bag when she noticed Shi Feng. Her tone serious, she continued, "Since you''ll be questing with us, I should formally introduce myself. I am Lin Ya, the vice commander of Giant''s Heart''s main force. The quest we''ll be doing is unusually difficult. Even Domain Realm experts can lose their lives if they''re not careful. I hope you won''t act recklessly during the quest. We won''t be able to save you. All you''ll need to do is survive." "Rest assured. I might not be particularly skilled in all aspects, but I''m quite good at keeping myself alive," Shi Feng replied, smiling. Lin Ya''s warning made him a bit curious. Domain Realm experts stood at the apex of God''s Domain. An averagely-geared Domain Realm expert''s performance would be even better than that of a peak expert in full, top-tier equipment during a high-ranked quest. There were very few quests of the same level that could threaten an apex expert fully geared in top-tier equipment. "Good. Let''s go." Lin Ya had nothing more to say after hearing Shi Feng''s confident response. She then led him toward the continental teleportation array, and they traveled to the Fire Dragon Empire. Once they arrived, Lin Ya pulled a teleportation stone from her bag and teleported both of them to a heavenly land of verdant mountains and clear rivers. System: You have discovered the Sea God''s Realm. System: As you have reached Tier 3 and are not indigenous to the Sea God''s realm, the world''s power works against you, weakening your physique by 30% and Basic Attributes by 20%. We''ve teleported directly to the Sea God''s Realm? Giant''s Heart''s generosity surprised Shi Feng as he looked at his system map. Teleportation stones were incredibly valuable in God''s Domain. As long as the registered location was within range, players could use teleportation stones to transport a maximum of five players. Planar Teleportation Stones were the stronger version. Planar Teleportation Stones allowed players to cross dimensions and travel to a registered Otherworld instantly. Although they couldn''t be used in areas that prohibited teleportation, Planar Teleportation Stones were a powerful lifesaving tool. And yet, Lin Ya had used one so casually. After their arrival, Shi Feng noticed eight other players on the mountaintop, sitting before an ancient ruin. While Autumn was one of them. Of the remaining seven, the weakest was a peak expert who was very close to reaching the Domain Realm. To Shi Feng''s surprise, not all of the seven were members of Giant''s Heart. Two of them were independent players. Neither of the independent players had reached the Domain Realm yet, but they had slightly superior Life Ratings to Lin Ya''s. The ambient water-type Mana seemed to gather around those two players. Sea God''s Direct Kin? The Sea God''s Realm really is extraordinary. It''s no wonder why Giant''s Heart can contend with Pride Empire. Shi Feng could not help but reevaluate his view of the Sea God''s Realm upon noticing the two independent players. All Sea God''s Kin had received the Sea God''s blessing. Becoming a Sea God''s Kin was like completing a Trial of God. Of course, a Hero received blessings from multiple Gods. A single God''s blessing wasn''t enough. Even so, players who became Sea God''s Kin received a huge boost to their Life Ratings and could rival Demon Players in their Demon forms. Those that were stronger than a God''s Kin were a God''s Direct Kin. Direct Kin were cherished by their patron Gods, receiving some of the God''s blood. Direct Kin could continue to grow stronger and rival actual Heroes. Shi Feng had never expected to encounter independent players that had successfully become the Sea God''s Direct Kin. Regardless of how powerful a Sea God''s Direct Kin would be in the Sea God''s realm, not even Aqua Rose would be a match for these independent players on the main continent''s sea. "Everyone''s finally arrived. But White, why are we taking an outsider with us? What will you do if we fail this quest?" Silent Rain, a Level 97 Elementalist and one of the two independent players, asked. Giant''s Heart''s members flashed the Elementalist a dark look when they heard her question, but despite their annoyance at Silent Rain''s rudeness, none of them moved to teach him a lesson. That bastard! Just because he became a Direct Kin, he dares to disrespect our Vice Guild Leader?" Lin Ya grumbled to herself. She wanted nothing more than to teach Silent Rain a lesson, but the Sea God''s Direct Kin were highly favored in the Sea God''s Realm. Even Domain Realm experts who were also Sea God''s Kin were no match for the combat power Silent Rain commanded, even though he hadn''t yet reached the Domain Realm. In fact, not even four such Domain Realm experts working together would be a match for the man. "I believe you''ve heard of the flying ship that appeared while you were in the Fire Dragon Empire," White Autumn calmly stated. "Ye Feng owns that flying ship, which is why I''ve specifically invited him to help us on this quest. I have specifically invited him to help us with this quest." "A flying ship?!" Shocked, the seven players turned toward Shi Feng. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s appearance had caused a huge commotion in the Fire Dragon Empire. Practically everyone in the empire had heard of it by now. Aside from the convenient transportation it offered, the flying ship''s combat power alone left everyone speechless. Based on what players had learned of the flying ship thus far, only Mythic ranked flying monsters would have any chance against it, and they wouldn''t even have the power to destroy the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. "A flying ship? It seems that you''re quite impressive, kid," Silent Rain said to Shi Feng, a hint of envy and greed flashing in his eyes. With less than a handful of Flying Mounts in God''s Domain, a flying ship was a priceless treasure. If he had one of his own, he could walk through God''s Domain unhindered as long as the various superpowers didn''t go all out to stop him. "Alright, we don''t have much time left. Let''s hurry and go in. Otherwise, we''ll have to wait another two days before we can enter," the other independent player, a Level 97 Berserker, quickly interrupted when he noticed the tension between his comrades. "We are running out of time," Silent Rain agreed after taking a look at the time. He then smiled at Shi Feng, saying, "Once we''re in, all you need to do is follow me, kid. I''ll keep you safe." "That''s none of your concern, Rain. We''ll handle Ye Feng''s protection. You just need to do your own job," a stern man in his thirties coldly stated from beside White Autumn. "Blue, do you think anyone in the Sea God''s Realm is stronger than me?" Silent Rain shot back disdainfully, glancing at the stern man named Blue Claw. As Blue Claw was about to offer a harsh reply, White Autumn interjected, "Enough! We will proceed as planned. Let''s hurry and get inside!" Although White Autumn hadn''t spoken loudly, every one of the nine players felt his authority. Neither Silent Rain nor Blue Claw said anything more. The team quietly entered the ruin, one after another, and Shi Feng followed Lin Ya into the cave. 2339 Go Ahead if You Can Chapter 2339 - Go Ahead if You Can The cave was dimly lit. After everyone in the team entered it, a magic barrier appeared and sealed off its mouth. Now, players would no longer be able to enter or exit the cave unless they found the mechanism to remove the barrier. Inside this dim environment, even Tier 2 experts couldn''t see more than 30 yards awaya considerably disadvantageous situation to current players. A distance of 30 yards might seem very far, but Level 90-plus Lord ranked monsters could cross it in two seconds, at most, getting within melee range. If a group of Lords suddenly charged forward, even Tier 2 experts would take damage. "Our quest begins now. Everyone, stay cautious. There are many diverging paths here, so stick close to each other," White Autumn commanded. "Lin Ya, you scout ahead. Blue, focus on protecting Ye Feng. The monsters here are far stronger than the monsters found outside. Ye Feng, you pay attention as well. Players that are not a Sea God''s Kin will be heavily restricted here. You must not try to solo the monsters here at all." In response to White Autumn''s warning, Shi Feng simply replied with a silent nod. The suppression this ruin subjected players to was indeed powerful. The instant the magic barrier sealed off the cave, the inside of the cave felt as if it had transformed into a completely different world. Shi Feng could also feel the suppression on him intensifying. Now, although the suppression of his Basic Attributes remained the same, his physique was only 60% of his original. Moreover, the sensitivity of his five senses had decreased sharply. It was no wonder Lin Ya and White Autumn were constantly reminding him to be careful. Under such a powerful suppression, even Tier 2 experts would not be able to fight a Lord ranked monster of the same level. If they came across a group of Lords, their fates would basically be sealed. Even Domain Realm experts would not fare much better in this scenario. After all, the greatest factor differentiating ordinary experts and Domain Realm experts was their control over their five senses. A suppression of the five senses would affect Domain Realm experts much more than it would affect ordinary experts. However, the ruin''s suppression had minimal effect on White Autumn and the others, who were Sea God''s Kin. On the trek into the cave, Lin Ya, who was an Assassin, was fully responsible for scouting out the path ahead. The two Sea God''s Direct Kin of the team handled clearing out the monsters in the way. Although the suppression on Direct Kin was negligible, the monsters inside the cave were still extraordinarily powerful. [Naga Siren] (Bloodline Creature, Great Lord) Level 98 HP 63,000,000/63,000,000 Nagas possessing special Bloodlines filled the cave. Occasionally, the Nagas would suddenly appear from a branch cave and execute a hit-and-run attack on the team or launch a long-range ambush using crossbows. Every one of these Nagas was like a well-trained, expert assassin. They also possessed combat standards reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. To White Autumn and the others, however, these Nagas posed very little threat. After all, every one of them possessed Basic Attributes rivaling those of a Great Lord of the same level. As for the Silent Rain and Uneducated Bull, the two Direct Kin of the team, their Basic Attributes were even higher. Before the dozen or so ambushing Nagas could get close to the team, they were already sent flying by a bunch of powerful attacks. "We cannot waste Stamina here! Accelerate our advance!" White Autumn ordered as he shoved back a Naga with his shield. The Nagas inside the cave were endless. No matter how many Nagas the players killed, more would just take the place of the fallen. If they did not speed up their progress, they would eventually die from exhaustion, even if they were more powerful. At White Autumn''s words, everyone immediately hastened their footsteps. For the next three hours or so, the team kept pushing through swarms of Nagas. However, as they moved deeper into the cave system, not only did the terrain become increasingly complex, but the number of Nagas that attacked them each time also multiplied. Initially, each group would have only a dozen or so Nagas. Eventually, that number increased to at least 20. In addition, the Nagas'' coordination with each other constantly improved. Even though White Autumn and the others possessed very high combat standards, they still could not help but feel more and more pressured. Fortunately, this was not White Autumn and the others'' first time visiting this place, so they were very familiar with the cave system''s paths. Eventually, after fighting for another two hours or so, the team arrived at an extremely expansive cavern that housed a large temple. The instant everyone entered this underground cavern, a magic barrier appeared and sealed off the tunnel behind them, preventing the Nagas from chasing them any further. "How close! Sure enough, it''s much tougher now that we''re bringing one more person!" Silent Rain said. Glancing at White Autumn, he continued, "White, we never agreed to bring an additional person before. You have to increase our remuneration once we get back!" "Rain, you''d best not go overboard. The Vice Guild Leader already offered you a high remuneration. Moreover, our people were the ones responsible for protecting Ye Feng. You were only responsible for opening up the path," Lin Ya countered, frowning. She felt very dissatisfied with Silent Rain''s demand. If not for this ruin being special, they wouldn''t have allowed non-Guild members to participate in this quest at all. "Fine, then! You guys tank the monsters later on! I''ll stay in the rear! If that''s the case, I won''t have any objections!" Silent Rain sneered as he pointed at the two golem monsters standing guard before the temple. [Rock Giant] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 101 HP 375,000,000/375,000,000 "You..." Lin Ya''s complexion turned ashen at Silent Rain''s words. Everyone present was fully aware of how powerful Level 100-plus monsters were. This was especially true for the two Rock Giants before them. Through her previous experience fighting against these two Rock Giants, Lin Ya knew that they were not monsters that current players could hope to go up against, even while in an unsuppressed state. Meanwhile, players were prohibited from using magic tools and Berserk Skills while inside this ruin. In such a situation, even White Autumn, who was a Guardian Knight, could only hold his ground against one of these Rock Giants for a very short period. Hence, they had to rely on Silent Rain and Uneducated Bull, who were Direct Kin, to tank and distract the Rock Giants while the others opened the temple''s doors. "How much do you want?" White Autumn asked. From his calm reaction, he had long since expected this situation to occur. "Not much. Just give the two of us one extra Ocean Boundary Stone each. You should know that as Direct Kin, we burn through Ocean Boundary Stones much more quickly than you people. Moreover, unlike independent players like us, you people from Giant''s Heart are filthy rich," Silent Rain replied, smiling. However, just as White Autumn was about to agree to Silent Rain''s demands, Shi Feng suddenly spoke up in the team chat. "Vice Guild Leader White, you''ll pay two Ocean Barrier Stones to whoever can tank those two monsters?" Shi Feng asked. Everyone on the team turned involuntarily to look at him in surprise. Why is this guy adding fuel to the fire? Lin Ya''s mood soured greatly when she heard Shi Feng''s question. Giant''s Heart had expended a lot of effort just to protect Shi Feng, yet he was actually helping Silent Rain stir up trouble. In this situation, White Autumn also could not help eyeing Shi Feng strangely, wondering what Shi Feng was up to. "If you can safely stop these two monsters for 30 seconds, I''ll gladly give you two more Ocean Barrier Stones," White Autumn said. He did not particularly mind making this additional transaction. Instead, he was more curious about what Shi Feng was planning to do. "What? Kid, you want to give it a try as well?" Silent Rain laughed loudly at this development. "Sure! Go ahead if you can! I won''t object. As long as you can tank those two monsters, I''ll also give you the remuneration White promised me!" Even a Sea God''s Direct Kin like him still had a very tough time tanking one Rock Giant. The slightest mistake would mean his life. On the other hand, Shi Feng wasn''t even a Sea God''s Kin. It would be a miracle if he could tank one of the Rock Giants, let alone two. "If that''s the case, I''ll give it a try," Shi Feng said before slowly approaching the two Rock Giants. The instant Shi Feng got within 100 yards of the two Rock Giants, the latter''s eyes suddenly released a crimson glow. Both Grand Lords then started pacing toward the Swordsman, their bodies releasing a frightening pressure that made everyone tense up. 2340 Tier 3 Sword King Chapter 2340 - Tier 3 Sword King This guy is seriously making more problems for us. Silent Rain has to go all-out just to deal with one Rock Giant. How can one person possibly tank two? Lin Ya''s complexion turned ugly when she saw the two Rock Giants charging at Shi Feng. Does he need to behave this way even if he''s angry? He is basically making a joke of himself in front of Silent Rain! She could understand why Silent Rain''s actions would enrage Shi Feng. After all, Silent''s Rain''s demand for additional compensation because of Shi Feng''s presence was essentially him saying that Shi Feng was dead weight. However, Shi Feng''s trying to prove himself by fighting two Rock Giants at once was simply foolish. After all, inside this ruin, everyone on the team had different tasks. Shi Feng''s main purpose lay beyond the Rock Guardians. At that point, once he took out his flying ship, Silent Rain would naturally shut up. "Rain, let''s get ready as well. This kid shouldn''t be able to last long. If he dies, we''ll have to start all over again," Uneducated Bull said, unsheathing the crystalline greatsword slung on his back when he saw the Rock Giants closing in on Shi Feng. Although they had yet to reach the starting point of their quest, so long as players died here, they would be automatically resurrected outside the cave and lose 5% of their EXP. Then, the team would have to suicide and leave the cave too. After all, Shi Feng held the key to clearing the quest. Uneducated Bull did not wish to waste several more hours fighting through the cave system once more. "No rush. This kid should be quite strong. Given how confident he is, he shouldn''t have any problems lasting four or five seconds. It won''t be too late for us to take action just when he is about to fall. That''ll let him know his own worth and save us a lot of negotiation later," Silent Rain said as he shook his head and smiled. "I guess you''re right." Uneducated Bull nodded, as he felt Silent Rain''s words were reasonable. Every expert possessed trump cards. The Rock Giants might be very powerful, but Shi Feng should not have much of a problem holding his ground against the Grand Lords for a few seconds. In contrast, if Silent Rain and Uneducated Bull took action too soon, they would only devalue themselves. While the two Sea God''s Direct Kin were coming to an agreement, the two Rock Giants had arrived before Shi Feng and were smashing their humongous fists down at him. The Rock Giants were 10 meters tall, and their fists were large enough to cover a 10-yard radius. Let alone a Tier 2 Swordsman, even a Tier 2 Assassin would not be able to dodge the Rock Giants'' attacks in time. Meanwhile, even a small scratch from the attack of a Level 101 Grand Lord could reap a large chunk of a Tier 2 MT''s HP. Facing the attacks of two Rock Giants simultaneously, a Tier 2 MT would have to activate a Lifesaving Skill to survive. Just when everyone assumed that Shi Feng would utilize a Lifesaving Skill to stop the two Rock Giants'' attacks, he suddenly unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray, then lightly brandished his swords at the two descending fists. In the next moment, two deep, distinct cuts appeared on the Rock Giants'' knuckles. At the same time, the attack trajectories of both fists suddenly changed. In the end, the fists landed roughly 10 yards away from Shi Feng, creating large craters in the ground. Before the two Rock Giants could launch another round of attacks, Shi Feng had already appeared behind their feet and executed a horizontal slash with Killing Ray. Void Slash! Six slashes carrying the power of the void landed on the hamstrings of the two Rock Giants, each slash inflicting over -800,000 damage on the Grand Lords. The powerful Strength the slashes carried also forced the two Rock Giants to their knees, their offense coming to an abrupt halt. Silence! For a moment, as if time had frozen, silence filled the entire cavern. Whether it was Giant''s Heart''s members or Silent Rain and Uneducated Bull, everyone wore a dumbfounded expression. None of them could believe this scene was true. Let alone having trouble against the two Rock Giants, Shi Feng practically got the upper hand on the Grand Lords. He had easily blocked the fists that they found extremely difficult to dodge. His Attack Speed was also so fast that they caught only a blurry glimpse of his blows. However, the most frightening part of his performance would still have to be the Strength he displayed. "Impossible! This is definitely impossible!" Silent Rain blurted out his thoughts as he watched Shi Feng repelling the Rock Giants'' attacks time after time. "How can a player have so much Strength?!" The Strength of Uneducated Bull, who was a Sea God''s Direct Kin and a Berserker, was unrivaled in the Sea God''s Realm, yet even he could just barely deflect the attack of one Rock Giant. On the other hand, Shi Feng, who wasn''t even a Sea God''s Kin, was actually suppressing the two Rock Giants all by himself. This feat completely shattered Silent Rain''s world view. Tier 3!" White Autumn exclaimed. Although he found this unbelievable, it was also the most plausible answer he could come up with. "He should be a Tier 3 Sword King!" Upon hearing the words "Tier 3 Sword King," unprecedented shock filled everyone''s heart. Tier 2 classes were commonplace in God''s Domain, especially among NPCs. Only after reaching Tier 3 would one be considered a powerhouse in God''s Domain and receive the acknowledgment of NPCs. A Tier 3 class was one of the requirements for becoming the lord of a city. This was also the goal that players like themselves were striving toward. However, even with their current extraordinary strength, they were still not confident of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. After all, their Legacies were very special. This, in turn, meant their Tier 3 Promotion Quests were much more difficult than the Promotion Quest of ordinary players. Hence, they needed to make plenty of preparations. Nevertheless, while they were still suffering a headache over their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, Shi Feng had actually become a Tier 3 Sword King already! Who is he? Lin Ya''s heart churned with confusion as she gazed at Shi Feng. She did not believe that a small Guild like Zero Wing could nurture a Tier 3 powerhouse at this stage of the game. After all, none of the various superpowers had a Tier 3 powerhouse yet. Moreover, judging by Shi Feng''s performance, he definitely wasn''t your average Tier 3 powerhouse. When she thought back to how she had tagged along with her Guild''s four peak experts to invite Shi Feng in order to show him how strong Giant''s Heart was, she could not help but find her actions laughable. "Rain, it seems you''ve bitten off more than you can chew this time," Uneducated Bull said in pity. "With his current combat power, even if both of us go at him together, we won''t last more than ten seconds against him." Experts of their caliber understood very clearly just how powerful a Tier 3 class was. The difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 wasn''t limited to Basic Attributes. Instead, the differences in physique and reaction speed were also massive. The degree of control a Tier 3 player could potentially exert on their bodies was far superior to that of a Tier 2 player. Meanwhile, Silent Rain''s complexion also turned extremely ugly at this sight. He had never imagined that such a situation would occur. Originally, he had thought that he could use Shi Feng as an excuse to earn a few more benefits from Giant''s Heart. However, he ended up accidentally stroking the whiskers of a tiger instead. Silent Rain was not afraid of Giant''s Heart. After all, he was practically invincible in the Sea God''s Realm. Unless Giant''s Heart was willing to dispatch a large force to hunt him down, the Guild could hardly do anything against him. However, that was not the case for Shi Feng. Shi Feng alone would be more than capable of killing him. With the help of a tracking tool, the Swordsman could kill him out in the fields any time he wanted to. "Aren''t you going to open the doors yet?" Shi Feng prompted White Autumn. He had been fighting for quite some time now, but White Autumn and the others still hadn''t taken a single step toward the temple''s doors. "Now! We''ll open them now!" White Autumn snapped out of his daze after hearing Shi Feng''s reminder. He then hurriedly had everyone else on the team move to open the temple''s tightly shut doors. Due to Shi Feng''s presence, White Autumn and the others had no problem opening the temple doors. They did not have to worry about the Rock Giants'' attacks at all and could focus fully on removing the doors'' seal. In the end, they took only 25 seconds to open the temple doors completely. After seeing White Autumn and the others enter the temple, Shi Feng executed Void Slash and sent the two Rock Giants stumbling back. He then dashed straight for the temple''s entrance and disappeared from the dimly lit cavern. 2341 Mutated Mythic Chapter 2341 - Mutated Mythic The moment Shi Feng entered the temple, he felt as if he had arrived in an entirely different world. Instead of a ceiling, a blue sky hung overhead. Before him was a vast expanse of flowers. Just standing in this place gave him an indescribably pleasant and refreshed feeling. However, some distance ahead stood countless gravestones and statues. Each gravestone recorded the deeds of its owner when they were still among the living. A closer inspection of these gravestones would reveal that every grave belonged to someone who was once a powerhouse in God''s Domain. Many of these gravestones even belonged to Heroes. Meanwhile, every one of these powerhouses had something in commonthe fact that they all died on the same day. A resting place constructed by the Sea God? Shi Feng could sense faint Divine Might coming from the gravestones and statues before him. If these things weren''t constructed by a God, then it would be impossible for them to pick up a God''s aura. After all, an item needed to be in contact with a God for an extended period to absorb the God''s aura. Just a graze would not be sufficient. During the time Shi Feng was observing his surroundings, White Autumn and the others approached him. "Elder Ye Feng, your Guild really has hidden its strength deeply. If War Blood and Starlink find out about this, they''ll most likely receive a fright," White Autumn said in admiration as he looked at Shi Feng. Although White Autumn had long known that Shi Feng possessed extraordinary strength, he never thought that Shi Feng was this strong. The fact that Shi Feng advanced to a Tier 3 Sword King so soon would serve as a huge deterrence to the various superpowers. After all, nobody could guarantee that, should Zero Wing get pushed into a corner, Shi Feng would not invest a large amount of time specifically to make trouble and target the upper echelons and core experts of Zero Wing''s enemies. Most likely, only be a few players in God''s Domain could say with confidence that they could survive against a Tier 3 Sword King. Moreover, Zero Wing also had a flying ship and occupied a Medium Fortress on Dragonheart Island. After remembering these matters, White Autumn could not help but grow interested in the Guild known as Zero Wing. Now, rather than viewing Zero Wing as a pseudo-superpower, White Autumn already considered Zero Wing an existence equal to Giant''s Heart. As for Lin Ya, although she was a little in awe of Shi Feng''s strength, she still could not help gnashing her teeth in anger and frustration, as she felt that Shi Feng had just been toying with her. Despite being a Tier 3 powerhouse, Shi Feng was insistent on hiding his strength. It would''ve been fine if he simply kept hiding his strength, yet he chose to reveal it midway through their quest. She felt as if the Swordsman had been playing her for a fool. However, as luck would have it, she was utterly helpless to do anything against him. What Lin Ya did not know was that, if not for the extreme importance of Ocean Boundary Stones to Zero Wing, Shi Feng wouldn''t have bothered interfering at all. After all, it was much easier to just relax at the rear and collect his payment of Ocean Boundary Stones once the quest was done. However, he had received an opportunity to earn two Ocean Boundary Stones with merely a little effort. With the value of two Ocean Boundary Stones equivalent to one piece of Level 100-plus Epic Equipment, only a fool would choose not to make such a trade. "Brother Ye Feng, you really concealed your strength perfectly. It is my loss this time. According to our agreement, I''ll give you the two Ocean Boundary Stones White Autumn promised me, as well," Silent Rain said, admitting his defeat. Nobody present found Silent Rain''s decision surprising. Although Silent Rain was a Sea God''s Direct Kin and could exert the combat power of a Tier 3 class in the Sea God''s Realm, there were still massive differences between Tier 3s. Silent Rain might be able to cope against ordinary Tier 3 experts, but against a Tier 3 Sword King like Shi Feng, who could suppress two Level 101 Grand Lords all by himself, he would be nothing but a joke. Unless Silent Rain successfully advanced to Tier 3 as well, he wouldn''t perform any better than other Tier 2 players when fighting Shi Feng. However, completing the Tier 3 Promotion Quest was easier said than done. Even if Silent Rain could get promoted to Tier 3, that was something that would happen only in the distant future. Meanwhile, Shi Feng did not say anything about this situation. Gaining two additional Ocean Barrier Stones was undoubtedly a good thing for him. With this, his single trip here would earn him a total of nine Ocean Barrier Stones. This was definitely a huge windfall for Zero Wing. After all, compared to other powers, Zero Wing already possessed a significant advantage when it came to learning combat techniques: the Extraordinary Tower! The further one progressed into the Realms of Truth, the greater the assistance the Realms of Truth would provide. Upon reaching the Ascension Realm, even a Flowing Water Realm expert would have an excellent chance of learning Bronze Combat Techniques. Even if their mastery wouldn''t be very high, they would, at least, learn the basic principles of how Bronze Combat Techniques improved one''s combat power. Meanwhile, with the help of the Ocean Boundary Stones, Zero Wing would be able to nurture a batch of experts with mastery over Bronze Combat Techniques. At that time, Zero Wing could further stabilize the situation of its various Branch Guilds. Vice Guild Leader White, may I know what we will be doing next?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at the sea of flowers around him. "What we need to do next is very simple. We just have to get rid of the spirits created by the strange energy leaking out of the graves. The quicker we clear out all of these spirits, the higher our quest completion rate will be. During our previous two attempts, we spent nearly three days clearing out the spirits. Now that we have your help, we should be able to finish this part much more quickly," White Autumn said, smiling as he pointed at the faint, crimson mist seeping out of the graves. The spirits created by the strange energy were roughly equal in strength to the Naga Sirens. However, unlike the Nagas, these spirits were limited in number. One could say that, upon entering this world, they had completed a large portion of the quest already. After eliminating the spirits, all that would be left was removing the strange energy from the graves. Once that was done, not only would White Autumn be able to become a Sea God''s Direct Kin, but he would also obtain a Sea God''s Weapon, which would allow him to become the ruler of the seas. While White Autumn was speaking, the strange energy seeping from the graves condensed. A short moment later, translucent Undying Spirits took shape above the numerous graves. These Undying Spirits were all geared in excellent weapons and equipment. Their eyes gave off a black glow, and their bodies radiated an indescribably strange energy, which continuously corroded the space around them as if these spirits were trying to taint the space in their own colors. [Undying Spirit] (Special Energy Being, Great Lord) Level 99 HP 50,000,000/50,000,000 Although these Immortal Spirits looked to be only ordinary Great Lords, Shi Feng could tell that their combat standards were superior to the Naga Sirens'', probably reaching the sixth-floor Trial Tower standard. Even Refinement Realm experts of the same level would not be a match for them with their powerful Basic Attributes. However, against experts like White Autumn and the others on the team, these Undying Spirits could hardly count as an opponent. Not to mention, Shi Feng was also taking part in the fight now. Due to Shi Feng''s participation, the task that originally required nearly three days to complete was done in just roughly two days. If not for the Undying Spirits'' very low spawn rate, the team would''ve finished this part of the quest in just one and a half days. Meanwhile, during these two days, almost everyone in the team had received a lot of EXP. White Autumn, Lin Ya, Silent Rain, and Uneducated Bull had all risen to Level 98. As for Shi Feng, due to the monsters'' lower level, he did not receive that much EXP from them. As a result, he was still 23% away from reaching Level 103. Aside from EXP, the Undying Spirits had also dropped relatively excellent equipment. Even though the drop-rate wasn''t particularly high, White Autumn had still ended up with over 100 pieces of Level 95 Secret-Silver Equipment and several pieces of Level 95 Fine-Gold Equipment. In addition, he had also obtained quite a number of precious materials. After clearing out the Undying Spirits, White Autumn had everyone sit down and rest in preparation for the final phase of the quest. Once everyone was rested, he took out an aqua-blue pendant and chanted an incantation before the graveyard. Immediately, the strange energy remaining in the graveyard went berserk and started gathering rapidly at the center of the graveyard. After 10 seconds, a six-meter-tall Undying Spirit appeared before everyone''s eyes, wearing a crimson cape made out of the strange energy. At this moment, this Undying Spirit was looking at the players before it with an evil grin on its face. Upon seeing this Undying Spirit, whether it was White Autumn or Silent Rain and the others, the expression on their faces changed immediately. "That''s not right! Why is this Boss different from the ones we fought before?" Lin Ya could not help her confusion as she stared at the Undying Spirit. [Sunset King] (Mutant, Mythic) Level 100 HP 2,700,000,000/2,700,000,000 "Is this Sunset King really the same as the ones we fought before?" Silent Rain''s complexion darkened as he felt the aura the Sunset King radiated. "Its HP is more than triple of the previous ones." Although the two Sunset Kings they fought before were similarly Mythic monsters, they had not been strong enough to make his scalp tingle. The intensity of the current Sunset King''s aura was at least twice as strong as the previous ones. "Damn it! Why is it a Mutant?!" White Autumn''s complexion paled when he saw the Sunset King. He was very familiar with the existence of Mutants, as he had come across one in the Sea God''s Realm before. The Mutant back then was only a Level 60 Grand Lord. However, its strength surpassed even that of Mythic monsters of the same level. It had easily slaughtered a raid team consisting of several thousand Level 70-plus experts. In order to bring down that Level 60-plus Mutant, Giant''s Heart had mobilized its war weapons and sacrificed nearly 10,000 expert players. Meanwhile, the Mutant before him now was a Level 100 Mythic monster. White Autumn didn''t dare imagine what would happen to the Sea God''s Realm if it managed to leave this place. "Run! Everyone, escape quickly!" White Autumn shouted. "This isn''t a monster we can handle! We need to escape this place immediately!" 2342 Void Fragmentation Chapter 2342 - Void Fragmentation None of the team members doubted White Autumn''s judgment, and Lin Ya immediately retrieved a Tier 3 Group Instantaneous Transfer Scroll, activating it. She almost moved faster than she ever had in her entire life. A Level 100 Mythic monster was already a handful, even for Sea God''s Kin like themselves. They had Shi Feng''s help, but that might not be enough to take one day. Needless to say, they had no hope of surviving against a Mythic ranked Mutant. The last time a Mutant had appeared in the Sea God''s Realm, it had badly shaken the entire world. For that battle, Giant''s Heart had unified the forces across the Sea God''s Realm, losing over 10,000 lives and blowing through nearly half of its resources. The Guild had even been forced to rely on certain cards it had prepared to use against Super Guilds to bring down the Mutant. To make matters worse, a Mutant didn''t just kill players as normal monsters did. It would sometimes devour them as well. Players that were simply killed didn''t have much of an issue, but those that were captured and eaten would suffer triple the usual death penalty, and their souls would be Weakened for ten days after their resurrection. Being eaten was far more severe a loss than dying five or six times. During the battle against the Mutant, many of Giant''s Heart''s Refinement Realm experts and stronger had been devoured. Unfortunately, that included some peak experts. It had been a huge setback for the Guild. If not for that battle, Pride Empire wouldn''t have defended against Giant''s Hear''s invasion in the Fire Dragon Empire so effectively. Meanwhile, not only was the Mutant before them a Mythic ranked monster, but it was also Level 100. If they couldn''t escape in time, and the monster devoured them, the consequences would be unimaginably dire for experts of their caliber. Fortunately, players could use teleportation tools within this divine temple. Otherwise, they''d have no hope. As soon as Lin Ya activated the scroll, a teleportation array appeared under the team members'' feet. As a Tier 3 Group Instantaneous Teleportation Scroll, it could instantly teleport up to 20 players to the nearest NPC city or a fixed location. She didn''t waste a second deciding on the teleport location, setting the scroll to transport them to the nearest NPC city. Shi Feng didn''t object to White Autumn''s decision to retreat in the least. Even with his long years of experience in God''s Domain, this was the first time Shi Feng had encountered or heard of a Mythic ranked Mutant. By becoming a Mutant, a monster would be akin to a fearsome beast released from its cage. Its Basic Attributes would undergo a qualitative transformation, and its intellect would substantially increase. At this point, Shi Feng couldn''t even fathom how powerful the mutated Sunset King had become. He was certain that if he chose to stay, he''d lose his life. Mythic ranked Mutant. By becoming a Mutant, a monster would be akin to a fearsome beast released from its cage. Its Basic Attributes would undergo a qualitative transformation, and its intellect would substantially increase. At this point, Shi Feng couldn''t even fathom how powerful the mutated Sunset King had become. He was certain that if he chose to stay, he''d lose his life. "We''re finally safe." Lin Ya breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the countless players wandering the street around them. The rest of the team members nodded in agreement. Had they lingered in that temple for a few more seconds, the mutated Sunset King would have slaughtered them. Now that they were in Lake Mountain City, they were safe. Lake Mountain City wasn''t a capital city, but it was a major NPC city that was extremely far away from the ruin they had been exploring. Even if the Sunset King wanted to target them, it shouldn''t be able to do so. Only White Autumn was disappointed with the outcome. He had gone to great lengths to complete that quest, and just when he had been a step away from his promotion to Direct Kin and the Sea God''s Weapon, his efforts were wasted. "It seems I troubled you for nothing, Elder Ye Feng. I hadn''t expected these results. However, I will still pay for your time with three Ocean Barrier Stones. I hope that you can accept them," White Autumn apologized. Although he had failed the quest, White Autumn saw the merit in befriending Shi Feng after the Swordsman''s display in the cavern. It wasn''t certain that Giant''s Heart wouldn''t encounter another quest that would require such an expert''s assistance in the future. After all, Shi Feng had completed his Tier 3 Promotion Quest far sooner than anyone in God''s Domain. Even if Giant''s Heart''s experts reached Tier 3 as well, Shi Feng''s strength shouldn''t be underestimated with the massive lead he had. Silent Rain and Uneducated Bull watched Shi Feng enviously. According to their agreement with White Autumn, they''d only get paid if they helped complete the quest. Since they hadn''t, they''d receive nothing, yet Shi Feng had still been given three Ocean Barrier Stones. The original agreement they had with Giant''s Heart had only involved a single Ocean Barrier Stone as payment. As Shi Feng was about to respond to White Autumn''s offer, however, an intense shockwave blew through the street, attracting everyone''s attention. Some distance away from Shi Feng''s group, a tear in space opened, and two pitch-black hands reached out, slowly prying the tear apart. "How is this possible!?" Lin Ya exclaimed as she watched the black hands emerge. Those hands belonged to none other than the Sunset King. The crimson aura radiating off the crimson hands was the same strange energy that filled the Sea God''s ruin they had been in. The others on the team stared at the rift as well, just as shocked. This was a monster that could track their teleportation and rip through space to hunt them down. It was the first time they had ever heard of such a creature in God''s Domain. Before Shi Feng and the others could react, the Sunset King stepped through the enlarged spatial tear, its crimson gaze immediately locking on to the group. When it saw Shi Feng and his companions, it gave them a sinister grin as if ridiculing Shi Feng and the others for thinking they had any hope of escaping it. Void Fragmentation! A Mythic ranked Mutant is actually this powerful? Shi Feng was utterly astonished. Normally, not even Tier 4 NPCs could track players when they fled by teleporting, yet this mutated Sunset King was exactly that powerful, forcing open a path that led directly to its prey. To accomplish such a feat, the Sunset King would need to have the strength to fragment space itself. Normally, only Tier 5 or Tier 6 NPCs would have such power. Contrary to Shi Feng and his companions'' reactions, the players around them seemed excited as they watched the Sunset King emerge. "Crap! A Mythic monster is sieging the city? This is perfect timing!" "A Level 100 Mythic monster! If it dies, it''ll definitely drop something excellent. If I can snatch one or two items, I''ll be rich!" Lake Mountain City''s players didn''t panic in the least when they saw the Sunset King. Rather, they hungered for its blood. They were in an NPC city, after all, and the city''s NPC soldiers were all Level 150 or higher. A measly Level 100 Mythic monster would just be asking for a beating by trying to attack the city. It wasn''t long after the Sunset King''s appearance that a group of Level 150-plus NPC soldiers arrived and charged toward it. As the soldiers approached, however, the Sunset King removed a strange, crimson scythe from its back. It then brandished the weapon. Crimson blades flew from the scythe, surrounding the Sunset King. The instant these crimson blades slammed into the NPC soldiers, the NPCs flew through the air, heavily injured. Even the buildings lining the street, which were protected by magic arrays, turned into rubble as the attacks sliced through them. Every player within 100 yards of the mutated Sunset King died without even leaving behind their ashes. It was as if they had evaporated instantly. Finally, the city''s players realized how afraid they should be of the Sunset King. "Are you kidding me?! Magic arrays had protected those buildings! Even Mythic monsters would need a lot of time to destroy them, yet this monster..." The players that had assumed they could take advantage of the Sunset King''s arrival were dumbfounded. With a single Skill, the mutated Mythic monster had heavily injured several dozen Level 150-plus, Tier 2 NPCs and flattened the street''s buildings. This was the first time any of them had seen such power. White Autumn and his team could only gasp as they watched. How was this a Mythic monster? The Sunset King was practically a natural disaster! After repelling the NPC soldiers, the Sunset King returned its attention to Shi Feng''s group. It walked toward them, and every step it took increased the pressure they felt. For a moment, they all felt as if they were standing before the Grim Reaper himself. Although the process had seemed drawn out, the Sunset King had crossed the distance between it and Shi Feng''s group in an instant. In fact, Shi Feng hadn''t even had time to react to the monster''s approach. Suddenly, however, a blue-haired man in silver armor and wielding an icy-blue, two-handed axe appeared, interrupting the Sunset King when it was still 50 yards from Shi Feng and about to swing its scythe again. The instant this middle-aged, blue-haired man appeared, the nearby players breathed a sigh of relief. This man was none other than Lake Mountain City''s Magistrate, Wesland, a Level 180, Tier 4 Heavenly Knight. 2343 Inferior Legendary Even Chapter 2343 - Inferior Legendary Event Even White Autumn and his Guildmates released a relieved sigh when they spotted Wesland. Wesland was a Level 180, Tier 4 Heavenly Knight. Even if the Sunset King were immune to level suppression, Wesland wouldn''t be thrown as easily as the Level 150-plus, Tier 2 NPC soldiers. Furthermore, Lake Mountain City''s magic array strengthened Wesland in battle. However, the Sunset King remained unperturbed. It released even more intense energy from its scythe, energy so powerful that space around it began to crumble. At the same time, the power of the Sunset King''s aura skyrocketed. "What''s going on? How has it become even stronger?" Silent Rain stared at the crimson energy around the Mutant''s weapon in astonishment. The Sunset King had already displayed unbelievable power, yet it continued to grow stronger. It almost seemed like some seal had been removed. As the aura washed over him, Silent Rain even struggled to move. How is it growing so quickly? The situation confused Shi Feng, as well. As monsters completed a mutation, they would experience a qualitative leap to their strength, which would grow until it couldn''t be quantified by levels. As Mutants killed other creatures, they would continue to grow stronger, but Shi Feng had never heard of a Mutant that could power up twice in such a short time. The Sunset King swung its scythe again before White Autumn or his comrades could react. As a result, the space before them turned a deep crimson. "Is this really a Mythic monster?" The distant spectators were utterly dumbfounded. With just a swing of its scythe, the Sunset King had saturated the space before it with crimson energy, which vaporized everything in its path, distorting space itself. As the crimson energy extended toward Wesland, the Heavenly Knight raised his icy-blue axe and yanked it down in a deadly arc. Tier 4 Skill, Heavenly Flash! Several dozen arcs of blue light flew toward the approaching crimson energy. Boom... Boom... Boom... As the attacks collided, they created a fierce shockwave that forced White Autumn and his team to stumble back. With it came a loud boom that echoed throughout the city. As the dust settled, it revealed that the Sunset King had only stumbled a few steps backward. Even after taking Wesland''s attack, the Sunset King maintained its calm gaze as it stared down the Tier 4 NPC. The Mythic Mutant hadn''t sustained a single injury. "Impossible!" "Is that really a monster? Even a Level 180, Tier 4 NPC was only able to shove it back a little." The spectating players gaped in shock. They couldn''t rationalize how a Level 100 Mythic monster had the Strength to rival a Level 180, Tier 4 NPC. While the nearby players were dazed, the Sunset King raised its scythe and bellowed. A bloody mist then manifested, spreading out around it. Easily tens of thousands of Level 100-plus Undying Spirits began to emerge from the mist. Even the weakest summoned Undying Spirit was a High Lord, while the strongest were Grand Lords. As these Undying Spirits appeared, Lake Mountain City''s players heard the sound of a system notification. System: Lake Mountain City has triggered the Inferior Legendary Event "Awakening of the Mutant King." Kill the Sunset King before it destroys Lake Mountain City and obtain the Mutated Heart. With the Mutated Heart, one may receive the Sea God''s blessing. The notification shocked everyone, and the players, who had been trying to flee, froze in place. An Inferior Legendary Event! They had never heard of such a thing happening in the Sea God''s Realm before. Moreover, if they killed the Sunset King, they could receive the Sea God''s blessing! A God''s blessing! That was even better than becoming a God''s kin! If they could obtain the Sea God''s blessing, an instant rise to fame would be easy. The way these players looked at the Sunset King immediately changed. Rather than fear and trepidation, they now stared at the Mythic Mutant with longing, fervent gazes. "Attack! Our adventurer team must obtain that Mutated Heart! With it, we''ll become famous throughout the Sea God''s Realm!" "Gather all of our war weapons immediately! We need to kill the Sunset King before other Guilds arrive!" Lake Mountain City''s various major powers exploded into action. These major powers hadn''t paid much attention to the Sunset King at first. A Mythic monster''s loot wasn''t all that impressive, after all. Even if they killed it, they''d be lucky to claim a handful of items with how many players were in the area. Furthermore, the Sunset King was clearly quite powerful. The potential gains simply hadn''t been worth the losses. However, the system announcement had changed everything. As long as they killed the Sunset King and obtained its Mutated Heart, they could grant one player the Sea God''s blessing. With it, one would be unmatched at sea. "We should gather our men, as well, Vice Guild Leader. With a Tier 4 NPC and an entire city of players to help raid the Sunset King, not even this Mythic Mutant will last long," Lin Ya quickly advised. Before the Planar Passages had opened, no one would''ve dared to defy Giant''s Heart in the Sea God''s Realm, but now, many of the Otherworld''s major powers had allied with those on the main continent. Although Giant''s Heart still held a significant portion of the Sea God''s Realm''s resources, the various major powers didn''t fear the Guild as they once did. Hence, it was impossible to claim all of the Sunset King''s loot. "Notify our subordinates and tell them to send as many Guild members to the city as they can. Inform them that we''ll need all of our available war weapons, as well," White Autumn commanded, understanding the situation''s importance as well. Giant''s Heart might have a powerful hold on the Sea God''s Realm, but that did not mean its strength was equally distributed across the world. Logically, it shouldn''t have much more manpower than the local Guilds in a backwater area like Lake Mountain City. Moreover, that strange, bloody mist had disabled all teleportation abilities. In other words, players would have to run to Lake Mountain City. This gave Giant''s Heart even less of an advantage over the local powers. Meanwhile, Silent Rain and Uneducated Bull also began to grow anxious. Due to the Sunset King''s power, players couldn''t approach it. If they tried, they''d be instantly vaporized. Hence, the city''s players would have to rely on tools and war weapons to raid the Mythic Mutant, which was a major disadvantage to independent players like them. Following which, Lake Mountain City''s various major powers mobilized one trump card after another, with some using Summoning Scrolls, and others revealing formidable war weapons, such as Gnome Cannons. These powers started to push back the Undying army while bombarding the Sunset King. For a while, Lake Mountain City had transformed into a chaotic warzone. However, the Sunset King was no easy opponent. Not only was its attack range massive, but its summoned Undying Spirits also moved like a well-organized army. They specifically targeted the Gnome Cannons and Large Ballistas,forcing the various major powers to defend their war weapons desperately. Unfortunately, against the Level 100-plus Undying Spirits, ordinary Tier 2 experts were little more than moving targets. After only 20 minutes, over 100,000 players had died in Lake Mountain City. Several hundred Tier 2 NPC soldiers had also fallen amidst the chaos. In contrast, as the bloody mist continued to expand, more Undying Spirits joined the battlefield. Even though more players and powers joined the fight with each passing minute, they couldn''t stop the spread of the bloody mist. Fortunately, bombarded by the various major powers war weapons and Magic Scrolls, the Sunset King rapidly lost HP. "At this rate, Vice Guild Leader, I''m afraid that the raid will end before our reinforcements arrive. Also, there are too many spirits here now. Approaching the Boss''s location will be very difficult," Lin Ya worriedly reported as she watched the Mythic Monster''s HP decrease. Even in Lake Mountain City, Giant''s Heart had a considerable amount of manpower, but it didn''t have as many war weapons and tools as the local powers. If their reinforcements didn''t get to the battle soon, Giant''s Heart''s members wouldn''t be able to reach the Sunset King''s loot until after the other powers. White Autumn was just as anxious about the situation, but he didn''t have a solution. Without being able to teleport, mobilizing their war weapons and tools would take a very long time. Vice Guild Leader White, I have a suggestion that may help us secure the Sunset King''s kill," Shi Feng suddenly offered. "In exchange, however, I want everything the Mutant drops aside from the Mutated Heart. Are you interested?" "You have a plan?" White Autumn asked. The rest of the team turned to stare at Shi Feng, confused. Lin Ya was particularly confuddled, with no idea how Shi Feng intended to kill the Sunset King and claim its Mutated Heart. The Sunset King was surrounded by a swarm of Undying Spirits, and the Grand Lord ranked Undying Spirits could even fly. Even with a flying ship, getting close to the Mythic Mutant would be impossible without being attacked. They would need a large number of war weapons to protect the flying ship. A flying ship wasn''t particularly useful against monsters, to begin with. Its offensive abilities were mainly a deterrence for other players. The vessel would be a sitting duck against a group of monsters. "Of course," Shi Feng said, nodding confidently. "Deal! If you can get me the Mutated Heart, I''ll give you the rest!" White Autumn agreed. He wasn''t particularly interested in the Sunset King''s other items anyway. If Shi Feng was confident of killing the Sunset King, it was only good news for him. "May I know what the plan is, Elder Ye Feng?" "Do everything you can to protect my flying ship, and I''ll need eight experts to man the ship''s cannons. You can leave the rest to me," Shi Feng said. After hearing the plan, Lin Ya couldn''t help but roll her eyes. If they had enough war weapons to keep the Undying Spirits off of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, then they wouldn''t have to worry about missing out on the Sunset King''s loot in the first place. "Oh, I''ll also need six peak experts to pilot these Guardian Puppets and protect the flying ship," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then revealed six Guardian Puppets from his Epic Spatial Bag. 2344 Flying Ship Versus Sunset King Chapter 2344 - Flying Ship Versus Sunset King White Autumn and the others were stunned when they saw the six Guardian Puppets. Six Combat Puppets?! Did he bring Zero Wing''s entire armory with him?! Lin Ya stared, astonished, at Shi Feng after witnessing the six Guardian Puppets, which were as tall as buildings. Combat Puppets weren''t as rare as they once had been, and many superpowers had a few of their own at this stage of the game. Giant''s Heart was no exception. However, due to how few the Guild had, every one of them was treated as a part of the Guild''s foundation and mustn''t be used casually. Even White Autumn, one of Giant''s Heart''s Vice Guild Leaders, had to gain the Guild Leader''s permission before he could mobilize a Guardian Puppet. And yet, Shi Feng had pulled six of them from his bag as if they were common tools... The unexpected development rendered White Autumn speechless. White Autumn had already been shocked that Shi Feng was allowed to carry a flying ship on him, yet now he found out that the Swordsman also had six Combat Puppets. If he hadn''t taken the initiative to invite Shi Feng to assist on his quest and bring the man to the Sea God''s Realm, he would''ve suspected that Shi Feng had actually come to declare war on the Otherworld. Bronze ranked Combat Puppets possessed peak Tier 3 power, and under an expert player''s control, they could easily surpass the combat power of Tier 3 summoned creatures and war weapons. This was why the various superpowers were so careful with their Combat Puppets. Destroying a Guild Town would be child''s play if one mobilized six Bronze Combat Puppets at once. Combined with a flying ship, even destroying a Guild City might be possible. "We don''t have much time left. Let''s hurry," Shi Feng said, watching the spreading mist and increasing number of Undying Spirits. He hadn''t planned to reveal the Guardian Puppets, initially. They were a part of Zero Wing''s foundation, after all, and they would lose durability in combat. Moreover, the materials needed to repair them weren''t easy to produce. However, this was an extraordinary situation, and the Sunset King was a Mythic ranked Mutant. This was the first time he had ever even heard of such a monster. The last Mutant he had killed in White River City had only been a High Lord, yet its loot had been priceless, especially the Blade Saint Legacy. At Mythic rank, the Sunset King''s loot would be just as astonishing. Its total value might even rival that of the Sea God''s blessing. However, the Sunset King wouldn''t be easy to kill. Aside from the increasing number of Undying Spirits, the Mutant itself wasn''t a being current players could afford to provoke. If the city''s Level 180, Tier 4 Magistrate weren''t'' taking it, the Sunset King would''ve already transformed the city into ruins. After factoring in the swarm of Undying Spirits, it would be impossible to get the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship close to the Sunset King. Hence, Shi Feng had to rely on the Guardian Puppets'' strength. "Blue, your group will pilot these Guardian Puppets and protect the flying ship with me. Lin Ya, your group will help Elder Ye Feng control the flying ship," White Autumn said. He knew that time was of the essence right now. "Everyone else, use everything you''ve got to help from the side. I will ensure that you''re all rewarded appropriately as long as we succeed!" Following which, White Autumn and five peak experts entered the Guardian Puppets'' cockpits. Meanwhile, Lin Ya''s group boarded the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship with Shi Feng. Naturally, Lake Mountain City''s players soon noticed the flying ship and Combat Puppets. The steel giants were difficult to ignore. The constructs dwarfed both the players and the Undying Spirits. The Level 100-plus Undying Spirits, which current players had no hope against, were like children before the Guardian Puppets. White Autumn and Giant''s Heart''s peak experts perfectly displayed the colossal constructs'' strength, sending groups of Undying Spirits flying with a single slap. Effortlessly, the six Guardian Puppets opened a path through the swarm of Undying Spirits, preventing the summoned monsters from getting between the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and the Sunset King. "A flying ship?" "Crap! How is this fair?!" When the various major powers and adventurer teams saw the Guardian Puppets and Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, they felt as if they were using guns and swords in this battle, while Zero Wing and Giant''s Heart used fighter jets and tanks. The two sides'' firepower was on entirely different levels. White Autumn and the other Guardian Puppet pilots couldn''t help but agree with that thought. When fighting alone, the Guardian Puppet didn''t seem particularly powerful, but when six fought together, they made up for each others'' weaknesses, doubling their combat power. Now, they were even confident of taking down a Level 100 Mythic monster, much less a few Level 100 Grand Lords. Before the watching players could overcome their shock from seeing the Guardian Puppets, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s main cannons began to gather Mana. Everyone within 2,000 yards of the flying ship felt the Mana density around them sharply decrease. The instant Wesland used a Tier 4 Skill to push the Sunset King back, the Magic Elven Cannon fired a beam of divine light at the Mythic Mutant. The Sunset King had extraordinary Movement Speed and reaction speed. Normally, even Ballistas and Gnome Cannons would struggle to land a hit. However, less than 300 yards separated the Sunset King and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, and even if the Mythic Mutant tried, it couldn''t dodge the attacks in time. Thus, the Sunset King was forced to block the attack with its scythe. Boom! The instant the beam attack smashed into the scythe, space around the impact ruptured. The Sunset King simply didn''t have enough Strength to resist the Magic Elven Cannon''s, and as a result, the beam of divine light devoured the Mythic Mutant power. The Sunset King rapidly lost HP while bathed in the divine light. By the time the attack ended, the Sunset King, whom the Magistrate hadn''t been able to injure, was visibly hurt. Cracks spread across the Mutant''s body, and it had lost over 20,000,000 HP. While the Sunset King slowly healed its injuries, it would command far less combat power. A flying ship possesses such destructive power? Lin Ya stared at the injured Sunset King with wide eyes. Not even a Tier 4 Heavenly Knight had been able to damage the Sunset King''s body, yet the Crimson Dragon had achieved the feat with a single attack. It was simply unbelievable. What Lin Ya didn''t know was that the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was powered by a Bronze Engine. Its overall DPS might not be a match for an actual Bronze Flying Ship, but its main cannon had peak Tier 4 power. Not even Wesland could afford to take a direct hit from the Magic Elven Cannon. "The Boss is coming! Activate the Magic Shield and Mana Field! All Mana Pulse Cannons, attack with everything you''ve got!" Shi Feng commanded as the Sunset King turned his glare toward the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. The Mythic Mutant made its move as soon as Shi Feng finished giving orders. The Sunset King appeared before the flying ship in the blink of an eye and swung its scythe, sending a crimson arc slicing at the vessel. Fortunately, the flying ship''s Magic Shield and Mana Field snapped up before the Sunset King had attacked. As a result, the flying ship avoided taking any hull damage. However, the attack had depleted the Magic Shield''s energy reserve by over 6,000,000 points. After blocking the Sunset King''s attack, the flying ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons activated, one after another, firing a black and white beam that struck the Mythic Mutant. Each one of the beams shaved off a sizable chunk of the Sunset King''s HP, and the spectating players were stunned by the horrific, spectacular explosions that ensued. After witnessing the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s performance, everyone gained a newfound appreciation for flying ships. None of them had ever thought that a flying ship could go toe-to-toe with a monster as powerful as the Sunset King. With Wesland pinning down the Mutant and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s firepower devouring its HP, the Sunset King was rendered powerless. It could only watch as it continued to lose HP. Moreover, due to the six Guardian Puppets, the tens of thousands of Undying couldn''t even reach the flying ship. 60%... 30%... 10%... As the Sunset King''s HP continued to plummet, the Mythic Mutant frenzied. In turn, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship steadily lost durability. They were lucky that Wesland had shown up. Without him to tank the Mythic Mutant, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship would''ve lost durability at a much faster rate. When the Sunset King''s HP fell to 5%, it turned and fled, but Wesland refused to allow it. The Magistrate immediately activated Lake Mountain City''s defensive magic array, sealing off the city. The Sunset King couldn''t escape the city until it destroyed the magic barrier. "Die!" When Shi Feng saw how little HP the Mythic Mutant had left, he activated the Magic Elven Cannon once more. Although the Sunset King tried desperately to defend itself, the beam of divine light cut through its HP until it eventually hit zero. The Mutant''s body then disappeared, returning to the void. 2345 Holy Chan Chapter 2345 - Holy Chant As the Sunset King''s body vanished into the void, a bright glow enveloped Shi Feng and his companions. He reached Level 103 and was more than half-way to the next level. Lin Ya and the others manning the flying ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons instantly leveled from 98 to 100. The Sunset King had awarded many times more EXP than ordinary Level 100 Mythic monsters. It left Lin Ya and the others dazed for a moment. Meanwhile, the bloody mist that had saturated Lake Mountain City began to gather toward the disappearing Sunset King. After three seconds, a resplendent, crimson gem formed within the mist, attracting everyone''s attention instantly. The Mutated Heart! Even without inspecting the gem, everyone knew it was the Mutated Heart. After all, the crystal contained tremendous energy, even more than Seven Luminaries Crystals. While it hovered in the air, the crimson gem radiated such powerful waves of energy that space around it distorted as if it couldn''t endure the energy. The energy within the crimson gem had no place on this plane of existence. Suddenly, a ray of holy light descended from the sky, and every player in the city heard a divine chant. As if the heavens were celebrating the Sunset King''s death, over a hundred globes of light fell from the sky, landing around the Mutated Heart. Their brilliant light illuminated all of Lake Mountain City. Every one of these treasures radiated incredible auras, and so close together, their auras amplified each other. Bathing in the combined auras and warm light, ordinary players struggled to approach the items. "Loot!" After a few seconds, someone broke the silence. As if the word had been the spark to ignite a powder keg, every player surged toward the glowing orbs like a crowd of lunatics. The city''s players seemed to have forgotten about Giant''s Heart''s members, the Guardian Puppets, and the Crimson Dragon Flying ship. "All of you, charge! Those treasures are ours!" "Kill whoever tries to get in your way!" "I''ll ensure that whoever claims an item is promoted by one rank within the Guild. I''ll even award bonus GCPs depending on the item''s rarity!" Lake Mountain City''s various major powers promptly ordered their Guild members to surround the Sunset King''s loot. Although there were quite a few Giant''s Heart members nearby, no one paid them any mind. With so much precious treasure before them, all else was secondary. Improving one''s strength was the key to success in God''s Domain. Even if the superpower demanded that they hand over the treasures they had claimed later, how would Giant''s Heart''s players know what treasures they had taken? The Guild would be quite impressive if it even knew how many items had dropped. All these powers would have to do is hand over some of the less valuable items, and Giant''s Heart wouldn''t be able to do anything about it. While the various major powers made their move, they bombarded the area with attacks to prevent others from getting to the loot first. "These people have lost their minds!" Lin Ya was furious as she watched the various major powers'' members swarm the loot area like locusts. She had never thought they''d be so desperate or shameless. Some major powers even began to attack the area with their war weapons. Even with a flying ship, it would take some time to clear out these pests, and by the time the loot area was clear, the surrounding players would''ve taken what they wanted. They were talking about several hundred thousand players! Even if Giant''s Heart had six Guardian Puppets and several thousand members present, it couldn''t stop all of these players. "I''ll loot the items. You just need to keep players out of the area," Shi Feng calmly told Lin Ya. Honestly, though, he was just trying to suppress the elation and shock in his heart. A Holy Chant! If the Super Guilds from his previous life had known about this, they would''ve done everything in their power to secure these items. He wouldn''t even be surprised if they flattened Lake Mountain City for the sake of the Sunset King''s loot. By now, every player in God''s Domain was familiar with the appearance of loot, but most didn''t know that there were different ranks of this phenomenon. The most common was the glow that enveloped dropped items. After that was a Dragon''s roar that heralded the items'' arrival, and then, there was the Holy Chant. The strongest phenomena he had experienced in the past had been the Dragon''s roar. He had only ever heard of the Holy Chant announcing the loot''s arrival. A Holy Chant normally only preceded loot from Tier 5 Superior Demon Kings, Tier 5 Saints, and Tier 5 Adult Dragons. These Bosses had already taken half a step into the realm of Gods. Every one of these Bosses ruled an area in God''s Domain. Ordinary superpowers had no chance of contending with such powerful existences. Usually, several superpowers would have to work together to take one down. Hence, Shi Feng had been taken aback when he heard the Holy Chant as the Sunset King''s loot had dropped. He had expected a Mythic Mutant''s loot to be extraordinary, but he hadn''t thought it would be this incredible. If the various superpowers of his previous life had known about this, they would''ve nurtured every Mutant they could find to Mythic rank before slaughtering them. When Lin Ya watched Shi Feng vault from the pilot''s seat, she was at a loss. Hundreds of cannons and Ballistas continued to bombard the loot area. Not even a Guardian Puppet would last long against so many war weapons. How exactly did that Swordsman intend to get to the items in such a situation? Even if Shi Feng had Invulnerability Skills, the dropped items were scattered across a vast area. He wouldn''t be able to accomplish anything significant with how short Invulnerability Skills'' durations were. On the off chance that he miscalculated his timing or spent too much time gathering the loot, he''d lose his life and the items he''d collected. However, before she could try to dissuade the man, Shi Feng had already jumped from the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship directly into the loot area. Crazy bastard! The sight stupefied Lin Ya. Everyone else had noticed Shi Feng jump from the flying ship, as well. "Is that guy stupid? He''s trying to collect the loot in such a situation?" "He should have an Invulnerability Skill. Damn it! Why don''t I have one as well? I could''ve gone down there and stollen a dozen items myself!" The crowd watched Shi Feng in envy and admiration. With a dozen of the hundred or so items on the ground, one could make a killing. So many major powers were trying to get to those items right now, and each would be fortunate enough to obtain five or six items at most. However, Shi Feng hadn''t activated an Invulnerability Skill when he hit the ground as everyone had expected. Rather, he replaced the Abyssal Blade with the Twilight Blade and summoned eight doppelgangers, each with 85% of Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes. "What is he trying to do?" White Autumn, who commanded Giant''s Heart''s members some distance away, was confused as he watched the Swordsman. Some doppelgangers could use their player''s Skills and Spells, but none of the doppelgangers in God''s Domain could pick up items. Only the player''s main body could do so. So, what was the point in summoning a bunch of doppelgangers in this situation? When they saw what happened next, however, everyone''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets. As soon as the eight doppelgangers appeared, they charged toward the hundreds of approaching cannonballs and ballista arrows. The eight clones easily blocked the incoming projectiles, which were powerful enough to damage Grand Lord ranked monsters. Meanwhile, Shi Feng strolled through the area as if it were his backyard, casually collecting the scattered loot. One item... Three items... Nine items... 2346 Oppressing All Sides Chapter 2346 - Oppressing All Sides As Shi Feng started collecting one dropped item after another, silence fell over the entire city. "How is something like this even possible?!" "Crap! Is he even human!?" Everyone felt their world view crumble as they watched. At this stage of the game, practically everyone had a healthy fear of war weapons. They could kill players in one hit, after all. War weapons could also cause significant damage to high-ranked monsters. Without Invulnerability Skills, players had no way to stand up against war weapons. Relying on his own strength, Shi Feng successfully blocked every incoming cannonball and ballista arrow. Even his doppelgangers effortlessly deflected the hundreds of war weapon attacks. He was simply inhuman. The various major powers'' members watched as Shi Feng steadily collected the loot with bloodshot eyes. Every one of the Sunset King''s items radiated an incredibly powerful aura. In God''s Domain, such auras were proof of an item''s rarity and value. Even from so far away, they could see the Epic glow effect shining among the Sunset King''s loot, and a few items radiated a strange light and a faint trace of Divine Might. "Kill him! Those items are mine!" "Use Tier 4 Magic Scrolls! I refuse to believe he can stop those!" The various major powers'' upper echelons nearly spat blood as they watched Shi Feng storing the Sunset King''s loot in his bag. Had Shi Feng used an Invulnerability Skill to stop their attacks, they would''ve accepted their fate, but he blocked their attacks with his doppelgangers. With Doppelganger Skills'' average duration, Shi Feng would have more than enough time to collect all of the loot before his doppelgangers disappeared. If that happened, none of them would get anything from this Inferior Legendary Event. A few of the major powers'' experts immediately retrieved the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls they had been saving and activated them against the Swordsman. Tier 4 Spell, Heavenly Thunder! Tier 4 Spell, Dark Domain of Arrows! Tier 4, Hurricane Howl! Have these people gone insane?! They''re actually using Tier 4 Magic Scrolls against him?! Lin Ya felt her scalp tingle as she watched the three Tier 4 Spells approach Shi Feng. At this stage of the game, Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were considered a part of a Guild''s foundation. Every one was worth as much as an ordinary Epic item. Tier 4 Spells could do even more damage than Gnome Cannons and Large Ballistas, and not just because they commanded greater raw power. Players had full control of these Spells. They could manipulate the Spells'' trajectories and implement combat techniques as they cast them. Blocking a single Tier 4 Spell was impossible for current players, much less three. Suddenly, a massive lightning bolt struck down on Shi Feng with enough speed to break the sound barrier. At the same time, 12 dark arrows appeared around the Swordsman, each with enough power to rival a Mythic monster''s attacks. Lastly, a gigantic tornado blotted out the sky as it rolled down toward Shi Feng. These three Spells sealed off any path of escape for Shi Feng, and watching them move toward the Swordsman was like watching Armageddon begin. The watching players felt their hearts skip a beat. The three Tier 4 Spells'' devastating power was stifling. "How vicious!" "That guy''s dead for sure now." "Not even a Mythic monster could take those Spells without suffering severe injuries." The general populace hadn''t expected Lake Mountain City''s various major powers to be so vicious and decisive. Not even superpowers would casually waste Tier 4 Magic Scrolls on a single player. "Death awaits any who oppose us! Let''s see how you intend to block these attacks!" The various major powers eagerly watched the Tier 4 Spells assault Shi Feng, waiting for the moment the Swordsman died and dropped all of the items he had claimed thus far. However, as everyone expected the Tier 4 Spells to devour Shi Feng, the Swordsman''s aura exploded, and a strange black energy enveloped his body. Power of Darkness! "Scram!" Shi Feng bellowed as he brandished Killing Ray. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! Sword lights immediately appeared around him, cutting down the incoming streams of Mana. The lightning bolt and dark arrows scattered, and he sliced the descending tornado cleanly in two, dissipating the violent wind. Silence! As if time had frozen, silence filled Lake Mountain City. The city''s independent players, the various major powers'' members, even Giant''s Heart''s members stared, dumbfounded. Those three Tier 4 Spells would''ve even injured a Mythic monster, yet Shi Feng had countered all three with a single swing of his sword... "How is this possible?!" The upper echelons from the three major powers that had used the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were frozen in shock. They had originally saved the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls as trump cards to use against Mythic monsters, yet Shi Feng had stopped all three effortlessly. He hadn''t even lost a single HP, much less been injured. So strong! Is this the true power of a Tier 3 class? Lin Ya felt overwhelmed as she watched Shi Feng. She had seen the strength of a Tier 3 class when Shi Feng had fought the two Rock Giants outside the temple, but she hadn''t realized that a Tier 3 class was powerful enough to nullify Tier 4 Spells. With such strength, none of God''s Domain''s superpowers could touch Shi Feng. He was on an entirely different level compared to Tier 2 players. Before a Tier 3 player, a Tier 2 player was no more than an infant learning how to walk. Thank goodness! I''m so glad I didn''t pick a fight with him! I''d be doomed! Silent Rain inwardly celebrated after seeing Shi Feng emerged from the Tier 4 Spell bombardment unscathed. Silent Rain had considered plotting a way to steal the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, but after this performance, he knew that not even a superpower''s main army could take that Swordsman down. War Blood and Starlin are truly unlucky to have provoked such an individual. White Autumn couldn''t help but pity the two organizations. War Blood and Starlink would''ve already found Zero Wing to be an incredibly challenging opponent with its Guardian Puppets and Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, but with a player like Ye Feng to protect the Guild as well, Zero Wing was essentially a natural disaster for the two organizations. After countering the three Tier 4 Spells, Shi Feng glanced at the approaching players. These players, who still intended to fight for the Sunset King''s loot, halted their steps immediately. Even the various major powers leading the charge stopped, quietly watching Shi Feng. None of them dared to take even half a step closer, afraid of attracting the Swordsman''s attention. They''d be gambling their lives if they tried to snatch the items from such a monstrous being. Even if they got their hands on one of the dropped items, they wouldn''t be able to escape with it. They''d just become a target for Shi Feng to practice his swordsmanship. Seeing these players abandon their contest for the Sunset King''s loot, Shi Feng turned around and resumed his work. Everyone merely watched as he quietly gathered the remaining items. "Who is that guy? Isn''t he a little too strong? He actually deterred an entire city of players by himself." "I know, right? Not even the Sea God''s Realm''s number one player, Scarlet Hand, would be a match for him." The players in the vicinity began to admire Shi Feng. They were also incredibly curious about his identity. As for the Sunset King''s loot, none of them dared object to the situation anymore. Once Shi Feng had collected the dropped items, he quickly approached White Autumn, handing over the Mutated Heart. If possible, he wanted to leave Lake Mountain City as soon as he could. He planned to return to White River City immediately. Only there would he be safe enough to appraise the Sunset King''s loot. In return for the Mutated Heart, White Autumn gave Shi Feng a whopping 10 Ocean Barrier Stones. Shi Feng then retrieved a Return Scroll and activated it, transforming into a streak of light and leaving the Sea God''s Realm. 2347 Extraordinary Loo Chapter 2347 - Extraordinary Loot White River City''s business district was full of Advanced carriages and a variety of Mounts. Meanwhile, the Candlelight Trading Firm loomed over the street like a giant. A long line of players stood before the Shop''s entrance. Aside from those looking to purchase Candlelight''s products, many were Lifestyle players, seeking to improve themselves. They were there to take the Candlelight''s recruitment test, hoping they''d be accepted into this sacred land for Lifestyle players to become a respectable Master Lifestyle player eventually. A sea of players filled the Shop itself, crowding around every counter in the firm and fighting desperately to purchase items. First-time visitors to the Candlelight Trading Firm were stunned by the scene. "Isn''t this just a Shop? Why are so many people here?" a Level 96 female Druid with a strong life aura muttered, surprised by the players around her. "What is this Shop selling?" "That''s not what we''re here to find out. Our main goal is to investigate the various kingdoms'' alchemical standards. The sooner we finish our investigation, the sooner we can employ our Moon God''s Realm''s advantages," a male Guardian Knight, who radiated a similar aura, said. "I guess you''re right. The main continent''s alchemy standards are far inferior to our world''s. Once we verify the potions these people are selling, we can establish ourselves across the continent through our alchemy techniques," the female Druid agreed, nodding. She then ignored the commotion on the first floor and headed up the stairs to the second. While the female Druid and male Guardian Knight moved to the second floor, Shi Feng, who had overheard their conversation, couldn''t help but pause. The Moon God''s Realm? He watched the two players carefully after hearing mention of the Moon God''s Realm. Otherworlds in God''s Domain varied in size. When the Planar Passages had activated, these Otherworlds had gradually connected to the main continent according to size. The smaller Otherworlds were the first to open to the main continent. Meanwhile, the Moon God''s Realm was one of the largest Otherworlds in God''s Domain, aside from Higher Planes. Now that the Moon God''s Realm''s players had arrived, the Planar Passages had opened fully. With all of the Planar Passages open, the Otherworlds would truly begin to impact the continent. From this point onward, not only would the competition for dominance over Level 100 neutral maps become more intense, but the status quo in the various kingdoms and empires would also shift. Some kingdoms and empires might even see a new ruling power. During Shi Feng''s previous life, the Planar Passages had greatly affected Star-Moon Kingdom as well. Fortunately, Star- Moon Kingdom had been a mid-ranked country among the many kingdoms on the continent, so none of the most powerful Otherworlds'' organizations had targeted the kingdom. Because of this, the various first-rate Guilds that had ruled Star-Moon Kingdom in the past had survived the chaos. Shi Feng certainly hadn''t expected the Moon God''s Realm''s powers to target his kingdom in this life. This definitely wasn''t good news to Zero Wing. If powers from an Otherworld like the Moon God''s Realm targeted Zero Wing, the other powers from large-scale Otherworlds wouldn''t be able to ignore Star-Moon Kingdom. It seems I''ll have to take care of the situation in the Cold Spring Canyon quickly. With the quality and number of experts Zero Wing has, we cannot stop an assault from multiple large-scale Otherworlds. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng picked up his speed. A sufficiently powerful expert might be able to turn the tides of war, but not even God''s Domain''s strongest expert could affect multiple large-scale battles across an entire kingdom simultaneously. In the end, it would still be a competition of quantity and quality of experts, as well as Guild foundations. Although Zero Wing had the strength to contend with superpowers, it''s overall strength wasn''t a match for an actual superpower. Once he had closed himself in one of the Special Forging Rooms on the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top floor, Shi Feng pulled a Tier 3 Strengthening Magic Scroll from his bag and chanted the incantation. Strengthening Magic Scrolls could reinforce magic arrays. A Tier 3 Strengthening Magic Scroll was even effective on Grandmaster Magic Arrays. After activating the scroll, Shi Feng targeted the forging room''s defensive magic array. Now, even a Tier 4 NPC would struggle to break down the door. The magic array should be strong enough now, Shi Feng thought as he examined the magic runes carved into the walls. The runes brimmed with Mana, significantly increasing their overall effects. Following which, Shi Feng pulled one of the Sunset King''s dropped items from his Epic Spatial Bag after another. He wasn''t being overly careful. Every item accompanied by a Holy Chant would be extraordinary, and all of these items had been sealed when they had dropped. These seals contained the item''s auras, and the moment a player tried to appraise these items, the seals would vanish, exposing the item''s true auras. Even while sealed, the combined aura the Sunset King''s loot had radiated had been powerful enough that ordinary players hadn''t been able to approach. Once Shi Feng broke the seals, even a Tier 2 expert would likely have a hard time reaching for these items. This was why Shi Feng had decided to appraise the items from within the Candlelight Trading Firm. Had he appraised the items in some random room in Lake Mountain City, it would''ve caused a huge commotion. Lake Mountain City''s various major powers weren''t fools. Just the loot''s subdued aura had been enough of a reason for them to expend Tier 4 Magic Scrolls willingly. If they were exposed to the full strength of the loot''s aura, even White Autumn might have been tempted to take action. As Shi Feng appraised one item after another, the energy in the room grew more intense. By the time he had finished, the loot''s combined aura had grown more than twice as strong. So, these are a Holy Chant''s items? There were as many as 6 Tier 4 Magic Scrolls alone. There were also 45 Inferior Legendary materials, 6 Legendary materials, 26 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals, 3 God Crystals, 4 pieces of Level 100 Epic Equipment, and 1 Level 100 Epic Weapon. Every one of the five Epic items was top-tier and could be used until Level 150. Unfortunately, none of them suited Shi Feng. The four pieces of Epic Equipment were pieces of the Dark Flare Set, a four-piece, Epic Set Equipment for MTs. The four-piece set effect increased its user''s Basic Attributes by 30%, Defense by 40%, and physique by 20%. It was undoubtedly a top-tier set equipment for MTs. As for the Epic Weapon, it was the Fantasy Blade, a two-handed greatsword. Its Attributes might be average, but its hidden effect, Blade Blur, was frightening. When it triggered, Fantasy Blade would ignore the opponent''s Defense and armor for 0.5 seconds, dealing direct damage to the target. Shi Feng had also appraised a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. [Brilliant Silver] (Two-handed Staff, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 800, Agility 800, Intelligence 2,400 Attack Power (210% of Main Attribute) All Attributes (Increases according to user''s level) When equipped: Strength increased by 40%, ^ility increased by 40%, Intelligence increased by 70%, Endurance increased by 30%, Vitality increased by 50%; Casting speed increased by 35%; Spell Completion Rate increased by 4%; Spell critical rate increased by 35%; Stamina and Concentration consumption decreased by 20%; Ignore Levels +20 Additional Passive Skill 1- Soul Transition: Increases the user''s soul by one tier. (Can be increased up to Tier 5) Additional Passive Skill 2- Mana Blessing: User''s Spells have a certain chance to be upgraded by one tier. (Can be increased up to Tier 5) Additional Passive Skill 3- Mana Body: Increases Mana Body''s effect by one rank. Additional Active Skill 1- Void Field: All magic damage received decreased by 80%. All Spells'' effects increased by 100%. Physique increased by 60%. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 2 hours Additional Active Skill 2- Void Blade: Summons 18 blades using the power of void; each blade possesses Strength equal to 120% of the user''s Main Attribute and deals divine damage. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 5 minutes Brilliant Silver had once belonged to the Void Creator. However, its core had been severely damaged when the staff had been used to repair the world''s heart. In addition, to gain full control of the staff, one must be acknowledged by the Void Creator. Repairing it requires 10 God Crystals. God Crystals required to repair Brilliant Silver (0/10). Brilliant Silver was suitable for any magical class expert and would qualitatively transform a player''s combat power. Its ability to improve its user''s Mana Body was particularly useful to Tier 3 players. However, none of these items could compare to the most valuable item the Sunset King had dropped in Shi Feng''s eyes. Not even the other items'' total value could compare to this single item. The 4-star Shop Promotion Order! 2348 4-star Shop Chapter 2348 - 4-star Shop Mainstream players haven''t even reached Level 100, yet Zero Wing is about to own a 4-star Shop. If the various superpowers in the past knew about this, they''d die from envy. Shi Feng couldn''t help his growing excitement as he gazed at the shining, black token in his hand. A 4-star Shop Promotion Order was roughly worth as much as a Fragmented Legendary item, but it was far more difficult to obtain. Even of the many superpowers in God''s Domain, only a minority could obtain a 4-star Shop Promotion Order. No power would trade a 4-star Shop Promotion Order, even if offered a Legendary item. Similar to the qualitative transformation players undergone when they rose from Tier 2 to Tier 3, Shops would transform when they were upgraded from 3-star to 4-star status. Shops in God''s Domain were considered Basic rank from 1- to 3-star status, but once they reached 4-star status, they''d become an Advanced Shop. Not only would all of the Shop''s existing functions improve, but it would also gain new major functions. The first was the Research Workshop! The Research Workshop would be tremendously helpful to Lifestyle players as they worked to rise through the ranks. Not even the Philosopher''s Hand or Moon God''s Secret Journal could compete. The Research Workshop could examine data on existing items and identify their deficiencies. Players could then modify and improve these items, thereby creating a new item. It was easy to imagine how helpful this would be to Lifestyle players. The Research Workshops were a large part of the reason the various superpowers had been able to nurture Master, even Grandmaster, Lifestyle players during Shi Feng''s previous life. Without these workshops, the various superpowers would''ve, at most, been able to nurture Master Lifestyle players, even if they relied on all sorts of rare materials. None of them would''ve had enough super-rare materials to nurture a Grandmaster. Now that Zero Wing had access to a Research Workshop, the Guild could have a large batch of Master Lifestyle players in no time with how many talented Lifestyle players it already had. God''s Domain''s designs for high-ranked weapons and equipment were incredibly rare already, but after Level 100, rare would be an understatement. Trying to obtain a high-quality design would be like trying to win the lottery.Hence, the various major powers would have to rely on Lifestyle players for such items. Of course, creating a high-ranked Level 100-plus weapon or equipment piece was easier said than done. Because of this, the cost for high-ranked Level 100-plus weapons and equipment would skyrocket as mainstream players reached Level 100. Not even ordinary expert players would be able to afford such items. In fact, some ordinary experts would be stuck using Level 100 equipment even after they reached Level 110. Meanwhile, this scarcity would only begin to subside as 4-star Shops began to emerge. The various major powers'' experts would still need some time to reach Level 100, not to mention the time they''d need to obtain high-quality level appropriate weapons and equipment. Zero Wing''s experts were no exception. If Zero Wing could secure a source of weapons and equipment early on, these items would be immensely helpful to the Guild''s experts as they gained more combat power and cleared their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. The second ability the Shop would gain with its 4-star status would help a power dominate the market. The Shared Warehouse! At 4-star status, a Shop would gain a Shared Warehouse and the ability to create similar warehouses in five 3-star Shops. These Shared Warehouses would be connected. The function might not seem glamorous, but countless powers dreamed of having such an ability. With a Shared Warehouse, a power could transfer items across long distances at no cost, including non-bag space items. Transporting non-bag space items had always been a huge problem in God''s Domain, and the Shared Warehouse was one of the few methods that could solve this problem. Because of this, the various powers of Shi Feng''s previous life had fought to promote their Shops to 4-star status, with some even trading Legendary items for the Promotion Order. There was a catch, of course. Once items had been placed in the Shared Warehouse, they''d be frozen for 24 hours, locked in the warehouse. Moreover, there was an extremely limited amount of space for non-bag space items. At the 4-star status, the Shared Warehouse could only hold up to 200 non-bag space items at a time. Even so, the function would save a lot of money and transportation time. Most importantly, this method of relocating items was safe. Had Shadow possessed a 4-star Shop during Shi Feng''s previous life, the Guild wouldn''t have taken so many risks to move highly-valuable non-bag space items, getting robbed by powerful NPCs. Unfortunately, 4-star Shop Promotion Orders were painfully rare in God''s Domain. Only a small number of superpowers could enjoy the luxury of owning a 4- star Shop. Due to these two functions, not even powers with 100 3-star Shops could complete with those that had a 4-star and a few 3-star Shops for dominance over the market. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng stored collected the Sunset King''s loot in his bag and stored the Seven Luminaries Crystals and God Crystals in his Private Warehouse. He then made his way to the City Hall to upgrade the Candlelight Trading Firm to a 4-star Shop. He also notified Melancholic Smile and had her mass-recruit players for Candlelight''s internal membership, pausing normal recruitment for now. Previously, Candlelight hadn''t met the conditions for expansion. The trading firm only had a limited number of Special Workshops and Meditation Rooms, after all. Moreover, competition between the various trading firms hadn''t been particularly intense as designs for high-quality weapons and equipment below Level 100 were relatively easy to obtain. However, that was about to change. Any design or recipe a player found in a Level 100-plus neutral map would be incredibly valuable. Now that Candlelight was about to have a 4-star Shop, Shi Feng couldn''t allow the trading firm to operate as liberally as it had been. Moreover, Otherworld players were flooding to the main continent, and they would have a massive impact on the status quo, especially those from Otherworlds like the Moon God''s Realm, who focused on Lifestyle development. Otherworlds like these would have a huge impact on the main continent''s economy. To compete against these Otherworlds, Candlelight would need to nurture its Lifestyle players to a higher standard. However, Candlelight had many secrets it had to protect. Thus, it would need more internal members, not normal members. "Guild Leader, our recruitment requirements are already quite demanding. If we start recruiting with these standards, I''m afraid that other powers will use the opportunity to poach some of our members," Melancholic Smile cautioned after listening to Shi Feng''s new requirements. Few of God''s Domain''s Lifestyle players enjoyed being bound by strict contracts. Hence, the various major powers typically offered relaxed conditions. If Candlelight increased its requirements, they''d be lucky not to lose normal members, much less recruit new, internal members. Furthermore, Starlink was still trying to steal Candlelight''s members. If they increased the trading firm''s strict conditions, Candlelight would suffer for it. "Relax. That is only true if they can steal our members," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then held up the 4-star Shop Promotion Order to the display and continued, "What do you think this is?" "Is that a 4-star Shop Promotion Order?!" Melancholic Smile''s eyes went wide with shock when she saw the black token. "Guild Leader, is that real?" Many superpowers had upgraded their own Shops to 3-star status by now, and as a result, Candlelight''s advantages became less prominent by the day. As a result, Candlelight''s advantages were continuously shrinking by the day. Now, the trading firm could only rely on its secret techniques to attract new members. If Candlelight had a 4-star Shop, however, it would reclaim its lead over its competition. "Of course, it''s real," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "I''ll leave the recruitment to you. We need to get this done as quickly as possible." "Alright! I''ll make the announcement immediately!" Melancholic Smile nodded. Melancholic Smile did as she promised, and news quickly spread that Candlelight was mass-recruiting for internal members in the various kingdoms and empires. "What''s Candlelight trying to do? It''s only recruiting internal members?" "Candlelight has become too arrogant after being named a sacred land for Lifestyle players. Not only are its recruitment requirements so high, but all applicants must become internal members, as well? Lifestyle players would be better off joining a different Guild. They''d have more freedom than in Candlelight." Candlelight''s latest recruitment announcement enraged many Lifestyle players, and quite a few of them, who had intended to apply, promptly abandoned the idea. Meanwhile, two players radiating powerful life auras lounged in one of White River City''s Advanced Restaurants. They were none other than the female Druid and male Guardian Knight from the Moon God''s Realm who had come to investigate Star-Moon Kingdom''s alchemical standards. Across from them sat a woman that fit the idea of a ''cool beauty'' to a T. She wore an Intermediate Master Alchemist''s Insignia pinned to her chest. "I didn''t expect to find you here, Silent, but you won''t have a future if you choose to continue developing in this kingdom. Zero Wing can''t help you. Why don''t you just join Dark Pursuit? With your standards, you''re guaranteed to earn a high position in the Guild, and you''ll have access to plenty of resources, including resources Candlelight can''t ever hope to offer," the female Druid suggested, trying to persuade Silent Wonder. "Memory is right. The main continent''s alchemical resources are too scarce. Not even the superpowers here can compare to Dark Pursuit''s alchemical resources, much less Zero Wing. Yan Xiaoqian has already received a lot of support and resources from Dark Pursuit. Do you really want to lose the family competition to her?" the male Guardian Knight asked. "You know that you don''t have much time left." "I understand, but I need a little more time to think about it," Silent Wonder said hesitantly. "Silent, you can''t keep putting this off. If you can''t decide, I might as well have a talk with your Guild Leader. I don''t mind showing him the difference between our strengths if he refuses to let you go," the female Druid, Cold Memory, declared, raising a fist. "I''ll go with you. I doubt he''d dare waste more of Silent''s time once he hears Dark Pursuit''s name," the male Guardian Knight nodded. Elsewhere, Shi Feng had arrived at White River City''s City Hall. Hello, sir. How may I be of service?" the NPC beauty behind the VIP counter amicably asked Shi Feng. "I wish to upgrade the Candlelight Trading Firm to 4-star status. Here is the Promotion Order," Shi Feng said as he handed the Promotion Order to the NPC. 2349 New Candlelight Trading Firm Chapter 2349 - New Candlelight Trading Firm When the NPC administrator saw the 4-star Shop Promotion Order, she gave Shi Feng an odd look. "Sir, do you really wish to promote your Shop to 4-star status?" she asked for confirmation. "Is there a problem?" Shi Feng asked strangely. As far as Shi Feng could remember, the City Hall managed Shop promotions within its city. Although he had never upgraded a Shop to 4-star status before, the process should not be any different than the previous upgrades. "Sir, a 4-star Shop isn''t like normal Shops. If you promote your Shop to 4-star status, as per our prior agreement, the kingdom''s laws will no longer be able to protect your Shop. Rather, you will take full control and responsibility for the land and any danger you encounter," the NPC administrator slowly explained. "I will have complete ownership of the land?" Realization dawned on Shi Feng. He had never thought that 4-star Shops would have such a secret. It was no wonder why 4-star Shops he had visited in the past had seemed somewhat odd. When Shi Feng had visited 4-star Shops in his past, he had noticed that many peak experts had been stationed in the Shops long-term. They had become a normal sight. He had assumed the ruling powers had simply meant to deter other experts that ignored NPC soldiers. However, it seemed there had been a much greater reason. With the country''s protection, players could do whatever they wanted in these Shops, and NPC soldiers wouldn''t even bat an eye. If they stole from the shop, they wouldn''t have to worry about the NPC soldiers capturing and jailing them for a month, and the various large Guilds'' Shops usually sold incredibly precious treasures. If players could steal these items without repercussions, they''d certainly try. If a power weren''t strong enough to protect their products and 4-star Shop, the Shop they had gone to such great lengths to nurture would be crippled. "Sir, do you still wish to promote your Shop?" the NPC administrator asked again. Yes," Shi Feng decided. There was a lot of risk to upgrading a Shop to 4-star status, but the risks were insignificant compared to the benefits. Now, all he had to do was to figure out how to improve the Shop''s security. The cost of rebuilding and expanding your territory will be calculated independently. Here are the reconstruction and expansion options. You may choose whichever you wish. If you are not satisfied with the results, you may reconstruct and expand again," the NPC administrator said, smiling as she handed Shi Feng a list. How vicious! Shi Feng was flabbergasted when he saw the stated prices. Reconstruction meant adding new floors to the Shop. In this regard, he had three choices: 12 floors, 15 floors, and 21 floors. They would cost 20,000 Gold, 40,000 Gold, and 100,000 Gold, respectively. The expansion cost was even more ruthless. Gaining 40% more land would cost 50,000 Gold, while each additional 10% would cost 30,000 Gold to a maximum of a 100% expansion. This was even more expensive than constructing a city! First-rate Guilds would be considered quite wealthy if they had 50,000 Gold in liquid funds, yet that was only a fraction of the cost for reconstructing and expanding the Shop... Although Zero Wing had recently earned a lot of money, with around 170,000 Gold in liquid funds, it couldn''t afford to splurge on a 4-star Shop. The Guild still needed to pay the recruitment costs for 5,000 NPC Knights, after all. Shi Feng''s hesitation didn''t last long, however. After a moment, he chose the 21-story option and expanded the Shop''s land by 40%. Unlike 3-star Shops, which had a fixed number of Special Workshops and Meditation Rooms, a 4-star Shop with more floors could contain more Special Workshops and Meditations Rooms. For example, the 15-story version would only have 30 Special Workshops, while the 21-story building would have 50 Special Workshops. As for the Basic Meditation Room, a 21-story Shop would have as many as 12 in total, which would be more than enough to satisfy Candlelight''s Lifestyle players. In fact, it would be enough to allow Shi Feng to reserve one for himself. Unfortunately, the number of total floors wouldn''t affect the number of Research Workshops the Shop possessed. Even in the 21-story Shop, the Shop would only have a single Research Workshop. As for the additional land, that would only allow the Shop to accommodate more players. Hence, Shi Feng prioritized the number of floors for his Shop over the Shop''s size. "Alright. Your bill comes to 155,000 Gold," the NPC administrator said, flashing Shi Feng a bright smile. "Once you''ve completed the payment, our men will head over and start the reconstruction. The process should take half an hour. During this time, nobody will be allowed into the Shop." That won''t be a problem," Shi Feng replied. His heart ached a little as he handed over the payment. He had just spent a ridiculous amount of money, but with a 4-star Shop''s abilities, he could likely earn it all back within the first week. Even during his previous life, Research Workshops had been one of the best tools to nurture Lifestyle Players. Since he still had some time before mainstream players reached Level 100, the Research Workshop would be priceless. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng completed the payment, the NPC administrator handed him the Deed to the Candlelight Trading Firm. Once the Shop''s reconstruction was complete, White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm would become Shi Feng''s personal possession. He would then be responsible for the Shop''s security. With this task complete, Shi Feng left the City Hall and returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm. He intended to spend some time planning the Shop''s security measures. However, halfway through his journey, Melancholic Smile called. "Guild Leader, two people are here to meet you. They''ve identified themselves as Dark Pursuit''s representatives and say that they''d like to negotiate a partnership," Melancholic Smile excitedly reported. Any player that had spent time in the virtual gaming world knew about the Guild known as Dark Pursuit. The Super Guild was famous for its focus on support classes. Although Dark Pursuit did not operate on the main continent, no power dared to underestimate it. If Candlelight could secure an alliance with the Super Guild, it could gain some serious advantages. "Partnership?" The news confused Shi Feng. He had never expected Dark Pursuit to seek cooperation with Zero Wing. "I understand. Have them head to the Candlelight Trading Firm. I''ll be there in a moment." Following which, Shi Feng picked up his pace and hurried toward the Candlelight Trading Firm. Meanwhile, chaos filled the street outside of the Candlelight Trading Firm. As soon as Shi Feng had paid for the promotion, every player that had been in the Shop had been teleported to the street outside. The abrupt interruption had left the shoppers and Candlelight members stunned. "What''s going on? Why was I forced out of the Shop?" "Crap! I wasn''t done shopping! What is Candlelight trying to do?! Does it want our business or not?!" The customers that had been teleported out of the Shop flew into a rage. "He requested us to meet him here, yet closed the Shop? Is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader toying with us?" Cold Memory, who had just arrived, snarled. Her investigation into Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm had been quite thorough. The Lifestyle players that worked for the trading firm had excellent standards. Candlelight even had three Basic Meditation Rooms, which were incredibly helpful to Lifestyle players. However, it was still significantly weaker than Dark Pursuit. Dark Pursuit had Basic Meditation Rooms, but it also had Intermediate Meditation Rooms. Naturally, the Intermediate Meditation Rooms were more effective than the Basic version and could greatly improve a Lifestyle player''s production success rates. Since the Guild''s Elders supported Yan Xiaoqian, Silent Wonder''s opponent in the upcoming competition, they allowed her to use the Intermediate Meditation Room for up to three hours per day. Because of this, her development speed was astonishing. "I am familiar with Guild Leader Black Flame''s general disposition. He wouldn''t play such an underhanded trick. I suspect he''s ordered impromptu renovations for the Shop. Let''s just wait for a bit," Silent Wonder said. "Renovations? Is it necessary to cause such a scene just for a simple renovation?" Cold Memory muttered disdainfully. The various powers did renovate their Shops from time to time to attract more customers, but no matter how many renovations they did, they''d, at most, change the interior design. Not long after Cold Memory''s comment, the magic barrier enveloping the Candlelight Trading Firm dissipated. As it did, it revealed a 100-meter tall building. The nearby player-owned Shops, which were only four or five stories tall, and the NPC Shops, which were about a dozen stories tall, looked like children next to the upgraded Candlelight Trading Firm... 2350 Crazy Masters Chapter 2350 - Crazy Masters The Candlelight Trading Firm''s new appearance stupefied every player on the street. "It_s massive!" "What did Zero Wing do?" They were overcome with shock as they gazed up at the humongous Candlelight Trading Firm. The surrounding player-owned Shops might look extravagant, but they were nothing compared to Candlelight''s 100-meter-tall Shop. The merchant players were particularly stunned, staring with wide eyes and dropped jaws at the new Candlelight Trading Firm Shop. Ordinary players didn''t usually understand God''s Domain''s rules regarding its Shops, but merchant players like them were very familiar with these rules and regulations. Shop construction in NPC cities was heavily regulated. Players couldn''t simply build as many floors as they wanted. For example, a 3-star Shop could only have up to nine floors. And yet, the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City now had 21 floors! Not only could a Shop display more merchandise with more floors, but it could also house more Lifestyle players. An ordinary Shop''s environment couldn''t compare to that of the various subclasses'' associations, but once it reached 3-star status, a Shop would offer better Advanced Workshops than the subclass associations. This was one of the factors that attracted so many Lifestyle players to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Moreover, there wasn''t a limit to how many Advanced Workshops a 3-star Shop could have as long as it had enough space for all of them. "What''s going on? How can a player-owned Shop in an NPC city have 21 floors?" Cold Memory stared at the Candlelight Trading Firm in shock. When she had investigated the main continent''s Shops, the largest she had seen had only been nine-stories tall, yet the Candlelight Trading Firm before her had more than double that. It also occupied more land than other 3-star Shops. "Did he promote the Candlelight Trading Firm?" South Dream, the male Guardian Knight, murmured as he considered a possibility. However, he couldn''t be certain about the idea. "I''m pretty sure he promoted it to 4-star status. It wouldn''t have transformed so massively, otherwise." Silent Wonder nodded. Although she seemed calm, she was just as surprised as her two companions. Promoting a Shop was an incredibly difficult task, especially after it had reached 3-star status. Even at this stage of the game, very few superpowers had 3-star Shops. However, it seemed that the Candlelight Trading Firm now has a 4-star Shop, which would give it major advantages. "It seems Zero Wing is quite capable after all, but so what if it has a 4-star Shop?" Cold Memory said, clicking her tongue. Haughtily, she continued, "Dark Pursuit has already captured an ancient civilization''s town and owns an Intermediate Meditation Room, which no one on the main continent has acquired. How could a Shop compare to a town?" Ancient civilizations had greater technology than what could be found in the current kingdoms and empires, and Dark Pursuit had secured an ancient civilization''s town that specialized in Lifestyle development in the Moon God''s Realm. The technology in that town easily surpasses any within a mere Shop. Moreover, as the town developed, the Guild would unlock more advantages. "The Shop''s open now. Let''s head inside," Silent Wonder said. Silent Wonder didn''t try to argue with Cold Memory. The woman had already shown her proof, and she had to admit that the Moon God''s Realm''s Lifestyle standards were far beyond that of the main continent. Moreover, Dark Pursuit''s alchemical techniques were just as impressive as Zero Wings. Hence, Cold Memory qualified to be so arrogant. Meanwhile, Melancholic Smile had been waiting before the Candlelight''s entrance for quite some time. When she saw Silent Wonder''s group approach, she led them inside, earning the surrounding players'' envy and admiration. Everyone was curious about the Candlelight Trading Firm''s promotion, and they all wanted to inspect the new changes for themselves, especially the Lifestyle players who had come to join the trading firm. However, non-members weren''t allowed to enter the Shop at the moment. They had to wait outside, which was why they jealously watched Cold Memory and South Dream, both outsiders, enter the Shop. As they entered the building, Silent Wonder, Cold Memory, and South Dream were shocked by what they saw. When they entered the Shop, they felt as if they had just stepped into an entirely different world. Not only was the Shop''s interior far more magnificent and brilliant than it had been earlier, but its Mana density was twice as high, as well. They felt incredibly calm and clear-headed as they stood in the doorway. As Cold Memory and South Dream followed Melancholic Smile to the Candlelight Trading Firm''s top floor, what they saw on the various floors rendered them speechless. There were now more than 40 Special Workshops and as many as 12 Basic Meditation rooms. It was enough to rival the number in the ancient civilization''s town. Fortunately for them, Candlelight didn''t seem to have an Intermediate Meditation Room, which meant Cold Memory and South Dream still had a chance of dragging Silent Wonder into Dark Pursuit. Melancholic Smile quickly led Silent Wonder and her companions to the top floor. As the group was about to enter the top-floor reception room, Cold Memory and South Dream noticed a commotion at the end of the corridor. A group of players crowded before a door made of Magic Crystals, looking in with ecstatic expressions. To Cold Memory and South Dream, those players looked like a pack of wolves that hadn''t eaten for several days. What astonished the two outsiders, however, was the fact that every one of those players wore the insignia of a Lifestyle Master. "Sister Melancholic, can I use the Research Workshop for a moment? I promise I''ll be quick!" "Melancholic, we''re all core members and just a step away from reaching Intermediate Master rank. I''ll even hand over all of my GCPs to use the Research Workshop for three days!" "Crap! You want three days?! I''d be satisfied to use it for one day!" Every one of these Master Lifestyle players gave Melancholic Smile desperate, passionate looks. Afraid that she''d reject their requests, they offered everything they had to convince her. "Have these people gone insane?" When Cold Memory saw the Master Lifestyle players'' behavior, her world view shifted. Even in the various superpowers, Master Lifestyle players enjoyed VIP treatment, yet these Candlelight Masters were begging Melancholic Smile just to enter a room, the ''Research Workshop.'' Her Guild''s Master Lifestyle players would call her crazy if she told them about this. Even the Intermediate Meditation Room was only slightly helpful to Master Lifestyle players. It wasn''t such a treasure that players would beg and bribe to use it. "Calm down. We have yet to decide the rules for the Research Workshop, and we''re not letting anyone use it until we do. Once the Guild Leader has set up the rules, any internal member that has successfully become a Master will get an opportunity to use it," Melancholic Smile said, attempting to placate the crowd. The Master Lifestyle players seemed satisfied with Melancholic Smile''s response, and they said nothing more. She had already confirmed that the trading firm''s internal Master Lifestyle players would get an opportunity to use the room, and for now, that was good enough. All they had to do was wait. Even so, they still stared at the door longingly as they left. "Shopkeeper Melancholic, may I know what that Research Workshop is?" South Dream asked curiously. In Dark Pursuit, a Basic Lifestyle Master enjoyed the same status as peak experts like himself. Intermediate Masters had an even higher rank in the Guild than he did. However, quite a few of those Master Lifestyle players had been Intermediate masters, yet they begged Melancholic Smile to let them into the Research Workshop. Why wouldn''t it make him curious? "The Research Workshop? That''s a new room our Shop has gained with its promotion to 4-star status. Since no one is using it right now, why don''t we head in and take a look?" Melancholic Smile suggested. Rather than keeping the room a secret, she invited Cold Memory and South Dream inside. 2351 Frightening Research Workshop Chapter 2351 - Frightening Research Workshop After they made their way over to the Research Workshop, Melancholic Smile slowly pushed open the heavy, crystalline doors. As the doors parted, incomparably dense Mana flooded out. Even Silent Wonder, who was used to working in high Mana density environments, felt refreshed as the workshop''s Mana hit her. She felt as if she had just woken from a sweet dream. Cold Memory and South Dream, on the other hand, stared at the Research Workshop in astonishment, unable to process what was happening even as their minds became clear and sharp. How can this room have such high Mana density? Cold Memory gave the workshop an incredulous look. There was a special magic array that could gather an immense amount of Mana in the ancient civilization town Dark Pursuit had captured. Hence, the Mana density within the town was unusually high. Naturally, the town''s Intermediate Meditation Room had the highest Mana density in the town, but compared to this Research Workshop, the Intermediate Meditation Room''s Mana density was a joke. Cold Memory couldn''t fathom how a mere Shop had such incredible Mana density. However, what she saw as she entered the Research Workshop shocked her even more. The majority of the Research Workshop had been constructed with Magic Crystals, and some parts of the workshop were even made with Mana Stones. The room was like a Magic Crystal cave. "In the Research Workshop, our members can study new designs and recipes. Not only is the Mana density here extremely high, but the room also has a special instrument that can analyze all sorts of items, giving players the information they need to strengthen and modify their work to create new and better designs and recipes," Melancholic Smile introduced. "Assist players in creating new designs and recipes?! Impossible!" Cold Memory and South Dream instinctively denied Melancholic Smile''s claim. Almost every player in the Moon God''s Realm understood how difficult it was to reach the next Lifestyle promotion. Once Lifestyle players reached the Advanced rank, their greatest hurdle was the creation of new designs and recipes. If it were possible to increase players'' chances of creating new designs, a power could nurture Master Lifestyle players far faster than its competition. For Advanced Lifestyle players, accumulating enough Proficiency Points for their promotion to Master rank was easy, but the same couldn''t be said for creating new designs and recipes. The task required a lot of materials and experimentation. The amount of Gold and resources an Advanced Lifestyle player would need was astronomical. Because of the cost, the various major powers were very careflil when selecting Advanced Lifestyle players to nurture. Dark Pursuit''s Intermediate Meditation Room only helped clear players'' minds so they could focus when producing items. It couldn''t help them create new items. "I see that the two of you are Advanced Alchemists. Why don''t you give it a try? You can see for yourselves whether or not I''m telling the truth," Melancholic Smile said. She wasn''t surprised that her two guests refused to believe her. When she had first learned about the Research Workshop''s function, even she found it hard to believe. To Lifestyle players, gaining access to the Research Workshop''s ability was akin to combat players getting their hands on a tool with godly abilities. It was expected that Cold Mem and South Dream would be skeptical about the Research Workshop. "We''ll have to trouble you then, Shopkeeper Melancholic." With Melancholic Smile''s blessing, Cold Memory saw no reason to hold back. Her declaration was simply impossible. Zero Wing was merely lying to people in an attempt to look good before Dark Pursuit. Following which, Melancholic Smile spent 1,000 Magic Crystals to activate the Research Workshop''s instrument. As soon as she did, the Mana density in the room rose. What a powerful Mana. It''s no wonder why she made such a foolish claim. Even if she were lying about the workshop''s ability, such an environment would be immensely helpful when creating new items. South Dream was flabbergasted as he felt the room''s Mana density change. Unlike her companion, however, Cold Memory wasn''t yet convinced. She retrieved a bottle of Breath of Life, an Advanced Potion, from her bag and placed it on the workshops scanner. She then waited for the Research Workshop to analyze the potion. Her lack of reaction rendered South Dream speechless. He thought she was taking this a little too seriously. The Breath of Life was a super-rare Advanced Potion in God''s Domain. When consumed, it reduced the amount of EXP players would lose after their next death. The potion was just slightly less difficult to brew than a Master Potion. As a potion that was close to Master rank, modifying the Breath of Life potion further was incredibly challenging. Even Master Alchemists struggled to accomplish the feat. How much help could the Research Workshop''s apparatus possibly provide? However, before South Dream could try to dissuade Cold Memory, the Research Workshop''s apparatus completed its analysis. Immediately, the holographic screen displayed a mass of information. How is this possible?! South Dream''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw the lines of data. After conducting its analysis, the apparatus had revealed 11 aspects that required modification and 6 aspects that could be strengthened. The situation even shocked Silent Wonder, not to mention her visitors. She had researched the Breath of Life potion as well, but with her current alchemical standards and knowledge, she had only found three aspects that needed modification and one that could be strengthened. She wasn''t far from becoming an Advanced Master Alchemist, and Zero Wing had provided her with plenty of alchemical information. These were the only reasons that she had been able to improve the Breath of Life potion to such an extent. Any other Master Alchemists would likely struggle to modify the potion successfully without extensive research into the recipe. As for Cold Memory, she was utterly dumbfounded when she saw the data on the Research Workshop''s holographic screen. She had dedicated a lot of time to researching the Breath of Life potion, searching for the key that would allow her to become a Master Alchemist, but after all her research and experiments, she had been stuck in a dead-end. "So, that''s the case. I made a mistake there. It''s no wonder why I never succeeded." Cold Memory couldn''t help her elation as she read the information. She had found a clue to one of the modification aspects the Research Workshop pointed out, but she hadn''t been able to follow that clue to the end, even after countless experiments. Eventually, she had given up on the clue, tired of wasting her time. She hadn''t actually realized that she had been on the right track. The herbs she had used just hadn''t been potent enough. If she replaced those herbs with higher-quality ones, she''d substantially increase her success rate. Considering this fact, Cold Memory began to conduct a test. She always carried the materials necessary to brew the Breath of Life potion to ensure that she could experiment when inspiration struck her. Fortunately, the Research Workshop had just the facilities she needed and incredibly dense Mana. It was the perfect place to brew a potion. In less than 10 minutes, Cold Memory had successfully created a bottle of dark-blue liquid that radiated incredible life energy, far stronger than the life energy the prior Breath of Life potion had radiated. "It''s a success! I succeeded!" After appraising the dark-blue potion, Cold Memory turned to her companion with a bright, excited expression. She had just become a Master Alchemist, standing at the apex of God''s Domain''s alchemy industry. 2352 Hes Tier 3 Chapter 2352 - He''s Tier 3 She succeeded, just like that? South Dream stared at the excited Cold Memory in shock. He was very familiar with her alchemy standards, which were basically on par with his. Hence, he knew that she should''ve needed a lot more time and effort to become a Master Alchemist. And yet, after a few minutes in the Research Workshop, she had completed her promotion. If he told his Guildmates about this, the other alchemists would likely think he''d gone mad. The various superpowers respected Master Lifestyle players because they were so rare. Less than 1% of the Lifestyle players in God''s Domain had the potential to reach the Master rank, and each one that succeeded would have dedicated a lot of time and effort into their craft. However, it seemed that Lifestyle players could easily cross that threshold by relying on the Research Workshop, saving a lot of time, effort, and resources. In other words, Zero Wing could now nurture Master Lifestyle players far more easily than the various superpowers. So long as Zero Wing willed it, it could likely produce a large group of Master Lifestyle players as it needed. "What do you two think of the Research Workshop''s effects?" Melancholic Smile asked, chuckling lightly when she saw the Cold Memory''s ecstatic expression and South Dream''s surprised reaction. In truth, even Melancholic Smile was surprised at how quickly Cold Memory had been promoted to Master Alchemist, after just a few minutes of using the Research Workshop. Shi Feng had told her that nurturing Master Lifestyle players would still be a major hurdle, even with the Research Workshop''s help. The workshop merely provided guidelines. Whether or not players could follow those guidelines depended on their abilities. To put it simply, the Research Workshop was simply a support tool. When they heard Melancholic Smile''s question, Cold Memory and South Dream realized they had lost their composure. With a fake, dry cough, Cold Memory awkwardly said, "Not bad. This Research Workshop is certainly helpful in creating new items, as you said." She tried to play it off, but the Research Workshop had completely exceeded her expectations. She had a far better understanding of the workshop''s power than her companion. Initially, she had assumed she''d be limited to the Master Alchemist standard, but after using the Research Workshop, she could see herself becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist in the future. A Grandmaster Alchemist! Even Dark Pursuit''s top alchemists struggled to reach such a prestigious rank. Currently, they estimated that their chances of reaching the Grandmaster rank were less than 10%, but if she could use the Research Workshop long-term, she was confident that she had as high as a 30% chance of becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist. South Dream could only nod in response to Melancholic Smile''s question. He simply didn''t know what to say. They had come to inform Zero Wing of the difference between their Guilds when it came to developing Lifestyle players. However, not only had they discovered that Zero Wing had just as many Basic Meditations Rooms as Dark Pursuit, but the Guild also had a godly tool like the Research Workshop. What could he possibly say? What confused South Dream the most was that, despite not being a superpower, Zero Wing had already gotten its hands on such powerful training resources for Lifestyle players. "I''m glad it''s to your satisfaction. Our Guild Leader is waiting in the reception room. We should meet him," Melancholic Smile said, a slow smile forming as she watched her visitor''s silent reactions. While Melancholic Smile led them to the reception room, Cold Memory and South Dream had a private conversation through their team chat. "Memory, Zero Wing is better equipped to nurture Lifestyle players than we expected. Not even out Intermediate Meditation Room is a match for that Research Workshop," South Dream said, smiling bitterly. "I''m afraid that we don''t have the resources to offer in exchange for Wonder." They had planned to offer Zero Wing training resources in exchange for nullifying Silent Wonder''s contract with the Guild. After all, Dark Pursuit''s training resources were far superior to what the main continent''s various powers possessed. If Zero Wing agreed, it''d give up Silent Wonder, but it would acquire the ability to nurture several more Lifestyle players. It was definitely a tempting offer. But it seemed the situation wasn''t what they had thought. With the Research Workshop, Zero Wing was even better equipped to nurture Master Lifestyle players than Dark Pursuit. In fact, if Dark Pursuit''s upper echelons and Guild Elders found out about this, they''d likely offer Zero Wing a huge sum of Gold and resources to purchase time in the Research Workshop for their own Lifestyle players. If they tried to offer Zero Wing training resources now, they''d make fools of themselves. "It''s too early to give up," Cold Memory said, gritting her teeth. "I admit that Zero Wing''s ability to nurture Lifestyle players is impressive, but don''t forget that strength is the most important factor in God''s Domain. Even if Zero Wing can nurture an army of Master Lifestyle players, it doesn''t necessarily have the strength to protect them. "Not only does our Guild have excellent training resources, but we''re also far stronger than Zero Wing. We can simply offer Zero Wing protection in exchange for Wonder. That should be tempting enough. Based on our reports, many Otherworld powers have begun to move against Star-Moon Kingdom in secret. Surviving in such a situation will be a major challenge for Zero Wing, but if the Guild had Dark Pursuit''s protection, it might be a different story. "Most importantly, Wonder''s competition with Yan Xiaoqian isn''t limited to alchemy. With Zero Wing''s foundations, how could it possibly provide the same resources Yan Xiaoqian currently receives?" Zero Wing''s Lifestyle facilities had certainly taken her by surprise, but strength was more important than anything in God''s Domain. With Zero Wing''s current strength, staying in the Guild would do more harm than good to Silent Wonder in the long run. She might even unintentionally drag her family down with her if she stayed in this Guild. "I guess you''re right. We can''t let Wonder waste any more time in Zero Wing," South Dream said. After giving the matter some thought, he agreed with Cold Memory''s view of the situation. If the competition between Silent Wonder and Yan Xiaoqian only involved alchemy standards, allowing her to remain in Zero Wing wouldn''t be an issue. However, that wasn''t the case. This was also a competition of strength. Since Yan Xiaoqian had joined Dark Pursuit, Silent Wonder would be at a disadvantage if she didn''t do the same. In fact, she might even be disqualified before she had the chance to compete against Yan Xiaoqian. While Cold Memory and South Dream silently conversed, the group arrived before the top-floor reception room. "Guild Leader, Dark Pursuit''s representatives are here," Melancholic Smile declared as she gently pushed open the doors. "Come in," Shi Feng said, nodding. Hearing Shi Feng''s reply, Melancholic Smile led Cold Memory''s group into the reception room. The instant the two Dark Pursuit representatives entered the room, they felt an incomparably powerful aura wash over them. For a moment, they nearly stumbled. "What a strong life aura!" "Is he really a player?" The two looked at Shi Feng in disbelief as the man sat at the reception room''s desk. As players from the Moon God''s Realm, they were far more sensitive to life hours than ordinary players, and the aura they felt from Shi Feng was like nothing they had ever felt before from a player. The gap between their Life Ratings and Shi Feng''s was obvious. If not for the green marker hovering above Shi Feng''s head, they would have suspected that the man before them was actually a monster in human skin. "Not even players with a God''s blessing radiate such an intense life aura. Has he already reached Tier 3?" South Dream wondered in their team chat. "Tier 3? How is this possible?!" Cold Memory could not help but stare at the Swordsman, utterly astonished. 2353 Bit Off More than They Could Chew Chapter 2353 - Bit Off More than They Could Chew "What is this Guild?" As Cold Memory stared at Shi Feng, she felt as if she were hallucinating. Before she had actually met the man, she had considered what she might say to persuade him. She refused to believe that he wouldn''t be interested in the conditions she had to offer. However, as she met Shi Feng face to face, her words caught in her throat. The fact that they hadn''t known about Zero Wing''s Research Workshop wasn''t a major issue. The Candlelight Trading Firm had just been promoted to 4-star status, after all. It was expected that there would be some deviation to their investigation results. However, they had also just found out that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader was already a Tier 3 player. A Tier 3 player! None of Dark Pursuit''s players had even reached Level 100 yet, much less complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. At this stage of the game, they knew how massive the gap was between tiers. A Tier 3 player could give the current superpowers massive headaches. Killing Tier 2 players would be child''s play for a Tier 3 player. Moreover, due to how soon Shi Feng had reached Tier 3, he could benefit his Guild far more than before. The Main God System had specifically prepared Level 100 neutral maps for Tier 3 players. Exploring such maps was impossible for current players. Realizing that Cold Memory was dazed, South Dream gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am South Dream, a main force vice commander from Dark Pursuit''s Fourth Branch," South Dream nervously introduced himself. "My companion is Cold Memory. She is one of the main force vice commanders from the Fourth Branch as well. We are here to represent our Guild in negotiations concerning a partnership." South Dream had been confident that he could negotiate with Zero Wing''s Guild Leader as an equal before he had met him, but now, his confidence was gone. Even the Fourth Branch''s Vice Guild Leader would have to treat a Tier 3 powerhouse with respect at this stage of the game. If they provoked such a player, and that powerhouse decided to disregard the consequences of causing trouble, their Guild would suffer for it. "Dark Pursuit''s Fourth Branch?" Nodding, Shi Feng asked calmly, "How do you wish to collaborate with Zero Wing?" Super Guilds were massive organizations. Thus, they divided their territories among their Branch Guilds. When another power wished to ally with a Super Guild, they''d do so through a Branch Guild. Powers rarely allied with a Super Guild as a whole. Dark Pursuit had five main Branches, and as far as Shi Feng knew, the Fourth Branch controlled a considerable amount of the Guild''s alchemical resources, including many of the Moon God''s Realm''s specialty materials for potions. During his previous life, the Fourth Branch had played a huge roll in Dark Pursuit''s success with occupying the market in many of the main continent''s kingdoms and empires. "Truthfully, we are here to request that Zero Wing allow Silent Wonder to join Dark Pursuit," Cold Memory said, gritting her teeth. "I know the proposal is a little offensive, but you might not realize her true identity and the responsibility she holds, Guild Leader Black Flame. If she remains in Zero Wing, she will only bring ruin upon herself. She can only resolve the issue she faces by joining our Guild. Of course, our Fourth Branch will do everything within our authority to supply Zero Wing with various resources in exchange. With these resources, Zero Wing will be able to develop further. I hope that you will do what''s best for Silent Wonder''s future." The foundations Zero Wing had displayed thus far had greatly surprised Cold Memory. She was especially shocked by Shi Feng''s status as a Tier 3 player. However, after all was said and done, Shi Feng was only one player. Meanwhile, a single individual couldn''t free Silent Wonder from her predicament. She''d only be able to resolve her problem by joining a Super Guild like Dark Pursuit. "Memory!" Silent Wonder snapped, annoyed and hinting that Cold Memory should stop speaking. It was her business, after all, and she owed Zero Wing a massive debt of gratitude. During her membership, the Guild had offered unusually loose restrictions and gave her everything she needed to improve her alchemy standards quickly. Now that Zero Wing needed her strength, she couldn''t just abandon the Guild for her own interests. Although if she didn''t leave, her presence would put Zero Wing in considerable danger. Lately, she had been frustrated and hesitant due to this dilemma. "Wonder, you know that you don''t have much time left. Yan Xiaoyian isn''t the only one with the full support of a superpower. Do you think you defeat your competition without any help?" Cold Memory asked. Silent Wonder fell silent. She didn''t have anything she could say to that. If it were a simple competition of alchemy techniques, she was confident of emerging victorious, but it was a different story when the competition involved combat power and foundations. "Wonder''s identity? What do you mean?" Shi Feng asked, confused. He thought he was relatively familiar with Silent Wonder''s story. She had been one of the Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists during his previous life and a lone ranger the various superpowers had desperately tried to recruit. However, he hadn''t heard anything regarding a powerful background or special identity outside of her Grandmaster rank. You''ve heard of the Azure Chamber of Commerce, correct?" Cold Memory asked. Shi Feng nodded. Very few people in the virtual gaming world hadn''t heard of the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Although it couldn''t compare to the Secret Chamber of Commerce, it was one of the top 10 Chambers in the virtual gaming world. It had far more resources and wealth than any ordinary superpower. However, even during Shi Feng''s previous life, the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s focus had been on the western continent. It had rarely bothered with anything on the eastern continent. "Wonder is the heiress to one of the two families that control the Azure Chamber of Commerce. To earn the right to rule Azure, the families'' heirs periodically compete. Only, none of the heirs are allowed to use Azure''s strength. There are only a few days left before the next competition, and Yan Xiaoqian, one of Wonder''s competitors, has joined Dark Pursuit and receives the Guild''s full support," Cold Memory truthfully explained. Smiling, she continued, "Now, Guild Leader Black Flame, do you still think it''s best that Wonder remains in Zero Wing?" The Azure Chamber of Commerce''s overall strength rivaled Super Guilds. Hence, the two main shareholders of Azure fought desperately to secure the right to rule the organization. If Silent Wonder lost, Yan Xiaoqing and the others, her competitors, would definitely try to squash Zero Wing to prevent Silent Wonder from becoming a problem in the future. Similarly, Silent Wonder''s family would hold Zero Wing responsible. The Guild would be the cause of their loss in such a vital competition, after all. Silent Wonder''s family wouldn''t stop until they''ve vented their anger out on Zero Wing. As for winning the competition with Zero Wing''s support, that was impossible. Yan Xiaoqing had the full support of a Super Guild. The best solution was for Silent Wonder to join Dark Pursuit as well. This way, she could compete with Yan Xiaoqing on equal terms, and Dark Pursuit wouldn''t try to interfere with Silent Wonder''s development. If other powers attempted to interfere, Dark Pursuit would ensure that they bit off more than they could chew. 2354 Mental Strengthening Chapter 2354 - Mental Strengthening "What Memory says is true, Guild Leader Black Flame," South Dream added, afraid that Shi Feng would misunderstand their intentions. "God''s Domain is becoming more popular across the globe. More corporations have been investing in the game, as well, and as a result, Azure''s two main shareholders have become desperate to win the organization''s right to rule. Azure might focus its development on the western continent, but it still had a lot of influence among the eastern continent''s empires. If either of the shareholders decide to target Zero Wing, your Guild''s development will suffer." Zero Wing might be very powerful, but it wasn''t a superpower like the Azure Chamber of Commerce. This was especially true now that the western and eastern continents had more contact. Many superpowers were trying to join Azure. If Azure asked those superpowers to move against Zero Wing as a condition for joining, many of them would be more than willing to fulfill that request. At that time, Zero Wing''s position would become very precarious. If Zero Wing did not wish to suffer, it had to allow Silent Wonder to leave. Not only would she have more access to resources, but Yan Xiaoqian wouldn''t be able to monopolize Dark Pursuit''s strength, either. As for Zero Wing, it would avoid Azure''s wrath and receive help from Dark Pursuit. Silent Wonder gave Shi Feng an apologetic look. She knew how crazy her family was about this competition. If the two families hadn''t kept such a close eye on each other, they would''ve likely resorted to underhanded means to win the upcoming competition. She also knew that if her family lost, they''d go ballistic. They would absolutely vent their anger out on Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Zero Wing wasn''t in the best of positions at the moment. If more superpowers tried to interfere, the Guild''s days would be numbered. "Thank you for informing me of the situation. If there is nothing else you''d wish to discuss, I''ll consider our meeting over now. I still have other matters I need to attend to," Shi Feng calmly replied. "What are you trying to say, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Cold Memory stared at the Swordsman, confused. For a moment, she even wondered if Shi Feng knew anything about the Azure Chamber of Commerce or Dark Pursuit. If he made the wrong decision now, Zero Wing would encounter enough trouble to ensure the Guild''s destruction. "I''m already aware of Wonder''s situation. If another Guild can support her, so can Zero Wing," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he replied to Cold Memory. Shi Feng was far more familiar with the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s strength than Cold Memory. It was one of the top 10 Chambers of Commerce in the virtual gaming world, after all. It was as powerful as Super Guilds; ordinary superpowers simply couldn''t compare. Needless to say, Shi Feng knew about Dark Pursuit, as well. Not only was Dark Pursuit a veteran Super Guild, but it had also annihilated two superpowers after the Planar Passages'' activation during his previous life. If Zero Wing had encountered this situation some weeks ago, he would''ve seriously considered the matter. However, that was unnecessary now. "Guild Leader!" Silent Wonder was incredibly touched by Shi Feng''s statement. She became even more resolved to remain in Zero Wing. Insane! This guy must be insane! Does he really think he can help Silent Wonder with Zero Wing''s resources?! The response rendered Cold Memory speechless. Azure''s internal competition wasn''t just a competition of alchemy standards. It was also a competition of strength. Zero Wing''s resources couldn''t even compare to an ordinary superpower''s, much less Dark Pursuit''s. "Memory, I''ve decided. I want to stay in Zero Wing. Even if Yan Xiaoqian has Dark Pursuit''s full support, with the Research Workshop, my defeat isn''t guaranteed," Silent Wonder decided, turning to look Cold Memory in the eyes. "Suit yourself! I don''t care anymore! You better not regret this later!" Cold Memory exclaimed, annoyed. She had never thought Silent Wonder would be confident of defeating Yan Xiaoqian. Yan Xiaoqian had access to the Intermediate Meditation Room every day and was only one step away from becoming an Advanced Master Alchemist. Dark Pursuit planned to invest all of its available resources in her training to secure its first Advanced Master Alchemist, as well. On the other hand, Zero Wing''s only advantage was its Research Workshop. The workshop might help Silent Wonder became an Advanced Master Alchemist, but she wasn''t likely to complete her promotion before the internal competition. The Research Workshop only provided hints. Players still had to research their designs or recipes and materials and experiment. It wasn''t possible to reach Advanced Master rank quickly, and this wasn''t just a competition involving alchemy standards. Had Silent Wonder joined Dark Pursuit, she would have, more or less, had a chance at victory, but since she had decided to remain in Zero Wing, she had practically no hope. Cold Memory and South Dream then left the reception room. For Zero Wing''s arrogance and Silent Wonder''s blind faith, she could already predict the outcome that awaited them. "Memory, are you really done caring about this?" South Dream asked. "I don''t have anything else that could persuade Wonder. Our only other choice is to recruit Moon Silk for Dark Pursuit. I didn''t want to approach her, but her strength is unquestionable. If Moon Silk wins, Silent Wonder can maintain her position in the family, for the most part," Cold Memory said as she shook her head in frustration. The competition between the two main families involved more than two people. Six people would take part in total, three from each family. As long as one of the participants earned first place, the other two family members'' performance wouldn''t matter. The winner''s family will still secure the right to rule the organization. Moon Silk was the most talented among the three participants from Silent Wonder''s family. However, she was also the most quirky of the three. Cold Memory had hoped to avoid approaching the woman. However, as things were now, they didn''t have a choice if they wanted to help Silent Wonder''s family win the competition. "Moon Silk?" Even South Dream shuddered at the mention of her name. However, after giving the matter some thought, he agreed with his companion. At least, this option would increase their chances of victory. If Moon Silk won the competition, Silent Wonder''s family wouldn''t restrict her freedom overmuch. Following which, Cold Memory and South Dream quickly left White River City and made their way to the city Moon Silk resided in. Meanwhile, back in Candlelight''s top-floor reception room, Shi Feng pulled an ancient, sealed parchment from his bag once his guests had left. "I''ll leave this with you for now. I hope it will help you become an Advanced Master Alchemist as quickly as possible. If you succeed, you''ll have a much greater chance of winning your family''s competition," Shi Feng said as he carefully removed the seal and handed it to Silent Wonder. As Silent Wonder inspected the parchment, her eyes went wide in shock. "Guild Leader, how did you get this recipe?" Silent Wonder''s breathing grew somewhat labored as she stared at the recipe in her hands. What she held was no ordinary recipe. It was a Peak Master Recipe for the Droplet of Life potion. Countless alchemists dreamed of getting their hands on this parchment to study and learn from it. The reason for this was because of the Water of Life. With the Water of Life, one could resurrect the dead. The potion contained an unimaginable amount of life force and served as one of the base materials to resurrect NPCs. Unfortunately, the Water of Life was too precious and more valuable than what money could buy. The Droplet of Life potion was a weakened version of the Water of Life. Although it couldn''t resurrect NPCs, it could help NPCs recover from severe and permanent injuries. It was easy to imagine how valuable this recipe was. Most importantly, no one had even found an Advanced Master Recipe yet, much less a Peak Master Recipe. Alchemists that wanted to rise through the ranks needed to create new recipes, but to create a recipe suitable for their rank, they needed a lot of reference material. Without that, they wouldn''t know where to start, which was why Master Recipes were so valuable in God''s Domain. However, at Silent Wonder''s standard, Basic Master Recipes[l] were no longer useful; she''d need Advanced Master Recipes. Unfortunately, she had never managed to locate an alchemical Master Recipe, and as a result, she had been forced to explore and experiment by herself. The Droplet of Life Recipe would definitely help her reach the Advanced Master Alchemist rank. Rather than answer Silent Wonder''s question, Shi Feng asked, "Now that you have this recipe, how confident are you in completing your promotion?" The Droplet of Life Recipe was incomparably precious and one of the most important recipes the Sunset King had dropped. It was only inferior to Grandmaster Recipes. Shi Feng had planned to offer it as a benefit for the Guild''s core members, allowing Candlelight''s Master Alchemists time to study it. However, to help Silent Wonder reach Advanced Master rank as soon as possible, he decided to postpone those plans. "I''m afraid that I''m only 30% confident of reaching my promotion before the competition," Silent Wonder said helplessly after a moment of self-reflection. Becoming an Advanced Master Alchemist wasn''t easy, and even with the Research Workshop''s assistance, she''d still need time to conduct her own research. "Thirty percent?" After pondering for some time, Shi Feng said, "It''s a little off, but it should be enough." After saying so, Shi Feng called up the Candlelight Trading Finn''s system interface and chose to upgrade the Shop in Blue Bay City to 3-star status. At the same time, he established a Shared Warehouse and sent the members there to transfer the Primal Void Stones. The various major powers would likely assume the best use of the Primal Void Stones was selling them to the dark forces for Gold and resources, but they weren''t aware of the stones'' other function. Mental Strengthening! 2355 Advanced Mana Set Equipmen Chapter 2355 - Advanced Mana Set Equipment "Thirty percent is enough?" Silent Wonder was confused by Shi Feng''s statement. Based on his tone, he seemed very confident in her success in becoming an Advanced Master Alchemist. Not only did she need enough Proficiency Points for her promotion, but she also had to create a new Advanced Master Recipe. Unfortunately, creating an Advanced Master Recipe was multiple times more difficult than creating a Basic Master Recipe. It wasn''t simply a problem of mixing materials. The process also required magic arrays, which tested her ability to manipulate Mana. Resources and hints weren''t enough for her to reach the Advanced Master Alchemist rank. "I can''t guarantee it, but if you have a 30% chance, we should be able to boost that to 80% within the remaining time," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Eighty percent?" Silent Wonder repeated in a higher-pitched tone, giving Shi Feng an incredulous look. Creating an Advanced Master Alchemist was easier said than done. Even if the various superpowers'' alchemists generously offered her all of their research, she''d be lucky to increase her success rate by 10%. Yet, Shi Feng insisted that he could help raise her success rate by a whopping 50%. If God''s Domain''s various Master Alchemists heard this, they''d laugh at Shi Feng for being an ignorant fool and a layman. However, Shi Feng was no noob when it came to Lifestyle classes. He was a bona fide Intermediate Master Forger, after all, an existence that stood at the apex of God''s Domain''s forging industry. He was also one of the first players to become a Master Lifestyle player in God''s Domain. There were less than a handful of people who could claim they understood Lifestyle classes better than Shi Feng in the Candlelight Trading Firm. You''ll understand when the time comes. For now, head to the Research Workshop and study the Droplet of Life Recipe. If you can master that recipe, it''ll definitely help you to create an Advanced Master Recipe," Shi Feng said, ending the conversation rather than elaborate. The secret regarding the Primal Void Stone was too important. If information about the stones leaked, it would cause a huge commotion in God''s Domain. The Advanced Master rank was a huge threshold for Lifestyle players. Over 90% of the Master Lifestyle players in Shi Feng''s previous life had been stuck at Intermediate Master rank due to the difficulty of the promotion. Those Masters hadn''t lacked techniques, but simply hadn''t had the mental strength to succeed. Rising through the tiers was the easiest way for players to improve their mental fortitude. The higher a player''s tier was, the stronger their mental strength would be, which was also why most of the top-tier Lifestyle Players of Shi Feng''s previous life had been high-tiered players as well. Silent Wonder was only a Level 97, Tier 2 player. She''d still need quite some time to reach Level 100, not to mention complete her Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Meanwhile, God''s Domain had very few items that could improve a player''s mental strength, and the Primal Void Stones were one of them. However, mainstream players in the past had only learned this secret after reaching Level 160. When they had discovered it, the various superpowers had fought desperately to secure Primal Void Stones. From then on, Primal Void Stones hadn''t been treated as a simple Mana gathering tool. They had become a strategic item to improve combat and Lifestyle players, standards. Although the Primal Void Stones only improved a players'' mental fortitude by 20% to 30%, it was a valuable boost. Players only received a slightly higher percentage when they reached a higher tier, after all. If Silent Wonder didn''t have any issues with her alchemy techniques, she should have no problems reaching Advanced Master rank as long as she had adequate mental strength. After sending Silent Wonder to the Research Workshop to study the Droplet of Life Recipe and while he waited for the Primal Void Stones to become available in the Shared Warehouse, Shi Feng began to select a few of Candlelight''s other Shops to promote to 3-star status. With White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm now a 4-star Shop, he could upgrade five 2-star Shops to 3-star status, and after promoting Blue Bay City''s Shop, he had four slots remaining. After much consideration, he chose the Shops in Dark Night City, Black Dragon City, Apocalypse City, and Twin Towers City. With 3-star Shops in these cities, recruiting Lifestyle players and collecting materials would be a lot more convenient. With five more 3-star Shops, it wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing''s Lifestyle operations would rival that of the various superpowers. Once it did, the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce would be strong enough to rival the superpowers'' Chambers. Zero Wing would no longer need to rely on Stone Forest City''s temporary Residences as bait to lure Guilds into joining the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce. However, to give the Candlelight Chamber of Commerce a competitive edge and earn a fortune from it, it would need more than a lot of Lifestyle Players. Candlelight would also need a large variety of valuable, useful products. It seems it''s time to research these forging designs, Shi Feng thought as he glanced at the ancient, sealed parchments in his bag. Aside from weapons and materials, the Sunset King had dropped 14 designs and recipes, and every one of them was Master rank. The most valuable of them was the Droplet of Life Recipe, but following that were the six forging designs for an Advanced Mana Set Equipment[l]. The Crimson Sunset! The Crimson Sunset set was only a Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment and couldn''t compare to Level 100-plus Dark- Gold Set Equipment, but it was still far stronger than what current players had access to. As an Advanced Mana Set Equipment, players could also rely on the equipment up to Level 120. Its Basic Attribute bonuses were just as significant as that of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment, and it would be more than enough for Tier 3 players to rely on until they reached Tier 4 at Level 120. Shi Feng then left the reception room and found an empty Basic Meditation Room to start the Crimson Sunset''s production. Initially, he had wanted to give the designs to Melancholic Smile and the others, but since they were still busy with the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s parts, they didn''t have the spare time to forge the Advanced Mana Set Equipment. Moreover, unlike other Master Forgers, Shi Feng no longer needed to create a new forging design to become an Advanced Master Forger; he needed Forging Proficiency. Fortunately, crafting Set Equipment was the fastest way to earn Proficiency Points, especially if one crafted Mana Set Equipment. Sure enough, a Mana Set Equipment''s production process is really complex. It''s no wonder why only a few superpowers had managed to produce their own Mana Set Equipment in the past. After reading through the Crimson Sunset Design, Shi Feng took in a deep breath. The Crimson Sunset was several times more complex than a pre-Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The forging techniques were particularly demanding. Shi Feng could only think of three Master Forgers in Candlelight that could handle the techniques. Most importantly, players would need incredible mastery of magic arrays. One would, at the very least, need to be an Advanced Magician even to attempt drawing the necessary magic arrays. No other Master Forger in the trading firm was capable of drawing the Crimson Sunset''s arrays. Even Shi Feng had to spend five hours to learn them. Now that I''ve grasped the basics, it''s time to start the actual production. However, the material cost is vicious. Any other Guild would likely despair at the very idea of paying these costs. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he examined the required materials for the Mana Set Equipment. The Crimson Sunset''s main materials were Mana Stones and Magic Crystals. A single production attempt would cost 40 Mana Stones. If Shi Feng hadn''t been able to rely on the Philosopher''s Stone, he''d only be limited to a few attempts. Even so, producing the Crimson Sunset would still cost him a lot of Magic Crystals. He was relieved that the Guild had found a Manatite vein. Otherwise, this design would simply be too expensive to use. Once Shi Feng verified that he had everything he needed, he began to forge the Mana Set Equipment. He would have to forge the Crimson Sunset''s six parts simultaneously. It was so demanding on a player''s mental strength that even if a weaker player learned the process, they wouldn''t be able to use it. Fortunately, Shi Feng''s mental fortitude was already relatively high, and after his promotion to Tier 3, it had become even stronger. During his first attempt, his magic array''s quality hadn''t been high enough, and the process had failed before he had finished half of it. On his second attempt, due to physical imperfections, the system deemed his product a total failure. The results of his third attempt were nothing but scrap metal, as well. In the end, Shi Feng had failed six times in a row, losing enough materials to make his heart ache. Please let me succeed this time! Shi Feng prayed as he gritted his teeth. Nervously, Shi Feng appraised the Crimson Sunset before him. If this attempt failed as well, he''d have to give up on the set. As Shi Feng clicked the ''Appraise'' button, the six pieces of crimson equipment on the stone table lit with a dazzling, colorful glow. At the same time, the room''s Mana flooded to the equipment pieces. System: Crimson Sunset has been successfully forged. Forging Proficiency increased by 180 points. Obtained 1,200,000 EXP. System: Blacksteel Insignia''s effect triggered; Crimson Sunset''s Attributes increased. 2356 Primal Void Stone Room Chapter 2356 - Primal Void Stone Room The Crimson Sunset radiated such a colorful glow that it illuminated the entire Meditation Room. Its aura was just as intense as that of Great Lord ranked monsters. The strengthening effect improved it so drastically? Shi Feng read the Crimson Sunset''s statistics in shock. He was already overjoyed that he had successfully produced the Advanced Mana Set Equipment. He hadn''t actually expected to trigger the Blacksteel Insignia''s effect as well. Now, the Crimson Sunset''s Basic Attributes could practically rival a Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment. Mana Equipment wasn''t like ordinary equipment. It traded durability, which would continue to deplete with each use, in exchange for greater performance. Because of this, players could exhibit extraordinary strength with Mana Equipment. If a Level 100, Tier 2 expert wore Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment, they could solo a Level 100 High Lord. Normally, a Tier 2 expert couldn''t even solo a Level 100 Lord and would need a full party to take one down. This was why Shi Feng was so determined to produce the Crimson Sunset. Zero Wing already had an adequate number of peak combatants, but when it came to lower-grade experts, the Guild was no match for the various superpowers. If he could arm Zero Wing''s core experts with the Crimson Sunset, their combat power would undergo a qualitative transformation, and they''d only be weaker than true Tier 3 experts. Now that he had the experience of producing the Crimson Sunset, Shi Feng began to mass-produce the Mana Set Equipment. His production success rate was still quite low, but one Crimson Sunset would instantly arm Zero Wing with a Tier 2 expert that had the combat power to rival peak experts. Not even the various superpowers were capable of accomplishing this feat. Furthermore, the Crimson Sunset would be immensely helpful to players when they challenged their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Following which, Shi Feng forged 22 Crimson Sunsets, only stopping when he received a message from Melancholic Smile. She had contacted him to inform him that the second batch of Primal Void Stones had been retrieved from the Shared Warehouse. Blue Bay City''s members had also added the third batch to the Shared Warehouse. They''re finally here. After reading Melancholic Smile''s message, Shi Feng decided to take a break from the Crimson Sunset''s production for now. It took 24 hours to transfer items through the Shared Warehouse. Although the Shared Warehouse could only hold 200 Primal Void Stones at a time, it was the most convenient method for transferring non-bag space items that Zero Wing had right now. If he had to rely on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, it would take more than 24 hours to receive a shipment from Blue Bay City. With two transfer cycles, White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm had 400 Primal Void Stones in stock. Although 400 Primal Void Stones were far from enough to construct a building, they''d be more than enough to build a small room. A small room might not be useful for combat players, but it would be for Lifestyle players. They didn''t need a lot of workspace, after all. Shi Feng then contacted Melancholic Smile and had her deliver the Primal void Stones to one of the small reception rooms on the top floor, and he began to modify the room. Shops in NPC cities had fixed layouts for their workshops, and players weren''t allowed to modify them, but the reception rooms and offices were a different story. Since these rooms didn''t have a specific function, players could modify them as they wished. To protect the Primal Void Stones secret, Shi Feng saw to the modifications himself. Fortunately, one didn''t need to be an architect to complete the task. Finally, after more than a dozen hours of work, Shi Feng had replaced the walls, ceiling, and floor with Primal Void Stones, spending 376 stones in total. If Sinned Heart saw the room, he''d have a heart attack. If they had sold those stones, they would''ve earned nearly 20,000 Gold. Even the various superpowers would find a 20,000-Gold modification to a small reception room to be a stroke of madness. And yet, Shi Feng wasn''t satisfied. He also set up a Mana Gathering Magic Array within the room, increasing the room''s Mana density even further. Combined with the Primal Void Stone''s Mana gathering properties, the Mana in the small reception room was only slightly less dense than in the Research Workshop. These Primal Void Stones are amazing! This is only a small room, yet it can improve a player''s mental strength by 20%. If I construct an entire building, I can likely increase that boost to 30%, Shi Feng thought as he sensed the improvement to his mental fortitude. If he could train in such an environment, he might even be able to execute a perfect Lightning Flash, even if he were still at Tier 2. The Primal Void Stones were far more effective than he had expected. Tools that could improve a player''s mental strength by 10% in God''s Domain already sold for astronomical amounts of money. One might not even be able to exchange a Fragmented Legendary item for such a tool. However, a Primal Void Stone room could improve a player''s mental strength by 20%. Shi Feng finally realized why the various superpowers in the past had reserved their Primal Void Stone houses for their own use, refusing to rent them to outsiders. Once he was satisfied, Shi Feng contacted Silent Wonder and requested her presence. Silent Wonder had a huge headache from trying to create her new potion, having reached a bottleneck. She wanted nothing more than to spend the 48-hour day in the Research Workshop, but upon receiving Shi Feng''s order, she had no choice but to set aside her research and begrudgingly visit the small reception room in question. "Guild Leader, this room"After a moment in the small reception room, she was stunned by the sensation of it. Silent Wonder hadn''t felt anything in particular when she had first entered the room. She had merely felt a refreshing coolness spread throughout her body, but after five seconds, she noticed that her mind was far clearer than before. In addition, her physical control and Mana had increased substantially. "It''s not bad, right?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling at Silent Wonder''s shocked expression. "The Research Workshop can only provide a rough guideline. You''ll have to figure out the details on your own. Meanwhile, this room will help improve your control. You can spend time here to learn the techniques and concepts you''ve struggled with. With this environment, your chances of creating a new recipe should rise to 70% or 80%, right?" "The room is simply magical! Forget 80%. I''m sure I can create a new recipe if I work in here for the next four or five days!" Silent Wonder excitedly and confidently exclaimed. While in this room, she could finally understand some of the aspects of the Droplet of Life Recipe that had confused her. Moreover, the Advanced Magic Arrays she had struggled with no longer seemed difficult. She was 90% sure that she could draw the necessary arrays to produce the Droplet of Life now. "Good, then. I''ll have Melancholic send some alchemy tools up in a moment. If you come across anything you can''t figure out in the Research Workshop, you can come here to figure it out," Shi Feng said, not surprised in the least by Silent Wonder''s declaration. A room of Primal Void Stones would even be useful to Grandmaster Lifestyle players, not to mention Master Lifestyle players. With Silent Wonder''s talents, it''d be a joke if she couldn''t become an Advanced Master Alchemist with the help of this room. Once she had everything she needed, Shi Feng stopped bothering Silent Wonder and returned to his own Basic Meditation room to continue his work with the Crimson Sunset Mana Set Equipment. With access to the Primal Void Stone rooms, Silent Wonder completed her promotion to Advanced Master rank in four days, becoming the first Advanced Master Lifestyle player in the Candlelight Trading Firm. Meanwhile, Shi Feng worked arduously for five straight days, leveling up from 103 to 104. His leveling speed was absurdly fast for someone of his level. He had also produced 86 Crimson Sunsets, although he had blown through all of Zero Wing''s stockpiled Magic Crystals. While he''d been busy, Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose had returned from the Tower of Four Gods, all four now at Level 100. Shi Feng instructed the four women to learn a Bronze Combat Technique using the Ocean Barrier Stones before he sent them off to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. "Guild Leader, Azure''s people have arrived. They say they''re here to take me to the competition venue," Silent Wonder suddenly contacted Shi Feng to inform him. "They''re here?" Shi Feng set his tools down. Nodding, he continued, "I''ll go with you." 2357 Equipment Upgraded Chapter 2357 _ Equipment Upgraded "You''re coming too, Guild Leader?" Silent Wonder asked, a hint of excitement in her voice. Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. He had many things he needed to do every day. She had thought the Guild would, at most, send a Guild Elder or Vice Guild Leader as a show of support for the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s competition. She had never thought Shi Feng would want to make the trip himself. "Mhm. Azure has the ability to travel between God''s Domain''s main continents. This is a good opportunity to investigate the situation on the western continent," Shi Feng said, nodding. The Planar Passages'' activation provided the major powers an opportunity to obtain more resources, but compared to what one could gain from another main continent, the Otherworlds offered scrap. This was especially true regarding the main continents'' merchandise. Reselling such items could offer significant profits. This was also why so many superpowers were so desperate to join the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Azure was one of the few powers in God''s Domain with the ability to travel between the main continents. Although Zero Wing had no chance of joining Azure right now, it wouldn''t hurt to use this competition to get a glimpse of the western continent. Finding a way to travel between the eastern and western continents might be an issue for others, but it was a simple matter for Shi Feng. Zero Wing severely lacked funds for many of the Guild''s needs, especially the development of Zero Wing''s territory in the Cold Spring Canyon. As soon as the Guild began to develop the area, it would become a bottomless pit that endlessly devoured Coins and resources. If Zero Wing relied on Candlelight''s current income, it would take a very long time to develop the territory properly. The best solution Shi Feng could come up with was to resell Zero Wing''s merchandise on the western continent. Not only would this generate income far more quickly, but it would also generate enough to drive any superpower mad with envy. "I''ll take care of the necessary preparations, then." Naturally, Silent Wonder was overjoyed that Shi Feng wanted to attend the competition with her, and she immediately left to prepare what she''d need for the competition. "Oh, right. Come see me later and collect some equipment," Shi Feng said. Since Silent Wonder had become an Advanced Master Alchemist, she could produce items with far more speed than before, and as a result, her leveling speed had substantially increased. In fact, she had already reached Level 99. However, her equipment was still average, at best. She wasn''t even wearing full Level 95 equipment. Although Azure''s internal competition was a personal affair, Silent Wonder was still a member of Zero Wing. If the Chamber''s representatives saw her current equipment, Zero Wing would become a laughingstock. "Equipment?" When Silent Wonder took a look at her own equipment, she was a little ashamed. Her equipment was pretty shabby. More than half of the items she wore was Level 90 Equipment, and the few Level 95 pieces she had were only Secret- Silver rank. Her equipment might be excellent for ordinary expert players, but she was Candlelight''s Chief Alchemist. For someone of her status, equipment of such quality was like wearing a pauper''s rags. After all, the items in Zero Wing''s Guild Warehouse were available to Candlelight''s Lifestyle players as well. However, to increase her development as an alchemist, she had spent almost all of her GCPs on rare materials. Once Silent Wonder collected her alchemy tools and materials, she promptly made her way to the Basic Meditation Room Shi Feng occupied. As she entered the room, Shi Feng gestured to the strengthened Crimson Sunset on the stone table and said, "Here. Give this a try." Since the Crimson Sunset was basically made of Mana Stones and Magic Crystals, it wasn''t restricted to a particular class. Once equipped, the set''s Attributes would automatically adjust to its wearer. This was one of the benefits of Mana Set Equipment. "A Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment?!" Silent Wonder was stunned after inspecting the Crimson Sunset. She wasn''t a stranger to Mana Set Equipment. Some of Zero Wing''s members had used such items before, and many of the Candlelight''s members had watched on with envy. Mana Set Equipment was essentially equipment made of pure Mana. When equipped, it would increase the Mana density around the player, calming and clearing their mind. However, Mana Set Equipment was incredibly rare. The Guild didn''t have enough to allow its members to purchase it with GCPs. And yet, Shi Feng was giving her her own Mana Set Equipment. Moreover, this wasn''t any ordinary Mana Set Equipment. It was a six-piece, Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment. At this stage of the game, not even the various superpowers likely had such a set. "Guild Leader, this is too precious. I''m only an alchemist. Giving this Crimson Sunset to me would be a waste. It''d be better if someone else in the Guild used it," Silent Wonder said, refusing Shi Feng''s generosity. If Shi Feng had merely offered her Level 95 Dark-Gold Equipment, it wouldn''t be a major issue since it wouldn''t be helpful for very long, but that wasn''t the case for the Crimson Sunset. A player could rely on the Crimson Sunset until they reached Level 120. A Lifestyle player like her wouldn''t be able to make full use of the set equipment. "You''re our Guild''s Chief Alchemist. I can afford to give you such equipment," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then pointed to the pile of equipment in a corner of the room and continued, "Moreover, our Guild has plenty of these sets." "Plenty?" At first, Silent Wonder was confused, but when she turned to look where Shi Feng had pointed, she gaped in shock. More than 20 sets of equipment sat in a pile on a massive stone table in the corner of the room. Every one of those sets looked just like the Crimson Sunset before her... "Alright, hurry up and equip it. If we waste any more time, Azure''s people will likely grow impatient," Shi Feng reminded her when he saw her in a daze. Suddenly, Silent Wonder realized that she didn''t understand her Guild as well as she had thought. First, he had handed her the Droplet of Life Recipe, and then, Shi Feng had shown her that strange reception room. Now, she learned that the Guild had a pile of Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment... However, Silent Wonder didn''t give the matter much thought. Since Shi Feng insisted, she stopped hesitating and equipped the Crimson Sunset he offered. In seconds, Silent Wonder transformed from a cold, workaholic beauty into a charming, graceful witch surrounded by a layer of dense Mana. The crimson robes radiated a faint, bloody mist that gave Silent Wonder a wicked feeling. Wearing the Crimson Sunset, she looked like a completely different person. Once they were ready, Shi Feng and Silent Wonder quickly made their way to White River City''s Teleportation Hall. After arriving at the Teleportation Hall, they headed toward one of the Advanced Restaurants located on the second floor. As they entered the restaurant, a Level 100 Guardian Knight moved forward to greet Silent Wonder. He looked to be in his early 30s and wore four pieces of Epic Equipment. The Guardian Knight''s weakest piece of equipment was even Level 95 Fine-gold rank. Every one of the man''s movements seemed natural and weightless. From what Shi Feng could tell, this Guardian Knight should only be slightly weaker than Yan Tianxing. "Long time no see, Second Miss," the Guardian Knight respectfully greeted Silent Wonder. "Cloud? Why are you here?" Silent Wonder was a little surprised to see this Guardian Knight, Cloud Hunter. "I thought you''ve been managing one of the Branch Guild on the western continent. Has something happened to it?" The family''s Branch Guild is fine. The old master was simply worried that you might encounter some problems during your trip, so he sent me to escort you," Cloud Hunter said, shaking his head. He then turned to Shi Feng, who stood behind Silent Wonder, and said, "However, it seems you would''ve been safe without me." Grandpa is being too cautious. They wouldn''t dare move against me during such a crucial time," Silent Wonder said, not feeling surprised by the arrangement in the least. In a slightly prideful tone, she continued, "Allow me to introduce you. This is my Guild Leader, Black Flame. Not only is he an Intermediate Master Forger, but he''s also Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one expert. He''s even slain War Blood''s commander. If those people dare to attack, they''ll find that they''ve only made a one-way trip." "The old master simply wants to ensure your safety. After all, the boundary space we''re heading to is the Dark Hills. Azure has stationed some people in the area, but it won''t stop anyone with ill intentions," Cloud Hunter said. "I understand. Let''s set out, then." Silent Wonder nodded. She understood how special an area the Dark Hills was, but Shi Feng was a Tier 3 player. Anyone that tried to ambush them would be digging their own grave. Cloud Hunter said nothing more after witnessing Silent Wonder''s nonchalant attitude. His task was simply to protect her. Following which, he led Silent Wonder and Shi Feng to the Fire Dragon Empire. 2358 Boundary Space Chapter 2358 - Boundary Space Fire Dragon Empire, Fire Dragon City: Twenty flashes illuminated in the city''s Teleportation Hall. As these flashes faded, players in standardized equipment emerged from the array. The moment these players appeared, they attracted envious, awed looks from many of the building''s other occupants. Even the lowest-level player in the group was Level 99 and wore standardized Level 95 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Standardized Dark-Gold Set Equipment couldn''t compare to ordinary Set Equipment of the same level and rank, but its Basic Attributes were on par with Level 95 Dark-Gold Equipment. At this stage of the game, most ordinary experts were stuck at Level 95 and would be lucky if they had a full set of Level 95 Secret-Silver Equipment. Not even large Guilds'' core experts dared to dream of wearing Level 95 Dark-Gold Equipment. The man leading the group was a Level 100 player, and not only did he wear five pieces of Epic Equipment, but he also carried a crimson axe that radiated a chilling aura with an indiscernible rank. The weakest of this man''s equipment was Level 95 Dark-Gold rank. Even among such high-leveled and excellently-geared players, he was conspicuous. While the crowd wondered who these players were, two Level 99 players with dense life auras approached the group. These two were none other than Cold Memory and South Dream, whom Shi Feng had met earlier. "Owl, you actually made a trip here? If your grandfather finds out, he''ll definitely scold you," South Dream said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he gazed at the Level 100 Berserker youth named Burning Owl. Burning Owl was one of South Dream''s childhood friends. He was also one of the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Vice Guild Leaders. Apart from the fact that he had his family''s support, Burning Owl had earned the position through his superior abilities and talents. "Of course. This is an important day that decides our family''s position. How could I miss it?" Burning Owl said, chuckling. "How did it go with my second sister?" "We tried, but Wonder intends to stay with Zero Wing. We have no choice but to ask Silk Moon to join Dark Pursuit," Cold Memory said, frustrated. "However, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader has promised to arm Wonder with the Guild''s full support." "Zero Wing? Support my second sister?" Burning Owl could not help but frown. "Zero Wing really knows how to take advantage of people. Are they planning on relying on my second sister''s identity to claim benefits from Azure? Second Sister is too gullible." The Azure Chamber of Commerce''s influence stretched across both of God''s Domain''s main continents. Even the various superpowers desperately fought to join the Chamber. As for his second sister, she was a free spirit that never cared about the family''s matters. Unlike her, Burning Owl constantly managed many of Azure''s affairs, which meant he had to deal with the powers that continued to seek a place with Azure. "I am impressed by Zero Wing''s ability to nurture Lifestyle players. I''m confident that Wonder will perform well in the competition," South Dream added. "Hopefully, that''s the case, but if Zero Wing''s Guild Leader tries to take advantage of my second sister, I''ll show him the power of my Heaven Piercer team," Burning Owl said, nodding as a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Neither Cold Memory nor South Dream offered a response. The Heaven Piercer team Burning Owl controlled was certainly powerful. It might not have a lot of members, less than 50 in total, but every member was an expert among experts in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Even the weakest member could rival peak experts. If these players split up and targeted a Guild, even as a Tier 3 Sword King, Shi Feng would find them difficult to deal with. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and his two companions reached a large forest''s edge on their Mounts a short distance away from the Fire Dragon Empire. A gigantic magic array enveloped the forest, and a massive spatial tear was faintly visible in the sky. It was as if this entire forest were located within the spatial tear. The only way to enter or leave this forest was through the massive steel checkpoint. This was the Dark Hills, a famous boundary space among the neighboring empires and kingdoms. It was also a well- known trade hub between the nearby countries. Although the Dark Hills was a trade hub, it was not open to individual players or ordinary powers. Only the various major powers from the neighboring kingdoms and empires had access. When they needed to find precious materials, they usually came here. All trades in the Dark Hills were done through a bartering system. There were also large-scale player-auctions from time to time, in which incomparably precious items would be sold. Most importantly, the Azure Chamber of Commerce controlled the Dark Hills. Occasionally, Azure would sell items that could only be found on the western continent, which were very attractive to the various major powers. Azure''s presence was the reason that the Dark Hills had become such a famous trade hub. A large number of players stood in line for the checkpoint, with many of them driving carriages filled with non-bag space items. They were all looking to trade their items in the Dark Hills. Due to Azure''s forces at the checkpoint, none of these players dared to make a fuss as they waited. The Chamber of Commerce had stationed all sorts of war weapons and magic arrays at the checkpoint as well to secure its rule over the area, and a small army of experts had garrisoned in the Dark Hills. Not even an army of tens of thousands of experts could shake Azure''s rule in the Dark Hills, much less a small team. After arriving, Shi Feng''s group quietly stood in line, waiting to enter the Dark Hills. It was a dozen minutes or so before they reached the steel gate, reinforced by a magic array. "Second Miss, Guild Leader Black Flame, please wait here for a moment. I''ll handle the entry procedures," Cloud Hunter said before approaching the Azure members stationed at the gate. "You and Second Miss can go in." The robust man at the gate said after examining Cloud Hunter''s proof of identity. He then pointed to Shi Feng and said, "He must wait out here for now." "Why? My Guild Leader is coming with us," Silent Wonder explained. "This is a very important day. To maintain the peace, outsiders aren''t allowed on the premises. However, since he is your companion, Second Miss, I''ll make this easier, but he''ll still have to undergo an inspection before he can enter," the robust man decided, chuckling. "Why aren''t your men inspecting them, then?" Silent Wonder demanded as she gestured to a group of players that walked through the gate without an inspection. None of those players were members of the Azure Chamber of Commerce. "They are from the Fire Dragon Empire''s various superpowers and Azure''s esteemed guests. They are different," the robust man replied. You better not go overboard, Brute! Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is our second miss''s esteemed guest!" Cloud Hunter coldly informed the robust man, Prideful Brute. Although Prideful Brute was one of Azure''s peak experts, he wasn''t a member of Silent Wonder''s family. Even a fool could tell that he was trying to cause trouble to humiliate Silent Wonder. "Didn''t I say that he can go in as long as he allows us to inspect him?" Prideful Brute said, grinning at Cloud Hunter. "What? You want to start a fight here?" With Prideful Brute''s question, the 40 heavy crossbows on the wall turned to aim at Cloud Hunter, and two of Prideful Brute''s companions stepped forward. Both players were Azure experts as well, and they wore the same battle array set equipment as Prideful Brute. When they activated their battle array, they''d be just as powerful as Cloud Hunter overall. That was the reason that Prideful Brute dared to act so arrogantly before Cloud Hunter. Prideful Brute''s attitude even infuriated Silent Wonder. She wanted nothing more than to teach the man a lesson. Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. If he had to be inspected before he''d be allowed into the Dark Hills, it would be embarrassing for her Guild. "Don''t do it, Second Miss. If you take action, you''ll play right into his hands," Cloud Hunter quickly advised his charge when he sensed Silent Wonder''s rage. "He has full control over this area. He has the authorization to suppress you if you attack, even if you are one of the Chamber''s Vice Guild Leaders." The Dark Hills wasn''t an ordinary location. It was an important source of income for the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Hence, the Chamber''s security of this area was of the utmost importance. As the checkpoint''s manager, Prideful Brute had the authorization to attack anyone who wasn''t Azure''s Guild Leader or a Grand Elder if they caused trouble. If Silent Wonder caused a scene and died as a result, her maternal grandfather wouldnt be able to object. "It seems you''re not that dumb after all. This is one of Azure''s most important territories. Do you really think your family has full say in Azure?" Prideful Brute said, sneering Silent Wonder. However, as soon as he finished speaking, a sword light startled everyone. The attack was so fast that by the time players had reacted, it had already sliced through Prideful Brute''s throat. As the sword light faded, Prideful Brute lost all of his HP and collapsed powerlessly to the ground... Everyone that had seen the attack spun toward its origin. The attacker was none other than Silent Wonder''s guest-Shi Feng. 2359 Unfortunate Death Chapter 2359 - Unfortunate Death "Prideful Brute died!" "How dare he?" Everyone stared at Shi Feng in shock. The players from the various superpowers were especially stunned. Azure was a large-scale Chamber of Commerce with close to 100 years of history in the virtual gaming world. It was no weaker than a Super Guild. Azure was even capable of operating on both the western and eastern continents in God''s Domain, which was why the various superpowers sought to become a member. The Dark Hills was one of Azure''s important territories, and as such, the Chamber had stationed 4,000 experts at the checkpoint. It had also set up 40 heavy crossbows and 6 Basic Mana Pulse Cannons on the checkpoint''s walls. All sorts of magic arrays protected the checkpoint, as well. Even Domain Realm experts would have to behave themselves here. After watching Prideful Brute die, Cloud Hunter was utterly stupefied. He simply couldn''t understand why Shi Feng had been so impulsive. The several cloaked players that Prideful Brute had respectfully welcomed into the Dark Hills earlier jerked to a halt, watching Shi Feng curiously. "That guy must be crazy, Big Sis Jade. He actually dared to attack someone here. I doubt even the Long Family''s second miss can save him now," a blue-clad Assassin youth said. Although the Long Family was one of the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s main shareholders, Silent Wonder didn''t have a particular position or authority in the Chamber. She could only rely on the Long Family''s old man for help. Prideful Brute, on the other hand, was one of Azure''s upper echelons. Silent Wonder was lucky that he had shown her any respect. Now that the situation had devolved, Prideful Brute''s faction wouldn''t let this matter rest unless the Long Family''s old man made a personal appearance. Furthermore, magic arrays had been set up all over the Dark Hill''s checkpoint. Not only was all teleportation prohibited, but if Azure activated a magic barrier, Shi Feng wouldn''t have any hope of escaping physically. He wouldn''t get away with a single death, either. "He''s courageous, but it''s a pity that his actions will only result in his death. He simply doesn''t understand how strong superpowers are," the female Berserker named Jade Bamboo said, a hint of admiration flashing in her eyes as she gazed at Shi Feng. However, she quickly turned away from him to look at the refined middle-aged man above the checkpoint''s gate. This middle-aged man was Hermit, one of the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s old monsters and the Dark Hills'' protector. He ranked among the top of the Fire Dragon Empire''s players. A Domain Realm expert wouldn''t even have a chance to escape with their life from someone like Hermit, much less defeat the man. She suspected only the two Vice Alliance Masters or the Alliance Master from her adventurer alliance would have any hope of surviving a fight against Hermit. While Jade Bamboo watched, Hermit jumped down from the wall, landing before Shi Feng''s group. As he did, he earned horrified looks from the various superpowers'' experts. They looked as if they had seen a ghost. Even Cloud Hunter watched the older man seriously. "Elder Hermit, please don''t misunderstand! This isn''t what it looks like!" Cloud Hunter hurriedly explained. If he had only had to face the checkpoint''s war weapons and various experts, he would''ve been confident of helping Shi Feng escape, but now that Hermit was involved, the situation had changed. Hermit wasn''t allied with either of the two families, but he was Azure''s secret enforcer. He had assassinated countless peak and apex experts that had wished to harm the Azure Chamber of Commerce. In contrast to the visiting players, the several peak experts that guarded the checkpoint couldn''t help but grin when Hermit appeared. "Those people have crap luck. I hadn''t thought that Elder Hermit would get involved." "Not even Old Man Long can help that guy now, not to mention Silent Wonder. Elder Hermit is famous for being a stickler for the Chamber''s rules." Initially, they hadn''t been particularly confident of going up against Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng had Cloud Hunter with him, who was one of Azure''s apex experts and one of the outstanding talents among the organization''s younger generation. They could not afford to kill Cloud Hunter without a good enough reason. If Cloud Hunter intended to help Shi Feng escape, the Swordsman was likely to get away. However, they no longer had to worry about that problem. Hermit was one of the strongest players in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. He''d have no problems killing Cloud Hunter, much less suppress the youth. If Hermit wanted someone dead, very few would survive against him. As Hermit slowly approached Shi Feng''s group, another group of cloaked players, who watched from afar, began to panic. "How?! Why is Hermit here?!" Burning Owl paled when he saw the middle-aged man. "Doesn''t he normally patrol inside the Dark Hills?!" Burning Owl had been surprised to see Shi Feng abruptly attack and slay Prideful Brute, but he was actually quite pleased to watch the man die. As a result, his opinion of Shi Feng significantly improved. As such, he had intended to lend a helping hand, but now that Hermit had arrived, this problem had become far worse. Even Burning Owl was afraid of the older man, and Hermit was one of the Guild''s Grand Elders. Hermit wouldn''t back down out of respect even if he were one of Azure''s Vice Guild Leaders. While Burning Owl considered ignoring the repercussions to save Shi Feng, Hermit appeared before the Swordsman in question and extended a hand. "Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Hermit, the Dark Hills'' protector," Hermit said, smiling at Shi Feng. "I''ve been hearing of you for some time now, but I hadn''t expected to meet you here today, Guild Leader Black Flame." Both Azure''s members and the various superpowers'' experts gaped in shock when they heard Hermit''s greeting. "What''s going on?" Jade Bamboo stared with wide eyes. Everyone in the Fire Dragon Empire had heard of Hermit, especially the various superpowers'' experts. They all treated Hermit like the Grim Reaper. The man was known for his indifferent expression, and even when he had stood before her adventurer alliance''s Alliance Master, he had treated her coldly. Now, however, Hermit welcomed Shi Feng with a smile. It was unbelievable. Even Cloud Hunter and Burning Owl, who were both quite familiar with the middle-aged man, were utterly flabbergasted, their eyes nearly falling from their sockets. Was this really the Hermit they knew? Even stranger, Shi Feng had just killed Prideful Brute in public. Prideful Brute had picked the fight, but he was still one of Azure''s peak experts, and Shi Feng had slain him as so many people watched. This would definitely damage Azure''s reputation. Normally, Hermit wouldn''t tolerate such an insult. Both Cloud Hunter and Burning Owl figured Shi Feng would be lucky if Hermit decided to spare him. However, not only wasn''t Hermit attacking the Swordsman, but he had greeted Shi Feng with a smile! "You offer too much praise, Elder Hermit. I''ve heard a lot about you, as well. I am here to accompany Silent Wonder and visit the Azure Chamber of Commerce," Shi Feng politely responded. In reality, Hermit''s behavior surprised even him. "I see. The competition will begin soon. I''ll have someone guide you and your group to the venue, Guild Leader Black Flame," Hermit said. He then instructed one of his subordinates to lead Shi Feng''s group through the gates. After watching the amicable conversation between Hermit and Shi Feng, and Hermit''s initiative to have someone lead Shi Feng into the Dark Hills, everyone was utterly confused. "Elder Hermit, that player hasn''t been inspected! And he killed Prideful Brute! We cannot just let him get away with this!" one of Azure''s peak experts whispered to Hermit. The other Azure experts nodded in agreement. However, they then felt an intense aura wash over them. It was from none other than Hermit himself. "Fools!" Hermit glared at the peak expert that had spoken. "You think you can afford to provoke a Tier 3 player? It seems you lot have been slacking while I wasn''t around. From now on, you and that Prideful Brute will spend your days in the combat training rooms. You are only allowed a break once you''ve passed those trials!" After saying so, Hermit ignored the experts and left. 2360 Dark Hills Shocked Chapter 2360 - Dark Hills Shocked Watching Hermit leave, the several peak experts from Azure were stunned. "Tier 3?" "How is that possible? Nobody in our Chamber is even confident of challenging their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. How can he have reached Tier 3 already?" Tier 3 classes were no longer foreign to the various superpowers in God''s Domain, who knew very clearly how powerful a Tier 3 class was. It was not something that Tier 2 classes could go up against. Meanwhile, now that Level 100 players had already appeared, the various superpowers had started researching the Tier 3 Promotion Quest. However, their findings indicated that the Tier 3 Promotion Quest was absurdly difficult. Ordinary experts could not hope to complete the quest as soon as they reached Level 100. As for peak and apex experts, they faced an even greater challenge. After all, not only had they obtained excellent Legacies, but they also had to challenge the highest-difficulty Promotion Quest available in consideration of their future development. If they settled for a mediocre result, they would only be harming themselves in the long run. However, even the ordinary Tier 3 Promotion Quest already exceeded the expectations of the various superpowers because players had to travel to Level 100 neutral maps to conduct their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Level 100 neutral maps were not places that just any player could visit. Even a team of Level 100, Tier 2 experts would face great danger when exploring a Level 100 neutral map. Anyone capable of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest at this stage of the game undoubtedly had extraordinary strength. Needless to say, after completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest, they would only have further improved their extraordinary strength. "Brute died for nothing this time." "That''s right. He really dug his grave this time. Let alone Brute, even if Black Flame killed one of the Chamber''s Elders, the Chamber would most likely still ignore the matter." If what Hermit said was indeed true, then Prideful Brute''s attempt to use Shi Feng to make trouble for Silent Wonder was simply suicidal. After all, the Azure Chamber of Commerce didn''t have a single Tier 3 player right now. If a Tier 3 player wanted to do something against Azure''s members out in the fields, particularly in Level 100 neutral Chamber would be absolutely powerless to do anything about it. To avoid such an outcome, the Chamber naturally wouldn''t retaliate against Shi Feng just because he responded aggressively to Prideful Brute''s provocation. As for the spectating crowd, when they saw Hermit berating Azure''s peak experts, their jaws dropped even more than before. They simply could not wrap their minds around what had just happened. Who is that Black Flame? Black Flame had killed Azure''s Prideful Brute, yet not only did Hermit not react in rage, but he even berated his own people. Jade Bamboo''s eyes roiled with confusion as she gazed at Azure''s peak experts. Although Hermit had spoken to those peak experts through a team chat, which prevented her from hearing what he said, she could still see his behavior and sense the aura he exuded, particularly his sudden burst of killing intent. That dense killing intent was something that made even an apex expert like herself shudder in fear. Moreover, she could tell that Hermit''s killing intent wasn''t directed at the departing Shi Feng, but at the several peak experts before him. From this, one could tell that the behavior of Prideful Brute and the other experts of Azure had enraged Hermit. At the same time, it was also obvious that Hermit was afraid of Shi Feng. Hermit was one of the top 10 experts of the Fire Dragon Empire, yet he actually appeared fearful of another player right now. This was simply unbelievable. "It''s over, just like that?" At this moment, Burning Owl, who stood a short distance away from the checkpoint, could not help his stupefaction when he saw Hermit walking away. He could not understand what had just happened. However, Cold Memory and South Dream, beside him, were not the least bit surprised by Hermit''s response to Shi Feng''s aggression. The fact that Shi Feng was now a Tier 3 player was still a secret. After the two of them found out about this, they had immediately reported the matter to their Vice Guild Leader. Meanwhile, their Vice Guild Leader had promptly issued a gag order on this secret. Although the two of them hadn''t told anybody else, with Azure''s discerning intelligence department, Hermit must''ve obtained word of it. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn''t have let this matter rest so easily. After Shi Feng and his companions entered the Dark Hills, they immediately felt a pleasant sensation enveloping their spirits. The Dark Hills was located within a sealed space. Not only was the Mana density here considerably higher than that of the outside world, but there were also multiple teleportation gates to the cities of neutral races, which allowed human players to travel freely to those cities. Likewise, neutral players could teleport to the Dark Hills from their respective cities. Hence, the Dark Hills'' Demonstone Town became an excellent trade hub. The one downside was the ridiculously high cost of the teleportation gates. Each use cost 300 Magic Crystalsa price utterly beyond ordinary experts. Only major powers could tolerate it. Meanwhile, as Demonstone Town was only so large, in order to avoid overcrowding, Azure, the power that had captured it, had limited entry to members of the various major powers. However, even with this rule in place, Demonstone Town was still extremely crowded. One could see not only the experts of the Fire Dragon Empire''s major powers but also many players belonging to various neutral races present. Many of these players were hawking their wares along the streets of the city; some of the items were enough to tempt even Shi Feng. The Demonstone Auction House, which was located at the town''s center, was the liveliest place in the entire town. It''s no wonder so many powers were trying to enter this place back then. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at the crowded Auction House. Zero Wing City''s Auction House might be grand and majestic, but when comparing the quality of items available, Zero Wing City''s Auction House was leagues behind the Demonstone Auction House. Every item sold in the Demonstone Auction House was precious. One could buy even Epic Weapons and Equipment here. Of course, as the Demonstone Auction House only allowed bartering, it didn''t matter even if players brought a ton of Coins here. The only options players had were to trade using the requested items or to pay Magic Crystals. However, Magic Crystals were a strategic resource to the various major powers. Hence, most of the major powers that came here would only trade using the required items. Those that lacked the required items could only window-shop to sate their desires. As for the Auction House''s second floor, the Azure Chamber of Commerce currently had full control over it. Only the members of invited superpowers were allowed entry there; the members of ordinary powers could only watch Azure''s internal competition from the first-floor hall. Under the lead of Hermit''s subordinate, Shi Feng''s group entered the second floor unhindered. At this moment, not only was the second-floor hall seated with Azure''s upper echelon, but there were also plenty of players belonging to the upper echelons of various superpowers. Azure''s internal competition today would decide whether the Long Family or the Duan Family would rule over the Chamber. Hence, the superpowers placed considerable importance on the competition today. After all, if the family they supported won, they would gain greater benefits from Azure. On the other hand, if the family they supported lost, their benefits would naturally decrease. When Shi Feng''s group entered the venue, everyone''s gaze promptly shifted to it. That person''s Black Flame?" "How desperate is this guy trying to gain the Long Family''s favor? He actually dared to kill a member of the Duan Family. Doesn''t he know that the Duan Family has much more influence than the Long Family in the Fire Dragon Empire?" "He''s used to playing tyrant in a kingdom. He is naturally short-sighted when it comes to the bigger world. I heard that Giant''s Heart has plenty of partnerships with the Duan Family. This time, the Duan Family has even managed to get Vice Guild Leader White Autumn to visit. I heard that White Autumn recently gained a God''s blessing, and his strength is now off the charts. If the Duan Family manages to get White Autumn to secretly take action, Zero Wing will be finished." At this point, the various superpowers'' members had already heard about what had occurred at the checkpoint. They had never imagined that Shi Feng would actually be foolish enough to kill the Duan Family''s Prideful Brute. Meanwhile, as these players were discussing quietly, another group of people entered the hall. The moment these people arrived, everyone''s attention immediately turned toward them. This was because the newcomers were none other than the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Duan Family! 2361 Gathering of Bigshots Chapter 2361 - Gathering of Bigshots The Duan Family had not sent a lot of people to this competition, only a dozen or so. Their number was far fewer than that of the various superpowers. However, when the attendees present saw the pale-white, middle-aged man at the head of the group, they all revealed surprised expressions. "The Ice Demon, Duan Hanshan! He actually came too?!" This is going to be interesting! The Ice Demon''s combat standards are not the slightest bit inferior to Hermit''s. In fact, he is even stronger than Hermit in a frontal confrontation. Moreover, unlike Hermit, who maintains a neutral stance in Azure, Duan Hanshan is famous for his partisanship!" The faces of the various superpowers'' members shone with anticipation when they saw the man leading the Duan Family''s group. Duan Hanshan was the strongest person of the Duan Family''s second generation. His position in Azure rivaled that of the Assassin Hermit. He had been fighting in the western continent all this time, and his fame over there surpassed even Hermit''s. Although Duan Hanshan was nicknamed the Ice Demon, his short temper was well-known among the various superpowers. Meanwhile, after stepping into the hall, Duan Hanshan did not head toward the VIP seats. Instead, he walked up to Shi Feng, the chilling aura he radiated making the various superpowers'' Refinement Realm experts shudder involuntarily. You''re that Black Flame that killed Prideful Brute at the checkpoint?" Duan Hanshan asked coldly as he glared at Shi Feng. Upon hearing Duan Hanshan''s question, everyone present revealed looks that suggested they had expected such a situation to arise. Although they were currently inside the Auction House and within Azure''s territory, Duan Hanshan would not care about etiquette. If Shi Feng gave him an unsatisfactory reply, Duan Hanshan would definitely take action. "That''s right. Do you have business with me?" Shi Feng nodded, not evading Duan Hanshan''s question at all. His nonchalant reply also made it seem as if the killing intent Duan Hanshan radiated was nonexistent. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone present gasped involuntarily. "Is this guy nuts? He''s still trying to act tough at this point?" A blue-clad Assassin youth, who was also in the second- floor hall, stared at Shi Feng in shock. Duan Hanshan was known for being an unstoppable killing machine over in the western continent. This was why he was nicknamed Ice Demon. Even the Guild Leaders of the various superpowers had to show respect when meeting him. Shi Feng, however, behaved as if he had nothing to do with this matter. "He probably doesn''t know about the Ice Demon. After all, Zero Wing is developing in a small kingdom. It shouldn''t know much about matters in the western continent," said Jade Bamboo from beside the Assassin youth. She, too, had been surprised at Shi Feng''s reply. "However, now that he has spoken to Ice Demon that way, he''s definitely doomed." Hermit maintained a neutral stance in the Azure Chamber of Commerce, so it was only normal for him to ignore the quarrels between the two main families and prioritize the Chamber''s benefits above all else. However, that was not the case for Duan Hanshan at all. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Duan Hanshan''s killing intent skyrocketed in intensity, putting a powerful pressure on the spectating crowd. "Good! Young man, you''re very brave! It seems that if I don''t take some action in the eastern continent, nobody will place the Azure Chamber of Commerce in their eyes in the future!" Duan Hanshan exclaimed wrathfully. Mana started gathering around him, the ambient temperature plummeting. "Black Flame is doomed now." At this moment, everyone understood that Duan Hanshan was thoroughly enraged. With this, even Silent Melody and Cloud Hunter would be powerless to save Black Flame. After all, quite a few of those standing behind Duan Hanshan were peak experts. They would have no problem holding Cloud Hunter back for a short period. However, just when everyone thought a battle would break out between Shi Feng and Duan Hanshan, a deep and powerful voice echoed throughout the entire hall. "Old Ice, are you planning on breaking the Chamber''s rules?" When everyone turned to look at the origin of this voice, what they saw was a man in dark-gray armor, who seemed to be in his early 50s. The aura this man radiated was not the slightest bit weaker than that of Duan Hanshan; it daunted the nearby Refinement Realm experts, deterring them from approaching him. "Third Uncle, why are you here?" Silent Wonder asked in confusion when she saw this middle-aged man. This stalwart, middle-aged man was none other than Long Xianglong, one of the Long Family''s second-generation leaders. He was also one of Azure''s Grand Elders and was Silent Wonder''s third uncle. As Long Xianglong was addicted to improving his combat standards, he had not bothered himself with the Chamber''s matters in a very long time. "Your father has some other matters to take care of and cannot attend this competition, so he asked me to come in his place," Long Xianglong said, a rare smile appearing on his face when he looked at Silent Wonder. He then turned to look at Duan Hanshan. "Old Ice, Azure is holding an important competition here today. Are you still planning on taking action here? Or are you telling me that you''ve already forgotten about the Chamber''s rules?" At Long Xianglong''s words, Duan Hanshan''s complexion darkened. "Lunatic Long, I''ll step back out of respect for you this time. However, if there is a next time, your people won''t be as lucky," Duan Hanshan said. After glaring at Shi Feng, he promptly turned around and left. Upon seeing this, Cloud Hunter breathed a deep sigh of relief. At the same time, he was also speechless at Shi Feng''s bravery. It was fortunate that Long Xianglong appeared. While attacking an invited guest within Azure''s territory was indeed against Azure''s rules, if Duan Hanshan was intent on taking action, even Cloud Hunter was not confident of stopping the Ice Demon. However, Long Xianglong was Duan Hanshan''s equal in strength. Moreover, the rules were on Long Xianglong''s side. If Duan Hanshan took action, he would definitely end up getting himself punished. After seeing Duan Hanshan leave, Long Xianglong turned his gaze away from the Ice Demon and walked up to Shi Feng. "Young man, you shouldn''t act so impulsively next time. That Old Ice Demon usually does whatever he wants," Long Xianglong admonished Shi Feng slightly. Very quickly, however, he shifted his attention to Silent Wonder and said, "Wonder, your grandfather has constantly been thinking about you. If not for the competition this time, he would''ve most likely called you back already. Once this competition is over, return with me." From the previous scene, Long Xianglong understood that Shi Feng was a very impulsive person. If he allowed his niece to remain in Zero Wing, it would only be a matter of time before disaster befell her. "Return? No. I wish to stay in Zero Wing and continue my development there. In any case, Owl and Big Sis Silk are more than enough to handle the Chamber''s affairs. It doesn''t matter whether I return or not," Silent Wonder said, shaking her head. "Moreover, I''m developing very well." "Nonsense! Your talents are second only to Silk Moon''s. It might be fine if it were before, but after this competition, the struggle between the two main families will come to an end. Regardless of today''s outcome, you will receive the Chamber''s full support. At that time, your improvement speed will definitely exceed your current rate," Long Xianglong said as he glared in exasperation at Silent Wonder. The Azure Chamber of Commerce''s resources far surpassed that of ordinary superpowers. The future Silent Wonder could have in Azure would be many times better than if she remained in Zero Wing. In fact, remaining in Zero Wing would be a complete and utter waste of her talents. Moreover, the Long Family''s third generation still needed some strong pillars to support it. Simply relying on Burning Owl and Silk Moon wouldn''t be enough. "Third Uncle, I''ve already decided. Moreover, I feel that Zero Wing is quite good. Stop trying to persuade me," Silent Wonder said, shaking her head. She was determined to stick to her decision. Just as Long Xianglong was about to launch another round of persuasion, a fresh group of players arrived, inducing gasps throughout the hall. This was because these players were members of Giant''s Heart, a superpower that had thoroughly shaken the foundations of the Fire Dragon Empire and was capable of contending against the Super Guild Pride Empire. In fact, when comparing them purely in terms of naval prowess, Giant''s Heart was superior to Pride Empire. Nowadays, the various superpowers were placing extreme emphasis on their naval development. Since Giant''s Heart possessed exceedingly great naval prowess, it had naturally become the target of partnership for many other superpowers. Meanwhile, the person leading Giant''s Heart''s group this time was none other than White Autumn, one of Giant''s Heart''s Vice Guild Leaders, who was currently a megastar in the Fire Dragon Empire. At the same time, he was an existence that the various superpowers feared greatly because he had gained the Sea God''s blessing and possessed near-unrivaled strength out at sea. During these past few days, White Autumn''s existence alone had inflicted a lot of major losses on Pride Empire. When White Autumn entered the hall, the upper echelons of the various attending superpowers promptly surged forward to greet him. Azure''s Duan Hanshan and Long Xianglong even took the initiative to greet White Autumn in an attempt to bridge the distance between Giant''s Heart and the Azure Chamber of Commerce. However, after making small talk with the other attendees for a short time, White Autumn suddenly walked up to Shi Feng. "Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am White Autumn, one of Giant''s Heart''s Vice Guild Leaders. I have heard a lot about you. I feel joyful that I finally get to meet you today," White Autumn greeted Shi Feng in a very friendly manner. 2362 Shes an Advanced Master Alchemist Too? Chapter 2362 - She''s an Advanced Master Alchemist Too? Silence! Shock! For a time, everyone in the hall was stunned. White Autumn was one of Giant''s Heart''s Vice Guild Leaders as well as one of the strongest individuals in the Fire Dragon Empire. After he obtained the Sea God''s blessing, his strength had further skyrocketed. Nowadays, he was an existence that even the Guild Leaders of the various superpowers wished to befriend. Now, however, White Autumn had actually taken the initiative to greet Shi Feng. Let alone the various superpowers'' upper echelons, even Long Xianglong and Duan Hanshan could not help looking confused at this scene. In their opinion, Shi Feng was merely the Guild Leader of a pseudo superpower. Even if Zero Wing had a lot of potential, it would still take a long time to become a superpower. Moreover, even if it eventually became a superpower, it still wouldn''t warrant the attention of someone like White Autumn. Could that kid have some kind of relationship with Giant''s Heart? Duan Hanshan guessed as he took in Shi Feng''s calm expression. White Autumn was an existence that even the Duan Family fervently wished to befriend. After all, Giant''s Heart possessed extraordinary strength out at sea. In the future, when the various powers of the two main continents interacted more frequently, maritime trade would be unavoidable. So, he still has such a backer. It''s no wonder he paid no heed to Old Ice''s questioning. Long Xianglong also started observing Shi Feng. He had never thought that Shi Feng would have such a connection. If Shi Feng had Giant''s Heart supporting him, with the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s current attitude toward Giant''s Heart, Duan Hanshan definitely wouldn''t dare to casually take action against Shi Feng. Although the Ice Demon was short-tempered, he was no fool. He knew when he should take action and when he should restrain himself. A short distance away, Jade Bamboo and the blue-clad Assassin beside her were dazed for quite some time after seeing White Autumn greeting Shi Feng. When they snapped out of their daze, however, realization immediately dawned upon them. Previously, they had been curious as to why Hermit had spared Shi Feng so easily. Looking at it now, Hermit must''ve known about the relationship between Shi Feng and Giant''s Heart. Meanwhile, in response to White Autumn''s greeting, Shi Feng simply nodded and said, "Vice Guild Leader White, you''re too courteous." In reality, Shi Feng was also somewhat surprised that White Autumn had taken the initiative to greet him. After all, his current identity was Black Flame, not Ye Feng. Moreover, he had only helped White Autumn complete a quest and receive the Sea God''s blessing. This amount of help should not warrant White Autumn''s enthusiastic welcome. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I am not being courteous at all," White Autumn said, shaking his head. In a serious tone, he continued, "Currently, Giant''s Heart has captured a relatively excellent town over at Dark Moon Lake, outside the Fire Dragon Empire. We wish to form a partnership with Zero Wing for this town. May I know if Guild Leader Black Flame is interested?" As soon as White Autumn finished speaking, gasps filled the hall once more. As for Long Xianglong and Duan Hanshan, they both gaped in shock at this scene, their minds blank with disbelief. The area around Dark Moon Lake was a fat piece of meat that many powers were eyeing. Not only was it a neutral map, but it was even connected to the sea, a location without many developmental restrictions. Dark Moon Town had the potential to become a large-scale port city. At that time, the income generated from the city would be several times higher than that from NPC port cities. Hence, many of the Fire Dragon Empire''s superpowers had tried to capture Dark Moon Town. In the end, however, it was White Autumn who succeeded. Moreover, he had even served Pride Empire a huge loss while doing so. Now, however, White Autumn wanted to form a partnership with Shi Feng. "Dark Moon Town? Zero Wing is naturally very interested in this partnership," Shi Feng said, although he, too, was very surprised by White Autumn''s suggestion. Shi Feng was relatively familiar with Dark Moon Town, or more precisely, with Dark Moon City. In his previous life, Dark Moon City had been the largest player-operated port city in the vicinity of the Fire Dragon Empire. It had practically been the lifeline linking the Fire Dragon Empire with the sea. The prices of the Shops and Lands inside Dark Moon City had rivaled even those of imperial capitals. Back then, Giant''s Heart ruled over Dark Moon City as well, and countless powers wished to form a partnership with the Guild. Unfortunately for them, very few powers actually succeeded. During the time Shi Feng and White Autumn were hashing out the details of their partnership, everyone present was thoroughly stupefied, especially Duan Hanshan and Long Xianglong. Shock and confusion filled their hearts. They even wondered if they were dreaming. "Who is he?" The Fire Dragon Empire''s various superpowers were desperately seeking to cooperate with Giant''s Heart on Dark Moon Town. Now, however, White Autumn was proposing a partnership with Shi Feng. This was simply absurd. Aside from Duan Hanshan and Long Xianglong, Burning Owl and Cold Memory''s group were also astonished by this scene. "Big Sis, what kind of relationship does your Guild have with Giant''s Heart?" Burning Owl asked Silent Wonder. Even though Burning Owl had just arrived in the eastern continent, he knew about Dark Moon Town and its importance because one of his tasks in coming to the eastern continent this time was to negotiate a partnership with Giant''s Heart regarding Dark Moon Town. However, there were simply too many superpowers eyeing Dark Moon Town, so even with the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s backing, he was not particularly confident in his chances. Now, however... Cold Memory and South Dream were also eager to hear the answer to Burning Owl''s question. They knew for a fact that Shi Feng was a Tier 3 player. However, they never considered that Zero Wing might still possess a foundation so powerful that it would warrant Giant''s Heart''s active solicitation. This was something even Dark Pursuit was incapable of accomplishing. "I... I don''t know, either." Silent Wonder was also confused by this situation. Meanwhile, White Autumn himself paid no heed whatsoever to the shock everyone felt at his actions. He had personally witnessed Zero Wing''s strength before, particularly its Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. The flying ship''s performance exceeded his expectations entirely. Meanwhile, after seeing Shi Feng now, he was even more certain that his decision to partner with Zero Wing was a wise one. Due to the Sea God''s blessing, White Autumn''s perception toward life aura and danger had improved significantly. When looking at Shi Feng, he actually felt a deadly threat. Moreover, he could also tell that Shi Feng''s life aura was stronger than his own. The only explanation he could think of for this situation was that Shi Feng was a Tier 3 player. In a period where none of the various superpowers possessed even one Tier 3 player, Zero Wing actually had two. He simply did not know what to say about this situation. "Elder Hanshan, this is going to be troublesome. Silent Wonder is a member of Zero Wing. Now that Zero Wing is proven to have a close relationship with Giant''s Heart, the Long Family will have an easier time partnering with Giant''s Heart," a youth standing behind Duan Hanshan said worriedly. "What''s there to worry about? So what if the Long Family gets to partner with Giant''s Heart? The most important point is who will get to rule Azure. Even if Zero Wing has a good relationship with Giant''s Heart, that won''t help the Long Family or Silent Wonder win the upcoming competition," Duan Hanshan retorted. Although the Long Family''s Silk Moon had also joined the famous Dark Pursuit as a Lifestyle player, the time she joined Dark Pursuit was much shorter compared to Yan Xiaoqian''s. Moreover, Yan Xiaoqian was almost as talented as Silk Moon. In such a situation, it would be impossible for Silk Moon to beat Yan Xiaoqian. While Duan Hanshan was saying so, another group of players arrived in the second-floor hall. Similar to the arrival of Giant''s Heart''s group, the arrival of this group of players caused quite a commotion because it consisted of Dark Pursuit''s members. Not only was the lowest-leveled player among them Level 100, but the equipment they possessed was also something that could make even the upper echelons of the various superpowers envious. Of the dozen or so Dark Pursuit members that entered the hall, even the worst equipped among them had three pieces of Epic Equipment paired up with a six-piece, Level 95 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The most eye-catching among these players were undoubtedly the two heroic women walking in the lead. One of these women was Silk Moon, a Cursemancer that possessed a mature and seductive charm. Silk Moon''s appearance and figure were not the slightest bit inferior to Silent Wonder''s. The other tall and graceful woman was Yan Xiaoqian. However, unlike Silk Moon''s mature appearance, Yan Xiaoqian looked to be only eighteen years old. Both women were actually geared in the Elven Light Set, an eight-piece set of Level 95 Dark-Gold Equipment currently the best set equipment available for magical classes. The other pieces of equipment they wore were all Epic rank. "Amazing! Truly amazing! So, this is Dark Pursuit''s foundations?" "The Elven Light Set! Dark Pursuit is really going all-out for the competition this time! It seems the winner of this competition is going to be one of these two." "I know, right? I heard that Dark Pursuit invested all its available resources into nurturing the two of them. Although the Long Family''s and Duan Family''s other heirs are excellent, these two are on a completely different level." The various superpowers'' upper echelons were green with envy as they looked at Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian. The Elven Light Set was currently the strongest Dark-Gold Set Equipment available for magical class players. None of the various superpowers present had managed to complete even a single set yet. However, Dark Pursuit actually had two. This was simply unbelievable. With the arrival of Dark Pursuit''s group, all six representatives of the Long Family and Duan Family were finally present. A short moment later, an elegant, middle-aged man walked to the center of the hall. This man was none other than Hermit, the manager of the Dark Hills. "Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you all for attending the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s alchemy competition today," Hermit said. "I believe everyone present has been waiting for quite some time now, so I''ll dispense with the pleasantries. The competition this time will be very simple. Participants will have to produce as many Meditation Souls an Intermediate Master Potionas possible within the given timeframe. However, there is a precondition for those seeking to participate in the competition: they must be an Intermediate Master Alchemist at the very minimum. Those who do not meet this requirement may not participate in the competition, so all participants, please show your Alchemist Insignias." Upon hearing the rules, the various spectators gasped involuntarily. Setting aside the Meditation Soul''s production difficulty, just the condition of Intermediate Mastery would already leave countless alchemist players in despair. "The requirements of this competition are really high. I bet that more than half of the participants will be disqualified because of this condition." Cold Memory was astonished when she heard Hermit''s words. Nurturing an Intermediate Master Alchemist was easier said than done. This was a task that even Dark Pursuit found difficult. Despite being very talented herself, Cold Memory was still a long way from the Intermediate Master rank. Needless to say, others would have an even more difficult time attaining it. In the next moment, just like Cold Memory anticipated, the Long Family''s first representative revealed that he was only a Basic Master Alchemist. As for the Duan Family''s heirs, Duan Ying and Duan Qingfeng, they, too, were only Basic Master Alchemists. Although they would be extremely talented geniuses in the eyes of the various superpowers, they failed to meet the minimum requirement for participation in this competition. When it was Yan Xiaoqian''s turn, she proudly took out an insignia with three silver moons. Upon seeing this insignia, the spectating crowd gasped in shock. "Advanced Master rank... She''s actually an Advanced Master Alchemist!" "How is this possible?! Our Guild doesn''t even have an Intermediate Master, yet she''s actually an Advanced Master already?!" The various superpowers were filled with an indescribable sense of shock and envy at this scene. After all, the abilities an Advanced Master could exhibit were far greater than those of an Intermediate Master. Furthermore, an Advanced Master could produce Advanced Master Potions, which would be extremely useful when exploring new maps in the future. However, shortly after Yan Xiaoqian flaunted her insignia, the Long Family''s Silk Moon also took out an insignia with three silver moons on it, shocking the spectating crowd once more. "Two Advanced Master Alchemists! How powerful is Dark Pursuit?!" "Advanced Master Alchemists! Sure enough, everyone else is no match for these two women!" The various superpowers were left breathless by this revelation. At the same time, they also started growing fearful of Dark Pursuit''s foundations. "Big Sis Silk really is amazing. With this, we at least have a 50% chance of winning." Burning Owl sighed in relief when he saw Silk Moon''s Alchemist Insignia. The latest information he had received said that Yan Xiaoqian had been promoted into an Advanced Master Alchemist already while Silk Moon was still trying. Hence, he had been considerably worried until this point. Now that Silk Moon had become an Advanced Master Alchemist as well, both the Long Family and Duan Family could be said to be on the same starting line. "It''s a pity that Wonder did not join Dark Pursuit. Otherwise, she would also have had a chance at becoming an Advanced Master Alchemist before this competition, and our chances of winning will be much greater." Cold Memory was relatively confident in her own Guild''s strength. However, as Silent Wonder was determined to stay in Zero Wing, Cold Memory couldn''t do anything about it. "This is already good enough. At least, it is much better than our initial expectations," South Dream said, chuckling. She caught up? Yan Xiaoqian reflexively took an extra glance at Silk Moon. She had never thought that Silk Moon would actually succeed in catching up with her. While everyone was wondering who between Yan Xiaoqian or Silk Moon would win this competition, Silent Wonder also took out an Alchemist Insignia with three silver moons on it from her bag. "Impossible!" "She''s an Advanced Master Alchemist too?!" 2363 Shocking the Venue Chapter 2363 - Shocking the Venue Silence filled the competition venue as everyone stared at Silent Wonder''s triple-moon Alchemist Insignia. They could all understand Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian becoming Advanced Master Alchemists, but none of them could fathom out Silent wonder had become one as well. It wasn''t easy to reach Advanced Master rank. Even now, very few of God''s Domain''s superpowers had successfully nurtured an Advanced Master Alchemist, yet Zero Wing had. It was utterly unbelievable. "How is this possible?!" Cold Memory was shocked to see Silent Wonder''s Advanced Master Alchemist Insignia. "How has she been promoted so quickly?" Completing the requirements to become an Advanced Master Alchemist was easier said than done. Aside from talent, the rare resources required for research and experimentation were more than enough to give any superpower a huge headache. Dark Pursuit had only been able to supply these resources due to its control in the Moon God''s World and access to precious alchemical resources. This was why Cold Memory was so confident in Dark Pursuit''s ability to nurture Advanced Master Alchemists. Any other superpower would likely run out of materials before one of its alchemists could reach Advanced Master rank. Zero Wing had the Research Workshop, but that only provided guidelines to assist the Guild''s Lifestyle players. In doing so, it would only slightly reduce the amount of materials one would need for their experiments. Moreover, Silent Wonder had been some time away from reaching Advanced Master rank during their last meeting. She hadn''t progressed as far as Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian, who had stood before the threshold to Advanced Master rank. Even as talented as Silent Wonder was, she should''ve needed another fortnight to complete her promotion, yet she had caught up with Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian in less than a week. Cold Memory couldnt imagine how Zero Wing had helped her accomplish the feat. Even Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian, who stood beside Silent Wonder, were astonished. Little Sis actually succeeded? Silk Moon could not help but glance at Shi Feng, who watched from the spectator stands, with a soft smile. It seems Zero Wing is quite capable, after all. Silk Moon knew better than anyone here how difficult it was to reach Advanced Master rank. One needed talent and resources. Anyone who said otherwise was either lying or a fool. "An Advanced Master Alchemist! Hahaha! This girl is quite impressive!" Long Xianglong laughed when he saw the Alchemist Insignia in Silent Wonder''s hand. Now, he was even more determined to take the girl with him to the western continent. Even without a superpower''s support, Silent Wonder had become an Advanced Master Alchemist. She proved to be frighteningly talented. Long Xianglong acknowledged that Zero Wing had played a massive role in his niece''s success, but how could such a small Guild compete with the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s resources? When the Duan Family''s members saw that Silent Wonder was also an Advanced Master Alchemist, they watched on with grim expressions. Although the final victor would decide the competition''s outcome, the fact that the Long Family had one more Advanced Master Alchemist than they did gave their competitor an edge. "Why are you so worried? She''s merely an Advanced Master Alchemist," Duan Hanshan said as he eyed the people around him. "So what if she''s a talented alchemist? This competition won''t be won on alchemy standards alone." The competition would determine which of the two families had a stronger heir. Even though this was an alchemy competition, it wasn''t any ordinary battle between alchemists. High alchemy standards would provide an advantage, but combat power would also play a significant role. The participants would have to fight for the materials they needed. If they weren''t strong enough in combat, they wouldn''t secure enough materials, and without materials, how were they supposed to brew the required potion? With Duan Hanshan''s comment, realization dawned on the other Duan Family members. After all was said and done, this competition would rely on the strength of the competitors'' backers. In this regard, Zero Wing was no match for Dark Pursuit. While everyone chatted amongst themselves, Hermit, who had inspected all six participants'' insignias, spoke again. "Since the remaining participants have met the minimum requirements, let''s officially begin this competition. As you all know, the participants are required to produce Meditation Soul Potions, an Intermediate Master Potion. However, participants must earn their required materials," Hermit explained as he gestured to an approaching group of players. These players carried gigantic cages into the venue, all containing incredibly powerful beasts. He then turned to Silk Moon, Yan Xiaoqian, and Silent Wonder. "You will face these Level 100 wild beasts. You will earn more materials by defeating stronger monsters. Of the monsters we''ve prepared, the weakest is a Lord; for defeating this monster, you''ll acquire three sets of materials. The next monster is a High Lord, and you''ll earn six sets for defeating it. You will not be required to defeat the Level 100 Great Lord, but if you survive against it for ten minutes, you''ll receive ten sets of materials. If you survive for ten minutes against the Level 100 Grand Lord, you''ll receive twenty sets of materials. However, you will only have one chance to challenge a monster, so choose wisely." As Hermit finished his explanation, a commotion erupted in the venue. "The Azure Chamber of Commerce is so generous! It''s captured so many Level 100 wild beasts!" "Crap! Isn''t this challenge a little too difficult? Not even Level 100 Refinement Realm experts can defeat a Level 100 Lord one-on-one, yet it''s the weakest monster here. Do the participants even stand a chance?" The various superpowers felt a cold chill when they saw Azure''s Level 100 wild beasts. Capturing wild beasts to tame as Mounts was extremely difficult, especially at such a high level. Ordinary powers couldn''t afford to spare the amount of manpower the task would require, yet Azure used these precious Level 100 wild beasts to test its heirs'' strength. Even the various superpowers'' upper echelons thought this competition was absurdly difficult. At this stage of the game, Level 100 peak experts would, at most, be strong enough to challenge a Level 100 High Lord. If they encountered a Level 100 Great Lord alone, they''d have no choice but to flee. Even worse, Lifestyle players had far less combat power than actual combat players. Whether or not Silk Moon and the others could fight a Level 100 Lord was already questionable, not to mention a High Lord. The various superpowers'' members couldn''t help but glance at Silent Wonder in pity. Of the three remaining participants, only Silent Wonder was under Level 100. Other experts might be impressed that she had reached Level 99, but it put her at an overwhelming disadvantage in this competition. Although there was only one level between Level 99 and 100, the difference between the strength one could command at those levels was tremendous. A Level 100 player would have far more control and flexibility than a Level 99 player, and the difference between the Basic Attributes provided by equipment was just as drastic. "I had never thought you''d become an Advanced Master Alchemist before the competition as well. Had you joined Dark Pursuit, we might have been rivals in this competition. However, it seems you''ll just be watching from the sidelines," Yan Xiaoqian said, chuckling. "If you have to assign blame, blame yourself for being so stubborn. Rather than accept Dark Pursuit''s invitation, you chose to remain with a non-superpower like Zero Wing." Everyone has constantly compared Silent Wonder and Yan Xiaoqian, assuming one of them would win this competition. However, their Guilds were simply on different levels. Now, only Silk Moon had a chance of giving Yan Xiaoqian a run for her money. Silk Moon was powerful in every aspect and had been known as an unrivaled genius. Unfortunately, she had become quite strange after surviving an illness a few years ago. Now, Yan Xiaoqian didn''t even think of Silk Moon as a competitor. Cold Memory and South Dream watched the three participants, frustrated. They had thought Silent Wonder had a significantly higher chance of winning now that she had become an Advanced Master Alchemist, but even they would struggle in this competition, not to mention Silent Wonder. "Pick a difficulty. Remember, you only have one opportunity. You won''t get a second chance," Hermit told the three young women before him. This trial wasn''t a simple test of strength; it would also test the participant''s understanding of their strength. "I choose the High Lord," Silk Moon said after giving the matter some thought. "I choose the High Lord, as well," Yan Xiaoqian said without hesitation. Hearing Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian''s decision, Hermit nodded, satisfied. He then turned to Silent Wonder, curious about which beast the girl would choose. Although Silent Wonder hadn''t yet reached Level 100, she should have a chance against a Level 100 Lord. If she could defeat it, she''d still have a chance at victory. "I wonder which difficulty Silent Wonder will choose?" "Is that necessary? She''ll definitely challenge the Lord. That''s her only hope. If she tries to face the High Lord, she''ll likely die after a single hit." "I guess you''re right. She''s talented, but it''s a pity she only has Zero Wing''s support. If she were backed by a superpower, even an ordinary one, she might have had a chance against Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian." Quietly, the audience discussed Silent Wonders situation, glancing at Shi Feng with mocking sneers. So what if Zero Wing were supported by Giant''s Heart? In the end, Zero Wing''s weakness would be exposed before them all. While everyone softly talked among themselves, Silent Wonder had made her decision and looked at Hermit, announcing, "I choose the Grand Lord!" 2364 Overwhelming Strength Chapter 2364 - Overwhelming Strength "A Grand Lord?" "She''s lost her mind! That''s a Level 100 Grand Lord we''re talking about!" "What arrogance! Has she never witnessed a Level 100 Grand Lord''s strength before? Even Domain Realm experts would have to flee from such a monster!" When they heard Silent Wonder''s decision, everyone felt that she had gone mad and was hopelessly optimistic. Why else would she make such a foolish, insane choice? Even the various superpowers'' expert teams had trouble with Level 100 monsters at this stage of the game. No player could solo a Level 100 Great Lord, much less a Grand Lord. "Wonder is being too impulsive." Long Xianglong could only shake his head and sigh at his niece''s decision. Although Hermit had presented four choices for the competition, as someone who had fought in Level 100 neutral maps, he knew that there were really only two viable difficulties. The bit about surviving for 10 minutes was a joke. Level 100 peak experts wouldn''t even survive more than 3 minutes against a Level 100 Great Lord, much less against a Grand Lord. Moreover, Silent Wonder and the others were Lifestyle players, who rarely engaged in combat. "What is Wonder thinking? Even if she''s trying to improve Zero Wing''s prestige, does she really need to choose a Grand Lord to do it?" Cold Memory muttered, baffled. Cold Memory understood the reason behind Silent Wonder''s decision. Many of the spectators here lamented over the fact that Zero Wing, not a superpower, backed her. She must''ve found these opinions offensive and chose to challenge a Grand Lord to prove Zero Wing''s strength. However, Cold Memory was confused that Silent Wonder had chosen the Grand Lord instead of the Great Lord. She had better chances against the Great Lord, even if they were still quite slim, than she had against a Grand Lord. Now, she was simply making a fool of herself. "Are you certain that you wish to challenge the Grand Lord, Wonder?" Hermit, who was just as surprised by the girl''s decision, asked for confirmation. Before the trial, Azure''s Grand Elders had tested the challenge''s viability. They had come to the conclusion that the highest-difficulty challenge would be utterly impossible for current players. "That''s right. I choose to challenge a Grand Lord," Silent Wonder declared. Both Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian gave Silent Wonder strange looks. They had never thought that her choice was a serious one. "It seems you''ll never change, Wonder. It''s a pity that you''ll only find yourself in a dead-end," Yan Xiaoqian said. She understood that Silent Wonder was attempting to save herself from a hopeless situation, but her opponent wasn''t aware of how terrifying a Level 100 Grand Lord really was. She, on the other hand, had encountered such a monster personally when she had accompanied her Guild''s main force on an expedition. "Alright. Since you three have chosen, we''ll begin the competition according to the original order," Hermit said. He could see Silent Wonder''s determination, so he didn''t try to dissuade her. A group of players then brought a four-meter-tall cage into the venue. As the cage opened, a Three-tailed Flaming Tiger burst forth. As it did, Azure''s members activated the magic array they had set up earlier, trapping the Flaming Tiger within. Not only did this magic barrier prevent the Flaming Tiger from escaping, but it also suppressed the Flaming Tiger''s recovery speed. It was considered a bonus to the challengers. [Three-tailed Flaming Tiger] (Wild Beast, High Lord) Level 100 HP 42,000,000/42,000,000 The moment the Flaming Tiger emerged from its cage, every player in the venue felt an intense pressure bear down on them. Moreover, the temperature within the magic barrier rose due to the Flaming Tiger''s body. It caused steam to rise, obscuring the space inside the barrier. However, Yan Xiaoqian, the competition''s first challenger, was unfazed by the monster, and she slowly and steadily walked toward it. Roar! The instant Yan Xiaoqian entered the barrier, the Flaming Tiger roared and pounced, displaying such incredible speed that it made many of the Tier 2 experts in the venue nervous. The Flaming Tiger''s Movement Speed was easily higher than that of a Tier 2 Assassin. The Flaming Tiger swiped a paw at Yan Xiaoqian, and in response, she lifted her staff, summoning a thick Ice Wall between her and the High Lord. Even when the Flaming Tiger struck the Ice Wall, it suffered hardly any damage. "What powerful Attributes! Is this the might of the Elven Light Set?" Everyone watched in astonishment as Yan Xiaoqian effortlessly blocked the Flaming Tiger''s attack. They were all aware of how powerful a Level 100 High Lord was. Even a Level 100, Tier 2 MT would struggle to tank one; the task would usually require two MTs. Yan Xiaoqian, however, had stopped the Flaming Tiger''s assault with a simple Spell. "What amazing Tier 2 silent casting!" Yan Xiaoqian''s Ice Wall even surprised Cold Memory. The young woman hadn''t cast the ordinary Tier 1 Ice Wall. Rather, Yan Xiaoqian had cast the Tier 2 Spell Enchanted Ice Wall, a magically enhanced version of the Tier 1 Ice Wall. Of course, due to how complex Tier 2 Spells were, they were difficult to cast without a chant. Even if an Elementalist succeeded to do so without a chant, their Completion Rate would suffer, reducing the Spell''s power in turn. And yet, despite casting the spell without a chant, Yan Xiaoqian''s Ice Wall was strong enough to stop the Flaming Tiger. Her success was a testament to her high Spell Completion Rate. Seeing this, Cold Memory couldn''t help but feel inferior when it came to mental fortitude and control over Mana. Seeing that its attack had failed, the Flaming Tiger circled the Ice Wall, but Yan Xiaoqian didn''t give it the opportunity. She immediately summoned several more Ice Walls, surrounding the Flame Tiger. She then double speed-cast her Tier 2 Spells, Earthen Spike and Frostwheel Arrows. With nowhere to run, both attacks slammed into the Flaming Tiger, and damages of over -100,000 appeared above the High Lord''s head, one after another. The Flaming Tiger tried to break through the Ice Walls, but Yan Xiaoqian replaced the destroyed Ice Walls almost instantly. When the Flaming Tiger did manage to break free and attack Yan Xiaoqian, she activated Blink and teleported to a safe distance. She would then create another line of Ice Walls, steadily draining the High Lord''s HP. The young Elementalist''s performance stunned the various superpowers'' experts. They had never dreamed that a player could toy with a Level 100 High Lord like this. The way she smoothly transitioned from Spell to Spell was particularly impressive. It almost looked like she gracefully danced across the battlefield as she attacked and evaded. Many of the peak experts felt their scalps tingle as they watched. In the end, Yan Xiaoqian killed the Three-tailed Flaming Tiger in less than 15 minutes. After Yan Xiaoqian emerged from the barrier, it was Silk Moon''s turn. She also had to face a Three-tailed Flaming Tiger, but since she was a Cursemancer, her Attack Power wasn''t as high as Yan Xiaoqian''s, an Elementalist. Even so, Silk Moon''s performance stunned the crowd as well. During her battle with the Flaming Tiger, she cast a variety of Spells to reduce the High Lord''s mobility, reaction speed, Strength, and Agility. To everyone''s surprise, Silk Moon was also a Domain Realm expert. Once she had weakened the Flaming Tiger, the Cursemancer toyed with it as if she were playing with a kitten... Although Silk Moon''s fight had lasted five minutes longer than Yan Xiaoqian''s, she had seemed far more relaxed than her opponent. After the battle, the spectators burst into a heated discussion. Shortly after Silk Moon''s fight, Azure''s members brought in a ten-meter-tall cage, which attracted everyone''s attention immediately. Before they opened the cage, Azure''s members strengthened the magic array, which became so powerful that the Mana density around it increased slightly. As the cage opened, a nine-meter-tall bear walked onto the battlefield. It was covered in pitch-black fur, and runes hovered around its body. When the crowd felt the bear''s frightening aura, they felt chills crawl down their spines. [Darkmoon Bear] (Wild Beast, Grand Lord) Level 100 HP 210,000,000/210,000,000 "It''s so strong! So, this is a Level 100 Grand Lord?" "How is this supposed to be a fair fight? That thing can likely kill peak MTs with a single slap!" Few of these experts had ever seen a Level 100 Grand Lord, and they couldn''t help but gasp when they saw the Darkmoon Bear. If not for the magic array that trapped the wild beast, they might have fled from the venue. "Wonder, it''s your turn now, but it''s not too late to give up," Hermit gently told Silent Wonder. No individual player could deal with a creature as strong as the Darkmoon Bear. Not only would players have to fight as a team to defeat this monstrosity, but they''d also have to rely on a magic array to suppress it. Trying to survive against the unsuppressed Darkmoon Bear for 10 minutes was utterly impossible for a Level 99, Tier 2 player. However, Silent Wonder ignored Hermit''s advice as she approached the magic barrier. "She''s insane." "I wonder how many hits she''ll last?" "Hits? You think she can last more than one? That''s a Level 100 Grand Lord we''re talking about. My Guild''s Chief MT underestimated a Level 100 Grand Lord once, and he died after two hits. The team''s healers didn''t even have a chance to heal him. What can an Elementalist like her possibly do?" As everyone watched Silent Wonder walk toward the barrier, they were certain that she had some mental issues. As far as they were concerned, trying to fight such a powerful beast was suicidal. "Guild Leader Black Flame, will Miss Wonder really be alright against the Darkmoon Bear?" White Autumn asked as he watched. He knew that Shi Feng was a Tier 3 player, but Silent Wonder wasn''t. White Autumn wouldn''t even be confident of lasting more than 10 minutes against the Grand Lord if he hadn''t obtained the Sea God''s blessing. Meanwhile, Silent Wonder''s life aura wasn''t particularly powerful, which proved that she only had an ordinary Legacy. White Autumn doubted she''d even last one minute, much less ten. "Relax. She knows what she''s doing," Shi Feng said, chuckling. As soon as Shi Feng said that, Silent Wonder crossed the magic barrier. Almost simultaneously, the Darkmoon Bear charged at her, its frightening aura startling some of the apex experts watching the fight. However, Silent Wonder held her composure. She simply removed her Black Cloak, revealing her crimson robes, and retrieved a resplendent staff from her bag, equipping it. As soon as she did, all of the Mana within the barrier swarmed toward her as if she were this space''s true queen. Before the Darkmoon Bear could reach Silent Wonder, she lightly swung her staff. Answering her call, Mana surged toward the tip of her staff, transforming into a flaming spear that shot toward the Grand Lord. The fire spear was so fast that not even the Darkmoon Bear had time to react. Boom! As the fiery weapon and the pitch-black bear collided, a flaming pillar enveloped the Darkmoon Bear, its flames so powerful that it shook the magic barrier. When the flames subsided, the Darkmoon Bear slid to an abrupt halt... 2365 Humanoid Monster Chapter 2365 - Humanoid Monster Although the Darkmoon Bear had simply halted its charge as a result of Silent Wonder''s attack, the spectating crowd gaped in shock. As if time had stopped, silence fell over the competition venue. "How is that possible?!" "What did she do?" Even Duan Hanshan, Long Xianglong, and White Autumn were shocked, not to mention the various superpowers'' experts. Even a 100-man team of Level 100, Tier 2 experts would be annihilated if they tried to challenge a Level 100 Grand Lord without a magic array, yet Silent Wonder stood against such a beast alone. Despite being only Level 99, Silent Wonder had stopped the Darkmoon Beat''s charge with a single spell. It was unbelievable! "Since when has Wonder been able to silent cast Tier 2 Spells so proficiently?" Cold Memory stared at the smoking Darkmoon Bear, confused. Although the power of Silent Wonder''s Spell had surprised Cold Memory, she was more surprised by the young Elementalist''s silent casting. When one cast a Spell without chanting, they sacrificed a significant percentage of their Spell Completion Rate. Achieving an 80% Completion Rate as Yan Xiaoqian had was already impressive, yet Silent Wonder had gone a step further and cast her spell with more than a 90% Completion Rate. Cold Memory knew this because the Tier 2 Spell, Flame Spear, only generated a fire pillar on impact if the caster achieved a 90% completion rate or better. Not even Silk Moon, a Domain Realm expert, could accomplish the feat. However, of everyone in the venue, Silent Wonder was the most shocked to see this outcome. So, this is the power of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon? Silent Wonder''s heart pounded as she glanced at the Brilliant Silver in her hand. Shi Feng had secretly passed her the weapon before she had walked onto the battlefield. She had nearly stumbled when she had seen the staff. A Fragmented Legendary Weapon! The various superpowers constantly searched for such a weapon, and not even the Azure Chamber of Commerce had found one, yet Zero Wing had. She had seen many powerful Epic Weapons, but they weren''t even in the same dimension as Brilliant Silver. Setting aside the staffs Attributes, Brilliant Silver''s Passive Skills made it far stronger than an Epic Weapon. Thanks to Soul Transition, she now possessed a Tier 3 soul, and as a result, her Spells were much easier to cast. With the bonus to her Mana Body as well, she had more control over Mana than ever before. Before the spectators could recover from their daze, the Darkmoon Beat charged at Silent Wonder again, giving the Elementalist no time to prepare. The Grand Lord was clearly furious, and when it was only 30 yards from Silent Wonder, it jumped into the air and launched a Mana-filled swipe at the young woman. A translucent paw of Mana formed in the air, and many of the watching experts despaired. Not only was this paw incredibly fast, but it also covered a 20-yard radius. Dodging the attack would be utterly impossible. As the paw manifested, it contained enough power to rip apart space itself. If they were to receive such an attack, they''d be left without a body to bury. However, before the Mana Paw could land, Silent Wonder waved her staff and cast Enchanted Ice Wall, and a crystalline wall appeared before her immediately. Boom! The battlefield trembled for a moment after the Darkmoon Bear''s attack struck the Ice Wall, shaking the venue with the sound of a massive explosion. "Impossible!" "How high are her Attributes?!" "Is she a monster?" Everyone was flabbergasted as they stared at the Ice Wall, which only bore a few minor cracks. When Silent Wonder had stopped the Darkmoon Bear''s first charge, they had been able to chalk it up to her luck, assuming she had simply struck a weak spot. However, they had no excuses for her performance in stopping the Darkmoon Bear''s Mana Paw attack with her Enchanted Ice Wall. And yet, they still couldn''t believe what they were seeing. It was absurd to think a Level 99, Tier 2 Elementalist could have the Basic Attributes to rival a Level 100 Grand Lord. Nobody would believe this story. "Im-Impossible! How are her Basic Attributes so high?!" Yan Xiaoqian, who watched from outside the barrier, couldn''t believe her eyes. Yan Xiaoqian''s equipment definitely ranked among the very best in God''s Domain right now. Even the various superpowers'' Domain Realm monsters would likely be no match for her in this regard. However, she could only fight a Level 100 High Lord at best, yet Silent Wonder stood her ground against a Level 100 Grand Lord, two ranks higher than a High Lord. How could she possibly believe this was true? Even Cold Memory and South Dream were dumbfounded. "Just what kind of Guild is Zero Wing to enable a Level 99 player to stand against a Level 100 Grand Lord?" Cold Memory and South Dream could not help but turn to look at Shi Feng. They had never imagined that Zero Wing would have such a sturdy foundation. For a time, they were overwhelmed with curiosity about the Guild. Zero Wing was merely a pseudo-superpower. It had already been amazing that Zero Wing''s ability to nurture Lifestyle players rivaled Dark Pursuit. Now, it proved that it could procure better weapons and equipment than what Dark Pursuit could get their hands on. It was utterly unbelievable. Everyone already realized that Silent Wonder would win this competition. If Silent Wonder could block the Darkmoon Bear''s attacks, surviving for 10 minutes would not be difficult. In other words, she would earn the 20 sets of materials, whereas Silk Moon and Yan Xiaoqian would only have 6 sets each. Zero Wing, is it? Meanwhile, Duan Hanshan and Long Xianglong could not help but glance Shi Feng''s way. First, the man had received a friendly greeting from White Autumn, and now, Silent Wonder put on an outstanding display. Regardless of their personal feelings, Duan Hanshan and Long Xianglong had to take Shi Feng seriously. Rather than focus on Zero Wing, the various superpowers were curious about Silent Wonder''s equipment. "Her equipment is definitely extraordinary if she can block a Level 100 Grand Lord''s attack at Level 99.1 wonder what kind of equipment she is wearing?" "The magic runes on her robes seem to match. I suspect she''s wearing set equipment, but which set?" "If I could get my hands on a set like that, neither my Tier 3 Promotion Quest nor defeating Field Bosses would be a problem." For a time, the various superpowers'' experts watched Silent Wonder in envy. If they had such incredible set equipment, they could roam Level 100 neutral maps without fear. "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know what set equipment Miss Wonder is using?" White Autumn curiously asked. "It has gathered so much of the ambient Mana." Naturally, he shared the same thoughts as the various superpowers. Such a set equipment would make killing Field Bosses in Level 100 neutral maps so much easier. The set might even help him during his Tier 3 Promotion quest. "The Crimson Sunset, a Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment," Shi Feng answered honestly. "A Tier 2 Advanced Mana Set Equipment?" White Autumn''s breathing became excited. He had never realized that Zero Wing was this powerful. He had heard of Mana Set Equipment before. It was top-tier set equipment that was even more powerful than Dark- Gold Set Equipment, but Mana Set Equipment was painfully rare in God''s Domain. Moreover, the higher the Mana Set Equipment''s tier was, the rarer it would be. As far as he knew, none of the various superpowers had a single complete Tier 2 Mana Set Equipment, yet Zero Wing had a complete Advanced Mana Set Equipment... If he could equip Giant''s Heart''s peak experts with the Crimson Sunset, they''d have a better chance of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, as well. Vice Guild Leader White, are you interested in this Crimson Sunset?" Shi Feng asked. "You jest, Guild Leader Black Flame. I doubt any player would turn away something like this," White Autumn said, a hint of envy and desire flashing in his eyes as he gazed at the Crimson Sunset Silent Wonder wore. "If you want one, Zero Wing has a few," Shi Feng calmly stated. Zero Wing certainly needed the Crimson Sunsets, but it needed money more. Since a wealthy Guild like Giant''s Heart was willing to work with Zero Wing, Shi Feng wouldn''t mind selling the Guild a few of the sets. "Really?" White Autumn was instantly excited about the prospect. "How many sets can you sell?" He had already witnessed the Crimson Sunset''s effects. If he could get two or three sets for Giant''s Heart, the Guild''s main force wouldn''t have to worry about grinding in Level 100 neutral maps, and he could challenge his Tier 3 Promotion Quest immediately. "Zero Wing doesn''t have many sets. Will 30 be enough?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought. 2366 Unexpected Harves t Chapter 2366 - Unexpected Harvest "Thirty sets?" White Autumn stared at Shi Feng with wide eyes, utterly baffled. He would''ve already been impressed if Zero Wing could afford to part with two or three sets. After all, they were talking about Advanced Mana Set Equipment, which was far rarer and more valuable than Level 95 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Yet, Shi Feng had just offered to sell him 30 Crimson Sunsets? "That''s right, 30 sets," Shi Feng said, chuckling at White Autumn''s dazed expression. "Each Crimson Sunset will cost 15,000 Gold and 10,000 Magic Crystals. What do you think, Vice Guild Leader White?" Although the Crimson Sunset was extremely valuable, each set could, at most, fetch him around 30,000 to 40,000 Gold. He wouldn''t make any profit if he only sold a handful of sets, but selling 30 at once would be a huge windfall for Zero Wing. Of course, he could auction off the Crimson Sunsets. He''d definitely earn more money from each set if he did, but he didn''t want too many powers to get their hands on the equipment, helping their experts complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests much sooner. Ultimately, that wouldn''t benefit Zero Wing. "So, a total of 450,000 Gold and 300,000 Magic Crystals?" White Autumn realized what Shi Feng implied. "Can I buy 100 sets, then?" Even a fool could tell that Zero Wing had the ability to produce the Crimson Sunset. When White Autumn thought about the Crimson Sunset''s potential mass-production, he shuddered. Even if mass-production wasn''t possible, just being able to craft the sets was frightening. The fact that Zero Wing didn''t want to share the Crimson Sunset with the various powers made this an excellent opportunity for him and Giant''s Heart. If he could secure 100 Crimson Sunsets for Giant''s Heart, not only could he satisfy his Guild''s experts who intended to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, but he could also arm the Guild for exploring Level 100 neutral maps. "One hundred sets?" Shi Feng rolled his eyes. Secretly, however, Giant''s Heart''s wealth shocked him. He said, "Producing the Crimson Sunsets is incredibly difficult and requires precious materials. At most, I can sell up to 50 sets, but the price will be different for that many." A handful of Crimson Sunsets wouldn''t be overly helpful to a Guild, but dozens of sets would be a different story. This was especially true as players began to reach Level 100. The benefits of several dozen Crimson Sunsets were unimaginable. "May I know how much you intend to charge?" White Autumn asked, smiling. The price change didn''t surprise him in the least. "If you want 50 sets, it''ll cost you a total of 900,000 Gold and 600,000 Magic Crystals," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. If he had 900,000 Gold, he would have enough capital to develop his territory in the Cold Spring Canyon. Meanwhile, with the 600,000 Magic Crystals, he could forge a new batch of Crimson Sunsets. "Alright, deal," White Autumn answered without hesitation. It might be a significant price increase, but 50 Crimson Sunsets would give Giant''s Heart a massive edge over the other superpowers when it came to nurturing Tier 3 players and exploring Level 100 neutral maps. White Autumn was confident these Crimson Sunsets would also help the Guild compete with Pride Empire on land. White Autumn and Shi Feng then signed an agreement. Even for a superpower, 900,000 Gold and 600,000 Magic Crystals was a huge sum, and it would take White Autumn some time to collect the payment. Shi Feng was quite satisfied. He hadn''t expected his trip to the Dark Hills to net him so much Gold and Magic Crystals. After this competition, he could turn his focus to the Cold Spring Canyon''s development. Once he solidified his hold on the Cold Spring Canyon, Zero Wing wouldn''t have to worry about contending with the various Otherworlds'' invading powers. The Guild''s development speed might even reach new highs thanks to the canyon''s resources. While Shi Feng and White Autumn had been negotiating, Silent Wonder won the competition. Since the moment she had stepped onto the battlefield with the Darkmoon Bear, the competition''s outcome had been decided. Yan Xiaoqian was a talented alchemist, but she had only earned six sets of materials to work with. In the end, she had only produced three bottles of Meditation Soul. Silent Wonder, on the other hand, had produced six bottles before she had even used all 20 material sets... Even though Silent Wonder had won by a landslide, the other members of the Azure Chamber of Commerce couldn''t believe the outcome. "Big Sis Jade, this is our chance. Now that Silent Wonder has won, the Long Family has secured its rule over Azure. Naturally, Zero Wing will benefit from this," the blue-clad Assassin beside Jade Bamboo said. "Although we can''t become members of Azure, we can ally with Zero Wing and use Azure''s channels through the Guild. With how intense the competition in God''s Domain is becoming, I doubt Zero Wing would turn us away." The Azure Chamber of Commerce had access to both of the main continents and had even more resources on hand than some Super Guilds. The eastern continent''s various superpowers were particularly eager to obtain resources from the eastern continent. Meanwhile, the Otherworlds'' various powers were rapidly expanding on the main continent. If Zero Wing collaborated with their adventurer alliance, the alliance could provide additional security for the Guild. It was a benefit that many first-rate Guilds and pseudo-superpowers needed but failed to acquire. "Alright. After the competition, I''ll report the outcome to the Alliance Master," Jade Bamboo said, nodding. Meanwhile, Yan Xiaoqian stood on the competition grounds, still dazed. She had never dreamed that she would lose so miserably. "I admit that I lost this time, Wonder, but you better not get complacent! Dark Pursuit''s foundations are far more powerful than you can imagine. I will not lose the next competition between our families!" Yan Xiaoqian declared, glaring at Silent Wonder. She then turned and left. The competition for the rights to rule Azure had ended, but the shareholding families held this competition each year to determine the strength and potential of the younger generation. After all, the children held the future in their hands. Yan Xiaoqian intended to use the next competition to recover from today''s humiliation. Silent Wonder simply shook her head. She hadn''t thought that Yan Xiaoqian would view her as a rival. "Wonder, the competition is over. From now on, our Long Family will be responsible for leading Azure in God''s Domain," Long Xianglong said as he approached Silent Wonder. "Everyone has witnessed your talents. Return to the western continent with me. You''ll only be able to grow by training at the Chamber''s main headquarters. The eastern continent''s Legacies can''t compare to those on the western continent, and strength is everything in God''s Domain. You don''t have to worry about Zero Wing. I''ll give Zero Wing a large-scale Shop in Demonstone Town. Not only will the Guild be able to earn a significant amount of resources through the Shop, but it will also have access to plenty of treasure from the western continent." Silent Wonder''s display had certainly shocked Long Xianglong. He hadn''t realized that his niece was so powerful. She was just as talented in combat as Yan Xiaoqian. Although he had also been surprised to learn that Silk Moon had reached the Domain Realm, her health remained a problem. Unfortunately, Burning Owl couldn''t lead the Long Family to glory in the future alone. Hence, Silent Wonder''s participation was absolutely necessary. "Third Uncle! I already told you. I''ve decided to stay in Zero Wing!" Silent Wonder insisted. "Enough nonsense! With your talents, it won''t be long before you become one of the Chamber''s Vice Guild Leaders. You''ll have no issues becoming a Grand Elder in the future, either. You''ll have a much better future with the Chamber than in a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing," Long Xianglong argued. "At this rate, you''ll only ruin your prospects!" As Silent Wonder tried to explain herself, everyone in the hall heard a deep voice. "Elder Long, Silent Wonder is a genius, but I disagree that she''ll ruin her future by staying in Zero Wing." Silence descended on the venue. No one had expected someone to be daring enough to refute Long Xianglong''s statement, and everyone spun toward the speaker. The player that had interrupted the conversation between the Long Family members was none other than Shi Feng, who slowly approached Long Xianglong. 2367 Sword King? Chapter 2367 - Sword King? "How dare he?" Everyone in the venue looked at Shi Feng as if he were a fool. Long Xianglong was the strongest member of the Long Family''s second generation. He was even capable of contending with Hermit, and now that the Long Family had secured the right to rule Azure, his status in the Chamber was even higher than Hermit''s and Duan Hanshan''s. The various superpowers would do anything they could to befriend Long Xianglong at this point, and yet, Shi Feng had done the exact opposite, destroying any goodwill he had earned from helping Silent Wonder achieve victory... "There''s definitely something mentally wrong with that guy, Big Sis Jade! After that outburst, Zero Wing had likely lost any access to Azure''s resources," the blue-clad Assassin beside Jade Bamboo said, frowning. Long Xianglong was the second most influential person from the Long Family''s second generation. He had the authority to decide much regarding the family''s and Azure''s future. Even if he decided against attacking Zero Wing after Shi Feng''s offense, it was almost certain that the Guild wouldn''t get anything from the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Everything Zero Wing had invested in this competition was for naught. "What is he thinking?" Jade Bamboo felt as if she were going mad as she watched Shi Feng. "Does he think that helping Silent Wonder win this competition is enough to stand on equal footing with Long Xianglong?" Earlier, Duan Hanshan hadn''t called Long Xianglong ''Lunatic Long'' because the man was a fighting maniac, but because of the way he conducted himself. Once Long Xianglong decided to do something, no one could dissuade him. He would try to achieve his goal at all costs. It was easy to imagine what outcome awaited Shi Feng for offending the man. Shi Feng had already secured Azure''s bountiful resources for his Guild, yet he had thrown that away just as quickly. Not even a fool would be so wasteful, yet Shi Feng had done so without any hesitation. Jade Bamboo had just finished her report to her Alliance Master and proposed a partnership with Zero Wing, too. "I knew this kid wouldn''t play by the rules. This is going to be interesting," Duan Hanshan said, grinning. Duan Hanshan was known for how protective he was of his faction''s members in the Azure Chamber of Commerce, but he also knew how to view the bigger picture and prioritize. Long Xianglong, however, didn''t. The man only prioritized his own goals, which was why Duan Hanshan didn''t want to quarrel with him. While whispered discussions filled the venue, Long Xianglong turned toward Shi Feng. "What? Do you think I''m wrong?" Long Xianglong asked in a warning tone. With those words, everyone felt a chill crawl down their spines. Long Xianglong hadn''t said much, but they could all hear his rage. They had no doubt that the man would attack anyone who dared to speak up. And yet, when Burning Owl heard the warning, he wiped the sweat from his brow and sighed in relief. Thank goodness Third Uncle didn''t just attack, but Black Flame should know how to back off. Burning Owl was very familiar with his third uncle''s general attitude. It always gave him huge headaches when he had to deal with the man. He had thought his third uncle would''ve attacked Shi Feng without a second thought. Fortunately, Long Xianglong had held back out of respect for Silent Wonder. Even an ordinary expert would realize what the man was thinking as they faced his third uncle''s frightening killing intent. As long as Shi Feng had half a brain, he should know how to respond. However, Shi Feng''s reply dumbfounded Burning Owl and the various superpowers'' upper echelons. "That''s right. That assumption is incorrect," Shi Feng immediately replied. "Wonder might be able to develop well in Azure, but her development in Zero Wing would be just as successful." Silent Wonder''s talent went without saying. Not only had she been one of the Ten Great Grandmaster Alchemists in the past, but she had also been a Tier 5 powerhouse. Even the various superpowers had been helpless against her without dispatching a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Although the Azure Chamber of Commerce had a foundation that rivaled Super Guilds'', Zero Wing was just as capable of nurturing experts. After all, Zero Wing had the Extraordinary Tower! None of the various superpowers had this advantage, and the Realms of Truth were far more beneficial to magical class players like Silent Wonder than the Realms of Refinement. If Silent Wonder could master the Realms of Truth, she would gain strength far beyond that of reaching the Domain Realm. This was the very reason that Violet Cloud commanded more combat power than Fire Dance and Gentle Snow, despite having the same combat standards. Of course, as soon as Shi Feng finished his statement, silence returned to the venue. Is his brain broken?! Burning Owl nearly cursed aloud when he heard Shi Feng argue. Not once, but twice! Shi Feng had provoked his third uncle twice! "It''s no wonder why this kid dared to provoke me earlier. It seems he had no fear of death." Duan Hanshan was stunned by Shi Feng''s response. Even he was afraid of provoking Long Xianglong. The only people that could keep the man in check were the Long Family''s old man and Azure''s Guild Leader. Long Xianglong didn''t respect anyone else and typically did as he wished. While the various superpowers'' upper echelons watched, their envy of Zero Wing vanished instantly. Now, they merely laughed and ridiculed Shi Feng''s ignorance. Even Silk Moon, who had watched this play out in silence, gave Shi Feng a strange look. "You''re quite interesting, young man. I don''t know how many years it''s been since someone has spoken to me like that," Long Xianglong said, flashing Shi Feng a wrathful grin. "You must be confident in Zero Wing''s strength since you think it can help Wonder''s development as much as Azure, right? In that case, why don''t you show me this strength?" "Third Uncle!" Silent Wonder rushed forward to dissuade Long Xianglong. "Do not interfere, Wonder. I want to see the standards of the Guild you so favor," Long Xianglong said as he raised his hand to stop Silent Wonder. He returned his attention to Shi Feng and said, "My requirements of your Guild aren''t high. Since you''re the Guild Leader, you should have satisfactory combat standards. If you can survive ten moves against me, I''ll stand aside. However, if you fail, Wonder will have to leave Zero Wing. Of course, Zero Wing will still gain access to the resources it deserves. What do you think?" As far as Long Xianglong was concerned, Shi Feng was an ignorant fool that had grown arrogant because he had obtained some good equipment for Silent Wonder, and Silent Wonder still viewed God''s Domain as the same kind of virtual reality game of the past. She simply didn''t realize the advantages the Azure Chamber of Commerce had in God''s Domain. "What? Are you afraid?" Long Xianglong taunted, interpreting Shi Feng''s silence as fear. As Shi Feng was about to speak, White Autumn suddenly stepped forward. "Is this necessary, Brother Long? Can we not allow the younger generation to make their own decisions?" White Autumn asked. Everyone was surprised by White Autumn''s intervention. "What relationship does White Autumn have with Zero Wing? I can''t believe he''s actually willing to stand up for the Guild in a situation like this," Jade Bamboo muttered as she curiously glanced at Shi Feng. Now that the Long Family ruled Azure, the various superpowers would fight for its favor. They''d do anything in their power to support Long Xianglong, and yet White Autumn chose to support Zero Wing. This was simply unbelievable. "Please do not try to stop this, Vice Guild Leader White. This is between us," Long Xianglong said. Although he was just as surprised, he rejected White Autumn''s advice. "Brother Long, you misunderstand. I''m not trying to stand against you. I''m only doing this for your own good," White Autumn said, shaking his head as he smiled. "What are you trying to say?" Long Xianglong coldly demanded. "I mean that you''re no match for Guild Leader Black Flame," White Autumn explained with a sigh. "I''m not a match for him?" Long Xianglong laughed. "And why not? Do you think that Azure is no match for Zero Wing just because it has powerful weapons and equipment, that Azure cannot secure its own?" Long Xianglong knew that Zero Wing had powerful foundations. He could easily evaluate Silent Wonder''s equipment. As Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Shi Feng''s weapons and equipment should be just as good, if not better, than Silent Wonder''s, but that didn''t mean that the Azure Chamber of Commerce was inferior in this regard. "It is because he is a Tier 3 Sword King!" 2368 Venue Shocked Chapter 2368 - Venue Shocked White Autumn hadn''t been loud, but everyone in the venue had heard him clearly. They immediately turned toward Shi Feng in astonishment. "He''s reached Tier 3?! Impossible!" Instinctively, they refused to believe White Autumn''s claim, especially the furious Long Xianglong. He assumed White Autumn was trying to trick him. "Is White Autumn joking? How can that kid be Tier 3?!" Not even Duan Hanshan believed White Autumn''s statement had been serious. Apex experts like Duan Hanshan had been fighting to reach Tier 3 for a while, yet even now, he wasn''t confident of completing his Promotion Quest and intended to train for a while longer. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was merely the Guild Leader from a pseudo-superpower. He had nowhere near as much access to resources as Azure''s Grand Elders. It''d already be impressive if the young man had reached Level 100, not to mention Tier 3. However, Hermit suddenly stepped forward and confirmed, "He is indeed a Tier 3 Sword King." Shocked silence filled the venue again after Hermit supported White Autumn''s statement. Not only had White Autumn claimed that Shi Feng was a Tier 3 player, but now Hermit, one of Azure''s Grand Elders, agreed. Either these two men were playing a joke, or they were telling the truth. However, Hermit should have no reason to lie with his status and position. Everyone turned to stare at Shi Feng, their expressions changing. Rather than seeing a simple pseudo-superpower''s Guild Leader, they saw Shi Feng as a Tier 3 powerhouse that could effortlessly slaughter Tier 2 players. It''s no wonder why Hermit turned a blind eye to his earlier transgression! So, he''s a Tier 3 Sword King? Realization dawned on Burning Owl. Hermit was famous for his strict nature in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. He wouldn''t tolerate an outsider killing one of Azure''s peak experts, yet he had done precisely that at the Dark Hills'' checkpoint. He had even admonished the surviving peak experts that guarded the checkpoint. Hermit wasn''t trying to interfere with the two main families'' affairs; he just wanted to prevent any friction between Azure and Shi Feng. "Tier 3? He''s certainly hidden his strength," Jade Bamboo muttered. Now, she watched Shi Feng with a more serious gaze. She hadn''t thought that Zero Wing had such an incredible foundation. The Tier 3 Promotion Quest was an exceptionally difficult trial. Based on what she knew, none of God''s Domain''s superpowers had successfully nurtured a Tier 3 player yet. If Shi Feng were truly a Tier 3 player, her adventurer alliance would need to reevaluate the potential partnership with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Long Xianglong''s complexion shifted between red and white. He was silent for a long moment, but eventually, he gritted his teeth and glared at Shi Feng. "Excellent! You actually tried to trick me!" Even he would have to flee from a Tier 3 player. The difference between the tiers'' power was simply too massive to overcome, which was how Tier 2 players so easily trampled over Tier 1 players. Meanwhile, Duan Hanshan was relieved that he hadn''t attacked the man earlier. Otherwise, he would''ve been in this awkward position, rather than Long Xianglong. "Elder Long, do you still desire a match?" Shi Feng asked, smiling faintly. Shi Feng could understand Long Xianglong''s desire to drag Silent Wonder to the Azure Chamber of Commerce, but he couldn''t ignore the man''s insult that Zero Wing would destroy her future. If Long Xianglong wanted a match, Shi Feng didn''t mind showing off Zero Wing''s foundations. "No need. I admit that I am no match for you right now," Long Xianglong decided. "However, the difference between our individual strengths doesn''t prove anything. Nurturing experts require a massive amount of resources. Is Zero Wing better equipped than Azure to handle that requirement?" "How would we know if we don''t try?" Shi Feng nonchalantly replied. Azure had a lot of resources, but Zero Wing wasn''t as unprepared to nurture experts as it had been in the past. This was especially true now that Zero Wing had accumulated a huge stockpile of Primal Void Stones. Once the Guild constructed a combat room with those stones, it would be just as capable of nurturing experts as current superpowers. Furthermore, Shi Feng had a better understanding of what awaited players after Tier 3 than anyone. "Good! Very good! Azure holds this competition between the shareholder families'' younger generation every year. Naturally, Wonder will participate in next year''s competition, as well. Show me how far she''ll develop with Zero Wing without Azure''s resources!" Long Xianglong snarled before he turned and left. "Third Uncle!" Silent Wonder felt anxious as she watched Long Xianglong storm off. Zero Wing had expended a lot of resources to help her improve. She had hoped to return the favor with resources from Azure once she had won the competition, but Long Xianglong''s attitude made it clear that he had no intention of giving her Guild a single cent. "Don''t bother, Second Sis. You know how Third Uncle is. We''ll have to wait until he calms down to persuade him," Burning Owl advised, trying to ease Silent Wonder''s nerves. She had no choice but to give up, despite how guilty she felt. Meanwhile, the various spectating powers joyfully grinned at Shi Feng, especially Duan Hanshan. Despite helping the Long Family a great deal, Zero Wing would walk away with nothing. Why wouldn''t Duan Hanshan be pleased? "Black Flame is very strong, but he''s foolish. He threw away such a golden opportunity." Yan Xiaoqian looked at the man, a little disappointed. "It seems Silent Wonder won''t be a match for me in the next competition." "Black Flame really is stubborn. If he hadn''t provoked Long Xianglong, he would''ve secured precious resources from the western continent. Not only would Zero Wing have grown stronger, but it would''ve had an easier time fending off the Otherworlds'' invading powers. But he''s lost everything. What can he possibly do by himself?" The blue-clad Assassin beside Jade Bamboo surmised, just as stunned by Shi Feng''s performance as the rest of the crowd. Shi Feng might be very strong and deserve respect for reaching Tier 3 so soon, but he''d only have that advantage for a short time. His status as a Tier 3 player would be meaningless once the various superpowers'' experts were the same tier. How exactly did Zero Wing intend to compete with the Azure Chamber of Commerce then? Jade Bamboo nodded in agreement. She had planned to convince her Alliance Master to negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing, but it seemed that it was no longer necessary. Similarly, the other superpowers that intended to approach Zero Wing about an alliance dismissed the idea. Shi Feng didn''t remain in Demonstone Town after Azure''s competition reached its end. He and Silent Wonder immediately teleported back to White River City. Since the very beginning, he had never viewed Demonstone Town''s resources as important. He had only one thing on his mind: his territory in the Cold Spring Canyon. Once he developed the area, the resources Azure could offer would pale in comparison. 2369 Candlelights New Benefits Chapter 2369 - Candlelight''s New Benefits Two lights flashed in White River City''s Teleportation Hall as Shi Feng and Silent Wonder returned. Although they had only been away from the city for about half a day, it had changed significantly. There were visibly more players in the Teleportation Hall than when they had left, and many of these players originated from the various Otherworlds. Their life auras were clearly different from the main continent''s ordinary players. Many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s original inhabitants couldn''t help but envy these Otherworld players when they saw them. "Being a silver member in the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance is wonderful. The alliance actually lets them tag along with so many experts when questing and leveling up," a Level 92 Shield Warrior in full Level 90 Mysterious-Iron Equipment said as he watched a team walk toward the teleportation array. "I wonder when I''ll get promoted to silver rank. When I do, my friends in Guilds will die from envy." "Silver members might get excellent benefits, but becoming one of the alliance''s elites is easier said than done," one of the Shield Warrior''s teammates, a Level 93 Assassin, said. "Major powers from several Otherworlds founded the Star- Moon Adventurer Alliance recently, and they''ve made huge investments in the alliance. As a result, they''ve substantially raised the requirements to reach silver rank. You only used to need to reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor to become a silver member, but now, you need to reach the early stage of the Trial Tower''s sixth floor." "That''s old news. I''ve heard they''ve recently raised the bar to the sixth floor''s middle stage, and you need to make significant contributions to the alliance." "Isn''t that a little too much?!" the Level 92 Shield Warrior exclaimed. "Even in our adventurer team, only a handful of people can meet that requirement." "I know, right?" the Level 93 Assassin said, sighing. As players'' average combat standards rose, the requirements to be considered an expert increased as well, but even at this stage of the game, the various major powers considered a player an ordinary expert if they could reach the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. The Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance, however, required its silver members to reach the sixth floor''s middle stage, much to the despair of many of the alliance''s ordinary experts. These Otherworld powers are moving so quickly? Shi Feng was surprised when he overheard the conversation. The various Otherworld powers had only established adventurer alliances to recruit independent players after encountering resistance on the main continent during his previous life. Since individually, these powers'' abilities and resources were limited, they usually worked together to run an adventurer alliance. And yet, these Otherworld powers had begun to work together much sooner than they had in the past. Naturally, this would have a greater impact on the main continent''s various powers. After all, independent players made up the majority of God''s Domain''s player base. With this thought in mind, Shi Feng hurried toward the Candlelight Trading Firm. The Otherworld powers'' partnership would even have a massive impact on Super Guilds'' development, not to mention Zero Wing. If Zero Wing wanted to survive this invasion, not only would it have to grow its members'' overall strength, but it would also have to recruit far more capable players. While they walked, Shi Feng instructed Silent wonder to level up so she could complete her Tier 3 Promotion Quest sooner than later. Her combat standards weren''t low, and she was just a step away from the Void Realm. She shouldn''t have any issues completing her Promotion Quest as soon as she reached Level 100 with the help of the enhanced Crimson Sunset. She''d likely have an even easier time completing it than Cola and the others. The first thing Shi Feng did upon returning to the Candlelight Trading Firm was to contact Melancholic Smile and have her prioritize the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s production and material collection. He also told her to recruit more Lifestyle players with high potential. After players reached Level 100, Lifestyle players would become a Guild''s main source of weapons, equipment, tools, and potions. The power that commanded the most Lifestyle players would gain control over weapon and equipment supply after Level 100. Fortunately, the various major powers would only figure this out once they began to explore Level 100 neutral maps. "Guild Leader, the various Otherworld powers have been rapidly expanding their Lifestyle player recruitments lately. Moreover, they are offering considerably high salaries. It won''t be easy to compete with the adventurer alliance in this regard since it is an independent organization," Melancholic Smile said, smiling bitterly. "To make matters worse, the kingdom''s independent players have gone crazy since the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance has published its membership policy. Some Lifestyle players have even begun to withdraw from their large Guilds to join the alliance." Although Candlelight had a massive competitive edge thanks to its 4-star Shop in White River City, that edge was only effective against the various large Guilds. Independent organizations like the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance were a different story. As long as the alliance offered some benefits, both Lifestyle players and combat players would be more than willing to join. The alliance''s rules weren''t particularly strict, after all. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded. "But no matter what, we need to accelerate the trading firm''s development. From now on, I intend to give normal members access to the Meditation Rooms as well, but they''ll have to pay 10,000 GCPs per hour. We''ll also open the Research Workshop to all internal members for 50,000 GCPs per half hour. Core members will receive a 20% discount for the Research Workshop." "These conditions should be enough to lure in quite a few capable Lifestyle players," Melancholic Smile said, her eyes glowing with excitement. The Basic Meditation Room was extremely helpful to Lifestyle players, especially those who hadn''t yet reached the Master rank. The room''s environment was miraculously effective when players practiced production methods. In addition, the Meditation Room could help players when they created Basic Master Designs or Recipes. Access to the rooms was a very attractive benefit to Lifestyle players. Candlelight''s normal members hadn''t had any access to the Basic Meditation Rooms thus far since there were too few available, but now that Candlelight had a 4-star Shop and five 3-star Shops, the number of rooms available had skyrocketed. Renting some of the Basic Meditation Rooms to the trading firm''s normal members wouldn''t affect the internal members'' development in the least. Moreover, Candlelight wasn''t strict with its normal members. Normal members were only required to produce a certain number of items every day. If Lifestyle players learned that they could rent Basic Meditation Rooms as a normal member in Candlelight, they''d lose their minds. Only 3-star Shops and greater had Basic Meditation Rooms, and at this stage of the game, very few powers had 3-star Shops, most of which were superpowers. Generally, these superpowers reserved the Basic Meditation Rooms for their Master Lifestyle players. Normal members had no hope of using them. However, Candlelight''s players, regardless of Lifestyle rank, would be able to rent a Basic Meditation Room in the Candlelight Trading Firm. Furthermore, based on the value of Candlelight''s GCPs, 10,000 GCPs were only equal to 30 Gold. Renting a Basic Meditation Room for 30 Gold an hour was a bargain that Lifestyle players wouldn''t find anywhere else in God''s Domain. The various adventurer alliances might be able to offer more resources and freedom, but these factors wouldn''t be nearly as helpful to a Lifestyle player''s development as a Basic Meditation Room. Shi Feng left Melancholic Smile to oversee the adjustments and recruitment. He then resumed the Crimson Sunsets'' production to help the Guild''s core members prepare for their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. After half a day of work, White Autumn secret visited the Candlelight Trading Firm to fulfill his transaction with Shi Feng. In exchange for 50 Crimson Sunsets, Shi Feng instantly obtained 900,000 Gold and 600,000 Magic Crystals. I finally have enough money. Time to visit the Adventurer''s Association. Shi Feng brimmed with confidence as he gazed at the astronomical sum of Coins in his bag. He left the Candlelight Trading Firm immediately, heading toward the Adventurer''s Association. 2370 Knight Division Takes Shape Chapter 2370 - Knight Division Takes Shape White River City, Adventurer''s Association: Due to the new Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance in Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City''s Adventurer''s Association had become extraordinarily lively. When Shi Feng arrived, he spotted teams entering and leaving the building. Nearly half of these players were from Otherworlds. There were now many times more Otherworld players than there had been several days ago. Moreover, every one of these Otherworld players was impressively strong, with the lowest level among them Level 98, while many had already reached Level 99. These Otherworld players'' average level was far higher than the local players''. There are so many people here. Has it started already? Shi Feng was a little surprised as he watched the teams flow in and out of the Association. The Otherworld powers weren''t the main continent''s various powers'' true opponent. Rather, it was the Otherworlds'' general populace. When the Planar Passages had first opened, only the Otherworlds* major powers had been able to cross to the main continent since they had monopolized their respective passages. However, as the passages activated fully, not even those major powers could control them completely, and as a result, players surged toward the main continent. Competition on the main continent had already been intense, and now, as powerful Otherworld players joined the fray, it was easy to imagine the impact they had on the main continent''s various powers. Players would especially fight over the resources in the various NPC cities. Take the Adventurer''s Association, for example. There were only so many high-ranked quests available, and with an increase in player population, it was natural that players would have fewer quests to complete. If resources became less available, the various large Guilds'' development would slow significantly. The Guilds that hadn''t bothered to focus on neutral maps, in particular, would suffer. This lack of resources would be fatal to them. This was why even superpowers had fallen prey to the Otherworld powers in Shi Feng''s previous life. Even if the main continent''s ordinary powers hadn''t been directly affected by the invasion, the aftereffects had been more than enough to stagnate their development. Currently, Zero Wing had a wide sphere of development. The Guild even had territory in neutral maps. Zero Wing shouldn''t have any issues enduring the initial Otherworld invasion. However, the Guild still needed to be very careful with its operations. Otherwise, Zero Wing would suffer a severe developmental blow since multiple hostile superpowers were keeping an eye on it. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng entered the Adventurer''s Association. "Administrator Lorrain, I wish to check the status of the Knight draft," Shi Feng addressed the elven beauty that entered the VIP reception room he occupied. The 5,000 Knights were crucial to his management of the Cold Spring Canyon. Although he had spent a lot of money to draft these Knights, he hadn''t bothered to visit the Adventurer''s Association since he hadn''t had enough money. Finding willing and powerful NPCs wouldn''t matter if he couldn''t afford to hire them. Hiring NPCs for a Knight Division wasn''t like hiring NPCs as soldiers to protect a Guild Town. He would not receive any subsidies from the kingdom. It was like nurturing 5,000 Personal Guards. Without sufficient capital, he couldn''t support the Knight Division. Now, however, he had 900,000 Gold on him, which should be, more or less, enough to establish his Knight Division. "This is the current status of your draft," Lorrain said, smiling as she handed Shi Feng a thick stack of papers. He was dumbfounded when he saw the listed numbers on the summary sheet. Aren''t these results a little too amazing?! Shi Feng couldn''t believe his eyes. His draft had attracted 20,164 NPCs in total. Among them, 13,664 were Tier 2 Common Knights, 4,814 were Tier 2 Bronze Knights, 1,669 were Tier 2 Mysterious-Iron Knights, 15 were Tier 2 Secret-Silver Knights, and 2 were Tier 2 Fine-Gold Knights. Shi Feng had assumed he''d be fortunate to gain the interest of 5,000 NPCs with his draft. Recruiting NPCs wasn''t easy, after all. Players that weren''t 1-star Lords would have to spend two or three months to find enough interested NPCs. And yet, he had over 20,000 NPCs apply for the draft, and they were frighteningly high-quality. Based on what Shi Feng knew, most of the NPCs in a superpower''s Knight Division would be Bronze Knights, with very few Mysterious-Iron Knights. Mysterious-Iron Knights were just as rare as Mysterious-Iron Personal Guards. Only the Knight Divisions that had been in place for a while had attracted Secret-Silver Knights in the past, and one would have to be very lucky to find treasured Fine-Gold Knights. Shi Feng had never imagined that his simple draft would lure 15 Secret-Silver and 2 Fine-Gold Knights. If the various superpowers of the past knew about this, they''d go mad with envy. As for Tier 3 NPCs, recruiting such a being was painfully difficult in God''s Domain because they were considered powerhouses in the game. They qualified to rule over a small city. Naturally, they wouldn''t be willing to lower themselves to becoming someone''s knight. However, when Shi Feng saw the prices to recruit these NPCs, his excitement vanished. The Bronze Knights only requested a weekly salary of 30 Gold, with a 20 Gold per week nurturing fee, but the Knights of higher ranks cost far more. Mysterious-Iron Knights requested a weekly salary of 70 Gold and a 30 Gold per week nurturing fee, Secret-Silver Knights requested a weekly salary of 150 Gold and 50 Gold per week nurturing fee, and Fine-Gold Knights requested a weekly salary of 300 Gold and 100 Gold per week nurturing fee. If Shi Feng hired the best available Knights, maintaining his Knight Division would cost him 336,400 Gold per week. Even superpowers would choke at this amount, and that didn''t even include the cost of arming these Knights... "Lord Bronze Legatee, may I know who you wish to choose?" Lorrain asked after Shi Feng''s long silence. "I want all of the Fine-Gold, Secret-Silver, and Mysterious-Iron Knights. Fill the remaining slots with Bronze Knights," Shi Feng said, his heart aching as he spoke. "Also, outfit the Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Knights with Epic Equipment, and give the rest Secret-Silver Equipment." Fortunately, arming these Knights cost as much as arming NPC soldiers. A full set of Level 100 to Level 150 Epic Equipment cost 4,000 Gold, and a full set of Level 100 to Level 150 Secret-Silver Equipment cost 50 Gold. Even so, it still cost him a total of 317,150 Gold to outfit his entire Knight Division. "Very well. Your total comes to 653,550 Gold Coins," Lorrain announced after calculating the total cost. "Here," Shi Feng said, gritting his teeth. He was reluctant, but he still paid the full amount. If he hadn''t just earned 900,000 Gold, he doubted he''d be able to walk out of the Adventurer''s Association. Shi Feng finally understood why so few first-rate Guilds had formed Knight Divisions in the past. Although it was profitable to own territory in a Level 100 neutral map, the Knight Division was a heavy burden. If not handled carefully, a first-rate Guild would easily go bankrupt. Only superpowers could afford to maintain a Knight Division without major repercussions. "Now that you have hired your Knights, please prepare their accommodations in your territory as soon as possible. If they do not have suitable accommodations, they may dissolve their contracts," Lorrain warned Shi Feng after she received the payment. At the moment, there wasn''t even a town in Cold Spring Canyon. "That won''t be a problem. I wish to transfer Stone Forest City to my new territory now," Shi Feng said. He then handed another 50,000 Gold to the Elven administrator. Once players had a land of their own, they had the authority to transfer a Guild Town or City to the area. Of course, the transfer had a price, which would depend on the target''s size. Transferring a Basic City like Stone Forest City would cost 50,000 Gold, while if one transferred an Advanced Town, they''d only have to pay 10,000 Gold. Mainstream players had already reached Level 95, while most experts were, on average, Level 97. They weren''t far from Level 100. Once players reached Level 100, they wouldn''t be allowed into the Bottomless Abyss. Although the Bottomless Abyss had bountiful resources, it would become drastically less useful to players as time passed, and as a result, Stone Forest City''s daily income continued to decrease. Rather than let the city rot in the Bottomless Abyss, Shi Feng would benefit from transferring it to a Level 100 neutral map as soon as possible. "That won''t be a problem. We''ll send people to transfer your city immediately," Lorrain said as she accepted the 50,000 Gold. She retrieved a map of the Cold Spring Canyon, smoothing it down on the table. "Where do you wish to place the "I want to transfer it here, beside Cold Spring Lake," Shi Feng said as he pointed at one of the mountaintops near the lake. Very well. The transfer will be completed in one hour," Lorrain informed him once she had confirmed the destination. Once Shi Feng had settled his affairs with the Adventurer''s Association, he promptly returned to the Candlelight Trading Firm to wait. At the same time, Stone Forest Town abruptly disappeared from the Bottomless Abyss, leaving a bunch of confused players in an empty plot of land. 2371 Abyss Shaken Chapter 2371 - Abyss Shaken "What happened? Why am I outside?" "Where''s the city?" "Crap! I just got here, and it just disappears?" The players forced out of Stone Forest City looked around them in confusion. Stone Forest City was the most prosperous city in the Bottomless Abyss. Even though the various superpowers had established their own Guild Towns in the Regional Dungeon, these Guild Towns were nothing compared to Stone Forest City, especially when it came to training. Stone Forest City provided enough Mana density that it was a holy land for training. Moreover, players could recover their exhausted Stamina and Concentration far faster in Stone Forest City than in the superpowers'' Guild Towns. Many teams that explored the Bottomless Abyss relied on the city as their resting point, including teams from the superpowers that had their own Guild Towns. This made Stone Forest City the most popular resting area in the Bottomless Abyss. And yet, the city had just disappeared... Even players from the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers were stunned, not to mention the independent players. None of them had expected Stone Forest City, the closest resting area to the Bottomless Abyss''s second floor, to suddenly vanish. "Has something happened to Stone Forest City?" "Since the city disappeared once everyone was teleported out of it, Zero Wing must''ve transferred the city elsewhere." "Transferred Stone Forest City elsewhere? Is Zero Wing insane? Does the Guild want the Bottomless Abyss''s resources?" All of the various major powers'' members had their guesses regarding the city''s abrupt disappearance, and they all reported back to their superiors. For a time, the various powers in the Bottomless Abyss were in an uproar. Stone Forest City had become irreplaceable in the Bottomless Abyss. Almost every power that wanted to explore the Regional Dungeon had to use the city, or their progress would fall behind their competition. Naturally, as one of the city''s shareholders, the Secret Pavilion immediately received the news. "What is Zero Wing doing? They moved Stone Forest City without mentioning it to us? Don''t they know that this is a crucial moment for conquering the Bottomless Abyss?" Yuan Tiexin''s expression darkened as he read the latest report. Currently, the various superpowers were frantically trying to explore the Bottomless Abyss''s third floor. The loot in that area was incredibly important. Not only did the third floor''s monsters drop plenty of top-tier, Level 95-plus weapons and equipment, but they also dropped a ton of Magic Crystals. There was even a higher chance to obtain Seven Luminaries Crystals on that floor. Very few maps in God''s Domain could offer as abundant loot as the Bottomless Abyss''s third floor. Moreover, since the Planar Passages had opened, the situation on the main continent had become painfully tense. A war of unimaginable scale could break out between powers at any time. Even the Secret Pavilion had to prepare. Stone Forest City''s sudden disappearance from the Bottomless Abyss would definitely impact the Secret Pavilion''s plans. The Secret Pavilion''s Guild Leader had even called Yuan Tiexin personally about the matter. "Uncle Yuan, what should we do now?" Purple Jade asked. She was also quite concerned about the situation. After training in Stone Forest City, she had improved considerably. Now, she was only one step away from reaching the Domain Realm. "We have no choice! We have to meet with Black Flame now!" The matter frustrated Yan Tiexin. The Secret Pavilion owned some of Stone Forest City''s shares, but Zero Wing held absolute authority over the city. Zero Wing might have an obligation to inform the Secret Pavilion of any decisions regarding Stone Forest City, but in truth, that didn''t really matter. The Secret Pavilion simply had no say. While Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade made their way to White River City, the various superpowers in the Bottomless Abyss took this opportunity to claim the prime real estate Stone Forest City had left behind. While the various powers were making a fuss over Stone Forest City''s disappearance, Liang Jing was having a nervous breakdown over it. After barging into Shi Feng''s Special Forging Room, Liang Jing reported, "Guild Leader! Stone Forest City has disappeared!" "Mhm, I know." Shi Feng, who was in the midst of producing a Crimson Sunset, nodded. You know?" Liang Jing was shocked into a moment of silence. "Guild Leader, is this your doing?" "That''s right; I did it," Shi Feng said, not bothering to hide the truth. After all, he had the most authority over the city. No one could transfer a city without permission. "Guild Leader! Stone Forest City is one of our Guild''s main sources of income! Although we''re not earning as much from the houses'' rent, we have just as many players interested in renting them! That rent alone is enough to fund normal operations of Zero Wing''s main headquarters! With Stone Forest City gone from the Bottomless Abyss, many players are going to demand a refund!" Liang Jing exclaimed as she massaged her temples. Currently, she was in charge of most of Zero Wing''s headquarter''s affairs, especially now that Blackie and Gentle Snow had left their daily tasks to her. What gave her the biggest headache, however, was handling the payments that required Credits. To ease the management flow, Shi Feng had granted her authority to manage Stone Forest City''s income. After a few months, she had finally managed to balance the headquarters'' expenditures and Stone Forest City''s income. And yet, Shi Feng had just relocated Stone Forest City elsewhere, rendering her efforts useless... "Relax. They won''t ask for a refund," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "If they do, we can give them a refund based on the original price. We can even refund them in Coins if they want." Stone Forest City''s private houses had always been leased for Credits. Receiving a Refund in Coins would be a welcomed bonus. Although it was becoming easier to earn Coins, players had to bear more expenditures in God''s Domain. As a result, players weren''t able to save a lot of Coins as they reached higher levels. Hence, money-farming teams and Workshops were extremely popular among players that wanted to pay Credits for Coins in God''s Domain. God''s Domain was like a second world to players. Since Coins were more useful in God''s Domain, players were naturally more willing to spend Credits than Coins. "If we do that, we''ll still have to pay at least 100,000 Gold in refunds!" Liang Jing said, exasperated at Shi Feng''s nonchalant attitude. At this point, she was neither Chairman Xiao''s secretary, nor was she ignorant of God''s Domain. On the contrary, she spent more time in the game than in the real world. She knew exactly how valuable 100,000 Gold was. Even to the various superpowers, it was a significant sum. "Here''s 100,000 Gold; hold onto it for now," Shi Feng said as he passed the Gold to Liang Jing. He then continued, "Later, send me a summary of how many people wanted a refund. I intend to hold a leasing auction for the empty houses. We''ll start the bidding at 30,000 Credits per week." Thirty thousand per week?" Liang Jing gaped when she heard the price. When Stone Forest had still been in the Bottomless Abyss, they had leased the private houses for 40,000 to 50,000 Credits per month, except for the first month''s auctions. Even so, most players couldn''t afford the rent. Yet now, Shi Feng wanted to lease the houses for 30,000 Credits per week. It was utterly insane. The Bottomless Abyss was the best grinding spot in God''s Domain at the moment. Outside of the Regional Dungeon, the property value in Stone Forest City would plummet. "Take care of the necessary preparations," Shi Feng said, not bothering with the task. He sent Liang Jing away to take care of Stone Forest City''s new leasing plan. He had already considered the consequences of relocating Stone Forest City out of the Regional Dungeon. The city did provide a considerable supply of top-tier, Level 95-plus weapons and equipment, but that wasn''t what Zero Wing needed most right now. The Guild needed funds and strength. Rather than trying to squeeze the Bottomless Abyss for everything it had, Zero Wing would benefit more from focusing on Level 100 neutral maps. Exploring these areas would be particularly profitable since the various superpowers were just beginning to encounter Level 100 neutral maps. It was an opportunity for Zero Wing to make a killing, and there wouldn''t be another in the future. Shortly after Liang Jing left, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: Stone Forest City''s transfer is complete. You may open Stone Forest City at any time. 2372 Territory Strengthened Chapter 2372 - Territory Strengthened The transfer''s finally complete. Shi Feng stopped working when he heard the system notification. Hurriedly, he called up Stone Forest City''s system interface to inspect the city''s current status. In God''s Domain, not only did a territory''s Lord have the authority to transfer a Guild Town or City to their land once, but their town or city would also gain a random bonus once the transfer completed. Of the potential bonuses, one was increased defensive capabilities, which would strengthen the town against monster assaults. Another potential bonus was increased size, allowing the town or city to accommodate more players. Shi Feng knew it was possible for the system to increase the town or city''s Mana density as well. Based on what he knew of this bonus, the town or city''s Mana density would undergo a qualitative transformation. Naturally, this bonus was particularly valuable in Level 100-plus maps. These maps had harsh environments, and the Mana density in the town or city would determine players'' Stamina and Concentration recovery rates. In the past, any town or city that had received the Mana density bonus had become instantly popular among players exploring Level 100-plus neutral maps. The powers that had owned these towns or cities had no lack of customers. After calling up Stone Forest City''s system interface, Shi Feng browsed through the lines of data until he found what he was looking for. [Stone Forest City] Current location: Cold Spring Canyon Current rank: Basic City Bonus acquired: Magic array enhancement Magic array enhancement? Shi Feng''s face lit with excitement when he saw the bonus Stone Forest City had acquired. Of the many bonuses a territorial town or city could acquire, the two best were Mana density enhancement and magic array enhancement. Every player desired the former, of course. However, the powers that ruled these towns or cities hoped for the latter more than any other potential bonus. Not only would the magic array enhancement fortify the city''s defensive magic array, allowing it to endure stronger attacks, but it would also reinforce the magic array''s spatial isolation effect. Level 100-plus neutral maps'' environments were particularly severe, plagued with a chaotic energy that invaded players'' bodies and lowered their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates. When players returned to a town or city, they had to rest for quite a while to recover fully. However, a town with an enhanced magic array could lessen the effects of the chaotic energy, accelerating players'' recovery. This greatly increased the amount of time they could spend grinding in the fields. Magic array enhancement was just as effective as enhanced Mana density. With this, I won''t have to worry about the Guild members'' leveling speed in the Cold Spring Canyon. Shi Feng felt as if he had just won the lottery. The 50,000 Gold he had spent to relocate Stone Forest City could be considered the random bonus''s fee. Had he been unlucky, Stone Forest City would have merely gained a Popularity bonus, which was only slightly useful. However, since the city had gained the magic array enhancement bonus, even Tier 2 players could grind in the Cold Spring Canyon without any concerns. Moreover, with the leveling resources available in a Level 100 neutral map, the Guild members'' leveling speed in the Cold Spring Canyon would likely rival their leveling speed in the Bottomless Abyss. In addition, they could grind for Level 100 weapons and equipment much sooner than others, which would definitely increase Zero Wing''s overall strength by a large margin. While Shi Feng planned to send Zero Wing''s core members to Stone Forest City as soon as possible, Liang Jing contacted him. "Guild Leader, the Secret Pavilion''s people have arrived and wish to speak with you. By the looks it, this seems urgent. Do you want to meet them now?" "The Secret Pavilion sure moves quickly," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Send them to me." The Secret Pavilion owned some of Stone Forest City''s shares, and now that the city had vanished, it wasn''t unusual for the Pavilion to grow nervous. Not only had Stone Forest City become a valuable source of resources for the Secret Pavilion, but the various superpowers had been in the midst of exploring the Bottomless Abyss''s third floor shortly before the city disappeared. Moreover, everyone was concerned about the various Otherworlds'' invasion. After a short moment, Liang Jing led a middle-aged man and a young woman into Shi Feng''s Special Forging Room. They were none other than Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade. Both Secret Pavilion members had already reached Level 100, and they both wore multiple pieces of Epic Equipment. Even the weakest piece between them was Level 95 Dark-Gold rank. Moreover, Purple Jade radiated an astonishing life aura. When it came to Basic Attributes, these two likely rivaled God''s Kin players. Regarding combat power, they could rival Domain Realm experts. Purple Jade might even be stronger than a Domain Realm expert. If Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade worked together, even the various superpowers would have to be cautious. However, they showed no sign of the arrogance experts of their caliber usually possessed as they entered the room. On the contrary, they looked upon Shi Feng with awe and admiration. They had already learned that Shi Feng had been promoted to Tier 3, and they knew his strength transcended that of Tier 2 players. Now, he was a powerhouse that even the various superpowers would have to be careful of. "I assume you two are here to ask about Stone Forest City??" Shi Feng said, getting straight to the point. "That''s right; that''s exactly why we''ve come," Yuan Tiexin said, nodding as he gave Shi Feng a confused look. "We''re in the final stages of exploring the Bottomless Abyss. The third floor is a treasure trove of top-tier, Level 95 weapons and equipment. Why has Zero Wing given up on the Regional Dungeon and relocated Stone Forest City? "You know that the situation on the main continent has become more complicated. The various Otherworld powers have begun to set their sights on various areas of the continent. A large-scale war will break out in the near future. Everyone has been frantically preparing for it. "Meanwhile, due to Stone Forest City''s sudden disappearance, some superpowers have begun to question the Secret Pavilion''s abilities. Our Guild Leader is hoping that Zero Wing has an explanation for this!" "Of course, I do," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "But before I tell you, I was wondering if the Secret Pavilion can help me with something." Yuan Tiexin was a little exasperated with Shi Feng''s reply. They had come here to demand answers of the man, yet he asked them for help before he''d offer an explanation. "May I know what you need help with, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Yuan Tiexin asked after taking a deep breath. "It''s simple. I''d like to ask the Secret Pavilion to revoke Starlink''s membership in the Secret Chamber of Commerce," Shi Feng calmly stated. Starlink constantly targeted Zero Wing, particularly on an economic front. However, since a powerful corporation backed Starlink, and the Guild had access to the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s connections, his Guild couldn''t effectively retaliate. If Zero Wing could cut off one of Starlink''s income sources, the enemy Guild would be much easier to deal with economically. Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were stunned, staring at Shi Feng as if he were a fool. "Setting aside Starlink''s current position in the Chamber, why would we do something so fruitless even if the Secret Pavilion had that power, Guild Leader Black Flame? You should know that every member is an important resource for the Chamber. We cannot remove Starlink over one city," Yuan Tiexin answered seriously. As far as Yuan Tiexin was concerned, Shi Feng must''ve lost his mind. Stone Forest City was an excellent asset, but even if it were still located in the Bottomless Abyss, it wasn''t so valuable that the Secret Pavilion would revoke Starlink''s membership for it. Even if Zero Wing offered all of the city''s shares, the Secret Pavilion would refuse. "What if Stone Forest City were located in a Level 100 neutral map?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. 2373 New Stone Forest City Chapter 2373 - New Stone Forest City When Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade heard Shi Feng, they froze. His statement felt like a curse to both of them. "Is this true, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Snapping out of his daze, Yuan Tiexin couldn''t hide his excitement as he gazed at Shi Feng. Even his breathing had become a little rushed. He showed none of the composure someone of his status should possess. The various superpowers were doing all they could to explore Level 100 neutral maps. These areas would help prepare their players for their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, which made them desperate. However, these maps'' environments were incredibly harsh, and the effects these environments had on players couldn''t be mitigated with simple potions. Most importantly, the monsters in Level 100 neutral maps were far too dangerous. These problems were giving the various superpowers huge headaches and preventing them from making any considerable progress. Although the various superpowers had considered transferring their Guild Towns to a Level 100 neutral map, doing so required a Town Transfer Token that was specific to Level 100 neutral maps. Based on the superpowers'' reports, obtaining such a token was impossible at the moment. Only super-large-scale Team Dungeons in Level 100-plus neutral maps dropped the item. Exploring Level 100 neutral maps was currently a huge problem; raiding a large-scale Team Dungeon in these maps was nothing but a dream at this stage of the game. And yet, Shi Feng had just told him that he had relocated Stone Forest City to a Level 100 neutral map. Why wouldn''t Yuan Tiexin be astonished? If what Shi Feng said were true, the Secret Pavilion would have a much greater advantage when it came to developing Level 100-plus players. "Of course," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Is the Secret Pavilion interested in my condition now?" "This..." Yuan Tiexin hesitated, but after a moment, he shook his head "Guild Leader Black Flame, you know how important that matter is. If we revoke Starlink''s membership, we''ll essentially be cutting off all relations with the Guild. Meanwhile, Starlink had increased the scale of its operations. In fact, it now had influence across both main continents. Many superpowers are fighting to ally with the Guild. Even if you offer more of Stone Forest City''s shares, I doubt our Guild Leader will agree to the condition. Please reconsider, Guild Leader Black Flame." Demoting Starlink from an advanced member to a normal member and revoking Starlink''s membership were two very different things. Starlink''s demotion had only reduced the amount of resources and connections the Pavilion received from the Guild, but if the Secret Pavilion revoked Starlink''s membership, it would lose all access to those resources and connections. Zero Wing had absolute authority over Stone Forest City and could refuse to open the city to the public, which would prevent the city from earning income, and the Secret Pavilion would lose access to the city''s benefits. Unfortunately, the Secret Pavilion found those losses more acceptable than losing access to the resources and connections Starlink could provide. In the long run, Starlink''s resources and connections would benefit the Secret Pavilion far more than some convenience when exploring a Level 100 neutral map. "That''s a pity." Yuan Tiexin''s answer didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. He then calmly asked, "I intend to make a trip to Stone Forest City. Would you like to accompany me, Elder Yuan?" "We''d love to," Yuan Tiexin said, nodding enthusiastically. Since Yuan Tiexin accepted his offer, Shi Feng gave his two guests temporary access to teleport to Stone Forest City. Meanwhile, Purple Jade started a private conversation with her companion. "Uncle Yuan, are we really going to the city?" she asked. She could tell what Shi Feng was trying to do right now. He likely wanted to show off the city before they''d officially make a decision, but in her opinion, the act was futile. The benefits a Guild City could provide and those from an alliance with a superpower were on entirely different levels. There was no need to consider Shi Feng''s request. "Of course, we''re going!" Yuan Tiexin said, smiling. "Black Flame may be immature, but he has relocated Stone Forest City to a Level 100 neutral map. It is best if we go and inspect the situation for ourselves. As long as we stand firm, he''ll understand that his condition is impossible." Purple Jade understood Yuan Tiexin''s reasoning, but she couldn''t help but pity Shi Feng. Shi Feng must believe that Yuan Tiexin would have a change of heart once they arrived in Stone Forest City, but he didn''t realize that the older man was using his own trick against him, allowing Shi Feng time to realize how useless the struggle was. While Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade privately conversed, Shi Feng finished granting them temporary teleportation rights. "Alright, it''s done. Let''s head over," Shi Feng said as he retrieved a Guild Transfer Scroll for the city and activated it. Seeing this, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade did the same for the Secret Pavilion''s temporary Residence in Stone Forest City. After a moment, the three players transformed into streaks of light and vanished from the Special Forging Room. Cold Spring Canyon, Stone Forest City: Two flashes of light appeared above the teleportation array in the Secret Pavilion''s temporary Residence as Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade arrived. The moment their bodies manifested, however, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were stunned. "How is this possible?!" Yuan Tiexin nearly gasped. The Mana in Stone Forest City wasn''t as dense as it had been, but the instant they had arrived, Yuan Tiexin felt far more relaxed. Moreover, his five senses had become sharper. He had been exploring a Level 100 neutral map with Purple Jade for quite some time, and the environment''s chaotic energy had made them both feel exhausted, which had a considerable effect on their combat power. Even when they had plenty of Stamina and Concentration remaining, they had been forced to return to a city to recover from the exhaustion. However, even when they had fully recovered their Stamina and Concentration, the chaotic energy hadn''t faded from their bodies completely. And yet, as he stood in Stone Forest City, Yuan Tiexin rapidly recovered from that exhaustion. At this rate, he''d be free from the chaotic energy within a few hours. "Uncle Yuan, my recovery rate is at least twice as fast as before! If we could rest here, we''d be at least 30% more efficient when exploring a Level 100 neutral map!" Purple Jade exclaimed, unable to hide her shock. The chaotic energy within Level 100 neutral maps was the biggest issue the various superpowers, including the Secret Pavilion, faced when exploring these areas. This chaotic energy forced players to rest in cities for long periods. However, if they could rest in Stone Forest City, they could explore 30% more of a Level 100 neutral map in the same amount of time. In addition, Stone Forest City was now located within a Level 100 neutral map, which would save them plenty of travel time. Overall, if the Secret Pavilion''s members could set up a base in Stone Forest City, they could spend at least twice as much time exploring Level 100 neutral maps as other players... With this much additional time, the Secret Pavilion''s members would have a massive lead over the various superpowers'' members. After taking a moment to inspect the city''s unique environment, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade headed toward the Stone Forest City''s central plaza. The city was mostly the same as they remembered. The only difference was the neutral race NPCs that filled the city streets. Many of these NPCs had set up stalls and hawked their wares. When Yuan Tiexin took a peek at a stall''s goods, he felt a little faint for a moment. These neutral NPCs were actually selling Level 100 weapons and equipment and of considerably high-quality. He had even spotted Level 100 Secret-Silver Weapons for sale. Of course, these items weren''t cheap, and some cost special materials. Fortunately, a driven Tier 2 expert could gather the necessary funds and materials for the items. Level 100 weapons and equipment! Players that hadn''t yet begun to explore Level 100 neutral maps might not find anything special about these items, but it was a different story for players like Yuan Tiexin, who constantly grinded in Level 100 neutral maps nowadays. When exploring Level 100 neutral maps, acquiring a single piece of Level 100 Bronze Equipment was already a challenge, not to mention obtaining Level 100 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. And yet, the NPCs in Stone Forest City were publicly selling such items... "What should we do now, Uncle Yuan? We''ve already rejected Black Flame''s offer," Purple Jade asked nervously. She was also surprised to see the weapons and equipment for sale in the various NPC stalls. She had never expected Stone Forest City to become this amazing. If the Secret Pavilion''s members could operate out of Stone Forest City, they''d complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests far faster than the various superpowers. "Don''t worry. Since Black Flame has brought us here, he will ask if we wish to continue our partnership. We can renegotiate with him then," Yuan Tiexin said. He hadn''t expected Stone Forest City to offer so many benefits, either. Very calmly, he continued, "Let''s buy some of the weapons and equipment for now." While Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade systematically cleaned out the stalls in the central plaza, Shi Feng finished organizing his Knight Division. He then left to check on his guests and told Yuan Tiexin, "I''ve finished my business in the city and have other matters I need to attend to, so I''ll part with you two here." Since he had settled his affairs in Stone Forest City, he''d have to begin transferring Zero Wing''s experts to the city. Once they had settled and could get to work, Zero Wing''s development would reach new heights. Shi Feng then pulled a Return Scroll for White River City from his bag and began to activate it. Yuan Tiexin was stunned. He hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would be so indifferent, not even bothering to ask how they felt about the city. He certainly hadn''t expected Shi Feng to act as he did. "Please wait, Guild Leader Black Flame!" Yuan Tiexin shouted as Shi Feng unfurled his Return Scroll. "Is there something else you need, Elder Yuan?" Shi Feng asked, giving the older man a strange look. "It''s about the condition you mentioned earlier," Yuan Tiexin said, exasperated. "We''d like to renegotiate. If Zero Wing can offer more of Stone Forest City''s shares, we might be able to agree to the condition." "I''m afraid that won''t be possible. Zero Wing will not hand over any more of Stone Forest City''s shares. If the Secret Pavilion must still reject my condition, I''ll have to accept the unfortunate answer," Shi Feng said, instantly rejecting Yuan Tiexins offer. With the enhanced magic array in Stone Forest City, Zero Wing''s development speed would skyrocket. Even if Zero Wing couldn''t cut off one of Starlink''s main sources of income, it wouldn''t be long before his Guild could strike back at Starlink. Hence, he had no reason to give away more of Stone Forest City''s profits. "Alright, you win. The Secret Pavilion will revoke Starlink''s membership," Yuan Tiexin said, sighing. Shi Feng''s immediate rejection made it clear that the Secret Pavilion wouldn''t gain any more from the transaction. He continued, "However, our Guild Leader asks that you can open the city to the Secret Pavilion''s members within two days." That won''t be a problem." Shi Feng nodded. Stone Forest City was a Basic City and required a lot of players to fortify it. In the Bottomless Abyss, Shi Feng had been able to rely on NPC soldiers, but now, he could only rely on players and his Knight Division. However, his Knights would guard his entire territory, not just Stone Forest City, and unfortunately, if he relied solely on Zero Wing''s experts to defend the city, the city wouldn''t be able to operate at full capacity. Hence, the Secret Pavilion''s experts were essential. Shortly after Shi Feng and the Secret Pavilion agreed on their deal''s terms, the shocking information spread throughout the Secret Chamber of Commerce. The Secret Chamber of Commerce had officially revoked Starlink''s membership! 2374 Gods Domain Shocked Chapter 2374 - Gods Domain Shocked As news of Starlink''s revoked membership spread, a commotion erupted among God''s Domain''s various superpowers. "What''s going on? Starlink got kicked out of Secret?" "Is the Secret Pavilion crazy?!" "Maybe they sent the revocation letter to the wrong Guild? That''s Starlink we''re talking about. Not only has it recently annexed a bunch of top adventurer teams and Workshops, but it''s also recruited many retired peak experts. It''s the strongest among the up-and-coming superpowers, and Starlink had influence on both main continents. Why would the Secret Pavilion even think of revoking Starlink''s membership?" The various superpowers fell into heated discussions about the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s sudden internal announcement. They all felt as if the Secret Pavilion were playing some kind of prank. Many of God''s Domain''s Chambers of Commerce were trying to recruit Starlink to obtain the resources and connections it had to offer. By revoking Starlink''s membership, not only would Secret grow weaker, but it would also strengthen its competitors. This would only harm both the Secret Chamber of Commerce and the Secret Pavilion. Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: The Dark Night Empire''s various powers were in an uproar over Starlink''s revoked membership, particularly Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul. Starlink''s departure from the Secret Chamber of Commerce was a huge loss for both Starlink and the Secret Pavilion, but particularly for Starlink. The Secret Pavilion''s influence spanned across the main continent, and few could rival its sales connections and resources. Otherwise, the Secret Pavilion wouldn''t have been a publicly acknowledged transcendental power in God''s Domain. Without the Secret Pavilion''s support, Starlink''s development speed would slow considerably. It wouldn''t be surprising if this incident reduced Starlink''s income by over 30%. This was a huge blow to Starlink! "Heart, do you know what exactly happened between the Secret Pavilion and Starlink?" Illusory Words, one of Crimson Emperor''s Vice Guild Leaders, asked as she privately contacted Unyielding Heart. "No one in my Guild has a clue. What about your side?" Unyielding Heart said, shaking his head. The situation made him restless and curious. The Starline Corporation supported Starlink, and the Guild had partnered with quite a few superpowers. Most importantly, Starlink was developing on both the eastern and western continents, which gave the Guild unimaginable status and influence in the Dark Night Empire. And yet, the Secret Pavilion had removed Starlink from the Secret Chamber of Commerce. It was unbelievable. The fact that the Secret Pavilion had done this meant that something must have happened between it and Starlink, but Unyielding Soul hadn''t been able to learn any details about the situation. "We don''t know anything either. Not even our spies in Starlink have a clue," Illusory Words said, frowning. "The Secret Pavilion has always maintained a neutral stance regarding the Secret Chamber of Commerce. I have never heard of Starlink provoking the Secret Pavilion, either, yet it abruptly revoked Starlink''s membership. It''s possible that Starlink has provoked some transcendental existence, and the Secret Pavilion was forced to make this move. If we don''t get to the bottom of this, the Dark Night Empire will become a very dangerous place to develop." The various Otherworld powers had been rapidly spreading across the continent, and it was only a matter of time before a massive war erupted between the main continent''s powers and those from the various Otherworlds. The main continent''s resources were limited, after all, and some people were destined to be eliminated. Seeing a superpower like Starlink in such a situation, if Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperors, lesser superpowers, were not careful, their names could be permanently removed from God''s Domain. "I know. That''s why I''ve already tasked people to poke around in the Secret Pavilion. It shouldn''t be long before we have an answer," Unyielding Heart said, nodding. He, too, understood how severe the matter was. Since some mysterious power, which was strong enough to force the Secret Pavilion to abandon Starlink, had arrived, ordinary superpowers like them wouldn''t have a place in the Dark Night Empire if they weren''t careful and accidentally provoked this mysterious newcomer. Unyielding Heart wasn''t overly surprised that a new, mysterious power had arrived. The Planar Passages were open now, and although he didn''t understand much about God''s Domain''s multiple Otherworlds, those he was familiar with were strong enough to make him shudder. It wasn''t entirely impossible that some Otherworlds had a secret power he didn''t know about. While Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul fervently investigated the matter, other empires and kingdoms'' superpowers did the same. This incident had sparked a passionate discussion in the Fire Dragon Empire, one of the continent''s Four Great Empires. The empire''s various superpowers thought it best to take greater precautions during their important operations. The superpowers that had planned to declare a Guild war, in particular, put their plans on hold, afraid of unexpected complications. "Who actually has the strength to force the Secret Pavilion to abandon Starlink?" Long Xianglong stared at the report in his hands in astonishment. Even on the western continent, Starlink was famous. Because of the Guild''s powerful background, even the Azure Ghamber of Gommerce h&d to show the superpower some respect. And yet, without warning, the Secret Pavilion had abandoned Starlink. Even Long Xianglong found the situation a little unsettling. "Should we warn Second Sis about this, Third Uncle?" Burning Owl asked with a serious expression. If a power could force the Secret Pavilion to revoke Starlink''s membership, it was an even greater threat to the Azure Chamber of Commerce. "Yes, notify her," Long Xianglong said after giving the matter some thought. "The situation on the eastern continent is more complex than we assumed. For the foreseeable future, you and your team should continue to grind in the Level 100 neutral maps here. If anything happens to Wonder, I want you to lend her a hand, so her development doesn''t stagnate. Don''t bother to help Zero Wing, however. Since that kid dared to make such a boastful declaration before me, I want to see his Guild struggle on the eastern continent." Not only had the Planar Passages fully opened, but some mysterious power with such strength had also arrived on the eastern continent. In Long Xianglong''s opinion, as long as Burning Owl didn''t secretly help it, a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing would soon fall. Burning Owl had no choice but to nod in agreement, although he couldn''t help but pity Zero Wing. Zero Wing had gone to great lengths to help Silent Wonder win Azure''s internal competition, yet in the end, it failed to gain any benefits from Azure. Now, a major threat shook the eastern continent. If Zero Wing weren''t careful, it would be removed from God''s Domain. Elsewhere, Shi Feng had returned to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. To prepare for Stone Forest City''s grand opening, he wanted to produce as many Crimson Sunsets as possible to ensure that the Guild''s core members could roam the Cold Spring Canyon without issues. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to do anything, even with Stone Forest City''s support. Zero Wing wasn''t like the various superpowers; it didn''t have a lot of experts that could fight Level 100-plus monsters. If Zero Wing wanted to develop quickly by relying on the Cold Spring Canyon, it would need to nurture a group of experts that could survive in the area. Without enough strength, Zero Wing could only helplessly stare at the canyon''s abundant resources. Just as Shi Feng was about to enter a Basic Meditation room and resume the Crimson Sunsets'' production, Silent Wonder contacted him. "Guild Leader, something major has happened!" Silent Wonder anxiously announced. "The Secret Chamber of Commerce has revoked Starlink''s membership!" "Mhm, I know," Shi Feng said, nodding. You know already, Guild Leader?" Shi Feng''s reply surprised her. Thus far, only the various superpowers, who all had powerful information networks, had found out about the situation. As soon as her younger brother had informed her, she had called to notify Shi Feng. "Of course, I know. I''m the one who caused it," Shi Feng calmly stated as he refined the Magic Crystal in his hand. 2375 New Stone Forest City Opens Chapter 2375 - New Stone Forest City Opens "You''re the one who caused this?" Silent Wonder was stunned. For a moment, she even assumed Shi Feng was joking. Starlink''s removal from the Secret Chamber of Commerce had already caused a commotion among God''s Domain''s various superpowers. It made them all insecure, and they used everything at their disposal to look into the matter. They all wanted to know what kind of power could force the Secret Pavilion to make such a decision. And yet, Shi Feng had just told her that he was responsible. How could she bring herself to believe him? "That''s right," Shi Feng said, chuckling at Silent Wonder''s incredulous look. "Starlink was the reason that Zero Wing had been kicked out of the Secret Chamber of Commerce a while ago. I''m only returning the favor." "Returning the favor? How are you still in the mood to joke around at a time like this, Guild Leader?!" Silent Wonder asked, exasperated. "Starlink is going crazy over this right now. If it finds out that Zero Wing is responsible, things will become" Very few powers could rival the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s expansive connections in God''s Domain. These connections might be of limited use to a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing, but for Starlink, it was a different story. Losing Secret''s resources and connections would be a huge blow to Starlink''s operations. Coins and resources were the foundation of a Guild''s development, and without enough of both, it''d be surprising if Starlink didn''t regress, let alone continue to dominate as a superpower. This incident would likely force Starlink to delay or cancel most of its plans. It would suffer unimaginable losses. If Starlink found out that Zero Wing was responsible for its removal from Secret, it would do everything in its power to annihilate the smaller Guild. It wouldn''t hold back as it had thus far. This time, Zero Wing had damaged Starlink''s foundation, and practically every superpower in God''s Domain had heard about the incident. Starlink would become a laughingstock if it didn''t retaliate. However, Starlink wasn''t the same Guild it had been in the past. Based on what Silent Wonder had learned from the Azure Chamber of Commerce, not only had Starlink grown stronger after the Planar Passages'' opening, but it had also formed close alliances with a few Otherworld superpowers. Recently, Starlink''s shadow had stretched across adventurer alliances that had been rapidly developing in the main continent''s various kingdoms and empires. Now, even the Fire Dragon Empire''s Super Guilds were wary of Starlink. These up-and-coming adventurer alliances were impressively powerful. They might not look like it during peaceful times, but if they decided to move against a particular power, they could easily deal a devastating blow. God''s Domain''s various large Guilds had a lot of members, but most of the materials these Guilds needed for their normal operations came from independent players, which were the majority of God''s Domain''s player base. As long as Starlink paid the adventurer alliances it secretly supported a small price, it could sever any power''s source of resources. While Silent Wonder tried to figure out how she could keep this horrific information secret, the various superpowers received reports from their spies in the Secret Pavilion. Zero Wing was responsible for Starlink''s removal! The moment the various superpowers'' upper echelons received these reports, they gasped in shock. "How is this possible?!" "The Secret Pavilion abandoned Starlink for Zero Wing?! Have its upper echelons gone mad?!" The various superpowers could not believe their eyes as they read their subordinates'' reports, yet with the facts before them, they had to believe it. "Amazing! Truly amazing! Zero Wing actually pulled such a feat off!" Unyielding Heart was both overjoyed and stupefied when he heard the news. Neither Unyielding Soul nor Crimson Heart had been able to move against Starlink, yet a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing had dealt an unprecedented blow. It was unbelievable! The Secret Chamber of Commerce had been as precious as an arm to Starlink, and now that it had lost Secret''s connections and resources, it had lost that arm. Even if Starlink retained its strength, its development speed would slow significantly. "Zero Wing is actually this powerful?" Illusory Words read her subordinate''s report in confusion. Although Zero Wing''s performance in the Dark Night Empire had been extraordinary, the Guild shouldn''t be capable of threatening Starlink''s foundation in her opinion. Starlink was supported by the Starline Corporation, after all. And yet, Zero Wing had just severed one of Starlink''s main income sources. She doubted that even Starlink''s upper echelons had ever imagined that events would unfold like this. "It''s no wonder why that kid so boldly rejected me. So, his Guild has the Secret Pavilion''s support." Long Xianglong was greatly surprised when he discovered the perpetrator for Starlink''s removal from the Secret Chamber of Commerce. However, his surprise quickly turned into disdain as he sneered and hissed, "It''s a pity the Guild''s efforts are a waste. Starlink cannot be stopped by a single Tier 3 player. The Secret Pavilion will pay for its foolishness, as well." Long Xianglong knew a little regarding the conflict between Zero Wing and Starlink. Although losing the Secret Chamber of Commerce''s connections and resources was a major loss to Starlink, the setback wouldn''t cause the organization''s fall. Long Xianglong, who spent his time on the western continent, knew this. Starlink had already sent the majority of its manpower and resources to the western continent to establish a foothold, and as a result, it had lacked those assets on the eastern continent. Now that Starlink''s position in the west was secure, Zero Wing''s recent actions were tantamount to suicide. As for the Secret Pavilion, Long Xianglong found its decision to abandon a superpower like Starlink to be utterly foolish. "Third Uncle, since Zero Wing is responsible for such a major incident, Second Sis will definitely run into trouble. Should I head over there now?" Burning Owl asked. He only had a moderate impression of Zero Wing, and he agreed with Long Xianglong about Silent Wonder returning to the Azure Chamber of Commerce. She''d have more space to develop in Azure, and if she remained in Zero Wing, she''d never reach her true potential. "I doubt Zero Wing will last much longer. Head over there with your team," Long Xianglong said, nodding, sending Burning Owl to Star-Moon Kingdom. Long Xianglong wasn''t the only one with such thoughts. The various superpowers'' upper echelons shared the sentiment. As long as Starlink posted a bounty on Zero Wing, the independent players from the adventurer alliances it supported would move against the smaller Guild. Not only would this restrict Zero Wing''s resource income, but the Guild''s members would also have a tough time grinding in the fields. If this continued long-term, Zero Wing''s members would become frustrated and begin to withdraw from the Guild. As a result, Zero Wing would grow weaker as time passed, while all Starlink needed to do was spend some Coins and resources. While Starlink set up its bounty, a commotion occurred within Zero Wing. Stone Forest City had finally opened to Zero Wing''s members! 2376 Leveling Heaven Chapter 2376 - Leveling Heaven Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Several dozen lights flashed in the Teleportation Hall as Burning Owl and his team arrived in White River City. "So, this is Zero Wing''s territory?" Burning Owl muttered, surprised as he observed his surroundings. Usually, one could determine how prosperous an NPC city was based on how much activity there was in its Teleportation Hall. The average level of the players in the hall was also a testament to the region''s average standards. White River City''s Teleportation Hall was extraordinarily lively. Although the city couldn''t yet rival imperial capitals, it could easily compete with empires'' top-ranked cities. God''s Domain''s empires were incredibly large, with easily several times the player population found in the largest kingdoms. Thus, even empires'' top-ranked cities were more prosperous than kingdoms'' capital cities. As far as Burning Owl knew, very few kingdoms had cities like White River City. He was also surprised by these players'' average level. Most of the players in the Teleportation Hall had already reached Level 96, with many experts at Level 98. White River City''s players could even rival those in imperial capitals in terms of levels. While Burning Owl assessed the situation in the Teleportation Hall, several more lights flashed behind him. As these players arrived, they attracted a lot of attention. They were rather hard not to notice. The moment this group appeared, everyone in the Teleportation Hall was overwhelmed by a sense of dread. Players'' instincts urged them to flee as the newcomers'' auras washed over them. What? Starlink actually dispatched its newly-formed Hellfire Legion? Burning Owl frowned when he saw them. After the Planar Passages had opened, Starlink had allied with the superpower that ruled over the Demonic Hell World, one of the six large-scale Otherworlds that were connected to the eastern continent. Like Dark Players favored areas, the Demonic Hell World focused on slaughter, and many of its players possessed a powerful Legacy[l]. Individually, these players were even stronger than those from the Sea God''s Realm. Relying on the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy, Starlink had formed the Hellfire Legion, which was now the strongest legion under the Guild''s command. The weakest of the legion''s members was a Refinement Realm expert, and with their special Legacy, even peak experts would find these players incredibly difficult to kill. With the individual members so powerful, it was easy to imagine how horrific all 1,000 Hellfire Legion members would be when they worked together. Because of this, the various superpowers were even more afraid of Starlink. Now, Starlink had dispatched 300 Hellfire Legion members to White River City. If they had to fight those players, even Burning Owl''s Heaven Piercer team would be annihilated. "Vice Guild Leader, Elder Long has contacted me to inform us to avoid conflict with Starlink as much as possible," a Level 100, black-clad Assassin quietly reported. "Aside from sending in the Hellfire Legion, Starlink has posted a bounty on Zero Wing through the adventurer alliances it supports. Starlink is offering 100 CPs for Zero Wing''s elite members and 1,000 CPs for core members. The Guild is even offering half of the posted bounty to players who can prove they''ve assisted with the kills. Moreover, Starlink has declared that this bounty will remain in effect until Zero Wing has been removed from God''s Domain." "What a high price. Even I find it tempting. It seems that Starlink truly intends to go all-out." The bounty astonished Burning Owl. He hadn''t expected Starlink to be so vicious. Many independent players had joined the adventurer alliances Starlink had established with the various Otherworld powers, and among them, many were powerful experts that could even rival superpowers'' peak experts. The adventurer alliances'' Contribution Points were quite valuable. Players could use them to purchase combat techniques, weapons, equipment, rare materials, and even Legacies. Members could even spend the points to hire a team of experts to assist with quests and Dungeons. But those uses paled in comparison to their true value. Once members had accumulated enough CPs, they''d earn a promotion within the alliance, rising from Bronze to Silver, or Silver to Gold rank. As one rose through the ranks, not only would they receive a discount on any CP purchases, but at Gold rank, they''d also earn a fixed Credit salary each month. To top it all off, there were almost no restrictions on these benefits. The policy had lured many independent peak experts and top adventurer teams to join these adventurer alliances. A CP in Starlink''s adventurer alliances was worth 3 Silver, but players couldn''t exchange CPs for Coins. Hence, the CP reward for Starlink''s bounty on Zero Wing was powerfully attractive to the adventurer alliances'' members. It was even enough to motivate peak experts. Even a superpower would suffer against this strategy, not to mention Zero Wing. Not even God''s Domains various superpowers had thought Starlink would to go such great lengths to destroy Zero Wing. Meanwhile, when Xuanwu Chisa, who was raiding a Level 95, super-large-scale Team Dungeon in the Ore Empire, heard of Starlink''s bounty, it surprised her a little. Vice Guild Leader, I doubt Zero Wing will last much longer now that Starlink is relying on its full strength. Should we take advantage of this opportunity?" the Elementalist Jing Yang suggested. "That won''t be necessary. All we need to do right now is capture the Ore Capital City as soon as possible. Everything else is secondary," Xuanwu Chisa said, shaking her head. However, after giving the matter some thought, she smiled faintly and said, "That being said, send someone to keep an eye on Zero Wing. The Guild has grown strong enough that its members should force Starlink to reveal its current strength." "Understood," Jing Yang replied. Although he was a little disappointed that he wouldn''t have a hand in Zero Wing''s downfall, he didn''t dare disobey Xuanwu Chisa. He immediately notified some of his subordinates to watch Zero Wing. In Zero Wing''s White River City Residence, tension had risen among the Guild''s members due to the news of Starlink''s bounty. Everyone was worried about the situation. They wouldn''t only have to face Starlink''s experts this time; independent experts from multiple kingdoms and empires were joining this fight. If they were not careful in the fields, they could easily be surrounded and slain. Zero Wing was exceptionally strong and had absolute control over a few maps, but as they reached higher levels, they''d have to explore areas outside of the Guild''s influence. Leveling up would almost certainly become far more difficult. While some Guild members considered continuing their development in a new Guild, others noticed that the Guild Residence had a new teleportation point. "Quick, look! We can teleport to Stone Forest City again!" "Crap! There''s a Level 98 requirement, and the Guild Transfer Scrolls cost 500 GCPs each?!" "Wait, something''s not right! Stone Forest City has been moved to the Cold Spring Forest? Cold Spring Forest''s a Level 100 neutral map!" "What?! Stone Forest City is located in a Level 100 neutral map now?!" When they saw the Residence''s new teleportation point, everyone was dumbfounded. They had never thought the Guild would transfer Stone Forest City to a Level 100 neutral map. Even the various superpowers only dreamed of accomplishing such a feat. Some of the Level 98 Guild members gritted their teeth as they purchased a Guild Transfer Scroll for Stone Forest City. Curious, they activated the scrolls the moment they received them. As soon as these Level 98 members arrived in the city''s Residence, they were stunned by what Stone Forest City had to offer. Not only were their five senses sharper within the city, but they also spotted plenty of neutral NPCs selling Level 100 weapons and equipment. Most importantly, they sensed the chaotic energy that corroded their bodies dissipating twice as fast as normal. With Stone Forest City''s unique environment, it was a leveling haven! Shortly after Zero Wing''s members arrived in Stone Forest City, they spread the news throughout the Guild, causing an uproar. Naturally, the spies within Zero Wing reported to their respective superiors immediately. 2377 Enviable Stone Forest City Chapter 2377 - Enviable Stone Forest City When they received the reports about Stone Forest City''s new location, the various superpowers nearly went mad. "Impossible! I thought we needed to raid Team Dungeons in Level 100 neutral maps before we could obtain a Town Transfer Token for those maps?!" "Damn it! Zero Wing was actually able to do it!" "I want this investigated! We need to find out how Zero Wing accomplished this feat!" When the various superpowers discovered Stone Forest Town''s new location, the joy they had felt over Zero Wing''s misfortune vanished instantly. Now, only envy and admiration remained. The various superpowers were desperate for means to accelerate their exploration in Level 100 neutral maps. Unfortunately, they had found nothing, and their teams were helpless against these maps'' environments and monsters, yet the areas were the future of God''s Domain. Players could earn significantly more EXP from the monsters in those maps than monsters in lower-level maps. In addition, Level 100 maps were the only sources of Level 100 weapons and equipment at this point. The various superpowers could only afford to send a large number of players to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests once they had a sufficient amount of Level 100 weapons and equipment. Moreover, fighting the monsters in Level 100 neutral maps would be very helpful to players trying to improve their combat standards. Lower-level monsters were almost entirely different creatures, after all. Now that Stone Forest City was located in a Level 100 neutral map, Zero Wing had an unimaginably massive advantage. Meanwhile, in the Dark Night Empire''s Dark Night City... "It''s no wonder why Zero Wing dared to sever one of Starlink''s main income sources. So, the Guild still had such a card to play," Illusory Words muttered, shock and envy flashing in her eyes. A Guild City in a Level 100 neutral map would do more than increase the Guild members'' leveling speed; it could also become a new source of resources fo the Guild. Level 100 neutral maps had more abundant resources than Level 90-plus maps, and these resources catered to Level 100 players. The advantage these resources would provide was imposingly large. With Stone Forest City''s new location, Starlink would likely be rendered powerless against Zero Wing. The two Guilds were no longer playing on the same field. Even if Starlink could target Zero Wing via its various adventurer alliances, the tactic would only be effective against Zero Wing''s lower-level members. Any Level 98-plus members could easily avoid Starlink''s bounty hunters by relying on Stone Forest City''s Level 100 neutral map. Moreover, they''d gain far more than they would from grinding in Level 90-plus maps. At this stage of the game, even mainstream players had reached Level 95. Needless to say, Zero Wing''s members, who were known for their high-quality, would''ve reached higher levels. And the idea of Starlink targeting Zero Wing in a Level 100 neutral map was a joke. If Starlink attacked Zero Wing in the Cold Spring Forest, Zero Wing could rely on its city''s inherent advantages to beat its enemy to a pulp. Trying to sever Zero Wing from its resource sources was even more laughable. The various powers Shops might still need lower-level resources, but they needed Level 100-plus resources far more. If Zero Wing were willing to trade these resources for lower-level items, no power would refuse it. Furthermore, Zero Wing still had the Secret Pavilion''s support. "Stone Forest City will be very helpful to players when they challenge their Tier 3 Promotion quests, Vice Guild Leader. If we can secure a temporary Residence in the city, we''ll have an edge over other superpowers when it comes to nurturing Tier 3 players." the Level 100 Berserker beside Illusory Words realized, glowing with excitement. Players had to conduct their Tier 3 Promotion Quests in Level 100 neutral maps, yet these areas were far too dangerous. Finding the lost Tier 3 Legacies was also quite time-consuming. However, if players had a city like Stone Forest City, they''d be able to complete their Promotion Quests in far less time. "I know. Unyielding Soul has certainly secured a huge advantage." When Illusory Words thought about Unyielding Soul, which had allied with Zero Wing a long time ago, she could not help but envy the Guild. "Make the necessary arrangements. We''re going to negotiate with Zero Wing." "I''ll get it done immediately," the Level 100 Berserker answered. Aside from Crimson Emperor, a few superpowers had considered obtaining a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City. Like Crimson Emperor, these superpowers promptly sent representatives to White River City. Nothing was more important to them than helping their players complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests right now. Meanwhile, in an adventurer alliance''s Residence in the Fire Dragon Empire... Nothing can stop Zero Wing now, Big Sis Jade! Zero Wing actually has a city in a Level 100 neutral map! Not even Azure''s Demonstone Town can hold a candle to Stone Forest City!" the blue-clad Assassin youth beside Jade Bamboo exclaimed. "So, he was telling the truth!" Realization dawned on Jade Bamboo when she read the latest report regarding Stone Forest City. When Shi Feng had declared that Zero Wing could nurture Silent Wonder just as well as the Azure Chamber of Commerce and without Azure''s resources, Jade Bamboo had found the notion laughable. And yet, times had changed. With Stone Forest City''s new location, Zero Wing would have no trouble acquiring the necessary resources to continue its rapid development. Not even the Otherworld''s various powers could affect Zero Wing''s progression. Meanwhile, in one of White River City''s restaurants... "How is this possible!?" Burning Owl felt as if he were dreaming as he read his subordinate''s report. Zero Wing had successfully transferred Stone Forest City to a Level 100 neutral map, which was something the various superpowers could only dream of accomplishing. Shortly after the various powers had learned about Stone Forest City''s relocation, news had spread among the game''s independent players, particularly those in White River City. "Stone Forest City is amazing. If I could travel to the city, I''d reach Level 100 in no time." "That''s not the only benefit you could get by operating out of Stone Forest City. One of my close friends is a core member in Zero Wing, and he told me that the city even enhances players'' senses. If you train in the city''s Battle Arena, your progress will be miraculous!" "This won''t do! I''m going to take the test to join Zero Wing!" The latest news about Stone Forest City inspired many independent experts to join Zero Wing. Aside from the help the city could provide as players challenged their Tier 3 Promotion quests, the fact that the city could help players gain more progress when training made it impossible to reject. For a time, the independent experts that had hesitated about joining Zero Wing due to the recent incident with Starlink fervently applied to the Guild. Some of the independent experts from Starlink''s adventurer alliances even decided to switch sides, applying to become a Zero Wing member rather than target the Guild... "Because of Stone Forest City, many independent experts are now applying to join Zero Wing, Guild Leader. Based on the latest statistics, we''ve received over 10,000 new applications. Some of them are even from Starlink''s adventurer alliances," Liang Jing excitedly reported. "I doubt even Starlink expected that the experts it sent to attack us would end up joining our Guild." Zero Wing had constantly been trying to recruit new members and expand its operations, yet its efforts had yielded limited results. However, due to Stone Forest City''s new location, a flood of experts had shown up to join the Guild. This would undoubtedly make it easier for Zero Wing to manage its territories. Moreover, since a large number of experts from Starlink''s adventurer alliances had turned traitor, the pressure on Zero Wing''s members in Star-Moon Kingdom had lessened considerably. "It''s too early to celebrate," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Since Lu Xingluo wants to play, we''ll have to humor him. Spread the news that Zero Wing intends to establish a Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance in the kingdom. Any alliance member that reaches the Silver rank will have access to Stone Forest City, while Gold members will qualify to purchase a private house in the city!" 2378 Popular Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance Chapter 2378 - Popular Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City: Flashing lights filled White River City''s Teleportation Hall as group after group of players arrived. If one carefully watched these players, they''d notice that many of them wore cloaks embossed with symbols from various adventurer teams. Most were top adventurer teams from other kingdoms and empires. There were even some from Otherworlds. "This is insane! Even Origin Curse, the Dark Night Empire''s third-ranked adventurer team, is making a move?!" "I''ve heard that Starlink is going all-out to eliminate Zero Wing this time. The organization is even offering certain benefits in addition to the current bounty. Depending on how much players accomplish, they can even earn special Legacies." "Zero Wing''s in trouble now. Most experts might have a problem with the environment and monsters in a Level 100 neutral map, but peak experts and top adventurer teams shouldn''t." "I know, right? Getting to the Cold Spring Forest might be easier for Zero Wing''s members, but once they''re there, Zero Wing''s ordinary experts will fall. Besides, exploring a Level 100 neutral map is still a problem. Even if Zero Wing sends reinforcements from Stone Forest City, they''ll likely suffer significant losses." As bystanders in the Teleportation Hall watched the various top adventurer teams and peak experts arrive, they were shocked, but they also began to place bets on which would survive to the end, Zero Wing or Starlink. "Starlink really knows how to splurge, sending so many peak adventurer teams here." Shi Feng, who was still working in the Candlelight Trading Firm, was similarly surprised when he heard the news. Hiring a top adventurer team to attack a Guild in a Level 100 neutral map was incredibly expensive, yet Starlink had dispatched so many of them. It had likely paid a high enough price that even Super Guilds would wince. "Guild Leader, I just received news that Starlink''s Hellfire Legion members are starting to move toward the Cold Spring Forest. By the looks of it, they intend to attack our teams grinding in the area," Silent Wonder, who was grinding for EXP, worriedly reported. "Why don''t I negotiate with my family to borrow some of their experts?" Zero Wing''s members had Stone Forest City to fall back to, but they still had to leave the city to level up. Unfortunately, Zero Wing''s foundations were still unsteady. Although an expert could rival a peak expert with the Crimson Sunset, Zero Wing didn''t have enough of the sets to match the number of peak experts Starlink had dispatched. Of course, Starlink would suffer tremendously for taking such drastic action, but the organization was supported by the Starline Corporation. It had far more funds and resources than its opponent. Most importantly, several adventurer alliances worked for Starlink. If this persisted, Zero Wing''s position would become even more disadvanta^ "That won''t be necessary. You should just focus on leveling up," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Starlink''s foundations might be vast, but Zero Wing''s no weakling." Shi Feng wouldn''t have dared consider clashing with Starlink directly before he had transferred Stone Forest City to the Cold Spring Canyon, but things had changed. "Alright. My team and I will try to reach Level 100 as quickly as possible," Silent Wonder said, nodding. She knew that she could only display the Crimson Sunset''s full strength by reaching Level 100. After Shi Feng disconnected his call with Silent wonder, Liang Jing entered the Basic Meditation Room. "Guild Leader, I''ve planned the basic organization and benefits for the adventurer alliance. The alliance''s Residence is ready, as well. We now have Residences in White River City, Star-Moon City, Zero Wing City, and Stone Forest City. We can begin to recruit members at any time," Liang Jing proudly announced. She brimmed with anticipation and confidence about the new adventurer alliance Zero Wing was about to establish. Independent players might consider the benefits the other adventurer alliances offered outstanding, but those benefits were nothing compared to what Zero Wing''s adventurer alliance had to offer. "Alright, make the announcement to the public now, then." Shi Feng nodded. He had wanted to wait until the Asura adventurer team had grown powerful enough before he established an adventurer alliance on the main continent with Asura''s help, but since Starlink had bared its fangs, he had no choice but to move his plans forward. With Shi Feng''s go-ahead, Liang Jing published the news on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums. She also sent her subordinates to manage the recruitment at the newly-established Star-Moon Adventurer Alliances'' Residences. In no time, the kingdom was in an uproar. "What? Zero Wing''s establishing an adventurer alliance?" "Maybe it''s a move to counter Starlink''s assault, but Starlink''s adventurer alliances offer incredibly generous benefits. I doubt many people will be interested in Zero Wing''s." "Wait, you''re wrong! Look at what benefits the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance is offering! Any Silver member will have access to Stone Forest City, and Gold members will qualify to purchase private houses in the city!" "A private house?! Isn''t that a little too generous?! So far, Zero Wing has only leased Stone Forest City''s houses, yet countless people fought over them. If we could buy one of our own, our leveling speed would skyrocket!" "That''s not all. The Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance has quite a few Residences, as well. There''s even one in Stone Forest City and Zero Wing City, and members can rest in the Residences for free!" When the kingdom''s independent players saw the benefits the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance offered, they were ecstatic. Many even dropped what they were doing and ran toward the recruitment venues. Stone Forest City was the only city in God''s Domain located in a Level 100 neutral map. Countless experts dreamed of entering the city, not to mention purchasing one of Stone Forest City''s private houses. Not even the various superpowers'' peak experts had that privilege. And yet, as long as they became a Silver member in the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance, they could visit Stone Forest City whenever they wished. For a time, independent players crowded the entrances to the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliances'' Residences. These players easily outnumbered those applying to join Zero Wing by more than a dozen times. There were even some peak experts among the crowds. Meanwhile, the adventurer teams that had come to White River City to target Zero Wing''s members began to jump ship, one after another, applying to join the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance. The kingdom''s various major powers were stupefied. However, they found these results reasonable. How could Starlink''s meager resources possibly compare to the benefits Zero Wing offered, after all? Just being able to enter Stone Forest City would give players a massive lead in levels, not to mention the ability to purchase a private house in the city. Who would willingly miss out on the opportunity? Even independent experts from other kingdoms and empires made their way to Star-Moon Kingdom when they head the news. The adventurer alliances the various Otherworld powers controlled rapidly lost members... While the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance''s member count ballooned, Shi Feng received a message from Cola. "Guild Leader, we''ve completed our promotions!" 2379 Overestimating Oneself Chapter 2379 - Overestimating Oneself "They''re finally done?" Joy blossomed in Shi Feng''s heart when he read Cola''s message. Any player that successfully completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quest at this stage of the game instantly became an apex combatant. Their combat power would be leagues ahead of Tier 2 players. Not even Tier 2 Domain Realm experts were a match for Tier 3 players. Now that Cola and the others had completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests as well, they could be the Guild''s spearhead, quelling any troubles that plagued their Guildmates. Shi Feng would no longer have to spend all day running around and putting out fires, having more time to invest in his own affairs. He still had many important, unfinished quests, but since Zero Wing had been at risk and lacked enough powerful experts to protect it from the various superpowers, Shi Feng had been forced to put his quests on hold. Now that Cola and the others had returned, he could return to his quests without worry. Suddenly, Liang Jing contacted Shi Feng, nervously informing him, "Guild Leader, a group of people from Demon Palace wish to discuss business with you." The Demon Palace? Shi Feng was confused when he heard the name. What business do they have with me? Demon Palace had been extremely famous during his previous life. Not only had the Guild taken over the entire Demonic Hell World early on, but it had also been one of the few up-and-coming superpowers in God''s Domains. After years of development, it had grown into one of the few existences that had the power to contend with the Five Great Super Guilds of God''s Domain. However, the Demonic Hell World''s Planar Passage was connected to the Ten Saints Empire, one of the Four Great Empires. The Ten Saints Empire was also quite far from Star-Moon Kingdom. Teleporting between the empire and the kingdom cost roughly 9 Gold per person. "Do you wish to meet them?" Liang Jing asked. "Let them wait in the reception room for now. I''ll head that way Shi Feng said. After giving the matter some thought, he agreed to meet with the Demon Palace''s representatives. Demon Palace was no ordinary superpower. Although it had yet to reveal its fangs, no superpower would dare underestimate it. The Demon Palace had the support of two international corporations and was the Demonic Hell World''s absolute overlord. The Demonic Hell World was only slightly smaller than an empire, and due to its environment, the players from the Demonic Hell World were far stronger than those on the main continent. In addition, Demon Palace had developed relatively smoothly since it had no competitors in its homeworld. Even the strongest Super Guild on the main continent struggled with roadblocks and setbacks, yet Demon Palace had faced no such issues. It was easy to imagine how powerful the Guild had become. Most importantly, the easiest way for players to travel to the western continent was through the Ten Saints Empire. The empire had a dimensional passage, which was the largest and most stable in God''s Domain, that connected the two main continents. This passage also had the least restrictions. Naturally, the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers had taken control of the dimensional passage after its activation. One of those superpowers was Demon Palace. Because of this, many superpowers petitioned the Demon Palace for partnerships, which allowed the Guild to build its strength and influence. At this point, it was only slightly weaker than the Five Great Super Guilds. Once Shi Feng had tidied up his work with the Crimson Sunsets, he made his way to the reception room in Zero Wing''s Residence. Three Demonic Fighters in pitch-black armor quietly waited in the top-floor reception room. Not only were all three Level 100, but their auras felt as if the Demon God himself stood in the room with them. The Tier 2 experts standing guard by the doors shuddered as these auras washed over them. "Zero Wing is quite interesting. Despite such weak members, it dares to provoke Starlink. If these core members were in our Guild, they''d wouldn''t even be elite members," a white-haired youth said, shaking his head as he eyed the several Zero Wing core members that had just left the room. "They are a little underwhelming, but this is a kingdom, after all. It''s a miracle that they''ve grown this strong," a robust, 2.3-meter-tall, middle-aged man calmly stated. "Moreover, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader has reached Tier 3. It is not without reason that the Vice Guild Leader has set his sights on Zero Wing." "Naturally, the Vice Guild Leader knows what he''s doing. Zero Wing is lucky our Vice Guild Leader has noticed it. Even Starlink''s Guild Leader had to go to great lengths to negotiate a partnership," a tall, slim woman said with a reverent look whenever she mentioned Demon Palace''s Vice Guild Leader. As far as these three were concerned, neither Zero Wing nor the prosperous Starlink was of any significance. Only Super Guilds were worth Demon Palace''s attention. While the trio conversed, Shi Feng entered the room, however, the three players didn''t seem overly interested in him. They only observed Shi Feng in silence. "Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Evil Qilin, an Elder from Demon Palace," the middle-aged man introduced himself. "My two companions are the vice commanders of Demon Palace''s third trump card legion." "Greetings," Shi Feng replied. When he sensed the trio''s violent auras, he realized that all three were very strong. The middle-aged man, in particular, was likely only slightly weaker than Giant''s Heart''s White Autumn. If not for White Autumn''s Sea God''s blessing, he wouldn''t even be a match for the middle-aged man. "May I know what business you have with me?" "Our Vice Guild Leader values the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance and desires a cut of the action. We aren''t asking for much of the alliance''s shares; 30% will be enough. In return, Demon Palace will supply Zero Wing with the Demonic Hell World''s rare materials and special Legacies," Evil Qilin said. "In addition, we would like a temporary Residence in Stone Forest City and 30% of the city''s shares. In exchange, Demon Palace will step in to resolve the Zero Wing''s trouble with Starlink. I''m sure Starlink will back away out of respect for Demon Palace. With our members garrisoned in Stone Forest City, I''m sure we can provide a sufficient deterrent to the other superpowers if they have ideas of trying to steal the city. Zero Wing will be able to develop in peace and join the ranks of God''s Domain''s superpowers." "Naturally, Zero Wing welcomes a partnership between Demon Palace and the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance. However, we can handle Starlink on our own. There is no need for Demon Palace to get involved," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Shi Feng had no intention of parting with a single percent of Stone Forest City''s shares right now, let alone handing over 30% in exchange for protection. "Although you are quite formidable, Guild Leader Black Flame, you are only one person. Meanwhile, thanks to some of the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacies, Starlink has established the Hellfire Legion, its strongest force. If you encounter five or six members of the Hellfire Legion, you might be fine, but even as a Tier 3 player, a 100-man team may overtake you. You should reconsider," Evil Qilin said, sneering disdainfully when he heard that Shi Feng had no intention of sharing Stone Forest City. He assumed Shi Feng must think himself invincible now that he had reached Tier 3, but even Tier 3 players would have to flee from a 100-man team from the Hellfire Legion, not to mention Zero Wing''s other experts. Demon Palace had already shown a lot of respect by offering to help Zero Wing. Thank you for your warning, Elder Qilin, but I am confident that Zero Wing can cope with this situation on its own," Shi Feng said. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll be taking my leave. I still have other matters I need to attend to." After dismissing his guests, Shi Feng stood and left the Demon Palace''s representatives alone in the reception room. "By the looks of it, Elder, it will be impossible to ally with Zero Wing regarding Stone Forest City. Black Flame is simply too arrogant," the white-haired youth beside Evil Qilin said. "However, the Vice Guild Leader told us to secure Stone Forest City. What should we do?" "It''s fine. We can wait. Black Flame overestimates himself, but once Starlink takes care of Zero Wing, I''m sure he''ll come to his senses," Evil Qilin said, sneering at the door Shi Feng had left through. "However, our demands will be much higher once he''s desperate." The Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance had lured many experts away from Starlink''s alliances, but the Guild still had many peak experts and top adventurer teams on its side. Starlink also had the Hellfire Legion. With so many enemies at their doors, Zero Wing''s members shouldn''t even think of stepping out of Stone Forest City. Shortly after Evil Qilin''s group left Zero Wing''s Residence, another group of two dozen players wearing Zero Wing''s Guild Emblems entered. 2380 Tier 3 Team Chapter 2380 - Tier 3 Team Many players waited in Zero Wing''s Residence for their turn to take the recruitment test, making the Residence quite lively. Because of the commotion, no one noticed the two dozen cloaked Zero Wing members'' arrival. At this point, seeing Zero Wings leave or enter the Residence in their cloaks had become the norm. Starlink''s bounty was no trivial matter, and for poorer experts, killing Zero Wing''s members for a quick buck was easy. Zero Wing''s members could only avoid hostile players by hiding their identities with Black Cloaks, and to enter the Guild Residences, they only needed to reveal their Guild Emblems to the members that guarded the entrances. Many of Zero Wing''s members had begun to take these precautions recently. However, unlike most of the Guild''s players, these cloaked players didn''t stop to rest in the lounge or visit the quest area. They made their way straight to the Guild Leader''s office, where Shi Feng had been waiting for a while. Once they entered the office, the two dozen players removed their cloaks and revealed themselves. As they did, violent, scorching auras filled the room. Their combined auras could paralyze Tier 2 experts with fear. "What do you think, Guild Leader? We''re much stronger than before, aren''t we?" Cola boasted as he radiated dense mana. "Guild Leader, don''t listen to him. He was the last of us to complete his Promotion Quest. He just got lucky and constructed an Advanced Gold Mana Body with an 80% Completion Rate," Shadow Sword said. "Hey, I''m satisfied with that! At least my Mana Body is better than yours! I''m happy enough to squeeze into the eighth place on the team!" Cola said joyfully. Before they had left to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, Shi Feng had informed them of the importance of their Mana Body and told them that they should try as hard as they could to earn a Gold Mana Body. Shi Feng had also offered tips about the Mana Body''s construction process. Initially, Cola had only aimed to construct an Intermediate Gold Mana Body with an 85% Completion Rate, but during his second try, he had been inspired and constructed an Advanced Gold Mana Body. Of their group, only ten people had completed an Advanced Gold Mana Body with a 75% Completion Rate or higher. Although the difference was only one rank, the difference between their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates was significant. An Advanced Gold Mana Body would be immensely helpful to them in the future. "An Advanced Gold Mana Body with an 80% Completion Rate?" Shi Feng was surprised by Cola''s achievement. Compared to magical class players, physical class players were at a disadvantage when constructing their Mana Bodies. Although Cola''s combat standards were considerable, he was only averagely talented among Zero Wing''s main force members. If not for his Fragmented Legendary Shield, he wouldn''t have even ranked among the top 15 in the main force with his combat power. Moreover, Shi Feng had heard about the Tyrant Bear Cola''s Mana Body during his previous life. At the time, Cola had only had a Basic Gold Mana Body with a 78% Completion Rate, yet he had still managed to shake Star-Moon Kingdom, becoming one of its top-ranked MTs. Now that Cola had an Advanced Gold Mana Body with an 80% Completion Rate, his future strength would undergo a qualitative improvement. "Cola''s Mana Body is nothing, Guild Leader. Boss Tianxing and Big Sis Yi are even more amazing. Boss Tianxing constructed a 93% Peak Gold Mana Body, and Big Sis Yi constructed a 95% Peak Gold Mana Body. Their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates are ridiculous," Turtledove interjected. Originally, Turtledove had been relatively proud of constructing an Advanced Gold Mana Body. After all, Shi Feng had told them that the difference between Intermediate and Advanced rank was considerable. However, Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, Zhao Yueru, Silent Blade, Alluring Summer, and Youlan were so much more powerful. Every one of them had successfully constructed a Peak Gold Mana Body. Moreover, the weakest among them had an 80% Completion Rate. Since Stubborn Bone, who ranked seventh among them, hadn''t been able to construct a Peak Gold Mana Body with an 80% completion or higher, he had settled for an 89% Advanced Gold Mana Body as he ran out of time. Compared to the top seven players, Cola''s achievement was nothing. While the team bickered, Shi Feng received a compilation of their promotion results. He was shocked when he examined the data. Of the 24 players that had completed their Tier 3 Promotion quests, the weakest of them had constructed an 80% Peak Silver Mana Body. Not even the superpowers of his past had dreamed of such wonderful results. In the past, the majority of the various superpowers'' experts had been fortunate to construct an Intermediate or Advanced Silver Mana Body. Second- and third-rate Guilds had thrown massive celebrations of any of their experts had constructed a Silver Mana Body at all. A Silver Mana Body was the minimum requirement for players to reach Tier 4 or higher, after all. Not even experts from ordinary Guilds had dared to dream of acquiring a Gold Mana Body. In fact, players with Gold Mana Bodies were even quite rare in the various superpowers. Every additional expert with a Gold Mana Body had significantly elevated a superpower''s status The advantages of a Gold Mana Body when exploring Level 100-plus neutral maps were that massive. And yet, of the 24 Zero Wing members that completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, 19 had constructed Gold Mana Bodies... "Guild Leader, we haven''t had the opportunity to test out our new bodies, so I suggest we head to the Battle Arena." "I agree. My body feels too strong. It feels a little strange to move. Since we''ve already completed our Promotion Quests, we should spar with each other to get a feel of our new strength." They had been too busy celebrating their success that they hadn''t bothered to test their new strength. They hadn''t had any good places to do so, either. However, since so many Tier 3 players were here, it was a good opportunity to learn what they could do. You want to test your new strength?" Chuckling, Shi Feng said, "Alright, it''s simple then. Plenty of superpowers want a piece of our Stone Forest City right now, and Starlink has sent a large number of experts to the Cold Spring Forest. You guys can go and test your strength there, and while you''re at it, inform Starlink''s people that they have no place in the Cold Spring Forest." Even after finding out that Cola and the others had completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, Shi Feng had still worried that they didn''t have enough players to deal with Starlink''s forces. Initially, he had planned to mobilize the Knight Division to teach Starlink a lesson and warn the other superpowers against trying to steal Stone Forest City. However, it seemed that he could save Zero Wing''s final trump card. With the superior Mana Bodies Cola and his companions had constructed, they could move through the Cold Spring Forest unobstructed. "Starlink?" "Wonderful! I''ve been itching to practice some of the combat techniques I haven''t fully mastered yet. Starlink''s peak experts should be excellent practice partners!" Shi Feng''s decision excited the entire team. Although fighting a bunch of Tier 2 experts wouldn''t help them properly gauge their new strength, they could use this opportunity to test the effects of their Tier 3 Mana Bodies in a Level 100 neutral map. The two dozen main force members then resupplied and repaired their equipment in White River City before teleporting to Stone Forest City. 2381 Difference in Foundations Chapter 2381 - Difference in Foundations In one of the quiet stone forests in the Cold Spring Forest, a 100-man team was hunting the Level 100-plus monsters residing in a canyon here. In front of this team, the Level 100, Great Lord ranked Three-headed Lizard, which posed a huge problem for the teams of major powers, was not a challenge at all. The team thoroughly suppressed the Great Lord and continuously shaved away at its HP. "Everyone, put in more effort! The Boss is nearly dead!" a blue-armored man, who looked to be in his thirties, shouted as he blocked an attack from the Three-headed Lizard using his two-handed hammer. The Three-headed Lizard could launch attacks simultaneously with all three of its heads. Aside from the two MTs in the team blocking two of the lizard''s heads, the hammer-wielding Demonic Fighter was holding his own against the third of the lizard''s heads without losing any ground. If the experts of the various major powers operating within the Cold Spring Forest were to see this scene, their eyes would most likely fall out of their sockets, because this 100-man team was not a Guild''s, but one made up of independent players. At this stage of the game, Level 100 neutral maps were still extremely dangerous for players. Even the main force of the various major powers would have a difficult time surviving in a Level 100 neutral map. If they stumbled upon a Level 100 Great Lord, they would try to avoid it as much as possible, since defeating such a monster required quite some time. After all, the longer a battle took to end, the higher the likelihood of the battle attracting nearby monsters. If too many monsters joined the fray, a team-wipe was guaranteed. This 100-man team, however, had actually taken the initiative to attack a Level 100 Great Lord. Moreover, it was perfectly suppressing the Three-headed Lizard. The team''s strength could practically rival that of the exploration teams of superpowers. After a few more minutes of battle, the Three-headed Lizard finally lost all its HP and collapsed before the 100-man team, the experience bar of every team member increasing by a sizable chunk. At the same time, a few pieces of sparkling Level 100 equipment dropped around the Three-headed Lizard''s corpse. "Our leveling speed here really is fast. At this rate, I''ll reach Level 101 in less than two days." The leveling speed isn''t the most important point. Look at the Attributes of the loot. They''re on an entirely different level compared to our Level 95 equipment. If we can get a full set of Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment, our Attributes will surpass even those of players geared in Level 95 Dark-Gold Set Equipment." "It''s too difficult to obtain Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment. Normally, only Grand Lords will drop it. Even until now, we''ve only come across a few Grand Lords, and some of them are too strong for us to raid. Plus, our operation time is very limited. Collecting a full set of Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment is simply too difficult." "Zero Wing sure is lucky. It actually managed to transfer Stone Forest City to this place. If our Dark Dragon adventurer team could get a resting spot in a Level 100 neutral map as well, let alone Secret-Silver Equipment, even Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment would be possible. We could start challenging our Tier 3 Promotion Quests." When Dark Dragon''s members spoke about Stone Forest City, envy filled their eyes. Compared to players that had yet to venture into Level 100 neutral maps, they had a much clearer idea of how valuable a resting spot in a Level 100 neutral map was. However, as Stone Forest City was not open to the public, they could only stare at the city from outside. "Commander, I heard that Zero Wing has established an adventurer alliance. Silver members in the alliance can enter Stone Forest City. Why don''t we negotiate with Zero Wing? With our adventurer team''s strength, I believe Zero Wing will be happy to recruit us and promote us into a Silver-ranked adventurer team right away," a Level 100 Dark Cleric said as he looked at the Demonic Fighter leading the team. Everyone else on the team nodded in agreement with the Dark Cleric''s words. Dark Dragon was one of the famous top adventurer teams of the Demonic Hell World. Dark Dragon might have only 1,000 members or so, but it was fully capable of toppling the main continent''s first-rate Guilds. If Dark Dragon decided to join Zero Wing''s newly established adventurer alliance, Zero Wing would definitely be more than willing to offer Dark Dragon additional benefits. "It is indeed inefficient for us to continue like this," Dark Dawn, the commander of Dark Dragon, said after giving the matter some thought. "After this grinding trip, a few of you should go and negotiate with Zero Wing. Say that our bottom line for joining the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance is for us to become a Silver adventurer team. If Zero Wing isn''t willing to give us that much, then we can forget about any partnerships." In Dark Dawn''s opinion, the only benefit of joining the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance was the right to enter Stone Forest City. If Dark Dragon''s members could not enter Stone Forest City immediately after joining the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance, then there would be no point in seeking membership at all. Meanwhile, as the Dark Dragon adventurer team''s members were resting, explosions resounded, and dazzling lights appeared a short distance away. "Commander, some players are fighting against each other nearby!" a Ranger that had been monitoring the surroundings suddenly shouted. "Who are they?" Dark Dawn asked. "There aren''t many of them. One side is wearing Zero Wing''s emblem, so they should be Zero Wing''s team. As for the other side, I think it''s Starlink''s Hellfire Legion," the Ranger reported. "The Hellfire Legion? It seems Zero Wing''s members are in trouble." Dark Dawn frowned at the mention of the Hellfire Legion. As an original inhabitant of the Demonic Hell World, Dark Dawn understood just how powerful Starlink''s Hellfire Legion was. The legion''s members all possessed the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy. This special Legacy was something all players inhabiting the Demonic Hell World wished to obtain. Unfortunately, Dark Palace kept a tight grip on the source of this Legacy and would release only a small number to the public. The Dark Dragon adventurer team had paid a steep price and secured merely a dozen or so of these special Legacies. Even so, these special Legacies were already more than enough to let Dark Dragon undergo a qualitative transformation and become a top adventurer team in the Demonic Hell World. Meanwhile, all 1,000 members of Starlink''s newly established Hellfire Legion actually owned this special Legacy. One could easily imagine how powerful the Hellfire Legion was. "Commander, should we lend Zero Wing''s members a hand?" the Dark Cleric asked. "If we help them now, our negotiations with Zero Wing should go much more smoothly." "No rush. Let''s head over and suss out the situation first," Dark Dawn replied, shaking his head. After saying so, he hurriedly led his team to the scene of the battle. Meanwhile, on the other side of the stone forest, one of Zero Wing''s core teams was fending off the Hellfire Legion members'' assault while desperately retreating toward Stone Forest City. "Big Sis Wonder, these people are too strong! At this rate, we won''t make it back to Stone Forest City! You should leave us and run!" a female Druid focused on healing said hurriedly when she saw that the members defending the rear of the team kept getting pushed back. In terms of Basic Attributes and combat standards, the Hellfire Legion''s members were superior to them by a large margin. If not for the complex terrain here preventing the scale of the battle from escalating, as well as the few Zero Wing players geared in the Crimson Sunset, their team would''ve long since suffered annihilation. However, although they were currently holding off the Hellfire Legion, their deaths were still only a matter of time. "Don''t even think of getting away so easily. We''ve already placed a tracker on all of you!" Bright Dawn, one of Starlink''s Vice Guild Leaders, shouted. He then commanded, "Everyone, make sure none of them leave here alive!" As soon as Bright Dawn said so, four Void Realm experts from the Hellfire Legion immediately adjusted to prevent Silent Wonder from escaping. Silent Wonder did not have Brilliant Silver with her, so she could rely on only the strengthened Crimson Sunset to do battle. As a result, her advantage over the Hellfire Legion members in terms of Basic Attributes was small. Facing the combined assault of four peak experts, even Silent Wonder had no choice but to focus on evading for now. While Silent Wonder was occupied, a few Hellfire Legion members used this opportunity to break through Zero Wing''s defensive line and charge at Zero Wing''s healers. "Commander, should we make a move?" the Dark Cleric from Dark Dragon asked the Demonic Fighter. "We don''t stand a chance. That''s a 100-man team from the Hellfire Legion. Even if we join the fight, we''ll only delay the inevitable," Dark Dawn replied, shaking his head. "Although Zero Wing has Stone Forest City, it still doesn''t stand a chance against Starlink out in the fields." The Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy would give a peak expert the strength to contend against an apex expert and possibly even a decisive advantage. Meanwhile, if such peak experts fought in a group, their performance would be even more amazing. Unless Zero Wing''s members gained this special Legacy or its equivalent, they would not stand a chance against the Hellfire Legion members at all. As Zero Wing''s casualties were increasing, however, a loud hum suddenly came from the sky, immediately attracting everyone''s attention. When everyone turned to look at the origin of this noise, what entered their sights was a giant crimson vessel made of steel. Before anyone could react, two dozen figures jumped off the steel ship. Meanwhile, along with the appearance of these two dozen members, Starlink''s and Dark Dragon''s members all fell into a stunned silence. Tier 3 players?! 2382 Overwhelming Strength Chapter 2382 - Overwhelming Strength "Why does Zero Wing have so many Tier 3 players?!" The distant spectating members of Dark Dragon felt their minds screeching to a halt when they saw the newcomers. Cola and the others were not wearing Black Cloaks, boldly flaunting their Tier 3 life aura. When they jumped off the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, it was as if two dozen primordial beasts had just dropped from the sky. Tier 3 was the goal that all experts dreamed of reaching at this point. Even the old monsters of Super Guilds had most likely just started challenging their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Now, however, Zero Wing revealed that, aside from Black Flame, it had 24 other Tier 3 players. At this moment, let alone Dark Dragon''s members, even Silent Wonder and the other beleaguered Zero Wing members were stunned by this situation, utterly speechless as they stared at Cola and his companions. Silent Wonder, in particular, was filled with an indescribable sense of shock. Originally, she thought that she had already seen through Zero Wing''s foundations. She had never imagined that what she saw was merely the tip of the iceberg. With these additional 24 Tier 3 players, Zero Wing could definitely reign supreme over the entire Cold Spring Forest. Meanwhile, gloom descended upon Starlink''s members at this sudden development. The imposing aura they exuded before was now nowhere to be found. They also tried to remain as silent as possible, lest they catch the attention of the newcomers. "You punks from Starlink! Weren''t you guys having fun chasing our people? Why are you stopping now?" Cola demanded, smirking as he retrieved the Titan Shield slung on his back and glancing at the Hellfire Legion members before him. "Cola, why are you wasting words with them? Since they dare ambush our Guildmates out in the fields, the only outcome awaiting them is death!" Shadow Sword said as he glared coldly at Bright Dawn''s team. "Moreover, the sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we can return. The Guild Leader is still waiting for us to report back to him." Upon hearing Shadow Sword''s words, Yan Tianxing and the others nodded in agreement and promptly readied their weapons. They then stalked toward the Hellfire Legion, each step they took making the hearts of the Hellfire Legion members shudder. At the same time, the Hellfire Legion members also started retreating unconsciously. Vice Guild Leader, what should we do?" the Berserker standing beside Bright Dawn asked anxiously. "Zero Wing has far more Tier 3 players than we anticipated. Our 100-man team can''t handle this." The Hellfire Legion had come to the Cold Spring Forest, assuming that Shi Feng would take action against them. Hence, they decided to hunt for Zero Wing''s members in teams of 100. That way, even if Shi Feng made a move, they could handle him. Now, however, 24 Tier 3 players had appeared before them. This was totally different from what they planned! "Zero Wing!" Bright Dawn gnashed his teeth in anger as he looked at the Tier 3 players. "We don''t have any other choice! Use all the Deification Crystals we have! Everyone else, do your best to escape!" Even now, Starlink remained considerably fearful of Shi Feng''s existence as a Tier 3 player. Hence, the Guild had specifically assigned 10 Deification Crystals to each of the Hellfire Legion''s 100-man teams. That way, a team could instantly produce 10 Tier 3 players, enough to take down even an expert like Shi Feng easily. Now, however, their Deification Crystals would only serve to buy time for the others to escape. After saying so, Bright Dawn and nine other peak experts of the team took out a Deification Crystal from their bags and activated it, instantly raising themselves to Tier 3. Immediately afterward, all 10 of them charged at Cola''s group. They were prepared to pin down Cola and the others to the best of their abilities and allow the rest of their teammates to retreat safely from the area. "To think that Starlink made such preparations as well... Although Zero Wing is powerful, Starlink is no pushover, either. It seems Zero Wing won''t be able to just swat the Hellfire Legion," Dark Dawn said, his understanding of superpowers getting refreshed upon seeing Bright Dawn''s team use 10 Deification Crystals. After Dark Dragon became a top adventurer team in the Demonic Hell World, Dark Dawn had believed that Dark Dragon was superior to the main continent''s various superpowers in terms of peak combatants. Looking at this scene now, however, that was not the case at all. Even if Dark Dragon''s members had the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy, the main continent''s superpowers possessed powerful treasures like the Deification Crystal, which could forcibly promote a Tier 2 player into a Tier 3 player for a short period. "Come!" Cola revealed an excited expression when he saw Bright Dawn and the others becoming Tier 3 players. He then raised his shield and charged forward all by himself, the confidence he exuded making it seem as if the 10 Tier 3 peak experts before him were no different from Common monsters. "Coming at us alone?" Bright Dawn sneered at Cola''s recklessness. "If you want to die so badly, we''ll grant your wish! Everyone, get rid of him first!" Although they were at a numerical disadvantage in terms of Tier 3 experts, every one of them was a true peak expert. This was also the reason why Bright Dawn dared harbor the thought of distracting Cola and the others. Now, Cola was actually charging at their group all alone. Even if Cola was an MT, this was simply suicidal. After saying so, Bright Dawn swung the Whitebone Greatsword he wielded, the violent aura of death the greatsword released transforming into three ghosts that flew at Cola. Not only did every one of these ghosts carry 120% of Bright Dawn''s Strength, but these ghosts were also akin to doppelgangers; Bright Dawn could control them for 10 seconds. Tier 3 Undead Knight Skill, Undying Rage! Aside from Bright Dawn, the two Tier 3 Elementalists positioned behind him also finished casting their Spells. Immediately, pillars of fire descended from the sky, and earth spikes shot up from the ground; these attacks perfectly coordinated with the three ghosts Bright Dawn summoned, thoroughly sealing off Cola''s paths of escape. This scene dumbfounded both Dark Dragon''s members and Silent Wonder''s group. The power, rapid execution, and coordination the Hellfire Legion''s Tier 3 players displayed were simply inhuman. Just when the fire pillars and earthen spikes were about to devour Cola, however, Cola released an angry bellow and executed a powerful stomp on the ground. The resulting shockwave shattered some of the approaching earth spikes. At the same time, he raised the Titan Guard and summoned eight translucent energy shields around himself. Tier 3 Skill, Heavenly Defense! In the next moment, the eight energy shields stopped the fire pillars and remaining earth spikes, preventing the attacks from damaging Cola. As for Bright Dawn''s three ghosts, despite their frenzied assault, they failed to break through the eight energy shields'' defensive net. "Impossible!" Bright Dawn gaped at Cola in confusion. He knew about the Heavenly Defense Skill, one of the standard Skills of a Tier 3 Guardian Knight. Many Tier 3 NPC Guardian Knights possessed it. It was not an Invulnerability Skill; the energy shields created carried only 100% of the user''s Strength and Defense. In other words, Heavenly Defense was a Skill that provided the user with a more thorough defense. It did not offer any damage reduction effects whatsoever. Now, however, even after receiving multiple Tier 3 attacks, Cola had actually come out unscathed. If Shi Feng were present, he would not have found this situation surprising at all. Setting aside the fact that Cola wielded a Fragmented Legendary Shield, his Tier 3 Mana Body alone already allowed him to trample pseudo-Tier 3 players like Bright Dawn. The Deification Crystal did temporarily promote a player to Tier 3; however, the improvements provided applied only to Skills, Basic Attributes, and physique. The Deification Crystal did not grant players a Tier 3 Mana Body. Meanwhile, without a Tier 3 Mana Body, players couldn''t fully exhibit the power of Tier 3 Skills and Spells. In contrast, Tier 3 Skills and Spells empowered by a Tier 3 Mana Body would manifest drastically stronger effects. Before Bright Dawn and the other Hellfire Legion peak experts could react to the situation, Cola had already arrived before Bright Dawn and executed Shield Bash. Sensing the incoming attack, Bright Dawn instinctively raised his Whitebone Sword to block the attack. Boom! Upon collision, Bright Dawn felt as if a truck had just rammed him. His entire person went flying backward, his HP falling by over 40,000. The two sides were on entirely different Strength levels. At this time, Zero Wing''s other Tier 3 players had also made a move. Similar to Bright Dawn, the Hellfire Legion''s other Tier 3 players were overwhelmed in both raw power and agility. Unable to put up any resistance whatsoever against Zero Wing''s members, they rapidly lost HP. As for the Hellfire Legion''s fleeing Tier 2 players, they were like fragile glass before Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, and Zhao Yueru. Every attack the trio from Zero Wing executed would reap at least one life. Rather than fighting experts, the trio felt as if they were slaughtering chicken. The difference in strength drove the Hellfire Legion members to despair. In less than 30 seconds, Zero Wing''s members had not only disfigured the surrounding terrain completely but also reduced all 100 Hellfire Legion members into corpses that gradually transformed into particles of light. 2383 Shocking the Continen Chapter 2383 - Shocking the Continent Upon seeing the Hellfire Legion members'' dissipating corpses, the spectating members of the Dark Dragon adventurer team fell into a daze. So, these are Tier 3 players? Dark Dawn''s heart quaked after seeing Cola and the other Tier 3 experts'' performance. It was no exaggeration to say that fights between Tier 2 players and Tier 3 players were on entirely different levels. Although Dark Dawn had understood that Tier 2 players couldn''t win against Tier 3 players, he had never dreamed that the gap was this massive. Although every member of the Hellfire Legion possessed the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy, none of the Hellfire Legion''s Tier 2 players had lasted more than one hit against Zero Wing''s Tier 3 players. The strength of Tier 3 classes completely exceeded Dark Dawn''s expectations. From the fight between the Hellfire Legion and Zero Wing, Dark Dawn could tell that Tier 3 players were superior not just in terms of Basic Attributes but also in reaction speed. A Tier 2 peak expert himself, Dark Dawn could tell that his reaction speed was slower than Cola''s and the others'' by a heartbeat. Although the difference wasn''t massive by any means, it was still enough to determine whether one could block an attack or not. This difference was why the Hellfire Legion''s Tier 2 players failed to block the attacks launched by Zero Wing''s Tier 3 players, and ended up getting killed instantly. After watching the performance of Zero Wing''s 24 Tier 3 players, Dark Dawn concluded that even an army of 10,000 Tier 2 experts would suffer annihilation if they tried fighting against these 24 Tier 3 players. At this moment, the other members of Dark Dragon shared similar thoughts. The frightening power and reaction speed Zero Wing''s members displayed simply weren''t something that could be overcome with numbers. While Dark Dragon''s members were quietly discussing among themselves, Cola and the others suddenly looked in their direction. This situation frightened Dark Dragon''s members, and they very nearly turned around to flee. "Commander, they''re not mistaking us for Starlink''s members, right?" the Dark Cleric standing beside Dark Dawn asked worriedly. Having witnessed the combat power Cola and the others displayed, the Dark Cleric was sure that if Zero Wing''s Tier 3 experts took action, then Dark Dragon''s 100-man team would definitely share the Hellfire Legion''s fate. In fact, the Dark Dragon team might die even more quickly than the Hellfire Legion. Now that they had already reached Level 100, getting killed even once would pose a significant setback. After all, the amount of EXP required to go from Level 99 to Level 100 was massive. Moreover, the difference in strength between Level 99 and Level 100 players meant they would also miss out on many exploration opportunities. "I don''t know. We should head over and greet them first," Dark Dawn replied, shaking his head. He then steeled himself to step forward and take the initiative to greet Zero Wing''s members. However, by the time Dark Dawn stood up from his hiding place, Cola''s group had already collected the items the Hellfire Legion dropped. They then brought the other Zero Wing members onto the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and disappeared from the stone forest. Dark Dragon''s members breathed out a deep sigh of relief. "They''re actually ignoring us?" Dark Dawn could not help a bitter smile when he saw Cola and the others leaving. The Dark Dragon adventurer team was an existence that even the expert teams of superpowers feared. However, in the eyes of Cola and the others, Dark Dragon''s members were akin to Common monsters. However, Dark Dawn also understood the perspective of Zero Wing''s Tier 3 players. Cola and the others possessed the qualifications to look down on the Dark Dragon adventurer team. At this moment, Dark Dawn regretted his previous hesitation. Had his team moved to help Zero Wing earlier, they might''ve been able to form a close relationship with Zero Wing''s Tier 3 players. "Commander, they''re gone. Should we head back to the canyon?" the Dark Cleric standing beside Dark Dawn asked. "No, we''re returning to White River City," Dark Dawn said, shaking his head. "We''re returning? But we still have plenty of time before we run out of gas," the Dark Cleric argued. "Returning now will be a huge waste." Level 100 neutral maps were quite distant from NPC cities. Even with the help of a Mount, players still took a very long time to reach a Level 100 neutral map. Hence, every team that visited the Cold Spring Forest would endure to their very limits before choosing to return. Their team had spent just half of their expected time in the Cold Spring Forest, yet Dark Dawn was already calling for them to return. "We''re returning. The sooner, the better. It''ll be best if we can join the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance before news regarding this matter gets exposed," Dark Dawn said seriously. Previously, Dark Dawn had still been hesitating over whether he should get Dark Dragon involved in the struggle between Zero Wing and Starlink. After all, the potential risks of siding with Zero Wing were greater than the potential gains. Now, however, he no longer cared about that. Twenty-four Tier 3 players! With this many Tier 3 players, Zero Wing could rule over the Cold Spring Forest with an iron fist. The various superpowers would be crazy to pick a fight with Zero Wing here. Not to mention, Zero Wing also had Stone Forest City as its base. Once news of Zero Wing''s Tier 3 players got out, adventurer teams and experts would definitely flock to the Star- Moon Adventurer Alliance. Hence, Dark Dragon had to join the alliance before that happened and quickly accumulate CPs to raise its position in the alliance. After all, once the demand for the alliance''s CPs increased, acquiring CPs would become more difficult. The Dark Cleric immediately understood what his commander meant. Following which, Dark Dragon''s members hurried back to White River City. Meanwhile, shortly after the Dark Dragon adventurer team left the Cold Spring Forest, the shocking news that a 100- man team from Starlink''s Hellfire Legion got annihilated reached the ears of the various superpowers. "A 100-man team from the Hellfire Legion got annihilated? Twenty-four Tier 3 players? How is this possible?!" Burning Owl, who was currently raiding a Field Boss, was astonished as he read the report his subordinate just sent him. Starlink''s Hellfire Legion had shocked the various superpowers with its might. Even Burning Owl was not confident that his Heaven Piercer team could survive an encounter with the Hellfire Legion. After all, the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy was no laughing matter. Now, however, a 100-man team from the Hellfire Legion actually got annihilated? Moreover, Zero Wing now had an additional 24 Tier 3 players? Burning Owl could understand how a monster like Shi Feng had come into existence. After all, as the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Shi Feng could utilize all of his Guild''s resources to go on dangerous and rewarding adventures. Hence, his reaching Level 100 and completing his Tier 3 Promotion Quest so quickly was still within the realm of probability. However, Burning Owl simply couldn''t bring himself to believe that aside from Shi Feng, Zero Wing also had 24 more Tier 3 players. After all, even Long Xianglong had just started challenging his Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Burning Owl himself felt unready to take on the challenge. Shortly after the various superpowers received this information, news of Zero Wing''s 24 additional Tier 3 players spread quickly to the ears of the various major powers as well. "Over 20 Tier 3 players? How did Zero Wing accomplish such a feat?" "Amazing! Too amazing! Zero Wing is actually patrolling the Cold Spring Forest using its flying ship, combined with those 24 Tier 3 players! Nobody will dare target Zero Wing in the Cold Spring Forest now!" Aside from the various major powers'' members, quite a few independent experts also heard about Zero Wing''s recent achievements and were stupefied by this situation. As for the top adventurer teams that were originally planning to attack Zero Wing''s members, they gave up on the ideaespecially after seeing the mobility of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. After this incident, the number of players seeking to join Zero Wing and the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance skyrocketed. "Guild Leader! The commanders of many top and well-known adventurer teams have just contacted us. They''re hoping that we can increase the variety of rare resources we''re accepting so that they can earn more points and get promoted to the Silver rank a little sooner. Some superpowers also want to form a partnership with us in exchange for letting their members enter Stone Forest City," Liang Jing announced excitedly after contacting Shi Feng. "It seems the actions of Cola''s group yielded quite a result," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "How are things coming along with Stone Forest City''s private houses?" Shi Feng had to admit that the deterrent effect of having over 20 Tier 3 players was much greater than just having one Tier 3 player. Now, even the various superpowers that had adopted a wait-and-see approach could no longer sit still. "It''s done. I''ve already refunded everyone who asked for one. Currently, we have over 12,000 empty private houses available in Stone Forest City," Liang Jing reported. "Good. Make an announcement stating that Stone Forest City will not be opened fully to the public. Candlelight will also be holding an auction for the leasing of Stone Forest City''s private houses, and anyone who rents a private house in the city will be able to live in it immediately," Shi Feng said, smiling. Shi Feng had set aside the matter of leasing Stone Forest City''s private houses, as the time hadn''t been right. However, now that Cola and the others had completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quest and Zero Wing already had its own Knight Division, including Stone Forest City''s current popularity, it was the perfect time to lease Stone Forest City''s private houses. 2384 Accumulating Advantages Chapter 2384 - Accumulating Advantages After receiving Shi Feng''s instructions, Liang Jing posted an announcement on the forums, stating that Zero Wing would be leasing Stone Forest City''s private houses. The moment she published the post on Star-Moon Kingdom''s official forums, the kingdom erupted in an uproar. Everyone had already learned a little about Stone Forest City through the information Zero Wing''s members had leaked. They all came to the conclusion that the city was a haven for leveling resources. Unfortunately, players had been forced to gaze at the city from afar, since it had only been open to Zero Wing''s members and the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance''s Silver members. However, now that Zero Wing had announced a way for non-members to gain access to the city, how could anyone ignore it?? When they saw the private houses'' leasing conditions, however, both the various major powers and the kingdom''s independent players gasped. Stone Forest City''s private houses were available for rent, but the Zero Wing was only leasing the houses on a weekly basis, not monthly, and the starting bid for the weekly rent was 30,000 Credits. The price could easily rival the private houses'' monthly rent in the Bottomless Abyss. "Zero Wing is too vicious. Although it''s somewhat opening Stone Forest City to the public, only players who rent its private houses will be allowed in the city[l]." "But this is an opportunity for independent players like us. If we can win a private house in the upcoming auction, we''ll have a much easier time leveling up and completing our Tier 3 Promotion Quests." "Isn''t the rent a little too expensive, though? Zero Wing''s charging 30,000 Credits per week. How can ordinary players possibly afford that rent?" Everyone immersed themselves in heated discussions over Zero Wing''s latest announcement, and many players considered the private houses starting bid too demanding. None of the independent players that were interested in Stone Forest City''s private houses could bring themselves to accept this price. In contrast, a large number of adventurer teams and Guilds began to apply to join the Candlelight Trading Firm''s leasing auction as the news spread. Candlelight''s Shops in White River City grew overcrowded as these adventurer teams and Guilds'' representatives arrived. "Are these people mad? We''re talking about 30,000 Credits per week. How much of an advantage could they possibly gain in seven days?" A Level 40 female player new to God''s Domain was confused when she saw the frenzied crowd in the Shop. She wondered if all of God''s Domain''s players had gone crazy. You''ve only recently joined the game, so you might not realize how valuable Stone Forest City''s private houses are. A player''s leveling speed in a Level 100 neutral map is at least three times that of grinding in a Level 90-plus map. Moreover, Level 100 equipment and resources drop in Level 100 neutral maps. The various superpowers'' teams invest dozens of hours each day traveling to and from these maps just to grind, but if they had a private house in the area, they could teleport directly to the map," a Level 94 Cursemancer informed the female player. Enviously, he continued, "Moreover, I''ve heard that you can accumulate the Double EXP buff and slightly accelerate your recovery speed while resting inside Stone Forest City''s private houses. All of these benefits can boost your leveling speed." If he had had enough money, he would''ve applied to join the auction as well. He wouldn''t have wasted his time slowly earning CPs in the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance, trying to become a Silver member. Meanwhile, inside one of White River City''s restaurants... "Elder, Zero Wing has over 20 Tier 3 players now. Even Starlink will be helpless against the Guild in the Cold Spring Forest now," a handsome man in pitch-black armor reported to Evil Qilin. Anxiously, he asked, "What should we do about the Vice Guild Leader''s command?" Zero Wing''s foundations had surprised them. With Tier 3 players'' survivability in Level 100 neutral maps, not even 10 Hellfire Legions could affect Zero Wing''s development, much less the current 1,000-man Hellfire Legion. "We''ve underestimated the Guild. Zero Wing is certainly impressive to nurture so many Tier 3 players so soon. For now, we should settle for renting private houses in Stone Forest City," Evil Qilin said, frowning as he read the latest report. Demon Palace only had around two dozen members that were preparing for their Tier 3 Promotion Quest, yet Zero Wing already had that many Tier 3 players... "Even if we win some, I''m afraid that it won''t be enough..." the handsome youth worried. Demon Palace ruled over the Demonic Hell World and had a massive number of experts under its command. Even if they rented all of Stone Forest City''s private houses, they wouldn''t satisfy the Guild''s demand. "We''re not in a hurry. Very few Guild members are capable of challenging their Tier 3 Promotion Quests right now. A few hundred private houses should be enough," Evil Qilin said, chuckling. "However, this decision will haunt Zero Wing. Since the Guild has opted out of opening Stone Forest City to the public, it won''t last long once the various superpowers'' members complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. I can''t wait to see whether or not Zero Wing can hold onto Stone Forest City!" Evil Qilin only expected Zero Wing to rule over the Cold Spring Forest for a short time. How many experts could the Guild possibly have that could reach Tier 3 so soon compared to the various superpowers? It would only be a matter of time before Zero Wing was left behind. While the various powers discussed Zero Wing, Shi Feng teleported to one of the Ten Saints Empire''s border towns with Cola and his team. They then boarded the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and flew to the Demonic Wolf Mountains, another Level 100 neutral map. The Demonwolf Mountain Range was a forbidden land south of the Ten Saints Empire, and there were rumors that a Ferocious Beast, the Dark Battle Wolf, lived there. Even the Ten Saints Empire, one of God''s Domain''s Four Great Empires, was afraid of provoking the beast. The Dark Battle Wolf had the strength to rival a Tier 5 Dragon King, a being that could even contend with Tier 6 Gods. Moreover, a destructive aura enveloped the entire mountain range. Tier 2 players wouldn''t survive more than three hours in the area. It was also home to the Dark Wolf race, which had inherited the Dark Battle Wolfs Bloodline. They were no weaker than Bloodline Creatures of the same level and tier. During Shi Feng''s previous life, not even the various superpowers had dared to venture into the Demonwolf Mountain Range casually. "Why are we here, Guild Leader? This environment even feels ominous for Tier 3 players. We''re not here to grind, are we?" Cola asked nervously as he watched the numerous wolf packs roam the forest below the flying ship. Since reaching Tier 3, Cola had felt as if he had the strength to toy with Level 100 Great Lords, but when he saw the Three-eyed Demonwolves below, he sensed the threat of death. The Great Lord ranked Three-eyed Demonwolves felt particularly dangerous. Yan Tianxing and the others felt the same and were just as uncomfortable. "We''re not here to level. These monsters are cheapskates. They give very little EXP and loot. Moreover, those wolves generally move in packs of 500 or more. Even a 100-man, Tier 3 expert team would be dog food here, not to mention our team," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Then, why are we here?" Yan Tianxing repeated the question. Now that Zero Wing had so many Tier 3 experts, they could raid Level 100 Team Dungeons, yet Shi Feng had brought them to this godforsaken place. "We''re going to open a portal to the western continent!" Shi Feng answered, chuckling. If the various superpowers had so many Tier 3 experts under their command right now, they''d definitely start raiding Level 100 Team dungeons or powerful Field Bosses. It was the easiest way to gain more Level 100 weapons and equipment, which would enable more of the Guild''s members to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, after all. However, Shi Feng thought that method was too slow for Zero Wing. His Guild didn''t have as many experts as the various superpowers, and if he wanted Zero Wing to grow quickly, he had to expend an abundance of resources. The fastest way to acquire these resources was through trade between the two continents. Shi Feng hadn''t had the ability to travel to the western continent before, but now that Cola and his team had reached Tier 3, Zero Wing had a chance of opening the portal to the other continent. Naturally, Shi Feng would take advantage of this opportunity. 2385 Western Continen Chapter 2385 - Western Continent "A portal to the western continent?" Yan Tianxing and the others turned to their Guild Leader in astonishment. God''s Domain''s various powers were no longer ignorant of the western continent, and a few superpowers had already gained the ability to travel between the two main continents. The resources these superpowers had returned with had made the various powers jealous. God''s Domain''s continents had very different cultures. Not only did their developmental directions differ, but each continent had largely different resources. Thus, each continent''s players could greatly benefit from the other''s resources. Based on what Yan Tianxing and his comrades knew, players on the western continent had very different daily expenditures than those on the eastern continent. The eastern continent''s players mainly relied on Coins as a currency due to the continent''s focus on combat techniques. Naturally, relying on combat techniques in battle placed a huge burden on weapons and equipment, and as a result, players spent a lot of their money on repair fees. On the western continent, players relied on Magic Crystals more than Coins. The western continent''s players focused more on Basic Attributes and Mana use. Thus, they needed Magic Crystals to strengthen themselves and their weapons and equipment. Of course, Magic Crystals were a rare and precious commodity on both continents, but due to the western continent''s developmental direction, Magic Crystals were worth far more there. In contrast, the materials to produce weapons and equipment were much cheaper than on the eastern continent. If Zero Wing were able to travel between the two continents, it would become a true superpower in no time. "That''s right. I discovered a hidden clue about a Magic Gate here, one that''s been passed down since ancient times. As long as we activate the Magic Gate, we''ll be able to travel between the continents," Shi Feng said, making up a random excuse to avoid suspicion. The various superpowers were desperately searching for ways to travel between the continents, but very few had succeeded. It''d be strange if he discovered a portal by chance. "Is the portal stable, Guild Leader?" Yi Luofei eagerly asked. When they heard Yi Luofei''s question, the rest of the team perked up in curiosity. None of them doubted Shi Feng''s word. Players had discovered many of God''s Domain''s quests and portals through hidden clues. There was nothing strange about one of these clues leading to a portal connected to the two main continents. Rather, everyone was more curious about whether or not the portal was safe. If it were a single-use portal, it wouldn''t be of much help to Zero Wing. At most, they could make a quick buck by reselling the western continent''s resources once. However, if the portal were stable, they could continue to make money until travel between the continents became the norm. The difference between the two would be massive. "Based on the clue I found, it should be," Shi Feng said. "Unfortunately, we''ll only know how large the portal is once we activate it." The portal they were looking for was stable, or he wouldn''t have bothered to travel all the way out here, but since he had never seen or used the portal personally, he didn''t know its exact details. On the eastern continent, the Ten Saints Empire had the most portals that led to the western continent. Based on what Shi Feng knew, there were nearly 10 stable portals in the empire, and among them, the largest and most stable was under multiple superpowers'' control. That was also the portal most players relied on to travel between the continents. After considering Zero Wing''s situation, Shi Feng had decided that the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s portal was the best suited for his Guild. This portal was incredibly stable. During Shi Feng''s previous life, a dark power had secretly controlled it. The public had only learned about its existence after travel between the continents had become more commonplace, and the various superpowers had grown to envy the dark power that had controlled this portal. Shi Feng''s answer excited his team. The Guild really wouldn''t have to worry about its development if they could secure this portal. While Shi Feng and his players conversed, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship reached a frozen lake within the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region. A layer of snow covered the frozen lake, which was so large it could easily contain several cities. If the system map hadn''t labeled this area as a lake, players would''ve likely mistaken it for a snowy plain. However, before the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship began to descend, the team was overwhelmed by an eerie feeling. They looked down at the lake, noticing a large number of frozen humans and beasts. The human sculptures all wore the same armor and clothing, and the weakest among them was Tier 3. If the Ten Saints Empire''s players saw these human''s armor, they would''ve been shocked. The armor and clothing those statues wore were that of the Sacred Brilliance Division, one of the Ten Saints Empire''s Seven Mythic Knight Divisions. The Seven Mythic Knight Divisions had been the Ten Saints Empire''s prided source of apex combat power since ancient times. It was rumored that just one of these Knight Divisions could destroy an entire kingdom. However, these several thousand Knights stood, frozen, on the lake below. Based on their positions and expressions, it was obvious that these Knights had been frozen before they had even begun to prepare for battle... Those were several thousand Tier 3 NPCs they were talking about! Just thinking about the implications of this made Yan Tianxing and his companions shudder. God''s Domain operated on a system of cause and effect. A group of Tier 3 NPCs wouldn''t freeze to death for no reason. Something must have attacked these Sacred Brilliance Division Knights. The scene even dumbfounded Shi Feng. According to his information, there shouldn''t be any NPCs here, let alone one of the Seven Mythic Knight Divisions. All he should''ve needed to do was repair the Magic Gate and protect it from the monsters in the lake. "Look at that statue, Guild Leader! It seems to be radiating a faint glow!" Blackie said as he pointed at an ice sculpture beneath the flying ship. Unlike the other frozen Knights, the sculpture Blackie pointed to glowed with a faint, golden light. It was also dressed more luxurious than the rest and gave off a trace of Divine Might. The Divine Might didn''t originate from an item, but from the NPC himself. A Hero!? Shi Feng was surprised to see the frozen NPC in question. Heroes were apex beings among the human race, and although everyone knew they existed, meeting a living hero was an extraordinarily rare encounter. Most Heroes had died ages ago and only retained a fraction of their original strength. And yet, Shi Feng could tell that the frozen Hero below him was still alive. "Guild Leader, should we check them out?" Blackie asked. "Let''s go take a look," Shi Feng agreed after considering the situation. They didn''t really have a choice. The Magic Gate they were after was sealed under the Hero''s feet. They couldn''t avoid approaching the NPC unless they gave up on the Magic Gate. Shortly after the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship landed on the lake, a deep, powerful voice addressed the team. "Adventurers, might I trouble you to remove this seal?" Shi Feng, the team leader, then received a system notification. 2386 Another Inferior Legendary Ques Chapter 2386 - Another Inferior Legendary Quest System: Inferior Legendary Quest, "Last Knight" triggered. You have three minutes to accept the quest or not. You will not be penalized for refusing the quest. System: If you choose to accept the quest and complete it, you will gain Holy Knight Alba Gray''s favor. Alba Gray''s Favorability of you beyond the corresponding reward will depend on the quest''s completion rate. System: If you fail to complete the quest, all Basic Attributes will be permanently decreased by 100 points. You will lose five levels, and your Reputation in the Ten Saints Empire will be reduced by 500 points. The system notifications repeated three times. He''s Alba Gray?! Shi Feng stared at the frozen, middle-aged man before him in astonishment. The penalties for failing the quest didn''t particularly surprise him. In fact, for an Inferior Legendary Quest, the penalties were a bit light. Even Epic Quests had more severe consequences for failure. What truly surprised Shi Feng was the Hero''s name. Alba Gray! Every player in Shi Feng''s previous life had known this name. Alba Gray had been one of the eight Famed Smiths in the past. Before him, even a talented Grandmaster Forger amounted to nothing. The various superpowers had gone crazy over Alba Gray in the past because only the Famed Smiths could forge Legendary items. The easiest method of obtaining a suitable Legendary item was to seek the help of a Famed Smith. Relying on players to craft such an item was barely a dream. Hence, the various superpowers had done everything they could to gain any of the known Famed Smiths'' Favorability. Even Tier 6 God-ranked players would go crazy for a custom-made Legendary Item. They''d even destroy an entire kingdom to get their hands on one. Unfortunately, gaining a Famed Smith''s Favorability was easier said than done. Players would be lucky enough to meet a Famed Smith, much less earn their Favorability. Famed Smith''s enjoyed even higher status than Kings, and even the War God''s Temple, one of God''s Domain''s few apex powers, treated such NPCs with great respect. It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to earn such an influential individual''s Favorability. Shi Feng had never thought that not only would he meet the legendary Alba Gray here, but he''d even get a chance to earn the NPC''s Favorability by simply accepting the quest. If the various superpowers of his past life found out about this, they''d kill him out of jealousy. Without any hesitation, Shi Feng accepted the Inferior Legendary Quest. He then received another notification stating that his Favorability with Alba Gray had increased by 10 Points. The rest of the team was also notified of the quest. "Are we really going to challenge this Inferior Legendary Quest?" Blackie asked, worriedly glancing at the Last Knight quest''s rank. Major powers'' upper echelons, like himself, were very familiar with quests'' difficulties. He was beyond feeling fortunate just because he accepted a high-rank quest. Great rewards came with great risks in God''s Domain. Many major powers had suffered grievously for accepting high- ranked quests that they couldn''t complete. Some Guilds had even destroyed themselves due to uncompleted quests. Meanwhile, not only was the Last Knight an Inferior Legendary Quest, but it was also in such a dangerous location. Even with Zero Wing''s 25 Tier 3 players, Blackie wasn''t confident in completing the quest. The rest of the team was just as concerned. The weakest monster they had seen in the Demonwolf Mountain Range had been a Level 100 Lord, and throughout their journey, they had spotted Level 110-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords. Aside from Shi Feng, they were all new to Tier 3. Furthermore, they had yet to upgrade their weapons and equipment. Just standing in the Demonwolf Mountain Range was incredibly risky for them, let alone trying to complete an Inferior Legendary Quest. "The quest rewards are incredible. Not accepting it would be a waste," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He didn''t bother to explain his decision, however. "We''ve already reached Tier 3. Even if we fail and lose five levels, we can earn them back quickly. Enough worrying. Let''s get going." The 10 Favorability Points they had just gained were far more valuable than the Basic Attributes and levels they risked losing. Countless superpowers would willingly make such a trade. There were many methods to increasing Basic Attributes, and gaining levels was even easier. Furthermore, if they completed this quest, they''d gain even more Favorability with Alba Gray. Regardless of the outcome, accepting this quest would only benefit players. Only a fool would reject it. Shi Feng then approached Alba Gray, and after a moment of thought, the rest of the team saw their Guild Leader''s reasoning. Now that they had reached Tier 3, their leveling speed was far faster than Tier 2 players''. Even if they lost five levels, they could recover and maintain their advantage over others relatively easily. "Lord Hero, may I know what we need to do to remove your seal?" Shi Feng asked Alba Gray. Unfortunately, my Knight Division came across the Jealous Witch at a bad time, and she cursed us, adventurers. Since my comrades lacked the protection and blessings of the Gods, they died when they were frozen. Although I am protected by the Gods, I cannot fully stop the curse from eroding my body. I ask that you collect some of the Mana the Jealous Witch left behind in this land. I will also need you to stop the Ice Elf, Ulunium, whom the Jealous Witch left to oversee my demise. That will buy me enough time to break free from the curse," Alba Gray mentally relayed. System: Inferior Legendary Quest, "Last Knight." Quest content: Collect 1,000 strands of Mana the Jealous Witch left behind in this land to remove Alba Gray''s curse. Before removing Alba Gray''s curse, you must do all you can to stop the Ice Elf, Ulunium. You have 10 days to complete the quest. The less time you spend completing the quest, the higher the quest''s completion rate will be. Shi Feng''s teammate gasped when they saw the quest''s contents. "Crap! This quest is fraudulent!" Blackie''s face twitched as he read the quest details. "Collect 1,000 strands of Mana in 10 days? How are we supposed to do that?" They were all familiar with the concept of collecting Mana for a quest. Normally, players could complete the task by killing Great Lord rank or higher monsters in a specified location. Although killing Level 100 Great Lords might be easy with their strength, collecting 1,000 Mana strands within 10 days was a joke. Level 100 Great Lords had incredibly high HP. Even their team would need at least 15 minutes to kill one. Although God''s Domain''s days consisted of 48 hours, they''d have to grind non-stop for five days to complete this quest. To make matters worse, Great Lords only had a chance of dropping the required Mana. To put it simply, this quest was the system''s way of toying with them. It''s no wonder why only a few superpowers had earned enough of the Famed Smiths'' Favorability to commission an item. Shi Feng couldn''t help his bitter smile after listening to Alba Gray''s request. Not even a 100-man, Tier 3 team could complete this quest, especially since players had just recently reached Level 100. "Guild Leader, we should call in all of the Guild''s experts," Yan Tianxing suggested. "That''s not a viable option, I''m afraid," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. More help would increase their chances of success, but the Ten Saints Empire was quite far from Star-Moon Kingdom. The teleportation fees alone would be a huge burden on the Guild, and players would need a long time to travel from the Ten Saints Empire to the Demonwolf Mountain Range. Most importantly, ordinary Tier 2 experts would have no hope of surviving in this forbidden land. "But at this rate, we won''t be able to complete the quest," Yan Tianxing insisted. He had considered the same issues with his suggestion, but their team of 25 simply couldn''t slay enough Great Lords within the time limit. "We''re not completely out of options," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "Blackie, contact Melancholic and tell her to gather all of the Secret-Silver Guards I asked her to find in White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. I''ll head over right away. While I''m gone, I want the rest of you to collect as many Mana strands as possible." He had already instructed Melancholic Smile to locate high Growth Potential Secret-Silver Guards for him. He had even shared all of the clues he knew of with her. He had intended to use Soul Strengthening to upgrade these Secret- Silver Guards to Fine-Gold rank and use them to boost Zero Wing''s combat power. While Secret-Silver Guards could fend off peak experts, they''d be no match for apex experts. The same couldn''t be said of Fine-Gold Guards, however, especially a full team of them. If they worked together, Fine- Gold Guards could slay Domain Realm experts as easily as playing with children. "Secret-Silver Guards?" Shi Feng''s order confused Blackie. He didn''t understand why Shi Feng would want a bunch of Secret-Silver Guards, but he did as he was told. Shi Feng then boarded the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and left the Demonwolf Mountain Range, which prevented any form of teleportation, in a hurry. Once he was free of the forbidden land, he used a Return Scroll and teleported to White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. 2387 Strengthening the Ancient Gods Literature Fragmen Chapter 2387 - Strengthening the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment White River City, Candlelight Trading Firm: Compared to the surrounding player-owned Shops and NPC Shops, the Candlelight Trading Firm''s 21-story Shop loomed a giant overseeing the city''s business district. Almost every new visitor to White River City gasped when they saw it. The players that focused on their subclasses gave the magnificent building particularly longing looks. These players'' reactions weren''t simply because White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm was a 4-star Shop, but also due to Zero Wing''s latest announcement. All Zero Wing and Candlelight Trading Firm members could purchase a private house in Stone Forest City with their GCPs. Even the various superpowers hungered after Stone Forest City''s private houses, and because of this announcement, the various major powers'' players envied Zero Wing and Candlelight''s members. Even a fool would recognize the immeasurable future ahead for Stone Forest City. Although a Level 100 neutral map was very dangerous, there was no doubt that it was an excellent leveling spot for current players. Furthermore, nowhere within God''s Domain''s many kingdoms and empires could match the city''s scenery. With one of the city''s private houses, one would have bragging rights for life. Unfortunately, securing a permanent private house in Stone Forest City was easier said than done. Zero Wing had no intentions of selling its private houses to outsiders, only lease them. Once the lease ended, players would have to bid for the house in another auction. And yet, as a member of Zero Wing or Candlelight, one could own their own house in the city. Why wouldn''t outsiders be jealous? As Shi Feng made his way toward the Candlelight Trading Firm, his Guild Emblem, that of Zero Wing''s core members, attracted many envious looks, even though he hid his appearance and identity with a Black Cloak. "He''s actually a Zero Wing core member? It''d be great if I could get to know him," a Level 96 female Elementalist said, her eyes glowing brightly as she watched Shi Feng pass by. Nowadays, Zero Wing shone like the midday sun in Star-Moon Kingdom and its several neighboring kingdoms. Even other kingdoms'' major powers had to show respect for the Guild. In addition, countless adventurer teams sought to befriend Zero Wing''s core members in hopes of gaining some advantage in the Cold Spring Forest. "Isn''t he just a core member? What''s so great about that?" a Level 97 male Shield Warrior said in jealousy. "If I were willing to deal with the restrictions, I could join Zero Wing and become a core member, too." "Even for you, that''d be a challenge," the female Elementalist said, shaking her head at the disgruntled Shield Warrior. "I''ve heard that since Zero Wing has so many members now, they''ve raised the requirement for elite members to the middle stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. If you wanted to become a core member, you''d have to reach the sixth floor''s middle stage at the very least." At this stage of the game, players only needed to reach the late stage of the Trial Tower''s fifth floor to be considered an expert. There was a huge difference between the fifth and sixth floors. Even in well-known adventurer teams, the experts that could reach the sixth floor''s middle stage could be counted on one hand. When he heard the requirement to become a Zero Wing core member, the Level 97 Shield Warrior fell silent. He belonged to a well-known adventurer team from the Black Dragon Empire, and very few of his teammates could reach that stage. He had only recently reached the fifth floor''s late stage. He was nowhere strong enough to become a core member in Zero Wing. We''ve already raised the core member requirements that high? Shi Feng was similarly surprised when he overheard the conversation. To ensure that the Guild''s core members had enough resources to develop, Zero Wing had limited the number of players that could become core members. The Guild only had limited resources, especially the rarer resources, after all. There simply weren''t enough to supply an endless number of members. Of course, exceptions could be made for the players that met the Guild''s high standards. As far as Shi Feng could remember, the minimum requirement to become a core member had been fixed at the early stage of the Trial Tower''s sixth floor, with the higher standard of reaching the sixth floor''s late stage. If players reached the late stage, they wouldn''t have to take part in the core members'' monthly elimination competition. But apparently, the minimum requirement had been raised to the sixth floor''s middle stage. It was easy to imagine how many experts had recently joined his Guild. Shi Feng had to admit that using Stone Forest City to promote Zero Wing had been amazingly effective. Moreover, as time passed, the core membership minimum requirements would become more demanding, and the Guild would acquire even more experts. Although Shi Feng was pleased with his Guild''s development, he felt a little pressured. More experts meant greater demand for resources. If the Guild failed to meet these experts'' needs, it would only be a matter of time before they left the Guild as other powers established towns and cities in Level 100 neutral maps. Whether or not Zero Wing grew into a superpower would depend on the Guild''s income of Coins and resources. Considering this issue, Shi Feng hurried toward the Candlelight Trading Firm. Melancholic Smile had already gathered the Secret-Silver Guards she had gone to great lengths to find in one of the top-floor Basic Meditation Rooms. As Shi Feng entered the room, she promptly handed him a detailed list of these Guards. "Guild Leader, after scouring the various kingdoms and empires, I managed to find 16 Secret-Silver Guards with very high Growth Potential. I''ve secured other Secret-Silver Guards as well, but their Growth Potential isn''t as high," Melancholic Smile awkwardly reported as she gestured to the row of Guards behind her. Shi Feng had provided her with plenty of clues, and she had utilized the Secret Pavilion''s connections to follow them. However, even after so many days of searching, she had only found 16 Secret-Silver Guards that fit Shi Feng''s criteria. "Sixteen?" Shi Feng was ecstatic with her results. Finding Secret-Silver Guards wasn''t easy. They all had a considerably high chance of reaching Tier 4, after all. Even after ten years in God''s Domain, not even first-rate Guilds had been able to afford to take a Tier 4 combatant lightly. Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts were far too rare. As for second- and third-rate Guilds, they had been wise to fear Tier 4 combatants. Melancholic Smile simply didn''t realize how amazing her accomplishment was. Shi Feng instructed Melancholic Smile to continue her hunt for Secret-Silver Guards with high Growth Potential and materials for the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships. Meanwhile, he snuck the 16 Secret-Silver Guards to the Shop''s second basement floor, where the Shop''s private warehouse was located. Only the Shop''s owner had access to this area. At Epic rank, the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment could only strengthen one Soul per day, but he only had 10 days to complete his Inferior Legendary Quest. At most, he had time to strengthen 9 Secret-Silver Guards. He''d never complete his quest with so few Fine-Gold Guards. Hence, Shi Feng intended to use the Holy Grail to upgrade the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. Since the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment was bound to his soul, which prevented him from trading it or storing it in a warehouse, he had been afraid of upgrading it. It could also drop if he died. If he lost the Literature Fragment after upgrading it, he would mourn the loss. However, now that he had risen to Tier 3, he was strong enough to protect himself. Now, the chances of someone killing him were extremely low. The Ancient God''s Literature Fragment''s abilities were frightening, and if he could evolve it, it''d become an unimaginable benefit to Zero Wing. After carefully retrieving the Holy Grail from its shelf, Shi Feng used it to scan the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. A short moment later, a system notification informed Shi Feng of the Life Force required to evolve the Literature Fragment. He would have to permanently sacrifice 50,000 HP... So much?! The number took Shi Feng by surprise. For Tier 2 players, losing 50,000 HP was fatal, and the evolution wasn''t even a guaranteed success. If the evolution failed, then he''d lose 50,000 HP for nothing, which was why Shi Feng didn''t use the Holy Grail casually. However, Shi Feng did not consider the issue for long. Compared to the benefits he could gain from upgrading the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment, losing 50,000 HP was acceptable. After all, the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment wasn''t an ordinary Epic item, and he currently had nearly 1,000,000 HP. Fortunately, HP wasn''t particularly important for a Swordsman, and Shi Feng knew of many ways in God''s Domain to increase his HP permanently. "Evolve!" Shi Feng growled, gritting his teeth. As he did, the Holy Grail plundered 50,000 HP from Shi Feng and converted it into purple-blue smoke that enveloped the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. 2388 Evolution Effects Chapter 2388 - Evolution Effects Suspended in mid-air, the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment radiated a golden light as it hungrily devoured the purple-blue smoke. As the Literature Fragment absorbed more of the smoke, the engraved divine runes sharpened. The surrounding Mana began to flow toward the Literature Fragment, as well. After 10 seconds of this, the divine runes on the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment had completed, fully repaired, and it radiated far stronger Divine Might than before. What a powerful aura! Shi Feng began to grow excited as he sensed the Literature Fragment''s Divine Might. The strength of the Divine Might meant the Literature Fragment had been upgraded, and the process was a success. Eagerly, Shi Feng clicked to inspect the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment. [Ancient God''s Literature Fragment - Page V] (Epic Rank Item) An ancient parchment that has undergone the baptism of time. The divine runes have been fully restored by the Holy Grail and contain unbelievable power. Summon Heroic Spirit: Sacrifice a portion of the user''s soul to summon 18 ancient Heroic Warriors to do battle. The summoned Heroic Warriors will be one tier higher than the user up to Tier 3. Duration: 12 hours Cooldown: 3 natural days (A Weakened Soul cannot conduct the summoning.) Skill 2- Soul Absorption: Absorbs the souls of half-dead creatures for a high chance to generate a drop of Soul Essence. Cooldown: 3 hours (Stronger targeted creatures increase the chances of generating Soul Essence.) Skill 3- Soul Strengthening: Consume Soul Essence to strengthen a creature''s soul. Cooldown: 3 hours (Stronger targeted creatures require more Soul Essence for Soul Strengthening.) Skill 4- Divine Resonance: Automatically detects any Ancient God''s Literature Fragments within a 1,000-yard radius. This item is bound to the owner''s soul and cannot be traded or stored in a warehouse. This Fragment also has a chance of dropping on death. (Drops on death if in a Weakened Soul state.) Why is it still Epic rank? Shi Feng was confused when he saw the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment''s statistics. In terms of abilities, the upgraded Ancient God''s Literature Fragment was stronger than some of the Fragmented Legendary items Shi Feng had seen. In fact, if the various superpowers found out about the Literature Fragment''s current abilities, they''d likely offer to trade several Fragmented Legendary items for it. Yet, despite such abilities, the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment was still an Epic item. It was unbelievable. Sure enough, I''ll need to collect more fragments if I want to upgrade its rank, Shi Feng concluded. The Ancient God''s Literature was a divine tome, which numerous Ancient Gods had written. It had the power to decimate the heavens and earth. Trying to upgrade a single fragment to Fragmented Legendary rank was simply unrealistic. However, Shi Feng was satisfied with the results. With the minor strengthening, the Literature Fragment''s Summon Heroic Spirit Skill had massively improved. The Skill was enough to make him a one-man army. Furthermore, Soul Absorption and Soul Strengthing''s Cooldowns had shortened significantly. Every one of the changes had exceeded Shi Feng''s expectations. Most importantly, his Ancient God''s Literature Fragment now had the ability to locate other fragments within range. This effect would make it much easier to compile the fragments. If he could complete the tome, the Ancient God''s Literature would benefit the Guild far more than four or five more Fragmented Legendary items. Following which, Shi Feng stored the Holy Grail and turned to face the Secret-Silver Guards behind him. These Secret-Silver Guards weren''t like monsters like Anna and Kite. Each only needed three drops of Soul Essence for their first Soul Strengthening. Fortunately, Shi Feng had collected over 100 drops, so he could strengthen all 16 Secret- Silver Guards at least once. With 16 Fine-Gold Guards and Anna and Kites strength, he could move through the Demonwolf Mountain Range unhindered. Shi Feng wasted no time as he began to chant the Soul Strengthening''s incantation and target the Elementalist before him. A fivefold magic array, one far stronger than the one that had appeared when Shi Feng had strengthened Kite''s soul, immediately appeared under the Elementalist''s feet. The array even absorbed Mana from its surroundings and the void at least three times faster than it had with Kite. Very quickly, a fist-sized ball of Liquid Mana appeared before the Elementalist. This ball of Mana melted into the Elementalist''s forehead, and the Secret-Silver Guard released a bone-piercing howl. Although the Elementalist was in pain, Shi Feng could clearly sense the Guard''s aura rapidly growing stronger. This excruciating process continued for five seconds. By the time the ball of Liquid Mana and the Elementalist had merged completely, the Elementalist felt like a completely different person. To Shi Feng, the Level 103, Tier 3 Great Mage had only felt slightly threatening, but now, even he''d have to tread carefully in a fight with this NPC. This NPC improved so drastically?! Shi Feng could not believe his eyes when he saw the Great Mage''s statistics. Previously, the Great Mage had only had 78 Growth Potential, which was considerably high for a Secret-Silver Guard. Secret-Silver Guard''s Growth Potential only ranged between 71 and 80, and this Great Mage had only been three points away from Fine-Gold rank. When Shi Feng used Soul Strengthening on Kite, the NPC''s Growth Potential had only risen by two points. While Shi Feng had expected a greater increase for a Secret-Silver Guard, he had only expected a three- or four-point increase at best. However, the Great Mage''s Growth Potential had risen by five points, to 83. The Great Mage had crossed the Fine-Gold threshold and more. Every additional point of Growth Potential was significant to Personal Guards. At 83, a Personal Guard could perfectly suppress an apex expert of the same level and tier. Shi Feng couldn''t help his growing excitement. With the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment''s new strength, he could even elevate Secret-Silver Guards with 76 Growth Potential to Fine-Gold rank. Now, Zero Wing could amass a small army of Fine-Gold Guards. Shi Feng immediately contacted Melancholic Smile and had her send him the Guild''s Secret-Silver Guards with at least 76 Growth Potential to the Basic Meditation Room on the top floor. "Guild Leader, those guards are currently protecting Silverwing Town. I''m afraid that I''ll need some time to find temporary replacements and recall them all to White River City," Melancholic Smile said. Of the Secret-Silver Guards she had found, she had ordered those that met Shi Feng''s requirements to stand guard in White River City. She had sent the rest to defend Silverwing Town in the meantime. Secret-Silver Guards had incredible combat power, and once they reached Level 100, they could complete their promotion to Tier 3. They were an excellent deterrent in the chaotic Ore Empire. "Don''t worry about it. Just recall them all here," Shi Feng said. He did not mind waiting. The upgraded Soul Strengthening still had a 3-hour Cooldown, and it would take a full, natural day to strengthen the 16 Secret-Silver Guards before him. "Alright, I''ll start making the necessary arrangements," Melancholic Smile said, not giving the matter much thought. She then contacted the core members that owned the Secret-Silver Guards in question. 2389 Fine-Gold Team Chapter 2389 - Fine-Gold Team While Shi Feng waited quietly for Silverwing Town''s Secret-Silver Guards to arrive in the top-floor Basic Meditation room, Liang Jing contacted him. "Guild Leader, we''ve got trouble in the Dark Night Empire!" Liang Jing exclaimed. "The Dark Night Empire? What''s happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw Liang Jing''s anxious expression. Although Zero Wing hadn''t been developing in the Dark Night Empire for long, it had received help from Unyielding Soul. Because of that, both Zero Wing''s strength and the Candlelight Trading Firm''s business had been progressing relatively smoothly, and thanks to Stone Forest City, more of the empire''s experts sought to join Zero Wing. Moreover, Starlink hadn''t been able to do anything drastic against Zero Wing for fear of unexpected attacks from Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. Hence, Zero Wing''s branch in the Dark Night Empire was booming. "Starlink has established a city at the Gloomy Hills, a map near the Gloomy Ruin, a Level 100 neutral map. Moreover, Starlink has announced that it is opening the city to all of its adventurer alliances'' members. Many of the empire''s experts are siding with Starlink because of this, and some experts and adventurer teams that had been thinking of joining the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance have changed their minds," Liang Jing explained. "In addition, the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers have started to side with Starlink. Even Crimson Emperor is considering a partnership. "Starlink has also announced that it will lease its new city''s private houses with a starting bid of only 10,000 Credits per week. Even many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s major powers and adventurer teams have been discussing the idea of shifting their development to the Dark Night Empire." The fact that Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor held Starlink back was a large part of the reason for Zero Wing''s survival in the Dark Night Empire. In addition, the Dark Night Empire''s various major powers had sided with Zero Wing to keep Starlink in check. Hence, the most Starlink had been able to do was pressure Zero Wing''s territory in the empire. However, if Crimson Emperor and the various major powers sided with Starlink, the Zero Wing''s members in the empire would be in danger. Furthermore, now that Starlink had a city in the Gloomy Hills, Zero Wing''s experts couldn''t operate in the Level 90-plus resource map. Needless to say, this also made it impossible for the Guild members to reach the Gloomy Ruin. And with Starlink''s bounty still in effect, a large number of independent experts and adventurer teams would target Zero Wing''s members. If this persisted, it wouldn''t be long before Zero Wing could no longer survive in the Dark Night Empire. Zero Wing had already grown to a substantial size, and there were only so many high-level maps in each country. The high-level maps available around Star-Moon Kingdom weren''t enough to fulfill Zero Wing''s needs. Although the Cold Spring Forest was rich in resources, very few Guild members were strong enough to grind in a Level 100 neutral map right now. At this stage of the game, a grinding team would need a peak expert to lead it if it wanted to survive in such an area. Unfortunately, unlike the various superpowers, Zero Wing only had a small number of peak experts. The majority of the Guild''s players would still need some time to grind in Level 90-plus maps. "Starlink wants to gather both manpower and resources?" Shi Feng had a rough idea of what the enemy Guild planned after listening to Liang Jing''s report. Starlink''s new city might not be as impressive as Stone Forest City, but it was near a Level 100 neutral map. It would also be quite useful to players who wanted to explore the Gloomy Ruin, and Starlink was accepting far cheaper rent for the private houses in its new city. It was enough to tempt many players. However, this wasn''t good news for Zero Wing, which needed Credits and resources. "What should we do, Guild Leader? At this rate, not only will we earn less income from our private houses, but more experts will target our Guild members as well," Liang Jing said. The opportunity to enter Stone Forest City was a large part of the reason that the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance had attracted so many experts, but only Silver and higher ranked members could take advantage of that opportunity. On the other hand, Starlink gave all of its adventurer alliances'' members access to its new city. Naturally, this would make the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance less attractive to independent experts. Starlink''s adventurer alliances would also gain more independent experts to target Zero Wing''s members. "Lu Xingluo is sacrificing his new Guild City just to deal with us? I guess he really wants this to be a fight to the death," Shi Feng said, frowning. "Since he wants a war of resources, I''ll play with him until he''s satisfied. Make the arrangements. From now on, half the number of CPs required to become a Silver member in the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance, and we''ll hold auctions for the Crimson Sunsets. However, only Silver members and above will be allowed to participate, and the starting bid will be 30,000 Magic Crystals and 10,000 Gold!" "We''re auctioning the Crimson Sunsets?" Liang Jing could not help but gasp. "But Guild Leader, those are a part of our Guild''s foundation. Our Guild members also need those to survive in Level 100 neutral maps. If we sell the Crimson Sunsets..." Nothing was more important than one''s strength to the various powers and players. If the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance auctioned off the Crimson Sunsets to its members, there was no doubt that experts and adventurer teams would swarm to join the alliance. However, the Crimson Sunsets were an advantage Zero Wing''s members needed over other players. If they auctioned the Crimson Sunsets to the public, they''d only help other players rapidly improve, which wouldn''t benefit Zero Wing''s development. "It''s fine. The Crimson Sunset might be valuable, but it is still a Consumable. Moreover, as players reach higher levels, it''ll become less valuable. Since the various superpowers'' experts have started to reach Level 100, this is the perfect opportunity to sell the sets," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Before this, he would''ve hesitated to make such a decision, but he didn''t mind now. Now, he had an even stronger trump card to assure Zero Wing''s advantage in the Cold Spring Forest. The Ancient God''s Literature Fragment! With so many Fine-Gold Guards, Zero Wing wouldn''t have to worry about the various superpowers'' peak experts. Giving the matter some thought, Liang Jing agreed with Shi Feng. Besides, Zero Wing didn''t have a better option to stop Starlink from poaching its potential members. She disconnected the call and immediately saw to Shi Feng''s orders, publishing a public announcement regarding the Crimson Sunsets'' auction on the notice boards in the Star- Moon Adventurer Alliance''s Residences. When players noticed the announcement, it caused a sensation throughout the adventurer alliance. "Crap! Zero Wing is too amazing! A Tier 2 Mana Set Equipment!" "If I had a Crimson Sunset, I could challenge my Tier 3 Promotion Quest right away!" The Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance''s members were astonished when they saw the Crimson Sunset''s Attributes. None of them had ever thought that Zero Wing would have such powerful equipment. The experts and adventurer teams that had considered joining Starlink''s adventurer alliances changed their minds instantly. Some that had even joined Starlink''s adventurer alliances already made their way to the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance after learning about the Crimson Sunsets. Of course, the various large Guilds were just as stunned. "Is Zero Wing insane? It''s actually selling Mana Set Equipment?" "Zero Wing is probably panicking. Starlink''s new city has dealt quite a blow, after all." These large Guilds all thought Zero Wing was foolish to sell the Crimson Sunsets. The Guild was practically throwing away a huge advantage. Selling the Crimson Sunset might alleviate Zero Wing''s current problems, but it wouldn''t benefit the Guild in the long run. Moreover, once the Crimson Sunsets were no longer useful, the various adventurer teams and independent experts would return to Starlink''s side. While everyone discussed the Mana Set Equipment, Shi Feng visited his Special Forging Room to produce more of them while he waited for the Soul Strengthening''s Cooldown to end. Before long, all 12 Secret-Silver Guards with 76 Growth Potential arrived in White River City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. Including the 16 Secret-Silver Guards he already had, Zero Wing would have 28 more Fine-Gold Guards in its ranks once he finished strengthening them all. Even 28 Secret-Silver Guards would be more than enough combat power for a Guild to rule a Level 100 neutral map with an iron fist, not to mention 28 Fine-Gold Guards. After nearly two days, Shi Feng had finally strengthened all of the 28 Secret-Silver Guards. The smallest improvement had still been a 5-point Growth Potential increase, while the largest had been a 7-point increase, rising from 79 to 86 Growth Potential. Even among Fine-Gold Guards, 86 Growth Potential was incredibly rare. Twenty-eight Fine-Gold Personal Guards. If the various superpowers of my past knew about this, they''d go mad. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he gazed at the two rows of Personal Guards before him. If he had had so many Fine-Gold Guards under his command during his previous life, he wouldn''t have even been afraid of standing up to superpowers, let alone first-rate Guilds. Fine-Gold Guards were exceptionally rare in God''s Domain, and every one of them had the potential to reach Tier 5. If they were provided enough resources, Fine-Gold Guards could have up to a 40% chance of completing their promotion to Tier 5. Even among the various superpowers, Tier 5 combatants were apex beings. Every one of them was a priceless treasure. Of course, Tier 5 NPCs were even stronger than Tier 5 players. To suppress a single Tier 5 NPC, one would need several players of the same tier. And now, he had 28 Fine-Gold Guards standing before him, waiting for his commands! 2390 Powerful Guard Team Chapter 2390 _ Powerful Guard Team Ten Saints Empire, Demonwolf Mountain Range: After nearly two days of fervent work, Shi Feng had produced 50 Crimson Sunsets. When he handed them to Liang Jing, he instructed her to keep 20 sets to gradually auction off in the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance, while the rest would be given to Zero Wing''s core members. These core members would lead their own grinding teams in the Cold Spring Forest, helping to alleviate the lack of manpower in that area. Shi Feng had taken a break from crafting the Advanced Mana Set Equipment after giving his new stock to Liang Jing, and he had made his way back to the Demonwolf Mountain Range with his 28 newly-upgraded Fine-Gold Guards. Although the Crimson Sunset would help resolve Zero Wing''s need for manpower in the Cold Spring Forest, it was a temporary solution. Moreover, Shi Feng was the only person capable of producing the Crimson Sunsets, and he couldn''t forge enough of them for Zero Wing''s members to secure a firm foothold in the Cold Spring Forest. He needed to take care of the root of this problem. The simplest method to do so was to secure a portal to the western continent and acquire a large amount of the western continent''s resources. Crafting Level 100-plus weapons and equipment in God''s Domain was an arduous task, especially for Secret-Silver rank and above. The required materials were very rare, and obtaining them in bulk was a major challenge. However, through their research, the forgers of Shi Feng''s previous life had discovered that they could replace some of the rare materials the eastern continent''s forgers needed to craft Level 100-plus Secret-Silver and better weapons and equipment with some of the western continent''s specialty materials. Likewise, some of the eastern continent''s specialty materials could replace some of the materials the western continent''s forgers needed. Not only had this discovery allowed the superpowers that could travel between the continents to earn tons of resources and Coins, but they had also been able to acquire Level 100-plus weapons and equipment far sooner than their competitors. Since the various superpowers that had access to intercontinental travel had yet to realize this and were simply using their advantage to earn resources and Coins, Shi Feng had to strike while the iron was hot. If he waited until these superpowers learned this secret, it''d become far more challenging to purchase the western continent''s specialty materials in bulk. These specialty materials were essential to crafting Level 100-plus weapons and equipment at Secret-Silver rank and higher, and if this secret got out, the various powers would try to collect and hoard the materials, rather than sell them. If Shi Feng waited too long, he''d only be able to purchase materials from independent players and adventurer teams, which would limit his collection rate. After piloting the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship through the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s outer region for about 15 minutes, Shi Feng finally located Cola and his team, who were engaged in a battle against several hundred Battlewolves. After the past two days of grinding in the mountain range, Cola and the others had risen to Level 101. If the various Tier 2 experts heard that this team could gain a full level every two days, they''d be incredibly jealous. However, Cola and his team weren''t having an easy time against these Battlewolves, especially as they fought the alphas, the Two-Headed Battlewolves. [Two-headed Battlewolf] (Demonic Creature, Great Lord) Level 108 HP 270,000,000/270,000,000 Although the Two-headed Battlewolves had average HP for monsters of their rank and level, these monsters possessed the Dark Battlewolf s Bloodline. Their Defense and Agility were just as high as actual Bloodline Creatures, and their combat standards were on par with the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. If a Tier 2 peak expert tried to take on a Two-headed Battlewolf, they wouldn''t last more than a few exchanges. Furthermore, the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s wolves tended to move in packs of 300 to 400, and around two dozen Two-headed Battlewolves led each pack. Although the rest of the Battlewolves were only Lord ranked monsters, they could even pose a threat to Tier 3 players when a dozen of them worked together. Although Cola and his companions had reached Tier 3, they still had to be careful, or members of the team would fall. The team had yet to upgrade their weapons and equipment and had to rely on their Epic Weapons and Equipment to support them in the fight. If Cola and his team had Tier 3 standard equipment, they''d have no issues taking a pack of Battlewolves out. "Check it out! The Guild Leader is back!" Blackie was excited when he noticed the approaching Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. With only 24 players, their team had faced plenty of trouble while fighting these Battlewolves over the past two days. Not even the magical class players'' powerful AOE attacks could alleviate the pressure. These Battlewolves were too smart. Once they sensed a player casting an AOE Spell, they split up, preventing the Spell from hitting too many of them. But if Shi Feng joined the battle, the Battlewolves would be much easier to defeat. As the team members looked up at the flying ship, they saw over two dozen figures jump from the ship''s deck. Every one of those figures'' frightening auras made Cola and his companions'' hearts skip a beat. "NPCs?" "How are these NPCs so strong?" The team was shocked and confused as they stared at the Tier 3 NPCs that had disembarked. The idea of challenging ordinary Tier 3 NPCs no longer fazed them now that they were Tier 3, as well. They had superior combat standards, after all. However, even Yan Tianxing shuddered when he saw the 28 Tier 3 NPCs that had jumped from the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. His instincts even warned him to flee. Before Cola and his companions could react, the Personal Guards charged at the surrounding Battlewolves. Taking the lead, the dozen or so melee NPCs dispersed the crowding wolves with their charge instantly. They even sent the Great Lord ranked Two-headed Battlewolves flying. The magical class NPCs then followed with a round of Spells, each dealing over -1,000,000 damage. The Lord ranked Battlewolves lost one-third of their HPs in that single bombardment, while the Great Lords had lost one-tenth of their HPs. The ferocity of the Fine-Gold Guards'' attacks easily outshone Yi Luofei''s, a Tier 3 magical class player. After about three minutes, the 300-plus Lord ranked Battlewolves and 20-plus Great Lord ranked Two-headed Battlewolves had been slain, leaving only a bunch of items behind. Cola and the others were dumbfounded. Normally, they needed over an hour to defeat a Battlewolf pack, yet these 28 NPCs had done so in three minutes. The difference between their combat power was massive. From his position on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, Shi Feng leveled from 104 to 105 after the battle ended, crossing the first minor threshold after Level 100. "Where did you find so many powerful NPCs, Guild Leader?" Cola asked once Shi Feng had descended from the flying ship. Yan Tianxing and the others were just as curious, waiting for Shi Feng''s reply. An ordinary Tier 3 NPC could serve as a small city''s Magistrate in God''s Domain, yet Shi Feng had managed to employ so many of them, and every one of them was extraordinarily strong. From what Cola and the others could tell, five or six of these NPCs would be more than enough to annihilate their team of 24. If they had these 28 NPCs help, they could explore the Demonwolf Mountain Range without issue. "How could I possibly afford the help of Tier 3 NPCs? These are our Guild''s Personal Guards," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Personal Guards?" The explanation stunned Yan Tianxing. "How is that possible?! Not even Tier 3 Personal Guards can be this powerful!" Yan Tianxing had encountered the Guild''s Tier 3 Personal Guards before, and he had been confident of putting up a fight against the Guild''s Tier 3 Secret-Silver Guards. If he faced any of the Personal Guards standing behind Shi Feng, however, he''d be able to do nothing but flee. "Of course, these aren''t ordinary Tier 3 Personal Guards. They are all Fine-Gold Guards," Shi Feng continued with a grin. 2391 Pioneering Benefi t Chapter 2391 - Pioneering Benefit "Fine-Gold Guards!?" "These are all Fine-Gold Guards?!" Cola and the others gasped and stared with wide eyes at the 28 Personal Guards behind Shi Feng. They all knew how rare Fine-Gold Guards were. Not even some first-rate Guilds had a single Fine-Gold Guard at this stage of the game, and at most, the various superpowers had one or two. The various superpowers treated their Fine-Gold Guards like family heirlooms, and when these Personal Guards reached Tier 3, they''d be treated as a part of the Guild''s foundation. Fine-Gold Guards were incredibly powerful. Even at Tier 2, they could suppress Tier 2 apex experts of the same level, and they''d only grow stronger at Tier 3. And yet, Shi Feng informed them that the 28 Personal Guards behind him were all Fine-Gold rank... "You''re too vicious, Guild Leader. If we stationed these Fine-Gold Guards in the Cold Spring Forest, they''d likely frighten the various superpowers to death," Blackie said, his eyes glowing as he gazed at the Fine-Gold Guards. Compared to the various superpowers'' shock when they had found out that these players had reached Tier 3, the fact that Zero Wing had 28 Fine-Gold Guards would be devastating. Every one of these Tier 3 Fine-Gold Guards had even greater combat power than Tier 3 apex experts. In fact, one of these Fine-Gold Guards could take on two apex experts at once. Needless to say, these Fine-Gold Guards would easily overwhelm peak experts. Now that Zero Wing had so many Fine-Gold Guards, the various superpowers would have to seriously consider the potential losses before moving against Zero Wing, even when their experts reached Tier 3. "Alright, let''s focus on completing the quest," Shi Feng said, chuckling. These 28 Fine-Gold Guards might deter the various superpowers from attacking, but if Zero Wing wanted to become truly powerful, it would need to rely on players and resources. There were limits to what a Personal Guard could accomplish, after all. "Right! Our quest! With these 28 Fine-Gold Guards, we can now raid the wolf dens we avoided earlier!" Cola exclaimed. Their team had only dared to attack the Battlewolves in the outer region, one pack at a time, but now that they had 28 Fine-Gold Guards to help, they could raid the Battlewolves'' dens. Not only could they collect the Mana strands more quickly, but their leveling speed would also skyrocket. "No, we''re not going to the dens. We''ll move to the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner area," Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he gestured to the mountains in the distance. There were a lot of Battlewolves in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s outer region, but very few of these monsters were Great Lords or higher. Even with the Fine-Gold Guards, they wouldn''t be able to collect the necessary Mana strands fast enough. They''d be cutting it close if they stayed in the outer region. The inner region might be more dangerous, but there were far more Great Lords available in the area, which would allow the team to collect Mana strands far more quickly. "Guild Leader, the inner region is full of Level 110-plus monsters, including plenty of Great Lords and Mythic monsters," Yan Tianxing said worriedly. Monsters gained a significant Basic Attribute boost with each level after Level 100, and the monsters in the Demonwolf Mountain Range had even greater combat standards than their counterparts in other areas of God''s Domain. If their team accidentally encountered a Level 110-plus Mythic monster in the inner region, they''d risk annihilation, even if they had the help of 28 Fine-Gold Guards. They had only recently reached Level 101, and the Personal Guards, on average, were only Level 103, with a few at Level 104. "Relax. We''re only going to explore the border between the inner and outer regions," Shi Feng said. "Besides, we don''t just have 28 Fine-Gold Guards on our side." To prove his point, Shi Feng pulled two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag and summoned Kite and Anna. After questing on their own for a while, Kite and Anna had reached Level 108 and 109, respectively. They were only slightly lower-leveled than the monsters in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region. The team relaxed when they saw Kite and Anna''s levels. Although neither of the NPCs had crossed the Level 110 threshold, they all knew how powerful these two were. Both had Dark-Gold rank Growth Potential and were far more powerful than the Fine-Gold Guards. With the 30 Personal Guards, the team was fully capable of raiding Level 110-plus Grand Lords. Following which, the team climbed aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and made their way toward the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region. A white mist and constant snowstorms bombarded the inner region throughout the year, limiting visibility. Even Tier 3 players couldn''t see farther than 400 yards away. If players were not careful, they could easily fall prey to monster ambushes. However, Shi Feng was relatively familiar with the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region, and he piloted his flying ship toward one of the snow-capped forests in the area. Not only was visibility here much better than in other areas of the inner region, but these monsters only ranged between Level 110 and 112. Moreover, the wolf packs in the forest tended to keep their distance from each other, so they wouldn''t have to worry about attracting too many monsters while they fought. "Cola, I want your group to gather the mobs! Tianxing, your group will lure the alpha away from the main group! Everyone else, prioritize the mobs, then target the alpha once they''re dead!" Shi Feng said as he watched a nearby pack. [Two-headed Frostwolf] (Demonic Creature, Great Lord) Level 110 HP 290,000,000/290,000,000 [Frostwolf Chieftain] (Demonic Creature, Grand Lord) Level 112 HP 750,000,000/750,000,000 The wolf pack they faced only had around 200 members or so, 40 of which were Great Lords, and one was a Grand Lord. An ordinary Tier 3 team would have trouble with this pack, but taking these wolves down should be easy for them. Cola, Turtledove, and Ye Wumian immediately split up and approached the pack from different directions. They herded the wolves into one big group before Yan Tianxing, Flying Shadow, and the rest of the Assassins on the team ambushed the Frostwolf Chieftain, securing its aggro and luring it away from the pack''s protection. As soon as the Frostwolf Chieftain and the pack were separated, Anna and the other magical classes on the team bombarded the Frostwolves with their Spells. The remaining melee members then formed a defensive line, preventing the Frostwolves from reaching the ranged players. After two dozen rounds of attacks, only the Great Lord ranked Two-headed Frostwolves remained standing. The rest of the Frostwolves lay dead in the snow. With them down, a significant portion of the pressure on the melee classes lifted. After another ten minutes, every Frostwolf had died, except for the Frostwolf Chieftain. The team''s experience bars had risen by a large chunk after killing over 200 Frostwolves, which was a much faster leveling speed than what they had enjoyed in the outer region. They had also acquired 14 Mana strands from the Frostwolves. Once Cola claimed the Frostwolf Chieftain''s aggro from Yan Tianxing, the team finished the Grand Lord off in less than five minutes. Not only did the Frostwolf Chieftain contribute another Mana strand, but it also dropped more than 20 items as it died, one of which was a piece of Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment. Naturally, the team was excited about their results. After two days of endless grinding in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s outer region, the best loot that had dropped was a few pieces of Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment, yet after killing one Frostwolf Chieftain, they had obtained a piece of Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment, two ranks better than their best prior loot. "We''ve gotten lucky. This Frostwolf Chieftain dropped a piece of the Snowfrost Set, a Fine-Gold Set Equipment for magical class players," Shi Feng said, smiling at the Level 105 Fine-Gold ranked cloth armor he had picked up. "The complete set can be used until Level 110." Fine-Gold Set Equipment was extremely rare after Level 100. The standard equipment for Tier 3 players was limited to Fine-Gold Equipment after Level 100. Very few experts would be fortunate enough to equip a full Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Aside from the Snowfrost Set piece, the Frostwolf Chieftain had dropped two pieces of Level 105 Secret-Silver Equipment. This was definitely a benefit of pioneering the area. Normally, a Grand Lord like the Frostwolf Chieftain wouldn''t drop such abundant loot. "Guild Leader, since the Frostwolf Chieftain drops pieces of the Snowfrost Set, it should drop pieces of other Level 105 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Based on the results of our earlier scouting efforts, there are several Frostwolf Chieftains nearby. We should kill them all," Yan Tianxing suggested. "Mhm. Everyone, get ready. Cola, lure another Frostwolf Chieftain our way," Shi Feng said, nodding. 2392 Level Skyrockets Chapter 2392 - Level Skyrockets With Shi Feng''s command, Cola eagerly left to lure another Frostwolf Chieftain. Meanwhile, the rest of the team got into their battle formations with just as much enthusiasm. Although they had reached Tier 3, most of them wore the same equipment they had when they had reached Level 100. They didn''t even have many pieces of Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment on them, much less Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment. They had obtained the majority of their Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment during their Promotion Quests. Their Epic Weapons and Equipment might still have been useful at Level 100, but the items hadn''t grown any stronger after that point. As they continued to level up, these Epic Weapons and Equipment pieces would become increasingly ineffective. If they could get their hands on Level 105 Fine-Gold Set Equipment now, not only would it significantly increase their Basic Attributes, but they''d also become strong enough to raid Level 100, super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Level 100, super-large-scale Team Dungeons were a major turning point for God''s Domain''s Dungeons because they dropped Level 100-plus Dark-Gold and Epic ranked Weapons and Equipment. Most importantly, they dropped Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books. They hadn''t really understood the importance of Skills and Spells when they had been Tier 2 players, treating them as supplementary tools for combat. They had mainly relied on their Basic Attributes, combat techniques, and combat standards in battle. However, they had realized that that ideology was no longer useful after reaching Tier 3. Tier 3 Skills and Spells were no less important than powerful combat techniques. With a player''s Mana Body, Tier 3 Skills and Spells would display far more power than Tier 2 Skills and Spells ever could. This was why, despite their inferior combat standards, Tier 3 NPCs could so easily suppress Tier 3 players of the same level. It wasn''t a matter of different Basic Attributes, but the difference in how many Tier 3 Spells and Skills one had. If they could learn a large number of Tier 3 Skills and Spells as well, their combat power would reach new highs. Even if they encountered Tier 3 experts with greater combat standards, they''d be able to defeat their opponents. Meanwhile, after fighting alongside the Personal Guards, Cola and his companions handled the second Frostwolf pack much easier than the first. This time, they hadn''t even needed to lure the Frostwolf Chieftain away. They had simply bombarded the Grand Lord and its subordinates together. In the end, the team had annihilated the 200-plus Frostwolves in around a dozen minutes. Although the Frostwolf Chieftain hadn''t dropped any pieces of the Snowfrost Set this time, it had dropped the gloves for the Frostwolf Set, a nine-piece, Level 105 Fine-Gold Set Equipment for plate armor classes. When the team''s plate armor classes saw the Frostwolf Set''s Attributes, a passionate flame burned in their eyes. "Crap! That''s not fair! This Frostwolf Set is so much better than the Snowfrost Set! Its six-piece set effect increases Strength by 20% and the set''s level limit to Level 120! The full nine-piece set effect even upgrades the set by one rank!" Blackie exclaimed. Nothing was more troublesome than obtaining Level 100-plus weapons and equipment for Tier 3 experts like them. Based on the fact that the Frostwolf Set could be used until Level 120, the complete set ranked at the top even among Level 100-plus Dark-Gold Set Equipment. With the full Frostwolf Set, a Tier 3 player would have the Basic Attributes to even rival ordinary Tier 3 NPCs. The Frostwolf Set? Shi Feng was just as shocked when he saw the plate armor gloves that radiated a faint, white glow. The Demonwolf Mountain Range''s Frostwolf Set had been quite famous in his previous life. It had been considered one of the top 10 Level 120 Dark-Gold Set Equipment in God''s Domain. Even the various superpowers'' old monsters had coveted the set. However, the Frostwolf Set was normally so rare that one could only obtain the pieces by killing the monsters in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s core, and yet, it had dropped for his team in the inner region. This was unbelievable. Shi Feng''s heart started to pound. He immediately instructed the team to hunt for more Frostwolf Chieftains. If they could collect a few Frostwolf Sets, they''d have no problems raiding Level 100 super-large-scale Team Dungeons. The team continued to grind for seven consecutive days, during which they had practically killed every Frostwolf Chieftain in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region at least once. As a result, Shi Feng had risen from Level 105 to 107, while his companions had leveled from 101 to 104. If the various superpowers'' experts discovered their leveling speed, they''d die from envy. Although the Frostwolves provided a lot of EXP, unfortunately, the Frostwolf Set''s drop-rate was quite low. Even after using Divine Providence before the killing blow, the team had only completed three Frostwolf Sets. The team had also managed to collect five of the cloth armor Snowfrost Sets and five of the leather armor Shadowfrost Sets. Aside from the set equipment, the team had obtained over 1,000 pieces of Level 100 and Level 105 Secret-Silver Equipment, a bountiful harvest. They could now afford to gear a 100-man team fully. As for their quest''s required Mana, they had collected 956 strands in total. They were only a few dozen strands away from their target, and they should have no issues completing their quest in time. Meanwhile, the leasing auction for Stone Forest City''s private houses had netted massive profits for Zero Wing. On average, each private house had been rented for 150,000 Credits per week. After holding several leasing auctions, Zero Wing had earned over one billion Credits in profit. Not only had this alleviated Zero Wing''s desperate need for funds, but it had also allowed the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center to set up quite a few virtual combat platforms in Fenglin City, which, in turn, enabled the Guild to recruit more capable internal members. "Guild Leader, when will you be done with your quest? Recently, Starlink has been expanding rapidly. It also has support from Demon Palace, now. Not only has it recruited plenty of experts, but we''re seeing more players ambush our members in the fields. Many of the Dark Night Empire''s powers have also chosen to side with Starlink. Our members are even too afraid to set foot in a neutral map, and to make matters worse, the situation has started to affect our development in Star-Moon Kingdom," Liang Jing reported, clearly frustrated. Although they had lured many experts into joining the Star-Moon Adventurer Alliance with the Crimson Sunsets, Starlink had countered this by offering even greater benefits. Now, members of Starlink''s adventurer alliances could purchase the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy for far cheaper. The new benefit had attracted many experts. As a result, Starlink had effectively restricted Zero Wing''s resource income, which limited the Guild members'' leveling efficiency since they needed those materials to brew potions and craft special tools that were essential for grinding in high-level neutral maps. Although Zero Wing could purchase these materials through the Secret Chamber of Commerce, it needed Coins to do so, which was by no means a worthwhile trade. "I understand. I''m almost done here. If we need Coins, start leasing Stone Forest City''s private houses for Coins, rather than Credits. That should give us enough to hold out for some time," Shi Feng decided after giving the matter some thought. "I''ll return as soon as I''ve finished my quest." Liang Jing had no choice but to nod and follow Shi Feng''s instructions. While Shi Feng had conversed with Liang Jing, an abandoned, ancient magic array lit with a colorful brilliance in a forbidden land on the eastern continent. As the rainbow of lights faded, several figures emerged from the magic array. Despite the very thin Mana in the forbidden land, a dense layer of Mana enveloped these several individuals. In fact, due to their arrival, the surrounding Mana density had substantially increased. "So, this is the eastern continent." 2393 Demonwolf Mountain Ranges Secre Chapter 2393 - Demonwolf Mountain Range''s Secret Demonwolf Mountain Range, Howling Wind Canyon: Shi Feng and his team stood on the mountainside, fighting fervently to fend off a large pack of Demonwolves coming up from the foot of the mountain. This pack was larger than any of the Frostwolf packs they had encountered before, with thousands of members. Moreover, every Demonwolf was Level 110 or higher, including Level 114 Demonwolves. Many of these beasts were Great Lords, and there were a few Grand Lords in the pack. None of the team members could afford to rest lest the Demonwolf pack overwhelm them. If not for the Fine-Gold Guards blocking the only path up the mountain, and Anna using a magic array to suppress the Demonwolves, these beasts would''ve devoured Shi Feng and his team long ago. "Guild Leader, this is an amazing place to grind! Pack after pack of these Demonwolves are running at us. Our leveling speed here is even faster than when we were grinding Frostwolves," Blackie said, grinning when he saw another pack of Demonwolves approach the foot of the mountain. "I bet we can even reach Level 105 in less than a day of grinding here." Compared to when they had grinded Frostwolves, their current leveling speed was on an entirely different level. They had invested a lot of time in their hunt for Frostwolves, but they didn''t need to chase down Demonwolves, which regularly called for reinforcements. They simply needed to station the melee Fine-Gold Guards on the frontline while the rest of the team attacked from a safe distance. "These beasts are at least Level 110. If we stay here, we can maintain our leveling speed until we reach the same level. If we do, we won''t even have to fear the various superpowers'' experts when they catch up to Tier 3," Yan Tianxing said, his eyes glowing with excitement. It was true that Zero Wing had gained a massive advantage when they had reached Tier 3 so early, but Yan Tianxing understood that the various superpowers had far more and stronger experts than his Guild. Zero Wing''s advantage over the various superpowers was only temporary. Once the superpowers'' experts finished their Promotion Quests as well, Zero Wing would be at a disadvantage. He had constantly been concerned about this. Zero Wing''s feud with Starlink was still happening, and the various powers invading from the Otherworlds couldn''t be underestimated. Every one of these powers was eyeing the resources in Level 100 neutral maps and Stone Forest City. However, this expedition had alleviated some of his concerns. After reaching Tier 3 in God''s Domain, the Basic Attributes players earned with each level-up wouldn''t have as much of an impact on a player''s performance as it used to. Rather, weapons, equipment, and combat standards would have a more prominent effect on players'' combat power. However, by leveling up quickly, Zero Wing''s peak experts would have more time for high-ranked quests, which would allow them to upgrade their weapons, equipment, and combat standards sooner. With a level advantage, they had a chance of contending with the various superpowers'' experts and stabilizing Zero Wing''s position. "How can a Level 100 neutral map have such a wonderful place?" Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw his teammates'' passionate expressions after Yan Tianxing had mentioned the possibility of reaching Level 110 so soon. "There''s no lack of monsters in this area, but remaining here will be taxing on our Stamina and Concentration. We can''t stay for too long." Shi Feng had already known about this area and its Demonwolves, but he hadn''t led the team here earlier because of the atmosphere''s burden on players'' Stamina and Concentration. Considering those factors, their grinding efficiency here wasn''t that much better than grinding Frostwolf packs. Moreover, the Frostwolves dropped better loot than Demonwolves. However, Zero Wings cuaent predicament wouldnt permit him to remain in the Demonwolf Mountain Range for long, which had led to his decision to grind the Demonwolves. The team members couldn''t help but glance at their Stamina and Concentration gauges, and just as Shi Feng had warned them, they noticed that they were consuming twice as much as they had while grinding Frostwolves. They really wouldn''t be able to fight the Demonwolves for very long. "Of course, the environment here isn''t all bad. It does increase our Stamina and Concentration consumption rates, but it is also the perfect pace to adapt to our Mana Bodies and train with our Tier 3 Skills and Spells. You''ll rarely find such an opportunity elsewhere," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw everyone''s disappointment. The Demonwolf Mountain Range was no ordinary forbidden land. It was a prized location for players to train after reaching Tier 3, especially since it was infested with berserk Demonwolves. Not only was the map full of chaotic energy, which was much stronger here, but that energy also disrupted Mana. It was the perfect situation to help players adapt to their Mana Bodies. The Mana Body was the biggest difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3. The Mana Body could also be referred to as a player''s Mana pool. Players with Mana Bodies controlled Mana in an entirely different way than players without. At Tier 2, players used the ambient Mana to power their Skills and Spells, but once they reached Tier 3, they''d use the Mana inside themselves, as well. This was why Tier 3 Skills and Spells were so much more powerful than those at Tier 2. However, using the Mana within one''s body wasn''t easy. Players would need a certain level of understanding of their own Mana Body. Meanwhile, players would struggle to use the ambient Mana in environments with chaotic energy, and as such, they''d be forced to rely on the Mana within them. This was why such environments were so helpful to players as they adapted to their Mana Bodies. "Indeed. I can sense my Mana a little more clearly now. The effects aren''t as apparent, but I''m finding it easier to use my own Mana now," Yi Luofei said. After she had reached Tier 3, something had felt wrong when she had cast her Tier 3 Spells, but she had brushed it off, assuming it was simply due to how unfamiliar she was with her Tier 3 physique. However, it seemed that sense of wrongness had been a result of her lack of control with her Mana Body, which had limited her ability to cast her Tier 3 Spells. When the rest of the team realized this, they adjusted their approach as they attacked the charging Demonwolves. They started to focus on their own Mana while they attacked, using this opportunity to adapt. After two hours of practice, the team saw significant improvements to their Completion Rates with their Tier 3 Skills and Spells. On average, the team members increased their Completion Rates by 4%, enough to push many of them across the 80% threshold. Yi Luofei, Zhao Yueru, and Alluring Summer improved the most, with all three reaching past an 85% Spell Completion Rate. Everyone on the team grew ecstatic. They had never realized that the Howling Wind Canyon would be such an extraordinary training ground. Even Shi Feng managed to learn some new tricks. He had only had a Bronze ranked Mana Body in the past, and now that he had an Epic Mana Body, the way he conducted Mana had changed. Inspired, he could now manipulate his body with greater precision. He even gained a new understanding of his physical control in the real world. By the time the team only needed 19 more Mana strands, Cola and his companions had reached Level 105, crossing the first minor threshold past Level 100. Without hesitation, Shi Feng handed the three Frostwolf Sets to Cola, Turtledove, and Shadow Sword, which gave the three a large boost to their Basic Attributes. "The Defense and Basic Attributes are so high. I feel like I can even tank a Level 110 Mythic monster now," Cola exclaimed as he examined his newfound strength. Shi Feng also gave the Frostshadow and Snowfrost Sets to Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, and the rest. With their new equipment, these players'' Basic Attributes were only slightly lower than those of ordinary Tier 3 NPCs. Armed with appropriate equipment, the team slew the incoming Demonwolves far faster than before. As a result, they collected Mana at a much faster rate. "Guild Leader, my group is almost out of Stamina and Concentration," Blackie announced, sounding tired. My group''s running out of gas as well," Yan Tianxing added. Although the team members all had high-ranked Mana Bodies, they couldn''t completely resist the effects of the violent Mana in the area. If players with a Bronze Mana Body tried to take their place, they would''ve run out ages ago. "Let''s retreat for now since everyone''s exhausted," Shi Feng decided after seeing that they only needed three more Mana strands to complete their quest. They could easily collect the rest on their way back to Alba Gray. Shi Feng then retrieved the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship for everyone to board and rest. Once they boarded, the team found rooms to rest in and logged out of the game. Meanwhile, Shi Feng piloted the flying ship back to the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s outer area. Once he had reached the safety of the outer area, Shi Feng received a call request from Liang Jing. "Has Starlink done something again?" Shi Feng asked. It hadn''t been long since the last time she had called. "There''s nothing new from Starlink, but I just received a message from Chairman Xiao regarding a problem in the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. He says that a group of people has shown up demanding a challenge, and they''ve already injured quite a few of our advanced disciples," Liang Jing said. "Challengers?" Shi Feng asked, "Has Master Lei Bao not taken care of them?" The Heaven''s Rumble Training Center had no lack of challenges since so many people wanted to use Heaven''s Rumble as a stepping stone to earn fame in Fenglin City overnight. However, Shi Feng normally let Xiao Yu and Lei Bao take care of these issues. "I''ve heard that Master Lei Bao lost in just three moves. Chairman Xiao only contacted me after he had run out of options," Liang Jing said. They even defeated Lei Bao?" The news surprised Shi Feng. "Who is the challenger?" Since he had begun training with Zero Wing, Lei Bao had grown considerably stronger. Even among apex internal force experts, few were his match. "No one knows, and the training center is in an uproar over it. Chairman Xiao is hoping that you can send Fire Dance to take care of this," Liang Jing said. "No need. I''ll visit the training center myself," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Fire Dance and the others were still in the midst of their Tier 3 Promotion Quest, so leaving their virtual gaming cabins wasn''t convenient right now. Moreover, Shi Feng was curious to find out who was strong enough to defeat Lei Bao. 2394 Powerful Assaul Chapter 2394 - Powerful Assault Fenglin City, Heaven''s Rumble Training Center: As Shi Feng arrived at Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s top-floor training hall, he was greeted by the sight of a large number of people. They were split into two groups: a large group of Heaven''s Rumble''s disciples and a smaller group of three men and two women. The training center''s members wore tense expressions as they stared at the smaller group on the opposite side of the hall in fear. The three men and two women appeared quite young. The oldest didn''t look like he had even reached 30, while the youngest of these strangers seemed to be in their early 20s. However, these five visitors'' auras made them stand out. The eldest of the group, a man with even more bulk than Fang Mingyu, the strongest member of the Fang Family''s younger generation, felt like a volcano. When Shi Feng entered the hall, everyone''s attention shifted to him. "Hall Master," Lei Bao greeted Shi Feng with an apologetic expression. Shi Feng had requested that Lei Bao serve as the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s acting Hall Master and continued to supply training resources. The older man had even received quite a few bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, and yet, a bunch of youngsters had defeated him in three moves, and he had been forced to request Shi Feng''s presence... "How are your injuries?" Shi Feng asked, noticing that Lei Bao seemed a bit weaker than normal. "It''s nothing serious, just a few minor sprains. I''ll be fine after some rest," Lei Bao said. "However, you should be careful. These people aren''t ordinary fighters, especially the young man leading the group. His strength is inhuman. He even took my full-powered punch and avoided injury." At this point, Lei Bao was shocked and afraid of the gorilla-like youth leading the small group of visitors. He was extraordinarily strong; not even a neutralizing grandmaster could take his full-powered hit and emerge unscathed. However, when he had punched that youth, it had felt as if he had hit a steel wall. While Lei Bao informed Shi Feng of the recent events, the young woman in a red dress beside the gorilla youth walked over. "We meet again, Hall Master Shi," the young woman said, smiling faintly. "I hadn''t had the chance to introduce myself the last time we met. My name is Fang Shihan, one of Mythology''s Vice Guild Leaders. I am also the Qilin Corporation''s representative. I''ve come to negotiate a partnership." "Mythology?" Liang Jing stared at the young woman with wide eyes. Liang Jing was no longer a stranger to the virtual gaming world. After joining Zero Wing, she had thoroughly researched both the virtual gaming world and God''s Domain in particular. She knew about Mythology, one of the Five Great Super Guilds in the virtual gaming world. Mythology stood at the apex of the virtual gaming world. However, Liang Jing had never dreamed that the Fang Family would have connections with the Super Guild. Even Shi Feng gave Fang Shihan a surprised look. However, he wasn''t surprised to hear about Mythology, but because he had never heard about Fang Shihan being one of the Super Guild''s Vice Guild Leaders during his previous life. "Partnership? What kind of partnership?" Shi Feng asked. "Mythology''s influence in God''s Domain goes without saying, and I''m sure you can see for yourself the Guild''s training capabilities," Fang Shihan said as she gestured to the gorilla of a man behind her. Smiling, she continued, "Mythology intends to develop on the eastern continent, and of the various Guilds on that side of God''s Domain, we''ve deemed that Zero Wing has the most potential. We only require 51% of Zero Wing''s shares, and in exchange, the Qilin Corporation will provide capital, while Mythology will provide further training for Heaven''s Rumble''s members. We''ll help your training center rise to fame, which will allow Zero Wing to recruit more talented members." "And if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked. "I''m afraid that isn''t up to you, Hall Master Shi," Fang Shihan said nonchalantly. "I know that you''ve recently become a neutralizing grandmaster and have successfully blocked one of my father''s full-powered blows, so I''m sure you''re quite confident in your strength. I''m also sure that you''re confident that no fighter in Fenglin City can defeat you. "But your strength is nothing before Mythology!" As soon as Fang Shihan said that, the gorilla youth behind her stepped forward, the intensity of his aura skyrocketing. His muscles bulged, tearing his shirt to reveal the dark copper skin underneath. The youth''s aura became twice as strong, and the cold killing intent he radiated even made Lei Bao shudder. "A Henglian grandmaster!" Lei Bao exclaimed. Training in the Henglian Style was already exceptionally difficult, and very few people became Henglian masters. However, once someone mastered the style, they''d even be able to hold their ground against a neutralizing grandmaster. Lei Bao had only heard of Henglian grandmasters before. He could never have guessed that the young man before him, who hadn''t even reached 30, would be a Henglian grandmaster. "No, his aura doesn''t feel complete. He should still be half a step away from becoming a grandmaster," Shi Feng calmly stated after observing the gorilla youth for a moment. "As expected of a neutralizing grandmaster, you have keen senses," Fang Shihan said, smiling. "No, Matt isn''t a Henglian grandmaster. He''s not quite mentally developed enough for that yet, but he''ll have no issue taking on ordinary neutralizing grandmasters. "Do you still refuse to cooperate, Hall Master Shi?" She had investigated Zero Wing thoroughly, with a focus on Stone Forest City. As a city in a Level 100 neutral map, it was a treasure trove. Once she had learned about that fact, she had become resolved to obtain Zero Wing, no matter the cost. With Stone Forest City under her control, she could rise through Mythology''s ranks. When he heard Fang Shihan''s statement, Xiao Yu began to despair. He hadn''t realized the Fang Family was powerful enough to elicit the help of a half-step Henglian grandmaster. Although Matt wasnt an actual Henglian grandmaster, hed have an overwhelming advantage over ordinary neutralizing grandmasters in an official competition. If Shi Feng lost to the older man, the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center would be finished. He was the reason that the training center had grown to its current size and fame. If Shi Feng were defeated, Heaven''s Rumble would lose everything. Liang Jing watched the exchange with a grim expression, as well. Zero Wing required the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center to recruit talented members. Losing it would be a major hindrance to Zero Wing''s development. "I won''t make this too difficult for you, kid. I''ll accept defeat if you can last three hits. If you can''t, then you''ll hand over Zero Wing''s shares," Matt declared before his fist shot toward Shi Feng. 2395 Three Palms Chapter 2395 - Three Palms Matt''s sudden attack surprised everyone in the hall. Sure enough, he can''t help himself. Fang Shihan pitied Shi Feng when she noticed Matt''s attack. Matt was incredibly talented, and after working with the Hell Training System, the lastest training system Mythology had created, his already violent tendencies had become more prominent. Now, he was a combat maniac. Even in Mythology, there were few people who could spar with Matt. With a neutralizing grandmaster before him, the man was naturally eager to spar with Shi Feng. He had recently gotten closer to becoming a Henglian grandmaster and hadn''t had the chance to test his strength properly. Before Shi Feng made his decision was the best opportunity for Matt to force the younger man into a fight. Although stopping Matt wasn''t impossible, Fang Shihan thought it was necessary for Shi Feng to experience Mythology''s power. Lei Bao, who stood by Shi Feng''s side, felt stifled when he saw Matt''s punch. This strike was completely different than the hits Matt had used during their fight. Not only did this punch break the sound barrier, but it also seemed impossible to avoid. Lei Bao thought he could even hear the Grim Reaper call his name. However, just as Matt''s hit was about to land, Shi Feng casually took a half step back and rotated his right shoulder as if he had expected the attack. Almost as if an invisible barrier had manifested between them, Matt''s punch harmlessly stopped a few centimeters away from Shi Feng''s shoulder. "What? Did I scare you?" Matt quipped when Shi Feng hadn''t made another move to stop him. "What happened to all of your confidence?" Matt was only a half-step Henglian grandmaster, and although he was more physically fit than ordinary neutralizing grandmasters, his mental processing couldn''t compare. His senses and reaction speed were just as inferior to that of a neutralizing grandmaster. If a neutralizing grandmaster focused on evading his attacks, Matt would be helpless against them. In fact, if Lei Bao, a peak internal force master, had focused on evasion, their fight would''ve lasted a lot longer. This was why Matt had deliberately challenged Shi Feng to last three of his punches. Otherwise, fighting Shi Feng would be a waste of time. "Forget it, Matt. Hall Master Shi can''t take your hits. I suggest you face each other in a race. At least that will give Hall Master Shi a chance at victory," the tall, short-haired woman behind Fang Shihan ridiculed. The woman''s provocation enraged Heaven''s Rumble''s disciples. Even veteran neutralizing grandmasters couldn''t help to match a half-step Henglian grandmaster''s physical fitness, much less Shi Feng, who had only recently become a neutralizing grandmaster. Asking Shi Feng to take a direct hit from Matt was a joke. Xiao Yu began to move forward to advise Shi Feng against falling into the woman''s trap. If he fell for it and lost against Matt, Heaven''s Rumble''s reputation would be in tatters. "I never said I wasn''t interested. I just don''t think those terms are fair," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "I have to sell Zero Wing''s shares if you win, yet you''ll just pack up and leave if you lose. What benefit do I get for accepting this challenge?" "That''s simple. Head Instructor Shi, if you win, I''ll give Zero Wing a 300 million loan, plus state-of-the-art training equipment for the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. I can guarantee that the equipment I have to offer rivals that in the country''s top dojos and training centers," Fang Shihan declared, her lips curling into a wicked grin. She reacted as if she had been expecting Shi Feng to ask. "State-of-the-art training equipment?" Xiao Yu''s eyes glowed when he heard this. Three hundred million Credits would be a massive boon to the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, but the state-of-the- art equipment would be far more important. The equipment Fang Shihan offered might not be worth 300 million Credits, but it was impossible to purchase on the market. Only the suppliers'' partners had any access. In comparison, the best equipment available to the public was two generations behind, which was why ordinary training centers and dojos'' disciples couldn''t hold a candle to those from top dojos and training centers. If the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center could get its hands on this equipment, its facilities would undergo a qualitative transformation. In turn, this would make the training center more attractive to far more people. Shi Feng didn''t respond immediately, however. "What? You''re still not satisfied?" Fang Shihan chuckled at Shi Feng''s silence. "If that''s not enough, state your demands, Head Instructor Shi." She already had a good grasp on Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s situation. Although Lei Bao normally led the training center, and Heaven''s Rumble''s members received excellent training, it was nothing compared to the nation''s top dojos and training centers, particularly when it came to its training facilities. If Heaven''s Rumble acquired state-of-the-art equipment, its facilities would be an excellent promotional tool on their own, luring in far more members. Shi Feng had no reason to reject her offer. Zero Wing desperately needed manpower, after all. Fang Shihan assumed that the only reason Shi Feng hadn''t jumped at her offer was that he wasn''t confident in withstanding Matt''s punches. Knowing this, she wouldn''t give the younger man any excuses to refuse her challenge. Everyone in the hall thought the same. They had already witnessed Matt''s power. Everyone would be impressed if Shi Feng remained standing after taking a single hit, let alone three. "Since Miss Fang has asked, I only have one condition," Shi Feng said, smiling. "He must withstand three of my palm strikes, as well. If you win, Zero Wing will sell its shares. If I win, I want 20 bottles of Life Potion!" For a moment, shocked silence filled the training hall. "Are you insane?!" the tall woman behind Fang Shihan blurted, staring at Shi Feng. "Hall Master?!" Even Lei Bao gave the younger man an incredulous look. Henglian Style practitioners were not famed for their strength, but for their frightening defense. It was why a Henglian master would dare to fight a neutralizing grandmaster, yet refused to acknowledge apex internal force masters. Matt was only a half step away from reaching grandmaster status in the Henglian Style, and as such, his skin and bones were as solid as steel. Trying to injure him with human strength was an utter joke. Only bullets could break though his hide now. "Twenty Life Potions?" Fang Shihan frowned. Life Potions weren''t like S-rank Nutrient fluids. They contained an extraordinary amount of life force. Consuming one bottle of Life Potion would restore youth to an ordinary person, and the potions were in high demand among grandmaster martial artists. Even a major corporation like Qilin Corp. could only secure a small number of bottles. Despite being the Qilin Corporation''s princess, Feng Shihan didn''t even get that many Life Potions per year. "If Miss Fang thinks this condition is too demanding, we can forget about this challenge," Shi Feng mused, chuckling. Neither the Credits nor the state-of-the-art equipment was a priority for Zero Wing and Heaven''s Rumble right now. The organizations would only truly be able to develop further by improving the strength of their current combatants. The Life Potion was undoubtedly one of the quickest ways for Zero Wing and Heaven''s Rumble to do so. As long as Zero Wing and Heaven''s Rumble became strong enough in the future, obtaining state-of-the-art was entirely possible if they were willing to spend a little money, but that wasn''t the case for the Life Potions. They were truly rare items. Not even Lu Xingluo, the Starline Corporation''s heir, could acquire many Life Potions, much less Shi Feng. "Fine! I agree to your condition!" Fang Shihan hissed. Smiling, she continued, "But remember, you only have three palm strikes!" "Of course." Shi Feng nodded. "You really think you can win, kid?" Grinning, Matt said, "Even if I stood here and let you hit me 20 times, you couldn''t force me to take a single step back, much less three!" However, before Matt could say anything more, Shi Feng walked up to him and thrust out his palm. The strike looked light and gentle from an outsider''s perspective; it didn''t look like it had the power to threaten anyone. That thrust didn''t even look like it could injure an ordinary passerby, let alone Matt. However, just as Shi Feng''s palm was about to connect with his target, the movement changed, leaving three afterimages in its wake. Thud! A dull sound echoed throughout the hall, and Matt''s face lost color until his complexion was a deathly pale. He stumbled three steps back, clutching his abdomen as he fell to his knees, unable to speak for a long moment... 2396 Initial Display of Strength Chapter 2396 - Initial Display of Strength As Matt knelt, silence momentarily enveloped the entire training hall. The tall woman with short hair, in particular, wore a stiff expression, her mocking words forgotten. "Impossible!" "Matt, what happened?!" Mythology''s members were dumbfounded by their comrade''s reaction. They were all quite familiar with Matt''s strength and defense, but they also knew his personality. Thus, they knew this wasn''t an act. Shi Feng''s palm strike had looked gentle. It hadn''t even seemed powerful enough to injure an ordinary person, much less a Henglian expert like Matt, yet after taking the hit, Matt had collapsed with his pale face twisted in pain. The strike had clearly left him with substantial injuries. Even Lei Bao and Heaven''s Rumble''s disciples gaped in shock, not to mention Fang Shihan''s group. "What did the Hall Master do?" Heaven''s Rumble disciples were confused. They had already witnessed Matt''s strength earlier, when he had defeated Lei Bao in three moves. The man had such high defense that he had taken a full-powered blow from Lei Bao without issue, and yet, he couldn''t cope with one of Shi Feng''s gentle palm strikes. "Did that guy use some hidden weapon, Vice Guild Leader? How else would he have hurt Matt?" a male youth, who was as large as Fang Mingyu, quietly asked Fang Shihan. Aside from the old instructor, who wasn''t in the hall, the strongest of Heaven''s Rumble''s visitors were Matt and Fang Shihan. Since Matt couldn''t speak at that moment, only Fang Shihan could inform her companions of what Shi Feng had done. The rest of Mythology''s group nodded, agreeing with the male youth. They assumed that Shi Feng must''ve cheated. "No. He didn''t just attack with one strike, but three, instantaneous palm strikes," Fang Shihan said, watching Shi Feng with an indescribably grim expression. "Moreover, all three strikes hit the same location, so it looked like a single attack. His physical control has already reached the Spiritualization Realm." Three palm strikes?! How is that possible?!" Their leader''s answer stunned Mythology''s members. Ignoring the difficulty of striking the same location multiple times, executing three simultaneous attacks was an unbelievable feat. They couldn''t even fathom what kind of mental and physical reaction speed one would need to accomplish it. "That''s right, I executed three palm strikes, as agreed," Shi Feng said, not bothering to hide the truth. He was a little surprised to see Matt so pale, however. "Not only does combining three attacks allow me to increase my raw power, but it also doubles my hits penetrating power. To think you only received minor injuries, I''m impressed with your muscular defense. If you had come here a few days ago, I really wouldn''t have been a match for you." Adjusting to his Epic Mana Body in the Howling Wind Canyon had inspired him. After he had become a neutralizing grandmaster in the real world, his mind had begun to secrete hormones to fortify his physical prowess. His mental and physical reaction speeds, in particular, had significantly improved, but superior reaction speed wasn''t enough for him to exhibit his full strength. His physical control wasn''t yet perfect. However, by controlling the flow of Mana in his Epic Mana Body, he had come up with some combat techniques that would rely on his reaction speed. Although he couldn''t replicate these techniques perfectly in the real world, he was able to exhibit a fraction of the techniques'' power. Even that fraction greatly increased his strength and penetrating power, allowing him to drive the force of his strikes toward Matt''s organs. Not even an adult bear would escape such an attack unscathed. Although Matt was in incredible shape, he was only human. Once his pain had subsided to a bearable level, Matt stood, glaring at Shi Feng with a hint of fear in his gaze. He abandoned any thought of fighting the younger man. "YouVery good! I''ve lost this challenge!" Henglian Style practitioners were famed for their brute strength and defense. The only reason that they dared to clash with neutralizing grandmasters was their ability to take a hit without sustaining significant injuries. On the other hand, if they got lucky and landed a bow, they could knock out their opponent with a single hit. However, they''d have to flee from a neutralizing grandmaster like Shi Feng, who could ignore their defense. Fighting such an individual would only spell their death. Still, the situation confused Matt. Aside from Shi Feng, he had only ever taken such a serious blow from his old instructor. His instructor was an old monster who had become a neutralizing grandmaster several decades ago. The old instructor had also received help from plenty of state-of-the-art and medication to grow stronger. His strength had long since reached inhuman levels. In comparison, Shi Feng was only in his early 20s. Just how did this young man become so powerful? "In that case, will you fulfill your end of the bargain, Mis Fang?" Shi Feng asked after Matt had admitted defeat. After his fight with Matt, Shi Feng''s mind spun. It wasn''t because he had successfully executed a God''s Domain combat technique in the real world, but because of how impressed he was with Mythology''s expert standards. He had never thought Mythology would be this powerful. If even Mythology could nurture such incredible fighters, other superpowers shouldn''t be far behind. More than anything, Shi Feng needed a large stock of Life Potions to nurture his own fitness, as well as help Lei Bao and Fire Dance become neutralizing grandmasters. Otherwise, Zero Wing''s operations in the real world would be in grave danger. The Three Palms, One Strike technique might have looked simple, but it was extremely hard to execute. If Shi Feng hadn''t mentally prepared himself, and Matt hadn''t simply stood there to take the hit, he wouldn''t have been able to execute the technique. "I don''t have 20 Life Potions on me right now, but I''ll have someone deliver them to you before the end of tomorrow," Fang Shihan said, frowning. Shi Feng''s strength had drastically exceeded her expectations. He certainly couldn''t be considered an ordinary neutralizing grandmaster. "We have other matters to tend to, so we will take our leave for now." After saying so, Fang Shihan left with her subordinates, and Shi Feng didn''t try to stop her. Fang Shihan was the Qilin Corporation''s princess. She couldn''t afford to break a promise she made in public. After Fang Shihan''s group left, cheers broke out in the training hall as the disciples celebrated. Everyone practically worshipped Shi Feng''s display, which had renewed their confidence in the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. Some of the normal members even considered applying to become true Heaven''s Rumble disciples. However, the atmosphere in the luxury maglev car parked outside of the training center wasn''t as cheerful. "We''re just going to leave, Vice Guild Leader? I know we only came here to test Heaven''s Rumble''s standards but wasn''t our main goal to compete with the training center virtually and steal its virtual combat platforms in Fenglin City?. Shi Feng might be strong, but it''ll be a different story when we fight in a virtual combat platform. Not even Zero Wing''s Black Flame will be a match for you with your strength as a Tier 3 player, much less Shi Feng," Matt complained. "No. We need to report this to the old instructor," Fang Shihan said, shaking her head. "No matter how you look at it, it''s strange for someone as young as Shi Feng to be so powerful. I''m sure there''s some big secret to his strength. If we can discover this secret, we''ll gain far more authority in Mythology. It might even be enough for me to become one of the headquarter''s Three Great Vice Guild Leaders!" 2397 Ascension Realm Chapter 2397 - Ascension Realm Fenglin City, Redstone Restaurant: Fang Shihan and her entourage stood before a man in one of the Redstone Restaurant''s VIP rooms, which had an antique flair. The man sat cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed. Despite the fact that half of the man''s hair had already turned white, his facial features were that of a man in his early 40s. In truth, however, he was already over 70. Although this elderly man wasn''t as large or robust as Matt and the others, his aura felt like that of an unshakable mountain. Standing in his presence, one couldn''t help but revere the old man. This man was none other than Situ Qingtian, Fang Shihan and her companions'' instructor. "Matt, is Shi Feng truly as powerful as Shihan described? Was he really able to combine the power of his attacks?" Situ Qingtian asked as he opened his eyes and looked at the younger man before him. "I''m sure of it. The moment after the first hit, his strike''s penetrating power doubled. If I hadn''t reacted quickly enough and diverted some of the force, He would''ve likely knocked me out," Matt said, nodding. Before today, he had only ever experienced that level of power from Situ Qingtian, and the memory of Shi Feng''s hits were still fresh in his mind. "Instructor, I investigated Shi Feng thoroughly, and there were no reports of him possessing this kind of strength. He''s only recently reached the grandmaster realm and partially enhanced his mental capacity. He must''ve found something in God''s Domain that has allowed him to execute such a technique in the real world," Fang Shihan surmised. "It seems Zero Wing isn''t so simple, after all. I must have many secrets," Situ Qingtian said. "I suspect this Shi Feng has made considerable progress in the Realms of Truth. He''s likely reached the Ascension Realm at the very least." "The Ascension Realm?! How is that possible?!" Matt exclaimed. Mythology had discovered the Realms of Truth combat system, which had profound principles, in God''s Domain. At first, some of the various superpowers had labeled the Realms of Truth as the Spiritualization Realm, and they had discovered that learning these principles allowed one to gain unbelievable control with combat techniques. Learning these principles was akin to engraving combat techniques on one''s bones. Players that learned these principles and practiced them successfully could execute a combat technique with every movement. They could exhibit strength far beyond their natural potential. However, progressing through the Realms of Truth was an intense challenge. Even Matt, a genius, had barely begun, yet he was considered one of the most accomplished individuals in Mythology. And now, they discovered that Shi Feng, who was much younger than Matt, had gone beyond, reaching the Ascension Realm. How could he allow himself to believe it? "That is why I am sure Zero Wing has hidden many secrets. Mythology has expended a lot of manpower and resources to explore the Realms of Truth, yet we have barely uncovered some of the training methods," Situ Qingtian said, his interest in Zero Wing growing. "Zero Wing must''ve obtained some clues relating to the Realms of Truth and uncovered detailed training methods. No individual could reach such a standard by themselves, otherwise." "If that is true, we must obtain this secret!" Fang Shihan declared, passion burning in her gaze. Mythology had constantly been searching for the Realms of Truth''s secrets, but the clues they had uncovered were few and vague. Needless to say, they had yet to discover any systematic training methods. If she could get her hands on Zero Wing''s training system and combine it and Mythology''s research, not only could she improve her own combat standards, but she could also gain more authority within the Guild. Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing''s roots on the eastern continent are too solid to shake right now, especially now that it has Stone Forest City. I''m afraid that we won''t be able to cause any significant damage. Even if we target the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center, our results will likely be negligible. At worst, we''ll slow Zero Wing''s recruitment rate, but we won''t be able to harm the Guild''s foundations directly," Matt anxiously said. He desperately wanted a Realms of Truth training system, as well. If he could progress further through the Realms of Truth, not only would he grow stronger in God''s Domain, but he''d also gain more combat power in the real world. "Don''t worry about it. Since we now know Zero Wing has obtained clues regarding the Realms of Truth, our Guild will not let it out of our sight. I''ve read through the reports on Zero Wing. It seems the Guild is at war with Starlink, and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Rain is part of the reason it has held on for so long," Situ Qingtian calmly stated. "If we can interfere and prevent Phoenix Rain from helping Zero Wing, I doubt the Guild will last long against Starlink. Shihan, visit the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and inform Ku Rong of our stance. I''m sure that old fellow will make the wise decision." "I understand. I''ll get it done once I return," Fang Shihan said, nodding. She had thought of pressuring the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, too, but she was only a Vice Guild Leader from one of Mythology''s many Branch Guilds. Although she had a good reputation in the Guild, she had no authority to represent the Guild in crucial matters. Now that she had permission, however, she didn''t have to worry about any negative repercussions. Whether or not the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would give in to her demands wasn''t even a question. Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds in God''s Domain. Even ordinary Super Guilds had to show it respect, not to mention a super-first-rate Guild like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Meanwhile, in Zero Wing''s main headquarters... Once Shi Feng received the 20 bottles of Life Potion from Fang Shihan''s subordinate, he gave three bottles to Lei Bao. He instructed the man to visit the Extraordinary Tower with the Berserker Lei Bao had made for fun in God''s Domain. After his fight with Matt, Shi Feng had an odd sense of impending danger. Although Zero Wing was developing smoothly in God''s Domain, it was far too weak in the real world, especially when it came to poaching talented fighters. The various superpowers had already begun to do so on a large scale. However, since Shi Feng was so busy with his affairs in God''s Domain, he didn''t have time to pay attention to Heaven''s Rumble''s development. If he wanted his training center to grow, he''d need another grandmaster martial artist to defend it long-term. Among those working in Heaven''s Rumble, Lei Bao was undoubtedly the closest to reaching the grandmaster realm. After him, there were Fire Dance and the others. Lei Bao''s physical fitness and control had already peaked, and he was only a step away from breaking into the grandmaster realm. To make that final step, his mental capacity needed to undergo a qualitative transformation. Although training in the Extraordinary Tower wasn''t nearly as effective as training in the Tower of Four Gods, Lei Bao had a high chance of making that final step with the help of the Life Potions. Once he became a grandmaster, Heaven''s Rumble would grow at a frightening pace. The training center would also have a much better chance of resisting the various major corporation''s harassment. After finishing with Lei Bao, Shi Feng split another 10 Life Potions among Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Cola, Shadow Sword, and Turtledove, the Guild''s experts that had already grasped internal force. The Life Potions should help them develop their physical fitness and mental capacity. Shi Feng then drank one of the Life Potions before returning to his virtual gaming cabin and logging back into God''s Domain. He intended to open the portal to the western continent as soon as possible. Only then could Zero Wing stabilize its foothold in God''s Domain and secure enough resources and strength to develop the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center. By the time Shi Feng reentered God''s Domain, Cola and the others were, for the most part, rested and ready. The team resumed grinding in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s outer region for a while, collecting the last Mana strands for their quest. "This quest is a tough one. If not for the Fine-Gold Guards, we wouldn''t have had any hope of completing it. I wonder what kind of rewards we''ll get once we turn it in." Blackie pondered, filled with anticipation as he watched Shi Feng collect the final Mana strand. "It''d be awesome if we earned a Fragmented Legendary item." This was the first time they had completed an Inferior Legendary Quest, and they had obtained this quest in a Level 100-plus neutral map. The quest rewards would definitely be extraordinary. "Alright, tidy up. Once everyone''s ready, we''re leaving," Shi Feng said, chuckling at Blackie''s excitement. He did not particularly care about the reward items. He knew that not even an Inferior Legendary Quest had a high chance of granting a Fragmented Legendary item. Rather, he looked forward to the Favorability they''d earn with the Famed Smith, Alba Gray. In no time, Shi Feng and his team stood before Alba Gray once more. 2398 Disintegration Power, Activate! Chapter 2398 - Disintegration Power, Activate! By the time Shi Feng''s group returned to Alba Gray, the NPC''s Divine Might had weakened considerably. Even with the protection of the Gods, the Hero was in danger of dying. Seeing this, Shi Feng had to admit that the Jealous Witch was incredibly powerful. With a single curse, she could cause a Hero''s downfall. With this kind of power and the witch''s erratic mood, it was no wonder why she was considered a natural disaster. When she was in a good mood, she could help a kingdom prosper, but when her mood was sour, she could cause a kingdom''s demise. Kingdoms and empires both revered and feared the woman. "Lord Alba Gray, we''ve collected 1,000 strands of the Jealous Witch''s Mana. How should we proceed to lift your curse?" Shi Feng asked the frozen Hero. "Simple. You just need to release the Mana you''ve collected around me," Alba Gray telepathically communicated with a thread of excitement. "However, while I am removing the seal, the Jealous Witch''s Frost Elf will sense this. I must ask you to stop her until I am free." Just as Shi Feng was about to ask for more information, the snow around them stirred. It then gathered into the form of a woman. The woman was nearly two meters tall and looked mostly human, but unlike humans, her body was made entirely of snow. Divine runes etched themselves in her frozen form, giving her a sacred aura. One couldn''t help the urge to submit to her will as they stood in her presence. As if the ambient Mana had discovered its master, it gathered around the woman. "A Higher Magic Elf?!" Everyone gasped when they saw the snow womans statistics. [Ice Elf, Ulunium] (High Magic Elf, Mythic) Level 110 HP 3,500,000,000/3,500,000,000 Magic Elves had considerably high Life Ratings in God''s Domain, much higher than Elemental Creatures. Many of the Spells humans wielded in this day and age had originated from Magic Elves. Mana favored these beings even more than ordinary Elves because they possessed bodies made of Mana itself. Meanwhile, High Magic Elves stood above Magic Elves in God''s Domain''s hierarchy, akin to kings among Magic Elves. Their Life Ratings could even rival that of Dragons. "Do you really think you can escape my Master''s curse?" Ulunium mocked as she gave Alba Gray a disdainful look. She then swept her glance over Shi Feng and his companions, saying, "Adventurers, it''d be best if you do not poke your noses into matters that do not concern you. Leave now, and I will spare you. Stay and help Alba Gray, and I''ll ensure you remain here, alongside the rest of these foolish knights!" As Ulunium spoke, the team felt an overwhelming sense of dread. They struggled to move as if the air around them froze them in place. Even breathing became a laborious task. "Is she really a Mythic monster?" Cola muttered, shocked as he stared at Ulunium. With just a few words, High Magic Elf had immobilized Tier 3 players. She was nothing like the Mythic monsters they had faced before. "Guild Leader, she is far too dangerous for us. If we try to fight her, only the Personal Guards will last more than 10 seconds," Yan Tianxing expended an immense amount of energy to whisper to Shi Feng. "I doubt we''ll even last 5 seconds against her," Shi Feng said, smiling bitterly at Ulunium. He had never expected this Inferior Legendary Quest to be so vicious! Collecting 1,000 Mana strands within 10 days in the Demonwolf Mountain Range had already been a nigh-impossible task, but the challenge before them was simply a joke. They might have had a chance if the system had pitted them against an ordinary Magic Elf, but trying to fight a High Magic Elf was on par with challenging a bona fide Dragon. Although they had raided a Tier 4 Ice Dragon, Heathwaite had been severely injured before they had arrived. Its combat power had been nowhere near its peak. Furthermore, Shi Feng had been able to suppress it with his Heavenly Dragon''s Breath, which was the only reason they had had a slim chance of defeating it. Ulunium, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Not only was Ulunium''s combat power at its peak, but as a High Magic Elf, she had hundreds of Spells under her command. She could wipe a 100-man Tier 3 team off the face of God''s Domain in a matter of seconds. If players tried to fight her without specific tools to counter her attacks, their only hope of survival was to flee as far and fast as possible. Unfortunately, summoning a Tier 4 Great Demon with the Bible of Darkness was impossible, as well. Ulunium had high enough intellect that she''d target Shi Feng immediately, and the Great Demon wouldn''t be able to do anything about it. "Adventurers, give me 90 seconds! If you can hold out for that long, I can free myself from this curse!" Alba Gray suddenly shouted. Alba Gray''s words left everyone speechless. They could barely move within Ulunium''s Domain. They''d be lucky to stall her for 10 seconds, not to mention 90. Ulunium was no normal Mythic monster; she was a creature that was more skilled with her Spells than Tier 4 Great Wizards, and she loved large-scale combat. She could annihilate them all with one AOE Spell, leaving no opportunities to challenge her. "Ninety seconds?" After some pondering, Shi Feng turned to Cola and asked, "Cola, can you hold her for 10 seconds?" "If I activate my Berserk and Lifesaving Skills, it should be doable," Cola said after considering his prowess. He currently wore the Frostwolf Set, and with his Fragmented Legendary Shield, he was more than capable of tanking a Level 100-plus Mythic monster. Ulunium''s Life Rating rivaled that of Dragons, but he shouldn''t have any issues tanking her for 10 seconds if he activated his Berserk and Lifesaving Skills. "Do you have a plan, Guild Leader?" Yan Tianxing asked. They could simply surrender, but they''d have to bear the brunt of the quest''s penalty. "I do, but I''m not sure if it will succeed," Shi Feng replied. "Unfortunately, we have no other options. Cola, get ready." If Alba Gray had asked them to stall Ulunium for several minutes, Shi Feng would''ve had no choice but to surrender, but he had a chance if he only had to hold her off for 90 seconds. Shi Feng then retrieved the Bible of Darkness and summoned a Great Demon. Seeing this confused his companions. They knew that Ulunium was intelligent enough to ignore the Great Demon and attack its summoner. How could a Great Demon possibly slow the High Magic Elf down? Although they weren''t sure what Shi Feng intended, they followed his instructions and split up, putting as much distance between them and Shi Feng as possible. Meanwhile, Cola activated his Berserk Skill and waited for Shi Feng''s signal. "Go!" Shi Feng yelled once everyone was in position. He immediately released the Mana they had collected around Alba Gray as Cola dashed toward the enraged Ice Elf, activating Justice Roar to attract her attention. "Foolish humans! You will die here with the rest of these fools!" Ulunium bellowed. Watching Cola, she lightly waved hand. Ice lances, over a dozen meters long, coalesced in the air and flew toward the MT. Without chanting an incantation or drawing any runes, Ulunium had cast the Tier 4, ice-type Spell, Frost Tooth... As the ice lances flew toward him, Cola relied on his combat standards and reaction speed to dodge, but he failed to evade one of the lances. He was forced to block the attack with his shield. Boom! The ice lance exploded against his shield, and the impact forced Cola to sink into the snowy ground. The attack had dealt over -300,000 damage, taking more than 10% of Cola''s total HP. "How powerful is she?!" Everyone''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets. Cola had activated his Berserk Skill and Lifesaving Skills, so he should have substantial damage reduction, yet he had still lost over 10% of his HP from one of Ulunium''s attacks. Had he tried to charge at the Ice Elf without these Skills active, she would''ve one-shotted him... Seeing that the first attack had failed to end her target, Ulunium raised her hand again and began to chant an incantation. Responding to her command, a powerful blizzard swept toward Cola, streams of wind striking like pythons and threatening to tear Cola apart. As these wind serpents attacked, Cola was forced to halt his advance and defend himself with his shield. His HP rapidly plummeted. At this rate, he didn''t have enough HP to last 5 seconds, much less 10. Fortunately, every healer on the team focused on recovering Cola''s HP, keeping him alive, albeit barely. As the seconds passed, Cola''s HP climbed and fell like a roller coaster as he danced on the fringes of death. The team''s healers couldn''t mitigate Ulunium''s damage fully, and each round of healing seemed less effective as Cola steadily lost HP. "I can''t hold on for much longer, Guild Leader!" Cola knew he had bit off more than he could chew as he glanced at his HP bar. As Cola finished his last word, another blizzard assaulted him from behind. Unfortunately, the wind pythons attacking from the front had him preoccupied, and he could only watch as more approached from behind. It''s over! Sensing the incoming attack, Cola knew his time was up. However, a figure suddenly appeared behind him. It was none other than Shi Feng. "Ten seconds have passed! Leave the rest to me!" Shi Feng shouted over the roaring wind as he charged at the incoming wind python behind Cola. "Guild Leader?" The team was confused as they watched Shi Feng try to meet the incoming blizzard in battle. Cola was a Guardian Knight, yet the blizzard''s pythons had devoured a significant portion of his HP. As a Swordsman, Shi Feng would only dig his own grave by trying to block the python''s attack. Disintegration Power, activate! Just as the blizzard was about to reach him, Shi Feng activated the Disintegration Armor''s strongest Skill- Disintegration Power. The intensity of Shi Feng''s aura immediately skyrocketed, and gray smoke drifted from his body, shattering space around him. As the blizzard''s python reached him, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray to counter its attack. 2399 Power of Tier 4 Chapter 2399 - Power of Tier 4 As he swung Killing Ray, the python of ice and wind stretched open its maw and threatened to devour Shi Feng. When the Sacred Sword and the blizzard clashed, the results stupefied everyone watching. With a passing flash of light, the blade sliced apart the powerful, icy attack, dispersing the blizzard. "He blocked it?!" "What did the Guild Leader do?" Cola, who desperately fought to hold his ground against the powerful blizzard attacking him, and Yan Tianxing and the rest, who watched from a distance, wondered if they were hallucinating. Yan Tianxing and the others could tell how powerful the wind pythons were based on Cola''s struggle against Ulunium''s attacks. If they tried to block one of the wind python''s strikes, it''d be a miracle if they didn''t die instantly, even with an active Berserk Skill. Cola had already activated his Lifesaving Skill, which drastically reduced incoming damage. Without that, Ulunium''s wind pythons would''ve long since ended his life. And yet, Shi Feng had countered one of the wind pythons with a single strike. The outcome even surprised Shi Feng. He hadn''t expected his strike to be so powerful after using Disintegration Power to upgrade himself to a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. So, this is the true strength of a Sword Emperor. Shi Feng thought as he relished the strength he had wielded with his counterattack. Shi Feng had never been able to break past Tier 3 into Tier 4 during his previous life, so he had never felt the power a Tier 4 player commanded. He only knew that they were incredibly strong. But after taking a moment to adapt to his Tier 4 Epic Mana Body, he, more or less, understood why so few Tier 3 players could stand against those at Tier 4, even when wielding a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. The differences between Tier 3 and Tier 4 players weren''t limited to Basic Attributes and physique. There was also a qualitative difference in the way their bodies conducted Mana. With his improved Mana Body, Shi Feng''s mind was clearer than ever before, and his body constantly felt at the ready. This was evident through his counterattack. He had used the Bronze Combat Technique, Lightning Flash, executing 17 attacks in a single strike. As he did, the 17 attacks had even devoured the space before them, which was a feat he definitely wasn''t capable of without Disintegration Power active. With how clear his mind was, he knew that Tier 3 players had no hope against Tier 4 players, even if they managed to bridge the gap between their Basic Attributes and physiques. A Tier 4 mental state was on an entirely different level. During the brief moment Shi Feng analyzed his Tier 4 state, Ulunium became enraged, having seen this Swordsman shatter her attack, and the ambient Mana began to rampage around her. The Ice Elf began to chant another incantation while she drew divine runes in the air with flying speed, stupefying Yi Luofei and the other magical class team members. Based on the number of runes Ulunium drew, she was clearly trying to cast a large-scale destruction Spell, but normally, players needed a long time to complete such a Spell. The High Magic Elf, on the other hand, drew several dozen lines of divine runes in two seconds. It was simply unbelievable! Before the watching team members could snap out of their dazes, a magic array covering a 200-yard radius appeared above the snowy battlefield. As it did, it sucked dry all ice-type Mana in the area, concentrating it within the array''s core. "Insignificant humans, you will pay for your foolishness!" Ulunium snarled after finishing her chant. She then raised a fine-boned finger and pointed it at Shi Feng. Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, Frost Shower! Several hundred icy meteors pulled themselves free from the magic array and descended on the frozen lake, each one containing enough power to shatter space itself. "We''re doomed!" Watching the incoming meteors, the team began to despair. This attack could even wipe out a team of several hundred Tier 3 players in an instant. She''s finally getting serious? Shi Feng, on the other hand, wasn''t surprised to see the incoming balls of ice. Calmly, he activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Absolute Domain. High Magic Elves could even rival God''s Domain''s Dragons. And how powerful, exactly was a Dragon? A Dragon was the personification of a natural disaster. Not even a full kingdom could stop a Dragon''s wrath, and it would be forced to watch as the creature devastated its territories. High Magic Elves might have a slightly lower Life Rating than Dragons, but they had the combat power to rival the monstrosities due to their exceptional talent with wielding magic. High Magic Elves could effortlessly cast frighteningly powerful Spells, which usually required a long casting time. An ordinary Tier 4 Great Wizard, for example, would need a dozen seconds to cast a Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell, but Ulunium only needed two seconds. As the hail of meteors bombarded the frozen lake, they transformed a 200-yard-radius area into an icy hell. Fortunately, not even Tier 4 Spells could break through Shi Feng''s Absolute Domain, and Shi Feng and his companions within range of his Skill emerged unharmed. The moment Ulunium''s attack ended, Shi Feng charged at the Ice Elf. Ulunium was a magical class being. If she were allowed to cast her Spells freely, she could even slay Tier 5 players, much less Shi Feng''s Tier 3 teammates. If Shi Feng wanted to prevent her from slaughtering them all, he had to face her in melee combat. With Absolute Domain''s protection, Shi Feng could approach Ulunium while she bombarded him with a steady stream of Tier 4 Spells, but as he approached, he had to admit that this Ice Elf was incredibly powerful. Not only were her Basic Attributes considerably higher than his, but she also had an endless supply of Tier 4 Spells at her command. Even after forcibly promoting himself to Tier 4, Shi Feng was at a major disadvantage. With Absolute Domain''s duration running out, Zero Wing''s members, who watched from a distance, began to grow nervous. Ulunium would''ve torn Shi Feng to shreds by now if not for Absolute Domain''s protection. Her attacks against their Guild Leader weren''t like the Ice Elf s assault against Cola. She had even begun to double speed-cast. Combined with her already-absurd casting speed, not even Shi Feng could dodge all of her attacks in time. He was forced to rely on Sword''s Orbit to block some of the attacks, lest the impact knock him back. As though she had anticipated the moment, Ulunium sneered and summoned a crystalline staff the instant Absolute Domain came to an end. With a swing of her staff, she revealed numerous magic arrays that had been hidden under the snow around her. Countless icicles shot from the arrays, flying toward Shi Feng, and a powerful blizzard of hail and snow descended on the Swordsman. "Are you kidding me?! Is Ulunium really just a monster?!" Blackie''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets when he saw the magic arrays appear around Shi Feng. Not only had the Ice Elf set traps during the battle, but her traps had been so cleverly placed that not even Blackie, a Cursemancer, had noticed them. This was the first time he had ever experienced such a thing in God''s Domain. Moreover, Ulunium had concealed over a dozen magic arrays under the snow. As they activated simultaneously, they had the power of more than a dozen Tier 4 magical classes attacking as one. An attack like this would even turn a Tier 4 MT into swiss cheese. As expected of a High Magic Elf, she''s even calculated my Skill''s duration. The incoming icicles didn''t surprise Shi Feng in the least. He immediately commanded his summoned Great Demon, which had been on standby, to join the fray. Mythic monsters intellect shouldn''t be underestimated after Level 100, especially that of a High Magic Elf like Ulunium. Shi Feng had expected her to employ traps. If these creatures were any weaker, the various superpowers of his previous life wouldn''t have struggled so hard against Superior Mythics. The Great Demon appeared behind Shi Feng instantly and blocked the icicles coming in from behind its master. With the Great Demon''s help, Shi Feng could concentrate on the wind pythons attacking him head-on. However, despite focusing on defense, the wind pythons were too powerful for him, and his HP continued to fall with each attack he blocked. If he hadn''t had the help of his healers'' diligent spell casting, he wouldn''t have lasted more than 15 seconds against this bombardment. With the Great Demon guarding his back and the rear line healers'' support, Shi Feng had a much easier time distracting Ulunium. Before even Shi Feng had realized it, another 50 or so seconds had passed, and only 5 seconds remained before Disintegration Power''s duration would end. "All of your efforts are futile, human! Your power is already fading, and once it does, both you and Alba Gray will forever decorate this lake as ice sculptures!" Ulunium declared, flashing Shi Feng a sinister grin when she sensed Disintegration Power begin to fade. "Is that so?" Shi Feng shot back, unfazed despite Disintegration Power''s duration running out. On the contrary, he revealed a bright smile as he said, "I disagree." With that comment, Ulunium realized that something was amiss. She immediately shifted her gaze toward the distant Anna, but it was too late as the Personal Guard completed the final verse of her incantation. A holy light pierced the clouds and shot toward the frozen lake as a Higher Valkyrie with three sets of pure-white wings appeared not far from the Ice Elf. "A Higher Valkyrie?!" Ulunium''s expression shifted when she saw her newest opponent. The Valkyrie gave Ulunium no time to prepare as she threw her Thunder Spear at the High Magic Elf, its astonishing power exploding through the space around it. A Higher Valkyrie''s Life Rating couldn''t compare to that of a Dragon, but it was on par with a High Magic Elf s. Ulunium was forced to focus on the Higher Valkyrie''s attack, defending herself. The Higher Valkyrie demanded all of Ulunium''s attention, and the Ice Elf had no energy to spare on Shi Feng. She couldn''t even defend herself from his Great Demon''s attacks, which steadily chipped away at her HP. As the seconds passed, the curse on Alba Gray grew weaker, yet Ulunium couldn''t do anything about it. Ninety seconds after Shi Feng had released the Jealous Witch''s Mana around the NPC, everyone heard ice shatter as Alba Gray broke free of his icy prison. 2400 Sword Sain t Chapter 2400 - Sword Saint Seeing Alba Gray break free from his curse, Shi Feng breathed a deep sigh of relief. Although the Higher Valkyrie could keep Ulunium busy, it couldn''t exist for long. If the Higher Valkyrie had disappeared before Alba Gray had freed himself, Shi Feng wouldn''t have been able to stop the Ice Elf even with Twofold Berserk. Not only was there a full-tier difference between them, but Ulunium was also powerful enough to rival a Dragon. Shi Feng wouldn''t have been able to resist her attacks for long. "Damn it!" Ulunium grew incensed when she noticed Alba Gray was free. She swung her icy staff at Shi Feng, bellowing, "I''ll send you all to hell!" The High Magic Elf began to chant an incantation, and a threefold magic array covering a 500-yard radius began to form in the sky. The instant the array took shape, it tore apart space around it. Two seconds later, these spatial tears transformed into a gigantic black hole. So, this is her true strength. Shi Feng looked up at the black hole with a grim expression. Tier 5 Spell, Void Storm! Tier 5 Spells were beyond extraordinary. They had enough power to destroy an entire city, transforming it into a lifeless land. This was why the various kingdoms and empires feared Tier 5 beings. Even emperors had to show respect before them. Shi Feng had never dreamed that Ulunium could cast Tier 5 Spells, despite being a Tier 4 creature. There was only a difference of one tier between Tier 4 and 5, but the difference between a Tier 4 Spell and a Tier 5 Spell was like the difference between heaven and earth. Any random Tier 5 Offensive Spell could severely injure a Tier 4 creature. If a Tier 4 player tried to stand against a Tier 5 Spell, their death would almost be a guarantee. Even Tier 4 MTs could withstand such power. Players wouldn''t even have a chance to flee since the amount of Mana a Tier 5 Spell commanded would freeze space around them. When Zero Wing''s members saw the Void Storm forming above them, they turned a deathly pale. The resulting shockwave would easily cover several thousand yards. They had no hope of escaping this Spell''s range. Before any of them could start running for their lives, however, a pitch-black storm emerged from the black hole, covering the world in an endless darkness. Not even Shi Feng knew how to get out of this one. Absolute Domain might be able to protect them, but the Skill was still on Cooldown. They couldn''t escape via Instantaneous Transfer Scrolls, either, since space around them had frozen. Fortunately, they had completed their quest. Even if they died, they''d only lose some EXP, which they could quickly recover. Seeing the descending storm of darkness, Shi Feng prepared to die. Suddenly, Alba Gray unsheathed the golden sword hanging from his waist and slashed it toward the endless darkness. A brilliant light spread through the darkness, purifying it. In just three seconds, Alba Gray''s holy light had vanquished Ulunium''s Void Storm. "Crap! Isn''t that Hero a little too powerful?!" Yan Tianxing and the others gaped in shock, unable to process what had just happened. In one move, Ulunium had transformed the day into night, whereas Alba Gray had returned daylight to the frozen lake with a move of his own. Their combat power was simply unbelievable. Staring at Alba Gray, Zero Wing''s members finally understood what it meant to be a Hero. A Hero could not be overwhelmed by numbers. All of the monsters they had fought were insignificant before Alba Gray. The NPC could likely even slaughter a full group of Tier 4 players instantly. "Damn it! You''ve actually become a Sword Saint?!" Ulunium stared at Alba Gray in astonishment as her Void Storm dissipated. "That''s right! Removing the curse has allowed me to grasp some of the principles I needed to make a breakthrough! You are no longer a match for me!" Alba Gray roared, a hint of excitement lacing his tone. Although the Jealous Witch''s curse had caused him endless suffering, studying it had allowed him to understand the concepts he needed to become a true Tier 5 Sword Saint. A Tier 5 Sword Saint?! Shi Feng was similarly shocked, and he spun to look at Alba Gray. [Alba Gray (Sacred Magic Knight)] (Hero, Sword Saint) Level? ? ? HP??????/?????? NPCs faced greater struggles when trying to complete their promotions, but this was also why NPCs'' status rose dramatically with every promotion in God''s Domain. A Tier 3 NPC, for example, could serve as a minor city''s Magistrate, while a Tier 4 NPC could serve as a Magistrate in a major city. Even emperors had to show respect before Tier 5 NPCs. But as far as Shi Feng could remember, Alba Gray had only been a Tier 4 Hero during his previous life. This hadn''t changed even after 10 years since God''s Domain''s launch. Alba Gray had never managed to become a Tier 5 Sword Saint. Even so, as a Hero, Alba Gray had been able to contend with ordinary Tier 5 NPCs. Including his identity as a Famed Smith, even the various empires had taken him seriously. And yet, Alba Gray was now a Tier 5 Sword Saint! "It is true. Now that you are a Sword Saint, I am no match for you, but don''t you dare think this is over!" Ulunium declared as she glared at Alba Gray. She then turned to Shi Feng and continued, "You, as well, adventurer!" After her bold declaration, the Ice Elf began to disintegrate into snowflakes. "Don''t think you can get away from me that easily!" Alba Gray shouted. He unsheathed the second sword hanging from his waist and charged at Ulunium, swinging the pitch-black blade. He had only executed a normal slash, but from a distance, the attack had looked like a black wall, rising into the air and extending more than 500 meters. The pitch-black wall bisected the High Magic Elf, and Ulunium released a harrowing scream as a snow-white energy crystal fell from her body. Although the attack had significantly weakened Uluniums life aura, she successfuU^ As the black wall faded from existence, only Alba Gray remained on the snow-covered lake. "It seems she still managed to escape." Alba Gray frowned as he glared at the spatial tear before him. Shi Feng, who stood nearby, wasn''t surprised in the least that the Ice Elf had gotten away. A Mythic ranked High Magic Elf was on par with a Mythic ranked World Boss of the same level. In fact, she should be even stronger. She could cast Tier 5 Spells, after all, which proved that she was only half a step away from becoming a Tier 5 being herself. Even a Tier 5 Hero would face a long battle to kill her. With Ulunium''s disappearance, Shi Feng heard the sound of a system notification. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Inferior Legendary Quest, "Last Knight." Quest completion rate - 93%. Quest rating: S-rank. 2401 Alba Grays Reward Chapter 2401 - Alba Gray''s Reward An S-rank rating? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the outcome of his quest. He''d thought that he had barely passed with a C-rank rating. His team had spent nine days collecting the 1,000 Mana strands. He had never dreamed that he would earn an S-rank rating after taking so long. Receiving an S-rank rating for high-ranked quests with completion rate indicators was incredibly difficult in God''s Domain. The quests themselves were typically challenging, and players had to complete the quest to near-perfection to achieve such a high result. However, if players could earn an S-rank rating, the original rewards would be improved slightly. Although the bonus wouldn''t be very high, the additional rewards for an Epic ranked or higher quest would be extremely valuable. A player had a 20% chance of earning an Epic item as their reward for completing an Epic quest, but if they gained the bonus from an S-rank rating, their chances of earning an Epic item would increase to 30% or even 40%. When completing an Inferior Legendary Quest, an S-rank rating could lead to a Fragmented Legendary item as a reward, which was normally impossible. Although Zero Wing had plenty of Fragmented Legendary items, every Fragmented Legendary item could enable a player to become a peak or apex expert in the future. Thus, every Fragmented Legendary item was a welcome addition. After the system had notified Shi Feng of his results, Alba Gray approached him. "Fellow adventurers, thank you for saving me from that curse. I owe you all a big favor. Although my Knight Division is no more, I will do my best to assist you with one matter," Alba Gray gratefully offered, showing none of the arrogance Tier 5 powerhouses usually possessed. System: You have obtained Alba Gray''s trust. Alba Gray''s Favorability of you has increased by 80 points. You have obtained Alba Gray''s Communication Crystal. Alba Gray''s statement and the system notification excited every member of the team. They had already witnessed the Hero''s power, and now, they could reach out to Alba Gray and ask him for a favor. None of them had expected to receive this kind of reward. Guild Leader, with Alba Gray''s help, we can destroy one of Starlink''s cities! I can''t wait to see their faces!" Cola said, his eyes glowing as he gazed at Alba Gray. "That''s right! Let''s destroy Starlink''s new city! I want to see how they intend to duke it out with us after that!" Blackie exclaimed, nodding. Starlink had persistently caused trouble for Zero Wing, especially with its newest city. That city had claimed a ton of Zero Wing''s potential profit. If they destroyed it, not only would Stone Forest City regain its unique status as the only city in a Level 100 neutral map, but they could also deal a heavy blow to their enemy, killing two birds with one stone. "No, we no longer need to resort to such a tactic," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Starlink had constructed a city near a Level 100 neutral map, but even if Alba Gray destroyed it, there was no guarantee that Starlink couldn''t construct a new city. Moreover, other superpowers would soon have cities of their own in Level 100 neutral maps. The various superpowers'' experts had already reached Level 100 and begun to challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Constructing a new city near a Level 100 neutral map wouldn''t be difficult before long. Moreover, Alba Gray''s favor was incomparably valuable, especially now that he had become a Sword Saint. Even emperors would struggle to earn a favor from this Hero. Asking Alba Gray to attack a mere Guild City was like killing a mosquito with a bazooka. Shi Feng then walked up to the freed Hero. "Lord Hero, I am a forger and have always been passionate about my craft. I am particularly interested in Mana Forging, and I have heard that your research on the subject is unparalleled on the continent. I''d like to study your notes, if you''ll allow it," Shi Feng stated his request after taking a deep breath. A Tier 5 Sword Saint could even destroy a kingdom with ease, much less a city, but destroying a kingdom was nothing compared to the value of a Famed Smith''s knowledge. Due to Alba Gray''s status as a Famed Smith, even Demigods treated him with respect. Of the many things this NPC was known for, the most famous was his Mana Forging Notes. It was the capital Alba Gray had relied on to become a Famed Smith in the first place. In fact, his Mana Forging Notes were one of the reasons that the Ten Saints Empire had become as powerful as it was now. The various superpowers had fought tooth and nail for a single leaf of Alba Gray''s Mana Forging Notes. Some had even offered to trade Fragmented Legendary items for the pages. With Alba Gray standing before him and offering him a favor, Shi Feng had to secure the very item that made the NPC so famous. The Hero took a long look at Shi Feng, and the silence stretched until it felt awkward. "Is the request too much?" Shi Feng anxiously asked. You have a very good eye, young adventurer. You know what is most valuable," Alba Gray praised. "Unfortunately, I''ve stored my Mana Forging Notes in the Ten Saints Empire''s imperial library. Not even I have the authority to retrieve them, and unfortunately, the materials I would need to create a copy no longer exist in this world." Sure enough. Although Shi Feng was disappointed, he wasn''t surprised. The Ten Saints Empire treated Alba Gray''s Mana Forging Notes as a national treasure. The notes were even more valuable than a Legendary item. Just as Shi Feng was about to give up and wondered if he should ask the Famed Smith to craft him a custom-made Fragmented Legendary Item, Alba Gary opened his mouth to speak again. "But don''t be too disappointed. Before I penned the official Mana Forging Notes, I created a few drafts. Although I have lost many of them, I do have one volume of my drafts with me. If you don''t mind, I can gift you this volume," Alba Gray informed Shi Feng as he retrieved an ancient booklet that radiated faint traces of Mana. The booklet was old and tattered, but it felt somehow timeless, as if very few things in this world could destroy it. "Thank you, Lord Hero. I will take good care of it," Shi Feng said as he accepted the booklet. He was still disheartened that he couldn''t obtain the full compilation of the Mana Forging Notes, he was surprised and pleased that he could obtain one of the notes'' volumes. Alba Gray had relied on his Mana Forging Notes to become a Famed smith. A single volume could easily rival the value of a Legendary item. "There''s no need to thank me. If you need help in the future, you may contact me through my Communication Crystal," Alba Gray said, smiling. He then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from everyone''s vision. System: You have earned Alba Gray''s Admiration. Alba Gray''s Favorability of you has increased by 10 points. System: Alba Gray''s Favorability of you has reached 100 points. You have become Alba Gray''s friend. Blackie and the others were confused as they watched the exchange. They didn''t understand why Shi Feng had asked the Hero for a tattered notebook, and based on their Guild Leader''s expression, he seemed ecstatic about it. As Shi Feng stored the Mana Forging Notes'' draft volume in his bag, Yan Tianxing approached with a white energy crystal in hand. "Guild Leader, this crystal Ulunium dropped is very strange. Even with my Master Appraisal skill, I couldn''t appraise it," Yan Tianxing said, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes as he gazed at the energy crystal. 2402 Sacred Magic Temple Chapter 2402 - Sacred Magic Temple "You couldn''t appraise it?" Yan Tianxing''s words piqued Shi Feng''s interest. Immediately, the Swordsman used Omniscient Eyes on the crystal. In God''s Domain, very few things defied Appraisal at the Master rank. Only special items could not be appraised by a Master Appraiser. Generally, these special items were of extraordinary quality, and even the most inferior among them should be at the Epic rank. Three seconds... Six seconds... Ten seconds... Even after 15 seconds had passed, Omniscient Eyes still hadn''t fully analyzed the crystal. What is this item? At this point, even Shi Feng could not help but be surprised. When appraising items using Omniscient Eyes, 15 seconds were more than enough to analyze an Epic item. Now, however, the loading bar was still a long way from full. Finally, when a total of 22 seconds had passed, the white energy crystal''s information appeared before Shi Feng. [Magic Key] (Epic Rank) A key that can open the second floor of the Sacred Magic Temples found in lost ruins. Cooldown: 1 natural day Upon seeing the appraisal results, Shi Feng was dumbfounded. "Guild Leader, what is it?" Yan Tianxing asked curiously upon seeing Shi Feng''s surprised expression. "A Magic Key! A secret key that can open the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor!" Shi Feng said, a hint of excitement flashing across his eyes as he gazed at the white crystal in his hand. For a moment, he even wondered if the reward for achieving an S-rank rating in the quest wasn''t Alba Gray''s favor, but this Magic Key instead. The Sacred Magic Temple?" Everyone was confused at Shi Feng''s words. They could be considered very knowledgeable regarding God''s Domain, but this was the first time they had heard the term "Sacred Magic Temple." Judging by Shi Feng''s expression and manner of speaking, they concluded that it should be a very amazing place, yet they actually had never heard of it before. "It''s an excellent place to learn Skills, Spells, and magic arrays. The learning efficiency in the Sacred Magic Temple is at least double that in the outside world," Shi Feng explained excitedly. The Sacred Magic Temple was a relic of ancient times, which normally only appeared in ancient ruins or Lost Towns. The location of the Magic Gate Shi Feng was aiming for this time was one of these ancient ruins. This ancient ruin housed not only a Magic Gate that led to the western continent but also a Sacred Magic Temple. This Sacred Magic Temple was another reason why the various superpowers had grown extremely envious of the dark power that ruled over the Demonwolf Mountain Range in his previous life. While inside the Sacred Magic Temple, players could freely learn the information stored there so long they had access. The information contained within the Sacred Magic Temple was generally related to Skills, Spells, and magic arrays used during ancient times. While this information was outdated, it was of great help to players. Since these Skills, Spells, and magic arrays were the original forms of present versions, studying them would allow players to improve their control over current Skills, Spells, and magic arrays significantly. Hence, the Sacred Magic Temple was a place many players sought to visit. Meanwhile, every Sacred Magic Temple had a total of three floors, with the quality and quantity of information stored within each subsequent floor superior to the previous one. However, seals restricted access to the upper floors. Decoding these seals was beyond even a Grandmaster Magician. To enter these restricted floors, one needed to have the corresponding key to do so. Shi Feng never thought that Ulunium would actually drop such a treasure. This was simply unbelievable! "Guild Leader, can we learn Tier 3 Spells from the Sacred Magic Temple?" Blackie asked eagerly when he heard Shi Feng''s words. Tier 3 Skills and Spells were exceedingly rare. Despite grinding in the Demonwolf Mountain Range for so many days, they had yet to come across even one Tier 3 Skill Book or Spell Book. The Tier 3 Skills and Spells they possessed thus far were obtained through Legacy Skill Points. If they wished to learn more, they would have to find other ways to do so. If he could freely learn as many Tier 3 Spells as possible, then his strength would definitely skyrocket. "Learning Tier 3 Spells? Dream on," Shi Feng retorted, rolling his eyes at Blackie. If it were possible to learn Tier 3 Skills and Spells from the Sacred Magic Temple, there wouldn''t have been so many Tier 3 players in the past that had failed to learn all of the standard Tier 3 Skills and Spells for their class. Having identified the Magic Key, Shi Feng had everyone search for the remains of the Magic Gate. At this point, everyone was mostly of the same level as the monsters roaming the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s outer area, so scouring it became a lot easier. After spending just half a day exploring, they located a hidden cave below the frozen lake. After bypassing a Magic Trap, the team arrived before a ruin that had been abandoned ages ago. Sure enough, this place matches the information. When Shi Feng saw the tightly shut silver gate and the three-story Sacred Magic Temple, he inwardly breathed out a sigh of relief. Due to his reincarnation, the development of the current God''s Domain had greatly deviated from his previous life''s version. Hence, he hadn''t been confident that the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s Magic Gate still existed in this life. "Guild Leader, quick, look! It''s the Magic Gate!" Blackie exclaimed in excitement, pointing at the silver gate. "With this, our Guild will also be able to travel between the two main continents!" Blackie had never imagined that they would actually find a Magic Gate leading to the western continent. Moreover, even if he wasn''t an expert in magic arrays, he could tell by the looks of the gate''s shape and the magic arrays engraved on it that the gate was not a one-time-use tool but one that allowed players to freely travel between the two main continents. Now that Zero Wing had access to the resources of both continents, there was no doubt that the Guild would develop into a superpower. "It seems the gate has been preserved quite well. The restrictions aren''t that significant," Shi Feng said calmly as he inspected the silver gate. In its current state, the Magic Gate before him could be used only once a week, and each use allowed up to 10 players to be teleported, with each person costing 2,000 Magic Crystals. Shi Feng was relatively satisfied with this outcome. It was much better than some of the other Magic Gates he knew of that teleported only three to five people at a time. The only troublesome aspect about the gate before him was its long Cooldown. However, now that he had activated the gate, he just needed to wait a few more days to travel to the western continent and start raking in a ton of resources and Credits. After inspecting the Magic Gate, he shifted his sights to the Sacred Magic Temple. During his previous life, despite having access only to the Sacred Magic Temple''s first floor, he had reaped a significant harvest, especially regarding his Mana control and Skill Completion Rate. As for the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor, all he had was hearsay. He had never personally visited it before. As for the third floor, he had never even heard of anyone reaching it, much less information about it. While everyone else was perusing the information available on the Sacred Magic Temple''s first floor, Shi Feng went to access the second floor. He took out the Magic Key and started chanting the incantation. The activation chant was very short, and he completed it in four seconds. Suddenly, he felt the Mana around him roil. Immediately afterward, he received a system notification. System: Do you wish to enter the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor? 2403 Reaching the Realm of Masters Chapter 2403 - Reaching the Realm of Masters Looking at the system notification, Shi Feng immediately chose to enter the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor. Immediately, a threefold magic array appeared beneath Shi Feng''s feet, and his body instantly turned into a streak of light that shot through the corridor heavily studded with magic arrays. When Shi Feng opened his eyes again, he was standing inside a majestic hall. The hall looked grand and dazzling, with 12 statues of Gods supporting its ceiling. As if they were alive, these statues radiated a boundless life aura as well as a faint trace of Divine Might that felt as if a boulder was weighing down on Shi Feng. What a powerful Divine Might! If a Tier 2 player were to come here, they wouldn''t even be able to move. Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the statues inside the hall. Just walking was already extremely taxing for him. A Tier 2 player would most likely collapse as soon as they arrived in the hall. Subjected to the Divine Might here, he could feel his Concentration getting depleted. Players wouldn''t be able to remain in this place for long periods. Just as Shi Feng was wondering why there was such a setup in the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor, the walls around him started parting, revealing a total of three corridors. Every one of these corridors led toward a separate hall filled with various scrolls. At the center of each of these separate halls was a tome made entirely out of gold. Magic array designs! Shi Feng''s breathing accelerated when he saw the golden tomes. These magic array designs weren''t just any ordinary designs but Advanced Magic Array Designs, something rarely found even in the various kingdoms and empires of God''s Domain. It should be known that even the Divine Beast''s Descent Magic Arrayone of Zero Wing''s current trump cardswas only an Intermediate Magic Array. An Advanced Magic Array would be a treasure that could protect the Guild from imminent peril. Meanwhile, based on the Mana the golden tomes radiated, Shi Feng was certain that they were Advanced Magic Array Designs. However, due to his distance from the tomes, he couldnt tell what kind of Advanced Magic Array the designs were for. The moment Shi Feng started toward one of the three corridors, nine magic arrays suddenly appeared in each of them. A test? After seeing these magic arrays, Shi Feng more or less understood how the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor operated. Of the nine magic arrays that had appeared in each corridor, each one was stronger than the one before. Moreover, the magic arrays in each corridor differed in strength. The first magic array set up in the easiest corridor was an Intermediate Magic Array, while the more difficult corridor had an Advanced Magic Array, and the most difficult corridor had a Master Magic Array. Players were most likely required to decode these magic arrays in order to reach the hall at the end of each corridor. However, since just being in the hall sapped a player''s Concentration. Shi Feng estimated that he could remain here for only six or seven hoursand this was because he possessed an Advanced Bloodline. An ordinary Tier 3 player would last four or five hours at best. In other words, Shi Feng had to decode the magic arrays within seven hours. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to reach the hall at the end of the corridor. As for destroying the magic arrays, that was utterly impossible. Due to the pressure from the 12 statues, even a Tier 4 player couldn''t exert sufficient strength to destroy the magic arrays protecting the corridors, much less a Tier 3 player like Shi Feng. Only Tier 5 players would be capable of such a feat. However, it would still be a long time before Tier 5 players started appearing in the game. Shi Feng couldn''t rely on external tools, either. The moment he entered the hall, only his Epic Spatial Bag remained usable. The system had locked everything else. My time is limited, so I have no choice but to take the simplest path. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to go for the corridor protected by the Intermediate Magic Array. However, despite the easiest corridor starting with only an Intermediate Magic Array, the first magic array itself was by no means simple. It definitely ranked above average among Intermediate Magic Arrays. Even an ordinary Intermediate Magician would need a lot of time to decode it. However, for Shi Feng, who was only half a step from becoming a Master Magician, decoding it was a simple task. In the end, he spent only two minutes on it. The second magic array was at least 20% more complex than the first. Shi Feng spent three minutes on it. The third magic array was similarly an Intermediate Magic Array, but it ranked at the top among Intermediate Magic Arrays. Shi Feng required nearly five minutes to decode it. Upon reaching the fourth magic array, he could not help but frown. The fourth is already an Advanced Magic Array? Shi Feng was startled as he studied the Advanced Magic Array. Although the Advanced Magic Array before him was a very simple one, even the simplest of Advanced Magic Arrays was a lot more complex than the strongest Intermediate Magic Array. Meanwhile, if the fourth magic array in his path was already an Advanced Magic Array, he did not dare imagine what kind of magic array awaited him further on. However, despite his thoughts, Shi Feng did not stop decoding the magic array and succeeded 12 minutes later. Fortunately, the fifth magic array was not as difficult as he imagined it would be. It was still an ordinary Advanced Magic Array, only slightly more complex. He spent 15 minutes decoding this magic array. The sixth magic array reached the standard of mid-level Advanced Magic Arrays, requiring nearly 20 minutes to decode it. The seventh magic array was an upper-level Advanced Magic Array. At this standard, a newly minted Advanced Magician would need one or two hours to decode it. Shi Feng, though, spent only 30 minutes. The difficulty increased to the peak-level standard by the eighth magic array. Shi Feng found this Advanced Magic Array a little tricky. However, after struggling for an hour, he still managed to decode it. A Master Magic Array?! When Shi Feng arrived before the ninth magic array and sensed the concentration of Mana within it, he felt the urge to curse out loud. There was a qualitative difference between Master Magic Arrays and Advanced Magic Arrays. Not only was a Master Magic Array far more complex, but decoding it also required multitasking. Specifically, one would have to control multiple streams of Mana simultaneously; players needed to have extraordinary control over Mana to accomplish this feat. However, as only one magic array remained between him and the hall, Shi Feng still decided to give decoding the Master Magic Array a try. The Master Magic Array before him was very basic. Hence, it was not entirely impossible for a half-step Master Magician like Shi Feng to challenge it. He merely needed to control three separate flows of Mana simultaneously. The difficult part was that he had to control each Mana flow at a different speed in order to decode the magic array''s three sections simultaneously. If he failed to do so, then the decoding process would miscarry. After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng started carefully controlling the Mana flow of the three sections, making sure that the output was neither too strong nor too weak. This level of Mana control was definitely beyond Tier 2 players. On his first attempt, the decoding process failed because the output for two sections was too high. His second attempt went awry, as he had lowered the output for the two aforementioned sections by too much. The difficulty of adjusting the output to a suitable level was many times greater than trying to thread a needle. However, after repeated attempts, Shi Feng started to grasp the appropriate way of manipulating the Master Magic Array''s Mana. The method was similar to how he controlled the Mana inside his Mana Body. In fact, as he tried to decode the Master Magic Array, he also learned to exert greater control over the Mana flow inside his Mana Body, thereby increasing the efficiency of his Mana usage. Following which, time passed by rapidly. Shi Feng''s spirit weakened. Contrary to expectations, however, his focus did not falter in the slightest but grew increasingly more acute. His brain activity also continuously increased. He even forgot how to control his own body, his mind treating the Mana inside the Master Magic Array as his own limbs instead. In the next moment, three streams of Mana flowed across the Master Magic Array at three different speeds. The stream that had moved too quickly on Shi Feng''s last attempt was a touch slower now, while the stream that had moved too slowly had accelerated slightly. When the three streams of Mana had filled up the final pattern in their respective sections of the magic array, all three actually arrived at the magic array''s center at exactly the same time. "I did it!" Shi Feng could not help shouting in excitement. The moment all three streams of Mana came into contact with each other, the magic array before him released a dazzling light. A moment later, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have become a Master Magician. 2404 Frightening Treasury Chapter 2404 - Frightening Treasury System: You have become a Master Magician. Rewarding the "Great Magician" title. The system notification repeated three times. However, Shi Feng paid no attention to it whatsoever. Instead, he shut his eyes and focused on the Mana flow of his Mana Body. He then unsheathed Killing Ray and executed a slash. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! With just a swing of the sword, 17 sword lights crisscrossed and cut through the empty space before Shi Feng, the attack creating a sonic boom that echoed down the corridor. No wonder the magician class is labeled the number one subclass. So, this is why. Shi Feng was a little surprised by the effects of his technique. Magic arrays were the foundation for controlling Mana. Many items could not exist without magic arrays. Hence, many players in God''s Domain would pick up the magician class as a subclass. This was especially true for forgers and alchemists, who would not be able to tread far on their path without the magician class. However, Shi Feng had never thought that becoming a Master Magician would raise his control over his Mana Body to a whole new realm. Now, not only could he simultaneously control multiple streams of Mana much more quickly, but his body also became much more agile. The power of his combat techniques also improved considerably. Although his proficiency at multitasking with Mana still was not particularly high, which prevented him from fully leveraging these new advantages, he just needed time. Once he familiarized himself with this process, his utilization of it in combat would improve. Moreover, the Great Magician title increased his maximum Concentration by 10% and improved his Mana control by 10%, which made controlling his Mana Body easier. At this moment, Shi Feng more or less understood why players who had become Master Magicians in the past were usually very powerful. Just the minor improvement toward the Mana Body would allow players to exhibit much greater power with their combat techniques, Skills, and Spells. Not to mention, a Master Magician could construct Basic Magic Arrays without the assistance of materials and use these magic arrays as a tool for support or interference. The benefits of becoming a Master Magician were massive. Now, if he could get Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and the other magical class experts of Zero Wing to become Master Magicians within a short period, the Guild''s overall strength would definitely increase substantially. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng shifted his gaze to the center of the nearby hall. Now that he had decoded the last magic array, the Advanced Magic Array Design was already within his reach. So long as he could obtain it, helping Zero Wing''s members get promoted to the Advanced Magician rank and, subsequently, the Master Magician rank would be much easier. When Shi Feng stepped into the hall, the contents of the hall entered his view. The hall was not particularly large, only the size of about three basketball courts. However, many magic array scrolls were displayed all over the hall. These magic array scrolls, ranging from Intermediate Magic Arrays to Advanced Magic Arrays, all came in complete sets. Every one of these magic arrays was of the barrier-type. Shi Feng was dumbfounded upon seeing this scene. Barrier-type magic arrays were things that the current powers of God''s Domain urgently needed, especially Intermediate Barrier-type Magic Arrays. Past Level 100, monsters at the Grand Lord rank or above would be immune to the effects of Basic Barrier-type Magic Arrays. One needed Intermediate Barrier-type Magic Arrays or better to suppress them. However, Intermediate Barrier-type Magic Arrays were incredibly rare; even Zero Wing had only a few complete sets. Inside this hall, however, there were over 100 sets of Intermediate Barrier-type Magic Arrays and as many as 12 sets of Advanced Barrier-type Magic Arrays. This was practically a treasury of magic arrays. No wonder nobody was willing to reveal any concrete information about the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor. When Shi Feng looked at the treasure trove before him, he understood why there had been so little information regarding the Sacred Magic Temple''s second floor in his previous life. One could make a fortune just selling the magic array scrolls here since the various major powers were willing to pay over a thousand Gold to purchase a set of Intermediate Barrier-type Magic Arrays. After all, not all Guilds possessed as many Fine-Gold Guards as Zero Wing did. Meanwhile, without the help of powerful Personal Guards, raiding a Level 100-plus Grand Lord was an extremely difficult and costly task. However, with the suppression effects of an Intermediate Barrier, the raid difficulty would instantly decrease by a large margin. The expert teams of Guilds would then have the ability to raid Level 100-plus Grand Lords. With the scrolls for an Intermediate Barrier at hand, teams could also start exploring Level 100 neutral maps much more boldly, as they no longer had to fear Level 100-plus Grand Lords. While Shi Feng was thinking of sweeping these magic array scrolls into his bag, his gaze still drifted to the golden tome hovering in the middle of the hall. Previously, as he had been too far from the tome, he could only tell that the magic array design was of the Advanced standard. Now that he was standing so close to it, he discovered that it wasn''t just an ordinary Advanced Magic Array Design. Not only was the golden tome enveloped by a dense layer of Mana, but it also radiated a faint trace of Divine Might. Although the power of this Divine Might was negligible and would have no effect on a player''s performance, it still signified that the tome was once the possession of a God. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have absorbed a God''s aura. Following which, Shi Feng walked up to the tome to inspect it. This is...an Ancient Magic Array Design! Shi Feng''s breathing accelerated when he read the tome''s statistics. [Twelve Elemental Pillars] (Ancient Magic, Advanced Magic Array) Requires at least 12 Tier 2 magical classes to cast. Places a seal on all enemies within a 200-yard radius. Effects will improve by one grade with every additional 12 casters added. The magic array can be cast by up to 36 casters. Required materials: 1 Mana Stone, 12 Elemental Crystals, 12 Magic Scrolls, and 1 Advanced Magic Scroll. Ancient Magic had been lost after the Great Destruction. Although humans had researched new forms of magic after the Great Destruction, the performance of current Spells and magic arrays was still greatly inferior to that of Ancient Spells and Ancient Magic Arrays. This was because Ancient Magic was taught to humans by the Gods. It was not only much more refined but also much closer to the essence of magic. Any player that successfully learned Ancient Magic would be much stronger than players of the same tier. Magic arrays that applied the principles of Ancient Magic were also much stronger than those that did not. Only, very few Ancient Magic Arrays had been passed down in God''s Domain. Hence, every Ancient Magic Array was incredibly valuable, and their designs all the more so. The value of an Intermediate Magic Array Design that applied Ancient Magic principles could rival that of Fragmented Legendary items. Needless to say, Advanced versions would be even more valuable. Now that such a design had appeared before Shi Feng, how could he not be surprised? For a moment, Shi Feng even entertained the thought of attempting the other two corridors and securing the Magic Array Designs housed in the halls beyond them. Fortunately, though, his rationality prevented him from doing so. The reason for this was very simple. If even the easiest corridor required a Master Magician to break through, then the other two corridors would definitely demand an even higher standard. At least, those two corridors were not challenges that a newly minted Master Magician like himself could break through for now. He would merely waste his time trying. The materials needed for the Twelve Elemental Pillars are relatively easy to procure. Even the Mana Stone, which is the most troublesome material to get, is no problem for me. So long as I can mass-produce this magic array, I can definitely raise the performance of the Guild''s teams by a large margin. At that time, even the superpowers'' expert teams won''t be a match for Zero Wing''s when it comes to raiding Field Bosses. Shi Feng grew excited as he looked at the design in his hands. In his opinion, even the combined value of 10 Fragmented Legendary items could not match the value of the Twelve Elemental Pillars Design. "Guild Leader, we''re done setting up a teleportation point here. All we need to do is set up a teleportation device in the Ten Saints Empire, and we can teleport here anytime we want," Blackie reported excitedly after contacting Shi Feng. "Alright. Have everyone get ready. It''s time we headed home," Shi Feng said, nodding, and started collecting all of the magic array scrolls inside the hall. In less than 10 minutes, he had cleared out the entire hall. He then returned to White River City together with Blackie and the others. 2405 Changes to the Gravity Mountain Range Chapter 2405 - Changes to the Gravity Mountain Range White River City, Zero Wing''s Residence: When Shi Feng and the others returned to the Guild Residence, an unusually depressing atmosphere greeted them. Now, less than 100 players stood in line to take the recruitment test to join Zero Wing. The Guild members in the Residence only seemed to reanimate as Shi Feng and his companions entered the Guild Hall; they were all excited for their Guild Leader''s return. "It''s the Guild Leader! The Guild Leader is back!" "This is wonderful! Boss Blackie and the others have returned as well!'' The several hundred players in the hall ran up to Shi Feng and his team to welcome them back. When Liang Jing, who was working in the lobby, saw the group, she ran over, just as elated. "Guild Leader, you''ve finally decided to come back!" Liang Jing breathed a sigh of relief. "I didn''t know what I was going to do if you hadn''t returned soon." "Why does the Guild suddenly seem so disheartened? What happened while we were gone? Did we not earn enough Coins from leasing Stone Forest City''s private houses?" Shi Feng asked, curious. He had spoken with Liang Jing half a day ago about accepting Coins as rent for Stone Forest City''s private houses. Even in the worst-case scenario, the auction should''ve earned the Guild around 20,000 Gold, which would be more than enough to support Zero Wing for half a day. Zero Wing had other income sources, after all. Even if the Guild were restricted in the Dark Night Empire, Zero Wing shouldn''t have had a problem holding on for another five or six days. "We still have enough Coins, but we recently learned that someone discovered a special ruin in the Gravity Mountain Range and within it, a Homed Eagle Egg. Moreover, the power discovered more than one egg. This has caused an uproar on Dragonheart Island. Now, the various superpowers are rushing to the ruin to search for more Horned Eagle eggs. We''ve partnered with Phoenix Rain to take part in the hunt," Liang Jing said. Anxiously, she continued, "However, War Blood and Starlink have begun to cause more trouble. They''re doing all they can to hinder our progress in the ruin. We thought it best to send Fire Dance and the other recently promoted Tier 3 players to lead the Guild''s Level 100-plus experts to the Gravity Mountain Range as reinforcements. Unfortunately, Starlink started to target our players in the neutral maps around Star-Moon Kingdom, and we don''t have anyone left to stop it." Horned Eagle Eggs? Liang Jing''s report left Shi Feng a little confused. He had never considered that the Gravity Mountain Range would be home to Horned Eagle Eggs. He certainly hadn''t heard of such a thing in his previous life. Horned Eagles were one of God''s Domain''s Flying Mounts. They were only Intermediate Common rank, but they were still Flying Mounts, and as long as players obtained their eggs and hatched them, they could take the Horned Eagle hatchling to a tamer, where it would become a true Flying Mount. The very idea of Flying Mounts had driven the various superpowers to the brink of madness, but aside from Zero Wing, the number of superpowers on the eastern continent with Flying Mounts could be counted on one hand. Flying Mounts were the future of God''s Domain. Whoever had the most would have a massive advantage. It was easy to imagine the various superpowers'' reactions to the news that someone had found Horned Eagle Eggs in the Gravity Mountain Range. Meanwhile, to prevent Zero Wing from exploring the ruin, Starlink would do all it could to limit Zero Wing''s movement to the Star-Moon Kingdom. "Based on what we''ve learned from the Secret Pavilion, Demon Palace has secretly sent over a dozen Tier 3 experts to the Gravity Mountain Range to help Starlink and War Blood against us. I''m afraid Fire Dance''s group is in grave danger," Liang Jing said worriedly. By now, some of the various superpowers'' experts had completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, and although Zero Wing had the most right now, it couldn''t take on multiple superpowers at once. "In that case, let''s split up into two groups," Shi Feng said as he turned to Cola and the others. "Cola, Turtledove, Shadow Sword, you three will follow me to the Gravity Mountain Range. Tianxing, you''ll lead the rest of the team to deal with those bastards hunting our players in the neutral maps nearby." "It''s too dangerous for just the four of you, Guild Leader. You should take more people with you. Starlink isn''t the only power in the ruin. Many superpowers are heading there as we speak," Liang Jing hurriedly advised Shi Feng. Shi Feng was the Guild''s symbol. They couldn''t afford for something to happen to him, and at this point, he no longer had the advantage of being the game''s only Tier 3 player. Zero Wing couldn''t afford to be as relaxed as it had been. "Relax. No player should even dream of getting near the Guild Leader with the three of us around!" Cola declared, grinning as he patted his chest. "But..." Liang Jing gave Cola and the other two a worried look. Times had changed. Cola and his team had been busy on a quest, so they had no idea how much God''s Domain had changed while they''ve been gone. "Rest assured, Big Sis Jing. We''ve grown a lot stronger," Shadow Sword said, nodding his agreement with Cola''s statement. They had not just been wasting time in the Demonwolf Mountain Range. They might not be a match for a monster like Ulunium, but they were definitely strong enough to deal with new Tier 3 players. "Alright, enough chatting. Everyone, let''s get to work," Shi Feng said. He could not help but shake his head and chuckle at Cola and Shadow Sword''s confidence. He then turned back to Liang Jing, saying, "I need you to purchase Elemental Crystals and Magic Cores in bulk. I have an important use for them. If you don''t have enough money, sell these Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls. I''m sure they''ll fetch a high price." As he spoke, Shi Feng retrieved the 100-plus sets of Intermediate Magic Array Scrolls he had obtained from the Sacred Magic Temple and handed them to Liang Jing. Although the Guild had quite a few Elemental Crystals and Magic Cores in stock, it didn''t have nearly enough for him to exploit the Twelve Elemental Pillars Design. When she saw the scrolls, Liang Jing was stupefied. "Do you really want me to sell all of these Intermediate Barrier Scrolls, Guild Leader?" Liang Jing had to ask. At this stage of the game, there were very few Tier 3 players in God''s Domain. Most of the players in Level 100 neutral maps were still at Tier 2. However, exploring Level 100 neutral maps was a major challenge for Tier 2 players, especially when it came to Grand Lord ranked Bosses. Unfortunately, players needed to hunt these Grand Lords to obtain better equipment. Without strong enough equipment, players would have no hope of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. Hence, the various powers had turned to magic arrays to suppress these Bosses, increasing their chances of acquiring better weapons and equipment for their Tier 2 members. Because of this, Intermediate Barrier Scrolls were incredibly popular right now, especially when sold in complete sets. A full set of Intermediate Barrier Scrolls could easily fetch 800 Gold or more. "Mhm. I''ve obtained an Advanced Barrier-type Magic Array Design, so we don''t need these anymore, but don''t sell too many at once. Post them for sale one by one," Shi Feng said. Intermediate Barriers were valuable, but they couldn''t compare to the Twelve Elemental Pillars. Furthermore, this was the best time to sell Intermediate Barrier Scrolls. As more players reached Tier 3, these scrolls would become less valuable. Since Shi Feng didn''t need to keep them for his Guild, selling them for materials to craft Advanced Magic Array Scrolls would only benefit Zero Wing as a whole. "I understand. I''ll start posting them in the various kingdoms and empires'' Auction Houses," Liang Jing said, her eyes glowing with excitement. She hadn''t expected Shi Feng to return with such an abundant harvest. An Advanced Barrier-type Magic Array Design! With such a design, Zero Wing could produce as many Advanced Barrier Scrolls as it wanted. With an Advanced Barrier, a team of Tier 2 players would even have a chance of defeating a Level 100-plus Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Liang Jing left to carry out Shi Feng''s orders. Shi Feng, on the other hand, hurried toward the Gravity Mountain Range with Cola, Turtledove, and Shadow Sword. The Molten Canyon, located within the Gravity Mountain Range''s core region, was crowded with players. Most of them were from the various superpowers and top adventurer teams, and every one of these players had reached Level 100 or higher. Several players wearing the Heaven''s Blade adventurer team emblem fought desperately to escape the Molten Canyon. However, several hundred Level 100-plus experts, led by a Tier 3 player, stood between them and the canyon''s exit. "Leader, what should we do? They have a Tier 3 expert on their side. We''ve already used up all our Instantaneous Movement Magic Scrolls," a Level 101 Assassin from Heaven''s Blade said, watching the Tier 3 Berserker King a short distance away with an anxious expression. "I''ll hold them off while the rest of you get out of here! If you don''t make it out, Blood Oath will kill the commander!" the Level 102 female Guardian Knight leading the team growled through gritted teeth. "We''ve sealed the area off already. Do you really believe you can escape? Even if you guys get past us, no one can save you. No one can stop War Blood in the Gravity Mountain Range!" the Tier 3 Berserker King shouted, sneering at Heaven''s Blade''s members. The Heaven''s Blade''s players despaired. The Berserker King had only spoken the truth. The War Blood adventurer team had evolved. With the help of Starlink and Demon Palace, War Blood had become Dragonheart Island''s number one adventurer team. Even if they managed to break past War Blood''s blockade and got far enough to ask for help, no one would help them. However, the moment the Berserker King finished his gloating, everyone in the area heard a deep voice. "Is that so? And what if Zero Wing gets involved?" 2406 Shock Chapter 2406 - Shock As the question echoed throughout the canyon''s exit, everyone fell silent. None of them had ever thought someone would willingly stand against War Blood, and they all spun toward the origin of the voice. Four figures, three men and a woman, entered the canyon. They had all hidden their information under Black Cloaks, and the group''s leader, a man who looked to be around 30-years-old, walked into the canyon as if he hadn''t sensed the tense atmosphere surrounding the adventurer team groups. "Zero Wing?" "Four players? Are these people tired of living?" "Zero Wing''s members must be insane. Shouldn''t they be mindful of the time and place if they want to challenge War Blood? War Blood might be helpless against Zero Wing in the northern region, but we''re in the Gravity Mountain Range''s southern region. More than half of War Blood''s members are in the area." Players from various major powers were watching the situation at the canyon''s exit, and they were surprised and confused as they watched four Zero Wing members interfere in the fight between War Blood and Heaven''s Blade. War Blood''s members might have been afraid of the declaration if this were taking place in the Gravity Mountain Range''s northern region. However, in the Molten Canyon, even the various superpowers had to consider their options carefully before provoking War Blood. War Blood was the official number one adventurer team on Dragonheart Island, after all. Even if Zero Wing''s members were hellbent to poke their nose into the matter between War Blood and Heaven''s Blade, they should at least compare the two sides'' numbers. A total of 600 War Blood members blocked the canyon''s exit, and every one of them was Level 100 or higher. In contrast, Zero Wing had only sent four players to interfere. Zero Wing''s audacity even rendered Heaven''s Blade''s members speechless, not to mention the spectators from the various major powers. Everyone thought Zero Wing was playing with fire. Although they were grateful that Zero Wing''s members had stepped in, those four players really should have considered how outmatched they were before they had interrupted. "You Zero Wing players sure are bold! You dare spout such nonsense before our team leader, Remnant?! You must be tired of living!" a Level 102, Tier 2 Ranger mocked, sneering at Shi Feng''s group. Their commander had long since ordered all of the adventurer team''s members to kill any Zero Wing members on sight. Unfortunately, since Zero Wing held the Northern Fortress and could use Return Scrolls to teleport to it, War Blood''s members had found their targets difficult to ambush in the fields. However, War Blood''s team had sealed off the Molten Canyon. Not only was communication with the outside world impossible, but they had also rendered teleportation tools, such as Return Scrolls, unusable. Killing any Zero Wing members they encountered would be a piece of cake. "Remnant! We are your targets! There''s no need to involve outsiders! If you think you can take me, let''s fight! I want to see how strong you''ve grown after becoming a Berserker King for myself!" Cleansing Flame, the female Guardian Knight leading Heaven''s Blade''s team, shouted to Remnant Snow, the Berserker King leading War Blood''s team. She knew that escape was no longer possible for her team. Aside from how badly outnumbered they were, Remnant Snow was more than powerful enough to annihilate her entire team. She had already witnessed the strength of Tier 3 players, and she knew that Tier 2 players had no hope against them. She was grateful that Zero Wing''s members were so willing to help her, but she couldn''t let them die for their good intentions. "You actually think you qualify to challenge our leader to a one-on-one match, Flame?" the Level 102 Ranger from War Blood disdainfully asked Cleansing Flame. "You might be strong, but our leader has already reached Tier 3. Even your vice commanders would have to think twice before challenging him. There''s only one way we''ll let your team leave in peace; you just have to hand over all of your weapons and equipment. If you do, we might reconsider cursing you with double the death penalty and sending you all back to Level 99!" As the Tier 2 Ranger ended his threat, the various major powers'' spectators turned to Remnant Snow in awe. More players had begun to reach Tier 3, but most of them were peak experts from the various superpowers. Ordinary experts simply weren''t strong enough to complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests this soon. In fact, many players might never reach Tier 3. Tier 3 players were on an entirely different level compared to Tier 2 players. Even superpowers'' upper echelons had to treat Tier 3 players respectfully. "Cleansing Flame might be one of the top-ranked team leaders from Heaven''s Blade, but she doesn''t qualify to challenge Remnant Snow. I wonder when I''ll finally reach Tier 3, too?" "Reaching Tier 3 isn''t so easy. Remnant Snow just got lucky. It''s a pity that Cleansing Flame had chosen such a high difficulty for her Promotion Quest. If she had chosen a lower difficulty, she''d probably be a Tier 3 player right now." "Cleansing Flame and those four Zero Wing members are dead for sure, gainst a Tier 3 Berserker King, even a 100-man team of Tier 2 experts is nothing but cannon fodder." The various major powers'' experts couldn''t help their rueful sighs as they watched Cleansing Flame and her team. Times had changed, and it was no longer the era of Tier 2 players. The time of quantity over quality had ended. This era belonged to Tier 3 players, and before them, Tier 2 players were nothing. A Tier 3 expert could even take out Tier 2 apex experts in just a few moves. As Cleansing Flame waited for Remnant Snow''s reply, she noticed that the Berserker was staring at the leader of Zero Wing''s small group with a foreboding look on his face. It piqued her curiosity. "Is something wrong, leader?" the Tier 2 Ranger asked, giving Remnant Snow a strange look. Normally, Remnant Snow was quite outspoken. He had recently been promoted to team leader in War Blood, in addition to reaching Tier 3. He was now one of the candidates to become one of the adventurer team''s new vice commanders. This was the prime of his life. Why else would he have been so arrogant in his exchange with Cleansing Flame? However, before the Tier 2 Ranger could continue, Remnant Snow pulled away from his team and approached Zero Wing''s players. "Zero Wing''s members are doomed now." "It seems Remnant Snow intends to take care of those Zero Wing fools himself." The various major powers'' experts gave Shi Feng''s group pitying glances as Remnant Snow made his move. Cleansing Flame, on the other hand, paled. She wanted to stop the man, but with several hundred War Blood members in her way, rushing forward would accomplish nothing. Just as the spectators expected Remnant Snow to attack, the man in question expressed his respect for Shi Feng as he reached Zero Wing''s four players. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you jest. How could I show such disrespect to your request? We''ll allow them to leave," Remnant Snow said. He then barked an order for War Blood''s members to open a path for Cleansing Flame and her team to leave the Molten Canyon unhindered. 2407 Hidden Terror Chapter 2407 - Hidden Terror When Remnant Snow commanded his team to give way, both the spectating experts and Heaven''s Blade''s members were stupefied. What was going on? Had Remnant Snow hit his head at some point? Even War Blood''s members gaped at Remnant Snow. They even wondered if this were some imposter. Why else would he show respect to Zero Wing''s Guild Leader? War Blood had an irreconcilable feud with Zero Wing, and the two organizations frequently clashed in the Gravity Mountain Range. Although Zero Wing''s Guild Leader was a Tier 3 player, Remnant Snow was a Tier 3 Berserker King. He shouldn''t have any reason to treat Shi Feng respectfully. Not a single player watching the scene could understand why Remnant Snow behaved as he did. "Are you deaf?! Why aren''t you moving?!" Remnant Snow snarled as his team members stared at him. Seeing his rage, War Blood''s members followed their orders and opened a path for Cleansing Flame''s team, regardless of how confused they were. When the watching experts saw this, they were utterly flabbergasted. At first, they had wondered if they had misheard Remnant Snow, but after watching War Blood''s members move aside and let Cleansing Flame''s team pass, they had to accept the odd situation as fact. "I''ll thank you in their place then, Team Leader Remnant. I still have other matters to deal with, so I''ll be heading out," Shi Feng said. Remnant Snow''s behavior had surprised him, too, but since the man had taken a step back, it''d be in poor taste if Shi Feng escalated the situation. Thus, he decided to continue on his way into the Molten Canyon after a polite response. Remnant Snow couldn''t help but breathe a deep sigh of relief as he watched Shi Feng''s group walk off. Others might not realize how powerful Shi Feng was, but he had experienced the Swordsman''s astonishing might for himself. Shi Feng had caused a huge scene on Tranquil Mine Island even before he had reached Tier 3. He had then slain Blood Oath, who had been protected by several of his bodyguards and one of the adventurer team''s vice commanders, within the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. And yet, Shi Feng had still slain Blood Oath. The Swordsman was inhumanly strong. Now that Shi Feng had reached Tier 3, he had undoubtedly become even more terrifying. Remnant Snow had no wish to provoke such a monster. Even among Tier 3 players, there were still differences. Reaching Tier 3 did not grant invincibility. "Are we really letting them go, leader? The higher-ups have made it clear that we are under no circumstances allowed to let Cleansing Flame''s team leave the Molten Canyon," the Tier 2 Ranger whispered to his team leader. "Even if Black Flame is Tier 3, there are plenty of us here, and we have a battle array. Do we really have to fear Black Flame?" Tier 3 players were powerful, but that did not mean that Tier 2 players had no way to retaliate. Even if they couldn''t defeat a Tier 3 expert, they could put up a good fight with their 100-man, large-scale battle array. If Remnant Snow joined the fray, it wouldn''t be impossible to defeat Shi Feng. Yet, Remnant Snow had ordered them to allow Cleansing Flame''s team to leave without a fight. War Blood''s upper echelons definitely wouldn''t tolerate this insubordination. "That is true. I am confident that I could hold my ground against Black Flame with the help of a battle array, but do you truly believe that he''s only a Tier 3 player?" Remnant Snow said as he rolled his eyes at his vice team leader. "Didn''t you see the three players behind him?" "Even if they are all Tier 3 players, we can buy enough time for our other Tier 3 experts and Starlink''s Tier 3 experts to arrive. Winning that battle isn''t necessarily impossible," the Ranger insisted. Although Tier 3 players were still rare at this stage, War Blood and Starlink had a few. Surrendering without a fight would tarnish War Blood''s reputation. "So what if they make it here?" Remnant Snow shot back, chuckling. "You''re aware that I learned a special Skill after I completed my Tier 3 promotion, right? With this Skill, I can see through Black Cloaks'' concealment effects. Do you know what those players'' levels and equipment standards are?" "How strong could they possibly be? Are they Level 105 players in Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment?" the Tier 2 Ranger offhandedly mocked the notion. He knew about Remnant Snow''s Identification Skill. That Skill was the reason War Blood had ordered the Berserker King to guard the Molten Canyon''s exit in the first place. With him running the show, Heaven''s Blade''s members wouldn''t be able to sneak out of the Molten Canyon with Black Cloaks. At this point, Tier 3 experts'' equipment standards weren''t much higher than Tier 2 players''. Most Tier 3 experts were still wearing Level 100 Epic Equipment. A player would only have a distinct advantage if they equipped Level 100 Dark- Gold Set Equipment, but obtaining that kind of equipment was nigh-impossible for current players. More experts were reaching Tier 3, but not a single power had enough Tier 3 players to raid Level 100 Team Dungeons, and because of that, obtaining Level 100-plus top-tier equipment was still extremely difficult. Players could grind Level 100-plus Grand Lords, but the best equipment those Field Bosses would drop would be Fine-Gold rank. "Bingo," Remnant Snow said, chuckling. "Not only have they reached Level 105, but they''re even wearing Dark-Gold Set Equipment." "Level 105? Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment? How is that possible?!" the Tier 2 Ranger exclaimed, astonished. "Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment?" Shaking his head, Remnant Snow revealed an envious expression as he said, They''re not wearing Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment; they''re wearing Level 105 Dark-Gold Set Equipment!" "Impossible! How can they have possibly acquired such items?!" Stupefied, the Ranger refused to believe his leader''s claim. Obtaining Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment was an unbelievable feat at the moment, and obtaining Level 105 Dark- Gold Set Equipment was an utter joke. Yet, that was what Remnant Snow had seen after using his special Identification Skill, so it must be absolute truth. Furthermore, the Ranger had no reason to doubt his leader. Remnant Snow was fighting to become a vice commander. He wouldn''t benefit in the least from letting Cleansing Flame''s team go. As Remnant Snow had said, even if War Blood and Starlink sent Tier 3 experts as reinforcements, they''d be nothing but a joke against those four Zero Wing members. "Why else would I have let Cleansing Flame''s team leave without a fuss?" Remnant Snow asked, rolling his eyes. As he stared at Shi Feng''s departing figure, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes. There was one bit of information he hadn''t revealed: the fact that he hadn''t gleaned the slightest detail regarding Shi Feng. When he had stood before the Swordsman, it had felt as if he were trying to stare down a Tyrannosaurus-rex. Honestly, the Tier 2 Ranger silently celebrated his leader''s wisdom. Had they started a fight with those players, they all would''ve died. As Shi Feng''s group passed, delving deeper into the Molten Canyon unhindered, the various experts in the area gaped in shock. "Leader, is Zero Wing''s Black Flame really that powerful of a player? Remnant Snow actually stepped aside out of respect for him," the Level 101 female Cleric beside Cleansing Flame asked, confused and stunned. Even the various superpowers feared Tier 3 players, yet Remnant Snow had conceded after a few words from Shi Feng. It was utterly unbelievable! "I don''t know exactly how powerful Guild Leader Black Flame is, but I know that this is an opportunity for us," Cleansing Flame said, excitement flashing in her eyes after seeing Remnant Snow''s extraordinarily respectful display before Shi Feng. She immediately tried to catch up with the small Zero Wing group. None of Heaven''s Blade''s members knew what she was up to. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I am Cleansing Flame, one of Heaven''s Blade''s team leaders. Thank you for saving us. If you hadn''t come along, we would''ve died here," Cleansing Flame sincerely thanked Shi Feng. "It was just a small effort on my part. There''s no need to be so polite, Team Leader Flame," Shi Feng said. Shi Feng hadn''t intended to save Cleansing Flame''s team. He had just wanted to spoil War Blood''s fun. He had hoped that Remnant Snow would attack him, and he could use the chance to wipe out some of War Blood''s members. He certainly hadn''t expected the Berserker King to concede. It had left him with no choice but to abandon his original plan. "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I request your help in saving our trapped commander? If you''re willing to save our commander and her team, Heaven''s Blade will offer this item as compensation," Cleansing Flame said as she revealed an ancient, withered tree branch. The branch didn''t look like anything special, but it radiated a timeless aura. Moreover, it contained a powerful life force. "The Tree of Life!" When he saw that special tree branch, Shi Feng couldn''t help his shock. 2408 Elven Races Divine Artifac t Chapter 2408 - Elven Race''s Divine Artifact "You really are amazing, Guild Leader Black Flame. You recognized it at a glance," Cleansing Flame praised the Swordsman, a little surprised when Shi Feng identified the tree branch. Heaven''s Blade had tried all sorts of methods to appraise the branch but failed to learn anything. In the end, they had only discovered the tree branch''s identity after using an Ancient Appraisal Scroll. And yet, Shi Feng had known what the branch was after a quick glance. It was unbelievable. Everyone in God''s Domain knew about the Tree of Life, the Elves'' Divine Artifact, but there was very little information available about the tree itself. The most the average player knew about the Tree of Life was that it produced the Fruit of Life. The Fruit of Life was a sacred item that could resurrect NPCs, as well as a treasure that could drastically improve a living creature''s potentials. Even kings and emperors coveted the Fruit of Life. "It''s no wonder why War Blood is out to get you and willing to go as far as to seal off the Molten Canyon." Shi Feng realized what the previous encounter had been about when he saw the tree branch in Cleansing Flame''s hand. "That''s right. War Blood found out about the tree branch and is doing everything it can to target us in the ancient ruin. Unfortunately, our commander is still trapped in the ruin, and we aren''t strong enough to save her," Cleansing Flame said, clenching her teeth. "However, that branch isn''t one of the Tree of Life''s main branches, just a side branch," Shi Feng calmly deduced. "Moreover, I''m guessing that you have more than two or three side branches on your hands. I suspect you also have a main branch." "How did you know?" Cleansing Flame was flabbergasted. Only a handful of people in Heaven''s Blade knew how many branches the adventurer team had and what kind they were. "Although the Tree of Life''s branches are precious, they''re not valuable enough to push War Blood to such drastic measures. Besides, your willingness to offer a side branch as payment tells me that you have many more," Shi Feng explained. At this point, no player in God''s Domain knew more about the Tree of Life than Shi Feng. The Tree of Life''s side branches were valuable treasures, each worth multiple pieces of Level 100-plus Epic Equipment. These side branches could be cultivated to grow into a Tree of Life, and as long as they did, it would produce Water of Life. The tree wouldn''t produce much Water of Life, and it would take a long time, but the liquid was immensely valuable. It was, after all, one of the few items in God''s Domain that could resurrect an NPC. It was even effective on Tier 5 NPCs. However, cultivating a Tree of Life from a side branch wasn''t easy, not to mention producing Water of Life. One would need to sacrifice astronomical resources to accomplish the feat. Even if War Blood wanted the side branch, it wouldn''t be desperate enough to seal off the Molten Canyon to get it. The only explanation was that Heaven''s Blade had acquired one of the Tree of Life''s main branches. The main branches were extraordinary and even more valuable than ordinary Legendary items. As long as one cultivated a Tree of Life from a main branch, the tree would be capable of producing Fruit of Life! Fruits of Life were just as valuable as Fragmented Legendary items. Thus, it was easy to imagine how valuable a Tree of Life, which could produce an endless supply of the fruit, would be. Even Super Guilds would sacrifice everything to get their hands on a main branch. Hearing Shi Feng''s explanation, realization dawned on Cleansing Flame. Shi Feng''s deduction was correct. War Blood had discovered that Heaven''s Blade had a main branch from the Tree of Life, which was why it so furiously targeted Heaven''s Blade. With no other choice, her commander, Zwei, had sent her with the side branch to find outside help. These branches weren''t ordinary items, and they were guaranteed to drop on death. Her commander wouldn''t have been in such a precarious position otherwise. "If you''re hoping that Zero Wing will save your commander just for a side branch, I''m afraid that I have to refuse. I''m sure you''re aware of how crazy and powerful War Blood is, not to mention its partnership with Starlink. I doubt any superpower would be willing to offend War Blood. Even if you offered me two or three side branches, I''d have to refuse," Shi Feng told Cleansing Flame with a serious look. "However, it''s not impossible to afford Zero Wing''s help. We want one of the main branches; that''s the bottom line to purchase Zero Wing''s help in rescuing your commander." He did not particularly care about the Tree of Life''s side branches. He could easily find replacements for the Water of Life. The main branch, however, was a different story. Not only could the main branch provide Fruits of Life, but it could also yield Nuclei of Life. The Nucleus of Life was one of the required materials to produce the Broken Steel Set Equipment. It was also the most difficult material to acquire. If he could secure a source of Nuclei of Life, he could forge his class set equipment. An Epic Class-specific Set Equipment! Even during his previous life, very few of the various superpowers'' experts had obtained Epic Set Equipment. Most had only worn an assortment of Epic Equipment. With the Broken Steel Set Equipment, he could roam through the truly dangerous areas of God''s Domain and hunt down the three remaining fragments of Solomon''s Sword. With his current strength, he only had a 10% chance of surviving in these locations, and that was only because he had the Disintegration Armor, which could temporarily elevate him into a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Without the Disintegration Armor, he had no chance of surviving whatsoever. Only an Epic Set Equipment could increase his survival chances. Only the extremely lucky could find enough Fragmented Legendary items for the task, and he couldn''t afford to rely on luck. "A main branch?" Cleansing Flame hesitated after hearing Shi Feng''s demand. As a mere team leader, she didn''t have the authority to make that decision. Heaven''s Blade had only secured one main branch, and if they gave it to Zero Wing, the adventurer team would suffer a huge loss. Furthermore, protecting the main branch in their possession was the very reason that her commander was struggling so desperately. She would''ve already offered the side branches to appease War Blood otherwise. However, Cleansing Flame couldn''t deny what Shi Feng had said. Not only was War Blood Dragonheart Island''s number one adventurer team, but it also had Starlink''s support. No superpower on the island would be willing to offend War Blood for a mere side branch from the Tree of Life. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''m afraid I can''t agree to that. I need to discuss the matter with my commander," Cleansing Flame said after giving the matter some thought. Rather than rejecting Shi Feng''s demand outright, she felt it was wisest to speak with her commander first. "I understand," Shi Feng said, not particularly surprised by Cleansing Flame''s response. Cleansing Flame was only a team leader. How could someone of that rank possibly have the authority to make such an important decision? With Shi Feng''s agreement, Cleansing Flame logged out of God''s Domain to contact her commander offline. The offline messenger was the only way to communicate within Heavens Blade now that War Blood had sealed off the Molten Canyon. 2409 Thunder Eagle Reappears Chapter 2409 - Thunder Eagle Reappears Molten Ruin, inner corridor: A team with fewer than 50 members fended off two Level 106 Grand Lord ranked Guardian Knights while desperately trying to retreat toward the Molten Ruin''s inner corridor. Although the team had so few members, as many as eight of them were Tier 3 experts, including the female Guardian Knight that stood 1.9 meters tall and single-handedly held her ground against the two Grand Lords. She wore black and white runic armor, carried a shield engraved with dark runes in one hand, and wielded a two-handed sword in the other. This female Guardian Knight''s outstanding performance was the only reason that the other Tier 3 players on the team could focus on stopping the dozen or so Great Lord ranked Mechanical Puppets, allowing the rest of the team to pull back safely. The Guardian Knight was none other than Zwei, Heaven''s Blade''s famous commander and the very soul of the adventurer team. Suddenly, a Level 101, Tier 3 Assassin appeared beside Zwei, reporting, "Commander, I''ve just received an offline message from Cleansing Flame. She says that she ran into Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. After negotiations, Black Flame stated that his price for rescuing us is one of the Tree of Life''s main branches." The team members fell silent when they heard the Assassin''s statement. "What a big appetite!" a Level 102, Tier 3 Berserker snarled. "We''re fighting so desperately to survive in the main corridor to protect the main branch, yet Zero Wing wants it in exchange for saving us? If we just give it to Zero Wing, we''ll have wasted all of our efforts!" "That''s right! We might as well offer it to War Blood or some other superpower. At least they''ll have a better chance of saving us," a Tier 3 Elementalist said, nodding in agreement. The rest of the team expressed their disapproval, as well. They had gone to great lengths to protect the main branch. There was no way they''d hand it over to Zero Wing. If they had to give it away in exchange for their safety, they''d be better off making a trade with a true superpower. They''d be far more confident of a superpower saving them than Zero Wing. "Shadow, what do you think of this?" Zwei asked the Tier 3 Assassin next to her. When she spoke, Zwei''s voice sounded sacred, and the entire team quieted down. Everyone perked up and waited to hear their vice commander''s opinion on the matter. "I''m afraid that keeping the Tree of Life''s main branch will be too much of a challenge for us, commander, and the side branches aren''t nearly attractive enough to the various superpowers. No one will offend War Blood for a few side branches," Divine Shadow, the Tier 3 Assassin, said. "However, I think we''ll have more options if we use the main branch as a bargaining chip." "What do you suggest we do?" Zwei asked calmly. "We definitely cannot allow War Blood to benefit from our work. Zero Wing''s help is negligible, as well, and we can''t rely on most superpowers. I''ve just received an offline message from Thirteen Thrones. I don''t know how they found out, but they know we have the Tree of Life''s main branch. They''re willing to help us. Not only will they send reinforcements to get us out of here, but they''ll also provide protection and conveniences on Dragonheart Island in the future as long as we give them the main branch," Divine Shadow said. No one was happy with it, but they understood Divine Shadow''s reasoning. The Molten Ruin was extremely dangerous. Although Dragonheart Island''s various superpowers were here to find Horned Eagle Eggs, most of them couldn''t get past the ruin''s outer region. Very few superpowers were strong enough to explore the inner region. Heaven''s Blade''s team had only managed to make it that far by relying on special means. Although Zero Wing''s peak combatants were no weaker than those from the various superpowers, if the superpowers couldn''t set foot in the inner region, Zero Wing''s experts wouldn''t be able to either. Thirteen Thrones was their only reliable option now. After listening to her vice commander''s view, Zwei fell silent as she considered her options. Her team waited silently for her decision, but they wouldn''t hesitate to follow their commander''s orders, regardless of what she decided. "Alright, let''s go with your suggestion," Zwei said. "I''ll notify Thirteen Thrones, then," Divine Shadow said as he prepared to back out of the game. "Notify Cleansing Flame as well. Tell her that if Zero Wing can reach us first, Heaven''s Blade will offer Zero Wing the main branch. Tell Thirteen Thrones the same thing," Zwei said after giving the matter some thought. "Understood." Divine Shadow nodded before disappearing from the corridor. War Blood was persistent in chasing their team in the inner corridor, and as they delved deeper into the Molten Ruin, they''d encounter more danger. Their team could only survive for a short time. They couldn''t just rely on Thirteen Thrones'' promise to save them. Moreover, Zero Wing had done the adventurer team a favor when it had saved Cleansing Flame''s team. Outright refusing the Guild wouldn''t be wise. Although Zero Wing had a slim chance of reaching their team, at least it had a chance to compete against Thirteen Thrones with equal conditions. Once Divine Shadow had logged out, he notified Cleansing Flame and Thirteen Thrones'' representative of Zwei''s decision. Whichever Guild reached Zwei''s team first would become Heaven''s Blade''s business partner. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and his entourage rested in a dense forest within the Molten Canyon while they waited for Cleansing Flame to log back into God''s Domain. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you can reach our commander before Thirteen Thrones, she''ll agree to your demands. I hope you can understand," Cleansing Flame apologized after returning to the game. Naturally, Thirteen Thrones had more members in the Molten Ruin than Zero Wing. The superpower had long since dispatched a large force of experts to the ruin to search for Homed Eagle Eggs. In fact, it had been the first Guild to send experts into the Molten Ruin''s inner region. Ordinary expert teams had no place in the Molten Ruin''s inner region. Even with more than 20 Tier 3 experts leading its team, Thirteen Thrones had taken nearly three hours to reach the inner corridor. The monsters that guarded the path to the inner region were immensely powerful, and ordinary superpowers were utterly powerless against them. Heaven''s Blade''s team had only reached the inner region by relying on special means. In contrast to Thirteen Thrones'' team, which was already in the area, Zero Wing''s main force hadn''t even gathered in the Molten Canyon yet. By the time the team arrived, Thirteen Thrones would''ve secured her commander''s team. Shi Feng had saved her team, but Cleansing Flame knew she couldn''t change her commander''s mind. This concerned the adventurer team''s survival, after all. "I understand. The survival of your adventurer team comes first. Commander Zwei has made a wise decision," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He knew what Heaven''s Blade was trying to pull. "I just want to clarify You''re saying that if Zero Wing''s members reach your commander and rescue her first, she''ll hand us the Tree of Life''s main branch, right?" "I believe that''s the case." The question confused Cleansing Flame a little, but she nodded after finding no flaws in Shi Feng''s statement. "That will make things simple," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Would you be willing to sign a contract with Zero Wing regarding this matter?" "Simple?" Cleansing Flame was even more confused, but she agreed to sign the contract. Her commander had already agreed to the conditions, and there was no harm in her representing her commander and adventurer team on the contract. Cleansing Flame and Shi Feng signed a contract while one of her subordinates reported back to Heaven''s Blade''s commander. "Since that''s taken care of, let''s go," Shi Feng said, satisfied with the contract. "Go? Go where?" "To save your commander, of course," Shi Feng said, smiling. He then took out the Thunder Eagle''s Summoning Flute and summoned the Flying Mount. A gigantic eagle with a wingspan of over 20 meters appeared above the forest with a deafening screech that echoed throughout the Molten Canyon. 2410 Rescue Team? Chapter 2410 - Rescue Team? The surrounding players immediately noticed the Thunder Eagle''s appearance. "A Flying Mount!" "What a powerful Flying Mount! Based on its aura, it''s as strong as a Level 100 Great Lord!" "Too cool! When will I get to ride a Flying Mount like that?" The various major powers fell into a heated discussion when they noticed the Thunder Eagle, visibly envious. If not for the fact that Summoning Flutes occupied a bag space and had an abysmally low chance of dropping, they would''ve charged forth to try to steal the Flying Mount. "So, this is the rumored Thunder Eagle?" Cleansing Flame stared at the massive bird of prey as it descended. Although the various superpowers, Heaven''s Blade included, were searching for Homed Eagle Eggs in the Molten Ruin, none of them had a clear idea of what a Flying Mount was. They had only ever seen the creature on a video. Seeing the Thunder Eagle in person, Cleansing Flame thought it was even more majestic than a private plane. "Hop on. There are too many monsters on the way. We''ll get there faster by air," Shi Feng invited Cleansing Flame on the Thunder Eagle''s back after jumping on himself. Although the Molten Canyon was a dangerous area, players could fly if they had the means. Shi Feng had only refrained from using his Flying Mount because of how incredibly conspicuous it was. If he had flown into the Molten Canyon, everyone would''ve immediately realized that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader was in the area. But he no longer cared about hiding his identity. The Tree of Life''s main branch was of utmost importance, and the only way his small team would reach the Molten Ruin quickly was by flying on the Thunder Eagle. Moreover, since War Blood had sealed off the Molten Canyon, players within the canyon couldn''t use their in-game communication system, which made it easier for Shi Feng to hide his tracks. With Shi Feng''s invite, Cleansing Flame and the few surviving members of her team climbed aboard the magnificent Thunder Eagle. Once everyone was on its back, the Thunder Eagle flapped its wings and swiftly ascended several hundred meters into the air. It then flew straight toward the Molten Ruin. This Flying Mount is amazing, leader! If we could get a few for ourselves, our leveling speed would skyrocket!" a Level 101 Assassin beside Cleansing Flame exclaimed as he watched the scenery pass below him. "Indeed. With this Movement Speed and maneuverability, reaching distant Level 100-plus maps would be a lot easier," Cleansing Flame agreed, nodding. As she glanced down at the Level 100-plus monsters roaming the forest below, she, more or less, understood how beneficial a Flying Mount could be. It also explained how Zero Wing had become so powerful. If they had the help of a Flying Mount, they could explore and grind in a Level 100 neutral map twice per day. They could spend nearly double the time grinding than if they traveled via Land Mounts. It was no wonder how Zero Wing had nurtured so many Tier 3 players so quickly. On the Thunder Eagle''s back, the trip that should''ve taken them two hours was over in a dozen minutes or so. During that time, Cleansing Flame and her teammates had felt as if they were dreaming. It had taken them a lot of effort and plenty of sacrifice to fight their way from the Molten Ruin to the Molten Canyon''s exit, yet without enduring a single battle, they returned to the ruin. They had even recovered some of their Stamina during the trip as if their earlier battles had been nothing more than a passing dream... "Guild Leader Black Flame, our adventurer team has thoroughly explored the Molten Ruin''s outer region, so we know the path to the inner area. We can guide you there. We also have plenty of members stationed on the path to the inner area, so they should be able to help," Cleansing Flame suggested. Shi Feng had saved her team, so she owed him a big favor. Since he intended to race Thirteen Thrones to her commander, she would help him in whatever way she could. Moreover, they''d have a greater chance of victory with more players if they stumbled across War Blood''s members. "I''ll have to trouble you, then," Shi Feng said. "I''ll contact them now. They should be assembled by the time we reach the cavern that leads to the inner region," Cleansing Flame replied. She then instructed one of her team members to log off and notify Heaven''s Blade''s other members within the Molten Ruin''s outer region. Cleansing Flame then directed Shi Feng and his entourage to the entrance of the Molten Ruin''s inner region. In the Molten Ruin, even full teams of Level 100-plus experts in Level 100 Mysterious Iron Equipment risked a team- wipe. The outer area was crawling with Level 100 Great Lord ranked Blue-eyed Spiders. A team would occasionally come across Level 100 Grand Lord ranked Demonic Flame Spiders, as well. These monsters were a major challenge for Tier 2 players. The Blue-eyed Spiders weren''t a big issue, but only death awaited them if they ran into the Demonic Flame Spiders. Fortunately, Cleansing Flame''s team had long since familiarized themselves with the outer region, and they guided Shi Feng''s team around the Grand Lords. At most, the group dealt with a few Blue-eyed Spiders on the way. Shi Feng''s group hadn''t even needed to lift a finger throughout the journey. Cleansing Flame and her team members used traps to slow the Blue-eyed Spiders down, which allowed the group to escape the monsters'' pursuit. After just half an hour, Shi Feng and the others arrived in a town-sized cavern. Azure crystals decorated the cavern ceiling, radiating a blinding light the illuminated the cavern. A steel tunnel that was more than a dozen meters across let out of one corner of the cavern. A frightening aura seeped from the tunnel, and Shi Feng and his companions could even sense it from several hundred yards away. The aura was extraordinary. A Tier 1 player wouldn''t even be able to approach the tunnel, and Tier 2 players would feel extremely uncomfortable as they got near, with the aura partially restricting their movements. However, quite a few players had gathered at the mouth of the tunnel. Shi Feng counted more than 10,000 players with a rough glance, all of which were from the various superpowers'' expert teams. These players were high-leveled and well-equipped. Quite a few of them were even peak experts, wearing multiple pieces of Epic Equipment. Shi Feng also spotted several dozen Tier 3 experts. Among the players, Shi Feng noticed a team wearing capes with Heaven''s Blade''s emblem. The team wasn''t particularly large, with only a little over 100 members, but their equipment standards were very high. Many of the team members were experts in Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment. The team was also one of the more eye-catching groups standing near the tunnel. Yu Luo! You guys sure got here quickly! We''ve rushed here as fast as we could, yet you still beat us," Cleansing Flame said to the Tier 3 female Cleric leading Heaven''s Blade''s team in greeting. The female Cleric was delicate and pretty. Although she had a small frame and looked harmless, none of Heaven''s Blade''s experts dared to look down on her. Rather, traces of fear and reverence flashed in their eyes when they looked at her. You''re finally here. If you''d taken any longer, I would''ve challenged the path already," the female Cleric named Yu Luo said cheerfully when she saw Cleansing Flame. "Guild Leader Black Flame, let me introduce you. This is Yu Luo, Heaven''s Blade''s Chief Cleric. She is one of the top five Clerics on Dragonheart Island," Cleansing Flame introduced. "Yu Luo, this is Guild Leader Black Flame. Guild Leader Black Flame is amazing. He even convinced Remnant Snow to spare us with just a few words." "Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame," Yu Luo said. After hearing Cleansing Flame''s introduction, she gave Shi Feng a careful, evaluating look. A moment passed, and she got straight to the point, asking, "May I know when your team will arrive? Our commander''s situation isn''t looking good. I''m not sure how much longer they can evade War Blood''s pursuit. I''d like to move out as soon as possible." In consideration for the team in the Molten Ruin''s outer region, Zwei had instructed Yu Luo to remain in that area. As a result, Yu Luo hadn''t been able to help her comrades when War Blood''s experts had attacked. If the inner corridor hadn''t been so dangerous, even for the various superpowers'' main forces, she would''ve long since rushed to her commander''s aid. commander''s aid. My team''s here already. We can get moving when you''re ready." 2411 Commotion at the Molten Ruin Chapter 2411 - Commotion at the Molten Ruin Shi Feng''s statement stunned Heaven''s Blade''s members. Even Cleansing Flame and her team, who had led Shi Feng to the cavern, stared at him in shock, not to mention Yu Luo and her people. The passage to the Molten Ruin''s inner area was incredibly dangerous. Even superpowers sent teams of several hundred main force members to ensure the team survived the path, and their survival still wasn''t certain. The superpowers'' teams that had made it through the path had merely gotten lucky. Cleansing Flame had assumed Shi Feng must''ve notified Zero Wing''s members within the Molten Ruin to join them. She had never thought that he intended to enter the ruin''s inner region with just his three companions. It was utterly insane! "Do you know how dangerous this passage is, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Yu Luo asked after taking a moment to calm down. Seeing his serious expression, she continued, "Even the superpowers'' teams, which have 400 main force members, have less than a 50% chance of surviving the trip through the passage. If you really intend to go in there with just four people, I''m afraid that I cannot accompany you." If Shi Feng hadn''t done Heaven''s Blade a favor by saving Cleansing Flame, Yu Luo would''ve likely erupted at him. Because of War Blood, her team was already in a tight spot. She had only agreed to take the risk of returning to the passage because she had heard that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader was willing to save her commander. Due to that decision, her team had suffered several dozen casualties. And now, Shi Feng insisted that he only intended to rescue her commander with four players as if the Molten Ruin were his own backyard. "It''s a pity that Team Leader Yu Luo isn''t willing to come with us. Cola, get ready. We''re heading in," Shi Feng said, unfazed by Yu Luo''s response. "Understood!" Cola was excited to head out, and without hesitation, he approached the tunnel''s entrance. Helplessly, Turtledove, and Shadow Sword followed after him. Heaven''s Blade''s members were again dumbfounded as they watched Zero Wing''s members. They hadn''t actually thought Shi Feng was serious about going in with just four players. "Yu Luo, you went too far. Guild Leader Black Flame is only entering the inner area to save our commander," Cleansing Flame hissed. "Moreover, he''s only recently arrived in the Molten Ruin. He doesn''t know much about the ruin yet." This disagreement didn''t bode well for either side. Yu Luo wanted to rescue her commander as quickly as possible, and that would be easier with more allies, especially if those allies were Tier 3 experts like Shi Feng and his comrades. However, since Yu Luo had taken her stance, Shi Feng''s group wouldn''t want to work with her team. "I understand what you''re trying to say, but you know that reaching the inner area is impossible with four players. It''d be better for us to look for other options, rather than waste our time trying," Yu Luo growled back as she watched Shi Feng''s departing figure. Sneering, she continued, "I know a little about Black Flame, too. He has relied on his advantage as a Tier 3 player to suppress the various superpowers, but times have changed. Not a single superpower doesn''t have a Tier 3 player now, yet most of them still can''t get through that tunnel. "Since Black Flame is so insistent, we should let him find out how dangerous that tunnel is. Once he hits a wall, he''ll realize that he has to cooperate. If we don''t, and he still insists on taking the lead, we''d be lucky if Zero Wing''s members aren''t just extra baggage." Yu Luo acknowledged that Shi Feng was a powerful individual, but they were talking about venturing deeper into the Molten Ruin, which was even more dangerous than Level 100 neutral maps. If Shi Feng had shown up with a large number of Zero Wing''s main force members, there wouldn''t have been an issue, but he had only arrived with three companions, and Yu Luo refused to let him take charge. When her commander''s team had entered the inner region, War Blood hadn''t sealed off the Molten Canyon yet, and she had received plenty of information about what to expect in that area. She wouldn''t allow Shi Feng to lead her team blindly. "Alright, stay here then. I''ll lead the way for them," Cleansing Flame said, sighing. Although Yu Luo had a point, she was responsible for asking Shi Feng to save their commander. She couldn''t abandon Zero Wing. She walked away from her fellow team leader and followed Shi Feng''s group to the tunnel. "Cleansing Flame is too soft. How are those four from Zero Wing going to listen to us if we don''t let them suffer a little?" Yu Luo shook her head in exasperation as she watched Cleansing Flame walk off. She then turned to her two vice team leaders and said, "Speak with the superpowers in the area. Tell them that Heaven''s Blade will offer information about the passage, and we''re willing to work with them to get to the inner corridor." Yu Luo had no hopes for Zero Wing''s four players. As far as she was concerned, their only hope for reaching their commander was to cooperate with the other superpowers in the cavern. She''d let Shi Feng know how laughable his 4- man rescue attempt was. Having received their orders, Yu Luo''s two vice team leaders got to work and began to speak with other superpowers. Meanwhile, a team of several hundred players emerged from the tunnel, and they were all in miserable shape. "What?! Even the Flame Hammer adventurer team failed?!" The players waiting outside of the passage began to despair when they saw the players return to the cavern. Flame Hammer was the third-ranked adventurer team on Dragonheart Island, and it had sent 14 of its Tier 3 players to fight through the passage, yet even their powerful team had failed to reach the inner corridor. The team had gone in with 500 members, but only returned with 300. In addition, only 8 of the Tier 3 experts had survived the expedition. The loss was devastating for Flame Hammer. Look at them and realize how immature you''re being, Yu Luo thought, chuckling as she glanced back at Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng reacted as if he didn''t see Flame Hammer''s team and continued toward the tunnel without any hesitation. As he and his three comrades approached the tunnel with Cleansing Flame in tow, a commotion broke out in the cavern. "They''re entering the passage with just five players? Are they insane?" "Who are they? Didn''t they see that even Flame Hammer''s team failed to make it through?" "Isn''t that female Guardian Knight Heaven''s Blade''s Cleansing Flame?" "I heard that War Blood is going all-out to hunt down Heaven''s Blade''s commander in the inner corridor. They must be going in to save her." "But with just five people? Are they suicidal? I bet they won''t even get past the first guardian. I guess Heaven''s Blade is really doomed." The various superpowers'' experts discussed Shi Feng and his small party, mocking Heaven''s Blade. Overhearing it, Yu Luo''s complexion turned ashen. While everyone badmouthed her adventurer team, a giant statue, which had stood 100 yards in the tunnel, began to move. [Primordial Guard] (Elemental Creature, Archaic Species, Grand Lord) Level 105 HP 2,400,000,000/2,400,000,000 When the various superpowers'' experts noticed the Primordial Guard, they were overcome with dread. A Level 105 Grand Lord was already a very powerful foe. Even a Tier 3 MT would struggle to tank a Level 105 Grand Lord, and to make matters worse, the Primordial Guard was an Archaic Species. It had such overpowered strength that it could easily send a Tier 3 MT flying with an ordinary punch. Moreover, players couldn''t use Berserk Skills while inside the tunnel. Even if they activated their Lifesaving Skills, Tier 3 MTs would barely be able to tank the Grand Lord. Many teams had ventured into the tunnel, and every one of them had made plenty of sacrifices to hold the Primordial Guard, allowing the rest of the team to pass. Fortunately, the Primordial Guard only prevented players from entering the tunnel; it didn''t prevent players from leaving. Otherwise, teams that retreated from the passage halfway through would''ve been in for another beating. "I wonder if the five of them can last more than 20 seconds?" "Twenty? Are you kidding me? That''s the Primordial Guard we''re talking about. Not even Tier 3 MTs with active Lifesaving Skills last more than a few hits. I bet they''ll survive for 10 seconds at best." "I agree." While the players within the canyon chatted about how quickly they thought Shi Feng''s party would fall, the Primordial Guard had already reached the players in question. It was easily faster than a Tier 3 Assassin. The Primordial Guard immediately raised a foot and kicked at Shi Feng''s party. The Grand Lord was a twelve-meter-tall giant, and the foot it thrust at Shi Feng''s party was as large as a small house. Dodging the attack would be impossible for Tier 3 players that didn''t focus on Agility builds. Boom! When the kick struck Shi Feng''s party, the very ground shook. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, however, Shi Feng and his companions didn''t fly through the air. To the various superpowers'' experts shock, the Primordial Guard''s foot had stopped just before it had reached Shi Feng and the others. Cola, the reason the kick had failed, remained steady in his original position... 2412 Frostwolf Sets Migh Chapter t "This... Impossible!" "Is that Guardian Knight a monster?" "Who are they? Not even Zwei, Heaven''s Blade''s strongest MT, is that powerful!'' The various superpowers'' experts were indescribably shocked as they watched Cola stop the Primordial guard''s attack without stumbling back in the slightest. For a moment, they even wondered if they were hallucinating, but no matter how they rubbed their eyes, the scene before them remained the same. Realizing that this was real, they all wondered about Cola''s identity. All of these players had personally experienced the Primordial Guard''s strength. The Grand Lord''s raw power was unstoppable. Only by rotating three or four Tier 3 MTs could a team hold the monster off long enough for the rest of the team to slip by the Primordial Guard. And yet, Cola single-handedly stopped the Primordial Guard''s attack, and he did so without relying on a Lifesaving Skill. Why wouldn''t they be shocked? Among the spectating players, no one was more shocked than Yu Luo. How is this possible?! Yu Luo stared at Cola, unable to believe her eyes. She hadn''t thought that Zero Wing''s MT would be this powerful! Heaven''s Blade''s commander, Zwei, had fought with everything she had to tank the Primordial Guard, and she was one of the top three MTs on Dragonheart Island. Her astonishing strength was the reason that so many prideful independent experts were willing to submit to her commands. Before anyone could overcome their shock, the Primordial Guard, seeing that its first attack had failed, thrust its golden spear at Cola with enough power to make space itself tremble. "What?! It''s using its spear already?! I thought it only used its spear once players had crossed the halfway mark?!" All of the players in the cavern were surprised by the Primordial Guard''s second attack. They couldn''t help the fear they felt when they saw the golden weapon. That golden spear had claimed many Tier 3 MTs'' lives thus far, giving those players no chance to retaliate. That spear was also the reason that so many superpowers'' teams had failed to pass the tunnel''s first checkpoint. Those that had had only done so after suffering tremendous casualties. "Come!" In contrast, Cola was excited to see the weapon. He immediately raised his Titan Guard to greet the spear in battle. Boom! When the golden spear and Titan Guard collided, the resulting impact stirred an intense storm that spanned over several hundred yards. Cola stumbled back a step as a damage exceeding -30,000 appeared above his head. To Tier 3 MTs, who possessed nearly 1,000,000 HP, -30,000 was practically negligible, especially for Cola, who had 1,540,000 HP thanks to his Frostwolf Set and Titan Guard. Seeing Cola block the Primordial Guard''s spear, a deathly silence descended on the crowd watching from the tunnel''s entrance. "Is that Guardian Knight even human?" "Could he be a Tier 3 NPC?" Cola had nullified the Primordial Guard''s full-powered attack so easily, and he had only lost a little over 30,000 HP in the process. His performance shattered everyone''s understanding of Tier 3 MTs. Even the best Tier 3 MTs from the various superpowers could only tank Level 100 Grand Lords. Tanking a Level 105 Grand Lord would be a major challenge. Every five levels in God''s Domain was a minor turning point, after all, even for monsters. Yet, Cola had successfully stopped a Level 105 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species'' full-powered attack without using a single Skill. He was definitely stronger than the best Tier 3 MTs the various superpowers currently possessed. Meanwhile, Yu Luo was utterly flabbergasted. The biggest challenge in reaching the inner area was the Primordial Guard''s golden spear, but Cola had blocked it and only taken negligible damage. Compared to Yu Luo, however, Cleansing Flame, who acted as Shi Feng''s guide, was shocked senseless. Is this how Zero Wing was able to establish itself in a Level 100 neutral map? Although Cleansing Flame knew that Shi Feng and the others were very strong, she had never dreamed that they''d be this strong! "Cola, stop fooling around. We''re in a rush," Shi Feng admonished, sending Cola, who was deliberately playing with the Primordial Guard to test the Frostwolf Set''s effects, a reproachful glance. Shi Feng wasn''t surprised in the slightest to see Cola stop the Primordial Guard so effortlessly. In fact, he would''ve been surprised if Cola hadn''t stopped the Grand Lord''s attacks. During Shi Feng''s past life, the Frostwolf Set had been publicly acknowledged as a top 10 Level 120 Dark-Gold Set Equipment in God''s Domain. Even the various superpowers'' old monsters had coveted the set. With this set, defeating a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level would be child''s play. Hearing Shi Feng scold his MT, Cleansing Flame wanted to cry. If Cola''s frightening performance was just him fooling around, what did that make Heaven''s Blade''s attempts to stop the Grand Lord? Cola only nodded and suppressed his excitement. He began to block the Primordial Guard''s attacks seriously, employing techniques instead of relying on brute strength. The Primordial Guard attacked with its golden spear again, and in response, Cola accurately timed his counter and smashed his shield into the side of the weapon, diverting the spear into a nearby wall. This time, Cola didn''t lose a single point of HP after blocking the attack. Cola then jumped up to the Primordial Guard''s knee and slashed his saber twice. Combat technique, Strength Combination! The two rapid strikes merged and bit into the Grand Lord''s joint. Boom! The powerful attack brought the Primordial Guard to its knees and opened a path that was large enough for a dozen players to pass side-by-side. "Let''s go," Shi Feng said once the Primordial Guard was temporarily immobilized. Meanwhile, Cola raised his Titan Guard and slammed it down on the Primordial Guard as the Grand Lord was about to stand. Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Dragon Strike! The phantom of a crimson dragon''s claw struck down the guardian monster. Boom! The sound of an explosion echoed throughout the passage as the impact drove the Primordial Guard into the ground... The spectating crowd was speechless. They merely watched, silent, as Shi Feng''s party walked past the Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species unhindered, eventually disappearing into the tunnel. 2413 Pray for Themselves Chapter 2413 - Pray for Themselves "This..." "Isn''t that Guardian Knight a little too strong? Who is that guy?" "Where did Heaven''s Blade find such a capable MT? With him in the lead, getting to the inner corridor will be at least 20% easier." As the various superpowers'' experts watched Shi Feng''s party disappear into the passage, envy welled up within them. Some even took the initiative to chat up Yu Luo''s team in hopes of working with Cola. In God''s Domain, MTs were the core of a team. With a powerful enough MT, a team would have a much higher chance of successfully raiding Dungeons and exploring ruins. As long as a team could tank a monster, it could kill it. The various teams had already found quite a few Horned Eagle Eggs in the Molten Ruin''s outer region already. Needless to say, the min''s inner region would hold even greater treasure. If their teams had an amazing MT like Cola, the team''s overall strength would reach a new level, and they''d definitely be able to reach the inner corridor, gaining a massive advantage. Meanwhile, Yu Luo and her team stared at the tunnel in stunned silence. Yu Luo''s expression was particularly gloomy. She had never thought Shi Feng''s party would be so strong. After Cola''s display, she had to reevaluate what she thought she had known about Tier 3 MTs. "They''ve already gone into the tunnel, leader. What should we do?" a Level 102 Shield Warrior quietly asked. They had run all the way here for the sole purpose of entering the inner corridor and rescuing their commander, and they had just missed their best opportunity to do so. Even if they worked with another superpower to get through the tunnel, they wouldn''t have more than a 50% chance of success. Even if they made it to the other side, they''d suffer severe losses. The Shield Warrior''s question made Yu Luo regret her earlier decision a little. She now knew she had been too impulsive. Had she followed Shi Feng''s party, her team would''ve already cleared the first checkpoint and had a much higher chance of reaching their commander. However, all they could do now was stand on this end of the tunnel and watch. But who would''ve expected Cola to be so powerful? "So what if they''ve entered the passage? I refuse to believe that we can''t reach the inner corridor without them!" Yu Luo snarled after snapping out of her daze. Reaching the inner corridor was difficult, but it wasn''t impossible. Moreover, her team also had the information her commander''s team had collected. Avoiding the traps and monsters in the tunnel would be far easier for them, and they had much higher chances of success than any other superpowers'' team. Yu Luo''s statement ignited the rest of her team''s fighting spirit. They, too, wanted to prove to Shi Feng''s party that they were capable of reaching the inner corridor without Zero Wing''s help. After Yu Luo had negotiated with two superpowers and prepared to enter the tunnel, another team entered the cavern. Although this team only consisted of 50 members, it drew the attention of the various superpowers'' experts, who stared with serious expressions. The new arrival''s collective aura was just too powerful. Of the 50 players on the team, 16 had reached Tier 3. The Tier 2 players had all reached Level 102 and wore Level 100 Secret-Silver and pre-Level 100 Epic Equipment. The team members'' equipment standards were off the charts. "Demon Palace! They''re going in, too?" Yu Luo''s expression became grim when she saw the team. By now, every player on Dragonheart Island knew about Demon Palace. Aside from Super Guilds, Demon Palace feared no one. War Blood''s current strength was the reason the various superpowers were so afraid of the Guild. War Blood only used to be Dragonheart Island''s third-ranked adventurer team, but after allying with Demon Palace, it had become the island''s uncontested top adventurer team. War Blood''s rise had been due to the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy. At Tier 2, the special Legacy provided incredible power, but after reaching Tier 3, experts with the Legacy gained even more strength, becoming far more powerful than ordinary Tier 3 classes. After witnessing this, none of the superpowers wanted to provoke Demon Palace. Since War Blood had learned about the Tree of Life''s main branch in Heaven''s Blade''s possession, it was likely that Demon Palace knew of it. While Yu Luo was lost in thought, Demon Palace''s team approached her. A robust, middle-aged man, who was 2.3 meters tall, stepped forward, smirking at Yu Luo. "You''re Heaven''s Blade''s Yu Luo, right? I''ve heard that you''re one of the top five healers on Dragonheart Island. That''s certainly an impressive feat. Might I ask you to relay a message to your commander?" Evil Qilin, the middle-aged man, said, chuckling. "What do you want me to tell her?" Yu Luo asked. She had a bad feeling about this. "Let her know that it''s not too late to surrender. But if she continues to refuse until we reach her, it will be too late," Evil Qilin said before turning and leading his team toward the tunnel. He didn''t even bother to wait for a reply. As Evil Qilin''s team walked away, Heaven''s Blade''s members fell silent. His tone had been amicable, but they had all sensed the killing intent in his words. "Leader, what should we do now that Demon Palace''s members have gone in? Zero Wing''s members and Team Leader Flame aren''t far ahead of them," the Level 102 Shield Warrior asked from beside Yu Luo. Evidently, the Demon Palace wanted to join the fray, and Evil Qilin''s team wouldn''t spare a single Heaven''s Blade member they encountered in the inner corridor. The man''s request had merely been a warning of their imminent deaths. The Demon Palace had sent 16 Tier 3 experts into the ruin''s inner region, and 34 of the 50 team members were Refinement Realm or greater experts. Moreover, every member of the team possessed the Demonic Hell World''s special Legacy. If Demon Palace''s team ran into Shi Feng and Cleansing Flame''s party, they''d be slaughtered. "We can''t contact Cleansing Flame to warn her. Zero Wing''s members can only pray for their Guild Leader," Yu Luo said helplessly. "Log out immediately and notify the commander of the situation. As for the rest of you, get ready. We''re entering the passage!" With Yu Luo''s command, Heaven''s Blade''s members joined up with the two superpower teams they had partnered with and entered the tunnel. Meanwhile, Demon Palace''s team effortlessly pushed through the monsters that had given the various superpowers'' experts headaches, arriving at the final gate leading to the inner corridor in less than 20 minutes. A magic array sealed the final gate, and players would only obtain the key to remove it by defeating the Guardian Boss. "It looks like someone''s just killed the Boss, commander!" a Tier 3 Ranger reported as he gestured to the steel gate enveloped in fog. The Grand Lord ranked Guardian Boss lay before the gate, and a single player was busy looting the Boss while four others rested nearby. That saves us a lot of trouble. You two, get rid of them and get me that key," Evil Qilin ordered as he glanced at the two Tier 3 Assassins behind him. "Understood!" The Assassins licked their lips in anticipation and entered Stealth. 2414 Tough Opponen Chapter 2414 - Tough Opponent As the two Tier 3 Assassins vanished, the other Demon Palace members sat on the ground and rested while watching Shi Feng''s party in the distance. "These players really have some bad luck. They must''ve gone to great lengths to defeat the Guardian Boss, yet they have to deal with Gull and Rainbow right after their raid." "We should''ve just charged over and gotten rid of them." "Gull and Rainbow have just reached Tier 3 and unlocked more of their Legacies'' potential. My guess is that the commander wants to give them a chance to get used to their new bodies. Their Basic Attributes are on an entirely different level than when they were still Tier 2, after all." Many of the Tier 3 experts from Demon Palace watched the two Assassins in envy. Their strength had substantially increased after reaching Tier 3, and getting used to it was proving difficult. Although they often sparred with each other, a sparring match couldn''t compare to true battle. However, they also knew that Evil Qilin wanted to prioritize Wind Gull and White Rainbow''s growth. Both Assassins had incredible potential for growth. Despite the fact that he was only 27, Wind Gull had already reached the Void Realm. White Rainbow, who was the same age as Wind Gull, had reached the Half-step Void Realm standard. Since they had completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests so soon, their future was limitless. There would be a massive difference between reaching Tier 3 now and completing the Tier 3 Promotion Quest in the next two weeks. Players would encounter completely different opportunities. This was precisely why Evil Qilin prioritized the two Assassins. Someday, they might become Domain Realm experts and true pillars of the Guild. Meanwhile, Wind Gull and White Rainbow used a footwork technique that allowed them to get within 30 yards of Shi Feng and his four companions without the slightest sound. "Rainbow, you take care of that Tier 2 female Guardian Knight. I''ll distract the other two MTs. Once you get rid of the female Guardian Knight, we''ll take our time and play with the others. But you''d better not kill the Tier 3 Berserker beside the woman," Wind Gull whispered as he watched Cleansing Flame rest. He didn''t care about a Tier 2 player like Cleansing Flame, but to ensure that their training went smoothly, they''d get rid of the miscellaneous target first. "Relax. How could I waste an opportunity like this? Hopefully, they''re not so weak that they die too quickly," White Rainbow whispered back, excitement flashing in his eyes. Opportunities to fight Tier 3 experts were extremely rare right now. Although they could spar in the Battle Arenas around God''s Domain, it was impossible to push themselves without the threat of the system''s death penalty. Moreover, every player had their own combat style, and they could only rapidly improve by fighting different opponents. "Let''s begin!" Wind Gull declared. He started to sneak toward the two resting Tier 3 MTs and waited for White Rainbow to make his move. White Rainbow adjusted his footwork and dashed toward Cleansing Flame like a cooling breeze. He had integrated with his environment; not even Tier 3 players with sharp perception would detect him, let alone a Tier 2 player like Cleansing Flame. Twenty-five yards... Twenty yards... Fifteen yards... As White Rainbow inched closer to Cleansing Flame, he took more care with his movements. When only 10 yards remained between him and his target, the Assassin unsheathed his daggers. Just as White Rainbow was about to attack, Shadow Sword, who had been relaxing with his eyes shut, opened them. Without warning, he swung his greatsword, sending an energy blade toward Cleansing Flame. It startled the exhausted Guardian Knight. Shadow Swords energy blade was so sharp that it sliced through the air cleanly, and his execution was so fast that Cleansing Flame had no time to react. Just as she thought she was about to die, however, she heard a metallic clang beside her. Peng! The attack had revealed a hidden figure behind her, and when she saw him, she broke out in a cold sweat. Cleansing Flame had never thought that she''d fail to notice someone creeping up to her. Fortunately, Cleansing Flame was a peak expert. Reacting quickly, she leaped forward, creating some distance between her and the nefarious stranger. If an Assassin was able to get so close to her undetected, she knew he''d be extraordinarily powerful, and she didn''t bother with an offensive or defensive maneuver. Furthermore, the Assassin was a Tier 3 player, and she knew she would be no match for him. "You discovered me? It seems you''re not such a weakling, after all," White Rainbow said, unfazed by the fact that Cleansing Flame had escaped his grasp. He ignored Cleansing Flame and focused his attention on Shadow Sword with an ecstatic expression as he said, "It seems I can take this seriously now." Although his footwork wasn''t as masterful as Wind Gull''s, detecting him from farther than 7 or 8 yards should be very difficult for ordinary Tier 3 experts. Shadow Sword, however, had noticed him from a little over 10 yards, which proved that the man''s combat standards were considerably high. At the very least, Shadow Sword had better perception than an ordinary Tier 3 player. Meanwhile, Wind Gull, who had watched this play out from a short distance away, became just as excited. Rainbow sure is lucky. I knew I should''ve started the attack instead, Wind Gull thought, regretting his strategy as he watched Shadow Sword. As he finished that thought, however, another energy blade flew toward him, forcing him to evade and expose himself. Wind Gull spun toward the attack''s origin, astonished when he saw who had launched the energy blade. The attack had come from the five-man party''s Tier 3 male Guardian Knight, and based on his accuracy, this Guardian Knight had long since noticed him. Moreover, the Tier 3 female Shield Warrior had clearly sensed him as well. Who are these people? Wind Gull stared at Cola and his comrades, surprised. Wind Gull was already amazed that Shadow Sword had discovered White Rainbow, but he found it unbelievable that the party''s two Tier 3 MTs had discovered him while Stealthed as well. When he was in Stealth, only his commander and vice commander could sense his presence from 10 yards away, yet these two MTs could do the same. For a moment, Wind Gull even wondered if he had really activated Stealth. When Cleansing Flame saw White Rainbow and Wind Gull, she paled. Demon Palace members?! Why are they here?! Cleansing Flame had a bad feeling when she saw the two Tier 3 Assassins'' Guild Emblems. "Oh? You guys are from Heaven''s Blade?" Wind Gull sneered when he saw Heaven''s Blade''s logo engraved on Cleansing Flame''s armor. "This is a good opportunity to get rid of you, then. Rainbow, ignore that female Knight! Target their Tier 3s first!" "Got it!" White Rainbow became serious about this battle and prepared to meld with the shadows once more. "Don''t think you can hide from us so easily!" Shadow Sword bellowed as he charged at White Rainbow, hacking at the Assassin with his greatsword. Shadow Sword''s attack was simple, but White Rainbow couldn''t dodge the strike due to the man''s high Attack Speed. Realizing this, the Assassin raised his daggers to block the attack. Peng! A loud, metallic clang echoed throughout the tunnel, and the impact threw White Rainbow nearly 6 yards back as he instantly lost more than 20,000 HP. When he landed, he nearly lost his footing, as well. How is this possible? Seeing the Berserker throw White Rainbow with a single swing confused Wind Gull. White Gull was familiar with White Rainbow''s Strength. Not even Tier 3 Berserkers would necessarily be a match for him, yet Shadow Sword had sent the Assassin flying with a normal attack. It was simply unbelievable! By the time Wind Gull snapped out of his daze, Turtledove was already using Shield Bash against him. Not daring to be careless, Wind Gull used his short sword and activated his Block Skill. The moment short sword and shield collided, Wind Gull felt his hand go numb, and he stumbled four steps back. How is her Strength so high, too? The situation confused Wind Gull further. He understood how Shadow Sword had overpowered White Rainbow. The man was a Tier 3 Berserker, after all, but despite being a Tier 3 Shield Warrior, Turtledove''s Strength was on par with Shadow Sword''s. Wind Gull began to wonder if this small party had suppressed his Basic Attributes somehow. Naturally, neither Shadow Sword nor Turtledove gave their opponents any room to breathe. They both launched fierce assaults, forcing White Rainbow and Wind Gull to defend themselves, and the two Assassins fought desperately as they continued to lose HP. The other Demon Palace members, who watched from a safe distance, were stunned. "What? They''re actually pushing Rainbow and Gull back?" "Who are these people?" They all knew how powerful the two Assassins were. Both could effortlessly overpower ordinary Tier 3 players, and yet, White Rainbow and Wind Gull were clearly at a disadvantage. At this rate, they''d both die within a minute. "Commander, I''m afraid that Rainbow and Gull won''t last long," a handsome, white-haired youth surmised to Evil Qilin when the two Tier 3 Assassins had lost more than one-third of their HPs. "If we let them die, they''ll need a long time to recover." "I suppose we''ll have to call off this training session," Evil Qilin said as he nodded in agreement with his vice commander, Dark Scorpion''s, statement. "Take a group and save them." Every Tier 3 player was a precious combatant for Demon Palace. He couldn''t afford to let the two Assassins lose a level during their training. Dark Scorpion grabbed six of the team''s Tier 3 experts and hurried toward White Rainbow and Wind Gull. When Cleansing Flame noticed seven more Tier 3 players approach, she felt her scalp tingle, particularly when she saw Dark Scorpion among them. Dark Scorpion was famous on Dragonheart Island. Once, he had killed the commanders from two of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams, instantly becoming one of the most famous players on the island. Individually, he was even stronger than Heaven''s Blade''s commander, Zwei. If Dark Scorpion''s group joined the fray, their party would be doomed. Suddenly, however, a blue lightning bolt arced toward Dark Scorpion and his minions. Seeing this, Dark Scorpion and his allies slid to a halt and attempted to evade the attack. After dodging the lightning bolt, Dark Scorpion''s group turned toward the Tier 3 Sword King that had launched the attack. "Who are you? Are you trying to make Demon Palace your enemy?" Dark Scorpion hissed coldly, glaring at Shi Feng''s cloaked figure. That lightning bolt had felt lethal to Dark Scorpion, and it was the first time he had felt such a threat since he had reached Tier 3. He didn''t dare take this mysterious Swordsman lightly. "This is a fair, one-on-one match. You can''t blame me for trying to stop you if you plan on interfering," Shi Feng threatened as he returned Killing Ray to its sheath. 2415 One Strike Chapter 2415 - One Strike Since Shi Feng wore a Black Cloak to conceal his appearance, a dark shadow hid his face. Combined with the Nightwalker''s Cape, no player could see his features. However, Dark Scorpion and his six teammates couldn''t help but stare at Shi Feng in astonishment after hearing his threat. They even wondered if they had misheard him. Cleansing Flame, on the other hand, nearly choked when she heard Shi Feng''s statement. She felt he had gone too far with his latest joke. He had practically asked Demon Palace to attack, throwing oil to the fire. Every member of Demon Palace was a battle maniac that had engaged in constant conflict in the Demonic Hell World. Nobody dared to provoke Demon Palace on Dragonheart Island, not even experts from Super Guilds. You really are something, kid! You actually dare to speak like that to our vice commander!" "Bold! You really are bold!" "This guy must think he''s invincible since he''s a Tier 3 player." The six Demon Palace members beside Dark Scorpion looked at Shi Feng as if he were a fool. They had very nearly laughed at his statement. It was the funniest thing they had heard since joining God''s Domain. Dark Scorpion was a god of death in the Demon Palace. To get used to his Tier 3 form, he had killed over 30 Tier 3 experts after arriving on Dragonheart Island. Not even the various superpowers'' old monsters had escaped his grasp and ended up dying. Not even superpowers'' Vice Guild Leaders had the courage to speak so boldly to Dark Scorpion, much less Heaven''s Blade''s commander. "Interesting. You''re the first person to stand against me since I''ve come to Dragonheart Island." Contrary to expectations, Dark Scorpion didn''t explode in a rage. Rather, he smiled and said, "I want to see if you''re so brave once we meet in battle! "Weeping, Seizing, get him!" Without hesitation, a Shield Warrior and a Berserker charged toward Shi Feng. The two were well-coordinated, and their movements were far more refined than Wind Gull and White Rainbow. As Weeping Soul and Seizing Soul moved, they left numerous afterimages in their wake. The afterimages continued to crisscross, making it difficult to determine where the two players were. If a player attacked the duo and missed, they''d face a ruthless counterattack. Dread filled Cleansing Flame as she watched from afar. The two Tier 3 Assassins had already revealed their very high combat standards, but compared to this Shield Warrior and Berserker, they were children. Cleansing Flame knew she wouldn''t be a match for either of them, even after reaching Tier 3. How does the Demon Palace have so many powerful experts? Cleansing Flame couldn''t pinpoint where Weeping Soul and Seizing Soul were. She could only watch as the due darted toward Shi Feng. Once the duo was within 20 yards of Shi Feng, however, the Swordsman moved. A resplendent arc of lightning flew toward the Berserker and Shield Warrior. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! Shi Feng had merged all 17 sword lights perfectly. Weeping Soul and Seizing Soul instinctive knew that they couldn''t evade the incoming lightning arch, and they both activated a Tier 3 Skill to block the attack. Boom! A deafening boom echoed throughout the passage, and both Weeping Soul and Seizing Soul shot backward like bullets, their arms and weapons violently vibrating. Both players were covered in scorch marks and had lost more than half of their HPs. Seizing Soul, the Tier 3 Berserker King, in particular, was an inch from death''s door. A random strike would be enough to send him to his grave. The duo crashed to the ground, and silence filled the passage. Demon Palace''s members stared with grim expressions. Weeping Soul and Seizing Soul were veteran peak experts. Their strength ranked among the top 10 of the 50 players on their team. If they hadn''t been so powerful, Dark Scorpion wouldn''t have sent them to attack someone who could even threaten him. And yet, not only had Shi Feng repelled the duo with one attack, but he had also devoured most of their HPs. His strength could definitely be described as ''horrifying.'' Not even Dark Scorpion could accomplish such a feat. Meanwhile, the Demon Palace members watching from a distance stared at Shi Feng with dropped jaws. They had never thought the Swordsman would be powerful enough to suppress two veteran peak experts. "Who is this guy? He tossed two Tier 3 peak experts away with a single move. He can likely even rival Thirteen Thrones'' Crazed Sword." "Could he be Thirteen Thrones'' Crazed Sword?'' Demon Palace''s members were overcome with confusion and surprise as they looked at Shi Feng. This was the first time since the duo had reached Tier 3 that they had seen anyone defeat Weeping Soul and Seizing Soul so thoroughly. When those two worked together, they could even force a Tier 3 Domain Realm expert into a corner. Shi Feng, however, had overwhelmed both of them. Even on Dragonheart Island, there were very few with Shi Feng''s strength. Based on their information, it seemed that Thirteen Thrones intended to offer its help to Heaven''s Blade. With a Sword King like Shi Feng before them, they assumed he was the Super Guild''s Crazed Sword. "Crazed Sword, huh?" Even Evil Qilin knew he had to take the situation seriously. If their opponent really was Thirteen Thrones'' Crazed Sword, they''d have to be careful. Crazed Sword wasn''t just incredibly powerful; he also represented Thirteen Thrones. Demon Palace might be able to ignore the various super-first-rate Guilds on Dragonheart Island, but it could not do the same with Super Guilds. A confrontation with such powerful Guilds wouldn''t be easy for Demon Palace. "It''s no wonder why you''re so brave. With this kind of strength, you are certainly capable of ranking among the top 20 on Dragonheart Island, but I don''t care if you''re Thirteen Thrones'' Crazed Sword or not. No matter what, I will interfere!" Dark Scorpion snarled as he watched Wind Gull and White Rainbow''s HPs fall to a critical low. He immediately removed the two greatswords from his back and brandished them at Shi Feng. Dark Scorpion''s two greatswords radiated a dismal glow as they absorbed Mana from his surroundings. The weapons also exerted a weak force on all players in the vicinity, pulling them towards the blades. "The vice commander is finally making a move." "With his strength as a Tier 3 Demonic Fighter, not even Thirteen Thrones'' Crazed Sword is his match!" When Dark Scorpion appeared above Shi Feng like a phantom, merging his greatswords into one, gigantic blade, his comrades'' eyes glowed with excitement. Dark Scorpion''s greatswords were the Netherblades, an Epic Weapon Set, and that move was his trademark. Dark Scorpion had used the move to severely injure a Grand Lord of the same level. If players received this attack, only death awaited them. Moreover, the attack was impossible to dodge since it covered an AOE of 15*50 yards. Not even a Domain Realm expert could evade his attack. "Die!" Looking down at Shi Feng, Dark Scorpion swung the gigantic blade. In response, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and countered the descending weapon with a light slash. Although Shi Feng''s counter-attack seemed gentle, everyone saw space split around the weapon. A lightning bolt then toward the gigantic blade among the gloomy, blue flames, and a pitch-black tear followed it. Lightning Slash! Against the brilliant lightning bolt, Dark Scorpion''s merged weapons were as flimsy as paper, and Shi Feng''s counter strike sundered the gigantic blade in half as it passed through the weapon. Before anyone could react, Dark Scorpion''s blade began to disintegrate, and a fine cut and scorch marks appeared on his body. Like a puppet with cut strings, Dark Scorpion, who still hung in the air, tumbled gracelessly to the ground, an item appearing beside his corpse. "He died?!" "The vice commander''s dead?!" "Impossible!" Demon Palace''s members panicked, unable to pull their astonished gazes away from Dark Scorpion''s corpse. They couldn''t believe that someone had killed him with a single hit. Everyone turned toward Shi Feng, overwhelmed by fear and curiosity. Suddenly, Evil Qilin realized something. With a grim expression, he turned to Shi Feng and asked, "Sword King, Black Flame?" 2416 One Axe, One Sword Chapter 2416 - One Axe, One Sword As Evil Qilin''s question hung in the air, Demon Palace''s members fell silent. Their jaws hung open, and they couldn''t process the possibility. They had heard Black Flame''s name before. Not long ago, their Vice Guild Leader had tried to secure Zero Wing''s Stone Forest City to help the Guild''s peak experts develop rapidly. Naturally, as members of Demon Palace''s main force, they had heard about the situation. However, they had never thought that Black Flame would be this strong! Black Flame''s ability to instant-kill Dark Scorpion, the vice commander of Demon Palace''s main force, was unbelievable. Even Evil Qilin could hardly believe the notion, but he had earnestly researched the Swordsman and studied his battle videos. The lightning bolt that had killed Dark Scorpion was one of Black Flame''s trademark moves, Lightning Slash, and had claimed many experts'' lives. Although he hadn''t thought it important before, Evil Qilin had heard that Zero Wing was one of the powers trying to rescue Heaven''s Blade''s commander. Seeing Lightning Slash and the Swordsman''s obvious relation to Heaven''s Blade, Evil Qilin could only think of Zero Wing''s Black Flame. "That''s right. We meet again, Elder Qilin," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he sheathed Killing Ray. He did not bother to hide his identity. Hearing Shi Feng acknowledge his identity, Demon Palace''s members gasped. "Zero Wing''s Black Flame is this strong?" They considered Zero Wing to be a mere upstart Guild that was lucky enough to secure a treasure trove like Stone Forest City, which, in turn, allowed the Guild to nurture Tier 3 players sooner than other powers. Although Zero Wing''s Guild Leader was the first player to reach Tier 3, they thought he had lost his advantage now that the various superpowers had Tier 3 experts of their own. As for Shi Feng''s identity as the 30th ranked player on the God''s Domain Experts List, that was of no concern. The various superpowers had an agreement with the Secret Pavilion that it would only display information about a small number of their experts. No one wanted to reveal all of their cards. If not for this agreement, the various superpowers would''ve ganged up on the Secret Pavilion and removed it from the virtual gaming world. To put it simply, the God''s Domain Experts List wasn''t a reliable way to determine an expert''s strength. And yet, Shi Feng had instant-killed Dark Scorpion, who ranked among the top 30 on Dragonheart Island. The situation destroyed everything they thought they knew about Shi Feng. This Swordsman was clearly powerful enough to rank among the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island. With such strength, they couldn''t afford to take him lightly. Numerous superpowers operated on Dragonheart Island, and quite a few of them were Super Guilds. Even the weakest power on the island was on par with a first-rate Guild. Dragonheart Island was a hub for peak experts, and not a single individual who could rank among the island''s top 10 experts should be underestimated. Of course, that did not mean that Demon Palace feared Shi Feng. Evil Qilin could also rank among the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island. If it came down to an actual fight, Shi Feng''s victory wasn''t guaranteed. Furthermore, they had far more Tier 3 experts than Shi Feng''s little group of five. "Guild Leader Black Flame, my subordinates behaved rashly. May I request that you spare them? Then we can go our separate ways," Evil Qilin asked as he gestured to Wind Gull and White Rainbow. Hearing the request, Cleansing Flame breathed a sigh of relief. If Evil Qilin wanted a fight, the outcome wouldn''t be in their favor. Even if Zero Wing''s members were far stronger than expected, Demon Palace still had 15 combat-ready Tier 3 players on its team. Moreover, team battles weren''t like one-on-one fights. Evil Qilin had two Tier 3 healers with him, whereas they didn''t have a single healer, and would have to rely on potions and items with Healing Skills. "I''ve already said that this is a fair, one-on-one match. I don''t care if they acted rashly or not. If they want to leave, all they have to do is die once," Shi Feng refused, chuckling. As he did, a chilling atmosphere enveloped the area. "Are you so unwilling to give the matter a little consideration on behalf of this old man, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Evil Qilin''s question was laced with killing intent, and he watched Shi Feng with narrowed eyes. Shi Feng was stronger than he had expected, and Evil Qilin had to admit that the Swordsman qualified to be treated as an equal. But that was all. At most, Shi Feng was only his equal. "Do you think you can just come and go as you wish? You think too highly of yourself, Elder Qilin," Shi Feng responded, unfazed by the other man''s hostility. "I''ll repeat myself. I won''t just sit by and watch you interfere." "Good! Very good! I see you''re willing to fight, Guild Leader Black Flame!" Evil Qilin''s expression darkened. Suddenly, he radiated dense Mana as if the Demon God had just arrived. Evil Qilin was a much stronger Demonic Fighter than Dark Scorpion. "Commander, we shouldn''t waste words on him! If we don''t teach him a lesson, he''ll think that he can provoke Demon Palace with impunity just because he''s strong enough to rank among the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island!" a tall, beautiful woman, another Demonic Fighter, hissed coldly. The rest of the team''s Tier 3 players nodded in agreement. Shi Feng was simply too arrogant. Aside from Super Guilds, no power on Dragonheart Island dared to disrespect Demon Palace. Shi Feng was clearly tired of living by refusing to show Evil Qilin the respect he deserved. "Since you insist, show me your moves, Guild Leader Black Flame!" Evil Qilin then pulled the two-handed war axe from his back. The weapon was nearly as long as Evil Qilin was tall, and when he held it in his grip, emerald flames ignited on the axe''s blade, radiating an intense heat. The flames were so hot that space around the war axe blurred. A Legacy Weapon? Shi Feng was a little surprised to see how perfectly Evil Qilin integrated his strength with the crimson axe. Legacy Weapons were very rare and usually stronger than ordinary Epic Weapons. Aqua Rose''s Sea Dragon''s Staff was one such example. Although Evil Qilin''s axe wasn''t as powerful as Aqua Rose''s Legacy Staff, it should still be a top-tier Epic Weapon. Combined with his special Legacy, Evil Qilin''s Strength could likely rival that of a Grand Lord of the same level. Evil Qilin then transformed into a blazing meteor as he charged at Shi Feng. The older man was even faster than Tier 3 Assassins. Before anyone could react, Evil Qilin was within 10 yards of Shi Feng, leaving a blazing trail behind him. So strong! Is he really just a Tier 3 player? Cleansing Flame could not help but gasp when she saw the attack. Evil Qilin''s aura was even more intense than her commander''s. She couldn''t even muster the courage to resist him as his aura washed over her. Once he had reached Shi Feng, Evil Qilin raised his axe and swung. The weapon transformed into seven flame serpents, assaulting Shi Feng from multiple directions. Bronze Combat Technique, Flame Serpent! As if the seven flame serpents were alive, they each traveled along a unique trajectory. They contained enough Strength that space around them trembled. It was no exaggeration to say that every one of these flame serpents rivaled Dark Scorpion''s prior full-powered blow. Even Demon Palace''s Tier 3 experts were surprised, not to mention Cleansing Flame. None of them had realized how powerful their commander truly was. However, Shi Feng did not panic as the seven flame serpents flew toward him. Rather, he leisurely unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and Killing Array, casually swinging the weapons. Immediately, a galaxy of stars manifested around him. Sword''s Orbit! Boom... Boom... Boom... The sounds of one explosion after another echoed throughout the passage. In the end, Shi Feng used Sword''s Orbit to strike down all seven flame serpents. Not only hadn''t the flame serpents reached Shi Feng, but the resulting impacts had forced Evil Qilin to stumble half a step backward. "Since you''ve finished your attack, it''s my turn!" Seizing the moment after Evil Qilin''s attack, Shi Feng executed Lightning Flash. Unlike earlier, he now executed the technique with both of his swords, so he could focus more of his strength into the attack than his speed. Seventeen swords lights flashed toward Evil qilin, transforming into arcs of lightning. Evil Qilin''s heart skipped a beat as he stood against the attack. He could sense that every arch of lightning was more powerful than his flame serpents. He gripped his axe tightly and swung it in a horizontal arc, activating his Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Demonic Gale. A pitch- black storm formed before him, clashing with the blue lightning. Boom! When the two collided, Evil Qilin''s storm dissipated instantly. Although he had done his best to evade and deflect Shi Feng''s attack, one of the lightning strikes had brushed past his shoulder, leaving a scorch mark and taking one-quarter of his HP. The difference between their strengths was clear... 2417 Overwhelming Tier 3s Chapter 2417 - Overwhelming Tier 3s Demon Palace''s members were stunned when they saw how much HP Evil Qilin had lost. They had never dreamed that their commander would be at a disadvantage against Shi Feng. "Not even the commander is a match for him?! How high are Black Flame''s Attributes?!" Shocked, Demon Palace''s members turned toward Shi Feng. They were Demon Palace''s main force members, experts among experts in their Guild. Even the weakest of them had reached the peak of the Refinement Realm. They could all recognize the difference between two fighting players'' strength. In terms of combat standards, Evil Qilin and Shi Feng were matched; both were Domain Realm experts. Their physical control was exceptional, and they could make the best judgments based on their surroundings. Their combat standards were nearly impossible to beat. However, Shi Feng was considerably faster and had much higher Strength than Evil Qilin. Despite sharing the same standard of Skills and combat techniques, the combat power those two had displayed thus far was on completely different levels. The difference between their reaction speed was glaringly noticeable, which was precisely the reason that Evil Qilin had failed to dodge all of Shi Feng''s lightning arcs. The members of Demon Palace''s main force knew exactly how high Evil Qilin''s Basic Attributes were. Even at Tier 2, his Attributes had been high enough to rival that of ordinary Tier 3 players. Naturally, his Basic Attributes had reached even greater highs now that he had reached Tier 3. It was no exaggeration to call him a humanoid monster. And yet, Evil Qilin''s Basic Attributes were no match for Shi Feng''s. They couldn''t fathom how Shi Feng had obtained such inhuman Attributes. Meanwhile, Cleansing Flame, who watched from afar, could do nothing but gape. Is this Guild Leader Black Flame''s true strength? Evil Qilin was one of the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island. Not even Zwei was his match, yet Shi Feng had overwhelmed such an expert. That Swordsman might even be able to contend with the peerless monsters that ranked among Dragonheart Island''s top three experts. Even superpowers'' Guild Leaders were afraid of the top three monsters on the island. All three were capable of destroying a superpower''s expert legion by themselves. They were practically invincible on Dragonheart Island. At that moment, Cleansing Flame finally realized why Shi Feng had dared to mount a rescue mission with only four people. With his strength, he certainly was capable of rescuing her commander. After stumbling back half a step, Evil Qilin stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. How are his Basic Attributes higher than mine? Confusion overwhelmed Evil Qilin as he looked at Shi Feng. He currently wore the Level 100 Legacy Set Equipment for the Demonic Fighter Class, and combined with his Legacy''s effects, he had the Strength to rival Grand Lords of the same level. Still, he could only surpass the power in Shi Feng''s normal attacks by using a Tier 3 Skill. Moreover, he wasn''t nearly as fast as Shi Feng, which had resulted in him taking a hit. However, Shi Feng didn''t stop after pushing Evil Qilin back. He immediately thrust the Abyssal Blade at the Demonic Fighter. Tier 2 Skill, Shadow Blade! Ten phantom swords flew toward Evil Qilin from all directions, leaving him no room to retreat. Realizing that he couldn''t evade the phantom swords, Evil Qilin swung his war axe in a horizontal slash and activated the Demonic Fighter class''s Defensive Skill, Iron Wall. At his command, four magic barriers appeared around him, each twice as large as an MT''s shield. Evil Qilin controlled the barriers to circle him in a unique trajectory. Advanced Defensive Combat Technique, Firm Wall! The 10 phantom swords slammed into the magic barriers, which trembled violently from the impact. The blows even forced Evil Qilin to stumble backward again. One hit... Two hits... Three hits... Each hit felt like the blow of a massive hammer, and the barrier''s Mana density steadily drained. On the ninth attack, two of the phantom swords merged, thrusting at one of the magic barriers. Boom! With the sound of an explosion, the magic barrier shattered. It broke? Evil Qilin watched one of his barriers shatter with wide eyes. Not even the Primordial Guard''s golden spear had been able to break through the magic barriers he summoned with his Legacy Defensive Skill, but Shi Feng had shattered it with one hit. It was simply unbelievable! That blow had also forced Evil Qilin to stumble another two steps back, but this time, he failed to maintain his stance. Not only did he reveal holes in his defense, but the impact had also made his Defensive Skill unstable. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Feng thrust Killing Ray at his opponent, and the Sacred Sword slid through Evil Qilin''s weak point, heading straight for the Demonic Fighter''s forehead. Shi Feng''s attack was far too fast for Evil Qilin to evade or defend, and as a result, he could only take the direct hit. If Killing Ray found its mark, the attack would be fatal. God''s Domain had undergone so many updates, and now, injuries would affect players'' performance in battle. If players injured their arm, for example, the limb would be difficult to control for a while. If players received a head injury, their perception and total physical control would suffer. Evil Qilin was no match for Shi Feng''s reaction speed in the first place. If he lost even more reaction speed, he''d be a lamb for the slaughter. Just as Killing Ray''s tip was about to slice into Evil Qilin''s forehead, an icy greatsword enveloped in azure flames descended from above and landed between Shi Feng and his opponent. The interruption halted Killing Ray''s advance, giving Evil Qilin room to breathe. Mana control? When Shi Feng saw the disintegrating greatsword, he couldn''t help but glance at the female Demonic Fighter that was walking toward him. Demonic Fighters in God''s Domain fell into two main categories. The first type of Demonic Fighter used Mana to amplify their Strength, while the second type wielded Mana as a weapon. Both Dark Scorpion and Evil Qilin were Strength-type Demonic Fighters. This female Demonic Fighter, however, was a control-type. The icy greatsword reappeared in the female Demonic Fighter''s hand, radiating a bone-chilling cold that plummeted the temperature in the tunnel. "I''m coming, commander! Let''s see if he can stop us together!" Twilight Dawn, another vice commander from Demon Palace''s main force, shouted as she began to manipulate her icy greatsword again. The weapon split into six smaller swords of ice that spun around Shi Feng. Advanced Combat Technique, Windwheel. Evil Qilin did not reject Twilight Dawn''s help. He now knew that he couldn''t defeat Shi Feng on his own, and defeating this Swordsman was of the utmost importance. If they lost here, the prestige Demon Palace had earned on Dragonheart Island would vanish. Following which, Evil Qilin raised his war axe and leaped into the air. He then smashed the axe down on Shi Feng, transforming the weapon into a blazing meteor mid-swing. The meteor carried so much power that space around it began to fragment. Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Falling Strike! "With the commander and vice commander working together, Black Flame is dead for sure!" Demon Palance''s members regained their confidence and excitement as they watched the blazing meteor and ice swords fly toward Shi Feng. Twilight Dawn might not have as much combat power as Dark Scorpion, but her coordination with Evil Qilin was far better. With attacks coming at him from all directions, Shi Feng wouldn''t come out unscathed. "Not bad!" Shi Feng praised as he watched the 8-meter-radius meteor and six ice swords. His gaze hardening, Shi Feng slashed Killing Ray at the axe-turned-meteor while he swung Abyssal Blade to counter the icy swords around him. Dragon Breath! Nine Dragons Slash! A brilliant beam of white light shot through the air, crashing into the descending meteor. When the two attacks collided, bright light illuminated the tunnel as if the sun had just appeared. After a brief moment, the white beam devoured the blazing meteor. A black figure shot back from the beam like a bullet, crashing into the tunnel''s wall and cracking the stone. The figure was none other than Evil Qilin, and after that blow, his HP had dropped to a critical low, leaving the man hovering between life and death. Meanwhile, 21 Abyssal Blade phantoms created a massive cluster of stars as Shi Feng used Sword''s Orbit to stop Twilight Dawn''s Windwheel. None of her icy swords could get within 10 yards of Shi Feng. Furthermore, Shi Feng controlled three of the phantoms in an attack against Twilight Dawn. Despite her attempts to dodge and block the weapons, her HP plummeted throughout the fight. Seeing this, Demon Palace''s members fell deathly silent. Not only had their commander and vice commander failed to suppress Shi Feng, despite working together, but the Swordsman also had turned the tables and suppressed them both. "Just how strong is he?" "So, this is the Sword King?" Demon Palace''s members shuddered as they watched Shi Feng. Not even Dragonheart Island''s top three monsters could overwhelm Evil Qilin and Twilight Dawn to this extent. "This won''t do. At this rate, those two are going to die." "It seems we have no choice but to attack as a group. He may be a monster, but we have so many Tier 3 players on our side. How many Skills can he possibly have?" "That''s right. If we let him kill our commander and vice commander, the reputation we''ve built on Dragonheart Island will be in tatters." Shi Feng''s performance scared Demon Palace''s members, but quite a few of them were peak Tier 3 experts. If they worked together, whittling Shi Feng down and killing him was entirely possible. Fights between Tier 3 players largely relied on Tier 3 Skills and Spells, and they had healers on their team, whereas Shi Feng didn''t. When she saw the rest of Demon Palace''s team rush toward the fight, Cleansing Flame paled. Are they really going to fight to the end? As she watched Demon Palace''s healers restore Evil Qilin and Twilight Dawn''s HP, Cleansing Flame desperately wished she was a healer herself. Despite the rest of Demon Palace''s members dashing toward him, Shi Feng retained his composure. He simply sent them an uninterested glance. Very good!" A grin spread across Shi Feng''s face as he replaced Killing Ray with the Twilight Blade. "It seems that you think I''ll be a pushover if you can outnumber me." Shi Feng then activated Twilight''s Shadow and Twilight of the Gods. Shi Feng suddenly split into eight physical copies, and they all quietly watched Demon Palace''s members. "Let''s begin the third round, then!" 2418 Soloing a Team Chapter 2418 - Soloing a Team Demon Palace''s members froze, shocked when they saw Shi Feng split into eight clones of himself. "Im-Impossible! This can''t be real!" "That''s right! This must be a trick! These doppelgangers must be fake!" The Demon Palace members felt stifled as they stared at Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. One of him had already been more than enough to suppress Evil Qilin and Twilight Dawn. Seeing eight copies of the Swordsman was enough to push them to the brink of madness. Demon Palace''s members couldn''t believe their eyes. They only had 15 Tier 3 players left standing, and two of them were tied up with Zero Wing''s members. That left them with only 13 Tier 3 players. Against eight monsters like Shi Feng, they wouldn''t even have a chance with 30 Tier 3 players, much less 13. "Don''t let him mislead you!" Twilight Dawn shouted at her team members. "He may have split into eight, but his doppelgangers'' Basic Attributes can''t be as high as his normal body''s! Besides, he''s controlling all eight doppelgangers by himself! Their combat standards will be limited, and we have healers on our side! We can outlast him!" Twilight Dawn could sense that the doppelgangers were physical, and the development had dealt a massive mental blow. However, she could also sense that the doppelgangers'' auras were weaker than Shi Feng''s normal aura, which proved that their Basic Attributes weren''t as high. At the end of the day, Shi Feng was still human. Controlling all eight clones perfectly was impossible. Even as a Domain Realm expert, at most, he should be able to control three doppelgangers at the Void Realm standard. He''d be fortunate if he could get the remaining doppelgangers to the Refinement Realm. On average, Shi Feng''s eight clones could fight at the Flowing Water Realm standard and only the initial stages. Tier 3 experts had no reason to fear these significantly weaker versions of Shi Feng. Hearing Twilight Dawn''s encouragement, the Demon Palace players snapped out of their dazes and mustered their courage once more. They had been so shocked to see Shi Feng''s eight clones that they had forgotten that players weren''t like NPCs. No player could perfectly control so many doppelgangers. "Is that so?" Shi Feng chuckled when he heard Twilight Dawn''s deduction, and all eight of him charged at Demon Palace''s members. They were experts among experts, and as such, Demon Palace''s members didn''t panic, despite facing the doppelganger''s sudden assault. They retaliated with everything they had, with the Tier 3 melee players rushing to meet the doppelgangers in battle while the Tier 2 MTs formed a defensive line to protect their healers and long-range players. Meanwhile, Twilight Dawn went all-out against the doppelganger before her. While manipulating the six ice swords to attack, she cast her Tier 3 Legacy Spell, Demonic Fall. "Let''s see how long you last!" The six icy swords radiated a frightening amount of Mana as the intensity of their auras doubled. These weapons then attacked as one, each one locked onto the doppelganger''s vital points. This move was even stronger than Evil Qilin''s Flame Serpent, and controlled by a Half-step Domain Realm expert, they could even give Tier 3 Domain Realm experts a run for their money. Shi Feng was controlling his doppelgangers in the fight against Demon Palace''s other Tier 3 experts. If she could force him to focus most of his attention on the doppelganger she fought, the other doppelganger''s combat standards would suffer. This would make it easier for the other Demon Palace members to kill off Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. However, Shi Feng remained unfazed as he faced Twilight Dawn''s all-out attack. His doppelganger merely executed Sword''s Orbit and created a barrier of stars around itself. Boom... Boom... Boom... Metallic clangs echoed throughout the tunnel as the ice swords bounced off the glittering stars. None of the weapons were able to reach the doppelganger, which continued to approach Twilight Dawn. How is this possible?! Twilight Dawn was shocked as Shi Feng''s doppelganger so effortlessly deflected her attacks. She could see the flaws in the doppelganger''s offense and defense and knew it was only at the Flowing Water Realm standard, yet Shi Feng relied on his doppelganger''s powerful Basic Attributes to bridge the gap. However, Twilight Dawn didn''t know that Shi Feng''s Basic Attributes were even higher than a Grand Lord''s of the same level. Moreover, Shi Feng had already reached Level 107. Even if his doppelgangers only had 85% of his Basic Attributes, they were still as powerful as a Level 105 Grand Lord. While Twilight Dawn tried to fight through her shock, Demon Palace''s Tier 3 experts were at a complete disadvantage against Shi Feng''s doppelgangers, and they continued to lose HP. Many of them couldn''t even hold their ground, and the doppelgangers sent them flying with a single hit. If not for the rear line healers'' diligent healing, they would''ve long since fallen. Even Evil Qilin, who had just recovered to full HP, failed to secure an advantage against the doppelganger he fought. Of course, that doppelganger was also the strongest of Shi Feng''s clones, with combat standards to rival veteran peak experts. For a time, Shi Feng''s eight clones thoroughly suppressed Demon Palace''s 40-plus experts, repeatedly pushing them back and away from Wind Gull''s and White Rainbow''s fights. Is he even human? Twilight Dawn began to panic as Shi Feng suppressed her team all by himself. Their team was the main force of Demon Palace''s third trump card legion. Almost no one was strong enough to threaten them. And yet, Shi Feng single-handedly pushed their team to the brink of annihilation. Surviving was enough of a problem right now, let alone saving their two Assassins. This was an utter nightmare. "Everyone, hold on for a little longer! Black Flame''s doppelgangers can''t last that long! Once the doppelgangers are gone, his time will be up!" Evil Qilin shouted, seeing his teammates lose their confidence. Shi Feng''s performance had exceeded his expectations, but Doppelganger Skills typically had a short duration. Once Shi Feng lost his doppelgangers, ending his life would be easy. "I''m afraid that you don''t have that luxury!" Shi Feng quipped, activating his Disintegration Armor''s Disintegration Field. Suddenly, Demon Palace''s members felt an indescribably powerful pressure, and their Basic Attributes and physiques rapidly began to weaken. The Tier 2 players'' Attributes, in particular, fell by 30%. Now, even ordinary Level 100, Tier 2 experts would be a match for them. Demon Palace''s Tier 3 experts didn''t fare much better. Both their Basic Attributes and physiques fell by 20%, causing their combat power to plummet. Because of the Disintegration Field, the gap between Shi Feng''s doppelgangers and Demon Palace''s members widened even further. Now, even Evil Qilin slid back as he fought Shi Feng''s doppelganger. He was no longer a match for the clone head-on. The other Tier 3 experts from Demon Palace couldn''t even put up a fight. Shi Feng''s doppelgangers sent them flying with every swing of their swords, forcing them to reveal weaknesses for the doppelgangers to exploit. The Tier 3 healers couldn''t keep up with the doppelganger''s damage. After five seconds, one of the Tier 3 peak experts fell. Another followed a few seconds later. This battle was no longer a fight. It was a slaughter. In the 20 seconds after Shi Feng had activated Disintegration Field, 5 of the 13 Tier 3 players from Demon Palace had died. The remaining Demon Palace members were terrified. At this rate, Shi Feng would eliminate them all in less than a minute. "Retreat! Everyone retreat!" Evil Qilin shouted, gritting his teeth. He couldn''t continue watching Shi Feng massacre his team. 2419 Evil Qilin Terrified Chapter 2419 - Evil Qilin Terrified "We''ve won?" Hearing Evil Qilin''s order to retreat, Cleansing Flame''s jaw hit the floor. When Demon Palace had first arrived on Dragonheart Island, it had caused a huge sensation, and many of the superpowers had quickly learned to fear it. Of all the feats Demon Palace had accomplished on the island, the most amazing was its achievement of elevating War Blood to the number one adventurer team on Dragonheart Island. Meanwhile, Evil Qilin''s team had beaten the various superpowers'' main forces into submission, ensuring that no one dared to oppose his Guild. Aside from a few Super Guilds'' main forces, not a soul on Dragonheart Island could contend with Evil Qilin''s team. When Cleansing Flame had learned that Demon Palace had sent Evil Qilin''s team to hunt down her commander, she had nearly fallen to despair. Heaven''s Blade had the power, more or less, to resist War Blood, but against Demon Palace, it would be utterly helpless. And yet, not only could Shi Feng contend with the main force from one of Demon Palace''s trump card legions, but he had also defeated that team. It was unbelievable! Although Dragonheart Island''s top three experts could defeat Evil Qilin''s team, they''d have to rely on guerilla warfare in the fields to pick off the team members. Defeating the team head-on was practically impossible. Evil Qilin, Dark Scorpion, and Twilight Dawn were no ordinary experts. Evil Qilin, in particular, was one of the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island and fully capable of annihilating Heaven''s Blade''s main force by himself. Meanwhile, Demon Palace''s members felt bitter about their commander''s order to flee. Normally, they were the ones that terrified their opponents, but Shi Feng had single-handedly forced them to run with their tails tucked between their legs. If they told this story to the people waiting outside the tunnel, those players would assume they were joking. This situation was simply impossible. They were all extremely strong, and 16 of their 50 members were Tier 3 experts. Moreover, two of them ranked among the top 20 of Dragonheart Island''s experts. Twilight Dawn might not rank among the top 20, but she definitely ranked among the top 30. Not even Super Guilds could afford to dispatch such a powerful team without limiting its operations. Even if a Super Guilds sent such a team against them, they wouldn''t suffer such a devastating loss. However, this impossibility had happened, and their opponent wasn''t a trump card legion from some Super Guild. They merely faced a pseudo-superpower, and to make matters worse, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Shi Feng, had defeated them without help... If word of this spread, Demon Palace''s reputation on Dragonheart Island would be ruined. But despite their bitterness, Demon Palace''s members didn''t hesitate to follow Evil Qilin''s orders. They immediately scattered and fled, ignoring Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. Their retreat was so decisive that even Shi Feng was stunned by their abrupt response. He wouldn''t have been surprised if ordinary players were fleeing from him, but such a retreat was humiliating for experts like those from Demon Palace. The stronger an expert was, the more prideful they''d be. Many experts would be more willing to die standing, rather than live on their knees. Furthermore, they''d only die once. With the support of a powerful Guild like Demon Palace, recovering that level would be a piece of cake. What Shi Feng didn''t know was that Demon Palace wasn''t like other superpowers. The Guild hailed from the Demonic Hell World, where competition was far more intense than anywhere on the main continent. Losing a level and a piece of equipment could result in losing their positions as upper echelons in the Guild. Why? Because opportunities were so hard to come by! Only with high levels and great strength could one find fortuitous opportunities, especially when one was a frontline expert. Losing their chance to reach greater heights because of a single death was entirely possible. The various superpowers generally had a cold, realistic attitude regarding their expert members. If players could rank at the top in a superpower, they''d receive more resources than their weaker comrades, but if they fell from that rank, they''d lose some of those resources and benefits. Unless it was an order from the Guild, Demon Palace''s members wouldn''t sacrifice themselves for their own pride. Demon Palace had no qualms about abandoning its peak experts without a second thought, with the exception of Domain Realm experts. Given enough time, talent, and resources, the Guild could nurture more Void Realm experts. Reaching the Domain Realm, on the other hand, required more than just those three factors. Luck was also necessary. Otherwise, the various superpowers wouldn''t shower Domain Realm experts with such respect, going so far as to offer them positions as Grand Elders without hesitation. Shi Feng didn''t bother to chase after Demon Palace''s fleeing members after recovering from his shock. He simply stood there and watched them run. "Are we just letting them go, Guild Leader?" Shadow Sword asked after finishing White Rainbow off. As far as he was concerned, it was only natural to annihilate Demon Palace''s team and teach them about Zero Wing''s strength since the team had dared to ambush them. "We''ve already obtained the key. We don''t have the time to waste on them," Shi Feng said nonchalantly. He then turned to unlock the steel gate. Shi Feng''s goal wasn''t to annihilate Demon Palace''s members. It was to save Heaven''s Blade''s commander as quickly as possible. He was satisfied enough with teaching Demon Palace a lesson and letting Shadow Sword and the others get some training in. There was no reason to engage Demon Palace in a meaningless battle. Besides, even with his doppelgangers, hunting down every one of Demon Palace''s fleeing members would take a very long time. By the time he finished, War Blood or Thirteen Thrones would''ve reached Zwei. He''d only lose his chance to acquire one of the Tree of Life''s main branches. He wouldn''t let a small skirmish with Demon Palace ruin his plans. Shi Feng''s decision reminded Shadow Sword and his companions that they were here to save people, and they followed Shi Feng into the inner corridor. After putting some distance between them and that monster of a Swordsman, Demon Palace''s members realized that Shi Feng''s party hadn''t chased after them, and they breathed a sigh of relief. They all knew that if Shi Feng intended to chase after them with his doppelgangers, very few of them would make it out of the tunnel alive. "Damn it! Black Flame is ignoring us!" Twilight Dawn cursed and slammed her fist into the wall beside her when she realized that no one had run after them, her expression shifting through a series of complex emotions. While she was glad that they hadn''t lost a level, they were the creme de la creme of Demon Palace''s third trump card legion. And Shi Feng obviously considered them negligible, too lazy to bother hunting them down. It was humiliating! "He''s not coming after us?" Evil Qilin frowned deeply when he saw the steel gate at the end of the tunnel disappear. "It seems we have severely underestimated Zero Wing. We need to leave and meet with the Vice Guild Leader!" If Shi Feng had continued after them, he would''ve, at most, acknowledged that Shi Feng was very strong, but since the Swordsman ignored them, he couldn''t help the terror he felt. Since the very beginning, Shi Feng hadn''t considered them equals. He didn''t even consider them a threat to Zero Wing. Thus, it didn''t matter if they escaped or died. Neither outcome would affect Shi Feng''s Guild. As for the idea that Shi Feng had let them go out of respect, that was a joke. Shi Feng had killed Dark Scorpion and more than half of their team''s Tier 3 experts. How could that be interpreted as respect? Twilight Dawn nodded reluctantly and started to organize the team to head back to the tunnel entrance. Ten minutes into their return trip, Evil Qilin''s team encountered a small army of several hundred players. The team leader was none other than Yu Luo, who had temporarily allied with two other superpowers. 2420 Powerful Backer? Chapter 2420 - Powerful Backer? "There''s a team ahead of us, Team Leader Yu Luo!" a Level 102, Tier 2 Ranger reported when he noticed blurry figures in the dimly lit passage about 400 yards ahead. As one ventured closer to the inner corridor, they''d have less visibility. At their current location, not even Tier 3 players could see more than 300 yards ahead of them. Only a few classes, such as the Ranger class, would be able to see a little farther. "A returning team?" By the time Yu Luo heard the Ranger''s report, she, too, spotted a slowly approaching team of players. She immediately shouted a warning in the team chat, "Everyone, be careful! Maintain some distance! We want to avoid any misunderstandings! We''re not here to fight!" There was only one path leading into the Molten Ruin''s inner corridor, and no one, aside from Shi Feng''s group and Demon Palace''s team, had entered the tunnel ahead of them. They had already made it past the most difficult parts of the tunnel and were almost guaranteed to reach the inner corridor. Any other team that had gotten this far should be able to get into the corridor, as well. Hence, any returning team they encountered had to have already visited the inner corridor. Any team that could reach the inner corridor was extraordinary. They must''ve also obtained some treasure and were likely wary of other players. If they had a misunderstanding with this team, unnecessary conflict could easily break out. When the other two superpowers'' team members heard Yu Luo''s warning, they nodded and moved toward the left side of the passage. They were careful to show no signs of hostility or intentions to plunder the stranger''s loot. Nobody wanted an unnecessary fight this far in the tunnel. A large number of treasures and opportunities waited for them in the inner corridor, which was even more dangerous than the Molten Ruin''s outer region. Conserving as much strength as possible would be best. However, as the two teams grew closer to each other, Yu Luo and the others revealed shock and confusion, getting a better look at the team leaving the tunnel. They were quite familiar with the returning team''s members. Demon Palace! Practically every power had been afraid when they had seen Demon Palaces team enter the tunnel. Even Yu Luo had rushed to band together with other superpowers because of their presence. And now, Demon Palace''s members were returning to the ruin''s outer area. Moreover, they were all in a miserable state, and more than half of the team''s Tier 3 players were missing. "How is this possible?!" "Why are they returning?" "Did something prevent them from completing their mission?" The various superpowers'' members stared at Evil Qilin and his comrades in astonishment as their anxiety spiked. They knew how strong Evil Qilin''s team was, with a total of 16 Tier 3 experts. Evil Qilin was even one of the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island. Overall, the man''s team was even stronger than theirs, which included players from three superpowers. However, Evil Qilin''s team was retreating with severe losses. For a moment, the various superpowers'' members even wondered if they would make it to the inner corridor. The two superpowers'' team leaders glanced at Yu Luo, questions and doubt flashing in their eyes. She had assured them that once they reached this point, they would have cleared the passage; they shouldn''t encounter any challenges from this point on and would be able to enter the inner corridor to search for treasure and opportunity. Has the latter half of the tunnel''s difficulty changed? The situation confused Yu Luo, as well. Based on the information from her commander, the latter half of the passage should only have a few monsters and a Guardian Boss. Once they slew the Guardian Boss, they''d obtain the key to enter the inner corridor. The Guardian Boss was merely a Level 105 Grand Lord. Although casualties were unavoidable, killing it shouldn''t be a problem for their team. Defeating the Guardian Boss should be child''s play for Demon Palace''s team. What could have happened to them to leave them in such a pitiful state? While everyone was confused, Evil Qilin had noticed Yu Luo. Suddenly, a frightening aura washed over her team, and Demon Palace''s remaining Tier 3 experts glared at Yu Luo. An intense pressure bore down on everyone in the tunnel. "Excellent! You Heaven''s Blade members are quite impressive!" Evil Qilin coldly hissed. "I''ve truly underestimated you! I had never realized that you had such a backer! Demon Palace acknowledges this defeat, but don''t you dare think that they can protect you for long! We''ll see who gets the last laugh!" With that comment, Evil Qilin brushed past Yu Luo''s team. The rest of Demon Palace''s members followed, glaring at Yu Luo and her companions from Heaven''s Blade. Once Demon Palace''s members were out of sight, the two superpowers'' members turned to Yu Luo, curious. Evil Qilin hadn''t said much, but what he had said was shocking. None of them had thought that Heaven''s Blade had support from an entity that could defeat Demon Palace''s members so grievously that they had to retreat. If news of this spread, it would cause a sensation across Dragonheart Island. Not even the various superpowers dared to offend Demon Palace, yet Heaven''s Blade''s backer was capable of contending with the Guild''s experts. This proved that Heaven''s Blade had the support of a horrifying entity. "How could you hide this from us, Team Leader Yu Luo? I hadn''t thought that Heaven''s Blade had hidden so much strength. It''s no wonder how Commander Zwei was able to reach the inner corridor while the rest of us could only stare at the tunnel''s entrance." Your people must be amazing to make Demon Palace''s members suffer like that. Would you introduce us to this backer of yours? Even a little information will be satisfactory. We might have an opportunity to cooperate again in the future." The team leaders from the two superpowers amicably approached Yu Luo, asking questions. They spoke as if they were addressing a family member. They were both eager to know more about the power that was powerful enough to contend with Demon Palace. They also wanted to avoid accidentally offending this power. If this power had beaten Demon Palace''s team so badly, they''d meet an even more miserable end if they offended it. "This... I''m not sure what he''s talking about," Yu Luo replied, confused. She had never heard of Heaven''s Blade working with a power that was a match for Demon Palace on Dragonheart Island. Both team leaders glanced at Yu Luo, skeptical. An act! This was clearly an act! Evil Qilin, one of Demon Palace''s Elders, had clearly stated that his team had encountered Heaven''s Blade''s backer, and as one of the adventurer team''s Tier 3 experts and Chief Healer, there was no way Yu Luo didn''t know who it was. "It''s true! I don''t know what he was talking about!" Yu Luo insisted when she saw the two team leader''s dubious looks. If Heaven''s Blade had the support of such a powerful entity, why would she go to so much trouble to save her commander? The team leaders said nothing more to Yu Luo''s denial, but they ordered one of their subordinates to log out of the game and notify their superiors. The message was simple. Demon Palace has encountered a mysterious power in the Molten Ruin that had defeated them and forced them to flee. Meanwhile, this mysterious power supported Heaven''s Blade. They also suggested that their superiors launch a thorough investigation on this mysterious power as soon as possible. While the subordinates related the message, Heaven''s Blade''s members wracked their minds to figure out when their adventurer team had allied with such an amazing power. As for the possibility of Evil Qilin lying to them.... That was impossible. Evil Qilin had no reason to lie. Unless Evil Qilin was suicidal, he wouldn''t broadcast his defeat and tarnish Demon Palace''s reputation and prestige. Could it be Thirteen Thrones'' doing? After pondering the matter, the only Super Guild Yu Luo could think of that had any relationship with Heaven''s Blade was Thirteen Thrones. That would explain Demon Palace''s injuries, but considering the situation further, something felt amiss to her. I should notify the commander. She should know something about this. Yu Luo sent one of her Assassins to log out of the game and notify their commander. Demon Palace''s retreat, after all, was wonderful news for their adventurer team. 2421 Monster-level Genius Chapter 2421 - Monster-level Genius Molten Ruin, inner corridor: After venturing further into the inner corridor, Zwei and her team reached an altar hall the size of a football field. Because of the various traps and monsters they had encountered, less than 30 players remained on the team. Of the 8 Tier 3 players the team had started with, only 6 remained. Their losses had been considerable. "Commander, those monsters seem afraid to enter the hall," a Tier 3 Berserker mentioned when he realized that the Mechanical Golems pacing in the corridor refused to follow them. Breathing a sigh of relief, he continued, "That was close. I almost thought we wouldn''t make it." To escape War Blood''s pursuit, they had run through the inner corridor. They desperately fought the entire time, unable to relax their guard. Doing so had exhausted their Stamina and Concentration. If they had to continue at that pace for another half an hour, War Blood wouldn''t have needed to attack; they would''ve died as soon as the Mechanical Golems caught up. Now that they had made it to a room where the Mechanical Golems wouldn''t follow, they could finally catch a breather. "This might be one of the inner corridor''s safe zones. Take this chance to rest up, everyone," Zwei, the female Guardian Knight wearing a silver knight''s helmet and a black-white suit of armor, said as she glanced around the hall. "Assassins and Rangers, check this room for traps." As always, Zwei''s voice sounded gentle and sacred. It was impossible to detect her fatigue. It earned even more respect from her team members. Zwei was the team''s lead MT, and as such, she had been fighting for hours. She had even borne the burden of tanking two Grand Lords. She should''ve expended more Stamina and Concentration than any of her teammates, yet she seemed perfectly fine. The team''s Assassins and Rangers did as they were told and began to inspect the hall for traps. Meanwhile, the rest of the team sat and pulled potions from their bags, using the opportunity to restore some of their lost Stamina and Concentration. "What should we do now, commander? War Blood''s members are likely getting close, but if we move deeper into the ruin, we''ll likely encounter a challenge we can''t overcome," a Tier 3 female Elementalist worriedly asked as she examined her system map. Although they had found a safe zone, it wouldn''t protect them from War Blood''s team. It was only a matter of time before War Blood caught up to them. Furthermore, they should be very close to the central corridor according to the system map. The monsters in that area were all Level 110 or higher and were too strong for players of their levels to defeat. If they died, not only would they lose all of the Tree of Life''s branches they had acquired, but they''d also lose levels and equipment. "If we are doomed, we might as well charge into the central corridor and meet our deaths. I refuse to let War Blood take advantage of us," Prison Tiger, the Tier 3 Berserker, declared. He had already thought the matter through. It did not matter whether their team ran into War Blood''s members or rushed head-long into the ruin''s heart. Both meant their annihilation. If they were going to die, either way, they might as well ensure that War Blood waste their time and energy. The rest of the team members nodded their agreement. They had thought that the Tree of Life''s branches would help their adventurer team''s development skyrocket, but War Blood had pushed them to the brink of annihilation. They absolutely couldn''t allow War Blood to benefit from their destruction. "I''m afraid that isn''t for you to decide!" Shortly after the Tier 3 Berserker''s proclamation, a deep, powerful voice echoed throughout the hall. "Who is it?!" Prison Tiger snarled in surprise. Everyone spun toward the speaker, only to find no one there. It confused them. Two seconds later, however, space blurred, and several translucent figures appeared. The figures solidified after another three seconds, revealing more than 30 players at the end of the hall, and every one of them radiated the aura of Tier 3 players. "Blood Oath!" Prison Tiger''s expression turned grim when he saw who the man leading the group of new arrivals. He hadn''t expected War Blood''s team to catch up to them so quickly. "That''s right. You guys really know how to run. We had to use a Tier 3 Group Invisibility Scroll just to catch up," Blood Oath said, smiling. He then glanced at Zwei and continued, "Commander Zwei, it''s time for you to hand over the Tree of Life''s branches. Or do you still insist we take them from you?" Blood Oath had wanted to avoid using the precious Tier 3 Group Invisibility Scroll, but when he had heard that Thirteen Thrones was on his tail, his hand had been forced. If Thirteen Thrones'' main force caught up with Heaven''s Blade''s, not even War Blood and Starlink would be able to touch the adventurer team. Thirteen Thrones was a veteran Super Guild with a foundation that easily trumped Starlink''s and War Blood''s. Blood Oath''s team didn''t wait for a response, and the 31 Tier 3 experts behind him moved to surround Heaven''s Blade''s members. Heaven''s Blade''s team began to despair. They could sense that the weakest of their opponents was a Void Realm expert. Furthermore, Starlink''s Four Shadow Demons had joined War Blood on this hunt. The Four Shadow Demons were particularly famous in the virtual gaming world. Any virtual gaming expert knew of them. During their early days, these four players had given the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds massive headaches. Not only did those four players have Starlink''s full support in God''s Domain, but they had also reached Tier 3. The Four Shadow Demons could likely wipe out Heaven''s Blade''s entire team on their own. "Commander, you should get out of here. Tiger and I will hold them back. They won''t be able to get to you once you''re in the central corridor," the Tier 3 Elementalist advised Zwei. The Elementalist recognized that Heaven''s Blade''s team stood no chance against War Blood''s experts. Rather than involve Zwei in this meaningless battle, she''d be better off if she fled into the central corridor by herself while the rest of the team bought her time. Without needing to worry about her teammates, Zwei would have an easier time reaching the central corridor, as well. "I''ve already told you that isn''t up to you!" Blood Oath spat. He then turned toward the Four Shadow Demons and politely requested, "I''ll have to trouble you four." "Leave it to us. After all, it''s why the Guild Leader sent us," Sword Demon agreed, nodding. He and the three other Shadow Demons then approached Heaven''s Blade''s commander. "We''ve heard plenty about you, Commander Zwei. Although we''d like a proper battle with you, we''re burdened with responsibility. I''m afraid you''ll have to take offense!" The three other Shadow Demons then moved to surround Zwei. They were so fast that Heaven''s Blade''s other members didn''t have time to react. "Come! I''ve waited for the chance to learn from you four!" Zwei shouted back. Her helmet hid her expression, but based on her calm tone, everyone knew she wasn''t afraid in the least. On the contrary, she burned with fighting spirit. With her bold declaration, an immense amount of Mana burst from her body, so dense that a white mist began to manifest around her. She radiated a powerful, sacred aura, which felt as if a God had descended to the mortal plane. "Amazing! As expected of the player to single-handedly lead Heaven''s Blade in becoming one of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams. I admire you for reaching that realm at such a young age!" Sword Demon praised Zwei, shocked by her performance. Everyone believed that Zwei had only reached the initial stages of the Domain Realm and still had a long way ahead of her. However, Sword Demon could tell that wasn''t the case. Zwei had progressed quite far into the Domain Realm. Even he had only managed the feat in his old age. As the two teams were about to engage, a loud commotion broke out outside the hall. Everyone spun to see what had happened. "Has Thirteen Thrones arrived?" Prison Tiger muttered hopefully. A moment later, a figure entered the altar hall, and when they saw who it was, Heaven''s Blade''s members were shocked. "Cleansing Flame?" 2422 Black Flame’s Arrival Chapter 2422 - Black Flame''s Arrival Cleansing Flame''s sudden appearance stunned and confused Heaven''s Blade''s members. "Why is Flame here?" Prison Tiger wondered as he rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was so exhausted that he was hallucinating. Their commander and sent Cleansing Flame retreating from the inner corridor with a portion of the exploration team. Although she had later run into Zero Wing, which had helped her team, returning to the inner corridor and reaching this altar hall so quickly shouldn''t have been possible. Moreover, Heaven''s Blade''s members couldn''t figure out how Cleansing Flame had made it past the army of Mechanical Golems that roamed the inner corridor. They had suffered considerably to get this far, yet Cleansing Flame didn''t even seem to have lost much Stamina or Concentration, much less HP. She looked as if she had taken a leisurely stroll through her backyard. "How did she get here?" Blood Oath narrowed his eyes at Cleansing Flame. The corridor was littered with Mechanical Golems, and many of them were Great Lords. There were also several Grand Lord ranked Mechanical Golems outside the hall. Not even his team would''ve made it to the altar hall safely without using a Tier 3 Group Invisibility Scroll. And yet, despite being a Tier 2 player, Cleansing Flame had entered the hall without taking any obvious damage. It was also obvious that she hadn''t used an Invisibility Scroll. It was astonishing. While everyone stared at her, Cleansing Flame ignored War Blood''s team and addressed Zwei. "Commander! Reinforcements have arrived!" Cleansing Flame excitedly announced, her voice resonating throughout the hall. "We''re saved!" "Reinforcements?" "This is great! We can finally leave this godforsaken place!" Heaven''s Blade''s members released a held breath, joy, excitement, and relief washing over them. The constant fighting and hiding had tormented their mental states, and they had been incredibly depressed when they thought about how Heaven''s Blade might fall from their position as one of Dragonheart Island''s top 10 adventurer teams once they were annihilated. How could they hold themselves back from celebrating now that reinforcements had arrived to save them? Even if without the main branch, Heaven''s Blade''s strength could reach a new level with the Tree of Life''s side branches. "Reinforcements?" In contrast, Blood Oath was clearly unhappy about Cleansing Flame''s announcement. "How did Thirteen Thrones'' members get here so quickly?" He knew that Thirteen Thrones was trying to rescue Heaven''s Blade since the Super Guild''s representative had contacted him, asking him to give up on his hunt for Zwei. However, the idea of owning a Tree of Life was too tempting, and Thirteen Thrones'' forces had been nowhere near Zwei''s team. If War Blood could annihilate Heaven''s Blade''s team and secure the Tree of Life''s main branch, Thirteen Thrones would likely let the matter slide. Furthermore, War Blood and Starlink were partners in this situation, and starting a war with both organizations wouldn''t benefit Thirteen Thrones, especially not over a Tree of Life main branch. If War Blood clashed with Thirteen Thrones'' main force, however, it would be a different story. The Super Guild would consider it a declaration of war, and to protect its reputation, Thirteen Thrones wouldn''t let War Blood or Starlink off the hook. "Are we going to continue this fight, Commander Blood?" Sword Demon asked in a whisper to Blood Oath. "This..." Blood Oath hesitated, unsure of which route to take. With Thirteen Thrones'' members here, the tables had turned, but he didn''t want to give up now that he had set his sight on the Tree of Life''s branches. While Blood Oath hesitated, Cleansing Flame spoke again, and the atmosphere changed again with her next statement. "Commander, Guild Leader Black Flame and his three companions will be here soon. Then we can all get out of here safely," Cleansing Flame said, joyfully jogging up to Zwei. Prison Tiger and the rest of Heaven''s Blade''s members fell silent at that, their expressions twisting in disappointment. What was going on? Zero Wing was their reinforcements? After giving the matter some thought, Heaven''s Blade''s members realized what was happening. Cleansing Flame had informed them that she had secured Zero Wing''s help and was going to lead the Guild''s members to the inner corridor. But why did Zero Wing only bring four people to rescue them? "Did you misspeak, Flame? Are you sure it''s four people and not forty?" Prison Tiger anxiously asked. There was a huge difference between four and forty people. "No, I said what I meant, four people," Cleansing Flame confirmed, shaking her head. The statement rendered Heaven''s Blade''s members speechless. They all assumed there was something wrong with Cleansing Flame''s mind. "Good! This is excellent! You actually dare to play us for fools!" Blood Oath gave Cleansing Flame a painfully cold look. "Do you really think you can just leave because Zero Wing is here?" His team had seen his earlier hesitation, but he had only paused because he had thought Thirteen Thrones'' team had arrived. But now he learned that Zero Wing''s members had come, not Thirteen Thrones. To make matters worse, only four of Zero Wing''s members were coming to rescue Heaven''s Blade. If everyone thought he had shrunk back in fear of four Zero Wing members, he''d be humiliated. Blood Oath wasn''t the only one enraged. Every War Blood and Starlink member in the hall was furious. A Tier 2 player like Cleansing Flame had played them all for fools. "You''ve doomed us, Flame," Prison Tiger said, smiling bitterly when he noticed War Blood and Starlink''s members burn with rage and fighting spirit. Cleansing Flame might''ve fooled Blood Oath and his companions, but her actions had only added fuel to the fire. Even if Zero Wing''s members could help them, they''d likely have an even more difficult time dealing with their enemies now. "Relax, Big Brother Tiger. We''re safe now," Cleansing Flame confidently replied, smiling at Prison Tiger''s gloomy expression. "Safe?" Prison Tiger was at a loss for words. War Blood and Starlink had arrived with a team of 32 players, and every one of them had already reached Tier 3. How could they possibly be safe against such a force? "Kill them! Leave none alive!" Blood Oath snarled, his expression darkening when he saw the smile on Cleansing Flame''s face. War Blood and Starlink''s experts moved in on Heaven''s Blade''s members, rage burning in their eyes. They wanted nothing more than to tear Heaven''s Blade''s team to shreds. Boom! Suddenly, before War Blood and Starlink''s team could act, a deafening blast echoed throughout the hall. A gigantic figure, eight-meters-tall, then flew into the hall. The figure was made of steel and wielded a greatsword. It was a Guardian Soldier, a Grand Lord ranked Mechanical Golem. The Guardian Soldier crashed into one of the hall''s stone pillars, shattering it. Upon close inspection, one would notice the deep slice in the Golem''s body, which nearly split the Grand Lord in two. "A Guardian Soldier?" "Who did this?" Everyone in the hall was familiar with how powerful the Guardian Soldier was. Even Tier 3 MTs struggled to tank the Level 107 Grand Lord''s normal attacks, and yet, a sword strike had sent it flying... Before everyone could react, another deafening boom reached them from the inner corridor. This time, several Great Lord ranked Mechanical Golems were thrown into the hall. As clouds of dust filled the corridor, the players in the hall felt as if some monster lurked within. Moreover, this monster was approaching the altar hall. Everyone suddenly felt a cold chill crawl down their spines as they watched the hall''s exit, overwhelmed with anxiety. As the dust settled, four cloaked players walked toward the hall. Blood Oath and the others were quite familiar with the figure in the lead, instantly recognizing himSword King, Black Flame! 2423 Black Flames Migh Chapter 2423 - Black Flame''s Might The appearance of Shi Feng''s group of four instantly made both sides freeze. At this moment, let alone War Blood''s and Starlink''s members, even Heaven''s Blade''s members had their mouths hanging. After all, this scene was simply too shocking. Everyone present was well aware of how powerful the inner corridor''s golem army was. Both teams had suffered severe losses due to these golems. Anyone who tried to force their way through the golem army would suffer losses several times higher than if they employed crafty methods like using a Tier 3 Group Invisibility Scroll. However, Shi Feng''s group of four had not only brute-forced its way through the golem army but also sent so many golems flying into the altar hall. This was simply unbelievable. "Black Flame!" An indescribably dark expression appeared on Blood Oath''s face when he saw Shi Feng, the words he spoke sounding as if they had come from the pits of hell. At this point, Blood Oath''s hatred for Shi Feng was immeasurable. After Shi Feng killed him in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence, his prestige in War Blood had gone up in smoke. If not for his abilities and strength being sufficiently strong and the shares he held in War Blood, he most likely would''ve had difficulty remaining War Blood''s commander. After all, unlike ordinary adventurer teams, War Blood had backing from major corporations. Hence, he wasn''t the only decision maker in the organization. Aside from Blood Oath, Starlink''s Four Shadow Demons were also glaring at Shi Feng, belligerence written across their faces. All thoughts of fighting Zwei had vanished. Now, only Shi Feng existed in their eyes. "I never thought that we would actually meet this brat here," Sword Demon said, a hint of excitement appearing on his face. "Ever since I got promoted to Tier 3, I''ve been itching to repay the humiliation he gave me. Wind, Mad, and Heart, you three get ready as well." This was not the first time Sword Demon had seen Shi Feng displaying absurdly high Basic Attributes. Hence, he was not particularly surprised that Shi Feng had made it all the way here with just a group of four. On the contrary, his fighting spirit soared even higher. After all, ever since he got promoted to Tier 3, his strength had undergone a heaven- defying transformation. If Shi Feng had not improved as much as he had after getting promoted to Tier 3, then he would have been disappointed. "You can count on us. Originally, I thought we wouldn''t get an opportunity to exact revenge on him. Now that he''s here, things could not be better!" Wind Demon replied eagerly. After reaching Tier 3, the system restrictions on their bodies had been thoroughly lifted, which allowed them to control their bodies with much greater precision. In addition, the four of them had also learned a battle array. Shi Feng was undoubtedly the best target for them to test their new strength. "Sword Demon, don''t take this opportunity from me! He must die at my hands!" Blood Oath warned coldly when he saw the Four Shadow Demons preparing to take action. He could regain his lost reputation and prestige only by killing Shi Feng with his own two hands. "Commander Blood, I''m afraid we cannot do that!" Sword Demon said, frowning as he rejected Blood Oath''s warning. His desire to kill Shi Feng was not the slightest bit weaker than Blood Oath''s. How could he possibly agree to leave Shi Feng to Blood Oath? Meanwhile, upon seeing this scene, Heaven''s Blade''s members were stupefied. "Crap! Just how much aggro has Black Flame built up with them?!" Prison Tiger blurted out when he saw Blood Oath and Sword Demon wrangling over who would kill Shi Feng. Originally, War Blood and Starlink had partnered to target Heaven''s Blade. However, the moment Shi Feng appeared, they fell out with each other and completely forgot about Heaven''s Blade. However, before Blood Oath and Sword Demon could settle their dispute, the Guardian Soldier that had clambered out of the remains of the stone pillar charged at Shi Feng without hesitation. At this moment, dark-green runes appeared all over the Guardian Soldier''s steel body, and the ambient Mana flowed toward it rapidly. Its aura continuously intensified, and the cut on its body healed instantly. "Oh no! The Guardian Soldier has gone berserk!" Prison Tiger exclaimed, his complexion paling when he saw the Guardian Soldier''s transformation. Although the Guardian Soldier was only a Level 107 Grand Lord, when it went berserk, its strength rivaled that of Mythic monsters of the same level. Even Zwei would not dare tank it in such a state. To current superpowers, Level 100-plus Mythic monsters were still incredibly dangerous existences, killing even Tier 3 MTs in just two or three hits. Without special means, even the various superpowers'' main forces would have to avoid fighting Level 100-plus Mythic monsters. Hence, the Guardian Soldier was no trivial opponent now that it had gone berserk. When Heaven''s Blade''s team came across berserk Guardian Soldiers before, they could only resort to Tier 4 Magic Scrolls to restrict the Grand Lords in order to escape. Unfortunately, they had already used up all their Tier 4 Magic Scrolls, so they were helpless against this berserk Guardian Soldier. At this moment, aside from Heaven''s Blade''s members, War Blood''s and Starlink''s members also wore grim expressions on their faces. Although their team had previously defeated a berserk Guardian Soldier, they had paid a huge price. In the next moment, the berserk Guardian Soldier arrived before Shi Feng and immediately swung its greatsword down at the Swordsman. As the greatsword covered in emerald runes descended, it tore through space and left a pitch-black trail. "It''s over!" Prison Tiger''s heart sank when he saw the Guardian Soldier targeting Shi Feng''s group. From the fact that Shi Feng''s group of four had managed to arrive at this hall, Prison Tiger could tell that they possessed extraordinary strength. These four Zero Wing members might not be able to save Heaven''s Blade''s team, but they would be of some help in the fight against War Blood and Starlink. Heaven''s Blade''s team might manage to flee again. However, if the Guardian Soldier were to kill Shi Feng''s group of four now, then Heaven''s Blade''s team would definitely be doomed. Just as Prison Tiger and the others were about to shut their eyes and avoid watching the inevitable, Shi Feng suddenly unsheathed Killing Ray and held the Sacred Sword horizontally overhead. He showed no intention of dodging the Guardian Soldier''s full-power slash at all. Boom! Along with the sound of an explosion, a powerful storm surged into the surroundings, nearly sweeping the Tier 2 players within a 100-yard radius off their feet. How is this possible?! Prison Tiger, who stood a short distance away, gaped in shock at Shi Feng. The Swordsman had actually blocked the Guardian Soldier''s attack. Moreover, under the redirection of Shi Feng''s sword, the Grand Lord''s greatsword had landed beside the Swordsman. Hence, Shi Feng had barely taken any damage. Meanwhile, War Blood''s and Starlink''s members were similarly gawking at Shi Feng in stupefaction. The Guardian Soldier''s attack was undoubtedly at the Tier 4 standard. Even a Tier 3 MT would suffer heavy injuries if they received this attack with a Lifesaving Skill. Shi Feng, however, had blocked it so easily. Before everyone could wrap their head around this shocking scene, Shi Feng swung the Twilight Blade, which he held with his other hand, at the Guardian Soldier. Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Void Slash! Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! Before becoming a Master Magician, Shi Feng could already execute his Tier 3 Skills at 90% Completion Rate or higher. Afterward, his control over his Mana Body improved significantly. As a result, the Completion Rate of his Tier 3 Skills reached whole new heights as well. System: Void Slash Skill Completion Rate 99%. Skill Proficiency +5. Suddenly, nine resplendent sword lights appeared and transformed into lightning arcs that pierced through the Guardian Soldier''s body. The Grand Lord''s body shot back like a bullet and crashed into another stone pillar, shattering it. The Guardian Soldier then collapsed to the ground in a heavily damaged state. As everyone stared at the prostrate Guardian Soldier, a deathly silence fell over the entire hall. 2424 Silenced Chapter 2424 - Silenced "Is he really just a Tier 3 player?" Prison Tiger was flabbergasted as he looked at the heavily injured Guardian Soldier. He had experienced the strength of a berserk Guardian Soldier himself. Back then, it took all he had just to block one of the Grand Lord''s attacks. Meanwhile, he had not only gotten sent flying by the attack but also lost more than two- thirds of his HP. If not for his commander''s timely use of a Tier 4 Magic Scroll to bind the Guardian Soldier''s movements, he wouldn''t be standing here right now. Shi Feng, however, had actually forcefully stopped the berserk Guardian Soldier''s attack despite being a Tier 3 Sword King. Following that, he had heavily injured the Grand Lord with just one strike. His Strength Attribute was frighteningly high. At this moment, aside from Heaven''s Blade''s members, even War Blood''s and Starlink''s members, who had planned to target Shi Feng, were stunned by this scene, their mouths hanging wide open as they gawked at the prostrate Guardian Soldier. Damn it! How did he become so strong?! Blood Oath''s expression turned indescribably heavy as he gazed at Shi Feng, his anger and fighting spirit fizzling out. Previously, their team had managed to kill a berserk Guardian Soldier only after using three Tier 4 Magic Scrolls and sacrificing seven Tier 3 players. Although they had resurrected the fallen players afterward, the resurrected players still lost half a level, which would affect these players'' progress considerably. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually heavily injured the berserk Guardian Soldier so casually. If they fought the Swordsman, their losses would most likely be even worse than if they went up against a berserk Guardian Soldier. After all, players were different from monsters as opponents. The movements of monsters were controllable to a certain extent through the manipulation of aggro. Monsters were also lacking when it came to dodging and blocking attacks; they merely relied on their high HP to outlast players. In contrast, players might not have as much HP as monsters, but they could avoid and defend against attacks. In a fight between experts of equal combat standards, it would be very difficult to reach an outcome, unless there was a massive difference in Basic Attributes, as neither side would be able to land a vital hit easily. Both sides could only resort to a battle of attrition. "Old Sword, it seems we have a problem. I''m afraid this brat''s Basic Attributes are on par with those peerless monsters''. In fact, his might even be superior to theirs," Wind Demon said to Sword Demon as he watched the Guardian Soldier struggle to stand up. There were three peerless experts on Dragonheart Island, and the various superpowers dreaded every one of them. Even Starlink did not dare offend these monstrous existences. Meanwhile, the strength Shi Feng had just displayed was not the slightest bit inferior compared to those three peerless monsters''. If it came down to a fight, even if the four of them utilized their newly learned battle array, victory over Shi Feng would still be a long row to hoe. Not to mention, there was still Heaven''s Blade''s Zwei. The strength she had displayed similarly exceeded their initial expectations. "His Strength Attribute surpasses that of Grand Lords of the same level?" Sword Demon was filled with an indescribable sense of consternation as he stared at Shi Feng. "Just how many resources and opportunities did he receive?" With Starlink''s backing, the resources Sword Demon had obtained were far beyond what Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds got. In addition, while challenging his Tier 3 Promotion Quest, he had come across a fortuitous opportunity and secured himself a Strength-type Bloodline and Peak Legacy. Now, in terms of Strength, he was already close to rivaling Grand Lords of the same level. With the boost from the battle array, his Strength would surpass that of a Grand Lord. In terms of Strength, he undoubtedly ranked at the top of God''s Domain. The only ones that could surpass him were Dragonheart Island''s top three experts. However, those three peerless monsters all had a Super Guild supporting them. The resources and opportunities they received were far superior to his. Hence, his inferiority was only natural. Shi Feng, however, had only Zero Wing behind him. Even though the Guild was allied with superpowers like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Unyielding Soul, producing a peerless expert should still be impossible for it. Meanwhile, after a moment of silence, whether it was War Blood''s or Starlink''s Tier 3 experts, every one of them froze, their eyes brimming with fear as they looked at Shi Feng. Heaven''s Blade''s members were stunned to see this. The fact that Shi Feng had heavily injured a berserk Guardian Soldier with one move was already plenty shocking. Now, he even deterred War Blood''s and Starlink''s members from taking action. These 32 War Blood and Starlink members were not only Tier 3 players but also at the Void Realm standard at the very least. If news of this matter spread, it would definitely cause a sensation throughout Dragonheart Island! "No wonder Black Flame brought only three people with him to rescue us. He actually possesses such frightening strength. With this, War Blood and Starlink will have to think twice," Early Butterfly, a Tier 3 female Elementalist from Heaven''s Blade, said joyfully when she saw this scene. The three peerless monsters of Dragonheart Island were terrifyingly strong. Even the various superpowers'' main forces were afraid of provoking them. Now, Shi Feng had revealed that his strength rivaled those three peerless monsters''. If he worked with Heaven''s Blade''s members, then War Blood and Starlink''s chances of victory would be considerably low. "What do you think, Big Brother Tiger? I didn''t say anything wrong, right?" Cleansing Flame said proudly as she glanced at the stunned Prison Tiger. She knew very clearly what kind of strength Shi Feng possessed. Even Demon Palace''s main force was no match for him. War Blood and Starlink naturally wouldn''t stand a chance against him, either. At this moment, Cleansing Flame even started wondering how Prison Tiger would react if he found out that Shi Feng had repelled Demon Palace''s main force members all by himself in a frontal confrontation. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng heavily injured the Guardian Soldier, Cola, Turtledove, and Shadow Sword joined the fight. Although the three of them were not as strong as Shi Feng, they still weren''t existences that War Blood''s and Starlink''s experts could take on one-on-one. Only Domain Realm experts like Blood Oath and the Four Shadow Demons would stand a chance against them. For a time, the members of Heaven''s Blade, War Blood, and Starlink watched quietly as Shi Feng''s group of four took out the Guardian Soldier, an indescribably complex atmosphere filling the hall. After looting the Guardian Soldier, Shi Feng turned to Blood Oath, a smile appearing on his face as he asked, "Commander Blood, you''ve been watching for quite some time now. Are you planning to leave on your own? Or do you want me to send you off?" Although Blood Oath and the others had reached Tier 3, they still were not much of a threat to Shi Feng. After all, he possessed multiple Fragmented Legendary items. He would, at most, be wary of War Blood''s and Starlink''s hidden trump cards. After all, as Dragonheart Island''s number one adventurer team, War Blood should''ve come across plenty of fortuitous opportunities. The strength it concealed definitely could not be underestimated. At Shi Feng''s words, Blood Oath''s complexion turned ashen. For a moment, the Berserker wavered over his decision. If he chose to fight, he would have to go up against Shi Feng, someone whose strength rivaled Dragonheart Island''s three peerless monsters''. If he chose to retreat, he would be abandoning an excellent opportunity to obtain a Tree of Life. In addition, War Blood''s reputation would most likely take a hit. After all, it would be impossible to keep such a huge incident under wraps. Meanwhile, when Heaven''s Blade''s members saw this scene, they could not help but look at Shi Feng in reverence. Ever since War Blood became Dragonheart Island''s number one adventurer team, it had remained in the limelight of Dragonheart Island. No superpower dared to offend it. Aside from Shi Feng, there were most likely only a handful of individuals that could push War Blood to such an extent. Right then, however, another commotion occurred in the inner corridor. Immediately, everyone turned to look at the altar hall''s entrance. In the next moment, a team consisting of 50-plus members walked out of the monster-infested inner corridor and into the hall. The powerful aura the team exuded surprised everyone present. Meanwhile, every one of these players sported Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Emblem. Leading these Thirteen Thrones members was an elderly manElder Wu, one of Thirteen Thrones'' Grand Elders. 2425 At the Brink of War? Chapter 2425 - At the Brink of War? With the appearance of Elder Wu''s team, the silent atmosphere grew tense once more. "Commander, this is bad. Elder Wu actually made a personal trip here," Prison Tiger said, his expression turning grim when he saw Elder Wu and the two neat rows of Thirteen Thrones experts standing behind the elderly man. Every one of the Thirteen Thrones members present was a Tier 3 player. They outnumbered War Blood''s and Starlink''s Tier 3 experts combineda clear display of a Super Guild''s strength. Meanwhile, Elder Wu was someone every power operating on Dragonheart Island knew about. After all, this elderly man was one of Thirteen Thrones'' Grand Elders and major shareholders. He had watched Thirteen Thrones grow from nothing into a Super Guild. Even Thirteen Thrones'' current Guild Leader had to listen to Elder Wu''s words. He was someone with authority within the Super Guild Thirteen Thrones. In addition, Elder Wu had full control over Thirteen Thrones'' development on Dragonheart Island. Even Thirteen Thrones'' Guild Leader could not casually interfere in the Guild''s development here. To save itself, Heaven''s Blade had had no choice but to make a transaction with Thirteen Thrones. Of course, the precondition for this transaction was for Thirteen Thrones to reach Heaven''s Blade in the inner corridor ahead of Zero Wing. Whichever Guild managed to reach Heaven''s Blade first would receive the Tree of Life''s main branch. The main branch should''ve gone to Zero Wing, as Shi Feng''s group of four had reached Heaven''s Blade''s team first. However, with Thirteen Thrones'' Elder Wu having personally made the trip to rescue Heaven''s Blade''s team, the situation was now much more complicated. "It doesn''t matter who they sent. A deal is a deal," Zwei said calmly. She remained utterly unfazed by the appearance of Elder Wu and Thirteen Thrones'' experts. "We can only let Thirteen Thrones waste a trip here this time." Upon hearing Zwei''s words, Heaven''s Blade''s members could not help but gaze at her in awe and reverence. Her overwhelming strength and absolute justice were precisely the reason why they had chosen to join Heaven''s Blade. However, despite their sentiments, Heaven''s Blade''s members still felt their heads aching because of the current situation. Thirteen Thrones was a Super Guild. Having dispatched such a grand force to save Heaven''s Blade, Thirteen Thrones was unlikely to tolerate returning empty-handed. Not to mention, a prestigious individual like Elder Wu was even leading the Super Guild''s team this time. If this matter was not handled properly, chances were high that Thirteen Thrones would decide to annihilate Heaven''s Blade. Meanwhile, on the other side, when Blood Oath saw Thirteen Thrones'' arrival, his pale complexion suddenly brightened into a smile. Nice timing! I want to see what Zero Wing is going to do in this situation! Blood Oath thought as he turned to look at Shi Feng, his excitement apparent for all to see. Blood Oath knew about the agreement between Heaven''s Blade and Thirteen Thrones. If Thirteen Thrones had reached Heaven''s Blade before Zero Wing, he would indeed have considered the situation hopeless. After all, War Blood and Starlink''s joint team stood no chance against the 50-plus Tier 3 experts Thirteen Thrones had dispatched. Moreover, Elder Wu''s left and right hands were also on this team. They were none other than the masked man and woman standing behind Elder Wu. Although this pair did not have any fame or achievements on Dragonheart Island, Blood Oath had had them secretly investigated and learned that both of them were more than capable of ranking among the top 10 experts of Dragonheart Island. After all, both of them had secretly fought Demon Palace''s Evil Qilin in a one-on-one fight before, with the result being a draw. The presence of these two great experts, in addition to the 50 other Tier 3 experts, meant this team from Thirteen Thrones could move through Dragonheart Island completely unhindered. Even the three peerless monsters of Dragonheart Island would not be willing to clash with such a team unless absolutely necessary. However, under the current circumstances, not only would Thirteen Thrones not become War Blood''s enemy, but it would also serve as War Blood''s greatest helper. Unless Shi Feng was willing to give up on the Tree of Life''s main branch, what awaited him would be Thirteen Thrones'' sanctions. At that time, Blood Oath would not mind lending a hand to Thirteen Thrones. During the time Heaven''s Blade and War Blood were pondering over this matter, Elder Wu got a clear look at the situation inside the altar hall. "Zero Wing arrived first?" Elder Wu''s complexion turned slightly ugly when he saw Shi Feng. The peak experts present were able to detect Elder Wu''s change in complexion instantly. After all, the physique of Tier 3 players was incredibly powerful, allowing peak experts and above to perceive even the smallest changes in a person''s expressions. Immediately, the atmosphere in the hall chilled. So, they''re planning to fight? Prison Tiger''s head ached when he sensed the change in the atmosphere. He then glanced at Cleansing Flame, who stood beside him, and said quietly, "Flame, can you try persuading Black Flame? A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him. We stand no chance against Thirteen Thrones'' and War Blood''s teams." Prison Tiger knew very clearly that with Zwei''s personality, it was utterly impossible to dissuade her from a decision she had made. Hence, their only hope now was to change Shi Feng''s mind. If Shi Feng was willing to give up on the Tree of Life''s main branch, then they could avoid fighting a futile battle. However, if Shi Feng was adamant in keeping the main branch, then a battle against Thirteen Thrones and War Blood would be inevitable. "You want me to persuade him?" Cleansing Flame revealed a bitter smile upon hearing Prison Tiger''s words. "Big Brother Tiger, I''m afraid that will be very difficult." Through her journey with Shi Feng, she had gotten a clear idea of the man''s personality. Similar to Zwei, Shi Feng would persist with his decisions regardless of the cost. Moreover, the decision to give up on the Tree of Life''s main branch was for Zero Wing to make. An outsider like herself had no place in the decision-making process. As Heaven''s Blade''s members racked their brains over this matter, Blood Oath and his team took the initiative to approach Elder Wu. "Greetings, Elder Wu. I am Blood Oath, War Blood''s commander," Blood Oath said, smiling. "I''ve been looking forward to meeting you for a long time now. Since you have made a personal trip here today, War Blood and Starlink will withdraw from the struggle for the Tree of Life." "So, you''re War Blood''s commander. Younger people really are growing increasingly stronger with each generation." Elder Wu nodded his head approvingly at Blood Oath''s respectful attitude. "If Elder Wu requires War Blood''s help, please feel free to say so. We will definitely assist you to the best of our abilities," Blood Oath offered, smiling. He then glanced at the distant Shi Feng and continued, "If there''s anybody that dares disrespect you, War Blood will definitely teach them a lesson." Blood Oath''s attitude immediately made the Heaven''s Blade members present nervous. They had never thought that Blood Oath would give up on the Tree of Life so decisively and even choose to side with Thirteen Thrones. This situation wasn''t beneficial to Heaven''s Blade or Zero Wing at all. "Allow this old man to thank you, then," Elder Wu said, chuckling. He then stopped paying attention to Blood Oath and started walking toward Shi Feng''s group of four, together with his subordinates. As Elder Wu''s group approached Shi Feng, the anxiety Heaven''s Blade''s members felt ramped up. At the same time, the atmosphere also grew increasingly tenser. It felt as if a war would break out at any moment. Hopefully, Guild Leader Black Flame won''t be too persistent, Cleansing Flame prayed inwardly. Although the Tree of Life was important, there were still plenty of opportunities inside the Molten Ruin. If Zero Wing started a fight with Thirteen Thrones now, it would not gain any benefits. After all, Thirteen Thrones possessed far greater strength on Dragonheart Island than War Blood and Starlink combined. Meanwhile, Blood Oath, who was watching this scene play out from a short distance away, wore a sneer on his face. Now, so long as Shi Feng made one wrong decision, Zero Wing would face the full wrath of War Blood, Starlink, and Thirteen Thrones. Even if Shi Feng chose to compromise today, Zero Wing would still lose the Tree of Life. Regardless of Shi Feng''s decision, Zero Wing would not be gaining any benefits. During the time everyone was anticipating a fight breaking out, Elder Wu arrived before Shi Feng and quietly observed the young Swordsman for a short moment. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we meet again. I have to congratulate you this time. You actually reached this place so quickly from the Molten Ruin''s outer corridor. This old man really cannot help but admire you. If you have some spare time in the future, you should pay a visit to Thirteen Thrones'' Residence. You remember Happy Art, right? That little girl has been pestering me to form a partnership with Zero Wing," Elder Wu said with a friendly smile, his behavior making it seem as if he had just met an old friend. Meanwhile, upon hearing Elder Wu''s words, whether it was War Blood''s or Heaven''s Blade''s members, they could not help but gape at this scene, unable to wrap their heads around this situation. 2426 He Is a Peerless Monster Chapter 2426 - He Is a Peerless Monster "What''s going on?" "Why is Elder Wu treating Black Flame so politely?" Everyone in the hall stared at the old man in astonishment, unable to believe what was happening. Elder Wu was a great authority in Thirteen Thrones, which even the Guild Leader had to bow to. Moreover, he was one of the most influential figures on Dragonheart Island. What possible reason would he have to act so friendly with a pseudo-superpower''s Guild Leader? What is going on?! Is Thirteen Thrones giving up on the Tree of Life?! Shock and confusion overcame Blood Oath as he watched Elder Wu. The Tree of Life was a treasure that could tempt any superpower. It was capable of producing Water of Life, after all, which was necessary for resurrecting NPCs. A Tree of Life nurtured from a main branch could also bear Fruits of Life, which could increase Personal Guards'' Growth Potential. A source of such valuable items would be a significant boon to any superpower. Blood Oath had been clear about his offer to help Thirteen Thrones eliminate Zero Wing''s few players for free, yet Elder Wu had decided to give up on this golden opportunity. It was utterly baffling. War Blood and Starlink''s team wasn''t the only one confused. Heaven''s Blade''s members were just as astonished by the situation. "What kind of person is he?" Prison Tiger muttered as he gazed at Shi Feng. Elder Wu was famed for using force to get what he wanted on Dragonheart Island. He never even showed the other superpowers'' Guild Leaders any respect. Furthermore, he had fought two superpowers over a treasure at sea; the incident had shocked everyone on the island. That treasure had only been an Epic item, which wasn''t even in the same league as a main branch from the Tree of Life. Prison Tiger had been certain that Elder Wu would move against Zero Wing, and Heaven''s Blade wouldn''t be able to do anything about it. Thirteen Thrones had never promised not to steal the branch from Zero Wing if the Guild''s team won it. If Elder Wu ordered an attack, he wouldn''t be breaking any promises. But not only hadn''t Elder Wu attacked Shi Feng''s 4-man party. Rather, he had personally congratulated the Swordsman. For a moment, Prison Tiger even wondered if Shi Feng weren''t actually Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, but the leader of some Super Guild. In truth, Elder Wu''s amicable greeting had even surprised Shi Feng. He had never expected the old man to take such a friendly tone with him. After a moment of silence, Shi Feng smiled and replied, "Elder Wu, your praise is too generous. If I have time, I will certainly pay Thirteen Thrones a visit. I believe there are many ways a partnership between our Guilds could benefit us in God''s Domain." Based on Elder Wu''s attitude, Shi Feng realized that he wanted to form an alliance regarding the Tree of Life, which was wonderful news for Zero Wing. Not only was Thirteen Thrones a veteran Super Guild, but it also dominated a large section of the eastern continent. A partnership with Thirteen Thrones would greatly benefit Zero Wing''s development. Moreover, nurturing a Tree of Life''s main branch wasn''t, by any means, easy. Doing so would require many precious resources. Even if Heaven''s Blade kept its main branch, the adventurer team didn''t have enough resources to grow it into a Tree of Life. In the end, it would only be a very expensive decoration. "It''s a deal, then. Little Art will be overjoyed to hear this," Elder Wu said, his smile becoming even more companionable with Shi Feng''s agreement. "Of course. Zero Wing has always been open to working with Thirteen Thrones," Shi Feng said, nodding. He wasn''t joking about his interest in forming a mutually beneficial relationship with the Super Guild. Thirteen Thrones'' territory on the eastern continent was one of flatlands and mountainous regions. Because of that, the Super Guild had access to all sorts of well-known ores, including materials required to produce Level 100-plus weapons and equipment. This was the very reason that Thirteen Thrones had enjoyed such an advantage in acquiring Level 100-plus weapons and equipment during his previous life. If Zero Wing could negotiate for a stable supply of materials from Thirteen Thrones, it could surpass other superpowers when it came to equipment production, and the Guild wouldn''t have to worry about a lack of materials due to limited territory. Zero Wing still relied on the public market and the Secret Pavilion''s connections as its main source of materials, but neither source was reliable. The materials available on both markets depended on how willing the various powers were to sell their materials. If the various powers refused to sell, securing the materials Zero Wing needed would be considerably challenging. Because the drop-rate for weapons and equipment decreased drastically after Level 100, the materials necessary for producing such items had reached astronomical prices, and supply had been extremely limited during Shi Feng''s previous life. Most of the market''s items had come from independent players, and there hadn''t been enough to support a Guild''s development. This was also why first-rate Guilds hadn''t been able to outcompete superpowers after mainstream players had reached Level 100. Meanwhile, everyone''s jaws hung open as they watched Shi Feng and Elder Wu''s pleasant conversation. As experts, they could all determine a player''s emotional state. If Elder Wu had only been performing for the sake of propriety, he was now truly treating Shi Feng as a friend and speaking with the Swordsman as an equal. Not even Blood Oath, War Blood''s commander, qualified to receive such treatment. After conversing for a short while, Shi Feng and Elder Wu parted ways. Keeping with his agreement with Heaven''s Blade, Shi Feng then guided the adventurer team''s members out of the Molten Ruin. Black Flame! Blood Oath gnashed his teeth as he watched Shi Feng leave the hall alongside Heaven''s Blade''s team, his rage spilling forth and causing the players around him to shudder. Blood Oath had already suffered a massive blow to his reputation after Shi Feng had slain him in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence, and now, he had to stand aside and watch the man lead Heaven''s Blade''s members out of his grasp. It was unprecedentedly humiliating. "Commander Blood, you need to calm down. Thirteen Thrones'' people are still here. Taking action now wouldn''t be appropriate," Sword Demon quietly advised War Blood''s leader. Shi Feng''s most recent display had proven that he could nearly rival Dragonheart Island''s three peerless monsters, and the man had just solidified a relationship with Thirteen Thrones. If War Blood and Starlink attacked Zero Wing''s small party now, they''d be digging their own graves. With Sword Demon''s warning, Blood Oath calmed immediately. He then shifted his gaze toward Thirteen Thrones'' members, who stood a short distance away. He realized that all of Thirteen Thrones'' members were staring at his team, and based on their postures, they were clearly prepared for battle. It left no room for doubt that Thirteen Thrones'' team would attack his if he tried to pull anything against Zero Wing. Blood Oath was stupefied. He could understand if Thirteen Thrones had simply intended to give up on the fight for the Tree of Life''s main branch and maintained a neutral stance, but the Super Guild''s players chose to side with Shi Feng. Blood Oath even wondered if they were putting on an act. Since when had Zero Wing and Thirteen Thrones been so friendly with each other? Once Shi Feng''s group was out of sight from the altar hall, Blood Oath shifted his gaze toward Elder Wu. "What is the meaning of this, Elder Wu?" Blood Oath boldly demanded. "Even if you hadn''t come for the Tree of Life, was it necessary to do this to us?!" Blood Oath knew that even if they combined their strength, War Blood and Starlink were no match for Thirteen Thrones, but that didn''t mean that they couldn''t stand up to a Super Guild. Normally, he would''ve shown Thirteen Thrones the respect it deserved and let the matter slide. However, he couldn''t care less if he were being disrespectful to Elder Wu right now. Besides, Thirteen Thrones wouldn''t start a war with War Blood and Starlink over a simple question. "I am doing this for your own good," Elder Wu answered. Surprisingly, he wasn''t insulted by Blood Oath''s rudeness. He actually chuckled and shook his head. "What do you mean?" Blood Oath''s anger grew. By protecting Zero Wing, Elder Wu had basically slapped him in the face, yet the old man was saying it had been for his own good. This was laughable. "I know Demon Palace is supporting War Blood, so you think that you have nothing to fear on Dragonheart Island," Elder Wu said as he shot Blood Oath a sidelong glance. Sneering, he continued, "However, I''m afraid that you aren''t aware that not long ago, Black Flame defeated Demon Palace''s main force members, who had been led by Evil Qilin himself. In fact, Black Flame very nearly killed Evil Qilin with one move. Now, Black Flame has been publicly acknowledged as a peerless monster. I''m sure the news will spread across Dragonheart Island soon. Now that you know, do you still wish to pick a fight with that Swordsman?" 2427 Dragonheart Shocked Chapter 2427 - Dragonheart Shocked When they heard Elder Wu''s explanation, War Blood and Starlink''s members gasped, filled with shock and disbelief. "Elder Qilin''s team lost?" Blood Oath muttered, stunned. It was hard to believe, but Elder Wu had no reason to lie to him. He was also aware that Evil Qilin had led some of Demon Palace''s main force members into the Molten Ruin. However, not only was Evil Qilin one of Demon Palace''s Elders, but he also ranked among the top 10 experts on Dragonheart Island. Not even Sword Demon was as powerful. Moreover, Evil Qilin had his two vice commanders from Demon Palace''s third trump card legion to support him in combat, and Blood Oath had experienced their strength personally. Both could even put up a good fight against Sword Demon. Although the rest of Evil Qilin''s team was slightly weaker, they were all Tier 3 experts with the Demonic Hell Word''s special Legacy. Aside from Dragonheart Island''s three peerless monsters'' teams, no power on the island should be able to defeat Evil Qilin''s team. And yet, Elder Wu had just informed them that Shi Feng had done just that. Moreover, Shi Feng had nearly instant- killed Evil Qilin. How could Blood Oath believe something so outlandish? "I know you don''t believe me, but I have the battle video of that encounter. You can take a look for yourself," Elder Wu said, smiling at Blood Oath''s frozen expression. He then sent the video to War Blood''s commander. In truth, Elder Wu was a little annoyed that War Blood had ignored Thirteen Thrones'' warning and continued its pursuit of Heaven''s Blade''s team. Hence, he hadn''t minded letting Blood Oath and his team learn their true worth. For now, Shi Feng''s battle video wasn''t available to the public, but War Blood should be capable enough to acquire it, which was why Elder Wu didn''t mind revealing this secret. How is this possible? Blood Oath watched the video, utterly stupefied. The battle''s outcome was even more unbelievable that he had imagined. Not only did the video show Shi Feng nearly instant-killing Evil Qilin, but it also displayed Demon Palace''s retreat as the team fled like rats from a sinking ship. The battle between Shi Feng and Demon Palace''s experts had been completely one-sided... "With the players you have here, your team isn''t enough to take on Black Flame alone. Of course, if you think you can defeat Dragonheart Island''s peerless monsters, you can challenge the man," Elder Wu said, still smiling as he saw Blood Oath''s expression shift to one of horror. It''s no wonder why he ignored us. So, he already this powerful." Even Sword Demon paled when he saw the video. Sword Demon knew that he was just slightly stronger than Dark Scorpion, and that was only because he had superior combat standards. Shi Feng, however, had killed Dark Scorpion in one move. Sword Demon doubted that he would''ve fared any better if he had been in Dark Scorpion''s place. Even if he activated his battle array, he would, at most, rival Evil Qilin''s power. The outcome of a battle with Shi Feng wouldn''t be any different for him. Complex emotions swam within Blood Oath. He felt both terrified and fortunate. The fact that Shi Feng had become a peerless monster after reaching Tier 3 petrified him, and he celebrated the fact that he hadn''t rushed into a fight with the Swordsman. War Blood would''ve suffered so severely that it might have been forced to use its trump cards, which Blood Oath wanted to avoid more than anything. "I''ve already done you a kindness in warning you. I''ve heard that War Blood has a grudge against Zero Wing. If that''s the case, you should be careful in the future," Elder Wu said, chuckling before he left the hall with his team. War Blood had disregarded Thirteen Thrones after gaining Demon Palace''s support, but now that Zero Wing had a peerless monster like Shi Feng, War Blood would have a tough road ahead. That despicable old fox! Blood Oath inwardly cursed as he watched Elder Wu''s departing figure. Elder Wu hadn''t told him this out of kindness, but as a warning to War Blood. Now that the adventurer team''s backer had made such a powerful enemy, War Blood had lost its reason to act so arrogantly. "Commander, I''m afraid that our future is going to be challenging now that Black Flame is so strong," Ink Feather said. They had clashed with Zero Wing on Dragonheart Island frequently. If Shi Feng disregarded his reputation and moved against War Blood''s experts personally, the adventurer team would suffer grave losses. War Blood would be utterly helpless before the Swordsman... "It seems I''ll have to have a chat with Demon Palace and Starlink," Blood Oath said. He, too, understood that the situation had grown beyond War Blood''s capabilities. A peerless monster had astonishing strength and influence. War Blood''s only hope of survival was to rely on the two superpowers. Meanwhile, news of Shi Feng''s victory over Evil Qilin''s team spread like wildfire. The strength he had displayed had particularly shocked Dragonheart Island''s various superpowers. Only the island''s three peerless monsters had the strength to defeat a team of that caliber single-handedly. This incident had also begun to change the various superpowers'' attitudes regarding Zero Wing. The various superpowers had only felt that Zero Wing''s peak combatants could rival those from ordinary superpowers, but when it came to overall strength, the Guild couldn''t compare. However, after this event, the various superpowers began to view Zero Wing as an equal. At the very least, they intended to treat Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, as respectfully as they did Guild Leaders of actual superpowers. And this was all because of Shi Feng had been recognized as a peerless monster now that he had reached Tier 3. It wasn''t easy to reach Tier 3 in God''s Domain. Even peak experts had less than a 50% chance to succeed. Although more players would complete their Tier 3 Promotion quests as they reached higher levels and obtained better equipment, they would still be a minority among God''s Domain''s player base. Moreover, there would be a huge difference in players'' strength depending on what difficulty they completed. All of the game''s superpowers acknowledged this fact. Based on the fighting combat power Shi Feng had displayed, it was clear that Shi Feng had completed a very high difficulty setting with his Tier 3 Promotion Quest. His potential growth and strength couldn''t be underestimated. While Dragonheart Island''s denizens reeled over Shi Feng''s strength, he had safely escorted Heaven''s Blade''s members out of the Molten Ruin. During their journey, the various superpowers'' experts they had encountered had stared at Shi Feng as if they had seen a ghost, and they promptly made way for the team. The spectacular scene had dumbfounded Heaven''s Blade''s members. It also reaffirmed that in God''s Domain, strength was everything. Commander Zwei was extremely powerful and ranked among Dragonheart Island''s top MTs, but not even she could instill such fear and command such respect from the various superpowers. "Thank you for escorting us out personally, Guild Leader Black Flame. According to our previous agreement, this main branch from the Tree of Life is yours," Zwei said when she sensed the seal on her lift. She then took a dark-gray crystalline tree branch out of her bag and said, "However, this branch has already withered. I''m afraid returning it to life will be very difficult." Regardless of how precious the Tree of Life''s main branch was, it had withered. Unlike the side branches, she couldn''t sense a trace of life energy from the main branch. Although Shi Feng had earned it, whether or not he could nurture it into a Tree of Life was uncertain. "It''s dead?" When he received the crystalline branch, Shi Feng inspected it with Omniscient Eyes. 2428 Tree of Lifes Quality Chapter 2428 - Tree of Life''s Quality Shi Feng didn''t know how Zwei had verified that the main branch had withered, but his Omniscient Eyes wasn''t an ordinary appraisal Skill. His Omniscient Eyes would reveal more detailed information. He might still have a chance of nurturing the branch. The moment Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes, a 30-second loading bar appeared before him. Even a withered main branch from the Tree of Life is such an amazing item? Shi Feng stared at the crystalline branch in astonishment. For Epic items, Omniscient Eyes only required 21 or 22 seconds, yet appraising this crystalline branch would require half a minute. Obviously, the Tree of Life main branch was even more valuable than an Epic item. Furthermore, this was only a branch from the Tree of Life, not the actual tree. Moreover, Zwei insisted that the branch had already withered, which meant it shouldn''t be nearly as valuable as a living branch. In God''s Domain, the Elven race considered the Tree of Life a holy relic. It wasn''t a true Divine Artifact, but its abilities and value were close. Of course, not all Trees of Life were that valuable. Trees of Life were special items that contained life energy. They generally ranked between Epic and Legendary rank. The most powerful Tree of Life belonged to the Elven race and was rumored to be on the cusp of becoming a true Divine Artifact[l]. Despite its lack of life energy, the withered branch in his hand was more powerful than an Epic item, which proved that it had great potential. Please don''t let it be garbage! Even if it doesn''t have any life energy, please have less than a 95% Withered Rate! Shi Feng silently prayed as he watched the loading bar fill. The Tree of Life was not a unique item. Many superpowers had obtained them in the past, but only a few had successfully nurtured a Tree of Life of their own. Naturally, a branch''s Withered Rate. Based on the various powers'' research, a branch had no chance of surviving if it had a 95% or higher Withered Rate, regardless of whether it was a main or side branch. The lower the Whitered Rate was, the greater the chances of survival the branch would have. Branches that were empty of life energy generally had an 80% or higher Withered Rate, which included the main branch in Shi Feng''s hands. Shi Feng knew that the main branches the various powers had obtained during his previous life hadn''t usually contained life energy. However, these branches were incredibly valuable, and as long as one could grow them, they''d be at least as valuable as several Fragmented Legendary items. Fragmented Legendary items were some of the rarest and most valuable treasures in God''s Domain. Not even first-rate Guilds had had more than 15 of them, on average, in the past. First-rate Guilds had held full control over entire kingdoms and over a million Guild members, but despite the resources in their grasp, they had only secured a small number of Fragmented Legendary items. Time passed slowly for Shi Feng as he grew increasingly nervous while he watched the seconds pass. Ten seconds... Twenty seconds... While Shi Feng stared intently at the crystalline branch, Zwei spoke up. "Guild Leader Black Flame, Heaven''s Blade has only dodged a tragedy because of your timely arrival. If you are interested, we will trade you a side branch for one Level 100-plus Epic item," Zwei suggested as she watched the focused man before her. Zero Wing had certainly helped Heaven''s Blade a great deal. Had Shi Feng''s group arrived just a few minutes later, Heaven''s Blade would''ve lost everything. She simply wasn''t satisfied with repaying Shi Feng by offering a withered main branch from the Tree of Life. "There''s no need to feel bad about this, commander Zwei. A deal is a deal. In fact, Zero Wing has greatly benefited from this transaction. Nurturing a Tree of Life from a side branch isn''t easy, and Heaven''s Blade has suffered considerable losses in the Molten Ruin. If you sell another branch, your expedition will have been a complete waste of time," Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he refused Zwei''s well-intentioned offer. "How about this? If you have any rare materials you wish to sell, Zero Wing would like to buy them at market price." A Tree of Life''s side branch was worth several Level 100-plus Epic items. If he accepted Zwei''s offer, Zero Wing would massively profit. However, the Tree of Life''s side branches weren''t that important to Shi Feng. Rather than profit from a one-time trade, he''d prefer to deepen the relationship between Heaven''s Blade and Zero Wing. Heaven''s Blade was the fifth-ranked adventurer team on Dragonheart Island, and although it couldn''t compare to the various superpowers, it''s naval prowess shouldn''t be underestimated. It also had several dozen powerful adventurer teams under its command. Overall, Heaven''s Blade had just as much access to the ocean''s resources as the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion. As God''s Domain''s players progressed in the game, the various powers would turn their focus toward the sea. God''s Domain was more ocean than land, after all. Even if Zero Wing eventually grew its naval strength, it would only be able to secure a small fraction of the available resources, which was why, despite having superior naval prowess, Starlink had chosen to ally with War Blood. If Zero Wing could secure an alliance with Heaven''s Blade and gain a stable source of materials, this partnership would be worth far more than a side branch from the Tree of Life. "Alright, if you insist. From now on, we will sell all of the rare materials that we would''ve otherwise sold on the market to Zero Wing," Zwei agreed, somewhat taken aback. She had never thought that Shi Feng would refuse her offer. The Tree of Life''s side branches were also highly sought after, even by the various superpowers. She then turned to Cleansing Flame and said, "Flame, from now on, you''ll be the vice commander in charge of materials. You''ll also be responsible for handling transactions with Zero Wing." Cleansing Flame was stunned. She hadn''t expected Zwei to promote her to vice commander so suddenly. However, she quickly recovered from her daze and nodded, "Understood!" Heaven''s Blade''s other members couldn''t help but envy their companion. Heaven''s Blade might not be a superpower, but it was a top adventurer team with tens of thousands of members and several dozen large-scale adventurer teams under its commander. Even Dragonheart Island''s first-rate powers had to treat Heaven''s Blade''s current four vice commanders with respect. Why wouldn''t they be jealous that Cleansing Flame had just become the adventurer team''s fifth vice commander? Of course, despite their envy, nobody objected to the promotion. Cleansing Flame was a bona fide Void Realm expert. She merely bene unlucky during her Tier 3 Promotion Quest, failing it. Her combat standards, however, definitely qualified her for the position. The only reason she hadn''t been promoted previously was because she hadn''t contributed enough to the adventurer team. After this expedition to the Molten Ruin, however, that was no longer the case. Their main force had only avoided utter destruction thanks to Cleansing Flame''s success in acquiring Shi Feng''s help. That major achievement was more than enough for her to earn the position of vice commander. Even Yu Luo was a little jealous of Cleansing Flame. She had gotten lucky running into a peerless monster like Shi Feng, becoming a vice commander before Yu Luo. Yu Luo had been surprised when her team encountered Zwei and Shi Feng''s group halfway through their journey into the inner corridor. She had never expected Shi Feng to reach her commander successfully, and based on what Zwei''s team members told her, it seemed that Shi Feng had suppressed War Blood and Starlink''s 32 Tier 3 experts with his presence alone. Just you wait! Sooner or later, I''ll become a vice commander through my own strength! Yu Luo inwardly swore as she glanced at Shi Feng. While Heaven''s Blade''s members envied Cleansing Flame, the loading bar before Shi Feng completed. The crystalline branch''s Attribute Panel then appeared before him. What?! This is a Tree of Life branch that has survived since the Great Destruction?! 2429 Divine Artifact Ranked Tree of Life Chapter 2429 - Divine Artifact Ranked Tree of Life Shi Feng stared at the Attribute Panel before him, stunned, and he even wondered if he were dreaming. [Withered Tree of Life''s Main Branch] (Special Fragmented Legendary Rank) A withered main branch from the Tree of Life. This branch contains a trace of the World Energy that has survived since the Great Destruction, which is why it continues to exist, even now. Withered Rate: 94% The branch''s introduction was simple and brief. Players new to God''s Domain wouldn''t see any value in the crystalline branch, but Shi Feng, who knew plenty about this world, was a different story. The Elven race''s Tree of Life was the oldest Tree of Life still alive in God''s Domain. It was also the highest-quality Tree of Life, yet it had only grown after the Great Destruction. However, the main branch in Shi Feng''s hand was even older. It was unbelievable. Before the Great Destruction, God''s Domain had enjoyed the era of the Gods, an age when even Gods and roamed the continent. One could only imagine how amazing the world had been. It was no exaggeration to say that even an ordinary item that had survived since the Great Destruction was an absolute treasure in the present day. Shi Feng couldn''t even begin to imagine what the rank the Trees of Life that had existed at that time had been. For all he knew, those Trees of Life might have been Divine Artifacts! Divine Artifacts could determine the prosperity or death of an entire race. Such items had been like the Ancient God''s children. Shi Feng had only seen two Divine Artifacts'' Attribute Panels in the War God''s Temple due to a Legendary ranked Main Storyline Quest. The War God''s Temple was one of the strongest powers in God''s Domain; not a single kingdom or empire could rival it. And yet, despite such power, the War God''s Temple only had two Divine Artifacts in its possession. Before today, Shi Feng hadn''t understood the true strength of Divine Artifacts. In fact, he had even wondered if players could actually get their hands on one. Even after a decade in God''s Domain, no one had ever heard of a player acquiring a Divine Artifact. The strongest items he had heard of players obtaining were Legendary rank. A Legendary item could allow a player to transcend tiers. If a player stumbled across a Divine Artifact, they''d gain unimaginable strength. Although the Tree of Life was neither a weapon nor a piece of equipment, it could produce valuable items, such as the Water of Life, Fruits of Life, and Nuclei of Life. The higher the Tree of Life''s rank was, the more of these items it could produce, and the shorter its production cycles would be. At the Fragmented Legendary rank, a Tree of Life had a one-month production cycle, which would only yield three of each item. A Tree of Life at Legendary rank could produce three to five items every fortnight. Its Withered Rate is so high, at 94%. It''s just 1% away from becoming useless. I''ll have less than a 10% chance of restoring it to life. Shi Feng could not help but frown at the branch''s Withered Rate. He knew that a branch would be useless if it had a 95% or higher Withered Rate, but only one power had successfully nurtured a Tree of Life from a 94% Whitered branch. Moreover, that had only been a side branch. Of course, there was no difference between restoring a main branch or side branch. Both would need a steady supply of materials that contained high-purity Mana and life energy to restore the branch''s life force, allowing it to grow naturally. Not even the various superpowers were guaranteed to return life to a Fragmented Legendary ranked branch with a 94% Withered Rate. Restoring life to the branch would require Legendary ranked materials with exceptional Mana and life energy. Such Legendary materials were painfully rare. One would have to rely on luck to obtain them. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found the situation reasonable. Compared to a Divine Artifact ranked Tree of Life, Legendary materials were insignificant. It seems I''ll have to prepare for my trip to the western continent properly, Shi Feng inwardly decided. As far as he knew, there were only two Legendary materials that filled the criteria to restore the branch in his hand. The first was the World Core, an item that would only appear when a world was destroyed. Only three World Cores had ever appeared during Shi Feng''s previous life, and at least a dozen superpowers had fought desperately over each one. The World Core was the best material for producing Legendary items. Players had even considered them Divine Artifact-level items back then. The second material Shi Feng knew of was the Star of Light. The Star of Light was a super-rare material that could only be found inside massive stars that fell on the western continent. Players had only found six Stars of Light in the past. Although they weren''t as rare as World Cores, they were even more valuable than Fragmented Legendary items. One could use a Star of Light as the core of a city''s magic array. Not only would this substantially increase a city''s defenses and Mana density, but the city''s magic array would also absorb starlight at night, automatically replenishing its Mana reserves and reducing the city''s Magic Crystal cost. Stars of Light were the ideal energy core for Guild Cities. After inspecting the crystalline branch, Shi Feng parted ways with Heaven''s Blade''s members and left the Molten Ruin with Cola and his comrades. He didn''t want to waste even a second more. The Molten Ruin might have a lot of treasures and Flying Mount eggs, but they were nothing compared to the Tree of Life. Furthermore, Zero Wing already had the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Design. As long as the Guild had enough materials, it could mass-produce flying ships for its members, which would be a much more reliable method of obtaining Flying Mounts. Most importantly, if he could restore life to the main branch he now owned, he would have a source of Fruits of Life. Not only would he be able to increase the Growth Potential of the Guild''s Personal Guards, but he could also increase their Flying Mounts'' potential. In God''s Domain, a Flying Mount''s rank made the difference in how much it could help players. Shi Feng would also have a source for Nuclei of Life, a super-rare material that he could use to forge Epic Weapons and Equipment. Just as Shi Feng was about to return to White River City with his party, however, he received a call request. The caller was none other than Phoenix Rain, whom Shi Feng hadn''t been able to contact while the Molten Ruin was still sealed. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, has something happened in the ruin?" Shi Feng asked. He had initially planned to meet up with Fire Dance and Phoenix Rain''s team to prevent War Blood and Starlink''s members from ambushing them, but since his victory over Evil Qilin''s team had come to light, he was confident that his enemies wouldn''t cause more trouble. Hence, he had decided there was no point in convening h Ҳem ץd 1 continue exploring the Molten Ruin. He had other concerns right now, and Fire Dance and Phoenix Rain''s team should be strong enough to handle anything the Molten Ruin could throw at them. "Nothing''s wrong in the Molten Ruin. In fact, War Blood and Starlink''s members have chosen to leave us alone," Phoenix Rain said, smiling. "We''ve also gotten quite lucky. So far, we''ve found two Horned Eagle Eggs." "You''ve already found so many?" Shi Feng was surprised to hear it. Although the Molten Ruin was a treasure trove, obtaining so many Flying Mounts in it shouldn''t be possible. He figured the ruin would have, at most, 20 Horned Eagle Eggs. Otherwise, Flying Mounts would''ve been widely available in his previous life, not the luxury items they had been. With so few eggs available, Fire Dance and Phoenix Rain''s group would be fortunate to find a single one. And yet, after only spending a few hours in the Molten Ruin, they had already found two eggs. Even if luck played a role, their harvest was astounding. Moreover, Phoenix Rain and her team had only explored the outer corridor. They''d likely find even more abundant treasures in the inner corridor. "We got lucky and stumbled across a hidden room," Phoenix Rain said, nodding. Jokingly, she continued, "However, I didn''t call you just to brag. I''ve just received a message from headquarters stating that Mythology''s representatives have visited the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s main Residence. The Great Pavilion Master has recalled both Pavilion Masters. I don''t think Mythology is visiting with good intentions, so I''d like to invite Lord Peerless Monster to make the trip back with me. With you by my side, I''ll have more leeway." "Mythology?" Shi Feng frowned at the mention of the name. He hadn''t expected Fang Shihan to act so soon and lock on to Phoenix Rain. "Alright, I''ll head your way immediately!" He wasn''t sure if Mythology was trying to wound Zero Wing by pressuring the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, but he didn''t mind using this opportunity to show off Zero Wing''s strength. After disconnecting the call, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile. "Melancholic, how is the production for the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships coming along?" 2430 Mythology Chapter 2430 - Mythology Dawn Ridge, Twilight City: The Dawn Ridge was located right next to the Level 100 neutral map closest to the Apocalypse Empire, and it had long since become a hub for mainstream players. Many superpowers had established Guild Towns and Cities in the area, but of all the towns and cities in the map, the most popular was Twilight City. Twilight City had a player population of 3,000,000 and was in no way inferior to NPC cities. The Dawn Ridge was located between a mountainous region and the sea, and Twilight City had been established on a hill near the shore. Not only did players have easy access to the sea from the city, but they could also reach a Level 100 neutral map quite quickly. The location was a convenience for players that occasionally operated on the ocean, which was why the city was so popular. Aside from the city''s convenient location, Twilight City was so popular because it was home to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s main headquarters. It was the most well-developed Guild City the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion owned, and it was far safer than any other Guild Towns or Cities in the Dawn Ridge. Meanwhile, several flashes of light illuminated the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Hall as Phoenix Rain and her team returned to the Residence. The moment the idling Guild members noticed her group, they adopted a respectful attitude, particularly the young men and women who had recently joined the Pavilion. When they saw Phoenix Rain''s alluring, mysterious figure clad in bright-red robes, they were mesmerized. The Pavilion Master is amazing. Not only is she so charismatic, but she also completed her high-difficulty Tier 3 quest in one attempt. She''s even Level 103 already. I wish I could join her personal security team. I''d get to play God''s Domain with her every day," a Level 100 female Elementalist gushed, watching Phoenix Rain with starry eyes. "Stop dreaming. You''ve just joined the Guild, yet you want to become the Pavilion Master''s personal bodyguard? Only the top-ranked newcomers have a chance to earn such a position. You should''ve seen those monstrous players. Even if our Basic Attributes were equalized, they could single-handedly take out several dozen of us." A male Berserker, the Elementalist''s team leader, rolled his eyes. Once upon a time, he, too, had dreamed of earning such a high position in the Guild, but since he had begun to participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s training sessions and began to grow stronger, he fell into even greater despair. The difference between him and the Guild''s geniuses was more than just a matter of Basic Attributes. In ordinary Guilds, a Refinement Realm expert would be considered a part of the Guild''s backbone, but in the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion, it was the minimum requirement to become a core member. Players would only become a pillar of strength once they reached the Void Realm. Usually, only the top 10 players of the several thousand internal members the Pavilion recruited each year would have a chance of reaching the Void Realm. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a veteran super-first-rate Guild, and it required much of its internal members. Experts who were well-known among the public meant nothing in the Pavilion. While the Guild''s members quietly conversed, another commotion erupted in the Guild Hall. A dozen or so players descended the stairs from the second floor, led by a beautiful woman. Beside the woman stood Nine Dragons Emperor. The strange woman wore dark-blue leather armor and carried a crimson short sword, which hung from her waist toward her back. The sword''s sheath was decorated with ancient ruins that attracted the ambient Mana. As if the Mana in the first-floor hall had found its master, it fell under the strange woman''s control as she appeared. A special Bloodline Legacy? Surprise flashed in Phoenix Rain''s gaze when she noticed the stranger. As an Elementalist, Phoenix Rain''s perception of Mana was keen, and she had gained a new-found understanding of Mana after she had reached Tier 3. She could sense that, despite being a Tier 3 Assassin, the woman had just as strong Mana affinity as she did. It almost seemed like the beautiful Assassin was Mana''s favored child. The players behind the woman caused a similar phenomenon, only the ambient Mana''s reaction to them wasn''t as strong. "Rain, you''re here. Let me introduce you. This is Mythology''s Vice Guild Leader, Cold Shadow," Nine Dragons Emperor introduced with an exceptionally pleased expression as Phoenix Rain emerged from the teleportation hall. He had been startled when he had heard that Mythology''s upper echelons intended to visit the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. He had assumed that the Pavilion was in major trouble. Mythology was one of the virtual gaming world''s Five Great Super Guilds, all of which had maintained their positions for many years. No Guild could threaten their standings. There were even rumors that the Five Great Super Guilds were no longer on the same level as other Super Guilds. "Greetings, I am the Phoenix Pavilion Master, Phoenix Rain," Phoenix Rain introduced herself. "I''ve heard of you before, Phoenix Pavilion Master," Cold Shadow said, smiling. "Your efforts at sea are a large part of the reason that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions naval prowess is what it is today. You also secretly supported Zero Wing in exchange for a large percentage of the Candlelight Trading Firm''s shares. Now, Candlelight has influence in multiple kingdoms and empires and earns significant profits each day. Very few in God''s Domain can match your exceptional insight, Phoenix Pavilion Master." "Your praise is too generous," Phoenix Rain calmly replied. "May I know what business you have with the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion, Vice Guild Leader Shadow?" Phoenix Rain was suspicious of Mythology''s visit and clueless about the Super Guild''s intentions. Mythology had focused its development on the western continent, yet it had come to visit the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, which was limited to the eastern continent, so suddenly. This was just as significant as an international corporation seeking out a small, domestic company, and Phoenix Rain didn''t know what to make of it. However, based on the Great Pavilion Master''s tone when he had requested her return to the main headquarters, it seemed that Mythology had come to find her. Something about the situation didn''t feel right to Phoenix Rain, and seeing Nine Dragons Emperor''s attitude, she was certain that Mythology wasn''t here with good news. "Oh, it''s nothing major, really," Cold Shadow said, chuckling. "Mythology simply wishes to extend its reach to the eastern continent and wants to investigate the situation first. Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm is one of the potential partners we''d like to consider, but everyone knows that Zero Wing almost never sells its shares. Hence, we wish to purchase your shares of the trading firm. We''re willing to offer you double the market price, in addition to selling some of the western continent''s unique materials and merchandise to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. We believe the transaction will benefit all involved. "I have already spoken with the Great Pavilion Master about this, but he insists that Candlelight''s shares belong to you personally and that I''ll have to speak with you about the situation. Of course, as long as you''re willing to sell your shares of Candlelight, he''ll be more than willing to ally with Mythology. Thus, I''ve come to negotiate with you, Phoenix Pavilion Master." "Rain, this is the first time the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion will get to cooperate with Mythology. Many of the Guild''s Grand Elders are looking forward to this. You mustn''t let this opportunity go and disappoint the Guild Elders and Great Pavilion Master," Nine Dragons Emperor earnestly advised. Blue Phoenix gave Nine Dragons Emperor a cold glare from behind Phoenix Rain. She wanted nothing more than to strangle the bastard. Whether or not Phoenix Rain sold her Candlelight shares was her problem, but Zero Wing must have a reason for being so stingy. If Phoenix Rain sold her shares, the decision would affect her relationship with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Nine Dragons Emperor was trying to force Phoenix Rain''s hand by using the excuse of ''Guild interest.'' Regardless of what Phoenix Rain decided, it was clear that the Phoenix Pavilion wouldn''t benefit. 2431 Commotion at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion Chapter 2431 - Commotion at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion Nine Dragons Emperor didn''t bother to keep his voice down, and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion members in the first- floor hall heard him. His statement immediately caused a commotion in the hall. "What? That Mythology wants to work with our Guild?" "Mythology is one of the Five Great Super Guilds. If we can form a partnership, our Guild will gain more strength and influence than ever before. Even Super Guilds will have to respect us." "That''s not all. Many powers from the Otherworlds have begun to arrive in the Apocalypse Empire and are competing with us for resources. If news of our partnership with Mythology spreads, even those powers will fear us and won''t dare to attack us in the fields so casually." Mythology was merely a famous Super Guild to most ordinary players, but the Pavilion''s members, particularly its internal members, knew that Mythology wasn''t that simple. The virtual gaming world''s Five Great Super Guilds had been established at the birth of virtual reality games. Every one of them had more than a century of history, and they were responsible for hosting many international virtual competitions. Generally, players had to give an outstanding performance in these competitions to become an internal member in one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Ordinary experts had no hope of being recruited. Although the Five Great Super Guilds had relaxed their recruitment requirements considerably since God''s Domain''s launch, one still had to be a Refinement Realm expert at the very least. It was easy to imagine how powerful those Super Guilds'' foundations were. The fact that Mythology was actively interested in forming a partnership with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was unbelievable. Every Pavilion member in the hall turned toward Phoenix Rain. Nine Dragons Emperor had clearly stated that whether or not their Guild worked with Mythology depended entirely on Phoenix Rain''s decision. Naturally, they all assumed they knew what her response would be. "Big Sis Rain, Nine Dragons Emperor is doing this on purpose!" Blue Phoenix hissed, grinding her teeth when she saw everyone''s anticipatory looks. Although the Great Pavilion Master and Grand Elders were responsible for choosing the next Great Pavilion Master in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, it was also incredibly important that the Guild''s members approved of the candidate. If the majority of the Guild''s members disliked the candidate, that individual would never become the next Great Pavilion Master. The Pavilion''s members had no doubt that partnering with Mythology was far more important than Candlelight''s shares. Only a fool would turn down this opportunity. The benefits the Pavilion could gain from an alliance with Mythology were immeasurable. Just holding the Super Guild''s banner would deter every superpower in the Apocalypse Empire from provoking the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Mythology could also supply plenty of precious materials and merchandise from the western continent. The Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion had far more to gain from an alliance with Mythology than from the Candlelight Trading Firm. If Phoenix Rain decided against selling her shares of Candlelight, she would earn every Guild member''s resentment. Blue Phoenix was sure that Nine Dragons Emperor had deliberately publicized the matter because he knew Phoenix Rain''s general disposition. She valued contracts and favors, and he knew that she wouldn''t just give away her shares of the trading firm. Hence, he had intentionally led Cold Shadow to the first-floor hall the moment Phoenix Rain returned to the Residence. He might have pretended to lead their guest to the meeting room, but in truth, he wanted everyone to see the two women meet. "If you think Mythology''s offer is insufficient, Phoenix Pavilion Master, you may state your demands. As long as it is within my authority to do so, I will give them careful consideration," Cold Shadow added after Phoenix Rain hadn''t said anything for a long moment. Smiling, she continued, "I''m even willing to sell some of the Combat Runes that are unique to the western continent." With Cold Shadow''s last statement, a tall, robust man behind her stepped forward. Silver runes flashed on his equipment, drawing in the surrounding Mana and increasing the intensity of his aura to a new level instantly. Even the Tier 2 peak experts in the hall took a step back, staring at the man with fear in their gazes. How did he become so strong all of a sudden? Even Blue Phoenix, now a Tier 3 player, was shocked by the transformation. Although she had sensed that the man was very dangerous, she had felt confident that she could hold her ground against him, but now, she felt powerless before him. However, she could tell that the difference between them wasn''t one of Basic Attributes, but from their different mental capacities. So, this is the western continent''s rumored Combat Rune? The situation even surprised Nine Dragons Emperor. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had no power on the western continent, it had investigated it. The Pavilion had even dispatched quite a few internal members to the western continent, and although their efforts hadn''t yielded many results, they had more than nothing. According to the Pavilion''s reports, Combat Runes were a special type of took that was similar to enchantments found on the eastern continent. However, the Combat Runes offered stronger control over Mana. The Combat Runes couldn''t offer bonus Basic Attributes, but they could increase players'' affinity with Mana. They could even improve a player''s mental capacity. In Nine Dragons Emperor''s initial opinion, the Combat Runes weren''t all that impressive. Basic Attributes and combat standards were far more important than Mana control and mental capacity. However, he had realized how mistaken he was after reaching Tier 3. Both Mana control and mental capacity were incredibly important for players'' combat power because they influenced a player''s ability to manipulate their Mana Body. The more control of one''s Tier 3 Mana Body one had, the greater their overall combat power would be. Now that he had seen the Combat Runes in action himself, he realized how horrific they were. If he could secure a large collection of weapons and equipment with Combat Runes for him and his subordinates, no one on Dragonheart Island or in the Black Dragon Empire would have the power to threaten his position. "The Combat Rune we''ve researched is quite impressive, isn''t it? It''s only at Tier 2 Advanced rank, which can''t compare to the Tier 3 Combat Runes we''ve researched, but it can double Tier 2 players'' combat power. It can also provide a significant boost to Tier 3 experts'' combat power," Cold Shadow explained, grinning smugly when she saw everyone''s reactions. This isn''t even the best they''ve got? Nine Dragons Emperor could not help but gasp. This revelation was terrifying! Although the robust man beside Cold Shadow had reached the Domain Realm, Nine Dragons Emperor could sense that he was only as strong as Martial Dragon, but after he activated his Combat Rune, not even Martial Dragon would last long against him. And yet, Cold Shadow informed them that the robust man''s Combat Rune was only at Tier 3 Advanced Rank. Nine Dragons Emperor didn''t even want to fathom how powerful the robust man would become if he were armed with a Tier 3 Combat Rune. It was at this moment that Nine Dragons Emperor, more or less, realized how Mythology had survived as one of the Five Great Super Guilds, even in a game like God''s Domain. On paper, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion might only be one rank weaker than Mythology, but the true difference was like the difference between an ant and a Dragon. Naturally, the robust man''s display with his Combat Rune sent the Pavilion''s members into another uproar. "This is amazing! If I could equip that Combat Rune, too, I might be able to contend with Tier 2 peak experts!" "With that Combat Rune, I could complete a higher-difficulty Tier 3 Promotion Quest!" Many of the Refinement and Flowing Water Realm''s experts glowed as they gazed at the robust man. They all waited eagerly for Phoenix Rain to agree to Cold Shadow''s offer. However, as her comrade''s desire for Mythology''s Combat Runes grew, Phoenix Rain''s expression darkened. She had never dreamed that Mythology would be so desperate for Candlelight''s shares that they''d sell Guild treasures like the Combat Runes. If she rejected Mythology''s offer now, she''d become the Guild''s number one enemy. Just as she was about to speak, however, another commotion broke out outside of the Guild Hall. As the seconds passed, the players outside made even more noise. Curious, many of the members in the Guild Hall ran out of the building. "What''s wrong with all of you? What''s going on outside?" Blue Phoenix demanded an answer from one of her nearby Guildmates. "There are Flying Ships! Three Flying Ships have arrived above our Residence!" a Tier 2 Ranger close to the entrance shouted back. 2432 Frightening Foundations Chapter 2432 - Frightening Foundations "Flying Ships?" "Could it be Zero Wing?" When Nine Dragons Emperor and the Pavilion''s other members heard someone mention Flying Ships, they immediately thought of Zero Wing. When Zero Wing''s Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had first appeared in God''s Domain, it had caused a huge commotion among the various powers. At that time, the name ''Zero Wing'' had engraved itself in the superpowers'' minds. In an era when Flying Mounts were still exceedingly rare, a Flying Ship could be immensely beneficial. Moreover, a Flying Ship would rule the skies with the combat power it possessed. If players didn''t have sufficiently powerful antiaircraft weapons, encountering an enemy Flying Ship could be devastating. However, Nine Dragons Emperor and his comrades shook the thought away. This time, there were three Flying Ships at their door! Obtaining a single Flying Ship was already incredible, but a Guild like Zero Wing could never secure three of them. When Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix heard the announcement, they were confused. They had expected Zero Wing to make the trip to Twilight City, but they couldn''t have come with three Flying Ships, could they? Is it not Zero Wing? Phoenix Rain frowned at the thought. A force of three Flying Ships was no trivial matter. Based on the information the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had acquired thus far, one ship would be more than enough to give the ruler of a Guild City a headache. If three Flying Ships attacked a Guild City together, they''d likely destroy the city''s infrastructure by the time they finished, even if they didn''t capture the city. Even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Twilight City would have a difficult time against three Flying Ships. This was why the various superpowers were so desperately trying to obtain their own Flying Mounts. Without an aerial unit, a Guild would be at an overwhelming disadvantage against a Flying Ship. Although Guild Towns and Cities had Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers, these defensive structures would struggle to land a hit on the highly-mobile Flying Ship. The battle would merely be a one-sided beating. Three Flying Ships? Cold Shadow was also curious about the situation. The eastern continent already has a power that has developed to such a standard? The western continent had Flying Ships as well, but they were exceptionally challenging to obtain. Although some of the western continent''s powers had discovered clues that could lead to a Flying Ship, they''d still need a considerable amount of time before they actually got their hands on it. This was another reason for her decision to annex Zero Wing. Phoenix Rain, Nine Dragons Emperor, and Cold Shadow left the Guild Hall with their subordinates in tow. They all wanted to know who owned these three Flying Ships. Three steel giants hovered above the Residence''s plaza, the roar of their Magic Engines blasting throughout the area. Even players outside of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence could feel the gale the ships stirred up. The Pavilion''s experts, who had fought in many large-scale battles, were shocked. Although the Flying Ships didn''t seem aggressive and simply hovered in the air, the experts'' instincts screamed at them to flee. Staring at those Flying Ships, they felt as if they stood before three colossal beasts. This was why the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s legion, which was stationed in Twilight City, had allowed the Flying Ships to enter the city and rest above their Guild''s Residence. They hadn''t even bothered to warn the Flying Ships or try to chase them off. They had only been able to stare as the steel giants passed, wary and afraid. When Phoenix Rain and her group emerged from the Guild Hall, the Flying Ship in the lead began to descend. The Pavilion''s members in the plaza promptly made room for the ship to land, afraid of provoking whoever piloted the steel giant. Not a single player in the plaza could wait to find out who commanded these three Flying Ships. Not even Super Guilds had this kind of airpower. While everyone wondered which superpower controlled the Flying Ships, the side hatch on the ship that had landed opened. A dozen figures then disembarked. Not only were they all Tier 3 players, but they had also reached Level 105, and most importantly, they all wore six-winged emblems. "Zero Wing?!M "How is this possible?!" The revelations stunned every Pavilion member in sight. The fact that Zero Wing had somehow procured one Flying Ship had already been astounding, yet now they discovered that the Guild had two more. Some of the crowd even wondered if their eyes were playing a trick on them. But no matter how much they rubbed at their eyes, the fact that these dozen players wore six-winged emblems didn''t change. There was no doubt that it was Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem, and based on the information in the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion''s database, the cloaked man, who had disembarked last, was none other than Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. This is impossible! How can Zero Wing have three flying Ships?! Nine Dragons Emperor stared at Shi Feng, astonished. Flying Ships were incredibly rare. Not even Super Guilds had one right now. So, how had Zero Wing obtained three Flying Ships? Phoenix Rain was similarly dumbfounded. She had never thought these three Flying Ships would belong to Zero Wing. Those were three Flying Ships they were talking about! With this kind of airpower, Zero Wing could move through God''s Domain without contest, and transporting goods across the sea wouldn''t be an issue. When Zero Wing had only had one Flying Ship, it had only proven to be a deterrent to the various naval powers. The sea was large, and even with the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s mobility, it couldn''t protect all of the naval routes Zero Wing used. However, with three Flying Ships, Zero Wing could safely deliver its merchandise wherever it needed to. As long as Zero Wing had safe and reliable transportation at sea, it wouldn''t have any issues earning money or resources. The various superpowers knew this, or they wouldn''t have invested astronomical sums of money and resources to increase their naval power. They did so precisely to ensure the safety of their transportation routes. The ocean had far more resources to offer than the land, and a stable transportation route at sea meant that one would have a steady source of naval resources. Once Phoenix Ran and Nine Dragons Emperor overcame their shock at seeing Zero Wing''s Flying Ships, they noticed something else that gave them goosebumps. All three Flying Ships looked exactly the same! At first, they had been too shocked by the three ships to notice the Flying Ships'' details. As they calmed down, they took the time to get a better look and realized that all three Flying Ships were identical. This meant that Zero Wing had not simply gotten lucky and stumbled across three Flying Ships. How could the Guild have possibly found three identical ships by chance? Flying Ships were similar to speedboats found at sea; their designs would vary depending on where they were found. Since Zero Wing''s Flying Ships looked the same, the Guild must have obtained them through the same means, and the three Flying Ships before them hinted that as long as Zero Wing fulfilled whatever conditions there were, it could obtain even more... A force of three Flying Ships was practically invincible at this stage of the game. If Zero Wing could construct a full fleet in the future... Not a single player in the plaza could even imagine what kind of airpower Zero Wing could control in the future. Phoenix Rain and Nine Dragons Emperor weren''t the only players to realize this. Many of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion experts in the plaza thought of the possibility, as well. They all stared at Shi Feng as if he were a monster. If Zero Wing could truly establish a full fleet of Flying Ships, no superpower would dare provoke the Guild. "I apologize for being tardy, Phoenix Pavilion Master," Shi Feng said as he approached Phoenix Rain. He glanced at Cold Shadow and the players behind her before he continued with a smile, "I hope I''m not interrupting anything." He had wanted to keep his Flying Ships a secret as Zero Wing continued to develop its airpower, but to ensure that Phoenix Rain continued to hold her position and influence in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, he had been forced to change his plans. Not only had Zero Wing exhausted all of its Coins to craft these three Flying Ships, but it had also borrowed money for materials from the Secret Pavilion. The Guild wouldn''t be able to construct another ship anytime soon. Furthermore, the market didn''t currently have enough materials to construct another Flying Ship. Based on everyone''s shocked expressions, Shi Feng decided that he had achieved his goal. 2433 Foundations Revealed One After Another Chapter 2433 - Foundations Revealed One After Another Nine Dragons Emperor responded to Shi Feng''s statement with a hateful glare. The force Zero Wing had mobilized had sent Twilight City on high-alert. How could this be interpreted as anything other than an interruption? Moreover, Shi Feng''s grand arrival had ruined Nine Dragons Emperor''s efforts to interest his Guild members in a partnership with Mythology. Not only had Zero Wing''s show of strength shocked the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members, but it had chased away any thoughts about Mythology. "No, you haven''t interrupted us, Guild Leader Black Flame. You''re right on time," Phoenix Rain said, a rare smile gracing her lips at Shi Feng''s greeting. She then turned toward Cold Shadow and firmly stated," Vice Guild Leader Shadow, although I am very interested in a partnership with Mythology, I''m afraid that I cannot sell Candlelight''s shares." When Phoenix Rain rejected Mythology''s offer, silence filled the plaza. Every member of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion turned to stare at Phoenix Rain, complex emotions flashing in their eyes. Surprisingly, however, no one stepped up to object. If she had rejected Mythology''s offer earlier, they would''ve fought her decision as illogical and doubted her ability to act as a Pavilion Master, but with Zero Wing''s three Flying Ships before them, no one could find a reason to argue with her decision. They were talking about Flying Ships, and it was clear that Zero Wing had some method to secure multiple ships. Now that Zero Wing ruled the skies, no superpower would dare offend the Guild. With Zero Wing''s help, the Dragon-Phoenix could ensure the safety of its transportation routes in the future. In fact, the Pavilion could even rely on Zero Wing''s reputation to secure even more sea zones, which they could develop, and in turn, fuel the Guild''s growth. However, if Phoenix Rain sold her shares of the Candlelight Trading Firm to Mythology, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would likely lose Zero Wing''s assistance. The difference between an ally with shares and one without was massive, after all. Furthermore, everyone knew how stingy Zero Wing was with its shares. If Phoenix Rain sold Candlelight''s shares without Zero Wing''s consent, no one would be surprised if Zero Wing became an enemy. "Rain, you should think this through carefully. You are aware of the Guild''s situation in the Apocalypse Empire. Many Otherworld powers have already begun to set their sights on our Guild, and you know better than I why we took the risk of transferring Twilight City to the Dawn Ridge," Nine Dragons Emperor loudly proclaimed when none of his Guildmates spoke up. "If we can form a partnership with Mythology and obtain Combat Runes, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion can quickly establish a foothold in Level 100 neutral maps. With the resources and equipment we can acquire from those maps, we''ll be able to stabilize our position in the empire. Are you really willing to throw this opportunity away?" Before Zero Wing''s Flying Ships had arrived, he had merely hoped to reduce Phoenix Rain''s popularity within the Pavilion, but now, he steeled himself to tear her from Zero Wing, no matter what it took. Phoenix Rain and Zero Wing had become firm allies long ago. Zero Wing''s strength was Phoenix Rain''s strength. But Mythology was a different story. The potential alliance with Mythology might drastically elevate Phoenix Rain''s position, but it would be temporary. Mythology wasn''t interested in a partnership with Phoenix Rain specifically; it wanted an alliance with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. This would leave room for him to take advantage of plenty of opportunities, but if she stuck with Zero Wing, he''d have nothing. Fortunately, Mythology had offered something that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion urgently needed. There was no way the Grand Elders could ignore the temptation of Mythology''s Combat Runes. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was a super-first-rate Guild, its strength was only considered average among the many superpowers in God''s Domain. Now powers from the various Otherworlds had begun to invade the main continent, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s position in the game was under threat. To alleviate some of the pressure the Guild faced, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had decided to gamble and transfer Twilight City, the Guild''s strongest city, to Dawn Ridge to secure its hold over the neighboring Level 100 neutral map. However, the other superpowers in the Apocalypse Empire weren''t idiots. They had also invested plenty of resources and stationed their players in the Dawn Ridge. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had a powerful tool like the Combat Runes, it would have a much easier time exploring Level 100 neutral maps. This was the Grand Elders'' ultimate goal. Hearing Nine Dragons Emperor''s comment, several nearby Grand Elders frowned and turned toward Phoenix Rain, their expressions hinting that she needed to make her decision carefully. The Combat Runes would be significantly helpful when the Guild''s members explored Level 100 neutral maps. The benefits these Combat Runes offered were just as impactful as Zero Wing''s Flying Ships could be. In fact, the Combat Runes might be even more beneficial to the Guild. Zero Wing owned those Flying Ships, after all; the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion did not. Moreover, rejecting Cold Shadow''s offer would be on par with slapping Mythology in the face. Mythology was one of the virtual gaming world''s Five Great Super Guilds, and it had already shown the Pavilion a lot of respect by approaching the smaller Guild for an alliance. If the Pavilion rejected Mythology, the Super Guild would offer nothing. It might even move against the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Although Mythology was focused on its development on the western continent, it was still one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Causing trouble for the Pavilion would be child''s play. Phoenix Rain''s expression turned grim. She had never expected Nine Dragons Emperor to pander to the Guild''s Grand Elders after failing to rouse their Guildmates. The Grand Elders didn''t normally meddle in the competition for the position of Grand Pavilion Master, but they were from the same generation as Ku Rong. Their influence in the Guild couldn''t be underestimated. Even Ku Rong had to weigh their words carefully. What a smart move. It''s no wonder how he maintained his hold on the Black Dragon Empire in the past. Many Planar Passages were connected to the Black Dragon Empire, which led to intense competition in the empire. Normally, only Super Guilds were confident in stopping so many Otherworld powers from invading, but during Shi Feng''s previous life, Nine Dragons Emperor''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire had successfully defended the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s territories, only losing insignificant sections. "Don''t be in such a hurry to reject my offer, Phoenix Pavilion Master. Mythology is sincerely interested in an alliance. If we can negotiate a partnership, I can even speak with my Guild Leader about selling some of our Tier 3 Combat Runes to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Tier 3 Combat Runes will grant the Pavilion an absolute advantage when exploring Level 100 neutral maps," Cold Shadow said sweetly, smiling. As she spoke, she glanced at Shi Feng. Cold Shadow was familiar with the predicament the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion found itself in. As long as she could purchase Candlelight''s shares, she didn''t mind letting Nine Dragons Emperor borrow her power to suppress Phoenix Rain. Naturally, Zero Wing couldn''t hope to compete with the terms Mythology could offer. When Cold Shadow finished speaking, the nearby Grand Elders watched with bated breath. Although they didn''t know much about the western continent, they knew a thing or two about Tier 3 Combat Runes. Only three Super Guilds were capable of producing the tools, and they didn''t sell them to outsiders. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Tier 3 experts could equip Tier 3 Combat Runes, then the Guild would be unstoppable in the Hill of Ruins, the Level 100 neutral map neighboring the Dawn Ridge. Moreover, these Combat Runes would ensure that the Pavilion had an easier time developing its navy. Just as the several Grand Elders were about to step forward to persuade Phoenix Rain, Shi Feng retrieved an ancient Magic Array Scroll from his bag and handed it to her. The moment Shi Feng revealed the scroll, it drew everyone''s gaze. The Magic Array Scroll''s Mana was extraordinarily dense, nothing like the scrolls players typically saw. "This is the sample of what we spoke about earlier. If you find it acceptable, we can negotiate prices," Shi Feng calmly stated as he gestured to the Magic Array Scroll now in Phoenix Rain''s hand. Cold Shadow only grinned at Shi Feng''s play. She found it simply laughable that he wanted to use a Magic Array Scroll to compete with her Guild''s Tier 3 Combat Runes. However, when one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Grand Elders, who possessed a Master ranked Appraisal Skill, curiously appraised the scroll, he couldn''t help but gasp. "An Advanced...Ancient Barrier Scroll?! 2434 Ascending to Heaven Chapter 2434 - Ascending to Heaven When they heard the Grand Elder''s exclamation, everyone stared at the scroll Phoenix Rain held, astonished. "Zero Wing is actually selling such an item?" Magic Barrier Scrolls were insanely rare on the market. The various powers even hoarded Basic Magic Barrier Scrolls, only allowing their main forces access to the tools. Level 100-plus Grand Lords were simply too difficult to deal with for current players. If one of these Grand Lords possessed special Skills, not even Tier 3 MTs would be able to tank it, let alone Tier 2 MTs. To help their main forces explore Level 100 neutral maps, the various powers relied on magic barriers to defeat these Level 100-plus Grand Lords. Unfortunately, due to how scarce these scrolls were, the various powers didn''t even have enough to arm their main forces sufficiently. As a result, the teams'' exploration speed was still quite slow. The best Magic Barrier Scrolls on the market were only Intermediate rank. There were practically never Advanced Magic Barrier Scrolls available. Although the various superpowers had even offered to trade Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment for the Advanced ranked scrolls, no one was willing to sell what they had. And yet, not only had Shi Feng revealed an Advanced Magic Barrier Scroll, but it was also an Ancient Barrier Scroll. In God''s Domain, Intermediate Magic Arrays could only affect Level 100-plus Grand Lords; they were nearly useless against Level 100 Mythics. Only Advanced Magic Arrays would prove effective against such high-ranked monsters. With a complete set of Advanced Magic Barrier Scrolls, one could even slay a Level 100-plus Mythic monster. It was easy to imagine how much a set of those scrolls was worth. Ancient Magic Arrays were generally stronger than ordinary magic arrays of the same rank, and fewer players were required to channel the magic arrays. This allowed more of the team to participate in the actual fight. If a team used an Advanced Magic Barrier, they''d still need around 30 Tier 3 experts to take down a Level 100-plus Mythic monster. However, if the team had an Advanced Ancient Barrier, they''d be more than capable of slaying a Level 100-plus Mythic monster as long as they had a Tier 3 MT. Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls? The revelation even surprised Cold Shadow. She had never thought Shi Feng would be capable of obtaining such a treasure. If what Shi Feng had suggested were true, and Zero Wing could sell large quantities of the Twelve Elemental Pillars, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would easily be able to dominate the Hill of Ruins. No superpower in the Apocalypse Empire would be able to contend with the Pavilion. All of the various superpowers were nursing headaches over the issue Level 100-plus Mythic monsters presented, including Mythology. Although the Tier 3 Combat Rune was powerful, it could only help players exhibit more of their combat power; it didn''t offer a boost to players'' Basic Attributes. Unless players met the minimum Basic Attribute requirements to raid Level 100-plus Mythic monsters, the Tier 3 Combat Rune wouldn''t be particularly useful. Advanced Magic Barriers on the other hand, would be. They might not increase players combat power or Basic Attributes, but they could limit a monster''s strength. With a set of such scrolls, a team that normally wouldn''t have a chance against a Level 100-plus Mythic monster would have hope of defeating it. With an Advanced Ancient Barrier like the Twelve Elemental Pillars, even a Tier 2 team could raid Level 100-plus Mythic monsters. Those scrolls were well worth several times more than ordinary Advanced Magic Barriers. At this stage of the game, superpowers still didn''t have enough Tier 3 players to form a full team, but forming a Tier 2 team was a piece of cake. Of course, not only was Level 100-plus Mythic monsters'' loot bountiful, but it was also the foundation necessary to raid Level 100 Team Dungeons. If even Tier 2 expert teams could slay Level 100-plus Mythic monsters, their power could prepare to raid Level 100 Team Dungeons much sooner than others. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could secure a large stock of Twelve Elemental Pillars Scrolls, its development speed regarding Tier 3 players and equipment standards would reach new highs. The Pavilion would easily be able to surpass the Apocalypse Empire''s various superpowers. Meanwhile, Phoenix Rain stared at the scroll in her hands, dazed. Nine Dragons Emperor broke the silence with a laugh, saying, "Guild Leader Black Flame, this is an Advanced Ancient Barrier Scroll we''re talking about, yet you''re suggesting that you can sell them in bulk? Do you take us for fools?" Nine Dragons Emperor instinctively denied Shi Feng''s claim. The Swordsman must''ve gone to great lengths to secure a single Twelve Elemental Pillars Scroll and was lying about Zero Wing''s interest in selling Phoenix Rain a bulk order just to make her look good in front of the Pavilion''s Grand Elders. The strongest magic barriers the various superpowers could craft were Intermediate rank. Furthermore, not only were the required materials incredibly valuable, but no more than five superpowers were actually capable of crafting Intermediate Magic Barrier Scrolls. How, exactly, was Zero Wing supposedly capable of mass-producing Advanced Ancient Barrier Scroll? "Is that so?" Shi Feng chuckled, pulling 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars, the scrolls he had found in the Magic Temple, from his bag. Shi Feng tossed one scroll after another on the ground, quickly forming a small mound. As he did, everyone sensed the Mana density around them increase considerably... Nine Dragons Emperor had been prepared to mock Shi Feng further, but seeing the Magic Array Scrolls, he turned deathly pale and couldn''t bring himself to utter a single word. Everyone in the plaza fell silent, and the Pavilion''s members gazed at Shi Feng with admiration. Nine Dragons Emperor was a true hero in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Not only was he individually powerful, but he was also an excellent commander. He had even led the Pavilion''s Branch Guild in the Black Dragon Empire to prosper, despite the various Otherworld powers'' invasion. But the moment he had accused Shi Feng of lying, the Swordsman had revealed 10 sets of the Twelve Elemental Pillars. Moreover, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader tossed them on the ground as if they were worthless pebbles. This was a slap in the face to Nine Dragons Emperor and had been done before the Pavilion''s members. To top it off, Nine Dragons Emperor couldn''t find anything kind of rebuttal. He wouldn''t dare. The only thing coming out of his mouth should be compliments for Shi Feng. If he said anything else, he might even lose his position as a Pavilion Master, not to mention his chance to become the Great Pavilion Master. Not even superpowers'' Guild Leaders could subject Nine Dragons Emperor to such humiliation. "So, that''s the case." Cold Shadow grit her teeth. When Nine Dragons Emperor said nothing more, she knew that the situation was no longer in her favor. She then turned to look at Phoenix Rain and said, "Phoenix Pavilion Master, your insight truly is impressive. Since it seems that a partnership between our Guilds is no longer possible, I won''t interrupt your discussions with Guild Leader Black Flame. I have other matters to attend to, so I''ll take my leave." Cold Shadow decisively led her subordinates away from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence. She didn''t show the slightest hint of anger or disappointment as if her negotiations with the Pavilion had meant nothing to her. Meanwhile, none of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members were surprised by the outcome. It was clear that Zero Wing had more to offer than Mythology, which was based on the western continent. Even a fool would recognize the stronger potential ally. Cold Shadow wouldn''t linger to suffer further embarrassment. "Rain, Guild Leader Black Flame has taken time out of his busy schedule to visit our main headquarters! As a Pavilion Master, how can you leave him standing out here for so long? You are being impolite!" a white-haired Grand Elder berated Phoenix Rain after Cold Shadow had left the Guild Residence. The old man had been loud, but everyone could tell that he wasn''t angry in the least. Rather, his tone contained joy and excitement. He had obviously chosen to support Phoenix Rain''s side. The Grand Elder''s comments shook Phoenix Rain from her daze, and she addressed Shi Feng, "My mistake. Guild Leader Black Flame, please come in." Phoenix Rain had never dreamed that Shi Feng would be so powerful as to reveal one trump card after another. Not only had he sent Mythology''s Cold Shadow packing, but he had also managed to drag the entire Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to her side. The situation had developed so quickly that she was at a loss. Once Phoenix Rain led Shi Feng and his entourage into the Guild Hall, the Grand Elders in the plaza shot Nine Dragons Emperor piteous looks. After expressing their helplessness, they, too, returned to the Guild Hall, dismissing the other Pavilion Master. "We''re in trouble now, Pavilion Master. Thanks to Black Flame, the Grand Elders now support Phoenix Rain," Martial Dragon said, frowning as he watched the Grand Elders walk away without a word. After today, Nine Dragons Emperor''s chances of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master were non-existent. "Trouble?" Nine Dragons Emperor shot back with a sinister sneer. "Wrong! This is our chance! Phoenix Rain might''ve ascended to heaven thanks to Zero Wing''s potential and foundations, but possessing wealth without the strength to protect it is a crime! Zero Wing shouldn''t have revealed its Flying Ships and Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls so early. What do you think the various superpowers will do if they find this out?" "Approach Zero Wing in hopes of cooperation?" Martial Dragon guessed after considering the question. "And if that fails?" Nine Dragons Emperor asked, smiling at Shi Feng''s departing figure. "They''ll do everything in their power to destroy Zero Wing!" Martial Dragon exclaimed as realization dawned on him. He also realized why Cold Shadow had left so quickly. Zero Wing might be fine with its Flying Ships, but the Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls could change the status quo in God''s Domain. If the various superpowers couldn''t get their hands on the Twelve Elemental Pillars Scrolls, they wouldn''t be content to let a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing hold on to them. Today''s events would certainly reach the various superpowers, and once it did, they would take action. Even if Zero Wing allied with a few superpowers, they couldn''t protect the Guild. The Twelve Elemental Pillars Scrolls touched on the foundations and futures of every superpower. Unless the various superpowers were willing to bow to Zero Wing in the future, they would try to destroy the smaller Guild now, ensuring that the status quo remained the same. While Nine Dragons Emperor and Martial Dragon whispered amongst themselves, news of Zero Wing''s three Flying Ships and its ability to mass-produce Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls spread like wildfire, soon reaching the various superpowers'' upper echelons. 2435 Structural Change Chapter 2435 - Structural Change On the top floor of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Guild Hall, three people were sitting inside the luxurious reception hall, which could easily accommodate 50 people. Aside from Phoenix Rain and Shi Feng, only Blue Phoenix was present. The degree of privacy for the meeting was even greater than that for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Grand Elder meetings. As for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Grand Elders who had been in the plaza before, they wisely stayed away, having no intention of participating in the discussions between Shi Feng and Phoenix Rain. Moreover, with Cola, Yan Tianxing, and Zero Wing''s other Tier 3 experts standing guard outside the reception hall, anyone who wished to spy on the meeting couldn''t do so. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I really have to thank you this time. If not for your help, those Grand Elders would''ve sided with Nine Dragons Emperor," Phoenix Rain said as she looked at the 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars on the table. "These Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls are extremely precious, so you should quickly store them. Although Magic Array Scrolls won''t suffer any damage from exposure, these scrolls are quite ancient. If you don''t store them properly, the magic arrays drawn on them might deteriorate. If that happens, it''ll be a huge loss." In God''s Domain, Magic Array Scrolls normally wouldn''t deteriorate. However, some ancient Magic Array Scrolls were a different story. The march of time would compromise the durability of some ancient Magic Array Scrolls. When durability fell to a certain point, it would affect the performance of the Magic Array Scroll itself. Meanwhile, moving the scrolls could reduce their durability by a certain amount. Previously, Shi Feng had nonchalantly tossed these Ancient Barrier Scrolls on the ground to humiliate Nine Dragons Emperor. Now, he had even casually placed them on the table. These actions would undoubtedly affect the Ancient Barrier Scrolls'' durability. As for selling these Ancient Barrier Scrolls, in Phoenix Rain''s opinion, he had said those words just to take control of the situation. After all, Advanced Ancient Barriers were not ordinary Advanced Barriers. Collecting even one complete set of scrolls for an Advanced Ancient Barrier was extremely difficult. Even now, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had yet to collect a complete set, much less 10 sets. Meanwhile, at this stage of the game, 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars would be extremely helpful to any superpower. If Zero Wing actually sold these Ancient Barrier Scrolls, it would suffer an immense loss. "No need. I originally planned to sell these 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars to you, Phoenix Pavilion Master," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "You really plan on selling them?" Phoenix Rain was a little surprised at the serious expression on Shi Feng''s face. She then tried to dissuade him, saying, "These are 10 sets of Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls we are talking about. You can kill a minimum of 10 Level 100 Mythics with them. If you properly locate these Bosses, Zero Wing''s main force will receive a huge improvement in strength. If you''re worried about Nine Dragons Emperor''s side, you can rest assured. I still have a few sets of Advanced Barrier Scrolls. With them, I should be able to head him off." The entire Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could easily tell that Shi Feng was only conducting the transaction this time out of respect for Phoenix Rain. As for how many she purchased and how she used them, outsiders wouldn''t have a say. She could simply sell the few precious sets of Advanced Barrier Scrolls she had to the Guild to buy herself some time. Once she hatched the Homed Eagle Egg from the Molten Ruin, she would be able to secure much more resources from Level 100 neutral maps. As for the 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars, nobody would really know if she had used the scrolls or not. She didn''t need to worry about the secret getting out as her main force consisted solely of her trusted aides. With the resources she could gain with the help of a Flying Mount, tricking the Guild''s Grand Elders should be feasible. Standing at a side, Blue Phoenix nodded in agreement with Phoenix Rain''s words. She felt that Shi Feng had already helped them a great deal this time. They naturally couldn''t let him suffer any more losses. "Phoenix Pavilion Master, you''re overthinking things. I''m really here to do business," Shi Feng said, a bitter smile forming on his face when he saw Phoenix Rain''s and Blue Phoenix''s reactions. From the very beginning, he had intended to sell the Twelve Elemental Pillars, though not on such a large scale. Instead, he merely planned to sell it to Zero Wing''s partners to ensure that the Ancient Barrier would not land in the hands of outsiders and aid his enemies. At the same time, it would also earn his Guild a large amount of resources and Coins. The production of Twelve Elemental Pillars'' scrolls required a large number of Elemental Crystals and Magic Cores, which were treated as strategic resources by Guilds; Guilds normally wouldn''t sell them. As a result, it was impossible to purchase these materials in bulk. Hence, if Zero Wing wished to mass-produce the Twelve Elemental Pillars, it would have to exchange for these materials with the various powers. Moreover, Shi Feng was currently in extreme need of Magic Crystals and Coins. This was especially true for Magic Crystals. Even though he had two ore veins capable of producing Magic Crystals, his demand for Magic Crystals was still far above what the two ore veins and Zero Wing could supply. As to why he was in dire need of Magic Crystals, it was because the teleportation gate linking the eastern and western continents cost a lot of Magic Crystals to operate. Moreover, Magic Crystals were far rarer and more valuable on the western continent. Hence, Magic Crystals could be considered a very powerful currency there. To purchase the rare materials over there in bulk, he had to have a large number of Magic Crystals. Of course, there was also the option of selling the eastern continent''s unique materials on the western continent. However, these unique materials were similarly precious on the eastern continent. Moreover, the various superpowers had a monopoly on them, and Zero Wing could get its hands on only a limited amount. After all, superpowers capable of traveling between the two main continents generally traded with superpowers that possessed these unique materials. In the end, Shi Feng had concluded that he could only conduct transactions using Magic Crystals. "Guild Leader Black Flame, can you really supply these Twelve Elemental Pillars in bulk?" Blue Phoenix blurted out in surprise when she saw the bitter smile on Shi Feng''s face. These were Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls they were talking about. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion could purchase them in bulk, then the Pavilion''s development would definitely skyrocket. "Of course. However, you should know how precious the Twelve Elemental Pillars are. I cannot sell them too cheaply. In fact, they can''t even be weighed using Coins," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw Blue Phoenix''s excited expression. "A complete set of Twelve Elemental Pillars will cost 5,000 Magic Crystals, 500 Gold, 500 Elemental Crystals, and 500 Magic Cores." "That much?" Blue Phoenix gasped when she heard Shi Feng''s words, her excitement dimming considerably. Based on the price he quoted, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion wouldn''t be capable of purchasing that many sets, not when the total value of each set of scrolls exceeded 4,000 Gold. Moreover, Magic Crystals, Elemental Crystals, and Magic Cores were all strategic resources. Obtaining these items in large numbers wasn''t easy. After taking into consideration the Guild''s own use, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would be able to take out only a small number of these items for exchange. This would also be the case for other superpowers. "Sure enough, the price really isn''t low." Phoenix Rain also revealed a bitter smile as she gazed at the 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars on the table. "I''ll buy 30 sets first, then." Although she had long since prepared herself for a high price, when she heard Shi Feng''s quote, she still could not help a little heartache. However, the Twelve Elemental Pillars were an Advanced Ancient Barrier. Compared to the barrier''s value, the price wasn''t particularly high. After all, Intermediate Barrier Scrolls normally sold for roughly 800 Gold per set. Most importantly, these things rarely appeared on the market, as no power would be willing to sell them. Moreover, so long as she properly chose which Mythic Bosses to raid and her luck wasn''t too bad, she would still be able to profit a lot. Not to mention, she would also get a lead on the other superpowers. This could be considered the greatest benefit of the Twelve Elemental Pillars. That won''t be a problem. I''ll have someone deliver the remaining 20 sets by tomorrow," Shi Feng said. He was not at all surprised to see a pained expression appear on Phoenix Rain''s face. On the contrary, he very much understood her feelings. This was also the reason why he wanted to seek a partnership with several superpowers. The Mana Stones required weren''t much of a problem. A set of 12 scrolls required only 12 Mana Stones. Even a Master Alchemist would need only 1,200 Magic Crystals to synthesize the Mana Stones. However, it was a different story for the Elemental Crystals and Magic Cores. Producing one set of Twelve Elemental Pillars consumed 144 Elemental Crystals and Magic Cores. With Zero Wing''s current stockpile, it couldn''t create many sets at all. Needless to say, it definitely couldn''t supply the scrolls to the Guild''s Tier 2 teams. After Phoenix Rain confirmed her transaction with Shi Feng and Blue Phoenix was about to head to the Guild''s Warehouse to retrieve the necessary materials, Phoenix Rain''s expression suddenly turned grim. "Guild Leader Black Flame, why don''t we just forget about the transaction for now? We caused a huge commotion in the Residence''s plaza this time. Not to mention, Mythology''s Vice Guild Leader was present as well. News of this matter will definitely reach the ears of the various superpowers. To make matters worse, you really are capable of mass-producing the Twelve Elemental Pillars. If the various superpowers find out about this, they won''t let Zero Wing off the hook. They might even cooperate to force you to hand over the method for obtaining the Twelve Elemental Pillars," Phoenix Rain said. After giving the matter some thought, she still concluded that it wouldn''t be wise to purchase the Twelve Elemental Pillars. In God''s Domain, the various superpowers would always plant spies in other superpowers. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was no exception. Hence, news of today''s matter had most likely reached the ears of the various superpowers already. It might be fine if Shi Feng had simply been using the Twelve Elemental Pillars to trick Nine Dragons Emperor. At worst, her reputation in the Guild would plummet, and many of the Guild''s Grand Elders would switch to Nine Dragons Emperor''s side. However, since this matter was true, things had become troublesome. There would be no problem if the Twelve Elemental Pillars'' transaction involved only a small amount of materials. With her status as a Pavilion Master, she could secretly conduct the transaction without anybody finding out about it. However, the amount of materials the Twelve Elemental Pillars required was simply too much. If she took out that many materials from the Guild Warehouse, people would definitely notice. If she used the Twelve Elemental Pillars, the likelihood of discovery would be even greater. The various superpowers might be able to ignore the fact that Zero Wing had a reliable method for obtaining Flying Ships, as Flying Ships could, at most, allow Zero Wing to stabilize its rule over the territories it currently possessed;these Flying Ships wouldn''t budge the various superpowers'' foundations at all. However, the Twelve Elemental Pillars were a different story. If Zero Wing supplied the Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls in bulk, the structure of the current God''s Domain would change drastically. The various superpowers definitely wouldn''t cotton to Zero Wing restraining them or a pseudo-superpower deciding their future. Even the Five Great Super Guilds wouldn''t sit still and watch this happen. In that case, there would only be two possible outcomes to this situation. The first would be the various superpowers joining hands to annihilate Zero Wing and maintain the status quo. The second outcome would be Zero Wing being forced to hand over its method for obtaining the Twelve Elemental Pillars and submit itself to the various superpowers. Both of these outcomes would be fatal to Zero Wing''s development. Hence, Phoenix Rain decided that it was best to treat today''s incident as Shi Feng tricking Nine Dragons Emperor. That way, Zero Wing would be able to avoid destruction. 2436 Zero Wings Craziness Chapter 2436 - Zero Wing''s Craziness Upon hearing Phoenix Rain''s words, Blue Phoenix, who had just stood up from her seat, immediately came to a realization. "Big Sis Rain, does this mean that Nine Dragons Emperor and that Vice Guild Leader from Mythology understood that something like this would happen from the very start, and that''s why they gave up and left so peacefully?" Blue Phoenix felt a sense of dread when she recalled how calm Nine Dragons Emperor and Cold Shadow had been after failing to force Phoenix Rain to sell her Candlelight shares. Previously, when Shi Feng stated that he could supply Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls in large quantities, the benefits the Twelve Elemental Pillars could bring had occupied Blue Phoenix''s thoughts. She had failed to consider the potential problems that the Twelve Elemental Pillars would bring. She also never imagined that Nine Dragons Emperor and Cold Shadow would think of this problem so quickly. Meanwhile, judging by how decisively Cold Shadow had left the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence, she might''ve already started planning how she could capitalize on this matter. "That''s most likely the case," Phoenix Rain said, nodding. "However, we can still salvage this situation. So long as we can falsify this matter, the two of them won''t be able to take action even if they want to." Although Shi Feng had publicly revealed that he possessed 10 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars, he didn''t actually prove that he was capable of supplying the Ancient Barrier in bulk. At the very least, none of the people that knew about his ability to do so was an outsider. Hence, it wouldn''t be difficult to convince the various superpowers that he couldn''t. If those superpowers discovered that this matter was fake, then Nine Dragons Emperor and Cold Shadow''s plan to target Zero Wing would naturally fall through. After all, the strength Nine Dragons Emperor and Cold Shadow possessed on the eastern continent couldn''t shake the current Zero Wing''s foundations. "You really don''t need to hide this matter. If they wish to take action, they are free to do so. If they are capable of doing so, that is," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix worrying about the problems that the Twelve Elemental Pillars would bring Zero Wing. In the current God''s Domain, nobody knew better than Shi Feng what influence the Twelve Elemental Pillars would have. Compared to the benefits the Twelve Elemental Pillars could bring Zero Wing, the consequences of publicizing it were insignificant. After all, the current Zero Wing was no longer as weak as it was before. In God''s Domain, the period when players were transitioning from Level 100 to Tier 3 was the longest and most difficult for players to get through. In the past, a massive gap had formed between the various powers because of this period. Some unknown Guilds had become superpowers, and some superpowers had faded out of existence as a result of this period. Although Zero Wing currently had a tremendous advantage when producing Tier 3 players, the Guild''s lack of experts prevented it from capitalizing on this advantage. Meanwhile, it was only a matter of time before the various superpowers caught up to Zero Wing in this regard. Hence, what Shi Feng needed to do now was expand Zero Wing''s advantages and utilize these advantages to allow Zero Wing''s experts to break free from this problem. "This..." Phoenix Rain hesitated when she saw Shi Feng''s confident expression. Zero Wing''s current strength indeed could not be underestimated, especially with it having three Flying Ships. The presence of these three Flying Ships made it practically impossible for anybody to threaten Zero Wing''s air superiority. However, the various superpowers were not easy opponents, either. If the various superpowers banded together, even the Five Great Super Guilds would have to compromise. Moreover, this matter was all because of her. In reality, Shi Feng could''ve conducted this transaction in secret and slowly developed Zero Wing''s strength in God''s Domain. There wouldn''t have been any need for Zero Wing to become enemies with the various superpowers at all. "Actually, before I came here, I had Aqua contact a few other Guilds and arrange for a meeting with them three hours later. At that time, I''ll be selling the Twelve Elemental Pillars to them as well," Shi Feng said, smiling. "So, even if the incident just now hadn''t happened, the various superpowers would still find out about this matter. There is no need to blame yourself, Phoenix Pavilion Master." So long as he started selling something like the Twelve Elemental Pillars, he would definitely draw the attention of all superpowers. Hence, he had not hesitated to use the Twelve Elemental Pillars to humiliate Nine Dragons Emperor and Cold Shadow. By doing so, not only would he elevate Phoenix Rain''s position in the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, but it would also serve as a small promotion to the several Guilds he had invited. At that time, he could save himself the trouble of proving that he was capable of supplying the Twelve Elemental Pillars in bulk. After all, the madness of the various superpowers was the best proof. After hearing Shi Feng''s explanation, both Phoenix Rain and Blue Phoenix felt that he was simply crazy. Shi Feng was basically forsaking his life for money! Selling the Twelve Elemental Pillars might bring him a lot of benefits, but even Super Guilds would not dare risk becoming enemies with the various superpowers just for this much profit. After all, the current era was different. Tier 2 experts were no longer as useful as before. Only Tier 3 experts could be considered a Guild''s true combat power. Meanwhile, the various Super Guilds might have a lot more Tier 3 experts than an ordinary super-first-rate Guild, but the total number of Tier 3 experts of just three or five super-first-rate Guilds could easily surpass that of a Super Guild, what more all of the eastern continent''s superpowers. "Since you have already said so, then I''ll represent the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion in purchasing 100 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars from Zero Wing. Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know if you can supply this many?" Phoenix Rain asked seriously after taking a deep breath. After seeing how crazy Shi Feng was behaving, she decided to take a leap of faith. The current Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion was in a very awkward position, ranking neither very highly nor lowly among the various superpowers. Since Zero Wing was already doing its best, she naturally had to try her best as well and gamble all of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s available materials and Magic Crystals. The Twelve Elemental Pillars were very expensive. In the off chance that the loot of the Level 100-plus Mythic monsters the Guild hunted was not ideal and failed to allow the Guild to recoup its investment, the other superpowers in the Apocalypse Empire were likely to surpass the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. After all, a Guild''s development required plenty of resources. This was especially true for Magic Crystals. However, if her gamble paid off and the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion managed to secure enough top-tier equipment to arm a 100-man raid team within a short period, at that time, not only would the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion attain absolute dominance over the Hill of Ruins, but it could also start raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons much sooner than other superpowers. With these advantages, the losses the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion would suffer from expending so many resources would no longer be a problem. "Big Sis Rain?" Blue Phoenix gaped in shock upon hearing Phoenix Rain''s words. She never thought that Phoenix Rain would take such decisive action. With the invasion of the Otherworld powers having greatly intensified the competition in the Apocalypse Empire, just purchasing 30 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars would have already put a heavy strain on the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s resources. Purchasing 100 sets would basically empty the Guild''s stockpile. If the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion failed to secure dominance over the Hill of Ruins with the 100 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars, then the Guild would suffer immense losses. At that time, Phoenix Rain would lose all hope of becoming the next Great Pavilion Master. "That won''t be a problem. However, I''m afraid you''ll have to wait until tomorrow for all 100 sets to be delivered," Shi Feng said. He, too, was surprised at the amount that Phoenix Rain requested. Purchasing 100 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars would cost 500,000 Magic Crystals, 50,000 Gold, 50,000 Elemental Crystals, and 50,000 Elemental Cores. This was no trivial amount of resources. There was no superpower that would not feel strained from spending so many resources. "Blue, start making the necessary preparations." Once Phoenix Rain received Shi Feng''s confirmation, she immediately had Blue Phoenix collect the required materials from the Guild Warehouse. When Blue Phoenix visited the Residence''s Warehouse, her actions immediately created an uproar among the Dragon- Phoenix Pavilion''s upper echelons. The request for 50,000 Gold was fine, as that wasn''t a significant amount of money for the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. However, the number of Magic Crystals, Elemental Crystals, and Magic Cores that Blue Phoenix requested was another matter altogether. These were all materials necessary to produce potions needed for exploration, yet Blue Phoenix had put in a request for more than 90% of the Guild''s stockpile for these materials. However, neither Ku Rong nor the Grand Elders of the Guild tried to stop Blue Phoenix. On the contrary, they immediately approved Blue Phoenix''s request and instructed the warehouse manager to supply Blue Phoenix with all of the requested materials. They also didn''t bother questioning her purpose for these materials. After all, in the current Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion, Phoenix Rain could already be considered the pseudo-Great Pavilion Master. She was well within her authority to make use of these materials. Meanwhile, this shocking piece of news also entered the various superpowers'' ears immediately. 2437 Shocking All Sides Chapter 2437 - Shocking All Sides Black Dragon Empire, Black Dragon City, Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Residence: Currently, over 50 players were seated inside the spacious top-floor reception room. Close observation would reveal that every one of these players had reached Tier 3. Even a superpower''s Guild Leader would turn grim upon seeing this scene. After all, at this stage of the game, only a few superpowers had more than 50 Tier 3 players under their command. "Dragon Pavilion Master, why did you call us here today?" a Level 104, Tier 3 male Shield Warrior with a thin and short body asked, frowning. He showed not the slightest bit of respect for Nine Dragons Emperor. Meanwhile, no one in the reception room found the Shield Warrior''s attitude surprising. On the contrary, everyone considered it completely reasonable because this thin and short, middle-aged man was Stubborn Heart. Not only was Stubborn Heart the Guild Leader of Grim Reaper, the Black Dragon Empire''s number one Dark Guild, but he was also nicknamed "Steel Hammer." Although Grim Reaper was not a superpower, it still wasn''t an existence ordinary first-rate Guilds could go up against. In addition, Dark Players were a bunch of lunatics with only slaughter on their minds, and Dark Guilds had a completely different development path from ordinary Guilds. Hence, Grim Reaper did not fear any of the superpowers operating in the Black Dragon Empire. Naturally, Stubborn Heart wouldn''t bother behaving politely around Nine Dragons Emperor. Upon hearing Stubborn Heart''s question, everyone present turned to look at Nine Dragons Emperor curiously. After all, this was also the question they all wished to ask. Everyone in the room was a person of respectable standing in the Black Dragon Empire. They were either the Guild Leaders of Dark Guilds or the commanders of top adventurer teams. There were even a few Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds present. This was basically a gathering of the Black Dragon Empire''s top brass. "Naturally, it''s good news," Nine Dragons Emperor replied with a calm smile. "Haven''t you all been wishing to develop in the Cold Spring Forest? Your chance has come!" Cold Spring Forest was the Level 100 neutral map closest to the Black Dragon Empire. However, due to Zero Wing''s Stone Forest City, the Black Dragon Empire''s various major powers could only watch helplessly as Zero Wing and its partners monopolized the entire map. After all, if even superpowers were helpless against Stone Forest City, how could the various major powers do anything against it? "What are you trying to say?" Stubborn Heart asked, somewhat tempted by Nine Dragons Emperor''s words. Cold Spring Forest was a Level 100 neutral map. Even Dark Guilds like Grim Reaper could not avoid grinding in such maps. If Grim Reaper could gain some benefits from Cold Spring Forest then the Guilds development would definitely take a leap forward. "I believe you more or less know about the matter that happened over at the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion recently," Nine Dragons Emperor said. "To be precise, I''m referring to Zero Wing taking out Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls." "That''s right. We know a little about that, but what of it? Is Zero Wing willing to sell us some?" Stubborn Heart asked, chuckling. "Not to mention, nobody knows if that information is actually true or not." At this stage of the game, any power would consider the Twelve Elemental Pillars an absolute treasure. Nobody would not be tempted by it. However, how could Zero Wing possibly sell such a precious treasure to outsiders? Moreover, that was an Advanced Ancient Barrier they were talking abouttechnology passed down from ancient times. It shouldn''t be possible to procure many of it. "I can tell you now that Zero Wing is indeed capable of supplying a large number of those Ancient Barrier Scrolls," Nine Dragons Emperor said with some excitement. "Moreover, I have solid proof of this matter." "How is that possible?!" "The technology necessary to produce Ancient Barrier Scrolls should''ve been lost in ancient times!" Everyone reacted in surprise when they heard Nine Dragons Emperor''s confident reply. They had never thought that this piece of information was true. As for Nine Dragons Emperor lying to them, the chances of that happening were close to zero. After all, Nine Dragons Emperor wouldn''t gain any benefits from doing so. "What does this have to do with us? Even if we make a fuss about this, we still won''t get our hands on those scrolls," Stubborn Heart stated. While it was indeed frightening that Zero Wing could supply Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls in bulk, that was a matter that concerned only the various superpowers. Major powers like theirs weren''t qualified to interfere in this matter at all. "That''s why I have gathered you all here," Nine Dragons Emperor said as he swept a glance around the room. Smiling, he continued, "You might not be strong on your own, but combined, even current Super Guilds cannot ignore your strength. Meanwhile, because of the Ancient Barrier Scrolls, the various superpowers definitely won''t let Zero Wing off the hook this time. It won''t matter even if Zero Wing possesses Stone Forest City. Under the might of a Tier 3 army, only destruction awaits Zero Wing! "At that time, if we form an alliance, we might not be able to obtain those Ancient Barrier Scrolls, but we can get a share of Stone Forest City''s benefits. "Are you all not interested in Stone Forest City?" Nine Dragons Emperor''s words seemed replete with infinite temptation since everyone''s breathing quickened after listening to his speech. The eyes of some of those present even started glowing. Who wouldn''t be interested in the current Stone Forest City? Even now, Stone Forest City was still the only city established in a Level 100 neutral map on the eastern continent. It allowed players to not only recover from exhaustion rapidly but also save up on plenty of travel time. Many Tier 3 experts were willing to spend astronomical amounts of money just to rent a house there. Even then, actually renting a house in the city remained an extremely difficult proposition. If they became the rulers of Stone Forest City, the profits they could rake in would be unimaginable. Everyone present immediately signed a contract with Nine Dragons Emperor and formed a powerful alliance of interests. Meanwhile, the purpose of this alliance was to provide its members with greater authority when negotiating with the various superpowers. At the same time, inside one of the VIP rooms of an Advanced Restaurant in Star-Moon Kingdom''s White River City... Vice Guild Leader, we have already verified Black Flame''s words. In order to purchase a large number of those Ancient Barrier Scrolls, Phoenix Rain has gone as far as to empty out the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s stockpile of materials and Magic Crystals," a tall and robust man 2.4 meters tall reported respectfully to the beautiful, short-haired woman before him. This short-haired woman was none other than Cold Shadow, one of Mythology''s Vice Guild Leaders. After leaving Twilight City, she had immediately made her way to White River City. At the same time, she had also tasked her spies with monitoring the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s every action. "I never thought that Zero Wing would actually possess such a foundation. It seems I really underestimated it before." When Cold Shadow heard her subordinate''s report, her lips curled up into a smile, as if she had just found an interesting toy. "In addition, we have also received news that Zero Wing has invited the Secret Pavilion, Thirteen Thrones, Giant''s Heart, and Unyielding Soul for a meeting. By the looks of it, Zero Wing is planning to rope these Guilds in, using the Ancient Barrier Scrolls to form a common front." "Not a bad decision. If Zero Wing has the full support of these Guilds, things will indeed become more troublesome," Cold Shadow said, smiling. "Unfortunately, it is useless, even if these Guilds band together. Proceed according to the plan. Whether it is those Ancient Barrier Scrolls or Zero Wing''s secret, we must obtain them all!" In her opinion, Shi Feng''s action of using the Twelve Elemental Pillars to suppress Mythology was simply too immature. He just wasn''t aware of the consequences of distributing the Twelve Elemental Pillars in bulk. Let alone the Secret Pavilion, even if the Five Great Super Guilds worked together, they still wouldn''t be able to stop an army of several thousand Tier 3 experts. At the same time, inside a lush, green, primeval forest, a 100-man team consisting of more than 40 Tier 3 experts was resting below a large tree. Meanwhile, lying around this team were the corpses of Level 105-plus monsters. Many among them were at the Great Lord rank, and one of them was even a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Meanwhile, the leader of this team was none other than the Secret Pavilion''s Yuan Tiexin. "Black Flame must be insane! How can he possibly do this?!" Yuan Tiexin''s complexion paled after he read the report his subordinate sent him. "He is making an enemy out of every superpower on the eastern continent!" Originally, Yuan Tiexin thought that Shi Feng was inviting the Secret Pavilion for a meeting because of some good news. He never imagined that Shi Feng would pull such a huge stunt. "Uncle Yuan, are we still attending the meeting?" Purple Jade asked, a gloomy expression forming on her face after she read the report. Zero Wing had truly gone overboard this time! Previously, the matter regarding Stone Forest City''s transfer to the Bottomless Abyss was still acceptable. After all, back then, even the strongest player was at Tier 2. At worst, Stone Forest City''s transfer would make a few superpowers envious. No superpower would choose to go for broke. However, Zero Wing''s actions this time touched upon the foundations of the various superpowers. To protect themselves, the superpowers would definitely do everything they could to destroy Zero Wing. This time, even the Secret Pavilion would not be capable of shielding Zero Wing. "Of course! Moreover, we need to hurry over immediately! If we wait until the various superpowers form an alliance, everything will be too late!" Yuan Tiexin said. Immediately, he organized his team and made his way to White River City, planning to persuade Shi Feng to hand over the Twelve Elemental Pillars'' acquisition method. After that, the Secret Pavilion would take responsibility for negotiating with the various superpowers. Otherwise, only death awaited Zero Wing. Elsewhere, after Shi Feng received the payment from Phoenix Rain, he promptly returned to White River City as well. However, he did not start production of the Twelve Elemental Pillars. Instead, he made a trip to the Adventurer''s Association in order to register his Knight Division''s members for their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Originally, he should''ve conducted these registration procedures long ago. A Knight Division''s members were considered the private soldiers of players. They were not exactly the same as Personal Guards. Although Knights would still automatically challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests once they reached Level 100, after succeeding in their Promotion Quest, they still needed their Lord to pay a procedural fee to the Adventurer''s Association to complete their promotion. Previously, as Shi Feng had been tied up with one problem after another, he had not had the time to take care of this matter. Now that all his affairs were settled, he naturally had to get this matter done. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to open Stone Forest City to the public and turn the city into a true goldmine. After all, if a Guild City wished to earn money, it needed a large player population. After transferring Stone Forest City to the Cold Spring Forest, in order to ensure Zero Wing''s advantage, Shi Feng had decided to give access only to Zero Wing''s allies and a small number of outsiders. However, now that the number of Tier 3 players in the game was increasing, Stone Forest City''s advantages were continuously shrinking. In addition, it cost an enormous amount of money to maintain Stone Forest City''s daily operations. There was also the economic war with Starlink. Due to these factors, Zero Wing was currently barely making ends meet. Hence, it became necessary for Zero Wing to open Stone Forest City to the public. Previously, with Zero Wing''s current strength, Shi Feng wouldn''t have dared open Stone Forest City to the public. Fortunately, however, he was a Lord and possessed a 5,000-man Knight Division, which was the reason why he dared to publicize the Twelve Elemental Pillars. Although he felt that only 200 or so of his 5,000 Knights were capable of reaching Tier 3 this soon, NPCs were far stronger than players. Given those Tier 3 NPCs, in combination with the strength of the Tier 2 Knights and Stone Forest City''s defenses, current superpowers would have a very difficult time threatening Stone Forest City. Meanwhile, if the various superpowers didn''t pose a threat to Stone Forest City, they naturally couldn''t deal Zero Wing a heavy blow. "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service?" Administrator Lorrain asked with a smile after walking into the VIP room Shi Feng occupied. "I wish to see the list of my Knights that have completed their Promotion Quest," Shi Feng said. "Very well." Lorrain nodded before leaving to search for the necessary information. A short moment later, she returned and handed a list to Shi Feng, saying, "Currently, 556 of your Knights have completed their Promotion Quest. Do you wish to conduct the registration procedures for all of them?" 2438 Frightening Knight Division Chapter 2438 - Frightening Knight Division Five hundred and fifty-six?! Why are there so many?! Shi Feng stared at the list in his hands in disbelief. By his estimates, even though the Knights he recruited were of high quality, not that many of them should have been able to complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quest this soon. After all, Tier 3 was a significant turning point, even for NPCs. Normally, Bronze Tier 2 Knights would have less than a 5% chance of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest, while Mysterious-Iron Knights'' odds would be less than 10%. Only after reaching the Secret-Silver rank would Knights have an 80% chance of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. This was also the reason why players had treated Knights at the Secret-Silver rank or above as treasures in his past life. Hence, of the 5,000 Knights he recruited, he would be fortunate if even 200 of them had succeeded in their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Now, however, the actual number was more than double his estimates. Those were 556 Tier 3 NPCs they were talking about. Normally, only 2-star Lords had so many Tier 3 Knights. In order to become a 2-star Lord, players needed to possess 200 Lord Popularity Pointstwice the amount required to become a 1-star Lord. Meanwhile, after becoming a 2-star Lord, players could command an additional 2,000 Knights, raising the total to 7,000. Compared to 1-star Lords, 2-star Lords would be much more attractive to NPCs. However, even under such a situation, 2-star Lords would generally have around 600 Tier 3 Knights. Moreover, achieving this number required the investment of a lot of time and resources. Developing Knights couldn''t be accomplished within just a few days or weeks. After all, in God''s Domain, many ordinary players couldn''t even reach Tier 3; those that reached Tier 3 would only be considered subpar among Tier 3 existences. Even Bronze Tier 3 Knights could suppress them easily. Normally, a team of 200 Bronze Tier 3 Knights would be more than sufficient for maintaining the security of a Guild City with a player population of around 3,000,000. In fact, such a Guild City might even be much safer than NPC cities. In minor NPC cities, Tier 3 players were fully capable of killing players in the city and then fleeing with their lives. After all, minor NPC cities were generally guarded by high-level Tier 2 NPCs at most. However, it was a different story with Tier 3 Knights. Even Tier 3 peak experts couldn''t outrun a Bronze Tier 3 Knight. Hence, during Shi Feng''s previous life, very few experts had dared to cause trouble inside cities guarded by Tier 3 Knights unless they were prepared to suffer mutual destruction or worse, failing to kill their targets and losing their lives. This was the amazing aspect of 1-star Lords. If a Guild were to rely on its members to defend its Guild City, the Guild wouldn''t achieve such a deterrent effect. Meanwhile, now that Shi Feng had 556 Tier 3 Knights, let alone safeguarding a Guild City with a player population of 3,000,000, he wouldn''t have any problems protecting two such cities. In fact, with this number of Tier 3 Knights, he could even guarantee the safety of an Advanced City. Could my Knights'' Growth Potentials be very high because I am the first 1-star Lord to draft NPCs from the various kingdoms and empires? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found this to be the only possible explanation. Back then, he had spent a lot of money to recruit Knights in various major NPC cities. Both the quantity and quality of the Knights that answered his draft had exceeded his expectations. He suspected that the Knights he recruited had considerably high Growth Potentials as well. For example, a Bronze Knight''s Growth Potential was generally between 31 and 50. However, a Bronze Knight with 50 Growth Potential would have a considerably better chance of reaching Tier 3 than a Bronze Knight with 31 Growth Potential. If his speculation was correct and the Knights he recruited all possessed very high Growth Potential, then it wasn''t unreasonable that so many of them had succeeded in their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. "Lord Bronze Legatee, do you wish to conduct the procedures now?" Lorrain prompted once more as she looked at Shi Feng''s dazed expression. Yes! Of course!" Shi Feng replied hurriedly. These were 556 Tier 3s they were talking about. Moreover, they were Tier 3 NPCs. Currently, a superpower would be fortunate to have even 50 Tier 3 experts under their command; 500 would definitely be an astronomical amount for the various superpowers. Not to mention, Tier 3 NPCs were generally much stronger than Tier 3 players. If he revealed these Tier 3 Knights to the public, he would scare a lot of people to death! Unfortunately, unlike Personal Guards, Knights could operate only within their Lord''s territories. Otherwise, with over 500 Tier 3 NPCs under his command, he could easily trample any of the current superpowers in God''s Domain. Very well. The Tier 3 registration procedures cost 10 Gold per person. The total bill is 5,560 Gold," Lorrain said. "Alright." Shi Feng nodded. He then added, "I also wish to replace the equipment of these people. Please upgrade the equipment of all those that aren''t equipped in Fine-Gold Equipment to the Fine-Gold rank." The registration fee was a small price to pay. If he could upgrade all 5,000 of his Knights to Tier 3, let alone 10 Gold per person, he would be willing to pay even 100 Gold each. However, that was only a dream. After all, Knights at the Secret-Silver rank or above were far too rare. Being able to recruit even one was already a fortunate matter. Take the current situation, for example. Even now, Shi Feng was still issuing draft orders in the various major NPC cities and replacing his weaker Knights with better ones. However, even after so many days, he had only managed to get some new Mysterious-Iron Knights. He still hadn''t recruited any new Secret-Silver Knights. One could see just how difficult it was to come across Secret-Silver Knights. Meanwhile, after reaching Tier 3, although the Basic Attributes of Knights would vary, depending on their Growth Potential, their overall combat power was still contingent on their weapons and equipment. There was a massive difference in combat power between a Knight geared in Bronze Equipment and a Knight geared in Epic Equipment. Moreover, unlike players, NPCs were much easier to gear. One just needed sufficient funds. Of course, there was a limit to the weapons and equipment Lords could purchase for their Knights, and that limit was the Epic rank. Gearing Knights in Fragmented Legendary or Legendary items required special means. Currently, Shi Feng''s greatest wish was to gear every one of his Knights in a full set of Epic Equipment. However, this was something he only dared dream of. After all, one set of Level 100 to Level 150 Epic Equipment cost 4,000 Gold. If he wanted to arm his entire Knight Division in Epic Equipment, it would cost him 20,000,000 Gold. Twenty million! This was an astronomical amount even for superpowers, let alone Zero Wing. Currently, the best he could do was to gear his Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Knights in Epic Equipment and the remaining Tier 3 Knights in Fine-Gold Equipment. As for the Tier 2 Knights, most of them still used Secret-Silver Equipment. Although Zero Wing had constantly been upgrading the Knights'' weapons and equipment, the amount invested wasn''t a lot, and the upgrades were generally done in very small batches. Shi Feng only dared to upgrade the equipment of more than 500 people because he had some spare funds on hand. "Of the 556 people in question, 478 require a change in equipment. Each set of Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment is priced at 100 Gold. Including the registration fee, your total comes to 53,360 Gold," Lorrain said, smiling after taking a look at the list. When Shi Feng heard the price Lorrain quoted, he involuntarily winced slightly as he took out most of the Coins he had on hand. It seems I''ll have to earn even more money now. Otherwise, I won''t be able to nurture these Tier 3 Knights. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile when he saw that he had only around 400 Gold left in his bag. He had gone to great lengths to earn 50,000 Gold from Phoenix Rain. Just when he thought he had become slightly rich again, all of his money disappeared in the blink of an eye. If not for him having close to 4,000 Gold before his transaction with Phoenix Rain, he wouldn''t have been able to afford to replace the equipment of his Tier 3 Knights. Although 400 Gold was a huge sum of money to expert players, Shi Feng was the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Having just 400 Gold on him was extremely shabby. Moreover, after his Knights officially reached Tier 3, their weekly salaries and nurturing fees had also increased. As an example, Bronze Tier 3 Knights demanded a weekly salary of 200 Gold and cost 100 Gold per week to nurture. These numbers could basically rival those of Fine-Gold Tier 2 Knights. Meanwhile, nearly 300 of the 556 Tier 3 Knights were Bronze Knights. Just nurturing these Bronze Knights would cost almost 90,000 Gold per week. After including the Tier 3 Knights that were at the Mysterious-Iron rank and above, nurturing these 556 Tier 3 Knights would cost more than 200,000 Gold per week. After Shi Feng footed the bill, Aqua Rose suddenly contacted him. "Guild Leader, Yuan Tiexin and his entourage have arrived at Stone Forest City. Yuan Tiexin has quite an ugly expression on his face and says that he has urgent business to discuss with you," Aqua Rose said. "They''re here so soon? Have them wait in the City Lord''s Mansion. I''ll head over right away," Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then took out a Guild Transfer Scroll for Stone Forest City and disappeared from the VIP room. 2439 Commotion at Cold Spring Chapter 2439 - Commotion at Cold Spring Cold Spring Canyon, Stone Forest City: Under Aqua Rose''s lead, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade reached the City Lord''s Mansion. Just as they were about to enter it, a group of Level 100 players, who had just arrived at Stone Forest City, happened to walk by, their eyes filled with shock and wonder as they took in the players around them. "Are there so many Tier 3 experts here normally? Isn''t Stone Forest City a little too amazing?!" a Level 100 female Elementalist exclaimed. Tier 3 experts were currently the strongest combatants in the game. Even first-rate Guilds would be fortunate to have a dozen Tier 3 experts under their command. Since there were only a few first-rate Guilds in every kingdom and empire, it was incredibly difficult to come across Tier 3 players. Normally, it would be rare to encounter a handful of Tier 3 players even on the main street of an empire''s capital. Now, however, there were easily more than two dozen Tier 3 players walking along Stone Forest City''s main street. However, the resident players of Stone Forest City were behaving as if this situation was normal. Everyone was doing their own thing and paid no attention to the Tier 3 players. "There''s nothing to get surprised about. Do you know what kind of place Stone Forest City is?" the level 102, Tier 3 Shield Warrior, who was the female Elementalist''s team leader, said. In a low tone, he continued, "Remember to be extra careful when you''re here in the future! Even if the Hundred Flowers Palace is a first-rate Guild in the Dark Night Empire, it still can''t ensure your safety here! You can only let your guard down after you have reached Tier 3 as well!" Currently, Stone Forest City was the only Guild City established in a Level 100 neutral map, so it held a powerful attraction for players. However, aside from Zero Wing''s partner Guilds, other players and powers that wished to enter the city could do so only by renting the city''s private houses. Meanwhile, Stone Forest City''s private houses were both incomparably rare and expensive. Ordinary experts couldn''t afford them at all. One could say that every player residing in Stone Forest City either possessed powerful backing or was an extremely powerful individual. Due to this reason, if one accidentally offended someone in Stone Forest City, particularly the Tier 3 players of the city, then one would be in for an absolute nightmare. Players might be safe inside Stone Forest City, as there were NPC Knights and Zero Wing''s experts patrolling it. However, once players left the city, it was a different story. Tier 3 players ruled the fields outside. One would not receive any respect even if they originated from a first-rate Guild. Upon hearing this Level 102, Tier 3 Shield Warrior''s words, the Hundred Flowers Palace''s dozen or so talented newcomers promptly nodded their heads and no longer dared to speak casually. Right now, they could clearly sense the attention and auras coming from the people around them. The gazes of the Tier 3 experts, in particular, carried a hint of killing intent. It was as if these people were hunters that had just found their prey. Fortunately, there were Level 115-plus, Tier 2 NPC Knights, as well as Zero Wing and Secret Pavilion experts, maintaining order in the city. There was also the fact that their team leader was a Tier 3 Shield Warrior. Otherwise, these Tier 3 experts would no doubt find opportunities to kill them in the city and plunder the Level 100 top-tier weapons and equipment their Guild had prepared for them. "It seems the situation in Stone Forest City is becoming increasingly unstable." Yuan Tiexin frowned grimly as he looked at the Tier 3 experts roaming the main street. He felt that he had still underestimated the difficulty of developing and managing Stone Forest City. Although Zero Wing already had more than 50 players that had reached Tier 3, that number was still far from comparable to the total number of Tier 3 experts in a single kingdom or empire. Moreover, as more time passed, the number of Tier 3 players in the various kingdoms and empires would only increase at a pace that far outstripped Zero Wing''s. Take the current Stone Forest City, for example. Previously, Zero Wing was capable of suppressing all of the Tier 3 players operating within the city with just two dozen Tier 3 experts. Now, however... It was no exaggeration to say that the total number of Tier 3 experts Zero Wing commanded couldn''t even rival the number of Tier 3 experts dwelling in the city. As more time passed, this gap would only widen. After all, Cold Spring Forest was a leveling heaven for players. More and more Tier 3 experts would seek to develop here in the future. Meanwhile, as Stone Forest City''s Tier 3 expert population increased, the city''s security would also become a big problem. Although the Secret Pavilion had garrisoned plenty of its own Tier 3 experts in the city, security remained a problem. After all, Tier 3 experts were powerhouses capable of committing crimes and escaping from even major NPC cities, let alone a Guild City like Stone Forest City. Take the current situation, for example. The Tier 3 experts operating in Stone Forest City no longer bothered to hide their killing intent. After all, they understood that managing them was already a challenge for Zero Wing. The Guild no longer possessed absolute might and authority in the city. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before Tier 3 experts started secretly taking action within city limits. Yet, despite Stone Forest City falling into such a predicament, not only did Shi Feng not try to think of ways to stabilize the city''s situation and properly develop Zero Wing in secret, but he had even gone and aggravated the various superpowers, leaving the superpowers with no choice but to annihilate Zero Wing. Now that the situation had come to this, even the Secret Pavilion would have a very difficult time guaranteeing Zero Wing''s safety. However, Yuan Tiexin did not put too much thought into the matter. Instead, he promptly followed Aqua Rose through the City Lord''s Mansion''s entrance. Right now, his priority was to persuade Shi Feng to hand over the Twelve Elemental Pillars'' benefits. Otherwise, the Secret Pavilion would have nothing to negotiate with to fend off the various superpowers. However, just as the trio were about to enter the inner courtyard of the City Lord''s Mansion, a regional system announcement suddenly sounded in their ears. Cold Spring Forest Region System Announcement: The seal on Stone Forest City has been lifted, and the city is now officially open to the public. All players may now enter the city to rest after paying an entrance fee. The system announcement repeated three times. Although the Main God System''s mechanical voice contained no emotions, its words thoroughly stunned Yuan Tiexin. "Is he insane?" Looking at the system announcement, Yuan Tiexin even wondered if he had heard and seen wrong. Even when Stone Forest City was sealed, Zero Wing was already having difficulties managing the city. If the city was opened to the public, Yuan Tiexin did not dare to imagine what it would become. After all, the various superpowers were keeping a close eye on Zero Wing. They might have even started forming alliances already. Opening Stone Forest City to the public now would be no different from gifting the city to the various superpowers. Vice Guild Leader Aqua, what is Guild Leader Black Flame trying to do? Is he really planning to forsake his life for money?" Purple Jade could not help asking Aqua Rose after seeing the system announcement. In Purple Jade''s opinion, Shi Feng was already plenty crazy for selling a treasure like the Twelve Elemental Pillars in bulk. Now, he had actually gone a step further and opened the insecure Stone Forest City to the public. At this rate, even if the various superpowers did not take action, Stone Forest City would still fall into ruin from the large number of experts that would swarm into the city. At this moment, let alone Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade, even the players operating within the Cold Spring Forest were stunned by this announcement. None of them had thought that Zero Wing would actually allow the public into Stone Forest City. After all, current Tier 3 players were no longer the same as before, no longer existences that ordinary NPC soldiers could suppress. If a large number of Tier 3 experts swarmed into Stone Forest City, the city might still belong to Zero Wing, but the Guild would no longer be its absolute ruler. Following a brief moment of surprise, the players operating within the Cold Spring Forest were ecstatic at this piece of news. Stone Forest City''s opening meant that they could operate freely in the Cold Spring Forest in the future. They no longer had to waste time traveling between the neutral map and an NPC city. They would also have a much easier time challenging their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. Meanwhile, all they had to pay in exchange for these conveniences was a small entrance fee. "No, I definitely cannot let him mess around like this! The Secret Pavilion is also a shareholder in Stone Forest City! We need to seal Stone Forest City again right away! If we wait until all of Cold Spring Forest''s experts enter the city, then the entire city will fall into ruin!" Yuan Tiexin felt that Shi Feng had truly gone insane this time. After saying so, he immediately dashed toward the City Lord''s Mansion''s inner courtyard, planning to make his way to the City Lord''s Office, as players could choose to open or seal the entire city only in the office. However, as soon as he opened the doors to the inner courtyard, a tsunami-like aura immediately struck him, driving an overwhelming sense of fear and helplessness into him. Both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade abruptly jumped back, instantly putting a huge distance between themselves and the inner courtyard''s entrance. They wore extremely grim expressions as they looked warily at the inner courtyard''s plaza, which rivaled the size of a football field. "Tier 3...NPCS?" "What is going on here?" When Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade first arrived at the small plaza, confusion had momentarily overwhelmed them. Afterward, they gasped reflexively. Their reaction was because the plaza was filled with Level 115-plus NPCsall of whom had actually reached Tier 3. Moreover, these NPCs radiated incredibly powerful auras, with the strongest NPCs inspiring despair even in experts like Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade. At this moment, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade felt as if he had just opened Pandora''s Box. Meanwhile, the most frightening thing was that all of these Tier 3 NPCs were staring at them right now. 2440 Yuan Tiexins Shock Chapter 2440 - Yuan Tiexin''s Shock Being the focus of attention from hundreds of Tier 3 NPCs placed immense pressure on Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade. For a moment, they even felt the urge to turn around and flee. Although both of them had reached Tier 3 already, they were still far from comparable to Tier 3 NPCs in terms of strength. This difference wasn''t only in Basic Attributes. Recently promoted Tier 3 players like them had no way of competing against Tier 3 NPCs in this regard. Moreover, Tier 3 NPCs were existences capable of serving as the Magistrate of minor NPC cities. At this point, there was no player in God''s Domain that did not fear the might of an NPC city''s Magistrate. This remained the case even after Tier 3 players came into existence. Meanwhile, several hundred Magistrate-level NPCs were staring at Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade. One could easily imagine how much pressure they were under. Have the dark forces'' NPCs occupied Stone Forest City already? Yuan Tiexin''s mind gave birth to such a thought as he gazed at the Tier 3 NPCs before him. Since the launch of God''s Domain until now, many instances of the dark forces'' NPCs occupying neutral maps had already occurred. These situations were similar to events triggered by players. If players managed to resolve this crisis in time, then they were rewarded handsomely. If not, then the dark forces would take over the neutral map completely. At this moment, Stone Forest City might have come across a similar event. There was no explanation for why so many Tier 3 NPCs had suddenly appeared in Stone Forest City, otherwise. It would also explain why Stone Forest City was suddenly opened to the public. "Uncle Yuan, what should we do? These NPCs have already locked on to our auras," Purple Jade asked anxiously. At this moment, she did not have the slightest intention whatsoever of conquering this event. After all, this situation could no longer be considered an event; this was practically a natural disaster. Escaping from just one Level 100, Tier 3 NPC would already be difficult for her. Now, however, there were hundreds of Level 115-plus, Tier 3 NPCs standing inside the plaza. How was she to escape in such a situation? "We don''t have any other options. I''ll try to block them in a moment. Use that chance to activate a Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scroll and leave this place. Be quick. These Tier 3 NPCs have reaction speeds and combat standards far superior to those Great Lords and Grand Lords we''ve faced. They won''t give us any opportunities to take advantage of," Yuan Tiexin said. At this moment, he understood that it was impossible for both of them to escape. They could only sacrifice one person to create an opportunity for the other. In God''s Domain, NPCs were far more intelligent than monsters. They were also much more experienced and sharper than players when it came to combat. Moreover, the higher their tier, the more intelligent NPCs became. After reaching Tier 3, NPCs basically wouldn''t give players a chance to use magic tools. In a situation where NPCs had the advantage in combat power, even Tier 3 peak experts like them would have a very difficult time retrieving a magic tool from their bags, much less activating it. This was because the brief lapse in defense this action would create would be more than enough for Tier 3 NPCs to instantly kill them. Meanwhile, as a Tier 3 MT, if Yuan Tiexin activated all his Lifesaving Skills, he could more or less hold off these NPCs for a brief period. However, it was a different story for Purple Jade, who was a Tier 3 Sword King. If she tried to block these Tier 3 NPCs, she would most likely end up vaporized in an instant. After all, their opponents weren''t just two or three Tier 3 NPCs, but several hundred Tier 3 NPCs instead. "I understand." Purple Jade nodded. Although she felt reluctant, she understood that this was their best option. Otherwise, both of them would die here. Losing a level might not be a huge deal for Tier 3 players like them, but the top-tier equipment they would lose as a result of death was. Once Purple Jade nodded, Yuan Tiexin immediately raised his shield and prepared to activate his Lifesaving Skills. However, just as Yuan Tiexin was about to charge into the inner courtyard and attract the NPCs'' attention, a familiar voice suddenly came from the inner courtyard. "Elder Yuan, why are you here? Didn''t Aqua lead you to the reception room?" This voice stunned both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jadebecause it sounded incredibly familiar. However, they also felt that it should be impossible for them to hear this voice at this place. Both of them reflexively turned toward this voice. In the next moment, the rows of Tier 3 NPCs suddenly parted, opening up a path for a cloaked man standing in the middle of the inner courtyard''s plaza. At the same time, every one of these NPCs assumed a respectful pose, their actions suggestive of vassals welcoming their ruler. When Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade saw the cloaked man, they were again stunned. "You... Are you really Guild Leader Black Flame?" Purple Jade asked in an astonished tone as she looked at Shi Feng. Tier 3 NPCs were existences that players like herself viewed with dread. After reaching Tier 3, she became even more aware of just how powerful Tier 3 NPCs were. Now, however, the several hundred Tier 3 NPCs standing in the plaza were actually acting subservient to Shi Feng. In such a situation, how could Shi Feng still be considered a player? He was basically the king of a country. "Of course I am Black Flame," Shi Feng replied, chuckling. "If not, who do you think I am?" Shi Feng found Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade''s shock completely understandable. After all, there were over 500 Tier 3 NPCs standing before them. Even an NPC kingdom did not boast of so many Tier 3 NPCs under its command. Now that all of these NPCs were assembled, it was no exaggeration to call them an unstoppable force. At this moment, let alone Tier 3 experts like Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade, even Tier 4 experts would have to flee for their lives when facing such an army. After all, Tier 3 NPCs were different from monsters. When working together, they could boost their combat power exponentially. If they used large-scale Combination Spells and Skills, the combat power they could exhibit would far exceed what was apparent on the surface. This was also the reason why the Ten Saints Empire''s Seven Mythic Knight Divisions were capable of pacifying the neighboring kingdoms and empires. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Feng''s teasing, both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade relaxed visibly. "Guild Leader Black Flame, who are these NPCs behind you?" Yuan Tiexin asked. Although he now understood that these Tier 3 NPCs were not hostile, he still couldn''t ignore the fact that so many Tier 3 NPCs were gathered in a single place. "Them?" Meeting Yuan Tiexin''s fearful and curious gaze, Shi Feng pointed at the Tier 3 NPCs behind him and said, "They belong to my personal Knight Division. They''re similar to the Tier 2 Knights you see patrolling outside. Only, the ones behind me have just been promoted to Tier 3." "They belong to your Knight Division?!" Although Shi Feng had spoken very casually, both Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were flabbergasted by his words. They might not have a clear idea of what a Knight Division was, but judging by Shi Feng''s tone, they could tell that these Tier 3 NPCs were under Shi Feng''s command. These were several hundred Tier 3 NPCs they were talking about! The various superpowers did not have a lot of Personal Guards that had been promoted to Tier 3 even now. Normally, only Personal Guards at the Secret-Silver rank or above had a 100% chance of completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quest. As for Personal Guards of a lower rank, their chances were very low. However, Secret-Silver Personal Guards and better were incredibly rare; most superpowers had less than a handful of them. Meanwhile, from what Yuan Tiexin could tell, there should be at least 500 Tier 3 NPCs standing inside the inner courtyard. With such a force, Zero Wing could annihilate any power it wished. "Right, Elder Yuan, why were you in such a hurry to find me? Do you have some urgent business to discuss?" Shi Feng asked when Yuan Tiexin remained in a daze even after some time had passed. "I did, originally." Looking at the Tier 3 Knights filling the courtyard, Yuan Tiexin revealed a bitter smile and said, "But now, it seems I don''t anymore." What a joke! Right now, Stone Forest City''s defenses were even more frightening than those of a kingdom''s capital city. Even if all of the eastern continent''s superpowers worked together and formed an army of several thousand Tier 3 experts, they would still be far from capable of capturing a kingdom''s capital city. Needless to say, they wouldn''t be capable of capturing Stone Forest City, either. Meanwhile, if the various superpowers couldn''t do anything against Stone Forest City, then Zero Wing''s foundations would not be affected no matter what. If the various superpowers still insisted on attacking Stone Forest City, the only ones that would suffer would be them. Right now, Yuan Tiexin was even hoping that the various superpowers would come and attack Stone Forest City quickly. Following which, Shi Feng conducted a transaction for the Twelve Elemental Pillars with Yuan Tiexin. Afterward, Shi Feng had to admit that the Secret Pavilion was indeed rich, as Yuan Tiexin had purchased 200 sets just to "test" the magic barrier''s efficiency. This transaction had instantly turned Shi Feng into a wealthy man again. During the time Shi Feng and Yuan Tiexin were doing business, the various superpowers received news of Stone Forest City being opened to the public. For a time, the superpowers were surprised by this situation. They never anticipated such a crazy stunt from Zero Wing. Meanwhile, inside the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions Residence in Black Dragon City... "Pavilion Master, what do you think Black Flame is trying to do?" Martial Dragon asked, his face filled with confusion as he read the report in his hand. "Is he really trying to make a quick buck, now that he knows that he is going to lose Stone Forest City?" In Martial Dragon''s opinion, this was the only explanation for this situation. After all, as soon as the various superpowers finished negotiating a partnership with each other, an army of several thousand Tier 3 experts would march on Stone Forest City. Moreover, once the superpowers allied with each other, they definitely wouldn''t be satisfied with just obtaining the Twelve Elemental Pillars. They would surely aim for Stone Forest City and even possibly the entirety of Zero Wing. At that time, it would be useless even if the Secret Pavilion tried to protect Zero Wing. "I don''t know, but everything is already over. I received news that quite a few superpowers have started negotiating with each other in secret. There is nothing Zero Wing can do to salvage this situation now," Nine Dragons Emperor said, shaking his head. Although he was similarly confused by Shi Feng''s actions, he deemed this matter no longer important. "How are things coming along on Stubborn Heart''s side?" "They are already making their way to Stone Forest City. They have close to 100 Tier 3 experts on their side, and it won''t be long before they sneak into the city. Once the various superpowers'' army arrives, they will coordinate their attacks with the army''s, and Stone Forest City should fall very easily," Martial Dragon reported. "Good. Your side should get ready, as well. We''ll be meeting with Lu Xingluo in a moment. At that time, we''ll have to discuss with him how we are going to distribute Stone Forest City''s spoils," Nine Dragons Emperor said. "Understood!" Martial Dragon responded, a rare smile appearing on his face. Meanwhile, as Nine Dragons Emperor was paying Lu Xingluo a visit, Stubborn Heart''s group arrived before Stone Forest City''s entrance and queued up to enter the city. 2441 Zero Wings Tyranny Chapter 2441 - Zero Wing''s Tyranny Stone Forest City''s public opening had shaken the Cold Spring Forest. Many expert players and teams within the area had dropped what they were doing and ran toward the city. As a result, a long line had formed outside of the city''s entrance. At a glance, one could easily spot over 10,000 players lined up, and the line continued to grow as time passed. Many of the players in line were here to witness the rumored ''sacred leveling ground'' in Cold Spring Forest, while a small number were waiting to verify if Stone Forest City had truly opened to the public. Although the system would not lie, nobody was certain that Zero Wing wouldn''t just close its city again. After all, Stone Forest City offered a massive number of benefits. A struggle ensued between the various major powers and wealthy players every time Zero Wing held a leasing auction for the city''s private houses, and as a result, every house was rented for astronomical sums. If Zero Wing had really opened Stone Forest City to the public, players wouldn''t have to rely on renting private houses to enter the city. As long as they paid the entrance fee, they could rest within the city''s walls, which would drastically reduce the value of Stone Forest City''s private houses. The powers Zero Wing had allied with also paid a certain price to access Stone Forest City, and now that the city was open to the public, those powers wouldn''t have to continue paying the Guild. Most importantly, by opening Stone Forest City to the public, Zero Wing would be sharing its leveling advantage with outsiders, greatly reducing the advantage the Guild held. Hence, closing the city again wouldn''t exactly be possible for Zero Wing. "Zero Wing''s gone mad with greed! It''s charging 10 Silver per person to enter the city! That''s practically daylight robbery!" a Tier 3 female Cursemancer radiating a dark aura complained, frowning. She wanted nothing more than to slay the Tier 2 NPC Knight that collected the entrance fees. Ordinary Guild Cities only charged several dozen Copper as entrance fees. Even the Guild Cities that had been established near Level 100 neutral maps only charged 2 Silver per person. Yet, Stone Forest City charged five times that! Although current players had already reached very high levels and found more avenues to earn money, they also had to bear more expenditures. When players fought Level 100-plus monsters, in particular, their equipment lost durability at an alarming rate, even if they were fully geared in top-tier equipment. As a result, the repair fees were excruciating. Furthermore, players had to purchase potions and tools for grinding. Once these costs were deducted, players could only save a small number of Coins each day. Currently, even Level 100, Tier 2 experts only made a net profit of 40 or 50 Silver per day, and that was limited to ranged experts. Melee experts would be lucky to earn 30 Silver each day in net profit. Unless players were extremely lucky and obtained a precious item or material, they wouldn''t make much money. Although players could grind low-level monsters for materials and earn more money, doing so was putting the cart before the horse. If the various major powers'' experts removed themselves from the frontline, they''d quickly be left behind. Catching up would be incredibly difficult, and they might even miss some fortuitous opportunity as a result. Hence, no matter how poor frontline players were, they wouldn''t walk away from the frontline just to earn a little money. At the moment, players were only entering the city, not renting hotel rooms, yet they had to pay 10 Silver per person. If the city charged each player so much to enter the city, it would earn 100,000 Gold for every 1,000,000 players. One hundred thousand Gold! At this stage of the game, not even first-rate Guilds could earn that much money in a day. Of course, Zero Wing would only earn that much if 1,000,000 players visited the city on a daily basis, but with the advantages Stone Forest City had to offer, attracting two or three million daily visitors should be a piece of cake. In other words, Stone Forest City could generate two or three hundred thousand Gold per day in entry fees alone... Moreover, as more players visited Cold Spring Forest, this number would increase. "Flower! Now isn''t the time to take action! Entering the city is our first priority!" Stubborn Heart reminded the female Cursemancer from beside her. "Once the superpowers, combined army arrives, you can fuss all you want." The Cursemancer, Flower Rain, exasperated Stubborn Heart. Flower Rain had already reached Tier 3, and 10 Silver was insignificant to an expert of her caliber. She could join any random team and earn several dozen Gold, yet she complained about 10 Silver Coins. If not for this operation, Stubborn Heart wouldn''t have recruited an independent expert like Flower Rain. However, he had to admit that Stone Forest City was tyrannical. Just by existing here, the city could earn enough income to sustain several first-rate Guilds. "Relax; I''m aware of our priorities. That being said, I want 50% more in remuneration," Flower Rain demanded. Despite the fact that Stubborn Heart was the Guild Leader of the Black Dragon Empire''s number one Dark Guild, she showed him no respect. On the contrary, she demanded a higher price. In response, several of Grim Reaper''s Tier 3 experts gave Flower Rain cold glares. "Fine. As long as you can maintain your Domain as agreed, I''ll increase your pay," Stubborn Heart said, assenting. Interestingly, he didn''t seem angry in the least. None of the other major powers'' experts were surprised, however. Flower Rain was the only player in the Black Dragon Empire to possess a Tier 3 Domain Skill. She was also a bona fide Void Realm expert, and when she activated her Domain Skill, even the empire''s first-rate Guilds were helpless against her. This was precisely the reason that Stubborn Heart had enlisted Flower Rain''s help. Although every member of his team was a Tier 3 expert, Stone Forest City was full of Level 115-plus, Tier 2 NPC Knights, which would be a challenge to get through. Hence, they needed Flower Rain''s help. With a Tier 3 Domain Skill to suppress the Knights, defeating the NPCs wouldn''t be a problem. Even if a large number of Zero Wing''s Tier 3 experts joined the fray, they could complete their task and capture the City Lord''s Mansion. Once Stubborn Heart agreed to her price, Flower Rain stopped wasting time and gave the Tier 2 Knight her 10 Silver. As Flower Rain entered the city, a Tier 3 Berserker beside Stubborn Heart spoke up, "Boss, that''s 50%! If you give her that much, we''ll have significantly less profit!" "It''s fine. As long as Nine Dragons Emperor''s negotiations with Starlink are successful, and we''re the first group to capture the City Lord''s Mansion, we can negotiate for more. With Stone Forest City under our control, Nine Dragons Emperor and Starlink won''t be able to refuse our demands," Stubborn Heart said, grinning as he looked at the long line of players behind him. He had known for a long time that Stone Forest City was a goldmine, but after seeing it for himself, he realized how limited his imagination had been. How was this a goldmine? This was basically a diamond mine! The city could collect over 300,000 Gold in entrance fees alone. Once the various superpowers took over, even a small share would greatly benefit Grim Reaper. The other powers'' Tier 3 experts couldn''t help but think the same as they gazed at Stone Forest City with hungry eyes. At the same time, they felt their hatred for Zero Wing grow. Normally, their Guilds had to go to great lengths to earn a few thousand Gold more than usual, but despite its lack of backers and a short history of less than a year, Zero Wing earned more income than their Guilds could dream of. Moreover, Zero Wing earned so much without having to lift a finger. "Alright, let''s head inside," Stubborn Heart commanded as the players behind him urged their team to move. Stubborn Heart and his team then paid their entrance fees and entered Stone Forest City. However, as they crossed the threshold into the city, they found Flower Rain standing stiff as a statue in the middle of the road. "Flower, what''s wrong?" Stubborn Heart asked. When he made it to her side, however, he, too, was stunned. His expression shifted to one of horror when he saw the two rows of NPC Knights before him. "Tier 3?! This... How is this possible?" 2442 Frightening City Chapter 2442 - Frightening City "Guild Leader Heart?" Stubborn Heart''s words and his subsequent pause confused the various major powers'' Tier 3 experts behind him. They could not understand what had made him stop. So what if there was a Tier 3 NPC guarding the gate? Was that really such a major issue? Currently, every Guild City had a few Tier 3 NPCs as guards. Tier 3 NPCs might be very powerful and practically invincible against Tier 3 players one-on-one, but if dozens of Tier 3 experts worked together, they could even take down Level 100 Mythic Bosses, not to mention Tier 3 NPCs. However, when the various major powers'' Tier 3 experts caught up to Stubborn Heart, they, too, were stunned. "What''s going on?" "Why are there so many Tier 3 NPCs?" Two hundred Tier 3 Knights stood in two neat rows at the end of the road, all wearing pitch-black armor and radiating incredibly powerful auras. The Tier 3 Knight Captain in the lead radiated such a powerful aura that it felt stifling to the players. The moment these Tier 3 experts appeared, the Knights promptly turned toward them, the NPCs* piercing gaze sending chills down the experts'' spines. They won''t attack without reason, right?" a Tier 3 Assassin nervously muttered. "We haven''t done anything yet." Their team had nearly 100 Tier 3 experts and was a force that could even threaten God''s Domain''s superpowers, but they were nothing before the 200 Tier 3 NPCs. Those Knights could quickly and effortlessly annihilate every one of them. As the various major powers'' anxiety spiked, someone shouted at them. "You bunch! Why are you just standing there?! This is the city entrance! Players aren''t allowed to loiter!" The voice shook Stubborn Heart and his companions from their daze, and they spun toward the player shouting at them. They all wanted to know who would be so bold. They spotted a Level 102, Tier 2 Berserker wearing Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem. Tier 3 experts like them would have no issues destroying a Tier 2 Berserker. And yet, despite sensing Stubborn Heart and his team''s killing intent, the Tier 2 Berserker didn''t back away. He actually grinned and asked, "What? You want to start a fight here?" The moment the Berserker asked that, the Tier 3 Knights unsheathed their weapons and scrutinized every move Stubborn Heart''s group made. The intensity of their auras more than doubled as they did. "This punk..." A Tier 3 Ranger radiating intense bloodlust gnashed his teeth as he glared at the arrogant Tier 2 Berserker. However, when the Ranger saw the Tier 3 Knights readying, his scalp went numb. "If we were anywhere else, I''d teach him a lesson!" As a Dark Player, he had slain plenty of experts in the fields, including several dozen peak experts from first-rate Guilds. With his strength, even the various superpowers had to tread lightly. And yet, a Tier 2 Berserker from Zero Wing dared to look down on him. It was humiliating! "Alright, enough. Let''s head inside. This isn''t the place for a fight!" Stubborn Heart warned the Ranger softly, his gaze glued on the Tier 3 Knights. They had nearly 100 Tier 3 experts, but if they picked a fight with those Knights, the NPCs would annihilate them in under a minute. They had only recently reached Tier 3, while the Tier 3 NPCs had them outmatched in weapons, equipment, and Tier 3 Skills and Spells. "It seems you''re morons, after all! Remember, this place is Stone Forest City! This is no place for your shenanigans!" the Zero Wing Berserker said, nodding in satisfaction as Stubborn Heart obediently led his team into the city. "Amazing! Zero Wing''s patrol member is so awesome! He even dares to berate Tier 3 experts!" "It seems Stone Forest City is a different world. If that had happened in any other Guild City, that Berserker would''ve died for treating Tier 3 experts so disrespectfully." "Of course, Stone Forest City is different! Don''t you see those Tier 3 NPCs? If those Tier 3 experts had attacked, none of them would leave the city alive. It seems we won''t need to worry about Tier 3 bullies in Stone Forest City." The Tier 2 experts new to Stone Forest City couldn''t help but gape after seeing Zero Wing''s Tier 2 Berserker scold Stubborn Heart''s group. They had never thought that Stone Forest City would be that safe. Tier 2 players had to be extremely careful around Tier 3 experts in other Guild Cities and most NPC cities. Accidentally provoking a Tier 3 expert would seal their fate. It didn''t even matter if they had done so in the middle of the city. In Stone Forest City, however, Tier 3 experts couldn''t act so arrogantly. They would have to follow the city''s laws accordingly. At this stage of the game, Stone Forest City was likely the only Guild City in God''s Domain with such stability and security. This incident gave many Tier 2 players a more optimistic view of the city. Many of them even considered making Stone Forest City their new home and focusing their development around it. No one wanted to reside and develop somewhere unsafe, constantly having to worry about losing whatever treasure they''d obtained, after all. "Zero Wing certainly knows how to get the upper hand. It has stationed 200 Tier 3 NPCs at the gate to shock people. It''s even used us Tier 3 players as a promotional tool!" Flower Rain growled as she glanced back at the Tier 3 Knights by the city gates. She then turned to Stubborn Heart, smiling bitterly as she said, "I''m afraid our plans have been foiled, Guild Leader Heart." By stationing so many Tier 3 NPCs by the city''s gate, Zero Wing had essentially warned Tier 3 players like them from misbehaving in the city, and there was nothing they could do about it. Those were 200 Tier 3 NPCs they were talking about. Not even 1,000 Tier 3 experts had a chance against such a force. "That''s not necessarily true. These 200 Tier 3 Knights are pretty scary, but the superpowers'' combined army has several thousand Tier 3 experts. A measly 200 Tier 3 NPCs can''t stop that force," Stubborn Heart said, sneering. "Once the army begins the siege, Zero Wing will send its Tier 3 NPCs to defend the city. We can use that opportunity to attack the City Lord''s Mansion." "That''s right. Even if Zero Wing sends Tier 3 NPCs to defend the mansion, it won''t send many. We still have a chance." The several first-rate Guild Leaders around Stubborn Heart nodded. "Since everyone thinks that the plan is still viable, let''s scout the City Lord''s Mansion. Once the army arrives, we can make our move," Stubborn Heart said. Even after seeing the 200 Tier 3 Knights, he refused to give up. They wouldn''t get another opportunity like this. Even if Zero Wing was more powerful than he had expected, it couldn''t stop the various superpowers combined might. With their discussion finished, Stubborn Heart and his comrades made their way toward the City Lord''s Mansion. However, the shock and anxiety they had felt upon entering the city only grew on the way to the mansion. They constantly spotted patrol squads led by more Tier 3 NPCs. These patrol squads might not have been very large, with only three Tier 3 Knights among the 12-man squads, but they had encountered more than 30 patrol squads... Once they reached the City Lord''s Mansion, Stubborn Heart and his team fell into utter despair. They found another 200 Tier 3 Knights guarding the City Lord''s Mansion and surrounding area. Moreover, the several Tier 3 Knights leading the patrol were no weaker than the Tier 3 Knight Captain they had seen by the city gate. "Guild Leader, are we still proceeding with the plan?" a Tier 3 Assassin asked when he saw Stubborn Heart''s dazed look. "Are you stupid?! Tell Nine Dragons Emperor he can do whatever he wants, but Grim Reaper is out!" Stubborn Heart snapped, rolling his eyes. Stone Forest City had over 500 Tier 3 NPCs and over 200 high-leveled Tier 2 NPCs. How were they supposed to fight such a force? 2443 Unshakable Zero Wing Chapter 2443 - Unshakable Zero Wing Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: Starlink''s Residence, which should''ve been prosperous and lively, was extraordinarily quiet. A large number of Starlink''s experts stood guard outside the Guild Hall. There were even Tier 3 experts among them. Not even Guild members were allowed in the Guild Hall, much less outsiders. It was an unprecedented level of security. Only three people were currently in the Guild Hall: Lu Xingluo, Nine Dragons Emperor, and an unknown player wearing a cloak. Since the third member of the group had hidden their identity with a Black Cloak, it was even impossible to tell whether the player was male or female. Not only was Nine Dragons Emperor unhappy about the third member''s concealment during such a crucial meeting, but he was also shocked by how respectfully Lu Xingluo treated the third member of their party. Lu Xingluo led Starlink, a Guild that had the power to develop on both main continents simultaneously. Although Starlink wasn''t as powerful as a Super Guild, it had even more potential than ordinary Super Guilds. And yet, Lu Xingluo was letting someone lord above him. It was unbelievable. "Now that we''ve concluded our discussion, does your side have any problems?" Lu Xingluo asked Nine Dragons Emperor. "None. Those people should be inside Stone Forest City by now. Once the combined army lays siege to Stone Forest City, they''ll use everything they have to secure the City Lord''s Mansion. Once they''ve done their job, our alliance will have an advantage in the negotiations with the various superpowers," Nine Dragons Emperor confidently replied. To capture Stone Forest City and topple Phoenix Rain from her pedestal, Nine Dragons Emperor had invested much in this upcoming operation. He had even offered huge concessions to the Black Dragon Empire''s dark forces and gathered nearly 100 Tier 3 experts. He had vetted the experts thoroughly, ensuring that they were in no way connected to other superpowers. With this, he wouldn''t have to worry about Zero Wing stopping the group outside of Stone Forest City. Zero Wing''s relationship with the various superpowers was quite tense, after all. No one would be surprised if the Guild denied entry to members of non-allied superpowers. However, Zero Wing would lose public favor if it didn''t allow these Tier 3 experts, who weren''t associated with the various superpowers, into the city. By doing so, it would upset the various ordinary powers'' Tier 3 experts and independent Tier 3 experts. If that happened, the Guild''s situation would become even more precarious. Not only would it have to face the various superpowers, but it would also have to worry about the game''s ordinary powers and independent experts. As Nine Dragons Emperor finished his statement, the mysterious player beside him received a message. Nine Dragons Emperor watched the cloaked player''s atmosphere change as they read it. Although he couldn''t see the mysterious person''s appearance, he was more than capable of sensing someone''s emotional shifts as a peak expert. "Dragon Pavilion Master, you''ve worked hard for this, but I''m afraid that Starlink will be withdrawing from the operation!" the mysterious person declared without bothering to discuss the situation with Lu Xingluo. "What do you mean?" The declaration confused Nine Dragons Emperor. "Have you given up on Stone Forest City?" They had already laid the groundwork to cut off Stone Forest City''s profits. They were only waiting for the various superpowers'' combined army to siege the city, yet this mysterious person had suddenly decided that Starlink would stay out of the fight. This cloaked player had to be toying with him. The announcement stunned Lu Xingluo, as well. He couldn''t understand why the mysterious person had chosen to forsake the opportunity to secure a goldmine like Stone Forest City. "No, I simply doubt this operation''s chances of success," the mysterious person explained, shaking their head. "How can it fail? I admit that Zero Wing is very strong, but it''s nothing compared to the various superpowers'' joint army. Once my people secure the City Lord''s Mansion, Stone Forest City will be ours for the taking!" Nine Dragons Emperor snarled, furious. "I don''t mind allying with the other superpowers if Starlink intends to give up, but you''d better not regret your decision." "Regret?" The mysterious person could not help but chuckle. "If you think you can find a new partner, Dragon Pavilion Master, feel free, but I''m sure that no superpower in God''s Domain will want to work with you." You..." Just as Nine Dragons Emperor was about to argue, he received a message from Martial Dragon. The message was simple; Stubborn Heart and the others have abandoned their partnership. Nine Dragons Emperor could only stare at the message, dumbfounded. What, exactly, had happened? As soon as Starlink gave up on their alliance, Stubborn Heart''s group had informed him of the same. Was Zero Wing so heaven-defyingly powerful that it had bought off both groups? Nine Dragons Emperor couldn''t think of another explanation for the sudden development. This was an excellent chance to capture Stone Forest City. Why would anyone ignore such temptation? "Don''t overthink things. The reason we''ve decided against this operation is simple." As if the mysterious person had read Nine Dragons Emperor''s mind, they calmly continued, "No power in God''s Domain can do anything against Stone Forest City." "How is that possible?" Nine Dragons Emperor instinctively refuted the idea. "Even if Black Flame and the Secret Pavilion are protecting the city, they can''t stop several thousand Tier 3 experts." "Ah, but what if the city is protected by 500 Tier 3 NPCs?" the mysterious person asked. "Five hundred Tier 3 NPCs? That... Impossible. How can Zero Wing possibly have so many Tier 3 NPCs? Not even kingdoms'' capital cities are protected by so many Tier 3 NPCs!" Nine Dragons Emperor shouted. He was now sure that this mysterious player had to be messing with him. "If you don''t believe me, take a look for yourself," the mysterious person said, and they sent Nine Dragons Emperor a recording from inside Stone Forest City. By the time Nine Dragons Emperor finished the video, he was dazed. The recording included two segments. The first half showed 200 Tier 3 NPCs guarding Stone Forest City''s entrance, while the second half displayed the 200 Tier 3 NPCs patrolling around the City Lord''s Mansion. Although he wasn''t there in person, Nine Dragons Emperor could sense the NPCs'' incredible pressure. Those Knights could even eliminate an army of several thousand Tier 3 experts. Meanwhile, news quickly reached the various superpowers, including Twilight City''s Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. "A Guild City that''s protected by over 500 Tier 3 NPCs? Isn''t Guild Leader Black Flame a little too impressive? Who would dare attack Stone Forest City now?" Blue Phoenix''s jaw dropped when she heard about Stone Forest City''s Knights. Not even an NPC kingdom''s army could stand against 500 Tier 3 NPCs. "It''s no wonder why he didn''t mind revealing the Twelve Elemental Pillars. The various superpowers will have to consider their next move carefully. If they act rashly, they''ll be the next to be eliminated from the competition," Phoenix Rain said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she read her subordinate''s report. Not only did Zero Wing possess the Twelve Elemental Pillars, but it had also proven strong enough to safeguard the Advanced Ancient Barrier Scrolls. As of today, the eastern continent''s status quo would undergo a huge shift. As Phoenix Rain marveled at Zero Wing''s foundations, a Tier 3 Assassin knocked on her office door and entered the room. The Assassin then reported, "Phoenix Pavilion Master, the Great Pavilion Master requests your presence to discuss an important matter." 2444 Power Expands Chapter 2444 - Power Expands As the sun began to set, players flocked to the streets of White River City, with some players choosing to set up or browse through street stalls and some meeting up with friends to visit bars and restaurants. Everyone was merely going through their daily life. The only thing different today was that practically everyone in the city was discussing the same topicStone Forest City. "Hey, have you heard? Stone Forest City actually has over 500 Tier 3 NPCs guarding it," a Level 101 Guardian Knight enjoying a glass of beer in a bar said to his companion beside him. "Who wouldn''t know that? The video showing the city''s internal situation has long since gone viral on the official forums," a Level 102 Elementalist retorted as he rolled his eyes at the Guardian Knight. "Hehe, I''m not referring to that," the Level 101 Guardian Knight said, waving his hand. "I have a good friend who managed to become the core member of a superpower, and he told me a juicy secret. Originally, the superpowers were planning to launch a joint attack on Stone Forest City. However, because of those Tier 3 NPCs, they all decided to give up on the endeavor. Now, some of these superpowers are even thinking of partnering with Zero Wing. "Although the current Zero Wing is not comparable to actual superpowers in many aspects, due to the advantages of Stone Forest City, some superpowers are already acknowledging Zero Wing as a superpower. If Zero Wing really gains a few more superpowers as partners after this incident, I believe it won''t be long before it actually becomes a superpower in God''s Domain. "My friend also said that now is a good time to join Zero Wing. If we wait until Zero Wing becomes an actual superpower, it will be much more difficult to join then. My friend is planning to withdraw from his Guild and has invited me to join Zero Wing together with him. After giving the matter some thought, I decided to go with him. Why don''t you come with me? With your strength, once we join Zero Wing, we''ll definitely have a great time there. We might even become one of Zero Wing''s main force members." "Really?" the Level 102 Elementalist asked. At this moment, let alone this Elementalist, even the other experts inside the bar who had overheard the Guardian Knight''s words were tempted. The conditions to join a superpower were extremely stringent, and the conditions to rise through the ranks in a superpower were more stringent. Moreover, the various superpowers generally had their important positions reserved for particular people already. Even if players had the required strength and talent for a specific position, they wouldn''t have the opportunity to get promoted to said position. However, it was a different story for Zero Wing. Although Zero Wing wasn''t a superpower yet, it had already gained the recognition of many superpowers. With the massive advantages Stone Forest City provided, it was only a matter of time before the Guild became a superpower. In other words, Zero Wing''s influence would still expand rapidly in the future. After all, the amount of territory Zero Wing currently held was only at the standard of first-rate Guilds. There would be plenty of empty positions to fill in the future. Now was the best time for independent experts like themselves to join Zero Wing. "Of course. Why would I lie to you? According to my friend, quite a few superpowers have sent representatives to negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing already. Once the actual negotiations are over, this piece of news will become impossible to hide. While not many players know about this matter, we should use this opportunity to join Zero Wing. If we''re lucky, we might get assigned directly to a good team," the Level 101 Guardian Knight said earnestly. "Truthfully, if not for our close relationship and you being strong enough, I wouldn''t have asked you to come with me." Zero Wing''s recruitment standards had always been very high. Its requirements for becoming a core member were even higher: the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Meanwhile, although the Level 102 Elementalist was an independent player, he served as the vice commander of one of the Twin Towers Kingdom''s top adventurer teams. As for his strength, he had already reached the Refinement Realm standard and would be considered an absolute expert in first-rate Guilds. He would have no problem joining the main force of first-rate Guilds. However, as he wished to join the main force of superpowers and not first-rate Guilds, he had only been mingling with adventurer teams all this time. "Alright, I''ll contact my commander afterward. Once I''ve settled my affairs, we''ll apply with Zero Wing," the Level 102 Elementalist said, nodding after seeing the earnest look on the Guardian Knight''s face. At the same time, desire and anticipation also surfaced in his eyes. After overhearing the Level 102 Elementalist agree to the Guardian Knight''s suggestion to join Zero Wing, the other experts inside the bar were tempted by the proposition as well. Zero Wing''s strength and foundations had already received the recognition of many superpowers. This was an excellent opportunity for independent experts like themselves to elevate their position in God''s Domain. If they seized this opportunity, they could become famous individuals in kingdoms and empires. They might even get to become the ruler of a city; at which point, their lives would thoroughly change. After all, many major corporations were investing astronomical sums into God''s Domain right now. Moreover, God''s Domain had also started affecting the various industries in the real world. Meanwhile, during the time White River City''s expert players were gravitating toward joining Zero Wing, a and heroic woman was currently observing Zero Wing''s Residence from an Advanced Restaurant nearby. Vice Guild Leader, those people have stated that they are powerless over this matter. Unless we have some way of dealing with those Tier 3 NPCs, they aren''t willing to take action," a tall man exceeding two meters in height reported after entering the private room the beautiful woman occupied. "How interesting. It seems Zero Wing really has kept a lot of secrets hidden." When Cold Shadow heard her subordinate''s report, not only did she not react in rage, but she even smiled. "Since that is the case, we''ll shift to Plan B. We''ll give up on purchasing Zero Wing for now and search for a replacement on the eastern continent to fulfill the Guild''s task first. At the same time, notify the old instructor about this matter. Have him figure out a way to deal with Zero Wing in Fenglin City. Even if he can''t deal with Zero Wing in God''s Domain, I refuse to believe that he can''t do anything in the real world, either." Although she did not know how Zero Wing managed to secure so many Tier 3 NPCs, no power in God''s Domain was capable of stopping Mythology''s progressnot Super Guilds, much less Zero Wing. Moreover, although many superpowers had chosen to partner with Zero Wing after this incident, even more superpowers had secretly started taking action against Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wing had touched upon their profits. Meanwhile, during the time Zero Wing''s position and the number of experts the Guild possessed were continuously rising, Shi Feng was frantically producing the Twelve Elemental Pillars in the Candlelight Trading Firm. Due to Stone Forest City''s display of strength, Giant''s Heart, Unyielding Soul, and Thirteen Thrones, which were originally planning to buy only a small number of the Advanced Ancient Barrier, decided to place huge orders instead. Including the Secret Pavilion''s order, Shi Feng now had to supply a total of 700 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillarsfar beyond his expectations. As a result, Shi Feng had become rich overnight. Including the income Stone Forest City generated, only a few superpowers in existence could rival the liquid funds he currently had on hand. This was especially true in regard to Magic Crystals. Currently, Shi Feng had 4,000,000 Magic Crystals on hand. Even after expending some on the Twelve Elemental Pillars'' production, he would still have a frightening amount left. "Guild Leader, thus far, three superpowers have come to seek a partnership with us. They''re willing to use a portion of their Realms of Refinement Legacies to exchange for the Twelve Elemental Pillars. Moreover, during this period, a large number of experts have applied to join the Guild. Currently, we have accepted over 2,000 experts, among which, over 30 are in the Refinement Realm. A few Tier 3 experts have also joined us. At this rate, it won''t be long before we have more than 100 Tier 3 experts and 200 Refinement Realm experts," Aqua Rose reported excitedly as she looked at Shi Feng. Two hundred Refinement Realm experts! This number might not be comparable to what superpowers possessed, but this many Refinement Realm experts would resolve Zero Wing''s manpower shortage. Moreover, the Guild could also field many more exploration teams in Level 100 neutral maps. "We have so many already?" Shi Feng was surprised to hear Aqua Rose''s report. He never thought that revealing his Knight Division''s strength would bring such excellent results to the Guild. Originally, he had only planned to use the Knight Division as a deterrent against the various superpowers. After all, if Zero Wing truly fought against the various superpowers'' joint army, the best result would be a Pyrrhic victory since Tier 3 NPCs were not invincible. Moreover, they were as difficult to resurrect as Personal Guards. Players, on the other hand, were different. Even if players died, they would be as good as new in less than an hour. At worst, they would lose some combat power. However, they would still be Tier 3 players, and their combat power would still triumph over Tier 2 players. This was also the reason why expert players were the true representation of a Guilds foundations and strength, while NPCs only served as a supporting tool and could never become a Guild''s true power. Meanwhile, if the number of Refinement Realm experts Zero Wing had reached 200, then Zero Wing would have the capital to truly contest with the various superpowers over hegemony in God''s Domain. "However, just like you''ve anticipated, the various superpowers have also started taking joint action in Level 100 neutral maps. Not only have they started targeting our people, but they''ve also placed restrictions on materials for high-level potions and tools. This situation has forced us to purchase materials from the Secret Pavilion at a high price," Aqua Rose said, frustrated. Although Zero Wing had won the war without shedding any blood and received acknowledgment as an equal from many superpowers, it had also become an eyesore for many other superpowers. Now, these superpowers no longer treated Zero Wing as a negligible existence but as a competitor. "They sure have moved quickly." Shi Feng smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "Have Fire Dance and the others get ready. Once I''m done making the Twelve Elemental Pillars, we''ll head over to the western continent." Shi Feng was not surprised by the actions the various superpowers took. After all, there was only so much profit to go around in God''s Domain. It was only natural for Zero Wing to face heavy resistance when trying to get a larger cut of the cake. However, he did not pay much heed to this matterbecause he had a much more worrisome problem to deal with, which he had been ignoring due to the Guild''s inadequate strength. Now that Zero Wing possessed a city in a Level 100 neutral map and he had become a Lord himself, he had no choice but to worry about the aggression of the dark forces. When that time arrived, Dark Players would thoroughly shed all pretenses with normal players. The dark forces were still inactive right now only because Dark Players had yet to truly start exploring Level 100-plus neutral maps. However, as more Dark Players reached Tier 3 and explored the various Level 100-plus neutral maps, they would come across dark forces that had been banished by the various kingdoms and empires to Level 100-plus neutral maps. At that time, Dark Players'' development would skyrocket, and city sieges and territorial battles between Dark Players and normal players would become commonplace. Without sufficient strength, Guilds wouldn''t even be able to survive out in the fields. This was also the reason why some superpowers had gone out of existence after mainstream players started reaching Level 100 and beyond. To ensure Zero Wing''s continued development in Level 100-plus neutral maps, he had to nurture a large number of Tier 3 experts as soon as possible. Moreover, the Guild also had to be capable of mass-producing Level 100-plus top- tier weapons and equipment. Simply relying on Field Bosses and Team Dungeons would not keep the Guild alive. Hence, sufficient materials were necessary. "I''ll notify them right away." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, Aqua Rose could not help rejoicing. She had always been very curious about the western continent. Following which, Shi Feng spent the next few days working in his Special Forging Room and ended up producing as many as l,3 sets of Twelve Elemental Pillars. At the same time, his efforts had also brought him to Level 110, his leveling speed not the slightest bit slower than that of players grinding out in the fields. Of the l,3 sets, 800 sets were meant to fulfill the orders from the Secret Pavilion and Zero Wing''s other partners, while the remaining 500 sets were reserved for Zero Wing''s expert teams. During the time the various superpowers were making use of their Twelve Elemental Pillars to achieve extraordinary results in Level 100 neutral maps, Shi Feng led Aqua Rose and other members of Zero Wing''s core upper echelon to the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s teleportation gate. After spending 20,000 Magic Crystals, Shi Feng''s team of 10 transformed into streaks of light and disappeared into the silver gate. The intercontinental teleportation took several minutes to complete. When everyone opened their eyes again, what appeared before them was a desert completely devoid of life. "So, this is the western continent?" Aqua Rose was surprised as she looked at the endless desert around her. The reason for her surprise was the scarcity of Mana in this place; the ambient Mana was actually thinner than even the Mana in the eastern continent''s forbidden lands. She could tell that she would have great difficulty casting Tier 3 Spells here despite her high-ranking Mana Body. Weaker Tier 3 players might not even be capable of using their Tier 3 Skills and Spells and might be limited to Skills and Spells of weaker tiers. Sure enough, the Mana density here is much lower than on the eastern continent. When Shi Feng sensed the ambient Mana, he was similarly overwhelmed by a sense of discomfort. It had already been a long time since he had experienced such a low-Mana density environment. However, he did not dwell on the matter, just immediately recorded the coordinates of the teleportation gate here and summoned his Thunder Eagle. He then took a look at the system map and brought everyone toward the nearest NPC city. The desert that housed the teleportation gate was much larger than Shi Feng initially expected, taking more than two hours of flight to exit. During their journey, they had discovered plenty of Level 100-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords and even Level 120 Mythics. Fortunately, the Thunder Eagle was sufficiently fast, so they were able to escape these Mythics'' attack range in time. Had they been using Land Mounts, they would''ve most definitely suffered annihilation. "Guild Leader, there''s a battle involving tens of thousands of players over at that Demonic Silver mine," Aqua Rose said, curiosity gleaming in her eyes as she gazed at a nearby mine from the Thunder Eagle. A Demonic Silver mine was merely a Grade 3 vein, yet it had actually incited a battle between tens of thousands of players. Moreover, not only were the participants of this war Level 105-plus experts, but there were even 100-odd Tier 3 experts among them. This was practically a war between two superpowers. The Azure Chamber of Commerce?" When Shi Feng studied the players fighting below, he noticed that the commander of the mine''s defenders was someone he was familiar withYan Xiaoqian, a genius on the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s fast track. 2445 You Have Two Choices Chapter 2445 - You Have Two Choices "Guild Leader, is it someone you''re familiar with?" Aqua Rose asked curiously when she saw Shi Feng muttering to himself. The western continent was utterly foreign to eastern continent players like themselves. Although the distance separating the two main continents was not as great as the distance between the main continents and the various Otherworlds, in God''s Domain, it was as if a barrier existed between the two main continents. Not only was information on the two main continents segregated, but even the cultures of the two continents differed significantly. For example, players of the same class would give the impression that they possessed a completely different class depending on which continent they played on; their combat styles would be quite dissimilar. On the eastern continent''s side, battles were fought using mainly a combination of combat techniques and Skills or Spells, with Mana control playing only a supporting role. Meanwhile, on the western continent, battles were fought using mainly a combination of Mana control and Skills or Spells, while combat techniques were only for support. Aside from the difference in combat styles, the greatest contrast between the eastern and western continents was the management styles that the various kingdoms and empires adopted. On the eastern continent, NPC kingdoms and empires relied on their national armies to manage their cities. On the western continent, however, NPC cities were managed by the Adventurer''s Association; the various kingdoms'' and empires'' armies only served to maintain the safety of their respective countries'' borders and fend off the main forces of the Demonic Creatures. As there existed many Demonic Creatures on the western continent, armies of Demonic Creatures regularly invaded kingdoms and empires. In fact, these Demonic Creatures would launch attacks on towns and cities once every two or three dayswhich was much more frequent than the monster sieges on the eastern continentand sometimes even capture those on the borders. If the various kingdoms and empires failed to reclaim those captured towns and cities, the players'' range of activity would shrink significantly. Conversely, the more demonic towns and cities the various kingdoms and empires captured, the larger the players'' range of activity would become. The western continent did not have any clearly defined neutral maps, and the territory the various kingdoms and empires possessed was in constant flux. Hence, the western continent was labeled the "Demonic Creature Continent," and battles on a national scale occurred here much more frequently than on the eastern continent. It wouldn''t even be surprising for a kingdom that had faded out of existence to reappear. If the ten from Zero Wing could have someone familiar with the western continent guide them, it would save them a lot of trouble. After all, the western continent''s situation was ever-changing, and players not familiar with the western continent would most likely have a very difficult time mingling here. "We''re not familiar with each other, just acquaintances," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head as he looked at Yan Xiaoqian, who was fighting while commanding the battle. He had come to know Yan Xiaoqian only because of the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s alchemy competition. Although he had heard that Azure would be sending Yan Xiaoqian to the western continent to receive priority grooming, he never thought that he would encounter the woman here. Currently, Yan Xiaoqian was already a Level 106, Tier 3 Great Mage. She was also equipped in quite a few pieces of Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment, and the purple crystalline staff she wielded even radiated the glow unique to Epic items. At a glance, it was obvious that the staff was a Level 100-plus Epic Weapon. At this stage of the game, her equipment standard definitely ranked at the peak of God''s Domain. Moreover, her Mana control had improved by a significant margin since Shi Feng last saw her. Now, she was actually capable of casting her Spells at a Completion Rate of 95% or above. The power her Spells exhibited could rival the attacks of Grand Lords of the same level. While Shi Feng''s group was quietly observing the battle below, the players fighting inside the mine had similarly noticed Shi Feng''s group. "Who are those people? Don''t they know that this is a battle between Azure and Divine Tribe?" a Tier 3 Berserker King, who was an Elder of the Azure Chamber of Commerce, muttered, a frown forming on his face as he looked at the players atop the Thunder Eagle. At this point, even the various superpowers of God''s Domain still couldn''t afford to underestimate Tier 3 experts. Meanwhile, from what the Berserker King could tell, Shi Feng''s group of 10 were all Tier 3 experts. To ordinary superpowers, they would indeed pose a significant threat. However, to superpowers like the Azure Chamber of Commerce and Divine Tribe, a force of 10 Tier 3 experts was nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, on the western continent, what the various powers found most troublesome was when other people suddenly appeared in a battle between two powers. This was because nobody could guarantee whether this third party would simply spectate and do nothing, or try to take advantage of the situation. Hence, whenever a third party appeared, the two combatant powers would first take care of this unknown factor before resuming the battle. The Azure Chamber of Commerce and Divine Tribe were superpowers that everybody on the western continent knew of. Now, however, someone had actually ignorantly barged into their battle. Black Flame?! Why is he here?! Yan Xiaoqian revealed an astonished expression when she spotted Shi Feng sitting on the Thunder Eagle. Doesn''t he operate on the eastern continent? Yan Xiaoqian had a very strong impression of Shi Feng. After all, Zero Wing was responsible for her loss to Silent Wonder during Azure''s alchemy competition, which, in turn, lost her family the ruling rights to the Chamber. Aside from that, Shi Feng''s identity as a Tier 3 player had also shaken the entire competition venue. Back then, not a single superpower had managed to produce a Tier 3 player, yet Shi Feng had succeeded in becoming one himself. Even Long Xianglong, one of Azure''s Grand Elders, had taken the initiative to acknowledge defeat against Shi Feng. This was something unprecedented. Moreover, she had previously inwardly ridiculed Shi Feng for being so foolish as to give up on partnering with Azure and toss away an excellent opportunity to obtain the western continent''s resources. Hence, she never thought that Shi Feng would actually appear on the western continent now! "Xiaoqian, do you know them?" the Berserker King Elder asked when he noticed the shock on Yan Xiaoqian''s face. At this point, Yan Xiaoqian was a future Grand Elder that the Azure Chamber of Commerce was nurturing vigorously. Although she was currently only an ordinary Elder, her position, combined with her identity, granted her a status that was far superior to ordinary Elders''. She was well within her authority to argue with even the Chamber''s Vice Guild Leaders. If Shi Feng''s group were Yan Xiaoqian''s acquaintances, then the Azure Chamber of Commerce would overlook the group''s transgressions. However, if they weren''t acquainted, then Azure definitely wouldn''t let the group off the hook. "We''re somewhat acquainted. To be precise, they are Silent Wonder''s friends," Yan Xiaoqian said after giving the matter some thought. If possible, Yan Xiaoqian really did not wish to acknowledge her acquaintance with Shi Feng. After all, Silent Wonder was her rival, and Zero Wing was Silent Wonder''s supporter. "Wonder''s friends?" When the Berserker King Elder heard Yan Xiaoqian''s words, the hostility in his eyes disappeared. "However, this matter will be problematic. Divine Tribe''s side definitely won''t let them off the hook." The Long Family had already acknowledged Silent Wonder as its future heiress. Since the Long Family now held the ruling rights for Azure, Silent Wonder''s position in the Chamber was higher than even the Chamber''s Grand Elders''. Hence, any friend of Silent Wonder''s was naturally Azure''s friend as well. Only, as they were currently busy defending the mine, they could not spare any manpower to rescue Shi Feng''s group. Just as the Berserker King Elder finished speaking, Divine Tribe''s army dispatched a force of several hundred players to intercept Shi Feng''s group. Among these players, as many as 20 were Tier 3 players. And leading this detachment was Macaffreythe vice commander of one of Divine Tribes trump card legions. Due to his special Legacy, Macaffrey possessed a gigantic body three meters tall, which earned him the nickname "Mourning Giant." Even Tier 3 Domain Realm experts couldn''t last very long in a fight against him. In the next moment, the giant bat Macaffrey rode arrived before Shi Feng''s group. As he glared at Shi Feng''s group, the dark aura enveloping his body made the surrounding space uncomfortably hot. "I don''t know who you people are, but since you dared set foot into Divine Tribe''s battlefield, then don''t think you can leave easily," Macaffrey said in a rough and deafening tone. "You all have two choices. The first is to apologize and hand over 10 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment as compensation. As for the other option, believe me, you will not like it very much." Upon hearing Macaffrey''s words, the Divine Tribe members around him sneered as they looked at Shi Feng''s group. At the same time, they also took out Magic Scrolls to seal the surrounding space and track the souls of Zero Wing''s members. It was obvious from the actions of Divine Tribe''s members that they were proficient in fighting against players that possessed Flying Mounts. However, to the surprise of Divine Tribe''s members, Shi Feng and his companions remained indescribably calm even after hearing Macaffrey''s "friendly warning." In fact, there was even a hint of pity in their eyes. What''s going on? For a moment, Divine Tribe''s members were confused as to which side was stronger and which was weaker in this confrontation. "I''ll give you two choices as well, then. The first is to apologize and pay compensation. I don''t want much, just 100 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment will do. As for the other option, I believe you won''t like it very much, either," Shi Feng retorted, his mouth curving in a calm smile as he swept his gaze over Divine Tribe''s members. 2446 Repent! Chapter 2446 - Repent! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence fell over the area as Divine Tribe''s members gawked at Shi Feng, their eyes wide in shock. Shi Feng had not spoken very loudly; ordinary players standing 20 yards away from him wouldn''t have been able to make out his words. However, everyone present was an expert. Their five senses were far superior to ordinary players'', so they heard Shi Feng''s words just fine. Despite that, however, Divine Tribe''s members still could not help but wonder if they had heard wrong. After all, how could there possibly be anyone that would dare speak to Divine Tribe in such a manner? Not even the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Guild Leader would dare speak to Divine Tribe in such an arrogant manner, yet a random Tier 3 player like Shi Feng actually had? "Did you guys not hear what our Guild Leader said? If you apologize quickly and hand over 100 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment as compensation, then we will let this matter slide. Otherwise, the consequences definitely won''t be something you''d be willing to bear." Cola repeated Shi Feng''s words as he looked at the stunned Divine Tribe members. Unlike Shi Feng, Cola had shouted, and his words echoed throughout the entire mine below. Let alone the several Divine Tribe members before him, even the tens of thousands of players in the mine below heard him loud and clear. "Who are these people? They actually dare spout such nonsense against Divine Tribe?" "Although I don''t know who they are, they are definitely dead now." They won''t die just once today. Now that they''ve provoked Divine Tribe in such a manner, Divine Tribe will surely kill them back to Level 0!" The Azure Chamber of Commerce''s members were stunned as they looked at Shi Feng''s group on the Thunder Eagle. Even their Chamber''s Guild Leader did not dare behave so arrogantly before Divine Tribe. Divine Tribe was a top-ranking super-first-rate Guild. When God''s Domain first launched, Divine Tribe was already very close to becoming a Super Guild. Moreover, due to God''s Domain''s growing popularity, Divine Tribe had received capital injections from several major corporations. At this point, Divine Tribe''s strength already rivaled Super Guilds''. In fact, it was even stronger than some of the ordinary Super Guilds. This was why Divine Tribe dared to contest with the Azure Chamber of Commerce for the Demonic Silver vein. "Xiaoqian, are these people insane?" the Berserker King Elder from Azure asked, similarly stunned by this situation. He had thought that Shi Feng''s group might turn around and flee, or that Shi Feng''s group might seek help from Azure. What didn''t occur to him was that Shi Feng might actually provoke Divine Tribe without hesitation. At this moment, even if Azure''s Guild Leader showed up, it would still be impossible to dissuade Divine Tribe from taking action against Shi Feng''s group. Yan Xiaoqian was likewise confused by this situation. If possible, she really wished to ask Shi Feng what he was thinking. He can''t be thinking that this place is like Demonstone Town and that nobody can do anything to Tier 3 players, right? As Yan Xiaoqian looked at Shi Feng, the only explanation she could think of for this situation was that he believed that no superpower would dare to touch him just because he was a Tier 3 player. After all, the various superpowers had shown the Swordsman great respect back at Demonstone Town. However, the situations now and then were completely different! Back then, Shi Feng could indeed act arrogantly as a Tier 3 player, as none of the various superpowers could do anything to him. Now, however, every superpower had at least several dozen Tier 3 experts under their command. Let alone Tier 3 peak experts, even Tier 3 apex experts no longer had the qualifications to act arrogantly before the various superpowers. This was especially true on the western continent, which was infested with Demonic Creatures. Players living here had much more combat experience than players living on the eastern continent. The Legacies and various items used by the western continent''s players for combat were also much stronger than those found on the eastern continent. Let alone dealing with Tier 3 players, the various superpowers wouldn''t have trouble dealing with even Tier 3 NPCs. After all, the armies of Demonic Creatures had commander-level monsters that could rival NPCs when it came to intellect. In the end, however, the various superpowers had still slain those intelligent monsters. While Yan Xiaoqian and the other members of Azure were stunned by Shi Feng''s crazy actions, Macaffrey suddenly smiled on the giant bat''s back. "Very good. It seems you didn''t come here in ignorance. Otherwise, you wouldn''t have the guts to provoke Divine Tribe," Macaffrey said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. "This will make things simple. Repent of your provocations! Otherwise, only eternal hell awaits you all!" As soon as Macaffrey said so, the several Divine Tribe experts around him activated the Magic Scrolls in their hands, not only sealing the surrounding airspace but also placing a tracker on the souls of Shi Feng''s group. This way, even if Shi Feng''s group died and resurrected somewhere else, they could still track down the group. At the same time, the several hundred Divine Tribe Tier 2 experts positioned on the ground beneath the Thunder Eagle formed multiple magic arrays and cast large-scale Combination Spells. Several fire pillars and lances of light immediately emerged from the ground and flew straight at Shi Feng''s group, the power of these Spells not the slightest bit weaker than the Tier 3 Spells of actual Tier 3 players. In fact, some of these Spells could rival even Tier 4 Spells in terms of power. Boom... Boom... Boom... For a moment, the airspace the Thunder Eagle occupied turned into a sea of flames. The shockwaves from the explosions were palpable even over a hundred yards away. "What a waste. Originally, these Spells were supposed to be used on Azure''s Tier 3 peak experts. Now, we''re actually squandering them on these people," a Tier 3 red-haired, female Elementalist standing behind Macaffrey said, clicking her tongue. Ten days ago, Tier 3 players were indeed existences that the various superpowers could not afford to underestimate. However, the situation was different now. The various superpowers had secured not only the means to resist Tier 3 players but also the means to kill Tier 3 players. In the face of a Combination Spell cast by 30 Tier 2 players, even monstrously strong Tier 3 players would fall if they were careless. Not to mention, they had used seven of such Combination Spells this time. "Alright, get ready to use the Raise Dead Scrolls and resurrect them! I want to let them know how foolish it is to provoke Divine Tribe!" Macaffrey said, gesturing at the players holding Raise Dead Scrolls to move forward. The Raise Dead Scroll was a precious tool that could be found only in ancient ruins. The scroll''s original function was to resurrect comrades that had fallen in battle. However, it was also useful when they wanted to repeatedly kill enemy players. Yet, after the Divine Tribe members holding the Raise Dead Scrolls tried to resurrect Shi Feng''s group, they could not help staring at their scrolls in confusion. "What''s wrong? Why aren''t you resurrecting them?" Macaffrey demanded after seeing that the Raise Dead Scrolls remained in his subordinates'' hands. "Vice Guild Leader, for some reason, these Raise Dead Scrolls can''t resurrect them. The scrolls might be broken," a Tier 3 Ranger reported. "Broken?" Macaffrey was a little surprised at this situation. He then returned his gaze to the sea of flames before him. The Raise Dead Scrolls had never failed to activate before. If the resurrection failed, then that could only mean one thing. The target of resurrection was still alive! In the next moment, the flames started scattering, and the perfect figure of the Thunder Eagle appeared hovering amidst the remnant flames. Surrounding the Thunder Eagle was a barrier that thoroughly isolated the Flying Mount from the inferno. This barrier was the product of Shi Feng''s Absolute Domain. "Since you''re done attacking, it''s my turn now!" Shi Feng declared. He then raised his arm and started incanting, casting Flame Domain on Macaffrey''s group. 2447 Seven Luminaries Rings True Power Chapter 2447 - Seven Luminaries Ring''s True Power As Shi Feng started chanting, a twofold magic array with a 60-yard radius appeared above MacAffrey and his several hundred members. "A large-scale destruction Spell? Not bad." When MacAffrey saw the two gigantic, crimson magic arrays above him, he was slightly surprised. He had never thought that a Swordsman like Shi Feng would possess such a rare Spell. He immediately shouted to his subordinates, "Everyone, use Instantaneous Movement Scrolls and get out of here!" Large-scale destruction Spells were no longer foreign to God''s Domain''s various powers. Such Spells were commonly used during Guild Wars as they were the most effective in large-scale combat. Hence, the various powers had thought of an appropriate countermeasure; they''d use Instantaneous Movement Scrolls to escape the Spell''s AOE as quickly as possible. Although large-scale destruction Spells were frighteningly powerful, they had very long cast times. Once one noticed a player casting a large-scale destruction Spell, they could easily flee the attack with an Instantaneous Movement Scroll. Of course, large-scale destruction Spells still had massive effects. Guild wars were generally chaotic, involving extremely large numbers of players. Some players were bound to fail their escape attempts due to enemy interference or lack of Instantaneous Movement Scrolls. Large-scale destruction Spells would still hit quite a few players, proving effective regardless. However, MacAffrey only had several hundred subordinates with him, and they were all Divine Tribe experts. Every one of them had a few Tier 2 Instantaneous Movement Scrolls, not to mention the Tier 1 version. They had all prepared these Scrolls on the off chance that they were attacked with large-scale destruction Spells or war weapons like Gnome Cannons. Following their orders, Divine Tribe''s experts pulled the scrolls from their bags. Meanwhile, MacAffrey steered his Flying Mount out of Flame Domain''s range. However, just as everyone began to flee, the twofold magic array above them completed and began to absorb Mana from its surroundings. Like a black hole, the array drained all of the Mana within a 500-yard radius. Now, not only was the area around the magic array devoid of Mana, but the array''s rapid Mana absorption had also created spatial distortions within the area. For a moment, the sky darkened, and all players within Flam range felt stifled as if they had just fallen into a bottomless swamp. "What''s going on? Why has the sky gone dark?!'' "It''s so hard to breathe or move!" "My Instantaneous Movement Scroll won''t activate?!" "No, that''s not right! It''s not just Instantaneous Movement Scrolls! I can''t even use my Tier 2 Blink Spell! What kind of large-scale destruction Spell is that!?" The Divine Tribe members within Flame Domain''s AOE panicked, losing their composure. Before they could regain their senses, however, Mana began to gush out of the twofold magic array above the battlefield. In the next moment, towering pillars of fire rose from the ground. Every Divine Tribe member within range was instantly incinerated. Even some of the weapons and equipment they dropped scorched to black, turning into nothing more than scrap metal. The flaming pillars'' intense temperature melted the dirt under their feet to white-hot magma. Players could even feel the pillars'' heat waves from several hundred yards. As if time had frozen, the tens of thousands of players in the mine stared at the rising pillars of fire in stunned silence. What did he do? Shock and curiosity swam in Yan Xiaoqian''s gaze as she glanced at Shi Feng, who remained standing on the Thunder Eagle''s back. From what she could tell, Shi Feng had only used one large-scale destruction Spell, but aside from MacAffrey and the Tier 3 players on his Flying Mount, every player from Divine Tribe had lost their minds. They had all pulled Instantaneous Movement Scrolls from their bags, yet they stood to watch Shi Feng''s Spell erupt... It almost looked like Divine Tribe were performing with Zero Wing for the Azure Chamber of Commerce. However, Divine Tribe was a top-ranked super-first-rate Guild that could even rival Super Guilds, and they were currently on the western continent, not the eastern continent. There was no way Divine Tribe would go to such lengths to show respect for a Guild Leader from a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing. Yan Xiaoqian and Azure''s members weren''t the only surprised players. Even Shi Feng was taken aback by his results. Casting Flame Domain with a Mana Body is actually this powerful? Shi Feng could not help but glance at the Seven Luminaries Ring on his finger after watching several hundred Divine Tribe members turn into ash. Although he had known that Skills and Spells would become considerably more powerful when players reached Tier 3 and acquired their Mana Bodies, he hadn''t thought that the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Activatable Skills would become this strong. He had only intended to use Flame Domain to scatter Divine Tribe''s members. Their team''s Combination Spells were a challenge to deal with, and if he allowed Divine Tribe''s Tier 2 experts to use those Spells freely, even he would struggle against them. He hadn''t actually expected to annihilate all of those Tier 2 experts with one Flame Domain. And the Spell had even absorbed all available Mana within a 500-yard radius! He had only seen such fearsome Spells a handful of times, even during his previous life. Robbing an area of its Mana was a terrifying ability in God''s Domain. Mana was the foundation of everything in the game. It was both the source of life and the source of power. Exposing a player to an area devoid of Mana was even more torturous than sending someone into the vacuum of space. Not only couldn''t players use Skills and Spells in an area empty of Mana, but even survival would be a problem, especially for players that hadn''t yet obtained a Mana Body. Exposure to such an area was practically fatal. While Shi Feng stared at his Seven Luminaries Ring, MacAffrey gave the Swordsman a grim look. This was the first time he had encountered a Spell that could eliminate several hundred of his Tier 2 subordinates without giving them the chance to flee. "Vice Commander, the Spell that player just used is too powerful. It had devoured all Mana within its range. Tier 3 players like us might be fine in such an environment, but Tier 2 players are sheep for the slaughter," the red-haired, female Elementalist behind MacAffrey said as she watched Shi Feng''s group with a serious expression. The other Tier 3 experts from Divine Tribe began to observe Shi Feng''s group carefully, as well. They no longer dared to write off the strangers as ignorant challengers. With Shi Feng''s large-scale destruction Spell, they wouldn''t be able to rely on Tier 2 experts in an attack against Shi Feng''s group. They could only rely on Tier 3 experts like themselves. Unfortunately, Tier 3 experts were still incredibly rare. Gathering enough of them to defeat Shi Feng''s 10 Tier 3 experts would be a major challenge, especially if Shi Feng and his companions focused on fleeing. Suddenly, Shi Feng looked up at MacAffrey and asked, "Do you want to continue?" His goal in visiting the western continent wasn''t to start a war with Divine Tribe. He had merely come across these players by chance. If Divine Tribe''s team hadn''t picked a fight, he would''ve already left this godforsaken place. 2448 Divine Tribe Shocked Chapter 2448 - Divine Tribe Shocked Although Shi Feng hadn''t spoken very loudly, MacAffrey and his companions had heard him clearly, and the question enraged them. They had been confident that they could make Shi Feng''s group pay for foolishly provoking Divine Tribe, yet in the blink of an eye, the Swordsman had slain several hundred of Divine Tribe''s Tier 2 experts. They had been able to bear the events up until now, but Shi Feng had just gone too far. Shi Feng''s tone had contained sympathy and compassion for those he saw as weaker than himself. He wasn''t even treating them as enemies, but as a negligible distraction that he had no interest in. This was humiliating, an absolute embarrassment! Insane! Black Flame must be insane! Yan Xiaoqian, who watched through a Magic Mirror, stared with wide, shocked eyes. She couldn''t fathom how Shi Feng had become Zero Wing''s Guild Leader with his personality. Rather, she was surprised that Shi Feng had survived this long in God''s Domain. It was a fact that Shi Feng had shocked MacAffrey with the power of his Flame Domain. The Spell''s effects had even surprised Yan Xiaoqian. Meanwhile, the Swordsman and his team had had more than enough time to leave the area via his Flying Mount. Had Shi Feng done so, the stunned Divine Tribe members might have let him and his team go. Yet, not only hadn''t Shi Feng left, but he had also proceeded to provoke Divine Tribe further... Was Shi Feng unaware that there were more than 7,000 Divine Tribe members in the mine, with more than 60 fully- armed Tier 3 experts? Shi Feng''s large-scale destruction Spell was certainly powerful, but all of such Spells had very long Cooldowns. Players would be lucky if they could use the same large-scale destruction Spell twice in one battle. The watching players had only been stunned because it had been so long since a single large-scale destruction Spell had slain hundreds of Tier 2 experts on the western continent. Once Divine Tribe''s experts regained their senses, they could easily destroy Shi Feng and his Tier 3 experts. The army that Divine Tribe had sent to siege the mine was one of its reorganized trump card legions, which was powerful enough to capture a Guild City on its own. The army had more than one way to defeat Tier 3 players in their way; it wasn''t limited to Combination Spells. However, what truly surprised Yan Xiaoqian was Aqua Rose and the others'' behavior from behind Shi Feng. Despite Shi Feng''s rampage, none of them had tried to stop him. They had merely watched as if they weren''t involved at all... She even wondered if Aqua Rose and her companions were from Shi Feng''s Guild. "Continue? Punk, you must be suicidal! You''ve only cast a powerful large-scale destruction Spell, yet you think you can behave as you wish before Divine Tribe?!" a Tier 3 Ranger bellowed, enraged, from behind MacAffrey. Without even waiting for a command, the Ranger retrieved three crystalline arrows, decorated with runes, from the quiver on his back and fired them at Shi Feng. The instant these three crystalline arrows flew from the Ranger''s bow, they broke the sound barrier, releasing a sonic boom that rocked the area. Space itself began to destabilize from the arrow''s power. These three projectiles were more than capable of heavily injuring a Grand Lord of the same level, and they were so fast that they became invisible to the naked eye. "I don''t know who you people are, but since you''ve dared to provoke Divine Tribe, you will all die here today!" the red- haired, female Elementalist coldly hissed as she began to wave her fiery staff, casting the Tier 3 Spell, Manifold Illusions, without chanting an incantation. The three crystalline arrows split into a dozen copies, all locked on to Shi Feng. Not only were the arrows impossible to differentiate, but they also became more powerful. "What?! That Crimson Witch has mastered the Spell Combination technique?!" Yan Xiaoqian exclaimed when she saw the 12 arrows in her Magic Mirror. All magical class players dreamed of mastering Spell Combination at this stage of the game. Mastering the technique was even more difficult than mastering double speed-casting, rivaling Bronze Combat Techniques. Not even Yan Xiaoqian had managed to unravel the technique''s introductory concepts. Throughout Azure, only the Chamber''s Chief Elementalist had mastered the technique, but the Elementalist was a true, old monster. Even Duan Hanshan, from the Duan Family, had to treat the old monster with respect. Ordinary Domain Realm experts simply couldn''t hope to compare. And yet, the Divine Tribe''s Crimson Witch, who had only recently reached the Domain Realm, had mastered the Spell Combination Technique... If players could pull the technique off, combining a Spell with another Spell or Skill, the resulting attack would undergo a qualitative transformation and become powerful enough to transcend tiers. This was why all magical class players fought to master the technique. Just as the 12 arrows were about to reach their mark, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and brandished the Sacred Sword at the incoming projectiles. Shocked Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! Peng... Peng... Peng... As if the arrows had slammed into an impenetrable wall, they exploded and fell out of the sky just short of their target. They hadn''t even made it within five yards of Shi Feng, much less injured the Swordsman... "Impossible!" Crimson Witch''s eyes bulged as she watched the arrows fall to the ground. That attack had been the combination of a Tier 3 Spell and a Tier 3 Skill. Although the combination hadn''t been perfect, the attack had enough resulting power to rival a blow from a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level. Even if the attack couldn''t instant-kill a Tier 3 player, it should''ve been enough to send one flying. What, exactly, had just happened? Everyone watching was dumbfounded, especially Divine Tribe''s Tier 3 experts. None had a better idea of how powerful Crimson Witch''s Spell Combination technique was than they did. Even MacAffrey, their legion''s vice commander, would have to activate a Berserk Skill to defend himself against that attack. However, Shi Feng hadn''t even used a Skill or Spell to counter the arrows, much less a Berserk Skill. "A peerless monster?" MacAffrey''s expression darkened when he saw Shi Feng unscathed. The title of ''peerless monster'' had only come into fashion after many expert players had reached Tier 3. Many powers still weren''t sure of what the title meant or referred to, but a superpower like Divine Tribe was fully aware of what it meant. Divine Tribe had witnessed the strength of peerless monsters before. Peerless monsters were extraordinarily strong experts that could single-handedly defeat a team of 100 Tier 3 experts, the strongest team the various superpowers could currently field. MacAffrey couldn''t think of another explanation for how Shi Feng had stopped Crimson Witch''s Spell Combination without taking any damage. How is this possible? Is he really a peerless monster? When they heard their vice commander''s muttering, the Tier 3 experts in the area turned to stare at Shi Feng in astonishment. Yan Xiaoqian''s jaw dropped at the revelation. She couldn''t bring herself to believe that Shi Feng was truly one of the rumored peerless monsters! 2449 Shi Fengs Frightening Team Chapter 2449 - Shi Feng''s Frightening Team Since MacAffrey had acknowledged the possibility that Shi Feng was a peerless monster, everyone looked at the Swordsman in a different light. Divine Tribe''s members, in particular, no longer radiated their prior killing intents. Now, they only gazed at him in fear and awe. None of Azure''s members were surprised, and they didn''t ridicule Divine Tribe''s members for being cowards. They were just as aware of how powerful Tier 3 peerless monsters were. Peerless monsters could stand on an equal playing field with God''s Domain''s various superpowers, addressing these superpowers as individuals. They were undoubtedly the strongest experts that currently existed in God''s Domain. Experts could only look up to these peerless monsters for their raw power and techniques. Tier 3 experts were especially aware of how massive the gap was between them. To experts, peerless monsters were like Heroes to NPC humans. Heroes'' strength was beyond common sense; they were simply out of normal people''s reach. Silent Wonder has actually forged a friendship with such an expert? It seems I''ll have to speak with those old fellows. As Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Berserker King Elder watched Shi Feng from his Magic Mirror, his impression of Silent Wonder substantially improved. Although the Long Family currently had the right to rule Azure, a majority of the Chamber''s resources remained under the control of the Chamber''s various shareholder families. These families were roughly on par in terms of strength, and no one would accept someone''s rule when they were just as powerful. To gain more power, these shareholder families would try to convince unaffiliated Guild Elders like him, which were the Chamber''s main combatants, to support them. Naturally, this gave the Guild Elders a plethora of options. Generally, this Berserker King Elder maintained a neutral stance in Azure, but a few of his close friends had chosen a side. One of them refused to support the Long Family and tended to vote against its wishes. Before today, he had never cared about what that friend did. The Long Family''s hold on Azure wasn''t exactly secure. However, now that he had discovered that Silent Wonder, the Long Family''s heiress, had a relationship with a peerless monster, his friend would have to consider the Long Family''s directives carefully, particularly Silent Wonder''s interests. Killing Tier 3 experts was an effortless task for a peerless monster. Such players wouldn''t need traps or ambushes to kill Tier 3 players, and unless his friend had the protection of another peerless monster, he would dig his own grave by acting against the Long Family. While Azure''s Guild Elders secretly planned on how to build a closer relationship with the Long Family''s Silent Wonder, Crimson Witch stared at Shi Feng with a grim expression from the back of MacAffrey''s giant bat. "You must be mistaken, Vice Commander. How can he possibly be a peerless monster? Everyone is aware of the peerless monsters on the western continent, and that guy doesn''t match any of their descriptions," Crimson Witch argued, refusing to believe MacAffrey''s assumption. Confidently, she continued, "He must''ve consumed some kind of potion that skyrocketed his Strength before he came here. Fortunately, those potions'' effects don''t last long. As long as we drag this fight out, he''ll expose his weakness." She instinctively refused the idea that Shi Feng was a peerless monster. There weren''t that many in God''s Domain, after all, and most of them were from Super Guilds, while the rest were from super-first-rate Guilds. However, she had never seen the six-winged Guild Emblem Shi Feng wore. How could he possibly be a peerless monster? "No, I don''t think he''s just consumed a potion. Any potion that can increase a player''s strength would make the Mana around the player unstable. Regardless of how good his control over Mana is, there''s no way he could conceal berserk Mana. I saw no sign of the Mana around him going berserk when I observed him with my Mana Eyes. In fact, the Mana he''s radiating is even denser than yours," MacAffrey said, shaking his head. His fear finally began to show as he watched Shi Feng. "How is that possible? Crimson''s Mana Body is at Peak Gold rank with a 97% Completion Rate. With the addition of her Fire Demon Bloodline, only the Guild Leader and Elders have denser Mana than hers. How can that guy possibly surpass Crimson?" the Tier 3 Ranger beside Crimson Witch said. Crimson Witch''s Mana Body was one of the best available in God''s Domain. Matching hers would already be impressive; surpassing her would be almost impossible. "I wondered if I had misinterpreted what I saw, too, but I checked him with Mana Eyes multiple times, and the results were all the same. Moreover, the gap between him and Crimson is distinct," MacAffrey insisted with a bitter smile. From what he could tell, the Mana radiating off of Shi Feng was nearly twice as dense as Crimson Witch''s. Although MacAffrey was reluctant to acknowledge this, his Mana Eyes had never failed him, and such a huge error in judgment was impossible. A strong Mana Body wasn''t proof of one''s strength, but anyone that could create a Mana Body as powerful as Shi Feng''s couldn''t be weak. A Mana Body''s construction was an immensely difficult task, and without sufficient strength, doing so was impossible. There was something else that MacAffrey hadn''t revealed to his comrades; of the nine players that accompanied Shi Feng on the Thunder Eagle''s back, three had Mana Bodies that rivaled Crimson Witch''s, and one was even stronger than his Elementalist... Not even Divine Tribe could muster a force of such caliber. Vice Commander, what should we do? We can''t simply apologize and offer compensation, can we?" the Tier 3 Ranger asked. They were members of Divine Tribe, a super-first-rate Guild that rivaled Super Guilds. If word got out that they had apologized and offered someone compensation, the Guild''s reputation would suffer. "It seems we have no choice but to fight with everything we have. Prepare to use that Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll," MacAffrey said after taking a deep breath. The Guild Leader went to great lengths to persuade the various Grand Elders to give that to us, Vice Commander. If we use it here..." Crimson Witch grew anxious upon hearing MacAffrey''s command. The Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll in their possession was the only one Divine Tribe possessed. The Guild Leader would never have fought to acquire it for them if not to ensure that they captured the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Demonic Silver vein. It was a trump card that could destroy or protect a city. Using it against Shi Feng''s group would be a huge waste. "We have no other options," MacAffrey growled in frustration. He didn''t want to resort to using the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll, either, but he had no choice. "Once we use the scroll, they will flee. We''ll use the opportunity to withdraw." When MacAffrey finished speaking, he gritted his teeth and took an ancient scroll inscribed with purple-gold divine runes from his bag. The moment he revealed the scroll, the Mana density around him rapidly increased. "You really want to continue this?" Shi Feng''s gaze hardened when he saw the Magic Scroll. He couldn''t tell what kind of scroll it was, but his instincts informed him that it was a massive threat. That scroll was even more dangerous than Level 100-plus Mythic monsters. It may have felt dangerous, but of course, he wasn''t afraid of it. He had plenty of Magic Crystals on him right now. If worse came to worst, he could use the Hero''s Tome and summon a Tier 4 Hero to protect him. As everyone waited for the battle to break out in the sky, a deep, resonant voice spoke up. "Affrey, let''s forget about this issue. Compensate this traveling expert with 100 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment!" Suddenly, a teleportation portal opened in the air, and a Twin-headed Pterosaur emerged. This Twin-headed Pterosaur was colossal, even larger than the Thunder Eagle. An old man in clean, white robes stood on the Pterosaur''s back, and despite his elderly appearance, he felt as formidable as a mountain. The pressure he exuded felt stifling to those in his presence. "Light Saint Adolf?!" "The Great Elder?" Both Divine Tribe''s members and the players from the Azure Chamber of Commerce were stunned when they saw the old man. MacAffrey''s group was about to speak up, but the old man silenced them with a glare. His intense pressure shut them up, and they obediently handed over 100 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment. The situation utterly stupefied Shi Feng. He had never expected the Divine Tribe to act so decisively. His comment had been in passing. After all, they were talking about 100 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment. With so many top-tier items, they could transform a 20-man team. Moreover, purchasing Level 100-plus Fine-Gold from the market was currently impossible. One could only barter for a trade. "Out of blows, friendship grows. May I know if you might be interested in visiting Divine Tribe''s Silver Lion City in the Silvermoon Empire?" Adolf politely asked Shi Feng. "That won''t be a problem. I''d be more than delighted to," Shi Feng said, nodding. He had no qualms with Divine Tribe, and since the Guild was willing to go out of its way to show him respect, he wouldn''t behave boorishly. Moreover, his primary goal in visiting the western continent was to visit the various NPC cities and gain an understanding of the western continent''s situation. If Adolf were willing to guide him, he wouldn''t refuse the wonderful offer. "Please, follow me," Adolf said before leading Shi Feng''s group toward the nearest NPC city and leaving MacAffrey and Divine Tribe''s other dumbfounded members behind. Azure''s members were just as flabbergasted by the development. "What''s going on?" "Who are those people?" A moment ago, Shi Feng had annihilated several hundred Tier 2 experts from Divine Tribe, yet not only had Divine Tribe willingly compensated Shi Feng with 100 pieces of Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Equipment, but Adolf, one of the Guild''s Great Elders, had also personally invited Shi Feng to visit Divine Tribe''s main headquarters. Not even superpowers'' Guild Leaders received such generous treatment. The situation even confused MacAffrey and his subordinates, let alone Yan Xiaoqian and the rest of Azure''s members. Even if Shi Feng were a peerless monster, was it necessary to go to such lengths to please him? 2450 A City Chapter 2450 - A City Shortly after Shi Feng''s group left, the situation in the Demonic Silver mine quieted down as everyone wondered about the identity of the group of strangers. He actually got an invite from Divine Tribe''s Grand Elder? That guy must be extraordinary. It seems the Long Family will rise through the ranks in the next annual competition, the Berserker King Elder from the Azure Chamber of Commerce thought as he gazed in the direction Shi Feng''s group had disappeared in. He also felt an urgent need to deepen his relationship with the Long Family. If players wanted to grow rapidly in God''s Domain, resources were an absolute necessity. However, items such as weapons, equipment, Skill Books, and combat techniques required a lot of time to obtain, especially for players that worked alone. If players wished to keep up with those on the frontline while collecting these items, they''d need to accomplish everything, even if it meant working themselves to death. Hence, all expert players that wanted to grow stronger needed the support of a power, which would allow them to focus on leveling and improving their combat standards. Because of this, outcompeting experts with a power''s support became very difficult for independent players. The Chamber''s several main families controlled most of the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s resources, and although Guild Elders, such as himself, controlled a small portion as well, it simply couldn''t compare to the stock the main families had access to. These families were responsible for founding Azure, after all, and they held a large portion of the Chamber''s shares. It was only natural that most of Azure''s resources were allocated for them. In reality, the annual competition between the shareholder families'' younger generation was a means to determine how those resources should be allocated. The upcoming annual competition would be particularly fierce since the main families were planning to go all-out. God''s Domain was gaining more influence in the real world with each passing day. The profits Azure could reap from the game would be magnitudes greater than what they had earned from past virtual reality games. Now that he learned that Silent Wonder had the support of a peerless monster like Shi Feng, he could tell that her performance in the next competition would be extraordinary. This meant that the Long Family would secure even greater resources from Azure than it received currently. So what if Black Flame came to the western continent? I will defeat Silent Wonder in the next family competition! Yan Xiaoqian glanced at the Berserker King Elder, overcome with disdain. Judging by his expression, he was considering sucking up to the Long Family. Although she had neither expected Shi Feng to be able to travel to the western continent, nor had she expected his impressive display of strength, he couldn''t help Silent Wonder defeat her. The next family competition wouldn''t be one of alchemy standards or equipment standards. Rather, it would be a competition of individual combat standards. Strength was everything in God''s Domain, and combat standards would determine whether or not one could acquire better resources. Not only was combat far more intense on the western continent than in the east, but it also had more effective Legacies and resources that improved combat standards. Fighting the invading Demonic Creature armies was particularly helpful when training one''s combat standards. Even if Zero Wing poured everything it had into Silent Wonder''s development, she had no hope of matching Yan Xiaoqian and the other geniuses from Azure, who fought and trained constantly in the west. This was exactly the reason that Long Xianglong had tried to bring Silent Wonder to the western continent after the last competition, but Shi Feng had laughably insisted that Zero Wing would be of more help to Silent Wonder than Azure, a power that could travel between the two continents. After Shi Feng''s group left, Azure and Divine Tribe ceased their fighting. MacAffrey, who was responsible for commanding the battle on Divine Tribe''s behalf, was no longer in the mood for combat, and his troops had relaxed into a mild chaos. He had ordered everyone to retreat while he had returned to Silver Lion City with Crimson Witch and the others. He wanted to speak with the Great Elder and demand an explanation. Shi Feng might be a peerless monster, but Divine Tribe wasn''t some ordinary superpower. After offering such a major concession to a stranger, the Guild would become a laughingstock among the western continent''s various superpowers. Silvermoon Empire, Silver Lion City: Several bright flashes illuminated the city''s Teleportation Hall as Shi Feng''s group entered Silver Lion City, the Silvermoon Empire''s second-largest NPC city, alongside Great Elder Adolf. The instant Shi Feng and his entourage emerged from the Teleportation Hall, they realized that the western continent''s NPC cities were vastly different than those in the east. Even the city''s atmosphere was different. "So, this is a city on the western continent?" Surprised, Aqua Rose spun in a slow circle as she looked around her. On the eastern continent, NPC cities generally had a peaceful atmosphere, but the energy in Silver Lion City was extraordinarily tense. It felt as if everyone, including NPCs, were constantly on guard and battle-ready. Moreover, the group was surprised to see that the city streets weren''t patrolled by NPC soldiers. Rather, Divine Tribe''s members and NPCs from the Adventurer''s Association were maintaining order. Players working for the Association were even responsible for collecting the city''s entrance fees. It seemed as if the city were managed by players, employed by the Adventurer''s Association. As Shi Feng and the others followed Adolf through the city, they could sense nearby players'' high combat standards. These players even had greater Mana control than those on the eastern continent. That was clear based on the Magic Scrolls available in the city''s Shops and street stalls. Although eastern players sold Magic Scrolls as well, those were often low-quality items, mostly only Tier 1 Magic Scrolls. Tier 2 and 3 Magic Scrolls were still exceedingly rare. In Silver Lion City, however, Tier 2 Magic Scrolls were common items in Shops on stalls. Some Shops even sold Tier 3 Magic Scrolls and Intermediate Barrier Scrolls, which were at least 50% cheaper than in the east. Of course, none of this surprised Shi Feng. The western continent had been embroiled in an endless battle against tides of Demonic Creatures since ancient times. Thus, its magic research was far more advanced than in the east, especially when it came to Mana utilization. In fact, there were quite a few methods here that could improve a player''s Mana control and help players learn how to control Mana. Mana control was especially important to Magicians. The greater a Magician''s Mana control was, the easier creating magic arrays would be. Due to the western continent''s research, there were far more Magicians here than on the eastern continent. Shi Feng even thought that the west''s superpowers likely possessed Master Magicians at this stage of the game. With so many players taking up the Magician subclass, there was no lack of manpower to create Magic Scrolls and Magic Array Scrolls. In addition, slain Demonic Creatures generally dropped Attributed Magic Cores and other materials necessary for creating these scrolls. It was only natural that Magic Scrolls and Magic Array Scrolls would cost much less than on the eastern continent. Taking advantage of this fact, the eastern continent''s powers that were capable of visiting the western continent always purchased Magic Scrolls and Magic Array Scrolls in bulk before their return trip, trading a portion of the scrolls, while keeping the rest for themselves. This enabled them to make a profit while increasing their members'' development speed. However, after follov^ng Adolf to Silver Lion City''s main street, even Shi Feng was shocked by what he saw. The city was home to a large number of Tier 3 independent experts, and although there weren''t as many as in Stone Forest City, there were a frightening number based on the typical players in the eastern continent''s NPC cities. Moreover, many of these Tier 3 independent players'' Life Ratings were just as astoundingly high. Shi Feng had gained the same impression from MacAffrey''s forces, although they were Divine Tribe''s Tier 3 experts. There was nothing unusual about them possessing special Bloodlines. However, Shi Feng now realized that the same could be said for the west''s independent experts. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you seem quite curious about our independent players'' high Life Ratings," Adolf said, smiling when he noticed Shi Feng''s confusion. "Indeed, I am very curious. Logically, tools that can improve a player''s Life Rating should be incredibly rare; only the various superpowers should have the ability to acquire such items. Even exceptionally powerful independent players should have a hard time acquiring those tools, yet here, so many of these independent players have accomplished the feat. It''s truly surprising." Shi Feng nodded. "Honestly, this is why I stopped MacAffrey and invited you here," Adolf said, chuckling. "Divine Tribe wishes to negotiate a long-term business arrangement with you, Guild Leader Black Flame. One of the aspects we intend to offer is the special Bloodline, which can increase a player''s Life Rating. May I know if you are interested?" "A business arrangement? It seems you have done your research, Great Elder Adolf," Shi Feng said, smiling. "I have. Even before MacAffrey reported your appearance to our main headquarters, I had investigated you and your Guild thoroughly. There aren''t many Guilds that can outbid Mythology, after all," Adolf agreed, nodding. "I had never thought that you''d be capable of visiting the western continent, as well. If Mythology learns about this, it''ll likely be astonished." "So, you stayed MacAffrey''s hand to invite me to negotiate a partnership?" Adolfs explanation surprised Shi Feng slightly. He hadn''t expected news from the eastern continent to make it to the west so quickly. There shouldn''t be much contact between the two main continents at this stage of the game. Neither side had conducted any in-depth research on the other. Everyone was still busy with the goings-on on their own continent. How would anyone have enough time to care about something unrelated? "Indeed. Very few powers in God''s Domain have the ability to travel between the continents. Divine Tribe has constantly been trying to send players to the east to develop, but we''ve failed to find an appropriate method of travel. Although we''ve considered working with other superpowers that can do so, their asking prices are too steep," Adolf said. "Which leads us to you; your arrival is wonderful news for Divine Tribe. I also believe that Zero Wing will require a powerful partner in the west. Even if you''re capable of supplying a large amount of resources, you don''t have the required connections to sell or trade them." As Adolf had revealed, he had investigated Zero Wing thoroughly. Although Zero Wing appeared prosperous on the surface, it was plagued by many crises. Right now, the Guild urgently needed a large number of peak or Tier 3 experts to protect it. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before the Guild crumbled under its own weight. Fortunately, Divine Tribe could offer Zero Wing the solution to this problem. "You are correct. Zero Wing does need a powerful partner on the western continent, and Divine Tribe seems to fit the bill. However, I have one request," Shi Feng said. He very much agreed with Adolfs estimation. Initially, he had considered allying with the Azure Chamber of Commerce, but it already had the ability to travel between the main continents. Even if Silent Wonder negotiated the alliance for him, he''d only obtain limited benefits. "Request?" Curiously, Adolf continued, "Please, tell me, Guild Leader Black Flame." "It''s simple. I need to establish a city on the western continent. If Divine Tribe is willing to assist in this regard, it will be Zero Wing''s sole ally in the west," Shi Feng earnestly promised. 2451 Western Continents Situation Chapter 2451 - Western Continent''s Situation "Establish a city?" Shi Feng''s request stunned Adolf for a moment. He even wondered if this Guild Leader was pulling his leg. If Yan Xiaoqian had heard Shi Feng, she would assume the Swordsman had either lost his mind, or he was dreaming. As on the eastern continent, players could establish Guild Towns and Cities in the west, but because of a few differences, there were far fewer Guild Towns and Cities on the western continent. One difference was the fact that the various NPC kingdoms and empires left the management of almost all of their towns and cities to the Adventurer''s Association, which, in turn, entrusted matters of security to the various Guilds in the form of quests. This forced the various Guilds to invest tons of manpower in the NPC towns and cities'' management, ensuring their authority. Hence, the western continent''s various powers severely lacked manpower, and very few were capable of establishing Guild Towns or Cities of their own. There was another major difference that contributed to the various powers'' unwillingness to establish Guild Towns and Cities. The Demonic Creature armies! The invading Demonic Creatures'' attacks weren''t limited to towns and cities within a country''s borders. Occasionally, they would also besiege towns and cities deep within kingdoms and empires. Regardless of where the various powers established their Guild Towns or Cities, they''d still have to deal with the Demonic Creatures'' invasion. These Demonic Creature armies weren''t like the monster sieges on the eastern continent. They operated like kingdoms and empires'' well-trained NPC armies. They could even use war weapons against towns and cities. Meanwhile, Guild Towns and Cities didn''t have the support of a large number of NPCs like NPC towns and cities. Guilds would have to hire a limited number of NPC soldiers and rely on their own members to stop these Demonic Creatures. It was easy to imagine how much manpower would be necessary to protect a Guild Town or City. This was why so few powers had established their own Guild Town or City on the western continent, and those that managed the feat were undoubtedly powerful. At the very least, a power would need to be on par with a first-rate Guild to maintain a single Guild Town or City. Only those that ranked among the top of first-rate Guild could maintain two Guild Towns or Cities. It''d be no exaggeration to call them pseudo-superpowers. And yet, Shi Feng wanted Divine Tribe to help him establish a Guild City on the western continent. If he were asking this of any other superpower''s upper echelon, they''d likely throw him out the door. This wasn''t a partnership; it was daylight robbery! "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you aware of the situation on the western continent? Establishing a Guild City here is even more difficult than you imagine. Even now, Divine Tribe only has the power to maintain five Guild Towns and Cities," Adolf explained after taking a moment to calm himself. Constructing a Guild City on the western continent wasn''t difficult, but protecting it was. No ordinary power could afford the amount of manpower and resources it would require. Zero Wing only had 10 players on the western continent right now. Even if Shi Feng were heaven-defyingly strong, he couldn''t defeat an entire army of Demonic Creatures by himself. It would be up to Divine Tribe to dispatch a player army to protect Zero Wing''s city, and in doing so, Divine Tribe would likely have to invest more in the endeavor than it would gain from its alliance with Zero Wing. Zero Wing was only a pseudo-superpower in the east right now; it didn''t have much influence, and it could only secure a limited amount of resources. Moreover, the manpower Divine Tribe would have to invest would be manpower the Guild couldn''t use in the future. It simply wasn''t a worthwhile trade. "I understand how difficult it is to establish a Guild City on the western continent, which is why I''m asking for Divine Tribe''s help." Shi Feng nodded while chuckling. "If your Guild can agree, I am willing to purchase 3,000,000 Magic Crystals of rare materials from Divine Tribe at market price!" Shi Feng knew a little about the western continent''s situation, so he knew that establishing a Guild City here would be a major challenge, especially for Zero Wing, a Guild that didn''t even have a hint of a foundation in the west. However, a Guild City was necessary for Zero Wing''s future development. Without one, the Guild wouldn''t have a foothold in the west and would be subjected to the local powers'' suppression. This was why the various powers, who could travel between the continents, always established strongholds in both places. The Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Demonstone Town, which stood outside of the Fire Dragon Empire, was one such example. With its own trade hub, Azure didn''t have to worry about superpowers'' suppression, even if they grew jealous. He also needed a Guild City to deal with an even greater problem. More powers would establish routes between the two main continents as time passed, and when they did, Zero Wing would face even more competition. Even Divine Tribe might find a way to the eastern continent, and when it did, it would sell its resources in the east rather than rely on Zero Wing as a middleman, earning more profits as a result. Thus, it was imperative that Zero Wing have its own Guild City on the western continent. "Three million Magic Crystals?" Adolfs eyes grew wide as he stared at Shi Feng in shock, and his breathing grew labored. He had never dreamed that Zero Wing was so frighteningly wealthy. "Are you telling me the truth, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Magic Crystals were hard currency on the western continent. Players could easily buy certain rare materials with Magic Crystals, while they couldn''t do the same with Coins. Vendors even offered discounts if players were willing to pay with Magic Crystals. The western continent wasn''t like its eastern counterpart. Not only were Magic Crystals scarcer, but demand for them was higher, as well. Take the Combat Runes the various powers used, for example. Magic Crystals were the main material to craft these Combat Runes. This was precisely why Divine Tribe had sent one of its trump card legions to capture Azure''s Demonic Silver mine, despite it only being a Grade 3 vein. The mine dropped Magic Crystals. Three million Magic Crystals! It was an astronomical amount to any of the western continent''s superpowers. Not only would securing 3,000,000 Magic Crystals allow Divine Tribe to surpass other superpowers when exploring Level 100 neutral maps, but it would also resolve the Guild''s lack of materials for its Combat Rune research, allowing Divine Tribe to craft Tier 3 Combat Runes. Divine Tribe would be able to truly stand among the various superpowers. It might even have the potential to grow stronger than the continent''s existing Super Guilds. "Of course, but my offer does depend on your sincerity in our negotiations, Great Elder," Shi Feng replied. When he saw the burning passion in Adolfs eyes, he could not help but marvel at the Magic Crystals'' effects. Although Shi Feng had been aware of how valuable Magic Crystals were on the western continent, he had never expected the continent''s powers to be this desperate for them. Adolf was on the cusp of becoming a peerless monster himself, yet even he seemed intensely excited at the prospect of so many Magic Crystals. After a moment of hesitation, Adolf gritted his teeth and said, "Deal. I can represent Divine Tribe in agreeing to your demands. However, Divine Tribe can only dispatch 80,000 elites and 20,000 experts to help you defend your city. Whether or not these players will be successful will depend on your arrangements." "An army of 100,000 is sufficient, but I will need to borrow one of your trump cards to capture a city," Shi Feng agreed, nodding. An army of 80,000 elites and 20,000 experts was essentially the limit that any first-rate Guild in the east could dispatch to a Guild Town or City. Unfortunately, maintaining the western continent''s NPC towns and cities needed too much manpower. "That won''t be a problem. I''ll send MacAffrey''s legion to assist you. However, I must warn you; if our legion loses more than 30% of its players, they will retreat." Shi Feng''s additional request didn''t surprise Adolf. Capturing an existing, hostile NPC city was the fastest way to establish a Guild City in the west. Shi Feng and Adolf then signed a contract, solidifying their agreement. The contract stipulated that Divine Tribe would gather the rare materials Shi Feng requested within seven days and grant Shi Feng access to a 100,000-man army to help him protect Zero Wing''s city for three months. In exchange, Shi Feng would pay Divine Tribe 3,000,000 Magic Crystals. Divine Tribe would also become Zero Wing''s sole ally in the west, and any materials Zero Wing required from the western continent would be purchased from Divine Tribe, unless another party could offer the materials at a lower price. Once the contract was signed, MacAffrey was instructed to return with his legion to Silver Lion City. Shi Feng was then given full authority over the legion. Silver Lion City, Divine Tribe''s Guild Residence: "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know what your plans are? With our current combat power, there are only a few resource cities in Level 90 maps that we can capture. Considering the difficulty of protecting the city, I suggest we capture a resource city in a Level 80 map instead," MacAffrey recommended as he pointed to areas on the map he held. Capturing a resource city in a Level 90 map would be quite difficult due to the Level 100-plus NPCs or monsters that protected the cities. They would also encounter Level 100 Mythic combatants. Capturing a city in a Level 80 map would be far less of a challenge. Although these areas were a lower level, Guild Cities could be transferred to a different location once they met the requirements. Moreover, Zero Wing was merely trying to secure a foothold on the western continent, not contest for hegemony. Capturing a resource city in a Level 80 map would more than serve its purposes. "No, I''m not interested in these cities. I want Star Valley''s Starlight Fortress!" Shi Feng declared, shaking his head as he pointed to a location several kingdoms away from the Silvermoon Empire. To be precise, he indicated a fortress in Star Valley, a forbidden land in the southern region of the western continent. Securing this fortress was his main goal in visiting the west. 2452 Steel Giant Reappears Chapter 2352 - Steel Giant Reappears As soon as Shi Feng finished his statement, the meeting room full of several dozen players fell deathly silent as Divine Tribe''s members turned to give Shi Feng disdainful looks. "This guy''s really ambitious!" "Crap! Star Valley? Does he think we''re his personal subordinates? He actually wants us to go on a suicide mission!" The western continent''s various superpowers were very familiar with Star Valley. They all dreamed of owning a town or city in the map. Not only was Star Valley rich in ores, but it was also home to plenty of ancient ruins. In addition, Star Valley housed one of the only two known God Mod Regional Dungeons on the western continent. It was everyone''s target for exploration and capture. And Shi Feng wanted to capture the Starlight Fortress in Star Valley. "Guild Leader Black Flame, that area is a Level 100-plus forbidden land. I''m afraid you overestimate the Silver Lion Legion. Even if with the Great Elder''s 100,000-man army, I doubt we''ll even get through the Starlight Fortress''s gate, much less capture it," MacAffrey insisted. Rather than get angry at Shi Feng''s goal, he offered a bitter smile. If Divine Tribe had the power to capture the Starlight Fortress, it would''ve done so long ago. There were too many benefits to owning a fortress in Star Valley to ignore. No superpower could ignore the temptation. However, not a single superpower had successfully captured one of Star Valley''s fortresses. MacAffrey acknowledged that Shi Feng was incredibly strong, beyond the reach of ordinary apex experts, but a handful of players wouldn''t be enough to capture a fortress, especially one in a forbidden land. One would need an extremely powerful army to succeed. "I understand your concerns, Vice Commander Affrey. I''ve done my own research on the Starlight Fortress. I am sure, with the Silver Lion Legion''s help, we can capture it," Shi Feng explained. During his previous life, Star Valley had been extremely famous on the western continent due to its abundant resources. The fortresses in the forbidden land were goldmines, and the various powers had investigated them thoroughly. Even a second-rate Guild like Shadow had learned plenty about these fortresses. After considering the Silver Lion Legion''s strength, Shi Feng had decided that the Starlight Fortress was their best option. The Starlight Fortress was also one of the few fortresses that they had any chance of capturing. Star Valley was indeed a Level 100-plus neutral map, and as such, it was a dangerous location, even to veteran Tier 3 players. However, that was precisely the reason that Shi Feng wanted it. Star Valley''s fortresses had survived since ancient times, so they contained legacies that were far stronger than anything from the current era. The human race had had far more Tier 3 individuals than it did now. In fact, completing their promotion to Tier 3 hadn''t been nearly as difficult during ancient times, but the human race had eventually lost many of their legacies in the countless wars since, making it far more of a challenge to reach Tier 3. If he could capture the Starlight Fortress, Zero Wing''s Tier 3 experts would gain a massive boost in strength. "Since you''ve made up your mind, I suppose I have nothing more to say, Guild Leader Black Flame. We can set out once the Silver Lion Legion has rested," MacAffrey conceded. Seeing Shi Feng''s confidence, he gave up trying to dissuade the Swordsman. Divine Tribe had already forged an agreement with Shi Feng, and it was up to him which town or city they attacked. Whether or not they succeeded was none of his concern. Following which, the Silver Lion Legion''s 8,000 members prepared for their expedition to Star Valley. After the meeting, MacAffrey gave his report to Adolf. "He wants to capture one of Star Valley''s fortresses? Doesn''t he realize that Star Valley is a special forbidden land, in which Berserk Skills are prohibited?" Adolf was a little surprised when he heard the news. Players couldn''t rely on their Berserk Skills in the Star Valley, which was why the various superpowers had so little hope of capturing its fortresses. Those fortresses strengthened the Mythic monsters in the area, giving them far greater combat power than ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level. Without Berserk Skills, not even Tier 3 players had a chance against those Mythic monsters. Furthermore, each of Star Valley''s fortresses contained more than one Mythic monster. Based on the various superpowers'' reports, each fortress was guarded by at least three Mythics; some even had five. A ton of Great Lords and Grand Lords had also garrisoned these fortresses. Just thinking about fighting all of those powerful monsters made Adolfs skin crawl. Even with Divine Tribe''s trump card, the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll, they couldn''t capture a fortress of that caliber. Shi Feng, however, insisted on accepting the challenge... "He is adamant that he''s done his research, and he''s confident that we can capture the Starlight Fortress," Crimson Witch explained from beside MacAffrey, her tone dripping with contempt. At this stage of the game, the various superpowers had barely scratched Star Valley''s surface. They had barely begun to exploit the forbidden land''s resources. To truly capture one of the Star Valley''s fortresses, the various superpowers would have to wait until they had several thousand Tier 3 experts under their command. Without those numbers, killing the fortress''s Great Lords and Grand Lords would be a problem, not to mention the Mythic monsters. "I want all of you to be careful. If you lose over 20% of your forces, retreat immediately," Adolf instructed after giving the matter some thought. The various superpowers have already begun to raid Level 100 Team Dungeons, and they will conduct many more large-scale operations in the future. We can''t afford to suffer serious losses at this crucial moment. Level 100 Team Dungeons are our Guild''s top priority!" "Understood!" MacAffrey replied. He shared a similar opinion with the Great Elder. It was far better to focus their attention on raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons than aim for an unrealistic goal like capturing the Starlight Fortress. Level 100 Team Dungeons had the weapons and equipment they needed to boost their strength by a large margin. That equipment would also help the Guild''s Tier 2 experts complete their Tier 3 Promotion Quests much sooner. Their Guild would only grow stronger as a whole if they had more Tier 3 players. Following which, MacAffrey met up with Shi Feng''s group at the Teleportation Hall with the Silver Lion Legion in tow. They teleported to the Golden Sands Kingdom, the closest country to the Star Valley. The Golden Sands Kingdom was also a desolate country, with 80% of its territory comprised of desert. Once they had reached the Golden Sands Desert, the group continued for another 10 hours or so on Mounts to reach the Star Valley''s outer region. When the group arrived, the mighty Silver Lion Legion stunned the various major powers'' experts in the area. Although the legion members had concealed their identities with Black Cloaks, their intense auras drove off any Tier 3 experts in their way. Finally, after another three hours of travel, Shi Feng and his small army reached the top of a forested hill a short distance from the Starlight Fortress. From this vantage point, they could all see the massive tower in the middle of the forest and the sturdy walls that surrounded it. "Oh? People have made it here already?" Shi Feng was a little taken aback to see a group of players fighting a short distance away from the fortress. Star Valley was a Level 100-plus forbidden land, and very few players had the strength to grind in its outer region, much less near the Starlight Fortress. The Starlight Fortress was situated on the boundary between the Star Valley''s inner and outer regions. Even the weakest monster here was a Level 105 Lord, and the strongest was a Level 110 Mythic Boss. Not even the various superpowers'' main forces dared to approach this area casually. And yet, a group of players fought near the fortress''s entrance. It was astounding! There were only 500 members of the team, and every one of them was an independent player... "What a powerful adventurer team! They have over 30 Tier 3 players on a 500-man team, and the lowest level among them is Level 105. This team can practically rival a top-ranked first-rate Guild''s main force," Crimson Witch commented. Of course, when Shi Feng''s group had noticed the adventurer team, the members of that team had noticed Shi Feng and his small army. "There''s so many of them, Boss. What should we do?" a Level 106, Tier 3 Ranger asked the robust man tanking a Level 110 Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Although this robust man only wore leather armor and wielded a pair of gauntlets as weapons, a layer of strange energy enveloped his form, which drastically reduced the amount of damage he took from the Grand Lord''s attacks. Even when the Grand Lord successfully landed a hit, the man only lost around 20,000 HP. To Tier 3 players, this amount of damage was practically negligible. "This Quest Boss is already in the red. Ignore them for now. If they dare try to steal our kill, we''ll drag them down with us!" the robust man growled. His gaze contained no fear, even after he noticed the Silver Lion Legion''s overwhelming numbers. "I agree. I have checked their Mana signatures. They might have more players, but only 70 of them are Tier 3 players. If it comes down to a fight, we''ll make them suffer!" A ruthless man, who wore similar leather armor and wielded a greatsword, agreed with a sharp nod. Any other adventurer team would''ve likely fled if they encountered the Silver Lion Legion, but they were different. They''d never back down from a fight, even if they faced an army of 8,000 players with several hundred Tier 3 experts. "Guild Leader Black Flame, should we make them leave?" MacAffrey asked as he turned toward Shi Feng. They were here to capture a fortress. Even if they were merely a slightly powerful adventurer team, outsiders could affect the outcome of their operation. However, as Shi Feng was their commander this time, and MacAffrey decided to seek his guidance, rather than take action immediately. "That won''t be necessary. We''ll just do our own thing," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He had no intention of clearing out the area. "If we don''t force them to leave, Guild Leader Black Flame, we won''t be able to besiege the front gate," MacAffrey insisted, exasperated. The Starlight Fortress only had one entrance, and it was the least protected area. Thick walls that were 12 meters high surrounded the fortress on every other side, and they were treated with special magic that prevented players from vaulting over them. In addition, many Level 110 Great Lord and Grand Lord ranked Elemental Guards paced atop the walls. Not only could these Elemental Guards launch long-range attacks, but they also had AOE Spells. Those monsters would likely bombard them to smithereens before they could destroy the fortress''s walls. Before MacAffrey could continue, however, Shi Feng retrieved a steel giant that blotted out the sky. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship! 2453 Crimson Dragon Flying Ships Migh Chapter 2453 - Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Might ''A Flying Ship?!" When Divine Tribe''s members saw the gigantic Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets, including MacAffrey and Divine Tribe''s other upper echelons. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was massive. They had previously thought that Flying Mounts dwarfed Land Mounts, but compared to this, Flying Mounts were little more than children standing before an adult. "So, this is the rumored Flying Ship?" MacAffrey could not help but marvel at the crimson giant and its glowing runes and magic arrays engraved on the hull. Even the ship''s Mana mesmerized him. As one of Divine Tribe''s upper echelons himself, he had heard about Zero Wing''s flying war weapon, but seeing the real thing in person still shocked him. Before a steel giant like this, monsters and player armies were meaningless. When the adventurer team fighting in the distance saw the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, some even forgot about the monsters they fought for a moment. Only after the monsters'' attacks threw them did they recover their senses. "What is that?" "Crap! Is it really necessary to go that far?!" The members of the adventurer team felt stifled and afraid as they gazed at the Flying Ship. The confidence they had held on to began to wane. "Boss, what should we do? Look at those bastards! We are only a team of 500, yet they''ve revealed that thing to intimidate us!" the ruthless, greatsword-wielding man cursed as he stared at the distant Flying Ship. With the weapons they had on hand, the idea of fighting the steel giant was a joke. It would be akin to fighting a tank or fighter jet with sticks. The two sides'' combat power was on entirely different levels. Meanwhile, the robust man, this adventurer team''s commander, watched the ship with a grim expression. Even if he had to face several dozen Tier 3 experts all by himself, he would still have the courage to put up a fight. He was even confident he could escape with his life even if he couldn''t win. However, faced against the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, he wasn''t even confident in being able to escape. At this stage of the game, any player that spent considerable time in a major NPC city knew what a Flying Ship was, and although most didn''t know exactly how powerful they were, it was easy to guess. Flying Ships could fire Magic Cannons from the air, and even the weakest Magic Cannon had peak Tier 3 power. Moreover, Magic Cannons'' attacks were AOEs. Players who couldn''t fly would be nothing more than moving targets for such a vessel. Right now, their team was at the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s complete mercy. If the players piloting the ship wanted them dead, they wouldn''t even get a chance to flee... While the adventurer team panicked, Aqua Rose and her comrades boarded the ship while Divine Tribe''s members watched. Vice Commander Affrey, I''ll try to open a break in the wall as quickly as possible. I''d like you to form a defensive line below the ship to clear out the monsters that will flood out of the fortress and help protect the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship from the fortress''s flying monsters," Shi Feng addressed MacAffrey, who was still in a daze. Any other power would have to enter the fortress through the front gate, but with the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, it didn''t matter where Shi Feng''s army attacked from. Hearing Shi Feng''s instructions snapped MacAffrey out of his daze, and pulling his gaze away from the Flying Ship, he turned to Shi Feng, advising, "Do you really want to go in through the wall, Guild Leader Black Flame? That fortress has survived since ancient times, and its walls are much stronger than those of a modern fortress. Even with a Flying Ship, I''m afraid it''ll be a challenge to break down the wall." He had still dismissed Shi Feng''s intentions of capturing the Starlight Fortress, but now, he began to believe that this Swordsman had the means to pull it off. Opening a hole in the fortress''s defenses was the most difficult aspect of trying to capture one. All fortresses had an auto-repair feature. If players couldn''t exploit that weakness before the wall began to repair itself, there would be no hope of success. Naturally, the weakest point in the fortress''s outer defense was its front gate. The walls were far sturdier and had much higher durability in comparison. "Relax. We should have enough time. As long as the Silver Lion Legion can keep the flying monsters off the ship, we''ll be fine," Shi Feng said, chuckling at MacAffrey''s concern. "Can your legion accomplish that?" Destroying the front gate was the simplest method of creating a weakness in the fortress''s defense, but if players opened a path by destroying a section of the wall, the monsters within would be far easier to deal with. The fortresss walls were reinforced by magic arrays, which were linked to form a complete array that enveloped the entire fortress and strengthened its allied forces. This was why the monsters within were so much more challenging to defeat than monsters in the fields. If players could destroy a section of the walls, however, they could damage the magic array engraved onto it. This, in turn, would weaken the strengthening effect the array had on the monsters within. Unfortunately, destroying the walls was normally incredibly difficult for players, many times more difficult than destroying the gate. Teams that struggled to capture a fortress wouldn''t resort to attacking the more fortified walls. This was precisely the reason that Shi Feng dared to challenge the Starlight Fortress. Without current players'' strength, capturing it would''ve been impossible. Even the weakest fortress in Star Valley was garrisoned by hundreds of thousands of monsters, of which several thousand were Great Lords, and several hundred were Grand Lords. Moreover, these monsters would respawn after a certain amount of time. If players didn''t have the DPS to slay them all quickly, these monsters could even outlast a superpower''s army. Of course, players didn''t necessarily have to clear out the monsters to capture a fortress. They only needed to defeat the fortress''s Guardian Boss, but until they cleared out a certain fraction of the monsters, those monsters would become a problem during the Guardian Boss fight. Fortunately, only low-grade Elemental Creatures occupied the Starlight Fortress, and they weren''t very intelligent, not even the Mythic ranked Elemental Creatures. They operated almost purely on instinct. If the fortress were occupied by creatures like Magic Elves, no one would have a hope of capturing it before players reached Tier 5. That won''t be a problem. As long as we don''t have to deal with the Mythic monsters, there''s no way the monsters without the fortress''s buff will break though the Silver Lion Legion''s line," MacAffrey confidently declared. However, he still preferred that they attack the front gate instead. If they could actually capture the Starlight Fortress, they would have performed a miracle on the western continent. Their names would go dowoi in history. "Wonderful. Then, I''ll leave the legion''s commands to you, Vice Commander Affrey," Shi Feng said, nodding in satisfaction. He then boarded the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and left the rest to MacAffrey, who was more familiar with the Silver Lion Legion. Crimson Witch and MacAffrey''s close companions were speechless as they watched Shi Feng board the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. It was clear now that they had a high chance of capturing the Starlight Fortress, yet Shi Feng chose the most difficult method of doing so... However, they had no say in the matter. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship belonged to Zero Wing, and Shi Feng had absolute authority over this operation. "Let''s see if he can continue his willful act once his plan fails," Crimson Witch said, clicking her tongue. Even as she said that, she couldn''t help but gaze at the ship in envy. If she had such a Flying Ship, she could even trample on peerless monsters. While the distant adventurer team hesitated on what they should do, and the Silver Lion Legion gradually moved into formation, one of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons began to gather energy. The ship''s Bronze Engine powered the Mana Pulse Cannons, and the instant the cannon began to absorb the ambient Mana, even players within 1,000 yards sensed the Mana around them go berserk. Before the legion had even finished forming its defensive line around the Flying Ship, a black-white beam of light shot from the cannon, slamming into the Starlight Fortress''s west wall. Boom! The wall exploded, and the intense shockwave rocked every player within several hundred yards of the fortress. The Mana Pulse Cannon''s might was utterly incomprehensible. Once the dust settled, it revealed a massive crack in the west wall, and the Great Lord ranked Elemental Guards on the wall had lost more than one-third of their HPs from the attack... "How is that Mana Pulse Cannon so powerful?" Crimson Witch gaped in shock. She had seen Mana Pulse Cannons before, but they had never been powerful enough to devour one-third of a Level 100-plus Great Lord''s HP... Before anyone could recover from the shock, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s 11 other Mana Pulse Cannons began to charge. After a moment, 11 black-white beams bombarded the Starlight Fortress''s west wall... 2454 Domain-class Chapter 2454 - Domain-class When the 11 Mana Pulse Cannons bombarded the Starlight Fortress''s west wall, everyone in the vicinity felt as if Armageddon had begun as the world around them trembled. Destruction! Shock! Helplessness! Everyone gaped as they watched the beam attacks destroy the west wall, tearing space as they passed. "Isn''t this Flying Ship a little too strong?!" Crimson Witch wondered. Not only was the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Mana Pulse Cannon extraordinarily powerful, but the ship also had 12 of them in total. It was practically a flying fortress. Inwardly, she was relieved that she hadn''t started an all-out battle against Shi Feng''s group by the Demonic Silver mine. If a battle had truly started, none of her legion would''ve left the mine alive, even if they had used their Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll. Crimson Witch and the other Silver Lion Legion members weren''t the only ones shocked. The adventurer team fighting not far from the Starlight Fortress''s front gate was also stunned. A single shot from those Mana Pulse Cannons had dealt a devastating blow across a 50-yard-radius area. If all 12 Mana Pulse Cannons fired together, one round would be enough to annihilate a 5,000-man team, much less their 500 team members. "Who are those people?" Aside from shock and fear, the adventurer team''s members were overcome with curiosity about the identity of Shi Feng''s group. They were members of the Storm Heart adventurer team, a top adventurer team that had survived multiple large-scale battles with Demonic Creatures. Storm Heart was quite famous in the Golden Sands Kingdom and its several neighboring kingdoms. Once, a superpower had even approached them for help to capture a Demonic Creature town. Of all of the opponents Storm Heart had faced before, however, none could hold a candle to the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Not even the various superpowers had such a powerful weapon. "Could those players be trying to capture the Starlight Fortress?" the ruthless man muttered incredulously as he watched the Flying Ship hover in the sky. Star Valley was a forbidden land, and its fortresses were considered forbidden lands within a forbidden land. Current players simply didn''t have the strength to venture to such places. On average, the monsters within these fortresses were Level 110-plus, and there were usually easily more than 200,000 of them. The fortresses were even home to Level 110-plus Mythic monsters. For these Mythic monsters, killing current Tier 3 experts would be child''s play. Even now, the various superpowers were only capable of exploring the areas around Star Valley''s fortresses. They''d have to wait until they had several thousand Tier 3 players to have even a chance of capturing a fortress. The monsters weren''t even the most difficult part about capturing Star Valley''s fortresses. Opening a hole in the fortress''s defenses was the true challenge. If a team failed to do so, they''d never be able to send players into the fortress, making it impossible to kill the Guardian Boss and secure the Fortress Token. "That seems to be the case. Why else would they attack the Starlight Fortress directly?" Storm Heart''s commander replied, similarly watching the flying ship with fear and awe. He had assumed that Shi Feng''s group had simply come to grind in the area and had only revealed the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to scare away their adventurer team. He had never thought that those players actually intended to capture the fortress, which not even the various superpowers dared to try. Before everyone could overcome their shock over watching the Mana Pulse Cannons'' bombardment, the brilliant light enveloping the Starlight Fortress began to fade, revealing massive cracks in the wall. The Great Lord ranked Elemental guards stationed on the wall had also been obliterated. "What power! One round of attacks was enough to cause so much damage?" MacAffrey couldn''t help his growing excitement when he saw the cracks. He had assumed that the power of one Flying Ship wouldn''t be enough to destroy the Starlight Fortress''s wall quickly, and if he had been right, their chances of capturing the fortress would''ve been dismal. They wouldn''t have had enough time to clear out the fortress''s monsters and find the Guardian Boss before the wall repaired itself. However, it seemed that he had been wrong, and they actually had a high chance of success. Although he didn''t know how much durability the west wall had lost, he had enough experience in sieging Demonic Creatures'' cities and fortresses to know what kind of power it took to crack one of those walls. Based on his experiences, he calculated that the Starlight Fortress''s wall had lost at least 2% of its durability, which meant the wall would fall after 50 rounds of attacks. A fortress normally needed around two days to repair a destroyed wall. If they could destroy the wall with 50 rounds of attacks, not only would they have enough time to clear out the fortress''s monsters, but they''d also have enough time to kill the Guardian Boss multiple times over. Zero Wing''s members aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, however, had a different opinion. "Guild Leader, this fortress''s wall is formidable. One round of our attacks was only enough to crack it. It''s practically as solid as the walls around major NPC cities," Aqua Rose said, astonished when she saw how little damage the west wall had taken. She was very familiar with the power of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons. Every one of their attacks was at the Tier 4 standard, even stronger than ordinary Mythic monster''s attacks. One blast was enough to deal significant damage to a Guild City''s walls. And yet, the wall around the Starlight Fortress had barely taken any damage after 12 Mana Pulse Cannons had fired. The wall was almost as tough as the wall around White River City. White River City had already been promoted multiple times. Even if Mythic monsters attacked, the city wouldn''t take any damage. They''d likely have to attack for a long time to open a hole in the Starlight Fortress''s wall. Every time they fired the Mana Pulse Cannons, it cost them money. Although the cannons weren''t as expensive as the Mana Pulse Cannons in Guild Towns and Cities, each shot still cost 100 Magic Crystals... "I''m satisfied with this outcome. If the fortress activates its defensive magic array and reinforces the wall, we won''t break through even after two solid days of attacking," Shi Feng said, chuckling and shaking his head. The Starlight Fortress had survived since ancient times, standing even after numerous battles. How could an Advanced Flying Ship possibly destroy it that easily? If the Starlight Fortress were so fragile, it wouldn''t have lasted this long. He didn''t particularly mind the Magic Crystals they spent. He had plenty to spare. If he had needed Magic Crystals so badly, he wouldn''t have tried to capture a fortress in the first place. While Shi Feng and his party waited for the Mana Pulse Cannons'' Cooldowns to end, they heard a deafening roar from within the Starlight Fortress. Even from several thousand yards away, they could hear it clearly. The Starlight Fortress''s gate then opened, and swarms of Elemental Creatures flooded out. Flying Elemental Creatures launched themselves from the fortress. At a glance, there were easily over 50,000 monsters, and every one of them charged at the Silver Lion Legion and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship... "Why are there so many?" MacAffrey felt his scalp tingle as he watched the incoming swarm. Even in the worst-case scenario, there should''ve only been 10,000 or so monsters spilling out of the fortress, according to his initial estimates. But more than 50,000 charged toward them, including more than 100 Grand Lords. The Grand Lords alone outnumbered the Silver Lion Legion''s Tier 3 experts... Before MacAffrey could issue a command, however, a thirty-meter-tall Starlight Behemoth flew from the fortress. The instant the Starlight Behemoth emerged, the ambient Mana seemed to submit to its control. "What?! A Domain-class Mythic?!" Crimson Witch exclaimed, paling when she saw the flying monster. Expert players like her were no longer strangers to the concept of Domains. Almost all Tier 4 NPCs had one, and while within their Domains, NPCs could move and fight in a world that was tailored to them. This was why Tier 4 NPCs were so powerful; Tier 3 NPCs couldn''t defeat such a being, even with a numerical advantage. Fortunately, monsters were dumb, unlike NPCs. They relied on their physical prowess in battle, but even so, they could contend with NPCs of the same tier. Monsters that had reached the Tier 4 Mythic standard were particularly hardy, powerful enough that even Tier 4 NPCs of the same level would struggle to defeat them. Domain-class Mythic monsters had their own Domain. Even Tier 4 NPCs would have to flee from a group of Domain- class Mythics. She had never dreamed that such a powerful monster would dwell within the Starlight Fortress, and it had just flown out of the fortress to greet them... 2455 World Descends Chapter 2455 - World Descends "I thought only mobs were supposed to come out!" "Why is the fortress''s Guardian Boss out here, too?" "Why is this Guardian Boss so powerful? Shouldn''t Domain-class Mythics be World Bosses?" The Starlight Behemoth''s appearance shocked the Silver Lion Legion. The joy they had felt after seeing the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s might vanished when they saw the Starlight Behemoth''s gigantic, translucent body. Now, only fear swam within them. Thus far, the various superpowers had only discovered a handful of Domain-class Mythic monsters, and every one of them was on par with a natural disaster. Those monsters could even guard an entire map. In fact, some Level 90-plus World Bosses were merely Domain-class Mythics, and the various superpowers'' forces had proven ineffective against them. Even after relying on special items, they had been annihilated. A Domain was simply unstoppable! This was why Tier 3 NPCs were no match for their Tier 4 counterparts, even when they outnumbered the stronger NPCs. Within another''s Domain, one''s overall performance would suffer significantly. Just casting Spells and activating Skills became excruciatingly difficult within a hostile Domain. One would be fortunate to exhibit 50% of their normal combat power in such a fight. To make matters worse, the Domain would strengthen its user''s overall performance, as well. Even in a fight between a Tier 3 NPC and a Tier 4 NPC of equal strength, the difference would be qualitative with a Domain active. Needless to say, the difference would be even greater between Tier 3 players and a Domain-class Mythic. "Commander, we need to retreat! Nobody can stop that Domain-class Mythic Boss! If we don''t run now, it''ll slaughter us!" the ruthless man from Storm Heart shouted at his commander, Krow, when he saw the Starlight Behemoth. Not only was the Starlight Behemoth individually powerful, but its Domain would also strengthen the army of 50,000 monsters. Such a force would have no issues taking down a Guild City, much less the Silver Lion Legion''s 8,000 members. With the fortress''s Elemental Creatures focused on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, they had a chance to escape. If they waited until these monsters destroyed the ship and massacred the legion, they''d be next. "It seems our raid is impossible. Inform everyone to retreat!" Krow commanded as he gazed at the Starlight Behemoth. He had wanted to linger to witness the historical moment the Starlight Fortress was captured, but that no longer seemed like a wise idea. Of the various superpowers he knew of, none could even defeat a Level 90-plus Domain-class, Mythic ranked World Boss, not even the Five Great Super Guilds. Meanwhile, the Starlight Behemoth was a Level 113 Domain-class Mythic Boss. [Starlight Behemoth (Torriande)] (Realm Lord[l], Starlight Creature, Mythic) Level 113 HP 4,000,000,000/4,000,000,000 Aside from the Starlight Behemoth''s Basic Attributes, its four billion HP alone would be enough to inspire despair. With 4 billion HP, the Starlight Behemoth would regain 40 million HP every five seconds with its battle recovery. If players couldn''t deal 8 million damage each second, their attacks would be utterly worthless against the monster. Tier 2 experts had a hard time dealing more than -10,000 damage to a Level 100-plus Mythic monster, and their attacks would be even less effective against a Domain-class Mythic. Only Tier 3 players could deal more than -10,000 damage to such a monster. Assuming that a Tier 3 player could deal -20,000 DPS to the Starlight Behemoth, a team would need over 400 Tier 3 players to overcome the Guardian Boss''s battle recovery. Where was a power supposed to find 400 Tier 3 players at this stage of the game? Not even the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship would make much of a difference. Flying Ships were war weapons; they might be useful against dumb mobs, but against a Mythic monster that could fly, the ship would even struggle to land a hit. Furthermore, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons had very long Cooldowns. To put it simply, it would only be limitedly effective against a Domain-class Mythic Boss. While the Storm Heart adventurer team fled, panic overwhelmed the Silver Lion Legion as they watched the Starlight Behemoth fly toward them. "The Starlight Behemoth is too fast, Vice Commander. We won''t have enough time to get everyone out of here safely. We''ll have to leave some players behind to slow it down. Please, issue the command," Crimson Witch begged MacAffrey as she watched the Guardian Boss approach. None of them had expected the Starlight Fortress to house a Domain-class Mythic. Shi Feng had doomed them all. Since the situation had already become desperate, the only thing they could do now was figure out a way to reduce the legion''s losses as much as possible. The Silver Lion Legion was Divine Tribe''s strongest force; if it were annihilated, the Guild would suffer. "It seems we have no choice." Hearing Crimson Witch''s pleas, MacAffrey reluctantly pulled the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll from his bag. Current Tier 3 players had no hope of stopping a Level 113 Domain-class Mythic. If none of them could stop the Starlight Behemoth, the Silver Lion Legion would be slaughtered. He had no choice but to rely on the Tier 4 Hero to pin the Guardian Boss down, buying enough time for everyone to escape. It might be possible to rely on the Tier 4 Hero to raid the Starlight Behemoth if it were alone, but it wasn''t. Not only did the Guardian Boss have the support of 50,000 monsters, but its Domain even strengthened the monsters around it. Not even four Tier 4 Heroes could defeat this horde- while MacAffrey prepared to use the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll, Shi Feng walked onto the Flying Ship''s deck and quietly watched the Starlight Behemoth''s army. "Crap! He''s not even going to run?!" "Does he assume he can use his Flying Ship to get away?" "Maybe he''s in denial. He was clearly hoping to capture the Starlight Fortress, but now that there''s a Domain-class Mythic, his hopes have been dashed." The Silver Lion Legion''s Tier 3 experts, who were panicking on the ground, were confused when they saw Shi Feng on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s deck, appearing relaxed. The ship could fly and quickly, but its speed was nothing compared to the Domain-class Mythic''s. Once the Flying Ship, which relied on Mana to remain in the air, was within the Starlight Behemoth''s Domain, its Movement Speed would plummet. If Shi Feng turned the Flying Ship around and fled now, he''d have a chance of getting out of there alive, but if he waited until the ship got caught in the Guardian Boss''s Domain, neither he nor his ship would escape. However, while the Silver Lion Legion''s members wondered if the sudden development had dealt too much of a mental blow for Shi Feng to handle, the Swordsman pulled a golden ring from his bag. He raised the golden ring and began to chant an incantation. When Shi Feng finished the chant, he revealed a faint smile as he glanced at the Starlight Behemoth''s approaching Mana Field. He then sacrificed 5,000 Magic Crystals to the Ring of Gospel and activated Miniature World. The sky began to tremble as the phantom of a new world appeared above them all, separating the sky from the land. Everyone immediately sensed that their connection to the outside world had been severed, and a frightening pressure overwhelmed them. This pressure didn''t originate from a single point, but assaulted them from all directions. They all felt as if they had just been plunged into a hostile plane of existence. As Miniature World activated, the Starlight Behemoth''s Mana Field began to visibly recede. The Mana that had previously submitted to the Guardian Boss began to rebel. Rather than strengthen the Starlight Behemoth, it began to suppress the Realm Lord. The Starlight Behemoth''s Basic Attributes decreased rapidly. 5%... 7%... 10%... In just three short seconds, the Guardian Boss''s Basic Attributes had been reduced by 20%. As for the Elemental Creatures following it, not only had they lost 30% of their Attributes, but their Movement Speeds and reaction speeds had also significantly decreased... "Impossible! He shattered a Mythic ranked Realm Lord''s Domain?!" Crimson Witch exclaimed, her jaw hanging open as she watched the Starlight Behemoth''s Mana Field vanish completely. 2456 Flying Ship Versus Starlight Behemoth Chapter 2456 - Flying Ship Versus Starlight Behemoth "He destroyed the Boss''s Domain and suppressed it?" "What did he do?" Crimson Witch wasn''t the only player shocked to watch the Starlight Behemoth''s Domain shatter. No one could believe their eyes. They had never thought that Shi Feng had such an ability. Current players were no match for a Tier 4 being''s Domain. Some superpowers had tried to use Tier 4 Domain Scrolls against true Tier 4 Domains, but they had barely been a match for the beings they had fought. Some Tier 4 Domain Scrolls were even weaker, and the superpowers that had relied on them had been suppressed by their enemy''s Domain. In contrast, not only had Shi Feng shattered the Starlight Behemoth''s Domain, but he had also suppressed the Guardian Boss. It was unbelievable! When Miniature World activated, the Starlight Behemoth paused for a moment mid-flight. However, it then bellowed angrily, and its entire body began to radiate dazzling starlight. It was trying to expand its Domain again and break free from Miniature World. Unfortunately, no matter how much the Starlight Behemoth struggled, it couldn''t escape the Skill''s effect. Mana control even has such a huge effect on magical items? Miniature World''s results even stunned Shi Feng. He hadn''t actually expected the Ring of Gospel''s Skill to suppress a Realm Lord to such an extent. All tools were ineffective against World Bosses; players had to rely on their own power. However, the Starlight Behemoth was not a World Boss, and thus, tools could be used against it. This was certainly a benefit since players couldn''t use Berserk Skills in Star Valley. He had used Miniature World to suppress other Mythic monsters, but until he had gained his Mana Body, he hadn''t been able to use the Mana concentrated within the Ring of Gospel. Now that he was a Master Magician as well, he, more or less, understood how the Ring of Gospel''s magic arrays operated. He could now guide some of the concentrated Mana into those arrays. Even so, he had never thought that the results would be this powerful! His only aim had been to destroy the Starlight Behemoth''s Domain. He hadn''t dared to hope that Miniature World would suppress the Guardian Boss, as well. The Ring of Gospel proved far more effective than when he had used it blindly before. Of course, after giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng found it reasonable. He had already upgraded the Ring of Gospel to the Fragmented Legendary rank, and World Power was already stronger than Domains. Now that he could use some of Miniature World''s true power, even if it were only a fraction, a Tier 4 Domain was no match for him. Not even the Starlight Behemoth could resist this power, and could only watch as the ability suppressed its Basic Attributes. After this discovery, Shi Feng snapped back to the battle and glanced down at MacAffrey below the Flying Ship. "Vice Commander Affrey, prepare to greet the enemy. Try to slow those mobs down as much as possible, especially the monsters that can fly. I''ll deal with the Boss," Shi Feng shouted. "This..." MacAffrey could not help but hesitate as he turned back to the Elemental Creatures'' army. Disregarding the horde of Lord ranked monsters, the army had over 100 Level 110-plus Grand Lords. Even without the Starlight Behemoth''s Domain strengthening these Elemental Creatures, stopping so many high-level Grand Lords would be very difficult for the Silver Lion Legion''s 8,000 members. Only Tier 3 players could tank those monsters, and the legion only had 60 Tier 3 players... Before MacAffrey could say more, however, Shi Feng sacrificed more Magic Crystals to the Ring of Gospel and activated Ring of Brilliance. Suddenly, everyone within a 2,000-yard radius felt a pleasant, empowering sensation spread through them. Their Basic Attributes and physiques improved by 20%, increasing their overall strength by a large margin. He has a Strengthening Domain tool, too? Crimson Witch was flabbergasted when she noticed the buffs the Silver Lion Legion had received. She found it simply unbelievable that Shi Feng had both a Suppressing Domain tool and a Strengthening Domain tool. Normally, superpowers would be fortunate to have just one of these tools, yet Shi Feng had both... "Will that help?" Shi Feng asked. Not even Shi Feng had a good solution for facing the 50,000-strong army of Elemental Creatures, and he still had an agreement with Divine Tribe that the Silver Lion Legion could retreat if they lost more than 30% of their manpower. However, if MacAffrey realized that they had no hope of winning this battle, he would give up before that, which wasn''t the outcome Shi Feng wished to see. "I can''t make any guarantees, but we''ll try our best to stop those mobs," MacAffrey agreed. Feeling the Ring of Brilliance''s effects, he decided to grit his teeth and fight. If the Silver Lion Legion retreated without putting up a fight after Shi Feng had gone to such lengths to help them succeed, both the legion and Divine Tribe would be humiliated. Even if he had to risk severe losses, he would try his best to stop the approaching Elemental Creature army. "Good! I''ll leave the rest to you! Just leave that Guardian Boss to us!" Shi Feng was satisfied once he saw that MacAffrey was committed to this battle. He was already fortunate that the Silver Lion Legion, one of Divine Tribe''s trump card legions, was willing to help. Shi Feng then piloted his Crimson Dragon Flying Ship straight toward the Starlight Behemoth. "What? Do they really intend to challenge the Starlight Behemoth?" Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched the ship approach the Realm Lord. In the air, a Flying Ship had superb combat power, but that was only true against immobile objects and players. Flying Ships weren''t built to fight monsters. And yet, Shi Feng''s group was going to use the Flying Ship against the Domain-class Mythic. They had gone insane! Even stripped of its Domain and with 20% less Basic Attributes, the Starlight Behemoth was far stronger than ordinary Mythic monsters. It''s 3.2 billion HP was more than enough to cause despair. While the Silver Lion Legion members considered the ship''s odds of surviving, Aqua Rose raised her staff from the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s deck and began to chant an incantation. Dark-blue, twofold magic arrays began to appear around the Starlight Behemoth, one after another. Tier 3 Super Spell, Sea God''s Grasp! Under her command, shackles of water closed around the Realm Lord, binding the Starlight Behemoth and holding it in place. "Good! Fire the main cannon!" Shi Feng commanded. As soon as he did, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Magic Elven Cannon began to gather an astonishing amount of ambient Mana. It then fired a searing-hot, white beam, with a 200-yard radius, at the Guardian Boss''s head. Boom! As the shot collided with the Starlight Behemoth''s face, the forest below shook violently. The Silver Lion Legion''s members almost lost their footing due to the shockwaves, even from several hundred yards away. As the white beam''s light faded, it revealed a colossal crater in the previously dense forest. Flowers, grass, trees, even the Elemental Creatures that had been in that area left no trace of their presence, utterly obliterated. After a short moment, a gigantic figure fell from the sky and crashed into the crater''s center, causing such an impact that it sent dirt and debris into the air. That gigantic figure was none other than the immobilized Starlight Behemoth. 2457 The Behemoth Falls Chapter 2457 - The Behemoth Falls "How is that possible?!" The Flying Ship injured the Boss with just one attack? How powerful is that thing?" "Are Flying Ships really this strong?" Both the Silver Lion Legion and the fleeing Storm Heart team fell silent as they stared at the fallen Starlight Behemoth. They had no idea of how to express the shock they felt. Ordinary Mythic monsters couldn''t compare to a Mythic ranked Realm Lord, even after the Starlight Behemoth had lost its Domain. Its Defense should be particularly high. Tier 2 players might deal around -5,000 damage to an ordinary Mythic, but when they attacked a Realm Lord like the Starlight Behemoth, they''d only deal around -3,000 damage. Exceeding a monster like the Starlight Behemoth''s damage tolerance to injure it would be absolutely impossible for current players, yet the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had accomplished the feat... When Shi Feng saw the Guardian Boss on the ground, however, he wasn''t surprised. On the contrary, he had expected this outcome. The Magic Elven Cannon dealt peak Tier 4 divine damage. The cannon''s power was nearly at the Tier 5 standard. Although the Starlight Behemoth was a Realm Lord, it was not a Higher Lifeform. Its Life Rating was roughly the same as ordinary Mythic monsters; it was merely tougher. Compared to the mutated Sunset King Shi Feng had encountered in the Sea God''s Realm, the Starlight Behemoth was an infant. If the Magic Elven Cannon could even deal significant damage to the Sunset King, what chance did the Starlight Behemoth possibly have against it? "Good! Bombard it with ranged attacks!" Shi Feng shouted, gesturing to the heavily injured Realm Lord. Not only would God''s Domain''s monsters lose a significant amount of their combat power when heavily injured, but their Defense would decrease as well. A Level 100-plus Mythic monster had incredible recovery speed, and if they didn''t take advantage of this opportunity, they''d have to wait another five minutes before they could fire the Magic Elven Cannon again. "Roar!" Before Shi Feng and his entourage could attack the Guardian Boss, however, it released a deafening roar, which was so powerful that it stirred up a storm around the monster. The Starlight Behemoth then stretched open is massive maw, gathering a horrifying amount of Mana within. Tier 4 Spell, Starlight Roar! A brilliant beam of starlight shot from the Starlight Behemoth''s mouth, and as it did, it shattered space around it. The attack was so fast that the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship didn''t have time to dodge. The blood drained from everyone''s faces. That beam attack had even more power than the Flying Ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons. It would annihilate any Tier 3 player it struck. "Magic Shield, activate!" Taking no risks, Shi Feng activated the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Magic Shield immediately. Boom! When the beam collided with the Magic Shield, it transformed space around the ship into a sea of fire as another thunderous boom echoed throughout the area. As everyone expected to see the Flying Ship severely damaged, the flames died down, and the Flying Ship remained in one piece. However, cracks had formed along the barrier around it. As expected of a Realm Lord. It devoured over 20 million points from the shield''s energy reserved with one attack. Shi Feng was astounded when he saw that nearly half of the Magic Shield''s energy was gone. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had Upper-rank Tier 3 Defense, which was even higher than most Mythic monsters, yet it had taken over -20 million damage. The Starlight Roar clearly had the power to approach the Tier 4 Upper-rank. The attack would even shatter a minor NPC city''s defensive magic array. After its attack, the Starlight Behemoth flapped its wings and flew toward the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. It intended to down the ship before it did anything else. The Flying Ship was, after all, a long-distance war weapon and, as such, was weak against close-combat attacks. Shi Feng, however, had no intention of letting the Realm Lord get close to his Flying Ship. Before the Starlight Behemoth had even ascended, he had driven the ship toward the rear of the Silver Lion Legion. Since the Starlight Behemoth was so injured, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship easily outran it. "The Starlight Behemoth''s speed has decreased?" MacAffrey''s eyes glowed as he watched the Flying Ship kite the Guardian Boss around the Silver Lion Legion. MacAffrey had been relatively surprised to see the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship injure the Starlight Behemoth, but injuring a Guardian Boss and killing it were two different things. The Starlight Behemoth might look miserable, but it hadn''t lost a significant amount of HP. The Magic Elven Cannon had only dealt a little over -50 million damage, which was nothing to the Starlight Behemoth. The Realm Lord would tear the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to shreds long before they could kill it. It had an incredible recovery rate, after all. The Flying Ship, on the other hand, was a war weapon, and as such, it didn''t have an automatic recovery ability. Every point of durability it lost in this battle would be permanent until repairs could be made. If the ship could kite the Starlight Behemoth, however, it would be a different story. As long as Shi Feng''s group kept the Guardian Boss distracted, the legion could spare some of its Tier 3 experts to help attack the Starlight Behemoth once it had finished off enough of the Elemental Creature army, slowly whittling the Realm Lord to death. But before MacAffrey could finish his thought, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship stopped moving. "What is he trying to do? Does he still plan to face the Starlight Behemoth head-on?" The Silver Lion Legion''s members were confused when they saw the ship come to a halt. They couldn''t fathom what Shi Feng was trying to do. Since the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was currently faster than the Starlight Behemoth, it had the opportunity to increase the distance between it and the Guardian Boss, buying time until the Magic Elven Cannon''s Cooldown had ended. However, Shi Feng instead chose to let the Mythic monster catch up. The Swordsman was clearly mad. With how fast the Starlight Behemoth''s recovery rate was, its injuries would heal completely in a matter of minutes. While the Starlight Behemoth grew closer, and the Silver Lion Legion grew more nervous, Shi Feng revealed the Bible of Darkness and activated Demon Summoning. A colossal pair of doors suddenly appeared before the Flying Ship, and as they parted, dense dark energy flooded through, transforming a 100-yard radius into a bubble of darkness. Once the doors were fully open, an eight-meter-tall One-horned Demon flew through them. It wore a suit of pitch- black armor and was supported by two pairs of leathery, dark-black wings. The instant this One-horned Demon emerged, every member of the Silver Lion Legion shuddered. "A Level 125, Tier 4 Great Demon?" "Why has a Great Demon come here?" "We''re doomed... There are actually two Tier 4 monsters..." This wasn''t the first time they had seen a Tier 4 Great Demon, but the one before them was a Level 125 Great Demon. Every five levels was a turning point in God''s Domain, and the difference was especially prominent after Level 100. At most, the Silver Lion Legion could deal with Level 110 monsters. If they tried to take down a Level 125 Great Demon, they''d be digging their own graves. A Level 125 Great Demon was even more frightening than the Level 113 Starlight Behemoth. As they all began to plan their funerals, Shi Feng pointed at the Starlight Behemoth, shouting at the One-horned Demon, "Go! Kill it!" "Yes, my lord!" the One-homed Demon spoke in the human tongue before lightly bowing to Shi Feng. Suddenly, the One-horned Demon vanished, and by the time everyone noticed it again, it hovered within 200 yards of the Realm Lord. Tier 4 Spell, Advanced Instantaneous Movement! Once the Great Demon was within range, it swung its shadow-black, steel trident. A threefold magic array then appeared above the Starlight Behemoth''s head. Tier 4 Spell, Dark Lightning! Boom... Boom... Boom... Black arcs of lightning descended from above, striking the heavily injured Realm Lord, and each pulled an agonized cry from the Mythic monster. Each lightning strike also dealt over -10 million damage, and after suffering nine consecutive attacks, the Starlight Behemoth had lost nearly 100 million HP... Everyone was stupefied. Just how many cards does he possess? Shock and confusion flashed in Crimson Witch''s eyes as she watched Shi Feng control the One-horned Demon. First, he had revealed the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship; then, he showed off his ability to summon a Level 125 Great Demon. Shi Feng was practically a one-man army! The Storm Heart adventurer team''s members, who watched from a distance, could not help but gape at the scene. This was the first time they had ever seen anyone beat a Level 100-plus Realm Lord into submission. The Level 125 Great Demon continued to tank the Starlight Behemoth, while the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship bombarded the Realm Lord with attacks, rapidly depleting its HP. Although the Starlight Behemoth tried to use a variety of Skills to retaliate, it only dealt a little damage to the One-horned Demon. Compared to how quickly the Starlight Behemoth''s HP drained, the amount of HP the Great Demon lost was nothing. In less than 10 minutes, before the Silver Lion Legion could even kill one Grand Lord, the Starlight Behemoth, one of the Starlight Fortress''s Guardian Bosses, fell... 2458 Unexpected Loo Chapter 2458 - Unexpected Loot When the gigantic Starlight Behemoth crashed into the ground, the Silver Lion Legion members watched their experience bars rapidly fill. Each of them had earned even more EXP than when they normally slew Level 100-plus Mythic monsters as 100-man teams. Some players even leveled up, reaching Level 106. "It''s dead?" For a moment, the Silver Lion Legion''s members, who were in the middle of their battle with the Elemental Creature army, were stunned after the Starlight Behemoth had hit the ground. None of them had expected a Level 113 Domain- class Mythic ranked Realm Lord to go down so easily. For a moment, they even wondered if the Starlight Behemoth had actually been a Level 110 Grand Lord. However, the Silver Lion Legion members were all experts, and they knew that weakness wasn''t the reason the fight with the Starlight Behemoth had gone so smoothly. Rather, Shi Feng''s group was just that ridiculously strong. Meanwhile, the Starlight Behemoth began to disintegrate into countless particles of light, and a moment later, streaks of golden light escaped the Realm Lord''s fading corpse, scattering around it. Upon landing on the ground, those streak of light transformed into dazzling items that radiated dense Mana. Some even gathered the ambient Mana around them. In the blink of an eye, the site of the Starlight Behemoth''s fall had transformed into a high Mana density area. "Crap! Isn''t the Boss''s loot a little too abundant?!" "A Mythic ranked Realm Lord really is amazing. The loot from the Level 100-plus Mythics we''ve killed in the past doesn''t even come close! Its loot has even increased the Mana density in the surrounding area!" The Silver Lion Legion members'' eyes nearly fell from their sockets as they gazed at the Guardian Boss''s loot. They had seen Level 100-plus Mythic Bosses'' loot before. They had even seen World Bosses'' loot, but they had never seen a phenomenon like this. Even though they couldn''t appraise the items right now, they had a rough estimation of the loot''s value based on the Mana the items radiated. The items that pulled Mana to themselves, in particular, should be Epic rank at the very least. There was no way those items could be Dark-Gold rank. Level 100-plus Epic items! The Silver Lion Legion had killed multiple Level 100-plus Mythic monsters just to acquire one Level 100-plus Epic item. However, not only had the Starlight Behemoth dropped such items, but it had also dropped over two dozen items that radiated dense Mana. Based on their experiences, those two dozen items were likely Dark-Gold rank. To equip Level 110 Dark-Gold items was akin to equipping Level 100-plus Epic items to players like them, who hadn''t yet reached Level 110. Although Level Reduction Gemstones that they could use with Level 100-plus weapons and equipment were rare and costly, the cost was negligible compared to equipping Level 110 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment now. If a Tier 3 player could fully gear themself in Level 110 Dark-Gold Equipment while at Level 105, they''d even be able to tank Level 110 Mythic monsters, not to mention Level 110 Grand Lords. MacAffrey and Divine Tribe''s other upper echelons couldn''t help the envy they felt. Divine Tribe hadn''t obtained a single piece of Level 110 Dark-Gold Equipment yet. It didn''t even have much Level 105 Dark-Gold Equipment. And as for Level 100-plus Epic Weapons and Equipment, the Guild had almost nothing. Unfortunately, Divine Tribe and Zero Wing had agreed that a monster''s loot would go to whichever team was responsible for slaying it. If both sides contributed to a monster''s death, they would distribute the dropped items based on their contributions in the fight. For a moment, MacAffrey regretted his decision to save the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll. He had never expected the Starlight Behemoth to drop so many precious items. If he had used the scroll, slaying the Starlight Behemoth wouldn''t have been a problem. It had already been heavily injured, and if the Guild could obtain a fraction of the Starlight Behemoth''s loot, it would be worth the cost of using the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll. The Tier 4 Hero could''ve also helped kill the rest of the fortress''s Mythic Bosses, and the Silver Lion Legion would return with enough of a harvest to outstrip the value of a Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll. However, Zero Wing would now monopolize the Realm Lord''s loot, while Divine Tribe could only watch, envious. "Everyone, work harder! You can see how much loot that Boss dropped! There are still several more Guardian Bosses in the Starlight Fortress! If we can kill them, I''ll hold an internal auction for all of the weapons and equipment we earn! Everyone will have a chance to obtain top-tier weapons and equipment!" MacAffrey shouted in the team chat. "Whether or not you can take advantage of this opportunity depends on your performance now!" MacAffrey''s announcement ignited the Silver Lion Legion members'' fighting spirit. Internal auctions rarely occurred among Divine Tribe''s expert teams, especially among the Guild''s trump card legions and teams. The Guild usually only distributed monsters'' loot among specific players, and only a small portion was available for the core members, in exchange for GCPs, in the Guild Warehouse. MacAffrey''s decision to hold an internal auction for the loot they obtained on this mission was a huge opportunity for all of them. Without the Guild''s interference, they wouldn''t have to worry about missing their chance to contest for the best available weapons and equipment. Moreover, only a small number of players participated in this operation, which increased their chances of securing top-tier weapons and equipment. Even if the Guild upper echelons on the team participated, they only had a little more GCPs than the rest of the legion. With so many items up for grabs, these upper echelons would only win a small fraction of the loot. With their fighting spirit reaching unprecedented highs, the Silver Lion Legion stopped holding back as they desperately fought the monster army charging at them. MacAffrey even used the Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll to help clear out the mobs. Seeing this astonished Shi Feng a little. He had never considered that the Starlight Behemoth''s loot would motivate the legion to such an extent. He didn''t give the matter much thought, however. The harder the Silver Lion Legion worked, the faster they could clear out the fortress''s mobs. If Zero Wing''s 10 members had to take on the task alone, it would take ages to clear out the entire fortress. "Aqua, I''m giving you command while I tidy up the loot," Shi Feng said before he leaped off the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Although he doubted that the Silver Lion Legion''s members would try to steal his loot, the Starlight Behemoth had dropped extraordinary items. The sooner he secured those items, the better. Not only was the Starlight Behemoth a Domain-class Mythic ranked Realm Lord, but such Mythic Bosses were also quite rare in God''s Domain. After Shi Feng disembarked the ship, Aqua Rose and her comrades continued to bombard the Starlight Fortress''s west wall. Shi Feng wore an astonished expression by the time he had finished collecting the Starlight Behemoth''s loot and appraised the first item. "The Starlight Fortress Lord''s Token?" Confused, Shi Feng stared at the dark-gold token in his palm. Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard the sound of a system notification. Star Valley Region System Announcement: A player has successfully captured the Starlight Fortress. The Guild this player belongs to will receive 20,000 Guild Reputation Points. This player has become the Starlight Fortress''s lord. The Starlight Fortress will automatically open to the public in three days. Players may enter and rest within the fortress freely at that time. 2459 Western Continent Shaken Chapter 2459 - Western Continent Shaken The system announcement repeated throughout the Star Valley three times, And everyone in battle fell silent for a moment at the Main God System''s cold, mechanical voice. "What''s going on?" "Someone captured the Starlight Fortress?" The Silver Lion Legion members couldn''t keep up with the sudden developments. They hadn''t even made it through the walls or gate yet, so no one should''ve been able to capture the fortress. How could this have happened? It wasn''t just the legion''s various experts who were confused; even MacAffrey, the legion''s vice commander, was stunned. What happened to the Starlight Fortress? MacAffrey gazed at the fortress several thousand yards away, confounded. Did someone sneak in and slay the final Guardian boss? Even as MacAffrey wondered this, he tried to deny the possibility. In God''s Domain, players couldn''t enter a sealed fortress until they destroyed the front gate or broke a hole in the walls. Since the Starlight Fortress''s walls and gate were intact, how could any player get into the fortress? Even if players could accomplish the task, the fortress was still home to hundreds of thousands of Elemental Creatures. All of these monsters were Level 110 or higher, and the weakest of them was Lord rank. Not even a 1,000-man, Tier 3 team would be able to handle the final Guardian Boss in such a situation, much less a 100-man team of Tier 3 players. Even if players miraculously managed to reach and challenge the final Guardian Boss, fighting the Mythic ranked Boss should cause a huge commotion, but although they had been engaged in battle outside the fortress, they hadn''t heard any noise from within. The only strange part about this siege was that over 50,000 monsters had emerged to attack, rather than the 10,000 they had expected. Moreover, this monster army had over 100 Grand Lords and a Mythic Boss, a creature that normally should remain within the fortress. "Could it be?" MacAffrey suddenly thought of a possibility, and he spun toward Shi Feng, who was busy looting the Starlight Behemoth''s loot near the rear line. In all of his experience sieging God''s Domain''s fortresses, the final Guardian Boss had never charged out of the fortress, yet the Starlight Behemoth had been extraordinarily powerful. As a Mythic ranked Realm Lord, the Starlight Behemoth could be considered on par with a World Boss, albeit one of the weakest. Of course, a Level 113 World Boss was an absolute nightmare for current players. Not to mention, the Starlight Behemoth had the support of an army of 50,000 monsters. Defeating it was far more difficult than defeating an ordinary Realm Lord. If Shi Feng hadn''t used Miniature World to suppress the Guardian Boss''s Domain earlier, MacAffrey would''ve prepared to lose half of his legion at least. Meanwhile, Shi Feng stood in the middle of the crater, holding a dark-gold token. The token radiated dense Mana and served as proof of their success in capturing the Starlight Fortress. The Starlight Fortress Lord''s Token! MacAffrey wasn''t the only one to notice. Crimson Witch and the others had turned to look at Shi Feng as well. "They''ve captured the fortress, just like that?" Crimson Witch stared at the token in Shi Feng''s hand with wide eyes. Although she knew that Shi Feng''s group had a high chance of capturing the Starlight Fortress, she had never thought he''d secure the Fortress Lord''s Token so soon. This was one of Star Valley''s Fortresses they were talking about! It was something the western continent''s various superpowers dreamed of obtaining! And yet, Shi Feng had captured the fortress so easily. If she told this story, not even fools would believe her! Every member of the Silver Lion Legion was stupefied. None of them had ever expected a fortress in a Level 100-plus forbidden land to be so easy to capture. If the continent''s other superpowers found out about this, they''d likely faint with anger... In reality, even Shi Feng was astonished. He hadn''t expected to obtain the Starlight Fortress Lord''s Token so quickly either. He had even been prepared to use the Hero''s Tome to summon a Tier 4 Hero. If the first Guardian Boss they had faced had already been a Mythic ranked Realm Lord, the final Guardian Boss might be a Superior Mythic. Players like them wouldn''t be able to deal with a Level 110-plus Superior Mythic easily. Only a Tier 4 Hero would have a chance of defeating such a monster. This has saved us a lot of effort, but we have much less time to fortify the fortress now. Shi Feng was not particularly pleased to see the Fortress Lord''s Token, and he gave it a bitter smile. The fact that he had obtained the Fortress Lord''s Token so soon was both a blessing and a curse. Now that he had secured the Fortress Lord''s Token, he would have full control of the Starlight Fortress''s magic array. Although he still had to reach the fortress''s core to activate the defensive magic array, it would no longer buff the monsters within now that he had the token. This would make capturing the fortress far easier. Now, he only needed to clear out the monsters in the Starlight Fortress, and he wouldn''t have to destroy the fortress''s wall or gate to do it. He could simply waltz through the front gate. The only problem was that he needed to clear out the monsters and strengthen the fortress''s defenses within three days, before the fortress opened to the public, and players began to flood in. Without adequate defenses, managing the fortress would become troublesome, and the various superpowers might use the opportunity to take it from him. Unfortunately, sealing the fortress and preventing players from entering wasn''t possible. The Starlight Fortress was in Star Valley, a forbidden land. God''s Domain''s forbidden lands weren''t controlled by any kingdom or empire, and almost all of their fortresses had survived since ancient times, created before the Great Destruction. Forbidden lands'' fortresses weren''t like those in neutral maps or Guild Towns and Cities. Even with the Fortress Lord''s Token, one would not gain full access to the fortress. They couldn''t open or seal the fortresses as they wished. This was also the reason that any power to capture a fortress in a forbidden land was forced to send a large number of members to garrison the fortress. In truth, the Main God System''s settings for this weren''t unreasonable. Forbidden lands had far more abundant resources than other maps. If a power could acquire full control of an ancient fortress in a forbidden land, it would be nigh-impossible for other powers to break through the defenses and take it from them due to the defensive mechanisms that had also survived since ancient times. The power that had first captured the fortress would have permanent access to the forbidden land''s resources, while everyone else would have to watch from the sidelines. This certainly wasn''t a fair situation. Take the Starlight Fortress, for example. It might only be a Small Fortress, but once its defensive magic array was activated, only Tier 5 beings would be able to break it. In an era where the Gods had gone into seclusion, Tier 5 powerhouses stood at the peak of God''s Domain. Even emperors had to show proper respect. These powerhouses could wipe out entire kingdoms. Not even empires would get away scot-free after provoking such an individual. Shi Feng had thought that he''d have three full days to bolster the Starlight Fortress''s defenses after he captured it, but now he had to waste some of that time clearing out the hundreds of thousands of monsters within. While Shi Feng and the others continued their fight against the Starlight Fortress''s monsters, the Storm Heart adventurer team watched from a distance with dropped jaws. "Who are those people?" the ruthless, greatsword-wielding man muttered as he stared at the system announcement in shock. "They''ve actually managed to capture the Starlight Fortress?" "We don''t know who they are, but this will certainly cause an uproar across the continent," Krow, Storm Heart''s commander, said. He couldn''t help but glance Shi Feng''s way. The various powers and expert teams all wanted to conquer Star Valley, but players couldn''t remain in the area for very long, which slowed their exploration progress in the forbidden land. Although the various superpowers had frequently tried to capture fortresses within Star Valley, none had succeeded. Now that someone had, Krow didn''t even want to imagine how this event would change Star Valley. While Storm Heart''s members discussed the matter amongst themselves, news of the Starlight Fortress''s capture spread like wildfire throughout the western continent. 2460 Swarming Starlight Fortress Chapter 2460 - Swarming Starlight Fortress Silvermoon Empire, Silver Lion City: "What did you say? Zero Wing has already captured the Starlight Fortress?" Adolf was momentarily stunned when he heard MacAffrey''s report. "Impossible! Your group only left a while ago! Even if you hadn''t rested, how could you have slain several hundred thousand monsters in the fortress so quickly?!" Adolf felt as if MacAffrey were playing a joke on him. Zero Wing and the Silver Lion Legion hadn''t even been gone from Silver Lion City for more than a day, and the Starlight Fortress was home to hundreds of thousands of monsters, the weakest of which was Lord rank. Furthermore, there were plenty of Great Lords and Grand Lords in the fortress, and multiple Mythic ranked Guardian Bosses. Even if the Starlight Fortress had opened its gate to the Silver Lion Legion, the legion''s 8,000 players would still need a lot of time to clear out all of the monsters. It''d be a miracle if the legion finished the job within two or three days. However, less than a day had passed since the legion had left for Star Valley, and including travel time, they had spent even less time in the area. Did MacAffrey assume he had gone senile with old age? "It''s true, Great Elder," MacAffrey insisted, smiling bitterly when he saw Adolfs skepticism. "Take a look for yourself if you don''t believe me. We''ve already entered the Starlight Fortress and are clearing out the monsters. The fortress magic array is now buffing us, rather than its previous residents." As MacAffrey spoke, he changed the video chat to display his view of the situation. Adolfs display then revealed the Silver Lion Legion''s fight with the Elemental Creatures within the Starlight Fortress. Although the weakest of the Elemental Creatures were Level 110 Lords, and many of them were Level 110-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords, the fortress''s magic array suppressed every one of the monsters, drastically reducing their Basic Attributes and mobility. In addition, the legion''s members were surrounded by a faint purple glow, significantly enhancing their Attributes and physiques. Although the Silver Lion Legion was badly outnumbered, the Elemental Creatures were no match for them, and the monsters continued to fall as the fight continued. Seeing this made it obvious that the Starlight Fortress was now under player control. Otherwise, the fortress''s magic array wouldn''t behave in such a way. "How is this possible?!" Adolf stared with wide eyes. They were talking about one of Star Valley''s fortresses! Even if several superpowers worked together, they still couldn''t capture a fortress in this Level 100-plus forbidden land, much less Divine Tribe alone. "Great Elder, I doubt it will be long before the other superpowers hear of this. The Main God System had announced the Starlight Fortress''s capture in a regional announcement. We couldn''t keep this a secret if we wanted to," MacAffrey cautioned. He could sympathize with how Adolf felt at the moment. When Shi Feng had first declared that he wanted to capture the Starlight Fortress, MacAffrey had assumed the Swordsman was both insane and ignorant. The west''s various superpowers had to expend a lot of resources and manpower to obtain a single town, yet Shi Feng wanted to capture a fortress in a Level 100-plus forbidden land. Clearly, he hadn''t been taking the western continent''s superpowers seriously. Star Valley had leveling resources that were unique to the area. It was also home to the west''s only two known God Mode Regional Dungeons. It was no exaggeration to claim that owning one of Star Valley''s fortresses was on par with owning several Grade 1 veins. If the various superpowers were capable of capturing these fortresses, they would''ve already done so. How could a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing possibly succeed where the various superpowers had failed? In the end, however, Shi Feng had succeeded. Moreover, the strength Zero Wing had displayed was far beyond anything MacAffrey could''ve imagined. When it came to laying siege to fortified locations, Zero Wing outstripped ordinary superpowers. In fact, not even Super Guilds would prove as adept as Zero Wing in this respect. The Domain tools and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Shi Feng had revealed were godly tools during an offensive siege. Watching those tools in action had changed everything MacAffrey had thought he knew about siege battles. Before the Ring of Gospel and Flying Ship, Tier 3 experts were nothing... "It seems I still underestimated Zero Wing. Not only can it travel between the continents, but it has even proven capable of capturing the Starlight Fortress. Not even Super Guilds have such firm foundations," Adolf said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He also reevaluated what he knew about the Guild known as Zero Wing. "Since that is the case, I want you to give everything you have in assisting Zero Wing from now on. Also, inform Black Flame that Divine Tribe is willing to go all-out in helping his Guild manage the Starlight Fortress. Not only will we send the Divine Hymn Legion and a 150,000-man expert army to garrison the fortress free of charge, but we''ll also give Zero Wing 100 Bottles of the Special Enchanted Bloodline. In return, all Divine Tribe wants is a temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress!" Adolfs declaration stunned MacAffrey. "Do we really need to go that far, Great Elder? Setting aside the Divine Hymn Legion, we went to great lengths to save up 100 bottles of the Special Enchanted Bloodline. If we give them all to Zero Wing, our Guild''s Tier 2 experts will have a much harder time reaching Tier 3 than other superpowers'' players," MacAffrey quickly tried to dissuade Adolf from his decision. The Divine Hymn Legion wasn''t as strong as the Silver Lion Legion, but it was the Guild''s second-strongest trump card legion. Normally, it was responsible for garrisoning the Guild''s important mining towns. If they transferred the Divine Hymn Legion to the Starlight Fortress, those mining town''s defenses would become a problem. The 100 Special Enchanted Bloodlines were also supposed to be the capital Divine Tribe used to compete with the various Super Guilds. These Bloodlines could help the Guild quickly nurture Tier 3 experts. With another 100 Tier 3 experts, Divine Tribe could start raiding Level 100 super-large-scale Team dungeons, instantly surpassing the various Super Guilds. Although Zero Wing had secured the Starlight Fortress, fortresses in forbidden lands weren''t like those in other maps. Even after capturing them, players couldn''t gain full control of these fortresses. Moreover, NPCs wouldn''t be around to help manage the fortresses, and thus, they would require a large number of experts to protect them long-term. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be long before the ruling power started having problems. Since news of the Starlight Fortress''s capture had already begun to spread, many powers would swarm to it in the near future. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had barely any manpower on the western continent. Without Divine Tribe''s help, defending the Starlight Fortress was impossible for Zero Wing. There was simply no reason for Divine Tribe to give Zero Wing 100 bottles of the Special Enchanted Bloodline. "Mhm. We have to. You should realize that if we want a temporary Residence in Star Valley, Zero Wing is our only option for an ally. On the other hand, Zero Wing can choose from many superpowers to ally with. However, Small Fortresses can only have one temporary Residence, and we have to have it, no matter what!" Adolf sternly informed his subordinate. The potential wealth and resources related to the Starlight Fortress couldn''t be underestimated, especially the leveling resources. If Divine Tribe could secure a temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress, the Guild''s overall leveling speed would surpass the other superpowers'' by a large margin. One hundred Special Enchanted Bloodlines? Zero Wing really has lucked out. When Crimson Witch overheard Adolfs statement and tone, she knew the Great Elder had already made up his mind. She wasn''t happy about it, but there was nothing she could do to change it. A lot of superpowers will be paying attention to the fortress, and it still isn''t guaranteed that Zero Wing can defend its ownership. Hopefully, Zero Wing doesn''t act foolishly. While Divine Tribe discussed the matter, the west''s various superpowers began to grow restless. "Interesting! It seems someone has proven capable of capturing the Starlight Fortress! Which power is it?" "Could it be a hidden superpower that has finally decided to spread its wings?" "Regardless, let''s go take a look at the fortress. If this unknown power can''t manage the fortress, this is the perfect opportunity to take it from them!" The western continent''s various powers began to dispatch large expert teams, sending them to Star Valley. These teams only had one goal. Take the Starlight Fortress! 2461 Fortress''s Legacy Chapter 2461 - Fortress''s Legacy Star Valley, Starlight Fortress: Inside the dilapidated fortress full of Level 110-plus Elemental Creatures, the Silver Lion Legion continued to push toward the fortress''s core. Although they faced more Great Lords and Grand Lords as they delved further into the fortress, defeating these monsters became an easy task with the Tier 4 Hero MacAffrey had summoned and the fortress''s magic array buff. After grinding in the fortress for just six hours, every member of the legion discovered that their experience bars had grown considerably. Their leveling speed here was several times faster than grinding in normal maps. Furthermore, the Elemental Creatures dropped substantial loot, including plenty of Level 110 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. If they were lucky, even Level 110 Secret Silver Equipment and Set Equipment would drop. The equipment was top-tier to the Silver Lion Legion''s members. The highest-leveled players among them were Level 106, while many of them were still stuck at Level 105. Currently, obtaining Level 110 weapons and equipment was a major challenge for them. Set equipment pieces'' Attributes were generally half a rank better than ordinary equipment of the same rank. If players could collect the full set, the set''s Attributes would be a full rank better than ordinary equipment of the same rank, with some having even greater bonuses. Take the Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment the Starlight Fortress''s monsters dropped, for example. Although the Hidden Blue Set was only a Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment, not only would having six of the eight pieces increase a player''s casting speed by 20%, but it would also increase their Spells'' effects by 25%. With all eight pieces of the set, it would increase one''s Spell Completion Rate by another 2% and casting range by 20% Wearing this set, a magical class expert''s DPS would be even higher than players in Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment! Even after they reached Level 110, they couldn''t be certain how many pieces of Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment they could obtain. It was likely that only the Guild''s peak experts had any chance of securing a full set. Obtaining enough Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment was simply too difficult for experts of their caliber. Fortunately, MacAffrey had already announced that he would auction all weapons and equipment they obtained from the Starlight Fortress. This meant that they''d all get a chance to acquire Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. How much they obtained would only depend on how many GCPs they had saved up. This was the reason that the Silver Lion Legion members put all of their effort into clearing out the Starlight Fortress''s monsters, even without Shi Feng saying a word. They actually hoped that Shi Feng''s group wouldn''t participate in the battle, allowing them to keep all of the Elemental Creatures for themselves. The fortress only had so many monsters, and there wouldn''t be enough Secret-Silver Set Equipment for everyone. "Guild Leader, are we really going to leave these Elemental Creatures to Divine Tribe''s members?" Aqua Rose asked as she watched the Silver Lion Legion push through the fortress''s main streets. Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment and Set Equipment might not be important to her or the other experts that had ventured to the western continent with Shi Feng, but it would be to Zero Wing''s other experts. Moreover, not even Level 110 Common Equipment had shown up on the market yet, much less Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment. They had an advantage with the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, and the fortress''s magic array currently suppressed the monster''s Basic Attributes. This was an excellent opportunity to secure some Level 110 weapons and equipment for the Guild. Leaving all of the suppressed monsters for the Silver Lion Legion was a huge waste. "That won''t be necessary. Although these monsters drop a lot of loot, only the Grand Lords drop Secret-Silver Equipment, and they only have a chance of doing so. The drop-rate isn''t 100%. Since the Silver Lion Legion is willing to help us clear out the fortress, we should allow them to benefit from the task," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he watched the idea of Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment tempt Aqua Rose. "If we try to clear the fortress ourselves, it''ll take us a long time. Besides, we have something more important to take care of." As per Shi Feng''s agreement with Adolf, the Silver Lion Legion was only here to help Zero Wing capture a city. Now that they had captured the Starlight Fortress, the legion had no reason to continue the fight. It was well within its rights to turn around and leave. The fact that the Silver Lion Legion was willing to slay the monsters within the fortress was good news for Shi Feng. If Zero Wing had to clear out the monsters on its own, he wouldn''t have much time left to fortify the fortress. "Something more important?" After giving the matter some thought, Aqua Rose asked, "Are we raiding the remaining Guardian Bosses?" The moment Aqua Rose mentioned the Guardian Bosses, Cola and the other Zero Wing experts burst with excitement. They hadn''t had a chance to participate in the fight with the Starlight Behemoth directly, so they were itching for action. "No," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. "We''ll be taking control of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion!" "The Fortress Lord''s Mansion? Guild Leader, don''t you already have the Fortress Lord''s Token?" Aqua Rose inquired. The Fortress Lord''s Token was necessary to take control of the fortress as a whole, and it was the key component in taking over the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Normally, when one obtained a Fortress Lord''s Token, they automatically gained control of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. However, Shi Feng now informed them that they still needed to secure the mansion. "I do have the Fortress Lord''s Token, but I don''t control the Fortress Lord''s Mansion yet. In fact, I don''t even have partial control over it," Shi Feng explained with a bitter smile. Fortresses built before the Great Destruction weren''t like more modern fortresses. When one gained the Fortress Lord''s Token for the latter, they would gain full control of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, but that wasn''t the case with ancient fortresses. Securing an ancient Fortress Lord''s Mansion would prove several times more difficult than capturing the fortress itself. The true value of these fortresses didn''t lie in the resident monsters'' loot nor the items that the Guardian Bosses dropped. Rather, the truly valuable items were the ancient Legacies[l] that were stored in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Items such as weapons and equipment were only secondary compared to these ancient Legacies. Most of the Legacies ancient humans had left behind to reach Tier 3 had been lost to time, and as a result, present-day humans had a far more difficult time completing their Tier 3 and higher Promotion Quests. Since ancient fortresses like the Starlight Fortress had existed before the Great Destruction, they, more or less, still contained Tier 3 and higher Legacies. These Legacies were the true treasures within ancient fortresses. At this stage of the game, players only knew that it was difficult to reach Tier 3. They weren''t aware that Tier 3 was only the beginning of their journey in God''s Domain. Once they completed their Tier 3 promotions, growing stronger would become many times more difficult. Why was this the case? The reason was very simple. After reaching Tier 3, players wouldn''t receive any guidance from the system regarding ways to increase their strength. Take Tier 3 Skills and Spells, for example. These were the foundation for Tier 3 players'' power. If players only relied on Legacy Skill Points to acquire Tier 3 Skills and Spells, they wouldn''t be considered a true Tier 3 player. To be a true Tier 3 player, one would need at least 10 Tier 3 Skills or Spells in their arsenal. One also needed a way to control their Mana Body, which was also a crucial Legacy. These methods were even more important than Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Although Shi Feng was already a Master Magician, and his control and understanding of magic arrays were far superior to other players, he only had basic control of his Mana Body. This was also the case for the western continent''s experts, who were particularly skilled at controlling Mana. Their mastery with their Mana Bodies was still in the infantile stages. This was why current Tier 3 experts were no match for Tier 3 NPCs. Many of the Legacies within ancient fortresses were related to Mana Body control, offering methods that allowed humans, who had no physical advantages, to survive in the dangerous environments that had survived the Great Destruction. "Guild Leader, how are we supposed to secure the Fortress Lord''s Mansion?" Aqua Rose asked. She realized that Shi Feng wasn''t joking when she saw his serious expression. If they could not secure the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, the Starlight Fortress would remain ownerless. If that didn''t change before the fortress automatically opened to the public, Zero Wing would be left in a very awkward position. "It''s simple. All we need to do is pass the Legacy Trial in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. If we fail, we''ll only control the fortress on the surface, even with the Fortress Lord''s Token," Shi Feng replied. To put it simply, the Starlight Fortress Lord''s Token was a ticket to obtain the Starlight Fortress''s Legacy. How much of the fortress players controlled would depend on how much of its Legacy they could activate. The various ancient fortresses'' Legacy Trials differed in difficulty. The known difficulties were Normal, Hard, Hell, Asura, and God Mode. The more challenging a Legacy Trial was, the greater its rewards would be, but clearing the trial would also require more players. Moreover, all Legacy Trials had a one-week Cooldown. Shi Feng then led Aqua Rose and the rest of his companions toward the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion. A magic array currently enveloped the mansion, and not even Mythic monsters could break through the barrier, let alone players. Only the player that held the Fortress Lord''s Token and those that player granted access to could pass through the barrier. After walking up to the mansion''s entrance, Shi Feng retrieved the Fortress Lord''s Token and started to chant an incantation. Silently, he prayed, Please, don''t let the Starlight Fortress''s Legacy Trial be too high of a difficulty. He hadn''t just chosen to capture the Starlight Fortress because its monsters were easier to deal with; most of his reasoning was based on the fact that it was one of the few Small Fortresses in Star Valley that had a Fortress Lord''s Mansion with a weak Mana signature. This meant that the Legacy the Starlight Fortress protected wasn''t particularly powerful, and the Legacy Trial shouldn''t be overly difficult. If he had tried to capture a fortress with a powerful Fortress Lord''s Mansion, he would''ve wasted his effort if he couldn''t secure control of the mansion after capturing the fortress. When Shi Feng finished the incantation recorded on the token, a dark-purple, fourfold magic array appeared on the mansion''s main door. A set of gigantic, golden doors then emerged, and as the doors slowly parted, an ancient aura gushed between them. Crap! Isnt this just a measly Small Fortress?! Why does it have an Asura Mode Legacy Trial?! Shi Feng was utterly dumbfounded when he saw the golden doors. 2460 Swarming Starlight Fortress Chapter 2460 - Swarming Starlight Fortress Silvermoon Empire, Silver Lion City: "What did you say? Zero Wing has already captured the Starlight Fortress?" Adolf was momentarily stunned when he heard MacAffrey''s report. "Impossible! Your group only left a while ago! Even if you hadn''t rested, how could you have slain several hundred thousand monsters in the fortress so quickly?!" Adolf felt as if MacAffrey were playing a joke on him. Zero Wing and the Silver Lion Legion hadn''t even been gone from Silver Lion City for more than a day, and the Starlight Fortress was home to hundreds of thousands of monsters, the weakest of which was Lord rank. Furthermore, there were plenty of Great Lords and Grand Lords in the fortress, and multiple Mythic ranked Guardian Bosses. Even if the Starlight Fortress had opened its gate to the Silver Lion Legion, the legion''s 8,000 players would still need a lot of time to clear out all of the monsters. It''d be a miracle if the legion finished the job within two or three days. However, less than a day had passed since the legion had left for Star Valley, and including travel time, they had spent even less time in the area. Did MacAffrey assume he had gone senile with old age? "It''s true, Great Elder," MacAffrey insisted, smiling bitterly when he saw Adolfs skepticism. "Take a look for yourself if you don''t believe me. We''ve already entered the Starlight Fortress and are clearing out the monsters. The fortress magic array is now buffing us, rather than its previous residents." As MacAffrey spoke, he changed the video chat to display his view of the situation. Adolfs display then revealed the Silver Lion Legion''s fight with the Elemental Creatures within the Starlight Fortress. Although the weakest of the Elemental Creatures were Level 110 Lords, and many of them were Level 110-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords, the fortress''s magic array suppressed every one of the monsters, drastically reducing their Basic Attributes and mobility. In addition, the legion''s members were surrounded by a faint purple glow, significantly enhancing their Attributes and physiques. Although the Silver Lion Legion was badly outnumbered, the Elemental Creatures were no match for them, and the monsters continued to fall as the fight continued. Seeing this made it obvious that the Starlight Fortress was now under player control. Otherwise, the fortress''s magic array wouldn''t behave in such a way. "How is this possible?!" Adolf stared with wide eyes. They were talking about one of Star Valley''s fortresses! Even if several superpowers worked together, they still couldn''t capture a fortress in this Level 100-plus forbidden land, much less Divine Tribe alone. "Great Elder, I doubt it will be long before the other superpowers hear of this. The Main God System had announced the Starlight Fortress''s capture in a regional announcement. We couldn''t keep this a secret if we wanted to," MacAffrey cautioned. He could sympathize with how Adolf felt at the moment. When Shi Feng had first declared that he wanted to capture the Starlight Fortress, MacAffrey had assumed the Swordsman was both insane and ignorant. The west''s various superpowers had to expend a lot of resources and manpower to obtain a single town, yet Shi Feng wanted to capture a fortress in a Level 100-plus forbidden land. Clearly, he hadn''t been taking the western continent''s superpowers seriously. Star Valley had leveling resources that were unique to the area. It was also home to the west''s only two known God Mode Regional Dungeons. It was no exaggeration to claim that owning one of Star Valley''s fortresses was on par with owning several Grade 1 veins. If the various superpowers were capable of capturing these fortresses, they would''ve already done so. How could a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing possibly succeed where the various superpowers had failed? In the end, however, Shi Feng had succeeded. Moreover, the strength Zero Wing had displayed was far beyond anything MacAffrey could''ve imagined. When it came to laying siege to fortified locations, Zero Wing outstripped ordinary superpowers. In fact, not even Super Guilds would prove as adept as Zero Wing in this respect. The Domain tools and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship Shi Feng had revealed were godly tools during an offensive siege. Watching those tools in action had changed everything MacAffrey had thought he knew about siege battles. Before the Ring of Gospel and Flying Ship, Tier 3 experts were nothing... "It seems I still underestimated Zero Wing. Not only can it travel between the continents, but it has even proven capable of capturing the Starlight Fortress. Not even Super Guilds have such firm foundations," Adolf said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He also reevaluated what he knew about the Guild known as Zero Wing. "Since that is the case, I want you to give everything you have in assisting Zero Wing from now on. Also, inform Black Flame that Divine Tribe is willing to go all-out in helping his Guild manage the Starlight Fortress. Not only will we send the Divine Hymn Legion and a 150,000-man expert army to garrison the fortress free of charge, but we''ll also give Zero Wing 100 Bottles of the Special Enchanted Bloodline. In return, all Divine Tribe wants is a temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress!" Adolfs declaration stunned MacAffrey. "Do we really need to go that far, Great Elder? Setting aside the Divine Hymn Legion, we went to great lengths to save up 100 bottles of the Special Enchanted Bloodline. If we give them all to Zero Wing, our Guild''s Tier 2 experts will have a much harder time reaching Tier 3 than other superpowers'' players," MacAffrey quickly tried to dissuade Adolf from his decision. The Divine Hymn Legion wasn''t as strong as the Silver Lion Legion, but it was the Guild''s second-strongest trump card legion. Normally, it was responsible for garrisoning the Guild''s important mining towns. If they transferred the Divine Hymn Legion to the Starlight Fortress, those mining town''s defenses would become a problem. The 100 Special Enchanted Bloodlines were also supposed to be the capital Divine Tribe used to compete with the various Super Guilds. These Bloodlines could help the Guild quickly nurture Tier 3 experts. With another 100 Tier 3 experts, Divine Tribe could start raiding Level 100 super-large-scale Team dungeons, instantly surpassing the various Super Guilds. Although Zero Wing had secured the Starlight Fortress, fortresses in forbidden lands weren''t like those in other maps. Even after capturing them, players couldn''t gain full control of these fortresses. Moreover, NPCs wouldn''t be around to help manage the fortresses, and thus, they would require a large number of experts to protect them long-term. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be long before the ruling power started having problems. Since news of the Starlight Fortress''s capture had already begun to spread, many powers would swarm to it in the near future. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had barely any manpower on the western continent. Without Divine Tribe''s help, defending the Starlight Fortress was impossible for Zero Wing. There was simply no reason for Divine Tribe to give Zero Wing 100 bottles of the Special Enchanted Bloodline. "Mhm. We have to. You should realize that if we want a temporary Residence in Star Valley, Zero Wing is our only option for an ally. On the other hand, Zero Wing can choose from many superpowers to ally with. However, Small Fortresses can only have one temporary Residence, and we have to have it, no matter what!" Adolf sternly informed his subordinate. The potential wealth and resources related to the Starlight Fortress couldn''t be underestimated, especially the leveling resources. If Divine Tribe could secure a temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress, the Guild''s overall leveling speed would surpass the other superpowers'' by a large margin. One hundred Special Enchanted Bloodlines? Zero Wing really has lucked out. When Crimson Witch overheard Adolfs statement and tone, she knew the Great Elder had already made up his mind. She wasn''t happy about it, but there was nothing she could do to change it. A lot of superpowers will be paying attention to the fortress, and it still isn''t guaranteed that Zero Wing can defend its ownership. Hopefully, Zero Wing doesn''t act foolishly. While Divine Tribe discussed the matter, the west''s various superpowers began to grow restless. "Interesting! It seems someone has proven capable of capturing the Starlight Fortress! Which power is it?" "Could it be a hidden superpower that has finally decided to spread its wings?" "Regardless, let''s go take a look at the fortress. If this unknown power can''t manage the fortress, this is the perfect opportunity to take it from them!" The western continent''s various powers began to dispatch large expert teams, sending them to Star Valley. These teams only had one goal. Take the Starlight Fortress! 2461 Fortresss Legacy Chapter 2461 - Fortress''s Legacy Star Valley, Starlight Fortress: Inside the dilapidated fortress full of Level 110-plus Elemental Creatures, the Silver Lion Legion continued to push toward the fortress''s core. Although they faced more Great Lords and Grand Lords as they delved further into the fortress, defeating these monsters became an easy task with the Tier 4 Hero MacAffrey had summoned and the fortress''s magic array buff. After grinding in the fortress for just six hours, every member of the legion discovered that their experience bars had grown considerably. Their leveling speed here was several times faster than grinding in normal maps. Furthermore, the Elemental Creatures dropped substantial loot, including plenty of Level 110 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. If they were lucky, even Level 110 Secret Silver Equipment and Set Equipment would drop. The equipment was top-tier to the Silver Lion Legion''s members. The highest-leveled players among them were Level 106, while many of them were still stuck at Level 105. Currently, obtaining Level 110 weapons and equipment was a major challenge for them. Set equipment pieces'' Attributes were generally half a rank better than ordinary equipment of the same rank. If players could collect the full set, the set''s Attributes would be a full rank better than ordinary equipment of the same rank, with some having even greater bonuses. Take the Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment the Starlight Fortress''s monsters dropped, for example. Although the Hidden Blue Set was only a Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment, not only would having six of the eight pieces increase a player''s casting speed by 20%, but it would also increase their Spells'' effects by 25%. With all eight pieces of the set, it would increase one''s Spell Completion Rate by another 2% and casting range by 20% Wearing this set, a magical class expert''s DPS would be even higher than players in Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment! Even after they reached Level 110, they couldn''t be certain how many pieces of Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment they could obtain. It was likely that only the Guild''s peak experts had any chance of securing a full set. Obtaining enough Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment was simply too difficult for experts of their caliber. Fortunately, MacAffrey had already announced that he would auction all weapons and equipment they obtained from the Starlight Fortress. This meant that they''d all get a chance to acquire Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. How much they obtained would only depend on how many GCPs they had saved up. This was the reason that the Silver Lion Legion members put all of their effort into clearing out the Starlight Fortress''s monsters, even without Shi Feng saying a word. They actually hoped that Shi Feng''s group wouldn''t participate in the battle, allowing them to keep all of the Elemental Creatures for themselves. The fortress only had so many monsters, and there wouldn''t be enough Secret-Silver Set Equipment for everyone. "Guild Leader, are we really going to leave these Elemental Creatures to Divine Tribe''s members?" Aqua Rose asked as she watched the Silver Lion Legion push through the fortress''s main streets. Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment and Set Equipment might not be important to her or the other experts that had ventured to the western continent with Shi Feng, but it would be to Zero Wing''s other experts. Moreover, not even Level 110 Common Equipment had shown up on the market yet, much less Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment. They had an advantage with the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, and the fortress''s magic array currently suppressed the monster''s Basic Attributes. This was an excellent opportunity to secure some Level 110 weapons and equipment for the Guild. Leaving all of the suppressed monsters for the Silver Lion Legion was a huge waste. "That won''t be necessary. Although these monsters drop a lot of loot, only the Grand Lords drop Secret-Silver Equipment, and they only have a chance of doing so. The drop-rate isn''t 100%. Since the Silver Lion Legion is willing to help us clear out the fortress, we should allow them to benefit from the task," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he watched the idea of Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment tempt Aqua Rose. "If we try to clear the fortress ourselves, it''ll take us a long time. Besides, we have something more important to take care of." As per Shi Feng''s agreement with Adolf, the Silver Lion Legion was only here to help Zero Wing capture a city. Now that they had captured the Starlight Fortress, the legion had no reason to continue the fight. It was well within its rights to turn around and leave. The fact that the Silver Lion Legion was willing to slay the monsters within the fortress was good news for Shi Feng. If Zero Wing had to clear out the monsters on its own, he wouldn''t have much time left to fortify the fortress. "Something more important?" After giving the matter some thought, Aqua Rose asked, "Are we raiding the remaining Guardian Bosses?" The moment Aqua Rose mentioned the Guardian Bosses, Cola and the other Zero Wing experts burst with excitement. They hadn''t had a chance to participate in the fight with the Starlight Behemoth directly, so they were itching for action. "No," Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. "We''ll be taking control of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion!" "The Fortress Lord''s Mansion? Guild Leader, don''t you already have the Fortress Lord''s Token?" Aqua Rose inquired. The Fortress Lord''s Token was necessary to take control of the fortress as a whole, and it was the key component in taking over the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Normally, when one obtained a Fortress Lord''s Token, they automatically gained control of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. However, Shi Feng now informed them that they still needed to secure the mansion. "I do have the Fortress Lord''s Token, but I don''t control the Fortress Lord''s Mansion yet. In fact, I don''t even have partial control over it," Shi Feng explained with a bitter smile. Fortresses built before the Great Destruction weren''t like more modern fortresses. When one gained the Fortress Lord''s Token for the latter, they would gain full control of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, but that wasn''t the case with ancient fortresses. Securing an ancient Fortress Lord''s Mansion would prove several times more difficult than capturing the fortress itself. The true value of these fortresses didn''t lie in the resident monsters'' loot nor the items that the Guardian Bosses dropped. Rather, the truly valuable items were the ancient Legacies[l] that were stored in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Items such as weapons and equipment were only secondary compared to these ancient Legacies. Most of the Legacies ancient humans had left behind to reach Tier 3 had been lost to time, and as a result, present-day humans had a far more difficult time completing their Tier 3 and higher Promotion Quests. Since ancient fortresses like the Starlight Fortress had existed before the Great Destruction, they, more or less, still contained Tier 3 and higher Legacies. These Legacies were the true treasures within ancient fortresses. At this stage of the game, players only knew that it was difficult to reach Tier 3. They weren''t aware that Tier 3 was only the beginning of their journey in God''s Domain. Once they completed their Tier 3 promotions, growing stronger would become many times more difficult. Why was this the case? The reason was very simple. After reaching Tier 3, players wouldn''t receive any guidance from the system regarding ways to increase their strength. Take Tier 3 Skills and Spells, for example. These were the foundation for Tier 3 players'' power. If players only relied on Legacy Skill Points to acquire Tier 3 Skills and Spells, they wouldn''t be considered a true Tier 3 player. To be a true Tier 3 player, one would need at least 10 Tier 3 Skills or Spells in their arsenal. One also needed a way to control their Mana Body, which was also a crucial Legacy. These methods were even more important than Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Although Shi Feng was already a Master Magician, and his control and understanding of magic arrays were far superior to other players, he only had basic control of his Mana Body. This was also the case for the western continent''s experts, who were particularly skilled at controlling Mana. Their mastery with their Mana Bodies was still in the infantile stages. This was why current Tier 3 experts were no match for Tier 3 NPCs. Many of the Legacies within ancient fortresses were related to Mana Body control, offering methods that allowed humans, who had no physical advantages, to survive in the dangerous environments that had survived the Great Destruction. "Guild Leader, how are we supposed to secure the Fortress Lord''s Mansion?" Aqua Rose asked. She realized that Shi Feng wasn''t joking when she saw his serious expression. If they could not secure the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, the Starlight Fortress would remain ownerless. If that didn''t change before the fortress automatically opened to the public, Zero Wing would be left in a very awkward position. "It''s simple. All we need to do is pass the Legacy Trial in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. If we fail, we''ll only control the fortress on the surface, even with the Fortress Lord''s Token," Shi Feng replied. To put it simply, the Starlight Fortress Lord''s Token was a ticket to obtain the Starlight Fortress''s Legacy. How much of the fortress players controlled would depend on how much of its Legacy they could activate. The various ancient fortresses'' Legacy Trials differed in difficulty. The known difficulties were Normal, Hard, Hell, Asura, and God Mode. The more challenging a Legacy Trial was, the greater its rewards would be, but clearing the trial would also require more players. Moreover, all Legacy Trials had a one-week Cooldown. Shi Feng then led Aqua Rose and the rest of his companions toward the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion. A magic array currently enveloped the mansion, and not even Mythic monsters could break through the barrier, let alone players. Only the player that held the Fortress Lord''s Token and those that player granted access to could pass through the barrier. After walking up to the mansion''s entrance, Shi Feng retrieved the Fortress Lord''s Token and started to chant an incantation. Silently, he prayed, Please, don''t let the Starlight Fortress''s Legacy Trial be too high of a difficulty. He hadn''t just chosen to capture the Starlight Fortress because its monsters were easier to deal with; most of his reasoning was based on the fact that it was one of the few Small Fortresses in Star Valley that had a Fortress Lord''s Mansion with a weak Mana signature. This meant that the Legacy the Starlight Fortress protected wasn''t particularly powerful, and the Legacy Trial shouldn''t be overly difficult. If he had tried to capture a fortress with a powerful Fortress Lord''s Mansion, he would''ve wasted his effort if he couldn''t secure control of the mansion after capturing the fortress. When Shi Feng finished the incantation recorded on the token, a dark-purple, fourfold magic array appeared on the mansion''s main door. A set of gigantic, golden doors then emerged, and as the doors slowly parted, an ancient aura gushed between them. Crap! Isnt this just a measly Small Fortress?! Why does it have an Asura Mode Legacy Trial?! Shi Feng was utterly dumbfounded when he saw the golden doors. 2462 Gold Gate Chapter 2462 - Gold Gate Aqua Rose and the others couldn''t help their surprise when the set of golden doors appeared before the entrance to the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Although the doors were only eight meters tall, they radiated a sacred aura that tamed the nearby ambient Mana. This aura even affected the Mana within Zero Wing''s members. Although the divine runes and images had been engraved on the doors, these runes and images were indiscernible when players tried to examine them. Even so, the blurred runes and images felt somehow heavy and inspired curiosity. "What are the markings on the doors? I tried to examine them for a moment, but it made me feel even more exhausted than using Advanced Combat Techniques multiple times in a row," Aqua Rose wondered aloud. After examining the engravings, she pried her gaze away from the doors. She had seen plenty of amazing items in God''s Domain, but this was the first time she had encountered something that could deplete her Concentration so drastically after looking at it for a few seconds. She didn''t doubt that if she had stared at the doors for a few more moments, her mind would''ve been overloaded. Fire Dance and the others also turned away from the doors, afraid they''d pass out if they continued to stare. God''s Domain''s players rarely fainted from Concentration depletion, but if it happened, the results would be even more severe than from Stamina depletion. When a player''s Stamina depleted, they''d lose the ability to move, but when they lost all of their Concentration, they''d be forced into a deep slumber, which took an incredibly long time to recover from. This could be a fatal setback for players fighting on the frontlines. "This is normal. The information on this Gold Gate is a Legacy that has been passed down from ancient times. Moreover, this is a relatively complete Legacy and far more complex than the combat techniques we''ve seen thus far. It isn''t something players can simply glance at," Shi Feng said. When he saw his teammates'' curiosity, he revealed a bitter smile and continued, "If you look at this Legacy for too long, your recovery could take more than five days." The Legacy Gates left behind in ancient fortresses fell into three ranks: Bronze Gate, Silver Gate, and Gold Gate. Each gate was stronger than the last, and the Legacies they contained were more complete with each subsequent rank. Similarly, the higher the gate''s rank was, the more difficult the Legacy Trial would be. Many Tier 3 experts would already struggle to clear the Normal and Hard Mode Legacy Trials on the Bronze Gates. The Gold Gates only contained Asura and God Mode Legacy Trials, which were so difficult that even peak experts would despair at the challenge. Shi Feng had assumed that, even in the worst-case scenario, the Starlight Fortress would house a Silver Gate. He had never considered that the Legacy Gate would be Gold-rank. Taking control of this Fortress Lord''s Mansion would be nearly as difficult as capturing a Large Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion... Has the system elevated the trial''s difficulty because we''re the first to capture an ancient fortress? Questions filled Shi Feng''s mind as he gazed at the Gold Gate before him. Normally, Small Fortresses had, at most, Silver Gates, and Medium Fortresses would only have a small chance of containing a Gold Gate. He had never heard of anyone finding a Gold Gate in a Small Fortress. Forget it. Let''s just take this one step at a time. Shi Feng shook his head, banishing his worries. He then gritted his teeth and led his team through the Gold Gate. If he refused to participate in the trial now that he had activated it with the Fortress Lord''s Token, he would have to wait for the token''s Cooldown to end before he could try again. Moreover, the appearance of a Gold Gate wasn''t all bad; this could be a blessing for them. A high-ranked Legacy Gate might be very difficult to clear, but it would also provide greater help as players learned how to control their Mana Bodies. A Legacy Gate was an Ancient Fortress''s most valuable treasure. It was also the greatest benefit to controlling an ancient fortress. The various powers hadn''t initially been aware of this fact in Shi Feng''s previous life and had treated the Legacy Gates as a way to gain more control over their fortresses. The various powers had only discovered the Legacy Gates'' true value after some time, learning that these gates were the fastest way for players to unlock the full potential of their Mana Bodies. If players tried to explore and adapt to their Mana Bodies without such help, unlocking their Mana Bodies'' potential would take ages. As Shi Feng and the others walked through the Gold Gate, the world around them warped. The world settled into place again, and Shi Feng found himself before a sacred, golden mountain, alone. This golden mountain was several thousand meters tall; Shi Feng couldn''t even see where the mountain ended. The mountain''s aura was just slightly less intense than that of the Tower of Four Gods. While bathed in the mountain''s aura, Shi Feng felt an intense pressure bear down on him, reducing his mobility. So, this is a Gold Gate''s trial? Shi Feng looked around him, shocked. During his previous life, he had only ever entered a Bronze Gate, and he had only acquired the entry slot after paying a huge sum. Even so, he had paid the price gladly. If he hadn''t, he would''ve had to rely on his own experiences to explore and adapt to his Mana Body, like independent players, wasting a lot of precious time in the process. The stronger one''s Mana Body was, the more difficult it was to unlock its potential. Because of this, independent Tier 3 players struggled to surpass the various superpowers'' Tier 3 experts. Unfortunately, it couldn''t be helped. It was simply a benefit of having access to a Guild''s resources. If that weren''t the case, so many players wouldn''t be so desperate to join the various superpowers. Within the Gold Gate, Shi Feng discovered that the difference between a Bronze and Gold Gate was far greater than he had expected. When he had entered the Bronze Gate, its environment hadn''t affected his mental state, but within the Gold Gate, he could feel a void in his mind. Within spaces that had thin traces of Mana, such a mental state would be extremely helpful. While players operated in spaces that lacked Mana, the harsh environments would affect their ability to learn and grow, even with the support of their Mana Bodies. While Shi Feng and the others quietly observed their surroundings, the phantom of a goddess in dark-blue armor appeared before them all. "I am this Legacy Gate''s creator, Eliadi. Trial taker, you have two days to climb the sacred mountain and pass the trial. If you fail, you will be removed from this place. Only if three or more of you reach the sacred mountain''s first shrine, will you obtain the Starlight Fortress''s Bronze Mark, securing your hold over the fortress. Remember, this is your only opportunity. You will not be allowed to reach this place again for another month," Eliadi explained, watching Shi Feng carefully. The moment Eliadi finished speaking, she vanished as if she had never existed. Fortunately, we have two days. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief after listening to the trial''s introduction. He had only been given one day to ascend the sacred mountain when he had challenged the Bronze Gate in the past, but now, he would have two days to complete the trial. Fortunately, this amount of time should be more than enough for Aqua Rose and his other companions to adapt to this environment. This was, after all, the first time they had entered a Legacy Trial. Before Shi Feng could celebrate his good luck, however, three Knights in exquisite armor appeared on the sacred mountain. Each of the Knights carried swords, and the weakest among them was Level 110 and Tier 3. The moment these Knights manifested, they charged toward Shi Feng. The Knights were quick, and despite the lack of Mana in the area, dense Mana surrounded each of them. Three Knights with fully unlocked Mana Bodies, right off the bat? Shi Feng was stunned as he watched the approaching Knights. 2463 Basic Unlock Chapter 2463 - Basic Unlock Sensing the intense amount of Mana that coated the NPC Knights'' swords, Shi Feng wasn''t willing to take unnecessary risks. He immediately unsheathed both of his swords and prepared for battle. He might not have been as worried if his opponents had merely been new Tier 3 NPCs or Tier 3 NPCs below Level 100, but against three Level 110, Tier 3 NPCs with fully unlocked Mana Bodies, he''d lose his life with the slightest mistake. The difference between a locked Mana Body and one that has been unlocked was like the difference between a Refinement Realm expert and an ordinary player. This was why some Tier 3 NPCs could serve as Magistrates in the various kingdoms and empires, while others could only serve as a town or city''s Guard Captain. Some weaker Tier 3 NPCs were even limited to guarding a palace''s entrance. These different statuses were a result of the state of the NPCs'' Mana Bodies. Any Tier 3 NPC that could unlock their Mana Body''s full potential would be an elite among those of the same tier. They were no longer ordinary NPCs, but experts. These Tier 3 NPCs could beat expert players to a pulp as easily as ordinary players... Reaching their target, the three NPC Knights slashed their swords at Shi Feng from different directions. The Knights were perfectly in sync as if they had been comrades in battle for over a dozen years. Two of the Knights attempted to distract Shi Feng, while one attacked his blind spot. Furthermore, their attacks were powerful enough to throw Great Lords of the same level. If any other Tier 3 player stood in Shi Feng''s place, it wouldn''t be long before they were defeated. Unfortunately, the three Knights couldn''t fool Shi Feng. As a Domain Realm expert, he quickly determined their attack trajectories. Shi Feng instantly countered the Knight attacking his blind spot, forcibly altering the Knight''s attack trajectory and guiding the weapon to collide with the other two Knights'' swords. Peng! Peng! Peng! The three Knights stumbled back as a result of the collision, but Shi Feng didn''t get off scot-free. He also stumbled half a step back, and his right arm trembled slightly from the impact. So, this is a Golden Gate''s trial? Shi Feng glanced down at Killing Ray, which vibrated with a low hum, astonished. He couldn''t help but worry for Aqua Rose and the others. There was almost no Mana in this world, and because of that, Aqua Rose and his other companions would be lucky if they could exhibit half of their normal combat power, even with the help of their Mana Bodies. Shi Feng''s first clash with the three Knights had been brief, but he could tell that his opponents'' combat standards were on par with the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. Their combat standards might not be very high, but he was sure they had Silver rank Mana Bodies. Otherwise, there was no way a single clash would cause his arm to go numb with his Basic Attributes. If even he struggled, it was easy to imagine how the others might fare. Moreover, he was only at the foot of the mountain. He hadn''t even started to climb it yet... Ascending the mountain was the goal of this Legacy Trial, and as players climbed higher, they''d face stronger opponents. Fortunately, they weren''t actually required to kill their opponents. As long as players survived against the mountain''s residents for 30 minutes, they''d be allowed to pass, but that was still a challenging task. PvP fights rarely lasted more than 10 minutes, not to mention fights against NPCs, since such high-intensity battles required a lot of Stamina and Concentration. However, during his first clash with the Knights, Shi Feng sensed the NPCs'' Mana circuits and how they used the Mana within them. Normally, sensing such things in the outside world was quite difficult due to the abundant Mana in the area, but the Legacy Gate''s space had barely any. As a result, the flow of Mana within the NPC Knights was easily noticeable. Shi Feng wasn''t a magical class player, but he could clearly sense their Mana flow. Only, because these Knights only possessed Silver Mana Bodies, their Mana Bodies'' construction was far simpler than Shi Feng''s Epic ranked Mana Body. He wouldn''t gain much insight from watching these Knights fight. Even so, he''d gain more information than he had from unlocking his past Bronze Mana body. After Shi Feng had shoved the three Knights back, they quickly regained their postures and launched another attack, giving Shi Feng no time to catch a break. This time, however, the Knights opted for a different approach. One of the Knights focused on attacking Shi Feng, while the other two consolidated their mana and waited for an opening. The Knights now knew that they were no match for Shi Feng''s techniques, and they had decided to overwhelm him with brute force. It left Shi Feng in a difficult position. His Basic Attributes were definitely higher than the Tier 3 Knights'', but with their Mana empowering their swords, Shi Feng couldn''t block the weapons without repercussions. He had no choice but to dodge and retreat. Fortunately, the Mana only increased the force behind the Knights'' attacks; it did not increase their damage. Ten minutes... Fifteen minutes... Twenty minutes... As the battle progressed, Shi Feng''s excitement grew. He had learned and mimicked the method the Knights used to conduct and use the Mana within their Mana Bodies. It was like learning to draw a new magic array. The Knights charged at him again, and Shi Feng silently guided the Mana in his body outward, enveloping his Sacred Sword. This should be enough. He then swung Killing Ray at the Tier 3 Knights'' Mana-coated swords. Boom! The sound of an explosion echoed from the foot of the mountain. The impact from the blow shoved the three Tier 3 Knights stumbling back a step. In contrast, Shi Feng remained steady in his original position, and his arm no longer shook. Suddenly, the sound of a system notification reached Shi Feng''s ears. System: You have unlocked 5% of your Epic Mana Body. I''ve finally grasped the method to unlock my Mana Body! Shi Feng was ecstatic as he glanced down at his weapon. He had finally learned to mimic the way these Knights conducted and used their Mana. Of course, he could not mimic the Knight''s methods perfectly, since they weren''t compatible with his Mana Body. He needed to modify his approach. Moreover, he possessed an Epic Mana Body, which had a more complex structure than a Silver Mana Body. This was why he had only unlocked 5% of his Mana Body with that attack. It''s no wonder why so many experts fought to enter Gold Gates in the past. I''ve made more than a fortnight''s progress in less than half an hour. Seeing the three NPCs eye him hostilely, Shi Feng realized how astoundingly effective it was to train within a Gold Gate''s Legacy Trial. If an expert with a Silver Mana Body stood in his place, they would''ve likely unlocked all of their Mana Body with one trip. These Knights had offered a perfect example of how to do so, after all, and this environment was the perfect place to observe others'' Mana Bodies. This simply wasn''t possible in the outside world. Following which, Shi Feng challenged the next group of NPC Knights. He wanted to familiarize himself and adapt to the new sensation as quickly as possible. The second group consisted of six NPC Knights, and they used a completely different method to employ their Mana Bodies. Individually, they were about as strong as the first three Knights, but in the end, they were nothing more than lab rats for Shi Feng as he further optimized his Epic Mana Body. Not only did Shi Feng encounter more Knights as he climbed the mountain, but the Knights also had higher-ranked Mana Bodies. The first Knights only had Basic Silver Mana Bodies, but eventually, Shi Feng faced NPCs with Intermediate Silver and Advanced Silver Mana Bodies. As a result, Shi Feng was able to continue refining his Epic Mana Body. 10%... 15%... 20%... After more than seven hours of combat and completing his challenge against six Tier 3 Knights with Peak Silver Mana Bodies, Shi Feng finally reached the sacred mountain''s first shrine. After Shi Feng entered the first shrine, Eliadi, the goddess in dark-blue armor, appeared before him again. Eliadi radiated an aura that was even beyond that of Tier 5 beings. "Trial taker, you have proven to be quite skilled. You have reached the first shrine within nine hours. As a reward for your effort, I will present you with two options. The first option consists of surviving three moves against me. Not only will you clear this trial and enter the mountain''s second level by succeeding, but you''ll also receive one Legacy Guidance. If you choose the second option, you will have to face this shrine''s guardian. If you win, you will gain access to the second level, but you will not receive additional rewards," Eliadi offered Shi Feng. "You have three minutes to consider. Decide carefully!" 2464 Three Divine Swords Chapter 2464 - Three Divine Swords Once Eliadi finished speaking, she closed her eyes and waited for Shi Feng''s reply in silence. She showed no intention of speaking further. Players actually have a chance to earn a Legacy Guidance in a Gold Gate? The goddess''s explanation had stunned Shi Feng. Based on what he knew from the past, the Legacy Gates'' creators were lofty beings. They''d only appear before players at the beginning of the Legacy Trial to explain the rules. Players shouldn''t encounter them again after that. Shi Feng had never expected that not only would Eliadi appear before him near the sacred mountain''s first shrine, but she''d also offer him two choices. Moreover, one of the two options would afford him the chance to obtain a Legacy Guidance. If the experts from his previous life found out about this, they''d try to kill him out of jealousy. Players didn''t receive any guidance after reaching Tier 3 in God''s Domain; they''d have to rely on their own abilities to grow stronger, especially when trying to unlock their Mana Bodies. Even within the Legacy Trials, players could only rely on their observations to learn and improve. They wouldn''t be given anything on a silver platter. Thus, receiving a Legacy Guidance was every expert player''s dream. Unlocking a Mana Body''s full potential was only a basic condition to activating a Tier 3 Mana Body. If players could unlock more of their Mana Body''s potential, it could offer even greater benefits. However, unlocking more of a Mana Body''s full potential was insanely difficult. If players had taken the wrong path during their early days, they''d have almost no chance of surpassing 100% potential. Players would have to settle for the most basic level of Mana Body. If all players were offered a chance to receive guidance from an ancient Legacies, far more of the past''s peak experts would''ve been able to reach Tier 5. The stronger a player''s Mana Body was, the easier it''d be to complete their future Promotion Quests. This was why some experts with Silver Mana Bodies had reached Tier 5, while some experts with Gold Mana Bodies had been stuck at Tier 4. When Eliadi had presented Shi Feng with two options, he had felt as if he were dreaming. "Lady Eliadi, I choose your challenge!" Shi Feng instantly decided. Challenging Eliadi was undoubtedly reckless, but if he missed this opportunity, he''d regret it for the rest of his life. Even if he couldn''t take control of the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion now, he could try again after the token''s Cooldown. However, if he passed up this opportunity to challenge Eliadi, he might not get another chance to earn a Legacy Guidance. He had an Epic Mana Body, and unlocking its potential would be far more difficult than with a Gold Mana Body. Just trying to unlock 100% of its potential was an immensely difficult challenge, not to mention unlocking more than that. "Excellent. You have made a wise decision. You will not receive another chance to challenge me, let alone obtain a Legacy Guidance, no matter how many times you come here," Eliadi said as she opened her eyes. When she looked at Shi Feng, a hint of recognition flashed in her eyes. "However, don''t think that you can withstand three of my attacks. Even if I limit my strength to Tier 3, you have less than a 10% chance of completing my challenge with your sealed Epic Mana Body." Eliadi then pulled a blue greatsword, whose tip had been buried in the ground before her, and raised it above her head. A frightening amount of Mana suddenly surrounded her, and a Mana storm manifested around Eliadi''s greatsword. The storm was so powerful that it could even tear apart space. Shi Feng could sense that the phenomena weren''t due to a Skill or Spell. Eliadi was merely executing a normal attack. "Now, face me! First Sword, Lightshadow!" As she spoke those words, Eliadi swung her greatsword down at Shi Feng, who stood over 40 yards away. A gigantic blade of Mana appeared in the goddess''s hands and descended on Shi Feng, splitting apart space as it passed. So, this is the true method of utilizing a Mana Body? Shi Feng was dumbfounded as the blade grew near. He had met many Tier 5 NPCs, but he had never met one that had such mastery over their Mana Body. Although Eliadi had suppressed her strength to Tier 3, her normal attacks still had the power of a Tier 4 Skill... Without hesitation, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power. The Legacy Trial was located in a different realm. Although players were prohibited from using Invulnerability Skills, they could use any other Skills or Spells they possessed. This was why Shi Feng dared to accept Eliadi''s challenge. Divine runes immediately appeared around Shi Feng''s body, substantially increasing his Strength. He then brandished his swords at the descending Mana weapon. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! Boom! When the weapons collided, the impact created a powerful shockwave that shook the surrounding area. Even the ground trembled at its might. The boom of the collision echoed across the entire sacred mountain. A figure then shot out of the dust cloud that encompassed the battlefield; it was none other than Shi Feng. Not only had he lost one-fifth of his HP, but he also failed to stabilize his footing after he landed, tumbling to the ground... Before Shi Feng could return to his feet, however, the goddess was already poised to attack again. This time, however, she positioned her sword beside her, prepared to execute a horizontal slash. "Second Sword, Holy Devour!" Another Mana storm brewed around her, threatening to devour everything in its path. This time, Shi Feng could feel the storm suck away the Mana within him, and the pressure that bore down on him made it somewhat difficult to move. Shi Feng had no time to respond properly before the Eliadi swung her greatsword. A torrent of fire manifested before Shi Feng, distabilizing space around it. These flames raged as if they needed to devour everything they touched, including space. These flames were more than twice as powerful as the earlier Mana sword... Are you kidding me? Shi Feng''s shock reached unprecedented levels as he watched the torrent of fire blast toward him. Normally, not even Heroes could exhibit Basic Tier 4 power with normal Tier 3 attacks, but not only did the goddess''s horizontal swing contain Tier 4 power, but it was also at the Intermediate rank. No one would believe him if he retold this tale. Despite his surprise, however, Shi Feng didn''t hesitate. Realizing that he couldn''t afford to hold back, Shi Feng activated Blade Liberation and executed Lightning Flash once more. Boom! Space exploded the moment the two fighters'' weapons met. Like before, Eliadi''s attack sent Shi Feng flying, and this time, it left him with less than 50% of his HP. However, before Shi Feng could stand up, he heard Eliadi''s voice. "Third Sword, Holy Annihilation!" Eliadi showed no intention of slowing her assault. Leaping into the air, she rose above Shi Feng and swung her greatsword downward. This time, the goddess''s attack didn''t include any Mana fluctuations, but Shi Feng discovered that he couldn''t move. He felt as if he were surrounded by enemies, and he could only watch as Eliadi''s greatsword descended toward him. This attack was many times stronger than her second swing... "Power of Destruction, activate!" 2465 Silver Mark Chapter 2465 - Silver Mark Along with Shi Feng''s low shout, Disintegration Power started flowing out of the Disintegration Armor and set the surrounding space aquiver. At the same time, a portion of the Disintegration Power entered Shi Feng''s body, instantly elevating him to the Tier 4 realm. Suddenly, the spatial restrictions and frightening pressure that originally bound Shi Feng''s body weakened considerably, allowing him to move again. However, despite these changes, he did not feel safe. On the contrary, his complexion turned even grimmer than before. Previously, when he was still at Tier 3, he had felt that Eliadi''s current attack did not carry as much Mana as her second attack. However, after reaching Tier 4, he realized just how wrong he was. Currently, the space within 50 yards of Eliadi was actually filled with Mana as dense as steel. In God''s Domain, Mana''s existence was akin to air. It would condense into a misty state only after reaching a sufficiently high density. However, the Mana surrounding Eliadi had surpassed the misty and liquid states. Normally, in God''s Domain, the more refined the Mana was, the greater the energy it would contain. Take Mana that was in a gaseous state and Mana that had concentrated into Magic Crystals. The amounts of energy each contained were worlds apart. Seeing Eliadi''s frightening attack descending toward him, Shi Feng pushed his five senses to their very limits and executed his strongest Skill, Void Slash, inwardly praying, You must block it! In the next moment, six sword lights appeared from the void, then merged into one to meet Eliadi''s greatsword. Combined with the effects of all of Shi Feng''s Berserk Skills, this attack could be said to be the peak of Shi Feng''s current capabilities. In fact, he had even executed Void Slash at a 100% Completion Rate. The power of this attack could undoubtedly send Mythic monsters of the same level flying. Most likely, even Tier 4 NPCs would be no exception. Boom! A deafening boom echoed throughout the surroundings after the attacks of both sides collided. The entire sacred mountain had even started trembling slightly. In the next moment, a figure flew out of the sacred mountain''s first shrine and landed right at the foot of the sacred mountain, creating a crater that was over three meters deep. "What a pity. I have waited a long time for a challenger with an Epic Mana Body to show up. If only he had unlocked his Mana Body before coming here. Combined with the power of a Tier 4 existence, he might''ve been able to withstand my final move," Eliadi said to herself, sighing when she saw Shi Feng disappearing from the shrine. However, just as she was about to leave, she suddenly sensed something. Her figure then disappeared from the shrine and reappeared at the mountain''s foot. To be precise, she appeared beside the crater of Shi Feng''s crash. "He didn''t die?" Surprise flashed in Eliadi''s eyes for the first time when she saw Shi Feng getting to his feet in the crater. Despite the Swordsman receiving her attack, his HP had not decreased by even a single point. Only, visible spatial cracks surrounded him. However, these cracks were mending themselves, and eventually, a perfect barrier formed around him. How close. If I didn''t have the Nightwalker''s Cape''s Void Shield, that attack definitely would''ve killed me. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief as he looked at the barrier protecting him. He had still underestimated Eliadi''s final attack. That final attack was even stronger than those of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s Mana Pulse Cannons, practically rivaling the Flying Ship''s Magic Elven Cannon''s already. He had never heard of anyone exhibiting power at the peak of Tier 4 with merely a normal Tier 3 attack. Fortunately, he had more than one Fragmented Legendary item on himone of which was even for defense. Otherwise, only death awaited him in this trial. After inwardly celebrating for a moment, Shi Feng climbed out of the crater quickly and walked up to Eliadi. "Lady Eliadi, may I know if I passed your trial?" Shi Feng asked as he looked at the goddess. Although he survived, he had been sent flying all the way down the sacred mountain. Since his agreement with Eliadi was for him to receive three of her moves, he wasn''t sure if getting sent flying out of the shrine was already grounds for disqualification. Eliadi had not stated the conditions for qualifications clearly. "You passed," Eliadi said, nodding. "Moreover, your performance was excellent. You actually managed to receive three of my moves without having unlocked your Tier 3 Mana Body. Of all the challengers I have come across throughout the years, you are the first to accomplish such a feat. As a reward, I will grant you not only a Legacy Guidance but also the Starlight Fortress''s Silver Mark." After saying so, Eliadi drew a silver rune in the air and imprinted it on the Fortress Lord''s Token tied around Shi Feng''s wrist. System: Congratulations! You have obtained the Silver Mark and become the Starlight Fortress''s Silver Lord. You may freely enter the Fortress Lord''s Mansion and make use of the Starlight Fortress''s advanced functions. System: You have completed the challenge of the Legacy Gate''s creator. Rewarding Level +1 and one Legacy Guidance from Eliadi. Upon receiving the series of system notifications, Shi Feng fell into a daze. He never thought that the rewards for this challenge would be so generous. Just the opportunity to receive a Legacy Guidance was already as valuable as a Fragmented Legendary item. In fact, if the peak experts of his previous life had known about this, they might have even willingly exchanged a Fragmented Legendary item just to receive a Legacy Guidance. After all, in God''s Domain, one''s own strength had the utmost priority. External items such as weapons and equipment only served to bolster a person''s existing strength. Moreover, so long as one was sufficiently strong, obtaining Fragmented Legendary items was not that difficult a task. Take the independent experts of adventurer teams, for example. Despite these experts not having any major corporations or superpowers backing them, some of them had still reached the apex of God''s Domain. Meanwhile, these people had accomplished this feat by relying entirely on their own strength. However, aside from receiving a Legacy Guidance, he had actually received the Starlight Fortress''s Silver Mark as well. If the various superpowers in his previous life were to find out about this, they would definitely want to eat him alive. In the past, in order to increase their authority in the ancient fortresses they controlled, the various superpowers had invested countless manpower and resources into nurturing their peak experts. However, extremely few superpowers had managed to obtain an ancient fortress''s Silver Markespecially for ancient fortresses that housed a Gold Gate. This was because the Silver Mark was no longer something just a handful of peak experts could attain. Obtaining a Silver Mark from a Legacy Gate required 10 experts to clear the sacred mountain''s second shrine and three experts to reach the sacred mountain''s peak within one challenge attempt. Moreover, the difficulty of a sacred mountain''s second level was far greater than that of the first level. The sacred mountain''s first level served as a foundational level for the Legacy Trial. It functioned more as an educational tool than a challenge. However, it was a different story once players reached the sacred mountain''s second level. The second level and beyond would differentiate the strong from the weak. They were not meant to teach players anything, and all that players could do on these levels was figure out a way to survive. In the case of the second level of a Bronze Gate''s sacred mountain, Tier 3 players would face Tier 3 Heroic Spirits that possessed extremely high combat standards; the weakest among them could rival Half-step Refinement Realm experts. Even worse, players had to go up against multiple Heroic Spirits simultaneously. As for the third level, rumor had it that the opponents were bona fide Tier 3 Heroes. Of course, players were no longer required to survive for as long as 30 minutes on the second level and beyond. Nevertheless, they still needed to last 10 minutes. If even the Bronze Gate''s trial was already so arduous, Shi Feng did not even dare imagine what kind of opponents awaited him on the second level of the Gold Gate''s trial. "Alright, you have a choice to make. Do you wish to receive guidance on how to unlock your Epic Mana Body, or do you wish to receive guidance on Mana Techniques?" Eliadi asked as she looked at Shi Feng''s stunned expression. 2466 Heavenly Blue Successor Chapter 2466 - Heavenly Blue Successor There''s also the option to learn Mana Techniques? Shi Feng could not help but hesitate when he heard the options Eliadi gave him. Mana Technique was a familiar term, a Mana usage technique that players could use only after reaching Tier 3 and obtaining their Mana Body. It was categorized as a type of combat technique in God''s Domain. Only, combat techniques focused on the usage of a person''s physical body for combat, while Mana Techniques focused on the usage of a person''s Mana for the same. However, only an extremely small number of players had the opportunity to learn Mana Techniques in God''s Domain because the knowledge had long been lost. Normally, players had to rely on their own inspiration to create Mana Techniques. As for Shi Feng, even after playing God''s Domain for a decade during his previous life, he never managed to learn a single Mana Technique. If it were before he had witnessed Eliadi''s three attacks, he would''ve most likely chosen to receive guidance on how to unlock his Epic Mana Body without any hesitation. This was because the Mana Techniques he had seen experts use in his previous life hadn''t been particularly powerful. Those Mana Techniques only bolstered the strength of existing Skills and Spells slightly, not even as useful as combat techniques. However, from the goddess''s attacks, it would seem that he had been under a misconception. After all, Eliadi''s Mana Techniques allowed her to exhibit strength at the peak of Tier 4 despite having suppressed herself to Tier 3. The strength of her Mana Techniques was many times superior to Bronze Combat Techniques. Of course, part of the reason why she could exhibit such strength with her Mana Technique was her high comprehension of the technique. Even so, this had still allowed Shi Feng to get a general idea of the power of Mana Techniques. If he could master Eliadi''s Third Sword, Holy Annihilation, then he really would be able to move unhindered through the entire God''s Domain. Normally, players had to rely on Legendary items to transcend tiers. Moreover, the higher one''s tier was, the more difficult it would be to transcend tiers. Just the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was already massive. Even with a Legendary item, the best a Tier 3 player could do when fighting a Tier 4 player of equal combat standards would be a draw. It would take more than just a Legendary item to win against a bona fide Tier 4 player. Eliadi''s Mana Techniques, on the other hand, only needed one to unlock their Mana Body to transcend tiers. Meanwhile, given sufficient time, players could unlock even Epic Mana Bodies to 100% potential. "You have 30 seconds to consider. If you don''t make a decision, I will take it as you giving up the opportunity to learn. You have only this one chance, so I hope you consider your decision well," Eliadi said as she looked at Shi Feng. As soon as Eliadi finished speaking, a system timer appeared before him, the timer counting down the seconds. Thirty seconds... Twenty-five seconds Twenty seconds... The ticking sounds were like a countdown to death, and they stimulated Shi Feng''s mind. He had only this one opportunity to learn a Mana Technique. After he mastered it, he could even teach it to others. This Mana Technique would be a great help for Zero Wing''s future. However, if he wished to unlock his Epic Mana Body past 100% potential, he could only rely on Eliadi''s guidance. Otherwise, on his own, the chances of him breaking through the 100% threshold were practically zero. "You have 10 more seconds to consider," Eliadi reminded when she saw Shi Feng still in deep thought. However, Eliadi''s reminder did not catch Shi Feng''s attention. On the contrary, he sank even deeper into thought now. "You have five seconds left," Eliadi prompted once more. "Decide!" At Eliadi''s final reminder, Shi Feng snapped out of his daze and took a deep breath. "Lady Eliadi, I choose the guidance on my Epic Mana Body!" Shi Feng said with determination. "Are you certain?" Eliadi asked, gazing at him seriously. "I am very certain," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding. In his opinion, a Mana Technique was indeed amazing. In fact, the value of Eliadi''s Mana Technique surpassed even the value of Legendary items. However, gaining the ability to unlock his Epic Mana Body past the 100% threshold was much more important since a player''s Mana Body was the foundation for everything. In his previous life, every player that had set foot into the realm of Tier 6 had broken through the 100% threshold. If he wanted to have a chance at reaching Tier 6, then he had to develop his Mana Body beyond 100%. As for Eliadi''s Mana Technique, while it indeed could increase players'' combat power by a substantial degree, tiers trumped everything else. This was especially true for Tier 6! Even if said Tier 5 player was armed with an extremely powerful Legendary Weapon, they would, at most, be able to fight the weakest of Tier 6 players to a standstill. Defeating a Tier 6 player would be utterly impossible. Needless to say, it would be the same when relying on Mana Techniques. During ancient times, humans possessed complete Mana Technique Legacies. Nevertheless, they were still incapable of contending against Tier 6 Gods. Hence, tiers were everything in God''s Domain! Take the current God''s Domain, for example. Tier 2 players were helpless against Tier 3 players. This was the case even for the various superpowers'' Tier 2 experts. Currently, the various superpowers could compete with each other only by using Tier 3 players. Even if Tier 2 players were amazing and could defeat current Tier 3 experts, if they were incapable of promoting to Tier 3 themselves, it was only a matter of time before they were left behind by Tier 3 players in terms of Basic Attributes as players reached higher levels. "Excellent!" When Eliadi heard Shi Feng''s determined reply, an exquisite smile appeared on her flawless face. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears once more. System: Congratulations! You have passed the hidden trial "Selection of Power" and received Eliadi''s recognition. A hidden trial?! Shi Feng received a fright when he heard this system notification. He never thought that this challenge would actually include a hidden trial. NPCs in God''s Domain had different personalities. Normally, they only gave players straightforward trials. However, there were NPCs that would give players double trials. In the case of these double trials, if players failed to clear the hidden trial, clearing the surface trial would be meaningless. They still wouldn''t receive any rewards. "Since you have chosen to seek guidance on your Mana Body, it seems you have not been misled by the temptation of power. During ancient times, humans have constantly pursued the ultimate strength. Although they eventually obtained this ultimate strength, they also faced destruction because of it," Eliadi said. In a pleased tone, she continued, "You, however, did not fall prey to the power I displayed. You have passed my trial. From now onward, you are my successor and are qualified to obtain my Legacy." System: Congratulations! You have completed the challenge of the Heavenly Blue Saint, Eliadi, and become her successor. Rewarding Mana Body Legacy and Holy Annihilation Technique Legacy. After the system notification ended, Eliadi took out two Memory Crystals that gave off a colorful glow and handed them to Shi Feng. "Of these two Memory Crystals, one of them records the method to unlock Epic Mana Bodies, and the other records the Mana Technique I created. You may use each of them only once. I hope you utilize them properly," Eliadi said before vanishing without a trace, leaving behind only a stunned Shi Feng at the foot of the sacred mountain. That was really close. Shi Feng sighed in relief after Eliadi disappeared. If not for him having long known the importance of the Mana Body and the strength of tiers, he would''ve most likely chosen Eliadi''s Mana Technique instead. After all, from what he had seen, Eliadi''s Mana Technique would provide players with a huge boost in combat power. So long as current Tier 3 players learned Eliadi''s Mana Technique, their combat power would soar to the peak of Tier 3, possibly even the Tier 4 standard. Meanwhile, if one possessed Tier 4 combat power at this stage of the game, they would definitely be invincible among players. Who could possibly resist such a temptation? However, if he had really chosen to acquire Eliadi''s Mana Technique, he would have ended up with nothing at all. Now that I have obtained the Mark and Legacy, it''s time to return. After snapping out of his daze, Shi Feng stored the two Memory Crystals before making his way to the teleportation array for leaving the sacred mountain. He did not hurry to use the Memory Crystals. After all, they were one-off items. How much knowledge he could absorb from them would depend entirely on himself. It would be a huge waste if he did not use the Memory Crystals in an ideal state and environment. 2467 Legacy Room Chapter 2467 - Legacy Room Star Valley, Starlight Fortress: A spatial tear appeared before the entrance of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion as Shi Feng teleported out of the Legacy Gate. Currently, several figures were resting before the entrance, every one of which looked exhausted, as if they had just fought a battle that lasted several days and nights. Their eyes were bloodshot, and their bodies were felt weak and sore all over. "Guild Leader?" A trace of surprise flashed in Cola''s eyes when he saw Shi Feng coming out of the spatial tear. Aside from Cola, Shadow Sword, Turtledove, Alluring Summer, and Yi Luofei, who sat beside him, were similarly stunned by this scene. They knew what the situation inside the Legacy Gate was very clearly. Out of their team of 10, the one with the highest chance of clearing the first level was undoubtedly Shi Feng. Now, however, Shi Feng was actually the sixth person to come out of the Legacy Gate. This development boggled their minds. After all, in terms of combat standards and Basic Attributes, Shi Feng was the strongest among them. Even the standard of his Mana Body was unmatched. Theoretically, even if Shi Feng failed to conquer the sacred mountain''s first level, he still should have been the last one to come out of the Legacy Gate. Ignoring the strange gazes Cola and the others were giving him, Shi Feng asked, "Only the five of you have come out?" "Mhm. Big Sis Fire and the others are still inside." Cola nodded stiffly. They made such huge improvements during this period?" Shi Feng was surprised by this situation. The fact that Fire Dance and the others remained inside the Legacy Gate until now meant that they were close to clearing the sacred mountain''s first level already. The first level of a Gold Gate''s sacred mountain! Shi Feng had personally experienced the difficulty of the Gold Gate''s trial. From his experience, everyone, aside from Yan Tianxing, shouldn''t have much of a chance at clearing the sacred mountain''s first level. After all, the Gold Gate''s trial placed much more importance on players'' combat standards than on Basic Attributes. No matter how powerful their Basic Attributes were, their attacks couldn''t be stronger than those of Tier 3 NPCs that had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. Meanwhile, of those that had come to the western continent with Shi Feng this time, Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud, three of the four players that had entered the Tower of Four Gods, remained inside although he had already exited. Gentle Snow was staying in the Black Dragon Empire to handle the Guild''s affairs. Shi Feng never thought that Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, and Violet Cloud would last this long inside the Legacy Gate. Although he had already known that all three of them had reached the Void Realm standard and that Violet Cloud had even learned a Bronze Combat Technique, they still shouldn''t be capable of surviving until now. However, Shi Feng quickly shook his head, not dwelling on the matter. After all, the stronger Aqua Rose and the others became, the better it would be for Zero Wing. Following which, he looked at Cola and the others and asked, "Right, what kind of gains did you get inside? How much of your Mana Body did you manage to unlock?" The real treasure hidden inside an ancient fortress was the Mana Body Legacy. Hence, it did not matter whether players managed to clear the fortress''s Legacy Trial or not. The crucial part was how much players learned from the Legacy Trial. If players simply focused on clearing the trial and failed to learn anything, then it would be a huge loss. "I''ve already unlocked it to 75%," Cola replied in a slightly prideful tone. Although he was the first person to exit the Legacy Gate, he had unlocked the most potential out of their group of five. In fact, had he managed to push through one more batch of opponents, he might''ve been able to unlock 80% of his Mana Body''s potential. It should be known that every 10% potential unlocked in a Mana Body would enhance one''s normal attacks, Skills, and Spells significantly. Upon hearing Cola''s prideful tone, Shadow Sword and the others eyed him with contempt. Cola had unlocked merely 5% to 10% more potential than they had. That was nothing for him to boast about. Shortly after Shadow Sword and the others finished reporting their progress, four spatial tears suddenly opened up before the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, one after another. A figure then walked out of each spatial tear. These four figures belonged to none other than Aqua Rose and the rest of the Zero Wing contingent. At the same time as Aqua Rose and the others exited, an additional Bronze Mark appeared on Shi Feng''s Fortress Lord''s Token. "The Knights on the second level are simply overpowered! Every one of their attacks rivals Mythic monsters''! Who could possibly block those attacks?!" Yan Tianxing''s expression turned ugly when he was teleported out of the Legacy Gate. You cleared the first level?" Shi Feng asked as he took in Yan Tianxing''s miserable state. "Mhm, but the second level is far too difficult. Those Knights are basically at the Tier 4 standard already, and they''re even more difficult than Mythic monsters," Yan Tianxing replied, nodding with some disappointment at this outcome. "Not bad. The second level''s Knights all possess Gold Magic Bodies. Their Magic Bodies are not the slightest bit inferior to yours. Moreover, their Magic Bodies are fully unlocked while yours is not. If multiple Knights gang up on you, it is only natural for you to get defeated," Shi Feng said, not the slightest bit surprised by this outcome. He then swept his gaze over Yan Tianxing''s group of four and asked, "How far have you gotten in unlocking your Mana Bodies?" NPC Knights that possessed Gold Mana Bodies simply had too large an advantage over current players like themselves. Even Shi Feng would have to activate Heavenly Dragon''s Power to block their attacks. "I currently have it unlocked up to 90%," Yan Tianxing reported, slightly disappointed. "It would be great if I could have continued fighting for a little while longer." Cola and the others gazed at him enviously, upon hearing that. They never thought that the second level''s NPC Knights actually possessed Gold Mana Bodies. Gaining the opportunity to observe these Knights would definitely provide them with significant help. "I''m just a little ways off myself. I managed to unlock mine up to 95%. If I could continue observing for 20 more minutes, I might have been able to unlock my Mana Body completely," Aqua Rose said, thoroughly bummed. The Mana that the second level''s Knights exuded was simply too frightening. Every one of their attacks carried power close to the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, they also possessed very high combat standards, basically rivaling Refinement Realm experts. Worst of all, her ability to wield Mana was restricted due to the harsh environment. Fire Dance and Violet Cloud similarly shook their heads in frustration. Although both of them had unlocked 95% of their Mana Bodies'' potential, they still couldn''t contend against the second level''s Knights. "Right, Guild Leader, Divine Tribe contacted me previously. They said that there is something they need to discuss with us. However, as we were still inside the Legacy Gate, I told them that we had some urgent matters to deal with and had them rest inside their temporary Residence for now," Aqua Rose suddenly said. "That isn''t an urgent matter," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "It''ll be the same if we go after all of you have fully unlocked your Mana Bodies." "Unlock our Mana Bodies?" Aqua Rose was puzzled by Shi Feng''s words. They had just come out of the Legacy Gate. Without the help of the Legacy Gate, it would be incredibly difficult for them to make any more progress. Fully unlocking their Mana Bodies might even take up to a fortnight. "Mhm. An ancient fortress''s Legacy Gate is indeed the fastest place for players to unlock their Mana Bodies. However, the Fortress Lord''s Mansion has something called a Legacy Room. Although its training effects aren''t as excellent as the Legacy Gate''s, it allows players to experience a fully unlocked Mana Body for three minutes. I believe this experience should be of significant help for you all," Shi Feng said, nodding. The Legacy Room was the core of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Only after players obtained the rights to control the Fortress Lord''s Mansion would they be allowed to use it. Moreover, the room could be used only 12 times a month, and each player could use it only once a month. During Shi Feng''s previous life, the various superpowers that controlled an ancient fortress allowed only peak experts that were close to fully unlocking their Mana Bodies to make use of the Legacy Room. Now that Aqua Rose and the others had managed to unlock at least 70% of their Mana Bodies'' potential, they would have a very high chance of fully unlocking their Mana Bodies if they utilized the Legacy Room. Shi Feng naturally had to let them try. After saying so, Shi Feng removed the seal on the Fortress Lord''s Mansion and led everyone inside. 2468 Silver Marks Effects Chapter 2468 - Silver Mark''s Effects As Shi Feng and the others walked into the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, they felt as if their exhausted mental state had suddenly been refreshed. "The Mana density here is so high!" Aqua Rose exclaimed when she sensed the Mana inside the mansion. "It''s at least twice as high as in Zero Wing City." Out of all the Guild Towns and Cities in God''s Domain, Zero Wing City''s Mana density was the highest. This was also why Zero Wing City remained extremely popular with players even though it was located within Star- Moon Kingdom''s borders and in a map that was much lower-level than mainstream players. Currently, the city''s daily player traffic still exceeded 6,000,000. In Star-Moon Kingdom, Zero Wing City''s player traffic ranked third, inferior only to Star-Moon City and White River City. However, despite the sparse Mana in Star Valley, the inside of the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion had a Mana density at least twice as high as Zero Wing City''s. Of all the places Aqua Rose could think of, only the ambient Mana in the Holy City of Titan was comparable to this mansion''s in terms of density. "With such an excellent environment, even training Bronze Combat Techniques won''t be a problem," Yan Tianxing commented, his eyes similarly glowing with excitement when he sensed the Mana around him. Practicing combat techniques placed a huge burden on players'' Concentration. If the environment did not possess sufficiently dense Mana, their Concentration regeneration rate wouldn''t be able to keep up with their consumption rate. Players would have to rest for a long time after practicing their combat techniques a few times. That sort of training would be inefficient. Meanwhile, Bronze Combat Techniques were particularly exhausting to practice. Each use of a Bronze Combat Technique consumed several times more Concentration than an Advanced Combat Technique. Moreover, if players hadn''t mastered the Bronze Combat Technique, using it would place an even greater burden on their Stamina and Concentration. Hence, the various superpowers had very few peak experts that had successfully learned a Bronze Combat Technique even now. This was also the case for Zero Wing. "This place isn''t just useful for practicing Bronze Combat Techniques." Looking at the excitement on everyone''s faces, Shi Feng pointed at a nearby locked room and explained, "There are also Mana Training Rooms here. In there, players can practice not only combat techniques but also Mana control. The efficiency of training inside one of these rooms is several times higher than training in the outside world. It is no exaggeration to say that these rooms are one of the best places for training." As a fortress that had existed since ancient times, the Starlight Fortress was not as simple as it appeared to be. The standard of magical technology that the fortress possessed was something that current kingdoms and empires could only admire. This was also why the various superpowers during Shi Feng''s previous life had contested over ancient fortresses desperately. Unfortunately, the Starlight Fortress was only a Small Fortress. Its Fortress Lord''s Mansion also wasn''t very large, with only five floors in total: three above ground and two underground. Meanwhile, every one of these floors was enhanced by all sorts of magic arrays that increased the density of the ambient Mana, as well as accelerated the Concentration recovery rate of players. Players could also accumulate the Double EXP buff while within the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, so they wouldn''t have to worry about falling behind in terms of levels, even if they spent a long time training within the mansion. As for the Mana Training Rooms, the mansion had only 32. A Medium Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion would have double the number, whereas a Large Fortress would have 150. The training capability of a Large Fortress was several times greater than that of a Small Fortress. With the Starlight Fortress, Zero Wing would be able to nurture only a small number of the Guild''s experts. However, this was the best Shi Feng could do right now. After all, the difficulty of capturing Medium and Large Fortresses was many times higher. Generally, Large Fortresses had Superior Mythics guarding them, while Medium Fortresses also had a small chance that a Superior Mythic would appear as its final Guardian Boss. Medium Fortresses would also have over a dozen other Mythic monsters inside. A Medium Fortress simply wasn''t something a few players and a Tier 4 Hero could capture at this stage of the game. In fact, during Shi Feng''s previous life, the various superpowers had managed to capture Star Valley''s Medium and Large Fortresses only after Tier 4 players had come into existence. After Shi Feng gave everyone a simple introduction, he brought them to the mansion''s second basement floor. The second basement floor was not very large and had only two rooms. One of these rooms was the core room responsible for controlling the fortress''s magic array, while the other room was sealed shut by a large door made out of Magic Crystals. The room with the Magic Crystal door happened to be the most precious location in the entire Fortress Lord''s Mansion. The Legacy Room! This place was second only to the Legacy Gate in terms of helping players unlock their Mana Bodies. In the past, it had also been the most important location for the various superpowers for nurturing Guild experts. In God''s Domain, the Mana Body might be considered merely a tool to support players, since it was only a matter of time before players fully unlocked their Mana Bodies after reaching Tier 3. However, the speed at which players unlocked their Mana Bodies would give rise to a marked disparity. This was because players'' control over their Mana Bodies and combat styles would undergo significant changes after they unlocked their Mana Bodies. Meanwhile, they would need time to adapt to these changes. In addition, if players wished to improve their Mana Bodies furtherin other words, break through the 100% threshold they would first need to unlock their Mana Body''s full potential. Only after doing so could they start attempting to break through the 100% threshold. The player''s success would depend on whether they had taken the correct path or not. If players discovered that they had made a mistake, they could still change their method of approach in unlocking their Mana Body. Hence, the sooner one unlocked their Mana Body in God''s Domain, the better. Of course, the Legacy Room had a flawit could only allow players to experience what it felt to have a fully unlocked Mana Body based on their current foundations. It would not point out a clear path for players to take. Even so, having the help of the Legacy Room was still many times better than randomly experimenting in the outside world. After arriving before the four-meter-tall and three-meter-wide crystalline door, Shi Feng held up the Fortress Lord''s Token and chanted the incantation recorded on it to trigger the magic array etched into it. In the next moment, the token''s magic array released a silver glow that resonated with the magic array carved into the crystalline door. The door''s magic array likewise released a silver glow. Immediately afterward, the tightly shut door started opening, and everyone instantly felt Mana of much greater density flowing out of the Legacy Room. When bathed in this Mana, everyone felt their mind clearing up, invigorated like never before. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears. System: You have activated the Silver Legacy Room. This room can be used only 12 times a month, and only one player may enter each time. Players will be able to experience what their current Mana Body feels like at 100% potential for five minutes. Once the session ends, players will not be allowed reentry into the Legacy Room for one natural month. The Silver Mark also provides such a benefit? Shi Feng gazed at the token in his hand in astonishment. The difference between three minutes and five minutes might not be very long, but being able to experience the sensation of a fully unlocked Mana Body for even a second longer meant that players could better-familiarize themselves with that feeling. Meanwhile, the Silver Mark had nearly doubled the duration that players could ^ inside the Legacy Room. At this moment, Shi Feng more or less understood why the various superpowers had desperately invested into a select few peak experts and continuously had them challenge the Legacy Gate of the fortresses they controlled. They hadn''t done so just to unlock more of their fortress''s functions but to better-develop their Guild experts. After all, Guild experts were the capital of Guilds. Everything else was secondary. "Alright, which one of you will enter first?" Shi Feng asked as he turned around to look at Aqua Rose and the others. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s question, Aqua Rose and the others exchanged glances, unsure whether they should enter the Legacy Room or not. Shi Feng had already told them that this opportunity was available to them only once a month. If they did not grab ahold of it properly, they would have to wait another month to experience what fully unlocking their Mana Bodies felt like. At that time, everything would be too late already. "I''ll go first, then," Fire Dance said after giving the matter some thought. "Alright. Just walk straight into the room. Once you''re inside, focus all your attention on your Mana Body and try your best to adapt to the sensations you feel," Shi Feng advised as he pointed into the Legacy Room, which was the size of half a basketball court. The situation inside the Legacy Room was the complete opposite of the situation inside the Legacy Gate. Instead of a sparse Mana environment, the Legacy Room''s environment abounded with Mana. While standing inside such a room, players would find it practically impossible to perceive the flow of Mana inside their own bodies clearly. They could only rely on their intuition to progress. "I understand." Fire Dance nodded before walking into the room. Meanwhile, after Fire Dance entered the Legacy Room, the crystalline door sealed itself once more. Everyone''s heartbeat started accelerating at the sight. "No need to be anxious. Even if you fail to fully unlock your Mana Body this time, you can still continue trying in the outside world. It is only a matter of time before you unlock your Mana Body. Just treat this as an opportunity to experience it ahead of time," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw how nervous everyone was. The opportunity the Legacy Room provided was indeed very important. However, even if one failed to fully unlock their Mana Body after entering the Legacy Room, it did not mean that they wouldn''t be able to unlock their Mana Body in the future. They merely had to pay a higher price to do so. At this moment, Aqua Rose suddenly received a message. After reading it, she turned to Shi Feng and said, "Guild Leader, MacAffrey sent me another message. He says something big has happened, and he needs you to pay him a visit now." "Is it so urgent?" Shi Feng was a little confused as to why MacAffrey kept trying to contact him. "Alright, it''s best if I go first. The Legacy Room is already activated. Enter it one by one." After leaving these instructions, Shi Feng immediately exited the Fortress Lord''s Mansion and made his way toward Divine Tribe''s temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress. 2469 Storm Brewing Chapter 2469 - Storm Brewing Starlight Fortress, Divine Tribe''s temporary Residence: After undergoing the Silver Lion Legion''s cleansing, the fortress that was originally ruled by monsters was now devoid of monsters. Instead, players now crowded it. Moreover, these players were all very high-level and very well equipped. They were undoubtedly Divine Tribe''s experts. At this moment, these expert players were agog as they walked through the streets of the Starlight Fortress, which had already become the focus of many powers and players. As a fortress located in Star Valley, a Level 100-plus forbidden land, the Starlight Fortress''s functions were simply immense. Not only could it allow players to save up on plenty of travel time, but it could also serve as a players'' haven for rest and recovery. At the same time, it would become a trade hub in Star Valley. After all, Star Valley was massive. Moreover, players had nowhere to rest in the surrounding maps. Besides, Star Valley was rich in resources, a place where players could obtain leveling resources. Hence, as the only trade hub available in Star Valley, the resources the Starlight Fortress could acquire in the future would be immeasurable. As a fortress that had existed since ancient times, the Starlight Fortress''s ambient Mana was incredibly dense; none of the present fortresses found in the outside world had anything similar. On the western continent, which suffered from a dearth of Mana, the Starlight Fortress was a rare training ground. Shi Feng could sympathize with the excitement Divine Tribe''s members felt. After players captured an ancient fortress, not only could they concentrate a large amount of Mana inside the fortress, but this Mana would also be very gentle. Even players with sub-par control over Mana would have their control artificially improved by a significant margin while inside the fortress. Although this improvement was only temporary, if players could immerse themselves in such an environment longterm, they could use this experience to achieve a permanent improvement. To the western continent''s players, who prioritized control over Mana before control over their physical bodies, the Starlight Fortress was an absolute gem of a training ground. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the vice commander and the others are all waiting inside the reception room. Please, follow me." Shortly after Shi Feng arrived before the entrance of Divine Tribe''s Residence, a middle-aged man, who was a Level 106 Guardian Knight, approached him. This middle-aged man gave off a very kind and humble feeling. However, the aura he radiated was not the slightest bit weaker than that of Grand Lords of the same level. In terms of strength, he was most likely stronger than even the Silver Lion Legion''s Crimson Witch. "I''ll have to trouble you, then," Shi Feng replied. Inwardly, he sighed ruefully as he considered this humble, middle-aged man. In the current Zero Wing, Yan Tianxing and Shi Feng himself were the only ones that had reached the Domain Realm. However, just one day after he captured the Starlight Fortress, Divine Tribe revealed another Domain Realm expert to him. Shi Feng could not help but admit that superpowers were indeed amazing. It would most likely be a long time before Zero Wing could catch up to them. After hearing Shi Feng''s reply, the middle-aged man led Shi Feng into Divine Tribe''s Residence. Upon entering the Residence''s Guild Hall, Shi Feng received something of a fright. At this moment, the Residence''s Guild Hall had been fully renovated. Not only did the interior of the building look splendid, but the floors of the building were even tiled using Mana Ore. Not even the Guild Hall in Zero Wing''s main headquarters could compete with this Guild Hall in terms of extravagance. Mana Ore was a rare type of ore. Although it was not as valuable as Magic Crystals, it contained a significant amount of Mana. Items made with Mana Ore would exude a small amount of Mana and increase the density of the Mana in their vicinity by a certain degree. However, as the cost generally wasn''t worth the potential returns, very few superpowers would be willing to use Mana Ore as flooring. Meanwhile, this was only a temporary Residence for Divine Tribe, yet the Guild had actually used Mana Ore as flooring. This was already beyond extravagance and entered the realm of reckless waste. However, from this, one could also see how much importance Divine Tribe placed on this temporary Residence. After all, if the temporary Residence changed owners, the Mana Ore used here could not be taken away. If Zero Wing suddenly decided to change partners, Divine Tribe''s actions would be akin to gifting its Mana Ore to another power. However, despite knowing this, Divine Tribe had still done so. A short moment later, under the middle-aged man''s lead, Shi Feng arrived at the top-floor reception room. Currently, three people were seated inside the reception room: MacAffrey and Crimson Witch, whom Shi Feng was familiar with, and a beautiful female Berserker with blonde hair and crimson eyes. This female Berserker wore silvery- gray light armor and carried a runic greatsword that radiated Mana. Although this female Berserker was only sitting quietly inside the room, it was as if she had stolen all the color from her surroundings. Aside from herself, everything else inside the room looked monotone in color. The Magic-eye Goddess? Why is she here? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw this female Berserker. This was because he was even more familiar with this woman than with MacAffrey and Crimson Witch. She was one of the few Tier 6 God-ranked experts in his previous life, the wielder of Eternal Sin, a Legendary Weapon. In the past, she had ranked high even among Tier 6 experts. She had also managed to develop the Guild she established herself into a super-first-rate Guild, becoming a legend in God''s Domain. Meanwhile, because of the peak hidden class, Magic-eye Hunter, she obtained, she was also nicknamed the Magic-eye Goddess. Currently, however, this Magic-eye Goddess was wearing Divine Tribe''s Guild Emblem. This situation was completely different from what Shi Feng knew. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you two perhaps acquainted with each other?" MacAffrey asked curiously when he noticed the change in Shi Feng''s expression. After calming himself, Shi Feng shook his head and explained, "No, we''re not acquainted. She just looks very similar to someone I know." At Shi Feng''s reply, MacAffrey no longer paid much attention to the matter, saying, "In that case, let me introduce you. This person here is Fithalia, the commander of Divine Tribe''s Divine Hymn Legion. She will also be in charge of the Divine Tribe forces that will be garrisoned in the Starlight Fortress from now on." "Greetings. I am Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame," Shi Feng introduced himself as he looked at Fithalia. "Greetings as well, Guild Leader Black Flame. I had heard plenty about you from Crimson even before I came here. However, after seeing you in person, it seems you''re even stronger than what I heard. You are actually unaffected within my Illusory Domain. It seems you have already unlocked your Mana Body to a considerable extent," Fithalia said, a flash of surprise appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. After obtaining her Magic-eye Hunter hidden class, she had gained a naturally occurring Domain that grew stronger the higher her tier became. After she reached Tier 3, even Crimson Witch, who possessed a Peak Gold Mana Body, was not immune to the effects of her Illusory Domain. Within her Illusory Domain, not only would players'' control of their own body''s Mana decline significantly, but players would also lose the ability to control the Mana around them. At this point, only experts that had unlocked their Mana Bodies by a certain extent were capable of resisting the effects of her Illusory Domain. You have started unlocking your Mana Body already?" Crimson Witch blurted out when she heard Fithalia''s words. She had been researching how she could unlock her Mana Body''s potential all this time. However, even now, she still hadn''t found any concrete information. She had never imagined that Shi Feng had actually unlocked a portion of his Mana Body''s potential already. "It''s just a portion. I''m still far from fully unlocking it," Shi Feng admitted truthfully. "So, that''s the case. No wonder your attacks were so powerful before." Realization dawned upon Crimson Witch when she heard Shi Feng''s reply. Previously, she had felt that the Skills and Spells Shi Feng had used were ridiculously powerful. They looked nothing like Tier 3 Skills and Spells used by the current Tier 3 players. In hindsight, this was most likely due to Shi Feng having unlocked a portion of his Mana Body''s strength already; hence, his Skills and Spells were a lot more powerful than the average Tier 3 player''s. Suddenly, she felt that she had a chance to catch up with Shi Feng. Although she hadn''t started unlocking her Mana Body yet, she did have a few leads. She was confident she could unlock a portion of her Mana Body''s strength in a few more days. At that time, she would no longer lose to Shi Feng so easily. "May I know why you asked me to come here?" Shi Feng asked, not bothering with additional explanations on his Mana Body. "It''s an urgent matter," Fithalia replied, her expression suddenly turning serious. "Before I arrived at the Starlight Fortress, I received word that plenty of superpowers are making their way to the Starlight Fortress. Even Netherworld Empire, one of the Five Great Super Guilds, is interested. In fact, Netherworld Empire has dispatched one of its trump card legions. "We might be able to deal with the other superpowers, but Netherworld Empire is a different story. Although Netherworld Empire''s trump card legion has very few members, those players can no longer be referred to as humans. They are complete and utter monsters. Setting aside the high likelihood that they are coming to contest for the fortress''s ruling rights, if they decide to make a fuss inside the fortress, no one will be able to control them. Even if we continue holding on to the fortress''s ruling rights, we will only be rulers in name. Normal operations would be impossible. "Hence, I asked you to visit in hopes you can sell a portion of the fortress''s shares, Guild Leader Black Flame. Divine Tribe will help Zero Wing as a middleman in this matter. If we include the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship you have in the Starlight Fortress''s defenses, I believe Netherworld Empire will not go too far." In regard to Fithalia''s suggestion, neither MacAffrey nor Crimson Witch found anything wrong with it. On the western continent, there was nobody that did not know how frightening Netherworld Empire was. It could be said to be a gathering of lunatics. This Great Super Guild never operated according to social norms or logic. In fact, it had already annihilated one superpower in God''s Domain. If Zero Wing and Divine Tribe were to clash with Netherworld Empire, even if they managed to protect the fortress, the fortress itself still wouldn''t be able to establish itself on the western continent. Their only way out now was to split a portion of the fortress''s profits. After all, the Starlight Fortress involved too many things. Zero Wing and Divine Tribe couldn''t stop all of the western continent''s superpowers. However, it would be a different story if they had Netherworld Empire''s assistance. "I understand Divine Tribe''s predicament," Shi Feng said, nodding. Smiling, he continued, "As for the Starlight Fortress''s matters, leave them to Zero Wing. If Netherworld Empire wishes to cause a ruckus, it is free to try. If it is capable of doing so, I wouldn''t mind gifting the fortress to it. If there are no other matters, I''ll take my leave first." After saying so, Shi Feng turned around and left the reception room, his actions stunning Fithalia, MacAffrey, and Crimson Witch. For a time, silence fell over the entire reception room. 2470 Fortress Unlocked Chapter 2470 - Fortress Unlocked Quite some time had passed after Shi Feng left the reception room before Fithalia and the others managed to snap out of their daze. "Has Guild Leader Black Flame always been such an impulsive person?" Fithalia could not help but ask as she turned to look at MacAffrey and Crimson Witch. Her mind couldn''t keep up with Shi Feng''s pace at all. When fighting over interests, superpowers rarely started with a declaration of war. They would generally choose to settle things with discussions. Only if negotiations broke down would they take action. After all, a war between two superpowers was no trivial matter. Regardless of the outcome, both sides would end up suffering significantand even irreparablelosses. Meanwhile, she had merely proposed to negotiate with Netherworld Empire and asked Shi Feng to prepare to make some minor concessions, yet Shi Feng had flat-out rejected her proposal and decided to clash with the Great Super Guild to the very end. This simply wasn''t a decision a Guild Leader would make. Only a fool would do so. Of course, she also found Shi Feng''s decision understandable. Zero Wing had gone to great lengths to capture the Starlight Fortress. However, just as it was about to start harvesting its profits, a bunch of people suddenly appeared to claim a share of these profits. Any normal person would get enraged by this matter. However, such a situation frequently occurred in both the real world and the virtual world. In a situation where one was weaker than the other party, opting for a frontal clash was an extremely unwise decision. This was especially true now that more than a dozen superpowers were targeting the Starlight Fortress. So long as one of these superpowers took the lead, they would attack the Starlight Fortress without hesitation. At that time, even if these superpowers failed to capture the Starlight Fortress, they would still cripple its operation. Unlike other fortresses, the Starlight Fortress did not have any NPC soldiers to assist in its management; players had to rely entirely on themselves. Moreover, the ruling power would have only partial authority over the fortress and was incapable of prohibiting entry to certain players by manipulating the fortress magic array. If the ruling power wished to prevent entry to certain players, it would have to rely on its own players to do so. This was also the case when it came to settling fights that occurred within the fortress. Meanwhile, over a dozen superpowers were targeting the Starlight Fortress, including Netherworld Empire. So long as these superpowers dispatched experts to cause a ruckus inside the Starlight Fortress, stopping them would be impossible with the manpower and strength Zero Wing and Divine Tribe possessed. In fact, Zero Wing and Divine Tribe wouldn''t even be able to stop the various superpowers from entering the Starlight Fortress. If this situation persisted, who would dare visit the Starlight Fortress? "Guild Leader Black Flame is indeed a very straightforward person. However, even I did not expect him to be so resolute in his stance that he won''t even negotiate," MacAffrey said. Likewise, Shi Feng''s decisive response exceeded his expectations. "Commander Fithalia, what should we do next? There is no room for discussions on Zero Wing''s side. Are we really going to clash with the various superpowers?" Crimson Witch asked worriedly. After partnering with Zero Wing, Divine Tribe had invested a huge amount of resources into developing its temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress. Divine Tribe had even drafted a series of plans around the Starlight Fortress and invested a large portion of the Guild''s resources into these plans. If the Starlight Fortress really became a no man''s land, then Divine Tribe''s investments would come to naught. "I am familiar with Hell Rush, the commander of Netherworld Empire''s trump card legion. Since he is personally leading the legion over, I will try to negotiate with him," Fithalia said, chuckling when she saw the worried expression on Crimson Witch''s face. "Moreover, we still haven''t reached that point yet. Once the various superpowers and Netherworld Empire''s members arrive, Guild Leader Black Flame might realize how unwise his decision is. At that time, we might be able to turn things around." She had seen plenty of people like Shi Feng before. After all, all experts were very arrogant. Not to mention, Zero Wing had managed to capture the Starlight Fortress, something none of the western continent''s superpowers had managed. It was only natural for him to have confidence in his Guild''s strength and not be afraid to fight the various superpowers. However, once the various superpowers'' experts gathered and Shi Feng personally experienced the strength of these superpowers, it wouldn''t be strange if he changed his mind. After all, he had just arrived on the western continent recently and did not understand just how powerful the superpowers here were. He also wasn''t aware of just how formidable Netherworld Empire was. While Fithalia and the others were discussing how to deal with the various superpowers, Shi Feng arrived at the main office on the Fortress Lord''s Mansion''s third floor to assume control over the entire Starlight Fortress. Previously, although he had unlocked the magic array sealing the Fortress Lord''s Mansion and even allowed Fire Dance and the others to enter the mansion''s Legacy Room, he still hadn''t gained control over the Starlight Fortress. This was because an ancient fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Token did not automatically confer the ruling rights to the fortress on its holder. Players still needed to go through a simple takeover procedure. When Shi Feng opened the doors to the main office, he was greeted by the sight of an elderly man in butler attire standing inside the old and obsolete office. Although this elderly man was only a phantom and radiated no aura, he was a near-invincible existence while inside this Fortress Lord''s Mansion. At the same time, he was the true ruler of the entire Starlight Fortress. "Wielder of the Fortress Lord''s Token, I am Osset, the Starlight Fortress''s administrator. How may I be of service?" Osset asked respectfully when he saw Shi Feng enter. "I wish to receive control over the Starlight Fortress," Shi Feng said, declaring his intentions. Ancient fortresses were different from other fortresses. All authority over the fortress was vested in the administrator. Hence, ancient fortresses would always remain in a semi-controlled state. If players holding the Fortress Lord''s Token wished to gain any control over the ancient fortress they captured, they had to get it from the fortress''s administrator. Meanwhile, an administrator would pass on their authority only if players possessed the Fortress Lord''s Mark obtained from the fortress''s Legacy Gate. Otherwise, they would only be a fake Fortress Lord, who could be replaced at any given time. Before players gained authority from the fortress administrator, the entire fortress would acknowledge only the Fortress Lord''s Token and not its holder. Moreover, the Fortress Lord''s Token offered no protection to players. And worse, players had to keep the Fortress Lord''s Token at all times; if the token was brought out of the fortress for too long, it would be automatically teleported back to the fortress and appear in a random location inside. Only by obtaining a Fortress Lord''s Mark and, subsequently, authority from the fortress administrator would players be considered the partial ruler of an ancient fortress. Players could then store their Fortress Lord''s Token in the core room of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, utilizing the mansion''s defensive magic array to protect it. Unless someone else attacked the Fortress Lord''s Mansion and obtained the token from the core room, players would no longer have to worry about losing control over their fortress. Moreover, after obtaining the authority to rule an ancient fortress, players could also activate some of the fortress''s functions. Among them, the most important would be the Fortress Prison. This was an incredible function that none of the newly constructed fortresses possessed. This function was incredible because it allowed the ruler of the fortress to imprison players. So long as players were captured, they would suffer a fate even worse than death. Unless players had fulfilled their sentence or someone outside destroyed the prison itself, imprisoned players couldn''t come out of the Fortress Prison. It wouldn''t matter even if the imprisoned players killed themselves; they would respawn right back in their cell. Getting imprisoned was a brutal penalty for players. After all, in God''s Domain, time was money, especially for frontline players. Being jailed and prevented from doing anything for several days would cause them to fall behind significantly. Meanwhile, the Fortress Prison of a Small Fortress, like the Starlight Fortress, could imprison players for a maximum of eight days. Eight days! If an expert player suddenly lost eight days'' worth of time, they would most likely lose the will to continue living. This was why Shi Feng dared to oppose the various superpowers. So what if the various superpowers possessed a lot of experts? If they dared make a ruckus in the fortress, he would capture and imprison them all. He was eager to see just how many Tier 3 experts the various superpowers had for him to imprison for eight days. As for destroying the Fortress Prison and freeing the imprisoned players, the various superpowers would be dreaming if they thought they could accomplish this feat. The Fortress Prison possessed an incredibly powerful defensive magic array. Once it was activated, even Tier 5 existences shouldn''t think of breaking into the Fortress Prison. In fact, breaking into the Fortress Lord''s Mansion would be even easier than breaking into the Fortress Prison. Very well." Osset summoned a fourfold magic array beneath Shi Feng''s feet. He then continued, "After inspection, it seems you possess one Bronze Mark and one Silver Mark. You have automatically gained the Silver Fortress Authority. You may activate one Bronze Fortress Privilege and one Silver Fortress Privilege. Do you wish to choose which privileges to activate now?" "Yes," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Here is a list of all the Bronze and Silver Privileges available. You may choose one from each category," Osset said, waving his hand. Immediately, a translucent screen appeared before Shi Feng. In the next moment, two columns of choices appeared on the screen. The first column was a list of the available Bronze Privileges. There was a total of three options: Fortress Prison, Fortress Restaurant, and Fortress Hotel. The second column listed the available Silver Privileges. Similarly, there were three options available: Manafication Tower, Object Creation Tower, and Summoning Tower. So, these are the Starlight Fortress''s Silver Privileges? Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he looked at the three entries under the Silver Privileges column. He had seen many Silver Fortress Privileges before. However, the Starlight Fortress''s Silver Privileges could definitely rival those of Large Fortresses. The Manafication Tower was something that could further increase the density of the fortress''s ambient Mana. Although the Starlight Fortress''s Mana density was already very high, if the effects of the Manafication Tower were included, then its Mana density would most likely surpass even Zero Wing City''s. The Object Creation Tower was a sacred training ground for Lifestyle players because it housed Advanced Meditation Rooms and Intermediate Research Rooms. Even a player with subpar talent would have a high chance of becoming a Master Lifestyle player if they could constantly work inside the Object Creation Tower. The Summoning Tower was something Shi Feng had seen only once before inside a Medium Fortress. However, the Summoning Tower was categorized as a Gold Privilege back then. As its name suggested, the Summoning Tower had only one function: the summoning of creatures. Once provided with the appropriate medium, the Summoning Tower could summon creatures of a similar race to act as the fortress''s guardian. The stronger the medium, the stronger the summoned creature would be. Only one creature could be summoned in a month, and only one creature could be maintained in existence at a time. This ability might not seem like much, but it was incredibly powerful in reality. This was because there were no restrictions on the creature that could be summoned. In other words, if players managed to get their hands on the remains of a Tier 6 God, they could summon a Tier 6 God to defend their fortress. A Tier 6 God! This was an existence that even Tier 6 God-ranked players had to avoid crossing. If the Starlight Fortress had a Tier 6 God defending it, let alone attacking the fortress, nobody would dare make a scene in the entire map because the entire map the fortress sat on lay within the fortress guardian''s range of activity. "Wielder of the Fortress Lord''s Token, please make your decision," Osset reminded Shi Feng after seeing the latter remaining quiet for a long time. 2471 Summoning Tower Activated Chapter 2471 - Summoning Tower Activated Osset''s reminder snapped Shi Feng out of his daze. "I choose the Fortress Prison and Summoning Tower!" Shi Feng immediately answered. Of the Bronze Privileges available, the Fortress Prison was mandatory in Shi Feng''s mind. Without this function, he couldn''t deter his enemies from causing trouble within the fortress. As for the Silver Privileges, the Manafication Tower and Object Creation Tower would increase the ancient fortress''s value and make it more popular among players. However, the Starlight Fortress was the only captured fortress in Star Valley, and as such, had no competition. Any player that wanted to develop in Star Valley would have no choice but to visit the Starlight Fortress, which made both towers unnecessary. The Summoning Tower, on the other hand, was a different story. Of the three Silver Privileges, only the Summoning Tower would grant Zero Wing more control over the Starlight Fortress, which is what the Guild needed more than anything right now. Zero Wing only had 10 members on the western continent, and if it weren''t for Divine Tribe''s help, it wouldn''t have been able to manage the fortress, even if it had managed to capture it. If the Summoning Tower were added into the equation, however, that wouldn''t be the case. As long as Zero Wing summoned a sufficiently formidable creature, it''d be able to hold the fortress even with almost no members. The summoned creature would follow the basic behavioral conditions players set. Players could instruct the summoned creature to defend the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, for example, or prevent certain people from entering the fortress. Players could also direct the creature to deal with any players that started fights within, as well. Combined with the Fortress Prison, no player would dare cause a scene in this fortress. Of course, this would only be the case if the summoned creature was strong enough. If the summoned creature couldn''t kill or suppress players quickly enough, the Summoning Tower would be little more than decoration. Unlike the Manafication Tower and Object Creation Tower that provided clear benefits, the Summoning Tower would only be as useful as the summoned creature. Moreover, nurturing a summoned creature would require a lot of resources. At first, players would summon the creature at their level. To increase the creature''s level, players would have to invest resources. The amount of resources required would depend on the summoned creature''s standards. The more powerful the creature was, the more resources it would require to level up. Based on the rumors Shi Feng had heard, the daily cost of maintaining a Tier 5 Demonic Creature was already on par with an ordinary first-rate Guild''s total daily net profits. Without sufficient resources, players simply couldn''t support the Summoning Tower''s use. Shi Feng wasn''t concerned with that issue right now, however. The Starlight Fortress was the only fortress under player control throughout Star Valley at the moment, and it was also very close to the map''s God Mode Regional Dungeon. If Shi Feng could establish his rule over the Regional Dungeon, he''d easily earn more daily income from the fortress alone to surpass first-rate Guilds'' total daily income. He could make a fortune just by collecting entrance fees. Ancient fortresses were not managed by NPCs, which meant that players didn''t have to split the entrance fees with the system. Players would receive 100% of the collected entrance fees. Moreover, a Small Fortress could charge a maximum of 20 Silver per person. This was one of the reasons that ancient fortresses had been so popular among the various superpowers in the past. Once Shi Feng had made his decision. Osset began to chant an incantation. The ghostly NPC then drew a mysterious rune and imprinted it on the Fortress Lord''s Token in Shi Feng''s hand. Suddenly, a translucent screen appeared above the token, listing the six privileges Shi Feng had observed earlier. Two privileges'' text gave off a dull glow, the Fortress Prison and the Summoning Tower. Starlight Fortress Prison- Status: Unlocked Activation cost: 30,000 Magic Crystals Daily operating cost: 3,000 Magic Crystals Do you wish to activate the Starlight Fortress Prison? Starlight Fortress Summoning Tower- Status: Unlocked Activation cost: 50,000 Magic Crystals Daily operating cost: 5,000 Magic Crystals Do you wish to activate the Starlight Fortress Summoning Tower? Seeing the prompts, Shi Feng chose to activate the Summoning Tower first, setting aside the Fortress Prison for the moment. The Starlight Fortress was still sealed, and outsiders weren''t allowed to enter. Shi Feng didn''t need to hurry to activate the Fortress Prison. Magic Crystals didn''t grow on trees, after all, and if he activated the prison two days before the fortress opened to the public, he''d only waste 6,000 Magic Crystals. However, the sooner he activated the Summoning Tower, the better. Summoning creatures took time, and the more powerful the target creature was, the more time it would require to summon. In addition, nurturing the summoned creature required time. Shi Feng, who lacked time, wanted nothing more than to summon a creature immediately. If he were lucky, he might be able to level the creature up within the next two days. Monsters weren''t like NPCs and players. As they leveled up, their Basic Attributes and combat power would rise to the peak of their level. In comparison, players and NPCs didn''t receive such a huge strength boost upon leveling up. They would still need to upgrade weapons and equipment. Following which, Shi Feng sacrificed 100,000 Magic Crystals to the Fortress Lord''s Token, half of which would activate the Summoning Tower, while the remaining half would maintain its operation for 10 days. With the Summoning Tower''s activation, a new rune rose from the token and imprinted itself on Shi Feng''s right palm. System: You have successfully activated the Starlight Fortress Summoning Tower. The Summoning Tower''s large-scale teleportation array is now active. You may utilize the Summoning Rune to teleport to the Summoning Tower at any time. The Summoning Rune has a Cooldown of one natural day. The Summoning Tower had such an ability? A little surprised, Shi Feng glanced down at the Summoning Rune on his palm. There was nothing amazing about God''s Domain''s teleportation arrays. Every NPC city had them. Players could even set them up in Guild Residences. However, these were all small- or medium-scale teleportation arrays. Large-scale teleportation arrays were considered lost technology. Unlike the small- and medium-scale teleportation arrays, large-scale teleportation arrays allowed players to teleport between the two main continents. The array in the Summoning Tower was a large-scale teleportation array, which meant that Shi Feng would be able to travel to the Starlight Fortress at any time, even from the eastern continent. Moreover, the Summoning Rune only had a one-day Cooldown, making it an incredibly convenient tool. Traveling between the main continents was an ordeal since ancient teleportation arrays that allowed players to travel between them had fixed teleportation times. If players missed the designated time, they''d have to wait until the next scheduled teleportation. This was particularly challenging for Guilds that wanted to mingle on both continents. Prices for items constantly fluctuated, and if players couldn''t offload their stock at the right time, doing so would become complicated. Not only would this Summoning Rune allow travel to the west far easier, but he could also bring whatever items the west needed at any given time. He''d be able to earn far more money from reselling the east''s items than without it. After a brief moment of elation, Shi Feng activated the Summoning Rune and teleported to the Summoning Tower. The Summoning Tower was located in the Starlight Fortress''s south end. The stone tower was the tallest building in the fortress, standing 200 meters tall. From the top of the tower, one could oversee everything within the fortress. As the teleportation array on the Summoning Tower''s roof lit up, Shi Feng appeared in the tower. To Shi Feng''s surprise, Osset waited for him on the Summoning Tower''s roof, but unlike earlier, his body seemed more tangible. "Wielder of the Fortress Lord''s Token, the Summoning Tower is now active. If you wish to summon a fortress guardian, I must inform you of two things. This array requires a medium of sufficient standards to summon a guardian; it cannot summon creatures without input. The more powerful the medium is, the stronger the summoned creature will be. Each summoning also has a one-month Cooldown. I hope you will use this Summoning Tower properly," Osset informed Shi Feng before transforming into mist and disappearing. Of course, Shi Feng had already known these factors. This information was precisely the reason he had chosen the Summoning Tower. This should be the place. After approaching the Summoning Altar on the roof, Shi Feng pulled a claw the size of an adult human from his bag, placing it on the altar. This claw had once belonged to the Ice Dragon, Heathwaite, and it was one of the only two Legendary materials Shi Feng had on him. Initially, Shi Feng had wanted to use the Ice Dragon''s Claw once he had obtained an Epic Weapon Design, but summoning an Ice Dragon wasn''t a bad second choice. His summoned creature would protect the Starlight Fortress, and an ordinary monster simply wouldn''t be up to the task. Although he could summon the Starlight Behemoth with the Behemoth''s Starlight Scales, that monster wasn''t nearly as formidable as an Ice Dragon. As soon as Shi Feng rested the claw on the altar, he heard the sound of a system notification. System: The Summoning Altar has discovered the Ice Dragon''s Claw. Do you wish to analyze this medium? "Begin!" Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng made his decision. Not all mediums would work. If the selected medium didn''t have enough energy, the summoning wouldn''t happen. He already felt the painful sting of losing the Ice Dragon''s Claw; he didn''t want to sacrifice two of them. Doing so would mean throwing away two Epic Weapons. As the altar began its analysis, dark-purple smoke emerged from the Summoning Altar to envelop the gigantic claw. As the seconds passed, Shi Feng grew more nervous. If one Ice Dragon''s Claw weren''t enough to summon an Ice Dragon, he''d have to summon the Starlight Behemoth with the Starlight Scales instead. The scales were Inferior Legendary materials, and he had a total of five. They would certainly be more than enough to summon a Starlight Behemoth. While Shi Feng considered using the Starlight Scales as a replacement, he heard another system notification. System: Medium''s Energy Completion Rate is at 89% and has met summoning requirements. Do you wish to summon the guardian? Summon!" 2472 Silver Divine Dragon Chapter 2472 - Silver Divine Dragon Once Shi Feng agreed to begin the summoning, the purple smoke around the Ice Dragon''s Claw acted like a hungry wolf that had just found food. In no time, it devoured the stone-like claw. After devouring the claw, the intensity of the smoke''s aura skyrocketed like a beast that had just woken from a long sleep. The frightening aura was so powerful that Shi Feng struggled to move. The aura was almost even stronger than that of a Tier 5 NPC. If a Tier 2 player stood in his place, they might have collapsed under the mighty pressure. As the purple smoke''s aura grew stronger, the pressure Shi Feng felt increased as well. Just as he was about to fall to his knees, the purple smoke flowed into the Summoning Altar''s ancient magic array. Boom! The instant the purple smoke merged with the magic array, space exploded, forming countless tears around the array. It was as if the surrounding space couldn''t endure the power contained within the magic array. After several seconds, space in the center of the altar began to crumble, revealing a dark void. The void grew, and in the blink of an eye, it had swallowed nearly half of the altar. Just before the void reached Shi Feng, the magic array engraved on the Summoning Altar flashed with a silver light that instantly suppressed the void. It stopped the growing darkness at the edge of the altar, preventing its further expansion. However, due to the void''s presence, the Mana density around Shi Feng steadily decreased. A Void Land?! Shi Feng stared at the black hole before him, astonished. What is going on? The Summoning Tower used a sacrificial medium to open a portal to an Otherworld, from which players could guide their target creature. Naturally, the magic array would use stronger mediums to open stronger Otherworlds. Yet, after devouring the Ice Dragon''s Claw, the Summoning Altar had opened a portal to a Void Land... A Void Land was a land of death, in which very few creatures in God''s Domain could survive. Void Lands didn''t even contain a trace of energy, much less Mana. As Shi Feng stared, confused, the sound of a system notification reached his ears. System: You have triggered the Epic Quest, "Void Cage.'' Quest content: Release the Silver Divine Dragon that is imprisoned deep in the Void Land. Rewards unknown. There is no penalty for failing this quest. Do you wish to accept this quest? A Silver Divine Dragon? Shi Feng''s astonishment only grew when he heard the notification. He had only used an Ice Dragon''s Claw as a medium; he had never expected it to trigger a portal to a Silver Divine Dragon''s location. Dragons were the apex race in God''s Domain. Any random Adult Dragon had Tier 5 strength, and they were known as invincible among beings of the same tier. Not even human Heroes, individuals who had received Gods'' blessings, were a match for Dragons of the same tier. However, not all Dragons were equal. Divine Dragons'' were Dragons with the primeval Dragon Bloodline. Rather, they had a significant fraction of the Primal Dragon''s Bloodline. Normal Dragons only had negligible traces of the Primal Dragon''s Bloodline. The difference between a Divine Dragon and an ordinary Dragon''s strength was on par with the difference between an Archaic Species and an ordinary monster. The two were on completely different levels. At most, ordinary Dragons were invincible among creatures of the same tier. Divine Dragons, however, could transcend tiers. Everyone in God''s Domain showed the proper respect before Divine Dragons; no one wanted to offend one. Shi Feng doubted that even the Jealous Witch, who was as devastating as a natural disaster, was a match for a Tier 5 Divine Dragon. With almost no hesitation, Shi Feng accepted the Epic Quest. Although there were no penalties for failing or refusing the Epic Quest, Shi Feng would have to abandon this summoning attempt by refusing it. If he did, he''d have to wait another month before he could attempt to summon another guardian, and he couldn''t afford to do that. Moreover, encountering another opportunity to summon a Divine Dragon would likely be impossible, and if he could complete the quest, he''d hit the jackpot. Summoning a Tier 6 God in God''s Domain was almost impossible. Not a single Super Guild in Shi Feng''s previous life had ever managed to acquire a corpse or body part of such a being. Needless to say, it was utterly out of Zero Wing''s reach. Without a Tier 6 God, a Tier 5 Divine Dragon was the strongest possible guardian he could summon. After Shi Feng accepted the quest, the Summoning Altar formed a magic array beneath his feet, and a silver barrier took shape around him. Shi Feng could immediately feel the pressure bearing down on him subside. With this barrier to protect him, Shi Feng felt that surviving in the Void Land shouldn''t pose much of an issue. Does it want me to enter the portal? Once the silver barrier was complete, Shi Feng noticed a new buff in his status window. This buff would last three natural days. A Void Land was an absolute forbidden land. Aside from Gods and Void Souls, creatures born in Void Lands, surviving in a Void Land was nearly unheard of. Even with this magic barrier, he''d be lucky to exhibit 30% of his usual combat power. Void Lands contained no Mana, and Shi Feng hadn''t fully unlocked his Mana Body yet. If he encountered a Void Soul in his state, he''d die. The weakest Void Soul was still on par with a Tier 4 Mythic monster, while stronger Void Souls could rival Adult Dragon''s strength. Knowing all of this, Shi Feng still gritted his teeth and entered the portal to the Void Land, taking the risk. Although Void Souls were incredibly powerful, there typically weren''t many of them. The chance that he''d run across one in a massive Void Land was quite low. On the off chance that he did encounter a Void Soul, he could summon a Tier 4 Hero with the Hero''s Tome. Heroes were protected by the Gods, and thus, their combat power would remain unaffected within a Void Land. With a Tier 4 Hero by his side, he shouldn''t have any problems as long as he wasn''t spotted by any Tier 5 Void Souls. Shi Feng then entered the dark space, and the scene around him changed. Once the world around him settled, he found himself on a gigantic, floating island. The entire island was desolate, and hovering in the center of the lifeless plot of earth was a colossal Magic Cage. The cage was several hundred meters tall, wide, and long and covered in all sorts of divine runes, which radiated an ancient, eternal aura. Inside the cage slept a Silver Infant Dragon. Even trapped, the Infant Dragon''s aura was unsuppressed, and as it washed over Shi Feng, he struggled to breathe. What a powerful Life Rating. It''s no wonder why even the various superpowers'' God-ranked experts in the past were no match for Tier 5 Divine Dragons in a one-on-one fight. Shi Feng was dumbfounded as he gazed at the Infant Dragon hovering in the island''s center. He had seen plenty of true Dragons in his time, but he had never seen a Divine Dragon before. The Ice Dragon he had fought in the Cold Spring Canyon was nothing compared to this Infant Dragon. The differences between them were like that between an ordinary stone and a diamond. Working to contain his excitement, Shi Feng began to look for ways to open the Magic Cage. Most players hadn''t seen a Magic Cage at this stage of the game and wouldn''t know how to open one, but Shi Feng wasn''t most players. Magic Cages had typically been used during ancient times to imprison criminals while they waited for punishment. The power of time would steadily wear down the prisoner''s strength. This was why God''s Domain had so many Epic Quests that required players to slay these criminals, finally meting out justice. To end these criminals'' long, miserable lives, players would have to release the seal on the prisoner''s Magic Cage. Shi Feng had never opened a Magic Cage before, but based on what he had learned from others, one first had to locate the core magic arrays, which were located in the outside world. Players could then destroy or decode the arrays to unlock the Magic Cage. Shi Feng spent the next dozen or so hours searching, during which he found a total of seven magic arrays around the desolate island. Every one of the arrays was incredibly complex, and that wasn''t a result of the level of design. Rather, their complexity was a result of the frightening number of elements to each array. Even as a Master Magician, Shi Feng felt a headache brew as he examined the magic arrays. Whoever designed these magic arrays is vicious! Did they have any intention of letting the Divine Dragon free?! Every one of these magic arrays uses seven elements. Without having mastered all seven, no one could open this Magic Cage. Shi Feng was flabbergasted after examining the core magic arrays. Magic arrays used Mana as their foundations, and normally, a Master Magic Array would, at most, rely on the Four Major Elements'' power. Ordinary people couldn''t control the remaining Three Supreme ElementsIllusion, Space, and Time. Not even the Elven race, beloved by the elements, could accomplish the feat. To decode the core magic arrays, players would need to have mastered all seven elements. Without that master, they simply wouldn''t have the power to decode them. However, players normally only encountered the Three Supreme Elements after reaching Tier 5, and that would only be a brush of contact. Decoding these magic arrays is impossible. It seems destroying them is my only choice. Giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng realized that destruction was his only option. The core magic arrays might look very powerful, but they didn''t have any significant defensive mechanisms. As long as he could deal more damage than the arrays could tolerate, he should be able to destroy the magic arrays. Shi Feng then retrieved the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and attacked one of the arrays with the ship''s Magic Elven Cannon. Boom! The beam struck the core magic array, and the entire island shook with the impact. As the dust settled, Shi Feng noticed that the array''s glow had dimmed slightly. Yes! It''s working! Shi Feng''s excitement spiked when he saw the results of his attack. The blast hadn''t exceeded the magic array''s tolerance, but it had exhausted a significant fraction of the array''s energy reserves. If he could deplete the magic array''s energy to a certain level, the array wouldn''t be able to endure the Magic Elven Cannon''s attacks and crumble. For a time, Shi Feng bombarded the core magic arrays, firing the moment the Magic Elven Cannon''s Cooldown came to an end. He didn''t mind the Magic Crystals he had to spend to do it; he still had plenty on him. Time passed quickly. Finally, after a full day of assaulting the magic arrays and expending nearly all of the Magic Crystals in his bag, Shi Feng destroyed the seventh core magic array. As the seventh core magic array crumbled, the Magic Cage shattered. 2473 Dragons Contractor Chapter 2473 - Dragon''s Contractor Finally, success! Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief once the Magic Cage in the center of the island broke. He had somewhat underestimated the core magic arrays. Even with the Magic Elven Cannon''s power, it had taken over a full day''s assault and nearly all of his Magic Crystals to destroy all seven arrays. These magic arrays were even tougher Zero Wing City''s defensive magic array. The instant the Magic Cage shattered, the slumbering Silver Divine Dragon opened its eyes and released a deafening roar, which echoed across the entire island, making the ground tremble. The Infant Dragon spread its wings, flapping them and creating a powerful storm that blew away the remains of its confinement. The storm''s mighty winds even made Shi Feng stumble back from over 500 yards away. Is this the power of a true Divine Dragon? An indescribable astonishment filled Shi Feng as he gazed at the fifty-meter- tall Silver Divine Dragon. [Silver Divine Dragon (Auerbeck)] (Dragon, Mythic) Level ?? ? HP??????/?????? He couldn''t discern the Divine Dragon''s level, but its statistics revealed that it was a bona fide Tier 4 Mythic. Despite the fact that it was only a Mythic monster, the Silver Divine Dragon felt as if it had absolute dominance over the world around it. Even the High Magic Elf, Ulunium, was a weakling next to this Silver Divine Dragon. Shi Feng had been able to resist, albeit slightly, Ulunium''s power, but standing before Auerbeck, he couldn''t even consider resisting. Movement was immensely difficult in Auerbeck''s presence, much less fighting. If this Infant Dragon willed it, it could slay him with a thought, and he wouldn''t even get the chance to summon a Tier 4 Hero. Now free of its Magic Cage, Auerbeck landed before Shi Feng and asked, "Little human, are you responsible for releasing me from my cage?" Auerbeck''s tone was mild and calm, but he radiated an insane pressure. When Shi Feng heard the Divine Dragon''s question, he felt as if the heavens themselves were demanding an answer, and there was no room for lies. Yes, Lord Divine Dragon. I destroyed the Magic Cage''s core magic arrays and freed you," Shi Feng replied, his tone neither too humble, nor too arrogant as he suppressed his building anxiety. Dragons were inherently prideful creatures. After all, they stood at the peak of God''s Domain and viewed lesser creatures with little-to-no importance. However, Dragons were a race that also respected strength. If one proved themselves, they could earn Dragons'' recognition. Divine Dragons were no exception to this. If he groveled before the Silver Divine Dragon, Auerbeck would look down on him, and his reward might be even less than if he had performed badly. "You have truly surprised me. I had never expected such a tiny being to destroy a cage set by a Goddess," Auerbeck said, surprise and curiosity flashing in his eyes as he watched Shi Feng. He looked at Shi Feng as if he had just seen an ant flip an elephant. "However, in my Divine Eyes, you are telling the truth. "According to the ancient agreement, I will engage in a contract with you to serve as your companion since you have rescued me, but I am a Divine Dragon. A weakling will not qualify to stand beside me. First, you must pass my test. If you do, I will acknowledge you. You have four months to prove yourself. "I will remain by your side during this time and fight with you. Of course, if you fail my test, our contract will be dissolved. "Over the next four months, I will give you three chances to challenge my test. If you fail all three, our contract will be dissolved." System: Congratulations! You have rescued the Divine Dragon, Auerbeck and completed the first phase of the Epic Quest, "Void Cage." Rewarding 10 Legacy Skill Points. You have become a Divine Dragon''s Contractor. System: You have triggered the second phase of the Epic Quest, "Void Cage." Quest content: Complete Auerbeck''s test within four natural months. Rewards unknown. Sure enough, obtaining a Divine Dragon won''t be so easy. The notifications didn''t particularly surprise Shi Feng. I''ll have to try and grow as strong as possible in the next four months. The various superpowers had sacrificed much to summon a Tier 5 creature with their Summoning Towers in the past. Some had even been required to kill Tier 5 NPCs to retain their summoned creatures and establish them as their fortresses'' true guardians. Although Auerbeck was only a Tier 4 Mythic, not even ordinary Tier 5 monsters would be a match for the Divine Dragon. It would be odd if no trial existed to retain control over such a creature. Fortunately, as far as Shi Feng was concerned, four months would be more than enough time for Shi Feng to prove himself a strong enough companion for Auerbeck. As long as he could fully unlock his Epic Mana Body and obtain the three last fragments of Solomon''s Sword, passing Auerbeck''s test shouldn''t be a problem. The moment Auerbeck finished his explanation, the Divine Dragon began to chant an incantation. A fourfold magic array appeared around Shi Feng, rapidly shrinking until it transformed into a silver rune. The rune then imprinted itself on Shi Feng''s arm before fading away. Shi Feng then received another system notification. System: You have obtained the Contractor''s Mark and become the Divine Dragon, Auerbeck''s contractor. System: The Fortress Lord''s Token has discovered the Contractor''s Mark. Do you wish to let the Divine Dragon Auerbeck serve the Starlight Fortress''s guardian? Shi Feng agreed without a second thought, and once he did, a new tab, ''Contracted Companions,'' appeared in his system interface. He clicked on the tab and discovered Auerbeck''s statistics, which contained new information. [Silver Divine Dragon (Auerbeck)] (Dragon, Mythic) Level 111 HP 10,900,000,000/10,900,000,000 Crap! Isn''t his HP a little too high?! Shi Feng nearly cursed aloud when he saw Auerbeck''s statistics. He had thought the Starlight Behemoth''s 4 billion HP had been a little much for a Level 113 Mythic Monster. If players wanted to kill such a Boss with conventional methods, they''d need a 1,000-man team of Tier 3 players. Unless a team could deal -8 million damage per second, they''d never overcome the Realm Lord''s battle recovery, much less kill it. With the Starlight Behemoth''s horrific Defense, ordinary Tier 3 experts would barely deal -10,000 damage with their attacks. Auerbeck, however, was even more frightening. The Divine Dragon was only Level 111, yet it had nearly three times as much HP as the Starlight Behemoth. Its battle recovery alone would regenerate 109 million HP every five seconds, and a Divine Dragon should have at least twice as high Defense as the Realm Lord. Staring at Auerbeck''s statistics, Shi Feng doubted that even Tier 4 players could kill it, not to mention new Tier 3 players. While Shi Feng was shocked over Auerbeck''s astonishing Attributes, the island under his feet began to tremble and fall apart. "Now that the Magic Cage is gone, this island won''t hold for much longer. We need to leave quickly," Auerbeck warned his new human companion. The Infant Dragon began to chant another incantation, and in the blink of an eye, Shi Feng vanished and reappeared on Auerbeck''s back. The Silver Divine Dragon then spread his wings and, with a flap, transformed into a streak of light, flying toward the spatial tear the Summoning Tower had opened and leaving the Void Land. Meanwhile, Divine Tribe''s members were hard at work repairing the Starlight Fortress''s infrastructure. They''d also begun constructing hotels and Shops. To better-manage the fortress, Divine Tribe had sent over 100 Tier 3 Personal Guards to garrison the fortress, all of which were tasked with patrolling the streets and protecting the fortress''s various establishments. While Fithalia and the other Divine Tribe upper echelons planned the patrol routes for the Personal Guards, something odd happened to the Summoning Tower in the south end of the fortress. Divine runes began to appear around the lightless tower, illuminating the structure with a dazzling glow. Suddenly, an intense aura washed over the Starlight Fortress, and every player within felt stifled, struggling to move. "Where is this aura coming from?" "What is going on over there?" "Did we miss a Guardian Boss?" Everyone turned toward the brilliantly lit Summoning Tower, growing anxious. Even Fithalia and the Guild''s other upper echelons, who met in their temporary Residence, wore grim expressions. None of the Guardian Bosses they had faced had such a powerful aura, yet Divine Tribe''s team had still relied on a Tier 4 Hero Summoning Scroll to defeat them. Even then, the Silver Lion Legion had suffered significant losses. Now that the Tier 4 Hero they had summoned had gone, they didn''t have a Tier 4 combatant in the fortress. If another Guardian Boss had truly appeared, the consequences would be dire. They had already invested a considerable amount of resources into repairing a portion of the Starlight Fortress. If they had to fight in another huge battle, everything they had worked for would crumble, even before the various superpowers'' experts arrived. "Quick, look! Something''s above the Summoning Tower!" "Isn''t that a spatial tear?" "Why is there a spatial tear over the tower?" The fortress''s players recognized the dark tear for what it was immediately, and as it grew, they were overcome with curiosity and confusion. Suddenly, a streak of light flew from the spatial tear, and a figure appeared before them all. As they got a clearer look, what they saw rendered them all dumbfounded. "A Dragon?!" 2474 Fortress Startled Chapter 2474 - Fortress Startled "Why has a Dragon appeared?" Fithalia''s expression darkened when she saw the Divine Dragon, which was over a hundred meters long, in the sky. She had seen a Dragon personally during a quest and was certain that it was a disastrous creature. Neither players nor NPCs, not even NPC cities, could stand before a Dragon''s might. She had watched a Dark Dragon destroy an empire''s border city and annihilate any reinforcements the empire had sent. Players like her had only been able to watch as the Dark Dragon destroyed the NPC city and the Tier 4 NPC-led army. If the War God''s Temple in the empire hadn''t sent its forces in time and eventually defeated the Dark Dragon, the creature would''ve even slaughtered the nearby players. Other than Fithalia, every Divine Tribe member in the Starlight Fortress panicked. Most of them had never seen the horror Dragons could wreck, but they could all tell how terrifying the creatures were after seeing Auerbeck''s statistics. Auerbeck''s level of 111 wasn''t anything special, but how did it have 10 billion HP? With the incredible Defense of Dragons, they would never overcome Auerbeck''s battle recovery, even if Auerbeck stood there and allowed the tens of thousands of players in the fortress to attack. Compared to Auerbeck''s insane HP, the pressure the Dragon radiated was nearly fatal to Divine Tribe''s members. They were all experts, with hundreds of tough battles under their belts, yet they felt as if they were filled with lead as they bathed in Auerbeck''s Dragon Might. In this state, they''d be fortunate if they could muster the strength to flee, much less fight. "Why is this happening?" MacAffrey despaired as he watched the Divine Dragon soar above the Starlight Fortress. Like Fithalia, he had witnessed the power Dragons wielded. Current players had practically no hope of defeating such a creature. Even if they still had their Tier 4 Hero, they wouldn''t stand a chance against this Dragon. Still, Divine Tribe had gone to great lengths to secure its temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress, investing tons of manpower and resources to develop it. The loss of abandoning the fortress would be extraordinary. "We don''t have a choice. MacAffrey, notify all Tier 3 players and tell them to prepare for battle. I''ll try to attract the Dragon''s attention while you get everyone out of the fortress. Once we convene, we''ll try to lure it away," Fithalia said, taking in a deep breath as she prepared herself for a final struggle. They knew they were no match for the Dragon, but if Auerbeck wasn''t here to capture the Starlight Fortress, they only needed to lure the creature away to save it. "Isn''t the price of this plan a little too high, Commander Fithalia?" MacAffrey paled a bit when he heard the command. Fithalia wanted to lure the Dragon out of the fortress, but even ordinary players would realize that Auerbeck could likely kill Tier 3 players with a single hit. His commander intended to use their players 1W Tier 3 experts, as bait. The various superpowers'' Tier 3 experts were desperately grinding to level up. If they sacrificed so many of their Guild''s Tier 3 experts now, Divine Tribe would find itself at a disadvantage when it competed with the various superpowers later. "This is our only option," Fithalia said. "If we don''t lure the Dragon out of the fortress, everything we''ve invested thus far will go to waste. As long as we can draw the Dragon out, we can recoup our losses with the Starlight Fortress''s conveniences." "I understand." Gritting his teeth, MacAffrey began to contact the Tier 3 players in the fortress. As Fithalia had said, the levels they''d have to sacrifice to lure Auerbeck away would be nothing as long as they secured their hold on the Starlight Fortress. The fortress offered massive advantages, after all. Suddenly, Crimson Witch interrupted, pointing at the Divine Dragon in astonishment, "Commander Fithalia, it looks like there''s a player on the Dragon''s back." "A player? How is that possible?" For a moment, Fithalia assumed Crimson Witch was hallucinating. They were talking about a Tier 4 Dragon. Even if it were only an Infant Dragon, it still wouldn''t degrade itself by serving as a Mount, not even for Tier 4 or 5 NPCs. In God''s Domain, there were individuals known as Dragon Knights that could ride Dragons after capturing and nurturing a Tier 3 Newborn Dragon. These Dragon Knights stood at the very apex of God''s Domain, and they even demanded respect from emperors. But riding a Dragon was nothing but a dream with players'' current strength! And yet, as soon as Fithalia finished her question and turned toward the Divine Dragon, the sight stunned her. She could actually see someone standing on Auerbeck''s back. Although she couldn''t tell who it was due to the bright light emitting from the Divine Dragon, she could spot the green diamond marker, which only players possessed, hovering above the figure''s head when she squinted. Before she could recover from her daze, however, Auerbeck began to descend. As the Divine Dragon approached the ground, the green diamond marker became clearer. It wasn''t long before many of the other Tier 3 experts in the fortress noticed it, as well. "How is that possible?! A player can actually ride a Dragon?!" "Who is that?" Surprise and confusion overwhelmed everyone as they stared at the figure on Auerbeck''s back. "Commander Fithalia, it''s coming toward us," Crimson Witch exclaimed when she realized that Auerbeck was flying in their direction. When Auerbeck had first appeared, the Divine Dragon had been too far away for her to notice anything peculiar. Fortunately, unlike Tier 2 players, she could, more or less, resist Auerbeck''s Dragon Might, but as the Divine Dragon approached, the pressure she felt grew stronger. Now, even breathing became a challenge. "Hopefully, the Dragon rider isn''t an enemy. Everyone, prepare your Instantaneous Movement Scrolls! If you notice even a hint of aggression, flee! Every life we can save matters!" Fithalia reminded her comrades in a grim tone. If they had merely faced a wild Dragon, they would, at worst, lose the Starlight Fortress, abandoning it and allowing the creature to destroy it. If the Divine Dragon were under a player''s control, however, they had a much bigger problem. If that player wanted to, they could command their Dragon to massacre every Divine Tribe member in the area. All of the Guild members in the fortress were Divine Tribe''s experts, including the Guild''s two trump card legions. If they were annihilated, the consequences would be unimaginably dire. Everyone around Fithalia did as they were told, pulling Instantaneous Movement Scrolls from their bags. Crimson Witch and the Guild''s other upper echelons all retrieved Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scrolls, trump cards the Guild had prepared for them as a protective measure. These scrolls were incredibly rare, only obtainable by luck. While Divine Tribe''s members in the temporary Residence prepared to flee, Auerbeck arrived above the building. The Divine Dragon''s speed caught everyone off guard. Crimson Witch and the others were wracked with hopelessness, realizing that they couldn''t actually activate the scrolls in their hands. Worse, the Instantaneous Movement Scrolls weren''t the only thing that had abandoned them. They felt as if space itself had left them to die, siding with the Divine Dragon hovering above them. "Spatial Imprisonment?! How is this happening?!" Astonished, Fithalia could do nothing but stare at the Divine Dragon as it began to land. Spatial Imprisonment was a move only the strongest Tier 4 NPCs could use. No monster should be capable of mastering the Skill. Yet, this Dragon had a naturally-occurring Domain that included the Spatial Imprisonment''s effects... Now, they had no hope of escape. This stranger held their lives in his hands. As Fithalia and her comrades'' anguish reached its peak, a familiar voice reached their ears. "I was hoping to find you. I''m glad you''re all here." As the Dragon''s rider spoke, he jumped down from Auerbeck''s back. Seeing the player up close, everyone was stupefied. "Guild Leader Black Flame?!" 2475 All Sides Shaken Chapter 2475 - All Sides Shaken When they realized that the figure riding Auerbeck had been Shi Feng, silence fell in Divine Tribe''s temporary Residence as everyone stared at the Swordsman. MacAffrey and Crimson Witch, in particular, watched Shi Feng walk toward them with dropped jaws. They both felt as if they were looking at a monster with limitless strength. Whenever they thought that they had seen the depths of Shi Feng''s, they soon learned that all they had seen was a fraction. Shi Feng''s Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, for example, and the Domain tools he had used to suppress the Starlight Behemoth and strengthen the Silver Lion Legion; the various superpowers coveted these items, yet they couldn''t get their hands on them. Shi Feng, on the other hand, had them all. Moreover, Shi Feng had successfully captured the Starlight Fortress, a feat none of the various superpowers could accomplish at this stage of the game. And now, Shi Feng even had a Dragon... Dragons were creatures of ultimate destruction in God''s Domain. Even the various NPC kingdoms and empires got headaches whenever one showed up, and yet, Shi Feng had one under his control. Even if Auerbeck were only a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, it would be more than enough to deter the various superpowers from attacking the Starlight Fortress. "So, this is why he''s so confident." Realization dawned on Fithalia when she glanced at the Divine Dragon standing silently behind Shi Feng. She now had an inkling of why Shi Feng had rejected her proposal after learning that the western continent''s superpowers might band together to target his fortress. With Auerbeck here, the superpowers'' experts would have to be suicidal to cause a ruckus in the Starlight Fortress. They wouldn''t even have the chance to escape if Auerbeck set his sights on them. Shortly after Shi Feng had arrived at Divine Tribe''s temporary Residence with Auerbeck, some of the various superpowers'' spies reported the situation to their superiors. "Impossible! You''re talking about a Dragon!" "How can a player possibly control such a powerful monster?" When the various superpowers'' upper echelons read the reports, they assumed their subordinates had turned traitorous, trying to trick them with false information to prevent them from assaulting the Starlight Fortress. However, as these upper echelons continued to receive similar reports from other spies in Divine Tribe, they couldn''t deny the truth. There was no way all of their spies had turned against them at once. To gain more information and a better understanding of the situation in the Starlight Fortress, they had secretly paid a huge price to turn some of Divine Tribe''s members in the fortress to their side. Naturally, they had ensured that none of the bribed players knew about each other to prevent these players from collaborating to provide false information for Divine Tribe''s benefit. Although the reports were unbelievable, it was undeniable after receiving reports from over a dozen spies. Once they had verified the information, a commotion swept through the various superpowers. Some of the superpowers that had planned to assault the fortress began to hesitate. They carefully considered whether or not they should oppose Shi Feng and the Divine Tribe with the rest of the superpowers. Before the Dragon had appeared, they had been 90% sure that they could take the Starlight Fortress. Even if they failed, they''d ensure that no one could use the fortress, even if Divine Tribe sent all of its experts to protect it. However, the situation had changed. If they tried to take the fortress with a Tier 4 Dragon guard, they''d suffer severe losses. Players didn''t have a snowflake''s chance in hell of defeating a Tier 4 Dragon, which was a fact the various superpowers had long since verified. Since God''s Domain''s launch, Dragons had been responsible for the destruction of many NPC border cities. The western continent proved to be far more dangerous than the east. Of course, if they gave up on this operation, they''d have a very difficult time finding another opportunity to move against the Starlight Fortress. The fortress had only recently been captured, and even if Divine Tribe had invested a ton of manpower and resources in its repairs, the Guild couldn''t fully repair the fortress in three short days. The Starlight Fortress was at its weakest right now. If they did not assault the Starlight Fortress now, taking it would only become more challenging as time passed. While the various superpowers considered their next move, a 300-man team attacked a Demonic Creature army camp in a Level 100 neutral map not far from Star Valley. Not only did this campsite house over 6,000 Demonic Creatures, but every one was Level 110. These Demonic Creatures were even led by a Level 112, Mythic ranked Eight-eyed Scorpion King. Despite such a powerful force, however, the 300-man team held an overwhelming advantage in the battle. They even overwhelmed the Scorpion King, not to mention the Level 110 Grand Lords. The army''s Boss couldn''t manage to deal any significant damage, while the 300-man team continued to chip away at its HP. The team hadn''t suffered a single casualty, even by the time the Scorpion King fell. In contrast, Demonic Creature corpses littered the ground. "We really got lucky this time. Not only did we find a Demonic Creature campsite, but the Scorpion King also dropped a Level 100-plus Epic battle axe. Thunder, this axe should go to you," a thin man in pitch-black armor said as he handed the battle axe to another man, who stood nearly three meters tall and was covered in runes. If MacAffrey had seen this, he would''ve been astonished. This team was the Hell Legion, the Netherworld Empire''s strongest trump card legion. Every member was a Tier 3 player, and they all had the combat standards to rival Grand Lords of the same level. The thin man, shrouded in a dense, lethal aura, felt as powerful as a Mythic monster... "Commander, we''ve just received a report from the higher-ups. They claim that a Tier 4 Infant Dragon is guarding the Starlight Fortress, and because of this, many superpowers have abandoned the notion of assaulting the fortress. Our superiors are warning us to be careful," a Tier 3, black-clad Assassin suddenly informed the thin man. "An Infant Dragon?" The man''s lips curled into a smile. "How interesting. It''s no wonder why they captured the Starlight Fortress, disregarding the consequences, but if they think that can stop us, they''re mistaken." Other superpowers might be afraid of the Dragon that protected the Starlight Fortress, but the Hell Legion was not. The reason was very simple. There was only one Dragon in the fortress, while the Hell Legion had 300 players. If the Hell Legion went on a rampage inside the fortress, they could slay hundreds or thousands of players before the Dragon would reach them. They''d also be able to escape the Dragon''s pursuit. They weren''t concerned that they couldn''t take down the Starlight Fortress in the least. "Commander, I''ve received another important message. You''ve received a request to negotiate with Fithalia," the black- clad Assassin added. "Fithalia?" The thin man smiled when he heard the name. "Since an old friend has so graciously invited me, I must show her the proper respect. Pack up, everyone. We''re heading to the Starlight Fortress." 2476 Frightening Divine Dragon Chapter 2476 - Frightening Divine Dragon Star Valley, Starlight Fortress: With Hell Rush in the lead, the Hell Legion finally reached the Starlight Fortress after more than five hours of continuous fighting. The fortress had already undergone two days of repairs and looked nothing like it had. Not only did the fortress have a new physical look, but its magic array was now fully active, as well. A layer of Mana enveloped the fortresses, creating an oasis in the Star Valley''s Mana-thin environment. Moreover, a faint layer of mist surrounded the fortress walls, adding hints of mystery and solemnity. "This ancient fortress is amazing. Its Mana is so dense. If we could train in the fortress long-term, our Mana control would improve significantly." "That''s not all. If we can live and train here, we could even improve our combat standards." "It''s no wonder why the higher-ups asked us to take action. If we can take this fortress, we could boost our internal and core members'' development speed. We wouldn''t have to compete for entry slots to the Demonic Mist Secret Land every week." When the Hell Legion members saw the Starlight Fortress in the distance, their eyes glowed with excitement. The western continent lacked Mana, which was why areas with high Mana density became targets for the various superpowers. Players could improve their Mana affinity when in those areas, and they''d have a clearer mind while training. This would be of great help as players tried to gain more control over Mana. Because of this, whenever a player discovered a Mana-dense area, a war between Guilds shortly followed. Even the various superpowers participated. Of the Mana-dense environments the Hell Legion''s members had experienced thus far, none could hold a candle to the Starlight Fortress. The fortress''s Mana was dense enough that it would even be extremely helpful to experts of their caliber. "Commander, Divine Tribe is behaving strangely. They''ve only sent one party to guard the front gate. They didn''t even bother to send a Tier 3 NPC. Aren''t they afraid that players will barge in?" a Tier 3 Ranger in blue leather armor commented when he only saw six Tier 2 players by the Starlight Fortress''s entrance. In the west, ruling Guilds were even required to dispatch Tier 3 NPC guards to the fortress that already had NPCs. The front gate was every fortress''s weakest point, even with the defensive magic array active. If a team attacked the front gate before the gate''s defensive mechanisms could be engaged, they could destroy the gate and open the fortress to invasion. Thus, powers typically sent in plenty of powerful Tier 3 NPCs to protect the front gate after capturing a fortress. Divine Tribe, however, had done the exact opposite. The Guild hadn''t even sent a single Tier 3 player to protect the Starlight Fortress''s gate, much less Tier 3 NPCs. Moreover, there were only six Tier 2 players by the entrance. Divine Tribe was practically begging for another power to attack. Even if the Guild wasn''t worried about hostile forces destroying the front gate, it was still an important location. Players would hand over their entrance fees at the gate, after all, and those Coins would be kept in the gate''s storage before being transported to the Fortress Lord''s Mansion at regular intervals. If players plundered the Coins during delivery or from the gate''s storage, the ruling power would suffer for its lack of security. "That''s not our concern. Get ready, everyone. We''re going in," Hell Rush declared, ignoring Divine Tribe''s careless organization. As far as he was concerned, whether or not Divine Tribe sent Tier 3 NPCs to guard the front gate didn''t matter to the Hell Legion. If the Hell Legion wanted to break that gate down, Divine Tribe couldn''t stop them. Following their orders, the Hell Legion''s members summoned their Advanced ranked Guild Mounts, the Magic-horned Steed. The Magic-horned Steeds were large, the size of adult elephants. When 300 Magic-horned Steeds charged as a group, even the ground trembled under their hooves. Once the legion reached the gate, however, the party of six remained indifferent. They neither seemed afraid nor awed by the sight of the mighty Hell Legion. Rather, they calmly approached Hell Rush. "May I know why you''re all here?" a Level 105, Tier 2 Knight asked. Fearlessly, he explained, "The fortress is still sealed, and uninvited players cannot enter." "We''ve received an invitation from Commander Fithalia. You may notify her that the Hell Legion has arrived," Hell Rush proudly announced, looking down at the six Divine Tribe members before him. "So, you''re Commander Fithalia''s guests. I''ll contact her for authorization immediately. Please, wait a moment." When the Tier 2 Guardian Knight heard that the Hell Legion were here at Fithalia''s request, he contacted the Commander and asked her to grant Hell Rush and his companions permission to enter the fortress. Not long after the Guardian Knight reported to his superior, he began to chant an incantation while watching the Hell Legion. Once he finished, a runic mark appeared on the back of their hands. "Alright, you now have temporary permission to enter the Starlight Fortress," the Tier 2 Guardian Knight informed the guests. He then warned them with a heavy tone, "However, before you go in, I must inform you of something. "Currently, a Dragon is resting in the fortress, and the Mana isn''t fully stable yet. So, once you enter the fortress, I hope that you won''t cause too much of a commotion. You shouldn''t anger the Dragon. If it decides to act, we won''t be able to stop it. I hope you can understand." As the Tier 2 Guardian Knight finished his warning, the Hell Legion''s members couldn''t contain their grins. They acted as if the Guardian Knight had told the funniest joke in the world. Surely, this Tier 2 Guardian Knight was trying to scare them. But who were they, exactly? They were members of Netherworld Empire''s strongest trump card legion! They had encountered Dragons far more often than the various superpowers'' experts. They knew just how powerful a Tier 4 Dragon was ? They were even confident of defeating one, much less surviving its wrath. After all, it wouldn''t be the first time. Even if they weren''t a match for the Starlight Fortress''s Dragon, they had plenty of methods to escape its pursuit. Divine Tribe was dreaming if it thought one measly Dragon could make them behave in the Starlight Fortress. "We understand. Can we go in now?" Hell Rush asked dryly. "Of course." Realizing that the man before him paid no heed to the warning, the Tier 2 Guardian Knight could only sigh and nod in reply. He signaled for his subordinates to make way for the Hell Legion. Divine Tribe''s guards stepped aside, and Hell Rush led his legion into the Starlight Fortress atop their Magic-homed Steeds. The Mounts left clouds of dust in their wake, and the ground within a 100-yard radius of the legion trembled. The Hell Legion had no intention of keeping a low profile. As the Hell Legion entered the fortress, however, they felt an intense pressure bear down on them, and every member of the legion struggled to move. Some of them nearly fell off their Steeds. "What''s going on?" "Why is there such immense pressure in the fortress?" Questions filled the legion members'' minds as they fought through the stifling pressure. Before they could find an answer themselves, however, a gigantic figure descended from above. Not only did this figure''s wings blot out the sky, but it also made the Magic-horned Steeds kneel and tremble. The mighty Mounts were no longer under the Hell Legion''s control. This colossal figure was none other than the Silver Divine Dragon, Auerbeck. The instant Auerbeck landed before the Hell Legion, the legion''s members realized something that left them shaken. "Spatial Imprisonment?! But how?!" The Hell Legion''s members sensed that space around them had seemingly frozen, and they couldn''t help but gasp. At the same time, their expressions turned indescribably grim. 2477 Heaven-defying Capabilities Chapter 2477 - Heaven-defying Capabilities The Hell Legion members had heard of Spatial Imprisonment before. In fact, they were very familiar with the ability. Quite a few special regions on the western continent were affected by Spatial Imprisonment, in which players couldn''t use any tools. It wasn''t an uncommon effect. However, sensing the Spatial Imprisonment here had a different meaning. Here, it was one of the Dragon''s passive abilities. "Crap! How are they so blessed by the system?! Not only did it give them such a powerful Dragon, but the Dragon can even use Spatial Imprisonment?! Who could possibly stop that?!" Thunder Beast, a primitive man that stood at nearly three meters tall, cursed as he lost his earlier complacence. The Hell Legion knew how powerful Dragons were. Not only had they encountered multiple Dragons in the past, but they had also clashed with a few of them. This was why they had dared to venture to the Starlight Fortress, even after learning that a Dragon guarded it. Of all the Dragons they had come across, however, none came close to comparing with the Silver Divine Dragon standing before them. It was only a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, yet the Dragon Might Auerbeck radiated made it difficult to move. Not even the Tier 5 Dark Magic Dragon they had met could do this. To make matters worse, Auerbeck had mastered Spatial Imprisonment, which only a few apex Tier 4 NPCs could master. The Hell Legion had no chance against such a foe. Once he landed, Auerbeck quietly observed the Hell Legion, and its members froze under the Dragon''s gaze. Auerbeck then approached the legion as they watched his every step. The closer Auerbeck got, the stronger the pressure the Hell Legion members felt became. The Hell Legion''s members began to regret their decision to come to the fortress, realizing they had acted a little too rashly. Had they judged the Dragon''s strength properly before causing a scene in the fortress, they wouldn''t have been caught off guard. "Wolf, your group will activate the Mana Barrier!" Hell Rush shouted at the Tier 3 Ranger beside him after seeing his teammates'' growing despair. "The rest of you will use that chance to retreat!" Auerbeck was far stronger than he had expected, but Divine Tribe was dreaming if it thought it could corner the Hell Legion with one Dragon. If any other superpower''s trump card legion stood in the Hell Legion''s place, they''d be helpless. But the Hell Legion wasn''t just any legion. No ordinary Super Guild could match the Legacies and ancient technology Netherworld Empire had obtained. The blue-clad Ranger, Black Wolf, and the several players beside him gritted their teeth as they each pulled a dark-gray crystal form their bags. They then began to chant an incantation. Dense Mana radiated out from Black Wolf and his comrades. It formed a pitch-black barrier that swallowed the Hell Legion. Once the magic barrier had taken shape, the Hell Legion members were freed from Auerbeck''s Spatial Imprisonment. Hell Rush released a held breath in a deep, relieved sigh. He then commanded, "Good! Everyone, use your Return Scroll and retreat!" The Mana Barrier was Netherworld Empire''s greatest creation. This barrier couldn''t suppress their enemies, but it would create a Domain for a short time, freeing the players within from any restrictive effects. With the help of the Mana Barrier, players could even use Return Scrolls in areas that prohibited their use. Moreover, the defensive barrier would prevent anything from entering once active. The Mana Barrier was the best lifesaving and defensive tool currently available in God''s Domain. Hell Rush had wanted to save the Mana Barrier for their assault on the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, but right now, he couldn''t care less about that. With their commander''s order echoing in their ears, the legion''s members retrieved their Return Scrolls and began to activate them. Meanwhile, Auerbeck swiped at the barrier with a claw. Boom! A massive explosion shook the Starlight Fortress as Auerbeck''s claw collided with the Mana Barrier. However, the attack didn''t even crack the barrier, much less shatter it. This scene left the nearby Divine Tribe members stupefied. They had never expected the Hell Legion to have such a powerful card. They had already witnessed the Silver Divine Dragon''s strength. Ordinary Tier 4 Mythics were children in comparison. And yet, the Mana Barrier remained intact even after taking a blow from the Divine Dragon. The barrier''s defensive strength was even greater than the Starlight Fortress''s walls when the magic array had been inactive. "So what if you have a Tier 4 Dragon? You''re 100 years too early if you think you can make an example of the Hell Legions!" Thunder Beast laughed when Auerbeck failed to destroy the Mana Barrier. "Alright, enough. The Starlight Fortress is much stronger than we initially anticipated. We need to revise our plan once we return," Hell Rush warned his teammates, realizing that Thunder Beast wanted to linger. He had wanted to show off the Hell Legion''s power before Fithalia and Divine Tribe''s other upper echelons, but he had never dreamed that their Dragon would be so astoundingly strong. The Hell Legion hadn''t suffered any casualties, but they had sacrificed an important magic array, which was a minor loss. Of course, this experience also showed the depths of the Starlight Fortress''s defenses. Auerbeck might be very powerful, but if Netherworld Empire planned its next move carefully, negotiating a partnership with Divine Tribe would still be possible. As Hell Rush and his companions were in the midst of activating their Return Scrolls, a voice called out to them. "You guys just got to the Starlight Fortress; why are you in such a hurry to leave?" With the question, space within the fortress seemed to shake. Following which, a phantom world washed over the fortress, isolating it from the outside world. While the phantom world took over, the Mana Barrier''s Domain waned. Although the barrier remained in place, the Mana within began to corrode. A second later, the Hell Legion members discovered that Mana had stopped flowing within their Return Scrolls, and as a result, the magic arrays under their feet began to crumble, eventually disappearing altogether. It stunned every member of the Hell Legion. What was going on? The Mana Barrier was still up, so why couldn''t they teleport? Something''s actually suppressed the Mana Barrier? Black Wolf, in particular, was stunned when he sensed that he no longer had control of the Mana around him. The Mana Barrier could wrestle control of a specified space, even within a forbidden land that prevented teleportation. However, something had suppressed it and thoroughly. The Hell Legion members'' plummeting Basic Attributes and physiques made this much clear. Understanding that they had missed their chance to teleport away from the Starlight Fortress, the Hell Legion''s members couldn''t help but turn toward the voice''s origin. After this person had asked their question, their ability to teleport had been taken from them. The speaker must have something to do with that. The Hell Legion''s members found that the voice had come from Auerbeck''s back. Due to the Divine Dragon''s natural glow, they hadn''t noticed the man, but squinting to see through the light, they discovered that someone was actually riding the Divine Dragon, standing on his back. "So, you''re Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Hell Rush asked, staring at the player perched on the Silver Divine Dragon. 2478 True Foundations Chapter 2478 - True Foundations Hell Rush''s question stunned the rest of the Hell Legion in the Mana Barrier. They all stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. "Is he really human?" They had heard that Shi Feng had something to do with the Silver Divine Dragon, but they had never thought that he would be capable of controlling it and be able to suppress the Mana Barrier. Having either power would overjoy any of God''s Domain''s superpowers. Both a Dragon and a Domain treasure would be incredibly useful when defending fortresses and rendering other superpowers'' attacks useless. And now, they learned that Shi Feng had both. It was absurd! "That''s correct; I''m Black Flame," Shi Feng replied, nodding. "I never could''ve guessed how much strength you''ve hidden. The various superpowers'' heads are already aching over your Dragon, yet your power isn''t limited to the creature." Hell Rush could not help his bitter smile as he spoke to Shi Feng. "The Hell Legion admits defeat." Although the Mana Barrier was still around them, and they had quite a few more to protect themselves from Auerbeck, the magic arrays were meaningless if they couldn''t teleport out of the Starlight Fortress. It would only be a matter of time before they ran out of Mana Barriers. Without the barrier to protect them, they wouldn''t have a hope of escaping the Divine Dragon. As for trying to face Auerbeck in battle, that would be futile. They could barely move under the Infant Dragon''s Dragon Might, much less fight. In other words, the Hell Legion was utterly at Shi Feng''s mercy. Rather than waste time with pretenses, Hell Rush thought it wise to surrender. However, after his statement, he and his team heard a clear, soft voice. "Commander Rush, I''m afraid we have a misunderstanding. I invited you here at Guild Leader Black Flame''s request. Since you are the Starlight Fortress''s esteemed guest, Black Flame decided to welcome you personally." Another figure stood from her position on Auerbeck''s back; it was Fithalia, the Divine Hymn Legion''s commander. "Welcome us?" Hell Rush rolled his eyes. Why would anyone use a Dragon to welcome guests? Not only had Shi Feng arrived on the back of his Dragon, but he had also used a Domain tool. Did they really consider this a proper ''welcome''? The rest of the Hell Legion glared at Fithalia. Even a fool would recognize this display as a warning. However, they had no choice but to endure the act. "This isn''t a suitable place for our conversation, Commander Rush. Let''s continue inside the Fortress Lord''s Mansion," Shi Feng said, unconcerned with whether Hell Rush believed Fithalia or not. He then leaped off of Auerbeck and canceled Miniature World before leading his guests toward the mansion. The Hell Legion''s several vice commanders looked toward their leader, wondering how Hell Rush would respond. "Since we''re already here, we might as well talk," Hell Rush muttered to his vice commanders. He couldn''t tell what Shi Feng was after, and the Swordsman currently held the Hell Legion''s fate in his hands. Hence, he decided to concede. Hell Rush then followed Shi Feng to the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Meanwhile, his vice commanders instructed the rest of the legion''s members to find a place to rest before they followed. When Hell Rush and his entourage walked toward the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, located in the fortress''s core, they were shocked. As they grew closer to the mansion, they could feel the Mana growing denser. They sensed that the Mana around them had already become 30% denser when they were only half-way to their destination. A 30% increase could raise their training efficiency with combat techniques, Skills, and Spells by at least 50%, and it would be particularly prominent when practicing Advanced and Bronze Combat Techniques. Training in this environment would yield even better results than when they trained in the Mana-dense secret lands under Netherworld Empire''s control. "Huh? What is that place?" Hell Rush asked, noticing an ancient tower a short distance away from the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. The tower only had five floors, but the concentration of Mana around it was second only to the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Even in the Starlight Fortress''s high-Mana environment, the tower stood out like a shining beacon. "That''s the Fortress Prison," Fithalia explained. "It''s where we intend to keep players who cause trouble, similar to the prisons in NPC cities." "It''s the same as the prisons in NPC cities?" Hell Rush wore a grim expression after hearing Fithalia''s answer. His vice commanders stared at the ancient tower in horror. If they died within the fortress, they would, at most, lose a level and a piece of equipment. With the Hell Legion''s strength, they could recover from the losses in no time. But none of them wanted to face imprisonment after a death. That outcome would be even worse than if they died three or four times in a row. Time was more important than money in God''s Domain, especially for frontline players. Opportunity waited for no man. They would only have the highest chances of growing stronger by maintaining their positions at the forefront of the game''s player base, and they might even find a rare opportunity that could change their fates. If they were stuck in jail for five or six days, however, they''d fall behind, and catching up would be insanely difficult. A Dragon? A Domain tool? Those were insignificant compared to the Fortress Prison. Auerbeck might be able to annihilate the Hell Legion with the help of a Domain tool, but the legion''s members would recover to their peak in three or four days. They might even become stronger than they had been. Spending a handful of days in the prison, on the other hand, would cripple the legion. Catching up would take at least one to two months. The Fortress Prison alone was more than enough to deter any power from assaulting the Starlight Fortress. While Hell Rush and his vice commanders secretly plotted to investigate the Fortress Prison, they arrived at the mansion. The Fortress Lord''s Mansion was now fully repaired and looked like a castle from a fantasy novel. An ancient, mysterious aura surrounded the castle, and the ambient Mana within its vicinity was mesmerizing. There was simply no comparison between the Mana here and the Mana in the rest of the fortress. For a moment, Hell Rush and the others even had the urge to stay for the rest of their lives. "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know what business you have with us? If you''d like to discuss something, please, get to the point. I''m not fond of posturing and word games," Hell Rush told Shi Feng seriously. Hell Rush now had a good understanding of the Starlight Fortress''s situation. In his opinion, capturing or causing a ruckus in the fortress was simply impossible for the various superpowers, including Netherworld Empire. He couldn''t think of a reason that Shi Feng would specifically invite the Hell Legion to talk. "Now that you''ve seen the Starlight Fortress for yourselves, I''m sure you''re quite interested in the fortress. I''ve asked you here to negotiate an alliance. Although I can''t offer a temporary Residence, I would like to offer Netherworld Empire''s members a 40% discount on all basic expenditures within the Starlight Fortress," Shi Feng explained, chuckling. "Forty percent? Are you serious?" The offer instantly tempted Hell Rush. Star Valley was a forbidden land far away from civilization, and travel to the map was incredibly inconvenient. This was precisely the reason that Netherworld Empire wanted the Starlight Fortress''s sole temporary Residence. If his Guild could secure a Residence within Star Valley, Netherworld Empire''s members could teleport to the forbidden land, saving plenty of travel time and Coins. Although not having a temporary Residence would be inconvenient, a 40% discount on all basic expenditures within this fortress would allow Netherworld Empire to save a ton on development costs. Basic expenditures weren''t limited to facilities, such as hotels. Entrance fees would be included, as well, which players had to pay every time they wanted to enter the fortress. The discount wouldn''t be a major issue if Netherworld Empire only wished to send a few hundred players, but if the Guild sent thousands, a 40% discount could save them an astronomical amount of money. "Of course." Shi Feng nodded. "What do you need us to do?" Hell Rush asked. With the Fortress Prison, the Starlight Fortress''s operations would be unshakable. Logically, Zero Wing and Divine Tribe shouldn''t need Netherworld Empire''s help to safeguard the fortress. "I wish to borrow the entire Hell Legion for a mission!" Shi Feng declared. "Borrow the Hell Legion?" Hell Rush stared at the Swordsman in confusion. "What do you want us to do?" Zero Wing had already allied with Divine Tribe, which was a super-first-rate Guild and even stronger than some Super Guilds. It was no exaggeration to claim that Divine Tribe could deal with most matters in the west with relative ease. Zero Wing shouldn''t need the Hell Legion''s strength for anything. "It''s nothing major. I only wish to enter Star Valley''s God Mode Regional Dungeon to retrieve an item," Shi Feng stated calmly. 2479 Starlights Shocking Transformation Chapter 2479 - Starlight''s Shocking Transformation Everyone was stunned when they heard Shi Feng''s goal. None of them had ever thought he''d be crazy enough to enter Star Valley''s God Mode Regional Dungeon. Not only was God Mode the highest difficulty for a Regional Dungeon in God''s Domain, but the Dungeon in Star Valley was also a Level 100-plus Regional Dungeon. Although the Dungeon had abundant resources to offer, it had dangers far beyond what current players faced in the outside world. A few superpowers had sent Tier 3 teams into the Dungeon not long ago, but in the end, they had been forced to retreat after less than 30 minutes inside and lost half their members. After those losses, the various superpowers temporarily gave up on the Dungeon. The Dungeon wasn''t only dangerous because of the extremely powerful monsters within, but because of its harsh environment. Once in the Regional Dungeon, players would face a much higher gravitational force; even Tier 3 players struggled to move under such pressure. To make matters worse, the monsters that called the Dungeon home had high combat standards. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I wish I could agree to your offer, but the Star Tomb is no place for current players. Our Basic Attributes may remain the same inside, but that place significantly limits our mobility. Just fighting the Level 105 Great Lords in the Dungeon is a massive challenge, not to mention the Level 105 Grand Lords," Hell Rush explained after taking a deep breath. Although Shi Feng''s offer was wildly tempting, the idea of entering the Star Tomb was a joke. While inside the Star Tomb, Tier 3 players'' mobility would be reduced to Tier 1 standards, and to make matters worse, the increased gravity didn''t affect the Dungeon''s monsters. And that wasn''t all. Most importantly, players'' Stamina consumption would skyrocket during combat in such a high-gravity environment. If players ventured too far into the Star Tomb, they could lose their lives due to Stamina depletion. Moreover, players couldn''t teleport out of the Regional Dungeon, even with Netherworld Empire''s Mana Barrier. If they weren''t very careful, they could easily team-wipe. "I understand your concerns, Commander Rush, but if we succeed, I''m willing to reserve eight of the Mana Training Rooms in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion for Netherworld Empire. Of course, we''ll calculate the fees separately," Shi Feng informed his guest with a chuckle. "I''m sure you''ve sensed how dense the Mana is in the mansion, but the Mana Training Room''s have even denser Mana." Aside from securing various rare materials, there was another reason that Shi Feng had traveled to the western continent. He wanted the Star of Light! Without the Star of Light, he had no chance of revitalizing the Tree of Life''s withered main branch. The Star of Light was a Legendary material that was only available on the western continent. To be precise, it could only be found within the Star Tomb. Based on the information he had from the past, three of the Star Tomb''s Stars of Light had dropped while players had explored the Regional Dungeon for the first time. With the Star Tomb untouched, this was the perfect opportunity to secure one for himself. If he missed this opportunity, his chances of obtaining the Legendary material would be miserably low by the time he organized another expedition to the west. To enter the Regional Dungeon, players had to have reached Tier 3 at the very least. Players couldn''t enter until then. Moreover, a 100-man team wouldn''t be nearly enough to explore the Dungeon. Shi Feng would need at least 500 players to pull off his plan. Unfortunately, organizing a team of 500 Tier 3 players would be incredibly difficult at this stage of the game. Thus far, only the Five Great Super Guilds could manage it. Hence, Shi Feng had asked Fithalia to invite Hell Rush to negotiate a deal. "The Mana Training Room?" Hell Rush''s eyes glowed when Shi Feng offered the additional benefit. When he had entered the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, he had sensed the extraordinary Mana within. It was, by far, the most Mana-dense location he had ever visited. If Netherworld Empire''s experts could train in the mansion, their efficiency would skyrocket. Yet, Shi Feng had just told him that the Mana Training Rooms had even denser Mana. If such an astounding training environment truly existed, they could develop their Mana control and unlock their Mana Bodies with unprecedented speed. "Please, take your time to consider the offer carefully, Commander Rush. If we encounter a situation within the Star Tomb that we cannot overcome, you may retreat, and the benefits I offer will remain yours," Shi Feng clarified. "Your offer will still stand?" Hell Rush could not ignore the temptation. "Then, I agree. However, if my team risks annihilation, we will pull back immediately. If you can accept that condition, we''re willing to work with you." Hell Rush wasn''t sure what Shi Feng''s goal was, but he couldn''t afford to reject the offer. Mana was the root of all things on the western continent, which the various powers desperately fought for. Since capturing the Starlight Fortress was now impossible, he had to aim for the next best thing, and the Mana Training Rooms would allow his Guild''s experts to unlock their Mana Bodies far sooner. Once they did, Netherworld Empire would be able to surpass the two of the other Five Great Super Guilds based in the west when it came to experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. "That won''t be a problem," Shi Feng answered. He could sympathize with Hell Rush. The Star Tomb was, after all, a Level 100-plus God Mode Regional Dungeon and, as such, far more dangerous than the outside world. The various superpowers had suffered severe losses to clear the Star Tomb during his previous life, and that was after they had formed the minimum 500-man teams. Luckily, the current Hell Legion would be more than enough for his purposes. His goal wasn''t to explore all of the Star Tomb, just obtain a Star of Light. The Star of Light was a random drop in the Star Tomb, which meant that even the weakest monsters had a chance of dropping it. Raiding the Dungeon''s Bosses wouldn''t be necessary. Adventurer teams had claimed three of the Regional Dungeon''s Stars of Light in the past, and all three teams had done so in the tomb''s outer region. Those adventurer teams had merely bene grinding for Magic Crystals, but they had lucked out and acquired Stars of Light instead, becoming rich overnight. Since no one had explored the Star Tomb yet, they should have a high likelihood of obtaining at least one Star of Light. Following which, Shi Feng signed a contract with Hell Rush stating that Netherworld Empire''s members would enjoy a 40% discount on the Starlight Fortress''s basic expenditures. In addition, eight of the Fortress Lord''s Mana Training Rooms would be reserved for the Guild, with each costing 300 Magic Crystals per hour. In exchange, Shi Feng would have temporary command of the Hell Legion once they were inside the Star Tomb, and this would remain in effect until Shi Feng completed his task or the team encountered more trouble than they could handle. In addition, Netherworld Empire would dispatch experts to defend the Starlight Fortress alongside Zero Wing and Divine Tribe. Once they had signed the contract, the alliance between Zero Wing and Netherworld Empire was set in stone. Not long after, news of their partnership spread like the plague, reaching the various superpowers in no time at all. This ignited a commotion among the various superpowers that had aimed to take the Starlight Fortress. 2480 Starlight Fortress Unsealed Chapter 2480 - Starlight Fortress Unsealed "What did you say? The Hell Legion agreed?" "Impossible! The Hell Legion has 300 Tier 3 experts, and every one of them is a lunatic!" When the various superpowers received news of the Hell Legion''s decision, they found it hard to believe. They had assumed the Starlight Fortress was doomed once the Hell Legion had gotten involved. Even if they didn''t capture the fortress, they were sure to leave it in ruins. They were all familiar with what kind of team the Hell Legion was. It was a team of madmen. The Starlight Fortress might be impressive for its Dragon guard, but after all was said and done, it only had one Dragon. One Dragon wasn''t nearly enough to keep all 300 Hell Legion members in check. They weren''t ordinary Tier 3 experts, and as long as they had a chance of victory, they''d repeatedly resurrect their members and assault the Starlight Fortress until only one side remained. This was why the various superpowers were so afraid of the Hell Legion. And yet, the situation had developed in such an unexpected way. The Hell Legion hadn''t even started a decent battle, much less taken the fortress. The legion had actually allied with the ruling power after a short discussion. Moreover, the Hell Legion had agreed to a partnership that didn''t include shares of the fortress. The various superpowers'' upper echelons even wondered if the reports were about the Hell Legion they knew so well. While the news spread, the various superpowers, who had been preparing to assault the Starlight Fortress, hesitated. They had only dared to target the Starlight Fortress because Netherworld Empire had expressed interest in capturing it, but now that the Super Guild had joined the fortress''s ruling power, the situation had become disastrous for the various superpowers. These superpowers weren''t afraid of Divine Tribe. The Guild only had a few more Tier 3 experts than the rest of them. If they joined forces, however, they could easily outnumber Divine Tribe, and since the Starlight Fortress only provided players partial authority, capturing it would be child''s play. But now that Netherworld Empire had allied with Divine Tribe, causing a scene in the fortress would be difficult and dangerous. Aside from the legion members'' individual strength, the Hell Legion had enough Tier 3 players that it could rival the total number in several superpowers. Including the Dragon, how were the various superpowers supposed to cause enough chaos to take the fortress from Divine Tribe? Of course, these superpowers weren''t willing to give up just yet. Although they knew that securing a share of the Starlight Fortress''s profits was no longer possible, they still sent a large number of experts to investigate the situation within. The fortress'' benefits were related to too many of their interests, and they would jump at any opportunity to gain a fraction of what the Starlight Fortress had to offer. Meanwhile, in the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s distant Demonic Silver mine... "Even the Hell Legion has failed?" Yan Xiaoqian muttered, stunned after reading her subordinate''s report. She had already been astonished to learn that Shi Feng and Divine Tribe had cooperated to capture the Starlight Fortress. Then, she had heard about the fortress''s draconic resident. And now, even the fearsome Hell Legion had compromised. If she hadn''t known anything about Shi Feng''s group, she would''ve assumed they belonged to some hidden superpower that developed in the western continent''s shadows. However, she knew more than a little about that group of players. Shi Feng had arrived on the western continent with 9 companions, all members of Zero Wing. When they had arrived, Zero Wing hadn''t had a single ally in the west. Yet, not only had Shi Feng''s group established a foothold in the west after only a few days, but they had even gained two powerful allies. The Azure Chamber of Commerce had spent over a month establishing itself in the east. The Chamber had only made a place for itself in the Dark Hills, outside of the Fire Dragon Empire''s border, after investing tons of resources and manpower in the endeavor. Moreover, the Azure had only accomplished its goal because it had gathered players and secured connections on the eastern continent early in the game. If it hadn''t, securing a foothold in the east would''ve taken much longer. Shi Feng, however, had secured the Starlight Fortress in less than four days, driving the western continent''s various superpowers crazy. "Young Miss, we don''t have much time left before the competition between families. The family has already ensured that you''ll have use of the trial grounds. They hope you will cherish the opportunity and restore the reputation the family lost during the prior competition. Please don''t let other matters distract you," an amiable old man advised, sitting next to Yan Xiaoqian in one of the mine''s lounges. "I understand. Zero Wing merely has a foothold in the west and access to more resources now. It still isn''t nearly powerful enough to help Silent Wonder win the families'' annual competition," Yan Xiaoqian said, nodding. Once she had calmed her flustered heart, her confidence returned. Zero Wing might now have a place on the western continent, but whether or not it could develop in the west was a different matter entirely. The Guild''s greatest enemy wasn''t the western continent''s various superpowers, but the Demonic Creature armies. As a forbidden land, no kingdom or empire protected Star Valley. In other words, the Starlight Fortress would face the full brunt of the Demonic Creature armies without NPC help. It was easy to imagine how much danger the fortress was in. Even if Divine Tribe and Netherworld Empire cooperated, they couldn''t necessarily protect the fortress from the Demonic Creatures'' invasion. Even if Zero Wing defended its hold on the Starlight Fortress, that had nothing to do with helping Silent Wonder. The Guild''s foundation in the west was new-born, and the western continent''s training grounds were superior to those in the east. "In that case, Young Miss, we should go," the old man insisted. She nodded in response, but she couldn''t help but gaze toward Star Valley. Just you wait! I will not let Silent Wonder defeat me in this competition! Yan Xiaoqian inwardly swore, recalling Shi Feng''s utter disregard for her and Azure before leaving the Demonic Silver mine. Her family had paid a huge price to get her access to the trial grounds. This was an opportunity that few in God''s Domain could enjoy. As long as she could complete the trial, she could even defeat Shi Feng, let alone Silent Wonder. While Yan Xiaoqian left the Demonic Silver mine atop her Flying Mount, Shi Feng led the Hell Legion to Star Valley''s inner region. Even Tier 3 players could lose their lives in the Star Valley''s outer region, to say nothing of the Level 100-plus forbidden land''s inner area. The lowest-leveled monsters in the inner region were Level 110, and they generally moved in groups with Grand Lord leaders. Each of these groups consisted of over a thousand monsters, with some of the larger groups having two or three thousand. They were practically roaming armies. If a 100-man Tier 3 team encountered these monsters, the slightest mistake could lead to a team-wipe. Fortunately, the Hell Legion''s members were extraordinarily strong, and there were 300 of them. They could venture through the inner region in relative safety, although their progress was incredibly slow. After more than 10 hours of travel, Shi Feng and his team reached the inner region''s boundary. They could see a gigantic mountain not far from their position on the inner region''s border. The mountain''s aura felt boundless, and those who approached could feel their bodies grow heavier. The closer one got to the base of the mountain, the stronger the sensation became. This was none other than Star Valley''s God Mode Regional Dungeon, the Star Tomb! "Consider this carefully, Guild Leader Black Flame. Do you really want to go in there? Once we''re inside, leaving will be a challenge, and if players die, they won''t resurrect outside of the Dungeon," Hell Rush warned Shi Feng as he stared at the mountain before them. The Star Tomb was a very special location. When players normally died, they''d resurrect in the nearest NPC town or city, but that wasn''t the case in the Star Tomb. No matter how many times players died, they''d only return to life within the Dungeon. "I understand. Let''s head in." Shi Feng was quite familiar with the Star Tomb''s peculiarities, yet he walked into the Regional Dungeon with no hesitation. Hell Legion''s members only glanced at each other before helplessly following the Swordsman. Shortly after Shi Feng and his team entered the Star Tomb, the Starlight Fortress in Star Valley''s outer region lit with a bright glow as the seal was finally removed. The Starlight Fortress had opened to the public. 2481 Fortress of Astronomical Value Chapter 2481 - Fortress of Astronomical Value "Quick, look! The Starlight Fortress is open!" "It''s finally open! I''ve been waiting for this moment!" The various superpowers and independent players in the nearby forest immediately noticed the dazzling glow that enveloped the Starlight Fortress. They had been waiting for the fortress to open to the public, especially the independent players. They all had great expectations. Independent players were unaware of Netherworld Empire''s agreement, but some of Divine Tribe''s members had leaked information about the situation within the Starlight Fortress. When they finally got to see the fortress''s many benefits, the various independent players caused an uproar. Aside from the fortress''s Mana-dense environment, which would help them quickly recover from exhaustion, the fact that they could improve their Mana control just by visiting the fortress made it far more impressive than any NPC city on the western continent. Furthermore, the Starlight Fortress was located within Star Valley. Now that they could enter the fortress, they could grind in the forbidden land, boosting their leveling speed and resource acquisition. Naturally, they couldn''t miss the opportunity to set up a base of operations within the Starlight Fortress. Although the various superpowers had dispatched many of their players, they were no match for the number of independent players eagerly waiting to enter the fortress. The independent players, who had been resting in the forest, charged toward the Starlight Fortress like a flood of madmen. Despite their imposing might, not even the various superpowers'' experts reached the fortress before the tide of independent players. However, the scene didn''t enrage the superpowers; they were actually overjoyed to see it. "I hadn''t expected to find so many Tier 3 experts in the area. I doubt Netherworld Empire and Divine Tribe expected so many players, either." "This is going to be interesting! Even Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion would be helpless against so many Tier 3 experts." When the various superpowers'' upper echelons saw the independent players swarm toward the Starlight Fortress, excitement flashed in their eyes. They had begun to believe that they had no hope of causing chaos within the fortress. After all, Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion was not just for decoration. They hadn''t expected a situation like this, and they had never imagined that independent players would be so interested in the Starlight Fortress. There were already more than 5,000 Tier 3 independent players, not to mention the Tier 2 players. There were more of them than those in the various superpowers combined. Even if Netherworld Empire went all-out, they had no hope of defending the fortress against such a force, let alone Divine Tribe. Before the superpowers'' upper echelons could celebrate, however, a Dragon with silver scales flew out of the Starlight Fortress and landed beside the front gate, quietly observing the approaching horde of independent players. The excited independent players froze on the spot when they saw Auerbeck, none of them dared to move. The sudden development even stupefied the various superpowers watching from afar. They were talking about 5,000 Tier 3 experts! And yet, every one of them acted like a mouse before a cat... Of course, the various superpowers'' experts could sympathize. Auerbeck''s aura was just that frightening. Even from far away, they felt as if the weight of a mountain had rested on their shoulders. Needless to say, the independent players, who were much closer to the Silver Divine Dragon, felt an even stronger pressure. "Is that really just a Tier 4 Dragon?" The various superpowers'' experts were at a loss for words as they stared at Auerbeck. They had realized that Auerbeck was exceptionally strong after the Hell Legion had fled from it, but seeing the Divine Dragon in person, they understood how mistaken they had been. This was not a matter of strength. No one should be so foolish as to provoke Auerbeck! "The Starlight Fortress is now open to the public. If you wish to enter the fortress, listen carefully. All combat is prohibited within the fortress walls. Not only will you be slain if you break this rule, but you''ll also be imprisoned for eight days in the Fortress Prison," MacAffrey, who stood on the wall above the main gate, announced as he gazed at the players below. "If nobody has any questions, you may register to enter the fortress!" As MacAffrey finished his statement, the nearby players'' expressions changed. The announcement dumbfounded the various superpowers'' members, in particular. "Fortress Prison?! What is he talking about?!" The superpowers'' upper echelons, who had laughed at the Starlight Fortress''s latest predicament, could no longer muster the strength to laugh. They were familiar with the concept of God''s Domain''s prisons. Once players were jailed, they''d have to serve their time unless someone destroyed the prison from the outside. It was this moment when the various superpowers understood, more or less, why Netherworld Empire had decided to compromise. With a Fortress Prison around, who would dare cause a scene in the fortress? The various superpowers began to despair when MacAffrey began to speak once more. "Due to the fortress''s limited space, players may only remain inside for one natural day. Each consecutive day you spend in the fortress will cost 1 Magic Crystal. In addition, all basic services the fortress offers cost Magic Crystals. If you fail to pay for the services you''ve requested, you will also spend eight days in the prison. Please keep this in mind during your stay." After listening to MacAffrey''s speech, every player in the area was stunned again. Normally, the various powers did everything they could to increase a fortress''s player population after capturing one, which, in turn, would transform the fortress into a trade hub. This would also give the ruling power access to a huge amount of resources, yet the Starlight Fortress''s owner had decided against that. They showed no regard for attracting players to the fortress. The entrance fee alone cost a whopping 20 Silver per person, and players were only allowed to spend a day in the fortress. Once that day was up, every additional day would cost a Magic Crystal. To make matters worse, they had to pay Magic Crystals for the services within the fortress... This was basically daylight robbery! Only a fool would enter the fortress! On the western continent, Magic Crystals were incredibly rare, which made them far more valuable than Coins. Moreover, most high-value transactions involved Magic Crystals. Tier 2 experts would be fortunate to earn three or four Magic Crystals per day, and Tier 3 experts only earned around a dozen. After deducting daily expenses, they''d be lucky if they kept half of their remaining Magic Crystals. With how the Starlight Fortress operated, Tier 2 experts had no hope of setting up a base within the fortress. "Are the fortress''s managers insane?" Their greed for Magic Crystals certainly is! It''s already obvious that no one on the continent has a chance of taking the fortress! The fortress can slowly develop and grow without worry, and yet they''re chasing people away! I can''t wait to see how they''ll survive against the Demonic Creature armies!" The situation even stunned the various superpowers. They couldn''t fathom what Shi Feng and the others were thinking. If they had so many Magic Crystals to spare, they might as well spend them in the Divine Colosseum''s Trial Tower! Moreover, players could afford a luxury meal, which would help them recover from exhaustion far faster than within a Mana-dense environment, with 20 Silver to spend. In truth, the pricing had left MacAffrey speechless when he had heard it, but Shi Feng had insisted that the fortress would only conduct business using Magic Crystals. So, he couldn''t do anything about it. The Starlight Fortress belonged entirely to Zero Wing, after all. Divine Tribe was only helping manage it. While some powers and players left in a huff, a 500-man team watched the events unfold from a short distance away from the main gate. "Are we still going in, commander?" a ruthless, Level 106 man asked the robust man in leather armor next to him. The robust man was Krow, the Storm Heart adventurer team''s commander. "Of course! We might as well take a look since we''re here!" Krow said, gritting his teeth. The 20-Silver entrance fee wasn''t a major concern for Storm Heart, but the fact that the fortress''s basic amenities cost Magic Crystals wasn''t something Storm Heart could afford to play with. But Krow''s curiosity was too strong to ignore. Thus, he decided to go in and look around. At worst, they''d have paid the entrance fee for nothing. Having given his answer, Krow led his team toward the Starlight Fortress''s front gate. 2482 Mana Changes Chapter 2482 - Mana Changes Once Storm Heart''s members paid the exorbitant entrance fee, they carefully walked through the front gate under Auerbeck''s watchful eye. "What?! Some players are actually willing to pay such a fraudulent fee?!" "Maybe they''ve decided to do some sightseeing since they''ve already gone to the effort of reaching the fortress." The players that had been preparing to leave the area watched Krow and his team with contempt as they entered the Starlight Fortress. A 20-Silver entrance fee was unheard of on the western continent. With 20 Silver, a player could fully repair their weapons and equipment in an NPC city. Some Tier 2 players only made that much after a full day of grinding. Yet, Storm Heart''s members were investing so much money just to sightsee or experience the fortress''s Mana-dense environment. Moreover, they could only spend one day in the fortress. They were foolish to waste their money like that. After spending a moment to ridicule Storm Heart, the surrounding players packed up and left. It wasn''t long before 90% of the players around the Starlight Fortress left the area. Now, less than 10,000 players remained in line at the front gate. "They''ve already secured their hold on the Starlight Fortress, yet they''re chasing away customers. We won''t have to lift a finger to ensure the fortress''s demise." "They want to charge Magic Crystals for all basic expenditures made inside the fortress? They certainly know how to dream." "How foolish. Do they really think they can squeeze players for all they''ve got just because the Starlight Fortress is the only open fortress in Star Valley?" The various superpowers'' upper echelons couldn''t help but laugh when they saw how few players were willing to enter the Starlight Fortress. They had been afraid that the fortress would make some bold move to widen the gap between them, but it seemed their concerns had been meaningless. Twenty Silver to enter a fortress was a high price to pay, but many expert players could tolerate the cost. With the resources available in Star Valley and the Starlight Fortress''s benefits, they could easily earn back the Coins and more. However, the Starlight Fortress had crossed the line by charging Magic Crystals for its basic services. On the western continent, Magic Crystals were players'' foundation. Without Magic Crystals for their Combat Runes, players'' combat power would decrease significantly. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, Magic Crystals were painfully rare in the west. Obtaining a single Magic Crystal was a challenge. If it weren''t so difficult, the continent''s various powers wouldn''t fight so desperately over ore veins that had a chance of producing Magic Crystals. Although players could obtain Magic Crystals by grinding in Star Valley, it wasn''t easy. Star Valley was still a Level 100- plus forbidden land and far more dangerous than other maps where Magic Crystals dropped. If a player decided to focus their development around the fortress, they''d only be cheap labor for the ruling power. Only a fool would accept that burden. Following which, the various superpowers'' upper echelons commanded their teams to turn around and leave. They had no intention of entering the Starlight Fortress. They had learned of the fortress''s situation from the spies they had planted in Divine Tribe before the Starlight Fortress had opened to the public. They had no reason to enter the fortress to verify the reports. They''d only be handing over their hard-earned Coins by doing so. MacAffrey felt frustrated as he watched so many players walk away from his position on the fortress''s wall. Those players were potential money and resources! Shi Feng could''ve easily transformed the Starlight Fortress into a prosperous trade hub by lowering his prices, yet he had insisted on charging Magic Crystals for all basic services. That condition alone had deterred the majority of players from visiting the fortress. While the various superpowers walked away from the Starlight Fortress, the Storm Heart adventurer team had made it inside. "So, this is the Starlight Fortress? The Mana density is so high!" "It''s no wonder why the entrance fee is so exorbitant. This environment is certainly worth the price." Storm Heart''s members were mesmerized when they sensed the ambient Mana within the Starlight Fortress. They were not members of the various superpowers, just independent players. Even if they were a part of a top adventurer team, they could only get their hands on limited resources. The resources Storm Heart possessed couldn''t even compare to that of first-rate Guilds. Needless to say, they didn''t have access to Mana-abundant locations, either. They had to rely on their exceptional talent and hard work to develop slowly. "We''ll only be able to rest here from time to time. We can''t afford to go bankrupt," the ruthless man beside Krow said as he glanced at the pricing boards outside the nearby hotels. Even in NPC kingdoms and empires'' capital cities, the most expensive, luxurious hotel room only cost 10 Silver per night. However, not only were the hotel rooms in the Starlight Fortress small, but they were also astonishingly expensive. A room actually cost one Magic Crystal per night! Their team currently had 500 players. If they rented hotel rooms for the night, they''d have to pay a total of 500 Magic Crystals... The rest of Storm Heart''s members could only nod in agreement. Not even first-rate Guilds could afford such a costly expenditure, let alone Storm Heart. Only superpowers would have the funds to rent these hotel rooms. "Wait. The Mana here is different somehow," a Tier 3 female Elementalist suddenly spoke up. "Different?" Curious, the ruthless man began to pay more attention to the Mana around him, but he failed to find anything unusual about it. "How is it different?" "No! She''s right!" Krow exclaimed. "To be precise, this area has different types of Elemental Mana." "Mhm. I can sense the Three Supreme Elements, and the Mana is growing even denser," the female Elementalist explained. Ordinary Tier 3 experts would likely struggle to sense the differences in the ambient Mana, but she had a special Mana Legacy, which allowed her to notice the minute oddity. "The Three Supreme Elements?" The ruthless man was stunned. Excitedly, he asked, "Doesn''t that mean that this fortress''s environment is similar to the environment of ancient times?" Experts constantly researched and tried to understand more about God''s Domain''s current affairs and history every day. The information hid many opportunities, and for independent players and adventurer teams, who lacked resources, this was one of the few reliable ways to encounter fortuitous opportunities. Naturally, Storm Heart and its members were no exception. In fact, their knowledge of God''s Domain was vast, especially regarding the ancient area when Gods had still roamed the land. The ancient era had been the peak of God''s Domain. Humankind had been far more powerful then. Ancient human civilizations had developed their individual strength and technology to unbelievable levels. In comparison, current humans hit their limit after reaching Tier 5. Moreover, most Tier 5 powerhouses nowadays were far weaker than those of the past. The biggest difference between the past and the present was the composition of ambient Mana. During ancient times, ambient Mana had been composed of all seven elements, but now, it only included the Four Major Elements. The remaining Three Supreme Elements could only be found in certain locations and in almost negligible amounts. This was why God''s Domain''s creatures couldn''t fully comprehend and control Mana, which made it harder to reach new tiers. And yet, within the Starlight Fortress, the Three Supreme Elements had gathered, creating an environment reminiscent of ancient times. This was a heaven-defying opportunity! 2483 Hidden Madness Chapter 2483 - Hidden Madness As soon as the ruthless man finished speaking, excitement flashed in his Tier 3 comrades'' eyes. If the Starlight Fortress''s environment were reminiscent of ancient times, consisting of all seven elements, it would be a true paradise for players. Not only would players have a much easier time controlling Mana in such an environment, but it would also help them unlock their Mana Bodies. After giving the matter some thought, Krow turned to the Tier 3 female Elementalist beside him and said, "Rose, return to headquarters and gather all of the Magic Crystals we have. Send someone to ask around about renting a hotel here, as well. We''ll be using it as Storm Heart''s temporary base. From now on, Storm Heart''s Tier 3 members will develop out of the Starlight Fortress!" Although living in the Starlight Fortress was costly, if the benefits allowed one to improve their Mana control and unlock their Mana Body''s potential with ease, it was worth the price. It would even be worthwhile if the adventurer team had to invest every Magic Crystal it had earned thus far and would earn in the future. Levels weren''t the top priority for Tier 3 players right now. Rather, unlocking their Mana Bodies'' full potential was far more important. A Tier 3 player could only exhibit the true strength of Tier 3 once they did so. Residing in the Starlight Fortress would accelerate the process of unlocking their Mana Bodies, which was a unique, massive benefit. The rest of God''s Domain''s players hadn''t realized this yet, which gave Storm Heart the opportunity to establish a base in the fortress. If they waited until the various Guilds noticed, finding a place and developing in the Starlight Fortress would become far more difficult for the adventurer team. In terms of money and resources, Storm Heart wasn''t even a match for first-rate Guilds, much less superpowers. "Understood! I''ll have someone look into it immediately!" the female Elementalist in blue, Ice Rose, replied before breaking away from the rest of the group. While Storm Heart secretly took action, other Tier 3 independent players, who had entered the fortress and were particularly sensitive to Mana, did the same. For a time, something strange took place within the nearly empty Starlight Fortress. Despite barely any players visiting the fortress, its hotels were booked, one after another. Moreover, all of the rooms were rented long-term, stunning the ignorant visiting players and MacAffrey. Players could earn a 10% discount when renting hotel rooms long-term, but they''d have to reserve the room for a minimum of 10 days. This meant that players had to pay 9 Magic Crystals per room, with each day normally costing 1 Magic Crystal. Including the fact that all of the fortress''s basic amenities cost Magic Crystals, the cost was even extravagant to Tier 3 experts. Regardless, nearly 100 players had rented rooms in the Starlight Fortress long-term. Some players had even rented out an entire hotel. As a result, the fortress had earned nearly 5,000 Magic Crystals in less than an hour after its grand opening, and the crystals continued to roll in... Meanwhile, inside the Star Tomb... Shi Feng and his team ventured farther into the Star Tomb, and the Hell Legion faced one bitter battle after another. Even Tier 3 experts struggled to move within the Regional Dungeon, their mobility reduced to that of Tier 1 players. Fortunately, their Basic Attributes hadn''t been affected. The reduced mobility had, however, considerably limited everyone''s individual combat power. In the outside world, every member of the Hell Legion could solo a Level 105 Great Lord, but in the Star Tomb, they could barely defeat a Level 105 High Lord. The Earthen Giants in the Regional Dungeon''s outer region typically moved in groups consisting of several hundred, with each having at least 100 Great Lords. These small armies were an extraordinary challenge for the Hell Legion. Every time they encountered a group of monsters, the legion spent over an hour to defeat them, and once the battle was over, they had to retrieve their Tents to recover their lost Stamina. If they didn''t take the time to rest, their chances of defeating the next monster army would plummet. Naturally, this slowed their leveling speed to a crawl. However, the Hell Legion members had to admit that the God Mode Regional Dungeon was a wonderful location. Not only was the monsters'' drop-rate impressive, but the loot they acquired was top-quality as well. One would have to slay Grand Lords for the slightest chance of obtaining Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment in the outside world, but in the Star Tomb, they could slay Great Lords to acquire the same ranked items. Furthermore, the Dungeon''s Great Lords had a chance of dropping Level 105 Secret-Silver Set Equipment. After over 20 hours of battle in the Star Tomb, the Hell Legion had completed two Secret Blue Sets and one Thorn Set. The Secret Blue Set was a set equipment for magical classes, while the Thorn Set catered to plate armor classes. Although both were only six-piece, Level 105 Secret-Silver Set Equipment, they were definitely considered top-tier in an era when most Guild experts hadn''t yet reached Level 105- Even the Hell Legions members coveted the set equipment. Although the weakest piece of equipment among them was Level 105 Secret-Silver rank, with a few players having Level 105 Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold equipment, the benefits of a complete Secret-Silver Set Equipment were slightly greater than the items they currently wore. If they were willing to part with the set equipment, they could easily demand astronomical prices. Star Tomb''s monsters also dropped plenty of Magic Crystals and Mana Stones. The legion had even acquired three combat techniques and Tier 2 Skill Books. Unfortunately, the Hell Legion had entered an agreement with Shi Feng before they had entered the Regional Dungeon. Since Shi Feng had employed the legion for this expedition, all loot they acquired would belong to him. The Hell Legion would only gain EXP within the Dungeon. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we''ve found the path to the Star Tomb''s second floor ahead," Hell Rush reported, gesturing to a massive tunnel not far from the team. "The monsters in the area are too concentrated, however, and there are a few Grand Lords in the mix. Pushing past them is impossible. I''m afraid we''ll be limited to this area." The Star Tomb''s interior had a similar structure to a tower, separated into multiple floors. Each floor was the size of a Level 15 map in the outside world was more difficult to clear than the last. As players ascended, they''d also be subjected to higher gravitational force. None of the various superpowers had made it past the central area of the Star Tomb''s first floor, near the passage to the second. Reaching the second floor proved almost impossible for current players. To make matters worse, players couldn''t use summoning tools or war weapons in the Star Tomb. They couldn''t even activate their Berserk Skills. Combined with the intense gravitational force, the Hell Legion was limited to taking on a few dozen Great Lords and a Grand Lord at a time. If the legion tried to take on three or four Grand Lords at once, they''d be eliminated. They wouldn''t even have the chance to flee. With their suppressed Movement Speed, they were considerably slower than the Earthen Giants. Their only option for survival was to slay the monsters. "That won''t do. Our goal is on the Star Tomb''s second floor," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Star Tomb had a total of 11 floors, and the first couldn''t even be considered the outer region''s outer area. They''d barely make it to the Dungeon''s outer region once they made it to the second floor, and they''d only have a chance of securing a Star of Light by slaying the monsters in that area. "It''s not that we don''t want to reach the second floor, Guild Leader Black Flame; we just can''t make it that far. If we start a fight near the tunnel, we''ll attract all of the Earthen Giants in the area. Not only will we have to face nearly 1,000 Earthen Giants, but there are also five Grand Lords. We''re no match for them with our current combat power," Hell Rush explained. The various superpowers had tried to reach the second floor as well, but even after trying various methods, none had succeeded. The five Grand Lords were especially challenging. Even a 1,000-man, Tier 3 team would struggle to defeat them, much less 300 Tier 3 experts. "Rest assured, Commander Rush. I can''t make any promises regarding the rest of the Earthen Giants, but you can leave the Grand Lords to us," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he gave the eight-meter-tall Earthen Giants an anticipatory look. "You''ll deal with them?" Hell Rush swept his gaze across Shi Feng and his companions. Their team only included 10 of Zero Wing''s members, and although he hadn''t seen these players fight yet, he recognized that they all had extraordinary combat power. If these 10 players worked together, they might be able to take on a Grand Lord ranked Earthen Giant by themselves. Unfortunately, five Grand Lords guarded the passage ahead. No matter how Hell Rush thought about the idea, it seemed like a joke. "That''s right. Do you think you and your legion can take out the rest of the monsters?" Shi Feng asked, nodding. "If you can stop the Grand Lords, the rest won''t be a problem," Hell Rush said, flashing a confident grin. "But, are you sure that you can defeat the five Grand Lords?" "Don''t worry about them." Shi Feng then turned to Yan Tianxing and the others and asked, "You guys can deal with the Grand Lords, right?" "No problem. Leave it to us. After watching the Hell Legion, we''ve been itching for a fight," Yan Tianxing replied with a wide smile. "Alright, let''s lure the five monsters away from the rest of the group first, then," Shi Feng decided. Five of his companions then walked away before charging at the five Grand Lords guarding the tunnel. They''re just going to do it? Are they insane? Watching Yan Tianxing and the others rush ahead without waiting for the Hell Legion, Hell Rush was dumbfounded. 2484 Unlocked Mana Body Chapter 2484 - Unlocked Mana Body Hell Rush wasn''t the only one dumbfounded. The rest of Hell Legion''s resting members were stunned as they watched the five Zero Wing members charge toward the Grand Lords. There were nearly 1,000 Earthen Giants near the passage, and the weakest was a Level 109 High Lord. There were over a 100 Great Lords, as well, and if they surrounded a 100-man, Tier 3 team, the players would be done for. The Earthen Giants weren''t affected by the Star Tomb''s gravitational force, and thus, both their Movement and Attack Speeds were higher than Tier 3 players''. As a result, players had to rely on their Basic Attributes to block the Earthen Giant''s attacks and their techniques to minimize the damage. The Hell Legion could only take on three or four Earthen Giants at one time. Even if they had superior combat standards, they wouldn''t be able to face a larger group and emerge from the battle unscathed. Yet, Yan Tianxing and his four comrades charged toward so many of these monsters with no hesitation... Just as Hell Rush came to his senses and turned to tell Shi Feng to stop his players, what he saw next left him flabbergasted. Yan Tianxing, Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and Yi Luofei were simply too fast. Despite the Star Tomb''s painful gravitational force, those five players closed the distance of several hundred yards in five seconds, reaching the monsters guarding the tunnel... "Impossible!" "How are they so fast?!" "Did they find a bug?" All of the Hell Legion''s members were surprised and confused by Yan Tianxing and his party''s Movement Speed. Even with superior Basic Attributes, attaining such speed in this environment should be impossible. The increased gravitational force had a massive impact on players'' speed. Even if a Tier 2 player had double or triple their Basic Attributes, the Star Tomb''s gravitational force wasn''t something that could simply be overcome. The Hell Legion''s members even suspected that reaching Tier 4 would only boost their speed to the Tier 2 standard. And yet, Yan Tianxing''s group moved as easily as they did outside of the Regional Dungeon. It was unbelievable! Wait, why is the Mana around them so dense? Hell Rush watched Yan Tianxing''s group carefully for a moment, and a thought popped in his mind. Could they have already unlocked their Mana Bodies? Even as he wondered if it were possible, he found the idea laughable. Most of the various superpowers'' experts hadn''t even begun to unlock their Mana Bodies, much less to their full potential. The Hell Legion member who had progressed the furthest had only unlocked 20% of their Mana Body; they still had a long road ahead to reach 100%. They''d likely need one or two, perhaps even four or five, months to accomplish the task. One couldn''t simply unlock their Mana Body''s full potential overnight. Players would have to continuously try to understand and control their Mana Bodies, starting the process from the very beginning. Hence, it was a long and arduous process. However, the Mana surrounding Yan Tianxing''s group was so strong that it puzzled Hell Rush. Thus far, Yan Tianxing and the others hadn''t participated in any of their battles, so Hell Rush hadn''t noticed anything different about the Mana around them. He had assumed that they used some special weapon or equipment piece that made the Mana around them so dense. Now that these players were on the move, however, the Mana around them grew denser, and it wasn''t a result of attracting ambient Mana. Rather, this Mana felt as if it originated from the players. Before Hell Rush could shake the thought, however, Yan Tianxing and his companions reached their targets. [Earthen Chieftain] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 112 HP 330,000,000/330,000,000 An Earthen Chieftain was already an incredibly tough monster in the outside world. Elemental Creatures had high Magic Resistance, after all, and the Earthen Chieftain''s body was composed of solid stone, which gave it a Defense that could rival Inferior Dragons''. There was also the fact that the Earthen Chieftains'' HPs were so high. A 100-man team with 30 Tier 3 players would struggle to raid an Earthen Chieftain in the outside world at this stage of the game, and every team of that caliber was considered first-rate in God''s Domain. Ordinary powers didn''t even have enough experts to form such a team. The instant Fire Dance reached her Earthen Chieftain, the Grand Lord, which had long since detected the Assassin, raised its fist and slammed it down on her. The Earthen Chieftain was eight meters tall, and its fists were as massive as boulders. Watching its fist descend toward Fire Dance was like watching a small mountain fall on her. There was no way she could dodge the attack; she''d have to block it. "Finally, I can test my Mana Body''s strength properly." A hint of excitement flashed in Fire Dance''s eyes as the Grand Lord''s fist fell. She immediately unsheathed Thousand Transformations, countering the Earthen Chieftain''s attack with a normal strike. When she had emerged from the Legacy Gate, she had only been a small step away from unlocking her Mana Body''s full potential, and after using the Legacy Room, she had resolved that issue. She had spent some time experimenting with her Mana Body, finally unlocking its potential to 100% a day ago. However, she had been busy with the Starlight Fortress''s matters and hadn''t had time to test out her Mana Body. Now that she had the perfect opportunity to so, she wouldn''t waste it by relying on her more powerful Skills. "Is she insane? She''s only an Assassin, yet she''s trying to tough it out?" The Hell Legion''s members thought Fire Dance was overestimating her strength when she hadn''t used a Skill to dodge the Grand Lord''s attack. With her speed, evading the blow shouldn''t be hard. She was a Void Realm expert, after all. She should''ve recognized the Earthen Chieftain''s attack trajectory immediately. And yet, the Assassin was trying to counter the Earthen Chieftain''s blow. She had to be suicidal. Boom! The sound of an explosion echoed throughout the area, and the ground trembled. The impact''s shockwave threw dust into the air. Once the dust settled, the scene before the Hell Legion''s members stunned them. She blocked it! An Assassin, a class known for its speed, had successfully blocked the Earthen Chieftain''s attack! "Crap! She actually blocked it?!" "Is she really an Assassin?" The Hell Legion members felt their world view crumble when Fire Dance had emerged from the exchange without injury. Not even Thunder Beast, who had the highest Strength of any Hell Legion member, would be a match for a monster like the Earthen Chieftain. He''d have to rely on the legion''s healers to tank the Grand Lord. And yet, Fire Dance had countered the attack without taking any damage... Sure enough, an unlocked Peak Gold Mana Body is amazing. Even a normal attack is so powerful. If she can learn a Mana Technique, she''ll likely be able to solo Mythics. When Shi Feng saw Fire Dance dominate the Earthen Chieftain, he couldn''t help his desire to unlock his own Mana Body. God''s Domain''s players would only be considered true experts once they had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. If they didn''t, they''d only be considered pseudo-experts, even after reaching Tier 4. Take the Star Tomb, for example. If players entered the Dungeon without fully unlocking their Mana Bodies, they''d struggle against the Regional Dungeon''s suppression. Hence, the first thing all experts needed to do upon reaching Tier 3 was unlock their Mana Bodies. Levels and tiers had to be set aside. Until they succeeded, they wouldn''t even qualify to explore God''s Domain. While Shi Feng admired Fire Dance''s display, the Assassin used Shadow Steps to appear behind the Earthen Chieftain. "It''s my turn!" Fire Dance raised Thousand Transformations, aiming for the back of the Grand Lord''s head. Absolute Strike! Darkness immediately surrounded Fire Dance. -424,538! A damage of over -400,000 appeared above the Earthen Chieftain''s head, and silence fell over the Hell Legion. 2485 Inhuman Battle Chapter 2485 - Inhuman Battle "Over 400,000 damage?! Is she even human?!" Every member of the Hell Legion wondered if they were hallucinating when they saw the bright-red numbers above the Earthen Chieftain''s head. For a moment, they even wondered if Fire Dance was an NPC disguised as a player. Even they, experts who stood at the pinnacle of God''s Domain, could barely cause over -70,000 damage to the Earthen Giants with Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Hell Rush, one of the legion''s strongest players, could only deal around -150,000. These monsters'' ridiculously high Defense and Magic Resistance could practically rival Archaic Species'' of the same rank. And yet, they had just watched a Tier 3 Assassin deal over -400,000 damage to the Grand Lord ranked Earthen Chieftain, and she had only used a Tier 2 Skill. Even at Tier 3, Assassins didn''t have many options for raising their attacks'' power. Most of their Skills focused on speed, increasing their total DPS. But Fire Dance had obliterated what they had known about the class. How could she even be considered an Assassin with that kind of raw power? She was even more of a Berserker than actual Berserkers... Before the Hell Legion members could recover from their shock, Yan Tianxing and the other three Zero Wing experts started their battles with their own Earthen Chieftains. Yan Tianxing effortlessly evaded his Grand Lord''s straightforward attack, circling to the Grand Lord''s back. He then brandished his daggers and sent several beautiful, silver arcs slicing into the Earthen Chieftain''s back. -134,324! -274,543! -133,645! A series of damages appeared above the Earthen Chieftain''s head, and although each of his hits didn''t deal as much damage as Fire Dance''s, the total amount was frightening. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and Yi Luofei, all magical class players, caused an even greater commotion. As soon as Aqua Rose finished her Spell''s incantation, a towering tidal wave manifested before her, devouring the Earthen Chieftain and several dozen Earthen Giants nearby. In one move, Aqua Rose heavily injured the Earthen Giants and Earthen Chieftain, which boasted high Magic Resistance. She also dealt over a million damage to each of them. Meanwhile, Yi Luofei summoned five flaming meteors, casting them down on her Earthen Chieftain. One... Two... Three meteors... As each meteor struck the ground, the Dungeon''s first floor trembled violently. By the time all five had landed, they had created a crater that was over 100 meters wide and 10 meters deep around the Grand Lord. Of the three Earthen Chieftains that faced these magical class players, however, Violet Cloud''s target was in the worst state. Three hundred shadow blades danced around the Grand Lord, each with enough force to make the monster stumble. When all 300 attacked as one, the outcome could only be described as a tragedy... "How does Zero Wing have so many monstrous players?" At this point, every member of the Hell Legion believed that Yan Tianxing''s party could slay the five Earthen Chieftains, let alone keep them distracted. They only might need some time to defeat the monsters. Even so, their combat power was astonishing. The five Zero Wing experts single-handedly suppressed the Star Tomb''s grand lords, and not one of them was an MT. "Guild Leader Black Flame, have they...fully unlocked their Mana Bodies?" Hell Rush could not help but ask as he watched Fire Dance and the others fight. He couldn''t think of any other reason that would allow those five players to display such incredible speed and power. Not even the various Super Guilds'' experts had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. All of them were still exploring. It hadn''t been long since these experts had reached Tier 3, after all. "They have. All five have reached 100% of their Mana Bodies'' potential," Shi Feng confirmed with a nod. He had no intention of hiding the fact, nor could he. He couldn''t explain away the strength Yan Tianxing and the other four displayed as higher Basic Attributes. Even if they had double or triple their Basic Attributes, they wouldn''t exhibit such impressive combat power. Players could only accomplish this feat by unlocking their Mana Body''s full potential. It was a pity that Shadow Sword, Cola, Turtledove, and Alluring Summer hadn''t progressed this far yet. Even Alluring Summer had only unlocked 98% of her potential. If she had been able to bridge that final gap, their team would''ve had a much easier time exploring the Star Tomb. "All five of them have fully unlocked their Mana Bodies?" Hell Rush and the vice commanders around him gasped when they heard Shi Feng''s answer. They had suspected this might be the case, but they couldn''t help their astonishment when Shi Feng had confirmed it. Even the strongest player in Netherworld Empire had only unlocked 20% of their Mana Body''s potential; they''d still need another month or two to reach 100%. They would still need at least one or two months to reach 100% potential. Yet, Zero Wing, a Guild that had started from nothing in God''s Domain and wasn''t supported by any major corporation, had nurtured five experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. It was unbelievable! "Would you be willing to offer some guidance regarding Mana Bodies, Guild Leader Black Flame? If you are, I can represent my Guild in offering to garrison 50,000 experts in the Starlight Fortress long-term. Netherworld Empire will also supply Zero Wing with various rare materials from the western continent," Hell Rush proposed, trying to contain his excitement. Everyone''s Mana Body was different, and players would gain very little from others'' experiences, but the fact that Zero Wing had nurtured five experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies proved that it could help players accomplish the feat. Anyone that said otherwise was either lying or a fool. Players would see huge differences in their accomplishments, depending on how soon they unlocked their Mana Bodies'' potential. The difference between the combat power Zero Wing''s members displayed and that of the Hell Legion made that much obvious. After Hell Rush presented his offer and request, the rest of his comrades grew restless, watching Shi Feng. They all wanted to hear his answer. Before this, they hadn''t realized how effective a fully unlocked Mana Body would be on one''s combat power, but after seeing Yan Tianxing and his companions'' performance, they were sure of one thing. Tier 3 players that hadn''t unlocked their Mana Bodies were pests in comparison! Many of the Hell Legion''s members had just as high combat standards as Fire Dance and the others, but if they had to fight any of those five players, they''d refuse. The difference between their overall combat power was like the difference between heaven and earth. They even suspected that Fire Dance and her party could take on 30 Hell Legion members simultaneously. The more Hell Legion''s experts thought about it, the more restless they became. Rather than their earlier prideful attitude, they all watched Shi Feng with anticipation and hunger. Weapons and equipment were secondary concerns for experts like them. Their individual strength was far more important. In fact, they had joined their Guild in the pursuit of greater strength. "Don''t worry about the 50,000 experts," Shi Feng dismissed the offer. He could not help but shake his head and chuckle when he saw everyone''s eager looks. "Offering guidance for unlocking your Mana Bodies isn''t necessarily impossible, but in exchange, I''d like Netherworld Empire to help me with another matter. In exchange, I will offer some advice. Although I cannot help all of you unlock your Mana Bodies'' full potential in a short time, I can help you complete the task with a little more speed." Hell Rush had to calm his heart again when Shi Feng had agreed. He responded immediately, "Guild Leader Black Flame, please, state your demands! If I have the authority to agree to them, I can do so on my Guild''s behalf!" "It''s very simple. I need one month. I want Hell Legion under my command for one full month!" Shi Feng raised a finger and swept his gaze across the Hell Legion members. 2486 Earthen Chieftains Loo Chapter 2486 - Earthen Chieftains'' Loot When Shi Feng finished speaking, Hell Rush and the others revealed astonished expressions on their faces. "You want to employ us for a month?" Hell Rush could not help hesitating upon hearing Shi Feng''s demand. Had the Swordsman asked for financial assistance, he could''ve easily approved the request with his authority. However, hiring the entire Hell Legion for one whole month was a different story. The Hell Legion was one of Netherworld Empire''s trump card legions. The legion''s first priority was the improvement of its members'' strength and level, which was why the Guild would invest tons of resources in the legion. It might be fine if Shi Feng wished to employ the Hell Legion for one or two days, but an employment period of one whole month was something else altogether. A month might not be particularly long, but it wasn''t particularly short, either. Netherworld Empire might be willing to use money and resources to exchange for the improvement of its members'' combat power, but not a large amount of its trump card legion''s time. After all, the reason behind Netherworld''s considerable investment of resources in the development of its members was to buy time for itself. To be precise, it was to save time and gain an advantage over their competitors. Selling the time of one of its trump card legions would be akin to putting the cart before the horse. Moreover, the Hell Legion had plenty of tasks it needed to handle. If it operated under Shi Feng for a month, these tasks would have to be set aside. You can rest assured that during this one month, your level won''t fall behind others in the slightest. In fact, your equipment standard won''t fall behind, either. You''ll also be free to do whatever you want for most of this one month. I will only need your help during certain times," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the hesitation on Hell Rush''s face. "Most importantly, you will get to receive guidance on how to unlock your Mana Bodies ahead of everyone else. I can guarantee that all of you will unlock your Mana Bodies within this one month." Shi Feng understood Hell Rush''s concerns. After all, the Hell Legion was Netherworld Empire''s strongest trump card legion. Although the Great Super Guild invested the best resources it had in the legion, that did not mean the legion would automatically grow stronger. The legion still had to cherish every second available to improve itself so that it could compete and surpass the teams and legions of other superpowers. No Guild would be willing to let its strongest legion waste one whole month working for someone else, even in exchange for the method to accelerate the process of unlocking one''s Mana Body. I''m afraid I don''t have the authority to decide on this matter. I need to report this to my superiors first and leave the decision to them," Hell Rush said. Although Shi Feng''s words were tempting, he still shook his head and did not give a definitive answer. The Hell Legion was Netherworld Empire''s trump card legion. The resources Netherworld Empire could obtain and invest in the Hell Legion were not something Shi Feng could possibly get his hands on. Moreover, Netherworld Empire might not have any methods to accelerate the unlocking process of a player''s Mana Body now, but that might not be the case a few days later. If the Great Super Guild happened to come across such a method soon after signing a contract with Shi Feng, the Hell Legion would waste one month of its time for nothing. With the Hell Legion''s capabilities, the opportunities it stood to lose out on from one month''s idleness were massive. "Alright. I''m not in a hurry to settle this deal. You can think it over once you return," Shi Feng said, not the slightest bit surprised by Hell Rush''s reply. After all, this was no longer a decision Hell Rush could make as the Hell Legion''s commander; only Netherworld Empire''s Guild Leader and Grand Elders could. Thank you for your understanding, Guild Leader Black Flame. We will give you a reply as soon as possible," Hell Rush said, nodding. Inwardly, though, he felt that the likelihood of his higher-ups approving this transaction was minimal. After all, a month was simply too long, especially with the number of Tier 3 players in God''s Domain rapidly increasing. Meanwhile, Cola, who had overheard the conversation, looked at Shi Feng in confusion. "Guild Leader, are you really planning to let them enter the Legacy Gate?" Cola asked in a quiet tone, a pained expression appearing on his face. Cola had personally experienced the Legacy Gate''s benefits. It was undoubtedly the best place to improve one''s Mana Body. However, the number of slots to enter the Legacy Gate each month were limited. Zero Wing barely had enough for itself. He felt that giving the slots to Netherworld Empire would be a huge waste. After all, a Tier 3 expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body brought plenty of advantages. Moreover, letting the Hell Legion use the Legacy Gate would expose the Starlight Fortress''s true value. Although the Hell Legion indeed possessed a lot of Tier 3 experts, Zero Wing wasn''t weak, either. Zero Wing might not be capable of producing 300 Tier 3 experts in the next 10 or 15 days, but producing up to 200 Tier 3 experts should be no problem. By then, Zero Wing should also have a few more experts that had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. "Mhm. I have an important use for the Hell Legion''s experts," Shi Feng said, nodding. "An important use?" Shi Feng''s words confused Cola. He simply couldn''t understand what Shi Feng would need the Hell Legion for. In terms of combat power, the Hell Legion''s experts were far inferior to Fire Dance''s group of five; in fact, the five could beat up the entire Hell Legion handily. At best, the Hell Legion would be useful for raiding Dungeons. "Fire Dance and the others are indeed very strong after unlocking their Mana Bodies, but there are many things that cannot be solved with just a handful of players," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the look of disdain Cola was giving the Hell Legion. Fire Dance''s group of five might be capable of suppressing the Hell Legion now, but once the Hell Legion''s members fully unlocked their Mana Bodies as well, Fire Dance''s five wouldn''t even be able to flee for their lives. Moreover, the Hell Legion''s Tier 3 experts'' fully unlocking their Mana Bodies was only a matter of time. Meanwhile, what Shi Feng needed was the Hell Legion with its members'' Mana Bodies fully unlocked. Although the Silver Divine Dragon was already his companion, that was only temporary. He still had to complete Auerbeck''s trial within four months to make the contract permanent. Auerbeck''s trial was no trivial matter. He needed to raise his strength as quickly as possible in order to clear it. Meanwhile, of the methods he could think of to boost his strength, the best one was to complete Solomon''s Sword. However, the locations of the remaining fragments of Solomon''s Sword were simply too dangerous. The risk of failure was incredibly high if he went to these locations by himself, and even if Fire Dance and the others accompanied him. Hence, he needed the help of the Hell Legion. Moreover, after obtaining the Hell Legion''s help, Zero Wing would no longer have to fear the various superpowers on the eastern continent. It could clash with them head-on and contest for the truly important resource points. Zero Wing would not have to rely on just a handful of Guild Towns and Cities to secure resources, which would, in turn, prevent the superpowers from easily suppressing its resource income. Currently, the main source of weapons and equipment was still monsters. However, this would shift to Lifestyle players as players reached ever-higher levels. If Zero Wing did not secure the necessary resource points early on, with the Guild''s current scale of development, the various superpowers would eventually rip it to shreds. By the time Shi Feng and Cola''s conversation was over, Fire Dance and the others had lured the five Earthen Chieftains away from the main group of monsters. Upon seeing this, Hell Rush immediately led his team into action and started clearing out the weaker Earthen Giants. As the Earthen Chieftains were gone, the strongest monsters before the tunnel were merely Level 112 Great Lords. For the Hell Legion members, whose Basic Attributes rivaled those of Great Lords and even Grand Lords of the same level, these monsters were a piece of cake. The only inconvenience was their reduced mobility, which slowed their clearing speed by a significant margin. However, with Fire Dance and the others occupying the Earthen Chieftains, the Hell Legion did not face much pressure during battle. The legion systematically defeated the Earthen Giants, chipping away at their numbers. Roughly two hours later, all of the Earthen Giants blocking the tunnel had fallen. Only the five Earthen Chieftains remained standing. At this moment, however, each of the Earthen Giants had less than 70% of their HPs remaining. The Hell Legion members could not help but gulp audibly at the sight. Although they knew that Fire Dance and the others could solo the Earthen Giants, they still could not believe their eyes when they saw that each of the Earthen Giants had lost so much HP already. "Alright, quickly get rid of these Earthen Giants!" Shi Feng commanded when he noticed the Hell Legion members staring dazedly at Fire Dance''s group. Others might not be aware of the condition of Fire Dance''s group, but Shi Feng was. Fire Dance and the others might''ve burned a considerable portion of the Earthen Chieftains'' HP already, but they had also expended a significant amount of Stamina. With their remaining Stamina, finishing off the Earthen Giants all by themselves would be impossible. Ultimately, a group was still necessary to defeat monsters like the Earthen Giants. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have bothered hiring the Hell Legion at all. Shi Feng''s command promptly snapped everyone from the Hell Legion out of their daze, and they sprang to assist Fire Dance''s group with the five Earthen Chieftains. Fire Dance''s group of five tanked the five Earthen Chieftains while the Hell Legion members helped deal damage from the sidelines. With the participation of the Hell Legion, the Earthen Giants lost HP rapidly. In the end, all five Earthen Giants fell within 30 minutes. The Hell Legion members had a much easier time with the Grand Lord ranked Earthen Chieftains than with the Great Lord ranked Earthen Giants. When all five Earthen Giants collapsed simultaneously, the players'' experience bars started filling up rapidly. The amount of EXP the Earthen Giants awarded was much more bountiful than that of Grand Lords of the same level in the outside world. In just three seconds, their experience bars had increased by 15%far more EXP than they normally would gain after grinding for half a day. Moreover, after the five Earthen Chieftains died, they had dropped several dozen items. The abundance of their loot surpassed even that of Mythic monsters in the outside world. For a moment, everyone from the Hell Legion was stupefied by this scene. 2487 Flaming Steel Se Chapter 2487 - Flaming Steel Set "The Earthen Chieftains'' loot is actually so abundant?" "The number of items they dropped is at least triple that of the Grand Lords in the outside world!" The Hell Legion members'' eyes glowed when they saw the five Earthen Chieftains'' loot. There were plenty of Level 100-plus Grand Lords in the outside world, including Star Valley. Killing just one would net players a significant profit. If players were lucky, they might even obtain a piece of Dark-Gold Equipment. At this stage of the game, Level 105 Dark-Gold Equipment was considered one of the best equipment available even to the various superpowers'' experts. As for Level 100-plus Epic Weapons and Equipment, they were things that could be obtained only by killing Level 100- plus Mythicsan incredibly difficult feat. Moreover, the drop-rate wasn''t 100%, either. Usually, all Level 100-plus Epic items a Guild obtained would be allocated to the Guild''s Elders. Even the Guild''s peak experts would not get any. Hence, for most experts right now, Level 105 Dark-Gold Equipment was the best equipment available. Now, the five Earthen Chieftains had dropped loot equivalent to that of 15 Grand Lords in the outside world. This was simply a jackpot. Moreover, the Earthen Chieftains also granted much more EXP, equivalent to that of a Mythic monster in the outside world. While the Hell Legion members were quietly discussing this matter among themselves, Aqua Rose and the others quickly collected the Earthen Chieftains'' loot. "Guild Leader, we''re quite lucky this time. These five Earthen Chieftains dropped a total of 7 pieces of Level 110 Fine- Gold Equipment and 12 pieces of Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment. Among the Secret-Silver Equipment is a pair of plate armor gloves that belongs to an eight-piece, Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment," Aqua Rose joyfully reported to Shi Feng after organizing the loot. In regard to this situation, Shi Feng wasn''t surprised in the slightest. Although they were currently on the Star Tomb''s first floor, this place was still a God Mode Regional Dungeon. Such loot was very normal. Moreover, nobody had defeated these Earthen Chieftains before. The fact that these Grand Lords dropped Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment and Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment was nothing special at all. "Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment and Level 110 Secret-Silver Set Equipment?" Hell Rush was astonished when he overheard Aqua Rose''s report, because the weapons and equipment the Earthen Chieftains dropped were slightly better than even some of the items he had equipped. His equipment already ranked among the best available in the entire Netherworld Empire; only a select few in the Guild had better. Moreover, if not for the several pieces of Level 100-plus Epic items on him, then his equipment might have gotten surpassed altogether. "Mhm. Here, take a look," Aqua Rose said, smiling as she shared the Attribute Panels of the equipment they obtained with Hell Rush, not bothering to hide the items'' Attributes. After all, everyone from Zero Wing had much better equipment. "Isn''t this Flaming Steel Set a little too powerful? If one of our MTs were to equip it, they could most likely tank an Earthen Chieftain all by themselves!" Hell Rush exclaimed, a passionate flame burning in his eyes as he stared at a pair of plate armor gloves. Although the current Hell Legion''s MTs were already well equipped, with some even possessing two pieces of Level 100-plus Epic Equipment, the overall standard of their equipment would still be inferior by a large margin when compared to the Flaming Steel Set. Just the bonuses from the set''s five-piece and eight-piece set effects alone could already rival those from being fully geared in Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment. The five-piece set effect increased not only the user''s Defense Skill by three levels but also the user''s Defense Attribute by 25%, while the eight-piece set effect increased the user''s HP and physique by 25%. These bonuses allowed MTs to become sturdier with much greater mobility. An MT geared in the Flaming Steel Set would have no problems tanking Level 110 Mythic monsters in the outside world. Upon thinking up to this point, Hell Rush had the urge to have the Hell Legion continue grinding in the Star Tomb even after working for Shi Feng. After all, if the Hell Legion secured a complete Flaming Steel Set, it would have a much easier time raiding Level 100 super-large-scale Team Dungeons. However, Hell Rush soon shook his head and smiled bitterly. Although the temptation was strong, nobody in the Hell Legion was capable of tanking the Earthen Chieftains right now. If not for Aqua Rose and the others keeping the Grand Lords in check, the Hell Legion would''ve been helpless against the monsters. "If Commander Rush likes this Flaming Steel Set, once we collect a full set, I don''t mind selling it to you," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw Hell Rush fall silent after seeing the Flaming Steel Set''s Attributes. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you serious?" Hell Rush reflexively sought confirmation. The Flaming Steel Set was top-tier set equipment for MTs, which definitely could not be bought in the outside world. In fact, even the various Super Guilds did not possess such excellent set equipment right now. Moreover, one could use the Flaming Steel Set up to Level 115. Actually, although the set could grow only up to Level 115, with how excellent its Attributes were, players should still be able to use it even after reaching Level 120. Only Epic Equipment could surpass the Flaming Steel Set. "Of course. I never joke. In fact, if the Hell Legion accepts my condition, let alone one Flaming Steel Set, even obtaining 20 or 30 sets of set equipment on par with the Flaming Steel Set wouldn''t be a problem," Shi Feng said, nodding. The Flaming Steel Set was indeed excellent for current Tier 3 players. However, as more players fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, such set equipment would become very common. Not to mention, after a certain point, experts should only be geared in Dark-Gold Equipment or Set Equipment at the very minimum because past Level 100, only Dark- Gold Equipment or better could adapt to players'' Mana Bodies. If players with fully unlocked Mana Bodies fought using equipment at the Fine-Gold rank or below, they would rapidly deplete the durability of their equipment. In fact, after reaching Tier 4, players couldn''t even consider using Secret- Silver weapons and equipment since such low-caliber weapons and equipment couldn''t endure the power of a Tier 4 Mana Body, becoming useless after the execution of one Skill or Spell. This was the eternal pain that all expert players that had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies faced. Only, very few players in God''s Domain had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, so players were still unaware that having an overly powerful body was also a problem. "Thirty sets?" Hell Rush could not help being tempted. Previously, he had felt that the one-month employment period Shi Feng proposed was too long. However, he started wavering after hearing that the Hell Legion could get its hands on 30 sets of set equipment that was on par with the Flaming Steel Set Equipment. After all, even if the Hell Legion desperately grinded for one month, few of its members could reach Level 120 in that period. Meanwhile, the Flaming Steel Set Equipment was top-tier set equipment that could still be used even after players reached Level 120. In other words, even after working for Shi Feng for a month, the Hell Legion would retain an edge over the teams of other superpowers when it came to equipment standards. Now, he felt that he needed to have a proper discussion with his superiors in the Guild. "Since we''ve taken care of the monsters already, we should head to the second floor. If we continue resting here, the monsters might respawn," Shi Feng said after seeing that everyone was sufficiently rested. Everyone promptly stood up from the ground and entered the tunnel leading to the Star Tomb''s second floor. The tunnel was long and narrow. Not only did it not have any monsters, but the ambient Mana inside was also incredibly dense. This situation allowed everyone to relax their mental states considerably. Meanwhile, after walking for around five minutes, the team arrived on the Star Tomb''s second floor, where a strong pressure greeted everyone. "Why is the gravity here so much higher than on the first floor?" Aqua Rose immediately felt uncomfortable when she stepped onto the second floor. On the first floor, she had barely felt the effects of the increased gravitational force. Now, however, she could actually feel her body growing significantly heavier. Even her mobility was negatively affected. "The gravity here is twice as strong as that of the first floor. It seems this floor will be our limit." When Shi Feng sensed the gravitational force on the second floor, he, too, felt a little surprised. He never thought that the gravity here would be so powerful. From what he knew, the gravitational force players experienced inside the Star Tomb would grow ever-higher with each floor they climbed. Hence, ascending the Star Tomb was incredibly difficult. After reaching the fourth floor, even Tier 3 players that had their Mana Bodies fully unlocked would be incapable of combat without anti-gravity equipment. However, anti-gravity equipment had always been considered incredibly rare in God''s Domain. In fact, Lifestyle players couldn''t produce it, as its creation involved ancient technology. Following which, Shi Feng and the others started clearing out the monsters outside the tunnel''s exit. Although the gravitational force on the second floor had doubled, the monsters'' strength and levels had barely increased. The only obvious difference was the larger number of Great Lord ranked Earthen Giants in each group of monsters. However, this change did not affect Shi Feng and the others at all. Moreover, to everyone''s surprise, the monsters here granted at least three times more EXP than the monsters found on the first floor. As a result, everyone''s leveling speed was now at least 50% faster than if they grinded in the outside world. In addition, the loot the monsters dropped was also much better. Even the Great Lord ranked Earthen Giants occasionally dropped Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment. Aside from having better loot, the Star Tomb''s second floor had much thinner Mana than the first floor. Hence, everyone could actually improve their control over the Mana inside their Mana Bodies as they fought, which inspired everyone to fight much more fervently. In such a way, the team grinded on the second floor for two whole days, moving from the outer area to the inner area. Many players on the team leveled up from the abundant EXP. Unfortunately for Shi Feng, as he had reached Level 111 already, the amount of EXP he received from the second floor''s monsters wasn''t particularly abundant. Hence, he did not manage to level up. As if to rub salt in the wound, despite killing numerous Grand Lords, he still didn''t obtain a Star of Light during the past two days of grinding, contrary to his expectations. "Guild Leader, I discovered an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest over here!" Fire Dance, who was scouting ahead of the team, reported excitedly through the team chat. An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest? Shi Feng was stunned when he heard Fire Dance''s words. How is this possible? According to his memories, the Star Tomb shouldn''t possess a single treasure chest, much less an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. 2488 Demon Gods Temptation Chapter 2488 - Demon God''s Temptation Could it be a pioneering benefit? After giving the matter some thought, this was the only possibility Shi Feng could think of. In his previous life, there was never any news of anybody discovering a treasure chest in the Star Tomb despite the many teams grinding there back then. Any treasure chest opened in the Star Tomb would definitely have caught the attention of others. However, nobody had ever seen any signs of a treasure chest being opened in the Star Tomb. Hence, everyone had always believed that this Regional Dungeon did not spawn treasure chests and that players could only obtain resources and treasures from killing Bosses there. However, Shi Feng did not put too much thought into the matter. After all, that was an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest they were talking about, an opportunity that was incredibly difficult to come by. He immediately led Cola and the others toward Fire Dance''s location. At the same time, Fire Dance''s report in the team chat had set the team abuzz. "Crap! There''s actually an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest here!?" "Zero Wing has struck gold this time! It might even get a Fragmented Legendary item!" "Only our Guild Leader has a Fragmented Legendary item currently. Zero Wing is truly lucky." The several vice commanders of the Hell Legion grew incredibly envious upon hearing about the discovery of an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. If not for Zero Wing being their ally, they would''ve most likely done everything they could to contest for it. Currently, in the opinion of most experts, Epic Weapons and Equipment were the highest-ranked items available in God''s Domain, while Fragmented Legendary items and the like were mere rumors. After all, items of such caliber had yet to appear on the market. In fact, the majority of the various superpowers still didn''t have any concrete information relating to Fragmented Legendary items. According to Netherworld Empire''s investigations, there shouldn''t be more than 10 Fragmented Legendary items in the hands of players right now. Moreover, only a few in the Guild''s upper echelon knew about this information. As for the strength of Fragmented Legendary items, the Guild upper echelon, like themselves, had personally witnessed it before. It was not something Epic Weapons and Equipment could hope to match. Fragmented Legendary items allowed players to undergo a qualitative transformation. If they could obtain just one Fragmented Legendary item, they would instantly soar to the apex of God''s Domain. Most importantly, Fragmented Legendary items could be used forever, continuously growing stronger as players reached higher levels, and would never fall behind the times. Hence, Netherworld Empire had always been frantically searching for clues to Fragmented Legendary items and would go all-out in following any clues it found. In fact, the Guild wouldn''t even mind letting the entire Hell Legion suffer annihilation if it meant obtaining a Fragmented Legendary item. However, according to Netherworld Empire''s research, the chances of getting a Fragmented Legendary item from Epic Treasure Chests were minimal. Only Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests had a significant chance of awarding such an item. The Star Tomb''s pioneering benefits are this excellent? Hell Rush also could not help growing envious in this situation. It seems we''ll really need to go all-out in exploring the Star Tomb after this job. Although he knew that the Star Tomb definitely contained bountiful resources and treasures as a God Mode Regional Dungeon, he never imagined that it would be to such an extent. They were only on the Star Tomb''s second floor, yet they had already come across an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. If even the second floor had such amazing treasures, he simply could not fathom how amazing the treasures on the higher floors would be. After the Hell Legion''s members discussed this matter briefly among themselves, they quickly followed Shi Feng toward Fire Dance''s location. The environment of the Star Tomb''s second floor was a tropical rainforest. However, unlike the rainforests in the real world, the rainforest here was home to colossal trees. Entering this place felt like entering a land for Giants. Ordinary humans would look incredibly small here. After traveling through the forest for around 20 minutes, the team arrived before a barren hill, which actually had an ancient temple erected on it. A dark fog enveloped this shrine, evoking an indescribably gloomy sensation. Through the open gates, one could see a gigantic treasure chest sitting in the middle of the shrine. This treasure chest gave off the distinctive orange-red glow of an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. "Guild Leader, we''ve struck the jackpot this time! It really is an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest!" Cola said, excitement surfacing on his face when he spotted the gigantic treasure chest. This was no longer Cola''s first time seeing an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Although he didn''t think that Fire Dance would make a mistake, after verifying Fire Dance''s claim with his own eyes, he still could not help his surprise. After all, he had personally experienced the strength of a Fragmented Legendary item before. At this moment, aside from Cola, Aqua Rose and the other Zero Wing members present also revealed excited expressions on their faces. After all, so long as they managed to obtain a Fragmented Legendary item from the treasure chest, Zero Wing would have another apex expert, something the Guild lacked the most right now. However, unlike the Zero Wing experts, the members of the Hell Legion did not reveal any joy or envy upon seeing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. On the contrary, they even started shaking their heads in disappointment. "What a pity. It''s actually a Demon God''s Temptation," Hell Rush sighed as he gazed at the gloomy temple. After calming herself, Aqua Rose turned to Hell Rush and asked curiously, "Demon God''s Temptation? What do you mean, Commander Rush?" Previously, she had clearly sensed Hell Rush and the others'' passionate response to the discovery of the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Now, however, after seeing the treasure chest itself, they were suddenly indifferent toward it. This was truly strange. You arrived on the western continent not long ago, so you might not know about this, but strange temples randomly appear in some of the dangerous locations on the western continent. Not only are these strange temples filled with dense dark energy, but these temples also house incredibly precious treasures," Hell Rush explained. "However, these temples are merely traps set up by Demon Gods. If players fail to resist the temptation and get lured into these temples, they are forced to undergo a trial and challenge the phantom of the Demon God that set up the trial. Meanwhile, these trials are simply impossible to complete. "To make matters worse, if players don''t complete the trial, they not only fail to obtain the treasure but even have their level returned to zero and half their soul devoured, which would place them in a weakened state for a very long period. At which point, players have no choice but to remake their accounts. Hence, we have labeled these temples as the Demon God''s Temptation." As Hell Rush finished speaking, many of the Hell Legion''s members revealed grim expressions. This was because several of the Hell Legion''s members had fallen for these traps and were forced to remake their accounts, an irrecoverable blow. Moreover, Netherworld Empire wasn''t the only Guild that had fallen for these Demon God''s Temptations; many other superpowers had too. Many famous experts had disappeared from God''s Domain, victims of these traps. Hence, whenever the Demon God''s Temptation was mentioned, the various superpowers'' experts would turn pale with fright. "So, that means we came here for nothing?" Aqua Rose grew dejected upon hearing Hell Rush''s words. Although she still had the urge to challenge the Demon God''s Temptation even after hearing Hell Rush''s explanation, reason stopped her. Her current combat power might be far superior to Hell Rush''s and the others'', but some trials in God''s Domain did not just test players'' combat power but also their combat standards. Players would need to meet the requirements for both to pass those trials. Meanwhile, when it came to combat standards, Hell Rush was leaps and bounds above her, and considerably superior even to Yan Tianxing, who was a Domain Realm expert. If even an expert of Hell Rush''s caliber had given up on the Demon God''s Temptation without hesitation, how could someone like herself possibly succeed? "Don''t even think about it. The greater the treasure stored inside a Demon God''s Temptation, the more difficult the trial would be. Previously, a trial that housed an Epic Treasure Chest already forced players to go up against a Demon God''s phantom of the same level and tier. With the reward being an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest right now, I''m afraid the phantom summoned will be at least one tier higher than the challenger," Hell Rush advised. He, too, was tempted by the prospects of obtaining an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. If there were even the slightest possibility of success, he would most likely give the trial a try. However, that was not the case for the trial before him. Challenging it would be akin to making a bet guaranteed to lose. After all, the opponent summoned would be a Tier 4 phantom of a God. The other members of the Hell Legion also agreed with Hell Rush''s words. With their current strength, they could only admire the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest from afar. They had to be tired of living to try to obtain it. "No, we''re not completely without options," Shi Feng suddenly said. 2489 Circumventing the Rules? Chapter 2489 - Circumventing the Rules? Hell Rush and the Hell Legion''s other members gave Shi Feng a strange look after he spoke up. They had already explained the Demon God''s Temptation to the eastern players. They hadn''t expected that Shi Feng would still aim to claim the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. Trying to take that chest would be the equivalent of trading one''s life for wealth. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you won''t be able to use your Berserk Skills or any magic tools once inside the temple. You''d have to face the Demon God''s phantom by relying on your own power. Although the phantom isn''t a true Demon God, a Demon God did create it. It''s far stronger than a Hero of the same level and tier," Hell Rush explained. "If you fail, you''ll have to remake your account." Hell Rush could sympathize with Shi Feng''s desire. An Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest was just that tempting. That treasure chest had a very high chance of bestowing a Fragmented Legendary item to whoever opened it. But, Shi Feng didn''t know how powerful a Demon God''s phantom was. Hell Rush might have considered the task of obtaining the chest, too, if he hadn''t seen a Demon God''s phantom for himself, but he had. The Hell Legion''s members nodded in agreement with their commander. They acknowledged Shi Feng for his strength, but the man wasn''t powerful enough to challenge a Demon God''s phantom and survive. "Guild Leader?" Shi Feng''s statement even made Aqua Rose a little nervous. He hadn''t even unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential, and in the Star Tomb, he had slightly less combat power than she did. If Shi Feng failed the trial, he''d take Zero Wing down with him. The man was the symbol of Zero Wing, and if he were forced to remake his account, the Guild would quickly crumble. "You misunderstand. I have no intention of challenging the Demon God''s phantom directly," Shi Feng explained, noticing his comrades'' anxious expressions. "I''m just saying that obtaining that treasure chest is possible." "Obtaining the treasure chest without challenging the Demon God''s phantom?" Hell Rush gave Shi Feng a confused look. He thought the man must be joking. Once players entered the temple, they couldn''t leave until the trial until they completed it. If Shi Feng didn''t defeat the Demon God''s phantom, how would he claim the treasure chest? Yes, though it will be somewhat difficult," Shi Feng answered, nodding. He then turned to Aqua Rose and said, "Set up a Starlight Gathering Magic Array around the temple. Then, I want you to stand guard and prevent any monsters from approaching." Shi Feng knew far more about the Ancient Gods and their phantoms than anyone in God''s Domain. Not even a Dragon of the same tier would approach an area guarded by an Ancient God''s phantom. The phantom''s strength was on par with that of a Divine Dragon. As he was now, he wouldn''t last three or four hits against a Demon God''s phantom of the same tier, much less against a phantom that was one tier higher. While he might not be able to defeat a Demon God''s phantom, however, obtaining that treasure chest was a different story. Many confident experts had challenged Demon God''s Temptations during his previous life, but they had all been forced to set up new accounts. Not even apex experts had succeeded. However, one independent player had secured the treasure within a Demon God''s Temptation at some point, and that independent expert had posted about his victory on the forums. The incident had shaken God''s Domain to its core, inspiring curiosity in every player. The various superpowers had even tried to recruit this independent player, offering an Elder position, even a Grand Elder position, within their Guilds. When the superpowers had finally located the player, however, what they had found had left them dumbfounded. That independent player had only been an ordinary expert. He hadn''t even reached the Refinement Realm at that point... No one had expected the outcome. So many experts, including Domain Realm experts wielding Fragmented Legendary items, had tried to clear Demon God''s Temptations, yet none had lasted more than 10 seconds against the Demon God''s phantom. Naturally, they hadn''t secured the treasure, either. After detailed interviews, the various superpowers had learned that the independent player hadn''t actually challenged the Demon God''s Temptation. Rather, he had found the treasure hidden within the temple. To claim the treasure for himself, he had merely decoded the magic arrays that had protected the temple. Once a player decoded the magic arrays, they could use magic tools within the temple. This made it possible to pin down the Demon God''s Temple long enough to flee with the treasure. Astounded, none of the various superpowers had considered that there was a way to bypass the system''s rules. Every player in God''s Domain had long since memorized the Main God System''s various rules and determined that players simply couldn''t challenge these rules. However, the Main God System had never indicated that challenging existing rules was impossible. Players had simply convinced themselves that the concept was fact. Of course, the method the independent player had employed wasn''t easy. Decoding the temple''s magic arrays required a lot of time, and Demon God''s Temptations didn''t exist for long, with most only lasting two days. Although the independent player hadn''t been an amazing expert, he had been an Advanced Master Magician, only one step away from Grandmaster rank. Hence, he had been able to decode the magic arrays within the time limit, obtaining the treasure. Unfortunately, of the many powers that had attempted to use the same method, very few had succeeded. Demon God''s Temptations appeared at random, and even if players found one, challenging it would be pointless if they couldn''t decode the magic arrays before the temple vanished. Even if they succeeded, they''d still have to escape the Demon God''s phantom. If they couldn''t last 20 or 30 seconds, escaping with the treasure would be impossible. Now that Shi Feng was a Master Magician, albeit only at Basic rank, he had a chance of decoding the temple''s magic arrays. The time limit was the only problem. But Shi Feng couldn''t care less. Since he had stumbled across a Demon God''s Temptation, giving up without trying would be a waste. Meanwhile, confused, Aqua Rose and her companions did as they were told, setting up a Starlight Gathering Magic Array around the temple. As they did, the magic arrays concentrated the ambient Mana, which skyrocketed around the temple. Now that the Mana density is higher, I should be able to decode the arrays faster. Next, I''ll have to race against time. Sensing the gathering Mana, Shi Feng took a deep breath and approached the stone pillars around the temple. He then began to decode the magic arrays that protected the temple. The several ancient pillars suppressed space around and inside the temple. Essentially, they were the core magic arrays that sealed the temple. If he could decode them, he could enter and leave the temple freely until the magic array''s auto-repair completed. He would not have to worry about being trapped or not having access to magic tools within the temple. "Commander, Black Flame has gone insane. Those are the system''s magic arrays, yet he''s trying to decode them..." Thunder Beast was stunned as he watched Shi Feng approach one of the stone pillars and get to work. "I don''t know," Hell Rush said, shaking his head. "However, he hired us. Since he wants to try decoding the magic arrays, we can only comply with his wishes. In any case, we can use this opportunity to get some rest." Hell Rush assumed Shi Feng had already submitted to the temptation and become obsessed with the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, but Shi Feng must realize that defeating a Demon God''s phantom was impossible, coming up with another method to tackle the Demon God''s Temptation. Although Hell Rush thought the Swordsman''s idea was even less feasible than confronting the phantom directly, he had no reason to stop the man since this method wasn''t dangerous. The Hell Legion began to relax as they kept an eye on the surrounding monsters. Meanwhile, excitement welled within Shi Feng as he examined the temple''s magic arrays. It turned out that they weren''t as powerful as he had assumed, only somewhat complex, consisting of a series of linked Master Magic Arrays. These weren''t nearly as formidable as the magic arrays that had entrapped the Silver Divine Dragon. Given enough time, decoding these arrays wouldn''t be a problem. Shi Feng frantically decoded the core magic arrays engraved on the ancient stone pillars as time flew by. Three hours... Six hours... Twelve hours... The harder Shi Feng tried to decode the magic arrays, the more impressed he became. These arrays offered a lot of insight into magic arrays'' structure and manipulations. Unfortunately, the more magic arrays Shi Feng decoded, the slower his progress became. Not only were the engraved arrays more complex than the last, but they also required more Mana and more precise Mana control. In the end, Shi Feng had only decoded half of the magic arrays after more than a day had passed. He began to feel a little dejected. It''s no wonder why only a few powers had ever successfully obtained the treasures, even after learning how to secure them without facing the phantom. The last magic arrays aren''t testing players'' knowledge of magic arrays, but their Mana control. Shi Feng gave the next magic array a bitter smile. It seems that I won''t be able to claim the treasure chest after all. "Guild Leader, your Mana control is too rough. Like combat techniques, Mana operates within certain rules. It''s easier to control if you work within those rules," Aqua Rose, interrupted, watching Shi Feng work while staying out of his way. Combat technique? Shi Feng''s eyes glowed as he suddenly realized something. That''s right! He then gritted his teeth and retrieved the Memory Crystal that contained the Heavenly Blue Saint''s Mana Technique. He had wanted to save it until he had unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential. Wielding the technique would involve his Mana Body, after all, but a Mana Technique was, at its core, a way to use Mana. Even if he couldn''t execute Eliadi''s Mana Technique just yet, learning it should grant him a boost to his Mana control. I can only try it! Shi Feng then squeezed the Memory Crystal until it shattered, and a stream of purple-gold light flowed into his head, forming a virtual space within his mind. 2490 Mana Technique Legacy Chapter 2490 - Mana Technique Legacy So, this is a Mana Technique Legacy? Shi Feng was shocked when a virtual space manifested within his mindscape. Within the virtual space, his body performed the three sword strikes Eliadi had used against him in the Legacy Trial. It almost felt as if someone were controlling him, yet he could feel the flow of movement and Mana inside him. He could also sense how his body and Mana were controlled. This simulation was far more effective than watching someone else perform the technique. It''s no wonder why so few people learned Mana Techniques in the past. This isn''t something you can learn by watching someone else. Not only did one have to master the Four Major Elements to use a Mana Technique, but they''d also have to master the Three Supreme Elements. Even Master Magicians struggled to create magic arrays that manipulated all of the Four Major Elements. One would have to familiarize themself with each of the four Mana types'' movement patterns and create an array based on these patterns. The Heavenly Blue Saint''s Mana Technique, however, was even more complex, requiring one to understand all seven elements. Moreover, one would also need to guide all seven through their Mana Body to execute the technique Executing the Mana Technique, Holy Annihilation, was many times more difficult than performing the Bronze Combat Technique, Lightning Flash. Executing Lightning Flash relied on physical movement, an action that players could become intimately familiar with. Physical control was natural, both in the real world and in the virtual world, but controlling Mana and one''s Mana Body was a different story. Both were foreign sensations. Becoming comfortable with one and gaining rudimentary control was already an incredible challenge. Trying to understand them completely and gaining precise control was even more difficult. Fortunately, this Memory Crystal has recorded some basic information on how to manipulate the seven elements. Even if I knew how to execute Holy Annihilation, it''d be useless without these details. After watching himself complete Lightshadow and his breakdown analysis of the Mana conduction, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn''t allow himself to relax, however. Rather, he started to focus on learning Mana''s basic patterns. The Memory Crystal''s simulation wouldn''t last long, usually only three to four hours, while some didn''t even last that long. One would be dreaming if they thought they could study within the simulation for a full day. Players could only try to learn as much as possible during the limited duration. The Memory Crystal didn''t care how successful a player was. Time passed quickly while Shi Feng immersed himself in his own mindscape. One hour... Two hours... From an outsider''s point of view, Shi Feng had sat by one of the ancient pillars to rest. He wasn''t doing anything interesting. "How much more time is Black Flame planning to waste, Commander? We''ve been in the Star Tomb for four days now. Are we really going to let him continue to waste our time, as well?" Thunder Beast asked Hell Rush, glancing at Shi Feng''s motionless form by the pillar. At least they had been able to grind monsters when they had first arrived. Although they hadn''t obtained any loot, the monsters had awarded an abundance of EXP. They had gained a bit more Mana control during their fights on the second floor. Fortunately, helping Shi Feng hadn''t been a complete waste. But now? They had spent over a day in this area already, just resting. Aside from killing the occasional group of Earthen Giants that had wandered too close to the Demon God''s Temptation, they hadn''t done a thing. All of the various superpowers'' experts were frantically grinding and leveling right now, yet the Hell Legion was stuck here, doing nothing. "Let''s wait a little longer. We agreed to accompany Black Flame into the Star Tomb for five or six days, whether or not he finds what he''s looking for. The fifth day isn''t over quite yet. After the agreed-upon time, if he wants to remain, we''ll retreat," Hell Rush said. He wasn''t pleased about the situation, either. If the Hell Legion were one of Netherworld''s ordinary expert legions, this wouldn''t have been a major issue, but that wasn''t the case. The Hell Legion was Netherworld Empire''s strongest trump card legion. Every member was an expert among experts. They did not have a ton of time to waste with Shi Feng. "Black Flame is stubborn. Not even the various superpowers have found success in a Demon God''s Temptation. What can he possibly accomplish by himself?" Thunder Beast grumbled, glaring at Shi Feng. When the two had finished speaking, Shi Feng''s eyes fluttered open, and he returned his attention to decoding the magic arrays engraved on the stone pillar before him. This time, the magic arrays were much easier to decode, and the surrounding Mana began to gather around Shi Feng. "What did he do?" Thunder Beast was shocked to feel more and more Mana gather around Shi Feng. The Mana became so dense that it actually became visible! The layer of mist that had formed around Shi Feng was incredibly thin, and one could miss it if they weren''t paying attention, but there were so few locations in God''s Domain that had dense enough Mana for it to condense in such a way. Naturally, the various superpowers coveted every one of these locations. "His Mana control has improved!" Hell Rush couldn''t believe his eyes. "And it''s improved quite a bit!" "You can actually attract so much Mana with better Mana control?" Thunder Beast gave his commander a skeptical look. "With enough control, it is possible. I''ve met a Tier 4 magical class NPC that gathered a ridiculous amount of Mana just by manipulating the Mana around him. He hadn''t even used any Skills or Spells," the female Elementalist beside Hell Rush contributed. "Black Flame is just a Swordsman; how can he have so much control over Mana?" Thunder Beast glanced at Shi Feng again, astonished. Matching a Tier 4 magical class NPC''s Mana control should be impossible for players at this stage of the game, yet not only had Shi Feng accomplished the feat as a Tier 3 player, but he had done so as a non-magical melee class, as well. "Is this why he''s so confident that he can help others unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential?" Hell Rush wondered, recalling Shi Feng''s previous declaration. Although Hell Rush had seen that Aqua Rose and her companions had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential, he had assumed it was a result of some means Zero Wing had to accelerate the process. He had had his doubts about whether this method could help the Hell Legion''s several hundred members do the same within one month. Every player had a different Mana Body, and unlocking their potential would differ as well. Seeing Shi Feng with Mana control to rival that of a Tier 4 magical class NPC, however, the Swordsman''s claim seemed more plausible. A player''s Mana control played a huge part in unlocking their Mana Body, which was why magical class players found the task much easier than physical class players. And yet, even Zero Wing''s members, especially Aqua Rose and the other magical class players, stared at Shi Feng, dumbfounded. Their Mana control had been much greater than Shi Feng''s, especially after they had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. After resting for three short hours, however, Shi Feng had gained far more control, pulling leagues ahead of them. Just what was going on? But before anyone could regain their senses, the glow from the magic arrays on the stone pillar began to fade. As it did, the faint layer of black fog around the temple began to dissipate, and the gloomy atmosphere vanished completely 2491 Basic Mana Control Chapter 2491 - Basic Mana Control "He decoded it?" "Something like this is actually breakable?" As the black fog disappeared, silence fell over the group of players as they stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. They were a hundred times more shocked than when the Mana density around Shi Feng had increased due to his Mana control. The Demon God''s Temptation temples had survived since ancient times, and the Main God System had set the rules that governed them. Players had no choice but to follow these rules if they wished to complete the Demon God''s Temptation. Not even the various superpowers could manage to get around these rules. None of God''s Domain''s players would even dream of breaking these rules, since they had already accepted the Main God System''s rules as an integral part of their lives. However, Shi Feng hadn''t just refused to follow these rules. He actually broke them. He had shaken their very understanding of God''s Domain. "He succeeded?! How is this possible?!" Thunder Beast stared at Shi Feng in shock. He could hardly believe what was happening, yet with the results of Shi Feng''s efforts before him, he couldn''t deny it. "Is he really a player?" Thunder Beast began to suspect that Shi Feng wasn''t actually another player, but an NPC in disguise. First, Shi Feng had displayed Mana control that rivaled Tier 4 magical class NPCs. Then, he had successfully decoded the magic arrays that sealed the temple. Neither feat should be possible for current players. It''s no wonder why Divine Tribe was willing to work with him, even without demanding some of the Starlight Fortress''s shares and going as far as to station so many of its members in the fortress. Is this his true trump card? Hell Rush could not help his bitter smile as he watched the magic arrays around the temple lose power. Hell Rush had assumed Zero Wing had gotten extremely lucky to obtain a Dragon and a Fortress Prison after capturing the Starlight Fortress. These factors were the very reasons that the Hell Legion hadn''t been able to cause trouble for the fortress. Still, he hadn''t felt particularly threatened by Zero Wing''s small group. The Guild''s foundations in the west were pathetically weak, even with five experts that had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. A handful of players wasn''t enough to influence a Guild''s standing in the overall competition between God''s Domain''s many Guilds, especially in the competition between the various superpowers. The various superpowers might not have the strength to take the Starlight Fortress now, but they could rely on another methodstealing the Fortress Lord''s Token. Although the Fortress Lord''s Token was heavily guarded, it couldn''t be removed from the fortress. Normally, the ruling individual could only store the token in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion behind heavy security. All the various superpowers needed to do was send enough experts to siege the Starlight Fortress and its Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Not even a Dragon could stop an army of hundreds of thousands or millions of experts. Furthermore, the various superpowers had tools they could use to pin the Dragon down for a short time. Stealing the fortress from Zero Wing was entirely possible. It would be costly, but as long as the superpowers were willing to cooperate, they could accomplish the feat. Seeing the Swordsman before him now, however, Hell Rush doubted that even the various superpowers'' combined forces would be able to take the Starlight Fortress from this man. With Shi Feng''s Mana control and knowledge of magic arrays, no player could threaten his hold on the fortress at this stage of the game. God''s Domain''s automatic magic arrays and those under a player''s control had different effects. The various superpowers had conducted their own secret experiments to test this concept. Unfortunately, controlling a city''s defensive magic array was incredibly difficult. Not only did players need sufficient understanding of magic arrays, but they also needed sufficient Mana control. This was why NPC cities were so difficult to capture. Ordinary players might assume that major NPC cities'' defensive magic arrays were simply stronger than those in Guild Cities, but that wasn''t truly the case. The defensive magic arrays in NPC cities were only slightly stronger than those in Guild Cities, but because NPC cities were guarded by Tier 4 NPCs, there were NPCs that were responsible for manipulating the city''s defensive magic array. These NPCs would strengthen the array until the barrier could even withstand Tier 5 NPCs'' attacks for a long time. If the Starlight Fortress had someone to control its defensive magic array, what chance did the various superpowers have to break through it? While the Hell Legion''s members were confused and stunned, excitement overwhelmed Shi Feng. Thank goodness, I made it! After three hours of desperate study, he had finally grasped the profound concepts of the seven elements. He still couldn''t execute any of Holy Annihilation''s three moves, but he now had Basic Mana control. He could now draw Master Magic Arrays based on the Four Major Elements'' movement patterns. Normally, only Tier 3 magical class NPCs could perform the task. He was still far from having the Mana control to rival Tier 4 magical class NPCs. To reach that standard, he''d have to draw simple magic arrays with the Three Supreme Elements. Once one could do so, they''d be able to create their own Mana Domains, which were far more powerful than using a Skill or Spell to form a Domain. Even so, Shi Feng was satisfied with his progress. Only a small number of the Tier 6 Mage Gods from his previous life had reached this standard at Tier 3. Most had only made so much progress after reaching Tier 4. Fortunately, he only needed to possess Basic Mana Control to decode the magic arrays protecting the temple. As an additional bonus, he was now on the brink of becoming an Intermediate Master Magician thanks to the Holy Annihilation Legacy. Decoding these arrays proved far easier than it had been, and he completed the task in no time. His success also excited Aqua Rose and the other Zero Wing experts. Now that the magic arrays had been decoded, they had a chance of claiming the temple''s Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. If they could get their hands on that treasure chest, Zero Wing might gain another Fragmented Legendary item, which meant the Guild could gain another apex expert. Before Aqua Rose and her companions could celebrate, however, a seven-meter-tall figure in pitch-black armor and wearing a horned helmet appeared within the temple. This figure also wielded a pitch-black axe, ready for battle. The moment the figure appeared, the temple began to radiate an intense amount of Divine Might. Even Hell Rush and his legion, who stood over 300 yards away from the temple, were overwhelmed by a sense of dread. [Demon God, Atlock] (God''s Phantom, Mythic) Level 120 HP??????/?????? Everyone gasped when they saw Atlock''s Attributes. Level 120? Even Shi Feng stared at Atlock with a grim expression. NPCs weren''t like players. Every five levels, they received a massive strength boost. A Level 120 NPC''s combat power was in a completely different league than that of a Level 110 NPC. Right now, Atlock was even stronger than the Silver Divine Dragon, Auerbeck. "Are you really going in there, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose asked worriedly. She had been confident of their chances of securing the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest before she had seen Atlock, but after witnessing the Demon God''s phantom for herself, she realized how wrong she had been. She wouldn''t last more than five seconds against the phantom. Even from so far away, the Demon God''s Divine Might reduced her combat power by at least 30%. She''d lose even more once she was within attack range. "I''ve already gone this far. I have to try," Shi Feng said, gritting his teeth. The Demon God''s Temptation appeared at random. One would have to be incredibly lucky to encounter one. If this Demon God''s Temptation had only housed an Epic Treasure Chest, he would''ve dismissed it without a thought, but he''d be wrought with regret if he gave up on an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest without trying his best. Even after a decade in God''s Domain, Fragmented Legendary items had been extremely rare, and every one was a priceless treasure. Although Shi Feng remembered a few clues that would lead to Fragmented Legendary items, whether or not he could claim them was another matter altogether. Since he had a high chance of securing a Fragmented Legendary item now, how could he walk away without putting up a fight? His opponent might be a Level 120, Tier 4 Demon God, but he still had a chance of victory. He didn''t actually have to fight the phantom. He just needed to buy enough time to take the treasure chest and get out. After giving his answer, Shi Feng approached the temple. "What? He''s really going in?" Thunder Beast gaped in shock. Words were no longer sufficient to describe the Demon God''s strength. Just having the courage to enter the temple was impressive, not to mention fighting Atlock. That Demon God could likely even instant-kill Tier 4 NPCs, let alone current Tier 3 players. There was no way to buy time with such an opponent on one''s heels. Shi Feng had decoded the temple''s outer magic arrays, allowing players to enter and leave the temple freely and use magic tools, but the temple''s inner magic array remained intact. The inner magic array ensured that only one player could enter the temple at a time. In other words, Shi Feng would have to face the Tier 4 Demon God by himself. How much time could he possibly buy himself? "Puny adventurer, you are capable and brave. You''ve decoded the magic array I had set up outside, and you even dare to enter my temple after seeing my phantom," Atlock addressed Shi Feng, a hint of recognition lacing his tone. However, his words also contained a trace of anger. "But, this ends now! Since you have dared to break my trial, I will eliminate you from this world!" After saying so, the intensity of Atlock''s Divine Might skyrocketed, and it felt as if a one-ton weight had been dropped on Shi Feng''s shoulders. Even walking became a challenge. Sure enough, taking on a Tier 4 God''s phantom won''t be easy. Shi Feng flashed Atlock a bitter smile as the phantom''s Divine Might swept over him. I can only try my luck! Following which, Shi Feng pulled a Summon Guard Scroll from his bag and called Anna to his side. 2492 Apex Battle Chapter 2492 - Apex Battle Now that the temple''s outer magic array had been disabled, players could summon Personal Guards inside the temple. As Shi Feng activated the Summon Guard Scroll, a summoning array appeared before him, and as it completed, a blonde woman in luxurious crimson robes emerged. The moment this woman appeared, the Mana, which had frozen due to Atlock''s incredible Divine Might, began to relax and move. Shi Feng also felt some of the pressure on him subside, making it far easier to move. "What a high leveled Personal Guard!" Thunder Beast exclaimed when he saw Anna. Anna had already reached Level 119, while the strongest Personal Guard in Netherworld Empire had only reached Level 115. Anna was undoubtedly the highest-leveled Personal Guard Thunder Beast had ever seen. Although the gap only consisted of four levels, the amount of EXP those four levels required was astronomical. "What is he trying to do? Is he planning on throwing away his Personal Guard''s life as well as his own?" When Hell Rush saw Shi Feng summon Anna, he was sure the Swordsman had gone mad. Anna''s level was high, but Atlock was Level 120. There was a considerable difference between a Level 119 NPC and a Level 120 NPC. Most importantly, Anna was only Tier 3, whereas Atlock was Tier 4. Factoring in the difference between their Life Ratings, Anna didn''t even have a chance of serving as a distraction to buy time. The Demon God would kill her instantly. Shi Feng was simply insane for summoning his Personal Guard here. Before Hell Rush and his companions could say more, however, Anna began to chant an incantation. A gigantic, threefold magic array then appeared on the temple''s ceiling, illuminating the dusky temple and surrounding area with its dazzling, golden glow. After a moment, a woman in silvery-white armor with three pairs of pure-white feathery wings slowly descended from the golden magic array. "How is that possible?! A Tier 4 Higher Valkyrie!?" Every member of the Hell Legion stated at the Valkyrie with wide, shocked eyes. Players on the western continent were quite familiar with the concept of Valkyries. The continent''s major NPC cities generally summoned these beings when they fought powerful Demonic Creature armies. Valkyries were considered major NPC cities'' trump cards. Higher Valkyries, on the other hand, had the Life Rating to rival Dragons. They were nigh_invincible among those of the same tier. A Dark Dragon had once assaulted a border city in the west, and the War God''s Temple''s Branch Temple Master had stepped up and summoned a Higher Valkyrie to save his city. Facing both the Branch Temple Master and his Higher Valkyrie, the Dark Dragon had been forced to retreat. And now, Shi Feng revealed that he, too, could summon a Higher Valkyrie. Even if he did so by relying on his Personal Guard, the fact that he had this ability would shock all on the western continent. A Tier 4 Higher Valkyrie was even stronger than a Tier 4 Hero of the same level, and the Valkyrie would have no issues destroying a minor NPC city by themself. Moreover, unlike the Silver Divine Dragon, Shi Feng''s Higher Valkyrie wasn''t chained to the Starlight Fortress[l]. He could take this Valkyrie wherever he went and summon her to aid him in battle... Just how many trump cards does he have? Hell Rush was at a loss for words. Not only was Shi Feng''s Mana control and combat power extraordinary, but he could also summon a Higher Valkyrie whenever it pleased him. He was practically a one-man army. If the various superpowers that wanted to assassinate Shi Feng found out about this, they''d likely abandon any such thought in an instant. Once the Higher Valkyrie had joined the battle, Shi Feng activated the Ring of Gospel''s Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance. The projected world extended its power to suppress the Demon God while Ring of Brilliance boosted the Higher Valkyrie''s Attributes. "A Higher Valkyrie and World Projection?" A hint of interest flashed in Atlock''s gaze when he saw his new opponent. "It seems you are quite capable, adventurer. Unfortunately, all your efforts are useless against my phantom doppelganger!" Suddenly, Miniature World''s power stopped 100 yards away from the Demon God. Not even Miniature World''s projection can suppress him? Shi Feng was astonished to see Miniature World prove ineffective against Atlock. As expected of a God''s Phantom, this won''t be easy. He had known that a God''s Phantom wasn''t an ordinary NPC. His only hope in activating Miniature World was that it would barely suppress Atlock. However, Miniature World''s power couldn''t even reach the Demon God, much less suppress it. Fortunately, Shi Feng had prepared for this, and he immediately activated the Hero''s Tome. A pillar of light then rose within the temple, and a man in white clothing and wielding a golden sword stepped out of the light. [Arslet] (Hero, Tier 4 Sword Saint) Level 131 HP 112,000,000/112,000,000 This was the main reason Shi Feng had dared to challenge a Demon God''s Phantom. A Tier 4 Hero''s Life Rating couldn''t compare to that of a Demon God''s Phantom, but with Arslet''s higher level, he could be able to mitigate much of Atlock''s advantage. Meanwhile, Arslet''s arrival had rendered the Hell Legion speechless. First, Shi Feng had called forth a Tier 4 Higher Valkyrie, and now, a Tier 4 Hero. He was practically out to decimate both heaven and earth! "Go!" Once Arslet had joined the battle, Shi Feng didn''t hesitate to give the command to attack. The Higher Valkyrie and Arslet attacked the Demon God simultaneously, moving so fast that not even Tier 3 experts could keep up. Only Fire Dance and the others, who had fully unlocked Mana Bodies, barely caught sight of the two Tier 4 beings as they moved. While the two NPCs began their assault, Shi Feng activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power and charged toward the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest in the core of the temple. Normally, the combination of a Tier 4 Higher Valkyrie and a Tier 4 Hero would be a disaster wherever they went, but against the Tier 4 Demon God''s Phantom, they were nothing. Short of enlisting the help of a Divine Dragon of the same level, stopping an Ancient God''s phantom would be utterly impossible. Shi Feng only hoped that the two summoned NPCs could buy him as much time as possible. He didn''t need a lot; 20 or 30 seconds would be enough. Treasure chests within Demon God''s Temptations were never locked, and Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests were no exception. Players would be able to open any treasure chest they found in a Demon God''s Temptation, although activating the chest would still require 20 seconds. During his previous life, the first independent player to successfully loot a Demon God''s Temptation had only succeeded because he had possessed an Ancient Magic Crystal and the Tier 5 Defensive Spell it had contained. Although the Ancient Magic Crystal had been a single-use item, the Spell within had allowed the independent player to survive the 20-second activation time and retreat from the temple with the prize. If not for that Tier 5 Defensive Spell, the independent player would never have survived to claim the treasure, even after decoding the temple''s outer magic array. Unfortunately, Shi Feng didn''t have a Tier 5 Defensive Magic Scroll or any tool that could protect him from a Tier 5 being''s attacks. He could only rely on the Higher Valkyrie and Arslet to distract the Demon God''s Phantom long enough for him to escape. As Shi Feng slid up to the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, two explosions rang out behind him. Two figures had been thrown into one of the temple''s walls, the Higher Valkyrie and Arslet. Both bore visible wounds. Obviously, the Demon God''s attack had repelled them, and they had each lost a significant chunk of their HPs. The difference between the two side''s combat power was clear. This was more of a one-sided slaughter than a battle. Every player outside of the temple gaped in shock after witnessing that first strike. The two NPCs could decimate a minor NPC city on their own, yet the Demon God had sent both powerhouses flying with a single attack. None of them could imagine what kind of power a player would need to clear this trial. Shi Feng had already found a cheat-like loophole to tackle the Demon God''s Temptation, allowing him to use magic tools in the battle, and yet he was still at such a despairing disadvantage. If one tackled this challenge normally, not even a Tier 5 player would survive, much less a Tier 4 player. Moreover, that was assuming the Demon God''s Phantom would still be Tier 4. Fortunately, neither summoned being was a player. They had incredibly high HPs. Even for the Demon God, killing them should take at least 20 seconds. "Foolish human! You dare to steal my treasure?! I will obliterate you!" Atlock bellowed when he noticed Shi Feng activating the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. A ball of silver fire then appeared in Atlock''s free hand, and it grew as the seconds ticked by. After just two seconds, the fireball had grown to the size of a two-story building. Once Atlock was satisfied with the size of his fireball, he hurled it at Shi Feng. Shi Feng felt the threat of death as the silver flames approached, and he immediately instructed the Higher Valkyrie and Arslet to use their strongest moves to defend him. The Higher Valkyrie responded by throwing her Spear of Thunder at the Demon God, while Arselt executed a Tier 4 Taboo Skill, Demonsional Flurry. Boom! The temple shook violently when the attacks landed, and the silver fireball dissipated, saving Shi Feng from certain death. "Despicable ant, do you think your little tricks are enough to stop me?!" Atlock''s rage grew after the Higher Valkyrie and Arslet countered his fireball, and he raised his axe, swinging it at both summoned beings. Space before the Demon God''s Phantom shattered, forming multiple spatial tears that reached for Shi Feng''s summoned guards. A Mana Technique? The attack felt unsettlingly familiar to Shi Feng. It was so similar to Eliadi''s Third Sword, Holy Annihilation. However, a Tier 4 God''s Phantom had used this move, not a Tier 3 Heavenly Blue Saint. Neither the Higher Valkyrie nor Arselt could counter this attack, and it sent both flying into the temple''s walls once more. This time, the temple''s solid walls began to crack. Both summoned beings were now heavily injured... "Foolish thief! Now it''s your turn!" Atlock roared, sneering as he turned toward Shi Feng. Atlock then swung his axe at the Swordsman, who stood over 50 yards away. Space before Shi Feng started to break, and spatial tears flew toward Shi Feng like a torrent of water. Realizing that the Higher Valkyrie and Arselt couldn''t come to his rescue this time, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Absolute Domain. Block it! 2493 Holding Back a Demon God Chapter 2493 - Holding Back a Demon God "It''s over!" "Isn''t this Demon God''s Phantom a little too strong?!" Everyone gaped as they watched Atlock''s attack fly toward Shi Feng. That attack was as powerful as a large-scale destruction Spell, and it didn''t even have a channeling time... It was also the same move Atlock had used to injure the Higher Valkyrie and the Tier 4 Hero. If not even those two could endure the attack, what chance did a Tier 3 player like Shi Feng have of surviving it? Not even a powerful Invulnerability Skill could save the Swordsman now. There was no such thing as a true Invulnerability Skill in God''s Domain. The game''s so-called Invulnerability Skills and Spells were merely Defensive Skills and Spells that could block an opponent''s attack and absorb the damage. However, if the opponent''s attack were more powerful than the Defensive Skill or Spell''s damage tolerance, players would receive some of the damage. Based on Atlock''s displays of power thus far, he definitely had Tier 5 strength. He might even be powerful enough to rival Tier 5 Dragons. Not even an NPC''s defensive magic array could handle that kind of power. At most, players'' current Invulnerability Skills and Spells could block Tier 4 attacks; they''d be utterly useless against Tier 5 attacks. The few horribly unlucky payers to encounter Tier 5 beings had tried to use Invulnerability Skills and Spells, yet they had died instantly. The shattered space within the temple rapidly reached toward Shi Feng, covering a large enough area that it was impossible to evade. Suddenly, however, golden, divine runes appeared around the Swordsman, radiating an indescribably sacred feeling. Boom! An intense explosion shook the temple, and the impact''s shockwave even reached the Hell Legion. Atlock certainly had the power to decimate heaven and earth. "Sure enough, this trial is a trap. There''s no way players can clear it." Every member of the Hell Legion shook their head and sighed as clouds of dust obscured the temple. If Atlock hadn''t used such an unbeatable move, Shi Feng might have secured the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest with the help of his Higher Valkyrie and Tier 4 Hero. Unfortunately, the Demon God''s Phantom was too powerful. Current players had no hope against it. Seeing this, Zero Wings members wore grim expressions. Shi Feng and Zero Wing could recover if he suffered a normal death, but if he died in this temple, he''d have to remake his account. "Wait! I see a golden light within the temple!" Just as everyone assumed the fight was over, someone noticed a faint, golden glow radiating from within the dusky temple. "He blocked it?" Hell Rush stared at the settling dust clouds and quickly spotted Shi Feng, still standing before the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest. The Swordsman was battered and had lost more than half of his HP, but the Demon God''s attack hadn''t slain him. "Is he even human?" When the other Hell Legions saw this, they were beyond astonished. A Tier 5 Dragon could destroy an entire city in one hit, but even after taking an attack of that caliber, Shi Feng had survived, only losing a little over half of his HP. His defenses were heaven-defying. "You''re quite lucky, puny adventurer. You managed to break through at the last moment and strengthen the magic array in that despicable ring of yours," Atlock said, glaring at Shi Feng. The Mana within the temple then turned frosty. "However, your luck ends here. That ring can only save you once. Do you think you can block my next attack?" Atlock gripped his axe in both hands and raised it above his head. He closed his eyes and began to gather the ambient Mana to his weapon. The gathered Mana grew so dense that it soon took on physical form. Black Hole! With the axe as its core, a miniature black hole formed above Atlock, swallowing everything nearby. It''s incredible gravitational pull twisted space around it, sparing nothing... He still hadn''t used his full strength? Shi Feng could only watch the Demon God''s Phantom with a bitter smile. As Atlock had said, Shi Feng had broken through to the Intermediate Master Magician standard at the last moment and manipulated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s magic array. Even so, Absolute Domain hadn''t been strong enough to block all of Atlock''s attack. Worse yet, he couldn''t use Absolute Domain again for another several minutes. Even if he could use the Skill right now, it wouldn''t be able to stop Atlock''s miniature black hole... "Run while the Demon God is charging his attack, Guild Leader! If you let it hit you, everything we''ve worked for will be over! We''ll have plenty of chances to acquire Fragmented Legendary items in the future!" Aqua Rose shouted in the team chat. The Demon God''s prior attack had already been terrifying, yet the move Atlock was preparing to use had already increased the temperature within a 600-yard radius to a scorching high. This attack was far more powerful than the previous one. If it hit Shi Feng, not even ashes would remain. There''s six seconds left? Hearing Aqua Rose''s urgent advice, Shi Feng glanced at the loading bar hovering over the treasure chest. What he saw left him speechless. Atlock, Arslet, and the Higher Valkyrie had already exchanged over a dozen moves, and Shi Feng had deliberately remained motionless after the Demon God''s last attack had struck, trying to buy even more time. And yet, only 14 seconds had passed... Shi Feng realized that he could no longer rely on the Higher Valkyrie and Tier 4 Hero, since both had lost a significant portion of their combat power. "Escape? Do you honestly think I''ll let you?" Atlock realized what was going through Shi Feng''s mind when he saw the Swordsman''s expression. Sneering, he continued, "Since you''ve dared to plunder my treasure chest without passing my trial, only one outcome awaits you!" The space around the miniature black hole froze, and Shi Feng could hardly move, let alone use teleportation magic. "Thief, begone from God''s Domain!" Atlock''s eyes began to glow with a strange, crimson light, and he swung his axe in a downward arch, pushing the miniature black hole toward Shi Feng. The Demon God''s weapon crumbled and merged with the black hole in the process. As the black hole pulled away from Atlock, the gravitational pull within the temple increased by several fold, and the miniature black hole left only a void in its path. Don''t you dare think I''m that easy to kill! Shi Feng realized that escape was no longer possible as he watched the miniature black hole approach. He decided to go for broke, pulling the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship from his bag and using a Tier 4 Defensive Magic Scroll to bolster the ship''s defenses. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had Upper-rank Tier 3 defensive capabilities, which was only slightly weaker than a major NPC city''s walls. Normally, only Tier 4 existences could damage the Flying Ship. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s colossal hull manifested between Shi Feng and the incoming black hole. Once it grew to full size, a magic barrier appeared around the ship. Block it! The miniature black hole that slammed into the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. As the attack made contact, the Tier 4 magic barrier around the Flying Ship disappeared, melting like a candle in a firestorm. Fortunately, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship had fared better than that, although it rapidly disintegrated, losing durability by the hundreds. After three short seconds, the Flying Ship''s durability had fallen from 5,000 to less than 2,000... Although the Flying Ship continued to lose durability, the loss slowed. It was clear that the miniature black hole had lost a considerable amount of power. You must block it! Shi Feng''s anxiety spiked as he watched the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s durability fall to 500. If not even the Flying Ship could block the miniature black hole, it would kill him instantly with how little HP he had remaining. Five hundred... Three hundred... One hundred... Shi Feng thought everything was over the moment the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship''s durability hit zero, but the miniature black hole began to fade away. A short moment later, space within the temple returned to normal. By the time the black hole had disappeared, the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s activation had ended. Colorful lights filled the entire temple, so dazzling that one could see them from anywhere on the Star Tomb''s second floor. Success! Shi Feng was ecstatic to see the treasure chest''s lid open. He reached into the chest without any hesitation, grabbing the items and tossing them into his Epic Spatial Bag, one after another, not bothering to inspect them. Despite Shi Feng''s speed, however, the treasure chest was too large, and the items within weren''t organized. Moreover, the treasure chest contained over 20 items. By the time Shi Feng collected the 10th item, Atlock was mad with wrath. "You''ll never leave this place alive, thief!" Atlock bellowed. Shi Feng heard the sound of shattering chains, and the Demon God''s Phantom grew from Tier 4 to Tier 5. The phantom now exuded enough power that even Hell Rush and his Hell Legion, who had remained far away from the temple, shuddered in fear. Their instincts screamed at them to flee. "Crap! Everyone, run!" Shi Feng gave Atlock, who was going berserk, a grim look. He hadn''t expected the situation to develop like this. After he gave the command to retreat, he promptly used the Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scroll he had prepared beforehand. 2494 Legendary Even t Chapter 2494 - Legendary Event When Shi Feng disappeared, Atlock''s became even more incensed. You think you can escape my grasp, thief?" The Demon God''s eyes narrowed as he shifted his gaze to the forest''s southern end. With a cutting hand gesture, Atlock created a Spatial Gate, stepping into it and leaving only Anna, Arslet, and the Higher Valkyrie in the temple. As Atlock left, the temple began to fade away. The players outside of the temple gasped as it did. They had never dreamed that Shi Feng would get away, accomplishing a feat that not even the west''s various superpowers could overcome. Although Shi Feng had relied on a cheat-like method to do so, it was an undeniable fact that he had secured the treasure from a Demon God''s Temptation. What surprised everyone more, however, was the fact that the Demon God''s Phantom had reached Tier 5 at the very last minute... After witnessing the Demon God''s Phantom''s combat power at Tier 4, they all knew that it was practically invincible at this stage of the game now that it had reached Tier 5. Destroying an entire empire should be a piece of cake for the being, much less an entire kingdom. Furthermore, the Demon God''s Phantom had left the temple to chase down Shi Feng. The situation was simply absurd. "Commander, let''s get out of here! If that Demon God returns, it won''t rest until every last one of us is dead!" Thunder Beast urged Hell Rush once Atlock had left through the Spatial Gate. Even without Shi Feng''s warning to flee, they knew how dangerous their current predicament was. "Retreat!" Hell Rush could only sigh as he glanced toward the forest''s southern area. Although Shi Feng had secured the treasure, a Tier 5 Demon God''s Phantom was now hunting him. Shi Feng''s chances of surviving were practically non-existent. An enraged Tier 5 Demon God was no trivial existence. Not even a Tier 5 Dragon would escape Atlock''s wrath. While the Hell Legion and Zero Wing''s experts pulled back to the passage leading to the Star Tomb''s first floor, Shi Feng, who had fled by using a Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scroll, activated Disintegration Power, forcing himself to Tier 4. He then activated Gale Domain and flew toward the Star Tomb''s exit with as much haste as possible, no slower than a Flying Mount. Before Shi Feng had made it 2,000 yards, however, a Spatial Gate opened in his path, and Atlock emerged. He teleported here directly? The sight of the Demon God''s Phantom left Shi Feng speechless. He hadn''t expected Atlock to be this vicious. Based on what Shi Feng remembered from his past, the Demon God''s Phantom guarding the temple shouldn''t chase after a player once they left the temple with the treasure, yet not only had Atlock continued the chase, but the Demon God''s Phantom had teleported to him, as well... "I will eliminate every trace of your soul from this world, thief!" The moment Atlock spotted his prey, he began to chant an incantation. The sky above Shi Feng shattered, and an endless torrent of fire descended, covering a 4,000-yard radius. Tier 5 Curse, Extinction Flames! Normally, Tier 5 Divine Mages needed over a dozen seconds to cast this Spell, yet Atlock cast it instantaneously. To make matters worse, players couldn''t even use Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scrolls within Extinction Flame''s AOE. Noticing the inferno from a distance, the Hell Legion and Zero Wing''s members were astonished. Even from so far, they could see flames engulf the area above the entire southern forest, threatening to devour the wooded area. How could anybody escape such a terrifying attack? Suddenly a spatial tear opened before the team, and a figure jumped through it. The figure was none other than Shi Feng, who looked incredibly miserable. His HP was already in the red. "Guild Leader Black Flame? You actually managed to escape?" Hell Rush was surprised to see the Swordsman. The rest of the team could only stare at Shi Feng in shock. The Demon God had clearly used a Tier 5 Curse against Shi Feng, yet he had escaped with his life. It was unbelievable... "Everyone, get ready! The Demon God''s Phantom hasn''t noticed me yet! I''ll open a Spatial Gate that teleports us to the first floor! As soon as it opens, go through it!" Shi Feng shouted his command when his teammates only stared at him. The only way to flee from a Tier 5 Curse like Extinction Flames was to teleport out of range with a Tier 4 Instantaneous Movement Scroll. Although Shi Feng didn''t have one on hand, he had the Seven Luminaries Ring, an extraordinary lifesaving tool. With the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Space Movement, he could teleport to any location within a 600,000-yard radius, but when he had jumped into the spatial tear the Skill created, the Curse''s flames had followed, scorching him and nearly taking his life. Fortunately, he had activated Disintegration Power, which temporarily granted him a Tier 4 player''s Defense and HP. If he had only relied on Heavenly Dragon''s Power''s Defense and HP, that attack would''ve been the end of him. However, Space Movement had a 3-minute Cooldown. If the Demon God came at him again, he wouldn''t survive. He couldn''t just leave the Hell Legion and his comrades here, and now that Atlock was so furious, the Demon God''s Phantom would transform every inch of the Star Tomb into a land of death. Aqua Rose and the others could only survive if they left the Regional Dungeon now. Shi Feng didn''t waste any time in summoning the Spatial Gate. The rest of his team realized that they were in a race against time, as well, and they charged through the Spatial Gate the moment it was complete, vanishing from the Star Tomb''s second floor. By the time Atlock had realized what was happening and used Space Movement himself, everyone had fled through the Spatial Gate already. "Despicable thief! I will never let you get away with this!" Atlock roared as the Spatial Gate disappeared as well. Meanwhile, once Shi Feng was outside of the Star Tomb, he received a system notification. System: You have triggered the Legendary Quest, ''Demon God''s Wrath.''. You have stolen Demon God Atlock''s treasure, and the Demon God has employed the Soul Curse against you in retaliation. Not only will Demon God Atlock and his kin hunt you, but you will suffer triple the death penalty. In addition, you will lose one level every seven days. Once your level falls below Level 100, the Demon God will find you. Quest content: Kill Demon God Atlock''s phantom doppelganger. No time limit. Quest reward unknown. As Shi Feng received the system notification, everyone else heard the sound of a system announcement. Star Valley Region System Announcement: A player has triggered Star Valley''s Legendary Event, ''Demon God''s Wrath.'' A Demon God''s Shrine will activate in Star Valley in one day. Players will have the opportunity to receive the Demon God''s Legacy at that time. The system announcement repeated three times, and all players within Star Valley heard it clearly. For a time, an uproar shook Star Valley to its very core. 2495 Star Valley Shaken Chapter 2495 - Star Valley Shaken "Star Valley has a Demon God''s Legacy[l]?" "What''s going on? The system is releasing a God''s Legacy? Won''t it make players invincible in God''s Domain?!" "The Demon God''s Shrine? I have to check it out!" After the system announcement, many players in Star Valley practically glowed with excitement. They wanted nothing more than to charge toward the Demon God''s Shrine to investigate the event. In God''s Domain, Legacies were even more important than weapons and equipment. Legacies could transform players'' foundations, setting them up with a more advanced starting point than others. With a powerful Legacy, players could also learn stronger Skills or Spells. They could even obtain top-tier weapons and equipment that were specific to their Legacy. An ordinary Legacy could boost an ordinary player into the ranks of experts. However, Legacies were incredibly rare in God''s Domain, even rarer than Epic items. Most importantly, Legacies weren''t publicly available. Players could only obtain one through luck. And yet, not only did the Demon God''s Shrine offer a Legacy to the general public, but the system had also declared that it was a Demon God''s Legacy. This wasn''t just some random Legacy, barely related to the Demon God. Why wouldn''t players go crazy over this news? Gods'' Legacies were the highest-ranking Legacies in God''s Domain! Even the various Super Guild''s bigshots dreamed of obtaining one. Unfortunately, Gods'' Legacies were so rare that players could only find them if they were truly lucky. While the players in Star Valley were in an uproar, news had reached the various superpowers. "What? A Demon God''s Legacy?" "Someone has managed to uncover a Demon God''s Legacy? Look into this matter immediately! Find out who was responsible for activating the Demon God''s Shrine! That player must have more details about the development! I want all of our Guild''s Tier 3 experts sent to Star Valley immediately. We must secure the Demon God''s Legacy before the other powers!" The various superpowers went mad when they learned of the Demon God''s Shrine, dispatching organized expert teams to Star Valley. They also ordered investigations into the player responsible for activating the shrine. For a time, the various powers'' experts and independent experts flooded Star Valley. While all of these players gathered, hunting for the Demon God''s Shrine, silence reigned over the Hell Legion, which rested a short distance away from the Star Tomb. None of them were sure whether they should congratulate Shi Feng or pity him. None were more familiar with the situation than they were. Shi Feng was responsible for activating the Demon God''s Shrine in Star Valley and for the availability of a God''s Legacy, yet he couldn''t have anything to do with it. This Legendary Event was the Main God System''s way of ridiculing the Swordsman. The situation also changed what they understood about God''s Domain. Shi Feng had already turned their understanding of the game upside down, yet this Legendary Event had gone beyond that. Despite contributing the most to this Legendary Event''s activation, Shi Feng had the lowest chance of obtaining the event''s reward. It almost seemed like the Demon God, Atlock, were deliberately spiting Shi Feng for his wit. Although Shi Feng had acquired the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s contents, he had no chance of obtaining this God''s Legacy. Atlock was acting as vindictive as any human. Hell Legion''s members even wondered if the Demon God was human, with human emotions, rather than a computer program... That was a God''s Legacy they were talking about! Such a Legacy was many times more precious than a Fragmented Legendary Item. The two weren''t even in the same realm in terms of their value. "Is it really necessary to go so far over an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest?" Shi Feng gave the system notification a bitter smile. Normally, the Demon God''s Temptation should''ve ended the moment he escaped the temple. That was the outcome every player that had plundered a Demon God''s Temptation had met with during his past life, but for some reason, his situation turned out to be wildly different. Not only had the Demon God continued to chase him after he had left the temple, but Atlock had even posted a bounty on his head. He had even offered a God''s Legacy as the bounty''s reward. This was just absurd... "It''s just a God''s Legacy, Guild Leader! It''s not worth our time!" Cola said, clicking his tongue as he read the system announcement. "Right! We''re strong enough that we''ll have plenty of chances to obtain other Gods'' Legacies in the future!" Aqua Rose added, nodding in agreement. Although Cola and Aqua Rose tried to reassure their Guild Leader, the Hell Legion''s members realized that they were simply putting up a strong front. They were talking about a God''s Legacy, after all. Only the most fortunate players had a chance to obtain one? Moreover, based on how this event had been triggered when Shi Feng slipped through Atlock''s grasp, the requirements to obtain the Legacy likely involved targeting Shi Feng. NPCs often hunted down God''s Domain''s players, but since the Gods couldn''t appear on the continent right now, Atlock was forced to post a bounty. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you don''t need to be concerned about this. The Demon God might be using a God''s Legacy as bait, but obtaining it will likely be a major challenge. This might even be another of the Demon God''s traps. At least you managed to get your hands on the treasures in that chest," Hell Rush said, trying to console Shi Feng. "Thank you for your concern, Commander Rush, but I don''t really mind the situation," Shi Feng said, smiling at Hell Rush when he saw the man''s pity. He didn''t actually care that Atlock had placed a bounty on his head. He was far more concerned about the tripled death penalty and weekly level reduction, but as long as he took extra care and maintained his leveling speed, the penalties shouldn''t pose a problem. While the Demon God''s Legacy might be more valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item, perhaps even more than a Legendary item, he had no desire for it. Atlock''s Legacy was on par with Aqua Rose''s Sea God''s Legacy; at most, it was a Peak Legacy. Moreover, Hell Rush didn''t know that Atlock wasn''t the only Demon God after his life... He had plenty of timebombs threatening his life in God''s Domain. What was one more? If offending a Demon God meant that he could get his hands on a Fragmented Legendary item, he didn''t mind offending a few more. None of the Hell Legion''s members believed Shi Feng''s claim, however. They had all witnessed the Swordsman''s strength. If anyone had a chance of obtaining the Demon God''s Legacy, it''d be Shi Feng, but since the man in question had brushed the issue off, they could only nod and smile in response. "Right, Guild Leader, what did you get from the treasure chest?" Cola eagerly asked, ignoring the Hell Legion''s skeptical looks. Cola''s question reminded Shi Feng that he hadn''t inspected the items. He immediately opened his back to see what he had won. He had been too busy fleeing for his life earlier, so he hadn''t had the time to investigate his loot. Once he had escaped the Star Tomb, his personal system notification and the regional announcement had demanded his attention. As Shi Feng inspected the items, he was stunned. It''s no wonder why that Demon God''s reaction was so extreme. If I had been in his position, I''d have gone crazy, too. When Shi Feng saw the crystal radiating Divine Might in his bag, realization dawned on him. 2496 Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests Treasures Chapter 2496 - Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s Treasures "What''s wrong, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose asked, curious when she saw Shi Feng''s odd expression. They had gone to great lengths to loot the shrine''s treasure chest. If the items weren''t valuable, they''d have suffered a great loss. "It''s nothing. I''m just surprised by how excellent our harvest is," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Not only did we obtain a few Legendary materials and the Star of Light I was after, but we''ve also obtained an Epic Weapon Set, a Fragmented Legendary item, and a Dark-Gold Set Equipment Forging Design." Shi Feng then shared the information on the several weapons, equipment, and design he had obtained in the team chat. He had no intention of the items. [Absolute Shadow] (Dagger [Main-hand], Epic Rank) Level 100 - Level 150 Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,3 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +6,325 (Level 100) Strength +422, Agility +376, Endurance +350 Attack Speed +18 Attacks carry the power of shadows. During attacks: Reduce target''s Defense by 30%; 35% chance to cause 270% damage; 10% chance to trigger Shadow Raid, increasing user''s Attack Speed by 40% for 3 seconds. When equipped: Main Attribute increased by 10%; Secondary Attributes increased by 8% Reaction speed increased by 10%; All of weapon Skills'' effects increased by 10%; Completion Rate with all weapon Skills increased by 2%; Ignore Levels +10. Additional Passive Skill- Shadow Strike: Every attack accumulates 1 point of Shadow Energy(independent from Sub Absolute Shadow). When 12 points of Shadow Energy have been accumulated, all Shadow Energy will automatically release, increasing user''s Strength by 100%. Set effect- When both Main and Sub Absolute Shadow are equipped: Main Attribute increased by an additional 15%; Secondary Attributes increased by an additional 10%; Physique increased by an additional 15%; Gain the Finishing Skill, Dark Dance. Dark Dance: When activated, user enters Stealth and Attack Speed increases by 20%, and Movement Speed increases by 30%. User leaves Stealth if attacked or attacking. Duration: 15 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes [Absolute Shadow] (Dagger [Sub-hand], Epic Rank) Level 100 - Level 150 Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,100 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. Attack Power +5,725 (Level 100) Strength +385, Agility +355, Endurance +324 Attack Speed +16 Attacks carry the power of shadows. During attacks: Armor penetration increased by 20%; 25% chance to cause 300% damage; 15% chance to trigger Phantom Strike, creating an impact equivalent to 120% of user''s Strength to a 3*15 yard area. When equipped: Main Attribute increased by 10%; Secondary Attributes increased by 7% Reaction speed increased by 10%; All of weapon Skills'' effects increased by 10%; Completion Rate with all weapon Skills increased by 2%; Ignore Levels +10. Additional Passive Skill- Frenzied Shadow: Every attack accumulates 1 point of Shadow Energy(independent from Main Absolute Shadow). When 30 points of Shadow Energy have been accumulated, all Shadow Energy will automatically release, increasing user''s Attack Speed by 30% for 3 seconds. [Magic Light Pendant] (Necklace, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 2,000, Vitality 2,100 Attributes adjust according to user''s level. When equipped: All Attributes increased by 35%; Obtain Magic Light Body, increasing physique and Mana affinity by 30%. Additional Passive Skill 1- Mana Draw: Draws Mana from the environment to recover user''s Mana. User regenerates 1% of their maximum Mana every 5 seconds. Additional Passive Skill 2- Mana Heart: All Spell effects increased by 30%. All casting time reduced by 25%. All Spell Completion Rates increased by 5%. Additional Active Skill- Mana Recharge: Forcefully elevates all Spell effects by 1 tier (to a maximum of Tier 5) for 12 seconds. Cooldown: 3 hours [Dark Demon Set Forging Design] (Dark-Gold Rank) Set Level: Level 110 - Level 125 Six-piece set: Dark Demon Gauntlets Dark Demon Breastplate Dark Demon Helmet Dark Demon Leg Guards Dark Demon Boots Dark Demon Bracers Class Restriction: Plate Armor Classes Set effect- Four-piece effect: Increases Main Attribute by 10% and all Skill Completion Rates by 3%. Six-piece effect: Increases physique by 20%. Upgrades physical armor to magic armor. When they saw the several items'' details, both Zero Wing''s members and the Hell Legion were stupefied. "Aren''t this Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest''s items a little too awesome?!" "They''re more than awesome! If an Assassin equipped those daggers, they could reach for the heavens! Not only would their Attack Power be off the charts, but they could kill other players undetected!" "Those daggers are impressive, but they''re garbage compared to the necklace for magical classes. I bet I could even challenge my Tier 4 Promotion Quest as soon as I meet the level requirement with that necklace." "That Dark-Gold Set Equipment is just as incredible. The six-piece set effect actually converts the set''s defensive rank into magic armor. Opponents would have a hard time dealing damage to a player in that set. If an entire team could wear the Dark Demon Set, they''d become an unstoppable army!" Every member of the Hell Legion drooled when they saw the items. They had never dreamed that Zero Wing would gain such astounding items. Not only had Shi Feng secured a Fragmented Legendary item, but he had also obtained a top-tier Epic Weapon Set and Dark-Gold Set Equipment Forging Design. These items were likely as valuable as the Demon God''s Legacy- Hell Rush was particularly jealous, especially when he saw the Dark Demon Set. It was godly equipment for plate armor classes. For a moment, he even forgot about the Demon God''s Legacy. Magic armor was closest to rivaling divine armor. Not only did it reduce the damage from non-piercing attacks of the same tier by 30%, but it also reduced magic damage by a significant margin. It even doubled the damage reduction from attacks of a lower tier. To put it simply, every plate armor class dreamed of obtaining such equipment. If he could arm the Hell Legion''s plate armor members with Dark Demon Sets, they''d become an unstoppable force on the battlefield. Although the Demon God''s Legacy was amazing, it wouldn''t be as visibly effective at this stage of the game. Its effects would only become more apparent once players had reached higher levels and tiers. The Dark Demon Set, on the other hand, could offer immediate results the moment players equipped it. After seeing these items, Hell Rush was certain that Shi Feng hadn''t suffered from this transaction. Shi Feng might''ve lost an opportunity to gain a Legacy, but with these items, he could boost the strength of Zero Wing''s main force. They''d be particularly helpful when Zero Wing raided super-large-scale Team Dungeons. "You''re too impulsive, Guild Leader. You shouldn''t have shared that information. Now, it won''t be long before the various superpowers find out about those items. Some of them will try to take them from us, especially aiming for that Magic Light Pendant. I''m afraid that the various superpowers'' magical class experts will do everything in their power to get their hands on it..." Aqua Rose scolded. She had felt a little exasperated when Shi Feng had shared the weapons'' and equipment''s details with the Hell Legion''s members. She realized that Shi Feng wanted to reassure that Zero Wing hadn''t suffered, but exposing a Fragmented Legendary item like the Magic Light Pendant was unwise. "It won''t hurt anything if they know. Besides, hostile powers will assume that we''ve gained something powerful even if we didn''t say anything. I just opened an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, after all. Rather than let them guess blindly and target us in secret, they might as well know everything. That way, we can reduce the risks," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Alright, it''s about time for us to head back." Hiding the details of his harvest wouldn''t have been an issue if the Hell Legion hadn''t watched him open the Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest, but they had seen everything. Hiding his harvest was impossible. He''d much rather reveal the items and use them to elevate Zero Wing''s fame than encourage the various superpowers to hunt the Guild in the dark to find out what he had obtained. Top-tier weapons and equipment were always a hot topic among players. As the public learned about these items, they''d come to know about Zero Wing. He had another purpose for revealing these items to the Hell Legion; he needed to conceal the crystal inside his bag. That crystal alone was worth more than the other items combined. Even high-tiered NPCs would try to take the crystal from him if they found out about it. He wouldn''t even be surprised if an NPC attacked within an NPC city. This crystal was actually a God''s Heart, something even more precious than Legendary items. The small crystal was enough to cause an uproar across all of God''s Domain... Shi Feng didn''t even dare to appraise the crystal at the moment, much less take it out of his bag. On the off chance that the crystal caused a commotion, he''d die from regret. With that said, Shi Feng retrieved a Return Scroll and teleported back to the Starlight Fortress. He had lingered in the Star Tomb for long enough. 2497 Changes to the Starlight Fortress Chapter 2497 - Changes to the Starlight Fortress Star Valley, Starlight Fortress: As Shi Feng and the others returned to the Starlight Fortress, they were surprised by the sight that greeted them. Players now crowded the previously unpopular Starlight Fortress, and some hadn''t even reached Level 100 yet. These players hawked their wares from the fortress''s streets, selling all kinds of Resistance potions and equipment. Some of them even sold Level 100-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. Such prosperity made it hard to imagine that the Starlight Fortress was a Small Fortress that had only opened less than a week ago. It looked more like a Medium Fortress that had been open to the public for several months. "Why are so many players here?" Thunder Beast was stunned and confused as he glanced at the crowded streets. He knew that very few players, other than Divine Tribe and his team, had been in the fortress before they had left on their expedition. The Starlight Fortress''s entrance fee and general expenditures were exorbitant, after all. Remaining in the fortress for one extra day alone cost players another Magic Crystal. Not even experts like him could tolerate such a high price, not to mention normal players. With how Shi Feng ran the fortress, Thunder Beast thought he would be fortunate to earn enough to sustain the fortress''s daily operations. But contrary to his expectation, the Starlight Fortress practically overflowed with wealth, most of which came in the form of Magic Crystals. This fortress was almost more profitable than a Grade 3 ore vein. The situation even astonished Hell Rush. Even if the Demon God''s Shrine has attracted quite a few players to Star Valley, the Starlight Fortress shouldn''t have developed so quickly. What exactly happened here? Hell Rush watched the players wander the fortress''s streets in confusion. He had expected the Starlight Fortress to become a popular location in Star Valley. Not many on the western continent could resist the temptation of a Demon God''s Legacy, and if they wanted to obtain it, they had to spend some time in the area. There was no denying that the Starlight Fortress was the best resting spot in Star Valley. The cost of living in the fortress might be incredibly high, but compared to a Demon God''s Legacy, the cost was practically negligible. However, less than half an hour had passed since the system announcement. How had so many players gathered in the fortress in less than 30 minutes? "Commander, I think the Mana here has changed. Since we''ve arrived, my Mana affinity has increased," a Tier 3 Elementalist informed Hell Rush. "I can even sense a significant amount of the Three Supreme Elements in the fortress''s ambient Mana..." "The Three Supreme Elements? Doesn''t that mean that this environment can rival that of ancient times?" Hell Rush couldn''t help his growing excitement. Ordinary players wouldn''t have a clue about the environment of ancient times or its effect on players, but as the Hell Legion''s commander, he understood much about God''s Domain. If the Starlight Fortress''s environment resembled that of ancient times, the players resting in the fortress would have a much easier time unlocking their Mana Bodies'' potential. Every player''s Mana Body consisted of all seven elements, and within an environment that lacked the Three Supreme Elements, unlocking one''s Mana Body was excruciatingly difficult. "What did you do, Guild Leader? There are so many players here now! Our daily income should be far more than 200.000 Magic Crystals!" Aqua Rose asked Shi Feng when she saw the crowded streets. "With so many Magic Crystals, we won''t have to worry about producing the Dark Demon Set." Not only did the Dark Demon Set''s production require a lot of rare materials, but it also required a ridiculous number of Magic Crystals. Forging a single set required 10,000 Magic Crystals, and the other rare materials could only be purchased with Magic Crystals. Overall, crafting each Dark Demon Set would cost at least 20,000 Magic Crystals. Not even some ordinary powers could afford such an insane production cost. Zero Wing had already spent almost all of its Magic Crystals on materials from Divine Tribe and during the Starlight Fortress''s capture. With how few they had left, developing the Starlight Fortress would prove challenging, not to mention crafting the Dark Demon Set. The Starlight Fortress operated like a giant machine that relentlessly devoured Magic Crystals. Just keeping the fortress''s magic array running was a huge expenditure, to say nothing of the Summoning Tower and Fortress Prison. Overall, the Starlight Fortress cost a minimum of 30,000 Magic Crystals per day. Zero Wing had already been forced to borrow Magic Crystals from Divine Tribe to sustain the fortress. However, now that the Starlight Fortress''s player population had exceeded 200,000, the fortress earned a minimum of 200.000 Magic Crystals per day. Even after deducting the fortress''s various expenditures, Zero Wing would earn more than 100,000 Magic Crystals in daily profit. Over 100,000 Magic Crystals of pure profit! Zero Wing wasn''t even capable of earning so many Magic Crystals per day, even with Stone Forest City, Zero Wing City, and the Guild''s several ore veins. "I haven''t done anything. Players are just becoming more perceptive," Shi Feng said, chuckling at Aqua Rose''s excitement. The Starlight Fortress was an ancient fortress. Once it opened to the public, it would gradually attract the Three Supreme Elements from its surroundings to recreate its original environment. However, this was a very long and arduous process. It would still take some time before the fortress had an environment that could rival that of ancient times. Even so, the feature was incredibly precious to God''s Domain''s players. The environment wouldn''t only be useful to players trying to unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential. It would also help as players tried to climb through the tiers. As players aimed for higher tiers, they had to have a basic understanding and control of the seven elements. Without this control and knowledge, they''d always be weaker than others of the same tier. As for the matter of the Dark Demon Set, he had been nursing a headache over the issue, as well. Forging a few sets might not be much of an issue, but if he wanted to mass-produce the Dark Demon Set, he''d need enough Magic Crystals to give the various superpowers heart attacks. Fortunately, the Starlight Fortress had been developing wonderfully while he''d been gone. Without this progress, he would''ve only been able to stare at the Forging Design. While he had solved the problem of materials, however, he still needed sufficient manpower. He couldn''t do it all by himself. He would need at least two other Advanced Master Forgers to ensure a reliable success rate when produ^^ the Dark Demon Set. The cost of failure would even be enough to put a first-rate Guild in the red. Suddenly, a party of Level 106-plus peak experts, led by a beautiful woman, approached Shi Feng. The graceful woman was none other than Fithalia, the Divine Hymn Legion''s commander. Surprisingly, Fithalia had lost a level, falling to Level 106, and a faint, deathly aura surrounded her, signifying that she was currently in a Weakened state. The revelation shocked Shi Feng and the others. "I''ve finally found you, Guild Leader Black Flame," Fithalia said with a somber expression. "Has something happened?" Shi Feng replied with a question. Communication between those within the Star Tomb and those outside of it was severed. To contact players on the other side, one would have to do so through offline means. However, Shi Feng hadn''t been worried with Divine Tribe''s forces and the Silver Divine Dragon protecting the Starlight Fortress, and as such, he hadn''t left any of his Guild''s experts behind in the fortress. "Mythology''s people arrived. Not only have they demanded that Divine Tribe hand over the temporary Residence, but they''ve also demanded that Zero Wing surrender 51% of the Starlight Fortress''s shares," Fithalia said. "What about your level?" It didn''t surprise Shi Feng that a Super Guild like Mythology had set its sights on the Starlight Fortress, but he was surprised to see that Fithalia had lost a level. "It''s nothing. I fought Mythology''s people and lost," Fithalia explained. "That''s what I want to talk to you about. I don''t know what kind of power Mythology''s members have obtained, but they can completely conceal their auras. Even when they fought inside the fortress, the Divine Dragon needed some time to sense them. If Mythology causes more chaos in the fortress, I''m afraid that we won''t be able to contain it..." "Even you weren''t a match for them?" Hell Rush was stunned to hear about the recent events. Hell Rush knew how strong Fithalia was. She was definitely as strong as he was. Even Mythology''s old monsters should have a difficult time defeating her, and her guards followed her everywhere. Logically, no one should be powerful enough to kill her. "They have a way to conceal their auras?" Shi Feng fell into deep thought for a moment. He was aware of plenty of methods to conceal one''s aura in God''s Domain, but none of those methods could hide one from a Divine Dragon, even for a short time. "Mythology''s people also asked me to relay a message. They''ve said that they will show up once more after the Demon God''s Shrine has activated and hope that Zero Wing will have considered their proposal carefully. If Zero Wing refuses to cooperate, it will have to bear the consequences." Fithalia had a huge headache over the situation. The group of players Mythology had sent to the fortress was incredibly powerful, and they could completely hide their auras. If a fight broke out between them, the Starlight Fortress would pay the price. 2498 Gods Hear t Chapter 2498 - God''s Heart As Fithalia finished speaking, silence fell. Hell Rush frowned at hearing the news. "Mythology is being too arrogant! Do they think Netherworld Empire is powerless?" Thunder Beast, who stood nearly three-meters tall, bellowed in rage. This was infuriating! Not only had Mythology extorted Zero Wing with its declaration, but it also ignored Netherworld Empire. The public had long since learned of Netherworld Empire''s partnership with the Starlight Fortress. Every superpower on the western continent knew of it. Naturally, there was no way a Super Guild like Mythology hadn''t heard. And yet, Mythology demanded 51% of the Starlight Fortress''s shares. Not even Netherworld Empire had any of the fortress''s shares. By demanding 51% of the fortress, Mythology had essentially declared that it was more powerful and important than Netherworld Empire. "Fithalia, do you know who''s leading the team from Mythology?" Hell Rush asked in a frosty tone. "It seems it''s been so long since our last battle that Mythology''s people have forgotten about the Hell Legion!" The temperature around the group dropped as Hell Rush spoke. The ambient Mana began to freeze as if reacting to his emotions. Obviously, Hell Rush''s Mana control was already considerable. "Commander Rush, you mustn''t act rashly. These people belong to a newly-formed team from Mythology. Their leader is a young, silver-haired man. He only looks to be around 22 or 23, and he has already replaced Trembling Hand as the First Vice Commander of Mythology''s strongest trump card legion. All of his teammates are roughly the same age, but they''re all incredibly strong. Not even our team''s strongest Assassin is as fast as they are. They move like ghosts. When they had appeared behind me, I hadn''t noticed their presence at all," Fithalia elaborated when she realized that Hell Rush intended to pick a fight with these Mythology members. "Their team will be especially difficult to take down in the fields." She understood Hell Rush''s rage, but this team had a little over a dozen players, and they could all vanish without a trace. If the Hell Legion fought these players in the Starlight Fortress, they might be fine, but the legion would only be running towards its death if it tried to take them on in the fields. With the complex terrain in the fields, not being able to sense one''s opponent would leave one blind. Even if Hell Rush and the others were strong, those Mythology members were exceptionally fast. Pinning down just one of those players would require five or six peak experts at the very least. And there were over a dozen of those experts... When these players had attacked the dozens of peak experts under her command, she hadn''t been able to stop them. These Mythology members targeted a single player before fleeing once they killed their mark. It was easy to imagine how formidable they''d be out in the fields. "Hes replaced Trembling Hand? How is that possible?" Thunder Beast was astonished. Trembling Hand had been known as a genius ever since he had joined the virtual gaming world. He had fought in virtual games for over a dozen years now and had long since reached the Domain Realm. He had achieved just as much in the Domain Realm as Hell Rush, and the man was still in his 30s. He was currently at his prime, and he still had plenty of room for improvement. The various superpowers'' upper echelons all believed that Trembling Hand was the most likely player to become the commander of Mythology''s strongest trump card legion, and yet, he had lost his position as First Vice Commander to a youth... Even Hell Rush wore a grim expression after hearing the news. It''s no wonder why they dared to spout such nonsense. It seems they''re not all talk after all! Hell Rush thought, his eyes narrowing as he thought about how to deal with these people. If what Fithalia said was true, this would be a major problem. There were only a few members of the Hell Legion who could go up against Trembling Hand. None of the rest of the legion''s members would last very long against him. Meanwhile, the youth Fithalia mentioned could evade detection and was even stronger than Trembling Hand. If that were true, none of the Hell Legion''s members would last more than a handful of moves against this silver-haired youth. Unless the target had an Invulnerability Skill or Spell, not even Hell Rush could help before the youth executed three or four moves. Meanwhile, if this youth wanted to escape, they''d need at least 20 peak experts to stop him, and that was assuming that these experts didn''t lose sight of the young man. "Commander Fithalia, do you have a record of their entry and exit from the fortress?" Shi Feng asked. "No. They seemed to have just appeared, and based on their behavior, they had no issue slipping past the gate security. Not even the Tier 3 NPCs noticed them," Fithalia said, shaking her head. Divine Tribe had stationed some of its Tier 3 Personal Guards to manage the Starlight Fortress''s front gate, but when she had checked the NPCs* records, there was no mention of the players from Mythology. It was as if these people had appeared out of thin air. Stopping these players at the fortress''s gate wasn''t even possible. "This is interesting," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Interesting?" Fithalia could not help but roll her eyes. For a moment, she wondered if Shi Feng understood the severity of this situation. With the ability to enter and leave the Starlight Fortress freely, no one could stop these players from causing chaos within the Starlight Fortress. The Starlight Fortress had just taken off. If chaos ensued inside, it would spell tragedy for the fortress''s development. Nobody wanted to remain in an unsafe location, especially when important resource transactions were involved. "Of course! Leave the rest to Zero Wing, although I will have to continue to trouble you regarding the fortress''s daily security, Commander Fithalia," Shi Feng said as he nodded confidently. If this had happened before he had obtained a God''s Heart, these ghost-like experts would''ve been a huge headache for him. Without the ability to instant-kill these players, they could disappear to any random comer of the fortress, and that would be the end of the story. He would have no choice but to let these people leave. However, the situation had changed. He now had a God''s Heart, a source of Eternal Energy that rivaled the value of Divine Artifacts. Not only could one use this God''s Heart as a power core, but one could also release the Eternal Energy it contained and use it to learn new concepts. It was the best item when trying to comprehend new information. Eternal Energy was an even more powerful energy than Mana. Only the Gods could use and gather the energy, and even they struggled to collect it. Since the Gods had long since removed themselves from the world, finding Eternal Energy had become incredibly difficult in God''s Domain, even for Tier 5 NPCs, who stood at the apex of this world. A single, small drop of concentrated Eternal Energy would be enough to incite an all-out brawl between Tier 5 NPCs and Tier 6 God-ranked players. Meanwhile, the God''s Heart in Shi Feng''s bag was a condensed form of Eternal Energy, which not even an empire''s entire wealth could buy. Initially, Shi Feng had wanted to learn the rest of the Memory Crystal''s content once he had returned to the eastern continent and found an ideal venue for studying the information. Tier 3 players'' foundations were their Mana Bodies, and only by unlocking his Epic Mana Body''s potential could he display his full strength. He''d then be able to explore the maps that contained Solomon''s Sword''s remaining fragments. Hence, he needed a location that could help him gain the most benefit from the Eliadi''s Memory Crystal. However, now that he had a God''s Heart, he wouldn''t have to go to such great lengths to learn the crystal''s contents. Once he found enough privacy to take the God''s Heart from his bag without exposing it to others, he could create his own venue, the best in God''s Domain. Fortunately, the Fortress Lord''s Mansion was the perfect location. Shi Feng then parted ways with Fithalia and the others, making his way to the mansion. Fithalia was dumbfounded as she watched Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s members walk away. She couldn''t fathom was going through the Swordsman''s mind. At such a crucial moment, Shi Feng had reacted similarly to Hell Rush, intent on taking his anger out on these Mythology players. "What should we do now, Commander?" the Tier 3 Shield Warrior beside Fithalia asked. "The ruckus Mythology caused has already scared plenty of merchant players away. If Mythology causes another scene, I''m afraid everyone in the fortress will panic. Controlling the situation won''t be easy." "Forget it. I don''t care anymore. Let Mythology''s people cause a scene if they want. Once Zero Wing''s people realize how severe the situation is, we should be able to curb Mythology''s experts as long as our three Guilds work together," Fithalia said as she massaged her forehead. She had already learned that trying to dissuade Shi Feng from doing anything foolish was a waste of time. She might as well let him try whatever he had planned. Once he failed, he''d approach Divine Tribe to work on a solution together. "There''s no need for such pessimism, Commander Fithalia. Who knows? Guild Leader Black Flame might actually be able to show these Mythology members who''s boss. Zero Wing''s strength is the real deal. Even if Zero Wing''s players can''t stop Mythology''s experts completely, they should be able to give them a run for their money," Hell Rush said, attempting to console Fithalia. Hell Rush didn''t think Zero Wing had enough power to take out this team from Mythology by itself either, but with experts like Fire Dance and her comrades, they should be able to give Mythology a huge headache for their trouble. Now, it was just a matter of waiting to see who lasted longer. While Fithalia and Hell Rush conversed, Shi Feng had reached the Fortress Lord''s Mansion''s core room. He used the Fortress Lord''s Token to activate the room''s defensive magic array before carefully retrieving the crystal that emitted a faint trace of Divine Might from his bag. 2499 Epic Mana Body Unlocked Chapter 2499 - Epic Mana Body Unlocked As Shi Feng pulled the God''s Heart from his bag, faint Mana pulsed throughout the dark and quiet core room. It wasn''t a lot of Mana, but it had enough power that space within the room trembled. When the pulse encountered the room''s magic barrier, it, too, began to tremble, almost failing to block the Mana. Sure enough, a God''s Heart is intensely powerful. I only took it out of my bag, and it nearly felled the room''s magic barrier. Shi Feng stared at the magic barrier around the room, astonished. Fortunately, he was within an ancient fortress''s core room. This magic barrier was far stronger than ordinary versions. Even Mythic monsters would have an extremely hard time trying to destroy it. Had he retrieved the God''s Heart in any other location within the Starlight Fortress, the barrier wouldn''t have been able to contain the Mana pulse. The energy would''ve escaped and caught the attention of everyone within the fortress. However, this pulse of Mana had also substantially increased the Mana density in the room. A gentle layer of mist now filled the core room. If players trained here, they''d likely be able to practice Bronze Combat Techniques without rest. They could train to their heart''s content. Following which, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to appraise the God''s Heart. [Augustuss Damaged Heart] (Inferior Divine Artifact Rank Material) This is the Barbarian God Augustus''s Heart and crystallization of Eternal Energy. When Augustus had fallen, the Demon God, Atlock, had secured his heart and repeatedly modified it. Once one has activated the magic array engraved on the heart, the user will be exposed to dense Eternal Energy for 12 hours. The magic array will require 3 months to recover after each activation. Restoring the magic array''s Eternal Energy is possible by sacrificing 1 God Crystal. Amazing! Atlock had transformed a Consumable God''s Heart into a tool that can supply endless Eternal Energy! When Shi Feng read Augustus''s Heart''s description, he was shocked. Gods'' Hearts were typically one-time-use Consumables. When players released the Eternal Energy contained within, the God''s Heart would release all of its energy. Eventually, the God''s Heart would run out of Eternal Energy and fade from existence. Only a few Tier 5 NPCs could control the release of Eternal Energy from a God''s Heart, allowing them to use the item multiple times. Even so, they couldn''t change the fact that the God''s Heart would vanish when it ran out of Eternal Energy. And yet, Atlock had successfully modified Augustus''s Heart, transforming it into a tool that could offer endless Eternal Energy. Shi Feng had certainly hit the jackpot this time. It was no wonder why Atlock was so determined to kill him, even using a Demon God''s Legacy as bait. Although one could only use the modified Augustus''s Heart for 12 short hours, it was more than enough time for players. The only major flaw was the 3-month Cooldown. Even so, Augustus''s Heart was unbelievably amazing. Players would encounter countless roadblocks on their road to higher tiers in God''s Domain, and it wasn''t possible to overcome all of these roadblocks at once. Players would have to face them, one after another. The Tier 3 Mana Body and Tier 4 Mana control were two examples. However, Shi Feng could overcome them all with Augustus''s Heart. Moreover, he could use a God Crystal to circumvent the Cooldown. He was immensely satisfied with his latest endeavor. If word of Augustus''s Heart spread, all of God''s Domain would go into a frenzy, including both players and NPCs. Shi Feng took a moment to suppress his excitement and began to activate the magic array within Augustus''s Heart. He was prepared to accept the Heavenly Blue Saint''s Mana Body Legacy. However, Shi Feng frowned when he examined the array. This magic array was more complex than any he had encountered before. Manipulating it would be intensely challenging, even now that he had become an Intermediate Master Magician. A Basic Master Magician would have no chance of activating this magic array. Sure enough, the Main God System won''t just hand players so much power. Shi Feng gave the magic array a bitter smile. He had wanted to use the God Crystals he had on hand to help Cola and the rest unlock their Mana Body''s full potential once he had done so himself. The sooner they did so, the more they would benefit in the future. However, it seemed that that wouldn''t be possible... Activating Augustus''s Heart''s magic array would be absolutely impossible unless one had become an Intermediate Master Magician. His dream of forming an army of powerful experts had just shattered. Becoming a Master Magician in God''s Domain was far easier than becoming a Master Forger, yet very few players were capable of accomplishing the feat. Naturally, reaching every subsequent rank after becoming a Basic Master Magician was incredibly difficult, even more so than rising through the ranks after becoming a Master Forger. In all of Zero Wing, only Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud had high chances of becoming Basic Master Magicians. Everyone else would still have a long road ahead of them, and two players simply weren''t enough to form an army. Shaking his head, Shi Feng banished his thoughts and began to focus on learning and decoding the magic array. Ten minutes... Twenty minutes... Forty minutes... As he completed the final strand of Mana''s trajectory, Augustus''s Heart lit with a colorful glow. Streams of purple mist then flowed from the item and into Shi Feng. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt incredibly comfortable, and his mind was unprecedentedly clear. The Eternal Energy proved many times more effective than the densest Mana. Wasting no time, Shi Feng retrieved the Memory Crystal Eliadi had given him and started to study her Legacy on the Mana Body. The goddess''s Mana Body Technique was more complex than her Mana Technique Legacy. Not only did it contain information on Mana and the methods to control it, but it also contained concise information on the structure of Mana Bodies. According to Eliadi''s research, the higher a Mana Body''s rank was, the more complex it would be. Subsequently, one would need a more complicated Mana control method to use their Mana Body. An Epic Mana Body was on par with a super-large-scale magic array consisting of several hundred smaller arrays. There were many ways to control this super-large-scale magic array, but only one would give a player full control over the entire array; they''d have to construct a simple magic array that would allow the user to control multiple core arrays. The more core magic arrays this simple array could control, the more power the super-large-scale magic array could exhibit. If Shi Feng had tried to process all of the information within the Memory Crystal before he had obtained Augustus''s Heart, none even the densest Mana would save him from the headache. Fortunately, the Eternal Energy around him was amazingly beneficial. Not only did it boost his comprehension and memory, but it also allowed him to try to create the simple magic array that was necessary for controlling the flow of Mana within his Mana Body. For a time, Shi Feng radiated stronger and weaker Mana at random intervals. At his strongest, he radiated dense enough Mana to rival that within Stone Forest City, and at his weakest, he radiated roughly the same density as the Mana found in ordinary NPC cities. During the process, Shi Feng rapidly unlocked more of his Mana Body''s potential. 40%... 55%... 70%... However, as Shi Feng continued to unlock his Epic Mana Body, his progress slowed. By the time the Memory Crystal''s duration ended, Shi Feng had only reached 82% of his potential. He was still far from 100%. In the nine hours since he had activated Augustus''s Heart, he had only unlocked 91% of his Mana Body''s potential... Just as the 12 hours were almost up, an intense wave of Mana exploded from Shi Feng''s body, forming a mist in the core room. The mist was light, easy to miss if one weren''t paying attention, but it was undeniable that Shi Feng exuded Mana that was so dense it condensed into its liquid form. Finally, success! Shi Feng''s eyes flew open, flashing with excitement as he observed the Mana that automatically flowed throughout his Mana Body. 2500 Frightening Improvemen Chapter 2500 - Frightening Improvement In God''s Domain, Tier 3 NPCs were considered powerhouses that could protect NPC cities. However, players only became powerhouses once they had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. Only with a fully unlocked Mana Body could players enter and leave certain locations freely. If they tried to do so without unlocking their Mana Body, only death would await them. The Star Tomb Regional Dungeon''s entry requirements were actually quite low. Even Tier 3 players that hadn''t fully unlocked their Mana Bodies could explore the area, albeit barely. In comparison, certain unique areas were full of incredibly corrosive energy, and Tier 3 players wouldn''t last more than five minutes in these areas without unlocking their Mana Bodies'' full potential. Unlocking their Mana Bodies was the only way players could protect themselves against the corrosive energy. This was why players were only considered powerhouses once they had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. Most importantly, the Skills and Spells players used would be far stronger once they had unlocked their Mana Bodies than those who hadn''t. So, this is an Epic Mana Body? Astonishment colored Shi Feng''s features as he sensed the dense Mana radiating from his body. He had never dreamed that an Epic Mana body would be this powerful. Normally, a Mana Body relied on its own Mana to function, but his Mana Body could attract ambient mana and use it to strengthen and nourish itself. His Epic Mana Body had also coated his body with a thin barrier of Mana. The barrier was easy to miss if one weren''t paying close attention. It almost felt like a skin-tight suit. It trapped a significant portion of the Mana radiating from him, drastically reducing the amount of Mana wasted. Not only did this Mana Barrier improve his recovery, but it also ensured that the Mana around him was far denser than normal. The addition of this Mana Barrier alone doubled or tripled his survivability in the fields, especially in low-Mana environments. When he fought in such harsh environments, he wouldn''t have to worry about losing a significant portion of his combat power. Shi Feng tried to manipulate his Mana Body, guiding the Mana around him into his hands. He instantly felt like a black hole as the ambient Mana gathered around him. In the blink of an eye, a faint layer of Mana mist formed on the surface of his palms. Shi Feng''s fist then shot out as he punched the empty air. Peng! Space exploded around his fist as if the punch had created a vacuum. Space around him trembled at the power of the strike, and the core room''s magic barrier shuddered. With this power, I can now likely solo a Mythic monster of the same level, even without my Berserk Skills. Shi Feng gasped when he saw the results of his punch. He had merely executed a normal punch, and he didn''t even have his weapons equipped. The difference between a player''s Attack Power with a weapon and without one in God''s Domain was massive. With Killing Ray equipped, his prior punches had only been able to break the sound barrier. He had only been able to make space tremble and create spatial tears when he used the Secret Technique, Lightning Flash. Yet now, without any techniques or weapons, he could exhibit power on par with when he wielded Killing Ray... An Epic Mana Body provided horrific power! In his opinion, although Mana Bodies massively boosted players'' strength, they didn''t provide this much power. The benefits of unlocking his Mana Body thus far could already rival that of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Moreover, he had only unlocked 100% of his Mana Body''s potential. If he could push beyond that, his strength would rise to a whole new level. After 100%, every additional percent would provide tremendous power. As far as Shi Feng knew, players had only reached 120% of their Mana Bodies'' potential in the past. It was easy to imagine how frighteningly powerful 120% of an Epic Mana Body''s potential would be. Even transcending tiers would be possible. Elated, Shi Feng started to practice Eliadi''s Mana Technique. He had now unlocked 100% of his Mana Body''s potential. Going beyond that would take some time, and it would be as difficult as creating a Master Magic Array for an Apprentice Magician. Fortunately, unlocking more than 100% of his Epic Mana Body wasn''t the only way to transcend tiers. He could also rely on the help of a Mana Technique. He had experienced Eliadi''s Holy Annihilation personally, and despite suppressing herself to Tier 3, the Heavenly Blue Saint''s attack could instant-kill or heavily injure Tier 4 beings. If Shi Feng could master Eliadi''s Holy Annihilation, the Mana Technique would prove significantly helpful. He hadn''t been able to learn the technique earlier since he hadn''t unlocked his Mana Body fully yet, but now that he had, he could truly practice the Holy Annihilation. Mana Techniques weren''t like combat techniques. Combat techniques consumed the user''s Stamina and Concentration, but Mana Techniques, on the other hand, only consumed Concentration. Players generally avoided using combat techniques in harsh environments, trying to conserve their Stamina due to the heavy burden the environment placed on them. However, with a few exceptions, these harsh environments did not affect players'' Concentration consumption. Hence, God''s Domain''s experts that had grasped Mana Techniques, whether self-taught or learned from the system, had an easier time exploring the world, especially the maps with harsh environments. Now that Shi Feng had achieved his goals in visiting the western continent, he needed to search for Solomon''s Sword''s remaining fragments to maintain his advantages and pave a smoother path for Aqua Rose and his other comrades as they aimed for Tier 4. If he put the task off, it would only be a matter of time before the various superpowers, with how fast they were developing, would overpower Zero Wing. If he could learn Eliadi''s Mana Technique now, not only would he have a much better chance of securing the fragments of Solomon''s Sword, but he could also teach the technique to Aqua Rose and the others. As Shi Feng tried to mimic the way Eliadi had executed the First Sword, Lightshadow, the more the Heavenly Blue Saint amazed him. Eliadi''s Mana Technique even seemed slightly stronger than the Mana Techniques the Demon God, Atlock, had used. The First Sword, Lightshadow, used all seven elements, and executing the strike proved even more difficult than Lightning Flash, a Bronze Combat Technique. Shi Feng needed to channel and gather his Mana for several seconds before he could attempt to execute Lightshadow. Atlock had also needed some preparation time before executing his Mana Technique. The Demon God had spent several seconds preparing the black hole, the last attack he had used against Shi Feng. Even though Atlock had executed the Mana Technique through his phantom, that phantom had still been at the Tier 5 standard. The goddess, on the other hand, had executed Lightshadow, Holy Devour, and Holy Annihilation without any preparation time whatsoever. On the contrary, it has seemed as if she had been able to pause her technique, releasing her attack when she needed to in a systematic manner. When Shi Feng thought about that fight, he realized the intervals between each of her attacks had been exactly the same. Even at the Tier 3 standard, Eliadi had accomplished the feat. As Shi Feng continued to practice Lightshadow, however, he was able to reduce the time he needed before executing the technique. Initially, he spent nearly eight minutes preparing his strike, but now, he could do so after around five minutes. The more Shi Feng practiced, the more he understood about Mana control. Two hours... Six hours... Twelve hours... While Shi Feng was immersed in his training, he received a call request from Fithalia. "Guild Leader Black Flame, Mythology''s people are back. They are all gathered in the Starlight Bar, and I think they''ve found a way to deal with your Divine Dragon. More of them have arrived, as well. Now, there are more than 30 players in their group," Fithalia reported with a somber expression. Dealing with the dozen-plus experts had already been a struggle, but now, more than double had shown up in the Starlight Fortress. Even if Zero Wing, Divine Tribe, and Hell Legion gathered all of their peak experts in the fortress, suppressing these Mythology players would still prove difficult. They''ve returned so soon?" Shi Feng muttered in surprise. However, when he glanced at the time, he realized that he had been training for over half a day. It had felt like time had passed even more quickly than when he had worked to unlock his Mana Body. He then sheathed his swords and grinned. "Alright, I''ll be right there." With that, Shi Feng disconnected the call and left the core room. 2501 Mythology Arrives Chapter 2501 - Mythology Arrives Starlight Fortress, Starlight Bar: The Starlight Bar was usually the most popular bar in the Starlight Fortress, but right now, the bar, which was half the size of a football field, was silent as everyone stared at the group of players in black, drinking quietly in the middle of the establishment. No one even dared to breathe too loudly. The rest of the crowd wasn''t simply reacting in such a way because the black-clad players had appeared like a group of magicians. Rather, their reactions were due to the fact that every one of those players wore Mythology''s Guild Emblem. "So, they''re the rumored experts from Mythology?" "Amazing. I see them, yet I can''t sense their presence. How did they do it?" "It seems that even Mythology can''t help but get involved now that the Demon God''s Shrine had appeared." Once everyone had gotten over their shock at seeing these players, they quietly chatted amongst themselves. Some players were afraid, while others were excited. Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds in the virtual gaming world; every player on the western continent was familiar with its reputation. News of Mythology''s black-clad players causing chaos had already spread throughout the fortress. Not only had these players avoided the Divine Dragon''s wrath, but they had also managed to slay quite a few of Divine Tribe''s experts. Even Fithalia, the commander of one of Divine Tribe''s trump card legions, had lost her life in battle. In response, Divine Tribe had dispatched even more experts to patrol the Starlight Fortress''s streets. It had even sent plenty of Tier 3 Personal Guards to join the patrols. However, not only had Mythology''s experts snuck into the city again, but more of them had come, as well. Now, they even congregated in the Starlight Bar, the fortress''s most popular bar, drinking like normal customers. They treated the Starlight Fortress like they would their own hometown. "Mythology is amazing, boss. They''re completely disregarding the fortress''s Divine Dragon. It seems the Starlight Fortress will soon have a new owner," the ruthless man from the Storm Heart adventurer team admired as he watched the black-clad players from Mythology. When he had encountered the Starlight Fortress''s Divine Dragon, he had only felt fear. Players had no chance against it in his opinion, yet these black-clad players acted as if the Divine Dragon didn''t even exist, coming and going from the fortress as they wished. Mythology''s foundations were simply frightening. "Mythology certainly is stronger than the other superpowers. Aside from those players'' ability to conceal their presence, their combat standards are impressive. They''re all bona fide peak experts. Several of them are even stronger than I am. I don''t even know how I would fight that silver-haired youth leading the group. I don''t think he''s even human," Krow said as he observed Mythology''s members, a trace of fear flashing in his eyes. "If they decide to cause a scene in the fortress, there will be a mess, and no one will be able to do anything about it. With the situation as it is, even Zero Wing, with all its advantages, will have to make concessions for them." Krow knew that the various superpowers were no match for the Five Great Super Guilds, but he had never imagined that the gap between them would be this massive. Mythology''s black-clad players were at least Level 107, but their auras were even powerful enough to make an expert like him feel uncomfortable. The weakest member of the group had Basic Attributes to rival a Grand Lord of the same level. Fighting just one of those players would pose a huge problem for him. If he had to face two or three simultaneously, there was a very high likelihood that he''d fall. To make matters worse, there were over 30 of these experts in the bar, and all of them could completely conceal their auras. This was just a nightmare. There was also the silver-haired leader to worry about. Although Krow could not sense the youth''s aura, his instincts told him that if he came within 30 yards of the young man, his life would be forfeit. While the bar''s patrons quietly watched Mythology''s experts, the group in question acted as if none of the surrounding players existed at all, chatting with each other and utterly carefree. "Commander, the higher-ups are being really stubborn. They still want us to negotiate with Zero Wing as a show of respect for Netherworld Empire. Why should we have to show anyone any respect? We should just capture the Starlight Fortress. With the fortress, Mythology can claim the Demon God''s Legacy once the Demon God''s Shrine activates!" a tall, slim woman carrying a war hammer and sturdy shield grumbled. As far as she was concerned, Netherworld Empire had only partnered with Zero Wing because it wasn''t strong enough to take the fortress for itself, but Mythology was a different story. Capturing the Starlight Fortress wouldn''t be difficult for her team, especially now that they had grown stronger. Not even taking out Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion would be an issue, let alone capturing the Starlight Fortress. They had no reason to fear the Guild. "I concur. We''d be better off giving Zero Wing a beating and taking the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. We shouldn''t need to go to the trouble of targeting Divine Tribe to get at the eastern Guild. If we don''t teach him a lesson, Black Flame will think the west is just like the eastern continent," a young assassin carrying two short swords added, nodding in agreement. Mythology''s power was limited on the eastern continent, and thus, what it could accomplish there was limited, but in the west, squashing Zero Wing would be child''s play. Not even the Divine Dragon''s protection could save Zero Wing''s players. Mythology''s foundations on the western continent were just that far beyond what Zero Wing could imagine. "Don''t get careless. Netherworld Empire has its reasons for working with Zero Wing. Based on recent reports, Zero Wing already has five members with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. Those players are extraordinarily strong. If they show up, follow the back-up plan. Activate your battle arrays and face them in four-man cells. The rest of you will continue as we initially planned. If the Divine Dragon approaches, retreat immediately," the silver-haired team leader ordered, watching his impatient team members. "Rest assured, Commander. Aside from the Dragon, these players are nothing. I don''t know how those Zero Wing players unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential so quickly, but so what?" the Assassin youth loudly and fearlessly proclaimed. "If Zero Wing''s members really do show up, I''ll make sure none of them leave alive!" The rest of Mythology''s team nodded. Fully unlocking one''s Mana Body might substantially increase one''s combat power, but their Advanced Battle Array was no trivial matter. As long as they activated their battle arrays, they could combine the strength of four players. The player that received all this power would be even strong enough to take down a Mythic monster of the same level, much less Tier 3 players. If Zero Wing''s members dared to show their faces, their team could slap them down with ease. "Is that so? I''d like to test your claim, then." Suddenly, everyone in the bar heard a deep voice, and the speaker immediately caused an uproar. Every player in the Starlight Bar spun toward the speaker, assuming whoever had been so bold must be crazy. This player had just directly challenged Mythology''s experts. They must be suicidal! Two people, a man and a woman, walked into the bar. The woman was the beautiful, elegant Fithalia, while the man felt as dark as night. 2502 Silent Starlight Bar Chapter 2502 - Silent Starlight Bar As Shi Feng and Fithalia entered the Starlight Bar, interrupting the black-clad Mythology members'' conversation, an uproar broke out among the spectating patrons. "Crap! Isn''t that beauty Fithalia, the commander of one of Divine Tribe''s trump card legions?!" "It seems they''re going to start another fight!" "A fight? This''ll be a war! I hadn''t thought I''d get lucky enough to watch this unfold personally!" Many of these players were experts with vast information networks. They were, more or less, aware of the struggle between the various superpowers over the Starlight Fortress. Now that Mythology had taken the initiative to pick a fight with the Starlight Fortress, a war between the various superpowers was unavoidable. Although, none of them had expected it to begin so soon. Clashes between experts, particularly those from the various superpowers, were extremely rare learning opportunities in God''s Domain, especially for the players that got to watch the fights personally. They''d be able to learn far more than from watching a recording of the battle. This was precisely the reason that the various powers constantly tried to gain entry tickets to the various superpowers'' Dark Arena. Unfortunately, without adequate connections, normal players didn''t even qualify to enter the Dark Arena. However, compared to the battle unfolding right before their eyes, the Dark Arena''s battles were nothing. The various superpowers'' participants in the Dark Arena never went all-out, but this situation would be different. To secure the right to rule the Starlight Fortress, all parties involved would fight with everything they had. While the bar''s spectating patrons became excited, Mythology''s members turned to give Shi Feng cold looks. Every one of them was restless, eager to get the fight started. Sensing these black-clad players'' hostility, Fithalia felt a headache brew. She had tried to convince Shi Feng to gather some manpower before confronting Mythology''s members, but Shi Feng had headed for the Starlight Bar the moment he had heard about their arrival. Shi Feng was the only player that had a claim over the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. If anything happened to him, defending their hold on the fortress would become far more difficult. The various superpowers had already stationed plenty of experts in the Starlight Fortress. If the fortress suddenly lost its owner, they''d cause a huge commotion. Not even Divine Tribe''s forces would be able to stop them. In the end, she had no choice but to follow Shi Feng to the Starlight Bar, contacting the players under her command to meet them there on the way. Shi Feng, however, had done the unexpected again and picked a fight with Mythology before the backup she had called could get there... They were currently facing over 30 peak experts! And these weren''t any ordinary peak experts. Not only could they hide their auras, but they were all incredibly fast. If these peak experts decided to attack as one, the consequences would be dire. "You''re quite daring, you bastard!" the short-sword wielding Assassin youth said, sneering at Shi Feng. "Show me whether or not you have the strength to support that courage!" Just before the Assassin could step forward, however, the silver-haired youth beside him extended a hand, blocking his path. "Commander?" the Assassin asked, confused about why his leader had stopped him. But the silver-haired player hadn''t offered an explanation. Rather, he smiled at Shi Feng. "So, you''re Guild Leader Black Flame!" the silver-haired youth said, smiling. "Allow me to introduce myself. "I am Silver Ghost, the First Vice Commander of Mythology''s number one trump card legion." "Is he the player that foiled Vice Guild Leader Cold Shadow''s plan?" "It''s no wonder why he spoke so boldly earlier." "He''s really brave. He actually came here without any backup. Does he intend to offer a compromise?" After Silver Ghost''s introduction, realization dawned on the rest of Mythology''s members. Their goal was to seek out Shi Feng and negotiate. "Since Commander Fithalia has come with you, I''m sure she told you about my offer. What do you think about it, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Silver Ghost patiently asked, glancing at Fithalia before returning his gaze to Shi Feng. Silver Ghost had fought Fithalia personally, so he knew that she was a monster-level expert. She also had a party of peak expert bodyguards. Normally, she and her bodyguards shouldn''t have any issue defeating a 100-man team of Tier 3 experts. Unfortunately, his team wasn''t here for Fithalia. Even with her strength, she had no chance against three or four of his subordinates. She''d be doomed if over a dozen of his teammates attacked at once. The only real threat in the Starlight Fortress was Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion. Not only did the Hell Legion consist of 300 Tier 3 experts, but they were all extraordinarily strong, as well. However, if his team intended to cause chaos in this fortress, not even the Hell Legion was powerful enough to stop them. "I have no reason to consider it. Since Zero Wing is strong enough to capture the Starlight Fortress, it''s strong enough to hold it. If you want a fight, bring it on!" Shi Feng calmly stated, eyeing Silver Ghost. "How unfortunate." Silver Ghost could only sigh at Shi Feng''s reply. "Why are you still wasting your time with him, Commander?" The Assassin youth sneered. "Let my group deal with him. If we don''t teach him a lesson, he''ll continue to assume that Mythology is powerless against him!" "That''s right! If we don''t show him our strength, he''ll likely assume that we left earlier because we were afraid of him!" The rest of Mythology''s team nodded. Their previous visit to the Starlight Fortress had merely been a form of greeting. Now that Shi Feng had rejected their goodwill, they had no reason to hold back. In fact, if they continued to act passively, Shi Feng would treat their Guild as a joke. "Alright. Your group can deal with him, but make it quick. Everyone else, pay attention to your surroundings. Retreat as soon as the Divine Dragon approaches!" Silver Ghost said, granting the Assassin youth permission to take action. "Thank you, Commander! I''ll make sure to end the fight quickly!" the Assassin youth replied with a hungry expression. He turned toward Shi Feng and continued, "You''ve been pretty arrogant, bastard! Let''s see if you can back up those words!" Suddenly, divine runes lit up all across the Assassin''s body and enveloped another three Mythology members behind him. A powerful aura began to radiate from the Assassin youth, growing stronger by the second. After just three seconds, his aura was so intense that a sense of dread overcame everyone in the bar. "How is his aura so powerful?" "It''s almost as intense as a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level!" The bar''s patrons gaped at the young Assassin. "Is this a sample of Mythology''s foundations?" The situation shocked the ruthless man from Storm Heart. Although it wasn''t possible to determine a player''s strength based on their aura, that aura would at least hint at their strength. At this stage of the game, Tier 3 players still struggled to defeat Great Lords of the same level, and in Star Valley, players couldn''t use their Berserk Skills. If a player had the strength of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level, they''d be able to move through Star Valley unhindered. With that kind of power, even killing Tier 3 MTs would be as easy as swatting a fly. They hadn''t actually used their full strength earlier? Fithalia watched on with a grim expression. When she felt the Assassin''s violent aura, she was overcome with despair. She had hoped that the Hell Legion''s experts and Zero Wing''s five experts, those that had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, would be enough to suppress Mythology''s invading experts, but seeing these black-clad players now, she found the idea laughable. A peak expert that was as powerful as a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species could even toy with a Tier 4 summoned creature. After all, players'' combat techniques allowed them to push their combat power to its limits, perhaps even beyond them. Aside from the Starlight Fortress''s Divine Dragon, no one in the fortress could stop the Assassin before her. "An Advanced Battle Array?" Shi Feng muttered when he saw the divine runes coating the Assassin youth''s body. "You seem to know a lot, bastard, but that won''t change anything!" Licking his lips, the Assassin youth continued, "Now, I''ll teach you just how foolish your decision was!" The Assassin then took a step forward, instantly vanishing. Neither he nor his aura could be found within the bar. It was as if he had never been there in the first place. "I guess Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is going to die," Krow, Storm Heart''s commander, said, closing his eyes. Not only did that young Assassin have Basic Attributes that could rival a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species, but he could also completely conceal his presence. Krow couldn''t even sense the youth''s life aura. With such capabilities, that Assassin was practically invincible among players. Fights between experts were typically so fast that they were impossible to follow with the naked eye. Thus, experts usually had to rely on all five senses during combat. Otherwise, their opponent would quickly overwhelm them. Now that the Assassin youth had vanished, players couldn''t rely on their sight to keep up with his ghostly speed. Trying to keep up was a joke. How was one supposed to find an enemy they couldn''t even detect? However, at the moment Mythology''s Assassin had vanished, Shi Feng unhurriedly unsheathed Killing Ray and slashed the empty air to his right. Boom! Suddenly, the sound of clashing metal filled the Starlight Bar, and an intense impact shattered the ground. All players within 30 yards of the Swordsman stumbled back from the shockwave. Almost as everyone heard the first collision, another loud bang followed. A figure then slammed into the wall to Shi Feng''s right, indenting the wall. It was none other than the Assassin youth that had only disappeared a moment ago... 2503 First Sword, Lightshadow Chapter 2503 - First Sword, Lightshadow Silence! Terror! For a time, everyone in the Starlight Bar became dumbfounded. Shi Feng had deflected the young Assassin, who seemed as strong as a Tyrannosaurus-rex and was fully capable of concealing his aura, with a normal attack. Who would ever believe this? "Is he really a Tier 3 player?" the ruthless man from Storm Heart was stunned when he saw the Assassin embedded in the bar''s wall. The Assassin youth still had most of his HP remaining, but that was precisely what frightened the ruthless man. If Shi Feng had merely noticed the Assassin''s movement and found an opportunity to strike the youth''s weak point, it would''ve still shocked the man, but he would''ve, more or less, understood how Shi Feng''s attack and thrown the Assassin. However, seeing that the Assassin had only lost a small amount of HP from the hit made it clear that Shi Feng''s sword hadn''t struck the Assassin directly. The youth had actually blocked the attack with his own blades. In a battle of brute force, the young Assassin had lost... The Assassin youth''s Basic Attributes rivaled that of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level. Not even ordinary Tier 3 players with active Berserk Skills were that strong. And yet, Shi Feng had emerged victorious in a battle of Strength. Moreover, the Swordsman had done so without relying on Skills or tools. He hadn''t used a Berserk Skill, either. He had merely executed a normal attack... When Mythology''s other members saw the Assassin embedded in the wall, they, too, were dazed. "Sandstorm lost?!" "How is that possible? Did he fail to control the battle array''s power?" All of these Mythology members knew just how powerful a player was after the boost from the Advanced Battle Array the Assassin youth, Sandstorm, had used. Sandstorm would even have the strength to take on Tier 4 Mythic monsters, not to mention Tier 3 players. Using the Advanced Battle Array was expensive, so they couldn''t use it casually. The only reason that Silver Ghost had agreed was to prove Mythology''s strength to Zero Wing. None of them had expected this outcome. Shi Feng had sent Sandstorm flying with a normal attack. For a moment, they wondered if Sandstorm had been careless and failed to grasp the battle array''s power. How is he so strong? Fithalia, on the other hand, stared at Shi Feng''s back with wide, astonished eyes. Although she had heard MacAffrey and the others claim that Shi Feng was a monster-level expert, she had assumed that was only the case against ordinary Tier 3 players. However, she had just watched him throw one of Mythology''s experts, whose strength had been enhanced by an Advanced Battle Array, with one normal strike. Just what was going on? While everyone wrestled with their shock over the situation, Silver Ghost turned to Shi Feng, guessing, "So, you''ve unlocked your Mana Body''s full potential already." In his opinion, Shi Feng''s strength was secondary. What was more impressive was the fact that the Swordsman had kept track of Sandstorm''s movements. No ordinary Tier 3 player should be able to sense Sandstorm''s aura, and with the Assassin''s speed, keeping track of him visually should be impossible. The only explanation Silver Ghost could think of was that Shi Feng had fully unlocked his Mana Body and relied on his Mana Body''s incredible Mana to create a Mana Field around himself. Shi Feng had then relied on the Mana Field to locate Sandstorm. They could conceal their auras thoroughly, but their physical existence remained. Their ability didn''t hide them from Mana, which was how Shi Feng could rely on his Mana Field to locate the Assassin. Silver Ghost''s statement caused an uproar within the Starlight Bar. "What? He''s already unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential?" "I haven''t even heard of a single expert among the various superpowers to accomplish that feat, have you?" Any player capable of visiting the Starlight Fortress was an expert, and many of them had already reached Tier 3. Naturally, the topic of Tier 3 Mana Bodies had long since become a hot topic among players like them. It had already become common knowledge that players wouldn''t be able to exhibit the full power of a Tier 3 class after completing their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. They still needed to unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential. Unfortunately, that wasn''t an easy task. Most players didn''t even have a clue about how to go about unlocking their Mana Bodies. All they could do was work to improve their Mana control. And yet, while players were still trying to figure out how to start unlocking their Mana Bodies, they learned that Shi Feng had already completed the task. Why wouldn''t they be surprised? "It''s no wonder why he dared to provoke Mythology!" Realization dawned on Krow when he heard Silver Ghost''s statement. He had wondered why Shi Feng was confident enough to make an enemy of Mythology. These Mythology experts were incredibly powerful, and after they activated their battle array, they''d become monsters that current players stood no chance against. Only the Starlight Fortress''s Divine Dragon could suppress them. However, even after he realized what Shi Feng had accomplished, Silver Ghost didn''t panic. He actually smiled. The combat power boost from a fully unlocked Mana Body is certainly amazing. I hadn''t considered that Sandstorm wouldn''t be a match for you, even after activating his Advanced Battle Array," Silver Ghost told Shi Feng. "However, I wonder how you''ll fare against eight experts on Sandstorm''s level?" As Silver Ghost finished speaking, the Mythology members behind him promptly activated their battle arrays as well. In total, these players activated seven more battle arrays, and the combined aura of the arrays'' beneficiaries was so powerful that none of the Tier 2 players in the bar could move. As for the Tier 3 players, their legs began to tremble with fear. Meanwhile, Sandstorm pulled himself from the hole in the wall and sneered at Shi Feng. "Punk! I''ll admit that you''re strong, but you''re not strong enough to kill us! We can easily brush off your attacks'' damage with our enhanced recovery! This battle array even triples our Stamina and Concentration recovery rates! How long do you think you can last against us?" Sandstorm growled contemptuously. The Advanced Battle Array didn''t just increase his Basic Attributes; it also boosted his maximum HP and Defense. Right now, his Defense was twice as high as Tier 3 MTs of the same level, and he had more than 2 million HP. Shi Feng''s attack might have had a lot of impact, but he had only taken a little over -10,000 damage. It wasn''t even enough to itch. The spectators, who had relaxed after Shi Feng''s counterattack, fell silent again, and Fithalia continued to watch with a grim expression. She had never dreamed that Mythology had prepared so many Advanced Battle Arrays. Shi Feng was likely at his limit dealing with one expert empowered by an Advanced Battle Array, but now, he''d have to take on eight of these experts. Moreover, every one of his opponents had incredible Defense and HPs. They could easily whittle Shi Feng down until he died. "Let''s see you try!" Shi Feng indifferently replied, sweeping his gaze over Mythology''s members. His comeback only incited another uproar within the bar. "What?! He''s actually going to fight such a force?!" "Cool! Too cool! As expected of the expert that took down the Starlight Fortress! Very few players in God''s Domain can match his courage!" They had all assumed that Shi Feng would try to run from Mythology''s experts. Now that they had activated eight Advanced Battle Arrays, only the fortress''s Divine Dragon could stop them. However, Shi Feng chose to stay and fight. He was practically a Hero from legend. "Are you crazy?!" Fithalia hissed at her companion. "They''re not going to fight you one-on-one! They''re going to come at you together!" Shi Feng had repelled Sandstorm with a normal attack, but that was all. The outcome of an actual fight between the two wouldn''t be over that quickly. If Shi Feng could only deal a little over -10,000 damage, there was no way he could kill the Assassin. The Advanced Battle Array doubled Sandstorm''s battle recovery, which meant that the Assassin could easily chip away at Shi Feng''s HP while recovering his own. If eight experts like Sandstorm attacked Shi Feng together, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader would be lucky to stay alive for a while, much less defeat these experts. Before Fithalia could try to dissuade Shi Feng, however, Silver Ghost laughed. "Very good. You are truly brave. It''s no wonder why you dare to make Mythology your enemy," Silver Ghost said, smiling. He then turned to Fithalia and said, "I am a generous person. Why don''t you both try to take us on? I''ll even wait until your reinforcements arrive." "That won''t be necessary. You should really face me together. I''d like to see if you''re as powerful as you claim," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Bastard!" Sandstorm snarled, enraged. He immediately charged at Shi Feng again. As the Assassin moved, the seven other empowered experts did the same, dashing toward Shi Feng like a violent gale. All eight of Mythology''s experts were in perfect sync as they attacked Shi Feng simultaneously. As long as Shi Feng tried to attack one of them, the other seven would strike at his vitals. This was the same method they had employed to take down Fithalia. While they charged at Shi Feng, however, he raised Killing Ray above his head and shut his eyes, patiently waiting for Sandstorm and his companions to reach him. Thirty yards... Twenty yards... Ten yards... Just as the Assassin youth and Mythology''s other experts were about to strike, Shi Feng''s eyes abruptly opened, and he swung his sacred sword in a downward arch. First Sword, Lightshadow! 2504 The Power of Mana Techniques Chapter 2504 - The Power of Mana Techniques When Killing Ray descended, the Mana around Shi Feng immediately gathered to form a phantom greatsword around the Sacred Sword. Immediately afterward, the phantom greatsword, which was 20 meters long, tore apart space. Those looking at the phantom greatsword from a distance noticed a pitch-black trail in the phantom greatsword''s wake. "A Skill?" When Sandstorm and the others saw the phantom greatsword ripping even space itself, they were sure that the greatsword''s power was at the Tier 4 standard. They instinctively thought to dodge the attack. After all, although they possessed Basic Attributes rivaling Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level, they were still a far cry from the Tier 4 Mythic standard. However, Shi Feng''s attack had appeared too suddenly and was too fast. Moreover, the attack had a very large AOE. Evading it was simply impossible; they had no choice but to receive it directly. "Block it together!" Sandstorm shouted. Following which, under Sandstorm''s lead, all eight experts from Mythology executed Tier 3 Skills simultaneously. Triple Shadow! Spatial Severance! Thunder''s Wrath! All eight melee players used their strongest Offensive Skills without hesitation, every one of which was executed at a Completion Rate of 90% or better. For a time, over a dozen attacks could be seen striking the descending greatsword. Boom... The instant the attacks of both sides collided, a powerful storm blew, sending all Tier 2 players within a 50-yard radius stumbling back. A small crater even formed on the ground directly beneath the point of impact. As the dust settled, a gash that was over 20 meters long and 2 meters deep appeared in the middle of the bar. As for Sandstorm and the others, although they were not bashed into the floor, they were still forced to retreat five or six steps before they managed to stabilize their footing, each step they took shattering the tiles beneath them. The force from the impact also left their hands trembling violently, and every one of them lost over 100,000 HP. For a time, shock and confusion reigned in the entire bar. Previously, everyone had already found it unbelievable that Shi Feng had sent Sandstorm flying with a normal attack. Now, he had actually overwhelmed Sandstorm and seven other experts of similar strength with a single move. Shi Feng''s combat power was simply heaven-defying. "Skills executed with a fully unlocked Mana Body are actually so powerful?" Krow''s eyes brimmed with shock when he saw that Shi Feng remained standing at his original location despite clashing with eight of Mythology''s empowered experts. Although everyone had gained a general understanding of the Mana Body after reaching Tier 3 and knew that the Mana Body could provide a player with a huge boost in combat power, he had never imagined that the boost would be this amazing. At this moment, aside from Krow, many other Tier 3 players also grew excited upon seeing this scene. Now, their desire and eagerness to fully unlock their Mana Bodies waxed even higher. After all, Shi Feng had just proven to them that it was possible for a Tier 3 player to exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard. This meant that they could clash against Mythic monsters of the same level. They might not be able to kill Mythic monsters yet, even with that kind of power, but they would, at least, have the foundations to raid Mythic monsters. Mythic monsters! At this stage of the game, Level 100-plus Mythic monsters were Bosses that generally only first-rate powers or above could raid. However, players could get rich overnight from the loot these Bosses dropped. Meanwhile, Fithalia, who stood behind Shi Feng, was also momentarily stunned by this scene. She never thought that Shi Feng''s strength had reached such frightening heights. He had actually managed to overwhelm eight of Mythology''s empowered peak experts single-handedly. With this kind of strength, Shi Feng alone would most likely be more than enough to safeguard the entire Starlight Fortress. Nobody would be capable of threatening the Starlight Fortress so long as he was present. However, just when Fithalia and the other spectating players thought that Mythology would retreat after this exchange, Silver Ghost, who had quietly watched the exchange from a corner of the bar, suddenly started clapping his hands. "Amazing! Truly amazing! It''s no wonder Vice Guild Leader Cold Shadow praised you so much!" Silver Ghost said, his joyful reaction making it seem as if the loss of Sandstorm''s group had nothing to do with him. Chuckling, he continued, "Unfortunately, the moment Sandstorm and the others activated their battle arrays, the outcome of this battle was already decided. Even if you can exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard, you still can''t stop us!" As soon as Silver Ghost finished speaking, the healers that were powering up the battle arrays started casting Healing Spells on Sandstorm and the others. Not only did Sandstorm and the others recover all of their lost HP instantly, but their trembling hands also reverted to normal. Upon seeing this scene, Fithalia, who had previously breathed out a sigh of relief, wore a grim expression once more. Due to Shi Feng''s frightening display of strength, she had forgotten that this wasn''t some official competition between experts but a brawl between Shi Feng and Mythology''s experts instead. Victory would be decided only when one side was annihilated. Meanwhile, in a team battle, it was very normal for melee players to rely on healers. "You were pretty good before, huh, punk? Let''s see how you''re going to keep it up!" Sandstorm, who had fully recovered, sneered as he looked at Shi Feng. The Swordsman''s strength had indeed exceeded his expectations. However, the eight of them weren''t having a duel with Shi Feng right now but a fight to the death. If Shi Feng couldn''t kill them, this battle would not end. Meanwhile, current Tier 3 players had a very limited number of Tier 3 Skills and Spells at their disposal. Moreover, unlike Shi Feng, Sandstorm''s side had healers. Just like Silver Ghost had said, the outcome of the battle between both sides had been decided since the very beginning. "Is that so?" Shi Feng smiled. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, he held Killing Ray with both hands and raised the Sacred Sword overhead once again. The Mana inside the bar immediately swarmed toward the Sacred Sword. "Impossible!" Sandstorm fell into a daze at this extremely familiar scene. The Cooldown of Skills and Spells generally increased, the stronger and higher-tiered they became. Since Shi Feng had exhibited power at the Tier 4 standard with his attack, the Skill he had used should have had a Cooldown of several minutes or, at least, a few dozen seconds. However, only about six seconds had passed since Shi Feng executed his attack, yet he was using the same move again. This shouldn''t be possible! However, before Sandstorm and the others could snap out of their daze, Shi Feng''s Killing Ray was already chopping at them once more. Just like before, a gigantic, phantom greatsword appeared out of thin air and descended on Sandstorm''s group like a mountain. However, after all was said and done, Sandstorm and the others were peak experts who had fought on many battlefields before. They immediately responded to the attack with Tier 3 Skills of their own. Boom! When the attacks of both sides collided, another powerful storm blew. However, due to the Tier 3 Skills used this time being weaker than the ones they used before, Sandstorm and the others ended up in a much more miserable state. Every one of them also sustained more than -130,000 damage. Even so, for Sandstorm and the others, who possessed more than 2 million HP, this amount of damage was negligible. Just as the slightly miserable Sandstorm was about to ridicule Shi Feng once more, he suddenly sensed the Mana inside the bar rushing toward Shi Feng yet again. Moreover, the Swordsman was gathering Mana at a much faster rate than before. Before Sandstorm and the others could say anything, Shi Feng''s Killing Ray chopped at them anew. Boom! This time, Sandstorm and the others reacted too slowly to Shi Feng''s attack, so they failed to defend themselves using their Tier 3 Skills. As a result, every one of them suffered over -300,000 damage. "Bastard! I''ve already said that the outcome of this battle has been decided from" Although Sandstorm, who was close to kneeling on the ground, tried to retaliate with mockery, before he managed to finish his words, Shi Feng swung Killing Ray down again. Once... Twice... Thrice... For a time, explosions rocked the entire Starlight Bar, one after another. Aside from this sound, nothing else could be heard inside. Finally, after Shi Feng executed his 11th attack, the world around him fell silent as Sandstorm and the seven other empowered experts from Mythology collapsed on the rubble, their HPs zeroed out. Now, they exhibited neither aura nor Mana. 2505 One-man Army Chapter 2505 - One-man Army As the bodies of Mythology''s eight empowered experts started disintegrating into particles of light, time inside the Starlight Bar seemed to freeze as everyone stared at Shi Feng''s figure in stunned silence. Only much later did everyone snap out of their daze. "So strong!" "So, this is the true power of a fully unlocked Mana Body?" When everyone looked at the gash before Shi Feng, which was four meters deep and extended over 30 meters, they no longer had any words to describe their current feelings of shock and admiration. Although every one of Mythology''s empowered experts was ridiculously strong and more than capable of annihilating all the spectating players inside the bar, in front of Shi Feng, Mythology''s eight empowered experts were as frail as little children. They didn''t even manage to put up any resistance whatsoever before getting annihil^^ The strength Shi Feng displayed thoroughly shattered everyone''s understanding of the strength of Tier 3 classes. At the same time, all of the independent experts present gained newfound hope. Originally, in a fight between Tier 3 players, the outcome would generally be determined by the number of Tier 3 players each side possessed. An individual Tier 3 player couldn''t change the outcome of a team battle involving Tier 3 players. Hence, everyone believed that if Tier 3 independent players wished to avoid getting suppressed, they had no choice but to join a superpower. However, Shi Feng had thoroughly shattered this belief. In front of him, feared and revered Tier 3 players were nothing. Even a group of Tier 3 experts would fall to him in just a few moves. Shi Feng had proven that, even if one was alone, one could still play the role of an army. Just like the Heroes of legends, he had the strength to change the fate of an entire kingdom or even an empire. Meanwhile, so long as they fully unlocked their own Mana Bodies, they, too, could replicate Shi Feng''s feats. "Commander, with that kind of combat power, don''t you think that Black Flame is stronger than the Five Great Super Guilds'' true monsters?" the ruthless man from Storm Heart asked Krow, his eyes filled with reverence as he gazed at Shi Feng. Since Shi Feng had single-handedly defeated eight peak experts with combat power rivaling Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species of the same level, his strength could definitely rank at the top among the experts on the western continent. The feat he accomplished today would start a new chapter of development in God''s Domain and maybe even the virtual gaming world. Throughout the long history of the virtual gaming world, the various superpowers had constantly oppressed the experts belonging to non-superpowers. There was no way to reverse the situation. This was especially true with the Five Great Super Guilds that stood above even the various superpowers. The Five Great Super Guilds were not existences that individuals could hope to challenge. However, Shi Feng had broken this curse time after time. First, Shi Feng had made Netherworld Empire concede by using a Divine Dragon. Now, he had defeated Mythology''s monstrous team with his own strength. Such amazing battle records would definitely be immortalized in the annals of the virtual gaming world. "I don''t know whether he is stronger than the Five Great Super Guilds'' true monsters or not, but after today''s battle, Black Flame''s name will most likely spread throughout the western continent. No one would dare have any ideas about the Starlight Fortress anymore," Krow said, excitement flashing across his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. The Five Great Super Guilds were the absolute titans of the virtual gaming world. Many newly risen superpowers might have challenged the Five Great Super Guilds before, but it had been over two decades since a non-superpower had dared to do so. Now, not only did Shi Feng challenge Mythology''s prestige, but he had even routed the Great Super Guild. Just this point alone was more than enough to make Shi Feng the topic of discussion for the western continent''s independent players and shake the foundations of the entire continent. This was because Shi Feng''s feat had illuminated the path for players that did not belong to the various superpowers. Moreover, with the strength Shi Feng had just displayed, Krow believed that no one could threaten the Starlight Fortress so long as Shi Feng was present. In fact, Krow suspected that, even if today''s matter spread, no one would believe it. The benefits provided by a fully unlocked Mana Body are actually that excellent? While the spectating players inside the bar were filled with shock and excitement over this matter, Fithalia was gaping at Shi Feng in surprise and confusion from behind him. In God''s Domain, any powerful Skill or Spell possessed a long Cooldown, even Tier 0 Skills and Spells. However, Shi Feng had executed the same devastating attack 11 times in a rowwith almost no gap between each attack. He couldn''t have executed a combat technique, as combat techniques relied on the movements of the physical body to execute powerful attacks. Moreover, combat techniques would not attract Mana or make it manifest as a giant greatsword. The only explanation Fithalia could think of for this situation was that Shi Feng''s attack was a special effect resulting from fully unlocking his Mana Body. If that was the case, then what Divine Tribe needed to do from now on wasn''t to devote its efforts to raiding super- large-scale Team Dungeons or increasing the number of Tier 3 experts it had, but figuring out how to unlock the Mana Body of players. Otherwise, just one expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body could dictate the direction of a Guild war. In fact, just the presence of one such expert might make raiding current super-large-scale Team Dungeons possible. Meanwhile, the Mythology members still inside the bar were momentarily dumbfounded by this situation. They had never imagined that Shi Feng would actually be powerful enough to destroy Sandstorm''s group with just 11 attacks. Sandstorm and the others each boasted more than twice the Defense of ordinary Tier 3 MTs. Their HPs also exceeded 2 million. They could survive against actual Mythic monsters for quite some time. However, Shi Feng had taken no more than eight seconds to finish them off. He defeated Sandstorm''s group so quickly that the rear line healers couldn''t save them. Vice Commander, eight of our Advanced Battle Arrays have already shattered. We only have one remaining. Should we continue fighting?" a Tier 3 Ranger asked Silver Ghost. The Advanced Battle Arrays they prepared were no ordinary items. Not only did producing these battle arrays require a lot of precious materials, but using them was also remarkably expensive. This time, the Guild had decided to supply their team with nine sets of Advanced Battle Arrays only to ensure that they secured the Starlight Fortress and gained the initiative when the Demon God''s Shrine activated. Meanwhile, they had used eight sets right off the bat, leaving only one set for Silver Ghost''s use. Every Mythology member present knew full well how strong Silver Ghost was. In the entire trump card legion, aside from the commander, nobody else was a match for Silver Ghost. In fact, even Trembling Hand, the ex-First Vice Commander of the legion, lasted only 20 moves against Silver Ghost; everyone else couldn''t even last ten moves. Silver Ghost''s presence was also the reason for their confidence in the success of the operation this time. However, the combat power Shi Feng displayed was simply too frightening; they could not help having doubts. Just as Silver Ghost was about to reply, a deafening roar that shook everyone down to their very souls suddenly sounded from somewhere far away from the Starlight Bar. "It''s come already? What a pity. Save the battle array for now. We''re retreating!" Silver Ghost said, sighing as he glanced at the shattered roof of the bar. He then turned to Shi Feng and said, "Mythology will give up on the Starlight Fortress this time. However, we will meet again, Guild Leader Black Flame!" As soon as Silver Ghost finished speaking, a spatial tear opened up before him. Even though the Divine Dragon had already used Spatial Imprisonment on the space around the Starlight Bar, it actually failed to stop the spatial tear from forming. When this spatial tear appeared, Mythology''s members promptly hurried into it and disappeared from the Starlight Bar. Meanwhile, shortly after Silver Ghost left, a large group of Tier 3 experts suddenly turned up around the Starlight Bar. These Tier 3 experts numbered more than 400, and their appearance made the players inside the bar nervous. "It seems we came a little too late," Hell Rush said, cursing silently when he saw that no Mythology member remained inside the miserable Starlight Bar. To be certain of dealing with Mythology''s 30-plus experts, he had gone to great lengths to gather more Tier 3 experts from Netherworld Empire. However, he never thought that he would still arrive a step too late. "You did arrive a little late. The battle just ended, and Mythology''s experts have left already," Fithalia said, nodding. "However, I believe they won''t come to harass the Starlight Fortress anymore, at least not in the near future." "They won''t come back soon?" Hell Rush was a little confused by Fithalia''s words. From what he understood of Mythology, the Guild definitely wouldn''t rest until it achieved its goals. "Mhm. You can see what happened yourselves." Fithalia did not wish to dwell on the matter. Instead, she sent Hell Rush and the others the battle video she recorded. This was because even she herself couldn''t understand many aspects of this battle. It would be much better for Hell Rush and the others to watch it themselves. In the video, Shi Feng could first be seen sending Sandstorm flying with a normal attack. Then, he could be seen thoroughly overwhelming Mythology''s eight empowered peak experts. Throughout the whole exchange, he looked like a God, an existence that players could not resist. Whether it was Hell Rush and the other Hell Legion members or MacAffrey and Crimson Witch, who had made contact with Shi Feng shortly after he arrived on the western continent, every one of them nearly had their eyes fall out of their sockets. For a moment, they all wondered if the Shi Feng portrayed in the video was the same person they knew. It had only been a while since they last met Shi Feng, yet not only did Shi Feng manage to fully unlock his Mana Body during this period, but he had even gained enough strength to defeat eight peak experts possessing the strength of Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species all by himself. Was he still human? Meanwhile, during the time Hell Rush and the others were flabbergasted over this matter, battle videos showing Shi Feng''s fight in the Starlight Bar started spreading like the plague. These videos soon landed in the hands of the western continent''s various superpowers. "What''s going on?" "Mythology was defeated?" 2506 Fame Spreads Chapter 2506 - Fame Spreads News of Mythology''s defeat was like a Magnitude 8 earthquake. None of the various superpowers could believe it. Previously, Netherworld Empire''s concession had already been plenty shocking to them. However, Netherworld Empire''s decision was still understandable, as the Divine Dragon really wasn''t an existence that players could oppose. Now, despite Mythology having gained a method to evade the Divine Dragon''s detection, it had still failed to gain control over the Starlight Fortress. Moreover, Mythology''s failure wasn''t even due to the Divine Dragon, but Shi Feng, a Tier 3 player. How could they possibly bring themselves to believe this news? This was one of the virtual gaming world''s Five Great Super Guilds they were talking about! It had already been many years since an individual player could resist the assault of one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Every person who had attempted to do so had been thoroughly suppressed, left with no choice but to submit to the will of the five titans. Now, however, not only did Shi Feng stand in Mythology''s way, but he had even single-handedly killed eight of Mythology''s monstrously strong experts. The various superpowers'' upper echelons immediately took action. They not only abandoned all plans to make things difficult for the Starlight Fortress but also forbade the expert teams they had dispatched to Star Valley from causing any trouble inside the Starlight Fortress, especially when Shi Feng was known to be present inside the fortress. The reason for their decision wasn''t just Shi Feng''s repulse of Mythology''s assault but his monstrous strength. Let alone killing a few Tier 3 experts, even annihilating a 100-man team of Tier 3 experts would be child''s play for him. Shi Feng was truly a one-man army and an existence that had to be feared. In addition, the Starlight Fortress was currently the only captured fortress in Star Valley. If the various superpowers wished to develop properly in the forbidden land, then having access to the Starlight Fortress was a must. If they ended up barred from the fortress, they would definitely die of regret. As for taking direct action to capture the fortress, that was utterly impossible. After all, if even Mythology was helpless against the Starlight Fortress, what could they possibly do? For a time, the various superpowers'' experts that arrived inside the Starlight Fortress could be seen behaving obediently like harmless sheep. Meanwhile, inside the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion, Shi Feng was currently swamped with work. Due to Mythology''s defeat and the various superpowers becoming meek, the number of players willing to visit the Starlight Fortress had skyrocketed. These new visitors included many merchant players. Some trading firms had even sought to partner with Zero Wing and offered to rent the Starlight Fortress''s Shops at a high price. The entire Starlight Fortress became very crowded. "Guild Leader, according to our latest statistics, the Starlight Fortress''s player population is nearing 500,000 already. Rough estimates put us at a daily net profit of over 250,000 Magic Crystals," Aqua Rose reported, her eyes practically glowing as she looked at the latest statistics report in her hands. "At this rate, it will only take us a few more days before we can repair the Large Battlefield inside the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Then, our people will be able to use it for all sorts of combat training and greatly improve their control over Mana." Although the Starlight Fortress was an ancient fortress, it couldn''t be expanded. In other words, it was impossible to raise the population limit of the fortress. However, it was still possible to conduct repairs on the fortress''s basic facilities and increase the fortress''s abilities. Among the various facilities available inside the Starlight Fortress, the one that was most useful to players was the Large Battlefield. Unfortunately, it cost 1.5 million Magic Crystals to repair it. Originally, it should''ve been impossible for Zero Wing to repair the Large Battlefield in the near future. However, now that the Starlight Fortress had such a large player population, the amount of time it would take to gather funds for repairs should be significantly shorter. The Large Battlefield was something like a special Dungeon on the first underground floor of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. Inside this Large Battlefield, players could fight against all kinds of simulated monsters in the Starlight Fortress''s ancient environment. By training inside the Large Battlefield, players could make tremendous progress in improving their Mana control. After all, fighting in a life-or-death battle was many times more efficient than sparring with other players in a combat room. So long as this Large Battlefield was repaired, Zero Wing could continuously transfer its core experts over from the eastern continent to undergo training here, allowing them to unlock their Mana Bodies several times faster than experts of the various superpowers. The population has increased to such an extent already?" Shi Feng was a little surprised by Aqua Rose''s report. Although he had long since known that his battle with Mythology and the activation of the Demon God''s Shrine would trigger a period of rapid development for the foreseeable future, he never thought that the fortress would develop this quickly. "It''s a pity that the Starlight Fortress is only a Small Fortress. Otherwise, we would earn many more Magic Crystals," Aqua Rose said with some disappointment. Magic Crystals were becoming increasingly important to current players. This held true even on the eastern continent. The reason for this was the demand for Magic Crystals for the production of high-level weapons and equipment. Now, despite Zero Wing having gained an opportunity to earn a large amount of Magic Crystals, this opportunity was restricted due to the Starlight Fortress''s limitations. "A Small Fortress is already more than enough for us. After all, our foundations on the western continent are too shallow. Even if a Medium, or even Large, Fortress were presented to us, we wouldn''t be able to manage it," Shi Feng said when he saw the disappointed look on Aqua Rose''s face. "I understand this, as well. The limitation of sending only ten players to the western continent per week is really restricting. It would be great if we could increase that number slightly," Aqua Rose said. She had experienced the western continent''s benefits already. The development of Mana control here was especially excellent compared to the eastern continent. If possible, she really wished she could transfer all of Zero Wing''s main force members over. With the help of the Starlight Fortress, Zero Wing wouldn''t have to worry about its Tier 3 members lacking strength. "Let''s not rush the matter of sending more people over for now. Since we can activate the Large Battlefield soon, have Yan Tianxing''s side make the necessary preparations to start an adventurer''s alliance branch here. Members of the alliance can accumulate points by completing alliance-issued quests. Afterward, they can use these points to exchange for time inside the Large Battlefield or other items. In fact, if their rank in the alliance is sufficiently high, they can even exchange their points for a private house inside the Starlight Fortress," Shi Feng said. It would take too long for Zero Wing to send an adequate number of members over to the western continent. Moreover, as players continuously leveled up, more Tier 3 players would fully unlock their Mana Bodies. Shi Feng might be able to defend the Starlight Fortress all by himself now, but he couldn''t do so forever. After all, he had plenty of other matters to attend to. He couldn''t stay cooped up in a single location for long. If he wanted the Starlight Fortress to experience long-term stability or Zero Wing''s development on the western continent to accelerate, he needed sufficient manpower and resources. Previously, he had still been troubled as to how to go about doing so. However, with the Starlight Fortress''s current popularity and the soon-to-be-repaired Large Battlefield, attracting a large number of independent experts to join or ally with Zero Wing was definitely feasible. Meanwhile, with a sufficiently large number of experts on its side, Zero Wing would have an easy time establishing itself on the western continent and securing a sizable chunk of the western continent''s resources. "Guild Leader, Hell Rush just sent a message stating that Netherworld Empire''s higher-ups have agreed to our offer. They are willing to accept our employment, but they have one condition we absolutely must meet: all of the Hell Legion''s members should fully unlock their Mana Bodies within one month. Otherwise, they want 20% of the Starlight Fortress''s shares as compensation," Aqua Rose reported, frowning. Fully unlocking one''s Mana Body was easier said than done. She and the others had managed to accomplish this feat only because they had the fortune of entering the Starlight Fortress''s Legacy Gate and Legacy Room. Meanwhile, Netherworld Empire was asking Zero Wing to help the Hell Legion fully unlock their Mana Bodies. No matter how she looked at this situation, it was simply impossible. "It seems they have finally thought things through." Shi Feng smiled when he heard Aqua Rose''s words. "Alright, agree to their conditions." Originally, he had considered Netherworld Empire''s agreement to his offer unlikely. After all, the Hell Legion was Netherworld Empire''s strongest trump card legion. Not only did the legion consist of 300 Tier 3 experts, but these players were experts among experts. Fortunately, it seemed that the performance he had put on with Mythology was quite effective. The Holy Annihilation Mana Technique was incredibly powerful. Just the First Sword, Lightshadow, already allowed him to exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard. However, the complexity of Lightshadow was far greater than even Bronze Combat Techniques. The burden it placed on its user''s Concentration was likewise much greater than that of a Bronze Combat Technique. After executing Lightshadow 11 times in a row, he had expended more than half of his Concentration already. Had he executed Lightshadow a few more times, he might''ve entered a state of mental exhaustion; then, his opponents could have slaughtered him. "Guild Leader, we''re talking about helping them fully unlock their Mana Bodies in one month," Aqua Rose said worriedly. If Netherworld Empire''s demand were simply to upgrade the Hell Legion''s level or equipment standard, she wouldn''t have been too concerned. However, players mainly had to rely on themselves to unlock their Mana Body. There were too many variables that could affect this process. Meanwhile, as more time passed, the number of Tier 3 experts Zero Wing possessed would continuously increase. There was no need for Zero Wing to be in such a rush to gain Tier 3 experts, using even the Starlight Fortress as a wager. "Relax. The process of unlocking the Mana Body isn''t as difficult as you think," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Aqua Rose. "Moreover, many matters in God''s Domain need to be done sooner rather than later. A delay would mean missing out on many opportunities. In any case, now that Netherworld Empire has agreed to our offer, it''s time we returned to the eastern continent." If it were before he had fully unlocked his Epic Mana Body, he really wouldn''t be confident of fulfilling Netherworld Empire''s condition. However, after absorbing the bountiful knowledge in Eliadi''s Memory Crystal, helping the Hell Legion''s experts fully unlock their Mana Bodies within one month wasn''t a difficult task at all. After all, every one of the Hell Legion''s experts was a genius even in the eyes of the various superpowers. 2507 Returning to the Eastern Continen t Chapter 2507 - Returning to the Eastern Continent "We''re returning so soon? But we just managed to stabilize the situation here. The Starlight Fortress has also just entered a phase of rapid development. If we leave now, I''m afraid problems will crop up in no time at all." Aqua Rose could not help being confused when she heard Shi Feng say that they were returning to the eastern continent. "The Starlight Fortress aside, what should we do about the Hell Legion''s 300 experts? Do you intend to have them guard the Starlight Fortress, Guild Leader?" Currently, the importance of the Starlight Fortress was not the slightest bit inferior to the eastern continent''s Stone Forest City. In fact, the fortress was generating a much larger income in Magic Crystals than Stone Forest City. It would be a huge waste if they simply packed up and left after making a quick buck. However, the most important aspect of the Starlight Fortress wasn''t the Magic Crystal income it generated but its environment. The Starlight Fortress''s ancient environment made it the best location for developing one''s Mana control on the western continent. "Although the Starlight Fortress can bring us a ton of wealth and resources, it is just a tiny area on the western continent. If we wish to have a truly stable foothold on the western continent and gain a constant supply of resources from it, we need a kingdom or empire of our own. With just the number of players the Starlight Fortress is capable of attracting, securing a place of our own on the western continent will be a pipe dream," Shi Feng explained, smiling. "Therefore, before the eastern continent''s superpowers shift their development focus toward the western continent, we need to occupy as many teleportation portals on the eastern continent as possible and send our members over. Otherwise, with just the one portal we currently possess, securing our hold over the Starlight Fortress will be our limit." Originally, he had not planned on extending Zero Wing''s development to the western continent, merely on gaining some additional resources for the Guild. After all, travel between the two main continents was simply too difficult. With Zero Wing''s current ability, developing on both continents simultaneously was impossible. However, after acquiring the Starlight Fortress and the Silver Divine Dragon, as well as witnessing the power of Mana Techniques, he had changed his mind. During his previous life, the various superpowers had not placed much importance on Mana Techniques. Hence, he had thought that Mana Techniques were nothing to write home about. However, after witnessing and learning the Heavenly Blue Saint Eliadi''s Mana Technique, he understood just how much help Mana Techniques could provide players in challenging their future Promotion Quests. This was especially true for the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Mastering a proper Mana Technique should reduce the difficulty of players'' Tier 4 Promotion Quest by at least 30%. Even if players failed to master a Mana Technique, the knowledge they gained should still improve their combat power by a significant margin. After all was said and done, Tier 3 was only a transitional phase for the various powers of God''s Domain. Ultimately, the ones who would truly decide the strength of a power would be the experts standing at the peak of the game. This was also the reason why first-rate powers could never compete with the various superpowers. Meanwhile, the Starlight Fortress was currently the best location for players to develop their Mana control. However, the current teleportation portal Zero Wing controlled only allowed a maximum of ten players to be teleported to the western continent each week. Just transferring all official and reserve members of Zero Wing''s main force to the western continent would take several months. By then, everything would be too late. Time waited for no man. With God''s Domain''s current popularity, the development of powers was absurdly fast; this was especially true for the superpowers. With the number of experts and territories the various superpowers occupied, so long as they had sufficient funds and resources, their development speed could be far superior to the current Zero Wing''s. Hence, what Shi Feng needed to do now was occupy more teleportation portals on the eastern continent, thereby increasing the number of players Zero Wing could send to the western continent. That way, the Guild would be able to secure resources and advantages from both continents. At that time, the development speed of its experts would easily outstrip that of the various superpowers'' experts. Aqua Rose''s eyes glowed with excitement at Shi Feng''s words. If Zero Wing truly became capable of teleporting a large number of experts over to the western continent, then the Guild would no longer have to worry about clashing with the various superpowers in the future. It might even become a true superpower. After all, the various superpowers might be superior to Zero Wing when it came to the number and quality of expert players, but in terms of Guild resources and income, Zero Wing was not the slightest bit inferior to ordinary superpowers. "Guild Leader, in that case, why do we need to employ the Hell Legion? In any case, the Starlight Fortress shouldn''t face any problems in the short term. During this time, so long as we can continuously transfer large batches of players over to the western continent, including the ten of us here, we won''t need the Hell Legion to defend the Starlight Fortress at all," Aqua Rose explained. She did not doubt Shi Feng''s ability to find more teleportation portals. After all, he had created plenty of miracles before. However, she still felt that employing the Hell Legion was a huge waste. After all, the Hell Legion operated only on the western continent. Meanwhile, unlocking the Mana Body was a difficult task. Rather than waste time helping other people unlock their Mana Bodies, it would be much better to help their own Guild''s Tier 3 experts instead. That way, the Guild would receive even greater benefits. "The Hell Legion is currently one of the strongest legions in God''s Domain. How can I possibly waste their strength on guarding a fortress? I plan to bring them back with us," Shi Feng explained, chuckling when he saw the look of confusion on Aqua Rose''s face. There was no need for him to worry about the Starlight Fortress''s security for the near term. After all, he had just defeated Mythology. Before the various superpowers gathered sufficient power, they wouldn''t dare do anything against the Starlight Fortress unless they no longer wished to mingle in Star Valley. "They''re returning with us?" Aqua Rose was momentarily stunned when she heard Shi Feng''s words. "But we can send back only ten people each week. The Hell Legion has 300 members." They were talking about 300 players! They would need 30 weeks just to get the entire legion to the eastern continent! "Of course. Why would I employ them otherwise?" Shi Feng retorted, smiling. "The ancient teleportation portal might be our only way of traveling from the eastern continent to the western continent, but we''re not limited to just one method of travel if it''s the other way around." Other powers could only rely on ancient teleportation portals to travel between the two main continents. However, Zero Wing was a different story. If that weren''t the case, he would never have made such a promise to Netherworld Empire. "Is it really possible?" For a moment, Aqua Rose felt as if Shi Feng was joking. "Relax. However, there''s also no need for us to rush to return right now, either. We still need to wait for Divine Tribe to finish collecting the rare materials we need," Shi Feng said confidently. After witnessing the Starlight Fortress''s effects and obtaining the Heavenly Blue Saint''s Legacy, he had given this matter careful thought. Although he didn''t know why, traveling between the two main continents was incredibly difficult. However, for some reason, players in the various Otherworlds had a very easy time traveling to the two main continents. Taking advantage of this point, he was fully capable of bringing everyone to an Otherworld first, then returning to the eastern continent via said Otherworld. Opening a path to an Otherworld might be difficult for other people, but it was a simple task for Shi Feng. This was because he possessed the Legendary item Moloch''s Ring. With Moloch''s Ring, he could open a Gate of Darkness and arrive at the central area of the Dark Den. The Gate of Darkness did not place a limit on headcount. It merely had a time limit of three minutes, which was definitely enough to let 300 players pass through the gate. Originally, Shi Feng had wanted to avoid using Moloch''s Ring. After all, the more times he used the ring, the stronger it would become, and the less time he would have to prepare before it tried to devour him. However, if using the ring once meant that he could bring 300 Tier 3 experts back to the eastern continent, he would be more than happy to do so. Following which, Shi Feng spent another day or so waiting inside the Starlight Fortress. During this time, he not only signed an employment contract with Netherworld Empire but also had Yan Tianxing and Yi Luofei familiarize themselves with the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion and various other matters. He planned to have the two of them remain behind to manage the Starlight Fortress. As to why he made such a decision, it was so that Zero Wing could manage the Starlight Fortress properly, as well as ensure the development of the adventurer alliance branch that would be established here. After all, when it came to managing adventurer teams, the two of them had a much better understanding than he did. While he was doing all that, Fithalia and many other Divine Tribe experts had brought a ton of rare materials and nonbag space materials unique to the western continent over to the Starlight Fortress, the value of this batch of materials exceeding 3 million Magic Crystals. Shi Feng stored all of them inside his Epic Spatial Bag. Once he brought these things back to the eastern continent, he would definitely make a killing. "Guild Leader, the Hell Legion and Fire Dance''s group have already gathered," Aqua Rose reported as she met Shi Feng on the second-floor hall of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, a hint of skepticism in her tone. Even now, she still couldn''t bring herself to believe that Shi Feng could transport over 300 players back to the eastern continent. "Alright! Let''s return to the eastern continent!" Shi Feng could not help smiling when he saw Aqua Rose''s expression. He then started incanting and summoned a Gate of Darkness in the second-floor hall. After the gate opened, he ushered everyone into it. In no time at all, the crowded second-floor hall emptied out. 2508 Changes to the Dark Den Chapter 2508 - Changes to the Dark Den In a rainforest at the periphery of the Dark Den''s central area, a huge gate made entirely of black fog suddenly appeared. The frightening amount of energy the gate radiated prompted the Demonic Creatures nearby to retreat involuntarily as they stared nervously at the six-meter-tall gate. After the gate opened up, figures of players walked out of it in quick succession. "What kind of place is this? The gravitational force here is so strong. It practically rivals the Star Tomb''s first floor''s," Thunder Beast, who had just set foot into the rainforest, exclaimed in surprise. The dense Power of Darkness enveloping this rainforest aside, just the high-gravity environment here was more than enough to halve a Tier 2 player''s combat power. Even Tier 3 players, like Thunder Beast himself, were affected quite significantly. "The Mana here is also very dense, close to 50% of the Mana found inside the Starlight Fortress. If we can engage in combat here long-term, it''ll definitely provide significant help toward honing our Mana control," a Tier 3 Elementalist said excitedly. Although the Starlight Fortress''s ambient Mana was much denser than this rainforest''s, combat was prohibited inside the fortress. However, in God''s Domain, if players wished to improve themselves, the fastest way to do so would be by participating in life-or-death battles. Fighting in Mana-dense environments was particularly effective, as players would have a much easier time controlling their Mana, which would, in turn, allow them to practice and familiarize themselves with their Mana control more efficiently. At this point, the eyes of the Hell Legion''s members glowed with excitement. This was because the rainforest teemed with monsters above Level 100. This place was an excellent location for not only training their Mana control but also grinding for levels. Hell Rush and the others immediately understood why Shi Feng was so confident that he could help them fully unlock their Mana Bodies in one month. If they could fight in such an excellent environment, fully unlocking their Mana Bodies in one month would indeed be feasible. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose, who had followed Shi Feng to the Dark Den, was similarly surprised by this situation. She never thought that Shi Feng had actually kept such an excellent training ground hidden. The monsters here might not be very strong, with the majority of being Level 100 Chieftains and the strongest being Level 100-plus Great Lords, but the environment here made it the perfect location for newly promoted Tier 3 experts to train in. "Guild Leader, you''re too biased. You actually saved such an excellent location for others. If Zero Wing''s members had grinded here as soon as they hit Level 100, we might''ve been able to double the number of Tier 3 experts we have by now," Aqua Rose grumbled. Aqua Rose''s complaint rendered Shi Feng, who had just set foot into the rainforest, at a loss for words because this place was completely different from the central area he knew! Previously, when he used Moloch''s Ring to teleport to the Dark Den''s central area, he had arrived very close to the World Summit. Now, however, he couldn''t even see the World Summit from where he stood. Moreover, his surroundings abounded with Demonic Creatures. The Mana density here was also considerably high. In addition, the world here seemed to have built up some resistance toward him, as he found that he currently couldn''t exhibit his full strength. Does the teleportation gate change destinations according to my tier or level? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng concluded that his hypothesis was very likely to be correct, because he had arrived at different locations during his first and second use of the Gate of Darkness. Only, the difference was not particularly obvious, as he was teleported close to the World Summit on both instances. On the third instance, however, he was teleported to a completely foreign location, although still in the Dark Den''s central area. Shi Feng quickly shook his head, dismissing this matter. He was using the Dark Den as a transit point to travel to the eastern continent. As they were going to leave the Dark Den very soon, it did not matter what kind of location they arrived in. Unlike the Bible of Darkness''s Gate of Darkness, Moloch''s Ring''s Gate of Darkness was a two-way teleportation gate. In other words, so long as he opened Moloch''s Ring''s Gate of Darkness, anyone who was a part of his team could move freely between the two locations connected by the Gate of Darkness. Hence, what he needed to do next was simple. He just had to use White River City''s Return Scroll in the Dark Den and return to White River City. Afterward, he would use Gate of Darkness once more and let Hell Rush and the others, who did not possess White River City''s Return Scrolls, cross over to White River City. Even if this method wasn''t viable, he could still use the Bible of Darkness. Although the Bible of Darkness''s Gate of Darkness had a 30-person limit, it was still a better option than relying on ancient teleportation arrays. Right now, however, as Moloch''s Ring was still on Cooldown, Shi Feng had the Hell Legion''s members grind the surrounding Demonic Creatures and explore the rainforest. Although they wouldn''t be here for long, the Dark Den was still a place created by Gods. Even without the World Summit, there were still plenty of treasures and opportunities here that could not be found in the outside world. If they were lucky, they might gain a significant harvest. At the very least, it would be much better than sitting around doing nothing for an entire day. "Guild Leader, there''s a town that''s protected by a magic barrier right outside the rainforest. By the looks of it, quite a lot of players are gathered there," Fire Dance, who was scouting the vicinity, reported through the team chat. A town protected by a magic array? Fire Dance''s report piqued Shi Feng''s interest. Is it one of the Dark Den''s Shelters? From what he knew, the Dark Den should have only Shelters, not towns or cities. Shelters operated differently from the NPC towns and cities found in the outside world. Every Shelter had its own unique abilities and produced its own specialty products. The higher-ranked a Shelter was, the better its specialty products. Meanwhile, with the Shelter Fire Dance reported being in a Level 100-plus map, its rank was definitely very high. Moreover, aside from specialty products, the Dark Den was also rich in Gemstones, which were in short supply on the main continent. "Guild Leader, should we head over?" Fire Dance asked. "Of course," Shi Feng said, nodding. "This is an opportunity to make a fortune." Previously, Shi Feng had been incredibly busy. In addition, the Bible of Darkness was necessary to suppress Moloch''s Ring, so he couldn''t pass the Bible of Darkness to somebody else. As a result, aside from the occasional offline reports he received from Blue Frost and the others, it had been a very long time since Zero Wing had direct contact with the Dark Den. Shi Feng had earned a lot of Magic Crystals and Coins via the Starlight Fortress. Just the Magic Crystals he currently had on hand exceeded 600,000, while his Coins totaled over 200,000 Gold. He could use this opportunity to purchase a bunch of items to resell on the eastern continent. Moreover, Attribute Gemstones were much more valuable than Magic Crystals and also much more useful to players. Following which, Shi Feng led Aqua Rose and the other members of Zero Wing toward the Shelter Fire Dance found. The Hell Legion''s members showed no interest in the Shelter at all, opting to remain behind. They only wanted to continue grinding and honing their Mana control. After all, Shi Feng had already told them that they would be leaving this precious training ground soon. Hence, they needed to cherish this opportunity and improve themselves as much as possible. The Shelter Fire Dance found was at the foot of a mountain range, with mountains at three of its four cardinal directions. Since Shelters were under constant assault from Demonic Creatures, it was undoubtedly strategically located. As Shi Feng''s group arrived within several hundred yards of the Shelter, he finally got a clear look at it. Although this Shelter wasn''t particularly large, only the size of an Advanced Town in the outside world, the defensive magic array protecting it was incredibly powerful, capable of resisting the attacks of Tier 4 monsters for a very long time. In a Level 100-plus map, a Shelter with a defensive magic array of such caliber would definitely be considered a very safe location. This was also the reason why plenty of players resided in this Shelter. Shi Feng estimated that the Shelter could easily accommodate over 200,000 players. A player population of 200,000 might not be anything significant compared to the towns found in the outside world, but in the Dark Den, with its low player population, this was a very frightening number. Moreover, the residents of this Shelter were very strong. Even the lowest-level player Shi Feng had spotted was Level 104. At Level 106 and Level 107, the higher-level ones could rival the levels of the various superpowers'' peak experts found in the outside world. The Shelter''s players were also considerably well-equipped, with the weakest piece of equipment on them being Level 100 Mysterious-Iron rank and the majority being Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment. Some experts were even fully geared in Level 100 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. However, for some reason, most of the weapons and equipment of these players stopped at Level 100. Extremely few players sported Level 105 equipment. In fact, even Level 105 Mysterious-Iron Equipment was incredibly rare. When Shi Feng''s group arrived at the Shelter''s entrance, a Level 106, Tier 3 female Swordsman who looked both beautiful and capable suddenly approached them. "I believe you are Vice Guild Leader Blue Frost''s teammates? I have been waiting for you for a long time now!" the female Swordsman said excitedly. "May I know when Vice Guild Leader Frost will arrive?" "Blue Frost?" Shi Feng could not help growing confused at this situation. The female Swordsman before him was considerably strong. Not only was she at the Flowing Water Realm standard, but she was also just one small step shy of the Void Realm standard. When the female Swordsman saw the confusion on Shi Feng''s face, she pointed at the six-winged emblem he wore and asked strangely, "Are you not Vice Guild Leader Frost''s companions?" At this stage of the game, Tier 3 players were still incredibly rare, and Tier 3 players wearing Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem were even rarer. Hence, she had concluded that Shi Feng''s group should be Blue Frost''s companions. "We are indeed companions, but probably not in the way you think we are," Shi Feng explained. "So, Vice Guild Leader Frost''s team still couldn''t make it in time?" The female Swordsman grew a little dejected when she heard Shi Feng''s words. Meanwhile, as soon as this female Swordsman finished speaking, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly came from a short distance away. "Graceful, I told you long ago that rather than inviting Zero Wing''s Blue Frost, it would be much better to invite Crimson Emperor''s Vice Guild Leader Fantasy, yet you refused to listen! Now, we''re doomed!" 2509 Struggle over a Bronze Teleportation Gate Chapter 2509 - Struggle over a Bronze Teleportation Gate "Purple, why are you here?" When the female Swordsman named Graceful Monarch turned toward the clear and pleasant voice, joy and surprise flashed across her eyes. In the next moment, a beautiful Level 107, Tier 3 female Elementalist, dressed in light-blue robes and holding a dark- purple wooden staff, walked over to Graceful Monarch. Similar to Graceful Monarch, this female Elementalist was almost at the Void Realm. However, in the female Elementalist''s presence, the surrounding Mana was much tamer than before, looking as if it had found its owner. The appearance of this female Elementalist immediately caught the attention of the surrounding players; everyone turned to look at her, many of the female players present eyeing her with awe and worship. "What?! Purple Rakshasa?! She actually came here?!" "It seems our Extreme Light Shelter has hope of protecting our Bronze Teleportation Gate this time." "That''s only natural. After all, Purple Rakshasa is one of the Dark Den''s Three Great Elementalists, just like Shelter One''s Blue Frost. Although she just got promoted to the position recently, she''s not the slightest bit weaker than Blue Frost. With her youth, she might even surpass Blue Frost and become the number one Elementalist in the Dark Den." As the various experts present looked at the luxuriously dressed Tier 3 female Elementalist, they broke into a heated discussion among themselves. The originally tense atmosphere enveloping the Shelter also lightened considerably due to her appearance. Purple Rakshasa? When Shi Feng looked at the female Elementalist who looked like a prideful female leopard, he, too, was surprised. He never thought that he would meet her, one of God''s Domain''s famous Twelve Sacred Elementalists. During Shi Feng''s previous life, Blue Frost had served as one of the capable generals of Fantasy Shrine and received the first-rate Guild''s full support. This was the reason why he had managed to become a Tier 5 expert in God''s Domain. Purple Rakshasa, however, had spent her entire career in God''s Domain as an independent player, yet not only did she manage to reach Tier 5, but she had even become one of the publicly acknowledged Twelve Sacred Elementalists. Back then, aside from Tier 6 God-ranked experts, there was nobody capable of doing anything against Purple Rakshasa. The only unfortunate thing was that Purple Rakshasa had not come across sufficient fortuitous opportunities. Otherwise, she might have become a Tier 6 Mage God. While Shi Feng''s group was observing Purple Rakshasa, the latter had simply glanced at Shi Feng''s group before returning her attention to Graceful Monarch, mindless of the fact that Shi Feng''s group of ten consisted entirely of Tier 3 players. Currently, Tier 3 players might still be very powerful, but they were no longer as rare as before. Moreover, there were stark differences between players even after reaching Tier 3, unlike when players were still at Tier 2. The reason for this was the difference in Mana Body rank. If players merely completed the most basic trial when challenging their Tier 3 Promotion Quest, their strength would not increase by much. Meanwhile, the majority of the Tier 3 experts she normally saw had gotten promoted to Tier 3 using this method. Such Tier 3 experts might be unreachable existences in the eyes of ordinary players, but for experts of her caliber, such Tier 3 experts were no different from ordinary Tier 2 experts. They merely had a few more Basic Attributes than their Tier 2 counterparts. "The Extreme Light Shelter''s Bronze Teleportation Gate is our lifeline to the outside world. If we really let Guilds from the outside world monopolize it, then local players like ourselves will be doomed. I naturally have to put in some effort into defending it," Purple Rakshasa said as she faced Graceful Monarch. "I understand. But both Blue Frost and yourself are Elementalists. The combat power you two can exhibit in a team battle is several times greater than what physical classes like myself are capable of. If we have the two of you helping us, the Extreme Light Shelter will have a much greater chance of successfully defending the Bronze Teleportation Gate," Graceful Monarch said, sighing. If the upcoming battle were merely a small-scale team battle, she would be confident of the Extreme Light Shelter emerging victorious. Unfortunately, the battle over the Bronze Teleportation Gate''s management rights was a large- scale war that would involve hundreds of thousands of players. It was not a battle that melee players like herself could hope to make a difference in. However, it was a different story for magical class players. This was especially true for Blue Frost and Purple Rakshasa, two of the Dark Den''s Three Great Elementalists. Both of them possessed plenty of Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells, which would be extremely valuable in the upcoming war. It was no exaggeration to say that just one of them could contribute as much as several dozen melee experts like Graceful Monarch herself. Otherwise, she wouldn''t have sought out Blue Frost to manage the Bronze Teleportation Gate together. "Blue Frost''s team is indeed very strong. This is especially true if those several lunatics are participating, as well. However, if you think you can win against the outside world''s superpowers in the upcoming war by relying just on them, you''re in for a rude awakening. You don''t know how powerful the outside world''s superpowers are," Purple Rakshasa said, shaking her head. "Even with my current self, I can barely hold my own against two or three peak experts belonging to superpowers simultaneously. As for the various superpowers'' Domain Realm monsters, I''d have trouble surviving against one of them. However, each of these superpowers has several Domain Realm monsters." They have several experts that even you can''t defeat?" Graceful Monarch''s eyes widened in shock when she heard Purple Rakshasa''s words. After all, Purple Rakshasa could trounce over a dozen Tier 3 experts by herself. Even the peak experts of first-rate Guilds were no match for her. Graceful Monarch found it truly hard to believe that the outside world''s superpowers had multiple experts that surpassed Purple Rakshasa. "Mhm. I met a lot of experts during my last visit to the outside world. I have to admit that the combat standards there are much higher than the Dark Den''s. We only have an advantage when it comes to Tier 3 Skills and Spells, as well as Level 100 weapons and equipment," Purple Rakshasa said humbly. "What should we do, then? If what you say is true, our Shelter doesn''t stand a chance," Graceful Monarch said, frowning. Although she had long since known that the outside world''s superpowers were not simple, she never thought that they were this strong. "Hence, like I said before, partnering with Vice Guild Leader Fantasy is our best option. With Crimson Emperor''s help, we can easily secure our hold over the Bronze Teleportation Gate and gain more time for preparations," Purple Rakshasa advised. She then glanced at Shi Feng''s group before continuing, "Otherwise, even if Shelter One''s experts arrive, we will still lose the gate." "It seems we have no choice but that," Graceful Monarch said, consenting to Purple Rakshasa''s suggestion. She knew that the Elementalist never lied. Hence, when she saw the serious expression on Purple Rakshasa''s face, she understood that the chances of the Extreme Light Shelter winning without Crimson Emperor''s help was minuscule. Following which, Graceful Monarch had Purple Rakshasa contact Crimson Emperor''s side before turning her attention to Shi Feng''s group. "I apologize for mistaking your identities before. I also hope that you don''t take Purple Rakshasa''s words to heart. She''s not looking down on Zero Wing. It''s just that the Extreme Light Shelter''s future is at stake right now. As compensation, I can represent the Extreme Light Shelter in offering you a 20% discount on all expenditures inside the Shelter today. However, as the Extreme Light Shelter will be fighting a war soon, I advise you not to stay for too long. Otherwise, you''re likely to get embroiled in the fight. If that happens, you''ll have a difficult time leaving," Graceful Monarch said in an apologetic tone to Shi Feng. Meanwhile, just as Shi Feng was about to say something, Purple Rakshasa suddenly walked over with an excited look on her face. "Graceful, good news. Vice Guild Leader Fantasy and her team has arrived already. She says that she''ll be here soon. At that time, you can negotiate the partnership with her," Purple Rakshasa said, looking at Graceful Monarch. Shortly after Purple Rakshasa finished speaking, a group of players appeared on the street some distance away. Standing at the head of this group of players was a female Cleric with a charming appearance. The arrival of this group of players caused an uproar among the nearby players. This was because every member of this 100-man team was actually a Tier 3 player. The number of Tier 3 experts in this team almost equaled the total Tier 3 player population of the Extreme Light Shelter. 2510 Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame Chapter 2510 - Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame "One hundred Tier 3 experts?!" "So, this is the strength of a super-first-rate Guild?" "That Cleric walking in the lead is amazing! Not only is she geared in a complete set of Level 105 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, but she even has three Epic Weapons and Equipment! With this kind of equipment, she can probably suppress Purple Rakshasa with Basic Attributes alone!" When the residents of the Extreme Light Shelter saw Crimson Emperor''s members, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets from shock. Aside from all 100 members of Crimson Emperor''s team being Tier 3, just the weapons and equipment Crimson Emperor''s members sported were enough to blind the eyes of everyone in the Shelter. After all, not to mention Level 105 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, barely any Level 105 weapons and equipment existed in the Extreme Light Shelter. Moreover, the majority of them were even Mysterious-Iron rank. However, even the weakest piece of equipment on Crimson Emperor''s members was Level 105 Secret-Silver rank. Unprecedented shock filled Graceful Monarch''s heart at this scene. At the same time, she finally understood why Purple Rakshasa had strongly recommended that the Extreme Light Shelter partner with Crimson Emperor. The Extreme Light Shelter was one of the top 10 Shelters in the entire Dark Den, with a large number of expert players based in it. However, when compared to Crimson Emperor, the Extreme Light Shelter was like a candle flame before a raging firestorm. The difference in Tier 3 experts aside, just the difference in combat standards was already more than enough to instill despair in Graceful Monarch. From what she could tell, even the weakest expert among Crimson Emperor''s team was at the Flowing Water Realm, with many of them experts at the Void Realm. In fact, Graceful Monarch couldn''t even fathom the depths of the female Cleric at the lead. However, her instincts told her that this female Cleric was definitely far stronger than herself. She doubted she could last more than five moves against this female Cleric. Graceful Monarch had to admit that Purple Rakshasa was right. It really would be meaningless even if Zero Wing''s Blue Frost arrived. After all, they could most likely resolve the struggle over the Bronze Teleportation Gate this time with just Crimson Emperor''s people. A short moment later, Crimson Emperor''s members arrived before Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa. The combined aura released by 100 Tier 3 experts was enough to stifle the breath of the surrounding players. "Graceful, let me introduce you. This person here is Illusory Words, a Vice Guild Leader of Crimson Emperor. Previously, it was only thanks to Vice Guild Leader Illusory that I managed to complete that Epic Quest of mine. Without her help, I wouldn''t have been able to develop as quickly as I did," Purple Rakshasa said in a respectful tone. "So long as we have Vice Guild Leader Illusory''s help, we definitely won''t have a problem defending the Bronze Teleportation Gate." Purple Rakshasa had personally witnessed Illusory Words''s strength before. Back then, with just her own strength, Illusory Words had suppressed a Grand Lord of the same level. If not for the excessive HP of Level 100-plus Grand Lords, Illusory Words would''ve been more than capable of soloing it. Illusory Words''s strength was something Purple Rakshasa had been seeking to attain all this time. Compared to Illusory Words, the Dark Den''s top-ranking experts, such as Blue Frost, were nothing. "Greetings! I am Graceful Monarch, the commander of the Extreme Light Shelter''s number one adventurer team!" Graceful Monarch said, introducing herself. "I believe you already know about the struggle over the Bronze Teleportation Gate. On behalf of the Extreme Light Shelter''s various adventurer teams, I hope that you can assist us in defending our Bronze Teleportation Gate. The Extreme Light Shelter is willing to offer 30% of the gate''s slots to Crimson Emperor for the successful defense of the gate. May I know what you think of this proposal, Vice Guild Leader Illusory?" The main function of the Bronze Teleportation Gate was to facilitate travel between the Dark Den and the outside world. However, the gate limited travel to a maximum of 1,000 players daily. It naturally held an incredibly huge temptation for the Dark Den''s players and the players of the outside world. As a result, the gate had become the Extreme Light Shelter''s main source of income. However, as luck would have it, powers in the outside world had somehow obtained a key that could control the Bronze Teleportation Gate and gained the right to contest for the gate''s authority. Fortunately, the Extreme Light Shelter was the one responsible for activating the Bronze Teleportation Gate and held a dominant position over it. Hence, the Extreme Light Shelter could send as many players as it wanted to defend the gate. On the other hand, the key allowed its user to send only a maximum of 5,000 players to contest for the gate. Originally, Graceful Monarch had been relatively confident that the Extreme Light Shelter could protect the Bronze Teleportation Gate all by itself. She had recruited the help of Shelter One''s Zero Wing merely as a precaution. However, after seeing Crimson Emperor''s team, she came to understand how mistaken she was. In front of a true superpower, the 100-plus Tier 3 experts the Extreme Light Shelter possessed were nothing but a joke. As for Tier 2 players, they were nothing more than cannon fodder before Tier 3 players. The most they could do was whittle down the Stamina of the enemy''s Tier 3 players. However, if the Extreme Light Shelter''s Tier 3 experts couldn''t stand up to the enemy''s Tier 3 players, then the efforts of the Shelter''s Tier 2 players would be for naught. After Graceful Monarch finished speaking, she looked at Illusory Words nervously. Conceding 30% of the gate''s slots was already the Extreme Light Shelter''s various adventurer teams'' bottom line. After all, aside from the slots for the various adventurer teams, the Shelter had to sell some to earn the resources and Coins for its own development. However, Crimson Emperor would be pivotal to a successful defense of the Bronze Teleportation Gate. The Extreme Light Shelter wasn''t the only Shelter with a teleportation gate connecting the Dark Den with the outside world. However, its Bronze Teleportation Gate was currently the sole teleportation gate to have a key fall into the hands of a superpower in the outside world. The keys for the other teleportation gates had yet to be discovered. Meanwhile, for a teleportation gate that had its key discovered, the Shelter that ruled the gate would face a power struggle once a month. Moreover, the timing of the struggle was the same for all teleportation gates. In other words, Crimson Emperor would be able to help only one Shelter at a time. The Extreme Light Shelter might be the only Shelter available for Crimson Emperor to partner with right now, but that wouldn''t be the case in the future. It was only a matter of time before a power in the outside world discovered the keys of the teleportation gates of the other Shelters. At that time, Crimson Emperor would have more, and possibly better, partners to choose from. During the time Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa were quietly waiting for Illusory Words''s reply, the latter actually had her eyes directed behind Graceful Monarch. To be precise, she was looking at the departing backs of Shi Feng''s group. Vice Guild Leader Illusory, is something wrong with those people?" Purple Rakshasa asked when she noticed Illusory Words staring at Shi Feng''s group with a strange expression. "It''s nothing. I just felt that those people looked somewhat familiar. However, it shouldn''t be possible for them to appear here," Illusory Words said, shaking her head. She felt that she was overthinking things. According to her Guild''s investigation, Shi Feng''s group was currently on the western continent. With the western continent''s resources at hand, why would they come to such a small world to compete for resources? "Are you talking about them? They are experts belonging to Shelter One''s Zero Wing. They should be here to trade with the Extreme Light Shelter," Graceful Monarch said as she turned to look at Shi Feng''s group, which had already moved over 300 yards away from her position. "Previously, I invited Blue Frost, Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leader, to help in defending the Bronze Teleportation Gate. Unfortunately, it seems that Vice Guild Leader Frost got pinned down by some problems on his side. Otherwise, with the help of his team, we''d have a much easier time defending the gate." "Shelter One''s Zero Wing has only a few noteworthy experts. Everyone else is not worth mentioning whatsoever. If Zero Wing''s members really participate in the defensive battle this time, they''ll be fortunate to stay alive," Purple Rakshasa said nonchalantly as she glanced at Shi Feng''s group. "It is simply impossible for Zero Wing''s Tier 3 experts to bring about any significant changes to the defensive battle this time." In normal times, Tier 3 experts would indeed be very amazing. However, the defensive battle this time would be extraordinary. Ordinary Tier 3 experts would be no different from Tier 2 experts. "No, that might not be the case," Illusory Words objected, shaking her head. Wearing a look of admiration, she continued, "If it''s that person from Zero Wing, then Zero Wing can easily win the defensive battle by itself." "Does Zero Wing really possess such an expert?" Graceful Monarch asked curiously. Graceful Monarch had a relatively good understanding of Shelter One''s Zero Wing. Among the Guild''s members, the strongest was Blue Frost. However, he was only slightly stronger than the current Purple Rakshasa. In front of Illusory Words, he wouldn''t last more than ten moves. Hence, Graceful Monarch found it very difficult to believe that Zero Wing possessed an expert capable of turning the tide of the defensive battle this time all by themself and earning the admiration of an expert of Illusory Words''s caliber. Purple Rakshasa similarly wore a skeptical look at Illusory Words''s statement. Upon seeing that neither Graceful Monarch nor Purple Rakshasa believed her, Illusory Words chuckled and said, "Of course, it does! That person is Zero Wing''s current Guild Leader, Black Flame! 2511 Shocking Appearance at the Shelter Chapter 2511 - Shocking Appearance at the Shelter "Is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader really so amazing?" Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa could not help the skepticism on their faces when they heard Illusory Words''s statement. They felt that the Cleric was joking. Both of them were familiar with the strength of Shelter One''s Zero Wing. They also knew that Zero Wing was a large Guild in the outside world. Naturally, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing should possess extraordinary strength as well; otherwise, an expert of Blue Frost''s caliber wouldn''t have joined it. However, no matter how they thought about it, they simply could not imagine one individual being capable of turning the tide of the upcoming defensive battle. After all, the defensive battle this time was a large-scale war, not some simple skirmish out in the fields. The opponents they had to face wouldn''t be limited to just expert players but would include powerful war weapons and tools as well. In the face of powerful war weapons and tools, Tier 3 players were no different from Tier 2 players. Unless players had an Invulnerability Skill, they would almost certainly die upon getting attacked. "Mhm. He is very amazing. It''s no exaggeration to call him a true monster," Illusory Words said, nodding. Upon seeing Graceful Monarch''s and Purple Rakshasa''s skeptical looks, she smiled helplessly and continued, "With my present skills, I wouldn''t last more than three moves against him." "Even you can''t last more than three moves?" Both Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa were astounded at this revelation. Although they couldn''t fathom Illusory Words''s strength, instinct told them that they had only one viable option if they went up against the Cleric. Escape! Aside from escaping, no other option would keep them alive. In fact, the outcome would be the same even if both of them went at her together. However, a monster like Illusory Words was actually saying that she couldn''t last more than three moves against Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. How could this be possible? "If you meet him one day, you''ll naturally know whether I am telling the truth or not," Illusory Words said, chuckling. She did not bother elaborating. In response, Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa still maintained a dubious attitude to Illusory Words''s statement. However, they did not pursue this matter. Instead, they shifted the conversation to the details of the upcoming defensive battle. During the time Graceful Monarch and the others were discussing among themselves, Shi Feng had left the Extreme Light Shelter together with Fire Dance and the others, completely ignorant of the words that Illusory Words had said about him. "Guild Leader, are we leaving so quickly? I saw many Attribute Gemstones on sale at very low prices here. There are even Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books available. It''s a huge waste to leave this place so soon," Aqua Rose said when she noticed that Shi Feng had no intention of lingering in the Extreme Light Shelter. It would''ve been fine if she hadn''t entered the Extreme Light Shelter. However, after entering it, she discovered that the Shelter was a treasure trove. Not only were Attribute Gemstones 50% cheaper than on the eastern continent, but even Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books, which were incredibly rare on the eastern continent, were available. Although these Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books were all for ordinary Skills and Spells rather than Control or AOE Skills and Spells, if put up for auction in the various kingdoms and empires, they would still cause a huge uproar. Tons of people would vie to purchase them. After all, the power of Tier 3 Skills and Spells were significantly stronger than their Tier 2 counterparts. They would be of great help to players when dealing with both players and monsters. Yes. We need to leave at once. Those Attribute Gemstones and Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books might be precious, but we have much more important things to do," Shi Feng said. The Dark Den was a special Otherworld. Originally, he thought that it would still be some time before the main continent''s various powers started extending their hands toward the Dark Den. He never imagined that not only had the main continent''s powers discovered the Dark Den so soon, but there was even a means of travel between the Dark Den and the main continent already. Others might not realize the implications of this matter, but Shi Feng, who had a profound understanding of God''s Domain, knew just how frightening this matter was. In fact, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that the various powers would go crazy upon realizing the Dark Den''s benefits. Skill and Spell Books at the Tier 3 standard and above were incredibly rare in the outside world. Players wouldn''t necessarily obtain one even if they raided Level 100-plus super-large-scale Team Dungeons. Most Otherworlds shared the same problem. However, the Dark Den was an exception. Let alone Tier 3 Skills and Spells, even Tier 3 Taboo Skills and Curses were relatively easily obtainable here. Meanwhile, aside from unlocking the potential of one''s Mana Body, the next fastest way to improve one''s combat power would be to learn more Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Nowadays, competition in God''s Domain was intensifying, and the various powers were all frantically searching for ways to increase their own strength. With such a perfect opportunity to elevate the combat power of their Tier 3 experts, the various powers would naturally go crazy. While there still weren''t many passages linking the Dark Den and the main continent in existence, Shi Feng needed to occupy as many advantages in the Dark Den as he could and accelerate Shelter One''s development. Only by doing so would he be able to provide Zero Wing''s experts with a continuous supply of Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books. Currently, although Shelter One''s development was progressing relatively smoothly, it barely ranked within the top 10 Shelters of the Dark Den. It was quite inferior even to the Extreme Light Shelter. Normally, it was incredibly difficult to accelerate the development of a Shelter, as it depended on the effort and contribution of the Shelter''s residents. To accelerate a Shelter''s development, one had to raise the quality of the players residing in the Shelter. For other powers and players, this might be quite a challenge. For the current Shi Feng, however, it wasn''t a difficult task at all, because he was already an Intermediate Master Magician, with the ability to construct and strengthen town and city magic arrays. So long as he strengthened Shelter One''s magic array and improved its defensive capabilities, the Shelter would become a much safer place for players. Then, he wouldn''t have to worry about lacking talented players developing in Shelter One. While Shi Feng was trying to find a secluded location to use the Seven Luminaries Ring to teleport to Shelter One, a series of explosions came from outside the Extreme Light Shelter. They were so loud that they echoed throughout the entire Extreme Light Shelter. "What''s going on? Shouldn''t there still be several hours before the defensive battle starts?" "Look over there! A group of people seems to be fighting there!" "Isn''t that hovering Elementalist Shelter One''s Blue Frost? Who are those people around him? They''re so amazing! They actually managed to reduce one of our Dark Den''s Three Great Elementalists to such a miserable state!" The players standing guard on the walls of the Extreme Light Shelter gaped in shock as they looked at a nearby plain. This was because Blue Frost and two dozen or so other Tier 3 experts were currently surrounded by a force of several hundred players. Moreover, not only was Blue Frost''s side at a complete disadvantage, but by the looks of it, it was also only a matter of time before Blue Frost''s side got annihilated. Those were Tier 3 players they were talking about! At this stage of the game, Tier 3 players were existences capable of instant-killing Tier 2 players. This was especially true for a Tier 3 expert like Blue Frost. He could instantly kill a group of Tier 2 players if he wanted to. Now, however, Blue Frost and his team were actually on the defensiveand didn''t even have any room to retaliate. "Since when did the Sentinel Shelter''s people become so strong?" Graceful Monarch, who had hurried her way to the top of the Shelter''s walls, was surprised when she saw the players attacking Blue Frost''s team. Others might not be familiar with the several hundred players attacking Blue Frost''s team, but she was. These players were experts belonging to the Sentinel Shelter''s number one adventurer team, whom she had clashed with recently. However, back then, the overall strength of this adventurer team was significantly weaker than Blue Frost''s team. The adventurer team also had only a little over a dozen Tier 3 experts. There was no way it could match up with Blue Frost''s team at all. Now, however, every one of the Tier 2 experts from the Sentinel Shelter had seemingly activated a Berserk Skill. They not only possessed frightening Basic Attributes but could also fly for short periods. Blue Frost''s team couldn''t shake off these Tier 2 experts even if they wanted to. "Wait, that''s not right. All those people from the Sentinel Shelter are Demonized. Moreover, their Demonized ranks are considerably high." Purple Rakshasa revealed a somber expression when she saw this scene. Demonized players were extremely rare in the Dark Den. After her Tier 3 promotion, she had come across a Demonized player only once. Although the Demonized player was also Tier 3, his combat standard was only at the Refinement Realm standard. However, she had ended up fighting a bitter battle and had even nearly lost her life to the Demonized player. Now, however, the Sentinel Shelter actually possessed several hundred Tier 2 Demonized experts and over a dozen Tier 3 Demonized experts. The Sentinel Shelter originally possessed relatively great strength already, ranking among the Dark Den''s top 15 Shelters. Troubled Times, the commander of the Sentinel Shelter''s number one adventurer team, was even one of the rare few peak experts in the Dark Den. As for the remaining Tier 3 experts belonging to Troubled Times''s adventurer team, even the weakest among them was at the Refinement Realm standard. With all of these players Demonized, Purple Rakshasa couldn''t imagine how Blue Frost''s team could survive this battle. While everyone from the Extreme Light Shelter was discussing this matter, Blue Frost and his teammates continuously lost HP. "Frost, have you still not come to your senses?" a Level 108, Tier 3 Berserker asked as he quietly watched Blue Frost frantically fending off one attack after another. "The higher-ups have a very high opinion of you and your teammates'' potential; hence, they specifically instructed me to avoid harming you all. Why do you think the Tier 3 players on our side still haven''t made a move until now?" Troubled, I admit that you''re far stronger than us now, but don''t even think about getting us to submit. Moreover, we have long since joined Zero Wing. Why must you keep on targeting us?" Blue Frost retorted as he looked at Troubled Times. "That''s right. Zero Wing has treated us well. How can we possibly betray Zero Wing to join you?" Evening Lotus, the female Cleric standing beside Blue Frost, said in a determined tone. "It seems you people have resolved yourselves to die!" Troubled Times frowned when he heard Blue Frost''s and Evening Lotus''s words. He then started walking toward Blue Frost and said, "In that case, I''ll let you all know just how laughable Zero Wing''s strength is before us!" After saying so, Troubled Times''s body expanded in size, and his skin blackened. Two horns also suddenly sprouted from his forehead, and the aura his body exuded turned violent. Upon sensing the change to Troubled Times''s aura, Graceful Monarch and the others spectating from a distance gasped. They never thought that Troubled Times had actually grown this strong. Just the aura he released already surpassed that of ordinary Grand Lords. Right now, he most likely could wipe the floor with a 100-man team of ordinary Tier 3 players. However, as Troubled Times walked towards Blue Frost''s team, a deep voice suddenly appeared from the void. "It seems you''re very confident in your strength! In that case, let me see if you really are as strong as you say you are!" As soon as this voice appeared, everyone turned to look at its origin. Everyone''s eyes landed on a Spatial Gate that had appeared in midair. To be precise, everyone was looking at the cloaked man carrying two longswords walking out of the Spatial Gate. 2512 Youre Not Qualified Chapter 2512 - You''re Not Qualified "Who is that guy? He actually arrived here via a Spatial Gate! How extravagant!" "Is that guy tired of living?! Can''t he see that even an expert like Blue Frost is getting cornered?" "Does he think Troubled Times is a reasonable person?" The spectating players inside the Extreme Light Shelter were stunned when they saw Shi Feng suddenly appear in the middle of the battlefield. They never imagined that such a situation would occur. Even from several yards away, everyone could clearly sense the frightening aura Troubled Times exuded. The strength he possessed had definitely reached inhuman levels. There was no doubt that the current Troubled Times could defeat Blue Frost in just a handful of moves. In fact, Troubled Times was most likely more than capable of soloing Blue Frost''s entire team. Yet, there was actually someone who experienced Troubled Times''s domineering strength and still dared to provoke him. "A measly Tier 3 player dares oppose our commander? Bastard, you''re a hundred years too early! I''ll let you know now what true strength is!" the Level 108, Tier 3 Shield Warrior standing behind Troubled Times bellowed in anger, then raised his shield and axe and charged at Shi Feng, determined to let the Swordsman know just how powerful the Sentinel Shelter was. "This person actually dares provoke Troubled Times just so that he can become famous. With this, nobody in the entire Dark Den can save him. The Sentinel Shelter definitely won''t stop hunting him down until he''s back to Level 0." "Wait, that''s not right. That person seems to be wearing Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem too. He should be here to rescue Blue Frost''s team." "What''s the point of coming out now? Can''t he see just how frightening Troubled Times is right now? Let alone Blue Frost''s team, even our Extreme Light Shelter''s number one adventurer team would be no match for Troubled Times. What can a lone person like him possibly hope to accomplish?" At this moment, some players with good eyesight noticed the silver, six-winged emblem pinned on Shi Feng''s Black Cloak. However, even after seeing this Guild Emblem, nobody felt optimistic about this situation. Everyone merely sighed at or ridiculed Shi Feng''s actions. Before today, with Zero Wing''s help, Shelter One definitely had a chance to grow into one of the Dark Den''s top three Shelters. However, now that Shelter One was faced with the overbearing Sentinel Shelter, it was fated to fall into oblivion. "He shouldn''t have gone," Graceful Monarch, who was spectating atop the Extreme Light Shelter''s wall, muttered to herself. She was initially surprised when she saw Shi Feng making an appearance on the battlefield. Afterward, however, she could not help but shake her head and sigh. In the eyes of Tier 2 experts, Shi Feng, who was a Tier 3 player, would indeed be considered very strong. However, his current opponents were the Tier 3 Demonized experts from the Sentinel Shelter. "It seems he has quite the backbone!" Purple Rakshasa was surprised as she watched Shi Feng land before Troubled Times. "However, if even Blue Frost is struggling against the Sentinel Shelter, what can that guy possibly hope to accomplish?" Nobody had a better idea of exactly how powerful Demonized players were than she did. Demonized players'' Basic Attributes and physique far surpassed those of regular players of the same tier. One could say that, at this point in time, aside from Illusory Words, nobody in the entire Extreme Light Shelter could pose a challenge to the Sentinel Shelter. Unfortunately, there was no reason for someone of Illusory Words''s stature to interfere in such an affair. However, when Purple Rakshasa turned to Illusory Words, who stood beside her, she noticed a heavy and shocked expression appear on Illusory Words''s face. It was as if the Cleric had just seen a ghost. "Why is he here?" Illusory Words muttered, her eyes wide with astonishment. Right now, the shock she felt was obvious even to the ordinary players present. Vice Guild Leader Illusory?" Purple Rakshasa could not help growing curious as she looked at Illusory Words. Previously, Illusory Words had maintained her composure when bathed in Troubled Times''s imposing aura. Now, however, Illusory Words actually looked shaken after seeing an ordinary Tier 3 Swordsman who exuded not the slightest bit of aura. This situation was simply unbelievable. Vice Guild Leader Illusory, do you know that person?" Graceful Monarch asked. She, too, could clearly sense Illusory Words losing her composure. Previously, Graceful Monarch had already carefully observed Shi Feng and understood that he possessed considerable strength. However, it was not at a level where experts of her caliber needed to pay much attention. The only thing she found noteworthy about Shi Feng was that he was an expert of Zero Wing. However, if even Blue Frost, a Vice Guild Leader of Zero Wing, had failed to gamer Illusory Words''s interest, how could a measly Tier 3 expert from Zero Wing possibly do so? "I do. Of course, I do," Illusory Words said, a smile blooming on her face when she saw the curious gazes Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa were directing at her. "He''s the person I told you about before. He''s Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame!" As soon as Illusory Words mentioned the name of "Black Flame," Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa were momentarily stunned. Vice Guild Leader Illusory, you''re saying that he is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?" Purple Rakshasa instinctively denied the truth of Illusory Words''s statement. "How is that possible? I met him before. Let alone the aura of a Tier 3 player, even the Mana fluctuations he is giving off are very weak for a Tier 3 player. How can he possibly be the monster you mentioned?" In God''s Domain, all expert players would exude an aura of strength. After they reached Tier 3, the Mana fluctuations their bodies caused would also become much more difficult to hide. Moreover, even if a player managed to conceal those Mana fluctuations, an expert''s instincts would still warn them if they were standing before an opponent with monstrous strength. Take Illusory Words, for example. Despite Illusory Words having concealed her strength completely, Purple Rakshasa''s instincts still warned her against fighting the Cleric. However, Purple Rakshasa could not sense anything from Shi Feng. In her mind, Shi Feng was the textbook example of an ordinary Tier 3 player. "So, he is that rumored Guild Leader of Zero Wing?" Graceful Monarch muttered doubtfully as she looked at the distant Shi Feng. Similar to Purple Rakshasa, she found Illusory Words''s statement incredible and suspected it was a joke. The Black Flame Illusory Words mentioned was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Even if he wasn''t as strong as Illusory Words said he was, he should, at least, be stronger than Blue Frost and his teammates. Otherwise, with the personalities of Blue Frost and the others, they definitely wouldn''t be willing to submit themselves to his command. On the other hand, someone of Illusory Words''s stature had no reason to play jokes on experts like them. While Purple Rakshasa and Graceful Monarch were half-doubting Illusory Words''s statement, Blue Frost suddenly exclaimed in bewilderment. "Guild Leader?!" Although Blue Frost did not speak very loudly, his words swept through the battlefield, and subsequently, the Extreme Light Shelter, like a typhoon. "What?! He really is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?!" Purple Rakshasa and Graceful Monarch goggled in shock upon hearing Blue Frost''s words. They never thought that Shi Feng, who looked like the average passerby, would actually be the person responsible for recruiting experts like Blue Frost and his teammates, as well as the monster that Illusory Words admired. Originally, they thought that, with the several hundred yards separating Illusory Words and Shi Feng, the Cleric might have recognized the wrong person. However, such a mistake was definitely impossible for Blue Frost. Setting aside the fact that Blue Frost possessed the extraordinary body of a Tier 3 player, he was one of Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders. He might as well resign from his position if he couldn''t recognize his own Guild Leader at that proximity. Everyone from the Sentinel Shelter was also dumbfounded at this scene. They never thought that this rude intruder would actually be Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. "Are you kidding me? How can this weak bastard be Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?" They knew very clearly what kind of strength and potential Blue Frost and his teammates possessed. In their opinion, the person responsible for recruiting Blue Frost''s group had to be a dragon among men. Otherwise, how could that person have persuaded an expert of Blue Frost''s caliber to join Zero Wing? Upon sensing the skeptical looks everyone was giving him, Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile. Previously, he had become so famous that everybody knew about him. Now, however, this group of people was actually questioning his identity. "So, you''re Zero Wing''s Guild Leader! However, what about it? Whether it is you or Blue Frost''s group, none of you will be leaving this place alive!" The Level 108, Tier 3 Shield Warrior who was charging at Shi Feng remained unfazed, even after finding out Shi Feng''s identity. Instead, he proceeded to activate Brutal Collision and rammed his shield at Shi Feng. However, before the Level 108 Shield Warrior could reach Shi Feng, a lithe figure suddenly appeared behind the Shield Warrior, catching him unawares. The snowy short sword this lithe figure wielded then transformed into a black streak of light that pierced through the Shield Warrior''s armor and stabbed straight into his heart. By the time the Shield Warrior reacted to the attack, a bloody rose had bloomed on his chest. Damage exceeding -400,000 also appeared above his head, the attack plundering all of his HP. "You''re not qualified to fight our Guild Leader!" 2513 Power of One Strike Chapter 2513 - Power of One Strike When the Level 108, Tier 3 Shield Warrior''s body collapsed to the ground and disintegrated into particles of light, the entire world seemingly froze momentarily as silence enveloped the battlefield. Only after some time had passed did everyone react to the situation. "He died?" "Impossible!" Everyone was dumbstruck as they looked at the lithe figure standing behind the Shield Warrior''s corpse. This was especially true for the players from the Sentinel Shelter. Their mouths were hanging wide open in shock because nobody knew better than they did just how much HP and Defense the fallen Shield Warrior possessed. It was no exaggeration to say that even if a Tier 3 Berserker were allowed to freely attack the Shield Warrior using Skills, the Berserker would need at least ten attacks to kill the Shield Warrior. Now, however, let alone ten attacks, the Shield Warrior had failed to sundve even one. The Sentinel Shelterحs healers didn''t even have a chance to heal the Shield Warrior. "That''s a Tier 3 Demonized Shield Warrior we''re talking about! Is she even human?!" Purple Rakshasa could not help her astonishment as she stared at Fire Dance, who was slowly walking up to Shi Feng. Purple Rakshasa had clashed with a Tier 3 Demonized expert before, so she knew exactly how powerful Tier 3 Demonized experts were. Their high Defense and HP aside, just their physique granted them reaction speeds far superior to Tier 3 human players''. However, Fire Dance had attacked and instantly killed the Demonized Shield Warrior without the Shield Warrior even reacting. Fire Dance''s reaction speed and Attack Power were simply unheard-of. "She''s actually so strong?" When Graceful Monarch looked at Fire Dance''s distant figure, shock and excitement flashed across her eyes. Power! Violence! The suffocating strength Fire Dance displayed was something Graceful Monarch was constantly seeking to attain. Graceful Monarch never thought that she would get to witness this domineering display in person. Moreover, the monster that had carried out this display of power had actually been standing beside Shi Feng all this time. At this moment, let alone Graceful Monarch and the other distant spectators, even Blue Frost and his teammates, who stood behind Shi Feng, were stunned by this situation. They never imagined that the people from Zero Wing''s main branch would be this powerful. Meanwhile, Troubled Times, who had been silently observing Fire Dance all along, similarly wore an astonished expression on his face. "I truly did not expect Zero Wing to have such an expert hidden. No wonder you dare to hinder us," Troubled Times said as he shifted his gaze back to Shi Feng. "However, if you think you can stop the Sentinel Shelter with just this much strength, I''m afraid you''re sorely mistaken!" As soon as Troubled Times finished speaking, the 17 Tier 3 experts behind him promptly took on a Demon form. The frightening aura they released enveloped the entire battlefield and evoked dread even in experts like Blue Frost. Although these Tier 3 Demonized experts numbered only 17, the combined pressure they gave off easily surpassed that of the Sentinel Shelter''s several hundred Tier 2 Demonized experts. "It seems Troubled Times is getting serious." A somber expression appeared on Purple Rakshasa''s face when the Sentinel Shelter''s Tier 3 experts Demonized. The Shield Warrior that previously took action was only at the Refinement Realm. His combat standard was also the weakest among the Sentinel Shelter''s Tier 3 experts present. Meanwhile, if every one of the Sentinel Shelter''s Tier 3 experts attacked together, even Fire Dance would not be a match for them. After all, this was a team battle, not a one- on-one duel. Not only could players reduce their defensive blindspots by working with teammates, but they would also have a much easier time striking at the enemy''s weak points. Not to mention, the Assassin class was at its strongest when it was in Stealth. So long as an Assassin was discovered, their combat power would be halved. Meanwhile, at this point, Troubled Times and the others had already noticed Fire Dance''s existence. She wouldn''t have another opportunity to launch a sneak attack. In the next moment, the 17 Tier 3 Demonized experts rapidly closed in on Shi Feng''s group, their positioning leaving Fire Dance no chance to fight them one-on-one. At the same time, every one of them used their trademark moves. Tier 3 Spell, Shadow Puncture! Tier 3 Skill, Chaotic Slash! Tier 3 Skill, Shadow Raid! Tier 3 Spell, Flame Dragon Bind! Over a dozen Skills and Spells flew at Shi Feng''s group. Seeing all these powerful attacks approaching them, Blue Frost and the Zero Wing members with him could not help but despair. Not only did every one of these Skills and Spells possess power close to the Tier 4 standard, but these Skills and Spells also overlapped into a perfect assault that had no holes to exploit. It simply wasn''t an attack that players could block or dodge. However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, Fire Dance did not use Vanish or Wind Steps to defend herself even after seeing these perfectly coordinated attacks. Instead, she simply stood beside Shi Feng, showing no intention of taking action whatsoever. It was as if the coordinated attacks of the Tier 3 Demonized experts did not exist in her eyes at all. Just when the Demonized experts'' Skills and Spells were about to reach Shi Feng and Fire Dance, Shi Feng suddenly took action. Sword''s Orbit! A galaxy of stars immediately appeared, with Shi Feng as the center, the stars striking down the approaching Skills and Spells, one after another. From afar, the attacks seemed to disappear automatically upon reaching within 10 yards of Shi Feng. Let alone damaging Shi Feng, none of them managed to cause him to stumble by even one step. "Impossible! He blocked them all?!" Upon seeing Shi Feng shattering their assault, the Tier 3 Demonized experts were dumbfounded. After all, not only did their attacks carry great power, but there were also more than 20 of them timed to hit Shi Feng and Fire Dance simultaneously. Every one of these attacks was also aimed at the pair''s defensive blind spots. Unless Shi Feng and Fire Dance used an Invulnerability Skill, they should have taken damage. "It''s my turn now!" Since the Sentinel Shelter''s players had stopped attacking, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and brandished the Magic Weapon at the 17 Tier 3 Demonized experts. Lightning Flash! In the next moment, pitch-black sword lights wrapped in dense Mana struck the Demonized experts like pitch-black lightning arcs. Peng... Peng... Peng... A series of explosions reverberated throughout the battlefield. At the same time, the 17 Tier 3 Demonized experts went flying backward, each of them losing over -100,000 HP. When they landed, their hands and weapons they wielded trembled uncontrollably. "Is he a monster?" The spectating players gasped upon seeing this scene. Those were 17 Tier 3 Demonized experts! If they moved together as a team, no existence in the Dark Den could hinder their advance. Even the mighty Tier 4 Mythic monsters were no exception. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually repelled all these experts with a single move. Moreover, he had even injured them quite heavily. Before everyone could snap out of their daze, Shi Feng brandished Killing Ray once more. This time, though, he directed his attack toward Troubled Times over 30 yards away. First Sword, Lightshadow! Immediately, the phantom of a gigantic greatsword appeared in midair. When it descended on Troubled Times, it looked as if a mountain was falling toward the Berserker. The AOE of the attack was so large that evasion was impossible. Moreover, space shattered wherever the gigantic sword passed. Troubled Times''s complexion turned grim when he saw this attack. He hurriedly raised his war axe and met the oncoming attack head-on. "Shatter!" Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Heaven Breaker! In the next moment, Troubled Times''s axe also cut space and landed directly on the phantom greatsword. Boom! Along with the sound of an explosion, the ground shook violently. And as if a violent storm had just passed, dust filled the air, preventing those standing on the battlefield from opening their eyes. When the dust settled and the situation on the battlefield became clear again, everyone was dumbfounded. At this moment, the almighty Troubled Times came into view, partly embedded into the ground, his kneecaps no longer visible. At the same time, the ground within a 10-yard radius of the Berserker had also sunk by over a meter. As for Troubled Times himself, he had also lost more than one-fifth of his HP. 2514 Not to be Trifled With Chapter 2514 - Not to be Trifled With As the dust settled on the battlefield, the watching players from the Extreme Light Shelter, who had assumed that Shi Feng''s group was in for a bitter battle, were dumbfounded as they stared at Troubled Times embedded in the ground. "Is he really a Tier 3 player?" They had all felt Troubled Times'' aura after he had taken on his Demon form. It was strong enough to rival Grand Lords of the same level. Combined with the Berserker''s profound combat techniques, he could kill Tier 3 experts with little- to-no effort. Tier 3 players had no hope against him. Only experts who had reached Tier 4 would have the power to suppress a monster like Troubled Times. And yet, Shi Feng, who looked ordinary and didn''t even have the aura of a Tier 3 player, had overwhelmed the Berserker with brute strength. Everyone watching felt as if the Main God System were joking with them. "He''s actually this strong?!" When Purple Rakshasa and Graceful Monarch saw Troubled Times''s embedded figure, their minds went blank. Although Illusory Words had told them that Shi Feng was monstrously strong, even going so far as to insist that she was no match for the Swordsman, they hadn''t believed it. First, Shi Feng had repelled 17 Tier 3 Demonized experts with one move. Then, he had used another move that tore space apart and left Troubled Times heavily injured. The man''s Strength was simply unheard of. With just this ridiculous strength, Shi Feng was more than capable of making fools of 100 Tier 3 players. When Demonized, Trouble Times enjoyed inhuman Basic Attributes. If any other Tier 3 player had stood against Shi Feng''s attack, they would''ve instantly perished. In other words, Shi Feng was powerful enough to instant-kill Tier 3 players. There was almost no difference between Tier 2 and Tier 3 before him. At most, Tier 3 players were slightly stronger ants. Purple Rakshasa and Graceful Monarch now, more or less, understood why Illusory Words admired Shi Feng, declaring that he alone could change the tide of the upcoming war. Sure enough, he''s grown stronger. While Illusory Words watched Shi Feng, who stood proudly among the Sentinel Shelter''s players, she couldn''t contain her bitter smile. After the battle on Dragonheart Island, the various superpowers had recognized Shi Feng as a peerless monster, one not to be provoked, but they had continued their development since then. Adding to the fact that they had stronger foundations than Zero Wing, Illusory Words had been sure that she should''ve caught up to Shi Feng a little She had never imagined that the distance between her and the Swordsman had grown... She had been humble when she had told Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa that she wouldn''t last more than three moves against Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. In truth, she had been confident that she shouldn''t have any issues taking five or six hits from Shi Feng. She had recently obtained a Bloodline, and her Life Rating was beyond that of an ordinary Tier 3 player, after all. Her Basic Attributes had also substantially increased. But now, she realized how sorely mistaken she had been. When Shi Feng''s attack had torn apart space itself, she realized that his strike had Tier 4 power. Combined with the attack''s large AOE and high Attack Speed, she knew she didn''t have a prayer of dodging or blocking the attack without an Invulnerability Skill or Spell. Naturally, Blue Frost and his teammates were dazed after seeing the outcome of the exchange between Shi Feng and Troubled Times. They didn''t react like Zero Wing members at all. "Blue, is that really our Guild Leader?" a Level 108, Tier 3 Guardian Knight prodded Blue Frost. When they heard the question, several other recent additions to the Guild turned to their Vice Guild Leader with curious looks. Aside from Shelter One''s good development prospects, they had joined Zero Wing because of Blue Frost''s individual strength. They didn''t view Zero Wing''s larger branches in the outside world as important. Many of the Dark Den''s Shelters had allied with powers from the outside world, too. Aside from financial support, Shelter One didn''t receive any benefits from Zero Wing''s main branch. Their connection was far weaker than the other Shelters that had outside powers'' support. This was precisely the reason that they doubted the main branch''s strength. After witnessing Shi Feng''s display, however, even a fool could tell that Zero Wing was no simple Guild. With such a powerful Guild Leader, they were confident that Shelter One would eventually grow into one of the Dark Den''s top three Shelters. "Mhm... He''s our Guild Leader, Black Flame," Blue Frost muttered, replying to his teammate''s question, but as he stared at Shi Feng, he couldn''t help but question his own memory. The power the Swordsman had just used was too overwhelming. The man was nothing like the Shi Feng he remembered. When Shelter One''s Zero Wing members heard the confirmation, their eyes lit with excitement. Before they could celebrate, however, Troubled Times pulled himself out of the crater around him, glaring at Shi Feng with a grim expression. If he hadn''t blocked that attack with a Tier 3 Taboo Skill, he would''ve lost more than half of his HP. "It seems that I''ve underestimated you, Frost. With such a Guild Leader to back you up, you''re out of my reach, but don''t think this one failure will be enough to stop the Sentinel Shelter''s advance. Demon players will only grow stronger as time passes! Our next meeting will be the end of Shelter One!" Troubled Times said, sneering at Blue Frost. He then shouted to his teammates, "Everyone, retreat!" Following their orders, every player from the Sentinel Shelter turned and fled. They gave Shi Feng and Fire Dance no opportunities to strike. When Blue Frost heard Troubled Times'' warning, however, he paled. Meanwhile, the Extreme Light Shelter''s members couldn''t help but shake their heads and sigh. As Troubled Times had said, Demon players and ordinary players were on different levels. Demon players could continue to upgrade their Demon rank, bolstering their combat power as time passed. Shi Feng might be able to stop the Sentinel Shelter''s Demon players right now, but how long could he continue to do so? Moreover, Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. He couldn''t stay in the Dark Den indefinitely. Once he left, Shelter One, which constantly fought the Sentinel Shelter over resources, would suffer... "You''re not wrong, but that only holds true if you escape with your lives!" Shi Feng growled, watching Troubled Times preparing to flee. Demon players could increase their combat power by raising their Demon rank, but they had a fatal flaw. They couldn''t afford to die. Once a Demon player died, they''d lose a significant fraction of the strength and Reputation they had built up. It was a problem that constantly plagued Demon players. "I admit that you''re exceptionally powerful, Guild Leader Black Flame, but if we focus on escape, how many of us can you really kill? You''re better off saving your energy!" The moment Troubled Times finished his statement, he split into five clones of himself. All five clones then split up and fled in different directions. As he did, the rest of the Sentinel Shelter''s Tier 3 experts used their trump cards as well, either boosting their Movement Speeds or creating a group of doppelgangers to cause confusion on the battlefield. It was obvious that the Sentinel Shelter''s experts were quite adept at escaping and surviving. None of them were afraid of Shi Feng or Fire Dance''s pursuit. "Is that so?" Even as Troubled Times ran, Shi Feng showed no intention of chasing him down. Rather, he chuckled and asked, "What if we invite two Tier 3 magical classes to join the fray?" Suddenly, Troubled Times realized that something felt off. Magical classes were more suited for team battles than physical classes. They could exhibit far more combat power on the battlefield, which was why Graceful Monarch had gone out of her way to invite Blue Frost to the Extreme Light Shelter. Suddenly, space roughly 100 yards away from the battlefield began to blur. A translucent barrier of water then appeared, in front of which stood two women in elegant mage robes. All of the Mana within 300 yards of the women gathered to them. The Mana density around them became so high that it formed a thin layer of mist in the area. "This is... Is that a fully unlocked Mana Body?" 2515 Apex Sword Chapter 2515 - Apex Sword Seeing the Mana on the battlefield gather around Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud, Troubled Times, expression darkened further. The Mana Body was the very symbol of Tier 3, and any player that reached Tier 3 understood one thing: they had no control over their Mana Bodies. They needed to learn about and adapt to their Mana Bodies first. Only then could they gain full control over their Mana Bodies and exhibit the true strength of a Tier 3 class. However, it wasn''t easy to unlock a Mana Body''s full potential. Very few Tier 3 experts had even begun. And yet, two experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies had joined the fight, and both were magical class players... "What?! This can''t be true, can it?! They''ve already unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential?!" "What kind of Guild is Zero Wing?" Intense shock flashed in Graceful Monarch''s and Purple Rakshasa''s eyes as they stared at the distant Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud. Zero Wing was already amazing to have a monster like Shi Feng, but now, they learned that the Guild had two magical class experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies, as well. What was up with this? Even at this stage of the game, it was incredibly unlikely that the various superpowers would have a single expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body, yet Zero Wing had two... How did they do it? Even Illusory Words stared with wide, shocked eyes. She couldn''t bring herself to believe what she was seeing. Since more of the various superpowers'' members had begun to reach Tier 3, these superpowers had shifted their focus toward helping their Tier 3 members unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential, rather than nurturing more Tier 3 players. Controlling one''s Mana Body wasn''t like controlling the physical body, however. Players'' Mana control needed to be excellent to accomplish the task. Unlocking one''s Mana Body required such high Mana control that even magical class players, who often manipulated Mana, only had a small edge over physical class players. Unlocking a Mana Body''s potential was a gradual process. Players needed to conduct repeated experiments, slowly learning how their Mana Bodies operated. This process was impossible to skip since every player had a different Mana Body. The current top player in Crimson Emperor had only unlocked 35% of their Mana Body''s potential, and the Guild''s remaining Tier 3 experts hadn''t even unlocked 1%. As one unlocked more of their Mana Body, the process became more difficult. Based on Crimson Emperor''s estimates, a Tier 3 player should need two or three months, at least, of relentless effort to unlock their Mana Body''s full potential, notwithstanding any fortuitous encounters. And now, Illusory Words learned that Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud had both fully unlocked their Mana Bodies... How could she possibly believe this? Moreover, the Mana the two women commanded was truly frightening. Despite standing several hundred yards away, Illusory Words could sense the torrent of Mana flowing toward them. It felt like watching whales take a breath of air. Those two women were practically moving Mana Engines. Before anyone could recover from their daze, Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud had finished chanting the final verses of their incantations. As they did, a blue, twofold magic array appeared above the battlefield, covering a 100-yard radius. Meanwhile, several hundred silver magic arrays manifested around Violet Cloud. Tier 3 Super Spell, Frostburst Waterfall! Shadow Rage! With the help of their Mana Bodies, the women''s Spells drained all of the Mana in a 400-yard radius. Suddenly, countless ice shards rained down from above, and as they passed, space froze. Any Tier 2 Demonized player these ice shards encounter transformed into ice sculptures and died instantly. When the ice touched a Tier 3 Demonized expert, they plundered one-third of their HP. While Aqua Rose''s ice covered the battlefield, the shadow blades Violet Cloud''s Shadow Rage danced among the fleeing Demon players. Not only had her Mana Body strengthened her shadow blades, but the Fragmented Legendary ranked Magic Light Pendant did so as well. Three hundred shadow blades, with power approaching the Tier 4 standard, struck the Sentinel Shelter''s fleeing members. The blades were so powerful that not even Tier 3 experts could block them without taking some damage. The Tier 2 players didn''t even have time to resist before they died. For a time, the several hundred fleeing players from the Sentinel Shelter transformed into ice sculptures or were shredded by the shadow blades; they all transformed into particles of light. Not even the running Tier 3 experts could escape death... Despite the world of ice and light the battlefield had become, none of the Extreme Light Shelter''s spectating players found the scene beautiful. They only felt fear and dread as they gazed at the destruction. Everyone already knew that magical class players could exhibit far greater combat power on a battlefield than physical class players, but they couldn''t help the shock they felt as they watched the two women destroy their enemies. Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud had only used a total of two Spells, after all. Despite such a large-scale bombardment, not only hadn''t the women''s attacks harmed their allies, but they had also drastically reduced the number of players from the Sentinel Shelter. Only four seconds had passed since they had cast their Spells, yet they had slain over 200 players. Moreover, the death toll climbed as more time passed. Not even a 100- man team of Tier 3 experts would prove this effective... Every player that had come from the Sentinel Shelter was a Demonized player. Even their Tier 2 members had combat power nearly on par with a Tier 3 player''s after transforming into their Demon form. Just landing a hit was a struggle for Tier 3 players, much less killing them. Moreover, Demonized players possessed far higher HP, Defense, and Magic Resistance than human players. At most, a Tier 3 Skill or Spell would deal high damage to these players. It would take a lot more to instant-kill them. However, Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud''s Spells had instant-killed the Sentinel Shelter''s Tier 2 players, giving the enemy healers no chance to help them. Moreover, the absurd damage the Spells dealt wasn''t the most frightening aspect about them. What truly amazed everyone was the fact that those Spells seemed like they had a life of their own, always targeting players'' blind spots. Only Refinement Realm experts and above had any chance of blocking them. Everyone else would have to bear the full brunt of the projectiles'' hits... "Black Flame!" Troubled Times'' eyes bulged as he watched one subordinate after another fall. Every player he had brought with him was an expert from the Sentinel Shelter, and they all played crucial roles in the shelter. The Berserker skidded to a stop and pulled a gigantic, pitch-black crystal from his bag. Maddened, he shouted, "Since you won''t let my people live, I''ll take you down with us!" With that statement hanging in the air, Troubled Times shattered the crystal. Suddenly, dark clouds formed above the plain, and a colossal spatial tear split the sky. A gigantic hand, as large as a mountain, then reached through the tear. Both Blue Frost''s team and the players from the Extreme Light Shelter watched in horror. "What?! The Demon King''s Hand?! How does he have that tool?!" "Is Troubled Times insane?! Does he want everyone to die?!" "It''s over! We''re all dead!" The players from the Extreme Light Shelter cursed Troubled Times for his cruelty. The Demon King''s Hand was every Dark Den player''s nightmare. An independent player had once gotten their hands on this tool, and to avenge his fallen comrades, he had used the Demon God''s Hand to destroy the Shelter responsible. The Demon King''s Hand had only attacked once, crushing the Shelter into dust. The attack was a massive AOE. Although Troubled Times had summoned the Demon King''s Hand several hundred yards from the Extreme Light Shelter, it was still well within range... Even Illusory Words felt the presence of death surround her, not to mention the Shelter''s residents. Unfortunately, it was too late to run. The Spell had already taken shape, and even space would freeze under a Tier 5 Spell''s influence. She couldn''t even use Instantaneous Movement to flee... Even if she could, she wouldn''t have time to escape the Spell''s AOE. Instantaneous Movement would only teleport her several dozen yards away... The Demon King''s Hand? Even Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he saw the descending hand. He immediately activated Disintegration Power, forcing himself to Tier 4 before he leaped into the air, raising Killing Ray above his head with both hands. "Block it!" First Sword, Lightshadow! 2516 Legend of the Dark Den Chapter 2516 - Legend of the Dark Den As Shi Feng jumped into the air, the phantom of a gigantic greatsword encompassed his Sacred Sword. Shi Feng swung the ghostly weapon at the descending Demon King''s Hand, stupefying the spectating players who had begun to despair. "Is he really trying to block the Demon King''s Hand?!" Graceful Monarch was shocked as she watched Shi Feng leap into the air. The Demon King''s Hand had Tier 5 power. Not even the Extreme Light Shelter''s defensive magic array could stop that attack. At this stage of the game, this spell was unstoppable. It was why everyone had been overwhelmed with hopelessness the moment Troubled Times had used the Demon King''s Hand. Graceful Monarch had never expected Shi Feng to confront the Demon King''s Hand instead of fleeing. The man was simply ludicrous. The only thing anyone could do was shake their head as they watched. No player could hope to block the Demon King''s Hand attack; players could only flee for their lives. The moment the Demon King''s Hand appeared, however, space within several thousand yards froze. Without a high-tiered Magic Scroll, which could break through frozen space, players could only rely on their own two feet to escape. Of course, trying to cross several thousand yards on foot in a few short seconds was a joke. "So what if you can suppress the Sentinel Shelter? Against the Demon King''s Hand, you''re nothing more than a pest!" Troubled Times, shrouded in a black barrier, sneered as Shi Feng tried to attack the colossal, pitch-black hand. "You''ll die alongside the Sentinel Shelter''s people!" The Demon King''s Hand was his greatest trump card. He hadn''t wanted to use it, but he could just let Zero Wing get away with annihilating his team. There was only one way to stop the Demon King''s Hand; one would have to kill the user before they shattered the black crystal. Once the crystal shattered, not only would the energy within summon the Demon King''s Hand, but it would also surround the user in a protective barrier, keeping the user safe from the wrath of the Demon King''s Hand. By the time Troubled Times finished his statement, the phantom greatsword had collided with the descending, black hand. The Demon King''s Hand was the size of a mountain, and although the phantom greatsword was quite large, it was little more than a toothpick against the colossal palm. It was utterly insignificant. Boom! The instant the two attacks met, the sky shattered, and a massive spatial tear stretched for several hundred yards. The sound of an explosion echoed throughout the map, and the intense shockwave shoved back the players below, making the stumble. Once the shockwave had passed, the watching players looked up and realized that the gigantic hand had come to a grinding halt as if it had encountered an invisible wall. Suddenly, a figure shot down from the sky, crashing into the ground like a meteor with enough momentum that the impact created a crater that was several meters deep and over two dozen meters wide. Everyone froze in shock. They only snapped out of their dazes after four seconds had passed. "He did it?!" "He actually blocked it!" "But that''s the Demon King''s Hand! It''s as powerful as a Tier 5 attack! Is he even human?!" The Extreme Light Shelter''s players cried out in shock. For a moment, they even forgot to celebrate the fact that they had just survived the Demon King''s Hand attack. "So, that is Zero Wing''s Guild Leader." Astonishment flashed in Purple Rakshasa''s eyes as she stared at the pitch-black hand as it gradually faded out of existence. Shi Feng was simply too strong! She had met plenty of experts after leaving the Dark Den, but none were a match for Shi Feng. His strength was beyond words. The Demon King''s Hand was every Dark Den player''s nightmare. When facing the attack, players could only wait for death to claim them. There was nothing else they could do. And yet, Shi Feng had just stopped the Demon King''s Hand. No one would believe her if she told them about this incident, but she had seen it with her own eyes... Is he really Black Flame? Illusory Words was just as flabbergasted. She could hardly believe what she had just witnessed. They were talking about a Tier 5 attack! Not even one of the outside world''s Guild Cities would survive such an attack, much less a stronghold like the Extreme Light Shelter. If the Demon King''s Hand had been successful, nothing would''ve remained of the city''s defensive magic array and walls. However, Shi Feng had blocked the attack and saved them all. Only the Five Great Super Guilds'' true monsters were likely capable of accomplishing such a feat. Impossible! How can anybody block that thing?! Troubled Times was dazed as he watched the Demon King''s Hand dissipate. His mind instinctively refused to accept the situation. A Tier 5 Demon King''s attack could even vaporize Tier 4 players, much less Tier 3 experts. It shouldn''t be possible for current players to block the attack. But no matter how hard the Berserker rubbed his eyes, he couldn''t change the fact that the gigantic, pitch-black hand was fading away. It was obvious that the hand had exhausted the energy that had summoned it, and it couldn''t sustain itself on this plane of existence. While everyone struggled with their shock and elation over the Demon King''s Hand''s disappearance, a figure pulled itself from the massive crater in the middle of the battlefield. It was none other than Shi Feng, who had intercepted the attack. He was clearly in a miserable state. Not only was he heavily injured, but he also had less than 10% of his HP remaining. The Sacred Sword in his hand trembled violently as if crying in agony. "He''s not dead?" "He survived?!" "How high are his Defense and HP?" Everyone''s jaw dropped when they noticed Shi Feng emerge from the crater. The fact that the Swordsman had stopped the Demon King''s Hand was already unbelievable, yet now, they learned that he had actually survived the endeavor. He had just taken on a Tier 5 attack, which was even powerful enough to severely injure Tier 4 Mythic monsters if they took it head-on. Current players should have no hope of surviving such a blow. "Guild Leader!" When Blue Frost and his comrades saw Shi Feng, they were elated, and pride shown in their eyes. They had just witnessed a legend in the making! And their Guild, Zero Wing, was responsible for it! Both Shi Feng and Zero Wing would become legendary names throughout the Dark Den as word of this spread. 2517 Fame Spreads Across the Dark Den Chapter 2517 - Fame Spreads Across the Dark Den Everyone was astounded that Shi Feng had survived after countering the Demon King''s Hand, but the player in question only breathed a deep sigh of relief. Thank goodness the Demon King''s Hand''s power is barely at Tier 5. If it had been stronger, not even Void Shield would''ve saved me. Glancing at his HP bar, Shi Feng realized he had very nearly lost his life. Had an expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body summoned the Demon King''s Hand instead of Troubled Times, he wouldn''t have even had a chance to resist. In God''s Domain, magic tools'' effects varied depending on the state of a player''s Mana Body. When a player with a locked Mana Body used a magic tool, its effects would be minimized, but if a player used their Mana Body''s Mana to activate a magic tool, they could elevate its power. If a Tier 5 expert had used the Demon King''s Hand, they would''ve likely boosted its power to the peak of Tier 5. Fortunately, Troubled Times hadn''t unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential yet. With his Disintegration Armor''s help, Shi Feng had forced himself to Tier 4, but his strength was nowhere near Tier 5, even after using Holy Annihilation''s First Sword. At best, his Lightshadow had peak Tier 4 power. To attack with Tier 5 strength, he''d have to master the Second Sword, Holy Devour. A large part of the reason for his miserable state was the fact that he hadn''t yet perfected Lightshadow. Although, he still wouldn''t have wielded Tier 5 power even if he had perfected the technique, pushing it to its limits. It only would''ve saved him from most of the damage he had suffered in countering the Demon King''s hand. But that counterattack was his current limit. Even after forcing himself to Tier 4, executing Lightshadow perfectly was practically impossible. Mana techniques weren''t like combat techniques; they focused on Mana manipulation. With a combat technique, the stronger a player''s physique was, the easier it would be to execute. In other words, higher-tiered players had an easier time using their combat techniques. However, the opposite was true for Mana techniques. The higher-tiered a player was they would have access to more Mana to control, and as a result, controlling Mana became more difficult as players reached higher Tiers. Just using Lightshadow at Tier 4 had depleted more than half of his Concentration. His consumption rate had been many times higher than when he used the technique at Tier 3... "Since you''re done, Commander Troubled, it''s my turn!" Shi Feng snapped, shifting his gaze to the dazed Berserker a short distance away. Shi Feng hadn''t been loud, but when the Sentinel Shelter''s survivors heard him, their scalps went numb as fear overcame them. Even Troubled Times'' instincts screamed at him to run, and he took an involuntary step back for each step Shi Feng took toward him. This Swordsman was monstrously strong! The man had actually survived a hit from the Demon King''s Hand. Troubled Times couldn''t even imagine what he could do against Shi Feng. Although he knew that Shi Feng was on his last leg after countering the Tier 5 attack, and he could probably kill the Swordsman with a normal attack, he was...afraid. He was even terrified of trying. No one could guarantee that Shi Feng didn''t have another trick up his sleeve. Moreover, Demon players paid a much greater price than human players when they died, especially Demon Viscounts like Troubled Times. The crowd only gasped as they watched. "He can still fight in such a state?" Graceful Monarch''s mind was blown when she sensed Shi Feng''s aura, which was growing stronger, not weaker. Even she was confident that she could easily defeat Shi Feng in his current state, not to mention the Demonized Troubled Times, but when she looked at the Swordsman as he slowly approached Troubled Times, her instincts warned her to flee... "Black Flame, I surrender! But, don''t you dare assume that Sentinel Shelter will just give up! It won''t be long before our shelter takes Shelter One for our own!" Troubled Times growled, mustering some courage. The Berserker then pulled an ancient, silver Magic Scroll from his bag and activated it without hesitation. The Spell immediately rent space before him. Rather than an endless void, however, players saw a burning forest within the tear. They also caught glimpses of a city enveloped in darkness among the burning trees. A Boundary Breaker Scroll? Shi Feng was slightly surprised to see the spatial tear. He had never thought Troubled Times would have such a precious scroll. The Boundary Breaker Scroll was one of God''s Domain''s super-rare Ancient Magic Scrolls. As long as one had a location''s coordinates, they could teleport to that location from anywhere in the game, even from another world or continent. The scroll would even prove effective in frozen space. It was an invaluable tool that players could even use to flee from Tier 5 monsters. Players and powers in the past had even spent 5,000 Gold on a single Boundary Breaker Scroll, and even then, very few players had been willing to sell their scrolls. "Just you wait, Black Flame! The next time we meet, your Shelter One will fall!" Troubled Times promised, sneering at Shi Feng. He then jumped through the spatial tear, vanishing from the Dark Den. Every player from the Extreme Light Shelter and Blue Frost''s team was stunned. None of them had expected Troubled Times to escape after his ruthless rambling! Moreover, he had fled without a second thought! Troubled Times was known for his courage in the Dark Den. If he had the slightest chance of victory, he''d continue to fight to the bitter end, and yet... "Was that really Troubled Times?" "His reaction wasn''t unusual. If I were in his shoes, I would''ve fled from the Guild Leader as well. Not even a Demon King''s Hand could defeat Black Flame. What could Tier 3 players like us possibly do to him?" "Black Flame is amazing! With a Guild Leader like that, Zero Wing will never have to worry about its development." "I wonder if Shelter One''s Zero Wing is still recruiting members? If it is, I''m definitely applying!" After a brief moment of silence, a commotion erupted throughout the Extreme Light Shelter as everyone discussed Troubled Times'' escape. They also expressed their admiration for Shi Feng, and quite a few players, who had been developing in the shelter for some time, began to consider moving their bases to Shelter One and joining Zero Wing. Shi Feng''s presence was even more than enough to deter superpowers from attacking Shelter One. Furthermore, Shi Feng wasn''t Zero Wing''s only monstrously strong player. If they could learn from these monsters, they''d quickly grow stronger. "He still got away in the end?" Blue Frost frowned as he watched the spatial tear disappear. Although he was surprised with how decisively Troubled Times had fled, the man''s actions had been well within reason. Shi Feng''s strength had just been that astonishing. There was nothing surprising about how much Troubled Times feared Shi Feng, going so far as to run, even knowing that Shi Feng had almost no combat power remaining. While almost everyone viewed Troubled Times'' ruthless promise as nothing more than an attempt to salvage his reputation, Blue Frost knew that he hadn''t been joking. The Dark Den offered Demon players an unimaginably advantageous environment, and now that Troubled Times had seen the depths of Zero Wing''s strength, he would be absolutely confident of overcoming the Guild the next time he attacked. Moreover, the fact that the Berserker had used one precious tool after another proved that a great power supported the Sentinel Shelter. If they didn''t deal with this properly, Shelter One would face true danger. "Escape? Do you think you can flee from me so easily?" Shi Feng chuckled as he watched the spatial tear finally close. 2518 Kill No Matter the Distance Chapter 2518 - Kill No Matter the Distance "Have you locked on to him, Fire?" Shi Feng asked, turning toward Fire Dance a short distance away. Players had many ways of escaping to live another day in God''s Domain, and when one wanted to hunt a fleeing player, they could rely on tracking scrolls, Skills, and Spells. Of all of the main classes, the Assassin was the most adept at tracking and taking out targets. Once an Assassin reached Tier 3 and unlocked their Mana Body''s full potential, their tracking abilities would undergo a qualitative transformation. They could use their own Mana to lock on to another player''s Mana signature. Unlike Tracking Scrolls, this method didn''t add any debuffs to the target, making it nearly impossible to detect. Unless the targeted player could remove the Mana the Assassin had left on them, they couldn''t shake off the tracker. "Rest assured, Guild Leader; my Mana is on him. Even if he runs to the edge of the world, I can find him," Fire Dance confirmed, nodding. She had locked on to every Sentinel Shelter member''s Mana signature even before she had killed the Tier 3 Shield Warner. Even if Aqua Rose and Violet Cloud hadn''t taken action, none of the Sentinel Shelter players participating in the fight had had any chance of escaping with their lives. "Guild Leader, do you really intend to chase after Troubled Times? The spatial tear''s destination is a city enveloped in darkness energy. There''s a 90% chance that it is in Demon players'' territory. Those Demon players are extremely biased against other races. Even if you manage to make it there, you''ll have a hard time reaching Troubled Times," Blue Frost hurriedly interrupted, attempting to dissuade Shi Feng from hunting down the Berserker in question. Although Troubled Times still posed a threat to Shelter One, the Sentinel Shelter would need some time to recover from losing so many of its top experts. Meanwhile, Shelter One could use this chance to grow stronger. After today''s battle, Zero Wing''s fame would spread across the Dark Den, after all, and a large number of players would show up to join Shelter One. The shelter wouldn''t have to worry about its development speed. Once they upgraded Shelter One to a Large Shelter, Troubled Times would have a hard time threatening the shelter. "Of course. These players have chosen to be one of Zero Wing''s enemies, and I need to ensure that they know the price for doing so!" Shi Feng resolutely declared. Another time, he might have let the matter slide. But times had changed. As the Dark Den had more contact with the outside world, more superpowers would have designs on the Otherworld. If superpowers wanted to develop in the Dark Den, they''d need a Shelter first, but reaping the Otherworld''s benefits would take ages if they had to construct and grow a Shelter from scratch. Hence, they would try to take over already developed Shelters. Now that the Sentinel Shelter was the first power to target Shelter One, he had to teach them a lesson and use them as an example, showing other powers that Zero Wing was not to be provoked. If he didn''t act now, more powers would target his Shelter in the future. "I understand. I''ll see to the necessary preparations, but now that the various powers are fighting over the Bronze Teleportation Gates, traveling to the main continent is incredibly challenging. I''m afraid that we''ll need some time before we can go after Troubled Times..." Blue Frost said. Blue Frost understood what Shi Feng intended when he heard the man''s reply. It was clear that Shi Feng wanted to make an example of Troubled Times, but traveling between the Dark Den and the main continent wasn''t easy. Thus far, the Bronze Teleportation Gates were the only reliable way to do so, but Shelter One wasn''t a high enough rank to own such a gate. They would have to borrow a Large Shelter''s Bronze Teleportation Gate. Unfortunately, these gates'' available slots were limited, and most had already been distributed. Traveling to the main continent any time soon wouldn''t be a simple task. As soon as Blue Frost finished speaking, however, a crisp, pleasant voice interjected. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you wish to visit the Demon''s city, I can help you with that." A Horned Eagle slowly descended from above, and the pleasant voice had come from none other than Illusory Words. ''You know where it is?" Shi Feng asked, surprise flashing in his eyes. He knew that Demon players'' territories were on the main continent, but they were akin to secret lands. Not only were they incredibly difficult to find, but their locations were also relatively unstable. Because of this, even the various superpowers had struggled to exterminate Demon powers during his previous life. "It would be more precise to say that I came from that city," Illusory Words said, smiling. "If that''s the case, what''s your price?" Shi Feng asked. He doubted that Illusory Words would help him for free. The woman was one of Crimson Emperor''s Vice Guild Leaders, after all, and although their two Guilds weren''t enemies, they weren''t friends, either. "I don''t need payment. Consider it Crimson Emperor''s attempt to befriend Zero Wing," Illusory Words replied with a smile, shaking her head. "Alright. As long as Crimson Emperor doesn''t provoke Zero Wing, Zero Wing will avoid clashing with Crimson Emperor," Shi Feng agreed with a nod. "I''ll have to thank you then, Guild Leader Black Flame. I will report this to my superiors later," Illusory Words said. She breathed a sigh of relief the moment Shi Feng agreed to her proposition. "Before you go there, however, I must warn you. Demon''s Heart, an up-and-coming Dark Guild, rules over that Demon City. The Guild had been developing rapidly in the Ten Saints Empire. It''s almost like it just appeared out of thin air. Even the Super Guild Battle Wolves, has suffered heavy losses against Demon''s Heart. Since Troubled Times has the city''s coordinates, I assume that he has quite a close relationship with the Dark Guild. "That Demon City happens to be Demon''s Heart''s main headquarters. Demons control the entire map, in fact. The demonic residents target and attack any non-Demon player they find. You should avoid exploring too much of the map if you wish to slay Troubled Times." While Illusory Words had explained the situation, Blue Frost, who had initially approved of the hunt, revealed a grim expression. They might not have had an issue if Troubled Times'' relationship with Demon''s Heart had been only on the surface, but it''d be a different story if he were close with the Dark Guild. Even Super Guilds had a headache when it came to Demon''s Heart. If Troubled Times hid within the Dark Guild''s headquarters, trying to hunt him down would be suicidal. "Demon''s Heart? So, that''s why he was so confident." Realization dawned on Shi Feng. Demon''s Heart had been one of the Six Great Dark Guilds in God''s Domain during his past. The entire Guild consisted of Demon players, and although it didn''t have as many players as other superpowers, every member had extraordinary combat power. Ordinary players had had no chance against them. Many Super Guilds had suffered huge losses at the hands of Demon''s Heart back then. The Dark Guild had even slain several Super Guilds'' Guild Leaders. It was practically as powerful as the Five Great Super Guilds. As far as Shi Feng could remember, Demon''s Heart had begun to grow stronger around this time during his previous life, too. "If Troubled Times thinks he can take Zero Wing on just because he''s got a powerful backer, he is sorely mistaken!" When Shi Feng recalled Troubled Times''s bold exit, he sneered. He turned to Illusory Words, asking, "Vice Guild Leader Illusory, how many people can you help me transport to the main continent?" "I don''t have many slots available. May I know how many people you wish to take with you, Guild Leader Black Flame? If I don''t have enough, I can borrow some slots from other Guilds," Illusory Words offered after giving the matter some thought. "A little over 300." 2519 Descending Toward Demon Territory Chapter 2519 - Descending Toward Demon Territory "Over 300?!" Illusory Words could not help but be stunned when she heard how many players Shi Feng planned to take with him. As far as she was concerned, Shi Feng would be lucky to take 20 experts with him. They were talking about infiltrating Demon territory, after all. Not only did powerful monsters wander the map, but there were also many powerful Demons and Demon players in the area. Human players wouldn''t make it to the map without Demon''s Heart''s permission. Even Tier 3 experts would have a hard time surviving in the map. Once a human player was discovered, they''d be persecuted by an endless number of Demon players. Meanwhile, one would have to be stealthy and wait for the opportune moment to strike if they wanted to slay a specific player in the map. Shi Feng, however, wanted to take over 300 players with him on his hunt for Troubled Times. Evading detection in Demon territory would be nearly impossible with such a large group. "Are you not capable of transporting so many people?" Shi Feng asked when he noticed Illusory Words'' astonished expression. Since he was heading back to the main continent, Shi Feng couldn''t leave the Hell Legion stuck in the Dark Den. Moreover, he wanted to make an example of Troubled Times. If he killed the Berserker off in secret, the man''s death wouldn''t become the deterrent he wanted. He needed the kill to have enough fanfare that it would prevent other powers from targeting Shelter One in the future. Although Demon territories were akin to forbidden lands for ordinary expert teams, his was no ordinary team. It was Netherworld Empire''s, one of the Five Great Super Guilds in God''s Domain, strongest trump card legion. The very idea that the Hell Legion couldn''t move throughout Demon territory was a joke. "It''s possible, but I''ll need some time. Would you be willing to wait a while, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Illusory Words asked after snapping out of her daze. "How long will you need?" Shi Feng asked. "I should be able to arrange it within roughly six hours," Illusory Words confidently replied. "Alright. I''ll have to trouble you then, Vice Guild Leader Illusory." Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when Illusory Words said she''d only need six hours or so. Fire Dance had used her Mana to lock onto Troubled Times, but the technique wouldn''t last long. At most, her Mana would remain on her target for two days. After that, her Mana would leave Troubled Times, and hunting him down would be almost impossible. Once Illusory Words and Shi Feng had finished their discussion, the Vice Guild Leader left the Extreme Light Shelter atop her Flying Mount to see to the necessary preparations. Meanwhile, Shi Feng led Blue Frost and the others into the shelter to rest while he waited for Illusory Words to contact him. While they rested in the Extreme Light Shelter, news of Zero Wing''s battle with the Sentinel Shelter spread like wildfire. For a while, all of the Dark Den was in an uproar over the event. No one had ever thought a player could counter a Demon God''s Hand and scare the Sentinel Shelter''s strongest expert, Troubled Times, away. While this news spread, word of Shi Feng''s hunt for Troubled Times shook the Dark Den''s various Shelters. It was a hot topic among countless players in the Otherworld. "What? Zero Wing is going to hunt down Troubled Times?" "How ruthless! But I like it! If Zero Wing succeeds, the Sentinel Shelter is as good as finished!" "That shouldn''t be possible. Troubled Times is no fool. Once he discovers a marker on him, he''ll just wait in the city until it disappears. Zero Wing won''t be able to reach him." "That''s why the Guild is taking over 300 players on the hunt. I bet that Zero Wing won''t hesitate to kill him even in a city. Troubled Times is pitiful. With so many experts going after him at the same time, he has no chance of surviving!" "I don''t think Troubled Times will lose everything. I''m sure he''ll take all of those experts with him to the grave. It really makes you wonder what Zero Wing is thinking by pulling such a crazy stunt." Zero Wing''s generosity equally shocked and confused the Dark Den''s players. They had never thought that Zero Wing was ruthless enough to gamble the lives of 300-plus experts just to take out a defeated general. Even if Zero Wing succeeded, the Guild would suffer massive losses. Lava Valley, Demon City: Several middle-aged men, one of which was none other than Troubled Times, the commander of the Sentinel Shelter''s number one adventurer team, sat around a table in one of Demon City''s high-class bars. "Commander Troubled, the Zero Wing you spoke of is insane. The Guild actually plans to come here just to deal with you!" "It''s just 300-plus experts. If they dare come to this city with so few players, they''ll be wiped out before they even reach the city gates." "I know, right? We''re in Demon territory. Zero Wing''s experts won''t even get past the several large adventurer teams in the surrounding area. Even if they''re lucky enough to make it here, Demon''s Heart controls this city. Even Dragons would have to lay low here." When the middle-aged men around Troubled Times heard this, they all laughed. The Sentinel Shelter was no match for Zero Wing in the Dark Den, but it would be a different story in Demon City. Even if Zero Wing''s 300-plus experts magically appeared in the city, they couldn''t touch Troubled Times. Attacking a player in Demon City meant declaring war against Demon''s Heart! "Right, Elder Heart, when will Vice Guild Leader Light return?" Troubled Times asked a Level 108, Tier 3 Elementalist. "Does he need anything of me?" "The Vice Guild Leader is currently meeting with an important person, so he told us to rest for now. He''s already commissioned the city''s large adventurer teams to deal with the Zero Wing issue; rest assured. I doubt you''ll even get to see Zero Wing''s experts by the time this has been settled," the Elementalist named Furious Heart replied, smiling. "The city''s large adventurer teams are getting involved?" The news allowed Troubled Times to breathe a sigh of relief. Demon City''s large adventurer teams wouldn''t be able to harm Shi Feng in the outside world. At best, they might take out Zero Wing''s other experts, but in Demon territory, non-Demon players were severely suppressed. They wouldn''t be able to use their Berserk Skills. In other words, the terrifying Berserk Skill Shi Feng had used in the Dark Den wouldn''t be available to him. Shi Feng would have to face a large number of Demon players and a few that had Basic Attributes on par with or greater than Troubled Times''. While Troubled Times chatted with Demon''s Heart''s Elders, a five-meter-tall, Space-time Gate appeared in a volcanic region within the Lava Valley''s outer area. Numerous figures burst forth from the gate, and leading the group was none other than Shi Feng. I''m finally back. Shi Feng gave a rueful sigh when he felt the familiar Mana around him. "Sure enough, one can only fully exhibit their full strength in a familiar environment." He couldn''t help but feel a little uncomfortable both on the Mana-deficient western continent and in the Mana-rich Dark Den. The instant he returned to his own continent, however, he felt his Mana affinity improve. "Everyone''s through, Guild Leader. What should we do next?" Blue Frost asked Shi Feng. He felt a little nervous around the Hell Legion''s members, who had concealed their appearances under Black Cloaks. "Good! Since everyone''s here, it''s time we pay Demon City a visit!" Shi Feng declared with a grin. He then had Fire Dance lead the way toward Troubled Times. 2520 A Group of Monsters Chapter 2520 - A Group of Monsters The moment Shi Feng gave the command, the Hell Legion began to move into formation. Once everyone was ready, they boldly marched toward the nearby forest. Illusory Words and her teammates, who had just emerged from the Space-time Gate, were stunned at the sight. "What do you think is going through Black Flame''s mind, Vice Guild Leader?" a Tier 3 male Assassin from Crimson Emperor asked when he saw that the Hell Legion had no intention of hiding their movements. "The Burning Forest is a main area for Demon players, and he decided to go straight through it, rather than around. At this rate, it won''t be long before Demon players discover his team, and without an invitation from Demon City, every Demon player they come across will attack..." The Burning Forest served as a natural barrier around Demon City. Not only were all of the forest''s monsters above Level 100, but almost every Level 100-plus Demon player in Lava Valley grinded in the Burning Forest. Demon players had incredible innate perception. They often noticed normal players long before normal players noticed them. In addition, Demon players could earn Demon Reputation to increase their Demon rank by slaying non- Demon players of equal or higher levels. This was why Demon players were so eager to target non-Demon players. Moreover, non-Demon players were invaders when in Demon territories, and Demon players would gain far greater rewards for killing them. Even the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers didn''t dare set foot in the Lava Valley''s Burning Forest without a proper invitation. Demon players would avoid conflict with guests of Demon City. Attacking one of the city''s guests was akin to declaring war against the city''s various powers. Doing that would be disastrous for any Demon player developing in Demon City. Of course, Shi Feng and his team hadn''t received an invitation, and by marching into the forest, they were offering themselves up on a silver platter. It''d be a miracle if they even left the Burning Forest alive, not to mention reach Demon City. In general, over 100,000 players operated in Level 100 maps, and the Burning Forest was the only Level 100 map near Demon City. Far more players would be grinding in the area than in other Level 100 maps. "I don''t know what he''s thinking, but I know that the players with him are extraordinarily strong. They may have hidden their statistics and auras with Black Cloaks, but I can feel that they''re all bona fide Tier 3 players," Illusory Words said, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes as she watched the Hell Legion march into the forest. In total, Shi Feng''s group had over 300 Tier 3 experts. Not even Crimson Emperor had so many at this stage of the game. "Zero Wing has that many Tier 3 experts?" The male Assassin''s jaw dropped. Only Super Guilds had such a large number of Tier 3 experts at this point. How could Zero Wing, a Guild that had only established itself in God''s Domain and had no backing whatsoever, have as many Tier 3 experts as a Super Guild? While Illusory Words and the male Assassin shared their shock over the number of Tier 3 experts Zero Wing had just sent into the Burning Forest, a young man in white robes and surrounded by the Power of Darkness stepped through the Space-time Gate, sneering when he overheard the two players'' conversation. "The fact that Zero Wing has over 300 Tier 3 experts is indeed surprising. Unfortunately, that force isn''t nearly enough to get through the Burning Forest," the young man said, realizing that Shi Feng''s group had already disappeared into the woods. "This is just a repeat of Battle Wolves''s attempt to invade Demon City. Not only had Battle Wolves dispatched over 300 Tier 3 experts, but it had also sent an army of over 100,000 Tier 2 experts. In the end, Battle Wolves''s army had been annihilated before it had reached the city. "I''ve also heard that Demon''s Heart has hired the city''s large adventurer teams to stop Zero Wing''s force. Those adventurer teams don''t have a lot of members, but every one of them is strong enough to deter superpowers. If they work together, Zero Wing won''t stand a chance." Neither the male Assassin nor Illusory Words tried to argue with the white-clad youth. He had only spoken the truth. In fact, the boy''s evaluation of Demon City''s large adventurer teams was a little humble. Battle Wolves'' army had suffered tremendous losses against those large adventurer teams, and they had undoubtedly grown stronger since slaughtering the Guild''s members. As the white-clad youth and Illusory Words quietly discussed the situation, a party of Demon players had discovered Shi Feng''s team. "Why have so many human players come to the Burning Forest?" "Are they the bounty targets Demon''s Heart announced? And here I thought Demon''s Heart was joking. I hadn''t actually thought that these human players would dare enter our territory." "Quick! Send word to the large adventurer teams! If we take too long to report this, someone else will and claim the reward!" The Demon party''s members were ecstatic over discovering Shi Feng''s group. They immediately reported their discovery to the large adventurer teams within the forest. Just as they were about to contact one of the adventurer teams, however, over a hundred figures descended from above, landing a short distance from Shi Feng''s team. They all wore jet-black plate armor and wielded standard weapons. They also radiated dense Power of Darkness and emitted an intense pressure that even deterred Tier 3 experts from approaching. "Crap! How is our luck so bad?! I didn''t know there was a Demon patrol squad nearby! I guess we won''t get credit for the discovery, after all..." When the Demon party members saw the figures in black, they could not help but shake their heads and sigh dejectedly. The Burning Forest was Demon territory, and Demon squads patrolled the area. Every one of these squads consisted of up to 3 Tier 4 Great Demons and 100 Tier 3 Advanced Demons. They also maintained a 10-level gap above Demon City''s mainstream players. They weren''t a force players should take lightly. These Demon patrol squads were a large part of the reason that the Battle Wolves'' crusade on Demon City had failed before it had even reached the city gates. Now that one of these squads had discovered Shi Feng''s team, annihilation was almost certain. Furthermore, these Demons had wings and were capable of flight. Even if Shi Feng''s group could fly, they wouldn''t escape. The watching Demon players expected Shi Feng''s group to turn and flee, but they didn''t. Rather, they took the initiative to charge at the Demon patrol squad as if they had just found their prey. The Guardian Knight leading the charge bashed his shield into one of the Level 115, Tier 4 Great Demons, which subsequently lost its balance and stumbled half a step back. That Guardian Knight''s Strength was unbelievable! A three-meter-tall man and his emaciated companion proceeded to pin down the other two Tier 4 Great Demons. The Tier 3 Advanced Demons wanted to help, but other members of Shi Feng''s team got in their way. Shi Feng''s team suppressed the Demon patrol squad, which normally had an overwhelming advantage over players. The Demons struggled against the players attacking them, unable to cooperate while their HPs visibly plummeted. In less than 30 minutes, the entire Demon patrol squad had been eliminated. Not a single Demon had escaped with its life 2521 Turmoil in the Burning Fores Chapter 2521 - Turmoil in the Burning Forest As they watched the Demon patrol squad become nothing more than EXP for Shi Feng''s team, the Demon players gaped in shock. "Who are those people?" The spectating Demon players in the distance were both shocked and curious as they watched Shi Feng''s team. The Demon patrol squads formed a solid defensive barrier that prevented intruders from reaching Demon City. They were akin to NPC cities'' soldiers. Not only did they have an arsenal of powerful Skills and Spells, but they could also fight as a team. They were nothing like ordinary Demon players. However, these Demons were little more than ordinary monsters before Shi Feng... "Are we still going to wait for the adventurer teams, leader?" a Level 105, Tier 2 Ranger asked, turning toward the Tier 3 Assassin that led their party. Not even Demon City''s large adventurer teams would have an easy time against a team that could annihilate a Demon patrol squad so effortlessly. Otherwise, those adventurer teams wouldn''t share much of their spoils with an ordinary party. Moreover, they''d have to risk their lives to keep an eye on Shi Feng''s team until the adventurer teams arrived. They were Demon players and had far sharper senses than human players, but there was no guarantee that they wouldn''t be discovered. On the off chance that Shi Feng''s team noticed them, the consequences would be dire. The risk simply wasn''t worth the reward. "Of course! Demon''s Heart is offering extraordinary rewards. Even if we help kill one player and earn only 10% of the rewards, we''ll still get a Demon Crystal. Once we have 120 Demon Crystals, we can challenge a noble in the city. It would take ages to collect that many if we just try to grind for them ourselves," the Tier 3 Assassin said. "We will have to be careful and maintain some distance from those players, of course. We don''t need to follow them closely; we can just follow their tracks." Silently, the rest of the party nodded in agreement. They all thought that their party leader''s plan was viable. With their superior senses, they could avoid detection, even if Shi Feng''s team were powerful, as long as they kept their distance. As soon as the Tier 3 Assassin finished speaking, however, the cold blade of a dagger burst through his chest. A critical damage of over -900,000 then appeared above his head. Before the Tier 3 Assassin could speak, a snowy-white blade slit his throat, devouring the last of his HP. "Leader?!" The party''s remaining five Tier 2 members were flabbergasted. What had just happened? A second ago, their party leader had been alive and kicking, and in the next, he was dead... Their party leader was a Tier 3 Assassin, and even in Demon City, he was quite the famous expert, yet he had just died so suddenly. As their leader dropped to the ground. "An Assassin?" "Crap! We''ve been discovered!" "Run!" By the time the five Demon players reacted, the alluring woman vanished like a ghost. She reappeared before the five Demon players, and a streak of snowy-white light immediately swiped at them. A series of damages exceeding one million appeared above each Demon player''s head, robbing them of all of their HPs... "How foolish! You radiate so much Mana that you''re practically walking lanterns in the dark! You dare follow us with such skills?" Fire Dance shook her head disdainfully at the Demon players'' confused looks. She thought they had severely underestimated her. What Fire Dance didn''t know is that in this era, when Tier 3 players were still extremely rare, everyone busily researched how they could best use their Tier 3 Skills and Spells. No one had time to spare on improving their Mana control. "Guild Leader, I''ve taken care of the nearby Demon players," Fire Dance reported to Shi Feng after ensuring that she didn''t detect any hostile players'' Mana signatures nearby. "Good. Continue patrolling the area. If you run into too many Demon players, call the Hell Legion''s Assassins for help," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then returned his gaze toward the loot the Demon patrol squad had dropped. He hadn''t expected the squads to drop anything good. They were on par with NPC cities'' soldiers, after all. NPC soldiers didn''t drop anything noteworthy even when players killed them. Contrary to his expectations, however, the Demons had dropped considerably valuable loot. The weapons and equipment were sub-par, all Level 110-plus standard Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment, but the Demons had dropped Dark Magic Gold. Dark Magic Gold was an exceptionally rare Epic material. Not only could one use it to increase their success rate when crafting weapons and equipment, but there was also a chance of imbuing the resulting items with Power of Darkness. It was a material all Master Forgers sought. He had obtained 14 ingots of Dark Magic Gold after slaying one Demon patrol squad. If the Master Forgers of his previous life found out about this, they''d likely hunt the Burning Forest''s patrol squads into extinction... However, the Hell Legion''s members were even more ecstatic than Shi Feng. The Demons they had killed had awarded an abundance of EXP, and during the battle, they had gained a lot of insight into Mana control. Although the Demon''s Mana control couldn''t compare to actual NPCs, it was far better than dumb monsters. They usually only fought dumb monsters; they had almost no chances of battling NPCs. Why wouldn''t they be excited to pit their skills against Demons that were as intelligent as true NPCs? Initially, the Hell Legion hadn''t been particularly eager to attack Demon City, but this discovery had lit an enthusiastic fire in their hearts. While exploring the Burning Forest, the Hell Legion made no attempts to avoid Demon patrol squads. Instead, they actively started to search for them... Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Burning Forest, a 1,000-man team assaulted a monster nest under the protection of a Level 110 Mythic Boss. Although the team only had 1,000 players, over 80 of them had already reached Tier 3. Not even first-rate Guilds could field such a team at this stage of the game. The several players leading the team easily suppressed the Mythic Boss, allowing the rest of the team to deal with the Great Lords and Grand Lords. "Excellent! The monsters that ran ahead have been taken care of! All Tier 3s, attack the Boss!" a valiant, Level 108 man in black robes and wielding a golden staff shouted as he fought the Mythic Boss. The 80-plus Tier 3 experts suddenly turned away from their targets, shifting their attention to the nest''s Boss. In less than six minutes, the Mythic Boss, which nearly everyone feared at this stage of the game, collapsed, dropping a pile of loot around its corpse. Although the independent teams watching from afar were tempted by the large number of items the Mythic Boss had dropped, none of them dared to steal the loot. The adventurer team raiding the monster nest was one of Demon City''s large adventurer teams. The small organization was only inferior to the city''s two Guilds. Anyone that tried to steal from that adventurer team shouldn''t dream of surviving in Demon City for long. "Commander, Black Blindman just sent a message stating that his party has discovered Demon''s Heart''s targets," a Level 107, Tier 3 Assassin quietly reported to the valiant man leading the team. "They''re already here?" The valiant man grinned. "Notify everyone. We''ll head that way immediately. Black Blindman is a cunning bastard. There''s no way he stopped after notifying our team. If we take too long, there won''t be anything left." "Black Blindman also warned that these players are incredibly strong. They actually had the upper-hand over a Demon patrol squad," the Tier 3 Assassin said. They overpowered a patrol squad? I suppose they must be powerful. It''s no wonder why Demon''s Heart has offered such an excellent bounty," the valiant man said, nodding. "Where are the targets now?" He was very familiar with the Demon patrol squads'' strength. No ordinary 100-man Tier 3 team could take them on. "I don''t know..." the Tier 3 Assassin awkwardly replied. "Didn''t Black Blindman follow them?" the valiant man asked curiously. He was also very familiar with the player known as Black Blindman. Not only was the man powerful individually, but he was also one of the top-ranked Assassins in Demon City. There was no way Black Blindman would forego an opportunity like this. "He''s...dead." 2522 Great Disturbance Chapter 2522 - Great Disturbance "Blindman''s dead?" The valiant man, Regretful Wind, was astonished by the report. "Someone actually noticed him and killed him, with his cautious nature and tracking skills?" Black Blindman was a relatively well-known Assassin in Demon City, and his sharp senses were particularly outstanding. When Demon City''s large adventurer teams, including Windtooth, targeted a specific player, they often hired Black Blindman to track the player down. Regretful Wind had never heard of Black Blindman running into issues when tracking a target. "Mhm. According to Blindman''s teammates, his grinding party had been annihilated without any time to fight back. In a fit of rage, Blindman logged off and contacted his close friends to notify everyone in the city. He wants Demon City''s players to ambush the people who killed him," the Tier 3 Assassin said, nodding. "Unfortunately, his message is over ten minutes old, and we don''t have any new details about the invader''s whereabouts." "Since those players can defeat a Demon patrol Squad, they must be fairly strong. I guess it isn''t surprising to hear that they''ve killed Blindman, but we have to hurry. Now that Blindman has informed the public of the situation, many of the citys players will prepare for battle," Regretful Wind said, frowning. He wouldn''t have much of an issue if Black Blindman had simply informed the city''s large adventurer teams. Only a small fraction of Demon City''s player population consisted of large adventurer team members. Even if the adventurer teams mobilized all of their members, locating the intruders in the Burning Forest wouldn''t be easy. If everyone in the city knew about them, however, locating the intruders would be a piece of cake, and the Windtooth adventurer team would have a lot more competition. Demon''s Heart had offered an extraordinary bounty for these players'' heads, with each intruder worth 10 Demon Crystals. Players could slay the monsters in Demon territory for Demon Crystals, but the drop-rate was incredibly low. Players could only increase their chances by hunting powerful monsters. Even the city''s various large adventurer teams would be lucky to collect 10 or 20 Demon Crystals per day. Once players collected 20 Demon Crystals, they could apply for the challenge to earn a noble rank in the city. If they completed the challenge, they''d become one of Demon City''s nobles and gain a significant boost to their strength. Even those with noble Demon ranks had to acquire Demon Crystals to elevate their strength and position, although they would need even more Demon Crystals to do so. With the opportunity to earn 10 Demon Crystals per player killed before them, none of Demon City''s residents would simply stand by and watch. "Rest assured, Commander. I''ve already instructed our team to search the Burning Forest. It won''t be long before we find the invaders. While I was grinding earlier, I also found a Secret-Silver Treasure chest and obtained an Exotic Perception Potion. The potion can improve a player''s senses and tracking abilities for six hours. Normally, players'' tracks fade after an hour, but with this potion, I can even follow four-hour-old tracks. If we make our way to Blindman''s last known location, we should easily be able to locate these players," the Tier 3 Assassin said, smiling. "Even with the rest of Demon City''s players after then, ordinary teams will be helpless against players this strong. We have more than enough time to claim the bounty." "Good! We''ll set off immediately! Once we locate our targets, you''ll receive 10% of the bounty for your contributions! Also, instruct our brothers and sisters in the city to bring the trump cards we''ve kept hidden!" Regretful Wind declared. "Aren''t you giving these newcomers a little too much credit, Commander? We''ve already stopped the Battle Wolves'' invasion. How strong could a bunch of nobodies from the Dark Den possibly be?" the Tier 3 Assassin asked disdainfully. The Dark Den was merely a small Otherworld, with a pitifully low number of players. The otherworld''s total player population didn''t even come close to half of the players in an ordinary kingdom. The only advantages the Dark Den had were its impressive leveling environment and abundance of Skill and Spell books. There was no way such a small world could produce experts as powerful as those in Demon City. "I know, but each of them is worth 10 Demon Crystals. Letting a single player escape would be a waste, and I doubt that Demon''s Heart will be so generous in the future," Regretful Wind said. Regretful Wind had never once been wary of the invaders. Battle Wolves had tried to invade Demon City with over 100,000 experts, yet the Super Guild''s army had been obliterated before it had even reached the city. If not even Battle Wolves could make it through the Burning Forest, what could a few hundred invaders accomplish? What Regretful Wind truly minded was the Demon Crystals Demon''s Heart had offered. "I understand. I''ll notify our members in the city right away." The Tier 3 Assassin then did as he promised. Meanwhile, a great disturbance had rocked Demon City. "This is our chance to get rich! Ten Demon Crystals per person! We won''t let anyone get in our adventurer team''s way!'' "The intruders have already appeared in the Burning Forest''s outer region? Inform out nearby members immediately! We must find them before other teams do!" Invader hunting team recruiting! Anyone who wants to earn Demon Crystals should apply quickly!" As Black Blindman''s friends spread the word, everyone in Demon City was in a frenzy. Over 100,000 players rushed toward the Burning Forest like a bunch of madmen. When Troubled Times, who rested in one of the city''s high-class bars, heard the news, his expression turned gloomy. He hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would actually come here. "There''s no need to worry, Commander Troubled. Now that this matter has caused such a commotion, the large adventurer teams we''ve hired won''t be the only ones on the hunt. Medium adventurer teams are also on the move. Even if every Super Guild in the Ten Saints Empire worked together, they''d never get past so many experts," a man in silver armor tried to reassure Troubled Times when he saw the man''s concern. "That''s right. Even if Zero Wing somehow manages to make it to Demon City, Demon''s Heart is still waiting for them. We stand by your side. Zero Wing''s efforts will be for naught," Furious Heart said. He thought that Troubled Times was worried for nothing. You shouldn''t underestimate Black Flame," Troubled Times said. "Of course, if everyone here tries to stop him, I doubt he''ll accomplish anything." Troubled Times had seen the strength of Demon''s Heart''s Elders personally. They were all true monsters, particularly Furious Heart. The man was only half a step away from becoming a Count in Demon City and was far stronger than Troubled Times, who had only recently become a Demon Viscount. Furthermore, Demon players who had the Viscount rank or higher received a strength boost while inside Demon City. While Demon City''s players discussed Shi Feng and his invading team, several thousand Windtooth members arrived in the Burning Forest''s outer region. "Commander, I''ve found traces of their battle, and the tracks are still fresh. They should be nearby," the masked, Tier 3 Assassin excitedly reported as he examined the lingering traces Shi Feng''s team had left behind. "Good! Proceed according to plan, everyone!" Regretful Wind commanded, instructing his team to prepare for battle. These players began to follow the Tier 3 Assassin''s lead while suppressing their auras to the best of their ability to avoid detection. As they followed Shi Feng''s tracks, they encountered Demon patrol squad corpses. One hundred... Two hundred... Three hundred... By the time Windtooth''s members had crossed 3,000 yards, they had found more than 1,000 Demon corpses, and the freshest had been from a patrol squad with over 200 Demons... 2523 Run Chapter 2523 - Run "Why are there so many fallen Demon patrol squads?" "What happened here?" "Did those people kill all of these patrol squads?" Windtooth''s members were curious and afraid when they saw so many Demon corpses strewn around them. The Demon patrol squads served as a barrier between intruders and Demon City, with 10,000 Demons patrolling the Burning Forest. Thus far, however, the adventurer team had found more than 1,000 Demon corpses. This was one-tenth of the Burning Forest''s defenses... "Commander, there''s something you need to see!" the masked, Tier 3 Assassin, who had scouted ahead, reported in the team chat. All of the team members put up their guard the moment they heard the Assassin. Meanwhile, Regretful Wind hurried to the Assassin''s side. Finding his comrade, Regretful Wind arrived before a forested area laden with player corpses. To his surprise, however, there was no sign of battle. Some of the weapons and equipment the players had dropped hadn''t been touched, and after a quick glance around, Regretful Wind counted more than 200 bodies. Based on how the organized the corpses lay, it looked as if death had befallen them as the group marched through the forest. It was almost as if the battle had ended as abruptly as it had begun, and none of these players had had a chance to react to the attack... While scanning the dead, Regretful Wind quickly noticed the familiar faces of several Tier 3 experts. He clearly wasn''t pleased about it, either. "How was Misty Ghost''s main force annihilated?" Regretful Wind stared at the fallen team in confusion. "What happened here?" Misty Ghost was a relatively famous medium-scale adventurer team based in Demon City. Although the adventurer team had fewer than 2,000 members, it had over 30 Tier 3 experts, including one Demon Viscount and 10 Demon Barons. Even Windtooth would struggle to defeat Misty Ghost. And yet, Misty Ghost''s main force had died here. They hadn''t even had a chance to fight back. It was unbelievable. "I don''t see Misty Ghost''s commander, Seven Constellations, among the corpses, Commander," the Tier 3 Assassin reported after carefully examining the bodies. "He''s not here?" Regretful Wind took a closer look at the slain players, as well, and just as the masked Assassin had said, Seven Constellations wasn''t present. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. Seven Constellations was Misty Ghost''s sole Demon Viscount and one of the top 10 Assassins in the Demon City. Even Regretful Wind would have a hard time defeating the man. If Seven Constellations had died as suddenly as his team, Regretful Wind''s prey would be far stronger than he has surmised. "I have found traces of a battle. It''s possible that he and his surviving teammates were involved," the masked Assassin said as he looked toward the towering trees some distance away. The trees were large enough that it would take several people to wrap their arms around the trunks, but they had been sliced cleanly through. Moreover, lingering life auras clung to the trees. "The fight wasn''t that long ago. Misty Ghost''s members must''ve encountered the invaders. They might still be fighting as we speak," Regretful Wind guessed, staring at the bisected trees. "Notify the team! We''re going after them, and we won''t bother hiding our presence!" "Understood!" The masked Assassin nodded before contacting the team. Windtooth''s several thousand members charged past the cut trees, and they made no attempt to hide. It wasn''t long before they encountered another group boldly marching through the forest. The group had more than 4,000 players, and Windtooth''s members tensed when they saw them. "I see you''ve picked up the scent, as well, Old Wind," the savage woman carrying two dark-blue axes and leading the group said, smiling at Regretful Wind. This is interesting. Now, all of Demon City''s top three adventurer teams are here. I suppose this is only the second time since the fight with Battle Wolves," a dignified, debonair man carrying an ancient bow spoke up. When they heard the two leaders, Windtooth''s members released a held breath. These two were the commanders from Crimson Sand and Eternal Night, two of Demon City''s top adventurer teams. They were also Regretful Wind''s old acquaintances. "Indeed. The last time we worked together, we helped Demon''s Heart secure more territory," Regretful Wind said. Smiling, he continued, "Well? How are we going to split the profits this time?" Regretful Wind was very familiar with the two players before him. Since they had found each other in the forest, Windtooth had lost its chance to monopolize the bounty rewards. But the encounter also eased the pressure on Regretful Wind''s adventurer team. No force that could instantly wipe out Misty Ghost''s main force should be underestimated. Even Windtooth would suffer tremendous losses if it tried to take on such a force alone. If his adventurer team worked with Crimson Sand and Eternal Night, however, the three teams could minimize their losses and maximize their profits. "There''s not much to consider. We''ll split them evenly. I''m sure you find this acceptable, correct?" Helpless Smile, the bow-carrying man who commanded Eternal Night, said. Flame Feather, Crimson Sand''s commander, nodded in agreement. "Deal. That way, we won''t have to compete for contribution and can divide the work," Regretful Wind replied without hesitation. If their three adventurer teams tried to outdo each other, the fight would descend into chaos. Doing so would only weaken their teams. The gains weren''t worth the losses. Rather, they''d all be better off cooperating, maximizing their combat power. None of the three teams even considered that they might be ripped off by another. Each of the teams was on par with the others, and they all had around 3 or 4 Demon Viscounts and 30 Demon Barons. They each also had around 70 or 80 Tier 3 experts. "Good. That settles it. When we find the rumored monster, I''ll hold him back. Old Wind and Smile, back me up from the sides," Flame Feather said. Regretful Wind was the third-ranked Elementalist in Demon City, and one of the publicly acknowledged top 10 experts in the city. Although Helpless Smile wasn''t quite as powerful, he still ranked among the top 15 experts in Demon City. In a support role, he was one of the five best players in the city. "No problem." Neither Regretful Wind nor Helpless Smile objected to Flame Feather''s plan. She was the strongest melee player among their adventurer teams, after all. Flame Feather was also the only 3-star Viscount in any of their teams, only one step away from becoming a Count. Shortly after the three commanders came to an arrangement, they heard the sound of battle from the nearby forest. All three teams immediately charged toward the sound. After crossing about 500 yards, a loud explosion rocked the forest. Boom! A figure suddenly shot past the three adventurer teams like a cannonball, crashing into a large tree roughly 100 yards away from Regretful Wind. The tree shattered instantly, falling, while the figure slid down its trunk to the ground. To everyone''s surprise, this figure radiated an even stronger aura than a Grand Lord of the same level. Even so, the figure rapidly lost HP. "Seven Constellations?!" Regretful Wind paled when he recognized the player. Flame Feather and Helpless Smile looked at the player with somber expressions, as well. They were all familiar with Seven Constellations and the strength he wielded. Demon City didn''t have many Viscounts, and as such, they all, more or less, knew each other. Despite his noble Demon rank, however, Seven Constellations had just been defeated. The man hadn''t even had a chance to flee. They could only imagine how strong his opponent was. "Mon...ster... Run...quickly..." Seven Constellations hissed between clenched teeth when he saw the nearby adventurer teams. Before he could finish his warning, however, his HP dropped to zero, and his body went as limp as a puppet with its strings cut... 2524 She is the Monster? Chapter 2524 - She is the Monster? The three adventurer teams'' members were senseless when Seven Constellations died. "A monster, huh?" Regretful Wind frowned, contemplating Seven Constellations'' dying words. Demon Viscounts stood at the apex of Demon City, and Seven Constellations was an Assassin, a class that boasted its survivability. And yet, he had just died. Moreover, Seven Constellations had warned their three adventurer teams away. It was clear that in his mind, these three teams were no match for the monster he had just faced, even if they worked together. Although that was only the Assassin''s opinion, his words should be credible. If Seven Constellations focused on getting away, not even the top-ranked experts in Demon City could stop him. But he had still fallen... "It seems our opponent isn''t as simple as we thought. What do you guys think?" Regretful Wind asked the other two commanders. If they fought an opponent that even Seven Constellations feared, the outcome wouldn''t be as pleasant as they hoped. "It''s no wonder why Demon''s Heart has offered such a gracious bounty," Helpless Smile replied, staring at the Assassin''s corpse. "But this isn''t the first time we''ve faced monstrous experts. Besides, if we flee, we''ll become laughingstocks in Demon City by tomorrow." Although Helpless Smile felt the weight of Seven Constellations'' warning, it wasn''t enough to order a retreat. "Even if these intruders are powerful, there''s no guarantee that we can''t defeat them," Flame Feather agreed with a nod. Fighting spirit burned in her eyes as she launched into another charge. "Don''t forget; we have the home-ground advantage. Our opponent may be a monster, but we''ll still make him suffer!" Monster-like experts were something to be feared. Ordinary Tier 3 experts had no hope against such players. However, their adventurer teams had fought monster-like experts before, particularly during the fight with Battle Wolves. Yet, these monstrous experts hadn''t been powerful enough to save the Guild from its miserable defeat in the Burning Forest. Furthermore, their adventurer teams had grown stronger since them. She was confident that they could hold their ground against monster-like experts and that they still had a chance at victory. The members of all three adventurer teams nodded in agreement with Flame Feather''s sentiment. Achieving victory might be difficult if their teams fought alone, but they had all agreed to work together. Not even the Ten Saints Empire''s superpowers would dare to take on their combined force, much less a measly team of 300-plus. It wasn''t long after she finished speaking, however, that everyone noticed a lithe figure beside Seven Constellations'' corpse. The figure silently looted the Assassin''s body as if she didn''t have a care in the world. "What amazing concealment techniques!" Surprise flashed in Regretful Wind''s eyes when he saw the woman who had abruptly appeared. As Demon players, their perception of non-Demon races'' life signatures was incredibly powerful. Even an Assassin in Stealth would have a hard time hiding from Demon players, especially with less than 100 yards between them. However, they couldn''t seem to detect a trace of the female Assassin''s presence. The woman''s mastery of concealment arts was unrivaled, even in Demon City. "Is she the monster Seven Constellations warned us about?" Helpless Smile''s expression tensed as he watched the alluring woman a short distance away. If he encountered the Assassin normally, she''d kill him nine out of ten times. He finally realized, more or less, why Seven Constellations had failed to escape. "Interesting! I''m going to fight her!" Flame Feather declared, her fighting spirit reaching its peak. She then activated Demonification and charged at the female Assassin, wielding her axes. As the only 3-star Demon Viscount, activating her Demonification would not only strengthen her physique by a large margin, but her Basic Attributes would also undergo a qualitative transformation. In her Demon form, every action she took could transform the terrain around her. With just her Tier 2 Demon Charge, Flame Feather had bathed her surroundings in a sea of fire and shook space itself. "Another ambush?" Sensing Flame Feather charging toward her, Fire Dance stored the dagger she had just picked up from Seven Constellations'' corpse and unsheathed the short sword hanging at her waist. "In that case, I''ll bury you alongside them!" Fire Dance then swung Thousand Transformations through the empty air before her. Tier 3 Skill, Triple Flash! Three streaks of black light shot toward Flame Feather, one after another and as fast as lightning. However, Flame Feather''s enhanced physique allowed her to brandish her axes during her charge in turn. Tier 3 Skill, Demon Storm! Boom... Boom... Boom... A series of explosions echoed throughout the forest, and the powerful shockwaves knocked down trees while stirring dirt and debris into the air. Among the chaos, Flame Feather stumbled three steps back as a damage of over -50,000 appeared above her head. The difference between the two women''s strengths was clear. "What?! Flame Feather was pushed back even in her Demon form?!" The scene astonished Helpless Smile. He was perfectly aware of how powerful Flame Feather became after activating Demonification. She was undoubtedly the strongest player among three adventurer teams. In her Demon form, Flame Feather''s Tier 3 Skills were nearly as powerful as Tier 4 attacks, yet she had just lost a competition of strength against this human Assassin. "Amazing! It''s no wonder why Seven Constellations called you a monster and assumed that we''re no match for you," Flame Feather said, the flame of passion in her eyes burning even brighter than before. She launched into another charge, continuing, "If I were alone, I wouldn''t be a match for you, but in this forest, I''m not your only opponent." Regretful Wind finished activating his Demonification as Flame Feather finished her statement, and he began to chant an incantation. When he completed it, he slammed the butt of his staff on the ground, and a golden, twofold magic array appeared under his feet. Tier 3 Spell, Earthen Roar! Suddenly, the earth beneath Fire Dance''s feet burst, exploding with countless streaks of light. Meanwhile, Helpless Smile didn''t waste time. After activating Demonification, he pulled the string of his ancient bow and launched six arrows into the sky, which formed a six-pointed star above the Assassin. Tier 3 Skill, Demon Thorns! As the star-shaped magic array took form, pitch-black magic arrows descended, each with the power of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. Under Helpless Smile''s control, a total of 18 magic arrows fell, diverting Fire Dance''s attention away from Flame Feather. The nearby adventurer team members gaped, impressed by their commanders'' coordination. They had never guessed that those three would be so strong when they worked together! How was this still a battle between players? It was basically a fight between monsters. Not even Battle Wolves'' monster-level experts could stop their three commanders when they cooperated. With attacks coming in from all directions, Fire Dance was forced to activate a Lifesaving Skill. She immediately used Shadow Steps to appear behind Flame Feather, evading the countless streaks of light. She dodged most of the 18 magic arrows, relying on Wind Steps'' brief invulnerability to block 5 unavoidable shots. She then tried to block the two incoming axes with Thousand Transformations. Boom! Fire Dance didn''t have time to use a Skill to block the axes, filled with Power of Darkness, in time, and as her short sword collided with Flame Feather''s weapons, she was sent flying, losing 70,000 HP in the process. She didn''t even have 1 million total HP, and the strike claimed a visible chunk. "All hail the commanders!" "So what if she''s a monster? She''s still at a disadvantage against our commanders!" The adventurer team members were ecstatic and overcome with pride to see one of their commanders dominate this monstrous Assassin. The various superpowers'' monster-level experts were a nightmare for adventurer teams like theirs. Although their teams had defeated Battle Wolves'' monstrous players, that had only been possible because of Demon''s Heart''s help. To be precise, their three adventurer teams had merely played a support role. However, their teams now had the strength to deal with monster-level experts, too. "Now that she''s alone, we can''t let her escape!" Flame Feather shouted to Regretful Wind and Helpless Smile. Fire Dance was clearly the invader''s cornerstone, and since she was alone, this was the perfect chance to take her out. If they could not defeat her, and she regrouped with her allies, dealing with her would prove far more challenging. "Relax. I''ve already had people set up a Spatial Barrier. She might be an Assassin, but she won''t get away that easily!" Regretful Wind replied, grinning. After witnessing the initial clash between Flame Feather and Fire Dance, Regretful Wind realized the importance of this battle. Hence, he had instructed his subordinates to set up a magic barrier before he had even joined the fight. He wanted to ensure that they could flee if they were no match for the Assassin, and if they were, that they''d have an easier time taking her down. Although they now had the upper hand, killing a monster like Fire Dance wouldn''t be easy, but with the magic barrier up, they could buy enough time to complete the task. Even as Regretful Words finished his statement, a gigantic barrier rose around the battlefield, covering a 200-yard radius. Eighty-eight magical class players powered the array, and not even a Tier 4 Mythic monster would find it easy to break out of. "Good! Now, she''s dead!" Flame Feather sighed with relief as the barrier took effect. A second after the magic barrier completed, however, an arc of blue lightning struck from a distance. Boom! Everyone heard the sound of glass shattering as the sturdy barrier disintegrated into particles of light... As the adventurer teams'' members looked around in confusion, a deep voice reached them from the distant forest. "It seems you''ve taken good care of my companion, but since you''re looking for a fight, let me join in!" 2525 True Monster Chapter 2525 - True Monster When the three adventurer teams heard the deep voice, their expressions betrayed their apprehension. The three commanders were particularly tense as they continued their fight against Fire Dance. "There''s more than one monster?" Regretful Wind''s expression hardened while he watched the magic barrier fade away. Eighty-eight magical class players had powered that barrier. It should even withstand quite a few attacks from a Mythic monster. And yet, that barrier had just shattered after a single attack! Another monster-level expert among the invaders was the only possible explanation, and this newcomer definitely had the Strength of Mythic monsters. He should be even stronger than the female Assassin they currently faced. "A single team has two monsters? Who are these people?" Helpless Smile growled, frowning. He had never expected the invaders to have more than one monster-level expert. The three of them were already having a rough time trying to suppress Fire Dance. If another expert of her caliber joined the fight, they''d be in trouble. "So what if there''s another monster? Why should we fear them?" Resolutely, Flame Feather reminded her comrades, "Don''t forget that we have over 5,000 players, including 7 more Demon Viscounts and nearly 100 Demon Barons. What is one extra monster compared to our forces?" The only reason the three commanders had attacked was to gauge how much they had improved since the war with Battle Wolves. Furthermore, ordinary Tier 3 experts would only get in their way in such an intense battle. If they had to face two monsters, however, the members of their adventurer teams could keep the second one busy. Even if their teams couldn''t kill the other monster, they could buy enough time for the commanders to finish off Fire Dance. Eventually, their adventurer teams would secure victory, even if some of their members died. "That''s right. However, it seems we''ll incur some losses in this operation," Helpless Smile said, nodding. He then gestured to one of his subordinates in the distance and said, "Blue, lead our main force members to stop the other monster. Try to buy as much time as possible!" "Understood!" the Tier 3 Shield Warrior, Blue Sea, responded. "Mandala, take your group and go with them!" Flame Feather ordered a Tier 3 Dark Druid on her team. "Poison, I''m giving you command of our members," Regretful Wind shouted to the masked Assassin named Poison Heart. "If worst comes to worst, use that. Just make sure that you keep the second monster away from us for now!" "Are you sure that I can use it?" Poison Heart instantly grew excited upon receiving permission from his commander. "I promise; he won''t get anywhere near you!" Overhearing the order, both Flame Feather and Helpless Smile glanced at Regretful Wind in astonishment. "What?! Old Wind, you were the one who bought that thing during the last Intermediate Auction?" Flame Feather blurted. There was only one item she could think of that could easily deal with monster-level experts, and it was one of the items that had appeared in the last Intermediate Auction in Demon City''s Auction House. Satan''s Remnant Soul! That item was a true treasure. It would allow a player to transform into a Tier 4 Great Demon for a short time. Players would also have access to all the Skills and Spells in a Tier 4 Great Demon''s arsenal. Satan''s Remnant Soul''s only flaw was its short, 30-minute duration. Even so, every Demon player in Demon City had gone crazy over the item. Aside from the strength boost, Satan''s Remnant Soul granted players better control over Power of Darkness, albeit temporarily. This experience would be immensely helpful when players took the challenges to increase their Demon ranks. Just having a Satan''s Remnant Soul in one''s bag was a major deterrent for the city''s various major powers. No power or adventurer team wanted to incur the wrath of a Tier 4 Great Demon, after all. When the Satan''s Remnant Soul had been put up for auction, Demon City''s various major powers had bid for it like madmen. Moreover, the seller didn''t accept Coins, but Demon Crystals, which were the standard form of currency in Demon City''s Intermediate Auctions. In the end, someone had purchased the Satan''s Remnant Soul for an astronomical sum of 1,000 Demon Crystals, but the buyer hasn''t revealed their identity. The mystery of who now owned the item had been a hot topic among the city''s major powers. Even Helpless Smile flashed Regretful Wind a surprised look. He had never dreamed that Windtooth had hidden such a powerful trump card. If Eternal Night had clashed with Windtooth, the consequences would''ve been dire for his adventurer team. That being said, he had to admit that he was glad to work with Windtooth right now. "Mhm. I dug up practically everything we had to win it," Regretful Wind proudly confirmed. "I had wanted to save it for a fight against a Superior Mythic, but I don''t mind using it to annihilate these invaders. I will say this, however; any invader Poison Heart kills belongs to Windtooth." "Since you''re willing to go to such lengths, we won''t take advantage of you. Don''t'' worry.," Helpless Smile agreed, nodding. "That''s right. We won''t ask for any loot from an invader the Great Demon slays. I''d be even happier if the Great Demon takes care of the two monsters," Flame Feather said, laughing. She had been confident that the three of them could defeat Fire Dance eventually with the magic barrier to back them up, but now that the barrier had fallen, they wouldn''t be able to stop the Assassin if she focused on fleeing. This battle would go much smoother if Poison Heart could take care of the two monstrous invaders. In the fields, monster-level experts posed an extraordinary threat, especially if they had no qualms with hit-and-run tactics. They were an absolute nightmare to deal with. "That''s reassuring," Regretful Wind said. He then turned toward Poison Heart and said, "Since the two commanders have agreed, use it, Poison!" The Satan''s Remnant Soul was precious, and there was almost no chance that another would go up for auction, but obtaining the monster-level experts'' weapons and equipment would make it a worthwhile transaction. The superb quality of their weapons and equipment was a large part of the reason that monster-level experts were so much stronger than peak experts. He could likely earn back the cost of using the Satan''s Remnant Soul with just one of their weapons or equipment pieces, possibly even more. Poison Heart was elated as he pulled a black bottle from his bag and started to remove the seal. He had hoped he could use the Satan''s Remnant Soul to help him become a 2-star Viscount, but because the item was so valuable, he didn''t want to use it solely for his promotion. He had wanted to save it until he could use it to kill two birds with one stone, which was why the item had remained in his bag for so long. Now that he had found the perfect opportunity, he wouldn''t hold back. Once Poison Heart had removed the seal, he doubled in size, and two pairs of jet-black wings, enveloped in fire, grew from his back. "So strong! So, this is the power of a Tier 4 Great Demon!" Poison Heart exclaimed as he felt an immense power course through his veins. So much strength! Absolute power! This omnipotent feeling was intoxicating. "Sure enough, a Great Demon is truly awe-inspiring! Poison can now likely slay all of the intruders without our help!" Helpless Smile said. He couldn''t help but feel a little jealous as he gazed at Poison Heart''s new form and sensed the Assassin''s intense aura. "Poison, I''ll leave the rest to you. Remember, you need to finish this battle quickly. We won''t be able to hold on for long!" Regretful Wind shouted to his subordinate before casting another Spell against Fire Dance. "Leave it to me, Commander! I''ll make sure they all die!" Poison Heart declared. He flapped his wings and flew straight toward the source of the deep voice. He was so fast that the team''s Tier 2 Demon players didn''t even have time to react. "So fast!" "These invaders are dead now!" The three adventurer teams'' members were astonished when Poison Heart vanished in the blink of an eye. Some of them even pitied Shi Feng''s team. Even working together, their teams wouldn''t have been a match for Shi Feng''s people if they had attacked before the Battle Wolves'' crusade, but after that fight, they had gained a bountiful harvest that had helped them undergo qualitative transformations. Now, with the Great Demon, Poison Heart, by their side, they were all confident that their teams could repel Battle Wolves'' army by themselves, let alone a laughable team of 300-plus experts. "What a pity! It seems your companion is doomed!" Flame Feather said, grinning as she brandished her axes at Fire Dance. "I think you''re the one that should pray for your friend!" Fire Dance rolled her eyes at the other woman. "I think you''ve misunderstood something from the very beginning." "Misunderstood? And what would that be?" Flame Feather asked curiously. "I''m not responsible for killing that Assassin. In fact, I hadn''t even seen him before looting his body," Fire Dance said. "I only came to collect the items." The three commanders immediately paled. "What do you mean?" "You didn''t kill Seven Constellations?" "You''re not the monster he was talking about?" Regretful Wind, Flame Feather, and Helpless Smile simultaneously recalled Seven Constellation''s dying Monster... Run quickly! If Fire Dance hadn''t seen the Assassin before he died, she couldn''t be the monster he had warned them about. But before the three commanders could respond, they heard a series of explosions from the nearby forest, and the ground under their feet shook violently. After a few seconds, a colossal figure flew toward them, slamming into a nearby tree and felling it. The figure was none other than Poison Heart, who had just flown toward the other monster-level expert a moment ago... 2526 Despair of Three Adventurer Teams Chapter 2526 - Despair of Three Adventurer Teams "Poison?" Regretful Wind was shocked when he saw Poison Heart''s miserable figure lying at the base of the collapsed tree. Right now, the Assassin was a bona fide Tier 4 being. He was even stronger than Tier 4 players. The man had command of every Tier 4 Skill and Spell a Great Demon possessed, which was an advantage that Tier 4 players wouldn''t have. And yet, someone had thrown Poison Heart with an attack... When Flame Feather and Helpless Smile saw this, they found the scene incredibly familiar. They had encountered Seven Constellations in the same way. Is the monster Seven Constellations referred to in that area of the forest? Helpless Smile tensed as he recalled the other Assassin''s warning. They had gone to great lengths to corner Fire Dance, yet just when they thought they had curbed the monster Seven Constellations had warned them about, reality''s punchline hit them. Flame Feather was also momentarily dazed over the unexpected revelation, and for a moment, she forgot about her fight with Fire Dance, very nearly letting the female Assassin kill her. After a brief moment of silence, a man emerged from between the nearby trees. He was fully clad in pitch-black light armor and hid his appearance under a Black Cloak. Two longswords hung from his belt, and the frightening amount of Mana he radiated formed a layer of mist around his body. Within the Burning Forest, he looked like the Grim Reaper, and everyone who saw him felt chills crawl down his spine. The three adventurer team''s main force members, who had been prepared to follow Poison Heart into battle, glanced back at their commanders. None of them were sure whether or not they should try to confront this invader. If this man had even thrown Poison Heart, who had transformed into a Great Demon, they''d suffer an even worse fate. It was highly likely that they''d die instantly just like Seven Constellations did. "The Mana he''s radiating is practically even denser than Poison Heart''s. Is he really just a Tier 3 player?" Flame Feather exclaimed when she saw Shi Feng. Although determining a player''s strength by the Mana they radiated wasn''t possible, the more Mana wafting from one''s body, the stronger their Skills and Spells would be. They''d also have higher physical stats and could more easily exhibit combat power beyond their limits. The amount of Mana under his control was precisely the reason Poison Heart had felt omnipotent after reaching Tier 4. However, this Tier 3 Swordsman commanded even more Mana than Poison Heart did after his transformation. It was unbelievable! "Could he have unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential?" Regretful Wind thought of a possibility as he sensed the immense amount of Mana surrounding Shi Feng. He couldn''t think of any other reason that would let a Tier 3 player command so much Mana. "Is a fully unlocked Mana Body really this strong?" Helpless Smile wondered, skeptical about Regretful Wind''s guess. As Demon players, unlocking their Mana Bodies'' potential proved far more difficult than it was for human players because their bodies'' structure was completely different. Hence, Demon City''s players hadn''t paid much attention to their Mana Bodies'' potential. They felt that raising their Demon ranks was a better use of their time. Not even most Great Demons they came across had fully unlocked Mana Bodies. Demon players were also physically stronger than humans, and they controlled more. They simply didn''t need to go to the trouble of unlocking their Mana Bodies'' potential. As long as they raised their Demon rank, they were more than powerful enough to suppress human players. But Helpless Smile had never dreamed that human players with fully unlocked Mana Bodies would be this strong. The amount of Mana Shi Feng controlled was enough to give him goosebumps. It was easy to imagine how powerful the Swordsman''s Skills and Spells would be. "This isn''t worth the trouble. Demon''s Heart didn''t offer nearly enough Demon Crystals for us to take on a monster like that." As Regretful Wind watched this Grim Reaper approach, he inwardly cursed the Dark Guild. If he had known that he''d have to fight a monster like this Swordsman, he never would''ve led his team here. Even if they managed to defeat Shi Feng, it would be a pyrrhic victory. Three thousand-plus Demon Crystals wouldn''t even come close to compensating their losses. "What are you afraid of? He''s just one person! There''s a limit to his Stamina! Poison didn''t even take that much damage! We can definitely wear him down if our main force members work together! As long as we defeat this Assassin, we can take our time with the Swordsman!" Flame Feather shouted when she realized that the three adventurer teams'' main force members were cowering in fear. Her insistence snapped the main force members out of their daze, and they trusted that the commander was correct. Regardless of how powerful a player was, there was a limit to one''s Stamina. Shi Feng was merely one person. No matter how strong he was, he couldn''t kill them all. Aside from the hundred or so Demon Barons, they had over 5,000 Demon experts with them. Their teams were more than capable of whittling Shi Feng down. "That''s right! So what if he is strong? We still have a Great Demon on our side! We can just keep healing Poison Heart, and that guy won''t be able to stop us!" "Kill him! His weapons and equipment will only strengthen our adventurer teams!" Fighting spirit burned within the adventurer teams'' members, and they immediately moved into formation, slowly approaching Shi Feng. "No! Run! Everyone, get out of here!" Poison Heart, who had just recovered from the crash, shouted, panicking as he watched his comrades move toward the human Swordsman. They all turned toward the Assassin, confused by the warning. They couldn''t understand what he was trying to do. Did the man hit his head that hard? "He''s not alone! There''s an entire team of monsters in those trees!" Poison Heart hurriedly added. Before anyone could react, new figures began to appear behind Shi Feng. The new arrivals concealed their levels and appearances under Black Cloaks, but their auras were horrifically intense. The several players leading the group had such a powerful combined aura that the adventurer teams'' members felt stifled. They felt even stronger than Grand Lords of the same level. "Damn it! How is this possible?!" The blood drained from Regretful Wind''s face when he saw the Hell Legion. "Everyone, retreat! Retreat immediately!" Both Fire Dance and Shi Feng had suppressed their auras, so Regretful Wind hadn''t been able to tell how strong they were. He could only guess based on his instincts and the Mana they radiated. The Hell Legion members didn''t bother to hide their auras, however. From the power Regretful Wind sensed, at least five of those human players were even stronger than Grand Lords of the same level, and even the weakest of the remaining members nearly rivaled Grand Lords. If their three adventurer teams tried to fight this group, it''d be a one-sided massacre. Hearing Regretful Wind''s order, the stunned adventurer teams snapped out of their daze and fled in all directions like a flock of startled birds. "Damn it! Run!" Flame Feather did the same, fleeing the moment she saw Hell Rush and his companions. As she ran, a deep hatred for Demon''s Heart blossomed in her chest. What a joke. The enemy team had at least six monster-level experts, and more than 300 of them could rival Grand Lords of the same level. This was no longer a force that Demon City''s powers could take on individually. They''d only have a chance of defeating these intruders if they gathered all of the combat power in the city. Anyone that tried to fight these human players on their own would be digging their own grave! "Escape? Don''t you think it''s a little late for that?" When the three adventurer teams began to flee, Shi Feng turned to the Hell Legion and growled, "Kill them! Leave none alive!" 2527 Sweeping Victory Chapter 2527 - Sweeping Victory As soon as Shi Feng gave the command, the Hell Legion pounced on the fleeing Demon players like ravenous tigers. Although Demonized players'' physiques and Basic Attributes were superior to ordinary human players, and they could run much faster than humans, the Hell Legion''s members were among the best in Netherworld Empire. Moreover, they had some of the best equipment available in God''s Domain at this stage of the game. Including their special Bloodline, their Basic Attributes were even higher than the adventurer teams'' Demonized members. The Hell Legion''s experts caught up to the fleeing adventurer teams in no time at all. "Damn it! They''re too fast!" "You think you can bully me?! I''ll fight you to the death! I refuse to believe I can''t defeat at least one of you!" Realizing that escape was impossible, the adventurer teams turned and decided to stand up to the Hell Legion. Over a thousand Tier 2 experts tried to meet the incoming Hell Legion experts, and although they knew they had a Basic Attribute advantage, they moved into defensive formations, with MTs on the frontline and ranged players in the back. Their coordination was smooth, giving the Hell Legion''s experts no chance to face them one-on-one. Skills and Spells proceeded to fly toward the Hell Legion, adding colorful lights to the crimson forest. Boom... Boom... Boom... As the attacks landed, countless explosions echoed throughout the forest, and thick smoke filled the area as if it had just been bombed from above. Trees caught in the crossfire were blown to smithereens. "You guys might be powerful, but I refuse to believe that you can take so many attacks without taking damage!" The three adventurer teams'' attacking members looked smug when they saw that they had transformed part of the forest into an empty flatland. They also grew more confident about facing the Hell Legion. When they usually worked in teams of 100 or less, they were helpless against peak experts, but with over a thousand players attacking in formation, they could launch a continuous assault on a single point. The Hell Legion members shouldn''t think they could approach so easily. Before the adventurer teams could celebrate, however, the Hell Legion''s members emerged from the cloud of smoke. Not one of the human experts had lost a single HP after the bombardment, much less suffered any severe injuries. Their steady advance seemed like those attacks had meant nothing to them. "How is this possible?!" The three adventurer teams'' offensive members were stupefied. Even peak experts would have to take cover against their frenzied attacks, yet these experts continued to advance like nothing had happened. They hadn''t pushed them back in the slightest. In fact, the Hell Legion was even closer now. The adventurer teams'' main force members, who had long since fled, shook their heads at the scene. "How can anyone think those experts would be so easy to defeat?" Players that hadn''t yet reached Tier 3 simply couldn''t understand how terrifying Tier 3 players were. That bombardment wouldn''t even have damaged the adventurer teams'' Tier 3 players, much less the Hell Legion. With the extraordinary physique and Basic Attributes Tier 3 players had at their disposal, evading most Tier 2 players'' Skills and Spells was a piece of cake. Even if they couldn''t dodge the more flexible and accurate attacks, they could block them. Without tremendous power, Tier 2 players would have an incredibly hard time dealing damage to a Tier 3 expert. At worst, they''d only lose some Stamina and Concentration. In an instant, the Hell Legion''s experts arrived before the adventurer teams'' frontline MTs. Streaks of light struck the MTs'' vitals, dealing hundreds of thousands of damages and plundering all of the MTs'' HPs. From afar, it looked like the MTs had been cursed as they fell, one after another... Over a thousand experts from the three adventurer teams had fallen in just a dozen or so seconds. The remaining players, who had pondered staying for the fight, gasped. They had already known the difference between the two sides'' combat power was massive, but they had never dreamed that it would be this huge. Every player that had chosen to fight had fallen in the initial clash... Only the adventurer teams'' main force members weren''t surprised. In truth, the Hell Legion didn''t just have incredible Basic Attributes; their combat standards were also absurdly high. Unlike Shi Feng and Fire Dance, the Hell Legion''s experts made no attempt to hide their combat standards, which made it easy for the main force members to notice. Meanwhile, from what they could tell, even the weakest human player of the team had reached the Flowing Water Realm, while most of the Hell Legion had reached the Void Realm. The three adventurer teams'' commanders had only recently reached the Void Realm, and none of their teammates had caught up to them... The Hell Legion continued to cull the three adventurer teams like the Grim Reaper himself. Their assault was unstoppable. The adventurer teams didn''t even have the chance to buy their commanders any time. At this point, only the three commanders and Poison Heart, who was still a Tier 4 Great Demon, had any chance of escape. However, Shi Feng, Hell Rush, and the others had suppressed the four Demon players, who rapidly lost HP. In less than 10 minutes, the forest floor was covered in several thousand Demon player corpses. None of the three adventurer teams'' members had gotten away with their lives... Demon City, Demon''s Heart''s Residence: "Commander Troubled, what do you think of the training room we''ve constructed?" Furious Heart asked, smiling as he gestured to the marble building before him. "It''s amazing. The darkness energy seeping from it is already so dense. If Demon players train in the building, they''ll most likely climb to the Baron rank very quickly. They might even meet the conditions to reach the Viscount rank," Troubled Times surmised, shocked as he examined the training room bathed in darkness energy. Raising their nobility ranks wasn''t easy for Demon players. Not only did they need enough Demon Crystals, but they also needed to pass a test. Aside from their combat power, players would be tested on their ability to manipulate darkness energy. Unfortunately, even in Demon territories, areas with dense darkness energy were incredibly rare, so Demon players didn''t have many opportunities to control high amounts of darkness energy. The Dark Den was a special case since many areas of the Otherworld were rich in darkness energy and helpful to Demon players as they trained. However, Demon''s Heart had successfully constructed its own training room, containing an abundance of darkness energy. The Guild''s foundations were nearly unshakable. "This training room will even be helpful to those trying to secure their Count rank, not to mention Viscount rank," Furious Heart said, chuckling. "However, our Guild has spent most of the Darkness Crystals and Primal Darkness Stones we''ve accumulated thus far to construct the room." "I see. That''s why its darkness energy is so dense." Realization dawned on Troubled Times. Darkness Crystals and Primal Darkness Stones were both far more valuable than Magic Crystals and Mana Ore. Both items contained high amounts of darkness energy and were significantly helpful to Demon players. However, these darkness-attuned crystals and ores were immensely difficult to obtain. Players were rarely willing to invest them in a Large Training Room''s construction. "We''ve only accomplished the feat thanks to the alliance our Vice Guild Leader has secured. He is currently in the midst of negotiating our continued partnership, and if he succeeds, he intends to share a portion of the resources with the Sentinel Shelter. You might even be able to construct a training room for yourselves," Furious Heart said. "Really?" Troubled Times'' eyes glowed at the prospect. If the Sentinel Shelter could construct its own darkness-attuned training room, even if it were only a Small Training Room, he wouldn''t have to worry about his Shelter''s development. The Sentinel Shelter might even become strong enough to rule over all of the Dark Den, not to mention becoming the number one Shelter. "Mhm." Furious Heart nodded, smiling. "Once you grow a little stronger, the Vice Guild Leader also intends to provide enough resources for you to become a Demon Count. You will stand at the peak of God''s Domain, Commander Troubled." "Elder Heart, please inform Vice Guild Leader Flaming Light that he has nothing to worry about. The Sentinel Shelter will not disappoint him. I guarantee that we will become Demon''s Heart''s second major city," Troubled Times said. He could not help his growing excitement when he heard that Demon''s Heart would help him with his promotion to Demon Count. Becoming a Demon Count wasn''t an easy task. Once a Demon player earned the Count rank, their strength would undergo a qualitative transformation. Like in the various NPC kingdoms and empires, players were considered high nobles once they reached the rank of Count and above, enjoying unimaginable status. As a Count, Troubled Times was sure he could even defeat Shi Feng. Just as Furious Heart was about to continue, however, a Tier 3 Assassin frantically approached him. "Elder Heart, we just received information regarding Zero Wing," the Assassin hesitantly reported. "It seems the three adventurer teams finally found them. Zero Wing certainly knows how to hide," Furious Heart said, smiling. "Well? What''s the situation? Have Zero Wing''s members been dealt with?" "No. Windtooth, Eternal Night, and Crimson Sand''s teams have been annihilated..." the Assassin said, shaking his head. Grimly, he continued, "A dozen or so medium adventurer teams and several dozen small adventurer teams have also been eliminated. Tens of thousands of players have died in the Burning Forest. "As for the several hundred scouts we''ve dispatched, none have returned alive, but according to their offline reports, Zero Wing''s members are nearly at Demon City''s gates. They''ll likely reach the city''s entrance in about 10 minutes..." 2528 Commotion in Demon City Chapter 2528 - Commotion in Demon City When the Tier 3 Assassin ended his report, everyone present fell silent, staring at the Assassin in astonishment. "What did you say? Annihilated?" "Although the strength of those three adventurer teams is subpar, they should have a total of ten Demon Viscounts and nearly 100 Demon Barons. The number of Tier 3 experts they have should also exceed 200. With them in the way, even a superpower''s trump card legion shouldn''t dream of gaining any advantages in the Burning Forest. How could a measly team of 300-plus players possibly annihilate them?" "Tens of thousands of people got killed?! Are those people idiots?!" The several Demon''s Heart Elders present instinctively refused to believe the Assassin''s words. Although they knew that Shi Feng''s team possessed extraordinary strength, Shi Feng''s team hadn''t been in the Burning Forest for even a day. Despite that, they were being told that Shi Feng''s team had annihilated Demon City''s top three adventurer teams along with several tens of thousands of other players. Moreover, none of the scouts that came across Shi Feng''s team managed to return alive. As icing on the cake, Shi Feng''s team was supposedly only a dozen minutes or so away from reaching Demon City? This was ludicrous! Previously, Battle Wolves'' army hadn''t even managed to reach Demon City''s gate before getting annihilated. Now, however, a measly team of 300-plus players was actually about to reach Demon City? Who would believe this? "He really came..." Troubled Times was stunned when he heard the Assassin''s report. They were currently in Demon territory. This wasn''t a place human players could enter casually. Back then, when Troubled Times heard that Shi Feng had declared that he would come to Demon City to hunt him down, Troubled Times had taken it for a joke. After all, Shi Feng simply didn''t understand how frightening Demon territories were. In Troubled Times'' opinion, let alone reaching Demon City, Shi Feng would be fortunate to survive in the Burning Forest for a few hours. After all no matter how powerful Shi Feng was, he was still a player. There was a limit to his Stamina and Concentration. In the expansive Burning Forest, non-Demon players were subjected to the corrosion of darkness energy, which increased their Stamina and Concentration consumption substantially. Even with a team of 300-plus Tier 3 experts, it should still be impossible for Shi Feng to reach Demon City. Now, however, not only was Shi Feng''s team close to reaching Demon City, but he had even killed Demon City''s top three adventurer teams along with tens of thousands of other Demon players. This was simply unbelievable. However, shortly after Troubled Times and the others received this piece of news, a commotion occurred at Demon City''s main entrance. This was because a group of human players had appeared a short distance from Demon City. These human players numbered over 300, and they were none other than the team Demon''s Heart had placed a bounty on. In this situation, the Demon players residing in Demon City could not help but panic. "What''s going on? How did they get here? Why wasn''t there any news about them? Didn''t the top three adventurer teams leave to hunt them just now?" "They must''ve gotten lucky and avoided detection. Otherwise, how could they get here so quickly and intact?" "Impossible! Even if the top three adventurer teams did not find them, there are still several dozen others that joined in on the hunt. At least one adventurer team should''ve come across them. And so long as even one did, the other adventurer teams would''ve received news about it right away. It should be impossible for these invaders to evade detection completely." When Shi Feng''s team suddenly appeared outside Demon City, the players standing on the city''s walls were filled with both surprise and curiosity. They never thought that human players could actually cross the Burning Forest and get to Demon City without an invitation. This was the first time a situation like this had occurred since Demon City''s construction. "Of course there''s no news about these invaders, as everyone that came across them had gotten killed. A friend of mine was one of the players that joined the hunt. Despite the adventurer team he belonged to having over a thousand members, none of them managed to make it out alive after coming across the invaders. According to what I heard, the top three adventurer teams also got annihilated; they''re just keeping their mouths shut all this time to prevent information leaks." As the ordinary players on top of the wall were discussing the situation, a Tier 3 expert rolled his eyes at their ignorance and revealed the truth to them. Upon hearing the Tier 3 player''s revelation, the ordinary players were stunned. At the same time, though, they eyed the Tier 3 expert skeptically, suspecting that this expert was playing a joke on them. "It seems the rumor I heard coming from Demon''s Heart''s members is true, after all. These invaders really did kill tens of thousands of experts," another Tier 3 expert, who originated from a medium-scale adventurer team and had just arrived on the wall, commented upon seeing Shi Feng''s team in the distance. This Tier 3 expert''s words threw everyone present into an uproar. "What?! The tens of thousands of experts that joined the hunt got annihilated?! Who are these invaders?!" They''re not really here to kill Troubled Times, right?" "It seems Demon''s Heart has met its match. I wonder which side is stronger?" "Do you even have to ask? It''s definitely Demon''s Heart. Don''t forget that this place is Demon City, the main headquarters of Demon''s Heart. These 300-plus invaders might be amazing out in the fields, but they''re asking for death if they think they can do whatever they want inside Demon City." When everyone present heard the news of Demon City''s top three adventurer teams getting annihilated, aside from feeling surprised, they also felt excited. After all, Demon City had never been besieged before. Meanwhile, news of Shi Feng''s team appearing outside Demon City''s gate spread quickly throughout the city, stunning its millions of player residents. "Crap! They actually came here to hunt down Troubled Times! This is amazing!" "I wonder how Demon''s Heart plans to deal with this situation?" "I doubt Demon''s Heart will let these people do anything. However, these people aren''t pushovers, either. If even the top three adventurer teams are not a match for them, Demon''s Heart should have a tough time too." Everyone inside Demon City discussed this matter, spreading Zero Wing''s fame across the city. However, everyone was more curious about Demon''s Heart''s response to this situation. After all, even the city''s top three adventurer teams had suffered annihilation. Shi Feng''s team might not be capable of breaking into Demon City, but it was more than capable of camping out in the fields and targeting Demon''s Heart''s members that were trying to grind. That would stunt Demon''s Heart development. Meanwhile, news of Shi Feng''s team''s arrival also quickly reached Demon''s Heart''s Residence. And when Troubled Times heard about this, his complexion turned deathly pale. He never thought that Shi Feng would get to Demon City so soon. He had witnessed the Swordsman stopping a Demon King''s Hand before. If Shi Feng sneaked into Demon City and secretly took action against him, Troubled Times was almost certain to lose his life. "Commander Troubled, you can rest easy. So what if Black Flame has arrived? This is Demon City!" Furious Heart said when he saw the ugly look on Troubled Times''s face. He then smiled and continued, "However, Zero Wing has been acting arrogantly for long enough. They aren''t even bothering to sneak around to take action." "They are indeed very arrogant. They actually dare camp in front of our front gate and let everyone know of their arrival," a Tier 3 Elder wearing black robes ranted. "In my opinion, we should just deploy the city''s Tier 4 Demon Guards and get rid of them. Otherwise, they''ll really think that they can do anything they want to Demon City just because they eliminated the city''s top three adventurer teams!" "Forget it. The Demon Guards are one of Demon City''s trump cards. It costs a lot of Demon Crystals to dispatch them. It''s not worth it just to deal with Zero Wing," Furious Heart said, shaking his head. "Moreover, both the Guild Leader and the Vice Guild Leader are not on the eastern continent right now. This isn''t a decision we can make. Have someone notify Zero Wing''s people that Demon''s Heart is taking charge of this matter and that they''ve already caused enough of a ruckus. It''s time to put an end to this fuss. If they retreat now, there will still be grounds for reconciliation and opportunities for partnership between our two Guilds. Otherwise, this matter won''t end so easily. The future God''s Domain no longer belongs to regular Guilds. I believe they should understand this point very clearly." "Alright. I''ll have someone notify them. Hopefully, they know where to draw the line," that black-clad Tier 3 Elder said. Inwardly, though, he felt that Furious Heart was too soft. If it were up to him, he would just annihilate Zero Wing for daring to approach Demon City so boldly. 2529 Provoking Demons Heart? 2529 Provoking Demons Heart? Chapter 2529 - Provoking Demon''s Heart? Inside Demon''s Heart''s Residence, after Furious Heart gave the command to take action, the black-clad, Tier 3 Viscount Elder promptly started arranging for the necessary manpower to shoo away Zero Wing''s team. Meanwhile, the news of Shi Feng''s arrival at Demon City also spread rapidly beyond the walls of the city and stupefied the superpowers paying attention to Demon City. "What''s going on? It hasn''t been that long since Zero Wing''s team arrived at the Burning Forest, yet it''s already reached Demon City?" "Zero Wing actually accomplished something that Battle Wolves failed to do?" "Black Flame really is bold to provoke Demon''s Heart. Doesn''t he know that the current God''s Domain has changed already?" The various superpowers found Zero Wing''s arrival before Demon City''s main entrance deeply surprising. The current God''s Domain was no longer the same as before. The activity of Dark Players in Level 100 neutral maps was expanding. Moreover, the strength of Dark Players was growing rapidlyat a rate frightening even to the various superpowers. Meanwhile, one of the fastest-developing dark powers was Demon''s Heart. Not only did Demon''s Heart boast a large number of experts, but its Guild members were also improving at a flying pace. It was no exaggeration to say that, so long as a member of Demon''s Heart reached Tier 3 as well as the rank of Demon Baron, they would instantly become an existence rivaling Tier 3 peak experts. In fact, their survivability out in the fields would be much stronger than human peak experts''. Moreover, unlike regular players, Dark Players received rewards and improvements from killing other players. They had a much greater advantage when it came to leveling and upgrading their weapons and equipment. Even though Dark Players were a minority in God''s Domain, they were now strong enough to go up against regular Guilds in Level 100 neutral maps. This was why many independent players were opting to become a Dark Player, which, in turn, continuously increased the Dark Player population in God''s Domain. This change drove the incredibly fast growth of the various dark powers. Of course, the rapid development of Dark Players came with a price. Compared to regular players, the penalty Dark Players suffered for death was many times greater. Hence, in order to avoid death, current Dark Players were limiting their sphere of activities instead of rampantly clashing with regular players. Nevertheless, even the various superpowers did not dare provoke Dark Players casually, much less dark powers like Demon''s Heart. None of the various superpowers had expected Zero Wing to provoke Demon''s Heart. Moreover, Zero Wing had gone all the way to Demon City''s main entrance to do so. Meanwhile, inside one of the Advanced Restaurants in the Ten Saints Empire''s capital, Illusory Words was currently enjoying a meal. Midway through her meal, however, a Tier 3 Assassin barged into her private room with a tense expression on his face. Vice Guild Leader, we just received news that Zero Wing annihilated not only Demon City''s top three adventurer teams but also tens of thousands of Demon City''s experts. Zero Wing''s team has already arrived before Demon City''s main entrance. By the looks of it, Zero Wing is really intent on taking action against Troubled Times," the Tier 3 Assassin said, astonishment writ large on his face. "They arrived already?" Illusory Words similarly felt astonished by this point. She had visited Demon City as a guest before, so she knew just how difficult it was to cross the Burning Forest. A large number of Demon patrol squads and Demon players operated within the forest. In her opinion, even with frightening strength, Shi Feng and his team should still struggle to reach Demon City. In fact, by the time they got to Demon City, the tracking mark they placed on Troubled Times might''ve disappeared already. In that case, visiting Demon City would also be meaningless. However, Shi Feng''s team had actually reached Demon City less than a day after they entered the Burning Forest. Moreover, they didn''t arrive at the city by covert means but walked straight to the city instead. "We also found out a little regarding the relationship between Troubled Times and Demon''s Heart," the Tier 3 Assassin said. "Troubled Times''s Sentinel Shelter is Demon''s Heart''s most important pawn in the Dark Den. Demon''s Heart is even planning to turn the Sentinel Shelter into its main headquarters. In addition, Troubled Times fought alongside Flaming Light, one of Demon''s Heart''s Vice Guild Leaders, during the early stages of God''s Domain. Although the two of them eventually chose different development paths, Troubled Times is now one of Flaming Light''s trusted aides, due to his excellent strength and talents." "Hes actually Flaming Lights confidant?" Illusory Words frowned at this situation. "If this really is the case, then Zero Wing will have difficulty killing Troubled Times. Flaming Light is extremely protective of his own people, especially his confidants. Moreover, Troubled Times is taking shelter inside Demon City. Hopefully, Guild Leader Black Flame doesn''t act too rashly." Flaming Light was famous on the eastern continent. A part of the reason why the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers currently feared Demon''s Heart was Flaming Light''s presence. In fact, Flaming Light had even wrung multiple concessions from the Super Guild Sacred Temple regarding resources. Despite the Ten Saints Empire being the Sacred Temple''s home base, the Sacred Temple still had no choice but to concede to Demon''s Heart''s demands. This situation had greatly confused the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers, as well as made them increasingly fearful of the Dark Guild. Setting aside whether Zero Wing could kill Troubled Times inside Demon City, even if the Guild killed Troubled Times in the outside world, it was still highly likely to anger Flaming Light. If that happened, then the efforts Zero Wing had made to ensure its smooth development in Level 100 neutral maps would go to waste, and the Guild would be plagued with endless troubles once more. After all, the current God''s Domain had already changed. The advantages Dark Players had over regular players were simply overwhelming. While the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers were secretly discussing Zero Wing, another commotion occurred at Demon City''s main entrance. The reason for this commotion was Demon''s Heart''s members making an appearance! In the next moment, Demon City''s gate opened slowly. A 1,000-man team led by Tier 3 experts then marched out of Demon City. Every one of these members from Demon''s Heart sported uniform weapons and equipment. Moreover, these weapons and equipment were of considerably high quality, with even the weakest piece being Level 100 Fine-Gold rank. In addition, every member of this team was a noble. Just the number of players emitting Power of Darkness at the standard of Demon Viscounts numbered as many as 20. Standing in the head of this team was a burly man geared in exquisite armor. The spectating players present gasped in shock at the sight of this man. "Crap! Rebellious Thunder, the vice commander of Demon''s Heart''s main force, showed up?!" "What a powerful pressure! So, this is the strength of a Demon Count?" When the players standing atop the city''s walls saw the burly man, awe filled their eyes. The Count rank was something all Demon players aspired to. However, it was beyond the reach of most Demon players. The reason for this wasn''t just the astronomical amount of Demon Crystals required to challenge the test to become a Demon Count but also the test''s great difficulty. Even now, aside from Demon City''s two main Guilds, no other power boasted a Demon Count among their ranks. The strongest person the other powers possessed was a 3-star Viscount. Players that had become Demon Counts were treated with respect by even Great Demon NPCs because Tier 3 players at the Demon Count rank were already strong enough to go up against Great Demons. Their becoming a Tier 4 Great Demon in the future was also only a matter of time. "They actually sent a Demon Count out." When Regretful Wind, who was currently sitting inside a bar near the main entrance, saw Rebellious Thunder through a Magic Mirror, envy flashed in his eyes. "It seems Demon''s Heart really places great importance on Troubled Times." "However, we ended up eating a major loss this time. Not only did we not get any bounty rewards, but we also tossed away the lives of our own teams. Fortunately, we managed to keep the matter secret. Now, all of Demon City''s adventurer teams have suffered tremendous losses as well," Helpless Smile said, a bitter smile forming on his face as he gazed at Rebellious Thunder''s figure. During the time Regretful Wind and the others were quietly chatting, Rebellious Thunder could be seen arriving before Shi Feng''s team. "Are you Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame?" Rebellious Thunder asked as he looked at Shi Feng. "That''s right," Shi Feng replied, nodding. "Do you have business with me?" "We know you''re here to kill Troubled Times, but this is Demon''s Heart''s territory. We won''t care if you take action anywhere else, but since Troubled Times has already arrived in Demon City, we have a responsibility to ensure his safety. Moreover, this place does not welcome non-Demon players. If you leave now, Demon''s Heart will ignore your provocative behavior this time. There might even be chances for partnership between our two Guilds in the future," Rebellious Thunder said sternly. "What if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. "Then, you''ll make an enemy out of Demon''s Heart!" Rebellious Thunder warned coldly, his words echoing throughout the main entrance. Upon hearing Rebellious Thunder''s words, the spectating players standing on the city walls were silent because nobody would dare offend Demon''s Heart on a Demon territory. Any that did would not be able to leave with their lives. "If that''s the case, let''s just become enemies!" 2530 Normal State? Chapter 2530 - Normal State? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence fell over the area. A provocation! This was a blatant provocation! "This guy must be insane! He actually intends to become enemies with Demon''s Heart!" "He dares slap Demon''s Heart''s face as well?" "He''s dead for sure now! Even if Demon''s Heart wants to let him off the hook, Rebellious Thunder definitely won''t let him get away with this!" The spectating Demon players were flabbergasted by Shi Feng''s unyielding behavior. They never thought that he would react that way. In their opinion, Shi Feng and his team''s reaching Demon City''s front door was already a plenty amazing feat. In fact, their achievement had even dragged down Demon''s Heart''s prestige significantly. After accomplishing all this, Shi Feng should''ve wisely retreated instead of pushing the envelope. After all, Demon''s Heart was far stronger than Demon City''s top three adventurer teams. Even the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers did not dare to offend the Guild. Moreover, it had always been impossible for Shi Feng to fulfill his goal of killing Troubled Times in Demon City. Although Demon City might seem like a player-constructed city, it was, in reality, a partial-NPC city. The city was protected not only by players but also by quite a number of Great Demon NPCsincluding a Great Demon Monarch. The Demon Monarch was a bona fide Demon Marquis and was one of the Seventy-two Great Demon Marquises of God''s Domain, only one rank below the highest rank of Duke. It was not an existence that current players could hope to go up against at all. With the Demon Monarch protecting Demon City, breaking into the city and killing Troubled Times would be absolutely impossible. Meanwhile, after Rebellious Thunder heard Shi Feng''s words, his complexion darkened immediately. "Guild Leader Black Flame, it seems you are intent on challenging Demon''s Heart''s bottom line!" Rebellious Thunder snarled as he glared at Shi Feng. "Since you wish for battle, I''ll fulfill your wish!" Suddenly, dense darkness energy flowed out of Rebellious Thunder''s body, and his body started undergoing a significant transformation. Not only did he double in size, but pitch-black demonic patterns also appeared all over his body. At the same time, the intensity of the aura he radiated skyrocketed, the aura so strong that the spectating Demon players gasped in shock. "Amazing! So, this is the strength of a Demon Count?" "The Power of Darkness he radiates is so strong! It''s practically denser than the Great Demon NPCs'' inside the city! Just how powerful will his Demon Skills become with such a strong Power of Darkness?" Black Flame is doomed now." The spectating Demon players exclaimed in shock at Rebellious Thunder''s transformation. Although they had long since known that Demon City''s two Guilds possessed Demon Count-level experts, they had never seen a Demon Count in action before. They only knew that the Count rank was a major turning point for Demon players and that players couldn''t reach the rank without frightening strength and resources. Looking at Rebellious Thunder now, however, rather than calling the Count rank a major turning point, calling it a leap in tiers would be more apt. At this moment, even with only ordinary Identification Skills, one would realize that Rebellious Thunder transcended the realm of ordinary. Just his current HP was as high as 6 million; previously, his HP was only a little more than 1 million. Aside from HP, Rebellious Thunder should''ve also received a similarly massive boost to his Defense, Basic Attributes, and physique after Demonification. After Rebellious Thunder activated Demonification, Regretful Wind and the other spectators in the bar near Demon City''s main entrance were shocked. "Sure enough, a Demon Count really is frightening! It''s no wonder those two Guilds have been keeping all information about the rank a secret all this time!" Helpless Smile looked enviously at Rebellious Thunder, who now rivaled a Tier 4 Great Demon in terms of strength. "Now, not only has Rebellious Thunder transformed into a Demon Count, but he also wields Cruel Darkness, one of the Demon race''s 16 Magic Weapons. He also has Demon City''s buff, which all Demon players get. With all that, I''m afraid that aside from those three people, nobody in the entire Demon City is his match." Rebellious Thunder was originally a monster-level expert working for a Super Guild. However, after entering God''s Domain, Demon''s Heart had poached him by offering a munificent package. With the help of Cruel Darkness, the Magic Weapon Demon''s Heart had obtained, Rebellious Thunder became so strong that he was practically invincible among players of the same tier. In fact, during the war with Battle Wolves, Rebellious Thunder had single-handedly fought against three monster-level experts; back then, he was still only a Demon Viscount. Now that Rebellious Thunder had been promoted to a Demon Count, Helpless Smile couldn''t even begin to imagine how powerful he had become. "Rebellious Thunder won''t have an easy time dealing with Black Flame, though. After all, Black Flame suppressed Poison Heart even after Poison Heart had transformed into a Great Demon," Regretful Wind said as he looked at the Demonized Rebellious Thunder. "I believe it''s going to be a tough battle." Regretful Wind had personally experienced Shi Feng''s terror. Even if Rebellious Thunder was powerful, the Elementalist did not think that Rebellious Thunder could easily defeat Shi Feng. Flame Feather nodded in agreement with Regretful Wind''s words. Previously, Shi Feng had behaved as if Demon''s Heart''s existence was nothing to him. However, the Swordsman indeed possessed the strength and qualifications to do so. Meanwhile, as Regretful Wind and the others were discussing Rebellious Thunder, the person in question had taken the pitch-black greatsword hung on his back in hand and swung it at Shi Feng. The instant Rebellious Thunder swung his greatsword, the Power of Darkness enveloping his body seemed to find a vent; it surged into the greatsword, doubling the power and attack range of the greatsword. Now, the attack was so powerful that it cut apart even space, leaving a pitch-black trail behind the greatsword. In response, Shi Feng unsheathed Killing Ray and executed Lightshadow. Boom! The instant the two blades collided, dazzling sparks sprang forth. The frightening impact also caused the ground beneath the two players'' feet to shatter, and the sound of the impact echoed throughout Demon City. In the next moment, Shi Feng stumbled half a step back, his HP decreasing by merely a few thousand. To Shi Feng, who possessed over 1 million HP, this amount of damage was negligible. "Impossible! That guy only lost by a little even after receiving the vice commander''s full-powered blow?!" Upon seeing this outcome, both the spectating Demon players and Demon''s Heart''s members could not help being stupefied. This was especially true for Demon''s Heart''s members, whose eyes very nearly fell out of their sockets at this scene. As they watched Rebellious Thunder about to clash with Shi Feng, they had considered a few methods that might allow the Swordsman to neutralize Rebellious Thunder''s attack. For example, Shi Feng could use a Lifesaving Skill or a special tool. However, they never thought that he would receive Rebellious Thunder''s attack directly and even block it with such ease. At this moment, let alone everyone else, even Rebellious Thunder himself was stunned by this outcome. What happened? Even before he had risen to the Demon Count rank, with Cruel Darkness''s power, he was already invincible among those of the same tier. Now, despite being a Demon Count and activating Demonification, he was actually only slightly stronger than Shi Feng. However, Rebellious Thunder quickly snapped out of his daze. "It seems you''re not all talk, after all!" Rebellious Thunder praised. "But, so what if you can block my attack? You''ll still lose if you only remain on the defensive!" As soon as Rebellious Thunder finished speaking, however, Shi Feng suddenly returned Killing Ray to its sheath. "As expected of an expert who has reached the rank of Demon Count. Your Strength has already surpassed that of ordinary Mythic monsters," Shi Feng said as he looked at Rebellious Thunder. "It seems I really am not a match for you Demon players when you have the home-ground advantage and I am in my normal state." "Normal state?" Rebellious Thunder chuckled when he heard Shi Feng''s words. "Do you think you can transform into a Demon too?" While inside Demon territories, players couldn''t use Berserk Skills. Of course, Demon players were no exception to this rule. However, Demon players could use Demonification to elevate their strength. This was why the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers could never do anything against Demon City. Only Battle Wolves was stubborn enough to attempt a crusade against Demon City. "I can''t," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Rebellious Thunder. "However, my doppelganger can." After saying so, Shi Feng drew the pitch-black sword hanging from his waist. 2531 Black Dragon Chapter 2531 - Black Dragon The Abyssal Blade Shi Feng wielded looked like a gemstone of darkness. Adorned with glowing, crimson patterns, the sword gave off a bewitching feeling. The instant Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade, a doppelganger appeared beside him. In terms of aura and appearance, the doppelganger was utterly identical to him. "His trump card is a doppelganger?" "And here I thought he had something amazing saved up. He''s not thinking that he can defeat Vice Commander Thunder just by relying on a doppelganger, which would have weaker Basic Attributes than himself, right?" Upon seeing Shi Feng''s doppelganger, Demon''s Heart''s members burst into laughter. In God''s Domain, Doppelganger Skills were indeed excellent lifesaving measures. They were also extremely rare Skills that could drastically increase the combat power of players. However, Doppelganger Skills were generally useful only against monsters and ordinary experts, gainst experts of Rebellious Thunder''s caliber, using doppelgangers was utterly meaningless. Not to mention, Rebellious Thunder had Cruel Darkness to further amplify his strength. The Magic Weapon grew through absorbing the Power of Darkness its user radiated. In return, the weapon not only provided its user with a significant boost in strength but also extended its user''s attack range drastically. When Rebellious Thunder wielded it, he could achieve an attack range of roughly 20 yards, which basically transformed him into a ranged player. With such an attack range combined with Rebellious Thunder''s Strength and techniques, it wouldn''t matter if he went up against one or even five melee players. There wouldn''t be much difference, as he wouldn''t give his opponents an opportunity to get close to him. Meanwhile, if a melee player couldn''t approach Rebellious Thunder, they naturally couldn''t attack him, either. This was the reason why Rebellious Thunder was able to fight three of Battle Wolves'' Domain Realm experts simultaneously without being put at a disadvantage. Since Shi Feng had summoned only one doppelganger, this increase in numbers wouldn''t affect Rebellious Thunder''s performance in battle at all. "Although I don''t know what you''re trying to pull here, you should just use whatever cards you have," Rebellious Thunder advised. Even after seeing Shi Feng summoning a doppelganger, he did not hurry to attack Shi Feng. Instead, he simply casually observed the Swordsman before him. "I''ll teach you how foolish it is for you to make an enemy out of Demon''s Heart!" After Rebellious Thunder said this, the Power of Darkness that his body radiated intensified once more. This time, it even produced a faint layer of dark fog around his body. At the same time, the Magic Weapon he wielded seemingly received an upgrade. Now, pale-blue flames flickered around Cruel Darkness''s blade. However, these flames did not increase the ambient temperature but decrease it. The temperature fell so low that the nearby plants even started freezing. "He can still grow stronger?" "Amazing! This is truly amazing! It''s no wonder even the top three adventurer teams do not dare defy Demon''s Heart! Just Rebellious Thunder alone is more than enough to make the top three adventurer teams suffer!" Upon seeing Rebellious Thunder''s strength improving further, the Demon players spectating from the city walls gained newfound recognition of Demon''s Heart. Many experts even started entertaining thoughts of joining the Guild. Originally, they had become Dark Players to avoid the restrictions of Guilds. However, the strength Rebellious Thunder displayed was simply too amazing. Now, they felt that they wouldn''t mind losing some of their freedom if it meant that they could become as strong as Rebellious Thunder. At this moment, let alone the Demon players spectating from the city walls, even Regretful Wind and the others, who were watching inside one of the city''s bars, were floored by Rebellious Thunder''s sudden power-up. "He still wasn''t at his peak state before?" As Regretful Wind goggled at Rebellious Thunder''s fog-shrouded body, he had trouble keeping his mouth closed. Compared to ordinary Demon players, Regretful Wind, who had already reached the Demon Viscount rank, had a much clearer idea just how frightening the Power of Darkness Rebellious Thunder radiated was. It was no exaggeration to say that, even if he raised the density of his own Power of Darkness by three or four times, he would still fall short of Rebellious Thunder''s standard. Since the origin of Demon player^ strength was the Power of Darkness, having denser Power of Darkness would improve not only one''s Concentration recovery but also the power of their Skills and Spells by a large margin. The Power of Darkness affected players similar to how Mana didbut with much more prominent effects. "To think that a Demon Count can grow that strong. Black Flame really is doomed this time. I''m afraid he won''t last more than a few moves against Rebellious Thunder," Flame Feather muttered in shock. She was clearly a 3-star Viscount, only one step away from becoming a Count. However, it never occurred to her that there would be such a huge gap in strength between a 3-star Viscount and an actual Count. At this moment, let alone within Demon City''s sphere of influence, even outside of Demon territories, Rebellious Thunder could still operate without fear. Meanwhile, outside Demon City, when Blue Frost and the other Zero Wing members from Shelter One, who had followed Shi Feng to Demon City, saw Rebellious Thunder''s transformation, grim expressions appeared on their faces. "Blue, how about advising the Guild Leader to stop? We''ve already gone this far. I believe the Dark Den''s various powers will understand how strong Shelter One is. However, if we proceed with this fight, our losses will be massive," Evening Lotus said as she looked at Blue Frost. After seeing how easily their team reached Demon City, she had indeed gained newfound recognition of their Guild. She never thought that Zero Wing would be this strong. However, their current opponent was no longer an existence they could deal with. Even though they had over 300 Tier 3 experts on their side, she wasn''t optimistic about their chances of defeating Rebellious Thunder. After all, they were standing in the home ground of Demon players. Moreover, Rebellious Thunder had the protection of Demon City. "Indeed. At this rate, rather than making a statement, we''ll end up becoming a laughing stock in the Dark Den instead," Blue Frost said, nodding. He, too, felt that they had done enough. Blue Frost immediately headed for Shi Feng to persuade him to end this battle of attrition. However, he had just taken two steps forward when Shi Feng suddenly raised the Abyssal Blade horizontal of himself and started incanting. The deafening roar of a Dragon entered everyone''s ears and shook the entire Demon City. This Dragon roar made everyone present shudder involuntarily, and they reflexively turned to look at the origin of this roar. To everyone''s surprise, this roar actually came from the doppelganger Shi Feng summoned. At this moment, however, the doppelganger had started disintegrating into a cloud of black fog, which continuously expanded, growing by several hundred times in size in no time at all. A short moment later, a pair of gigantic, golden eyes appeared inside the black fog, the piercing gaze of the golden eyes sending shivers down everyone''s spine. "What''s going on?" "The doppelganger can actually transform?" "The doppelganger''s aura is so strong!" The spectating players promptly started discussing among themselves when they saw the transformation Shi Feng''s doppelganger underwent, curiosity and confusion filling their minds. "It seems you weren''t spouting nonsense before," Rebellious Thunder said. As he gazed at the dense cloud of fog before him, fighting spirit welled up within him. However, no sooner had Rebellious Thunder finished speaking than a gigantic claw emerged from the cloud of fog. This claw was the size of a two-story house and densely covered in pitch-black scales. When the claw landed, it instantly shattered the ground. At the same time, everyone in the vicinity also felt the ground beneath them quaking. Before everyone could snap out of their daze, a thirty-meter-tall Black Dragon appeared before their eyes. "A Dragon?!" Everyone''s breath momentarily stifled as they gazed at the incarnation of death and destruction before them, unable to wrap their head around this situation. "How is this possible?!" "Why would a Dragon appear here?" "That is fake! That must be fake!" 2532 Black Dragons Migh t Chapter 2532 - Black Dragon''s Might Everyone instinctively refused to believe that a Dragon had appeared before them. In God''s Domain, Dragons were synonymous with destruction. They could easily destroy entire kingdoms and empires. Any location that had a Dragon appear there would automatically be viewed as a forbidden land for players; Demon players were no exception to this rule. Only death awaited them if they came across a Dragon. Hence, how could a player possibly summon a Dragon? However, the powerful aura and pressure, which stemmed from a massive difference in Life Rating, the Black Dragon gave off was undoubtedly real. At this moment, aside from the Demon players present, Blue Frost and the others standing behind Shi Feng were likewise astonished by this situation. They never thought that their Guild Leader would possess such a trump card. "No! Something''s not right! That Dragon seems to be only at Tier 3! It''s not a Tier 5 Adult Dragon!" a Tier 3 Demon Ranger, who had used an Identification Skill on the Black Dragon, suddenly shouted. Upon hearing this Ranger''s announcement, everyone immediately reacted to the situation. "It really is a Tier 3 Dragon!" "I knew it! I knew it was impossible for a player to summon an Adult Dragon!" "Even so, that Black Flame is still plenty amazing. I''m afraid even the vice commander will be helpless against a Tier 3 Dragon." When Demon''s Heart''s members saw that the Black Dragon was merely a Level 111, Tier 3 Infant Dragon, they breathed out a sigh of relief. As far as they knew, most Dragons that appeared before players were Tier 5 Adult Dragons, and even the weakest among them were Tier 4 Infant Dragons. They were not existences that current players could hope to go up against. However, a Tier 3 Infant Dragon was a different story. The reason why Dragons were considered the apex race in God''s Domain and possessed overwhelming strength was their incredibly high Life Rating and Growth Potential. They gained much more Basic Attributes than any other race from each level up. Every increase in their tier would also grant them a qualitative transformation. Hence, after reaching Tier 5 and becoming an adult, a Dragon would possess the strength to devastate countries. A Tier 3 Dragon, on the other hand, might still be invincible among those of the same tier, but it posed a much-lesser threat than Dragons at Tier 4 or above. "It''s no wonder why you dare provoke Demon''s Heart," Rebellious Thunder said as he looked at the Black Dragon looming above him. Currently, he, too, was feeling intense pressure from the Dragon. However, instead of despair rising, Rebellious Thunder''s fighting spirit flared. He leaped toward the Black Dragon, shouting, "However, don''t even think that a Tier 3 Dragon is enough to force Demon''s Heart to step back!" Dragons indeed possessed a strength that made them unrivaled among those of the same tier. However, a Demon Count, like himself, also possessed such strength. Moreover, he was currently wielding Cruel Darkness, one of the Demon race''s 16 Magic Weapons. If he combined that with his techniques, he was confident he could fight even a Tier 3 Dragon. In the next moment, Rebellious Thunder raised Cruel Darkness and executed a slash at the Black Dragon, with Power of Darkness wrapped around the greatsword. Space split apart wherever the greatsword passed. Tier 3 Skill, Blazing Slash! "What a powerful move! You can definitely send a Mythic monster flying with this move," Shi Feng said in admiration as he looked at the pitch-black greatsword descending toward the Black Dragon. "Unfortunately, you made a basic mistake. What you''re going up against isn''t an ordinary Tier 3 Dragon, but a Tier 3 Dragon that I am controlling!" After Shi Feng said so, his doppelganger took action, sending a claw swinging at the descending greatsword. Secret Technique, Lightning Flash! The gigantic claw transformed into streaks of light that clashed with the pitch-black sword. Boom... Accompanied by the sound of an explosion, the pitch-black sword shattered, the frightening recoil sending Rebellious Thunder flying back like a cannonball. In the blink of an eye, Rebellious Thunder''s body crashed into Demon City''s curtain wall, his HP instantly decreasing by more than 300,000. "How is that possible?!" "How can a summoned creature use a combat technique?!" For a time, everyone stared at the Black Dragon''s proud figure in shock and confusion. In fact, the shock they felt right now was even greater than what they felt previously, when they thought Shi Feng had summoned a Tier 4 or Tier 5 Dragon. In God''s Domain, although players could summon and control powerful creatures to fight for them, after all was said and done, they weren''t controlling their own bodies. Hence, they could only conduct subpar battles with their summoned creatures. Executing combat techniques that required nimble and precise movements from the physical body using a summoned creature would be beyond them. Now, however, not only did Shi Feng execute a combat technique through the Black Dragon he summoned, but the complexity of the combat technique he executed was also extremely high. For a moment, everyone felt as if the system was playing a joke on them. What no one knew was that Shi Feng had already reached the Realms of Truth''s Ascension Realm. The control he possessed over his physical body had long since surpassed the standard of ordinary people. Although it was extremely difficult to execute Lightning Flash through the Black Dragon, he could, although just barely. However, the power of the technique was far inferior to when he executed the technique with his own body. Even so, combined with the power of the Black Dragon, it wasn''t an attack Rebellious Thunder could block. Meanwhile, after landing a successful blow, Shi Feng did not give Rebellious Thunder any opportunity to recollect himself. The Black Dragon immediately opened its maw at Rebellious Thunder. Dragon Breath! In the next moment, a dazzling beam of light devoured Rebellious Thunder, who was embedded in Demon City''s wall, and brightly illuminated the area before Demon City''s main entrance. The frightening shockwave of the attack vaporized all Demon''s Heart members standing in the vicinity of the beam and shook the entire Demon City slightly. In fact, cracks even appeared on the city''s sturdy walls. Silence! Destruction! Death! For a time, shock and fear filled everyone present, particularly the Demon''s Heart members who just barely survived the shockwave of the Dragon Breath. They could not help but goggle in stunned silence at the steaming canyon that had formed beside them. "So, this is a Dragon?" Regretful Wind and the others who were spectating the fight from inside Demon City shuddered at this outcome. After all, the Black Dragon was simply too strong! With just one attack, the Black Dragon had instantly vaporized Rebellious Thunder, who was a Demon Count. The only thing left in Rebellious Thunder''s place was a pitch-black blade. Earlier, despite suffering from the Black Dragon''s combat technique, Rebellious Thunder still had over 5 million HP remaining. Even if Rebellious Thunder simply stood in place without defending himself, a Tier 4 Mythic monster would still need quite some time to kill him. However, Shi Feng''s Black Dragon had used only one attack to turn Rebellious Thunder into nothing. "Run!" When the Demon''s Heart members snapped out of their daze, their originally calm and arrogant composure instantly crumbled, and they fled frantically toward Demon City. What a joke! Aside from Rebellious Thunder, everyone else in the team was only a Demon Viscount or Demon Baron. Since the Black Dragon could kill Rebellious Thunder with one hit, it could naturally do the same to them. In fact, the Black Dragon might only need a single claw swipe to finish off the rest of them. Upon seeing this scene, the spectating Demon players were stupefied. Were these fleeing players really the same Demon''s Heart experts they knew of? Normally, every one of Demon''s Heart''s members was an arrogant prick. They behaved as if they were entirely different creatures from other players. Even the members of Demon City''s top three adventurer teams were afraid of Demon''s Heart''s experts. Now, however, these same experts from Demon''s Heart were actually fleeing from Shi Feng like mice that had just come across a cat. This was definitely the first time such a situation had happened since Demon City''s construction. Even when going up against Battle Wolves, Demon''s Heart''s experts had not retreated even an inch. Meanwhile, the shocking news of Rebellious Thunder''s death and Demon''s Heart''s members'' frantic retreat also quickly spread throughout Demon City. 2533 Siege? Chapter 2533 - Siege? Demon City, Demon''s Heart''s Residence: "Rebellious Thunder died? How is that possible?" Standing inside the darkness training room, Furious Heart was stunned when he heard his subordinate''s report. What happened? Previously, in order to frighten off Shi Feng''s team, he had specifically approved the decision to send Rebellious Thunder to meet with Shi Feng to warn the Swordsman to leave Demon City and offer the possibility of a future partnership between their two Guilds. Now, however, he had received news that not only had Shi Feng refused their kind offer, but Rebellious Thunder had also died. "There must be some kind of miscommunication. Rebellious Thunder is a Demon Count. With his strength, let alone Zero Wing''s experts, he wouldn''t have any problems going up against even the Five Great Super Guilds'' old monsters. Moreover, he was standing before Demon City''s entrance. He should''ve still had the buff from the city''s magic array. How could he possibly have been killed?" the black-clad Elder, who was a Tier 3 Demon Viscount, exclaimed in astonishment. Rebellious Thunder was one of Demon''s Heart''s strongest experts. While inside Demon City, he could fight even Tier 4 NPCs. It was also due to Rebellious Thunder''s presence that the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader had left on a distant expedition without worrying about Demon City''s affairs. Now, however, he was being told that Rebellious Thunder had died. How could he possibly believe this? "News of this matter has already spread throughout the city. Moreover, the fight was recorded by many players," the Tier 3 Assassin who had come to report on this matter said with a bitter smile as he faced Furious Heart and the other Guild Elders present. Previously, he had also denied the validity of this information when he received the report of his subordinate. However, after watching the battle videos going viral on the official forums, he had no choice but to believe it. He then shared one of the better videos recorded with the Guild Elders present. In the video, a thirty-meter-tall Black Dragon could be seen sending the Demonized Rebellious Thunder flying with a combat technique. Immediately afterward, the Black Dragon vaporized Rebellious Thunder and created a small canyon before Demon City using its Dragon Breath... When the video ended, silence fell over the entire training room. "So, this thing was the cause of the previous shaking?" Furious Heart''s complexion turned grim as he gazed at the Black Dragon in the video. A Dragon! Although the Black Dragon was only a Tier 3 Infant Dragon, it possessed astonishing strength. If the Black Dragon could kill even a monster like Rebellious Thunder in a single hit, aside from the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader Flaming Light, nobody in Demon''s Heart posed a threat to it. "Elder Heart, what should we do? If Black Flame is capable of killing even Vice Commander Thunder, I''m afraid he can kill me easily once he enters the city," Troubled Times said worriedly after witnessing the Black Dragon''s strength. Troubled Times never dreamed that Shi Feng would have such a frightening trump card saved up. He had clearly fled to a Demon territory already. Non-Demon players couldn''t use any Berserk Skills here. However, Shi Feng actually had the ability to transform his doppelganger into a Dragon. For a moment, Troubled Times had a feeling that the Main God System was playing a joke on him. "Commander Troubled, you don''t have to worry too much. Black Flame''s trump card might be powerful, but the duration in which his doppelganger can remain in Dragon form should be very limited. The transformation will last for a few minutes, at most," Furious Heart said calmly. "Moreover, he can only strut around outside Demon City. Without our invitation, he shouldn''t even think of entering. All you need to do is rest inside our Residence and wait until the tracking mark on you disappears." "That''s right. He is merely a human player. Even if he can summon a Dragon, it is merely a Tier 3 Dragon. It might be strong against players like us, but it is far from sufficient for dealing with the Demon NPCs inside the city. Not to mention, Demon City still has a defensive magic array. Non-Demon players without an invitation can''t enter the city. You can relax and rest here," the black-clad Demon Viscount Elder said, nodding in agreement with Furious Heart''s words. "Once the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader return, Black Flame is doomed!" Rebellious Thunder''s death was indeed surprising. The fact that Shi Feng could summon a Dragon was even more shocking. However, this was only at the standard of players. Before the NPCs of God''s Domain, these things were nothing. Not to mention, they were currently standing inside Demon City. Demon City was far more powerful than the NPC cities found in the outside world. It had not only an army of Demon NPCs defending it but also the protection of one of the Demon race''s 72 Great Demon Marquises. Let alone Zero Wing, even if all of the Ten Saints Empire''s superpowers joined hands, they still wouldn''t be capable of taking down Demon City. All Shi Feng''s team could do was act arrogantly outside Demon City. Once Demon''s Heart''s main force returned, Shi Feng''s team would have nowhere to run! "That''s a Dragon we''re talking about. Can Demon City''s defensive magic array really stop it?" Troubled Times could not help asking worriedly. He wasn''t doubting Furious Heart. It was just that Shi Feng was far too frightening. After all, the Swordsman had survived an attack from a Demon King''s Hand. Troubled Times truly could not bring himself to relax in this situation. "This is Demon City. A Tier 4 Dragon might be a different story, but a Tier 3 Dragon can, at most, roar at the city. We don''t need to pay Black Flame any mind," Furious Heart assured him confidently. The other Demon''s Heart members present rolled their eyes at Troubled Times''s anxious behavior. The reason why Demon players like themselves could establish themselves in the Ten Saints Empire was precisely the helplessness of the empire''s various superpowers against Demon City. Those superpowers could only watch from the sidelines as the city developed rapidly. Anyone who said that Shi Feng could break through the city''s defenses all by himself would be joking. While Troubled Times and Demon''s Heart''s Elders were discussing this matter, the players residing in Demon City had gone into an uproar. "Amazing! The Black Dragon actually managed to instant-kill Rebellious Thunder under Demon City''s protection! This is the first time Demon''s Heart suffered such a loss since Demon City''s construction!" "It''s no wonder Demon''s Heart offered such an astronomical bounty before. Zero Wing really isn''t a force to be trifled with." "Even the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers are helpless against Demon''s Heart. Just what kind of Guild is Zero Wing?" Due to Rebellious Thunder''s death, the players inside Demon City grew interested in Zero Wing. Many adventurer teams had even started looking into Zero Wing in order to find out what kind of Guild it was. As Demon City''s resident players were making a fuss over this matter, Shi Feng manipulated the Black Dragon and had it fly above Demon City and hover above Demon''s Heart''s Residence. This situation created another stir among Demon City''s resident players. "What is he trying to do?" He''s not trying to break into the city, right?" "This is Demon City. How can players possibly enter it by force? He''s probably trying to scare us." The players inside Demon''s Heart''s Residence also quickly took notice of the thirty-meter-tall Black Dragon. For a time, everyone there discussed the Black Dragon, wondering what Shi Feng was trying to do. "Elder Heart, the defensive magic array shouldn''t have a problem stopping the Dragon, right?" Troubled Times could not help asking as he eyed the Black Dragon in the sky. "Relax. If it''s only capable of executing attacks like the one before, Black Flame shouldn''t even think of getting into the city, even if he attacks for an hour continuously," Furious Heart replied. Turning to look at the Black Dragon in the sky, he continued in a disdainful tone, "Vice Guild Leader Light has already received the news about Black Flame. He''ll be returning with his team very soon. Black Flame can only act arrogantly for now." However, as soon as Furious Heart finished speaking, Shi Feng''s voice suddenly came from above the city. "Troubled Times, don''t think that Demon City can protect you!" In the next moment, a frightening amount of Mana started gathering before the Black Dragon, the area within a 300- yard radius of the Black Dragon getting depleted of Mana. First Sword, Lightshadow! 2534 Frightened Demons Chapter 2534 - Frightened Demons "What?! He''s really going to siege the city!?" "This is Demon City we''re talking about! Is he insane!?" When the resident players of Demon City heard Shi Feng''s words, they were stunned. They never thought that Shi Feng actually intended to attack Demon City directly. This revelation was as if someone had just told them that there were players seeking to attack the capital city of an NPC kingdom. This had to be a joke. In the next moment, however, the Black Dragon ruthlessly smashed its claw into the magic barrier protecting the city. The instant the claw started descending, it transformed into a gigantic phantom claw that blotted out the sky. Boom! The sky thundered and the earth shook when the phantom claw collided with the translucent barrier. The intense shockwaves even shattered the surrounding space like glass. The power of this claw attack was many times greater than that of the Dragon Breath the Black Dragon used before. "What power!" Regretful Wind, who had just exited the bar he visited, was shocked as he looked at the trembling magic barrier above him. "Demon City''s defensive magic array doesn''t react so violently even when a Tier 4 NPC goes all-out! Just how strong is that Black Dragon''s attack?" There was nobody in Demon City that did not know how strong Demon City''s defensive magic array was. When Demon City was first constructed, the Ten Saints Empire had once dispatched an NPC army to attack it. Back then, however, even when multiple Tier 4 NPCs bombarded the city''s defensive magic array with everything they had, the magic array didn''t vibrate at all. The NPC army broke through the city''s defensive magic array only with the help of a Tier 5 Divine Official. The Black Dragon Shi Feng summoned, on the other hand, was only Tier 3. At best, its strength should only be on par with Tier 4 NPCs. Now, however, the Black Dragon had actually made Demon City''s magic barrier shake so violently with just a single attack. This situation was simply unbelievable. "Insane! He must be insane!" Flame Feather was confused when she saw the Black Dragon bombarding the city''s magic barrier. "By attacking the magic barrier, he''s basically declaring his intent to siege the city! Even Battle Wolves didn''t dare do such a thing! With this, Demon''s Heart''s members won''t be the only ones taking action! Demon City''s NPCs will take action as well! Does Black Flame not know this!?" It might be fine if Demon City were just a Guild City. After all, Guild Cities fully belonged to players. However, NPCs partially owned Demon City. This was why Demon players like herself were confident that there were no players capable of threatening Demon City''s continued existence at this stage of the game. Back when Battle Wolves sent its army on a crusade against Demon City, it had only set out to kill the Demon players operating around Demon City, which would, in turn, weaken Demon City''s strength. It had never intended to attack Demon City directly. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually attacked Demon City''s magic barrier. He was simply tired of living. Meanwhile, inside Demon''s Heart''s Residence, when Troubled Times saw the city''s magic barrier still standing despite suffering multiple attacks from the Black Dragon, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Previously, he had very nearly thought that Shi Feng would shatter the city''s magic barrier. Fortunately, the Black Dragon''s attacks were only making the barrier tremble. In other words, the Black Dragon''s attacks were still within the barrier''s range of tolerance. "He really took action?" Furious Heart was stunned by this situation. He never thought that Shi Feng would actually attack Demon City directly. "Hahaha! He''s doomed now! By the time the Vice Guild Leader returns, the city''s Great Demon NPCs would''ve long since taken care of him!" laughed the black-clad Elder standing beside Furious Heart. Originally, their side had been helpless against Shi Feng. The only thing they could do was hide inside Demon City''s protection and await their Vice Guild Leader''s team''s return. However, Shi Feng had lost all reason and actually launched an attack on Demon City. With this, all they needed to do now was sit back and watch the city''s Great Demon NPCs dispose of Shi Feng. These Great Demon NPCs were much stronger than human NPCs. The Demon Monarch that ruled the city was even a frightening existence on par with the Heroes of humans. Current players would be helpless against him. "Guild Leader?" At this moment, let alone the resident players of Demon City, even Blue Frost and the others following after Shi Feng were stunned by this situation. In their opinion, it would''ve been perfect if they could somehow sneak into Demon City and leave swiftly. They never thought that Shi Feng would actually take direct action against Demon City! However, before Blue Frost and the others could react, over a dozen Great Demons flew out of Demon City. Not only were all these Great Demons at Level 130 or above, but they also radiated a stifling aura. This was especially true for the dignified man flying in the lead of the group of Great Demons. The man wore exquisite, crimson armor and held an icy war axe in his hand. And surprisingly, he looked nothing like a Demon and very much like a human. However, if one used an Identification Skill on this man, they would discover that he wasn''t human at all but a bona fide Demon. Moreover, he was a Great Demon with an extremely prestigious Bloodline. [Morpheus (Demon Monarch)] (Great Demon, 2-star Demon Marquis) Level 135 HP 700,000,000/700,000,000 The Great Demons quickly surrounded the Black Dragon, leaving it with no room to escape. "Dragon! This is the Demon race''s city! You don''t belong here!" Morpheus declared in a cold tone as he looked at the Black Dragon. Meanwhile, upon hearing Morpheus''s words, the resident players of Demon City promptly went into an uproar. "Quick, look! Our City Lord is taking action!" "Black Flame is overestimating himself! Not only did he offend Demon''s Heart, but he also dared to touch Demon City! He''s doomed now!" "Black Flame really is courageous. However, I wonder how long he''ll be able to stand up against Morpheus?" NPCs rarely took action against players. Hence, many players were curious to see the strength of NPCs, especially Demon NPCs. Now that there was an opportunity to watch Demon NPCs fight a monster-level expert like Shi Feng, everyone naturally grew excited. In response to this situation, Demon''s Heart''s members started smiling. With over a dozen Tier 4 Great Demons taking action, even a Tier 4 Hero should not dream of escaping unharmed, let alone a Tier 3 player like Shi Feng. However, while Demon''s Heart''s members were feeling elated over Shi Feng''s foolish behavior, a sigh came from the Black Dragon. "Sure enough, it is impossible to destroy this magic barrier using only the strength of a Tier 3 Dragon. It seems I have no choice but to get serious." Although Shi Feng had spoken in a calm tone, when his voice was relayed through the Black Dragon, it had been loudly amplified. As a result, everyone inside Demon City heard him very clearly. "What does he mean?" "He still hasn''t gotten serious until now?" "An act! He''s definitely putting on an act!" When Demon''s Heart''s members heard Shi Feng''s words, they instinctively thought that he was putting on an act and that he was actually at his wit''s end already. "What?! He still has a trump card he hasn''t used?!" Regretful Wind, however, did not think that Shi Feng was boasting. At the same time, though, he also felt that the Swordsman couldn''t possess a trump card stronger than the Black Dragon. However, before anyone could deduce anything from Shi Feng''s words, the Black Dragon suddenly disappeared, leaving Shi Feng himself in its place. At this moment, though, Shi Feng held a thick, ancient tome in his hands, and this tome woke an instinctual fear in every Demon player in the city. "Damn it! Why is it in your hands?!" Morpheus''s complexion changed dramatically when he saw the ancient tome that Shi Feng held. Before the Demon players present could react to the situation, Morpheus turned around and fled back into Demon City. Moreover, he wasn''t alone. The dozen or so other Great Demons also revealed fearful expressions as they zoomed back to the city. 2535 Silent Demon City Chapter 2535 - Silent Demon City They''re running?" "What''s up with these Demon NPCs?" Seeing Morpheus and the other Demon NPCs suddenly turning around and fleeing left Demon City''s resident players confused. The NPCs had surrounded Shi Feng''s Black Dragon and were even prepared to take action against it. In the end, however, they had fled as soon as Shi Feng himself appeared before them. What was going on here? At this moment, let alone Demon City''s resident players, even Demon''s Heart''s members, who held actual authority over Demon City, were stunned by this situation. "What did he do? Why are the Demon NPCs afraid of him?" Furious Heart was astounded as he stared at Shi Feng, who was currently chanting an incantation in the sky. The intellect of Tier 4 Demon NPCs was not the slightest bit inferior to players''. It was almost impossible for players to gain any advantage over them. Before these Demon NPCs, current players were nothing but a joke. These Demon NPCs could squash current players like ants. Not to mention, these Demon NPCs had remained calm even when fighting a Tier 5 Divine Official. Moreover, in the end, they had repelled the Ten Saints Empire''s NPC army, allowing Demon City to establish a foothold in the empire. Now, however, these Demon NPCs actually fled like startled mice. However, before Furious Heart could figure out what was going on, Shi Feng finished chanting the final verse of his incantation. His gaze then locked on to a nearby Level 134, Tier 4 Demon Viscount, who served as the captain of Morpheus''s personal security team. "In the name of the ruler of Demons, submit to my will!" Pitch-black chains suddenly appeared around the Level 134 Guard Captain, giving off an indescribable pressure that made all the Demon NPCs and Demon players shudder involuntarily. "No! Don''t take away my will!" the Guard Captain shouted as it struggled intensely to repulse the assault of the pitch- black chains. Unfortunately, all its efforts were futile, as the pitch-black chains simply ignored the Guard Captain''s resistance and merged with its body. In the next moment, the struggling Guard Captain turned sluggish, and its eyes became cloudy. It was as if the Guard Captain had just had its soul sucked away. "What did he do?" "He actually managed to deal with a bona fide Tier 4 Demon Viscount with just one move?" Every Demon player present gaped in shock at this scene. This was a Tier 4 NPC of Demon City. The combat power it possessed far exceeded that of Tier 4 Great Demons in the outside world. Not to mention, the Demon NPC in question was even a Great Demon that held the rank of Viscount. Its strength practically rivaled that of Tier 4 Heroes. Now, however, the Demon in question had actually stopped moving. It worked? Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the Guard Captain stop moving. The Bible of Darkness held considerable deterrence over Demons. In its current state, only Demon King-level Demons could resist its power. Demons beneath Demon Kings would instinctively fear the Bible. However, using the Bible of Darkness to take control of Demons was not easy. On the surface, the Bible of Darkness''s Demon Ruler had a 12% chance of successfully controlling a Demonic Creature, so long as the target was not more than 30 levels and two tiers higher than the user. In reality, however, the stronger the targeted Demon, the lower the chances of controlling it. With Shi Feng''s current self, if he tried to control Morpheus, who was a Demon Marquis, his chances of success would most likely be lower than 1%. This was why he had chosen the Viscount-ranked Guard Captain as his target. Even so, Shi Feng never thought that he would successfully control the Guard Captain on the first try; hence, he had planned on multiple attempts. After all, Demon Ruler had a Cooldown of only five minutes. If once was not enough, he could simply try a second or third time. As for the possibility of the Demon NPCs of Demon City attacking him, he didn''t have to worry about that at all. The Bible of Darkness held an absolute suppression over Demonic Creatures, although this suppression was not particularly effective against Demon players. So long as he held the Bible of Darkness, all Demonic Creatures below Tier 6 would fear him; Tier 5 Demon Kings were no exception. Not only would these Demonic Creatures have their Basic Attributes drastically decreased, but even their intellect would be affected quite significantly. Moreover, if worst comes to worst, he still had the Seven Luminaries Ring. He could escape to safety whenever he wanted to. Hence, he did not fear Demon City''s NPCs at all. These factors were why he dared come to Demon City. After Shi Feng took control of the Guard Captain, however, the other fleeing Demon NPCs promptly halted their retreat and turned to glare at Shi Feng and the controlled Guard Captain, vigilance and rage burning in their eyes. It seems these Demons are aware that I can use Demon Ruler only once within a short period but are afraid of recklessly approaching me due to their hypersensitive nature. Shi Feng smiled as he swept a glance at the vigilant Demon NPCs. "Unfortunately, you are already too late!" After saying so, he controlled the Black Dragon and had it fly over to his side. He then had it launch another attack at Demon City''s magic barrier. "What?! He''s still trying to attack the magic barrier?" "I don''t know why the Demon NPCs are so afraid of him, but he is still a hundred years too early if he thinks he can destroy Demon City''s barrier!" Demon''s Heart''s members were very surprised by Shi Feng''s ability to terrify the Demon NPCs. However, that was it. Their emotions were limited to surprise. After all, while the Demon NPCs were afraid to leave the city to deal with Shi Feng, Shi Feng still could not enter Demon City. However, as soon as Demon''s Heart''s members finished speaking, the Demon Guard Captain that had turned sluggish suddenly started moving. And to everyone''s surprise, the Guard Captain cast the Tier 4 Curse Dark Star at the same point that the Black Dragon had attacked. In the next moment, the Black Dragon''s claw smashed into the magic barrier''s outer surface. At the same time, a gigantic, pitch-black star also smashed into the magic barrier''s inner surface. Boom! Upon receiving attacks from both inside and outside, the defensive magic array instantly shattered. Cracks bloomed all over the magic barrier that protected Demon City. Peng... Peng... Peng... In just a few seconds, the cracks had extended throughout the magic barrier. When looking up from Demon City right now, the spectating Demon players found themselves looking at a cracked sky. Silence! Absolute silence! At this moment, as if time had frozen for Demon City, every player residing in the city was gazing at the sky in stunned silence, both their eyes and mouths wide open. Just then, a series of system notifications entered the ears of all Demon players operating within the Burning Forest Region, the emotionless voice of the system echoing in their minds for a long time. 2536 Slaying Troubled Times Chapter 2536 _ Slaying Troubled Times Burning Forest Region System Announcement: Human players have broken through Demon City''s defensive magic array. All Demon players based in Demon City will have their City Reputation reduced by 10 points and City Contribution, by 3,000 points. Boost to Power of Darkness will also be reduced by 20%. Burning Forest Region System Announcement: Demon City''s defensive magic array has been broken. Ruling Guild of the city will have its Popularity reduced by 5,000 points. All benefits provided by Demon City will be halved for 7 natural days. All quests given out in Demon City will have their rewards reduced by 30%. The system announcement repeated throughout the Burning Forest three times, causing a deathly silence to befall the forest. "Someone broke through Demon City''s defensive magic array?" "Didn''t they say that even the Ten Saints Empire''s NPC army was helpless against Demon City? How could players possibly break through the city''s defensive magic array?" "Who did it?" Could it be those people Demon''s Heart placed a bounty on before?" The Demon players grinding and questing inside the Burning Forest were flabbergasted by the system announcement. Some players even fell into a daze in battle and nearly got themselves killed by monsters. Since Demon City''s construction until now, aside from Battle Wolves, no power or player had truly managed to put pressure on Demon City. Now, however, not only did someone put pressure on Demon City, but they had even destroyed the city''s defensive magic array. This was simply unbelievable. The shock the Demon players felt upon receiving this piece of information was akin to human players hearing about some other player breaking through the defenses of a kingdom''s capital. It was simply unthinkable. Meanwhile, inside Demon City, the resident players remained in a daze long after the incident. Like robots that had jammed, their mouths kept opening and closing wordlessly as they stared up into the empty sky above them. "Damn it! How did he do it?! This is a Main City-level defensive magic array!" As Furious Heart stared at Shi Feng hovering in the sky, unprecedented shock filled him. He never imagined that Shi Feng would actually succeed in destroying Demon City''s defensive magic array. Back when the Ten Saints Empire''s army had attacked, it had taken a Tier 5 Divine Official to destroy the city''s defensive magic array. The defensive magic array had stood strong even under the bombardment of over a dozen Tier 4 NPCs. Now, however, Shi Fenga Tier 3 playerhad single-handedly destroyed the city''s defensive magic array. Moreover, he had accomplished this feat with just one attack. This was definitely a bug! However, it was also almost impossible for the Main God System to make an error. Even if there were an error in the system, it wouldn''t be on such a monumental scale. What Furious Heart did not know was that, in God''s Domain, all magic arrays had weaknesses; the defensive magic array of major cities was no exception. They all had Mana junctions that were much more fragile compared to the other parts of the magic array. Normally, though, ordinary players couldn''t locate these weak points. Moreover, with how large a city-scale defensive magic array was, trying to find these weak points was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. However, that was not the case for Shi Feng. After he became an Intermediate Master Magician, his understanding of magic arrays had reached completely new heights. Now, let alone Demon City''s defensive magic array, even if faced with a Main City-level defensive magic array of a kingdom that had been existence for over a century, he was still confident he could find the magic array''s weak points. Previously, Shi Feng had planned to break through Demon City''s defensive magic array by having the Black Dragon attack the magic array''s weak points. However, the damage tolerance of the weak points exceeded the amount of damage the Black Dragon could inflict. As a result, the Black Dragon only managed to shave off a certain amount of the magic array''s energy reserves with its attacks. However, after gaining control over the Tier 4 Demon Guard Captain, he was able to have the Guard Captain and Black Dragon attack the same location simultaneously, thereby combining their Strength and executing an attack that exceeded the magic array''s damage tolerance. Only then did he succeed in instantly shattering Demon City''s defensive magic array. If not for the Guard Captain falling into his control, he really would have been helpless against Demon City. Meanwhile, as everyone remained stunned by this unexpected development, Shi Feng, who had Gale Domain activated, flew to the space above Demon''s Heart''s Residence. He then quietly observed the crowded Residence below him. "Troubled Times, it''s your turn now!" Shi Feng said when he spotted Troubled Times, ignoring the tens of thousands of Demon''s Heart members around. Shi Feng''s words were akin to a death knell. Upon hearing these words, Demon''s Heart''s members could not help but turn to look at Troubled Times, who stood at a corner of the Residence''s plaza, pity appearing in their eyes. Troubled Times should''ve been safe after escaping to Demon City. Now, however, that was no longer true. If Shi Feng could destroy even Demon City''s defensive magic array in a single attack, who could possibly stand up to him? Even if Shi Feng had relied on the strength of the Demon Guard Captain to accomplish this feat, this could also be considered a portion of the Swordsman''s strength. After all, not everyone was capable of controlling a Tier 4 Great Demona Demon NPC, at that. "Black Flame, you''d better not go too far! This is Demon''s Heart''s Residence!" Furious Heart bellowed when he saw that Shi Feng was completely ignoring Demon''s Heart''s members. "You''ve already destroyed Demon City''s defensive magic array and caused Demon''s Heart''s prestige to plummet! If you kill Troubled Times, you''ll make an out-and-out enemy of Demon''s Heart! You''d better think this through clearly!" Shi Feng''s strength was indeed terrifying. However, Demon''s Heart was not an existence to provoke easily. It was the first Dark Guild in God''s Domain to establish a city for Demons. In an era where dark powers were flourishing, even Super Guilds would not dare to offend Demon''s Heart casually. Demon''s Heart might not have the ability to deal with a monster like Shi Feng, but Zero Wing was a different story. A Guild was different from an individual. A Guild was an organization made up of thousands, and possibly even millions, of players. So long as Demon''s Heart slaughtered Zero Wing''s other members, even if Shi Feng remained unharmed, Zero Wing would still fall into ruin. This was also the reason why the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers chose to take a step back when dealing with Demon''s Heart. "So what? Do you think Zero Wing is a Guild you can casually provoke?" Shi Feng said as he glanced askance at Furious Heart. The Black Dragon immediately descended from the skies and appeared above Troubled Times. It then swiped a claw at the Berserker. Lightshadow! "No!" When Troubled Times saw the mountain-like claw smashing down toward him, he instinctively activated Demonification, followed by a Lifesaving Skill to protect himself. Unfortunately, before a Tier 3 Dragon, a Tier 3 Demon player like Troubled Times was no different from an ant. When the Black Dragon''s claw came into contact with Troubled Times, the Berserker got crushed into the ground and died just like that. 2536 Slaying Troubled Times Chapter 2536 _ Slaying Troubled Times Burning Forest Region System Announcement: Human players have broken through Demon City''s defensive magic array. All Demon players based in Demon City will have their City Reputation reduced by 10 points and City Contribution, by 3,000 points. Boost to Power of Darkness will also be reduced by 20%. Burning Forest Region System Announcement: Demon City''s defensive magic array has been broken. Ruling Guild of the city will have its Popularity reduced by 5,000 points. All benefits provided by Demon City will be halved for 7 natural days. All quests given out in Demon City will have their rewards reduced by 30%. The system announcement repeated throughout the Burning Forest three times, causing a deathly silence to befall the forest. "Someone broke through Demon City''s defensive magic array?" "Didn''t they say that even the Ten Saints Empire''s NPC army was helpless against Demon City? How could players possibly break through the city''s defensive magic array?" "Who did it?" Could it be those people Demon''s Heart placed a bounty on before?" The Demon players grinding and questing inside the Burning Forest were flabbergasted by the system announcement. Some players even fell into a daze in battle and nearly got themselves killed by monsters. Since Demon City''s construction until now, aside from Battle Wolves, no power or player had truly managed to put pressure on Demon City. Now, however, not only did someone put pressure on Demon City, but they had even destroyed the city''s defensive magic array. This was simply unbelievable. The shock the Demon players felt upon receiving this piece of information was akin to human players hearing about some other player breaking through the defenses of a kingdom''s capital. It was simply unthinkable. Meanwhile, inside Demon City, the resident players remained in a daze long after the incident. Like robots that had jammed, their mouths kept opening and closing wordlessly as they stared up into the empty sky above them. "Damn it! How did he do it?! This is a Main City-level defensive magic array!" As Furious Heart stared at Shi Feng hovering in the sky, unprecedented shock filled him. He never imagined that Shi Feng would actually succeed in destroying Demon City''s defensive magic array. Back when the Ten Saints Empire''s army had attacked, it had taken a Tier 5 Divine Official to destroy the city''s defensive magic array. The defensive magic array had stood strong even under the bombardment of over a dozen Tier 4 NPCs. Now, however, Shi Fenga Tier 3 playerhad single-handedly destroyed the city''s defensive magic array. Moreover, he had accomplished this feat with just one attack. This was definitely a bug! However, it was also almost impossible for the Main God System to make an error. Even if there were an error in the system, it wouldn''t be on such a monumental scale. What Furious Heart did not know was that, in God''s Domain, all magic arrays had weaknesses; the defensive magic array of major cities was no exception. They all had Mana junctions that were much more fragile compared to the other parts of the magic array. Normally, though, ordinary players couldn''t locate these weak points. Moreover, with how large a city-scale defensive magic array was, trying to find these weak points was akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. However, that was not the case for Shi Feng. After he became an Intermediate Master Magician, his understanding of magic arrays had reached completely new heights. Now, let alone Demon City''s defensive magic array, even if faced with a Main City-level defensive magic array of a kingdom that had been existence for over a century, he was still confident he could find the magic array''s weak points. Previously, Shi Feng had planned to break through Demon City''s defensive magic array by having the Black Dragon attack the magic array''s weak points. However, the damage tolerance of the weak points exceeded the amount of damage the Black Dragon could inflict. As a result, the Black Dragon only managed to shave off a certain amount of the magic array''s energy reserves with its attacks. However, after gaining control over the Tier 4 Demon Guard Captain, he was able to have the Guard Captain and Black Dragon attack the same location simultaneously, thereby combining their Strength and executing an attack that exceeded the magic array''s damage tolerance. Only then did he succeed in instantly shattering Demon City''s defensive magic array. If not for the Guard Captain falling into his control, he really would have been helpless against Demon City. Meanwhile, as everyone remained stunned by this unexpected development, Shi Feng, who had Gale Domain activated, flew to the space above Demon''s Heart''s Residence. He then quietly observed the crowded Residence below him. "Troubled Times, it''s your turn now!" Shi Feng said when he spotted Troubled Times, ignoring the tens of thousands of Demon''s Heart members around. Shi Feng''s words were akin to a death knell. Upon hearing these words, Demon''s Heart''s members could not help but turn to look at Troubled Times, who stood at a corner of the Residence''s plaza, pity appearing in their eyes. Troubled Times should''ve been safe after escaping to Demon City. Now, however, that was no longer true. If Shi Feng could destroy even Demon City''s defensive magic array in a single attack, who could possibly stand up to him? Even if Shi Feng had relied on the strength of the Demon Guard Captain to accomplish this feat, this could also be considered a portion of the Swordsman''s strength. After all, not everyone was capable of controlling a Tier 4 Great Demona Demon NPC, at that. "Black Flame, you''d better not go too far! This is Demon''s Heart''s Residence!" Furious Heart bellowed when he saw that Shi Feng was completely ignoring Demon''s Heart''s members. "You''ve already destroyed Demon City''s defensive magic array and caused Demon''s Heart''s prestige to plummet! If you kill Troubled Times, you''ll make an out-and-out enemy of Demon''s Heart! You''d better think this through clearly!" Shi Feng''s strength was indeed terrifying. However, Demon''s Heart was not an existence to provoke easily. It was the first Dark Guild in God''s Domain to establish a city for Demons. In an era where dark powers were flourishing, even Super Guilds would not dare to offend Demon''s Heart casually. Demon''s Heart might not have the ability to deal with a monster like Shi Feng, but Zero Wing was a different story. A Guild was different from an individual. A Guild was an organization made up of thousands, and possibly even millions, of players. So long as Demon''s Heart slaughtered Zero Wing''s other members, even if Shi Feng remained unharmed, Zero Wing would still fall into ruin. This was also the reason why the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers chose to take a step back when dealing with Demon''s Heart. "So what? Do you think Zero Wing is a Guild you can casually provoke?" Shi Feng said as he glanced askance at Furious Heart. The Black Dragon immediately descended from the skies and appeared above Troubled Times. It then swiped a claw at the Berserker. Lightshadow! "No!" When Troubled Times saw the mountain-like claw smashing down toward him, he instinctively activated Demonification, followed by a Lifesaving Skill to protect himself. Unfortunately, before a Tier 3 Dragon, a Tier 3 Demon player like Troubled Times was no different from an ant. When the Black Dragon''s claw came into contact with Troubled Times, the Berserker got crushed into the ground and died just like that. 2537 Single-handedly Suppressing Demons Hear t Chapter 2537 - Single-handedly Suppressing Demon''s Heart When Troubled Times died, silence blanketed Demon City again as everyone stared at Shi Feng hovering in the air. "He killed him, just like that?" The city''s independent players had never thought Shi Feng would dare attack a player in the middle of Demon''s Heart''s Residence, yet he had done so without the slightest hesitation. He acted as if the Dark Guild''s members were nothing of consequence. "He''s done it?" Blue Frost and the other Zero Wing members from the Dark Den, who had watched the scene play out through a Magic Mirror, were especially dumbfounded. They had never imagined that Shi Feng would successfully kill Troubled Times! Moreover, their Guild Leader had done so as Demon''s Heart''s members watched. Blue Frost and his comrades felt as if they were dreaming. They would''ve already been amazed if they managed to sneak into Demon City and assassinate Troubled Times, but Shi Feng had boldly and openly slain his prey... While Zero Wing''s Dark Den members were stunned, Furious Heart, who stood within Demon''s Heart''s Residence, shot Shi Feng a furious look, his rage burning clear in his eyes. "Black Flame! You and your entire Guild are dead! Not even our Guild Leader will let you get away with killing someone in our Residence, let alone Vice Guild Leader Flaming Light!" Furious Heart bellowed. He hadn''t actually expected Shi Feng to attack Troubled Times without a second thought. The attack had been so sudden that he hadn''t even had the time to try to save the Berserker. A Guild Residence was a Guild''s most treasured location. If word spread that Demon''s Heart couldn''t even protect a single player within its Residence, the Dark Guild''s reputation would suffer. "Is that so?" Shi Feng asked, indifferently glancing down at Furious Heart. "Feel free to test us. Zero Wing is ready for whatever you can throw our way. If you have nothing else to say, I''ll be taking my leave." Every player in the Residence went into an uproar after hearing Shi Feng''s blatant disregard for their Guild. "Crap! This bastard is too arrogant!" "Elder Heart, let''s attack him together! I refuse to believe that we can''t end his miserable life!" The Guild Elders in the Residence were incensed, and they tried to persuade Furious Heart to move against the Swordsman as a unit. Troubled Times'' death was humiliating for Demon''s Heart, and if they allowed Shi Feng to leave safely, nothing would remain of the Guild''s reputation. "No! Let him go!" Furious Heart growled through gritted teeth, gesturing for the Guild Elders to back away. When Shi Feng realized that none of the Dark Guild''s members intended to strike, he turned and flew away from the Residence and Demon City. "Are you just going to let him go, Heart?" the black-clad Viscount Elder demanded as he watched Shi Feng fly off. "Do you really think that I don''t want to take his life right this instant?" Furious Heart hissed, glaring at the black-clad Elder. "Rather, do you think that anyone of you is strong enough to kill him?" Rebellious Thunder was the strongest player in Demon City right now, but if Shi Feng could even slay Rebellious Thunder, what could they, who hadn''t even reached Demon Count rank, possibly achieve by fighting that Swordsman? "Don''t we have the Demon Guards? I refuse to believe that he can survive a battle against over a dozen Tier 4 Demon Guards!" the black-clad Elder argued. The Demon Guards in question weren''t like the Demon NPCs that had surrounded and subsequently fled from Shi Feng. Demon''s Heart didn''t have any control over the city''s NPCs, but its Demon Guards were a different story. If they paid the appropriate price, their Demon Guards would do everything in their power to take Shi Feng down. The black-clad Elder had also estimated that Shi Feng could only control one Demon NPC with whatever means allowed him to do so. Controlling multiple Tier 4 Demons should be impossible. If they sent over a dozen Tier 4 Demon Guards to surround Shi Feng, he wouldn''t stand a chance, even with the Demon Guard Captain on his side. Ending the Swordsman within Demon City was entirely possible. "Do you assume that I haven''t thought of that?" Furious Heart shot back, rolling his eyes at the Elder. Grimly, he continued, "I considered mobilizing the Demon Guards the moment Black Flame arrived above the Residence, but when he did, the Demon Guards'' Basic Attributes fell by 30%. They wouldn''t even be able to deal with Black Flame in such a state, much less the Demon Guard Captain under his control." Shi Feng was already as powerful as a Tier 4 being, which he had proven in the fight against Rebellious Thunder when they had clashed as equals. With 30% less Basic Attributes, the Demon Guards had no chance against Shi Feng. Shi Feng was a Domain Realm expert. Sending a bunch of dumb monsters with inferior Attributes to take him out would be nothing more than a joke. "But it''s so frustrating watching him go unscathed!" the black-clad Elder hissed, gnashing his teeth as he watched Shi Feng''s figure move farther away. Demon''s Heart had gone to great lengths to earn the prestige it had enjoyed in Demon City only minutes ago. Now that Shi Feng had dealt such a severe blow, restoring their reputation would take ages if they simply allowed him to leave. "So what if he leaves? I''ve already notified the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader Light! Black Flame won''t enjoy this victory for long!" Furious Heart said, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Shi Feng''s departing figure. At the moment, Demon''s Heart was indeed helpless before Shi Feng, but once the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader Flaming Light returned, it would be a different story. Those two individuals were the Guild''s true pillars of strength. Even the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers feared those two players'' strength and the foundation they''d created for the Dark Guild, going as far as to form alliances in secret with Demon''s Heart. Since Shi Feng had shredded Demon''s Heart''s reputation, the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leader wouldn''t rest until the matter was settled. While Shi Feng flew away from Demon''s Heart''s Residence, another commotion broke out among the city''s residents. "What?! Demon''s Heart actually let him get away?" "Weren''t there quite a few Tier 4 Demon Guards stationed in Demon''s Heart''s Residence? Why didn''t the Guild mobilize them?" "Is he even human?" Shi Feng''s safe departure from the Dark Guild''s Residence stunned Demon City''s players. None of them had expected the invasion to end like this. Demon''s Heart was one of the top dark powers in God''s Domain, yet not only had Shi Feng single-handedly broken into Demon City, Demon''s Heart''s main headquarters, but he had also slain Troubled Times within the Guild''s Residence. To top it all off, Shi Feng had flown away from the Residence unharmed. No one would believe this story if they told it. And yet, they had all watched it happen. Even more astonishing, Demon''s Heart had remained silent during the entire process. Not one of the Guild''s members had tried to attack Shi Feng. They were all Demon players, absolute Dark Players. Starting a fight with someone over the slightest offense was normal for them, especially for Demon''s Heart''s members. However, even the Dark Guild''s members seemed afraid of a single human player. It was unbelievable! While Shi Feng departed from Demon City, news of the encounter spread like wildfire throughout the Ten Saints Empire... 2538 Ten Saints Empire Shaken, Correct Decision Chapter 2538 - Ten Saints Empire Shaken, Correct Decision Ten Saints Empire, Heavenly Saint Capital City, Battle Wolves'' Residence: A man in crimson armor and covered in illusory flames sat quietly before a crimson greatsword with his eyes closed in the top-floor lounge of a Guild Hall that was nearly 100 meters tall. Although this man didn''t make the slightest move, the sword and flames around it circled the man as if they had a life of their own. Divine runes began to appear in the air, one after another, attracting all of the ambient fire-type Mana and suffusing it with the man. As more Mana filled him, his aura grew more intense. After a few seconds, the man''s aura was as intense as that of a Tier 4 being. He felt as he had transformed into a Fire Demon as brilliant flames filled the room. If Shi Feng saw this, he''d certainly be surprised. The man bathing in the Crimson Flames was none other than Sirius, one of Battle Wolves'' old monsters. Not only did Sirius command Tier 4 strength, but his control of fire-type Mana was also greater than Shi Feng''s who had mastered a Mana Technique. Sirius manipulated the Mana like an extension of his own body, with utter and delicate control. Now, he could even control the flow of different streams of fire-type Mana... When Sirius finally reopened his eyes, the crimson fire around him took on a white-blue hue, and the room''s temperature instantly rose by several hundred degrees. Not even ordinary Tier 2 players could approach the man before they burned to death. "I''ve finally finished absorbing this Fire Saint Bloodline. It''s about time I pay Demon City another visit," Sirius said, smiling as he examined the blue divine runes on his arms. During the battle in the Burning Forest, Demon''s Heart''s Vice Guild Leader, Flaming Light, had defeated him. He had initially given up hope of defeating Flaming Light anytime soon, but the Guild had been fortunate enough to find an extremely rare Advanced Bloodlinethe Fire Saint Bloodline. At first, he had assumed the Fire Saint Bloodline would only increase his strength by a fraction, but now that he had fully unified with it, he understood how terrifying it was. He was even confident that he could now barge into Demon City and walk out with his life, let alone exact his vengeance against Flaming Light. As Sirius prepared to leave the lounge, however, a tall, middle-aged man with an imposing aura burst in. This man was Everlasting War, who had previously served as the Glorious Lions Battle Team''s leader. "Commander, we''ve just received an update regarding Demon City. The report states that not only has Black Flame broken into the City, but he''s also slain Troubled Times, who had hidden within Demon''s Heart''s Residence..." Everlasting War announced. "Troubled Times died inside Demon''s Heart''s Residence?" The news stunned Sirius, and for a moment, he wondered if he had misheard. He was already amazed that Shi Feng had his team had made it to Demon City. Despite dispatching an army of over 100,000 experts, Battle Wolves hadn''t even caught a glimpse of the city''s gate. But now, he learned that Shi Feng had broken into the city and killed Troubled Times within Demon''s Heart''s Residence. It was astounding! "Demon''s Heart has lost most of its prestige in Demon City and now poses much less of a threat to the various superpowers. Should we still head to Demon City, Commander?" Everlasting War asked Sirius, who wore a strange expression. News of Troubled Times'' death had already spread throughout the Ten Saints Empire. Keeping the matter under wraps was impossible for Demon''s Heart. Meanwhile, the situation had robbed Battle Wolves of the revenge it sought for the humiliation it had suffered. If the Guild targeted Demon''s Heart now, it would only earn the label of ''bully,'' tarnishing the Guild''s reputation further. "We no longer need to visit Demon City. Instead, we should visit Zero Wing," Sirius said. "To achieve such a feat, Black Flame is indeed impressive. Unfortunately, Demon''s Heart isn''t a trivial opponent, and Flaming Light is particularly troublesome. If that weren''t the case, the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers would never have willingly allied with the Dark Guild." "Understood. I''ll take care of the necessary preparations," Everlasting War said. After giving the matter some thought, he agreed with his commander''s decisions. Two or three days ago, Everlasting War would''ve thought Zero Wing had just won a major victory, but based on what information Battle Wolves had gathered, Demon''s Heart had more power in Level 100 neutral maps than Zero Wing could imagine. All Shi Feng had done was yank on the tiger''s whiskers by tarnishing Demon''s Heart''s reputation. The act was both ignorant and foolish. Meanwhile, all of the various superpowers that learned of Shi Feng''s accomplishments were similarly astonished. None of them had thought that Shi Feng would shake Demon City to its very foundations. The Swordsman''s strength was simply inhuman! Surprisingly, however, the Ten Saints Empire had remained extraordinarily calm despite the news. None of the various superpowers, which deeply hated Demon players, had shown any movement. Not one of them had tried to kick Demon City while it was down. Rather, the empire''s superpowers had sent a large number of experts to Zero Wing''s territories. This turn of events was indescribably strange. "Have these superpowers gone mad, Vice Guild Leader? They''re not taking advantage of the situation to put pressure on Demon''s Heart and are aiming for Zero Wing instead..." the Tier 3 black-clad Assassin beside Illusory Words said after examining the details the Guild''s information network had gathered. "Did they miss the system announcement in the Burning Forest? The Demon players'' development speed in that area has substantially decreased. This is the perfect opportunity to strike. "They haven''t gone crazy," Illusory Words, who was busy sifting through the reports, replied, shaking her head. "They''ve only made the correct decision." "Correct decision?" The statement confused the Tier 3 Assassin. He didn''t understand what Illusory Words meant by that. Since Shi Feng had destroyed Demon City''s defensive magic array, all of the city''s Demon players have suffered a 20% strength reduction. This was the best chance the various superpowers had to eliminate those Demon players. Demon''s Heart had stopped the empire''s various superpowers from acquiring as many resources from Level 100 neutral maps. Those superpowers would only secure more if they suppressed the Dark Guild now. "That''s right," Illusory Words said, her lips twisting into a bitter smile. "Very few of the various superpowers'' members are aware of how frightening Demon''s Heart truly is. The Dark Guild has already allied with Mythology, one of the Five Great Super Powers. Both its overall strength and its foundations are far superior to Zero Wing''s. Naturally, the various superpowers want to take advantage of Zero Wing, not Demon''s Heart." "Demon''s Heart has actually partnered with Mythology?" Realization immediately dawned on the Tier 3 Assassin. He was also surprised by how formidable Demon''s Heart was. Mythology was one of the five major titans in God''s Domain and far stronger than ordinary superpowers like Crimson Emperor. Ordinary Super Guilds couldn''t even compare. If Mythology were supporting Demon''s Heart, the Dark Guild wouldn''t have to worry about its development, even after the recent events. While the Ten Saints Empire''s superpowers were busy attacking Zero Wing, a handsome man in white arrived at a Mana-rich location outside of the Fire Dragon Empire. This man was Flaming Light, Demon''s Heart''s famous Vice Guild Leader. Not long after his arrival, two Level 107, Tier 3 peak experts intercepted him. "What business do you have here?" a Tier 3 Shield Warrior demanded, flashing Flaming Light a contemptuous look. "I have something I need to discuss with Vice Guild Leader Cold Shadow. May I know if she has time to spare?" Flaming Light cordially asked. 2539 Abyssal Blades Fragmen Chapter 2539 - Abyssal Blade''s Fragment Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City: With Troubled Times dead, Shi Feng returned to Stone Forest Town with the Hell Legion. He didn''t linger in the Ten Saints Empire for a moment longer. The moment Hell Rush and his comrades entered Stone Forest City, the sight that greeted them left them stunned. Stone Forest City was a Guild City, and normally, only players visited Guild Cities in Level 100-plus neutral maps. NPCs rarely visited such Guild Cities, yet Stone Forest City was full of them. There was even a long line of NPC merchants waiting to enter the city at the main entrance. Calling the city an NPC city wouldn''t be an exaggeration. Hell Rush was also stupefied when he saw the number and quality of players visiting Zero Wing''s city. He spotted several dozen Tier 3 players with a casual glance around the main street... Although the various superpowers had over a hundred Tier 3 players at this stage of the game, and some even had several hundred, Tier 3 players were still a rarity as a whole. No matter where they went, they attracted a lot of attention. However, Tier 3 players in Stone Forest City were just as common as ordinary, Tier 2 experts... "So, this is Zero Wing''s Guild City?" Thunder Beast muttered, looking around him in astonishment. The Hell Legion had a total of 300 Tier 3 experts, which was a staggering number no matter where they went, but it was nothing in Stone Forest City. From what he could see, there were easily more than a thousand Tier 3 experts wandering the city''s main street alone. Even Blue Frost and Zero Wing''s Dark Den members were stunned. Shelters in the Dark Den didn''t even have more than 100 Tier 3 experts at this stage. They were still highly sought after in the Dark Den. And yet, even a random street on Stone Forest City had more Tier 3 players than any of Dark Den''s Shelters... "Blue, you bastard, you kept us in the dark this! If we knew our Guild had such a magnificent city, we would1 ve joined Zero Wing long ago!" a Tier 3 Cursemancer, who had just joined Shelter One''s Zero Wing, scolded the Vice Guild Leader as he admired the crowd of Tier 3 players. The Cursemancer estimated that Stone Forest City easily had multiple times more Tier 3 players than all of the Dark Den... Ordinary players might not care how many Tier 3 players a town or city had, but it was a significant matter to someone who played a management role in Shelter One. Every player''s value was different, especially in towns and cities. A city could benefit from a Tier 3 expert far more than from a Tier 2 expert, particularly when it came to resources. Tier 3 experts simply had access to more and better- quality resources than Tier 2 players because they could explore locations that were too dangerous for the weaker players. In a city full of Tier 3 experts, players unwittingly added resources to the town, even if they weren''t a member of the ruling Guild, which, in turn, attracted more experts. Another benefit came in the form of leveling. God''s Domain''s mainstream players had already reached Level 100 and beyond, and after Level 100, players needed far more EXP to reach each subsequent level. Players also needed to defeat much stronger monsters. Thus, they would need Tier 3 players'' help if they wanted to level up quickly. This was also why the Dark Den''s players preferred to develop in powerful Shelters. With how many Tier 3 experts wandered Stone Forest City''s streets, these players leveling speed would be incredible. The Dark Den''s various Shelters couldn''t even imagine how fast these players reached their next level. If the Dark Den''s players knew that Zero Wing ruled a Guild City like this, every one of them would immediately try to join the Guild. Blue Frost, however, did not have a good response for the Cursemancer''s complaint. Although he had always known that Zero Wing was extraordinary, he had never dreamed that it was this powerful... However, Blue Frost and his companions didn''t know that many superpowers had sent their experts to Stone Forest City precisely because of Shi Feng''s recent performance in Demon City. In fact, the Ten Saints Empire''s superpowers had been some of the first. Not only had they sent a large number of scouts, but they had also sent quite a few Guild upper echelons. Because of this, Stone Forest City''s player population had reached an all-time high, and there was an unprecedented number of Tier 3 experts in the city. Meanwhile, three Level 108-plus Tier 3 experts enjoyed Stone Forest City''s specialty cuisine in a high-class restaurant''s top-floor VIP room not far away from Zero Wing''s Residence, quietly observing Shi Feng''s group as they entered. Two of the three were Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade from the Secret Pavilion, while the third was a young woman in her mid-twenties. If Shi Feng had known about this gathering, he''d be surprised. Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were showing the woman deference. Even as she spoke to her companion, Purple Jade''s eyes glowed with reverence and respect. Although she was the Secret Pavilion''s number one genius, she displayed no arrogance before the woman... "So, he''s Black Flame? He really is something. It''s a pity he has offended Demon''s Heart. With his presence and Stone Forest City''s assistance, it wouldn''t have been long before Zero Wing had joined the realm of God''s Domain''s superpowers, otherwise," the young woman with long, icy-blue hair said as she watched Shi Feng disappear into Zero Wing''s Residence, smiling softly. "Are you certain that you won''t reconsider, Vice Guild Leader Dawn? Stone Forest City is now the number one city in the Cold Spring Forest and several neighboring Level 100 neutral maps. If you step forward, I''m sure Demon''s Heart will hold back against the city," Yuan Tiexin respectfully pleaded with the young woman. The woman before him was Dawn Jade, and he had nothing but respect for her. Dawn Jade was most likely to succeed the Secret Pavilion''s Guild Leader in the future, and her current position was only second to the Guild Leader''s. "Before his assault on Demon City, I could understand why the Guild Leader had such an optimistic opinion of Zero Wing, but Elder Yuan, you know times have changed. The dark powers have far more influence over God''s Domain than they used to, especially Demon''s Heart, which stands at the peak of the many dark powers. But Black Flame mercilessly killed someone Flaming Light was protecting, and the various dark powers think this is a good opportunity to set an example for God''s Domain''s various superpowers," Dawn Jade said. Sighing, she continued, "Zero Wing has provoked far too many superpowers. Based on recent reports, aside from Mythology, Flaming Light has begun to negotiate a partnership with Beast Emperor, who currently occupies the Ore Empire. Not even the Guild Leader can prevent Zero Wing''s fall at this point. Black Flame only has himself and his stubborn nature to blame. I doubt even Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion can save his Guild. Your people should prepare, as well. I''m sure it won''t be long before Demon''s Heart makes it move. But don''t worry too much. I''ll think of a way to retain our shares of Stone Forest City." Once Dawn Jade finished speaking, she made a cutting gesture with a hand, summoning a Spatial Gate. She then walked through the gate, vanishing from the restaurant. Silence dominated the room for a long time after the young woman''s departure. "Uncle Yuan, what should we do? If the Vice Guild Leader won''t help us, we won''t have enough forces to defend Stone Forest City, even if we gather all of our players," Purple Jade asked. Few knew of the true terror of Demon''s Heart. Once the Dark Guild took action, Cold Spring Forest would become a nest for Dark Players. Flaming Light possessed the means to open a portal to a Dark World, allowing the Otherworld''s players to flood onto the main continent. This was the true reason that even Super Guilds were afraid of Demon''s Heart. Only, Flaming Light wanted Demon''s Heart to establish a stable foothold in God''s Domain, so he hadn''t actually used this card. Once he did, he''d lose it, and he''d have to wage war against whichever superpower or superpowers his actions affected. Unfortunately, Flaming Light wouldn''t hold back against Zero Wing now that Shi Feng had damaged Demon''s Heart''s reputation so severely. With the Guild''s current strength, it would find threatening Zero Wing quite difficult. Thus, the chances of Flaming Light activating the portal in Cold Spring Forest were very high. The Dark World was far stronger than many other major Otherworlds, and it easily had a player population that could rival two or three empires. Moreover, every player in the Dark World was a Dark Player. Once Flaming Light activated the portal in Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City would have to face a storm of Dark players. Its chances of surviving were practically non-existent. In fact, the portal''s activation would also have an unprecedented impact on the nearby kingdoms and empires. "I don''t know. Let''s just take one step at a time," Yuan Tiexin replied, and he couldn''t help but glance in Shi Feng''s direction, rolling his eyes. Rather than quietly developing Zero Wing, Shi Feng had gone through God''s Domain, making one enemy after another. Now, even the Secret Pavilion could save the Guild. They could only watch as Zero Wing burned to the ground. During Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade''s meeting in the nearby restaurant, Shi Feng had made his way to the second underground floor in Zero Wing''s Guild Hall. After entering the core room, he activated the room''s defensive magic array and sealed off the entire floor. He then carefully pulled a pitch-black blade from his bag, placing it on the central platform. The blade was none other than Rebellious Thunder''s Cruel Darkness. Initially, Shi Feng hadn''t paid the Magic Weapon Rebellious Thunder had dropped much mind. He had been utterly focused on killing the man at the time. However, while the Black Dragon had bombarded Demon City''s defensive magic array, he had offhandedly collected Cruel Darkness from its previous wielder''s ashes. When he had picked the Magic Weapon up, he had discovered that Cruel Darkness resonated with his Abyssal Blade, which he had found endlessly exciting. Two weapons only resonated in God''s Domain when both were a part of the original weapon. In other words, they were weapon fragments. As a Magic Weapon, the Abyssal Blade was already ridiculously strong, powerful enough to rival Fragmented Legendary Weapons in its current state. Hence, Shi Feng had been flabbergasted to learn that the Abyssal Blade was only a fragmented weapon, not a complete one. If that were true, how strong would the complete weapon be? Would it become a Fragmented Legendary Weapon? Or a Legendary Weapon? With this astonishing discovery occupying his thoughts, Shi Feng had slain Troubled Times before hurrying back to Stone Forest City. This should be safe enough. Hopefully, the fusion doesn''t cause too much of a commotion. After examining Cruel Darkness, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade, and as a result, he received a system notification. System: The Abyssal Blade has discovered a fragment of the same origin. Do you wish to fuse the fragment with the Abyssal Blade? "Fuse them!" 2540 Recasting a Sword of Old Chapter 2540 - Recasting a Sword of Old Shi Feng''s heart pounded nervously as he chose to fuse the two weapons. What he needed more than anything right now was a good weapon. His Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray had been excellent weapons and better than most, if not all, of the various superpowers'' weapons before Level 100. However, the various superpowers had begun collecting more top-tier weapons now that players had crossed that threshold. In fact, top-tier weapons had become so common that weapons of the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray''s caliber were now a standard for players of his strength. Because of this, the Abyssal Blade and Killing Ray were now his shortcomings, particularly the Abyssal Blade. If he hadn''t acquired multiple pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment and an extraordinary Bloodline, the various superpowers'' apex experts would''ve long since surpassed his Basic Attributes. Of course, fusing two weapon fragments in God''s Domain wasn''t an easy task. The process was akin to recasting a weapon, but in this scenario, players had to fuse the two weapons before they could recast them, rather than simply recasting a single weapon. If the forger responsible for recasting the weapons didn''t have a certain level of mastery, they could destroy both weapons. Of course, only the weapons would be destroyed. The fragments would remain, although one wouldn''t be able to use them as weapons. After Shi Feng agreed to fuse the Abyssal Blade and Cruel Darkness, both weapons instantly shattered, transforming into a cloud of ink-black dust. The cloud then solidified into the form of a rough sword hilt and blade. The two fragments looked nothing like they had a moment ago, but they both radiated frighteningly powerful auras that even made Shi Feng shudder. For a moment, he faintly saw the phantom of a Dragon head, spreading its jaws and threatening to devour him. They''re just fragments, yet their auras are so powerful? Shi Feng stared at the two weapon fragments in astonishment. The combined aura was even stronger than that of the Abyssal Blade when it was fully liberated. Shi Feng found it really hard to imagine just how powerful the original weapon had been before it had broken. He estimated that it should''ve at least been Legendary rank. He couldn''t help the envy he felt. If he were dealing with a Legendary weapon, he would have to be very careful. On the off chance that he made a mistake and the recasting failed, not only would he lose the Abyssal Blade, but he''d also have to search for more materials to try again. Naturally, he''d need Legendary ranked materials. Legendary materials were incredibly rare in God''s Domain. Even the various superpowers of his previous life had struggled to collect a single set of Legendary materials to recast a Legendary Weapon, not to mention Zero Wing. When he had first obtained Cruel Darkness, he had intended to seek out Seliora for help with the recasting. A Grandmaster Forger was capable of producing Legendary items, after all. Recasting a Legendary item from weapon fragments should be a piece of cake for her. When he evolved the Abyssal Blade to Tier 3, however, even the Candlelight Trading Firm''s defensive magic array had very nearly failed to contain the Magic Weapon''s unrestrained aura. If recasting this weapon caused too much of a commotion and caught the public''s attention, it could spell his doom. What lay before him was a Magic Weapon, and he was likely to face a Backlash once the recast was complete. If that happened, he''d be at his weakest and vulnerable to attack. If the various superpowers happened to have experts stationed near White River City, he''d be doomed. Naturally, Seliora, as an NPC, wouldn''t try to protect him. At best, he''d have to rely on the city''s NPC soldiers to fend off any hostile players, but by the time they responded to an attack, they''d be too late. Shi Feng''s worries weren''t unfounded. Such instances had happened quite a few times in the past. Many players had assumed that they''d be safe in NPC cities when they upgraded their Magic Weapons, but in the end, other players had taken their lives, and they had still suffered their Magic Weapon''s Backlash. After all was said and done, their characters had been crippled... Not wanting to take the risk, Shi Feng decided to recast the weapon himself within Stone Forest City''s walls. Fortunately, he was already an Intermediate Master Forger. Even without Seliora''s help, he qualified to recast a Legendary Weapon. He then pulled a bunch of Magic Crystals from his bag and gradually fused the two weapon fragments. As the Magic Crystals disintegrated into Mana and flowed into the fragments, the magic arrays carved on them began to regenerate. Unlike the recasting process, fusing the fragments was simple. Players merely needed to supply enough Mana. The process was a slow one, although there was almost no room for unforeseen complications. Time quickly passed. One hour... Two hours... Three hours... After four hours, the fusion process wasn''t even halfway complete... Crap! What kind of weapon is this?! Shi Feng''s head ached as he watched the weapon fragments hungrily devour Magic Crystals. He had already spent 40,000 Magic Crystals over the past four hours, yet the fusion process hadn''t even reached 50%. These weapon fragments were practically bottomless pits for Mana. Fusing these weapon fragments would likely require enough Magic Crystals to bankrupt a second-rate Guild. If he hadn''t returned to the eastern continent with over 200,000 Magic Crystals, the equivalent of a full day''s income for the Starlight Fortress, he wouldn''t have had enough. Just as he was about to take more Magic Crystals from his bag, he received a call request from Gentle Snow. After so long apart, not only had Gentle Snow reached Level 109, but she also now radiated a special kind of Mana. Shi Feng would''ve assumed she had unlocked her Mana Body''s full potential if he hadn''t known better. He had to admit that he was impressed with her management of Stone Forest City while he had been gone. Not only had Gentle Snow perfected the city''s defenses, but the Guild also now had 130 Tier 3 Experts. Zero Wing had already started raiding 100-man, Level 100 Team Dungeons, and the Guilds main force members had updated plenty of their weapons and equipment. Now, their equipment standards were only slightly weaker than the Hell Legion''s experts. "Guild Leader, a group of Dark Players recently contacted me. They say they are from the Dark World, and they wish to meet with you. Apparently, they wish to help us with our current predicament," Gentle Snow reported. "Players from the Dark World?" Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the news. The Dark World was a very special Otherworld in that it hadn''t formed naturally. Rather, Ancient Gods had created the Dark World, and it was dominated by the laws of darkness. The Dark Players that resided in this Otherworld were a far greater threat than any Dark Players on the main continent. When the Dark World had connected to the main continent during Shi Feng''s previous life, the dark powers'' influence on the main continent had already reached its peak. Level 100-plus neutral maps had become battlefields for Dark and normal players, and many had fallen. Even some kingdoms and superpowers had been annihilated. However, before the Planar Gate between the Dark World and the main continent had activated, no one had been able to leave the Otherworld, other than the key holder. As far as Shi Feng could remember, only Flaming Light held the key, and it was obvious that he hadn''t yet activated the Planar Gate. Yet, players acting as residents of the Dark World were looking for him. He found the situation strange. "Do you wish to meet them?" Gentle Snow asked. "This is interesting. Yes, I''ll meet with them. Have someone receive them for now, and I''ll head over once I''ve finished here," Shi Feng replied, gazing at the weapon fragments before him. "Alright, I''ll inform them," Gentle Snow said, nodding before she disconnected the call. Shi Feng then returned his attention to fusing the two weapon fragments. Sixty thousand... Eighty thousand... Ninety thousand... When he sacrificed the 100,000th Magic Crystal, he heard the chime of a system notification. System: Fusion complete. Please begin recasting the weapon. With the system notification, Shi Feng heard the deafening roar of a Dragon from the fused weapon fragments. It was so powerful and startling that he stumbled back. Suddenly, space around him began to darken, and stars twinkled with dim light. A Black Dragon, over 800 meters tall, appeared before Shi Feng, and he instinctively froze under its gaze. The Black Dragon King? Shi Feng stared, astonished. This was undoubtedly the strongest Dragon he had ever seen. The Tier 5 Dragons he had seen in the past seemed like children before this monster. The scene didn''t last long, however, and Shi Feng quickly found himself back in the quiet core room with only a tattered blade before him. Countless, night-black particles circled the old weapon. System: You have five hours to recast the weapon before you. Attempt to recast a weapon fit for your use as much as possible. If the weapons Completion Rate is lower than 70%, the recasting process will be deemed a failure. 2541 Blade Reshaping Chapter 2541 - Blade Reshaping "Five hours?" Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he read the system announcement. While five hours wasn''t exactly a short time, it wasn''t particularly long, either. It might be enough time if he were recasting an ordinary weapon, but he had to recast a potential Legendary Weapon. Furthermore, if the Completion Rate wasn''t high enough, the weapon''s Attributes could be severely affected. He might end up turning a peerless weapon into just another top-tier weapon. With the five hours the system had provided, he only had a very limited number of times he could attempt the recast, as well. Recasting weapons in God''s Domain wasn''t as complicated as creating one from scratch; players only needed to reshape and refine the weapon. However, Shi Feng didn''t have a design to work with, so he would have to determine the new weapon''s structure on his own. To make matters worse, he didn''t know what materials the fragments had been forged with, which made it nearly impossible to take advantage of those materials'' benefits. He''d have to work by trial and error, and achieving an ideal result would still be a major challenge. It seems I''ll have to base the recast on the Abyssal Blade for now. Glancing at the system timer, Shi Feng took a deep breath and activated the Philosopher''s Hand, temporarily boosting himself to Advanced Master Forger. He then began to reshape the tattered blade into that of the Abyssal Blade. Any other player would find this task to be a nightmare and a disaster, but Shi Feng, who had played God''s Domain for more than a decade now, was a different story. Although he had never touched upon the forging arts during his previous life, he was knowledgeable about them. He had spent time chatting with many Master Forgers about how to best recast a weapon in his past. Once mainstream players had reached Level 120, recasting weapons had become a common matter for the various players. Many Level 120-plus Dark Gold Weapons had been recast from Epic Weapons'' fragments, and once players collected all of the necessary fragments, they could recast them into an Epic Weapon once more. This had become one of the main sources of Epic Weapons for independent players. After innumerable recasts, players had discovered that one of the best ways to recast a weapon was to reshape it into one of the weapon fragment forms when they didn''t know the original weapon''s structure. The weapon fragments'' previous forms had been made with the involved materials in mind. Hence, it was highly likely that fragments had taken a form quite similar to that of the original weapon. All players needed to do was make some minor adjustments to the new weapon''s structure. Shi Feng wasn''t familiar with Cruel Darkness, so reforming the weapon in its form was out of the question. Fortunately, he was quite familiar with the Abyssal Blade, a weapon he had obtained not long after rejoining God''s Domain. In fact, he was more familiar with its form than his other weapons. Shi Feng spent around 30 minutes reshaping the rough blade into something that highly resembled the Abyssal Blade, although this new weapon had a considerably longer blade. It couldn''t even be considered a one-handed sword anymore, but a two-handed sword. "Appraise!" Shi Feng began the appraisal, satisfied with his work, and as he did, the magic arrays covering the weapon activated, drinking in the ambient Mana like a beast in the desert. The Mana density around the long blade steadily rose. Shi Feng watched, excitement blooming in his chest. He hadn''t actually thought his first attempt would be a success. With this, making adjustments to the weapon would be much easier. However, not long after that thought, the system reported the appraisal results, and he wasn''t sure whether he should laugh or cry when he saw them. System: Weapon Completion Rate 40%. Do you wish to keep this outer shape? Even with only a 40% Completion Rate, the new Abyssal Blade could gather so much Mana around it, and its aura had become incredibly powerful. He didn''t even dare imagine how powerful the sword would be if he reached a 70% or higher Completion Rate. However, this new weapon''s exterior was already ideal, and his results would be limited if he tried to modify it. Could the original be a two-handed weapon like Cruel Darkness? Shi Feng felt another headache brew as he considered the thought. Although he could recast the weapon into a one- or two-handed sword, recasting a one-handed weapon would be considerably more difficult if the original had been a two-handed weapon. While Swordsmen could use two-handed swords, Shi Feng wasn''t as familiar with that fighting style. Suddenly switching to a two-handed sword would severely impact his combat power. Yet, if he forcefully recast a two-handed weapon into a one-handed sword, he''d be abandoning some of the original materials. One-handed weapons required far fewer materials, after all. However, doing so would affect the weapon''s Completion Rate. With fewer materials, the weapon wouldn''t be as powerful as it once had been, and depending on the materials he abandoned, the weapons'' composition could be at risk, causing disharmony between the materials. He''d have to take all of these factors into account when recasting this weapon into a one-handed sword. Normally, only experienced Grandmaster Forgers could accomplish such feats. Not only did they have abundant experience, but they also possessed Advanced Skills that allowed them to discern the golden ratio among their materials. This was why Grandmaster Forgers could craft Legendary items. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to conduct some experiments. He initially sacrificed 10% of the weapon''s materials, but it left too few remaining, and the ratio was uncoordinated. The result was only a 23% Completion Rate, and the weapon was far weaker than the first recast. He had then sacrificed 20% of the materials, which was, again, too much, and as a result, the sword lacked strength. This time, the Completion Rate was a measly 16%... Shi Feng attempted the recasting eight more times. Although each reshaping attempt took less time, he never earned more than a 60% Completion Rate. Even his best attempt had stopped at 58%, a long way from the required 70% Completion Rate. As he continued to reshape the weapon, time flew by. He paused when he had little over an hour remaining of the five-hour time limit. Factoring in the time he''d need to refine the weapon, he didn''t have much left for reshaping attempts. Do I really have to give up on recasting a one-handed sword? Shi Feng''s mind was a jumble when he realized how little time remained. If he continued to aim for a one-handed sword, he wasn''t likely to succeed in the time he had left. Ultimately, his recast would fail, and he''d have to search for more Legendary materials to try again. Unfortunately, collecting a set of Legendary materials with Zero Wing''s current strength was a fool''s dream. By the time Zero Wing managed to find them all, he would likely have found another weapon to suit him. However, even a high-quality two-handed sword would be useless to him, and he wouldn''t likely have a chance to recast the final product into a one-handed sword again. He had only found a fragment of the Abyssal Blade by chance. Who knew when he would come across another? Damn it! Abandoning 17% isn''t enough, but 18% is too much. I don''t have enough time for more precise experiments, either. Shi Feng could not help but hesitate as he watched time slip away. After multiple experiments, Shi Feng was certain that the golden ratio lay between 17% and 18%. He estimated that he''d need another five or six attempts to find the true golden ratio, but with only one hour left, he had time for, at most, two more reshaping attempts. It wouldn''t be long before he''d have to refine the weapon. If he waited, the final product would be garbage, even if he reached a sufficient Completion Rate. I have no choice but to gamble, Shi Feng thought, gritting his teeth. He then retrieved the Ice Dragon''s Claw he had obtained from the Ice Dragon Heathwaite and refined it. The Ice Dragon''s Claw was a Legendary material, and Heathwaite had only dropped two. He had already used one to summon the Silver Dragon in the Starlight Fortress, which only left him with one. He had been saving it to forge a customized Epic Weapon for one of his Guildmates. Doing so would be quite easy, even without an Epic Weapon Design, and if he had a design, he could forge a Fragmented Legendary Weapon with the Ice Dragon''s Claw. Since he couldn''t verify the materials'' golden ratio, abandoning too many materials for the final product would be too complicated. Hence, he had no choice but to make up for the gap with the Ice Dragon''s Claw. It took Shi Feng 10 minutes to refine the claw, transforming it into a dark-blue crystal. He merged the crystal with the Abyssal Blade, which added a white glow and a bone-chilling aura to the new weapon. Once the dark-blue crystal had completely merged with the Abyssal Blade, Shi Feng appraised the sword. Please succeed! Shi Feng silently prayed as he watched the system appraise the reshaped Abyssal Blade. 2542 New Abyssal Blade Chapter 2542 - New Abyssal Blade As the system began to appraise the weapon, the magic arrays on the new Abyssal Blade simultaneously lit up. Not only did these arrays illuminate the entire room, but they also gathered the room''s Mana around the weapon. The Abyssal Blade emitted another deafening Dragon roar that echoed throughout the room. Roar! It was so powerful that Shi Feng stumbled away from the weapon, and the magic arrays around the room''s walls brightened, creating an additional barrier. Boom... The roar shook the duel-layered barrier violently, and it seemed as if the barrier would shatter at any second. As the roar faded, peace returned to the room. Following which, a chill swept through the room, and even Shi Feng, who had very high Magic Resistance, shuddered in the cold air. He felt as if he were standing in an icy tundra, and he could feel his body begin to freeze. What powerful Mana! When Shi Feng looked back at the new Abyssal Blade, the origin of the chill, he could sense that it was only an effect of the weapon''s magic arrays triggering. If even the automatically-triggered arrays produced such a result, they''d reach a whole new level of power under his control. Before he could get a better feel of the new weapon''s power, however, the arrays suddenly went dormant, and the room quickly returned to normal. System: Weapon Completion Rate 86%. Do you wish to keep this outer shape? Eighty-six percent? Shi Feng stared at the system notification in astonishment. He hadn''t actually believed that his gamble would pay off, and in spades, at that. The resulting Completion Rate was 16% higher than the base requirement, which completely exceeded his expectations. Once a weapon''s Completion Rate reached the standard in God''s Domain, a higher percentage would yield hardly any bonuses to the displayed Attributes. Rather, it would improve the weapon''s hidden effects. Naturally, the higher the Completion Rate, the stronger the hidden effects would become. An 86% Completion Rate was by no means a low value. Less than 10% of God''s Domain''s weapons had an 80% or higher Completion Rate, with most hovering around the 75% threshold. Only 1% of all weapons in the game had an 85% or higher Completion Rate. And according to Shi Feng''s knowledge, the highest Completion Rate ever achieved when crafting a weapon was 94%. He had heard that the Epic Weapon''s performance even rivaled a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Shi Feng didn''t even dare to dream of forging a weapon with a 90% Completion Rate. Only Grandmaster Forgers were capable of such a feat. He was merely an Intermediate Master Forger and had only reached Advanced Master rank due to the Philosopher''s Hand. He had never expected to achieve an 86% Completion Rate. He immediately chose to keep this shape, and as he confirmed his decision, the new Abyssal Blade gently landed on the central platform. Amazing! So, this is the power of the merged fragments? Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he took up the new Abyssal Blade. The old and new Abyssal Blades looked roughly the same on the outside, but the new weapon was much heavier than the old one. However, despite the increased weight, Shi Feng felt far more compatible with this weapon than he ever had with the hilt in his hand. It felt as if the sword were an extension of his body. He could even feel the ambient Mana flow through the weapon. With the new Abyssal Blade in his hand, his Mana sensitivity underwent a qualitative transformation. He wasn''t a magical class player, and his Mana sensitivity couldn''t compare to theirs. Mana sensitivity might not be particularly useful for physical players, but it was useful to experts, especially those who were adept at manipulating magic arrays. Not only could players control magic arrays far more easily with greater Mana sensitivity, but they could also locate arrays'' weak points with less effort. Moreover, once one''s Mana sensitivity reached a certain level, players could shatter their opponent''s Skill or Spell by manipulating the flow of Mana in the air. They could even prevent opponents from using Skills or Spells at all. System: You have 30 minutes remaining. Please complete the recasting process as soon as possible. If the process fails, the weapon will disintegrate. Too close. I nearly ran out of time. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the system notification, and he started to refine the new weapon. The refining process was much simpler than the reshaping process. He merely needed to add the blade''s edge and polish the sword''s magic arrays. As both an Intermediate Master Magician and a temporary Advanced Master Forger, these were simple tasks for him. He completed the process in less than 20 minutes. The instant Shi Feng finished the new weapon, he heard the sound of another system notification. System: Weapon recasting successful. Please name your new weapon. "Abyssal Blade," Shi Feng replied without hesitation. System: Naming successful. Recast weapon will be named the Abyssal Blade. Do you wish to activate auto appraisal? "Appraise!" Shi Feng answered. Letting the system appraise the weapon might not mean much to ordinary players, but to Shi Feng, a Master Forger, it was a relatively useful tool that would grant him some Forging Proficiency. In fact, Master Forgers during his previous life had sometimes taken recasting commissions for free to gain more Forging Proficiency. As long as they were successful, the forger responsible would be awarded an abundance of proficiency. A Master Forger might save one or two days of work with one successfully recast weapon. System: Appraisal of the Abyssal Blade is complete. Weapon Completion Rate is at 86%. Weapon rank is designated as Fragmented Legendary. Rewarding 30,000 Forging Proficiency. The notification stunned Shi Feng. "Wonderful! It''s upgraded to Fragmented Legendary rank!" Shi Feng looked at his new weapon, ecstatic. Although he had guessed that there was a high possibility of the end product reaching Fragmented Legendary rank, he couldn''t help his joy after hearing his guess verified. A Fragmented Legendary Weapon! He had quite a few Fragmented Legendary items on him, but none were weapons; they were only equipment pieces and accessories. The increased combat power they could provide was nowhere near that of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, and although he had been thinking of hunting one down for himself, acquiring such a weapon was easier said than done. Furthermore, he would have to find a compatible one-handed sword. Now that he finally had a Fragmented Legendary Weapon that suited him perfectly, why wouldn''t he be excited? Shi Feng immediately called up the Abyssal Blade''s Attribute Panel. Normally, recasting a weapon significantly changed the weapon''s Attributes. The new weapon would no longer be what it once had been. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 3,000, Agility 2,000 Attack Power (210% of Strength Attribute) Attack Speed (2% of Agility Attribute) All Attributes (Increases according to user''s level) Ignore Levels +35 Attacks have: 70% chance to cause 250% damage; 40% chance to cause 300% damage; Every attack increases damage by 2% to a maximum of 30%. When equipped: Strength increased by 50%, Agility increased by 50%, Intelligence increased by 35%; Endurance increased by 50%; Attack Speed increased by 50%; All effects of weapon-related Skills increased by 20%; All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +6. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Tier 3. Can be evolved (Devour 4 God Crystals to evolve to Tier 4). Additional Active Skill 1: Darkness Bind (Tier 3). Binds all enemies within a 100-yard radius for 3 seconds and reduces their Defense and Magic Resistance by 100% for 15 seconds Cooldown: 40 seconds Additional Active Skill 2: Darkness Domain (Tier 3). Converts an area of 200 yards around the user into a Darkness Domain. Weakens the senses of all enemies within the Darkness Domain and reduces enemies'' Basic Attributes by 15%. While inside the Darkness Domain, the user may control up to 36 strands of Power of Darkness. Each strand carries force equivalent to 110% of the user''s Strength and causes 100% darkness damage. Duration: 60 seconds Cooldown: 8 minutes Additional Passive Profound Inheritance: Mana Abyss (Tier 3). The higher the density of the Mana surrounding the Abyssal Blade, the more power the weapon will exhibit. Power of the weapon can be increased up to 100%. Additional Active Profound Inheritance: Black Dragon''s Soul (Tier 3). Grants the user the Black Dragon King''s soul and transforms the user into the Black Dragon King. The higher the density of the surrounding Mana, the higher the Black Dragon King''s Life Rating will be. Can use the Skill, Dragon Breath. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 12 hours A sword recast from the fragments of an ancient, unknown weapon. The Black Dragon King''s power has been sealed within the sword, although the Black Dragon King has cursed the weapon. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. If the wielder cannot suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon King''s curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 70%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. So strong! Not even Fire Dance''s Thousand Transformations can compare to this! The new Abyssal Blade''s Attributes left Shi Feng flabbergasted. With such Attributes, doesn''t this sword nearly rival Legendary Weapons? The new Abyssal Blade was like a combination of the old Abyssal Blade and Cruel Darkness. Even top-tier Fragmented Legendary Weapons were likely weaker than the sword. When Shi Feng wielded the Abyssal Blade, he felt that he could display Tier 4 power with a normal attack, even without using a Mana Technique. I had been worried about getting to Solomon''s Sword''s fragments in Poison City, but with this, that shouldn''t be a problem. Poison City was a Level 120 secret land, and although it might be a challenge, even with his new weapon and the Hell Legion''s help, it was no longer impossible. A Level 120 secret land! If Level 100 Team Dungeons were a place for players to adapt to Tier 3, Level 120 secret lands were treasure troves for Tier 3 experts. Within these secret lands, players could find ancient inheritances, including Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books, as well as ancient potions that could help players unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential. By the time Shadow had grown strong enough to raid Level 120 secret lands during Shi Feng''s previous life, the various superpowers had long since swept through them, leaving only scraps for ordinary powers. If Zero Wing could start raiding Level 120 secret lands now, the Guild''s ability to nurture Tier 3 players and help them unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential would definitely surpass that of the various superpowers. His Guild would become a true titan in God''s Domain. Now that my weapon is complete, it''s time to meet with the players from the Dark World. Shi Feng sheathed the new Abyssal Blade and left the underground core room. 2543 Determining Fate with Words Chapter 2543 - Determining Fate with Words Stone Forest City, Zero Wing''s Residence: As Shi Feng parted the doors to the Guild Hall''s top-floor reception room, he felt two sharp auras locking onto him, which kept track of his every move. The two who radiated these auras definitely had Domain Realm combat standards. When Shi Feng glanced into the room, he spotted three people. The two people that accompanied Gentle Snow were a man and a woman, both of whom radiated such dense darkness energy that it took on tangible form. Even players who normally couldn''t sense darkness energy could see a layer of black fog around the two players. The woman looked like she was in her early thirties and was a rare Dark Knight class. She was also a member of the rarer Dark Wolfkin race. Her aura was only slightly weaker than Gentle Snows who wore a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. The elderly man beside her garbed himself in pitch-black robes and held a black staff. He had long, pointed ears and tainted the room''s Mana with an icy, dark aura. Ordinary Tier 2 magical class experts would find the Mana here difficult to manipulate. A Fallen Half-elf? A hint of surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes. Mana loved the Elven race, and they were born with an extraordinary affinity for manipulating it. However, God''s Domain had a group of Elves that had fallen to darkness in pursuit of Mana''s limits. They were known as Fallen Elves, and all natural Elves relentlessly hunted them down. Fallen Elves were unusual in God''s Domain, and players that successfully converted to the Fallen Half-elf race were even rarer. Of course, any superpower would target a Fallen Half-elf for recruitment. Fallen Half-elves had an even stronger affinity for Mana than ordinary Half-elves, and their affinity for and control over the Power of Darkness was especially impressive. They could practically rival pure Elves. Elves might not compare to Dragons, but they were one of the top races in God.s Domain, with far greater growth potential than human players. By becoming a Fallen Half-elf, one would have the growth potential to rival true Elves, and after Tier 3, each subsequent tier would grant a Fallen Half-elf a qualitative boost to their strength. Furthermore, any player that converted into a Fallen Half-elf proved they had very high combat standards. As long as they received enough resources, they were almost guaranteed to reach Tier 5. With the race''s natural talents, no one would be able to take down a Tier 5 Fallen Half-elf player outside of Tier 6 God- ranked experts. <- As far as Shi Feng could remember, players only had a chance of completing the trial to become a Fallen Half-elf after they had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential, yet this elderly guest of his hadn''t and had still successfully converted... "Allow me to introduce you, Guild Leader. These experts from two of the Dark World''s top three Guilds. They''ve come to discuss the issue of Demon''s Heart with Zero Wing," Gentle Snow announced as Shi Feng entered the room. The Dark World was incredibly vast, roughly as large as three ordinary empires. The Otherworld was even larger than the Fire Dragon Empire, one of God''s Domain''s Four Great Empires. Three Guild ruled over the Dark World: Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination. They had all received support from major corporations during the game''s early stages and had secretly poached quite a few experts from the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. Since then, these three Guilds had been steadily developing their strength in the Dark World, and now, each could rival a Super Guild. Zero Wing''s two current guests were representatives from Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. "Seeing that you''ve come without warning, I''m assuming you''re in quite a rush. Please, just speak your mind," Shi Feng addressed the two players before him. He had a rough understanding of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. Although they hadn''t been powerful enough to rank as two of the Six Great Dark Guilds in the past, they had still been strong enough to rival Super Guilds. When the main continent and the Dark World had connected, the two Guilds had each annihilated a superpower, using the victories as stepping stones to secure a foothold on the main continent. These two Guilds'' strength could not be underestimated. "You are just as straightforward as the rumors say, Guild Leader Black Flame," the female Dark Knight said, smiling. "This trip hasn''t been an easy one, so let''s be forthright. Elder Gold and I are here on behalf of our respective Guilds, and we hope to sign a contract with Zero Wing." "A contract? Regarding what?" Shi Feng asked. "I''m afraid you still don''t realize how terrifying Demon''s Heart can be, Guild Leader Black Flame, particularly its Vice Guild Leader, Flaming Light. He holds the key to activate the passage between the Dark World and the main continent. After the humiliation the Guild suffered at your hands, he''s almost guaranteed to use it in the Cold Spring Forest. All of the Dark World''s players will swarm the area, and Stone Forest City isn''t likely to survive the coming storm," the Fallen Half-elf, whom the female Dark Knight had referred to as Elder Gold, said. "However, our Guilds don''t wish to serve as Flaming Light''s hired thugs, and as such, we have come to negotiate with Zero Wing." "That''s right. The contract we have in mind is very simple. If the passage to the Dark World opens in Cold Spring Forest, our Guilds will not take any action against Zero Wing or Stone Forest City," the female Dark Knight continued, chuckling. "I''m sure this will alleviate a considerable amount of pressure your Guild and city will face. How you depend on the rest of the Dark World''s denizens will depend on you, Guild Leader Black Flame." "And what do you want in return?" Shi Feng asked. The two Dark Guilds'' proposal didn''t surprise Shi Feng in the slightest. Demon''s Heart might have some influence in the Dark World, but it was nothing compared to the Otherworld''s top three Guilds. It was now obvious that Demon''s Heart intended to use the Dark World as its spearhead, and some of the Dark World''s players weren''t happy about playing that role. They would have to expend their resources to fight the main continent''s powers, yet only Demon''s Heart would gain an advantage. Hence, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had come in search of a partnership with Zero Wing, which owned a Guild City in Cold Spring Forest. "It is nothing significant. We merely wish to discuss the allocation of Cold Spring Forest''s resources, Guild Leader Black Flame," Elder Gold said. "Both of our Guilds are large organizations, and we require an extraordinary amount of resources. In exchange for our neutrality, we''d like half of Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas. We will not interfere in any matters in the other half. Naturally, we would like Zero Wing to agree to the same. Call it a non-interference pact." Gentle Snow couldn''t help but frown from beside Shi Feng. At first glance, the conditions Elder Gold had stated were generous. Cold Spring Forest was an abundant resource map, after all, and not even Zero Wing could monopolize it. However, if Zero Wing signed this contract, the Guild wouldn''t have to battle the rest of the Dark World''s powers and players for the remaining half of the map. This would undoubtedly intensify the competition. In contrast, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society could avoid a fight with Zero Wing, their largest competitor in the Cold Spring Forest. "I see," Shi Feng said, nodding. "This proposal will benefit each of our three Guilds. May I know your thoughts on this, Guild Leader Black Flame?" the Dark Knight asked. "Since your two Guilds are so sincere, how about this? Zero Wing will concede 70% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource spots. In exchange, your Guilds will offer us some other resources. We don''t want much; 500,000 Darkness Crystals will do. What do you think?" Shi Feng countered with a smile. "Guild Leader?!" Gentle Snow exclaimed, turning to Shi Feng with wide, shocked eyes. Competing with the Dark World''s various powers over half of the Cold Spring Forest''s resources would already be an immense challenge. If they only had 30% to fight over, the Dark World''s powers would immediately declare an all-out war against their Guild... Shi Feng''s counteroffer even confused the female Dark Knight and Elder Gold, not to mention Gentle Snow. They had considered the possibility that their offer would be rejected before they had visited Zero Wing''s residence or that Zero Wing would try to minimize the amount of resources it would share with their Guilds. They had discussed various countermeasures for these possibilities. In fact, they had planned for several days of negotiation with the Guild. However, they had never dreamed that Zero Wing would offer even more of Cold Spring Forest''s resources. What, exactly, was this man thinking? 2544 Crazy Black Flame? Chapter 2544 - Crazy Black Flame? The female Dark Knight and Elder Gold were both dazed for a long moment after hearing Shi Feng''s counteroffer, and they even wondered if he were joking with them. With their original offer, in which Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society claimed 50% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas, the rest of the Dark World''s powers would have to battle Zero Wing for the remaining half. Even if the Dark World''s various powers tried to avoid it, they would come into conflict with Zero Wing. With so many players vying for such limited resources, a blood fight was inevitable. Unfortunately, the Dark World''s powers couldn''t afford to search for other Level 100 neutral maps for their development. At least, it wasn''t something they could afford before the Dark World''s players had expanded their influence on the main continent. This was precisely why the various superpowers were so afraid of Demon''s Heart''s Flaming Light. And yet, Shi Feng had just offered another 20% of Cold Spring Forest''s resources. It was insane and suicidal. His counteroffer might seem wise to ordinary people, as doing so would allow Zero Wing to tighten its defensive line and secure better control over its resource areas, but Dark Players would have no choice but to fight for those resources spots. None of the Otherworld''s players would dare go against Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. If the two Guilds controlled more of the Cold Spring Forest, even more Dark Players would have to fight Zero Wing for resources. Zero Wing''s very survival in the map would be in question, not to mention obtaining resources in Cold Spring Forest. Has he given up on Stone Forest City? It was the only possibility the female Dark Knight could think of. Zero Wing wasn''t about to face one or two superpowers, but an entire Otherworld. Moreover, it was an Otherworld with even more players than the Fire Dragon Empire, and not a single power could stand against such a force. Realizing this, Shi Feng must''ve decided to abandon Cold Spring Forest''s resources in exchange for the Dark World''s precious Darkness Crystals. It was a worthwhile transaction, but no normal person would accept such an exchange. Developing a Guild City required a massive amount of time and resources. Not just anyone could afford to abandon an entire Guild City without a second thought. "Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Elder Gold asked. He could not think of a single reason to refuse Shi Feng''s offer. Although 500,000 Darkness Crystals were valuable, they were insignificant compared to 70% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas. Of course. If you don''t believe me, I''ll sign the contract right now," Shi Feng replied, chuckling. "Excellent! I agree to your offer on behalf of Deity Society!" Elder Gold exclaimed, excitement glowing in his eyes. Only a fool would refuse. Throughout Cold Spring Forest, only Zero Wing could pose a threat to Deity Society. The other powers were not worth mentioning. If Zero Wing were willing to part with an additional 20% of the map''s resource spots, Deity Society wouldn''t have to worry about managing more territory. "What about Dark Rhapsody?" Shi Feng asked as he turned toward the female Dark Knight. "On behalf of my Guild, I have no issues with this arrangement, either," the Dark Knight answered without hesitation. Although she didn''t know what this Swordsman was thinking, her superiors would strangle her once she returned if she refused. Once Elder Gold and the female Dark Knight had agreed, the three players signed the contract stipulating that Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would occupy 70% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas, while Zero Wing would occupy the remainder. None of the three Guilds would interfere in each other''s matters, and the two Dark Guilds would provide a total of 500,000 Darkness Crystals. With the negotiations complete, Elder Gold and the female Dark Knight promptly returned to the Dark World to notify their Guilds of the good news. They immediately began to prepare the 500,000 Darkness Crystals Shi Feng had demanded, as well. Once the portal connecting the Dark World to the main continent opened in Cold Spring Forest, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would hand the crystals over to Zero Wing. When the news hit Dark Rhapsody''s and Deity Society''s main headquarters, the two Guilds'' upper echelons were astonished. "I had never expected Zero Wing to be so daring. It seems it''s quite confident of safeguarding its 30% of the map." "But, how can that be? Zero Wing must realize that it cannot stop the Dark World''s advance; it must be aiming for the next best option." "I suspect the Guild''s decisive nature is the reason it has achieved the success it enjoys today. Don''t forget; Zero Wing''s enemies aren''t limited to those in the Dark World. Demon''s Heart is still lurking, and Zero Wing must think this agreement will help it stand against the Dark Guild." Heated discussions erupted among the two Guilds'' upper echelons over their new contracts with Zero Wing. None of them had expected this outcome, but regardless, it was good news for both of their Guilds. While Dark Rhapsody''s and Deity Society''s spoke of the matter, news quickly reached Demon''s Heart. "Black Flame is quite bold, Elder Heart. It seems he intends to give up Cold Spring Forest''s resources and focus his forces on protecting Stone Forest City," a Level 108, Tier 3 Demon Viscount Shield Warrior commented, grinning at Furious Heart. Shi Feng had so arrogantly strutted through Demon City, and now, because of Flaming Light''s single move, his Guild was forced to part with 70% of its resource areas in Cold Spring Forest. It was a joyous outcome for Demon''s Heart. "Hmph. Did he think he''d get off scot-free after provoking Demon''s Heart?" Furious Heart said, snorting. "If he thinks he can protect Stone Forest City by handing over 70% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource spots, he should think again. He simply doesn''t know how futile his actions are. Vice Guild Leader Light has already reached an agreement with several superpowers. When the time comes, Demon''s Heart and the various superpowers will attack Stone Forest City from both within and without. We''ll tear the city asunder and ensure that Zero Wing never again has a place in Cold Spring Forest!" Demon''s Heart''s other Elders excitedly expressed their agreement. Zero Wing might assume its only opponents were from the Dark World, but in truth, the Guild would have to face several superpowers, as well. Under their combined assault, Zero Wing would be as powerless as an ant. It had no chance of survival. Stone Forest City, Zero Wing''s Residence: While many superpowers gossiped about the agreement between Zero Wing, Dark Rhapsody, and Deity Society, Gentle Snow, confused, followed Shi Feng to the Guild Warehouse on the Residence''s first underground floor. "Guild Leader, offering an additional 20% isn''t worth just 500,000 Darkness Crystals. Cold Spring Forest''s Cold Spring Water is a huge help to Tier 2 players'' development. It is the reason so many of our Tier 2 experts can work in Level 100 neutral maps. Giving away so much of Cold Spring Forest will drastically reduce our Tier 2 members'' development speed," Gentle Snow complained. She felt that Shi Feng had gone too far this time. Even God''s Domain''s various superpowers fought like crazy over Cold Spring Water, and due to its rarity, the competition was incredibly intense. Fortunately, with Stone Forest City, Zero Wing had an absolute advantage in the competition for Cold Spring Water from Cold Spring Forest, and thus, no powers dared to cause trouble for the Guild. This item allowed Zero Wing''s Tier 2 members to level rapidly and reach Level 105 far sooner than others. Once they reached that level and equipped Level 105 top-tier equipment, these Tier 2 members could challenge their Tier 3 Promotion Quests, clearing them with relatively high success rates. As a result, Zero Wing continuously nurtured more Tier 3 players. If they gave away 70% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas and had to compete with the Dark World''s players over the remainder, Zero Wing would likely have to abandon Cold Spring Forest entirely. Meanwhile, Darkness Crystals were an Attributed Magic Crystal, and while they were valuable, that was only true for Dark Players due to the darkness energy they contained. Darkness energy wasn''t helpful to regular players in the least. In fact, to regular players, 500,000 Darkness Crystals weren''t even worth 500,000 Magic Crystals. "I understand, but Cold Spring Forest is massive. Zero Wing isn''t even large enough to exploit 20% of the map''s resource areas, much less 50%. Rather than holding useless territory, shouldn''t we exchange it for something of value?" Shi Feng asked, chuckling. "But, those Dark World players" Gentle Snow understood what Shi Feng was trying to say. At this point, only Tier 3 players could freely roam Level 100 neutral maps for long periods. Tier 2 players couldn''t last for very long in such areas. Zero Wing''s current forces simply weren''t enough to occupy all of Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas. Selling the additional spots was a wise decision, but if they considered the Dark World''s powers and players, it''d be a completely different story. "The Dark World''s players are a problem, but only if they actually pose a threat to Zero Wing in Cold Spring Forest!" Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Guild Leader, we''re talking about the Dark World. I spoke with our guests earlier, and those two informed me that the Dark World is as large as three of the main continent''s ordinary empires. The Otherworld has even more players than the Fire Dragon Empire. We''ll be facing a minimum of 20,000 Tier 3 experts..." Gentle Snow continued, flashing Shi Feng a bitter smile. "And what if we have two or three thousand fully-armed, Tier 3 NPCs?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. "Are you talking about the Knight Division?" Gentle Snow, more or less, realized where Shi Feng was going with this. "We still don''t have the funds to upgrade them..." "Who said that?" Shi Feng quipped. He then opened his Epic Spatial Bag and emptied its contents inside the Guild Warehouse. Within a few dozen seconds, materials filled the expansive warehouse, and every one was rare. Gentle Snow hadn''t even seen many of these materials before. As the items tumbled out of Shi Feng''s bag, the Mana density in the warehouse rose significantly... 2545 Astonishing Wealth Chapter 2545 - Astonishing Wealth Gentle Snow stared at the materials Shi Feng had revealed in a daze. As a Vice Guild Leader, she had done extensive research on God''s Domain''s materials, yet she didn''t even recognize half of the items Shi Feng had dumped in the warehouse. Even those she recognized were considered precious on the market, and normally, they were impossible to purchase, even for absurdly high prices. And yet, their Guild Warehouse was now packed full of such materials... The warehouses in Zero Wing''s Residences were easily as large as four basketball courts, but despite its size, Shi Feng had filled it with incredibly valuable materials. They could rake in unimaginable profits if they sold them all. "Guild Leader, did you acquire all of these materials from the western continent?" Gentle Snow asked. She was aware of his visit to the west, but since the Guild had still needed management personnel, she had decided to stay behind. However, Shi Feng hadn''t spent long in the west, and even though he had left with millions of Magic Crystals, returning with such a bounty shouldn''t be possible in such a short time. Rare materials were considered rare for a reason. There wasn''t exactly a large supply of them on the market. To acquire as many materials as Shi Feng had, one would have to sweep through multiple kingdoms and empires'' Auction Houses. Moreover, once the various powers discovered that someone was purchasing certain rare materials in bulk, prices would skyrocket. To avoid that outcome, most purchased materials in small quantities over a long time. "Mhm. We spent quite a long time collecting these materials," Shi Feng said, nodding. Smiling, he continued, "How about it? Do you think dealing with those Dark World players will still be a problem?" He had known about Demon''s Heart''s trump card for a long time. Before his visit to the western continent, he never would''ve casually attacked the Dark Guild. He didn''t want to become the entire world''s enemy, after all. But times had changed, and he was now extremely wealthy. Magic Crystals were worth far more on the western continent than they were in the east. Hence, he had gotten a bigger bang for his buck. He estimated that the materials he had purchased for 3 million Magic Crystals in the west should fetch around 10 million Gold in the east. At this stage of the game, not even superpowers could collect 10 million Gold. At best, they might have 1 or 2 million to spare. "You are really vicious, Guild Leader. I can''t believe you got your hands on so many materials unique to the western continent. The various superpowers would go mad if they found out about this," Gentle Snow said, excitement welling within her as Shi Feng nodded victoriously. In God''s Domain, money was power! Whether one was trying to construct a Guild City or provide their Guild members more benefits, all required money. Hence, a rich Guild could develop rapidly. Unfortunately, not only was God''s Domain''s Coin production limited, but players also had to cover many daily expenses. Even now, as players reached Tier 3, Coins hadn''t depreciated much, and there were even faint signs of them becoming more valuable. Now that Zero Wing had such a fortune, fully arming its Knight Division and forming a true NPC army was entirely possible. "I do have an important use for these materials, however. We can only sell half. I''ll leave that to you. Make sure to find absolutely trustworthy people to do the job. If this news leaks, we''ll have a hard time demanding high prices," Shi Feng warned her. "I understand. I ensure that every one of these items sells at an ideal price, and I''ll make sure that none of the various superpowers learn of our wealth," Gentle Snow promised with a bright smile. She couldn''t help but look forward to seeing the various superpowers'' expressions when they saw Zero Wing''s upgraded Knight Division. Since Stone Forest City''s relocation to Cold Spring Forest, many superpowers had been eyeing the city. As they gained more Tier 3 players, Zero Wing''s control in the map had weakened, and due to the recent conflict with Demon''s Heart, quite a few powers have started to cause trouble. At this rate, the various powers might assume they could fight Zero Wing for Cold Spring Forest''s resource areas before the portal to the Dark World even activated. "I''ll leave everything to you, then," Shi Feng said, nodding. Following which, Shi Feng stealthily made his way to Stone Forest City''s Candlelight Trading Firm. While one of his goals in visiting the western continent had been to earn a ton of money and materials, his main goal had been for the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life was only a tool, not a weapon, yet all powers sought the treasure. This was because the Tree of Life could produce a variety of rare items, not unlike an infinite treasure trove. Even Super Guilds would go crazy to obtain a Tree of Life main branch since they could produce Fruits of Life, a Legendary material that could resurrect the dead. A single fruit could even grant creatures new life. Most players might not care about the ability to resurrect the dead, but countless dreamed of the ability to grant living creatures new life. Granting new life'' meant upgrading a creature''s Growth Potential and Life Rating, which could be done to players, monsters, and NPCs. Moreover, there was almost no limit to the number of Fruits of Life an individual could consume, although each subsequent fruit would prove less effective. This ability was why Fruits of Life were the best cultivation fruit in God''s Domain. The main branch Shi Feng had obtained had survived since before the Great Destruction. One could only imagine how valuable it was. Stone Forest City, Candlelight Trading Firm: Due to how attractive Stone Forest City was to Tier 3 players and the fact that the Candlelight Trading Firm sold all sorts of Master Potions, the Shop had become a hub for the various adventurer teams. In fact, any adventurer team wishing to develop in Stone Forest City first became an Advanced Member in Candlelight. Plenty of Lifestyle players visited the trading firm, as well. To keep up with the huge demand, Candlelight had split a portion of its basic orders with independent Lifestyle players, while allowing Candlelight''s members to focus on producing the more important products. Not only did this increase the trading firm''s operation scale, but it also increased productivity. At the same time, it also allowed independent players a chance to earn Proficiency Points while practicing their crafts. The independent Lifestyle players that worked for Candlelight could also earn Contribution Points and exchange them for a plethora of recipes and materials. They could even spend points to rent Special Workshops and Basic Meditation Rooms. Due to such lucrative benefits, many independent Lifestyle players with high standards had decided to develop in Stone Forest City. When Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm, he found that the first-floor hall was practically full of adventurer team players and Lifestyle players. The trading firm was no less popular than Auction Houses in NPC cities. Shi Feng quickly made his way to one of the firm''s Basic Meditation Rooms, making many Lifestyle players, who were waiting to rent a Special Workshop or Basic Meditation room, jealous. "Who is that guy?! They''re just letting him enter a Mediation Room without waiting in line?!" "I don''t know, but he must be someone important. I''ve heard that only Candlelight''s core members and independent players with a Gold Membership can enter Mediation Rooms as they wish." "I wonder when I''ll be able to become a Gold Member." "Gold? You should thank your lucky stars if you even become a Silver Member. You know that even Master Lifestyle players only become Bronze Members." All Lifestyle players dreamed of using Basic Meditation Rooms due to their excellent training environments, but even the various superpowers'' Lifestyle players had few opportunities to use them. The only reason that independent players like them had a chance to use a Basic Meditation Room was Candelight''s booming popularity. If they could use the rooms whenever they wanted, they wouldn''t have any trouble improving their skills. Of course, Shi Feng ignored these independent players'' jealousy. He merely entered the Basic Meditation Room and retrieved the Tree of Life''s main branch he had collected from the Guild Warehouse. Mana was the core of all in God''s Domain. Players would obtain better results in both combat training and producing items in higher Mana density environments. Thus, to increase his chances of restoring the main branch, he had deliberately shut himself in a Basic Meditation Room. With the main branch in hand, Shi Feng carefully pulled a brightly glowing crystal from his bag. The instant it touched the air, it illuminated the room, and he felt the crystal radiate warmth. This crystal was none other than the Star of Light, a Legendary material he had obtained from the Demon God''s Temptation. This should be enough Mana. I just hope it can live. Shi Feng nervously gulped as he merged the Star of Light and Tree of Life''s main branch. 2546 Divine Artifact? Chapter 2546 - Divine Artifact? When Shi Feng merged the Star of Light with the withered branch, the Mana inside the Basic Meditation Room started gathering rapidly around the branch. In less than three seconds, a layer of white mist had formed around the withered branch. Moreover, this still wasn''t the end of it. Afterward, the Mana mist started condensing into drops of Liquid Mana on the branch and the area around it. Subsequently, the Liquid Mana flowed toward and into the branch''s broken end. And with each drop of Liquid Mana that entered the withered branch, the branch quivered, giving off ripples of energy, as if some kind of creature was awakening. It seems the results are quite good. Shi Feng grew elated when he sensed the ripples of energy from the withered branch. Previously, when he saw that the Withered Rate of the branch had reached 94%, he had somewhat despaired of reviving the branch already. Fortunately, there was no failure when trying to revive a Tree of Life''s branch. One merely needed to provide it with a continuous supply of high-density Mana and life energy. So long as that condition was met in sufficient quantity, the branch would grow into another Tree of Life. The only problem was that the quantity and density of Mana and life energy required would vary depending on a branch''s Withered Rate. Meanwhile, the materials capable of supplementing the Mana and life energy that a 94% Withered main branch required were incredibly rare. Fortunately, Shi Feng had been lucky on his trip to the western continent this time and secured himself a Star of Light. Without it, he really wouldn''t have any hope of resuscitating the withered branch he had. Following which, time passed by rapidly. Before he knew it, eight hours had passed already. During this period, the withered branch had continuously condensed and absorbed Liquid Mana. Combined with the Star of Light''s essence, the branch was now brimming with life energy. In fact, it had even started leafing. As green leaves kept sprouting on the branch, the life energy it radiated grew denser. Now, the entire room was brimming with life. It just awoke, yet the life energy it''s giving off is already so dense? What is the rank of this Tree of Life? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he sensed the life energy filling the room. If players rest in this room, their recovery rate will most likely more than double. In God''s Domain, even after players reached Tier 3, they still wouldn''t be immune to the corrosive energies in Level 100-plus maps; they would merely be more resistant to these energies. After the corruption reached a certain point, they would still have to return to cities to rest. Otherwise, they would collapse from hunger or exhaustion or simply outright die. This was also the reason behind Stone Forest City''s rapid development. However, even if players returned to a city to rest, they would still take a very long time to recover to their peak. While wealthy players also had the option of consuming Mana-rich food and beverages to accelerate their recovery, these only improved the recovery rate by a few dozen percent. If players rested inside this room, however, their recovery rate would increase by at least 100%. This was simply incredible. After all, expert players of God''s Domain consumed food and beverages that accelerated their recovery rate on a regular basis, to have more time grinding and exploring. Those of Guild upper echelons would even take ancient potions to increase their recovery rate, which was extremely expensive. The cheaper ones cost around 20 or 30 Gold per bottle, while expensive ones cost over 100 Gold! Ancient potions were all Consumables whose effects lasted only four to six hours. However, combining the effects of ancient potions and food that boosted recovery rate could just barely double players'' recovery rate. Now, however, a Tree of Life''s branch that had just been revived could grant this effect merely by being present inside a room. If news of this spread, the various powers of God''s Domain would definitely go crazy with envy. After all, an ancient potion granted its effects to only one person. The Tree of Life''s branch, however, could aid all the players resting inside the room it was in. Setting all else aside, this branch alone would already give Zero Wing''s main force members a huge lead over the various superpowers'' experts when it came to leveling up and improving their strength. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was reeling in astonishment from the passive effects the Tree of Life''s main branch displayed, the branch in question suddenly released an emerald glow. It then transformed into a sapling. The instant the sapling took shape, Shi Feng felt an indescribably heavy pressure on him. The sapling had actually sucked the Basic Meditation Room dry of Mana. If not for Shi Feng having fully unlocked his Mana Body, the sapling''s action would''ve most likely killed him. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Shi Feng promptly called out the sapling''s Attribute Panel. Crap! It''s actually a Divine Artifact?! Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the statistics displayed before him. [Ancient Tree of Life''s Sapling] (Fragmented Divine Artifact Rank) A sapling brimming with life energy. The sapling also contains a trace of the world''s aura before the Great Destruction. This sapling is capable of producing 17 drops of Water of Life daily, 3 Nuclei of Life every three days, and one Fruit of Life every seven days. This sapling can survive only in places with high Mana density. Capable of growth. (Requires a large amount of dense and pure energy to grow. Current Growth Rate 0%.) Previously, he had merely speculated that the branch he obtained was a Divine Artifact because it had existed since ancient times, and the environment in ancient times was many times better than the environment in the current Gods Domain. However, he never thought that the main branch would actually turn out to be a Divine Artifact! Although it was a fragmented one, it was still a bona fide Divine Artifact! It wasn''t some powerful Legendary item labeled as a Divine Artifact. Divine Artifacts could bring entire races to prosperity. They were existences that even Ancient Gods would fight tooth and nail for. Even the almighty War God''s Temple had only two Divine Artifacts in its warehouse. If news of this sapling got out, let alone players, even the NPC powers of God''s Domain would most likely take action particularly the dark powers, which would definitely destroy Stone Forest City. In fact, they wouldn''t mind drowning an entire empire in flames to get their hands on this sapling. Hence, while Shi Feng was indeed ecstatic to see that the sapling turned out to be a Fragmented Divine Artifact, his emotions were complicated as he looked at the sapling. Moreover, resuscitating a Tree of Life''s branch wasn''t the most difficult part about growing a Tree of Life. After all, so long as players found the right materials to supply the branch with Mana and life energy, they would be able to revive it. Even if players didn''t get the right materials on their first attempt, they could simply try and try again and eventually succeed. The truly challenging part of growing a Tree of Life was keeping it alive. The Tree of Life had extremely stringent living conditions. If players failed to meet these conditions, let alone getting the Tree of Life to develop, it wouldn''t be strange if the tree died. Then, players would have to find more materials to resuscitate it. One of the main conditions to keep a Tree of Life alive was to plant it in a location with sufficiently dense Mana. Originally, Shi Feng had thought he could rely on Stone Forest City''s environment to grow his Tree of Life. After all, even if he managed to revive his branch, it would only become a sapling. The amount of Mana a sapling required wasn''t as much as what a mature Tree of Life needed. In fact, with Stone Forest City''s Mana environment, he was confident he could grow even a Legendary ranked sapling. However, for the Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked sapling before him, he discovered that even one of the city''s Basic Meditation Rooms couldn''t supply the sapling''s Mana requirements. It seems that if I don''t upgrade Stone Forest City, I can''t even touch this Tree of Life. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he looked at the sapling hovering before him. He then contacted Gentle Snow and asked, "Snow, how are things coming along on your side?" 2547 Foundations Ready, Reconstructing Stone Forest City Chapter 2547 - Foundations Ready, Reconstructing Stone Forest City "I already had my men make the necessary preparations. However, quite a few superpowers are selling the western continent''s materials right now, so we''ll have to wait awhile to get a better price," Gentle Snow answered upon hearing Shi Feng''s question. Although the western continent''s rare materials were very precious on the eastern continent, there were still some superpowers that sold them. To get a better price for the materials Shi Feng brought back and to avoid significant price fluctuations, they had to not only split the materials across numerous kingdoms and empires but also consider the timing and sell only the materials that were unavailable or in low supply. Only by doing so would they be able to get the best price for their materials. For the current Zero Wing, though, handling these matters wasn''t a problem at all. "Stop waiting. Sell whatever you can right now," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "So soon?" Gentle Snow was a little confused by Shi Feng''s decision. The price they could get from selling the materials quickly would be considerably different from what they would get if they sold the materials gradually. After all, not everybody had a use for the western continent''s rare materials. If they sold these materials in bulk, they would saturate the market very quickly, which would reduce their profits. "Mhm. I''m in urgent need of money right now," Shi Feng said, nodding. If possible, he would prefer not to act precipitately, either. However, plans were always subject to change. He never thought that the Tree of Life''s branch he obtained would really turn out to be a Divine Artifact, albeit a fragmented one. The density of the Mana that a Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked Tree of Life''s Sapling required was something even the Basic Meditation Room, the place with the highest ambient Mana in Stone Forest City, was incapable of supplying. A Tree of Life''s Sapling was different from other items. Once it formed, it could not be stored inside a bag for however long players wanted. Instead, it would live for just two or three days. If players failed to provide it with an adequate living environment, then it would wilt and revert into a branch. Moreover, ordinary bags couldn''t store a Tree of Life''s Sapling, as the sapling was a non-bag space item. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Epic Spatial Bag, which was capable of storing non-bag space items. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to leave the sapling to die inside the Basic Meditation Room. Meanwhile, in God''s Domain, there were only three methods to increase the Mana density of a city. The first method was to build constructions that raised the density of Mana. However, aside from the Mana Tower, players had to find the designs for other similar constructions on their own. Moreover, designs for constructions capable of raising a city''s Mana density by a significant margin were incomparably valuable, easily surpassing Fragmented Legendary items in value. Any power that obtained such a design would definitely choose to use it themselves instead of selling or trading it away. Zero Wing did not possess such a design at the moment, so this route was not viable. The second method was just as difficult to fulfill as the first method, and that was to install a better power source in the city''s core magic array, which would raise the Mana density inside the city. The third method was the one most used in the past, and that was to raise the rank of the city. When a city''s rank increased, the standard of its core magic array would improve, as well. As a result, the city''s Mana density would increase significantly. The promotion of a Guild City required a sufficiently large player population and painstaking work. It wasn''t something that could be achieved swiftly. However, it was also the easiest way to raise the Mana density of a city. Currently, in terms of prosperity and security standards, Stone Forest City already met the requirements of an Intermediate City. Its Popularity was now the only thing holding back the city''s promotion. Normally, the city would take a lot more time to accumulate the required Popularity. However, there was a shortcut to raising a city''s Popularity: erecting Advanced Constructions. Building an Advanced Construction in a Guild City would instantly grant the city a large amount of City Popularity. In Stone Forest City''s current state, the addition of just one Advanced Construction would be sufficient to elevate the city to the Intermediate City standard. At that time, not only the city''s size but also the Mana density inside the city would increase by a large margin. However, Shi Feng currently did not possess an Advanced Construction Design. All he had was the design for the Freedom Hotel, a Peak Construction. Although a Peak Construction would grant much more Popularity than an Advanced Construction would upon completion, its construction cost was also a lot higher. Building a Peak Construction required not only extremely rare materials but also a lot of Coins. Not to mention, the construction cost would differ, depending on the size of the Peak Construction. As far as Shi Feng knew, the material costs aside, even the cheapest Peak Construction cost 1 million Gold. Fortunately, all the materials necessary to construct the Freedom Hotel were already on hand. The only thing he lacked was funds. Currently, Zero Wing had less than 150,000 Gold to spare. That was nowhere near the amount necessary. The only reliable way that Shi Feng could think of to earn a large sum within two or three days was selling the western continent''s materials. "I understand. I''ll try to sell all the materials the various kingdoms and empires lack as soon as possible. If it''s still not enough, I can also sell materials that are already available on the market," Gentle Snow said, nodding when she saw the serious look on Shi Feng''s face. "I''ll leave it to you, then," Shi Feng said before disconnecting the call. He then left the Candlelight Trading Firm and personally conducted the preparation work necessary to construct the Freedom Hotel. As one of the few Peak Constructions available in God''s Domain, the Freedom Hotel was not easy to build. It required not only a large number of Master Architects but also a large number of Master Magicians. Without the technical expertise of a Master Magician, one shouldn''t even think of constructing the Freedom Hotel. This was also the reason why Shi Feng had not been in a hurry to construct the Freedom Hotel even after obtaining its design. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was gathering the necessary workforce to construct the Freedom Hotel, the various superpowers'' members, who were keeping an eye on Zero Wing''s every action, were stupefied by this situation. "What''s Black Flame trying to do? The Dark World''s invasion is about to start, yet instead of making preparations for battle, he''s having a bunch of architects run around the city?" "Maybe he is going to construct additional defensive structures to reassure Stone Forest City''s players? I heard that this incident more than halved Stone Forest City''s profits. Once the Dark World''s players invade, instead of generating profits, Stone Forest City might end up a money pit instead." "If Black Flame knew something like this would happen, why did he provoke Demon''s Heart in the first place? Does he think a few defensive structures will be enough to stop the Dark World''s players? Let alone Zero Wing''s Guild City, even a Guild City operated by five superpowers wouldn''t be able to stop all of the Dark World''s players." The various superpowers secretly ridiculed Shi Feng when they saw him running around the city busily. The Dark World''s invasion was imminent, yet Shi Feng was actually doing something as futile as constructing a few additional defensive structures instead of trying to recruit superpowers to help him repulse this invasion. In this situation, Zero Wing''s members also could not help panicking. Previously, they had been very confident in Stone Forest City''s defenses. After all, no power had ever managed to break through the city''s defenses thus far. Now, however, their opponent was not a single power but an entire Otherworld instead. No one knew whether Stone Forest City could hold its ground against such a force. Meanwhile, over in the Black Dragon Empire, Gentle Snow wore an ecstatic expression on her face as she oversaw the sales of materials. System: The Demonheart Flower (1 stack) you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 20 Gold 27 Silver have been deposited into your bag space. System: The Magically Refined Iron (1 stack) you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 55 Gold 21 Silver have been deposited into your bag space. System: The Crimson Timber you placed at the Auction House has been sold. After deducting the procedural fees, 89 Gold 76 Silver have been deposited into your bag space. It had only been half an hour since she gave the sell order to her subordinates, and the materials they put up for auction were already being hotly contested. She had expected to gain only 400,000 Gold from the first batch of materials they had prepared to sell. Now, despite having sold less than half of the first batch, they had already made over 350,000 Gold. The demand for the materials far surpassed her projections. What Gentle Snow did not know was that, while superpowers were indeed selling the western continent''s materials, these superpowers were selling only a small portion of their stockpile; they had kept the majority for their own use. Meanwhile, these small amounts of materials might be useful for the individual player or adventurer team, but they were hardly of any use to a large Guild, which would rather ignore them than waste time bidding over scraps. However, Gentle Snow was selling materials necessary for producing Master Potions and Level 100-plus weapons and equipmentand in impressive amounts. For the various large Guilds that were desperately trying to explore Level 100 neutral maps, these materials were a godsend. Hence, for a time, the various large Guilds were crazily competing against each other over the materials Gentle Snow and her subordinates sold. And in less than half a day, they had sold half of their stockpile of materials, netting more than 4 million Goldnearly double their expected profits. This outcome astonished even Shi Feng. It''s no wonder those first-rate powers that were capable of intercontinental travel eventually developed into superpowers! This is simply a jackpot! Shi Feng sighed ruefully when he received the 4.11 million Gold from Gentle Snow''s subordinate. In Shi Feng''s opinion, even selling the materials for four or five times their original price would already have been plenty exaggerated. After all, ordinary players couldn''t afford the materials he brought back. Only the various major powers would have the means to purchase them. Now, however, he had earned more than ten times the original cost of these materials. If he could make a few more business trips like this, he would most likely have enough money to drown an entire superpower to death. However, while Shi Feng was indeed surprised by this outcome, he did not stop working. After making sure the area he stood on was sealed off from the public, he took out a thick, ancient tome from his bag. This tome was none other than the Freedom Hotel Design. System: You now possess all the necessary construction materials and land to construct the Freedom Hotel. Do you wish to start its construction? 2548 Freedom Hotels Surprise Appearance Chapter 2548 - Freedom Hotel''s Surprise Appearance Upon receiving the system notification, Shi Feng took a deep breath and chose to construct the Freedom Hotel. Immediately afterward, he received another system notification. System: Please choose the size of the Freedom Hotel you wish to build. A small one will cost 1,200,000 Gold, a medium one will cost 1,500,000 Gold, and a large one will cost 2,000,000 Gold. Sure enough, it really is expensive. Shi Feng was flabbergasted when he saw the prices listed. Although he had known that Peak Constructions cost a ton to build, he still found it difficult to accept after seeing the prices with his own eyes. With 1.2 million Gold, one could easily construct two or three Guild Cities. It was an astronomical amount of money, even for superpowers, enough to let a first-rate Guild achieve rapid development. Now, however, this sum was necessary just to construct a Small Freedom Hotel. It was no exaggeration to say that Peak Constructions were things that only the various superpowers could afford. Other powers would only be able to use the design as a decoration; constructing the real thing would be beyond their means. After seeing these prices, Shi Feng chose to construct a Large Freedom Hotel without hesitation. Originally, he had planned to construct only a Small Freedom Hotel for the sole purpose of upgrading Stone Forest City into an Intermediate City. However, since he had gained a much larger harvest than he initially expected from selling the western continent''s rare materials, he naturally had no need to be stingy with his Coins. After all, the difference between a Small Freedom Hotel and a Large Freedom Hotel was massive. Although both Small and Large Freedom Hotels possessed the same functions, a Small Freedom Hotel had only eight floors. In comparison, a Large Freedom Hotel had a total of 32 floors. Starting out with a Small Freedom Hotel and gradually upgrading it into a Large Freedom Hotel would also be many times more expensive than constructing a Large Freedom Hotel directly. Hence, in a situation where funds were plentiful, most powers would choose to construct a Large Freedom Hotel from the get-go. As soon as Shi Feng chose to construct a Large Freedom Hotel, 2 million Gold disappeared from his bag space, the Coins transforming into a streak of golden light that flowed into the Freedom Hotel Design in his hands. In the next moment, construction magic arrays started appearing on the tome''s numerous pages. Every one of these designs was extremely complex, and even the simplest one was an Advanced Magic Array. If someone below the Master Magician standard were to look at these magic arrays, they would most likely have a huge headache. Fortunately, most of these magic arrays could be retrieved from the design and engraved on the finished construction directly. Otherwise, if Shi Feng had to do all the magic arrays required for the Freedom Hotel from scratch, he definitely wouldn''t be able to manage, short of reaching the Grandmaster Magician standard. "Alright, everyone, start working!" Shi Feng said after seeing the magic arrays appear on the design. In the next moment, over a hundred architects sprang into action while holding a copy of the Freedom Hotel Design. Some architects started refining materials, while some started fragmenting materials. The construction of the Freedom Hotel progressed smoothly under Shi Feng''s direction. As for Shi Feng himself, he frantically engraved magic arrays on the finished portions of the Freedom Hotel. At the same time as Shi Feng was constructing the Freedom Hotel, inside a high-class restaurant in a border town of the Ten Saints Empire... Currently, not only was the restaurant fully booked, but several dozen Tier 3 peak experts also stood guard around it, the imposing aura these players exuded deterring passersby from approaching the restaurant. Several people were seated inside the restaurant''s top-floor room. If the upper echelons of the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers were to see these people, they would definitely receive a fright. This was because every player inside this room was a bigshot in God''s Domain. They were existences capable of shaking up entire kingdoms and empires with their decisions. Among those present, the person with the highest status would have to be Cold Shadow, a Vice Guild Leader of Mythology. Vice Guild Leader Light, how are the preparations on your side coming along? I heard that the Dark World''s Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society have signed a noninterference agreement with Zero Wing," a Level 108, white-clad, elderly man sporting Pantheon''s Guild Emblem asked as he looked at the indifferent and handsome youth seated beside him. "Our preparations are nearly complete. The Dark World''s side just needs a little more time. Elder South, please rest assured. Those two Guilds might have great influence over the Dark World, but the number of experts they command are nothing when compared to the expert population of the entire Dark World. In addition, we have reached an agreement with World Domination, which will help us add fuel to the fire. At that time, so long as no power assists Zero Wing, Stone Forest City will fall quickly," the handsome youth named Flaming Light replied with a chuckle. "You can also rest assured on this point, Vice Guild Leader Light. Starlink has already sent greetings to the various powers operating around Stone Forest City. They definitely will not assist Zero Wing in fending off the Dark World''s experts," Lu Xingluo said, smiling. Originally, Lu Xingluo had been racking his brain over how to deal with Zero Wing, which was growing stronger by the day. However, Shi Feng had actually dared offend a hot potato like Demon''s Heart. Since that was the case, Lu Xingluo naturally wouldn''t mind sending Zero Wing on its way. An entire world filled with Dark Players! Even Lu Xingluo himself did not have the confidence to go up against such a force, yet Shi Feng had actually taken the initiative to challenge this force. Zero Wing''s Guild Leader simply did not know the meaning of death. So long as Zero Wing lost the goldmine known as Stone Forest City, with Starlink''s financial strength, stomping Zero Wing to death would be a piece of cake. "When the time comes, I''ll have to rely on everyone present. As for the distribution of Stone Forest City''s shares that comes afterward, Demon''s Heart will take no part in it. Moreover, I believe the Dark World''s top three Guilds also won''t dare interfere in this matter. Everyone present will be free to decide what to do with Stone Forest City. I only hope that we can put a swift end to this affair. If Zero Wing focuses fully on defense, I''m afraid even our side will have trouble taking down Stone Forest City," Flaming Light said. "You don''t have to worry about this point," Cold Shadow said suddenly. "I have already promised Stone Forest City''s various adventurer teams that I will purchase their materials at a high price and also let them exchange for a limited number of Combat Runes. I believe Stone Forest City''s adventurer teams will no longer sell their materials to Zero Wing. Without the materials of these adventurer teams, Zero Wing won''t be able to sustain its daily operations. Once the Dark World''s portal opens, Zero Wing won''t even be able to gather materials on its own. In that case, Zero Wing will implode in a matter of days." Upon hearing Cold Shadow''s words, everyone present could not help but gasp in shock at her ruthlessness. Combat Runes were items unique to the western continent and were something the eastern continent''s various powers had been dreaming of obtaining, in order to raise the combat power of their members by a large margin. If an entire team were equipped with Combat Runes, it would have a much easier time raiding Team Dungeons and Field Bosses. Due to the effectiveness of the Combat Runes, the eastern continent''s various superpowers were sparing no expense to purchase them, with some going as far as using Magic Crystals for payment. Adventurer teams didn''t even get a chance to purchase these Combat Runes. Now that Cold Shadow was offering to let Stone Forest City''s adventurer teams exchange for some Combat Runes, those adventurer teams would definitely accept her offer without hesitation. With this, Zero Wing would truly have to fend off the Dark World''s invasion by itself. Due to this matter, the members of Stone Forest City''s adventurer teams were currently holding secret discussions. At the same time, they were also gathering materials to exchange for Mythology''s Combat Runes. They were not selling any of the materials they harvested from Cold Spring Forest to Zero Wing at all. "Zero Wing really knows how to hold its breath. Our adventurer teams have clearly stopped supplying it with materials, yet instead of raising its purchasing price, it is actually constructing something new. Does Zero Wing really think it can survive the Dark World''s invasion with just a few additional defensive structures?" "Maybe Zero Wing is trying to make a quick buck before it falls. After all, so long as the Dark World''s portal opens, everything will be over." As the adventurer team players looked at the magic array enveloping the Freedom Hotel, which was under construction, they could not help speculating about it among themselves. So what if Zero Wing''s Black Flame was strong? It was useless even if he had the strength to go up against a superpower single-handedly. After all, before an entire world''s players, even Super Guilds would be powerless. Meanwhile, as Stone Forest City''s players were quietly discussing among themselves, the magic array concealing the Freedom Hotel suddenly shattered. With the magic array''s disappearance, a 32-story building on Stone Forest City''s main street came into view. At 150 meters tall, it overlooked the entire city. 2549 Promotion to Intermediate City Chapter 2549 - Promotion to Intermediate City "What a huge building!" "What''s going on? Can a Basic City have such a tall construction?" Players on the main street were stunned when the Freedom Hotel was suddenly revealed. Previously, the tallest building in Stone Forest City had only been 100 meters tall, but not only did the Freedom Hotel reach another 50 meters above that, but it also occupied a shockingly large area. It easily covered the area of a large- scale sports stadium. Such incredible buildings were even rare in NPC cities, let alone Guild Cities. The Freedom Hotel''s sheer size stunned everyone who saw it. While nearby players discussed this new construction, the Zero Wing members responsible for building the Freedom Hotel were astonished by their own creation. They had known that they had been building an extraordinary superstructure, but they hadn''t understood how amazing it truly was until after the Freedom Hotel''s completion. Outsiders had no idea how impressive the hotel really was, but they, who had built it, were perfectly aware. The Freedom Hotel was like another world. It was bigger on the inside than it appeared, and the Mana density within was frighteningly high. The Freedom Hotel''s Mana was around two or three times denser than in the outside world. Not even Candlelight''s Basic Meditation Rooms could compare. Moreover, that had been before the Freedom Hotel had been complete... There was a major difference between complete and incomplete structures in God''s Domain. A construction in the game functioned like one massive magic array. It wouldn''t be complete until the final magic array had been engraved, unable to function. The building would only exhibit its full potential once that task had been accomplished. In other words, the Mana density Zero Wing''s members had felt inside the Freedom Hotel had been a result of the rare materials they had used. It hadn''t been amplified by any magic arrays... That wasn''t the only thing that amazed Zero Wing''s architects. None of them had realized the complete building would stand 150 meters tall. Stone Forest City was surrounded by the Cold Spring Forest, and during their meeting on the 27th floor, they had been mesmerized by the view. If they had an opportunity to stay a night on the Freedom Hotel''s top floor, they''d jump at the chance, regardless of the price. Players would also rapidly earn the Double EXP buff while in the hotel due to the high Mana density. Staying in the hotel would substantially boost their leveling speed. After all, every player grinding in Level 100 neutral maps had to return to a city to rest sooner or later, and if players could earn the Double EXP buff while resting, their leveling speed would be greatly affected. While Zero Wing''s architects were in awe of the Freedom Hotel''s future prospects, Shi Feng looked at the Peak Construction and sighed ruefully. He had only witnessed superpowers'' Freedom Hotels during his previous life, yet now, Zero Wing had one of its own. Peak Constructions weren''t just rare in God''s Domain; their powerful abilities were the true reason that drove countless powers crazy. Before Shi Feng could call up the hotel''s system interface and inspect it properly, however, he heard the sounds of a series of system notifications. System: The Large Freedom Hotel is complete. All players involved in the construction receive Level +1 and 8,000 Free Lifestyle Proficiency Points. System: The Large Freedom Hotel is complete. Stone Forest City''s Popularity increased by 100,000 points, City Prosperity Level +1, and Stone Forest City''s Popularity Accumulation Speed increased by 10%. System: Congratulations! Stone Forest City is the first Guild City to own a Peak Construction! Rewarding "Freedom City" title. This title will encourage more NPCs to visit Stone Forest City. System: Stone Forest City has met the qualifications for its promotion into an Intermediate City. Do you wish to promote it to an Intermediate City? By the time the system notifications ended, Shi Feng had risen from Level 111 to Level 112, saving several days of grinding. The abundant rewards even surprised him. I got the Freedom City title, just like that? Shi Feng stared at the system notifications, at a loss for words. Obtaining titles in God''s Domain was relatively easy, but the same couldn''t be said for towns and cities. Every power with a Guild City dreamed of obtaining the Freedom City title, in particular. Not only would more human NPCs visit a city with the title, but other races'' NPCs would also make their way to the city, especially NPC merchants and soldiers. The title would allow Stone Forest City to recruit more human NPC soldiers and those of other races. Of all the races in God''s Domain, humans weren''t particularly talented. They neither had impressive physiques and an affinity for the earth as Giants did, nor did they have the magical gifts or keen senses of the Elves and Ores, respectively. To put it simply, humans didn''t have any outstanding advantages. Their Legacies and relentless research were the only reasons that humans were able to occupy a significant portion of the main continent. There was also the fact that there were more humans than other races. In terms of combat power, human NPCs were far inferior to Giants, Elves, and Ores. Shi Feng didn''t give the matter much thought, however. The Freedom City title might be a major boon, but it wouldn''t be immediately effective. More importantly, Stone Forest City was ready for its promotion. An Intermediate City! Current powers might not yet realize how important an Intermediate City was. They only saw it as a larger city, able to accommodate more players. At best, it could rival NPC cities. However, the various powers weren''t aware that Guild Cities were not like their NPC counterparts. The two didn''t even fall into the same category. Basic Guild Cities only had the shape of a city, but they''d become true cities once they reached Intermediate rank. This was why Shi Feng had wanted to upgrade his city before transferring it to a Level 100 neutral map. The city''s defensive system would only truly activate once it became an Intermediate City, and only then would a Guild City have the foundation to survive in such a high-level area. Naturally, Shi Feng didn''t hesitate to promote Stone Forest City. System: Stone Forest City is located in Cold Spring Forest, a Level 100 Neutral Map. Promoting it into an Intermediate City will cost 500,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals. Do you wish to proceed? "Promote!" Shi Feng confirmed. The Gold and Magic Crystals instantly vanished from Shi Feng''s bag, and a gigantic magic barrier enveloped Stone Forest City before all players were teleported outside of its walls. "What''s going on? Why was I suddenly teleported outside?" "What''s happening to Stone Forest City?" The players looked up at the magic barrier around the city in stunned confusion. They had no idea what was happening. After a moment, however, some Guild players'' expressions shifted to shock. "Is Zero Wing relocating Stone Forest City again?" "No, I''ve seen some Guild Towns'' promotions before. This magic barrier looks similar. I think Zero Wing is promoting the city." "What?! Are you serious?! Stone Forest City is being promoted!?" 2550 Stone Forest City? Chapter 2550 - Stone Forest City? "Stone Forest City''s being promoted!?" When they heard someone mention Stone Forest City''s promotion, the crowd, which had been forcefully teleported out of the city, fell silent as everyone stared at the magic barrier in astonishment. Guild Towns'' promotions had already become a common sight, but not a single Guild had upgraded its City to Intermediate Rank. The promotion requirements were just too high, and fulfilling them required a long time. And yet, when the various superpowers only had a few Basic Guild Cities under their control, and none were in Level 100 neutral maps, Zero Wing was promoting Stone Forest City... "Stone Forest City has actually met the promotion requirements? Zero Wing really lucked out. With an Intermediate City''s defenses, even the Dark World''s players will have a hard time taking it down." You''re not seeing the big picture. Stone Forest City has merely become an Intermediate City; it isn''t a Main City. How much stronger could its defenses have possibly become? Not even an Advanced NPC City is guaranteed to hold its ground against all the players in an Otherworld, much less an Intermediate Guild City." "That''s right. As long as those players capture Stone Forest City, Zero Wing will regret promoting its city even more." Although everyone was surprised by Stone Forest City''s promotion to Intermediate rank, they didn''t think it was good news for Zero Wing. The Dark World still posed a threat. The news quickly reached the various superpowers'' upper echelons, they fell into heated discussions about the situation. Ten Saints Empire, Crimson Emperor''s Residence, upper echelon''s lounge: "And here I thought Zero Wing would do something outstanding. So, its trump card turns out to be an Intermediate City," a fierce man in the lounge disdainfully commented as he read the latest report on Stone Forest City. He had already reached Level 108 and radiated a lethal aura. The man turned his gaze on the woman in white resting nearby and continued, "Illusory, it seems your gamble won''t pay off. Does Zero Wing truly think an Intermediate City can stop the Dark World''s forces and various superpowers'' joint assault? The Grand Elders aren''t pleased with you after your strong objections to partnering with Demon''s Heart. If Zero Wing can''t even survive in Cold Spring Forest, not only will you lose your position as Vice Guild Leader, but they might also stick you with the reserves forever." "I merely offered a suggestion. Wasn''t the Guild Leader responsible for the final decision?" Illusory Words shot back, rolling her eyes. Earnestly, she continued, "I still can''t shake the feeling that Zero Wing won''t go down so easily. This is just like the shock I felt when Black Flame and his team actually broke into Demon City. Besides, even if Crimson Emperor doesn''t participate in the assault, we have nothing to lose, right?" "We might not lose anything, but Dark Players will rule God''s Domain in the future. Demon''s Heart''s development speed is astounding. Based on our reports, Demon''s Heart has secretly allied with several powers that are just as strong as Super Guilds. If we form a beneficial relationship with Demon''s Heart, developing in Level 100 neutral maps will be much easier in the future," the fierce man prudently countered. "If we participate in Demon''s Heart''s plan, Crimson Emperor can befriend the Dark Guild and secure a share of Stone Forest City''s benefits. The Grand Elders are likely cursing you for the suggestion right about now. This should''ve been a chance for Crimson Emperor to profit, but that chance is gone. They''ll definitely make you pay for it." "Don''t blame me for this. There''s no harm in being careful. The Guild Leader likely agreed to my suggestion, thinking the same. God''s Domain is too unstable right now, and the atmosphere among the various superpowers is growing tenser. Once the Dark World connects to the main continent, we''ll reach a tipping point. I wouldn''t even be surprised if we see superpowers fall," Illusory Words said, smiling bitterly. Initially, she hadn''t wanted to dissuade her Guild from allying with Demon''s Heart and attacking Zero Wing with the other superpowers. She actually agreed that Zero Wing was doomed this time. However, when she recalled Shi Feng''s performance in Demon City and his mythical display in the Dark Den, she hadn''t been able to keep silent against partnering with Demon''s Heart. Others might think her suggestion had been ludicrous, but only those who had personally experienced the shock of watching Shi Feng single-handedly stop a Tier 5 Demon Kings attack would understand how frighteningly powerful the Swordsman was. You''ll have to explain yourself to the Grand Elders. They just instructed me to visit Stone Forest City with our main force. If Zero Wing''s position is lacking, we''ll cooperate with the other superpowers," the fierce man said, shrugging helplessly. "They''re acting already?" Illusory Words was a little surprised. "Is Demon''s Heart on the move?" They had only received news of Stone Forest City''s promotion a few minutes ago, yet the Guild''s Grand Elders had already decided to abandon Zero Wing if the situation turned south. Not even the Guild Leader had opposed the decision. The Guild Leader and Grand Elders must have received some shocking news about Demon''s Heart to drive them to act. They never would''ve changed their minds so quickly, otherwise. "I suspect that''s the case," the fierce man said before standing up. He then asked, "Do you want to come with us?" "Yes!" Illusory Words nodded. "If I don''t, the Grand Elders will likely view my suggestion as even less reliable." Following which, the fierce man and Illusory Words made their way toward Stone Forest City with Crimson Emperor''s main force members. Two hours after players had been forced out of Stone Forest City, the barrier around it began to crack. Within seconds, it shattered and vanished, revealing a completely new Guild City. When the players resting in the nearby forest saw the new city, they were utterly dumbfounded. Stone Forest City''s walls had undergone a heaven-defying transformation. Originally, the city walls had only been around a dozen meters tall, but now, they were more than 30 meters. The walls had also been rebuilt with completely different materials. It looked like an iron beast had curled itself around the city. Moreover, magic runes covered the entire length of the walls, giving them a strangely heavy feeling. The city''s buildings had also changed significantly. Not only were all of the city''s constructions much larger than before, but they also radiated an indescribable pressure. Even from over a thousand meters away, players felt as if something or someone had locked onto their auras. Even more shocking was the Mana Stone Forest City radiated! Players had already been amazed by the Mana density in Stone Forest City. It was no exaggeration to claim that no other Guild City in God''s Domain was its match in this regard, but now, Stone Forest City''s Mana density had reached newfound highs. There was even a faint white mist enveloping everything within the city''s walls... "Crap! Is that really Stone Forest City!?" "Did Zero Wing replace Stone Forest City with some other city?" 2551 Intermediate Citys Effects Chapter 2551 - Intermediate City''s Effects The crowd began to converse as they stared at the transformed Stone Forest City. However, Zero Wing''s members were more shocked than anyone. The moment the seal on the city had lifted, Zero Wing''s members had been allowed back in. As they entered the city, they were mesmerized. Aside from the city''s Mana density, which players could feel from outside of it, these players were stunned by the city''s new infrastructure. Not only did the buildings look completely different, but quite a few were now Shops, run by nonhuman NPCs. These Shops sold special Magic Scrolls, potions, food, and drinks that were usually very scarce on the market. Most importantly, Stone Forest City now had NPC trading firms'' Shops. These new Shops might look like the ones ordinary NPCs owned, but NPC trading firms often issued quests for players. Once players had earned enough Reputation Points with a particular NPC trading firm, they could receive special, high-ranked quests that offered bountiful rewards, and if they were lucky, they could even obtain high-quality weapons and equipment by completing these quests. These NPC trading firms were one of the main reasons that even now, independent and Guild players frequently visited NPC cities. Now that Stone Forest City had some of these trading firms'' Shops as well, they could continue to earn Reputation Points and pick up quests, saving them the trouble of returning to an NPC city. "What did you do, Guild Leader? Is this really Stone Forest City?" Gentle Snow asked, her heart pounding as she gazed around the main street. Stone Forest City now had just as many high-rise buildings and Advanced Shops as White River City. Truthfully, she would''ve assumed that she had entered a major NPC city, if not for the eye-catching Freedom Hotel. The biggest difference between NPC and Guild Cities was the presence of these NPC trading Firms. They were responsible for nearly half of the quests available in NPC cities. These quests granted abundant EXP, but they also offered high monetary rewards. Even for expert players, these quests were a main source of income. This was why players were still tied to NPC cities. If they ignored these quests, they''d lose half of their income, and that would make it difficult for ordinary players to survive in God''s Domain. The chances of acquiring rare materials and equipment in Level 100 maps were incredibly low, after all. At this point, ordinary players only grinded for EXP in Level 100 maps; they didn''t rely on these areas as a stable source of income. Now that Stone Forest City was home to so many NPC trading firms'' Advanced Shops, the resident players wouldn''t have to return to an NPC city to pick up or turn in the trading firms'' quests. They could simply do so in Stone Forest City. This additional feature would only be a minor convenience for ordinary players, but for the various powers, this would allow them to shake off the shackles that bound them to NPC cities. If other powers had this feature in their Guild Cities, they would be able to thrive independently, even without the help of NPC cities. They could develop wherever they wished. "Of course, this is Stone Forest City. Once a Guild City reaches Intermediate rank, it gains the ability to survive independently in the fields," Shi Feng said, smiling at Gentle Snow''s ecstatic expression. There might only be one rank between a Basic City and an Intermediate City, but it was like the difference between heaven and earth. This was why he had been so eager to upgrade Stone Forest City to Intermediate rank. As an Intermediate City, Stone Forest City could thrive perfectly well, even if Zero Wing lost Star-Moon Kingdom. At this stage of the game, the competition in NPC cities had grown intense, and they were no longer under player control. As a result, managing NPC cities had become incredibly troublesome, and there was a risk of other powers taking over. In contrast, players had full control over Guild Cities. If other powers wanted to take one over, they''d have to capture it. However, Shi Feng considered the Freedom Hotel''s completion as far more important than Stone Forest City''s promotion. The hotel would be the key that would lead a Guild City to prosperity! Not only was the Freedom Hotel''s Mana incredibly dense, but players could also set up teleportation arrays within. Unlike NPC cities, there were no Return Scrolls for Guild Cities, and gaining them was a major challenge. Freedom Hotels, however, could meet that challenge. Any of the Freedom Hotel''s guests could purchase Return Scrolls and teleport to it at any time and from anywhere. This feature was immensely convenient for players that didn''t have a Residence or house within the city. Aside from the convenience it offered combat players, the Freedom Hotel would be significantly helpful to Lifestyle players. Not only would players accumulate the Double EXP buff when resting in the hotel, but they would also earn the Double Lifestyle Proficiency buff. Unfortunately, they couldn''t accumulate the Proficiency buff quite as fast as the Double EXP, but it was a precious bonus to Lifestyle players. Tools and potions that increased one''s Lifestyle Proficiency acquisition rate were still insanely expensive on the market, far out of ordinary players'' budgets. "Guild Leader, our members are in place. Should we open Stone Forest City now?" Gentle Snow reported once she had calmed down. To cope with the Dark World''s invasion, they had dispatched a large fraction of the Guild''s manpower to Stone Forest City. Even though the city was now much larger, they could still manage it without issues. Moreover, Gentle Snow was eager to show the city off to the public. Once Stone Forest City reopened, independent experts would likely have a hard time sitting still. They might even decide to join Zero Wing after discovering the city''s changes. Zero Wing was now the only Guild to break free from NPC kingdoms and empires, and with the city''s help, the Guild''s members could level up far faster than other players. "Let''s wait. We can open the city once I''m done with the Freedom Hotel," Shi Feng said. "The Freedom Hotel?" Gentle Snow was a little confused. The hotel had already been constructed. What more needed to be done? Shi Feng didn''t explain, however, and instructed her to refine Stone Forest City''s management and entrance fee collection. He then headed to the nearby Freedom Hotel. Once he stood in the hotel''s inner courtyard, which he had built personally, Shi Feng retrieved the Ancient Tree of Life''s Sapling from his bag. The Mana density here should be the highest within the city. If not even this is enough, I''ll be out of options. 2552 Fragmented Divine Artifacts Effects Chapter 2552 - Fragmented Divine Artifact''s Effects As Shi Feng exposed the Tree of Life''s Sapling to the air in the quiet courtyard, the Mana in the area rampaged, frantically gathering around the sapling. After a moment, Shi Feng felt a pulse of life from the sapling, and its aura grew powerful enough to be visible. The surrounding plants began to grow with astonishing speed as the green energy reached them. Success! Shi Feng released a held breath as he watched the sapling''s reaction. If this courtyard''s Mana hadn''t been dense enough to accommodate the sapling, he would''ve had no choice but to give up on it and try to nurture the young tree after promoting Stone Forest City into a Main City. However, upgrading a Guild City to that rank was incredibly difficult. Not only did the ruling Guild need to be powerful enough, but it would also need a lot of time to develop its city. Carefully, Shi Feng planted the sapling in the center of the courtyard. He had designed the courtyard and specifically reserved a plot of land in its center for the Tree of Life. To be precise, he had designed a small island in the center of a lake within the courtyard. Not only had he engraved a Mana Gathering Magic Array into the lake bed, but he had also embedded plenty of Mana Stones into the soil. As a result, the lakewater brimmed with Mana. Overall, the lake alone had a daily upkeep of nearly 200 Mana Stones. The various superpowers of his past had considered this the standard configuration for growing a Tree of Life. The necessary Mana Stones required to maintain the Tree of Life alone would''ve been more than enough to give current first-rate Guilds a heart attack. Ordinary powers simply couldnt afford to play with Trees of Life. Fortunately he had the Philosopher''s Hand. After Shi Feng planted the sapling, the air in the courtyard seemed to vibrate. The tranquil, cool atmosphere became scorchingly hot for a time. It even got to Shi Feng. After about three seconds, the sapling shot up into a large, emerald tree. Its trunk was so thick that it would require three fully grown men to just barely be able to wrap their arms around it. The instant the tree reached maturity, dense life aura spread throughout the inner courtyard, tinting everything with a faint shade of green. The high temperature also began to fall to a pleasant warmth. Shi Feng felt as if he were standing in the middle of a field on a warm, sunny day. Is this an effect of a Fragmented Divine Artifact? Shi Feng wondered, astonished, as he felt the transformations to the inner courtyard. Just planting the Tree of Life had filled the courtyard with life energy, and it was incredibly dense. Bathing in the aura, Shi Feng could sense the foreign energy within him rapidly disappear, and his mind felt unusually refreshed. This sensation wasn''t like the calm indifference players experienced when around highly dense Mana. Rather, Shi Feng''s mind felt pure and rejuvenated. It was as if all of his thoughts had been given clear, distinct paths, and he knew exactly what to do. If players could practice combat techniques here, they would have a much easier time learning them. Players needed a clear understanding of the techniques to practice and better-execute them, after all. It''s a pity that I can''t let just anyone enter this courtyard. Shi Feng gave the Tree of Life a bitter smile. The Tree of Life had already taken root, and any player could discover the tree''s identity with an ordinary Identification Skill. If news got out that Stone Forest City housed a Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked Tree of Life, not even NPC powers would leave Zero Wing in peace, much less players. Everyone would do everything in their power to steal it. Even so, Shi Feng was very satisfied with this outcome. The Tree of Life''s bonus effects weren''t his goal, but the items it would produce. He urgently needed both the Water of Life and the Nuclei of Life. The tree would also produce the Fruits of Life, which were godly tools for NPCs and players'' development. Now, he just needed to wait for the Tree of Life to produce these items. With the matter of the Tree of Life resolved, Shi Feng contacted Gentle Snow to ask, "Snow, how are the arrangements on your side coming along?" "Everyone''s in position. After our discussion, we''ve set the entrance fee to 20 Silver. Any player capable of exploring Level 100 neutral maps is an expert, so they should be able to afford that price," Gentle Snow said. Even at 10 Silver per person, Stone Forest City''s player population had maxed out. Now that Stone Forest City was an Intermediate City, not only had the Mana density within its walls increased, but NPC trading firms'' Shops were also available. Hence, Gentle Snow and her subordinates had agreed that even if they doubled the entrance fee, Stone Forest City''s player population might still skyrocket. The quests the NPC trading firms offered provided a significant portion of players'' income, which was why so many experts insisted on keeping their base of operations in NPC cities. "Twenty Silver? You guys are vicious." Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the new entrance fee. Moreover, based on the woman''s expression, she must still consider the price a little low. Revealing a bitter smile, Shi Feng continued, "That seems fair, but we are trying to develop Zero Wing as quickly as possible, and to do that, we''ll need to attract as many experts to the city as we can. Normally, expert players have their own private teams, which include players of low standards. If those players cannot survive in Stone Forest City, their expert friends will go elsewhere." Stone Forest City was much larger than it had been, and it would even have plenty of room to spare if 7 or 8 million players visited. They no longer had to limit access to experts to develop the city. The more players within the city, the more prosperous it would become. In turn, more NPCs would visit, particularly those of other races. Furthermore, money was no longer a problem for the Guild now that Zero Wing was capable of intercontinental travel. Rather than focus on money, they should try to grow Zero Wing''s strength. Zero Wing wasn''t nurturing as many Tier 3 players as it had been, and if they wished to attract more within a short time, they''d have to recruit more expert players. "In that case, should we stick with 10 Silver?" Gentle Snow asked. After listening, she agreed with Shi Feng''s reasoning. Most of the city''s previous visitors had been experts from the various Guilds and members of powerful adventurer teams. Independent experts only made up a small minority of Stone Forest City''s player population. However, she hadn''t paid much attention to the matter since Stone Forest City had only been able to accommodate so many players. Now that mainstream players had reached Level 100, it would be unwise to increase the city''s entrance fee too much as they needed to recruit more players into Zero Wing and nurture more Tier 3 experts. "No. Lower it to the minimum 5 Silver," Shi Feng decided. "F-Five?" Gentle Snow stuttered, stunned. Stone Forest City was now an Intermediate City. Maintaining the original entrance fee would already be a major concession. She didn''t even want to imagine what would become of the city if they lowered the entrance fee to 5 Silver. "Mhm, just set it to 5 Silver," Shi Feng said, nodding. "It''s about time we make some changes in Zero Wing." Shi Feng then instructed Gentle Snow to open the city to the public after adjusting the entrance fee. Meanwhile, the numerous independent and Guild players outside of the city were growing impatient. They all shared their guesses about Stone Forest City''s abrupt promotion. "Is Zero Wing really going to make us wait outside for an entire day?" "I doubt it. There''s too many of us out here. The entrance fees alone will be more than enough to make any power jealous. How could Zero Wing possibly pass on so much money?" "Huh? Look! Stone Forest City is open!" 2553 Shocking Stone Forest City Chapter 2553 - Shocking Stone Forest City In Cold Spring Forest''s inner area, a 100-man team of superbly-equipped, Level 107-plus experts ate up the ground as it followed the forested path toward Stone Forest City. The weakest of the team''s Mounts was Secret-Silver rank, and as the team boldly flew down the small path, all players in their way stepped aside, none daring to hinder the team''s advance. Even the various major powers'' members moved aside. Players didn''t just move out of the expert team''s way because of their imposing auras, but because of the Guild Emblem these players wore. It was Crimson Emperor''s Emblem, and not even God''s Domain''s major powers could afford to offend the Guild. "Remember what the Grand Elders told you, Illusory. You are not to act unnecessarily once we''re in Stone Forest City," the fierce man riding a Six-clawed War Bear and leading Crimson Emperor''s main force warned Illusory Words, who had been silent during their entire journey. Although he didn''t know what made her think Zero Wing could stop Demon''s Heart''s assault, the Guild''s word was law. If Illusory Words leaked any information to Zero Wing, and the various powers or Demon''s Heart discovered it, she would put their Guild in a very awkward position. "I at least have that much common sense. I''m only going to take a look. You don''t need to worry," Illusory Words said, chuckling. Personally, she didn''t think Zero Wing stood much of a chance against the various superpowers and Demon''s Heart. She only thought the Guild wouldn''t go down so easily. She simply wanted to visit Stone Forest City to verify her assumption. When the two fell silent, a tall, beautiful female Swordsman with short hair rode forward and matched paces with Illusory Words'' Mount. Unlike the other experts on the team, she wasn''t wearing Crimson Emperor''s Guild Emblem. "Are you sure it''s alright to take us with you, Vice Guild Leader Illusory?" the short-haired woman asked. If Shi Feng were present, he''d be quite surprised. This short-haired Swordsman was none other than Graceful Monarch from the Dark Den''s Extreme Light Shelter. "Relax. We''re just going to take a look. We''re not conducting some secret operation. Now that the Extreme Light Shelter and Crimson Emperor are allies, it''s only a matter of time before you''ll start developing on the main continent. It''s best that you view the situation with your own eyes. Cold Spring Forest will likely become one of the main battlegrounds between regular players like us and Dark Players, and there are quite a few superpowers in Stone Forest City right now. Such a grand occasion doesn''t happen every day," Illusory Words said, smiling. "I can rest easy, then," Graceful Monarch said, nodding and breathing a sigh of relief. By now, she understood how insignificant the Dark Den was in God''s Domain, and after witnessing Crimson Emperor''s Residence, she realized what it meant to be a true superpower. Purple Rakshasa''s description of superpowers had been an understatement. Before the various superpowers, the Extreme Light Shelter was nothing. It didn''t even come close to rivaling first-rate powers. She was already quite fortunate that Crimson Emperor had wanted to ally with the Extreme Light Shelter. "Monarch, I told you that Big Sis Illusory is a very nice person. It''s all thanks to her that I improved so quickly. Since she''s agreed to bring you and your team along on this trip, you''ll definitely grow a lot stronger. The other Shelters'' experts might not even be a problem for you once you return to the Dark Den," Purple Rakshasa whispered, smiling as Graceful Monarch nervously fidgeted even after Illusory Words'' reassurance. "Our visit to the main continent has certainly been full of surprises. I had never thought the Guild Blue Frost belongs to would be so powerful. Not only did Zero Wing slay Troubled Times, but it has also forced Demon''s Heart to use its trump card," Graceful Monarch whispered back. She didn''t know exactly how formidable Zero Wing was, but the fact that the Guild had accomplished such feats meant that Shelter One wouldn''t have to worry about its future. "Zero Wing is indeed amazing, but it is only a pseudo-superpower right now. It still doesn''t compare to Crimson Emperor. Since the Extreme Light Shelter and Crimson Emperor have entered a partnership, you won''t have to worry about the shelter''s development," Purple Rakshasa said. She knew what her companion was thinking. Chuckling, she continued, "Zero Wing is about to face every player in a major Otherworld. Even if it isn''t annihilated, those players will at least partially cripple the Guild. Shelter One''s development will likely become a problem." With the threat of destruction looming over Stone Forest City, Zero Wing wouldn''t likely be able to help Shelter One in the future. In contrast, the Extreme Light Shelter had Crimson Emperor''s help. Becoming one of the Dark Den''s top three Shelters should be entirely possible. While Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa continued their conversation in whispered tones, the team left the forest that surrounded Stone Forest City. "Stone Forest City lies ahead. Be careful once you enter the city. Many superpowers have hidden their forces within. If you accidentally offend one of them, we''ll have trouble to deal with," Illusory Words warned the two from the Dark Den. Zero Wing''s main headquarters is ahead of us? Curiosity flashed in Graceful Monarch''s eyes. I''ll finally get a look at how strong the Guild behind Blue Frost is! She still hadn''t forgotten the image of Shi Feng stopping the Demon King''s Hand in the Dark Den, and it piqued her Not long after Illusory Words'' warning, the silhouette of a gigantic city came into view. It was just as splendorous as the major NPC cities in the Ten Saints Empire. The Mana density radiating from Stone Forest City was especially noticeable. The team felt as if they were gazing at a mountain of Magic Crystals, rather than a simple Guild City... So, this is Zero Wing''s Guild City? Graceful Monarch was momentarily stupefied when she saw the city that brimmed with Mana ahead. She had seen plenty of major NPC cities in the Ten Saints Empire. Although these major NPC cities were spectacular and mighty, they paled in comparison to Stone Forest City, and the Extreme Light Shelter was no more than a grass hut in comparison. Even Illusory Words gaped at the scene. This wasn''t her first visit to Stone Forest City. She had actually traveled to the city multiple times before, but she had no explanation for the view before her. Not only had Stone Forest City become as large and grand as major NPC cities, but it also emitted waves of dense Mana, which players could even feel from several thousand yards away. How was this the Stone Forest City she knew? This was practically a Holy City hidden in Cold Spring Forest! Illusory Words also spotted a massive line of players waiting outside of Stone Forest City''s main entrance. At a glance, there were easily several hundred thousand players waiting to enter the city, and as time passed, the number grew. She even spotted quite a few players selling their spots in line... Moreover, Illusory Words noticed plenty of NPCs in line, even those from other races. Stone Forest City now looked more like a well-established, major NPC city, not a Guild City. The fierce man beside her glanced Illusory Words'' way and asked, "Did you lead us to the wrong place, Illusory?" 2554 Zero Wings Trump Card? Chapter 2554 - Zero Wing''s Trump Card? With the fierce man''s question hanging in the air, the rest of Crimson Emperor''s members turned to Illusory Words. The ''Stone Forest City'' before them was simply too impressive. It was hard to imagine this was merely an Intermediate City. They had been busy within the Ten Saints Empire, so they had only heard about Stone Forest City. This was their first visit. Only Illusory Words, who preferred to wander throughout God''s Domain, had ever seen the city before. These are the coordinates. This should be Stone Forest City," Illusory Words said, giving the fierce man a bitter smile. The sign above the gate clearly states this is the city we''re looking for. This shouldn''t be a mistake." In truth, even after seeing the sigh, she felt as if she had arrived at the wrong place. This looked nothing like the Stone Forest City she had visited in the past. It almost looked like a major NPC city. Furthermore, there was too much Mana wafting from the city. Not even the Holy City of Titan had such dense Mana. Stone Forest City looked nothing like a player-owned city. Crimson Emperor''s members snapped out of their daze and examined the city before them. Just as Illusory Words had said, this was undoubtedly Stone Forest City. Crimson Emperor''s members weren''t the only players shocked by Stone Forest City''s new appearance. Some of the various major powers'' experts that had come to investigate the upgraded city were just as astonished by what they found. No one had ever thought a Guild City would change so drastically when it grew from a Basic City to Intermediate rank. "Black Flame really is amazing. With so much Mana in the city, players will still choose to rest here, even with the Dark World''s imminent invasion. With the entry fees alone, Zero Wing won''t have any financial worries for a while," Galaxy Past, the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader, enviously commented as he gazed in awe at the splendorous city before him. Once upon a time in Star-Moon Kingdom, the Star Alliance had stood toe-to-toe with Zero Wing. However, while the Star Alliance had been nursing headaches over its daily income, Zero Wing was swimming in money... Nowadays, the various Guilds'' main source of income was the entrance fees they collected in their Guild Towns and Cities, but as more towns and cities rose up in neutral maps, the competition between them grew intense. To maintain an edge over their competition, most Guild Towns and Cities had reduced their entrance fees to a painful low. Stone Forest City, on the other hand, wouldn''t have such worries. As the sole Guild City in a Level 100 neutral map, it had no competition whatsoever. It could set whatever entrance fee it wished, and plenty of players would still visit the city. "That''s for sure. Zero Wing will make a killing. You''ve just arrived, so you might not realize how insane the Guild is, but Zero Wing is only charging 5 Silver per person to enter the city. I''ve heard that it''s the lowest price you can set for an Intermediate City. Other Guild Cities in neutral maps charge at least 2 Silver per person, but they''re nothing compared to Stone Forest City. Many of my friends are planning to shift their base of operations to Stone Forest City, and I''m sure they''re not alone in that idea. I suspect we''ll see the number of players trying to get in increase by at least tenfold," an independent Tier 3 Shield Warrior in front of Galaxy Past in line said, nodding in agreement. "Five Silver?" Flourishing Willow, the Tier 3 female Ranger behind Galaxy Past, stared at the Shield Warrior with wide, shocked eyes, doubting his claim. First-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance had no choice but to reduce their entrance fees due to how much competition they faced, but Stone Forest City was unique. Even if it cost 20 Silver to enter the city, a ton of players would still use it as their bases, let alone 10 Silver. God''s Domain had far too many players and innumerable experts. Stone Forest City wasn''t nearly large enough to accommodate so many players. With a Guild City''s limited capacity and the fact that Zero Wing wouldn''t have to worry about customers, increasing the entrance fee was the wisest decision, yet Zero Wing had done the opposite. Flourishing Willow simply couldn''t believe it. Even Crimson Emperor''s members, who had just found a place in line, were astonished when they learned about the city''s cheap entrance fee. Charging anything less than 20 Silver would be an insult to such a sacred resting ground as Stone Forest City in their opinions. They had even been prepared to pay 30 Silver per person to enter the city. Not only would the city''s incredibly dense Mana help players rapidly recover from exhaustion, but players would also see astounding results if they trained within the city. Thirty Silver was more than worth such benefits for experts like them. So, what was the point of lowering the entrance fee to 5 Silver? "So, this is Black Flame''s trump card. It certainly is a wise move," the fierce man from Crimson Emperor muttered, overhearing the Star Alliance''s conversations. Had Zero Wing set Stone Forest City''s entrance fee at 20 or 30 Silver per person, there wouldn''t be as many players interested in living in the city. Although the city would eventually become overcrowded, it would take some time. Not all players could afford such a high price, after all. In contrast, even ordinary Level 100-plus players could afford 5 Silver, and they made up the majority of God''s Domain''s player base. With such a low entrance fee, the city''s player population would reach its limit in two or three days. Even at 5 Silver per person, the city would generate amazing profits. "This is going to give Demon''s Heart''s Flaming Light a huge headache. Zero Wing can easily earn over a million Gold in the next two or three days. Including the profits it earns from the businesses within the city, the Guild will earn a minimum of two million Gold before three days pass. With so much money, Zero Wing can easily survive the Dark World''s assault for a very long time," Illusory Words said, smiling. Even after seeing the city''s glorious transformation, she hadn''t thought highly of Zero Wing''s chances, but after this discovery, she recognized that the Guild had exceeded her expectations. Now, Demon''s Heart would have a much harder time threatening Zero Wing. "Zero Wing has indeed made a smart move. Unfortunately, it is too late," the fierce man said, shaking his head. "What do you mean?" Illusory Words asked strangely. "I didn''t tell you this earlier, but the Grand Elders have secured detailed information regarding Demon''s Heart''s movements. The Dark World''s portal will activate tomorrow at the latest, and the Dark World''s various powers and independent experts will surge into Cold Spring Forest," the fierce man said in a whisper to Illusory Words. "Zero Wing simply doesn''t have enough time to collect the wealth it requires." Stone Forest City was quite attractive, especially to ordinary players, but it would take time for ordinary players to learn of the city''s perks. Moreover, ordinary players didn''t travel via teleportation like experts. They generally moved between countries by Airship, which was much cheaper. To make matters worse, there weren''t any air routes to Stone Forest City, so players would have to make the rest of the trip on their Mounts. Unlike Crimson Emperor''s experts, ordinary Level 100 players generally had Common Mounts. Factoring in other aspects, such as the spread of information, the war between Zero Wing and the Dark World''s forces would''ve begun long before ordinary players started to visit the city from the various kingdoms and empires. While the new Stone Forest City astonished the various powers, Shi Feng had secretly teleported back to White River City to upgrade his Knight Division. While expert players served as a Guild''s foundation in God''s Domain, a Guild needed a strong Knight Division if it wished to set roots down in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Since Shi Feng had previously lacked the necessary funds, he had refrained from upgrading his Knight Division. However, money was no longer a problem. With the profits from selling the western continent''s materials and Stone Forest City''s entrance fees, he now had a total of five million Gold sitting in his bag. Holding on to all this money would be a huge waste, especially now that Stone Forest City was the first Intermediate City in a Level 100 neutral map. He could definitely recruit plenty of Knights with high Growth Potential. 4- Star-Moon Kingdom, White River City''s Adventurer''s Association: News of Stone Forest City''s upgrade had already reached the masses, and practically every player in the Adventurer''s Association was discussing the matter when Shi Feng arrived. Many independent players expressed their eager intentions to develop near the city, particularly those with their own fixed parties or teams. Nodding in satisfaction, Shi Feng climbed the stairs to the Adventurer''s Association''s second floor and entered one of the VIP rooms. "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service?" Senior Administrator Lorrain asked, smiling as she walked up to him. "I wish to see the current recruitment status and promotion list for my Knight Division," Shi Feng informed her with a grin. 2555 All New Knight Division Chapter 2555 - All New Knight Division Lorrain nodded to Shi Feng''s request and promptly left to retrieve the relevant information. After a short moment, the Senior Administrator returned with a thick book, placing it on the table before him. "There''s so many?" Shi Feng asked, glancing down at the tome. Lorrain had only given him a sheet of paper during his last visit when he had requested to see his Knight Division''s recruitment status, yet now, she had an entire book for him... Normally, if there were fewer than 30,000 applicants, players would only be given a sheet of paper. They''d receive another sheet for every 10,000 applicants beyond that and would only receive a complete book once more than 100,000 NPCs applied for their Knight Division. Shi Feng had already recruited NPCs from many NPC cities, and could reasonably assume he had accepted or rejected most interested NPCs. Hence, he shouldn''t see too many more new applications. Receiving another 50,000 would be a miracle, and yet, more than 100,000 new NPCs had applied... "Initially, Lord Bronze Legatee, you hadn''t received many applicants. However, due to the large number of other races visiting Stone Forest City, the number of interested individuals has considerably increased," Lorrain explained. The Freedom City title''s benefits have taken effect so soon?" The explanation stunned Shi Feng. He had thought he''d have to wait a few more days before the title took effect. He had just promoted Stone Forest City and assumed the system would make him wait. However, it seemed that he had somewhat underestimated the new title. "A total of 112,672 people have applied to serve as your Knights. Among them, 83,241 are human, 27,412 are Orcish, 1,836 are Elven, and 183 are Giants. This book has the records of all of these applicants'' information," Lorrain continued, ignoring Shi Feng''s muttering. "Nearly 30,000 NPCs from other races? If the superpowers of the past found out about this, wouldn''t they go mad?" Shi Feng could not help his growing excitement. Recruiting NPCs from other races for their Knight Divisions was incredibly difficult for players. The other races had smaller populations than humans. Normally, the various superpowers would be overjoyed if even several thousand non-human NPCs applied to serve as Knights. And yet, Shi Feng had nearly 30,000 of these applicants, certainly a frightening number. Not even a 2-star Lord might receive so many throughout a full year. Most importantly, Elves and Giants had applied in considerably large numbers. The situation had completely exceeded his expectations. In God''s Domain, the Orcish population was only second to the humans. Ores typically made up the majority of nonhuman NPC applicants. Of course, that didn''t discount Ore Knight''s strength. On the contrary, Ore NPCs were quite powerful. They were natural-born warriors with sharp senses and robust frames that were far superior to humans. Excluding Heroes, human fighters were no match for Ore fighters of the same level and tier. The human race''s superior research and creativity were the reason that Ores weren''t a match for humans and forced to live far from the main continent''s fertile lands. However, if one could assemble the Ores scattered across the continent and form a melee unit, the force would be absolutely unstoppable in battle. Shaking off his shock, Shi Feng immediately inspected the recruitment list. When he had arrived, he had only planned to recruit new Knights with high Growth Potential to replace some of his weaker NPCs, but now, he had many more changes to make to his Knight Division. Time flew by, and without taking a break, Shi Feng had spent over 20 hours browsing the recruitment list. He was more focused on the list than he was during Boss fights. Thankfully, I brought plenty of Coins with me. Otherwise, I wouldn''t even have enough to pay the dismissal fees. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he finished reading the list. If things had gone according to his original plan, he would''ve only been able to replace a small fraction of his Knight Division''s members, but now that he could recruit non-human NPCs, which would be bound to him for life, things had changed... Once he recruited non-human NPCs, he couldn''t dismiss or replace them. Hence, he had to be extremely careful when choosing non-human Knights. Fortunately, non-human NPCs were much cheaper to recruit and maintain than human NPCs. They were generally 30% cheaper. All things considered, it wasn''t a bad transaction. Moreover, non-human NPCs tended to be quite talented. In fact, more than half of the non-human NPCs in God''s Domain were Bronze Knight standard or above, which was one of the reasons that the various powers of the past had preferred non-human NPCs. Of the 27,412 Ores that had applied to join Shi Feng''s Knight Division, 15,123 were Tier 2 Bronze Knights. The ratio was unheard-of among human NPCs. However, it was quite normal with Ores. Many Tier 3 Ores had also sent in applications, and they all had considerably high potential. Even the weakest among them was at the Mysterious-Iron standard, while 45 were at the Secret-Silver standard, and one Fine-Gold standard Ore had applied. The Elven and Giant applicants were just as shocking. Elves were natural-born mages, with higher Growth Potential than most races. Even the weakest Elf that applied was Bronze rank, while as many as 43 were Secret-Silver rank, and two were Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, every Elf applicant was Tier 3... Although Giants made up the majority of applicants, with only 183,13 were Tier 3 Secret-Silver Knights, and 1 was a Tier 3 Fine-Gold Knight. More than 100 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold ranked non-human NPCs had applied to Shi Feng''s Knight Division, many times more than those among the 80,000-plus human applicants. "Lord Bronze Legatee, have you made your decision?" Lorrain asked when Shi Feng closed the book. "Mhm. I want all Knights with Secret-Silver potential and above. I also want these Mysterious-Iron Knights with high Growth Potential and the remaining Tier 3 Knights," Shi Feng replied, nodding. Normally, an NPC Knight needed at least Mysterious-Iron Growth Potential before they could be promoted to Tier 3. Even in the later stages of God''s Domain, Tier 3 NPCs would be considered a powerful force. After all, very few players could reach Tier 4. Even if they did, a group of Tier 3 NPCs, backed by a city''s magic array, wouldn''t be an easy opponent. If enough Tier 3 NPCs formed a battle array, they could slay Tier 4 players. This was why, even after reaching Tier 4, players could only afford to act conceited in the fields. Very well. There are 152 applicants with Secret-Silver Potential or above. Including the rest, there are a total of 326 Tier 3 Knights. Calculating the recruitment fee of the 1,872 Tier 3 Mysterious-Iron Knights with high potential and some of your current Knights'' dismissal fees, your bill comes to 554,600 Gold," Lorrain explained after taking a moment to tally his total. "Please, include the promotion fees for the 437 members of my Knight Division," Shi Feng said. Giving the matter some thought, he continued, "I also want to outfit my Tier 3 Knights with Epic Equipment. How much will that come to?" "That will raise the price considerably. If we include the 437 people that will be promoted to Tier 3, you will need an additional 5,640,000 Gold to arm all of your Tier 3 Knights with Epic Equipment. With the prior fees, your total comes to 6,198,970 Gold," Lorrain responded, giving Shi Feng a skeptical look. "Hm..." After giving the matter some more thought, Shi Feng said, "Reduce the number slightly, then. I''ll take 1,150 sets." That won''t be a problem. Your total will be 5,158,970 Gold. Once we process the payment, the merchandise will be delivered within three hours. The new Knights will arrive at your City Lord''s Mansion within one hour," Lorrain calmly stated. Shi Feng then nearly emptied his bag of Coins, and in the blink of an eye, he was once again a pauper... "Nurturing a Knight Division really is expensive. It''s no wonder why all of the superpowers that had Knight Divisions were poor," Shi Feng muttered, bitterly smiling at the less than 3,000 Gold in his bag. While Shi Feng upgraded his Knight Division, in a remote canyon in the distant Cold Spring Forest... A group of black-clad magical class players chanted an incantation along the edge of a gigantic magic array. The array covered a 200-yard radius, and in its center stood an indifferent, handsome youth with a night-black crystal in his left hand, while writing a series of divine runes with his right. With each line of completed runes, a shard broke off of the crystal and disintegrated. When the crystal was nearly gone, the youth completed the final line of divine runes. Suddenly, the sky above the magic array split, and a colossal door dropped from the spatial tear. The door was over a hundred meters tall and covered in ancient runes, radiating a mighty aura that made everyone nearby shudder. Once the door landed, it began to part down the middle. "Excellent! It''s complete!" Flaming Light exclaimed as the door began to open. He then glanced at the middle-aged man standing nearby and said, "Heart, notify the various powers and tell them that the door is open! Whether they cherish this opportunity or not is up to them!" "Understood!" Furious Heart respectfully responded, crossing the threshold with his team. 2556 Crazy Freedom Hotel Chapter 2556 - Crazy Freedom Hotel Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City: As news regarding Stone Forest City spread to more independent players, the number of small adventurer teams visiting the city continued to increase. Less than a day after the city''s reopening, it had become somewhat crowded, and even more players had lined up to enter the city. A 6-man party of cloaked players, all radiating darkness energy, stood among the long line, and none of the nearby players even dared to take half a step closer to them. "Those players'' killing intent is so strong! Not even Dark Players, who constantly slaughter others in the fields, have such intense hostility! Who are those people?" "Their killing intent isn''t the only thing that''s intense. Look at their equipment. They might''ve concealed the glow effect, but all of their items are engraved with magic runes. Their equipment should be Fine-Gold rank or higher. Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment! Not even the various superpowers'' main force members necessarily have such top-tier items." Although the independent players nearby were afraid of the 6-man party, they couldn''t help but envy the party''s equipment. Ever since mainstream players had reached Level 100, demand for Level 100-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment had skyrocketed, but supply remained incredibly low. Thus, these items'' prices had substantially increased. Not even ordinary expert players could afford Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Weapons or Equipment. Even the various superpowers'' main force members would throw a party if they acquired just one such weapon or equipment piece. However, the weakest piece the 6-man party wore was Level 105 Fine-Gold Rank, and all of their equipment bore magic runes. To ordinary players, the equipment was divine. Despite noticing the surrounding players'' envious looks, the members of the 6-man party didn''t respond. "I guess the main continent''s ordinary experts don''t amount to much. Not only do they have such poor weapons and equipment, but they don''t even know about magic enhancement. Once the army has gathered, the Dark World will likely claim this area as new territory in the blink of an eye," a gray-clad, Tier 3 Cursemancer with a military haircut disdainfully dismissed as he glanced at the independent experts around him. You shouldn''t say such things, Old Flash. After all, the environment in this area is no match for what we have in the Dark World. These players only have to worry about monsters in the fields, while we are always on the lookout for monster and player ambushes. It''s only natural that our world''s players have developed so much faster," a middle-aged, bearded man with simple features chided, chuckling. "Besides, ordinary experts are just that. The various major powers'' experts are much stronger. Otherwise, our two Guilds wouldn''t have signed a non-interference pact with Zero Wing." "I guess, but I still don''t get why our Guilds wanted to partner with Zero Wing in the first place. You must''ve seen how powerful that army was on our way here. How could Zero Wing possibly stop that kind of force? We shouldn''t have a reason to pay Zero Wing 500,000 Darkness Crystals," the Cursemancer named Magic Flash grumbled. Five hundred thousand Darkness Crystals was no small price, even to their Guilds. They certainly weren''t worth a noninterference agreement from Zero Wing in their fight for resources in Cold Spring Forest. The only thing Zero Wing could do when facing the Dark World''s countless players was hold inside the city. "I don''t know, but the higher-ups have their own reasons. We just need to complete the task they''ve assigned us," the middle-aged man said, shaking his head. In all honesty, the situation confused him, too. The number of Dark World players preparing to invade Cold Spring Forest was no laughing matter. Several million players had already joined the invading army, and more were on their way. News of the open pathway had just begun to spread, and it would take time for the information to reach the far corners of the Dark World. Based on their Guilds'' estimates, the army should easily include tens of millions of players, possibly over 100 million. Not even the neighboring kingdoms and empires stood a chance against such a force, much less Zero Wing. The Dark World''s army would definitely cause a massive commotion when it arrived on the main continent. While Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members conversed, they crossed Stone Forest City''s gates. "The Mana here sure is dense. If Dark Rhapsody''s Guild Cities had this much Mana, we''d easily become the number one Guild in the Dark World," Magic Flash noticed, envious when he felt the mesmerizing Mana in the air. "It is certainly astonishing. It''s no wonder why so many superpowers want this city," the bearded middle-aged man replied. "What a pity. If Demon''s Heart hadn''t opened the Dark World''s portal in Cold Spring Forest, Zero Wing might have become a massive threat to the various superpowers," Magic Flash said, glancing around at the crowd of players and NPC merchants. Seeing so many people, he, more or less, understood why his superiors had decided to ally with Zero Wing. Stone Forest City was no less prosperous than major NPC cities. With a Guild City like this under its control, Zero Wing would have no worries about its development. Since Cold Spring Forest was a Level 100 neutral map, every player here had a certain degree of strength. Including the conveniences the city offered, not only could Zero Wing continue to recruit and nurture more expert players, but its members'' average levels would gradually surpass the various superpowers'', as well. Zero Wing definitely had the potential to become a titan in God''s Domain. "Maybe, but we shouldn''t dwell on it. We should hurry and contact Zero Wing. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can return. If we wait and miss the invasion, it''ll become more difficult to establish ourselves in Cold Spring Forest later," the middle-aged man cautioned. "I''ve already contacted the Guild. They said we should head toward the tallest building on the main street. Once we''re there, someone will take us to meet their Guild Leader," Magic Flash said. "You mean that building?" the middle-aged man asked, pointing to the Freedom Hotel in the center of the city. Astonished, he continued, "I''m impressed that Zero Wing managed to erect such a tall building. The tallest building either of our Guilds has constructed is only a little over 50 meters tall, but that thing is at least 150." "So what if it''s tall? Someone is still going to take it from them," Magic Flash growled, sneering. The middle-aged man didn''t try to refute Magic Flash''s assumption. Such a tall building would only be useful for visual impact. Zero Wing would''ve been far better off spending its money to strengthen its members, in his opinion. Strength meant everything in God''s Domain. The cloaked players then made their way toward the hotel. They didn''t take long to reach it, and when they did, they noticed a long line of players both inside and outside of the Freedom Hotel. Many of the players in line were Tier 3 experts, and some of their auras even made Magic Flash and his companions shudder with fear. There were dozens of those experts, too. Even more surprising, every one of those experts obediently stood in line before the Freedom Hotel''s front desk... The scene stupefied Magic Flash and his party. Normally, such experts could act as vice commanders, even commanders, of their Guilds'' legions. Players of their caliber warranted respect, regardless of where they were, yet they waited in line with a bunch of ordinary players. What was happening here? Moreover, Magic Flash''s party was confused by the fact that every one of those experts, including the peak experts, seemed excited and grateful to receive one of the Freedom Hotel''s room tokens from the front desk.... Suddenly, Gentle Snow approached the cloaked party, asking, "Are you representatives from Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society?" "That''s right; we are," the middle-aged man confirmed, nodding as he spotted the Zero Wing Emblem Gentle Snow wore. He was more than a little surprised when he sensed Gentle Snow''s powerful aura. "In that case, please, follow me. Our Guild Leader is waiting in the reception room upstairs," Gentle Snow said after verifying the party''s identity. She then led the party to the elevator that would take them to the appropriate floor. Many of the experts waiting for their room tokens were jealous as they watched Magic Flash''s party follow Gentle Snow. "Crap! Who are those people? They actually get to use the elevator that''ll take them to the 80th floor and beyond!" "They must be Zero Wing''s allies. If I remember correctly, only the hotel''s Silver Members get to stay on those floors. You need more than just Coins and Magic Crystals to become a Silver Member, too. You also need to earn a large number of Membership Points. I''ve heard that not even top adventurer teams'' commanders were granted Silver Memberships." "Zero Wing is too stingy. It actually wants us to earn points just to stay in this hotel. I wonder when I''ll earn enough to become a Silver Member." "It''s not all that unusual. There are only a limited number of rooms available, after all, and I''ve heard that the advanced rooms on the 80th floor and above are amazing. Not only is the recovery speed there 30% higher than in normal rooms, but each room also has its own training room. Players can practice simple combat techniques by themselves in those training rooms." "Seriously?! You can actually practice your combat skills in the advanced rooms?! This won''t do! I need to become a Silver Member as soon as possible!" The players waiting in the Freedom Hotel''s lobby were indescribably jealous as they watched Magic Flash''s party enter the elevator. Their reactions confused the Dark Players. A short moment later, the group arrived on the Freedom Hotel''s top floor. The instant Magic Flash and the others set foot on the Freedom Hotel''s top floor, their minds felt serene. To be precise, they felt mentally refreshed as if their thoughts had found their own unique paths. They could now conceptualize ideas without confusion. "So, this is Zero Wing?" Magic Flash and the others couldn''t help but gasp when they felt the change. They had already been astonished by the Freedom Hotel''s Mana, but compared to this environment, the lobby was nothing. If they could train on this floor, they''d see results dozens of times faster. They might even be able to break into the Void Realm. "Our Guild Leader is inside. Please, go in," Gentle Snow said, not surprised in the slightest to see the six players'' astonished expressions. She simply smiled as she opened the reception room''s doors. 2557 Astonishing Foundations Chapter 2557 - Astonishing Foundations Gentle Snow''s request yanked Magic Flash and the others from their reverie, and they walked into the VIP reception room with awkward expressions. As they entered the room, however, they were, once again, left speechless. The refreshed sensation they had enjoyed in the hall had been amazing, but it was amplified several times the moment they set foot in the reception room. The strange energy in the room was clearly denser than in the hall. If they could train inside this reception room for a few days, their combat standards would reach the next level. Even the various powers would treat a room like this like a sacred training ground, barring entry to anyone other than core members, and yet, Zero Wing used it as a reception room... Extravagance! This was too extravagant! A male Swordsman reclined on one of the sofas in the reception room, wearing a simple set of equipment and a Black Cloak across his back. Opposite of the Swordsman was a woman who had barely reached Level 100. The woman radiated no aura whatsoever and looked even weaker than ordinary players. However, the Advanced Master Forger''s Insignia the woman wore was extraordinarily eye-catching. The woman was none other than Melancholic Smile, who had been busy managing the Candlelight Trading Firm. After long hours of crafting and frantic research, she had successfully become an Advanced Master Forger, as well. "Guild Leader, this is our current limit. The forging techniques involved are simply too delicate and complex. Crafting a successful product in a short time is impossible, I''m afraid," Melancholic Smile disappointedly insisted as she placed several pieces of equipment on the table between her and Shi Feng. The moment she did, Magic Flash and the others'' eyes widened in shock. Not only were the several equipment pieces part of the same set, but they also carried the glow of Fine-Gold Equipment. In other words, the equipment placed on the table was a Fine-Gold Set Equipment! Moreover, it was a Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment! Even Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had only found a few sets, yet Zero Wing could craft it, and based on Melancholic Smile''s comment, that was a failed product! Meanwhile, as Magic Flash''s party entered the reception room, Shi Feng''s gaze shifted to his guests. "You must be Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s representatives. Please, have a seat," Shi Feng said. When he noticed that Magic Flash''s group couldn''t pull their eyes from the failed items on the table, he chuckled and said, "It seems you are very interested in this Dark Demon Set." After returning to Stone Forest City, he had immediately instructed Gentle Snow to pass the Dark Demon Set Forging Design to Melancholic Smile for research and production. He had enough responsibilities at the moment and didn''t have the time to forge the set equipment himself. In contrast, Melancholic Smile could and did devote her free time to forging. Hence, she improved her skills a lot faster than Shi Feng could. She had even become an Advanced Master Forger before he had. The Candlelight Trading Firm also had Cream Cocoa, who focused all of her time on forging since she didn''t have any management duties as Melancholic Smile did. She improved even faster than Melancholic Smile and had become the first Advanced Master Forger in Candlelight. Now, the trading firm had two. Unfortunately, the Dark Demon Set proved far more difficult to produce than Shi Feng had expected, and even after working together, Cream Cocoa and Melancholic Smile had barely managed to craft one Fine-Gold set. Moreover, their production success rate wasn''t particularly high. Even after involving all sorts of tools and rare materials, they had only managed to raise their success rate to 50%. "I apologize for our earlier rude behavior," the bearded middle-aged man from Deity Society hurriedly apologized. "It''s just that Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment is a truly rare sight. I had never imagined that Zero Wing was capable of crafting such equipment. It surprised me, but rest assured; we won''t reveal this secret to anyone." "It''s fine. This doesn''t need to be a secret. Since Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and Zero Wing are allies, you don''t need to behave like outsiders. If you are interested, I can sell you a few sets," Shi Feng nonchalantly offered. Zero Wing''s possession of the Dark Demon Set Forging Design had already been exposed. Only, news of it hadn''t reached the eastern continent. Hence, there was no need to keep it a secret. Moreover, Shi Feng intended to store these Fine-Gold ranked Dark Demon Sets in the Guild Warehouse, making them available for purchase later. Once he did, there would be no containing the information. Besides, the sooner the public learned about the Dark Demon Set, the better. That way, Zero Wing could use the set to attract more experts to join the Guild. "Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Magic Flash could not help but ask. That was a Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about! If he could get his hands on such a set, his combat power would increase by at least 30%. He might even catch up to peak experts of the same level. "Of course," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the passionate light in Magic Flash''s gaze. "However, it won''t be cheap, and I won''t sell them for Coins." He did not mind selling the Fine-Gold ranked Dark Demon Set. This was only a failed product, after all, and at this point, most superpowers had at least a few sets of Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Selling some to Zero Wing''s partners wouldn''t harm his Guild in any way. "What do you want for the set, then?" Magic Flash eagerly asked. "Darkness Crystals," Shi Feng said. "My price isn''t very high. What do you think of 15,000 crystals?" The various powers still thought only Dark Players needed Darkness Crystals, but they didn''t realize that as God''s Domain''s Lifestyle players continued to develop, Attributed Magic Crystals would become more valuable. Weapons and equipment crafted with Attributed Magic Crystals would gain additional properties related to the crystals. Such changes wouldn''t be visible in the item''s Attribute Panel, but in the hands of Tier 3 players and above, they''d perform considerably better, especially for players with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. Fortunately, Darkness Crystals were relatively easy to acquire in the Dark World. Hence, Shi Feng had decided to collect some before the various powers realized their value. "Fifteen thousand crystals per set?!" Magic Flash was shocked. "Isn''t that a little too much, Guild Leader Black Flame..." Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment was indeed very rare and some of the best equipment available in God''s Domain right now, but Darkness Crystals were similarly rare and valuable. In fact, they were worth even more than Magic Crystals to Dark Players. "Guild Leader Black Flame, is what you say really true?" the bearded middle-aged man suddenly interrupted. "Hah... Why would I lie? I want 15,000 Darkness Crystals per set. If you wish to buy them, you may do so whenever you wish," Shi Feng said. He could not help but feel a little exasperated at the middle-aged man''s question. Before Magic Flash could refuse the offer, the middle-aged man from Deity Society continued. "Deity Society will buy them! We''ll buy as many sets as you''re willing to sell us!" the older man declared, determined. "Have you gone insane, Old Forest?" Magic Flash was astonished. What a joke! The Dark Demon Set was just a Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Fifteen thousand Darkness Crystals would be the maximum anyone would pay for such a set, yet his companion jumped at the chance to buy them. Magic Flash couldn''t think of any sane reason why he''d act like this. Wait! Something''s not right! Magic Flash realized something felt off when he saw the bearded man''s nonchalant reaction. He immediately activated his Identification Skill and turned to the Dark Demon Set on the table. Both Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had sent players with Advanced Identification Skills to lead their respective groups as insurance. While Magic Flash led Dark Rhapsody''s team, Deity Society''s leader for this party was Old Forest. There had to be a problem for Old Forest to act like this. "Don''t bother with an appraisal, Old Flash. The Fine-Gold Set Equipment on the table isn''t some Level 105 set. It''s a top-tier Fine-Gold Set Equipment that players can use until Level 120. No one had ever found anything like it in the Dark World," Old Forest whispered as Magic Flash used his own Advanced Identification Skill. 2558 Wildly Arrogant Zero Wing Chapter 2558 - Wildly Arrogant Zero Wing Upon hearing Old Forest''s words, Magic Flash gasped. "Fine-Gold Set Equipment that can be used up to Level 120?" Currently, the best-known Fine-Gold Set Equipment in the Dark World could be used only up to Level 105. Even Dark Rhapsody''s peak experts sported only Level 105 Dark-Gold Equipment, which was the equivalent of Level 110 Fine-Gold Equipment, hardly comparable to Level 110 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Level 120 Fine-Gold Set Equipment was simply unimaginable. "That''s right. Aside from Level 100-plus Epic Equipment, there''s no better equipment than this in the entire Dark World," Old Forest said, nodding as he tried to suppress the excitement in his heart. If the price was indeed 15,000 Darkness Crystals for Level 120 Fine-Gold Set Equipment, then it was definitely acceptable. This was especially true when the Dark World''s various powers were frantically raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons. Due to the abysmally low drop-rate for Level 100-plus weapons and equipment, these powers were not making any significant progress with their Dungeon raids. This, in turn, led to a stagnation in their development. If he could secure a batch of Dark Demon Sets for Divine Society, then his Guild would have a massive advantage over the other Guilds. With this advantage, they could easily earn back the cost of the Dark Demon Sets. As soon as Old Forest finished speaking, excitement also shone in Magic Flash''s eyes. Magic Flash immediately said, "Guild Leader Black Flame, Dark Rhapsody will also buy everything you have! Darkness Crystals definitely aren''t a problem!" If he could get his hands on multiple Dark Demon Sets, then the plate armor classes of the Guild''s main force would be in for a wonderful time. They wouldn''t have to worry about finding equipment before reaching Level 125. Moreover, the main force would also have a much easier time raiding Level 100 Team Dungeons. In fact, Dark Rhapsody might even become the first Guild in the Dark World to clear a 100-man, Level 100 Team Dungeon. The Dark Demon Set''s production is much more difficult than you think. I don''t have many sets available. Even now, we have managed to produce only four sets," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the longing expressions of the two people before him. Shi Feng wished he could produce as many Dark Demon Sets as he wanted. However, the Dark Demon Set was actually Level 110 to Level 120 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The materials needed to produce it were extremely rare, which severely limited its production volume. Moreover, even when making the failed version of the Dark Demon Set, the production success rate was only 50%. "Only four sets?" Magic Flash and Old Forest felt a little disappointed when they heard Shi Feng''s words. However, after giving the matter some thought, they found it reasonable. After all, this was Level 120 Fine-Gold Set Equipment they were talking about. If it were so easy to produce, Zero Wing would be invincible. "Of course, it isn''t exactly impossible if your two Guilds wish to purchase them in large quantities," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the disappointment on the two men''s faces. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, Old Forest immediately understood what Shi Feng was insinuating. Without hesitation, he replied, "Guild Leader Black Flame, please state your conditions. So long as they are within my authority, I can definitely agree to them on behalf of Deity Society." Just being able to purchase a few Dark Demon Sets at 15,000 Darkness Crystals per set could already be considered a miracleall the more so for purchasing a large batch of the sets. With a sufficiently large number of the sets, a Guild could raise the overall strength of its main force by a large margin. Zero Wing was naturally under no obligation to give away such a wonderful opportunity to their two Guilds. "It is the same for my side as well," Magic Flash said. If he missed out on such a windfall, his Guild Leader and the Elders of the Guild would beat him to death when he returned. On the other hand, if he succeeded in this negotiation, then he would make a huge contribution to the Guild. "Although the production of the Dark Demon Set is difficult, manufacturing several sets a day is still feasible. Zero Wing is willing to supply these sets to your two Guilds long-term," Shi Feng said. "However, I hope that your two Guilds can help Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm establish itself in the Dark World''s major NPC cities and guarantee the safety of its operation." Silence momentarily fell over the entire room after Shi Feng finished speaking, as both Magic Flash and Old Forest looked at him in astonishment. They never thought that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader had such enormous ambitions. The Dark World was equivalent to roughly three ordinary empires on the main continent. The Otherworld''s player population was larger than even that of the Fire Dragon Empire, one of the Four Great Empires of God''s Domain. As the Dark World had been sealed all this time, it had almost no contact with the main continent whatsoever. Hence, the Dark World''s various powers thoroughly monopolized the Otherworld''s NPC cities. Moreover, the NPC cities found in the Dark World were different from those found on the main continent in that players held partial authority over them, which made taking over the Dark World''s NPC cities incredibly difficult for outside powers. Meanwhile, the opening of the Dark World''s portal now presented both the Dark World''s powers and the main continent''s powers with a huge business opportunity. Needless to say, the main continent''s various superpowers would definitely contest over this opportunity and would naturally be willing to offer unimaginable prices. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''m afraid I don''t have the authority to decide on such a matter," Old Forest stated honestly. "Moreover, this matter involves a lot of interests. Even if Zero Wing is offering up the Dark Demon Set, I do not believe my superiors will agree to your condition." As for Magic Flash, he inwardly rolled his eyes at Shi Feng''s demand. The Dark Demon Set might be capable of further elevating the strength of their Guilds'' main forces, but its value was nothing compared to the wealth of three empires'' worth of players. This was also one of the reasons why the various superpowers were avoiding hostilities with Dark Guilds, as doing so would mean losing a massive business opportunity. At this moment, let alone team leaders like Magic Flash and Old Forest, even the other four members of the party disdained Shi Feng. Shi Feng was actually trying to secure such a huge business opportunity by offering just a few sets of Fine-Gold Set Equipment. Did he take them for fools? Moreover, Zero Wing was already having problems keeping its position in Cold Spring Forest, yet Shi Feng actually wanted to enter the Dark World''s various NPC cities. This was a complete and utter joke. "Don''t be in such a rush to reject my offer. I understand that this involves a lot of benefits. I know even the Dark Demon Set is insufficient to persuade your two Guilds," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the duo''s reactions. "However, what if I can make it so that the people of your two Guilds can freely move between the Dark World and Cold Spring Forest, while everyone else from the Dark World cannot?" "Guild Leader Black Flame, what do you mean?" Old Forest asked, unable to grasp Shi Feng''s meaning. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you should know that the portal connecting the Dark World and the main continent has already been opened. The Dark World''s players can come and go as they wish. This is something even Flaming Light, the holder of the portal''s key, cannot stop. What can Zero Wing possibly do?" Magic Light said, laughing. "I don''t know whether Flaming Light can stop those players or not, but from now onward, Zero Wing is taking ownership of the Dark World''s portal in Cold Spring Forest!" Shi Feng said, smiling. He paid no attention to the ridicule Magic Flash and the others were displaying. 2559 Heading Toward the Dark World? Chapter 2559 - Heading Toward the Dark World? Magic Flash and his companions stared at Shi Feng in stunned silence. How arrogant! This Swordsman was wildly arrogant! Not even the main continent''s Super Guilds would dare spout such nonsense! They were talking about all of the players in an entire Otherworld, and not just any ordinary Otherworld, but one subjected to cruel competition. Residents of the Dark World had to be extremely careful. Not only could a single mistake cost them their lives, but someone else could also benefit from their hard work. Hence, the Dark World had almost no ordinary players. Most would delete their accounts and try to start over in another world after spending just a few days in the Otherworld. The players that chose to remain were either experts or particularly skilled at survival. When tens of millions of these players swarmed Cold Spring Forest, not even five superpowers working together could stop them all, much less a single superpower. Even if the various superpowers on the main continent banded together, they''d pay an unimaginable price to defeat the Dark World''s denizens. Their losses might be severe enough to cause their eventual collapse. Shi Feng, however, had just declared that Zero Wing could take control of the Dark World''s portal. For a moment, Magic Flash and his party wondered if this Swordsman had lost his mind. Did the man assume that he owned God''s Domain? "Guild Leader Black Flame, I don''t mean to doubt you, but this matter does involve too many interests. I do not have the authority to agree to such a deal," Old Forest insisted. After taking in a deep breath, he continued, "Only my Guild Leader can preside over this matter. The most I can do is inform him of your offer. I cannot say whether or not he''ll agree." "That''s right. Why don''t we return and discuss this with our Guild Leaders for now? Later, we''ll return with the results of those discussions," Magic Flash suggested, nodding in agreement. Inwardly, however, he had already decided that Shi Feng was a lunatic. While the Dark Demon Set might be valuable, obtaining Fine-Gold Set Equipment wouldn''t be an issue once their Guilds began to negotiate alliances with the various superpowers. The only downside was that the various superpowers couldn''t provide Fine-Gold Set Equipment that players could use until Level 120. However, it would be more than enough to raid Team Dungeons and grind for levels. Even as a Lifestyle player, Melancholic Smile could tell that Magic Flash and Old Forest were making perfunctory promises, let alone Shi Feng, whose five senses had already reached their limits. "I understand. With so many interests involved, reaching a swift decision will be very difficult for your two Guilds. Zero Wing isn''t in a rush, so I have no problems waiting for you to relay the situation to your Guild Leaders," Shi Feng calmly agreed. "Please, rest assured, Guild Leader Black Flame. We''ll inform our Guild Leaders upon our return," Old Forest said, nodding. Following which, Magic Frost and Old Forest each handed Shi Feng their promised 250,000 Darkness Crystals before leaving the Freedom Hotel and making their way back to the Dark World. Once they left, Gentle Snow frowned. "Guild Leader, now that the Dark World''s portal has opened, should we restrict our Guild members'' range of activity?" Gentle Snow asked. She hadn''t expected the portal to open so quickly. Fortunately, Zero Wing had reached an agreement with Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society regarding the Darkness Crystals'' delivery as soon as it did. Otherwise, Zero Wing wouldn''t have known when the portal opened and would''ve lost its opportunity to prepare for battle. "That won''t be necessary. Since the Dark World''s portal is open, we should visit this Otherworld. Contact Fire''s team and the Hell Legion and inform them to gather," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "Are we really going there?" Shi Feng''s decision surprised her. When Shi Feng had declared his intentions to Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s representatives, she hadn''t thought it was nonsense in the least. As long as Zero Wing had enough time, it was entirely possible. Not only did the Guild now have the Freedom Hotel, but the Guild as a whole also earned a daily net profit of more than 100,000 Gold. Moreover, Zero Wing''s Coin and Magic Crystal income would continue to increase as Stone Forest City''s player population did. With the Freedom Hotel to attract players, more expert players would flood into the city, as well. With so many advantages, growing until it ruled Cold Spring Forest with an iron fist was entirely possible. Now, however... Including the Hell Legion, Zero Wing only had a little over 500 Tier 3 experts under its command. Even if they included the 600 or so Tier 3 Knights, they weren''t powerful enough to challenge the Dark World in its entirety. "Mhm. We''re heading there now. If we don''t hurry, it''ll be too late," Shi Feng stated, determination lacing his tone. "Alright... I''ll notify Fire and the others," Gentle Snow answered. Although she didn''t understand what Shi Feng intended, they shouldn''t have any problems surviving. "Melancholic, how is the construction of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships coming along?" Shi Feng asked, turning to the Candlelight''s manager. "Excluding the one in your possession, we have a total of five Crimson Dragon Flying Ships ready," Melancholic Smile proudly informed him. Although more players now had Flying Mounts of their own, five Flying Ships were more than enough for Zero Wing to rule the skies. Not one of God''s Domain''s other powers could threaten the Guild in the air. "Good. Get them ready," Shi Feng said, nodding. While Gentle Snow and Melancholic Smile saw to their preparations, Magic Flash and his team flew back to the Dark World''s portal atop their Darkness Bats. Upon their return to their home Otherworld, they noticed the swarm of Dark Players and tents filling the gravel plain a thousand yards ahead. There were easily millions of Dark Players in the camp. Every one of these Dark Players practically vibrated with darkness energy and bloodlust, and even the lowest-leveled among them was Level 105. Quite a few were also Tier 3 experts. "We haven''t been gone that long, yet so many more have already gathered?" Magic Flash exclaimed, watching the massive crowd below. From what he could tell, at least four or five million players had set up in the camp. In comparison, the several tens of thousands of players Dark Rhapsody had dispatched were nothing. When Magic Flash thought back to Shi Feng''s arrogant claim, he couldn''t help but view the man as even more of a fool. However, Magic Flash and Old Forest continued to carry out their duties and inform their higher-ups of Shi Feng''s proposal. Within a conference tent containing hundreds of players... "Black Flame is insane. Now that the Dark World''s portal has opened, he''ll have a hard time just protecting himself, yet he has designs on our Otherworld?" When Blue Rainbow, the female Dark Knight from Dark Rhapsody, heard Magic Flash and Old Forest''s report, she could not help but laugh. "It''s probably because he hasn''t seen the gathered army yet. Once he does, like the various superpowers from earlier, he''ll likely abandon the naive thought," Deity Society''s Elder Gold replied, similarly smiling. A few superpowers, who had been informed of the portal''s opening, had sent representatives to the Dark World not long ago. They had wanted to negotiate business deals with the Otherworld''s various powers, but when they saw the number of Dark Players waiting for the impending invasion, every one the representatives had dropped their proposals. Those superpowers'' representatives had realized that the moment the gathered Dark Players burst through the open portal, even the neighboring kingdoms and empires would be at risk, let alone Cold Spring Forest. In truth, even the Dark World''s top three Guilds had been surprised by how many players had joined the invading army. They had only estimated that around 20,000 experts would show up, yet more than 30,000 Tier 3 experts had already joined the camp. At this rate, they wouldn''t have any problems gathering 40 or 50 thousand Tier 3 experts by the time the invasion began. While Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold spoke in hushed whispers, the various representatives in the tent fell silent. "It seems everyone is of the same opinion. In that case, there''s no point in continuing this discussion. We can still afford to ignore Stone Forest City, but since the Dark World has mustered such a powerful army, we cannot let the main continent''s superpowers take our share of the city," a cold, robust man resting in one of the three main seats within the tent spoke up. Standing, he continued, "Let us officially advance into Cold Spring Forest! It''s time we show the main continent''s powers the strength of our Dark World!" As the robust man finished speaking, the various representatives ordered their subordinates to march on Cold Spring Forest. The several million players in the plain began to stomp toward the gigantic door before them, shocking the scouts the main continent''s superpowers had sent. These scouts immediately contacted their superiors to inform them of the shocking scene. Meanwhile, in an advanced room on the Freedom Hotel''s 29th floor... "So, in the end, they''re still invading?" Yuan Tiexin shook his head and sighed when he read his subordinate''s message. 2560 Darkness Invades, Zero Wing Arrives Chapter 2560 - Darkness Invades, Zero Wing Arrives Shortly after Yuan Tiexin read his subordinate''s message, the door to the quiet room opened. A group of players walked in behind a male Half-elf covered in azure sparks. As the Half-elf entered the room, all of the fire-type Mana began to gather around him as if summoned. As a result, the room''s temperature steadily rose. "Shine? What are you doing here?" Yuan Tiexin was surprised to see the male Half-elf, Scorching Shire. There weren''t many people in the Secret Pavilion that knew the name Scorching Shine, and those who did were generally members of the Guild''s older generations. While Scorching Shine''s current appearance made him look as if he were in his thirties, he was actually over fifty. The man had withdrawn from the Secret Pavilion''s frontlines many years ago and was only active behind the scenes. Before Scorching Shine had withdrawn, he had been considered one of the Pavilion''s absolute monsters. He could even contend with the commander of Mythology''s strongest trump card legion. He no longer busied himself with Guild affairs, however, preferring to focus on his own improvement. Not even Yuan Tiexin, who had a close relationship with Scorching Shrine, could begin to imagine how powerful the man had become. However, Scorching Shrine''s individual strength wasn''t the reason he was so well-known in the Secret Pavilion. Rather, it was the Scorched Legion under his command! The Scorched Legion was one of the Secret Pavilion''s trump card legions, and Scorching Shrine had personally nurtured every one of its experts. Although the Legion only had 200 members, they were all geniuses Scorching Shrine had hand-picked from the Pavilion''s new recruits. Initially, the man had set his sights on Purple Jade, as well. Unfortunately, she preferred one-handed swords, and Scorching Shrine''s knowledge of the combat style was limited. In the end, she hadn''t joined his Scorched Legion. The Scorched Legion was still considered a hidden force, secretly fighting on God''s Domain''s frontlines. It existed solely for exploring new maps and almost never meddled in Guild affairs. Now, however, Scorching Shine and his legion had come to Stone Forest City, which left Yuan Tiexin a little confused. "We received the command from Vice Guild Leader Dawn. Now that the Dark World''s portal has opened, she specifically sent me to negotiate with the various superpowers targeting the city," Scorching Shine softly explained. "Vice Guild Leader Dawn sent you to take charge of the situation?" Hearing the news, Yuan Tiexin breathed a sigh of relief. "This is good. With you here, I''m sure those superpowers will show restraint. In that case, Zero Wing might have a chance of fending off their combined assault." Yuan Tiexin had been worried that Dawn Jade had given up on Stone Forest City, but now that the Scorched Legion had arrived, the city had gained an additional layer of defense. The Scorched Legion was no weaker than Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion. In fact, in large-scale combat, the Scorched Legion would easily outperform the Hell Legion since none of its members were human. Aside from Half-elves, which were particularly skilled with magic, the legion had Half-ore members, who were formidable melee fighters. Their combat power was leagues greater than human players'' of the same level and tier. Of course, the Secret Pavilion had paid a huge price to ensure that the Scorched Legion''s members reached Tier 3 as quickly as possible. "Don''t get excited just yet. Stone Forest City''s recent promotion has made the various superpowers even more desperate to obtain it. Even with my legion here, we can''t guarantee that Zero Wing will keep the right to rule Stone Forest City. However, if Zero Wing is willing to hand over some of the city''s shares, I''m sure keeping the city under its control won''t be a problem," Scorching Shine calmly stated. "Let''s not waste any more time. The Dark World''s players are already marching on Cold Spring Forest. We need to prepare quickly. I''m not familiar with Black Flame, so you''ll have to contact him." "That won''t be a problem. I''ll inform Zero Wing right away," Yuan Tiexin agreed, nodding. He then contacted his connections in Zero Wing. The various superpowers'' combined force wasn''t the most worrisome; rather, the Dark World''s forces warranted more concern. Not even the Secret Pavilion had expected the Dark World to be so powerful. The Otherworld''s invading army had more than five million experts, and more than 30,000 of them were Tier 3 experts. The army also had more than 50 Flying Mounts, and to make matters worse, these numbers only grew as time passed. If this army were allowed to flood into Cold Spring Forest, the consequences would be dire. Shortly after Yuan Tiexin contacted Zero Wing, however, he froze in shock. "Old Yuan, has something happened with Zero Wing?" Scorching Shine asked, his curiosity piqued when he noticed his old comrade''s stunned expression. "Not long ago, Black Flame led a team to the Dark World''s portal. He plans to negotiate with the Dark World''s players," Yuan Tiexin grimly explained. "Negotiate with the Dark World''s players?" The news dazed Scorching Shrine, as well. He then looked at Yuan Tiexin and asked, "Are you sure Black Flame''s brain is working properly?" What a joke! With the portal to the Dark World open, the Otherworld''s players were like a pack of starving wolves that had just spotted fresh meat. They''d pounce on anyone they encountered, not wait for negotiations. This was precisely the reason that the various superpowers had ordered their members to stay at least 10,000 yards away from the portal, afraid that they''d lose their subordinates to these ravenous wolves. Shi Feng, however, was doing the exact opposite. Instead of strengthening Stone Forest City''s defenses, he had taken the initiative to contact the Dark World''s players personally. He was heading straight for the portal, basically offering himself up, gift-wrapped, to the Dark World''s army. Even the various superpowers were stunned when they learned of Shi Feng''s plan from their spies in Zero Wing. What was going on? Was Zero Wing about to surrender? Inside another advanced room within the Freedom Hotel... "Illusory, it seems Zero Wing will fall, even without the various superpowers'' interference," the fierce man from Crimson Emperor said as he read a report from his subordinate. Shaking his head, he continued, "We won''t even have to wait two or three days for this war to conclude. Everything will likely end today." "This is insane. We''re talking about an entire Otherworld of experts. Why would he pull such a crazy stunt?" Illusory Words couldn''t believe her eyes when she read the report. When Shi Feng had tried to challenge an entire city with only several hundred players, she had seen a possibility for him to succeed, but trying to repel all of the players from an Otherworld was a fool''s dream. This was no longer a force an individual power could hope to overcome. While Illusory Words and many others were puzzled by Shi Feng''s most recent ploy, Furious Heart, who had been busy persuading the Dark World''s players to act, received the news. "Interesting! It seems Black Flame really loves a fight! He must think this battle will be just like the one in Demon City," Furious Heart laughed as he read the report. "Hopefully, he doesn''t turn and flee after witnessing the Dark World''s army. I wouldn''t want this to be too boring." Elated, Furious Heart shifted his gaze to the invading army that marched through the portal into Cold Spring Forest. In the face of this army of several million Dark Players, even a kingdom would fall, much less Zero Wing! Following which, Furious Heart tossed aside the report and led his team through the portal. When the Dark World''s players arrived in Cold Spring Forest, a commotion broke out among the army. "So, this is the main continent?" "Crap! There are so many rare ores and herbs nearby! "This place is ours for the taking!" The Dark Players couldn''t help their growing excitement as they drank in the beautiful scenery in Cold Spring Forest. They wanted nothing more than to claim the surrounding resource areas right away. Even the upper echelons from the Otherworld''s various powers looked around them with a passionate flame burning in their eyes. They had to admit that Cold Spring Forest was a much higher-quality than the Dark World''s Level 100 maps. As long as they could collect these resources, neither their individual development nor their Guilds'' would be a problem. Before the Dark World''s residents could celebrate, however, they heard a loud roaring from the distance, a deep rumble that echoed throughout the valley the portal occupied. Everyone turned toward the origin of the sound. The Dark Players then spotted five colossal figures flying toward them. As the roaring grew louder, they could begin to distinguish the flying giants'' details. "Are those Flying Ships?" With a closer look and realizing what the monstrosities were, everyone was stunned. Those five Flying Ships were too massive. The largest Flying Mounts they had seen would be insignificant beside the steel giants. As the five flew in formation, they practically blotted out the sky. 2561 Zero Wings Foundations, Madness Time Chapter 2561 - Zero Wing''s Foundations, Madness Time "Why are so many Flying Ships here?" "Did we trigger some kind of event, and NPCs have come to deal with us?" The sudden appearance of the five Flying Ships stunned the Dark Players emerging from the gigantic door. They all began to talk about the incoming ships, anxious. Flying Ships were no longer a foreign concept to God''s Domain''s players, but their familiarity was precisely the reason that the Dark Players were afraid of how powerful the machines were. Flying Ships were powerful war weapons and absolute kings in the skies! One of those ships could effortlessly squash humans like ants. Current players, who sorely lacked aerial combat power, saw Flying Ships as unstoppable and destructive tools. With five Flying Ships approaching, why wouldn''t these Dark Players worry? "Wait, something''s not right! There are players aboard the Flying Ships!" a Tier 3 Ranger, gifted with sharp vision, shouted as he pointed to the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships hovering above them. Nearly everyone''s eyes narrowed as they tried to get a better look at the ships, and just as the Tier 3 Ranger had announced, players stood on each of the Flying Ships'' decks. While they were still too far off to get a clear view of the players, the green diamond markers were undoubtedly above the blurry figures'' heads. "Who are those people? They actually have Flying Ships!" "Could it be a Super Guild?" Their curiosity piqued, the Dark Players wondered who piloted the incoming vessels. Flying Ships were still far out of reach for the Dark World''s residents. They barely had any Flying Mounts, after all, and yet, five player-owned Flying Ships were flying toward them right now... Even the upper echelons from the Otherworld''s various major powers were stunned. "Five Flying Ships?! Who are these people!?" "What are they trying to accomplish?" One or two Flying Ships might not be a major problem, but five was a little too much. None of them wanted to face such a force in battle. If it did come down to a fight, the outcome wouldn''t be in their favor, even if they eventually won. While the Dark World''s powers discussed the situation in hushed tones, the five ships descended, stopping roughly 100 yards above ground. A figure then jumped from one of the ship''s decks, landing in the center of the Dark Players'' army. The players on the ground unconsciously stepped back, quickly clearing the way for the figure to land unhindered. As the figure landed, the various powers'' upper echelons stared with wide, shocked eyes, particularly Magic Flash and Old Forest, who had just returned from their trip to Stone Forest City. The individual who had jumped from one of the Flying Ships was none other than Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. "It''s him?!" "Impossible!" When Magic Flash and Old Forest saw Shi Feng''s familiar face, they couldn''t believe their eyes. Any power capable of owning five Flying Ships had to be a superpower with heaven-defying strength in their opinions, and yet, the reality was that Zero wing, a Guild at risk of obliteration, was responsible for this display. How could they possibly believe this? Sure enough, it is Zero Wing, Blue Rainbow thought, standing behind Magic Flash. Unlike the two representatives, she didn''t seem all that surprised to see Shi Feng. Is this why he is so confident? The Dark World''s general populace considered Flying Ships to be out of players'' reach, but when Dark Rhapsody had investigated Zero Wing''s background, it had discovered that the Guild owned multiple ships. This was why Shi Feng had failed to surprise her. Of course, she wasn''t entirely unfazed. She was a little shocked to discover that Zero Wing had as many as five Fling Ships. It was a few more than her Guild''s reports had stated. When Furious Heart saw this, his lips formed a tight frown. Intense rage and fear flashed in his eyes as he watched Shi Feng. How is this possible!? How does Zero Wing have so many Flying Ships!? Furious Heart''s eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the steel giants in the air. His Guild had already been concerned when they received the report mentioning three Flying Ships in Zero Wing''s possession. Now that he knew the Guild had two more than that, Stone Forest City would be much more difficult to deal with. As the Dark World''s major powers recognized Shi Feng and were astonished over his Guild''s foundations, an indifferent, robust man emerged from the crowd. The instant he stepped forward, he attracted all of the major powers'' attention, and everyone watched him with respectful gazes. This robust man was Dawn Dominance, World Domination''s Guild Leader. He was a legend in the Dark World. Not only had he single-handedly developed World Domination to become one of the Otherworld''s top three Guilds, but he was also one of the Dark World''s top-ranked experts. Dawn Dominance was precisely why Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society were so afraid of the up-and-coming World Domination. He had even been chosen to preside over the earlier war conference. "You must be Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame," Dawn Dominance addressed Shi Feng. "I am Dawn Dominance, World Domination''s Guild Leader. You could say that I''m one of the leaders for the Dark World''s invasion into Cold Spring Forest. May I know the reason for your sudden visit, Guild Leader Black Flame?" "You''re correct. I am Black Flame, and I''ve come to inform your Dark World players of something," Shi Feng said, nodding. "If you wish to persuade us to abandon our conquest of this map, forget about it. The matter was decided the moment the portal opened," Dawn Dominance said. "Cold Spring Forest''s resources are important to both of us, of which you are well aware, Guild Leader Black Flame. Of course, we also do not wish to antagonize Zero Wing intentionally, but we can only rely on our own strength to get what we need. I hope you understand, Guild Leader Black Flame." As Dawn Dominance finished speaking, the countless Dark Players in earshot nodded in agreement. Why should only the main continent''s players benefit from Cold Spring Forest''s resources? If one wished to acquire leveling resources, they could do so with their own power. Does Black Flame really think he can scare away so many Dark Players with just five Flying Ships! How naive! Furious Heart laughed softly as he watched Shi Feng''s distant figure. Five Flying Ships was an amazingly powerful force, but if Shi Feng thought he could stop several million experts from the Dark World with just this, he was a fool. Moreover, the Dark World''s invasion army had over 50 Flying Mounts. Challenging those Flying Ships was entirely possible. Besides, the various powers present all had their own trump cards, which they could unleash on the steel giants. As Furious Heart''s laughter died, however, Shi Feng glanced around at the chuckling Dark Players and shook his head. "Guild Leader Dawn, I believe you''ve misunderstood something. I never had any intention of negotiation with any of you. I am only here to tell you one thing!" Shi Feng said. "From this moment on, this Teleportation Gate is under Zero Wing''s control!" 2562 Challenging the Dark World? Chapter 2562 - Challenging the Dark World? Silence fell as Shi Feng finished his declaration. Magic Flash and Old Forest stared at the Swordsman with their mouths ajar. They hadn''t actually thought he''d been serious. This was insane! They had assumed Shi Feng had been joking back in the Freedom Hotel, and yet, the man had just repeated his intentions straight to the Dark World''s various powers and independent players... After a moment, every Dark Player broke out in riotous laughter. "Did this guy come all this way just to tell us a joke?" "He actually thinks Zero Wing will manage this Teleportation Gate from now on. Does he really think he can claim ownership by declaring it?" "Who does this guy think he is?" For a time, the countless Dark Players expressed their anger and ridicule. Their prior fear and awe had evaporated like fog on a hot day. They wondered how hard Shi Feng had hit his head to provoke the Dark World in its entirety so boldly. What is Black Flame trying to do? Did he give himself a concussion and lose his mind? Doesn''t he realize that he basically just declared war on everyone in the Dark World? Blue Rainbow frowned at Shi Feng, who still seemed quite calm. When they had heard Magic Flash and Old Forest''s report, they had considered Shi Feng''s intentions a joke. Now, however, Shi Feng had publicly announced Zero Wing''s plan to take control of the Teleportation Gate. If this was a joke, it wasn''t funny. As far as she was concerned, this Swordsman either overestimated himself or was on a path of self-destruction. Not even multiple cooperating Super Guilds would dare spout such nonsense before the Dark World''s army, much less a single superpower. Anyone that took control of the Teleportation Gate would reign over the Dark World. This was beyond foolish! He''s dead! He''s definitely dead now! Furious Heart laughed maniacally as he watched Shi Feng. Thanks to Shi Feng''s announcement, the Dark World''s various powers and independent experts would stop at nothing to obliterate Zero Wing, even if Demon''s Heart didn''t pull any strings. They likely wouldn''t let the matter rest until they had removed any trace of Zero Wing from Cold Spring Forest. If they didn''t, the main continent''s players would look down on them, which was something the Dark World''s denizens and powers wouldn''t allow. Once the Dark World''s collective laughter died down, each of these Dark Players turned lethal gazes on Shi Feng, killing intent radiating from them in waves. Some Tier 3 experts even unsheathed their weapons, preparing to teach this arrogant Swordsman a lesson. "What a pity, Guild Leader Black Flame. I had hoped you were smart enough to know when to advance and when to retreat, but it would seem that Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had thought too highly of you," Dawn Dominance said, shaking his head. He then turned to leave, with no intention of continuing his conversation with Shi Feng. A unit of five Flying Ships might be impressive, but it wasn''t intimidating enough to force the Dark World''s invading army to back down. While war weapons had frightening power and deadly potential, their attack rates were very low. When there wasn''t much of a difference between two sides'' combat power, an additional five Flying Ships would prove miraculously effective, but if one side had an overwhelming combat power advantage, the ships couldn''t turn the tide of battle. At Tier 3, expert players were more than agile enough to evade Flying Ships'' attacks as long as there was enough distance between them. Furthermore, the invading army had more than 50 Flying Mounts, just as much aerial combat power as Zero Wing. When Dawn Dominance left, the surrounding Tier 3 experts smirked and moved to surround Shi Feng. Nearly 1,000 Tier 3 experts pointed their weapons at the Swordsman, their combined killing intent so powerful that the air around them grew cold and cloudy. The Tier 2 Dark Players that had come to Cold Spring Forest to join the fun couldn''t contain their excitement as they watched. Not even superpowers had so many Tier 3 experts, yet the Dark World''s army had so many more. When less than 50 yards separated these Dark experts and Shi Feng, figures began to drop from the hovering Flying Ships, one after another. In the blink of an eye, nearly 500 Tier 3 experts took their places around Shi Feng, and every one of them radiated a more intense aura than the Dark World''s Tier 3 experts. "This..." Seeing reinforcements arrive, the encroaching Dark Players came to a halt. The various major powers'' spectating upper echelons were similarly astonished. They had never dreamed that Zero Wing could muster such strength. Now that 500 Tier 3 experts had joined the fray, the Dark World''s top three Guilds would be no match for Zero Wing''s force, even if they worked together. Including the Flying Ships still looming above them, engaging in battle now would only invite Zero Wing to slaughter those top three Guilds. "It''s no wonder why you dared to spout such nonsense. Zero Wing is actually quite formidable." Dawn Dominance had stopped, turning to glance at the Tier 3 experts around Shi Feng, but he shook his head and continued, "However, I''m afraid that still won''t be enough to defeat the Dark World." As he finished speaking, more Tier 3 Dark Players swarmed around Shi Feng. In less than 30 seconds, a group of over 6,000 Tier 3 Dark Players had joined the encirclement. Even Blue Frost and his Zero Wing companions from Shelter One, all of whom had participated in numerous battles, couldn''t help but frown. "Blue, what do you think the Guild Leader is trying to do? We''re not really going to fight against all those people, are we?" Best Reincarnation, the leader of Shelter One''s Second Party, nervously asked. He had watched and fought in multiple wars involving tens of thousands of players, but compared to the Dark World''s army, those forces weren''t worth mentioning. Not even an army of tens of thousands would be a warm-up for these 6,000-plus Tier 3 experts. If this force entered the Dark Den, they could sweep through the Otherworld without any trouble. Even if every Shelter banded together, they wouldn''t survive. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had fewer than 500 Tier 3 experts present, and even with monsters like Fire Dance and Hell Rush, their chances of victory were unknown. "I don''t know, but even if we lose this battle, it''ll be helpful in the future. Not just anyone gets an opportunity to face such a powerful force," Blue Frost replied with a bitter smile. He had to admit that while Shi Feng''s behavior was insane, his blood boiled with excitement. After all, who, at this stage of the game, would dare challenge such a formidable army? Even the main continent''s various superpowers were afraid of the Dark World''s invading army, but not Zero Wing. If they lost, they''d lose with their pride intact. This was also a super-rare opportunity to clash with a large number of Tier 3 experts, and the experience would definitely bolster their future development. As soon as Blue Frost finished his reply, however, Shi Feng stepped forward from Zero Wing''s defensive circle and faced the Dark World''s several thousand Tier 3 experts directly. "It seems you still don''t understand," Shi Feng said, shaking his head at the Tier 3 Dark Players around him. Calmly, he continued, "Since the very beginning, I told you that I''ve only come to inform you. I''m not here to negotiate. Since you wish to test my patience, I regret to inform you that you''ve picked a fight with the wrong person!" Shi Feng then pulled a token from his bag and started to chant an incantation. It was simple, only consisting of a dozen or so syllables, and would even be easy for a player new to God''s Domain to chant. Before the Dark Players could mock Shi Feng for his ignorant foolishness, several magic arrays quickly manifested behind the Swordsman. In less than a second, they transformed into a Spatial Gate, and once the gate was complete, NPCs in exquisite, uniform equipment marched into Cold Spring Forest like a well-trained army. Every one of these NPCs had at least reached Level 120 and Tier 3. Many of them even hailed from other races, and in the blink of an eye, more than a thousand NPCs had joined the battlefield... 2563 Suppressing Everyone, Crazy Zero Wing Chapter 2563 - Suppressing Everyone, Crazy Zero Wing When more than a thousand Tier 3 NPCs appeared behind Shi Feng, the Dark Players, Zero Wing''s members, and the Hell Legion were stunned. In the various NPC kingdoms and empires, Tier 3 NPCs were considered powerhouses. They could even serve as Magistrates in minor cities. And yet, Shi Feng had just summoned over a thousand of these NPCs, including non-human NPCs. It was unbelievable! We already have so many? When Gentle Snow saw Shi Feng''s Knight Division, surprise colored her features. She had known for a while that Shi Feng had invested a ton of Coins in developing the Guild''s Knight Division, but she had assumed they''d need a long time to amass and nurture so many Tier 3 NPCs. During Shi Feng''s visit to the western continent, she had felt they''d be lucky enough to gain an additional two or three hundred Tier 3 Knights, but contrary to her expectations, they had several times that. With this many Tier 3 Knights, not even taking out an army of more than 10,000 Tier 3 players would be a problem, much less defeating the 6,000 Tier 3 Dark Players before them. The reason was very simple. Not only were NPCs'' Basic Attributes far higher than players of the same level and tier, but they also commanded a large number of Skills and Spells. Their Skill and Spell Completion Rates also triumphed over players. Moreover, as God''s Domain underwent more system updates, NPCs'' intellect and combat standards would improve. At Tier 3, NPCs could already, more or less, rival Refinement Realm experts, with some surpassing them. This was why even Tier 3 players would receive a one-sided beating if they challenged Tier 3 NPCs. Of course, the biggest difference between the two was NPCs'' equipment standards! Acquiring Level 100-plus Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment was currently incredibly difficult for players, but even the weakest of Gods Domains Tier 3 NPCs, at least those not bound to players, wore full sets of Dark-Gold Equipment. Most of Zero Wing''s Tier 3 Knights, on the other hand, wore Epic Equipment. Even Tier 3 Void Realm experts would have to flee from these Knights, let alone Tier 3 Refinement Realm experts. The surrounding 6,000-plus Tier 3 Dark Players unconsciously began to retreat. The major powers'' upper echelons watched on with grim expressions, astonished. None of them had ever thought Zero Wing''s strength would be this frightening! When they had learned, throughout their investigations, that Zero Wing had nearly 600 Tier 3 Knights, the prospect of dealing with the Guild had given them huge headaches. If they wanted to capture Stone Forest City, they knew they''d have to work with the main continent''s various superpowers. But not only had they just learned that Zero Wing had five Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, but it also had more than twice the reported Tier 3 Knights. Just how were they supposed to fight such a force? Is this why he hadn''t hesitated to give away 70% of Cold Spring Forest''s resource spots? Realization dawned on Blue Rainbow as she watched Shi Feng. She had thought the man was insane for giving up so much of Cold Spring Forest and increasing the competition between his Guild and the Dark World''s various powers, but looking at it now, it seemed she had been sorely mistaken. With so much combat power, no power or player in the Dark World would dare compete with Zero Wing for the remaining 30% of Cold Spring Forest. On the contrary, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would have a much harder time controlling their 70%. Most of the two Guilds'' influence lay in the Dark World, and outside of it, they had barely any at all. If the Dark World''s players were too afraid to take a bite out of Zero Wing''s resource spots, it would only be natural that they''d contest with Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s territory instead. "Damn it! How is this possible?!" Furious Heart felt as if he were going mad as he gazed at the thousand-plus Tier 3 NPCs behind Shi Feng. He couldn''t fathom how Zero Wing had gotten its hand on so many, and every one wore excellent equipment, too. Against such a force, not even an army of more than 10,000 Tier 3 experts would have an advantage. Moreover, the Tier 3 experts that had joined the invading army belonged to the various Guilds and adventurer teams. Commanding them like a proper army would prove very difficult. No one wanted to serve as cannon fodder and die a pointless death. If the invading army had had an absolute advantage, overwhelming Zero Wing''s experts with their numbers would''ve been easy, but now that there was such a radical difference between the two sides'' strength, the various Guilds and adventurer teams'' Tier 3 experts wouldn''t be so keen to take action. The 1,000-plus NPCs waiting for orders petrified the Dark World''s players. They simply stared at Shi Feng and his NPCs in silence, stupefying Blue Frost''s group. Even the Hell Legion''s members were astonished. Before coming here, they had accepted their impending deaths. They had been massively outnumbered, after all. Even if they were more powerful individually, they wouldn''t be able to kill enough players with their limited Stamina and Concentration. However, none of them had imagined that the situation would develop as it had. The army of several million, which had boldly marched into Cold Spring Forest, had come to a grinding halt, and none of the Dark World''s players dared to step forward. Everyone stood frozen in front of the Teleportation Gate. After the silence had dragged on for a while, Dawn Dominance emerged from the crowd, presenting himself before Shi Feng once more. This time, however, the man didn''t look down on Shi Feng. Rather, he appeared cautious. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you truly are amazing! It''s no wonder how you established Stone Forest City in Cold Spring Forest," Dawn Dominance said, applauding Shi Feng in admiration. "Since everyone here has recognized your display of strength, on behalf of the Dark World''s various Guilds and adventurer teams, I will declare that we will not participate in Zero Wing''s struggle against the various superpowers. Do you find this arrangement agreeable, Guild Leader Black Flame?" While Dawn Dominance spoke, the various Guilds and adventurer teams'' upper echelons nodded in agreement. If Zero Wing had proven as weak as they had expected, they wouldn''t have had a problem, but now that they saw how mighty the Guild was, they wouldn''t fight it. Even if they worked with the main continent''s various superpowers, capturing Stone Forest City was impossible. They''d only incur unnecessary losses if they faced Zero Wing in battle. "Dawn Dominance! How can you do this?!" Furious Heart bellowed, enraged, when he heard Dawn Dominance surrender to Zero Wing. To goad the Dark World''s various powers into attacking Zero Wing, Demon''s Heart had offered World Domination a plethora of benefits. However, now that the situation had turned south, Dawn Dominance had decided to give up. With World Domination leading the Dark World''s surrender, the Otherworld''s other powers wouldn''t target Zero Wing, either. Before Furious Heart could continue to curse at Dawn Dominance, however, Shi Feng shook his head. "Guild Leader Dawn, how many times must I repeat myself before you get it through your head? I am only here to notify you that Zero Wing will be managing the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate from now on, and in the future, my Guild will collect a fee from anyone that wishes to use it. Have I been specific enough now?" Shi Feng asked the other Guild Leader. "I don''t care if you wish to work with those superpowers against Stone Forest City or not." Dawn Dominance, who had intended to say more, was speechless. Even Furious Heart, who had been angrily cursing in the distance, gaped at Shi Feng. Is this guy insane? Dawn Dominance has already declared that none of us would target Stone Forest City, yet he insists on managing the Teleportation Gate. Does he really want to make the entire Dark World his enemy? When Magic Flash heard Shi Feng''s response, he, too, was at a loss for words. This was the best outcome Zero Wing could hope for, but rather than settling, Shi Feng insisted on owning the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. He was a madman! 2564 Crazy? Knight Division Take Action! Chapter 2564 - Crazy? Knight Division Take Action! Does he really plan to start a war with the entire Dark World? Even Furious Heart, who wanted nothing more than Zero Wing and Shi Feng''s annihilation, was confused by the Swordsman''s actions. He even wondered if he had misheard the man. Instead of settling for a peaceful outcome, Shi Feng continued to insist that he''d wrestle for control over the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. Even if they banded together, the various superpowers wouldn''t dare threaten such a thing. In fact, they hadn''t even harbored the thought. The Teleportation Gate was basically the Otherworld players'' lifeline, and if a foreign power took control of the gate, all of the Dark World''s residents would be subjected to that power''s whims. These Dark Players simply wouldn''t allow such an outcome. They''d fight anyone who threatened to control the Teleportation Gate to the death. This was why neither Demon''s Heart nor the various superpowers had considered doing so. If they tried, not only would they fail, but they''d also throw their lives away in the attempt to control the Teleportation Gate. And yet, Shi Feng didn''t just consider it an option; he fully intended to succeed... As Shi Feng finished speaking, the Dark Players around him erupted in an uproar. "Is Black Flame insane? He''s trying to take control of our world''s lifeline!" "We''re already giving up so much by surrendering in the fight for Stone Forest City, yet Black Flame wants a mile after we''ve given him an inch! Does he really doubt that we''ll attack Zero Wing?" The fear the Dark World''s various major powers and independent players had felt a moment ago vanished. Now, only fury flashed in their eyes. They all wanted nothing more than to show Shi Feng the consequences for his ignorance. The Dark World players began to close in on Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, their Tier 3 experts, who had decided to avoid a fight moments ago, were now more than eager to teach the Swordsman a lesson. Seven thousand... Nine thousand... Ten thousand... In less than a minute, more than 20,000 Tier 3 experts had surrounded Shi Feng. Every one of them glared, radiating rage and killing intent. The Guild Leader''s not serious, right?" Evening Lotus worriedly asked from beside Blue Frost as she watched more Tier 3 experts gather around them. With the combined strength of Zero Wing''s Tier 3 Knights, Tier 3 experts, and the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, they could, at most, take on 10,000 Tier 3 experts at a time. Any more, and their risk of dying increased substantially. If they had to face all of the Dark World''s Tier 3 experts, they''d be finished. Here, they didn''t have the protection of Stone Forest City. Moreover, NPCs were far more troublesome to resurrect than players. Generally, the various powers only used their NPCsw as a deterrent and avoided sending them into battle unless absolutely necessary. "Are you serious, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Dawn Dominance asked after taking a deep breath, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. While he could ignore the struggle for Stone Forest City, he couldn''t ignore Shi Feng''s declaration to control the Teleportation Gate as it involved his Guild''s continued development. "Of course!" Shi Feng confidently replied. He hadn''t actually considered taking control of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate before today, but times had changed. He had developed his Knight Division far faster than expected, and it was now far stronger than it appeared. Shi Feng wouldn''t have been able to do anything about the situation if the Teleportation Gate had opened anywhere else. Since it had opened in Cold Spring Forest, where his Knight Division was based, however, he''d be a fool not to take advantage of it. Due to the Dark World''s nature, regular powers and players had an incredibly difficult time establishing themselves in the Otherworld. Not even the various Super Guilds were guaranteed success. Yet, as luck would have it, the Dark World offered an extraordinary amount of attributed resources, and because of this, the various superpowers of his past had done everything in their power to ally with the Dark World''s various powers. However, even after paying astronomical sums, those superpowers had only acquired a small number of attributed resources to use in crafting weapons and equipment. If he were to let this opportunity slip through his fingers, he wouldn''t likely find another. "Good! It seems you''ve steeled yourself to make the Dark World your enemy, Guild Leader Black Flame!" Dawn Dominance said and smiled. "Since that is the case, show us what profound move you''ll use to stop us!" Dawn Dominance''s head had begun to ache over surrendering his share of Stone Forest City''s benefits. A few thousand Tier 3 experts were certainly no match for Zero Wing''s current combat power. He''d need the Dark World''s entire strength. Normally, however, persuading his homeworld''s major powers and independent powers to dedicate themselves to what was essentially a suicide mission would be impossible. Fortunately, Shi Feng had just given him the opening to succeed with an extremely persuasive bargaining chipthe Dark World''s very future! This would be more than enough of a reason for the Dark World''s masses to combine their strength. Even if Shi Feng''s group fell back to Stone Forest City, they wouldn''t be able to stop the Otherworld''s forces. "Why are you still wasting time with him, Guild Leader Dawn?!" "That''s right! He only has a little over a thousand Tier 3 NPCs! Even if we die and lose a level, we can recover quickly and rejoin the fight! On the other hand, those NPCs will be gone for good once they''re dead! Let''s see if Black Flame keeps acting so arrogantly once we''ve gotten rid of his NPCs!" The various powers'' experts and independent players riled themselves up and charged at Shi Feng''s group the moment Dawn Dominance finished speaking. Over 20,000 Tier 3 experts and several hundred thousand Tier 2 players advanced, their footfalls shaking the entire valley. Despite their bountiful combat experience, the Hell Legion''s members grew nervous, watching the incoming force with grim expressions. This battle would be more terrifying than any they had participated in. The Dark World''s various powers didn''t even prepare any of their trump cards. Relying solely on their numbers, the invading army could intimidate even God''s Domain''s various superpowers. Moreover, some of the Dark Players used Tier 3 Defensive Magic Scrolls to cope with potential Tier 4 attacks. This greatly limited how effective the Flying Ships could be in this fight. "Hahaha! Die! So what if you have over a thousand Tier 3 NPCs and five Flying Ships? None of them can reach their full potential in such a vast plain!" Furious Heart excitedly shouted as he watched the Dark Players swarm toward Shi Feng. Every Dark Player participating in the army was an expert. They had long since familiarized themselves with large- scale combat and knew how to minimize the damage enemy AOE attacks could deal. Furthermore, unlike in a siege, Zero Wing''s forces didn''t have a defensive magic array to hide behind. Once the two armies engaged, war weapons like the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships and large-scale destruction Spells would be nearly useless. However, Shi Feng didn''t mobilize his Flying Ships or instruct his Tier 3 magical class NPCs to cast large-scale destruction Spells as everyone had expected. He simply watched the Dark Players approach in silence. "Have they forgotten how to attack, scared silly?" "They must not have expected an actual fight, but it''s too late for regret now!" The Dark Players were confused when Zero Wing''s forces remained motionless, but that didn''t stop them in closing the distance. One hundred yards... Fifty yards... Thirty yards... "Fools!" When less than 30 yards separated Shi Feng''s forces from the Dark Players, he swung a hand forward and shouted, "Attack!" Suddenly, over 100 tall, brawny Ores geared with Epic Weapons and Equipment exploded forth, reaching the enemy''s frontline in the blink of an eye. They brandished their swords and axes, cutting down the enemy Tier 3 MTs with speed and accuracy. Skillfully responding to the Ore Knight''s assault, the Tier 3 MTs raised their shields, effectively blocking the attacks. After a moment, however, every Dark Player was stupefied. The instant the Ores'' weapons slammed into the Tier 3 MTs'' shields, every player that took a hit flew backward as if a giant boulder had slammed into them... From afar, it had looked like the Dark World''s army had crashed into an immovable wall. Not only had the army''s advance ended in a grinding halt, but bodies flew above the rest of the force, as well. Before these players fell to the ground, however, countless magic arrays appeared above, bombarding them with another series of attacks. The casters exhibited astounding control with their Spells, and the Spells themselves were unbelievably powerful. Every attack had as much power as Level 110 Mythic monsters. Despite their Defensive Spells'' protection, the targeted players lost every last HP in no time at all. Over a thousand Tier 3 players and several Tier 3 players had died in less than a second, leaving nothing but empty space among the tide of Dark Players. The Dark World''s denizens hadn''t even had a chance to retaliate... 2565 Frightening Knight Division, True Despair? Chapter 2565 - Frightening Knight Division, True Despair? Less than 10 seconds after the battle had begun, the Dark Players'' confidence shattered. The MTs on the frontline were bona fide Tier 3 players, and many of them were well-known experts in the Dark World. They had so much HP and Defense that they could stand there, unfazed, as other Tier 3 experts whaled on them. And yet, these same Tier 3 MTs were dying too quickly for the rear line''s healers to restore their HPs. They had lost their lives without any chance to retaliate... For a moment, everyone watching wondered if those MTs had deliberately worn Bronze Equipment into battle. Their opponents were only Level 120-plus, Tier 3 NPCs, and many of the Dark World''s players had fought NPC cities'' Tier 3 soldiers before. Although Tier 3 NPCs might have higher Basic Attributes and combat standards, the difference shouldn''t be this massive. Even Zero Wing''s players were stunned. The Tier 3 Knights had slain over a thousand Tier 3 players and several thousand Tier 2 players with a single round of attacks. Such a force would even give Super Guilds a painful headache, and putting an end to the battle would take quite a while. However, those Tier 2 and 3 Dark Players were little more than infants before the Tier 3 Knights. The two sides'' combat power was on entirely different levels. Only Shi Feng remained unperturbed. His Tier 3 Knights only seemed to be 10 or so levels higher than the enemy''s Tier 3 players on the surface. Logically, there shouldn''t be such a huge gap between the two forces'' strength, even if the Tier 3 Knights were fully armed with Epic Weapons and Equipment. However, God''s Domain''s current players didn''t know that there were significant differences among NPCs'' combat power, even at Tier 3. One of the most obvious was the liberation of their Mana Bodies. Unlike players, NPCs did not need to invest a large amount of time to unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential after reaching Tier 3. Instead, they relied on their talent and Growth Potential. As long as Tier 3 NPCs had the required talent and Growth Potential, they could unlock their Mana Bodies immediately. Conversely, some failed to accomplish the feat throughout their lifetimes. The applicants Shi Feng had accepted into his Knight Division were considered elites among NPCs. Their innate talent and Growth Potential were far superior to the soldiers in NPC cities. Hence, as soon as they reached Tier 3, they had unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. They hadn''t needed to experiment as players did. But what about God''s Domain''s current players? Most hadn''t even started the process of unlocking their Mana Bodies, let alone unlocked them fully. They were ten years too early if they thought they could stand against Shi Feng''s Knight Division. Moreover, Shi Feng had employed plenty of Ores, Elves, and Giants. Their combat power was even greater than human NPCs of the same tier and level. For example, a Mysterious-Iron ranked Ore warrior could rival a Secret-Silver ranked human warrior. Of the non-human members of Shi Feng''s Knight Division, even the weakest had Mysterious-Iron Growth Potential... Not even Tier 3 peak experts in full, top-tier equipment would last more than a few seconds against these NPCs, much less ordinary Tier 3 experts. Before the Dark World''s players could snap out of their daze, Zero Wing''s Knights swept through them again. Like harvesting wheat, the Knights needed no more than three moves to slay the Dark Players, reaping their lives in the blink of an eye. None had time for elegant or astonishing combat techniques on this battlefield. Only pure strength and terror reigned! The first unit, consisting of more than 50,000 players, had been annihilated in less than two minutes, and over 6,000 of them had been Tier 3 experts. In contrast, Zero Wing hadn''t lost a single Knight. In fact, they had hardly taken any damage... Silence descended on the battlefield. The Dark Players that had eagerly charged into combat had begun to back away, one step after another. "How is this possible?" Furious Heart, who had been preparing to join the fray, gasped when he saw the field of corpses. He had assumed the Dark World''s overwhelming victory had been assured; he had never expected the battle to end like this. They were talking about more than 6,000 Tier 3 experts! The horrific force could easily destroy a Guild City, yet before Zero Wing''s Knight Division, those experts had been as weak as Common monsters. "How do they have so much more combat power?" Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold, who watched from afar, were just as shocked after watching the Knights obliterate the first wave of players. They had thought Shi Feng''s confidence had been a joke. They had never dreamed that his Guild was actually this strong. When Zero Wing had refrained from using its Flying Ships, they had seen the decision as foolish. Looking at it now, however, that was not the case. Zero Wing had merely decided against using the ships because it didn''t need them. How could these 1,000-plus NPCs even be Tier 3 beings? They seemed more like Tier 4 Mythic monsters, and ones with incredibly high combat standards. If the Dark World wanted to defeat such a frightening force, it would have to rely on its foundations. Otherwise, it didn''t matter how many players they sent at those Tier 3 NPCs. All would perish. How are these Tier 3 NPCs so strong? Dawn Dominance frowned after watching several thousand Tier 3 experts die. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Everyone, now is not the time to hold back! All Guilds and adventurer teams, use your trump cards and crush those NPCs! If we keep holding back, Zero Wing will take the Teleportation Gate!" The various Guilds and adventurer teams'' upper echelons immediately took action. Zero Wing''s Knight Division might be scary, but their members were no pushovers. Like Zero Wing, they had trump cards that could boost their combat power far above what they currently wielded. One after another, the Guilds and adventurer teams activated their trump cards. Tier 4 Summoning Scrolls! Advanced Magic Barriers! Tier 3 Personal Guards! In less than a minute, more than 50 Tier 4 summoned creatures and 4,000 Tier 3 Personal Guards appeared on the battlefield, their combined aura making everyone in the vicinity shudder. The various superpowers'' members watching the battle from a safe distance were especially flabbergasted. The Dark World''s Guilds and adventurer teams had just revealed their strength in its fullest. Amazing! Truly amazing! No individual power can hope to stand against the Dark World! Furious Heart''s heart pounded as he watched. He had been shocked to see Zero Wing field over 1,000 Tier 3 NPCs, but that was nothing before the Dark World''s full power. "Excellent! Everyone, attack!" Dawn Dominance proudly ordered. "Annihilate Zero Wing and avenge our fallen brothers!" As soon as they heard the command, the various Guilds and adventurer teams sent their Tier 3 NPCs and Tier 4 summoned creatures into battle. Not even they had thought their combined strength would be so terrifying. Zero Wing''s players began to panic a little. Now, the tides had turned. But just as the Dark World''s residents expected to see Shi Feng fall into despair, the person in question gazed upon the approaching NPC force and summoned creatures with an extraordinary calm before retrieving a small ring from his bag. "Miniature World!" 2566 Mouths Ajar Chapter 2566 - Mouths Ajar Seeing Shi Feng step forward and chant an incantation, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold were stunned. "He still wants to fight?" Confusion changed Blue Rainbow''s expression when Shi Feng showed no intention of retreating. The difference between their combat power was clear for all to see. The Dark World''s invading army was far too strong for any individual power to stop. Based on Shi Feng''s behavior, however, he intended to stay in this fight. Blue Rainbow struggled to understand. During its investigations, Dark Rhapsody had obtained quite a bit of detailed information on Zero Wing from the main continent''s superpowers and knew the Guild had a plethora of astounding trump cards. The Ring of Gospel, a Domain treasure, was one of them. When activated on a large battlefield, it had proven miraculously effective. Not only did the Ring of Gospel have large AOE Skills, but they were also considerably powerful. However, the ring''s effects on this battlefield would be very limited. Zero Wing currently faced Tier 3 Personal Guards and Tier 4 summoned creatures, after all. They had incredible resistance to suppression effects. Moreover, more than 50 Tier 4 summoned creatures had joined the fight. Even if the Ring of Gospel could suppress them, a measly 1,000-plus Tier 3 NPCs wouldn''t be enough to stop them. The invading army also had over 3,000 Tier 3 Personal Guards to support it. Even Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa, who watched from a hidden location, were confused. "What is Black Flame trying to do?" "Is he going for broke?" They had only come to get a glimpse of the Dark World''s strength. They had never dreamed that they''d witness a large-scale war between Zero Wing and the Otherworld. They had been unprecedentedly shocked after seeing Zero Wing''s combat power. No one had expected the Guild to have the strength to stand up to a force that included every expert from an entire Otherworld. Moreover, Zero Wing had even successfully deterred the Dark World''s experts. The Guild''s strength was unbelievable. When they recalled the relatively amicable relationship between their Extreme Light Shelter and Shelter One, they breathed a sigh of relief. If Zero Wing wanted to, its Knight Division alone was more than capable of flattening the entire Dark Den. On the other hand, Zero Wing''s current opponents were bona fide Tier 3 NPCs and Tier 4 Mythic monsters. With such a large difference between the two sides'' combat power and numbers, retreating to Stone Forest City was the wisest move Zero Wing could make. Every one of those Tier 3 Knights was apart of Zero Wing''s foundations, and if they were slain, Zero Wing would be crippled. Zero Wing had already proven its strength. Once news of this battle spread, the various superpowers that wanted to capture Stone Forest City would back down. The Dark World''s players and powers wouldn''t underestimate Zero Wing again. In fact, they might even avoid offending the Guild''s members in Cold Spring Forest. While Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa were fraught with confusion, something suddenly changed above the valley. A phantom world gradually descended, growing as it grew closer to the valley floor. In less than three seconds, not only had the phantom world grown large enough to cover the battlefield, but it also enveloped the spectating players, including Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa, in the distance. The instant they felt the phantom world''s power, both Graceful Moon and Purple Rakshasa felt out of tune with the world around them. It felt like they had become enemies with their surroundings. Not only had their physiques started to weaken, but they also lost a significant portion of their Basic Attributes. The phantom world''s power also seemed to affect the Tier 3 Personal Guards and Tier 4 summoned creatures. They had slowed considerably, and their auras even seemed significantly weaker. "What did he do?" Blue Rainbow gaped, shocked when she realized how much the Tier 3 NPCs and Tier 4 monsters had been suppressed. She had experienced Domains'' effects before, which tended to be much weaker than magic barriers. The stronger the target was, the less the Domain would suppress it, yet Shi Feng''s domain had destroyed everything she thought she knew about the mechanic. Normally, not even Intermediate Magic Arrays could suppress Tier 4 monsters to this extent, but within Shi Feng''s Domain, their auras had weakened considerably. This Domain could practically rival Advanced Magic Barriers, and it was so massive that it covered the entire valley. She had never heard of such a powerful Domain. Before anyone could react, however, Shi Feng began another incantation. "Ring of Brilliance!" When he finished his chant, a light rippled across the battlefield, stunning every Dark Player in the area. "Crap! This is cheating!" Magic Flash cursed aloud, glaring at Zero Wing''s Knight Division. The intensity of those Knights'' auras had skyrocketed, and the combined energy made them feel as if they were truly a legion of Tier 4 monsters. The Knights'' mental states had also visibly improved. They looked nothing like they had a few moments ago. The sudden development caused an uproar among the various Guilds and adventurer teams'' upper echelons, who commanded the Tier 3 Personal Guards and Tier 4 summoned creatures, and they halted their advance, exchanging looks. A deathly silence had fallen over the Dark World''s invading army, and the passion and killing intent they had radiated was nowhere to be seen. "Do you wish to continue this fight?" Shi Feng calmly asked after sweeping his gaze over the Dark Players before him. This time, not one Dark Player dared to speak up. They simply stared back with angry, reluctant looks. Fight? More like suicide! Determined, they had revealed every trump card they had previously hidden, and yet, thanks to the Ring of Gospel''s two Skills, they hadn''t even shortened the gap between their strength and Zero Wing''s. Rather, it had only grown... Since no one responded to his question, Shi Feng turned to Dawn Dominance, who still succumbed to his shock. "Guild Leader Dawn, since you can speak on behalf of the Dark World, may I know if you wish to continue this battle?" Shi Feng asked, smiling at the robust man. Dawn Dominance''s countenance turned ashen when he heard the question, and he was at a complete loss for words. If he chose to fight, he''d be sacrificing himself and his Guild to oblivion. He had dispatched every Tier 3 Personal Guard World Domination owned for the sake of driving the other Guilds and adventurer teams into action. If just one of those NPCs died, his Guild would suffer a huge blow. If they all died, World Domination wouldn''t survive. However, nothing would remain of World Domination''s hard-won prestige in the Dark World if he admitted defeat... 2567 Suppressing an Army of Millions Chapter 2567 - Suppressing an Army of Millions Upon hearing the question Shi Feng directed at Dawn Dominance, silence fell over the battlefield as the various powers'' upper echelons turned to look at World Domination''s Guild Leader, who served as the Dark World''s representative. Zero Wing''s strength had far exceeded their expectations. The Guild possessed not only an incredibly strong Knight Division but also a Domain treasure capable of significantly suppressing even Tier 4 creatures. The combination of the two cards meant no power could threaten Zero Wing''s Knight Legion at this stage of the game. For a time, silence reigned over the Dark World''s army of several millions because of Shi Feng''s words. This situation stupefied Magic Flash and the others, who were spectating the battle from afar. Arrogance? Ignorance? When Magic Flash and the others thought back to the opinions they had of Shi Feng, they realized how ridiculous those were. At the same time, they celebrated inwardly. This was because they finally saw for themselves what a true monster was today. Previously, in their opinion, single-handedly going up against thousands of enemies simultaneously could already be considered a legendary feat. In fact, 99% of the people who claimed to be capable of such a feat were undoubtedly spouting nonsense. As expert players, Magic Flash and his companions knew just how difficult it was to go up against thousands of enemies simultaneously, especially in a large-scale Guild War. The enemy side would definitely have numerous expert players amidst their forces. Trying to fight against thousands in such a situation ramped up the difficulty. Now, however, not only did this legendary feat happen right before their very eyes, but the scale of this feat had even been magnified by one thousand! Shi Feng had single-handedly suppressed an army of millions! Due to just this one scene, they could say with certainty that the name of Black Flame would shake the entire Dark World in the future. "Is he really human?" Purple Rakshasa''s heart pounded rapidly as she took in the army of millions remaining motionless before Shi Feng. At this moment, she earnestly doubted Shi Feng was human. He had intimidated several million expert players and several thousand Tier 3 NPCs! Although Shi Feng''s previous performance at the Extreme Light Shelter had already been plenty shocking, that feat was nothing compared to this. Even standing a great distance away, she had still shuddered upon sighting the army of millions. Shi Feng, however, had single-handedly silenced these several million experts. The power and influence he wielded were simply inhuman. "It seems Shelter One no longer has to worry about its development from now on," Graceful Monarch said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she gazed at Blue Frost, one of her rivals in the Dark Den. Originally, Graceful Monarch thought that, with Crimson Emperor''s help, the Extreme Light Shelter could surpass Shelter One in the Dark Den. In light of the turn of events, however, that was categorically impossible. Zero Wing was a Guild capable of suppressing an entire world''s players to the point where they didn''t even dare to breathe. Once news of this feat reached the Dark Den, the experts that revered strength would definitely do everything they could to join Shelter One and Zero Wing. Moreover, Shi Feng had previously displayed extraordinary individual strength in the Dark Den. With these two factors combined, Shelter One would surely become a sacred land for Dark Den''s experts. After the silence on the battlefield persisted for some time, Dawn Dominance walked up to Shi Feng with an incomparably gloomy expression; the pride and fighting spirit he had before were nowhere to be seen now. "Guild Leader Black Flame, this move of yours is indeed amazing. I''m afraid nobody ever thought that Zero Wing might actually possess so much hidden strength," Dawn Dominance said after taking a deep breath. "However, it is wise not to bum one''s bridges. I admit that the Domain Skills you used are very powerful. However, these Domain Skills will only remain active so long as their user is alive. Once the user dies, the effects of the Domain Skills will disappear. The Dark World''s army might not be a match for your army, but we have plenty of people. We have more than enough manpower to spare to kill you, the user of the Domain Skills. "Of course, I also have to admit that we will suffer plenty of losses before we succeed. However, the final outcome is similarly one that you will not wish to see, Guild Leader Black Flame. Instead of suffering mutual destruction, why don''t we each take a step back? "Our request is very simple. So long as Zero Wing stops having designs on the Teleportation Gate, everything else is negotiable." Upon hearing Dawn Dominance''s suggestion, realization immediately dawned upon the Dark Players present. "Guild Leader Dawn really is the best. How could we have forgotten such a thing?" Due to the immense shock they felt before, one simple thing actually slipped their minds. In God''s Domain, magic arrays and Domain Skills required a user to sustain them. Domain tools were no exception. If they killed the player using the tool, then the tool would naturally lose effect. Meanwhile, once the dark army no longer suffered under the effects of Miniature World taking care of Zero Wing would be a piece of cake. However, Dawn Dominance was also correct in that they would have to pay a huge price to annihilate Zero Wing if they continued fighting, and this was not something they wished to see. The best solution now was for both sides to each take a step back. "What if I refuse?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. At Shi Feng''s words, silence filled the battlefield once more. "Lunatic! He''s definitely a lunatic!" "The Dark World has already taken a step back, yet he''s still insisting on controlling the Teleportation Gate?! Is he really not afraid of losing everything?!" The spectating experts of the various superpowers found Shi Feng''s intransigence insane. Previously, the Dark World''s offer to give up on participating in the superpowers'' fight for Stone Forest City was already plenty shocking. Now, the Dark World was even willing to take another step back and provide Zero Wing with other benefits in exchange for Zero Wing giving up its designs on the Teleportation Gate. In the eyes of the main continent''s various superpowers, this was an unbelievable opportunitysomething any power would wish to obtainyet Shi Feng had still rejected it without hesitation. They had no doubt that this was the Dark World''s bottom line. There would be no more concessions after this. If Shi Feng continued insisting on taking control of the Teleportation Gate, then Zero Wing really would enter an irreconcilable feud with the Dark World. "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you really intend to drag Zero Wing into a fight to the death?" Dawn Dominance demanded as he tried to suppress the anger in his heart as much as possible. "You''ll regret it if that happens!" Zero Wing''s strength thoroughly exceeded Dawn Dominance''s expectations. If both sides continued fighting, the only outcome would be mutual destructionan outcome he was not willing to see. After all, World Domination still needed to develop on the main continent. Without sufficient strength, its efforts would be futile. However, he never imagined that Shi Feng would actually be so stubborn as to refuse to take a step back even when given an excellent opportunity to do so. "Guild Leader Dawn, there''s no need to continue showing Black Flame any respect! Since he doesn''t know how to appreciate goodwill, I say that we just teach him a lesson! At worst, we''ll have a slower time developing on the main continent!" "That''s right! Since he doesn''t want the goodwill we''re showing him, let''s just annihilate Zero Wing and be done with this! Let''s see what he can do then!" The Dark Players present similarly grew enraged at Shi Feng''s response. They had already offered a huge concession to Zero Wing, a condition that even Super Guilds wouldn''t dream of obtaining, yet Shi Feng had still chosen to reject it. This rekindled the various powers'' thoughts of annihilating Zero Wing. "A fight to the death?" Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, "Guild Leader Dawn, you''re overexaggerating things. In my eyes, it is, at most, negligible losses." "Good! Since you wish to remain stubborn, you have only yourself to blame, Guild Leader Black Flame! Brothers, no need to hold back anymore!" Dawn Dominance snarled as he glared at Shi Feng in anger. Negligible losses? Such arrogance! Shi Feng was simply too arrogant! However, just as the Dark World''s army was about to advance once more, Shi Feng made his move. Unsheathing Killing Ray, Shi Feng executed a forward slash. Lightning Slash! A blue lightning bolt promptly streaked through the area before Shi Feng. A bystander would also see a pitch-black spatial tear following closely behind the lightning bolt. Without Dawn Dominance noticing, both the lightning bolt and spatial tear brushed past his body. When the lightning bolt disappeared, the dozen or so Tier 3 experts in its path instantly lost all their HPs. An eighteen- meter-tall, Level 115 Mythic monster standing a short distance behind Dawn Dominance was also sent flying and crashing into a bunch of Dark Players. For a time, deathly silence filled the battlefield. 2568 Dark World Defeated, Zero Wing Flourishes Chapter 2568 - Dark World Defeated, Zero Wing Flourishes After a short period of stunned silence, a gabble of confusion erupted as everyone present stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. "What happened?" "How did he send a Tier 4 summoned creature flying?" "What did he do?" Everyone present had seen Shi Feng''s actions very clearly. In fact, they even felt that Shi Feng had moved very slowly. However, nobody could wrap their heads around what had actually happened. All they had seen was Shi Feng executing a forward slash at the empty space before him and releasing a streak of blue light from his sword. And by the time they snapped out of their daze, the Tier 4 summoned creature that stood over 60 yards away from the Swordsman was already in the air. "He sent a Level 115, Tier 4 summoned creature flying with a single hit?" Blue Rainbow wore a somber and confused look on her face as she gazed at Shi Feng. "Just how high are his Basic Attributes?" From previous investigations, she knew that Shi Feng possessed ridiculously high Basic Attributes. Even Rebellious Thunder, who was a Demon Count and wielded the Magic Weapon Cruel Darkness, had only a slight edge on Shi Feng in this regard. Moreover, that was when Shi Feng was in his normal state. In other words, even back then, Shi Feng''s Strength Attribute should already rival that of Mythic monsters of the same level. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually sent a Level 115 Mythic monster flying with his attack. Something was wrong with this situation. After all, blocking an attack from a Mythic monster and sending a Mythic monster flying were two entirely different concepts! Unless there was an enormous gap in Strength, it was impossible for one to send their opponents flying, yet not only did Shi Feng send a Mythic monster flying, but it was even a Level 115 Mythic monster. The current Strength he displayed was starkly different from what the reports mentioned. How is this possible?" Furious Heart, who was spectating from afar, was similarly stunned by this situation. He had personally witnessed Shi Feng''s Strength before. However, despite so little time having passed since their last meeting, Shi Feng could now actually send a Level 115 Mythic monster flying with his attacks. For a moment, Furious Heart suspected that the Main God System was playing a prank on him. With such frightening Strength, let alone Tier 3 NPCs, even Tier 4 NPCs would struggle to deal with Shi Feng. Needless to say, it would be a fool''s dream to hope that a bunch of Tier 4 Mythic monsters would defeat him. Monsters generally had very low combat standards. In a situation where the difference in Basic Attributes was negligible, they would be no different from Common monsters in front of even ordinary expert players, let alone a Domain Realm expert like Shi Feng. If all 50-plus Tier 4 summoned creatures attacked the Swordsman, they would still have an incredibly difficult time inflicting damage on him. Not to mention, Shi Feng still had a legion of Tier 3 Knights behind him. "How did he get so strong?" Hell Rush, who stood among Zero Wing''s forces, was similarly astounded as he looked at Shi Feng. Ever since Netherworld Empire had partnered with Zero Wing, Hell Rush had been following beside Shi Feng almost every day. Hence, he had a very good understanding of Shi Feng''s strength. Moreover, Shi Feng had spent much less time grinding than Hell Rush. In fact, Hell Rush had rarely ever seen Shi Feng going out to grind for levels as the man was tied down by all sorts of Guild affairs. In contrast, Hell Rush had been frantically grinding every day. And thanks to Stone Forest City''s help, not only was he close to reaching Level 110 already, but he had even replaced two pieces of his equipment thus far. He had also achieved considerable progress in unlocking his Mana Body. Personally, he deemed that the gap in combat power between himself and Shi Feng should''ve shrunk by quite a bit. However, contrary to Hell Rush''s belief, not only had the gap in combat power not shrunk, but it had actually grown instead. As for Dawn Dominance, who originally planned to ridicule Shi Feng for his arrogance and ignorance, he was stunned by this unexpected development as well. When he saw the Tier 4 summoned creature sprawled on the ground, his mind froze momentarily. Dawn Dominance had known that Shi Feng possessed Basic Attributes rivaling those of Mythic monsters and that the man was considered a peerless monster in God''s Domain. The Swordsman definitely wasn''t an existence that ordinary experts could hope to contend witheven a group of Tier 3 peak experts wouldn''t be his match. However, what was up with the current situation? How was Shi Feng just a peerless monster? He was much stronger than even Zero Wing''s nigh-invincible Tier 3 Knights! In fact, killing several hundred of Zero Wing''s Tier 3 Knights would be much easier than killing Shi Feng! At this moment, only Shi Feng himself remained unfazed by the latest development. In God''s Domain, weapons played the biggest role in determining a player''s combat power. The Abyssal Blade''s recent promotion into a Fragmented Legendary Weapon had boosted Shi Feng''s Strength beyond that of Level 115 Mythic monsters. With the Ring of Gospel''s assistance, which weakened the dark army''s Tier 4 summoned creatures and improved his own Basic Attributes by a significant margin, it was only natural that he could send a Level 115 Mythic monster flying. "Guild Leader Dawn, do you still wish to continue?" Shi Feng asked the motionless man before him. This time, Shi Feng did not speak that loudly. However, the Dark Players found his voice unusually ear-piercing and vexing. This was already Shi Feng''s second time asking them this question. It was as if he was ridiculing them for their previous mockery of him, and they could not help but wish they could charge forward and kill Shi Feng right now. Humiliation! This was absolute humiliation! Nevertheless, despite feeling greatly humiliated, none of the Dark Players present dared to speak up. Instead, they all stared at Dawn Dominance in silence. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng repeated his question, an indescribably gloomy expression appeared on Dawn Dominance''s face. "Black Flame!" Dawn Dominance gnashed his teeth as he glared at Shi Feng. However, aside from calling out Shi Feng''s name, he couldn''t think of anything else to say. In this situation, the upper echelons of the Dark World''s various powers sympathized with Dawn Dominance despite themselves. Previously, Dawn Dominance''s bid to increase World Domination''s influence in the Dark World through this war had exasperated the various powers present. This was especially true for Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. Currently, however, both Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold only felt pity for Dawn Dominance. After all, Shi Feng was truly too vicious! By deliberately repeating his question, not only did Shi Feng thoroughly humiliate Dawn Dominance, but Dawn Dominance also had no choice but to stomach this humiliation in silence. "Guild Leader Dawn, if you wish to continue fighting, I won''t object. Only, the outcome will not be within my control," Shi Feng said and shrugged as he looked at Dawn Dominance''s enraged expression, indicating that he had no qualms whatsoever. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, the upper echelons of the Dark World''s various Guilds and adventurer teams immediately grew nervous, and they all sent meaningful looks at Dawn Dominance. The Zero Wing members and various superpowers'' spectating experts present gaped in shock at this sight. The Dark World that had once stricken fear into the main continent''s various superpowers was now timorous after a few words from Shi Feng. If they were to retell today''s tale, nobody would believe them. However, it had happened right before their very eyes. Of course, the various superpowers'' experts could sympathize with the Dark World''s players. The current battle involved the foundations of both sides. If the dark army perished, then the Dark World''s various powers would lose all the fruits of their efforts, with nothing to show for it. This definitely wasn''t an outcome they could accept. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I admit that you are very powerful! The Dark World will give up on this Teleportation Gate! However, don''t think you can feel pleased for long! You won''t be able to defend this Teleportation Gate forever!" Dawn Dominance said after taking in a deep breath. As soon as Dawn Dominance finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to the Teleportation Gate. He had no intention of staying in Cold Spring Forest for even a moment longer. Upon seeing this, the members of the Dark World''s powers promptly withdrew to the Dark World as well. None of them chose to remain in Cold Spring Forest. Only a few independent players decided to stay behind and take a look at the situation. "Zero Wing won, just like that?" Purple Rakshasa was stunned when she saw the Dark World''s various powers retreating. For a moment, she felt as if she was dreaming. Against an entire world''s experts, Zero Wing had actually emerged victorious! 2569 Gathering for Nothing? Chapter 2569 - Gathering for Nothing? Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City: As news of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate''s opening had already spread across the entire Cold Spring Forest, the tension in Stone Forest City had increased, and many of the city''s resident players had decided to leave and develop somewhere else. This development left the once bustling city quiet. Stone Forest City''s previously crowded main street now had less than half the players it originally did. Moreover, it was only because of the newly established Freedom Hotel that this many players chose to remain in the city. However, the majority of these players were actually experts belonging to the various major powers. Very few were independent players. At this time, a group of cloaked players entered the Freedom Hotel''s first-floor lobby, the appearance of these players triggering loud discussions among the other players there. The reason for the strong reaction was the Secret Pavilion''s experts guiding this group of nearly 100 cloaked players. Standing at the head of the Secret Pavilion''s experts were the well-known Yuan Tiexin and a male Half-elf who looked to be in his forties. "Amazing! Who are those people? They''re actually being guided by an Elder of the Secret Pavilion!" "Those people must be bigshots of superpowers. I recall that the Secret Pavilion is a shareholder of Stone Forest City. Now that the Dark World''s players have entered Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City faces a very bleak future. Those cloaked people might be reinforcements the Secret Pavilion recruited." "Reinforcements? What''s the point of calling in reinforcements? That''s an entire world we''re talking about. That''s not something any individual superpower can go up against. Even multiple superpowers working together won''t be able to stop the Dark World''s invasion." The various major powers'' experts in the lobby were eaten up with curiosity as they discussed the identities of the cloaked experts. Nowadays, Stone Forest City was already a holy land for players who wanted to develop themselves. After all, the city boasted not only an incredibly high Mana density but also the Freedom Hotel, which greatly amplified the rate at which players accumulated the Double EXP buff. It was even rumored that the Freedom Hotel''s top-floor rooms could accelerate the removal of foreign energy from one''s body and increase the efficiency of one''s training in combat techniques. In the current era, where combat techniques had become more commonly available in God''s Domain, the Freedom Hotel''s functions held a fatal temptation to expert players. If a power could develop their expert players using the Freedom Hotel''s functions over long periods, the development speed of said power would reach unimaginable heights. Since the Secret Pavilion was one of Stone Forest City''s shareholders, the Guild naturally wouldn''t give up on the city without a fight. Only, now that the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate was open, the various major powers'' experts found it inconceivable that any power could stop the Dark World''s players. "Please wait a moment. I''ll go rent an advanced reception room," Yuan Tiexin said to the cloaked players behind him. He went up to the front desk and presented a gold card to the receptionist there. And upon seeing the card, the various major powers'' upper echelons were green with envy. The Freedom Hotel''s Gold Membership Card! Due to the Freedom Hotel''s amazing functions, the various major powers all sought membership in the Freedom Hotel, the higher, the better. However, doing so was incredibly difficult. Even now, those major powers had managed to gain only a Bronze Membership. If they wished to elevate their membership status to Silver, they would need to accumulate a large number of Contribution Points in the Freedom Hotel, which could be acquired only by selling rare materials and doing quests. Moreover, each player could sell only a limited amount of materials per day. Meanwhile, a Gold Membership allowed players to rent the rooms on the Freedom Hotel''s top floor. While Yuan Tiexin was handling the rental procedures, the cloaked players standing behind him studied the Freedom Hotel''s interior. "So, this is Zero Wing''s Freedom Hotel? This place really is amazing!" said a cloaked, male youth radiating dense darkness energy. He sighed ruefully when he sensed the density of the Mana inside the hotel and the Mana''s effects. "It''s no wonder Zero Wing dared to offend our Guild before." "So what if Zero Wing dared to offend us? In the end, Zero Wing still lost to Vice Guild Leader Light," a Level 109 Elementalist standing beside the male youth and similarly radiating darkness energy said disdainfully. This time, the Secret Pavilion had not only taken the initiative to invite the various superpowers that Demon''s Heart had secretly partnered up with but also extended an invitation to Demon''s Heart. One could easily imagine the direness of Zero Wing''s current situation. Unfortunately, even if the Secret Pavilion stepped forward this time, it couldn''t do much to change the outcome of this war, as the various superpowers present were hell-bent on obtaining Stone Forest City. As the two experts from Demon''s Heart quietly conversed with each other, Illusory Words, who similarly stood among the cloaked players, wore a frown on her face. "Illusory, it seems the chances of Zero Wing surviving are slim. So many superpowers have actually gathered to obtain Stone Forest City. I doubt even the Secret Pavilion expected such a development," the fierce man standing beside Illusory Words said, sighing. The Secret Pavilion had invited all the superpowers targeting Stone Forest City to the negotiations. Crimson Emperor had estimated that six or seven superpowers, at most, had their eye on Stone Forest City. However, the actual number turned out to be more than ten. Even Battle Wolves, which had an irreconcilable feud with Demon''s Heart, had decided to join in the fray. If these superpowers banded together, they would have a minimum of 4,000 Tier 3 experts with very high combat standards. If they worked together with the Dark World''s forces and attacked Stone Forest City from both the inside and outside, Stone Forest City wouldn''t stand a chance. Of course, the fierce man could also understand why the various superpowers were willing to go to such lengths to obtain Stone Forest City. After all, the advantages the city brought were simply amazing. This was especially true for the Freedom Hotel. No superpower would pass up the Freedom Hotel''s benefits. Moreover, Zero Wing had even taken the initiative to meet the Dark World''s army at the Teleportation Gate. That was simply suicide. Now, even if all of the Five Great Super Guilds banded together, they still wouldn''t be able to save Zero Wing. At this moment, let alone Illusory Words and the fierce man from Crimson Emperor, even Yuan Tiexin, who had invited the various superpowers secretly targeting Stone Forest City, was surprised by this situation. He never thought that there would be more than ten superpowers targeting Stone Forest City this time. Aside from Demon''s Heart and Starlink, which bore deep hatred for Zero Wing, the superpowers included the Ten Saints Empire''s Demon Palace, the Shadow World''s Shadowless Empire, and the Super Guilds Battle Wolves and Pantheon. Not to mention, Mythology, one of the Five Great Super Guilds, which wasn''t present among the superpowers he invited, was sure to be taking action in secret against Stone Forest City as well. If all these superpowers worked together, they could shake the entire eastern continent, what more a measly Stone Forest City. For a moment, Yuan Tiexin could not help but doubt if the negotiations this time would truly yield any results. Hahaha! Zero Wing is doomed now! Troubled Times, who had come with Flaming Light, could not help but grow ecstatic as he took in the various superpowers'' representatives around him. With so many superpowers gathered here, even a Super Guild won''t be able to stop the upcoming assault! Previously, when Shi Feng had publicly executed Troubled Times in Demon City, not only did Troubled Times''s strength diminish greatly, but his reputation in the Dark Den had also fallen into ruin. Originally, Troubled Times thought that he wouldn''t have an opportunity to get revenge on Zero Wing. However, his chance had come so quickly. "Everyone, the reception room is ready. Please follow me," Yuan Tiexin said to the cloaked group behind him. However, just as Yuan Tiexin was about to lead the group to the Freedom Hotel''s top-floor reception room, a figure suddenly appeared before him. The other players present in the lobby gaped in shock at the development. The players the Secret Pavilion invited might be hiding their identities, but they had not done anything to conceal their aurasand their auras made it clear that every one of these people was a peak expert or above. Anyone that dared to stand in their path had to be tired of living. However, someone actually dared to do so. Moreover, this person was a woman wearing Zero Wing''s Emblem, and her level was only a pitiful 100. "Miss Melancholic, do you have business with us?" Yuan Tiexin asked in confusion. He had recognized this woman immediately. This woman was none other than Melancholic Smile, the manager of Zero Wing''s Candlelight Trading Firm as well as one of the Freedom Hotel''s managers. Yuan Tiexin had not intentionally tried to conceal the fact that he had invited the various superpowers for negotiations. And in his opinion, Zero Wing should have no reason whatsoever to stop him from doing so. After all, the Secret Pavilion was one of Stone Forest City''s shareholders, and negotiating with the various superpowers could reduce the number of enemies Zero Wing would have to face. Now, however, Melancholic Smile had suddenly appeared before their group. "It''s nothing important," Melancholic Smile said, shaking her head. "I''m just following the Guild Leader''s instructions to relay a message to these people." "Relay a message? Is he taking the initiative to hand over Stone Forest City''s shares now that he knows he can''t win?" Troubled Times asked, laughing in ridicule. Upon hearing Troubled Times'' words, the various superpowers'' experts present also started laughing. With things having reached this point already, wasn''t it a little too late for regrets? "Our Guild Leader has stated that if you wish to develop in Stone Forest City with peace in mind, then Zero Wing will welcome you with open arms. However, if you wish to meddle in Stone Forest City''s affairs, you''d best return to wherever you came from instead of asking for trouble!" Melancholic Smile declared calmly as she swept her gaze across the players before her. 2570 On the Verge of War, Crazy Zero Wing Chapter 2570 - On the Verge of War, Crazy Zero Wing At first, the players in the lobby had paid close attention to the mysterious group Yuan Tiexin had invited, and Melancholic Smile hadn''t tried to keep her voice down. Hence, after her declaration, silence had fallen in the hotel lobby as everyone stared at her in astonishment. "What''s going on?" "Those people must be bigshots from the various superpowers, yet she dares to speak to them like that?" "Amazing! Truly amazing! Even now, Zero Wing still behaves so haughtily! Since the day I joined God''s Domain, I''ve never seen such a suicidal Guild!" None of these players were fools, and even though they hid themselves under Black Cloaks, the individuals Yuan Teixin had invited were clearly from the various superpowers. Moreover, they should be the superpowers'' top-ranked experts based on their auras. Now that the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate was active, it would only be a matter of time before Dark Players flooded into Cold Spring Forest. The entire Level 100 neutral map was in danger, as was Stone Forest City. Yet, even in such a dire predicament, Zero Wing continued to maintain its arrogance before the various superpowers. This was just insane! "Miss Melancholic, what are you..." Yuan Tiexin was flabbergasted. He couldn''t believe what was happening! If he hadn''t been certain that Melancholic Smile wasn''t some spy and an actual core member in Zero Wing, who had worked her way up the ranks, he would''ve suspected otherwise. Her announcement was practically a dare to the various superpowers and would undoubtedly lead to Zero Wing''s elimination from Cold Spring Forest. "What are Zero Wing''s intentions, Old Yuan?" Scorching Shine asked from beside Yuan Teixin with a frosty look. He had already surmised that the chances of their plan succeeding were very low. Stone Forest City''s Freedom Hotel was too tempting to give up, after all. However, it was also the reason that the Secret Pavilion didn''t want other superpowers to stick their fingers in the city. Unfortunately, Melancholic Smile''s statement had as good as ruined their plan. No one would be surprised if the various superpowers shed all pretenses with Zero Wing immediately, let alone negotiate. For a moment, Yuan Tiexin was speechless. Cold Spring Forest was a lost cause at this point. Even the various superpowers would have a hard time developing in the area, much less Zero Wing. There was simply no way Zero Wing could retain absolute control over Stone Forest City. It''d be a miracle if the Guild even kept a portion of the city. Yuan Tiexin had worked with Shi Feng many times before, so he knew the Swordsman was open to persuasion, not coercion. If he insisted that Shi Feng gave away a significant portion of the city''s shares, their discussion would end on a sour note. Knowing this, he hadn''t bothered to contact Shi Feng before his negotiation with the various superpowers. He would only try to convince Shi Feng once the negotiations had reached a satisfying conclusion. With things as they were now, Zero Wing would have to sacrifice some of Stone Forest City''s shares if it wished to survive. Maintaining full control was impossible. But Yuan Tiexin had never considered that Shi Feng would be ruthless enough to send Melancholic Smile to disrespect the various superpowers so blatantly. He had definitely gone insane this time! "Hahaha! Interesting! Zero Wing is truly fascinating! Even now, it displays such confidence! It''s no wonder why it dares to offend so many superpowers! It seems my visit to Stone Forest City wasn''t a waste!" an elderly, crimson-eyed man wearing the Shadowless Empire''s Emblem and holding a scarlet staff said, laughing. "Old Lu, do you think Zero Wing is just putting on a brave face?" Evil Qilin, who wore Demon Palace''s Emblem and carried a war axe that radiated strange energy, asked, sneering at the crimson-browed elder. "Zero Wing is digging its own grave by provoking us!" "I think you still have a grudge over losing to Black Flame, Qilin!" the crimson-eyed elder shot back, chuckling at the glare Evil Qilin directed his way. Instead of rising to the crimson-eyed elder''s teasing, Evil Qilin simply smiled as he said, "The situation on Dragonheart Island is one thing, but we''re in Cold Spring Forest. Moreover, this won''t be some small team battle in the fields. We''re talking about a conflict with an entire Otherworld. Zero Wing hasn''t tried to win us over, but has sent some nobody to spit in our faces. If that isn''t stupidity, what is?" Demon Palace''s other members nodded in agreement. Due to Zero Wing, Demon Palace''s reputation on Dragonheart Island had suffered, but this situation was completely different. More than 10 superpowers had gathered in Stone Forest City. Even without including the Dark World''s players, there were more than enough hostile players to end Zero Wing''s reign. Instead of negotiating for peace, Zero Wing has sent someone to slap the gathered superpowers in the face. The Guild must be giving up! After a brief moment of silence, Troubled Times'' smile grew into a grin. He then walked up to Melancholic Smile without any hesitation. "Lady from Zero Wing, we''re here precisely to cause trouble. What are you going to do about it?" Troubled Times asked, raising his voice deliberately to ensure that every player in the lobby heard him. Hearing Troubled Times'' threat, an uproar shook the lobby. "What?! Are the various superpowers really going to fight Zero Wing?" "Zero Wing asked for it. We may be in Stone Forest City, but do you think the various superpowers would let such intentional disrespect slide?" "Zero Wing truly is doomed now. Now, not only does it have to deal with the Dark World''s invasion, but it will also have to face the various superpowers'' wrath. The experts that recently joined Zero Wing must deeply regret their decisions." The various major powers'' members started chatting amongst themselves as they watched the tense conversation play out. They could hardly believe Zero Wing''s behavior. None of them had expected the Guild to shed all pretenses before the various superpowers'' representatives. While everyone expected Melancholic Smile to panic, however, she smiled brightly at Troubled Times and replied, "If that''s the case, Zero Wing will have no choice but to erase you from Cold Spring Forest!" Again, the lobby fell deathly silent... Melancholic Smile''s response even stunned Troubled Times. He couldn''t understand why she was so bold. Wasn''t she supposed to grovel at his feet and beg for mercy? "It seems your instincts were wrong this time, Illusory. That girl is just as insane as her Guild Leader. She''s only pushing Zero Wing further down the path of no return..." the fierce man from Crimson Emperor said, admiring Melancholic Smile''s bravery. Every one of the various superpowers'' representatives wanted to declare war on Zero Wing that moment. They hadn''t found a good excuse to attack Stone Forest City yet, but Zero Wing had just given them the reason they had been searching for. The fierce man looked over, expecting to see Illusory Words bitter after misjudging Zero Wing, but he saw that she maintained a neutral expression, focused on a message she had just received. After a moment, she looked up and took a deep breath before informing her companion, "My instincts might have been wrong, but her statement isn''t!" 2571 Astonished Once More, Hotel in an Uproar Chapter 2571 - Astonished Once More, Hotel in an Uproar "What do you mean?" Illusory Words'' statement confused her fierce comrade from Crimson Emperor. What did she mean by her instincts had been wrong, but Melancholic Smile wasn''t? The current situation was clear for all to see, and Illusory Words had acknowledged that she had misjudged Zero Wing. How could Melancholic Smile''s statement possibly be correct? Zero Wing was struggling to survive. Chasing the various superpowers out of Cold Spring Forest from such a position was a joke. To be precise, my instincts were only partially correct," Illusory Words explained, chuckling at the fierce man''s confused look. "It''s best if you take a look for yourself. I just received this message from Graceful Monarch." "Graceful Monarch? Has something unexpected happened at the Teleportation Gate?" Curious, the fierce man opened the message Illusory Words had forwarded. Graceful Monarch and Purple Rakshasa had wanted to see the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate themselves and get a clear grasp of the invading army''s strength. Zero Wing had also dispatched quite a few players to the gate, and by allowing the two Dark Den players to spectate, they''d find out exactly what Zero Wing intended. In his opinion, Zero Wing was wasting its time in trying to negotiate with the Dark World''s various powers, especially once they''d seen the benefits Cold Spring Forest and Stone Forest City had to offer. Regardless of what the Guild tried to offer, the outcome wouldn''t change. Retaining a small fraction of the city''s shares was the best Zero Wing could hope for. It shouldn''t dream of holding more power than that. The Dark World''s invading army had more than 30,000 Tier 3 experts. No individual power would have the strength to stand up against that. While the fierce man carefully read Graceful Monarch''s message, more players had begun to gather in the Freedom Hotel. A large number of independent experts had come to hear what Melancholic Smile had to say. "Did she get the wrong message? Dropping all pretense with the various superpowers would only bring Zero Wing more harm. Stone Forest City might not even last three days at this rate, much less a week," Galaxy Past, who had just arrived in the Freedom Hotel''s lobby, gaped in shock when he heard about Melancholic Smile''s interaction with the superpowers'' representatives. Every player in the city was paying attention to the current situation Zero Wing and Cold Spring Forest Faced. Although word of the various superpowers moving against Stone Forest City had long since reached the masses, Galaxy Past still had a hard time believing that Zero Wing would take the initiative to offend the various superpowers. He, too, knew that Zero Wing would never bend to coercion, only persuasion. He also knew that the Guild was insane and acted no differently than a gambling addict. Although Zero Wing''s crazy bets had been astonishingly successful thus far, its current opponent was on a completely different level than those it had faced before. If Zero Wing moved against the various superpowers now, it would be caught in a dead-end. Zero Wing was no longer the Guild it had been. It had nearly as many resources and as much territory as the various superpowers. If the Guild could stabilize its hold in Stone Forest City and continue to develop in peace, it would only be a matter of time before it became another of God''s Domain''s superpowers. While Galaxy Past found Melancholic Smile''s actions perplexing, Demon''s Heart''s members began to laugh. Troubled Times'' laughter, in particular, rang throughout the lobby. He looked at Melancholic Smile as if she were a fool. Truthfully, not even he had expected this development. He had believed this woman would''ve tried to explain away her statement as a misunderstanding; he had never dreamed that she''d pit herself against the various superpowers directly, removing any room for negotiation. Now that Melancholic Smile had offended the various superpowers, their reputations would suffer if they didn''t respond appropriately. "Lady from Zero Wing, you certainly are bold. Would you truly kick us out of Cold Spring Forest if we choose to ignore Zero Wing''s threat? Do you assume we won''t eliminate you just because Zero Wing is the only established Guild in Cold Spring Forest?" Troubled Times asked, sneering at Melancholic Smile. With things as they were, he didn''t mind adding fuel to the fire, ensuring that any trace of Zero Wing would be removed from Cold Spring Forest. It''s still going to come down to a fight in the end? Yuan Tiexin could not help his bitter smile at Melancholic Smile''s fearlessness. Personally, Yuan Tiexin admired Zero Wing''s future and Shi Feng''s strength. Moreover, the Secret Pavilion had gained quite a bit from its partnership with this Guild. Hence, he wished to help Zero Wing in any way he could. However, it seemed his recent efforts were for naught. Just as Yuan Tiexin was about to give up and try to find another way to deal with the gathered superpowers, a voice called out from a group of cloaked players, echoing throughout the hotel lobby. "Excuse me, Miss Melancholic, but unlike the other superpowers, Battle Wolves is only here in hopes of allying with Zero Wing. I''d like to avoid a misunderstanding." Everyone in the lobby spun to look at the speaker. Several players broke away from the group and removed their Black Cloaks to reveal their true appearances. A middle- aged man led the small party. It was none other than Sirius, one of the Battle Wolves'' Four Great Wolf Kings. "Crap! Battle Wolves has come, too?" "Sure enough, those cloaked players all have powerful backgrounds, but what is Sirius trying to do? He really doesn''t plan to target Stone Forest City?" "Zero Wing is so lucky. Or maybe the Guild has a secret relationship with Battle Wolves, so they''ve decided to give up on this struggle?" Sirius''s interruption stunned the players in the lobby. No one had thought that Battle Wolves, a Super Guild, would forsake the contest for Stone Forest City. Battle Wolves, huh? Even Yuan Tiexin was slightly surprised by Sirius''s admission, yet he could understand the reason behind it. Battle Wolves and Demon''s Heart had an irreconcilable feud. Since Demon''s Heart was moving against Zero Wing, it was only natural that Battle Wolves would interfere. Stepping forward to side with Zero Wing was well within reason. On the other hand, Troubled Times and his Demon''s Heart companions were particularly surprised to hear Sirius''s Declaration. ''The enemy of my enemy is my friend,'' after all. As Troubled Times and the others assumed the minor interlude had concluded, another player spoke up from among the crowd. "Greetings, Miss Melancholic. Crimson Emperor is here to negotiate with Zero Wing, as well. That is our only intention. Those who have spoken out against your Guild only represent certain powers. They have no bearing on Crimson Emperor''s will," Illusory Words announced as she stepped forward. For a moment, everyone in the lobby fell silent. "What''s going on? Crimson Emperor stands by Zero Wing''s side, too?" Not only had Battle Wolves declared its intentions to ally with Zero Wing, but Crimson Emperor had, as well. Everyone''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Has Crimson Emperor gone mad?" Troubled Times stared at Illusory Words and her entourage in confusion. While he could understand Battle Wolves'' decision, he couldn''t even fathom what drove Crimson Emperor. Crimson Emperor was neither a friend of Zero Wing''s nor Demon''s Heart''s enemy, yet it was showing strong support for the former. The situation was baffling. Of course, while the two Guilds allying themselves with Zero Wing was unexpected, it wouldn''t affect the overall situation. Before anyone could overcome their surprise, however, several more players spoke up from among the cloaked group. "Shadowless Empire also wishes to form a partnership. We have only come here with this group due to Old Yuan''s invitation. Young lady from Zero Wing, please, do not misinterpret our intentions," the crimson-eyed elder from Shadowless Empire declared, stepping away from the group. You really are a sleaze, Old Lu. You make it sound as if Demon Palace has some other reason for being here," Evil Qilin said, similarly removing himself from the group as he rolled his eyes at the crimson-eyed elder. After the representatives from Shadowless Empire and Demon Palace declared their desire for peace, the other representatives, aside from those from Demon''s Heart and Starlink, did the same, insisting to Melancholic Smile that they were only there to seek an alliance with her Guild, nothing else. The various major powers'' members and independent players in the Freedom Hotel''s lobby were dumbfounded as they watched the scene play out. "What''s going on?" "What has Zero Wing done?" Even Yuan Tiexin and Troubled Times watched with their jaws hanging open. They had no idea what was happening, either. 2572 Stone Forest City Shaken, Darkness Disappears Chapter 2572 - Stone Forest City Shaken, Darkness Disappears The situation even confused Melancholic Smile, to say nothing of Yuan Tiexin and Troubled Times. Only a moment ago, these superpowers'' representatives had been silent, but based on their imposing auras, they had harbored no intentions of allying with Zero Wing. Now, they now displayed a completely different attitude... Before Troubled Times could say anything to these representatives, a hand shot out and stopped him. His mouth clicked shut as he glanced at Flaming Light in confusion. "We''re leaving!" Flaming Light snapped after one last glance at Melancholic Smile. He turned and left the Freedom Hotel without another word. He made no attempts to win back the various superpowers. "Are we just going to let Zero Wing off the hook, Vice Guild Leader?" Troubled Times whispered to Flaming Light. They had gone to great lengths to gather so many superpowers. Combined with the Dark World''s forces, Stone Forest City, even at Intermediate rank, was a fish on the cutting board. Most of the superpowers they had gathered may have abandoned the plan to attack Stone Forest City, but they could still cause enough trouble to cost Zero Wing a fortune and accelerate the city''s downfall with Starlink, Demon''s Heart, and the adventurer teams Mythology controlled, even if they couldn''t deal a severe blow. "Fool! Do you think those superpowers would suddenly change their minds without a reason?!" Flaming Light growled as he glared at Troubled Times. "Have they unearthed some sort of unexpected information?" Troubled Times wondered, realization dawning on him. "Those superpowers are all sly foxes. No ordinary news could make them change sides so drastically. Something big must''ve happened with the Dark World," Flaming Light hissed. "Something''s happened to the Dark World? How is that possible?" Troubled Times could not help his skepticism. The Dark World was home to powerful lunatics, where the strong preyed upon the weak. If the Dark World''s players wanted to enter Cold Spring Forest, there was no power strong enough to stop them, not even Flaming Light, who was responsible for opening the Teleportation Gate. "I''m not sure yet. I could be overthinking things," Flaming Light said, shaking his head. In reality, he found the deduction hard to believe. "We need to send someone to investigate immediately." "I''ll contact Elder Heart right away!" Troubled Times said, nodding. Even after Flaming Light and his entourage left the Freedom Hotel, the lobby was still silent as the various major powers'' members and independent players remained speechless. Everything had changed too suddenly. A second ago, the various superpowers had been ready to draw their weapons and declare war on Zero Wing, but in the next moment, they voiced their intentions to ally with the Guild... The crowd even wondered if those cloaked players were truly upper echelons from the various superpowers or not! "What''s going on here, Old Yuan? Why are these superpowers behaving like this?" Scorching Shine asked, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer. "This..." At this moment, Yuan Tiexin was just as confused. He, too, wished to know what had just changed. Yuan Tiexin struggled to find an answer for Scorched Shine''s question when he noticed that he had received a message from Purple Jade some time ago. Could Zero Wing have done something? Realization dawned on Yuan Tiexin when he saw the message. When he had heard that Zero Wing had rashly sent a force to the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate, he had sent Purple Jade to investigate the situation. Since she had messaged him, he found it likely that Zero Wing had done something at the gate, which had, in turn, caused this unexpected development. The other superpowers'' representatives must also have received news, which had changed their minds. Even if Zero Wing has done something, this outcome shouldn''t be possible! Yuan Tiexin felt that something was amiss, and he immediately opened Purple Jade''s message. By the time he finished reading her report, he was astounded. "Old Yuan, what''s happened? Did you get disconnected?" Scorching Shine asked when he saw his old comrade''s slack expression. Not even Scorching Shine''s question shook Yuan Tiexin from his daze. He only opened his mouth after some time and stuttered, "T-They won! Zero Wing actually...won!" "Zero Wing won? What did it win?" Scorching Shine prodded. "Zero Wing won the Dark World!" After taking in a deep breath, Yuan Tiexin clearly explained, "Zero Wing just won the Dark World at the Teleportation Gate." "Won the Dark World?" Yuan Tiexin''s abnormal behavior baffled Scorching Shine. The man was, after all, utterly incoherent. Did he have Alzheimer''s? For a moment, Scorching Shine thought it might be time to suggest to his Guild Leader that Yuan Tiexin take a vacation. "Brother Shine, I apologize. I got too excited," Yuan Tiexin apologized when he realized that Scorching Shine was looking at him like a mental patient. Chuckling, he explained, "A few minutes ago, Zero Wing led a legion of Tier 3 NPCs and repelled the Dark World''s invading army. Dawn Dominance, World Domination''s Guild Leader and the Dark World''s representative, has publicly announced their retreat. Zero Wing has taken full control of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate!" "Zero Wing has defeated the Dark World''s invading army? Are you toying with me, Old Yuan?" Scorching Shine questioned, giving Yuan Tiexin a disdainful look. Since Yuan Tiexin hadn''t controlled his voice, everyone in the lobby had heard him clearly. A commotion erupted, and the various major powers'' experts and independent players stated at Yuan Tiexin as if he were a blubbering fool. No individual power in God''s Domain was capable of standing against the Dark World''s invading army. Although Zero Wing had a large number of Tier 3 NPCs under its command, that only amounted to 600. Trying to stop more than 30,000 Tier 3 players with a measly 600 Tier 3 NPCs was a joke. Even if they included every Tier 3 player in Zero Wing, the Guild should have no hope of stopping the Dark World''s invading army. Furthermore, the various powers that called the Dark World home had extraordinary powers. If they all revealed just one of their many trump cards, they could easily annihilate every player in Cold Spring Forest ten times over. With such strength, how could Zero Wing possibly defeat this invading army? "I knew you wouldn''t believe me. Here, take a look. This is the battle video Jade recorded," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head helplessly. Yuan Tiexin found the situation just as unbelievable, but with the facts before him, he had no choice but to recognize it as truth. Scorching Shine then watched the video Yuan Tiexin sent him. Silence! Shock! "This... How is this possible?!" Scorching Shine couldn''t believe his eyes! They were talking about several million expert players! He also saw several dozen Tier 4 summoned creatures and several thousand Tier 3 Personal Guards! Yet, even with such power, the Dark World''s invading army had suffered defeat... Shortly after the video ended, a group of players entered the Freedom Hotel''s lobby in a hurry, clearly excited. "Big news, everyone! Great news! Zero Wing''s just repelled the Dark World''s invading army and has taken control of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate!" 2573 Popular Stone Forest City Chapter 2573 - Popular Stone Forest City When the group that had just burst into the Freedom Hotel excitedly announced Zero Wing''s victory of the Dark World''s invading army, the players in the lobby, who had been skeptical about Yuan Tiexin''s stunned announcement, were flabbergasted. "What?! It''s actually true!?" "How could Zero Wing have possibly won?! We''re talking about an entire world of experts!" The fact that the Secret Pavilion held some of Stone Forest City''s shares was no longer a secret. Thus, there had been a chance that Yuan Tiexin had been lying to boost Zero Wing''s reputation. The players that had just arrived, however, were a different story. Every member of the group was an independent player, and a few of them were well-known among the adventurer teams unrelated to Zero Wing in the city. Because of this, they were considered quite credible. Most importantly, they had just explained the sudden change in the various superpowers'' attitudes regarding Zero Wing. Even with many players still doubting the news, assuming it was either a lie or outrageously exaggerated, there was no doubt that the Guild in question had done something to change the superpowers'' minds. That fact alone was enough to shock everyone in the lobby only moments before they were overcome with joy. Without the various superpowers'' interference and with Stone Forest City''s defenses and terrain advantage, even the Dark World''s players would need a long time before they could capture the city. Meanwhile, resident players like themselves could safely and far faster than those based outside of Stone Forest City. "Thankfully, we weren''t too rash, but I really doubt that Zero Wing''s foundations are this formidable. Demon''s Heart''s Flaming Light must be going mad with regret right about now," the fierce man from Crimson Emperor said with a bitter smile. The main reason that the various superpowers were so afraid of Demon''s Heart was the key in Flaming Light''s possession, which allowed him to open the Dark World''s Teleportation gate in any location he desired. If not for this trump card, Demon''s Heart wouldn''t have developed so smoothly in the Ten Saints Empire. Flaming Light had intended to use this trump card to salvage Demon''s Heart''s reputation and deter the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers, but now, both his threat and plans had gone to the dogs. In fact, Flaming Light''s trump card had unexpectedly benefitted Zero Wing, increasing both the Guild''s fame and fortune! It was only a matter of time before word of the Dark World''s defeat spread across the main continent, and as it did, everyone would learn about Zero Wing. Not even the various superpowers were capable of accomplishing such a feat, yet Zero Wing had succeeded. Although the Guild had relied on a large number of Tier 3 NPCs to do so, those NPCs were considered a part of Zero Wing''s strength. In addition, with the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate under Zero Wing''s control, even ordinary players knew this victory would usher in an era of power for the Guild. No one would be surprised if it instantly became a superpower in its own right. And the one who granted Zero Wing this opportunity was none other than Demon''s Heart''s Flaming Light... "That''s right. Without the Dark World''s assistance, Demon''s Heart will have a very hard time expanding in the Ten Saints Empire," Illusory Words agreed, nodding. Demon''s Heart had gone out for wool and come home shorn. The Dark World''s Teleportation Gate should''ve triggered unprecedented change on the main continent. However, Zero Wing now controlled the gate, and the Guild had made it clear that it intended to collect a fee from every player that wanted to use the Teleportation Gate. This would significantly decrease the number of visiting Dark World players and, in turn, reduce the number of Demon''s Heart''s potential allies. Unless the Dark Guild wanted to face the Ten Saints Empire''s various superpowers, it would have to keep a low profile for a considerable amount of time. "You''ve done a great job this time, Illusory. Since the Grand Elders had nearly made such a catastrophic mistake, the Guild Leader has reclaimed a lot of authority in the Guild. The Guild Leader sent a message ago requesting that you represent Crimson Emperor in the negotiations with Zero Wing. It would also be best if you could rent a few of the Freedom Hotel''s rooms long-term. Don''t worry about the required money and materials," the fierce man congratulated his comrade. "The Guild Leader''s requests are certainly troublesome. Now that Zero Wing has defeated the Dark World, a ton of powers will try to rent a large number of the hotel rooms..." Illusory Words grumbled, offering a half-hearted smile. With Cold Spring Forest now free of the Dark World''s threat, Stone Forest City was, once again, a sacred leveling ground. It would soon become a holy city for the eastern continent''s various powers and independent players, and when it did, even entering the city would become a challenge, let alone renting one of the Freedom Hotel''s rooms... Shortly after the various superpowers'' meeting in the first-floor lobby had concluded, news of the Dark World''s defeat spread throughout the continent. As they learned of the event, many powers began to regret their decision to abandon Stone Forest City the moment things had turned south. "Crap! How is this even possible!?" "Zero Wing is so awesome. Even an entire Otherworld of players is helpless against that Guild. Who could possibly stand against it?" "Stone Forest City? It seems like a good place to develop." When the various kingdoms and empires'' powers and independent experts learned about Zero Wing''s victory, many of them considered moving their bases of operations to Stone Forest City. Aside from the fact that Stone Forest City occupied a Level 100 neutral map, the fact that the Dark World''s invading army hadn''t been able to shake Zero Wing''s foundations made the city incredibly valuable. None of the city''s residents would have to worry about suddenly losing their bases or another power taking over, which would render all of their investments useless. This concern was precisely the reason that many players developed in NPC cities, rather than in Guild Cities. Now that Zero Wing had affirmed its strength, Stone Forest City''s stability wasn''t a concern. At the very least, it would be a long while before any power could bring harm to the city. This time period would be more than enough for players to earn back what they had invested in the city. For a time, players from various kingdoms and empires swarmed toward Stone Forest City. The abrupt population boom was easily ten times larger than the initial wave of players that visited the city once it had reached Intermediate rank. Moreover, an astounding number of players had begun to apply to the Guild. Zero Wing had already received more than two million applicants among its various branches, with many of these experts capable of reaching the Trial Tower''s fifth floor and beyond. Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and Zero Wing''s other management personnel were stupefied. No matter how well they had managed Zero Wing in the past, few new experts had applied to join, yet after a single battle, everything had changed. "Guild Leader, Stone Forest City''s player population has exceeded 8 million, and I believe even more players are on their way. Should we slightly raise the city''s entrance fee?" Aqua Rose asked, still blissful after reading the latest statistics report. Their war with the Dark World had ended less than half a day ago, yet Stone Forest City''s player population had risen from less than 2 million to over 8 million. The number of players visiting the city had completely exceeded her expectations. No, let''s forget about increasing the entrance fee. We still need a large number of independent players to settle down in Stone Forest City. However, we can increase the Freedom Hotel''s prices. Don''t normal rooms cost 30 Silver per day? Raise it to 1 Gold. Bronze Members will get a 10% discount, Silver Members will get 20%, and Gold Members will get 30%," Shi Feng decided, chuckling. Nothing in this world came for free. Since the various powers wanted their experts to develop as quickly as possible, he wouldn''t be courteous. He was incredibly poor right now, after all. To arm his Knight Division, he had spent almost all of the money he had. "I understand." The pricing astonished Aqua Rose a little. Not even ordinary experts could afford a daily expense of 1 Gold. "Ah, right. Guild Leader, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society have contacted me and wish to discuss the offer you made them. They''re asking when you''ll be free to speak on the matter." 2574 Ancient Gods Tower Chapter 2574 - Ancient God''s Tower Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotel''s top-floor reception room: Blue Rainbow from Dark Rhapsody and Elder Gold from Deity Society sat on a sofa, an awkward silence between them, in a spacious, luxurious reception room. Magic Flash and Old Forest sat beside them, just as dazed. This was simply too humiliating! They had thought that their previous meeting with Shi Feng would''ve been their last, and they would never have to see each other again. They had seen Shi Feng''s hope of a stronger partnership between their Guilds as nothing more than wishful thinking. However, less than two days after that meeting, they had sought the Swordsman out again. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had transformed his brazen declaration into reality, taking control of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate and the Otherworld''s lifeline. If any of the Dark World''s powers or players wanted to continue and accelerate their development, they''d have to travel to Cold Spring Forest. However, Zero Wing''s teleportation fees were just fraudulent. The Guild actually charged one Darkness Crystal or similarly Attributed Magic Crystal per person... Attributed Magic Crystals were even rarer than ordinary Magic Crystals, and Dark Players needed Darkness Crystals for their growth. In fact, they needed a lot of them. There weren''t even enough Darkness Crystals to go around for the Dark World''s various powers and independent players, yet Zero Wing was cruel enough to charge Darkness Crystals as its teleportation fee. Worse yet, they couldn''t defeat Zero Wing... To secure its hold on the Teleportation Gate, Zero Wing had established a permanent magic barrier around it, in addition to stationing two Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, eight Combat Puppets, 600 Tier 3 Knights, and 2,000 Tier 2 Knights to guard the gate. The defenses Zero Wing had set up around the Teleportation Gate were maddening. Sending an army of 20,000 Tier 3 experts would be futile against such high security, much less sneaking through... The only option the Dark World''s powers and players had left was to hand over the required fee obediently. After Blue Rainbow and the others waited for a while, the reception room''s doors opened abruptly, and Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame, walked in. He was the monster that had single-handedly deterred the Dark World''s army of several million players. However, Shi Feng seemed like a completely different person at the moment. When he had stood before the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate, he had radiated an incredible aura that frightened everyone in his presence, but now, they couldn''t even detect the hint of an aura as if he were just an ordinary player. Similar to Blue Rainbow and the others'' first meeting with this Swordsman, he seemed harmless. Rather than contempt, however, they only looked at Shi Feng with fear in their eyes. They hadn''t paid much attention to him during their last meeting, but now that they did, they couldn''t even consider Shi Feng as human. He felt more like a plant, nearly non-existent. As Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold began to stand to greet him, Shi Feng gestured for them to remain seated, dispensing with the formalities. He then smiled and asked, "I''ve heard that you''ve conveyed my proposal to your respective Guild Leaders? How do your Guilds wish to cooperate with Zero Wing?" Magic Flash and Old Forest inwardly rolled their eyes at Shi Feng''s question. His actions had practically engraved his words on their Guild Leaders'' bones, and they''d remember them for the rest of their lives. "Guild Leader Black Flame, your proposal has delighted our Guild Leaders, and they have stated that as long as Zero Wing will waive the teleportation fees for our Guild members, we will help the Candlelight Trading Firm establish itself in the Dark World''s major NPC cities. What do you think?" Blue Rainbow asked. Although their two Guilds were reluctant to accept Shi Feng''s conditions, they had no choice with the situation weighing against them. If they declined, both of their Guilds'' positions would become more disadvantageous as time passed. "Waive the teleportation fee?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "That''s fine, but I''d like to set up a branch Shop in every NPC city in the Dark World. Of course, Zero Wing will cover the necessary expenditures. Your two Guilds only need to resolve the issue of Land." "Guild Leader Black Flame, you are asking for the impossible. The Dark World is even larger than the main continent''s ancient empires. While our Guilds are two of the top three in the Dark World, we only control a small portion of the Otherworld. We simply don''t have the manpower and resources to ensure that Candlelight can operate in every NPC city," Elder Gold said, shaking his head with an unhappy smile. Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination had a lot of influence on the surface, but the same couldn''t be said for their control on the Dark World. In the Dark World, players had partial control of the various NPC cities. As long as a power controlled one of these cities, they wouldn''t have to worry about needing funds or resources, and without these concerns, they didn''t have to worry about offending the Otherworld''s top three Guilds. To put it simply, helping Candlelight secure branches in the Dark World''s major NPC cities was a colossal challenge. Both Guilds would have to pull a lot of strings to fulfill their end of the bargain. Unfortunately, helping the trading firm set up Shops in every NPC city would be a dream. Even if World Domination cooperated, the feat wouldn''t be feasible. There is something else we need to inform you about, Guild Leader Black Flame," Blue Rainbow said. "Due to your actions at the Teleportation Gate, the Dark World''s various major powers loath Zero Wing. As a result, our Guilds are risking much by allying with your Guild. Moreover, Demon''s Heart has traveled across the Dark World, secretly persuading the various powers to join its alliance. By the looks of it, they plan to challenge the Ancient God''s Tower in the Dark World." "This Ancient God''s Tower is extraordinary, surviving since the Dark World''s creation. There are rumors that it''s connected to thousands of Otherworlds. Nobody had been able to clear the tower''s trials yet, but as players grow stronger, the various powers will be able to activate a portion of it, if not all. If that happens, the various powers will reach the main continent, even without the Teleportation Gate. Only, they will have to do so by passing through another Otherworld." Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, who stood behind Shi Feng, frowned at the news. If what the female Dark Knight said was true, wouldn''t that mean the effort they had put into capturing the Teleportation Gate would go to waste? "The Ancient God''s Tower?" Shi Feng had some recollection of this name. The Ancient God''s Tower was connected to thousands of Otherworlds. It was also one of the reasons that the Dark World was considered a special Otherworld in God''s Domain. However, since no power had taken control of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate in his past, none of the Dark World''s powers had bothered to challenge the tower''s trials. Activating the Ancient God''s Tower was insanely difficult, after all. Of course, while current players had no hope of fully activating the Ancient God''s Tower, activating some of it should be possible. "That''s right. The Dark World''s various powers have already turned their focus to the Ancient God''s Tower, and Demon''s Heart has quite a bit of resources and information relating to it. I''m afraid it won''t be long before the various powers band together to challenge the tower," Blue Rainbow said, nodding. One Darkness Crystal per person was no trivial cost. No one would pay such a high fee unless necessary. "What if I can help you secure the Ancient God''s Tower within a short time?" Shi Feng asked. 2575 Crazy Choice Chapter 2575 - Crazy Choice "You''ll help us secure the Ancient God''s Tower?" Shi Feng''s question stunned Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold. "Mhm. As long as you secure the Ancient God''s Tower before anyone else, you''ll have full control of the tower''s teleportation array for a certain time, correct?" Shi Feng said. The Ancient God''s Tower had a total of seven floors, and each housed several teleportation arrays to different Otherworlds. Some were even connected to resource-rich secret lands. The first player to conquer any of the floor''s trials would become the floor''s first Floor Master. Once a month, players could contest for the title. If Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society could conquer the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor, they would have full control of that floor for the next month, and no one could leave the Dark World through the teleportation arrays during that time. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you might not be aware, but the Ancient God''s Tower isn''t like the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. Aside from the intense suppression non-Dark Players like yourself face in the Dark World, players are prohibited from using tools within the tower. NPCs cannot enter the tower, either. Players will have to rely on their own strength and skills to clear the trials," Elder Gold said. He didn''t doubt Zero Wing''s strength, but the Ancient God''s Tower was in the Dark World, where non-Dark Players wouldn''t be able to exhibit their full strength. Including the ban on tools and NPCs, Zero Wing wouldn''t accomplish anything in the tower. If it were so easy, Demon''s Heart wouldn''t have bothered to gather the Dark World''s various powers in an attempt to conquer the tower and would''ve sought the help of the main continent''s superpowers instead. The various superpowers certainly had the strength to trample the Dark World''s various powers, normally. "That''s right. Not only do the Ancient God''s Tower''s trials have a strict time limit, but we''ll also need a minimum of 200 Tier 3 experts to clear them. Without enough players, we won''t be able to handle the hordes of monsters within, not to mention capture the tower''s cities. While our Guilds can barely gather 200 Tier 3 experts, the first floor''s trial is just as difficult as a Level 100, super-large-scale Team Dungeon. Our experts simply don''t meet the weapon, equipment, Skill, and Spell requirements," Blue Rainbow insisted, nodding. Their two Guilds had considered raiding the Ancient God''s Tower, but the feat was too difficult. No individual power in the Dark World could even clear the first floor''s trial. Unfortunately, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society no longer had the option of allying with other powers. After the Dark World''s invading army had been defeated, Demon''s Heart had exposed their Guilds'' alliance with Zero Wing, instantly isolating them from the rest of the Dark World. As a result, both Guilds were forced into deepening their relationship with Zero Wing. If they didn''t, their Guilds would be doomed once Demon''s Heart and the Dark World''s other powers conquered the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. "Relax. That won''t be a problem," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "However, I have an extra condition if we succeed." Shi Feng knew far more about the Ancient God''s Tower than any player in God''s Domain, and as such, he knew that the two Guilds had no chance of success, even if they worked together. That was only true for the current Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society, however. "Are you really that confident in our success, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Blue Rainbow asked. She knew that Zero Wing had extraordinary Tier 3 experts, but the suppression regular players faced in the Dark World was nothing to ignore. Even ordinary Domain Realm experts would, at best, exhibit Void Realm combat standards. This was why the main continent''s various superpowers had allied with the Dark World''s powers, rather than invade the Otherworld. "While I can''t guarantee our success, I''m 70% to 80% confident," Shi Feng replied. "E-Eighty percent?" Elder Gold stuttered, his eyes going wide. If Shi Feng hadn''t personally captured the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate, he would''ve assumed the Swordsman was an escaped lunatic from a mental asylum. Even without the Dark World''s suppression, the various superpowers wouldn''t be guaranteed to conquer the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. Even with its heaven-defying foundations, Zero Wing should, at best, have a 40% success rate. Seventy or eighty percent was practically ensured victory. "May I know of your conditions, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Blue Rainbow asked after calming down. Although she didn''t know whether or not Shi Feng was telling the truth, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would only benefit if his plan succeeded. They had no reason to refuse. "It''s quite simple. I want 80% of the Ancient God''s Tower''s profits. I also want the authority to manage your Guilds'' main force members. In addition, my command will take precedence over your Guild Leaders'' during times of impending danger," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. "This..." Elder Gold could not help but hesitate. If Zero Wing helped them gain control over the Ancient God''s Tower, their Guilds wouldn''t mind splitting the profits. They could even accept only 20%, but giving up control of their main force members was absurd! "Rest assured; I won''t interfere with your main forces'' daily activities. They just need to follow orders when I need them," Shi Feng said. "Of course, you can return and take the time to consider my proposal. I don''t need an answer right away." "We have no need to consider the offer, Guild Leader Black Flame; Dark Rhapsody agrees. In return, Zero Wing must allow our members to travel through the Teleportation Gate freely. Of course, Dark Rhapsody will do its best to assist in establishing the Candlelight Trading Firm in the Dark World," Blue Rainbow abruptly interjected. "Rainbow, are you insane? You''re talking about the management rights for your Guild''s main force!" Elder Gold asked as he stared at the female Dark Knight in shock. Agreeing to this condition was on par with handing Shi Feng control of a fraction of Dark Rhapsody''s backbone. Claiming that Shi Feng would act as a partial Guild Leader was no exaggeration. "I''m still sane. My Guild Leader impressed upon me the importance of cooperating with Zero Wing. Moreover, I don''t think that Guild Leader Black Flame actually fancies our two Guilds'' main forces," Blue Rainbow informed Elder Gold via a whisper. Realization immediately dawned on the older man. Zero Wing no longer lacked manpower. With every moment, a ton of experts applied to join the Guild, and Zero Wing now controlled the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. Until someone activated the Ancient God''s Tower, Zero Wing had a firm grasp on the Dark World''s lifeline. In truth, even Shi Feng was a little surprised. He hadn''t expected Blue Rainbow to agree so decisively. Any other large Guild''s upper echelon would''ve likely turned and left in a huff. "Deal! Deity Society will agree to your conditions, as well, Guild Leader Black Flame. However, Deity Society wants the same conditions as Dark Rhapsody in return," Elder Gold said, sighing. Now that the Dark World''s various powers recognized their Guilds as Zero Wing''s allies, they had no choice but to stick by Zero Wing until the very end. Moreover, an alliance with this Guild would ensure that both Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society could develop far faster than their Dark counterparts. "That won''t be a problem. Once we sign the contract, your Guilds'' members may use the Teleportation Gate to their hearts'' content," Shi Feng agreed, nodding. "What do we do once the contract has been signed?" Elder Gold asked. Demon''s Heart was already in a rush to find allies to conquer the Ancient God''s Tower. Once its team had enough Tier 3 experts, it would challenge the tower''s trials. Hence, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society were running out of time. "Simple. Send your main force members to Stone Forest City immediately. Zero Wing will take responsibility for their growth," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Everything in God''s Domain boiled down to players'' strength, including raiding Team Dungeons and the Ancient God''s Tower. As long as he could help the two Guilds'' main force members grow strong enough, raiding the tower wouldn''t be an issue. "Their growth?" Shi Feng''s demand stunned Blue Rainbow. She had never thought he''d choose such an option. "Where are we going?" "To the Level 120 Secret Land, Poison City!" Shi Feng declared. 2576 Secret Land Exploration? Chapter 2576 - Secret Land Exploration? When Shi Feng stated his intentions to travel to a Level 120 secret land, both Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold were speechless. The various superpowers hadn''t even entered Level 110,100-man Team dungeons once. In fact, barely any players had reached Level 110 yet. While secret lands weren''t Dungeons, they were even more dangerous. Even the safest secret land could rival super-large-scale, Hard Mode Team Dungeons of the same level. Not even superpowers would dare suggest exploring a Level 120 secret land. Yet, Shi Feng spoke of doing so as casually as if he were visiting the local market... For a moment, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold doubted that they played the same game Shi Feng did. "What? Is there a problem?" Shi Feng curiously asked when he saw the two representatives'' dazed expressions. "N-No, it''s nothing. Only, Guild Leader Black Flame, we''re talking about a Level 120 secret land. I''m afraid that with our current levels and equipment..." Elder Gold said worriedly. Entering a Level 120 secret land wouldn''t be a problem; even a Level 1 player could do it. The problem was whether or not they could leave the secret land alive. Unlike Dungeons, secret lands'' difficulty and number of monsters weren''t fixed, but randomized. If one were lucky, a 100-man team would be enough to survive. If not, they might need a team of 1,000 players, or even 5,000, to make it out. This was why raiding secret lands proved much harder than raiding a Team Dungeon of the same level. Normally, Guilds would mobilize a large fraction of their members to raid a secret land, but after Level 100, only Tier 3 experts had any chance of surviving. Tier 2 experts would only hold them back. In other words, Guilds couldn''t use all of their available manpower to raid Level 100-plus secret lands; they''d have to rely on a small number of Tier 3 experts. This was precisely why the various major powers and superpowers hadn''t bothered to raid Level 100-plus secret lands, even after crossing the Level 100 threshold. "Relax. As long as everyone follows my orders, we shouldnt have any major problems," Shi Feng said, chuckto During his previous life, Poison City had been famous for how incredibly dangerous it was. Even when the various superpowers had dispatched a team of several thousand Tier 3 experts, they had failed to complete the raid. The various superpowers had only conquered the secret land after their experts had reached Tier 4. However, Shi Feng had no intention of capturing Poison City. He only wanted the fragment of Solomon''s Sword that hid within. Moreover, he now had the Fragmented Legendary ranked Abyssal Blade and Ring of Gospel. The ring would be particularly helpful on this endeavor. Once he had become an Intermediate Master Magician, he found he could amplify the Ring of Gospel''s effects until it was even effective against Tier 4 monsters, which drastically increased his chances of obtaining the sword fragment. Now, he only lacked numbers. Generally, one would need at least 1,000 Tier 3 experts to raid Level 100-plus secret lands, but even with the Hell Legion''s 300 Tier 3 experts, he only had around 500 under his command. It was too risky to take such a small team into the secret land. However, if he included Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s 200-plus Tier 3 experts, he''d have a much higher chance of securing Solomon''s Sword''s fragment. Something still felt off to Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold, but since they had already signed a contract with Shi Feng, they couldn''t go back on their word for no good reason. The two representatives then contacted their Guilds, secretly gathering their Tier 3 experts. Meanwhile, Shi Feng gathered Zero Wing''s experts and the Hell Legion. In the Dark World, news of the alliance between Zero Wing, Dark Rhapsody, and Deity Society spread quickly. A commotion rose all across the Otherworld, and when the Dark World''s many independent players learned that the two Dark Guilds'' members could use the Teleportation Gate for free, many of them began to apply. "Elder Heart, World Domination followed Demon''s Heart''s instructions to spearhead the attack against Zero Wing, and yet, the Guild''s reputation is in tatters, and it has become the Dark World''s shame. To make matters worse, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society have become incredibly popular after allying with Zero Wing. If you still can''t offer anything substantial, we''ll have to consider doing the same," Dawn Dominance coldly informed Furious Heart, who sat across from him in the reception room. "Please, rest assured, Guild Leader Dawn. We are responsible for inviting World Domination into this situation, and we won''t let your Guild suffer for it. Don''t you want to take revenge against Zero Wing, Guild Leader Dawn?" Furious Heart asked. "Not only does Zero Wing possess the popular Stone Forest City, but it has also taken control of the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. It stands in the limelight on the eastern continent, but the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Many superpowers currently find Zero Wing''s popularity to be irksome." "I want something practical, not empty promises!" Dawn Dominance growled, rolling his eyes. He understood Furious Heart''s logic, but the problem was that no one could do anything to Zero Wing right now. However, the problem was that nobody was capable of doing anything against Zero Wing right now. "We have quietly received funding from quite a few superpowers. We''ve also secured a loan of weapons and equipment. If World Domination is willing to join our alliance, we''ll lend you 50 sets of Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment and 10 sets of Dark-Gold Equipment for 10 days without cost," Furious Heart calmly stated, smiling. "How about it? Even ordinary superpowers have a hard time acquiring such equipment, but World Domination can borrow it by joining our alliance. With these sets, your Guild can raid Level 100 Team Dungeons, obtaining even more top-tier weapons and equipment. In addition, once we''ve captured the Ancient God''s Tower, World Domination will receive 5% of the tower''s shares. It''s a much better offer than what Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society accepted from Zero Wing, don''t you think?" "Fifty sets of Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment and ten sets of Level 105 Dark-Gold Equipment?" The terms of Furious Heart''s deal astonished Dawn Dominance. "You can get your hands on so much top-tier equipment?" Although he knew that the outcome of the war had enraged Demon''s Heart and the outside world''s superpowers, he had never dreamed they would go to such lengths to deal with Zero Wing. With that much top-tier equipment, he could arm an incredibly powerful 100-man team. Even raiding Level 100, super-large-scale Team Dungeons and Level 110 Mythic Field Bosses would be possible, not to mention Level 100,100-man Team Dungeons. What had their goal been in heading to Cold Spring Forest? To obtain better weapons and equipment, as well as rapidly rising through the levels? If they had enough top-tier weapons and equipment, would leveling and securing more still be a problem? "Don''t concern yourself with that, Guild Leader Dawn. Just sign the contract, and we''ll hand the equipment over immediately," Furious Heart urged, chuckling. "Deal! I''ll agree to your offer!" Dawn Dominance declared. Very well. I''ll contact my Vice Guild Leader immediately. You''ll have the weapons and equipment promised within half a day," Furious Heart said, not surprised in the least by Dawn Dominance''s reaction. Only a fool would refuse such an offer. After signing the contract, Furious Heart left World Domination''s Residence and returned to Demon City. "Is everything settled?" Flaming Light raised his head and asked as Furious Heart entered his office. "It''s done. The Dark World''s various powers have agreed to join our alliance. We can raid the Ancient God''s Tower at any time," Furious Heart reported. "Good!" Flaming Light nodded, satisfied. Smiling, he continued, "Zero Wing must assume I''m helpless now that it controls the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. Unfortunately, Zero Wing is unaware that its actions have only earned more loathing and anger." Zero Wing had no background, yet it sat on a mountain of wealth and resources. One could even say that it had monopolized all of the Dark World''s resources. Naturally, the various superpowers wouldn''t let the Guild get away with it. Hence, without lifting a finger, plenty of superpowers and corporations had approached him, declaring their intentions to supply all sorts of resources in exchange for dragging Zero Wing down from its pedestal. As long as Demon''s Heart secured the Ancient God''s Tower, it would usher in dark times for Zero Wing. If Zero Wing had obediently accepted defeat, it would''ve only lost Cold Spring Forest, but now, it would lose everything. The Guild''s Knight Division was limited to Cold Spring Forest, after all. Elsewhere, Shi Feng had reached Poison City alongside Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s main force members. The moment the Dark Players set foot in the secret land, they shuddered. Black fog covered the land, and they felt as if they were walking on clouds as they stepped into it. They also felt suddenly cold and hungry, and their five senses and reaction speeds had weakened. Here, they wouldn''t be able to exhibit half of their usual combat power. However, the dark fog wasn''t the worst part. They were far more afraid of the Level 115-plus monsters that roamed the forest outside of Poison City. Even the weakest monster here was a High Lord, and many were Great Lord and Grand Lord ranked Wandering Souls. These monsters had once been members of the army that guarded Poison City before the black fog had devoured them. The closer they got to these monsters, the more the corrosive energy in the area affected them. Sure enough, there are a lot of monsters here. Shi Feng was similarly astonished when he saw the Wandering Souls nearby. Not only did the secret land house far more monsters than during his previous life, but the death energy that enveloped the area was also denser. Of course, that wasn''t enough to deter him from exploring the secret land, and he turned to Cola and the others., "Start luring monsters but not too many at once. Five or six hundred will be enough." Shi Feng''s command rendered Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members speechless. They were sure they''d be annihilated if they took on 100 monsters at a time, let alone 500. The death energy in this map was simply too powerful, and all of these monsters were Level 115 or higher. Trying to fight five or six hundred simultaneously was suicide! "Okay." However, Cola, Fire Dance, and the others remained unfazed. They immediately dashed into the forest on their own and began to attract the Wandering Soul''s aggro... 2577 Difference of Level 120, Frightening Wealth Chapter 2577 - Difference of Level 120, Frightening Wealth As Cola, Fire Dance, and the others darted through the silent forest, they caused a commotion. Small groups of Wandering Souls flew toward the offending players, quickly surrounding them. These monsters were so fast that ordinary experts wouldn''t have a chance to escape. However, the encirclement was practically non-existent to Cola and Zero Wing''s other MTs. Like unstoppable tanks, they charged through the monsters, shoving aside any that stood in their path with their shields. None of the Wandering Souls could stop their advance. Meanwhile, Fire Dance and the other more agile players maneuvered their way around the Wandering Souls, letting none lay a hand on them. The death energy the Wandering Souls exuded had no effect on Cola, Fire Dance, or their companions. It almost seemed like some kind of invisible barrier protected them from the death energy''s corrosion. In no time at all, Cola and the others had pulled around 600 monsters toward the rest of the team. [Wandering Soul] (Undead, High Lord) Level 115 HP 45,000,000/45,000,000 [Elite Wandering Soul] (Undead, Great Lord) Level 116 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 [Crazed Soul] (Undead, Grand Lord) Level 116 HP 400,000,000/400,000,000 Facing the 400-plus Wandering Souls, 100-plus Elite Wandering Souls, and 6 Crazed Souls, everyone on the team couldn''t help but shudder. Unlike ordinary monsters, these Wandering Souls had once been Poison City''s warriors. Even in death, they retained the skills they had used in life. When several hundred Wandering Souls gathered, they actually formed a battle array, and although it wasn''t very strong, it significantly boosted the monsters'' Movement Speed and reaction speed. A faint layer of Mana had also appeared around the monsters, strengthening their Defense and the power of their Skills and Spells. However, the team was even more surprised to find that these Wandering Souls didn''t employ simple pack tactics like ordinary monsters. Rather, they moved in proper formation. The Wandering Souls with shields and melee weapons moved to the front of the group, while those with bows and staves stood in the back. The small force gradually and orderly advanced. "So, this is a Level 120 secret land?" Blue Rainbow was shocked as she watched the monsters march like a uniform army. Although she had known that Level 100-plus secret lands were extraordinary, she couldn''t help her surprise as she experienced it for herself. These monsters were already a major challenge since their Basic Attributes were higher than players'' of the same tier and level. They also had far more HP and Defense. Now that they could fight with as much organization as NPCs, their combat power would drastically increase. If their team hadn''t had the numerical advantage, they wouldn''t have stood a chance. Even Hell Rush frowned at the incoming force. Normally, the Hell Legion''s experts wouldn''t have any problems fighting these monsters one-on-one. Not even the Grand Lord ranked Crazed Souls would be too much for the Hell Legion to overcome, but now, these monsters had their own battle array. Not only did this battle array boost the Wandering Souls'' physical performance, but it also drastically reduced the number of weak points they had. Including the monsters'' level advantage, even the Hell Legion was in for a tough battle without the help of weapons and equipment with the Ignore Levels Attribute. Only Shi Feng seemed unaffected by Poison City''s formidable monsters. This was the true combat power of God''s Domain''s monsters. All monsters before Level 115 were merely obstacles to help players get used to the game. Once players neared the Level 120 threshold, however, God''s Domain no longer catered to its players. Instead, players had to adapt to God''s Domain. Monsters would begin to behave like living beings, with their own characteristics. If players couldn''t take advantage of these characteristics, even experts of the same tier would fall in a one-on-one fight. This was why Level 120 secret lands and Team Dungeons were true treasure troves for Tier 3 players, containing all sorts of ancient inheritances, Skill, and Spell Books. As the Undead legion approached, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s players mentally prepared themselves for a hard fight. Meanwhile, Shi Feng retrieved the Ring of Gospel and spent 5,000 Magic Crystals to activate Miniature World. The phantom world descended, and the Undead legion''s Basic Attributes fell rapidly. Their reaction speed and physique also plummeted. The Dark Players on the team were stupefied. They had experienced the Ring of Gospel''s power before, but they were still as shocked as they had been the first time. A moment ago, their senses had warned them that these Undead were powerful opponents, but now, the monsters seemed relatively easy to defeat. They couldn''t help but feel grateful that Shi Feng stood on their side, not against them. "Alright, Attack! Let''s end this battle quickly!" Shi Feng commanded when he realized most of his team was still dazed. The Ring of Gospel was indeed an amazing tool, but it was incredibly costly. Just maintaining Miniature World for 10 minutes cost 5,000 Magic Crystals. Shi Feng''s command shook everyone from their stupor, and they began to activate Skills and Spells against the incoming legion. Now that they had the advantage in Basic Attributes, the quickest and simplest way to victory was to face these Wandering Souls head-on. Boom... Boom... Boom... When the first volley of Tier 3 Skills and Spells landed, the ground and nearby forest shook violently. The bombardment even transformed the terrain around them. After ten minutes, over 80% of the Undead legion had fallen, and the few survivors only had scant amounts of HP remaining. Even without Miniature World''s suppression, the team could rely on their overwhelming numerical advantage to eliminate the remaining monsters. During the fight, everyone on the team was able to experience what it felt like to face a true monster the Main God System had designed. The Main God System hadn''t restrained the Wandering Souls in the slightest, and they had incredible control of the death energy wafting off them. If players did not learn how to manipulate their own Mana to defend themselves, the death energy would quickly corrode and influence their bodies. Normally, this learning process would be incredibly dangerous. If players failed to defend themselves, the corrosion would temporarily paralyze them. An instant death wouldn''t be surprising in that case. Fortunately, the team had more than just an overwhelming numerical advantage. The monsters before them were at death''s door, and as a result, their combat power had dropped slightly. Hence, they posed far less of a threat. Every player on the team was a Tier 3 expert, with far greater talent and combat standards than ordinary players. Although they had only experienced such combat for a short time, they had all gained a newfound understanding of Mana control and their Mana Bodies. However, the team was far more surprised to see how much EXP they earned from the slain Wandering Souls. The monsters granted such abundant EXP that even Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold were shocked. Every member of the team saw a significant rise in their experience bars after just defeating around 600 Wandering Souls. Some players even rose from Level 107 to 108. Their leveling speed here was at least ten times faster than in the outside world. Moreover, the monsters had dropped a bunch of loot. Items were scattered across the entire battlefield! These monsters'' drop-rate was more than double that of monsters in the outside world, particularly when it came to weapons and equipment. Even the weakest piece of equipment was Level 115 Mysterious-Iron rank, and six pieces of Level 115 Secret-Silver Equipment had dropped... For a while, the Dark Players had bloodshot eyes. To them, Level 115 Mysterious-Iron Equipment might be subpar, but Level 115 Secret-Silver Equipment was incredibly precious. So long as they equipped Level Reduction Gemstones, they could arm themselves with Level 115 Secret-Silver Equipment after reaching Level 110. Naturally, Level 115 Secret-Silver Equipment was slightly better than Level 110 Fine- Gold Equipment. Due to equipment''s low drop-rate, the various powers were going mad in their search for Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment. They could only dream of Level 110 Fine-Gold items. Now, after fighting for less than 15 minutes, their team had obtained six pieces of Level 115 Secret-Silver Equipment. If they grinded here for a full day, their harvest would be astronomical... While Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members envied Zero Wing over so much loot, Fire Dance, who was responsible for collecting the items, excitedly ran up to Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, it dropped!" 2578 Frightening Zero Wing Chapter 2578 - Frightening Zero Wing As Fire Dance approached with a tattered, old tome, Shi Feng''s eyes widened in surprise. What? It dropped, just like that? The monsters wandering around Poison City had a chance of dropping two support items when killed, and both were worth thousands of Gold. However, no one would willingly part with either support item, even when offered a Level 100-plus Epic item. One of the two items was an ancient potion, while the other was a Mana Battle Array. The ancient potion in question could accelerate the process of unlocking players'' Mana Bodies, while permanently improving their Mana control. With this potion, even ordinary Tier 3 players could unlock their Mana Bodies'' full potential within two months. On the other hand, the Mana Battle Array was even more astounding. Normally, battle arrays had to be engraved into players'' equipment, meaning that once players replaced their battle array equipment, they''d lose the battle array. However, players could directly learn the Mana Battle Array found in Poison city. Hence, they wouldn''t have to worry about losing the array when they switched to new equipment. Players could use it forever. The Mana Battle Array required a minimum of 12 players to activate. Once active, not only would it increase the Mana density around players, but players'' Basic Attributes would rise, as well. Most importantly, the battle array would form a layer of Mana Armor around players, increasing their Magic Resistance and resistance to foreign energies'' corrosion. The tome in Fire Dance''s hand was none other than the Mana Battle Array. It was no wonder she was so ecstatic. As the Mana Battle Array was akin to a Skill, it could be used where tools were prohibited, such as many of God''s Domain''s Level 100-plus maps and Team Dungeons. In these locations, the Mana Battle Array was practically invaluable. In the past, the various powers would spend more than two weeks grinding near Poison City without obtaining a single Mana Battle Array, and yet, one had just dropped from a single wave of Wandering Souls. The current drop-rate was astounding. When Hell Rush and the others saw the Mana Battle Array''s information, they couldn''t help but feel a little jealous. With a complete set, one could increase a team''s overall strength to a whole new level. The Mana Battle Array would be especially helpful when teams explored certain maps or Dungeons and didn''t meet the equipment requirements. That tome was even more valuable than Level 115 top-tier weapons and equipment. Now that they knew the Wandering Souls could drop something as awesome as the Mana Battle Array, Zero Wing''s members were overcome with fighting spirit. Cola and the others immediately split away from the main team to lure more Wandering Souls. Moreover, they now knew that the team could easily handle 600 Wandering Souls with the Ring of Gospel''s assistance, and so they decided to gather even more monsters to maximize the ring''s effects. After a short moment, Cola and his comrades ran toward the team with nearly 800 Wandering Souls trailing behind them. Seeing this, the team''s members sharpened their focus and prepared for battle. Over the next three days, the team restlessly grinded on the Wandering Souls roaming the forest around Poison City. After three days, every member of the team had gained five levels. Fire Dance, Cola, and the other Zero Wing members had reached Level 114, while Shi Feng had reached Level 115. Meanwhile, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members had reached Level 112 and 113. Their levels would even shock the various superpowers. The Dark Players on the team wished they could stay in Poison City forever. Leveling five times in three days was unheard of, especially at their levels. Normally, they''d be lucky to level up once every five days. No one would believe them if they told them. Meanwhile, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold finally understood why Shi Feng was so confident about helping them conquer the Ancient God''s Tower. This leveling speed was simply maddening! Furthermore, fighting these monsters had helped them rapidly improve their combat standards. What Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members didn''t know was that Shi Feng had spent an astronomical number of Magic Crystals to make this three-day grind possible. He had arrived with 600,000 Magic Crystals in his bag, but now, he had less than 50,000 remaining. Moreover, he had used Miniature World sparingly. Otherwise, he would''ve blown through all 600,000 crystals by now. Of course, the bounty he received in return was amazing. During the past three days, he had obtained over 700 pieces of Level 115 Secret-Silver Equipment and over 5,000 pieces of Level 115 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. He could easily earn back the cost of this grind by selling the Mysterious-Iron Equipment. He had also acquired a total of 87 Level 115 Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Of course, Shi Feng had no intention of selling any of the weapons or equipment that had dropped. Rather, he''d make them available to his Guildmates. After embedding a Level Reduction Gemstone into every weapon and equipment piece, he distributed them among Blue Frost and Zero Wing''s other members from Shelter One, providing a massive boost to their Basic Attributes. Now, their Attributes were even higher than the Hell Legion''s experts. Even in Netherworld Empire, the Hell Legion''s members were experts among experts. Every one of them wore Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment, with some wearing Dark-Gold ranked items. Their equipment standards even ranked at the top compared to the various superpowers'' experts, yet it was two whole ranks weaker than the items Blue Frost and his team wore... Of course, Shi Feng did not mistreat the Hell Legion, granting the legion members a portion of the Level 115 Secret- Silver Equipment. After all, he had a contract with Netherworld Empire, which required him to keep the Hell Legion''s equipment up-to-date. Furthermore, the Hell Legion''s members had incredible combat standards. Better equipment would only help them exhibit even more combat power. Aside from weapons and equipment, Shi Feng had obtained plenty of valuable items. He now had a total of 46 Mana Battle Arrays and over 80 bottles of the ancient potion. He had also secured over 100 Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books. Combined, all of these items were even more valuable than the weapons and equipment that had dropped near Poison City. Rather than letting these precious items collect dust in his bag, he distributed them among the team as he had with the weapons and equipment. However, he had chosen 46 Zero Wing members to learn the Mana Battle Arrays. He also decided to give the 50-plus Zero Wing members who had entered the Truth Realm one ancient potion each. He passed the majority of the remaining 20-plus bottles to the Hell Legion, Dark Rhapsody''s Blue Rainbow, and Deity Society''s Elder Gold. "We get a share, too?" Blue Rainbow asked as Shi Feng handed her the potion. The ancient potion permanently improved players'' Mana control and helped them unlock their Mana Bodies. Unless one were a fool, they''d recognize how valuable the ancient potion was. Its drop-rate was only so high now because they were pioneering Poison City. The drop-rate would certainly drop to abysmal lows once this period was over. If it were up to her, she wouldn''t share any of the potions with outsiders. "Of course. I already told you that I''m going to help you grow stronger," Shi Feng said, nodding. If these were members of other Guilds, he wouldn''t even give them the ancient potion''s remnants. However, the Hell Legion, Dark Rhapsody, and Deity Society were different. They were Zero Wing''s allies. It was a pity that the ancient potion''s drop-rate was so low, and he couldn''t afford to give away too many. Otherwise, he would''ve given Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society more of Zero Wing''s share. The monsters they were currently fighting were the weakest in the Poison City''s outer reaches. He would have to travel deeper into the secret land if he wanted to obtain the fragment of Solomon''s Sword. Hence, he decided to help those with high combat standards first. Both Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold were on the cusp of reaching the Domain Realm. If they grew stronger, they could provide a huge boost to the team''s overall combat power. The team''s Dark Players grew excited when they heard Shi Feng''s reply. They hadn''t expected to receive any of the ancient potions, but knowing they could earn a small slice of the pie was definitely worth celebrating. "Guild Leader, I found the sealed sword you mentioned inside the city," Fire Dance suddenly reported in the team chat while everyone rested. "But..." "But what?" Shi Feng prodded. The fragment of Solomon''s Sword was inside Poison City. To be precise, it was sealed within the city. If players wanted to claim it, they wouldn''t have to go as far as conquering Poison City. They merely need to undo the seal on the sword fragment. Of the fragments Shi Feng had yet to obtain, this was the easiest to acquire. After all, this so-called fragment was only a Level 100 Epic Weapon. Solomon''s Sword was very powerful, but to reach that power, one would have to reproduce it with all five of its fragments. This was why the weapon was so hard to reproduce. Even after obtaining four fragments, all players would have was four Epic Weapons. Some might not even realize that their Epic Weapon was, in fact, a fragment of Solomon''s Sword. "But there''s a Tier 5 Sword Saint and two Tier 4 NPCs guarding the sword..." 2579 Crimson-eyed Sword Sain t Chapter 2579 - Crimson-eyed Sword Saint Upon hearing Fire Dance''s report, Shi Feng fell silent for a very long time. What was going on? NPCs? One Tier 5 NPC and two Tier 4 NPCs at that? According to his information, Poison City had no such NPCs. It was a city of the dead. No living creatures could survive in this secret land. "Should we retreat, Guild Leader?" Fire Dance asked. They might not have a problem with Tier 4 NPCs. With their numerical advantage and the Ring of Gospel''s effects, they might stand a chance against two Tier 4 NPCs, but trying to take on a Tier 5 Sword Saint was a joke. A Tier 5 Sword Saint was an apex being in the current God''s Domain. Not even kingdoms would dare to offend such an individual. And a Tier 5 Sword Saint could slay Tier 3 players as easily as chopping vegetables. A Tier 5 NPCs combat standards were no trivial matter. They could even contend with Void Realm experts. To deal with a Tier 5 NPC, they''d need several dozen fully armed Tier 4 experts to stand a chance. "No, wait there for now. We''ll come find you," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He was most confident of obtaining the fragment of Solomon''s Sword within Poison City. He had almost no information on the rest. Thus, there was no way he''d leave without getting a good look at this fragment. At this stage of the game, only he had a Solomon''s Sword fragment. If he didn''t take advantage of his chance to claim the rest before others, obtaining the fragments would be as challenging as finding a needle in a haystack. These fragments didn''t have a mechanism to detect other fragments. Unless the players that obtained a fragment advertised the weapon, he wouldn''t know where to find them. This was why he was in such a hurry. Getting his hands on the sword fragments was relatively easy right now, but as players reached higher levels, doing so would become increasingly difficult. This was why Legendary items had been so extraordinarily rare in his past, particularly Legendary Weapons. Collecting the necessary fragments to reproduce the true item was too much of a challenge. A lot of manpower wasn''t enough. One would have to be particularly lucky. Of course, there was an exception to this rule; players could rely on Ancient Tomes. With these tomes in hand, players could search through God''s Domain''s database for any information they desired. However, Ancient Tomes were almost as rare as Legendary Weapons, and again, one would have to get lucky to find one... After roughly two hours, the team of Dark Players, the Hell Legion, and Zero Wing''s members reached the plaza. Within its center stood a dried fountain. If one examined the fountain closely, they''d discover a faintly glowing magic array, which suppressed the dull-gray longsword half-buried in the fountain. Even with the magic array''s suppression, the dull sword sapped away any life around it, turning the city into a land of death. It was clear that the sword''s influence would be even more astonishing without the magic array to bind it. Three NPCs stood around the dull-gray sword in silence, and at the lead was a one-eyed, redheaded man wearing a snowy-white cap. [Elvoze (Crimson-eyed Sword Saint)] (Human, Sword Saint) Level ? ? ? HP??????/?????? Crap! A Titled Sword Saint?! Shi Feng felt lightheaded when he saw the one-eyed man. Tier 5 Titled NPCs were like kings among Tier 5 NPCs. They were responsible for miraculous feats in God''s Domain. In the past, not even a Tier 5 Domain Realm expert would dare offend a Tier 5 Titled NPC. Only Tier 5 Heroes could contend with these individuals, but unlike Heroes, Titled NPCs weren''t powerful due to their extraordinary Basic Attributes, but their superior combat standards and explosive combat power. Because of this, players were more willing to face a Tier 5 Hero than a Tier 5 Titled NPC. And now, Shi Feng stared at such an individual in Poison City, a Level 120 secret land... Shi Feng''s teammates gasped when they noticed Elvoze. Even within imperial capitals, they had never seen such an NPC. If they became that man''s enemy, their fates would be sealed, and they might even have to delete their accounts, starting all over. As Shi Feng hesitated on whether or not he should continue his personal mission for Solomon''s Sword''s fragment, Elvoze turned and looked at the wall his team hid behind. "You''ve been watching for long enough! Show yourselves!" Elvoze calmly demanded. The moment the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint spoke, everyone felt an unprecedented pressure bear down on them. Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold struggled against their instincts, which screamed at them to flee. They could feel just how powerful this NPC was. If they made him unhappy, Elvoze could render all of the progress they''ve made in God''s Domain useless. Such incidents had happened more than once in the Dark World before, and that was precisely why the Otherworld''s Dark Players didn''t dare to offend or casually approach Tier 5 NPCs. In fact, most players actively avoided Tier 4 NPCs. "Don''t move!" Shi Feng suddenly shouted in the team chat. "But, Guild Leader Black Flame, that''s a Tier 5 NPC..." Elder Gold said. They weren''t in an NPC city, and NPCs in the fields were especially unpredictable. The slightest mistake could lead to an unspeakable disaster. "I know, but he''s already discovered us. He won''t let us get away if we try to run," Shi Feng said, offering Elder Gold a bitter smile. "Our best option is to do as he says. Never try to provoke a Tier 5 Titled NPC." Not a single player in God''s Domain had a better idea of the power a Tier 5 Titled NPC wielded. Once such an NPC discovered them, there was no chance for escape. Not even Tier 5 Domain Realm experts were guaranteed to outrun a Tier 5 Titled NPC. Moreover, Elvoze''s movement wasn''t restricted as the Demon God''s phantom had been. If this man willed it, Shi Feng would die before he could even activate Space Movement or Spatial Gate. "I understand." With the warning ringing in his ears, Elder Gold abandoned any thought of fleeing. As Shi Feng had said, a Tier 5 NPCs Movement Speed wasn''t to be underestimated. Moreover, NPCs gained the ability to fly after reaching Tier 4. How could Tier 3 players like themselves possibly hope to outrun such a being? Moreover, the Tier 5 Sword Saint would view any attempt to flee as a challenge to his authority. The outcome of committing such an offense would be far graver than approaching the NPC directly. Under Shi Feng''s lead, the team emerged from the small alley that had provided cover and approached the Crimsoneyed Sword Saint. "Greetings, Esteemed Sword Saint. We are here to explore this secret land and accidentally discovered this place. Please forgive us for our trespass," Shi Feng respectfully apologized to Elvoze, who currently sat before the fountain. "Exploring this secret land?" Elvoze smiled. The NPCs tone then turned chilly as he continued, "You''ve come for this sword, right? Well? Who commands your force?!" Killing intent! This was the killing intent of a bona fide Tier 5 Titled NPC! When Elvoze''s tone had chilled, Shi Feng and all of his team felt the pressure on them increase. They all felt as if lead weights had been tied to their limbs, and everyone struggled to breathe. It felt as if they had plunged into an icy hell. At the same time, they heard a series of system notifications. System: Warning! Warning! System: You have triggered the Epic Event, "Crimson Wrath"! System: You have 30 seconds to make a decision; kill Elvoze, the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint, or accept the punishment of death. 2580 Blade Unsealed, Disaster Descends Chapter 2580 - Blade Unsealed, Disaster Descends Everyone on the team, including Shi Feng, wore grim expressions when they saw the system notification. "How did things turn out like this?! This NPC is a lunatic!" Magic Flash immediately began to despair. Whenever players triggered an event in God''s Domain, including Epic Events, the system didn''t send them a warning beforehand. If even the system was warning them, that could only mean one thing. Certain death! Moreover, they weren''t at risk of suffering an ordinary death. Rather, their souls would be extinguished, thoroughly removed from God''s Domain. They''d have to restart from the very beginning... Even Hell Rush felt doomed, not to mention Magic Flash and the others from Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. Ordinary deaths were already trouble for the Hell Legion''s members. If they all had to start new accounts, their careers in God''s Domain were as good as over. His superiors might even kill him for this. "Guild Leader, let''s split up and run. There is only one Tier 5 NPC. He can''t catch all of us. The lucky ones might be able to get away safely," Blue Frost suggested. They had only one option leftescape! Whether they chose to fight the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint or accept their death sentence, they''d meet the same end. They had to go for a third option. Overhearing Blue Frost, the rest of the team nodded in agreement. Sacrifices were inevitable, but that was still better than utter annihilation. They wouldn''t have anyone but themselves to blame if they died. Do we really only have one option? As Shi Feng sensed Elvoze''s killing intent growing stronger, he was flabbergasted. They had only come to a Level 120 secret land, yet the Main God System had set such an absurd trap. Human NPCs were different from Demon Gods. They wouldn''t set a death trap for players for no good reason. Even if they did, they usually gave players a chance to survive. Did I miss some clue? The seconds flew by as Shi Feng fell deep into thought. "Guild Leader Black Flame, what is the plan?" "We only have 10 seconds left to decide!" With only 10 seconds on the system clock, Elder Gold and Blue Rainbow urged Shi Feng, anxious. Acting rashly would only lead to a terrible outcome. The team''s best chance was to move simultaneously, but even after more than 20 seconds, Shi Feng had remained motionless. It was driving them crazy. When only five seconds remained, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members grew restless. Just before they split up and ran, however, Shi Feng moved. To everyone''s surprise and confusion, he took the initiative to approach Elvoze... "Esteemed Sword Saint, we had no intention of offending you, and we did not come here under anyone''s command. This is but a coincidence. If you refuse to believe me, I will challenge you in the name of the Sky Goddess!" Shi Feng declared as he walked up to the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint. After his declaration, silence fell over the entire plaza. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you insane?!" Blue Rainbow stared at Shi Feng in astonishment as he issued a challenge. "He''s a Tier 5 Titled Sword Saint!" "Guild Leader?" Blue Frost watched Shi Feng, as well, utterly baffled. A Tier 5 NPC was no simple opponent. With the Gods in seclusion, Tier 5 NPCs stood at the apex of God''s Domain. As a current Tier 3 player, just escaping a Tier 5 NPC would be miraculous, not to mention challenging one. "You wish to challenge me?" Elvoze laughed. "I''m afraid you don''t yet qualify for such a fight, young man. "Of course, I am quite open-minded. Since you wish to prove that you''re not following anyone''s command, I''ll give you all a chance!" Hearing Elvoze offer another option, the team members took a deep breath, their eyes glued on Shi Feng. This is actually possible?" Blue Rainbow muttered, shocked. They had been on the brink of death, yet Shi Feng''s statement had opened a path for survival. His courage and capabilities were amazing. "It is. The system notification was a hint. While defeating a Tier 5 Sword Saint seems impossible at first glance, that word has many meanings. The system never specified that we have to kill him to defeat him, so we don''t necessarily need to clash with the NPC to defeat him. Issuing a challenge was the best solution," Elder Gold said, realization dawning as he read the system notifications again. He then returned his gaze to Shi Feng and continued, "However, Black Flame is incredible. Even in such a tense situation, he found the right solution to this problem. Just how brave is that man? Does he really think he can defeat a Tier 5 Sword Saint?" Elvoze''s killing intent was no laughing matter. Even as a peak expert, Elder Gold felt his mind numb when subjected to the lethal energy. He couldn''t get past the desire to flee. Logically, a Domain Realm expert shouldn''t be any more immune to the killing intent than he was. Fear was a basic instinct for all creatures, after all. With only 10 seconds on the system clock, Elder Gold and Blue Rainbow urged Shi Feng, anxious. Acting rashly would only lead to a terrible outcome. The team''s best chance was to move simultaneously, but even after more than 20 seconds, Shi Feng had remained motionless. It was driving them crazy. When only five seconds remained, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members grew restless. Just before they split up and ran, however, Shi Feng moved. To everyone''s surprise and confusion, he took the initiative to approach Elvoze... "Esteemed Sword Saint, we had no intention of offending you, and we did not come here under anyone''s command. This is but a coincidence. If you refuse to believe me, I will challenge you in the name of the Sky Goddess!" Shi Feng declared as he walked up to the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint. After his declaration, silence fell over the entire plaza. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you insane?!" Blue Rainbow stared at Shi Feng in astonishment as he issued a challenge. "He''s a Tier 5 Titled Sword Saint!" "Guild Leader?" Blue Frost watched Shi Feng, as well, utterly baffled. A Tier 5 NPC was no simple opponent. With the Gods in seclusion, Tier 5 NPCs stood at the apex of God''s Domain. As a current Tier 3 player, just escaping a Tier 5 NPC would be miraculous, not to mention challenging one. "You wish to challenge me?" Elvoze laughed. "I''m afraid you don''t yet qualify for such a fight, young man. "Of course, I am quite open-minded. Since you wish to prove that you''re not following anyone''s command, I''ll give you all a chance!" Hearing Elvoze offer another option, the team members took a deep breath, their eyes glued on Shi Feng. This is actually possible?" Blue Rainbow muttered, shocked. They had been on the brink of death, yet Shi Feng''s statement had opened a path for survival. His courage and capabilities were amazing. "It is. The system notification was a hint. While defeating a Tier 5 Sword Saint seems impossible at first glance, that word has many meanings. The system never specified that we have to kill him to defeat him, so we don''t necessarily need to clash with the NPC to defeat him. Issuing a challenge was the best solution," Elder Gold said, realization dawning as he read the system notifications again. He then returned his gaze to Shi Feng and continued, "However, Black Flame is incredible. Even in such a tense situation, he found the right solution to this problem. Just how brave is that man? Does he really think he can defeat a Tier 5 Sword Saint?" Elvoze''s killing intent was no laughing matter. Even as a peak expert, Elder Gold felt his mind numb when subjected to the lethal energy. He couldn''t get past the desire to flee. Logically, a Domain Realm expert shouldn''t be any more immune to the killing intent than he was. Fear was a basic instinct for all creatures, after all. However, after everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Elvoze continued. "A cursed City Lord runs Poison City. Since you are here to explore this city, facing him is inevitable. What I want of you is simple. Slay the City Lord and free him of his curse. None of you will leave this city before fulfilling this task. If you try, I will personally dice you into mincemeat." System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Inferior Legendary Quest, "Beginning of the End." Quest content: Slay Poison City''s City Lord. If all players within the secret land are slain, all souls will be extinguished. Rewards unknown. Hearing their new task, the team members'' gloomy expressions returned. An Inferior Legendary Quest! Moreover, this quest required them to conquer a Level 120 secret land! Conquering a Level 120 secret land was easier said than done. With their team''s current strength, doing so would take around a fortnight. Failure was also likely. A Level 120 secret land would be just as hard to raid as a Level 120, super- large-scale, Hell Mode Team Dungeon. Aside from the high weapon and equipment requirements, players'' would need sufficient combat standards. To make matters worse, they couldn''t leave the secret land until they succeeded... Before they could process this abrupt development, the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint began to chant an incantation. Pitch-black, threefold magic arrays then appeared on the stone ground, releasing dense death energy. Suddenly, a two-meter-tall man in exquisite armor emerged from the lethal energy cloud. [Crodia (Poison City''s City Lord)] (Undead, Superior Mythic) Level 120 HP 3,700,000,000/3,700,000,000 "Is that the secret land''s Final Boss?" Hell Rush''s complexion paled when his eyes rested on the City Lord. Even for their team, a Level 120 Mythic monster would be extremely difficult to defeat. A Superior Mythic of the same level was no more than a natural disaster. Not even a 3,000-strong army of Level 120, Tier 3 experts would be more than a warm-up for such a creature, much less a team of 1,000. Monsters at that rank commanded their own powerful Domains. Players of the same level had no chance against them. While the team was shocked over Crodia''s statistics, the City Lord approached the dried-up fountain and reached through the barrier. He grasped the dull-gray sword''s hilt and yanked it out of the stone. As Crodia removed the longsword from its prison, the blade''s death energy began to flood into its surroundings. The thick cloud of black fog swept toward the team, and the players backed away. The black fog corroded everything it touched, and even the ground decayed, visibly darkening to a dull-gray... "You may begin," Elvoze''s soft voice broke the silence as he gazed over Shi Feng and the others. 2581 Fighting a Superior Mythic? Chapter 2581 - Fighting a Superior Mythic? Startled by Elvoze''s command, everyone fell silent again. "How are we supposed to beat that?" Cola muttered, watching the dark cloud of death energy envelop Crodia. Crodia''s aura had already been strong enough, and with his statistics, their team wasn''t even certain they could kill him. After taking hold of the dull-gray longsword, however, the City Lord''s aura had grown even stronger, and his statistics had undergone a significant transformation. [Crodia (Poison City''s City Lord)] (Undead, Superior Mythic) Level 120 HP 5,400,000,000/5,400,000,000 Just under five and a half billion HP was simply absurd. He could recover 54 million HP every second with his battle recovery alone. That was more than 10 million HP per second... To make matters worse, now that Crodia held the dull-gray sword, the weapons'' death energy had formed a Domain that enveloped a 30-yard radius around him. Even from outside the Domain, Cola could sense how powerful that death energy was. All life within this Domain rapidly decayed, crumbling to ash. Even the stone ground turned into sand before their eyes. The Domain didn''t contain even a trace of Mana, either. They could easily imagine what would happen to players that stood within that dusky cloud of death. Hell Rush and the others were just as dumbfounded. None of them had ever thought Poison City''s Final Boss would pull such a move. Monsters didn''t normally use weapons or equipment, which meant they didn''t receive item bonuses, relying on their own Basic Attributes. Even then, monsters presented a challenge. Now that Crodia had a weapon and his set of armor, how were they supposed to fight him? The system really isn''t giving us any chance. Shi Feng watched Crodia with a disheartened smile. Under normal circumstances, Shi Feng would have some confidence of defeating the City Lord with his Ring of Gospel, but seeing Crodia now, he didn''t have much hope of winning this battle. Within secret lands, players couldn''t summon their Personal Guards, and the team''s average level was still five levels lower than this Boss. They might not even last through the Boss''s first phase, much less slay the Undead. While the team member silently wondered how they should face this Superior Mythic monster, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold turned deathly pale. "Has something happened?" Shi Feng asked when he saw the two Dark Players'' strange expressions. "Our Guilds have just received reports stating that the alliance team Demon''s Heart has formed has killed the second Boss on the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. They''re only two Bosses away from clearing the first floor''s trial and becoming the Floor Master," Blue Rainbow explained with a twisted frown. Thanks to their alliance with Zero Wing, both Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society were developing far faster than the Dark World''s other powers. This was the reason that the Dark World''s various powers and players didn''t dare move against their Guilds. However, that wouldn''t be the case if Demon''s Heart''s team succeeded in activating the Ancient God''s Tower. Unlike Zero Wing, their Guilds didn''t have unstoppable NPC armies. If the Dark World''s various powers and players decided to turn against their Guilds'' members, only annihilation would await them. "They''ve already started to raid the third Boss?" The news stunned Shi Fen. Raiding the Ancient God''s Tower was as difficult as raiding a Level 100-plus, super-large-scale Team Dungeon. The Dark World''s players should''ve needed at least 10 to 15 days before they''d have a chance of conquering the first floor, yet within three short days, the alliance team Demon''s Heart had formed had already defeated the first two Bosses. Their progress completely surpassed Shi Feng''s expectations. "What should we do now, Guild Leader Black Flame? At this rate, Demon''s Heart''s alliance team will conquer the first floor within two or three more days..." Elder Gold asked anxiously. They hadn''t expected Demon''s Heart to be this powerful. Logically, even with the clues Demon''s Heart possessed, the alliance team shouldn''t have made such astounding progress. Conquering the Ancient God''s Tower''s trials would require a large number of Tier 3 players and sufficiently powerful weapons and equipment. Worse yet, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s main force members were stuck in Poison City. Even if they somehow managed to defeat Crodia, catching up to the alliance team was unlikely. "We have no choice; we have to try," Shi Feng declared, turning to the City Lord. "Do you have a plan, Guild Leader?" Aqua Rose asked. Their team only had a little over 700 players. Every member would need to deal at least 15,000 damage per second just to overcome Crodia''s battle recovery. However, they were facing a Superior Mythic. Even under normal circumstances, Tier 3 experts, who hadn''t unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential, would only deal a little over -10,000 damage per second to this Boss. Since Crodia had grown even stronger with the gray longsword in hand, they''d likely deal even less damage. Even factoring in Shi Feng and the several other players that had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, they wouldn''t have enough total damage per second to defeat the City Lord. "Mhm. This Boss has a weakness we can take advantage of, but I don''t know if we''ll succeed or not," Shi Feng said, nodding. Shi Feng usually wouldn''t be in such a hurry to fight Crodia. Rather, he''d help his team continue their grind in Poison City first. The Crimson-eyed Sword Saint had only demanded that they defeat the City Lord. He had said nothing about slaying Crodia immediately. They should be able to roam the city and increase their strength. However, Shi Feng did not have that luxury right now. Demon''s Heart was moving faster than he had expected. If they couldn''t kill Crodia quickly and allowed Demon''s Heart to occupy the Ancient God''s Tower, only Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society would be at a disadvantage. Naturally, this was very bad news for Zero Wing, too. Shi Feng had been able to rely on the Teleportation Gate to drastically restrict the number of Dark Players moving to the main continent. Without that restriction, however, the Dark World''s residents could do whatever they wanted outside of Cold Spring Forest. This was exactly why he had wanted to control the Teleportation Gate. He only had one Knight Division, and there was a limit to the territories he could protect. Shi Feng turned toward his team and began assigning tasks. Cola would remain close to the Boss, while the rest of the team would hide in the city''s alleyways. Melee players would set up all kinds of traps, and ranged players would attack from the rooftops of various buildings. "Remember, everyone! Only 100 players can be within 200 yards of the Boss at any point! All melee players must stay away from Crodia! Healers, focus on the MT tanking the Boss! Damage dealers just attack at will! MTs, switch positions once you''ve accumulated three stacks of death energy!" Shi Feng reminded his team once everyone was in position. "If there aren''t any problems, let''s start the raid!" Normally, they''d need a 1,000-man, Tier 3 team to raid Poison City''s Final Boss, but when they had fewer than that, they could take the City Lord on in 100-man teams. By doing so, they''d lower the Boss''s HP to a minimum. In exchange, the 100-man teams would face more stringent requirements. With most of the team members not being able to fulfill those requirements, they''d have higher chances of success raiding this Boss with 100-man teams. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, Cola charged at Crodia. Everyone on the team was stupefied the instant Cola moved within 200 yards of the City Lord. The Boss''s maximum HP dropped to just 2.1 billion, falling by more than half. However, the team now had a different problem. Rather than 700-plus players attacking a Boss with 5.4 billion HP, they had to face a Boss with 2.1 billion HP with no more than 100 players at a time. The raid difficulty had increased, not decreased. Suddenly, Crodia appeared before Cola with so much speed that not even the peak experts had time to react. The City Lord swung his longsword at Cola, the weapon leaving a black spatial tear in its wake. Cola flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into the ground roughly 20 yards away from the Final Boss. Even after blocking the attack with his shield, Cola still lost 50% of his HP... Fortunately, the attack had put quite a bit of distance between the Guardian Knight and the City Lord. Cola responded by activating Protection Blessing and running to a nearby alley. Meanwhile, three healers 50 yards away began to heal Cola in a frenzy, Sacred Lights and Healing Lights landing on the Guardian Knight, one after another, and restoring his HP to two-thirds of his max. Two seconds later, Cola took another strike, throwing him into a nearby wall and robbing him of another third of his HP. Even after another round of Healing Spells, the three healers only restored his HP to half. After being thrown a few more times, Cola finally lured Crodia into the alleyway. Due to the alley''s complex terrain, Crodia had a much harder time landing an attack. Just as the City Lord was about to hit Cola again, he stepped on one of the landmines the team had planted in the alley earlier. Boom! A loud explosion echoed throughout Poison City, and a damage of over -1,000,000 appeared above the Undead''s head. After taking a few more steps, Crodia triggered another Magic Trap and took more than -700,000 damage. Just before Crodia turned to search for the player responsible for the traps, Cola charged forth and used his Tier 3 Justice Roar, causing another -50,000-plus damage and recapturing the Boss''s aggro. "Good! It''s doable! Everyone, mind your positioning! Ranged players, attack with everything you have! Melee players, keep setting up traps!" Shi Feng shouted once Cola had solidified his hold on Crodia''s attention. He then activated Miniature World. 2582 Lightshadow Improves, Tough Ferocious Beas t Chapter 2582 - Lightshadow Improves, Tough Ferocious Beast When Shi Feng activated Miniature World, Crodia''s Movement Speed, reaction speed, and Basic Attributes decreased as if the Boss had stepped into a quagmire, but as a Superior Mythic, his resistance to the effects was quite high. Even as an Intermediate Master Magician, Shi Feng''s Miniature World only reduced Crodia''s Basic Attributes by 15% rather than 30%. After activating Miniature World, Shi Feng quickly followed up by activating Ring of Brilliance, enhancing every ranged player''s Basic Attributes. Meanwhile, the 90-plus ranged players within the City Lord''s vicinity began to bombard the Boss with Skills and Spells. Tier 3 Spell, Darkness Burn! Tier 3 Skill, Solitary Light! Tier 3 Spell, Consecutive Earthen Spikes! Spells and arrows tore apart the area while explosions shook Poison City. Damages exceeding -20,000 appeared above Crodia''s head, one after another. Including the damage from the traps, the team dealt more than enough to overcome Crodia''s battle recovery. Every member of the team was ecstatic to see this. When they had first seen Crodia, they had despaired. They had known they couldn''t overcome the Boss''s battle recovery with their attacks alone. Killing this City Lord had seemed impossible. Now that they knew they could ^ his battle recovery, however, they knew what to do next. They needed to whittle away at Crodia''s HP. Of course, that wouldn''t be an easy task. To maximize their damage, Cola would have to lure Crodia into the traps the melee members had set up. Unfortunately, setting up traps required a long time, and they had very short durations. When no more than 100 players could be near the Boss, their timing and position had to be perfect. Claiming that a single mistake could render all of their effort worthless was no exaggeration. As long as more than 100 players stood within 200 yards of the City Lord, his maximum HP would return to 5.4 billion. If that happened, Crodia would regenerate 54 million HP every five seconds. Even with Miniature World''s suppression, the Superior Mythic would still regain 50 million HP over five seconds. One hundred players simply couldn''t deal that much damage in so short a time. Fortunately, the team was composed of experts among experts. Even the weakest player had reached the Flowing Water Realm. With Shi Feng''s wise command, none would make such devastating mistakes. Shi Feng heaved a rueful sigh upon seeing the team''s flawless coordination. He had to admit that it was truly wonderful for a Guild to have a team of such prowess. Even though the team''s equipment standards didn''t meet the requirements, they still completed their tasks efficiently. This undoubtedly made the raid much easier. As time passed, Crodia gradually lost HP. 95%... 75%... 50%... When Crodia''s HP fell to 50%, his fighting style changed as he stomped a foot, cracking the stone as the ground sank. The death energy around him began to spread, corroding everything within a 45-yard radius. Aside from Cola, who had activated a Lifesaving Skill just in time, over a dozen Tier 3 experts evaporated, leaving nothing behind. Crodia bellowed furiously, and the death energy rapidly gathered above him. After a moment, the dense, black death energy transformed into the shadow of a fifty-meter-tall Nether Dragon, flapping its foggy wings. [Nether Dragon''s Shadow] (Ferocious Beast, Mythic) Level 120 HP 6,000,000,000/6,000,000,000 "How is that possible?!" Everyone cursed aloud when they saw the Nether Dragon''s Shadow. They had never thought that the Boss monster could actually summon another Boss... Ferocious Beasts weren''t like Wild or Demonic Beasts. Their very existence was akin to a natural disaster. Some Ferocious Beasts were even stronger than Dragons. While the Nether Dragon''s Shadow before them might not be as powerful as a true Dragon, it was more than enough to instill despair. Crodia alone was almost too much for them to handle. Now, they had to take on two Bosses of Crodia''s caliber with just 100 players. This was a joke. Crodia had grown considerably weaker after summoning the Nether Dragon''s Shadow, but he still wasn''t an easy opponent. The Nether Dragon''s Shadow descended and slammed a clawed foot into a nearby building, shattering the structure and leaving a black hole in its place. The Tier 3 Elementalist positioned on the building had tried to use Blink, but he had still died in the attack... "Not good! This Boss''s attacks have the Spatial Imprisonment effect!" Hell Rush, who saw this from afar, grimly shouted. The Spatial Imprisonment effect was fatal to magical classes and players with Teleportation Skills. Once a being sealed the space around them, players could only physically evade an attack. However, magical class players had far less dexterity and speed than melee players. With the Spatial Imprisonment effect, even an ordinary Mythic monster could instantly kill Tier 3 magical class players, let alone a Mythic ranked Ferocious Beast. Just as the Nether Dragon was about to attack another player, a bolt of blue lightning struck its claw. Boom! With the sound of another explosion, the bolt diverted the Nether Dragon''s claw into the street, the impact instantly forming a crater. Enraged over the interruption, the Nether Dragon''s crimson eyes turned to glare at the figure that had launched the counterattack. Flapping its wings, the dragon''s shadow sent a vortex of death energy at its new target. The vortex had a very large AOE and was basically impossible for players to avoid quickly. Wherever the vortex passed, even space shattered. Just as the death vortex was about to reach its target, the player in question raised his pitch-black longsword and swung it down in a vertical arc. Hua! The phantom of a gigantic greatsword appeared in the sky, slicing space and the death vortex in half, which then vanished into the void. "Guild Leader?" Stunned, Aqua Rose turned to Shi Feng, the player responsible for the interrupting lightning bolt. The Nether Dragon''s death vortex had definitely been more powerful than an ordinary Tier 4 Spell, yet Shi Feng had bisected it with a single swing. It was unbelievable! Aside from Aqua Rose, Hell Rush, Blue Rainbow, and everyone else watching from afar were similarly astonished. They were talking about a full-powered attack from a Tier 4 Ferocious Beast. Even an MT like Cola would die instantly if he tried to block such an attack, yet Shi Feng had countered it. Just how high was the Swordsman''s Strength? "Don''t panic, everyone. Continue attacking Crodia. I''ll distract this Nether Dragon," Shi Feng instructed, glancing at the players nearby. In truth, even he had been surprised by the power of his attack. He had thought he''d be lucky just to block the death vortex, yet his Lightshadow had shattered it. He had to admit that his upgraded Abyssal Blade was perfectly suited for the Mana Technique. Shi Feng''s command rekindled everyone''s confidence, and they resumed their responsibilities. Although the Nether Dragon had killed a few players, team members quickly filled the vacant spots. They still had several hundred Tier 3 players on standby outside of Crodia''s influence, so they had no worries about lacking manpower. For a time, one man and one Dragon fought in the air, repeated shattering space around them. This looked nothing like a fight between a player and a monster, but a decisive battle between two heaven-defying monsters. Meanwhile, it was business as usual as the rest of the team kited Crodia around the city, steadily chipping away at his HP. Of course, they weren''t careless in their attacks. After all was said and done, Shi Feng was only a player. Even with healers'' support, there was a limit to his Stamina and Concentration. His fight with the Nether Dragon was insanely intense, and neither his Stamina nor his Concentration would last long at this pace. The team was in a race against time. Fortunately, the density of the death energy surrounding Crodia had decreased significantly after he had summoned the Nether Dragon''s Shadow, which, in turn, lowered the City Lord''s Magic Resistance. This considerably increased the team''s total DPS. However, Crodia had begun to launch even fiercer attacks. Every hit shattered a building and killed anyone caught unprepared. As a result, the team steadily lost members. Even as players died, however, Crodia''s HP gradually decreased. 40%... 20%... 10%... Finally, when Crodia''s HP fell to 1%, the Nether Dragon''s Shadow roared and transformed into over a dozen streams of death energy that returned to the Final Boss. "Don''t you dare think you can heal him!" The sudden development didn''t surprise Shi Feng in the least. This was Crodia''s trump card, which he would use when he was on the brink of death. Each stream of death energy could restore 3% of the Superior Mythic''s HP. To make matters worse, Crodia would summon the Nether Dragon''s Shadow once more after the healing process ended. This move had abruptly ended many superpowers'' raids in the past. Shi Feng quickly activated the Abyssal Blade''s Darkness Domain and executed Sword''s Orbit, using the 36 streams of Power of Darkness to prevent the death energy from approaching the City Lord. "Quick! Attack with everything you''ve got! I can''t hold them back for long!" Shi Feng shouted as the streams of death energy began to move faster. Players didn''t have the power to destroy this death energy. They could only do their best to stop the energy from reaching the Boss, but as more time passed, not only would the death energy move faster, but these streams would also multiply. "Attack!" Zhao Yueru and the others shouted as they desperately bombarded Crodia with whatever Spells they had available. They only had a small amount of Mana remaining, and they had exhausted all of their powerful moves. All they could do was manipulate their Mana to increase their Spells'' power and accuracy. 0.5%... 0.3%... 0.1%... Boom! With one last explosion, Crodia transformed into a thick cloud of death energy, rapidly dispersing from the alley and spreading throughout Poison City. The team''s survivors then heard the sounds of multiple system notifications. 2583 Clear Reward, S-rank Rating Chapter 2583 - Clear Reward, S-rank Rating System: Congratulations! You are the first team of players to complete Poison City''s Secret Land Crusade! Rewarding Level +1, 50 Free Mastery Points, 5 Legacy Skill Points, 1 Exotic Legacy Potion, 20 God''s Domain Reputation Points, and 40 Poison City Reputation Points. System: Congratulations! You are the first team of players to challenge Poison City while below Level 120 successfully. Rewarding 100 Poison City Reputation Points. System: Congratulations! Your Poison City Reputation has reached 100 points. Unlocking Poison City Exchange Merchant. You may now purchase Poison City''s specialty items. System: Congratulations! For completing the Inferior Legendary Quest, "Beginning of the End" in one day, you''ve received an S-rank clear rating. Rewarding Level +1,10 Legacy Skill Points, and 1 Silver Legacy Treasure Chest. The series of system notifications momentarily stunned every survivor on the team. These rewards were simply too abundant! Even without the quest rewards, Crodia had awarded enough EXP to add another 40%, at least, to everyone''s experience bars. Including the various quest rewards, everyone on the team rose by at least two levels. Even the players that had fallen in the battle and later resurrected had reached Level 114... "These rewards just saved us more than a fortnight of grinding and Dungeon raids. If the others back in the Guild find out about this, they''ll likely die from envy," one of Dark Rhapsody''s main force members said as he looked at his own level and available Legacy Skill Points. Even the various superpowers'' peak experts would be lucky to reach Level 110 by this stage of the game, yet the lowest- leveled player among Dark Rhapsody''s main force members had reached Level 114, with many already at 115. In other words, they were one minor threshold ahead of the various superpowers'' peak experts. While a gap of five levels might not seem like much, it was massive after factoring in the difference in equipment and weapons. Furthermore, Level 115 players could equip Level 120 items. Aside from the significant increase in levels, the team members were elated when they saw how many Legacy Skill Points they had earned. With 15 Legacy Skill Points, they could learn a new Tier 3 Legacy Skill, which would elevate their combat power to a whole new level. "That''s nothing! Take a look at the Exotic Legacy Potion and Silver Legacy Treasure Chest! Now those are truly amazing!" a Level 115, Tier 3 Dark Shield Warrior exclaimed as he pulled an ink-black potion and silver chest from his bag. When the rest of the team examined the two items'' descriptions, an uproar swept through the team. [Exotic Legacy Potion] (Grandmaster Potion, Consumable) Grants user guidance for 1 hour in unlocking the Mana Body or gaining Mana control. Limit 1 per player. [Silver Legacy Treasure Chest] Players have a high chance of obtaining a top-tier weapon or equipment piece catered to their class and level, a small chance of obtaining a Tier 3 Skill or Spell Book catered to their class, a very small chance of obtaining a piece of Epic Equipment, and a minute chance of obtaining a unique Legacy or Legacy Weapon catered to their class upon opening this chest. (Time limit: 1 natural day.) All of God''s Domain''s Tier 3 players dreamed of unlocking their Mana Bodies'' full potential and gaining more Mana control, but accomplishing either of these tasks was incredibly difficult. Even now, the various superpowers hadn''t found a reliable method to accelerate the process and had to rely on their members'' talent and skills. And yet, these players had just received a potion that offered an opportunity to make significant progress in both challenges. This was an astoundingly rare opportunity. If they took advantage of this opportunity properly, they might even become peak or apex experts in God''s Domain. The Silver Legacy Treasure Chest was just as astronomically valuable. Even with crappy luck, the worst item they would obtain was a top-tier weapon or equipment piece suited for their classes and levels. Such a weapon or piece of equipment would provide a massive boost to their combat power, and if they got lucky, they might even acquire a piece of Epic Equipment. "When the Guild Leader finds out about our rewards after working with Zero Wing, he''ll likely laugh himself mad," Blue Rainbow said, sighing ruefully as she gazed at the opened treasure chest before her. Her Silver Legacy Treasure Chest had granted a piece of Level 115 Dark-Gold Equipment, yet this was the worst possible outcome. Dark Rhapsody had sent over 100 members to participate in Zero Wing''s expedition, which meant that their team would return with more than 100 pieces of Level 115 Dark-Gold Equipment, and that was if everyone had bad luck! To secure such a haul, they''d have to repeatedly raid Level 115 Team Dungeons for more than 20 days. After all, only 100-man Hell Mode Team Dungeons and above had a chance of dropping Dark-Gold Equipment, and the drop-rate wasn''t even 100%. Yet, they had only tagged along with Zero Wing for a little over three days and gained such a bountiful harvest. When she reported this to her Guild Leader, he''d assume she was delusional or was acting as a spy for Zero Wing... The situation even dumbfounded Shi Feng. The rewards are so abundant? Shi Feng could not believe his eyes as he read the system notifications. Unlike everyone else, however, Shi Feng wasn''t focused on the Exotic Legacy Potion or Silver Legacy Treasure Chests. Instead, the amount of Poison City Reputation Points awarded and the fact that they had unlocked the city''s Exchange Merchant had caught his attention. Normally, earning Poison City Reputation Points was an incredible challenge. Players could only earn so many points by killing the Final Boss during the secret land''s First Clear. Subsequent kills yielded far less. Hence, players would need a very long time to gain enough points to get access to the Exchange Merchant. However, once the merchant had activated, players could purchase Poison City''s specialty potions, potion recipes, and forging designs for weapons and equipment with Magic Crystals. The most famous of Poison City''s specialty potions had to be the Misfortune Potion. Each bottle cost 1,000 Magic Crystals. When consumed, players had a 30% chance to gain a 12-hour Mana boost, a 60% chance for no effect at all, and a 10% chance to suffer 3 hours of Mana Deficiency. Unlike the Exotic Legacy Potion, players could consume as many Misfortune Potions as they wished. Once players had activated Poison City''s Exchange Merchant and had enough Magic Crystals, quickly unlocking their Mana Bodies'' full potential was entirely possible. Unfortunately, the Misfortune Potion was bound on purchase. In other words, only the players that had earned enough Poison City Reputation Points would have the privilege of using the potion. This was why the various superpowers of Shi Feng''s previous life had desperately raided Poison City again and again. Now, however, Shi Feng''s entire team had access to this highly sought-after privilege after clearing the city once. Once he suppressed his excitement over activating the Exchange Merchant, Shi Feng glanced at the last system notification, which only he had received. System: Congratulations! For completing the Inferior Legendary Quest, "Beginning of the End" with an S-rank clear rating, you have been awarded the Disaster Blade. You may seek out the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint for Legacy Guidance once or request the Sword Saint strengthen the Disaster Blade. You have five minutes to decide. 2584 Final Decision, Road to Tier 4 Chapter 2584 - Final Decision, Road to Tier 4 Shi Feng could not help but hesitate when he saw the system notification. Both the Legacy Guidance and the Disaster Blade strengthening were incredibly rare opportunities. Not only would the Legacy Guidance help players unlock their Mana Bodies'' full potential, but it would also help them reach beyond the 100% threshold. The knowledge a Titled Sword Saint like Elvoze had was especially valuable. With the Tier 6 Gods in seclusion, a Titled Sword Saint stood at the very apex of God''s Domain''s powerhouses. Of course, the chance to strengthen the awarded weapon was just as precious. This opportunity involved imbuing one''s Mana in a weapon, granting the weapon a portion of their abilities. This wouldn''t change any of the weapon''s Attributes, but the weapon''s power and Skill effects would receive a considerable boost. This could even grant the weapon hidden effects. If a Titled Sword Saint imbued an Epic Weapon like the Disaster Blade with his Mana, the weapon would be able to rival Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Even the various superpowers'' experts would consider such a weapon godly. They''d essentially be able to use it for their entire careers in God''s Domain. The weapon''s level limitation wouldn''t be a concern, either. It was possible to raise a Level 100-plus Epic Weapon or Equipment piece''s maximum level through certain means, although it would be more costly with a Level 100-plus Epic Weapon. However, if one could continue to use an Epic Weapon that rivaled Fragmented Legendary rank, the cost would be worthwhile. While Shi Feng hesitated, he heard the sound of another system notification. System: You have one minute remaining. If you fail to make a decision before the time limit has ended, both options will be considered abandoned. With so little time remaining, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and approached Elvoze. "Esteemed Sword Saint, I hope to obtain your Legacy Guidance," Shi Feng earnestly declared. "Are you certain? You have already unlocked your Mana Body, and based on how you accomplished that feat, you must have received Legacy Guidance from another powerhouse. I doubt my guidance will be of any significant help to you. In contrast, strengthening the Disaster Blade will certainly increase your strength," Elvoze calmly informed Shi Feng. "I am certain, my lord," Shi Feng replied, nodding. While he had unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential, 100% wasn''t enough for his future goals. He''d only reach greater heights by surpassing that threshold. Every powerhouse trod a different path, and obtaining more Legacy Guidance would definitely help him break past the 100% threshold. Most importantly, opportunities to receive Legacy Guidance were incredibly rare. If he missed this chance, he might never find another. Even after learning from the Heavenly Blue Saint''s Legacy Guidance, he had only unlocked his Mana Body''s full potential after combining what he had learned with a God''s Heart''s effects. Naturally, crossing the 100% threshold was far more difficult than reaching it. If he had to do so on his own, it would take ages before he made a breakthrough. He might never actually succeed. He had an Epic ranked Mana Body, and going beyond 100% at that rank would be much harder than it would be with lower ranks. If he did not have enough help, his chances of making a breakthrough were minuscule at best, even with the help of a God''s Heart. Thus, he had no choice. Strengthening the Disaster Blade would give him immediate access to a pseudo-Fragmented Legendary Weapon and boost his combat power, but the Disaster Blade was a fragment of Solomon''s Sword. Once he found five sword fragments, he would have to combine them to reproduce Solomon''s Sword, which would render the strengthening useless. Moreover, Shi Feng now had the Fragmented Legendary ranked Abyssal Blade. He no longer lagged behind others when it came to weapon standards. More importantly, Tier 3 wasn''t the end for true experts, only a transition. Reaching Tier 4 was a far better option than obtaining another Fragmented Legendary item. As players reached higher levels, the strength differences between tiers would only grow. Sooner or later, the gap would grow so large that not even one or two Fragmented Legendary items would make a difference. Shi Feng had also reached Level 117, only three levels away from the Level 120 threshold. Level 120! Naturally, the Tier 4 Promotion Quest would be much harder than the Tier 3 quest. The two weren''t even on the same level. The Tier 3 Promotion Quest would be like a Normal Mode Party Dungeon, while the Tier 4 quest would be as challenging as a 100-man, Hell Mode Team Dungeon. There was a qualitative difference between the two. Most mainstream experts were capable of reaching Tier 3. Even if they couldn''t do it at Level 100, they could complete the quest after reaching Level 120 or level 130. Tier 4, however, was a different story. If one truly couldn''t complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, they''d never do so, even after reaching Level 200. Because of this, Tier 4 experts had been incredibly rare in the past, even among the various superpowers. Anyone that successfully reached Tier 4 instantly became a Guild upper echelon. Moreover, completing the Tier 4 Promotion Quest took a very long time. According to the statistics players had collected in the past, completing a Tier 4 Promotion Quest could take anywhere between one and two months. However, Shi Feng also had to face the Silver Divine Dragon, Auerbeck''s trial, so he was in a rush. If he couldn''t reach Tier 4 before he had to undertake the Divine Dragon''s trial, his chances of clearing the trial would be all but zero. Unfortunately, he couldn''t afford to lose Auerbeck due to the many benefits the Divine Dragon''s companion enjoyed. It had also helped him secure a foothold on the western continent. In his current state, Shi Feng estimated that his chances of completing the Tier 4 Promotion quest were only around 10% or 20%. He had no choice but to grab ahold of whatever opportunities that would help him increase his chances as soon as possible. "It seems you have already decided on your path," Elvoze said, and he seemed to look at the Swordsman before him in a different way. He no longer viewed Shi Feng as a weaker being, but as an equal. He then retrieved a crystal ball and handed it to Shi Feng, saying, "This is the experience I have gained over the years. I hope it will be of some help." After handing Shi Feng the crystal ball, Elvoze transformed into a streak of light and vanished from Poison City. The two Tier 4 NPCs who had accompanied him also disappeared, and the dull-gray longsword Crodia had wielded returned to the fountain. Removing the Disaster Blade from the fountain, Shi Feng stored it in his bag. He had no intention of using the weapon at all. Unlike ordinary weapons, the Disaster Blade would convert its user''s Mana into dense death energy, which would affect everyone that came into contact with it, aside from the user. Just having the weapon passively equipped would influence the carrier''s surroundings. The weapon''s properties made it utterly unsuitable for ordinary players. Only Dark Players that preferred to work solo could wield the blade properly. This was another reason that Shi Feng had declined the chance to strengthen the Disaster Blade. "Guild Leader, we''ve finished collecting the Boss''s loot," Aqua Rose excitedly reported once Shi Feng had finished his conversation with Elvoze. "We''ve gained quite a harvest this time. Aside from the Fragmented Legendary ranked mage robes, Undead''s Will, we''ve acquired two Epic Weapons: a staff and a dagger. The complete Nether Set, a Tier 3 Set Equipment for magical classes, also dropped, as well as a bunch of materials and recipes. According to your instructions, we held an internal auction for the Epic Weapons. Blue Frost won the staff, while Flying Shadow won the dagger. What should we do with the Undead''s Will and Tier 3 Set Equipment?" "Give the Undead''s Will to Blue Frost. He still has to command the situation in the Dark Den. It''ll make things easier for him when he has to stand up against the various superpowers," Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. Before Shi Feng and Aqua Rose could continue their conversation, though, Dark Rhapsody''s Blue Rainbow approached Shi Feng. Worried, she informed him, "Guild Leader Black Flame, I''ve just received a report stating that Demon''s Heart''s alliance team has reached the first floor''s third Boss and begun the raid. By the looks of it, they have a very high chance of taking it down..." The Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor had four Bosses in total. If Demon''s Heart''s alliance managed to defeat the third Boss, they were almost guaranteed to defeat the Final Boss, as well. "Their raiding speed is astonishing." Shi Feng was similarly surprised to hear this. Each of the Ancient God''s Tower''s floors was as large as a small resource map. Finding the Bosses wasn''t easy. However, Shi Feng chuckled and assured her, "Fortunately, we''ve completed our task here. It''s time we return." 2585 Small Problem, Raid Begins! Chapter 2585 - Small Problem, Raid Begins! Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City: After acquiring the Disaster Blade, Shi Feng decided to leave Poison City immediately, using a Return Scroll to teleport back to Stone Forest City''s Freedom Hotel. As he and his team appeared in the hotel lobby, they attracted a lot of attention from the hotel''s guests. Although most of the team members had hidden their statistics and auras under Black Cloaks, some hadn''t. As a result, a heavy pressure bore down on the players in the lobby when the team returned. It was even stronger than that of Level 110 Great Lords, with some players radiating even more pressure than Level 110 Grand Lords... "Crap! Aren''t these players'' auras a little too strong?! They feel even stronger than superpowers'' teams I''ve met before! Who are these people!?" "Look, those NPCs are acting so respectfully before the Swordsman in the lead. Could that be the grinding team Black Flame led out of the city earlier?" You might be right. Usually, those NPCs are even indifferent toward Gold Members. I suspect they''d only show respect to someone of Black Flame''s standing." The players in the lobby fell into a heated discussion about Shi Feng''s team, and many independent players watched on in envy. Now that Zero Wing controlled the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate, Stone Forest City was officially a sacred leveling ground for regular players. Countless players from various kingdoms and empires swarmed toward the city. Just entering the city had become a problem, not to mention renting a room in the Freedom Hotel. Zero Wing''s members, however, did not have these problems. They didn''t have to stand in line to enter the city or fight for a room in the Freedom Hotel. Their Guild had already reserved rooms for its members. Moreover, Zero Wing''s normal members received a 40% discount if paid for their rooms with GCPs, while core members received a 50% discount. These were the reasons that more players constantly sought to join the Guild. And to ensure that the Guild could continue its normal operations while providing the same benefits, Zero Wing had further increased the recruitment requirements. Countless players regretted not joining sooner. Meanwhile, it wasn''t long after Shi Feng''s team had returned that the various powers within the city heard about it. "Black Flame''s finally back?" Dawn Dominance, who had concealed himself with a Black Cloak and rested in one of the Freedom Hotel''s rooms, sneered as he read the latest report from his subordinate. "It seems he''s increased the combat power Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members by quite a bit. It''s a pity that he''s too late. Demon''s Heart''s team has almost pinpointed the third Boss''s weaknesses. It''s only a matter of time before they defeat it and move on to the Final Boss." "Guild Leader, Flaming Light has reported that those people are now in Cold Spring Forest. Should we leave?" a Level 109, Tier 3 Elementalist asked from beside Dawn Dominance. "Good. Yes, we''ll head over immediately. I want to see just what kind of powerful individuals Flaming Light has invited to declare that he can help World Domination take control of the Dark World," Dawn Dominance said, nodding. Following which, Dawn Dominance left Stone Forest City with his subordinates, making his way to Cold Spring Forest''s outer region. At the same time, the various superpowers operating secretly in Stone Forest City only snickered at Shi Feng''s return. So what if Zero Wing controlled the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate? In the end, the Dark World''s players would still reach the main continent in droves, and now that Zero Wing was their enemy, the Guild would suffer once they arrived. Nowhere would be safe for Zero Wing''s members outside of Cold Spring Forest. Upon his return, Shi Feng instructed the NPC manager to arrange an advanced lounge for the team to rest. "Guild Leader Black Flame, Demon''s Heart has already begun to raid the third Boss, yet you want to rest here...?" Blue Rainbow anxiously complained. Although they were fatigued from their trip to Poison City, players would recover a significant fraction of their Stamina and Concentration when they leveled up. After that Final Boss, they had all leveled twice, so the team was in relatively good condition. They were more than capable of starting their raid in the Ancient God''s Tower. Yet, Shi Feng had told them to rest for now almost as if he were afraid that Demon''s Heart didn''t have a strong enough lead. "No. Your Stamina and Concentration might be fine, but the secret land''s death energy is still corroding your bodies. The Ancient God''s tower also has powerful foreign energy. On the off chance that these energies cause too much damage before you clear the trial, all of your efforts will go to waste. It''d be better to rest here for a while, rather than take such a risk. You can use the time to drink the Exotic Legacy Potions you''ve obtained, as well," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "But the time..." Shi Feng''s insistence did nothing to calm Blue Rainbow''s worries. The future of their two Guilds was at risk. If Demon''s Heart''s alliance captured the first floor before they could, their Guilds wouldn''t survive in the Dark World for long. "I doubt there will be any issues if you take full advantage of that potion," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Neither the dropped weapons and equipment nor the awarded Legacy Skill Points were the team''s greatest reward. Instead, it was the Exotic Legacy Potions. When players normally slew Poison City''s Bosses, each Boss only dropped one or two Exotic Legacy Potions. Furthermore, those Bosses only respawned after three days. Knowing this, it was easy to imagine how valuable the potions were. However, because the team had completed the Inferior Legendary Quest, every member had been awarded one bottle. Although a single Exotic Legacy Potion might not help someone fully unlock their Mana Body, in combination with the Freedom Hotel''s astounding environment, it would help these players unlock a sizable percentage. That percentage alone would grant a massive boost to their combat power since it tremendously improved their Skills and Spells'' power. However, Shi Feng''s advice confused Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold. What did he mean by ''take full advantage?'' Of course, he had a point. While their consecutive leveling had cleansed them of a portion of the foreign energy, much still remained. If this energy and the energy within the tower corroded too much of their bodies halfway into the raid, they''d be doomed. Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold immediately stopped wasting time. They instructed all of their players to move to the reserved lounge, rest, and consume the Exotic Legacy Potions. In total, the team rested for over an hour. Once they felt refreshed, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold hurried toward the Dark World''s Ancient God''s Tower with their respective Guilds'' main force members. By the time the group arrived, another four hours had passed. The Ancient God''s Tower had seven floors and was over a thousand meters tall. Players, whom the Dark World''s various powers had stationed to guard the entrance, didn''t try to stop the group when Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold arrived. They simply stepped aside and let the force enter the tower, notifying the team within of their arrival. Meanwhile, a six-meter-tall, Level 113 Mythic ranked Ore lay lifeless before Demon''s Heart''s team within an ancient city on the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. "Elder Heart, our scouts have located the fourth ancient city," a Level 110, Tier 3 Dark Ranger reported, approaching Furious Heart. "In addition, our brothers at the entrance have informed me that Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members have entered the tower." "They''ve finally decided to show up?" The report surprised Furious Heart. "How many people did they send? Are Zero Wing''s members with them?" Their team had already defeated the first floor''s third Boss and located the Final Boss. He found it surprising that the two Guilds would bother to show up now. They must have brought powerful support with them and were confident of surpassing the alliance team''s progress. "Just a little over 200. We didn''t see any of Zero Wing''s members or the outside world''s players among their team," the Dark Ranger reported. "Just a little over 200? Have those Guilds lost their minds?" For a moment, Furious Heart wondered if he had misheard the Tier 3 Dark Ranger. Demon''s Heart''s alliance had sent over a thousand Tier 3 experts just to increase their chances of raiding the Ancient God''s Tower! What could a measly 200-plus Tier 3 experts possibly accomplish? "Should we send our spies to find out more?" the Dark Ranger asked. "No need. To think they would dare enter the tower with so few players, do they think this is some kind of playground?" Furious Heart said, shaking his head. Chuckling, he continued, "Let them struggle. They''re only fools if they thought they could rely on Zero Wing. Once we finish our raid, we''ll make them regret their decision!" With that, Furious Heart commanded his team to head toward the Final Boss. He completely disregarded the matter involving Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. In the meantime, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s main force members stopped before the doors to the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. "Alright, let''s start the raid!" Blue Rainbow exclaimed, glancing over the team. 2586 Surpassing Logic, Ancient Gods Tower Unlocked Chapter 2586 - Surpassing Logic, Ancient God''s Tower Unlocked Dark World, Ancient God''s Tower: A team of over a thousand players fought the wandering Barbaric Ores as they advanced across a gravel wasteland, but due to the high number of the Ores, the team''s progress was quite slow. From afar, it looked like the team was drowning in a sea of Ores. Aside from the area the players occupied, the Barbaric Ores covered every inch of the wasteland. [Barbaric Ore] (Humanoid Creature, High Lord) Level 112 HP 57,000,000/57,000,000 [Barbaric Ore Warrior] (Humanoid Creature, Great Lord) Level 113 HP 140,000,000/140,000,000 [Barbaric Ore Captain] (Humanoid Creature, Grand Lord) Level 114 HP 500,000,000/500,000,000 "Elder Heart, too many monsters are swarming out of the ancient city. If we get any closer, I''m afraid we''ll alert the Ore guards on the city walls," one of the Level 110, Tier 3 Shield Warriors on the frontlines called back. Although the first three cities had been difficult to raid, none had had this many monsters. The fourth ancient city was home to at least 100,000 Ores. If their team hadn''t been entirely comprised of Tier 3 experts, these Barbaric Ores and Barbaric Ore Warriors would''ve long since eliminated them. "Why is this city so much harder?" Furious Heart frowned, watching the Barbaric Ore Captains on the city walls. Gritting his teeth, he commanded, "Everyone, change formation! Prioritize the Ores here before we continue!" While their team was more than capable of dealing with Level 114 Grand Lords, there were more than 30 Grand Lords stationed on the walls. In the outside world, such a force could effortlessly demolish Guild Towns. There were simply too many Ores and Ore Warriors for a team of their size to handle. With Furious Heart''s command hanging in the air, the team moved out of their V-formation into a block formation. The MTs and melee players held back the swarming Ores, while the ranged players attacked from within the block''s inner layer. Once everyone was in position, the team''s magic class players began to chant long incantations. More than a hundred gigantic magic arrays appeared above the Ore force, blotting out the sky. Four seconds later, the arrays had taken shape and rained fire, ice, and lightning down on the Ores below. Boom... Boom... Boom... Deafening explosions echoed across the gravel wasteland. By the time the last large-scale destruction Spell came to an end, the surrounding terrain had transformed. Easily over 4,000 Barbaric Ore and Barbaric Ore Warrior corpses littered the deformed land. "Nice! A team with plenty of large-scale destruction Spells is awesome!" "I know, right? My usual team only has a few people with Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells, yet we currently have over a hundred. I doubt even superpowers can field such a powerful team." "It''s a pity that the tower''s monsters don''t drop any loot and grant almost no EXP. Otherwise, we would''ve hit the jackpot." The various major powers'' experts were astonished at the carnage around them. They knew that Demon''s Heart had gone around the Dark World, borrowing manpower from the various major powers to raid the Ancient God''s Tower and prioritizing players with Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spells. However, only a few players at a time had cast these Spells during their prior battles. They hadn''t been allowed to cast these Spells simultaneously. The shock they felt after watching over a hundred large-scale destruction Spells go off at once was on a completely new level. The team members also realized how important players with such devastating Spells were. They had to admit that these magical class players were walking cannons in large-scale combat. "I wonder what Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s people are thinking. I can''t believe they''re trying to race us to the final boss with just 200-plus players. Their full team is smaller than the number of players we have with Tier 3 large- scale destruction Spells," a Tier 3 Ranger said, laughing at the destruction around him. "I doubt they have any idea how many large-scale destruction Spellcasters we have on our team. If they knew, they''d likely just give up," a Tier 3 Elementalist added, chuckling. Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society were formidable Guilds in the Dark World, but they weren''t strong enough to compete with the combined might of the Otherworld''s various major powers. Even the weakest member on the alliance team was a Refinement Realm expert in full Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment. Even the various superpowers only had a few experts with such high equipment standards, yet every member of the alliance team wore such equipment. How, exactly, did Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society plan to compete with them? "Enough chit chat! We need to eliminate these Barbaric Ores quickly! If we take our time, and they respawn during the Boss fight, we''ll be in trouble!" Furious Heart shouted, chuckling. He hadn''t been worried about the two Guilds'' attempt to raid the Ancient God''s Tower since the very beginning. Not even Zero Wing could help them now. Not only did the alliance team consist of peak combatants from the Dark World''s various major powers, but it also had support from the main continent''s various superpowers. Finally, after over a dozen hours of fighting, Furious Heart and his team had obliterated the Barbaric Ore army on the gravel wasteland and in the ancient city. Now, only the Final Boss and a few guards remained. [Barbaric Ore King] (Humanoid Creature, Archaic Species, Mythic) Level 114 HP 3,500,000,000/3,500,000,000 [Barbaric Ore Guard] (Humanoid Creature, Specialized Grand Lord) Level 114 HP 600,000,000/600,000,000 When they saw the Barbaric Ore King and eight Barbaric Ore Guards in the ancient tower within the city''s heart, Furious Heart and his companions gasped. An ordinary Mythic Boss was already a major challenge due to their incredibly high Basic Attributes and combat standards. However, a Mythic ranked Archaic Species was even more powerful in both regards. Meanwhile, the system would enhance one aspect of Specialized monsters. In other words, they could transcend tiers in a specific way. Hence, Specialized Grand Lords'' combat power could sometimes rival that of ordinary Mythic monsters. Now, their team had to face eight pseudo Mythic monsters, and including the Boss, a total of nine Tier 4 opponents. This force could even destroy Guild Cities. "Elder Heart, the guards and the Boss are too close to each other. If we attack one, all nine will respond," a Level 110, Tier 3 Assassin from World Domination warned, frowning. "Then we have no choice but to fight them all at the same time. Once we begin, lure the eight monster guards aside and kill them first. We''ll focus on the Boss afterward," Furious Heart decided after giving the matter some thought. His teammates nodded when they heard his plan. While quite a few mobs surrounded the Boss, they had over a thousand players and could easily afford to split up their combat power to distract the Boss, while the rest finished off the guards, who had significantly less HP. Once the plan had been agreed upon, everyone got to work. Just as the team''s MTs were about to split up and lure the Boss and its eight guards, however, they all heard the sound of a series of system notifications. Ancient God''s Tower Region System Announcement: A team has successfully completed the trial of the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. The teleportation arrays on the first floor have now been unlocked. Ancient God''s Tower Region System Announcement: A team has successfully completed the trial of the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. All players on the first floor will be automatically teleported to the first floor''s inner sanctum in three minutes. Please make the necessary preparations. "This... How is this possible!?" After hearing the system announcements, the central tower went quiet. 2587 One Step Ahead? Frightening Levels! Chapter 2587 - One Step Ahead? Frightening Levels! "We haven''t even started on the Boss, yet the trial''s been cleared? Did another team get ahead of us?" "Did some power send a team into the tower in secret before we got here?" "Impossible! No one can field a team powerful enough to clear the tower without anyone noticing!" No one on the alliance team could believe their ears when they heard the system announcement. At the same time, they all wondered which team had just conquered the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. But even after racking their brains for a long moment, they couldn''t think of anyone who could pull it off. They had first-hand experience with the first-floor trial, so they knew just how challenging it was. Not only would a team need at least 1,000 Tier 3 Refinement Realm experts, but they''d also have to be fully armed with top-tier equipment. Their alliance team had even been forced to borrow their top-tier weapons and equipment from the main continent''s various superpowers. Procuring enough of these items was simply impossible for the Dark World''s various major powers. "Could it be Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s team, Elder Heart?" the Level 110, Tier 3 Assassin from World Domination wondered. "Impossible!" Furious Heart''s reply was instinctive. They only entered the tower less than half a day ago! With just 200- plus players, they won''t even be able to handle the outer area''s monsters, much less the monsters within the four ancient cities!" "I guess you''re right. Even with top-tier equipment, they''d need a lot of time to figure out the Bosses'' patterns and weaknesses. They''ll be lucky to raid the first Boss so quickly, not to mention all four," the Assassin said. He silently scolded himself for being stupid enough to think Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society could be responsible for capturing the first floor. "Since they couldn''t do it, who just did?" Everyone in the Dark World knew that Dark Rhapsody, Deity Society, and World Domination were the three strongest Guilds in their Otherworld, and no other Guild could compare. Hence, he found it hard to imagine that some hidden power, capable of accomplishing such a feat, existed. "I don''t know who foiled our plans, but it''s fine as long as it wasn''t Dark Rhapsody or Deity Society," Furious Heart commented after taking a moment to calm his rage. "We''ll figure out who they are when they system teleports us to the inner sanctum." The appearance of a third faction certainly surprised Furious Heart, but it wasn''t something to make a fuss over. Plenty of major corporations had invested in God''s Domain, and there were bound to be some who secretly developed their powers, waiting for an opportunity to shine. That was, after all, Demon''s Heart''s situation. This wasn''t the worst possible outcome. With how much influence Demon''s Heart and the various superpowers possessed, they weren''t afraid that this third faction wouldn''t cooperate. Rather, allying with them would be the wisest move this faction could make. The other powers'' members nodded in agreement. Their team represented the majority of the Dark World''s major powers. Refusing to cooperate would be tantamount to suicide. The Ancient God''s Tower wasn''t the only way out of the Dark World, and players could contest for its ruling rights once a month. The easiest way to determine the tower''s new owner once that month was up was to host a battle between players, not a simple contest of who could raid the tower the fastest Shortly after Furious Heart fell silent, a teleportation array appeared under everyone''s feet, sending all of them to the tower''s inner sanctum. Ancient God''s Tower, first floor''s central hall: A flash of white light filled the central hall''s plaza as all players on the first floor teleported in. The first floor''s central hall was roughly the size of three sports stadiums. Aside from the stone golems that maintained security, the hall contained a large number of hotels, restaurants, and Shops. This place could easily accommodate 100,000 players. "Quick! Find those people!" Furious Heart commanded as soon as he arrived. Although getting a clear view of the plaza with a glance was possible, they couldn''t do anything to stop the third faction''s members from fleeing. Players weren''t allowed to fight within the Ancient God''s Tower''s inner sanctum, and players could freely use Return Scrolls in this area. However, the alliance team members were stunned by what they found in their search for the mysterious third faction. Aside from Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s 200-plus members and themselves, the plaza was empty... "Where are they?" Furious Heart also looked around, confused. "Have they already escaped? No! Impossible! Everyone teleported at the same time! Even if they used Return Scrolls the moment they arrived, we should''ve still seen them!" While Furious Heart and his team frantically searched for this third faction, two figures approached them. However, Furious Heart and the others instinctively ignored them. The two figures were none other than Dark Rhapsody''s Blue Rainbow and Deity Society''s Elder Gold. "Long time, no see, Elder Heart," Blue Rainbow greeted Furious Heart as she walked up to him. "Long time, no see? If I recall, we met only a few days ago," Furious Heart rudely responded. He had visited the two Guilds personally to persuade them to join with Demon''s Heart. Blue Rainbow had received him when he visited Dark Rhapsody, but both Guilds had foolishly and definitively refused Demon''s Heart''s goodwill, siding with Zero Wing instead. Furious Heart didn''t doubt that these two were here to ridicule the alliance team for failing to capture the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor. "Is such behavior necessary, Elder Heart? I am only here to pass on a message from Guild Leader Black Flame," Blue Rainbow said, unfazed by man''s attitude. "Relay a message? I hadn''t realized that Dark Rhapsody''s Honorary Elder had become Zero Wing''s errand girl. The world really has changed," Furious Heart said, sneering. "That''s right; the world has changed. Some people just refuse to acknowledge it," Blue Rainbow responded, not angered in the least by Furious Heart''s provocation. Chuckling, she continued, "Guild Leader Black Flame''s message is simple. Develop yourselves quietly, and don''t cause unnecessary trouble. If you refuse, there will be consequences!" "Consequences? With just Zero Wing''s strength? Demon''s Heart''s foundation and strength are leagues beyond what Zero Wing can imagine!" Furious Heart growled disdainfully. "While I admit that we failed to secure the first floor''s First Clear, can''t the same be said of you?" "The same of us?" The question surprised Blue Rainbow. After a moment, she simply shook her head before turning and leaving without another word. Elder Gold, who had stood beside her, just chuckled before he walked off. "What are you laughing about?!" Furious Heart bellowed after the older man. He didn''t receive a reply, however, and in the next moment, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members pulled Return Scrolls from their bag as they prepared to leave the Ancient God''s Tower. Just as Furious Heart was about to say something else, he heard a voice. "Something''s not right, Elder Heart! Look at their levels!" the Assassin from World Domination exclaimed. Everyone from the alliance team turned to examine the other players'' levels, and what they saw left them utterly flabbergasted. "Level 115?! How is that possible!?" 2588 Inhuman Abilities, Dark World Shaken! Chapter 2588 - Inhuman Abilities, Dark World Shaken! Furious Heart was dumbfounded at the levels of Blue Rainbow and the others. Even the peak experts of God''s Domain had only reached Level 110 and were still a far cry from Level 111. Nevertheless, the majority of Dark Rhapsody''s and Deity Society''s members present here were at Level 115 already, with even the lowest-leveled player among them at Level 114. "How are their levels so high? What did Zero Wing do?" Furious Heart''s eyes were wide with astonishment as he gaped at Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold. Furious Heart had personally met Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold just a few days ago. Back then, both of them were only at Level 109. Now, in less than a week, they had actually leveled up six times and reached Level 115. The only explanation Furious Heart could think of for this situation was the expedition Dark Rhapsody''s and Deity Society''s main force members had gone on with Zero Wing. However, no matter how he cudgeled his brains, he simply couldn''t figure out how Zero Wing could fast-track the two Guilds'' main force members'' leveling that much. Past Level 100, leveling up became incredibly difficult. Even Tier 3 experts would need two or three consecutive days of relentless grinding to level up once. However, the two Guilds'' main force members had disappeared for just a little more than three days, yet every one of them had gained around five or six levelswhich meant they leveled up nearly twice a day. Even a Super Guild mobilizing all of its available strength to help just one individual level up couldn''t accomplish such a feat. Zero Wing, on the other hand, had done so for more than 200 players. Just what kind of resources and manpower would such a feat entail? "Elder Heart, look at their equipment..." the Tier 3 Assassin from World Domination said, pointing at the gear of Dark Rhapsody''s and Deity Society''s members. When Furious Heart did as the Assassin suggested, he gasped in shock. "Am I dreaming?" Furious Heart muttered. Previously, his attention had been fully occupied with searching for the supposed third faction that had captured the Ancient God''s Tower; hence, he had instinctively ignored the members of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. However, after scrutinizing the two Guilds'' members, he noticed that the majority of them wore Secret-Silver Equipment mixed in with some Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Equipment. In terms of rank, the two Guilds'' members'' equipment couldn''t even compete against that of the alliance team members, who were fully geared in Fine-Gold Equipment. However, Furious Heart still felt an incredibly powerful pressure coming from the two Guilds'' members. Logically, this shouldn''t be possible even with a five-level disparity. The only explanation Furious Heart could think of for this situation was that the two Guilds'' members boasted Level 115-plus weapons and equipment. In terms of Basic Attributes, Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment was roughly equal with Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, although players would gain some Basic Attributes from leveling up five times, the increase wouldnt resd^ in a huge gap in Basic Attributes. At the very least, there needed to be a one-rank difference for such a disparity to exist. Hence, the only logical explanation was that the Secret-Silver Equipment Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s members were using was Level 115. Currently, Level 110 equipment was incredibly rare even for the various superpowers, while Level 115 equipment was something nobody dared to dream of obtaining right now. After all, obtaining Level 115 equipment required killing Level 115-plus monsters. And generally, only monsters at the Great Lord rank or above had a chance of dropping Secret- Silver Equipment. Meanwhile, all 200-plus members of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s team were fully geared in Level 115 Secret- Silver Equipment or better. This was simply ridiculous. Guild Leader, it seems we really made the wrong choice. The Level 110 Assassin from World Domination could not help a bitter smile as he gazed at Blue Rainbow and the others. A third faction capturing the Ancient God''s Tower? That was merely their arbitrary wish. In reality, the ones responsible for capturing the Ancient God''s Tower were none other than the joint team of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society. However, the only reason why the two Guilds succeeded was Zero Wing''s help. Meanwhile, just because of Zero Wing''s help, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had gone from being inferior to World Domination to surpassing World Domination by a large margin. In fact, Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society were now at a level where World Domination could only look up to them in awe. With the two Guilds having captured the Ancient God''s Tower, it was already obvious that they would experience tremendous development in the Dark World. In the future, the two Guilds would definitely become the rulers of the Dark World. Meanwhile, after their conquest of the Ancient God''s Tower, Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold did not place any more attention on the tower, making their way back to their respective headquarters to rest instead. After all, they didn''t need to manage the tower. Currently, the only option the Dark World''s various powers and players had to leave the Dark World was the Teleportation Gate connected to Cold Spring Forest. As for using the Ancient God''s Tower''s teleportation arrays, that would simply be a waste of time and resources. After all, they would first have to transit through another Otherworld to get to the main continent. Shortly after Blue Rainbow and the others left the central hall, news of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society capturing the Ancient God''s Tower also started spreading like wildfire across the entire Dark World. For a time, the Dark World was in an uproar. "How is this possible? Didn''t they say that Demon''s Heart allied with the various major powers to raid the Ancient God''s Tower?" Those two Guilds are that strong now?" "Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society actually took control of the Ancient God''s Tower. With this, it seems that everyone in the Dark World will have to listen to those two Guilds. Seeing as not many people are joining those two Guilds now, let''s use this opportunity to join them quickly, while we can still do so easily." At the news of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s achievement, some players celebrated while others felt disappointed. Nobody had ever entertained the thought of such an outcome. The alliance that Demon''s Heart formed with the Dark World''s various major powers had actually suffered defeat. This outcome solidified Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s position as the top two Guilds of the Dark World. Now, the dissatisfaction of the Dark World''s many players no longer mattered. Nobody would be able to stop the two Guilds'' development; trying to do so would simply be suicide. After all, the two Guilds could easily prevent their enemies from ever setting foot outside the Dark World. While players could grind and level up inside the Dark World, it was sorely lacking in Level 100-plus resources. Players restricted to grinding in the Dark World would experience extremely slow leveling speeds. If this situation continued over a long period, the gap between the two Guilds'' members and those barred from leaving the Dark World would only widen. Meanwhile, among the Dark World''s players, the ones most surprised by this outcome would have to be the members of Dark Rhapsody and Deity Societyespecially the upper echelons and Guild Leaders of the two Guilds. However, what truly surprised the upper echelons and Guild Leaders of the two Guilds wasn''t the successful capture of the Ancient God''s Tower''s first floor but the levels and equipment of Blue Rainbow, Elder Gold, and the others. With such levels and equipment, no power would be capable of contending against their two Guilds even on the main continent, much less in the Dark World. However, only Blue Rainbow, Elder Gold, and the members of the two Guilds'' main forces knew that, in reality, their greatest gains from partnering with Zero Wing weren''t these things but the Exotic Legacy Potions they obtained. Due to the Exotic Legacy Potion and the Freedom Hotel''s effects, every member of their team had successfully unlocked 40% of their Mana Bodies'' potential on average. As for Blue Rainbow and Elder Gold, the two of them had even managed to release 60%, only 40% away from fully unlocking their Mana Bodies. Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotel: "Guild Leader, this is terrible. Now, not only have Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society taken control of the Ancient God''s Tower, but their main force members are also far ahead than ours in both levels and equipment. At this rate, I''m afraid..." a Level 110, Tier 3 Assassin from World Domination said worriedly to Dawn Dominance, who was currently resting inside the Freedom Hotel, through a video chat. "It seems I really underestimated Zero Wing. I never thought that it would possess such capabilities. Those two Guilds sure have found themselves a powerful backer this time," Dawn Dominance remarked, his mood indescribably calm despite having read his subordinate''s report regarding Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s achievements. His reaction made it seem as if this matter was completely unrelated to him. In fact, a faint smile even graced his face right now. "Guild Leader?" The Tier 3 Assassin was confused when he saw Dawn Dominance''s reaction. "I admit that Zero Wing is very powerful. However, Zero Wing''s era will end very soon," Dawn Dominance said, chuckling. "Guild Leader, do you have some method to deal with Zero Wing and the two other Guilds?" the Assassin asked, curious. Zero Wing, Dark Rhapsody, and Deity Society currently controlled all the exits from the Dark World. The daily growth of the three Guilds was no laughing matter. He found it truly hard to imagine that World Domination had some way to oppose Zero Wing. Take a look at this," Dawn Dominance said, his smile widening as he took out a dark-gray crystal ball and displayed it through the video chat. As soon as Dawn Dominance took out the crystal ball, the space around it started darkening, the corrupted space giving off an indescribably strange feeling. In fact, even space itself started cracking, due to the evil energy the crystal ball released. "What dense energy! It can practically rival the energy in Seven Luminaries Crystals!" the Assassin exclaimed in shock. "I need you to do something for me. Take this crystal and harvest the lives of the Dark World''s players. Harvest as many as you can. Once this crystal has collected enough energy, it''ll be the end of Zero Wing and those two other Guilds!" Dawn Dominance said. "Understood. I''ll get it done right away." The Assassin nodded before disconnecting the call. In the meantime, when the main continent''s various superpowers found out that Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society had taken control of the Ancient God''s Tower, they could not help feeling surprised at Zero Wing''s capabilities. As for Shi Feng, after resting sufficiently, he returned to Star-Moon Kingdom''s White River City. White River City, Adventurer''s Association, second-floor VIP reception room: "Lord Bronze Legatee, how may I be of service?" Senior Administrator Lorrain asked, smiling as she entered the room. "I wish to transfer the Lost Town under my name to the Ten Saints Empire''s Demonwolf Mountain Range. May I know if that is possible?" Shi Feng asked her. The loot from raiding Poison City included not only excellent equipment and materials but also a Town Transfer Order for Level 100-plus maps. Now that Stone Forest City had already taken root in Cold Spring Forest, it should not be moved casually. However, to ensure that he could travel between the two main continents consistently, he needed to establish a stronghold in the Demonwolf Mountain Range as well. Moreover, this stronghold had to remain a secret. After giving the matter some thought, he felt that the Lost Town was the best option. 2589 Medium Teleportation Poin t Chapter 2589 - Medium Teleportation Point The Lost Town served as Zero Wing''s secret stronghold for nurturing talents. Even now, very few Guild members knew of its existence. Generally, only core members with great potential had the qualifications to set foot into the town. Moreover, these core experts needed to undergo multiple inspections before receiving the approval to enter the Lost Town. After all, the Extraordinary Tower''s function was simply crucial. Now that Shi Feng wished to establish a stable teleportation point inside the Demonwolf Mountain Range, the Lost Town was his best option. Firstly, the teleportation point linking the two main continents could not be disclosed to too many people. Hence, the stronghold established in the Demonwolf Mountain Range should have as few players operating within it as possible. Secondly, the size of the stronghold should not be too large, to limit the manpower and resources required for its upkeep. Otherwise, concealing it would be very difficult. Other powers keeping an eye on Zero Wing would definitely grow suspicious if a significant portion of the Guild''s funds was disappearing for no good reason. The Lost Town fulfilled both conditions perfectly. Of course, the act of transferring a Guild Town to a Level 100-plus neutral map was also incredibly insane. After all, the dangers lurking in Level 100-plus neutral maps were no laughing matter. If the Guild Town in question lacked sufficient defenses, it might not survive the first monster tide that assaulted it. However, with Zero Wing''s current strength, so long as Shi Feng did not move the Lost Town too deep into the Demonwolf Mountain Range, defending it from the periodic monster tides was still feasible. "Lord Bronze Legatee, transferring your town to the Demonwolf Mountain Range is very dangerous. Once your town is transferred there, it will no longer be protected by any kingdom or empire. Are you sure you wish to go through with the transfer?" Lorrain asked. "I''m sure," Shi Feng replied with a nod. Very well. Please specify your exact transfer location," Lorrain said as she took out a map of the Demonwolf Mountain Range. "Let''s move it here," Shi Feng said as he pointed at a gravel hill in the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner area. In the past, the Demonwolf Mountain Range had been incredibly famous in God''s Domain for having two teleportation points connected to the western continent. However, unlike the first teleportation point Shi Feng secured, which was the Magic Gate hidden beneath the frozen lake, the second teleportation point was a medium teleportation point with special circumstances. The medium teleportation point was inside a Demonwolf den. Players that wished to activate the teleportation array there had to clear out the monsters within the den first. However, the monsters inside this den would respawn periodically. Moreover, they would grow stronger with each respawn. In addition, nobody could truly take control of the teleportation point, so once the gate was activated, any player could make use of the gate so long as they had sufficient Magic Crystals. Due to this reason, the various superpowers had desperately fought to monopolize this teleportation point. The fires of war had never once ceased after the Teleportation Gate''s discovery. Even after a decade had passed in God''s Domain, the situation surrounding the teleportation point remained extremely volatile. Currently, Shi Feng was urgently trying to secure more teleportation points linking the two main continents. However, he would need to invest a lot of time if he wished to activate and secure the other teleportation points he knew of, as activating those teleportation points involved a series of quests. Either that or the teleportation points were small ones that could send only a handful of players with each use. Hence, the medium teleportation point located in the Demonwolf Mountain Range was his only option. Moreover, the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s medium teleportation point was in a Level 120-plus area, which was still a blind spot for current superpowers. He could use this opportunity to thoroughly stabilize his rule over the area. Thus, going for this teleportation point wasn''t a particularly bad choice. "Location verified. Please produce your Town Transfer Order. In addition, you have to pay a transfer fee of 80,000 Gold," Lorrain said. "Once you complete the payment, we will transfer your town to the desired location as soon as possible." "Eighty thousand?" Shi Feng was astonished at this price. Although transferring Guild Towns and Cities to Level 100-plus neutral maps generally cost a lot of money, the transfer fees were scaled, based on the target''s rank. Meanwhile, the Lost Town was merely a Basic Town, yet it cost 80,000 Gold to transfer it to the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner area. This was completely outside of his expectations. If he were transferring a Basic City instead of a Basic Town, the transfer would most likely bankrupt him. "That''s right. Not only is the location you have selected far, but it is also somewhat special. Hence, the transfer fee is slightly more expensive. However, please rest assured that the additional charges we collect are fair and reasonable," Lorrain said, smiling. "Alright. Here is the Town Transfer Order and 80,000 Gold," Shi Feng answered as he passed the document and the funds to Lorrain. He inwardly celebrated the fact that Stone Forest City had been raking in the profits recently. Despite the substantial increase in Zero Wing''s daily expenditure due to the number of Guild experts increasing to 220,000, the Guild still managed to save up a liquid fund of 170,000 Gold. Otherwise, he really wouldn''t have been able to afford the transfer fee this time. "Payment received. The transfer will be done in 30 minutes. You have one day to complete the handover procedures. Our security personnel will leave the site after one day, so please complete the handover procedures as soon as possible," Lorrain reminded after receiving payment. At the same time as Lorrain finished speaking, the Lost Town, in the distant Boneless Land, suddenly disappeared. Now, only a bunch of confused Zero Wing members remained in the barren wasteland. And in no time at all, Shi Feng received a call request from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, big trouble! The Lost Town disappeared!" Aqua Rose reported anxiously. The Lost Town was Zero Wing''s secret training ground for nurturing expert players. Although the town currently housed only several hundred players, all the experts that successfully reached the Truth Realm were more adept at fighting against monsters than even Refinement Realm experts. The only problem was that the players being nurtured at the Lost Town were all very low-leveled newcomers. The majority of them hadn''t even reached Level 100 yet, much less Tier 3. Nevertheless, so long as these players caught up in levels and tiers, they would become mainstays of Zero Wing. And with the help of these players, Zero Wing would finally gain the qualifications to stand toe-to-toe with the various superpowers! Hence, the Lost Town''s sudden disappearance would have a significant impact on Zero Wing''s future development. "It''s fine. I did it," Shi Feng said, chuckling. Shi Feng''s words confused Aqua Rose. "You made it disappear?" The Lost Town was serving its purpose just perfectly, so why did Shi Feng make it disappear right when Zero Wing was rapidly expanding its scale of operations? The Guild needed to nurture plenty of expert players to ensure normal operations. "Mhm. I transferred the Lost Town to the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner area. In the future, we wouldn''t have to worry about the trainees sacrificing their levels to improve their combat standards," Shi Feng said, nodding. "The Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner area? Isn''t that a Level 120 grinding spot?" Aqua Rose''s eyes widened in shock when she heard Shi Feng''s statement. She felt that he was simply insane for carrying out the transfer. Level 100-plus maps were incredibly dangerous. This was especially so for the Demonwolf Mountain Range. Transferring Stone Forest City into Cold Spring Forest had been incredibly risky. Fortunately, there was the Knight Division. With the Knight Division''s strength and the city''s defensive capabilities, they were able to cope with the monster tides. In fact, the Knight Division even took the initiative to wipe out any approaching monster tides. The Lost Town, on the other hand, was only a Basic Town. Its defensive capabilities were pitifully weak. Even though Zero Wing had strengthened the town repeatedly and constructed plenty of Defense Turrets and Arrow Towers as well as a defensive wall, the Lost Town was still a Basic Town. Without the protection of an NPC kingdom or empire, it would face destruction very quickly. "Relax. It should be able to hold against the monster tides," Shi Feng said, understanding Aqua Rose''s concern. "But that''s a Level 120 neutral map!" Despite Shi Feng''s reassurance, Aqua Rose still could not help worrying. After all, the Lost Town did not have the protection of a Knight Division. "Right, how is the collection of the disabled guards coming along?" Shi Feng asked, changing the topic. The collection of the disabled guards is progressing relatively smoothly. We have over a hundred of them already. As per your instructions, we gathered only those with Growth Potentials above 20. However, even the strongest one only has 32 Growth Potential," Aqua Rose said. That many already?" Shi Feng was surprised when he heard Aqua Rose''s report. "Gather them all at the Residence immediately. It''s about time we put them to work." Previously, although he had strengthened plenty of Personal Guards using the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment, they were still far from sufficient for Zero Wing''s needs. However, collecting the Soul Essences necessary for Soul Strengthening was not an easy task. Moreover, NPCs with high Growth Potential were incredibly rare. Since locating the last batch of NPCs until now, Zero Wing had barely found any NPCs with high Growth Potential. This could also be said to be the Literature Fragment''s limitation. However, the Tree of Life''s Water of Life was different. Not only could it raise the Growth Potential of NPCs slightly, but it could also resurrect dead NPCs or heal heavily injured NPCs within a short time. The Water of Life was manna from heaven for NPCs that had their Growth Potential drastically reduced due to heavy injuries. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and immediately teleported back to Stone Forest City. 2590 Water of Lifes Effects Chapter 2590 - Water of Life''s Effects Stone Forest City, Zero Wing''s Residence: Inside the Residence''s large conference room, over a hundred NPCs exuding despondent and listless auras currently stood in line. These NPCs were either crippled or civilians with extremely weak life auras. As for clothing, they wore either battered armor or tattered linen clothes. And even the highest-leveled person among them was just a little over Level 50, with the lowest-leveled person being Level 20. Due to the presence of these NPCs, the gorgeous conference room looked more like a refugee camp. "Guild Leader, everyone''s here," Aqua Rose reported as she approached Shi Feng. "Do you really plan on using the precious Water of Life on these people?" At this point, she had already found out about the Tree of Life planted in the Freedom Hotel''s top-floor courtyard because, during Shi Feng''s absence, three other people were tasked with ensuring the courtyard''s normal operation. She was one of those people. Back when she first saw the Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked Tree of Life, her mind had frozen in shock. She had never dreamed that the Guild she belonged to was so amazing. Currently, the various superpowers of God''s Domain didn''t even possess Legendary items yet, let alone Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Zero Wing, however, had a Fragmented Divine Artifact. Moreover, the Tree of Life could even produce 17 drops of Water of Life daily. The Water of Life was an incredibly precious item that was obtainable only by luck in God''s Domain. After all, the Water of Life could be used to resurrect dead NPCs. For the various powers who were extremely worried about their Personal Guards dying, the Water of Life was an absolute treasure. After all, Personal Guards were far more powerful than players, capable of feats that were beyond current players'' capabilities. Only, obtaining a few drops of Water of Life was an incredibly difficult task even for the superpowers. As a result, the superpowers did not dare to casually field their Personal Guards on risky operations. Zero Wing, however, produced 17 drops of Water of Life each day. Hence, they wouldn''t have to worry about losing their powerful Personal Guards at all and could freely deploy these NPCs on all kinds of quests and expeditions. However, even for the current Zero Wing, the daily production of 17 drops of Water of Life was still a little too low for the Guild''s needs. If they needed to heal these 100-plus NPCs, they would have to expend the entire stockpile they had accumulated thus far. It might be fine if they were spending all their Water of Life on healing NPCs with high Growth Potential, but the NPCs gathered here were all NPCs with very poor Growth Potential. Even if they recovered to peak condition, their Growth Potential wouldn''t increase by much. Using the Water of Life on these NPCs would simply be a waste. "Mhm, I want to test my luck," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the reluctance on Aqua Rose''s face. "Test your luck?" Shi Feng''s answer exasperated Aqua Rose. While testing one''s luck was fine, doing so at the cost of Water of Life was simply an extravagance. If God''s Domain''s various powers heard about this, they would definitely go crazy and try to choke Shi Feng to death. You never know what we''ll get," Shi Feng retorted, chuckling. "In any case, it''s a waste to let the Water of Life simply sit in storage doing nothing." Spending Water of Life to heal these crippled NPCs was indeed prodigal. However, nobody could guarantee that these NPCs would remain mediocre after they recovered to their peak. Moreover, he didn''t have Aqua Rose randomly gather injured NPCs, either. Instead, he had her select injured NPCs that were at Tier 3 or above. At the same time, these NPCs also needed to have a Growth Potential of 20 or higher. In God''s Domain, any NPC capable of reaching Tier 3 would not possess a low Growth Potential. Meanwhile, the 20- point mark for Growth Potential was a major turning point for Tier 3 NPCs. In the past, the various superpowers had experimented with using Water of Life on crippled Tier 3 NPCs. The result they obtained was that all crippled Tier 3 NPCs with a Growth Potential lower than 20 had failed to reach a Secret- Silver Guard rank even after recovering from their injuries. Of course, this did not mean that all crippled Tier 3 NPCs with a Growth Potential of 20 or higher would reach the Secret-Silver Guard standard once they recovered; the chances of success were just much greater. Fortunately, aside from Zero Wing, no other power was currently searching for such NPCs. As a result, Zero Wing managed to locate quite a number of these NPCs. And with the Growth Potentials of the gathered NPCs, the odds of there being excellent NPC Guards among them were quite high. In fact, so long as two or three Fine-Gold Guards emerged among these 100-plus NPCs, Zero Wing would''ve hit the jackpot. After all, NPCs capable of reaching the Dark-Gold Guard standard were incredibly rare in God''s Domain. Although Shi Feng had known about quite a few Dark-Gold Guards during his previous life, he didn''t know where to find them, as the superpowers had kept a tight lid on all information about those NPCs. He had only known about Kite''s whereabouts and circumstances because Kite had originated from Star-Moon Kingdom, and his owner was a merchant player with loose lips. Following which, Shi Feng provided one drop of Water of Life to every NPC present, his actions giving Aqua Rose a heartache. Every drop of Water of Life was equivalent to the life of an NPC with high Growth Potential. The Water of Life could also drastically increase the leveling speed of their Guild members. The Guild could raid Mythic Field Bosses without worrying about the price necessary to do so. These 100-plus drops of Water of Life could easily elevate the strength of Zero Wing''s main force to a whole new level. Upon receiving the Water of Life from Shi Feng, the despondent NPCs immediately brightened up as if they had just seen the light of hope. Once all the NPCs gathered had received their share of Water of Life, they took one last look at Shi Feng before consuming the Water of Life without hesitation. A dense life aura immediately filled the room. It was so dense that the cells in Aqua Rose''s body felt invigorated, her mind gaining greater clarity. After this phenomenon continued for three seconds, a powerful aura swept the entire room as if a Dragon had awoken from its slumber. Aqua Rose could not help stumbling a few steps back. "How is this possible?!" Aqua Rose''s eyes filled with shock as she gazed at the NPCs, who still looked like a throng of beggars, standing in front of her. At this moment, however, the feeling she got from the NPCs was nothing like the aura of a beggar at all. Instead, they felt like battle-hardened warriors that had fought on innumerable battlefields. Even though they were still wearing battered armor and tattered linen clothes, their tempered auras and overflowing Mana deterred ordinary people from approaching them casually. It seems we really hit the jackpot this time. Shi Feng also grew a little excited when he sensed the aura of the NPCs before him. Originally, he thought that he would be lucky to get even two or three Fine-Gold Guards out of these 100-plus NPCs. However, it would seem that he was sorely mistaken. The strength of the combined aura these 100-plus NPCs were currently releasing could already rival that of a 100-man team of Tier 3 Knightsdespite these NPCs being geared in extremely shabby weapons and equipment. If they were fully equipped with Epic Weapons and Equipment, their combined aura would definitely be much stronger than that of a 100-man team of Tier 3 Knights. Following which, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose started inspecting the updated statistics of these NPCs to get a better idea of these NPCs'' standards. Once they completed their inspection, Aqua Rose was stunned. Of the 100-plus NPCs gathered, even the weakest one was at the Mysterious-Iron Guard standard. These Mysterious- Iron Guards numbered only 47, but every one of them possessed very high Growth Potential for Mysterious-Iron Guards. With the help of the Ancient God''s Literature Fragment, Shi Feng had an excellent chance of elevating them to the Secret-Silver Guard standard. As for the remaining 57 NPCs, 49 of them were Secret-Silver Guards, six were Fine-Gold Guards, and two were Dark- Gold Guards. This outcome was simply ridiculous. While Aqua Rose stared at the two Dark-Gold Guards, Shi Feng''s focus was on an elderly man clad in gray robes. Despite this elderly man''s Growth Potential being only at the Secret-Silver Guard standard, Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with astonishment as he gazed at him. A Tier 4 Great Wizard?! 2591 Zero Wings New Residence Chapter 2591 - Zero Wing''s New Residence Shi Feng could not believe his eyes as he gazed at the elderly man in gray before him. Tier 4! This was a bona fide powerhouse, an individual that stood at the apex of God''s Domain! Noticing Shi Feng''s shock, Aqua Rose''s attention drifted to the Tier 4 Great Wizard. At first, she had been surprised, but disappointment quickly followed. She had just noticed the elderly man''s Growth Potential. "What a pity," Aqua Rose said, sighing. "Tier 4 is amazing, but his Secret-Silver ranked Growth Potential will hold him back." Normally, Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Guards hit their limit at Tier 3. While Secret-Silver Guards were stronger than Bronze and Mysterious-Iron rank, they would hit a wall at Tier 4, with minuscule chances of making it to Tier 5. More of God''s Domain''s players hit Tier 3 every day, and it wouldn''t be long before the various superpowers'' peak experts began to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. Once they completed those quests, Tier 4 NPCs'' power would become quite limited, especially that of Tier 4 Secret-Silver guards. A Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard''s combat power was only on par with a Tier 4 peak expert in full, top-tier equipment. They might be strong, but they weren''t invincible. "A pity?" Shi Feng shook his head and laughed, but he didn''t bother to say more. "We''ve gotten so lucky this time, Guild Leader. We now have two more Dark-Gold Guards: a Guardian Knight and an Oracle. If your two Guards participate, you could form a well-rounded raid party to take down high-ranked Field Bosses," Aqua Rose delightedly reported. Shi Feng was one of White River City''s Counts, so he had the authority to recruit four Personal Guards. If he accepted these new Dark-Gold Guards, he could use his four guard slots to their maximum efficiency. Dark-Gold Guards were incredibly rare. Most, if not all, superpowers didn''t even have one. "I''ll pass on these two Dark-Gold Guards. You and Snow will each nurture one. Both of you are Counts, too, so you should have some extra slots," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "I''ll take this gray-clad elder." Dark-Gold Guards were extremely useful, especially when players wouldn''t have to worry about dying. Forming a standard, four-man raiding party with only Dark-Gold or better Guards would be a dream. However, he almost always operated alone. Rather than take the two Dark-Gold Guards for himself, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose could make better use of them. The two women frequently led grinding teams and Dungeon raids. A Dark- Gold Guard would greatly enhance their respective teams'' strength. "But, Guild Leader, that elder is only a Secret-Silver Guard..." Shi Feng''s decision surprised Aqua Rose. Shi Feng was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, role model, and face. Even if he didn''t want the two Dark-Gold Guards, he should, at least, take a Fine-Gold Guard. Picking a Secret-Silver Guard, even a Tier 4 Great Wizard, would make him a laughingstock. "A Secret-Silver Guard is quite powerful," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "He is also a Tier 4 Great Wizard. He could serve as a Magistrate in a major city in any kingdom or empire. He is a true powerhouse in God''s Domain." Aqua Rose only saw Secret-Silver Guards as worthless due to the fact that Zero Wing had more than 30 Fine-Gold Guards, but even the various superpowers wouldn''t have more than 2 or 3 Fine-Gold Guards at this stage of the game. Some had even fewer than that. Normally, the various superpowers treated Secret-Silver Guards like their own children, not to mention a Guard that had already reached Tier 4. It should be known that Secret-Silver Guards only had a chance of reaching Tier 4; their success wasn''t guaranteed. Tier 4 wasn''t just a major turning point for players, but for NPCs, as well. Reaching Tier 4 was an incredible feat for all in God''s Domain. Not even Fine-Gold Guards were guaranteed to reach Tier 4. They merely had a higher chance. Based on past players'' collected statistics, Fine-Gold Guards only had a 30% chance of completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Dark-Gold Guards'' chances were roughly around 40%. Of course, even if a Personal Guard failed their Tier 4 Promotion quest, they could challenge it again. Players would only have to invest more resources to boost their strength. However, challenging the Tier 4 Promotion Quests was a time-consuming process for both players and NPCs. Personal Guards would have to wait a full month before they could challenge the quest after failing it. Hence, it was easy to imagine how much time it would take to nurture a Tier 4 NPC. As for recruiting a Tier 4 NPC as one''s Personal Guard, that was simply unheard of. Shi Feng hadn''t heard of a single player recruiting a Tier 4 NPC. At best, some had recruited Tier 3 NPCs. If he revealed this elderly man''s information, the various superpowers would likely die with envy. While the gray-clothed Wizard''s Growth Potential was somewhat lacking compared to Dark-Gold Guards, Shi Feng wasn''t concerned. He had plenty of items that could raise an NPCs Growth Potential, and this old man''s was on the high end for Secret-Silver Guards. With a little effort, upgrading him to Fine-Gold rank was entirely possible. Following which, Shi Feng recruited the elderly man as one of his Personal Guards. [Versailles] (Ye Feng''s Personal Guard) Gender: Male Age: 76 Loyalty: 75 Growth Potential: 74 Level 112 Class: Tier 4 Great Wizard When she saw Versailles''s statistics, Aqua Rose was speechless. After recovering, the other Tier 3 NPCs had climbed to, on average, Level 120. The Dark-Gold ranked Guardian Knight she had recruited was even Level 121, yet Versailles was only 112? Versailles hadn''t even reached the level required to challenge the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. He was also a much lower level than mainstream Personal Guards. "It''s almost time. The Lost Town''s transfer should be complete by now. Gather the main force members immediately, as well as all of the potential newcomers and core members, who have signed our confidentiality contract. From now on, the lost Town will be our developmental headquarters," Shi Feng said as he glanced at the time. "Is that all, Guild Leader? What about the Lost Town''s security?" Aqua Rose asked worriedly. The Demonwolf Mountain Range was a far more dangerous place than Cold Spring Forest, so defending a stronghold there would be a much greater challenge. Moreover, the Lost Town wasn''t a Basic City, only a Basic Town. Yet, Shi Feng only wanted to station the Guild''s contracted recruits and core members. Even with the Guild''s main force, the town would only have around 5,000 players. It was far more than what they had stationed in the Lost Town before this, but the town had only occupied a pre-Level 100 neutral map. The small number of high-level NPCs and players had been more than enough to deal with the occasional monster tide. However, they wouldn''t have a level advantage in the Demonwolf Mountain Range. "Normally, security might have been a problem with so few members, but we have time now," Shi Feng consoled his companion as he gestured to Versailles. "With him there, we won''t have to worry about security." "But, he''s only Level 112 and a Secret-Silver Guard..." Aqua Rose argued. "Relax. He''ll be more than enough," Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain. Definitively, he continued, "Just relay the message." "Alright, then. I''ll go notify them..." Aqua Rose despondently agreed, leaving to notify the Guild members Shi Feng had requested. Since he was so confident, insisting would be inappropriate. Before half an hour had passed, all of Zero Wing''s contracted recruits and core members used the Guild Transfer Scroll Shi Feng had provided and arrived in the Lost Town, which had transformed into a wintery wonderland. 2592 Natural Training Ground Chapter 2592 - Natural Training Ground As Zero Wing''s members teleported to the Lost Town''s Residence, the Residence''s plaza quickly became crowded. "What is this place? Why do I feel like a foreign energy is trying to invade my body?" "My senses feel so dull, and I''m suddenly starving. Didn''t the higher-ups say they were bringing us to a sacred training and leveling ground? What''s going on here?" "My friends were still jealous that I got chosen to join the Guild''s special training, and they didn''t, but why does this place feel lesser than Stone Forest City?" Upon their arrival to the Lost Town, Zero Wing''s new recruits and core members, all of whom had high potential, were curious about the situation, falling into heated discussions. The recruits were especially confused. They knew nothing about the Lost Town, and now, they had been thrown into such a harsh environment. They couldn''t bring themselves to believe this was a sacred training ground. Just surviving in this town long-term would be a problem. The situation began to worry Aqua Rosen. The town''s new location was nothing like what she had imagined. Even Tier 3 players like herself would struggle to survive here, much less the Guild''s latest trainees, who hadn''t yet reached Tier 3. Needless to say, training and fighting the random monster tides would be nearly impossible. Players would be fortunate to exhibit their normal combat standards in such a severe area, much less improve their combat standards. During her previous visit to the Demonwolf Mountain Range, she had stayed in the neutral map''s outer region, where the environment hadn''t been particularly harsh, but now that she stood in the inner region, she felt sluggish, and her senses had considerably dulled. The constant hunger assaulting her mind and body was also quite uncomfortable. Most importantly, the Mana here felt like an icy hell. Violent, ice-type Mana filled the area, and Aqua Rose could sense scant amounts of other elements. Manipulating Mana in this zone would be almost impossible. When players couldn''t manipulate Mana, how were they supposed to improve? "Guild Leader, you don''t intend these Tier 2 members to remain here for their training, do you?" Blue Frost anxiously asked Shi Feng. Blue Frost recognized the area as the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region and knew that the lowest-leveled monster was Level 120. This would be an amazing area to level and train for players of his tier and level, but Zero Wing''s new recruits and Tier 2 members would only waste their time here. These members were Zero Wing''s future. Sending them to such a place to waste their time would cost the Guild. "Remain here for their training?" Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, "Such a wonderful thing isn''t possible." Shi Feng''s reply confused Blue Frost. He couldn''t understand what was so wonderful about this frozen hellscape. Shi Feng didn''t explain his statement, however. Instead, he met with the Adventurer''s Association''s NPCs to complete the handover procedures. Once complete, the NPCs promptly left the Lost Town, making the already desolate town even more lonely. At that point, the sound of a system announcement rang in everyone''s ears. Lost Town Region System Announcement: The town''s new location is subject to a mysterious curse. Wraiths will absorb the excess Mana players radiate, transforming into monsters. Please be wary of these monsters'' attacks. Shortly after the system announcement ended and before Zero Wing''s members could digest the information, translucent, humanoid ghosts started to manifest around some of Zero Wing''s members. These humanoid ghosts appeared to be clones of the players they stood by. They even had the same levels as their human counterparts. The moment their forms were complete, these ghosts attacked the players. Not understanding what was happening, everyone was stunned. Fortunately, they were all Zero Wing experts, and although their levels and tiers weren''t up to standard, they commanded expert combat standards. Even the weakest player there could reach the Trial Tower''s fifth floor. They had no trouble responding to the ghosts'' attacks appropriately. Meanwhile, the players who hadn''t been attacked joined the fray, targeting the ghosts near them. After a moment, however, something else surprising occurred. The ghostly clones had the same combat standards as their human counterparts. Moreover, other players'' attacks proved utterly ineffective. Your official training begins now! Be careful of the ghosts that will appear beside you! No one, other than the player the ghosts copy, can do anything to them! If these ghosts kill you, not only will you lose a level, but you won''t be able to log in for a day!" Shi Feng warned as he watched Zero Wing''s members fight these phantom monsters. The Demonwolf Mountain Range was no ordinary location. The map''s inner region was actually considered a forbidden land. Every forbidden land in God''s Domain has some mechanic that made survival particularly difficult. The Demonwolf Mountain Range''s inner region had this curse. Shi Feng neither knew exactly what this curse was, nor did he know who was responsible for it, but he knew that an endless stream of ghosts would appear to attack and harass any player resting within a town or city established in this area, preventing anyone from remaining in the region long-term. Zero Wing''s many members gasped when they heard Shi Feng''s warning. How was this ''training?'' This was simply an execution! They had now fought these ghosts, so they knew the spirits had the same combat standards as the players they cloned. Unlike players, however, the ghosts weren''t affected by the harsh environment. Hence, the monsters commanded their players'' peak combat power. In other words, the ghosts were stronger than the cloned players. To make matters worse, they would lose a full level and be banned from the game for a full day if they died. Just how were they supposed to catch up with mainstream experts in this situation? While many of his Guildmates complained to themselves, Blue Frost, who was engaged in a bitter battle with his ghost, realized something, and excitement flashed in his eyes. Players were at a disadvantage against these ghosts, and they couldn''t even manipulate the ambient Mana due to its violent, biased nature. The only option they had left was to find a way to manipulate and use the Mana within them to defeat the phantom clones. Since these ghosts mimicked both the players'' behavior and combat standards, players could also predict their opponent''s moves in certain situations. With this thought in mind, Blue Frost found his ghost counterpart much easier to fight. He also discovered many of his own flaws, killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, these fights wouldn''t benefit Tier 2 players as much as it did Tier 3 players like himself. However, Tier 2 players could still use their Skills and Spells in this harsh environment, where Tier 3 players struggled. As long as Tier 2 players steadily trained their combat standards and Skill and Spell Completion Rates, they were more than capable of defeating their ghosts. Not only weren''t these ghosts the problem they had all assumed, but they were also the perfect training partners for experts like them. Only, this kind of training was a little too risky. It wasn''t long before the rest of Zero Wing''s members realized the same, and many stopped complaining, fully immersing themselves in battle. "Guild Leader, this place is amazing! It is like a natural training ground! Although using it is costly, everyone''s training efficiency will be several times greater than normal. The Tier 3 experts who haven''t unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential will likely do so after spending a month here," Aqua Rose said, her eyes glowing brightly as she watched the Zero Wing members before her grow steadily stronger. Zero Wing''s main force members had already unlocked a sizable fraction of their Mana Bodies. If they trained here, they''d complete the task in no more than 10 days. Once they did, the Guild would have over a hundred Tier 3 experts with 100% of their Mana Bodies under their command! Just thinking about this elated Aqua Rose. Training here was brutal and dangerous, but compared to its benefits, the cost wasn''t overly high. Even if players died, they''d only lose a level and some time. Zero Wing''s main force members were already much higher levels than the various superpowers'' peak experts, so the loss wouldn''t be a problem. Moreover, the Lost Town now occupied a Level 120 neutral map. Grinding for levels would be easy here, and trading levels for progress in unlocking their Mana Bodies was certainly a worthwhile exchange for Zero Wing. While Zero Wing''s members worked hard to improve, Shi Feng made his way to the Extraordinary Tower. He didn''t pay everyone''s battles much mind. The mysterious curse was only an additional benefit for relocating the Lost Town to the Demonwolf Mountain Range. The Extraordinary Tower was still the town''s most valuable aspect. The Extraordinary Tower had always been the best location for players to grasp the Realm of Truth''s principles. Training in this tower could shuttle players from the Truth Realm all the way to the Transcendental Realm. However, Shi Feng had only been able to unlock the tower''s second floor, which offered guidance for reaching the Ascension Realm, due to a lack of Magic Crystals. As a result, he hadn''t gained any guidance or clues about progressing to the next realm. Now, however, Zero Wing''s Magic Crystal income had skyrocketed due to Stone Forest City''s popularity and the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. After the past few days, the two sources had provided more than 300,000 Magic Crystals, utterly surpassing Shi Feng''s expectations. And this now allowed Shi Feng to unlock the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor. Once he reached the tower, Shi Feng called up the tower''s interface and unlocked the third floor. As he did, he heard the sound of a system notification. System: The Extraordinary Tower''s first two floors have already been unlocked. Do you wish to pay 1,000,000 Magic Crystals to unlock the third floor? "Unlock it!'' 2593 Extraordinary Towers Third Floor Unlocked Chapter 2593 - Extraordinary Tower''s Third Floor Unlocked The instant Shi Feng chose to unlock the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor, 1,000,000 Magic Crystals disintegrated inside his bag, transforming into a stream of Mana that flowed into the tower itself. As the torrent of Mana flowed into the Extraordinary Tower, the carved divine runes on the inner walls lit up and repaired themselves. While the divine runes became more complete, the tower''s exterior changed significantly. With the Extraordinary Tower in the center, the violent Mana that filled the Lost Town began to obey. The Mana around the tower became denser, and the tower itself released an old, sacred aura that spread throughout the town, instilling anyone it touched with serenity. "What an amazing aura! My hunger''s even disappeared!" "That''s not all. My mind feels much clearer, and my Stamina and Concentration have begun to recover, as well. I feel like I can fight these ghosts for an entire day without rest." As the sacred aura filled the town, Zero Wing''s fighting members rejoiced. They had been at an absolute disadvantage against their ghost counterparts, and they had known death was only a matter of time. The foreign energy was corroding their bodies too quickly. However, the situation had changed. Although their surroundings still lacked any elemental Mana other than ice, this sacred aura had cleansed the area of foreign energy. As a result, their minds had cleared during their fight, which would prolong their survival. Meanwhile, every ghost had spawned with a Mana Life buff, which indicated their remaining lifespan and only had a 6- hour duration. If they could last against these phantoms for more than 6 hours, the ghosts would automatically disappear, even if they couldn''t defeat them. In addition, Shi Feng had informed them that these ghosts only appeared for each player once a day. If they held on for the full six hours, they could spend the rest of their day resting easy in the Lost Town. Of course, players who wanted to dedicate themselves to growing stronger, especially those with high combat standards, wouldn''t be satisfied with six hours of training. As a result, these players cherished their six-hour combat session even more than the rest. Moreover, ghosts wouldn''t appear for everyone. At the end of the day, these ghosts'' appearances were the result of a curse. The stronger a player was, the less effective the curse would be. Ghosts might not even appear for the stronger players and would almost never appear for players who had already unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. While everyone was surprised and elated about the new changes to the Lost Town, the Extraordinary Tower''s sacred aura had finally filled the town. At the same time, a translucent barrier formed around the Lost Town, isolating it completely. This barrier also calmed the violent, ice-type Mana in the town, creating a stable Mana environment. The Mana wasn''t very dense, but it was enough to clear the players'' minds of unhelpful thoughts. "What did the Guild Leader do?" Aqua Rose was shocked when she sensed the changes. She had felt this strange sensation before. To be precise, she had experimented with it during her travels within the Starlight Fortress''s Legacy Gate! The only difference was the town''s much lower Mana density, which resulted in a much smaller boost to her mental capacity. Overall, the Lost Town''s training efficiency was barely one-third of the Legacy Gate''s. Even so, that was astounding! The Lost Town could accommodate far more players than the Legacy Gate, and while it wouldn''t be quite as helpful, it was an ideal training ground for Tier 3 players as they tried to unlock their Mana Bodies. Moreover, the magic barrier substantially increased the town''s defenses. With the barrier in place, defeating the monster tides would be far easier. While Aqua Rose and Zero Wing''s other members fortunate enough to enter the Legacy Gate were shocked over the Lost Town''s transformation, something else within the Extraordinary Tower had shocked Shi Feng. This is the result of unlocking the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor? He was at a loss as he sensed the ancient aura filling the hall. Normally, only in ancient fortresses could contain all seven Mana elements, yet the Extraordinary Tower brimmed with all of them. Moreover, the Mana here was even denser than in the Starlight Fortress... If Tier 3 players trained here, breaking past the 100% threshold would no longer be just a dream, not to mention fully unlocking their Mana Bodies. He had been worried about crossing that threshold himself, but the tower''s new environment had just increased his chances by 10%. If his chances had only increased by 10%, others would have an even greater boost. If players who hadn''t yet unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential trained in the Extraordinary Tower, they could definitely accomplish the task in a short time. In fact, their training efficiency here might be twice as high as it was against the humanoid ghosts. Fighting in an area with all seven Mana elements would yield completely different results than fighting in an area with almost none of them. Players would have a much easier time recognizing and controlling the flow of Mana in the former. Unfortunately, while this environment was idyllic, there was a limit to the number of players who could take advantage of it. This Mana was contained in the Extraordinary Tower''s training grounds. The first floor could only accommodate 100 people at a time, while 50 could fit on the second floor, and only 10 would fit on the third. In total, only 160 people could use the Extraordinary Tower at the same time. That was only under ideal circumstances. In reality, far fewer players could train in the Extraordinary Tower at a time. If players wanted to use the second or third floors, they''d have to clear the previous floors first. Shi Feng didn''t give the matter much thought before he instructed Zero Wing''s main force members to train in the tower during their free time and to ignore level grinding and raiding monster dens. Unlocking their Mana Bodies was far more important than raiding monster dens and level grinding. Furthermore, they had unlocked a considerable percentage of their Mana Bodies after consuming the Exotic Legacy Potions they had obtained from Poison City. Normally, unlocking their Mana Bodies would require, at most, two full weeks, but with the tower''s third floor unlocked, they could accomplish the feat in even less time. Once all of Zero Wing''s main force members unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential, the team''s grinding efficiency would improve. Securing the Demonwolf den that housed the medium teleportation point would also become easier. With his Guildmates desperately training, Shi Feng made his way to the tower''s second floor to begin his ascent. He had reached his limit during his last visit to the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor, unable to improve further regardless of how hard he had tried. Even after creating Sword''s Transmigration, he hadn''t been able to reach the top of the second floor''s staircase and had been thrown after reaching the 30th step. Now, however, he had fully unlocked his Mana Body and gained a newfound understanding of Mana. He had even learned a Mana Technique, and he was ready to challenge the second floor again to push himself through that final barrier. Neither his Tier 4 Promotion Quest nor the Divine Dragon''s trial would be easy to complete. If he failed, he would suffer unimaginable consequences. Fortunately, both trials focused on testing players'' individual strength. Advancing through the Realms of Truth would undoubtedly provide immense help in both upcoming trials. This was why he had decided to activate the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor now. Controlling his emotions, Shi Feng climbed the first step on the second floor''s staircase. Two silver-armored Swordsmen then appeared, charging at him with the intent to kill. As Shi Feng made his way to the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor, a group of Level 110 experts arrived before Stone Forest City''s gates, causing a commotion at the city''s main entrance. "So, this is Zero Wing''s Stone Forest City?" an elegant, middle-aged man amidst the group commented as he gazed at the magnificent city before him. With a surprised tone, he continued, "It is truly extraordinary. With such dense Mana and natural terrain advantage, Wonder should''ve grown much stronger here." "Don''t forget our orders, Elder Hermit. We are not here to sightsee," a bald, middle-aged man in black robes scolded, rolling his eyes. "No matter how much stronger she''s grown, Wonder must return with us. The time for her willful rebellion has come to an end!" "I know. Isn''t that why I tagged along in the first place?" Hermit replied. Instead of getting upset at the bald man''s comment, he breathed a deep sigh as he led his team into Stone Forest City. 2594 Half-step Grandmaster Chapter 2594 - Half-step Grandmaster Stone Forest City, Candlelight Trading Firm: Following the NPC, Hermit and the bald man arrived at one of the Basic Meditation Rooms on the trading firm''s top floor. They were greeted by the sight of a woman in luxurious, dark blue robes and enveloped in a faint layer of Mana. The woman was steadfastly focused on brewing a potion, her every action smooth and dexterous. A short moment later, the woman lifted her hand, holding a potion that radiated dense Mana. "She can brew the Master ranked Advanced Magic Resistance Potion so easily?" "She must not be far from becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist." The scene had astonished Hermit and his companion. Master ranked Magic Resistance Potions were quite rare and costly on the market. They could, after all, enable Tier 3 players to roam Level 100-plus maps with harsh environments. However, Master ranked Advanced Magic Resistance Potions were even stronger. Not only could they help Tier 2 players survive in the severe environments in Level 100- plus maps, but the potion''s effects would also last 24 full hours. Level 100-plus maps had abundant resources, particularly those Level 110 and above, but their environments were severe and dangerous. Only Tier 3 players could survive in these maps without aid. Unfortunately, the various powers had too few Tier 3 experts at this stage of the game, and they had to rely on their Tier 2 members to gather resources for their development. Hence, the demand for Master ranked Advanced Magic Resistance Potions was incredibly high. However, crafting Master ranked Advanced Magic Resistance Potions wasn''t easy. Even a Master Alchemist wouldn''t have more than a 30% success rate, and the potions took a long time to brew. Including the current rarity of Master Alchemists, there wasn''t enough supply of these potions to meet demand. Silent Wonder, on the other hand, could effortlessly brew these potions. Moreover, she had completed her last potion with astounding speed. She was efficient enough to take on the work of three or four Master Alchemists. With those skills, she was likely on the brink of becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist. Rather than Silent Wonder''s alchemy standards, Hermit and the bald man were far more surprised to see that she had reached Level 111. She was actually one level higher than they were... "It seems the rumors calling Stone Forest City a sacred leveling ground were true, after all," Hermit muttered, staring at the level displayed above Silent Wonder''s head in shock. Silent Wonder wasn''t a pure combat player. Although players could gain EXP through their subclasses, they didn''t earn nearly as much as combat players, who relentlessly grinded monsters in the fields. Despite that, Silent Wonder had still surpassed both of them. This fact alone made it clear how extraordinary a Guild Zero Wing was. "Fifth Uncle, Elder Hermit, isn''t there still some time before the family competition begins? What''s with the sudden visit?" Silent Wonder asked, curious to see the two people enter the room. The Azure Chamber of Commerce held a competition between its main shareholder families once a year on the same date. The next competition would begin in six days. Even if her family intended to escort her to the western continent, she had expected they''d only show up the day before. She had no clue why they''d show up so early without prior notice. Moreover, Hermit, the man responsible for Demonstone Town''s safety, had come to see her. These two didn''t seem like they were simply here to escort her. There is indeed still some time before the competition, but that''s not the only reason we''ve come," the middle-aged man informed her. "I''m sure you are aware that the Zeus Corporation''s support is a large part of the reason Azure enjoys its current success." "Has something happened with the Zeus Corporation?" Silent Wonder asked. The Zeus Corporation was one of the top ten corporations in the world. The corporation''s support was also a large part of the reason that the Azure Chamber of Commerce had grown over the years and achieved its current status in God''s Domain. Moreover, the Zeus Corporation had a considerable portion of the Super Guild, Violet Sword''s shares. Violet Sword was relatively ancient, with over a century of history. It was one of the oldest Super Guilds to rise in the virtual gaming world. Its long history was only second to the Five Great Super Guilds, and the Guild''s relationship with the Zeus Corporation was why Azure had developed so smoothly on the western continent. "That''s right. Violet Sword urgently needs Lifestyle Masters, so Zeus has decided that Azure will offer support. Since you are the greatest talent among our family''s younger generation, you cannot avoid developing in Violet Sword. We have come to escort you to the Guild''s headquarters," the bald, middle-aged man explained, nodding. "Develop in Violet Sword? But..." Silent Wonder was stunned. "I know you wish to remain in Zero Wing, seeing as it has helped you so much." Helplessly, the bald man continued, "However, you know how much the Zeus Corporation has helped Azure. Zeus''s help is the very reason that Azure maintains its hold on a Grade 1 ore vein. You are one of the Lifestyle Masters the corporation handpicked. If you don''t go, not only will our family lose Zeus''s support, but we might also lose our hold on that vein, which Azure relies on to survive!" The Zeus Corporation was rich and powerful. It also commanded considerable strength and influence in the west. One word from the corporation is all it would take to throw the Azure Chamber of Commerce to the wolves. "Can you give me some time to think, Fifth Uncle?" Silent Wonder hesitantly requested. "We might have allowed you to do as you wish until now, but this concerns the family''s future! We cannot allow you to continue this willful behavior anymore!" the bald man snapped. "Once the family competition has ended, you will travel to Violet Sword to continue your development! Take this time to prepare. You don''t need to worry about your situation with Zero Wing. We will help you settle it." With that, the bald man and Hermit turned and left the room, leaving Silent Wonder stupefied. After leaving the Candlelight Trading Firm, the two men headed straight for Zero Wing''s Residence. "Don''t you think you''re being a little too impatient, Wushang? We should''ve given Wonder some time to accept the situation," Hermit commented, sending a sidelong glance at his companion. "Accept it? Do you assume I don''t want to?" the bald man, Long Wushang, solemnly replied, offering a bitter smile. The Zeus Corporation has given us an ultimatum. In fact, the corporation has already delivered the other families'' younger members to train with Violet Sword as a means to harass the Long Family." "Even so, I''m afraid Wonder will not go obediently," Hermit said. "With as stubborn as she is, persuading her will be difficult. That''s why we''re going to meet with Zero Wing. As long as Zero Wing willingly lets her go, she''ll be easier to convinceLong Wushang said. "What if Zero Wing refuses? You must realize that the Guild is not to be trifled with," Hermit worriedly countered. "Isn''t that why you''re here?" Long Wushang replied, rolling his eyes. He shifted his gaze toward the nearby Guild Residence, sneering as he continued, "Zero Wing doesn''t have a choice. If Zero Wing refuses to let Wonder go, it will suffer the Zeus Corporation''s wrath!" 2595 True Ascension Realm Chapter 2595 - True Ascension Realm Lost Town, Extraordinary Tower''s second floor: As Shi Feng ascended the staircase to the third floor, more and stronger Swordsmen continued to appear. On the 1st step, he had only faced two Silver Swordsmen. When he reached the 89th step, his opponents were four Golden Swordsmen. Not only had all of these Golden Swordsmen commanded combat standards nearly on par with the Refinement Realm, but all four had reached the Truth Realm, as well. Combining both aspects, their combat power was far stronger than ordinary Refinement Realm experts. Moreover, the four Golden Swordsmen''s coordination was as seamless as if they shared one mind. There were no gaps in their offense or defense, and they all possessed incredible Basic Attributes. Even Shi Feng struggled to cope with the Golden Swordsmen''s assault. If he hadn''t had Sword''s Transmigration to defend himself, these Golden Swordsmen would''ve long since thrown him back down the staircase. I can easily handle these Swordsmen one-on-one, but avoiding their coordinated attacks with the physique of a Tier 1 player is impossible. It seems my only option is to force my way through! After three minutes of fighting these four Golden Swordsmen, Shi Feng realized that continuing this battle was a waste of time. He couldn''t find any weaknesses to take advantage of. The only method he could think of to reach the next step was to force his way past these Swordsmen. Following which, Shi Feng stepped forward and sucked in a deep breath. He then raised the Abyssal Blade above his head, gathering Mana around the weapon. A phantom of a gigantic greatsword immediately appeared above him. Although the Extraordinary Tower suppressed his physique to that of Tier 1, it did nothing to hamper his Mana Body. He could easily command his own Mana in combat. In retaliation, the four Golden Swordsmen launched a joint attack, aiming for 16 of Shi Feng''s weak points. Before they had a chance to strike, Shi Feng swung down the Abyssal Blade. Lightshadow! Boom! After the phantom greatsword''s descent, all four Golden Swordsmen stumbled back several steps, falling out of formation. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Feng charged at the nearest opponent. His target reacted quickly. Although the Golden Swordsman hadn''t regained its posture, it used a horizontal slash in an attempt to stop Shi Feng''s charge. However, Shi Feng didn''t give the Golden Swordsman a chance to defend itself as his Sacred Sword transformed into a streak of light, deflecting the horizontal slash. He then thrust the Abyssal Blade at the Golden Swordsman''s chest. Peng! Sparks flew as the Fragmented Legendary Weapon collided with the Golden Swordsman''s armor, shoving it back a few more steps before it fell. Finally, Shi Feng tore a hole in the four Golden Swordsmen''s formation. Now! With his target on the ground, Shi Feng used Void Steps to confuse the three remaining Golden Swordsman and escape their encirclement. He then leaped onto the 90th step. The moment Shi Feng landed on the 90th step, a Swordsman in black robes appeared before him. This Black Swordsman then thrust his weapon at Shi Feng. The thrust was surprisingly powerful, and the instant the Black Swordsman''s blade shot forward, it transformed into numerous particles of light that shot toward Shi Feng. It was impossible to tell which attack was real and which was fake. An Advanced Combat Technique? Shi Feng''s expression darkened when he recognized the move as a combat technique. This Black Swordsman''s Basic Attributes and combat standards were even higher than the Golden Swordsmen Shi Feng had just faced. In fact, the Black Swordsman was on the cusp of reaching the Flowing Water Realm. Combined with its Advanced Combat Technique, Shi Feng was no match for this opponent with just a Tier 1 physique. Of course, this disadvantage wasn''t enough to make Shi Feng give up. Instead, he brandished Killing Ray in response. Sword''s Transmigration! The instant the two weapons met, a deafening boom echoed throughout the second floor. The impact was so powerful that Shi Feng stumbled back down to the 89th step. He hadn''t had time to readjust his posture, and the four Golden Swordsmen he had left behind subsequently threw him back down to the base of the second floor''s staircase. The 90th step''s Black Swordsman is amazing. I saw no excess movements, and it perfectly integrated an Advanced Combat Technique. Not even Domain Realm experts could find any opening to take advantage of and would be forced to face its attacks head-on. Shi Feng wasn''t disappointed about returning to square one. Actually, he seemed rather excited. The Black Swordsman had highlighted some of his own flaws. He had reached the Realm of Truth''s Ascension Realm, and his every action resembled a combat technique, but they weren''t. His movements lacked the power of combat techniques; they only possessed the deception of true combat techniques. To put it simply, he hadn''t made much progress in the Ascension Realm, and his foundations were unsteady. He had only grasped the vague concept of the realm, lacking its crucial concepts. The Black Swordsman, on the other hand, stood firmly in the Ascension Realm. Because of this, Shi Feng couldn''t yet ascend to the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor, despite having reached the Ascension Realm. If he could gain even a portion of the Black Swordsman''s mastery over the Ascension Realm and perfectly integrate Basic Combat Techniques with his every action, his combat power would definitely rise by a large margin. Meanwhile, during the time Shi Feng was reflecting on his own flaws, a few other Zero Wing members were sent flying down the second floor''s staircase as well. "I did it! I finally did it!" Shadow Sword shouted ecstatically as he looked at the dense Mana his body radiated. Turtledove, Alluring Summer, and the others who had fallen down the stairs similarly radiated dense Mana. They had obviously unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. Moreover, Blue Frost, Flying Shadow, Stubborn Bone, and a few other Zero Wing members, who had only begun to unlock their mana Bodies, revealed excited expressions. They had made significant progress during their climb on the Extraordinary Tower''s second-floor staircase. Training in the Extraordinary Tower is really this effective? Shi Feng looked at the players around him, astonished. While the Extraordinary Tower''s Mana provided quite a bit of help to players developing their Mana control, Shi Feng didn''t think it''d be such an effective tool in helping them unlock their Mana Bodies. Learning the rules and how to manipulate Mana wasn''t an easy task, not to mention adapting those methods to one''s Mana Body. Shi Feng estimated that although Shadow Sword and the rest had been close to unlocking all of their Mana Bodies'' potential, they should''ve still needed three to five days to reach 100%. And yet, they had succeeded in less than half a day... If every one of Zero Wing''s main force members could make this much progress, every one of them would fully unlock their Mana Bodies in less than 10 days, becoming true powerhouses in God''s Domain. Just as Shi Feng turned his attention back to the second floor''s staircase, however, he received a call from Melancholic Smile. "Guild Leader, Azure''s representatives have come to our Residence. They wish to speak with you about taking Wonder to develop in the west''s Violet Sword. They''re hoping we won''t ''hinder her future'' and just let her go. They visited Wonder before coming here, too, but it seems Wonder''s reaction wasn''t positive," Melancholic Smile reported. Violet Sword, huh?" Shi Feng could not contain his smile. "Azure is certainly crafty." "Will you meet with them?" Melancholic Smile asked. "That won''t be necessary. Have Hell Rush send them away. Also, have him convey a message; I''ll personally take Wonder to visit Violet Sword after the family competition to have a proper conversation with the Super Guild''s people, so they don''t need to bother!" Shi Feng calmly stated. 2596 Mighty Zero Wing, Times Have Changed Chapter 2596 - Mighty Zero Wing, Times Have Changed Stone Forest City, Zero Wing''s Residence: Long Wushang and Hermit sat by the French window, clearly unhappy, in Zero Wing''s large, luxurious reception room. "So you''re saying that Guild Leader Black Flame has no intention of meeting us, Commander Rush?" Long Wushang demanded, glaring at Hell Rush, who had just notified them of Shi Feng''s reply. "That''s right. He knows what you wish to discuss and requested that I relay a message. Once the family competition is over, he will personally take Silent Wonder to visit Violet Sword, so you don''t have to bother," Hell Rush coolly informed the two men, nodding. The message stunned both of them, particularly Long Wushang. Long Wushang had considered many possible outcomes before visiting Zero Wing''s Residence, and had prepared a variety of arguments to persuade Shi Feng to let Silent Wonder go. However, he never considered that Shi Feng would simply refuse to meet with them, turning them away... However, what truly surprised the bald man was the fact that Hell Rush had followed Shi Feng''s instructions, conveying the message personally. The alliance between Netherworld Empire and Zero Wing was no longer a secret among the various superpowers, especially after the battle at the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. That battle had exposed the relationship between the two Guilds. Hell Rush, however, was a famous Slaughtering God on the western continent. He even commanded Netherworld Empire''s strongest trump legion. Even Violet Sword''s Guild Leader would have to take him seriously, yet, he obediently played the role of Shi Feng''s messenger... "Good! Since Guild Leader Black Flame understands the situation, we won''t overstay our welcome!" Long Wushang decided after calming himself. He then stood to leave the room with Hermit. After they left Zero Wing''s Residence, the air around Long Wushang dropped a few degrees, becoming so cold that nearby players shivered. Even the Azure experts that had tagged along shuddered as Long Wushang''s frosty aura swept over them "To think that even the famous Hell Rush would obey Black Flame.... I hadn''t expected Zero Wing to have such a close relationship with Netherworld Empire. Violet Sword might make concessions if they find out about this," Hermit surmised, glancing at the twisted expression his comrade was making. "Concessions?" Long Wushang laughed. "I admit that Zero Wing is clearly close with Netherworld Empire, but after all is said and done, they are only allies. Zero Wing has barely any power in the west, while Violet Sword is a titan. It is obvious who holds the advantage on the western continent. How much help would Netherworld Empire possibly be willing to offer Zero Wing? "Moreover, this matter involves Violet Sword''s future and prestige. The Guild won''t budge just because of Netherworld Empire''s interference. Violet Sword aims to join the Five Great Super Guilds, after all. So what if Zero Wing and Netherworld Empire are close allies? "And as for Black Flame''s plan to negotiate with Violet Sword personally, that''s nothing more than fool''s talk!" "Regardless, we have, more or less, completed our goals here. Will you return now?" Hermit asked. "Of course, I am returning," Long Wushang growled, sneering at Zero Wing''s Residence. "Violet Sword has already warned the Long Family. Since Black Flame wants to be stubborn, he can''t blame me for passing his message on to Violet Sword. I can''t wait to see his confidence vanish!" Long Wushang then left Stone Forest City and promptly returned to the western continent. He planned to inform the rest of his family and Violet Sword of everything that had happened. Shortly after Long Wushang''s group left, Silent Wonder received news of Shi Feng''s reply. "You''re not really planning to visit Violet Sword, are you, Guild Leader?" Silent Wonder asked as she watched Shi Feng''s image on the screen before her. Refusing to meet with her fifth uncle might have been fine, but Shi Feng was playing with fire by declaring that he''d resolve the matter personally. Zero Wing had become a titan in the east, but its roots were still weak on the western continent. Trying to convince the Zeus Corporation and Violet Sword to abandon their plans would be impossible with the power Zero Wing currently commanded. If this matter weren''t handled carefully, Zero Wing could become the Zeus Corporation''s enemy, which wouldn''t be good news for the Guild. "I''ve already committed to it, so naturally, I''ll pay Violet Sword a visit," Shi Feng declared. "And we''ll be going in style!" "Going in style?" Silent Wonder could not help but wonder if Shi Feng had finally gone mad. They were talking about Violet Sword, and the meeting venue would be in the west. Once the Super Guild learned about today''s events, whether or not they reached Violet Sword''s headquarters alive would be a problem, not to mention arriving in style. "I''ve heard that Azure''s younger generation has been invited to train with Violet Sword? Since that is the case, you should take a break from potion making and focus on training in the Lost Town," Shi Feng said, paying Silent Wonder''s exasperated expression no mind. "We''ll show your family and Violet Sword Zero Wing''s strength!" "But there are only a few days left before the family competition. I''m afraid it''s too late to start training now..." Silent Wonder complained. Her trust in Shi Feng''s abilities, particularly his ability to help players level up, was unwavering. He had proven this with Dark Rhapsody and Deity Society''s main force members. However, the upcoming competition wouldn''t be in the form of a standard duel between players. Rather, it would be a competition of combat standards and techniques. The Azure Chamber of Commerce considered weapons and equipment to be external strength. The chamber was powerful enough that acquiring the best items was only a matter of time. Hence, Azure didn''t need its younger members to rely on items, but their potential. However, one couldn''t just improve their combat standards and combat techniques in a short time. They would have to train arduously for long periods. Now, there were only six days left until the family competition. Seeking a qualitative transformation within such a short time was simply unrealistic. Moreover, while her combat talent was outstanding among Azure''s younger generation, she was nowhere close to a match for the top geniuses that devoted themselves to combat. From what she had learned during the previous competition in Demonstone Town, two of the younger generation were already close to the Domain Realm. One individual had already reached the Domain Realm. In contrast, she had only reached the Half-step Void Realm standard. There was no way she could defeat those geniuses. "I know, but beggars can''t be choosers. Besides, combat comes in various forms," Shi Feng said, realizing Silent Wonder''s concerns. "In any case, just make your way here. I''ve already given you access to the Lost Town. You can head to the Residence to purchase a Transfer Scroll." "Alright, I''ll leave immediately," Silent Wonder agreed. Since Shi Feng was so confident, she had no choice but to follow his wishes. She had grown massively during her stay with Zero Wing, and she couldn''t possibly sully the Guild''s name. Following which, she left the Candlelight Trading Firm and made her way to Zero Wing''s Residence. 2597 Changes to the Lost Town Chapter 2597 - Changes to the Lost Town Lost Town, Zero Wing''s Residence: With a flash of light, Silent Wonder arrived in the Residence''s plaza, looking worried. She was already at the Half-step Void Realm standard, and crossing that barrier soon was entirely possible. A single flash of inspiration is all she would need, especially in her current state. She had already refined her control and pushed her five senses to their limits. Making a breakthrough in a single battle was likely. Even if she did, however, she''d, at most, reach the Void Realm before the family competition began. Her combat standards still wouldn''t compare to Azure''s combat geniuses. Thus, she struggled to understand why Shi Feng suddenly wanted her to train in the Lost Town. This wasn''t her first visit to the town, and she was aware of the Extraordinary Tower''s astounding effects. The tower was the very reason she had reached the Truth Realm, although reaching the Ascension Realm was still a major challenge for her. In fact, reaching the Ascension Realm would be much harder than reaching the Void Realm. "Huh? This place..." Before she had even exited the teleportation array, however, the scenery dumbfounded Silent Wonder. Many of Zero Wing''s members fought translucent phantom clones both within and outside of the Residence. Their battles were fierce, and some even met their demise. Meanwhile, the Zero Wing members watching from the side seemed envious... However, what truly surprised Silent Wonder was the incredibly low Mana density within the Lost Town. She couldn''t even sense the flow of Mana around her. Conversely, the Mana within her felt far more apparent than usual. She also found it easier to manipulate. Moreover, her mind didn''t feel clogged in the Lost Town like it did in most Mana deficient environments. She knew exactly how valuable such an environment was. The various powers'' Tier 3 experts were all busy, desperately hunting for methods to unlock their Mana Bodies effectively, but perceiving the Mana within their bodies was incredibly difficult, let alone manipulate it. The Lost Town''s environment made it easier for players to notice their own Mana. Naturally, this would be immensely helpful as they worked to unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential. Even so, Silent Wonder shook her head, returning to her prior thoughts. While the Lost Town''s training environment had improved, she still only had six days left. Since travel to the western continent would require a full day, she only had five days to train. Even in such a useful environment, trying to unlock her Mana Body in five days was asking for the impossible. When Silent Wonder entered the Extraordinary Tower, however, she was shocked again. If the Lost Town were a precious training ground, the Extraordinary Tower was sacred, especially to players trying to increase their Mana control. In the tower, she could sense the various Mana elements around her and their movement patterns. It felt like nowhere else in God''s Domain. "What do you think? Do you think you can unlock your Mana Body''s full potential before the family competition now?" Shi Feng asked as he approached Silent Wonder, smiling when he saw her dazed expression. God''s Domain offered a variety of ways to increase one''s combat power, particularly after players reached Tier 3. The benefits Tier 3 players could gain by improving their Mana Control were in no way lesser than what they could gain by training their combat standards. "I can train here regularly?" Silent Wonder asked. This wasn''t the first time she had stood in the tower, but it had changed drastically. She found it truly hard to believe that she could spend all her time training in such a sacred place. This environment was astonishing, and it had to come at a high price. "Of course," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding. He understood Silent Wonder''s concerns, and maintaining the Extraordinary Tower was costly. After activating the Extraordinary Tower''s third floor, he had to spend 20,000 Magic Crystals per day to keep the third floor''s divine runes active. No first-rate Guild could afford the expense, but it wouldn''t be a problem for Zero Wing. Zero Wing was more than capable of keeping the Extraordinary Tower running at full power every day. "Although I can''t make any promises, I should have a high chance of succeeding before the competition," Silent Wonder said after giving the matter some thought. "However, are you sure you won''t reconsider visiting Violet Sword, Guild Leader? Violet Sword is the only one harassing my family on the surface, but it''s backed by the Zeus Corporation in this. If the situation isn''t handled carefully, our Guild might not be allowed on the western continent anymore..." Thanks to her experiments and the ancient potion Shi Feng had given her, she had unlocked over 30% of her Mana Body. If she focused on training in the Extraordinary Tower, reaching 100% within five days was definitely plausible. However, the family competition was a small matter. The Zeus Corporation was the real problem. The west''s Guilds under the Zeus Corporation''s control weren''t limited to the Azure Chamber of Commerce and Violet Sword. The corporation had significant shares in a few adventurer alliances, as well. Even without Violet Sword''s strength, Zeus could easily destroy a superpower in the west by simply issuing a bounty. Meanwhile, most of Zero Wing''s power lay in Cold Spring Forest. The Guild had far less influence outside of the neutral map. There were also quite a few superpowers targeting Zero Wing in the east, not to mention the west. "As long as you can do it, it''s fine. Don''t worry about the Zeus Corporation. If they really want a fight in the end, I don''t mind giving them one," Shi Feng said, brimming with confidence in his Guild. "That''s right! If the Zeus Corporation goes too far, we''ll prove that Zero Wing isn''t to be trifled with!" Aqua Rose commented as she approached. "That''s why you don''t have to worry about anything, Wonder. Just focus on unlocking your Mana Body. You mustn''t let those bastards look down on Zero Wing." Silent Wonder was touched by her companion''s assurances, although their comments still rendered her speechless. It was enough of a problem that Shi Feng, Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, liked to cause trouble, but now, Aqua Rose had picked up the habit. They were talking about one of the top 10 corporations in the entire world, not an opponent to be casually provoked. After Shi Feng gave Silent Wonder some tips to unlock her Mana Body, he sent Aqua Rose and the other Guild members with fully unlocked Mana Bodies to Zero Wing''s Residence. He then began to plan the raid on the Demonwolf Den that housed the medium teleportation gate. Once they secured it, Zero Wing would have another open path to travel between the two main continents. Some time later, 12 players gathered in the Residence''s spacious plaza. Although there weren''t many of them, the collective Mana they radiated substantially increased the Mana density in the plaza. "Guild Leader, everyone''s here, but I''m afraid that raiding the Demonwolf den you mentioned will be difficult with just 12 of us and those Personal Guards..." Aqua Rose said. For the various superpowers, having 12 Tier 3 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies and several dozen Tier 3 Personal Guards was definitely something to be proud of. God''s Domain''s powers would even consider the force nearly invincible, but they were about to face the monsters in the Demonwolf den Shi Feng targeted. According to Fire Dance''s scouting reports, the Demonwolf den was home to more than 50,000 monsters, with Level 120 Lords being the weakest among them. Many of these monsters were even ordinary Grand Lords and Grand Lords with special Bloodlines. Moreover, the den had a particularly severe environment. Even Fire Dance, who had already unlocked her Mana Body''s full potential, had nearly lost her life during her scouting mission. "It would agree with you, but don''t we still have a Tier 4 Personal Guard?" Shi Feng countered, chuckling as he gestured to the fully armed Versailles behind him. "Him? But his level..." Aqua Rose only felt concern when she looked at the elderly NPC. Versailles might have an imposing aura, but she couldn''t help the feeling that he would be unreliable. While Tier 4 NPCs were very powerful, Versailles was only a Secret-Silver Guard. At best, he could hold his ground against an ordinary Mythic monster of the same level, but the old man was only Level 112, which was even lower than the gathered players. How was he supposed to help them fight Level 120-plus Mythic monsters or Grand Lord ranked Mutated Demonwolves that rivaled Mythic monsters? The rest of the team worried, as well. They could now afford to risk their Personal Guards'' lives, but resurrecting a fallen guard would still require the precious Water of Life. It wouldn''t be a laughing matter if all of these Personal Guards fell in battle. "Let''s go. You''ll understand when the time comes," Shi Feng dismissed the matter, still chuckling. He then led the team to the Demonwolf Den. Meanwhile, on the western continent, Long Wushang had returned to the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Residence and relayed Shi Feng''s message to his family''s Elders and Grand Elders. 2598 Clever Use of Personal Guards? Chapter 2598 - Clever Use of Personal Guards? Winter Empire, Winter City, Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Residence: The Long Family''s Elders and Grand Elders sat within a luxurious, top-floor meeting room, all wearing solemn expressions. If a Tier 3 player entered the room, they''d shudder with fear upon sensing these individuals'' chilly auras. "What arrogance! Zero Wing is too full of itself!" "That''s right! It is simply responsible for a few achievements in the east, yet it assumes it can stand on the same level as Violet Sword in the west! It''s ridiculous!" "Zero Wing wants to negotiate with Violet Sword? Does the Guild think it rules the western continent?" The Long Family''s Elders and Grand Elders were furious when they heard Long Wushang''s report. They might''ve understood if Zero Wing had only refused to let Silent Wonder go. They all knew that the Guild must have invested a lot of resources in the girl''s development, and according to Long Wushang''s report, she was very close to becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist. The importance of a Grandmaster Alchemist to a Guild went without saying. A single Grandmaster could be responsible for an entire Guild''s prosperity. The best potions currently on the market were Master rank. Obtaining a Grandmaster Potion was unthinkable at this stage of the game. Any random Grandmaster Potion would be immensely useful, and if a Guild could mass-produce such potions, that Guild would have an unimaginable advantage. Hence, they would''ve understood if Zero Wing had tried to fight for her. However, Shi Feng hadn''t stopped with a refusal to hand Silent Wonder over. He had also declared that Zero Wing would handle the situation, cutting Azure out. It was no more than calling them all incompetent! "Since Zero Wing has had made the promise, we''ll wash our hands of this matter for now. Once Zero Wing embarrasses itself, it will learn when to take a step back," the keen-witted, middle-aged man in the seat of honor said. "But what are Wonder''s thoughts on this, Old Five?" "Wonder is quite hesitant, Big Bro, but once Zero Wing embarrasses itself, I doubt she''ll sit by and watch her Guild and family fall into ruin. I am sure she''ll head to Violet Sword to continue her development," Long Wushang surmised after giving the matter some thought. "That makes things simple. All we need to do is let things progress. While Zero Wing might be powerful enough to cause waves on the eastern continent, it can do nothing in the west. I realize that we don''t wish to tie our family''s elites to the Zeus Corporation, the company has chosen to use us as an example to unify the powers under its command. We have no way out of this mess," the clever man said, sighing. The Elders and Grand Elders in the room fell silent. The Long Family had become Azure''s leading family and enjoyed untold glory on the surface, but in truth, it faced increasing pressure. If the Long Family could not continue to grow stronger, only an endless abyss would await them in the end. After all, the Zeus Corporation only supported the Azure Chamber of Commerce; it didn''t care who was in charge. As the clever man had said, Zero Wing couldn''t accomplish anything on the western continent. All the Long Family needed to do was sit back and watch the show. While the Long Family''s Elders met, Shi Feng and his party finally reached the dangerous canyon within the east''s Demonwolf Mountain Range after some time traveling on their Flying Mounts. The canyon was full of Level 120-plus Demonwolves. Quite a few Grand Lord ranked Mutated Crimson Demonwolves and Three-headed Demonwolves rested on the canyon''s broken cliffs, and two twenty-meter-tall, Mythic ranked Three-eyed Ice Demonwolves rested before a cave entrance, both radiating powerful, frosty auras. [Ice Demonwolf] (Demonic Creature, High Lord) Level 123 HP 63,000,000/63,000,000 [Three-headed Demonwolf] (Demonic Creature, Grand Lord) Level 124 HP 540,000,000/540,000,000 [Mutated Crimson Demonwolf] (Demonic Creature, Grand Lord) Level 125 HP 1,200,000,000/1,200,000,000 [Three-eyed Ice Demonwolf] (Demonic Creature, Mythic) Level 127 HP 3,100,000,000/3,100,000,000 When they saw the countless monsters, Zero Wing''s members gasped. They had already learned about the incredible number of extremely powerful Demonwolves in the canyon from Fire Dance''s report. Still, they couldn''t help but shudder upon seeing the monsters for themselves. This looked like more of a Demonwolf city than a canyon. Even a team with over 5,000 Level 120, Tier 3 players would struggle to raid this Demonwolf den, much less their team of 12 and several dozen Tier 3 Personal Guards. With just a glance, they counted more than 300 Three-headed Demonwolves and Mutated Crimson Demonwolves, and the Grand Lords guarded every entrance into the canyon. Two Three-headed Ice Demonwolves also stood guard at the mouth of the cave. The ice-type Mana the two Level 126 Mythic monsters radiated was no laughing matter, and since all of the team''s players had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, they could sense how much Mana the two monsters radiated. They felt as if they were staring at two gigantic mountains, not just Mythic monsters. Enveloped in such overwhelming ice-type Mana, manipulating the ambient Mana would be impossible. Although they could use their own Mana in combat, their Mana would be suppressed, and they wouldn''t be able to exhibit their Skills and Spells'' full power. "Guild Leader, must we really clear out these Demonwolves?" Cola asked. He had wanted to test his new equipment, but he couldn''t help his nervous gulp when he saw the Demonwolves here. "Even if we rely on the Personal Guards during the fight, I doubt we''ll have an easy time..." "These Demonwolves must be dealt with, but we''re not relying on the Personal Guards. We''ll be doing the cleaning ourselves," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "We will?" His Guild Leader''s plan surprised Cola. Even working with their Personal Guards, they''d still have a difficult time defeating these Demonwolves, yet Shi Feng informed them that they''d take out the monsters on their own. This had to be a joke. "Mhm. The Demonwolves here are special. Not only are there so many, and they''re strong, but they also have high combat standards. Moreover, this environment''s Mana suppression is quite powerful, which makes using Skills and Spells incredibly difficult. Players will have to rely on their combat techniques here. Consider this another training ground. From today on, we''ll train here," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Once you run out of Stamina and Concentration, return to training in the Extraordinary Tower and recuperate. When you''ve rested, return here. Clearing this area will be our main task for the next few days." He had wanted to activate the medium teleportation point, boosting Zero Wing''s development speed, as soon as possible. However, Shi Feng''s most recent battle on the Extraordinary Tower''s second floor had made one thing clear; the Realms of Truth weren''t as simple as he had initially assumed. He had thought he had mastered a considerable portion of the Realms of Truth''s principles, but in reality, he only knew the tip of the iceberg. He had never once truly exhibited the Realms of Truth''s full potential during combat. Meanwhile, Tier 3 was only a transition period for true powerhouses. The difference between their strength and that of ordinary experts would become more prominent as players reached Level 120 and began to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. While Zero Wing had plenty of expert players, very few qualified to be called peak experts, and even fewer were apex experts that had reached the Domain Realm. Although powerful weapons, equipment, and Bloodlines would be quite helpful during players'' Tier 4 Promotion quests, their combat standards would be the deciding factor between completing the quest or not. This would be particularly true of players who challenged their Tier 4 Promotion Quests at a low level. They''d face much higher combat standard requirements than if they waited. Since the Zeus Corporation was taking measures to consolidate its power, it was obvious that the various superpowers and major corporations had realized the significance of Tier 4. As a result, they were pooling their resources to nurture their peak and apex experts in preparation for their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. In the past, the various superpowers had only realized how important Tier 4 was after a few apex experts had completed their Promotion Quests. However, due to the butterfly effect Shi Feng had caused, the superpowers now focused on training their high-tiered experts, rather than rely on zerg tactics as they had in his past life. Hence, improving Zero Wing members'' combat standards was of the utmost importance. If the various superpowers really were preparing their experts for the Tier 4 Promotion Quests, Zero Wing would be overpowered if it remained passive. Aside from normal training, life-or-death battles with monsters was an absolute must if players wanted to grow stronger. Only by risking their lives in battle could players unlock more of their potential. Now that Zero Wing had the Extraordinary Tower and the Demonwolf Mountain Range''s special region in its grasp, he had to take advantage of these benefits. "In that case, Guild Leader, why did we bring all of these Personal Guards?" Aqua Rose asked, confused. It had taken a lot of manpower to secure so many powerful Personal Guards, yet Shi Feng didn''t intend to use them in the fight. She didn''t understand what he was trying to accomplish. "They''re here to watch us fight and help during crucial moments, saving our lives," Shi Feng seriously explained. His statement left the rest of his team speechless. Was this the right way to use Personal Guards? These Demonwolves were so powerful. Even if they fought alongside their Personal Guards, victory wasn''t guaranteed, so how were these NPCs supposed to protect them? "Since there are no more questions, let''s begin our training!" Shi Feng declared, slashing Killing Ray through the empty air before him and sending a lightning bolt at a group of a dozen or so Demonwolves. The attack startled over a thousand nearby monsters, and the Demonwolves turned to glare at Shi Feng''s group, the rage in their eyes making Cola and the others shiver. Before the team could react, the thousand or so monsters charged toward them... 2599 True Tier 4 Chapter 2599 - True Tier 4 Cola and the others grew nervous as the Demonwolves swarmed. Most of the monsters were only High Lord ranked Ice Demonwolves, but with their high levels, their Basic Attributes could rival that of Level 115 Great Lords. In other words, they had to face more than 1,000 Great Lords of the same level simultaneously, and every one of these monsters had the combat standards to reach the Trial Tower''s third floor. Moreover, quite a few Three-headed Demonwolves ran with this pack. These monsters moved like a powerful tsunami that could wipe out anything in its path. As the Demonwolves moved closer, and Zero Wing''s members prepared for battle, the pack split into two and surrounded the team. Completing the encirclement, the Ice Demonwolves opened a path for their Grand Lord ranked brethren, allowing the Three-headed Demonwolves to move to the front. "How intelligent are these monsters?!" Cola''s eyes nearly fell from their sockets. These Demonwolves moved more like a well-trained army than a bunch of Demonic Creatures, and this army had been specifically trained to target players. Before Cola and the others could react, one of the Three-headed Demonwolves charged forth. Over a hundred Ice Demonwolves followed the Grand Lord, providing cover. Cola immediately responded by charging forward and using Justice Roar on the Three-headed Demonwolf. Just as the blinding light radiated from Cola, before he could land an attack, however, a playful look flashed in the Grand Lord''s eyes, confusing the Guardian Knight. Two Ice Demonwolves then appeared from behind the Grand Lord, ramming their heads into Cola. Peng! The Ice Demonwolves bounced off Cola''s armor, flying back, and the MT''s assault came to a grinding halt. Before Cola could regain his stance, the Three-headed Demonwolf s paw descended toward him, enveloped in an ink-black glow. "Don''t you dare think I''m that easy to kill!" Cola roared, reacting quickly and raising his shield to block the attack. The instant he raised his shield, however, he was dumbfounded. This time, three more Ice Demonwolves appeared from the Grand Lord''s sides... A two-pronged assault! Despite the fact that Demonic Creatures shouldn''t possess much intellect, these Demonwolves knew how to work together to launch complicated assaults. Moreover, their coordination was simply perfect. They had executed their strategy with flawless timing. Not even players could pull off such a tactic. It was as if these Demonwolves had practiced relentlessly to deal with him specifically. Just as Cola thought all hope was lost, an Ice Wall rose up around him. Boom! The wall shook violently when the Three-headed Demonwolf and three Ice Demonwolves collided with it, but it held steady. Stunned, Aqua Rose and the others glanced toward the origin of the Ice Wall''s Mana. None of them had been able to react to the Demonwolves'' attacks in time to save Cola, but someone had cast Ice Wall around the MT just before the four monsters'' attack landed. The Ice Wall was only a Tier 2 Spell, yet it had even stopped the Grand Lord ranked Three-headed Demonwolf. It was unbelievable! Locating the caster, the team stared at Versailles, the elderly man behind Shi Feng. However, to their surprise, there wasn''t a magic array around the NPC or the crystalline staff he wielded, yet he had created the Ice Wall. When players cast Spells, they first needed to form the necessary magic array. Even Instantaneous Spells required arrays to cast, and all magic arrays took time to form. Although Instantaneous Spells'' arrays manifested much faster, time was still needed for their completion. Versailles, however, had cast the Tier 2 Ice Wall without any magic arrays as if the Spell had taken shape with a thought. Moreover, his Ice Wall was astonishingly powerful. Enraged, the Three-headed Demonwolf glared at Versailles. All three of the Grand Lord''s heads opened their maws, and a twofold magic array began to form beneath the monster''s feet. After a brief pause, the three wolf heads spat a frightening storm, resembling a hurricane, which threatened to devour everyone in the area. No one had any time to dodge the attack. In response, Versailles lifted his free hand and summoned a rock wall, isolating them from the Three-headed Demonwolf. The powerful storm attack didn''t even shake the rock wall. Even after exhausting its energy, the storm only cleaned the wall of loose dirt... Cola and the others were flabbergasted. That attack had undoubtedly been a Tier 3 Curse. Including the fact that the Three-headed Demonwolf was a Level 124 Grand Lord, the attack rivaled a full-powered hit from a Level 120 Mythic monster, yet Versailles had effortlessly blocked it... Meanwhile, the Tier 4 NPC summoned stone spikes beneath the other two Three-headed Demonwolves, who were preparing a long-range ambush, and broke the other Grand Lords'' concentration. A Tier 4 NPC is actually this strong? Aqua Rose was utterly baffled as she watched. She had thought Shi Feng was overestimating Versailles, who was only a Level 112 Secret-Silver Guard. He might be a Tier 4 NPC, but fighting this formidable Demonwolf army should still give him some trouble. But after witnessing Versailles''s performance, she understood why Shi Feng thought so highly of the elderly NPC. Versailles had instantly cast three Spells to interrupt the three Grand Lords'' attacks. In other words, he could triple instant-cast. Moreover, all three of his Spells were incredibly powerful, despite their low tier. Versailles was on a completely different level than the Tier 4 NPCs she had encountered before. "Everyone, be more careful. Although we have Versailles'' protection, it isn''t foolproof. These Demonwolves are extraordinary. Not only are they incomparably cunning, but they also know how to take advantage of all sorts of opportunities. You need to be vigilant at all times," Shi Feng warned, chuckling when he saw his teammates'' surprise. Any NPC that could reach Tier 4 was a dragon among men. These individuals could protect entire cities without help. How could any of them possibly be weak? Moreover, humans at Tier 4 were completely different from monsters at the same tier. Humans needed to rely on techniques and Mana control to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quests, but monsters could reach the tier as long as they and their Bloodline were sufficiently powerful. Hence, even if a Tier 4 human NPC was slightly lower-leveled than a Tier 4 monster, they could rely on their superior techniques to fill the gap. Furthermore, a Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard''s growth rate was by no means lacking. Shi Feng''s warning snapped everyone from their stupor, and a passionate flame began to bum in their eyes. The Demonwolves before them were indeed extraordinary. That was clear after witnessing Cola''s brief battle. Not only could these monsters chain their attacks, but they also knew how to target players'' weak points. Most importantly, this wasn''t a training session, but a life-threatening battle where they could exhibit their full potential. This was a battlefield that all expert players dreamed of! The 11 team members immediately cleared their minds and focused on the fight before them. Although their attention was on the Demonwolves in front of them, they kept an eye on the monsters around them, as well. Shi Feng wasn''t idle, either. He immediately charged at two of the Three-headed Demonwolves in the distance, trying to integrate his Basic Combat Techniques in his every movement. Trying to use combat techniques with every action was incredibly difficult. When he had fought the Swordsmen on the Extraordinary Tower''s second-floor staircase, he hadn''t spared any attention or time for conducting such experiments. The tower had reduced his physique to that of a Tier 1 player, and he had barely been able to keep up with the second floor''s Swordsmen as it was. If he had tried to combine combat techniques with his movements, his efforts would''ve yielded the opposite effect. Fortunately, these Demonwolves were the perfect practice targets. Not only did they target players'' weak points, but he could also maintain his Tier 3 physique during the fight. He would have more than enough energy to spare for practicing his combat technique integration. Shi Feng proceeded to engage in a bitter battle with the two Three-headed Demonwolves and several hundred nearby Ice Demonwolves. Whenever he focused his attacks on the Grand Lords, the Ice Demonwolves pounced to intercept him. Some of the High Lords even used the chance to launch surprise attacks, preventing Shi Feng from using any of his Skills or Spells. He could only rely on combat techniques, which were faster, to defend himself. As the battle progressed, Shi Feng grew increasingly familiar with using Basic Combat Techniques in combat. Initially, he had only been able to execute a Basic Combat Technique perfectly once every dozen or so moves, but he gradually reduced that to five or six moves. As he did, his fight against the Three-headed Demonwolves became easier. Now, even his normal attacks were stronger than the Level 124 Grand Lords''. In fact, Shi Feng began to gain the advantage against the two Three-headed Demonwolves and several hundred Ice Demonwolves as the battle continued. Aqua Rose and the others also improved with flying speed. At first, their fight with the Demonwolves had been arduous, and Versailles had had to rescue them from time to time. However, they began to learn how to use their environment, and now, all of their movements resembled combat techniques. The team continued to train for five consecutive days. During that time, they traveled between the Demonwolf den and the Extraordinary Tower. Not only had all of the team members reached the Ascension Realm standard in the end, but Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Aqua Rose had also created customized Bronze Combat Techniques. Everyone had also leveled with astonishing speed. The Demonwolf den''s monsters didn''t drop loot, but they did grant abundant EXP. In addition, Shi Feng had sent the Personal Guards to clear out a portion of the den while everyone trained. As a result, the team members had leveled twice during the past five days. Unfortunately, due to the Demon God, Atlock''s Soul Curse, Shi Feng had lost one of the two levels he had earned. Hence, he had only reached Level 118. Sure enough, my combat power has risen considerably after integrating Basic Combat Techniques with my movements. Overall, both my offense and defense have improved. If I can do the same with Advanced Combat Techniques, I might be able to transcend tiers, Shi Feng thought as he fought three Three-headed Demonwolves simultaneously. After five days of frantic training, he had finally merged Basic Combat Techniques with his movements. Now, he could effortlessly execute a Basic Combat Technique with every action. As a result, his strength had undergone a qualitative transformation, and he could now pass the 90th step on the Extraordinary Tower''s second-floor staircase. However, he still hit a roadblock on the 96th step during his fight with three Black Swordsmen. If he wished to defeat them, he''d have to become as powerful as the Black Swordsmen, integrating Advanced Combat Techniques in his movements. Unfortunately, the feat was too difficult to accomplish as he was. Advanced Combat Techniques consumed a lot more Stamina and Concentration than Basic Combat Techniques. They were also far more complex. Executing an Advanced Combat Technique normally was already a challenge. Trying to use one with every action was beyond Shi Feng right now. "Guild Leader, we''re almost out of time. If we don''t hurry to the western continent now, Wonder won''t make it for the family competition," Aqua Rose announced when she realized Shi Feng was engrossed in his fight. "It''s already time?" Shi Feng felt as if time had passed too quickly. "Alright, let''s get ready to return, then!" 2600 Monstrous Upstarts Chapter 2600 - Monstrous Upstarts West Continent, Frost Hills, Azure City: As a Guild City in a Level 90 neutral map, Azure City played a transitional role for many of the Winter Empire''s players as they prepared to travel to Level 100-plus maps. Including the fact that the city''s ruling Guild, the Azure Chamber of Commerce, was one of trade and business, the city had become the largest trade hub in the empire. Many players and powers traveled to Azure City on business, and the city enjoyed easily over five million visitors per day. A long line of players had formed at the city gates, waiting to enter, and from time to time, they saw gigantic Flying Mounts pass overhead, making the ordinary players in line jealous. "Azure City is amazing. I''ve never seen Flying Mounts in other Guild Cities, yet so many have passed by while I''ve been in line!" an independent, Level 103 Berserker exclaimed as he watched a Two-headed Vulture soar past. "There are usually quite a few Flying Mounts coming and going from Azure City every day, but there seem to be far more today. I''ve heard that Azure is hosting the competition for its younger generation and has invited several powers to watch. I assume those Flying Mounts belong to the invited powers'' upper echelons," a Level 108 youth wearing a Guild Emblem explained. "A competition among Azure''s younger generation?" The comment confused the Berserker. "What''s so great about that? Isn''t it just a PvP tournament between a bunch of unknown upstarts? It''s not even a competition between peak experts, yet all of these powers are attending with such fanfare." "I take it you don''t know much about Azure. Azure is a veteran Guild run by multiple families. It''s main shareholders make their living through virtual reality games. Unlike the various superpowers'' experts, who generally start training only after turning 15 or 16, Azure''s younger generation start their training during childhood. They''re all astonishingly strong, far stronger than the various superpowers'' ordinary experts. Some of them are even stronger than the superpowers'' peak experts," the Elementalist youth explained, rolling his eyes. "Moreover, this competition revolves around combat standards and techniques. You can learn plenty just by watching the fight. Why else would Azure''s partnered powers bother showing up? I bet most of them have brought their younger talents to watch, as well." "I heard that this year is going to be extraordinary. Many of Azure''s younger members have been training with Violet Sword. A few days ago, Violet Sword even announced that someone from Azure''s younger generation fought Wildfighter, one of the vice commanders for the chamber''s strongest trump card, to a standstill. Violet Sword''s upper echelons were stunned," a Level 110, Tier 3 Swordsman wearing a Guild Emblem similar to the Elementalist youth''s said. "Fought Wildfighter to a standstill? Who are you trying to fool? Wildfighter is one of the top 30 players on the God''s Domain Experts List!" the independent Berserker protested, skeptical. "Wildfighter has been famous for over a decade and is a publicly acknowledged monster. I''ve heard that Wildfighter can hold his ground against a Level 110 Mythic monster by himself. How could one of Azure''s youngsters possibly fight him to a standstill?" Almost every Berserker player on the western continent knew about Wildfighter. For many Berserkers, he was a goal and idol. Naturally, this Level 103 Berserker was no exception. "This is insider information. One of my friends is a core member in Violet Sword," the Level 110 Swordsman argued. "I wish I could watch the competition, too. Who knows? It might give me an idea of how to grow stronger." One-on-one duels between peak experts were rare, and even when they happened, the various superpowers kept a tight lid on the matter. Ordinary players only got to watch peak experts in action when the various major powers or superpowers waged war against each other. However, large-scale battles weren''t as useful when trying to improve one''s combat standards. Peak experts typically relied on their incredibly high Basic Attributes to overwhelm their opponents. They rarely used complex techniques in battle. When peak experts met on the battlefield, their fights were rarely one-on-one. To put it simply, opportunities to watch two peak experts rely on techniques in a duel were invaluable. Many players spent big bucks to spectate. While these several players chatted amongst themselves, a sharp cry rang through the air, echoing throughout the area. Everyone turned to find the source of this cry, spotting a giant eagle with a wingspan of over twenty meters. The bird of prey was shrouded in a black fog as it drew closer to Azure City. "Crap! That''s Violet Sword''s Netherflame Eagle! Violet Sword is attending the competition, too?" "What a powerful aura! That eagle is nearly as strong as a Grand Lord!" "Nearly? I''ve heard that the Netherflame Eagle can take down Grand Lords of the same level. Very few Flying Mounts in the east are as powerful." Awe flashed in everyone''s eyes as they spoke about the Flying Mount above. A Flying Mount that rivaled Grand Lords of the same level was incredibly useful. As long as players had high enough DPS and that Flying Mount, killing Grand Lords in the fields with a small team was entirely possible. Furthermore, the Netherflame Eagle was fast enough to save players plenty of travel time. As everyone discussed the Flying Mount, the Netherflame Eagle blurred as it flew to Azure''s Residence within the city. When the massive Flying Mount landed, over a dozen people jumped off its back. They were all Level 111, except for the white-haired old man that remained seated; he had already reached Level 112. "Violet Sword has taught you everything you need to know. I hope you won''t disgrace the Guild''s good name. If you fail, you''d better not mention that I taught you. You won''t get a second chance to train with Violet Sword, either!" the white-haired elder indifferently warned his travel companions. "Don''t worry, Instructor Torre. We''ll show the Long Family how foolish they''ve been to decline your training," a silvereyed, blue-haired youth with a greatsword slung across his back respectfully promised. "Good. I will be waiting in Holy Flame City. Do not disappoint your elders or me!" the white-haired elder said, nodding. His gaze held a hint of warmth as he looked down at the blue-haired boy. Atop his Netherflame Eagle, the white-haired elder left the city. Meanwhile, the blue-haired youth''s group immediately attracted the attention of Azure''s members and upper echelons. "Fifth Uncle, they''ve clearly grown a lot stronger during their training, especially Solitary Frost. I still can''t believe he fought Wildfighter to a standstill. I''ve also heard that he has a favorable view of Yan Xiaoqian, and she has made great progress with her training. They won''t be easy opponents," Burning Owl cautioned, astonished as he watched the group of youths in the middle of the plaza. Burning Owl had thought he had a chance of securing one of the top three positions in the upcoming competition, but after seeing the other families'' experts return from their training with Violet Sword, his confidence started to waver. "Let''s hope Silk Moon has improved as well. Otherwise, our family might struggle to rank among the top three," Long Wushang agreed, frowning. The Long Family didn''t expect to earn first place in this competition. The gap between their younger members'' strength and the other families'' participants was simply too large. Solitary Frost, in particular, was on an entirely different level, and many of the others had already reached the Void Realm. Silk Moon, the Long Family''s most talented combat player among the Long Family''s younger generation, was the family''s last hope. Just as Solitary Frost''s group was about to leave the plaza, and the crowd was about to disperse, everyone heard a loud humming from above the city, causing quite the commotion. "What''s that sound?" "Is some kind of special event about to happen in Azure City?" Everyone was curious about the humming sound, with many players emerging from hotels and bars to get a better look at its source. When everyone found the sound''s origin, however, they were all dumbfounded. A hundred-meter-long, steel behemoth flew toward the city as they watched. "What''s going on!? Is that a Flying Ship?!" 2601 Zero Wings Arrival, Competition Begins Chapter 2601 - Zero Wing''s Arrival, Competition Begins The Flying Ship''s arrival startled Azure City''s players. Many of the powers that had come to watch Azure Chamber of Commerce''s competition were stunned. Aside from how rare Flying Ships were in God''s Domain, its colossal size was shocking enough. Flying Mounts, which most players thought were gigantic, looked like children in comparison. "Which power owns that Flying Ship? Doesn''t showing up like this seem like grandstanding?" "Has a Super Guild come to watch the competition?" Azure City''s players fell into heated discussions as they watched the rapidly approaching Flying Ship. The various powers'' members, who had come to spectate Azure''s competition, were especially taken aback. Everyone wanted to know who owned the airborne vessel. Flying Mounts'' aerial combat power was nothing compared to that of a Flying Ship. Such a vessel was also stronger than Flying Mounts in other aspects. A Flying Ship could instantly elevate any ordinary Guild''s standing in God''s Domain. The Guild''s main force might even develop as quickly as the main force from a first-rate Guild. While everyone discussed the ship''s arrival, the Flying Ship drifted to a stop above the plaza in Azure''s Residence. When it landed, everyone eagerly stared at the ship''s hatch, overcome with curiosity. Several cloaked players, all of whom had concealed their information and appearances, disembarked. One woman, however, wasn''t wearing a Black Cloak. Rather, she wore luxurious, dark-blue mage robes and instantly became the center of attention in the plaza. Players didn''t just stare because of her powerful aura. Everyone was also astonished that she had actually reached Level 113. She was the highest-leveled player they had ever seen. The white-haired elder from Violet Sword had already reached Level 112, yet this woman surpassed him by one level. She was obviously an extraordinary expert. "Silent Wonder? Isn''t she from the Long Family?" a Level 110, Tier 3 Ranger, who had come to watch the competition, wondered when he saw her statistics. "Since when did the Long Family have a relationship with such an astounding power?" To think that, aside from the Zeus Corporation, the Long Family has the support of such a powerful entity. It''s no wonder why the Long Family isn''t afraid of the Zeus Corporation." The various spectating powers'' upper echelons were surprised when they saw Silent Wonder. They had never considered that the Long Family would have such a powerful foundation. For a time, these upper echelons reconsidered their views of the Long Family. "What grandeur! They actually arrived in a Flying Ship!" Long Wushang, who watched from within Azure''s Residence, clicked his tongue as Zero Wing''s members emerged from the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was Zero Wing''s symbol in the east, just as the Netherflame Eagle was Violet Sword''s. Only, since information between the two main continents was restricted, few powers in the west knew about the Flying Ship. "Isn''t this great, Fifth Uncle? At the very least, our momentum isn''t any slower than the others," Burning Owl said, smiling. Violet Sword was too overbearingly famous. The fact that the Super Guild had escorted Solitary Frost''s group to Azure City atop a Netherflame Eagle was enough to sway Azure''s neutral Elders and Grand Elders. Some had even initiated negotiations with Solitary Frost''s and his companion''s families. "What''s the point of this meaningless display now? Actions speak louder than words, in the end!" Long Wushang disdainfully dismissed. Zero Wing might have a lot of influence on the eastern continent, but the same couldn''t be said in the west. Meanwhile, the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s main area of development lay in the west, which was also the Zeus Corporation''s home ground. Zero Wing couldn''t do anything to help Azure. "Little Qian, your opponent has finally arrived," a Level 111, Tier 3 female Assassin announced, glancing at Yan Xiaoqian. "By the looks of it, she''s grown a lot stronger. You have a tough fight against her." "A tough fight?" Yan Xiaoqian only rolled her eyes. Calmly, she said, "Her alchemy techniques might be stronger, but she''s no match for me in combat. The Long Family''s only decent fighter is Silk Moon. If she hasn''t grown stronger since we last met, taking second place in this competition will be a breeze!" Yan Xiaoqian''s comment had been firm and without any hint of arrogance. She had said it as if it was just a normal fact. The female Assassin didn''t argue with her friend. What Yan Xiaoqian had said was true, after all. Their combat standards had considerably improved during their training with Violet Sword, and she had to admit that the veteran Super Guild was impressive. The Azure Chamber of Commerce was no match for Violet Sword when it came to nurturing experts. During Violet Sword''s training, Yan Xiaoqian had grown tremendously. Many of Violet Sword''s old monsters had even praised her for her talent. Now, she was only half a step away from the Domain Realm, and many of Violet Sword''s old monsters were certain that she''d reach the realm soon. On the other hand, while Silent Wonder was an amazing alchemist, her combat talent was subpar in comparison. She hadn''t even reached the Void Realm before the previous competition. Even if Zero Wing were capable and helped Silent Wonder reach the Void Realm since, that wouldn''t change anything. Even between Void Realm experts, there was a massive difference in strength. While the female Assassin and Yan Xiaoqian conversed, a middle-aged man with a chilling aura and pale complexion approached. This man was Duan Hanshan, the strongest member of the Duan Family''s second generation. "Xiaoqian, I''m afraid you''ll be disappointed this time. We just received news that Silk Moon won''t be attending the competition for some reason. Nobody can get in touch with her. The entire Long Family is panicking over the matter," Duan Hanshan interjected. "Silk Moon isn''t coming? Doesn''t that mean the Long Family is finished?" the female Assassin asked. Silk Moon was the Long Family''s last hope of securing one of the top three positions in this competition. If she had succeeded in earning one of those positions, the Long Family would''ve retained its reputation. However, now that Silk Moon couldn''t make it, the Long Family had a bleak future ahead. The Long Family currently held the right to rule the Azure Chamber of Commerce, but the younger generation would determine the Guild''s future. If the Long Family''s successors weren''t up to the task, who would trust the family to run Azure? Soon, both the Zeus Corporation and the chamber''s various shareholder families would use the Long Family''s ineptitude as an excuse to reclaim Azure''s ruling rights. "That''s why all of you need to perform well. We mustn''t allow any member of the Long Family to take one of the top three positions. This isn''t just the family''s requirement, but the Zeus Corporation''s, as well. As long as you succeed, you will all have another opportunity to train with Violet Sword," Duan Hanshan said seriously. "Top three? Doesn''t that only leave Burning Owl as a threat?" the female Assassin surmised, turning to look at the distant Burning Owl, who wore an ugly expression. Burning Owl was undoubtedly a peak expert. None of them had been a match for his combat standards in the past, but after training with Violet Sword, the five individuals from the various shareholder families had joined the ranks of peak experts. Moreover, they had engaged in live combat against a large number of Violet Sword''s peak experts. If Burning Owl was their only opponent, the group had a high chance of securing all three top positions in this competition. Once they succeeded, they''d all be able to return to Violet Sword, making this an incredibly valuable opportunity. Their training with Violet Sword had cost a lot of manpower and resources, a cost that the Azure Chamber of Commerce couldn''t currently afford. If not for the Zeus Corporation''s request, Violet Sword wouldn''t have bothered training them at all. "Time is almost up. Let''s head to the arena," Duan Hanshan said after taking a look at the time. He then led Yan Xiaoqian and the female Assassin toward the Battle Arena in the heart of Azure City. 2602 Stage Struggle, Silent Wonders Decision Chapter 2602 - Stage Struggle, Silent Wonder''s Decision Azure City, Battle Arena: With the Azure Chamber of Commerce hosting its annual competition, many of Azure City''s players had swarmed the Battle Arena in hopes of watching the battle. However, Azure had stationed several thousand experts around the building to stop the flood of approaching players. Azure had no intention of allowing uninvited players to view the competition. As the various invited powers entered the Battle Arena, the uninvited public grew envious. Although Azure City''s Battle Arena was much smaller than the one in Stone Forest City, its interior had been magnificently decorated. Even Shi Feng was a little impressed as he entered the building''s main lobby. The main lobby had been paved with Mana Ore, and the instant he stepped inside, the Mana he felt was considerably denser than outside. Moreover, artisans had carved all sorts of images into the lobby''s walls. These engravings might not seem special to ordinary players, but players who knew combat techniques would easily recognize them. Every engraved image depicted a different combat technique! Of course, these combat techniques were incomplete. Learning techniques from these engravings would be many times more difficult than learning them from complete legacies. It would take an absolute genius to learn anything from these carved walls. From what Shi Feng could tell, anyone that mastered these incomplete combat techniques would gain a massive strength boost. Most of these incomplete techniques were Advanced rank or higher. Following an NPC, Shi Feng''s group soon arrived in the largest arena within Azure City''s Battle Arena. The room could easily accommodate over 10,000 spectators, and all of the stages within had been made with Mana Ore. On these stages, players would be able to exhibit extraordinary combat power, making their fights far more interesting. By the time Shi Feng''s group reached their seats, most had already been filled. The majority of the spectators were either talented newcomers from the various powers or Azure''s core members. Excitement filled the air as everyone watched Azure''s younger members approach the center stage, one after another. "We already know who''s taking first place, but I wonder who will earn second place?" "I think Vice Guild Leader Burning Owl from the Long Family has a high chance. He''s already been acknowledged as the third strongest member of Azure''s younger generation. I''ve also heard that he''s recently mastered an Advanced Footwork technique, so he should''ve grown significantly stronger." "Burning Owl might have been strong before, but times have changed. There''s a rumor that quite a few members from the other families have reached the Void Realm. I think Burning Owl will have a hard time claiming one of the top three spots." All of the spectators had their guesses of who would secure the competition''s second place. Everyone was certain that there were six candidates that could vie for the position, and all six had reached the Void Realm. However, nobody was certain which of these six candidates would succeed. After all, players could gain a massive amount of combat power from a single moment of inspiration once they had reached the Void Realm. Hence, all six candidates had a chance of taking second place. While the audience chatted amongst themselves, a middle-aged man in light-gray leather armor with two longswords across his back took his place on the center stage. This man didn''t look very old; at most, he should be in his 40s. His aura wasn''t all that intimidating, either. On the contrary, his aura was as calm as the surface of a lake on a summer day. When he took the stage, however, the arena fell silent. "Crap! He''s presiding over the competition this time?!" "The GCPs it cost to watch this competition were really well spent!" When the crowd saw the middle-aged man, their eyes glowed with excitement. This man was Sinful Flame, the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s strongest member. It was rumored that he could even fight Netherworld Empire''s number one Assassin and the commander of Mythology''s strongest trump card legion to a standstill. He even ranked as one of the top ten experts on the God''s Domain Experts List. Sinful Flame rarely appeared in public and generally focused on training for his rematch against Netherworld''s Assassin and Mythology''s commander. With such a mythical individual before them, how could the crowd contain their excitement? Furthermore, during Azure''s annual competitions, the first place winner had the privilege of fighting the host. This meant that the audience would get to watch Sinful Flame in action. This was an incredibly rare opportunity. "I won''t bore you with nonsense. During past competitions, we have chosen six members from the first phase to participate in the main event. However, Azure has gained much over the last year. As many as seven of our members have reached the Void Realm and beyond! Rather than the usual six, we will choose eight individuals to participate in the main event this year." Sinful Flame announced, glancing at the youngsters before him. "Any of you who wish to challenge yourselves may begin, but because we have quite a few who have reached the Flowing Water Realm, every member may only challenge two opponents, instead of the usual three. Choose wisely." When Sinful Flame finished his opening statement, the central stage split into eight smaller stages, each with a 60-yard radius. It gave Tier 3 players more than enough room to display their skills. In addition, the same rules applied to every stage. All players'' Basic Attributes would be equalized. This would ensure that the fighters had to rely on their combat standards to win. Once the eight stages settled in place, Solitary Frost and the other Void Realm or higher experts split up, choosing a stage. The other members from the various families hesitated to approach the eighth stage, however. Solitary Frost''s team of seven clearly had incredibly high combat standards, but the rest of the participating members had only reached the Flowing Water Realm. Challenging these seven would only result in one outcomedefeat! None of them were foolish enough to waste their two challenge opportunities. If they took the eighth stage, however, they''d be forced to face numerous opponents. While they might be able to secure consecutive wins, every battle would expose more of their strength. This, in turn, would reduce their chances of winning. "Why isn''t anybody taking the eighth stage?" Sinful Flame demanded. "Aside from the usual rewards the Guild has prepared for the top three victors, the Zeus Corporation has promised to send the top eight fighters to train in Violet Sword''s magical secret land. You should all cherish this opportunity." With that, excitement flashed in the participating players'' eyes. Violet Sword occupied a magical secret land that came with a training ground that had survived since ancient times. Although training in this secret land wouldn''t be as beneficial as their prior training with Violet Sword, it could help players rapidly improve. If they could spend some time in that secret land, breaking through to the Void Realm would be entirely possible. They might even become an Elder in the Guild. Suddenly, every one of these players made a mad dash for the eighth stage. Is Second Sister holding back? Burning Owl wondered in confusion as he glanced at Silent Wonder, who remained still even after the announcement. While everyone fought over the final stage, Silent Wonder turned and walked toward the first stage, where Solitary Frost waited. 2603 Overestimating Oneself? Chapter 2603 - Overestimating Oneself? "That''s Solitary Frost''s stage. Why is Silent Wonder going there?" "She''s going to challenge Solitary Frost." "Challenge Solitary Frost? Is she insane?" The players that had been competing for the eighth stage paused, watching Silent Wonder approach the first stage. They were all curious to see what she planned to do. "Second Sister?" Even Burning Owl was confused as he watched. Even if Silent Wonder wanted to secure one of the top eight positions, she shouldn''t have started with Solitary Frost. Solitary Frost had always been stronger than the rest of Azure''s younger generation, and now, after his training with Violet Sword, he was on a completely different level. Anyone that challenged Solitary Frost would only waste one of their opportunities. Yan Xiaoqian was just as astonished as she watched Silent Wonder from her position on the second stage. She might not have been surprised to see the Long Family''s Silk Moon challenge Solitary Frost, since she would actually have a chance of winning, but why would Silent Wonder challenge that monster of a player? This competition wasn''t like the previous alchemy competition. They weren''t fighting monsters this time, and superior levels and equipment couldn''t help Silent Wonder here. On these eight stages, everyone''s Basic Attributes would be the same. Players would have to rely on their combat standards and techniques to win. Silent Wonder could never be a match for Solitary Frost in these aspects. Meanwhile, the audience was in an uproar as it watched Silent Wonder. The Long Familys Elders and Grand Elders in particular, anxiously sat on the edge of their seats. They had, more or less, given up any hope of securing one of the top three spots. They only hoped that Burning Owl could hold fourth place, and Silent Wonder would make it into the top eight. They could, to a certain extent, avoid embarrassment if two of their representatives ranked among the top eight fighters. Whether or not the Long Family retained its ruling rights over the Azure Chamber of Commerce would depend on Silent Wonder''s obedience in training with Violet Sword. As long as she did, the Zeus Corporation would stop meddling in Azure''s affairs, and the family would be safe. And yet, the foolish girl was about to waste one of her challenge opportunities on Solitary Frost! "That girl is quite brave," Sinful Flame muttered, praising Silent Wonder as she stepped onto the first stage. Solitary Frost, on the other hand, showed no appreciation for Silent Wonder''s courage. Rather, he seemed to look down on her. "To challenge me directly, it seems you''ve improved quite a bit in Zero Wing, Wonder," Solitary Frost said coldly. The selection for the eight finalists had just begun, yet Silent Wonder had chosen to challenge him now. If she were truly powerful, she would be more than capable of facing off against him in the main event. By choosing him now, she was declaring to every player in the arena that he was an easy opponent. Essentially, she was trying to humiliate him. "Mhm. I have indeed improved in Zero Wing, so I''d like to test my limits on you," Silent Wonder honestly replied, nodding. "I guess you''re serious, then," Solitary Frost reasoned, his anger subsiding as he realized that Silent Wonder wanted to fight him in earnest, not make fun of him. His expression shifted, becoming serious, and he pulled the silver greatsword from its sheath across his back. "In that case, show me how much you''ve grown in your little Guild!" "Thank you." Silent Wonder offered the words of gratitude, knowing Solitary Frost would take her seriously. "There''s no need for that. I appreciate all true challengers. I hope you won''t disappoint me. During my training with Violet Sword, only Yan Xiaoqian withstood a few of my moves. The rest of our generation was too boring and weak to make me work for my victory," Solitary Frost said. By the time Solitary Frost finished his last statement, Sinful Flame had arrived in the center of the stage. "Since you both agree, let the match begin," the older man announced after taking a good look at the two youngsters. A roar of excitement swept through the spectator stands when the crowd heard Sinful Flame announce the start of the match. They had never thought Solitary Flame would take Silent Wonders challenge seriously, and they couldnt contain their enthusiasm. "And here I thought I''d have to wait until the main event to watch a Solitary Frost and Burning Owl duke it out. Thanks to Silent Wonder, I''ll get to watch Solitary Frost in a serious battle now." "I wonder how many minutes Silent Wonder will last?" "Minutes? Aren''t you giving her a little too much credit? I doubt even Burning Owl will last more than ten moves against Solitary Frost." The various powers'' members had heard plenty about Solitary Frost. Many of them had even come just to see how powerful the boy, who had fought the famous Wildfighter to a standstill, was. Wildfighter was a legend among Berserkers, and getting a chance to see such an individual in action was almost impossible. However, if Solitary Frost fought with all he had, they could get a feel for how strong Wildfighter was. Once Sinful Flame had initiated the match on the first stage, Solitary Frost and Silent Wonder moved to their designated positions and prepared for battle. "I''ve heard that Yan Xiaoqian used to consider you a rival. In that case, I''ll use the same move that defeated her against you. I hope you''re ready!" Solitary Frost wanted Silent Wonder, who stood 40 yards away. Suddenly, the young man split into four clones of himself. All four figures were identical and radiated similar auras, making them impossible to tell apart. The doppelgangers then split up and surrounded Silent Wonder. "Are you kidding me? Solitary Frost is using Four Absolute Phantoms so soon?" the female, Tier 3 Assassin said from one of the other seven stages, her jaw dropping as she watched Solitary Frost treat Silent Wonder as a true opponent. Yan Xiaoqian, who stood on the stage next to Solitary Frost''s, revealed a grim expression, as well. Solitary Frost''s Four Absolute Phantoms was an incredible challenge to overcome for magical class players like her. The four doppelgangers weren''t altogether fakes. One could only deal damage to Solitary Frost by attacking all four at once, and that wasn''t the move''s most frightening aspect. The true danger lay in the fact that Solitary Nine could control all of his doppelgangers with as much precision as he controlled his own body. Using doppelgangers in combat was immensely difficult in God_s Domain. Controlling two bodies simultaneously would even reduce a peak expert''s combat power. Ordinary Domain Realm experts would be lucky if they could control three bodies without sacrificing some of their performance. However, Solitary Frost could control all four doppelgangers without reducing any of their combat power. Of course, landing an attack against a Domain Realm expert without using a Skill or Spell was just as difficult. Domain Realm experts could perceive all movement within their vicinity, after all. Relying on their keen senses, they could preemptively evade and launch counterattacks. Fighting Solitary Frost''s Four Absolute Phantoms would be as challenging as facing four Domain Realm experts simultaneously. For peak experts, this move was an absolute nightmare. And once a magical class player allowed a melee player, especially a Domain Realm expert, to move within attack range, it was game over. "Amazing!" Silent Wonder exclaimed, admiring Solitary Frost''s perfect control. "Face my Four Absolute Phantoms!" Silent Wonder''s admiration wouldn''t slow Solitary Frost down, and his four doppelgangers encircled their opponent, rapidly closing in. While Solitary Frost''s doppelgangers drew closer, Silent Wonder began to wave her staff. Four Ice Walls shot up from the stage around her, protecting her from all sides. "Ice Walls? She doesn''t actually think such a low-tier Defensive Spell can stop Solitary Frost''s attack, does she?" The female Assassin couldn''t help but laugh. The Spell, Ice Wall, could only be enhanced to Tier 2. It wasn''t anywhere near strong enough to stop a Tier 3 player''s full-powered attack. The Spell wouldn''t even buy Silent Wonder any time. "Boring!" Silent Wonder''s opening move disappointed Solitary Frost a little, but he didn''t pause his assault. He immediately canceled his Four Absolute Phantoms before brandishing his greatsword. The weapon transformed into three identical copies before converging on the Ice Wall before him. Combat Technique, Triple Heavy Slash! Boom! As the greatsword crashed into the Ice Wall, a deafening boom filled the arena. "How is that possible?" Solitary Frost was stunned when his attack failed to deal any damage to the Ice Wall. Moreover, the recoil had left both of his arms numb as if he had just struck an impenetrable wall... 2604 Fully Unlocked Mana Body Chapter 2604 - Fully Unlocked Mana Body The audience was befuddled when they saw Solitary Frost''s attack come to a grinding halt. "It didn''t break? But, isn''t it only a Tier 2 Defensive Spell?" "Did Solitary Frost mess up his attack?" The players in the spectator stands were all extremely familiar with the Spell, Ice Wall. Before players had reached Tier 3, Elementalists had used the Spell to help protect their MTs from Great Lord ranked Bosses'' attacks. However, both Solitary Frost and Silent Wonder were both bona fide Tier 3 players. Although their Basic Attributes had been equalized, they both had the Attributes of Tier 3 players. A Tier 2 Ice Wall could, at most, buffer a Tier 3 attack; it shouldn''t be able to stop such a blow, let alone one empowered with a combat technique. "A Tier 2 Ice Wall can actually stop a Tier 3 Berserker''s combat technique at full strength?" Burning Owl was just as confused as everyone else after seeing Silent Wonder''s Ice Wall intact. He had fought Tier 3 Elementalists himself, but when they had used Ice Wall against him, the Spell hadn''t even stopped his normal attacks. He had tested this multiple times and never once failed to shatter an Ice Wall. Meanwhile, Yan Xiaoqian stared at Silent Wonder in astonishment. "Mana!" Yan Xiaoqian exclaimed, sensing the dense Mana radiating from Silent Wonder. "She''s already unlocked her Mana Body''s full potential!" Yan Xiaoqian wasn''t the only magical class player to notice the sudden spike in Mana around Silent Wonder. The only explanation any of them could think of was that the Elementalist had fully unlocked her Mana Body. "She actually unlocked her Mana Body?" "Amazing! Not even the Super Guilds have any members with a fully unlocked Mana Body yet!" "It seems my trip here wasn''t in vain. I''ll get to watch an expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body in battle." Everyone in the spectator stands began to talk about Silent Wonder. Their opinions of her had all changed. Rather than seeing her as just another member of Azure''s younger generation, they saw her as a true powerhouse. "Hahaha! Good! Wonderful! We might actually have a chance of claiming one of the top three positions now!" Long Wushang, who sat among the audience, laughed joyously as he watched Silent Wonder. After failing to contact Silk Moon, the Long Family had given up any hope of securing one of the top three positions in this competition. Now that they knew Silent Wonder had unlocked her Mana Body''s full potential, however, securing one of those spots was almost certain. There was a massive strength difference between an expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body and one without. Tier 3 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies were almost half a tier stronger than ordinary Tier 3 experts. Every participant in this competition, excluding Solitary Frost, had, at most, reached the Void Realm. Although Silent Wonder had only reached the Half-step Void Realm standard, she could easily defeat Void Realm experts with this advantage. Not even Yan Xiaoqian, who was only a step away from the Void Realm, would be a match for her. "You''ve fully unlocked your Mana Body?" Solitary Frost''s fighting spirit flared, a passionate flame dancing in his eyes, when he looked at Silent Wonder behind the Ice Walls. "It''s no wonder why you were bold enough to challenge me! I''ve never fought an expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body, so show me how powerful it truly is!" The Berserker raised his greatsword and leaped into the air, aiming for the one area where Silent Wonder didn''t have an Ice Wall''s protection. Advanced Combat Technique, Seven Consecutive Flashes! The greatsword transformed into seven streaks of light, covering the entire area within the Ice Walls and leaving Silent Wonder no room to dodge. In response, Silent Wonder used Blink, immediately appearing 30 yards away and evading Solitary Frost''s attack. With a wave of her staff, she then summoned over a dozen magical arrays around her opponent. The arrays released a barrage of Flame Spears, each with enough power to rival a Grand Lord of the same level. As if Solitary Frost had anticipated this move, he tightened his grip on his greatsword and twisted in the air. Tier 3 Skill, Berserk Dance! Solitary Frost rapidly rotated in the air, his greatsword leaving arcs of crimson light in its wake that blocked the incoming Flame Spears. "He executed Berserk Dance with over a 90% Completion Rate even from that position? Is he a monster?" Shocked, Burning Owl stared at the crimson sword lights surrounding Solitary Frost. While Tier 3 Skills were quite powerful, achieving a high Completion Rate with them was very difficult. Even as a Void Realm expert, Burning Owl could only execute the Tier 3 Berserk Dance with around an 85% Completion Rate, and that was only with optimal conditions. Despite activating the Skill in midair, however, Solitary Frost''s Completion Rate was over 90%. Meanwhile, just as Solitary Frost was about to land, earthen spikes shot up from the ground below him. "A two-pronged assault? That might be useful against peak experts, but it will do nothing against Solitary Frost," the female Assassin standing on the nearby stage said, sneering at the magical attack. A Domain Realm expert could perceive everything within their surroundings. Even a perfectly timed ambush would be useless against such an expert. The instant they took action, the targeted Domain Realm expert would discover the attack. Still calm, the Berserker brandished his greatsword and shattered the first round of earthen spikes. He then used his momentum to evade the second wave of spikes. Landing, Solitary Frost used Flame Charge, dashing toward Silent Wonder. Rather than make a beeline for his target, however, he combined a complex footwork technique with his charge. The Berserker split into six afterimages, rushing toward Silent Wonder from different directions. Advanced Footwork, Mirage Steps! His execution was flawless, and the afterimages were impossible to tell apart. In a fraction of a second, he was within 15 yards of the Elementalist. "It''s over! Your Mana Body might have tremendously increased your casting speed and power, but you lack control of your surroundings! You still can''t use your advantage to its fullest!" Solitary Frost roared as he moved within 10 yards of Silent Wonder. He then swung his greatsword. Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Triple Flame Scythe! Three flaming crescents threatened to devour Silent Wonder with even more power than that of a Grand Lord of the same level. But, just before the attack landed, a gigantic, crimson magic array appeared beneath Silent Wonder''s and Solitary Frost''s feet. The instant the array completed, a towering pillar of fire exploded forth. Not only did the flames swallow the three flaming crescents, but it devoured Solitary Frost and Silent Wonder, as well. "What?! A three-pronged attack?! She actually hid a Red Lotus of Fire beneath her?!" Yan Xiaoqian could not believe her eyes as she stared at the raging pillar of fire before her. Yan Xiaoqian had assumed her rival had only prepared a two-pronged attack. She had never dreamed that Silent Wonder would use herself as bait to lure Solitary Frost into the Red Lotus of Fire, a Tier 3 Curse. After three seconds, the flaming pillar subsided, revealing Solitary Frost''s charred corpse on the stage. Although Silent Wonder hadn''t emerged from her own attack unscathed, she still had one-third of her HP remaining due casting Flame Shield earlier. "I might not have a good grasp on my surroundings, but when it comes to power and technique, I''m much stronger than you!" Silent Wonder told the Berserker''s motionless corpse. From above the stage, a bell rang, signifying the end of the match. At the same time, the system announced Silent Wonder as the victory, momentarily silencing the stunned crowd. 2605 Spiritualization Realm Appears Once More Chapter 2605 - Spiritualization Realm Appears Once More "Solitary Frost lost?" "This is a joke, right? He even rivals Wildfighter!" "A player can become so strong after fully unlocking their Mana Body?" Silent Wonder''s victory flabbergasted everyone. There were quite a few peak experts in the audience, as well as some Domain Realm experts. Hence, they hadn''t had any trouble seeing and understanding what had happened in the battle between Solitary Frost and Silent Wonder. They were certain that Silent Wonder hadn''t reached the Void Realm, and there was a massive difference between her and Solitary Frost. Even if her casting speed and Spell power had greatly improved, thanks to unlocking her Mana Body''s full potential, logically, Solitary Frost should''ve been able to bridge the gap by relying on his superior combat standards when their Basic Attributes were on the same level. In fact, despite not being a match for the Elementalist head-on, Solitary Frost had evaded all of her attacks and targeted Silent Wonder''s weak points during the first half of the match. In the end, however, Solitary Frost had still lost. How were they supposed to wrap their minds around this? "Second Sister won, just like that?" Burning Owl was just as stunned as the players in the audience. He had thought that even if Silent Wonder was no match for Solitary Frost, no one else among Azure''s younger generation could take on his second eldest sister. With her here, the Long Family was practically guaranteed to retain its ruling rights in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. But he hadn''t actually expected Silent Wonder to defeat Solitary Frost... Now, the other shareholder families had lost any excuse to threaten the Long Family''s position. Not even the Zeus Corporation would be able to complain about the family. "Excellent! Magnificently done!" Long Wushang was elated to see Silent Wonder still standing on the first stag never dreamed that she''d be capable of launching a three-pronged attack against Solitary Frost. Not even his third eldest brother, Long Xianglong, would have the leeway to execute such a complex tactic against a Domain Realm expert. Long Wushang had assumed Silent Wonder would lose the match; he had never expected such a pleasant surprise. With this victory, Silent Wonder was now the strongest member of Azure''s younger generation! Even if the Long Family lost the Zeus Corporation''s support, this achievement would ensure that the family wouldn''t have to worry about its position in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Now, the family''s position was stronger than ever before! "Just how did she manage to pinpoint her environment and opponent''s behavior?" Yan Xiaoqian muttered, staring at Silent Wonder. As a magical class player herself, Yan Xiaoqian knew Silent Wonder hadn''t relied on luck to win the match. She had planned every move before the match had even begun. Although magical class players typically predicted their battles'' progression beforehand, she had never seen anyone assess their opponent to such an extent. Silent Wonder''s final move had been especially eye-opening since she had taken into account how much damage her Tier 3 Course would deal to her and her opponent. It was as if she had orchestrated the entire battle. Silent Wonder looked like a completely different person to Yan Xiaoqian right now. Her rival certainly hadnt shown such abilities during the alchemy competition. While everyone grumbled about their confusion and dissatisfaction over Silent Wonder''s marvelous performance, Sinful Flame gazed up at the girl from below the stage, excitement flashing in his eyes. "Is something wrong, Elder Flame?" a Tier 3 Guild Elder, who acted as the deputy referee for this competition, asked when he saw Sinful Flame''s elation. Sinful Flame had seemed bored when he had been tasked to host the family competition this year. He actually found the responsibility annoying, yet he now seemed excited and interested in a younger member of the Guild. It was unbelievable. Sinful Flame had been unfazed when he learned that Solitary Frost had reached the Domain Realm. Silent Wonder, on the other hand, hadn''t even gotten that far. Although she had unlocked her Mana Body''s full potential, she shouldn''t be impressive enough to attract someone like Sinful Flame''s interest. While unlocking one''s Mana Body was a difficult endeavor for ordinary Tier 3 experts, it was only a matter of time for an expert of Sinful Flame''s caliber. He was actually quite close to unlocking 100%, and would likely succeed in another two weeks or so. Hence, he shouldn''t consider fully unlocking one''s Mana Body that much of an achievement. "The Spiritualization Realm! She''s reached the Spiritualization Realm, and she''s made considerable progress in it!" Sinful Flame declared. "It seems the younger generation is full of exceptional geniuses!" "The Spiritualization Realm?" The Tier 3 Elder was confused. He had no idea what Sinful Flame was going on about. Before the Elder could ask, however, Sinful Flame jumped onto the stage and approached Silent Wonder. "Isn''t the match over already? What''s Elder Flame trying to do?" "Was there a problem with the match?" The spectators were even more confused to see Sinful Flame on the stage. Normally, the system decided a match''s outcome. Its judgment was far more accurate than players, after all. If both opponents died by the end of the match, the system could determine whether they had died at the same time or if there had even been a millisecond between their deaths. No player could do the same. This was why players relied on the Main God System to judge all matches in God''s Domain, barring special circumstances. However, the results of Solitary Frost and Silent Wonder''s match was clear. There was no chance either of them could''ve cheated since players weren''t allowed to use Berserk Skills or tools on the stage. Players weren''t even allowed to use the Additional Active Skills they gained from their weapons and equipment. Hence, there shouldn''t be any dispute over the outcome. However, the crowd began to doubt the fact as they watched the famous Sinful Flame take the stage. He would be able to spot far more details than they could, after all. "Sinful Flame doesn''t intend to deny the match''s result, does he?" The situation began to make Long Wushang nervous. "We''re talking about the system''s judgment!" Silent Wonder''s performance had involved many surprising aspects. If Sinful Flame had seen some peculiarity, his celebration would''ve been premature. "Could she have actually cheated?" In contrast, Duan Hanshan was overjoyed to see Sinful Flame interfere. He had thought his hopes of dethroning the Long Family were lost, but it seemed that might not have been the case. While everyone discussed the matter in hushed whispers, Sinful Heart turned away from Silent Wonder and addressed the audience. "Everyone, you have seen the match''s outcome for yourselves, so you all know just how powerful Solitary Frost was. Without a doubt, he is the participant in this competition," Sinful Flame said. "Now that Silent Wonder has defeated him, I''m sure you all realize who will win first place. Hence, I have a suggestion. Rather than waste time with the rest of the qualifying matches, why don''t we host a more meaningful competition?" "Indeed. It doesn''t make much sense to continue the qualifying matches." "Going straight into the main event isn''t a bad idea." "It''s a pity that the first match was the most interesting. My seat isn''t even warm, yet the competition is already over." Every player in the crowd nodded, agreeing to Sinful Flame''s suggestion. Since Silent Wonder had proven herself stronger than Solitary Frost, the top eight positions were as good as decided. Continuing the qualifying matches would be pointless. It would be much more interesting to proceed to the peak experts'' matches. "Since Silent Wonder is the undisputed first place winner of this competition, according to our regulations, I will face her later. How would you all feel about watching that match?" Sinful Flame asked the crowd once the audience had agreed to his first suggestion. 2606 There Are Many Who Are Stronger Than Me Chapter 2606 - There Are Many Who Are Stronger Than Me Sinful Flame''s question shocked every member of the audience. "What? Sinful Flame is actually eager to fight Silent Wonder?" "He hadn''t seemed very interested in when he had expected to face Solitary Frost, yet he looks like he''s looking forward to the fight with Silent Wonder? Just how strong is she to get a reaction like this from him?" "Could Sinful Flame intend to learn more about his Mana Body by fighting Silent Wonder ?" The man''s sudden suggestion took everyone by surprise. Although Silent Wonder''s combat power had been astonishing, her combat standards were significantly weaker than Solitary Frost''s, not to mention Sinful Flame. The only advantage she had was her fully unlocked Mana Body. That advantage was also the only reason anyone could think of that would pull such a reaction from Sinful Flame. Even now, no one knew how many experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies the various superpowers had, if any. Most of the superpowers'' Tier 3 experts hadn''t even begun to unlock their Mana Bodies. Of course, one might make some progress if they fought a player who had unlocked their Mana Body''s full potential. "What is Sinful Flame thinking?! He''s challenging a junior?!" Duan Hanshan could only glare at Sinful Flame, furious over the man''s spontaneous act. Silent Wonder''s victory over Solitary Frost had already boosted the Long Family''s prestige. The outcome practically ensured the family would retain its right to rule over Azure. By challenging Silent Wonder, Sinful Flame would only elevate the Long Family''s reputation further. This would definitely drive many of the Guild''s neutral Elders and Grand Elders to the Long Family''s side. Meanwhile, Yan Xiaoqian stared from a nearby stage, similarly stunned. "How did things turn out like this?" When it combat, Yan Xiaoqian had always been more talented than Silent Wonder. After training with Violet Sword, she had even grown beyond seeing Silent Wonder as a serious opponent. However, it turned out that she had been seriously overestimating her abilities. Not only was Silent Wonder much stronger than her, but one of Azure''s old legendary individuals also wanted to challenge the Elementalist. This won''t do! I must stop him! Otherwise, the Long Family will become unstoppable in Azure!" Duan Hanshan snarled, quickly contacting the competition''s deputy referee. Just as the deputy referee, an Elder working under the Duan Family, was about to interfere, the spectators broke into cheers. "You have my support, Sinful Flame! Stop wasting time and get this started!" "While I wouldn''t have minded watching Solitary Frost face Sinful Flame, seeing the old man fight an expert with a fully unlocked Mana Body will be awesome." This is beyond ''awesome!'' This will go down in God''s Domain''s history as a classic match! We''ll get to see them pit power against technique!" After their momentary shock over Sinful Flame''s proposal, the various spectating powers'' members fervently voiced their support for his decision. Many people even began to shout, demanding Sinful Flame begin his match against Silent Wonder immediately. "Good! Since the audience approves, what of our various Elders?" Sinful Flame asked, turning to address the various shareholder families'' Elders and Grand Elders, who were in the midst of trying to stop him. The audience followed his gaze, staring at the Elders and Grand Elders, silencing them into complacency. If they dared to refuse Sinful Flame, they''d have to answer to everyone in the arena. "Damn it! Sinful Flame is insane!" Duan Hanshan turned ashen when he heard Sinful Flame''s nonchalant question. "Forget it. Let them fight," a white-haired old man in black robes said as he approached Duan Hanshan. "This isn''t necessarily a bad thing, in any case. Sinful Flame might''ve raised that little girl''s standing, but if he kills her instantly, all of the glory the Long Family just gained will be forgotten." Realizing the old man was right, Duan Hanshan and the various families'' Grand Elders stopped trying to object. "Since Elder Flame and the audience are so eager, this will be simple," Duan Hanshan said after calming down. He then looked at Sinful Flame and said, "However, we need Wonder''s agreement first. She just finished a match, and I''m afraid fighting a senior such as yourself so soon after..." Sinful Flame nodded in response. His goal was very simple; he wanted to fight Silent Wonder. Some things could only be experienced first-hand, after all. He wanted to face the girl at her peak. However, before Sinful Flame could speak up, a crisp voice interrupted him. "I''m fine. Besides, I''d actually enjoy a proper fight against Elder Flame to test the extent of my development," Silent Wonder said. Long Wushang, who watched from the stands, began to grow nervous. "Why is this girl so foolish?! That Old Ice Demon is clearly provoking her!" Anxiously, Long Wushang said, "This won''t do! I need to warn her!" Even if the Elders gave Silent Wonder some time to recuperate, it wouldn''t be long, and even if she recovered all of the Stamina and Mana she had used during the prior match, her Concentration couldn''t recover that quickly. In a battle between high-caliber experts, Concentration was more important than anything. Without her full Concentration, this match might end as quickly as it began. If that happened, the glory Silent Wonder had earned for her family with her last victory would vanish. Long Wushang didn''t have enough time to contact Silent Wonder before Sinful Flame returned his attention to the young woman, however. "Girl, while your fight with Solitary Frost was short, you expended a considerable amount of your Concentration. I wish to fight you at your peak. I don''t want to fight just for the sake of winning. I won''t fight you in such a state. You best take some time to rest," Sinful Flame calmly said. "Please, rest assured, Elder Flame. My match with Solitary Frost hadn''t cost much effort. I don''t need to rest," Silent Wonder definitively replied. Meanwhile, Solitary Frost, who had just resurrected below the stage, nearly fainted from rage. How arrogant! Silent Wonder was far too cocky! Even the spectating crowd seemed displeased with Silent Wonder''s comment. While her match with Solitary Frost hadn''t lasted long, it had been a soul-stirring battle, yet Silent Wonder spoke as if she hadn''t given it her all. "While it''s good to be confident, Wonder, I don''t want to hear any excuses when you lose too quickly," Duan Hanshan warned her softly. You worry too much, Elder Hanshan. A loss is a loss. I won''t offer any excuses. Moreover, I haven''t had enough training. There are many people in the Guild who are stronger than me, even though we''re the same age, so defeat wouldn''t be unusual for me," Silent Wonder said. With her statement hanging in the air, the entire arena fell silent. "Silent Wonder is so already strong, yet she''s saying that Zero Wing has members that are even stronger and around the same age?" "A boast! She must be boasting! The various Super Guilds don''t even have many players that can rival Solitary Frost, much less Silent Wonder!" "That''s right. Zero Wing might be quite famous in the east, but it shouldn''t be able to nurture talents as well as Super Guilds." Azure''s various shareholder families refused to believe Silent Wonder''s claim, glaring contemptuously at her. "Since that is the case, I have a suggestion. Seeing as Wonder''s Concentration hasn''t fully recovered, why don''t we send one of Zero Wing''s young talents in her place? I''m sure Elder Flame will still benefit, and didn''t she just say that her Guild has plenty of youngsters that are even stronger than her?" Duan Hanshan suggested, sneering at Silent Wonder. 2607 Zero Wings Young Talent? Chapter 2607 - Zero Wing''s Young Talent? When Duan Hanshan finished speaking, the arena fell silent again. None of them had ever dreamed that he''d suggest such a thing. "Vicious! Truly vicious! It''ll be very hard for Silent Wonder to take back her claim now!" "It''s her own fault for boasting. She actually gave Old Ice Demon a chance to strike." "I wonder if she''ll stick by what she said? Zero Wing must be freaking out right about now." Azure''s various shareholder families snickered at the young woman on the first stage. They acknowledged that she had become much stronger than they were, but excessive bragging was annoying. The families'' younger members found it particularly obnoxious. These younger members hadn''t had anything against Silent Wonder, but now that she had insulted them, they were eager to watch her make a fool of herself. Meanwhile, excitement shot through the audience like lightning. They couldn''t wait to see how Silent Wonder would get herself out of this predicament. "This is interesting. Zero Wing is the Guild that arrived aboard a Flying Ship, right? I wonder if Zero Wing is as strong as Silent Wonder claims? If it is, this upcoming match will be quite a spectacle." "It''s definitely just an empty boast. Silent Wonder will likely fumble as she tries to take back her words." "I doubt we''ll see a match between Zero Wing and Sinful Flame. Sinful Flame is a legend in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. The fact that he''s willing to face one of Azure''s up-and-coming talents is already a miracle. He''ll likely refuse to fight an outsider." Curious, the audience turned to Sinful Flame. Sinful Flame was quite famous in the virtual gaming world, but he rarely fought other players. The challenge he had issued Silent Wonder was already an incredibly rare opportunity. Trying to convince him to fight an unknown outsider would likely be a major challenge. As everyone expected Sinful Flame to refuse, he turned to Silent Wonder and asked in earnest, "Are you telling the truth?" The crowd turned their gaze to Silent Wonder. This was her chance to retract her previous statement. If she claimed it had been a joke, she could get away with just a little embarrassment, but if she insisted, her prestige would go down the drain. "Mhmits true. If Elder Flame doesnt mindyou can challenge one of them," Silent Wonder said, nodding. Everyone shook their heads in disapproval. Sinful Flame had given her an opportunity to save herself, yet she chose to stick with her claim to elevate Zero Wing''s reputation. "Hahaha! Xiaoqian, Silent Wonder must really be insane! Does she think Zero Wing is God? Does she think that just any random young talent can fight Elder Flame?" the female, Tier 3 Assassin said, laughing. However, Yan Xiaoqian, who stood on the stage next to the female Assassin''s, did not respond. She knew that Zero Wing indeed possessed a monster capable of fighting Sinful Flame. That person was Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. Black Flame was an individual that even Adolf, the Light Saint of Divine Tribe, had to treat prudently. If Black Flame wished to salvage Zero Wing''s reputation, he might actually face Sinful Flame. While Silent Wonder''s reply surprised the crowd, Sinful Flame''s eyes glowed with excitement. He then turned his gaze toward Zero Wing''s members and asked, "May I know if anyone from Zero Wing is willing to take Wonder''s place?" Sinful Flame''s question hadn''t been loud, but every word was laced with determination and power. He was obviously serious, and there was even a hint of anticipation in his tone. "What?! They''re really going to fight?!" "This is interesting! I wonder who Zero Wing will send?" "I''ve heard that Zero Wing''s Guild Leader is extremely powerful, despite being relatively young. He is also one of the top 30 experts on the God''s Domain Experts List. It would be awesome if these two fought each other." The audience was beside itself, all too eager to watch the upcoming match. Everyone looked up to the top 30 experts on the God''s Domain Experts List. However, most players didn''t get the chance to meet these experts, let alone watch a match between two of them. God''s Domain was incredibly large, and barring special circumstances, the top 30 experts rarely crossed paths. The various major powers in the spectator stands weren''t the only ones curious to see who Zero Wing would send to face Sinful Flame. Duan Hanshan was just as interested. In Duan Hanshan''s opinion, the only person Zero Wing could send was Black Flame. During the alchemy competition, Black Flame had shocked everyone with his identity as a Tier 3 Sword King. Even the Long Family''s Long Xianglong had been forced to admit defeat. Since he had reached Tier 3 far sooner than anyone else, he was incredibly powerful. Based on appearances, Black Flame shouldn''t be much older than Silent Wonder. Normally, as Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame wouldn''t casually take action, but he might accept Sinful Flame''s challenge to protect his Guild''s reputation. He was, after all, the only member of Zero Wing who could put up a fight. During the time the Long Family and Duan Family wondered if Black Flame would make a move, Shi Feng turned to the lithe figure beside him. "Violet, go fight him." "Understood!" After a brief conversation, the woman beside Shi Feng bounced down from the spectator stands and onto the stage. She radiated the sacred aura unique to Clerics. "Is Zero Wing looking down on Sinful Flame? They''re sending a Cleric to fight?" Everyone was shocked as they watched Violet Cloud make her way to join Sinful Flame on the stage. They never thought that Zero Wing would pull such a move. Even Azure''s various shareholder families were astonished. Zero Wing was insane! While the Cleric class played a role in combat, battle wasn''t the class''s priority. Sending a Cleric against Sinful Flame, Azure''s publicly acknowledged strongest member, was a mockery. Although Violet Cloud hid her statistics with a Black Cloak, she didn''t bother to conceal her appearance. Everyone could clearly see that she was much younger than Silent Wonder, still a teenager. Not only had Zero Wing sent a Cleric to face Sinful Flame, but she was also just a young girl. This was a blatant insult. "Zero Wing is dead for sure now. Even if Silent Wonder''s boast is true, does the Guild have to send such a young lady to fight? Elder Flame must be furious." The female, Tier 3 Assassin covered her eyes with a hand. She could bear to watch what would happen next. Sinful Flame had always been a serious fighter, and to improve his skills, he pushed himself so hard that others thought him a lunatic. One could easily imagine how enraged Sinful Flame must be with Zero Wing mocking his strength. The man would definitely vent his anger out on Violet Cloud with a good beating. Sinful Flame chose this moment to release his aura, which burst from him, spreading to his surroundings like a powerful tsunami and threatening to devour all in its path. Even Solitary Frost, who stood below the stage, felt suffocated as he bathed in Sinful Flame''s aura. "So, this is our Guild''s strongest expert?" Solitary Frost could not help his grin when he sensed the elder man''s killing intent. Solitary Frost had assumed that he could put up a good fight, even if he couldn''t defeat Sinful Flame. In this competition''s matches, the fighters'' Basic Attributes were equalized, after all. It would be a match purely involving combat techniques. However, looking at the man now, it seemed he had merely been dreaming. He''d be lucky if he survived a few moves against Sinful Flame, much less put up a good fight. However, despite sensing Sinful Flame''s unrestrained aura, Violet Cloud leisurely walked toward the center of the stage, stopping before Sinful Flame. "Shall we begin?" Violet Cloud asked sweetly. 2608 Match between Monsters Chapter 2608 - Match between Monsters The entire arena momentarily fell silent at Violet Cloud''s words as everyone stared at the Cleric girl in astonishment. "Is she tired of living?" Sinful Flame had already made his dissatisfaction with this upcoming match very clear through his behavior. If not for him serving as the host of this important competition, everyone was certain he would''ve slaughtered her already. While this was only a fighting competition without any death penalty, Sinful Flame could kill his opponent any way he wanted. Meanwhile, there were plenty of methods he could employ to humiliate Zero Wing. What is Black Flame trying to do?! That''s Sinful Flame! We''ll lose the independent Elders and Grand Elders'' support if we anger him! Without them, how is Wonder supposed to negotiate with the Zeus Corporation?! Long Wushang grew nervous as he glanced at Shi Feng, who remained seated calmly in the spectator stands. Silent Wonder''s progress up to this point had astounded Long Wushang. However, if they wished to change the Zeus Corporation''s mind, they definitely could not do so without the support of Azure''s independent Elders and Grand Elders. Meanwhile, Sinful Flame could be said to be the representative of these independent Elders and Grand Elders. By sending a Cleric to fight Sinful Flame, Zero Wing would not only suffer a humiliating defeat at Sinful Flame''s hands but also thoroughly offend the man. This was the height of foolishness. At this moment, let alone Long Wushang, even the members of the other shareholder families were at a loss for words at this situation. While it might seem a little shameful, Black Flame clearly could''ve stepped up to fight. In that case, Sinful Flame would enjoy himself thoroughly and more or less support Silent Wonder. However, as if thinking that it hadn''t been arrogant enough, Zero Wing had actually sent a young Cleric out. The Guild had to be tired of living. Meanwhile, as everyone was saying a silent prayer for Violet Cloud, Sinful Flame put some distance between himself and the young Cleric. "You attack first! I''ll give you only one chance! Let me see whether you are as strong as Wonder said! If you turn out to be a sham, I''ll let you have a taste of hell!" Sinful Flame said coldly as he looked at Violet Cloud. "I can attack first?" Violet Cloud asked strangely. "That''s right! If your performance doesn''t meet my expectations, I''ll make you regret ever standing on this stage!" Sinful Flame confirmed, nodding. Then, I''ll really attack now," Violet Cloud said tentatively, seeking confirmation once more. "Stop with all the nonsense! I already said I''ll let you attack first, so do it! This is your only opportu" After Violet Cloud repeatedly sought confirmation, Sinful Flame very nearly lost what little patience he had left. However, before Sinful Flame could finish his words, Violet Cloud suddenly took out her staff and started chanting an incantation. Immediately, with Violet Cloud as the center, a silvery-gray, twofold magic array appeared on the stage and sucked in a massive amount of Mana from the arena. After this phenomenon continued for three seconds, the ambient Mana inside the venue had become distinctly thinner. Before anyone could react to this drastic change, 22 shadow blades appeared around Violet Cloud, rotating around her and making her look like the Goddess of Darkness incarnate. The Cleric also released a frightening aura rivaling that of Mythic monsters of the same level. Everyone inside the arena could sense their Basic Attributes decreasing rapidly. "Is she a monster?!" "What kind of Domain Skill is this? Aside from my Basic Attributes, I can also feel my physique getting heavily suppressed! It''s as if this entire space is rejecting my existence!" Everyone was stunned by this situation. After all, Violet Cloud looked nothing like a sacred Cleric now but more like the embodiment of darkness. Moreover, everyone could clearly sense that the space within the entire arena currently centered around her. It was as if she could decide the life and death of everything inside the venue with just a thought. Before everyone could properly react to this situation, Violet Cloud looked at Sinful Flame, 40 yards away from her, and said, "I''ll start now." After saying so, she lightly waved her staff. The 22 shadow blades immediately transformed into a black hole that shot toward Sinful Flame. Bronze Combat Technique, Spatial Smash! In the next moment, everything in the wake of this black hole was reduced into nothingness. The black hole''s destructive power was something not even a Mythic monster of the same level could receive. A Bronze Combat Technique?! How is this possible?! When Duan Hanshan saw this scene, he gaped in shock. It was simply impossible for players to exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard just by relying on an ordinary Tier 3 Spell. The only explanation for this situation was that Violet Cloud had executed a Bronze Combat Technique. As to why Duan Hanshan assumed the combat technique she used was at the Bronze rank instead of the Advanced rank, it was because only Bronze Combat Techniques could grant players the power to transcend tiers. However mastering a Bronze Combat Technique was simply too difficult. In fact, most Domain Realm experts in the game still hadn''t managed to do so. Now, however, a little girl who was only at the Void Realm had actually executed a Bronze Combat Technique successfully. This was simply incredible. At this moment, Solitary Frost was also astonished by this scene. A Bronze Combat Technique! Even until now, he still hadn''t managed to master a single Bronze Combat Technique, yet a little girl much younger than himself had. Moreover, Violet Cloud had even executed her Bronze Combat Technique so perfectly. Now, Sinful Flame''s only option was to receive her attack directly. There was simply no way he could dodge that attack of hers. "Splendid!" When Sinful Flame first saw the approaching black hole, surprise flashed in his eyes. In the next moment, though, excitement replaced that surprise. He swiftly unsheathed the two longswords he carried on his back and merged them into a greatsword. He then swung the greatsword at the empty space before him. Tier 3 Taboo Skill, Space Tearing Blade! Advanced Combat Technique, Quadruple Phantoms! In the next moment, a frightening amount of Mana burst out of the greatsword. As Sinful Flame swung the greatsword, the weapon split into four copies of itself before merging once more, the merged weapon cutting apart even space itself. Boom! When sword and black hole collided, a powerful explosion shook the entire arena. For a moment, a violent quake rocked the venue, the intense shockwave sending the players standing below the stage, stumbling several steps back. A 30-yard-wide crater also appeared on the Mana Ore stage. To everyone''s surprise, though, both Sinful Flame and Violet Cloud emerged unscathed from the clash. "Crap! Who is she?! She actually stopped a full-powered attack from Elder Flame!" "Wonder was telling the truth?!" The members of Azure''s various shareholder families goggled in shock when they saw Violet Cloud unharmed. The battle no longer looked like a contest between players; it was practically a battle between two giant monsters. Every one of their actions could shatter space and transform the terrain around them. Impossible! What kind of Guild is this Zero Wing?! When Duan Hanshan saw Violet Cloud continuously using her shadow blades against Sinful Flame, preventing the latter from approaching her, immense shock filled his heart. Previously, Duan Hanshan viewed Zero Wing merely as a Guild seeking to gain the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s support. However, Silent Wonder and Violet Cloud were now monstrously strong, despite neither of them having very high combat standards. One wouldn''t be able to find such powerful youngsters even in Super Guilds. This was especially true for Violet Cloud. By relentlessly attacking with her shadow blades, she kept Sinful Flame at least 10 yards away at all times. This was a feat that was impossible even for Duan Hanshan, yet Violet Cloud, who was only one of Zero Wing''s young talents, managed. However, as the fight on the stage intensified, the Concentration both sides consumed also grew. This was especially true for Violet Cloud. Her control over her shadow blades started to decline. "What a pity. Your understanding of the Spiritualization Realm is clearly leagues above mine. You have even given me plenty of inspiration. Unfortunately, your mental perception is still too weak. You are incapable of properly taking advantage of your superior understanding and maximizing your combat power. You are also incapable of minimizing your Concentration consumption. At this rate, you''ll last for at most another dozen seconds or so before being incapacitated," Sinful Flame commented while blocking Violet Cloud''s relentless onslaught. "This isn''t an outcome I wish to see, either. Originally, I intended to save this trump card for my rematch against those two people, but I''ll give you a taste ahead of time!" After saying so, Sinful Flame changed his footwork, his body suddenly splitting into twelve copies of itself. Bronze Footwork, Shadowprey! In the next moment, Sinful Flame''s twelve doppelgangers continuously flickered, rendering all of Violet Cloud''s attacks ineffective. In the end, she could only watch as he closed in on her. However, as Sinful Flame moved increasingly closer to Violet Cloud, the shadow blades surrounding her suddenly disappeared. From an outsider''s perspective, it looked as if she had given up on resisting and was waiting quietly for his arrival. "What''s going on? Did she give up?" "That''s reasonable. Who could possibly stop such an attack? The fact that she lasted until now already makes her one of the top-ranking existences among the younger generation in God''s Domain." When the spectating crowd saw Violet Cloud apparently abandoning her struggle, none of them jeered or blamed her for doing so. It was very normal for Violet Cloud to suffer defeat. After all, even among the older generation of gamers, very few people could win against Sinful Flame. When Sinful Flame got within 15 yards of Violet Cloud, the Cleric suddenly sighed and stabbed her staff into the ground. "Indeed, just like the Guild Leader said, I am no match for you when it comes to combat standards. I am also incapable of bridging the gap, even with my Mana Body''s potential fully unlocked. It seems I have no choice but to go all-out. This is a trump card that even my Guild Leader isn''t aware of." Violet Cloud''s body started radiating much denser Mana than before, her Mana now many times stronger than Silent Wonder''s. At the same time, the suppression effect of the Cleric''s Domain became even more frightening, so powerful that the phantoms Sinful Heart had summoned had decreased from twelve to eight. This sudden turn of events flabbergasted everyone inside the arena. "Didn''t she fully unlock her Mana Body already? Why is the density of her Mana still increasing?" "Wasn''t she using her Mana Body to fight before?" 2609 Breaking Through the Limits Chapter 2609 - Breaking Through the Limits Upon sensing the powerful torrent of Mana spilling forth from Violet Cloud''s body, let alone the peanut gallery, even Shi Feng, who had been sitting calmly in the spectator stands all this time, revealed a look of astonishment on his face. "Mana Burst?! Violet actually broke through the limit so quickly?!" Shi Feng muttered to himself in shock as he gazed at Violet Cloud, his shock much greater than what anyone else present in the arena felt. "Breakthrough? Guild Leader, what did Violet break through?" Aqua Rose, who had overheard Shi Feng''s mutterings, could not help asking. From Shi Feng''s reaction, she deduced that he knew what Violet Cloud had done to become so powerful. At this moment, Aqua Rose wasn''t the only person curious about this situation. The other Zero Wing members also turned to Shi Feng with eyes wide with interest. They all wished to know what Violet Cloud had done to boost the density of her Mana to such an extentsurpassing even that of ordinary Tier 4 NPCs. Violet broke through the shackles of the Mana Body, surpassing the 100% limit and entering a new realm," Shi Feng explained when he saw the looks of anticipation everyone was giving him. Breaking through the limits of the Mana Body was something he longed to accomplish. It would improve his chances of completing his Tier 4 Promotion Quest and the Divine Dragon''s trial. However, he never thought that Violet Cloud would actually beat him to it. He also had to admit that Violet Cloud was truly talented. Her reaching Tier 6 in the past had definitely not been a fluke. She was far more talented than the expert players who had reached Tier 6 with the help of a Guild. "Guild Leader, doesn''t the Mana Body reach perfection after hitting 100% potential? How can it go beyond 100%?" Fire Dance asked in astonishment. After her Mana Body reached 100% potential, Fire Dance had gotten a sense of perfection from it. When she manipulated her Mana Body and used Skills and Spells with it, she felt that there was no longer any room for improvement. Hence, she found it truly hard to imagine that she could break through such a state. At this moment, aside from Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Alluring Summer, Shadow Sword, Cola, and the others were also puzzled. Their Mana Bodies should''ve achieved perfection after reaching 100% potential. Even if the Mana Bodies could still improve, that should only happen after they had broken through the Tier 3 bottleneck and reached Tier 4. "I believe some of you have achieved a Completion Rate beyond 100% when using Skills and Spells. Similarly, 100% potential is not the end for the Mana Body, but a new beginning. Only, the difficulty of unlocking a Mana Body past the 100% threshold is much greater. You can say that not even one player out of 10,000 Tier 3 experts is capable of it," Shi Feng explained as he gazed at Violet Cloud with some yearning. "Although I don''t know how far beyond the limit Violet managed to go, it seems this fight is over." "Over? Can Violet win this match?" Aqua Rose asked. When she heard Shi Feng saying so, she returned her attention to the stage Violet Cloud and Sinful Flame stood on. At this moment, the suppression from Violet Cloud''s Domain Skill had reduced the number of phantoms Sinful Flame created from 12 to eight. This meant a 30% decline in Sinful Flame''s combat power, at the very least. Even so, Violet Cloud''s chances of winning still weren''t good. After all, she still had to deal with a considerable number of phantoms. She might be able to slow down Sinful Flame''s approach, but she wouldn''t be able to stop him from reaching her. Meanwhile, so long as a magical class allowed a melee class to get within attacking range of them, the battle would be as good as over. It might be a different story if Violet Cloud''s opponent weren''t a melee player but a magical-class player instead. In that case, victory would definitely be possible. After all, the Mana Violet Cloud currently exuded was incredibly frightening. With such Mana, she could exert a powerful influence over the ambient Mana around her, making it difficult for nearby magical-class players to wield the ambient Mana. She would have an overwhelming advantage over her opponent. Unfortunately, not only was Sinful Flame a melee player, but his class was the Peak Hidden Class, Shadow Knight. The Shadow Knight class was like a fusion of the Assassin, Berserker, and Guardian Knight classes. It possessed the Agility of Assassins, the Strength of Berserkers, and the Defense of Guardian Knights. To top it all off, Sinful Flame also had incredibly high combat standards. These were the reasons why Sinful Flame was publicly acknowledged as the strongest player in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. With such an opponent, Aqua Rose found it inconceivable that Violet Cloud could win. After all, stronger Mana simply made Violet Cloud''s Skills and Spells more powerful. However, Skills and Spells that couldn''t land on their targets were useless. At this moment, Aqua Rose wasn''t the only person with such thoughts. Everyone spectating this fight shared similar thoughts. After all, this was common sense in God''s Domain. While having powerful Mana was indeed helpful to players, this advantage came into play mainly when dealing with monsters. "Amazing! You are actually capable of elevating your combat power that much! With just this move, you can confidently seat yourself among the top three of God''s Domain''s younger generation!" Sinful Flame praised when he saw the eruption of Mana from Violet Cloud. However, he did not stop his actions in the slightest. On the contrary, he further sharpened them instead. When Sinful Flame got within 10 yards of Violet Cloud, he split his greatsword into two longswords again and brandished them to create over two dozen phantom snakes. Not only was every phantom snake incredibly nimble, but they also accurately struck at Violet Cloud''s blind spots and vital points, leaving her no room to dodge or block at all. Tier 3 Skill, Shadow Assault! Advanced Combat Technique, Phantom Snakes! Sinful Flame had perfectly integrated his Tier 3 Skill with his Advanced Combat Technique, his attack making it seem as if more than two dozen Grand Lords were attacking Violet Cloud simultaneously. Upon seeing this, everyone could not help but gasp. "Is he still human? He''s actually capable of launching over two dozen attacks rivaling the power of a Grand Lord simultaneously. Who could possibly stop that?" "So, this is Sinful Flame''s trademark move, Technique Integration? If I could learn even a portion of this technique, I would be unbeatable in a kingdom." "But that girl from Zero Wing really is amazing. She''s forced Sinful Flame to reveal his trademark move time after time. Even if she loses, she''ll still rank at the top among God''s Domain''s younger players." Although the members of the various spectating powers were in awe of Sinful Flame''s techniques, they also felt admiration and envy for Violet Cloud. After all, despite her youth, Violet Cloud was pressuring a legendary individual like Sinful Flame. With such talent, Violet Cloud''s future would definitely be dazzlingly bright. Given a few more years, she might become a legendary individual herself in the virtual gaming world. Meanwhile, when the two dozen or so phantom snakes arrived within one yard of Violet Cloud, the Cleric finally made a move. "Disappear!" Violet Cloud commanded in a low tone. Every phantom snake trying to attack her instantly vanished. Before anyone could react to the situation, the dense Mana surrounding Violet Cloud transformed into shadow blades once more. This time, however, Violet Cloud had summoned 36 shadow blades. Moreover, every shadow blade left behind a pitch-black wake as they rotated around Violet Cloud. "Spatial tears?!" "Impossible!" Everyone was stunned at the sight of the shadow blades rotating around Violet Cloud. The power of the shadow blades Violet Cloud summoned previously had merely rivaled that of Grand Lords. Only when she executed a Bronze Combat Technique using the shadow blades had she exhibited power at the Tier 4 standard. However, executing Bronze Combat Techniques consumed a lot of Concentration. Hence, Violet Cloud couldn''t execute Tier 4 attacks any time she wanted. She had to wait for an opportunity to land a decisive blow. Now, however, every one of her shadow blades carried power at the Tier 4 standard. The increase to her combat power was simply unfathomable. In other words, even without resorting to a combat technique, Violet Cloud could casually unleash attacks at the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, she now had 36 shadow blades under her command. At this moment, let alone the spectating audience, even Sinful Flame himself could not help being stunned by this situation. During the brief instant Sinful Flame was dazed, the 36 shadow blades surrounded him and stopped just an inch away from him. Now, any strange movement on his part would bring his body into contact with the shadow blades, subjecting him to a Tier 4 attack. However, Violet Cloud did not do anything more. She simply restrained Sinful Flame at his current position and looked at him quietly. "Hah... You really hid your strength deeply, little girl. Alright, I admit defeat," Sinful Flame sighed when he saw that sneaking out of the shadow blades'' encirclement was impossible. Previously, Violet Cloud could execute only one Tier 4 attack at a time, so he could still put up a fight. Now, however, the young lady controlled 36 shadow blades carrying power at the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, judging by the girl''s complexion, controlling the blades apparently did not require much Concentration. With this, he really had no way to continue fighting. As soon as Sinful Flame admitted defeat, the stage bell rang, signifying the end of the match. Violet Cloud''s name was displayed above the stage, along with the word "Winner." The entire arena fell silent as everyone stared at Violet Cloud. 2610 Frightening Zero Wing Chapter 2610 - Frightening Zero Wing "I''m dreaming, right? Sinful Flame actually lost?" "This is too absurd! Are you sure that girl''s not an old monster in disguise?!" "That shouldn''t be the case. I feel that she might be a disguised NPC of Zero Wing''s. Otherwise, how could a measly Tier 3 player control 36 blades with power at the Tier 4 standard?" It took a long time for the match''s results to sink in. However, when everyone snapped out of their daze, they could not help but question this match, feeling that Violet Cloud wasn''t human. Sinful Flame''s strength was deeply rooted in everyone''s hearts. Nobody present had believed that Violet Cloud could defeat him. In fact, they had initially doubted that she could even get him to take her seriously. However, Violet Cloud had not only gotten Sinful Flame to use his full strength but even defeated the man. Moreover, she had achieved such an overwhelming victory that Sinful Flame couldn''t retaliate and had no choice but to concede the battle. The spectators couldn''t wrap their heads around the thought of such a huge disparity in combat power between Violet Cloud and Sinful Flame. Sinful Flame represented the very apex of players in God''s Domain, yet a little girl in her teens just surpassed this apex and had even done so in a situation where both sides possessed equal Basic Attributes. Violet Cloud''s achievement defied common sense. While everyone present had seen geniuses before, even those geniuses had their limits. Violet Cloud could no longer be considered just a genius. After all, her achievements were simply impossible for current players. At this moment, let alone the various spectating powers, even the members of Azure found this situation unbelievable. This was especially true for Solitary Frost and Duan Hanshan, who stood below the stage. "Wonder wasn''t bluffing..." When Solitary Frost thought back to the words Silent Wonder said before, he was stunned. "What kind of Guild is this Zero Wing?" When Silent Wonder declared that there were much younger and stronger people than herself in Zero Wing, Solitary Frost had felt that she was only trying to advertise and uplift her Guild. Back when he was undergoing training at Violet Sword, he had sparred with many of Violet Sword''s young talents. However, less than a handful of them managed to put up a fight against him, much less defeat him. The fact that Silent Wonder surpassed him was already a miracle. Moreover, even on the eastern continent, Zero Wing was only a pseudo-superpower. How could such a Guild nurture a youngster that was stronger than Silent Wonder? Now, however, it was proven that not only had Zero Wing produced a youngster that was much stronger than Solitary Frost, but the youngster in question was even stronger than the legendary Sinful Flame. "How can a little girl from Zero Wing become that strong? Could this be why the Long Family insists on letting Silent Wonder remain in Zero Wing?" Duan Hanshan suddenly felt enlightened as he looked at Violet Cloud before turning his gaze to Long Wushang and the other members of the Long Family. Duan Hanshan was well aware of Silent Wonder''s combat talent. Let alone the Long Family''s Silk Moon, Silent Wonder was inferior to even Yan Xiaoqian in this regard. Needless to say, she was even more inferior to the combat maniac Solitary Frost. Previously, when Silent Wonder defeated Solitary Frost, Duan Hanshan could still dismiss the feat as a result of Silent Wonder having an epiphany. After all, while Silent Wonder''s talents were inferior to those of the other prodigies of Azure, she was still undoubtedly a prodigy herself. It wouldn''t be strange for her to raise her combat power by a large margin after gaining fresh insight. However, Violet Cloud''s performance forced Duan Hanshan to conclude that Silent Wonder''s sudden growth shouldn''t have anything to do with gaining enlightenment at all. Instead, Zero Wing was most likely the cause. After thinking up to this point, Duan Hanshan started pondering on new plans. For Azure''s various shareholder families, the younger generation represented their future. The members of the younger generation would also serve as the Guild''s representatives in the future. Hence, nurturing the younger generation in Azure was of paramount importance. In virtual reality games, so long as one had sufficient strength, there wouldn''t be a need to worry about lacking a path. This was especially true in God''s Domain, which functioned as a second world for humans. God''s Domain could even extend the lifespan people could experience by a large margin. For people with strength, God''s Domain''s appearance represented the start of a golden era. This was also the reason why Azure''s various shareholder families were desperately trying to retain the Zeus Corporation''s support. In God''s Domain, strength was the foundation of everything. Without strength, one would be nothing. However, while Duan Hanshan was having such thoughts, Long Wushang, who stood some distance away from him, remained in a daze. At this moment, complicated feelings roiled Long Wushang''s heart. He simply did not know whether to cry or laugh. Not only had Silent Wonder won against Solitary Frost and shone brightly in the family competition, but she had even received a challenge from Sinful Flame, which boosted the opinion of Azure''s independent Elders and Grand Elders of her. Now, Violet Cloud had even beaten Sinful Flame, a feat nobody had ever dreamed of accomplishing. Zero Wing''s ability to nurture talents truly surpassed Long Wushang''s imagination. With Zero Wing''s help, the Long Family might really be able to do without the Zeus Corporation''s support. After all, the Long Family had funds aplenty. What they needed were only the Zeus Corporation''s various resources and connections. When Long Wushang thought back to how he was planning to negotiate with Zero Wing to have it stop hindering Silent Wonder''s future, he found his thoughts laughable. Meanwhile, as everyone was expressing doubt and astonishment over this match, Sinful Flame walked up to Violet Cloud. "I don''t care what others say; I am sincerely convinced of my loss," Sinful Flame said earnestly as he looked at Violet Cloud. "Only, may I ask you a question?" "What is it?" Violet Cloud asked. Since Sinful Flame was so open-minded about his defeat, she did not refuse his question. Upon hearing Violet Cloud''s response, Sinful Flame quickly asked, "How did you manage to elevate the density of your Mana to such an extent just now? Didn''t you fully unlock your Mana Body already?" He was filled with curiosity about Violet Cloud''s sudden transformation. At the start of the fight, he had already sensed the Mana Violet Cloud''s body radiated, which made him absolutely certain she had fully unlocked her Mana Body already. The Spells she used later on only served to confirm his conjecture. However, at the end of the match, the density of the Mana she radiated and the power of her Spells had further increased by a large margin. He simply couldn''t understand how she had accomplished this feat. "It''s nothing. I just managed to break through the 100% limit of my Mana Body; hence, I was able to release much stronger Mana," Violet Cloud explained calmly. The fact that the Mana Body could be unlocked past the 100% threshold wasn''t much of a secret. In her opinion, it was only a matter of time before an expert like Sinful Flame accomplished this feat as well. After all, if even she could break through the 100% limit, there was no way Sinful Heart, who boasted much higher combat standards than she did, could not. She had managed to do so much sooner than Sinful Flame only because of the many resources Zero Wing had provided. "You can actually unlock the Mana Body past the 100% threshold?" Sinful Flame exclaimed in surprise. Currently, he was already close to unlocking 100% of his Mana Body''s potential. In his opinion, 100% should mean perfection. Moreover, the system should''ve set it to be so, as well. It never occurred to him that the Mana Body could be unlocked beyond 100%. Violet Cloud''s words opened the doors to a whole new world for him. Then, is there anyone else in your Guild that has managed to exceed 100%?" Sinful Flame asked. Having experienced the strength players would gain from having a Mana Body unlocked beyond the 100% threshold, he knew that such players wouldn''t be capable of truly fighting against Tier 4 existences. However, they would still be dose to rivaling Tier 4 existences and were on a completely different level from ordinary Tier 3 existences. "This... I don''t know, but there are a few other people who are roughly equal in strength with me. There are also quite a few people stronger than me," Violet Cloud replied after giving the matter some thought. "There are still a few others that are stronger than you?" Sinful Flame reflexively turned to look at Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members seated in the spectator stands, when he heard Violet Cloud''s words. He suddenly felt as if his worldview was collapsing. Violet Cloud was already inhumanly strong, yet Zero Wing actually had a few more experts that were stronger than her? Just what kind of Guild was Zero Wing? However, the discussions did not continue for long before Azure''s family competition resumed. Only, the subsequent matches paled in comparison to the first two matches of this competition. And to everyone''s disappointment, nothing surprising occurred. In the end, Silent Wonder won first place in the competition, Solitary Frost came in second, with Yan Xiaoqian in third, and Burning Owl in fourth. The Long Family thoroughly occupied the spotlight for the competition this time. Many of Azure''s independent Elders and Grand Elders even started engaging Silent Wonder in small talk, the scene rendering the members of the other shareholder families speechless. Some families were even wondering if they should approach the Long Family. "Solitary, what should we do? How do we explain this to the instructor?" Yan Xiaoqian asked Solitary Frost, who was standing quietly beside her, when she saw Silent Wonder surrounded by Azure''s independent Elders and Grand Elders. "What else can we do but tell the truth?" Solitary Frost sighed. "If you are afraid of telling him, I''ll do it." Following which, Solitary Frost contacted Violet Sword''s Instructor Torre and braced himself to report everything that had happened in the family competition. 2611 The Flame Bearer Chapter 2611 - The Flame Bearer Holy Flame City, Violet Sword''s Residence: Inside an ancient castle made out of meteorite, over 50 Level 100-plus players were currently sparring and training various combat techniques. Not only did these players possess very high combat standardswith even the weakest person being at the Refinement Realm standard and the majority being at the Flowing Water Realm standardbut every one of them could also smoothly integrate their Skills or Spells with their combat techniques. Their level of skill was far superior to ordinary Refinement Realm experts''. "All of you, work harder! Activating the Ancient Star Castle costs a lot of Mana Stones, and only a limited number of people can train inside it each time! If you can''t pass this week''s integration test, then the others waiting in line will replace you!" a dark-gray armored, middle-aged man with a knife scar on his face shouted as he monitored the players training inside the castle. "Instructor Wildfighter, your requirements are too high. Not everybody is like Solitary Frost, able to perfectly integrate Advanced Combat Techniques into our Spells in just one week," a redheaded woman in blue mage robes, standing beside the middle-aged man, said while shaking her head. "I have already lowered my requirements significantly. They only need to gain a basic foundation in integrating Advanced Combat Techniques with Skills or Spells in 10 days. If it were Solitary Frost, I wouldve given him three days maximum. However, even though they have spent more than half of their given time, these newcomers are still stuck integrating Basic Combat Techniques. It seems the Guild''s new recruits are becoming weaker with each passing generation," Wildfighter said in dissatisfaction as he eyed the group of players training before him. "They are far inferior to our generation." "Our generation?" The redheaded woman revealed a bitter smile at Wildfighter''s words. "The commander was the only monster that came out of our generation. I don''t think that everyone else in our generation was much better than these newcomers." "Why are you being humble? Your talent is not the slightest bit inferior to Solitary Frost''s. It''s just that you were made to learn too many things at once. In contrast, Solitary Frost''s training is very specific. Otherwise, you would''ve become the commander of the Guild''s second trump card legion by now," Wildfighter said, rolling his eyes at the redheaded woman. The redhead''s name was Crimson Star. She was someone the Secret Pavilion had nicknamed the Thousand-hand Witch. At the same time, she was one of the vice commanders of Violet Sword''s strongest trump card legion. In terms of combat standards, she was not the slightest bit weaker than Wildfighter. In fact, if the two of them were to have a duel, his chances of winning would be below 30%. "Regardless, it seems you think very highly of Solitary Frost. You even held back during the previous match and let him finish with a draw to boost his confidence and pride," Crimson Star said. "Don''t say anything about this matter. I might''ve held back that time but only my trump card. Solitary Frost is still very young, with plenty of room for growth. It is only a matter of time before I lose to him," Wildfighter said, smiling. "Moreover, isn''t it because of that battle that Instructor Torre became willing to teach him?" "That''s true. I never thought that Instructor Torre would still be willing to teach someone. I was quite surprised when I heard about it. It''s a pity that the Guild lacks Master Lifestyle players, and producing that item takes too much time. Otherwise, Solitary Frost could enter the ancient secret land and receive Instructor Torre''s personal guidance. If that happened, he''d definitely be able to beat you once he came out of the secret land," Crimson Star said, nodding in agreement with Wildfighter''s words. "I believe it won''t be long before that changes. Now that Solitary Frost''s group have returned to participate in Azure''s family competition, the Long Family''s fate is sealed. If the Long Family still wishes to retain its ruling rights over Azure, they will have to listen obediently and produce that item for us. Otherwise, the Zeus Corporation will hand Azure''s ruling rights to another family," Wildfighter said in a definitive tone. "I heard that the Long Family has a very powerful genius called Silk Moon. Her strength has always been second to only Solitary Frost. If Silk Moon secures second place in the competition, the Long Family might not submit to us," Crimson Star commented. "Rest assured, Instructor Torre personally provided Yan Xiaoqian with guidance and helped raise her strength considerably. So long as Silk Moon hasn''t reached the Domain Realm yet, she''ll be no match for Yan Xiaoqian," Wildfighter stated confidently. Solitary Frost might be an exceptional genius, but Yan Xiaoqian wasn''t much inferior to him, either. Only, she devoted much of her time to alchemy, so she couldn''t capitalize on her talent in combat. However, after receiving guidance from Torre, her strength had definitely reached the peak of Void Realm experts. "I don''t know whether Silk Moon has reached the Domain Realm or not, but I stumbled across a rumor stating that the Flame Bearer is instructing Silk Moon. While I still haven''t confirmed the specifics of this information, the friend I got it from says the source is reliable, so there''s a 90% chance that it''s true," Crimson Star warned. "What? Silk Moon actually caught the eye of the Flame Bearer? How is that possible? Even when Instructor Torre personally requested the Flame Bearer to guide the commander, the Flame Bearer still rejected his request. How could that little girl catch the Flame Bearer''s eye?" Wildfighter was surprised at the information Crimson Star revealed. The Flame Bearer was a legend of sorts in the virtual gaming world. Nobody knew the Flame Bearer''s identity. Nobody even knew the Flame Bearer''s age. However, there was no doubt about the Flame Bearer''s existence, as the Flame Bearer was responsible for nurturing quite a few of the virtual gaming world''s shining stars. According to rumors, even Mythology''s Guild Leader had received guidance from the Flame Bearerwhich enabled him to surpass his peers and develop Mythology into one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Now, however, a little girl from the Azure Chamber of Commerce was rumored to be receiving guidance from the same Flame Bearer, as well. In terms of talent, Silk Moon was much worse than Solitary Frost and the current commander of Violet Sword''s strongest trump card legion, yet the Flame Bearer had actually chosen to guide her. Wildfighter couldn''t bring himself to believe this. "I don''t know, but rumor has it that the Flame Bearer has a unique way of selecting people to nurture. Maybe Silk Moon has some special qualities of her own," Crimson Star said, shaking her head. In reality, she was also curious as to why the Flame Bearer would choose Silk Moon. "If Silk Moon really is receiving guidance from the Flame Bearer, then Yan Xiaoqian is in danger," Wildfighter said worriedly. Wildfighter did not doubt that Solitary Frost would secure first place in Azure''s family competitioneven if Silk Moon received guidance from the Flame Bearer. After all, there was a qualitative difference between the Domain Realm and the Void Realm, preventing players from jumping from the Void Realm to the Domain Realm within a short period. Otherwise, Domain Realm experts wouldn''t be so rare. However, while securing first place wasn''t a problem for Solitary Frost''s group, securing second place would. After all, Yan Xiaoqian still hadn''t reached the Domain Realm yet. While Wildfighter and Crimson Star were having their quiet discussion, a white-haired old man entered the training hall. Upon noticing this old man, Wildfighter and Crimson Star promptly went up to greet him. This was because this old man was none other than Instructor Torre, a legendary figure in Violet Sword. However, as soon as Torre arrived, a chilly aura filled the training hall. Even Wildfighter and Crimson Star shuddered involuntarily upon sensing this aura. "Instructor Torre, didn''t you send Solitary Frost''s group to take part in Azure''s family competition? Did something happen?" Wildfighter asked, curious. Judging by the chilling aura Torre released, he could tell that something was amiss. "I went but had to leave for some business. However, as soon as I was done with my work, I received a message from Solitary Frost stating that they lost in Azure''s family competition. Someone from the Long Family secured first place!" Torre snarled. They lost? Solitary Frost lost? How is that possible?" Wildfighter was stunned by Torres words. He promptly asked, "Could it be the Long Family''s Silk Moon?" "No. I heard that it''s the Long Family''s second young lady, Silent Wonder," Torre replied, shaking his head. "It''s not Silk Moon?" Wildfighter''s eyes widened in shock at this revelation. For a moment, he suspected that Torre was lying to him. "Isn''t Silent Wonder an alchemy expert? Moreover, according to previous reports, she''s only at the Flowing Water Realm. How could she possibly win against Solitary Frost?" In a competition where only combat standards mattered, how could a Flowing Water Realm expert defeat a Domain Realm expert? "Now that the Long Family has secured first place, doesn''t that mean they will have a stable hold on Azure''s ruling rights?" Crimson Star asked, frowning. Master Lifestyle players were crucial for Violet Sword''s development, especially Master Alchemists. Meanwhile, Silent Wonder, who was only half a step from becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist, was someone Violet Sword urgently needed. "You don''t need to worry about that. I believe the Zeus Corporation will deal with this matter. When the time comes, the Long Family will have to submit, even if they don''t want to," Torre said coldly. "However, Solitary Frost''s group has truly disappointed me. They actually lost to a little girl who hasn''t even reached the Domain Realm yet. It seems I have been too lenient toward them. After they return, tell them that they don''t have to meet me. Have them properly reflect on themselves." He had never once worried about Violet Sword''s plan failing. Moreover, he never imagined that the group would lose to someone with significantly inferior combat standards despite him providing Solitary Frost and the others with direct guidance. This was simply humiliating! Wildfighter was shocked when he heard Torre''s words. Hurriedly, he tried to persuade Torre, saying, "Instructor Torre, isn''t this a little" However, before Wildfighter could say anything more, a Tier 3 Assassin rushed toward them. "Reporting: Someone calling themself Zero Wing''s Guild Leader has arrived outside our Residence and wishes to negotiate with our Guild''s upper echelon regarding the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s matters. Do you wish to meet him?" the Tier 3 Assassin said respectfully. "Zero Wing? Isn''t that the Guild Silent Wonder has been staying at all this time?" Wildfighter commented, his curiosity piqued. "What are they here for? Could they be here to convince us to change our plans for Azure?" "An unknown Guild wants to meet us? What kind of Guild do they take Violet Sword for?" Glaring at the Tier 3 Assassin, Torre ordered coldly, "Tell them to get lost!" 2612 Negotiation Qualifications Chapter 2612 - Negotiation Qualifications Torre''s harsh rejection drove a chill down everyone''s spines. The players in the hall felt an intense pressure bear down on them, and some of the Refinement Realm trainees could barely even move... Instinctual fear welled within the Tier 3 Assassin that had reported Zero Wing''s arrival. If he hadn''t been certain that he wasn''t Torre''s target, he would''ve likely turned and fled. Instructor Torre has such high hopes for Solitary Frost''s group? Crimson Star was surprised to see the frosty look on Torre''s face. Torre had stopped teaching people over a decade ago. She and the current commander of Violet Sword''s strongest trump card legion had been a part of his last student group. The commander had been Torre''s favorite pupil. Torre had even gone to great lengths to seek the Flame Bearer''s help in training the commander. Hence, Violet Sword''s upper echelons had been stunned when Torre had agreed to train Solitary Frost''s group. Crimson Star assumed Torre had only agreed out of respect for the Zeus Corporation, but seeing his reaction now, it seemed he had honestly wanted to help Solitary Frost''s group grow stronger. If he hadn''t been so invested, he wouldn''t have been so furious about their defeat. "I''m afraid that sending them away isn''t wise, Instructor Torre. Zero Wing might not have much power on the western continent, but it can compete with many superpowers on the eastern continent. It even has control over the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. Since Zero Wing''s Guild Leader has paid us a personal visit, others will criticize the Guild if we turn him away at the door," Wildfighter tried to persuade Torre. Violet Sword was a veteran Super Guild. While Zero Wing wasn''t based in the west, Violet Sword''s intel network had investigated this smaller Guild. They weren''t entirely unaware of Zero Wing''s background. Even if they hadn''t researched the Guild, it was difficult to avoid the name ''Zero Wing.'' The Guild had become incredibly famous in the east, after all, and many superpowers were talking about Zero Wing. "Did Zero Wing''s Guild Leader come alone?" Crimson Star asked the Tier 3 Assassin. "No. He came with a group of a dozen or so people. The Long Family''s Long Wushang is with them, as well," the Assassin replied. "The Long Family? They certainly didn''t waste any time." Wildfighter could not help but frown. After learning that the Long Family''s second young miss had won Azure''s competition this year, Wildfighter knew it would be difficult making the family obey. Now, Azure''s strongest younger member was from the Long Family, and after all was said and done, the Zeus Corporation was merely one of the chamber''s shareholders. It wasn''t the largest shareholder. Once the rest of the shareholders saw the Long Family''s potential, they would offer it their support. Threatening the Long Family''s dominance in Azure would become incredibly difficult. Because of this, the Long Family now qualified to negotiate with Violet Sword, and it had only been a matter of time before the family sent a representative. However, Wildfighter hadn''t expected the Long Family to act almost as soon as Azure''s family competition had ended. "It seems the Long Family has found its confidence. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have shown up so soon," Crimson Star said. "It''s probably because of Zero Wing. The Guild has an alliance with Netherworld Empire, after all. In addition, Zero Wing is responsible for helping Silent Wonder win the competition. Obviously, Zero Wing is quite capable when it comes to nurturing talented players. The Long Family must think it''ll do fine on its own, without support from Violet Sword or the Zeus Corporation," Wildfighter assumed. The most important developmental aspects for any Guild were talented experts and resources. While Azure did not lack experts, it didn''t have nearly as many resources as a veteran Super Guild like Violet Sword. If Azure wished to continue its development, it would have to ally with the Super Guild. This was exactly what Azure''s various shareholder families and Grand Elders were pushing for. However, if Azure no longer had to worry about nurturing its talented members, neither the Long Family nor the chamber itself would bother to ally with Violet Sword. Violet Sword was already demanding a high price for this alliance, and the partnership would basically transform Azure into one of Violet Sword''s vassals. None of Azure''s shareholders wanted this, but they had to agree due to the immense pressure the Zeus Corporation placed on them to agree. "This is interesting. Show them to the reception room and make them wait for a while," Torre decided. "I''m interested to see what ability Zero Wing has to make the Long Family so confident!" "Understood!" The Tier 3 Assassin breathed a sigh of relief as Torre calmed down. He then ran back to the Residence''s entrance. Meanwhile, a crowd had formed outside of Violet Sword''s Residence, embroiled in a heated discussion regarding Zero Wing''s members. The group of players was just too eye-catching. Two gigantic Flying Mounts stood behind Zero Wing''s members: an eagle, with arcs of electricity dancing across its body, and a Skeletal Dragon, radiating bursts of cold. Both Flying Mounts had auras on par with Grand Lords of the same level, and when they stood side-by-side, they were impossible to ignore. "Crap! Who are these people?! They actually have two Mounts that rival Violet Sword''s Netherflame Eagle!" "What an amazing Guild! Violet Sword only has two Extraordinary Flying Mounts, yet these people have two, as well!" At this stage of the game, Flying Mounts were still unattainable for most of God''s Domain''s players. Even the various large Guilds only had a few Flying Mounts, and most of those were common. Even so, it was enough to allow them to flaunt their strength. Meanwhile, the various Super Guilds would go crazy for Extraordinary Flying Mounts, which could hold their own against Grand Lords of the same level. Not everyone could say the same. Even most Tier 3 experts would have to flee from such a monster. Only with a team of Tier 3 experts could take down Grand Lords of the same level. However, not only could a Guild easily hunt Grand Lord ranked Field Bosses with an Extraordinary Flying Mount, but they could also broaden their sphere of activity, visiting far more dangerous locations in search of resources. While passersby quietly discussed Zero Wing''s two Flying Mounts, Long Wushang, who waited at the entrance to Violet Sword''s Residence, began to grow nervous. He had never thought Shi Feng would go through with his claim and travel to Violet Sword as soon as Azure''s family competition ended. The Swordsman hadn''t even given Violet Sword any time to calm down after learning of its defeat. The competition''s outcome had as good as ruined the Zeus Corporation and Violet Sword''s plans to take control of the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Needless to say, they''d be furious, and they''d definitely blame Zero Wing, the Guild that had played a major role in foiling their plans. Although the Long Family and Zero Wing now qualified to negotiate with Zeus and Violet Sword, they shouldn''t push for negotiations while the other side was still fuming. Not only would they fail to change the corporation and Super Guild''s minds, but they might make the situation worse. "Wonder, can you persuade your Guild Leader? I know he wants to negotiate with Violet Sword, but he shouldn''t do so during such a precarious time," Long Wushang whispered to Silent Wonder. "At this rate, not only will negotiations fail, but Violet Sword might end up hating us. We''ll lose our advantage in Azure." Azure''s Elders and Grand Elders did not particularly mind whether Azure partnered with Violet Sword or not, but becoming enemies would be a different story. If that happened, everything would be over for the Long Family. Too many of Azure''s key resource areas were located within Violet Sword''s territories, among others. If Violet Sword decided that it no longer cared about those resource areas, the other Super Guilds wouldn''t hesitate to fight to claim the areas. "I''ll try my best," Silent Wonder said. She agreed with her elder''s sentiments. Zero Wing had barely any power in the west, while Violet Sword could easily deal a major blow to the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Furthermore, Zero Wing couldn''t avoid Violet Sword if it wished to develop on the western continent. She did not wish to see her Guild face Violet Sword''s wrath over her. However, just as Silent Wonder was about to approach Shi Feng, a Tier 3 Assassin emerged from Violet Sword''s Residence and walked up to Shi Feng, apologizing, "Sorry for the long wait, Guild Leader Black Flame. Please, follow me." "Alright," Shi Feng replied, putting away his Thunder Eagle. He then followed the Assassin into the Residence, giving Silent Wonder no chance to intervene. Upon entering the Super Guild''s Residence, both Long Wushang and Silent Wonder were stunned. Not only were the Violet Sword members in the Residence very high-leveled, but quite a few of them were also Tier 3 experts. Moreover, they spotted over 100 Refinement Realm experts with a glance. When they reached the castle that acted as the Residence''s core, they were even more stunned as they felt such dense Mana that it had condensed into a white fog. The entire castle felt ancient. All of the Super Guild''s members who entered and left the castle radiated astonishingly powerful auras, while quite a few were even stronger than Azure''s young geniuses. "So, this is Violet Sword." Silent Wonder was amazed as she watched the dozen or so young, Tier 3 experts walk into the castle. Even a random group of players had so many Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts. Furthermore, this was only one of Violet Sword''s many Residences, and the Guild had several training grounds. If Violet Sword gathered all of the new recruits, the sight would be awe-inspiring. "Please, come in!" the Tier 3 Assassin leading the way said as he gestured to the Guild Hall before him. When he noticed Long Wushang''s and Silent Wonder''s astonishment, he felt pleased and proud. Overall, Violet Sword might not be as powerful as the Five Great Super Guilds, but it was just as capable of nurturing talented players, which the Guild was quite proud of. No ordinary Super Guild could compare. After a moment, the Tier 3 Assassin led Shi Feng and his companions into the top-floor reception room in the Guild Hall. Three players, Torre, Wildfighter, and Crimson Star, already waited in the room. However, none of them bothered to conceal their auras, and the combined energy felt stifling. They were obviously trying to intimidate Zero Wing''s representatives. Sure enough. Long Wushang could not help but shake his head when he saw the three people. He knew these negotiations wouldn''t end well. There wasn''t even a point in continuing this facade. The pressure of their combined auras was simply too powerful. Even peak experts would struggle to breathe in the reception room, much less weaker players. In Long Wushang''s opinion, aside from Shi Feng, Silent Wonder, and Violet Cloud, withstanding these aggressive auras would be troublesome for their party. Meanwhile, the Tier 3 Assassin from Violet Sword sneered at this sight. Zero Wing might be a pseudo-superpower, but Violet Sword was no ordinary Super Guild, and Zero Wing had no place trying to instigate negotiations on a whim. "This room is really stuffy. Aqua, why don''t you guys remove your cloaks? It''ll be cooler for you that way," Shi Feng calmly suggested, never taking his eyes off of Torre and his two comrades. 2613 Astonishing Statistics, Zero Wings Potential Chapter 2613 - Astonishing Statistics, Zero Wing''s Potential Hearing Shi Feng''s suggestion, the Tier 3 Assassin continued to sneer at the group. Do they think they can withstand the instructors'' auras just by removing their Black Cloaks? The Black Cloak merely concealed some of a player''s statistics but couldn''t hide a player''s aura. Everyone in God''s Domain knew this. Of course, there were tools that could conceal a player''s aura, but those tools were extremely expensive and not practical. Furthermore, expert players could conceal their auras with their own skills. They didn''t have to rely on such tools. Even Long Wushang gave Shi Feng a strange look. He couldn''t understand what the man was trying to do. By removing their Black Cloaks, Aqua Rose and the others would only expose their statistics. That wouldn''t help them withstand these three monsters'' auras. Torre, Wildfighter, and Crimson Star were all instructors in Violet Sword. Anyone that could become a Super Guild''s instructor would also be a Grand Elder, absolute upper echelons in the Guild. Super Guilds also acquired top-tier weapons and equipment each day. A veteran Super Guild like Violet Sword had likely seen every kind of weapon and equipment piece the game had to offer. Now that Violet Sword was in a fit of rage and intent on striking fear into their group to chase them away, not even full sets of top-tier weapons and equipment would be enough to change these three instructors'' minds. During the time the Tier 3 Assassin and Long Wushang wondered what Shi Feng intended, Aqua Rose and the others removed their Black Cloaks. When they saw these players statistics, the Assassin and Long Wushang nearly fainted from shock. Level 117! The moment the Black Cloaks were gone, these players'' auras burst forth like erupting volcanoes. The ambient Mana rapidly gathered around them, creating a Mana vortex that thinned the rest of the Mana in the room. When the Tier 3 Assassin and Long Wushang realized that these auras rivaled that of Mythic monsters, they instinctively stepped back to a tolerable distance. Meanwhile, Torre''s group stared in astonishment when they saw Aqua Rose''s and her companions'' levels. "Level 117?! How is this possible?! Even our Guild''s leveling maniac has only reached Level 114! How did they get so powerful?!" Wildfighter exclaimed in the team chat, overwhelmed with shock as he stared at Zero Wing''s players. Their levels weren''t the highest in the Guild since they normally trained Violet Sword''s new recruits. They didn''t have time to devote themselves to grinding for levels. Even so, these three had never fallen behind the frontline players. The foreign energies in Level 100-plus maps were a burden, steadily corroding players'' bodies and preventing them from grinding for long. Thus, as instructors, Torre and his comrades had to maintain their levels. Meanwhile, these three usually trained recruits while recuperating, and as a result, their levels weren''t too far behind, even if their leveling speed wasn''t the greatest. All three were currently Level 112, which most peak experts hadn''t reached yet. And yet, the players before them had five levels on them. How did they manage that? Moreover, Zero Wing didn''t have just one or two players at that level. All eight members, who had removed their Black Cloaks, had reached Level 117... "No, I can sense that all of these people have fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. They shouldn''t have used any special grinding methods to achieve such a high level," Crimson Star said, shaking her head. In God''s Domain, the only way to level up quickly was to grind monsters. The stronger the monsters players fought, the more EXP they''d gain. If players tried to grind monsters that were three levels lower than they were, they wouldn''t even earn 50% of what they did when defeating monsters of the same level. If they tried grinding monsters six levels lower than they were, they wouldn''t get any EXP at all. While questing was also a reliable way to earn EXP, quests'' main objective was to provide Coins, weapons, equipment, and special tools. The only way to level rapidly was to face powerful monsters of the same or higher level. Because of this, no player with a high level in God''s Domain was considered weak. In fact, most ordinary players saw a player''s level as a direct representation of their strength. Still shocked, the three instructors didn''t realize Shi Feng had walked up to them. It had felt as if he had stood in the middle of the room all this time. "Can we talk now?" Shi Feng asked, looking at each instructor in turn. Only then did Wildfighter and Crimson Star realize that Shi Feng stood before them. "Out with it. Why have you come to Violet Sword?" Torre asked, giving Shi Feng a serious look. He no longer displayed any rage or belittlement. If Zero Wing had had only one player at Level 117, he would''ve, at most, been surprised and acknowledged the expert''s strength, but not only did a whole group of Level 117 players stand before him, but they had also unlocked their Mana Bodies'' full potential. This achievement couldn''t just be the result of personal strength. Rather, it was a representation of the Guild''s foundation and power. Since Zero Wing had so many high-leveled experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies, the Guild earned his basic respect. After seeing Silent Wonder and the others himself, Torre also understood why Silent Wonder had defeated Solitary Frost. There wasn''t much of a difference between the Basic Attributes of a player with a fully unlocked Mana Body and one without, but there was a colossal difference between their combat power. It was almost the difference of half a tier, which wasn''t a gap that could be shortened with combat standards and techniques. Although Solitary Frost was a Domain Realm expert, he was still quite young. He did not have much experience fighting opponents with more raw power. Hence, suffering defeat wasn''t all that strange. "You''re surprisingly frank, Instructor Torre. In that case, I''ll just come out with it," Shi Feng said, smiling at Torre, who had paid close attention to him since the moment he entered the room. "I''m here to discuss Silent Wonder''s situation." "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you wish to insist that she''s a member of Zero Wing, not Azure, and thus doesn''t need to develop in Violet Sword, don''t bother. I will suggest that my superiors leave Silent Wonder alone," Wildfighter said. Zero Wing didn''t have much power on the western continent, but its potential was incredible. Becoming this pseudosuperpower''s enemy over Silent Wonder would be truly unwise. Besides, Violet Sword could still follow through with its plans, even without a Half-step Grandmaster Alchemist like Silent Wonder. At worst, their plans might take more time to complete. Moreover, the Zeus Corporation was the main reason that Violet Sword had insisted on obtaining Silent Wonder, and the corporation had simply made the demand because the Long Family had refused to cooperate fully wdth Zeus''s plan to unify the powers under its command. The Zeus Corporation only wanted to make an example out of the Long Family and was using Violet Sword to do so. Long Wushang was stunned to hear Wildfighter give in so quickly. The matter had been dealt with, just like that? The Long Family had negotiated with the Zeus Corporation and Violet Sword many times, yet the two had refused to concede. They had even gone as far as to use Azure''s ruling rights to threaten the family. And yet, Shi Feng had just visited Violet Sword''s Residence for the first time, briefly mentioned Silent Wonder, and Wildfighter had agreed to part with her. Long Wushang felt as if he stood in the wrong Guild''s Residence. Even Silent Wonder''s mouth hung open in shock. She had never expected these negotiations to progress so smoothly. Just as everyone assumed the negotiations were over, however, Shi Feng shook his head, saying, "No, I believe you''ve misunderstood something. I''m not here to talk about that." "What do you wish to discuss, then?" Wildfighter asked, confused. Hadn''t Zero Wing come to dissuade Violet Sword from its plans? "Zero Wing would like to partner with Violet Sword. I know your Guild has uncovered an ancient secret land, which requires special tools to enter. I suggest our Guilds work together. Zero Wing only wants 100 entry slots in exchange," Shi Feng said. The fact that Violet Sword had relied on an ancient secret land to boost its development speed on the western continent hadn''t been a secret in the past. The moment Long Wushang had shown up in Zero Wing''s Residence, Shi Feng had remembered this secret land. This ancient secret land held the key to completing the Tier 4 Promotion quest. It was the very reason that Violet Sword had nurtured plenty of Tier 4 experts in Shi Feng''s past life. In fact, this Guild had commanded nearly twice as many Tier 4 experts as ordinary Super Guilds. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you insane? Do you know how many slots the secret land has in total? You''re asking for half of the slots we have right now!" Crimson Star interjected. The ancient secret land was a huge opportunity for Violet Sword to rise to prominence. Hence, every entry slot was incredibly precious, yet Zero Wing wanted half of them. Despite her conservative personality, Crimson Star accused Shi Feng of madness. Shi Feng was merely offering the help of an Advanced Master Alchemist. It wasn''t as if Violet Sword didn''t have any of its own. "What if I promise that I can help you capture the ancient secret land?" Shi Feng unhurriedly said, chuckling. "Capture it? What kind of place do you think it is? Are you going to capture an ancient secret land with just 10 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies?" Crimson Star mocked, smirking.[l] Experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies were indeed precious right now, but Violet Sword could nurture quite a few with another two weeks. Many of the Super Guild''s experts had already made considerable progress, and the Violet Sword was more than capable of capturing the ancient secret land without Zero Wing''s experts. At most, doing so might take another two weeks. "What if I offer the help of a hundred Tier 3 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies?" Shi Feng asked, flashing Crimson Star a smug smile. 2614 Ancient Secret Land, Priority Pick? Chapter 2614 - Ancient Secret Land, Priority Pick? "A hundred experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies?!" Silence dominated the room after Shi Feng''s question. Even Torre''s gaze sharpened in an attempt to detect the Swordsman''s lie. "Are you telling the truth?" Torre asked. The various superpowers urgently needed experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. Only these experts could cope with the environments and monsters within Level 100-plus, super-large-scale Team Dungeons and hostile secret lands. Unfortunately, a handful, even just a dozen, experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies would be useless during raids. A team of a hundred of these experts would be a different story, however. With a full 100-man team, raiding these locations would be possible, and such a team would be invaluable to Violet Sword, which had located an immensely important, ancient secret land. Meanwhile, Long Wushang gaped at Shi Feng from the reception rooms entrance. He had never dreamed that Zero Wing''s foundations were so frighteningly sturdy. A hundred experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies! With these 100 experts, no superpower would dare provoke Zero Wing, even if it didn''t have much power in the west. If these 100 experts decided to retaliate in the fields or cause a scene in a Guild City, the targeted superpower would definitely suffer. "Of course. I wouldn''t have come all the way here, otherwise," Shi Feng confirmed, nodding. Although Zero Wing only had a little over two dozen experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies right now, many of the Guild''s Tier 3 Refinement Realm experts had already reached 85% or higher thanks to the Lost Town''s special environment. At most, Zero Wing would need three more days to gather a full 100-man team. The raid on the ancient secret land wouldn''t begin immediately. Violet Sword would need some time to prepare. Without the necessary tools, players wouldn''t survive in the secret land, and by the time those tools were ready, Zero Wing should have all the experts it promised. Hence, Shi Feng didn''t consider his statement to be a lie. Torre and the other two instructors fell silent after hearing Shi Feng''s reply. "Are we actually going to agree to his offer, Instructor Torre? This ancient secret land is likely unique in God''s Domain. You already know how astounding the environment is for training. Black Flame is too greedy. We have already split half the entry slots with Mythology. If we give another 100 entry slots to Zero Wing, we''ll have less authority there than Mythology, even if we retain a spot," Wildfighter asked Torre in the team chat. The ancient secret land had a strict entry limit. It was more like an ancient city, isolated from the outside world, than a true secret land. As long as players defeated the Trial Boss, they''d become ordinary citizens in the city, enjoying the city''s various benefits. To monopolize this secret land, Violet Sword had partnered with Mythology, and both Guilds had dispatched large armies to barricade the entrance, preventing other powers from entering. Each Guild would then occupy half of the available entry slots. Violet Sword had gone to great lengths to secure 200 entry slots, yet Zero Wing wanted 100 for helping the Super Guild defeat the Trial Boss. No matter how one looked at it, this didn''t seem like a worthwhile transaction. Given another two weeks, Violet Sword would be more than capable of taking the Trial Boss down by itself. The Super Guild didn''t need any of Zero Wing''s help. Crimson Star nodded in agreement to Wildfighter''s comment. "Guild Leader Black Flame, while your proposal is tempting, you demand too much. I can offer a maximum of 10 entry slots, not one more," Torre said after giving the matter some thought. "Even without your help, we will capture the secret land. It only may take us a few days longer." "You might be right, but as far as I know, Violet Sword isn''t the only power in control of the ancient secret land. Just one day could make a massive difference. I''m sure you''re aware of this, Instructor Torre. Moreover, I don''t just want 100 entry slots. I also want priority over one of the items the Trial Boss drops," Shi Feng coolly declared, nodding. Long Wushang could only stare at the Swordsman, utterly flabbergasted. How was this supposed to be a partnership negotiation? Violet Sword had clearly stated that it would succeed, with or without Zero Wing, but instead of reducing his demands, Shi Feng had asked for even more, setting his sights on the Trial Boss''s loot. He was simply insane... "You''re correct. We''re not the only Guild in control of the ancient secret land right now, but you can''t ally with the other Guild, can you? Zero Wing has offended Mythology often in the past," Wildfighter countered with a grin. "Violet Sword is Zero Wing''s only prospect for an alliance. We''re already being quite generous by offering 10 entry slots. If you don''t like it, you''ll have to find another way to enter the secret land." Zero Wing''s conflict with Mythology was no longer fresh news. If Mythology hadn''t been the only other Guild to control the ancient secret land, Violet Sword might have conceded to Shi Feng''s demands. There was no way Mythology and Zero Wing would work together at this point. Shi Feng was dreaming if he thought he could claim 100 entry slots and priority over the Trial Boss''s loot! Convinced Shi Feng was a madman, Long Wushang couldn''t help but shake his head. Zero Wing was immensely powerful in the east. In fact, it was so powerful that not even several superpowers could take it down. However, Zero Wing''s strength was limited to the eastern continent. Even if the Guild brought 100 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies to the west, it could, at most, annoy the various superpowers. Zero Wing couldn''t reach the various superpowers'' roots, let alone those of a veteran Super Guild like Violet Sword. "What if we enter the secret land by ourselves?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. "Enter the secret land yourselves?" Crimson Star parrotted, smirking. She then continued, "Guild Leader Black Flame, I don''t mean to belittle you, but do you know how large of a force our two Guilds have stationed at the entrance? Not even 1,000 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies could dream of setting foot in the ancient secret land without our approval." To secure their hold, Violet Sword and Mythology had established a Guild City around the ancient secret land''s entrance. Without being able to destroy the city, no one would enter the secret land. Silently, Long Wushang nodded his agreement with Crimson Stars statement. He had visited this Guild City when the Azure Chamber of Commerce had sent its Lifestyle Players to Violet Sword. That Guild City''s defenses were no weaker than the various Super Guilds'' main headquarters. "Is that so?" Leisurely, Shi Feng asked, "But what if I have him?" With that, Shi Feng retrieved a Summon Guard Scroll and called forth Versailles. 2615 Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard, Life Transition Chapter 2615 - Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard, Life Transition When Shi Feng summoned Versailles into the reception room, the room''s Mana transformed. So dense! So heavy! The Mana inside the reception room didn''t feel like Mana at all. Everyone in the room felt as if they had been submerged in water and were drowning. "A Tier 4 Personal Guard?!" "How is this possible?!" Long Wushang and the Tier 3 Assassin were stunned when they saw Versailles. They had seen Level 120 Personal Guards before. After all, every superpower in the game had a few by now, but those had only been Tier 3 Personal Guards. They had never seen a Level 120, Tier 4 Personal Guard before. They hadn''t even thought one existed at this stage of the game. Reaching Tier 4 was an immensely difficult feat, even for Personal Guards. Most player- and power-owned Guards couldn''t even reach Tier 4. Fine-Gold Guards had a relatively high chance of completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quests, but reaching that milestone required a lot of preparation and a lot of time. Even the various superpowers'' Personal Guards had just recently reached Level 120. Thus, logically, getting one''s hands on a Tier 4 Personal Guard at this stage should be impossible, yet Zero Wing had one. Tier 4 NPCs were the true bigshots of God''s Domain. They qualified to rule major NPC cities and were beyond current players'' reach. "A Tier 4 Personal Guard? It seems the eastern continent''s superpowers have grossly underestimated Zero Wing. Their assumption that your Guild is powerless outside of Cold Spring Forest is severely flawed," Torre commented as he gazed at Versailles. Even after seeing the Tier 4 Personal Guard, he still appeared quite calm. "Even so, I do not think that a Level 120, Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard can break into our two Guilds'' city." Although the Guild City in question was only Basic rank, it was protected by an incredibly powerful defensive magic array. The magic array could endure Tier 4 attacks without any trouble. Otherwise, the city wouldn''t have withstood the Demonic Creature armies'' invasion. The western continent was far more dangerous than the east. Towns and cities faced frequent Demonic Creature assaults. These armies especially loved to target Guild Towns and Cities. It wasn''t odd to find three to five Mythic monsters among each Demonic Creature army, in addition to hundreds of thousands of weaker Demonic Creatures. Trying to rely on a measly Tier 4 NPC to threaten a Guild City jointly operated by two Super Guilds was laughable. Of course, a Tier 4 NPC, particularly a Tier 4 Great Wizard, could destroy an ordinary Guild''s city, but trying to destroy a superpower''s Guild City with a single Tier 4 NPC was ridiculous. Every Guild City a superpower established would have some means offending off or exterminating Tier 4 beings. Otherwise, there wouldn''t be any difference between superpowers and ordinary powers. "That''s right. A Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard would be invincible in the fields. Unfortunately, it is not enough to threaten a superpower''s Guild City," Crimson Star said after snapping out of her daze. From near the reception room''s doors, Long Wushang nodded in agreement. The strength Zero Wing had just revealed was astonishing. If Zero Wing were dealing with a weaker superpower, that power might concede to Zero Wing''s demands. Unfortunately, Zero Wing was dealing with Violet Sword, a veteran Super Guild that was almost as powerful as the Five Great Super Guilds. Not even two or three Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guards would be enough to change Violet Sword''s mind. "Indeed, a Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard would take forever just to blast open a Guild City''s defensive magic array," Shi Feng agreed. Smiling, he asked, "But what if I have a Tier 4 Fine-Gold ranked Great Wizard?" "Impossible! Just having one Tier 4 Personal Guard is a miracle! How could you have another one?!" Crimson Star instinctively opposed Shi Feng''s calm question. A Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard wasn''t strong enough to break a Guild City''s defensive magic array, but it would be a different story for a Tier 4 Fine-Gold Guard. Generally, Fine-Gold Guards possessed Taboo Skills and Curses that allowed them to exhibit power beyond their tier. With the power of a Tier 4 Taboo Skill or Curse, even shattering a city''s defensive barrier with a single hit would be possible. However, rising from Tier 3 to Tier 4 was a major feat for Personal Guards. Even Personal Guards with extremely high Growth Potential would need to prepare extensively before challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Moreover, they still had a high chance of failing, and sending a large number of Personal Guards to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest with the hope that some would succeed wasn''t feasible for current Guilds. When a Tier 3 Personal Guard wished to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, they needed a large number of Magic Cores, and not just any would do. These Magic Cores had to come from Level 100-plus Mythic monsters. Unfortunately, Level 100-plus Mythic monsters didn''t even have a 5% drop-rate for Magic Cores, and only Demonic Creatures would drop them at all. As a result, even the various Super Guilds could, at most, afford to send one Personal Guard to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Even if Zero Wing hunted monsters with a Tier 3 Knight Division, there were only so many Mythic ranked Demonic Creatures in Cold Spring Forest. The fact that Zero Wing had nurtured a single Tier 4 Personal Guard was a miracle, but having two was simply impossible. "I might have only one Tier 4 Personal Guard, but that doesn''t mean that I can''t increase his Growth Potential," Shi Feng said before revealing a translucent, multicolored fruit. Everyone in the reception room felt physically and mentally restless the moment Shi Feng retrieved the colorful fruit from his bag. Their instincts screamed at them to devour the fruit. "The Fruit of Life?! Who are you!?" Crimson Star demanded, staring at the colorful fruit in shock. Shi Feng''s Tier 4 Personal Guard had been surprising enough, yet this man also had the incomparably precious Fruit of Life. This was unbelievable! The Fruit of Life was legendary throughout God''s Domain. People had even called it the Holy Fruit. Not only could the Fruit of Life resurrect the dead, but it could also help living creatures recover to their peak and elevate their potential. There were even rumors that players could boost their Life Ratings significantly by consuming it. If they spotted a Fruit of Life, even high-tiered NPCs would do everything in their power to claim it, not to mention players. In Crimson Star''s opinion, though, this legendary fruit was just thata legend. It was beyond the reach of players. The only known way to obtain the Fruit of Life was to harvest it from the Elven race''s Tree of Life. However, Elves consider these fruits holy. They would never trade or sell the fruit to outsiders. If players wanted their own Fruit of Life, they could only obtain one by attacking a location that housed a Tree of Life. However, the Elves'' Trees of Life were so heavily guarded that not even Tier 6 Gods could reach them. Moreover, most of the various kingdoms and empires'' Great and Grand Wizards had learned from Elven Great and Grand Wizards. Anyone that dared attack the Elves'' main headquarters would only make an enemy of these kingdoms and empires. No one under the heavens would be able to save them. Even Torre stared at the fruit in Shi Feng''s hand in astonishment. The Fruit of Life! The various superpowers had been desperately searching for the item after learning about it. Based on what they had learned, there was only one way, other than raiding an Elven city, to procure a Fruit of Life. While the Elves refused to trade or sell these fruits, they sometimes offered them as gifts to players who had significantly helped their race. Hence, there were quite a few fruits lying around. Only, most of these Fruits of Life had been given away decades, maybe centuries, ago, so no one knew their current whereabouts. Even with the superpowers'' powerful information networks, no one had found the slightest clue leading to these gifted Fruits of Life, and yet, Shi Feng held one in his palm... "Eat it," Shi Feng said, passing the colorful fruit to Versailles. Versailles did not hesitate, excitedly and fanatically taking the fruit. His changed attitude made the room''s Mana restless. After a deep, sincere bow of gratitude to Shi Feng, Versailles ate the Fruit of Life as the players in the reception room watched. 2616 Potential Skyrockets, World Creation! Chapter 2616 - Potential Skyrockets, World Creation! "You " Crimson Star''s and Wildfighter''s eyes went wide as they watched Shi Feng give the Fruit of Life to his Personal Guard with no hesitation. What a waste! The Fruit of Life was an incredibly rare and valuable item, far more valuable than a Tier 4 Fine-Gold Guard. That fruit could permanently increase a player''s Life Rating or upgrade a Fine-Gold Guard to Dark-Gold rank, drastically increasing the Personal Guard''s chance of reaching Tier 5. Versailles was only a Tier 4 Secret-Silver Guard. Even if the Fruit of Life upgraded him to Fine-Gold rank, and his combat power drastically increased, he wouldn''t become much more valuable. Fine-Gold Guards had almost no chance of reaching Tier 5. Meanwhile, players could challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest once they reached Level 120, which would significantly decrease a Tier 4 Personal Guard''s value. Using the Fruit of Life to help a player or Personal Guard reach Tier 5 would be far more beneficial than using it to boost a Tier 4 NPC''s combat power. Not many in God''s Domain would reach Tier 5. That much was clear after seeing how few players completed their Tier 3 Promotion Quests. While Crimson Star and Wildfighter mourned the fact that Shi Feng had wasted the fruit, a visible layer of life energy formed around Versailles. Initially, the Tier 4 Great Wizard had been old and decrepit. His aura had been frightening, but it hadn''t been able to hide his fading life aura. Now, however, Versailles regained his youthful vigor at a visible rate. Not only was his life aura growing stronger, but he also began to appear younger. After five seconds, Versailles had gone from looking like someone in his seventies to someone in his fifties. As soon as the process ended, the Mana density in the room skyrocketed. Space started to isolate the room from the outside world, with Versailles as its commander. "World Creation!? How is this possible?!" Crimson Star''s jaw dropped. Instructor Torre could only stare at the Tier 4 Personal Guard, dumbfounded. Once God''s Domain''s NPCs reached Tier 4, they almost always gained a personal Domain. These Domains were the reason that Tier 4 NPCs were so powerful. The Domains NPCs gained weren''t a result of a Skill or Spell, but naturally formed. They also weren''t limited like Domain Skills. Not only could Tier 4 NPCs easily suppress their enemies with their Natural Domains, but they could also elevate their own combat power. These Domains were also the reason that Tier 4 NPCs could effortlessly take on a large group of Tier 3 NPCs of the same level. If players tried to challenge a Tier 4 NPC without a Tier 4 combatant, it wouldn''t matter how many Tier 3 players they had; they''d all die. This was also why Tier 4 NPCs qualified to serve as Magistrates in major NPC cities, while Tier 3 NPCs did not. If players tried to attack a major NPC city without strong enough fighters, they''d accomplish nothing, regardless of how many combatants they had. NPCs weren''t like monsters. Tier 4 monsters were only powerful due to their Basic Attributes, while players relied on Skills, Spells, and numbers to make up the Attribute differences. Even Tier 2 players could defeat Tier 4 monsters with a large enough team. NPCs, however, had an overwhelming advantage with their Mana control. A Tier 4 NPC could use their Mana to suppress every enemy within range. If players couldn''t break free from the Mana''s bindings, they wouldn''t even be able to put up a fight. However, Versailles had gone past obtaining a Natural Domain, now able to use World Creation. Versailles had mastered his Mana control before, but now, he ruled over it. With his will alone, he could manipulate Mana, bending it to his rules as if creating a new world around himself. Normally, however, only Tier 5 NPCs could command World Creation. Even Shi Feng was astonished. He had never realized how amazing Versailles was. While the Fruit of Life could increase an NPCs Growth Potential, it wouldn''t immediately alter the NPCs Basic Attributes or combat standards unless the NPC had some lingering injuries that weakened them. Any Tier 4 NPC with World Creation was a true bigshot, only one step away from reaching Tier 5. They were far stronger than ordinary Tier 4 NPCs. The difference between a Tier 4 NPC with World Creation and one without was like the difference between a Tier 3 player with a fully unlocked Mana Body and a player that had yet to accomplish the feat. There was at least half a tier between the two. Elated, Shi Feng immediately inspected Versailles''s statistics. [Versailles] (Ye Feng''s Personal Guard) Gender: Male Age: 76 Loyalty: 93 Growth Potential: 90 Level 120 Class: Tier 4 Great Wizard Crap! His Growth Potential is just one point away from the Dark-Gold rank?! When Shi Feng saw Versailles'' Growth Potential, realization dawned on him. Now, Shi Feng was absolutely certain that Versailles''s original Growth Potential hadn''t been Secret-Silver rank, but Fine-Gold rank. Moreover, he should''ve been a Tier 4 bigshot on the cusp of reaching Tier 5. The Fruit of Life simply wasn''t capable of providing such a huge Growth Potential increase. They were talking about a whopping 16 points! Even the Fruit of Life, known as the Holy Fruit, couldn''t boost an NPC''s Growth Potential so massively. The only explanation was that Versailles hadn''t fully recovered after drinking the Water of Life and had failed to recover to his full Growth Potential. Shi Feng didn''t know what had left Versailles in such a state, but he was overjoyed and ecstatic. He was even happier than when he had obtained a Fragmented Legendary item. He had already known that Versailles was an amazing Tier 4 NPC, but now, he learned that this Personal Guard even had World Creation. With this, he could accomplish more than ever, including visiting many of the locations he couldn''t reach during his previous life. After players reached Tier 3 and fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, no land in God''s Domain was beyond their reach. While they could even visit the most dangerous maps, however, returning would be another matter altogether. After all, Level 100-plus maps made up the majority of the vast continent of God''s Domain. The human kingdoms and empires only occupied land suitable for their residents, which only included a small fraction of the main continent. There were far more maps that were too dangerous for humans. Tier 3 players were still limited to relatively safe locations. They''d only be attempting suicide if they tried to explore the truly dangerous areas on the continent. They might even have an encounter that would force them to restart their account. Now that Shi Feng had a Tier 4 World Creation NPC by his side, however, he could visit the game''s truly lethal maps. These dangerous locations generally served as the venues for Tier 4 Promotion Quests and contained many ancient inheritances. When the various superpowers'' experts had reached Tier 4 and beyond in the past, they had spent much of their time in these areas, rarely returning. They could only continue to grow stronger by exploring these maps. Realizing how much time he had spent gazing at his Personal Guard''s stats, Shi Feng quickly suppressed his excitement and returned his attention to Torre and his two companions. "May I know if Zero Wing now qualifies to negotiate a partnership with your Guild?" Shi Feng asked Torre. 2617 Secret of the Ancient Secret Land Chapter 2617 - Secret of the Ancient Secret Land Even after a long moment, Torre and his comrades couldn''t find a proper response to Shi Feng''s question. Shi Feng was simply too ruthless! To ensure that he''d be able to enter the ancient secret land, Shi Feng had wasted a Fruit of Life to upgrade his Personal Guard to Fine-Gold rank. Not even they would dare behave so lavishly. However, they had to admit that this Swordsman was extremely fortunate to upgrade his Personal Guard to a Tier 4 World Creation NPC. With this single NPC, Shi Feng could blast through a Basic City''s defensive magic array. Versailles could cause a huge scene inside the city, allowing Shi Feng and his team to pass into the ancient secret land unhindered. "Instructor Torre, Black Flame must be dreaming!" Wildfighter said in the team chat. "Even if he can break into the city and enter the ancient secret land, he''ll only be able to do so a handful of times, at most! I refuse to believe he can come and go from our city as he pleases forever! Moreover, Mythology will have to bear half of the entry slots we lose because of Zero Wing, significantly reducing our losses. When our two Guilds gain Tier 4 experts, his Personal Guard will be useless, and our Guild will still have 200 entry slots." The ancient secret land contained an ancient city independent from God''s Domain''s two main continents. Even if players defeated the Trial Boss and became citizens, they would need to remain within the city for some time to enjoy its benefits. Players wouldn''t gain access to all of the city''s benefits when they first reached the city. However, while Zero Wing could get into the ancient secret land, the amount of time its players could stay in the city would be limited. Players could only extend their stay with a special tool. One week! Even with this special tool, players could only reside in the ancient secret land for a maximum of seven natural days. If they did not leave on time, they''d starve to death. The special tool in question also had a 10-day Cooldown. In other words, Shi Feng would have to break into Violet Sword and Mythology''s Guild City repeatedly to continue enjoying the secret land''s benefits. Not only were the various superpowers searching for an easier way to unlock their experts'' Mana Bodies, however, but they were also preparing for the Tier 4 Promotion Quests. This meant that Zero Wing had very little time left to take advantage of the secret land. Crimson Star nodded in agreement with Wildfighter''s claim. There was no way their two Guilds could form an alliance. After all, Zero Wing couldn''t offer enough benefits to warrant 100 entry slots. Torre didn''t immediately reply to Wildfighter''s proposal. Instead, he closed his eyes and fell deep into thought. After some time, the man''s eyes opened, and he looked at Shi Feng, saying, "Guild Leader Black Flame, a partnership between our Guilds isn''t exactly out of the question." "Instructor Torre?" Both Wildfighter and Crimson Star were surprised to hear Torre''s response. Violet Sword didn''t need to agree to Shi Feng''s demands, and their Guild Leader and Grand Elders would never agree to such laughable conditions. "What are your conditions?" Shi Feng calmly asked. Shi Feng admitted that he had demanded quite a bit, but he had no choice. This was all for the sake of helping Zero Wing''s members reach Tier 4. With the Guild''s current resources, he could only guarantee that a few select individuals would complete their Promotion Quests. Everyone else''s chances were minute, at best. If Zero Wing couldn''t nurture enough Tier 4 experts, it would struggle to defend its current resources and territory. Too many superpowers targeted his Guild, and they were only powerless against Zero Wing now due to the Knight Division and its Guild City''s formidable defenses. However, once the era of Tier 4 dawned, destroying Guild Cities wouldn''t just become possible; it''d become common. When God''s Domain had reached the Tier 4 era in the past, it had been the craziest chapter of the game''s history. The various superpowers had fought like madmen, destroying countless Guild Cities. Many had even been annihilated. This was also one of the reasons that Shi Feng was so desperate to reach Tier 4. Although he could rely on Versailles to force his way into the ancient secret land, that wasn''t a long-term plan. Allying with Violet Sword was his best option. He''d only resort to force if the Super Guild refused to work with him. "I only require that you assist us with one thing, Guild Leader Black Flame," Torre said. "So long as you complete this task, we will agree to all of your conditions." "What is it?" Torre''s statement piqued Shi Feng''s curiosity. He hadn''t expected this man to agree to his conditions so easily. "It''s quite simple. I just need you to clear the ancient secret land''s Hero Trial!" Torre declared. "Once you clear it, we''ll agree to your demands, but if you fail, we''ll ask you to leave. When the time comes, our Guilds will rely on their own strength to enter the ancient secret land." "The Hero Trial?" Shi Feng was a little confused. As far as he could remember, the ancient secret land''s trial only had two difficulties, and neither was called Hero. "The Hero Trial!? Instructor Torre, that''s too risky! We only have one opportunity! We will not get another chance if we fail! How can Zero Wing''s people possibly complete it?!" Wildfighter anxiously complained. The ancient secret land''s trial only had two difficulties on the surface: Normal and Elite. However, as a bonus for activating the ancient secret land, they had the opportunity to face an even harder trialthe Hero Trial! As long as players cleared the Normal Trial, they''d become official citizens in the ancient city, enjoying the various benefits the city had to offer. However, based on Violet Sword''s research, clearing the Hero Trial would instantly grant the players noble status. There was a huge difference between the benefits a noble had access to and those of an ordinary citizen. While players could improve their rank, rising to noble status would require a ridiculous amount of time and effort. Unfortunately, Violet Sword only had one chance to attempt the Hero Trial. They had originally intended to wait until the Hero Trial''s time limit was up, which was in roughly 30 days. That way, they''d have the best possible chance of clearing the trial. However, not only had Torre just suggested they face the Hero Trial sooner than planned, but he also requested Zero Wing''s members clear it. While Zero Wing''s members had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, their combat standards were far from satisfactory. Asking Zero Wing''s members to clear the Hero Trial would be a huge waste. "If you fail the Hero Trial, I''d like Zero Wing to refrain from targeting the ancient secret land for 10 days. Are you willing to accept this challenge, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Torre asked Shi Feng. As Torre finished his question, realization dawned on Wildfighter and Crimson Star. While using the Hero Trial to gain a 10-day buffer was somewhat extravagant, it would give Violet Sword more than enough time to prepare for the Normal Trial. Once Violet Sword completed the trial, and its members became ordinary citizens in the ancient city, Zero Wing wouldn''t be able to affect the Guild''s development overmuch, even if they made it into the ancient secret land. In fact, Zero Wing might not be allowed in the city as a result. Of course, Shi Feng had to agree to the challenge first. "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you dare to accept this challenge? Violet Sword has spent an enormous amount of resources to secure this ancient secret land. We can''t simply hand over half of our available slots for nothing. You, at least, need to prove that Zero Wing can earn these slots," Crimson Star prodded, faintly smiling at Shi Feng. "Deal! I agree to your conditions," Shi Feng replied after giving the matter some thought. "However, I have an additional requirement. If you can agree to it, we will sign the contract immediately. Otherwise, as Instructor Torre has said, we will have to rely on our own strength to get into the secret land." "What''s this requirement?" Wildfighter asked, curious. 2618 Ancient Legacy Chapter 2618 - Ancient Legacy "Earlier, I stated that I want the first pick of the Trial Boss''s loot. That condition still stands, but I''m sure you''re aware of how difficult the Hero Trial is. One hundred Zero Wing members won''t be enough to clear it," Shi Feng calmly stated. "Hence, I need your full cooperation. I repeat: your full cooperation. I will choose the 200 raid team members from among my people. Of course, you can send a few dozen players, as well. Once we clear the trial, we''ll each take half of the given entry slots. I''m sure that''s a fitting trade-off, don''t you think?" By the time Shi Feng finished speaking, Wildfighter and Crimson Star were stunned. Neither of them had expected Shi Feng to make such an outrageous demand. They had thought this Swordsman would propose a more excessive condition, such as requiring Violet Sword''s members to serve as cannon fodder. They had mentally prepared to watch their members die several times. However, they had never dreamed that Shi Feng wouldn''t demand an even higher price, but offer to include more of his Guild members in the raid. Even Aqua Rose, Long Wushang, and the others near the reception room''s door were flabbergasted. Shi Feng''s last condition meant Zero Wing would do all the work for Violet Sword. It was insane. "That won''t be a problem. As long as you clear the Hero Trial, select any raid members you want. In fact, we won''t even impose a penalty if our Guild members die in the raid," Torre said. Although he was similarly surprised by Shi Feng''s proposal, he nodded in agreement. "However, our people will ignore your orders if they think the raid is impossible, and you ask them to throw their lives away." Violet Sword had already prepared for multiple team-wipes if it meant clearing the Hero Trial. Since Shi Feng''s condition would reduce the number of casualties their Guild suffered, Torre was more than willing to agree. "If that''s the case, I agree," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Give me three days. I''ll lead my men to the ancient secret land in three days! Meanwhile, Silent Wonder will remain here to help you. Three days should be enough time for you to prepare the necessary tools." "Three days?" Wildfighter frowned slightly. He hadn''t thought Shi Feng would want to act so soon. He had assumed they''d have around five days to prepare. Including the agreed-upon 10-day buffer, Violet Sword might have been able to gather enough experts to complete the Elite Trial. "That won''t be a problem. You may enter Violet Light City in three days. We will be waiting for you there," Torre said. Following which, Shi Feng and Torre signed a contract. If Zero Wing cleared the Hero Trial, Violet Sword would surrender 100 entry slots to the ancient secret land. If Zero Wing failed, the Guild would be prohibited from setting foot in the secret land for 10 days. With the contract signed, Shi Feng promptly left Holy Flame City. "Guild Leader, three days isn''t enough time. We can''t even transfer 100 players to the western continent within three days, and why did you offer to bring even more of our people into this raid?" Aqua Rose asked from behind Shi Feng on the Thunder Eagle. Exploring secret lands always had a high casualty rate. While a team could reap plenty of benefits, Zero Wing would only receive a fraction of what this secret land had to offer. Violet Sword would gain the most benefit. Zero Wing didn''t need to sacrifice so many members just to help this Super Guild gain access. Long Wushang found Shi Feng''s decision a bit odd, as well, but since he wasn''t a member of Zero Wing, he was in no position to question the Swordsman. "If this were an ordinary secret land, I wouldn''t have offered to contribute so much manpower, but we''re talking about a secret land that has survived since ancient times. Moreover, we''re going to challenge this land''s trial," Shi Feng said, smiling. "What do you think a trial is?" "Isn''t it a test of strength that grants bountiful rewards when cleared?" Aqua Rose replied, confused by her Guild Leader''s question. That much was common knowledge in God''s Domain. "You''re only half correct," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Half?" Aqua Rose''s confusion grew. "What do you mean?" "A trail is also an excellent training opportunity," Shi Feng explained. "It is true that God''s Domain''s trails test players'' strength, but a larger part of the reason for their existence is to help players grow even stronger. This is especially true with the trials from ancient times. "The rewards are only a bonus for clearing these ancient trials. The trial itself is far more valuable. These trials contain complete Legacies from ancient times. Even breaking past the Mana Body''s 100% limit could be possible if we can comprehend a fraction of these Legacies. Why else would there only be one opportunity to challenge the ancient secret land''s Hero Trial?" Before players had reached Tier 4 and began to explore the game''s truly dangerous locations in the past, everyone had regarded trials like Dungeons, nothing more. However, once players had reached Tier 4 and begun exploring these areas, they had found one ancient trial after another. As these Tier 4 experts continued to clear the ancient trials, they continued to grow stronger. Everyone realized how important God''s Domain''s trials were after this discovery, especially those that had survived intact since ancient times. Every ancient trial was a golden opportunity. Since Violet Sword had offered to abandon the chance to challenge the ancient secret land''s Hero Trial, Shi Feng had to take advantage of this opportunity. He had even almost failed to contain his excitement and exposed the Hero Trial''s secrets when Torre had stated the condition. If possible, Shi Feng wanted to monopolize all 200 raid slots, but Violet Sword would need a representative to claim the ancient city''s entry slots, so it would have to send a few players, regardless of its desires. "Guild Leader, are you saying that we can use this trial to unlock more of our members'' Mana Bodies?" Excitement flashed in Aqua Rose''s eyes. If this were true, they had just hit the jackpot! She had experienced ancient times'' training systems personally. The best example was the Extraordinary Tower. Her training was many times more efficient in that tower than anywhere else she had been in God''s Domain. It was also thanks to the Extraordinary Tower that she could fight Domain Realm experts, despite only having reached the Void Realm. If she and Zero Wing''s other members could improve their combat standards and Mana control, they''d have a much easier time with their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. "Why would it be that easy? We only have one opportunity to face the trial. Whether you gain anything from it will depend on you," Shi Feng replied, rolling his eyes. Not even one in 10,000 Tier 3 experts would cross the Mana Body''s 100% threshold. How could all of Zero Wing''s members make a breakthrough after facing a single trial? This was just like with the Extraordinary Tower. Despite the tower''s exceptional training mechanisms regarding the Realms of Truth, many Zero Wing core members had yet to reach the Truth Realm. "Even so, this is an excellent opportunity. At least we have a chance to grow stronger. Some among us might even make a breakthrough like Violet, if we''re lucky," Aqua Rose said, smiling. Long Wushang, who sat nearby, was tempted as he eavesdropped on the conversation. He had never realized that ancient trials offered such a benefit, either. He had seen the strength one gained when they unlocked more than 100% of their Mana Body. Violet Cloud hadn''t even reached the Domain Realm, yet she had defeated Sinful Flame. In the end, Long Wushang couldn''t contain himself and asked Shi Feng, "Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know if you''d be willing to sell some of the entry slots to Azure? Of course, we will pay a sufficient price. You may state any demands you wish." 2619 Unfathomable Zero Wing Chapter 2619 - Unfathomable Zero Wing Long Wushang''s request surprised Aqua Rose and the others a little. They had never expected the man to suggest a partnership with Zero Wing. Long Wushang was an extremely prideful man. Even after Zero Wing had put on an outstanding display of strength during Azure''s family competition, his attitude toward them and their Guild had only improved from indifferent to normal. Rather, he merely saw Zero Wing as an equal now. The Azure Chamber of Commerce rivaled Super Guilds, after all, and while it might not be a match for Zero Wing and Violet Sword''s gift for nurturing talented players, the chamber''s influence, resources, and manpower were far beyond that of Zero Wing. Moreover, Azure''s family competition this year had only involved the younger members from the five main shareholder families. Not all of Azure''s young talents had participated. Most of the chamber''s younger experts weren''t even from the five main shareholder families, and some of them were even stronger than Yan Xiaoqian. However, they didn''t have the necessary qualifications to participate in the family competitions. "Since Azure is willing to cooperate, I don''t mind selling a few slots, but how many do you want, Elder Long?" Shi Feng asked, not surprised in the least by Long Wushang''s request. Aqua Rose and the others, on the other hand, didn''t realize how important the younger generation was to the various superpowers. To the various superpowers, the younger members were their future! Take the Azure Chamber of Commerce, for example. A large part of the reason for the Guild''s current achievements was the value it placed on nurturing young talents. In contrast, some first-rate Guilds never rose beyond that, despite their many decades of experience, because they didn''t value their younger members. Unless first-rate Guilds recruited an astonishing genius, they remained first-rate for the rest of their existences. Since Shi Feng had exposed the fact that players could potentially grow stronger through the ancient secret land''s Hero Trial, he had expected Long Wushang to instantly consider a partnership with Zero Wing, regardless of the man''s pride. Long Wushang''s instincts as one of Azure''s Grand Elders was also why Shi Feng had fearlessly informed Aqua Rose of the Hero Trial''s peculiarities. If he hadn''t wanted anything, he would''ve had the discussion away from Long Wushang. Allying with Azure was of the utmost importance since Zero Wing didn''t have any power on the western continent, aside from the Starlight Fortress. If Zero Wing wanted to secure a stable foothold in the west, it needed to ally itself with the local superpowers. While Divine Tribe was a powerful ally, the Guild''s commercial abilities couldn''t compare to Azure''s. Divine Tribe couldn''t offer Zero Wing any assistance with intercontinental travel, either. Moreover, Zero Wing already had a dialog with Azure due to Silent Wonder. Partnering with Azure would be a safer and more reliable option. "Purchasing 30 or 40 slots would be fantastic, but if that''s not possible, we''ll be happy with 10, as well, Guild Leader Black Flame," Long Wushang hesitantly ventured after giving the matter some thought. The Azure Chamber of Commerce was a massive organization. The Guild needed to nurture all of its young talents, including those from the shareholder families and those who weren''t. With enough slots, he could help the rest of the Guild''s younger experts. Of course, if Shi Feng refused, he at least had to purchase enough for the five main shareholder families. "Forty?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "That''s fine, but you will have to agree to three conditions." "That''s fine?" Long Wushang''s eyes lit up. Eagerly, he continued, "Please, state your conditions, Guild Leader Black Flame. We''ll even agree to four or five demands!" Forty entry slots would be more than enough for the five main families'' young talents, but he''d also be able to include the outside experts. If this negotiation succeeded, the Guild''s neutral Elders and Grand Elders would definitely side with the Long Family. "First, I want Azure''s help with a matter. I need to transport some of Zero Wing''s members to the western continent in three days. We''ll need 100 or so," Shi Feng said. "That won''t be a problem. Three days is more than enough time. When the time comes, just have them gather in the Ten Saints Empire," Long Wushang agreed without hesitation. Intercontinental travel might be difficult for other superpowers, but that was no problem for Azure. Not even transporting 200 players would be a problem. At most, they''d have to spend more Magic Crystals. "For my second condition, I want a Medium Shipyard and a plot of Golden Land in the Silvermoon Empire''s Ocean Tide City," Shi Feng continued. Trade between the two main continents would rely on naval transportation in the future. Meanwhile, Ocean Tide City was the largest port city in the Silvermoon Empire. As long as Zero Wing had roots in this city, doing business between the two continents would be easy. "This won''t be a problem, either. I''ll notify my eldest brother later. You can start conducting business there as soon as the handover procedures are complete," Long Wushang said, not at all surprised by Shi Feng''s second condition. Zero Wing had barely any territory in the west. If it wished to acquire the western continent''s resources, the quickest way would be establishing itself in the west''s port cities. That way, it could travel between the continents more often and transport far more cargo. After all, players could only transport a limited amount of items via teleportation. With contact between the two continents still being so difficult, one could resell merchandise from either area for a high price. However, those prices would fall as more powers gained the ability to travel between the east and west. Zero Wing would need to increase its sales volume to maintain a sizable income. Thus, securing a port city in the west was a must for the Guild. "My third requirement is the most important. I need Azure''s complete Void Realm Legacy," Shi Feng earnestly declared, glancing at Long Wushang. Zero Wing still didn''t have a complete Void Realm Legacy, and because of that, it wasn''t as well-equipped for nurturing talented players as the various superpowers. If Zero Wing could acquire a complete Void Realm Legacy, the Guild''s strength would reach a whole new level, becoming a true superpower. "That..." Long Wushang hesitated. "The complete Void Realm Legacy is one of the Guild''s core secrets. We''ve spent decades refining it. I''m afraid I don''t have the authority to agree to that condition." While the 40 entry slots were precious, this was only an opportunity. Trading the secrets the Guild had relied on to survive for one chance was absurd. Not even the Guild''s other Elders and Grand Elders would agree to such an unfair demand. "I know it''s excessive, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You won''t get a second chance. Moreover, we''re talking about a Legacy that has survived since ancient times. I guarantee it will contain secrets regarding the Tier 4 Promotion Quests," Shi Feng unhurriedly explained. "If that reason isn''t enough, I can offer an additional benefit." "What benefit?" Long Wushang asked curiously. Azure''s complete Void Realm Legacy was one of the Guild''s most precious secrets. Sharing this secret with another Guild would be the equivalent of weakening its foundation. A minor benefit wasn''t enough of an incentive. "I can help three of Azure''s experts surpass 100% of their Mana Bodies'' potential. Of course, the three individuals will have to be exceptionally talented. Ordinary experts won''t do. What do you think?" Shi Feng asked, smiling. You''re saying you''ll help them grow as powerful as Violet Cloud, transcending tiers?" Shi Feng''s offer astonished Long Wushang, and for a moment, he doubted the Swordsman''s claim. Anyone that had watched Violet Cloud''s match against Sinful Flame would likely never forget her strength. She was simply too formidable! Violet Cloud''s strength was no longer just a result of combat techniques or standards. She had pure power. Even with the same Basic Attributes as Sinful Flame, she had emerged victorious. If she had even slightly higher Basic Attributes, her victory would''ve been even more outstanding. Yet, Shi Feng now informed him that Zero Wing could nurture such monsters... "That''s right," Shi Feng said, nodding. "To prove it, I''ll even help these three players unlock their Mana Bodies'' full potential in a day. Are you willing to accept my offer, Elder Long?" "Wait a minute, please. I need a moment to process this. I''ll have to discuss the offer with my Guild''s Grand Elders first, as well," Long Wushang said. He could''ve viewed Shi Feng''s offer as nonsense, but now, he couldn''t afford to brush it If Azure could really have three young monsters like Violet Cloud, it wouldn''t have to worry about its future. "That won''t be a problem," Shi Feng said. "Take your time, but I will need an answer within two days." "Please, wait a moment, Guild Leader Black Flame. I will contact my third brother now and push the Grand Elders to make a decision as soon as possible," Long Wushang said, nodding. He then contacted Long Xianglong and appraised him of the situation. When Long Xianglong heard about Shi Feng''s offer in Azure''s Residence, he, too, was astonished. "What did you say? Zero Wing can help us nurture three monsters on par with Violet Cloud? How is that possible?" 2620 Crazed Azure Chapter 2620 - Crazed Azure Azure Chamber of Commerce''s Residence, meeting room: Normally, it was very difficult to find Azure''s Grand Elders gathered in a single location, yet nearly every one of them had convened in the top-floor meeting room, and they all looked impatient. "Xianglong, why did you call us here so urgently? You know how busy we are right now. All of the various superpowers are frantically searching for ways to unlock their experts'' Mana Bodies. If we fall behind now, we''ll suffer later," a woman in exquisite, white mage robes complained. "That''s right. If this isn''t something important, you''ll have to pay for our losses," a robust, middle-aged man with crimson eyes and covered in glowing runes agreed, nodding. Despite such rude questioning, Long Xianglong didn''t explode in a fit of rage. He tolerated these two not only because they were Grand Elders in Azure, but because their strength was second only to Sinful Flame''s, as well. They were even stronger than Long Xianglong, the Long Family''s most formidable expert. Along with Triumphant Howl, they were Azure''s Three Monsters, and each represented Azure''s non-family members. "Why isn''t Triumphant Howl here yet?" Long Xianglong asked, glancing at the empty seat beside the two. "You know him. Unless the Guild is going to war or is at risk of destruction, he doesn''t care about anything besides leveling," the crimson-eyed man said. "Forget about him. Why did you call for us here?" "Alright, then. With 80% of the Guild''s Grand Elders present, we should have enough people to make a decision," Long Xianglong said, sighing. While Azure''s Three Monsters were incredibly powerful, they were also free spirits. They hated restrictions and rarely listened to the ruling family''s representatives. "What exactly has happened, Lunatic Long? You actually used a Grand Elder Mobilization Order. Has something gone wrong with Violet Sword over Silent Wonder?" Duan Hanshan demanded, smirking at Long Xianglong. Duan Hanshan had already learned about Shi Feng taking Silent Wonder to Violet Sword''s Residence the moment Azure''s family competition had ended in hopes of settling the dispute between the Long Family and the Super Guild. However, he doubted the issue would be so easily resolved. The Zeus Corporation''s reputation was at stake, and if the Long Family refused to cooperate, it would set a bad example for the other powers under the corporation''s command. Even if Silent Wonder were of little significance to the Zeus Corporation''s plans, it wouldn''t let the matter rest so easily. Meanwhile, Zero Wing didn''t have enough power in the west to convince Violet Sword to budge. If the negotiation didn''t go well, Violet Sword might even move against the Long Family and Zero Wing directly. "I''m afraid I''ll have to disappoint you, Old Ice Demon. The matter regarding Wonder has already been dealt with," Long Xianglong shot back. "As a matter of fact, I''ve gathered you all here today to discuss good news. This matter might even affect Azure''s future." "Something that can actually influence Azure''s development? Long Wushang left with Zero Wing to visit Violet Sword. Have we secured a partnership with the Super Guild over the ancient secret land?" the white-clad woman asked, a hint of anticipation flashing in her eyes. The only thing she could think of that might affect Azure''s future was the ability to nurture experts. Based on the information Azure had obtained, Violet Sword had discovered an ancient secret land that included an ancient training ground. If Azures young experts could use this training ground, they could grow significant^^ "You''re half correct," Long Xiangong replied, chuckling. "Half? Have we not negotiated an alliance with Violet Sword?" Duan Hanshan asked, confused. "Correct. We''re cooperating with Zero Wing," Long Xianglong said, nodding. "Black Flame is willing to sell us 40 entry slots into the ancient secret land, but in exchange, Black Flame wants our complete Void Realm Legacy." "Is Black Flame insane? You''re talking about our Guild''s foundation, yet he wants it for 40 measly slots? Only a fool would agree to such a partnership. Have you really gone mad, Lunatic Long?" Duan Hanshan said, sneering. What a joke. Azure''s Void Realm Legacy was the fruit of several decades of hard labor. They''d be crazy to share it with Zero Wing for a few training slots. This data was enough to help an ordinary power become a superpower in just a few short years. In fact, a large part of the reason most Guilds didn''t become superpowers was that they lacked effective training methods. However, as long as a Guild had enough time, money, and this data, it could easily grow into a superpower. This was why the various super-first-rate and Super Guilds rarely sold their research into the Realms of Refinement. "Xianglong, if you''ve called us here to tell us this, I think it''s time the Long Family found a new representative," the crimson-eyed man coldly criticized. Everyone in the room gave Long Xianglong frosty looks. The Azure Chamber of Commerce did not belong to one family. It was the result of the five main shareholder families'' and a large number of non-family Grand Elders'' exhausting work. It was unacceptable for any one member to sell the Guild''s secrets. "I know," Long Xianglong said, not surprised by everyone''s attitude in the least. He simply smiled back at them and continued, "What I''m going to say next is the important part." "What could possibly be so important that you felt the need to waste our time? Don''t tell me Zero Wing can nurture a group of monsters?" the white-clad woman said disdainfully. You''ve hit the nail right on the head, Bell," Long Xianglong replied, nodding at the white-clad woman named Butterfly Bell. "Black Flame has promised that he can help us nurture three monsters that can unlock more than 100% of their Mana Bodies'' potential. He''s even promised that he''ll help the three selected players reach 100% within a day." "Cross the 100% threshold? Isn''t that what the little girl from Zero Wing accomplished?" Duan Hanshan exclaimed. Everyone that had watched the family competition had learned of how frightening Violet Cloud''s combat power was. Not even a legendary expert like Sinful Flame had been her match. She was inhuman! Most ordinary powers thought unlocking 100% of the Mana Body could be accomplished given time, but anyone that had tried knew that the closer they got to 100%, the better their Mana Body performed. Unlocking 100% of one''s Mana Body should be the maximum. However, Violet Cloud, who had broken past 100%, was definitely an extremely talented genius, and anyone that tried to replicate the feat would only be met with failure. Yet, Zero Wing declared that it could nurture inhuman experts like Violet Cloud? "I heard the girl talk about it before. It seems she''s not unique in Zero Wing. She even mentioned stronger members of the Guild," Sinful Flame suddenly spoke up. "Based on her expression at the time, I doubt she was lying. Zero Wing should have more monsters that have crossed the 100% threshold." Everyone fell silent after listening to Sinful Flame''s interruption. These Elders and Grand Elders were already impressed that Zero wing had nurtured a monster like Violet Cloud, but she had to be an exception. That fact would be, more or less, acceptable, but they had just been told that Zero Wing had more monsters like the girl. How could they possibly believe this? Regardless of how unbelievable it was, however, Sinful Flame was a reliable source. "This is why I''ve gathered you all here. What is everyone''s opinion of this? Do we accept the offer or not?" Long Xianglong asked after sweeping his gaze across the crowded reception room. 2621 Three Slots Chapter 2621 - Three Slots Everyone in the meeting room remained silent, a fanatic light flashing in their eyes after listening to Long Xianglong''s declaration. "If Black Flame is telling the truth, and he can help three of our experts break past the 100% threshold, I think the matter should be negotiable," the crimson-eyed man said. "That kind of strength would be extremely helpful during future Promotion Quests. If we can introduce a few Tier 4 players before the other superpowers, we''ll have a head start when raiding Mythic Field Bosses and forbidden lands that have gone untouched. We might even be able to occupy ancient ruins before anyone else has a chance." "I concur. While our core secrets are essential, we''ll need stronger combatants than we have now if we wish to further Azure''s development. If we have a group of Tier 4 experts early on, the other superpowers won''t dare target our key resource spots," Butterfly Bell said, nodding. In God''s Domain, the strong were revered. A strong individual might not benefit a Guild when it came to resources, but they were a powerful deterrent for potential enemies, especially if those players were Tier 4 powerhouses. At this stage of the game, no one would dare think of attacking a Guild City if it housed a Tier 4 powerhouse. Numbers wouldn''t be nearly enough to bridge the gap between a Tier 3 expert''s strength and that of a Tier 4 player. With three Tier 4 experts, specifically experts with extraordinary combat power for their level and tier, Azure would have an effective deterrent. Even without Violet Sword, Azure could safeguard its current resource areas. The chamber might even be able to secure more. On the other hand, keeping a tight hold on the Guild''s Void Realm Legacy would only ensure that Azure''s foundations remained steady. It wouldn''t help the Guild grow. Upon hearing the crimson-eyed man''s and Butterfly Bell''s words, the independent Grand Elders promptly nodded in agreement. One couldn''t make an omelet without breaking eggs. Now that their potential gains were clearly greater than their potential losses, they had no reason to refuse Zero Wing''s offer. "I have no arguments against accepting Black Flame''s offer, but how do we choose which three members to send?" Duan Hanshan asked Long Xianglong. Interested to hear his answer, the Grand Elders turned toward the Long Family''s representative. Long Xianglong had summoned them here to discuss this topic, and Silent Wonder was a member of Zero Wing. The Long Family was in the best position to negotiate this deal. These three training slots were incredibly valuable. If these three players broke past their Mana Bodies'' 100% threshold, they''d rise to the apex of God''s Domain, even if they were merely Void Realm experts. Whatever faction these experts belonged to would gain quite a bit more authority within the Azure Chamber of Commerce. In fact, the slots distribution might cause a massive authoritarian shift in the Guild. "I realize what you''re all thinking," Long Xianglong said, chuckling as everyone gave him serious looks. "Rest assured; the Long Family won''t try to claim one of the slots for an unworthy candidate. Black Flame has already informed us that no random player will do. The three selected individuals must have incredible potential to make a breakthrough. As usual, the five families will have priority in selecting two players, and if one of their selections isn''t a match for the independent''s reserve member, that player will take their place. What does everyone think?" Taking the initiative, Butterfly Bell said, "In that case, I nominate Boss Flame. We all know his strength and potential. I''m sure everyone can imagine how helpful he''d be to the Guild if Boss Flame grows even stronger. As for the younger generation, Solitary Frost is unmatched, and we don''t have anyone who can surpass Silk Moon''s talent. What are your thoughts?" The independent Grand Elders silently nodded their agreement to the suggestion. Normally, such opportunities were reserved for the younger generation, but Sinful Flame was Azure''s strongest expert. If he could increase his strength, not only would he become a better deterrent for Azure, but he could also solidify the independent Grand Elders'' authority. They didn''t mind giving up a training slot for this. Duan Hanshan said nothing to oppose the idea. Rather, he was strongly in favor of the suggestion. Earlier, he had worried that the Long Family would unfairly try to claim one of the three slots. That would leave Solitary Frost competing for the remaining slot reserved for the five families. While the young player had almost no chance of losing, nobody could say for certain that the independent faction of the Guild didn''t have something hidden up their sleeves. Now that Solitary Frost had been selected for one of the three slots, however, he had no issues with the arrangement. "I''m afraid Silk Moon won''t do. We still haven''t been able to reach her," Long Xianglong said, shaking his head. "Although Black Flame has given us a two-day time limit, we should make our decision as soon as possible, just in case. I suggest we give the third slot to Yan Xiaoqian. She''s almost as talented as Silk Moon. What does everyone think?" Everyone in the room stared at Long Xianglong, astonished. Even Duan Hanshan''s jaw almost dropped. These training slots were invaluable, yet Long Xianglong wanted to give all three away. Moreover, he had just suggested the Duan Family claim one. The Long Family and Duan Family had a ceaseless feud. Now, however, Long Xianglong had just suggested one of his rival''s younger members take the third slot. It was unbelievable! Inwardly, Long Xianglong could only smile bitterly as he watched shock and confusion sweep through the room. He did not wish to give this slot away, either, but unfortunately, with Silk Moon absent, the Long Family''s only other suitable candidate would be Long Xianglong himself. Due to his rocky relationship with Zero Wing, however, he definitely couldn''t go. His pride wouldn''t let him. While he could''ve suggested they send Burning Owl, trying to convince the other Grand Elders of the boy''s potential would be difficult. Azure had quite a few stronger players that were Burning Owl''s age, after all. Since the Long Family was going to lose its slot no matter what, he might as well do the Duan Family a favor. In any case, the Long Family still had Silent Wonder, and because of her, it would have plenty of chances to benefit off of Zero Wing. Moreover, sending Yan Xiaoqian instead of Burning Owl would allow Azure to fulfill Shi Feng''s requirements and make training easier. Her potential had already been acknowledged as only second to Solitary Frost''s. "Lunatic Long, we have no problems with this arrangement if you don''t," Butterfly Bell calmly said. None of the other Grand Elders objected to Long Xianglong''s proposal. Yan Xiaoqian was quite talented and only half a step away from the Domain Realm. She was undoubtedly the best candidate after Silk Moon. "That settles it, then. I''ll contact Black Flame after this," Long Xianglong announced, concluding the meeting. He then turned to Duan Hanshan and continued, "Old Ice Demon, please prepare Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian. Once we sign the contract with Zero Wing, send them to the Starlight Fortress." "It will be taken care of. Once the contract has been signed, I''ll take them there myself," Duan Hanshan said, nodding. Following which, everyone proceeded to discuss who they would send to Violet Sword''s ancient secret land. As soon as they reached a conclusion, the Grand Elders were dismissed, leaving to prepare for the raid. An hour after the meeting had ended, Long Wushang represented the Azure Chamber of Commerce in signing a cooperative contract with Shi Feng. In no time at all, not only had Shi Feng gained the rights to one of Ocean Tide City''s Medium Shipyards and Golden Lands, but he had also received a Small Warehouse in the city as a gift. Meanwhile, in Azure City''s Teleportation Hall... "Are we really going to train with Zero Wing, Uncle Hanshan?" Yan Xiaoqian asked Duan Hanshan, who wore a serious expression. "I''m afraid it''ll be difficult to rejoin Violet Sword''s training if we do. Instructor Torre might just give up on us." Although she and Solitary Frost were members of the Azure Chamber of Commerce, and where they trained at was none of Violet Sword''s business, these two were considered Torre''s disciples. Training with Zero Wing would be a slap in the face to Torre as if they were declaring that Zero Wing''s training was more valuable. "While Violet Sword''s training is amazingly effective, this is a unique opportunity. Do you think securing these slots was easy? I doubt you''ll get a chance like this in the future. Moreover, only Zero Wing can provide this kind of training right now," Duan Hanshan informed her coldly. "Uncle Hanshan, I agree with Xiaoqian. It is only a matter of time before we unlock our Mana Bodies'' full potential, but opportunities to improve our combat standards and techniques are difficult to come by. We went to great lengths to earn Instructor Torre''s guidance. If he finds out that we left to train with Zero Wing, I doubt he''ll agree to train us anymore," Solitary Frost said. While he admitted that Zero Wing was quite capable when it came to helping players unlock their Mana Bodies'' potential, passing up a chance to improve their combat standards and techniques for a chance to unlock their Mana Bodies a few days sooner was a waste. The only reason he had lost to Silent Wonder, in his opinion, was that he had yet to unlock his Mana Body fully. If he had, defeating her would''ve been a piece of cake. With enough time, anyone could unlock their Mana Body''s full potential. Hence, he firmly believed that improving his combat standards and techniques was the true path to power. "You''re only going to Zero Wing to unlock your Mana Body. You''re not there to learn techniques. It doesn''t clash with Instructor Torre''s training. I''m sure he won''t have an issue with this," Duan Hanshan replied. "It''s getting late. We should hurry to the Starlight Fortress. We shouldn''t make Zero Wing wait too long." With that said, Duan Hanshan led Solitary Frost, Yan Xiaoqian, and a few dozen Azure members through the teleportation array and to the closest NPC town to the Starlight Fortress. 2622 Changes to the Starlight Fortress Chapter 2622 - Changes to the Starlight Fortress Star Valley, Starlight Fortress: A long line of players, including tens of thousands, waited to enter the magnificent, ancient fortress. There were also quite a few Tier 3 players among them, creating a spectacular, stunning scene for first-time visitors. Azure''s 40-man team stood at the front of the line, gazing at the Starlight Fortress in curiosity. "There are so many Tier 3 experts here!" one of Azure''s Tier 3 players exclaimed, glancing at the line of players behind him. Tier 3 players were still incredibly rare, and even the various major powers considered their Tier 3 experts mainstays in the Guild. However, Tier 3 experts were a common sight in the Starlight Fortress. Almost one out of every ten players was a Tier 3 expert. It was amazing! "I''ve heard that quite a few experts have come to the Starlight Fortress for the Demon God''s Legacy, but aren''t there a little too many here?" a Level 110, Tier 3 male Guardian Knight, another Azure member, commented. He could sense that many of the Tier 3 experts he saw were Refinement Realm experts. Some had even reached the Flowing Water Realm as he had. "The Mana here feels different, too. It''s very calming, and it somehow feels complete. Standing here, it''s easier to sense Mana than elsewhere," a Level 109, Tier 3 female Elementalist said. "If I could rest and train here, my Mana control would improve far quicker than training in the outside world." While Azure''s young talents chatted amongst themselves, Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian stared at the fortress, just as surprised by its Mana as everyone else. "So, this is Three Supreme Elements'' Mana? It really is extraordinary," Yan Xiaoqian muttered as she sensed the flow of Mana around her. At the same time, realization also dawned. "It''s no wonder why so many of Zero Wing''s members have fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. If they live in such an environment, their Mana control will only grow stronger with time. They''ll also have a much easier time unlocking their Mana Bodies'' potential." The Starlight Fortress''s Mana, which contained the Three Supreme Elements, was no longer a secret to the various superpowers. Only, none of the superpowers had bothered to expose this secret to the public. Naturally, independent players with keen senses had kept their mouths shut, as well, since they wanted to take full advantage of the fortress''s benefits. After all, the Starlight Fortress could only house a limited number of player residents. "This environment is only a close match for that of ancient times?" Solitary Frost wondered, shocked as he bathed in the fortress''s Mana. He hadn''t thought the fortress''s environment, which supposedly rivaled that of ancient times, was overly important. It was only close, not the real deal. How could any location in God''s Domain still have the same environment as before the Great Destruction? In his opinion, the past had only had so many more powerhouses than the present because of how many complete Legacies had been available during ancient times. There was no way it could''ve been because of some ancient environment. Of course, the environment during ancient times had been incredibly Mana dense, but all of the various superpowers had their own special training grounds with high Mana density. Some of those training grounds even had Mana that was far denser than during ancient times. After reaching the Starlight Fortress and experiencing its Mana first-hand, however, Solitary Frost realized how sorely mistaken he had been. Even as a melee player, he could feel his Mana affinity growing. Although his affinity didn''t increase much, only 10% to 20% at most, this had already significantly improved his Mana control. At his standards, as long as he found a good place to train within the Starlight Fortress, he''d likely unlock his Mana Body''s full potential within just 10 days. It was no wonder how Zero Wing had nurtured so many experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. The Starlight Fortress''s environment even astounded Duan Hanshan. Damn it! This isn''t what I was told! According to the intelligence department''s report, the Mana here should only help players with sharp perception of Mana unlock their Mana Bodies, not ordinary Tier 3 experts! When Duan Hanshan glanced back at the players waiting to enter the fortress, he couldn''t help the urge to pummel Azure''s intelligence department. Duan Hanshan didn''t realize that Azure''s intelligence reports had been, for the most part, accurate regarding the fortress''s environment when it had first opened, but as time had passed, and the Starlight Fortress''s magic array had continued to absorb more of the Three Supreme Elements'' Mana from its surroundings, the fortress''s Mana had steadily improved. Now, even Tier 3 experts who barely noticed Mana could reap immense benefits from the Starlight Fortress''s environment. As Azure''s members fell into a heated discussion over the fortress''s Mana, a crimson-eyed, blonde woman in silver light armor and carrying a runic greatsword emerged from the fortress. The players in line fell silent the moment they noticed this woman. She was none other than Fithalia, the Starlight Fortress''s manager. Fithalia had taken care of many Tier 3 experts and teams that had tried to cause trouble outside of the Starlight Fortress. Just two days ago, she had single-handedly annihilated a superpower''s 100-man, Tier 3 team. After her terrifying display of strength, some players, who had still considered causing trouble, abandoned the notion. Fithalia''s inhuman strength was a direct result of unlocking her Mana Body''s full potential, and now, not even ordinary Domain Realm experts could be her match. "Greetings. You must from the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Guild Leader Black Flame is currently preoccupied, so I will lead you to the Fortress Lord''s Mansion," Fithalia gently announced. How is this possible? Solitary Frost''s eyes twitched when he saw Fithalia approach to welcome their group. He and Fithalia were old acquaintances. He had constantly tried to challenge her, and they had clashed several dozen times. Unfortunately, he had lost every match. He had hoped to challenge Fithalia again after his training with Violet Sword. However, he had never dreamed that she''d be responsible for helping Zero Wing welcome them to the Starlight Fortress This was the commander of Divine Tribe''s Divine Hymn Legion they were talking about! "Commander Fithalia, I didn''t expect to find you here. I thought you''d have gone to the Demon God''s Shrine like every other expert," Duan Hanshan said, similarly surprised to see Fithalia. The Demon God''s Shrine in Star Valley had become a main training ground for Domain Realm experts due to the few special secret lands that were connected to the shrine. Not only could players acquire treasures in these secret lands, but they could also use the areas to grow stronger. Of course, only Domain Realm experts and incredibly strong peak experts could take advantage of these benefits. Due to the powerful monsters and traps within the secret lands, even ordinary peak experts would meet a swift end if they tried to explore them. Moreover, entering the Demon God''s Shrine wasn''t an easy task. One would need a lot of manpower to secure enough entry passes, and to make matters worse, each pass was a single-use item. Generally, only superpowers near Star Valley chose to send their experts to the Demon God''s Shrine. However, Fithalia was different. Divine Tribe had the only temporary Residence within the Starlight Fortress. Entering the Demon God''s Shrine should be a piece of cake for her. "While the Demon God''s Shrine is useful, training in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion''s battlefield is far better. It''s a pity that the battlefield can only accommodate a limited number of people, or I''d use it constantly," Fithalia said, a bitter smile forming as she shook her head. At the same time, she flashed Azure''s members an envious look. Due to the recent partnership between Azure and Zero Wing, Shi Feng had decided to allow these young talents to train in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion''s Large Battlefield for free for a few days. "There''s a better place than the Demon God''s Shrine?" The news astonished Solitary Frost. For experts of his and Fithalia''s caliber, growing stronger by training was incredibly difficult. The fact that the Demon God''s Shrine could help Domain Realm experts was amazing. If not for the problem of distance and manpower, Azure''s Domain Realm experts would''ve long since made their way to the shrine. And yet, Fithalia insisted that training in the Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mana was even more effective than training in the Demon God''s Shrine. How could he possibly believe such an outlandish claim? "Let''s pause our conversation for a moment. Our time is limited. We should head to the mansion immediately," Fithalia said, ignoring the confused looks Azure''s members gave her and leading these players straight to the Fortress Lord''s Mansion. 2623 Zero Wings True Foundation? Chapter 2623 - Zero Wing''s True Foundation? Starlight Fortress, Fortress Lord''s Mansion: As the heart of the Starlight Fortress, the Mana within the Fortress Lord''s Mansion had changed significantly. From the outside, it looked as if the mansion and its surroundings were encased in a layer of crystals, and the breathtaking sight attracted every passerby''s attention. "Amazing. The Mana here is at least 50% denser than in the outside world. It''s no wonder why you deem this to be an excellent training ground, Commander Fithalia," Duan Hanshan praised as he marveled at the glittering castle before him. The Starlight Fortress''s Mana density had already been extraordinary. It had been so high that it had even rivaled, possibly surpassed, the various superpowers special training grounds. However, the Fortress Lord''s Mansion had even denser Mana. One would be hard-pressed to find another location on the western continent with such dense Mana. If players could train in such rich, special Mana, their efficiency would skyrocket. Even Domain Realm experts like Duan Hanshan could likely benefit from an environment with such abundant Mana. However, Fithalia merely chuckled in response. Without comment, she led Azure''s group into the heavily guarded Fortress Lord''s Mansion. When they stepped into the mansion grounds, Duan Hanshan and his entourage from Azure were utterly stupefied. Aside from the multitude of Zero Wing''s experts, over 50 Personal Guards stood guard around the courtyard. Even the weakest of these NPCs was a Secret-Silver Guard, and there were as many as eight Fine-Gold Guards present. These NPCs could even annihilate a 1,000-man team of Tier 3 experts. Once their surprise subsided, Azure''s members realized how refreshed and light they felt as if newer, better bodies had replaced their old ones. "What''s going on? Why do I feel like I have so much more physical control?" Solitary Frost exclaimed as he sensed the changes. "Dense Mana shouldnt have such an effect!" "It''s not just our physical control. I can feel my Mana control significantly improving, as well," Yan Xiaoqian said in the team chat. "It''s no wonder why Guild Leader Black Flame is so confident that he can help us fully unlock our Mana Bodies quickly and cross the 100% threshold." They had experienced plenty of Mana-rich environments before, including places with denser Mana than the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, yet none of those places had affected them in this way. They hadn''t moved past the mansion''s front courtyard, yet Yan Xiaoqian sensed a tremendous increase to her combat power. If she could train here for a while, she was confident that she''d reach the Domain Realm in no time. Her Mana control would reach a whole new level, as well. Sensing the changes, Duan Hanshan turned to Fithalia and asked, "Commander Fithalia, didn''t our agreement with Guild Leader Black Flame only entail three training slots? Has there been some mistake?" According to Azure''s agreement with Shi Feng, Azure would receive 40 entry slots into Violet Sword''s ancient secret land. As a bonus, Zero Wing would also help three of Azure''s members unlock their Mana Bodies'' full potential and break past the 100% threshold. Aside from Sinful Flame, Solitary Frost, and Yan Xiaoqian, Azure''s members had only come to the Starlight Fortress to prepare for the trip to the ancient secret land and undergo some simple training beforehand. However, Fithalia had led their entire team to this sacred training ground. There must have been some misunderstanding. "There''s no mistake. All of you will train here for the next few days. As for the three slots, those trainees will go somewhere else. Unfortunately, I don''t qualify to go with them," Fithalia said, chuckling. The Fortress Lord''s Mansion was a one-of-a-kind training environment, so it wasn''t unexpected that Duan Hanshan would misunderstand. If possible, Divine Tribe would negotiate for a long-term alliance with Zero Wing to train in the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, but it had a limited number of combat rooms. To ensure its own members could continue their development, Zero Wing could only afford to lease a few of these rooms. The only reason that Zero Wing was willing to splurge and lend 40 combat rooms to Azure''s members was the high price the chamber had paid. "What? The three candidates won''t be trained here?" Duan Hanshan was a little shocked. He still had his doubts that Shi Feng could help Sinful Flame, Solitary Frost, and Yan Xiaoqian unlock their Mana Bodies'' full potential in a single day, much less help them cross the 100% threshold. However, after witnessing the Fortress Lord''s Mansion, Duan Hanshan wondered if the feat were actually possible. After all, this environment drastically improved players'' physical and Mana control. Azure certainly had nothing like this. Not even Violet Sword had such a wondrous training environment. However, Fithalia had just clearly stated that this precious area wasnt the three candidates traid^ going somewhere even better. How could Duan Hanshan possibly accept such a concept as truth? Even Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian wondered if the commander were playing some trick, using this as an opportunity to boost Zero Wing''s reputation. After giving the matter some thought, however, they quickly dismissed these assumptions. Fithalia had no reason to lie to them. Not only was she the commander of Divine Tribe''s second strongest trump card legion, but she was also a famous expert in the west. Why would she lie about such a trivial matter? You''re finally here! Our Guild Leader has been waiting for you for quite some time. The three people selected for training, please follow me. Everyone else, please wait outside." While Azure''s members were dazed, a man wearing Zero Wing''s Guild Emblem approached from the castle. However, neither Duan Hanshan nor his team had noticed his presence. It felt as if this man didn''t actually exist. Yan Tianxing? How is he so strong? Aren''t his combat techniques basically a match for those three monsters? Duan Hanshan gave the man before him a suspicious look. According to the report he received on Zero Wing, Yan Tianxing was only an ordinary Domain Realm expert, yet he had obviously made considerable progress in the Domain Realm. Yan Tianxing was now entirely capable of standing toe-to-toe with Butterfly Bell and her comrades. "Uncle Hanshan, should we go?" Yan Xiaoqian asked. "Go on. Make sure you listen to Elder Flame later, understand?" Duan Hanshan said, nodding. He had only seen Zero Wing as a Guild with no foundation, relying entirely on its Guild Leader for its success. In fact, most superpowers assumed Zero Wing''s overall combat power was only on par with ordinary superpowers. However, when it came to other aspects, such as nurturing talented players, Zero Wing couldn''t even compare. The Guild would need a miracle to become an ordinary superpower in the future. However, Duan Hanshan realized how wrong he and the various superpowers had been after entering Starlight Fortress''s Fortress Lord''s Mansion. "Understood!" Yan Xiaoqian and Solitary Frost replied, standing at attention. "Please, lead the way," Sinful Flame turned to Yan Tianxing once Duan Hanshan had finished instructing the two youngsters. "Follow me," Yan Tianxing responded with a nod. Yan Tianxing then led Sinful Flame''s three into the mansion''s lobby and to the Legacy Room, which was located in the heart of the mansion. Two Level 122, Tier 3, Fine-Gold Guards stood before the Legacy Room. Not even Sinful Flame would dare make a rash move before these two Personal Guards. When the doors parted, Sinful Flame and the two young experts noticed a man standing in the Legacy Room. He was manipulating the room''s magic array, and all of the elemental Mana within flowed around him. As the man continued his work, the Mana around him grew astonishingly dense, eventually condensing into a white mist. "Elemental Control?! Mana Mist?! How is this possible?!" Yan Xiaoqian stared with wide eyes, shocked, at the man within the room. 2624 Astonishing Legacy Room Chapter 2624 - Astonishing Legacy Room The term "Elemental Control" was foreign to ordinary players and most expert players. Normally, players would only understand what Elemental Control was after they had reached Tier 3 and started attempting to unlock their Mana Bodies. To achieve Elemental Control was to exert precision control over every type of Mana. To accomplish that, one had to understand the properties of the different types of Mana in existence. At the very least, one had to grasp the principles behind driving the Four Major Elements. At this stage of the game, however, let alone gaining precision control over the various types of Mana, the superpowers were still clueless about the operating principles of the Four Major Elements. Hence, even Domain Realm magical-class players were incapable of Elemental Control. Yet, to Yan Xiaoqian''s surprise, the man standing inside the Legacy Room was controlling the ambient Mana within the room as if it were a part of his own body and was even using it to strengthen the room''s magic array. This was an ability all magical-class players in God''s Domain sought. However, what truly surprised her was the identity of this man. Black Flame! After all, melee classes were inherently less attuned to Mana than magical classes. In addition, melee players used Mana much less frequently in battle than magical-class players, so they should be less familiar with Mana than magical-class players. Yet, despite being a Tier 3 Sword King, Shi Feng had actually achieved Elemental Control. "You''re here," Shi Feng said and promptly accelerated the operation of the Legacy Room''s magic array. He then continued, "The room''s magic array is nearly fully operational. The three of you will be learning how to unlock your Mana Bodies here. In a while, each of you will have five minutes to experience what it feels like to have a fully unlocked Mana Body. What you need to do during this time is memorize the feeling of how the Mana inside your body flows. Afterward, you will have to think of ways to replicate this feeling. Remember, each of you has only one opportunity." "Experience a fully unlocked Mana Body for five minutes?" Yan Xiaoqian was surprised at Shi Feng''s words. Although the experience lasted only five short minutes, if she knew what her fully unlocked Mana Body would feel like, she would have a much easier time unlocking it afterward. Moreover, she wouldn''t have to worry about going astray and taking a long detour. She could simply head straight to her goal. "So, this is the secret behind Zero Wing''s strength?" Solitary Frost similarly gazed at Shi Feng in astonishment. Currently, the various superpowers of God''s Domain were already struggling to find a location that could help players improve their Mana control. Zero Wing, however, could allow players to experience how it felt to have a fully unlocked Mana Body for five minutes. The Guild was standing on a completely different playing field from the various superpowers. "It''s no wonder Zero Wing has so many experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. If the other superpowers were to find out about this, they''d most likely die of envy." Sinful Flame took a closer look at the Legacy Room upon hearing Shi Feng''s explanation. While players could fully unlock their Mana Bodies given enough time, the sooner a player did so, the sooner they could venture into locations that remained forbidden to ordinary Tier 3 players and obtain opportunities there. They would also have more time for other things. After all, exploring the Mana Body took up a lot of time and energy. Hence, shortening this exploratory period was also something the various superpowers were currently working on. After fully activating the Legacy Room''s magic array, Shi Feng turned his gaze to Sinful Flame and the others and asked, "Alright, who''s first?" "I''ll go first. Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian will enter after me," Sinful Flame said. Both Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian nodded in agreement, neither of them dissatisfied by Sinful Flame''s decision, as they understood that the first person to experience the Legacy Room would benefit the least. After all, none of them knew what it felt like to possess a fully unlocked Mana Body, so they didn''t know what they should do to maximize the benefits from the Legacy Room. By going in later, they would have Sinful Flame''s opinions and suggestions for getting a better experience. "Very well. Elder Flame, please," Shi Feng said as he walked out of the Legacy Room and gestured for Sinful Flame to enter. Once Sinful Flame entered the Legacy Room, its doors promptly shut. Silence then fell over the antechamber. Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian could not help growing nervous and curious as they eyed the closed doors. Even now, they remained dubious of being able to fully unlock their Mana Bodies within a day. After all, the further one unlocked one''s Mana Body, the more difficult additional progress became. This wasn''t a feat that could be accomplished just by briefly experiencing having a fully unlocked Mana Body. Trial and error required a lot of time. Meanwhile, as Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian were entertaining such thoughts, five minutes flew by. In the next moment, the doors to the Legacy Room slowly opened, and dense Mana poured out the doorway. "This..." Both Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian were stunned when they saw Sinful Flame walk out. They could tell that the dense Mana coming from the room actually belonged to Sinful Flame. Moreover, the aura Sinful Flame radiated was suffocatingly strong. "Elder Flame, did you fully unlock your Mana Body?" Yan Xiaoqian exclaimed in disbelief. She knew that, previously, Sinful Flame had unlocked his Mana Body''s potential to only a little over 80%, so reaching 100% should still take him quite some time. Now, just five minutes after entering the Legacy Room, he had already fully unlocked his Mana Body. How could she believe this? At this moment, let alone Yan Xiaoqian, even Shi Feng was surprised by this situation. Originally, he had intended to use the remaining three slots to the Legacy Room on Zero Wing''s experts that had good potential. However, in order to obtain Azure''s trust and its Void Realm Legacy, he had no choice but to give them to Azure. Even so, Azure''s three candidates should still emerge from the Legacy Room a little way off from fully unlocking their Mana Bodies. After all, unlike Fire Dance and the others, Sinful Flame''s three did not get to experience the trial inside the Legacy Gate and gain a significant amount of knowledge relating to the Mana Body. Hence, Shi Feng had been prepared to give them three of the ancient potions he had obtained from Poison City. Coupled with the effects of the Fortress Lord''s Mansion''s combat rooms, those should make it possible for Azure''s three candidates to fully unlock their Mana Bodies within one day. Shi Feng never thought that Sinful Flame''s talent would be this high. Sinful Flame had actually succeeded in fully unlocking his Mana Body after just one trip into the Legacy Room. His talents were terrifying. During the brief moment Shi Feng was in shock, Sinful Flame turned to look at Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian and advised, "Once you two are inside, don''t use the methods you previously used to operate your Mana Body to experience your fully unlocked Mana Body. Instead, just focus on sensing how the Mana inside your Mana Body flows. There are many mistakes in the methods we researched. If you insist on using your previous notions to experience your fully unlocked Mana Body, you''ll have a difficult time gaining any improvements. "Moreover, while inside, I sensed that reaching 100% potential isn''t the end for the Mana Body, but a new beginning. Even though I have fully unlocked my Mana Body now, I can feel that it is still inferior to the Mana Body I had inside the room. However, my talents are limited, so I only managed this much for now. Just like Guild Leader Black Flame said, give everything you have into memorizing the sensations you feel while inside the room and don''t think of anything unnecessary. Only by doing so will you be able to gain a greater harvest. You might even cross the 100% threshold through this opportunity." Upon hearing Sinful Flame''s words, Yan Tianxing, who stood to one side, nodded his head thoughtfully. As for Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian, they glanced reflexively at Shi Feng in embarrassment. Previously, they hadn''t placed much importance on Shi Feng''s words, treating them as mere chatter. They had failed to realize that Shi Feng was actually giving them pointers. In reality, even Shi Feng was startled by Sinful Flame''s words. After all, he hadn''t been giving any serious advice before, just stating the basic method for utilizing the Legacy Room. Of course, Shi Feng did not show his surprise on his face, simply nodded silently at Sinful Flame''s words. Following which, Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian also entered the Legacy Room one after another. Time flowed like running water, and three days went by quickly. In an ancient forest in the faraway Silvermoon Empire, Violet Light City stood on a mountaintop, overlooking the entire forest. The city teemed with Mythology''s and Violet Sword''s members. Instructor Torre and the others from Violet Sword had arrived quite some time ago and were currently standing above the city''s front gate. "Instructor Torre, everyone''s ready. Now, we''re just waiting for Zero Wing''s members," Crimson Star reported as she approached Torre. "I heard that Mythology partnered with several superpowers. Their raid team attempted the Elite Trial yesterday. The 200-man raid team consisted entirely of bona fide Void Realm experts, some of whom even have fully unlocked Mana Bodies. However, I heard that even a fully unlocked Mana Body was of limited help inside the trial. In the end, Mythology''s raid team failed to defeat the Trial Boss. Although Zero Wing has a lot of experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies, they hardly have any Void Realm experts in the Guild. I wonder if they can even reach the Hero Trial''s Trial Boss?" Wildfighter said, smirking. "I''m afraid that''s going to be difficult. I really don''t know what Black Flame was thinking back then to suggest filling the majority of the raid team with Zero Wing''s members. If he finds out about Mythology''s failure, he''ll most likely die of regret," Crimson Star said, smiling. "Once they team-wipe a few times, I bet he''ll come asking us for reinforcements." The ancient secret land''s Elite Trial already reduced the advantages of a fully unlocked Mana Body by a large margin. If not for Mythology''s raid members having extremely high combat standards, they wouldn''t even have reached the Elite Trial''s Trial Boss, much less get the chance to fight it. If even the Elite Trial placed such a heavy suppression on the Mana Body, the suppression in the Hero Trial would naturally be much greater. In that case, the chances of Zero Wing''s raid teamwhich barely had any peak experts in itmeeting the Hero Trial''s Trial Boss were practically zero. While Wildfighter and Crimson Star were conversing, a steel behemoth and several gigantic Flying Mounts approached Violet Light City, their arrival causing a commotion throughout Violet Light City. 2625 Foolish Azure Chapter 2625 - Foolish Azure "They''re finally here." When Wildfighter saw the approaching Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and Flying Mounts, he revealed a faint smile on his face as he commented, "What a grand entrance. It''s a pity that they don''t know just how much suppression the ancient secret land''s trial places on the Mana Bodies of players. In the end, they''ll just be wasting their time and energy." "Too bad we have to waste our chance to challenge the Hero Trial as well," Crimson Star said, sighing. Although Violet Sword had managed to produce the necessary tools for prolonging players'' survival inside the ancient secret land ahead of schedule, thanks to Silent Wonder''s help, and caught up to Mythology''s production speed, Violet Sword had also lost an opportunity to surpass Mythology. Based on their understanding of the ancient secret land''s Elite Trial, they were bound to conquer it if given another ten days or so. However, the privileges players would obtain from the Elite Trial were far inferior to those of the Hero Trial. "This matter is no longer relevant. Although we will be losing our opportunity to challenge the Hero Trial, Mythology won''t necessarily be able to clear it, either. In the end, our Guilds will end up even," Torre said calmly. Looking at the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship slowly descending from the sky, he continued, "Rather than us, Zero Wing will be the one in great trouble if it fails to conquer the Hero Trial." "That''s right. Zero Wing has most likely made the worst possible decision this time," Wildfighter said, nodding in agreement with Torre''s words. Zero Wing had dispatched over a hundred experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies to challenge the ancient secret land this time. While this would indeed increase Zero Wing''s reputation, it would also attract plenty of hidden dangers to the Guild. In the current God''s Domain, the competition between the various superpowers was intensifying. If a Guild capable of threatening the livelihoods of the superpowers were to appear, the fate of this Guild would go without saying. After today, quite a few superpowers would probably join hands to exterminate this rising threat. Of course, if Zero Wing overcame the Hero Trial, then it would have a much easier time dealing with those future problems. Conversely, failure would mean a nightmare for the Guild. "According to the report we received, Zero Wing has come to an agreement with Azure. In exchange for borrowing Azure''s strength, Zero Wing has agreed to nurture some of Azure''s young talents. If, on top of Azure''s help, Zero Wing asks us to send in a large number of peak experts, Zero Wing might actually have a fighting chance of defeating the Trial Boss," Crimson Star said. "The only question now is whether Zero Wing will make this request or not." "Azure''s leaders have gone insane. While Zero Wing''s top combatants are indeed exceedingly strong, how could Zero Wing possibly be a match for Violet Sword in nurturing talents? Because of this matter, many in the Guild''s upper echelon are very dissatisfied with Azure," Wildfighter said in exasperation. "The Guild Leader also declared that we are to stop nurturing Azure''s young talents from now on. With this, Azure has basically severed Solitary Frost''s and Yan Xiaoqian''s futures." Torre revealed an ugly expression at the mention of this matter. As for Crimson Star, she shook her head and sighed when she thought about the futures of those two talents. Setting aside Azure''s other members, Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian were people capable of catching Torre''s eye. They had the potential to become legendary figures in Azure. This was just like the commander of Violet Sword''s strongest trump card legion. Back then, the commander had similarly caught Torre''s eye. Now, he had already become a legendary figure in Violet Sword, his strength rivaling even the Five Great Super Guilds'' old monsters. Such experts could bring prosperity to an entire Guild. Moreover, Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian''s youth meant they could guarantee stability for Azure for the next two or three decades. Now, however, Azure had personally severed the futures of these two people. During the time Wildfighter and the others were conversing with each other, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and the Flying Mounts landed before Violet Light City''s main gate. A short moment later, cloaked players could be seen alighting from the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and Flying Mounts. These players had used their Black Cloaks to conceal only their statistics; they did not bother covering up their appearances and Guild Emblems, so it was very easy to discern their identities. "It seems Azure is taking its partnership with Zero Wing quite seriously. It actually sent Sinful Flame along on this expedition," Crimson Star exclaimed when she saw Sinful Flame jumping off one of the Flying Mounts. Sinful Flame was well known throughout the western continent. His combat standards and combat power were extraordinary, and even in Violet Sword, one would be hard-pressed to find an expert who could match him. Normally, legendary figures like Sinful Flame would have a high degree of freedom in their Guilds. Only when the Guild encountered truly troublesome matters would they take action. "Sure enough, Solitary Frost has come as well. If he finds out that Floating Light gained an opportunity to receive special training in the ancient secret land because of Azure''s actions, he''ll most likely die of envy," Wildfighter sighed when he noticed Solitary Frost among the Azure members present. Aside from the trial challenges, the ancient secret land also housed a few special locations offering incredible training environments. Only, the price to enter these special locations was stupendous. Originally, out of respect for the Zeus Corporation and Instructor Torre, Violet Sword had been hesitant to assign the last two entry slots it held. However, due to Azure''s recent actions, Violet Sword''s upper echelon decided to grant one of the slots to one of its young talents, Floating Light. In terms of talent, Floating Light was inferior to Solitary Frost. However, because he had received Torre''s personal guidance while training inside the ancient secret land''s special environment, his combat standards had undergone a qualitative transformation. Now, he could partially integrate Bronze Combat Techniques with his Tier 3 Skills. Had Solitary Frost, who possessed superior talents, received the same training as well, his combat power would similarly skyrocket. At that time, Wildfighter might no longer be able to hold back when fighting him. Unfortunately, Solitary Frost missed out on this opportunity. "Instructor Torre, how is the preparation of the special tools coming along?" Shi Feng asked as he arrived before Torre. "They''re all ready," Torre assured. Glancing at the group of nearly 200 players standing behind Shi Feng, he asked, "How many people do you wish us to send, Guild Leader Black Flame?" "What do you think of 30?" Shi Feng replied. After all was said and done, this was a partnership between Zero Wing and Violet Sword. Hence, after giving the matter some thought, he decided to have Violet Sword send 30 players to join the raid team, a number that was neither too high nor too low. With this, when the raid succeeded, Violet Sword wouldn''t seem completely unrelated. The Super Guild should also have no problem dispatching this number of peak experts. "Thirty? That''s fine with us," Torre said while stroking his white beard. He then turned to Wildfighter and Crimson Star and said, "Afterward, you two will personally lead the team and provide your full support to Guild Leader Black Flame." "Understood!" Wildfighter and Crimson Star responded simultaneously. However, when Violet Sword''s experts heard Torre commanding Wildfighter and Crimson Star to participate in the raid, they were baffled. In their opinion, it was already a big deal for Torre to have Vice Commander Floating Light, a Domain Realm expert, take part in the raid. They never thought that he would have two of the Guild''s prestigious instructors participate as well. Anybody capable of becoming an instructor in Violet Sword was part of the core upper echelon of the Guild. Rarely would these individuals lead a Guild expedition. And if they did, the mission would normally be critical. Now, however, Torre was actually sending not one, but two instructors to participate in the raid. If word of this matter spread, it would definitely cause a sensation in the Guild. "Alright, make the necessary preparations according to our previous arrangements," Wildfighter commanded as he looked at the team of experts standing behind him. At Wildfighter''s command, 28 of the peak and apex experts present promptly went into action. "Guild Leader Black Flame, please follow me. We still need to walk quite a distance to reach the secret land''s entrance," Crimson Star said calmly as she approached Shi Feng. "Once we arrive there, I believe all the necessary items should be ready." "Alright, I''ll be troubling you, then," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then had everyone on his team follow Crimson Star into Violet Light City. 2626 Ancient Mana Chapter 2626 - Ancient Mana The sight of Crimson Star guiding Zero Wing''s team through Violet Light City triggered discussions among the players residing in the city. "Who are those people? Violet Sword''s Crimson Star is actually guiding them." "It''s not just Crimson Star. I heard that Violet Sword''s Instructor Torre personally welcomed those people at the front gate just now." "Amazing! Could those people be bigshots of some Super Guild?" Mythology''s members grew curious when they saw Shi Feng''s group. Violet Sword''s members, on the other hand, found this situation astonishing. Crimson Star was one of Violet Sword''s Grand Elders. Even when the Guild Leader of an ordinary superpower visited Violet Sword, she would appear only to give a brief greeting, at most. She definitely wouldn''t take the initiative to guide them. Meanwhile, standing on the walls protecting the ancient castle in the heart of Violet Light City, a team of 30-plus players was quietly observing Shi Feng''s group. Every member of this team was a Tier 3 expert at Level 113 or above. "Zero Wing''s members are finally here," an Assassin youth with two short swords said coldly as he eyed Shi Feng with killing intent. "Sandstorm, you''d better not do anything rash. They are currently Violet Sword''s guests," a tall woman carrying a war hammer and a sturdy shield, standing beside the youth, warned. "Relax. I know that much," Sandstorm assured as he concealed his killing intent. "However, our agreement with Violet Sword is limited to the city. Once they enter the secret land, they''ll be fair game. At that time, we''ll get our revenge for the humiliation we suffered at the Starlight Fortress! I''m going to teach Zero Wing how foolish it is to offend our vice commander!" "That''s for sure," the tall woman said, nodding. "Although the vice commander''s orders were to investigate first what Zero Wing and Violet Sword are up to inside the secret land before taking action against them, I''m sure she won''t say anything about it if we just take care of Zero Wing as soon as they enter the secret land. After all, the Demon God has clearly specified that if we manage to kill Black Flame even once, we''ll receive a large number of Contribution Points and be able to train in the battlefields inside the Demon God''s Shrine. If we bring him to the Demon God, we can even receive the Demon God''s Legacy directly." "Previously, Black Flame only managed to win against us because of his fully unlocked Mana Body. However, he won''t be as lucky this time," Sandstorm said, a smirk appearing on his face. "This time, he''ll learn what true despair feels like!" The Demon God''s Shrine was an extraordinary training ground, which was something every superpower on the western continent knew. However, most superpowers were still unaware that the Demon God''s Shrine contained some Legacies related to unlocking the Mana Body, which one could obtain only by completing one of the Ten Great Quests offered in the shrine. Mythology was one of the few superpowers that had managed to complete one of the Ten Great Quests and obtain a Mana Body Legacy. As a result, Sandstorm and a few other members in Mythology had already fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. With the support of the Super Guild''s special Advanced Battle Array, their combat power had now reached a completely different level. Just their team of 30-plus players were more than capable of defeating the entirety of Netherworld Empire''s Hell Legion. During the time Sandstorm and the other members of Mythology were discussing how to attack Zero Wing''s group, Shi Feng and the others had arrived before the ancient secret land''s entrance, which was inside the central castle. The entrance to the secret land was a spatial tear leading to the Otherworld where the ancient city stood. Normally, spatial tears were incredibly unstable. However, a magic array had been laid to stabilize the spatial tear, so instability was not a problem. Unfortunately, due to the ravages of time, the magic array was no longer as powerful as it was before. Now, it could grant the teleportation mark, which held the spatial coordinates of the ancient secret land, to only a maximum of 400 players that entered the spatial tear. These teleportation marks would be replenished only after the players that held these marks had left the secret land. So, this is an ancient secret land? When Shi Feng arrived before the spatial tear and sensed the Mana flowing from it, he was astonished. In the past, he had only heard and seen pictures of Violet Sword''s ancient secret land. He had never experienced it. Now, just brushing against the excess Mana flowing from the ancient secret land filled him with energy. If even the effects of the excess Mana were already so potent, Shi Feng found it difficult to imagine how standing inside the ancient secret land itself would feel like. For a moment, he wished he could stay inside the ancient secret land forever. "Guild Leader Black Flame, here is your alchemy array," Crimson Star said as she handed a black cylinder to Shi Feng. "Make sure to use it before you enter. It will help you fend off the overly strong Mana inside and prevent you from exploding from Mana Overload. At the same time, it will allow you to regulate the flow of your Mana effectively so that you won''t die from energy exhaustion." "Thanks." Shi Feng nodded and accepted the black cylinder from Crimson Star. He then activated the magic array on the device. A special rune appeared on his body, followed by a faint layer of light wrapped around him. Although the ancient secret land was an excellent location for training, for current players, it was both a curse and a blessing. Incredibly dense Mana filled the ancient secret land. The ambient Mana in the secret land was so dense that players would have their Mana''s volume and flow rate forcibly increased to a point where they would lose control over their own Mana. As a result, their energy consumption rate would increase drastically, which led to death by starvation within half an hour of entering the ancient secret land. If players wished to survive inside the ancient secret land for longer periods, they had to rely on alchemy arrays to regulate their Mana. Even so, players could remain inside the ancient secret land for only seven days. The alchemy array used was a Consumable. Hence, Violet Sword was desperately trying to increase the production speed and volume of this alchemy array. Otherwise, even if they held the ancient secret land, they could only stare at it. After Shi Feng and his group were all ready, Crimson Star led them into the spatial tear and disappeared from the castle. Everyone was immediately teleported to a dense forest. All around them were ancient trees towering over 100 meters. Translucent crystals adorned these trees, giving the trees and the forest a mesmerizing beauty. The Mana inside the forest was also so dense that it had condensed into white mist. However, despite the white mist, everyone''s vision remained unaffected. During the time everyone was enjoying the scenery around them, a roar suddenly came from a distance and echoed throughout the forest. Upon turning toward the origin of the roar, everyone quickly noticed a 200-meter-tall, one-horned bear fighting an equally tall, six-eyed ape. Every one of the two beasts'' actions shook the entire forest and deformed the terrain around the monsters. "Damn it! Why are two Region Chiefs fighting each other?!" Crimson Star frowned as she watched the battle of the two giant behemoths. The ancient secret land was an incredibly dangerous place. Not only were there plenty of monsters here, but each region in the secret land would have a powerful Boss ruling over it; Violet Sword and Mythology had labeled these Bosses Region Chiefs. The weakest among these Region Chiefs was already a Level 120 Mythic monster with combat standards at the Trial Tower''s sixth floor. In addition, all monsters found within the ancient secret land had incredibly powerful bodies; even an ordinary Level 120 Mythic monster here could rival a Level 120 Mythic ranked Archaic Species found in the outside world. Normally, both Violet Sword''s and Mythology''s members would do their best to avoid these Region Chiefs when visiting the ancient secret land. The reason for this wasn''t just the high casualty rate incidental to challenging these Region Chiefs. There was also the fact that fights with these Region Chiefs would attract the attention of nearby monsters. Players that fought a Region Chief would end up having to fight a continuously increasing number of monsters and eventually suffer annihilation. Two Region Chiefs appearing in this location could be considered to be the worst-case scenario. In the outside world, there were indeed instances where players could take advantage of monsters fighting each other. However, the monsters inside the ancient secret land were incredibly smart. So long as they sensed the presence of players, they would promptly stop fighting each other and cooperate to kill the intruding players first before resuming their fight. They wouldn''t give players any opportunities to take advantage of at all. "Why is our luck so horrid? We actually came across two Region Chiefs having a territorial battle," Sandstorm, who was currently hidden on a tree some distance away from Shi Feng''s group, complained in frustration when he saw the two fighting behemoths straying closer to his team''s position. "Alright, forget about Zero Wing for now. We need to leave this place quickly. We''ll be doomed if those two Region Chiefs discover us," the tall, female Guardian Knight standing beside Sandstorm said. "I know!" Sandstorm said, gritting his teeth as he shot a glare at the distant Shi Feng. As Sandstorm''s group was preparing to leave the area, Crimson Star also had everyone on the team prepare for a hasty retreat. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we need to leave this area fast. We''ll be in trouble if we stay here any longer," Crimson Star said hurriedly as she looked at Shi Feng, who was still quietly observing the two battling Region Chiefs. "Shouldn''t that way be the shortest path to the ancient city?" Shi Feng asked as he pointed toward the two behemoths. "If we circle around them, wouldn''t we need to waste half a day?" "That is, indeed, the shortest path to the ancient city, but if we get caught by those two Region Chiefs, instead of wasting half a day, all of us will end up dying here," Crimson Star snapped in exasperation when she heard that Shi Feng was actually still planning to take this route to the ancient city. However, she also understood Shi Feng''s thoughts. They could stay inside the ancient secret land for only seven days. If they wasted half a day on a detour, they would be under much greater pressure when raiding the Hero Trial. After all, with how many monsters there were inside the trial, they would need five or six days just to reach the Trial Boss. Moreover, the two Region Chiefs were Mythic Bosses. In the outside world, coming across two Mythic Bosses would be akin to hitting the jackpot. However, they were currently inside the ancient secret land, facing monsters far stronger than those in the outside world. Challenging two Mythic Bosses simultaneously would simply be suicide. Otherwise, Violet Sword wouldn''t have to be so careful when exploring the ancient secret land. "Guild Leader Black Flame, let''s leave. If we don''t go now, we''ll enter the perception range of those two Region Chiefs," Wildfighter advised urgently. "Our main goal is to clear the trial. We don''t need to fight those two Region Chiefs." "I guess you''re right. We don''t need to fight those two," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then turned to look at Crimson Star and Wildfighter and added, "I''ll lure them away. Use this opportunity to sneak past them." After saying so, Shi Feng dashed straight for the two behemoths. 2627 Shi Fengs Sword Chapter 2627 - Shi Feng''s Sword Upon seeing Shi Feng charging toward the two distant behemoths, Crimson Star and Wildfighter turned pale. "He''s insane!" Crimson Star cursed when she saw that Shi Feng had already gotten over 100 yards away. Immediately, she turned to the rest of the team and ordered, "Everyone, retreat together with Floating Light! Do not stop for anything! Retreat to Violet Light City! Wildfighter, hold the rear with me!" "Got it!" Wildfighter responded and unsheathed his weapon, a solemn expression appearing on his face. In this situation, Violet Sword''s members could not help growing nervous. As for Sandstorm and the other members of Mythology spectating from a distance, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw Shi Feng''s actions. "That crazy Black Flame! He''s actually charging to the two Region Chiefs!" Sandstorm cursed. Then, he commanded hastily, "Hurry! Retreat quickly!" As soon as Sandstorm finished speaking, Mythology''s members, who had been preparing to retreat from the area already, picked up their pace with serious expressions. "Black Flame truly is insane. He''s actually planning to drag everyone down with him! Did Violet Sword''s people not warn him about the Region Chiefs here?" the tall, female Guardian Knight grumbled, similarly cursing at Shi Feng as she jumped down from the tree she had been standing on. The Region Chiefs of the ancient secret land were considerably stronger than Mythic monsters found in the outside world. In terms of Strength and speed, they were at least 30% better. Trying to take on just one of these Region Chiefs with a 200-man, Tier 3 team was already an incredibly difficult task, incurring plenty of casualties. When coupled with the endless stream of other monsters that would continuously join in on the battle, any team that tried to challenge a Region Chief was doomed. However, what made the ancient secret land''s Region Chiefs truly difficult to deal with wasn''t their physical prowess but their massive perception range. When these Region Chiefs fought players, they could manipulate all the Mana within a 5,000-yard radius, relying on this Mana to detect all movements within range. One could say that, so long as there were players within a Region Chief''s passive perception range of 500 yards or players fighting a Region Chief, then all players within a 5,000-yard radius of the Region Chief would become its targets. If players failed to kill the aggravated Region Chief, then they wouldn''t be able to shake off its pursuit. This was also the reason why Mythology and Violet Sword had labeled the Mythic Bosses in the ancient secret land Region Chiefs. Normally, teams that accidentally came across a Region Chief were still fine. The majority of the team''s members had a chance to escape with their lives. However, only annihilation awaited teams that came across two Region Chiefs simultaneously. Even before the female Guardian Knight finished speaking, Mythology''s members had already turned tail and run. However, after everyone had taken just a few strides, the Mana around them suddenly stirred. At the same time, they felt as if a pair of eyes were looking down on them. Obviously, the two Region Chiefs had already locked on to their life auras. "Damn it! Everyone, split up and retreat! Every survivor counts!" Sandstorm yelled. When he looked at Shi Feng''s distant figure, he felt himself going crazy. For a moment, he even suspected that Shi Feng had deliberately provoked the two Region Chiefs. Meanwhile, when Crimson Star and the others saw the two Region Chiefs suddenly stop fighting and rapidly head in their direction, their complexions darkened. If they could not put a 5,000-yard distance between themselves and the two Bosses, they had no hope of escaping the battle at all. A 5,000-yard distance! Even Tier 3 experts like themselves would still take quite some time to cover 5,000 yards. To make matters worse, tools were ineffective inside the ancient secret land, so they couldn''t teleport away or accelerate their retreat from the battlefield. "Crazy bastard! He''s going to get us all killed!" Floating Light, who was already retreating, cursed when he felt the two Region Chiefs locking on to his life aura. Although players wouldn''t lose an entire level from dying inside the ancient secret land, the amount of EXP lost was still not a trivial matter. After all, at their level, just leveling up once took a lot of time. Hence, even a small percentage of their EXP equaled one or two days'' worth of hard work. As Floating Light was leading the retreat of Violet Sword''s members, he suddenly noticed something: Zero Wing''s and Azure''s members were actually still standing in their original positions. It was as if they had not heard Crimson Star''s orders at all. "What are they doing? Are they planning to die with Black Flame?" Floating Light was baffled as he looked at Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian. Setting the others aside, it was incredibly strange for Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian to defy Crimson Star. After all, the two of them were geniuses that had trained under Crimson Star during their sojourn at Violet Sword. The two of them knew very clearly how powerful and capable Crimson Star was. Crimson Star''s calling for a retreat showed just how dangerous their current situation was, yet Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian had actually disobeyed her command and remained where they were. Moreover, they wore indescribably calm expressions, their reactions making it seem as if nothing was happening. "Vice Commander, let''s quickly retreat. This is Zero Wing and Azure''s matter. Instructor Crimson Star and Instructor Wildfighter won''t be able to hold off those two Region Chiefs for very long," a retreating Tier 3 Assassin urged hurriedly when he noticed Floating Light pause. "I guess you''re right," Floating Light said, nodding before resuming his retreat. At the same time, he could not help glancing at Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian with pity. Originally, with Solitary Frost''s and Yan Xiaoqian''s talents, they should''ve been able to shine brightly in God''s Domain. However, their futures were now ruined because they belonged to a Guild like the Azure Chamber of Commerce and followed an unreliable team leader like Shi Feng. However, Floating Light had just taken a few steps forward when the deafening roar of a bear came from behind him and echoed throughout the forest, causing it to tremble. Immediately afterward, a beam of Mana shot past the area beside Floating Light''s group, leaving behind a massive trench on the ground it passed through. Seen from afar, the ground looked like pudding that a spoon had scraped. "The fight started?" Floating Light''s complexion further darkened as he took in the massive trench a short distance away. This was the power of the ancient secret land''s Mythic monsters. Any random attack of theirs could transform the terrain around them. Let alone one person, even a 100-man, Tier 3 expert team would be cannon fodder in front of these Region Chiefs. If one really wished to take on a Region Chief, they would need a 200-man team of Tier 3 peak experts at the very minimum. Moreover, the team would need two or three Domain Realm MTs working together to tank the Region Chief. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to stop the Boss''s attacks adequately. In fact, even a single mistake might result in a team-wipe. After Floating Light''s group ran for another 50 yards or so, a lightning bolt suddenly shot past them some distance away, followed by the ear-splitting crack of thunder. As the thunder faded, the sky above them darkened abruptly. In the next moment, the 200-meter-tall, six-eyed gorilla went flying overhead and crashed heavily into the ground a few hundred yards ahead of them, the ground shattering at the impact. As for the giant gorilla, it stumbled quite a bit as it landed and very nearly lost its footing. After stabilizing itself, the gorilla glared into the distance before releasing a deafening roar. It then charged forward, completely ignoring Floating Light and the other members of Violet Sword, who stood only a short distance away from it. "This What is going on?" Floating Light was confounded by this situation. Violet Sword''s other peak experts similarly could not help rubbing their eyes, thinking that they were hallucinating. However, no matter how much they rubbed, the several massive craters the six-eyed gorilla''s feet left behind did not disappear. Before Floating Light and the others could react to this unexpected development, though, another deafening boom and the snapping of trees entered their ears. However, these sounds came from quite a distance away. There should still be some separation between the origin of these sounds and the six-eyed gorilla that had just charged past them. Floating Light and the others turn around reflexively, looking for the origin of these sounds. They spotted a cloaked man wielding two longswords standing atop a tree. Meanwhile, some distance away from this Swordsman was a gigantic bear that had just steadied itself, glaring hatefully at him. The six-eyed gorilla was also stalking toward this man, seemingly searching for an opportunity to strike at him. However, Floating Light and the others could also see a hint of fear in the one-horned bear''s and six-eyed gorilla''s eyes. It was clear that the two Region Chiefs were afraid of the tiny human on the tree. 2628 Suppressing the Region Chiefs Chapter 2628 - Suppressing the Region Chiefs Floating Light and the other members of Violet Light gaped in shock at the man standing atop the gigantic tree that was over a hundred meters tall. "Just how high is his Strength?" Those were two Level 120-plus Region Chiefs! Either of those Region Chiefs could wipe out a 200-man, Tier 3 team of peak experts. Facing both Region Chiefs, even a team of such caliber was sure to get annihilated. At this moment, however, Shi Feng had single-handedly suppressed and even repelled the two Region Chiefs. This was simply unbelievable. "Is this why they didn''t retreat before?" When Floating Light looked at the two Region Chiefs warily eyeing Shi Feng and thought back to the fact that Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian had not moved even after Crimson Star gave the command to retreat, realization immediately dawned upon him. With such a monstrous team leader, there was indeed no need to retreat. At this moment, Floating Light and the other retreating members of Violet Sword weren''t the only ones shocked by this situation. Crimson Star and Wildfighter, who were planning to hold the rear, as well as the frantically retreating members of Mythology, nearly had their eyes fall out of their sockets when this incredible scene played out before them. "What did he do during this period?! How did he raise his Strength Attribute to such an extent?!" Sandstorm''s heart roiled with shock as he stared at Shi Feng. During the fight at the Starlight Fortress, the Strength Shi Feng displayed was just close to reaching the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, he had relied on his fully unlocked Mana Body to do so. However, just how long had passed since that fight? In Sandstorm''s opinion, even if Shi Feng were incredibly lucky and obtained one or two pieces of Epic Equipment or gained some special encounters, he would be fortunate to match the Strength of Tier 4 Mythic monsters of the same level. At this moment, however, Shi Feng''s Strength had actually grown to a level where he could overwhelm even the Region Chiefs of the ancient secret land. However, before anyone could snap out of their stupor, the two Region Chiefs took action once more. Firstly, the one-horned bear let loose an angry roar before slamming its front paws into the ground and shattering it. A twofold magic array then formed beneath Shi Feng''s feet, covering a 300-yard radius. Immediately afterward, thick, stone walls emerged, bordering the magic array and enveloping Shi Feng completely. Tier 4 Spell, Earth''s Embrace! As the one-horned bear was taking action, the six-eyed gorilla leaped into the sky above Shi Feng. The gorilla then summoned a crimson magic array with a 400-yard radius above the Swordsman. Tier 4 Spell, Fire Dragon''s Descent! In the next moment, a Fire Dragon larger than the six-eyed gorilla and made entirely out of flames emerged from the magic array. It spread its wings as it descended toward Shi Feng. "Those two Region Chiefs actually know how to coordinate their Spells?!" "Crap! That''s cheating! Shouldn''t Mythic Bosses be upright and use Spells in turns?!" Everyone was stunned when they saw the two Region Chiefs'' coordinated assault. Coordinating Skills and Spells was an extremely common thing for players. However, this was the first time they had seen monsters, particularly Tier 4 Bosses, do so. Hence, everyone could not help despairing at the sight. For Tier 3 players like themselves, just one Tier 4 Spell was already plenty difficult to deal with. If not handled appropriately, the result would very likely be an instant team-wipe. If they had to go up against two coordinated Tier 4 Spells, even Tier 3 MTs with their Lifesaving Skills activated would be killed instantly, unless they had Invulnerability Skills or Spells. "It''s really over this time" Crimson Star shook her head and sighed when she saw the two coordinated Tier 4 Spells. If it were her, she could defend against one Tier 4 Spell using a Tier 3 Curse. However, even she would be powerless against two Tier 4 AOE Spells. This didn''t mean that she had just one Tier 3 Curse in her arsenal of Spells; in fact, she had several. Currently, however, it was simply impossible for herand most likely all magical-class players in God''s Domainto double-cast two Tier 3 Curses. "Hahaha! So what if you have amazing Strength?! Let''s see how you deal with this!" Sandstorm burst out in laughter when he saw the two Region Chiefs'' coordinated assault on Shi Feng. The Swordsman''s Strength had indeed exceeded his expectations. In fact, he felt powerless when he witnessed Shi Feng''s fearsome display, and it was definitely impossible for them to exact revenge on him this time. However, being able to see the two Region Chiefs killing Shi Feng now wasn''t a bad outcome, either. After all, he knew that, because of the Demon God''s curse, the Swordsman would suffer triple the death penalty every time he died. Although they were currently inside the ancient secret land where the death penalty was not as stringent as that in the outside world, a triple death penalty would still deal Shi Feng a heavy blow. However, while everyone was looking at the gigantic Fire Dragon descending toward Shi Feng, the Swordsman surprisingly maintained his composure. Moreover, aside from Shi Feng, the spectating members of Zero Wing and Azure also remained indescribably calm in this situation. "Finally, a chance!" Solitary Frost muttered as he watched Shi Feng closely, his eyes glittering with joy and excitement. At this moment, aside from Solitary Frost, everyone else from the Azure Chamber of Commerce also had excited expressions. "What''s wrong with them?" Floating Light was perplexed as he looked at Solitary Frost and the others. Shi Feng was about to die here, yet Solitary Frost and the others were actually feeling excited about it? "Come!" While Floating Light was fraught with confusion, Shi Feng made his move. In the next moment, Shi Feng sheathed Killing Ray and held the Abyssal Blade with both hands. He then jumped up from the treetop, propelling himself straight toward the descending Fire Dragon. "He''s going to resist the attack head-on?" Floating Light could not help but disapprove of Shi Feng''s decision when he saw the Swordsman heading for the Fire Dragon. A Tier 4 Spell could exhibit much greater power than a Mythic monster could with its physical body. This was especially true in the ancient secret land''s environment. Due to the abundant Mana here, Skills and Spells would exhibit much greater power than they normally could in the outside world. A Tier 4 Spell cast by a Mythic monster could instantly kill a Tier 3 MT who had a Lifesaving Skill activated. Just as Shi Feng was about to collide with the Fire Dragon, he suddenly raised the Abyssal Blade overhead and swung it at the Fire Dragon. "Shatter!" The phantom of a gigantic greatsword suddenly appeared in the sky, creating a pitch-black wall there as it slashed toward the descending Fire Dragon. First Sword, Lightshadow! In the next moment, the pitch-black wall not only bisected the Fire Dragon but also continued extending toward the six-eyed gorilla hovering over a hundred yards above the Fire Dragon. Upon seeing the approach of the pitch-black wall, the six-eyed gorilla panicked and instinctively tried to flee the area. However, the pitch-black wall extended far too rapidly. Even though the six-eyed gorilla flew as fast as it could, it still failed to outmaneuver the pitch-black wall and ended up getting one of its arms cut off. The six-eyed gorilla let loose an agonized shriek that echoed throughout the forest at the grievous injury. Shortly afterward, an arm the size of a mountain fell into the forest below; a massive crater formed around the arm from the force of the impact. As for the six-eyed gorilla, it plummeted to the ground and tumbled helplessly for some distance. Due to the loss of its arm, the gorilla''s combat power also decreased significantly. 2629 Ancient Secret Lands Power Chapter 2629 - Ancient Secret Land''s Power "How is this possible?!" "That''s a Mythic monster we''re talking about! How could a Tier 3 player like him break through its defensive threshold?!" Crimson Star and Wildfighter could not believe their eyes as they watched the tumbling six-eyed gorilla. Not only had Shi Feng shattered a Tier 4 Spell with a single move, but he had even used the same move to injure the six-eyed gorilla severely. On paper, the gorilla had only lost around 500,000 HP from the attackwhich was nothing compared to its two billion HPbut in reality, his attack had caused far more damage than that. There were two general types of attacks in God''s Domain. The first type reduced the HP of the target, while the other weakened the target''s defenses. In the case of the former, if the target''s HP fell to zero, then they would die. In the case of the latter, if the target had its defenses destroyed, then its physical body would suffer damage, which would, in turn, reduce the target''s combat power, as well as the difficulty of killing said target. Only, it was incredibly difficult for players to execute attacks capable of destroying a monster''s defenses, particularly those of high-ranking monsters, as the stronger a monster was, the higher its defensive threshold would be. Normally, players couldn''t destroy the defenses of a monster of the same tier, much less those of a higher tier. The best players could do against higher-tiered monsters was cause minor injuries and continuously stack these minor injuries to reduce the monster''s combat power. Against the six-eyed gorilla, only an attack carrying power at the Peak Tier 4 standard had a chance of overwhelming its defensive threshold. However, despite being a Tier 3 player, Shi Feng had actually managed this feat without resorting to external tools. This was inconceivable! Meanwhile, when Sandstorm and the other members of Mythology saw this scene, they, too, gaped in shock. "Can he still be considered a player?" There were no words to describe the shock Sandstorm felt as he gazed at Shi Feng right now. In the eyes of ordinary players, having the ability to surpass a monster''s defensive threshold only meant that they could reduce the combat power of the target monster. However, for peak experts and apex experts, who frequently fought high-tiered monsters, having such an ability held an entirely different meaning! For peak experts and apex experts, having such an ability meant that they could solo-kill monsters! The monsters in God''s Domain were born with high HP and Defense, particularly HP. Even if players could inflict over a million damage with their attacks, this amount of damage was nothing for high-tiered monsters like Mythic monsters; such damage wouldn''t overcome the monster''s battle recovery. An army of players was necessary to kill high-tiered monsters. Hence, in God''s Domain, it was common knowledge that even if a player''s raw power surpassed that of high-tiered monsters, solo-killing these monsters would still be impossible, especially Grand Lords or higher-ranked monsters. This held true even for current Tier 3 players. However, there was one method that players could use to defeat such high-tiered monsters: executing attacks surpassing the target monster''s defensive threshold! Attacks that surpassed a monster''s defensive threshold could inflict severe injuries on the monster''s physical body. Moreover, after injuring a monster up to a certain point, aside from reducing the monster''s combat power, players could also force monsters into a Weakened state, which would drastically reduce their Defense and maximum HP. If players managed to corner a monster to the point where it entered a Heavily Weakened state, they could even impose the HP Loss debuff on the target monster and thoroughly nullify the monster''s battle recovery. If a monster lost its battle recovery, which was also its strongest ability, solo-killing it would no longer be impossible. With sufficient Stamina and Concentration, players could slowly but surely grind the monster to death. Now that Shi Feng was capable of surpassing the six-eyed gorilla''s defensive threshold, this meant that Shi Feng could solo-kill it. Meanwhile, a player having the ability to solo-kill a Tier 4 Mythic monster was simply unheard-of in God''s Domain. At this moment, however, let alone the spectating players, even Shi Feng himself found this situation astonishing. Why did Lightshadow''s destructive power increase by so much? Shi Feng was confused as he looked at the six-eyed gorilla''s severed arm. Judging by the damage to its HP, my attack''s raw power should still be far from the Peak Tier 4 standard. Lightshadow should be just slightly stronger than a Tier 4 Spell, yet the actual destruction it caused is no different from that of a Peak Tier 4 attack. Could this be due to the ancient secret land''s environment? Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was analyzing the situation, the one-horned bear rushed toward him. The bear''s gigantic frame made it seem as if a small mountain was charging at him. In fact, there was even the vague image of a mountain overlapping with the one-horned bear''s figure. Tier 4 Skill, Crumbling Mountain! The AOE of the one-horned bear''s attack covered a 50-yard radius. Shi Feng responded by raising the Abyssal Blade above his head once more. Lightshadow! When using Lightshadow this time, however, Shi Feng placed the majority of his focus on perceiving the Mana around himself. He wanted to see just what was enabling his Mana Technique to exhibit such immense power. When Shi Feng started swinging the Abyssal Blade, another pitch-black wall formed on the battlefield, shattered the phantom mountain, and subsequently landed on the one-horned bear''s left shoulder. Roar! When the pitch-black wall cut into the one-horned bear''s shoulder, the bear let loose an agonized howl. Its HP also instantly fell by more than 620,000. Although Shi Feng''s attack this time did not sever the one-horned bear''s left arm, it prevented the bear from freely moving its injured arm. Now, the bear could rely on only its two legs and one arm to stabilize itself. After suffering this grievous injury, the one-horned bear continuously growled at Shi Feng angrily. However, fear was also clear in the bear''s eyes. Upon seeing this scene, Floating Light and those of Violet Sword who were retreating were dumbfounded once more. "How is this possible?! That move just now wasn''t a Skill?!" Floating Light felt as if his worldview had been refreshed when he saw the one-horned bear daunted by Shi Feng. In Floating Light''s opinion, the attack Shi Feng used to injure the six-eyed gorilla heavily should be a special Skill. Otherwise, there was no way the attack could be so powerful. However, only two or three seconds after Shi Feng retaliated against the six-eyed gorilla, the Swordsman was using the same move against the one-horned bear. There was no way such a powerful Skill could have such a brief Cooldown. The only explanation for this situation was that Shi Feng wasn''t using a Skill or Spell, but a special technique instead. By simply relying on a special technique, Shi Feng was actually capable of heavily injuring Mythic monsters. Moreover, these Mythic monsters were even the ancient secret land''s Region Chiefs. Nobody would believe Floating Light if he told this tale to others. After repelling the one-horned bear, Shi Feng himself was stunned as well. So, this is the reason why the ancient secret land can help players reach Tier 4? Shi Feng thought as he looked at the closing spatial tear before him. In God''s Domain, the greatest difference separating Tier 3 and Tier 4 players wasn''t the difference in physique, but the degree of control they had over Mana and their application of it. To be precise, it was the degree of control over and application of ambient Mana. Controlling and utilizing ambient Mana might be something players had started doing since the start of the game, but the standard at which Tier 0 players did it was only at the most basic level. Their efficiency in utilizing Mana was extremely low. Hence, players needed to rely on the Mana of their fully unlocked Mana Bodies to guide and utilize the ambient Mana for their own use. To put it simply, players had to rely on their own Mana Bodies to integrate and convert ambient Mana into their own Mana. By doing so, one would be able to maximize the power they could exhibit with their Mana. However, integrating ambient Mana was a challenge. Without guidelines or Legacies in the outside world to teach players how to accomplish this, players could only rely on themselves to learn how to do so. However, while carefully observing the second Lightshadow he executed, Shi Feng noticed something peculiar about the Mana around him. The ancient secret land''s ambient Mana had actually taken the initiative to integrate itself with his Mana. This development had drastically increased the amount of ambient Mana he could manipulate and, in turn, boosted the power of Lightshadow significantly. However, as he wasn''t actively executing this Mana Integration, his Mana usage efficiency was still very low. The additional ambient Mana he managed to manipulate had increased only Lightshadow''s destructive power, not the Mana Technique''s strength. This was akin to putting an edge on a weapon. While he might have increased the weapon''s destructive power, the weapon itself remained unchanged. Even so, this was an incredibly precious situation. After all, there was almost no information available in the outside world that could help players achieve Mana Integration. Now that the Mana here was actively integrating itself with his Mana, he could gain some hints on how to do so and increase his learning efficiency. Following which, Shi Feng stopped dwelling on this matter. Instead, he executed Lightshadow two more times to chop off one leg each from the one-horned bear and six-eyed gorilla. "The mobility of these two Region Chiefs has already been greatly reduced! Let''s go!" Shi Feng said as he turned to Crimson Star and Wildfighter, who were still in a daze. After saying so, Shi Feng promptly ran toward the ancient city, ignoring the two Region Chiefs. "He got through, just like that?" Crimson Star and Wildfighter were at a loss for words when they goggled at the two Region Chiefs, which were warily watching Shi Feng leave without making a move. They were currently inside the extremely dangerous ancient secret land, and their opponents were even two Region Chiefs, and yet However, Crimson Star and Wildfighter did not linger over this topic for long. They quickly instructed everyone else on the team to ignore the two Region Chiefs and follow Shi Feng. Now that the two Region Chiefs had each lost a leg, their mobility was greatly impeded compared to before. It would be almost impossible for them to catch up with Tier 3 players running at full speed. The team could easily escape the two Region Chiefs'' perception range before they fully recovered. "Team Leader, are we still chasing them?" a Tier 3 Ranger from Mythology asked Sandstorm when he saw Shi Feng''s team leaving. "Of course, we are!" Sandstorm said as he glared at the Tier 3 Ranger. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I admit that Black Flame''s combat power is at inhuman levels, but he is only one person. Even if we can''t kill Black Flame, I refuse to believe that we can''t handle the other players on his team! So long as we get rid of everyone else, Black Flame''s plans here will be ruined!" After saying so, Sandstorm started chasing Shi Feng''s team, together with the other 30-plus members of Mythology. 2630 Tier 4 Divine Will Chapter 2630 - Tier 4 Divine Will While the ancient secret land might be known as a secret land, it was several times larger than a large-scale map in the outside world, essentially a miniature world. Even though Shi Feng and the others were Tier 3 players, since they were prohibited from using Mounts, they ended up running for more than half a day to reach a majestic city in the middle of a canyon. The city in question had several layers of magic barriers as defense. Through the translucent barriers, one could see multiple Magic Towers and buildings several hundred meters tall. There were even floating buildings that could not be found in any of the kingdoms and empires on the main continent. This city was far more developed than even the capitals of kingdoms and empires. Shi Feng was shocked when he laid eyes on this majestic ancient city for the first time. Even while standing several thousand yards away from the city, he could already feel a frightening pressure constantly bearing down on his body, making his body indescribably heavy. If Tier 2 players were subjected to this pressure, they wouldn''t be able to approach the city at all. "Be careful of those statues erected behind the city walls. Although there are magic arrays suppressing the power of those statues, if you look at them for too long, you''ll fall into a Mentally Weakened state," Crimson Star warned the curious crowd behind her. "If that happens, you''ll need four or five days to recover. Let alone challenging the trial, you might not even have enough time to make it out of the secret land." Those statues will cause players to fall into a Mentally Weakened state? Upon hearing Crimson Star''s words, Shi Feng could not help taking a closer look at the stone statues enveloped by magic arrays. As soon as he did so, he felt a frightening spiritual pressure invading his mind. At the same time, the figure of an ancient being appeared briefly before his mind''s eye. Shi Feng''s heart palpitated from this mental pressure. Fortunately, his mind was able to resist it, if just barely. Tier 4 Divine Will? Shi Feng was somewhat surprised at the mental pressure the statues were exuding. No wonder Violet Sword was able to produce so many Tier 4 experts back then. At this point, Ancient Gods had long since withdrawn from the main continent of God''s Domain. Now, it was incredibly difficult to meet even Demigods there. However, before disappearing, many Ancient Gods had left behind Legacies in dangerous locations. Meanwhile, these Legacy locations generally possessed Divine Will. On the surface, the Divine Wills in these Legacy locations functioned to inflict powerful mental pressure on trespassers and deter casual approach or observation of the Legacy locations. However, Divine Will also had a very useful function for players: the tempering of Concentration! In God''s Domain, players'' Stamina and Concentration were considered Hidden Attributes and were incredibly difficult to raise. This was especially true for the Concentration Attribute. Aside from tier promotions, there were no clear methods that players could use to raise their Concentration. Originally, Concentration was an Attribute few players paid attention to, as they would generally run out of Stamina before they would Concentration. However, as more and more players started learning combat techniques, everyone finally understood the importance of Concentration. With stronger Concentration, not only could players afford to execute many more combat techniques, but they could also reduce the Stamina and Concentration consumption of combat techniques. Most importantly, powerful combat techniques required sufficiently high Concentration. Unfortunately, there weren''t many known methods that players could use to reliably increase their Concentration. Generally, players could only rely on raising their tiers or improving their brain activity to do so. However, as more and more experts came into contact with ancient locations and Divine Will, they had discovered an astonishing matterDivine Will could actually be used to raise the maximum limit of players'' Concentration. Although the improvements were small, players would eventually receive an impressive boost to their Concentration over time. However, Divine Will wasn''t something that easily found. Moreover, Divine Will couldn''t improve a player''s Concentration in perpetuity. The improvements players could receive from the Divine Will would differ depending on its strength. If players already possessed very powerful Concentration, certain Divine Wills might not even be effective on them. Meanwhile, the statues erected within the ancient city contained Divine Will capable of tempering players'' Concentration up to the Tier 4 standard; hence, Shi Feng had referred to it as Tier 4 Divine Will. If a Tier 3 player could elevate their Concentration to the Tier 4 standard, it would be of tremendous help when challenging the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. With stronger Concentration, players could better control their body, Strength, and Mana. They would be able to exhibit much greater potential than they used to. However, due to the magic arrays enveloping those statues, the Divine Will the statues emitted was heavily suppressed. While this weakened Divine Will might be effective on ordinary Tier 3 players, it would be almost no help to Tier 3 peak experts. Tier 3 peak experts that tried to temper themselves using this Divine Will would only exhaust their Concentration to no avail. "Guild Leader Black Flame, ahead of us is the entrance to the trial grounds," Crimson Star said as she pointed at a gigantic gate nearby. "As we are challenging the Hero Trial, we have only one opportunity. If we team-wipe inside, we won''t be able to enter the trial grounds anymore. However, so long as we have even one person alive, even if everyone else on the team dies, we can still enter the trial grounds after getting automatically resurrected outside. Only, the resurrection period within the ancient secret land is very longone full dayso everyone needs to be careful while inside." It might be fine if they were challenging the Normal Trial, but they had only one opportunity to challenge the Hero Trial. If the players on their team kept dying, they definitely wouldn''t be able to clear the Hero Trial before the effects of their alchemy arrays ran out. Hence, when challenging the Hero Trial, controlling the casualty rate was crucial. This was also the reason why she wanted to avoid the Region Chiefs. Had their team gotten annihilated by the two Region Chiefs back then, they would''ve had to wait one full day before they could head to the trial grounds. "I understand," Shi Feng said, nodding. Since Shi Feng already understood her intentions, Crimson Star did not say anything more. After all, experts of Shi Feng''s caliber generally needed only small reminders to know what they should do. Following which, Crimson Star, Wildfighter, and several other Violet Sword members approached the 10-meter-tall Teleportation Gate. Each of them then took out an ink-black crystal from their bags and started chanting an incantation. As soon as these dozen or so players started chanting, the divine runes engraved on the Teleportation Gate lit up and drew the ambient Mana toward the Teleportation Gate. While Crimson Star and the others were activating the Hero Trial, Sandstorm and Mythology''s other members were quietly observing the situation from behind a pile of shattered rocks 500 yards away. "The Hero Trial!" the female Guardian Knight standing beside Sandstorm exclaimed in surprise when she identified the divine runes lighting up on the Teleportation Gate. "Violet Sword actually plans to challenge the Hero Trial now?! Are they insane?!" She had experienced the ancient city''s trials herself. While she didn''t know what the Hero Trial was like, she knew that even the Elite Trial was not something current players could hope to conquer. If not for their previous raid team having plenty of Advanced Battle Arrays, they wouldn''t have made it to the Trial Boss''s feet. As for the more difficult Hero Trial, that was something even the current Mythology didn''t dare dream of challenging. "The Hero Trial?" When Sandstorm saw Crimson Star''s group activating the Hero Trial, a wide smile bloomed on his face. "Good! Wonderful! Although I don''t know what gave Violet Sword''s and Zero Wing''s people the courage to challenge the Hero Trial, this is our chance! Since Crimson Star and Wildfighter are personally activating the Hero Trial, they can''t stop midway without wasting their one chance! This is the perfect time for us to take action!" "But dealing with Black Flame won''t be easy," the female Guardian Knight argued worriedly as she eyed Shi Feng, who was standing beside the Teleportation Gate. "With him around, it''ll be difficult for us to gain any advantage." "Relax. The vice commander prepared a trump card for our operation this time," Sandstorm said, grinning. He then took out several gleaming gemstones from his bag. "These are Tier 3 Magic Devouring Gemstones, which the vice commander obtained from the Demon God''s Shrine. If we equip them on Level 100 Dark-Gold Weapons or above, we can sacrifice the weapon and the gemstone to gain Tier 4 power for a short period. This item isn''t subject to any restrictions inside the ancient secret land. The vice commander gave me five of these as a precaution. So long as we five team leaders use this gemstone, we''ll have five Tier 4 combatants on our side. Including the HP and Defense we''ll gain from the Advanced Battle Array, we should be able to pin down Black Flame with just three people. The remaining two team leaders will lead the rest to slaughter Violet Sword''s and Zero Wing''s members! All their efforts will go down the drain!" "If you had such treasures on you, why didn''t you take them out earlier?" the female Guardian Knight grumbled as she rolled her eyes at Sandstorm. Previously, the task their vice commander gave them was for them to spoil Violet Sword''s plan, as well as kill Shi Feng if possible. With the Magic Devouring Gemstones, while they might not be capable of killing Shi Feng, spoiling Violet Sword''s plan would be child''s play. After all, players that died in the ancient secret land needed to wait one full day to get resurrected. If they could kill a significant number of Violet Sword''s and Zero Wing''s members, the two Guilds would waste one day of the alchemy array''s operational time, which would, in turn, drastically reduce the two Guilds'' odds of clearing the Hero Trial. And if they could interrupt the activation of the Teleportation Gate, they would thoroughly shatter Violet Sword''s plan of raiding the Hero Trial. "Alright, one for each of you," Sandstorm said as he distributed the Magic Devouring Gemstones to the four other team leaders on the team. He then looked toward Shi Feng and said, "It''s time we let Black Flame know how foolish it is to offend Mythology!" 2631 Yan Xiaoqian Taking Action? Chapter 2631 - Yan Xiaoqian Taking Action? As Crimson Star and the others chanted their incantation, a spatial tunnel gradually opened in the Teleportation Gate. The moment the spatial tunnel appeared, everyone present felt an ancient aura spilling out from it as if a Dragon from the abyss had just awakened. An unprecedented pressure bore down on their bodies. So, this is the Hero Trial? Shi Feng was inwardly astonished when he felt the pressure on his body. The strength of this aura practically rivals that of a Demigod. Even Tier 3 experts will most likely have difficulty exhibiting combat power at the Tier 2 standard while inside. While the pressure an aura subjected players to was not fatal, it would affect their combat power. At this moment, the aura leaking out of the spatial passage was so powerful that it made even Shi Feng feel very uncomfortable. If other Tier 3 players were to fight while subjected to this aura, their combat power would definitely suffer. "There are still 40 seconds left until the Teleportation Gate is fully activated. A Mana Shockwave will occur when that happens. Floating Light, start constructing a barrier!" Crimson Star said through the team chat when she saw the spatial passage stabilizing. "Understood!" Upon hearing Crimson Star''s command, Floating Light promptly ordered Violet Sword''s Tier 3 magical classes to construct a Tier 3 defensive barrier. While a Mana Shockwave wouldn''t cause direct damage, players that got hit by one would have their control over and perception of Mana weakened significantly for a certain period. Players might even lose the ability to use Skills and Spells during this time. On Violet Sword''s first attempt at the Normal Trial, the raid team dispatched had failed to take this Mana Shockwave into account. As a result, the raid team had suffered from a Runaway Mana state for one whole day. However, as Violet Sword''s members were constructing the defensive barrier, a low shout came from a distance. "A chance! Everyone, attack! Interrupt the Teleportation Gate''s activation!" Sandstorm commanded when he saw Floating Light and the magical-class players of Violet Sword constructing a magic barrier. Immediately, several figures charged toward Crimson Star''s group with flying speeds. "The Silver Light Legion?" Crimson Star immediately recognized Sandstorm''s group when she saw them, her complexion darkening slightly. "Sandstorm! Is Mythology trying to break the agreement?!" If their team had come across Sandstorm''s group under normal circumstances, she wouldn''t have paid Mythology''s members any attention at all. However, Violet Sword''s peak experts were currently occupied with activating the Teleportation Gate and defending against the resulting Mana Shockwave. They barely had any manpower available to repulse Sandstorm''s group. Meanwhile, Sandstorm''s team consisted of Void Realm experts or better. If these people attacked now, the consequences would be unimaginable. Moreover, Sandstorm and the others had their Advanced Battle Arrays activated, which boosted their Basic Attributes far beyond those of ordinary Tier 3 players. "Agreement?" Sandstorm laughed at Crimson Star''s words. "I don''t recall Mythology making any agreements with Violet Sword regarding what happens inside the ancient secret land. Besides, if you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for not knowing what''s good for you. Since you dare to partner with Zero Wing, then die with it!" Sandstorm''s team accelerated. "Damn it! They''re actually taking action!" Crimson Star turned to Floating Light and said, "Light, coordinate with Guild Leader Black Flame''s group and buy us time! If the Teleportation Gate''s activation is interrupted, we''ll lose our chance to challenge the Hero Trial!" "Understood!" Floating Light nodded in response. He then faced Sandstorm''s team with a solemn expression. Although their side had an absolute advantage in numbers and they even had the help of a monster like Shi Feng, the number of combat-ready peak experts they had was far from comparable. Not to mention, Sandstorm and a few other individuals on his team had an Advanced Battle Array, which granted them a huge increase in Basic Attributes. If they allowed Sandstorm''s team to break through and interrupt Crimson Star''s group, then all their preparations for the Hero Trial would be for naught. "You need to be careful! I don''t know why, but Sandstorm and his fellow team leaders are actually giving off a pressure like a Mythic monster''s! Do not clash with them directly, no matter what!" Wildfighter reminded, a serious expression similarly appearing on his face. "All you need to do is buy time. So long as you can hold them back for 40 seconds or so, we''ll be free and can deal with them together!" At this time, however, Shi Feng suddenly said, "That won''t be necessary. Just leave these people to us. Focus on activating the Teleportation Gate and defending against what comes after." "Guild Leader Black Flame, we do not doubt your strength, but we really cannot take this risk. The members of Mythology''s Silver Light Legion are all supported by a battle array. Their peak experts can hold their own against Domain Realm experts. Not to mention, Sandstorm and his fellow team leaders are at the Half-step Domain Realm, at the very least. The few of them also possess some kind of strange strength. They aren''t a force that an ordinary team of peak experts can hope to handle," Crimson Star advised hurriedly when she saw Shi Feng dissuading them from taking part in the battle. "Although Floating Light''s group only has a few members, every one of them is a peak expert. They can be of some help to you." She was confident that Shi Feng would emerge victorious in a fight with Sandstorm''s group. However, their problem right now wasn''t whether they could defeat Sandstorm''s group but whether they could prevent Sandstorm''s group from interrupting the Teleportation Gate''s activation. After all was said and done, Shi Feng was only one person. Since Sandstorm''s team had 30 players, how many could Shi Feng possibly hold back by himself? Wildfighter also nodded in agreement with Crimson Star''s words. He felt that Shi Feng was being perverse about keeping up appearances. "Don''t misunderstand. We are fully capable of stopping this level of combat power. If you still feel uneasy, I won''t object to you joining the battle," Shi Feng said, chuckling at the anxious expressions on Crimson Star''s and Wildfighter''s faces. Although Shi Feng did not speak that loudly, everyone present was a Tier 3 expert with extraordinary senses. Hence, even Sandstorm''s group, which was still several hundred yards away, heard him clearly. "Stop us?" Sandstorm laughed at Shi Feng''s words, a cold glint appearing in his eyes. "Let''s see how you''ll stop us, then! You guys, take action!" As soon as Sandstorm finished speaking, six Level 113 and higher Assassins suddenly appeared within 50 yards of Crimson Star''s group. The masked man at the head of the Assassins radiated an aura rivaling that of Mythic monsters. This lead Assassin moved so quickly that he appeared within 30 yards of Crimson Star in just the blink of an eye. The Assassin then unsheathed his daggers and sent several dozen arcs of light tearing through space toward Crimson Star and the dozen or so other players activating the Teleportation Gate. "What?! Some of them actually snuck over already?!" Floating Light''s complexion paled upon seeing these six Assassins. It was simply impossible for them to stop such a sudden and widespread attack. Even Shi Feng would most likely be able to stop only a portion of these attacks. After all, Crimson Star and the others activating the Teleportation Gate stood a distance from each other. It was impossible for a melee player like Shi Feng to cover all that ground simultaneously. Just when the several dozen arcs of light were about to land on Crimson Star and the others, however, Ice Walls started appearing out of thin air one after another, separating Crimson Star''s group from the light arcs. Meanwhile, when these powerful light arcs, which were capable of tearing apart even space itself, landed on the Ice Walls, it was as if they had crashed into an impenetrable wall. Not only did the Ice Walls stop the advance of these light arcs, but they even deflected the attacks to a certain extent. In the end, not even one of the several dozen light arcs managed to land on their target. "Impossible! My attack actually got deflected by a bunch of Tier 2 Ice Walls?!" The eyes of the Level 114, Tier 4 Assassin in the lead nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw this scene. Currently, thanks to the Magic Devouring Gemstone, his Tier 3 Skill already carried power at the Tier 4 standard, something a few measly Tier 2 Ice Walls couldn''t hope to deflect. In fact, the Tier 2 Ice Walls shouldn''t even be capable of affecting his attack at all. However, the impossible had actually happened. "Who took action?" Sandstorm was likewise stunned by this scene. He then turned to Crimson Star and wondered, "Could it be her?" At this moment, Sandstorm truly could not think of any Elementalist, aside from Crimson Star, who could use Tier 2 Ice Walls to deflect Tier 4 attacks. On the other hand, Crimson Star was currently activating the Teleportation Gate. Logically, she shouldn''t have any leeway to do anything else. Crimson Star herself was astonished by this situation. However, compared to a melee player like Sandstorm, she, as an Elementalist, was much more sensitive to Mana. Hence, she was able to trace the origin of the Ice Walls immediately. "Xiaoqian?" When Crimson Star turned to look at the origin of the Ice Walls, however, she was stunned when her gaze landed on Yan Xiaoqian. Currently, ice-type Mana swirled around Yan Xiaoqian, a testament to the activation of an ice-type Spell. "Since when was she this strong?" 2632 Silenced Battlefield Chapter 2632 - Silenced Battlefield Upon seeing Yan Xiaoqian take action, Violet Sword''s members fell silent. Yan Xiaoqian had attracted a lot of attention when she participated in the training for young talents in Violet Sword. One of the reasons for this was that she was only half a step away from entering the Domain Realm. The other reason was Instructor Torre''s willingness to teach her. Hence, most of Violet Sword''s upper echelon and peak experts had done their research on her and knew what kind of strength she possessed. However, the current Yan Xiaoqian was like a completely different person from the one they knewshe had single-handedly stopped the attack of a peak expert whose Basic Attributes were at the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, this Tier 3 Assassin expert was also clearly only half a step away from the Domain Realm. Of the Violet Sword members present, even Domain Realm experts like Crimson Star and Wildfighter might not be able to stop the Assassin''s attacks completely, yet Yan Xiaoqian had. Naturally, this surprised Violet Sword''s members. "Her Mana Body is fully unlocked?!" Wildfighter, who stood relatively close to Yan Xiaoqian, revealed astonishment on his face when he sensed intense Mana fluctuations from her. "Her Mana Body was only at a little more than 50% potential three days ago. What did Zero Wing do?" Upon hearing Wildfighter''s words, realization dawned upon the other Violet Sword members present, and every one of them stared at Yan Xiaoqian in even greater astonishment. This was especially true for Floating Light, who had trained under Instructor Torre together with her. "How is this possible?! This is the Mana Body we are talking about! How can she fully unlock it in just three days?!" Floating Light''s eyes widened in shock as he gaped at Yan Xiaoqian. For a moment, he felt as if he was looking at a stranger. When it came to talent in combat, he was superior to Yan Xiaoqian. In addition, after he had trained in the ancient secret land''s special training ground, his combat power was now recognized as almost equal to Solitary Frost''s. In theory, he should be far superior to Yan Xiaoqian. Now, however, it turned out that Yan Xiaoqian''s combat power actually surpassed his by a large margin. However, before Violet Sword''s members could react to this unexpected development, Mythology''s lead Assassin made another move. This time, though, he dashed forward at great speed instead of launching a ranged attack. In no time at all, the lead Assassin arrived within 10 yards of Crimson Star''s group, this situation causing the expressions of Crimson Star and the others to darken. The Assassin class wasn''t known for its ranged attacks; the class truly shone in close combat. This was especially true for the explosive power the class could exhibit at melee range. Moreover, with the agility of the Assassin class, trying to pin one down using ranged Spells was extremely difficult, all the more an Assassin with Tier 4 Basic Attributes. "That little girl''s defensive measures might be brilliant, but at this distance, I want to see how she''ll stop my attacks!" the lead Assassin said as he got within five yards of Wildfighter. Tier 3 Skill, Absolute Shadow Assault! Immediately, the Assassin''s body split into multiple shadows to assail Wildfighter, these shadows causing the surrounding space to crack as they approached the Berserker. These shadows were so powerful that even Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors would die instantly if struck, let alone a Berserker like Wildfighter. "It''s over." Upon seeing the rapidly approaching shadows, Wildfighter involuntarily shut his eyes. As he was currently activating the Teleportation Gate, he couldn''t afford to defend against the attack at all; doing so would cancel the process. Moreover, even if he weren''t occupied with the gate''s activation, he still wouldn''t be able to get away unscathed from such a powerful attack. After all, not only did these shadows carry power at the Tier 4 standard, but they were also strengthened by a Basic Combat Technique. Just as the several shadows were about to devour Wildfighter, however, a figure suddenly descended from above and transformed into four identical copies of themself, which then struck at the assaulting shadows. Peng Peng Peng The clangor of weapons repeatedly echoed throughout the area before the Teleportation Gate. Multiple cracks extending up to 30 yards away appeared on the ground. The frightening shockwaves resulting from the clashes almost toppled the nearby peak experts. When the dust settled, a male youth wielding a greatsword appeared, standing quietly before the lead Assassin from Mythology. Since the youth''s HP bar remained full, it was obvious that he had successfully fended off the lead Assassin''s attack. "Solitary Frost?" Wildfighter could not help doubting his eyes when he saw the youth shielding him. Even in his peak state, Wildfighter doubted he could perfectly defend against the lead Assassin''s attack. However, not only did Solitary Frost remain unscathed after repelling the lead Assassin''s attack, but the youth had also kept Wildfighter from coming to harm. The combat power Solitary Frost had just displayed was completely different from what Wildfighter remembered. "He fully unlocked his Mana Body as well?" When Crimson Star saw that Solitary Frost was similarly exuding a frightening amount of Mana from his body, astonishment and confusion appeared in her eyes. In the case of Yan Xiaoqian, Crimson Star still found it understandable for the girl to unlock her Mana Body to 100% potential in just three short days. After all, Yan Xiaoqian was a magical-class player. She boasted far better Mana control than melee experts like Solitary Frost. She had much better odds of unlocking the Mana Body. Now, however, Solitary Frost had actually fully unlocked his Mana Body too. Since when did unlocking the Mana Body become so easy? While Crimson Star stewed in shock and confusion, Mythology''s Assassin leader, whose attacks got thwarted twice in a row, was extremely depressed. First, it was Yan Xiaoqian. Now, it was Solitary Frost. He was clearly just one step away from foiling Violet Sword''s plans, yet he got blocked time and again. "Sandstorm, my side is in trouble. The kid I''m up against has already fully unlocked his Mana Body. His combat standard is also very high. He''s not the slightest bit weaker than Wildfighter. If he focuses on deflecting my attacks, I don''t think I can do anything to the casters within a short period. If Black Flame joins in on the fight, I''m afraid I won''t even be able to escape," the lead Assassin reported to Sandstorm through the team chat. "Since the ambush has failed, retreat and regroup with us first. We''ll focus on killing off as many of Zero Wing''s and Azure''s members as possible," Sandstorm ordered, gritting his teeth when he saw Shi Feng holding off the remaining five members of the Assassin party. After saying so, Sandstorm hastened his footsteps. Previously, the main group of Mythology''s team had deliberately exposed themselves to hold the attention of Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members with fully unlocked Mana Bodies so that the Assassin party would succeed in its ambush. However, Azure turned out to have monsters with fully unlocked Mana Bodies as well. This unexpected development had thrown a wrench into Sandstorm''s original plans. "Everyone, charge! No need to hold back anymore! We''ll get rid of them together with the Assassin party!" Sandstorm shouted as he pointed at Zero Wing''s members. Upon seeing Sandstorm''s team rushing toward Zero Wing''s and Azure''s members, Crimson Star and Wildfighter could not help growing anxious. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we must not let that Tier 3 Assassin regroup with Sandstorm''s group! Team leaders like him can enter a battle array with each other! If we let him regroup with the main team, those team leaders will become even stronger!" Crimson Star warned when she saw Mythology''s Assassin leader retreating at flying speeds. "Relax. Even if they regroup, they have no chance of victory," Shi Feng assured her, smiling. Even after seeing Mythology''s Assassin party retreating, he showed no intention of giving chase. "But" Crimson Star fell speechless when she saw Shi Feng''s nonchalant attitude toward Mythology. She knew that Zero Wing had sent over a hundred experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies this time. These experts undoubtedly possessed astonishing combat power. However, the 30-plus members of Mythology''s Silver Light Legion were no pushovers, either. With the assistance of a battle array, even those that hadn''t fully unlocked their Mana Bodies could still exhibit combat power rivaling that of experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies. In addition, every one of Mythology''s members present was a bona fide peak expert or better. If the two sides clashed with each other, Zero Wing definitely wouldn''t have an easy time. "Good! Flowing Shadow''s party is almost back! Everyone, get ready! It''s time we let Zero Wing and Azure know the power of Mythology!" Sandstorm said to the three other team leaders when he saw the Assassin party within 100 yards of the main team. "Leave it to us. Once we activate our battle array, even Black Flame shouldn''t think of making short work of us," the female Guardian Knight standing beside Sandstorm said, nodding. However, just as Mythology''s Assassin party was about to rejoin Sandstorm''s group, Shi Feng glanced at Aqua Rose, who stood beside him. In response, Aqua Rose nodded and said calmly, "Everyone, no need to continue hiding! Let these people know our true power!" As soon as Aqua Rose finished speaking, Zero Wing''s members promptly removed their Black Cloaks. A tsunami of Mana immediately flooded the area outside the ancient city. A powerful aura also swept across everyone on the battlefield, stopping Mythology''s members in their tracks. And upon seeing the statistics of Zero Wing''s members, Mythology''s members could not help being dumbfounded. Currently, every Zero Wing member before them not only possessed a fully unlocked Mana Body but was also at Level 117 or Level 118. Zero Wing''s melee players were especially eye-catching as every one of them actually boasted Dark-Gold Set Equipment. 2633 Monsters Chapter 2633 - Monsters "Those levels How is this possible?" "Are they monsters?" At this moment, let alone Mythology''s members, even Violet Sword''s members were stunned to see the levels of Zero Wing''s members. Currently, even the peak experts of the various superpowers had reached only Level 113 or Level 114. However, even the lowest-leveled Zero Wing member present was at Level 117far ahead of the superpowers'' peak experts. "Team Leader Sandstorm, all of them have fully unlocked their Mana Bodies. Moreover, their equipment standards are quite high, especially for those melee players. I''m afraid we''ll need a lot of time and resources to kill them. If Violet Sword''s side manages to free up some manpower in the meantime, we''ll be in danger," a Tier 3 Berserker from Mythology warned Sandstorm as he looked at the 100-plus Zero Wing members before them. Although the team leaders on their team had all fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, no one else on the team had. They only had the assistance of a battle array. However, even if they possessed superior Basic Attributes to Zero Wing''s members, they definitely wouldn''t be superior by much, judging by the equipment standard of Zero Wing''s members. If it came down to a fight, they wouldn''t have much of an advantage even in a one-on-one fight. Not to mention, their team only had 30-odd members, whereas Zero Wing''s side had more than 100 players. Overall, they were at a complete disadvantage. "Damn it! You guys retreat!" Sandstorm ordered, his complexion darkening as he gazed at Zero Wing''s members. He then turned to the female Guardian Knight beside him and said, "Feather, you and the other team leaders continue fighting! We''ll kill as many as we can! Retreat as soon as Crimson Star''s group finishes activating the Teleportation Gate!" "Got it!" replied the female Guardian Knight named White Feather, unopposed to Sandstorm''s decision. Team leaders like herself and Sandstorm currently possessed power at the Tier 4 standard. With the assistance of the battle array, their Basic Attributes were far superior to those of Zero Wing''s members. Out of the Zero Wing members present, only Shi Feng could actually put them in a bind. However, if the five of them split up and took action independently, they could slaughter quite a few of Zero Wing''s members. Moreover, they had already used the precious Magic Devouring Gemstones for the operation; if they still failed to produce any results, they would definitely be punished. Obedient to Sandstorm''s command, everyone from Mythology, aside from the five team leaders, promptly turned around and fled. However, as soon as Mythology''s members took flight, a clear and crisp voice entered everyone''s ears. "Don''t even think of getting away so easily!" In the next moment, a magic array rapidly spread out from beneath Zhao Yueru''s feet, summoning a barrier of flames. Covering a 500-yard radius around Zhao Yueru, the barrier trapped all of Mythology''s members within it. "Bastard!" Sandstorm bellowed in rage when he saw the barrier of flames rise. He immediately charged straight at Zhao Yueru, his Movement Speed astonishing Violet Sword''s members. Sandstorm was at least twice as fast as the Assassin leader that attacked Crimson Star''s group earlier. In the blink of an eye, he appeared over 50 yards from his original location. "Everyone, be careful! He''s already capable of perfectly integrating Advanced Footwork into his Movement Skill! Do not clash with him directly!" Wildfighter warned, a grim expression appearing on his face at Sandstorm''s astonishing speed. Among the various types of combat techniques available, the most difficult type to integrate with Skills and Spells was footwork. Integrating footwork with a Movement Skill was especially challenging. Even in Violet Sword, only a few individuals were capable of this. Anyone who achieved this integration could freely weave their way through an army of tens of thousands. Not to mention, Sandstorm''s Basic Attributes were currently at the Tier 4 standard. With the combination of his speed and Strength, he was basically unstoppable. In just three seconds, Sandstorm penetrated Zero Wing''s defensive line and arrived behind Zhao Yueru. He then executed a downward slash at the Elementalist''s back using the silver shortsword he wielded. "Die, you hindrance!" Sandstorm bellowed. Immediately, Mana gathered around his shortsword and coalesced into a greatsword that left a dark void in its wake. Just when the greatsword was about to land on Zhao Yueru, however, a lithe figure suddenly appeared beside the Elementalist and sent a sword light cutting at the greatsword. Boom! A loud explosion shook the battlefield, and the space surrounding the point of collision shattered into oblivion. The resulting shockwave sent all the players within a 10-yard radius of the explosion''s epicenter flying. "Impossible! She blocked it?!" White Feather, who was watching from a distance, doubted her eyes when she saw Gentle Snow stopping Sandstorm''s attack. Although Sandstorm was an Assassin, he had been drastically strengthened by the Magic Devouring Gemstone and the Advanced Battle Array. His current Strength far exceeded that of ordinary Mythic monsters of the same level. With the boost in power his Tier 3 Skill provided, his attack should be capable of repulsing even bona fide Mythic monsters. However, despite being merely a Tier 3 player, Gentle Snow had actually managed to receive the attack without losing any ground. "A special Skill?" Sandstorm muttered. Although he was similarly surprised that Gentle Snow stopped his attack, he quickly realized the reason why she was able to do so. "I don''t know what Skill you used to stop my attack, but since it is a Skill and not a combat technique, you''ll only be able to stop me once. I refuse to believe you can continue stopping me!" After saying so, Sandstorm readied himself to launch another attack. However, as if Gentle Snow had long anticipated this, she intercepted him, executing four attacks with her greatsword. Will of Light! Four Extreme Slashes! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Sandstorm quickly responded to Gentle Snow''s intervention, rapidly brandishing his shortsword to defend against the four slashes. Every attack he blocked sent him stumbling one step back. "Are you done using your Skill yet?" Although Sandstorm was forced to retreat by four steps, he still maintained a calm expression. He then smirked and said, "If you''re done, it''s my turn now!" However, just as Sandstorm finished speaking, Gentle Snow raised Glorious Will above her head. At the same time, her body started releasing a sacred glow that suppressed even the space around her. "Disappear!" Gentle Snow shouted as she swung Glorious Will down at Sandstorm. A boundless light devoured Sandstorm. Myth of Light! With just one attack, Gentle Snow obliterated everything before her within 100 yards. Even space itself shattered. As for Sandstorm, he went flying over a hundred yards away, his HP falling below 50% and his body covered in injuries. When he hit the ground, the impact created a huge crater. Upon seeing this scene, everyone present was astonished. Violet Sword''s and Mythology''s members, in particular, could not help gaping in shock. "Just how many cards does Zero Wing have hidden?" Crimson Star wondered aloud as she stared at Gentle Snow. First, it was Shi Feng. Now, it was Gentle Snow. Gentle Snow was clearly only at the Void Realm standard. In terms of Basic Attributes, she had to be quite inferior to Sandstorm. Moreover, Sandstorm had also fully unlocked his Mana Body already. The only advantage she had was her level of 118. No matter how Crimson Star looked at it, Gentle Snow shouldn''t be a match for Sandstorm. In the end, however, Gentle Snow had used only a few moves to topple Sandstorm. The power of her final attack, in particular, practically rivaled that of the attack Shi Feng used to deal with the two Region Chiefs. "Feather, what should we do? Sandstorm is already heavily injured. There''s still Sinful Flame on Azure''s side. With just the four of us, I''m afraid we''ll have difficulty accomplishing anything" the Tier 3 Elementalist standing beside White Feather asked when he saw Sandstorm struggling even to stand up right now. With the situation as it was, they wouldn''t gain anything from continuing this fight. Out of the five team leaders taking part in this operation, Sandstorm was the strongest while White Feather came second. Now that Sandstorm was heavily injured and occupied in battle, it was up to White Feather to take charge. "We retreat! Zero Wing''s strength exceeds our expectations! We need to report this matter to the vice commander as soon as possible!" "But what about the fire barrier?" the Tier 3 Elementalist asked as he looked at the barrier of flames surrounding them. "If I use my trump card, I should be able to shatter it. Once it''s gone, have everyone retreat at full speed!" White Feather instructed. "Alright. I''ll have them scatter and run," the Tier 3 Elementalist said, nodding. Following which, White Feather shattered Zhao Yueru''s barrier of flames with a single move. She and Mythology''s other members then scattered and fled. As for Zero Wing''s members, they persistently hunted down Mythology''s members. In the end, they killed not only 20-plus of Mythology''s peak experts but also Sandstorm and two other team leaders, inflicting severe losses on Mythology''s Silver Light Legion. Word of this battle also quickly spread throughout Violet Light City, shaking all those who heard it. 2634 Fame Spreads Across the Western Continen Chapter 2634 - Fame Spreads Across the Western Continent The Silver Light Legion was Mythology''s strongest trump card legion. It might not have many members, but every member had astonishing combat power. Moreover, the peak experts of the legion all possessed the assistance of a battle array. All this time, the Silver Light Legion had been an existence the various superpowers dreaded. Meanwhile, although Violet Light City was a Guild City jointly established by Violet Sword and Mythology, as many superpowers were partners with these Super Guilds, there were plenty of members of other superpowers present in the city. Word of Sandstorm''s team suffering a tragic defeat triggered heated debates among the various superpowers'' members resting within Violet Light City. Some could not help doubting the validity of this information. In their opinion, Mythology''s Silver Light Legion was basically an invincible existence. At this stage of the game, no matter how strong a team of players became, it would, at best, be the Silver Light Legion''s equal. The utter rout bruited about was definitely impossible for the Silver Light Legion. How could a pseudo-superpower like Zero Wing have a team capable of defeating the Silver Light Legion? While the various superpowers operating in Violet Light City were looking into this matter, White Feather and the other survivors of Sandstorm''s team were currently standing inside a meeting room in Mythology''s Residence and reporting about it to the white-haired youth before them. White Feather and the others gazed at this white-haired youth with reverence in their eyes. This was because this white-haired youth was none other than the Silver Light Legion''s vice commander, Prosciutto, nicknamed the Silver Ghost. "You''re saying Zero Wing has over 100 members with fully unlocked Mana Bodies?" the Silver Ghost asked calmly as he looked at White Feather. "Mhm. In addition, according to our investigations, before Azure''s Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian underwent Zero Wing''s special training, both of them were still quite some distance away from fully unlocking their Mana Bodies. Now, however, both of them have already done so, and they now rival Crimson Star and Wildfighter in combat power," White Feather replied seriously while nodding. "It seems Zero Wing has quite a lot of secrets," Prosciutto commented as he entered deep thought. "Vice Commander, they activated the Teleportation Gate not long ago. Why don''t I organize another team and wait for them to come out? Previously, we lost mainly because we were outnumbered. If we have more people in the team, Zero Wing won''t have much of an advantage over us," White Feather suggested. Now that news of the Silver Light Legion''s defeat had spread, they would definitely become a laughingstock among the superpowers if they could not take care of Zero Wing in short order. "That won''t be necessary," Prosciutto said. Chuckling, he continued, "Since Zero Wing wants to become famous, we''ll fulfill their wish. Notify the ones below and have them publicize this information. I believe plenty of superpowers and major corporations will be interested in Zero Wing''s secret for unlocking the Mana Body." "Vice Commander, although the other superpowers will definitely be interested in this secret, if we don''t make a move ourselves, I''m afraid no superpower will be willing to take action against Zero Wing. In the end, everyone will simply sit back and watch Zero Wing develop," White Feather said worriedly. "Relax. Soon, we''ll be done with the task the Demon God assigned us. At that time, the kingdoms and empires on the continent will no longer serve as a protective shield for the various powers. Meanwhile, with how much resources Zero Wing is occupying, it will become the common target of the superpowers. We won''t need to make a move at all," Prosciutto said, smiling. "That quest is almost complete?" White Feather''s eyes glowed with excitement when she heard Prosciutto''s words. There were two crucial quests available in the Demon God''s Shrine, and the completion of either of them could kick up a storm throughout the western continent. Mythology had chosen to challenge one of those quests. Originally, though, she thought that they would need a lot more time to complete it. If they really completed that quest, then even if Zero Wing cleared the ancient secret land''s Hero Trial, it would be meaningless. The only outcome awaiting Zero Wing would be destruction. "Alright, go make the necessary preparations to publicize Zero Wing''s information. Also, send someone to the eastern continent to notify Vice Guild Leader Cold Shadow about the quest''s progress. She should know how to deal with Zero Wing," Prosciutto commanded. "Understood!" White Feather replied before leaving the meeting room. News of Zero Wing having over a hundred experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies spread across the entire western continent, instantly garnering great fame for Zero Wing. At the same time, though, the western continent''s powers also grew jealous of Zero Wing and started coveting its secrets. The Guild immediately became the focal point of the western continent as the various powers began investigating it. ... As Zero Wing''s fame was spreading across the western continent, Crimson Star was leading Shi Feng and the others into the Hero Trial. After everyone walked through the Teleportation Gate and arrived inside the trial grounds, they immediately fell silent. An indescribably solemn expression also appeared on their faces. The reason for this was the intense gravity in the trial grounds. The moment they entered, it felt as if several hundred kilograms had been added to their bodies. Now, let alone fighting, even walking normally was a challenge. In addition, the tunnel they were currently standing in was incomparably dark, which hampered their vision greatly. In fact, aside from their sense of sight, the rest of their five senses were also significantly blunted. Now, they felt as if the standard of their five senses wasn''t even on par with the five senses of Tier 1 players. The worst part of it all was the tens of thousands of humanoid monsters ahead of them. Aside from being fully geared in armor, these humanoid monsters also held longswords and carried longbows on their backs. Looking at this scene, everyone could not help feeling that they had just entered an ancient battlefield. [Trial Warrior] (Dark Creature, Great Lord) Level 120 HP 100,000,000/100,000,000 [Trial Elite] (Dark Creature, Grand Lord) Level 121 HP 430,000,000/430,000,000 However, before everyone could digest the information before them, the sound of system notifications entered their ears. System: You have discovered the Hero Trial Space. System: Hero Trial activated. You have five natural days to complete the trial. You will be awarded based on the trial''s Completion Rate. "Five days?! How can we possibly get through so many monsters in just five days?!" Floating Light suspected that the system was toying with them when he stared at the endless Trial Warriors and Trial Elites before him. The monsters in this trial space were ordinary monsters, which normally wouldn''t pose much of a threat to the experts on their team. However, that was in the outside world. Inside the trial space, their physical bodies and five senses were heavily suppressed. Even a Domain Realm expert like himself could barely exhibit 30% of his normal combat power under such a suppression. At this moment, he would have great trouble fighting the Trial Warriors in a one-on-one situation, let alone the Trial Elites. Meanwhile, there was only one path in this trial space, so there was no way they could avoid the Trial Warriors and Trial Elites entirely. The only way to get to the Trial Boss was to kill these monsters and gradually carve out a path. Meanwhile, when Crimson Star and Wildfighter, who had started growing optimistic of success after witnessing Zero Wing''s strength, saw this scene, they were likewise stunned. "Not only are the monsters here numerous, but they are also positioned very close together. Even if we lure just one of them, I''m afraid we''ll end up luring several thousand. In addition, all of these monsters are capable of ranged attacks. Let alone fighting, even dodging their attacks would be a problem" Wildfighter frowned at the Trial Warriors and Trial Elites that filled the tunnel before him. Although he had long known that the Hero Trial would be difficult, he never thought that it would be this difficult. With their bodies so heavily suppressed, if they tried fighting several thousand of these monsters simultaneously, they would definitely be honeycombed in no time. "Look closer; the weapons of those monsters are enchanted with the Penetrating effect. Not to mention other melee players, even MTs won''t be able to tank more than a handful of those monsters. The slightest mistake would mean death. Although I have some Spells that can stop a portion of the ranged attacks, there are simply too many monsters. The help I can provide will be negligible," Crimson Star said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she pointed at the Trial Elites'' weapons. "Our only option is to have our ranged players kite the monsters and whittle away their numbers. However, if we do that, killing all these monsters in just five days will be utterly impossible." Upon hearing Crimson Star''s words, Duan Hanshan and the other experts from the Azure Chamber of Commerce also nodded in agreement. Any melee expert that hadn''t reached the Void Realm would get slaughtered if they tried going up against more than a handful of these trial monsters by themselves. However, their team simply had too few peak experts. They couldn''t form a frontline capable of effectively holding off the trial monsters. Their only option was to have the ranged players kite the monsters and have the melee players repel any monsters that got too close for comfort. However, while this strategy was very safe, the efficiency was abysmal. "Vice Commander Crimson, you say can block a portion of the ranged attacks?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought. "Yes. I can block roughly 20% to 30% of the ranged attacks. However, there are simply too many monsters here. Against the attacks of several thousand monsters, even if I manage to block 30%, it will do little to no good for those dodging the attacks," Crimson Star said, nodding. "If you can block that much, then there shouldn''t be any problem," Shi Feng said after making some mental calculations. "Afterward, my side will stand at the front and attract the monsters'' attacks. Everyone else just has to attack with everything you''ve got. We should be able to get to the Trial Boss within the stipulated time." "You''ll attract the attacks?" Crimson Star was stunned by Shi Feng''s words. She simply couldn''t understand why Shi Feng didn''t consider this a problem. These were the simultaneous attacks of several thousand monsters they were talking about. Moreover, some of these monsters even had weapons with enhanced penetrative effects. Not to mention, in this horrible environment, even peak experts would have difficulty evading the attacks of the trial monsters, let alone Zero Wing''s members, who were mainly at the Refinement Realm standard. However, before Crimson Star and the others could react to Shi Feng''s proposal, the Swordsman had already commanded Zero Wing''s 100-plus experts to take action. And these Zero Wing members immediately charged at the nearby Trial Warriors and Trial Elites without the slightest bit of hesitation. 2635 A Stroll through the Backyard? Chapter 2635 - A Stroll through the Backyard? Upon seeing Zero Wing''s members dash straight toward the nearest group of trial monsters, Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members gaped in shock. They were going up against several thousand monsters here. Moreover, even the weakest of these monsters was a Level 120 Great Lord, yet Shi Feng didn''t even bother to discuss positioning and individual assignments before having Zero Wing''s members charge straight into battle. This was the first time Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members had seen such leadership. To make matters worse, every one of Zero Wing''s members actually obeyed Shi Feng''s command. "This is just too reckless!" Wildfighter could not help feeling anxious when he saw Shi Feng proceeding with utter disregard for their opinions. "There are several thousand monsters! Even if they have fully unlocked Mana Bodies and can take some hits, if they can''t dodge attacks, they''ll still end up dead!" He admitted that Zero Wing''s members were very high-leveled. In addition, every one of them also had a fully unlocked Mana Body. Zero Wing''s members definitely had a greater advantage when going up against the trial monsters than Violet Sword''s peak experts did. However, the system was clearly trying to test players'' combat standards in this tunnel. Levels and fully unlocked Mana Bodies were only secondary. Currently, they were already tight for time because the trial duration was only five days instead of the expected seven days. If they died here and lost a day''s worth of progress, they definitely wouldn''t be able to complete the trial. "We have no choice but to go along with them," Crimson Star sighed when she saw Zero Wing''s members getting close to the nearest group of trial monsters. "I''ll activate my magic array in a moment. Everyone else, focus fire on the Trial Elites. So long as we reduce the number of penetrating attacks we have to deal with, we can stop the remaining trial monsters much more easily." Sinful Flame and the other members of Azure nodded in agreement with Crimson Star''s plan before charging toward the nearest Trial Elite. They intended to get rid of a few Trial Elites as soon as the battle between both sides started, so that they could lessen the pressure on Zero Wing''s members and minimize casualties. The instant Zero Wing''s members entered the trial monsters'' perception range, the Trial Warriors and Trial Elites promptly sprang into action like veterans of the battlefield. In no time at all, 400 Trial Warriors spread out into a square formation around the main army. They then stabbed the iron shields they carried into the ground, creating an iron wall that protected the several thousand other trial monsters within their formation. As for the trial monsters inside the square formation, they unslung their bows, split up into several divisions, and fired arrows at Zero Wing''s members in intervals. This scene stunned Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members momentarily. They had seen monsters attacking as an orderly group before, but this was definitely their first time seeing monsters attacking in such a well-trained fashion. In fact, the coordination of these trial monsters rivaled that of NPCs. Volleys of arrows rained down on Zero Wing''s members, each volley consisting of more than a thousand arrows. Moreover, the intervals between the volleys were incredibly short. The arrows in each volley were also well-spaced, leaving no room for Zero Wing''s members to exploit. "It''s over Even peak experts will have difficulty dodging and blocking all those arrows. With the combat standards of Zero Wing''s members, several volleys would be enough to annihilate them" Wildfighter''s complexion darkened significantly when he saw the spate of arrows bombarding Zero Wing''s members. Against such a coordinated and accurate assault, let alone Zero Wing''s members, even a group of peak experts wouldn''t survive for very long. Although the attack pattern was very monotonous, the arrows flew incredibly fast. In addition, they came in torrents. There was a limit to the number of actions and reactions a person could make within a certain period. Over this limit, even Domain Realm experts would be rendered powerless and could only watch as they got killed. Although these arrows didn''t carry a lot of power, they still weren''t attacks players like themselves could afford to receive casually. At this moment, every one of Zero Wing''s members would have to go up against at least ten arrows simultaneously, with some unlucky ones having to go up against as many as 20. After factoring in the speed of the arrows, these numbers had already exceeded the limits of even Tier 3 peak experts. Only Domain Realm experts would be able to accurately determine the trajectories of these arrows and react to them in time. Just when the first volley of arrows was about to land on Zero Wing''s members, a voice appeared in the team chat. "Vice Commander Crimson, activate your defensive magic array!" Shi Feng ordered unhurriedly as he looked at the descending arrows. "Got it!" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, Crimson Star snapped out of her daze and waved her staff, completing the activation of the magic array she had prepared beforehand. A silver barrier bloomed from the center of Zero Wing''s formation, instantly expanding to cover a 200-yard radius and enveloping all of Zero Wing''s members within it. Tier 3 Curse, Aerial Defense! Aerial Defense was a Curse that had a certain probability of invalidating the flying tools within its range; it was similarly effective against arrows. In the next moment, more than 20% of the first arrow volley clattered to the ground. Now, only about 900 arrows continued flying toward Zero Wing''s members. Even so, Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members still wore grim expressions on their faces. Although the number of arrows had been reduced to around 900, the number of attacks each of Zero Wing''s members had to face still exceeded the limit of peak experts, let alone Refinement Realm experts. As Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members were shaking their heads and sighing, Zero Wing''s members started maneuvering around the arrows, dodging them effortlessly as if they had long since known the trajectories of these arrows. From afar, it seemed as if Zero Wing''s members were dancing in a rain of arrows. When the first volley of arrows ended, not a single Zero Wing member had suffered a direct hit. While some Zero Wing members had lost roughly a quarter of their HP, that was merely a result of them defending against the Trial Elites'' Penetrating Arrows. The HP they lost was also instantly replenished by the healers on the team. "How is that possible?!" Floating Light''s eyes bulged when he saw this scene. Against that volley of arrows, even he wouldn''t have such an easy time blocking and defending. However, Zero Wing''s members had dealt with the volley of arrows as if they were just strolling through their backyard. At this moment, let alone Floating Light, even Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian, who had trained with Zero Wing''s members for the past few days, were astonished by this scene. Despite the majority of Zero Wing''s members being only at the Refinement Realm, they had easily dealt with an attack that even peak experts would find troublesome. This was simply unbelievable. "They can actually block and dodge that kind of attack so easily? Just what kind of training do they normally undergo?" Yan Xiaoqian''s heart roiled with confusion as she looked at Zero Wing''s Refinement Realm experts. What Yan Xiaoqian and the others did not know was that Zero Wing''s core members had long since familiarized themselves with attacks like the trial monsters'' arrow attacks. After all, they faced much worse when they were training at the Extraordinary Tower''s first floor. In fact, in the opinions of Zero Wing''s members, blocking and dodging the trial monsters'' arrow attacks would still be a cakewalk even without Crimson Star''s support. After enduring several volleys of arrows, Shi Feng noticed that all of the agitated trial monsters had shifted their attention to Zero Wing''s members. He then ordered through the team chat, "We''ve stabilized the aggro! Everyone, start attacking!" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s command, Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members snapped out of their daze and started launching attacks at the trial monsters, together with Zero Wing''s members. Because Zero Wing''s members were holding aggro, everyone else could attack freely without having to worry about getting attacked themselves. As a result, the trial monsters fell rapidly, one after another. Meanwhile, everyone discovered that these trial monsters granted a surprisingly large amount of EXPbasically three times higher than normal. At this discovery, Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members grew ecstatic. The only disappointing thing about these trial monsters was that they did not drop any loot. After the team grinded the trial monsters for more than half a day, something strange occurred. One of the Trial Elites killed suddenly burst into flames and transformed into a dilapidated, crystal stele that hovered quietly in the air. The stele radiated frightening Mana fluctuations that sent many of the Tier 3 experts present stumbling back. An Ancient Legacy Stele?! When Shi Feng saw this worn stele, his eyes widened in shock, and he could not help wondering whether he was hallucinating. 2636 Beginning of Chaos Chapter 2636 - Beginning of Chaos Shi Feng aside, the sudden appearance of the crystal stele surprised everyone else present and piqued their curiosity. They never thought that the trial monsters, which had not dropped a single item until now, would actually drop a stele. "What an amazing stele! It''s causing the ambient Mana density to skyrocket just by hovering there! Even the surrounding space has become heavier!" Crimson Star exclaimed when she registered the changes the crystal stele brought to its environs. "If a Tier 2 player were here, they wouldn''t even be able to approach it." In regard to this situation, though, Violet Sword''s members could not help a little disappointment. Even a fool could tell that the crystal stele was extraordinary. However, according to the agreement between Zero Wing and Violet Sword, aside from the Trial Boss''s loot, every other discovery made and loot found in the trial would belong to Zero Wing. Hence, they could only look at the stele. "What is this stele? Not only can it not be appraised, but you can''t even touch it. It''s as if this stele doesn''t exist in this space," Aqua Rose said with a gloomy expression on her face as she stood before the stele. "Could it be a holographic projection?" This crystal stele was incredibly precious. Even if they couldn''t appraise it and discover its uses, they could still set it up inside a room to increase the room''s Mana density. This room could then be used as a training facility for players. However, if this treasure was merely a hologram, then it can''t even serve as a decoration. "This isn''t a hologram. It''s just that we can''t touch it," Shi Feng said, smiling. "Guild Leader, you''re still in the mood for jokes? If we can''t touch it, then we can only look at this stele and nothing more," Aqua Rose said anxiously when she saw Shi Feng''s nonchalant attitude toward this situation. In God''s Domain, the prerequisite for players to store an item in their bag space was for them to come into physical contact with the target item. If they couldn''t touch the stele, how were they supposed to take it away? "Looking at it is indeed our only option," Shi Feng said, nodding while smiling. "This stele isn''t an item that can be taken away. The only thing we can take away is the information recorded on it." The existence of Ancient Legacy Steles was still foreign to the current players of God''s Domain because these steles appeared only in ancient ruins or secret lands. In the past, the discovery of an Ancient Legacy Stele would always trigger a storm of bloodshed. This was because Ancient Legacy Steles recorded the lost technology of ancient civilization. Any Guild that managed to get their hands on this technology could undergo a qualitative transformation. In Shi Feng''s previous life, a total of five Ancient Legacy Steles had appeared in God''s Domain. During the ten years God''s Domain had been in operation, only five Ancient Legacy Steles had appeared. One could easily imagine the value of those steles. This was also the reason why Shi Feng was so excited to see the Ancient Legacy Stele appear in the Hero Trial. "Take away the information recorded?" Aqua Rose was confused by Shi Feng''s words. No matter how she looked at the stele, she simply couldn''t imagine how he was going to take away the information on it. Currently, they couldn''t touch the stele at all. And even after using the Master-ranked Appraisal, she still couldn''t extract any information from the stele. Just how were they supposed to take the recorded information? "You can''t extract the information recorded on the stele using normal methods. Not only is the information recorded massive, but it is also extremely complex. If you wish to extract the recorded information, you have to record the magic arrays carved on the stele," Shi Feng explained. "Record the magic arrays on it?" Aqua Rose gaped in shock as she looked at the worn stele. There were roughly 40 magic arrays engraved on the crystal stele, and even the simplest one was an Advanced Magic Array. Recording them all was simply a joke. They could spend only five days inside the trial space. Meanwhile, it took around half a day to learn one Advanced Magic Array, what more magic arrays above the Advanced rank. "Relax. This task might be difficult for others, but it isn''t particularly difficult for me. All I need is some time," Shi Feng said confidently. "During this period, you''ll lead the team and continue taking care of the trial monsters." Learning the magic arrays recorded on the Ancient Legacy Stele would indeed be arduous for an Advanced Magician. However, he had long been an Intermediate Master Magician. Two or three days would be more than enough for him to learn and record these magic arrays. "I understand." Aqua Rose nodded before taking charge of the team to continue clearing out the trial monsters in their way. As for Shi Feng, he sat quietly before the Ancient Legacy Stele, confusing Violet Sword''s members. However, they did not put too much thought into the matter. After all, the stele belonged to Zero Wing. How Zero Wing dealt with it was up to the Guild''s discretion. Meanwhile, Shi Feng started analyzing the layers of magic arrays engraved on the stele. Learning a magic array was considerably easier than decoding one. The troublesome part was having to memorize a lot of things. However, Shi Feng''s brain capacity now surpassed that of ordinary people. Learning and recording the magic arrays was a piece of cake for him. In less than an hour, Shi Feng had already memorized one Advanced Magic Array and started on the second one. In the meantime, Aqua Rose and the others kept clearing out trial monsters and advancing down the tunnel. However, the deeper into the tunnel they went, the more densely packed the trial monsters became. Eventually, the number of monsters the team faced each time had grown so high that even Zero Wing''s members started feeling taxed. As a result, the team''s speed of advance slowed. Fortunately, fighting inside this trial ground was akin to taking part in an intense training session. Everyone''s combat standard increased as they fought the trial monsters. Moreover, the EXP everyone obtained was incredibly generous. In just two short days, everyone had gained a little more than a level. Aqua Rose and the other members of Zero Wing had already reached Level 119, whereas Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members were now at Level 114. Crimson Star and Wildfighter were just 30% away from Level 115. The leveling speed here astonished Crimson Star and the others. As everyone''s motivation was increasing, a series of system announcements suddenly entered their ears. God''s Domain System Announcement: Some players have triggered the new expansion pack "Demon God''s Chaos." God''s Domain System Announcement: The new expansion pack "Demon God''s Chaos" will activate in one natural day. At that time, all non-NPC towns and cities will no longer receive the protection of NPC kingdoms and empires. Everyone inside the trial space gasped when they heard the system announcement. On the surface, this new expansion pack might not seem like it would affect players in any way, but everyone present understood that it would usher in a new era in God''s Domain. Currently, aside from Level 100-plus maps, all Guild Towns and Cities established in maps below Level 100 came under the aegis of NPC kingdoms and empires. If these Guild Towns and Cities suddenly lost this protection, the consequences would be unimaginable. After all, most Guild Towns and Guild Cities relied on the NPCs they employed from the various NPC kingdoms and empires to maintain security. Without this layer of security, players could take action inside Guild Towns and Cities much more freely. The chaos that would befall the various Guild Towns and Cities at that time would go without saying. Aside from maintaining security, defending against siege attacks would also become much more difficult. In other words, the activation of the Demon God''s Chaos expansion pack would thoroughly change the structure of God''s Domain. Without the threat of NPCs, many powers would most likely make a move against their rivals. Outside the ancient secret land, chaos had already ensued. "Good! Wonderful! Let''s see how those local powers are going to continue protecting their resource spots without those troublesome NPC guards!" "I don''t know who activated this expansion pack, but those people have really given us dark powers a shot in the arm. Now that those NPCs are gone, no one can stop us now!" The powers that were secretly developing themselves in the various kingdoms and empires started growing excited and restless. As for the superpowers, they promptly held meetings to draft countermeasures for the expansion pack''s activation. Meanwhile, as the entire God''s Domain was in chaos, Shi Feng slowly stood up from in front of the Ancient Legacy Stele inside the ancient secret land. "Finally, success!" Shi Feng smiled when he saw the stele before him gradually fading out of existence. He then started drawing the magic arrays he memorized, which released a frightening aura that shook even the surrounding space. 2637 Astonishing Memory Crystal Chapter 2637 - Astonishing Memory Crystal The commotion caused by the Ancient Legacy Stele was huge. Even Crimson Star and the others, who were resting over 3,000 yards away, sensed the unusual Mana fluctuation from the stele. "Did something happen over there? This Mana fluctuation rivals what Tier 5 NPCs cause when using Tier 5 Spells," Crimson Star exclaimed as she turned toward the Mana fluctuation''s origin, horror coloring her eyes. "Isn''t that Guild Leader Black Flame''s current location? Did something happen to him?" Wildfighter similarly revealed a serious expression on his face when he felt the intense Mana fluctuation. Tier 5 NPCs were existences that stood at the apex of God''s Domain. The Tier 5 Spells used by these NPCs could wreak great devastation. Before such Spells, Tier 3 players like themselves wouldn''t even be able to put up the slightest bit of resistance. Everyone present would be instantly killed. Meanwhile, all sorts of dangers filled this trial space. The trial monsters weren''t the only threat here. There were also plenty of traps and dangerous events that occurred at random. An ambush by a Tier 5 Spell was well within the range of possibilities. If something really happened to Shi Feng, then it would deal a huge blow to the entire team. After all, their team revolved around Shi Feng. Even though the experts on the team understood that Aqua Rose was the person leading them all this time, if he disappeared, many of those experts would most likely question her leadership. In this situation, Aqua Rose had to contact Shi Feng immediately. "Guild Leader, is everything alright on your side?" Aqua Rose asked worriedly. Currently, nobody was more anxious than she was about this sudden Mana fluctuation. She knew that Shi Feng was under the Demon God''s Curse, which tripled his death penalty. Meanwhile, players inside the trial space could only wait to get automatically resurrected. Hence, if an ordinary player needed one day to get automatically resurrected, then Shi Feng would need three days. If he died right now, then their odds of clearing the Hero Trial would become even slimmer. "Relax, everything''s fine. I just unlocked the information recorded on the stele," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the anxious look on Aqua Rose''s face. "Unlocking the information actually caused such a huge commotion?" Aqua Rose was stunned when she heard Shi Feng''s words. This was definitely the strongest Mana fluctuation she had experienced in God''s Domain. If this Mana fluctuation were due to a Spell, she wouldn''t be surprised if it destroyed an entire NPC city. However, Shi Feng was telling her that this frightening Mana fluctuation was merely a consequence of unlocking the recorded information on the stele. This was simply unbelievable. "This is information left behind by an Ancient God. It is naturally extraordinary. However, I still need some time to complete the unlocking process. For now, continue clearing the trial monsters on your side. I''ll meet up with you once I''m done," Shi Feng explained and chuckled. In reality, the Mana fluctuation had surprised even Shi Feng. From what he knew about Ancient Legacy Steles, the strength of the Mana fluctuation when the recorded information was unlocked was an indicator of the recorded information''s value. Generally, though, the Mana fluctuations that occurred extended only one or two thousand yards. Now, however, the Mana fluctuation from this Ancient Legacy Stele reached Aqua Rose''s location, roughly 3,000 yards away. It rivaled the Ancient Legacy Stele found in the Ancient God''s Tomb, a Level 150-plus ancient secret land. However, the Ancient God''s Tomb''s minimum entry requirement was Tier 4. "Alright, I''ll notify the others," Aqua Rose answered. After giving the matter some thought, she found Shi Feng''s words reasonable. Since the information recorded on the stele was something left behind by an Ancient God, it naturally wouldn''t be something ordinary. She then turned to the rest of the team and said, "Everyone, please rest assured. Nothing has happened to the Guild Leader. The Guild Leader said that this Mana fluctuation is merely a consequence of him unlocking the information recorded on the stele. He says that he is not in any danger and that we should continue clearing out the remaining trial monsters. He will rejoin us shortly." Aqua Rose''s words kindled a sense of admiration toward Shi Feng in everyone in the team. They hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would actually be able to obtain something from the stele. After a brief discussion, they promptly resumed clearing out the trial monsters in their path. In the meantime, Shi Feng was staring intently at the gradually forming crystal hovering before him. When extracting information from Ancient Legacy Steles, once players successfully learned the magic arrays recorded on a stele and drew them, the drawn magic arrays would gather Mana from the surroundings to create a Memory Crystal. This was one of the more common methods Ancient Gods used to pass down their Legacies. After all, compared to books, Memory Crystals were much better at withstanding the ravages of time. So long as the Memory Crystal was intact, there wouldn''t be any need to worry about parts of the information getting lost. Three hours Six hours Nine hours After the magic arrays gathered Mana for 15 consecutive hours, a Memory Crystal the size of four adult fists took shape before Shi Feng. This Memory Crystal was at least triple the size of ordinary Memory Crystals. "Amazing! Just what is recorded in it?" Shi Feng gazed at the Memory Crystal before him in astonishment. The Memory Crystals that Eliadi had given him already contained a ton of information. If not for his brain capacity being sufficiently high, he would''ve lost consciousness when accepting all that information. The Memory Crystal before him, however, was three times larger than the ones the Heavenly Blue Saint had given him. The amount of information contained within this unusually large Memory Crystal was definitely several dozen times more. Shi Feng could not even begin to imagine what kind of information awaited him. After observing the Memory Crystal for a brief moment, Shi Feng then tapped his finger on it to access its recorded information. He was really eager to find out what it contained. However, as soon as he did so, he was stunned. System: This Memory Crystal is extremely unstable and can remain in existence for only two natural days before disappearing. System: Warning! You have discovered a Large Memory Crystal. Because of insufficient Concentration, you are unable to read the information completely. If you persist in reading the information, there is a very large chance you will enter a deep coma. Do you still wish to read the information? I can''t read it even as a Tier 3 player? The system notifications took Shi Feng aback. Just what is recorded inside? This was definitely the first time he had come across such a situation. In fact, he had never heard of something like this happening before. It seems I toiled for nothing. Sure enough, the information recorded on an Ancient Legacy Stele really isn''t easy to obtain. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the Memory Crystal in his hands. Having insufficient Concentration wasn''t a problem that could be solved quickly. Items capable of raising one''s Concentration were extremely rare in God''s Domain. The Concentration he could receive from raising his levels and improving his equipment was also negligible at best. If he couldn''t process the recorded information with the Concentration of a Tier 3 player, then he would have to wait until he had completed his Tier 4 promotion. As for forcefully trying to read the recorded information, this was absolutely out of the question. Ostensibly, there was only a very large chance for him to enter a deep coma. In reality, if he did try to read the information, then he was guaranteed to fall into a coma. The time he would lose from being in a coma was one thing. What he truly feared was the irreparable brain damage. If that happened, he would have a much more difficult time with future tier promotionssomething he definitely didn''t want. Even if the information recorded in this Memory Crystal was incredibly valuable, he still wouldn''t trade his future for it. After all, compared to the information left behind by an Ancient God, reaching Tier 5 and Tier 6 was much more important. Wait! There''s another method I can use to read this Memory Crystal! Just as Shi Feng was about to store the Memory Crystal, he received a sudden inspiration. Divine Will! If I can polish myself using the Tier 4 Divine Will, I can push my Concentration from the peak of Tier 3 to the Tier 4 standard. So long as my Concentration reaches the Tier 4 standard, I shouldn''t have any problems reading the information recorded in this! The more Shi Feng thought about it, the more he found his plan to be feasible. Anyone else would still have difficulties pushing their Concentration to the Tier 4 standard within two short days, even if they could train themselves using the Tier 4 Divine Will. However, it was a different story for him. Thanks to his Advanced Bloodline, his Concentration standard had long since reached the peak of Tier 3, just a step shy of the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, he was very familiar with training using the Divine Will. Given one day, he had an excellent chance of pushing his Concentration to the Tier 4 standard. No sooner had Shi Feng stored the Memory Crystal than Aqua Rose called him and announced, "Guild Leader, we discovered the Trial Boss!" 2638 Ancient Lich, Black Dragons Soul Chapter 2638 - Ancient Lich, Black Dragon''s Soul Aqua Rose and the others wore grim expressions on their faces as they looked at a towering, dilapidated altar some distance away in the middle of the tunnel. The reason for their reactions was that the altar''s surroundings were filled with Trial Warriors and Trial Elitesthese monsters numbering around 3,000in addition to the Trial Boss. Moreover, the four corners of the altar each had a Mana Tower. Not only did the Mana Towers suppress all hostile forces within their range, but they also prevented players from using any Skills and Spells. "This is just cheating! Not only are there so many monsters around the Boss, but there are actually four Mana Towers as well! With this, let alone a 200-man team, even a 2,000-man team can''t do anything!" Floating Light cursed despite himself as he looked at the four Mana Towers. Mana Towers were strategic-level defensive constructions and not just any ordinary constructions, but top-tier Advanced Constructions. They were also things that players on the western continent were extremely familiar with. After all, every one of the western continent''s NPC cities possessed these defensive constructions. The Mana Tower was also a large part of the reason why the western continent''s NPC cities could develop steadily despite having to face the constant threat of the Demonic Creature armies. Originally, the Trial Boss and its underlings already had an absolute advantage. Now, these monsters even boasted the protection of four Mana Towers. How were players like themselves supposed to clear this trial? "Sure enough, it is still too early for us to come here." Crimson Star could not help a bitter smile as she considered the resting Lich sitting atop the altar. [Zorok] (Ancient Lich, Superior Mythic) Level 122 HP 3,700,000,000/3,700,000,000 While Zorok''s HP of 3.7 billion wasn''t particularly high for an Ancient Lich, this amount was more than enough to instill despair into players. Very few magically oriented monsters existed in God''s Domain. However, compared to physically oriented monsters of the same level and rank, magically oriented monsters were around 30% to 40% more difficult to handle. This was akin to the difference between physical-class NPCs and magical-class NPCs. Magical-class NPCs were more adept at executing long-range, AOE attacks and could wreak much greater destruction than physical-class NPCs could. Meanwhile, Ancient Liches were monsters that possessed magical talent surpassing even that of Elves. In the hands of an Ancient Lich, Spells were no different from toys; it could play around with magic however it wanted to. Previously, Violet Sword had come across a Level 87, Mythic ranked Ancient Lich out in the fields. In order to defeat it, the Guild had dispatched a 5,000-man legion filled with Level 90-plus experts, who had taken turns attacking the Boss in teams of 1,000. In the end, they had slain the Ancient Lichbut at the cost of nearly 4,000 experts. Now, not only was the Ancient Lich before them Level 122, but it was even a Superior Mythic ranked monster. If they came across this Ancient Lich in the outside world, they would''ve most likely turned tail and fled already. To make matters worse, there were thousands of trial monsters and four Mana Towers supporting the Ancient Lich. With this, even a 10,000-man legion filled with expert players of the same level wouldn''t be able to raid it. At this moment, let alone Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members, even Aqua Rose and the other Zero Wing members frowned upon seeing Zorok. After all, the raid difficulty of this Trial Boss was simply stratospheric. In fact, in their opinion, Zorok was no longer a Boss that players could challenge at Tier 3. Only a Tier 4 team would have any hope of raiding it. "Guild Leader Black Flame, the Boss''s raid difficulty is too high. Even if we throw all our lives away and use all our trump cards, I''m afraid we still won''t be able to pose a threat to the Boss. Do you still wish to continue fighting?" Wildfighter asked as he turned to Shi Feng, who had just rejoined the team. At the same time, though, he could not help but sigh in disappointment. They had gone through great lengths to reach the Trial Boss. If there were a chance of success, he would want to try raiding the Trial Boss as well. However, no matter how he looked at the situation, he simply couldn''t see any hope whatsoever. After all, if they wished to raid the Ancient Lich, they would need to destroy the four Mana Towers first. Otherwise, they would be no different from live targets for the Ancient Lich, unable to put up any resistance at all. However, destroying the four Mana Towers was easier said than done. After all, they would have to go up against the Trial Boss and several thousand trial monsters when attacking the Mana Towers. To make matters worse, the Mana Towers possessed incredibly strong defensive capabilities. Attacks below the Tier 4 standard wouldn''t even scratch the towers. However, with the four Mana Towers suppressing all hostile forces within the vicinity, they wouldn''t be able to use any Skills or Spells against the towers. In other words, they would have to use normal attacks against these Mana Towers while also having weakened Basic Attributes. In such a situation, how many players on the team could execute attacks reaching the Tier 4 standard? If they had to rely on only a handful of players to destroy the four Mana Towers, it was unlikely that they could destroy even one Mana Tower before they team-wiped. Not to mention, the Mana Towers would also periodically launch large-scale destruction Spells. Just one of these Spells would be more than enough to annihilate their team. Facing the simultaneous attacks of four Mana Towers was an absolute nightmare. "Guild Leader Black Flame, if you''re reluctant to give up, I can suggest to the Guild to alter our agreement to clearing the Elite Trial instead of the Hero Trial. Only, the slots you will receive at that time will be significantly reduced. What do you think?" Crimson Star suggested. Wildfighter did not show any disagreement with Crimson Star''s proposal. The strength Zero Wing had displayed during the trial truly exceeded their imaginations. For Violet Sword, being able to form a partnership with Zero Wing was definitely a good thing. "Crimson Star really reacted quickly." Duan Hanshan smiled faintly when he overheard Crimson Star''s suggestion. However, he wasn''t particularly surprised. Zero Wing''s potential was already clear for all to see. If nothing untoward happened, it would definitely grow into a superpower in the future. The Guild would be especially powerful due to its ability to nurture players. If Violet Sword''s young talents could receive Zero Wing''s training as well, Violet Sword might even have a chance to become one of the Five Great Super Guilds. After seeing Crimson Star''s actions, Duan Hanshan also felt the need to have the Azure Chamber of Commerce further deepen its relationship with Zero Wing. However, as soon as Crimson Star finished speaking, Shi Feng shook his head. "If the problem is with the slots, I can try to negotiate with the others in the Guild, Guild Leader Black Flame," Wildfighter said when he saw Shi Feng shaking his head. "No, you misunderstand me, Vice Commander Wildfighter. I don''t have any problem with your proposal. Only, I still wish to challenge the Boss. After all, it wasn''t easy getting up to this point. It is such a waste to give up without even trying," Shi Feng said. Setting aside the status they would gain in the ancient city after clearing the Hero Trial, just the Ancient Legacy Stele''s recorded information alone made raiding the Trial Boss imperative. After all, the chances of coming across an Ancient Legacy Stele in God''s Domain were abysmally low, not to mention one that required such a large Memory Crystal. If he could get his hands on the recorded information, it would most likely be the greatest harvest from this Hero Trial. Hence, he naturally couldn''t give up without a fight. "But those Mana Towers" Crimson Star countered worriedly when she saw that Shi Feng still wished to attempt the raid. "What if we can destroy those Mana Towers within a short time?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought. "Destroy those towers within a short time?" Shi Feng''s words threw Crimson Star for a loop. Skeptical, she asked, "Is that possible?" "The odds are roughly even," Shi Feng said after making some mental calculations. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, everyone present stared at him in astonishment. For a moment, they thought that Shi Feng was joking with them. These were four Mana Towers they were talking about! Destroying one without using any Skills or Spells would be as difficult as ascending to heaven. How could they destroy all four of them within a short time? "If you really have an even chance of success, then we can give your plan a try," Crimson Star said as she turned to study the distant altar. Wildfighter nodded in agreement. The most troublesome part about this entire raid was the four Mana Towers. If it was possible to destroy the four Mana Towers quickly, then an attempt was indeed justified. "Since everyone agrees, that makes things simple," Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw that Crimson Star and Wildfighter were willing to try raiding the Trial Boss. "Afterward, I''ll personally destroy the four Mana Towers. During this period, I hope that you can keep the trial monsters busy." "You''ll destroy the four Mana Towers yourself?" Crimson Star gaped at Shi Feng in disbelief. Although Shi Feng''s attacks indeed carried power at the Tier 4 standard, the amount of time it would take him to destroy the Mana Towers on his own was no laughing matter. "That''s right. I''ll destroy them," Shi Feng replied seriously while nodding. "Alright, then. Since you wish to try, then let''s try it, Guild Leader Black Flame," Crimson Star sighed helplessly when she saw that he was serious. At this point, she no longer held any hope of him succeeding. However, she didn''t mind letting the Violet Sword members present die once to consolidate Violet Sword''s partnership with Zero Wing. After all, aside from the long resurrection time, the death penalty players suffered in the ancient secret land was very low. Following which, everyone present readied themselves for battle and positioned themselves right outside the Mana Towers'' suppression radius. Once they were given the command, they would immediately charge into the battlefield and attract the trial monsters'' attention. "Guild Leader Black Flame, everything''s ready! You may start anytime!" Crimson Star reported to Shi Feng after seeing that everyone was in position. "Good! I''ll start now!" After saying so, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and activated Black Dragon''s Soul. 2639 Black Dragon Kings Migh Chapter 2639 - Black Dragon King''s Might When Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and activated Black Dragon''s Soul, the Abyssal Blade immediately transformed into a cloud of black mist, which then enveloped Shi Feng completely before expanding to cover a 60-yard radius around him. Before anyone could react to this strange development, a deafening Dragon roar came from the cloud. In the next moment, a 30-meter-tall Black Dragon leaped out of the black mist, releasing a powerful aura that washed over the crowd. "A Dragon?" Crimson Star and Wildfighter could not help doubting their eyes when they saw the incredibly realistic Black Dragon before them. The Dragon race was one of the apex races in God''s Domain. Dragons were also a symbol of strength and destruction. Whenever one appeared on the continent of God''s Domain, turmoil would follow. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually transformed himself into a Dragon. Moreover, in terms of appearance or Life Rating, he was exactly the same as a true Dragon. The only unfortunate matter was that the Dragon that Shi Feng had transformed into was only Tier 3. Even so, this was still an astounding ability. After all, a Dragon''s Attributes were far superior to those of existences of the same tier. However, while the Violet Sword and Azure members were astonished by this matter, they were, after all, core experts of their respective Guilds and quickly snapped out of their daze. Upon receiving Aqua Rose''s command, they promptly charged toward the altar, together with Zero Wing''s members. As soon as everyone entered the range of the Mana Towers, the altar''s trial monsters detected them. Before they could even get within 300 yards of the altar, the trial monsters had already moved into position, with 500 trial monsters standing resolutely at the bottom of the altar''s staircase. The remaining trial monsters positioned themselves on the various steps of the staircase and readied their bows. So long as the intruding players were within their attack range, they would immediately loose their arrows. The four Mana Towers surrounding the altar also started launching magic beams at the team. Boom Boom Boom Immediately, four light pillars emerged within the trial tunnel and vaporized everything within range. Fortunately, all the members on the team had spread out. In addition, the Mana Towers'' cannons did not possess a very large AOE. As a result, aside from some unlucky players that had bad positioning, everyone else managed to slip out of the beam attacks'' AOE in time. Even so, the team had still lost over a dozen players just from that first round of attacks. Upon seeing this, the surviving members of the team gulped nervously, grim expressions settling on their faces. They hadn''t even started fighting, yet they had already lost over a dozen members. At this rate, they would most likely get annihilated before they could even kill a trial monster. However, just as a heavy atmosphere descended on the team, a black figure suddenly flew overhead and arrived within 100 yards of a Mana Tower in the blink of an eye. Seeing this figure, everyone relaxed slightly and breathed out a sigh of relief. Only, when Shi Feng arrived within 100 yards of the first Mana Tower, the Ancient Lich seated at the top of the altar suddenly opened its eyes, the blood-red glow in its hollow eye sockets locking on to him immediately. The Lich then extended its hand at the Black Dragon and started chanting an incantation. Less than a second later, a twofold magic array appeared beneath the Lich''s feet. "Speed-casting?" Crimson Star''s complexion darkened when she saw Zorok''s spellcasting. Zorok originally already possessed incredibly high HP for an Ancient Lich. Now, it was even capable of executing speed-casting. Moreover, its speed-casting was exceptionally fast; a Tier 4 Spell, which usually required four or five seconds to cast, got completed in less than a second. The Lich''s casting speed was simply unbelievable. The instant the twofold magic array took shape, several hundred ice blades formed around Zorok. The ice blades then tore space as they shot straight at Shi Feng. Tier 4 Spell, Frost Dance! Not only did every one of these ice blades carry power surpassing that of Tier 4 Mythic monsters, but they also froze their surroundings completely. As the several hundred ice blades flew toward Shi Feng, they transformed their surroundings into a world of frost. Seeing this scene, everyone could not help but grow anxious. Dodging Zorok''s attack was virtually impossible. If Shi Feng got stuck dealing with the Ancient Lich''s attacks, then he wouldn''t even be able to close in on the Mana Towers. Just when the several hundred ice blades were about to devour Shi Feng, he suddenly extended a claw and swiped at the empty space before him. The phantom of a gigantic claw instantly appeared in midair. Holy Annihilation Mana Technique, Lightshadow! In the next moment, the gigantic claw tore through the frozen world and transformed the space before Shi Feng into a pitch-black void. The several hundred ice blades disappeared completely as if they had never appeared to begin with. "He blocked it" "So, this is Guild Leader Black Flame''s true strength?" Everyone present was stupefied when they saw the pitch-black void that had formed before the Black Dragon. Those were several hundred ice blades! Every one of those ice blades carried power surpassing that of ordinary Mythic monsters. Going up against the Ancient Lich''s attack would be akin to going up against the simultaneous attacks of several hundred Mythic monsters, yet Shi Feng had actually nullified all those ice blades with just a single blow. However, before everyone could snap out of their daze, Shi Feng flapped his wings and arrived before the nearest Mana Tower. He then sent a claw smashing into the 60-meter-tall tower. Boom! Along with a thundering explosion, the magic barrier protecting the Mana Tower shattered. The Mana Tower itself had also started trembling violently, its original durability of 5,000 instantly decreasing by over 200 points. Crimson Star and the others, who were still charging toward the altar, nearly had their eyes fall out of their sockets when they saw this. The Mana Tower''s defensive capability was at the Tier 4 standard. In other words, non-Tier 4 attacks wouldn''t harm the Mana Tower at all. Even if a Tier 3 attack managed to cause damage, it would, at most, reduce the tower''s durability by the standard 20 points. Now, however, Shi Feng had reduced the Mana Tower''s durability by over 200 points with just one attack. The power he demonstrated was simply astonishing. At this moment, let alone Crimson Star and the others, even Shi Feng himself was surprised by this situation. Transforming into a Black Dragon King actually elevated my Strength to such an extent? When Shi Feng saw that the torn space before him was not showing any signs of recovery, he determined that the power of his attack had indeed reached the Advanced Tier 4 standard. Before he had transformed into a Black Dragon King, his Basic Attributes allowed him to exhibit power at only the Basic Tier 4 standard. However, in God''s Domain, further elevating one''s power after reaching the Tier 4 standard was incredibly difficult. Only by being capable of exhibiting power at the Advanced Tier 4 standard would one be able to just barely reach the standard of Superior Mythics. In other words, even without using any techniques, he could currently contend against the weakest of Superior Mythics. Despite this astonishing discovery, Shi Feng quickly recovered his senses and resumed attacking the Mana Tower before him. -224! -219! -222! As Shi Feng''s claws landed on the Mana Tower one after another, the tower''s durability rapidly decreased. In no time at all, the Mana Tower had already lost one-fifth of its total durability, the speed of its deterioration making Crimson Star and the others'' blood boil. At this time, though, both the Mana Towers and the Ancient Lich launched counterattacks at Shi Feng. Immediately, the four Mana Towers fired their magic cannons at Shi Feng, while the Ancient Lich used its Domain and over a dozen magic blades to restrict and attack him. Every one of the attacks sent at Shi Feng carried the power of a Superior Mythic. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng continued using Lightshadow to defend himself before resuming his bombardment of the Mana Tower before him. However, Lightshadow placed an enormous burden on Shi Feng''s Concentration. Even after he transformed into a Black Dragon King and gained a much superior physique, the amount of Concentration he consumed when executing Lightshadow hardly decreased. By the time Shi Feng had destroyed the second Mana Tower, he no longer dared to use Lightshadow to defend against the Mana Towers'' and Ancient Lich''s attacks, opting to use Sword''s Orbit instead. However, the boost in power Sword''s Orbit provided was inferior to that from Lightshadow. As a result, Shi Feng continuously lost HP as he defended himself. Approaching and attacking the Mana Towers also became much more difficult. By the time Shi Feng destroyed the third Mana Tower, his HP had already fallen to 64%. At this point, Zorok''s attacks became even more frenzied. And when Shi Feng started attacking the fourth Mana Tower, the Ancient Lich also started double speed-casting and dishing out Tier 4 Spells like they were nothing. When Shi Feng''s HP fell to 24%, the fourth and last Mana Tower''s durability zeroed out. At the same time, the suppression on the space surrounding the altar disappeared, and everyone was free to use Skills and Spells again. Zorok grew thoroughly enraged upon seeing the fourth Mana Tower''s destruction. "Damnable Dragon! Die!" Zorok bellowed as it glared at Shi Feng. The world around Shi Feng immediately dimmed as a gigantic, threefold magic array appeared above his head. "A Tier 4 Curse?" Shi Feng''s complexion darkened when he saw the threefold magic array. As he stared at it in shock, flames of annihilation suddenly descended from the threefold magic array, covering a 500-yard radius and enveloping the entire altar. Tier 4 Curse, Annihilation Lotus! The faces of Crimson Star and the others sank at this sight. "Shatter!" Not daring to hold back, Shi Feng immediately widened his mouth and used his strongest moveDragon Breath. 2640 Suppressing the Ancient Lich Chapter 2640 - Suppressing the Ancient Lich Dragon Breath! The Dragon race''s trademark move allowed Dragons to gather all their power into a single point and propel it. The resulting attack would carry power far beyond what Dragons could normally exhibit. Dragon Breath was also one of the main reasons why Dragons were labeled invincible among those of the same tier. A Tier 5 Dragon Breath could even destroy entire cities. The destructive power a Dragon Breath carried was even greater than a Taboo Skill or Curse of the same tier. After Shi Feng executed Dragon Breath, a scorching white beam shot at the massive pillar of flames descending from the sky. Boom Boom Boom When the two attacks collided, space around the point of collision shattered and transformed into a pitch-black void. The powerful shockwaves from the impact were palpable even over a thousand yards away. When the clash ended, everyone was stupefied by the outcome. "What?! He blocked it?!" "That was a Tier 4 Curse! Even a true Tier 3 Dragon shouldn''t be able to stop that! How did he do it?" Crimson Star and the other magical-class players on the team felt like they were dreaming when they saw the threefold magic array above them fading out of existence. The Tier 4 Curse Zorok cast rivaled a Tier 5 Spell. Meanwhile, a Tier 5 Spell could break through even the defensive magic array of Main Cities, let alone annihilate a measly 200-man team of Tier 3 players. When they saw Zorok casting the Tier 4 Curse, they had known that the battle was over and resigned themselves to death. None of them thought that Shi Feng would actually be able to stop this frightening attack and keep the whole team alive. His abilities were truly inhuman. Thank goodness I managed to block it. Otherwise, that really would have been a team-wipe. Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the descending pillar of flames dissipating. If not for him having further improved his understanding of the Realms of Truth and managing to integrate Advanced Combat Techniques into his actions, he wouldn''t have been able to elevate his Dragon Breath''s destructive power. In that case, both he and everyone else below him would''ve been burnt to ashes. However, before Shi Feng and the others could catch their breath, Zorok started chanting once more and summoned another threefold magic array. "How is this possible!?" "This is a lie, right?! How can it still use another Tier 4 Curse?!" Everyone''s complexion paled when they saw the Ancient Lich using another Tier 4 Curse. Most of the Bosses in God''s Domain possessed only one team-wipe move. And even if a Boss had multiple team-wipe moves, it wouldn''t use them back to back. Now, however, Zorok was chanting another Tier 4 Curse right after using one. The Ancient Lich thoroughly shattered the conventions of God''s Domain. It''s not even waiting for the ambient Mana to recover? At this moment, let alone everyone else, even Shi Feng was surprised by this situation. He was not surprised that Zorok was using Tier 4 Curses back to back. After all, the Ancient Lich was a magically oriented Boss. However, Zorok had just used a Tier 4 Curse, so the Mana around it was still extremely sparse. If the Lich used another Tier 4 Curse now, the power of the Curse would be significantly weaker. Zorok should''ve waited for the ambient Mana to recover before using another killing move, yet the Lich did not do so. Even for Shi Feng, this was a fresh development. "It''s over Its casting speed is too fast. We don''t even have time to use Tier 3 Curses to defend ourselves." Crimson Star despaired when she saw the fully formed, threefold magic array. She never thought that, after Shi Feng destroyed the four Mana Towers and blocked one of the Ancient Lich''s killing moves, things would turn out this way. With Dragon Breath on Cooldown, it should not be possible for Shi Feng to use it again within a short time. In addition, he was simply too far away from Zorok. Even if he wanted to, he couldn''t interrupt the Ancient Lich''s spellcasting. Meanwhile, the formation of a Tier 3 Curse took at least three or four seconds. They simply didn''t have enough time to defend against the Ancient Lich''s second attack. Just as Zorok was about to incant the final verse of its Curse, however, a lithe figure suddenly appeared before it and slashed her greatsword down at the Lich. In the next moment, a flash dazzled everyone''s eyes as the greatsword smashed into the Ancient Lich''s skull. Not only did the attack forcefully interrupt the Ancient Lich''s spellcasting, but it also made the Lich itself stumble two steps back, suffering over four million damage. "Gentle Snow?!" "Over four million damage?! How high is her Strength?!" Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members were surprised when they discerned the identity of the Ancient Lich''s attacker. They never thought that Zero Wing actually had another expert capable of contending against the Ancient Lich. While the Ancient Lich was indeed a magically oriented Boss, the Basic Attributes it possessed were still far superior to ordinary Mythic monsters''. Without Strength surpassing that of ordinary Mythic monsters, one wouldn''t be able to budge the Ancient Lich in the slightest. Meanwhile, after Gentle Snow interrupted Zorok, Shi Feng immediately flew forward to keep it busy. He gave the Lich no opportunities to cast any more Tier 4 Curses. "Good! A chance! Everyone, charge!" Wildfighter yelled excitedly when he saw the Ancient Lich occupied. Now that the Mana Towers were gone, so long as the Ancient Lich was prevented from using any more Tier 4 Curses and they could get within melee range of it, they would have an opportunity for victory. After all, what magically oriented Bosses feared the most was melee combat. So long as they managed to pull Zorok into a melee, the Boss''s threat would be halved. Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members charged at the trial monsters'' defensive line with renewed vigor. Taking the lead, Wildfighter, Crimson Star, Sinful Flame, Duan Hanshan, Solitary Frost, Yan Xiaoqian, and Floating Light were like the team''s spearhead. They instantly broke a hole through the defensive line and allowed the team''s other members to flood through it. However, the higher up the altar the team ascended, the more trial monsters they encountered. As a result, the team''s advance gradually slowed. "Damn it! There are too many Trial Elites! At this rate, we''ll get killed before we can even close with the Boss!" Floating Light cursed as he fought three Grand Lord ranked Trial Elites simultaneously. Previously, he still had the upper hand when he went up against two Trial Elites. However, as they ascended the altar, the number of Trial Elites they came across increased. Now, facing the simultaneous attacks of three Trial Elites, he didn''t even have the opportunity to retaliate and could only passively defend himself. His HP also continuously decreased, and he needed the support of the healers in order to stay alive. At this moment, everyone was struggling in their fight against the trial monsters, their HPs continuously decreasing. Now, they were completely reliant on the team''s healers to keep their HPs above a safe margin. "We can''t continue dragging the fight out like this! Violet and Wonder, you two open up a path! Everyone else, follow them! I''ll hold the rear!" Aqua Rose commanded when she saw that the team was already surrounded. "Follow the two of them?" The Violet Sword and Azure members present were confused by Aqua Rose''s command. Yan Xiaoqian, in particular, found it unbelievable. Setting aside Violet Cloud, who held the upper hand even while going up against three Trial Elites simultaneously, Silent Wonder was just barely holding her ground against three Trial Elites. In fact, Yan Xiaoqian was faring even better than Silent Wonder right now, yet Aqua Rose wanted Silent Wonder to spearhead a breakthrough in the encirclement? However, before anyone could object to Aqua Rose''s strange command, Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder both nodded and charged toward the thick of the monsters. "What are they doing?! They''re already outside the range of the healers!" Crimson Star suspected that Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder had gone crazy when she saw the two charging into the mob of trial monsters. Although Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder possessed relatively high combat standards and extraordinary combat power, they would still take significant damage if they went up against too many trial monsters at once. Without the support of healers, they wouldn''t last very long. Even if Violet Cloud was a Cleric herself, she currently had to focus on attacking and defending. She didn''t have any time to spare casting Healing Spells. However, as soon as Crimson Star finished speaking, blades of Mana started appearing around the two women. Void Blade! Shadow Rage! The two of them combined had summoned over 300 magic blades. Moreover, every magic blade carried so much power that the space around them trembled. The power of these magic blades was definitely at the Tier 4 standard. "Go!" Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder let loose a low shout. The trial monsters surrounding them got blasted away one after another, and in no time at all, no monster remained within a 40-yard radius of the duo. Moreover, any monster that tried to approach them got repelled immediately. 2641 Zero Wings Combat Power Chapter 2641 - Zero Wing''s Combat Power The sudden appearance of empty space on the altar''s staircase instantly silenced Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members. "They were holding back all this time?" Yan Xiaoqian could not help doubting her eyes as she stared at Silent Wonder. After fully unlocking her own Mana Body as well, Yan Xiaoqian had thought that she had already caught up to and possibly even surpassed Silent Wonder. After all, in terms of combat standard, Silent Wonder had just recently entered the Void Realm, whereas she was only half a step away from the Domain Realm. Now, however "Are all of Zero Wing''s members monsters?" Floating Light''s eyes were wide with shock as he watched Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder carving a path up the staircase. He already had difficulties taking on three Trial Elites simultaneously, yet Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder currently held the upper hand despite going up against several hundred Trial Warriors and Trial Elites. None of the trial monsters could get within 30 yards of the duo. Their strength was simply unbelievable. Even Crimson Star and Wildfighter wouldn''t be a match for Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder. Or to put it in another way, they were standing on completely different levels. "Good! Everyone, enter the clearing they created!" Aqua Rose immediately commanded, unfazed by the strength Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder were displaying. Upon hearing Aqua Rose''s command, Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members promptly snapped out of their daze and hurriedly followed Zero Wing''s members into the 30-yard safe zone the duo had created. For a time, the entire team steadily closed in on the Ancient Lich while enveloped by Violet Cloud''s and Silent Wonder''s attacks, which formed a barrier that prevented the trial monsters from harming the team. "Sure enough, the two of them have already achieved a considerably high standard in the Spiritualization Realm. Every one of their magic blades actually integrates a combat technique. It''s as if they''ve assimilated Basic Combat Techniques into their souls," Sinful Flame muttered as he marveled at the magic blades flying around the team. "They''ve integrated Basic Combat Techniques into every one of their magic blades? How is that possible?" Yan Xiaoqian exclaimed when she overheard Sinful Flame''s mutterings. Just executing a combat technique normally was plenty difficult. Executing combat techniques in quick succession was even more difficult. As for executing several hundred combat techniques simultaneously, that was simply inhuman. "However, they have indeed succeeded in doing so. In fact, they''re doing it as naturally as breathing," Sinful Flame said, a bitter smile forming on his face as he responded to Yan Xiaoqian''s astonishment. "Moreover, they aren''t the only ones in Zero Wing capable of it. I really don''t know how Black Flame managed to nurture so many monsters." As Sinful Flame and Yan Xiaoqian were conversing, the team arrived within 50 yards of the Ancient Lich under Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder''s aegis. However, as the team pressed closer to the Ancient Lich, the magic blades Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder summoned grew increasingly translucent. It was obvious that their duration would end soon. Seeing this, everyone on the team inevitably grew nervous. While being closer to the Trial Boss was a good thing, the number of trial monsters around the Boss greatly exceeded their expectations. If they lost the protection of these magic blades now, they definitely wouldn''t be able to fend off the trial monsters. "Everyone, gather around the Boss and focus fire on it! Summer and I will hold the rear!" Aqua Rose shouted through the team chat when she saw that the magic blades were about to vanish. She then rushed to the rear of the team. "This" Everyone was stunned by Aqua Rose''s words. Although the altar''s staircase was only 60 yards wide, which a magical-class player could easily cover so long as they stood in the middle, they would be up against several thousand trial monsters. Let alone two magical-class players, even a hundred magical-class players couldn''t stop the assault of so many monsters. Normally, the majority of the team would hold off the trial monsters while a small number of peak experts dealt with the Boss. Now, however, Aqua Rose intended to stop these several thousand trial monsters with just two people. She was simply insane! However, before Crimson Star and Wildfighter could offer up their suggestion, Aqua Rose had already started incanting. A dark-blue, twofold magic array, angled toward the staircase, immediately appeared above her. When she tapped the butt of her staff on the ground, a torrent of water gushed out of the magic array and down the altar''s staircase. The frightening deluge flushed the trial monsters down the staircase. After the floodwaters swept away the trial monsters, Alluring Summer, who stood beside Aqua Rose, also completed her incantation. An electric barrier formed at the top of the staircase, preventing ingress. However, while the electric barrier stopped the trial monsters'' advance, it did not block the trial monsters'' attacks. For a time, every trial monster could be seen firing arrows at Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer. Everyone felt their scalp going numb when they saw the rain of several thousand arrows. However, as if they were graceful butterflies, Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer easily weaved their way around the arrows. In the end, not a single arrow managed to land on the two of them. "Crap! What kind of Guild is Zero Wing?!" Floating Light gaped in shock when he saw Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer stopping the advance of several thousand trial monsters all by themselves. At this moment, let alone Floating Light, even Solitary Frost and Yan Xiaoqian, who had lived together with Zero Wing''s members for a while, were shocked by this scene. They felt as if this was their first time learning of the Guild known as Zero Wing. "Everyone, stop daydreaming! We need to help Guild Leader Black Flame deal with the Boss quickly!" Crimson Star ordered through the team chat after snapping out of her daze. Upon hearing Crimson Star''s reminder, Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members also promptly regained their composure. Indeed, now wasn''t the time to watch Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer. Dealing with the Ancient Lich took priority. Everyone else on the team then charged at the Ancient Lich and started assisting Shi Feng and Gentle Snow in dealing with the Trial Boss. Although Zorok was incredibly powerful, it was, at the end of the day, still a magically oriented monster. After its opponents got within melee range of it, it would be fortunate if it could exhibit even half of its usual combat power. Moreover, with Shi Feng and Gentle Snow''s constant harassment, Zorok couldn''t even cast Tier 4 AOE Spells, let alone Tier 4 Curses. The Ancient Lich''s HP decreased rapidly. Even after Shi Feng reverted into a human, Zorok''s HP still dwindled. After a little more than an hour had passed, the Ancient Lich''s HP had already fallen to 20%. "Despicable humans! I will have all of you pay for daring to interrupt a sacrifice for the Demon God!" Zorok bellowed. A frightening burst of Mana exploded forth from the Ancient Lich''s body, the shockwave so intense that everyone present got knocked back more than 30 yards. "Not good! It''s going to use the Innate Skill of Liches!" Crimson Star turned solemn when she saw the Ancient Lich going berserk. "Everyone, distance yourself from the Boss quickly!" In God''s Domain, every powerful race had their own Innate Skills. An example would be the Dragon race''s Dragon Breath. Another would be Liches'' Frozen World. Not only was this Skill incredibly powerful, but it also could not be interrupted. So long as Frozen World was activated, anyone within range who did not have extremely high Ice Resistance would receive frost damage over time, as well as a Movement Speed debuff. Fortunately, Frozen World had a small AOE with a 40-yard radius. Ranged players could easily attack from outside the AOE. However, being able to use only ranged attacks against a magically oriented Boss wasn''t a good thing. "Don''t even think of getting off so easily!" Shi Feng shouted as he activated the Seven Luminaries Ring''s Forbidden Domain. A layer of gray fog enveloped the entire altar, and the frightening Mana surrounding Zorok scattered and disappeared. As a result, the Ancient Lich failed to gather enough Mana to activate Frozen World. In the end, not only did Zorok not become more difficult to deal with, but it even became weaker instead. With the suppression of Forbidden Domain, the Ancient Lich could cast only Tier 3 Spells. This reduced the raid difficulty significantly. 20% 15% 10% However, as the battle progressed, Zorok also grew increasingly desperate. In exchange for reducing its own Defense and HP, it started using Tier 4 Spells in rapid succession, reaping the lives of the players before it. By the time the Ancient Lich''s HP fell to 5%, less than 100 players remained alive. Fortunately, the damage everyone caused the Lich was also increasing. Moreover, the Lich kept burning its own HP to do battle. As a result, the Lich''s HP still decreased at a rapid rate. "Quick! Attack with everything you''ve got! The Boss is almost down!" Crimson Star shouted anxiously when she saw that the team was down to less than 70 players. At this moment, she could tell that the rate at which Zorok''s HP decreased was slowing. Even though the Ancient Lich only had 3% of its HP left, that was still more than 100 million HP. To make matters worse, everyone''s strongest Skills and Spells were on Cooldown. They didn''t have anything left to increase their DPS. 2% 1% When Zorok''s HP fell below 1%, less than 20 players remained. At this point, aside from Cola, everyone else''s HP was already at a critical level. Everyone was clearly at the end of their rope. Shi Feng decided to throw caution to the wind. He arrived beside the Ancient Lich and raised the Abyssal Blade high. "Die!" First Sword, Lightshadow! One attack Two attacks Three attacks Every attack inflicted over three million damage on the Ancient Lich. However, every execution of Lightshadow gave Shi Feng a massive headache. When he executed the Mana Technique for the third time in a row, his complexion had already turned deathly pale. Nevertheless, Shi Feng endured the pain and continued executing Lightshadow. Five attacks Six attacks Seven attacks Finally, after Shi Feng executed his eighth consecutive Lightshadow, Zorok''s HP zeroed out. The Ancient Lich then let loose an unresigned wail before collapsing to the ground. 2642 Ancient Lichs Loo Chapter 2642 - Ancient Lich''s Loot When the Ancient Lich collapsed to the ground, a purple glow enveloped the bodies of the surviving players. The EXP from the Ancient Lich was far more generous than what even ordinary Superior Mythics awardedso much that Shi Feng jumped directly to Level 120. As everyone''s experience bar was rising rapidly, due to the Ancient Lich''s death, the boundless Mana that had gathered around the altar no longer had anyone binding it to the altar''s vicinity. As a result, the Mana started dispersing, and the trial monsters that were frenziedly attacking Aqua Rose and Alluring Summer suddenly collapsed to the ground, one after another, as if they had lost their souls. "We won?" An indescribable sense of joy and excitement welled up within Aqua Rose when she saw the collapsed trial monsters. At the same time, a sense of relief washed over her. Although both Alluring Summer''s and her HPs had barely decreased, their Stamina and Concentration were already at critical levels. Had the fight continued for another two or three minutes, they would definitely have collapsed from Stamina and Concentration exhaustion. Fortunately, the Ancient Lich had fallen before they did. In the meantime, although Shi Feng and the others felt joyful over defeating the Ancient Lich, they could not help falling on their backs in exhaustion, having almost depleted their Stamina and Concentration already. "The Hero Trial! He actually did it! When Mythology''s people find out about this, they will definitely go crazy!" Crimson Star gazed at Shi Feng, who lay on the ground some distance away, with complicated emotions. Originally, Torre had only meant to use the Hero Trial as bait to buy time. No one from Violet Sword had expected Shi Feng and Zero Wing to succeed. After all, Mythology had partnered with multiple superpowers to form a 200-man team of peak and apex experts and still failed to conquer the ancient city''s Elite Trial. While fighting the Ancient Lich, Crimson Star had entertained the possibility of actually defeating the Trial Boss, but toward the end of the raid, she had concluded that victory was nothing but a fantasy. Near the end, Zorok had started killing multiple players with every move it used. The Ancient Lich would wipe out the remnants of their team in 10 seconds. Meanwhile, trying to wreak over 40 million damage in just 10 seconds was simply impossible for a team of less than 20 surviving players. In the end, however, Shi Feng had surpassed everyone''s expectations. At the final moment, he still managed to dish out such frightening DPS and reap the Ancient Lich''s remaining HP, creating a miracle. "Guild Leader, are you alright?" Fire Dance asked worriedly as she arrived beside Shi Feng. At this moment, the life aura Shi Feng exuded was incredibly weak despite him still having quite a lot of HP. His complexion was also deathly pale. This clearly wasn''t a result of just running out of Stamina or Concentration. "I''m fine. I just forcefully broke through the limits of my Concentration, so I''ll probably need to rest for quite some time to recover," Shi Feng replied, smiling. Because of his rapid-fire use of Lightshadow, he was mentally exhausted. In fact, he would most likely remain in this weakened mental state for quite some time. However, being able to break through the limits of his Concentration was a fortuitous matter. After all, it would allow him to improve his brain capacity. Of course, in order to gain this improvement, he would need the corresponding support facilities and Nutrient Fluids. Otherwise, he would be courting brain damage. While Shi Feng and Fire Dance were conversing, the sound of a system notification entered everyone''s ears. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Hero Trial. Trial Completion Rating - S-rank. Rewarding 500 Lightforged City Contribution Points and Permanent Citizenship. The system notification repeated three times. While Zero Wing''s and Azure''s members did not understand the importance of these rewards, Violet Sword''s members revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces. "What a bountiful reward! According to our investigations of Lightforged City, it''d take at least seven or eight quests just to get 100 Contribution Points. With 500 points, we can directly purchase three Tier 3 Magic Stones and attempt to boost the Completion Rate of our Tier 3 Skills and Spells past the 100% threshold!" Floating Light exclaimed. As he read the contents of the system notification, he felt as if he was dreaming. Although neither Violet Sword nor Mythology had entered the ancient secret land''s Lightforged City before, their research into the city indicated that obtaining Contribution Points in the city was incredibly difficult. Normally, the only way was by doing quests. However, there was not only a restriction of accepting one quest at a time but also a limited number of quests available in the city every day. Meanwhile, Lightforged City''s Contribution Points were the only currency recognized in the city; these points could be exchanged for various useful items. Among the items available for exchange in Lightforged City, the one that attracted the attention of Violet Sword and Mythology the most was the Magic Stone. The Magic Stone was an item that could provide players with guidance on breaking through the 100% limit of their Skills and Spells. A Tier 3 Magic Stone could provide guidance for Tier 3 Skills and Spells. It was undoubtedly a treasure that all expert players desired. After all, Skills and Spells followed players for the rest of their careers in God''s Domain. However, improving the Completion Rate of Skills and Spellsespecially Tier 3 Skills and Spellswas not an easy task. Just being able to achieve a 90% Completion Rate was already an incredibly difficult feat to accomplish. Meanwhile, even reaching 100% Completion Rate with a Tier 3 Skill or Spell would provide a considerable boost to a player''s combat power. If one could break through the 100% limit, the boost in combat power would be even greater. Now that the Hero Trial had awarded each player with 500 Contribution Points, this meant each of them could exchange for three Tier 3 Magic Stones. They were naturally excited by this outcome. At this moment, let alone Violet Sword''s members, even Shi Feng was surprised by this reward. A 500-point reward for every player on the team? This trip really was worth it. Shi Feng similarly felt joyful when he saw the rewards the system granted. Others might not know what it meant to have 500 Contribution Points for an ancient city, but he did. In God''s Domain, a player who managed to rack up 500 Contribution Points in an ancient city could improve their combat power by a significant margin. Setting aside the commonly known Magic Stone, just the most basic Enchanted Potion could allow players to improve their strength rapidly. When consumed, the Enchanted Potion raised the ambient Mana around players to a very high density for six hours. If players fought against powerful monsters or sparred against expert players during this period, they would gain significant improvements. In the past, because of the Magic Stone and Enchanted Potion, Violet Sword had been able to recruit and nurture plenty of expert players, which, in turn, raised the Guild''s strength even closer to that of the Five Great Super Guilds. As Shi Feng and the others were rejoicing over the trial rewards, the Ancient Lich''s corpse suddenly burst into countless particles of light. Immediately afterward, the particles of light coalesced into more than a hundred light globes of varying sizes, every one of which radiated dense Mana. "So, this is the Ancient Lich''s loot?" Everyone gaped in shock when they saw the items that appeared when the light globes faded. Although everyone had anticipated that the Ancient Lich''s loot would be extraordinary, they never thought it would be this abundant. Originally, they had only expected to obtain around two dozen Noble Authority Tokens. However, there were over 60 tokens, as well as over 20 Inferior Legendary materials and six Legendary materials. Aside from the tokens and materials, the Ancient Lich had also dropped a total of 14 pieces of Dark-Gold Equipment and four pieces of Epic Equipment. At this point in time, even the various superpowers barely had any Level 100-plus Epic items. Now, however, the Ancient Lich had dropped four Level 100-plus Epic items, including an Epic Weapon. Azure''s members could not help but drool over the Ancient Lich''s loot. The four Epic items aside, just the Legendary materials dropped were more than enough to make any superpower envious. After all, Legendary materials could be used to produce custom-made Epic Weapons and Equipment that had high compatibility with the players they were made for. Moreover, the production would also have a relatively high success rate. With the six Legendary materials dropped, it was possible to create six custom-made Epic Weapons and Equipment! "Guild Leader Black Flame, according to our agreement, you have priority in choosing one item. Please take your pick," Crimson Star said to Shi Feng after recollecting herself. "In that case, I''ll choose that tattered scroll," Shi Feng said, pointing at a tattered scroll radiating Mana so dense that it was second only to the Mana from the Epic Weapon. "Guild Leader Black Flame, are you sure?" Crimson Star looked at Shi Feng in confusion when she saw the item he chose. In her opinion, the best item the Ancient Lich dropped was the Epic-ranked axe. After all, the axe wasn''t just any ordinary Epic Weapon but the Replica of a Legendary Weapon, ranking at the top even among Epic Weapons. When equipped, it could raise the combat power of current peak experts by at least 30%. It should be of great help even to Domain Realm experts like herself. As for the tattered scroll Shi Feng chose, she had tried using an Identification Skill on it already. Although the scroll radiated powerful Mana and looked very special, it was just a damaged Epic Scroll. The cost of repair alone would most likely be high. Not to mention, a scroll was also a Consumable. How could it possibly compare to an Epic Weapon in terms of value? "Mhm. I''m choosing it," Shi Feng said as he nodded in affirmation. At this stage of the game, aside from himself, there was most likely nobody else in God''s Domain that would recognize this tattered scroll. This scroll was also the reason why he wanted priority pick over the Trial Boss''s loot. This was because this scroll was something that could be obtained only from the First Clear of Lightforged City''s entrance trial. The Legacy Scroll! This Magic Scroll directly teleported players to the Legacy Land of their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, saving them plenty of time. In addition, it could be used to negate a failed attempt at challenging the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, allowing players to re-challenge their Promotion Quest right away in the same Legacy Land. The Tier 4 Promotion Quest was drastically different from past Promotion Quests. Every time players challenged their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, they would be sent to a different Legacy Land. Hence, players had no opportunity to learn from their failures and try again. However, if they could reattempt a Promotion Quest in the same Legacy Land, their chances of success would increase drastically. Only, the Legacy Scroll the Ancient Lich dropped was somewhat different from what Shi Feng had heard in his previous life. In the past, the Legacy Scroll obtained from Lightforged City''s entrance trial was at the Dark-Gold rank. On the other hand, the one the Ancient Lich dropped was actually at the Epic rank. However, Shi Feng did not dwell on the matter, quickly storing the Legacy Scroll. And after splitting the loot equally with Violet Sword, Shi Feng and the others promptly left the trial space. Once they exited the trial space, they entered Lightforged City under Crimson Star''s lead, not bothering to wait at the trial entrance for the dead to get automatically resurrected. 2643 Astonishing Lightforged City Chapter 2643 - Astonishing Lightforged City Ancient secret land, Lightforged City: With a flash, Shi Feng and the other survivors of his team arrived in the middle of a plaza. The plaza was gigantic, easily able to house four sports stadiums. Erected in its center were more than a hundred seven-meter-tall statues. Every one of these statues had a different appearance: some were armor-clad warriors; some, staff-wielding mages; and some, archers sporting bows. Despite their different appearances, these statues shared one similaritya powerful aura. It felt as if these statues were alive. Upon seeing these statues, Shi Feng and the others were stunned. "This ancient city is truly amazing. Just the statues in this teleportation plaza would most likely be enough to drive the experts in the outside world crazy," Shi Feng exclaimed as he studied the statues before him. The statues on the plaza might look ordinary, but in reality, they contained information on Basic Combat Techniques catering to the class they represented. At this point in time, practically every player in God''s Domain already knew about the existence of combat techniques. However, the number of players that had the opportunity to learn a combat technique was still incredibly low. This was especially true for independent players. However, inside Lightforged City, information on Basic Combat Techniques was on display as if it was worthless garbage. Players could freely learn the combat techniques displayed whenever they wanted and at no cost at allmoreover, these combat techniques catered to specific classes. The wealth and generosity of Lightforged City were truly astonishing. At this stage of the game, even the members of the various major powers had to pay a certain price and make sufficient contributions in order to learn Basic Combat Techniques, yet players could freely learn them in this plaza. Furthermore, the ambient Mana inside Lightforged City was also incredibly dense. If players trained in Lightforged City''s arenas, their improvement speed would definitely be several times higher than normal. "The Mana here is very special. If I can train here long-term, I might be able to further unlock my Mana Body," Violet Cloud said excitedly through the team chat. "Indeed. Just standing here, I can already feel my control over Mana strengthening. If I can take advantage of this experience, I might be able to further unlock my Mana Body as well," Aqua Rose said, nodding. Everyone else in the team had also noticed the special effects of Lightforged City''s Mana, their eyes glowing with excitement at this discovery. For Violet Sword''s Crimson Star and Wildfighter, nothing was more attractive than being able to fully unlock their Mana Bodies as soon as possible. Or to put it in another way, expediting the unlocking of the Mana Body was something the various superpowers were constantly seeking to accomplish. As for Zero Wing''s members and Azure''s Sinful Flame, Solitary Frost, and Yan Xiaoqian, breaking through the Mana Body''s 100% threshold was something they dreamed of achieving. After all, the difference between a Mana Body that had broken through the 100% threshold and a Mana Body that had yet to do so was massiveas Violet Cloud had proven. However, trying to break through the Mana Body''s 100% threshold was incredibly difficult. In fact, they hardly had any leads on doing so. Now that the Mana here was giving them some clues, they naturally grew excited. In this situation, though, Sinful Flame, Solitary Frost, and Yan Xiaoqian could not help envying Zero Wing''s and Violet Sword''s members. After all, Zero Wing''s and Violet Sword''s members could train in Lightforged City whenever they wanted. On the other hand, Azure''s members had only two days[1]. Upon realizing this, Yan Xiaoqian and Solitary Frost took a seat and focused on the sensations they were currently experiencing. After all, it was unknown when they would get another opportunity to visit Lightforged City. "There''s still quite some time before the alchemy array disappears. Let''s take a look at Lightforged City''s City Lord''s Mansion first. It won''t be too late to start training afterward," Shi Feng suggested, chuckling when he saw Yan Xiaoqian and the others sitting down to circulate their Mana. "I guess you''re right," Yan Xiaoqian answered, nodding as she dismissed her thoughts of training immediately. Upon further consideration, she felt that what Shi Feng said was indeed correct. The special effects of the ancient city''s Mana could be said to be a bonus only. The true value of the city remained in its City Lord''s Mansion, where players could exchange for the various items available only in the ancient city, using the city''s Contribution Points. Currently, every one of them had 500 Contribution Points. It would be a pity not to use them. Shi Feng and the others spent over two hours traveling down Lightforged City''s main street before arriving in front of the 600-meter-tall City Lord''s Mansion. Currently, dozens of uniformed Knights were standing guard before the entrance of the City Lord''s Mansion. Not only were these Knights at Level 180, Tier 3, but they also possessed Life Ratings rivaling that of Archaic Species. The aura they radiated was comparable with that of Mythic monsters of the same level. As for the Knight Captain leading these Knights, he was a bona fide Tier 4 NPC. His mere presence put intense pressure on Shi Feng. Meanwhile, when everyone entered the City Lord''s Mansion''s first-floor exchange hall, they were stunned by the scene before them. Currently, all sorts of items were on display in the exchange hall. Among them were Epic Weapon and Equipment Designs, Grandmaster Potion Recipes, rare Skills and Spells, Bronze Combat Techniques, Advanced Construction Designs, and designs for war weapons. Every one of these items was an unbelievable treasure that one could only come across by luck in the outside world. Now, however, a plethora of such treasures greeted their eyes. Of course, everyone could only afford to look at these items. After all, even the cheapest of these displayed treasures cost 4,000 Contribution Points, with the more expensive ones costing tens of thousands of points. With each of them having only 500 points, they shouldn''t even think of purchasing any of these items. Fortunately, these valuable treasures weren''t the only things available for exchange. There were still plenty of cheap and ordinary items within their means. An example of these items would be the Magic Stone and Enchanted Potion. Of those present, whether it was Violet Sword''s or Azure''s members, they almost immediately chose to spend all of their Contribution Points on the Tier 3 Magic Stones and Enchanted Potions. "Guild Leader, the items available for exchange here have limited quantities. Let''s quickly exchange for some Tier 3 Magic Stones and Enchanted Potions as well. If we wait until the others get resurrected, there won''t be anything left for us," Aqua Rose urged hurriedly as she looked at Shi Feng, who showed no interest in the Magic Stones and Enchanted Potions at all. All items in the exchange hall had an exchange limit. While some would be restocked over time, the more valuable treasures were unique items, no longer available once exchanged. As for the Tier 3 Magic Stones and Enchanted Potions, while they weren''t unique items, if everyone were to spend all 500 of their Contribution Points on these two items, there would only be enough to supply 50 people. Once these items sold out, those who wanted them would have to wait until they got restocked to exchange for these items. However, who knew when these items would get restocked? "No need to rush this," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then shifted his gaze to a shelf carrying bottles of icy-blue liquid, saying, "Have everyone exchange for 10 Master Concentration Recovery Potions first." "Guild Leader, that Concentration Recovery Potion is too expensive at 50 points per bottle. Do we really need to buy it?" Aqua Rose could not help her exasperation when she saw the price of the Master Concentration Recovery Potion. "That item only aids players in recovering Concentration. Moreover, each potion lasts only two hours. Although it is a rare potion in the outside world, spending our precious points on it is a little" Concentration Recovery Potions were indeed incredibly rare but not particularly useful since players naturally recovered their Concentration over time. If players rested inside a city, their recovery rate would be even quicker. Hence, items that helped in the recovery of Concentration were not that expensive on the market. Spending 50 Contribution Points to exchange for just one Master Concentration Recovery Potion now was simply an extravagance. After all, the Master Enchanted Potion cost only 10 Contribution Points, yet it lasted six hours! "Relax. Just exchange all your points for the potion. I guarantee that the value you can get from these potions will greatly surpass your expectations. They''re even more valuable than those Tier 3 Magic Stones," Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anxious look on Aqua Rose''s face. In his opinion, the Master Concentration Recovery Potion was very cheap. Moreover, they were allowed to purchase the potion only because they had the Noble Authority Token. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have the qualifications to do so. If these Master Concentration Recovery Potions were put up for sale during his previous life, just one potion would have sold for the price of one Epic material. Even at such a price, rarely anybody would be willing to sell their potions. After saying so, Shi Feng spent all his points on Master Concentration Recovery Potions without hesitation. Aqua Rose no longer tried to dissuade Shi Feng. After all, he definitely had his reasons for such a decision. Following which, she and the others exchanged all their points for Master Concentration Recovery Potions as well. Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members were confused upon seeing this scene. They could not understand why Zero Wing''s members would exchange for potions that did not provide the slightest bit of help in training. However, they did not pay too much attention to this matter. After all, their alchemy array''s duration was running down. Now that they had obtained the Magic Stones and Enchanted Potions, they had to devote their efforts to training. As for what Zero Wing''s members intended to do, that was none of their business. Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members promptly ran to Lightforged City''s arenas to train. As for Zero Wing''s members, they made their way to the city wall under Shi Feng''s lead. Let''s hope these potions will be enough for me to break through to the Tier 4 standard. As Shi Feng gazed at the gigantic statues atop the distant wall, his footsteps sped up automatically. 2644 Absorbing Divine Will Chapter 2644 - Absorbing Divine Will The gigantic statues erected atop Lightforged City''s tall walls gave off an indescribable sense of majesty and oppression. When Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members got within 100 yards of these statues, they immediately sensed a powerful pressure weighing down on their minds. For a moment, they felt as if their bodies no longer belonged to themselves as their consciousness started to waver. They were like a small boat sailing across a stormy ocean. Even the slightest mistake could result in their demise. "What a powerful mental assault! Just this one strike already makes me feel as if I just executed an Advanced Combat Technique. If this continues, I''ll probably exhaust my Concentration in no time at all," Gentle Snow commented, frowning as she sensed the mental pressure from the statues. She had realized that these statues were extraordinary when she saw them from outside the city. After all, just looking at these statues from a great distance had already taken a toll on her Concentration. Now that she stood so close to these statues, she realized that they were even more frightening than she initially thought. Even without looking at these statues, her mind was subject to a mental suppression that depleted her Concentration. "Guild Leader, don''t tell me the training you mentioned will take place here?" Aqua Rose objected as she turned to Shi Feng. "That''s right. We''ll be training here," Shi Feng said as he smiled and nodded. "Guild Leader, the mental assault of these statues is too powerful. Let alone using Skills and Spells, even executing basic Mana control is a problem. It is impossible for us to conduct any training here," Aqua Rose argued. When she tried manipulating and gathering her Mana earlier, the statues'' mental assault had interrupted her. The incessant mental assault would make using any Skills or Spells here impossible. Everyone else nodded in agreement with Aqua Rose''s words. It might be fine if the mental assault was something ordinary, but the statues'' mental assault threatened to knock them unconscious. Against such a powerful and persistent mental assault, even controlling their physical bodies would be a problem. Rather than waste time here, it would be much better if they went to one of the hotels in the city to practice their Mana control. The training efficiency there would be several hundred times better than here. "It is indeed difficult to train Mana control here, but I didn''t bring you all here for that. Instead, we''re here to train our Concentration," Shi Feng explained. "Concentration training!? How is that possible!?" Stunned by Shi Feng''s words, Aqua Rose could not help eyeing him skeptically. At this moment, let alone Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow and the others were likewise dubious, suspecting that Shi Feng was joking with them. In God''s Domain, it was common knowledge that raising the Concentration Attribute was much more difficult than raising the Stamina Attribute. Of course, while the difficulty of increasing one''s Concentration was high, the returns one could gain from improved Concentration were also immense, far outstripping those from improved Stamina. This was especially true for magical-class players and expert players. The help they could gain from the Concentration Attribute was dozens of times greater than what they could gain from any other Basic or Hidden Attribute. This was because Concentration affected players'' control over their physical bodies and Mana, aside from being the resource necessary to execute combat techniques. However, even now, there were only two known methods to permanently improve one''s Concentration. The first was to raise one''s tier, while the other was to raise one''s Life Rating. Hence, any item that could provide a temporary boost to a player''s Concentration was incredibly valuable and sold for at least ten times the price of similarly ranked items. The most inferior item that provided Concentration would be at the Dark-Gold rank. However, even at such a price, the various major powers would frantically contest for any of such items that appeared on the market. Now, however, Shi Feng was telling them that it was possible to directly improve their Concentration Attribute. Their skepticism was only natural. "Normally, raising the Concentration Attribute is indeed an incredibly difficult task. However, the statues here are extraordinary. The mental assault you''re sensing is actually Divine Will. So long as you clash directly with this Divine Will, you''ll be able to absorb a subtle amount of it, which, in turn, will improve your Concentration slightly," Shi Feng explained, chuckling. "If I have to point out the most valuable features inside Lightforged City, then these statues will have to be one of them. However, the Divine Will of these statues can be considered a Consumable. As players absorb it, the available volume will decrease. While these statues will recover their Divine Will over time, who knows how long it will take for them to recover? If we miss out on this opportunity, it''s unlikely we''ll come across another one like this in the future." "So, that''s why you had us spend all our Contribution Points on Concentration Recovery Potions," Aqua Rose exclaimed in realization. "If Violet Sword''s people find out about this, they''ll most likely send all their peak experts to train here, regardless of the cost." After all was said and done, although Zero Wing had signed a partnership contract with Violet Sword and now possessed 100 entry slots to the ancient secret land, Zero Wing did not have a base of operations inside Violet Light City. The resources Zero Wing could obtain from the ancient secret land definitely couldn''t compare to what Violet Sword could get. Violet Sword would definitely be able to secure more Contribution Points in Lightforged City than Zero Wing could. If Violet Sword found out about the statues'' secret, it would definitely send a large number of experts to absorb the Divine Will here, rapidly depleting it and leaving only scraps for Zero Wing''s members. "Alright, everyone, start focusing your mind to resist the mental assault. The closer you approach these statues, the stronger the mental assault becomes. Meanwhile, the stronger the mental assault you resist, the greater the improvements you will gain. However, make sure not to be too greedy. If your consciousness leaves your body too many times, it will end up weakening the absorption rate; you might even fail to absorb any Divine Will. So, make sure to train at an appropriate distance," Shi Feng said as he looked at the others. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s instructions, Aqua Rose and the others sat down excitedly and started resisting the mental assault of the statue before them. Ordinary experts treated Concentration as an Attribute that determined the number of times they could use combat techniques. However, for players like themselves who had fully unlocked their Mana Bodies, the Concentration Attribute held an entirely different meaning. By improving their Concentration, they could improve their Mana control, which would, in turn, allow them to execute more complex actions using Mana. With this, they could accomplish things that they previously couldn''t. One of the simplest examples would be breaking through the Mana Body''s 100% threshold. With their present Concentration, their Mana control was at their limit. However, if they wished to break through the 100% threshold, they needed to be capable of controlling even more Mana. Now that an opportunity to break through the Mana Body''s 100% threshold was right before them, they did not wish to waste even a second. However, after everyone attempted to resist the statue''s mental assault, their original excited expressions disappeared, replaced by solemnity. Their complexions had similarly turned pale. "The difference between enduring and resisting the mental assault is actually this large?" Aqua Rose nearly collapsed on her back after her first attempt. She had expended roughly 5% of her Concentration after resisting just one mental assault. Her consciousness had even momentarily left her body, making her lose all control over herself. The experience was extremely uncomfortable and completely different from when she was just passively enduring the mental assaults. At this moment, everyone, aside from Shi Feng, promptly retreated from their original positions, not daring to continue resisting the mental assault at the 90-yard mark. However, even Shi Feng did not fare much better than everyone else. Although he had managed to resist the mental assault, the amount of Divine Will he absorbed was far from ideal. Moreover, just a single attempt had cost him one-fortieth of his Concentration. After resisting the mental assaults for another two minutes, Shi Feng scarcely had any Concentration remaining and had no choice but to consume a Concentration Recovery Potion. With the boost provided by the potion, his Concentration recovery rate just barely surpassed his consumption rate. After training like this for around an hour, Shi Feng opened his eyes and looked at the nearest statue, with a depressed expression. During this past hour or so, his Concentration had indeed improved; however, the improvement was basically negligible. In fact, if not for him being at the Domain Realm and having an accurate grasp over his own body and mental state, he wouldn''t have noticed this improvement at all. If he continued at this rate, his Concentration would be nowhere near the Tier 4 standard even after using all his Master Concentration Recovery Potions and training for 20 hours here. At this rate, my Concentration won''t reach the Tier 4 standard even after the various superpowers'' peak experts have already started challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile at this situation. It''s no wonder hardly any expert players would rely on Divine Will to improve their Concentration standard. However, just as Shi Feng was about to focus his mind to resist the next mental assault, Violet Cloud, who sat behind him, suddenly stood up and walked up to the 80-yard mark, then took a seat there. 2645 Advanced Bronze Combat Technique Chapter 2645 - Advanced Bronze Combat Technique Upon seeing Violet Cloud resisting a mental assault at the 80-yard mark, Aqua Rose and the others goggled in shock. After all, there were no changes to Violet Cloud''s expression. It was obvious that the 80-yard mental assault posed no problem for her. In fact, she could probably move even closer to the statue. She actually managed to improve her mental condensation by so much already? At this moment, even Shi Feng was astonished when he looked at Violet Cloud. If players wished to absorb Divine Will quickly, they could rely on mental condensation, aside from items that aided in Concentration recovery. The more condensed one''s mental state was when clashing with the mental assault of a Divine Will, the greater one''s absorption rate of Divine Will would become. Only, there was no concrete technique to allow players to condense their mental state because a person''s mental state was insubstantial. Players could only sense it and not touch it directly. The only thing players could do was focus their attention and resist distractions. At this moment, it was obvious that Violet Cloud had gained improvements in mental condensation, which strengthened her mental state significantly. As a result, she could resist a stronger mental assault. Otherwise, there was no way she could withstand the 80-yard mental assault so easily. Shi Feng had long known that Violet Cloud was very talented. After all, in the past, she had relied on her own strength to reach Tier 6, when over 90% of the geniuses supported by the various superpowers had ended up getting stuck at Tier 5, never to cross the final threshold. One could easily imagine how frightening Violet Cloud''s talent was for her to accomplish this impossible feat without any support. However, Violet Cloud''s talents had still surpassed Shi Feng''s expectations, despite him knowing the girl''s past. This was clearly everyone''s first time executing mental condensation. Not even Shi Feng had learned any techniques or methods to better-execute mental condensation. However, after training for just a little over an hour, Violet Cloud had actually achieved a breakthrough already. Her talent was truly terrifying. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud''s sudden breakthrough spurred everyone''s fighting spirit. They immediately took a few steps forward in order to test whether they could resist a stronger mental assault or not. In this situation, even Shi Feng himself could not help advancing an additional five yards, seating himself 85 yards away from the statue before him. However, Shi Feng instantly paled after resisting a mental assault at the 85-yard mark. His consciousness also turned blurry for quite some time. I advanced by just an additional five yards, yet I''m actually losing nearly 10% of my Concentration per hit? I also barely absorbed any Divine Will. Sure enough, mental condensation isn''t something that can be improved on so easily. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at Violet Cloud resisting the 80-yard mental assaults with ease. He had expected his mental state to have improved by quite a bit after experiencing so many mental assaults at the 90-yard mark. However, it seemed that it was merely wishful thinking. It seems I can only return and slowly accumulate Concentration, Shi Feng thought, shaking his head, and stood up to return to his original location. As he got to his feet, the statue before him released another wave of mental pressure. This time, though, he did not try to resist it, just passively endured it. After enduring this mental assault, Shi Feng immediately felt his consciousness blur slightly. His control over his body also became slightly sluggish. Overall, though, he fared a lot better than with active resistance. Despite facing the same mental assault, there''s such a huge difference between passively enduring and actively resisting. If the effects of actively resisting the mental assault were the same as the result I just experienced, I would most likely be able to move within 30 yards of the statue. Shi Feng could not help but sigh ruefully when he sensed the effects of passive endurance. When he reached his original position, another mental assault washed over him, nearly making him lose his footing. After experiencing this mental assault, though, he paused as a spark of inspiration flashed across his eyes. So, that''s the case! Why didn''t I think of this before? Shi Feng clenched his fists as realization dawned upon him. He then turned to the nearby statue and thought, The reason why the effects of passively enduring the mental assaults are so subdued is simply that I gave up control over my body and allowed my mental state to go along with the Divine Will during the brief instant of collision. However, when I actively resist the mental assault, I''m struggling against the Divine Will to retain control over my body. The Concentration consumed in doing so is naturally much greater. With sufficiently high control over my own body, I should have a much easier time resisting the Divine Will. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately sat down and started testing his theory. Previously, he had been fully focused on using his mental state to resist the Divine Will''s influence. Now, he chose to spread his focus across his entire body instead, to prevent anything from influencing his control over it. In the next moment, another mental assault arrived. Although Shi Feng''s complexion paled slightly, a smile formed on his face. Sure enough! Shi Feng grew excited when he sensed the amount of Concentration he had just lost. Originally, he would lose around one-fortieth of his maximum Concentration when resisting a 90-yard mental assault. Now, however, he had lost only one-fiftieth of his Concentration. Although the improvement was minor, he had, at the very least, taken the first step in the correct path of resisting the mental assaults. Following which, Shi Feng retreated further back and sat down just outside of the range of the statue''s mental assaults. He then considered ways to further strengthen the control he had over his body, to spread his focus across his entire body as much as possible. Or to put it in another way, he tried to exert all his muscles in one direction. That way, he could achieve maximum control over his body. However, this was Shi Feng''s first time doing such a thing. Even though he had already reached the Domain Realm and achieved precision control over his five senses and physical body, he had never tried exerting every muscle in his body in a single direction. When he actually tried doing so, he discovered what a challenge he had set up for himself. No matter how hard he tried, he succeeded with less than 10% of his muscles. Sure enough, it really is difficult. It would be great if I had a combat technique that could help adjust my muscles'' direction of exertion. As Shi Feng tried exerting every one of his muscles in the same direction, he felt that this feat was even more difficult than executing a Bronze Combat Technique. After all, a Bronze Combat Technique utilized only a portion of his muscles. Moreover, the utilized muscles wouldn''t move in the same direction, either. That''s it! Inspiration dawned upon him as his thoughts wandered in the direction of combat techniques. Since there''s no such combat technique in existence, I can just create one! Even if I can''t utilize every muscle in my body, it will still be good enough if I can utilize a greater portion. After thinking so, he started creating such a combat technique. Compared to Advanced Combat Techniques, the combat technique Shi Feng was conceptualizing was much more difficult. However, with his extensive combat experience and ability to integrate Advanced Combat Techniques into his every action, albeit just barely, creating such a combat technique wasn''t an impossible task. This was just like manipulating the Mana inside a magic array. The proper manipulation of the Mana of a magic array could boost the magic array''s power beyond what it could normally display. Meanwhile, what he needed to do now was to treat a portion of his body as a magic array and his muscles as the Mana flowing through this magic array. One hour Three hours Nine hours After 10 hours of trial and error, Lightforged City''s stable space rippled. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Feng''s ears, its contents echoing in his mind. System: Congratulations! You have created an Advanced Bronze Combat Technique. Please name your combat technique. 2646 Divine Change Chapter 2646 - Divine Change What? An Advanced Bronze Combat Technique? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the system notification. The combat technique he had aimed to create this time was only meant to give him better control over his body so that he could resist stronger mental assaults. In his opinion, it would be fortunate if such a combat technique could be deemed an Advanced Combat Technique. However, it turned out he had miraculously created an Advanced Bronze Combat Technique. Moreover, he had never even heard of Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques. As far as he knew, for combat techniques, what came after the Bronze rank was the Silver rank, with nothing in between. Hence, he truly could not help his astonishment. Most importantly, this combat technique he had just created couldn''t even be considered a complete product. After all, in its current state, this new combat technique merely allowed him to exert a portion of his muscles, nothing more. There were no follow-up moves to convert it into an offensive or defensive technique. At best, it was a semi-finished product. Is it because it is an unfinished technique that the system is unable to give an accurate evaluation; hence, it is labeled an Advanced Bronze Combat Technique? While entertaining such thoughts, Shi Feng executed his newly created combat technique and punched at the empty air in front. And indeed, his new combat technique was truly frightening. Thanks to this new technique, just his punch alone destabilized the space before him. This result was notable since he was currently standing inside Lightforged City, a city that had been strengthened by Ancient Gods. The space within the city should be extremely stable. Power that could originally destabilize space in the outside world wouldn''t necessarily be capable of doing so inside Lightforged City. In fact, Even Tier 5 powerhouses shouldn''t think of destabilizing the space here. Nevertheless, the punch he just executed had made the space before him ripple slightly. As a Tier 3 player, he definitely shouldn''t be capable of exhibiting such power even with a Bronze Combat Technique. At the very least, the Bronze Combat Technique Lightning Flash he had learned couldn''t do so. It seems this combat technique that exerts my muscles in a single direction has considerable potential. It is clearly only a semi-finished product, and I can exert only 15% of my entire body''s muscles, at most, yet I can already exhibit such power. If I can complete this technique and use it to exert all my muscles, its power would most likely rival Gold Combat Techniques. When Shi Feng saw the system''s evaluation, he immediately realized the possibility of creating a powerful combat technique. Currently, plenty of combat techniques have been found in God''s Domain already. However, combat techniques at the Bronze rank and above were still incredibly rare. Learning these combat techniques was also incredibly difficult, even if players had a Legacy Tablet. If he could create a Silver or Gold Combat Technique and freely distribute it to the Guild''s core members to learn, then the standard of Zero Wing''s experts would rise to a whole new level. As Shi Feng was lost in his thoughts, the system sent him another notification. System: Please name your combat technique. If you do not name it, the system will automatically generate a name for it after 10 minutes. "A name?" After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, "Since I created this combat technique for the purpose of training using Divine Will, let''s call it Divine Change." After he named his new technique, he shifted his gaze toward the nearby statue. Currently, Violet Cloud had already advanced to the 60-yard mark. The others had similarly made significant improvements. For example, Aqua Rose, Alluring Summer, and Yi Luofei were now at the 75-yard mark. As for melee players like Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, and Yan Tianxing, although they fared slightly worse, they had reached the 80-yard mark. Their performance was much better than Shi Feng''s. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng observed everyone for a while, Violet Cloud actually stood up from her spot and moved to the 50-yard mark. Her mental condensation''s improvement speed was simply inhuman. It seems I have to give my new technique a try. Although it is only a semi-finished product, it should still improve my results by a large margin. Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile when he saw Violet Cloud sit by the 50-yard mark. As the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, he didn''t need to be the best at everything, but he definitely couldn''t be the worst. Otherwise, it would simply be humiliating. Following which, Shi Feng moved past the 100-yard mark and slowly walked toward the statue. Meanwhile, the Zero Wing members seated before the statue noticed his arrival and could not help shifting their attention to him. "The Guild Leader is finally prepared to raise his Concentration?" The sight of Shi Feng entering the range of the Divine Will''s mental assaults piqued Aqua Rose''s curiosity. Previously, Shi Feng had moved beyond the 100-yard mark and sat quietly in a corner. This situation had confused her and everyone else. They simply could not understand what he was doing. Although they had obtained Citizenship in Lightforged City and gained the qualifications to stay for however long they wanted in the city, the duration of the alchemy array they had to use prevented them from staying inside the ancient secret land for long periods. Hence, every second and minute spent inside Lightforged City was incredibly precious. However, Shi Feng had actually wasted ten whole hours doing nothing. "I really can''t figure out why the Guild Leader sat there for so long. He even wasted nearly an hour of the precious Concentration Recovery Potion," Cola muttered as he gazed at Shi Feng in confusion. Originally, their time in Lightforged City was already limited. Now that ten hours had gone by, they had less than two days left. In addition, they had to take a small break once every two hours to relax their tense minds. To put it simply, they were pressed for time. Had Shi Feng spent the past ten hours improving his Concentration standard with them, he would''ve most likely reached the 70- or 80-yard mark already. With the improvement speed at these locations several times better than that at the 90-yard mark, his Concentration might even get upgraded to the Tier 4 standard by the time he ran out of Master Concentration Recovery Potions. While everyone was mulling over Shi Feng''s actions, Shi Feng arrived at the 85-yard mark. However, he showed no intention of sitting down to train. Instead, he simply stood there quietly as he actively resisted the approaching mental assault. Peng! Upon coming into contact with Shi Feng, the mental assault actually shattered. "It shattered?! How is this possible?!" Aqua Rose was stunned when she sensed the mental assault approaching Shi Feng shatter. She turned to stare at Shi Feng. Although they had their eyes shut previously in order to focus their minds while training, they could still clearly sense the mental assault with their minds. When the mental assault came into contact with Shi Feng, it seemed to crash into an immovable wall and shatter. The ensuing ripple from the mental assault shattering was like a flame in darkness. It was difficult not to notice it. "Guild Leader, what did you do? You can actually shatter that mental assault?" Cola asked, unable to suppress his curiosity. The mental assault was intangible. Just trying to actively resist it was already a difficult task. As for shattering the mental assault, that was something none of them had ever considered doing. At this moment, everyone was staring at Shi Feng in confusion. "I didn''t do anything special. I just tried retaliating against the mental assault. I never thought that it would shatter," Shi Feng said, similarly puzzled by this situation. He had merely tried using Divine Change against the mental assault to test the technique''s effects. He never imagined such a result. In the end, the mental assault did not affect him adversely in any way and simply disappeared like a passing breeze. Shi Feng''s answer and the calm look on his face rendered Aqua Rose speechless. This explanation was simply too abbreviated. What did he mean by "just retaliating"? Meanwhile, after Shi Feng gave his explanation, he promptly stepped closer to the statue, his heart brimming with curiosity about how much progress he could make using Divine Change. 2647 Chapter 2647 - Statues Forbidden Zone Chapter 2647 - Statue''s Forbidden Zone With each step Shi Feng took toward the majestic statue before him, the mental assault coming from it intensified. However, he kept advancing without being affected in the slightest, as if the mental assault was nonexistent. Eighty yards Seventy yards Sixty yards After just a short moment, Shi Feng arrived at the 50-yard mark and stood beside Violet Cloud. At this moment, though, his expression turned slightly serious. It was obvious that the statue''s mental assaults were starting to affect him. However, everyone also understood that this was not his limit. "Is he a monster? He actually caught up to Violet so quickly! Moreover, he''s not even at his limit yet!" Yi Luofei, who was seated nearby, stared at Shi Feng in shock. "Just what did he do during this period to improve so much?" Players that had never attempted mental condensation before might not know how much improvement Shi Feng just displayed. However, everyone present, who had been continuously honing their mental condensation and resisting the statue''s mental assaults for more than ten hours now, knew exactly how much Shi Feng had improved. While Shi Feng''s shattering the mental assault at the 85-yard mark might seem very amazing, the mental assault weakened with distance. The 85-yard mental assault was incomparable to the 50-yard mental assault. In fact, Yi Luofei had doubted that Shi Feng could even resist the 50-yard mental assault. As for Violet Cloud, her talent was clear for all to see. Violet Cloud''s talent was so great that Yi Luofei found it to be mind-boggling. Hence, when she saw Shi Feng''s mental condensation standard and improvement speed losing out to Violet Cloud''s, she did not find it surprising at all. Moreover, Violet Cloud was a magical-class player, which gave her an advantage over melee players when it came to mental condensation. This point was clear from everyone''s training results during this period. Therefore, it was very normal for Shi Feng to be inferior to Violet Cloud. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually surpassed Violet Cloud, shattering even the 50-yard mental assault. This situation was truly surprising. After all, Shi Feng had been training his mental condensation outside the 100-yard mark. Trying to improve one''s mental condensation at that distance was much more difficult. This was something they had tested for themselves during their break periods. However, even under such a situation, Shi Feng had still managed to surpass Violet Cloud. The amount of talent he possessed was simply ludicrous. While Yi Luofei was in a daze, Shi Feng had arrived at the 30-yard mark. And upon retaliating against the mental assault here, he stumbled back one step, his complexion immediately turning pale. It seems it''s going to be difficult to get any closer than this. The power of the mental assault here is already several times that of the 50-yard mental assault. It''s no wonder so many people couldn''t reach and cross the 30-yard mark in the past. When Shi Feng tried retaliating against the 30-yard mental assault, he had instantly lost one-fifteenth of his maximum Concentration. This was no longer a loss he could afford. In the past, the area within 30 yards of Divine Will statues had been considered a forbidden zone. According to rumors, anyone that managed to train within this zone would see a qualitative leap in their mental condensation standard. Although this improvement would not provide players with a substantial boost in combat power, it would hone their perception of Mana to inhuman levels, as well as facilitate the formation of their Magic Domain when they reached Tier 4. It was even rumored that the improvement one received from training within the forbidden zone could provide significant help when challenging the Tier 5 Promotion Quest. Meanwhile, upon seeing Shi Feng finally fail, Aqua Rose and the others could not help a sigh of relief. After all, if Shi Feng were to get any closer to the statue, they would really start suspecting that they were severely lacking in talent. Although I can''t train efficiently at the 30-yard mark, training at the 35-yard mark isn''t a bad option, either. With this, I shouldn''t need more than two days to raise my Concentration to the Tier 4 standard. Shi Feng could not help but sigh when he looked at the forbidden zone before him. However, he wasn''t too disappointed. In its current state, Divine Change was still incomplete. Originally, he thought that he would be fortunate if he could train at the 50-yard mark with the help of the combat technique. After all, he could exert only 15% of his body''s muscles in the same direction. He still couldn''t unify the strength of the remainder of his body. Hence, he was already quite satisfied with his current results. As for entering the Divine Will''s forbidden zone, so long as he could perfect Divine Change, it should not be a problem at all. Following which, Shi Feng returned to the 35-yard mark and started absorbing the Divine Will there, improving his Concentration. As he continuously absorbed Divine Will and raised his maximum Concentration, the number of players that got resurrected and entered Lightforged City also increased. When the many members of Violet Sword and Azure saw Shi Feng and the others sitting in front of one of the statues on the city walls, they were bemused. "I really don''t know what those people from Zero Wing are doing. They''re actually wasting time sitting before a statue. Do they not know that the peace outside has already shattered completely?" Crimson Star could not help her puzzlement when she read the report her subordinate sent her regarding the activities of Zero Wing''s members. Violet Sword''s and Azure''s members were all doing their best to improve their combat power in Lightforged City. Zero Wing''s members, on the other hand, had wasted two whole days doing nothing. Aside from occasionally leaving their position to have a meal at Lightforged City''s restaurants, they had spent all their time sitting before one of the statues erected on the city walls. Rather than coming here to train, Zero Wing''s members looked as if they were on vacation. "Zero Wing probably has its own considerations. After all, when it comes to peak experts, it is already superior to ordinary superpowers," Wildfighter said. "Moreover, after the partnership this time, I heard that Azure plans to ally itself with Zero Wing. Afterward, Zero Wing will have a much smoother path ahead of it." "Ally? So what if Azure allies with Zero Wing? Let alone Azure, even some Super Guilds are failing to cope with the current situation. How can Azure possibly have the time to help Zero Wing?" Crimson Star said disdainfully. "In addition, peak experts are no longer as effective as they were before. The various powers have already researched plenty of war weapons. The usefulness of Tier 3 players is continuously diminishing. Nowadays, zerg tactics rule the battlefield." Since Guild Towns and Cities no longer enjoyed the protection of NPC soldiers, Guilds had lost their greatest assurance. Players no longer had to fear overly powerful NPC soldiers and were free to cause trouble inside Guild Towns and Cities. This was especially good news for powerful experts and developing powers with limited territory. In fact, according to Violet Sword''s intelligence network, over 200 Guild Towns on the western continent had switched owners since the activation of the Demon God''s Chaos expansion pack. And while the various superpowers still hadn''t suffered any losses due to this expansion pack, that was mainly because of the large number of Tier 3 experts and peak experts they possessed. Zero Wing, however, was significantly inferior to the various superpowers in this regard. "This isn''t something we need to concern ourselves about. Instructor Torre has just sent news that some of the secretly developing superpowers have started stirring recently, so once we complete our training here, he wants us to station our trump card legion in the two Guild Cities closest to Level 100 maps as insurance," Wildfighter said. "I understand. Once our time here is up, I''ll bring the men over," Crimson Star replied, nodding. Meanwhile, as Crimson Star and Wildfighter were conversing, Shi Feng, who was sitting quietly before one of the city walls'' statues, suddenly opened his eyes. At the same time, an invisible ripple spread out from his body, weakening the Divine Will''s mental assault considerably. "Success!" 2648 Tier 4 Concentration Chapter 2648 - Tier 4 Concentration When the strange ripple appeared from Shi Feng''s body, Aqua Rose and the others present promptly noticed it. At the same time, they felt a mental pressure from Shi Feng that they had never felt before. Although this mental pressure was far weaker than what the Divine Will statues radiated, it was inherently the same. "Guild Leader, did you break through?" Aqua Rose could not help asking as she looked at Shi Feng. Although she understood that Shi Feng had achieved a breakthrough, she still wanted confirmation. The difficulty of raising Concentration was far greater than she had expected. Even now, she could sense that she was still far from a breakthrough. Even Violet Cloud, whose mental condensation standard was second only to Shi Feng''s, had a long way to go30% or so to reach the Tier 4 standard and its concomitant qualitative transformation. "Mhm, I''ve reached the Tier 4 standard already," Shi Feng said, nodding happily as he focused his mind on experiencing the changes brought about by having his Concentration reach the Tier 4 standard. Tier 4! This was a realm that he was never able to reach in the past no matter what he did. Even though only his Concentration had reached the Tier 4 standard, for now, it was already more than enough to excite him. In God''s Domain, Tier 4 was a major turning point for players, a far more important one than when players went from Tier 2 to Tier 3. One could say that more than 99% of Tier 3 players would never be able to reach Tier 4. In order to reach Tier 4, aside from sufficiently high combat standards and equipment standards, one also needed a lot of luck and fortuitous opportunities. If a player lacked any of these factors, the difficulty of reaching Tier 4 would increase exponentially. Now, with Shi Feng''s Concentration at the Tier 4 standard, his chances of attaining Tier 4 in the future had just increased significantly. "Guild Leader, what does it feel like to have Tier 4 Concentration? Is the difference large?" Yan Tianxing asked, curious. Upon hearing Yan Tianxing''s question, everyone turned to Shi Feng with inquisitive eyes. "It''s large. It''s very large," Shi Feng answered after giving the matter some thought. "You can say that I''ve already reached a completely different level." The improvement of the Concentration Attribute would provide a significant increase in a player''s control over their physical body and Mana. The Concentration Attribute reaching the Tier 4 standard would even bring about a qualitative transformation. Take the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique for example. If executing Lightshadow cost him 10 points of Concentration previously, then now, it required only 3 points. As for the Concentration cost of executing Bronze Combat Techniques, it had dropped even further. Now, he could basically use Bronze Combat Techniques as if they were Advanced Combat Techniques. In addition, even executing Tier 3 Skills and Spells at a 100% Completion Rate would probably no longer be difficult. Even breaking through the 100% threshold was entirely doable. "Is the difference really that great?" Aqua Rose could not help her incredulity. "Although I do not wish to say this, the difference is, indeed, like heaven and earth. Right now, in a situation where I have the same Basic Attributes, I''m certain my current self can defeat my previous self in less than ten moves," Shi Feng replied, chuckling when he saw the skeptical look Aqua Rose was giving him. Only after his Concentration reached the Tier 4 standard did he truly understand how big the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was. It was no wonder the Tier 4 experts in the past could trounce a group of Tier 3 peak experts, with some Tier 4 experts even able to capture a Guild Town single-handedly. The reason for this wasn''t the powerful Basic Attributes Tier 4 players had but their control over their physical body and Mana, which had reached a whole new realm. Even with the same physical body, Shi Feng had now doubled his combat power, at the very least. Moreover, the cost of exertion had been drastically reduced. Now, even zerg tactics were useless against him. In his current state, he could truly destroy an army of players all by himself! "The improvement is that much?" Yi Luofei was astonished by Shi Feng''s example. Before, their Guild Leader could already be considered invincible among Tier 3 existences. After all, he had overwhelmed the ancient secret land''s Tier 4 Region Chiefs. Now, however, he was claiming that his Tier 4 Concentration would let him defeat his previous self in less than ten moves. At this point, she no longer dared imagine how powerful he currently was. Even actual Tier 4 players might not be a match for him. "Alright, we don''t have much time left. Hurry up and continue absorbing the Divine Will. It''ll be quite some time before you can enter here again," Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at everyone''s yearning expressions. The alchemy array they used lasted only seven days and had a ten-day Cooldown. Even if everyone gained the right to stay in Lightforged City for as long as they wanted, they would still have to leave the city for at least three days before they could enter again. In addition, whenever they entered the ancient secret land, they had to spend a lot of time traveling to Lightforged City. Overall, they didn''t really have much time to train here. At Shi Feng''s reminder, everyone promptly resumed absorbing the Tier 4 Divine Will the statue before them radiated. Although raising their Concentration to the Tier 4 standard was incredibly difficult, just absorbing the Divine Will would still bring about a quantitative improvement to their Concentration. Hence, they naturally couldn''t waste the remaining time they had left in Lightforged City. "Right, Violet, how close are you to achieving a breakthrough?" Shi Feng asked as he turned to Violet Cloud, who was preparing to resume her training. Just a while ago, Violet Cloud had advanced to the 40-yard mark and was very close to reaching his training spot already. Hence, her absorption rate of Divine Will was just slightly slower than his. "I feel that I need to raise my Concentration by another 20% or so before I hit the Tier 3 limit," Violet Cloud replied after sensing the current state of her Concentration. "Only 20%? That quick?" Her answer stunned Shi Feng. She was clearly still around 30% away from reaching the Tier 3 limit just now. He never thought that she could progress so rapidly. Taking out the two Master Concentration Recovery Potions he had left, he said, "I still have two unused potions, take them." "You''re giving them to me? But what about everyone else" Violet Cloud automatically hesitated when she saw the two potions in Shi Feng''s hand. The Master Concentration Recovery Potion was incredibly valuable. If she had to do quests and slowly accumulate the required Contribution Points to exchange for them, it would take ages before she would have enough points for one potion. If Shi Feng gave both of his remaining potions to her now, it would be unfair to everyone else. "Take them. You''re the closest to achieving a breakthrough now. If your Concentration can reach the Tier 4 standard, it''ll be a great help to the Guild. Aqua and the others will be happy to see that as well," Shi Feng assured her. Giving the potions to someone else might be fine if Violet Cloud''s Concentration was still a long way from reaching the Tier 4 standard. However, since she was only 20% short of reaching the Tier 3 limit and her Divine Will absorption rate was only slightly inferior to his own, the two additional Master Concentration Recovery Potions might help her cross the threshold. Knowing this, he would naturally give both bottles to her. After all, so long as Violet Cloud''s Concentration reached the Tier 4 standard, Zero Wing would gain another true powerhouse. "Guild Leader, I definitely won''t disappoint you and everyone else! I''ll make sure my Concentration reaches the Tier 4 standard by the time we leave Lightforged City!" Violet Cloud said with determination as she accepted the two potions. She then returned to her training spot and focused fully on resisting the approaching mental assaults. As for Shi Feng, he made his way to a quiet corner and shifted his attention to his bag space. Now that my Concentration has reached the Tier 4 standard, it should be enough to accept this Legacy. Shi Feng''s eyes shone with anticipation as he looked at the gigantic Memory Crystal sitting in his bag space. 2649 Astonishing Ancient Legacy Chapter 2649 - Astonishing Ancient Legacy Lightforged City, Crimson Silver Hotel: As a hotel that catered to Lightforged City''s nobles, the Crimson Silver Hotel was off-limits to ordinary players and NPCs. The cost of resting in this prestigious hotel was similarly far beyond that of ordinary hotels. Any normal room within the hotel cost 300 Magic Crystals or 10 Contribution Points to rent per day. Even Crimson Star and the others, who had become nobles of Lightforged City due to the Noble Authority Token, were unwilling to rest here. At this moment, however, Shi Feng entered the hotel without hesitation, stunning the members of Violet Sword and Azure that saw him. Be it 300 Magic Crystals or 10 Contribution Points, neither was cheap. Paying such a high price just for some rest was an unnecessary extravagance. Renting a room in an ordinary hotel for the price of 30 Magic Crystals or one Contribution Point was more than enough. "My lord, how may I be of service?" a Level 180 female attendant asked respectfully as she approached Shi Feng. "I wish to rent a normal room here," Shi Feng said as he handed 300 Magic Crystals to the attendant. "Very well," the female attendant said after verifying the payment. She then took out a crystalline key and gave it to Shi Feng, saying, "My lord, here is your room key. You may choose any of the empty rooms upstairs." After accepting the key, Shi Feng promptly made his way to the second floor and entered one of the unoccupied rooms there. As soon as he entered the guest room, the Mana density inside actually started rising rapidly. Just a short moment later, the ambient Mana had more than doubled already. In addition, the Mana here also gave him a soothing and calming feeling. "Sure enough, the Mana density here is much higher than in ordinary hotels." Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction when he sensed the room''s environment. If he merely wanted some rest, he would''ve gone to an ordinary hotel. However, he didn''t intend to rest, but to obtain the Ancient Legacy recorded inside the Memory Crystal. Hence, he could not afford to be careless. The noble hotel was much safer than the ordinary hotels in the city. This point was obvious just by looking at its attendants and guards. Every NPC here was at least a Level 180, Tier 3 NPC. They were not existences current players could afford to provoke. In addition, the noble hotel was protected by a ridiculously strong fourfold, defensive magic array. Under normal circumstances, even Tier 5 existences would pose no threat to this magic array, let alone Tier 3 and Tier 4 existences. Now that Shi Feng no longer had to worry about external disruptions, he immediately took out the Memory Crystal from his bag and readied himself to read its contents. The Memory Crystal he obtained would remain in existence for only two natural days. He had already spent a lot of this time raising his Concentration standard. Now, he had less than three hours left to read it. "Now that my Concentration has reached the Tier 4 standard, I should be able to read it, right?" Shi Feng could not help being nervous as he tapped his finger on the Memory Crystal. On this trip to the ancient secret land, his greatest harvest would definitely have to be the Memory Crystal. In fact, everything else he obtained from this trip couldn''t even come close to half the value of this Memory Crystal. If he still couldn''t read the information contained in it, then he really would die from heartache. In the next moment, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Warning! You have discovered a Large Memory Crystal. According to your current Concentration, if you read the recorded information completely, there is a very small chance you will enter a deep coma. Do you still wish to read the information? "There''s still a risk?" Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the system notification. "Just what is in this thing?" Although the Tier 4 standard was not the apex of God''s Domain, it was definitely above average. Even a king had to take Tier 4 existences seriously. Now, however, despite his Concentration having reached the Tier 4 standard already, reading the recorded information still involved a bit of risk. This was simply unbelievable. "Although there is a risk, I want to see what is recorded in this thing!" Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng chose to read the information in the Memory Crystal. Memory Crystals that contained Ancient Legacies were incredibly rare in God''s Domain. In fact, they could be counted on the fingers of one''s hands. Previously, due to the "very large" chance of him falling into a deep coma, Shi Feng did not dare read the recorded information. However, now that the risk had become "very small," he naturally had to try. After all, he wouldn''t get another opportunity like this again in the future. After he chose to read the contents of the Memory Crystal, the large crystal in his hand started rapidly gathering Mana from its surroundings. It then released a dazzling glow that brightly illuminated the entire room. Afterward, a beam of white light shot out from the Memory Crystal and into Shi Feng''s forehead. For a time, Shi Feng sensed countless images and texts being transferred into his brain; the amount of the information was simply astonishing. It felt as if he had just plunged into a sea of knowledge. Ten minutes Twenty minutes One hour For the first half-hour, Shi Feng still felt fine after receiving the copious information. However, after the transfer process continued for 40 minutes, he felt a stinging in his head as if someone was using a needle to poke his brain. Meanwhile, as time passed, this stinging sensation only intensified. After 80 minutes into the transfer process, Shi Feng felt as if his brain was about to explode. Right then, the beam the Memory Crystal released disappeared. Immediately afterward, the crystal shattered into countless fragments and vanished from the room. As for Shi Feng, his body swayed slightly, as his mind was in a mess. And when he opened his eyes, the world spun around him. How close! If the transfer process had continued for a few more minutes, I might''ve fainted. At this moment, Shi Feng felt that the system had tricked him. Despite the warning stating that there was only a very small chance for him to fall into a deep coma, he was clearly very close to breaching the mental protection system, which would have forced him into a deep coma for a very long time. Then, he would definitely die of regret. However, after resting for a few minutes, Shi Feng started feeling much better, the pain in his head having lessened significantly. Meanwhile, the information he had received also came into focus. "This is a lie, right?! A SmallMobile Fortress Design?" Stunned, Shi Feng wondered if the system was playing a joke on him when he looked at the images and texts displayed before him. In God''s Domain, fortresses were much more valuable than towns. After all, aside from providing players with a place to rest, fortresses possessed far greater offensive and defensive capabilities than towns. They were shelters made for all kinds of warfare. Even a Small Fortress could easily fend off the assault of a large number of Tier 4 existences. Moreover, fortresses had much lower production costs and operation costs; hence, they had been highly popular among the various powers in the past. During Shi Feng''s previous life, over 70% of the player shelters found in Level 100-plus maps were fortresses. However, the design currently displayed before him was a cut above even ordinary fortresses. In fact, even during his previous life, he had the fortune to witness such constructions only a few times. This construction was the Mobile Fortress! It was a fortress that could drive countless powers crazy! 2650 Small Mobile Fortress Chapter 2650 - Small Mobile Fortress No wonder the recorded information is so massive. Thankfully, the information is only for a Small Mobile Fortress. Had it been for a Medium Mobile Fortress, even Concentration at the peak of Tier 4 wouldn''t have been sufficient to read it. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng when he saw the details regarding the Small Mobile Fortress Design. On the surface, the difference between a normal fortress and a Mobile Fortress might not seem very large, with one stationary and the other mobile. However, the difference distinguishing them was far from just mobility. In the construction of a normal fortress, the construction materials had priority, while magic arrays were secondary. For a Mobile Fortress, it was the opposite; the magic arrays took priority, while materials were secondary. A Mobile Fortress could also be labeled a Magic Fortress. The two constructions were on entirely different levels of complexity. From what Shi Feng could see, just the magic arrays required to construct the Small Mobile Fortress numbered several thousand. Moreover, even the weakest of them was a Basic Master Magic Array. One could easily imagine how complex of a construction a Mobile Fortress was. If the design he received were for a Medium Mobile Fortress, its complexity would be even more frightening, most likely boasting tens of thousands of magic arrays. Just thinking of this number gave him the shivers. However, when Shi Feng took a closer look at the details of the Small Mobile Fortress Design, he did not know whether he should cry or laugh. A Mobile Fortress was something countless powers had yearned to obtain in his previous life. In fact, the superpowers had even been willing to exchange a Main City for a Mobile Fortress. This was despite the exceptionally high difficulty of upgrading a Guild City into a Main City. A lot of time and effort were needed to obtain a Main City. However, even when offered a Main City, there had never been any power that was willing to part with their Mobile Fortress. After all, a Mobile Fortress was an aerial base. Even though a Small Mobile Fortress''s size wasn''t comparable to that of a Basic Town, in a situation where Flying Mounts were incredibly rare and very few Guild Cities could get established in Level 100-plus maps, a Mobile Fortress was worth far more than three Main Cities. In the past, any power that possessed a Mobile Fortress had been a target of partnership for the various superpowers. Countless independent peak experts and top adventurer teams would also do whatever they could to gain the qualifications to enter a Mobile Fortress. Some first-rate Guilds that were fortunate enough to obtain a Mobile Fortress had even instantly become pseudo-superpowers as a result. Moreover, none of the superpowers wished to offend them. Now, although Shi Feng did not obtain an actual Mobile Fortress, he had the design to make one. Moreover, as an Intermediate Master Magician, he could build a Mobile Fortress now and instantly stabilize Zero Wing''s position in God''s Domain. This was definitely a matter worth celebrating. However, after studying the design, Shi Feng also discovered a headache. While he indeed possessed the Mobile Fortress Design as well as the necessary skills to construct it, the Mobile Fortress''s material cost was stratospheric. Setting aside the various materials necessary for the several thousand magic arrays, just the materials for the basic structure of the Mobile Fortress were already more than enough to make any superpower in the current God''s Domain faint. Eight million Magic Crystals Thirty thousand Mana Stones Two million pieces of Mana Ore Although these were all generally available on the market, the amounts required were not something ordinary superpowers could afford. Not to mention, the construction of the Small Mobile Fortress also needed various other valuable materials such as Magic Metal. By Shi Feng''s rough estimates, completing the Small Mobile Fortress would cost a minimum of 50 million Gold. Let alone ordinary superpowers, even veteran Super Guilds would need a long time to collect such an enormous sum of money. Ordinary superpowers would be fortunate to have a liquid fund of three or four million Gold. Even ten ordinary superpowers combined wouldn''t be able to fork out 50 million Gold unless they sold off their assets. However, doing so would be akin to putting the cart before the horse. Before they could even finish constructing the Mobile Fortress, they would''ve caused the collapse of their Guilds already. Most importantly, Coins weren''t the main problem. After all, Coins were the most basic form of currency in God''s Domain. However, it was a different story for Magic Crystals, Mana Stones, and Mana Ore. Aside from being hard currency, they were also essential items for players to get by. Whether it was now or in the future, this fact would remain true. Hence, the difficulty of obtaining all these materials was much greater than the difficulty of accumulating 50 million Gold. Since the minimum material cost alone is already 50 million Gold, it''s no wonder no powers were willing to sell their Mobile Fortresses and would even refuse to accept Main City ranked Guild Cities. If it were up to me, I definitely wouldn''t make such an exchange, either. Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile when he saw the list of required materials. The value of a Main City ranked Guild City indeed surpassed 50 million Gold. However, 50 million Gold was only the material cost of a Small Mobile Fortress. Moreover, this was under ideal market conditions. Magic Crystals, Mana Stones, and Mana Ore were in low supply and high demand in God''s Domain. Just collecting the necessary amount to construct a Small Mobile Fortress would most definitely cause a shortage, which would, in turn, raise their prices. In the end, the material cost would definitely far exceed 50 million Gold. In fact, 100 million Gold might not even be enough to pay for all the necessary materials. After factoring in the time and labor costs, one would make a loss if they sold their Mobile Fortress for less than 200 million Gold. With Zero Wing''s current strength, obtaining the required Magic Crystals and Mana Stones shouldn''t be a problem. It''ll just take some time. However, gathering two million pieces of Mana Ore is a problem. With the Philosopher''s Stone''s help, he could easily convert Magic Crystals into Mana Stones. Overall, he needed just 9.5 million Magic Crystals, which shouldn''t be a big problem for the current Zero Wing, as the Guild was earning a large amount of Magic Crystals through the Starlight Fortress, Stone Forest City, and the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate. However, it was a different story for Mana Ore. On the surface, Mana Ore was cheaper than Magic Crystals. Ordinary players normally wouldn''t have any use for Mana Ore. Only the various powers would occasionally make use of it to construct buildings. However, the production of Mana Ore was also significantly lower than that of Magic Crystals because Mana Ore was an associated ore with only a certain chance of appearing when harvesting ores containing dense Mana. In addition, the various superpowers were treating Mana Ore as a strategic resource and would not sell it unless absolutely necessary. The difficulty of collecting two million pieces of Mana Ore was far greater than the difficulty of collecting 9.5 million Magic Crystals. Although we currently have an alliance with the Azure Chamber of Commerce and can also source some from the Secret Pavilion, purchasing such a large amount of Mana Ore will definitely attract the attention of some superpowers. If these superpowers start interfering, it''ll become even more difficult to collect Mana Ore. It seems I have to secure some Grade 2 or Grade 3 ore veins. If he tried purchasing the uncommonly used Mana Ore in bulk, just the price inflation alone would already present a problem. Currently, due to a sharp increase in member count, Zero Wing''s daily expenditure had likewise increased substantially. He also needed funds to support the development of the Guild''s Knight Legion, Towns, Cities, and Airport. Now, let alone purchasing two million pieces of Mana Ore, Zero Wing didn''t even have the funds necessary to purchase 500,000 pieces. Then, when the Guild''s members started challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, the Guild would also have to invest a lot of funds and resources to assist them. Overall, Zero Wing was extremely short of funds right now. The only way he could secure a large amount of Mana Ore now was to acquire a Grade 3 ore vein or better. That way, not only could he obtain a long-term supply of Mana Ore, but he also wouldn''t have to worry about interference from the various superpowers. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was pondering how to go about obtaining such an ore vein, he suddenly received a call request from Aqua Rose. "Guild Leader, something big happened to the Purple Thorns Kingdom!" Aqua Rose reported anxiously. "Something big happened? What is it?" Shi Feng asked, curious. Due to the Demon God''s Chaos expansion pack, the entire God''s Domain had fallen into turmoil, and Guild wars were being waged daily. With how large the Purple Thorns Kingdom was, it would be strange if nothing happened there. "The Purple Thorns Kingdom isno more" 2651 Kingdom Perishes Chapter 2651 - Kingdom Perishes "The Purple Thorns Kingdom is no more? How did it disappear?" Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he heard Aqua Rose''s report. Although there were over a hundred kingdoms in God''s Domain, the strength these kingdoms possessed was no trivial matter. In the case of the Purple Thorns Kingdom, it was average among the various kingdoms in existence. Although it was smaller than Star-Moon Kingdom, its national power was only slightly weaker than that of Star-Moon Kingdom. Hence, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that there would be anything capable of destroying a kingdom like the Purple Thorns Kingdom. In the past, kingdoms had started rising and perishing only when quite a number of players had already reached Tier 4 and were preparing to challenge their Tier 5 Promotion Quest. In the current God''s Domain, however, let alone preparing to challenge the Tier 5 Promotion Quest, there wasn''t even a single Tier 4 player in existence. It was utterly impossible for players to destroy an entire kingdom. If not for Shi Feng knowing that Aqua Rose would not joke about such an important matter, he really would think that she was kidding him. "We still don''t know the exact details. All we know is that the entire Purple Thorns Kingdom has been isolated from the outside world. According to the players that managed to escape from the kingdom before its isolation, powerful monsters had suddenly appeared in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, and these monsters were aggressively targeting players. At the same time, all NPCs at Tier 3 and above within the kingdom''s NPC towns and cities had either disappeared or were placed in a strange state where they could not do combat. As a result, these newly appeared powerful monsters quickly overran the various NPC towns and cities. "Moreover, any players killed by these monsters lose ten levels and have their souls placed in an Extremely Weakened state, preventing them from logging into God''s Domain for ten days. As for the corpses of these players, they are turned into either monsters themselves or food to strengthen these monsters. "This incident has already shaken the entire eastern continent. Every power is sending people to investigate this matter; the Black Dragon Empire and several kingdoms neighboring the Purple Thorns Kingdom have even dispatched their NPC armies to the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s border to investigate. However, until now, nobody has managed to obtain any information. On the contrary, the players sent to investigate ended up getting ambushed and killed by the monsters there." Aqua Rose was similarly shocked when she received the news. She never thought that an incident like this would actually happen in God''s Domain. It might be understandable if it were an NPC city that suffered destruction, but the annihilation of an entire kingdom was simply unimaginable. Moreover, even now, nobody knew what exactly had happened to the Purple Thorns Kingdom. This situation made the players operating in the neighboring kingdoms and empires nervous, afraid that their country would become the next Purple Thorns Kingdom. If that happened, then all the time and effort they''d spent establishing a foundation in their respective countries would be wasted. The various powers that had been developing in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, in particular, were close to going crazy now. In order to develop in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, the various powers had purchased large tracts of real estate there. They had even constructed numerous Guild Towns and Cities. However, because of the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s fall, all of these investments were gone. Many Guilds had even collapsed because of this incident. Just thinking of this matter made Aqua Rose shudder. Killed players are turned into either monsters or food that goes to improving the monsters? When Shi Feng heard Aqua Rose''s statement, the name of one person came to mind. However, he soon shook his head in denial. Although Beast Emperor possesses the Evil God''s Legacy, he shouldn''t be capable of rendering so many powerful NPCs incapable of combat and even destroying the Purple Thorns Kingdom. In the past, the Evil God''s Temple had indeed caused many problems for the eastern continent. However, by the time the Evil God''s Temple had become a real threat, quite a number of players had already reached Tier 4. Moreover, the Evil Beasts of the Evil God''s Temple required a lot of time to build up their strength. In fact, let alone the current Evil God''s Temple, even when the Evil God''s Temple had been at its peak in the past, it couldn''t destroy an entire kingdom so quickly. "Guild Leader, because of this matter, the entire Guild is in chaos. Many hidden powers are trying to take advantage of this situation. The players and powers that escaped from the Purple Thorns Kingdom, in particular, are now waging war over the various resource spots in Star-Moon Kingdom. The entire Star-Moon Kingdom is in a mess," Aqua Rose said in frustration. "Moreover, many of Star-Moon Kingdom''s players have started migrating to other kingdoms and empires, which has led to a drop in the player populations of the kingdom''s cities. The kingdom''s economy is now plummeting" "I understand. Have Fire and the others get ready. We''ll return to Star-Moon Kingdom immediately," Shi Feng said, nodding. Originally, he had planned to partner with Azure to visit the neutral sea zone off the Silvermoon Empire and see if they could occupy one of the islands there. If he had a Guild Town in that neutral sea zone, it would serve as a foundation for Zero Wing to develop its naval strength on the western continent. At this point, the accessible resource spots on the main continent were mostly occupied already. There were barely any resource spots left for Zero Wing to claim. To develop on the western continent, Zero Wing would have to occupy a Level 100-plus neutral map or develop out at sea. However, establishing a foothold in a Level 100-plus neutral map was easier said than done. Not even the local superpowers could pull it off. Hence, Shi Feng had decided to let Zero Wing develop in the western continent''s neutral sea zones. Given the current situation, however, it would seem that his plan was no longer viable. "What about Violet? Her Concentration should be close to reaching the Tier 4 standard already. If we leave now" Aqua Rose had to ask. "Let her stay here and continue training. The rest of us will head back first," Shi Feng decided. "Moreover, we also need a powerful expert to safeguard our territories here on the western continent." "I understand. I''ll contact Fire and the others now and have them get ready," Aqua Rose said before disconnecting the call and gathering the other members of Zero Wing. As for Shi Feng, he did not idle around but contacted Duan Hanshan right away. "Guild Leader Black Flame, seeing as you''re contacting me so suddenly at this time, you''ve probably received news about the Purple Thorns Kingdom as well and wish to have Azure help you return to the eastern continent, right?" Duan Hanshan said, smiling as he caressed his beard. "Elder Hanshan really is amazing. That''s right. We plan to return to the eastern continent. However, trying to send back a hundred players is a little difficult for us, so we''ll need your Chamber''s help," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Of course, we will pay the fees according to market price." Currently, the interactions between the two main continents were growing. Some superpowers capable of intercontinental travel had even started offering teleportation services. Ordinary powers still lacked the qualifications to utilize these services. However, now that Zero Wing and Azure were allies, Azure naturally wouldn''t refuse to teleport Zero Wing''s members back to the eastern continent. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you''re being too polite. Our two Guilds have just become allies, so let''s just set the fee aside," Duan Hanshan said, waving his hand. "We only hope that we can send some of our Guild''s young talents to interact and train at your Guild. May I know if Guild Leader Black Flame can do us this favor?" "Of course, that won''t be a problem. Only by interacting with each other can we improve more quickly. This is a good thing for both of us. How can I possibly refuse?" Shi Feng replied, slightly surprised by Duan Hanshan''s proposal. He never thought that the Azure Chamber of Commerce would consider such an action. This offer was good news for Shi Feng. After all, he was basically getting free labor. Moreover, he could tell that Azure was expressing its goodwill to Zero Wing. He naturally wouldn''t reject such an offer. "In that case, thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame," Duan Hanshan said. "Afterward, all you need to do is head to Purple Light City with your team. Solitary Frost and the others will bring you all to the teleportation point." "Alright." Shi Feng nodded before disconnecting the call. He then left the guest room he rented and made his way to Lightforged City''s teleportation plaza. After Zero Wing''s members gathered at the teleportation plaza, they promptly left the ancient secret land. Solitary Frost''s team of 40 then led Zero Wing''s members toward a teleportation point leading to the eastern continent. "Guild Leader Black Flame, given the number of people this time, we can only make use of this random teleportation array. When it activates, everyone will be teleported to a random location on the eastern continent. So, we''ll have to travel to Star-Moon Kingdom independently," Solitary Frost said as he pointed at the ancient ruin before them. "That won''t be a problem," Shi Feng said, nodding. Of the teleportation arrays that allowed intercontinental travel, the ones capable of teleporting a large number of players generally did not have fixed destinations. Although this feature was somewhat troublesome, this trouble was nothing compared to the benefits one could gain from intercontinental travel. Seeing that Shi Feng had no objections, Solitary Frost took out a key and activated the ruin''s teleportation array. Immediately, a gigantic black hole appeared in the middle, rapidly depleting the ambient Mana. "Quick! This teleportation passage stays open for only 15 seconds! Once it disappears, we can reactivate it only after ten days!" Solitary Frost said hurriedly. After Solitary Frost''s warning, Shi Feng and the others promptly jumped into the black hole and disappeared from the ancient ruin. 2652 Eastern Continen Chapter 2652 - Eastern Continent God''s Domain, Eastern Continent: In a vast desert, a black hole with a six-meter radius suddenly appeared. All Mana within a 50-yard radius promptly surged toward it as if summoned. In the blink of an eye, the area around the black hole became a Manaless area that players could not survive in. At the same time as this Manaless area formed, a figure emerged from the black hole and landed on the sandy ground. Although the vicinity was devoid of Mana, the body of this figure was actually wrapped in a dense layer of Mana and remained utterly unaffected by the harsh environment. I''m finally out. Shi Feng stared in disgust at the gradually dissipating black hole. That ancient ruin''s random teleportation array is simply a scam. Other random teleportation arrays teleport players directly to their destination, yet this one actually makes players go through a spatial maze first. If I couldn''t fly, I would''ve most likely been stuck inside that spatial maze for about five or six hours. He had used random teleportation arrays in God''s Domain before, but this was definitely the first time he had come across such a bizarre random teleportation array. Entering the black hole on the western continent transported him into a gigantic spatial maze, and he had to search for the exit himself. However, that still wasn''t the worst part. What was worse were the many Void Creatures inside the maze. Fortunately, these Void Creatures were only around Level 120, and the majority of them were at the Great Lord standard only. Moreover, he possessed Gale Domain, which granted him the ability to fly, so he was able to easily shake off the monsters chasing after him and search for the exit quickly. After inwardly grumbling a little, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll for White River City. He wanted to take a look at White River City''s condition immediately. However, when Shi Feng unfurled the Return Scroll and started activating it, the sound of a system notification immediately entered his ears. System: A strange energy is sealing this area. All forms of teleportation cannot be used here. I can''t teleport here? Shi Feng frowned upon seeing this notification. Was I unlucky and got teleported to a forbidden land? In God''s Domain, aside from some special locations, forbidden lands were the only places that prohibited the use of Return Scrolls. Meanwhile, the chances of a random teleportation array sending players into special locations were zero because such locations had to be entered using specific methods. As for forbidden lands, they only prevented players from teleporting out of them and not into them. It seems I have no choice but to fly out of this place. Having no better option, Shi Feng stored his Return Scroll and took out the Thunder Eagle Summoning Flute. However, a second after he tried to summon the Thunder Eagle, he was dumbfounded once more. System: A strange energy is sealing this area. Flying Mounts cannot be used. "What is this place?! It actually prohibits the use of Flying Mounts?!" Shi Feng was truly stunned when he saw this system notification. As far as he remembered, forbidden lands generally did not prohibit the use of Flying Mounts. Those that did were usually Level 150-plus forbidden lands! Even with his current self, he would not dare set foot into such high-level forbidden lands. The main reason for this wasn''t him lacking levels but the possibility of Tier 5 World Bosses spawning in Level 150-plus forbidden lands. Against a Tier 5 World Boss, even a player of his caliber would be no different from an ant. While Shi Feng was grappling with this headache, a weak ripple of Mana came from far away. He turned reflexively to look at its source, but the only thing he could make out was a bunch of ant-like figures fighting in the distance. By his estimates, those figures should be more than 1,500 yards away. What''s going on? Shi Feng was stupefied by this situation. For Tier 3 players, 1,500 yards was already the very limit of their visual range. At such a great distance, unless the other side was using large-scale destruction Spells influencing a radius of several hundred yards, he shouldn''t be able to sense any Mana fluctuations from his position. However, such Spells were definitely beyond the capabilities of Tier 3 magical-class players. And from what he could see, the figures in question weren''t using Spells of such scale and power, either. Is this an effect of having Tier 4 Concentration? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng could think of only this explanation for this situation. This discovery astonished him. No wonder I was never able to escape Tier 4 players once I got discovered. A perception range of 1,500 yards! This perception range was already on superhuman levels. The perception range Tier 3 players possessed couldn''t even come close. Previously, no magical battles had taken place in his vicinity after his Concentration had reached the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, he had been in a Mana-rich environment, so he didn''t sense any particular changes to his perception of Mana. However, now that he had arrived in a place with very thin Mana, he became extraordinarily sensitive to the changes in Mana. Nonetheless, Shi Feng did not dwell on the matter. With quick steps, he made his way toward the origin of the Mana fluctuations since he could sense that the cause of these Mana fluctuations were players. With the system map inaccessible, he couldn''t tell where he was right now. Hence, collecting information about his current location was of utmost importance. Otherwise, he wouldn''t even know how he could return to Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, players were undoubtedly the best source of information. A short moment later, Shi Feng arrived on a sand dune roughly 400 yards from the battlefield. Standing on the sand dune, he had an unobstructed view of the entire battlefield. Sure enough, they''re players. Currently, a 200-man team of players was fighting several dozen strange monsters while protecting a dozen or so carriages and a group of NPCs. [Faux Saint Saboteur] (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 112 HP 120,000,000/120,000,000 [Faux Saint Destroyer] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 114 HP 450,000,000/450,000,000 The bodies of these strange monsters were pure white, looking like white statues. Every one of these monsters brandished weapons and wore armor. Although they weren''t very high-leveled, every one of them was using Spells in combat. Moreover, they also possessed very high combat standards, with even the weakest among them at the fifth-floor Trial Tower standard. As for the players fighting these monsters, they were all at Level 110 or above. Although these players were coping against these monsters, it was obvious that they were at a disadvantage. If not for the team''s eight Tier 3 experts holding off the two Faux Saint Destroyers, the team would''ve long since suffered annihilation. "Vice Commander Wind, we can''t continue like this. Two Destroyers are already far beyond our capability," the male Tier 3 Shield Warrior tanking one of the Faux Saint Destroyers said as he turned to look at the female Tier 3 Swordsman tackling the other Faux Saint Destroyer. The female Swordsman in question was clad in crimson armor and wielded two swords. By relying on her profound footwork, she managed to evade the Faux Saint Destroyer''s Spells one after another. Occasionally, she also landed an attack on the Grand Lord and dealt some damage. From her performance, it was clear that she was at the Flowing Water Realm standard. After putting some distance between herself and the Faux Saint Destroyer before her, the female Swordsman replied, "I know. I''ve already contacted the commander for reinforcements, but the commander''s team is still some distance away. They''ll need around two hours to reach us." "Two hours? We won''t last that long!" the Tier 3 Shield Warrior exclaimed, exasperated. Currently, although they were pinning down the two Faux Saint Destroyers, the rest of the team had their hands full with the Faux Saint Saboteurs. Overall, their entire team was barely doing any damage to these monsters. Meanwhile, at the rate they were expending Stamina, they wouldn''t last more than an hour against these monsters. In regard to this situation, the female Swordsman also could not help feeling frustrated. If it were possible, she would have given the command to escape. However, these Faux Saint monsters possessed an incredibly wide perception range. So long as players came across them, it was basically impossible to escape them. And even if they disregarded this fact and tried to flee, they would simply be making things worse. After all, this entire desert that they were in teemed with Faux Saint monsters. It was very easy for them to attract the attention of more Faux Saint monsters and put themselves in a worse situation. Just as everyone in the team was despairing, a voice suddenly entered their ears. "I''ll lure these two Grand Lords away! The rest of you focus on getting rid of the Great Lords!" 2653 Repelling Faux Saints Chapter 2653 - Repelling Faux Saints Upon hearing this voice, the merchant fleet''s 200 players promptly turned to look toward its origin. What entered their sight was a cloaked Swordsman carrying two longswords, who was rapidly closing in on their position, his speed surpassing even that of Tier 3 Assassins. "So fast!" Solid Wind, the female Swordsman, was surprised when she saw this swift figure. She never thought that they would actually come across other expert players in this desert. However, before anyone could react to this situation, this Swordsman had already arrived before one of the two Faux Saint Destroyers. Upon noticing Shi Feng appearing before it, the Destroyer promptly raised its greatsword and smashed down at him. The descending greatsword split into three sword lights that struck at Shi Feng from different directions, each of the sword lights leaving a spatial tear in its wake. "Be careful! You mustn''t receive this move, no matter what!" Solid Wind warned hurriedly when she saw the descending sword lights. The Faux Saint Destroyer was ostensibly a Grand Lord, but the Skills and Spells it used could exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, its assault was generally relentless. Once it started attacking, it would continue chaining attacks one after another. So long as players revealed a hole in their defense, the Faux Saint Destroyer would use its strongest move to target said weakness. Meanwhile, the Faux Saint Destroyer''s strongest attack was something even Tier 3 peak experts had difficulty dodging. A hit from this move would instantly kill even a Tier 3 MT. However, when Shi Feng went up against the Faux Saint Destroyer''s attack, he actually showed no intention of dodging. Instead, he unsheathed the pitch-black longsword hanging at his waist and took the initiative to meet the attack. "Did he not hear Vice Commander Solid Wind''s warning?" The Tier 3 Shield Warrior who was tanking the other Faux Saint Destroyer was startled when he saw Shi Feng''s actions. In regard to this situation, the other Tier 3 experts on the team also could not help shaking their heads and sighing. Even their commander, who was their adventurer team''s strongest expert, would not dare receive this move directly, choosing to dodge it instead, before launching a counterattack. After all, so long as one clashed with this move, holes would inevitably appear in one''s defense. If that happened, even two or three healers would not be enough to keep one alive. Although everyone present wished to help Shi Feng, the Faux Saint Destroyer''s attack was simply too fast. Nobody would make it in time. "Damn it!" Solid Wind gnashed her teeth when she saw this scene. They had just gained the help of a Tier 3 expert. While having an extra Tier 3 expert might not change the overall situation, it would increase the team''s combat power and let them survive longer. With the Swordsman''s help, they might even be able to hold out until their commander''s team arrived. Now, however Boom! The loud clash of metal against metal thundered. At the same time, a frightening shockwave swept into the surroundings, creating a miniature sandstorm around its epicenter. However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, they did not see the Swordsman''s figure flying out of the sandstorm. Instead, the situation inside the sandstorm became strangely calm after the initial collision. When the sand settled, what entered everyone''s eyes was the scene of Shi Feng standing there quietly, his pitch-black longsword pushing against the Faux Saint Destroyer''s silvery-white greatsword. At this moment, not only was Shi Feng unharmed, but he was still in his original position. "He blocked it?! How is that possible?!" Everyone''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw Shi Feng unscathed and in place. The move the Faux Saint Destroyer just used carried power at the Tier 4 standard. Even a Tier 3 MT would stumble several steps backward when receiving this attack with their shield. However, far from making Shi Feng stumble, the Faux Saint Destroyer''s greatsword actually failed to budge his longsword by even an inch. It was as if the Destroyer''s greatsword had just smashed into an impenetrable wall. The most frightening thing about all of this was that Shi Feng had used only one hand to stop the Faux Saint Destroyer''s attack. "How high is his Strength?" After seeing this astonishing scene, Solid Wind paid closer attention to Shi Feng. Even her commander, who was fully geared in top-tier Dark-Gold Equipment and wielded an Epic Weapon, would not dare receive a Faux Saint Destroyer''s attack directly, yet Shi Feng blocked the attack so casually. This was simply unbelievable. However, before anyone could react to the situation, Shi Feng swung the Abyssal Blade once more and sent a perfect crescent cutting at the Faux Saint Destroyer before him. Failing to defend itself in time, the Destroyer took the hit and stumbled five steps back. At the same time, a damage exceeding -300,000 appeared above its head. The damage from Shi Feng''s attack was more than five times higher than what Solid Wind and the others managed to cause. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng sent a crescent arc flying at the other Faux Saint Destroyer. This time, though, the targeted Destroyer reacted in time, interposing its greatsword. Peng! The instant the crescent arc came into contact with the greatsword, the impact lifted the targeted Faux Saint Destroyer slightly off the ground and sent it flying five yards back. By the time the Faux Saint Destroyer managed to stabilize its body, silence filled the entire battlefield as the 200 players guarding the merchant fleet gaped in shock at the scene that had just taken place. Strong! Shi Feng was simply too strong! The two Faux Saint Destroyers alone were more than capable of annihilating their 200-man team, yet Shi Feng had suppressed both of them with just two casual moves. He was absolutely inhuman. "Leave these two Faux Saint Destroyers to me! The rest of you quickly take care of those Saboteurs!" Shi Feng shouted when he saw that everyone was staring at him in a daze. "Got it!" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s reminder, everyone promptly snapped out of their daze and resumed fighting the Faux Saint Saboteurs without hesitation. In less than an hour, because of Shi Feng pinning down the two Faux Saint Destroyers, the team was able to finish off 70% of the Faux Saint Saboteurs present. After seeing that the tide of the battle was turning against them, the two Faux Saint Destroyers actually quit the field without hesitation. As for the surviving Faux Saint Saboteurs, they similarly scattered and fled as well. "They''re escaping? What are these monsters?" Shi Feng was surprised to see the Faux Saint monsters fleeing. He had seen monsters abandon fights before. However, those monsters would generally turn tail only when their HPs had fallen to a critical level. On the other hand, the Faux Saint monsters that fled still had most of their HP. The two Faux Saint Destroyers, in particular, were basically still at full HP. "We don''t know what exactly these Faux Saint monsters are. We only know that they came from Star-Moon Kingdom''s side. Moreover, every one of them possesses extremely high intellect. So long as they see that they have no chance of winning, they will scatter and flee immediately. This is especially true for those Faux Saint Destroyers. Even now, we haven''t heard of any team killing one," Solid Wind explained when she saw the confusion on Shi Feng''s face. "They came from Star-Moon Kingdom?" Solid Wind''s words surprised Shi Feng. Curious, he asked, "Vice Commander Wind, could we be very close to Star-Moon Kingdom?" As far as he knew, there were no maps close to Star-Moon Kingdom that prohibited the use of teleportation, Flying Mounts, and the system map. "Mhm. Once we cross this desert area, which is in the Orc Empire, we''ll arrive at Star-Moon Kingdom''s fallen border," Solid Wind said as she eyed Shi Feng strangely. After all, this information was common knowledge already. "The Orc Empire? Star-Moon Kingdom''s fallen border?" Shi Feng grew even more confused at Solid Wind''s words. "Wasn''t it the Purple Thorns Kingdom that has fallen?" 2654 Obsolete Zero Wing? Chapter 2654 - Obsolete Zero Wing? Upon hearing Shi Feng''s question, Solid Wind and the others gave him strange looks. "Am I mistaken about something?" Shi Feng asked, puzzled by their reactions. The information Aqua Rose reported couldn''t be false. Moreover, Duan Hanshan had also mentioned the matter of the Purple Thorns Kingdom falling. Even if Aqua Rose received the wrong information, there was no way a Super Guild like the Azure Chamber of Commerce would as well. "You''re not wrong," Solid Wind said, shaking her head. "It''s just that the fall of the Purple Thorns Kingdom happened nine days ago." "Nine days ago?" Shi Feng was stunned by Solid Wind''s words. For a moment, he wondered if she was trying to trick him. According to the information Zero Wing received, the Purple Thorns Kingdom had fallen only a day ago. Even if there was an error in the information, the time gap shouldn''t be this large. "The Purple Thorns Kingdom indeed fell nine days ago. The incident shook the entire God''s Domain back then. The players and powers based in the kingdom were truly miserable," the Tier 3 Shield Warrior standing beside Solid Wind said, nodding. "After that incident, many of the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s players and powers banded together to plunder the resources of the neighboring kingdoms. The situation was so severe that two wars involving millions of players were waged. Many Guilds collapsed as a result, two of them even second-rate Guilds. The various major powers based in the neighboring kingdoms panicked." "That''s right. And three days ago, a horde of monsters emerged from the Purple Thorns Kingdom and invaded Star-Moon Kingdom. Fortunately, Star-Moon Kingdom did not face the predicament the Purple Thorns Kingdom had; all its Tier 3 NPCs and above remained in a combat-able state. Even so, in just half a day, nearly half of Star-Moon Kingdom''s territory was lost and became the nests of these Faux Saint monsters," Solid Wind explained when she saw the skepticism on Shi Feng''s face. Even after hearing Solid Wind''s sincere explanation, Shi Feng remained unconvinced. However, there was simply no reason for Solid Wind to lie to a stranger like him. Moreover, everyone''s expression appeared natural. It did not seem as if they were faking anything. If these people were acting, then he really would have to tip his hat off to their strength. After all, unless one was at the Void Realm standard, avoiding the perception of a Domain Realm expert like himself would be very difficult. Only after reaching the Void Realm standard would people be able to control the minute actions their bodies made when lying. If Solid Wind and the others were truly lying, this meant that the entire 200-man team consisted of peak experts. Not even the Five Great Super Guilds had so many peak experts under their command. What is going on here? Shi Feng could not make heads or tails of this matter. I spent, at most, seven or eight hours inside the spatial maze. How did I unknowingly waste nine days? As soon as he received word of the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s fall, he had hurried back to the eastern continent without hesitation. He didn''t even log off midway. He also couldn''t have fallen asleep during the journey and slept nine whole days away. After all, he had remained fully conscious during his entire journey. Seven or eight hours becoming nine days? Shi Feng suddenly thought of a possibility, and his complexion darkened at this thought. Did I enter a space with chaotic time? Normally, one would experience 48 hours a day in God''s Domain. However, in certain special locations, time would flow much more quickly, and staying just half a day there would mean an entire month going by in the outside world. Moreover, during this entire month, players should not be interrupted lest they enter a coma and regain consciousness only after a long time. Fortunately, such cases rarely occurred in God''s Domain. In the past, Shi Feng had only ever heard rumors of such situations happening. He never thought that he would experience it himself. In fact, there was a possibility that Aqua Rose and the others had been put into a similar situation, as well. "Right, Vice Commander Wind, do you know how Star-Moon Kingdom''s various powers are faring against the Faux Saint monsters?" Shi Feng asked after recollecting himself. What was done was done. The time he lost was already gone, and there was no way he could get it back. Fortunately, Star-Moon Kingdom had only partially fallen. With Zero Wing''s status as Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild and the support of Stone Forest City, Zero Wing shouldn''t face too many problems. After all, aside from Zero Wing''s main force members that had gone over to the western continent, there were still Melancholic Smile, Youlan, and the others to manage things in Star-Moon Kingdom. As he currently couldn''t make contact with the outside world, the only thing he could do was collect as much information as possible regarding Star-Moon Kingdom. "The situation isn''t optimistic," Solid Wind replied. "Originally, these Faux Saint monsters already had a huge impact on Star-Moon Kingdom. However, for some reason, the main force members of Star-Moon Kingdom''s number one Guild, Zero Wing, actually refused to show themselves despite such a major incident occurring. Fortunately, some of Zero Wing''s partners operating in Stone Forest City came to help fight these Faux Saint monsters, allowing Zero Wing to stabilize the situation in Star-Moon Kingdom, albeit just barely. "However, due to Zero Wing''s passivity, a power called Saint''s Hand took the opportunity to rise up in Star-Moon Kingdom. Not only did Saint''s Hand rapidly establish itself in the many resource spots overrun by the Faux Saint monsters, but they also established plenty of Guild Towns. It even managed to occupy a fortress in the Orc Empire. To put it simply, Saint''s Hand has created a large safe zone where players can safely develop. At the same time, Saint''s Hand is also rapidly devouring the territories of Star-Moon Kingdom''s second- and third-rate Guilds, provoking wars all over the kingdom. "Moreover, the various superpowers and even the Blackwater Guild seem to be terrified of Saint''s Hand. Recently, Saint''s Hand even captured one of the Star Alliance''s Guild Cities. Saint''s Hand''s influence in Star-Moon Kingdom now exceeds Zero Wing''s. I''m afraid it won''t be long before Saint''s Hand takes action against Zero Wing. At that time, the entire Star-Moon Kingdom will be engulfed in the fires of war." After Solid Wind fell silent, everyone present could not help sighing dejectedly. They were all players of Star-Moon Kingdom. They had been developing there ever since they entered God''s Domain. Despite the Faux Saint monsters threatening Star-Moon Kingdom''s continued existence, not only did the kingdom''s various powers not band together to face this threat, but they had even started fighting each other with even greater ferocity. As things stood, how was Star-Moon Kingdom supposed to fend off the Faux Saint monsters, which were growing increasingly stronger with each passing day? The current Faux Saint monsters were far stronger than those that first appeared in Star-Moon Kingdom. Initially, the Faux Saint monsters were merely Level 100 Lords. Let alone Tier 3 players, even a party of Tier 2 experts could easily slay them. Now, however, the Faux Saint monsters had grown to the point where even the weakest among them was a Great Lord. Everyone estimated that it wouldn''t be long before Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters started appearing. At that point, Star-Moon Kingdom would surely be doomed. Saint''s Hand? This is interesting. Despite going through his memories of his past life, Shi Feng could not recall any power named Saint''s Hand. However, seeing as Saint''s Hand had managed to rise up in Star-Moon Kingdom so quickly after the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s fall, create a safe zone, and even capture a fortress in the Orc Empire, it was obvious that the Guild possessed an extraordinary foundation. "Friend, we are escorting this merchant fleet to Silverwing Town. How about coming with us? Currently, Silverwing Town has a Tier 4 Personal Guard and many powerful Combat Puppets. It can be considered one of the few safe areas in the Orc Empire, as well as the Orc Empire''s trade hub. Our commander is quite influential in Silverwing Town. If you wish to learn some more information about the situation, you should have an easier time doing so there," the Tier 3 Shield Warrior suggested as he looked at Shi Feng. "In that case, I''ll have to trouble you, then," Shi Feng said and thanked the Shield Warrior for the invitation. Currently, he didn''t even know where exactly he was. He also didn''t know the way back to Star-Moon Kingdom. It would naturally be great if he could return to Silverwing Town. When the Shield Warrior heard Shi Feng agree to his suggestion, he breathed out a sigh of relief. He then asked curiously, "Right, how should we address you, friend?" 2655 Birth of a Mythic Chapter 2655 - Birth of a Mythic Upon hearing the Tier 3 Shield Warrior''s words, Solid Wind turned to Shi Feng with an embarrassed expression. Previously, she had been focused on fighting, so she had forgotten to ask for Shi Feng''s name. In fact, she had even forgotten to thank Shi Feng for his help. Fortunately, the Shield Warrior, Crazed Bull, had taken the initiative to ask. Otherwise, their adventurer team would appear very ungrateful. "Black Flame," Shi Feng replied calmly. "Black Flame?" Crazed Bull laughed involuntarily when he heard Shi Feng''s name. "Friend, your name is too amazing. Most likely, nobody in Star-Moon Kingdom would dare show disrespect to this name." The rest of the team nodded in agreement with Crazed Bull''s words. At this point in time, there was nobody unaware of the name of Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. Let alone the Star Alliance, a first-rate Guild operating in Star-Moon Kingdom, even the various superpowers had to show respect to Zero Wing now. All the players in Star-Moon Kingdom knew of Black Flame''s existence. However, no matter how they looked at Shi Feng''s cloaked figure, he didn''t match the legendary Black Flame they knew of. They also didn''t think that the Guild Leader of Zero Wing would come to this godforsaken place that was infested with Faux Saint monsters. "Alright, it''s just a form of address. Since he doesn''t want to reveal his name, there''s no need for us to pry into the matter," Solid Wind whispered through the team chat when she saw her teammates poking fun at Shi Feng. At Solid Wind''s admonishment, everyone promptly nodded and dropped the topic. After all, it was all thanks to Shi Feng that they survived. Since Shi Feng wished to conceal his identity, they naturally wouldn''t try to delve into the matter. "We still haven''t thanked you for your help just now, Brother Black Flame. In the future, if you come across any trouble in the Orc Empire or Star-Moon Kingdom, please feel free to seek us out. Our Blood Pact adventurer team might not be comparable to large Guilds, but we are more than capable of settling small problems," Solid Wind said in gratitude as she approached Shi Feng. "That''s right. We might not be some famous top adventurer team, but we are still one of the top 20 adventurer teams operating in the Orc Empire. If you come across some wandering Dark Players, so long as you mention the name ''Blood Pact,'' those Dark Players will generally show some respect and take a step back," Crazed Bull said confidently. "Alright," Shi Feng said, nodding. At the same time, a bitter smile formed beneath the hood of his cloak when he saw that Solid Wind and her team did not believe him. "Let''s get back on the carriages and continue on our way. Once night arrives, not only will those Faux Saint monsters grow more active, but Saint''s Hand''s members will also ambush the players operating around Silverwing Town. With the little manpower we have, we definitely won''t be able to defend all the merchandise," Solid Wind said as she pointed at the nearby merchant fleet. Everyone then boarded the carriages of the merchant fleet, not daring to waste any more time in this place. "Vice Commander Wind, since the Faux Saint monsters are more active at night, aren''t Saint''s Hand''s members afraid of getting assaulted by them?" Shi Feng asked curiously after getting onto the leading carriage. Since Saint''s Heart was trying to expand its influence in Star-Moon Kingdom, clashing with Zero Wing was inevitable. Hence, he wasn''t surprised that Saint''s Heart was targeting the players operating around Zero Wing''s territories. However, the Faux Saint monsters'' strength was no trivial matter, either. It would be extremely foolish for Saint''s Hand to take action in Silverwing Town''s vicinity during the Faux Saint monsters'' peak period. "We found this situation very strange, as well. However, it seems that Saint''s Hand has developed a special tool. And when players wear this special tool, so long as they do not attack those Faux Saint monsters, then those Faux Saint monsters won''t attack them, either. With this tool, Saint''s Heart''s members can coordinate their movements with the Faux Saint monsters in targeting Silverwing Town. Recently, their assaults have become stronger. By the looks of it, Saint''s Hand wants to capture Silverwing Town as soon as possible," Solid Wind said. "However, for independent players like ourselves, we really don''t wish to see Silverwing Town fall. "Thus far, the Guild Towns captured by Saint''s Hand are open only to Saint''s Hand''s members. Meanwhile, Silverwing Town is the Orc Empire''s current economic center. If Saint''s Hand manages to capture Silverwing Town, then we won''t have anywhere to go. "Hence, many adventurer teams and even some of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Guilds are currently working together to assist Zero Wing in defending against Saint''s Heart''s assault and protecting the merchant fleets heading toward Silverwing Town. Only, due to the Faux Saint monsters growing increasingly stronger, our side has recently started to fall into a disadvantage. I don''t know how much longer we can hold out like this" Aside from Solid Wind, the other players present also hated Saint''s Hand with a vengeance. Currently, the various kingdoms and powers were already struggling to deal with the Faux Saint monsters, yet Saint''s Hand was actually exploiting the situation, making it increasingly difficult for independent players like themselves to survive. However, despite their hatred for Saint''s Hand, they were utterly powerless to do anything against the Guild. In fact, even the various superpowers did not dare to oppose Saint''s Hand and could only watch from the sidelines. From the conversations with Solid Wind and the others, Shi Feng gradually understood Star-Moon Kingdom''s current situation. Although Star-Moon Kingdom had already lost close to half of its territory, not a single Main City ranked NPC city had fallen. Even so, the situation did not look too good for the kingdom. This was because the Faux Saint monsters were growing increasingly stronger, which, in turn, prompted a large number of players to emigrate from the kingdom. At this point, White River City, which originally had a player population exceeding ten million, now had a population of less than four million. The other NPC cities in the kingdom were in an even worse state. Meanwhile, the drastic decrease in player population had also caused Star-Moon Kingdom''s economy to contract, forcing many powers to leave the kingdom in search of greener pastures. To make matters worse, the departure of Star-Moon Kingdom''s major powers opened up opportunities for the various dark powers to rise up. The kingdom''s dark powers had already developed to a point where normal players might lose their lives as soon as they left the protection of an NPC town or city. Overall, the situation in Star-Moon Kingdom could be summed up with a single wordchaos! Most importantly, with the Faux Saint monsters growing increasingly stronger, everyone could already foresee the day when Star-Moon Kingdom''s Main City ranked NPC cities fell. At that time, the entire kingdom would collapse, and only those that joined Saint''s Hand could avoid getting devoured by the Faux Saint monsters in the kingdom. As the merchant fleet continuously advanced, before anyone realized it, they had already arrived in a desert woodland close to Silverwing Town. Currently, at least 20 merchant fleets could be seen advancing toward Silverwing Town under the escort of players. From this, one could easily see how prosperous the current Silverwing Town was. Moreover, aside from the escorting adventurer teams, there was also an army of 10,000 players, belonging to the various large Guilds, patrolling the vicinity of Silverwing Town. "We''re finally safe." Solid Wind breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw this Guild army. The sky was already darkening. The Faux Saint monsters they had to face at this time were no laughing matter, not to mention the threat of Saint''s Hand''s experts. Their merchant fleet would definitely face annihilation if they came across an ambush. "Today''s patrol really is amazing. The Star Alliance''s Vice Guild Leader Purple Eye is actually leading it. With this, even if Saint''s Hand''s members attack together with the Faux Saint monsters, we have nothing to fear," Crazed Bull said, his eyes glowing with excitement as he gazed at the beautiful, crimson-robed woman leading the patrol army. The other Blood Pact members nodded their heads in agreement with Crazed Bull when they saw Purple Eye. Nowadays, despite Star-Moon Kingdom giving birth to plenty of new experts, those capable of making it to the God''s Domain Experts List still numbered very few. After all, players all over God''s Domain were also continuously growing stronger. The difficulty of ranking within the God''s Domain Experts List was many times greater than before. Meanwhile, among Star-Moon Kingdom''s experts on the Experts List, Purple Eye ranked within the top 300. According to rumors, she had obtained a powerful Bloodline, and her combat power now rivaled that of monster-level experts. To top it all off, just recently, Purple Eye had even succeeded in fully unlocking her Mana Body. At this point, everyone in Star-Moon Kingdom was already guessing that Purple Eye had already surpassed Zero Wing''s Aqua Rose in terms of strength and that she was catching up to Black Flame. With such an expert protecting them, how could they not feel assured? While Blood Pact''s members were quietly discussing Purple Eye, a disturbance erupted in the distance. Shortly afterward, deafening roars came from the same direction. "Run! Run quickly! The Faux Saint monsters have come!" Upon hearing someone shout these words, everyone in the vicinity reflexively turned to look at the origin of the roars. What entered everyone''s sight was a massive dust cloud rapidly approaching. Meanwhile, within the dust cloud, they could faintly make out the figures of six-meter-tall Faux Saint monsters, easily numbering several thousand. "Everyone, quickly retreat to Silverwing Town! Our patrol will hold the rear!" Purple Eye shouted when she saw the army of Faux Saint monsters bearing down on them. The patrol army promptly shifted to a defensive formation. From how calmly the patrol army''s members reacted even after seeing the approach of several thousand Faux Saint monsters, it was obvious that they were all experienced experts. However, when the Faux Saint monsters arrived within 500 yards, the expressions of the patrol army''s members changed. "Not good! There''s a Mythic ranked Faux Saint monster!" Among the Faux Saint monsters present, even the Faux Saint Destroyers were only seven meters tall. However, to everyone''s surprise, a twelve-meter-tall figure was running amidst the monster army. The intense pressure this twelve-meter-tall Faux Saint monster exuded was so powerful that even Level 112, Tier 2 experts felt stifled. The Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers were already incredibly difficult to deal with for Tier 3 experts. In fact, even peak experts had died when fighting against a Faux Saint Destroyer. Nobody dared imagine how powerful a Faux Saint monster would become after reaching the Mythic rank. Not to mention, aside from the Mythic ranked Faux Saint monster, the monster army also had several hundred Faux Saint Destroyers and several thousand Faux Saint Saboteurs. "How is this possible?! How can a Mythic ranked Faux Saint monster appear so quickly?!" Solid Wind was stunned when she saw the gigantic Faux Saint monster. "We''re doomed! We''re really doomed this time!" Crazed Bull similarly fell into despair at this situation. When facing an army of Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers, players like themselves could still band together to fend off the monsters. However, now that Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters had started appearing in the Faux Saint armies, it was only a matter of time before Silverwing Town perished. After all, even now, nobody had managed to kill a Faux Saint Destroyer. Needless to say, killing the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer would be even more impossible. Moreover, these Faux Saint monsters would only grow increasingly stronger as time passed. Players like themselves were helpless to stop these monsters. Before anyone could properly react to the appearance of a Mythic ranked Faux Saint monster, the Faux Saint army had already started clashing with the patrol army. Against a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer, even the Defense of Tier 3 MTs was no different from paper. Executing a horizontal swipe with its spear, the Faux Saint Devourer easily sent the Tier 3 MTs in its path flying, the MTs losing HP rapidly. Even when Purple Eye, a Level 114, Tier 3 Elementalist, used a Tier 3 Curse against the Faux Saint Destroyer, the Mythic monster not only blocked the attack without any difficulty but even managed to turn the force of the attack to its advantage, propelling itself toward Purple Eye at lightning speed. If not for her quick reaction, activating a Lifesaving Skill in time, she would''ve been instantly killed. "Brother Black Flame, let''s hurry up and leave. The patrol army won''t hold out for very long," Crazed Bull urged anxiously when he saw Shi Feng jumping off the carriage. If even an expert of Purple Eye''s caliber was at an absolute disadvantage, the Faux Saint army would eventually break through the patrol army''s defensive line. 2656 Frightening Monster Chapter 2656 - Frightening Monster Silverwing Town, Blue Rose Bar: As one of the few Advanced Bars found in Silverwing Town, not only was the Blue Rose Bar a place where experts exchanged information, but it was also a sacred place for the various well-known adventurer teams to celebrate their harvests. Hence, the Blue Rose Bar was basically crowded with players every day. At this moment, however, only a dozen or so people occupied the bar''s third floor. Of the people there, even the lowest-leveled was Level 114, with the highest at Level 115. These players also boasted excellent equipment, the weakest piece of equipment being Level 110 Dark-Gold rank. As for Level 100-plus Epic Equipment that could make even peak experts drool, every one of these players had at least two pieces, with some of them sporting up to four. However, compared to the levels and equipment of these people, their identity was what was truly astonishing. These players were none other than the peak experts of Crimson Emperor, a Guild that was known by almost everyone in the surrounding kingdoms and empires. Meanwhile, seated at the head of this group was Illusory Words, one of Crimson Emperor''s Vice Guild Leaders. "Sure enough, just like our spies in Saint''s Hand reported, the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer that recently spawned is planning to attack Silverwing Town," a Level 114 man with a fierce look said as he looked at the image on the Magic Mirror set up in the middle of the table. Sighing, the man continued, "It won''t be long before more Faux Saint Devourers appear. With this, Silverwing Town will fall within a few days. At that time, it will be useless even if Zero Wing''s main force members show up." Upon hearing the fierce man''s words, the other Crimson Emperor members fell silent. The Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers were already plenty strong. Now, even a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer had appeared. The strength and combat standards the Faux Saint Devourer had displayed thus far were enough to give even peak experts like themselves goosebumps. Most likely, even if their group here worked together to attack it, they would all still die. Meanwhile, once the numbers of these Faux Saint Devourers grew to around 20 or 30, they might be capable of destroying even Guild Cities. "What is the Guild Leader''s response to this matter?" Illusory Words asked the fierce man. When she saw the Faux Saint Devourer''s unstoppable rampage through the Magic Mirror, she could not help frowning, either. "The Guild Leader has ordered a complete withdrawal. He says that there''s no need for us to accompany Zero Wing in its fight to the death against these Faux Saint monsters," the fierce man replied. "A complete withdrawal?" Illusory Words was a little surprised by the answer she received. Previously, their Guild Leader had personally dispatched Crimson Emperor''s experts to help defend Silverwing Town. This indicated that he strongly supported Crimson Emperor''s partnership with Zero Wing. Now, however, before Crimson Emperor''s experts had even started fighting, he was actually ordering a retreat. Illusory Words found this situation unbelievable. "That''s right, a complete withdrawal. The current God''s Domain is no longer the same as before. We have a ton of matters to deal with just in the Dark Night Empire alone. This is especially true now that Starlink''s development is accelerating. At this point, Starlink already has designs on a few of our Guild Towns. Moreover, the situation here is obviously hopeless, so it is naturally much better if we post our available combat power to defensible locations. Unyielding Soul should be doing likewise," the fierce man explained. "Do we have any new information on Zero Wing''s Guild Leader and main force?" Illusory Words asked. "There''s still nothing even now. I heard that Zero Wing''s upper echelons have tried contacting Black Flame and the others, but their virtual gaming cabins remain under lockdown. If they sever the power to the gaming cabins, there''s a very high chance that Black Flame and the others will enter a deep coma. Hence, all they can do is wait," the fierce man said, shaking his head. "However, with the present situation, there''s no chance of Zero Wing making a comeback. Setting aside the threat of Starlink and the Dark World, Zero Wing will have difficulty defending its headquarters in Star-Moon Kingdom from the Faux Saint monsters. Nothing will change even if Black Flame and the others return. The difference in combat power is simply too large. Moreover, there''s also Saint''s Hand, which is eyeing Zero Wing''s position in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Saint''s Hand''s origin is extremely mysterious and extraordinary. Even Blackwater''s mighty Xuanwu Chisa seems afraid of it. Otherwise, with her personality, she definitely wouldn''t make any concessions in the Orc Empire." "I understand. However, at the rate the Faux Saint Devourers are spawning, so long as we defend together, we should be able to hold out for another two weeks or so. Retreating so soon is really" Although Illusory Words understood what the fierce man was trying to say, she still could not bring herself to give up just like that. "Two weeks?" The fierce man revealed a bitter smile at Illusory Words''s statement. "If we really could hold on for another two weeks, the Guild Leader wouldn''t have called for a retreat right away." "What do you mean?" Illusory Words asked curiously. While Tier 4 combatants were indeed extremely powerful and especially useful when attacking fortified locations, with Silverwing Town''s defenses and the experts like themselves present, it would take at least 20 or 30 Faux Saint Devourers to conquer Silverwing Town. "According to the information we collected from Saint''s Hand, when Faux Saint monsters reach the Mythic rank, not only do their Basic Attributes and combat power undergo a qualitative transformation, but so does their intellect as well," the fierce man said, fear darkening his eyes as he looked at the Faux Saint Devourer displayed on the Magic Mirror. "Isn''t it normal for them to gain a boost to their intellect?" Illusory Words didn''t get the fierce man''s point. "It wouldn''t be a problem if it were a normal improvement in intellect. However, according to Saint''s Hand''s information, these Faux Saint monsters gain the ability to learn once they reach the Mythic rank. In just a few minutes, they can learn the combat techniques players use. And the more experts they fight, the more quickly they improve. They are monsters in the truest sense!" the fierce man explained. "How is this possible? Doesn''t this mean that, aside from NPCs, nobody will be able to suppress those Faux Saint Devourers?" Illusory Words could not help feeling that the fierce man was being too alarmist when she heard his words. Learning a combat technique was easier said than done. Even with the guidance of a complete Legacy Crystal, peak experts would need dozens of hours to learn a combat technique. Without any guidance, they wouldn''t be able to learn a combat technique even given a month or two. Hence, how could a monster that, at most, possessed intellect rivaling that of ordinary players, learn a combat technique in just a few minutes? "I didn''t believe this information, either," the fierce man said as he chuckled bitterly. He then sent a video recording to Illusory Words and continued, "Take a look at it yourself." When Illusory Words played the video recording, it showed a Tier 3 Void Realm expert fighting a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer. At the start of the fight, the Void Realm expert was merely at a disadvantage in terms of Basic Attributes. With his superior combat standards, he should be able to survive against the Devourer for quite some time. However, after the Void Realm expert cycled through a few combat techniques a few times, the Faux Saint Devourer seemingly got bored of the expert''s antics and executed a Basic Footwork to instantly kill the said expert. And shortly afterward, the fallen expert''s corpse transformed into a Faux Saint monster. "How is this possible?" Goosebumps rose all over Illusory Words''s body when she saw the peak expert getting killed. Her reaction was because this peak expert was someone she recognized. He was none other than Hundred Arms, the commander of the adventurer team Crimson Wolves, a top adventurer team based in the Black Dragon Empire. Hundred Arms was an expert who was only half a step away from reaching the Domain Realm. However, despite Hundred Arms having such high combat standards, the Faux Saint Devourer had actually instant-killed him. Moreover, the monster had even used Hundred Arms''s prided footwork, Doppelganger Steps, to do so. "That''s right. That Faux Saint Devourer learned Doppelganger Steps in only a minute. Moreover, the Devourer was extremely cunning while fighting Hundred Arms. It didn''t use its full strength at the start of the fight. Instead, it held back and squeezed out all of Hundred Arms''s potential, forcing Hundred Arms to use every move he had. Only after seeing that Hundred Arms had nothing left to offer did the Devourer kill him. The situation is similar to Purple Eye''s right now," the fierce man said, breathing out a deep sigh as he watched Purple Eye clash with the Faux Saint Devourer, through the Magic Mirror. "No wonder the Guild Leader wants us to retreat immediately. Who could possibly be a match for such a monster?" Illusory Words muttered, still in shock over the Faux Saint Devourer''s intellect. With such strength and intellect, the Faux Saint Devourer simply wasn''t an existence that players could handle. Only NPCs could kill such a monster. Just as Illusory Words was about to command Crimson Emperor''s members to withdraw from Silverwing Town, the movement pattern of the Faux Saint Devourer fighting Purple Eye suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, it appeared behind the Elementalist and sent over 20 spear images stabbing at her. The move the Faux Saint Devourer had executed was one that Illusory Words was familiar with; it was another one of Hundred Arms''s trademark moves, the Advanced Combat Technique Fallen Leaves. Upon seeing this move being executed, Illusory Words could not help a sigh. When Hundred Arms executed this move, even Domain Realm experts couldn''t stop it completely. Now that the Faux Saint Devourer had perfectly replicated the move, needless to say, a Flowing Water Realm expert like Purple Eye stood no chance against it. However, just as Illusory Words was about to turn her gaze away from the Magic Mirror, a flash appeared in the mirror. In the next moment, a pitch-black wall appeared between Purple Eye and the 20-plus spear images, the spear images vanishing without a trace when they came into contact with the pitch-black wall. 2657 Clashing with the Faux Saint Devourer Chapter 2657 - Clashing with the Faux Saint Devourer "It got blocked?" "How is that possible?! That''s an Advanced Combat Technique used by a Mythic monster!" Crimson Emperor''s members seated in the Blue Rose Bar''s third floor rubbed their eyes in shock when they saw the pitch-black wall displayed on the Magic Mirror. For a moment, they all thought they were hallucinating. In terms of Basic Attributes, the Faux Saint Devourer was above average among Mythic monsters of the same level. Combined with Hundred Arms''s Fallen Leaves technique, the power of the Devourer''s attack should be capable of sending even Mythic monsters flying. Nevertheless, against the pitch-black wall that suddenly appeared, the attack was nothing. The players standing on the battlefield were similarly stunned by this scene. "What''s going on?" "Is that pitch-black wall some kind of Defensive Spell? Isn''t it a little too amazing?" Everyone was surprised and confused by the pitch-black wall that had suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Not only did this pitch-black wall block the Faux Saint Devourer''s attack, but it had even split the entire battlefield in half, forcing the majority of the monster army to halt their charge. Now, the Faux Saint monsters could only stand still and quietly look at the pitch-black wall before them. "This isa spatial tear!" Illusory Words exclaimed when she saw the pitch-black wall fading out of existence. "A spatial tear? How is that possible? Even a very powerful attack would, at most, cause a thin tear stretching over a dozen yards. This wall is over a hundred yards long and over 50 yards tall. Who could possibly have such strength?" the fierce man refuted, shaking his head in denial. He felt that Illusory Words''s conjecture was ridiculous. Everyone in the bar''s third floor was familiar with spatial tears. After all, they would always come across spatial tears when clashing with Tier 4 Mythic monsters. A spatial tear was the byproduct of an attack carrying too much power for the surrounding space to handle. The surrounding space would destabilize and shatter like broken glass, which was why the shape of spatial tears was generally irregular. However, the pitch-black wall displayed on the Magic Mirror was incredibly stable. There were no cracks in it at all. It looked like a steel wall that had just fallen out of the skyincredibly smooth and heavy. "I guess you''re right. Even that person wouldn''t be capable of such a feat," Illusory Words said, laughing despite herself. After giving the matter some thought, she agreed with the fierce man. "Regardless, who saved Purple Eye?" the fierce man wondered as he carefully tracked the pitch-black wall back to its origin. "Setting aside the wall''s defensive capabilities, just the fact that this person saw through the Faux Saint Devourer''s movements is already plenty amazing. I doubt there are more than a handful of people in the entire Silverwing Town who would be a match for this person. Did an old monster belonging to one of Zero Wing''s partners take action?" The fierce man''s gaze landed on a cloaked man wielding a pitch-black longswordthe origin of the remarkable wall. Although he couldn''t see any information about this cloaked man, his gut told him that this cloaked man possessed astonishing strength definitely at the Domain Realm. Before the pitch-black wall disappeared completely, the cloaked man vanished from his original location and arrived before the Faux Saint Devourer. He then stopped another spear attack from the Devourer, allowing Purple Eye to put some distance between herself and the Mythic monster. "Crap! Who is that guy?! He actually managed to block that Faux Saint Devourer''s attack!" Crazed Bull exclaimed, his eyes nearly falling out of their sockets when he saw Shi Feng successfully rescuing Purple Eye. At this moment, aside from Crazed Bull, even Solid Wind could not help goggling in shock, her mind freezing in disbelief. Previously, she already found Shi Feng''s ability to pin down two Faux Saint Destroyers all by himself astounding. Now, the man had even single-handedly pinned down the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer, which even an expert of Purple Eye''s caliber was no match for. "Amazing! He''s actually keeping up with that Devourer''s speed! With this, he should have no problems handling the Devourer," Illusory Words said, her eyes glowing with excitement when she saw the cloaked man deflecting every one of the Faux Saint Devourer''s attacks. "If Silverwing Town has his protection, we should be able to sustain the town for some time and foil Saint''s Hand''s plan to solicit help from the neighboring kingdoms'' powers. That way, Saint''s Hand''s development speed will slow down, and Zero Wing will have some breathing room. If Zero Wing can continue holding out in Star-Moon Kingdom, we''ll have an easier time resisting Starlink in the Dark Night Empire as well." "This will only delay the inevitable. That Faux Saint Devourer will grow stronger as more time passes. Its growth speed is also no laughing matter. Not to mention, Saint''s Hand has already informed the various superpowers that anyone that helps Zero Wing will become Saint''s Hand''s enemy," the fierce man said, shaking his head. "Saint''s Hand has done considerable research into the Faux Saint monsters. In the future, we''ll definitely need Saint''s Hand''s help to deal with the threat of the Faux Saint monsters. This is also why the Guild Leader is having us withdraw completely. The appearance of that mysterious expert won''t change anything. In fact, Saint''s Hand will probably locate the power behind that mysterious expert and give that power a warning." Aside from Crimson Emperor''s members, the members of various superpowers hidden in Silverwing Town also viewed this situation indifferently. "Zero Wing sure is lucky. It actually managed to get the help of an old monster." "I bet that old monster has yet to receive the news. Otherwise, why would he move to help Zero Wing?" Although they did not know which superpower''s old monster was helping Zero Wing right now, they knew that this would be the only time this old monster would do so. Afterward, Saint''s Hand would definitely warn the superpower backing this old monster. Once that happened, said superpower would most likely stop assisting Zero Wing in defending the town against the Faux Saint monsters. Not only was the current era of God''s Domain filled with turmoil, but it was also the era of the Faux Saint monsters. Faux Saint monsters were a huge headache, even for Super Guilds. Moreover, stopping the spread of these Faux Saint monsters was also impossible. In the future, any Guild that wished to develop safely in God''s Domain, be it a small Guild or a Super Guild, would have to partner or trade with Saint''s Hand. After all, up to now, no other power had managed to develop a tool that could prevent the Faux Saint monsters from attacking players. In fact, Saint''s Hand even had the means to prevent the Faux Saint monsters from attacking an entire area. Now that Saint''s Hand was determined to destroy Zero Wing, even the Secret Pavilion would be able to stop it, just like how the Secret Pavilion had failed to stop Saint''s Hand from capturing one of the Star Alliance''s Guild Cities. Meanwhile, as time passed, due to reinforcements continuously pouring out of Silverwing Town, the patrol army eventually gained the upper hand over the Faux Saint army. In fact, over a thousand Faux Saint Saboteurs had fallen in battle already, which made the Faux Saint Devourer anxious. In the next moment, the Faux Saint Devourer let loose a deafening roar that echoed throughout the battlefield. Immediately afterward, the Faux Saint army scattered and fled. As for the Faux Saint Devourer itself, it, too, turned around and ran off. "Sure enough, it is going to escape." "Silverwing Town might''ve survived this time, but let''s see how it''s going to stop the next attack." The superpowers hidden within Silverwing Town were not at all surprised when they saw the Faux Saint army retreating. After all, with the Faux Saint Devourer thoroughly suppressed, it was only a matter of time before the Faux Saint army suffered annihilation. However, what made the Faux Saint monsters truly formidable was their ability to grow stronger with each battle they experienced. Even though Silverwing Town had successfully fended off today''s attack, it wouldn''t necessarily be able to repeat the feat. "Escape?" Shi Feng sneered when he saw the Faux Saint Devourer fleeing. "Do you think you can escape?" Following which, he took out the Ring of Gospel from his bag and activated Miniature World. 2658 Power of Tier 4 Concentration Chapter 2658 - Power of Tier 4 Concentration When Shi Feng activated Miniature World, the sky above the desert woodland darkened as if night had fallen. Immediately, everyone on the battlefield felt their perception of their surroundings vanish. It was as if they had been plunked into a pitch-black void with nothing in it. Moreover, aside from the players, even the fleeing Faux Saint monsters came to a halt and aimlessly turned their heads left and right, their eyes brimming with fear and confusion. Shortly afterward, a colorful brilliance descended from the sky, the lights giving off a sacred and majestic feeling. Spectators at a distance would see a gigantic rainbow barrier enveloping the entire desert woodland outside Silverwing Town. This rainbow barrier thoroughly isolated the woodland from the outside world, making the woodland look like a mirage. Meanwhile, beneath this colorful brilliance, the Faux Saint monsters started wailing in agony, one after another, their screams echoing throughout the woodland. At the same time, the intense aura they radiated waned rapidly, and even their Basic Attributes and reaction speed weakened to an unbelievable degree. It was as if these Faux Saint monsters that everyone originally feared had become Common monsters. Seeing this scene, everyone on the battlefield was stunned. "Isn''t this a little too strong?! He actually debuffed several thousand Faux Saint monsters to such an extent in an instant! Who is this guy?!" The various adventurer teams escorting merchant fleets and the patrol army fending off the Faux Saint monsters stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. They had seen many instances of magic arrays suppressing monsters before, but this was the first time they had seen a magic array produce such a huge commotion and effect. Any random Faux Saint Saboteur was more than enough to give Tier 3 experts a headache, what more the Faux Saint Destroyers. Now, however, several hundred Faux Saint Destroyers had been suppressed until they were just slightly stronger than ordinary Great Lords. Even ordinary Tier 3 experts could handle these Grand Lords. As for the almighty Faux Saint Devourer, it was no different from an ordinary Mythic monster. In its present state, even Tier 3 peak experts could resist it for a certain period. Master Magic Arrays were unlikely to be able to produce such results. Moreover, the magic array Shi Feng used spanned the entire desert woodland. At this moment, Shi Feng himself was very surprised by the effects of Miniature World. He never thought that, after his Concentration had reached the Tier 4 standard, aside from being able to exhibit the power of an Advanced Combat Technique with his every movement, his control over magic arrays would also improve to such a frightening degree. Currently, Miniature World''s suppression effects could rival those of Advanced Master Magic Arrays. Despite his surprise, Shi Feng did not pause. After activating Miniature World, he promptly charged at the Faux Saint Devourer. Under the suppression of Miniature World, the Faux Saint Devourer''s speed had decreased considerably. In just two seconds, Shi Feng intercepted the Mythic monster and sent the Abyssal Blade cutting at it. Immediately, a crescent arc appeared and cut through the Faux Saint Devourer''s shoulder. Failing to react to the attack in time, the Devourer got sent flying and crashed into a large tree several yards away, a damage exceeding -600,000 appearing above its head. The disparity in combat power was clear for all to see. "What is that magic array? The Faux Saint Devourer actually doesn''t even have the strength to fight back?" The various superpowers spectating the fight from Silverwing Town gaped in shock when they saw the Faux Saint Devourer at a complete disadvantage. In fact, the Devourer''s reaction speed couldn''t even keep up with the Swordsman''s movements. Although they could tell through their Magic Mirrors that the Faux Saint Devourer''s Basic Attributes had decreased by a significant margin, the Devourer should be at the standard of ordinary Mythic monsters. Given its knowledge of combat techniques, its overall combat power should still be on par with that of Domain Realm experts. After all, the Basic Attributes of a Tier 4 monster was no trivial matter. However, let alone putting up a fight, the Faux Saint Devourer couldn''t even defend itself against Shi Feng''s attacks, its HP continuously decreasing. It simply couldn''t keep up with Shi Feng''s movements. After seeing this, everyone could already imagine what outcome awaited the Faux Saint Devourer. Death! While it might be impossible for Shi Feng to kill the Faux Saint Devourer by himself, as the Mythic monster had 1.6 billion HP, so long as a dozen or so Tier 3 experts joined him in assaulting it, the Devourer would eventually fall. Until this day, let alone killing a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer, the various superpowers hadn''t even managed to kill a Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyer before. Now, however, Shi Feng accomplished this miracle just by using a magic array. This was simply unbelievable. Following which, time passed quickly. Less than 10 minutes after Shi Feng activated Miniature World, all the Faux Saint Saboteurs on the battlefield had already fallen to the patrol army, while the Faux Saint Destroyers'' HPs were down by half. As for the Faux Saint Devourer, with Shi Feng, Purple Eye, and several dozen other Tier 3 experts attacking it, its HP had fallen below the 70% threshold already. The players present could not help growing excited at this scene. This was especially true for the members of the various adventurer teams. After all, the Faux Saint monsters'' undefeated streak had finally ended. Previously, the various powers and players had been afraid of the Faux Saint monsters because the Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers were basically impossible to kill, not to mention the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer. However, now that killing these Grand Lord and Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters was no longer a problem, not only was there hope of Star-Moon Kingdom''s survival, but reclaiming some of the kingdom''s lost land might even be possible. Players like themselves would then be able to continue developing in the Orc Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom like before. "I don''t know who that person is, but after this battle, the situation in the Orc Empire and Star-Moon Kingdom is most likely going to change," Illusory Words said, the corners of her lips curling up slightly as she watched Shi Feng suppressing the Faux Saint Devourer on the Magic Mirror. Previously, the undefeatable Faux Saint monsters were the main reason why the various major powers and superpowers feared Saint''s Hand. Now, although they had succeeded in killing only a very small portion of the Faux Saint monsters plaguing Star-Moon Kingdom, so long as news of this success spread, Saint''s Hand would no longer be able to act in an overbearing manner as it did before. However, just when the various superpowers hidden within Silverwing Town thought that the Faux Saint army was going to suffer annihilation, several dozen lightning spears descended from the sky, shooting at Shi Feng and the others, who were assaulting the Faux Saint Devourer. The speed and power of the lightning spears were so great that more than 20 Tier 3 experts were instantly vaporized. Along with the descent of the lightning spears, two magic barriers suddenly appeared around the injured Faux Saint Devourer, protecting it from further harm. The Tier 3 Curse Purple Eye used failed to break through them. Before anyone could react to this turn of events, over a hundred figures emerged rapidly from the surrounding forest and interposed themselves between the Faux Saint Devourer and Shi Feng''s group. Surprisingly, every one of these new arrivals radiated an aura rivaling that of Grand Lords of the same level. "Who are you people? What are you trying to do?" After Purple Eye saw her companions killed and the Faux Saint Devourer protected by a twofold magic array, an indescribable rage welled up within her as she glared at the 100-plus black-clad Tier 3 experts that had suddenly appeared. If not for these new arrivals exuding auras rivaling that of Grand Lords, she would''ve attacked them already. However, reason told her she absolutely mustn''t do so. After all, so long as she took action, both she and her several dozen remaining teammates would die swiftly. At this time, a tall and bald man with golden eyes walked out of the group. Looking at Purple Eye, the bald man smiled and said, "Commander Purple, long time no see. Do you still recognize me?" With the appearance of this bald man, the atmosphere became incredibly tense. And Purple Eye''s expression turned grave. "Thousand Eyes! Why are you here?!" Purple Eye demanded, a tinge of fear darkening her eyes as she looked at this bald man. "What is Saint''s Hand trying to do?!" As for why she feared this bald man named Thousand Eyes, it was because he was the commander of one of Saint''s Hand''s three trump card legions. He was also the monster responsible for capturing the Star Alliance''s Guild City. Thousand Eyes''s Basic Attributes rivaled those of ordinary Mythic monsters. He had even instantly killed the Domain Realm expert that the Secret Pavilion sent to aid the Star Alliance. "Do I even need to say it? It''s because you people have gone too far. That''s why we came to stop you," Thousand Eyes said. "What do you mean?" Purple Eye asked. "It is only a matter of time before the Faux Saint monsters take over the entire eastern continent. After all, they are constantly growing stronger, and there is nothing players like ourselves can do to stop them. Our only option is to coexist with them, yet you are actually planning to kill the newly emerged Faux Saint Devourer, which is like a king to the Faux Saint monsters. If you kill the Devourer, you will only enrage those Faux Saint monsters even more. These monsters might even become more active during the day," Thousand Eyes said. "Hence, we came to stop you from doing something stupid and aggravating the current situation!" Thousand Eyes''s words gave many of the adventurer team members present pause. The several thousand Faux Saint monsters here were merely a small portion of the countless Faux Saint monsters within Star-Moon Kingdom. Moreover, just like Thousand Eyes had said, these Faux Saint monsters were incredibly vengeful. So long as a player killed one of these Faux Saint monsters, even more Faux Saint monsters would hunt down the said player. Even if the said player managed to fend off a few attacks, the Faux Saint monsters would simply continue attacking more frequently and in greater numbers. They would not stop until they exacted their vengeance. If they really killed the Faux Saint Devourer, which was akin to a king among Faux Saint monsters, nobody could tell what the other Faux Saint monsters would do. It was entirely possible for them to grow even more violent and for their daytime activity to escalate. In fact, previously, the Faux Saint monsters had not been particularly active during the day. However, as the number of Faux Saint Saboteurs that players killed increased, the Faux Saint monsters had indeed become more active during the day. They had also grown stronger much more quickly. In this situation, Purple Eye was at a loss as to what to do. As Purple Eye and the others were wondering what to do, a crisp and calm voice suddenly entered everyone''s ears. "What if I want to kill it, no matter what?" 2659 Black Flame? Chapter 2659 - Black Flame? When everyone heard this calm voice, they looked at its origin reflexively. Meanwhile, the person who said these words was none other than the cloaked man who had suppressed the Faux Saint Devourer and single-handedly turned the tides of this battle. "Is he really opposing Saint''s Hand?" The various superpowers'' members spectating from Silverwing Town were surprised by this development. They never thought that the Swordsman would actually dare provoke Saint''s Heart''s members. Moreover, he had even spoken those provocative words to Thousand Eyes, the commander of one of Saint Hand''s three trump card legions. The Swordsman was simply too bold! At this moment, even Illusory Words and the other Crimson Emperor members seated inside the Blue Rose Bar were astonished by this situation. Although Saint''s Heart''s members numbered only a little over 100, which was nothing compared to Silverwing Town''s patrol army, these Saint''s Heart members all possessed extraordinary strength. In fact, Thousand Eyes had relied on these 100-plus players to attack and capture the Star Alliance''s heavily defended Guild Residence. They had even killed more than 600 of the Secret Pavilion''s Tier 3 experts that were dispatched to help the Star Alliance. At Silverwing Town, one could say that, unless Zero Wing''s main force members took action, nobody could stop Thousand Eyes''s group. But why does this scene feel familiar? When Illusory Words saw the standoff on the Magic Mirror, she had a sense of dj vu. At the desert woodland, Purple Eye could not help growing somewhat anxious when she saw Shi Feng challenging Thousand Eyes. Others might not know how powerful Thousand Eyes and his team were, but she did. After all, she had witnessed him in action before. It might be fine if they were within three or four hundred yards of Silverwing Town, since Silverwing Town''s Tier 4 Personal Guard could take action at that range. As strong as they were, even Thousand Eyes and his team would not dare mess around with a Tier 4 NPC. However, not only were they quite some distance from Silverwing Town, but the majority of the patrol army were currently scattered all over the battlefield. With only a little more than 30 Tier 3 experts on Purple Eye''s side, even if Shi Feng''s combat power could suppress the Faux Saint Devourer, her people still wouldn''t be a match for Thousand Eyes''s team. The members of Thousand Eyes''s team simply couldn''t be considered human. They were more like a group of humanoid beasts. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have dared attack the Star Alliance''s Guild Residence, which had been guarded by several hundred Tier 3 Personal Guards and over 10,000 experts, with just 100-plus players. Their inhuman strength was also the reason why Thousand Eyes and his team dared take action so close to Silverwing Town. As Purple Eye was growing nervous over this matter, Thousand Eyes turned to Shi Feng. "I don''t know who you are, but I advise you not to look for trouble. Your strength and abilities are indeed amazing. I''m sure many superpowers will fear you. However, all of those things are nothing to Saint''s Hand," Thousand Eyes said coldly. "Since you wish to destroy the current balance of God''s Domain, I''ll teach you a small portion of the consequences of doing so." As soon as Thousand Eyes finished speaking, five figures appeared from behind him, simultaneously activating a Tier 3 Combination Skill, Purgatory Storm. Each of these five people immediately split into six copies of themselves and surrounded Shi Feng. The 30 doppelgangers then launched a synchronized strike at Shi Feng, every one of their attacks carrying power at the Tier 4 standard. With 30 attacks coming from all directions, let alone dodging, Shi Feng wouldn''t even be able to defend himself completely. This scene surprised the various superpowers'' spectating experts. "Saint''s Hand actually has a five-man Tier 3 Combination Skill?" Illusory Words frowned when she saw the five players attacking Shi Feng. Tier 3 Skills and Spells were originally plenty rare already. Even the superpowers'' Tier 3 experts hardly had any Tier 3 Skills or Spells, let alone Tier 3 Combination Skills, which even the superpowers dreamed of obtaining. Even the weakest Tier 3 Combination Skill allowed players to exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard. Stronger Tier 3 Combination Skills could even repulse Mythic monsters. Tier 3 Combination Skills served as a trump card against Mythic Bosses. However, until now, there had been no news of any superpower obtaining a Tier 3 Combination Skill for five players. Even the strongest one required only three players to use. Against a five-man, Tier 3 Combination Skill, even the Faux Saint Devourer would not emerge unscathed. "A five-man, Tier 3 Combination Skill! Sure enough, Saint''s Hand''s foundations truly are extraordinary! That guy must be stupefied right about now!" When the various superpowers'' spectating members saw Shi Feng surrounded, some of them laughed in ridicule while some sighed in disappointment. Although the Swordsman indeed possessed astonishing strength, just like Thousand Eyes had said, it was nothing in front of Saint''s Hand. The 30 attacks, which tore space, struck at Shi Feng simultaneously, their frightening power making even Purple Eye, who stood over 30 yards away, feel stifled. Just as the 30 devastating attacks were about to devour Shi Feng, however, he raised the Abyssal Blade overhead with both hands before swinging the Magic Weapon at the attacks. First Sword, Lightshadow! The phantom of a gigantic greatsword suddenly appeared in the air. However, compared to the previous times Shi Feng executed Lightshadow, the phantom greatsword felt much more solid this time. Moreover, just its manifestation made the surrounding space heavy. Even the attacks approaching Shi Feng slowed down considerably. At this moment, it was as if only this phantom greatsword was moving while everything else remained static. Boom! The 30 attacks capable of repulsing even the Faux Saint Devourer shattered instantly into countless particles of light, and the surrounding space crumbled from the terrifying force of the impact. Immediately afterward, five figures went flying out of the shattered space like cannonballs and crashed into the large trees over 30 yards away. Despite the trunks of the large trees having a four-meter diameter, the five figures came to a stop only after ramming through several of these forest giants. And when these figures eventually landed back on the ground, their HP bars depleted rapidly and stabilized only after hitting the 30% mark. "This" Upon seeing the five heavily injured Saint''s Hand members, Purple Eye gaped in shock. With just one move, Shi Feng not only shattered the five-man, Tier 3 Combination Skill but even heavily injured the five Saint''s Hand members. The ease with which he neutralized the attack made it seem as if the five Saint''s Hand members were not peak experts boasting Basic Attributes rivaling that of Grand Lords, but merely ordinary players that one could find anywhere. "Who are you?" When Thousand Eyes saw that Shi Feng had survived the clash unscathed, the confidence in his eyes disappeared, replaced by surprise and confusion. Thousand Eyes knew full well how powerful the Purgatory Storm his five subordinates executed was. This Combination Skill could block even the attack of a Superior Mythic. Now, however, Shi Feng had actually shattered the Combination Skill and heavily injured his five subordinates with just one move. This was simply inconceivable. At this moment, let alone Thousand Eyes, everyone else watching the fight wanted to know Shi Feng''s identity. "Who am I?" Turning his gaze to Thousand Eyes, Shi Feng retorted calmly, "You have the gall to take action in Silverwing Town''s vicinity, yet you''re asking who I am? Don''t you think this question of yours is idiotic?" Upon hearing Shi Feng''s words, silence suddenly befell the various superpowers'' spectating members as they all stared at Shi Feng''s cloaked figure in disbelief. "Black Flame?" 2660 Legendary Name Chapter 2660 - Legendary Name When Shi Feng pushed back the hood of his Black Cloak, a deathly silence filled his surroundings. If not for the mantle of his cloak swaying with the breeze, one would think that time had stopped. "He''s actuallythe real Black Flame?!" Crazed Bull''s eyes nearly fell out of their sockets as he goggled at Shi Feng, his body shuddering involuntarily at this discovery. Black Flame! This was a name that every superpower on the continent knew. Black Flame was an existence that had pulled off numerous miracles in battle, one that even the superpowers had great difficulty dealing with. In the hearts of independent players, he was akin to a living legend. Although Black Flame had disappeared from the eastern continent for some time now, just his prestige alone had allowed Zero Wing to continue rapidly developing on the eastern continent unharassed. Even an overbearing superpower like Saint''s Hand did not dare mess around with Zero Wing and only quietly watched as the Faux Saint monsters chipped away at Zero Wing''s forces. Saint''s Hand did not dare directly target any of Zero Wing''s Guild Towns or Cities. Moreover, because of Black Flame''s name, no superpower, aside from a few like Starlink, dared to hinder Zero Wing economically. "He''s back He''s finally back" Purple Eye could not help her excitement when she saw Shi Feng''s face. At the same time, though, an indescribable bitterness also filled her heart. Although the gap between the Star Alliance and Zero Wing had been widening all this time, Purple Eye had never given up on improving herself. She still hoped to surpass Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow one day and develop the Star Alliance into a superpower as well. However, against Saint''s Hand, her power had proven utterly insignificant. In the end, she could only watch as the Star Alliance''s main headquarters in Star-Moon Kingdom fell. In fact, she couldn''t even adequately stop the Faux Saint monsters'' ambushes. Meanwhile, after a moment of silence, the various superpowers'' spectating members, as well as Saint''s Hand''s members, burst into laughter. "Black Flame? Zero Wing''s Guild Leader?" "So what if he returns now?" "He''s been gone from the eastern continent for so long. Does he really think the continent is the same as before?" They were indeed very surprised by Shi Feng''s appearance. However, that was it, nothing more. After all, Shi Feng had disappeared from the eastern continent for far too long. He simply didn''t know the situation the eastern continent was currently in. "So, you''re Zero Wing''s Guild Leader Black Flame. No wonder you could shatter that five-man Combination Skill," Thousand Eyes said, applauding as he looked at Shi Feng. In the next moment, though, he sneered, "But so what if you''ve returned? Now that the Faux Saint army has already given birth to a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer, many more of its kind will be appearing in the future. Nobody can stop the Faux Saint army now. Do you think you can change things just because you''ve returned?" He was familiar with the name of Black Flame. This was a monster that his Guild Leader had warned him to be careful of. If it were a few days ago, he would indeed be terrified of Shi Feng. Now, however, let alone fearing Shi Feng, he didn''t even consider the Swordsman a threat. "Boss, why are we wasting words with him? Since he is Black Flame, we should let this old bastard know that he is already obsolete! This is no longer his era!" urged Irontooth, formerly the Chief Shield Warrior of the Purple Thorns Kingdom''s number one Guild, Sin Realm, with a playful smirk on his face. He had always wanted to destroy the Guild known as Zero Wing. Unfortunately, back then, Sin Realm was no match for Zero Wing at all. Now that he had joined Saint''s Hand, however, he understood that Zero Wing wasn''t a threat at all. Instead, it was merely a small stepping stone toward Saint''s Hand''s domination of the entire eastern continent. "I guess you''re right." Thousand Eyes nodded in response to Irontooth''s words. He then looked at Shi Feng and said calmly, "Since you are Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, then I''ll make an exception today and show you Saint''s Hand''s true power!" After saying so, Thousand Eyes glanced at Irontooth, who stood beside him. At this hint, Irontooth excitedly approached the Faux Saint Devourer, which was behind a twofold magic array. "What is he trying to do?" The excited look on Irontooth''s face gave Purple Eye an inkling that something was amiss. "It''s nothing much. He''s just going to show you people what the power of the new era is like!" Thousand Eyes said, a smirk appearing on his face as he looked at Purple Eye. As Thousand Eyes said that, Irontooth took out a silvery-white crystal from his bag and started chanting an incantation. Suddenly, the Faux Saint Devourer let loose a roar before its body burst into countless particles of silvery-white light. These particles then merged with Irontooth''s body. In the next moment, Irontooth transformed into a six-meter-tall giant clad in silver armor, the aura he radiated much stronger than even that of the Faux Saint Devourer. "This How is this possible" Everyone present was stunned by this scene. They never imagined that players could obtain the strength of Faux Saint monsters. Moreover, it was obvious from the eyes of the armored giant that it was Irontooth. Only, Irontooth was currently much stronger than even the Faux Saint Devourer. Previously, although the Faux Saint Devourer possessed an incredible learning ability, its combat standard wasn''t very high. It wasn''t capable of exhibiting its full strength. However, now that Irontooth had gained control of this strength, the combat power he could exhibit would far exceed that of the Faux Saint Devourer. "Amazing! Truly amazing! So, this is the strength of a Mythic ranked Faux Saint monster?" Irontooth was ecstatic when he sensed the power he currently wielded. At this moment, the other Saint''s Hand members present could not help envying Irontooth. In front of such strength, players were nothing! If they could have such strength as well, they could single-handedly annihilate an entire army of players. They wouldn''t even have to fear Tier 4 NPCs! Meanwhile, the various superpowers'' spectating members gaped in shock at the transformed Irontooth. They hadn''t suspected that Saint''s Hand had kept such a powerful trump card hidden all this time. "This is bad! Although Irontooth is only in the Flowing Water Realm, with the Faux Saint Devourer''s strength, let alone Black Flame, even Silverwing Town''s Tier 4 Personal Guard might not be a match for him!" Illusory Words''s complexion darkened as she took in the armored giant displayed on the Magic Mirror. Originally, Shi Feng''s appearance should have been a joyous matter. With the combat power he possessed, he would be of great help in the current situation. However, Illusory Words had never imagined that Saint''s Hand would have such a trump card. The strength Irontooth now wielded simply wasn''t something current players could hope to go up against. And if Shi Feng got killed at this point, his death would deal an unprecedented blow to both Zero Wing and Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, after Irontooth experienced his newfound strength for a short moment, he turned around and stepped forward, instantly appearing before Shi Feng. He was so fast that even Purple Eye failed to react to his movements in time. "Black Flame, weren''t you very powerful? Weren''t you Star-Moon Kingdom''s legendary figure? Weren''t you thinking of stopping Saint''s Hand? I wonder how you feel about the situation now," Irontooth jeered as he looked down at Shi Feng. Upon seeing Irontooth suddenly appear before Shi Feng, the expressions of the patrol army''s members turned indescribably grim. Even Purple Eye could not help panicking. Irontooth was simply too fast! By the time she sensed Irontooth moving, the latter had already appeared before Shi Feng. She simply did not dare imagine what would happen when Irontooth actually took action. However, despite Irontooth appearing before him without any warning, Shi Feng''s expression remained ineffably calm. "This move of yours is indeed amazing," Shi Feng said as he shot a glance at Thousand Eyes. "However, do you think you''re the only ones that can transform into a monster?" "What do you mean?" Thousand Eyes had a vague feeling that something was wrong when he saw how calm Shi Feng was. However, before Thousand Eyes could say anything more, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and chanted an incantation. Black Dragon''s Soul! 2661 Upgraded Black Dragon Chapter 2661 - Upgraded Black Dragon "Amazing! So, this is Saint''s Hand''s true foundation?" "Even after reaching this point, Black Flame still dares to fight. He sure is courageous. It''s a pity that the current God''s Domain is no longer how it was before. Otherwise, with his combat power, it might really be possible to turn things around." "How foolish! Is he just being stubborn, or does he really think things are still the same?" When the various superpowers'' members saw Shi Feng unsheathe the Abyssal Blade, their reactions varied from laughing in ridicule, sighing in disappointment, and lamenting. The strength Shi Feng had previously displayed in battle was indeed incredible. It wouldn''t be an exaggeration at all to call him a monster. Unfortunately, before a true monster, Shi Feng''s strength amounted to nothing. He could only buy time at best. Had he withdrawn when he had the chance, instead of provoking Thousand Eyes''s group, he wouldn''t have fallen into such a predicament. As the various superpowers'' members were conversing, the Abyssal Blade in Shi Feng''s hand suddenly transformed into a cloud of dark fog that enveloped him completely, then expanded rapidly. When the cloud of fog had grown to a 60-yard radius, a Dragon''s roar echoed throughout the battlefield, making everyone''s soul shudder. Before anyone could react to this roar, a gigantic, pitch-black claw emerged from the fog and landed right beside Irontooth. The ground under the claw sank as if it was water. In addition, weblike cracks appeared in the space around the claw, the phenomenon making it seem as if the surrounding space could shatter at any time, unable to withstand the power the claw carried. Shortly after the gigantic claw appeared, another Dragon''s roar dispersed the black fog. When the fog cleared, the figure of a 40-meter-tall Black Dragon came into view. Despite the Black Dragon just standing there quietly, everyone felt an indescribable sense of awe and fear welling up within them as they stared at the Black Dragon. "A Dragon?!" "What''s going on?!" Everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the Black Dragon. Dragons were creatures that all players in God''s Domain knew about because the existence of Dragons was synonymous with "destruction" in God''s Domain. One could easily find information depicting Dragons destroying kingdoms and empires overnight in any of God''s Domain''s libraries. Now that a real Dragon appeared before them, everyone was naturally astonished. When Thousand Eyes and the other Saint''s Hand members saw the Black Dragon, their complexions paled drastically. Although they didn''t know whether the Black Dragon before them was real or not, the pressure coming from it was no laughing matter. The Black Dragon''s Life Rating was undoubtedly leaps and bounds above theirs. Archaic Species? Ferocious Beasts? Compared to this Black Dragon, the Life Ratings of those creatures were insignificant. "You asked me how I felt before, right? How do you feel about the situation now?" Shi Feng asked calmly as he gazed down at the dumbfounded Irontooth standing beside his claw. After his Concentration reached the Tier 4 standard, not only did he gain better control over his Skills and Spells, but his Dragon Phantom was also more realistic than before. Now, the Life Rating of the phantom he transformed into much more closely matched that of the real Black Dragon King. At this point, despite being a Tier 3 Black Dragon King, his Basic Attributes nearly rivaled those of Mythic ranked Archaic Species of the same level. At Shi Feng''s words, Irontooth''s expression turned indescribably grim. An unprecedented fear flooded his heart. How is this possible?! Didn''t they say that his Dragon Transformation should push him only to the standard of ordinary Mythic monsters?! How is he so strong?! Irontooth was confounded by the gigantic creature before him. Saint''s Hand had long since heard about Shi Feng''s ability to transform into a Dragon. However, whether it was in terms of size, Basic Attributes, or Life Rating, the Dragon that Shi Feng had just transformed into was on a completely different level from what was stated in Saint''s Hand''s intelligence report. At this moment, let alone Irontooth and the other Saint''s Hand members, even Illusory Words was stunned by this situation. Crimson Emperor had collected a lot of information on the fight between Zero Wing and Demon City. Naturally, that information included Shi Feng''s Black Dragon form. However, compared to the Black Dragon that had attacked Demon City, the Black Dragon that now stood on the battlefield was like a completely different creature. Even though she was only looking at the Black Dragon through the Magic Mirror, she could still feel the aura of death and destruction it exuded. Moreover, she could also faintly sense that the space of the entire battlefield gravitated toward the Black Dragon. She simply couldn''t believe that the Black Dragon was only a Tier 3 Dragon. While everyone was in shock over the Black Dragon''s aura and Life Rating, the Black Dragon suddenly raised a claw. Peng! Immediately afterward, the place where Irontooth stood and the space around it transformed into a pitch-black void; the dozen or so Saint''s Hand members who had been standing in this space were nowhere in sight. As for Irontooth, his six-meter-tall figure currently lay inside a newly formed crater over 30 yards from his previous position. Cracks were also spreading across the silver armor protecting Irontooth''s two arms, and his HP had decreased by more than two million. Silence At this moment, it was as if time had stopped. "What just happened?" the fierce man from Crimson Emperor muttered, slack-jawed. As a Domain Realm expert with Basic Attributes and a physique rivaling those of Grand Lords of the same level, almost nothing in God''s Domain could escape his sight. However, he actually hadn''t seen what had happened just now. Aside from a momentary black flash in the Magic Mirror''s display and a loud boom, his senses had failed to pick up any other information. So, this is his true strength? Purple Eye, who stood a short distance away from Shi Feng, was filled with an indescribable sense of shock when she saw the black void that had appeared near her. Compared to the various superpowers'' members that were spectating the fight through Magic Mirrors, she was able to get a much clearer sense of just how much power Shi Feng''s attack contained. Monster-level experts? Tier 4 monsters? These things were nothing in front of such overbearing power. Meanwhile, upon seeing this scene, the complexions of Thousand Eyes and the others turned deathly pale. Was Shi Feng still human? Despite Irontooth currently being stronger than the Faux Saint Devourer, Shi Feng actually suppressed Berserker to an even greater degree than when he suppressed the Faux Saint Devourer. As for Irontooth, who had just stood himself back up inside the distant crater, horror colored his face as he gazed up at the Black Dragon Shi Feng had transformed into. So close! He was so very close! If not for him having reacted sufficiently quickly and defended himself in time against the Black Dragon''s swipe using his weapon, the consequences would''ve been unimaginable. "It seems your reactions are pretty fast to be able to block that attack of mine," Shi Feng said calmly as he looked down at Irontooth. "However, how many attacks can you afford to block?" Although Shi Feng had casually executed the earlier attack, it still carried the power of an Advanced Combat Technique. Had Irontooth failed to raise his weapon in time, he definitely would have suffered tremendously. Just as Shi Feng was about to continue attacking, however, Thousand Eyes suddenly stepped forward. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I admit that you are very powerful. However, you''d best not force our hand. Saint''s Hand''s goal is to maintain stability in God''s Domain," Thousand Eyes said coldly. "If you really kill Irontooth now and break the balance, both the Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand definitely won''t let Zero Wing off the hook. At that time, Silverwing Town and Zero Wing City will both face the wrath of an army of tens of millions!" It was incredibly difficult for Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters to spawn. Hence, every one held great importance for both the Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand. Now that Irontooth had temporarily merged with the Faux Saint Devourer, killing Irontooth would also kill the Faux Saint Devourer. This definitely wasn''t something the Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand would tolerate. Upon seeing Thousand Eyes threatening Shi Feng, the spectating superpowers were surprised. This was the first time since Saint''s Hand''s establishment that such a situation occurred. Normally, the Guild would just destroy all those that stood in its path. It had never bothered negotiating or making threats at all. "It seems Thousand Eyes has been cornered this time. I wonder what Black Flame will do?" "What else can he do, aside from letting them go? Let alone Zero Wing, even if the superpowers of the several neighboring kingdoms and empires worked together, they still wouldn''t be able to prevent Saint''s Hand and tens of millions of Faux Saint monsters from retaliating." However, while the various superpowers'' spectating members were discussing this matter, Shi Feng glanced at Thousand Eyes and said in an ineffably calm voice, "So what?" After saying that, Shi Feng used Dragon Breath on Irontooth and heavily injured him; the Berserker''s HP fell by a sizable chunk. In his current state, Irontooth was utterly incapable of combat. Following which, Shi Feng battered Irontooth with claw attacks, one after another, plundering large chunks of HP from the Berserker without pause. "You!!" Thousand Eyes''s complexion went through several shades of red when he saw Shi Feng''s wanton assault. "Is he crazy?" "Is he really not afraid of the Faux Saint monsters'' and Saint''s Hand''s retaliation?" "Zero Wing is doomed! Zero Wing is truly doomed this time!" When the various superpowers'' spectating members saw Irontooth''s HP plummeting, they gaped in disbelief. They never thought that Shi Feng would actually ignore the big picture and choose to kill Irontooth. In less than six minutes since Shi Feng started his onslaught, Irontooth''s HP, which was in the hundreds of millions, zeroed out, his body collapsing lifelessly to the ground. As for Thousand Eyes and the other Saint''s Hand members, they merely watched the drubbing with dumbfounded expressions, none of them daring to do anything. 2662 Continent Shaken, Powerful Return! Chapter 2662 - Continent Shaken, Powerful Return! As Irontooth''s six-meter-tall body started disintegrating into particles of light, everyone standing in the desert woodland could not help but gasp. Despite having absorbed the Faux Saint Devourer''s strength, Irontooth had died, just like that. Thus far, not a single power or player had managed to kill a Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyer, yet Shi Feng had actually succeeded in killing a Faux Saint Devourer. Moreover, he had accomplished this feat while Saint''s Hand was protecting the Mythic ranked monster. Meanwhile, as Irontooth''s body disappeared, soul ripples spread from his fading corpse up to thousands of yards away. Everyone that came into contact with these soul ripples shuddered involuntarily. A short moment later, several streams of white mist escaped Irontooth''s corpse and flew straight into Shi Feng''s body. Before he could react, the mist had merged with his soul already. "Black Flame, you''ll regret your actions today! Now that you''ve killed the Faux Saint Devourer, it has left a Soul Mark on you! It won''t be long before the other Faux Saint monsters come to find you! They will also obliterate Silverwing Town from the Orc Empire!" Thousand Eyes scoffed as he looked at Shi Feng. The higher-ups'' instruction was for them to protect the Faux Saint Devourer because the birth of a Faux Saint Devourer was incredibly rare and difficultnot even one Faux Saint Devourer might appear from tens of thousands of Faux Saint Destroyers. Meanwhile, a Faux Saint Devourer was unimaginably useful to both the Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand. However, Shi Feng had not only disregarded Saint''s Hand but even killed the Faux Saint Devourer right before everyone''s eyes. He had actually snubbed Saint''s Hand. This was the first time Thousand Eyes had suffered such humiliation since entering God''s Domain. Due to the mission''s failure, Thousand Eyes wanted to make Shi Feng realize just how foolish his actions were and regret them for the rest of his life. The other Saint''s Hand members present also started eyeing Shi Feng with derision. Unlike ordinary monsters, the Faux Saint monsters possessed close bonds with each other. Moreover, the tightness of this bond corresponded with the strength of a Faux Saint monster. With the Faux Saint Devourer analogous to a king among Faux Saint monsters, killing one was equivalent to becoming enemies with every Faux Saint monster out there. Unless Shi Feng could remove the Faux Saint Devourer''s Soul Mark, all the Faux Saint monsters within a 100,000-yard radius would be able to detect his presence and would try to kill him as long as his soul existed. In other words, they would target him until he deleted his account and started all over again! The complexions of Purple Eye and the others darkened slightly as they looked at Thousand Eyes. They never thought that killing the Faux Saint Devourer would come at such a price. ... "Hahaha! Black Flame must be dumbfounded right now! If what Thousand Eyes said really is true, then Black Flame and Silverwing Town are both doomed!" The various superpowers'' spectating members laughed along with Thousand Eyes. The power of Shi Feng''s Dragon Transformation was shocking and could even be called unmatched. They could tell that Zero Wing would most likely be making a strong comeback. However, Thousand Eyes''s words dispelled all their worries. The current Silverwing Town''s defensive capability was indeed very strong. After all, it had not only a Tier 4 NPC guarding it but also the protection of a monstrous player like Shi Feng. However, when besieged by an army of millions or possibly even tens of millions of Faux Saint monsters, even a Main City ranked NPC city would fall very quickly, let alone Silverwing Town. ... Just as everyone thought that Shi Feng would reveal signs of regret or fear, however, the Swordsman turned to look at Thousand Eyes in an indescribably calm gaze. "You want to see me regretting? You''ll have to be able to leave this place alive first to do that!" After saying so, Shi Feng stalked toward Thousand Eyes''s team, each step he took setting the ground atremble. At this moment, it felt as if the whole world was angry. Upon seeing his approach, Thousand Eyes and the other Saint''s Hand members paled drastically. "Black Flame You''d better not go too far!" "We are members of Saint''s Hand''s trump card legion! If you kill us, Saint''s Hand will not forgive Zero Wing!" "That''s right! If you wish to stay alive and keep Silverwing Town standing, your only choice is to work with Saint''s Hand! Otherwise, both you and Zero Wing will be devoured by those Faux Saint monsters!" Faced with the 40-meter-tall Black Dragon and the overbearing aura it exuded, Saint''s Hand''s peak experts and even Thousand Eyes, a Domain Realm expert, were overwhelmed with unspeakable terror. Their minds blanked out, preventing them from properly controlling their bodies; they couldn''t escape even though they wanted to. This scene flabbergasted the various spectating superpowers. For a moment, they doubted that the people displayed on their Magic Mirrors were actually the members of one of Saint''s Hand''s trump card legions, who normally showed no respect even to the various superpowers. Before the various superpowers'' spectating members could dismiss their doubts, Shi Feng had already arrived before Thousand Eyes and slowly raised one of his massive claws. "You don''t need to concern yourselves with this!" After Shi Feng said so, he sent a claw smashing into Thousand Eyes''s team. First Sword, Lightshadow! In the next moment, the phantom of a gigantic Dragon''s claw descended from the sky, so immense and powerful that Thousand Eyes and the others couldn''t dodge or defend themselves. In the blink of an eye, Thousand Eyes and the others were sent to the void, together with the ground beneath them. Silence! Destruction! Death! For a moment, time in the desert woodland seemed to freeze. Even the various superpowers'' members that were spectating from Silverwing Town stared at the Magic Mirrors before them with dumbfounded expressions, unable to believe their eyes. "They got killed, just like that?" "Those are experts that Saint''s Hand had invested a fortune in nurturing! With this, Saint''s Hand definitely won''t let Zero Wing off the hook!" "Is he really Black Flame?" Unlike normal players, the experts of Saint''s Hand''s trump card legions had relied on special methods to gain astonishing Basic Attributes. Hence, the death penalties they suffered were also far greater than that of normal players. By killing Thousand Eyes''s team, Shi Feng had basically crippled half of the trump card legion they belonged to. It would be strange if Saint''s Hand did not try to take revenge on Zero Wing. Despite Zero Wing''s fate already hanging on the line, now that it had to go up against the Faux Saint army, Shi Feng had actually annihilated Thousand Eyes''s team, instead of trying to mend his relationship with Saint''s Hand to improve Zero Wing''s chances of survival. What Shi Feng just did basically pushed Zero Wing further down the path of no return. However, even after annihilating Thousand Eyes''s team, Shi Feng remained calm like usual as if he had just killed a bunch of mobs. After giving Purple Eye some instructions, as well as gifting the weapons and equipment of Saint''s Hand''s members to the patrol army''s members, he flew off to the distant Silverwing Town. Shortly after Shi Feng left the battlefield, news regarding the events in the desert woodland started spreading like wildfire. Black Flame''s shocking return to Silverwing Town! Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer gets killed! Black Flame single-handedly annihilates one of Saint''s Hand''s trump card legions! These shocking pieces of information shook the entire eastern continent one after another. 2663 Hes Back Chapter 2663 - He''s Back Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotel: Inside a splendorous meeting room, several dozen Tier 3 experts exuding powerful auras were currently seated around a round table. However, despite the number of people present, the room was remarkably quiet. Careful observation of the people present would discover that quite a few of them radiated intense bloodlust and were enveloped by extremely dense darkness energy. Ordinary Dark Players were no match for these people in these two aspects. These people were none other than Dark Rhapsody''s upper echelon and the commanders of a few of the Dark World''s top adventurer teams. Aside from these experts from the Dark World, the other Tier 3 experts seated around the table also had extraordinary origins. Among them were the upper echelon of the super-first-rate Guild Unyielding Soul and the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds, as well as the commanders and vice commanders of top adventurer teams. Meanwhile, every one of these VIPs was looking at a woman wearing an Advanced Master Forger''s Insignia. Despite this woman lacking a powerful aura, everyone was treating her as the chairperson of this meeting. Currently, however, this woman appeared indescribably haggard. "I hope that everyone present can increase the support you provide to counter Starlink and the various superpowers'' harassment. Zero Wing will make sure that everyone receives proper compensation. Aside from this topic, does anybody have anything else they wish to raise?" Melancholic Smile asked as she swept her gaze across the people present. Ever since Shi Feng and Zero Wing''s main force members left for the western continent, Starlink and the various superpowers had constantly been harassing Stone Forest City. Economic suppression, material plundering, and field ambushes occurred at almost every instant. To make matters worse, as the number of Tier 3 players the various superpowers possessed increased, the area the Knight Legion could protect also shrank. Moreover, aside from Shi Feng, both Vice Guild Leaders of Zero Wing were also inaccessible. As a result, Melancholic Smile had to shoulder the burden of leading Zero Wing temporarily. However, with the unstable factors surrounding Stone Forest City increasing continuously, the number of players that dared operate in Stone Forest City decreased. This took a toll on the city''s economy. At this point, the city''s daily income wasn''t even half of what the city made during its peak. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the safety of Stone Forest City, Zero Wing City, and Silverwing Town, Zero Wing had no choice but to increase the security measures implemented, which, in turn, increased the Guild''s daily expenditure substantially. "We are facing some problems in the Dark World as well. Recently, because of the increase in the number of Tier 3 players, many of the Dark World''s powers have partnered up and launched several attacks on the Teleportation Gate already. Currently, we are still able to stop these attacks, but I''m afraid this situation won''t last for very long," Dark Rhapsody''s Blue Rainbow said helplessly to Melancholic Smile. "In addition, World Domination is growing restless. Judging from the information we collected, we believe World Domination will mount a large-scale operation soon. Hence, we hope that Zero Wing can give us more of the Freedom Hotel''s resources, so that we can rope in more of the Dark World''s powers and maintain a stable hold over the Teleportation Gate." Upon hearing Blue Rainbow''s words, Liang Jing, sitting beside Melancholic Smile, frowned slightly. A large part of the reason why Stone Forest City could maintain its current income was the Freedom Hotel. In order to ensure Stone Forest City''s safety, they had obtained the help of the various powers and adventurer teams in exchange for the Freedom Hotel''s rooms. Thus far, they had already given out quite a few rooms. If they gave out even more, not only would Zero Wing have fewer rooms for its own use, but the Freedom Hotel''s income would also decrease significantlypossibly to the point where Zero Wing''s current expenditures became unsustainable. However, the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate was also provided a considerable portion of Zero Wing''s income. This was especially true for Magic Crystals. It was similarly something that Zero Wing could not afford to lose. "I understand. I''ll consider this matter and give you an answer as soon as possible," Melancholic Smile said as she massaged her temples. "If there are no other problems, we''ll adjourn for today." After Melancholic Smile said so, everyone present promptly left their seats. At this time, Unyielding Soul''s Mu Lingsha approached Melancholic Smile. "Miss Melancholic, please feel free to ask if you come across any difficulty in funding. Unyielding Soul and Zero Wing are old allies. While we might not be able to provide additional manpower, we can still allocate some funds to help Zero Wing," Mu Lingsha said quietly as she looked at Melancholic Smile, who currently wore a worried expression on her face. "Thank you," Melancholic Smile said. "In reality, we don''t really have any problems with regard to funding. The crucial problem is the various superpowers that are targeting Stone Forest City, as well as the management of Star-Moon Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire. If the main force members were around, those superpowers would hold back somewhat instead of working with Starlink to target Zero Wing''s members. Now, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Zero Wing''s members to develop in Star-Moon Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire." Currently, funding was still a small problem for Zero Wing. The really urgent matter now was the Guild''s lack of Tier 3 experts. If not for Unyielding Soul sending quite a number of its Tier 3 experts to help maintain Stone Forest City''s security during this period, Stone Forest City would''ve definitely ended up in an even more miserable state. "Right, Vice Guild Leader Mu, is there still no news about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Pavilion Master?" Melancholic Smile asked. Zero Wing had partnered with the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Rain on many occasions before. The two sides could be considered to be in an absolute alliance. Melancholic Smile and Phoenix Rain were also fairly close friends, as the two of them had come into frequent contact with each other because of the business relationship between their two Guilds. Originally, after the various superpowers started targeting Stone Forest City, Melancholic Smile had sought Phoenix Rain''s help to solve some of the problems Zero Wing encountered in the Black Dragon Empire. However, no matter how she tried contacting Phoenix Rain, she couldn''t get through at all. It was as if Phoenix Rain had disappeared from God''s Domain. In fact, even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s members did not know Phoenix Rain''s whereabouts. "We have already sent a lot of people to investigate this matter. It is truly strange. Let alone Phoenix Rain and her trusted subordinates, even the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Ku Rong, Nine Dragons Emperor, and many others of the Guild''s upper echelon have disappeared. Currently, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion is relying entirely on its Grand Elders to operate. According to the information we got, even those Grand Elders don''t know what is going on," Mu Lingsha said. "Disappeared?" Melancholic Smile was stunned when she heard Mu Lingsha''s words. The core upper echelon of a super-first-rate Guild had actually disappeared overnight without any news. Who would possibly dare believe this? "However, I also heard that Mythology invited the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion to the Faux Saint alliance discussion that it is holding in the Fire Dragon Empire. Once this alliance discussion ends, we might receive some news regarding the Phoenix Pavilion Master," Mu Lingsha said. "Alliance discussion?" Melancholic Smile''s complexion turned even more haggard when she heard this phrase. "It seems we are really in trouble this time." Ostensibly, Mythology''s alliance discussion would focus on the problem of the Faux Saint monsters. In reality, Mythology was simply trying to rope in the various superpowers to capture Stone Forest City. If the various superpowers come to an agreement on how to split Stone Forest City''s profits during this upcoming discussion, then the next step would be for them to attack Stone Forest City. With Stone Forest City''s current defenses, it could fend off the various superpowers'' joint assault, but such a war would destroy Stone Forest City''s economy. Melancholic Smile wasn''t the only person suffering a headache over this matter. Mu Lingsha was not having a good time, either. After all, Mythology''s alliance discussion this time wouldn''t target just Zero Wing but also Unyielding Soul. Unyielding Soul was falling into an increasingly precarious situation, yet she couldn''t do anything about it. This was because 15 superpowers were attending the alliance discussion this time, three of which were Super Guildsmaking it undoubtedly the grandest meeting ever held on the eastern continent. If all of these superpowers worked together, the strength they could unleash would be unimaginable. Just as Melancholic Smile and Mu Lingsha were feeling helpless, Liang Jing, who was at one side, reading a message, suddenly revealed a rare smile. "No! It''s not us who are in trouble, but them!" Liang Jing exclaimed excitedly. "What happened?" Both Melancholic Smile and Mu Lingsha were confused by Liang Jing''s sudden about-face. They could not understand why she was smiling at all. "He''s back!" "He?" "The Guild Leader! The Guild Leader is back!" 2664 Zero Wing in an Uproar, Everyones Plans Chapter 2664 - Zero Wing in an Uproar, Everyone''s Plans Both Melancholic Smile and Mu Lingsha were stunned upon hearing Liang Jing''s words. "You managed to contact the Guild Leader?" Melancholic Smile asked excitedly. The current Zero Wing was in an extremely tight spot, as all of the Guild''s top combatants were absent. However, this still wasn''t the most important point. The crucial thing was that morale in the Guild had fallen to an unprecedented low. Shi Feng had always been Zero Wing''s backbone. His return might not be able to drag Zero Wing out of its current predicament, but it would be able to unite the hearts of Zero Wing''s members. Moreover, his return would also strengthen the confidence of Zero Wing''s various partners. After all, the main reason why these powers had partnered with Zero Wing in the first place was Shi Feng. At this moment, let alone Melancholic Smile, even Mu Lingsha gazed at Liang Jing eagerly, wanting to know if Shi Feng had truly returned or not. If Shi Feng had truly returned to the eastern continent, the various superpowers would naturally have to reconsider their decision to join hands with Starlink and target Zero Wing. Even if their alliance remained standing, they wouldn''t be as united as before. "Not yet," Liang Jing said, shaking her head. "I only received a report that the Guild Leader is currently in Silverwing Town." After saying so, Liang Jing forwarded the report to Melancholic Smile for her inspection. However, when Melancholic Smile and Mu Lingsha finished reading the report Liang Jing shared with them, the excitement on their faces disappeared, replaced by indescribable grimness. "How could this be?" Melancholic Smile could not help growing anxious after reading the report. "Quick! Gather the elite Personal Guards and contact Hell Rush''s team! We need to head to Silverwing Town as soon as possible!" The fact that Shi Feng killed a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer was indeed astonishing. Such exciting news would definitely heighten morale. However, the retaliation of millions of Faux Saint monsters was no laughing matter. Not to mention, Saint''s Hand wouldn''t sit still and do nothing after suffering humiliation. At that time, Silverwing Town would have to go up against several million Faux Saint monsters, as well as Saint''s Hand''s experts. With Silverwing Town''s defenses, stopping such a force would be utterly impossible. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng were to end up getting devoured by those Faux Saint monsters, the consequences for Zero Wing would be unimaginable. "Let''s not panic first. Those Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand won''t take action so soon. They will need some time to amass their forces. I''ll contact Unyielding Heart and have him lead a team over to Silverwing Town immediately," Mu Lingsha said, pacifying Melancholic Smile. "Thank you," Melancholic Smile said as she nodded in gratitude. She then took a deep breath to calm herself before methodically arranging for the necessary manpower to send to Silverwing Town. Meanwhile, as Melancholic Smile and the others were leading an army to Silverwing Town, the various superpowers were reeling from the news of Shi Feng''s return. They never thought that Shi Feng would reappear after disappearing for such a long time. Or to put it in another way, the Sword King of old had returned! Moreover, Shi Feng''s individual combat power had even reached unbelievable heights. His Dragon Transformation actually allowed him to effortlessly kill a Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer. The Sword King was far more frightening than before. This astonishing transformation would also make Zero Wing even more difficult to deal with. After all, compared to a Guild with weak morale and divided opinions, a united Guild with strong morale would be capable of exhibiting much greater combat power. Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon City, Scorching Flame Restaurant: The Scorching Flame Restaurant towered over 30 stories above the city center. At this moment, a female Level 116 Guardian Knight clad in black-gold armor entered the top-floor room of the restaurant. The Guardian Knight radiated a frightening aura that suppressed even the ambient Mana around her. However, when this Guardian Knight arrived before the woman currently dining inside the room, she gave a very respectful bow. "Vice Guild Leader Shadow, Black Flame has returned to the eastern continent," White Feather reported as she placed a document before Cold Shadow. She then continued, "Like we guessed, he has become much stronger than before. As a result, Zero Wing and its partners have regained their confidence. Even the Secret Pavilion has dispatched more manpower to help defend Stone Forest City. Currently, the various superpowers are hotly discussing this matter. Should we still proceed with our original plan and hold the alliance discussion?" "Of course. He merely killed one Faux Saint Devourer. The big picture remains the same. Proceed according to plan," Cold Shadow said, a seductive smile appearing on her face. "Those superpowers are no fools, either. They should understand that times have changed. If they wish to survive in the new era, their only option is to plunder more resources for themselves! Not to mention, both Black Flame and Silverwing Town won''t survive much longer!" Although Shi Feng''s return had indeed shocked the various superpowers, that was it. After all, one would have trouble adapting to the changes in the rapidly developing eastern continent, even if one left the continent for just two or three days. Shi Feng had disappeared from the eastern continent for around two weeks. Moreover, there was also the activation of the Demon God''s Chaos expansion pack, as well as the outbreak of the Faux Saint monsters. The current eastern continent was not the eastern continent of two weeks ago. One could say that Shi Feng''s time had already passed. The threat he posed to the various superpowers was no longer as great as before. In the current God''s Domain, Tier 3 experts were no longer as rare as before. Even the various top adventurer teams boasted over 100 Tier 3 experts under their command, let alone the various first-rate Guilds and superpowers. Hence, it was now incredibly difficult for powerful individuals like Shi Feng to accomplish great feats on their own. Tier 3 Personal Guards were also no longer as great of a threat to players as they were before. "Understood. I''ll notify the various superpowers, then." White Feather nodded before leaving the Scorching Flame Restaurant. While the eastern continent''s various superpowers were discussing Shi Feng''s return, Shi Feng himself had gone to Zero Wing''s Residence in Silverwing Town to rest. "Guild Leader, as per your instructions, we have started secretly transferring the crippled NPCs and elite Tier 3 Personal Guards. It shouldn''t be long before they arrive in town. We have also tasked people to monitor the gaming cabins of the Vice Guild Leaders and the others. As soon as they leave that special space, we will know about it," Youlan reported to Shi Feng, who was currently browsing the latest news regarding the eastern continent. "Alright. They should be able to get out of that place in a few more days. If they arrive inside the Faux Saint monsters'' territory, send a rescue team immediately," Shi Feng said, nodding. Although he doubted that Zero Wing''s main force members would have any problems dealing with the Faux Saint monsters, if they got surrounded by a large number of Faux Saint Destroyers or encountered a Faux Saint Devourer, they might still get killed. Meanwhile, the enhanced death penalty from dying to a Faux Saint monster was something he didn''t want Zero Wing''s main force members to suffer. "Guild Leader, are you really fine in your present condition?" Youlan asked worriedly. Not only did Shi Feng lose contact with the outside world for such a long period, but he had even spent all this time lying inside his virtual gaming cabin, completely reliant on the cabin''s Nutrient Solution to sustain himself. His physical body couldn''t be unaffected. Not to mention, he had just experienced such an intense battle and had a Soul Mark placed on him. Who knew if that Soul Mark would have any side effects or not? If Shi Feng were to collapse from overwork now and suffered lasting damage to his body, it would be putting the cart before the horse. "Relax. I''m really fine," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "In fact, my mind is in exceptionally good condition right now. New ideas are popping up in my mind from time to time, and they''re making me eager to start training." "It''s good that you''re fine. However, if you feel sick, you must log off and rest immediately. You can leave the other matters to us," Youlan said. After seeing that Shi Feng was indeed in good spirits, she stopped trying to persuade him to rest and left the office to handle the other tasks he had given her. Meanwhile, after Youlan left, Shi Feng stopped browsing the eastern continent''s news. He then focused on the several strands of mist the Faux Saint Devourer had sent into his body. This wasn''t his first time receiving a Soul Mark. Normally, players couldn''t sense the Soul Mark that plagued them. However, he could actually clearly sense it inside his mind. He could even sense the white mist circling his brain. This situation intrigued him. Following which, Shi Feng focused all his attention on the several strands of mist meandering through his mind. His expression suddenly changed. No, that''s not right! This isn''t a Soul Mark but a Soul Array! 2665 Magic Array that Upgrades the Soul Chapter 2665 - Magic Array that Upgrades the Soul Looking at the strands of white mist hovering around in his mind, coupled with the countless sparkles of light around the mist, Shi Feng could not help being surprised. In God''s Domain, magic arrays were generally made out of Mana. However, some magic arrays were not made up of just Mana but had other things mixed in as well. Meanwhile, the magic array he was looking at had traces of soul. I never thought that the rumored Soul Array actually existed! Shi Feng revealed an ecstatic look on his face as he observed the white mist circulating in his brain. He had only ever heard of Soul Arrays. He had never actually seen one before. According to the rumors he had heard, the Soul Array was a magic array capable of changing a player''s soul. Of course, there were also mentions that the Soul Array devoured a player''s soul. In short, there were many rumors surrounding Soul Arrays. However, there was one thing Shi Feng was certain ofa Soul Array could upgrade a player''s soul. Logically, it shouldn''t be possible for players to upgrade their soul; that was only possible for NPCs. However, the Soul Array made the impossible possible. And according to the several testaments Shi Feng heard in his previous life, once a player had their soul upgraded, even an ordinary expert would become a powerhouse in God''s Domain. In fact, some experts had even managed to reach Tier 5 thanks to the upgrade. Nevertheless, most people that heard these rumors and testaments about the Soul Array''s existence and functions had dismissed them as tall tales. They felt that even without the Soul Array, the experts that had given their testaments about the Soul Array would still have become powerhouses in God''s Domain. Hence, most players in God''s Domain had treated the existence of Soul Arrays as a joke. Now, however, Shi Feng was actually looking at a Soul Array himself. Of course, unless one was an Advanced Magician, one would most likely have a difficult time recognizing these strands of mist as a magic array. Most people would treat it as a Soul Mark. Thankfully, I checked it in time. Had I waited a few more days, I might''ve lost this opportunity. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the strands of silver mist gradually thinning out. The Soul Array within him was being powered by the Faux Saint Devourer''s soul energy and Mana. While replenishing the Soul Array''s Mana was an easy task, replenishing the soul energy was not. At least, Shi Feng had no idea how he could do so. Hence, the Soul Array would not last for very long. Of course, so long as this Soul Array existed, the Faux Saint monsters would be able to perceive his presence. The Soul Array''s existence could be considered both good fortune and misfortune. Having thought up to this point, Shi Feng promptly started studying the Soul Array in his brain. The Soul Array had merely been imprinted onto his brain. The magic array itself wasn''t active. If he wished to let the Soul Array exhibit its real effects, he would have to activate it first. Sure enough, this Soul Array really is complex. Just from what I can see, it is made up of at least 40 Basic Master Magic Arrays and over a dozen Advanced Master Magic Arrays, three of which are almost at the Grandmaster standard. Moreover, I have to rely on my own spiritual will to activate this Soul Array, and even the slightest mistake will result in my soul getting devoured. It''s no wonder some people labeled it a magic array that devours players'' souls. After inspecting the Soul Array for half an hour, Shi Feng was flabbergasted by his findings. The soul was something illusory. There was no describing it with words, much less upgrading it, or weakening it. However, the Soul Array within him could actually accomplish this feat easily. This was simply unbelievable. Unfortunately, the risks involved in activating the Soul Array were ridiculous. Of the two possible outcomes, one was heaven, while the other was hell. There was nothing in between. If ordinary experts were presented with such a choice, they probably would not hesitate to give activating the Soul Array a try. After all, the potential gains far outstripped the potential losses. Even if they got their souls damaged, the worst outcome would be remaining stuck at Tier 3 forever. For ordinary experts, this would most likely be the case anyway, even if they didn''t have their souls weakened. However, it was a completely different story for Shi Feng. His potential losses outweighed his potential gains. With his current standards, he should have no problem reaching Tier 5. If he had his soul damaged now, then reaching Tier 5 would become a problem. After all, the higher the tier players reached, the lower the importance of weapons, equipment, and Bloodlines. Instead, individual strength was what mattered most. Do I give up? Shi Feng hesitated despite himself as he considered the gradually dissipating Soul Array in his mind. As the Soul Array would be used on his soul, he only had one chance at activating it. If he messed up the activation, the Soul Array would backfire and devour his soul instead. However, if he succeeded, then the Soul Array would upgrade his soul. No, it''s not hopeless! After debating from some time, Shi Feng thought of a possibility. He then took out Augustus''s Damaged Heart from his bag. It was incredibly rare for players to come across opportunities to upgrade their souls. So long as he successfully activated the Soul Array, he would have a much easier time challenging not only a Tier 4 Promotion Quest of greater difficulty but also future promotions. In fact, the help he could gain from an upgraded soul would be much greater than what he could gain from a piece of Legendary Equipment. It would be a huge waste to discard this opportunity. Meanwhile, there were two ways he could drastically increase his chances of successfully activating the Soul Array. The first method was to familiarize himself with the magic arrays used to make the entire Soul Array. However, the Soul Array was extremely complex. At his current standards, he might need two whole weeks to learn and memorize all the magic arrays. The second method was to improve his mental state so that he could guide his spiritual will through the Soul Array with greater precision. For others, both of these methods would be incredibly difficult. However, that was not the case for Shi Feng. Augustus''s Damaged Heart was capable of releasing Eternal Energy when activated. Eternal Energy was many times superior to Mana. It could elevate a player''s mental state to its very peak. Be it familiarizing himself with the Soul Array or guiding his spiritual will through the Soul Array, Eternal Energy would be of great help. With Eternal Energy, his chances of successfully activating the Soul Array would increase considerably. The only problem was that Augustus''s Damaged Heart had a three-month Cooldown. Of course, there was also the option of using one God Crystal to circumvent the Cooldown. While this was incredibly expensive, spending one God Crystal to upgrade his soul would be well worth it. Following which, Shi Feng took out the last God Crystal he had and placed it inside Augustus''s Damaged Heart. He then activated the heart''s magic array. Immediately, streams of purple mist flowed out of Augustus''s Heart and converged around Shi Feng. At the same time, a refreshing feeling spread across his body. His thoughts also became much clearer than before. Good! Let''s begin! Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng started carefully analyzing the Soul Array''s components one after another. Two hours Four hours Six hours Originally, it should''ve taken Shi Feng at least a dozen days to learn the Soul Array. However, with the help of Eternal Energy, he learned and familiarized himself with all of the Soul Array''s components in just a little over seven hours. He had even achieved rough mastery of a pseudo-Grandmaster Magic Array that could be used to exert a little control over souls. Now that I''ve familiarized myself with all of the magic arrays, next up will be to utilize my spiritual will to activate them! Looking at the Soul Array in his mind, he could not help some slight nervousness. Although he had familiarized himself with all of the component arrays, activating them was an entirely different matter. After all, the activation of each magic array required him to split his spiritual will into multiple strands. The difficulty of doing so was incredibly high. After mentally preparing himself for several minutes, Shi Feng then started guiding his spiritual will through the magic arrays in his mind. One magic array activated Two magic arrays activated Three magic arrays activated With each subsequent magic array Shi Feng activated, the difficulty increased. Initially, he needed to split his spiritual will only into three strands. By the fourth magic array, that number increased to six. Fortunately, for an expert like Shi Feng, such a task was not particularly difficult. Hence, the activation of the magic arrays proceeded in an orderly manner. Time passed quickly. Before Shi Feng realized it, more than 20 minutes had gone by already. At this point, the sweat from his forehead had already drenched the light armor he wore. The last one! The final magic array actually required Shi Feng to split his spiritual will into 17 strands. This final magic array was also the one he was most familiar with. Peng! Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed in his mind. In the next moment, the Soul Array''s core magic array shattered, followed by the shattering of the other component arrays in a domino effect. Meanwhile, the several strands of white mist circulating in Shi Feng''s mind transformed into countless particles of light that merged into his brain. Is it done? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw this scene inside his mind. 2666 Soul Upgraded, Natural Domain! Chapter 2666 - Soul Upgraded, Natural Domain! Zero Wing''s Residence, Guild Leader''s Office: Sitting quietly on his chair, Shi Feng suddenly opened his eyes, his mind roiling with confusion. Just a second ago, he clearly sensed that he had successfully activated the core magic array. In the next second, however, the Soul Array had shattered so thoroughly that no traces remained whatsoever. It was as if the Soul Array had never existed in his mind. "What is going on here? Did I succeed or fail?" After confirming the absence of the Soul Array, Shi Feng tried moving his body a little. However, he did not detect any changes or discomfort in his body. It was as if everything that had happened was an illusion. From what he understood of the Soul Array, so long as players successfully activated it, their souls would receive an upgrade, and their game character''s natural talent would receive a significant improvement. On the other hand, if players failed to activate the Soul Array, their souls would get devoured, and their natural talent would deteriorate significantly, which would, in turn, eliminate almost all chances for further improvement. However, he currently didn''t feel any different from before he tried activating the Soul Array. Both his physical body and mental state felt normal, neither more active nor sluggish. "Could this Soul Array be a sham?" After pondering for some time, Shi Feng could come up with only this conclusion. Instead of the real deal, the "Soul Array" planted in his mind was merely a somewhat special Soul Mark. No other explanation made sense. Of course, there was one other possibilityall the information he obtained regarding the Soul Array in the past was false. The Soul Array did not possess the ability to alter a player''s soul at all, and everyone who supposedly experienced these effects had only been imagining things. At this point, Shi Feng could not help but sigh. If that really was the case, then he had suffered a huge loss this time. He had spent one God Crystal to reset the Cooldown on Augustus''s Damaged Heart. Previously, in order to help out the Guild''s core members, he had spent most of the God Crystals he had on hand and kept only one for himself, just in case. Now, he had wasted his last God Crystal. Just as a wave of depression washed over Shi Feng, Youlan knocked on his door and entered the room. "Guild Leader, Melancholic and the others have arrived. In addition, the 300-plus disabled NPCs are already in the Residence''s plaza. We can start the ceremony at any time," Youlan said, finding the look of depression on Shi Feng''s face a little strange. "Alright. Have the NPCs wait on the second underground floor first. Have Melancholic make the necessary preparations as well. I still need some time to myself," Shi Feng said, nodding. "I''ll inform them, then," Youlan said before leaving the office. After she left, Shi Feng took out the Memory Crystal the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint had given him. Since Augustus''s Heart was still pumping out Eternal Energy, he planned to use this opportunity to learn Elvoze''s Legacy. In God''s Domain, God Crystals were rarer than even Epic Weapons and Equipment. Coming across one was highly dependent on luck. Now that he had wasted a God Crystal to activate Augustus''s Heart, he naturally couldn''t let even a second of its duration go to waste. Otherwise, he would have to wait three months or obtain another God Crystal to activate it again. The instant Shi Feng tried to inject his Mana into the Memory Crystal, a white mist actually formed around the crystal, stunning him. "This Materialized Mana? How is this possible?" Mana was intangible. Players could only rely on their senses and imagination to control it. Even then, they could exert only simple control over Mana. Trying to concentrate the density of thin Mana was beyond even Tier 4 players who had basic control over Mana. Normally, players would be capable of such a feat only after reaching the Advanced Master Magician standard. Shi Feng had just recently reached the Intermediate Master Magician standard, yet this materialized Mana indicated that he had actually reached the Advanced Master Magician standard already. He could hardly believe it. An Advanced Master Magician! Although the Magician class was only a sub-class in God''s Domain, the Advanced Master Magician standard was a realm all Tier 4 experts sought to reach. At the Advanced Master Magician standard, players could rely on their will to manipulate the Mana around them, utilizing the ambient Mana as if it were an extension of their bodies. They could have their own Natural Domain! An ordinary Tier 3 player who reached the Advanced Master Magician standard would be invincible among all opponents below Tier 4the true Tier 4 standard, not monsters or players that possessed Basic Attributes at the Tier 4 standard. One could easily imagine how powerful the Advanced Master Magician sub-class was. "Could this be the Soul Array''s effects?" This was the only explanation Shi Feng could come up with for this situation after giving the matter some thought. Manipulating intangible Mana was an incredibly complex task. Players needed a lot of time to adapt their minds before they could do it. Now, however, he could exert a great degree of control over Mana despite barely putting any thought to the task. It was as if his mind had automated this process for him. "Amazing! Truly amazing! The change to my magical talent is simply heaven-defying!" Shi Feng was filled with an indescribable sense of shock as he controlled the Mana Domain that had naturally formed around him. Currently, he could freely control all the Mana within a 30-yard radius as if it were one of his limbs. With just a thought, he could have the ambient Mana attack someone. Moreover, this attack would carry power at the peak of Tier 3just by him materializing the ambient Mana. If he were to use a magic array, the power he could exhibit would be even greater. After a brief moment of excitement, Shi Feng calmed himself and put away the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint''s Memory Crystal. He then took out a tattered notebook from his bag. "Originally, I thought that I could learn this thing''s contents only after reaching Tier 4. I never dreamed that I could actually learn them now. That Faux Saint Devourer really has helped me a bunch," Shi Feng muttered, chuckling as he looked at the notebook in his hands. The notebook he held was none other than the Mana Forging Notes he had received from the Famed Smith Alba Gray. Although he had only one volume of the Mana Forging Notes, the value of this one volume could easily rival that of a Legendary item. It was an item that the various empires of God''s Domain would go crazy over. This was because the forging techniques recorded within the Mana Forging Notes could serve as the foundation of an empire. Of course, learning the recorded forging techniques was an incredibly difficult task. Firstly, one had to have reached the Advanced Master Magician standard. This requirement was because Alba Gray''s Mana forging techniques were different from conventional forging techniques, which prioritized the materials used. Instead, Alba Gray''s techniques prioritized Mana, while the materials used were only of secondary importance. One could consider Alba Gray''s techniques a kind of lost ancient technology. Shi Feng immediately started manipulating the Mana around him to break the Mana Seal on the notebook. In order to remove the Mana Seal, one needed to use one''s Mana to decode it. Utilizing brute force would permanently destroy the notebook''s contents. The Mana Seal consisted of 27 magic arrays, every one of which was at the Basic Grandmaster standard. The degree of precision one needed to have when decoding these magic arrays was akin to threading a needle. Only those capable of freely manipulating Mana would succeed in lifting the Mana Seal. This was also the reason why Shi Feng had left the Mana Forging Notes sitting inside his bag all this time. One array Two arrays Three arrays After working on the Mana Seal for more than two hours, Shi Feng finally decoded the last magic array on the Mana Forging Notes. Immediately, all Mana within his office seemed to have been summoned, as it surged toward the Mana Forging Notes. This Mana then transformed into texts and images that flowed into his brain. For a time, Shi Feng felt as if his head would explode. The amount of information contained within the Mana Forging Notes was comparable to that of the Small Mobile Fortress Design. If not for his Concentration having reached the Tier 4 standard already, he would''ve most definitely lost consciousness. The information transfer continued for 20 minutes. Then, the Mana Forging Notes closed itself, and the Mana Seal reappeared on it. As for Shi Feng, he slumped back in his chair, his complexion indescribably pale. However, despite his miserable state, his eyes sparkled with joy and shock. Before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, he suddenly received a call request from Youlan. "Guild Leader, we just received news that the Faux Saint monster army is currently crossing Star-Moon Kingdom''s borders. Rough estimates put its numbers at over four million. We have also spotted some of Saint''s Hand''s members among the monsters," Youlan reported anxiously. "They''re finally here?" Shi Feng revealed a faint smile on his face when he heard Youlan''s words. "Have Melancholic and the others ready the materials. I''ll head over immediately." 2667 Foundation Skyrockets Chapter 2667 - Foundation Skyrockets Silverwing Town, Zero Wing''s Residence, second underground floor: At this moment, over 300 NPCs stood inside an underground hall, which was half the size of a football field. These NPCs all looked old and injured. The 100-plus Tier 3 experts of Zero Wing present could not help their confusion over the presence of these NPCs. "With the situation outside so tense already, why did the Guild Leader gather us here instead of having us prepare for battle?" a tall and thin Level 115 man wearing the emblem of Zero Wing''s main force reserve member muttered, perturbed. This tall and thin man was once the vice commander of an adventurer team. He had joined Zero Wing not that long ago and had gained his position as a reserve member of the main force only after Shi Feng had left the eastern continent. Hence, he did not have a very clear idea of just how powerful the Guild''s foundations were. What the man understood very clearly was just how powerful the Faux Saint monsters wereespecially after their numbers reached a certain scale. Several million Faux Saint monsters charging toward Silverwing Town was definitely a disaster. However, instead of further strengthening the town''s defenses, Shi Feng had actually gathered all of the Guild''s Tier 3 reserve main force members tasked with defending Silverwing Town in this basement hall. In fact, he had even kept them waiting here for such a long time with nothing to do but look at these old and ailing NPCs. This was simply insane! At this moment, many of the Tier 3 experts present were also confused by this situation. Silverwing Town was by no means a small place. There were many locations that needed defending. They still needed to organize the Guild''s other Tier 3 experts and Tier 2 members. They had already been tight for time, yet they had actually wasted two whole hours idling here. The players gathered could not help but wonder if Shi Feng had given up on Silverwing Town already. To Zero Wing''s core upper echelon, Silverwing Town might be just another one of the Guild''s Residences. However, for players like themselves who had lived in Silverwing Town all this time, it was their home. Just as everyone was grumbling about the current situation, Youlan and Melancholic Smile walked to the staircase leading upstairs. They then flanked the staircase and quietly looked at the man descending it, a respectful expression appearing on their faces. "Guild Leader, all Tier 3 reserve main force members with a position of Viscount or above are here. They have already signed the confidentiality contract. With the Personal Guard slots they have, we will be able to accommodate all of the NPCs gathered," Melancholic Smile quietly reported to Shi Feng. "Alright, let''s begin," Shi Feng said, nodding. Originally, he had been keeping the Water of Life top-secret. After all, only by doing so would he have an easier time collecting injured NPCs with good potential. However, now that God''s Domain had developed to such a state, he no longer had the leeway for such secrecy. After Shi Feng said so, Melancholic Smile had the gathered NPCs line up before her. She then distributed the Water of Life to every one of them, the situation further confusing the reserve main force members present. "What are they doing?" "What dense life energy!" "Why do all these NPCs look so excited?" Many people knew of the Water of Life in God''s Domain, but not many people had seen it in person. In the eyes of Zero Wing''s reserve main force members, Melancholic Smile was merely distributing potions brimming with life energy to the NPCs gathered. However, when these NPCs received the potion, their gloomy and lifeless expressions immediately brightened up, their eyes glowing with hope and energy. Every one of these NPCs even excitedly thanked Melancholic Smile and swore loyalty to her. This situation baffled the Zero Wing members. They could all tell that these NPCs were not Personal Guards but independent NPCs. There should be no way these NPCs would show such gratitude toward players, much less take the initiative to swear loyalty to a player. As the reserve main force members were stewing in confusion, frightening auras burst forth from the gathered NPCs, one after another. Previously, none of these gathered NPCs was a match even for ordinary Tier 2 NPCs. Now, however, even the weakest of them radiated an aura that made even the Refinement Realm experts present shudder. When the auras of these 300-plus NPCs flooded the hall, the 100-plus reserve main force members could not help stumbling back with nervous expressions as they cautiously eyed the NPCs before them. At this moment, they could tell that, so long as these NPCs willed it, none of them would leave this basement alive. Not to mention, the strongest few auras even made them feel as if they stood before a bottomless abyss. The owners of these auras were definitely not just ordinary Tier 3 NPCs. While bathed in these auras, everyone felt as if they were standing inside a muddy swamp, their bodies incredibly sluggish. In fact, they had also lost control over the ambient Mana around them. "A Mana Domain?!" At this moment, even Youlan goggled in shock at this situation. Although she knew that Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile had gathered these old and ailing NPCs for a purpose, she never imagined that they would be carrying out such an ambitious enterprise. Not only did they instantly turn 300-plus old and ailing NPCs into lively tigers, but three of these NPCs even possessed a Mana Domain. This was simply unbelievable. Normally, a naturally occurring Mana Domain was something only Tier 4 NPCs possessed. A Mana Domain was also the biggest difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 NPCs and the reason why Tier 4 NPCs could trounce Tier 3 NPCs. It was also because of this Mana Domain that Saint''s Hand had never dared stretch their hands toward Silverwing Town. After all, Silverwing Town had the protection of the Magic King Craig Midlands, who had already been promoted to Tier 4. In front of the Magic King, Tier 3 players would be one-shot kills. Now, out of the 300-plus NPCs present, there were actually three NPCs with a Mana Domain. This meant that these three NPCs were only one short step away from Tier 4. Amazing! The harvest this time is massive! Shi Feng himself was surprised by this outcome. Although there were no Tier 4 NPCs in the batch of recovered NPCs this time, just gaining three Tier 3 NPCs with a Mana Domain was plenty amazing already. After all, so long as these three NPCs received sufficient resources, reaching Tier 4 should be a shoo-in. Moreover, aside from these three NPCs, the quality of the other 300-plus NPCs was considerably good as well. Of the other 300-plus NPCs, one actually possessed Growth Potential at the Dark-Gold rank, 11 at the Fine-Gold rank, 151 at the Secret-Silver rank, and the rest at the Mysterious-Iron rank. In God''s Domain, NPCs that possessed Growth Potential at the Fine-Gold rank or above could only be found by luck. Aqua Rose had already swept through the old and ailing NPCs of numerous countries once. The fact that they could obtain so many NPCs at the Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold standard in the second batch was truly incredible. After all, any random Tier 3 NPC at the Fine-Gold rank could suppress current Tier 3 Domain Realm experts. Even the various superpowers would not possess more than a handful of such existences. Now, Zero Wing had just gained 15 of such NPCs. Moreover, three of them possessed a Mana Domain, of which two were at the Fine-Gold rank and one was at the Dark-Gold rank. If the various superpowers were to learn of this haul, they would definitely die of envy. Meanwhile, after a brief moment of silence in the hall, Shi Feng turned his gaze toward the reserve main force members assembled before him. "Alright, stop daydreaming. Line up according to the number assigned to you and start signing a contract with these NPCs," Shi Feng said with a clap of his hands. Shi Feng''s words triggered an uproar among the gathered players. "Crap! Is this for real!?" "Even the weakest among these NPCs is at the Mysterious-Iron rank, right?" "We can contract these NPCs as our Personal Guards?" Everyone felt as if they were in a dream when they heard Shi Feng''s words. The fact that the Guild could recruit so many powerful NPCs was already plenty amazing. Now, however, they were being told that they could have these NPCs as their Personal Guards. They couldn''t believe their ears. The various first-rate Guilds treated even Mysterious-Iron Guards as family heirlooms. Normally, only the Guild Elders would have the qualifications to contract such NPCs as Personal Guards. As for Secret-Silver Guards, they belonged to the Guild Leader and Grand Elders. Everyone else should not even think of obtaining them. Now, however, Zero Wing was actually letting mere reserve members of its main force contract with Mysterious-Iron Guards and above. This situation was even more fabulous than if the Guild had granted every one of them a Level 100-plus Epic Weapon. However, in no time at all, everyone snapped out of their daze and dashed forward to line up before Shi Feng. As for the distribution of the NPCs, Shi Feng first granted every player in line a Secret-Silver NPC. As for the two Dark-Gold NPCs, he assigned Melancholic Smile and Youlan one each. He also granted both of them and Liang Jing one Fine-Gold NPC each. This way, the three of them would no longer have to worry about their security when traveling around God''s Domain. As for the remaining Fine-Gold NPCs, he assigned them to the 11 people in line who had made the most contributions to the Guild. Upon seeing this, the other Zero Wing members inevitably grew envious. That was a Fine-Gold Guard they were talking about! With the strength of a Fine-Gold Guard, one would not have to worry even when coming across a 100-man, Tier 3 team. In fact, the Tier 3 team would most likely try to avoid the Fine-Gold Guard. "This is wonderful! With the addition of these Personal Guards, we should have no problem withstanding the Faux Saint monsters'' attack!" Youlan breathed out a sigh of relief when the distribution of the Personal Guards was over. Although Silverwing Town was only an Advanced Town, Zero Wing had invested plenty of resources and funds into its development. While its defensive capability might not rival that of a Guild City, its capability was not that far off, either. Not to mention, the town also had five Magic Towers and a Tier 4 NPC protecting it. With the addition of so many Tier 3 Personal Guards, there shouldn''t be any problem defending Silverwing Town from the Faux Saint monsters. "Withstand?" Shi Feng shook his head at Youlan''s sigh. Sneering, he continued, "Since they dare to come, then they shouldn''t think of leaving anymore!" After saying so, Shi Feng tasked Youlan and Melancholic Smile with arranging Silverwing Town''s defenses. As for himself, he made his way to Silverwing Town''s Town Lord''s Mansion. Inside the control room of the Town Lord''s Mansion, Shi Feng took out 600 Mana Stones and arranged them above the core magic array. The Mana Forging Notes recorded plenty of powerful items. However, the highlight of the volume he received from Alba Gray was a special magic array capable of strengthening other magic arrays to whole new heights. Of course, this improved strength did not come for free. The strengthening would triple the consumption of the target magic array. The target magic array would also take longer to recover naturally. However, compared to the possible benefits, this was a small price to pay. When Shi Feng finished drawing the special magic array using the Mana Stones, a crimson pillar suddenly emerged from the core magic array. Following which, the sound of a system announcement suddenly entered Shi Feng''s ears. ... System: Silverwing Town has met the qualifications for promotion to a Basic City. Do you wish to promote it to a Basic City? 2668 Siege Battle at Silverwing Town Chapter 2668 - Siege Battle at Silverwing Town The town can be promoted, just like that? Shi Feng was surprised as he looked at the notification window at the corner of his vision. Although Silverwing Town was developing rapidly and its promotion to a Basic City was only a matter of time, its attaining the promotion qualifications so soon caught him unawares. He never thought that there would be such a benefit to strengthening a town''s core magic array. The defense of a Basic City was significantly more substantial than that of an Advanced Town. The number of NPC guards one could hire would also undergo a qualitative transformation. This boost was especially advantageous for strongholds located in the Orc Empire. Recently, more and more players had started operating in the Orc Empire. Due to the very low number of player strongholds there, any stronghold that could ensure the safety of its players would become extremely popular, which would, in turn, guarantee its rapid development. However, despite receiving this unexpected boon, Shi Feng did not choose to promote Silverwing Town yet. Instead, he focused on the crimson light pillar that had appeared at the center of the room. He then took out piles of Magic Crystals and started channeling the Mana of the light pillar into Silverwing Town''s various magic arrays. While upgrading Silverwing Town now would indeed raise its defensive capability by a significant margin, doing so would come at a great priceall the players inside the town would be teleported out of the town during the promotion process. With the Faux Saint army approaching, there was simply no time to upgrade Silverwing Town. Otherwise, Zero Wing''s members might have to fight the millions of Faux Saint monsters without the help of the city''s defensive structures. Moreover, now that he had strengthened Silverwing Town''s core magic array, its performance would surpass even that of the core magic arrays of ordinary Basic Cities. There was simply no need to take such a big risk. The rampaging Mana inside the hall started flowing into the core magic array, together with the Mana the Magic Crystals released. The core magic array then directed this Mana into the various magic arrays throughout Silverwing Town, reinforcing them. Three arrays Six arrays Nine arrays. As Silverwing Town''s magic arrays got strengthened one after another, the town''s ambient Mana changed. By the time half of Silverwing Town''s magic arrays were strengthened, a layer of red mist had appeared above the town, enveloping it completely. "Quick, look! Why is there a red mist above the town?!" "What''s going on? Is this Zero Wing''s doing?" "It''s highly possible. The ambient Mana seems to have become slightly wilder. So long as we use this Mana, the power of our Skills and Spells should increase substantially. With this, we should have an easier time repelling the Faux Saint army." The players in Silverwing Town quickly noticed the changes to the town''s Mana and could not help discussing them. Many of the adventurer team members preparing for battle relaxed slightly. Silverwing Town was one of the few player strongholds in the Orc Empire that were open to independent players. Hence, many independent players had decided to support Zero Wing against the approaching Faux Saint army. In addition, Zero Wing had also set up a contribution system for the players participating in the town''s defense; through this system, players could earn contribution points and exchange these points for rewards. Hence, even more independent players had chosen to stay and fight for Silverwing Town. "It seems Black Flame isn''t completely unprepared for this upcoming battle." Illusory Words, who currently stood on the town''s wall, sighed in relief when she saw the red mist covering the town. After seeing Shi Feng''s previous performance against the Faux Saint Devourer, Crimson Emperor had decided to go all-out in helping Zero Wing defend Silverwing Town. However, Illusory Words wasn''t confident of success. After all, the Faux Saint monsters were simply too many. Moreover, even the weakest Faux Saint monster was at the Great Lord rank. The most they could do was persevere against the Faux Saint monsters'' assault. That was right! Persevere! With their current forces, repelling the Faux Saint army would be impossible. All they could do was persevere. Fortunately, Shi Feng had killed the Faux Saint Devourer. With this, even the strongest Faux Saint monster remaining would be only at the Grand Lord rank. Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array would have no problem tanking the hits of Grand Lords. Meanwhile, so long as they ensured the continuous replenishment of the energy reserves of the town''s defensive magic array before they got depleted, the Faux Saint monsters would not be able to take even a single step into Silverwing Town. With the intellect of those Faux Saint monsters, they wouldn''t bother wasting too much time on a single task. After seeing that they couldn''t break through the town''s defensive magic array even after several days, they would naturally retreat. "It seems Black Flame has quite a few tricks up his sleeves. He''s actually able to make the town''s Mana go berserk. With this, the strength of the town''s defensive magic array should''ve increased by quite a bit." "While the town''s defensive magic array has indeed been improved, it will still need to withstand all those Faux Saint Destroyers. You should know that Faux Saint monsters have destroyed NPC cities before. What can a Guild Town possibly do against an army of them?" The various superpowers'' members hidden inside the town disdained the transformation to Silverwing Town''s Mana. They also considered Shi Feng very foolish. While the performance of the town''s defensive magic array had indeed improved significantly, there was still a limit to the magic array''s energy reserves. Faced with the attacks of tens of thousands of Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers, how long could the magic array''s energy reserves possibly last? Even the defensive magic arrays of NPC cities had fallen swiftly before the Faux Saint monsters. In fact, many of these NPC cities also had a large number of Level 150 NPC guards and a Level 180, Tier 3 Magistrate to defend them. In the end, the Faux Saint monsters still managed to drain the defensive magic array''s energy reserves and destroyed the cities. Shortly after Silverwing Town''s transformation, news of it quickly reached the Fire Dragon Empire''s Flame Dragon City. "Interesting. Since he''s able to agitate the Mana of a town to increase the performance of the town''s defensive magic array, it seems he didn''t offend those Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand without any forethought." A smirk appeared on Cold Shadow''s face when she read the report she just received. "What a pity. This development might have posed a problem for those Faux Saint monsters and Saint''s Hand a few days ago, but it is futile now." After Cold Shadow said so, she turned her gaze to the video livestream playing before her. What this livestream showed was none other than the Faux Saint army that was marching toward Silverwing Town and was currently within 5,000 yards of Silverwing Town already. The monsters were so numerous that they covered all the land around Silverwing Town. From what she could see, there were easily more than 100,000 Faux Saint Destroyers therealmost double the initial projections. Moreover, aside from the Faux Saint Destroyers, there were also quite a few gigantic figures moving amidst this army, and the other Faux Saint monsters clustered around these gigantic figures. At this moment, White Feather entered the VIP room Cold Shadow occupied and said respectfully, "Vice Guild Leader, the various superpowers'' representatives have arrived already. Should we head over now?" "Alright, let''s go." Cold Shadow nodded. She then dismissed the video playing before her and left the Scorching Flame Restaurant. At the same time, the players standing guard atop Silverwing Town''s walls were dumbfounded by the sight before them. "This How is this possible" "No! This can''t be real! This must be a joke!" When the players standing on the walls looked at the massive army before them, despair and reluctance overwhelmed them. Eight! There were eight Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourers! "Is this the strength that Saint''s Hand has been relying on all this time?" Illusory Words, who similarly stood on the town''s wall, could not help a bitter smile when she saw the eight Faux Saint Devourers. She had anticipated that Saint''s Hand had kept a trump card hidden. Otherwise, it wouldn''t have had the confidence to take action so close to Silverwing Town, nor would it have put its precious Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourer at such great risk. However, she never thought that Saint''s Hand had actually managed to produce so many Faux Saint Devourers already. At this moment, even the various spectating superpowers were stunned by this situation. Too strong! The Faux Saint army boasted not only over 100,000 Faux Saint Destroyers but also eight Faux Saint Devourers. With such a force, let alone destroying Silverwing Town, even capturing one of Star-Moon Kingdom''s Main Cities wouldn''t be a problem. After all, the only real threat in Main City ranked NPC cities was the Level 180, Tier 4 Magistrates tasked with defending them. As for the remaining Level 150 NPCs that were at Tier 2 or Tier 3, while they did pose a problem, they weren''t undefeatable. At the same time, several thousand players wearing the Guild Emblem of Saint''s Hand were hiding in a forest several thousand yards away from Silverwing Town. Among them, 1,000 magical-class players were currently drawing a gigantic and complex magic array, which constantly drew on the ambient Mana and reduced its density. "Black Flame! I''ll show you just how foolish your previous actions are and make you regret everything you''ve done!" Thousand Eyes, who currently radiated an extremely weak aura, sneered as he looked at the Silverwing Town displayed on the Magic Mirror before him. "No, I should say that you won''t even have time to regret! Your Silverwing Town will turn to dust before you know it!" Meanwhile, inside Silverwing Town''s Town Lord''s Mansion, while Shi Feng was quietly inspecting the performance of the town''s strengthened magic arrays through the core magic array, Youlan burst into the room with an ugly expression on her face. "Guild Leader, according to the information we received from the walls, aside from over 100,000 Faux Saint Destroyers, the Faux Saint army this time also haseight Faux Saint Devourers," Youlan said in a grim tone as she gazed at Shi Feng. It might be fine if only one or two Faux Saint Devourers had appeared. At that time, they could simply have Craig Midlands take action. However, the appearance of eight Faux Saint Devourers completely messed up their plans. With so many Faux Saint Devourers attacking, it wouldn''t matter even if Shi Feng transformed into a Black Dragon again. "They''re here?" Seeing the grim look on Youlan''s face, Shi Feng said calmly, "Let''s go take a look, then." 2669 Power of Mana Chapter 2669 - Power of Mana Silverwing Town, main gate''s wall: Currently, a large number of players were trying to squeeze their way up to the top of the wall, which was over a dozen meters high, to get a better look at the Faux Saint army. However, when these players arrived on top, every one of them found the scene that greeted them shocking. The Faux Saint monsters were so numerous that their figures dotted the land all the way to the horizon. Moreover, even the weakest among them was a Level 110 Great Lord. As this endless army of monsters gradually encircled Silverwing Town, it looked as if night had descended. This scene alone already evoked fear in everyone. "Why are there so many Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourers? Can we really stop them?" Panic and despair swept through the independent players that had chosen to help defend Silverwing Town as they stared at the scene before them. Originally, they thought that, with over 300,000 players fighting for Silverwing Town, combined with the town''s defensive magic array, they should still have a chance to emerge victorious. After all, to win, they simply had to distract 50,000 or 60,000 Faux Saint Destroyers for a certain period. However, the Faux Saint army that appeared before Silverwing Town was far stronger than they anticipatedover 100,000 Faux Saint Destroyers and eight Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourers. Everyone''s confidence vanished at the sight of this army. At this moment, let alone the independent players present, even Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words were shocked. "Over a hundred thousand Faux Saint Destroyers and eight Faux Saint Devourers. These Faux Saint monsters really think highly of us," Unyielding Heart, who had reached Level 116 already, said, a bitter smile forming on his face as he took in the eight gigantic figures standing some distance away from Silverwing Town. In order to assist Zero Wing in defending Silverwing Town, Unyielding Soul had dispatched its strongest trump card legion and even sent over two Tier 4 Summoning Scrolls and more than a hundred Heavy Ballistas. According to his estimates, this force, combined with Crimson Emperor''s and Zero Wing''s, should have no problem defending Silverwing Town. However, it would seem that he had still underestimated the strength of these Faux Saint monsters. At this moment, let alone the eight Faux Saint Devourers, just the 100,000-plus Faux Saint Destroyers were already more than enough to instill despair in everyone. After all, the Faux Saint Destroyers were Grand Lord ranked monsters. Ordinary Tier 3 experts couldn''t take them on one-on-one. Only multiple people working together, with the help of the town''s war weapons, could prevent these Faux Saint Destroyers from attacking the town''s defensive magic array and walls. As for the Tier 4 creatures they could summon, these things would be far from adequate against tens of thousands of Faux Saint Destroyers. The only thing these summoned creatures could do was defend a portion of the town''s walls and reduce the pressure the town''s players faced. However, with the eight Faux Saint Devourers around, these Tier 4 summoned creatures wouldn''t even be able to lessen the pressure on the town''s defenders. Illusory Words nodded in agreement with Unyielding Heart''s words, complex emotions flickering in her eyes. "We can only try our best to defend the town" A sense of powerlessness overwhelmed Illusory Words as she looked at the Faux Saint Devourers several thousand yards away commanding the other Faux Saint monsters. Although she had confidence in Shi Feng, she doubted that even he had expected such a powerful army to appear at Silverwing Town''s doorstep. In fact, even the various superpowers did not expect the Faux Saint monsters to develop at such a frightening rate. After all, only a little more than a day had passed since Crimson Emperor had learned about the birth of the first Faux Saint Devourer, yet the Faux Saint monsters had managed to add eight more Faux Saint Devourers to their number. Even if they could stop these Faux Saint monsters for a day, it was highly unlikely they could stop these monsters for two days. During the time everyone was sighing and feeling powerless, a golden beam of light suddenly appeared in a forest some distance away from Silverwing Town, shooting straight into the sky. Even from several thousand yards away, the beam was clearly visible. Along with the appearance of this golden beam, the dusky sky became as bright as day. At the same time, the density of the Mana surrounding Silverwing Town thinned out considerably as if something sucked the ambient Mana away. Now, even players who weren''t particularly sensitive to Mana felt a slight discomfort. "This isthe Soul Annihilation Curse!" Illusory Words''s complexion turned indescribably grim when she saw the pillar of Mana rising into the sky. "Are Saint''s Hand''s people crazy?! They actually used such an area sealing curse!" The Soul Annihilation Curse was a super-rare sealing barrier in God''s Domain. When activated, it could lock down a very large area, preventing players from leaving the sealed space while the barrier was still up, and thin out the Mana within the barrier. Meanwhile, not only would players that died within the barrier suffer a much more severe death penalty, but their souls would be weakened for 15 days as well. The cost to activate the Soul Annihilation Curse was equally astonishingthe permanent sacrifice of 1,000 Level 100-plus, Tier 2 magical-class players and 100 Tier 3 magical-class players. This was a permanent death they were talking about! The players that activated this magic array would have their game characters permanently deleted, and they would have to start all over again if they wished to continue playing. Due to this reason, although quite a few superpowers had obtained the Soul Annihilation Curse, none of them ever dared to use it. However, as Silverwing Town''s players stood dazed in shock, a gigantic Magic Mirror suddenly appeared above the town. It displayed Saint''s Hand''s members, and standing at the lead of these players was none other than Thousand Eyes, whom Shi Feng had killed just recently. "Black Flame, you didn''t see this coming, right?" Thousand Eyes sneered. "I said that you''d regret it. Weren''t you very powerful? Now, I''ll have you watch as everyone in Silverwing Town gets devoured by the Faux Saint army!" When Thousand Eyes''s chilling words echoed throughout Silverwing Town, the players in the town shuddered involuntarily. This was simply madness! Saint''s Hand had sacrificed not only 1,000 Level 100-plus Tier 2 magical-class players but also 100 Tier 3 experts. This was something even Super Guilds wouldn''t dare to do. After all, even to a Super Guild, 100 Tier 3 experts represented significant combat power. "Zero Wing is truly doomed this time!" "Sure enough, Saint''s Hand is filled with a bunch of lunatics! They actually dare use such a card! With this, not only will Zero Wing and all of its allies have their members devoured by those Faux Saint monsters, but they''ll even have their souls weakened as well!" Despite being spectators, the various superpowers'' members hidden inside Silverwing Town shuddered in fear when they saw the maniacal smile on Thousand Eyes''s face. While everyone was falling into despair, several figures appeared above Silverwing Town''s main gate. One of these figures belonged to none other than Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame. After arriving above the main gate, Shi Feng glanced at the Magic Mirror in the sky and said nonchalantly, "How noisy. Isn''t it just a Soul Annihilation Curse? Do you think this thing is good for anything?" Although Shi Feng did not speak very loudly, with the entire Silverwing Town dead silent right now, everyone heard his words very clearly. Hence, the entire town immediately went into an uproar. No one ever thought that even after things had developed to such a point, Shi Feng would still dare to provoke Thousand Eyes. Was he so eager to die? "Is he tired of living?" "Pretending to be calm! We''ll see how he continues pretending!" "I''m guessing that Black Flame must''ve realized the hopelessness of the situation and is merely sassing to get the load off his chest." When the various superpowers'' members saw Shi Feng''s calm expression and heard his bold claim through their Magic Mirrors, they could not help scoffing. The Soul Annihilation Curse itself indeed did not pose any direct threat to players. However, the millions of Faux Saint monsters standing outside the town were definitely a nightmare for all players. "You think it''s useless? In that case, let''s see if this Soul Annihilation Curse is really useless or not, once the Faux Saint army starts attacking!" Thousand Eyes said. Instead of getting angry at Shi Feng''s words, he started chuckling instead. As soon as Thousand Eyes finished speaking, the Faux Saint monsters surrounding Silverwing Town promptly charged forward. When the army of millions advanced, it looked as if a tsunami was sweeping across the land. The earth shattered underfoot, and explosions kept reverberating through the air. Everyone inside Silverwing Town gasped at the sight. Some Tier 3 experts even retreated unconsciously. "So noisy!" Shi Feng pointed a finger at three Faux Saint Devourers charging amidst the army. Immediately, the five Magic Towers spread across Silverwing Town each released a crimson beam that converged in the middle of the town before shooting into the sky. Before anyone could react, a gigantic, crimson beam descended upon the Faux Saint army. The instant the crimson beam made contact, the earth shattered. Immediately afterward, the crimson beam expanded into the surroundings until it covered a 300-yard radius. When the beam disappeared, almost everything within the AOE had vanished without a trace. 2670 Silent Silverwing Town Chapter 2670 - Silent Silverwing Town When the crimson pillar outside Silverwing Town faded away, everyone momentarily froze and fell silentthe players inside the town as well as the Faux Saint monsters charging toward it. For a moment, time seemed to stop for Silverwing Town and its surroundings. Just one hit! Aside from the Grand Lord and Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters, everything within the crimson beam''s 300-yard radius had disappeared into the void. Not one of the 10,000 or so Faux Saint Saboteurs caught within the area survived. The magnitude of this attack was simply unbelievable. As for the Faux Saint Destroyers and Faux Saint Devourers that remained alive, they were clearly heavily injured. Moreover, the Faux Saint Devourers were barely able to move, and they were currently struggling to escape the void that formed around them. The Faux Saint Destroyers were incapable of moving at all, only able to watch helplessly as the void slowly enveloping them closed and trapped them for the rest of their lives. "This" Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were momentarily at a loss for words when they saw this scene, shock and excitement flaring in their eyes. This attack was simply too absurd! This one attack not only exiled close to 1,000 Faux Saint Destroyers to the void but also heavily injured three Faux Saint Devourers. This outcome reduced the pressure Silverwing Town''s defenders had to face significantly. Meanwhile, when Saint''s Heart''s members saw this scene through their Magic Mirrors, they were similarly stunned. They never thought that Silverwing Town''s Magic Towers possessed the power to heavily injure the Faux Saint Devourers. "You just heavily injured three Faux Saint Devourers! This battle is nowhere close to over!" Thousand Eyes said nonchalantly when he saw Silverwing Town''s players revealing joyous expressions. It was very normal for war weapons to wreak large-scale destruction in a siege battle. While the power of Silverwing Town''s Magic Towers somewhat exceeded their initial estimates, this difference would not affect the overall picture. For the Faux Saint army, which consisted of over four million monsters, a loss of 10,000 monsters was practically negligible. Not to mention, the Magic Towers'' attack had a very long Cooldown. By the time the Magic Towers were ready to attack again, the Faux Saint monsters would''ve long since arrived before Silverwing Town. Moreover, the Faux Saint army went berserk because of the Magic Towers'' attack. After the five remaining Faux Saint Devourers let loose angry roars, the other Faux Saint monsters resumed charging at Silverwing Town with even greater ferocity, their speed at least 20% faster than before. Upon seeing this, the defending players standing atop Silverwing Town''s walls could not help growing nervous. The Magic Towers'' combined attack was indeed astonishing, but the Faux Saint monsters, which had managed to instantly fill the gap in their battle formation, were even more astonishing. These monsters made it seem as if the previous attack never happened at all. "All ballistas and turrets, prepare to fire! Aim for the densest locations as much as possible!" When the Faux Saint army resumed its advance with even greater vigor, Unyielding Heart, who had commanded dozens of large-scale battles, immediately shouted out the necessary orders. At his behest, Silverwing Town''s defenders promptly recovered from their fear and prepared to attack. "All magical units, start chanting your incantations! Make sure those Destroyers don''t get close to the walls!" Similarly, Illusory Words commanded the magical-class players standing atop the walls to prepare their Spells. Afterward, she started chanting a Tier 3 Curse of her own. As commands were issued one after another, the nervous and frightened defenders also gradually stabilized their emotions. For a time, the defenders watched quietly as the Faux Saint army closed in. One thousand three hundred yards One thousand two hundred yards One thousand yards "Fire!" Unyielding Heart shouted. Immediately, hundreds of ballistas and dozens of Arrow Towers and Defense Turrets launched their attacks simultaneously, the firing sounds echoing throughout the town. In the next moment, several hundred blazing streaks of light descended on the Faux Saint army like a meteor shower, the attacks shaking the ground and kicking up dust and dirt. Tens of thousands of Faux Saint monsters were also sent flying into the air, and huge craters formed wherever the attacks landed. The sight was simply spectacular. However, contrary to everyone''s expectations, the Faux Saint army did not falter in the slightest. In no time at all, the endless Faux Saint monsters filled in the gaps created by the war weapons'' attacks, the madness of the Faux Saint monsters surpassing everyone''s expectations. "Reload and aim for the vanguard!" Unyielding Heart shouted, a frown forming on his face when he saw this scene. Although he had long since expected this to happen, he still could not help his shock when actually witnessing it. After several rounds of attacks from the town''s war weapons, although they had failed to kill even one Faux Saint Destroyer, they had killed quite a number of Faux Saint Saboteurs, as well as heavily injuring more than 200,000 Faux Saint Saboteurs. Unfortunately, compared to the Faux Saint army in its entirety, this number was still insignificant. In the next moment, the first wave of Faux Saint monsters arrived within 100 yards of Silverwing Town''s walls. Illusory Words and the other ranged players standing on the walls promptly released their strongest Skills and Spells. For a time, tens of thousands of Skills and Spells bombarded the Faux Saint monsters at the forefront. However, just when everyone thought that the Faux Saint monsters would get hit and have their charge interrupted, a shocking scene occurred. In the next moment, as if they were veterans of the battlefield, the Faux Saint monsters started wielding their weapons to block the incoming attacks, mitigating most of the damage from these attacks. "How is this possible!?" Purple Eye, who was casting her Spells on the town''s wall, was stunned by this scene. These Faux Saint monsters had even blocked a large portion of the attacks launched by Tier 3 experts. Only Tier 3 Refinement Realm experts and above managed to land their attacks on these Faux Saint monsters. "Fools! Do you think the Faux Saint monsters before you are the same as those you met a few days ago?!" Thousand Eyes sneered as he looked at Silverwing Town''s defenders. Victory might be possible for Silverwing Town''s players if they were going up against an army of ordinary monsters. However, they were up against the Faux Saint army. Every monster in the Faux Saint army possessed intellect surpassing that of ordinary monsters. Thousand Eyes''s words immediately silenced everyone. Faced with such opponents, just how were they supposed to continue fighting? Only the attacks of the war weapons and a small number of Tier 3 experts were effective; everyone else''s were utterly useless. During the time everyone was distracted by Thousand Eyes''s words, the five intact Faux Saint Devourers suddenly leaped toward the space above the walls. "Not good! Stop them!" Unyielding Heart''s complexion turned indescribably grim when he saw the Faux Saint Devourers launching an attack. While the town''s defensive magic array had indeed been strengthened, the Soul Annihilation Curse had thinned the ambient Mana considerably, effectively nullifying the upgrade the defensive magic array had just received. Moreover, an Advanced Town''s defensive magic array couldn''t hope to withstand the attacks of several Mythic monsters. Before anyone could react, five spears tore through space and converged on a single point on the defensive magic array. "A Combination Combat Technique?!" Illusory Words goggled in shock at the five Faux Saint Devourers'' attacks. The fact that the Faux Saint monsters could use combat techniques was already plenty astonishing. Now, they actually used a Combination Combat Technique, something very few players could execute. This was simply a nightmare. "Guild Leader Black Flame, what a pity. I never thought that you all would fall so quickly," Thousand Eyes said, a delighted smirk appearing on his face as he looked at Shi Feng, who had remained silent all this time. So long as Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array shattered, the players inside the town would be no different from lambs to the slaughter. The Tier 4 NPC guarding the town wouldn''t matter. After all, even a ferocious tiger couldn''t beat a pack of wolves. Boom A loud explosion shook the entire battlefield, the shockwave of the impact so powerful that even the Faux Saint Destroyers nearby stumbled. "It seems Zero Wing is really doomed now." When the various superpowers'' spectating members saw the shattered space above the walls, they shook their heads. The Faux Saint Devourers originally already possessed extraordinary strength. Now that they had used a Combination Combat Technique, the power of their joint attack reached the peak of Tier 4which definitely wasn''t something an Advanced Town''s defensive magic array could block. However, as the black void vanished and the dust settled, the various superpowers'' members with gleeful expressions on their faces were stunned. At this moment, the faint red barrier enveloping the town actually remained intact. In fact, it didn''t even have the tiniest of cracks. "This How is this possible?!" At this moment, let alone the various superpowers'' spectating members, even Thousand Eyes gaped in shock, his eyes glued to the red barrier. This was a Peak Tier 4 attack they were talking about! During the time the entire battlefield had fallen silent, a voice suddenly came from the town''s main gate and echoed throughout the battlefield. "Is that it? If that is your strongest move, then we can indeed put an end to this farce!" 2671 Powerful Faux Saint Army Chapter 2671 - Powerful Faux Saint Army As Shi Feng''s words echoed throughout the battlefield, a gigantic phantom world suddenly manifested in the sky above Silverwing Town. Along with the appearance of this phantom world, every Faux Saint monster in the town''s vicinity had their Basic Attributes reduced by a significant margin, the change causing a commotion all over the silent battlefield. "Too strong! So, this is Zero Wing?" "Earlier, even five Faux Saint Devourers working together failed to crack the town''s magic barrier. Now that every one of these Devourers has been weakened, these Faux Saint monsters should be impotent against the town''s barrier for a short period." Previously, everyone had already fallen into despair over the Faux Saint army''s strength. They never thought that Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array would be so powerful that even a Peak Tier 4 attack couldn''t even scratch it. Meanwhile, so long as the town''s defensive magic array remained up, the Faux Saint monsters wouldn''t be able to touch any of the players inside the town. Moreover, if the defensive magic array could hold out until its energy reserves got replenished, a perfect consumption-replenishment cycle could be formed. At which point, the Faux Saint army would have to give up its siege of the town even if it didn''t want to. "What amazing defensive capabilities! Isn''t this defensive magic array already on par with the ones found in Intermediate Cities?" At this moment, besides the independent players present, even Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were surprised when they saw the town''s defensive magic array remaining intact. The Soul Annihilation Curse had clearly thinned out the town''s ambient Mana by a significant margin already, so the town''s defensive magic array should''ve likewise weakened considerably. Nonetheless, the defensive magic array had actually blocked the combination attack of five Faux Saint Devourers. It was simply unheard-of for a town''s defensive magic array to provide such a formidable defense. Now that Shi Feng had used Miniature World, the Faux Saint Devourers shouldn''t even dream of shattering the defensive magic array. "Presumptuous!" Thousand Eyes frowned slightly when he saw the calm look on Shi Feng''s face. "You merely blocked the Faux Saint Devourers'' combination attack once. The defensive magic array''s energy reserve is limited. I want to see just how long you can continue acting arrogantly before the Faux Saint army''s attacks!" Magic arrays in God''s Domain needed energy to operate. Even if an attack couldn''t overcome a defensive magic array''s defensive threshold, it would still take a toll on the magic array''s energy reserve. With the numbers and strength of the Faux Saint army, shattering the defensive magic array of a Main City ranked NPC city would be possible. Even if the entire army was debuffed by a Domain Skill, it still was more than sufficient to overcome a town''s defensive magic array. As soon as Thousand Eyes finished speaking, the five Faux Saint Devourers launched another combination attack on the defensive barrier. At the same time, tens of thousands of other Faux Saint monsters also started bombarding it. Boom Boom Boom For a time, countless explosions rang out in the space above Silverwing Town. "This can''t go on. We need to stop their attacks. Otherwise, the defensive magic array''s energy reserve won''t last very long," Unyielding Heart said as he looked at the trembling barrier before him. Individually, the other Faux Saint monsters might not be a match for the Faux Saint Devourers. However, there were simply too many of them. Even if they were currently weakened, they exhausted the defensive magic array''s energy reserve much faster than even the five Faux Saint Devourers had at full power. "My side can summon two Mythic monsters. We can use them in conjunction with the town''s weapons to defend against the assault at the front gate." "My side can summon two as well. With the strength of four Mythic monsters, we should be able to eliminate the pressure at the front gate. That way, we can send more Tier 3 experts to support the other sides. Then, all we''d need to do is find a way to distract those five Devourers, and we should just barely be able to defend Silverwing Town," Unyielding Heart said after giving the matter some thought. While Tier 3 players might not be capable of doing anything to the weakened Faux Saint Devourers, stopping the weakened Faux Saint Destroyers shouldn''t be a problem. This situation was much better than before, when ordinary Tier 3 players were utterly helpless against the Faux Saint Devourers. However, just as Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words reached an agreement, a clear and sweet voice suddenly entered their ears. "No need to waste your Tier 4 Summoning Scrolls. Leave the rest to us." Upon hearing this voice, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words turned reflexively to look at its origin, surprise and confusion flashing across their eyes when they saw its owner. This was because the voice''s owner was none other than Silverwing Town''s manager, Youlan. Currently, over a hundred Tier 3 experts from Zero Wing stood behind Youlan, every one of them at least Level 115. Many of them were even at the Refinement Realm standard. "This..." This scene rendered Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words speechless momentarily. While the 100-plus Tier 3 experts before the two were indeed extraordinary, they were far from enough to resolve Silverwing Town''s plight. After all, just the Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers attacking the town numbered more than 100,000, what more the Great Lord ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs. Besides, if these Tier 3 experts wished to stop the Faux Saint army''s assault, they would have to do it beyond the town''s walls and defensive magic array. Only Tier 4 summoned creatures could possibly go up against so many monsters simultaneously. Tier 3 experts would simply be charging to their deaths. However, before Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words could say anything, Youlan suddenly waved her hand forward. Immediately, every one of Zero Wing''s reserve main force members left afterimages as they split up and made their way toward the various sections of the town''s walls. After getting into position, they jumped off the walls without hesitation. "Have these Zero Wing members lost their minds?" The independent players fighting above the town''s walls gaped, stupefied, at the actions of Zero Wing''s reserve main force members. As for the various superpowers'' spectating members, they, too, could only gape in shock at this scene. In their opinions, Shi Feng was already plenty crazy. However, these Zero Wing members seemed to be even crazier. Even Tier 3 peak experts would not dare charge into a horde of Level 120-plus Great Lord and Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint monsters, yet these Zero Wing members, who were nowhere near the Void Realm standard, had actually done so without hesitation. What were they playing at? "Fools that are tired of living!" Thousand Eyes sneered when he saw Zero Wing''s members jumping off the town''s walls. The Faux Saint monsters might''ve had their Basic Attributes reduced, but their combat standards remained unaffected. Even the weakest Faux Saint Saboteur was not an opponent ordinary Tier 3 experts could hope to match. He could already foresee the scene of the Faux Saint monsters devouring Zero Wing''s members in the blink of an eye. In front of Silverwing Town''s front gate, just as Youlan was about to come into contact with the several Faux Saint Destroyers there, she suddenly took out two Summon Guard Scrolls from her bag and activated them. Two figures then emerged from the two dazzling summoning arrays before Youlan, one of them, an axe-wielding man with a tall and robust body and the other, a blonde woman wielding an aquamarine staff. The instant these two figures appeared, two frightening auras swept the battlefield. Every player on the battlefield shuddered in response. In the next moment, the axe-wielding man transformed into a tornado that blocked all the Faux Saint Destroyer attacks aimed at Youlan. In addition, the tornado sent several dozen Faux Saint Destroyers and over a hundred Faux Saint Saboteurs nearby flying over 30 yards away. In the blink of an eye, a clearing appeared before the town''s front gate. As Youlan landed, the blonde woman beside her also happened to complete her Spell. In the next moment, the battlefield shook as a gigantic rift up to 300 yards long opened up on the battlefield. Not only did the rift separate the Faux Saint monsters from Silverwing Town''s walls, but it also devoured several thousand Faux Saint monsters, which suffered over -5,000,000 damage each. All of this happened in just a brief moment. 2672 Just Stay Here Forever! Chapter 2672 - Just Stay Here Forever! "This Aren''t they a little too strong?" "What rank are those two Personal Guards?" The independent players present gaped in shock when they saw Youlan''s two Personal Guards clearing the area before the town''s main gate. Although the Faux Saint monsters had been weakened, ordinary Tier 3 Personal Guards still shouldn''t be able to handle them. In fact, even the slightest mistake could result in a Tier 3 Personal Guard getting killed instantly by the numerous Faux Saint Destroyers. However, with just the help of two Personal Guards, Youlan had easily repelled the 10,000-plus Faux Saint monsters in front of the main gate. This was simply unbelievable. "Two Dark-Gold Guards?" When Illusory Words saw the two Personal Guards standing beside Youlan, shock likewise filled her silvery-gray eyes. The feat Youlan''s two Personal Guards had just accomplished would be difficult even for a Tier 4 summoned creature. The only explanation Illusory Words could think of for this situation was that both Personal Guards were at the Dark-Gold rank, as only Dark-Gold Guards had the power to match Tier 4 Mythic monsters. However, in the current God''s Domain, let alone Dark-Gold Guards, even Fine-Gold Guards were exceedingly raremuch rarer than even Level 100-plus Epic Weapons. Despite being a super-first-rate Guild, Crimson Emperor had only six Fine-Gold Guards. As for Dark-Gold Guards, Crimson Emperor still had not obtained even a single one, yet Youlan actually had two for herself. What Illusory Words did not know was that only one of Youlan''s two Personal Guards was at the Dark-Gold rank; the other was at the Fine-Gold rank. However, the Magic King Craig Midlands''s special ability gave both Personal Guards a significant boost to their combat power. As a result, they currently possessed the strength to match even Mythic monsters. Nevertheless, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart did not relax at this unexpected development. In fact, their expressions further tensed up because the Faux Saint monsters that got repelled were charging forward once more. Moreover, they were attacking with even greater ferocity this time. In the next moment, several hundred Faux Saint Destroyers let loose an angry bellow before grouping up and executing Combination Combat Techniques on Youlan''s group. The might of their attacks rivaled a normal attack of a Tier 4 Mythic monster. In the blink of an eye, over 30 such attacks assailed Youlan and her two Personal Guards. As for the Faux Saint monsters caught inside the rift, they quickly climbed out of it and rejoined the army in attacking Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array. "Sure enough, just two Dark-Gold Guards won''t be enough to change anything. The strength of the Faux Saint army simply isn''t something current players can hope to resist." When the various superpowers'' members saw this scene, they sighed ruefully. Dark-Gold Guards were existences that could be obtained only through luck. On a battlefield, a Dark-Gold Guard could exhibit combat power far greater than a Mythic monster of the same level. However, that was only true against players. Against the Faux Saint army, the efforts of even two Dark-Gold Guards were negligible. After all, no matter how powerful a Tier 3 NPC was, they couldn''t one-shot Great Lord ranked monsters, much less Grand Lords. The Faux Saint army could easily pin down Youlan''s two Dark-Gold Guards with just several hundred Faux Saint Destroyers. Even if the two Dark-Gold Guards eventually annihilated these several hundred Destroyers, Silverwing Town would''ve long since fallen by the time they did so. However, just when the Faux Saint army was about to commence another round of attacks on Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array, silver summoning arrays appeared outside the town''s walls, one after another, over 300 in all. Figures then emerged from these summoning arrays. Immediately afterward, fire, ice, lightning, and wind started bombarding the Faux Saint monsters outside the defensive magic array. Boom Boom Boom For a time, a plethora of Elemental Mana inundated the Faux Saint army, and countless Faux Saint monsters screamed in agony, their voices echoing throughout Silverwing Town. "This How is this possible?!" When the various superpowers'' members saw the innumerable Faux Saint monsters outside the town getting sent flying one after another, their fists tightened involuntarily as shock filled their eyes. At this moment, over 300 Personal Guards stood outside Silverwing Town, every one of them exuding a frightening aura. It was obvious that they were not ordinary Personal Guards. Aside from the various superpowers'' members that were spectating the battle through their Magic Mirrors, the independent players standing atop the town''s walls were also gaping in shock, their minds frozen with disbelief. "This isn''t real, right?" Unyielding Heart suspected he was dreaming as he watched the 300-plus Personal Guards fighting outside Silverwing Town. As a Vice Guild Leader of Unyielding Soul, he had seen powerful Personal Guards before. However, this was definitely the first time he had seen so many Personal Guards of such high caliber. Although the majority of these newly appeared Personal Guards were weaker than Youlan''s two Personal Guards, they were still much stronger than ordinary Personal Guards. In fact, even the weakest Personal Guard present made Unyielding Heart feel powerless. Meanwhile, after Illusory Words saw the 300-plus Personal Guards, she could not help shifting her gaze to Shi Feng, who stood nearby. Is this the real reason behind his confidence? Every one of these 300-plus Personal Guards was stronger than a Grand Lord of the same level. At this stage of the game, it was unlikely that even the Five Great Super Guilds possessed such strength. It was no exaggeration to say that, so long as these 300-plus Personal Guards were present, Silverwing Town would not fall. While NPCs already possessed Basic Attributes superior to players'', after becoming a Personal Guard, they would gain an additional 10% boost to their Basic Attributes. Combined with the boost from the town''s magic array, these Tier 3 Personal Guards were far stronger than the town''s Tier 3 NPC soldiers. One could even say that Silverwing Town''s defenses were currently stronger than even that of Main City ranked NPC cities. After all, the NPC soldiers found inside Main City ranked NPC cities were mostly Tier 2 NPCs; only a small number were actually Tier 3 NPCs. The only advantage the NPC soldiers of NPC cities had over Zero Wing''s Personal Guards was levels. Meanwhile, although the Faux Saint army had an overwhelming numerical advantage and even possessed more than 100,000 Grand Lords in its ranks, Silverwing Town''s Magic Towers were extraordinary. Now that the Faux Saint monsters couldn''t attack the town''s defensive magic array effectively due to the interference of Zero Wing''s Personal Guards, they were nothing more than live targets for the Magic Towers and various war weapons. However, while Silverwing Town''s players were rejoicing over the strength Zero Wing had just displayed, the three heavily injured Faux Saint Devourers had consumed a few Faux Saint Destroyers and finally recovered their strength. They immediately leaped forward and regrouped with the other five Faux Saint Devourers. "Good! They''ve finally recovered!" Thousand Eyes grew ecstatic when he saw this scene. Previously, Shi Feng had caught them completely off guard and sidelined three Faux Saint Devourers before the fight had even begun. As a result, the Faux Saint Devourers couldn''t display their true strength. Now that all eight Faux Saint Devourers had regrouped, they would finally be able to display their true strength. In the next moment, the eight Faux Saint Devourers exchanged glances. After apparently coming to a tacit agreement, all eight Devourers hurled their spears at the defensive barrier before them. The eight spears then converged in mid-flight, their combined power so great that it crumbled the space around them and created a black hole, which transformed everything within a 50-yard radius into a field of nothingness. The power of this attack far exceeded that of the combination attack the five Faux Saint Devourers executed before. "Tier 5?" Illusory Words felt stifled when she looked at the void field the black hole created. The phenomenon the Faux Saint Devourers'' combination attack had created was known as Void Collapse, a phenomenon limited to Tier 5 attacks. Despite the debuff from Miniature World, the eight Faux Saint Devourers had actually managed to execute an attack that reached the Tier 5 standard. An attack of such caliber could give even a Main City ranked defensive magic array a run for its money. An ordinary NPC city''s defensive magic array would evaporate instantly when struck by this attack. Yet, despite knowing all of this, Illusory Words and Unyielding Soul could only watch as the Faux Saint Devourers'' combination attack approached Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array. After all, Tier 3 players or NPCs could not hope to stop such a powerful attack. The only thing they could do now was pray that Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array could survive this attack. However, just when the black hole was about to reach the defensive magic array, a man clad in extravagant robes and holding a pitch-black, wooden staff suddenly appeared outside Silverwing Town. The man then casually extended a hand toward the approaching black hole. A gigantic, aquamarine, threefold magic array promptly formed before this man and stopped the black hole''s advance cold. The man then flicked his extended hand upward, and the threefold magic array deflected the gigantic black hole into the distance. When the black hole touched the ground, it exploded and heavily injured all the Faux Saint monsters within a 50-yard radius. Moreover, these Faux Saint monsters also got trapped inside a void and couldn''t escape from it. "The attack got blocked?" Everyone who saw this scene was stunned. Thousand Eyes, in particular, nearly had his eyes fall out of their sockets. This was a Tier 5 attack! Yet, it had been deflected so easily. However, before anyone could snap out of their daze, the robed man suddenly waved his wooden staff. Dozens of black lightning arcs lashed down from the sky, bombarding the eight Faux Saint Devourers. As if a truck had hit them, all eight Devourers got embedded into the ground. Their HP bars also lost a visible chunk, their life auras weakening considerably. "This" Everyone was at a loss for words when they saw the eight six-meter-deep craters that had suddenly formed on the battlefield. The strength that was just displayed could no longer be described as powerful. It practically challenged their worldview. "Damn it! How is that Tier 4 NPC so powerful!?" Thousand Eyes scowled at the robed man hovering in midair. They had done their research on Craig Midlands, the Tier 4 NPC that protected Silverwing Town. This NPC''s presence was the reason why Saint''s Hand had not dared to approach Silverwing Town all this time. They had only done so after Shi Feng had riled up the Faux Saint monsters into attacking en masse. However, Craig Midlands''s strength was simply monstrous. The Magic King was basically casting Tier 4 Curses instantly. To top it all off, he was even double-casting Tier 4 Curses without incantations. "Commander, we can''t go on like this. If we continue fighting, I''m afraid that Tier 4 NPC will soon kill all eight Faux Saint Devourers. At that time, the Guild Leader will definitely fault us," the Level 115, Tier 3 Ranger standing beside Thousand Eyes advised hurriedly when he saw the Faux Saint Devourers becoming heavily injured. In front of the Magic King Craig Midlands, the eight Faux Saint Devourers couldn''t mount the slightest resistance. Their HPs were also rapidly decreasing; it was only a matter of time before their HPs hit zero. If not for Craig Midlands having his area of activity limited to Silverwing Town, he might even be able to annihilate the entire Faux Saint army single-handedly. "Relay my command. Have all of the Faux Saint monsters retreat," Thousand Eyes said reluctantly when he saw the Faux Saint Devourers'' HPs continuing to plummet and the Faux Saint army barely landing any attacks on Silverwing Town''s defensive magic array. They had lost. Moreover, they had suffered two consecutive losses. "Understood!" The Tier 3 Ranger nodded before hurriedly relaying Thousand Eyes''s command to the other Saint''s Hand members. Following which, Saint''s Hand''s members took out a strange crystal from their bags and started chanting an incantation. Immediately afterward, the Faux Saint monsters attacking Silverwing Town fled to the surroundings as if they had just received a summons. Upon seeing the Faux Saint army retreating, Silverwing Town''s players sighed in relief. Many players even cheered in celebration. After all, since the initial outbreak of the Faux Saint monsters, this was the first time players had achieved a massive victory against them. However, Shi Feng, who remained standing above the town''s main gate, did not show any excitement on his face. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward a distant forest. "Leave? Do you really think Silverwing Town is a place where you can come and go as you wish?" Shi Feng said. He then took out a Summon Guard Scroll from his bag and unfurled it. "Since you''ve come here already, then just remain here forever!" 2673 Frightening Tier 4! Chapter 2673 - Frightening Tier 4! As Shi Feng activated his Summon Guard Scroll, the players nearby immediately felt the ambient Mana density rise. They also felt the space around them stabilize, the Mana fluctuations from outside the town no longer reaching them. Immediately afterward, a middle-aged man clad in luxurious robes and holding a gem-studded staff appeared before Shi Feng. Although this middle-aged man did not have an imposing aura, when everyone checked his statistics, they were stupefied. Tier 4! Another Tier 4 NPC! "Crap! Just how much strength does Zero Wing have hidden?!" When the various superpowers'' members saw Versailles, they cursed out loud. It might''ve been fine if they hadn''t seen the strength of a Tier 4 NPC yet, but after Craig Midlands''s performance, they understood just how frightening Tier 4 NPCs were. There was simply no comparison between them and Tier 3 NPCs. A Tier 4 NPC could truly single-handedly turn the tide of a large-scale war. Now, it was revealed that Zero Wing possessed two Tier 4 NPCs. Moreover, both were magical-class NPCs. At this moment, everyone finally understood why Shi Feng had killed Thousand Eyes and his team without hesitation back then. If their Guilds had two Tier 4 NPCs as well, they most likely wouldn''t be afraid of the Faux Saint monsters, either. After all, the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was simply too massive, not one that numbers could make up for. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s words enraged the Saint''s Hand members hiding inside a forest several thousand yards away from Silverwing Town. "What arrogance!" "That''s right! It''s just an additional Tier 4 NPC! Black Flame must be dreaming if he thinks he can kill all of us!" "Let him remain arrogant for now. Let''s see how he continues remaining arrogant after the Faux Saint monsters grow and return after a while!" They admitted that they were no match for Tier 4 NPCs. However, Shi Feng had to be dreaming if he thought he could kill them all with just two Tier 4 NPCs. Setting aside the several thousand yards separating them and Silverwing Town, just the fact that the Faux Saint army stood between them meant Shi Feng would take ages to reach them. Expecting to keep them here was simply a fool''s dream. Silverwing Town''s players shared the same opinion. They also thought that Shi Feng was boasting. Even though the Faux Saint army couldn''t bring down Silverwing Town, it still held the absolute initiative in this war. The Faux Saint army and Saint''s Hand''s members could stay and leave whenever they wanted. Stopping them with just two Tier 4 NPCs was impossible. However, before Saint''s Hand''s members could finish speaking, Versailles waved his staff. Suddenly, the space before him shattered and formed a space-time vortex. Following which, Shi Feng and Versailles stepped into the space-time vortex and instantly arrived above the forest where Saint''s Hand''s members were hiding, quietly overlooking these players, who were preparing to retreat. "Teleportation?! How is this possible?!" Saint''s Hand''s members were shocked when they saw Shi Feng and Versailles above them. "Even this is possible?" At this moment, aside from Saint''s Hand''s members, the various superpowers'' members hidden in Silverwing Town were stunned, as well. A special energy enveloped the entire Orc Empire, preventing the use of all forms of teleportation. In fact, one couldn''t even summon Flying Mounts in the empire. Players could rely on only carriages and Land Mounts to travel around, which was common knowledge for players operating within the empire. This was one of the reasons why Saint''s Hand''s members were not afraid of getting killed. After all, even though Tier 4 NPCs could fly, it would still take them some time to cross a distance of several thousand yards. With the number of Saint''s Hand''s members present being over a thousand, so long as they split up and fled in different directions, it would be impossible for Versailles and Craig Midlands to kill them all. Now, however, Shi Feng and Versailles had teleported across a distance of several thousand yards. This was simply unbelievable. "Evacuate! Everyone, split up and escape!" Thousand Eyes yelled with an indescribably grim expression on his face, reacting immediately to Shi Feng''s arrival. Currently, the entire area around Silverwing Town was under the Soul Annihilation Curse. Any player that died within this sealed region would be subject to the curse. Naturally, Saint''s Hand''s members were no exception. In order to ensure the conquest of Silverwing Town, not only did Saint''s Hand sacrifice 1,000 Tier 2, Level 100-plus players and 100 Tier 3 experts, but it had also dispatched over 500 Tier 3 experts and over 1,000 Tier 2 experts capable of absorbing the strength of the Faux Saint Destroyers. If every one of these players got killed now, Saint''s Hand would suffer unimaginable damage. As soon as Thousand Eyes finished shouting his orders, he took out a Tier 3 Flight Scroll from his bag. This was an item that granted players the ability to fly for a short time. The Movement Speed bonus provided was also much greater than that provided by a Land Mount. This scroll was one of his most important lifesaving items. As for the other Saint''s Hand members, they promptly snapped out of their daze after hearing Thousand Eyes''s reminder and scattered in all directions, fleeing in a panic. If they died now, not only would their death penalties be doubled, but their souls would also be weakened for 15 days. Even Tier 3 experts could not afford such a penalty. After all, in the current God''s Domain, one would be eliminated from the frontlines just for stagnating a few days, what more 15 days. "You still think you can escape even now?" Shi Feng scoffed, his expression remaining indifferent despite seeing Saint''s Hand''s members fleeing in all directions. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a ripple of Mana spread out from Versailles''s body and instantly enveloped Saint''s Hand''s members, restricting their movements. In the blink of an eye, all the Saint''s Hand members found themselves immobilized. "This How is this possible?!" "What is that NPC?!" Silverwing Town''s players were stunned as they took in the scene displayed on the gigantic Magic Mirror hovering above the town. Craig Midlands''s earlier performance had already been plenty astonishing. However, Versailles was actually outperforming him. Those were over a thousand expert players! Moreover, many of them were even Tier 3 experts. Nevertheless, Versailles had rendered them immobile with just his Mana Domain. "Is that really just a Tier 4 NPC?" Illusory Words''s mind reeled as she looked at Versailles. The fact that Craig Midlands could heavily injure eight Faux Saint Devourers was already plenty amazing. Now, Versailles was even more terrific. Just by unleashing his Mana Domain, the NPC had subdued over a thousand expert players and gained full control over their lives. How could this still be considered a fight? This was basically a one-sided massacre. What Illusory Words and the others did not know was that Versailles wasn''t just an ordinary Tier 4 Great Wizard but a Tier 4 Great Wizard who had reached the World Creation realm. He could create his own world within his Mana Domain. Unless one was at the Tier 4 standard, they wouldn''t be able to resist his Mana Domain at all. In the next moment, Versailles swung his staff down at Saint''s Hand''s members. Immediately afterward, a crimson magic array with a 200-yard radius appeared in midair. It attracted all the fire-type Mana nearby, which coalesced into a fireball. As the fireball descended toward the ground, it continuously grew until it was the size of a mountain. Saint''s Hand''s members and Silverwing Town''s players all fell silent as they took in the fireball. For a time, it was as if time had frozen for everyone. "BlackFlame! Just you wait! You cannot stop the Faux Saint army! It is only a matter of time before the Faux Saint army destroys Zero Wing!" Seeing the descent of the gigantic fireball, Thousand Eyes turned to glare at Shi Feng like a maniac. At the same time, he also kept ridiculing Shi Feng for overestimating himself. "The Faux Saint army will have to be able to grow first in order to do that!" Shi Feng retorted nonchalantly to Thousand Eyes''s maniacal laughter. As soon as Shi Feng said so, the gigantic fireball landed and exploded. Boom! Endless flames instantly spread across the forest, incinerating every one of Saint''s Hand''s members. Along with the deaths of Saint''s Hand''s members, the originally retreating Faux Saint army went berserk. With bloodshot eyes, every Faux Saint monster on the battlefield charged at Shi Feng. "Let''s return," Shi Feng said to Versailles. Nodding respectfully in response, Versailles opened another space-time vortex and teleported back to Silverwing Town with Shi Feng. Only after Shi Feng arrived back at Silverwing Town''s main gate did the players there snap out of their daze. Everyone then turned to stare at Shi Feng in amazement. "He got the job done, just like that?" Looking at Shi Feng''s calm demeanor, it looked as if he had just taken a stroll through his backyard. Those were more than a thousand expert players! However, Shi Feng had simply trampled over them like they were a bunch of ants. With such strength in his grasp, even if the various superpowers'' Tier 3 experts banded together, they would be helpless to do anything against Zero Wing. Faux Saint army? It was nothing but a joke! Meanwhile, after Shi Feng returned to Silverwing Town, aside from the eight heavily injured Faux Saint Devourers that were still desperately trying to escape, the other Faux Saint monsters resumed attacking Silverwing Town like crazy. However, by this time, everyone understood that Zero Wing would definitely annihilate the Faux Saint army in the end. After all, even if the Faux Saint Devourers could escape the Magic King, they wouldn''t be able to escape Versailles. As for the other Faux Saint monsters, they were merely live targets for Silverwing Town''s Magic Towers and Zero Wing''s Personal Guards. Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon City, Fire Dragon Auction House: Currently, the upper echelons of nearly 20 superpowers had assembled inside the Fire Dragon Auction House. This was a gathering of unprecedented scale in the entire Fire Dragon Empire. At this moment, the Tier 3 experts of these superpowers had also surrounded the Auction House, preventing unaffiliated players from entering the building. However, despite being barred entry, a huge crowd of players, including the upper echelons of first-rate Guilds and top adventurer teams, still waited outside the building. Every one of these players was very concerned about the results of the alliance discussion this time. After all, this alliance discussion could very well change the power structure of the entire eastern continent. If they did not pay attention to the results of this meeting, they might end up getting eliminated from God''s Domain without knowing the reason. Meanwhile, inside the top-floor meeting room of the Fire Dragon Auction House Over a hundred Tier 3 peak experts or above were currently seated at a round table. The combined aura these experts released would deter even Domain Realm experts from messing around. Currently, however, all of these experts were looking at the woman seated at the head of the table with respectful looks on their faces. White Feather, who stood behind the chairwoman, leaned forward and said quietly, "Vice Guild Leader, the various superpowers'' upper echelons are all here." In response, Cold Shadow nodded and said, "Alright, let''s begin." 2674 Relayed Message Chapter 2674 - Relayed Message As soon as Cold Shadow indicated to start the meeting inside the large and spacious meeting room, White Feather stepped forward and swept her gaze across everyone present. Although White Feather did not say anything, everyone present promptly quieted down and focused their gazes on her, as they all understood that the alliance discussions were finally going to begin. "Firstly, let me thank everyone on behalf of Mythology for attending the Faux Saint alliance discussion. Although the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s invitees are unable to attend the meeting this time, due to special circumstances, the Pavilion has sent a representative capable of making decisions for the Guild. I believe it will not affect the implementation of the meeting results, so please rest assured, everyone," White Feather said from beside Cold Shadow. Upon hearing White Feather''s words, the various superpowers'' upper echelons present reflexively shifted their gazes to the white-clad elderly man representing the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. At this point, the sudden disappearance of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master and two Pavilion Masters was already common knowledge among the superpowers. However, everyone had always thought that this was due to an internal dispute between the two Pavilion Masters and that they would definitely show up for today''s meeting. Yet, to everyone''s surprise, despite today''s meeting being of utmost importance to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s continued existence, be it the Pavilion''s Great Pavilion Master or the two Pavilion Masters, none of them had shown up. Only a few Guild Elders and one Grand Elder represented the Pavilion at today''s meeting. This situation inevitably piqued everyone''s curiosity as to what had actually happened to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. "Since everyone is here, I won''t waste words with you all. Let''s address today''s main topic," White Feather said as she swept her gaze across the people before her once more. She then clapped her hands twice. A holographic map of the entire eastern continent appeared in the center of the round table. Although many areas remained blacked out as unknown territory, the map included every location known by players at this stage of the game. In fact, it even displayed some Level 120 to Level 140 neutral mapsplaces that most of the superpowers attending this meeting lacked the ability to visitin great detail. "What a detailed map!" For a time, the various representatives present gasped over the contents of the map. Detailed maps of specific parts of God''s Domain might not be rare in God''s Domain, but compiling all of them into one continental map was not an easy task. This was especially true for Level 100-plus neutral maps and forbidden lands. The various powers considered the information for these maps top-secret and rarely shared it with others. Now, however, Mythology had actually shared its valuable map information with the superpowers present without hesitation. This was an incredibly generous gesture. However, after everyone spent some time studying the map, they noticed a few surprising points. Certain locations on the map were marked in dull-gray and white. These locations were none other than the territories of God''s Domain''s various NPC dark forces and the recently appeared Faux Saint monsters. Mythology''s intel on the territories of the eastern continent''s NPC dark forces mostly matched up with what the other superpowers had, and these NPC dark forces were mainly based in Level 100-plus neutral maps. However, the Faux Saint monsters'' territory marked on Mythology''s map made everyone present doubt their eyes. "How did the Faux Saint monsters'' territory grow so large?" a gray-clad Assassin wearing Shadowless Empire''s Guild Emblem exclaimed. According to their information, the Faux Saint monsters'' territory should encompass only the Purple Thorns Kingdom, Star-Moon Kingdom, and the Orc Empire. However, according to Mythology''s map, the Faux Saint monsters were about to extend their reach into the 14 other neighboring kingdoms as well as the Black Dragon Empire and Dark Night Empire already. This was incredible. "Is this really the Faux Saint monsters'' territory? Is there some kind of mistake?" Besides Shadowless Empire''s Vice Guild Leader, the representatives of the Super Guilds Pride Empire, Sky Dragon House, Sacred Temple, and Nine Heavens Pavilion, as well as the representatives of the other superpowers, were stupefied by Mythology''s map. Although they had long known that the Faux Saint monsters were not easy opponents and would definitely pose a huge problem for the eastern continent, they hadn''t anticipated that the monsters'' development speed would be so swift. "Everyone need not doubt the validity of this map. It is the result of exchanging information with multiple Super Guilds. Moreover, this information is just a day old," Cold Shadow said. "I know many of you present find this hard to believe, but this is reality. This is also one of the reasons why I invited everyone present to today''s meeting." The Vice Guild Leaders of the four other Super Guilds present nodded, acknowledging that their respective Guilds had indeed traded information with Mythology. "A day old? Doesn''t that mean that the Faux Saint monsters'' territory is even larger now?" a Level 116 female Druid from the Moon God''s Realm''s Dark Pursuit asked. "That''s right. With their development speed, they should''ve come into contact with the borders of these kingdoms and empires already," Cold Shadow replied, nodding. "I''m afraid it won''t be long before their territory spreads to nearly half of the entire eastern continent. At that time, everyone present will not be able to avoid coming into contact with Faux Saint monsters." The representatives that remained relatively relaxed before could not help growing nervous at Cold Shadow''s words. Originally, they had come to this meeting merely to see if there were any benefits to be had. After all, they all believed that this meeting targeted Zero Wing. In their opinions, the matter of forming an alliance to resist the Faux Saint monsters was just an excuse. "Vice Guild Leader Shadow, since you''ve gathered us here, does that mean you have a plan to prevent this situation from occurring?" the white-clad elder from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion asked with a grim expression. The sudden disappearance of the Great Pavilion Master and the two Pavilion Masters had already dealt a significant blow to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Now, there was also the threat of the Faux Saint monsters. This development was simply a nightmare for the Pavilion. He had seen how the Faux Saint monsters destroyed Star-Moon Kingdom''s border cities. Although the Black Dragon Empire was strong, the Faux Saint monsters were growing stronger by the day. After they gobbled up Star-Moon Kingdom, it was only a matter of time before they did the same to the Black Dragon Empire. Upon hearing the white-clad elder''s words, the other representatives present promptly turned to Cold Shadow. They all wished to know the reason why Cold Shadow had gathered them today. "Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have invited everyone to come," Cold Shadow replied, nodding. Her lips curling up, she continued, "I believe everyone already knows by now how powerful the Faux Saint monsters are. It is simply impossible for us to stop these monsters from spreading their influence. Hence, before today''s meeting, I formed a partnership with Saint''s Hand''s Guild Leader." "A partnership?" Everyone perked up their ears at Cold Shadow''s words. The Guild known as Saint''s Hand was not foreign to those present. They also knew very clearly that Saint''s Hand possessed tools that prevented the Faux Saint monsters from attacking players. In fact, the Guild even had a tool that could surely prevent the Faux Saint monsters from attacking Guild Towns and Cities. However, until this day, Saint''s Hand had never shown any willingness to partner with other powers. The most it was willing to do was sell some of these tools at exorbitant prices. "The conditions of the partnership are very simple. All we need to do is collaborate to take down Stone Forest City. At that time, not only will Saint''s Hand sell us a stronghold barrier that can prevent the Faux Saint monsters from attacking the towns and cities the barrier is set up in, but everyone present will also get some of Stone Forest City''s shares as well as a number of residential slots in the Freedom Hotel," Cold Shadow said, smiling. When Cold Shadow finished speaking, the eyes of the various representatives present glistened. Even if Cold Shadow had not mentioned partnering to take down Stone Forest City, they already had plans to do so. After all, Stone Forest City was simply too amazing. What made Stone Forest City amazing wasn''t its location in a Level 100 neutral map but the city''s Freedom Hotel. After experiencing the Freedom Hotel''s effects, practically every expert belonging to the various superpowers wished to have their own room there. That way, they would be able to not only accumulate the Double EXP buff rapidly but also expel much more quickly the foreign energies corroding their bodies. Having a room of their own would drastically increase their leveling speed. Moreover, depending on the quality of the room one rented in the Freedom Hotel, one could even train in the Freedom Hotel''s excellent environment and achieve extraordinary results. At this point, the main reason why Stone Forest City was able to continue flourishing in Zero Wing''s hands was the Freedom Hotel. Otherwise, the city would''ve long since fallen due to Starlink and the various superpowers'' constant harassment. If they could secure Stone Forest City for themselves, not only would they have a better assurance against the Faux Saint monsters, but they would even gain residential slots in the Freedom Hotel. This was definitely killing two birds with one stone. "However, taking Stone Forest City down won''t be easy. Aside from the NPC Knight Division, quite a few superpowers have partnered with Zero Wing. Even with an alliance, I''m afraid capturing the city will be difficult." "That''s right. The Flying Ships are also constantly patrolling around Stone Forest City. If it really comes down to a fight, I''m afraid the number of Tier 3 experts we have is far from enough to capture the city. The Dark World''s failed invasion has thoroughly proven this point." "Moreover, I heard that Black Flame has already returned. His personal strength is extraordinary." Although many of the representatives present showed interest in Cold Shadow''s plan, some representatives also shook their heads and expressed their worries. The fact that the various superpowers desired Stone Forest City was old news. However, it was precisely because they were incapable of dealing with Zero Wing''s NPC Knight Division that they had chosen to whittle down Zero Wing''s economy in secret instead of taking direct action. Although Cold Shadow had brought this matter out into the open, the crux of the problem remained unchanged. "Black Flame''s return is indeed a problem, but he already has problems protecting himself. I believe you all should know about this. Moreover, aside from us, the Dark World''s various powers will take action as well. After all, their hatred for Zero Wing has never subsided. They merely lack the opportunity to take action. "When the time comes, the Dark World''s side will attack the Teleportation Gate in full force to lure Zero Wing''s Knight Division away, while our side will attack Stone Forest City. Even if the Knight Division is powerful, it can''t defend two locations simultaneously," Cold Shadow said. "Moreover, Saint''s Hand will take part in the attack. It will even bring some Faux Saint monsters to help. Those NPC Knights might be powerful when going up against players, but their performance will drop when going up against the Faux Saint monsters." At Cold Shadow''s mention of the Faux Saint monsters, the various representatives present sucked in a deep breath. By this time, the strength of the Faux Saint monsters had already been deeply ingrained into their hearts. These monsters simply weren''t opponents players could handle. If an army of them attacked, even NPC cities would fall, let alone a measly Guild City. Moreover, according to the intel they obtained, Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourers had already appeared in the ranks of Faux Saint monsters. Once these Faux Saint Devourers reached a certain number, even Main City ranked NPC cities were likely to fall. Right then, however, the various representatives present suddenly received message notifications, one after another, the synchrony of these messages making their arrival seem preplanned. Following which, the originally excited venue suddenly fell deathly silent. "Feather, what happened?" When Cold Shadow saw everyone sinking into a daze, she automatically turned to White Feather for the reason for everyone''s reactions. Just what kind of information did everyone receive that stunned them so much? "They lost! The Faux Saint army and Saint''s Hand''s forces that went to attack Silverwing Town lost!" White Feather exclaimed, her eyes filled with shock and horror as she looked at Cold Shadow. "Moreover, it was a tragic defeat. Every Faux Saint monster and Saint''s Hand member that went to Silverwing Town died." 2675 Change in Times on the Eastern Continen Chapter 2675 - Change in Times on the Eastern Continent After White Feather finished speaking, the heavy atmosphere inside the meeting room grew even heavier. For a moment, it felt as if time inside the room had stopped as the room became indescribably silent. "They lost? Moreover, all of them got killed? How is that possible?!" After snapping out of her shock, Cold Shadow felt that White Feather was kidding her. Either that, or there was a mistake in the information reported. The Faux Saint army and Saint''s Hand''s failure to destroy Silverwing Town was already plenty unbelievable. Now, however, she was actually being told that not only did the Faux Saint army and Saint''s Hand suffer defeat, but Zero Wing had even annihilated them. She would rather believe that Zero Wing had instantly destroyed a superpower than this nonsense. After all, over four million Faux Saint monsters had marched on Silverwing Town. Moreover, the weakest monsters in the army were Great Lord ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs. Even a six-man party led by a Tier 3 expert would need around ten minutes just to kill one of them. Even if every Faux Saint monster stood still and allowed Silverwing Town''s players to whale away at them, it would take ages for the players to annihilate the Faux Saint monsters. Meanwhile, it had been, at most, two hours since the Faux Saint army launched its attack on Silverwing Town. How could Zero Wing possibly annihilate the army in such a short time? Besides, the Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint Destroyers were monsters that would flee from battle once their high HP fell to a certain level. With more than 100,000 Faux Saint Destroyers fleeing in multiple directions, the players in Silverwing Town couldn''t hunt down every one of them, even if the number of players was multiplied tenfold. Nevertheless, White Feather and the various representatives present all revealed a bitter smile filled with self-ridicule upon hearing Cold Shadow''s question. They truly wished that the information their subordinates had just relayed to them was false. However, the report they received contained not just words, but numerous images and videos as well. In fact, the report was so detailed that they could not help but wonder if they were dreaming. Normally, even when relaying urgent information, their subordinates would send them only a few paragraphs of text. Now, however, their subordinates were behaving like diligent, hot-blooded youths. Just the videos they included in the report numbered over a dozen. There were even narrative texts accompanying each video, as if their subordinates were afraid that they would not understand the events recorded. In response to Cold Shadow''s question, White Feather did not bother wasting words on an explanation. Instead, she forwarded the report her subordinate sent her to Cold Shadow. When Cold Shadow finished looking through White Feather''s report, her entire person fell into a daze, her reaction not much better than White Feather''s and the others''. An impenetrable defensive magic array! Over 300 Personal Guards capable of overwhelming the Faux Saint monsters! A Tier 4 NPC guard capable of heavily injuring eight Faux Saint Devourers in a single hit! A Tier 4 Personal Guard capable of immobilizing and vaporizing over a thousand expert players with just a thought! Each piece of information was practically more exaggerated and unbelievable than the one before. If not for Cold Shadow being certain that Saint''s Hand aimed to annihilate Zero Wing and knowing that the Faux Saint army marching to Silverwing Town was real, she would''ve thought that Saint''s Hand had joined hands with Zero Wing to toy with her. Meanwhile, aside from the superpowers attending the alliance discussion, the various powers all over the eastern continent were also in an uproar. "So, this is Zero Wing''s true strength?" "Amazing! It''s no wonder Black Flame thought nothing of Thousand Eyes''s threat and even killed him directly. With such strength, who could possibly take down Silverwing Town?" "A Tier 4 Personal Guard? It seems times are going to change on the eastern continent." The various powers of God''s Domain had never thought that the Faux Saint army would fail to destroy Silverwing Town, much less suffer such an overwhelming defeat. However, rather than the Faux Saint army''s defeat, what truly shocked the various powers was the strength of Tier 4 NPCs, or rather their gross misjudgment of the strength of Tier 4 NPCs. Previously, although they were in awe of Tier 4 NPCs, it was only at the level of the awe they felt for Mythic monsters. Nowadays, however, the number of Tier 3 experts in God''s Domain was on a constant uptick. The number of Tier 3 Skills and Spells Tier 3 experts learned had also increased substantially. Tier 3 experts with fully unlocked Mana Bodies were also appearing one after another. Hence, expert players that possessed combat power approaching the Tier 4 standard were no longer as rare as before. In fact, killing Level 100-plus Mythic monsters had already become a normal occurrence for players in the current God''s Domain. Hence, no one felt much awe toward Tier 4 NPCs anymore. They all thought that Tier 4 NPCs were no longer anything special. At most, they were just slightly stronger than Mythic monsters and could play a relatively significant role only in small-scale battles, and not affect the big picture at all. However, after watching Craig Midlands''s and Versailles''s performances, the various powers realized that they had been sorely mistaken. Let alone being capable of affecting the big picture of God''s Domain, everything below Tier 4 was basically an ant before Tier 4 NPCs. The number of Tier 3 players or monsters that Tier 4 NPCs had to face did not matter. They could easily annihilate their opponents with a single wave of their hands. Previously, many of the eastern continent''s superpowers had felt gleeful over the fact that they had surpassed Zero Wing in the number of Tier 3 experts they possessed. In fact, their number of Tier 3 experts had grown so large that even Tier 3 Personal Guards would not be capable of stopping them. This was also why many superpowers had started having designs on Zero Wing''s Stone Forest City. However, after Craig Midlands''s and Versailles''s performances, these superpowers realized that their thoughts were laughable. Zero Wing''s main force had disappeared? Zero Wing was no longer as strong as before? Zero Wing was merely relying on its past prestige to survive? It was only a matter of time before the various superpowers devoured Zero Wing completely? What a bunch of nonsense. Every one of these assumptions was outrageously mistaken. Meanwhile, inside the Dark World, a commotion was also sweeping through the entire Otherworld due to the Faux Saint army''s defeat. "Amazing! After this blow, the powers that are secretly taking action in the Dark World will have to think twice!" Blue Rainbow balled her fists in excitement when she got to the end of her subordinate''s report. Previously, although Dark Rhapsody had managed to develop rapidly due to its partnership with Zero Wing, the pressure the Dark World''s various powers placed on Dark Rhapsody had also risen steadily. As a result, safeguarding the Dark World''s Teleportation Gate became increasingly difficult. To make matters worse, World Domination had also pulled off a huge comeback, using some unknown method to raise the levels and strength of its Guild members rapidly. It had also secretly allied with many of the Dark World''s powers and incessantly ambushed Dark Rhapsody''s members, inflicting significant losses on Dark Rhapsody. As a result, not only did Dark Rhapsody''s influence in the Dark World not increase, but it was even decreasing with each passing day. Recently, the various rumors of Zero Wing''s eventual downfall had even swayed the opinions of part of Dark Rhapsody''s upper echelon, which, in turn, shattered the Guild''s unity. Those senior members all thought that Dark Rhapsody would only be doomed if it continued partnering with Zero Wing and had suggested that the Guild partner with World Domination instead. However, with the appearance of a Tier 4 Personal Guard in Zero Wing, who would dare continue opposing Dark Rhapsody''s partnership with Zero Wing? Meanwhile, during the time Zero Wing''s various partners were rejoicing, the war at Silverwing Town had also entered its final phase. With the Faux Saint army annihilated, thousands of Zero Wing members were currently helping the various independent players tally their contribution in the war with excited expressions on their faces. Although the Faux Saint monsters did not drop any loot, they granted a lot of EXPeasily three or four times more than ordinary monsters of the same rank and level. This was also one of the reasons why many players still chose to operate in the Faux Saint monsters'' territory instead of heading for safer locations. Operating within the Faux Saint monsters'' territory might be very dangerous, but with how much EXP these monsters granted, so long as one did not die, one''s leveling speed would be at least two times faster than if one grinded elsewhere. After Silverwing Town successfully annihilated the Faux Saint army without sustaining any casualties, the EXP everyone got was through the roof. The Zero Wing members that had participated in this war had leveled up once on average, with the lower-leveled members even gaining two levels through this war. Their leveling speed was simply unprecedented. At the same time, Silverwing Town''s victory induced the players and adventurer teams operating in the other Guild Towns established within the Orc Empire to make their way to Silverwing Town, all wishing to develop there. In fact, there were many Tier 3 experts seeking to join Zero Wing as well. This situation overjoyed Youlan and Melancholic Smile. Currently, what Zero Wing lacked the most were Tier 3 experts. Due to Zero Wing''s main force members'' absence and the fact that most Level 100-plus Dungeons had a Tier 3 requirement for entry, Zero Wing had a very difficult time obtaining the rare materials available only in Level 100-plus Dungeons. The Guild could only purchase and trade for these materials. However, the various powers all considered these materials strategic resources and rarely ever chose to sell them. This, in turn, limited Zero Wing''s production of Level 100-plus weapons and equipment. Meanwhile, as Silverwing Town''s players were celebrating their victory, Shi Feng made his way back to Zero Wing''s Residence. He planned to log out of the game and get some rest. Previously, because he had killed another eight Faux Saint Devourers, he had gained another eight Soul Marks. Although none of these Soul Marks contained a Soul Array like before, they had refreshed his brain and triggered extraordinary activity. This definitely wasn''t normal for him, as he had been online for over ten days already. He needed to log off to rest and inspect his body. While waiting for the 30-second log-out process to complete, Shi Feng suddenly received a call request from Youlan. "Guild Leader, Mythology''s Fang Shihan suddenly visited the main headquarters. Our people couldn''t stop her and her entourage from entering the building at all. They''re currently in the main lobby, and she says she wants to have a discussion with you. She says it is related to Zero Wing''s future. Do you wish to meet her?" Youlan asked anxiously. "Looking for me?" Shi Feng was a little surprised by Youlan''s words. Smiling, he continued, "This is interesting. Have someone lead them to the top-floor reception room. I''ll head over immediately." 2676 Potential Elevated? Chapter 2676 - Potential Elevated? Zero Wing''s main headquarters, Shi Feng''s room: Along with the whoosh of high-pressure air escaping, the tightly shut lid of Shi Feng''s gaming cabin opened up. At the same time, the strip of warning lights along the edges of the cabin lit up crimson. "Sure enough." When Shi Feng climbed out of the gaming cabin and saw the cabin''s console interface listing all sorts of warnings, he could not help a sigh of relief. Although he had anticipated that his abnormal brain activity came at a price of extraordinary energy consumption, he never thought that the consumption rate would increase to such an extent. Before the war with the Faux Saint army began, his cabin''s Nutrient Solution reserve and emergency energy solution reserves had still been at 30% capacity. Now, however, these solution reserves were dry. In preparation for emergencies, Shi Feng had specifically outfitted his virtual gaming cabin with a special modification. Unlike the standard model, his cabin had an additional compartment that stored 20 bottles of energy solution, the effects of which rivaled those of A-rank Nutrient Fluids. These energy solutions would be used only when the normal Nutrient Solution couldn''t sufficiently quickly provide him with the energy his body required. He had never thought that both his cabin''s Nutrient Solution and emergency energy solution would be depleted. Not dwelling on the matter, Shi Feng promptly made his way to the nearby fridge and consumed a Life Potion, just in case. During the battle at Silverwing Town, he had relied on Versailles to kill all eight Faux Saint Devourers. When the Soul Marks of all eight Devourers entered him, his mind had entered a transcendent state. For a moment, he even felt omnipotent. It was as if his thought processes had shifted into overdrive. If other players encountered such a situation, they would definitely consider it a stroke of luck. However, Shi Feng, with over a decade of experience playing God''s Domain, understood very clearly the precondition for enjoying this fortuitous opportunitysufficient nutrients and energy to power his body. If he did not meet this condition, he might even lose his life because of this opportunity. After consuming the Life Potion, the slight burning and ache in his brain started to ease gradually, the incessant stinging he felt fading. However, as time passed, his recovery rate was also clearly slowing down. It was obvious that just one Life Potion wouldn''t let him recover all of the energy he had exhausted. The Life Potion had resolved only the immediate dangers to his body. Although he currently looked fine, in reality, both his mind and body were still starving. Sure enough, not having enough S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions is very troublesome. Shi Feng rubbed his temple in frustration. Although he had resolved his current problems, if he continued developing at this rate, the burden on his body would keep increasing. And to cope with this burden, he would need more S-rank Nutrient Fluids or Life Potions. Moreover, due to the incident this time, many of Zero Wing''s members would most likely require the help of S-rank Nutrient Fluids or even Life Potions to recover, as well. If Zero Wing could not acquire enough of these energy solutions, the Guild would have its development speed restricted and its growth potential reduced. For the current Zero Wing, Credits were no longer a problem. After all, Zero Wing had partnered with quite a few superpowers. The Guild could exchange Coins or other in-game resources for Credits with these superpowers. This was also the reason why Zero Wing did not face any financial problems now. However, S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions were a different story. As far as Shi Feng knew, only a limited number of S-rank Nutrient Fluids were sold every year, and the various international corporations monopolized over 80% of these S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Only a small number was actually sold to the public. This was why S-rank Nutrient Fluids sold at astronomical prices and were incredibly difficult to obtain. Shi Feng did not feel particularly surprised by this situation. After all, the S-rank Nutrient Fluid did not just possess powerful recovery abilities; it could also help maintain a person''s youth to a certain extent. Meanwhile, youth was priceless. As for the Life Potion, it was a new solution the Green God Company recently created. Not only was its value far above that of the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, but it was also much rarer. Despite S-rank Nutrient Fluid being rare, it was still possible for people without connections, like Shi Feng, to obtain some from time to time. However, the Life Potion was not available to the public at all. Previously, the fact that he was able to obtain some was already plenty fortunate. During the time Shi Feng was having a headache over the rarity of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, a knock came from his door. "Instructor Shi, they''re in the top-floor reception room already," Liang Jing said through the door. "Alright, I''ll head over now," Shi Feng answered. After tidying himself, he promptly left with Liang Jing and headed to the building''s top-floor reception room. Top-floor reception room: Currently, a man and two women were present inside the luxurious reception room that overlooked half of Fenglin City. Meanwhile, leading the group was none other than Cold Shadow, a Vice Guild Leader of Mythology. At the same time, she was also one of the outstanding talents among the Fang Family''s younger generation, Fang Shihan. At this moment, however, Fang Shihan did not seem to be here as a representative of the Fang Family, as the man and woman standing beside her were not members of the Fang Family. Although one would not be able to tell through external appearances alone, the woman standing beside Fang Shihan was the female Guardian Knight White Feather. While White Feather''s appearance in the real world was significantly different from her appearance in God''s Domain, the aura she exuded was exactly the same. However, what was most surprising was that White Feather was actually stronger in the real world than in God''s Domain. Although she was not a grandmaster martial artist, her aura trumped that of an actual grandmaster. If placed within one of the country''s top dojos or training centers, she would definitely be regarded as an absolute prodigy, yet she was actually unknown in the fighting industry for some reason. As for the man standing beside Fang Shihan, he was none other than Matt, who had previously visited the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center with Fang Shihan. Based on his aura, he was much stronger than before. When Shi Feng entered the room, the gazes of the trio promptly fell on him. Fang Shihan, in particular, looked at Shi Feng as if she was appraising an item rather than a person. "Miss Fang, long time no see. May I know what business you have with me to seek me out so urgently?" Shi Feng asked, going straight to the point. Previously, after he had displayed his strength as a grandmaster martial artist and suppressed Matt, both the Fang Family and Mythology had dropped all contact with Zero Wing in the real world. However, he also understood that this period of peace merely meant that his enemies were secretly making preparations for the next attack. After all, even an expert like Matt was merely an excellent disciple of Mythology, not one of the Guild''s bigshots or top-ranking experts. Otherwise, Matt wouldn''t have listened to Fang Shihan''s orders so obediently. "Instructor Shi, no, I suppose I should address you as Guild Leader Black Flame. May I know if I am correct?" Fang Shihan asked, a faint smile appearing on her face as she gazed at Shi Feng. 2677 Identity Exposed? Chapter 2677 - Identity Exposed? When Fang Shihan finished speaking, a moment of silence enveloped the entire room. "Black Flame?" "He''s that Black Flame?" Standing behind Fang Shihan, Matt and White Feather gaped at Shi Feng in incredulity. By this time, there was most likely nobody among the superpowers that did not know the name Black Flame. In fact, this name was even feared among them. After all, Black Flame''s individual strength was simply too astonishing. He had relied on his own strength to develop Zero Wing to its current scalea feat that had already become a legend on the eastern continentwhich made him an existence that countless players looked up to and worshipped. However, Black Flame''s identity was incredibly mysterious. Even now, nobody knew Black Flame''s true identity in the real world. Many powers and players suspected that Black Flame possessed an incredibly powerful origin and that the power behind him was even more mysterious. Some people even believed that, despite Black Flame''s in-game appearance, his actual age exceeded 35 already. He definitely wasn''t as young as he looked in the game. After all, it was possible for players to adjust their appearances when creating their game characters in God''s Domain. It wasn''t strange for someone to look a decade or two younger. However, Fang Shihan was saying that Shi Fengsomeone who was still in his early twentieswas the legendary Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Black Flame. This was incredible. Meanwhile, when Liang Jing, beside Shi Feng, heard Fang Shihan''s words, she couldn''t help tensing up inwardly. Shi Feng''s true identity was a core secret of Zero Wing that only the Guild''s core upper echelon knew. She was apprised of this secret only because her responsibilities required her to know about it. Zero Wing was able to develop to its current state due largely to the mystery behind Black Flame''s identity. Many superpowers had guessed that Black Flame actually had a powerful backer. Otherwise, he couldn''t have become so powerful. However, as the various superpowers were unable to uncover any information regarding Black Flame''s real identity, no matter what, they had never dared to take any drastic actions against Zero Wing. Now that Fang Shihan had discovered Shi Feng''s identity as Black Flame, the consequences for Zero Wing would be unimaginable. However, Liang Jing quickly suppressed the urge to refute Fang Shihan''s words. She knew very clearly that if she were to show any signs of panic or rebuttal now, she would only confirm Fang Shihan''s deduction. The only thing she could do now was remain silent and let Shi Feng handle the problem. As Matt and White Feather stared at Shi Feng, Shi Feng sighed. "That''s right. Miss Fang is indeed correct. I am Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame," Shi Feng said, nodding. Upon hearing Shi Feng''s acknowledgment, both Matt and White Feather goggled involuntarily, immense shock flooding their hearts. They never dreamed that Fang Shihan''s deduction was actually correct. Liang Jing also could not help growing anxious in this situation. She hadn''t thought that Shi Feng would come clean without hesitation. This was simply insane. "You''re actually not even going to try to refute me?" Fang Shihan was a little surprised at Shi Feng''s response. In her opinion, Black Flame''s identity was pivotal to Zero Wing''s development. The situation inside God''s Domain aside, just the various superpowers and corporations keeping a close eye on Zero Wing in the real world would be more than enough to land the Guild in serious trouble. After all, with Black Flame''s identity exposed, the various superpowers and corporations would no longer fear Zero Wing. "I doubt it would matter even if I tried to refute you. After all, I suddenly got stuck inside my virtual gaming cabin and lost contact with the outside world for so many days. With you constantly probing the situation inside Zero Wing''s main headquarters, it''d be difficult for me to avoid suspicion," Shi Feng said. Ever since he left the space-time maze, he had a feeling that his identity as Black Flame had already been exposed. After all, many of Zero Wing''s matters in the real world required his, or to be precise, "Shi Feng''s" approval and input to proceed. Be it in God''s Domain or the real world, Zero Wing''s management had fallen into a state where it lacked a unified command with both "Shi Feng" and "Black Flame" unavailable. It was very easy for others to suspect his identity in such a situation. "As expected of Guild Leader Black Flame. You were able to guess immediately why I suspected you to be Black Flame," Fang Shihan said, smiling. "Truthfully, if not for the unexpected incident this time, I would have difficulty confirming you''re Black Flame. After all, who would ever think that an unknown young man who just graduated from university recently and never received the standardized training of a superpower is actually an expert ranked within the top 30 of the God''s Domain Experts List?" In God''s Domain, any expert capable of ranking within the top 30 of the God''s Domain Experts List either came from a superpower or was an expert that had mingled in the virtual gaming world for several decades already. As for the young experts that were currently shining in God''s Domain, while their talent was part of the reason why they had managed to achieve their current success, a larger part of the reason was their powerful backers. Otherwise, how would they obtain the large amount of resources and training they needed to grow? However, what about Shi Feng? Despite his youth and lack of backing, he had managed to climb his way into the top 30 of the God''s Domain Experts List. In fact, he might''ve entered the top 10 already. Who could possibly believe this? Matt and White Feather fell into deep thought, pondering this situation. If not for their great trust in Fang Shihan and their knowledge of Fang Shihan''s personality and how she wouldn''t do anything that was unlikely to succeed, they wouldn''t have dared believe that Shi Feng was actually Black Flame. This was especially true for White Feather, who had personally witnessed Black Flame''s strength before. After watching Black Flame fight, White Feather was certain that he wasn''t some virtual gaming greenhorn. The ferocity and decisiveness that he had displayed in his actions, as well as his wealth of combat experience, was something not even she, someone who had been with Mythology for more than a decade, could achieve. However, she was now hearing that an unknown, fresh university graduate was behind the character of Black Flame. "Miss Fang, you aren''t here for only a small matter as verifying my identity, right?" Shi Feng asked calmly as he looked at Fang Shihan, who had a slightly excited expression on her face. "A small matter? Guild Leader Black Flame, do you know how much trouble Zero Wing will be in if the various powers find out about your identity?" White Feather could not help but remind Shi Feng when she saw his nonchalant attitude. "Even if Mythology doesn''t do anything, so long as we spread this information, Zero Wing will instantly be devoured by the various powers, leaving nothing!" If the various powers were to learn of Black Flame''s true identity, they wouldn''t stop at just harassing Zero Wing, yet Shi Feng actually placed no importance on this matter whatsoever. "Feather, that''s enough. I am indeed here for more than just this matter," Fang Shihan said as she gestured for White Feather to stand back. She then turned to Shi Feng and continued, "Since you are being so straightforward, I''ll just go straight to the point, Guild Leader Black Flame. By this time, I''m afraid I''m not the only person to have realized your identity. I believe it won''t be long before this piece of information spreads to the various powers, as well. When that happens, I''m sure you know what kind of outcome awaits Zero Wing." "What are you trying to say, then?" Shi Feng asked, a smile forming on his face. "Stone Forest City and the method to grasp the Spiritualization Realm!" Fang Shihan said. "So long as Zero Wing hands these two things over, Zero Wing will be able to avoid all those problems. Moreover, Mythology will also supply Zero Wing with some S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions. I believe these should be things Zero Wing urgently requires right now, correct?" 2678 Upgrading Silverwing Town Chapter 2678 - Upgrading Silverwing Town Liang Jing''s complexion paled at Fang Shihan''s demand. Setting aside the method to grasp the Spiritualization Realm, just handing over Stone Forest City would be more than enough to doom the current Zero Wing. Over half of Zero Wing''s current income came from Stone Forest City. Moreover, it was also because of Stone Forest City that so many experts were joining Zero Wing right now. It was no exaggeration to say that Stone Forest City was an integral part of Zero Wing. If they were to lose Stone Forest City, she could not imagine what would become of the Guild. However, if they refused to hand over Stone Forest City, Zero Wing''s situation wouldn''t end up any better, either. While Zero Wing might not face any problems in God''s Domain, it would be a piece of cake for others to ruin Zero Wing''s operations in Fenglin City from the shadows. "Guild Leader Black Flame, I know this isn''t an easy choice to make, but if Zero Wing lacks a sufficient number of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, wouldn''t it be difficult for the Guild to develop further?" Fang Shihan said, smiling. "I believe you, as a grandmaster martial artist, should know this very clearly." God''s Domain was different from other virtual reality games. The game helped its players develop their minds to extraordinary standards, particularly when players raised their tiers and they received huge boosts to their brain activity. This discovery had spurred excitement in many people. However, in exchange for this boost in brain activity, the energy players needed to sustain their minds and bodies also increased significantly. Besides the current Zero Wing, many superpowers were having headaches over this energy problem. Meanwhile, as a result of this situation, S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions had become extremely rare on the market. It might have been fine if the volume required wasn''t particularly high. It was still possible to purchase some of these energy solutions so long as one was willing to pay more Credits. However, after the required volume reached a certain point, one wouldn''t be able to purchase these energy solutions even if one had the money to do so. "You''re right. S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions are indeed the things Zero Wing currently requires the most. In fact, this problem is even more troublesome than the harassment of outside parties," Shi Feng said, nodding in agreement. After Shi Feng became a neutralizing grandmaster, even S-rank Nutrient Fluids were somewhat insufficient to maintain his body and mind at peak condition. Only Life Potions met his needs. There wouldn''t have been a problem if he was the only person who required these high-quality energy solutions. However, if he wanted the other members of Zero Wing to improve themselves further and have a greater chance of reaching higher tiers, then they definitely could not lack a supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. If Zero Wing could not secure a large supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions within a short period, even if the various superpowers did not secretly harass Zero Wing, it was only a matter of time before they surpassed Zero Wing. "Guild Leader?" Liang Jing was startled when she heard Shi Feng''s words. Stone Forest City was currently one of the few Guild Cities established in a Level 100 neutral map. If Shi Feng were really to hand over Stone Forest City, Zero Wing would suffer immense losses in God''s Domain. At that time, the leveling speed of Zero Wing''s Guild members would plummet. In regard to this situation, both Matt and White Feather smiled. "At least this kid is mindful of the situation. If he decides to sell Stone Forest City and the secrets of the Spiritualization Realm now, he can earn some money for them. If he waits until the various superpowers know his secret, nobody will want them even if he decides to sell them," Matt whispered. A neutralizing grandmaster would indeed be considered an absolute powerhouse in Fenglin City. However, experts of such caliber were only useful as a deterrent against ordinary powers, not against powerful major corporations. Not to mention, without sufficient S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, Zero Wing''s peak experts would have difficulty further developing themselves. After all, a lot of energy was required to maintain the accelerated brain activity of peak expertsenergy that A-rank Nutrient Fluids couldn''t provide. Hence, the various superpowers contested hotly for S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, driving up the rarity of these solutions. "If you have already made your decision, we can immediately close a contract, Guild Leader Black Flame," Fang Shihan said, smiling. "No, a contract won''t be necessary," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "I won''t be selling Stone Forest City or the method to grasp the Spiritualization Realm." Silence momentarily filled the room after Shi Feng spoke. Both Matt and White Feather gazed at Shi Feng in shock, wondering if he had gone crazy. Did he really not grasp the direness of Zero Wing''s situation? "Guild Leader Black Flame, you need to think this through clearly. If you miss out on this opportunity, we won''t offer you the same price next time," Fang Shihan said, a little surprised by Shi Feng''s response. "By then, the problems Zero Wing will have to face will be far greater than what you can imagine!" Currently, Mythology could be said to be Zero Wing''s only lifeline. This was also the reason behind Fang Shihan''s confidence that Shi Feng would not refuse her offer unless he really wished for Zero Wing''s downfall. After all, without sufficient S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, Zero Wing''s future would be bleak. "Thank you for your concern. If the various superpowers really wish to take covert action, I don''t mind teaching them what a one-way trip is," Shi Feng replied calmly. The current Zero Wing was no longer the same as before. This was especially true after he had become a neutralizing grandmaster. This was also why he did not particularly mind his identity getting exposed. After all, secretly dealing with a neutralizing grandmaster wasn''t easy. "Very well. Since you have already said so, we will take our leave first, Guild Leader Black Flame," Fang Shihan said. After seeing Shi Feng remaining unfazed by her warning, she no longer tried to persuade him. Instead, she stood up and left the reception room. After exiting Zero Wing''s main headquarters, Matt looked at Fang Shihan and asked, "Vice Guild Leader, are we really going to leave just like that?" The old instructor had told them to do their best to get their hands on the method to grasp the Spiritualization Realm. If they just left now, it would be much more difficult for them to obtain this method in the future. "Relax. Zero Wing won''t hold out for long. He might think that he has the power to protect himself after becoming a neutralizing grandmaster, but the superpowers aren''t as simple as he thinks they are. He also doesn''t know how crazy they are right now," Fang Shihan replied, smiling. "It won''t be long before he seeks us out himself. We don''t need to rush." "I guess you''re right." After giving the matter some thought, Matt nodded in agreement and dropped the subject. In order to secure the benefits available in God''s Domain, the major corporations backing the various superpowers were going all-out. To make matters worse, the present state of God''s Domain had pushed many superpowers to the brink of destruction. As a result, these superpowers were growing even crazier. One could easily imagine what those starving superpowers would do with a fat piece of meat like Zero Wing placed before them. After Fang Shihan''s group left, only Shi Feng and Liang Jing remained inside the top-floor reception room. "Guild Leader, what should we do? Once that Fang Shihan returns, she''ll definitely expose your identity to the various powers," Liang Jing said as she looked anxiously at Shi Feng. While Zero Wing had managed to retain Stone Forest City, a big problem now loomed. "It''s fine even if my identity gets exposed. They can spread it all they want. What we need to do remains the same," Shi Feng replied calmly. "What do we need to do?" Liang Jing asked curiously as she took in Shi Feng''s calm expression. "Earn money!" Shi Feng retorted, chuckling. Whether it was developing the Guild in God''s Domain or purchasing S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, these actions required money to accomplish. Without money, nothing would get done. Currently, it was basically impossible for Zero Wing to obtain additional S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions from its usual sources. Fortunately, he had the invitation to participate in Green God Company''s auction, which was also the only way for the Guild to secure a large volume of these high-quality energy solutions. However, with how desperate the various superpowers were for S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions right now, if he did not prepare a sufficiently large sum of Credits, he wouldn''t stand a chance in the auction. Hence, what he needed to do now was earn money. "Earn money?" When Liang Jing heard Shi Feng''s answer, she shook her head dejectedly and said, "I''m afraid that will be very difficult right now. Due to the constant suppression of the various superpowers, we have no choice but to obtain resources by ourselves. However, the resources we obtain are barely enough for our own use. We don''t have any surplus to sell. Moreover, Stone Forest City''s player population has also been decreasing because of the harassment. In addition, the Faux Saint monsters have already conquered nearly half of Star-Moon Kingdom. Our Guild''s income is decreasing by the day." "Relax. That is in the past," Shi Feng said, chuckling. After saying so, Shi Feng had Liang Jing send someone to replenish the Nutrient Solution for his virtual gaming cabin. He then did some simple exercises and had a proper meal before logging back into God''s Domain without hesitation. Once Shi Feng was back in Silverwing Town, he promptly called out the town''s interface and chose to upgrade the town. Shortly after, a system notification sounded in the ears of every player in Silverwing Town as they got teleported out of the town. 2679 Promotion Frenzy Chapter 2679 - Promotion Frenzy Orc Empire, Silverwing Town: After Zero Wing''s victory over the Faux Saint army, independent players started flocking to Silverwing Town from all over the Orc Empire. The members of many powers also came for a better look at Silverwing Town''s situation. As a result, Silverwing Town became incredibly lively for a time. As players crowded into Silverwing Town, a 20-man team entered the town in an orderly manner. The players who saw this team could not help gaping in shock. "What?! Even they have come to develop in Silverwing Town!?" Every member of this 20-man team was a Level 115-plus, Tier 3 expert geared in dazzling equipment. Even the weakest piece of equipment they sported was at Level 110, Fine-Gold rank. The two people walking in the lead were even geared in Level 100-plus Epic Equipment. This was an incredibly rare sight even among the various superpowers'' experts. However, compared to the levels and equipment of these players, what truly surprised everyone was their identities. This was because this team belonged to Frost Heaven, a superpower originating from the Frozen World, which had unified several of the neighboring kingdoms. Frost Heaven''s strength could easily rank within the top 10 up-and-coming superpowers. Due to Frost Heaven''s access to the Frozen World''s special Bloodline Legacy, many expert players were seeking to join the Guild. Unfortunately, its recruitment conditions were incredibly stringent. As a result, a large majority of the applicants were disqualified. Now that Frost Heaven''s members, who did not operate within the Orc Empire, had come to Silverwing Town, how could everyone not feel surprised? Although the surrounding players were quietly discussing Frost Heaven''s members, the Frost Heaven members in question paid no heed to the players around them, taking their time walking down the main street while observing Silverwing Town. "So, this is Silverwing Town?" a black-clad, Level 116 female Summoner muttered after inspecting her surroundings. Calmly, she commented, "While the town''s defenses are good, it''s still considerably inferior to the other allied Guilds'' Guild Towns. It is completely reliant on those Personal Guards to stay afloat." "This town is already quite excellent. At the very least, it has managed to stop the attacks of the Faux Saint army. It is worth recruiting into the alliance," said a female Cursemancer, who was similarly Level 116, bitterly smiling at her companion''s words. The Faux Saint army was something even ordinary NPC cities were incapable of stopping, let alone Guild Towns and Cities. Just the fact that Silverwing Town was able to defeat the Faux Saint army was already an incredible feat. After all, not every Guild Town possessed the Frozen World''s special methods. "While these Personal Guards are indeed strong, those Faux Saint monsters are no pushovers, either. Those monsters have already spread out to over a dozen kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire. With their growth rate, I''m afraid a large group of Tier 4 Faux Saint Devourers will appear in a few days. At that time, these Personal Guards will most likely have trouble fending off the Faux Saint monsters, much less taking the initiative to hunt down those monsters," the black-clad Summoner said as she shook her head. "Moreover, our purpose in coming here is to observe whether Zero Wing is truly qualified to join us in dealing with the Faux Saint monsters or not. We''re not necessarily here to recruit it." After all was said and done, Personal Guards could only be considered an external tool. The first reason for this was the incredible rarity of powerful Personal Guards. The second reason was the difficulty of resurrecting fallen NPCs. Currently, Silverwing Town might have a lot of players, but the town''s Tier 3 player population was pitifully low. "I guess you''re right. Zero Wing might seem to be flourishing right now, but it is actually in a very precarious situation. The Guild simply doesn''t know that Saint''s Hand has already partnered with many superpowers. Even if the Faux Saint monsters don''t take action against Zero Wing, Saint''s Hand can simply supply the various superpowers with the necessary support tools to thrive in the Faux Saint monsters'' territory, and in return, the various superpowers will do their best to suppress Zero Wing''s members. If Zero Wing does not possess enough players to fight for it, it can only hole up in its Guild Town and rely on the protection of its Personal Guards, unable to do anything more," the black-clad Cursemancer said, nodding in agreement after giving the matter some thought. Just like the Summoner had said, a Guild that could only defend and not retaliate did indeed lack the qualifications to join their alliance and become their partner. Meanwhile, as the Level 116 Summoner and Level 116 Cursemancer from Frost Heaven were conversing, a system notification suddenly entered their ears. System: Silverwing Town has been promoted to Basic City. You will be teleported out of Silverwing Town in 30 seconds. "What''s going on?" "The town got promoted?" The system notification stunned the players in Silverwing Town, their minds falling into a daze for quite some time as they stared at their notification windows. As for Zero Wing''s members, they revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces. As an Advanced Town, Silverwing Town had already been able to repel the Faux Saint army''s attack effortlessly. Now that Silverwing Town was getting promoted to Basic City, it would pose a much more difficult challenge for the Faux Saint army. Before anyone could properly react to the situation, every player inside Silverwing Town was teleported out of it. At the same time, a magic array enveloped the town. "How is this possible?!" the black-clad, female Summoner from Frost Heaven exclaimed as she gazed at the magic array veiling Silverwing Town in astonishment. "Setting aside Silverwing Town''s prosperity, its player population alone is still far short of the requirements of promotion! It should''ve taken the town at least another month to get promoted to Basic City! How could it get promoted so quickly?" Frost Heaven had ample experience in promoting Guild Towns and Cities. Hence, the team could tell that Silverwing Town''s defenses already met the required standard for promotion, but its player population was still insufficient. This was a condition that could be fulfilled only by gradually accruing popularity among players. Yet, now, Silverwing Town had actually gotten promoted. At this moment, aside from Frost Heaven''s members, even the other superpowers'' members secretly operating within Silverwing Town were stupefied by this situation. A third Guild City! Some superpowers didn''t even have three Guild Cities, yet not only did Zero Wing possess three Guild Cities now, but all three Guild Cities were actually established in strategic locations. This was especially true for Silverwing Town. After all, the Faux Saint monsters had already extended their sphere of activity to the dozen or so neighboring kingdoms, as well as the Black Dragon Empire. Due to the arrival of these Faux Saint monsters, many of the local maps had been transformed into high-level maps, with some even becoming Level 120 maps. In addition, since these kingdoms and empires would have to deal with these Faux Saint monsters, plenty of kingdom and empire quests would definitely be issued in the future. Through these points, one could easily predict that the players of the affected kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire would be operating in the Faux Saint monsters'' territory in the future. However, as these maps were originally at the borders of the various countries, there were hardly enough shelters or strongholds for players to rest in nearby. Since the Orc Empire served as a hub connecting the various countries, the future development of any Guild City there would be terrific. Meanwhile, shortly after Silverwing Town''s players were teleported out of the town, news of the town''s promotion spread like wildfire, quickly reaching the ears of the various powers and causing a frenzy. 2680 Silverwing City Chapter 2680 - Silverwing City Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon City, Scorching Flame Restaurant: As soon as Cold Shadow logged back into the game, she was greeted by the sight of a tall and beautiful woman standing before her. This woman was none other than White Feather, who had similarly logged back into the game not long ago. However, White Feather wore an indescribably gloomy expression on her face. "Did something happen?" Cold Shadow asked, a hint of confusion appearing in her silver eyes. "We just received news that Zero Wing''s Silverwing Town has been promoted to Basic City. Many of the powers operating around the Orc Empire are now heading toward Silverwing Town. They all plan to establish a long-term partnership with Zero Wing. Some superpowers are also considering doing the same," White Feather reported in a quiet tone. "Silverwing Town got promoted into a city?" Cold Shadow was a little surprised when she heard White Feather''s words. Realization then struck her. She smiled and said, "No wonder he rejected my offer without hesitation. It seems this was why he had the confidence to do so." "Vice Guild Leader, if Zero Wing really gains the protection of several more superpowers, we will have a much more difficult time obtaining the method to grasp the Spiritualization Realm. Why don''t we contact Saint''s Hand and have it warn off those superpowers?" White Feather suggested worriedly. Their superiors had given them only one task: to obtain the method to grasp the Spiritualization Realm. Everything else was secondary. If Zero Wing gained the protection of several superpowers in the real world, any superpower that wished to target Zero Wing in secret would have a difficult time doing so. "That won''t be necessary. So what if those superpowers band together to protect Zero Wing?" Cold Shadow said, smiling as she read the report White Feather forwarded to her. "Now that Black Flame''s identity has been exposed, Starlink won''t let this opportunity get away. Before I logged back into God''s Domain, I received news that the old fellow behind Lu Xingluo has finally lost his patience and is planning to remove all of Zero Wing''s roots in Fenglin City. With Zero Wing''s current manpower, it won''t be able to hold out for long. All we need to do is wait." Lu Xingluo himself did not possess any noteworthy skill sets. In fact, a large part of the reason why the Starlink Guild was able to develop to such an extent was the old fellow supporting Lu Xingluo. Even several superpowers working together wouldn''t be enough to stop that old fellow. Even in Mythology, only a handful of people could go up against him. "I understand. I''ll have someone keep a close eye on Zero Wing during this period," White Feather said, nodding. During the time Cold Shadow and White Feather were conversing, Silverwing Town''s promotion had finally completed. When the magic array disappeared, the town that previously sat atop a sand dune was no more. In its place was a magnificent city. Whether in terms of size or defensive standards, the new Silverwing City far surpassed the old Silverwing Town. In fact, even while standing outside the city, one could distinctly feel a dense stream of Mana flowing into the city from the surroundings. What astonishing Mana! Shi Feng was surprised when he sensed the influx of Mana into the city. Upon Silverwing Town''s promotion to Silverwing City, its core magic array had received a significant improvement. Due to that, as well as the city''s five Magic Towers, Silverwing City could practically rival Stone Forest City in Mana density. If players were to rest in Silverwing City, the effects they gained might not be as excellent as what they would enjoy when resting in Stone Forest City''s Freedom Hotel, but the result would still be quite excellent. It definitely wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call Silverwing City a sacred land for players to rest in. Due to the incursion of the Faux Saint monsters, many maps in the Orc Empire had transformed into Level 100-plus neutral maps. Normally, players would''ve considered this a matter worth celebrating. Unfortunately, not only did these new Level 100-plus neutral maps have very thin Mana, but due to the Orc Empire''s special circumstances, players also could not use Flying Mounts and Return Scrolls there. Moreover, there were still the corrosive foreign energies present in all neutral maps. As a result, most players were leery of operating in these newly created neutral maps. However, the appearance of Silverwing City in the Orc Empire could resolve many of these problems. At the very least, players would no longer have to travel to a distant NPC city to recover. In fact, players would enjoy a much faster recovery rate when resting in Silverwing City than in NPC cities. However, what truly excited Shi Feng wasn''t the change to the city''s Mana density, but to the city''s Airport. Originally, Silverwing Town''s Airport was only the size of a sports arena. However, after Silverwing Town''s promotion, the Airport received a massive improvement as well. Now, not only had the Airport tripled in size, but the number of Airship platforms it housed had also increased by severalfold. Now that Silverwing Town has become Silverwing City, I just need to spend some Coins to open up air routes to the various kingdoms'' capital cities. Once that''s done, players from the various kingdoms can travel directly to Silverwing City. At that time, just the income from collecting transportation fees would most likely rival the Freedom Hotel''s income. Shi Feng was filled with excitement and anticipation as he looked at the distant Airport. In the past, Airports had been one of the main sources of income for Guild Cities. After all, not every player possessed a Flying Mount or a private house in the various Guild Cities. Hence, the Airships became one of the main modes of transportation for a large majority of God''s Domain''s player base. Previously, Silverwing Town''s Airport was allowed to have only one air route. However, after the town got promoted to Basic City, its Airport could have up to five air routes. This number would also increase as the Airport or city got upgraded. Before Shi Feng could recover from his joy over the Airport''s transformation, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! Your Silverwing Town has been promoted into Silverwing City! The Transportation Firm has met the requirements for promotion to Bronze rank. Do you wish to promote the Transportation Firm? It has reached the Bronze rank already? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the system notification. The Transportation Firm was a very special construction. Its promotion system was completely different from that of ordinary constructions. Instead of requiring money or a Promotion Order, one needed to meet a set of conditions to promote the construction. In the past, powers that owned a Transportation Firm had generally succeeded in upgrading their firm to the Bronze rank only after their Guild Cities reached the Advanced City standard. And as far as Shi Feng knew, even the best-performing powers had managed to meet their Transportation Firm''s promotion conditions only after their Guild Cities had reached the Intermediate City standard. Now, Silverwing Town had just been promoted to Basic City, yet its Transportation Firm already met the conditions for promotion. Naturally, Shi Feng was surprised. Once a Transportation Firm reached the Bronze rank, it would truly gain the ability to drive a Guild City''s economy. After all, at the Bronze rank, the Transportation Firm would no longer limit its business to the country it was based in. It would expand its operations beyond the borders, becoming a hub that connected the neighboring kingdoms and empires. Even NPCs belonging to neutral powers would start using it as a hub. In other words, not only would it become possible to find merchandise traded by the various countries'' neutral powers in the Transportation Firm, but the Transportation Firm itself could even become a place where NPC merchants would develop their business. To put it simply, so long as a Guild City possessed a Bronze ranked Transportation Firm, the members of the ruling Guild would gain a significant boost in income. The Guild City in question would also have a much easier time becoming a Main City. Meanwhile, after glancing at the system notification, Shi Feng chose to upgrade the Transportation Firm without hesitation. 2681 Arrogant Zero Wing? Chapter 2681 - Arrogant Zero Wing? System: Transportation Firm can be reconstructed once after promotion at the cost of 40,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals. Do you wish to proceed with the reconstruction? (Note: Promotion will take place even without the reconstruction.) "Reconstruct it," Shi Feng said without hesitation. While Zero Wing''s funds were indeed tight, the Guild still had around 100,000 Gold and 400,000 Magic Crystals reserved for unexpected expenditures. And although reconstructing the Transportation Firm would not grant it any additional functions, there was one benefitaccommodating more NPC merchants to do business within it. If a Transportation Firm had more NPC merchants, not only would there be more quests available for players to pick up, but there would also be more merchandise for sale. Both of these factors would attract more players to develop in Silverwing City. As soon as Shi Feng made his decision, 40,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals vanished from his bag. Immediately afterward, the Transportation Firm, which stood at the edge of the city, transformed into a cloud of black mist that expanded rapidly, growing to the size of four sports arenas in just five seconds, then dissipated. When the black mist cleared, a five-story-tall building appeared in its place. While Shi Feng was quietly observing the reconstructed Transportation Firm, Youlan suddenly contacted him. "Guild Leader, we''ve finished setting up the city''s security measures. We have also set the entrance fee to ten Silver, as you instructed. We can open Silverwing City at any time," Youlan said excitedly. Previously, after news of Silverwing Town''s promotion spread, many players from the neighboring kingdoms had eagerly made their way over to take a look at the city. Based on rough estimates, at least two million players had camped outside the city. With so many players seeking entry, Zero Wing could earn a small fortune just by collecting entrance fees. Previously, Silverwing Town couldn''t collect any entrance fees since it was a town. Its main sources of income back then were Shop rentals and the Candlelight Trading Firm. Now that they could collect entrance fees from players visiting Silverwing City, the financial problems Zero Wing was currently facing would definitely be resolved. "Alright, open the city," Shi Feng said, chuckling. After receiving Shi Feng''s approval, Youlan promptly deactivated the magic array inside the City Lord''s Mansion that prevented outsiders from entering the city. Immediately, the opaque magic barrier enveloping Silverwing City shattered, and the city appeared before the eyes of everyone outside the city. The instant Silverwing City was opened to the public, the crowd waiting outside the city walls was dumbfounded. "Crap! How spectacular! Isn''t this city on the same standard as Stone Forest City?!" "The appearance isn''t the only thing that''s marvelous. The Mana radiating from Silverwing City feels just slightly inferior to Stone Forest City''s." "I''m just wondering how much the entrance fee will be. If it''s too expensive, ordinary players like ourselves will have a difficult time developing in Silverwing City." Everyone was curious about Silverwing City''s current situation. It might be fine if it were any other Guild City, but Silverwing City was the only Guild City in the Faux Saint monsters'' territory. Previously, Silverwing Town was already able to fend off an army of more than four million Faux Saint monsters as an Advanced Town. Now that it was a Basic City, the Faux Saint monsters would most likely be helpless against it for the foreseeable future. Hence, one could say that Silverwing City was currently the safest location within the Faux Saint monsters'' territory. Meanwhile, safety was the number one priority of both ordinary players and experts. At this stage of the game, many players would fall into despair over even a single death. After all, after reaching Level 100 and beyond, not only did leveling up become much more difficult, but Level 100-plus equipment was also incredibly precious. Losing a single piece of Level 100-plus equipment would set a player back by days or even weeks. However, after the gathered players lined up at Silverwing City''s main gate, they were stupefied by what they saw. "An entrance fee of ten Silver? Is Zero Wing insane?" the black-clad, female Summoner from Frost Heaven exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock as she looked at the Tier 3 Personal Guards collecting the entrance fee. Currently, Guild Cities located in neutral maps generally charged players an entrance fee of only two Silver. While it was reasonable for Silverwing City''s entrance fee to be a little more expensive, as it was the only Guild City in the Faux Saint monsters'' territory, a ten-Silver entrance fee was five times the going rate! Moreover, the map Silverwing City sat on was not very high-leveled. Even after the transformation due to the Faux Saint monsters, the map had only been upgraded into a Level 80 neutral map, not a Level 100-plus neutral map. If players wished to head to Level 100-plus neutral maps to grind, they would still need to travel quite a distance. Hence, Silverwing City could, at best, be considered a transit station and resting place. Players didn''t need to stop by the city to grind in the Orc Empire''s Level 100-plus maps. The female Summoner from Frost Heaven wasn''t the only person stunned by Silverwing City''s exorbitant entrance fee; the various superpowers'' members that were planning to enter the city were too. They could not help suspecting that Zero Wing had gone crazy for money. Originally, there were already very few players willing to operate within the Faux Saint monsters'' territory. After all, the Faux Saint monsters only allowed players to level up faster. They did not drop any weapons or equipment, and the Coins and materials they dropped were inferior compared to the loot from other monsters. Not to mention, operating within the territory of Faux Saint monsters was much more dangerous than operating elsewhere. While a ten-Silver entrance fee wouldn''t be much of a problem for Tier 3 experts, it was a huge expenditure for Tier 2 players. If Zero Wing insisted on a ten-Silver entrance fee for Silverwing City, hardly any Tier 2 players would be willing to visit the city. Meanwhile, just how many Tier 3 experts were there in God''s Domain right now? "Crap! Does Zero Wing take us for fools?!" "Zero Wing really has gotten arrogant! A ten-Silver entrance fee? Does Zero Wing really think we need to develop in the Orc Empire?" A large number of Tier 2 players complained about Silverwing City''s entrance fee, some even ranting in rage. Previously, they could continue operating within the Faux Saint monsters'' territory only because it did not cost any money to enter Silverwing Town. By collecting a ten-Silver entrance fee now, Zero Wing was basically chasing Tier 2 players like themselves away from Silverwing City. In the meantime, a heavy atmosphere shrouded a 1,000-man team standing some distance away from Silverwing City''s main gate. "Vice Commander, an entrance fee of 10 Silver is simply too much. If we have to pay such a fee, after deducting all our daily expenses, our Tier 2 brothers will earn almost nothing. I suggest we head somewhere else to develop. It is simply impossible for us to continue developing in Silverwing City," a Level 107, Tier 2 Berserker said as he looked at Solid Wind. "I truly did not think that Zero Wing would be so ruthless. We should''ve followed suit with the other adventurer teams and headed to one of the kingdoms or the Dark Night Empire to develop," a Level 113, Tier 3 male Elementalist grumbled. "Wind, this price is indeed too high. We can''t afford it in the long term. Why don''t we head to the Dark Night Empire and take a look there? I heard that there are Guild Cities established in Level 100-plus neutral maps there as well. Moreover, those cities are also collecting a ten-Silver entrance fee," Crazed Bull suggested. Many other members of the Blood Pact adventurer team nodded their heads in agreement. Compared to paying ten Silver to Zero Wing for no good reason, it would be much better to spend that ten Silver in a Guild City located in a Level 100 neutral map. They would definitely gain a much better harvest there than in the Orc Empire. "Alright, then. However, we still have some quests we need to turn in," Solid Wind said, sighing. "Bull, you and a few others will follow me inside. Everyone else, wait outside." The other Blood Pact members nodded in acknowledgment of Solid Wind''s instructions. Aside from Blood Pact, the other adventurer teams made similar decisions, delegating the submission of their completed quests in the city to a handful of Tier 3 experts while planning to leave the Orc Empire entirely or head to one of the Guild Towns to continue developing within the empire. Following which, despite the large number of players gathered outside Silverwing City, only a small number of Tier 3 experts actually entered the city. 2682 Madness-inducing Silverwing City Chapter 2682 - Madness-inducing Silverwing City As the various powers'' and adventurer teams'' Tier 3 experts entered Silverwing City, the relatively empty streets of the city grew crowded. "Sure enough, the city became much bigger after getting promoted. The density of the ambient Mana also increased by a lot. It''s a pity that the entrance fee is too high. If it were five Silver instead, the neighboring kingdoms'' players would most likely pour in," Crazed Bull sighed as he looked at the streets teeming with NPCs. If possible, he really wished to continue his development in Silverwing City. Unfortunately, the entrance fee of ten Silver was simply unaffordable for ordinary Tier 2 experts. After all, many players would most likely enter Silverwing City multiple times a day since Tier 2 players weren''t as resistant to the foreign energies in Level 100-plus neutral maps as Tier 3 players were. They could survive in Level 100-plus neutral maps for only a few hours per trip. Fortunately, Tier 2 players recovered from these foreign energies very quickly, so they generally could make two or three trips to Level 100-plus neutral maps per day. However, each additional trip meant they had to pay another ten Silver Coins to enter Silverwing City. Originally, earning money was already a difficult task in the Faux Saint monsters'' territory. Paying an additional 20 or 30 Silver per day would be onerous on Tier 2 players'' finances. After all, Tier 2 players had plenty of other expenditures they needed to cover: training, repair fees, lodgings, food, and beverages. Moreover, if a Tier 2 player wished to reach Tier 3, they needed excellent equipment and powerful Tier 2 Skills and Spells. In order to earn money, some Tier 2 players would even invest a significant portion of their time grinding for materials in lower-leveled maps, which, in turn, caused their levels to lag. Currently, only Tier 3 experts could afford Silverwing City''s ten-Silver entrance fee. However, how rare were Tier 3 experts? Not to mention, with the abilities of Tier 3 experts, they had their choice of leveling grounds. They didn''t need to remain in the Orc Empire. The other Tier 3 experts of Blood Pact bobbed their heads in agreement with Crazed Bull''s words. They felt that Zero Wing was basically chasing away players from Silverwing City. With this, the several Guild Towns established in the Orc Empire would flourish while Zero Wing would have only an empty Guild City. After conversing for some time, Blood Pact''s members made their way to the Transportation Firm to turn in their completed quests. However, Crazed Bull and the others were stunned to see the massive Transportation Firm, which could easily fit four sports arenas. "What''s going on?" "What did Zero Wing do?" The current Transportation Firm was on a completely different level than the one before. There was also an unbelievably large number of NPCs entering and leaving the building. Previously, there would usually be only a few dozen NPCs entering and leaving the building at any time. Now, however, not only had this number increased beyond 200, but many of these NPCs were even nobles or people of neutral races. This was a rare sight. Before Crazed Bull and the others could react to this situation, several teams of Tier 3 experts walked out of the Transportation Firm one after another, every player on these teams wearing ecstatic looks on their faces. Moreover, every one of these teams had either a luxuriously dressed NPC noble or a neutral NPC following behind them. It was obvious that these teams had picked up a quest commissioned by these NPCs. "Am I dreaming? Why are there so many quests from NPC nobles and neutral NPCs?" Crazed Bull rubbed his eyes in doubt at the scene before him. Normally, a quest commissioned by an NPC noble or a neutral NPC would appear in the Transportation Firm only once a day or every few days. Meanwhile, every one of these quests could spark a frenzy among the various top adventurer teams and large Guilds. The reason for this was the minimum difficulty rating for these quests, which was three-star advanced. Not only could players obtain a large amount of Coins and Contribution Points by completing these quests, but they also had a fixed chance of receiving Level 100-plus, top-tier weapons and equipment or Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books. Moreover, even if players weren''t lucky and didn''t get any of these bonus items, the monetary reward would be enough for players to purchase a piece of relatively good Level 100-plus equipment for themselves. Hence, many adventurer teams secretly fought over these quests. Now, however, multiple teams had actually managed to pick up such a quest. Crazed Bull couldn''t believe his eyes. "Quick! We need to hurry inside and take a look!" Solid Wind barked after snapping out of her daze. Upon hearing Solid Wind''s words, the other Blood Pact members nodded and charged into the building. They wanted to know what exactly had happened to the Transportation Firm for there to be so many three-star advanced quests. When Solid Wind and the others entered the Transportation Firm, they were stupefied at the scene before them. Inside the Transportation Firm''s spacious lobby, long queues of NPC merchants snaked in front of the reception desks. At a glance, these NPCs easily numbered more than 5,000. Moreover, many of these NPCs were even NPC nobles and neutral NPCs. The gigantic, translucent quest crystal hovering in the center of the lobby actually displayed numerous three-star advanced quests. The top few entries of the list were even four-star quests, something they had never seen before. Delivery to the Black Dragon Empire''s Border Fortress Frett: Difficulty - four-star. Requirement - Tier 3. Team must have at least one person that has completed 10 three-star advanced quests and 20 three-star quests. All other members must have completed at least 10 three-star quests. Remuneration - 50 Gold and 3,000 Contribution Points. Additional rewards unknown. Recruiting 50 people. Delivery to the neutral zone Silent City: Difficulty - four-star. Requirement - Tier 3. Team must have at least one person that has completed 12 three-star advanced quests. All other members must have completed at least 5 three-star quests. Remuneration - 60 Gold, 2,000 Contribution Points, and an Elf''s Gift (15% chance to obtain a Dark-Gold item of the same level, 25% chance to obtain a Fine-Gold item of the same level. Recruiting 100 people. When the eyes of Solid Wind and the other Blood Pact members landed on the rewards of the four-star quests, they wished they could accept these quests immediately. Setting aside the additional rewards, just the Coins and Contribution Points these quests awarded were more than enough to make Tier 3 experts like themselves go crazy. "Bull, log out and contact the commander! Have the commander negotiate with the other adventurer teams! We need to secure these four-star quests before the others do!" Solid Wind said urgently. It was impossible for an individual adventurer team to take on a four-star quest. At least two adventurer teams'' worth of Tier 3 experts would be needed to challenge a four-star quest. However, if they could complete a four-star quest, they would raise Blood Pact''s overall strength by a small margin. "Alright, logging out now," Crazed Bull said as he hurriedly clicked the "Log Out" button. As for Solid Wind and the others, they promptly contacted the other Blood Pact members outside the city and had them come to the Transportation Firm right away. Their excitement was palpable to the other players around them. However, none of the surrounding players found the reactions of Blood Pact''s members surprising at all. After all, Blood Pact wasn''t the only group aiming for the four-star quests. The members of other adventurer teams and Guilds that had visited the Transportation Firm earlier had reacted in a similar fashion. They all either notified their superiors about the Transportation Firm or had their other companions rush to the Transportation Firm. For a time, large numbers of the Tier 2 players camped outside Silverwing City thronged to the city''s main gate with bloodshot eyes. In the blink of an eye, the main gate swarmed with players. If not for everyone fearing the Personal Guards stationed by the gate, they would''ve most likely started a fight to enter the city. Meanwhile, when the black-clad Summoner from Frost Heaven, who had already entered the city, saw the disturbance at the gate, she was stunned. "What''s going on?" 2683 Crimson-eyed Sword Saints Legacy Chapter 2683 - Crimson-eyed Sword Saint''s Legacy At this moment, the female Summoner from Frost Heaven wasn''t the only person surprised by the sudden turn of events at Silverwing City''s main gate. The Tier 3 experts who had just entered the city were similarly stunned to see the mob of Tier 2 players desperately trying to get in. "Have these people lost their minds?" For current Tier 2 players, a ten-Silver entrance fee was a significant expenditure. Not to mention, just a short while ago, these Tier 2 players were still complaining about the expensive entrance fee and hoping to see Silverwing City flop. Now, however, these same Tier 2 players were desperately trying to get the NPCs stationed at the gate to take their money, their bloodshot eyes making it seem as if they would start a fight if the NPCs refused to take their money. However, before the Tier 3 experts standing before the city gate could properly process the situation, batch after batch of Tier 2 players rushed into the city, their numbers simply staggering. As soon as these Tier 2 players got past the gate, they dashed toward Silverwing City''s Transportation Firm like a pack of cheetahs, expressions of ecstasy writ large on their faces. "What did Zero Wing do?" The female Summoner from Frost Heaven could not help her confusion when she saw the various powers'' and adventurer teams'' Tier 2 members running past her toward a distant corner of the city. Just a moment ago, the players had clearly given up on Silverwing City because of its exorbitant entrance fee. Now, however, players were jostling to enter the city. Moreover, there did not seem to be an end to the stream of players pouring in. At this rate, Zero Wing would become filthy rich just from the entrance fees of Silverwing City. "These people seem to be rushing toward the Transportation Firm. Something must''ve changed there," the female Cursemancer standing beside the Summoner said as she looked at the direction the crowd of players was taking. "The Transportation Firm?" The female Summoner found her companion''s words a little hard to believe. She simply couldn''t figure out what kind of changes the Transportation Firm could have undergone to provoke such a frantic reaction from so many Tier 2 players. However, the female Summoner did not put too much thought into the matter. Instead, she and her team followed the crowd to the Transportation Firm. When Frost Heaven''s members arrived inside the crowded Transportation Firm''s lobby, their eyes widened involuntarily in shock, every one of them at a loss for words. Just by doing one Delivery Quest, every player involved could get a monetary reward of 60 Gold, as well as other rewards. This was an income even Tier 3 peak experts like themselves were incapable of earning within one or two days, yet there were actually six of such Delivery Quests available. Moreover, aside from the six four-star quests, there were a ton of three-star advanced quests, which similarly granted lucrative rewards that could match the total daily income of Tier 3 peak experts like themselves. If they focused on grinding and making money for an entire day, not only would they have to sacrifice a large amount of their training time, but the income they generated would also be limited to Coins. They wouldn''t receive any weapons or equipment. However, the three-star advanced quests granted a large amount of Coins upon completionas well as Contribution Points and top-tier weapons and equipment. Doing these Delivery Quests was even more lucrative than raiding super-large-scale Team Dungeons. With how low the drop-rate was in Team Dungeons, there definitely wouldn''t be enough weapons and equipment dropped for everyone in the team. Moreover, there was also the problem of class compatibility. On the other hand, every player that took part in the Delivery Quests would have a considerably high chance of obtaining a top-tier weapon or equipment that suited their class. One could say that, so long as players kept doing these three-star advanced Delivery Quests, their income, EXP gain, and equipment acquisition rate would already rival those of Tier 3 peak experts. "It''s no wonder these people reacted so crazily. I truly underestimated Zero Wing. With these tempting quests, let alone a ten-Silver entrance fee, even if the fee were 20 Silver, there would still be a ton of players seeking to develop in Silverwing City," the black-clad Summoner commented as realization dawned upon her. Since even a Tier 3 peak expert like herself felt tempted by the Delivery Quests available in the Transportation Firm, the attraction the firm held for Tier 2 players and ordinary Tier 3 experts was easy to imagine. "Muxin, I just relayed this information to the Guild Leader. The Guild Leader says we can proceed with the partnership," the female Cursemancer said. "Isn''t the Guild Leader being too hasty? Although the Transportation Firm''s quests and Silverwing City''s defenses will ensure the city''s future as the trade hub of the Orc Empire and the neighboring kingdoms, it still won''t be easy for Zero Wing to take the initiative to strike back at the Faux Saint monsters. Zero Wing won''t be of any help to our alliance at all. At best, we can only use its Silverwing City as a resting spot," the female Summoner named Muxin said, frowning. Zero Wing''s Transportation Firm was indeed amazing, but the alliance Frost Heaven formed was no ordinary existence, either. Anyone who became a member of the alliance would gain benefits beyond what they could normally get from partnering with ordinary superpowers. This was also why she and her team had come to observe Zero Wing and verify its qualifications. "Are we still going, then?" the female Cursemancer asked as she looked at Muxin. Aside from being a Domain Realm expert and a Vice Guild Leader of Frost Heaven, Muxin was also the heiress of the Boulder Corporation, a top-ranking international corporation that stood above even the Starline Corporation. Since the Boulder Corporation supplied more than half of Frost Heaven''s resources, Muxin''s standing in the Guild was not at all lower than the Guild Leader''s. Hence, the Guild Leader had to take Muxin''s opinion into heavy consideration on important matters. "Since the Guild Leader has already said so, let''s go take a look first. If Zero Wing really has the potential and strength to fight the Faux Saint monsters, letting it join the alliance isn''t exactly impossible," Muxin said after giving the matter some thought. "However, if I find Zero Wing wanting, then we''ll have to choose another target to recruit." "I''ll get in touch with Zero Wing now, then," the female Cursemancer said with a sigh of relief at Muxin''s answer. In her opinion, Silverwing City''s potential was truly massive. Even without Frost Heaven''s help, the city would still flourish. In fact, it might even become an integral location for the alliance''s fight against the Faux Saint monsters in the future. However, if Muxin was really opposed to Zero Wing''s joining the alliance, then even the Guild Leader would have difficulty persuading her. While Muxin and the others were conversing, news regarding the Transportation Firm also spread quickly. As a result, many of the powers heading back to their respective kingdoms promptly did a U-turn, with some even planning to make Silverwing City a long-term headquarters of theirs. As Silverwing City''s player population was booming, Shi Feng finished accepting the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint''s Legacy. "Sure enough, breaking through the limits of the Epic Mana Body isn''t that easy." Shi Feng breathed out a deep sigh as he looked at the shattered Memory Crystal in his hand. Originally, he thought that with the effects of the eight Soul Marks and the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint''s Legacy, he could instantly break the shackles of his Epic Mana Body. Unfortunately, things didn''t work out as he planned, leaving him still one step shy of a breakthrough. Although he had long since known that it was much more difficult to break through the limits of an Epic Mana Body than it was for a Gold Mana Body, he never thought that the difficulty would be this high. Despite relying on the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint''s and Heavenly Blue Saint''s experiences, no matter how he tweaked the circulation of Mana in his Mana Body, he still couldn''t surpass the perfect state. Of course, that didn''t mean Shi Feng had gained absolutely nothing from the Crimson-eyed Sword Saint''s guidance. By relying on Elvoze''s experiences and techniques, he could now circulate the Mana inside his body 20% faster than before. For other players, such an improvement wouldn''t yield any significant effects. However, for someone like Shi Feng, who possessed a natural Domain, it was akin to a 20% boost to his reaction speeda massive improvement. Moreover, his Mana Domain had also become much denser and more solid. If Shi Feng were to go up against a Faux Saint Devourer now, he was confident he could beat the living daylights out of the Mythic monster without even resorting to his Mana Technique and Black Dragon''s Soul. At this time, Youlan suddenly called Shi Feng and said, "Guild Leader, some representatives from Frost Heaven have paid us a visit. They say they wish to discuss a partnership." "Frost Heaven?" Shi Feng was not unfamiliar with this name. In fact, this was a very famous name during his previous life. After all, Frost Heaven was one of the Twelve Great Guilds of God''s Domain, a true titan in the game. However, Frost Heaven had maintained a very low profile during the early stages of God''s Domain, so much so that barely anyone had thought about the Guild. To everyone''s surprise, though, Frost Heaven had actually been the first superpower in the game to successfully produce a Tier 4 player, an incident that had propelled the Guild into the spotlight and made it known by everyone in the game. "Do you wish to meet them?" Youlan asked when she saw Shi Feng turning contemplative. "Have them wait in the City Lord''s Mansion''s reception room," Shi Feng said, nodding. He then tidied up his workspace before leaving his fourth-floor office and making his way to the first-floor reception room. 2684 Mana Domain Chapter 2684 - Mana Domain Silverwing City, City Lord''s Mansion: Under Youlan''s lead, Muxin and the other Frost Heaven members arrived before the entrance of the City Lord''s Mansion. Currently, a large number of NPCs, as well as players wearing the Merchant''s Insignia, were lining up outside the tall walls of the mansion. The liveliness here could easily rival the frenzy at Silverwing City''s main gate. "This city is truly amazing. Despite having been promoted just recently, there are already so many NPC and player merchants coming forth to rent Shops here. I doubt even the various superpowers'' main headquarters received this much attention when they got promoted into Basic Cities," the female Cursemancer from Frost Heaven exclaimed as she looked at the long line of NPCs and players standing outside the City Lord''s Mansion. Aside from being the core that controlled the city, the City Lord''s Mansion also managed the city''s Lands and Shops. Anyone seeking to rent or purchase Land and Shops inside the city had to visit the City Lord''s Mansion to do so. Generally, however, neither player nor NPC merchants would rent a recently promoted city''s Lands and Shops. They would generally do so only after thorough consideration and observation to determine whether an investment would really be profitable. However, despite Silverwing City having just been promoted and opened to the public less than an hour ago, there were already close to a thousand players and NPCs waiting to enter the City Lord''s Mansion. This response was unbelievable. "This should be considered normal. After all, Silverwing City is currently the only Guild City in the Orc Empire. With that Transportation Firm here, high player traffic is guaranteed. These cunning merchant players and NPCs definitely won''t let this opportunity get away. The only question now is, how many Shops and Lands is Zero Wing willing to rent out?" Muxin said, her expression remaining unfazed as she took in the long queue before her. In fact, after seeing what Silverwing City had to offer, Muxin had already resolved to rent some of its Lands and Shops in preparation for her Guild members'' development in the city. Needless to say, merchant players and NPCs, who frequently traveled between large cities and possessed a keen sense for business, would definitely realize Silverwing City''s potential and take action much more quickly than she had. The player merchants waiting outside the City Lord''s Mansion turned their heads automatically toward Muxin''s group, surprise flashing across their eyes when they recognized the group. "What? Frost Heaven is actually planning to partner with Zero Wing?" "If that''s the case, Zero Wing will really rise on the eastern continent." "Indeed. Frost Heaven has three international corporations backing it. Even if Zero Wing receives only a small amount of support from Frost Heaven, it would no longer have to worry about funding and resources." "It seems the various superpowers will have to fear Zero Wing in the future. After all, previously, Zero Wing was already close to rivaling ordinary superpowers in terms of experts and Guild foundations. If Zero Wing receives Frost Heaven''s support in resources, it would basically be a superpower already." By this time, even ordinary players were familiar with the superpower known as Frost Heaven. After all, the Guild had not only successfully dominated multiple kingdoms but also claimed a corner of the Apocalypse Empire. In addition, Frost Heaven''s name resounded in the ears of merchant players like themselves, what with three international corporations backing the Guild. Even the eastern continent''s up-and-coming Starlink and various Super Guilds had to show respect to Frost Heaven. Muxin''s group walked into the City Lord''s Mansion under the watchful gazes of the merchant players outside. Inside the City Lord''s Mansion, aside from the Personal Guards on security duty, there were plenty of Zero Wing experts training. The liveliness inside the mansion grounds was not the slightest bit inferior to the situation outside the mansion. Sure enough, the number and quality of Zero Wing''s experts are still considerably inferior to the various superpowers''. The female Cursemancer shook her head and sighed as she eyed her surroundings. With the standards of Zero Wing''s members, even if Muxin agrees to let Zero Wing join the alliance, the other allied Guilds will most likely object. Many of Zero Wing''s Tier 2 members had reached Level 115 already, with the Tier 3 members boasting even higher levels. These players were also very well-equipped, with the weakest piece of equipment on the Tier 3 experts being Level 110 Fine-Gold rank. When it came to levels and equipment standards, Zero Wing''s members did not lose out to the various superpowers. However, Zero Wing''s members had one fatal flaw: their average combat standard was very low. Let alone Flowing Water Realm experts, Zero Wing barely had Refinement Realm experts. In this regard, Zero Wing was no match for the various superpowers at all. Hence, even though Zero Wing possessed a large number of powerful Personal Guards, it still couldn''t be considered a superpower. After all, Personal Guards would remain a threat for only a certain period. Compared to players, NPCs had a much more difficult time developing themselves. The true way for a Guild to grow strong was for it to have a large number of peak experts under its command. Although rumor had it that Zero Wing had several extraordinary experts, this small number simply wasn''t enough for the Guild to become a superpower, let alone get Muxin to agree to its joining Frost Heaven''s alliance. During the time the female Cursemancer was entertaining such thoughts, Youlan had brought Muxin''s group to the City Lord''s Mansion''s first-floor reception room. "Please enter," Youlan said as she opened the doors for Muxin''s group. After nodding in response to Youlan''s words, Muxin entered the reception room together with her subordinates. The instant Muxin and the others entered the reception room, however, their bodies immediately felt heavier. They also sensed that they had lost control over the Mana around them, and it seemed as if they had entered another world. A Mana Domain?! The female Cursemancer gaped in shock at Shi Feng, who was currently seated inside the room. This How is this possible?! At this moment, let alone the female Cursemancer, even the other members of the Frost Heaven contingent were stunned speechless by the current situation. As Tier 3 experts, they knew very clearly what a Mana Domain was. After all, this was something they occasionally encountered when raiding Tier 4 monsters. Not to mention, there were also Tier 3 Skills and Spells that allowed players to form a Mana Domain. Mana Domains fell into two types: active and passive. Active-type Mana Domains were formed using Skills and Spells, while passive-type Mana Domains were formed without the use of Skills or Spells. Of the two types, the latter was generally an ability only NPCs at Tier 4 or above could grasp. However, the Mana Domain currently enveloping them clearly wasn''t formed with a Skill or Spell. Instead, it was a byproduct of Shi Feng''s circulation of his own Mana. In other words, this was a passive-type Mana Domain. This type of Mana Domain was the main reason why Tier 4 NPCs were overwhelmingly stronger than Tier 3 NPCs. The moment this passive-type Mana Domain was activated, Tier 3 NPCs would be mere jokes in front of a Tier 4 NPC. Now, however, this ability that could normally be found only on Tier 4 NPCs had actually been mastered by a Tier 3 player. This was incredible! "You must be Frost Heaven''s representatives. I am Zero Wing''s Guild Leader, Black Flame," Shi Feng said as he swept his gaze across Muxin''s group. Going straight to the point, he asked, "I heard from Youlan that you''ve come to discuss a partnership with Zero Wing. May I know what kind of partnership you have in mind?" 2685 Generous Remuneration, Tier 4 Promotion Ques Chapter 2685 - Generous Remuneration, Tier 4 Promotion Quest As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the female Cursemancer and the other Frost Heaven members inside the room promptly snapped out of their dazes, all the contempt they previously had for Zero Wing swept away. The number of peak experts Zero Wing currently had was indeed no match for the various superpowers. However, with Shi Feng''s Mana Domain, he could boost a team''s combat power by a significant margin. Moreover, if a superpower did not have any means of dealing with a Mana Domain, it wouldn''t matter how many Tier 3 experts they sent at Shi Feng. Every one of them would just end up as cannon fodder. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you really are a straightforward person. In that case, let me introduce myself first. I am Muxin, a Vice Guild Leader of Frost Heaven, and I am here on behalf of the Guild to invite Zero Wing to join Frost Heaven''s alliance," Muxin said, looking at Shi Feng. "Your alliance?" Shi Feng looked at Muxin with some confusion. As far as he remembered, Frost Heaven had always walked the path of a lone wolf, never forming alliances with others. "That''s right. You can consider it an alliance targeting the Faux Saint monsters," Muxin explained, nodding. "So long as Zero Wing joins the alliance, not only will we attack and defend against the Faux Saint monsters together, but we will also share plenty of information with Zero Wing, especially information related to the Faux Saint monsters'' activities. This way, if the Faux Saint monsters try to conduct any large-scale operations, we will be prepared for them." "What are the entry requirements?" Shi Feng asked. For the current Zero Wing, the offer of help in attacking and defending against the Faux Saint monsters wasn''t particularly important. However, information regarding the Faux Saint monsters'' activities was something that interested him greatly. Although Zero Wing''s members could collect plenty of information regarding the Faux Saint monsters'' movements, the scope of that information would drastically pale in comparison to what several superpowers working together could obtain. With such information, he would have a better grasp of the Faux Saint monsters'' movements and could have Zero Wing make preparations ahead of time. After all, the problem of the Faux Saint monsters wasn''t something that could be dealt with in the short term. In fact, these monsters would remain a big problem for Zero Wing far into the future. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you''re overthinking things. There are no conditions for joining the alliance," Muxin said, a faint smile appearing on her face. "If I have to give one, then it is receiving Frost Heaven''s recognition." "Does that mean Zero Wing has received this recognition already?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Of course. Moreover, aside from inviting Zero Wing into the alliance, I also wish to extend an invitation to Zero Wing to take part in a secret operation our alliance is planning," Muxin said earnestly. "Secret operation? Is it compulsory to join?" Shi Feng asked when he noticed a hint of excitement on Muxin''s face. "It''s not compulsory, but if Zero Wing is willing to help, I can personally provide you with a generous remuneration. For example, I can give you 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, something that the various superpowers are currently in urgent need of," Muxin said. The other Frost Heaven members standing beside Muxin turned to her in shock. "Muxin, what are you thinking?! That''s an absolute secret! Even within the alliance, only two other Guilds have the qualifications to take part! If you invite Zero Wing, even if the Grand Elders agree, the other two Guilds will most likely have strong opinions about it!" the female Cursemancer murmured to Muxin. The female Cursemancer wasn''t particularly surprised that Muxin had agreed to Zero Wing''s joining the alliance. After all, with Silverwing City''s benefits and Shi Feng''s Mana Domain, Zero Wing indeed possessed the qualifications to do so. However, inviting Zero Wing to participate in the alliance''s secret operation was a completely different story. The secret operation Muxin referred to was extraordinary. Frost Heaven and the two other superpowers involved in this operation had paid an enormous price to secure this opportunity. Muxin was simply insane to invite Zero Wing along. "Relax. I''ll just say that Zero Wing''s participation will be taken from my share. That way, the two other superpowers should not have any problems," Muxin replied nonchalantly. "You have truly lost your mind! You asked for this! It''s your problem if Uncle Hong and the others get angry at you!" the female Cursemancer said in a huff. As the heiress of the Boulder Corporation, one of the three main corporations supporting Frost Heaven, Muxin indeed possessed a considerable number of participation slots for the upcoming operation. However, if Muxin gave these slots to Zero Wing''s members, Frost Heaven''s Guild Leader and Grand Elders would definitely have opinions about it. In fact, if Zero Wing''s participation adversely affected the operation, the Boulder Corporation''s standing within Frost Heaven might even suffer. Meanwhile, seeing that the female Cursemancer had stopped speaking, Muxin returned her gaze to Shi Feng. "What do you think of this, Guild Leader Black Flame?" Muxin asked once more. "Will we receive the 50 bottles only if the operation succeeds?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought. He had a great yearning for S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Setting aside his own needs, he also needed plenty of S-rank Nutrient Fluids for the development of Zero Wing''s core upper echelon. Unlike the various superpowers, Zero Wing did not have a major corporation backing it, so the Guild had a much more difficult time obtaining S-rank Nutrient Fluids. He had to admit that Muxin had accurately grasped Zero Wing''s weakness. "Of course not. The 50 bottles are a deposit. If the operation is a success, I will pay you an additional 50 bottles," Muxin replied, her smile widening at Shi Feng''s question. "Alright. I accept your invitation on behalf of Zero Wing," Shi Feng said. When he heard that the remuneration was 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, he agreed to the offer without hesitation. "When will this secret operation take place? And how many players do I need to send?" "I can''t give you an exact time yet, but judging by the current development, the operation will need a minimum of 11 or 12 days before it can start. As for the numbers, it''s best if you bring no more than ten players," Muxin replied after giving the matter some thought. She then pointed at the female Cursemancer beside her and continued, "Once the preparations on our side are done, I''ll have Lixuan notify you." "Very well. I will make all the necessary preparations beforehand," Shi Feng said, nodding. After Shi Feng agreed to Muxin''s invitation, the two of them formally signed a contract. Before the start of the secret operation, Muxin would supply Zero Wing with 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid first. And so long as the operation was a success, Muxin would send another 50 bottles within two days of the operation''s completion. "Guild Leader, do you really intend to take part in Frost Heaven''s secret operation?" Youlan asked worriedly after Muxin''s group left the reception room. "The fact that Frost Heaven is willing to offer 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid as remuneration just goes to show how difficult this secret operation is. In fact, the operation might even come with great risks. If something untoward happens, Starlink and Saint''s Hand will pounce on this opportunity." Now that Silverwing Town had been promoted into Silverwing City, the number of players and powers operating in Silverwing City was continuously increasing. According to their current estimates, they could easily make over 300,000 Gold per day from the entrance fees alone. After deducting the various expenditures of the city, they should still net over 100,000 Goldand this didn''t even take into account the income from the Transportation Firm. To put it simply, they had no need to take any risks. They were more than capable of amassing enough money to purchase a large amount of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, given some time. "I understand, but we''ll also need to live long enough to make that kind of money," Shi Feng replied with a bitter smile. If possible, he would prefer to refuse Muxin''s offer as well. After all, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were not common goods that were readily available. Even for Frost Heaven, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were an extremely precious resource. The fact that Muxin was willing to pay such a hefty price for Zero Wing''s help meant that the secret operation in question was incredibly difficult. However, 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid would alleviate a significant portion of the pressure on Zero Wing. Not to mention, now that his identity had been exposed, purchasing S-rank Nutrient Fluids would become even more problematic than before. After Shi Feng finished conversing with Youlan and had assigned all the necessary work in Silverwing City, he stealthily made his way to the core room located on the City Lord''s Mansion''s second underground floor. He then took out a tattered scroll from his bag. Although I haven''t made all possible preparations, in order to ensure the success of my future operations, I have no choice but to get promoted as soon as possible. Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng unfurled the Legacy Scroll he obtained from the Ancient Lich Zorok and chanted the incantation recorded on it. 2686 Legacy Land? Chapter 2686 - Legacy Land? As Shi Feng chanted the incantation recorded on the Legacy Scroll, the divine runes on the Legacy Scroll started releasing an array of colorful lights that brightly illuminated the dimly lit core room. Following which, the divine runes detached from the Legacy Scroll and linked up into a ring before Shi Feng. A short moment later, an incomparably dark vortex appeared within this ring of runes. The black vortex was three meters tall. Just its existence alone thinned out the Mana within the core room considerably. The vortex was like an insatiable beast that devoured everything. Just how harsh is the environment in the Legacy Land? Shi Feng was astonished when he sensed the incomparably thin Mana around him. Originally, he had planned to challenge his Tier 4 Promotion Quest only after he had broken through the limits of his Epic Mana Body. That way, he would have a much greater chance of success. After all, unlike the Promotion Quests for lower tiers, the Tier 4 Promotion Quest did not have any difficulty options for players to choose from. How much improvement they gained from their Tier 4 Promotion Quest depended entirely on how much progress they made in the Legacy Land. Of course, there were also some differences between Legacy Lands. Naturally, the harsher the environment at a Legacy Land, the more difficult it would be for players to obtain their Tier 4 Legacy. However, searching for Tier 4 Legacy Lands was arduous. In fact, when challenging the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, players generally spent 90% of their time searching for a Legacy Land. In short, players would be very fortunate to come across a Legacy Land. They didn''t have the luxury to choose between different Legacy Lands. Hence, luck played a considerably important role when challenging the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. With luck, one would find a good Legacy Land and have an easier time obtaining the Tier 4 Legacy. Without it, one would find a Legacy Land with an extremely harsh environment and might suffer failure as soon as they set foot into the Legacy Land. This was a situation Shi Feng had faced before. After all, he had failed plenty of times at his Tier 4 Promotion Quest in his past life. Currently, although he couldn''t determine what kind of Legacy Land the teleportation portal before him led to, judging by how the portal had devoured almost all of the core room''s Mana, he could tell that this Legacy Land had incredibly thin ambient Mana. In fact, the ambient Mana density in the Legacy Land should be even lower than that of the core room at the moment. However, before Shi Feng could continue his observation, a series of system notifications entered his ears. System: You have opened the Legacy Land''s portal. Please enter the portal within three minutes, or the portal will automatically close. System: You have activated the Promotion Quest for the Tier 4 Blade Saint. Quest content: Enter the Legacy Land and obtain the Ancient Legacy''s power. Rewards unknown. System: Once you enter the Legacy Land, you will be prohibited from having any contact with the outside world. If you die within the Legacy Land, you will be teleported out of the Legacy Land, your levels will be reduced by five, and your soul will be weakened for three days. Please consider your decision carefully. Five levels? This Legacy Land is truly vicious. Shi Feng frowned reflexively when he heard the contents of the system notifications. Normally, dying in a Tier 4 Legacy Land would result in a loss of only two or three levels. The penalty for this one, however, was actually five levels. This was definitely the Legacy Land with the highest penalty he had ever heard of. However, Shi Feng did not hesitate for long before walking straight into the black vortex. If possible, he did not wish to enter such a harsh Legacy Land, either. However, if he didn''t enter, he would be deemed to have failed his Tier 4 Promotion Quest. If that happened, he would have to wait a considerable period before he could challenge his Tier 4 Promotion Quest againan outcome he definitely didn''t want. After all, aside from Frost Heaven''s upcoming secret operation, the Divine Dragon''s trial also awaited him. If he gave up on entering his Legacy Land now, he would have to face the Divine Dragon''s trial with only a Tier 3 body, basically setting himself up for failure. Hence, he had no other choice but to grit his teeth and take on this Legacy Land. Fortunately, the Epic Legacy Scroll granted him three rechallenge attempts, two more than what the Dark-Gold Legacy Scroll provided. Having a total of four challenge attempts increased his chances of success significantly. As soon as Shi Feng stepped into the black vortex, darkness enveloped his vision. At the same time, his body seemed to spin freely in empty space. By the time his vision recovered, the scenery before him had changed completely. Currently, he was free-falling. Moreover, not only was the sky dark, but spatial tears also filled the air around him. It was as if the world he had just arrived in was crumbling. There was no ground beneath him, either. All he could see below was a bottomless abyss. To make matters worse, the Mana was practically nonexistent. "This" Shi Feng was momentarily stunned by this situation. He had been to many Legacy Lands, but this was his first time visiting such a harsh Legacy Land. In fact, rather than a Legacy Land, this location looked more like a world teetering on the brink of destruction instead. If not for his Epic Mana Body, he would''ve long since lost consciousness due to the extremely thin ambient Mana here. Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng promptly activated Gale Domain to put some distance between himself and the bottomless abyss below. However, shortly after he started flying, a powerful suction force came from the bottomless abyss, which made his body feel incomparably heavy. Is long-term flight prohibited here? Looking at the bottomless abyss that was pulling him down, Shi Feng faintly understood the rules of this Legacy Land. He immediately headed for the nearest cliff. 400 yards 300 yards 200 yards The longer Shi Feng remained in flight, the stronger the gravity acting on his body grew. Initially, the gravity was only twice as strong as usual. Eventually, though, it increased to more than tenfold. Moreover, it continued increasing by twofold every second. Not only did this situation cause his flying speed to decrease continuously, but it also made controlling his body increasingly difficult. Faster! I need to be faster! When the gravity approached unbearable levels, Shi Feng desperately tried to reach the cliff beside the abyss. When less than 20 yards separated him from the cliff, his ability to fly suddenly got neutralized. As a result, he plummeted toward the bottomless abyss like a meteor. To make matters worse, the gravity acting on his body still kept increasing, which, in turn, accelerated his speed of descent. This won''t do. At this rate, I''ll die from the wind pressure before I even hit the ground. After free-falling for a dozen seconds, Shi Feng already found the increasing wind pressure pushing against his body unbearable. At this rate, he would most likely die after another few dozen seconds of free fall. He took out a bunch of Advanced Frost Grenades from his bag and detonated them on his back. Boom Boom Boom Along with the sounds of explosions, a series of ice flowers appeared in midair. Although Shi Feng ended up losing over 20% of his HP and got himself covered in a layer of frost from the Frost Grenades, the impact of the explosions propelled his body a lot closer to the nearby cliff. However, despite the distance to the cliff narrowing, his complexion remained grim. After all, if he collided with the cliff at his current speed, he was still unlikely to survive. In the next moment, the armor Shi Feng wore also started turning red-hot. Just as he was about to crash into the cliff like a blazing meteor, he activated Heavenly Dragon''s Power, instantly increasing his Basic Attributes, Defense, and HP by a significant margin. He then unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and stabbed it into the cliff. Boom! After getting stabbed into the cliff wall, the Abyssal Blade tore the rocky surface as Shi Feng continued sliding down. At the same time, his HP also started depleting rapidly. 75% 60% 30% Fortunately, his body finally came to a grinding halt with his HP just below 500,000. After pulling himself out of the clutches of death, he breathed out a deep sigh of relief. If not for Heavenly Dragon''s Power, he really would''ve died just now. Is this really a Legacy Land? Confusion filled Shi Feng''s heart as he gazed at the bottomless abyss beneath him. Although Legacy Lands weren''t known for their friendly environments, none of them had such a harsh environment, either. Currently, he couldn''t see any signs of life in this Legacy Land, let alone monsters. Aside from the bottomless abyss, the only other thing within sight were the cliffs surrounding it. He couldn''t find any traces of an Ancient Legacy at all. However, as Shi Feng was trying to figure out what he needed to do in this Legacy Land, several thunderous roars came from the bottomless abyss. A short moment later, gigantic figures emerged from the abyss. And upon seeing these figures, Shi Feng could not help being dumbfounded. How is this possible?! Shi Feng''s eyes widened with astonishment as he gaped at these gigantic figures. After all, these figures belonged to the rarely seen Dragon race. Meanwhile, these Dragons had clearly discovered his presence already. 2687 Infant Black Dragons Chapter 2687 - Infant Black Dragons Before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, the three Black Dragons with 60-meter wingspans flapped their wings and transformed into a blur as they flew straight at him. [Infant Black Dragon] (Dragon, Great Lord) Level 122 HP 4,200,000,000/4,200,000,000 "Crap!" Shi Feng cursed out loud when he saw the three Infant Black Dragons zooming toward him. Although his opponents were merely Tier 3 Infant Dragons, as creatures belonging to the apex race in God''s Domain, they were still far stronger than ordinary Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Not to mention, there were three of them. With the power these Infant Dragons wielded, they could easily destroy the current Silverwing City. They simply weren''t existences individual Tier 3 players could hope to go up against. In fact, even Tier 4 players would have to take the long way around if they came across a force of three Tier 3 Infant Dragons. To make matters worse, not only was Shi Feng currently stuck to a cliff, but an incredibly powerful gravitational force was also dragging on his body. Despite having Heavenly Dragon''s Power activated right now, he couldn''t move his body normally. Clashing with these Infant Black Dragons would simply guarantee an early death. He immediately unsheathed Killing Ray and stabbed it into the cliff wall, as well. He then started climbing up the cliff with all his might using his two swords. However, the gravitational pull from the abyss was simply too powerful, and Shi Feng could not climb quickly, even if he wanted to. In the end, before he could climb 20 yards, one of the Infant Dragons had already arrived before him and sent its massive claw smashing at him. The speed of the claw was also so fast that his only option was to receive it. "Scram!" Shi Feng bellowed as he swung the Abyssal Blade at the claw, the power the Magic Weapon carried so great that it even tore through space itself. When the Abyssal Blade came into contact with the Infant Dragon''s claw, not only did the Magic Weapon repel the gigantic claw, but the force of the blow even pushed the Infant Dragon backward by more than 10 yards. This result shocked the Infant Dragon, and its golden eyes gazed at Shi Feng in astonishment. As a member of the apex race that represented destruction, it had actually lost to a lower existence of the same tier in a direct confrontation. Normally, something like this should be impossible, yet this impossible feat had actually occurred just now. However, despite having repelled the Infant Dragon''s attack, Shi Feng did not show any signs of excitement at all. Due to the Strength boost provided by the Heavenly Dragon''s Power and the Dragon''s Domination Passive Skill, his Strength indeed surpassed that of a Level 122 Infant Black Dragon. However, as he was currently stuck on the side of a cliff, the only thing he could do was passively defend against the Infant Dragons'' attacks. He couldn''t launch any counterattacks or run away. Meanwhile, Heavenly Dragon''s Power had a very limited duration. Once he lost the Strength buff from the Berserk Skill, he would have a much harder time coping with the Infant Dragons'' attacks. Roar! As the repelled Infant Dragon roared angrily, another Infant Dragon appeared beside Shi Feng and attacked him. While Shi Feng had his hands full with the second Infant Dragon''s attack, the first Infant Dragon, which had gotten repelled, actually opened its mouth and used Dragon Breath on him. Even with his current Basic Attributes, Shi Feng did not dare take on the Dragon Breath of a true Dragon. Gritting his teeth, he yanked Killing Ray out of the cliff and let the gravity drag himself down. When produced by a true Dragon, a Tier 3 Dragon Breath carried enough power to rival even ordinary attacks at the Peak Tier 4 standard. Moreover, Dragon Breath was an AOE attack, so defending against it with normal attacks was impossible. Although Shi Feng had the option of using his Mana Technique, with how thin the ambient Mana was in this Legacy Land, by the time he gathered enough Mana to execute Lightshadow, he would''ve already been burned up by the Infant Dragon''s Dragon Breath. Boom! In the next moment, a black beam struck at the spot where Shi Feng was originally hanging and bored a hole into the cliff. As for Shi Feng, after dodging the attack, he quickly stabilized himself further down the cliff. As expected of a true Dragon Breath. I''d probably get pushed back even if I used Lightshadow against it. Shi Feng could not help his astonishment as he gazed at the massive hole that had appeared some distance above him. With just one attack, the Infant Black Dragon had carved a hole with a 30-yard radius into the sturdy cliff. Shi Feng, on the other hand, was just barely able to stab his swords into the cliff, even with the boost from Heavenly Dragon''s Power. Without the Berserk Skill''s help, he would be able to stab only half their length into the cliff, at best. However, before Shi Feng could fully appreciate the Infant Black Dragon''s Tier 3 Dragon Breath, the two other Infant Dragons used their Dragon Breaths on him as well. Roar! Two black beams instantly shot at Shi Feng, the range they covered making it utterly impossible for him to avoid them. Seeing this, Shi Feng instinctively activated Absolute Defense to block the two Dragon Breaths. However, because the cliff he was clinging to got vaporized, he lost his foothold and started plummeting toward the bottomless abyss once more. It seems it''s over. Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile when he looked at the bottomless abyss beneath him, then the three Infant Black Dragons chasing after him. Not only was there a bottomless abyss that exerted an insane gravitational pull on him, but there were even three Infant Black Dragons roaming the area. The difficulty of this Legacy Land was simply unheard-of. He couldn''t even keep himself alive for more than a few minutes in this Legacy Land, much less search for the Ancient Legacy hidden here. In other words, this Legacy Land was basically made to toy with players seeking to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. However, just as Shi Feng was mentally preparing himself to give up on his Tier 4 Promotion Quest, several gleaming lights suddenly appeared on the pitch-black cliff. The lights carried a faint hint of Divine Might that made his soul shudder involuntarily. The Ancient Legacy Fragments? Shock and excitement flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes when he looked at the fading lights. Just now, he''d concluded that this Legacy Land was a prank on players. However, it now looked like that was not the case at all. Although the gleaming lights coming from the cliff had soon vanished from sight due to his rapid descent, he was certain he had sensed Divine Might coming from those lights. The Tier 4 Promotion Quest was basically a quest for players to enter a Legacy Land and obtain as much of their Legacy''s power as possible. Normal classes generally needed to accumulate 70% of their Legacy''s power to reach Tier 4, while peak classes needed roughly 85%. He had seen quite a few streaks of light on the cliff, which meant that there should be a considerable number of Legacy Fragments there. If he could reach that location, he might be able to obtain enough Legacy Power to complete his Promotion Quest. After reaching this conclusion, Shi Feng abandoned the idea of giving up on this Legacy Land. Locating the Legacy Fragments hidden within a Legacy Land was generally incredibly difficult and time-consuming. Now that he knew where they were, he naturally couldn''t give up without trying. However, despite his change of mind, thinking back to the three Infant Black Dragons gave him a huge headache. It might have been fine if his opponents were any other Great Lord ranked monsters. In fact, even if he had to go up against three Tier 4 Mythic monsters simultaneously, he was confident he could collect the Legacy Fragments while keeping himself alive. However, going up against three Tier 3 Dragons simultaneously was simply too much. In fact, one Infant Black Dragon would most likely be more than enough to whittle him to death within a short time. After all, the gravitational pull the abyss exerted was simply too powerful. While subjected to this gravitational pull, he couldn''t bring out even half of his strength. At the same time, he didn''t have any footholds he could shift to, which made dodging and blocking the Infant Dragons'' attacks extraordinarily difficult. No, that''s not right! So long as I can create a sufficient number of footholds, it might be possible to go up against three Infant Black Dragons simultaneously with the Dragon''s Domination''s effects! While free-falling down the cliff, Shi Feng suddenly recalled the gigantic holes the Infant Black Dragons created. If he could carve out a sufficiently spacious path into the cliff, then defending himself against the three Infant Dragons wouldn''t be an impossible dream. After thinking up to this point, he no longer waited for the abyss''s gravitational pull to kill him. Instead, he took out the Epic Legacy Scroll from his bag and activated it, starting another challenge for this Legacy Land. 2688 Legacy Lands True Purpose Chapter 2688 - Legacy Land''s True Purpose As soon as Shi Feng activated the Legacy Scroll, darkness enveloped his vision once more, and the world seemed to spin around him. Everything was just like how he first walked into the dark vortex in the core room. The Legacy Scroll was a treasure highly sought after by the various superpowers, something they were willing to trade even Fragmented Legendary items for. And it was so coveted because it allowed players to rechallenge the same Legacy Land. While this function might not seem like much, it was heaven-sent for players challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Normally, players had only one opportunity to challenge a Legacy Land. So long as they died, they would be teleported out of the Legacy Land, and the portal to the Legacy Land would disappear and reappear in another random location. Even if players found another Legacy Land portal later on, the chances of that portal leading to the same Legacy Land were abysmally low. Hence, it was almost impossible to challenge the same Legacy Land twice, which, in turn, made it impossible to learn from experience. For players, the difference between having a lot of experience when challenging a Legacy Land and challenging it cold was massive. Their chances of successfully clearing their Tier 4 Promotion Quest would skyrocket if they had foreknowledge of their Legacy Land. Hence, the various superpowers in the past had been willing to go as far as exchanging Fragmented Legendary items for Legacy Scrolls. In the eyes of ordinary players, this transaction would seem somewhat stupid. In reality, however, the difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was like the difference between life in the mud and in the clouds. Moreover, as players reached higher levels, the disparity in strength would only widen. After all, the opportunities Tier 3 and Tier 4 players could encounter and secure during the later stages of the game were completely different. Moreover, there was the difference in the amount of Basic Attributes Tier 3 and Tier 4 players gained whenever they leveled up. Meanwhile, after a short moment in the darkness, Shi Feng reappeared in the sky above his first Legacy Land. And like before, his body started free-falling toward the bottomless abyss below him. Moreover, the Cooldown of all of his Skills and Spells had been refreshed, the current situation making it seem as if he had gone back in time. "Good!" A quick check found that even the Additional Skills of his weapons and equipment had been refreshed. He immediately activated Gale Domain and flew straight to the nearest cliff. Previously, he had wasted a lot of time observing the Legacy Land. As a result, by the time he activated Gale Domain, the gravitational force acting on his body had already increased considerably, which had, in turn, reduced his speed and maneuverability by a significant margin. This time, though, as he had activated Gale Domain almost as soon as he arrived in the Legacy Land, he was able to fly at nearly double the speed he had before. In the end, he managed to reach the nearest cliff in just 15 seconds, with a lot of flight time[1] remaining. "Break!" After arriving before the cliff, Shi Feng immediately executed Lightshadow at it. Boom! An explosion rang out as rubble went flying. However, to Shi Feng''s surprise, the phantom greatsword had only managed to carve out a single tear the size of a human adult, barely enough for one person to stand in. Lightshadow''s power was actually reduced this much? Shi Feng frowned at the tear in the cliff. The power of Lightshadow was much weaker than he expected. He had given his all in that attack, yet it had barely reached the Intermediate-rank Tier 4 standard. Had he used such an attack against the Infant Black Dragons'' Dragon Breath, he definitely would have ended up dead. However, Shi Feng did not dare to waste time. Quickly, he executed Lightshadow against the cliff once more. By the eighth time he executed Lightshadow, Gale Domain finally expired. Fortunately, he had managed to carve out an adequate foothold for himself. With this foothold, he should have enough space to dodge and block the Infant Black Dragons'' attacks. However, when Shi Feng gazed down at the bottomless abyss, he could not help massaging his temple. Although his current situation was much better than before, he still had massive problems to deal with. Setting aside the three Infant Dragons, just the fact that he needed to carve a path down the cliff was already a huge problem. Each use of Lightshadow only allowed him to carve out a small hole fit for one person to stand in. The hole was also only one meter deep. However, by his estimates, he needed to descend several kilometers to reach the area where he had seen the Legacy Fragments. In that case, he wouldn''t be able to reach the Legacy Fragments even after executing Lightshadow for a month. Although he could increase the destructive power of his attacks by using Berserk Skills, Berserk Skills were meant to save his life. They should not be used unless absolutely necessary, especially in this godforsaken Legacy Land. There were simply too many unknown dangers here. If he used up his Berserk Skills too quickly, he would definitely die when a truly dangerous situation popped up. It seems I have to find a way to increase the power of my attacks. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng concluded that this was his only option. Using summoning tools was impossible while inside a Legacy Land. Players weren''t allowed to summon their Personal Guards here. In such a situation, the only way he could reach the Legacy Fragments as quickly as possible was to raise the raw power of his attacks. However, such a feat was easier said than done. The Mana Technique Lightshadow was currently the strongest move in his repertoire. Even Bronze Combat Techniques could not hold a candle to it. However, if he simply relied on Lightshadow to carve a path down, he wouldn''t reach the Legacy Fragments even if he tired himself to death. He needed a qualitative improvement to his raw power. If I wish to increase the power of my attacks, aside from breaking through the limits of my Mana Body, the only other option is to improve my Mana Technique. Without any inspirations, trying to break through the Mana Body''s perfect state is utterly impossible. In that case, I have no choice but to try to master the Second Sword, Holy Devour. As Shi Feng sensed the Mana surrounding him, an idea struck him. Although the environment here is extremely harsh and the density of the Mana here is close to zero, my brain doesn''t feel any discomfort. The environment here is roughly similar to that inside the Legacy Gate. Could the environment here be created for the purpose of helping players learn Mana Techniques? Having thought up to this point, Shi Feng felt that there was a high possibility of his guess being correct. Legacy Lands were termed as such because they provided guidance to their challengers. They weren''t created to extinguish all life. Meanwhile, in low-Mana environments, players would have an easier time not only sensing the Mana flowing within their Mana Bodies but also training in Mana Techniques. This was because the ability to control one''s Mana played an important role in executing a Mana Technique. And in a low-Mana environment, players wouldn''t have to deal with as much interference from the ambient Mana as they normally would, which, in turn, allowed them to perceive and control their Mana better. Moreover, it was important for players seeking to get promoted to Tier 4 to possess an adequate degree of Mana control, aside from fully unlocking their Mana Bodies. After all, the birth of a Mana Domain relied heavily on a player''s ability to control Mana. Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and started trying to execute the Second Sword, Holy Devour. The most important point to take note of when executing Lightshadow was the shaping of Mana. The complexity of the technique involved in doing so could inspire despair even in peak experts. Only Domain Realm experts that had developed their Mana control to a certain extent could execute Lightshadow. Holy Devour, on the other hand, required its user to materialize Mana. Without sufficient understanding of the operating principle and structure of Mana, executing Holy Devour would be utterly impossible. Previously, Shi Feng had not held much hope of learning how to execute Holy Devour while he was still at Tier 3. After all, the degree of perception and control of Mana required to execute the technique reached inhuman levels. However, due to the Faux Saint Devourers'' Soul Marks, his perception of Mana had undergone a qualitative transformation. In the next moment, Shi Feng shut his eyes and lightly raised the Abyssal Blade with both hands. He then manipulated his Mana Domain to start gathering as much Mana as possible around the Abyssal Blade. After draining all the ambient Mana, Shi Feng abruptly opened his eyes and swung the Abyssal Blade at the cliff wall before him. Holy Devour! 2689 Simplified Holy Devour Chapter 2689 - Simplified Holy Devour As Shi Feng swung down the Abyssal Blade, a bundle of blazing red flames enveloped the Magic Weapon, causing even the surrounding space to tremble. In the next moment, the blazing red flames devoured the cliff wall before him. Boom! Along with the sound of an explosion, countless stone fragments went flying. Originally, the cave Shi Feng had dug for himself was only the size of a small room. Now, however, the cave had grown to the size of a small house. Moreover, its walls were extremely smooth as if they had been polished. So strong! Surprise flashed in Shi Feng''s eyes as he took in the cave before him. He had only been trying to execute Holy Devour. He never thought that he would actually succeed on the first attempt. Although the Second Sword he executed was many times weaker than the Heavenly Blue Saint''s version and could even be considered incomplete, the power of his attack was already close to the Upper-rank Tier 4 standard. With such destructive power, his efficiency in carving out a path to the Legacy Fragments should improve by several dozen times. However, just as Shi Feng thought of using Holy Devour once more, his consciousness suddenly wavered, and a stinging pain assaulted his brain. Sure enough, it is still too much for my current self to execute Holy Devour. Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile at this situation. He had indeed succeeded in executing Holy Devour. However, the amount of Concentration he had consumed by using it once was equivalent to executing over a dozen Bronze Combat Techniques simultaneously. With such a high consumption rate, he would run out of Concentration after using Holy Devour three or four more times. Moreover, he was able to achieve such a result only because his Concentration had reached the Tier 4 standard already. Had his Concentration remained at the Tier 3 standard, he would''ve most likely passed out as soon as he executed the first Holy Devour. However, just as Shi Feng was thinking of how he could further perfect his Holy Devour to reduce the burden on his Concentration, a tremor suddenly rocked the cave. Before he could react to this unexpected development, the rubble scattered around the cave suddenly gathered and formed a humanoid golem that was as tall as he was. The moment the golem took shape, it released a frightening pulse of Mana that froze the ambient Mana, making it impossible for him to manipulate the ambient Mana at all. [Outer Path Guardian] (Non-elemental Creature, Grand Lord) Level 121 HP 53,500,000/53,500,000 A Non-elemental Creature? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the Outer Path Guardian. He''d never heard of the Non-elemental Creature label before. Normally, if a monster wasn''t an Elemental Creature, they would be labeled with their race, such as Giant, Elf, Wild Creature, Orc, and so on. Before Shi Feng could properly digest this situation, the Outer Path Guardian suddenly appeared before him. Its two arms then transformed into razor-sharp rock blades that cut at him, the Attack Speed it displayed surpassing that of ordinary Grand Lords and nearly rivaling Mythic monsters''. However, Shi Feng was no pushover, either. With his extraordinary combat standard and Basic Attributes, even Mythic monsters of the same level would have difficulty landing attacks on him, let alone a Grand Lord whose speed was merely close to rivaling Mythic monsters''. In the next moment, Shi Feng brandished the Abyssal Blade. Sword''s Transmigration! Peng Peng Peng In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng deflected over a dozen attacks. Immediately afterward, he sent a counterattack cutting at the Path Guardian. In the next moment, a pitch-black sword light cut at the Path Guardian''s body. A metallic clang echoed in the cave as the sword light came into contact with the Path Guardian. However, to Shi Feng''s surprise, not only did his attack fail to injure the Path Guardian, but the impact even made himself stumble half a step back. The Abyssal Blade he wielded also vibrated violently as if it had just struck on an impenetrable wall. What kind of monster is this? Shi Feng stared at the Outer Path Guardian in astonishment. The Abyssal Blade was capable of cutting through even the skin of Superior Mythics, yet not only did the Magic Weapon fail to scratch the Outer Path Guardian''s body, but the Grand Lord didn''t even lose a single HP from the attack. The Guardian''s Defense was simply heaven-defying. Regardless of Shi Feng''s surprise, the Path Guardian did not stop its actions, launching attacks at him one after another. Even after fighting for several minutes consecutively, the Path Guardian showed no signs of weakening or slowing down at all. It was like a tireless machine. Although Shi Feng had landed over a hundred attacks on the Path Guardian, he had failed to cause any damage whatsoever to the Grand Lord. Even Lightshadow was useless against it. Is it invulnerable? Shi Feng''s head ached as he continuously deflected the Path Guardian''s attacks. Previously, he had seen hope of obtaining the Legacy Fragments. He never imagined that a monster like the Outer Path Guardian would appear after he destroyed the cliff wall. Despite the Path Guardian having only a little over 50 million HP, which was very low for a Level 121 Grand Lord, he actually failed to make a dent. At this rate, he would collapse from exhaustion before he could even secure the Legacy Fragments. Time passed quickly. Before Shi Feng realized it, over a dozen minutes had elapsed already. However, despite having attacked every possible weak point he could find on the Outer Path Guardian, he still hadn''t damaged the Grand Lord. To make matters worse, the frozen ambient Mana meant that he experienced none of the recovery effects he would normally experience when surrounded by Mana. He would collapse from exhaustion after another hour of fighting at this rate. Screw it! Shi Feng gritted his teeth and gripped the Abyssal Blade with both hands before executing Holy Devour against the Outer Path Guardian. If even this is no good, I''ll have no choice but to use Berserk Skills. Holy Devour was currently the strongest move he could execute without transforming into a Black Dragon King. If even Holy Devour was incapable of harming the Path Guardian, he would have to use a Berserk Skill to boost his Strength further, something he wished to avoid doing if possible. Immediately, a scorching inferno engulfed the Outer Path Guardian. Boom! In the next moment, the Path Guardian''s body shot out of the blazing inferno like a cannonball and smashed into the back of the cave. Cracks formed on the Path Guardian''s originally invulnerable body, and the Grand Lord''s HP also fell by over 3.7 million. It was effective? Shi Feng was surprised as he looked at the Path Guardian lying on the ground. Previously, even Lightshadow failed to damage the Outer Path Guardian. However, not only did Holy Devour succeed in damaging the Path Guardian, but its effects even far exceeded his initial expectations. Did I break through its defensive limit? Shi Feng wondered. However, he quickly shook his head and denied the thought. No, that''s not right. Even if my attack exceeded the Guardian''s defensive limit, it shouldn''t have produced such overwhelming results. He had plenty of experience in surpassing a monster''s defensive limit. Hence, he knew that exceeding a monster''s defensive limit wouldn''t allow him to suddenly go from dealing zero damage to dealing over 3.7 million damage. Moreover, normally, even if one failed to exceed a monster''s defensive limit, the monster should still receive some form of damage after receiving an attack. A Non-elemental Creature, a Mana Screen, and Holy Devour? Shi Feng continuously racked his mind as he watched the Outer Path Guardian slowly standing back up. Although he had successfully damaged the Path Guardian already, in his current state, he could execute Holy Devour only one or two more times. Hence, his situation remained dire. It was necessary for him to identify the reason why he had succeeded in damaging the Path Guardian. Otherwise, even if he activated his Berserk Skill, he would only end up wasting it. Following which, Shi Feng arrived before the Path Guardian and executed Lightshadow against it. However, just like the last time he had used the Mana Technique, he failed to inflict any damage on the Grand Lord. Since Lightshadow is ineffective against it, I''ll have to use another method. Seeing the Path Guardian slashing its two blade hands at him once more, Shi Feng sidestepped, then slipped behind the Guardian. He concentrated his Mana within the Abyssal Blade as if he were executing Holy Devour, but did not let any of the Mana escape the Magic Weapon. Consequently, instead of a blazing inferno, only a small layer of flames appeared around the Abyssal Blade as he sent the Magic Weapon slashing down at the Path Guardian''s back. In the next moment, the Abyssal Blade actually cut into the Path Guardian''s sturdy body, inflicting over 1.6 million damage on the Grand Lord. Sure enough! Shi Feng''s eyes glowed with excitement at the success of his attack. After seeing that Holy Devour was highly effective against the Path Guardian while Lightshadow was completely ineffective, it was clear to Shi Feng that the Path Guardian''s defensive limit had nothing to do with why one could deal damage to it while the other couldn''t. Instead, the reason for this situation lay in the difference between the two techniquesthe method of utilizing Mana. Lightshadow was a technique that gave shape to Mana, whereas Holy Devour was a technique that caused Mana to go berserk before materializing it to exhibit a frighteningly destructive power that could destroy even the very essence of matter. Currently, although he did not fully execute Holy Devour, he had materialized his Mana and concentrated it on the Abyssal Blade. By doing so, he was able to drastically reduce his consumption of Mana and Concentration while still utilizing the effects of materialized Mana. Only, the raw power and scale of his attack were considerably smaller compared to those of the real Holy Devour. Basically, he had executed a simplified version of Holy Devour. Meanwhile, after achieving success once, Shi Feng promptly started bombarding the Path Guardian with attacks. In terms of combat power, the Outer Path Guardian was significantly inferior to ordinary Mythic monsters. The only thing that made it a challenging foe was the fact that it could be damaged only after certain conditions were met. However, now that Shi Feng had met these conditions, the Path Guardian''s 53.5 million HP was nothing. In less than two minutes, Shi Feng had depleted all of the Outer Path Guardian''s HP. The Guardian''s rocky body then crumbled and scattered on the ground. Meanwhile, along with the Outer Path Guardian''s death, not only did Shi Feng''s experience bar fill up by a significant margin, but a stream of black mist also flowed into his heart. In the next moment, fragmented images appeared before him one after another. At the same time, a system notification also entered his ears. System: You have obtained 5 Legacy Power Points. Tier 4 Legacy Completion Rate at 0.5%. When Legacy Completion Rate reaches 85%, you may attempt to activate your Tier 4 Legacy. Legacy Power? Shi Feng was surprised to see the system notification. He never thought that killing the Outer Path Guardian would actually grant him Legacy Power. Collecting Legacy Power using this method would be much easier than trying to descend into the abyss and reach the Legacy Fragments. Meanwhile, shortly after the Outer Path Guardian died, its body exploded into bundles of light that hovered quietly in midair, expelling all the Mana in the surrounding space. 2690 Unknown Metal Fragments Chapter 2690 - Unknown Metal Fragments What a powerful phenomenon! Shi Feng''s heart was filled with surprise when he saw the dozen or so items quietly hovering in midair. He had seen many kinds of monster loot before. He had even seen loot accompanied by a Holy Chant. However, this was the first time he had seen or heard of the phenomenon the Outer Path Guardian''s loot created. Currently, all Mana within a 50-yard radius of the dropped items was getting banished from the area. Even the Mana within his body was rapidly depleting. Right now, if a player with a Silver Mana Body were standing here, they would most likely have lost consciousness instantly from Mana exhaustion. Seeing this situation, Shi Feng did not dare hesitate for too long. Immediately, he stepped forward and tried to store the loot in his bag space. However, the instant he touched one of the dropped items, a system notification entered his ears. System: This item should not be stored, as it has an extremely powerful repulsion toward Mana. Storing it in your Epic Spatial Bag involves a certain degree of danger. Do you wish to store this item in your Epic Spatial Bag? Should not be stored? Shi Feng was quite surprised at the system notification. However, despite his surprise, he still chose to store the loot in his Epic Spatial Bag. After all, he would lose his life if he didn''t put the items into his bag space and allowed the Mana Repulsion Field to continue existing. As he stored the items in his bag one after another, the Mana environment within the cave gradually recovered. Upon seeing this, he could not help a sigh of relief. How close. These items truly are strange. Had I been a few seconds later in taking action, they probably would''ve drained all my Mana. Sitting down, Shi Feng shuddered involuntarily as he checked the 15 new items inside his bag space. Previously, the Outer Path Guardian was already plenty astonishing, as it could actually freeze the Mana around it, preventing players from using the ambient Mana. For players that relied heavily on Skills and Spells during combat, this was a fatal ability. However, these dropped items were even more amazing. They had directly banished all the Mana within a 50-yard radius. Not even the Mana within his body was exempt. This situation was simply unheard-of. If players encountered these extraordinary items without any means to store the items, they would definitely meet their deaths. Despite Shi Feng''s wariness toward these items, he could not hold back his curiosity and started inspecting them. After he used his Identification Skill on these items, he was stunned. He couldn''t appraise any of these 15 metal fragments. Even after he activated Omniscient Eyes, all he got was that these metal fragments were named as "Unknown Metal Fragment" and that they were originally part of a weapon. Crap! What kind of weapon was it?! Isn''t it a little too amazing?! Just its fragments alone are so powerful already! Even Legendary Weapons are not that powerful! Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the little information Omniscient Eyes obtained. In God''s Domain, Legendary items usually deteriorated into Fragmented Legendary items because their core component had suffered damage, which prevented them from exhibiting their true might. However, if a Legendary Weapon got shattered into numerous fragments, rather than becoming multiple Fragmented Legendary Weapons, the Legendary Weapon would become garbage. Only if the shards were recast and more material was added was there a chance of them becoming a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Yet, despite not having undergone any rework, the fragments in his bag still exhibited such a powerful Mana Repulsion effect. Even the strongest Legendary Weapons he had heard of were unlikely to be so powerful. However, Shi Feng did not dwell on the metal fragments. After getting enough rest, he left them sitting inside his bag space and resumed attacking the cliff wall. Since he now knew that the Outer Path Guardians provided Legacy Power and that the Guardians spawned from the rubble of the cliff, he naturally wouldn''t let this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone get away. However, despite Shi Feng repeatedly using Holy Devour on the cliff wall, not every attack of his caused an Outer Path Guardian to spawn. Roughly one Guardian spawned for every three or four attacks he executed. As a result, his accumulation of Legacy Power wasn''t going as fast as he initially expected. Moreover, because of the Legacy Land''s harsh environment, which severely hampered Stamina and Concentration recovery, Shi Feng''s recovery rate wasn''t particularly fast despite the high-ranking foods and beverages he consumed. At best, it was like he was resting inside an ordinary town. Fortunately, he was familiar with the harsh environments of Tier 4 Legacy Lands and had made preparations beforehand. Long before he could challenge his Tier 4 Promotion Quest, he had already tasked Melancholic Smile with stockpiling a large amount of high-ranking foods and beverages in the Guild''s Warehouse for both himself and the rest of the Guild''s core upper echelon. Hence, he currently had more than enough high-ranking foods and beverages to last him for two whole months. As Shi Feng relentlessly attacked the cliff and killed Outer Path Guardians, his experience bar filled up rapidly. His mastery over the simplified Holy Devour also improved. Only, as the number of Outer Path Guardians he killed increased, the number of Unknown Metal Fragments he obtained conversely decreased. Initially, each kill yielded him more than ten fragments. Eventually, that number dropped to single digits. Now, he got just one or two from every kill. As Shi Feng progressed down the cliff, he had unknowingly spent nine days inside the Legacy Land. After nine days of constant grinding, Shi Feng had reached Level 124. If not for Demon God Atlock''s Soul Curse, he would''ve already reached the Level 125 threshold. As for the accumulation of Legacy Power, he had reached 83% Completion Rate already, just 2% away from the minimum requirement to activate his Tier 4 Legacy. As for the Unknown Metal Fragments, he had collected a total of 96. Meanwhile, a lot had also happened in the outside world during these nine days. Thanks to the 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids Muxin provided as a deposit, Shi Feng could afford to consume one bottle per day, meeting the energy requirements of his brain. His body''s condition also improved considerably. However, if he wished to recover to his peak state, he still needed Life Potions. Aside from that, Zero Wing''s main force members also started exiting the spatial maze one after another. However, as Fire Dance, Aqua Rose, Gentle Snow, and two dozen or so other players had taken different paths midway through the maze, they remained trapped inside. Along with the return of the majority of Zero Wing''s main force, the prosperous Zero Wing flourished even more. After returning to the eastern continent, Zero Wing''s main force members continuously raided large-scale and super-large-scale Team Dungeons, enriching the Guild Warehouse with plenty of rare materials. Including the rare materials brought back from the western continent, Melancholic Smile and the others produced batch after batch of Level 120 weapons and equipment. Now, when it came to Level 120 weapons and equipment, Zero Wing surpassed the various superpowers. For a time, Zero Wing entered the spotlight of the neighboring kingdoms and empires, and many expert players and well-known adventurer teams applied to join Zero Wing. However, during all of this, a very shocking matter got exposed. The true identity of Zero Wing''s mysterious Guild Leader, Black Flame! When this information spread, it shocked the eastern continent''s various powers. This was especially true for Unyielding Soul, Crimson Emperor, and the Secret Pavilion, superpowers that were partners of Zero Wing. None of them had ever thought that Zero Wing was truly a Guild that had no background whatsoever and that a youth like Shi Feng had developed it from scratch. God''s Domain''s various powers no longer feared Zero Wing. Many powers started secretly targeting Zero Wing''s internal members. At the same time, they spent huge sums to snatch the Heaven''s Rumble Training Center''s disciples and customers of Zero Wing''s virtual combat platforms. They even offered astronomical prices to poach Zero Wing''s core members, resulting in a brain drain of Zero Wing''s internal members and core members day after day. "Guild Leader, another dozen core members have applied for withdrawal today. In addition, quite a few training centers'' and dojos'' disciples have come challenging our training center''s disciples, and several of our disciples got injured. Even Master Lei Bao himself got challenged by a mysterious half-step grandmaster martial artist on his way home and ended up suffering heavy injuries. That mysterious expert warned Master Lei Bao that if he remained in Zero Wing, there would be more of such incidents. Moreover, several superpowers have sent representatives to our headquarters. They say that so long as we let them become shareholders of Zero Wing, they''ll make all these problems go away," Liang Jing reported in frustration. "However, these still aren''t the most crucial matters. The biggest problem is that the suppliers that previously provided us with S-rank Nutrient Fluids and state-of-the-art training facilities now refuse to do business with us. Moreover, nobody is commissioning our Guild for tasks anymore. At this rate, we can only rely on exchanging Coins for Credits to maintain our Guild''s daily operations." "I understand. For now, make use of Silverwing City''s income to fill in the gaps," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Also, did you find out which superpower sent that expert that injured Lei Bao?" "I checked with the Secret Pavilion. Although the other party hid themselves quite thoroughly, the Secret Pavilion still managed to find out who sent that expert. It''s Dragonheart Island''s War Blood adventurer team," Liang Jing said. "War Blood?" In an icy tone, Shi Feng said, "It seems these superpowers really think Zero Wing is some kind of pushover. Do they honestly believe I can''t do anything against them?" "Guild Leader, we don''t have the home-ground advantage on Dragonheart Island. Moreover, Starlink and a few other superpowers have partnered with War Blood. They also have a Medium Fortress. Right now, our forces are tied up defending Silverwing City and Stone Forest City. If we dispatch a large number of experts to Dragonheart Island, I''m afraid" When Liang Jing heard Shi Feng''s words, she hurriedly tried to dissuade him from taking any rash actions. "I know. I''ll handle this matter myself," Shi Feng said calmly before hopping back into his virtual gaming cabin and logging into God''s Domain. 2691 Breaking Through the Limi Chapter 2691 - Breaking Through the Limit The gravitational force here is almost the same as what I felt when those Infant Black Dragons appeared. If I continue digging downward, those Dragons will most likely notice my presence. After killing another Outer Path Guardian, Shi Feng poked his head out of the platform he had carved for himself to look at the bottomless abyss. After nine days of arduous effort, he had finally reached the altitude where he first came into contact with the Infant Black Dragons. Although the Infant Black Dragons were only Tier 3 Great Lords, they were existences that no individual Tier 3 player could hope to go up against. Not to mention, there were three Infant Black Dragons moving together here. Currently, the best way for him to complete his Tier 4 Promotion was through killing more Outer Path Guardians and steadily accumulating his Legacy Power to 85% Completion Rate. Then, he could activate his Tier 4 Legacy. However, as he carved his way down the cliff, the frequency of the Outer Path Guardians'' appearance decreased. In fact, the Guardian he had just killed took him nearly an hour to spawn. At this rate, he would most likely enter the three Infant Black Dragons'' perception range by the time he could spawn the next Outer Path Guardian. In that case, he would have to fight the Outer Path Guardian while simultaneously dealing with the three Dragons'' attacks. Sure enough, the Main God System won''t let players enjoy such an easy promotion. In the end, I still have to obtain one of those Legacy Fragments. Shi Feng could not help a sigh as he looked at his Legacy Power Points. With his current standards, so long as he activated a Berserk Skill, swiftly killing an Outer Path Guardian while dealing with the attacks of the three Infant Black Dragons should be possible. However, he was still short of three Guardian kills to reach the minimum 85% Completion Rate. Even though he had multiple Berserk Skills, the likelihood of him being able to spawn and kill three Outer Path Guardians during the limited duration of his Berserk Skills was extremely low. After all, the last Outer Path Guardian had taken him nearly an hour to spawn. At best, he would be able to kill one Guardian after getting discovered by the Infant Dragons. As for the remaining two Outer Path Guardians, he could forget about them because no matter how he looked at it, coping with the Infant Dragons'' attacks for two or three hours while he continued carving the cliff was simply impossible. This left him with only one option to complete his Promotion Quest: obtaining a Legacy Fragment. While Legacy Fragments didn''t carry equal amounts of Legacy Power, each contained at least ten points to as much as 40 points. With his current Legacy Power Points, he needed only one Legacy Fragment to meet the minimum requirement to activate his Tier 4 Legacy. Although the Completion Rate of one''s Tier 4 Legacy would somewhat influence the success rate of the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, it wasn''t absolute. Legacy Power only allowed players to activate their Tier 4 Legacy. The more Legacy Power players managed to collect, the larger the portion of their Tier 4 Legacy they could activate. However, after activating and unraveling the secrets of their Tier 4 Legacy, players needed to learn the unraveled knowledge in order to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Clearing this portion of their Promotion Quest depended entirely on their own capabilities. The amount of Legacy Power they accumulated before had no bearing on this part of the quest. And if players failed to learn an adequate amount of knowledge from their Legacy within the stipulated time, they would still fail their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. In the past, the main reason why most Tier 3 experts failed to reach Tier 4 was precisely this second portion, not the failure to acquire a sufficient amount of Legacy Power. This was also the reason why the stronger a Legacy was, the more difficult the Tier 4 Promotion Quest would be. The stronger a Legacy was, the more complex the information contained within it. For example, Legacies belonging to the Giant and Elven race contained incredibly abstruse information. Hence, those playing as Giants and Elves faced much greater difficulty when challenging their Promotion Quests. Even if players geared themselves in powerful weapons and equipment, these items would just allow them to obtain more Legacy Power and open up more knowledge for them to learn. Players still had to rely on their own learning capabilities to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Hence, Shi Feng could activate his Legacy at 85% Completion Rate. Reaching 100% wasn''t necessary for the completion of his Promotion Quest. However, trying to reach and obtain the Legacy Fragments below wouldn''t be easy. After all, he had to go up against three Infant Black Dragons in the process. There was only so much he could do within the limited duration of his Berserk Skills. The part where he obtained the Legacy Fragments would be especially challenging. If a player that did not know how Legacy Fragments worked were in his shoes right now, they would most likely lose their lives during this process. Players would not automatically obtain the Legacy Power contained within a Legacy Fragment. Instead, after securing the fragment, they usually spent between 10 to 20 minutes absorbing the Legacy Power. And although players did not need direct contact with a Legacy Fragment to absorb its Legacy Power, if they went too far away from the fragment, the process would get interrupted, and the fragment would shatter. Due to these reasons, players generally needed to complete the process in a safe environment. With the three Infant Dragons harassing Shi Feng, he obviously wouldn''t be able to absorb a Legacy Fragment in safety. He would have to do it while fighting. However, with the Berserk Skills he had, he simply wouldn''t be able to last that long. No, it''s not exactly impossible! If I can hold on for some time in my normal state, it might be possible to secure a Legacy Fragment! After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng decided to take the risk and try to secure a Legacy Fragment. After all, he was no longer the same as when he first entered the Legacy Land. Not only was he able to execute Holy Devour now, but he had even mastered a simplified version of Holy Devour. Although this simplified Holy Devour was not as powerful as the real deal, the raw power it contained was still superior to that of Lightshadow. With this simplified Holy Devour, he might be able to hold his own against the Infant Black Dragons. After taking a deep breath, he took out the Ring of Gospel from his bag and activated Miniature World and Ring of Brilliance. Now that he had gotten this far in his Promotion Quest and he had to go up against the three Infant Dragons no matter what, he no longer had any reason to hold back his cards. Upon Ring of Brilliance''s activation, the density of the ambient Mana gradually increased. As for Shi Feng himself, his Basic Attributes rose by 5%. Although Ring of Brilliance''s effects were significantly weakened, every little improvement counted now. After activating both of the Ring of Gospel''s Skills, he jumped off the platform and allowed gravity to drag him down toward the bottomless abyss. A few seconds after he started his free fall to the abyss, a series of Dragon roars came from some distance away. As he had predicted, the three Infant Black Dragons flew out of the abyss and charged straight at him once more. A short moment later, one of the Infant Dragons arrived before Shi Feng and sent its gigantic claw smashing at him. Seemingly unaffected by Miniature World, the Dragon''s claw still carried enough power to tear through space. This hit will determine whether I can succeed or not! Having prepared for this attack beforehand, Shi Feng promptly lashed out against the approaching claw with the Abyssal Blade. In the next moment, the blazing-red Abyssal Blade cut at the Infant Dragon''s massive claw. Boom! When the two attacks collided, a loud metallic clang echoed throughout the abyss, and dazzling sparks illuminated the space around Shi Feng and the Infant Black Dragon. Surprisingly, the Dragon''s massive claw actually got knocked off course and smashed into the cliff wall nearby, digging out a huge chunk of the cliff. Shi Feng, on the other hand, came out of the clash completely unscathed. Moreover, the impact accelerated his descent into the abyss even further. Good! There''s a chance! Shi Feng grew ecstatic when the Abyssal Blade deflected the Infant Dragon''s claw. Previously, his greatest worry was that he would not be able to block the Infant Black Dragons'' attacks. After all, he did not activate Heavenly Dragon''s Power, unlike before. Besides, the Infant Black Dragons had the home-ground advantage, free of the abyss''s suppression. Even with the effects of Miniature World, he would most likely have a difficult time deflecting the Infant Dragons'' attacks. Fortunately, the simplified Holy Devour was sufficiently powerful. Now, even without activating a Berserk Skill, he could hold his ground against the Infant Black Dragons. With this, what he needed to do next became a lot simpler. Following which, Shi Feng continued free-falling while frantically deflecting the three Infant Dragons'' attacks. When he was about to reach the location of the Legacy Fragments, he activated Gale Domain and forcefully changed his angle of descent toward the Legacy Fragments. After spotting the location of the Legacy Fragments, Shi Feng promptly activated Power of Darkness, increasing all his Basic Attributes by 120%, then executed a two-handed slash at the cliff wall. Holy Devour! A raging inferno immediately devoured the cliff wall, creating a hole with a 30-yard radius. At the same time, a fragmented statue the size of a human adult landed inside the hole, radiating a faint glow and a soul-shuddering Divine Might. System: You have discovered a Legacy Fragment. Do you wish to absorb the fragment''s Legacy Power? "Absorb!" Shi Feng said without hesitation. As soon as he finished speaking, the fragmented statue released an aurora of lights that pierced his body. Crap! Just how much Legacy Power is in this thing?! Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the loading bar that appeared before him. According to the loading bar, the absorption process would take 33 minutes. This absorption time far exceeded his expectations. It also far exceeded the total duration of all of his Berserk Skills. However, under the circumstances, he did not have the leeway to go for a different fragment. If he chose to give up on this fragment, then all of the effort he had put into killing all those Outer Path Guardians would go to waste. At this time, the three Infant Black Dragons noticed what Shi Feng was doing. Immediately, all three of them used Dragon Breath at him. "Damn it!" Shi Feng''s complexion darkened when he saw that the three Dragon Breaths covered the entire cave he was in. Instinctively, he activated Absolute Defense to protect himself. After the three Dragon Breaths landed, the size of the cave increased significantly, which gave Shi Feng a lot more room for maneuvering. Following which, time flew as Shi Feng desperately defended himself against the three Infant Dragons'' attacks. Ten minutes Fifteen minutes Twenty minutes Only 30 minutes had elapsed by the time the duration of Shi Feng''s final Berserk Skill, Disintegration Power, expired. Although he had done his best to fight in his normal state as much as possible and only use his Berserk Skills when absolutely necessary, he still exhausted all his Berserk Skills by the 30-minute mark. Without the support of any Berserk Skills, he had no choice but to rely on the simplified Holy Devour to defend against the three Infant Dragons'' attacks. However, although the simplified Holy Devour required less Concentration to execute than even Lightshadow, the burden from spamming the technique still took its toll on him. As a result, his complexion grew paler as more time passed. "Human, your time is up! You''re almost out of Stamina and Concentration already, while we are still able to continue fighting! Don''t even think of leaving alive after you''ve trespassed into the territory of Black Dragons!" The leading Infant Black Dragon spoke in an ancient language. Despite Shi Feng having no knowledge of this language, his mind actually understood the Infant Dragon''s words. No sooner had the Infant Black Dragon finished speaking than the two other Infant Dragons increased their attack rate, giving Shi Feng no room to catch a breather. One second Two seconds Three seconds As the three Infant Black Dragons'' attack rate continuously increased, Shi Feng had no choice but to use his trump cards one after another. Darkness Domain! Thunder God''s Descent! Divine Steps! Void Shield! However, his complexion paled subsequently with each trump card he expended. His brain was also plagued by a stinging pain that dulled his control over his body. Is this it for me? At this moment, Shi Feng could tell that he had already exceeded the limits of his Concentration and that he was losing control over his physical body. Now, he couldn''t execute the simplified Holy Devour anymore, completely reliant on dodging the three Infant Dragons'' attacks to keep himself alive. Void Shield''s duration was also about to run out, and as soon as it did, the three Infant Dragons would instantly kill him. Just as Void Shield''s duration was about to end, however, a system notification sounded in Shi Feng''s ears. System: Congratulations! Your Tier 4 Legacy Completion Rate has reached 102%. Do you wish to activate your Tier 4 Legacy? 2692 Tier 4 Legacy that Surpasses 100% Chapter 2692 - Tier 4 Legacy that Surpasses 100% One hundred two percent? Despite his waning consciousness, when Shi Feng heard the system''s mechanical voice, he could not help getting startled. In his previous life, he had never heard of anyone accumulating their Tier 4 Legacy''s Completion Rate beyond 100%. At best, one could raise it to 100% and fully unlock all the information their Tier 4 Legacy offered. Now, however, his Tier 4 Legacy had reached 102% Completion Rate. Just what did that mean? Shi Feng did not dwell on the matter. Now that he had met the requirements to activate his Tier 4 Legacy, he activated it without hesitation. Unfortunately, even after he had chosen to activate his Tier 4 Legacy, the three Infant Black Dragons showed no signs of letting up. In the next moment, one of the Dragons'' claws smashed down at Shi Feng. "Damn it!" Even if players managed to activate their Tier 4 Legacy, it did not mean that their Promotion Quest was over. Only after learning an adequate amount of the information contained in their Tier 4 Legacy and leaving the Legacy Land safely would players be considered to have completed their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Since there was no room for Shi Feng to dodge the approaching claw and he had no Concentration left to execute the simplified Holy Devour, he chose to block the attack with his two swords. Boom! Shi Feng''s entire body smashed into the ground with a boom. At the same time, cracks formed on his Void Shield. Thank goodness I have the Void Shield to absorb the attack''s damage. Otherwise, that move would''ve taken away at least one-fifth of my HP. Shi Feng inwardly celebrated when he saw the cracks on the Void Shield. With the Infant Black Dragons having the home-ground advantage, even if he had the Heavenly Dragon''s Breath strengthening him and suppressing the Dragons, the disparity in Strength between the two sides was still massive. Only if he activated a Berserk Skill would he stand a chance against the Dragons. However, as soon as Shi Feng pulled himself out of the ground, another claw attack came at him. To make matters worse, before the claw attack even arrived, Void Shield''s duration ended, and the barrier protecting him shattered into oblivion. The Movement Speed bonus he received from Void Shield also disappeared. As a result, he could rely on only his normal speed to dodge the approaching claw. "Foolish human! Now that you''ve lost your final card, even though you managed to activate your Legacy, you still won''t leave this place alive!" the leading Infant Dragon said as it looked down at Shi Feng, a hint of ridicule glinting in its golden pupils. It was in no hurry to attack him at all. Sure enough, it is still too much for me. Shi Feng did not try to refute the Infant Dragon''s mockery. Instead, he simply looked at the three Infant Dragons quietly. According to his original plan, after he had activated his Legacy, he would rely on his lifesaving measures to put more distance between himself and the abyss to lessen the abyss''s suppression effect. He would then try to learn his Legacy while escaping. However, he never thought that absorbing the Legacy Fragment would take up so long that, by the time he finished absorbing the fragment''s Legacy Power, he would''ve used up all his Berserk Skills and Lifesaving Skills already. In fact, he had even pushed his Concentration to its very limits. It wouldn''t be strange if he simply collapsed and lost consciousness right now. Meanwhile, even though he succeeded in activating his Tier 4 Legacy, in his current state, trying to learn his Tier 4 Legacy while going up against the three Infant Black Dragons'' attacks was simply a fantasy. Although there were differences in complexity between the Tier 4 Legacies found in God''s Domain, normally, the more powerful a Legacy was, the more difficult it would be to learn it. While he did not know how complex the Blade Saint''s Tier 4 Legacy was, it shouldn''t be easy. Going by his past experiences, players would have only one short hour to learn their Tier 4 Legacy after activating it. So long as they could learn one of the several topics offered, they would acquire their Tier 4 Legacy and complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. In the past, Shi Feng had never once managed to learn a topic from his Tier 4 Legacy within one hour. As for the experts that reached Tier 4, the majority of them had just barely managed to finish learning one topic within one hour. And even the record holder for the fastest person to learn a topic from their Tier 4 Legacy had spent nearly half an hour to do so. In his current situation, where he had to fight three Infant Black Dragons in a high-gravity environment, just how was he supposed to learn a topic from his Tier 4 Legacy within half an hour? As Shi Feng was smiling bitterly, the sound of a notification entered his ears. System: You have activated your Tier 4 Legacy. You have unlocked all four learning topics of your Legacy. You have one hour to learn them. So long as you learn just one topic listed below, you will be promoted to Tier 4. [Formless Blade] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skill When activated, attacks any target within a 300-yard radius 13 times. Every attack carries 180% Strength and causes 240% darkness damage. Cooldown: 15 seconds Learning condition: Achieve 75% Skill Completion Rate [Magic Light Assault] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skill When activated, user will transform into the image of a sword that attacks a target within a 500-yard radius. When transformed, Movement Speed is increased by 300%; Strength, by 100%; and Agility, by 100%. Cooldown: 18 seconds Learning condition: Achieve 78% Skill Completion Rate [Blade Guard] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Apex Tier 4 Legacy Skill Draw upon the power of a sword to create a formless wall that absorbs 100% physical damage from one attack. Duration: 3 seconds Cooldown: 21 seconds Learning condition: Achieve 80% Skill Completion Rate [Blade Domain] (Domain-type) Requires: Sword Apex Tier 4 Legacy Skill Inject one''s own Mana into a sword to create a Blade Domain that covers a 500-yard radius. While Blade Domain is active, user may control up to seven Magic Swords, each carrying 180% Strength and causing 300% divine damage. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour Learning condition: Achieve 85% Skill Completion Rate Four Legacy Skills at Peak rank and above? Moreover, there is even the extremely rare Apex Domain Skill. Is this the effect of a 102% Completion Rate? Shi Feng could not help doubting his eyes when he saw the content of the system notifications. In God''s Domain, even for Peak Legacies, one would be fortunate to see even one Peak Legacy Skill during the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. In fact, players that activated their Tier 4 Legacy at 100% Completion Rate would only have a chance to learn two Peak Legacy Skills. As for Apex Legacy Skills, there was only a certain chance for them to appear for Peak Legacy holders. For most players, though, Apex Legacy Skills were akin to myths. After all, just learning one Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skill would grant Tier 4 players the strength to go up against Superior Mythic ranked monsters of the same level. Unlike ordinary Tier 3 Skills and Tier 3 Legacy Skills, which relied on Mana for activation, Tier 4 Legacy Skills could also use Legacy Power. By using Legacy Power to activate a Tier 4 Legacy Skill, players could continue infusing Mana into their Skill past the minimum requirement in order to raise the power of their Legacy Skill. And once a Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skill reached its maximum power, a Tier 4 player fully geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment could use it to stand toe-to-toe against Superior Mythic ranked monsters of the same level. It was also due to the existence of Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skills that many peak experts had chosen not to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quests despite having the ability to do so. For the majority of Tier 3 experts, though, just reaching Tier 4 was already a dream, what more trying to learn a Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skill. Now, however, not only did Shi Feng have two Peak Tier 4 Legacy Skills to choose from, but he even had two Apex Tier 4 Legacy Skills! However, Shi Feng''s expression quickly darkened slightly. In the past, out of all the Advanced Tier 4 Legacy Skills he was offered during his Promotion Quests, even the most powerful one only required him to execute the Skill at a 70% Completion Rate to learn it. Now, even the easiest Peak Legacy Skill he was offered required him to achieve a 75% Completion Rate, whereas the most difficult, Blade Domain, required an 85% Skill Completion Rate; that was basically asking him to unleash 100% of Blade Domain''s power. Normally, when using Tier 4 Skills and Spells, Tier 4 experts would only be able to achieve a 70% Completion Rate or so. Even Tier 4 peak experts would be able to activate a Tier 4 Skill or Spell at 85% Completion Rate only after long training. After all, the complexity of Tier 4 Skills and Spells was much greater than that of Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Now, however, he was given only one hour to learn at least one Peak Legacy Skill to such a high standard. This was simply impossible. During the time Shi Feng was silently cursing the learning requirements, the three Infant Black Dragons hovering in midair swooped down at him. "Die, human!" The three Infant Dragons appeared almost simultaneously around Shi Feng and sent their claws smashing at him, their claws forming a perfect encirclement that left no room for evasion. Screw it! It''s all or nothing! Since there was no way for him to dodge the incoming claws, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and chose to learn the most difficult of the four Legacy Skills offered. Blade Domain! 2693 Blade Domains Migh Chapter 2693 - Blade Domain''s Might Just as the three Dragon claws were about to hit Shi Feng, paragraphs of texts and numerous images suddenly filled his mind. These texts and images were none other than the introduction to Blade Domain. Right after these texts and images appeared, an invisible ripple from the Abyssal Blade spread up to 500 yards into the surroundings in the blink of an eye. Boom Boom Boom A moment after the ripple appeared, a frightening shockwave rocked the cave Shi Feng stood in. It was so powerful that even a large boulder the size of a human adult went flying out of the cave and plunging into the bottomless abyss. When the three Infant Black Dragons hovering above Shi Feng saw this, their eyes widened in shock as they stared at the human, who was clearly near death''s door. So, this is an Apex Tier 4 Legacy Domain? Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the three massive claws that had stopped just one yard away from him. Currently, each of the three Dragon claws was blocked by a four-meter-long Magic Sword, unable to proceed even an inch further. System: Blade Domain activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate, 65%. Learning condition not met. You may use Blade Domain again in 30 seconds. Sixty-five percent?! It seems I made the right bet! Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the system notification. Truthfully, he was not confident of learning a Tier 4 Skill. After all, he had never learned one before, let alone Peak and Apex Tier 4 Legacy Skills. He had been fortunate to activate the Tier 4 Skill successfully on his first try. In the past, when he was learning the Advanced Tier 4 Legacy Skills of his class, it took him over 10 minutes just to activate the Skills once successfully. And although he was now a Domain Realm expert, he still was not confident of successfully learning Peak or Apex Tier 4 Legacy Skills within an hour. Meanwhile, in order to resolve his current predicament, he couldn''t rely on a Skill that provided only offensive or defensive capabilities. A Skill that increased his Movement Speed temporarily also wouldn''t do him much good. If he wished to survive, his only option was to learn a Domain Skill, which could be used for both offense and defense. Moreover, a Domain Skill was very useful for group combat. Aside from that, he had taken the initiative to learn Blade Domain, which should''ve been the most difficult Skill to learn out of the four available options, because he had a big advantage to rely onhis affinity for Mana. Previously, his affinity for Mana was subpar at best. His control over Mana wasn''t particularly good, either. However, after having his soul strengthened by a Soul Array, his affinity for and control over Mana had risen to whole new heights. Due to this reason, he had chosen to learn Blade Domain. Given the current circumstances, it would seem that he had made the right decision. He had not only succeeded in activating Blade Domain on his first attempt but even achieved a 65% Completion Rate. He could also sense that he still had plenty of room for improvement. According to his past experiences in learning Skills, if he could successfully activate a Skill at 65% Completion Rate on his first try, then he should be able to raise his Skill Completion Rate to 80% or beyond within the next hour. "Human, don''t celebrate yet. Although a Tier 4 Domain Skill is indeed powerful, without a Tier 4 body, you won''t be able to exhibit its true power at all!" the leading Infant Black Dragon sneered when it saw Shi Feng sighing in relief. After saying so, the Infant Dragon swept its tail at Shi Feng and shattered the Magic Sword that had managed to stop its claw attack earlier. When the two other Infant Dragons saw this scene, they promptly copied their leader''s actions, executing a tail swipe. This situation forced Shi Feng to reconstruct the Magic Swords frantically to defend against these tail swipes. For a time, Magic Swords continuously formed and shattered around Shi Feng. However, as forming Magic Swords required the use of Mana, after 20 seconds of this process, Shi Feng had already lost 10% of his Mana. At this rate, he would run out of Mana in just three more minutes and would no longer be able to sustain Blade Domain. "Human, die! So long as we are here, you humans will never lay your hands on the Ancient Legacy here!" the leading Infant Black Dragon bellowed as it looked at Shi Feng''s pale complexion. At this time, controlling his Mana started to feel somewhat taxing. When trying to mold Mana into a specific form, one would have an easier time doing so with abundant Mana. In other words, as Shi Feng''s Mana decreased, the difficulty of molding his Mana into Magic Swords would conversely increase. He estimated that if his Mana were to fall below the 30% threshold, Blade Domain would most likely be unsustainable. "Die!" When the Infant Black Dragons saw that Shi Feng had already lost 20% of his Mana, they simultaneously executed a Tier 3 Draconic Skill, Darkness Smash, with their tails. Combined with their Strength, the power this Skill could exhibit easily reached the Intermediate Tier 4 standard. It simply wasn''t an attack the Magic Swords could hope to stop. "Don''t even think of killing me so easily!" After seeing that 30 seconds had gone by already, Shi Feng activated Blade Domain once more. This time, he was much more careful when activating Blade Domain. He utilized only the minimum amount of Mana to draw the required magic array on the Abyssal Blade. Boom! In the next moment, a crater formed in the ground before Shi Feng. At the same time, an astonished look appeared on the Infant Dragons'' faces. Shi Feng had blocked their attacks again! "How did he improve so quickly?" When the Infant Black Dragons saw the Magic Swords that had formed before them, they could not help eyeing Shi Feng warily. System: Blade Domain activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate, 75%. Learning condition not met. You may use Blade Domain again in 30 seconds. What the Infant Dragons did not know was that, when they were forcing Shi Feng to create more Magic Swords and deplete his Mana, they had also been helping him familiarize himself with the process of creating Blade Domain''s Magic Swords. As a result, he became increasingly adept at manipulating the Domain Skill''s Mana; hence, he succeeded in activating the Skill a second time with much greater efficiency. So, that''s the case. The activation of Tier 4 Skills and Spells is no longer dependent on just the technique of players. Instead, it requires the integration of Mana control and technique. It''s no wonder I had such a difficult time learning Tier 4 Legacy Skills in the past. When Shi Feng saw the power of his Blade Domain increase by a significant margin, realization immediately dawned upon him. After thinking up to this point, he started using even less Mana to conjure the Magic Swords, thereby reducing the volatility of his Mana and improving its finesse. Following which, time elapsed. Every time Shi Feng activated Blade Domain, he managed to improve its Completion Rate slightly. 77% 79% 81% As Blade Domain kept strengthening, the three Infant Black Dragons grew increasingly dispirited. Initially, they were overwhelming Shi Feng. Eventually, they ended up fighting on par with him. Now, he actually held the upper hand in battle, relying on six Magic Swords to suppress them and reduce the number of attacks they could execute. After 50 minutes or so had passed System: Blade Domain activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate, 85%. Learning condition met. Do you wish to be promoted into a Tier 4 Blade Saint and utilize Blade Domain as the core for your Mana Body? "Promote!" 2694 Sword Emperor at Las Chapter 2694 - Sword Emperor at Last As soon as Shi Feng chose to proceed with his promotion, he felt as if a hidden door in his Mana Body had opened, and beyond the door was a Mana treasury. Not only did the opening of this door increase the total amount of Mana he wielded by a significant margin, but even the excess Mana his body radiated had undergone a qualitative transformation. If the Mana he radiated before was in a gaseous state, then the Mana he radiated now would be in a liquid state. The density and purity of his Mana were on a completely different level than before. Moreover, as the dense Mana inside this treasury spread throughout his body, Shi Feng''s waning consciousness perked up considerably. He could conjure up six Magic Swords with little to no effort. And the Mana constituting these Magic Swords was so dense that the swords looked and felt as if they were solid metal. In the next moment, Shi Feng sent a Magic Sword stabbing at the leading Infant Black Dragon. The sword crossed the distance of 10 yards instantly and caught the Infant Dragon completely off guard. The Magic Sword pierced the Infant Dragon''s tough scales and left a deep gash on its body, the injury causing the Infant Dragon to shriek in pain. As for the two other Infant Dragons, although Shi Feng had also sent Magic Swords stabbing at them, as the two of them were farther away, they were able to react to his attack in time, defending themselves with their claws. Even so, when their claws clashed with the Magic Swords, both Infant Dragons got knocked back by over a dozen yards, the impact causing their claws to tremble. At a glance, it was obvious that the Strengths of the two sides were no longer on the same level. Is this the true strength of a Tier 4 class? Shi Feng was surprised and excited when he saw the Magic Swords successfully injuring and repelling the Infant Black Dragons. System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 4 Blade Saint (Sword Emperor). You have activated the Apex Legacy Core. All Basic Attributes +2,000, all Resistances +150, Mana recovery rate increased by 100%, all Basic Attributes increased by 100%, and physique increased by 150%. All physical and magical attacks below Tier 4 received will be weakened by 30%. Rewarding 100 Legacy Skill Points. Just in terms of Basic Attributes, he had already reached a realm that Tier 3 players could only look at in despair, let alone the boost to his physique. If a Tier 3 player did not possess a set of extraordinary weapons and equipment, they would merely be cannon fodder in front of a Tier 4 player. Besides, there was the astonishing transformation in the quality of his Mana. He was like an entirely different creature compared to when he was still at Tier 3. In God''s Domain, Mana was the foundation of all life. Without Mana, there would basically be no life. From fighting the Infant Black Dragons, Shi Feng understood just how much a player''s Mana would affect the potency of their Skills and Spells. Now that his Mana was practically liquid, even if he had the same Basic Attributes, combat standards, and physique as a Tier 3 player, the said Tier 3 player still wouldn''t last more than a few moves against him. After all, the power of the Skills the two of them wielded would be on completely different levels. However, even though Shi Feng had successfully repelled the three Infant Black Dragons, he did not dare to idle around. He immediately manipulated his Mana and formed his Mana Domain, then flew up and away from the bottomless abyss. He had no intention of clashing with the three Infant Dragons at all. Currently, he might''ve reached Tier 4 already and even gained the strength to hold his own against the three Infant Black Dragons, but that was it. Killing the three Infant Dragons was still impossible for him. After all, now that he had gotten promoted to Tier 4, he could no longer spam Blade Domain like before. Once Blade Domain''s duration ended, he would be forced to utilize his own body to clash with the Infant Dragons. With his limited Stamina, he would definitely fall first before he could kill the three Infant Dragons. Now that he had already achieved his goal, he naturally had no reason to continue fighting the three Infant Black Dragons. The sooner he left this dangerous place, the better. Fortunately, so long as players reached Tier 4 in God''s Domain and managed to form the passive-type Mana Domain, they could fly using their own Mana, no longer reliant on external items to do so. "Despicable human, don''t even think of leaving!" The three Infant Black Dragons saw through Shi Feng''s thoughts. They widened their mouths and blew Dragon Breath at him without hesitation. In the next moment, the three dark beams the three Infant Dragons released merged into one and rapidly extended toward Shi Feng, the resultant beam turning everything in its path into an empty void. The AOE of the beam made escaping its range in time impossible. "Come!" However, despite the combined dark beam''s approach, Shi Feng showed no sign of fear at all. On the contrary, a hint of excitement and anticipation gleamed in his eyes. He had just been promoted to Sword Emperor and was still unfamiliar with his new strength. When he was controlling Blade Domain''s Magic Swords, he had merely executed the most basic forms of attack using them. He was extremely eager to see just how strong he was, now that he had risen to Tier 4. Meanwhile, the three Infant Dragons'' combined Dragon Breath was undoubtedly the perfect target for testing his strength. In the next moment, Shi Feng started executing his Defensive Combat Technique, Sword''s Orbit, using the six Magic Swords he had conjured, creating a defensive sphere that covered a 30-yard radius around him. Boom! When the massive beam of light came into contact with the beautiful galaxy of stars around Shi Feng, space around them suddenly transformed into an empty void, as if Armageddon had just arrived. If other players were to see this scene, they would definitely be dumbfounded. While looking at the empty void that had formed above them, the three Infant Black Dragons revealed a smirk on their faces. The combination attack they had just executed was far stronger than a single Dragon Breath. It was also the strongest move the three of them possessed. Although Shi Feng had already been promoted to Tier 4, if he received the attack without using an Invulnerability Skill, he would still sustain heavy injuries. However, when the empty void started recovering to its original state, the smirks on the Infant Dragons'' faces disappeared, replaced with a look of shock. After all, at this moment, let alone Shi Feng suffering injuries, even his equipment wasn''t scratched. It was as if their combination attack was nothing but a light breeze to him. Even an Advanced Combat Technique has been strengthened to such an extent? Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the empty void around him. Although he had known that Sword''s Orbit was up to defending against the three Infant Black Dragons'' combined Dragon Breath, as he now possessed much greater Basic Attributes, he never thought that he could stop their attacks so easily. Earlier, he had clearly used Sword''s Orbit just like normal, yet it was as if the technique had transformed into a magic array. The moment he executed Sword''s Orbit, the ambient Mana had actually gathered around him and strengthened the power of his techniqueto the point where it was equivalent to a Tier 4 Defensive Skill. Given Sword''s Orbit''s performance, Shi Feng suddenly felt that, if not for Blade Domain''s limited duration, he might really have a chance of killing one of the three Infant Black Dragons. Meanwhile, seeing that Blade Domain''s duration was about to run out, Shi Feng hurriedly controlled his Mana and flew to the space-time vortex in the sky above the bottomless abyss and disappeared from the Legacy Land, leaving behind three dumbfounded Infant Black Dragons. 2695 Sudden Change in Gods Domain "Dammit! That heaven-blessed bastard got away!" "We''re doomed! What should we do? How do we explain this to that great personage?" Anger and panic filled the eyes of the three Infant Black Dragons as they watched Shi Feng leave the bottomless abyss through the space-time vortex. A sense of helplessness also suffused their trembling voices when they spoke. "Our original plan is already ruined, now that the legacy has been stolen. That great personage will definitely not spare us, once he finds out. At this point, all we can do is scatter and flee. Otherwise, none of us will survive." "That''s our only option now. Hopefully, that great personage will focus his anger on that heaven-blessed bastard so that our chances of survival will be a little better." After the leading Infant Dragon spoke up, the three quickly reached a consensus. They then flapped their black wings, their hearts brimming with anger at Shi Feng as they fled the bottomless abyss. Simultaneously, they also gloated over the misfortune awaiting him. Meanwhile, on the other side of the space-time vortex, Shi Feng was wholly unaware of the discussion that had just taken place among the Infant Black Dragons. After experiencing a momentary blackout, like before, he found himself back inside the secret room of Zero Wing''s Residence in Silverwing City. "I did it! "Tier 4! I became a real Tier 4!" An indescribable sense of joy and excitement welled up within Shi Feng as he observed the Liquid Mana surging toward his body from all around. The dense Mana continuously replenished his body''s depleted Mana and mended his haggard spirit. He had finally accomplished the goal that had eluded him in his previous life. Moreover, he had even reached Tier 4 with the hidden class Blade Saint. In terms of Basic Attributes and Skills, what the Blade Saint class offered was leaps and bounds stronger than ordinary Tier 4 classes. Now, he was a true powerhouse in God''s Domain, and even the various NPC kingdoms would have to respect him. As Shi Feng reveled in his success, the system''s cold, monotonous voice suddenly entered his ears. System Announcement: God''s Domain will undergo a major update. Simultaneously, the new expansion pack "Hero''s Return" will be activated. All players will be logged out in 30 minutes. The update''s estimated duration is one natural day. The system announcement appeared three times consecutively. Inevitably, everyone in God''s Domain was shocked. Shi Feng was no exception. A major update?! How is this possible?! Shi Feng looked at the system announcement displayed before him in confusion. Even after he reread it several times, incomprehension and doubt still filled his eyes. The first major update occurred three years after God''s Domain''s official launch. There had already been plenty of Tier 4 players in the game at that time, and Tier 3 players were everywhere. Some players had even started attempting their Tier 5 promotions. Yet, now, how long had it been since God''s Domain launched? God''s Domain''s first major update was also the most memorable event for Shi Feng. The update had shaken the entire world, transforming God''s Domain into the world''s only game and entertainment. After the first major update, God''s Domain had become a completely different world from before, no longer the virtual reality game everyone thought it was. God''s Domain had become an existence beyond everyone''s imagination. Players were no longer players but a group of special entities in God''s Domain. Be it God''s Domain''s NPCs or monsters, both had existed as real people after the update, with their own lives and personalities. They had existed for the sake of survival. These changes had made God''s Domain a completely different world, no longer just a virtual reality game, but an existence that could instead affect the real world. At this moment, Shi Feng wasn''t the only person puzzled by the sudden arrival of this major update. Many players and the upper echelons of major powers were similarly surprised and confused by this situation. "A major update? And it''s even going to take one natural day? What is going on?" "Crap! I haven''t even reached Tier 3, yet the system''s going through an upgrade?! Is the system trying to take my life?!" For a while, players in God''s Domain voiced their complaints about and exasperation over the sudden system update. The update duration of one natural day caught everyone off guard, and they didn''t know what to do with this unexpected free time. After all, at this point, God''s Domain had long since become a part of their lives. Logging into God''s Domain every day had already become an instinct. The previous system updates had lasted only a few to a dozen real-world hours. This 24-hour system update was simply maddening. Anyone who entered God''s Domain as part of the first batch of players knew that the difficulty of leveling up and killing monsters would increase substantially after a system update. The requirements for players'' techniques would also increase. Hence, the major update would undoubtedly be a nightmare for players who had yet to reach Tier 3. The arrival of this update would also bring a massive change for the various powers in God''s Domain. After all, this update would reduce the number of players capable of reaching Tier 3. The difficulty and resources required to nurture their Guilds'' internal experts would also increase. This, in turn, would cripple their current development plans, and they would have to restart their planning from scratch. However, while some powers felt dissatisfied and angry over this major update, others were overjoyedespecially the new powers and corporations that had joined the game just recently. The increase in the difficulty of leveling up and obtaining resources would undoubtedly destabilize the status quo in God''s Domain. If the newcomers properly grasped this opportunity, they could replace God''s Domain''s veteran powers. The atmosphere among God''s Domain''s various powers became extraordinarily tense. While frantically poaching talents and purchasing resources, many of these powers also drastically reduced the resources for ordinary and low-potential members. In turn, this prompted many Guild players to leave their respective Guilds for greener pastures. While God''s Domain''s various powers were taking action, Liang Jing hurriedly contacted Shi Feng. "Guild Leader, all major powers are currently purchasing Coins and resources on a large scale. Shall we start buying as well?" Liang Jing asked anxiously. "That won''t be necessary." Shi Feng couldn''t help chuckling when he heard Liang Jing''s words. "Haven''t those superpowers been constantly preventing us from acquiring funds? We''ll now dispose of all the Coins we earned through Silverwing City during this period. Let them buy as much as they want." "Guild Leader?" Shi Feng''s words took Liang Jing aback, her mind unable to comprehend his intentions. The various powers were currently doing all they could to purchase Coins and resources, yet Shi Feng wanted to sell Zero Wing''s Coins in bulk. Once the system update ended, Zero Wing would end up in a pinch. "Just do it." Shi Feng smiled but didn''t offer any additional explanation. According to past system updates, purchasing Coins and resources in bulk was indeed the correct move. However, the system update this time would be different from previous ones. After the major update, not only would resources not be scarce, but obtaining them would become easier instead. Even leveling up would become less taxing. However, the major update wasn''t all sunshine and rainbows, either. After the major update, whether external or internal, the requirements for players'' promotion would become more stringent. Notably, the changes made toward Mana would require a greater understanding and control of Mana to manipulate it properly. Hence, all peak experts in his previous life had also been Master Magicians. "Right. Once everyone goes offline, have Melancholic and the others meet me in the conference room. I have something to discuss with them," Shi Feng said. He hadn''t gained only a newfound understanding of Mana during his Tier 4 Promotion Quest but also a strange metal that repelled Mana. This was his first time seeing such a metal. So long as this item wasn''t damaged beyond repair, they could refine it into a weapon or equipment. The Mana repulsion effect was beneficial to players. After all, Mana was everything in God''s Domain. There would be no life without Mana. Naturally, monsters couldn''t survive without Mana. If he could successfully recast the metal, he would have the capital to contend against the various superpowers. Such an item would be helpful when he explored dangerous forbidden lands to acquire resources necessary for conquering the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. In God''s Domain, high-level forbidden lands contained most of the resources capable of helping players reach Tier 4. Although Shi Feng had already reached Tier 4, if he visited these places by himself, the best he could do was survive. He wouldn''t be able to conduct a proper exploration of these locations. During his previous life, the various superpowers typically sent teams of Tier 4 players to explore these places. Going alone would be suicide. "Okay. I''ll contact them now." Liang Jing then disconnected the call. Frozen World, Frost Heaven City, Frost Heaven''s headquarters: Due to God''s Domain''s sudden system update, Frost Heaven had also hurriedly convened a meeting to discuss the changes that would occur to the game. Currently, over a dozen people sat in the magnificent conference room. Every one of these people was an existence capable of shaking the real world with their every step. At this moment, however, these people had nervous expressions as they looked at the middle-aged man seated at the front of the room. This middle-aged man looked very amiable. Although he had an unyielding appearance, the aura he gave off felt like a spring breeze. However, none of the people present could relax in his presence. "That''s it for the meeting," the middle-aged man said, adjourning the meeting. He then shifted his gaze to Muxin and the petite girl beside her, saying, "Muxin, Kerui, both of you stay behind." "Yes, sir!" As if they had received an amnesty, everyone unrelated promptly rushed off, leaving the middle-aged man, Muxin, and the petite Kerui sitting quietly inside the large conference room. "Uncle Hong, do you have good news to share?" Muxin asked fawningly as she looked at the stern, middle-aged man. "Little girl, you''re still pretending? Do you honestly think you can hide the fact that you''ve invited Zero Wing from everyone?" Nonchalantly, the middle-aged man added, "You should know how rare this opportunity is. This will be a gathering of titans. Even those so-called superpowers can only dream of joining. This is also an opportunity for Frost Heaven to become a true titan, yet you invited some unknown outsiders to participate." Upon hearing this, Muxin automatically turned to Kerui beside her. In response, Kerui stuck out her tongue playfully and smiled, expressing, "So what if I told on you?" Muxin sighed and shook her head in helplessness toward this little sister of hers. "Uncle Hong, while they are indeed outsiders, you shouldn''t underestimate their strength, either. This goes especially for Black Flame," Muxin said unhurriedly. "How strong can he be? He''s merely a peerless expert in the eyes of ordinary people." The middle-aged man referred to as Uncle Hong shook his head. "You should know what kind of people we are dealing with. Those people are the truly talented, possessing frightening potential and special bloodlines. They even have the full support of those major corporations. The peak experts on the Secret Pavilion''s Experts List and the various superpowers'' peerless experts are but the tip of the iceberg." "Uncle Hong is right. Being just stronger than average is nothing to those people," Kerui said as she nodded with a smile. "However, Black Flame is really strong. He can single-handedly contend against Tier 4 Faux Saint Devourers. Although he can''t be a part of the main force this time, he can still provide support from the sidelines," Muxin explained. "He can hold his ground against a Devourer?" Uncle Hong was slightly surprised by this information. "It seems this person is indeed strong." "Hmph. What''s so amazing about contending against a Devourer using brute force? Plenty of my subordinates can, too," Kerui said disapprovingly. Upon hearing Kerui''s words, Muxin had to resist the urge to pinch the girl''s cheeks. She just explained, "Uncle Hong, that person has a Mana Domain, as well. He will be of significant help with our plans." "He has a Mana Domain?" This revelation piqued Uncle Hong''s interest. "This will indeed be of help to us. "However, I''m afraid these things still aren''t enough. You should know, as well, that an individual''s strength is very limited in this upcoming operation. Moreover, the location we''re visiting this time is extraordinary. So, I will have to personally inspect whether Zero Wing''s members can join this operation." "You''ll inspect in person?" Muxin exclaimed in surprise. Uncle Hong''s identity was preeminent. The Guild Leaders of Super Guilds and even those at the helm of major corporations had to treat him with respect. If he visited Zero Wing''s headquarters and news of it got out, it would cause a sensation among the various major corporations. "Of course." In a severe tone, Uncle Hong said, "The operation this time is of utmost importance. We cannot afford carelessness." "But the time is almost up. This system update is also going to take one whole day. We''ll be tight for time if we proceed with the inspection," Muxin objected. "Don''t worry. We''ll just pay Zero Wing''s headquarters a short visit. It won''t take much time," Uncle Hong said, smiling. "Since you''ve made up your mind, leave Zero Wing''s inspection to me, Uncle Hong," Kerui suddenly suggested. "Zero Wing is a local tyrant. If they join in the operation this time, they will behave arrogantly. Also, seeing how much Big Sis admires that person''s strength, I''m thinking of bringing Tian Cheng of Frost Heaven''s Ten Swords along. "One, we can test whether Black Flame is as strong as Big Sis says. Two, we can show Zero Wing that not just anybody can join Frost Heaven''s secret operation. Even if Zero Wing passes the inspection, they''ll know how to behave during the operation." Muxin fell speechless upon hearing her little sister''s words. The Ten Swords were geniuses the Boulder Corporation had nurtured using all their technology and resources. Every one of them was a monster among monsters. They were also among the core combatants for the upcoming operation. It would be overkill to test Zero Wing using one of the Ten Swords. "Muxin, what do you think?" Uncle Hong asked. "I don''t have any objections." Muxin agreed after giving the matter some thought. In her opinion, Shi Feng shouldn''t have any problems going up against Tian Cheng with his strength. "Good. Then if Zero Wing''s strength is no good, you''ll have to modify your agreement with them," Uncle Hong said, nodding. "I understand." Muxin nodded obediently. Although she was the Boulder Corporation''s heir, she couldn''t go against her Uncle Hong''s decisions. "Big Sis, I have great expectations for you!" Kerui revealed a cute smile before logging off. Hopefully, his performance won''t disappoint Uncle Hong too much, Muxin prayed inwardly after seeing Kerui leave. She had incurred a considerable expenditure to invite Zero Wing this time. If she annulled their contract, she would have to provide a lot of compensation. Meanwhile, in the top-floor conference room of Zero Wing''s headquarters, Shi Feng, who had just logged off, was sorting through the unknown metal''s information when he heard a knock on the door. Subsequently, the door to the conference room opened slowly, and a clear and pleasant voice came from outside. "Guild Leader, they''re here." 2696 Ancient Fragments Under Liang Jing''s lead, Melancholic Smile and several other people entered the luxurious and spacious conference room. Dressed in white lab coats, the group looked very much like a bunch of scientific researchers. At this time, Melancholic Smile and the others looked much more worn out than before. Exhaustion was apparent on their faces, and their hair was a mess, as if they had just recovered from a serious illness. Shi Feng couldn''t help his surprise at this situation. "What''s the matter with you? Why do you all look so haggard?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Since Zero Wing was now a large organization, it had plenty of management and production talents. There was no need for Melancholic Smile and the others to handle everything personally. "Guild Leader, I want to file a complaint!" protested Cream Cocoa, who had a shy personality. "A complaint?" Shi Feng was taken aback. Cream Cocoa was a Master Forger of Zero Wing. She also ranked among the top three in forging standards. It was only a matter of time before she became a Grandmaster Forger. Countless people in Zero Wing were hoping to get her to make them a weapon. If these people were to form a line, it would stretch from one end of Fenglin City to the other. After all, although Cream Cocoa and other Master Forgers had a meager chance of producing Epic Weapons and Equipment, their chances of making Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment were considerable. In God''s Domain, Epic Weapons and Equipment were exceedingly rare. Even the core members of first-rate Guilds wouldn''t necessarily own one. Hence, Level 100-plus Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment could already draw envy from passersby, what more custom-made Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. To put it simply, nobody in God''s Domain would dare bully Cream Cocoa. Anyone who did would be fortunate if Cream Cocoa just outright ignored them. "Yes! I want to complain, Guild Leader!" Cream Cocoa said resolutely. "What do you want to complain about?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow!" Cream Cocoa said with her cheeks puffed out. "They''re too much! Guild Leader, you need to give me justice!" "They''re bullying you? That can''t be, right?" Shi Feng couldn''t help being surprised once more. Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were the Vice Guild Leaders of Zero Wing. They managed the Guild properly, and everyone in the Guild also respected them. He found it hard to imagine the two bullying a cute girl like Cream Cocoa. "The whole forging department has been working overtime, but we are still short 300 weapons after three days. No matter how you look at it, we can''t complete them within the next two days." Melancholic Smile and the others nodded in agreement with Cream Cocoa''s words. Customized Level 100-plus Dark-Gold Weapons were not cabbages. They were delicate works that required all of a forger''s attention; the slightest mistake would lead to failure. "That many?" The number Cream Cocoa reported shocked Shi Feng. Five hundred customized Dark-Gold Weapons was a significant number. Moreover, these weapons were Level 100-plus weapons. So many of such weapons could elevate a first-rate Guild''s core team''s overall combat power to a whole new level. "What weapon did those two ask you to make?" Shi Feng asked. "It''s this one." Cream Cocoa pulled out a tablet from her coat and swiped her finger across the screen, transferring the information on her tablet to the conference table''s holographic projector. The projection of a black spear appeared above the table. The spear was as tall as an adult human, and engraved on it were intricate magic patterns. The spear looked extraordinary at a glance. "What a powerful spear." Surprise filled Shi Feng''s eyes as he read the spear''s detailed information. [Thunder Spear] (Spear, Dark-Gold Consumable) Level 110 Equipment Requirement: Strength 2,000 Ignore Levels +30 Ignore Defense Throwing distance increases according to the wielder''s Strength with a maximum of 3,000 yards. Causes 1,000% lightning damage to a 20-yard radius upon impact. How is this even a weapon? It''s a long-range missile! Unfortunately, the spear was only for one-time use. If it had no limit, raiding Field Bosses would be child''s play. Even Tier 2 players could easily challenge Tier 4 Mythic Bosses with such a spear. If they could mass-produce this spear, siege warfare would become a joke. However, Shi Feng also had to admit that the Thunder Spear''s production was truly challenging. The required materials were secondary, costing only 20 Gold or so in all. The crucial problem was the drawing of the magic patterns. If one weren''t at the Master Magician standard, the production success rate would drop dramatically. "Guild Leader, please talk to the Vice Guild Leaders. Five days is too short. We need ten days, at least," Cream Cocoa pleaded pitifully. "I can talk to them about it." Shi Feng nodded. He felt that Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow were indeed being difficult. "That''s great! You''re the best, Guild Leader!" Cream Cocoa breathed out a sigh of relief. However, no sooner had Cream Cocoa finished speaking than Shi Feng did a U-turn, saying, "However, I hope you all can do your best to make 3,000 Thunder Spears during this period." "Guild Leader?" Cream Cocoa couldn''t believe her ears. "I''m not trying to trouble you." Slowly, Shi Feng explained, "This item is indeed very important, especially with Zero Wing lacking in high-end combatants. With this trump card, we can teach those hostile superpowers a lesson." The various superpowers currently didn''t recognize Zero Wing as a superpower because of the Guild''s lack of high-end combatants. However, a sufficient number of Thunder Spears could compensate for the Guild''s inadequate combat power. "Of course, I won''t make you work in vain." Shi Feng chuckled as he looked at Cream Cocoa''s bitter face. He then brought out the unknown metal''s information and said, "So long as you guys can complete this task, I''ll let you research this metal." Cream Cocoa immediately criticized Shi Feng''s words in her mind, lumping her Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leaders in the same group. He was completely ignoring her wishes and ruthlessly using her as a beast of labor. She couldn''t engage at all in the crafting job she liked. However, after seeing the information displayed above the table, she fell into a daze. Besides Cream Cocoa, Melancholic Smile and the other Master Forgers present were also stupefied, a passionate flame igniting in their eyes as they stared at the projection above the table. "It expels all Mana?" "How is this possible?!" "There''s such a metal in God''s Domain?" Cream Cocoa and the others muttered to themselves as if possessed. The exhaustion on their faces had also vanished completely as countless thoughts flooded their minds, as if the door to a new world had just opened to them. Shi Feng wasn''t surprised by this situation, either. For those devoted to the forging profession, a material like this only appeared in their dreams. After all, Mana was the foundation of all things in God''s Domain. If one could completely expel Mana from an object, one would be unstoppable. Just the thought of producing a weapon using such a metal excited these Master Forgers greatly. "Why does this look familiar?" Cream Cocoa mumbled as she read the metal fragments'' information. "Familiar? You''ve seen them before?" Shi Feng asked with concern. These metal fragments were so mysterious that even his Omniscient Eyes couldn''t glean any information from them. Hence, he planned to give it to the forging department for research. "Mhm. I think I read about them in an ancient book." Cream Cocoa nodded after giving the matter some thought. "This type of metal existed in ancient times. However, it wasn''t something that appeared naturally in God''s Domain but was created by Ancient Gods. Moreover, based on the appearance of these metal fragments, they should originally be parts of a whole." "You''re right. These metal fragments indeed look like the fragments of a sword," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Yet, for some reason, they can''t be fused like Fragmented Legendary items." "Although they can''t be fused, I have a way to put these fragments together," Cream Cocoa said. "But I''m not certain if this kind of patchwork will allow the weapon to exert its former power and effects." "You have a way?" Shi Feng was even more surprised to hear this. These fragments were extraordinary. If they could be repaired to a certain extent and the resulting weapon only had the effect of expelling Mana, it would still be a great weapon. "There shouldn''t be any problems," Cream Cocoa said with greater confidence. "Okay. I''ll leave these metal fragments with you. Just ask Melancholic for the materials you need." Shi Feng did not doubt Cream Cocoa''s confidence. After all, her talent was no joke. Only the short time she had come into contact with God''s Domain limited her. "You said it yourself, Guild Leader. You must open all materials in the Guild''s material warehouse to me," Cream Cocoa said, beaming at Shi Feng. All Lifestyle players desperately needed precious materials. However, let alone Legendary materials, even Inferior Legendary materials were hard to come by. Not even Super Guilds would give Lifestyle players of her caliber free use of such materials. Now that Shi Feng gave her carte blanche to use such materials, she naturally couldn''t let this opportunity get away. "Sure." Shi Feng nodded. After giving the matter some more thought, though, he added, "However, you still need to use them conservatively. Collecting those materials wasn''t easy." "Please rest assured, Guild Leader. I promise you I won''t use them all," Cream Cocoa promised with a smile, afraid that Shi Feng would take back his approval. Cream Cocoa behaved like a child who had just gotten a new toy, and Shi Feng didn''t know whether he should cry or laugh as he looked at her. Afterward, he sent all the information relevant to the metal fragments to Melancholic Smile and the others. As for whether the fragments could be repaired, he would leave that to luck. "By the way, Guild Leader, the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s members arrived yesterday. They are currently training with our Guild''s core members, and Duan Hanshan is their leader. However, as you have been busy, I didn''t bother you about it," Liang Jing suddenly said. "Duan Hanshan came in person?" This piece of news puzzled Shi Feng. Duan Hanshan was a giant in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Typically, sending a management staff for a training meeting between Guilds would be more than enough. It was inconceivable that a bigshot like Duan Hanshan came in person. "Do you want to meet them now?" Liang Jing asked. "Since Duan Hanshan came here in person, as the Guild Leader, I naturally have to meet him. Make the necessary arrangements," Shi Feng said. "I''ll get it done now." Liang Jing promptly left the conference room. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng discussed the ancient fragments with Cream Cocoa and the others, two men and two women walked toward Zero Wing Tower. And leading this group was an amiable, middle-aged man. After observing Zero Wing''s internal members coming and going from the building for some time, Kerui, the cute girl in a red dress, turned to the peerless beauty beside her. Smiling, she said, "Big Sis, it looks like Zero Wing is only average. Not only are there barely any people here, but most of them haven''t even reached the Refinement Realm yet. I can''t imagine what powerful experts Zero Wing can offer the operation this time." Although Zero Wing''s headquarters'' prosperity wouldn''t necessarily have any relation to Zero Wing''s strength, it should still reflect some of it. Muxin remained silent in response to Kerui''s comment. While she knew that Zero Wing had just recently emerged, she never thought that the Guild''s headquarters would have so few members stationed in it. Moreover, the average strength of these members was appallingly weak. Let alone superpowers, they couldn''t even hold a candle to the members found in the various pseudo-superpowers'' headquarters. "Alright, let''s go in and have a look." Uncle Hong frowned slightly. However, he didn''t dwell on the matter, entering the lobby of Zero Wing''s headquarters together with Muxin and the others. 2697 Inspecting Zero Wing Zero Wing Tower''s lobby: With a ceiling soaring nine meters high, the lobby looked very much like a small stadium. Aside from the reception for visitors, it also had a cafe and a lounge area, as well as a virtual combat platform for the Guild''s internal members to entertain themselves and visitors. Due to these reasons, quite a lot of people had gathered in the lobby. When Muxin and her companions entered the lobby, they quickly noticed several hundred people thronged the virtual combat platform. These people were spectating a duel between Zero Wing''s internal members, and the scene was very lively. After seeing Muxin''s group entering the lobby, one of the front desk receptionists approached them and asked, "Hello, are you here to look around Zero Wing''s headquarters? Or do you have other business to attend to here?" "My two nieces are interested in Zero Wing, so I brought them here for a visit today," Uncle Hong explained with a smile. "Certainly." The receptionist smiled and took out four visitor cards. "You may visit up to the ninth floor with this visitor card. The floors beyond are only for internal members. If you have any questions after your tour, feel free to consult with the front desk." "Thank you." Uncle Hong nodded and accepted the visitor cards. Afterward, the receptionist returned to her position at the front desk and allowed Muxin''s group to roam about the building freely. "Zero Wing sure is generous. They''re actually allowing outsiders to tour their headquarters. This will save us a lot of trouble," Kerui commented in surprise as she received a visitor card from Uncle Hong. Usually, the various large Guilds would place tight restrictions on their headquarters. Aside from the lobby, they generally wouldn''t allow outsiders to visit other locations. "They might be trying to lure more people to join Zero Wing," Muxin said. She more or less understood Zero Wing''s circumstances. Although Zero Wing was prospering in God''s Domain, it remained an unknown entity in the real world. Despite having gone to great lengths to secure a Guild headquarters, Zero Wing still lacked talents. Letting visitors tour its headquarters would undoubtedly give players unaware of Zero Wing''s existence a better understanding of the Guild. "There are quite a few people here, but it''s a pity that there are hardly any experts. Even the two people dueling are only at the Half-step Refinement Realm," Kerui commented as she looked at the battle taking place at the virtual combat platform. She could tell the two duelists'' combat standards at a glance. "I think we should be more cautious when partnering with such a Guild. Our plan involves a lot of things. If outsiders see that we can''t even find capable helpers, they''ll start looking down on Frost Heaven." "How unexpected! Zero Wing really cannot be underestimated. They''ve actually kept such talents hidden," Uncle Hong praised as he looked at the several youths. "Talents?" Kerui stared at those ordinary-looking youths in confusion. "Young Miss, you shouldn''t underestimate those people. Although their auras aren''t apparent, they are bona fide experts. That blue-haired guy, in particular, has completely restrained his aura. If I hadn''t scrutinized him, I''m afraid I wouldn''t even be aware of his existence," Tian Cheng, the seemingly vulnerable and honest youth standing beside Kerui, explained quietly. "Honestly, I''m not confident I can win against him." "How is that possible?" Tian Cheng''s words stunned Kerui. She suspected that the latter was joking with her. Tian Cheng was one of the peerless geniuses Frost Heaven cultivated. Not only had he reached the Domain Realm at a young age, but he also had a naturally gifted brain. His processing speed was much faster than ordinary people''s. Even the older-generation Domain Realm experts wouldn''t necessarily be his match. How could Zero Wing possibly cultivate an expert rivaling Tian Cheng? "They shouldn''t be Zero Wing members," Muxin suddenly said. "They''re not?" Uncle Hong was slightly surprised. For such youthful experts to appear in Zero Wing''s headquarters, how could they not be Zero Wing members? "I''ve seen their information before. Although they look somewhat different in God''s Domain, their appearances are roughly the same. That blue-haired youth should be Solitary Frost, the strongest of Azure''s younger generation. I heard even Violet Sword values him greatly," Muxin explained. Unlike Uncle Hong, who managed the Guild from behind the scenes, Muxin was responsible for the Guild''s intelligence network. Hence, she had a much better understanding of God''s Domain''s various powers than Uncle Hongespecially when it came to the various superpowers'' younger generation. She placed great importance on collecting such information. "Why would Azure''s peerless genius run all the way here?" Kerui grew even more puzzled at this revelation. The various superpowers treasured their peerless geniuses. They would shower these geniuses with all sorts of precious resources and require them to undergo strict training regimens every day. They wouldn''t let these people leave their headquarters at will. Tian Cheng was a similar case. If not to inspect Zero Wing''s strength this time, he wouldn''t have received permission to leave Frost Heaven''s headquarters. "Zero Wing really is interesting. Not only did Azure''s peerless genius come running over, but so did an old fellow from Azure," Uncle Hong said as he gazed at a cool-headed, middle-aged man resting and drinking tea in a corner of the lobby. "Old fellow?" When Kerui checked the focus of Uncle Hong''s attention, her mouth dropped wide open subconsciously. The man Uncle Hong was looking at was none other than Duan Hanshan, the strongest person of the Duan family''s second generation. Duan Hanshan''s reputation in the virtual gaming industry was in no way inferior to Uncle Hong''s. Or, to put it in another way, she had grown up listening to the stories of these men. For such a bigshot to visit Zero Wing''s headquarters personally was definitely big news. At the same time Hong Xinyuan noticed Duan Hanshan, Duan Hanshan also noticed Hong Xinyuan''s presence. The two of them then smiled at each other. "Come. Let''s head over," Hong Xinyuan said, smiling. After saying so, Hong Xinyuan made his way to Duan Hanshan. As for Muxin and the others, they obediently followed him while bating their breaths. "Old Hong, what brings you here?" Duan Hanshan greeted Hong Xinyuan with a smile. "My two nieces are interested in Zero Wing, so I came to look around," Hong Xinyuan replied perfunctorily. "However, I''m curious as to why the western continent''s Ice Demon is here. There still shouldn''t be much interaction between the eastern and western continents." The Azure Chamber of Commerce mainly operated on the western continent, and the businesses it had on the eastern continent were very few. No matter how he thought about it, there shouldn''t be much contact between Azure and Zero Wing. Narrowing his eyes, Duan Hanshan refused to believe a single word from Hong Xinyuan''s mouth. He then stroked his beard and said flatly, "It''s nothing. I just brought some of Azure''s newcomers for a training meeting with Zero Wing." "You guys are here for training?" Hong Xinyuan reflexively arched a brow at Duan Hanshan, doubt coloring his face. Let alone Hong Xinyuan, even Kerui thought Duan Hanshan was messing with them. Although she was a newcomer who had just entered the virtual gaming industry recently, she knew that the Azure Chamber of Commerce possessed an extraordinary foundation. It stood high above ordinary superpowers. In comparison, Zero Wing was a new Guild that had just emerged along with God''s Domain. Who would believe that Azure would send its top talents to receive training from Zero Wing? "What? Don''t believe me?" Duan Hanshan chuckled. "If we were in a Super Guild''s headquarters, I would definitely believe you, but Zero Wing?" Hong Xinyuan chuckled and shook his head. Some Guild operations indeed had to be kept confidential and could not be disclosed to outsiders. However, in Hong Xinyuan''s opinion, Duan Hanshan''s excuse was simply too poor. Saying that Azure''s top talents had come to teach Zero Wing''s newcomers would be more believable. "I knew you wouldn''t believe me." Duan Hanshan''s smile grew even brighter when he heard Hong Xinyuan''s reply. He then pointed at the nearby virtual combat platform and said, "We''re going to have a coaching battle with Zero Wing in a moment. Since you don''t believe me, how about we make a bet?" "Bet? How are we betting?" Hong Xinyuan asked out of curiosity. "Didn''t you bring a newcomer too?" Duan Hanshan glanced at Tian Cheng. Calmly, he said, "I can see he''s quite good. How about you have him replace one of my newcomers? However, this is a precious spot, so I can''t just let your newcomer join for free. I''ll have to collect five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid as a deposit." Hong Xinyuan nearly choked at Duan Hanshan''s proposal. Not only was Duan Hanshan asking his side to contribute manpower, but he was even asking for five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Duan Hanshan was too shameless! "Don''t be in a hurry to reject me." Upon seeing Hong Xinyuan''s dark face, Duan Hanshan added, "If you win this bet, I''ll pay you back double." "It seems you''re quite optimistic of Zero Wing''s members." Hong Xinyuan was somewhat surprised. Ten bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid were enough to supply a top talent for half a yeara significant amount to any superpower. "Sort of." Duan Hanshan nodded. "However, if you lose, you''ll have to compensate me with an additional ten bottles." "" Hong Xinyuan was momentarily at a loss for words. Why did Duan Hanshan make it sound as if they would lose no matter what? When had Frost Heaven''s reputation fallen to such a degree? "How about it? Wanna bet?" Duan Hanshan asked hastily when Hong Xinyuan remained silent for some time. However, Hong Xinyuan wasn''t a young and arrogant rookie. He didn''t pay any attention to Duan Hanshan''s goading at all. Instead, he turned to look at the honest-looking Tian Cheng. "Tian Cheng, what do you think?" Hong Xinyuan asked. 2698 Zero Wings Hidden Strength? Upon hearing Hong Xinyuan''s question, Kerui hurriedly signaled Tian Cheng to agree. After all, this was an excellent opportunity to disrupt Muxin''s plan. Tian Cheng was the fifth strongest person among Frost Heaven''s Ten Swords. Out of everyone in Zero Wing, only Black Flame could possibly contend against him. However, Tian Cheng surprisingly did not answer right away. "Uncle Hong, may I use my full strength in the match?" Tian Cheng asked. The Ten Swords were different from Frost Heaven''s ordinary members. It was imperative that they conceal their strength from outsiders. Unless they received explicit orders from the upper echelon, they couldn''t show their full power even if it meant suffering defeat. Tian Cheng''s question didn''t surprise Duan Hanshan. After all, this was also the case with the Azure Chamber of Commerce. Only during the annual competition before did Solitary Frost and the others have their restrictions lifted. "You can use your full strength when necessary," Hong Xinyuan said after giving the matter some thought. Zero Wing''s Black Flame possessed the strength to contend against the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Devourers. If Black Flame stepped forward as Zero Wing''s representative, Tian Cheng would undoubtedly lose if he held back his strength. Such an outcome wasn''t what Hong Xinyuan wished to see. After all, his goal here today was to establish Frost Heaven''s prestige. "I don''t have any problems, then." Fighting spirit flared in Tian Cheng''s eyes. "Good. I''ll leave it to you, then." Hong Xinyuan nodded in satisfaction. He then turned to Duan Hanshan and said, "Old Ice Demon, we have a deal." Initially, Hong Xinyuan had been considering how to go about making Zero Wing aware of Frost Heaven''s might after doing a brief inspection of Zero Wing''s headquarters. Now, it would seem he could save his efforts. "That''s settled." Duan Hanshan chuckled. He then turned to the blue-haired youth nearby and said, "Gu Han[1], step down for now. Let this kid take your place." "Him?" After scanning the honest-looking youth standing beside Duan Hanshan, Gu Han asked reluctantly, "Are you sure?" Immediately, both Tian Cheng and Hong Xinyuan had the urge to puke blood. Just how much were others underestimating Frost Heaven nowadays? However, Hong Xinyuan did not explode in anger. He merely signaled Tian Cheng with his eyes, conveying, "You know what to do." They would let the Azure Chamber of Commerce know just how powerful Frost Heaven was through this duel. After a while, the coaching battle between Zero Wing and the Azure Chamber of Commerce officially began. At this time, more people thronged the virtual combat platform. Whether it was Zero Wing''s members or Azure''s members, both were ecstatic. "I heard the best record so far is only 16 seconds." "Sixteen? In that case, Frost Heaven''s newcomer should last ten seconds." "Ten? Bullshit! I bet he won''t last more than six or seven seconds!" The sudden substitution for the coaching battle sparked a heated discussion among the audience. In particular, Azure''s members placed all their focus on guessing how many seconds Tian Cheng could last in the duel. This situation had Kerui gnashing her teeth and dumbfounded Muxin. Is it because Frost Heaven hasn''t made any major movements recently? Is everyone treating us as pushovers already? Muxin felt that something was amiss as she eavesdropped on the discussions. The behavior of Azure''s members was too strange. Every one of them spoke as if being able to last only several seconds against Zero Wing''s representative was something to be proud of. None of them possessed the consciousness of an expert at all. After Tian Cheng sat within the virtual combat cabin, the door on the other side of the cabin slowly opened. A young and beautiful girl then walked in, sat on the battle seat directly opposite Tian Cheng, and gently donned the link helmet. However, contrary to Tian Cheng''s expectations, his opponent did not exude an expert''s temperament and sharpness at allthe girl next door type. Are you kidding me? Anger immediately stirred in Tian Cheng''s heart when he saw this girl. Initially, he thought that Zero Wing would send a great expert to fight him. He had even sought permission from Hong Xinyuan to use his full strength. However, not only did Zero Wing not send Black Flame to face him, but even the Guild''s two Vice Guild Leaders did not show up. Instead, it fielded a little girl. Zero Wing was thoroughly underestimating Frost Heaven. "Old Ice Demon, this is the Guild you have high hopes for?" Hong Xinyuan chuckled involuntarily as he inspected Violet Cloud. After seeing Duan Hanshan''s confidence, Hong Xinyuan had very nearly believed that there was more to Zero Wing than met the eye. However, given the current circumstances, it would seem he had been worried for nothing. Although Violet Cloud was indeed talented for reaching the Void Realm at such a young age, she was still way behind when compared to Tian Cheng. In fact, Tian Cheng should end the fight within seconds. "Of course." Upon seeing the smile on Hong Xinyuan''s face, Duan Hanshan similarly smiled and suggested, "Why don''t we add to the wager, then?" "What? Are you regretting your decision?" Hong Xinyuan smiled. "No. In addition to the previous wager, how about we bet 100,000 Magic Crystals?" Duan Hanshan suggested happily. "What if I don''t accept?" Hong Xinyuan asked. In Hong Xinyuan''s opinion, Duan Hanshan was simply trying to scare him into canceling their bet. With the major update God''s Domain was undergoing, the prices of Magic Crystals and various materials were bound to increase. Hence, the various superpowers were currently doing their best to collect as much of these resources as possible; no one was willing to sell. Moreover, 100,000 Magic Crystals was a considerable sum, one even Hong Xinyuan wouldn''t wager casually. "It doesn''t matter if you refuse. It''s up to you," Duan Hanshan said indifferently. "Okay, I''ll bet with you," Hong Xinyuan agreed after seeing Duan Hanshan give up so readily. "Good. I knew you were a good person," Duan Hanshan chortled. "A good person?" Hong Xinyuan found Duan Hanshan''s words strange. Meanwhile, during their conversation, the holographic screen outside the combat cabin also displayed the battlefield Violet Cloud and Tian Cheng stood on. The battlefield was a barren wilderness, with the two players 100 yards apart from each other. Both of them retained their Attributes, levels, and equipment from when they logged out of God''s Domain. At this time, Tian Cheng sported six pieces of Epic Equipment. The spear he held also gave off a dark glow and made the surrounding space tremble slightly, even while idle. With one glance, it was obvious that the spear was an extraordinary Magic Weapon with Attributes that definitely surpassed those of ordinary Epic Weapons. As for Tian Cheng, he had already reached Level 119. His level ranked at the top even among the entirety of God''s Domain. "Hehe, now you know how powerful our Guild is," Kerui muttered. However, contrary to Kerui''s expectations, the crowd outside the combat cabin didn''t reveal any surprise or exclaim in shock, remaining remarkably calm. On the other hand, complicated feelings flashed in Muxin''s eyes as she looked at the holographic screen. It was as if she had just seen something unbelievable. Kerui followed her elder sister''s gaze. Violet Cloud, Level 121. Violet Cloud was two levels higher than Tian Cheng. "Level 121?" Kerui was dumbfounded. Frost Heaven had mobilized all its resources to help Tian Cheng reach Level 119. Yet, a Cleric from Zero Wing was actually two levels above him. Inside the virtual combat space, Tian Cheng was also surprised. He never imagined that someone would surpass him in terms of levels, and by two levels at that. "It seems you''re quite capable. However, this level difference won''t bring you any advantages," Tian Cheng said as he looked at Violet Cloud. "On the other hand, fighting in such an open wilderness is a huge disadvantage for a magical class like yourself. You won''t have any room for evasion." "That might not be the case!" Violet Cloud shook her head, disagreeing with Tian Cheng''s opinion. "Is that so? Let me see if you''re right, then!" After saying so, Tian Cheng suddenly charged at Violet Cloud, leaving behind an afterimage in his original location. Tier 3 Skill, Shadow Thorn! Due to the virtual combat cabin''s limitations, he couldn''t replicate 100% of his strength in God''s Domain; however, his physique and Basic Attributes were the same as what he had in the game. While ordinary Tier 3 players might take some time to cross 100 yards, Tian Cheng boasted the Tier 3 Hidden Class Dragonspear Warrior. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Violet Cloud and thrust his spear at her. A flurry of spear images rained down on the Cleric, every one of them distorting space. This attack was Tian Cheng''s best technique, something even Domain Realm experts found challenging to receive. "A combination of magic and martial arts?" Duan Hanshan immediately understood the underlying principles of Tian Cheng''s technique, and he had to admit that the youth was indeed very talented. While Tian Cheng''s technique might look like a series of simple thrusts, these attacks actually formed a magic array that allowed them to integrate into one. Tian Cheng''s Mana manipulation ability was simply inhuman. The power of his attack was definitely on par with Mythic monsters of the same level. If this attack struck a magical-class player, the result would undoubtedly be instant death. Just as Kerui felt proud of Tian Cheng''s performance, a sigh entered her ears. "That guy sure is brave. He actually entered melee range. He''s dead for sure." Kerui quickly dismissed these words. After all, if not a melee, how should a melee player fight a magical-class player? At range? Even a greenhorn wouldn''t speak such nonsense! Defying Kerui and the others'' expectations of a quick retreat and a counterattack once Tian Cheng''s assault ended, Violet Cloud held her position. Moreover, she even took the initiative to meet Tian Cheng''s attack. Just when the rain of spears was about to land, Violet Cloud swung her staff horizontally and raised her free hand to receive the fierce assault. Not only did this scene stunned the spectators outside the combat cabin, but even Tian Cheng himself was puzzled. A magical-class player trying to receive a melee player''s attack without spells was simply suicide! However, when Violet Cloud''s hand was about to come into contact with the spear images, a twofold magic array suddenly appeared on her palm. Tier 3 Defensive Spell, Amethyst Barrier! After summoning the Amethyst Barrier, Violet Cloud waved her hand once more, pushing out the crystalline barrier. The next moment, not only did the spear images scatter upon clashing with the Amethyst Barrier, but the barrier even continued pressing forward toward Tian Cheng, forcing the latter to dodge it. "Tier 3 Defensive Spells can be used like that?" Kerui was stunned when she saw Violet Cloud nullify Tian Cheng''s attack. Defensive Spells in God''s Domain were generally stationary; they couldn''t be moved once cast. The main reason for this was the inhuman level of Mana control required to execute such a complex feat. This was something beyond even Domain Realm experts, yet Violet Cloud had done it. Meanwhile, just as Tian Cheng dodged the Amethyst Barrier and was about to launch another attack on the Cleric, he suddenly froze in shock. Over 300 magic blades had appeared around Violet Cloud, dancing around her like sprites. Every one of them carried enough power to decimate heaven and earth. Without giving Tian Cheng a chance to catch his breath, these magical sprites immediately shot at him. Double speed-casting? Tian Cheng hurriedly executed a Defensive Combat Technique while simultaneously activating a Tier 3 Defensive Skill. The next moment, a pitch-black phantom emerged from Tian Cheng''s body and spread toward the oncoming magic blades. Boom Boom Boom A series of explosions occurred in midair, the sound reverberating throughout the battlefield. The spatial fluctuations occurring were even visible on the virtual combat platform''s holographic screen. Tian Cheng''s defense could be said to be perfect. He had already reached consummate mastery over his Domain. Every one of his actions had been simplified to the extreme, and they created an iron wall before him. Three seconds later, a person''s silhouette flew out of the dust veiling the battlefield and smashed into the ground. "How is this possible?!" Kerui was stupefied when she identified this silhouette. After all, this person was none other than Tian Cheng. 2699 A Foregone Conclusion "Iactually lost?" Tian Cheng wore a dazed expression when he woke up back inside the combat cabin. For a time, his thoughts lingered on the final moment of the fight. "What exactly happened to Tian Cheng? How did he get defeated so suddenly?" Questions flooded Kerui''s mind as she stared at the holographic screen. Tian Cheng was clearly holding his own against the magic blades a second ago. Yet, in the next second, he got devoured by them. This situation was like a nightmare. Tian Cheng had combined a Bronze Defensive Combat Technique with a Tier 3 Defensive Skill. Even Tier 4 Mythic monsters couldn''t have harmed him. How could a Tier 3 Cleric like Violet Cloud possibly land an attack on him? However, unlike Kerui, none of the spectators around the Frost Heaven contingent were surprised by this situation. Azure''s members, in particular, even felt that this was a reasonable outcome. "She seized his Mana!" Muxin gasped deeply as she looked at Violet Cloud''s figure displayed on the screen. "Her control over Mana is already at the Tier 4 standard. She has full control over the Mana within her sphere of control, and players below Tier 3 cannot use Mana to fight her." In God''s Domain, players would start learning how to manipulate Mana after reaching Tier 2. And to advance to Tier 3, they had to construct a Mana Body, which allowed them to manipulate the ambient Mana to power and enhance their Skills and Spells. However, if players couldn''t utilize the ambient Mana, then their Skills and Spells would be drastically weakened. In contrast, once a player''s control over Mana reached the Tier 4 standard, they could control all the Mana within a 50-yard radius or more. And within this range, the Skills and Spells they used would far surpass that of ordinary Tier 3 players. With the combination of these two effects, even though Tian Cheng had vastly superior combat standards, he was still no match for Violet Cloud in terms of overall combat power. Realization dawned upon Kerui when she heard Muxin''s explanation, and complicated emotions filled her heart as she looked at Violet Cloud. "She''s not much older than me, right?" Kerui mumbled to herself. "Could she be the incarnation of a Tier 4 NPC?" Not only did Violet Cloud reach the Void Realm standard at such a young age, but her control over Mana had also reached the Tier 4 standard. This was a feat that veteran Domain Realm experts had yet to accomplish. Hong Xinyuan, sitting beside Kerui, reacted surprisingly calmly to the duel''s outcome. In fact, a hint of appreciation even appeared in his eyes as he looked at Violet Cloud. "Old Hong, you didn''t lose unjustly, right?" Duan Hanshan asked as he stroked his beard. "Of course. Any well-informed superpower could find out about that matter." Duan Hanshan nodded. "You didn''t lose for nothing this time. You should know that Elder Sinful Flame lost to this young lady in our internal competition. You should be laughing at your harvest." However, what Duan Hanshan didn''t know was that the current Violet Cloud was much stronger than when she fought against Sinful Flame. This time, she didn''t rely on her staff to raise her Concentration to the Tier 4 standard. Instead, she had reached Tier 4 by relying on herself. In other words, her Mana control had improved by a significant margin. "Yes, this is a worthwhile loss." Hong Xinyuan also couldn''t help smiling at Duan Hanshan''s words. "This trip wasn''t in vain, after all." "Uncle Hong?" Hong Xinyuan''s happy reaction confused Kerui. That was 15 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and 100,000 Magic Crystals they were talking about. This was a significant sum, even for Frost Heaven. "That''s right. This is a worthwhile loss." Muxin also smiled. Frost Heaven''s operation this time was of utmost importance. It might even affect the situation of God''s Domain. It was naturally better for the foreign aid they requested to be as strong as possible. Although Tian Cheng couldn''t display his full strength with the virtual combat platform, the abilities Violet Cloud had revealed thus far were already more than enough to qualify her as a capable helper. "Muxin, you did a good job this time," Hong Xinyuan praised Muxin. "I am only trying to help the Guild." Muxin smiled in delight. It wasn''t easy to earn Hong Xinyuan''s praise. "Afterward, notify Black Flame that I will give Zero Wing 20 slots for our secret operation. Also, aside from the 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, the Boulder Corporation will also give Zero Wing three slots to enter the Upper Zone if the operation succeeds," Hong Xinyuan said, smiling. "Uncle Hong?" Muxin was shocked. For a moment, she even thought her ears were playing tricks on her. "Uncle Hong, aren''t you giving too much?" Kerui''s eyes were also wide with shock. She wondered whether Hong Xinyuan had lost his mind. Zero Wing was an outsider. Giving the Guild some items and Credits should already be more than enough. Yet, Hong Xinyuan was actually offering those precious slots as remuneration. If the corporation''s Grand Elders were to learn of this, they would definitely jump in shock. After all, many of these Grand Elders'' children and grandchildren didn''t even get those slots. "How generous of you, Old Hong. If I remember correctly, you shouldn''t have that many reserved slots in hand, right?" Duan Hanshan was also astonished by Hong Xinyuan''s decision. To ordinary people, entering the Upper Zone was but a dream. To the wealthy, this name was something they all desired. The Upper Zone was a special region the Green God Company had constructed, and only select megacities had it. In total, there were fewer than 60 Upper Zones worldwide. Meanwhile, the main reason why countless wealthy people sought to enter the Upper Zone was longevity and youth. According to statistics gathered 50 years ago, the average life expectancy of people living in the Upper Zones had already reached 130 years. In addition, residents could remain in their prime up to 80 years old. In other words, an 80-year-old person living in an Upper Zone could be as physically fit as a 50-year-old person living in the outside world. And this was only the statistics from 50 years ago. The Upper Zones offered many other benefits. However, only residents would know what these benefits were. Meanwhile, the number of people allowed to enter the Upper Zones every year was limited. Moreover, one wouldn''t necessarily be able to enter an Upper Zone just by having money. One also needed to meet certain conditions. Of course, the Green God Company would also reserve a number of slots for the international corporations that were its partners. However, this number was so incredibly small that these corporations couldn''t bear giving any of their slots to outsiders. Only those who had made great contributions could receive a slot. For Hong Xinyuan to offer three slots to Zero Wing was an unreasonably generous move. "I can still afford to give away three slots," Hong Xinyuan said, clicking his tongue. However, while he pretended not to care very much, the distress in his eyes couldn''t escape any of the experts present. "It seems you have it tough, as well," Duan Hanshan said as he gave Hong Xinyuan a complicated look. Of those present, only he knew of some of the reasons behind Hong Xinyuan''s decision. However, Duan Hanshan''s words bewildered Muxin and Kerui. "Alright, our goal has been achieved. We should go now." Hong Xinyuan chuckled without giving an explanation. He then turned around and walked out of the lobby, showing no intention of staying even a moment longer. After Hong Xinyuan''s group left, Gu Han, who was standing some distance away, approached Duan Hanshan. "Elder Duan, why did Frost Heaven pay Zero Wing a visit this time?" Gu Han asked out of curiosity. "It''s nothing important." Duan Hanshan took a deep breath, complex emotions darkening his eyes as he watched Hong Xinyuan''s group exit the building. "It''s just that a big change is imminent, and the time you youngsters have is dwindling." "A big change?" Gu Han grew even more confused at Duan Hanshan''s words. Just as Gu Han was about to ask more questions, Liang Jing walked out of an elevator and approached them. "Elder Duan, our Guild Leader would like to see you," Liang Jing said respectfully. "It seems your Guild Leader finally decided to come out. He really kept this old man waiting." Nodding, Duan Hanshan continued, "It just so happens I want to talk to him about the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. Lead the way." "This way, please, Elder Duan." Liang Jing led Duan Hanshan to the express elevator to the building''s top floor. 2700 Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions Disappearance Zero Wing Tower, top-floor reception room: "Shi Feng, meeting you truly isn''t easy. This old man has waited two whole days," Duan Hanshan said facetiously as he took a sip of tea on the sofa. Despite Duan Hanshan''s jocular words, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. He could feel something different about Shi Feng, yet he couldn''t put his finger on it at the moment. In God''s Domain, Shi Feng felt like a vast ocean. Now, although he still gave off a calm and vast feeling, Duan Hanshan could also feel hints of wind and rain coming from the youth. It was as if this calm could explode at any moment. In fact, Duan Hanshan could even feel a faint trace of danger from Shi Feng right now. However, this feeling was intermittent, leaving Duan Hanshan uncertain. Shi Feng himself didn''t notice this change. After completing his Tier 4 promotion and exiting his virtual gaming cabin, he only felt that his thoughts had become sharper and nothing more. This situation also puzzled Shi Feng somewhat. Unlike the previous breakthroughs he had, his body didn''t become deprived of energy because of the breakthrough. On the contrary, his current physical condition was surprisingly good. He had not entered a state of weakness after this breakthrough. "Elder Duan, you jest. I truly had to go to great lengths to get out of God''s Domain," Shi Feng explained. "May I know why you decided to visit Zero Wing''s headquarters personally this time? Did something big happen?" Duan Hanshan was the Duan family''s representative in the Azure Chamber of Commerce. His status was not the slightest bit inferior to that of the Guild Leaders of super-first-rate Guilds. No matter how one looked at it, there was no way someone of such status would escort a bunch of newcomers for training. This was especially true for Azure, a superpower that focused on commerce. Azure was much busier than combat-oriented Guilds, as it had to maintain a vast and accurate information network. "You really are a straightforward person. You behave nothing like the Guild Leaders of other powers." Duan Hanshan chuckled. "However, I am similar to you in this aspect. "In that case, I''ll get straight to the point. Indeed, I didn''t come here for the training meeting but another major event. This matter might even have something to do with Zero Wing." "A major event that concerns Zero Wing?" Shi Feng couldn''t help growing curious. "May I know what this event is, Elder Duan?" If even an individual like Duan Hanshan spoke of this matter as a major event, then it had to involve the various superpowers. However, based on what he heard from Liang Jing, aside from the system update, there shouldn''t be any other major events in God''s Domain recently. "Yes. The Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s three Pavilion Masters disappeared together with their close aides, and there has been no news of them even now," Shi Feng replied, nodding. The three Pavilion Masters'' disappearance had caused an uproar among the various superpowers. He had also asked Mu Lingsha to inquire into the situation, but she still hadn''t discovered anything thus far. "The matter I spoke of is somewhat related to the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion," Duan Hanshan said, his expression growing serious. "Two days ago, the Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leaders of the Nine-star Family all disappeared." "The Nine-star Family''s leadership disappeared? How is this possible?" Shi Feng was stunned by the news. Not only was the Nine-star Family a super-first-rate Guild, but its background was even stronger than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s. According to rumors, the Guild had suddenly gained the support of a powerful corporation. It currently occupied a portion of several empires and was close to catching up with Starlink. Moreover, the Nine-star Family had six Vice Guild Leaders, who independently managed the Guild Branches in different empires. The fact that all of them had disappeared overnight was even more unbelievable than the simultaneous disappearance of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s three Pavilion Masters. As for the possibility of someone attacking the Nine-star Family''s headquarters, that was even more impossible. After all, powers of such caliber possessed comprehensive security systems. Even several grandmaster martial artists shouldn''t be able to kidnap these people in secret. "News of this matter has been blocked. Not many superpowers know of it," Duan Hanshan said in a quiet tone. "What does this have to do with Zero Wing?" Shi Feng grew even more curious after hearing Duan Hanshan''s words. "Could the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion have a hand in this matter?" "No." Duan Hanshan shook his head. "According to Azure''s investigations, both the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s and Nine-star Family''s leaders disappeared after secretly meeting with Saint''s Hand. And according to inside information from the Nine-star Family, after the Guild''s leaders disappeared from the game, a group of mysterious people took their gaming cabins away." "A group of mysterious people took their gaming cabins? Is this Saint''s Hand''s doing?" After hearing Duan Hanshan''s explanation, Shi Feng suspected that the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had faced a similar situation. "Also, did you find out where their cabins were transported to?" "While we still don''t know if this incident is related to that mysterious bunch in God''s Domain, we did find out where the cabins were transported to," Duan Hanshan replied, chuckling. "Where?" Shi Feng asked curiously. Logically, with the forces the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Nine-star Family wielded, the two Guilds should''ve been able to locate their leaders quickly. However, even now, there was no news from the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion. This was truly a bizarre situation. "TheUpperZone!" Duan Hanshan said these words one by one. "The Upper Zone?" The fog enveloping Shi Feng''s heart grew heavy. He simply couldn''t understand what was going on. Phoenix Rain was merely one of the leaders of a super-first-rate Guild. Why would someone of her status be dragged into such a huge incident? Shi Feng knew a little about the Upper Zone. It was a special region capable of extending the lifespan of its residents. However, not just any wealthy person could enter it. In the eyes of the Upper Zone''s residents, ordinary corporations were no different from ants. Even the leaders of the major corporations backing the Azure Chamber of Commerce would have to maintain a low profile while inside the Upper Zone, all the more someone like Phoenix Rain. It wouldn''t be far-fetched to say that there shouldn''t be any relations between Phoenix Rain and the Upper Zone. "Saint''s Hand is deeply involved in this matter. I came here this time to tell you that it''s best not to provoke Saint''s Hand too much during this time. Who knows? Zero Wing might end up becoming the next Nine-star Family," Duan Hanshan warned earnestly. "Provoke Saint''s Hand?" Revealing a bitter smile, Shi Feng said, "I''ve never taken the initiative to provoke them." To occupy the Orc Empire, Saint''s Hand had already set its sights on Silverwing Town. It wasn''t that he wanted to provoke Saint''s Hand. Rather, the other party had already resolved to take his life. "However, you don''t have to worry too much about this, either," Duan Hanshan said, chuckling. "Don''t need to worry?" Shi Feng asked, puzzled. Although he had adequate strength now, he was certain the security of Zero Wing''s headquarters was far from comparable to that of the Nine-star Family''s and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s headquarters. "Frost Heaven''s Hong Xinyuan has promised that so long as Zero Wing helps Frost Heaven complete the task you two agreed on, he will give Zero Wing three reserved slots to enter the Upper Zone," Duan Hanshan said, smiling. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Any superpower would laugh to death if they received such a wonderful opportunity. You should know how extraordinary the Upper Zones are. Those places are possibly the safest locations in the world." Although both the Nine-star Family and Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion were super-first-rate Guilds, the corporations backing them lacked the power to secure slots to enter the Upper Zone for the Guilds'' leadership. Otherwise, the two Guilds wouldn''t have faced such a predicament. This piece of news rendered Shi Feng speechless. Just what is Frost Heaven trying to do for it to be so generous? These were reserved slots for the Upper Zone they were talking about! All else aside, just the Upper Zone''s security aspect was already more than enough to make the various superpowers'' Guild Leaders go crazy. During his previous life, even when the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds offered billions of Credits, they still couldn''t secure a slot in the Upper Zone. Only the Guild Leaders of super-first-rate Guilds could barely manage to do so. Yet, now, Frost Heaven was actually offering three slots to Zero Wing! At this moment, Shi Feng wouldn''t be surprised if Frost Heaven wanted Zero Wing to mount a full-on assault on the Five Great Super Guilds. "You''re quite lucky, honestly. If it were any other time, Frost Heaven most likely wouldn''t offer such a price for Zero Wing''s help," Duan Hanshan said, sighing. "As for what exactly Frost Heaven wants Zero Wing to do, I can''t reveal it to you now. Someone from Frost Heaven will notify you when the time comes. In any case, it isn''t a simple task. Zero Wing has to be careful. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be surprising if Zero Wing were to perish." "Thank you for your reminder, Elder Duan," Shi Feng sincerely thanked Duan Hanshan. Duan Hanshan''s willingness to reveal the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s and Saint''s Hand''s matters to him already demonstrated Azure''s sincerity in its partnership with Zero Wing. Shi Feng naturally had to show his appreciation. "Azure hasn''t done anything noteworthy. How you''ll proceed in the future is still up to you to decide," Duan Hanshan said, chuckling. Seeing as Shi Feng was willing to accept the Azure Chamber of Commerce''s kindness, his task here was done. "Alright, I should go now." After saying so, Duan Hanshan left the reception room. He didn''t even let Shi Feng send him off as he silently disappeared from Zero Wing''s headquarters. "Guild Leader, what should we do now?" Liang Jing asked worriedly after Duan Hanshan left. Saint''s Hand posed too much of a threat. If they didn''t act carefully, they might very well end up like the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion and Nine-star Family. "We can only take things as they come," Shi Feng said. "However, we''ll have to reorganize our plans. Once God''s Domain''s system update ends, have all of Zero Wing''s main force members gather at Silverwing City. It''s about time Zero Wing underwent some changes." God''s Domain''s major updates were extraordinary, each triggering a complete shift in the game''s structure. Since the first major update came a little sooner than expected, he would have to start overhauling Zero Wing''s expansion plans. Otherwise, the Guild wouldn''t even have scraps to fight over, let alone contending against Saint''s Hand and the various superpowers. "I understand. I''ll get it done as soon as I go online," Liang Jing said, nodding. Time passed quickly. Before anyone knew it, God''s Domain''s major update had been completed, and everyone started logging back into the game at seven o''clock in the morning. Lying in his virtual gaming cabin, Shi Feng took a deep breath when he saw the "Login" button appear on the screen before him. "Login!" 2701 Era of Hegemony Begins Silverwing City, Zero Wing''s Residence: Along with a flash of brilliance in the underground secret room, Shi Feng''s figure gradually appeared. Unlike the previous times he had logged into God''s Domain, Shi Feng now felt a little dizzy, the dizziness lasting for several seconds. And when he recovered, he found that everything in front of him seemed completely different. If the previous God''s Domain looked like an extremely high-definition image in Shi Feng''s eyes, then the current God''s Domain looked like the real thing. In other words, the sense of reality he got from the game was on a completely different level. This kind of realism is so nostalgic. A smile appeared on Shi Feng''s face when he perceived his current situation. Most players wouldn''t notice any significant changes in the game''s realism after the major update. However, for Shi Feng, who had fought in God''s Domain for ten years in his previous life, the changes were distinct. Previously, he constantly felt as if there was a barrier between his body and brain. He couldn''t control his virtual body as easily as he did his real body no matter what. However, this barrier was now gone. It was like the difference between 99% and 100%. This kind of change might not mean anything to ordinary players, but the difference was massive for expert players. Take humans and gorillas, for example. Despite there being only a 1% genetic difference, the two were worlds apart. Combat in God''s Domain was different from combat in the real world. Due to physical limitations, there were many techniques the human body could not exhibit in the real world. Take a child trying to lift a one-tonne sword, for example. With how tiny the child''s physique was, such a feat would be impossible. However, what if the child''s physique allowed him to swing the sword easily? One could easily imagine how terrifying the child''s destructive power would be. After adjusting to the changes, Shi Feng left the secret room, heading to his office to sort out the information on the major update. When Shi Feng walked out of the secret room, the Tier 3 NPC guard stationed at its entrance panicked. Like a frightened rabbit, the guard hurriedly straightened his back and put on a respectful look. "Good morning, Milord!" the Tier 3 NPC respectfully saluted Shi Feng. "Good morning." Shi Feng nodded and smiled at the NPC named Flett. It''s finally here. I wonder how chaotic God''s Domain''s major forces will become? In reality, the biggest change brought about by God''s Domain''s first major update wasn''t in the realism but the NPCs and monsters. Both NPCs and monsters gained their own thoughts after the major update. Yes, thoughts! Not intelligence! But now, no matter how weak the monster or NPC was, they would all have their own thoughts. This would bring about a great change to God''s Domain. After all, from a certain perspective, NPCs and monsters were no longer different from real humans. With this change, fights with monsters and NPCs would feel no different from PvP fights. No! To be precise, fights against monsters and NPCs would become even more troublesome than PvP fights. Unlike players, monsters and NPCs were accustomed to fighting in God''s Domain. Some monsters and individual NPCs had started fighting at birth and accumulated ten, twenty, thirty years or more of experience. Their combat experience far exceeded that of ordinary players that had been in God''s Domain for only one or two years. However, this still wasn''t the greatest impact on God''s Domain''s players. What would really affect players were the changes in the behavior of NPCs and monsters. From now on, NPCs would not only actively hunt monsters but also compete with players for various quests and resources at the Adventurer''s Association. They would even contest for the precious resources and opportunities needed for class promotions. When the first major update hit God''s Domain in the past, this change had given the various powers a huge headache. After all, not only had they lost their monopoly on resources, but NPCs and monsters had even stolen a significant portion of these resources. Of course, this change came with its benefits, as well. For example, players unaffiliated with any powers could choose to join NPC teams to do quests. This option instantly increased the survivability of independent players. It also allowed independent players to get their hands on resources and equipment that were previously unattainable. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng left the underground hall, the NPC named Frett breathed out a deep sigh of relief. The Lord seems strange today. He normally doesn''t talk to us guards, yet he actually said good morning to me today, Frett, who was clad in silver mail armor, thought in confusion as he looked at Shi Feng''s departing back. Did the Lord notice me slacking, so he greeted me as a warning? Thinking up to this point, Frett shivered involuntarily. This won''t do. I mustn''t slack off anymore. Such a good job is hard to find in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. If I lose it, those former colleagues of mine will definitely treat me as a joke. Frett raised his vigilance and straightened his posture even further. Meanwhile, when the other NPC guards in the underground hall saw Shi Feng, they also started secretly discussing Shi Feng''s peculiar behavior today. Shi Feng was someone standing in a lofty position. In the past, he normally wouldn''t even say a word to them. He was basically the representation of coldness and ruthlessness. Yet, Shi Feng gave off the feeling of a spring breeze today. This sudden transformation made the guards in the underground hall uneasy for some time. At this time, these NPCs weren''t the only ones feeling doubtful and insecure. The players throughout God''s Domain also felt surprised and confused by the changes to the game. The forums of God''s Domain were also burning with discussions. "Why do those NPCs feel like living people? They''re even discussing us players in private. What is going on here?" "You think that''s strange? My Personal Guard actually asked for a day off to take care of his injured wife." "You guys probably haven''t been to the Adventurer''s Association yet, right? Right now, NPCs are taking on the quests posted there. One NPC even seduced the beauty in my party to go questing with him." For a while, the players of God''s Domain were bewildered by these changes to the NPCs. Some found the changes novel, while others found them flabbergasting. However, most players rejoiced at these changes. Such sentient NPCs were simply unheard-of. The players felt as if they had actually come to another world. This was especially true when they heard these NPCs discussing them. The NPCs would even rave about the experts among players. Some well-known expert players even had fans among the NPCs, a situation ordinary players couldn''t help envying. However, unlike ordinary players, God''s Domain''s various major powers were far less delighted at these changes. In fact, these sudden changes were practically fatal to some of the smaller Guilds. This was because the major update didn''t just grant NPCs their own thoughts. The monsters out in the fields had also become much more troublesome to handle. This was especially true for monsters at the Lord rank or above. The wealth of combat experience they possessed made them even stronger than experts in terms of combat standards. A Lord ranked monster could easily pummel a Tier 2 expert of the same level. Some Great Lords could even contend against Tier 3 experts. However, this still wasn''t the worst part. The truly terrible change the major update brought was the removal of fixed Dungeons. Dungeons were a stable source of equipment and materials for the various major powers in God''s Domain. Quite a number of Guilds would grind low-level Dungeons for all sorts of materials rather than raid high-level Dungeons. In fact, small Guilds weren''t the only ones to use this approach to secure materials. Even the various superpowers did so. After all, with the difficulty of high-level Dungeons, raiding them would definitely result in casualties, which would, in turn, cause the players in the team to regress. Hence, the various superpowers took the more conservative approach to obtain materials. They would have only one vanguard team for raiding high-difficulty Dungeons. That way, they could ensure that they possessed the latest and best equipment and materials available while simultaneously having a large amount of basic materials to supply the vanguard team. However, that all changed with the game''s major update. After the update, all the fixed Dungeons had disappeared. Now, only Dungeons that appeared at random were available. Meanwhile, some of these Dungeons were challenging, while some were a walk in the park. Moreover, every one of these Dungeons could be raided only once before they disappeared. If one didn''t raid the Dungeon upon discovering it, there was a high chance someone else would raid it first. This change dumbfounded not only the various small Guilds but even the superpowers. With this situation, how were they supposed to develop their Guilds from now on? Similarly, the various adventurer teams in God''s Domain also started growing uneasy. Not only did resources grow scarcer, but NPCs had even emerged as competitors. One could easily imagine how intense the fight for resources would become in the future. The various superpowers might even remove their disguises and start fighting and competing for real. Silverwing City, Zero Wing''s Residence, Guild Leader''s Office: "Guild Leader, everyone''s arrived," Liang Jing reported as she looked at Shi Feng, who was arranging the latest information on God''s Domain. "Are Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow also here?" Shi Feng asked. Although Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow had already exited the space-time maze, as they were transported to a special location, they couldn''t contact others through the game at all. They could only contact others through the real world. "They''re here, but" Hesitation appeared on Liang Jing''s face. Puzzled, Shi Feng asked, "But what?" Tentatively, Liang Jing whispered, "I might be mistaken, but when I saw them just now, they felt alien." 2702 Silence "Alien?" Shi Feng failed to comprehend Liang Jing''s words for a moment. As his assistant, Liang Jing didn''t just take care of affairs in Zero Wing''s headquarters. Normally, she would also help Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose with tasks in God''s Domain. Hence, she had frequent contact with the two Vice Guild Leaders. In fact, Liang Jing should be even more familiar with them than he was. Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had been absent from the Guild for only some weeks. No matter how he looked at it, Liang Jing shouldn''t have a reason to describe them as alien. "Are you saying that their temperament has changed?" Shi Feng asked after giving the matter some thought. A person''s temperament would change along with the improvement of their knowledge and mental state, especially after a breakthrough in the limit of their brain activity. Shi Feng was a perfect example of this. "No." Shaking her head, Liang Jing whispered in a somewhat uncomfortable voice, "That kind offeeling It''s like looking at complete strangers wearing their faces" "Wearing their faces?" Liang Jing''s words surprised Shi Feng. "Are you sure?" "Mhm, I''m very sure!" Liang Jing said earnestly. "Okay." Shi Feng nodded solemnly. "This matter ends here. Just treat them like you normally do." "Guild Leader, are the Vice Guild Leaders alright?" Liang Jing asked worriedly. No matter how she looked at it, this change simply wasn''t normal. If Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose really had a problem, Zero Wing would be in great danger. After all, the two Vice Guild Leaders were responsible for most of the Guild''s daily activities, whereas Shi Feng was mainly a figurehead. "I''m not sure yet." Shi Feng shook his head. "I''m afraid I''ll know what''s going on only after I meet with them in person." Space-time mazes were very special existences in God''s Domain. Only an extremely small number of players would encounter a space-time maze when traveling through space-time passages. An even smaller number of players would encounter a mysterious space after leaving the space-time maze. This mysterious space was unresolvable; many people attributed its appearance to a bug in the game. Every player that entered this mysterious space would end up in a very special world. Nobody knew what kind of world it was, and only one thing existed in this world. Slaughter! One would either be hunted down endlessly! Or hunt others endlessly! Or fight on an endless battlefield! It was as if the fragments of countless memories in God''s Domain were collected in this special world. The concept of time in this world was supposedly blurred. The time players experienced inside this world was something only their minds perceived, with no effect on their real bodies. Hence, even when a player spent one or five years inside this special world, only hours or days might have passed in the real world. However, time was the scariest thing in existence. After all, time could wear down everything, let alone humans. If Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose really came out from this mysterious space, a lot of time must''ve passed for them already, so much so that even their memories had blurred. Hence, it was only normal for them to change. The only thing Shi Feng didn''t know was how many years Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had spent in that mysterious space. Meanwhile, according to the statistics from his previous life, the longer the time one spent in that special world, the greater the influence on one''s mentality. Zero Wing Residence''s top-floor conference room: Zero Wing''s upper echelon and core team leaders were currently seated inside this magnificent conference room. Of these people, even the weakest was a Level 116, Tier 3 player, while the strongest were Violet Cloud and Fire Dance, who had both reached Level 121 already. However, there was still a significant gap between them and Shi Feng, who was Level 125. Fire Dance had already replaced her old gear with a set of dark-red leather armor. Based on the magic patterns etched into her armor, the armor was a set. Moreover, it even gave off the glow effect unique to Epic items. Fire Dance also had her hair tied up with a ribbon that resembled the starry sky. The ribbon gave her an indescribable sense of fierceness as if she were the empress of the night sky. It seems Fire Dance also reaped a considerable harvest in the space-time maze. Shi Feng was slightly surprised at the dagger hanging by Fire Dance''s waist. Not only did the dagger exude a faint sense of hostility, but it even roiled the ambient Mana. If this dagger were unsheathed, he couldn''t even begin to imagine the impact it would have on the environment. Even Fragmented Legendary items paled in comparison to this dagger. However, when Shi Feng swept his gaze across Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, who sat on both sides of the conference table, he was taken aback. How can this be? Shi Feng was rendered speechless. After what Liang Jing had said, he had already mentally prepared himself for the worst. However, now that he saw them in person, he realized that the two''s situation exceeded his worst expectations. Gentle Snow''s and Aqua Rose''s weapons and equipment remained the same as when they left the western continent. Even their levels were still at Level 117. However, the feeling the two gave off was utterly different. Gentle Snow had been rather aloof in the past but still relatively sociable. On the other hand, Aqua Rose had been a cheerful and assertive woman, and her eyes had always sparkled with wisdom and ambition. Now, however, the two of them could no longer be considered human. Neither of them exuded the slightest hint of emotion as if they were plants; they did not appear happy or sad. Although they were currently communicating with the others around them, their voices did not fluctuate with any emotion whatsoever. The only thing Shi Feng could sense from the two was a deathly silence, although the feeling of silence each gave off was slightly different. In the case of Gentle Snow, her silence resembled bones piled atop a battlefield. In the case of Aqua Rose, her silence was like a candle flame in the dark, carrying both death and hope. Besides Shi Feng, everyone else inside the room also sensed the changes in Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. If not for the Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose they retained in their memories, everyone might''ve even had the urge to flee the scene immediately. "Guild Leader, did something happen to the two Vice Guild Leaders?" Youlan asked Shi Feng through a whisper. The change to Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose might not be noteworthy for those unfamiliar with them. But for those who were, this change was simply terrifying and creepy. "Given how they are now, it seems something must''ve happened," Shi Feng answered, not hiding the truth. After all, this was obvious to everyone present. During the time Zero Wing''s members were secretly discussing Gentle Snow''s and Aqua Rose''s changes, Shi Feng also shifted his gaze to the two of them. "How long did you two live in that world?" Shi Feng asked them through a whisper. 2703 Eighty Years Shi Feng''s words were like a drop of water falling into a silent ocean. Although it couldn''t kick up any huge waves, it still caused ripples that spread out endlessly. As soon as Shi Feng finished voicing his inquiry, a hint of surprise flashed across Gentle Snow''s and Aqua Rose''s calm eyes. This surprise contained neither excitement nor joy. They didn''t feel as if they found someone that understood them, either. They simply felt a little surprised. They wondered why Shi Feng would know of this matter. However, their surprise soon disappeared, and darkness and calmness returned to their eyes. Afterward, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow exchanged glances. Aqua Rose then turned to Shi Feng, an indifferent smile forming on her beautiful face. "Sure enough, nothing can get past you, Guild Leader. We aren''t sure how long we lived in that world. "However, according to our calculations, it should be 80 years." "Eighty years?" Shi Feng couldn''t help but gasp. Even his mind had gone slightly numb. He had thought of the possibility of Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow living in that special world for a considerable period. He had even considered the possibility of them living there for a decade or two. But 80 years Many people lived only 80 years in their lifetimes. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow had spent 80 years fighting ceaselessly every day. The mere thought was chilling. To spend 80 years alone Just the loneliness alone was already unimaginable. Any normal person would''ve most likely gone crazy already. However, Aqua Rose''s voice was incomparably calm, so calm that it was like she was talking about someone else''s problem. "Eighty years" Complex emotions filled Shi Feng''s eyes as he quietly observed Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. "It''s no wonder you two feel like monsters." The moment he laid eyes on Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, he could already tell that the two of them were no longer human. After listening to Aqua Rose''s explanation, he understood everything. If the two of them had spent 80 years in endless slaughter and combat, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that they were the strongest in the world in combat experience. Compared to them, the ten years of combat experience he had in God''s Domain was nothing. Not to mention, both of them were combat geniuses. At this time, in terms of combat power, he was most likely a baby in front of Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. A baby trying to see through the thoughts and standards of an adult was simply a joke. Not to mention, Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow would be adults even among grandmaster martial artists. This situation placed Shi Feng at a loss. He didn''t know whether he should feel happy or helpless. "It seems they''re finally ready to act." Shi Feng didn''t feel particularly surprised at this piece of news. After all, Duan Hanshan had already said that Frost Heaven would soon take action. "Did she tell you their plan?" "She did." Liang Jing nodded with a slightly gloomy face. "Guild Leader, are we really going to participate in Frost Heaven''s operation this time?" "If possible, I wouldn''t want to, either. However, Frost Heaven''s offer is too tempting to refuse," Shi Feng said with a bitter smile. Three reserved slots for the Upper Zone. This wasn''t an opportunity one could come across every day. Even the various superpowers would pounce on it. Not to mention, the Upper Zone had an important benefit he needed. While Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose might''ve gained 80 years of combat experience in that special world and achieved inhuman levels of combat standards, these benefits came with a huge drawback. On the surface, it would seem as if the two had lived in that special world for 80 years. However, only weeks had gone by in the real world. The instant the two left that special world, it would be as if 80 years of memories had been downloaded into their brainsplacing an unimaginable burden on both their brains and bodies. During his previous life, the players that lived in that special world for two or three years had gradually had problems with their bodies after they returned. Eventually, they became paralyzed and had to be hospitalized for a month before they recovered. After all, digesting all these memories had consumed a lot of their mental strength, which definitely wasn''t a good thing. Meanwhile, both Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had lived in that special world for 80 years. Shi Feng didn''t dare imagine how massive a backlash they would suffer. For the two''s safety, he had to bring them to the Upper Zone. Although the S-rank Nutrient Fluid had great recovery effects on the human body, it only helped a little in healing a person''s brain and spirit. Only medicines for brain and spirit recovery could resolve this problem. Of all the medicines Shi Feng knew, even the Life Potion wasn''t particularly effective in spirit recovery. The most the Life Potion could do was restore ordinary depletions of mental strength. It was utterly ineffective against a brain overload like this. The only solution he could think of now was the Upper Zone. The Upper Zone was a special region the Green God Company constructed. There were plenty of unknowns inside. In fact, the precious S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions circulating in the market were merely obsolete medicine the Green God Company produced. "Guild Leader, Frost Heaven is too ambitious," Liang Jing commented despite herself. "If we''re not careful, Zero Wing might very well perish." "What are they planning to do?" Shi Feng asked curiously. "Their goal this time is to become one of the Twelve Great Guilds of God''s Domain!" Liang Jing said. The Twelve Great Guilds wasn''t a random title made up by players. Instead, this was a title given to the 12 strongest Guilds recognized by the War God''s Temple! The Player Guilds that become God''s Domain''s Twelve Great Guilds would enjoy numerous benefits across the main continent. They could even garrison an empire and be worshiped by the said empire. An empire''s worship! Just this point alone was more than enough to allow a Guild to pull ahead of the other superpowers. One could say that the position of the Twelve Great Guilds was something all superpowers had to compete for. However, competing for this position wasn''t an easy task. A Guild had to satisfy a series of conditions to qualify. Firstly, Guilds had to become one of the Top Ten Rookie Guilds. After that, they had to compete for the 12 reserve seats of the Twelve Great Guilds. However, this was going to be God''s Domain''s first competition for the reserve seats; the War God''s Temple had announced that six were empty this year. Hence, for this year only, Player Guilds could compete for the six empty reserve seats so long as they met the conditions for participation in the competition. Due to Zero Wing''s poor foundation, Shi Feng never even considered participating in the competition. There were four conditions for participation. One: Submit 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to the War God''s Temple. Two: Have a Guild Residence in the capital cities of 50 kingdoms and 12 empires. Simultaneously, the registering Guild must also have the status of a 4-star Guild. Three: Have over 1,000 Tier 3 players in the Guild. Four: Have 30 Guild Cities under the Guild''s name. These four basic conditions were extremely harsh. Ordinary Guilds shouldn''t even dream of participating in the competition. In fact, even ordinary superpowers wouldn''t qualify. Only the exceptionally strong superpowers could just barely meet the conditions. According to the information Zero Wing obtained from the Secret Pavilion, close to 20 super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds would participate in the competition for the reserve seats, every one of them a titan in the virtual gaming industry. One could easily imagine how intense the competition would be. "No wonder Frost Heaven made such a lucrative offer." Realization also dawned upon Shi Feng. In his previous life, Frost Heaven had first entered the ranks of Top Ten Rookie Guilds and eventually became one of the 12 reserve Guilds before slowly climbing up to join the Twelve Great Guilds. However, Frost Heaven was not fully developed at this time. Trying to compete for one of the reserve seats so soon would most likely result in failure. Frost Heaven had to know this as well but was still grasping at a strand of hope. "Guild Leader, if we become Frost Heaven''s foreign aid, any Guild Frost Heaven confronts will probably treat us as a mortal enemy," Liang Jing explained. The position of the 12 reserve seats was a throne built atop countless bones! At present, Zero Wing was in a very terrible situation already. On one side, there was Starlink. On the other side, there were the newly developed superpowers. There was even the extremely dangerous Saint''s Hand in the Orc Empire. If they offended a few more superpowers now, Zero Wing would no longer have a future in God''s Domain. "Although it is very dangerous, this is also a chance for Zero Wing. It would be a shame to let it go," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Fire Dance and the others should get ready. We''ll set out immediately!" While contesting for the 12 reserve seats was indeed dangerous, if they succeeded, even as foreign aid, Zero Wing would receive the War God''s Temple''s recognition as well as some basic privileges. For example, city garrison rights and worship rights! While getting an entire country to worship Zero Wing was impossible, getting one city to do so was still possible. This was also why many Guilds had fought to become foreign aid for the participating Guilds in the past. 2704 Maddening Star Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon City: Groups of players in Black Cloaks walked through the crowded commercial district of the imperial capital. "What''s going on? Why are there so many cloaked players on the streets today? Moreover, every one of them is so strong!" a Level 56, Tier 1 player, who came to the commercial district to upgrade his equipment, exclaimed in surprise when he saw the procession of cloaked players. Although Flame Dragon City was normally crowded with players, today''s foot traffic was much more exaggerated than usual. Moreover, not only was the foot traffic triple the regular volume, but many of these new arrivals also gave off a strange vibe. In fact, players weren''t the only ones wearing Black Cloaks. There were plenty of cloaked NPCs walking through the city as well, and every one of them radiated a terrifying aura. Although the city''s resident NPCs were holding private discussions over this change, now that NPCs could think for themselves, they were deliberately avoiding players while discussing. "This is normal. You''ve just started playing God''s Domain recently, so you might not know this, but today is the competition for the reserve seats of God''s Domain''s Twelve Great Guilds," a Level 109, Tier 3 man explained to the newcomer of his Guild. "God''s Domain''s Twelve Great Guilds?" The rookie Shield Warrior was surprised at his senior''s words. "Isn''t that something determined by the Virtual Gaming Association?" In the real world, the Virtual Gaming Association determined the publicly recognized Super Guilds annually. These positions were mostly fixed; very few changes would occur every year. "No! This event is hosted by the War God''s Temple to determine God''s Domain''s 12 strongest Guilds. It isn''t a competition hosted in the real world," the Tier 3 man explained, chuckling. "Does our Guild have a chance to participate too?" the rookie Shield Warrior asked, a hint of fighting spirit surfacing in his eyes. He had never heard of such a huge event happening in God''s Domain before. Moreover, with God''s Domain''s current popularity, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to call it the world''s biggest competition. If he could stand out in this competition, he would definitely rise to prominence. Currently, the various major corporations were offering unprecedented prices to recruit experts in God''s Domain. In fact, the top 50 experts on the God''s Domain''s Experts List made even more money than A-list celebrities. "We want to join, but the entry threshold is just too high. Even first-rate Guilds aren''t qualified." The Tier 3 man smiled bitterly. Nowadays, the various powers of God''s Domain were all talking about the reserve seat competition. Even NPCs were discussing it. The competition''s influence was unprecedented. "In that case, is everyone here to participate in the competition today?" the rookie Shield Warrior asked. "The cloaked people are most likely participants. As for everyone else, they should be here to spectate," the Tier 3 man explained. "Spectate? Can we go watch, as well?" the rookie asked eagerly. "This I''m afraid that''s not possible" the Tier 3 man replied with some embarrassment. "The entry fee alone is 300 Gold, while the VIP rooms cost 5,000 Gold and 20 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Moreover, there are only 1,000 VIP rooms available." Three hundred Gold was a huge sum, even for current Tier 3 players. In fact, most Tier 3 players didn''t have 300 Gold in their pockets. After all, with how high a Tier 3 player''s daily expenses were, saving a lot of money was simply impossible. As for the VIP rooms, they were for the exclusive use of large Guilds; individuals simply couldn''t afford them. The 5,000 Gold aside, just the 20 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was already more than enough to distress first-rate Guilds, what more second- and third-rate Guilds. At this moment, the Tier 3 man wasn''t the only person feeling embarrassed over this situation. Most of the other Tier 3 experts on the street also sighed. "Spectating such a major competition would most likely yield a lot of benefits." "I know, right? I heard that nearly 30 superpowers would participate in the competition, nearly one-third of them Super Guilds. Moreover, these superpowers are all sending their best. This is going to be the battle of a lifetime." "I heard that too. Right now, everyone''s going crazy over the VIP rooms. Some second- and third-rate Guilds are even offering to pay double the price to get a room." Upon overhearing the discussions of other players on the street, the players who couldn''t afford an entrance ticket yearned for one. God''s Domain''s various superpowers rarely waged war. They generally only fought in small skirmishes. However, the superpowers were now going all out. One could easily imagine how intense the competition would be. Meanwhile, such a major competition was held only once a year. Flame Dragon City, War God''s Temple: At this time, the various superpowers'' members had already thronged the majestic headquarters of the Fire Dragon Empire''s War God''s Temple, numbering in the tens of thousands. Even the War God''s Temple had no choice but to dispatch Level 180 guards to maintain order. Meanwhile, on the top floor of a high-class restaurant near the War God''s Temple "These superpowers are really being careful. Every one of their participating members has hidden their statistics and strength with Black Cloaks," Mu Lingsha said, her lips curled in disappointment as she looked at the crowd outside. "That''s normal. This competition is going to determine which superpower will hold hegemonic rights over God''s Domain. It is only natural for them to try to hide as much information as possible. Anyone who exposes their cards now will only make easy targets of themselves," Unyielding Heart, who sat beside Mu Lingsha, said, chuckling. "However, I didn''t expect for so many superpowers to apply for the competition in the Fire Dragon Empire." "Although there are many empires in God''s Domain, only four of them are ancient nations. Any confident superpower wouldn''t let go of these four nations. While Guilds can register for the competition at any empire''s capital, the Guild that wins a reserve seat in their registered empire will receive additional benefits from the empire." Sighing, Mu Lingsha continued, "It''s a pity Unyielding Soul lacks accumulations. Otherwise, we could''ve come here to try our luck too." "I wonder who will secure the six reserve seats?" When Unyielding Heart spoke of the reserve seats, a hint of yearning appeared in his eyes. "We can probably already determine who will get five out of the six seats. The last is the important one. I''m afraid those Guilds are going to have a bloody battle," Mu Lingsha said gloatingly. The competition for the reserve seats was most likely going to be extremely intense. After all, if nothing unexpected happened, five of the six available seats would go to the Five Great Super Guilds. This left the other superpowers to compete over just one seat. The mere thought of the competition''s intensity scared her. "Look! Mythology''s people are here," Mu Lingsha said as she looked at a group of undisguised players walking down the distant street. At the head of this team was none other than Cold Shadow. Mythology''s arrival instantly cast a grim shadow over the plaza in front of the War God''s Temple. Setting aside the fact that Mythology was one of the virtual gaming industry''s publicly acknowledged Five Great Super Guilds, just the fact that Mythology''s members were doing nothing to hide their strength already proved how confident Mythology was in its strength. Although this team from Mythology wasn''t the main force that would participate in the competition, even the weakest in the team of several hundred was a Level 116, Tier 3 player. Moreover, the base equipment standard of these people was Level 115 Fine-Gold Set Equipment. "So, this is Mythology''s strength?" "As expected of one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Even the team they sent to register is already so powerful. I really wonder how strong Mythology''s representative team on the western continent is." The spectators from the various superpowers and large Guilds couldn''t help growing fearful when they looked at Mythology''s team. Meanwhile, as Mythology''s members submitted their registration to the War God''s Temple, a round of exclamations suddenly rose from the plaza''s edge. After Mythology''s team, another team of players actually arrived uncloaked. Moreover, this team only had a little over a dozen players in it. "Are they insane?" Mu Lingsha froze in the middle of sipping her black tea when she saw this small team. After all, this team belonged to none other than the currently famous Zero Wing! 2705 We Have Our Way "They are as bold as ever." Cold Shadow, who was registering Mythology for the competition before the War God''s Temple, was slightly surprised to see Shi Feng and the others among the crowd. "They''re tired of living!" a nearly three-meter-tall, heavily armored man standing beside Cold Shadow said disdainfully. "Previously, they rejected your kindness and missed out on a great opportunity. Now, they actually dare take part in this event, even exposing their own data. They shouldn''t think of getting through the foreign aid''s selection at this rate." The various superpowers had all recruited foreign aid for this competition. However, due to the rules, they could recruit only 100 outside helpers, at most. Moreover, each helper cost 30 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to registera huge burden on the various superpowers'' finances. To make matters worse, recruiting foreign aid was one thing. Whether the recruited foreign aid could pass the preliminary selection and earn points for the Guild they supported was another thing altogether. If the recruited foreign aid didn''t pass the preliminary selection, then all the Seven Luminaries Crystals spent would go down the drain. Due to these reasons, the various superpowers wouldn''t let go of even the slightest chance to defeat their opponents, let alone give away advantageous information to their opponents. With the classes in God''s Domain countering each other, even peak experts would have trouble when going up against opponents that countered their class. In a situation where one side thoroughly understood their opponents'' Basic Attributes and equipment, that side could accurately arrange the appropriate manpower to suppress their opponents. Now that Zero Wing had leaked all this information, its members would be hard-pressed not to get targeted. "What is that Black Flame thinking?" "Did nobody tell them that this operation requires concealment?" The eyes of a group of cloaked players standing at the edge of the plaza nearly fell out of their sockets when Zero Wing''s members came into sight. The competition for the Twelve Great Guilds'' reserve seats was an event of utmost importance. The various superpowers had spent a lot of effort just to hide their strength. Some superpowers had even purchased camouflage items for some of their ace members for fear that these members would get perfectly countered. However, Zero Wing had done none of that and boldly displayed its information to the various superpowers. "Hong Xinyuan, are these the trump cards you spent three reserve slots to recruit? You''ve truly opened this old man''s eyes!" an elderly man with graying hair said as he looked at Hong Xinyuan standing beside him. The wrath in his voice made even Muxin and the other Vice Guild Leaders nearby shudder. Brilliant Blue was one of Frost Heaven''s Five Frost Pillars. Previously, Brilliant Blue had nearly flipped over Frost Heaven because of Hong Xinyuan''s decision to give away three Upper Zone reserve slots to Zero Wing. In the past, the Boulder Corporation had rejected Brilliant Blue''s request for a reserve slot for his grandson. However, he had eventually dropped the matter. After all, the reserve slots were extremely precious, and the Green God Company wouldn''t necessarily gift the Boulder Corporation with slots every year. Now, however, Hong Xinyuan had decided to give away three of these precious slots to a bunch of outsiders without even consulting with anyone. There was no way Brilliant Blue wouldn''t get angry over this matter, especially with Zero Wing having made such a huge blunder now. "An accident?" Brilliant Blue laughed when he heard this. "That''s right. This is indeed an accident. An accident on a scale this old man has never seen before!" Having no excuses for this situation, Hong Xinyuan said apologetically, "Some problems have indeed occurred this time, but Zero Wing''s members are undoubtedly strong." "They are indeed pretty good. Of the 17 of them, even the lowest-leveled person is Level 117, while the highest has even reached Level 121. Each of them also has six pieces of Epic Equipment on average. This is a rare sight even among the various superpowers'' main force teams," Brilliant Blue said. He then turned to the other Elders present and continued, "However, they have exposed all their data now. It will be child''s play for the other superpowers to counter them! "Frost Heaven''s Seven Luminaries Crystals aren''t easy to come by. Every piece is exchanged using the Guild members'' blood and sweat. I don''t want to see those crystals wasted. I suggest removing Zero Wing now and having my grandson''s subordinates fill up the remaining slots." When Brilliant Blue finished speaking, the Guild Elders present fell silent for a while. "I think what Great Elder Blue said is logical. Now that Zero Wing has made such a blunder, we do need to replace them," one of the Vice Guild Leaders standing behind Brilliant Blue said and nodded. "Blue''s words aren''t unreasonable. I also think that it is necessary to replace them," a white-haired Grand Elder said. "The dispute over the reserve seats will greatly impact God''s Domain''s future. It might even determine Frost Heaven''s life and death. We cannot afford to be sloppy in this matter. We don''t have to take such a risk, either." "That''s right." "There is indeed no need for us to take this risk." After the white-haired Grand Elder spoke up, the other Guild Elders present also started voicing their agreement with Brilliant Blue''s suggestion. As for the matter of finding new foreign aid to replace Zero Wing''s members, nobody present was concerned about that. The various superpowers had prepared plenty of substitutes for today''s event. Naturally, Frost Heaven wasn''t an exception. Not to mention, Brilliant Blue''s grandson wasn''t some simpleton, either. In fact, he had gained the title of Sloth in the Flower of Seven Sins. If not for his having joined the Flower of Seven Sins, he would''ve already become a Vice Guild Leader in Frost Heaven. Meanwhile, the Flower of Seven Sins was an organization proficient at assassination. Its members were natural killers. There was no superpower more adept at dealing with players than the Flower of Seven Sins, not even Super Guilds. Brilliant Blue''s grandson was one of Frost Heaven''s trump cards in this competition. Having the Flower of Seven Sins''s peak experts replace Zero Wing''s members wouldn''t be a problem at all. Of course, Brilliant Blue''s selfishness also played a role in his decision. The three reserve slots Hong Xinyuan offered to Zero Wing were actually his personal property; they didn''t belong to the Guild or the Boulder Corporation. Brilliant Blue couldn''t force Hong Xinyuan to give them to him. However, if Zero Wing got removed and Brilliant Blue''s grandson helped Frost Heaven secure a reserve seat Hong Xinyuan would have to give those three Upper Zone reserve slots to Brilliant Blue''s grandson to preserve his reputation. Just as the various Elders present were about to reach a consensus, someone interrupted them. "Dear Elders, don''t you think you''re going a little too far?" Muxin said. "Muxin, where do you think we''ve gone too far? Do you find my words unreasonable?" Brilliant Blue asked in dissatisfaction. "What you said indeed makes sense, Great Elder Blue." Muxin nodded. "However, Uncle Hong contributed nearly half of the Seven Luminaries Crystals we used to recruit foreign aid this time. If not for his contribution, Frost Heaven would''ve had difficulty collecting so many crystals. Now, Uncle Hong is only taking 17 slots for his own use, yet you are arbitrarily deciding to replace Zero Wing already. Isn''t that a bit much? At least let Uncle Hong decide this matter himself." At Muxin''s words, the Grand Elders and Elders present fell silent. What Muxin said was the truth. Without the Seven Luminaries Crystals Hong Xinyuan contributed, they really wouldn''t have been able to register so many outside helpers for the competition. Now, Hong Xinyuan wasn''t even using one-fifth of the total slots. They indeed didn''t have the right to reject or help Hong Xinyuan decide. "What you say is correct, but we are also doing this in consideration of the Guild''s future," Brilliant Blue said righteously. "Old Hong, didn''t you contribute those crystals for the sake of the Guild, as well?" Just when Brilliant Blue wanted to say something more, a dignified, middle-aged man in the team suddenly spoke up. "Stop arguing! "Do you plan to make fools of yourselves in front of the other superpowers?!" As soon as this middle-aged man spoke up, everyone present fell silent. Respect also appeared in everyone''s eyes as they looked at this man. However, Brilliant Blue still refused to budge. "Guild Leader, we cannot afford to be careless in this matter." Others might be afraid of Seven Wonders, the Guild Leader of Frost Heaven, but not Brilliant Blue. Not only was Brilliant Blue one of the Five Frost Pillars, but he was also one generation older than Seven Wonders. Hence, Seven Wonders still had to take his words seriously. "Enough!" Seven Wonders frowned. "This matter ends here! We will not remove Zero Wing! However, what Great Elder Blue said is reasonable, as well. Notify Zero Wing that we won''t help them during the preliminary selection. This is their problem, so they have to solve it themselves. Frost Heaven does not have any excess combat power to spare!'' "Guild Leader!" Muxin was startled. She never thought that Seven Wonders would make such a decision. This was equivalent to abandoning Zero Wing. Hong Xinyuan also frowned at this decision. Without Frost Heaven''s assistance, Zero Wing would most likely have difficulty getting through the preliminaries. And even if Zero Wing passed, not many of them should remain. "Enough! Get it done!'' Seven Wonders said resolutely. "Understood," Muxin sighed. Muxin was powerless to change Seven Wonders'' decision. She immediately relayed the news to Shi Feng. As for how far Zero Wing could reach, that would depend entirely on Zero Wing itself. "Guild Leader, Frost Heaven is having us fend for ourselves," Yan Tianxing said, startled by the message Shi Feng shared with the team. Yan Tianxing had advised Shi Feng to conceal their information. However, Shi Feng had rejected his suggestion. Now, look what happened? "What do you guys think?" Shi Feng asked Fire Dance and the others, chuckling. "Let them. We have our way of doing things. Why should we play by their rules?" Fire Dance said nonchalantly. "Big Sis Fire is right. I''ve also been itching for a good fight lately," Violet Cloud said, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes. Similarly, Cola and the others also expressed their eagerness for a good fight. "Since that''s the case, let''s go get registered." 2706 Selection Battle Inside a high-class bar near the War God''s Temple''s plaza A feminine man in a light-gray cloak appeared silently beside a handsome young man drinking red wine inside the bar. As if the feminine man did not exist, none of the bar''s other occupants noticed his arrival. "Young Master, it''ll be difficult to get those reserve slots. Seven Wonders did not remove Zero Wing. He only decided to let Zero Wing fend for itself," the feminine man whispered. "Zero Wing''s members have registered already. Now, all they have to do is wait three hours for the preliminary selection to begin." "Zero Wing sure is lucky not to get removed even after making such a blunder." The handsome young man named Sorrowful Heaven frowned slightly, then said coldly, "However, Zero Wing shouldn''t even think of getting its hands on even one of those reserve slots!" "Sorrow, how about I attack them directly afterward?" a girl with disheveled hair sitting beside Sorrowful Heaven suggested, excitement sparkling in her eyes. The woman had the Flower of Seven Sins''s symbol imprinted on her arm. As soon as this small and delicate girl spoke up, everyone inside the bar shook visibly as they reluctantly recalled a scene in the past. "Haze, you have to abide by the rules this time. Otherwise, I won''t bring you out anymore," Sorrowful Heaven said. A hint of fear had also surfaced in his eyes when he looked at this harmless-looking girl. Even after becoming one of the Seven Sins, Sorrowful Heaven still dared not act carelessly around this girl. After all, death was the best relief when one went against this harmless girl. Even the Flower of Seven Sins''s mysterious leader got a headache when dealing with her. If they did not manage her properly, she would easily trigger a catastrophe. "Don''t worry. I''ll definitely listen to you during this mission. I won''t recklessly do anything to those people." The girl named Imperial Haze nodded obediently and giggled. "That''s good." Sorrowful Heaven breathed out a sigh of relief. He then said slowly, "We don''t have to worry about Zero Wing this time. Now that Zero Wing has exposed all its data, the other superpowers'' foreign aid will target them first. We won''t have to do anything to Zero Wing. On the contrary, while everyone else is focused on Zero Wing, we can search for the War God Orders." The selection match for foreign aid was straightforward. All registered foreign aid would be teleported to a special space to search for the War God Orders scattered there. They would have five hours to do so, and once the time was up, all participants holding a War God Order would pass the selection. However, the number of War God Orders was limited to 100. In other words, only 100 players, at most, could pass the selection. According to the information they obtained, six super-first-rate Guilds and three Super Guilds had come to the Fire Dragon Empire to register for the competition. This meant that 900 players would participate in the preliminary selection, and only one-ninth of these participants could officially become foreign aid. Everyone else would just be wasting their Seven Luminaries Crystals. Meanwhile, Zero Wing only had 17 members participating in the selection. Trying to secure War God Orders while going up against so many experts was simply a fool''s dream. As Sorrowful Heaven was considering how he could capitalize on Zero Wing''s predicament, Cold Shadow was resting inside one of the War God''s Temple''s lounges. When she received news of Zero Wing''s situation, she revealed a satisfied smile. "Vice Guild Leader, did you receive good news?" the female Guardian Knight White Feather asked in surprise. "Yes!" Cold Shadow replied. "Although I don''t know which dumb Guild it was that invited Zero Wing, Zero Wing is dead for sure this time! None of Zero Wing''s members should even dream of passing the selection!" "Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing''s 17 members possess extraordinary strength. While not all of them can pass, there is still a chance that two or three of them will succeed," White Feather said, shaking her head in disagreement. "It might''ve been possible before, but I''m afraid it''s not anymore," Cold Shadow said in a playful tone. "According to our spies, the Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire have come forward to work with Demon Palace and Miracle to annihilate Zero Wing!" "How is this possible?!" This revelation stunned White Feather. The competition for the six reserve seats was incredibly intense, and every participating power was treating the others as mortal enemies. Two superpowers working together was already unbelievable. Now, four superpowers had actually banded together to target Zero Wing. What exactly had Zero Wing done to anger all these Guilds? "Nothing''s impossible." Chuckling, Cold Shadow said, "Did you forget whom Zero Wing offended before?" "Is this Saint''s Hand''s doing?" White Feather immediately thought of the incomparably mysterious Saint''s Hand. "That''s right. Saint''s Hand promised the four Guilds something, and the four Guilds agreed without hesitation." Cold Shadow nodded. Smiling, she continued, "I doubt even Zero Wing would''ve expected that this preliminary selection would turn into their execution." "Zero Wing is truly finished this time." White Feather sighed at this situation. Nearly half of the 900 players entering the battlefield were going to target Zero Wing. None of Zero Wing''s members should even think of leaving the battlefield alive. After all, the preliminary selection''s battlefield was a special space that prohibited players from using Berserk Skills and tools and increased the consumption of Stamina and Concentration by tenfold. Such rules would greatly restrict the participants'' combat power. Even powerful players would have difficulty fighting for a long time and would be vulnerable to zerg tactics. Meanwhile, players who died within that special space would not only lose five levels but also be prevented from logging into the game for five natural days. This was the price for participating in the competition for the Twelve Great Guilds'' reserve seats. Zero Wing had mobilized all its top combatants for the competition this time. If Zero Wing team-wiped, the Guild would undoubtedly suffer a devastating blow. Following which, time passed quickly. Amid the various superpowers'' anticipation, the nine foreign aid teams arrived inside the War God''s Temple''s selection hall. A total of 900 players stood on all sides of the hall. Some groups were large, while others were small. However, aside from Zero Wing''s members, everyone else present had concealed their information using Black Cloaks. "Are they the targets?" "What a pitiful bunch. They probably don''t know that our four forces have joined hands already. Once the competition begins, we''ll attack them together." "I wonder if they''ll get scared silly at that time?" "How unfortunate! I wanted to challenge that Black Flame to check the results of my recent training. Now, this chance is gone." The helpers of the Sky Dragon Family, Pride Empire, Demon Palace, and Miracle conversed with each other through the team chat, their words filled with ridicule and sympathy for Shi Feng''s group. "Sorrow, those teams are acting strangely. Every one of them is actually staring at Zero Wing''s members," Imperial Haze stated as she looked at the four superpowers'' members. "That''s not surprising. Who asked Zero Wing''s members to be so courageous?" Sorrowful Heaven retorted nonchalantly. "If I weren''t afraid of Hong Xinyuan holding me accountable and refusing to give me those reserve slots afterward, I would send Zero Wing''s members on their way even if the other superpowers didn''t target them." "Is that so?" Imperial Haze still couldn''t help growing uncertain as she looked at the four superpowers'' foreign aid teams. "By the way, we''ll first pretend to move together with Zero Wing afterward. However, so long as we come across other teams during the operation, we''ll immediately split away from Zero Wing and let Zero Wing''s members tie down the enemy. Remember, you better not take action," Sorrowful Heaven said sternly. "I understand." Imperial Haze nodded. Shortly after Sorrowful Heaven finished speaking, everyone in the hall felt their vision blur momentarily. When they recovered, they discovered that they had already arrived inside a forested valley. After scanning his surroundings, Sorrowful Heaven found that the various teams were situated relatively close to each other. If they abandoned Zero Wing too soon, they would most likely get caught by a different team during their retreat. "We''ll move together with Zero Wing first," Sorrowful Heaven said through the team chat. However, even after Sorrowful Heaven gave this command, none of the Flower of Seven Sins''s members moved. Instead, they all stood still, looking dumbfounded. This was because nearly half of the foreign aid teams present had started dashing in their direction like a bunch of madmen as Sorrowful Heaven issued his command. "What''s going on?" Sorrowful Heaven was similarly stunned as he looked at the several hundred players charging at his team from all directions. 2707 Fire Dragons Six Absolutes Upon seeing 400 people acting in unison, let alone Sorrowful Heaven, even the other foreign aid teams in the distance were dumbfounded by this situation. "Are these people crazy?" "Zero Wing has only exposed some weaknesses that can be exploited. Do these people really need to behave like this?" "What kind of Guild is Zero Wing? Did it desecrate these people''s ancestral graves?" In the preliminary selection, it wasn''t far-fetched to say that aside from the members of one''s team, everyone else was an enemy. There did not exist any possibility for cooperation. Yet, four teams were now working together to annihilate Zero Wing''s members. Moreover, these teams had perfect coordination with each other. Nobody would believe it if someone said there was no hatred between Zero Wing and these teams. "Boss Sorrow, these people should be aiming at Zero Wing," a Level 117, Tier 3 Ranger from the Flower of Seven Sins reported to Sorrowful Heaven. When he observed the movements and goal of these four teams, he gulped nervously despite himself. "What exactly did Zero Wing do to make four superpowers take such drastic action?" At this moment, Sorrowful Heaven couldn''t help staring at Shi Feng''s group in shock. Based on the four teams'' coordinated movements, it was clear they had discussed things beforehand. Otherwise, they wouldn''t have gone all out to annihilate Zero Wing''s members as soon as the selection began. Zero Wing was merely an up-and-coming pseudo-superpower, yet it had actually provoked four superpowers into working together to deal with it. This was definitely a first in God''s Domain. If word of this situation spread, Zero Wing would instantly become famous throughout God''s Domain. "Boss, what should we do?" the Tier 3 Ranger asked. "Let''s wait and see first before making a decision," Sorrowful Heaven commanded calmly and quickly. Based on the four teams'' killing intent, he could tell that they weren''t targeting the Flower of Seven Sins. Even so, he still had to be careful. After all, every one of these foreign aid teams had famous experts in them, and even the weakest of their members was a Flowing Water Realm expert. Many of them were even Void Realm experts, an existence that even the Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds had to tread carefully around. The four teams'' coordinated charge was equivalent to 400 Guild Leaders or Vice Guild Leaders of first-rate Guilds charging together. Just the thought of it made Sorrowful Heaven''s scalp prickle. Less than ten seconds later, several dozen figures dashed past the Flower of Seven Sins members, their passage scattering the surrounding flowers and grass. Meanwhile, the moment these people passed by, everyone from the Flower of Seven Sins, with the exception of Imperial Haze, felt a sense of relief. The other Flower of Seven Sins members also nodded in agreement with this Tier 3 Assassin''s assessment. Although it was indeed true that even their weakest members were at the Flowing Water Realm, there were only five Void Realm experts on their team. While Sorrowful Heaven was a Domain Realm expert, in this special space, he would have difficulty going up against three Void Realm experts simultaneously. He might even get killed. In other words, if they excluded the monstrous Imperial Haze, the overall strength of the several dozen players that had just passed by was still above them. Meanwhile, this was only a small portion of the strength four foreign aid teams commanded. "You think the strongest among these people are only at the Void Realm?" After calming himself, Sorrowful Heaven couldn''t help rolling his eyes at his subordinates. "Boss Sorrow, are you saying there are peerless experts hidden among these people?" Everyone gasped reflexively when they heard Sorrowful Heaven''s words. Peerless experts! They were existences even Super Guilds had to be wary of, the important mainstays of the various superpowers. "Otherwise, do you think those superpowers would spend so many Seven Luminaries Crystals to recruit foreign aid?" Glancing at the afterimage left behind by a muscular old man, Sorrowful Heaven took a deep breath and said, "I suspect that old man who rushed past us just now is Three Autumns, one of the Grand Elders that founded the Fire Dragon Adventurer Alliance." "Three Autumns? The person known as Skyshaker?" The Flower of Seven Sins members shuddered at this name. According to the rumors, Three Autumns was a phenomenal existence. Relying on his incredible Ghost Hammer Technique, he had not only defeated several apex experts from the Sky Dragon Family but also fought one of the Super Guild''s Dragon Heads to a standstill. After that feat, Three Autumns had gained the title of Skyshaker in the Fire Dragon Empire. This, in turn, allowed the newly emerged and loosely organized Fire Dragon Adventurer Alliance to get a foothold in the Fire Dragon Empire. "Three Autumns should be the trump card of one of the foreign aid teams. The other teams should have their own peerless experts, as well." As Sorrowful Heaven watched the four teams close in on Shi Feng''s group, an indescribable sense of shock filled him. "These four superpowers really think highly of Zero Wing!" Although the Flower of Seven Sins team had Imperial Haze as a trump card, if it had to go up against four peerless experts simultaneously, only death awaited its members. Aside from Imperial Haze, everyone else wouldn''t have any chance to survive. Just what kind of ability did Zero Wing possess to warrant such a frightening lineup? While Sorrowful Heaven was feeling stunned, the four foreign aid teams had arrived before Zero Wing''s members. A total of 400 powerful experts were directing their killing intent at Shi Feng and his companions. The killing intent radiated by any one of these experts was more than enough to turn ordinary players pale. Now that all 400 of these people were releasing their killing intent simultaneously, the space around Shi Feng''s group even started to darken. In fact, even from over a thousand yards away, the Flower of Seven Sins''s members still felt a chill crawl down their backs, and they felt an urge to flee. "Young man, don''t blame us for bullying you with numbers. If you have to blame someone, blame yourself for behaving too arrogantly and offending people you shouldn''t offend!" Three Autumns said, sighing as he looked at Shi Feng. "What''s the point of talking to them? The sooner we get rid of them, the sooner we can get down to business!" the one-eyed, young male Guardian Knight standing beside Three Autumns said. "Red Rain, don''t say that. At least let them die knowingly. That way, they can have a smoother path ahead of them," a beautiful woman with long elven ears and a graceful figure chided with a smile. "Black Flame, I originally wanted to have a fair fight with you, but work comes first for me. Don''t blame me for prioritizing victory over fairness!" a white-haired youth wielding a greatsword declared as he walked out of the crowd. When these four people appeared, the crowd spectating in the distance couldn''t help gaping and gasping in shock. "Skyshaker, Red Rain, Elven Enchantress, and Mad Sword. Why are all these people here?" At this moment, let alone the Flowing Water Realm experts, even a Domain Realm expert like Sorrowful Heaven spontaneously broke out in a cold sweat. He never thought that his guess was actually on the mark. Four of the Fire Dragon Empire''s Six Absolutes had actually gathered here! If these four people worked together, they could move unhindered in the Fire Dragon Empire. Even the empire''s Super Guilds wouldn''t dare to offend them casually. "Guild Leader, these four people aren''t ordinary opponents. It''ll be risky for us to clash with them," Yan Tianxing warned as he looked at the four smiling people. The fame of the Fire Dragon Empire''s Six Absolutes resounded even in the distant Star-Moon Kingdom. This was because every one of these Six Absolutes had gained their fame through their astonishing battle records. They were different from experts whose reputations were due to the bragging of Guilds. "It seems even the heavens want Zero Wing dead this time!" Sorrowful Heaven couldn''t help but lament over this situation. However, despite his feelings over the matter, he still eagerly hoped for Zero Wing''s demise. Otherwise, the Upper Zone would forever be beyond his reach. "Black Flame, now that you''re aware of the situation, if you want to hate someone, hate yourself for being too arrogant!" As soon as the Level 119 Elven Enchantress said this, she retrieved the bow slung on her back and shot an arrow at Shi Feng. Tier 3 Skill, Sky Piercer! The next moment, a blue flash punctured a hole through space and crossed the 60-yard distance in the blink of an eye. The arrow''s speed was so fast that even Sorrowful Heaven and the other spectators failed to react to it immediately. Moreover, the arrow carried so much power that the punctured space continued cracking even after the arrow had passed. "I just didn''t see you for a while, and your arrow''s speed has actually become faster? I could barely perceive it at this close distance," Red Rain said as he looked at Elven Enchantress. "Isn''t it better to let him die without pain?" Elven Enchantress smiled faintly as she put her longbow away. Elven Enchantress''s gentle smile awoke a sense of dread in the other three Absolutes present. None of them objected to her words, though. If Elven Enchantress launched her arrow within 100 yards, even Tier 3 Assassins would fall without knowing what hit them. Not to mention, Shi Feng was only a Swordsman. However, as soon as Elven Enchantress finished speaking, a playful chuckle entered everyone''s ears. "Die? I''m afraid you''re still not quite up to scratch for that." The next moment, a person actually walked out of the shattered space, and this person was even toying with the blue arrow Elven Enchantress shot out just now. 2708 Transient Sword Upon seeing Shi Feng walk out of the shattered space, everyone from the four hostile teams fell deathly silent, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. "He''s fine?" "He actually blocked it?" Everyone felt like they were dreaming when they saw Shi Feng emerge from Elven Enchantress''s attack unscathed. Many of the Flowing Water Realm experts even rubbed their eyes to verify that they weren''t hallucinating. That was one of Elven Enchantress''s arrows they were talking about! According to rumor, the longbow Elven Enchantress wielded was a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, and she could even repulse Mythic monsters of the same level with its help. Moreover, Elven Enchantress hadn''t launched just any ordinary arrow at Shi Feng, either; the arrow she used was made entirely of precious Mana Jadesteel. The arrow also had ancient magic runes carved on it. Even a Tier 3 player using an ordinary longbow could repel a Mythic monster of the same level with this arrow. The combination of these two things was what made Elven Enchantress one of the Fire Dragon Empire''s Six Absolutes. "He actually blocked such a fast arrow?" "Black Flame is even stronger than what we heard. It seems the rumors of him being a peerless expert are true." The Flower of Seven Sins''s Tier 3 members spectating in the distance couldn''t help but marvel at this scene. Previously, they had failed to respond to Elven Enchantress''s arrow despite having a bird''s eye view of the battlefield. If they were targeted by such an arrow from a distance of several dozen yards, they didn''t dare imagine what would happen. "He blocked it?" Sorrowful Heaven eyed his subordinates with contempt when he overheard their discussion. "You think he merely blocked it?" Sorrowful Heaven''s words only confused them. "Look carefully. What is he holding in his hand?" Sorrowful Heaven questioned angrily. "He''s holding an arrow?" Everyone grew even more confused. "You bunchare really stupid!" Sorrowful Heaven was momentarily rendered speechless by his subordinates. He then turned to look at Shi Feng in the distance, horror surfacing in his eyes. "Arrows are considered consumables in God''s Domain. So long as they hit something, they will disintegrate, even if they get blocked by a Skill or a weapon." "Then The arrow in Black Flame''s hand" The Flower of Seven Sins members subconsciously turned to look at the blue arrow Shi Feng held. Immediately, a chill overwhelmed their entire bodies. "That''s right. The arrow never hit him. Instead, he snatched the arrow out of the air." When Sorrowful Heaven finished speaking, rank disbelief filled his eyes. "Guild Leader?" Yan Tianxing also stared at Shi Feng in surprise. Elven Enchantress''s attack was most likely top-notch even among the peerless experts in the current God''s Domain. Nonetheless, Shi Feng had caught the arrow. Was this really a feat players could accomplish? However, compared to the apex experts present, Skyshaker, Red Rain, Elven Enchantress, and Mad Sword found this situation even more unbelievable. "How did he do it?" Elven Enchantress''s expression turned solemn as she gazed at Shi Feng. She knew better than anyone just how fast her simple attack was. If she launched this arrow of hers within 100 yards of her target, she was confident that even the other five of the Six Absolutes wouldn''t be able to block it. Even speed-type Mythic monsters would get struck. "Everyone, Black Flame is much stronger than we expected. I''m afraid the four of us will have to work together to take him down," Three Autumns suggested with a grim expression. "Okay, I have no opinion." Red Rain nodded. "It seems we can only do that," Mad Sword answered through gritted teeth. They had their pride as peerless experts, and they disdained ganging up on people. However, as experts, they could see the gap between themselves and Shi Feng after just a single exchange. To complete the task the four superpowers entrusted them, they had no choice but to work together. Moreover, there was another important point: the death penalty in the selection battle. Even peerless experts like themselves would suffer a tremendous setback if they died here. "Good! In that case, Red Rain and I will keep Black Flame busy. Mad Sword, you and Elven Enchantress support us from the sides. Red Rain and I will use everything we have to create an opening. Once you find a chance, don''t hold back," Three Autumns commanded quietly. "Also, everyone else, once the four of us pin down Black Flame, use everything you have to get rid of Zero Wing''s other members. Do not let them support Black Flame!" "No problem. Leave it to me to block him once the battle begins." Red Rain nodded confidently. He was a Guardian Knight, while Three Autumns was a Berserker. This was an excellent melee combination for dealing with stronger opponents and creating opportunities. In addition, Mad Sword was a greatsword-wielding Swordsman, and Elven Enchantress was a Ranger. Their classes were adept at executing finishing blows and ambushes. Black Flame! I truly underestimated you. It''s no wonder those four superpowers are willing to work together to eliminate you. Elven Enchantress also grew serious as she took in Shi Feng''s nonchalant attitude. She then responded quietly, "Although I don''t want to, I''ll do my best to support you this time." As a Ranger, having her arrows caught barehanded was a huge humiliation. Playing a supporting role in a fight was also the last thing she wanted to do. However, she couldn''t care less about her pride right now. Completing the mission had priority. "Vice Alliance Leader Autumns, leave Zero Wing''s other members to us. We won''t let any of them assist Black Flame." "That''s right. They''re but 16 people. It''ll only take us a few seconds to get rid of them." The other members of the four foreign aid teams also responded to Three Autumns''s command, all of them expressing their confidence in resolving this matter quickly. "Good! In three seconds, we''ll take action together!" Since nobody had any objections to his commands, Three Autumns nodded and focused his attention on Shi Feng, who stood 30 yards away. As for everyone else, they promptly spread out, seeking the optimal position to coordinate with each other. However, after the foreign aid teams'' members got to position, an indifferent voice broke the silence and made everyone shudder involuntarily. "It seems you are finally ready. In that case, I can make my move now." Shi Feng''s voice was indescribably calm. However, the meaning behind his words couldn''t be any more obvious. He was basically making fun of the four Absolutes'' determination to work together. "What arrogance!" Furious at Shi Feng''s words, Red Rain immediately activated the Tier 3 Justice Sprint and charged at the Swordsman with his shield raised. The space around Red Rain turned blurry and chaotic, making it difficult for others to time and dodge or block his attack. "Go!" Upon seeing this situation, Three Autumns commanded everyone to take action before joining the charge himself. However, before Three Autumns could even take a step forward, everyone present suddenly felt as if time had switched to slow-mo. This illusion lasted for a moment; then, everyone gasped. Before they realized it, Shi Feng was already standing behind Red Rain. A longsword as dark as night had also pierced Red Rain''s heart. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng pulled the longsword from Red Rain''s back, and the Guardian Knight''s HP drained away until nothing remained. Red Rain then collapsed onto the soft grass, his eyes wide with horror and confusion. 2709 Difference in Strength No content 2710 Selection Battle Ends No content 2711 Lucky Zero Wing? No content 2712 Arrogant Person "Only 17 people passed the selection?" "Zero Wing''s team seems to have 17 people" "What exactly is going on here?" After a brief silence, the various superpowers'' members turned their eyes toward Shi Feng''s group, the doubt in their hearts deepening. There was indeed the possibility that the War God Orders had been well-hidden, and some might not be found even after the selection ended. This would result in less than 100 people passing the preliminary selection. However, even if that were the case, over 80 people should still have passed the selection. However, only 17 people had passed the selection. This number was far below the various superpowers'' expectations. The upper echelons of Sky Dragon Family, Pride Empire, Demon Palace, and Miracle, in particular, were dumbfounded by this situation. They couldn''t figure out what exactly had happened inside the selection battle. Their four Guilds had paid an enormous price to recruit four of the Fire Dragon Empire''s Six Absolutes. They had been very confident of winning the preliminary selection, hands down. Now, however, let alone ranking within the top four, not even one of the foreign aid they recruited managed to pass the selection. What was even more unbelievable was the fact that Zero Wing''s members had returned unscathed. How could they possibly believe this? "Investigate! Investigate what happened! I want to know what happened inside the selection battle!" Almost immediately, the four Guilds'' upper echelons began frantically contacting their respective foreign aid team''s members. "Vice Guild Leader, did something go wrong with the selection?" White Feather''s eyes brimmed with surprise and confusion as she looked at the central stele. In response to White Feather''s question, Cold Shadow glanced at the distant Shi Feng before looking toward the four Guilds'' side. From the commotion at the four Guilds, it was evident that even the four Guilds'' people didn''t know what had just happened. "Something must''ve gone wrong. Only, I don''t know what kind of trick Zero Wing pulled this time." All Cold Shadow could think of now was that Zero Wing was related to this abnormal situation. Out of the 900 players that entered the selection space, only 17 returned. Even if an intense battle occurred inside, there shouldn''t be so few players returning. Not to mention, all of these returnees were even Zero Wing''s members. As the various superpowers were investigating this strange situation, Frost Heaven''s side was similarly at a loss. "Guild Leader Black Flame, what happened inside? Why are you the only ones to return?" Muxin couldn''t help asking Shi Feng. Since Shi Feng was an insider in this situation, asking him would be much more efficient than asking around. If even Zero Wing''s small team of 17 could return safely, there was no way the Flower of Seven Sins''s team of 83 players couldn''t. Not to mention, Sorrowful Rain was a Domain Realm expert. Following Muxin''s and Brilliant Blue''s questions, everyone from Frost Heaven turned to look at Shi Feng, curious to find out what exactly happened inside. However, Shi Feng directly ignored Brilliant Blue''s question and turned to Muxin. "Nothing special happened inside. We just conducted a normal team battle. As for the result, you saw it yourself," Shi Feng said calmly. Shi Feng''s words were clear and straightforward. His logic was also seamless. However, none of Frost Heaven''s members believed him. Even Muxin felt that Shi Feng was joking with her. "Black Flame, do you take this old man for a fool? Do you think I will believe such words?" Brilliant Blue was incensed. He already felt upset that Shi Feng ignored him. Now, Shi Feng was even insulting his intelligence by giving such a stupid answer. The other Frost Heaven members agreed with Brilliant Blue''s words, and they started looking at Shi Feng with scorn. Although Shi Feng''s answer sounded reasonable, it was also the least possible result. They would be fools to believe him! Nine hundred Tier 3 experts had participated in the preliminary selection, many of them peak experts and apex experts. No matter how fierce the battle, these experts shouldn''t have all gotten annihilated. After all, they could still flee if they couldn''t win in a fight. Moreover, the selection battle was held in a special space that severely restricted a player''s Stamina and Concentration. The difficulty and risks involved in chasing a fleeing opponent in this space were incredibly high. Meanwhile, Shi Feng''s team was not only the smallest out of the bunch but also the easiest to counter. If an intense battle occurred during the selection, Shi Feng''s team should have faced the greatest difficulty returning alive. But what about now? Not only did Zero Wing''s team suffer zero casualties, but Zero Wing''s members all wore incomparably relaxed expressions. They did not look like they had just survived an intense battle at all but gone on an outing. "Whether you believe it or not is up to you," Shi Feng retorted nonchalantly. "The selection battle is over. If you don''t have any other questions, we''ll be heading back to rest." After saying so, Shi Feng turned around and left the hall, unconcerned whether Frost Heaven''s members believed him or not. His goal in coming here was only the three Upper Zone reserve slots. Meanwhile, after glancing at the Frost Heaven contingent, Zero Wing''s other members chuckled before following Shi Feng out of the hall. The behavior of Zero Wing''s team thoroughly dumbfounded Brilliant Blue. He was one of Frost Heaven''s dignified Frost Pillars as well as a Great Elder of the Guild. Yet, now, he was being ignored by the Guild Leader of a pseudo-superpower with no background whatsoever. Brilliant Blue promptly glared at Hong Xinyuan and bellowed angrily, "Hong Xinyuan, take a good look! This is the trump card you recruited!" However, Hong Xinyuan remained indifferent to Brilliant Blue''s outburst. In fact, he was in a relatively good mood. After all, the return of Shi Feng''s team meant that Frost Heaven had gained 17 foreign aid slots. Failing to get a reaction out of Hong Xinyuan, Brilliant Blue turned to Seven Wonders and snapped, "Guild Leader, you''ve seen how Zero Wing''s members behave. They are too arrogant. They aren''t even taking us seriously. If we let them participate in the official competition, the consequences will be disastrous." "Enough. Let''s take a look at the situation first," Seven Wonders berated. However, when Seven Wonders glanced at Zero Wing''s members'' departing figures, a hint of dissatisfaction also flashed in his eyes. Meanwhile, although Shi Feng had spoken in a normal tone, everyone in the hall was a great expert. Even the weakest among them was at the Flowing Water Realm. Hence, they heard Shi Feng''s words loud and clear. "Black Flame truly is arrogant to the extreme. He''s taking such an attitude even toward Frost Heaven. He''ll most likely have a difficult path ahead of him." White Feather smirked when she saw the exchange between Shi Feng and Frost Heaven''s leadership. "However, Black Flame really knows how to spout nonsense. Does he think his team consists entirely of peerless experts?" While Frost Heaven''s members might be unaware, she knew full well that nearly half of the 900 players who participated in the selection battle had set their sights on Zero Wing. Zero Wing shouldn''t have come out unscathed if a battle truly happened. However, even after White Feather ridiculed Shi Feng a bunch, Cold Shadow remained surprisingly silent. "Vice Guild Leader, is something wrong?" White Feather asked in confusion when she noticed Cold Shadow''s solemn expression. "News just came from our insider." Taking a deep breath, Cold Shadow said slowly, "All participating foreign aids wereannihilated!" 2713 Fame Spreads Across the Fire Dragon Empire When White Feather heard Cold Shadow''s words, she was stunned, her brain seizing up momentarily. "How is this possible?" White Feather exclaimed almost instinctively. "The selection lasted less than ten minutes! How could nearly 900 Tier 3 great experts slaughter each other so thoroughly within that time?" Without a large gap in strength, a fight between Tier 3 experts would take at least two to five minutes to finish. This rule of thumb was already widely accepted in God''s Domain. Upon reaching Tier 3, almost every player would have at least a few Lifesaving Skills. They could easily fight a battle of attrition. Hence, there was a popular saying that while Tier 3 experts could be defeated easily, killing them was challenging. "No! They didn''t fight each other." Cold Shadow shook her head. She then added calmly, "According to our insider, over half of the foreign aid teams chose to forfeit." "Forfeit?" White Feather grew even more confused at this revelation. She felt that the more she delved into this matter, the more incomprehensible it became. Meanwhile, inside the gloomy hall, Thousand Miles and the upper echelons of the many superpowers present also received news on what happened during the selection battle. They were inevitably bewildered. "Have they lost their minds?! Over half of them forfeited?!" Thousand Miles cursed out loud when he saw his subordinate''s report. "Investigate immediately! Anyone who chose to forfeit shouldn''t even think of receiving any of the promised benefits!" With the huge numerical advantage they had, they could''ve annihilated Zero Wing''s members even if they had to throw bodies at them! "Vice Guild Leader Miles." The gray-robed Berserker standing before Thousand Miles shrank back slightly before saying quietly, "The ones that forfeitedaren''t our Guild''s foreign aid." "What happened to our foreign aid, then?" Thousand Miles asked in response. "Our foreign aid?" After peeking at Thousand Miles, the gray-robed Berserker answered hesitantly, "Black Flame killed them all. Moreover, he didn''t kill just our foreign aid but also the other three Guilds'' foreign aid" "Are you sure Black Flame did it alone? Are they not messing with you?" Thousand Miles asked in disbelief. "I''ve verified with them already." The gray-robed Berserker nodded. "Black Flame indeed killed them by himself. Out of the 400 players that targeted Zero Wing, not a single one survived." "Alone? He annihilated all 400 Tier 3 great experts?" Thousand Miles suddenly felt a little dizzy. This information was too much for his brain to process. He even felt that he was hallucinating right now. Not only did a player obtain a Mana Domain, but said Mana Domain was even so powerful. If someone had told him such a thing before, even he would consider that person crazy. Either that or this person was a newcomer in God''s Domain and ignorant about Mana Domains. "A Mana Domain?" Thousand Miles''s expression stiffened at this term. "How can he have a Mana Domain?" At this time, Thousand Miles wasn''t the only person dumbfounded. The other superpowers'' upper echelons were similarly bewildered when they heard this piece of news. After all, it was far more unbelievable than Shi Feng''s feat of single-handedly annihilating four foreign aid teams. In God''s Domain, the Mana Domain was the standard that determined whether an NPC was strong or weak. So long as an NPC had a Mana Domain, they would be considered a true powerhouse in the whole of God''s Domain! After Frost Heaven''s members received a detailed report of what happened during the selection battle, they, too, fell silent. Brilliant Blue, in particular, wore an extremely wrinkled and ugly look on his face. Previously, no one from Frost Heaven believed what Shi Feng had said. In their opinion, Shi Feng was only talking big. Brilliant Blue had even mocked Shi Feng for his arrogance. However, insiders were now telling them that everything was true. Moreover, the situation was far more terrifying than how Shi Feng described it. "Old Hong, did you and Muxin know about this since the beginning?" Seven Wonders couldn''t help asking Hong Xinyuan. "We knew a little." Chuckling, Hong Xinyuan added, "However, for confidentiality''s sake, we didn''t tell anyone." Muxin also nodded in agreement. Only, even she was surprised by such an excellent battle record. She never expected that Shi Feng''s Mana Domain would be so powerful when released. It was at least ten times stronger than what she experienced. "You two really know how to keep us in the dark." When Seven Wonders looked at Hong Xinyuan''s indifferent expression and recalled the situation with Shi Feng before, he smiled bitterly. "In that case, I''ll leave Zero Wing''s matters to you in the future." After glancing at the silent Brilliant Blue, Hong Xinyuan faintly smiled and said, "Guild Leader, please rest assured." After the end of the selection battle, news about Zero Wing spread like the plague. This was especially true for the details regarding Black Flame. Many of the major powers that had come to spectate the competition were shocked. Not only had Black Flame single-handedly dominated the preliminary selection, but he even possessed the rumored Mana Domain. This battle record instantly made Black Flame the focus of discussion for many players all over the Fire Dragon Empire. Quite a number of the empire''s players even sought to join the pseudo-superpower known as Zero Wing. War God''s Temple, Mythology''s lounge: "Vice Guild Leader, the situation has become somewhat troublesome now. Not only does that Black Flame possess a Mana Domain, but his fame has also spread throughout the Fire Dragon Empire. I''m afraid it''ll become very difficult to realize our acquisition plan now," White Feather said anxiously when she saw that Black Flame''s name was being mentioned everywhere in the Fire Dragon Empire''s forums. "This situation might even affect Miracle''s ranking." Mythology had chosen to partner with Miracle for the competition this time. In terms of Guild foundations and strength, Miracle was above Frost Heaven. However, not only did Miracle lose all its foreign aid, but Frost Heaven even had Zero Wing supporting it. The gap in strength between the two Guilds had instantly narrowed by a large margin. "Black Flame has indeed become a big variable now." Glancing at the battle report she received, Cold Shadow smiled and added, "However, at the end of the day, the struggle for the reserve seats isn''t something that can be decided by one person. Not to mention, even with a Mana Domain, Black Flame won''t be able to survive for long in this competition. That great personage has already said he would personally take action against Black Flame!" "That great personage is going to make a move?" This news surprised White Feather. "Mhm. Black Flame still thinks he is invincible just because he has a Mana Domain. He doesn''t know that there is always someone stronger. Even a Mana Domain cannot save him now," Cold Shadow sneered as she read the detailed report on Shi Feng. While a Mana Domain was indeed powerful, it was a negligible existence in front of absolute strength. While the various superpowers were patiently waiting for the official competition to begin, Shi Feng secretly paid a visit to a bar called Moon Fire in Flame Dragon City''s outskirts. At this time, only one woman was sitting quietly at the bar counter. This woman wore delicate, light-blue robes, and just the view of her back could mesmerize countless people. However, this woman''s aura was as hot as flames, deterring people from summoning up the courage to approach her. "You''re here." When the woman saw Shi Feng enter the bar, she greeted him as though welcoming an old friend she hadn''t seen for a long time. Meanwhile, this woman was none other than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s Phoenix Pavilion Master. Demon Queen Phoenix Rain! 2714 Meeting Phoenix Rain Again Accepting Phoenix Rain''s invitation, Shi Feng walked over and sat beside her. "In the time I haven''t seen you, you''ve become a lot stronger again," Phoenix Rain praised as she scanned Shi Feg. "Not too much." Going straight into the topic, Shi Feng asked, "Is everything alright on your side?" He had suddenly visited the Moon Fire Bar because of a message from Phoenix Rain. Initially, he had been a little happy to receive the message. Since he had thought that Phoenix Rain would never appear before him again, he felt that the situation shouldn''t be as terrible as Duan Hanshan made it out to be. However, the moment he laid eyes on Phoenix Rain, he instantly understood. The situation was much worse than he thought. This was because the Phoenix Rain he saw couldn''t be considered human. All her information was labeled as "Unknown" and couldn''t be examined at all. Moreover, the feeling he got from her was as if she had wholly integrated her existence with the flowers and trees of God''s Domain. Shi Feng even got the impression that Phoenix Rain was native to God''s Domain. Meanwhile, at Shi Feng''s question, a hint of surprise flashed in Phoenix Rain''s eyes. She then smiled faintly and replied, "You can say that it''s alright yet not alright at the same time." "It seems the situation still isn''t too terrible." Shi Feng nodded. He then asked another question, "Can you tell me what exactly happened, then?" The disappearance of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s three Pavilion Masters had shaken the various superpowers of God''s Domain. If not for the Pavilion having hidden this matter well, it would''ve long since made headlines in the real world. "This, I cannot say." Phoenix Rain shook her head. "I went to great lengths to come here to tell you only two things." Although Phoenix Rain''s voice was calm, her eyes betrayed deep exhaustion. "What is it?" Shi Feng didn''t probe too much into her situation. He could feel that Phoenix Rain wasn''t joking with him. In that case, there wouldn''t be any meaning for him to continue probing. "The first is that I hope you can take care of my little sister," Phoenix Rain said, then took out an information card and handed it to Shi Feng. "Her information and address are recorded here. I am no longer by her side. Although she has great abilities, the people who are troubling her are difficult. If you have the chance, I hope you can help resolve her problems." After glancing at the information card, Shi Feng was stunned. Phoenix Rain''s little sister was residing in the Upper Zone. "Aren''t you in the Upper Zone too?" Shi Feng asked in confusion. "This shouldn''t be a problem. I''ll go take a look if I visit the Upper Zone in the future." Shi Feng nodded in agreement. Phoenix Rain had helped both him and Zero Wing a lot thus far. He didn''t mind taking care of her little sister now. "Thank you." Phoenix Rain breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard Shi Feng''s answer. She then inhaled deeply before saying solemnly, "Next, the second matter will be my two pieces of advice to you." "Advice?" Seeing Phoenix Rain''s serious expression, Shi Feng couldn''t help asking, "Is it Saint''s Hand?" Based on the information from Duan Hanshan, the disappearance of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion''s leadership had something to do with Saint''s Hand. Moreover, the various superpowers also appeared to be fearful of the Guild. "No." Shaking her head, Phoenix Rain said, "My first advice is for you to be wary of three people." "Three people?" Shi Feng was somewhat confused. He could understand if Phoenix Rain wanted him to be wary of some powerful organization, yet she told him to be wary of three individuals. If not for Phoenix Rain''s solemn expression and her lofty status, he would''ve most likely treated her words as a joke. "Yes, three people." Slowly, Phoenix Rain said, "I don''t know these three people''s names. They use various aliases, but not one of them is their real name. The only thing I can tell you is their characteristics. "These three people are a madman, a girl, and a young, scholarly person. If you meet them, run as far as you can. Never approach them, or the consequences will be harsh. You must remember this point." "That''s all the information on these three people?" Shi Feng memorized Phoenix Rain''s words, but the information he had to work with was scanty and vague. "I only know this much." Phoenix Rain shook her head and chuckled. She then continued, "The next piece of advice is simpler, and that is to stock up on as many Seven Luminaries Crystals as possible. This thing is incredibly valuable, and the more you have, the better." "That''s a realistic piece of advice." Shi Feng was startled to receive this advice. Seven Luminaries Crystal was incredibly important during his previous life. Knowing this, he had tasked many Guild members with finding and collecting the crystal. However, due to its rarity, the amount they managed to collect wasn''t significant. After Shi Feng finished speaking, Phoenix Rain suddenly stood up and tossed three Gold Coins onto the table. She then looked at Shi Feng and said earnestly, "I''ve said everything that can be said. How far you can progress will be up to you." "You''re leaving already?" Shi Feng was again startled when he saw Phoenix Rain preparing to leave. Their conversation lasted less than five minutes. He hadn''t even gotten to the other questions he wanted to ask. However, Phoenix Rain looked to be short on time. "Oh, yes." Suddenly, Phoenix Rain pulled out a black crystal from her pocket and tossed it to Shi Feng. "I have you to thank for being able to make this visit. I can''t use this thing at present, so I''ll give it to you." "What is this thing?" When Shi Feng looked at the unidentifiable black crystal, he felt a sudden urge to eat the crystal whole. Upon noticing the hunger in Shi Feng''s eyes, Phoenix Rain chuckled. "You''d better not eat it. It''s not edible." Shi Feng felt slightly embarrassed by this situation. He never thought that the black crystal would be powerful enough to affect his mind. "Don''t worry. I won''t eat it," Shi Feng promised. "Before I go, I''ll tell you one more thing. Tier 4 is just the beginning. Yourtime" However, before Phoenix Rain could finish speaking, she suddenly disappeared. It was as if she never existed in this place. Now, only Shi Feng remained inside the spacious bar. Forced teleportation? Surprise colored Shi Feng''s eyes as he looked at the space where Phoenix Rain had been. However, he quickly denied his conjecture. No. There were no spatial fluctuations. It shouldn''t be a forced teleport. Yet, if she logged off, it should''ve taken a while before she disappeared. Despite pondering for some time, Shi Feng failed to figure out the mechanism behind Phoenix Rain''s sudden disappearance. In the end, he had to give up and shifted his attention to the black crystal in his hand. At least he now knew that Phoenix Rain was safe. I got nothing from using an ordinary Identification Skill just now. It seems I can only try with Omniscient Eyes. Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng gathered the surrounding Mana around his eyes and stared intently at the black crystal. Omniscient Eyes! 2715 Eternal Item As Shi Feng frantically gathered Mana inside the bar, the Mana around him started liquefying. The standard of his Mana was undoubtedly at Tier 4. A moment later, twofold magic arrays appeared in his eyes. If a player were to meet his gaze right now, they would most likely shudder instinctively. At this moment, Shi Feng''s eyes seemed to be capable of penetrating all truths in the world. No secrets could exist before this pair of eyes. Sure enough, Omniscient Eyes''s effects have improved significantly now that my Mana has reached the Tier 4 standard. Shi Feng was delighted as he looked at the black crystal in his hand. Previously, even when he used the Advanced Identification Skill, he couldn''t appraise the black crystal at all. However, with Omniscient Eyes, a loading bar had appeared. It was as if the black crystal''s outermost firewall had cracked, and the Skill was fervently exploiting this breach and trying to dig into the crystal''s core. Ten seconds Twenty seconds Forty seconds As the forces of the black crystal and Omniscient Eyes continued clashing, Shi Feng frowned. Although Omniscient Eyes has the strength to contend against the black crystal, it apparently still isn''t enough. Omniscient Eyes might be digging at the black crystal''s firewalls, but the Skill had a limited duration of only one minute. If it failed to break through the black crystal''s defenses during this time, he would have to try again ten minutes later. Only, the result would most likely be the same. Upon seeing Omniscient Eyes and the black crystal at a stalemate, Shi Feng started racking his brain on how he could break through the black crystal''s power. The biggest difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 is in Mana. Since Omniscient Eyes has the strength to go up against the black crystal after being injected with Tier 4 Mana, the difference between the two is Mana. As of now, Omniscient Eyes still has plentiful Mana. In other words, the amount of Mana isn''t crucial for breaking through the black crystal''s defenses. If the amount isn''t the problem, then the only other possibility is the Mana''s strength. However, after coming to this conclusion, Shi Feng did not smile in joy. On the contrary, he fell into even greater despair. After all, increasing the strength of Mana was easier said than done. On the market, almost all items that improved their user''s Mana only increased the volume of Mana their users held. Generally, if players wished to increase their Mana''s quality, they would have to either improve their control over Mana or raise their tier. In other words, if Shi Feng wanted to increase his Mana''s strength right now, his only option was to raise his control over Mana to a higher realm. After Shi Feng thought up to this point, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. However, less than five seconds remained to Omniscient Eyes''s duration. I have no choice but to try! Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and promptly assumed the posture of using the Mana Technique Lightshadow. The Mana swarming around Shi Feng instantly began condensing even further, taking on the shape of a greatsword. However, unlike when he used this Mana Technique at Tier 3, the phantom greatsword now looked much more tangible. Meanwhile, after executing Lightshadow, Shi Feng could sense a change occurring in the magic arrays in his eyes. They showed faint signs of evolving into threefold magic arrays. Good! It''s effective! Shi Feng couldn''t help growing excited. However, the third layer''s formation abruptly stopped. The Mana still isn''t strong enough? Shi Feng frowned. If I want to increase it even further, I''ll have no choice but to use Holy Devour. Holy Devour was a move he dreaded to use. Executing the complete Holy Devour was too taxing. It shouldn''t be used frequently, even by Tier 4 classes. With the reserve seats'' competition about to begin, he had to keep himself in his peak state. Although executing Holy Devour once wouldn''t overwork his brain, it would still exhaust his Concentration. However, after thinking for a second, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind. "To hell with it!" Although Phoenix Rain currently wasn''t in a life-threatening situation, that was true only for now. There were far too many unknowns and secrets surrounding her. Saint''s Hand''s side was also filled with mysteries. There was no guarantee that he wouldn''t meet a similar fate to Phoenix Rain in the future. Hence, he needed to identify the black crystal. Only by doing so would he have a chance at finding some useful information. Immediately, Shi Feng changed his stance once more, and the aura he exuded skyrocketed in intensity. Holy Devour! Boom! Suddenly, ethereal flames enveloped the bar. The flames were so realistic that they triggered the magic arrays set up inside the bar. Some of these magic arrays even started cracking, evidently unable to withstand the powerful Mana Shi Feng condensed. Meanwhile, as if violently stimulated, the twofold magic arrays in Shi Feng''s eyes completed their transformation into threefold magic arrays. Using Holy Devour directly elevated Omniscient Eyes''s strength to a whole new level. Crack! Shi Feng suddenly heard a crack coming from the black crystal. However, half a second later, dizziness assaulted his brain. The horrific Mana condensed by Holy Devour also instantly dissipated, leaving behind a tattered bar. Several seconds later, his mind started to clear up. He immediately shifted his gaze to the black crystal in his hand. Did it succeed? Shi Feng inspected the black crystal anxiously. This time, the crystal didn''t put up any resistance when he tried to read its information. Row after row of text appeared before his eyes. Upon seeing this information, Shi Feng was stunned. An Eternal Item? This is actually an Eternal Item? Shi Feng couldn''t help doubting his eyes as he read the information before him. [World Stone] (Eternal Item) Effect 1: Stabilizes the principle of all things. Effect 2: Unknown. Effect 3: Indestructible object. In God''s Domain, so long as an item was related to eternity, it was an item of Gods. Eternal Items were legends among legends. According to rumor, even Gods had difficulty obtaining one, and some Gods would even fight frantically for one. There were various rumors as to the cause of the Great Ancient War, one of which attributed the war to a struggle for Eternal Items between Ancient Gods. "It seems I still can''t do anything about this situation." Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the World Stone. He had fought for ten years in God''s Domain in his previous life. However, he was well aware that he was still ignorant of plenty of secrets regarding God''s Domain. God''s Domain wasn''t just a game like the general masses thought it to be. Otherwise, the various international corporations wouldn''t go so crazy over it. This Eternal Item told him that the problem Phoenix Rain faced was extraordinary. It wasn''t something a Tier 4 Sword Emperor like himself could look into. After all, even the God-ranked experts in his previous life had great difficulty obtaining such an item. He would most likely have to wait until he reached Tier 5 or even Tier 6 before he could find out more about the situation. Otherwise, he would share the fate of all those missing experts. While Shi Feng was having goosebumps from thinking about the problem Phoenix Rain was involved in, Youlan suddenly contacted him. "Where are you now, Guild Leader?" Youlan asked anxiously. "The various superpowers'' members have already started to gather." "Okay. I''ll head over now." Shi Feng smiled and nodded. He decided to shelve Phoenix Rain''s matter temporarily. Now, the only thing he needed to do was improve both his and his Guild''s strength as much as possible. Only by doing so would he have a better chance of handling the various crises plaguing him. After ending the call, Shi Feng stored the World Stone and dropped a bag of Gold Coins on the table. He then left the Moon Fire Bar. 2716 Gods Domains Apex Battle Flame Dragon City, War God''s Temple: Despite being the size of three sports stadiums, the plaza outside the War God''s Temple was currently crowded with players. Aside from the various participating superpowers'' members, a large portion of these players was here as spectators. Everyone quietly waited for the official start of the competition. "Quick, look! They''re about to announce the battlefield!" Suddenly, a huge holographic projection appeared in the sky above the War God''s Temple. The projection was hundreds of meters wide, and the image displayed was visible even from several miles away. Meanwhile, with the emergence of this holographic projection, excitement surged in both the players and NPCs in Flame Dragon City. "It''s finally starting!" "This competition will determine the future direction of the entire God''s Domain. Many of the various superpowers'' hidden experts will reveal themselves. Once you guys enter the arena, make sure to record these experts'' data. They''re going to become the giants of God''s Domain in the future. We must make sure we don''t accidentally offend any of them." "Newbies, listen up. The Guild spent a fortune to reserve a VIP viewing room to let you experience this competition as close as possible. Cherish this opportunity and learn as much as you can from those top talents!" The various major powers here to spectate the competition spent time instructing their Guild talents and newcomers to cherish this viewing opportunity. After all, this was going to be the apex battle of God''s Domain. "Talents? I want to see just how powerful they are." "I heard many of the people on the God''s Domain''s Experts List would appear. I wonder if we''ll get a chance to see a showdown between these experts?" The various major powers'' talents and newcomers grew excited upon hearing their superiors'' words. They all wished they could take part in the competition themselves. The players in Flame Dragon City weren''t the only ones paying attention to this competition. Players all over God''s Domain were also interested. Unfortunately, the people who could directly spectate the battle numbered very few, which had many players gnashing their teeth in frustration. There were only 100 VIP viewing rooms, each capable of accommodating only 100 players. There were also only 10 million normal viewing seats available. Compared to God''s Domain''s player population, this number was insignificant. However, this still wasn''t the most frustrating part. Instead, what frustrated players the most was that aside from players, even NPCs could purchase these viewing tickets. According to the War God''s Temple''s statistics, 20% of the tickets were bought by NPCs, 60% by Guilds, and only 20% by independent players. Displayed on the projection was an ocean with turbulent waves and dark thunderclouds. At a glance, it was evident this wasn''t a place players could enter casually. Strewn across this ocean were 18 islands of varying sizes. The small islands were roughly the size of small leveling maps, while the large islands were around three times the size of the small islands. A considerable distance separated these islands. With calm seas, a Bronze Speedboat would take at least two hours to travel from one island to another. The appearance of waves and storms could double this travel time. "What?! It''s going to be a naval battle?!" "No, there are quite a few islands on the ocean." "Is it an island occupation battle?" The players outside the War God''s Temple were surprised by the unveiled battlefield, and heated discussions promptly broke out. However, before anyone could reach a conclusion, the specific rules for the reserve seat competition were listed one after another. 1. Players will be teleported to a random island in teams. Each team must have at least 100 players and can have at most 1,000 players. Every island has between 12 to 30 Resource Nodes. Different Resource Nodes will grant different amounts of Guild Points. Basic Resource Nodes will grant 10 Guild Points per hour; Intermediate Resource Nodes, 20 Guild Points per hour; Advanced Resource Nodes, 30 Guild Points per hour. The competition will last 24 hours. The top six Guilds with the highest score will receive the reserve seats at the end of the competition. 2. The larger of the 18 islands will place greater restrictions on players'' Stamina and Concentration. Players cannot use any Berserk Skills or magic tools. The Guilds ranked within the top five of each island''s point ranking can travel to other islands. If players die during the competition, they will be automatically teleported out of the competition venue and lose two levels. When the players in the plaza saw these rules, they gasped in shock. After all, this competition depended heavily on Guild foundations and leadership. The use of individual strength would be greatly restricted in this competition. Moreover, if a Guild didn''t handle its distribution of teams properly, it might suffer complete annihilation. "The rules favor Guilds with greater numbers." Mu Lingsha frowned as she gazed at the rules displayed above the War God''s Temple. The minimum requirement for players in this competition was Tier 3. Even if most of the participating superpowers had roughly the same number of Guild members, there was a huge difference in the number of Tier 3 players. Take Unyielding Soul, for example. The Guild had only 4,500 or so Tier 3 players. However, the Super Guild Sky Dragon Family had over 8,000. Of course, the Guilds participating in this competition had 6,000 Tier 3 players on average, so the difference between the participating Guilds wasn''t as significant. Even so, this situation would still create a huge gap between the participating Guilds. To begin with, each of the Five Great Super Guilds had over 20,000 Tier 3 players. This wasn''t a number any of the other superpowers could hope to compete with. This was also why none of the other superpowers held any hopes of competing for the five other reserve seats. With the revelation of these rules, the gap between the Five Great Super Guilds and the other participating superpowers became even more significant. For example, the Five Great Super Guilds could form twenty 1,000-man teams each, whereas the other superpowers couldn''t even form ten. And given the random assignment to the various islands, the number of islands the Five Great Super Guilds could occupy right off the bat would already be several times higher than what the other superpowers could hold. To make matters worse, if a Guild couldn''t even rank within the top five of an island''s point ranking, it couldn''t leave for other islands to seek greener pastures. "These rules are excellent. Miracle''s victory is basically sealed now," Cold Shadow said, smiling as she read the competition rules. At this time, Miracle''s upper echelon was also ecstatic. After all, Miracle had over 13,000 members participating in the competition this time. As to why the Guild could have so many Tier 3 experts, it was thanks entirely to the special tools Mythology provided. These tools allowed Tier 2 experts that had trouble with their promotion to overcome the final hurdle. Although these artificially produced Tier 3 experts were lacking in combat standards compared to other Tier 3 experts, they were still bona fide Tier 3 players and much stronger than Tier 2 players. With the addition of these artificial Tier 3 experts, Miracle had the sixth-largest player count in this competition. In contrast to Miracle''s upper echelon, Seven Wonders and the rest of Frost Heaven''s upper echelon currently looked pale. Frost Heaven had only a little over 7,500 members participating. The Guild was just barely ranked within the top 10. If not for the competition venue and rules, Frost Heaven could have easily fought for the sixth seat. Now, however, it was evident this wouldn''t be possible. "Our only choice is to take the risk and form more teams. Otherwise, we won''t have a chance of securing a seat," Seven Wonders stated calmly to the Elders and Grand Elders present. "That''s the only thing we can do. Otherwise, we won''t stand a chance against the Guilds with greater numbers," Hong Xinyuan said, nodding in agreement. The Grand Elders and Elders present similarly agreed with Seven Wonders''s opinion. "Since that''s the case, I''ll start assigning the teams. "Although we have to split our numbers into as many teams as possible, we also need to consider the balance of combat power and the struggle for Resource Nodes. The five Grand Elders and 12 Elders present will each lead a team of 300. Your goal is to secure a Basic Resource Node. If your combat power is lacking, you can merge with another team to secure a Resource Node. "Me, Old Hong, and Brilliant Blue will each lead a team of 500 and the Ten Swords. We''ll do our best to secure an Intermediate Node each, or a Basic Node at the very minimum. The three Vice Guild Leaders will lead the remaining members together with Zero Wing to secure an Advanced Node or an Intermediate Node at minimum." Seven Wonders''s distribution was considerably conservative, ensuring the least number of problems for the Guild. Firstly, it ensured that the Guild had enough teams to provide sufficient coverage across the 18 islands. Secondly, every team would more or less have the strength for self-conservation, even if it came across a hostile 1,000-man team. Of course, the chances of actually coming across a 1,000-man team were relatively low. Since each Guild only had so many players participating in the competition, using these limited players to form 1,000-man teams was a huge extravagance. To spread their influence as wide as possible, the various participating Guilds would naturally form as many teams as possible without compromising their overall combat power. "What do you think?" Seven Wonders asked as he looked at the Guild upper echelon present. In response, the Guild Elders exchanged looks with each other. However, none of them voiced any objections. Seven Wonders nodded. "In that case" Just as he was about to finalize his decision, however, a low voice entered everyone''s ears. "I object!" Immediately, Frost Heaven''s upper echelon turned to look at this voice''s origin. The owner of this voice was none other than Shi Feng, who had just arrived. However, instead of getting upset at Shi Feng''s interjection, Seven Wonders instead asked sincerely, "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you have any better suggestions?" Following Seven Wonders''s question, the Grand Elders and Elders present also turned to Shi Feng. Their actions showed that they were of the same mind as Seven Wonders, and they all looked forward to hearing Shi Feng''s suggestion. What happened to these people while I was gone? Shi Feng was a little surprised at Seven Wonders and the others'' response. Before he left, these people couldn''t even be bothered to look at him. Now, not only did Seven Wonders''s attitude change for the better, but even Frost Heaven''s Grand Elders and Elders had become more amiable. What Shi Feng didn''t know was that news of his frightening battle had already spread. With such terrifying combat power, let alone Frost Heaven, even Super Guilds would treat him respectfully. However, Shi Feng didn''t dwell on the matter. "I can''t say it is a good suggestion." Calmly, Shi Feng added, "I just think that we should change the grouping slightly." "How do we change it?" Seven Wonders asked curiously. Shi Feng then stretched out an open palm. "Five! "My suggestion is for Zero Wing to lead five separate 100-man teams, while your Vice Guild Leaders lead the remaining 500 players. This way, we can maximize our combat effectiveness." 2717 Gambit? "Five separate teams?" Frost Heaven''s Elders gasped involuntarily when they heard Shi Feng''s suggestion. They were at a disadvantage in numbers, and even the slightest mistake could put paid to securing the sixth reserve seat. Meanwhile, although Seven Wonders''s distribution was conservative, it would allow Frost Heaven to avoid significant problems. However, Shi Feng was now suggesting that they split their numbers into five additional teamsteams that met the bare minimum requirement of 100 players. This surpassed aggressive action and bordered on madness. "Guild Leader Black Flame, isn''t this a little too aggressive a maneuver?" Muxin couldn''t help but worry. At this point, everyone already knew that Shi Feng possessed frightening strength. Even if he led the smallest-sized team, he should still be able to handle most of the problems he encountered. However, the four other teams wouldn''t have such an assurance. After all, no one else possessed the frightening combat power of Shi Feng. Among Zero Wing''s team, the second strongest person was Violet Cloud. And her control over Mana was far from comparable to Shi Feng''s. This was something Muxin had verified through Violet Cloud''s duel with Tian Cheng. As for Zero Wing''s other members, their average combat standards didn''t even reach the Void Realm. While they could still become useful combat power, they couldn''t change the tide of battle by themselves. In fact, even Domain Realm experts couldn''t do so. This was also why Seven Wonders had decided to have Frost Heaven''s Grand Elders and Elders lead 300-man teams at a minimum. At this moment, Muxin wasn''t the only person puzzled by Shi Feng''s suggestion. Even Youlan and Yan Tianxing couldn''t help staring at Shi Feng in confusion. Zero Wing had indeed made great progress recently. The Guild''s top combatants had even experienced continuous improvements. However, they had yet to reach the standard of peerless experts. Aside from Shi Feng, the only other person who could safely lead a team of 100 players in this situation was Violet Cloud. If they split their forces across five teams of 100, a single mistake could lead to a team-wipe. After all, this competition wasn''t some children''s game, nor was it a struggle for just a small part of God''s Domain. It was a competition for the Twelve Great Guilds'' reserve seats! None of the various superpowers would hold back this time. In fact, in this competition, even Void Realm experts would only be foot soldiers. Every participating team would most likely have several or even more than a dozen of such experts assigned to them. Not to mention, 100-man teams were only the bare minimum in this competition. If apex experts came across a 500-man team by themselves, even they would most likely suffer. And if they came across 1,000-man teams, only death awaited them. "It is indeed a little aggressive. However, this is also our only chance to secure a seat." Shi Feng did not refute Muxin''s words. After all, what she said was true. "Otherwise, Frost Heaven won''t have a single chance at victory. I''m sure you understand this, as well." In the past, due to an inadequate foundation, Frost Heaven failed to secure a reserve seat during the first competition. Meanwhile, the start of the island battle was incredibly important. If they couldn''t spread their forces across as many islands as possible, they would basically have to write off the competition. There were only six reserve seats up for grabs. Ignoring island sizes, they needed to occupy at least three islands'' worth of Resource Nodes to have a considerable chance of winning. However, fully occupying three islands was easier said than done. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Frost Heaven''s upper echelon fell silent. After some time had passed, Hong Xinyuan suddenly stepped forward and said, "I also agree with Guild Leader Black Flame''s point of view. We are basically gambling on luck if we only have 21 teams. We might as well put up a fight, in that case." "However, if luck doesn''t favor us and one of our 100-man teams gets isolated, the team won''t be able to do much, either," Brilliant Blue said, shaking his head. A total of 30 Guilds were participating in the competition[1]. On average, there would be at least two Guilds on every island. If one of their 100-man teams had bad luck and got isolated on an island, the team definitely wouldn''t have a good outcome. At Brilliant Blue''s words, Frost Heaven''s members fell silent once more. After giving the matter some thought, Seven Wonders looked at Shi Feng and said, "How about this? I''ll agree to form five more 100-man teams. However, we will support these five teams with only ordinary Tier 3 experts. I''m afraid we cannot afford to assign any peak experts to you." "Guild Leader?" Hong Xinyuan couldn''t help but frown at Seven Wonders''s words. Although Seven Wonders had agreed to form five additional teams, if no peak experts supported these teams, Zero Wing''s members would basically be walking a tightrope. It wouldn''t even be far-fetched to say that Seven Wonders was treating these five teams as sacrificial pieces. Of course, Hong Xinyuan could understand Seven Wonders''s decision. These five teams were a last-ditch effort. They naturally couldn''t invest too much combat power in these teams. However, in his opinion, since they were gambling anyway, they might as well add chips to the bet. "Old Hong, don''t try to persuade me. I''ve made my decision," Seven Wonders said firmly. "I understand." Hong Xinyuan had no choice but to hold his tongue at these words. As Frost Heaven''s Guild Leader, Seven Wonders was the Guild''s authority. Since Seven Wonders had already decided, Hong Xinyuan would have no way of changing the decision. "Guild Leader, Zero Wing''s members aren''t familiar with Frost Heaven''s members. How about I join them? This way, Guild Leader Black Flame can command the teams better," Muxin suggested to Seven Wonders. "Okay. You''ll be the liaison with Zero Wing." Seven Wonders nodded in agreement. Just like Muxin had said, Shi Feng knew nothing about Frost Heaven''s members. Without proper understanding, he wouldn''t be able to make the best decisions. Meanwhile, as one of Frost Heaven''s Vice Guild Leaders, Muxin''s understanding of the Guild''s members was excellent. She was indeed the best candidate for the liaison. "Big Sis, are you crazy?" Kerui, who stood beside Muxin, stared at her incredulously. "You dare participate in such a gambit?" Dying in this competition meant losing two levels. For players of their level, losing two levels was no laughing matter. After all, they were only one small step away from the crucial Level 120 threshold. If they died in this competition, it would severely delay challenging their Tier 4 Promotion. "Don''t worry, my dear little sister. I will follow Guild Leader Black Flame''s team. I believe there shouldn''t be any problems in that case," Muxin said, chuckling. "" Kerui was momentarily rendered speechless by Muxin''s words. Afterward, Frost Heaven''s members split up into different teams according to Seven Wonders''s arrangement. Simultaneously, 483 Frost Heaven members were assigned to Shi Feng. As for how Shi Feng would distribute these players, Seven Wonders stayed out of it. "Guild Leader Black Flame, everyone has arrived," Muxin stated after counting the Frost Heaven members on their side. She then asked curiously, "How do you plan on distributing them?" "I''ve thought about it already." Chuckling, Shi Feng said, "I''ll lead a team by myself. Afterward, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and Fire Dance will each lead a team. The rest of Zero Wing''s members will follow Violet Cloud''s and Fire Dance''s teams." "This Isn''t this" Muxin was momentarily dumbfounded. She had anticipated Violet Cloud leading a team by herself, while the rest of Zero Wing''s members would be split across the three remaining teams. After all, Violet Cloud also possessed a Mana Domain of her own. Yet, Shi Feng was having Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose lead teams by themselves, instead? At this moment, let alone Muxin, even Youlan, Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, Alluring Summer, Zhao Yueru, Cola, Shadow Sword, Silent Blade, Turtledove, Ye Wumian, Flying Shadow, and Rampant Blade were stunned. Of the Zero Wing members present, the ones who needed support the most were the two Vice Guild Leaders. After all, the two of them hadn''t improved their levels and equipment in the slightest over the past few weeks. Although Gentle Snow''s and Aqua Rose''s weapons and equipment were still far superior to those of the various superpowers'' peak experts, the two of them were still slightly inferior to Violet Cloud and Fire Dance in combat standard. Not giving them any support was akin to going all-in on a gamble. Ignoring everyone''s doubts, Shi Feng turned to the two people in question and asked, "Snow, Aqua, are you fine with this arrangement?" "No problem." The two responded indifferently as if this matter had nothing to do with them. "Good. That settles it, then." Shi Feng did not make any additional explanations. Following this, the various superpowers waited for another hour or so until a loud bell tolled in the War God''s Temple, the sound echoing throughout Flame Dragon City. The competition for the Twelve Great Guilds'' reserve seats officially began! Immediately, the participants thronging the War God''s Temple''s plaza turned into streaks of light and vanished one after another. 2718 Team Distribution No content 2719 Gentle Snows Sword Above the competition venue, inside a VIP room "This is bad. Miracle''s Thousand Miles discovered Gentle Snow''s team," Flourishing Willow said nervously as she stared at a dense forest on Island No. 3. "Gentle Snow will be in trouble. Thousand Miles''s team is a 1,000-man team." "The experts on Thousand Miles''s team are astonishing. I''m afraid there are at least a dozen peak experts and two apex experts." Galaxy Past, the Star Alliance''s Guild Leader, also frowned when he saw this situation. As a Guild of Star-Moon Kingdom, the Star Alliance had frequently clashed with Gentle Snow''s Ouroboros during the early stages of the game. In fact, Galaxy Past had even treated Gentle Snow as his rival. Hence, Galaxy Past paid close attention to Zero Wing in this competition. This was especially so for his ex-rival, Gentle Snow. Galaxy Past had even set Gentle Snow as a priority target on the spectator''s interface. So long as she fought in a battle, he would be notified of it immediately. "The gap between the two sides is too large." Purple Eye, who was now a Level 117, Tier 3 Great Mage, shook her head and sighed, "If Gentle Snow were leading Zero Wing''s main force, she might still stand a chance. However, with her strength alone, there''s no way her team can win. Even escaping will be a problem." Although the Star Alliance had been in conflict with Ouroboros and even the current Zero Wing, as Guilds originating from Star-Moon Kingdom and peak experts from the same kingdom, Purple Eye still hoped to see Gentle Snow and Zero Wing perform well in this competition. "Dammit. If only we could join the battle." The other Star Alliance upper echelon present also sighed and grumbled. They never thought that Gentle Snow''s team would be so unlucky as to encounter a 1,000-man team right off the bat. "Miracle has started moving!" "Gentle Snow! Why haven''t you noticed them yet?!" Flourishing Willow reflexively stood up in worry and pointed at Miracle''s members on the holographic projection. A one-hundred-versus-one-thousand battle already placed Gentle Snow''s team in an overwhelming disadvantage. Moreover, Miracle''s team was even stuffed with experts, while Frost Heaven''s members were obviously no good. Even the strongest among them had reached only the Refinement Realm; most of them weren''t even at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Let alone Miracle''s experts, even the Star Alliance''s main force could trounce these Tier 3 experts from Frost Heaven. However, despite the Star Alliance''s members'' thoughts and shouts, Miracle''s experts had already sneaked within 100 yards of Gentle Snow''s team. For Tier 3 players, such a distance required only a few steps to cross. Gentle Snow''s team had no chance to flee now. "Rest assured, Vice Guild Leader. Leave that young lady to these two old men," Elder Roc, a white-bearded old man clad in black robes and armed with two pitch-black short swords, answered. "If we take action, she won''t have a chance to escape," Elder Feather, an old man with golden pupils, said, smiling. He wore dark-gray leather armor and carried a white-winged feather bow. "I am naturally confident in your abilities. Both of you are our Guild''s top-ranking ambushers. However, Gentle Snow isn''t an easy target, either. In terms of combat power, she rivals Domain Realm experts already. Killing her will definitely deal a huge blow to Zero Wing," Thousand Miles said, smiling. Thousand Miles felt reassured that Elder Roc and Elder Feather were taking action. After all, the two Elders could hold their ground even against a peerless expert if they worked together. This was why the Guild had let these two Elders join a 1,000-man team. However, he did not wish to repeat his mistakes. He would use everything he had, even to deal with a minor problem. When Thousand Miles finished speaking, the magical-class players in the team had also completed the incantations for their Spells. "Vice Guild Leader, all preparations are done. We can make them disappear from the island at your command," a Level 118, Tier 3 Great Mage reported quietly. "Good!" Thousand Miles did not doubt his subordinate''s words at all since the 20 magical-class players had jointly cast eight Destruction Spells. These powerful Spells would devastate even Level 120 Mythic monsters, let alone Tier 3 players. The magical-class players on the team grew excited. After all, they rarely had an opportunity to use such high-caliber Spells. The Bosses in Dungeons normally wouldn''t give them a chance to cast such Spells. Only during siege battles would they have such an opportunity. Now that they could use Gentle Snow''s team for target practice, they were naturally more than happy to do so. Immediately, Thousand Miles turned to look at Gentle Snow''s team. "Huh?" However, the instant Thousand Miles turned around, his entire body shuddered. Before anyone noticed, Gentle Snow had already appeared before his team''s magical-class players. The Tier 3 Great Mage that reported to him was even laughing, wholly unaware of Gentle Snow''s arrival. "Not good! We got discovered!" Thousand Miles shouted instinctively. At this moment, Thousand Miles wasn''t the only person to have noticed Gentle Snow''s sudden appearance. The other Miracle members noticed her too. Only, their minds failed to react to the situation. Gentle Snow, who had used Instant Flash to arrive before her ambushers, had no intention of giving her opponents time to react. She immediately swung the Glorious Will replica, which had already been upgraded to the Fragmented Legendary rank, at the Tier 3 Great Mage leading Miracle''s magical-class players. Gentle Snow''s slash was straightforward, so fast that the Great Mage could only watch as her sword descended. He didn''t even have time to dodge using Instantaneous Movement. The next moment, the Great Mage was cleaved in half, and his HP plummeted straight to zero. What a quick slash! Thousand Miles couldn''t help gasping when he saw his subordinate getting killed. The Great Mage in question was a Void Realm expert. Normally, so long as his opponent made any movements, he would instantly sense his opponent''s intentions and react appropriately. Moreover, all magical-class players possessed Skills or Spells like Instantaneous Movement. Hence, in order to finish the Great Mage in one hit, even Domain Realm experts had to launch an attack without the Great Mage''s awareness of the situation. However, despite Gentle Snow executing an attack right before the Great Mage''s eyes, the latter had actually failed to respond to it. "Little girl, you are really courageous! Aren''t you afraid of making a one-way trip?" Elder Feather sneered as he looked at Gentle Snow. However, despite his confident words, he still observed Gentle Snow cautiously. He then privately whispered to Elder Roc, "It seems this little girl is much stronger than we imagined, Old Roc! I''ll try to create an opportunity for you in a moment!" "Leave it to me." The black-clad Elder Roc also understood that the woman before them shouldn''t be underestimated. Immediately, the short swords he held behind his back bloomed with a pitch-black brilliance. As soon as there was an opening, he would use his strongest move to finish off Gentle Snow. However, before Elder Feather and Elder Roc could make their move, Gentle Snow seemed to see through their intentions already. Before the two elderly men realized it, 16 swords of light were flying at them, the abrupt attack catching them off guard. To make matters worse, they actually couldn''t perceive the presence of these 16 light swords. "Dammit!" Immediately, both Elder Feather and Elder Roc used their Lifesaving Skills simultaneously. The next moment, a storm brewed around Elder Feather, who was a Tier 3 Ranger, the storm deflecting all attacks around him. As for Elder Roc, who was a Tier 3 Assassin, he executed bewildering footwork and instantly split into six identical copies of himself. It was impossible to tell the real one from the fakes. After Elder Feather and Elder Roc, Thousand Miles was the quickest to react among the Miracle members present. He raised his Divine Skeleton Shield and dark-red battle axe and charged at Gentle Snow, leaving behind an afterimage. Tier 3 Skill, Triple Purgatory Flash! The next moment, Thousand Miles brandished his axe and summoned three black crescents that attacked Gentle Snow from three different directions. The attack was so fast that even Domain Realm experts had to focus all their attention on it if they wished to dodge or block it. However, Thousand Miles did not see Gentle Snow paying any attention to him. As if he were only an ant by the roadside, she completely ignored his existence. "Die!" Feeling extremely humiliated by Gentle Snow''s attitude, Thousand Miles bellowed in anger. Simultaneously, the three black crescents'' power also strengthened slightly, enough to shatter space itself. However, Thousand Miles quickly felt despair overwhelm him. Even now, Gentle Snow still ignored him. She merely swung her greatsword at the crescent approaching her from the front. Immediately afterward, the black crescent deflected along the greatsword''s trajectory and smashed into the two other black crescents. To Thousand Miles''s surprise, after the latter two crescents got struck, their courses actually deviated toward himself. How is this possible?! Thousand Miles was dumbfounded. Although he wanted to repulse these two black crescents, his body simply couldn''t react in time. Boom! Boom! Two dull sounds appeared, and Thousand Miles stumbled two consecutive steps backward. Each step was accompanied by a significant loss of HP. By the end of the attack, two deep cuts had appeared on his armor, and his HP had fallen below 50%. Just when Thousand Miles thought he could catch a breather, he noticed that his surroundings were surprisingly quiet. "You guys What happened?" Thousand Miles couldn''t help his confusion when he saw his teammates'' shocked expressions. However, before Thousand Miles could take in the situation, another black crescent flew across his neck and left behind a black line in space and a flying head. 2720 Beyond the Domain Realm When Thousand Miles''s body collapsed to the ground, the Miracle members in the dense forest shuddered involuntarily. The Star Alliance''s members spectating in their VIP viewing room also gaped in shock. "How did she become so strong?" Purple Eye exclaimed in disbelief. Not only did Gentle Snow slay a Tier 3 peak expert after going deep into Miracle''s ranks, but she had also taken the initiative to attack two Domain Realm experts. While doing so, she had even casually killed the Purgatory Knight Thousand Miles. The last part, where Gentle Snow faced Thousand Miles, was especially amazing. Thousand Miles should''ve generated those three black crescents using a Skill, yet Gentle Snow had made it look as if she was the one who summoned them. It was simply unbelievable. Has the gap between us gotten so big already? Galaxy Past was at a loss for words as he stared at Gentle Snow''s figure in the holographic projection. They were both Star-Moon Kingdom''s top-ranking experts, yet it was now obvious that the actual gap between them was massive. They were already in completely different worlds. "Guild Leader, I plan to leave Star-Moon Kingdom temporarily after this competition. I want to explore other places," Flourishing Willow said. She was similarly shocked by Gentle Snow''s strength and felt unreconciled. The gap between them clearly hadn''t been so massive before. Both of them were experts ranked in the God''s Domain Experts List. Now, however, Flourishing Willow doubted she could survive even one move against Gentle Snow. How could she possibly accept this situation? "Sure." Galaxy Past did not question Flourishing Willow''s decision. On the contrary, he turned to Purple Eye and asked, "How about you take a look outside, too? The Guild doesn''t have many matters to deal with now, and I can handle them by myself." "Thank you, Guild Leader." Purple Eye nodded while gritting her teeth. "I won''t disappoint you." Although the Star Alliance normally mingled in Star-Moon Kingdom''s neighboring countries as well, compared to Zero Wing, whose members fought all over God''s Domain, the Star Alliance''s chessboard was truly insignificant and laughable. During the time the Star Alliance''s members were in shock, the members of Miracle inside the dense forest were likewise stunned. As if they had just encountered a ferocious monster, every one of them stood stock-still. One move! Gentle Snow had killed Thousand Miles in just one move! With such strength, she already rivaled peerless experts. Elder Roc and Elder Feather, who had successfully evaded Gentle Snow''s attack, were dazed, fear and confusion coloring their faces. "Impossible! How can a little girl like you reach such a realm?!" Elder Roc couldn''t help doubting his eyes as he gazed at Gentle Snow. They hadn''t thought much of it when they saw Gentle Snow kill the Void Realm Great Mage. However, after seeing Gentle Snow kill Thousand Miles, they finally understood what happened. The woman before them wasn''t some powerful expert rivaling Domain Realm experts. Instead, she was an existence that had transcended the Domain Realm. When the two elderly men looked at the young lady before them, they suddenly felt they had lived their lives in vain. After all, they had racked their brains just to reach the Domain Realm''s upper stage, yet Gentle Snow was already beyond the Domain Realm. How could they not despair at this discovery? Even in veteran Super Guilds, anyone capable of reaching the Domain Realm''s upper stage was generally over 60 years old already. As for the existences that had transcended the Domain Realm and reached the Higher Domain Realm, they were true old monsters. These existences were the mainstays of the Five Great Super Guilds. However, during the time Elder Roc and Elder Feather were in a daze, Miracle''s other Tier 3 experts regained their senses and suddenly charged at Gentle Snow. "Kill! This woman killed Vice Guild Leader Miles! We must not let her leave alive!" "That''s right! In this special space, even peerless experts can''t afford to duke it out with us!" The next moment, over a hundred Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors activated their Defensive Skills and closed in on Gentle Snow. Simultaneously, the magical-class players on the team started casting Combination Spells one after another. "Old Roc, let''s leave! It''ll be too late, otherwise!" Elder Feather suggested as he glanced at Elder Roc. He then activated a Skill without hesitation and transformed into a gale. He crossed several dozen yards with every step he took, showing no intention of fighting whatsoever. Snapping out of his daze, Elder Roc hurriedly used Wind Steps, which he had upgraded to Tier 3, and entered Stealth. "Elders?" Miracle''s members were stunned momentarily. What was up with this situation? Despite being the two strongest combatants in their 1,000-man team, Elder Roc and Elder Feather had actually fled. At this moment, let alone Miracle''s members, even the Star Alliance''s spectating members couldn''t help gaping in shock. "What''s going on?" "Why are those two apex experts running away?" Despite having entered the Flowing Water Realm already, Galaxy Past, Flourishing Willow, and Purple Eye were bewildered by Elder Roc and Elder Feather''s decision to flee. Domain Realm experts were existences that even the various superpowers wouldn''t want to offend casually. Not to mention, both Elder Roc and Elder Feather had clearly made significant progress in the Domain Realm already. The two of them working together could most likely go up against peerless experts. Not to mention, they still had the 1,000-man team supporting them. Even a peerless expert wouldn''t want to clash head-on with such a force. Yet, the two apex experts had actually fled? While everyone was bewildered by this situation, Gentle Snow executed a vertical leap, vanishing from sight. When she reappeared, she was standing 50 yards away from her original position. The Glorious Will in her hands bloomed with dazzling brilliance. Will of Light! Instantly, 12 brilliant flashes streaked through the dense vegetation, brightly illuminating the entire forest. "What is she doing?" Frost Heaven''s members, who were spectating the fight from a distance, were confused. Likewise, Miracle''s members also found this situation odd. They couldn''t help wondering why Gentle Snow would launch an attack at empty air. Who could she possibly hit? However, this thought lasted for only half a second in everyone''s mind. Boom! A deafening boom spread through the area. Immediately afterward, web-like cracks formed within the dense forest''s space and spread up to 300 yards away from the explosion''s epicenter. Then, the entire region collapsed. The cracked space transformed into a pitch-black area with space and time in disarray. A boundless spatial storm subsequently raged through the area, devouring all of Miracle''s members. Even Elder Roc and Elder Feather, who had escaped beforehand, got swept up in this chaotic storm, their HPs draining like running water. Several seconds later, the shattered space started returning to normal. However, at this point, Miracle''s 1,000-man team was nowhere in sight. And from above the island, it looked as if a huge meteorite had struck the dense forest, leaving behind only a huge impact crater. "What exactlydid shedo?" 2721 Uproar "Guild Leader, did you see that?!" Purple Eye goggled in shock as she pointed at the huge crater in the holographic projection. "Gentle Snow, she How did shedo that?" "Gentle Snow should''ve destroyed the space in the surrounding area to annihilate Miracle''s 1,000-man team," Galaxy Past answered calmly. "No! I know that, but I''m not referring to that," Purple Eye said, shaking her head. She then turned to Galaxy Past and continued, "I''m talking about Gentle Snow''s 12 consecutive slashes. She actually stacked the power of those 12 slashes!" It was challenging to combine the power of multiple sources. The more sources one tried to combine, the greater the difficulty. In fact, the difficulty increased exponentially. Even apex experts who had reached the Domain Realm could, at best, combine the power of six attacks. Yet, now, Gentle Snow had actually combined 12 attacks into one. Moreover, she had accomplished this feat while wielding a greatsword. This was no longer a matter of strength. Such a feat should be impossible for humans! Gentle Snow was a genius of their generation. They had also entered God''s Domain at the same time. Even if Gentle Snow had made rapid progress, reaching such a level should be possible for her. At this point, she couldn''t even be considered human anymore. She was a monster in human skin! "Purple, calm down," Galaxy Past advised. "You should be aware of Zero Wing''s strength. Zero Wing has always been able to accomplish feats other Guilds can''t. Gentle Snow might''ve learned a powerful Skill that allowed her to perform such an action." Galaxy Past could sympathize with Purple Eye''s unreconciled and helpless feelings. After all, this kind of power already exceeded the realm of humans. It was no exaggeration to say that Gentle Snow had become an existence that they would never surpass in their lifetimes. Meanwhile, inside a lounge in Miracle''s headquarters in the real world, the lids of two virtual gaming cabins opened slowly. "We still died. We didn''t even have a chance to escape. With this, we''ll have to wait even longer before we can start our Tier 4 promotions," Elder Roc grumbled as he sat up in his gaming cabin, a bitter smile forming on his face. "We are lucky. If this were the preliminaries, we would''ve lost five levels." Elder Feather frowned as he sat up in his cabin. A hint of awe appearing in his eyes, he continued, "Truly, that kind of monster isn''t something we can go up against. She actually destroyed the entire space to prevent us from escaping. Even short-duration Invulnerability Skills are useless against that kind of attack." "Thousand Miles truly screwed us over. His information is absurdly inaccurate," Elder Roc snarled. "In hindsight, that little girl is the real monster, not Black Flame!" "What do you mean, Old Feather?" Elder Roc asked, puzzled. "I relayed this information to the Guild Leader before we got killed. I''m sure the others know about this by now," Elder Feather said. "Now that it is revealed that Frost Heaven has a Higher Domain Realm expert in addition to Black Flame, I''m sure you should know what this means." "Are you saying the Guild Leader will relay this information to the other superpowers?" Elder Roc couldn''t help growing a little excited. That was a Higher Domain Realm expert they were talking about! On Island No. 3, there was no way Black Flame could cause an upset by himself. However, it would be a different story if a Higher Domain Realm expert were added to the equation. Zero Wing might actually be able to secure two Resource Nodes and become the sixth-ranked Guild on Island No. 3. In that case, Frost Heaven''s chances of winning the sixth reserve seat would increase significantly. However, once Miracle spread this information, the various superpowers would most likely band together to prevent Frost Heaven from ousting them. Just as Elder Feather assumed, Miracle did not conceal Gentle Snow''s information. On the contrary, the Guild publicized it throughout the arena. Every participating Guild became aware of Gentle Snow''s existence. "Higher Domain Realm? Zero Wing actually had such an expert?" "Could Miracle be lying to us? That''s the Higher Domain Realm we are talking about. How can a little girl like Gentle Snow reach it?" "That shouldn''t be the case. According to our members on Island No. 3, Gentle Snow did indeed clash with one of Miracle''s 1,000-man teams. Moreover, their fight created quite a commotion; it could be heard even from miles away. After our members inspected the battlefield through magical observation, they found that Miracle''s 1,000-man team had indeed been annihilated. Moreover, Gentle Snow had even wiped out Miracle''s team with just one move." For a time, the various participating Guilds had heated discussions over this matter. Although most of them remained dubious of the claim that Gentle Snow had reached the Higher Domain Realm, they were still afraid of her. The Higher Domain Realm was a secret among the various superpowers. Ordinary players weren''t even aware of its existence. Currently, those who had reached the Higher Domain Realm were old monsters belonging to the Five Great Super Guilds, and these old monsters almost never revealed themselves to the public. In fact, the public had mostly forgotten about them. However, the various superpowers understood that the reason the Five Great Super Guilds could be referred to as such was precisely because of these existences. So long as this group of old monsters took action, even peerless experts wouldn''t be able to stop them. After all, peerless experts were merely a bunch of people still stuck in the Domain Realm; even the stronger ones had reached only the Domain Realm''s upper stage. A more significant part of the reason peerless experts were called as such was their Basic Attributes, which far surpassed those of other Domain Realm experts. However, it was a different story for Higher Domain Realm experts. These existences possessed inhuman combat standards. Moreover, there was almost no trial in God''s Domain that could trouble them. They could easily overcome the hurdles they faced and secure as many opportunities as they wanted in God''s Domain. One could say that in terms of both Basic Attributes and combat standards, Higher Domain Realm experts far surpassed peerless experts. Even one such existence could turn the tide of a war. Now that Gentle Snow was suspected of having reached the Higher Domain Realm as well, the various superpowers would have no choice but to take precautions against her. Meanwhile, when Frost Heaven''s members heard this piece of news, every one of them was shocked. "How is this possible?! That Vice Guild Leader from Zero Wing is actually in the Higher Domain Realm?!" Brilliant Blue felt like he was dreaming when he read his subordinate''s report. He simply couldn''t bring himself to believe it. This was the Higher Domain Realm they were talking about! However, at this time, the various participating superpowers were all talking about this matter. Moreover, the Frost Heaven members with Gentle Snow acknowledged that she had single-handedly wiped out Miracle''s 1,000-man team. Miracle even publicly admitted that Gentle Snow had killed Roc and Feather, two of Miracle''s Elders, in a single move. After taking all these factors into account, this matter was almost certain to be true. "The heavens haven''t forsaken Frost Heaven!" Seven Wonders grew ecstatic upon hearing this news. He then looked at Hong Xinyuan, who had reported the matter to him, and said, "Old Hong, you''ve really found a huge treasure for our Guild this time!" "Guild Leader, you overestimate me." Hong Xinyuan shook his head with a smile. In reality, even he had not been aware that Gentle Snow had reached the Higher Domain Realm. Had he known, he wouldn''t have offered just three Upper Zone reserve slots to Zero Wing. Meanwhile, when Muxin, on Island No. 3, received the news about Gentle Snow, she was lost in thought for a long time. "Black Flame! Is Gentle Snow really at the Higher Domain Realm?!" Muxin couldn''t help asking Shi Feng. "Probably." Shi Feng chuckled. "Probably? What do you mean ''probably''? Has she reached it or not?" Muxin got irritated at Shi Feng for persisting in keeping her in the dark. The various superpowers already believed that Gentle Snow was a Higher Domain Realm expert. Yet, Shi Feng was still so close-mouthed about it. Shi Feng couldn''t help smiling bitterly at Muxin''s reaction. Truthfully, he didn''t actually know what realm Gentle Snow had reached. After all, he didn''t know what kind of world the Higher Domain Realm was. In addition, when he looked at Gentle Snow, he felt as if he was looking at a cloud. He couldn''t see through her at all. However, while he didn''t know whether Gentle Snow was currently at the Higher Domain Realm, he was sure of one thingGentle Snow was undoubtedly number one in the world in combat experience. "However, Miracle has played a really vicious move this time." Shi Feng frowned as he read Miracle''s public announcement. At Shi Feng''s words, Muxin''s face darkened. "Are you saying Miracle plans to kill with a borrowed sword?" "That''s right." Shi Feng nodded. "On the surface, Miracle is expressing its indignation over Gentle Snow annihilating one of its 1,000-man teams. In reality, it is announcing to the other Guilds that Frost Heaven has a great chance of securing the sixth seat. This way, the other Guilds will have to consider banding together to target Frost Heaven." "What should we do, then?" Muxin understood how vicious Miracle''s move was. If they didn''t handle this matter properly, Frost Heaven might come under attack from all sides. "Should I notify my Guild Leader of this?" Shi Feng sneered, "Since Miracle wants Frost Heaven to become a thorn in the various Guilds'' eyes, we''ll make the various Guilds understand that the sixth seat belongs to us!" 2722 No Regrets "Have the various Guilds acknowledge us?" Muxin revealed a wry smile when she heard Shi Feng''s words. "But out of the six reserve seats available, only one is obtainable. How can the other Guilds possibly give up on it?" "There are six reserve seats up for grabs, yet the various Guilds have given up on five of them. Why do you think that''s the case?" Shi Feng responded with a question of his own. "Isn''t that obvious? It''s because the Five Great Super Guilds are too strong. There''s no way the other Guilds can compete with them," Muxin answered, failing to understand why Shi Feng asked such a question. Who the owners of five of the six reserve seats were was common knowledge for everyone. Otherwise, the various Guilds wouldn''t be competing so desperately for the sixth seat, with some Guilds even risking everything they had. "That''s right. It is because those five Super Guilds are sufficiently strong," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Hence, those Guilds don''t dare compete with them." "Do you mean to make the various Guilds deem us too strong to provoke? That''s impossible," Muxin said, shaking her head. She felt that Shi Feng was building castles in the air. "Frost Heaven doesn''t have that kind of strength right now." "Indeed. Frost Heaven doesn''t have the necessary strength right now," Shi Feng said unceremoniously. "That''s why we need to go crazyso crazy that the other Guilds become afraid of us. Only by doing so do we stand a chance of victory." They couldn''t afford to act defensively. And even if they did, they wouldn''t be able to protect anything. In a situation where every other Guild, aside from the Five Great Super Guilds, were Frost Heaven''s enemies, even Shi Feng couldn''t turn the tide of battle. After all, this was a competition for Resource Nodes, not a contest of strength. Even if he occupied every Resource Node on an island, there were still 17 other islands. Frost Heaven would still lose. Not to mention, occupying an entire island would be a challenge, even for him. The size of Island No. 3 was like a Level 100 neutral map. If the various Guilds'' players hid from him, he would have great difficulty locating them, regardless of his Mana Domain. Moreover, every participating player was a Tier 3 expert. When not subjected to any debuffs, they could run very fast. In addition, he would have to occupy the many Resource Nodes on the island while also ensuring their safety. "How do we do that? Even if we go crazy, we still need a target!" Muxin understood what Shi Feng was saying. However, she found it truly hard to imagine how they could make the various Guilds fear them and actively give up on competing with them. "Of course, we have one." Smiling, Shi Feng added, "And it''s even ready-made." "No! Not Miracle. How can Miracle possibly be qualified for such a role?" Shi Feng smiled while shaking his head. "Didn''t you already mention which Guilds the other Guilds don''t dare to offend?" Muxin gasped involuntarily when she heard Shi Feng''s words. "Are you saying" "That''s right. The Five Great Super Guilds." Shi Feng nodded. "Of course, we won''t have to target all five of them. Going for Mythology should be more than enough." In his previous life, Miracle had relied on Mythology to secure one of the reserve seats during the first official competition. Since he was already going against Miracle in this life, it was only a matter of time before he had to deal with Mythology. In that case, he might as well strike first to gain an advantage. "Isn''t this a little too crazy?! That''s one of the Five Great Super Guilds we are talking about!" Muxin couldn''t help feeling a little afraid at the mention of making an enemy out of one of the Five Great Super Guilds. The Five Great Super Guilds were like the sun in the virtual gaming industry. While most Guilds might declare their intent to surpass the Five Great Super Guilds, it was another thing altogether to actually fight one. For the various superpowers, the stronger they grew, the more fearful of the Five Great Super Guilds they became. After all, the depth of the Five Great Super Guilds'' foundations was simply unfathomable. "This isn''t madness." Shi Feng shook his head. In an earnest tone, he said, "This is Frost Heaven''s only way out. "Whether you secure a seat will depend on your decision." Afterward, Shi Feng stopped trying to convince Muxin and had her relay this proposal to Seven Wonders. Whether they went through with his plan or not would depend on Frost Heaven''s Guild Leader. "Declare war on Mythology? Is Black Flame insane?" Brilliant Blue trembled when he received Shi Feng''s suggestion. Immediately, he contacted Seven Wonders and protested, "Guild Leader, that''s one of the Five Great Super Guilds we are talking about! Even three Frost Heavens wouldn''t be a match for it!" "I understand." Seven Wonders also wore a gloomy face. Helplessly, he said, "However, we only have two options if we wish to secure a reserve seat. One is to fight the numerous participating Guilds, and the other is to fight Mythology. There are no other options." Miracle''s ploy was simply too vicious. If Frost Heaven went up against the various superpowers, it wouldn''t stand a chance whatsoever. After all, in this scenario, Frost Heaven would lose the initiative to attack other Guilds, constrained to defending its territories. However, how could it possibly defend against so many Guilds with its limited numbers? Frost Heaven''s only other option was to attack Mythology. If Frost Heaven succeeded in causing Mythology to suffer even a minor setback, it would still be of great help to Frost Heaven in securing the sixth reserve seat. Meanwhile, after Seven Wonders finished speaking, Brilliant Blue also sank into deep thought. "We have only one choice now." Looking at Brilliant Blue''s face on his screen, Seven Wonders asked, "Do we fight or not?" "Guild Leader, even if I wish to fight, how do we go about it? That''s Mythology we are talking about. We stand no chance whatsoever," Brilliant Blue said with a bitter smile. The Island No. 11 he was assigned to had only three teams from Frost Heavenhis own 500-man team, a 300-man team led by an Elder, and Violet Cloud''s 100-man teamfor a total of 900 players. On the other hand, Mythology had a total of 2,600 members on Island No. 11. Moreover, the person leading this force was the Divine Spear Demon Rex, the commander of Mythology''s trump card legion and a legendary figure even in Mythology. "Do you think the other islands have a chance of winning?" Seven Wonders rolled his eyes at Brilliant Blue. Mythology''s members were distributed very evenly. Any island it had a presence on had at least 2,000 Mythology members. And of the seven islands Frost Heaven''s teams were assigned to, only Island No. 17 did not have Mythology''s presence. "However, you don''t need to hurry. Group up with Zero Wing''s members first before taking action," Seven Wonders said. "I understand. Even if I have to put my life on the line, I will make Mythology suffer." Brilliant Blue did not oppose Seven Wonders''s decision. This upcoming battle would decide whether Frost Heaven would rise or fall. Afterward, Seven Wonders relayed his command to the Frost Heaven members on the other islands. In two hours, they would launch a simultaneous assault on Mythology''s Resource Nodes on Frost Heaven''s six islands. As Frost Heaven''s members waited quietly for their fateful moment, fierce battles occurred one after another on the various islands. The savage clash between superpowers thoroughly dumbfounded the spectating major powers. They never thought that the foundations of these superpowers would be so astonishing. If not for this competition, none of them would even suspect that the various superpowers'' younger generation had already developed to such a frightening extent. Not only had many of these younger-generation talents reached the Void Realm already, but some had even reached the Domain Realm. Given enough time, these Domain Realm youths would definitely become leading lights in God''s Domain. Shortly after the first bout of battles, the various Resource Nodes also fell under the ownership of players. To no one''s surprise, the Five Great Super Guilds held an overwhelming advantage over the other participating superpowers. Close at their heels were Miracle and Sacred Temple. Both Miracle and Sacred Temple had managed to rank sixth on five of the islands they were assigned to. If this situation persisted, there was no doubt that the sixth reserve seat''s owner would emerge from one of them. However, as everyone was guessing which of these two Guilds would secure the sixth seat, some spectating players and participating Guilds noticed a peculiarity. "What''s going on with Frost Heaven? They''re not even trying to compete for Resource Nodes." "I know, right? Aside from ranking fifth on Island No. 17, they haven''t taken any action on the six other islands." "They''re not giving up, are they? Have they gotten scared?" Many of the participating Guilds laughed at Frost Heaven''s performance. Initially, Frost Heaven should''ve had a high chance of winning because of the dark horse known as Zero Wing. However, it was also because of Zero Wing''s existence that Frost Heaven did not dare compete with the various superpowers lest it be ganged upon. "Vice Guild Leader, do you think Frost Heaven will give up just like that?" When White Feather read the summary on the battle situation, she couldn''t help growing curious about Frost Heaven''s behavior. "It''s not impossible. Miracle''s ploy is truly vicious. So long as Frost Heaven dares make a move, every other Guild will target it." Smiling faintly, Cold Shadow said, "What a pity. If Frost Heaven hadn''t invited Zero Wing, it might''ve had a chance to fight for the sixth seat. Now, it has no chance at all." At this moment, Cold Shadow wasn''t the only person who thought that Frost Heaven had given up. The various participating superpowers believed the same and deemed it a wise decision. After all, if Frost Heaven chose to fight, it would only end up getting annihilated. Conserving its strength to fight next year was undoubtedly the better choice. While the various Guilds were watching their Guild Points rise, Frost Heaven''s members were sneaking up to Mythology''s Resource Nodes, their hearts pounding with anxiety and excitement. After glancing at the distant Advanced Resource Node that Mythology guarded tightly, Shi Feng checked the time. "It''s time! Move out!" 2723 Arena Shaken The scorching sun was high up in the sky, and the sea breeze blowing through the islands was calm. The embers of war on the various islands were weakening. At this point, aside from attacking and occupying more Resource Nodes, what was more important for the participating superpowers was defending their Resource Nodes. Hence, any Guild that had secured Resource Nodes would be able to allocate only a small portion of their manpower to fight for more Resource Nodes. Due to this reason, the balance between the Guilds stabilized. "At this rate, the struggle for the sixth seat should be between Miracle and Sacred Temple." A hint of envy flashed in Mu Lingsha''s eyes when she saw the various islands'' Resource Node distribution data. Although the winners of this competition wouldn''t join the ranks of the Twelve Great Guilds and couldn''t garrison an entire empire, the reserve seats still allowed Guilds to garrison the cities of an empire. In addition, reserve Guilds could also garrison powerful kingdoms and be worshiped by the kingdom. At that time, they could directly influence the development of the kingdom. In fact, reserve Guilds could initiate kingdom wars to plunder the resources of other countries and expand their own kingdom''s territory and resources. At that time, the resources the reserve Guilds could obtain would far surpass that of other Guilds, making it impossible for other Guilds to catch up. All the other Guilds would be able to do was watch as the reserve Guilds grew stronger by the day. "However, Frost Heaven is behaving really strangely." Unyielding Heart studied the battlefield''s stabilizing situation in puzzlement. "Frost Heaven clearly had a chance to secure the sixth seat before. There''s no reason for it not to put up a fight. After all, the various Guilds banding together is only a possibility. So long as Frost Heaven doesn''t behave too aggressively right off the bat, I''m sure those Guilds won''t deliberately join hands. At most, they will come to a tacit understanding to contain Frost Heaven." "Frost Heaven has already missed its chance. Even if it tries to fight now, it doesn''t have a ghost of a chance of winning," Mu Lingsha countered, shaking her head. Now that the situation between the Guilds was stabilizing, Frost Heaven would have difficulty snatching Resource Nodes. And if it really started snatching Resource Nodes, the various Guilds would definitely gang up on it. This was because the various Guilds all understood one thing: every one of them would secretly cooperate with this tacit understanding. And the result of such thinking would be that the various Guilds really would act on their thoughts, annihilate Frost Heaven, and fight over Frost Heaven''s Resource Nodes. Hence, Frost Heaven truly did not have any chance of winning anymore. "Huh? Black Flame is taking action!" Mu Lingsha quickly redirected the interface to Island No. 3 and focused on Shi Feng, whom she had set as a priority target beforehand. "Black Flame''s moving at this time? What is he thinking?" Unyielding Heart stared in confusion at Shi Feng, who was hiding in a forest, together with his team. It was pointless for Zero Wing to appear and compete for Resource Nodes at this point. Currently, out of the 18 islands, Frost Heaven occupied Resource Nodes on only Island No. 17. It hadn''t claimed a single Resource Node on the other islands. Even if Zero Wing managed to secure two Resource Nodes on Island No. 3 and became the sixth-ranked Guild there, it still wouldn''t get Frost Heaven out of its rut. "Wait! That''s not right!" Mu Lingsha gaped in shock when she saw the Advanced Resource Node Shi Feng''s team was charging at, her eyes wide with confusion and surprise. "His goal seems to be Mythology''s Advanced Resource Node!" Unyielding Heart was similarly stunned by this situation. "How dare he?" That was Mythology they were talking about! Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds and an existence the various superpowers dreaded, yet Shi Feng was taking the initiative to provoke it. However, before Mu Lingsha and Unyielding Soul could recover from their shock, another notification appeared on their spectator interface, followed by a small image at the bottom of the screen. "This Is Zero Wing planning to wage war on Mythology?" Depicted in the smaller image was Gentle Snow leading her 100-man team in a charge against Mythology''s Intermediate Resource Node on Island No. 3, and she showed no signs of stopping whatsoever. The Unyielding Soul members in the VIP room gasped at this abrupt change. How dare they? This action challenged Mythology''s authority. Moreover, regardless of whether Zero Wing succeeded or not, Mythology definitely wouldn''t let Zero Wing off the hook. Not to mention, Zero Wing had nothing to gain whatsoever from doing so. At this time, besides Unyielding Soul''s members, the powers paying attention to Shi Feng and Gentle Snow were similarly dumbfounded by the two''s actions. They never thought that Zero Wing would be so crazy as to challenge one of the Five Great Super Guilds directly. "Wait! It''s not just Black Flame and Gentle Snow! Zero Wing''s other teams are also making a move against Mythology''s Resource Nodes!" "That''s not all! Frost Heaven''s teams are doing the same!" The news of Zero Wing''s and Frost Heaven''s teams attacking Mythology''s Resource Nodes caused an instant sensation among the various major powers in the VIP viewing rooms. Everyone was shocked by the two Guilds'' actions. "That''s Mythology we are talking about. How dare they?" "Frost Heaven and Zero Wing have truly lost their minds this time. Setting aside whether they will succeed or not, aren''t they afraid of Mythology''s retaliation after the competition?" "Are they really not afraid that Mythology will exterminate them?" The various major powers felt puzzled by Zero Wing''s and Frost Heaven''s actions. They simply couldn''t figure out what the two Guilds were thinking. The Five Great Super Guilds'' position in the virtual gaming industry was as stable as a mountain because no superpower dared to offend them. Any superpower that dared to do so would get eliminated from the industry without exception. Now that Zero Wing and Frost Heaven were openly provoking Mythology in front of everyone in the world, Mythology definitely wouldn''t spare them in order to maintain its authority. "Has Seven Wonders lost his mind?!" Cold Shadow was incensed when she read the report that Mythology''s Resource Nodes had come under attack on six islands. "They actually dare provoke us? Do they not know what death is?!" She never thought that Zero Wing and Frost Heaven would pull such an astonishing move after remaining silent for so long. Moreover, they had even chosen to challenge one of the Five Great Super Guilds directly. This would definitely turn Mythology into a laughing stock. "Interesting! This is truly interesting! I wonder if that Old Drunken Ghost is jumping in rage right about now?" When a mighty, middle-aged man with brown hair on Island No. 2 received news of Zero Wing''s and Frost Heaven''s actions, he burst into laughter. This middle-aged man was none other than the Guild Leader of Netherworld Empire, one of the Five Great Super Guilds. "Guild Leader, it is still too early to be happy. How can Mythology''s Resource Nodes be so easy to capture? Zero Wing and Frost Heaven are just looking to humiliate themselves," a tall man clad in dark-gray armor said disdainfully. Zero Wing could be said to be a Guild that had relied entirely on external aid to reach its current position. Although Black Flame and Gentle Snow indeed possessed noteworthy combat standards, they were still negligible existences in front of the Five Great Super Guilds. "Regardless, having Mythology lose some face is always a good thing," the middle-aged man said, chuckling. "As for how long Zero Wing and Frost Heaven can last, that''s not important." Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds. It possessed trump cards beyond the imagination of ordinary superpowers. The forces it had stationed on the various large islands were particularly exceptional. Even working together, Black Flame and Gentle Snow would most likely have a tough time threatening any of Mythology''s Resource Nodes. Not to mention, both of them were taking independent action. As the various powers were feeling surprised and shocked by Zero Wing''s and Frost Heaven''s actions, Shi Feng''s 100-man team had arrived before Mythology''s Advanced Resource Node. 2724 A Gap Beyond Imagination "It''s starting!" "I wonder if Black Flame can snatch that Advanced Resource Node?" "As I see it, with his Mana Domain, Black Flame should fear group battles the least. However, Mythology''s side isn''t filled with pushovers, either. The one leading the defense of that Advanced Resource Node is the Silver Ghost, Prosciutto. The legion under him is amazing. I heard they killed a Level 110 Superior Mythic ranked World Boss some time ago. The feat sent waves across the entire western continent." "Crap! They''re that strong? In that case, Black Flame is really in danger. I heard that Superior Mythics all possess Mana Domains. Combined with their frightening Basic Attributes, it shouldn''t be possible for players to defeat them." Everyone in the arena paid close attention to Shi Feng''s 100-man team. It was no exaggeration to say that nobody present wished to miss out on this earth-shattering battle. Many of the major powers in the VIP viewing rooms had even stopped paying attention to the other battlefields and focused solely on Shi Feng''s 100-man team. At this time, as if long prepared for this, Mythology''s members summoned a magic barrier as soon as Shi Feng''s team arrived. The barrier covered a 500-yard radius, thoroughly enveloping the Advanced Resource Node and Shi Feng''s team. Under the magic barrier''s oppressive power, not only did everyone on Shi Feng''s team feel their bodies growing heavier, but even their Basic Attributes started falling rapidly. "This isan Advanced Magic Barrier?!" Muxin was shocked when she saw how much her Basic Attributes had fallen. "How is this possible?!" Advanced Magic Barriers were incredibly rare in God''s Domain. Just one set of magic array scrolls for an Advanced Magic Barrier was worth a fortune. However, as the current competition prohibited the use of magic tools, players could only rely on themselves to erect magic barriers. Only, there were strict requirements for players to use magic barriers without any external aid. Just casting an Intermediate Magic Array required 100 players. Moreover, of these 100 players, 20 of them needed to be at the Intermediate Magician standard and five at the Advanced Magician standard. Otherwise, the magic array wouldn''t operate. If Intermediate Magic Arrays had such stringent requirements, one could easily imagine the requirements needed to summon an Advanced Magic Array. Nevertheless, Mythology''s team had actually summoned one. This was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, an Advanced Magic Barrier was capable of suppressing even Mythic monsters. Needless to say, it would have a tremendous effect on Tier 3 players. "So, this is Mythology''s foundation?" "Amazing! With this, even if Black Flame summons his Mana Domain, he will still have difficulty resisting the magic array''s suppression!" The audience gasped when they saw Mythology''s Advanced Magic Barrier. On a battlefield that prohibited the use of magic tools, having the ability to summon Advanced Magic Barriers would basically make one invincible. Of course, a magic barrier summoned entirely through the effort of players wasn''t unbeatable. The greatest flaw of such a magic barrier was the immense burden on the casters'' Mana. If the players supporting the barrier did not replenish their Mana, they wouldn''t last more than ten minutes. However, on this battlefield, ten minutes were more than enough to decide the outcome! While everyone was marveling at Mythology''s capabilities, a hundred players walked out of the Advanced Resource Node. The person in the lead was a silver-haired young man with an amiable expression on his face. However, everyone present was aware that this friendly youth was also known as the Silver Ghost, one of the leaders of Mythology''s younger generation. "Guild Leader Black Flame, we meet again," Prosciutto greeted Shi Feng in an indescribably calm voice. He showed no eagerness for a showdown at all. Instead, he behaved as if he was chatting about family affairs. At Prosciutto''s words, Muxin looked at Shi Feng in surprise. Prosciutto was a big celebrity in God''s Domain. He had risen to the position of vice commander in Mythology''s trump card legion at a young age and was the designated successor of the legion''s monstrous commander. "You know him?" "Mhm. We''ve met once on the western continent." Shi Feng nodded in response to Muxin''s curiosity and surprise. There was no point in hiding the matter. After all, he had caused quite a huge scene in the Starlight Fortress, and most of the western continent''s superpowers probably knew about his clash with Mythology already. "You really are heartless with your words, Guild Leader Black Flame," Prosciutto sighed. "The fight in the Starlight Fortress is the only humiliation I''ve suffered ever since entering Mythology. My memory of that fight is still fresh, yet you don''t take it seriously at all." "Humiliation?" Smiling, Shi Feng said, "That''s hyperbole, right? Your Eminence only failed to have your way." "No! It is already a humiliation for me," Prosciutto disagreed, shaking his head. Earnestly, he continued, "Previously, I stated that we would meet again. Only, our reunion happened much sooner than I expected. Although I still don''t think the time is right, allow me to repay some of the humiliation I suffered before!" As soon as Prosciutto finished speaking, the 100 Tier 3 experts behind him promptly released their auras. It immediately felt as if a Demon God had descended onto the battlefield. Of the group of 100, over 30 peak experts exuded auras rivaling that of Mythic monsters. The Frost Heaven members nearly collapsed to the ground under this pressure. "This isan Advanced Combat Array!" "Over 30 peak experts with strength rivaling Mythic monsters?" "No! This must be an illusion! How can there be such a large gap between our Guilds?!" At this time, the Frost Heaven members on Shi Feng''s team weren''t the only ones suffering a mental breakdown. Even the various major powers in the VIP viewing rooms were dumbfounded, despair flooding their hearts. "Sure enough, the gap is much bigger than we thought." Unyielding Heart smiled bitterly as he looked at Mythology''s 100-man team. Yes! This was the Five Great Super Guilds'' strength! The world had always regarded the various superpowers'' existence as second only to the Five Great Super Guilds. However, these superpowers all knew full well that aside from a select few Super Guilds, every other superpower was far behind the Five Great Super Guilds. It wouldn''t even be an exaggeration to say that they were living in two different worlds. This was also why no single superpower dared to declare that they would replace the Five Great Super Guilds. It''s over! It''s really over now! How can the gap be this massive?! Fear bloomed in Muxin''s heart as she looked at the approaching 30-plus peak experts. Even her breaths became stifled. She had long since known that Mythology wasn''t a pushover and that the Five Great Super Guilds'' strength the various superpowers had seen thus far was only the tip of the iceberg. However, she never thought that the reality of the situation would actually be so hopeless and suffocating. "Black Flame!" Sandstorm grinned smugly as he glared at Shi Feng. "You only beat me last time thanks to your Mana Body! I''ll let you know what true strength is this time!" "If you couldn''t do it last time, then I''m afraid you still can''t do it this time," Shi Feng retorted, shaking his head as he watched Sandstorm approach. "Still acting stubborn even in the face of death? I want to see what other tricks you have up your sleeves this time!" After saying so, Sandstorm immediately charged at Shi Feng, his speed as fast as a shooting star. The distance of a hundred yards seemed almost nonexistent to him. Before Frost Heaven''s members could react, Sandstorm was already standing in front of Shi Feng. The dagger he wielded also turned into a phantom snake that bit at Shi Feng''s heart. "Tricks?" Shi Feng shook his head when he saw this scene. He then stretched out his hand. Boom! A violent storm enveloped the entire battlefield, kicking up dust and dirt into the air. "How is this possible?!" The next moment, everyone stared at the two figures standing amid the dust cloud in stupefaction. At this time, Sandstorm''s dagger hovered half an inch away from Shi Feng''s heart. Meanwhile, before anyone realized it, Shi Feng had actually caught Sandstorm by the wrist, intercepting the hand holding the dagger. How is this possible?! Sandstorm was stunned when he saw his captured wrist. 2725 Warm-up Over? "How did he do it?" "That other guy''s power is comparable to Mythic monsters! Yet, Black Flame actually received the attack directly?" "Black Flame should be under the magic barrier''s suppression now, right?" "So, this is Black Flame''s true strength?" After a moment of silence, the audience in the arena instantly broke into an uproar, never having expected things to turn around so quickly. When Mythology revealed its frightening combat power, almost everyone believed that this fuss caused by Zero Wing and Frost Heaven was over. Yet, it turned out that Zero Wing still had the strength to contend against Mythology. How could anyone not entertain expectations in this situation? After all, far too few people in God''s Domain dared challenge the Five Great Super Guilds. Regardless of the outcome, after this challenge to Mythology in this competition, Black Flame''s name would become known to everyone in God''s Domain. However, unlike the spectating players, the Mythology members at the Advanced Resource Node showed no signs of surprise. This was especially true for the 100 players forming the battle array. "Sandstorm is too reckless." "The Vice Commander previously warned him that Black Flame isn''t a simple opponent, yet he actually charged into battle all by himself without a word." "Foolish! He is truly foolish! He actually ignored the Vice Commander''s words! He''s going to turn us into a laughing stock for the other superpowers!" The 30-plus Void Realm experts from Mythology did not feel a shred of pity for Sandstorm, only anger that he had allowed himself to get caught. Their Vice Commander Prosciutto had gone to great lengths to create a scenario presenting Mythology as an existence that should never be provoked. Now, Sandstorm had single-handedly ruined this scenario. "Sandstorm, come back. Stop shaming yourself in front of Guild Leader Black Flame," Prosciutto said, sighing as he looked at Sandstorm and his dumbfounded expression. At Prosciutto''s words, Sandstorm snapped out of his daze, and his expression turned unprecedentedly grim and fearful. His hands even started trembling slightly. No! I can''t disappoint the Vice Commander! Die! You must die! Only if you die can I wash away my shame! Sandstorm turned to Shi Feng, a hint of fear and madness in his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. However, the fear he felt wasn''t because of Shi Feng but Prosciutto. Immediately, Shi Feng felt the power resisting his hand strengthening. "What did he do? Doesn''t the competition venue prevent the use of Berserk Skills?" A hint of fear appeared in Muxin''s eyes as she gazed at Sandstorm hovering in midair. Compared to his previous self, the current Sandstorm was like a completely different person. Not only did his aura intensify, but even his Life Rating had received a significant improvement. "No! It''s not a Berserk Skill. He''s just reverting to his original form," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Even he was a little surprised when he saw Sandstorm''s transformation. "Mythology truly is amazing! To think they actually managed to get their hands on the Demidragon Bloodline. Someone among them even managed to endure the Bloodline''s violent power." In God''s Domain, aside from Bloodlines that increased a player''s Life Rating, there were special Bloodlines that functioned differently. One such example was the violent Demidragon Bloodline, which could raise a player''s Life Rating to the Archaic Species standard, granting players a much greater improvement than ordinary Bloodlines. However, this Bloodline had a drawback. Due to the Demidragon Bloodline''s overly violent power, players paid a heavy price to use it. Whenever a player activated their Demidragon Bloodline, they would be subjected to unimaginable pain beyond the tolerance of ordinary humans. Hence, very few people were willing to accept such Bloodlines. Shi Feng never thought that Sandstorm would manage to not only assimilate the Demidragon Bloodline but also endure its violent power. "You must be crazy!" Muxin was exasperated to see Shi Feng marveling at Sandstorm''s strength. "The strength of his aura has more than doubled. I even suspect he has already reached the Tier 4 standard in terms of the Strength Attribute. Yet, you still have the time to admire his strength?" "That''s right. In terms of physique and Basic Attributes, he is indeed on par with bona fide Tier 4 classes." Shi Feng nodded in affirmation. "You" Muxin couldn''t help goggling at Shi Feng''s composure. She simply couldn''t understand what was going through his mind. It was as if he had forgotten who had driven Sandstorm to such an extent. "Lina, you guys go help him as well!" Prosciutto ordered calmly to the blond, female Shield Warrior beside him. At this command, the Mythology members standing around Prosciutto turned to him in surprise. The blond girl named Lina was Prosciutto''s right-hand man. She was a bona fide Domain Realm expert, and her strength ranked within the top three in this team of theirs. Now, Prosciutto was actually having her join the fight as well. "Yes, sir!" Lina made a respectful bow before joining Sandstorm together with five other players behind her. "What''s going on?" "What is Prosciutto thinking? Does he think Sandstorm isn''t enough to deal with Black Flame?" "That''s not possible, right? That Sandstorm can be considered a Tier 4 monster already. Maybe the others were told to deal with Frost Heaven''s members?" At this time, everyone in the audience was eyeing Lina''s group curiously. Because of the battle array''s buff, the six all possessed Strength and Defense close to matching Mythic monsters. Any of them could easily annihilate a superpower''s 1,000-man team. Having six of them move together was simply overkill. "Isn''t Prosciutto overestimating us?" Muxin felt like crying when she saw Lina''s group joining the fight. While the fact that Prosciutto had dispatched such a force to deal with them meant that he thought highly of them, she couldn''t bring herself to appreciate the gesture. After all, they would have to deal with four peak experts with Basic Attributes close to matching Mythic monsters''. However, before Muxin and the other Frost Heaven members could prepare themselves, the aura of Lina''s group suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, six more Demidragons appeared hovering in the air. "This What is Prosciutto trying to do?" "Crap! Seven bona fide Mythic combatants! I must be dreaming!" "This is the real power of the Five Great Super Guilds?" The various spectating powers and players gasped involuntarily when they saw the seven Demidragons in the air. "Bastards! Mythology is really a group of bastards!" Mythology''s 1,000-man team possessed not only over 30 near-Mythic combatants but even seven bona fide Mythic combatants. This situation was simply mind-blowing. While the audience was feeling fearful over the absolute power Mythology displayed, Lina flew toward Shi Feng and stopped near him. "Your Excellency Black Flame, we sincerely apologize for Sandstorm''s sudden assault on you," Lina said, her golden eyes carrying great respect as she looked at Shi Feng. "According to our Vice Commander''s will, let''s end the warm-up here and have both sides show our true strength. This is the respect we deserve, right?" "Sure. You''re right." Shi Feng nodded. Shi Feng''s words echoed in everyone''s mind like a deafening thunder and instantly silenced everyone. "What?" "Warm-up? They were just warming up before?" "I didn''t hear things, right? That woman actually told Black Flame that they should stop warming up?" "I don''t believe it! I don''t believe it! This is a lie! This must be a lie!" The spectating powers and players felt their minds growing silly when they heard the exchange between Lina and Shi Feng. Based on Lina''s words, Black Flame had still been holding back thus far, and now she was requesting him to fight with his full strength. Meanwhile, Shi Feng agreed to her request. If what Lina said was true, how much weaker were they in combat power compared to Mythology and Black Flame? At this time, Muxin stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. Shi Feng had previously stopped Sandstorm''s attack, which carried power at the near-Mythic standard, while under an Advanced Magic Barrier''s suppression. Yet, he hadn''t used his full strength back then? However, before Frost Heaven''s members could react, a surge of Mana flooded in from the surrounding environment, with Shi Feng as the center. The ground and sky even shook from the sheer volume of power being gathered. The magic barrier enveloping Frost Heaven''s members also began cracking. Less than a second later Boom! The Advanced Magic Barrier shattered, transforming into countless particles of light and disappearing. Simultaneously, a Mana Domain enveloped the entire Advanced Resource Node, causing everyone present to feel an unprecedented fear and oppression. "A Domain?" "This Is this really a Mana Domain?" 2726 Battle of Monsters With Shi Feng as the center, a dark space with a 1,000-yard radius enveloped the Advanced Resource Node and its surroundings. The Mana inside the dark space flowed so rapidly that even ordinary players could sense the flux. The feeling of devastation and oppression this dark space gave off made even the audience in the distant spectator stands fearful. "How can such a powerful Mana Domain exist?" "Even the Mana Domain of Superior Mythics isn''t this strong!" "The Advanced Magic Barrier shattered? Shouldn''t Mana Domains be weaker than magic barriers?" Many of the major powers spectating from the VIP viewing rooms had knowledge of Mana Domains. Some of them had even experienced one before. However, compared to what they had seen and experienced, Shi Feng''s Mana Domain was on a completely different level. So, this is his Mana Domain? Muxin, who stood near Shi Feng, was stunned right now. When she looked at Shi Feng again, she felt as if she was seeing him for the first time. She had heard from Frost Heaven''s deceased foreign aid that Shi Feng''s Mana Domain was incredibly powerful. However, the Mana Domain before her was not just powerful but a whole new ball game altogether. Shi Feng''s Mana Domain had essentially created a world of its own, and within this world, he controlled everything. In this space, Tier 3 experts were basically ants in front of Shi Feng! Meanwhile, Sandstorm hovering in midair was dumbfounded when he saw Shi Feng''s astonishing Mana Domain. A player''s Mana Domain can actually be this strong? Sandstorm''s heart roiled with doubts as he felt the strong repulsive force coming from all directions. Shi Feng''s Mana Domain was much stronger than that of Superior Mythics. Even after transforming into his Demidragon form and gaining a Tier 4 physique and Basic Attributes, Sandstorm still suffered a significant restriction in his movements. By his estimates, he had lost around 20% of his Basic Attributes. His reaction speed and Movement Speed had also fallen by 30%. Now, his overall combat power was barely at the Tier 4 standard. "Let''s get started, then." After glancing at Lina and the other Demidragons, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and vanished. "Where did he go?" Shi Feng''s sudden disappearance confused Frost Heaven''s members. "He disappeared?" At this moment, let alone Frost Heaven''s members, even the audience in the spectator stands were stunned. A living human had actually disappeared from their godlike perspective. However, before anyone could react, an explosion suddenly sounded in midair. Boom! "What happened?" Everyone gaped in shock when they saw the figure on the ground, their eyes wide with disbelief. Without anyone realizing it, Shi Feng had appeared amid the flock of hovering Demidragons, fresh blood coating his longsword. Meanwhile, the figure on the ground actually belonged to a Demidragon. At this moment, not only did this Demidragon''s armor sport a bone-deep cut, but one-eighth of his HP had vanished. The speed of Shi Feng''s attack was simply unheard-of! However, compared to the audience and Frost Heaven members, the Mythology members spectating the fight were much more surprised by this situation, especially Sandstorm. A hint of confusion lingered in his eyes as he glared at Shi Feng. After transforming into our Demidragon form, with the combat array''s buff, we wouldn''t lose even 3% of our HP after taking a direct hit from a Mythic monster. How can Black Flame have such great Strength? Fear surfaced in Sandstorm''s eyes as he analyzed the situation. As Demidragons, they could be considered bona fide Tier 4 combatants. Yet, even in such a situation, they still were no match for Shi Feng. Sandstorm simply couldn''t fathom how much Strength Shi Feng had. As expected of the Demidragon Bloodline combined with an Advanced Combat Array''s assistance. It''ll be difficult to finish one of them quickly. When Shi Feng looked at the Demidragon on the ground, he was slightly surprised. Although he didn''t use any Skills or Spells in his attack, he wielded a Fragmented Legendary Weapon and wore several Fragmented Legendary items. In terms of the Strength Attribute, he already rivaled Superior Mythics of the same level. This was why he could slay Tier 3 players effortlessly. However, despite having such Basic Attributes, he had only managed to take away one-eighth of the Demidragon''s HP with his normal attack. The Defense of the Demidragon he targeted could rival that of Superior Mythics. "Everyone, don''t get entangled with him! His Attributes and speed are above ours! All we need to do is deplete his Stamina and Concentration!" Lina commanded calmly and without hesitation. "Maintain your distances! Jack, prioritize protecting our healers! He definitely won''t last long in a protracted battle!" "Understood!" Lina''s command boosted the Demidragons'' fighting spirit, and they promptly went into action. With Lina taking the lead, five Demidragons surrounded and attacked Shi Feng. In addition, one Demidragon Oracle stood at the rear, casting Defensive Spells and Buff Spells one after another, boosting the other Demidragons'' Attributes. No longer having to worry about taking damage, the five Demidragons in the vanguard fought Shi Feng desperately, intending to trade blow for blow. Moreover, the five of them had excellent coordination, moving as one. For a time, explosions continually shook the earth and sky. Countless afterimages also danced across the sky. The Tier 3 experts in the spectator stands were stupefied. They couldn''t tell what was going on at all. They couldn''t even tell which afterimage belonged to whom. They only saw some of the brief clashes at best. Of the spectators watching the fight, only those in the VIP viewing rooms could get a clear picture, thanks to the spectator interface''s slow-motion mode. The five vanguard Demidragons perfectly merged their Skills, Spells, and combat techniques. They also had perfect coordination with one another. When one of them exposed a chink in their defense from clashing with Shi Feng, the others would immediately attack, preventing him from landing a fatal blow. As the clash continued, the expressions of Muxin and the other Frost Heaven members also grew darker. Although the two sides seemed evenly matched, Shi Feng had to deal with the seven Demidragons'' back-and-forth offensive all by himself. He had no time to rest at all. His Stamina and Concentration consumption were far greater than Mythology''s seven Demidragons''. At this rate, Shi Feng would run out of Stamina and Concentration before Lina and the others did. "Black Flame, you will lose for sure this time! While we aren''t a match for you by ourselves, how long can you possibly last against our joint assault?" Sandstorm grew increasingly excited as the fight went on. Although he had suffered plenty of attacks from Shi Feng and lost a lot of HP, he continuously received healing from the rear-line healers. Hence, he quickly recovered the HP he lost. "Black Flame, you can''t blame us for bullying you with numbers. It''s your fault for not having anyone capable of backing you up," the tall man beside Sandstorm said, laughing. At these words, Frost Heaven''s members lowered their heads in shame. Against such strength, Tier 3 experts like themselves were nothing but jokes. They wouldn''t even qualify to be distractions. After all, they couldn''t keep up with these people''s speeds. "It seems this is Zero Wing''s limit." "However, it''s already plenty amazing that Black Flame managed to last this long. It''s a pity there aren''t any capable combatants among Frost Heaven''s members. Otherwise, they could''ve put up a fight against Mythology." Many of the spectating major powers couldn''t help pitying Shi Feng. He clearly possessed inhuman strength that even Mythology had to be wary of. Unfortunately, the gap between the Five Great Super Guilds and the other superpowers was simply too massive. Even if all of Frost Heaven''s participants were there right now, they still wouldn''t be able to threaten Lina''s group of seven. "However, this is a valiant defeat for Black Flame. He can actually hold his ground against seven Tier 4 monsters simultaneously. He deserves his title of Sword King!" "Sword King? As I see it, he''s strong enough to rank within the top six of the God''s Domain Experts List. Only the Five Great Super Guilds'' old monsters can fight him." Many of the Tier 3 experts spectating the fight admired Shi Feng. Those that previously held doubts about his title of Sword King also stopped doubting him. The seconds and minutes flew by. While everyone was feeling unreconciled for Shi Feng, the man himself suddenly leaped backward, distancing himself from the five vanguard Demidragons. "Don''t even think of escaping us! We have wings! We are by no means slower than you when it comes to flying!" Upon seeing Shi Feng pulling away, Sandstorm immediately accelerated, chasing after him. When players gained a Mana Domain, they became capable of flight. However, flight achieved through this method was significantly slower than Flying Mounts. In comparison, Demidragons could fly nearly as fast as Flying Mounts. "Escape?" Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, "I just thought that time is almost up, so I plan to end this battle." "You''re still arrogant even in the face of death! I want to see how exactly you''re going to end this battle!" Sandstorm sped up at Shi Feng''s words. Time is almost up? Lina felt that something was amiss when she saw Shi Feng''s calm expression. What does he mean? However, before Lina could ponder on the matter, Shi Feng sheathed the Abyssal Blade. "You said before that I shouldn''t blame you for bullying using numbers. I very much agree with this point." Gazing at Sandstorm and the other Demidragons, Shi Feng unsheathed the other longsword hung by his waist and said, "Now, you shouldn''t blame me, either, for bullying with numbers!" After Shi Feng finished speaking, the Twilight Blade in his hand suddenly shone brightly, illuminating a radius of several thousand yards. Twilight''s Shadow! Twilight of the Gods! The next moment, eight physical phantoms split out from Shi Feng''s body, every phantom identical to him. 2727 Sword Emperor When the eight copies of Shi Feng appeared above the battlefield, the audience momentarily fell silent. "Doppelgangers?" "Crap! Something like this is possible?!" The spectators'' hearts were filled with an indescribable sense of shock as they looked at the nine Shi Fengs in the air. If anyone else had summoned doppelgangers, they wouldn''t have thought much of it. However, Shi Feng was someone capable of single-handedly going up against seven bona fide Mythic combatants with Void Realm combat standards. Now that Shi Feng had summoned eight doppelgangers of himself Meanwhile, Lina and the other Demidragons turned pale when they saw the nine Shi Fengs before them, their hearts plunging to the very bottom of the abyss. They had to give it their all just to deal with one Shi Feng. Now that eight more had appeared, even if these doppelgangers had significantly weaker Basic Attributes, the Demidragons would still suffer tremendously. "Let''s start the second round, then!" Shi Feng said, a faint smile appearing on his face as he looked at Lina''s group. The next moment, Shi Feng''s eight doppelgangers split up and charged at the seven Demidragons, their speed hardly any slower than Shi Feng''s. "It''s just a doppelganger! Do you think you can scare me with it?" Sandstorm stabbed his dagger at the doppelganger approaching him, the weapon instantly transforming into a dozen shadow snakes. Advanced Combat Technique, Rampant Bites! Seeing the approaching shadow snakes, the doppelganger brandished its sword. Six Extreme Slashes! The next moment, six sword lights tore through space, shattering the shadow snakes. One of the sword lights even bypassed the shadow snakes and landed on Sandstorm''s shoulder. After the sword light passed through, a bone-deep cut appeared on Sandstorm''s shoulder. The Assassin''s body shot backward like a meteor and smashed into the ground. As for his HP, it had fallen by over one-eighth of its total. Aside from Sandstorm, the other Demidragons were also sent smashing into the ground by Shi Feng''s doppelgangers and suffered heavy injuries. They were utterly incapable of resisting the doppelgangers at all, and they could only watch as their HPs continuously decreased. Out of the seven Demidragons, only Lina, who had activated a Tier 3 Lifesaving Skill and reduced the damage she sustained by half, was in a better condition. However, as she had to cope with two of Shi Feng''s doppelgangers, her HP still decreased steadily. It was only a matter of time before she got killed. "Those doppelgangers are so strong!" "Aren''t those doppelgangers a little too much? I get the feeling that just one of Black Flame''s doppelgangers is more than enough to kill a Mythic monster already!" Everyone present had seen doppelgangers before. However, this was the first time they had seen a player''s doppelganger capable of suppressing Tier 4 combatants. "No wonder! So, this is why Black Flame is confident in provoking Mythology!" Unyielding Heart felt endless admiration for Shi Feng when he saw Lina''s group getting beaten up. It had been a long time since anyone had dared challenge the Five Great Super Guilds in the virtual gaming industry. Now, not only did Shi Feng possess the combat power to overwhelm seven Tier 4 combatants, but it was also almost certain he would be able to capture Mythology''s Advanced Resource Node. On the battlefield, Lina and the other Demidragons saw their HPs fall below the critical level. With only three or four more exchanges, they would fall to Shi Feng''s doppelgangers. However, before the battle could continue, several dazzling sword lights struck at the doppelgangers. Boom! Boom! Boom! Shi Feng''s doppelgangers hurriedly defended against the attacks, the collisions resulting in explosions that created massive spatial rifts. "Vice Commander?" Lina and the others were ecstatic when they saw the origin of the sword lights. The person that just took action was none other than Prosciutto, the vice commander of Mythology''s trump card legion. However, Prosciutto''s appearance had already undergone a drastic change at this time. Runes had appeared all over his pitch-black armor, and complex magic arrays covered his forehead and eyes. He also exuded a majestic aura reminiscent of a Demon God; even Shi Feng''s Mana Domain couldn''t suppress him. A Bronze Combat Array? Shi Feng''s eyes were blank with surprise as he looked at Prosciutto''s transformation. However, he soon shook his head in denial. No. A Bronze Combat Array shouldn''t be something Tier 3 players can activate. Moreover, it''s impossible for Bronze Combat Arrays to make an appearance at this stage of the game. Before Shi Feng could analyze the situation in detail, Prosciutto raised the purple greatsword he wielded and instantly appeared before him. The aura he exuded could make even Mythic monsters fearful. "No! Impossible! Is he really a Tier 3 player?" "His aura is stronger than even that of Superior Mythics." Everyone spectating the fight gasped spontaneously at Prosciutto''s astonishing transformation. Muxin, who stood on the battlefield, couldn''t help staring at Prosciutto in horror and surprise. She couldn''t bring herself to believe this was true. Previously, Lina and the others had already displayed monstrous strength. Muxin never imagined that Prosciutto would be even more monstrous. At this time, Prosciutto could no longer be considered a Tier 3 player. He looked more like a Dragon wearing human skin. The terrifying aura he exuded caused the Tier 3 experts present to stumble backward, none of them daring to meet his gaze. The only time Muxin had felt such a terrifying aura was when she faced a Tier 4 Dragon. "Guild Leader Black Flame, you have truly surprised me," Prosciutto said as he observed Shi Feng, his voice full of fighting spirit. "You are the first person to have forced me to use this form. As a token of my gratitude, I will be your next opponent!" As soon as Prosciutto said so, the audience in the spectator stands cheered inwardly. "Crap! Are you kidding me? Even Prosciutto intends to take action?!" "A fight between the formidable Prosciutto and unfathomable Black Flame This will definitely be the apex fight of God''s Domain." "It''s more than just an apex fight! Look how the initial clash between the two already shattered the sky! If the two really fight each other, the entire island might get destroyed!" "Monsters! These two are real monsters! Just getting the chance to spectate a fight between them is well worth the ticket price!" At this time, besides the players on the spectator stands, the various major powers in the VIP viewing rooms were also greatly shocked by Prosciutto''s declaration. They immediately had all their members focus their attention on Prosciutto and Shi Feng, as well as record the two''s battle. After all, it was normally impossible to collect such information in the outside world. Only in this competition venue would they have the chance to do so. However, after hearing Prosciutto''s declaration, Shi Feng abruptly turned away. "Are you two not going to come together?" Shi Feng asked loudly as he looked at the empty sky. Shi Feng''s words confused everyone present. "Is he talking to himself?" "Is there something in the sky?" "Impossible! My screen isn''t showing anything there. Black Flame must''ve seen wrong." However, before anyone could dismiss their doubts, a deep voice suddenly came from the void and echoed throughout the sky. "Amazing! As expected of the person Prosciutto and Cold Shadow are interested in!" The next moment, a black shadow gradually appeared in the air. When this black shadow revealed itself, everyone saw that it was a white-cloaked man of indiscernible age. Moreover, despite the man clearly standing in midair, it was as if no one could perceive his existence in their mind. Everyone looking at him ignored his existence automatically. "Crap! Isn''t he that existence from Mythology?!" "Insane! This is insane! Mythology actually let this person join the competition?! Is Mythology trying to secure the championship?!" The players in the spectator stands were unfamiliar with this white-cloaked man. On the other hand, a wave of exclamations swept through the VIP viewing rooms when they saw him. After all, this white-cloaked man was one of the terrifying existences in Mythology who had reached the Higher Domain Realm. Nobody knew his true age. The only thing others knew was that this man, called Odin, was one of Mythology''s three Grand Elders. Even Mythology''s Guild Leader had to obey his words. "Sir! Why are you here?" Prosciutto put on an indescribably respectful expression the moment he saw the white-cloaked man. It was as if he had just seen a real god. "I only came here to deal with some matters, but it seems that won''t be possible now," Odin said before glancing at Shi Feng. He then continued calmly, "Pack up. We''re abandoning this Advanced Resource Node." "We''re abandoning it?" Prosciutto was stunned. "Butwhy?" This was the perfect chance for him to eliminate Shi Feng. How could he possibly be willing to give up at a time like this? At this moment, let alone Prosciutto, everyone spectating the battle was dumbfounded. Since when was Mythology so generous? "Because"taking another glance at Shi Feng, Odin chuckled"he is already a Tier 4 Sword Emperor!" 2728 Sword Emperors Migh "A Sword Emperor?" Prosciutto was stunned when he heard Odin''s words, his eyes doubtful as he looked at Shi Feng. Although some experts in God''s Domain had already reached Level 120, reaching Level 120 and getting promoted to Tier 4 were two entirely different matters. Reaching Level 120 only meant that a player had met the most basic of requirements for the Tier 4 promotion. According to the various Guilds'' understanding, players would need to search for their Tier 4 Legacy Lands after reaching Level 120a truly challenging task. Even the Five Great Super Guilds would need a lot of time to search for just one Legacy Land. Not to mention, players would then have to challenge this Legacy Land to obtain their Legacy. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was merely the Guild Leader of a pseudo-superpower. How could he possibly locate a Legacy Land faster than the various Super Guilds? "A Tier 4 Sword Emperor?" "No way. It''s only recently that some people have reached Level 120, yet he''s already gotten promoted to Tier 4 Sword Emperor?" "This is a lie! This must be a lie! That''s a Tier 4 class we are talking about! Even the Kings of the various kingdoms fear a Tier 4 existence! How can anyone possibly get promoted to Tier 4 so soon?!" The spectating players had likewise heard Odin''s words, and a wave of commotion immediately spread among them, everyone expressing their doubts about Shi Feng''s successful promotion to Tier 4. Although Shi Feng had indeed displayed frightening combat power, they still found it possible for a Tier 3 player to do so. After all, many treasures in God''s Domain could allow players to become incredibly strong. Lina''s group of seven was a perfect example. However, reaching Tier 4 was a different story. Tier 4 existences were powerhouses publicly acknowledged by the NPCs in God''s Domain! Take the current Tier 4 NPCs, for example. No superpower dared offend Tier 4 NPCs. The Five Great Super Guilds were no exception. This was because Tier 4 was a taboo that had been deeply engraved in the bones of God''s Domain''s players. Tier 4 NPCs were existences that shouldn''t be offended under any circumstances. In fact, the various major powers suspected that even the superpowers'' Tier 3 experts would have to wait until around Level 130 to get promoted to Tier 4. On the battlefield, Muxin stared at Shi Feng in shock and expectation. If this is true When Muxin considered the possibility that Shi Feng was a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, a passionate flame burned in her heart. If Odin''s words were true, then Frost Heaven''s position on Island No. 3 was secured. This also meant that Frost Heaven would have a chance of securing the sixth reserve seat and becoming one of the true giants in God''s Domain. While players like herself were still agonizing over unlocking their Mana Bodies and thinking about how to search for their Legacies after reaching Level 120, Shi Feng had already completed all these tasks and even reached Tier 4. No matter how she thought about it, this situation was simply implausible. "Are you really a Sword Emperor?" Prosciutto couldn''t help asking Shi Feng. Although Odin had already spoken, Prosciutto still wished to verify this matter with Shi Feng. Immediately, everyone in the arena focused on Shi Feng, wanting to hear the truth from his mouth. "That''s right. I am indeed a Tier 4 Sword Emperor." Shi Feng nodded. At the same time, he glanced reflexively at Odin, his eyes full of surprise. If a player did not register themself at the Adventurer''s Association and redeem their Tier 4 Class Emblem, it should be impossible for others to notice their identity. This was especially true if the player in question had hidden their aura and concealed their identity using special tools. In Shi Feng''s opinion, he had concealed his promotion very thoroughly all this time. When he fought earlier, he even limited himself to low-tier Skills and Spells. He also had the Nightwalker''s Cape to conceal his life aura. As for his Mana Domain, that couldn''t be used to prove anything. The Mana Domain''s acquisition and strengthening mainly depended on a player''s control over Mana. The better one''s Mana control, the stronger the Mana Domain they could summon. It was unrelated to one''s tier at all. Meanwhile, following Shi Feng''s acknowledgment, silence spread across the entire arena. At this stage of the game where even Tier 3 players were rare, a Tier 4 player had actually come into existence. It was as if Shi Feng was making a joke of all their efforts. "No! That''s impossible! I won''t acknowledge it!" Sandstorm''s eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Shi Feng. "How can you possibly have reached Tier 4 already? You must be lying! You''re trying to fool us into giving you this Resource Node without a fight! "I won''t let you succeed! I will expose you!" At this point, Sandstorm had already thoroughly lost his mind. Sandstorm had thought that he had grown a lot stronger since his last defeat at Shi Feng''s hands and anticipated that the gap between them had shrunk significantly already. Now, he was being told that not only did the gap not shrink in the slightest, but it had even widened instead. In Sandstorm''s opinion, Shi Feng was merely the Guild Leader of a small Guild. How could Shi Feng possibly surpass him, who was an elite among elites even in the Five Great Super Guilds? The next moment, Sandstorm''s aura burgeoned in intensity, and the size of his body increased by a large margin. Scales also started growing on his face and body. Now, he practically looked like a miniature Infant Dragon. Flapping his powerful wings, Sandstorm swept up a gale and instantly arrived before Shi Feng. Abandoning his weapon, he swiped a claw at Shi Feg. The instant Sandstorm''s claw moved, the space around it shattered. Even the flow of time in the vicinity slowed. The power of his attack approached the standard of Mythic ranked Archaic Species. "Why bother?" Shi Feng couldn''t help sympathizing with Sandstorm when he saw the latter''s frenzied assault. After all, he had once fallen into such despair himself. This was especially true after he saw those geniuses who joined the game much later than he did. However, he had long since moved on from this despair. He realized that all he needed to do was live his life well. What was the point of comparing himself with others? "Cool your head first!" Shi Feng said, waving his hand. A ripple of Mana then spread out from under his feet and instantly enveloped a 500-yard radius. Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Blade Domain! A magic sword suddenly appeared before Sandstorm, who was only half a yard away from Shi Feng. The magic sword then struck the Assassin like a streak of lightning. Slash! The next moment, an arm flew into the air. In the face of this magic sword, even the sturdy dragon scales were no different from a piece of flimsy paper. "You" Upon seeing his arm flying away, Sandstorm instantly sobered up. He hurriedly activated a Tier 3 Defensive Skill, increasing his Defense by a significant margin and doubling his maximum HP. However, no sooner had Sandstorm used his Skill than seven more magic swords appeared in the air. They then transformed into streaks of light that cut him. Each slash plundered 20% of Sandstorm''s HP, the seven swords instantly robbing the Assassin of all his HP. The swords also burned his body into ashes, eliminating him from the arena. The entire process might seem long and arduous, but it had taken only an instant in reality. "How is this possible?!" The audience in the spectator stands gaped in shock at this scene. Their minds even froze momentarily. Sandstorm was a Demidragon that rivaled Tier 4 Archaic Species in strength. Previously, he still managed to exchange multiple blows with Shi Feng. Yet, now, Shi Feng had instantly executed him without even giving him a chance to resist. 2729 Shi Feng and Odin "One move?!" "The gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 is actually this massive?" When the various major powers'' experts in the VIP viewing rooms saw Shi Feng slay Sandstorm, they gasped involuntarily. Although they had long since known that Tier 4 was the milestone separating the strong from the weak in God''s Domain, they never expected the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 players to be so massive. Just a moment ago, although Lina and the other Demidragons were struggling with Shi Feng''s attacks, they at least possessed the strength to put up a fight. However, as soon as Shi Feng stopped holding back "That bastard! He was actually toying with us all this time!" a tall Demidragon man cursed as he glared at Shi Feng in anger and frustration. "No, that probably isn''t the case," Lina said, shaking her head. "What do you mean? He wasn''t toying with us?" the tall man asked strangely. "This is only my guess, but" Peeking at Shi Feng, Lina continued quietly, "He might''ve been on his guard against Sir Odin since the start of the battle." "He was wary of Sir Odin?" Realization dawned on the other Demidragons when they heard Lina''s conjecture. Odin was an elusive existence in Mythology. If he hadn''t taken the initiative to appear, none of them would''ve noticed his presence. Only after Shi Feng exposed him did Odin reveal himself. The tall man and the others shuddered. If what Lina said really was true, then Shi Feng was much more terrifying than they had thought. Meanwhile, after killing Sandstorm, Shi Feng turned to look at Odin in the distance. From the moment he arrived before the Advanced Resource Node, he had sensed a vague killing intent directed at him. If not for him having reached Tier 4 already and received a qualitative improvement to his physique and Concentration, he wouldn''t have noticed this killing intent at all. Due to this threat, he had held back his strength. Even when clashing with Lina''s group, he refrained from using his full strength, all so he could respond when the owner of this hidden killing intent took action. However, the moment Sandstorm went crazy and lashed out, Odin had also thoroughly displayed his killing intent. Truthfully, even Shi Feng had to be wary of Odin. In his previous life, everyone had heard of Odin''s name. Not only was Odin an invincible existence even among Tier 6 God-ranked experts, but fighting enemies of a higher tier was also commonplace for him. In the past, Odin had fought against a Tier 5 NPC while he was still Tier 4. In the end, their battle had not only ended in a draw but even leveled an entire NPC city. This was despite the gap between Tier 4 and Tier 5 being even greater than the one between Tier 3 and Tier 4. The reason Tier 4 classes were feared by players and recognized as powerhouses in God''s Domain wasn''t just their extraordinary physiques and frightening control over Mana. Instead, a larger part was due to the Tier 4 Skills and Spells they wielded. In God''s Domain, there was a qualitative difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 Skills. This was because Tier 4 Skills mainly relied on Mana in the natural world to activate. In comparison, Tier 3 Skills relied on the user''s Mana to activate. Due to this difference, the power levels of the two were worlds apart. With the aid of Tier 4 Skills and Spells, Shi Feng dared to fight against even true Tier 3 Infant Dragons, let alone kill a Demidragon like Sandstorm. However, to Shi Feng''s surprise, Odin never actually took action. He only used his killing intent to create an illusion of wanting to take action. "Youngsters nowadays really are getting better and better." A smile appeared under Odin''s hood. The man then looked at Prosciutto and said, "Let''s go." "Yes, sir!" Prosciutto no longer hesitated this time. However, when he walked past Shi Feng, he also gave the latter a glance. Although he didn''t say anything, the intention his eyes conveyed was obvious. We will meet again! Afterward, Prosciutto and the rest of Mythology''s 1,000-man team left the Advanced Resource Node. They gave up the Resource Node very decisively and departed for another Resource Node together with Odin. "They left?" "They left, just like that?" "That Odin actually didn''t take action?" The audience was stunned by this situation. The originally heaven-defying battle had actually ended in such a manner. Moreover, Mythology''s members had given up the fight so decisively. This was completely different from how the Five Great Super Guilds operated normally. At this moment, even Muxin was taken aback by this situation. "Is thisour victory?" Muxin couldn''t help asking Shi Feng. Odin''s name was synonymous with destruction to the various superpowers. Now that Mythology had mobilized even Odin, she found it truly inconceivable that Mythology would give up just because of one Tier 4 player. After all, while a Tier 4 existence was an invincible enemy for the various superpowers, that might not necessarily be the case for the Five Great Super Guilds. "I guess so." Shi Feng nodded while looking at Odin''s departing figure. Odin''s decisiveness had caught even Shi Feng off guard. Initially, Shi Feng had already braced himself to fight for his life. He had even resolved to use some of the trump cards he had kept hidden all this time. However, he now felt as if he had just punched at empty air. "Do we still take control of this Resource Node?" Muxin asked. "Of course," Shi Feng answered decisively. "We went through great difficulties to win it." "Okay. I''ll have the others set up a perimeter now." Upon hearing Shi Feng''s answer, Muxin immediately had her subordinates take up stations around the Resource Node to prevent others from stealing it. After leaving the Resource Node, Prosciutto couldn''t help turning to Odin in confusion. "Sir Odin, since we surrendered the Resource Node to Black Flame so easily this time, I''m afraid the other four Guilds will most likely ridicule us. Some superpowers might even start to make light of us because of this. Are we really not going to do anything?" Prosciutto asked. In Prosciutto''s opinion, even if Shi Feng was a Tier 4 player, their team still had a fighting chanceespecially since Odin was present. It wouldn''t even be strange if they managed to take down Shi Feng. Yet, Odin had unexpectedly given away the Resource Node without a fight. "Now isn''t the time to fight," Odin replied, shaking his head. "Moreover, we know too little about Zero Wing." "It isn''t the time to fight?" Prosciutto grew even more confused at Odin''s words. "Why?" With Mythology''s strength, they wouldn''t fear fighting the four other Super Guilds, much less Zero Wing. In fact, he was confident Mythology could triumph over any of the other four Guilds. Now, they were actually retreating because of Zero Wing. When news of this matter spread, Mythology would most likely become the various superpowers'' laughing stock. "Take a look at these." Odin did not grow angry over Prosciutto''s doubts. Instead, he forwarded a few videos to Prosciutto before saying, "You''ll understand the reason once you finish watching them." "How is this possible?" Prosciutto was stunned when he saw the videos Odin sent him. This was because every one of these videos depicted a battle at the other Resource Nodes Mythology occupied. Moreover, these battles shared a common point: Zero Wing''s experts took part in them. "All of themlost?!" 2730 Unfathomable Zero Wing As Prosciutto watched the videos Odin sent him, his heartbeat gradually grew erratic. Even his complexion turned somewhat gloomy. "Vice Commander?" Lina prompted, a little puzzled by Prosciutto''s reaction. However, Prosciutto did not respond to Lina''s worry. Instead, his gaze suddenly turned indescribably grim. "Impossible! The Commander actually failed to take down that girl?" Prosciutto''s mood fluctuated violently after watching one of the videos. "Vice Commander, what happened?" "Did something happen on the Commander''s side?" "How is that possible?! Even the four other Guilds wouldn''t dare pick a fight with the Commander unless they''re tired of living!" Prosciutto''s strange performance surprised and puzzled Lina and the others. They couldn''t understand what had happened to provoke such emotional swings in their vice commander. After seeing Prosciutto''s reaction, Odin smiled and said, "Now you know why, right? "I have to admit that the new era has truly come. Whenever I see you youngsters, I can''t help but feel that I really have grown old." Odin''s words confused Lina and the others even more. However, as if triggered by these words, a hint of excitement flashed in Prosciutto''s eyes. "I see. Thank you for your teachings, sir. I will take this as a warning," Prosciutto said sincerely. "Good! Now, this is the little fellow I used to fancy." Odin nodded in satisfaction. "Mythology will have to rely on your bunch in the future." "Sir Odin, what exactly happened?" Lina asked Odin nervously. Initially, with her status, she shouldn''t be questioning Odin at all. However, after seeing Prosciutto''s transformation, she couldn''t help her curiosity. "It''s nothing. We simply had four of our other Resource Nodes snatched away," Odin said, chuckling. "Four other Resource Nodes were taken? How is this possible?" Lina gaped in shock, unable to get her mind around it. "Who is so bold to actually do this? Is it the four other Guilds?" Besides Lina, the peak experts of Mythology standing nearby were also stunned by Odin''s words, their eyes full of disbelief. Their giving away one Resource Node was already plenty unbelievable. Now, they were hearing that four more of the Guild''s Resource Nodes had been taken. This sounded more like fiction than reality. "You guys have a look too." Seeing the doubtful gazes focused on him, Odin laughed and passed the information to everyone. The information Odin sent consisted of four videos showing the battles that took place in the four other Resource Nodes. Moreover, these had occurred when their team was fighting Black Flame. Aside from peak experts, there were also three Domain Realm Elders defending the Resource Node. One of the three had even reached the Domain Realm''s upper stage. Yet, even after all three of them activated their Demidragon Bloodlines, they actually failed to last more than ten moves against Gentle Snow! Ten moves! In front of Gentle Snow, the three Elders'' fierce and enigmatic attacks were jokes. Not only did the woman easily unravel their attacks, but she even turned their attacks against them. She used the Combination Skill the three Elders executed to instantly obliterate the Elder that had reached the Domain Realm''s upper stage. In this battle, Mythology had lost over 400 experts. If not for Gentle Snow refraining from pursuing the fleeing members, the Guild''s losses would''ve been even worse. In the second battle video, the person leading the attack was Fire Dance. Although Fire Dance did not possess Gentle Snow''s monstrous techniques, her Basic Attributes were not the slightest bit inferior to those of Tier 4 existences. In addition, her speed was simply godlike. From start to end, not one peak expert managed to touch her. The peak experts could only watch as Fire Dance inflicted cut after cut after cut on their armor, continuously plundering their HPs until nothing remained. Of the defending team at the second Resource Node, only the Lightning Hammer, Vice Commander Howard Woz, who was the core of the team, could keep up with Fire Dance''s speed. In fact, the two of them were evenly matched, neither able to get the better of the other. However, Alluring Summer was in Zero Wing''s team. With her full strength, she cast a Tier 3 Super Spell on him. This left Howard Woz with no choice but to defend. Otherwise, the Super Spell would level the Resource Node itself. During the brief moment Howard revealed a gap in his defense, Fire Dance seized the opportunity to land a heavy blow, breaking one of his arms. Hence, Howard''s combat power plummeted. Subsequently, Zhao Yueru triple-cast three Tier 3 Curses on him, finishing him off. With Howard''s death, Zero Wing and Frost Heaven''s team, which was originally at a disadvantage, immediately gained the upper hand and eventually captured the Resource Node. Meanwhile, the battle in the third Resource Node was even more astonishing. Lina and the others nearly went crazy upon watching it. After all, the third Resource Node''s defender was none other than the Divine Spear Demon Rex, the commander of Mythology''s trump card legion. Rex was a legendary individual in Mythologyand someone Vice Commander Prosciutto had never once beaten. Yet, in the third video, Rex was actually evenly matched with a girl. Although this girl''s Basic Attributes were only nearing the Tier 4 standard, her control over Mana was superb. Wielding 300-plus magic blades, she prevented Rex from gaining the upper hand. In fact, the girl even slaughtered many experts from Mythology during their clash. Afterward, Rex grew thoroughly enraged and used the combat array he kept in reserve to try to land a fatal blow on Violet Cloud. However, before this hit could land, a tall man carrying a massive shield blocked it. Subsequently, the battle continued for quite some time. Relying on her nimble movements, Violet Cloud always managed to duck behind Cola''s protection at critical moments. While Cola bore the brunt of Rex''s attacks, she would also instantly heal Cola back to full HP. The duo''s combination turned them into undying zombies, and they held out until Rex''s combat array expired. Although both sides suffered equally heavy losses after the long battle, as Rex no longer had the combat array''s support, he was utterly powerless to do anything about Violet Cloud. To make matters worse, as Zero Wing''s and Frost Heaven''s numbers dwindled, their members became more difficult to kill. In contrast, the rate at which Mythology''s members got killed only increased as the battle continued. Eventually, in order to avoid the other Guilds taking advantage of Mythology, Rex had no choice but to abandon the Resource Node to conserve his team''s Stamina and Concentration. While the outcome could be said to be a draw, since Mythology gave up the Resource Node, the overall result was still a loss. "We lost three Resource Nodes, just like that?" Lina protested in denial after watching the three videos. After calming down, though, she said hurriedly, "Even so, there''s no reason to let Zero Wing off the hook!" While Zero Wing had indeed displayed astonishing combat power, Mythology could easily reclaim its lost Resource Nodes after reorganizing its forces. After all, they already knew what Zero Wing was capable of. It would be much easier to counter Zero Wing''s forces afterward. "Impossible. You''ll know once you take a look at the fourth video," Prosciutto said. "The fourth video?" Lina was puzzled. What relation did the fourth video have with their not being able to deal with Zero Wing? Even if Black Flame was a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, Mythology still had the means to deal with him. Even if Zero Wing had one or two more powerful combatants, it still wouldn''t be a match for Mythology. However, Lina still listened to Prosciutto and played the fourth video. "What''s going on? Why isn''t there anything here?" Lina asked when she saw only an empty plain in the video. "That''s right. There is nothing at all." Prosciutto nodded. He then added slowly, "Because that place was thoroughly flattened." 2731 Mind-blowing Although Prosciutto''s voice was plain, every word he said thundered in everyone''s mind. "Flattened?" Lina examined the image in the video again. A moment later, her heart began racing, and her breathing became stifled. Aside from sand, there was nothing else within the 1,000-yard radius displayed in the video. However, after careful inspection, she noticed piles and piles of fallen trees stacked outside the 1,000-yard radius. Many of these trees were uprooted, and most of them had shattered into dozens of pieces. The video then zoomed out, and she found that the so-called sandy area actually lay within a large forest. It looked as if something had thoroughly smoothed out the area. "How is this possible?!" a Tier 3 Great Mage at the Void Realm exclaimed. "That sandy area doesn''t have any Mana!" At this Great Mage''s reminder, Lina and the others also came to this realization and gasped. They had forgotten that the so-called battle video was actually a type of recording magic in God''s Domain. It could perfectly record the battlefield''s situation, which included the ambient Mana. This allowed players to analyze the battle situation accurately. Meanwhile, they had watched this battle video as if they were watching a video in the real world. They had completely neglected the presence of Manaor lack thereof. "Is this Zero Wing''s doing, as well?" Lina asked when she saw the wasteland in the middle of the forest. The wasteland had a 1,000-yard radius. Moreover, the attack used had thoroughly consumed all Mana in the area. Even Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells would have difficulty accomplishing such a feat. Not to mention, the only Tier 4 player known to exist was Black Flame. "Yes. Someone from Zero Wing did it. According to subsequent reports, that person should be Aqua Rose, one of Zero Wing''s Vice Guild Leaders. Her specific strength is still a mystery," Odin said, nodding. "However, based on the Spell''s scale, we can think of her as a Tier 4 Great Wizard who wields Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. Her destructive power is roughly ten times that of Black Flame." "How is this possible?" "Isn''t Zero Wing just an up-and-coming pseudo-superpower?" After hearing Odin''s simple analysis, Mythology''s members fell silent for a long time. They couldn''t help doubting the veracity of the reports. Not only did Zero Wing have a Tier 4 Great Wizard, but this Great Wizard even possessed Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. If this was the case, then this matter was much more serious than they imagined. After all, a Great Wizard wielding large-scale destruction Spells could easily destroy even major NPC cities. At this stage of the game, such an existence would be invincible, be it in offensive or defensive battles. "Butare we really going to justgive up?" Lina asked. Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds. It was sheer humiliation for the Guild to get provoked on such a stage. If Mythology didn''t do something, the whole world would start to look down on it. "Of course not." Odin suddenly smiled. "We must settle this account one way or another, but now isn''t the time for that yet. Instead, we should learn from Miracle''s example." "Learn from Miracle?" Lina parroted, confused. Miracle was merely a slightly above-average superpower. What could Mythology possibly learn from it? "Sir Odin is right. We have to learn Miracle''s way of doing things," Prosciutto said with brightened eyes. "We have to publicize this matter so that all the Guilds will know about it. Zero Wing might be able to help Frost Heaven secure the sixth seat this time, but what they don''t know is that the real doomsday will come after they secure the seat!" The reserve seats of God''s Domain''s Twelve Great Guilds were meant for the capable. If a Guild relied on the strength of only a handful of individuals to secure one of these seats, then only destruction would await this Guild. Moreover, after this competition, Zero Wing would also debut on the international stage. A Guild capable of using Mythology as a stepping stone wasn''t a problem for only Mythology. The other four of the Five Great Super Guilds couldn''t afford to ignore Zero Wing, either. Hence, the Five Great Super Guilds would not allow such an existence to exist in this world! "Good. I will leave this matter for you to handle." Odin nodded in satisfaction when he saw Prosciutto realizing what had to be done. He then vanished from the group as if he had never been there. Shortly afterward, every participating Guild in the competition received an astonishing piece of news. Zero Wing had defeated Mythology and stolen five of Mythology''s Resource Nodes! The battle videos at the five Resource Nodes even spread to the various superpowers. The sight of Black Flame killing Sandstorm in one move, Gentle Snow killing over 30 Tier 3 peak experts in one move, Aqua Rose flattening a Resource Node with one Spell, Violet Cloud forcing the Divine Spear Demon into retreating, and a handful of Zero Wing''s members killing the Lightning Hammer were thoroughly etched into everyone''s mind. After all these accomplishments, Frost Heaven became the biggest dark horse in this competition! The mind-blowing news shook the various participating Guilds in the arena. "This is fake! This must be fake!" "Didn''t Zero Wing''s and Frost Heaven''s members launch an attack on Mythology only recently? How can the battles be over already?" "A Tier 4 Great Wizard?! How is this possible?!" The various participating Guilds were dumbfounded by the information they received. None of them could accept it. However, it was also impossible for these battle videos to be fakeespecially with the frightening strength Mythology displayed. The superpowers despaired at the gap between them. Nevertheless, despite having such overwhelming strength, Mythology still ended up defeated. Moreover, it didn''t even lose at the hands of a Super Guild but to Zero Wing, an up-and-coming pseudo-superpower. "Didn''t they say Zero Wing doesn''t have any background?" "What exactly is Zero Wing?" For a time, the various superpowers were filled with curiosity and confusion about Zero Wing. Despite being a small Guild with no backing, Zero Wing had produced a Tier 4 Sword Emperor and a suspected Tier 4 Great Wizard. How could they bring themselves to believe this? As for the players in the spectator stands, they, too, were stunned by this situation. They never thought that during the time Shi Feng was fighting one of Mythology''s teams, astonishing battles had taken place elsewhere, as well. They also regretted missing these battles. After witnessing Zero Wing''s strength, both the Star Alliance''s and Unyielding Soul''s upper echelons couldn''t help lamenting this situation. They never thought that after not meeting Zero Wing for some time, the other Guild had actually grown to such an extent already. Tier 4! This is real power! A passionate flame burned in Purple Eye''s heart as she watched the clash between Shi Feng and Sandstorm. So long as I reach Tier 4, the Guild will be able to tread the international stage as well! At this time, Purple Eye wasn''t the only person to have such thoughts. The various major powers'' experts in the other VIP viewing rooms also burned with desire and ambition toward attaining Tier 4. Every one of them resolved themself to do everything they could to reach Tier 4 after this competition. Unlike the audience''s excited reactions, Miracle and Sacred Temple were filled with both hatred and shock at Zero Wing''s performance. Initially, the two Guilds believed the sixth reserve seat was already within their grasp. Now that a powerful competitor had emerged in the competition, the two Guilds had no choice but to compete for more Resource Nodes. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to maintain their current advantage until the end of the competition. Meanwhile, when Seven Wonders received news of Zero Wing''s performance, he felt an unprecedented joy and excitement. He truly had not expected the helpers Hong Xinyuan recruited to be powerful enough to pull Frost Heaven out of its hopeless situation and give it a chance to win a reserve seat. To ensure Frost Heaven secured the sixth reserve seat, after Frost Heaven became one of the top five ranking Guilds on Island No. 17, Seven Wonders led a team to other islands to compete for more Resource Nodes. For a time, Miracle, Sacred Temple, and Frost Heaven frantically fought all over the arena. Despite suffering immense casualties, the three Guilds continued fighting until the bell signaling the end of the competition rang. Meanwhile, after the competition ended, huge holographic screens appeared on top of every island, the screens listing the total points accumulated by the participating Guilds one after another. Mythology - 12,610 points. Pantheon - 3,920 points. Sky Dragon Family - 4,550 points. Netherworld Empire - 13,350 points. Miracle - 5,230 points. Sacred Temple - 5,180 points. As the names of the participating Guilds appeared one after another, Frost Heaven''s members grew increasingly nervous. The point difference between Miracle, Sacred Temple, and Frost Heaven should be incredibly narrow. In fact, partway through the competition, Shi Feng even had to attack other Resource Nodes personally and let Frost Heaven''s members wear the Resource Emblem to keep Frost Heaven in the competition. Although there were instances where other Guilds had successfully stolen some of Frost Heaven''s poorly defended Resource Nodes, most of these nodes were quickly reclaimed. In addition, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose also wandered between the various Resource Nodes to avert the ambushes of other Guilds. "We must succeed!" Muxin also grew incredibly nervous as she looked at the screen. Frost Heaven had suffered tremendous losses during this competition. By the end of the competition, Frost Heaven had fewer than 2,000 members left standing. Six Elders, two Grand Elders, and Great Elder Brilliant Blue had even fallen in battle. This was a massive blow to the Guild. At this time, even Shi Feng couldn''t remain perfectly calm. He never expected that Miracle and Sacred Temple would secretly ally with other Guilds to attack Frost Heaven''s Resource Nodes, forcing him to rotate continuously between several islands. He had even had Aqua Rose obliterate 11 Resource Nodes. Only then did they manage to deter the other Guilds from stealing Frost Heaven''s Resource Nodes. Now that Zero Wing had exhausted its trump cards and revealed many things to the various superpowers, if Frost Heaven still failed to secure the sixth seat in this competition, then Zero Wing would have a thorny road ahead of it. The next moment, after more than 20 Guilds were listed on the screen, Frost Heaven''s name finally appeared. Frost Heaven - 5,260 points. 2732 True Beginning "We won!" "We really won!" Muxin and the other Frost Heaven members were ecstatic when they saw their Guild''s score. Many members even screamed in joy as they reveled in this moment of victory. What a close one. Shi Feng couldn''t help a sigh of relief. In the end, Frost Heaven had beaten Miracle by only 30 points, which was just one hour''s worth of points for an Advanced Resource Node. If not for some of the other Guilds giving up on competing for Frost Heaven''s Resource Nodes, Miracle might''ve won the sixth seat instead. Shi Feng had to admit that Miracle''s foundations were much stronger than many Super Guilds''. Fortunately, everything went according to plan. Now that Frost Heaven has secured the sixth seat, we won''t have to worry about getting slots to enter the Upper Zone. We''ll also gain the privilege of garrisoning a city in a kingdom. When Shi Feng saw the Guilds listed on the screen being reorganized based on their points and Frost Heaven officially ranking sixth, he began considering the next step of his plans. In his previous life, the arrival of the first major update had brought about a complete change in God''s Domain''s power structure. Because of the NPC forces'' addition, the superpowers'' competitors were no longer limited to just the major powers. The NPC forces also became huge competitors. These NPC forces were no ordinary organizations. Before God''s Domain underwent its first major update, the NPC population in God''s Domain had been minuscule. However, after the major update, the NPC population would increase crazily. Along with the increase in NPC population, the NPC forces normally only mentioned in books or conversations between NPCs would make their debut in the game. In fact, in a few more days, the various major powers would discover a frightening matter: despite how massive God''s Domain''s player population was, players made up only a small minority of God''s Domain''s inhabitants. Yes. Despite the game''s current player population being over ten billion, players were only a minority in the world of God''s Domain. In the future, any random kingdom would easily have over two billion NPCs. The current player population could, at best, match the total NPC population in five or six kingdoms, which was roughly equivalent to the standard of one empire. However, God''s Domain''s players were scattered across the various kingdoms and empires on the two main continents. There were also a large number of players in the many Otherworlds. Hence, in the future, the native powers would become the strongest forces in the various kingdoms and empires. Moreover, after this major update, a severe problem would pop upthe disappearance of the protection mechanism for players. Hence, most players wouldn''t notice its existence and true purpose. They merely took its benefits for granted. However, all of this would change in the world of God''s Domain in the future. So long as players left the city, they would no longer enjoy this protection mechanism. What did this mean? Ordinary players would most likely have a difficult time imagining the consequences of such a change. However, this would be a disaster for the growing Guilds of God''s Domain. This was because NPCs would become capable of taking the initiative to attack players. Highway robbery, launching ambushes when players were killing monsters, killing players because of a random mood swingsuch incidents would become normal occurrences in the future. In fact, Shi Feng himself had been robbed by Tier 4 NPCs on numerous occasions in his previous life. Of course, powerful NPCs wouldn''t rob just anyone they saw. They would focus on stealing incredibly valuable items. Ordinary items would hardly arouse the interest of these powerful NPCs. This change in the game was highly unfavorable for Shi Feng. After all, he carried too many valuable items. As he had the game''s rules protecting him before, he hadn''t worried about NPCs attacking him. Now that the rules had changed, he had no choice but to act carefully. However, this still wasn''t the critical point of the major update. Instead, the fatal change caused by this update was in the management of Guild Towns and Cities. During the early phases of the major update, most players still hadn''t noticed a problem with the NPC forces. However, once the local NPC forces finished conducting a thorough investigation on players, they would begin attacking Guild Towns. If a Guild Town lacked sufficient combatants to defend it, the territory might very well end up getting taken. This was also one of the main reasons why many superpowers had disbanded after God''s Domain underwent its first major update in the past. Meanwhile, the situation now was even worse than during Shi Feng''s previous life. In the past, when the first major update hit, the various superpowers already had Tier 4 players defending its territories. However, in this life, let alone Tier 4 players, the superpowers didn''t even have many Tier 3 players under their command. It would become a nightmare for the superpowers to defend their Guild Towns against the various NPC forces. At this point, Shi Feng could already foresee many powers crumbling due to these changes. Compared to his previous life, the first major update''s aftermath in this life would definitely be a much more painful sight. Once we get the Guild privileges, we''ll be able to garrison an NPC City and apply for a Guild Town Teleportation Permit. Then, Zero Wing could instantly become a giant in God''s Domain during the poaching wars. When Shi Feng thought about the imminent poaching wars, he couldn''t help feeling a little excited. In the past, some first-rate Guilds had eventually grown into Super Guilds precisely because they managed to take advantage of the poaching wars. In the early stages of God''s Domain, the superpowers had a massive advantage in numbers over the major powers. By the time players had reached Level 100, the major powers had mostly divided the available player population among themselves already. Hence, even some of the stronger Guilds among the major powers had found it incredibly difficult to grow further. This was because after the average level of players reached Level 100, Guilds that wished to grow needed sufficient numbers. This was especially true when it came to Tier 3 players. Without sufficient Tier 3 players, effectively defending Guild Towns against NPC forces and monster armies would become impossible. Meanwhile, most players mainly looked at the number of Guild Towns a Guild possessed and the prosperity of these towns when determining a Guild''s strength. This was also why the War God''s Temple had set the number of Guild Towns owned as a participation requirement for the reserve seat competition. And if a Guild wished to maintain many Guild Towns simultaneously, a lot of manpower was necessary. Now, although Zero Wing already possessed more members than most first-rate Guilds, it was still far from comparable to the various superpowers. Meanwhile, after the Great Collapse, the members of the fallen powers would become independent players. So long as Zero Wing took advantage of this opportunity, it could instantly become a bona fide superpower. Moreover, Shi Feng was confident that once Zero Wing had a sufficient player base, the Guild could go up against Starlink, Saint''s Hand, and even the Five Great Super Guilds. At the very least, Zero Wing wouldn''t be forced to hole up in just a handful of Guild Towns and Cities in an incredibly passive state. In fact, with Zero Wing''s current state, it was only a matter of time before the Guild crumbled. After all, what allowed the various superpowers to triumph over others were the talents they cultivated. With the resources the superpowers provided, these talents would slowly grow into powerhouses in the virtual gaming industry over time. If Zero Wing did not make sufficient preparations, with the Guild''s current scale and talent count, the Guild would be fortunate to keep itself alive in the future. Meanwhile, along with the release of the official rankings, the spectating players and major powers erupted in an uproar. "Crap! Frost Heaven actually got a seat!" "Frost Heaven really is lucky. It actually found a dark horse like Zero Wing. With this, Frost Heaven really is going to rise to prominence." "Zero Wing, is it?" While the spectating players and major powers found Frost Heaven''s victory surprising, they didn''t feel particularly surprised by it, either. After all, the Tier 4 combatants Zero Wing possessed were simply too terrifying. They were not opponents Tier 3 players could hope to contend with. The major powers paid more attention to Zero Wing than to Frost Heaven. "Hmph! Frost Heaven can consider themselves lucky." After looking at the Guild rankings, Cold Shadow glanced at Shi Feng''s information and sneered. "However, Zero Wing won''t be as lucky afterward!" The nail that sticks out gets hammered! This held especially true for a prominent Guild like Zero Wing. The various superpowers were greatly limited in the forces they could bring out during this competition. This was especially true for the Five Great Super Guilds. After all, Tier 3 was the minimum standard for players to participate in the competition. However, there was no such restriction in the outside world. The fact that Zero Wing had revealed two Tier 4 players in this competition had provoked the various superpowers'' intense envy. Zero Wing was merely a pseudo-superpower, yet it had actually produced two Tier 4 players. If someone were to say that there wasn''t a secret behind this achievement, nobody would believe them. After this competition, she could easily foresee that both ordinary powers and superpowers would hound Zero Wing until the Guild gave up its secret to completing the Tier 4 promotion. Otherwise, only death would await Zero Wing. As the various superpowers began to plot against Zero Wing, Shi Feng remained wholly unaware of the matter. After the War God''s Temple announced the winners for the six reserve seats and awarded Zero Wing with a War God''s Temple Official Guild Certificate, Shi Feng promptly disbanded his team and bid goodbye to Muxin. He did not stay behind to take part in Frost Heaven''s celebration banquet but quietly left the Fire Dragon Empire instead. This caused Seven Wonders and Hong Xinyuan to lament the missed opportunity to thank Shi Feng properly. "Black Flame really is an unfathomable person." After watching Shi Feng''s figure disappear into the distance, Seven Wonders turned to Muxin and said earnestly, "Muxin, you''ll be the First Vice Guild Leader from now on. You''ll be responsible for the matter regarding the Upper Zone slots, S-rank Nutrient Fluids, and subsequent affairs relating to our alliance with Zero Wing. I believe you can handle them well." "Guild Leader, please rest assured. I will definitely handle them well," Muxin answered ecstatically. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng left the War God''s Temple, he did not hurry to return to Zero Wing''s Residence to preside over the changing situation. Instead, he made his way to the Twin Towers Kingdom, a dilapidated country on the brink of destructionwhich would also become one of the most brilliant kingdoms in the future. Twin Towers City, City Hall: "Sir, how may I be of service?" a Level 180, Tier 3 male administrator asked when he saw Shi Feng enter the building. "If you wish to purchase Land, I will have to apologize in advance. We are no longer selling Land to the public." "No, I''m not here to purchase Land," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then took out the Official Guild Certificate from the War God''s Temple and said, "I am Zero Wing''s Guild Leader. My Guild wishes to officially garrison this city. May I know if that''s possible?" 2733 Garrisoning Twin Towers Vico, the Level 180, Tier 3 male administrator, looked at the certificate in Shi Feng''s hand and carefully inspected it. "Yes, this is indeed an Official Guild Certificate from the War God''s Temple." Vico nodded, his gaze turning respectful as he looked at Shi Feng. He then added slowly, "Lord Guild Leader, there is nothing wrong with your Guild Certificate. However, I''m afraid that as an ordinary Guild, your Guild does not qualify to garrison our kingdom''s capital. You can only choose to garrison another of the Twin Towers Kingdom''s cities." Sure enough, the Guild still can''t garrison the capital city. Shi Feng was not particularly surprised by Vico''s rejection. "Since that''s the case, Zero Wing will garrison Sky Spring City." Although the War God''s Temple now recognized Zero Wing as an official Guild in God''s Domain, that was only recognition and nothing more. Initially, Shi Feng thought that with the deterioration of the Twin Towers Kingdom due to the abyssal monsters, Zero Wing might have a chance to garrison its capital. However, it would seem that he had still underestimated the Twin Towers Kingdom. After thinking it through, though, he found this situation reasonable. In his previous life, the Twin Towers Kingdom had shone brightly on the continent of God''s Domain, thanks to the Tower of Time and Secret Covenant Tower it housed. It had been a kingdom that stood far above other kingdoms. Moreover, while the Twin Towers Kingdom might currently look battered, now that the first major update had taken place, NPCs would start appearing in large numbers across the kingdom. Once that happened, it was only a matter of time before the NPCs turned the tables on the abyssal monsters. Otherwise, Shi Feng wouldn''t have rushed to have Zero Wing garrison the Twin Towers Kingdom. "That won''t be a problem. Please follow me. I will conduct the procedures for you," Vico said and led Shi Feng to the third-floor hall. On his way to the third floor, Shi Feng noticed that the number of NPCs inside the City Hall had increased significantly. Previously, it was rare to see even one Tier 3 NPC in a City Hall. Now, he spotted at least a dozen. Moreover, even the weakest of them was at Level 140, while the strongest reached Level 182. They were not existences current Tier 3 players could hope to contend against. Through this, he could already anticipate a large batch of Tier 3 NPCs appearing inside the Twin Towers Kingdom in the near future. With the combat power of these NPCs, retaking the Twin Towers Kingdom and driving the abyssal monsters back into the abyss would be entirely possible. Meanwhile, the Sky Spring City he chose to have Zero Wing garrison was the closest NPC city to the Secret Covenant Tower. This was because the Secret Covenant Tower was a holy land for grinding for levels and acquiring Guild resources. Before God''s Domain''s first major update took place, grinding for levels was a daily chore for players. However, after the first major update, grinding for levels would become deadly. If players did not possess overwhelming strength, then the moment they left the confines of NPC cities, they would have to fight with their lives on the line. This was because both NPCs and monsters gained conscious thought after the major update, and they would no longer let players kill them like idiots. Both NPCs and monsters would fight desperately for survival. Hence, grinding monsters would no longer be simple, repetitive fights for EXP. Instead, it would become a fight where players bet their lives for EXP. In a situation where the two sides were roughly equal in strength, every fight would be incredibly taxing. In fact, after the major update, most players would no longer dare fight monsters that were significantly higher-leveled than they were. Of course, the increased difficulty in killing monsters came in tandem with a drastic increase in the EXP monsters awardedat least ten times more than what they previously awarded. Even so, leveling up would still become an increasingly laborious task in the future. However, it was a different story in the Secret Covenant Tower. The countless monsters trapped in the Secret Covenant Tower''s special space had already gone crazy and did not possess any consciousness or intelligence. The only thing on their minds was slaughter. Yet, despite the lack of intelligence, the monsters inside granted the same amount of EXP as the monsters in the outside world. The only problem was that entering the Secret Covenant Tower cost Magic Crystals. In addition, the monsters inside did not drop Coins or Magic Crystals. The value of the materials they dropped was also negligible. Fortunately, the Secret Covenant Tower wasn''t completely barren of loot. Hidden inside the special space were relics belonging to ancient civilizations. The deeper one progressed down the tower, the better the relics one could obtain. Examples would be weapon and equipment designs, Master ranked Potion Recipes, and even complete Legacies for Tier 3 classes. Yes! Complete Legacies for Tier 3 classes! Unlike the Tier 3 Legacies scattered in the outside world, a complete Legacy could lower the difficulty of players'' Tier 3 Promotion by a large margin. A complete Tier 3 Legacy could allow a Guild to gain a large number of Tier 3 players within a short period. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that, for Guilds, a complete Tier 3 Legacy was a hundred times more valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item. Meanwhile, complete Tier 3 Legacies only started appearing from the 18th floor. This was a place that became available after the first major update. Before this, the Secret Covenant Tower was only a place for pre-Level 100 players to grind for levels. It wasn''t suitable for players past Level 100. However, after the first major update, the Secret Covenant Tower would no longer be the same as before. In the past, after it was revealed that the Secret Covenant Tower dropped complete Tier 3 Legacies, the various powers on the eastern continent had swarmed to the Twin Towers Kingdom. This, in turn, had made the Twin Towers Kingdom one of the most dazzling kingdoms in God''s Domain, and Sky Spring City had also become an NPC Main City that was second only to the capital city. Shortly afterward, Administrator Vico completed all the formalities needed for Zero Wing to garrison Sky Spring City. "Lord Guild Leader, this is your Sky Spring City Guild Token." Vico handed a golden token to Shi Feng. He then explained, "This token grants you partial authority to manage Sky Spring City, including its security and development. Once Zero Wing garrisons Sky Spring City, it will receive 10% of the city''s profits as maintenance and management fees." "No problem. Zero Wing will manage Sky Spring City well and turn it into the best city in the Twin Towers Kingdom," Shi Feng said, nodding. Once a Guild garrisoned a city, it couldn''t arbitrarily decide to abandon the city and seek greener pastures. One could say that the Guild and city were bound together for good or ill. Thus, even after Guilds obtained the qualifications to garrison an NPC city, they still had to be careful with their choice. Fortunately, Shi Feng didn''t have to concern himself with such a problem. Sky Spring City was bound to become one of the important hubs in the eastern continent. The money and resources it could rake in would far surpass those of many royal capitals. If developed properly, the city could even rival imperial capitals. "I pray that you can fulfill this wonderful goal, Milord," Vico said, feeling slightly surprised by Shi Feng''s confidence. "Now that Zero Wing has officially garrisoned Sky Spring City, can we enable Sky Spring City''s City Teleportation Network?" Shi Feng asked. Obtaining the resources Sky Spring City had to offer was only one of his goals in having Zero Wing garrison the city. What was more important for Zero Wing was the City Teleportation Network that came with garrisoning a city. This was also the main reason the various superpowers had frantically fought to secure a reserve seat. "Certainly. However, your Guild will have to handle the cost of binding with Sky Spring City''s Teleportation Magic Array," Vico said with a hint of joy in his voice. "How much will it cost to construct one large-scale teleportation array?" Shi Feng asked. "If it is only one, the material fee is 100,000 Gold Coins and 30,000 Magic Crystals. The labor cost is an additional 5,000 Gold," Vico said. "In total, it will cost 105,000 Gold and 30,000 Magic Crystals." "You guys sure are ruthless. It''s just a bunch of ordinary materials, yet you''re actually charging me 100,000 Gold." Shi Feng was flabbergasted at Vico''s quote. If it were before, he might''ve accepted this price as normal. However, after gaining experience in constructing teleportation arrays, he knew that the materials needed were much cheaper than what Vico quoted him. At most, the material cost should total around several thousand Gold. "No, no, no. The materials the Twin Towers Kingdom uses are the best. No problems will occur even after a thousand years of use," Vico assured sincerely while shaking his head. "Fine, so be it. However, I want everything done within two hours," Shi Feng said after taking a look at the time. It had been nearly a day since the first major update took place. Meanwhile, the first wave of the NPC population boom would occur on the second day after the first major update. This was also the moment darkness would befall the various powers. "That won''t be a problem," Vico said confidently. "May I know which Guild City you wish to construct the teleportation array in?" "Silverwing City!" Shi Feng answered after giving the question some thought. Silverwing City was pivotal to Zero Wing''s future development and resistance against Saint''s Hand. Hence, it was imperative that Silverwing City developed as rapidly as possible. "Although it is slightly far, so long as Milord makes the full payment, we will act immediately," Vico said, gritting his teeth as he looked at the map. To Vico''s joy, Shi Feng paid the 105,000 Gold and 30,000 Magic Crystals without hesitation. After receiving the Coins and Magic Crystals, the NPC promptly left the private lounge, evidently making his way to Silverwing City. Next, I''ll have to see how much the NPC population will increase during the initial wave. Shi Feng''s gaze grew solemn after Vico left the room. Hopefully, the number isn''t too significant. Although he had managed to execute his plan in time, its success still depended heavily on how much the NPC population grew after the first population boom. If the increase in NPC count was too severe, even Zero Wing would be overwhelmed. After all, the Guild simply had too few Tier 3 combatants right now. Meanwhile, Tier 3 combatants were the minimum requirement for maintaining public order in Guild Towns. At 6 AM, the sun slowly rose into the sky and shone its dazzling rays onto the various cities of God''s Domain, symbolizing a new day in God''s Domain. 2734 New World Begins Typhoon Empire, Typhoon City: The morning sun''s rays shone on the Secret Pavilion''s Residence. However, nobody in the Residence''s scorching atmosphere was in the mood to enjoy this cool, morning sun. As the competition for the reserve seats had just ended, the many budding talents and matured powerhouses that had debuted during the competition were now a target of attention for the Secret Pavilion. To sort out the information of these people and sell the information in the next publication of the God''s Domain''s Experts List, the whole Secret Pavilion had become extremely busy. Every Secret Pavilion member within the Typhoon City Residence was either sending out information to other branches or organizing the information they received from other branches. Everyone was so busy that they lost track of time. "Uncle Yuan, the strength Zero Wing displayed this time is truly astonishing. One Tier 4 Sword Emperor and one suspected Tier 4 Great Wizard that wields Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. Zero Wing has even become a Guild officially recognized by the War God''s Temple. The various superpowers will have to fear Zero Wing now," Purple Jade exclaimed as she read the report on Zero Wing in her hands. Zero Wing was a Guild they had watched grow from nothing to its current state. Initially, Zero Wing had been a small Guild that couldn''t even be considered third-rate. However, it gradually grew into a large Guild that could challenge even first-rate Guilds. Afterward, it had fought against superpowers time after time. Now, it even stood on the international stage of God''s Domain and aided Frost Heaven in securing the sixth reserve seat, shocking countless powers in God''s Domain in one fell swoop. At this point, even the various superpowers had to acknowledge that Zero Wing was a Guild to be wary of. The only thing Zero Wing lacked now was a sufficiently strong foundation. It just didn''t have the frightening manpower and expansive territory of a superpower. "While that''s correct, you shouldn''t forget that Zero Wing is a Guild that is completely reliant on only a handful of individuals to support it. The Guild is walking a tightrope, and a single mistake can lead to disaster. Now, it has even become the focus of God''s Domain''s various powers," Yuan Tiexin said in a low tone, shaking his head. "The Tier 4 Promotion Quest is simply too challenging. You should know this as well. Yet, Zero Wing has two people suspected to have completed their promotions. You should know very well what this implies." "Uncle Yuan, you meanZero Wing has grasped a way to complete the Tier 4 Promotion Quest easily?" Purple Jade was a little shocked. If Zero Wing really found a reliable way to locate Tier 4 Legacy Lands, this would be an incredibly frightening matter! "This is only conjecture. We still don''t have any evidence to back it up right now. Moreover, I think the possibility of this being true is low. After all is said and done, God''s Domain is a relatively fair game. If Tier 4 Legacy Lands could be located easily, Tier 4 classes wouldn''t be considered powerhouses in God''s Domain," Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. "Even so, just the possibility holds an incredibly fatal attraction for the various powers. "According to the inside information we''ve secured thus far, we can confirm that over a dozen superpowers are already preparing to suppress Zero Wing. In addition, Zero Wing has plenty of enemiesthe War Blood Adventurer Team on Dragonheart Island, the Dark World''s various powers in the Dark Night Empire, and Saint''s Hand in Star-Moon Kingdom. "Starlink, Zero Wing''s old nemesis, has also been conducting a series of secretive operations recently. Starlink seems to be planning something big by the looks of it. If these superpowers join forces, even if Zero Wing has a Sword Emperor and a Great Wizard defending its territories, the Guild will still have difficulty surviving." Purple Jade''s complexion turned ugly at Yuan Tiexin''s analysis. A pseudo-superpower was actually fighting on three different fronts. Moreover, every one of its opponents was either a superpower or an organization backed by a superpower. Anyone that heard this would definitely feel despair. For Zero Wing to survive until now This was simply a miracle. Of course, Shi Feng and the rest of Zero Wing''s upper echelon might not be afraid of the various superpowers as individuals, but it was a different story for a Guild with so many members. It would be very easy for the various superpowers to attack such a Guild. Meanwhile, if a Guild lacked manpower, there were many things it couldn''t accomplish. One such example was the collection of resources. Just this point alone would be sufficient to make Shi Feng and the others crumble, what more operating Guild Towns and Cities? "This is just the situation on the eastern continent. Zero Wing isn''t safe on the western continent, either. I heard that many of the western continent''s superpowers are showing interest in the Starlight Fortress," Yuan Tiexin said, chuckling when he saw the blank expression on Purple Jade''s face. "You should know by now that Zero Wing has always been walking a tightrope, right? What happens next will depend on what kind of decision Black Flame makes. "If Black Flame handles this properly and avoids disaster, with Zero Wing''s current foundations, it is definitely possible for the Guild to progress further. "If it''s mishandled, then Zero Wing will be eternally doomed!" When Yuan Tiexin stated his last sentence, his voice was filled with confidence. That was because, unlike most people, he knew that Mythology was most likely the driving force behind the various superpowers'' decision to act against Zero Wing this time. Mythology was a behemoth. It had an unfathomable foundation in both the virtual gaming world and the real world. It was an existence that even the current Secret Pavilion feared greatly. As Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade conversed, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the office door. The next moment, a Level 114, Tier 3 Ranger barged into the office, which made Yuan Tiexin frown in obvious dissatisfaction with this Tier 3 Ranger''s panicky actions. "What''s the matter? Why are you in such a rush?" Yuan Tiexin questioned in a low tone. "It''s bad! Elder Yuan, something big happened!" the Tier 3 Ranger reported hurriedly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Just a while ago, our branches sent in news that a large number of NPCs have appeared on the streets of the various cities!" "So what if NPCs appeared? What''s there to be surprised about?" Yuan Tiexin reacted nonchalantly. In God''s Domain, as a town or city developed, the number of NPC residents would increase. This was a normal occurrence. Moreover, players and NPCs practically lived in two completely different worlds. The interactions between the two sides were few and far between. "But the numbers are far too massive," the Tier 3 Ranger insisted anxiously. "How many?" Yuan Tiexin asked, his curiosity piqued. "Too many! I don''t know how many appeared, either." Gulping, the Tier 3 Ranger pointed at the nearby window and said, "I think you should look for yourself, Elder Yuan. This matter has already caused an uproar among the players in the city." "Uproar?" Yuan Tiexin couldn''t help his puzzlement. However, he felt that the Ranger before him shouldn''t be lying. He immediately stood up and approached the window. When the view outside the French window entered his sight, Yuan Tiexin froze on the spot in stupefaction. "Uncle Yuan?" Purple Jade grew puzzled as well when she saw Yuan Tiexin standing stock-still. She then walked toward the window to take a look as well. NPCs thronged the main street outside the Residence, talking and laughing in groups. Many were adventurers clad in exquisite equipment; even the lowest-leveled among them was Level 120, while the strongest one reached Level 194. Moreover, these NPC adventurers were Tier 3 on average, with even the weakest one at Tier 2. Aside from these NPC adventurers, there was also a large number of NPC civilians on the street. Purple Jade even saw NPC children running around, playing with pebbles on the street, and even fighting each other with wooden swords. These NPCs accounted for over 80% of the people on the main street. 2735 Different Gods Domain, Zero Wings Decision "Why are there so many NPCs?" Purple Jade couldn''t believe her eyes as she looked at the NPCs chatting merrily on the main street. Their current location was an island nation on the western continent, with an incredibly harsh environment. As a result, the player population here was insignificant, let alone the NPC population. If not for the increased trade between the two main continents, which attracted many powers and merchant players to the Typhoon Empire, the number of people walking on the main street wouldn''t have exceeded 100. So, what was with this situation? With just a casual glance, she already spotted more than 1,000 NPCs, many of them NPC adventurers; players were only a small group of unremarkable existences. After pondering for some time, Yuan Tiexin turned around and asked the Tier 3 Ranger, "Have you investigated the origins of these NPCs yet?" "We''ve investigated already. However, we don''t know where these NPCs came from. The only thing we know is that these NPCs seem to have appeared directly inside the various NPC cities," the Tier 3 Ranger replied, shaking his head. Anxiously, he continued, "The appearance of these NPCs has caused a sharp drop in the number of quests available in the Adventurer''s Association. The number of quests players can pick up is continuously decreasing. Moreover" "What else is there?" Yuan Tiexin asked curiously. "According to reports, many players have been killed after coming into conflict with NPCs outside the cities. However, this still isn''t the most important part." In an uneasy tone, the Ranger continued, "Now, many NPCs have also flooded into the various Guild Towns and Cities, and some NPCs with bad behavior have caused a lot of incidents. Most importantly, according to our observations, various NPC forces are actually secretly investigating us" "How is this possible?!" Purple Jade goggled in shock. She never thought that there would come a day where the NPCs who only knew how to give quests would secretly investigate them. She got goosebumps at the thought of this. It was as if the dolls they were playing with had suddenly gained life and began secretly observing their every action. At this time, the Secret Pavilion wasn''t the only one shocked by the sudden influx of NPCs in the game. The various powers and players of God''s Domain were similarly horrified by this situation. "What''s going on? Why are so many NPCs competing with us for quests?" "That''s nothing! I feel that these NPCs are looking at us players as if they are looking at aliens! Some bars in the city are actually refusing entry to players!" For a time, independent players had heated discussions over the sudden changes in God''s Domain. Everyone felt as if they had truly arrived in a different world. Now, in addition to other players, they also had to compete with NPCs. Moreover, these NPCs were even more difficult to deal with than players. Not only were these NPCs powerful, but they also had an overwhelming advantage in numbers over players. The only advantage players had was their inability to die a permanent death. However, as if understanding this point, the NPCs generally didn''t forge irreconcilable feuds with players. Most of them would only teach the players that offended them a lesson. Only the dark forces'' NPCs disregarded this matter. Compared to the independent players, though, the various powers were the ones that had a truly big headache. "Dammit! Why did all these NPCs come from?!" "Instead of staying in NPC cities, they actually came to make trouble in our Guild Towns and Cities. Many of our businesses can''t even operate normally, thanks to them." "That''s not all! Some NPCs are even robbing our mines and transportation teams!" Along with the sudden influx of NPCs, the various powers suddenly found that the difficulty of maintaining the security of Guild Towns and Cities and completing large-scale transportation quests had increased drastically. Some superpowers had even tasted getting bullied for the first time since entering God''s Domain. However, the current players were simply no match for these NPC forces. Even the superpowers had no choice but to abandon many of their development plans and focus on protecting their territories. As for the major powers, they even began abandoning some of their Guild Towns to concentrate their forces on defending their crucial territories. For a time, the various player forces in God''s Domain shrank rapidly. Simultaneously, they also began recruiting members desperately to defend against the NPC forces'' assault. Silverwing City, Zero Wing''s Residence: Due to the sudden increase in the game''s NPC population and the many incidents subsequent to this change, Zero Wing''s upper echelon had gathered to discuss how to deal with these NPCs. "Guild Leader, the major powers are frantically recruiting members to consolidate their power. They are also spending a lot of money to hire Tier 3 NPCs from the Adventurer''s Association to guard their Guild Towns. If we don''t act now, I''m afraid the more powerful Tier 3 NPCs will be snatched up by others," Liang Jing said anxiously to Shi Feng after reading the latest report. The sudden influx of NPCs had caught every player off guard. Originally, the changes to the NPCs after the first major update was already a slight problem. Now that the NPC population far surpassed the player population, this change was no longer just a problem but a disaster. Zero Wing''s three Guild Cities held strategic locations and also had incredible growth potential. Meanwhile, according to the information Liang Jing''s subordinates sent her, many NPC forces had already set their sights on Zero Wing''s Guild Cities. These NPC forces refrained from taking action only because they were still investigating Zero Wing''s strength. However, once they completed their investigation, they would most likely take action immediately. If an NPC force took action, it could create much more trouble than a player force. While the possibility of a frontal confrontation was low, it wasn''t exactly impossible. And even if the various NPC forces did not directly assault Zero Wing''s Guild Cities, they could still dispatch NPCs to lurk around the Guild Cities'' trade routes and ambush susceptible targets. That would be a nightmare for Zero Wing. Hence, Zero Wing had to increase its defenses as soon as possible. "That''s right! Guild Leader, if we act slowly, the various major powers will steal all of the powerful Tier 3 NPCs!" The other management personnel present nodded in agreement with Liang Jing. In the current situation, even the various superpowers had to lower their heads and hire NPCs from the Adventurer''s Association. If Zero Wing didn''t act now, it would soon be too late. After all, there was a limited number of Tier 3 NPCs available for hire at the Adventurer''s Association. If the other powers got to pick first, nothing would be left for Zero Wing. Although Zero Wing also had many powerful Tier 3 Personal Guards, these Personal Guards were still far from enough to maintain the security of three cities. Moreover, the difficulty of directly recruiting Tier 3 Personal Guards was incredibly high. At best, players could only recruit Tier 2 NPCs with good Growth Potential. In addition, Personal Guards cost a lot of money to nurture. On the off chance these Personal Guards died in combat, Zero Wing would suffer a major blow. However, the Adventurer''s Association''s NPCs wouldn''t pose such a problem. Even if these NPCs died, it was none of Zero Wing''s concern. The Guild wasn''t obligated to pay a huge price to resurrect these NPCs. "That won''t be necessary." Shi Feng shook his head. "While hiring the Adventurer''s Association''s Tier 3 NPCs is indeed a solution, it isn''t a long-term one. The cost to hire these NPCs is excessive. Any random Tier 3 NPC will cost at least 100 Gold per day to hire, and the defense of a Small City will require at least 500 Tier 3 NPCs. That''s an expenditure of 50,000 Gold per day." Only the superpowers could afford to pay a daily maintenance fee of 50,000 Gold for one Guild City. However, it was a different story for Zero Wing. Zero Wing originally already spent a lot of Coins every day. In fact, the Guild was reliant on selling Coins for Credits to maintain the operation of its headquarters in the real world. Hence, it couldn''t afford to hire Tier 3 NPCs to safeguard its Guild Cities at all. "But quite a number of NPCs have begun making a ruckus in our cities. Fortunately, we have Tier 4 NPCs defending our cities, so those NPC forces are still cautious when causing a scene. However, if those NPC forces take action against us outside our cities, we''ll have a difficult time managing the situation," Youlan said worriedly. Previously, as their opponents were only players, they could still deal with the situation. However, now that their opponents were Tier 3 NPCs that ranged between Level 130 and Level 160, Zero Wing was in an incredibly unfavorable situation. Of Zero Wing''s combatants, the only ones capable of fighting the hostile NPCs were the Guild''s Personal Guards. However, these Personal Guards were necessary for maintaining order in the Guild Cities. "Let''s just stop caring, then," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "???" Youlan was stunned by Shi Feng''s response. Stop caring? At this moment, let alone Youlan, the other Zero Wing executives present were also stunned. What did Shi Feng mean by that? If they stopped caring about this situation, how would the three Guild Cities generate income? If the Guild Cities lost their trade routes, the items sold by NPCs would disappear from the cities. If that happened, the cities would lose a significant portion of their attraction for players. Moreover, the taxes collected from NPC merchants made up a large portion of the Guild Cities'' income. "From today onward, Zero Wing''s three Guild Cities will prohibit entry to unrelated NPCs. As for NPC merchants, we''ll set an exception for them. However, each Shop is allowed to bring only ten people into the cities," Shi Feng said calmly. "In addition, raise the entrance fees in all three cities to 20 Silver Coins and double the rent for the Shops. However, partnered powers may receive a 20% discount." "Guild Leader?" Everyone present in the meeting room gaped in shock at Shi Feng''s words. They could indeed prevent NPCs from making a ruckus in the three Guild Cities by prohibiting entry to the majority of NPCs. However, the development of the three cities would also stagnate. After all, players had to get their quests from these NPCs. Moreover, many of the items sold in the three cities were actually sold by NPCs. If they refused entry to NPCs, it would be equivalent to halving the income of the three cities. As for raising entrance fees to 20 Silver and doubling Shop rent, that was basically saying Zero Wing wanted no players inside its Guild Cities. Zero Wing would be digging its own grave if it instituted these measures. "Just get it done. I have my reasons," Shi Feng said, not bothering to provide any additional explanations. He then left the meeting room immediately. When the first major update took place in his previous life, the various powers already had plenty of Tier 3 players under their command, with some even having Tier 4 players. However, at present, not only was the NPC population boom much bigger than in the past, but the various powers also barely had any Tier 3 experts under their command. Hence, the damage the various powers would suffer in the ensuing chaos would definitely be much worse than in the past. While Zero Wing indeed possessed great strength and even commanded Tier 4 NPCs, it was still impossible to maintain the three Guild Cities'' security with their current manpower. The only solution Zero Wing had now was to take decisive action and thoroughly prohibit NPCs from entering its Guild Cities. Afterward, he would have Zero Wing''s members enter the Secret Covenant Tower in full force to raise their levels and strength. Otherwise, once the NPC population increased even further and the NPC forces began their assault, Zero Wing would be in a ton of trouble. Soon afterward, Zero Wing''s three Guild Cities announced Shi Feng''s decision to the outside world. All three cities immediately went into an uproar. 2736 Crazy Zero Wing? Cold Spring Forest, Stone Forest City, Freedom Hotel: "What is Zero Wing thinking?" Mu Lingsha, who was resting in a room in the Freedom Hotel, stood up reflexively in surprise when she saw the announcement Zero Wing made in Stone Forest City. "Prohibiting NPCs from entering the city at such a time? Even Stone Forest City wouldn''t be able to afford such a loss!" After reading the city announcement, Unyielding Heart, who sat nearby, pondered before saying, "But this is indeed one way to solve the NPC problem." "But at the cost of more than half of the city''s revenue? Isn''t this too huge a price to pay? Moreover, Zero Wing directly raised the city''s entrance fee to 20 Silver to make up for the loss. I''m afraid ordinary players won''t be able to accept such a fee. Even the present Stone Forest City would have a hard time justifying it, let alone Zero Wing''s two other Guild Cities," Mu Lingsha said in confusion. "The Dark World''s side is keeping an eye on us. If we show any signs of weaknesses, the Dark World''s powers will make a move." "I don''t know the exact reason for Zero Wing''s decision, but this is undoubtedly good news for our Guild," Unyielding Heart said, smiling. "Good news?" A blank look appeared on Mu Lingsha''s face. She couldn''t understand how this situation was beneficial to Unyielding Soul in any way. "The increase in Stone Forest City''s entrance fee will undoubtedly drive away many players. Meanwhile, you know how excellent Stone Forest City''s environment is. It is the best place among the Level 100-plus neutral maps for players to get rid of the foreign energy invading their bodies. There is also nothing currently available that can compete with the Freedom Hotel," Unyielding Heart explained. "If players start leaving Stone Forest City, empty slots will appear in the Freedom Hotel. We can have our Guild members fill these slots." "You''re right." Mu Lingsha''s eyes glowed in realization. "I''ll notify the Guild Leader and have him make the necessary preparations." Even before the first major update, Stone Forest City was incredibly crowded already. Meanwhile, the sudden influx of NPCs had only made the city even more crowded. The city''s population had grown so much that the city''s management had no choice but to limit traffic into the city. If many NPCs and players left Stone Forest City, it would indeed be a perfect opportunity for Unyielding Soul to develop there. Stone Forest City was one of the few player-owned Intermediate Cities in God''s Domain. If Unyielding Soul leveraged this opportunity, its Guild members'' average level might surpass that of other Guilds. Orc Empire, Silverwing City: "This is crazy! Zero Wing must be crazy!" "Zero Wing is awesome! I support Zero Wing! Good riddance to those NPCs! This is a city built by players! I can''t even pick up a quest, thanks to all those NPCs!" The players residing in Silverwing City had mixed opinions regarding Zero Wing''s new regulations. Some criticized Zero Wing for being money-crazy, while others approved of the decision. Meanwhile, when the various major powers received word of Zero Wing''s decision to prohibit NPCs from entering its cities, they were amused. "How bold of Zero Wing! I want to see how it''s going to continue operating its three Guild Cities!" "While everyone else is frantically recruiting members and thinking about how to keep themselves alive, Zero Wing is chasing people away! It seems Zero Wing has grown arrogant after helping Frost Heaven become one of the twelve reserve Guilds!" "Now that Silverwing City has taken the initiative to step back in the Orc Empire, it''s a good opportunity for our Guild to grow! Relay my orders immediately! We''ll halve our Guild Town''s entrance fee! We''ll also lower the membership requirements for our Guild!" When the various major powers saw Zero Wing driving players away from its cities, they promptly took advantage of this opportunity to increase their market share in the Orc Empire. In less than half an hour, the number of players entering Zero Wing''s three Guild Cities decreased significantly. Many ordinary players operating in the Orc Empire opted to visit other Guild Towns instead. The income Zero Wing generated from NPCs also fell sharply. "Guild Leader, this really won''t do. In less than half an hour, our three cities have lost more than 20% of their traffic. At this rate, we would be fortunate to retain even 10% of our usual traffic," Youlan said after urgently contacting Shi Feng. She felt herself going crazy over this situation. All of this was money! As Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose currently weren''t in a suitable state to manage Zero Wing, the Guild''s management was left to Youlan and Liang Jing. Previously, they still weren''t aware of Zero Wing''s exact situation. However, after shouldering the two Vice Guild Leaders'' responsibilities, they discovered that Zero Wing had always been walking a tightrope. Now, the Guild''s financial situation was just barely balanced. However, if Zero Wing were to lose most of its three cities'' income, the Guild would most likely lose the ability to operate normally. After all, the training system in the real world required a lot of energy to operate. Moreover, the Guild had increased its internal member count to 5,000. Thus, the amount of money the Guild spent every day was staggering. To make matters worse, Zero Wing did not accept the investment of major corporations. If the Guild lost its income of Coins now, it wouldn''t take more than a week for the Guild to go bankrupt. "I understand." Shi Feng nodded and chuckled when he saw Youlan''s anxious expression. "But this is only spare change." "Spare change?" Youlan felt as if she was going to faint. They were losing hundreds of thousands of Gold Coins per day! Moreover, the various large Guilds operating in the Orc Empire hadn''t been slacking in developing their respective Guild Towns. Although none of them had created a Basic City yet, they did have Advanced Towns. In addition, these Guilds received a lot of funds from their investors. Hence, the facilities their towns had weren''t that far from matching Silverwing City''s. The main difference was that the security and convenience level in these towns were far from comparable to Silverwing City''s. Shifting his camera angle, Shi Feng smiled and asked, "Can you tell what this building in front of me is?" The next moment, what appeared on Youlan''s screen was a massive, five-story-tall building. High walls surrounded this building, thoroughly isolating it from the outside world. The density of the Mana within the walls was also considerably higher than that of the outside world. Moreover, the building looked the same as the Teleportation Halls found in NPC cities. "A Teleportation Hall?" Youlan gasped. "That''s right. A Teleportation Hall." Shi Feng nodded. "Moreover, this Teleportation Hall is the same as the ones found in NPC cities. The only difference is that this thing can teleport people to only one designated NPC city." "But even if it can teleport players to an NPC city, I''m afraid the teleportation fee isn''t something ordinary players can afford," Youlan said after calming down. It was indeed a great convenience for a Guild City to have a Teleportation Hall. That way, players seeking to travel to Silverwing City or NPC cities could do so within a short period. However, this convenience did not come for free. The cost of teleporting between countries was incredibly high, ranging from several dozen Silver Coins to several Gold Coins. This was the reason most players opted to travel by Mount or by Airship. If players were merely using Silverwing City as a teleportation hub, they wouldn''t save themselves much trouble. As for teleporting from the Orc Empire to NPC cities, they could use Return Scrolls. "What you say is correct, but this Teleportation Hall is linked to a somewhat special location," Shi Feng said, smiling. He fully understood what was going through Youlan''s mind. "Isn''t the destination an NPC city?" Youlan asked, puzzled. Even if Silverwing City''s Teleportation Hall were connected to an empire''s capital, it wouldn''t be of much help to the current Zero Wing. "The target destination is indeed an NPC city, but this NPC city is somewhat different from others." Shi Feng nodded. He then added slowly, "You won''t understand even if I explain it to you. The Teleportation Hall is already constructed. Contact Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor and have them send representatives to Silverwing City. Tell them I have a business proposition for them." "Are we inviting them over now?" Youlan asked in confusion. The various superpowers were currently shrinking their spheres of influence, and none of them were having a good time. Even if Shi Feng invited Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor for a discussion, the two Guilds would most likely be incapable of solving Zero Wing''s predicament. "Yes, right now. I''m afraid this is something Zero Wing will have difficulty monopolizing, so we''ll need some helpers," Shi Feng said, nodding. "Guild Leader, what are we going to do?" Youlan couldn''t help asking out of curiosity. The Zero Wing of today was no longer the same as before. It already possessed incredible strength. Yet, Shi Feng intended to ask two superpowers for help. This was undoubtedly going to be a huge operation. Moreover, he had even chosen such a precarious time to carry it out. Any mistake could easily lead to huge problems for the Guild. Hearing Youlan''s question, Shi Feng chuckled and said casually, "It''s nothing. It''s just an operation to turn Zero Wing into a true giant in God''s Domain!" 2737 Wealthy Shi Feng Silverwing City, southern district: On a sparsely populated street, four players wearing Black Cloaks walked slowly into an alleyway. They would also occasionally observe their surroundings to guard against being followed. After the four of them walked a certain distance into the alleyway and verified that there were indeed no players following them, they breathed out a sigh of relief. "What is this Black Flame trying to do? Why must we act so secretively and not let others notice us?" a female Guardian Knight with shoulder-length hair demanded in dissatisfaction. "Blue!" Illusory Words, the Cleric in holy white robes, glared at the female Knight standing beside her. "I made an exception and brought you here this time! You''d best pay attention to your words and actions!" Blue Gown was the vice commander and lead MT of the main force under Illusory Words''s command. She ranked third among the Guild''s new talents and was also Illusory Words''s confidant, who would succeed Illusory Words as Vice Guild Leader in the future. Unfortunately, Blue Gown had a common failing, one that plagued all newcomers trained by superpowersshe did not place anyone outside of super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds in her eyes. After Illusory Words''s scathing reprimand, the beautiful female Knight dared not continue with her complaints. "Big Sis Illusory, I won''t talk about this anymore, so you mustn''t forget to bring me along for future matters," Blue Gown said pitifully. "Pay attention next time," Illusory Words said as she gave Blue Gown a pampering look. She then turned to Unyielding Soul and Mu Lingsha and said, "I apologize for letting you see such a joke." "It''s normal for newcomers to be a little arrogant. You can''t achieve anything if you don''t have such arrogance. You don''t have to mind us, Vice Guild Leader Illusory," Unyielding Heart said. He had long since gotten used to similar sights. In any other virtual reality game, being one of the top-ranking newcomers of a super-first-rate Guild was indeed something worth boasting about. After all, a single super-first-rate Guild or Super Guild was more than enough to rule an entire virtual reality game back then. How could the top talents of such Guilds not be a little arrogant? Hence, it was only natural that these newcomers looked down on up-and-coming Guilds. However, the situation was different now. At this point, God''s Domain was practically a unique existence alreadya game that even international corporations poked their hands into. The influence the various powers in God''s Domain held was thousands of times greater than what they held in other virtual reality games. One couldn''t use common sense to judge the powers operating within the game at all. "However, I wonder why Guild Leader Black Flame called both our Guilds over this time? He even instructed us to keep our visit a secret," Mu Lingsha said. The current Zero Wing was like the midday sun. Its current problems had a very easy solution: let major corporations invest in the Guild. So long as Zero Wing possessed sufficient capital and background, maintaining its current sphere of influence would be a piece of cake. However, Shi Feng did not do so. Instead, he had asked their two Guilds over to discuss business. Mu Lingsha couldn''t help her puzzlement over Shi Feng''s solution to Zero Wing''s current predicament. "I can''t even begin to guess Guild Leader Black Flame''s thoughts, but based on his approach this time, I suspect this isn''t going to be a simple matter," Illusory Words said, shaking her head. Shi Feng had brought her too many surprises and miracles. Now, she wouldn''t find it surprising if he created another miracle. After all, Zero Wing had even managed to help Frost Heaven secure the sixth reserve seat. "We don''t need to guess anymore." Pointing at tall walls some distance ahead, Unyielding Heart said, "That should be the place Guild Leader Black Flame told us about. Let''s just head inside and listen to why he called us over." When Illusory Words and the others saw the walls Unyielding Heart indicated, they were a little surprised. They never thought that the depths of this small alley would conceal such a massive structure. Although the walls were only around a dozen meters in height, the area they occupied was significant. The enclosure they formed could easily fit a football stadium. Based on the enclosure''s size, the building inside should be at the Advanced Construction standard at the very minimum, yet nobody had discovered its existence, even now. When the group of four arrived before the steel gate in one of the tall walls, they were dumbfounded. Four Level 130-plus Fine-Gold Guards manned the gate. There was even a Level 133, Tier 3 Dark-Gold ranked Great Mage protecting the gate in secret. The level of security was astonishing. At this stage of the game, if these five NPCs worked together, they could annihilate a 1,000-man team of Tier 3 players. Moreover, the various large Guilds were treating Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Guards like precious treasures, showering them with all sorts of resources and ensuring their safety as much as possible. On the other hand, Zero Wing was actually using these precious guards as gatekeepers. "This is private property. What business do you have here?" a Fine-Gold Guard clad in gray leather armor asked in a hostile tone when he saw Unyielding Heart''s group. "We were invited by Guild Leader Black Flame." Unyielding Heart promptly took out the invitation he received from Zero Wing, which had Zero Wing''s Guild Leader''s seal to prove its authenticity. "The magical mark is correct." The Tier 3 Assassin clad in leather armor nodded. He then said, "Please follow me." "Okay." Unyielding Heart''s group then followed the Tier 3 Assassin through the gate. Upon walking through the entrance, Unyielding Heart and the others gasped automatically. "A Teleportation Hall?!" "How is this possible?! Aren''t Teleportation Halls restricted to the national level?!" Blue Gown couldn''t believe her eyes when she saw the five-story-tall Teleportation Hall before her. She never thought Zero Wing could actually construct this sort of transportation tool in Silverwing City. Even now, teleportation arrays were incredibly rare items among the superpowers, what more a complete Teleportation Hall. Teleportation Halls might be common in NPC cities, but for Guild Cities, they were priceless treasures that could skyrocket a Guild City into prominence. The world of God''s Domain was massive. It took a long time for players to travel to Level 100-plus maps even on Flying Mounts and much longer for players without Flying Mounts. Many powers and adventurer teams would be willing to break the bank if it meant they could teleport directly to somewhere close to Level 100-plus neutral maps. After all, time represented both money and opportunities for these people. Unlike ordinary players, they couldn''t afford to progress at a leisurely pace. "So, this is why we were required to come here quietly? How astonishing." Unyielding Heart smiled bitterly as he looked at the Teleportation Hall. "This should be one of the privileges given to Guilds officially recognized by the War God''s Temple," Illusory Words said, a hint of envy in her eyes. With such a privilege, developing a Guild City would be a piece of cake. Moreover, Silverwing City possessed an excellent environment and strategic location. "That''s right. This is indeed one of the privileges of an Official Guild." A voice suddenly entered the ears of Illusory Words and the others, answering the question in their hearts. "Guild Leader Black Flame, is this Teleportation Hall the important matter you wish to discuss?" Unyielding Heart asked in slight confusion as he pointed at the Teleportation Hall. A Teleportation Hall was a godly development tool. So long as Zero Wing publicized the existence of its Teleportation Hall, combined with Silverwing City''s defenses, Silverwing City would have no problem developing rapidly; Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor''s participation wouldn''t make a difference in the endeavor. In fact, their two Guilds would want to ask Zero Wing for help instead. "Yes, but that''s not all of it." Shi Feng nodded. He then smiled and said, "There''s no point in telling you about it now. Follow me." After saying so, Shi Feng promptly made his way inside the Teleportation Hall. After Unyielding Heart, Mu Lingsha, Illusory Words, and Blue Gown exchanged looks, they followed him. The next moment after the four stepped onto the teleportation array inside the Teleportation Hall, they found themselves inside the Twin Towers Kingdom''s Sky Spring City. At this time, however, Sky Spring City didn''t have many players. Over 99% of the city''s population consisted of NPCs. When these NPCs saw Unyielding Heart''s group, they even began eyeing the group curiously as if they had just encountered some rare creatures. "Let''s go. There are too many people here." After glancing at the NPCs observing them, Shi Feng took out a Tier 3 Group Teleportation Scroll from his bag and activated it. Before Unyielding Heart and the others could react, they were already over 10,000 yards outside of Sky Spring City. Afterward, Shi Feng summoned the Thunder Eagle and ferried the group through the air for over half an hour. At the end of their journey, the group arrived at an ancient tower that pierced the clouds. The tower was easily over a thousand meters tall. "The Secret Covenant Tower?" Illusory Words instantly recognized the ancient tower. Curious, she asked, "Why are we here?" She knew a little about the Twin Towers Kingdom''s Secret Covenant Tower. The Secret Covenant Tower was an excellent leveling ground for players who had yet to reach Level 100. And while there was an entrance fee of one Magic Crystal per person, so long as players didn''t die, they could grind inside the tower for as long as they wanted. Initially, many large Guilds had brought their new members here to increase their levels quickly. Only, after the introduction of several expansion packs, many more leveling spots became available. Since the monsters inside the Secret Covenant Tower didn''t drop any good loot, the various powers had opted to power-level their new members elsewhere. With mainstream players having long since exceeded Level 100, the Secret Covenant Tower was now a thing of the past. "To grow stronger," Shi Feng said, chuckling. "To grow stronger?" Illusory Words was slightly surprised by Shi Feng''s words. "But we have long since passed Level 100." "The current Secret Covenant Tower''s limit is no longer Level 100," Shi Feng said, shaking his head. "Before the major update, the tower''s open underground levels were only up to the 18th floor. Back then, the tower was, at best, suitable for players up to Level 99. However, the tower''s open underground levels are now up to the 36th floor, and the monsters inside reach up to Level 150. "Vice Guild Leader Illusory, I''m sure you understand what this means, right?" When Shi Feng finished speaking, the eyes of Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart lit up with excitement. Nowadays, due to the large number of NPCs competing for quests and monsters, leveling up had become incredibly troublesome. Yet, levels were what players currently lacked the most. If, at the cost of one Magic Crystal per person, players could freely grind the crazed monsters inside the Secret Covenant Tower, their leveling speed would be much faster than what they could achieve in the outside world. "Guild Leader Black Flame, do you mean for us to cordon off the Secret Covenant Tower, monopolize it for ourselves, and let our Guild members level up rapidly?" Unyielding Heart asked, a hint of excitement in his voice. It had originally already been difficult for players to level up past Level 100. With the additional competition from NPCs, the endeavor only became even more challenging. However, if Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor had a way to allow their members to reach Level 120 rapidly and start challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quests, their Guilds'' development speed could surpass the other superpowers by a large margin. "No, I don''t mean to cordon off the Secret Covenant Tower." Shi Feng shook his head. "Then?" Unyielding Heart prompted, confused by Shi Feng''s answer. "I want to thoroughly seal off Sky Spring City!" Shi Feng''s eyes gleamed with a manic light at this proclamation. "Aside from the members of our three Guilds, we will prohibit all outsiders from setting foot in Sky Spring City!" "Cordon off the entire Sky Spring City?" Unyielding Heart was stunned. "Guild Leader Black Flame, isn''t that a little overboard?" Illusory Words asked in confusion. "While the Secret Covenant Tower can indeed provide faster leveling, the manpower required to thoroughly cordon off an NPC city is too much. With the current state of the game, it will be incredibly taxing for our three Guilds to do so." Due to the NPC population boom, the various superpowers were short on manpower. Meanwhile, even if Sky Spring City was in decline, its player population still exceeded 100,000. The manpower required to chase away all these players from the city was no laughing matter. Not to mention, their three Guilds would also have to station many players in the city long-term. "If we were doing this only for levels, it would indeed be a waste to cordon off the entire city," Shi Feng said. He then walked to the Secret Covenant Tower, pointed at the second-floor teleportation array that led to the 19th underground floor, and looked at Illusory Words and the others. He then smiled and continued, "But what if the Secret Covenant Tower contains complete Legacies for the various Tier 3 classes?" 2738 Tripartite Partnership Illusory Words, Blue Gown, Unyielding Heart, and Mu Lingsha couldnt help staring at Shi Feng in shock and disbelief. This was especially true for Crimson Emperors talented rookie, Blue Gown. She found Shi Fengs words fantastic. In the current era of Gods Domain, the various kingdoms and empires already had a lockdown on Tier 3 Legacies. They treated Tier 3 Legacies as priceless treasures, and outsiders like players shouldnt even think of referring to these Legacies. The only option players had for reaching Tier 3 was to search for the lost and fragmented Tier 3 Legacies hidden in Level 100-plus neutral maps. Yet, Shi Feng was telling them that they could get their hands on complete Tier 3 Legacies. How could she possibly believe this? Is what you say true, Guild Leader Black Flame? Illusory Words had to ask. If the Secret Covenant Tower were only good for providing players with a faster leveling speed, it wouldnt have too significant an impact on a superpower like Crimson Emperor. This was because tiers were everything in Gods Domain. Levels were only secondary. However, the various superpowers were currently already having trouble with the Tier 3 Promotion Quest, let alone the elusive Tier 4 Promotion Quest. In fact, the difficulty of the Tier 3 Promotion was so high that the various superpowers were using the number of Tier 3 players they had as a comparison of strength. If what Shi Feng said was true, and the Secret Covenant Tower contained complete Tier 3 Legacies, then this was an incredibly astonishing matter! If news of this matter leaked out, it would most likely send the entire Gods Domain into an uproar. After all, despite many players having reached Level 100 already, the players that had completed their Tier 3 promotions were still incredibly rare. If one could get a complete Tier 3 Class Legacy, then completing the promotion quest for the specified class would become significantly easier. This was why NPCs had a much easier time reaching Tier 3 than players. If the difficulty of players Tier 3 Promotion Quests were reduced, the number of players successfully reaching Tier 3 would definitely skyrocket. You can personally verify this matter afterward, Shi Feng said, chuckling. However, we must first decide whether we will cooperate or not. Unyielding Soul will do it! Unyielding Heart said without hesitation. TIP You can rest assured on this point. Since you agree to cooperate, what follows next is simple, Shi Feng said, chuckling. He then took out a pale gold token and explained, This is Sky Spring Citys Guild Token. Zero Wing has already garrisoned Sky Spring City and gained a portion of the citys management rights. A portion of the citys management rights? Illusory Wordss eyes widened in shock as she looked at the Guild Token. NPCs managed the NPC cities of the various kingdoms and empires. Hence, any Guild that successfully acquired even a small portion of an NPC citys management rights would have a solid hold over the city. Other Guilds would have no way of wresting control over the city away from the ruling Guild. In other words, Sky Spring City was already Zero Wings possession. So, this is the privilege an Official Guild receives from garrisoning a city? Unyielding Heart looked at the token in Shi Fengs hand with envy. He had to admit that this privilege was truly amazing. With this privilege, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing surpassed its rival Guilds. While a Guild City indeed possessed excellent development potential, NPC cities still dominated the current Gods Domain. Travel between NPC cities was incredibly convenient. Moreover, NPC cities all had Shops and Auction Houses that sold the essentials that the various powers and independent players couldnt do without. Thoroughly occupying an NPC city meant acquiring a goldmine with a steady incomeand no need to manage the city to obtain such significant income. This was something the various superpowers dreamed of having. Thats right. This is a privilege for Guilds officially recognized by the War Gods Temple, Shi Feng said, not bothering to hide the truth. With this token, I can enact a magic ban over Sky Spring City, preventing the use of any teleportation tools within it. This way, players can only walk if they wish to exit the city. In addition, for the sake of keeping the Secret Covenant Towers Tier 3 Legacies a secret, our three Guilds should rely on only our main force members to hunt for the Legacies. To begin with, its pointless to have a large number of players hunt for them. Ordinary Tier 3 teams cant even survive on the lower floors, let alone search for the complete Legacies. Of course, its impossible to keep this secret forever. However, at this stage of the game, I wish to keep it hidden as long as possible. Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart nodded in agreement. They, too, felt that this was the only way they could go about doing things. So long as their Guilds acquired complete Tier 3 Legacies, they would already have a significant lead over the other superpowers. And the longer they could keep this secret hidden, the greater the benefits they could reap from it. Lets sign a contract, then, Shi Feng said as he pulled out two Guild Contracts. Initially, Shi Feng had wanted to invite the Secret Pavilion as well. However, the Secret Pavilion was a business-oriented Guild and always held itself detached from the struggles between Guilds. If the Secret Pavilion suddenly cordoned off an entire NPC city, it would create a huge commotion. In other words, it would seem quite abnormal. Hence, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor were much more suitable for this partnership. After all, the two Guilds were currently in a weakened position. Cordoning off an entire NPC city for the sake of acquiring more resources would be very normal for them. Even if the other superpowers found out that the two Guilds objective was the Secret Covenant Tower, the superpowers would, at most, think that the tower provided players with faster leveling. As for permanently cordoning off Sky Spring City, Shi Feng had never intended to do that. Zero Wing was in dire need of funds. Cordoning off Sky Spring City to allow the Guild to gain some advantages might be fine in the short term, but sealing off the city forever would be unprofitable. Fortunately, although it would be impossible to earn money off other players and powers while Sky Spring City was cordoned off, the income from Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor would still be considerable. After all, both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor had Guild Residences in Silverwing City. Compared to teleporting to Sky Spring City from the NPC cities of other kingdoms and empires, which would cost a minimum of four Gold, it only cost a little over one Gold per person to teleport from Silverwing City. Meanwhile, Zero Wing would get half of the profits generated by Silverwing Citys Teleportation Hall. At that time, Zero Wing would earn a bunch in teleportation fees and entrance fees from Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. After all, the two Guilds would be sending a lot of players to the Secret Covenant Tower to level up. This income would easily offset the loss Zero Wing suffered from barring NPCs from its Guild Cities. Nevertheless, raking in money from the two Guilds wasnt a long-term plan, as both Guilds had limited players and Coins. Afterward, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart signed a Guild Contract with Shi Feng on behalf of their respective Guilds. The terms of the contract were simple. Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor would help with cordoning off Sky Spring City from the outside. And aside from their main force members, the two Guilds other members were prohibited from visiting the Secret Covenant Towers 30th underground floor and beyond until the towers secret had been discovered. Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor would also share the Magic Crystal cost of maintaining Sky Spring Citys magic ban. This condition was incredibly disadvantageous for the two Guilds. They were basically contributing both manpower and resources. However, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words did not voice any opinions about this condition. After all, Shi Feng had given their two Guilds an opportunity to surpass the other superpowers. Moreover, Zero Wing could still partner with other superpowers. On the other hand, their two Guilds had only Zero Wing. After the three signed a contract with each other, Illusory Words and the others promptly returned to their respective Guilds to brief their Guild executives. At the same time, they also began making the necessary preparations to cordon off Sky Spring City and send personnel into the Secret Covenant Tower. This matter was of utmost importance to their two Guilds, so they had no choice but to be incredibly careful in their actions. It would also take some time to fully cordon off Sky Spring City. Likewise, Shi Feng had Fire Dance, Youlan, and the others prepare for the Secret Covenant Tower. After seeing that there was nothing left for him to do, he chose to go offline to rest. Although staying logged into the game for more than 24 hours wouldnt cause him any harm, he still had to do his daily exercises. Zero Wings headquarters, top-floor lounge: By the time Shi Feng returned to the real world, the sun outside was already illuminating the entire room. It was close to noon. Guild Leader, youre finally out. Liang Jing suddenly contacted Shi Feng. In a slightly joyful tone, she said, Miss Muxin has been waiting in the reception room for quite some time now. She says shes here to deliver all the things agreed upon previously. Moreover, she is also going to give Zero Wing a 300 million capital injection at no cost. Three hundred million Credits! With this much money, Zero Wing could survive for quite some time even without selling Coins for Credits. She sure came quickly. Shi Feng was startled by the speed. He had anticipated having to wait for a few days. After all, the remuneration Frost Heaven promised Zero Wing was significant. The three Upper Zone reserve slots aside, just the 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid should take Frost Heaven quite some time to gather. Do you want to meet her now? Liang Jing asked. 2739 Upper Zone After Shi Feng finished tidying up, he made his way to the lounge. Upon entering the room, he noticed two girls sitting by the window and enjoying the scenery outside. Of the two girls, the elder one was Muxin, whom Shi Feng had met quite a few times now. Muxin wore a purple-cyan one-piece dress. Like the summer sun, she exuded an indescribable warmth. Her aura in the real world was quite unlike the solemn aura she had in Gods Domain. The younger girl, sitting beside Muxin, wore a white sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. Although the younger girl gave off a sense of purity and sassiness, her petite figure only made her look like a little girl pretending to be an adult. This younger girl was someone else Shi Feng had met in Gods Domain before. She was Kerui, Muxins younger sister. Shi Feng, you finally decided to show up. Do you know how long you made us wait here? Kerui said, her face full of resentment as she looked at Shi Feng. Dont listen to her. We didnt wait very long, Muxin said, shaking her head. My sister and I can also take advantage of this time to relax and appreciate the city scenery in the outside world. And from what Ive seen thus far, I have to say that this is quite an enjoyable feeling. Muxins words confused Shi Feng a little. Appreciate the outside worlds city scenery? Oh, right. I havent told you about it yet. Noticing the confusion on Shi Fengs face, Muxin smiled faintly and said, My sister and I have always lived in the Upper Zone, and we very rarely come out from there. I see. Shi Feng nodded. However, Muxins answer only served to confuse him further. Miss Muxin, is there no urban landscape inside the Upper Zone? All Upper Zones were established in first-tier megacities. Logically, urban landscapes should be very common in such cities. In fact, the scenery these megacities offered should be much more spectacular than what was visible from Zero Wings headquarters. Youll understand once you visit the Upper Zone, Muxin said, a friendly smile appearing on her face. The Upper Zone is different from other places. Although Uncle Hong has given you the reserve slots, you still need to register with the Upper Zone first before you can enter. However, youre probably unfamiliar with the Upper Zone, so Uncle Hong sent me to escort you so that you can avoid any unnecessary troubles. Thats right. If you dont have the guidance of veterans like us, youll face a lot of trouble once you enter the Upper Zone, Kerui said delightedly. You might even get kicked out of the Upper Zone because of a single mistake. Muxin did not refute Keruis words. Looking at Muxin, Shi Feng said, Ill have to trouble you, then. Its no trouble. Muxin shook her head. She then continued softly, It is only thanks to you that Frost Heaven has managed to become a reserve Guild. There are 50 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid here. You should store them well, Muxin said after opening the briefcase. She then warned, However, while the S-rank Nutrient Fluid is indeed an excellent product, its best to avoid overusing it, as it is still incomplete. It isnt a finished product? Shi Feng was surprised by this revelation. The S-rank Nutrient Fluid was something countless people fought to obtain. Just the fact that it could maintain a persons youth was already unbelievable. Yet, this drug wasnt actually a finished product? Thats right. It isnt a finished product, so you should drink as little of it as possible, Kerui said, nodding. She then continued in a surprisingly soft voice, As youre about to enter the Upper Zone, there are some things you are allowed to know now. The S-rank Nutrient Fluid is only a defective product. However, as it indeed has amazing effects on the human body, the Green God Company sells it in small quantities. Nonetheless, in the Upper Zones, drinking it isnt recommended! Muxin nodded in support of Keruis words. Thus far, Kerui and I have drunk only two or three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids because of special circumstances. Uncle Hong even severely warned us and banned us from drinking more. Uncle Hong isnt someone who would harm us, so you should also be careful when using the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, Muxin said earnestly. Upon hearing this, Shi Feng couldnt help becoming a little wary of the S-rank Nutrient Fluid. He then said, I understand. Ill have my people drink as little of it as possible. If even the Upper Zone advised its residents against drinking the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, then there were definitely problems with this product. However, as to what exactly these problems were, most likely, only a small number of people knew. Fortunately, aside from himself, everyone else in the Guild hadnt consumed a significant amount of S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Now that our matters here are settled Since her elder sister had already transferred the S-rank Nutrient Fluids to Shi Feng, Kerui said excitedly, Lets go to the Upper Zone! Were going there now? Shi Feng was a little stunned. The Upper Zones were established only in certain first-tier cities, which were several hours of flight away. At this time, half the day had gone by already. Of course. We have a supersonic jet ready, Kerui said nonchalantly. If we miss todays opportunity, itll be very troublesome to schedule another appointment. Kerui is right. Although Uncle Hong has given you the status required to enter the Upper Zone, entering it isnt easy. Since our matters here have been concluded, we should head over immediately, Muxin said in agreement. Okay. Ill make some arrangements here and go with you afterward, Shi Feng said without much hesitation. After all, he, too, wanted to visit the Upper Zone. Not to mention, Gentle Snow and Aqua Roses situation wasnt exactly optimistic. If left alone for too long, they might even fall into a coma. Moreover, during his previous life, the Upper Zone was a place that even the executives of the various super-first-rate Guilds and first-rate Guilds yearned to live in. As for the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild like himself, visiting the Upper Zone was something he never even dared to dream about. Muxin being willing to escort him to an Upper Zone was naturally to his advantage. After Shi Feng passed on his Guild affairs to Liang Jing, he went to the airport with Muxin and Kerui. During their journey, Shi Feng had to admit that the Boulder Corporation was indeed wealthy and influential. With the corporations private supersonic jet, a trip that shouldve originally taken several hours on an ordinary airplane was completed in just one hour. At the end of the flight, the trio found themselves in Yuantian City, one of only three first-tier megacities within the country to house an Upper Zone. While crossing the city districts on a high-class maglev train, Shi Feng couldnt help lamenting ruefully. As a megacity with a population of more than 100 million, Yuantian City far outstripped other cities in terms of prosperity. It was also one of the cities Shi Feng had always wished to develop Zero Wing in, as it had many important resources rarely found in the outside world. In fact, almost all super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds operating in the virtual gaming industry had their headquarters in cities hosting an Upper Zone. This was because the Upper Zones would occasionally release some of its resources to the outside world. The various corporations based in the megacities hosting the Upper Zones would quickly divide these resources among themselves, and very rarely would any of these resources leave the city limits. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that only corporations that had set roots in an Upper Zone city could be considered a truly top-tier corporation. The road before Zero Wing was still very long. Meanwhile, after traveling inside the city for close to an hour and passing through many tunnels, Muxin parked the car in a vast area surrounded by steel walls. She then pointed at a huge door nearby and said, Were here. After saying so, Muxin got out of the car and led Shi Feng to the huge door. Surro The Upper Zone is beyond this thing?Shi Feng was amazed as he took in the 50-meter-tall stone door and the energy walls that enveloped the space above the enclosure. In his previous life, he had only ever heard about the Upper Zone, and the information hadnt been much. Now that he was looking at one himself, he could only describe the Upper Zone as a titanic building made entirely of steel. Lets go in, Kerui said to Shi Feng. As she pointed at the passageway underneath the huge door and a line of several dozen people entering it, she beamed at him and continued, However, you have to be careful once you enter. Is there something special about it? Shi Feng asked, confused. Youll understand once you go in, Kerui said, her smile growing even brighter when she saw the confusion on Shi Fengs face. However, youd best be mentally prepared. Once you go inside, you wont have a chance to return to your own world. Afterward, Kerui stopped speaking and walked toward the passageway. Muxin had remained silent all the while. However, after a moment, Muxin took a deep breath and looked at Shi Feng. She then said earnestly, Although Kerui is right, there are unimaginable opportunities available in the Upper Zone. If you can prosper inside, even the various international corporations will have to treat you with respect. 2740 Mental Path However, before Shi Feng and the others could catch their breath, Zorok started chanting once more and summoned another threefold magic array. How is this possible!? This is a lie, right?! How can it still use another Tier 4 Curse?! Everyones complexion paled when they saw the Ancient Lich using another Tier 4 Curse. Most of the Bosses in Gods Domain possessed only one team-wipe move. And even if a Boss had multiple team-wipe moves, it wouldnt use them back to back. Now, however, Zorok was chanting another Tier 4 Curse right after using one. The Ancient Lich thoroughly shattered the conventions of Gods Domain. Its not even waiting for the ambient Mana to recover? At this moment, let alone everyone else, even Shi Feng was surprised by this situation. He was not surprised that Zorok was using Tier 4 Curses back to back. After all, the Ancient Lich was a magically oriented Boss. However, Zorok had just used a Tier 4 Curse, so the Mana around it was still extremely sparse. If the Lich used another Tier 4 Curse now, the power of the Curse would be significantly weaker. Zorok shouldve waited for the ambient Mana to recover before using another killing move, yet the Lich did not do so. Even for Shi Feng, this was a fresh development. Its over Its casting speed is too fast. We dont even have time to use Tier 3 Curses to defend ourselves. Crimson Star despaired when she saw the fully formed, threefold magic array. She never thought that, after Shi Feng destroyed the four Mana Towers and blocked one of the Ancient Lichs killing moves, things would turn out this way. With Dragon Breath on Cooldown, it should not be possible for Shi Feng to use it again within a short time. In addition, he was simply too far away from Zorok. Even if he wanted to, he couldnt interrupt the Ancient Lichs spellcasting. Meanwhile, the formation of a Tier 3 Curse took at least three or four seconds. They simply didnt have enough time to defend against the Ancient Lichs second attack. Just as Zorok was about to incant the final verse of its Curse, however, a lithe figure suddenly appeared before it and slashed her greatsword down at the Lich. In the next moment, a flash dazzled everyones eyes as the greatsword smashed into the Ancient Lichs skull. Not only did the attack forcefully interrupt the Ancient Lichs spellcasting, but it also made the Lich itself stumble two steps back, suffering over four million damage. Gentle Snow?! Over four million damage?! How high is her Strength?! While the Ancient Lich was indeed a magically oriented Boss, the Basic Attributes it possessed were still far superior to ordinary Mythic monsters. Without Strength surpassing that of ordinary Mythic monsters, one wouldnt be able to budge the Ancient Lich in the slightest. Meanwhile, after Gentle Snow interrupted Zorok, Shi Feng immediately flew forward to keep it busy. He gave the Lich no opportunities to cast any more Tier 4 Curses. Good! A chance! Everyone, charge! Wildfighter yelled excitedly when he saw the Ancient Lich occupied. Now that the Mana Towers were gone, so long as the Ancient Lich was prevented from using any more Tier 4 Curses and they could get within melee range of it, they would have an opportunity for victory. After all, what magically oriented Bosses feared the most was melee combat. So long as they managed to pull Zorok into a melee, the Bosss threat would be halved. Violet Swords and Azures members charged at the trial monsters defensive line with renewed vigor. Taking the lead, Wildfighter, Crimson Star, Sinful Flame, Duan Hanshan, Solitary Frost, Yan Xiaoqian, and Floating Light were like the teams spearhead. They instantly broke a hole through the defensive line and allowed the teams other members to flood through it. However, the higher up the altar the team ascended, the more trial monsters they encountered. As a result, the teams advance gradually slowed. Damn it! There are too many Trial Elites! At this rate, well get killed before we can even close with the Boss! Floating Light cursed as he fought three Grand Lord ranked Trial Elites simultaneously. Previously, he still had the upper hand when he went up against two Trial Elites. However, as they ascended the altar, the number of Trial Elites they came across increased. Now, facing the simultaneous attacks of three Trial Elites, he didnt even have the opportunity to retaliate and could only passively defend himself. His HP also continuously decreased, and he needed the support of the healers in order to stay alive. At this moment, everyone was struggling in their fight against the trial monsters, their HPs continuously decreasing. Now, they were completely reliant on the teams healers to keep their HPs above a safe margin. We cant continue dragging the fight out like this! Violet and Wonder, you two open up a path! Everyone else, follow them! Ill hold the rear! Aqua Rose commanded when she saw that the team was already surrounded. Follow the two of them? The Violet Sword and Azure members present were confused by Aqua Roses command. Yan Xiaoqian, in particular, found it unbelievable. Setting aside Violet Cloud, who held the upper hand even while going up against three Trial Elites simultaneously, Silent Wonder was just barely holding her ground against three Trial Elites. In fact, Yan Xiaoqian was faring even better than Silent Wonder right now, yet Aqua Rose wanted Silent Wonder to spearhead a breakthrough in the encirclement? However, before anyone could object to Aqua Roses strange command, Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder both nodded and charged toward the thick of the monsters.What are they doing?! Theyre already outside the range of the healers! Crimson Star suspected that Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder had gone crazy when she saw the two charging into the mob of trial monsters. Although Violet Cloud and Silent Wonder possessed relatively high combat standards and extraordinary combat power, they would still take significant damage if they went up against too many trial monsters at once. Without the support of healers, they wouldnt last very long. Even if Violet Cloud was a Cleric herself, she currently had to focus on attacking and defending. She didnt have any time to spare casting Healing Spells. However, as soon as Crimson Star finished speaking, blades of Mana started appearing around the two women. Void Blade! Shadow Rage! The two of them combined had summoned over 300 magic blades. Moreover, every magic blade carried so much power that the space around them trembled. The power of these magic blades was definitely at the Tier 4 standard. Go! 2741 Steel Mind [Infant Black Dragon] (Dragon, Great Lord) Level 122 HP 4,200,000,000/4,200,000,000 Crap! Shi Feng cursed out loud when he saw the three Infant Black Dragons zooming toward him. Although his opponents were merely Tier 3 Infant Dragons, as creatures belonging to the apex race in Gods Domain, they were still far stronger than ordinary Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Not to mention, there were three of them. With the power these Infant Dragons wielded, they could easily destroy the current Silverwing City. They simply werent existences individual Tier 3 players could hope to go up against. In fact, even Tier 4 players would have to take the long way around if they came across a force of three Tier 3 Infant Dragons. To make matters worse, not only was Shi Feng currently stuck to a cliff, but an incredibly powerful gravitational force was also dragging on his body. Despite having Heavenly Dragons Power activated right now, he couldnt move his body normally. Clashing with these Infant Black Dragons would simply guarantee an early death. He immediately unsheathed Killing Ray and stabbed it into the cliff wall, as well. He then started climbing up the cliff with all his might using his two swords. However, the gravitational pull from the abyss was simply too powerful, and Shi Feng could not climb quickly, even if he wanted to. In the end, before he could climb 20 yards, one of the Infant Dragons had already arrived before him and sent its massive claw smashing at him. The speed of the claw was also so fast that his only option was to receive it. Scram! Shi Feng bellowed as he swung the Abyssal Blade at the claw, the power the Magic Weapon carried so great that it even tore through space itself. When the Abyssal Blade came into contact with the Infant Dragons claw, not only did the Magic Weapon repel the gigantic claw, but the force of the blow even pushed the Infant Dragon backward by more than 10 yards. This result shocked the Infant Dragon, and its golden eyes gazed at Shi Feng in astonishment. As a member of the apex race that represented destruction, it had actually lost to a lower existence of the same tier in a direct confrontation. Normally, something like this should be impossible, yet this impossible feat had actually occurred just now. However, despite having repelled the Infant Dragons attack, Shi Feng did not show any signs of excitement at all. Meanwhile, Heavenly Dragons Power had a very limited duration. Once he lost the Strength buff from the Berserk Skill, he would have a much harder time coping with the Infant Dragons attacks. Roar! As the repelled Infant Dragon roared angrily, another Infant Dragon appeared beside Shi Feng and attacked him. While Shi Feng had his hands full with the second Infant Dragons attack, the first Infant Dragon, which had gotten repelled, actually opened its mouth and used Dragon Breath on him. Even with his current Basic Attributes, Shi Feng did not dare take on the Dragon Breath of a true Dragon. Gritting his teeth, he yanked Killing Ray out of the cliff and let the gravity drag himself down. When produced by a true Dragon, a Tier 3 Dragon Breath carried enough power to rival even ordinary attacks at the Peak Tier 4 standard. Moreover, Dragon Breath was an AOE attack, so defending against it with normal attacks was impossible. Although Shi Feng had the option of using his Mana Technique, with how thin the ambient Mana was in this Legacy Land, by the time he gathered enough Mana to execute Lightshadow, he wouldve already been burned up by the Infant Dragons Dragon Breath. Boom! In the next moment, a black beam struck at the spot where Shi Feng was originally hanging and bored a hole into the cliff. As for Shi Feng, after dodging the attack, he quickly stabilized himself further down the cliff. As expected of a true Dragon Breath. Id probably get pushed back even if I used Lightshadow against it. Shi Feng could not help his astonishment as he gazed at the massive hole that had appeared some distance above him. With just one attack, the Infant Black Dragon had carved a hole with a 30-yard radius into the sturdy cliff. Shi Feng, on the other hand, was just barely able to stab his swords into the cliff, even with the boost from Heavenly Dragons Power. Without the Berserk Skills help, he would be able to stab only half their length into the cliff, at best. However, before Shi Feng could fully appreciate the Infant Black Dragons Tier 3 Dragon Breath, the two other Infant Dragons used their Dragon Breaths on him as well. Roar! Two black beams instantly shot at Shi Feng, the range they covered making it utterly impossible for him to avoid them. Seeing this, Shi Feng instinctively activated Absolute Defense to block the two Dragon Breaths. However, because the cliff he was clinging to got vaporized, he lost his foothold and started plummeting toward the bottomless abyss once more. It seems its over. Shi Feng could not help a bitter smile when he looked at the bottomless abyss beneath him, then the three Infant Black Dragons chasing after him. Not only was there a bottomless abyss that exerted an insane gravitational pull on him, but there were even three Infant Black Dragons roaming the area. The difficulty of this Legacy Land was simply unheard-of. He couldnt even keep himself alive for more than a few minutes in this Legacy Land, much less search for the Ancient Legacy hidden here. In other words, this Legacy Land was basically made to toy with players seeking to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. However, just as Shi Feng was mentally preparing himself to give up on his Tier 4 Promotion Quest, several gleaming lights suddenly appeared on the pitch-black cliff. The lights carried a faint hint of Divine Might that made his soul shudder involuntarily. The Ancient Legacy Fragments? Shock and excitement flashed in Shi Fengs eyes when he looked at the fading lights. Just now, hed concluded that this Legacy Land was a prank on players. However, it now looked like that was not the case at all. Although the gleaming lights coming from the cliff had soon vanished from sight due to his rapid descent, he was certain he had sensed Divine Might coming from those lights. The Tier 4 Promotion Quest was basically a quest for players to enter a Legacy Land and obtain as much of their Legacys power as possible. Normal classes generally needed to accumulate 70% of their Legacys power to reach Tier 4, while peak classes needed roughly 85%. He had seen quite a few streaks of light on the cliff, which meant that there should be a considerable number of Legacy Fragments there. If he could reach that location, he might be able to obtain enough Legacy Power to complete his Promotion Quest. After reaching this conclusion, Shi Feng abandoned the idea of giving up on this Legacy Land. Locating the Legacy Fragments hidden within a Legacy Land was generally incredibly difficult and time-consuming. Now that he knew where they were, he naturally couldnt give up without trying. However, despite his change of mind, thinking back to the three Infant Black Dragons gave him a huge headache. It might have been fine if his opponents were any other Great Lord ranked monsters. In fact, even if he had to go up against three Tier 4 Mythic monsters simultaneously, he was confident he could collect the Legacy Fragments while keeping himself alive. However, going up against three Tier 3 Dragons simultaneously was simply too much. In fact, one Infant Black Dragon would most likely be more than enough to whittle him to death within a short time. After all, the gravitational pull the abyss exerted was simply too powerful. While subjected to this gravitational pull, he couldnt bring out even half of his strength. At the same time, he didnt have any footholds he could shift to, which made dodging and blocking the Infant Dragons attacks extraordinarily difficult. No, thats not right! So long as I can create a sufficient number of footholds, it might be possible to go up against three Infant Black Dragons simultaneously with the Dragons Dominations effects! While free-falling down the cliff, Shi Feng suddenly recalled the gigantic holes the Infant Black Dragons created. If he could carve out a sufficiently spacious path into the cliff, then defending himself against the three Infant Dragons wouldnt be an impossible dream. 2742 Grade 1 Authority How is this possible? White Feather exclaimed almost instinctively. The selection lasted less than ten minutes! How could nearly 900 Tier 3 great experts slaughter each other so thoroughly within that time? Without a large gap in strength, a fight between Tier 3 experts would take at least two to five minutes to finish. This rule of thumb was already widely accepted in Gods Domain. Upon reaching Tier 3, almost every player would have at least a few Lifesaving Skills. They could easily fight a battle of attrition. Hence, there was a popular saying that while Tier 3 experts could be defeated easily, killing them was challenging. No! They didnt fight each other. Cold Shadow shook her head. She then added calmly, According to our insider, over half of the foreign aid teams chose to forfeit. Forfeit? White Feather grew even more confused at this revelation. She felt that the more she delved into this matter, the more incomprehensible it became. Meanwhile, inside the gloomy hall, Thousand Miles and the upper echelons of the many superpowers present also received news on what happened during the selection battle. They were inevitably bewildered. Have they lost their minds?! Over half of them forfeited?! Thousand Miles cursed out loud when he saw his subordinates report. Investigate immediately! Anyone who chose to forfeit shouldnt even think of receiving any of the promised benefits! With the huge numerical advantage they had, they couldve annihilated Zero Wings members even if they had to throw bodies at them! Vice Guild Leader Miles. The gray-robed Berserker standing before Thousand Miles shrank back slightly before saying quietly, The ones that forfeitedarent our Guilds foreign aid. What happened to our foreign aid, then? Thousand Miles asked in response. Our foreign aid? After peeking at Thousand Miles, the gray-robed Berserker answered hesitantly, Black Flame killed them all. Moreover, he didnt kill just our foreign aid but also the other three Guilds foreign aid Are you sure Black Flame did it alone? Are they not messing with you? Thousand Miles asked in disbelief. Ive verified with them already. The gray-robed Berserker nodded. Black Flame indeed killed them by himself. Out of the 400 players that targeted Zero Wing, not a single one survived. Alone? He annihilated all 400 Tier 3 great experts? Thousand Miles suddenly felt a little dizzy. This information was too much for his brain to process. He even felt that he was hallucinating right now. Not only did a player obtain a Mana Domain, but said Mana Domain was even so powerful. If someone had told him such a thing before, even he would consider that person crazy. Either that or this person was a newcomer in Gods Domain and ignorant about Mana Domains. A Mana Domain? Thousand Miless expression stiffened at this term. How can he have a Mana Domain? At this time, Thousand Miles wasnt the only person dumbfounded. The other superpowers upper echelons were similarly bewildered when they heard this piece of news. After all, it was far more unbelievable than Shi Fengs feat of single-handedly annihilating four foreign aid teams. In Gods Domain, the Mana Domain was the standard that determined whether an NPC was strong or weak. So long as an NPC had a Mana Domain, they would be considered a true powerhouse in the whole of Gods Domain! After Frost Heavens members received a detailed report of what happened during the selection battle, they, too, fell silent. Brilliant Blue, in particular, wore an extremely wrinkled and ugly look on his face. Previously, no one from Frost Heaven believed what Shi Feng had said. In their opinion, Shi Feng was only talking big. Brilliant Blue had even mocked Shi Feng for his arrogance. However, insiders were now telling them that everything was true. Moreover, the situation was far more terrifying than how Shi Feng described it. Old Hong, did you and Muxin know about this since the beginning? Seven Wonders couldnt help asking Hong Xinyuan. We knew a little. Chuckling, Hong Xinyuan added, However, for confidentialitys sake, we didnt tell anyone. Muxin also nodded in agreement. Only, even she was surprised by such an excellent battle record. She never expected that Shi Fengs Mana Domain would be so powerful when released. It was at least ten times stronger than what she experienced. You two really know how to keep us in the dark. When Seven Wonders looked at Hong Xinyuans indifferent expression and recalled the situation with Shi Feng before, he smiled bitterly. In that case, Ill leave Zero Wings matters to you in the future. After glancing at the silent Brilliant Blue, Hong Xinyuan faintly smiled and said, Guild Leader, please rest assured. After the end of the selection battle, news about Zero Wing spread like the plague. This was especially true for the details regarding Black Flame. Many of the major powers that had come to spectate the competition were shocked. Not only had Black Flame single-handedly dominated the preliminary selection, but he even possessed the rumored Mana Domain. This battle record instantly made Black Flame the focus of discussion for many players all over the Fire Dragon Empire. Quite a number of the empires players even sought to join the pseudo-superpower known as Zero Wing. War Gods Temple, Mythologys lounge: Vice Guild Leader, the situation has become somewhat troublesome now. Not only does that Black Flame possess a Mana Domain, but his fame has also spread throughout the Fire Dragon Empire. Im afraid itll become very difficult to realize our acquisition plan now, White Feather said anxiously when she saw that Black Flames name was being mentioned everywhere in the Fire Dragon Empires forums. This situation might even affect Miracles ranking. Mythology had chosen to partner with Miracle for the competition this time. In terms of Guild foundations and strength, Miracle was above Frost Heaven. However, not only did Miracle lose all its foreign aid, but Frost Heaven even had Zero Wing supporting it. The gap in strength between the two Guilds had instantly narrowed by a large margin. Black Flame has indeed become a big variable now. Glancing at the battle report she received, Cold Shadow smiled and added, However, at the end of the day, the struggle for the reserve seats isnt something that can be decided by one person. Not to mention, even with a Mana Domain, Black Flame wont be able to survive for long in this competition. That great personage has already said he would personally take action against Black Flame! That great personage is going to make a move? This news surprised White Feather. Mhm. Black Flame still thinks he is invincible just because he has a Mana Domain. He doesnt know that there is always someone stronger. Even a Mana Domain cannot save him now, Cold Shadow sneered as she read the detailed report on Shi Feng. While a Mana Domain was indeed powerful, it was a negligible existence in front of absolute strength. While the various superpowers were patiently waiting for the official competition to begin, Shi Feng secretly paid a visit to a bar called Moon Fire in Flame Dragon Citys outskirts. At this time, only one woman was sitting quietly at the bar counter. This woman wore delicate, light-blue robes, and just the view of her back could mesmerize countless people. However, this womans aura was as hot as flames, deterring people from summoning up the courage to approach her. Youre here. When the woman saw Shi Feng enter the bar, she greeted him as though welcoming an old friend she hadnt seen for a long time. Meanwhile, this woman was none other than the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions Phoenix Pavilion Master. 2743 Astonishing Upper Zone Yes, this is indeed an Official Guild Certificate from the War Gods Temple. Vico nodded, his gaze turning respectful as he looked at Shi Feng. He then added slowly, Lord Guild Leader, there is nothing wrong with your Guild Certificate. However, Im afraid that as an ordinary Guild, your Guild does not qualify to garrison our kingdoms capital. You can only choose to garrison another of the Twin Towers Kingdoms cities. Sure enough, the Guild still cant garrison the capital city. Shi Feng was not particularly surprised by Vicos rejection. Since thats the case, Zero Wing will garrison Sky Spring City. Although the War Gods Temple now recognized Zero Wing as an official Guild in Gods Domain, that was only recognition and nothing more. Initially, Shi Feng thought that with the deterioration of the Twin Towers Kingdom due to the abyssal monsters, Zero Wing might have a chance to garrison its capital. However, it would seem that he had still underestimated the Twin Towers Kingdom. After thinking it through, though, he found this situation reasonable. In his previous life, the Twin Towers Kingdom had shone brightly on the continent of Gods Domain, thanks to the Tower of Time and Secret Covenant Tower it housed. It had been a kingdom that stood far above other kingdoms. Moreover, while the Twin Towers Kingdom might currently look battered, now that the first major update had taken place, NPCs would start appearing in large numbers across the kingdom. Once that happened, it was only a matter of time before the NPCs turned the tables on the abyssal monsters. Otherwise, Shi Feng wouldnt have rushed to have Zero Wing garrison the Twin Towers Kingdom. That wont be a problem. Please follow me. I will conduct the procedures for you, Vico said and led Shi Feng to the third-floor hall. On his way to the third floor, Shi Feng noticed that the number of NPCs inside the City Hall had increased significantly. Previously, it was rare to see even one Tier 3 NPC in a City Hall. Now, he spotted at least a dozen. Moreover, even the weakest of them was at Level 140, while the strongest reached Level 182. They were not existences current Tier 3 players could hope to contend against. Through this, he could already anticipate a large batch of Tier 3 NPCs appearing inside the Twin Towers Kingdom in the near future. With the combat power of these NPCs, retaking the Twin Towers Kingdom and driving the abyssal monsters back into the abyss would be entirely possible. Meanwhile, the Sky Spring City he chose to have Zero Wing garrison was the closest NPC city to the Secret Covenant Tower. This was because the Secret Covenant Tower was a holy land for grinding for levels and acquiring Guild resources. Before Gods Domains first major update took place, grinding for levels was a daily chore for players. However, after the first major update, grinding for levels would become deadly. If players did not possess overwhelming strength, then the moment they left the confines of NPC cities, they would have to fight with their lives on the line. This was because both NPCs and monsters gained conscious thought after the major update, and they would no longer let players kill them like idiots. Both NPCs and monsters would fight desperately for survival. Hence, grinding monsters would no longer be simple, repetitive fights for EXP. Instead, it would become a fight where players bet their lives for EXP. In a situation where the two sides were roughly equal in strength, every fight would be incredibly taxing. In fact, after the major update, most players would no longer dare fight monsters that were significantly higher-leveled than they were. Of course, the increased difficulty in killing monsters came in tandem with a drastic increase in the EXP monsters awarded-at least ten times more than what they previously awarded. Even so, leveling up would still become an increasingly laborious task in the future. However, it was a different story in the Secret Covenant Tower. The countless monsters trapped in the Secret Covenant Towers special space had already gone crazy and did not possess any consciousness or intelligence. The only thing on their minds was slaughter. Yet, despite the lack of intelligence, the monsters inside granted the same amount of EXP as the monsters in the outside world. The only problem was that entering the Secret Covenant Tower cost Magic Crystals. In addition, the monsters inside did not drop Coins or Magic Crystals. The value of the materials they dropped was also negligible. Fortunately, the Secret Covenant Tower wasnt completely barren of loot. Hidden inside the special space were relics belonging to ancient civilizations. The deeper one progressed down the tower, the better the relics one could obtain. Examples would be weapon and equipment designs, Master ranked Potion Recipes, and even complete Legacies for Tier 3 classes. Yes! Complete Legacies for Tier 3 classes! Unlike the Tier 3 Legacies scattered in the outside world, a complete Legacy could lower the difficulty of players Tier 3 Promotion by a large margin. A complete Tier 3 Legacy could allow a Guild to gain a large number of Tier 3 players within a short period. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that, for Guilds, a complete Tier 3 Legacy was a hundred times more valuable than a Fragmented Legendary item. Meanwhile, complete Tier 3 Legacies only started appearing from the 18th floor. This was a place that became available after the first major update. Before this, the Secret Covenant Tower was only a place for pre-Level 100 players to grind for levels. It wasnt suitable for players past Level 100. However, after the first major update, the Secret Covenant Tower would no longer be the same as before. In the past, after it was revealed that the Secret Covenant Tower dropped complete Tier 3 Legacies, the various powers on the eastern continent had swarmed to the Twin Towers Kingdom. This, in turn, had made the Twin Towers Kingdom one of the most dazzling kingdoms in Gods Domain, and Sky Spring City had also become an NPC Main City that was second only to the capital city. Shortly afterward, Administrator Vico completed all the formalities needed for Zero Wing to garrison Sky Spring City. Lord Guild Leader, this is your Sky Spring City Guild Token. Vico handed a golden token to Shi Feng. He then explained, This token grants you partial authority to manage Sky Spring City, including its security and development. Once Zero Wing garrisons Sky Spring City, it will receive 10% of the citys profits as maintenance and management fees. No problem. Zero Wing will manage Sky Spring City well and turn it into the best city in the Twin Towers Kingdom, Shi Feng said, nodding Once a Guild garrisoned a city, it couldnt arbitrarily decide to abandon the city and seek greener pastures. One could say that the Guild and city were bound together for good or ill. Thus, even after Guilds obtained the qualifications to garrison an NPC city, they still had to be careful with their choice. Fortunately, Shi Feng didnt have to concern himself with such a problem. Sky Spring City was bound to become one of the important hubs in the eastern continent. The money and resources it could rake in would far surpass those of many royal capitals. If developed properly, the city could even rival imperial capitals. I pray that you can fulfill this wonderful goal, Milord, Vico said, feeling slightly surprised by Shi Fengs confidence. Now that Zero Wing has officially garrisoned Sky Spring City, can we enable Sky Spring Citys City Teleportation Network? Shi Feng asked. Obtaining the resources Sky Spring City had to offer was only one of his goals in having Zero Wing garrison the city. What was more important for Zero Wing was the City Teleportation Network that came with garrisoning a city. This was also the main reason the various superpowers had frantically fought to secure a reserve seat. Certainly. However, your Guild will have to handle the cost of binding with Sky Spring Citys Teleportation Magic Array, Vico said with a hint of joy in his voice. How much will it cost to construct one large-scale teleportation array? Shi Feng asked. If it is only one, the material fee is 100,000 Gold Coins and 30,000 Magic Crystals. The labor cost is an additional 5,000 Gold, Vico said. In total, it will cost 105,000 Gold and 30,000 Magic Crystals. You guys sure are ruthless. Its just a bunch of ordinary materials, yet youre actually charging me 100,000 Gold. Shi Feng was flabbergasted at Vicos quote. If it were before, he mightve accepted this price as normal. However, after gaining experience in constructing teleportation arrays, he knew that the materials needed were much cheaper than what Vico quoted him. At most, the material cost should total around several thousand Gold. No, no, no. The materials the Twin Towers Kingdom uses are the best. No problems will occur even after a thousand years of use, Vico assured sincerely while shaking his head. Fine, so be it. However, I want everything done within two hours, Shi Feng said after taking a look at the time. It had been nearly a day since the first major update took place. Meanwhile, the first wave of the NPC population boom would occur on the second day after the first major update. This was also the moment darkness would befall the various powers. That wont be a problem, Vico said confidently. May I know which Guild City you wish to construct the teleportation array in? Silverwing City! Shi Feng answered after giving the question some thought. Silverwing City was pivotal to Zero Wings future development and resistance against Saints Hand. Hence, it was imperative that Silverwing City developed as rapidly as possible. Although it is slightly far, so long as Milord makes the full payment, we will act immediately, Vico said, gritting his teeth as he looked at the map. To Vicos joy, Shi Feng paid the 105,000 Gold and 30,000 Magic Crystals without hesitation. After receiving the Coins and Magic Crystals, the NPC promptly left the private lounge, evidently making his way to Silverwing City. Next, Ill have to see how much the NPC population will increase during the initial wave. Shi Fengs gaze grew solemn after Vico left the room. Hopefully, the number isnt too significant. Although he had managed to execute his plan in time, its success still depended heavily on how much the NPC population grew after the first population boom. If the increase in NPC count was too severe, even Zero Wing would be overwhelmed. After all, the Guild simply had too few Tier 3 combatants right now. Meanwhile, Tier 3 combatants were the minimum requirement for maintaining public order in Guild Towns. 2744 Half-step Master Aside from sand, there was nothing else within the 1,000-yard radius displayed in the video. However, after careful inspection, she noticed piles and piles of fallen trees stacked outside the 1,000-yard radius. Many of these trees were uprooted, and most of them had shattered into dozens of pieces. The video then zoomed out, and she found that the so-called sandy area actually lay within a large forest. It looked as if something had thoroughly smoothed out the area. How is this possible?! a Tier 3 Great Mage at the Void Realm exclaimed. That sandy area doesnt have any Mana! At this Great Mages reminder, Lina and the others also came to this realization and gasped. They had forgotten that the so-called battle video was actually a type of recording magic in Gods Domain. It could perfectly record the battlefields situation, which included the ambient Mana. This allowed players to analyze the battle situation accurately. Meanwhile, they had watched this battle video as if they were watching a video in the real world. They had completely neglected the presence of Mana-or lack thereof. Is this Zero Wings doing, as well? Lina asked when she saw the wasteland in the middle of the forest. The wasteland had a 1,000-yard radius. Moreover, the attack used had thoroughly consumed all Mana in the area. Even Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells would have difficulty accomplishing such a feat. Not to mention, the only Tier 4 player known to exist was Black Flame. Yes. Someone from Zero Wing did it. According to subsequent reports, that person should be Aqua Rose, one of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders. Her specific strength is still a mystery, Odin said, nodding. However, based on the Spells scale, we can think of her as a Tier 4 Great Wizard who wields Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. Her destructive power is roughly ten times that of Black Flame. How is this possible? Isnt Zero Wing just an up-and-coming pseudo-superpower? After hearing Odins simple analysis, Mythologys members fell silent for a long time. They couldnt help doubting the veracity of the reports. Not only did Zero Wing have a Tier 4 Great Wizard, but this Great Wizard even possessed Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. If this was the case, then this matter was much more serious than they imagined. After all, a Great Wizard wielding large-scale destruction Spells could easily destroy even major NPC cities. At this stage of the game, such an existence would be invincible, be it in offensive or defensive battles. Butare we really going to justgive up? Lina asked. Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds. It was sheer humiliation for the Guild to get provoked on such a stage. If Mythology didnt do something, the whole world would start to look down on it. Of course not. Odin suddenly smiled. We must settle this account one way or another, but now isnt the time for that yet. Instead, we should learn from Miracles example. Learn from Miracle? Lina parroted, confused. Tas m -aver Miracle was merely a slightly above-average superpower. What could Mythology possibly learn from it? Sir Odin is right. We have to learn Miracles way of doing things, Prosciutto said with brightened eyes. We have to publicize this matter so that all the Guilds will know about it. Zero Wing might be able to help Frost Heaven secure the sixth seat this time, but what they dont know is that the real doomsday will come after they secure the seat! The reserve seats of Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds were meant for the capable. If a Guild relied on the strength of only a handful of individuals to secure one of these seats, then only destruction would await this Guild. Moreover, after this competition, Zero Wing would also debut on the international stage. A Guild capable of using Mythology as a stepping stone wasnt a problem for only Mythology. The other four of the Five Great Super Guilds couldnt afford to ignore Zero Wing, either. Hence, the Five Great Super Guilds would not allow such an existence to exist in this world! Good. I will leave this matter for you to handle. Odin nodded in satisfaction when he saw Prosciutto realizing what had to be done. He then vanished from the group as if he had never been there. Shortly afterward, every participating Guild in the competition received an astonishing piece of news. Zero Wing had defeated Mythology and stolen five of Mythologys Resource Nodes! The battle videos at the five Resource Nodes even spread to the various superpowers. The sight of Black Flame killing Sandstorm in one move, Gentle Snow killing over 30 Tier 3 peak experts in one move, Aqua Rose flattening a Resource Node with one Spell, Violet Cloud forcing the Divine Spear Demon into retreating, and a handful of Zero Wings members killing the Lightning Hammer were thoroughly etched into everyones mind. After all these accomplishments, Frost Heaven became the biggest dark horse in this competition! The mind-blowing news shook the various participating Guilds in the arena. This is fake! This must be fake! Didnt Zero Wings and Frost Heavens members launch an attack on Mythology only recently? How can the battles be over already? A Tier 4 Great Wizard?! How is this possible?! The various participating Guilds were dumbfounded by the information they received. None of them could accept it. However, it was also impossible for these battle videos to be fake-especially with the frightening strength Mythology displayed. The superpowers despaired at the gap between them. Nevertheless, despite having such overwhelming strength, Mythology still ended up defeated. Moreover, it didnt even lose at the hands of a Super Guild but to Zero Wing, an up-and-coming pseudo-superpower. Didnt they say Zero Wing doesnt have any background? What exactly is Zero Wing? For a time, the various superpowers were filled with curiosity and confusion about Zero Wing. Despite being a small Guild with no backing, Zero Wing had produced a Tier 4 Sword Emperor and a suspected Tier 4 Great Wizard. How could they bring themselves to believe this? As for the players in the spectator stands, they, too, were stunned by this situation. They never thought that during the time Shi Feng was fighting one of Mythologys teams, astonishing battles had taken place elsewhere, as well. They also regretted missing these battles. After witnessing Zero Wings strength, both the Star Alliances and Unyielding Souls upper echelons couldnt help lamenting this situation. They never thought that after not meeting Zero Wing for some time, the other Guild had actually grown to such an extent already. Tier 4! This is real power! A passionate flame burned in Purple Eyes heart as she watched the clash between Shi Feng and Sandstorm. So long as I reach Tier 4, the Guild will be able to tread the international stage as well! At this time, Purple Eye wasnt the only person to have such thoughts. The various major powers experts in the other VIP viewing rooms also burned with desire and ambition toward attaining Tier 4. Every one of them resolved themself to do everything they could to reach Tier 4 after this competition. Unlike the audiences excited reactions, Miracle and Sacred Temple were filled with both hatred and shock at Zero Wings performance. Initially, the two Guilds believed the sixth reserve seat was already within their grasp. Now that a powerful competitor had emerged in the competition, the two Guilds had no choice but to compete for more Resource Nodes. Otherwise, they wouldnt be able to maintain their current advantage until the end of the competition. Meanwhile, when Seven Wonders received news of Zero Wings performance, he felt an unprecedented joy and excitement. He truly had not expected the helpers Hong Xinyuan recruited to be powerful enough to pull Frost Heaven out of its hopeless situation and give it a chance to win a reserve seat. To ensure Frost Heaven secured the sixth reserve seat, after Frost Heaven became one of the top five ranking Guilds on Island No. 17, Seven Wonders led a team to other islands to compete for more Resource Nodes. For a time, Miracle, Sacred Temple, and Frost Heaven frantically fought all over the arena. Despite suffering immense casualties, the three Guilds continued fighting until the bell signaling the end of the competition rang. Meanwhile, after the competition ended, huge holographic screens appeared on top of every island, the screens listing the total points accumulated by the participating Guilds one after another. Mythology 12,610 points. Pantheon 3,920 points. Sky Dragon Family 4,550 points. Netherworld Empire 13,350 points. Miracle 5,230 points. Sacred Temple 5,180 points. As the names of the participating Guilds appeared one after another, Frost Heavens members grew increasingly nervous. The point difference between Miracle, Sacred Temple, and Frost Heaven should be incredibly narrow. In fact, partway through the competition, Shi Feng even had to attack other Resource Nodes personally and let Frost Heavens members wear the Resource Emblem to keep Frost Heaven in the competition. Although there were instances where other Guilds had successfully stolen some of Frost Heavens poorly defended Resource Nodes, most of these nodes were quickly reclaimed. In addition, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose also wandered between the various Resource Nodes to avert the ambushes of other Guilds. We must succeed! Muxin also grew incredibly nervous as she looked at the screen. Frost Heaven had suffered tremendous losses during this competition. By the end of the competition, Frost Heaven had fewer than 2,000 members left standing. Six Elders, two Grand Elders, and Great Elder Brilliant Blue had even fallen in battle. This was a massive blow to the Guild. At this time, even Shi Feng couldnt remain perfectly calm. He never expected that Miracle and Sacred Temple would secretly ally with other Guilds to attack Frost Heavens Resource Nodes, forcing him to rotate continuously between several islands. He had even had Aqua Rose obliterate 11 Resource Nodes. Only then did they manage to deter the other Guilds from stealing Frost Heavens Resource Nodes. Now that Zero Wing had exhausted its trump cards and revealed many things to the various superpowers, if Frost Heaven still failed to secure the sixth seat in this competition, then Zero Wing would have a thorny road ahead of it. The next moment, after more than 20 Guilds were listed on the screen, Frost Heavens name finally appeared. 2745 Different World Shi Feng was stunned momentarily by the rewards Xia Qingying mentioned. He couldnt believe that just by clearing the Mental Path above the age of 20, he would get 50 times the reward of everyone else. Theyre not particularly excellent. However, theyre the best rewards I can give you within my authority. If you were one of the Green God Companys internal members, you would receive a much more generous reward. In fact, your authority level would even be elevated to the Advanced Grade directly, Xia Qingying said. She then smiled and asked, May I know if you are interested in joining our company? Thank you for your offer, General Manager Xia, but I am used to operating freely by really dont wish to be restrained. Joining the Green God Company might be the dream of many people, but he knew that the Green God Company had many restrictions. This was also the reason Muxin and Kerui did not join the company but retained their connection with the Boulder Corporation instead. What a pity, Xia Qingying sighed when she heard Shi Fengs answer. If a talent like Shi Feng joined the Green God Company, he would have climbed to a position not lower than hers in the Upper Zone. After all, mental strength masters were incredibly valuable to the Upper Zone. The Green God Company paid astronomical prices to cultivate mental strength masters. However, even now, the company hadnt managed to cultivate many. Shi Feng, this is a good opportunity for you. If you get 50 bottles of Phantom Potions, which is of equivalent value to Life Potions, you might be able to elevate your mental strength to the next level, Kerui said, her eyes glowing with excitement when she heard Xia Qingyings offer. Although Life Potion was something that could be exchanged and each bottle cost only 5,000 points, there was a limit on the number of bottles a person could exchange. People without authority could exchange for only one bottle per year, while Grade 3 authority could exchange for two bottles per year, and Grade 2 authority for five bottles per year. If one wanted to purchase more, they would have to buy them at a much more exorbitant price from other people. Meanwhile, the Phantom Potion was an incredibly magical drug the Green God Company developed that could sharpen and improve ones mental strength. Anyone with ambition in the Upper Zone would try to exchange for it. Fifty bottles of Phantom Potions! She had never even seen so many Phantom Potions in her life before. With that many Phantom Potions, she could definitely achieve a breakthrough within a year and elevate her authority to Grade 2. General Manager Xia, does the Green God Company have any medicine that can heal mental damage? Shi Feng asked as he looked at Xia Qingying. We do, but these medicines are much more valuable than Life Potion, Xia Qingying answered as she looked at Shi Feng strangely. She couldnt understand why Shi Feng would want something like this. However, she still explained, Out of all the injuries out there, mental trauma is the most difficult to treat. If you wish to purchase such medicine, you can only do so after entering the middle layer. However, you are not qualified to enter the middle layer yet. I can buy them only in the middle layer? Shi Feng frowned. He then said, General Manager Xia, Ive decided. I will take the ordinary house. When Hong Xinyuan heard Shi Fengs decision, he couldnt help looking at the young man in surprise. Hurriedly, he dissuaded Shi Feng, Youre crazy! Its not easy to get 50 bottles of Phantom Potion! Even with your Grade 1 authority, youd need five years to redeem that many! The Green God Company has a completely different evaluation for those who reach Advanced Grade authority before and after the age of 25! Before the age of 25, humans would still be in their growth stage. Reaching the Advanced Grade authority before 25 meant they still had potential for growth. The Green God Company would prioritize nurturing such talents even if these talents were outsiders. An example of this would be how Xia Qingying was showing so much care for Shi Feng right now. However, if Shi Feng was already over 25 years old by the time he reached the Advanced Grade authority, the Green God Companys evaluation of him would plummet. Before Hong Xinyuan could continue trying to dissuade Shi Feng, Xia Qingying suddenly extended a hand to stop the older man. She then looked at Shi Feng with a strange gaze. It seems you are adamant on restoring mental trauma. You actually gave up the possibility to improve yourself rapidly within a short period and settled for a house that can just barely maintain and heal a persons mental state, Xia Qingying said, seemingly having seen through Shi Fengs intentions. She then smiled lightly and continued, Okay, since this is your decision, I wont meddle with it. However, I should still give you a reminder. The Upper Zone isnt as simple as you think it is. Life here is not easy. If you wish to help someone, the fastest way to do so would be to raise your own authority. Anything else is just futile effort. I understand. Thank you for the reminder, General Manager Xia, Shi Feng replied gratefully. Also, I wish to participate in the contribution competition. Can I register for it now? An individual of Xia Qingyings status probably wouldnt pay people like himself a second glance under normal circumstances. She had gone out of her way to help him this time only because she admired the excellent potential he had shown. However, Shi Feng understood himself very clearly. In reality, he was still far from the standard of a mental strength master. Even with the Phantom Potions help, he could, at best, elevate his mental strength to the Special Grade. In his situation, such an achievement would be of no help whatsoever. Rather than doing something meaningless, he would rather stabilize Gentle Snows and Aqua Roses conditions by relying on the Upper Zones environment. After all, from what he heard from Kerui, people who entered the Upper Zone without gaining any authority would have to struggle to survive in the Upper Zone unless someone provided them with accommodation. However, obtaining a residence in the Upper Zone was easier said than done. Even an ordinary housing unit cost one million trade points. One million trade points! That was equivalent to ten billion Credits in the outside world. Moreover, even if he had that kind of money, it would still take him a very long time to exchange for one million trade points. Most importantly, every housing unit had a limited occupancy. An ordinary housing unit could accommodate five people at most, whereas the independent villas could have up to 20. For the various major corporations, let alone 20 slots, even 100 slots wouldnt be enough. After all, who didnt have close friends? Who didnt have sons and daughters? Who wouldnt wish to live in the Upper Zone forever? Hence, he would be dreaming if he thought he could borrow other peoples houses! It might be fine if he were alone, but if he wanted to help other people, he would need an ordinary housing unit of his own. The contribution competition? It seems youre more extraordinary than I thought. In that case, I have nothing more to say, Xia Qingying said, nodding. She then transferred a message from her quantum watch to Shi Fengs and said, This housing unit in the Sixth Southern District will be yours from now on. Shi Feng was overjoyed when he saw the information displayed on his quantum watch. Although it was called an ordinary house, its floor area was still more than 200 square meters-definitely enough for five people to live comfortably. I have registered you for the contribution competition. However, Im afraid the likelihood of you catching up with the other participants is low, especially if you are aiming for the top three. Every one of the top three participants has more than 100,000 points already. I heard they have the backing of Gods Domains Super Guilds. Its impossible for you to catch up to them now, Xia Qingying said as she looked at Shi Feng. However, you can try competing for the top 20 positions. Our company plans to offer the top 20 winners the right to purchase three items from the middle layer. You can give it a try at that time. Shi Feng was slightly surprised by Xia Qingyings words. Hurriedly, he thanked her, Thank you, General Manager Xia. Afterward, Xia Qingying spoke a few words with Hong Xinyuan before departing the building. From her haste, it was evident she was truly busy. Meanwhile, Kerui was greatly angered and frustrated by Shi Fengs decision. She never thought that Shi Feng would give up on such an excellent opportunity to improve himself. Even Hong Xinyuan shook his head over Shi Fengs decision. After instructing Kerui to guide Shi Feng, he also gave Shi Feng a few reminders. However, unlike Kerui and Hong Xinyuan, Shi Feng felt very happy with his current situation. This was because he had reaped a massive harvest from his visit to the Upper Zone this time. He had also finally understood the importance of Seven Luminaries Crystals and found a way to heal Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. He had even found a way to help outsiders into the Upper Zone. Once his authority reached the Advanced Grade and he entered the Upper Zones middle layer, he could spend 100,000 contribution points to exchange for one Upper Zone reserve slot. While he could exchange for only three slots per year with this method, this was still good news for him. After all, his goal wasnt simply to live in the Upper Zone by himself. As the sun set, Kerui brought Shi Feng to his residence in the Sixth Southern District and left without saying a word, evidently unhappy with Shi Fengs decision. This left Shi Feng standing alone in front of the residential buildings entrance. Isnt this house a little too amazing?! Shi Feng was stunned when he entered Unit 02 on the 35th floor. Not only was the housing unit fully equipped with smart facilities, but it even boasted a comprehensive array of exercise equipment. After entering the house, Shi Feng also felt much more comfortable than before, as if his whole body was soaked in a Nutrient Solution, and he could continuously improve his physical fitness even without doing any training. His brain also felt clearer than ever, like when he was in a Mana-rich environment in Gods Domain. Moreover, every bedroom in the house was equipped with a state-of-the-art Fearless Virtual Gaming Cabin, something even more amazing than the virtual gaming cabins Zero Wing had purchased. According to Shi Fengs memories, the Fearless Virtual Gaming Cabin was a model that would appear in the outside world only three years later. The Fearless Cabin did not just allow players to fully immerse themselves in Gods Domain. It also improved the players sensitivity. In particular, the cabin improved Mana sensitivity by at least 20% and allowed players to exhibit 100% of their mental strength in Gods Domain. Back when the Fearless Cabins were first released to the public, the various corporations had fought over them frantically. Each unit had sold for at least 100 million Credits. Moreover, the Fearless Cabins were always in short supply. Even ten years after Gods Domains launch, first-rate Guilds could only afford to supply their executives with Fearless Cabins. The situation of second-rate Guilds had been even worse. Even a Guild Leader like Shi Feng did not get to use a Fearless Cabin. I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to experience the Fearless Cabin in this life. Shi Feng was deeply moved by this situation. At this moment, he finally understood why people who entered the Upper Zone would be unwilling to leave it. The various environmental benefits aside, just the technology one could enjoy here was leaps and bounds ahead of the outside worlds technology. A 20% increase to Mana sensitivity! Even ordinary Tier 3 experts would experience a huge boost in combat power if they received such an improvement, what more peak experts and apex experts? The increase in Mana sensitivity would also help players tackle their future promotions. After all, Mana was the foundation of everything in Gods Domain. The more one understood about the operation and control of Mana, the stronger one would become. It seems I should have Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose come over as soon as possible. These Fearless Cabins alone could increase their chances of reaching Tier 4 by at least 10%. As Shi Feng looked at the pitch-black gaming cabin that was the size of a double bed, many thoughts and plans ran through his mind. After he gained a rough understanding of the houses functionality, he hopped into his Fearless Cabin without hesitation, intending to experience the effects of this legendary gaming cabin properly. Not to mention, it wouldnt be easy for him to return to Zero Wings headquarters at this time. 2746 Fearless Cabins Effects As a Level 90 map in the Twin Towers Kingdom, the Fiery Ridge was popular with Level 90-plus players, who would come here to grind for levels. However, these players didnt do so just because it was suitable for players of their level. Instead, it was also because the Earthfire Pterodactyl, a Level 96 World Boss, would appear in the Fiery Ridge from time to time. Compared to other World Bosses, the Earthfire Pterodactyl was much easier to raid. So long as players met the high requirement for Fire Resistance, even a 100-man team made up of Tier 3 players could take it down. Hence, while grinding for levels in the Fiery Ridge, the various large Guilds newcomers would also check whether the Earthfire Pterodactyl had respawned. If the World Boss had respawned, they would notify their Guilds immediately, and their respective Guilds would send a team to raid it. Not only could the players contributing to the World Bosss discovery earn a bunch of GCPs, but they might even get a piece of Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment if they were lucky. More and more NPCs have been competing with us for monsters recently. Fortunately, this place is quite far from NPC cities, and there arent any villages or towns nearby. Otherwise, we would lose even this leveling spot, a Level 97, Tier 2 Shield Warrior said. As he looked at the corpses of a dozen Level 95 Chieftains and one Level 96 Lord before him, he couldnt help sighing ruefully. Ever since the major system update, the good days of grinding as many monsters as they wished were no more. Now, NPCs were frequently seen hunting monsters in groups in almost all leveling maps. Moreover, these NPCs would generally be ten levels higher than the map they were grinding in. They also boasted enviable weapons and equipment, with even the lowest-quality piece being at the Dark-Gold rank. Many of these NPCs even wielded Epic Weapons. As a result, almost no player would dare mess around with these NPCs. Indeed, we are lucky. According to some of the Tier 3 bigshots in the Guild, Level 100 neutral maps are infested with Level 130-plus, Tier 3 NPCs. There are more NPCs than monsters in some places. This forced the others in the Guild to travel to farther locations. Now, their travel time is twice as long as before, a Level 91, Tier 2 Oracle commented. However, this is also our chance. Now that the leveling speed of players under Level 100 is much faster than of players above Level 100, if we catch up to the average level of the mainstream players and get promoted to Tier 3, well be set for life, a Level 95, Tier 2 Ranger said excitedly. Although Gods Domain had been popular since its early stages, it wasnt as popular as it was now. At present, almost nobody in the real world did not know of Gods Domains existence. At present, the various Guilds were frantically recruiting Tier 3 experts, with some Guilds even promising a considerable monthly income. Some students that played Gods Domain were currently earning more money than societys white-collar elites. This situation drew more and more working-class members and elderly people into joining Gods Domain to earn extra income to subsidize their living expenditures. As the members of this six-man party were conversing among themselves, a sudden shockwave swept over them. Boom! The intense shockwave made the surrounding trees sway and shake. Even the earth shuddered slightly. Whats going on? The Level 97 Guardian Knight looked toward the shockwaves source in astonishment. However, before anyone could react to the situation, a high-pitched noise forced the six players to shield their ears. This is definitely the Earthfire Pterodactyls screech! the young Ranger said, his eyes glowing: So long as they reported this piece of news back to the Guild, they would make a great contribution. The Earthfire Dragon should be in that location, the Guardian Knight said, pointing toward a valley in the west. Quick! This thing wont wait for anyone! After briefly exchanging looks, the six players dashed toward the valley. Although they didnt know who angered the Earthfire Pterodactyl, all they needed to do now was locate the World Boss and wait for the Guild to send a Tier 3 team to raid it. As for the possibility of other Guilds discovering the Earthfire Pterodactyl first, that did not matter. After all, the Level 96 World Boss wasnt such a pushover that Tier 2 players could take it down-especially after monsters in Gods Domain gained a semblance of sentience. Now, smarter monsters would even flee for their lives when the situation looked bad for them. The process of chasing these monsters down would be incredibly troublesome and time-consuming. This would give their Guilds Tier 3 team more than enough time to arrive. The Earthfire Pterodactyls screech attracted player teams to its location in the dozens. All of these teams reported the World Bosss appearance to their respective Guilds, and they were all adamant in securing the Earthfire Pterodactyls kill. After all, as a World Boss, the Earthfire Pterodactyls loot was extraordinarily good. It would drop not only Inferior Legendary materials but even Epic Weapons and Equipment that could be used up to Level 120. If one were lucky, one could even get Fragmented Legendary items. Less than a minute after these dozens of teams began running, they arrived before the valley where the Pterodactyl was. However, when these teams saw the Earthfire Pterodactyl, they gasped involuntarily. The World Boss before them right now was completely different from the Earthfire Pterodactyls they had seen before. Why is this Earthfire Pterodactyl so big? Why does it have nine HP bars?! A 50-meter-tall pterodactyl was hovering inside the valley. The pterodactyls body burned with ethereal flames, and its flapping wings generated powerful gales that shredded the surrounding terrain. Just its roar was enough to send players stumbling backward. It had transformed the environment into a scorching field that could burn players with Fire Resistance below 400 points to a crisp instantly. (Earthfire Pterodactyl (World Boss)] (Mythic, Realm Lord) Level 99 HP 3,300,000,000 The players that arrived before the valley fell into fear and despair when they saw the Earthfire Pterodactyls massive frame. After all, the World Boss had flattened the terrain with just a flap of its wings. At this moment, they would most likely turn into ashes just by approaching the Earthfire Pterodactyl, let alone fighting it. In fact, they even doubted that the Tier 3 players of their respective Guilds could go up against this behemoth before them. Wait! Its injured! a Level 97, Tier 2 Ranger exclaimed after carefully inspecting the Earthfire Pterodactyl. At this Tier 2 Rangers shout, everyone noticed the many bone-deep wounds on the World Bosss body. They realized that the World Boss had less than half of its HP remaining. While everyone was shocked by the Earthfire Pterodactyls injuries, a figure suddenly descended toward the World Boss from the sky. Not only did this figure send a sword light cutting at the Earthfire Pterodactyls wing, but the sword light even cleaved the ground, opening a 150-yard-long fissure. Immediately afterward, a mindblowing number appeared above the World Bosss head. -5,157,624! Over five million damage in one attack?! Is he an NPC?! No. Although we cant see his information, that person has a player icon above his head. He should be a player. How is this possible?! How can a player be so strong?! Is he trying to solo the Earthfire Pterodactyl? The players present couldnt help gaping when they saw the results of the slash, their minds refusing to believe their eyes. However, before anyone present could snap out of their daze, the figure that attacked the Earthfire Pterodactyl executed another slash with his sword. Immediately, a phantom greatsword manifested in the air and sliced down on the World Bosss wing. Slash! The next moment, the Earthfire Pterodactyl let loose a heaven-shaking shriek as one of its 30-meter-long wings fell to the ground. Golden blood then poured out of the World Bosss wound, splashing all over the ground and creating a sea of flames. -31,544,734! The next moment, the Earthfire Pterodactyls HP fell by a visible chunk. Is he even human?! He dealt over 30 million damage in one attack! He cant be human! Monster! That person must be a humanoid monster! Everyone present fell into a daze once more when they saw the damage from the unknown persons second attack. Some players even pinched their own faces, thinking that everything in front of them was just an illusion. However, the unknown assailant in the air was not at all surprised at the power of his attack. Sure enough, its easier to manipulate Mana. The burden of using Lightshadow is even much less. As expected of the Fearless Cabin. Its no wonder all those superpowers had so many more Tier 4 experts than first- and second-rate Guilds. Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at the dense Mana condensed around the Abyssal Blade. Although the Fearless Cabin did not improve his Basic Attributes, it still increased his overall combat power by at least 20%. The refinement in his control over combat techniques and Mana Techniques was especially notable. With his ability to use 100% of his mental strength, the power of these techniques had risen to a whole new level. More and more people are gathering. Its about time I finished it and left this place. After glancing at the Earthfire Pterodactyl, which could no longer fly, Shi Feng immediately flew toward the World Boss. Upon seeing him, the Earthfire Pterodactyl let loose an angry roar and used its strongest move, the Tier 4 Skill Earthfire Rupture. The next moment, flaming rocks up to 40 meters in diameter went smashing toward Shi Feng one after another. Even space itself shattered from the power within the flaming rocks. A meaningless resistance! Shi Feng pointed the Abyssal Blade at the oncoming flaming rocks. Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Blade Domain! Immediately, magic swords appeared around Shi Feng one after another. The swords then turned into streaks of light as they shot at the oncoming rocks. Boom! Boom! Boom! A shattered space formed above the battlefield. Before the spectating players could return to their senses, the magic swords had already shattered all of the flaming rocks the Earthfire Pterodactyl summoned. Afterward, more magic swords formed around Shi Feng and subsequently shot at the World Boss itself. -21,346,544 43,671,216! -22,457,611! Damages exceeding 20 million appeared above the Earthfire Pterodactyls head one after another. No matter how much the World Boss struggled-even to the point of turning the surroundings into a sea of flames and voidits HP still decreased rapidly. 2747 Crazed Eastern Continen Silence enveloped the valley, a silence so overwhelming that it felt as if time had stopped inside the valley. When the various spectating players looked at the cloaked man wielding the runic black sword, fear and awe filled their eyes. It was as if they had just seen a god. Is hereally a player?. Such thoughts surfaced in the spectating players minds as they looked at Shi Feng hovering in midair. Shi Feng had killed a Level 99 Mythic ranked World Boss, just like that. Rather than a World Boss, it looked more like some Elite monster he found by the roadside, one that was utterly incapable of putting up any resistance. Who is he? Theres no way a player can be this strong! Thats a Level 99 World Boss were talking about! Even a 100-man, Tier 3 team wouldnt necessarily be able to take it down! He must be an NPC in disguise! When looking at Shi Fengs hovering figure, some players even hugged their heads and began laughing maniacally. They simply couldnt bring themselves to believe that such a massive gap between players could exist. However, Shi Feng paid the shocked players and the maddened players no heed whatsoever. Instead, he arrived beside the Earthfire Pterodactyls corpse and began collecting its loot. Gods Domain was not reality. In the game world, just the gradual accumulation of Basic Attributes was sufficient to turn a player into a monster in the eyes of other players, what more the qualitative improvements brought about by tier upgrades. Moreover, there was a two-tier gap between Shi Feng and the spectating players. In the eyes of Tier 2 players, Tier 4 players would be no different from gods. In fact, a Tier 4 player could kill scads of Tier 2 players with just a flick of their hand. The World Boss Shi Feng fought hadnt even reached Level 100. In Gods Domain, monsters that hadnt reached Level 100 couldnt be considered strong at all. Otherwise, the various major powers wouldnt be contesting so frantically for World Bosses below Level 100. It was precisely because these powers were incapable of defeating Level 100-plus World Bosses that they had to settle for pre-Level 100 World Bosses. Oh? A good piece of Epic Equipment dropped. Shi Feng was slightly surprised as he looked at the sacred mage robe in his hands. [Whistling Light Robe] (Cloth Armor, Epic Rank) Level 40 Level 110 Equipment Requirement: Intelligence 1,500, Vitality 1,300 Defense +340 (Level 40) Strength +20, Agility +24, Intelligence +63, Vitality +31, Endurance +25; Ignore Levels +4; Defensive Skills +2 Levels; Additional Passive Skill 1 Spiritual Light: When the users Concentration falls below 50%, Mana consumption is reduced by 30%, and casting speed increases by 30%. Additional Passive Skill 2 Mana Armor: Automatically absorbs Mana in a 100-yard radius to protect the user. Improves Mana perception by 20%, increases Magic Resistance by 20%, and improves Spell effects by 20%. Two-piece set effect: The upper level limit of all Whistling Light set pieces is increased to Level 150. Four-piece set effect: All Attributes are increased by 20%, and the effect of all Spells is increased by 20%. Six-piece set effect: Gain the protection of light, improving physique by 30% and Mana affinity by 20%. Gain the Mana Heart Skill. When activated, forcibly elevates the strength of the users Mana by one tier for one minute. The Skill has a one-hour Cooldown. The Whistling Light Set had seven pieces in total. It could be considered top-tier even among Epic Set Equipment. So long as a magical-class player had two set pieces, they could use the set until they reached Level 150. If Tier 4 Great Wizard managed to gather six pieces of the set, they would become a devastating existence. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Whistling Light Set was one of the best set equipment for magical-class players under Tier 5. However, only World Bosses under Level 150 dropped the Whistling Light Set. The drop-rate was also random. Hence, collecting a full set would be incredibly difficult. I can get Fire and the others to raid World Bosses under Level 120 more frequently. If we can gather a full set, be it Violet or Aqua who uses the set, neither will have to replace their equipment before reaching Tier 5. When Shi Feng looked at the Whistling Light Robe, he felt the need to collect the full Whistling Light Set. If Violet Cloud or Aqua Rose equipped the full set before reaching Tier 5, they would become nigh-invincible against Tier 4 opponents. Shi Feng stored the Whistling Light Robe and collected the remaining items the Earthfire Pterodactyl dropped. Besides the Whistling Light Robe, the Level 99 World Boss had dropped a dozen pieces of Level 100 Dark-Gold and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, a large amount of materials, Magic Crystals, potion recipes, etc. After putting all these items in his bag space, he promptly flew away from the valley. When the various major powers members saw Shi Feng leaving, they sighed in relief. With that longsword and that frightening destructive power, he should be Black Flame, right? I tagged along with my Guild executives to watch the reserve seat competition. That guy indeed looks a lot like Black Flame. They must be the same person. Black Flame is also the only known Tier 4 player in the game right now, and only Tier 4 classes could possibly display such scary strength. So, hes the Sword King? Isnt he a little too amazing!? After Shi Fengs figure was out of sight, some of the spectating players guessed Shi Fengs identity. And in no time at all, everyone present began talking about him, their discussions becoming especially heated when the topic touched on Tier 4 classes. When the players present recalled the scene of Shi Feng chopping off one of the Earthfire Pterodactyls wings, they couldnt help yearning to reach Tier 4. Previously, no one had a clear concept of Tier 4 classes. Even the players who had spectated the reserve seat competition at the War Gods Temple did not find Tier 4 classes to be particularly amazing. At most, Tier 4 existences were invincible among Tier 3 players. But now, everyone was truly shocked by the strength of Tier 4 classes. A Tier 4 player had actually single-handedly defeated a Mythic ranked World Boss. How could anyone not yearn for such strength? Very quickly, news of Shi Feng slaying the Earthfire Pterodactyl spread across Gods Domain. After the various major powers executives watched Shi Fengs battle video, they gained a newfound appreciation of Tier 4 classes. Simultaneously, their eyes burned with a passionate flame as the ambition they had lost due to the NPCs upsurgence returned. Tier 4! Mobilize all available manpower in the Guild to find out how Zero Wing managed to complete the Tier 4 Promotion Quest! The era of Tier 3 classes is over! From now on, we have only one goal, and that is Tier 4! So long as we can secure ourselves a Tier 4 player, well be unstoppable! For a time, the various powers searched frantically for information relating to Tier 4 Legacies, going as far as trying to plant spies in Zero Wing. Some superpowers even directly contacted Zero Wings executives and offered to pay astronomical prices for all information regarding Tier 4 classes. Simultaneously, a wave of discussions spread through the various kingdoms and empires forums. Just the video of Shi Fengs fight against the Earthfire Pterodactyl alone had garnered over a billion views already. Everyone on the forums discussed what exactly Tier 4 classes were, what the upper limit of these classes combat power was, and whether a Tier 4 player could solo a Mythic monster of the same level. The topic of Tier 4 swept across the entire eastern continent, setting off a craze. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng left the Fiery Ridge, message prompts and call requests immediately inundated his communication interface. At a glance, he noticed that the message prompts had already reached the upper limit of 9,999. He had also received several hundred call requests. Moreover, this was with his interface set to automatically reject communication from non-friends. Without this block in place, his communication interface would probably have blown up. Guild Leader, you really caused a huge mess this time. When Youlan finally managed to get through to Shi Feng, she didnt know whether to laugh or cry. The entire world is now looking for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Zero Wing has also become the target of all the powers. Everyone is trying to get information about Tier 4 Legacy Lands from us. Currently, all of Zero Wings executives were being harassed by the various powers. Youlan herself had been contacted by over 20 superpowers, with every one of them offering to purchase information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest at astronomical prices. If Zero Wing did not respond to these requests, it would be akin to offending all of these superpowers. At that time, Zero Wing would really be in danger of extermination. An accident. It really was an accident, Shi Feng said apologetically. I didnt expect something like this to happen, either. He had only thought to try out the Fearless Cabins effects. He had not anticipated such a development. Not to mention, from a certain perspective, the Fearless Cabins effects were truly astonishing What should we do now? Youlan asked, frowning. If we refuse all of them, well make an enemy out of every superpower on the eastern continent. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, How about this? Announce that Zero Wing is willing to sell information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. However, the price of the information is 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals! Five thousand units? Guild Leader, isnt this a little Youlan gaped at Shi Fengs price. The price tag of 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal already went beyond gouging. Shi Feng was basically asking the various superpowers to hand over their lives! A superpower could be considered wealthy if they even had 3,000 or 4,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on hand. With many superpowers having participated in the recent reserve seat competition, they definitely would have much fewer Seven Luminaries Crystals available than before. Hence, the price of 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal would be beyond most superpowers right now. Just notify them, Shi Feng instructed, having no intention whatsoever of compromising. Ive already set my price. As for their willingness to purchase the information, that is none of our business. Alright, but I wont care for what happens next, Youlan said as she nodded her head helplessly. 2748 Better to Die on Your Feet Than Live on Your Knees In a forest where crimson rain poured, a team of 1,000 Tier 3 players was frantically fighting a horde of over 10,000 Level 120-plus Bloodthirsty Beasts. Even the weakest of these Bloodthirsty Beasts were Level 121 Chieftains, while the strongest were Level 126 Grand Lords. On the players side, shield-wielding Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors stood in the forefront. On the Bloodthirsty Beasts side, Iron-armored Beasts, whose strength lay in their Defense, spearheaded a charge against the Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors. After the first group of Iron-armored Beasts completed their ramming attack, another group would immediately follow in an endless loop. Meanwhile, the Herculean Beasts standing at the rear of the Bloodthirsty Beasts formation would uproot the crimson trees around them and hurl the trees at the players, the trees dyeing the sky an extra tint of red. The Bloodthirsty Beasts terrifying formation was one that even Tier 3 players accustomed to group battles would be afraid of. Ordinary Tier 3 players wouldnt risk a frontal confrontation with these monsters. However, despite facing such a fierce and ruthless assault, the 1,000-man team fighting the Bloodthirsty Beasts remained unfazed. Weve attracted enough! Magical team, attack! a valiant, long-haired woman standing near the frontline of the team commanded as more and more Bloodthirsty Beasts gathered around the team. Immediately, the several hundred magical-class players standing at the center of the teams formation began chanting complex incantations simultaneously. Every verse the players chanted drew more of the ambient Mana, making it stronger and more violent. Four seconds later, the ground began to shake violently. Huge cracks then appeared 500 yards away from these magical-class players, right under the Bloodthirsty Beasts, causing the monsters formation to collapse instantly. Swordsmen and Berserkers, open a path! Rangers and Assassins, prioritize killing the Bloodthirsty Chieftains commanding the monsters! Upon seeing the Bloodthirsty Beasts formations collapse, the long-haired woman had the team disperse into multiple units and prioritize killing the Bloodthirsty Beasts that led the horde. As for the long-haired woman, like a demon in the night, she instantly appeared behind a seven-meter-tall, Level 126 Grand Lord. The next moment, she brandished the daggers she wielded, the weapons distorting space and repeatedly stabbing the Grand Lords back over a dozen times. Every stab inflicted over -500,000 damage, the series of attacks instantly plundering nearly 8,000,000 HP from the Bloodthirsty Chieftain. After the successful attack, darkness enveloped the long-haired womans body. This cloak of darkness then expanded to envelop the Grand Lord entirely before rapidly recondensing in front of it. Blood suddenly spurted from the Bloodthirsty Chieftains four limbs. Not only did its mobility get reduced significantly, but its HP was even falling at a rate of 700,000 per second. The three Level 124 Great Lord ranked Bloodthirsty Guards nearby faced similar fates. Blood gushed out of their limbs, and their mobility plummeted as if their bodies had become frozen. After around 15 more minutes of battle, this Bloodthirsty Chieftain and three Bloodthirsty Guards collapsed to the ground, the life in their eyes vanishing Meanwhile, the other Bloodthirsty Beasts on the battlefield were also mostly dead. The items they dropped were strewn all over the place. However, none of the combatants chose to pick up these items. Instead, they continued advancing deeper into the Crimson Rain Forest in an orderly manner, leaving behind a few parties of Assassins to clean up the battlefield. At this time, a Level 119 female Guardian Knight approached the long-haired woman in command of the team. She then said quietly, Vice Guild Leader, news just came from Zero Wing. They say theyre willing to sell information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Oh? Hes actually willing to sell the information? Cold Shadow was surprised to hear White Feathers words. In her opinion, the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was Shi Fengs greatest trump card in Gods Domain. It was something he definitely would not sell to other people. He is willing to sell, but the price he demands is incredibly high, White Feather said with an ugly expression, emphasizing the words incredibly high. Incredibly high? Chuckling, Cold Shadow asked, How much does he want? Five thousand units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, White Feather replied in a low tone. Shi Feng obviously has no intention of selling that information! Hes clearly just messing with us! Five thousand units? He really knows how to set a price, Cold Shadow said, smiling. Im guessing that those superpowers are fuming at Zero Wing at this point. Theyll most likely disregard all costs and take action against Zero Wing. Thats for sure. Theres no way those superpowers can afford to pay 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. If they want that information, their only option is to work together and declare war on Zero Wing, White Feather said, nodding. Shi Feng was basically treating the various superpowers as fools by demanding such an exorbitant price. The various superpowers would be insane to go along with him. Fine. Go and notify Zero Wing that Im buying it! Cold Shadow said, smiling. Youre buying it? White Feathers eyes widened immediately as she stared at Cold Shadow in disbelief. Vice Guild Leader, thats 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals were talking about! While Mythology could indeed disburse 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals, it would still suffer from the loss. Not to mention, the Guilds higher-ups kept reiterating that the Seven Luminaries Crystal was the Guilds most important resource and must not be used randomly. Thats right! Im buying it! Cold Shadow nodded. She then asked White Feather, Do you think Zero Wings people are fools? After giving the matter some thought, White Feather answered, They shouldnt be, but theyre still too arrogant! Yes. Zero Wing was arrogant to the bones. The Guild was not taking the various superpowers seriously at all. Thats enough, then. Since theyre not fools, they should be aware of the consequences of pulling such a stunt. In a slightly resentful tone, Cold Shadow added, Although I detest Zero Wing, the fact that Zero Wing has survived until now shows that the Guild isnt as simple as we think it is. Even Sir Odin gave up on killing Shi Feng. You can tell how extraordinary he is. But thats 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal! White Feather couldnt help repeating herself. The Guild definitely wont agree to this transaction. I already said that I would buy it, not the Guild, Cold Shadow said, shaking her head. So, we dont need to worry about what the Guild will say about this. Vice Guild Leader, if you buy it, youll be giving away all the Seven Luminaries Crystals youve saved to Zero Wing. White Feather was even more shocked at Cold Shadows words. Hurriedly, she warned, In this case, Im afraid you will have to postpone becoming the First Vice Guild Leader indefinitely. Seven Luminaries Crystals had always been very important to Mythology. Hence, Cold Shadow had constantly been stockpiling the crystals since early on so that she could contribute them to the Guild during a critical moment and have the Guild recognize her value. However, if Cold Shadow used up her entire stockpile, gaining recognition would be difficult. While Seven Luminaries Crystals are indeed important, getting promoted to Tier 4 is much more important right now. Gazing at the endless crimson forest ahead of her, Cold Shadow said seriously, The places Tier 3 players can visit are too limited. Only after reaching Tier 4 can players venture into more valuable locations. Hence, our first priority now is to reach Tier 4. Then, we can easily earn back those crystals! In reality, Cold Shadow felt extremely upset by Shi Fengs actions; she wanted nothing more than to give him a few hundred deaths right now. However, in the current Gods Domain, only Shi Feng knew how to get promoted to Tier 4 quickly and the exact details of the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Getting her hands on this information would be equivalent to securing herself an absolute advantage. After all, she had reached Level 120 already With Zero Wings information, she could undoubtedly reach Tier 4 ahead of everyone else in the Guild. She could be the first to venture into places that players currently considered taboo and continuously strengthen herself. At that time, even becoming the strongest expert of Mythologys younger generation wouldnt be impossible. I understand. Ill make the necessary preparations now. Seeing the determination in Cold Shadows eyes, White Feather understood that there was nothing she could say to dissuade Cold Shadow from her decision. At present, the various superpowers should already have players at Level 120. If Cold Shadow could reach Tier 4 ahead of everyone else, her authority in the Guild would definitely increase. Of course, Cold Shadow was also making a gamble. She was betting that Zero Wing would not lose to the various superpowers and that Zero Wing could survive the upcoming battle. In that case, she would obtain an absolute advantage. However, White Feather wasnt aware of how crazy Cold Shadow actually was. In Cold Shadows opinion, it did not matter whether Zero Wing could survive or not. She would be satisfied so long as she could get her hands on this opportunity. Orc Empire, Silverwing City: Dammit! Zero Wing is clearly toying with us! Thats right! We are kindly offering to purchase his information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, yet hes repaying us like this! Lets just join hands. So long as we join forces to hinder Zero Wings operations, Zero Wing will have to yield to us. Yes. With our combined strength, theres no chance whatsoever that Zero Wing will survive. Many of the superpowers operating in Silverwing City secretly came to an agreement to suppress Zero Wing. They began targeting Zero Wings members to force Zero Wing into obediently surrendering the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Meanwhile, inside Zero Wings Residence, Shi Feng received a call from Yuan Tiexin. Guild Leader Black Flame, youve gone too far this time. Even if you want to sell the Tier 4 Promotion Quests information, you couldve just asked for 1,000 units. I believe most superpowers would be willing to pay such a price. You will also get to make a big profit. Why must you have Zero Wing make an enemy out of the superpowers? Yuan Tiexin said in exasperation. For the various superpowers, paying 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals was akin to forking over their lives. However, a price of only 1,000 units would still be palatable to many superpowers. At that time, not only would Zero Wing earn a bunch of Seven Luminaries Crystals, but the various superpowers also wouldnt seek trouble with Zero Wing. It would be the best of both worlds. Yet, Shi Feng had chosen to take the worst possible action. Make enemies? Chuckling, Shi Feng said, I never intended to become enemies with them. Also, youre wrong about one thing, Elder Yuan. They are the ones forcing Zero Wing to sell information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. We arent selling it because we want to. Ive given them my price. If they cant afford it, how is it my fault? What you say is indeed correct Yuan Tiexin naturally understood Shi Fengs take on this situation. However, Zero Wings circumstances were inferior to the various superpowers. Meanwhile, having wealth without the strength necessary to protect it became a sin. But those superpowers wont share your way of thinking. They will definitely cooperate in secret to target Zero Wings members. At that time, Zero Wings members will shed a river of blood. The various superpowers might be incapable of breaking through the defenses of Zero Wings Guild Cities right now, but having people target Zero Wings members out in the fields would be a piece of cake. There was no way Zero Wings members could avoid going out to grind for levels. There was also no way Zero Wing could have peak experts escort and protect every Guild member. Once the various superpowers took action, Zero Wing would eventually lose members in large numbers. As for Zero Wing retaliating against the various superpowers? The superpowers scheme wasnt going to be something as straightforward as a frontal confrontation. Instead, they would be taking covert action against Zero Wing. In that case, how could Zero Wing possibly determine which superpower was actually taking action against it? Moreover, even if Zero Wing managed to identify the superpowers responsible for the attacks, with there being so many superpowers, could Shi Feng possibly win against them all? He would exhaust himself to death just by running about the numerous maps! 2749 Tier 4 Promotion Quests Secre After hanging up the call, Yuan Tiexin fell speechless. He never thought that Shi Feng would be so stubborn. Shi Feng clearly couldve settled things easily so long as he made some concessions, yet he had adamantly refused to do so. Uncle Yuan, many of those superpowers have already begun joining forces. When they find out that Zero Wing is unwilling to concede at all, they will definitely take action, Purple Jade said as she read the report her subordinate just sent her. Zero Wings present situation could be said to be very bad. According to the report, over 15 superpowers had already agreed to work together to deal with Zero Wing Forget it. He can do whatever he wants. The clash between the various superpowers and Zero Wing will most likely drag on for some time. After all, Zero Wings three cities are too difficult to take down. Well see who can last until the end, Yuan Tiexin said, shaking his head. A glimmer of light then flashed in his eyes as he continued, Also, we still have more important matters to deal with. If we succeed in this upcoming operation, the Secret Pavilion can thoroughly surpass the various superpowers. At that time, even the Five Great Super Guilds will have to fear us. Mhm. Ill make the necessary preparations, Purple Jade said, her eyes similarly filled with joy and excitement. Tier 4 had never been the end of Gods Domain. Instead, it was only the beginning. The Secret Pavilion had been waiting for this moment for far too long. Now, it could finally fulfill its long-cherished wish. Dark Night Empire, Starlinks Residence: Hahaha! Good! Thats what Zero Wing should do! Thats right! Go and thoroughly offend those superpowers! Lu Xingluo laughed happily when he received news of Zero Wings actions. Previously, he had had a huge headache over how to deal with Zero Wing. However, Zero Wing had actually taken the initiative to offend even more superpowers. With this, he would have a much easier time destroying Zero Wing. As Lu Xingluo was celebrating in joy, a robust man covered in a Black Cloak and runic bandages suddenly entered his office. Sorry for the long wait, Young Master Lu, the robust, middle-aged man said as he arrived before Lu Xingluo. He then continued in a low tone, We have resolved most of the troubles there already. We are only waiting for your side now. Good! You came at the perfect time! This time, even the heavens want Zero Wing dead! Lu Xingluo grew even more excited when he looked at the mysterious middle-aged man. Leave it to me. Ill definitely persuade those old fellows to give you their full help. Thank you, Young Master Lu, the robust man said. So long as this operation succeeds, the lord of our household will also assist Young Master Lu in quelling all your enemies! Be it this robust man or the person backing him, Lu Xingluo placed immense trust in them. In the eyes of these people, the various superpowers were negligible. Given enough time, these people could even take on the Five Great Super Guilds simultaneously. This was because the Five Great Super Guilds did not understand Gods Domain at all. What they knew now was only the tip of the iceberg. Orc Empire, Zero Wings Residence: Guild Leader, aside from one person, no superpower has stepped forward to purchase the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, Youlan said. As she watched Shi Feng casually sort the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, her head throbbed. Judging by the other superpowers actions, they dont plan to buy it. Since these superpowers had no intention of purchasing the information, their next action was obviousthey would fight for it. They would fight a war of attrition that would last days and weeks. Meanwhile, Zero Wings opponent this time would no longer be just one or two superpowers. Instead, almost all of the eastern continents superpowers would become Zero Wings enemies. Theres actually a fool trying to buy it? Shi Feng was surprised when he heard Youlans words. Truthfully, he had never once thought that any of the superpowers would purchase his information at the price he quoted. He was sorting through the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest only because his own Guild needed it. After all, quite a few Zero Wing members already possessed the strength and level required to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. All they lacked was the knowledge of how to search for their respective Tier 4 Legacy Lands and the process of obtaining their Tier 4 Legacies. Youlan was momentarily rendered speechless by Shi Fengs response. After hesitating for a moment, she said, You know this person, Guild Leader. I know them? Is it the Secret Pavilions Yuan Tiexin? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng felt that among his acquaintances, only the Secret Pavilions Yuan Tiexin could afford to purchase his information. As for Frost Heaven, the Guild had just participated in the reserve seat competition. It definitely did not possess 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals at this point. No, its Mythologys Cold Shadow, Youlan said, shaking her head. She then asked hesitantly, Guild Leader, are you really planning to sell it to her? Due to the reserve seat competition, Zero Wing was now on Mythologys radar. If they sold information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest to Mythology now, it would be incredibly disadvantageous for Zero Wing. Of course. Why wouldnt I sell it? Shi Feng answered without hesitation. We already announced our intention to do business. Since we said we would sell the information, we naturally cant go back on our word. Otherwise, the various superpowers will have even more reason to target us. He was in urgent need of Seven Luminaries Crystals right now. Although he had some methods for obtaining a large amount of the crystal, these methods required a lot of time to execute. He wasnt certain he could collect enough Seven Luminaries Crystals to surpass the top three rankers of the Upper Zones contribution competition within the next two months. At best, he could secure one of the top 20 positions. Gaining 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal now would save him a lot of trouble. However, White Feather has stated that we cannot mention this transaction to anybody else, Youlan said. They want this to be a secret between only our two sides. They also want to sign a contract to this effect. That wont be a problem. Even if they didnt suggest it, we wouldve asked them to sign a confidentiality agreement that restricts them from sharing the information with outsiders, Shi Feng said. Information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was like a hot potato right now. Anyone holding it would be struck with misfortune. Even a Super Guild like Mythology wouldnt be safe. Hence, it was very normal for Mythology not to want outsiders to find out about this transaction. Make a copy of everything here and give it to them, Shi Feng instructed as he handed the compiled information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest to Youlan. Everything? Youlan was surprised to hear Shi Fengs words. The players of Gods Domain were still ignorant of the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. In fact, even Zero Wings members knew nothing about it. If they sold all this information to Mythology, that would be akin to throwing away all their advantages. Mhm. Everything. Shi Feng nodded. Since the other party is willing to pay an astronomical price for this information, I naturally wont be stingy. Not to mention, the secret to the Tier 4 Promotion Quest isnt a secret at all. Once the various superpowers learn about it, we can let them know how ridiculous their fantasies about the secret are. Information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was indeed incredibly precious. At the very least, that was the case now. However, once one of the various superpowers experts successfully reached Tier 4, the information he was selling would be worthless. Yes. It didnt matter how much information he provided about the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. The real value of his information was simply in helping to produce the first Tier 4 player as quickly as possible. Moreover, the so-called information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest couldnt actually be considered a secret. This was because locating the Tier 4 Legacy Land and resolving the problems one would encounter in the Legacy Land were both problems that players needed to resolve on their own. The only information he could provide was the method to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Whether one could locate their Legacy Land with this information would still depend on their luck. After all, Tier 4 Legacy Lands did not have a fixed position. They would appear at random in Gods Domain. The Tier 4 Legacy Lands were all located in spaces outside of the main continents. What players needed to do to visit these Legacy Lands was find the randomly occurring spatial nodes that could teleport them to these Legacy Lands. In addition to the information on how to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands, the only other valuable information he provided was the process of learning ones Legacy during the Promotion Quest. With this information, one wouldnt go into ones Promotion Quest blind. Even so, the amount of help this information could provide was limited because the process of learning ones Legacy depended entirely on the individual. Outsiders couldnt help in this matter. Meanwhile, the method he provided to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands was to venture into incredibly dangerous neutral maps of at least Level 130. The more dangerous a neutral map was, the more likely one could find a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Only by searching in these maps would one have a greater chance of locating a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Aside from this method, there was no other way. If he excluded these bits of information, then the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest he sold would be nothing but a scam. After reading the information, Youlan was stunned. This is the Tier 4 Promotion Quests secret? Youlan suddenly felt the urge to laugh. The various superpowers were currently desperately trying to obtain information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. However, if they were to learn the exact details of the information They would most likely lose their minds. After all, in the information Shi Feng compiled, there was nothing whatsoever that could increase ones success rate with the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. The funny thing was, the various superpowers thought that they could have an easier time producing Tier 4 players so long as they had this information. In fact, they were so staunch in their belief that they were waging war against Zero Wing. In reality, by targeting Zero Wing, all the superpowers were doing was wasting precious time when they could be improving themselves. Thats right. This is the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, Shi Feng said, chuckling. I can even announce to those superpowers, right now, that they have already been eliminated from the struggle for hegemony in Gods Domain! As Shi Feng and Youlan were conversing, Liang Jing suddenly entered the room. Guild Leader, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor are ready. They can take action as soon as you give the command, Liang Jing said excitedly. 2750 Daunting Silverwing City Due to the news of the various superpowers targeting Zero Wing, the number of players occupying the citys Business Plaza declined. Many players were afraid of becoming collateral damage. The independent players that were initially planning on joining Zero Wing also began hesitating. And here I thought I could join Zero Wing and spread my wings after coming to Silverwing City. From the situation now, it seems Ive made the wrong call. I heard that many Zero Wing members withdrew from the Guild. The ones that chose to stay dont even dare set foot outside Zero Wings Guild Cities. If I were to say which Guild is the strongest right now, it would have to be Saints Hand. Why dont we join Saints Hand? If we do, we wont have to worry about those Faux Saint monsters. The players inside one of the citys bars inevitably discussed whether they should head to other places to develop themselves. At this point, they no longer held any hope for Zero Wing Meanwhile, in a corner of the bar, several cloaked men listened quietly to these conversations. The younger men among them revealed sneers on their faces when they heard about Zero Wings present situation. And here I thought the Guild she joined was some powerful existence, a Level 122, Tier 3 Assassin youth, who radiated an aura that made even Tier 3 experts quail, said with displeasure. It seems we were being overly concerned. To think we even went out of our way to come to this backwater. Zero Wing isnt even comparable to one of the main continents Super Guilds. I really dont know how it got so lucky to actually get her to join! Now, shes not even willing to join us! Old Six, dont say that. Although this place isnt much, I heard that those Super Guilds and super-first-rate Guilds have quite a few capable experts. We can use this opportunity to investigate these people and understand the standards of the experts here, a cool-headed, middle-aged man sitting at the head of the group said, chuckling. As for Zero Wing, we can just report the truth to the higher-ups once we return. At that time, she will definitely panic. I guess so. Smiling, the Assassin youth said, If shes willing to join us, I wouldnt mind helping Zero Wing out a little. Just when the various superpowers and independent players thought that Silverwing City would become a ghost city, large groups of players suddenly appeared on the citys streets one after another. These players filled the main streets and alleyways of the city, easily numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Moreover, every one of these players was formidable. In just half an hour, the two Guilds had gathered over three million members in the city, livening up the previously desolate city significantly. Heart! Has your Guild gone mad?! Youre actually betting all your chips on Zero Wing?! Is Crimson Emperor trying to make an enemy out of us? In this situation, the various superpowers had to contact Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words, who were in charge of the operation this time. Although they knew that Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor could be considered Zero Wings allies, Zero Wing was currently going up against almost all of the eastern continents superpowers. Standing with Zero Wing now was no different from suicide. Yet, to the various superpowers astonishment, both Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor declared their intention to side with Zero Wing. Moreover, they even announced that they wouldnt sit still and do nothing should those superpowers take action against Silverwing City. However, Zero Wings move was even more unexpected than Unyielding Souls and Crimson Emperors. Zero Wing actually ordered all members above Level 100 to gather in Silverwing City. More than two million Zero Wing members appeared in Silverwing City. At present, not only was Silverwing City far livelier than before, but the number of Tier 3 experts gathered in the city had also exceeded 10,000. This was more than what any other Guild City on the main continent had. With more than 10,000 Tier 3 experts garrisoning Silverwing City, let alone the various superpowers, even the Five Great Super Guilds would have to be wary of the city. It was no exaggeration to say that with this kind of power, Silverwing City could trample the various powers operating in the Orc Empire. If the superpowers wished to create any waves in Silverwing City, they would have to disregard cost and dispatch a large number of Tier 3 experts into the citys surroundings. Anything less would be futile. Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor mustve gone crazy! Theyre actually willing to go to such an extent just to help Zero Wing? When Cold Shadow received news of Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperors actions, she, too, was surprised. She had anticipated that Zero Wing had a trump card prepared. Otherwise, it wouldnt have dared to provoke the various superpowers. However, never had she expected Zero Wings trump card to be something like this! At this moment, let alone Cold Shadow, someone who was hostile to Zero Wing, even Frost Heavens Seven Wonders was dumbfounded. He never imagined that Zero Wing could make two super-first-rate Guilds bet all their chips on it. With the combined force of the three Guilds, even the superpowers wouldnt dare mess around. After all, those superpowers had dared to target Zero Wing before only because the Guild lacked background, resources, and funding. With their advantage in numbers and funding, they could easily suppress Zero Wing and make the Guild submit. However, now that Zero Wing had two superpowers backing it, numbers and funding were no longer its weaknesses. If the superpowers wished to persecute Zero Wing, they would have to pay at least ten times the price they had to pay before. The various superpowers werent the only ones confused by this situation; even Zero Wings internal members were at a loss. Damn! Our Guild was actually so awesome?! But why did the Guild gather all of us in Silverwing City? Are we going to occupy the Orc Capital City? The assembled Zero Wing members speculated exuberantly. After all, the strength currently gathered in Silverwing City was no laughing matter. A force of 10,000-plus Tier 3 experts was more than enough to flatten the Orc Capital Citys inner area. They might even be able to put up a fight in the core area. Guild Leader, all our Level 100-plus members have arrived. The two Guilds are also ready to set off for Sky Spring City at any time, Liang Jing reported excitedly. She had maintained her calm while everyone else in the Guild was panicking over Zero Wings predicament. This was because she had found out about the Secret Covenant Towers matter ahead of time and Zero Wings settlement into Sky Spring City. So long as Zero Wing sealed off Sky Spring City, outsiders would have difficulty setting foot out of the city. Meanwhile, Zero Wings members could travel freely to the Secret Covenant Tower to grind for levels. They wouldnt need to worry about heading elsewhere to level up. At that time, it would become almost impossible for the superpowers to harm Zero Wings Guild members. Not to mention, when the various superpowers members grinded for levels out in the fields, the interference of those troublesome NPCs would greatly reduce their leveling speed. This, in turn, would further widen the gap in leveling speeds between the superpowers members and Zero Wings members. Alright. Open the Teleportation Hall now, Shi Feng said, nodding. Although things had developed somewhat differently from his original plan, it wouldnt affect the overall situation. Afterward, all Zero Wing had to do was watch as the various superpowers struggled to cope with the increasing number of NPCs and NPC forces. Understood! With great excitement, Liang Jing instructed her subordinates to remove the walls and various camouflage buildings around the Teleportation Hall. The next moment, several seven- and eight-story-tall buildings along the citys main street disappeared. Not only did the disappearance of these buildings create a spacious plaza, but there was even a massive five-story-tall building in the center of this plaza. When the players walking on Silverwing Citys main street saw this building, they were immediately dumbfounded. The building sitting in the plaza was something very familiar to them. 2751 Number One City in the Future Previously, the Teleportation Halls teleportation array had been suppressed by a magic barrier. However, now that the restriction was lifted, the teleportation array instantly stirred the Mana inside Silverwing City, exciting the Mana to flow toward the building. This sudden change stunned the players on the main street. Why does Silverwing City have a Teleportation Hall? Crap! I never thought Zero Wing would actually play such a card! Amazing! Simply amazing! So, this is Zero Wings true trump card? This wont do! I need to rent some Shops in Silverwing City now! I must rent them no matter the cost! The many players on the streets who were originally planning to leave Silverwing City for greener pastures were now in a hurry. Some of the players who were quick to respond hastened to Silverwing Citys City Lords Mansion immediately. Hurry up! we Notify the Commander right away! We cant let the Commander rent a house in another Guild City! We got tricked by Zero Wing! Meanwhile, the various adventurer teams members frantically contacted their respective commanders lest they ruin their future by being even a tad slower. As for the various large Guilds members, their initial gleeful expressions were now replaced with gapes of disbelief. A Teleportation Hall! This was a building all players in Gods Domain were familiar with. Everyone knew just how valuable a Guild City with a Teleportation Hall would be. Compared to high-ranking constructions or Tier 4 NPC guards, a Teleportation Hall was many times more valuable. After all, so long as a Guild City possessed a Teleportation Hall, it would be connected with the countless NPC cities of Gods Domain. The addition of a Teleportation Hall to a Guild City would be akin to a human living in the stone age instantly transforming into a human living in the modern era. The Teleportation Hall would elevate the standard of a Guild City by several levels. When the various superpowers received news of this addition, they were momentarily dumbfounded. None of them ever expected Zero Wing to have such a card. Meanwhile, the Zero Wing members inside Silverwing City reacted with surprise and joy. The Guild Leader is awesome! Those superpowers must be stupefied after this move! With the Teleportation Hall, Silverwing City will definitely become the heart of the neighboring kingdoms and even the Black Dragon Empire. Now, even if the superpowers are powerful, they wont be able to stop players from streaming into Silverwing City. Eventually, Silverwing City will become the number one city in this region! Silverwing City was on a distant neutral map. With the addition of the Teleportation Hall to the city, adventurer teams and independent players could now save up on plenty of travel time by teleporting directly to the Orc Empire. Even though the teleportation fees would be exorbitant, many expert players would rather pay the higher fee than waste their precious time. The players of the neighboring kingdoms and empires were highly likely to visit Silverwing City. At that time, Silverwing Citys player population might exceed 10 million, or even 20 million. The various superpowers attempt to suppress Zero Wing economically had become an utter joke. The only problem remaining would be the superpowers covertly targeting Zero Wings members. However, that problem could be easily resolved. Zero Wings members could simply stop wearing their Guild Emblems and travel to other neutral maps to grind. Guild Leader, just a moment ago, over 2,000 players visited the City Lords Mansion to lease Shops from us. At this rate, it wont take more than half a day before we rent out all our Shops, Liang Jing said excitedly as she read the statistics report she just received. Many NPC merchants had withdrawn from Silverwing City after Zero Wing implemented the ban on NPCs. As a result, many Shops were vacant. However, with the current frenzy, Zero Wing didnt have to worry about finding tenants for these Shops anymore. In fact, the number of players seeking to lease Shops from the city outnumbered the NPC merchants that had left, by a factor of ten or more. Now, Silverwing Citys income surpassed even the previous total income of Zero Wings three Guild Cities. Mhm. Shi Feng nodded, not at all surprised by this situation. However, we need to tweak the rates of our Shops. Instead of just coins, anyone who wishes to lease Shops in the city will also need to pay Magic Crystals: 1,000 Magic Crystals per week for Shops in the city center and 300 Magic Crystals per week for Shops in the outer area. Also, have the Guilds members start making their way to Sky Spring City. In his previous life, any Guild that gained the War Gods Temples recognition had practically been immune to economic suppression. The only way to hinder an Official Guilds development would be to destroy the said Guilds Guild City that housed the Teleportation Hall. Hence, the various superpowers had gone crazy fighting for the reserve seats. In fact, many powers would fight desperately just to secure a foreign aid position. Zero Wings becoming an Official Guild shortly after the first major update could be considered an incredibly fortunate matter. After all, the moment Zero Wing became an Official Guild, it was no longer competing on the same stage as the various superpowers. While it was indeed true that Zero Wings current foundation was no match for that of the various superpowers, Zero Wings potential was way above that of the superpowers. Now, all Zero Wing needed to do was completely seal the Secret Covenant Tower and use it to rapidly develop the Guilds strength before the NPC forces began their invasion. If everything went well, Zero Wing would just have to sit back, watch as the various powers got eliminated, and harvest the territories of these eliminated powers afterward. Now, Zero Wing was in a race against time. As for struggling against the superpowers, that was simply a waste of precious time. After all, in the past, less than 20% of the superpowers had survived the NPC forces invasion. Since the first major update had taken place much sooner this time, the outcome would most likely be even worse. Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs orders, Liang Jing said excitedly, Ill have them start heading over now. Afterward, the members of Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor in Silverwing City teleported to Sky Spring City one after another. The mass migration instantly flooded the desolate streets of Sky Spring City with players. This scene also surprised the original inhabitants of Sky Spring City. Subsequently, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor made an announcement to every player in Sky Spring City, stating that their two Guilds would be imposing a lockdown on Sky Spring City and that any unaffiliated players caught trying to leave the city would be killed without question. For a time, Sky Spring Citys players fell into turmoil. Although Sky Spring Citys various powers couldnt understand why Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor were doing such a thing, locking down an NPC city was childs play for the two super-first-rate Guilds. Hence, after receiving the announcement, Sky Spring Citys various powers promptly fled the city, migrating their base of operations to other NPC cities. This, in turn, made Sky Spring City the exclusive haven of Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor. At this time, a gigantic black eagle circled above the city. Sitting on the Thunder Eagles back, Unyielding Heart pointed at the dozen or so Flying Mounts patrolling nearby and said proudly, Brother Black Flame, Sky Spring City is now sealed off completely. Our two Guilds have organized a flying patrol squad to secure the skies. Now, not even a bird can fly out of the city. It is indeed amazing. Players cant fly out even if they want to. Shi Feng felt a trace of admiration as he looked at Unyielding Souls and Crimson Emperors Flying Mounts. He had to admit that the super-first-rate Guilds were indeed powerful. In an era where Flying Mounts were incredibly rare, Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor had actually managed to secure so many. Moreover, by the looks of it, these Flying Mounts were of considerably high quality. Even the weakest among them was at the Advanced Common rank, with two or three of them even reaching the Basic Extraordinary rank. If a player did not possess an Advanced Extraordinary rank Flying Mount, they wouldnt stand a chance against the coalition of these Flying Mounts. However, Illusory Words shook her head at Unyielding Hearts words. Unlike Unyielding Heart, she didnt have a very optimistic view of the situation. Im afraid the various superpowers will start paying even closer attention to us now. If we march boldly into the Secret Covenant Tower, I believe it wont be long before news of it gets out. At that time, they will definitely do everything they can to investigate the matter. If that happens, the time we can keep the secret hidden will be very short. And once the various superpowers find out about the Tier 3 Legacies, all of them on the eastern continent will disregard all costs to contest over the tower. With the amount of time we have, Im afraid we wont be able to secure many advantages from the tower. Under normal circumstances, their series of actions wouldve already caught plenty of attention. Now, they had even become the focus of the superpowers. Meanwhile, no secret could be kept forever-especially with massive organizations like their Guilds. No matter how hard they tried to keep the Secret Covenant Towers secret hidden, the secret would eventually get out. The only way to prevent the secret from leaking would be to avoid informing the members of their Guild and prevent their Guild members from entering the Secret Covenant Tower at all. However, they couldnt afford to take such an action. Indeed. Shi Feng nodded. He very much agreed with Illusory Wordss worries. Compared to Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart, Shi Feng knew much more clearly just how much of an impact the Secret Covenant Tower would have on the continent of Gods Domain. Once the towers secret got out, the resulting struggle wouldnt be a simple competition between superpowers. Instead, it would be a fight to the death. Quite a few superpowers had even perished during the struggle back then. However, we have already acted. We cant possibly avoid entering the tower now, right? Unyielding Heart also understood that the secret would get out very quickly once they began sending their members into the tower. In fact, the secret would still leak even if they allowed only a small number of the Guilds confidants into the towers 30th floor and below. No! Shi Feng shook his head. Smiling, he said, We arent exactly without options to take full control of the Secret Covenant Tower. What other options do we have? Unyielding Heart asked as he looked at Shi Feng curiously. In his opinion, once the secret got out, their three Guilds wouldnt be able to retain their monopoly of the Secret Covenant Tower. The only thing they could do now was grind for as many Tier 3 Legacies as possible before the inevitable occurred. Illusory Words also turned to look at Shi Feng, a trace of confusion in her eyes. Youll understand once you take a look at this, Shi Feng said as he sent a document to the two people. He then added, You must keep this matter a secret. You absolutely cannot let other people know about it. Otherwise, you will no longer have any connection with the Secret Covenant Tower in the future. In contrast, if we succeed in this matter, your two Guilds can each occupy 25% of the Secret Covenant Towers shares.What is it? Is this thing you speak of really so amazing? Unyielding Heart felt that Shi Feng was indulging in hyperbole. The latter spoke as if the Secret Covenant Tower was already in the bag. Youre not talking about the Tier 4 Promotion Quest information, right? Illusory Words joked. Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, Youll understand once you see it. Immediately, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words stopped speaking and opened the file Shi Feng sent them. However, as soon as they read the information, their jaws dropped, their eyes widened in disbelief, and their hearts pounded with shock. Looking at Shi Feng, Unyielding Heart asked in a quivering voice, I-Is this real? The thing that Shi Feng had just shown them completely exceeded Unyielding Hearts imagination. In fact, compared to it, the information on the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was worth less than dust. 2752 Shi Fengs Madness First, it was the Teleportation Hall. Then, it was the Secret Covenant Tower. Now, there was even a Small Mobile Fortress. Not only did Shi Feng reveal one secret after another, but every secret was also more amazing than the other. At this point, she even wondered whether Shi Feng still had more astonishing secrets and trump cards hidden. She got the impression he was simply waiting for his enemies to come at him so that he could use them as Zero Wings stepping stones. Simultaneously, she felt fortunate that Crimson Emperor did not oppose Zero Wing. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable. Sort of, Shi Feng said, chuckling. May I know if you two are interested now? In reality, even Shi Feng coveted the Small Mobile Fortress. However, although he had the design for it now, he barely had any of the necessary materials to construct it. Incidentally, he could pull two wealthy Guilds into the endeavor. Taking a deep breath, Illusory Words turned to look at Shi Feng and demanded, Out with it. How do you want to do this? Unyielding Heart also nodded in agreement with Illusory Wordss question. He wanted to hear Shi Fengs plans. Youve seen the Small Mobile Fortresss basic information already. Smiling faintly, Shi Feng said, The wealth needed to construct it is astonishing. I can confidently say that even if we empty out your two Guilds, we still wont have enough resources to build it. Neither Illusory Words nor Unyielding Heart refuted Shi Fengs words. Although Shi Feng did not show them the requirements for constructing the Small Mobile Fortress, even a fool could tell that the cost of such a terrifying sky fortress would be astronomical. It definitely wasnt something current superpowers could afford. I dont need you to pay for the fortresss construction cost. However, I will need your two Guilds to pay two million Magic Crystals and five million Gold Coins each for the Secret Covenant Towers shares. What do you think? Elaborating on his point, Shi Feng said, Once we fully occupy the Secret Covenant Tower, we can collect entrance fees from other players. For example, we can charge two Magic Crystals or one Gold Coin. Your two Guilds will each get 25% of the profits. Of course, before this, I still need your two Guilds to lend me your help. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to accomplish this task. At Shi Fengs words, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart began pondering in silence. What Shi Feng said was simply too astonishing. If they followed his plan, they would basically be declaring war on the eastern continents other superpowers. Moreover, it would be irreconcilable. To put it simply, this was a gamble! Shi Feng was not at all surprised to see the twos reactions. In reality, he had planned to carry out such a plan since the very beginning. However, instead of revealing his full plan right off the bat, he had chosen to reveal it sequentially to the two Guilds. Otherwise, they would most likely have rejected it then and there. Zero Wing wouldnt be able to become a true titan in Gods Domain in that case. Only by securing the Secret Covenant Tower could Zero Wing continually produce Tier 3 players in large numbers. After all, a complete Tier 3 Legacy could be used only nine times, at most. In other words, a Tier 3 Legacy could, at best, produce nine Tier 3 players. After a Tier 3 Legacys uses were exhausted, it would disappear automatically, and one would have to find another complete Tier 3 Legacy. Hence, it was necessary to keep sending players to explore the Secret Covenant Tower. However, if Zero Wing held the tower for only a short period, the small advantage it would gain wouldnt be enough for the Guild to undergo a qualitative transformation. Only by having complete control over the tower would Zero Wing build a foundation solid enough to dominate Gods Domain. Now that Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul had seen the preliminary parts of his plan coming to fruition, the two Guilds would also have more confidence in Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart simultaneously contacted their respective superiors and secretly discussed the partnership Shi Feng proposed. At this time, Zero Wing had given them two options. Moreover, they had to choose between these options right now. The first option was to give up on further cooperation and focus only on obtaining some benefits from the Secret Covenant Tower. Afterward, the tower would no longer have any connection with their two Guilds, becoming the competition ground of the other superpowers, instead. The second option was to further their cooperation with Zero Wing, taking full control of the Secret Covenant Tower and making an enemy of every other superpower on the eastern continent. If their plan succeeded, their Guilds would gain an endless stream of resources and Tier 3 players. If they failed, it wouldnt be surprising if their Guilds disbanded. This was a gamble that put everything on the line! After discussing for more than ten minutes, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart simultaneously disconnected their calls and looked at Shi Feng. Guild Leader Black Flame, Crimson Emperor has decided to take your gamble this time. However, we have a condition for doing so, Illusory Words said slowly. If you cannot agree to this condition, we cannot further our partnership. Brother Black Flame, it is the same for my side, as well, Unyielding Heart said with a bitter smile. You are playing with too big a fire this time. Our hesitation is natural. Go ahead. Shi Feng wasnt at all surprised by this response. After all, the bet he proposed basically involved their Guilds life or death. However, not everyone would have the opportunity to make such a bet, either. The two Guilds should know this as well, which was why they did not refuse his offer outright. Instead, they had chosen to accept his offer while increasing their chances of survival as much as possible by adding conditions. In fact, it would be strange if they didnt do so. Im guessing the requirement of our two Guilds should be the same. With a helpless smile, Illusory Words said, If Zero Wings plan this time fails, Crimson Emperor wants half of Silverwing Citys profits. Unyielding Heart nodded in agreement. The price Shi Feng was asking their two Guilds to pay was no laughing matter. If the plan really failed, their Guilds would be doomed for sure. However, if they had Silverwing Citys income, they could more or less survive the ordeal. That wont be a problem, Shi Feng answered without the slightest bit of hesitation. Since he had invited the two Guilds into an alliance, he naturally had to provide them with a safe path of retreat. Otherwise, who would be willing to take such a risk? After all, even if Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul secured only a small advantage through the Secret Covenant Tower, they could still become titans in Gods Domain, unlike Zero Wing. And even if the two Guilds managed to gain full control over the tower, their situation would improve only slightly. They would be a step ahead of the various superpowers but still be no match for the Five Great Super Guilds. ve Shi Fengs decisiveness stunned Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart. In their opinion, Silverwing City was Zero Wings last path of retreat. It was also one of Zero Wings main sources of income right now and would most likely remain so in the future. One could say that so long as Silverwing City remained standing, Zero Wing would continue to survive in Gods Domain. However, Shi Feng had agreed to give its income away without hesitation. What the two of them did not know was that Shi Feng had never once deemed Silverwing City or Stone Forest City that important. The Small Mobile Fortress was the way to go! Even if his plan failed this time and he managed to gather only a small portion of the Small Mobile Fortresss construction materials, he wouldve profited massively. In his previous life, Guilds had been willing to exchange three Main Guild Cities for one Small Mobile Fortress, let alone a measly Basic City. Even then, no Guild had accepted the trade. Following this, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart signed a Guild Contract with Shi Feng on behalf of their respective Guilds. As stipulated in the contract, Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul would do everything they could to support Zero Wing during this time. Both Guilds would also pay two million Magic Crystals and five million Gold Coins to Zero Wing. In exchange, Zero Wing would have to give up all of Silverwing Citys income to the two Guilds should the plan fail. When the Guild Contract took effect, both Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart breathed out a deep sigh of relief. This was undoubtedly the scariest and craziest wager they had participated in, in their entire lives. Brother Black Flame, what do you need us to do next? Unyielding Heart asked Shi Feng. With the contract signed, their two Guilds would move according to Shi Fengs arrangement. Moreover, Unyielding Heart was also curious about what Shi Feng needed their two Guilds strength for. Although he didnt know what it cost to construct a Small Mobile Fortress, the price definitely wasnt something even five superpowers working together could afford. Otherwise, Mobile Fortresses wouldnt be so rare in the various kingdoms and empires. Theres nothing much you can do now. Your two Guilds just need to focus on locking down the Secret Covenant Tower. At the same time, send some trustworthy members to explore the 30th floor and beyond to obtain as many Tier 3 Legacies as possible. After giving the matter further thought, Shi Feng said, In addition, Ill need your two Guilds to organize a 100-man team of peak experts, which will follow me to a place. A 100-man team of peak experts? Shi Fengs words shocked Unyielding Heart. Even working together, Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul wouldnt be able to form such a team. At best, they would be able to bring out 70 or 80 peak experts. Can you tell us where were going? Illusory Words frowned at Shi Fengs words. Peak experts were the pillars of their Guilds. Fielding so many peak experts for one operation would place a heavy burden on their Guilds. 2753 God Slayers Treasure Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were stunned by Shi Fengs answer, their complexions turning indescribably grim. The two of them were not unfamiliar with the name Ruined Mountain Range. On the contrary, this was a name that resounded among the various superpowers. The superpowers usually sent scouts to check out Level 100-plus neutral maps, which had many danger zones. Some superpowers would even investigate Level 130 to Level 150 neutral maps. Of the explorations conducted by the superpowers, none of the exploration teams they sent into the Ruined Mountain Range had returned alive. Yes! Despite the Ruined Mountain Range being only a Level 120-plus neutral map, none of the expert players that entered it had returned alive. In fact, they didnt even know how they died. After suffering such bizarre losses, the superpowers stopped attempting to explore the Ruined Mountain Range. After all, the players capable of entering Level 120-plus neutral maps were incredibly strong experts, with even the weakest among them being at the Flowing Water Realm. Even the superpowers couldnt afford to have too many of such experts dying. Due to this reason, the Ruined Mountain Range had become a forbidden land for the various superpowers. Even though the superpowers already had Level 118-plus expert players under their command now, none of them dared make another attempt. After a while, Unyielding Heart asked nervously, Must we go in there? Peak experts were the main pillars supporting their Guilds. Even the death of one of these experts would distress them. It would be an absolute nightmare if several dozen of them died. Mhm. We must. Entering the Ruined Mountain Range is the prerequisite for our success, Shi Feng said, nodding. If possible, he wouldnt want to enter the Ruined Mountain Range at this time, either. However, the Ruined Mountain Range was his only option to secure a large amount of resources quickly. This was because the Ruined Mountain Range was a true forbidden land with the lowest level requirement. Players had a chance of surviving in the neutral map so long as they reached Level 120. Moreover, the Ruined Mountain Range was also one of the most highly contested forbidden lands in his previous life. Although the Ruined Mountain Range was labeled a forbidden land, it wasnt a forbidden land for all life. Instead, it was only a forbidden land for humans. Humans would face great danger when entering the Ruined Mountain Range; however, non-humans wouldnt. Most importantly, the clue he had to the God Slayer led him to the Ruined Mountain Range. After analyzing the map clue and with his understanding of the Ruined Mountain Range, he felt it was highly likely that one of the God Slayers treasures was hidden inside the forbidden land. This was something he had only heard of during his previous life. Although he didnt know who activated the Earthfall Secret Land, what he did know was that the Five Great Super Guilds had dispatched over 40 Tier 5 experts to contest for it. The struggle between these experts had very nearly flattened the Ruined Mountain Ranges outer area. As to what the Earthfall Secret Land contained, there had been all sorts of rumors about it in the outside world. However, nobody actually had a concrete answer. This was because shortly after the Earthfall Secret Land appeared, three of the Five Great Super Guilds had joined forces to monopolize that place. The three Guilds had prohibited not only outsiders from entering but even their own internal members. The minimum condition to enter the Earthfall Secret Land had been being a Tier 4 core member. Nevertheless, one thing was certain: the Landfall Secret Land was a different dimension the God Slayer had created. The secret land had boasted an abundance of riches and ore veins. Magic Crystals could also be found all around. It wasnt a place the outside world could compare to. Hence, Shi Feng intended to take a look at the Earthfall Secret Land. However, the road leading to the Earthfall Secret Land was a treacherous one. After all, countless Tier 4 players had died in the Ruined Mountain Range in his previous life. Even Tier 5 players had fallen in the map. It wasnt a place that lone individuals could easily traverse. Therefore, Shi Feng planned to tap the power of Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul for this endeavor. The Ruined Mountain Range is extraordinary. Not to mention, the two of our Guilds dont even have enough people to form a 100-man team of peak experts. Im afraid its going to be difficult to survive there, Illusory Words stated. How about we include some additional Tier 3 experts? That will increase our chances. Compared to Tier 3 peak experts, ordinary Tier 3 experts were far less prized. If they came across dangerous situations, they could have the ordinary experts scout ahead instead of putting the peak experts at risk. This method was frequently employed by superpowers when exploring forbidden lands. No. Shaking his head, Shi Feng smiled and said, The ones participating in this expedition arent just experts from your two Guilds. Other experts will come with us, as well. Other experts? Are they safe? Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were confused by Shi Fengs words. The operation this time was evidently a top secret. They couldnt afford to invite outsiders at all. Moreover, the operation had high requirements for players. They found it hard to believe that Zero Wing actually had other allies that could be trusted for this operation. Mhm. Theyre safe. Their strength is also more than enough to participate in this operation, Shi Feng said, chuckling. The Earthfall Secret Land was a place that the Five Great Super Guilds had considered a strategic resource. Once there, he naturally couldnt explore it together with Crimson Emperors and Unyielding Souls members. However, exploring the secret land by himself was also impossible. Hence, he needed to bring some other people with him. Only, outsiders did not know that these people were actually part of Zero Wing. Afterward, Shi Feng had illusory Words and Unyielding Heart gather their Guilds peak experts while he contacted the Asura adventurer team. As for the Secret Covenant Tower, he tasked Fire Dance and the rest of Zero Wings main force to handle it. After all, the expedition to the Ruined Mountain Range would take a lot of time. Since Fire Dance and the others could already challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests, it would be a loss for them to accompany him. Black Dragon Empire, Thousand Rock Town: Several dozen flashes appeared on the towns teleportation array as Unyielding Souls and Crimson Emperors peak experts arrived in this desolate border town. Although Thousand Rock Town was known as a town, there were hardly any NPCs there, let alone players, because of the towns proximity to the Ruined Mountain Range. The neutral map was so dangerous that even NPCs wished to avoid it. After glancing at the desolate street, Blue Gown eyed Shi Feng, who stood nearby. She then asked Illusory Words curiously through a private conversation, Big Sis Illusory, who do you think Guild Leader Black Flame invited? In her opinion, their team, which consisted entirely of peak experts or better, was incredibly rare even in the entire Gods Domain. She found it inconceivable that Zero Wing could invite another team capable of rivaling theirs. Aside from the many peak experts, their team had Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart. The former was a Cleric who stood at the pinnacle of Gods Domain, while the latter was a Berserker with Defense rivaling MT classes. There was also Blue Gown herself, who was the third-ranked Guardian Knight in Crimson Emperors main force. At this stage of the game, only the Five Great Super Guilds would be capable of fielding such a team. I dont know. According to the information we gathered, only the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions Phoenix Rain might be of help. However, Phoenix Rain disappeared, so Zero Wing shouldnt have any other capable allies, Illusory Words replied, shaking her head. She, too, was curious about the allies Shi Feng mentioned. Shortly after Illusory Words and Blue Gown spoke with each other, a dozen or so flashes appeared on the teleportation array once more. When these new arrivals walked out of the teleportation array, both Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were shocked. Every one of these new arrivals radiated an astonishingly powerful aura. By the looks of it, not only had they unlocked their Mana Bodies, but their progress shouldve reached 100% as well. The callous man walking at the head of the group was someone even Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart had to be wary of. Lightning Demon Lifeless Thorn! Lifeless Thorn was a ruthless person who persisted in challenging the various experts of Gods Domain. Some time ago, he had even fought Stalwart Sky, one of the Battle Wolvess Wolf Kings, to a draw and was labeled by the Secret Pavilion as one of the eastern continents top ten rookies. At this time, Lifeless Thorn boasted not only a high level of 122 but also seven pieces of Epic Equipment. And although he had hidden the glow effect of the spear he carried on his back, the archaic magic patterns engraved on it betrayed the spears superiority to ordinary Epic Weapons. The Asura adventurer team! Why are they here? Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were dying of curiosity at the sight of Lifeless Thorns group. After all, the Asura adventurer team was currently a top adventurer team in Gods Domain. Moreover, it possessed an incredibly mysterious background. Not only did the adventurer team conquer many high-difficulty, large-scale Team Dungeons, but the adventurer teams members also possessed unfathomable strength. Many of the adventurer teams members had even reached the Spiritualization Realm[1], which allowed them to exhibit extraordinary combat power. Various superpowers had frantically tried to recruit the adventurer team. However, the Asura adventurer team had rejected all the offers. Although many superpowers had sent teams led by peak experts in retaliation, none of these teams succeeded. Moreover, these teams usually returned with heavy losses. 2754 Forbidden Land for Humans It was also bruited about that the Asura adventurer team had an incredibly powerful commander. This commander was elusive and mysterious. Rumor had it that even Lifeless Thorn couldnt survive one hit from this commander and that Lifeless Thorn was challenging the various superpowers experts so crazily because he wanted to challenge Asuras commander once more. This situation instilled fear in the various superpowers. For this reason, Gods Domains superpowers suspected that the Asura adventurer team had the backing of a mysterious and powerful force. In fact, they even suspected that this mysterious backer was someone from the Upper Zones top layer. The Asura adventurer team had arrogantly rejected many of the powers that wished to recruit it. This, in turn, resulted in many clashes between Asura and the various powers. And the more Asura fought, the more famous it became. Now, however, it was actually revealed that Asura had a good relationship with Zero Wing. Mhm. Theyll be moving with us later on, Shi Feng said. He then nodded at Lifeless Thorn and the others in greeting Actually, even Shi Feng was somewhat surprised when he saw Lifeless Thorn and the others. He never thought that they would improve so much in the time he hadnt seen them. Now, Lifeless Thorn and the others surpassed Fire Dance and Zero Wings other main force members in levels. Moreover, Lifeless Thorns aura suggested that he was half a step into the Domain Realm already. Shi Feng had to admit that the man was truly a battle maniac. Although his frenziedly challenging Gods Domains various experts had earned him a lot of enemies, the experience he racked up allowed him to improve rapidly. As for Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, Cleansing Whistle, and the others standing beside Lifeless Thorn, they, too, had made significant improvement. It was evident they were at the Flowing Water Realm already. Moreover, they werent all that far from reaching the Void Realm, either. If they received enlightenment now, they might very well break through to the next level immediately. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs introduction of them rendered Lifeless Thorn and the others momentarily speechless. They nodded at Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart in acknowledgment, none of them showing any intention of speaking to the two strangers. Indeed. I never thought you would manage to recruit so many talents, Shi Feng said in astonishment as he studied Asuras team members. Quite a few of the Asura members present were people he was unacquainted with personally. However, he had heard of a few of these people in his previous life. All of them had been well-known solo experts in the game. Two of them had even reached Tier 5, only slightly inferior to Lifeless Thorn, who had reached the Demigod standard. Shi Feng truly had not imagined that Lifeless Thorn and the others would be able to recruit all these people into the Asura adventurer team. Following this, Solitary Nine told Shi Feng about recent events, mentioning that they had accidentally strayed into a magical place where time flowed at a completely different rate, and the players residing there were incredibly strong. In that magical place, Refinement Realm experts were considered third-rate; they were no big deal whatsoever. The players there were also very high-leveled, with some having even reached Level 130 already. When Solitary Nine and the others visited that place, they had been utterly dumbfounded. During their stay in that magical place, they had frequently fought with the experts there. This allowed them to gain a lot of inspiration and improvement. Unfortunately, the system abruptly brought them back to the main continent for some reason. When they returned, their levels surpassed that of the superpowers peak experts by a large margin. Solitary Nines tale surprised Shi Feng. He never thought that Gods Domain would actually have such a magical area. However, when he remembered that Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had fought in a different world for eighty years, he concluded that the situation Lifeless Thorn and the others had found themselves in was nothing to fuss about. Meanwhile, Crimson Emperors and Unyielding Souls members also finished their preparations to set off. Following which, everyone got on their Flying Mounts and flew toward the Ruined Mountain Range. The Ruined Mountain Range occupied a huge area on the continent of Gods Domain. According to players estimates, the entire Ruined Mountain Range could rival the combined area of five or six empires and connected many places. The neutral maps Level 120 region was only the periphery. If players wished to survive in the maps inner region, they would have to reach Level 150 at the very least. As for the Ruined Mountain Ranges core area, only Level 180-plus, Tier 5 experts could enter there; even Level 200, Tier 4 experts wouldnt survive. After flying for seven hours straight, Shi Feng and the others finally saw a stretch of majestic mountains on the horizon. Just the mountains in the Ruined Mountain Ranges periphery already reached heights of more than 30,000 meters. The sky of the mountain range was also shrouded in thunderclouds, and purple lighting arcs frequently appeared, bombarding the mountain range. CS Those seeing the Ruined Mountain Range for the first time were inevitably stunned by the magnificent and destructive scene before them. Were descending! Shi Feng instructed everyone after taking a look at the mountain range ahead. Flying Mounts couldnt fly into the Ruined Mountain Range. If players wished to enter the neutral map, they had to rely on their own two feet. This was because even Tier 5 experts couldnt withstand the purple lightning. Even a Level 200, Tier 5 Guardian Knight would fall after suffering three to five lightning strikes. Anyone who wished to fly inside the Ruined Mountain Range would have to reach Tier 6 first. Only then could they endure the purple lightning Shortly afterward, Shi Feng and the others arrived in a forest near the Ruined Mountain Range. They then stored their Flying Mounts one after another. Once we enter the Ruined Mountain Range, everyone must stick to the team as closely as possible. You must not split off from the team under any circumstances. Otherwise, youll be responsible for the consequences, Shi Feng said after everyone had finished organizing themselves. Remember! Even if someone beside you is asking for help, or I tell you to run for your lives, ignore everything! You must continue sticking to the team and advance! We also need to move as fast as possible! Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, everyone present was surprised and puzzled. Guild Leader Black Flame, are we supposed to ignore even your commands after we enter the map? Blue Gown asked, her eyes filled with questions as she looked at Shi Feng. Shi Feng had clearly stated before that they needed to listen to his every command. Yet, now, he was telling them to ignore his commands once they entered the Ruined Mountain Range. His instructions were simply incomprehensible. Yes. Once you enter, you can ignore any of my commands temporarily. You can also ignore everyone around you until the team comes to a halt, Shi Feng said, nodding. Why? Illusory Words was also slightly confused by this situation. Is there an illusion inside? Im not sure, either. In any case, the environment inside is very special. You will suffer from hallucinations once you enter. However, despite being hallucinations, everything you see isnt an illusion, but real instead. Nobody can tell what is real or fake once inside. You can treat everything as real, and you can also treat everything as fake, Shi Feng said calmly. The only thing I am certain of is that stopping inside means death! This was also why he had Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul dispatch only peak experts for this expedition. Anyone capable of becoming a peak expert would possess a firm mindset. Meanwhile, only with a firm mindset could one pass through the Ruined Mountain Ranges periphery. How can there be such an environment? Blue Gown was shocked at Shi Fengs explanation. As far as she knew, forbidden lands were merely places with harsh environments and strong monsters. Yet, the Ruined Mountain Range was actually a place that subjected players to hallucinations? At this moment, let alone Blue Gown, even Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart had grim expressions on their faces. Suddenly, they understood why the various superpowers experts had died unawares after entering the Ruined Mountain Range. In fact, it would be strange if they knew how they died! In this world, the scariest thing was the unknown. Meanwhile, the Ruined Mountain Range undoubtedly fulfilled this condition. Although they didnt know whether there were any monsters in the Ruined Mountain Ranges periphery, just the unique environment alone made it a scary place. In fact, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call it the scariest place they had visited since entering Gods Domain. The Ruined Mountain Range truly deserved its reputation as a forbidden land for humans! Alright, lets head inside, Shi Feng said after seeing that everyone had digested his words. Remember! Stick to the team! Afterward, Shi Feng led the team to a mountain path that led into the Ruined Mountain Range. The mountain path was relatively close by. Tier 3 players would take only a few minutes to cross the distance on foot. Less than ten minutes later, the team of 100-plus players entered the Ruined Mountain Ranges perimeter. The moment everyone set foot into the neutral map, their mood grew solemn. They also followed Shi Fengs command and stuck close to each other. The team advanced at a slow pace. Even the Tier 3 magical-class players of the team managed to keep up easily. The Ruined Mountain Ranges environment was surprisingly better than everyone imagined; the map did not constantly sap their Stamina or Concentration. In fact, very little foreign energy invaded their bodies here. Around half an hour later, the team still had not come across a single monster. The whole mountain range was surprisingly safe and peaceful. Unlike what they imagined, the map wasnt infested with monsters that could easily trample over Tier 3 players. It seems the Ruined Mountain Range isnt a big deal, after all, Blue Gown said as she observed her surroundings. Under the circumstances, her initial expectation had disappeared completely. At Blue Gowns words, everyone in the team also started to feel that Shi Feng had blown things out of proportion. He had only made them needlessly anxious. Blue, Ill have to rely on you once monsters start appearing later on, a Level 119 female Summoner said to Blue Gown. Sure, no problem. Ill make sure no monster gets near you, Blue Gown said confidently. The female Summoner felt relieved at Blue Gowns assurance. Ci! The next moment, the sound of something splashing suddenly entered everyones ears. The smell of blood also quickly spread into the surroundings. Meanwhile, everyone in the team stared at the female Summoner and Blue Gown in shock. You Why? The female Summoner stared at Blue Gown in consternation.Before anyone realized it, Blue Gown had stabbed the female Summoner with her longsword, causing the latter to lose HP continuously. Blue Gown stared at the female Summoner in confusion. A bright smile appearing on her face, she asked in a dissatisfied tone, What why? After saying so, Blue Gown slashed the female Summoners throat, killing her. Whats going on? Immediately, the people standing behind Blue Gown stared at her in shock and confusion. They couldnt understand why Blue Gown would suddenly attack a fellow teammate. Moreover, the smile on her face was unspeakably strange. The gaze she used to look at them also seemed as if she wasnt looking at humans. Whats the matter with you guys? Blue Gown asked in confusion when she saw everyone looking at her warily. Why are you looking at me like that? 2755 Monster? What should we do now? Anyway, lets step back and keep our distance! Everyone slowly backed away from Blue Gown while staring at her in confusion. After all, Blue Gown possessed extraordinary strength as well as a hidden class for Guardian Knights. If they allowed her to get close to them, they would meet a similar fate to that female Summoner. Meanwhile, upon noticing the players behind her stepping away, Blue Gown slowed her pace and looked at her teammates in confusion. Whats the matter with you guys? While Blue Gown asked this question, the longsword in her hand bloomed with a dazzling light. The surrounding space even began to twist from the weapons power. Not good! Be careful! Shes using a Tier 3 Legacy Skill! Well definitely die if we get hit! a Tier 3 expert familiar with Blue Gown warned Unyielding Souls experts. Afterward, this person dashed straight into the nearby forest. The next moment, several other peak experts from Crimson Emperor also hid in the nearby forest one after another. Upon seeing this, Unyielding Souls experts couldnt help hesitating over whether to fight or hide. On the other hand, Blue Gown was confused when she saw Crimson Emperors members fleeing Turning toward the female Summoner who shouldve long since been dead, Blue Gown asked, Tea, what do you think is wrong with them? Why did they look at me like that just now? I dont know, either, the female Summoner named Clear Tea answered, shaking her head. With a confused expression on her face, she said, Why dont we follow them and take a look? Itll be bad if they move too far away from the team. I guess youre right. Blue Gown nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, when Illusory Words, who stood some distance ahead of Blue Gown, noticed Blue Gown splitting away from the team, she promptly slowed her pace. Blue, what are you doing? Illusory Words shouted at Blue Gown in dissatisfaction. Also, who have you been talking to all this time? Me? Turning toward Illusory Words, Blue Gown answered, Havent I been talking to Clear Tea all this time? Clear Tea? Looking at Blue Gown strangely, Illusory Words said, Isnt Tea at the front of the team? The front? Blue Gown immediately turned to look at Clear Tea. However, before she realized it, the female Summoner whom she had been chatting with merrily just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. Where did she go? Wait, why have so many of our members gone missing? Illusory Words asked in confusion. I dont know what got into them, but they suddenly retreated into the forest over there, Blue Gown said, shaking her head. She, too, was confused at this situation. Now that weve suffered such severe losses already, if we continue following him, hell definitely lead us to our deaths! Our only choice is to kill him now! Illusory Words said in a whisper to Blue Gown while looking at the front at Shi Feng, who was leading the team. Ill assist you. With your strength, even if you cant kill him in one hit, you should still be able to injure him heavily. At that time, Ill land the finishing blow on him! This despicable Black Flame! I knew he wasnt anything good! Blue Gown nodded in agreement to Illusory Wordss plan. Blue Gown made her way toward Shi Feng at a quick pace. When less than 100 yards separated them, Blue Gown suddenly disappeared, then reappeared behind Shi Feng, a dazzling brilliance bursting out from the longsword she wielded. She swung her sword at the defenseless Shi Feng. The next moment, countless spatial cracks appeared before Blue Gown and extended up to 100 yards away. Blue Gown, what are you doing?! Unyielding Heart was startled when he saw Blue Gown suddenly attacking Shi Feng. However, Blue Gown paid no attention to Unyielding Heart at all, launching another ruthless attack immediately after her first one. However, after executing her second attack, Blue Gown was dumbfounded. Where did he go? Looking ahead, Blue Gown failed to see anyone standing on the road before her, and she froze in stupefaction. By the time Blue Gown reacted to the situation, Shi Feng was already standing beside her and looking at her quietly. At this time, Unyielding Heart also took action, grabbing Blue Gowns wrist, preventing her from attacking again. Blue Gown, what are you doing?! Why are you attacking Guild Leader Black Flame?! Have you lost your mind?! Unyielding Heart questioned. Dont stop me! Hes trying to kill us! Blue Gown said as she glared at Shi Feng. Hes trying to annihilate our peak experts using the Ruined Mountain Range! If you dont believe me, look behind! Everyone at the back has disappeared already! Disappeared? Startled by Blue Gowns words, Unyielding Heart automatically turned to look to the teams rear. Upon seeing that fewer than 20 people remained in the team, Unyielding Heart paled. Guild Leader Black Flame, are you really In this situation, even Unyielding Heart couldnt help doubting Shi Fengs motives. Are you really trying to annihilate us? Before Unyielding Heart finished speaking, Shi Feng had already unsheathed the Abyssal Blade. Slash! Before Blue Gown could react, Shi Feng had cleaved Unyielding Heart in half, killing the latter instantly. You! Blue Gown was momentarily stunned when she saw Unyielding Heart getting killed. She then bellowed at Shi Feng, You really are trying to annihilate the peak experts of our two Guilds! ill fight you to death! After Blue Gown said so, the intensity of her aura skyrocketed until it rivaled that of Level 120 Mythic monsters. However, before she could take action, Shi Feng used Darkness Bind. Several dozen chains promptly appeared and restricted Blue Gowns movements. Despite her strength rivaling Tier 4 Mythic monsters, all she could do was glare at Shi Feng; she couldnt move her body in the slightest. Looking at Blue Gown, Shi Feng said evenly, You need to calm down! Calm down? You want me to calm down?! Blue Gowns eyes burned with a fiery rage. You killed Vice Guild Leader Heart, yet you want me to calm down!? Take a clear look at the situation! Shi Feng shouted while releasing his killing intent and directing it at Blue Gown. The intense killing intent instantly shocked Blue Gown out of her anger. And as if having realized something, she then gawked at her surroundings. What the hell is going on with me? Before Blue Gown realized it, more people had appeared around her. Unyielding Heart stood among these new additions and was currently staring at her with a confused look on his face. Blue, whats gotten into you? Why are you trying to kill Guild Leader Black Flame so desperately? Illusory Words asked, similarly surprised by Blue Gowns actions. Everyone had been advancing carefully before. Yet, for some reason, Blue Gown had suddenly charged up to Shi Feng and attacked him. Fortunately, Shi Feng had reacted quickly and dodged her attack in time. An illusion? I got caught in an illusion? Blue Gown was stunned by this situation. Everything she experienced before felt too real, so real that she didnt even notice that something was amiss. Whats going on here? Unyielding Heart asked in surprise. Does this mean youll get trapped in an illusion even if youre just walking? However, before Unyielding Heart and the others could figure out what was going on, Shi Feng suddenly stabbed the Abyssal Blade into Blue Gown. What are you doing, Guild Leader Black Flame? Illusory Words asked, startled. Shi Feng was a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Any random attack of his could reap millions of HP from Mythic monsters. Killing Blue Gown, who had less than three million HP, would take no more than a hit. However, what occurred next made everyones jaws drop. This was because Shi Fengs attack failed to kill Blue Gown. A damage value exceeding 4.4 million had appeared above Blue Gowns head, yet the Guardian Knights HP bar had fallen by only a small chunk-losing barely 3% of her HP. How is this possible?! Unyielding Heart couldnt help doubting his eyes. For Blue Gown to lose only around 3% of her HP despite suffering over four million damage, her maximum HP had to exceed 200 million. A player having 200 million HP? Did a monster replace Blue? Illusory Words was also stunned by this situation. This was Illusory Wordss first time seeing a monster transforming into a player. Moreover, the Blue Gown before her looked identical to the real one. However, before anyone could snap out of their surprise, Shi Feng suddenly appeared beside Illusory Words and slashed at her with the Abyssal Blade. -6,434,654! Damage exceeding six million appeared above Illusory Wordss head. However, similar to Blue Gown, Illusory Words lost less than 3% of her HP from the attack. Illusory Words looked at Shi Feng strangely, failing to understand why Shi Feng had attacked her all of a sudden. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart, who saw all of this, was at a loss. He simply couldnt figure out what was happening right now. Guild Leader Black Flame, what exactly are you doing? After suffering an attack, Illusory Words hurriedly stepped back and used a Healing Spell on herself, instantly replenishing her HP back to full. What am I doing? Chuckling, Shi Feng said, Of course, Im getting rid of you monsters! Monsters? What kind of joke are you making? How am I a monster? Im a bona fide player! Illusory Words protested, her eyes wide with confusion as she looked at Shi Feng. She then explained hurriedly, There must be a problem here! When everyone on the team saw that Illusory Words did not retaliate, combined with the sincerity in her voice, they had to nod their heads in agreement, feeling that there was definitely a problem here. If Illusory Words really were a monster, she shouldve retaliated after Shi Feng attacked her. She wouldnt be trying to explain herself. 2756 True Forbidden Land! Were Blue Gown and Illusory Words monsters or not? Previously, when they came across monsters, all they needed to do was attack the said monsters. If they couldnt defeat the monsters, they could just run. Now, however, they couldnt even tell whether the monsters they faced were actual monsters. What were they supposed to do in this situation? Immediately, a deathly silence fell over the entire team as everyone turned to look at their teammates, afraid that the one standing beside them was actually a monster in disguise. Illusory Words and Blue Gown also warily eyed each other. This weird scene was definitely a first for everyone. However, after this strange atmosphere lasted for several seconds, the sunny sky suddenly darkened. Lightning and thunder filled the surroundings. Before Blue Gown realized it, the people around her had disappeared. Simultaneously, a six-meter-tall monster with a huge mouth and ethereal body had appeared beside her-and it had devoured half of her soul already. Despite having noticed this monster, she could only stare at it quietly like an immobile puppet. She couldnt move her body even if she wanted to. However, the next moment, a magic blade pierced the heart of this monster. The monster let loose an ear-piercing scream that made Blue Gown feel as if her head would burst. Whats going on? Blue Gown, whose body currently resembled an ethereal soul, was all at sea. Right now, she truly could not distinguish what was real from what was fake. It was as if she had woken up from a dream, only to end up in another dream. Before she could react to the situation, the injured monster pounced on her once more, intending to devour the delicacy before it. Meanwhile, Blue Gown, who had returned to her physical body, was utterly powerless against the monster. Just being close to it petrified her and gave her a pounding headache. She couldnt put up any resistance whatsoever. [Soul Devourer] (Soul Monster, Great Lord) Level 124 HP 440,000,000 However, before the Soul Devourer could reach Blue Gown, several magic swords shot through it in rapid succession. -34,514,724! -71,514,654! -35,164,412! Several dozen terrifying damage values flashed above the Soul Devourer one after another, the Great Lords HP zeroing out straightaway. The monster then dispersed into particles of light, leaving behind a dozen or so crystal fragments in its place. Black Flame? Blue Gown looked at Shi Feng in confusion, having fallen into a mentally weakened state, her voice tremulous with uncertainty. Mental attacks? Blue Gown was taken aback. How is this possible?! This was her first time hearing this term. Moreover, everything she had experienced before felt real. Such a situation was simply unheard-of. She had experienced earth-shattering battles in Gods Domain before but never such a terrifying illusion. She found it hard to imagine that a monster was actually capable of executing such an attack. Nothing is impossible in Gods Domain, especially in this forbidden land for humans, Shi Feng said as he met Blue Gowns incredulous gaze. Shaking his head, he said, Monsters in Gods Domain arent limited to physical and magical attacks. They have many unknown ways to attack and lay traps. Even if a player possesses combat power far surpassing a monsters, the player will still get killed if they arent careful. Take these monsters that are capable of employing mental attacks, for example. Even if you have superior Basic Attributes, so long as you get caught in their mental attack, if you dont have incredibly strong willpower and the Concentration to break through their mental bindings, you will still get killed! This was also why it was important for players to improve not only their Basic Attributes but also their Concentration. During the early stages of Gods Domain, players would rarely encounter mental attacks. Those that did wouldnt notice it due to their ignorance of mental attacks. However, past Level 120 and after the first major update took place, mental attacks would appear much more frequently. Meanwhile, if players did not possess sufficiently strong willpower, they would still be helpless against mental attacks even if they had incredibly powerful Basic Attributes. Take Blue Gown, for example. She had been trapped inside the Soul Devourers mental space and couldnt escape at all. Fortunately, she did not die inside the mental space. Otherwise, even if he managed to save her from the Soul Devourer, all he wouldve saved would be an empty husk. In Gods Domain, dying inside a mental space was no different from dying in the outside world. To put it simply, one would suffer a soul death. This was also why most players in his previous life dared not offend Tier 5 NPCs, as some of them wielded mental attacks. Meanwhile, suffering a soul death was much worse than a physical death. Worst-case scenario, one would lose ones account and have to start all over again. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he resumed controlling his magic swords to rescue the others. This is a true forbidden land? As Blue Gown looked at the death and destruction in her surroundings, , she finally realized that the Ruined Mountain Range was much scarier than she thought. Compared to the battles she had experienced before, the one just now was on an entirely different level. Moreover, she had never thought that there would be such forms of combat in a virtual reality game. Despite the Soul Devourers Basic Attributes being inferior to hers, she had been utterly helpless against it. When that Soul Devourer approached her earlier, she had suffered an intense headache. Her head had hurt so much that she couldnt control her body, let alone fight. Blue Gown wasnt the only victim of a Soul Devourers attack. Several dozen other people had been caught as well. Of those present, only 19 people managed to avoid the Soul Devourers attacks. Of the 19 people, the Asura adventurer team had an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Eight of the adventurer teams members were unscathed, compared to the five members each of Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul. At this time, everyone was desperately trying to save those who had been caught. However, some of the victims were beyond rescue already. The devouring speed of the Soul Devourers varied. Some were slow to finish their prey, while others were quick. Evidently, some players had stronger resistance to mental attacks, while other players had weaker resistance. Those with weak resistance didnt have much of their souls left at this point. When Blue Gown noticed Asuras Cleansing Whistle, who was roughly the same age as herself, fighting a Soul Devourer, she was stunned. Am I that much weaker than her? Blue Gown couldnt help her surprise and confusion as she watched Cleansing Whistle. She considered herself one of the best among her peers. Her Guild even recognized her as one of the top three talents of the younger generation. Yet, she was actually inferior to Cleansing Whistle, someone whose combat standard hadnt even reached the Void Realm yet.However, before Blue Gown could recover from her shock, she felt a chill envelop her body as if something was staring directly at her soul. What?! This is a lie, right?! How can we fight such a thing?! Blue Gown wasnt the only person who felt this sensation; everyone experienced it. When Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart looked in the direction of this feelings source, they trembled in fear. A 30-meter-tall, three-headed monster loomed over the team, and every step it took made everyones soul shudder in fear. [Todelya the Soul Singer (Realm Lord)] (Superior Mythic) Level 128 2757 Fifteen Seconds! A Realm Lord was an existence close to rivaling World Bosses. Not to mention, Todelya was a Realm Lord of the Ruined Mountain Range. Its strength was most likely on par with that of World Bosses in the outside world. This is the terror of a forbidden land for humans? Mu Lingsha smiled wryly at the sight of the Soul Singer. She finally understood why none of the various superpowers expert teams managed to make it out of the Ruined Mountain Range alive. It would be strange if they did! At this time, not only was half of their team dead, but they also had to fight a large number of Soul Devourers. Although the Soul Devourers werent particularly strong, most of the surviving members of their team couldnt fully exhibit their combat power, either. The Soul Devourers dealt astonishingly powerful mental damage. Even after players broke free from the Soul Devourers mental shackles, the mental damage still existed, affecting their brains. The consequent headaches prevented the players from executing delicate actions, which, in turn, lowered their combat standards by two ranks on average. Now, Void Realm experts could exhibit combat standards only at the Refinement Realm, while Domain Realm experts combat standards were at the Void Realm. On the other hand, the Soul Devourers all had combat standards at the Trial Towers sixth floor. They could undoubtedly be considered first-rate experts, not much inferior to ordinary Tier 3 experts in combat standards. With the addition of a Realm Lord, there was no way their team could get out of this situation alive. Among those still standing, only Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, and Cleansing Whistle remained relatively calm, continuing to systematically slay the Soul Devourers troubling the players around them. Nine, Thorn, and Yan Ya, help me hold the Boss for 15 seconds! Shi Feng said after saving another person from the Soul Devourers. Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart couldnt help doubting their ears. Theyre still going to fight in this situation? Their opponents consisted of several hundred Soul Devourers and one Realm Lord. The only thing they could and should do now was run away. The battle recovery of a monster of Todelyas rank allowed it to regenerate 2% of its HP every five seconds. In other words, the Realm Lord could recover 410 million HP per five seconds. That was basically killing a Great Lord of the same level every five seconds. If they couldnt accomplish that, they wouldnt even be able to get Todelyas HP below 98%. Meanwhile, their team currently had fewer than 30 people alive, nearly half of them in a mentally weakened state and incapable of combat. Fifteen seconds? After briefly calculating their chances, Solitary Nine nodded and said, No problem. However, 15 seconds really is the most I can do. Todelyas mental influence was too powerful; even Solitary Nine felt a little overwhelmed. No problem! If you cant handle it, Ill take over! Lifeless Thorn said, excitement flashing in his eyes as he looked at the approaching Soul Singer. Previously, killing monsters for EXP had been a chore for him. After all, none of the monsters he fought allowed him to improve. He was killing them solely for the sake of leveling up. However, after setting foot in the Ruined Mountain Range, he finally felt that he was truly fighting a battle. Previously, he would get the exhilarating feeling of having one move decide his life or death only when fighting peak experts. Now, however, the Soul Devourers were giving him the same feeling. It was simply wonderful. As for Todelya, the Realm Lord was an existence that could even terrify him. This was the kind of opponent he had been hankering for. Alright, lets hurry up and head over! If we wait until the Boss arrives, the others might get dragged into the fight! Yan Ya said, her head aching slightly when she saw Lifeless Thorns excited expression. Solitary Nine and Lifeless Thorn activated the Power of Darkness, boosting their Basic Attributes by a large margin. Now, both of them were comparable with Tier 4 existences. The next moment, the two melee players turned into streaks of light as they charged at Todelya. Meanwhile, Yan Ya, a Druid, chanted an incantation and flew toward the Realm Lord. Simultaneously, she cast a layer of Life Protection on both Solitary Nine and Lifeless Thorn, the Spell capable of absorbing some of the damage they took and converting it into HP. Roar! Todelya bellowed in anger when it saw two ants charging at it, its roar echoing throughout the Ruined Mountain Ranges outermost area. As its roar spread, an invisible mental attack struck everyone. Aside from Shi Feng, everyone present groaned in pain. Good! You really are powerful! After suffering Todelyas mental attack, which was much stronger than its ever-present mental influence, Lifeless Thorn turned deathly pale. However, when he looked at the 30-meter-tall Realm Lord, not only did he not grow fearful of the Boss, but the fighting spirit in his eyes even burned brighter. He raised his spear and transformed into a lightning bolt shooting at Todelya. Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Lightning Flash! With the Power of Darknesss buff, this attack pierced through space itself. As if he had teleported, Lifeless Thorn instantly appeared before the Soul Singer. So fast! This scene surprised Unyielding Heart. There had been a 200-yard gap between Todelya and Lifeless Thorn, yet the latter had crossed this distance instantly. Unyielding Heart wasnt sure he could react to such a speed even if he activated his Berserk Skill. Boom! A deafening boom echoed throughout the mountains. The next moment, a black shadow fell from the sky and struck the ground heavily, the impact of the collision creating a crater over two dozen meters in diameter. Inside the crater, Lifeless Thorn stood, propping himself up with his spear. His hands on the spear trembled, and blood leaked out from a corner of his mouth. It was evident he had sustained a major blow. His HP had fallen by more than 460,000. What happened?! Blue Gown, who was watching the clash from a distance, was dumbfounded. Lifeless Thorns attack carried incredible power and speed. Even an actual Tier 4 Mythic monster should have suffered a serious injury from it. Yet, not only did Lifeless Thorn fail to inflict any damage on Todelya, but he had even taken damage? Moreover, Lifeless Thorn had lost close to 10% of his HP despite the Life Protection cast on him. At this rate, without additional healing, he would definitely die after six or seven more exchanges! Is this monster really just a Superior Mythic? Everyone couldnt help doubting their eyes as they stared at the intact Soul Singer. They had seen Superior Mythic monsters before. Some of them had even killed one before. However, compared to those Superior Mythic monsters, Todelya was like a completely different creature. However, when Shi Feng, who was currently incanting, saw this scene, he wasnt surprised at all. The early stages of Gods Domain served to let players adapt to Gods Domains combat style. The Main God System had not only provided players with many benefits but also weakened the monsters in the game. In fact, even the Level 100-plus monsters that players felt were strong werent actually at their peak condition. They were still suppressed to a certain degree. However, that was not the case for the monsters in forbidden lands. The monsters in these locations werent subject to the Main God Systems suppression and could exert 100% of their combat power. In forbidden lands, Mythic monsters were beyond the capabilities of ordinary Tier 3 teams. Tier 3 players would need top-quality equipment and various support tools to even stand a chance. Moreover, the team would also need many experts with Berserk Skills. Otherwise, only one outcome awaited the team -annihilation! Not to mention, Todelya was a bona fide Superior Mythic. If Shi Feng himself fought Todelya right now, he definitely wouldnt have an easy time. They would need at least six Tier 4 players to defeat this Boss. Otherwise, challenging the Realm Lord would be sheer suicide. This was why he had tasked Lifeless Thorns trio with only holding back Todelya for 15 seconds. Asking them to hold the Realm Lord back for even a few seconds more was a luxury they couldnt afford. Subsequently, Solitary Nine and Lifeless Thorn activated their Lifesaving Skills one after another to defend against Todelyas attacks. Even Yan Ya, who served as the healer of the trio, had to activate her Power of Darkness. Without the additional Basic Attributes, she would have died from any random stray attack that hit her. One time, to defend against Todelyas trampling, Solitary Nine activated his Tier 3 Shield Wall and interposed himself between the Realm Lord and his two companions. However, even with his Lifesaving Skill activated, the resulting shockwave still sent the trio flying several dozen meters away. Both Lifeless Thorn and Yan Ya lost over one million HP from the attack, whereas Solitary Nine lost over three million HP. Five seconds! Ten seconds! Every second of battle placed immense pressure on the trio. Every moment they fought Todelya felt as if death would claim them in the next second. The players spectating from afar were stupefied at this scene. This was the first time they truly understood how terrifying a Superior Mythic monster could be. If not for Lifeless Thorns group having activated their Berserk Skills, the trio wouldve most likely been killed instantly. Commander! Are you not done yet? Solitary Nine asked Shi Feng through a private conversation. Previously, he thought that it would be a joke if he couldnt hold Todelya for 15 seconds. However, he now realized that 15 seconds was truly a long time. 2758 Bible of Darknesss True Power They chose to run to him because only their commander had a way to hold Todelya back. If they ran in any other direction, Todelya would definitely chase them down and crush them. Todelya strode toward Shi Feng step by step. Not only did Todelya shake the ground with every step it took, but the mental influence it exerted over the rest of the team also increased. Some of the resting players, such as Blue Gown, even started holding their heads in pain. Are we going to fight it? Illusory Words couldnt help frowning at this situation. She simply couldnt see any way for their team to defeat Todelya. Not only did Todelya possess over two billion HP, but its combat standard was superior to ordinary Refinement Realm experts. Its speed was so fast that even a Domain Realm expert like herself could barely keep up. Such speed simply wasnt something Tier 3 players could cope with, and even a Tier 4 player like Shi Feng would, at best, just match its speed. Moreover, Todelyas Strength was something only Tier 4 MTs could hope to stop. If a Swordsman like Shi Feng tried to tank one of the Realm Lords attacks, he would definitely end up miserable. However, when Todelya was only three steps away from Shi Feng The connections completed! Shi Feng smiled as he closed the Bible of Darkness and looked at Todelya. Lets start the second round, then! As soon as Shi Feng closed the Bible of Darkness, the stormy skies above the valley shattered and transformed into a dark space covering thousands of yards. Looking at the darkness, everyone present could faintly sense that it was connected to an ancient and terrifying space. Just the aura leaking out from the dark space was enough to roil the valleys Mana. The next moment, a gigantic stone door several hundred meters tall fell through the dark space and smashed into the valley, causing powerful tremors to spread throughout the valley. When Todelya looked at this ancient door, a deep sense of fear appeared in its eyes. How can there be such a terrifying existence in this world? Unyielding Heart was shocked as he looked at the massive stone door before him. This door was undoubtedly the most terrifying item he had seen in Gods Domain thus far. Just looking at it allowed him to understand just how scary it was. Every magic pattern and rune engraved on the door functioned to seal its power. Whatever existence stood behind the door could most likely obliterate him with just a small strand of its power. For a moment, he even had the feeling that the opening of this door would mark the beginning of all disasters. Hes not planning to open this door, right? Illusory Words eyed the stone door nervously. However, before Illusory Words could continue this line of thought, the door began opening by itself slowly. Darkness, silence, and despair! For a moment, it felt as if all the negative emotions in the world were pouring out of this stone door, and even Shi Feng felt uncomfortable in this situation. As for everyone else, their faces paled, and they knelt on the ground involuntarily, none of them daring to look at the stone door directly. Humans? No Youre not Suddenly, words spoken in the abstruse demonic language flowed out of the door. Although none of the players present were knowledgeable of the language of Demons, they understood what the spoken words conveyed. For a time, everyone was confused. I never thought that after so many years, you existences would be the next to summon this door. Following these words, a three-eyed, ten-meter-tall, humanoid Demon clad in black armor walked out of the stone door. The instant Todelya saw this Demon, horror overwhelmed it. It was as if the Realm Lord had just seen death itself. Actually, Shi Feng himself felt dread at the humanoid Demons appearance. He never dreamed he would summon this Demon. The Dark Abyss had a total of 108 Demon Princes[1], who stood at the peak of the Great Demons. All of them were existences second only to Demon Kings, and they could be considered Half-step Demon Kings. Meanwhile, the humanoid Demon standing before him was Frobero, the Lord of the Dead. His strength ranked 21st among all Great Demons. Weak! How weak! Frobero muttered as he looked at himself, his voice filled with dissatisfaction. He then looked at Shi Feng, who held the Bible of Darkness, and said coldly, You should know what you have done. That book isnt something you should possess, so hand it to me. This is also your only way out. Otherwise, what awaits you is eternal death! As soon as Frobero finished speaking, a powerful sense of oppression descended on Shi Feng, one so uncomfortable that his expression turned ugly. As expected of one of the 108 Demon Princes. Its mental oppression is on par with Tier 5 existences, Shi Feng sighed ruefully. Although he had long since known that the gap between Tier 4 and Tier 5 was massive, he still couldnt help feeling helpless when experiencing the might of a Half-step Demon King. Luckily, Shi Feng wielded the Bible of Darkness, which restricted the methods Frobero could use to target him. Otherwise, the Demon Prince couldve killed him instantly. Meanwhile, as Frobero subjected Shi Feng to his mental oppression, the Bible of Darkness also sensed the offense. Immediately, chains appeared around the Demon Princes body. The instant these chains appeared, Froberos mental oppression weakened drastically. Now, the mental oppression no longer posed any threat to Shi Feng whatsoever. This damned contract! I will break free from this binding one day and obtain true freedom! Frobero bellowed in rage as he glared at the pitch-black chains wrapped around his body. He then looked at Shi Feng and said coldly, Although that book prevents me from doing anything to you, dont think that you have full control over me. I can tell that you dont have much time left, based on those curses and bindings on your body. That book cannot save you. Only I can help you. That wont be necessary. I will only become your puppet if I believe you, Shi Feng said, shaking his head while smirking contemptuously. After reaching Tier 4, he had gained an inkling about the problem plaguing his soul. Initially, he thought that with the benefits from his promotion, the problems he faced would stabilize. However, it turned out that wasnt the case at all. His problems were far greater than he imagined. This feeling became even more obvious after he had used the Bible of Darkness. The Bible of Darkness had been secretly eroding his soul all this time! He couldnt help but admit that this godlike item truly couldnt be controlled easily. It was much more dangerous than Magic Weapons. However, it was also impossible for him to abandon the Bible of Darkness. The road to reaching higher tiers was incredibly difficult. Only by grasping every available opportunity would he have a chance of becoming a God. Otherwise, everything he did would be for naught. One example would be the Soul Mark he received from a Faux Saint Devourer he defeated some time ago. It was precisely because he had exploited this opportunity that he had managed to strengthen his soul, which, in turn, strengthened his resistance to that mysterious NPCs soul curse. Otherwise, he wouldnt have survived until now. Shi Feng then looked at Frobero and said, I might not be able to control you completely, but you should know that as your summoner, I can forcibly control part of your power. The Bible of Darkness was his greatest assurance in venturing to the Ruined Mountain Range this time. Venturing deep into the neutral map with just his personal strength was impossible. After all, Todelya alone was already more than enough to make him flee. Youll regret this! Controlling the power of Demons is beyond you! The more you use it, the deeper you will sink, until eventually your soul is consumed completely! Thank you for the warning, but dont think you Demons will have an easy time devouring me! After saying so, Shi Feng used the Bible of Darkness to erase Froberos consciousness and gain control over a portion of the Demon Princes strength. A Level 135 Demon Prince! Even with just 70% of Froberos strength, he could roam about the Ruined Mountain Ranges outer area without any worries. The conversation between Shi Feng and Frobero lasted for only a short moment. Hence, Todelya, who had been petrified by the stone door and the Lord of the Dead, was still idle. However, after Shi Feng took control of Froberos body, Todelya immediately noticed something amiss. The Demon Princes aura and mental oppression had weakened significantly. Moreover, Frobero could display hostility toward it now. After realizing what had just happened, Todelya pounced on Shi Feng without hesitation, sending one of its mountain-sized claws smashing ruthlessly at the tiny human. Shi Feng immediately felt as if the space around him had compressed a hundredfold. Not only did his body feel a lot heavier, but even time had started slow. Tier 4 Innate Skill, Sundering Earth! This was the first time Todelya had resorted to a Skill. Previously, when fighting ants like Lifeless Thorn, it couldnt even be bothered to use Skills. However, the only thing on its mind right now was to kill Shi Feng as quickly as possible. Under intense pressure from the space around him, Shi Feng looked up at Todelya and smiled. Youre too late! Even before Shi Feng finished speaking, Frobero, who stood in front of Shi Feng, waved his hand abruptly, and a pitch-black spear of flames condensed in his hand. He then swung the spear at Todelyas approaching claw. Although Froberos spear was made of flames, it did not feel scorching at all. On the contrary, it gave off an extreme chill that froze the surrounding space. Time itself seemed to freeze momentarily. Boom! Space shattered and turned into nothingness. The impact of the collision between the two attacks caused the ground to sink. With the exception of Shi Feng, the resulting shockwave also sent everyone flying over 500 yards away and inflicted damage on them ranging between tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands. As for Todelya, its massive body shot backward over a hundred yards, leveling the terrain in its path. The next moment, Illusory Words, Unyielding Heart, and the others, who got blown away, gaped in shock as they looked at Todelya. -49,454,423! Damage nearing 50 million had appeared above the Soul Singers head. The power gap between Todelya and Frobero was instantly determined. The two were on entirely different levels. 2759 Half-step Demon King Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart were shocked as they stared at the three-eyed Demon hovering proudly in the sky. At the same time, they revealed bitter smiles on their faces. [Frobero (Lord of the Dead)) (Demon Prince) Level 135 HP 13,000,000,000 They had long known that people like Shi Feng would always keep a trump card hidden. Otherwise, he wouldnt have come to the dangerous Ruined Mountain Range even though he had reached Tier 4. However, they never imagined that Shi Fengs trump card would be this terrifying. The man had actually summoned a Demon Prince from the Dark Abyss and controlled it like a puppet to fight for him. A Demon Prince was an existence capable of rivaling Tier 5 existences. In terms of Life Rating, a Demon Prince was above even Superior Mythic monsters. Not to mention, Frobero was even a Demon Prince with a title. Calling him a Half-step Demon King wouldnt be an exaggeration. If the various superpowers were to find out about this power, they would most likely have very ugly expressions on their faces. Any Demon Prince that possessed a title had earned their title by slaughtering countless people in Gods Domain. In fact, these titled Demon Princes were responsible for the destruction of some kingdoms in Gods Domain. For an existence capable of single-handedly destroying an entire kingdom, destroying a Super Guilds Guild City would be childs play. In reality, Shi Feng himself had also entertained the same fantasies as Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart. However, these thoughts remained merely thoughts. After his promotion to Tier 4, both his Concentration and Mana perception had gained a qualitative improvement. Thanks to these improvements, he discovered a small trace of dark energy lingering around his soul. The Bible of Darkness possessed incredible power. In fact, some Legendary items would even seem weak compared to it. This situation was inconsistent with Gods Domains rules. In Gods Domain, one had to pay a price corresponding to the power gained. This was the balance of Gods Domain. However, the Bible of Darkness didnt seem balanced to him. The power it offered its wielder was far greater than the cost of using it. Now, the Bible of Darknesss detriments were thoroughly revealed. His soul had become tainted with dark energy. Although the dark energy lingering around his soul was incredibly weak, its purity was exceptionally high, equal to the energy found in Seven Luminaries Crystals. Ordinary power couldnt expel it. And the more he used the Bible of Darknesss power, the stronger and purer this dark energy became. Particularly, when he summoned Frobero, the rate at which this dark energy grew had skyrocketed. Meanwhile, as everyone was stunned by Froberos power, Todelya, who had been knocked backward, let loose a deafening roar like an enraged beast. Todelyas originally translucent body turned blood red and enlarged significantly. Now, the Realm Lord easily reached a height of 50 meters. Simultaneously, a ripple of power spread from its body, reaching 500 yards away and causing the ground to sink. What a strong Gravity Domain! Shi Feng frowned when Todelyas Gravity Domain reached him. Despite his Mana Domain and Tier 4 physique, moving inside Todelyas Gravity Domain was actually difficult. Now, he couldnt even exhibit half of his normal speed, let alone his Strength. If Tier 3 players stood within this Gravity Domain right now, they would most likely be crushed to death. Fortunately, Frobero, whom Shi Feng controlled, wasnt particularly affected by this Gravity Domain. His speed and strength had been reduced by only 20% or so. He still held an advantage over Todelya. So, this is the Demon Princes power? Shi Feng was astonished by this situation. Despite both him and Frobero being Tier 4 existences, there was a tremendous gap between them. He only had basic control over Froberos body; utilizing Froberos Mana and frightening Concentration was beyond him. While these two aspects might not seem very important, they were crucial for Tier 4 existences to maximize the use of their Basic Attributes. At this time, Shi Feng couldnt exhibit even 10% of Froberos true combat power. Despite that, Frobero could still overwhelm Todelya. All Shi Feng needed to do now was control Frobero and have the Demon Prince pin down the Soul Singer. If everyone else helped out in attacking Todelya, slaying the Superior Mythic wouldnt be impossible. However, Todelya had no intention of letting Shi Feng realize his plans. Chanting an incantation, the Realm Lord repeatedly shattered the ground around itself and gathered the scattered rubble. In just three seconds, a meteorite with a 400-yard radius had formed in midair. A Tier 4 Curse? Shi Fengs complexion darkened when he saw the meteorite. A Tier 4 Curse cast by a Superior Mythic would possess power at the Tier 5 standard. A single strike from such an attack was more than enough to demolish a citys defensive magic array. As a Tier 4 player, if he got struck by this attack, he would die without question. At this time, let alone Shi Feng, even Illusory Words, Unyielding Heart, and the other players standing over 500 yards away were stunned by Todelyas attack. Helpless smiles appeared on their faces. Once this Tier 4 Curse landed, none of them would survive. They couldnt even interrupt the Spell. Dammit! Why cant I use his Mana? Shi Feng felt a huge headache in this situation. If Frobero were to rely on only his physical body, the Demon Prince definitely wouldnt be able to shrug off a Tier 4 Curse. Moreover, even if Frobero could endure the attack, both Shi Feng and the rest of his team couldnt. Escaping was also impossible at this point. After all, the activation of a Tier 4 Curse would place a seal on the space of the affected region. Aside from shattering the Tier 4 Curse directly, the only other way to survive a Tier 4 Curse would be to endure it. However, neither of these two options were viable for Shi Feng. If he couldnt control Froberos Mana, he wouldnt be able to use any of the Demon Princes Skills or Spells; he could only have the Demon Prince fight hand-to-hand. While Shi Feng was thinking about how to resolve this Tier 4 Curse, Todelya completed the incantation for the Tier 4 Curse Meteorite Collapse. Boom! The next moment, the enormous meteorite that had taken shape fell from the sky like a real meteor. Dammit! Seeing the descending meteorite, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and began calling the dark energy hidden in the depths of his soul. Its all or nothing now! As a tool capable of controlling all Demons, the Bible of Darkness shouldnt be limited to turning Demons into simple meat puppets. Shi Feng believed it could exert further control over them. Meanwhile, a Demons power wasnt limited to just Mana. They also had access to the terrifying Power of Darkness. In other words, the Power of Darkness was the source of strength for Demons. Yet, when Shi Feng used the Bible of Darkness, he could perform only simple manipulation of Demons. This obviously didnt seem right. The instant Shi Feng manipulated the strand of dark energy within his soul, it actually formed a connection with Froberos source of power.This is?! Shi Feng was stupefied. At this moment, he felt that he was Frobero. He now could see what Frobero saw and feel what Frobero felt. Is this what it feels like to be an existence approaching Tier 5 Demon Kings? Not only did Shi Feng not feel the slightest bit anxious or fearful of the descending meteorite, but it even looked like a toy to him. Be it the surrounding Mana, terrain, or sky, he could now perceive everything with extreme clarity. Even the operating principles of the profound magic elements looked far less complex in his opinion. Meanwhile, just when everyone else on the team shook their heads and gave up, Frobero suddenly raised a hand under Shi Fengs control and directed it at the massive meteorite. The next moment, a gigantic hand made of Mana appeared out of thin air and grabbed the meteorite, then lightly squeezed. Boom! 2760 Illusory Sword Slays Realm Lord So strong! He crushed a Tier 4 Curse with his hand! Is he really just a Tier 4 Demon?! Everyone present gasped at the power of the Demon Prince Shi Feng controlled. Froberos might had thoroughly shattered their perception of Tier 4 Demons in Gods Domain. In fact, even Shi Feng himself felt shocked by this outcome. Amazing! A Demon Prince can actually control Mana to such a terrifying level! No wonder theyre known as Half-step Demon Kings! Their actual combat power is definitely at the Tier 5 standard! Previously, Shi Feng had merely thought to use Froberos Mana to resist Todelyas Tier 4 Curse. However, the Mana Hand the Demon Prince conjured had actually shattered the Tier 4 Curse. The Demon Princes power was beyond his imagination. Nevertheless, the most amazing aspect about Frobero would have to be the Mana he could condense. The strength of the condensed Mana surpassed even Shi Fengs Mana when he executed Holy Devour. Meanwhile, Frobero had already exhibited such astounding Mana just by casually condensing it into the shape of a hand. Had the Demon Prince executed a Mana Technique just now, the result would have definitely been mind-blowing. The power of the attack might even reach the Intermediate Tier 5 standard. Usually, if a Superior Mythic monster used a Tier 4 Curse, the Spells power would only be at the entry level of Tier 5, not even reaching the Basic Tier 5 standard. However, the Mana Hand Frobero manifested just now was undoubtedly at the Basic Tier 5 standard. If the attacks power reached the Intermediate Tier 5 standard, the resulting spatial storm wouldve had a radius of several thousand yards instead of just several hundred yards. Shi Feng couldnt help reveling in Froberos power. After all, the feeling of wielding such power was simply wonderful. This was especially true for Froberos perception of and affinity for Mana. When controlling the Demon Prince, Shi Feng could feel his comprehension of the operating principles of Mana becoming a lot clearer than before. This wasnt a sensation he could experience with just an ordinary Tier 4 physique. If I can maintain this state, I can probably break through my Mana Bodys 100% threshold in just one or two hours. My control of Mana might even improve, and getting promoted to a Grandmaster Magician would be far less of a struggle. The gap in physique and Life Rating wasnt something that Basic Attributes could compensate for. This was also why the Dragon race stood at the apex of all races. Even with the same Basic Attributes, a Dragon would be many times stronger than a human. For the same reason, Dragons, Fallen Angels, and such creatures were invincible among those of the same tier, with some even capable of transcending tiers. Based on the power Frobero displayed, the Demon Princes Life Rating was probably close to rivaling Dragons. However, as Shi Feng was savoring this wonderful moment, a stinging pain came from the depths of his mind. He paled in agony and almost staggered and fell to the ground. Sure enough, the system wont allow players to be immersed in this feeling for long. Shi Feng smiled bitterly when he sensed the state of his Concentration and the taint on his soul. He had manipulated Froberos Mana for less than three seconds, yet not only did he expend 10% of his Concentration, but the dark energy in his soul had also grown significantly stronger. The corrosive effect of manipulating Froberos Mana was one-third of summoning the Demon Prince himself. Meanwhile, Todelya, who had initially cowered after seeing its Tier 4 Curse shattered, narrowed its six eyes when it noticed the intensity of Shi Fengs aura plummeting. It could tell that Shi Feng was no longer in his best condition. Immediately, Todelyas three heads began chanting another Tier 4 Curse, intending to kill Shi Feng while he was weakened. Do you think Ill give you another chance? Upon noticing Todelyas actions, Shi Feng connected the dark energy in his soul with Froberos source of darkness once more. Froberos aura recovered to its peak. The Demon Princes aura was so terrifying that even Illusory Words and the others, standing several hundred yards away, trembled reflexively. Stay down! Shi Feng had Frobero brandish the fire spear without hesitation, gathering both Mana and Power of Darkness for an attack. In addition, Shi Feng even executed Lightshadow for this attack. However, as he was executing the Mana Technique indirectly, through Frobero, he failed to execute the complete Lightshadow. Even so, the resulting attack was still magnitudes stronger than the earlier Mana Hand. The next moment, illusory spears rained down from the sky and bombarded Todelyas heads. The attacks were so quick and powerful that the Soul Singer couldnt dodge them in time, its body getting pummeled into the ground. Cracks extending several thousand yards formed on the ground due to the impacts. The violent trembling of the earth toppled everyone on Shi Fengs team and forced them to sit on the ground. By the time the land stopped shaking, a crater with a 300-yard radius had formed in Todelyas position. As for the Realm Lord itself, its body had sunk several dozen meters into the ground, only its three heads remaining above ground. -1,165,446,428) A damage value exceeding one billion emerged slowly above Todelyas head as its HP bar fell by a significant chunk. Even its life aura had weakened slightly. Crap! The commander is insane! He actually managed to summon such a Demon! Solitary Nine was secretly astonished when he saw the damage and destruction Frobero caused. At this rate, the fight could end in just another dozen hits or so! The Boss monster that previously filled their minds with only thoughts of escape had been beaten down like a dog. The heavy injuries Todelya suffered had also caused it to lose 30% of its Basic Attributes. There was simply no comparison between Todelya and Frobero. Alright, stop daydreaming! All of you activate your Berserk Skills and fight the Boss together with the Demon Prince! We must get rid of the Boss now! Otherwise, none of us will get out alive! Shi Feng ordered weakly through the team chat as he sat down on the ground. He had used his full power to launch that previous blow. He had even executed a partial Lightshadow. As a result, he had expended 30% of his Concentration and further enhanced the dark energy in his soul. Now, he was in an incomparably weakened state, and just controlling Frobero required all his focus. If they allowed Todelya to recover and use another Tier 4 Curse, they would team-wipe. Hence, they needed to finish Todelya while the Realm Lord was still weakened. They definitely could not afford to give it a chance to catch a breather. Upon hearing Shi Fengs weak voice, Unyielding Heart immediately understood their situation. Hurriedly, he shouted through the team chat, Everyone from Unyielding Soul, follow me! Everyone from Crimson Emperor, attack together! Activate your Berserk Skills! Illusory Words also commanded her subordinates to take action. She, too, understood that now was not the time to hold back. Immediately, 20-plus peak experts from Asura, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor activated their Berserk Skills and rushed toward Todelya simultaneously. However, the Soul Singer also realized the precarious situation it was in right now. After dragging its heavily injured body out of the crater, it fled without hesitation. Dont even think of getting away! Shi Feng did not give Todelya any opportunities to escape. Controlling Frobero, he had the Demon Prince launch another attack at the Realm Lord. However, as Shi Feng could execute only simple attacks with Frobero right now, Todelya managed to defend against the Demon Princes attack despite being heavily injured. -94,376,414! A damage value nearing 100 million appeared above Todelyas head when its claw collided with Froberos fire spear. Disregarding the damage, Todelya immediately jumped into the air to flee. However, Shi Feng was no ordinary expert but someone at the peak of the Ascension Realm. Even though he was in a mentally weakened state and couldnt get Frobero to exert his actual combat power, he could still use the Demon Prince to pin down Todelya. Every one of the attacks he executed with Frobero targeted Todelyas vitals, forcing the Realm Lord to defend itself. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart and the others arrived within attack range and immediately joined the battle. All of them possessed power rivaling Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Although they still couldnt afford to face Todelya in a frontal confrontation, the damage they inflicted was significant. The next moment, normal attacks dealing over two million damage each, coupled with the occasional Tier 3 Skill reaping over ten million damage, landed on the Realm Lord one after another. As Todelya was already struggling to deal with Frobero, it was utterly powerless against the 20-plus players assault. It could only let the players bombard it with attacks as they pleased. 83% 72% 54% Time passed quickly, with one side sticking close to the other. One side was fleeing desperately, while the other side was pursuing and attacking ruthlessly. Fortunately, Shi Feng and the others dealt sufficiently high damage, dragging Todelyas HP down continuously. After three minutes into the battle, Todelyas HP hit 30%. However, at this time, the peak experts on Shi Fengs team lost the Berserk Skills effects one after another. Immediately, the teams overall DPS plummeted to just barely over Todelyas battle recovery. At this rate, they wouldnt be able to finish the Realm Lord quickly. Ten minutes Fifteen minutes Twenty minutes When Todelyas HP fell to 8%, its aura suddenly changed. The Realm Lord had finally recovered from its weakened state and was now back in peak condition. Die! Humans! Todelya bellowed in human tongue, a hint of madness and contempt appearing in its eyes. It then began casting a Tier 4 Curse. Dammit! We still didnt make it? Unyielding Hearts complexion sank when he saw another meteorite taking shape in the sky.They had fought for more than 20 minutes, yet they still failed to slay the weakened Todelya. Now that the Realm Lord was casting another Tier 4 Curse, the raid was as good as over. The one whos going to die is you! Some distance away from the battlefield, Shi Feng stood up abruptly, a glimmer of light blooming in his eyes. He then manipulated the dark energy in his soul once more. Compared to the two previous instances, Shi Feng was much more familiar with manipulating Froberos power this time. The next moment, Frobero wielded his spear like a greatsword and entered the stance for executing Lightshadow. The Mana around the Demon Prince began rampaging. Simultaneously, an illusory sword 100 meters long appeared in midair. Die! At this moment, Shi Feng had exhausted every bit of Concentration he had left to have Frobero execute Lightshadow. Boom! The illusory sword descended instantly! For a moment, everyone even had the misconception that the sky had been split apart. 2761 Level Skyrockets That was close! For a moment there, I thought we would all get flattened! I am never going to go near Superior Mythics ever again before reaching Tier 4! These arent things Tier 3 players like ourselves can do anything against. After everyone saw Todelya bisected, they slumped down to the ground and breathed out a sigh of relief, rendered speechless by this narrow escape from death. However, many people also felt fortunate about their survival and couldnt help laughing happily. As for Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart, both were too tired to pay attention to Todelya. They only wanted to sit down, rest, and relax their minds. However, before anyone could catch their breath, divine sounds descended from the sky and echoed throughout the valley, so melodious that everyone felt intoxicated. As expected of a First Kill in the Ruined Mountain Range. Even without Divine Providence, the loots quality can actually trigger a Divine Hymn. Shi Feng, who was lying on the ground, was a little surprised by this situation. He never thought that the First Kill of a Realm Lord would yield such excellent loot. Initially, he had been thinking of using Divine Providence and personally dealing the finishing blow to Todelya. However, the situation at the end did not permit him to do so. As a result, he could only rely on Frobero to finish the Realm Lord. While the Divine Hymn resounded in the valley, bright rays of light enveloped all the survivors. Shi Feng, who was initially at 78% of Level 125, leveled up twice and reached 4% of Level 127. Everyone else leveled up at least three times, with some even leveling up four times. The abundance of the EXP awarded utterly dumbfounded everyone. A Superior Mythic Boss actually awards so much EXP? If it were before, we wouldnt get this much EXP even after killing 30 Superior Mythics. With this, we save at least half a month of grinding. Its a pity that everyone else died. If not, they wouldve saved on plenty of grinding time as well. Everyone couldnt help sighing over the abundant EXP from Todelya. On one hand, they felt grateful that they could save plenty of time. On the other hand, they felt guilty for those who died. Not only did the dead players not receive any EXP from the raid, but they would even lose one level after resurrection. And even if Illusory Words and the other healers of the team resurrected them, they would still lose nearly half a levels worth of EXP. Only Shi Feng remained unfazed by this situation. Setting aside that this raid happened after the first major update, just the fact that Todelya was both a Superior Mythic monster and a Realm Lord already meant that the EXP granted upon its death would be incredibly lavish. The descent of a Divine Hymn would also increase the EXP awarded. However, it would be almost impossible for them to level up so quickly again in the future. After all, each region of the Ruined Mountain Range had only one Realm Lord, which took five natural days or more to respawn. Moreover, the Realm Lords for each region werent fixed. Hence, although their team had secured information on Todelya the Soul Singer, this information would be useless because the next Realm Lord that spawned in this region would probably be some other Superior Mythic monster. It was almost impossible for players to come across the same Realm Lord multiple times in forbidden lands such as the Ruined Mountain Range. Every Boss that spawned would be new. Hence, players couldnt prepare for specific Bosses and could only rely on brute strength or tools to secure victory. new. Standing up slowly, Shi Feng looked at his teammates and commanded, Start resurrecting the others. Thorn, you guys patrol the surroundings. Make sure no monsters come ambushing us. Although Froberos presence had scared the surrounding monsters into fleeing and the likelihood of an ambush was low, it never hurt to be careful. After all, whether it was a forbidden land for all life or a forbidden land for humans, a single mistake was all it took to team-wipe. Leave it to us. Lifeless Thorn nodded before leaving to patrol the surroundings together with Cleansing Whistle and the others. As for Yan Ya, Illusory Words, and the other surviving healers, they began resurrecting the team members killed by the Soul Devourers. Although these people had died because they had their Concentration sucked dry, their souls did not get damaged. Hence, resurrection was still possible. Only, they would be in a weakened state for several hours after getting resurrected and wouldnt be able to participate in battle right away. While the others were busy with their respective tasks, Shi Feng slowly made his way to Todelyas corpse and waited for the loot to appear. Regarding Todelyas loot, none of the members of Unyielding Soul or Crimson Emperor gave it much thought. After all, Shi Feng was the organizer of this team. Before they went on this expedition, they had already agreed that all discoveries made and items obtained would belong to Shi Feng. This was the basis for the cooperation of their three Guilds. Moreover, even without the agreement, both Unyielding Souls and Crimson Emperors peak experts would be too ashamed to ask for any loot. From start to end, they had merely played a supporting role and barely did anything during the raid. In fact, if not for Shi Feng landing the finishing blow, they wouldnt be alive right now. They also wouldnt have leveled up three or four times and gained a 15-day leveling advantage over the outside worlds peak experts. One could say that the EXP harvest alone already made their trip to the Ruined Mountain Range worthwhile. Not to mention, they also got to learn about the Ruined Mountain Range and find out just how dangerous the neutral map was. With this information, their two Guilds would have a much easier time exploring the neutral map in the future. Lets hope the loot isnt too bad. Id even settle for just one or two Tier 4 Skill Books or a Legacy Guidance Fragment, Shi Feng prayed inwardly when he saw the dark clouds in the sky gradually scattering. Compared to the outside world, the Ruined Mountain Range was impoverished. Unlike what most people of the outside world imagined, the Ruined Mountain Range wasnt a place where one could just kill a few random mobs and get rich quick. On the contrary, be it forbidden lands for humans or forbidden lands for all life, both were scarce in material resources. Instead, the reason players and NPCs deemed forbidden lands to be rich in resources was the Legacy resources found there. In the current Gods Domain, the kingdoms and empires controlled Tier 3 Legacy resources. In the case of Tier 4 Legacies, though, even the kingdoms and empires barely had any; some had none at all. However, the various forbidden lands still contained a considerable number of Legacies for Tier 4 and above. Hence, forbidden lands were far richer in Legacies than the maps in the outside world. Meanwhile, after players reached Tier 4, there were three ways they could improve themselves. The first and simplest method was upgrading their weapons and equipment. Such items were readily available in the various kingdoms and empires. The second method was significantly more difficult: obtaining Tier 4 Skill and Spell Books. After reaching Tier 4, aside from spending Legacy Skill Points to obtain Tier 4 Legacy Skills, the only other way players could obtain Tier 4 Skills was through Skill Books. However, the monsters in the various kingdoms, empires, and standard neutral maps almost never dropped Tier 4 Skill Books. Only the monsters in forbidden lands would drop these items. Moreover, only monsters at the Mythic rank or above dropped them, and the drop-rate was incredibly low. Tier 4 Skills and Spells were crucial in deciding a Tier 4 players strength. Oftentimes, the result of a duel between Tier 4 players could be predicted based on the number of Tier 4 Skills and Spells the two sides held. This was because Tier 4 Skills were magnitudes stronger than Tier 3 Skills, with some capable of instant-killing players of the same tier. Therefore, after reaching Tier 4, acquiring Tier 4 Skill Books was key to increasing a players strength. The improvement players could gain from a Tier 4 Skill could rival Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, unlike Fragmented Legendary items, learned Skills and Spells didnt have a chance of dropping upon death. The third method to improve ones strength was also the most difficult one: obtaining Legacy Guidances for Tier 4 or above. After players reached Tier 4, levels would no longer be as important as before. Even if players reached Level 150 and fulfilled the minimum condition for promotion to Tier 5, they wouldnt necessarily reach Tier 5. Getting promoted to Tier 5 was far more difficult than reaching Tier 4. For the Tier 4 promotion, players only needed to find their Tier 4 Legacy Land and learn a Tier 4 Legacy Skill within the allotted time. However, there were no such challenges for the Tier 5 promotion. Players werent required to complete a troublesome Promotion Quest, nor did they need to search for some random location. Instead, getting promoted to Tier 5 was a very straightforward process. Players just had to raise their Concentration to the Tier 5 standard, then reconstruct their own Mana Bodies, which would allow their essence to achieve a qualitative improvement. This was how one became a Saint! Upon reaching Tier 5, players would no longer be an ordinary human. Their Life Rating would reach an extraordinary level. This was why very few players and NPCs would ever manage to reach Tier 5 in Gods Domain. Those who did would be dragons and phoenixes among men. The first step to reaching Tier 5 was breaking through the limits of ones Mana Body at Tier 3. While this might seem like an insignificant step, it would provide players with great help when they tried to reconstruct their Mana Bodies at Tier 4. The most difficult step was going from o to 1. Meanwhile, Violet Cloud had already taken the first step on the path to Tier 5. Meanwhile, Legacy Guidances could aid players in understanding the operating principles of Mana because they recorded the comprehensions of ancient powerhouses on Mana and the methods to utilize Mana. Some even contained methods and experiences for constructing Mana Bodies. This was also why Shi Feng had chosen to receive the Crimson-eyed Sword Saints Legacy Guidance without hesitation. At Tier 3, despite receiving samples of Mana Bodies, players still faced incredible difficulty constructing their Mana Bodies. If players wished to get promoted to Tier 5, they would need to construct a Mana Body that was at least ten times stronger. The difficulty of this feat was simply unimaginable. Hence, Legacy Guidances were incredibly important. Only by continuously learning about Mana and Mana Bodies could players construct a Mana Body rivaling Tier 5 existences. Otherwise, they would remain at Tier 4 for the rest of their lives. However, obtaining Legacy Guidances was easier said than done. Legacy Guidance Fragments were no less rare than Fragmented Legendary items. Generally, only the Bosses of forbidden lands at the Realm Lord status or higher would have a small chance of dropping this treasure. This was also one of the reasons very few independent players ever managed to reach Tier 5. After all, let alone soloing Superior Mythics of the same level, even soloing Superior Mythics of a lower level was impossible for Tier 4 experts. Normally, raiding such monsters required the cooperation of multiple Tier 4 players. Moreover, even if players killed a Superior Mythic, they wouldnt necessarily obtain a Legacy Guidance Fragment. And even if a fragment did drop, how many people would get a share of it? In addition, the Guilds would frantically contest for these Bosses, which further increased the difficulty of reaching Tier 5 for independent players. Unless one possessed a sufficiently strong backer or heaven-defying talent, Tier 5 would forever be beyond ones reach. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng was praying and looking to the sky with an exhausted expression, dozens of dazzling items descended around him. The appearance of these items immediately attracted the ambient Mana from several hundred yards around. When Shi Feng spotted a strange stone sculpture of a monster among these items, his eyes instantly lit up. He even rubbed his eyes, thinking that he had seen wrong. 2762 Ancient Treasure Crap! Whats up with this loot? Ive never seen so many Epic items and Legendary materials dropping at once! The Boss is a Level 128 Superior Mythic, so the Epic items it dropped can definitely be used up to Level 150. Despite making so many contributions to the Guild, I only managed to get a pair of Epic bracers that can be used up to Level 130. With all those Epic items, I could probably fully gear myself in Epic items Despite everyone being peak experts or better, they still grew envious when they saw Todelyas loot. Rather, it was inevitable that they would be envious. Although Epic Weapons and Equipment had become a lot more common in the current Gods Domain, the majority of them could be used only up to Level 100. Those that could be used up to Level 120 were few and far between. As for Epic items that could be used up to Level 150, even the various superpowers wouldnt have more than 30 pieces. This wasnt because the various superpowers were slacking on killing Level 100-plus Mythic monsters but because Mythic monsters only had a tiny chance of dropping Epic Weapons and Equipment that could be used up to Level 150. Now, however, Todelya had dropped over ten Epic items! Needless to say, every one of these Epic items would be good up to Level 150. After all, Todelya was a Level 128 Superior Mythic. According to their past experiences, the Epic items dropped by Level 120-plus Superior Mythic Bosses would almost certainly have their level limit set at 150. However, the Epic Weapons and Equipment dropped were only the tip of the iceberg. What truly made everyones eyes glow were the Legendary materials in the loot. Legendary materials could be used to create customized Epic Weapons and Equipment, which would definitely be top-tier among Epic items. However, like Level 150 Epic items, the drop-rate for Legendary materials was pitifully low. Even Level 100-plus Superior Mythics would, at most, drop Inferior Legendary materials; more often than not, they would drop only Epic materials. Nonetheless, Todelya had dropped as many as seven Legendary materials. In other words, one could produce seven customized Epic Weapons and Equipment with a level limit of Level 150. Not to mention, the 20-plus Inferior Legendary materials Todelya dropped could also be used to produce top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment. In other words, Todelya alone had essentially dropped over 30 Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment, more than enough to fully arm two players in Level 150 Epic items. This was something impossible even for the various superpowers at this stage of the game. However, unlike everyone else, Shi Feng paid no attention to the weapons, equipment, and materials Todelya dropped. Instead, he stepped forward, collected a one-meter-tall beast statue, and stored it in his Epic Spatial Bag without hesitation. In Shi Fengs opinion, even the combined value of all the other items Todelya dropped couldnt compare to the value of this beast statue. (Sacred Beast Statue (Soul-devouring Beast)] (Epic Rank, Unique Item) One of 12 stone sculptures of Sacred Beasts made by Cerecolo Barrestan. It holds incredible power. One shouldnt underestimate the beast statue just because it was an Epic item. For Tier 4 players and above, this beast statue was easily a thousand times more valuable than Legendary items. An Ancient God in Gods Domain, Cerecolo Barrestan was known as the God of Elements by everyone. Legend had it that he could control all magic elements, and he was incredibly strong even among the Ancient Gods. In Gods Domain, any item belonging to a God would already be an amazing item, let alone an Ancient Gods possession. The 12 Sacred Beast Statues were one of Cerecolo Barrestans earliest creations. To both Gods and Ancient Gods, these statues were trash. However, to Tier 4 players, these statues were priceless treasures. On the surface, the 12 Sacred Beast Statues were only intended as room decor. However, if one placed these statues in areas with incredibly dense Mana, the statues would generate a special signal. This signal allowed players inside the room to perceive the operating principles of a particular magic element. Although the granted perception was vague, it was still much better than blindly trying to feel and deduce the operating principles of the magic elements. Moreover, the effect stacked. With more beast statues collected, not only would one get to perceive more magic elements, but the intensity of the granted perception would also increase. In the past, a Super Guild had discovered an Ancient Gods treasury. And after working together with several superpowers and incurring countless casualties, the Super Guild had successfully raided the treasury. They had discovered three of the 12 Sacred Beast Statues inside the treasury, one of them a medium-sized statue at the Fragmented Legendary rank. Due to these three beast statues, the Super Guild that found the treasury had ended up one of the Twelve Great Guilds within a short period. Now, Shi Feng had merely killed a Superior Mythic ranked Realm Lord, yet he had actually acquired a Sacred Beast Statue. This was simply unbelievable. I really lucked out this time. Although not even one Fragmented Legendary item dropped, the Boss actually dropped an intact Legacy Guidance Crystal, besides one of the 12 Sacred Beast Statues. If any of those superpowers in the past found out about this, they would most likely go crazy from envy. Shi Feng inwardly grew ecstatic as he picked up a crimson Memory Crystal from the ground. Normally, the Legacy Guidances players could obtain in forbidden lands were only fragmented crystals. Due to the instability of the Mana inside these fragments, they would disappear after one use. However, an intact Legacy Guidance Crystal was a different story! As the Mana inside an intact crystal was incredibly stable, players could use it several times. Moreover, each use cost only 100 Magic Crystals. However, as these Legacy Guidance Crystals were quite ancient, even a complete one could be used only nine times. Regardless, an intact Legacy Guidance Crystal was as valuable as a Legendary item because it recorded far more information than a fragmented crystal. A single use of an intact crystal was easily worth ten uses of fragmented crystals. In the past, some superpowers were even willing to exchange a Legendary item for an intact Legacy Guidance Crystal. However, nobody had ever taken up the offer. This was especially true for Guilds and adventurer teams. After all, the Legacy Guidance Crystal could lead to the birth of a Tier 5 player, which was way more valuable than a Legendary item. In Gods Domain, unless Tier 6 God-ranked experts made an appearance, Tier 5 players would stand at the pinnacle of the game. The resources a Tier 5 player could acquire with their strength far exceeded the value of a Legendary item. Several minutes later, Shi Feng finished storing all of the dropped items in his Spatial Bag. He then let everyone rest for an additional ten minutes before leading them toward the Earthfall Secret Land. Shi Feng had no choice but to position the still weakened members at the center of the team. He also had Frobero open up the path for them, clearing out the Level 125-plus Great Lords and Grand Lords that assaulted their team on the way. He had no intention of resting whatsoever. Commander, arent we in too much of a hurry? Solitary Nine asked in a whisper as he looked at Shi Feng, who still had a deathly pale complexion. The fight with Todelya left everyones Concentration below the 10% threshold; they could fall unconscious at any time. Shi Feng was no exception. Yet, after resting for just a short while, Shi Feng had led them deeper into the Ruined Mountain Range without hesitation. At this point, they had already been running for close to two hours, and everyone had constantly been fighting throughout this period. Moreover, the monsters they fought all had considerably high combat standards and high Basic Attributes. Although Frobero took on most of the monsters for them, the occasional monster still slipped by. And if they werent careful, they would be easily overwhelmed by these monsters. I know, but we dont have much time left, Shi Feng said while controlling Frobero. Smiling bitterly, he continued, At this point, I can no longer summon a second Demon Prince. If the duration of this one lapses before we reach our destination, well die a miserable death. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Solitary Nine looked at the endless monsters around them and got goosebumps. At the same time, he subconsciously raised his shield and stood closer to Shi Feng. If not for the Demon Prince, they would definitely be doomed. In fact, they wouldnt be able to cope with all these monsters, even with several Tier 4 experts on the team. After all, fighting in the Ruined Mountain Range cost a lot of Stamina and Concentration. It was impossible for players to fight endlessly. Move faster! Were almost there! Shi Feng urged everyone through the team chat after taking a look at his map. At Shi Fengs words, everyone hurriedly closed the distance to Frobero. The team then broke out in a mad dash while blocking the attacks coming from the surrounding monsters. After frantically advancing for another dozen minutes or so, the team finally discovered a huge cave in the valley, with an entrance several dozen meters high. The cave exerted a mental influence that rivaled Todelyas, making everyone feel discomfortable. Guild Leader Black Flame, is this the place you were talking about? Illusory Words asked anxiously. When she looked at the nearby cave, she got a sense of depression and uncertainty. A hint of fear had even appeared in her heart. If she was already experiencing such feelings even before entering the cave, it wasnt hard to imagine how dangerous it would be inside.Looking at the God Slayers map, Shi Feng said with certainty, It should be here. But That mental influence Unyielding Heart had goosebumps as he looked at the cave. If another monster like Todelya emerged from the cave, they really would be on their way to the underworld. The mental influence is indeed considerable, but we went to great lengths to get here. We cant possibly give up now, can we? Shi Feng also understood Unyielding Hearts worries. If they died now, it would indeed be a big loss. However, he had to obtain the God Slayers treasure no matter what. In the worst-case scenario, he was even willing to use his final trump card. Okay, lets go in and take a look. Unyielding Heart nodded. He, too, thought that Shi Fengs words were correct. They had already gotten this far. It would be a pity if they abandoned the expedition. Not to mention, they still had the Demon Prince to guard them. If further progress was truly impossible, they could still escape. Following which, Shi Feng and the others made their way to the cave. However, when the team walked through the cave entrance, a startling scene suddenly occurred. 2763 God? Shi Feng was dumbfounded at the sight of Frobero one-shotted. Not only was that red beam unbelievably fast, but it even packed enough power to kill a Demon Prince instantly. Although the Bible of Darkness summoned only a weak clone of Froberos true body, this clone still possessed the physique of a bona fide Half-step Demon King. Even true Tier 5 Demon Kings couldnt slay a Half-step Demon King in one hit. As for the red beam originating from a barrier trap or magic circle, the likelihood of that was low. Any barrier trap or magic array would require its user to be present to display its greatest power. Without the user, barrier traps and magic arrays could, at most, trap someone. They definitely did not have the ability to kill the clone of a Half-step Demon King instantly. Not to mention, the beam just now didnt look like it originated from a magic array or barrier but more like an Offensive Spell. Everyone else present was also stunned by this situation, and chills spread all over their body instantly. What happened? Thats a Half-step Demon King we are talking about! The Demon Prince that they believed was invincible had actually gotten killed instantly. If they took a similar attack on their Tier 3 bodies, they, too, wouldnt last a second. However, this still wasnt the crucial point. The fact that the other party could one-shot a Half-step Demon King meant that the other party was among the most horrifying existences they had come across. Meanwhile, none of these horrifying existences were things players dared to offend because the possible consequences in doing so included the annihilation of their souls. If that happened, they would really have to start all over again. However, before anyone could snap out of their daze, a terrifying mental pressure assaulted them. As if time had stopped, everyone froze in place. In fact, even their thoughts had fallen into a torpor. They simply stood still, not knowing what to do. While everyone stagnated, Shi Feng clearly sensed something, and his heart immediately grew cold at this discovery. Its over! In his previous life, he had seen this time-stopping phenomenon only once-in a video of a group of Tier 6 God-ranked experts clashing against an Ancient Evil God. The fight back then had been earth-shattering. However, aside from the Tier 6 God-ranked experts and a few Tier 5 experts, the other players present had no idea what exactly had happened. By the time everyone recovered, the battle was already over. For most of the players present, the battle had basically started and ended in an instant. To them, it felt as if nothing had happened whatsoever. Now that this scene was replaying before Shi Fengs eyes, this meant that the other party was no weaker than that Ancient Evil God in the past. Just when the flow of time was slowing and Shi Fengs thoughts were about to stagnate, a crimson glow suddenly bloomed from his Spatial Bag. The appearance of the crimson glow immediately dispelled the power enveloping him. Afterward, a shabby yet dazzling broken blade flew out of the Spatial Bag and hovered quietly in front of him. This isthe Ash Blade! Shi Feng was shocked when he saw this broken blade. Various legends were circulating in Gods Domain regarding the Ash Blade, which was rumored to be the God Slayers weapon. A weapon named the Ash Blade had also appeared in Shi Fengs previous life. Back then, the owner of this weapon had been a mysterious expert nobody knew. However, what everyone did know was this mysterious persons heaven-defying feat. With the Ash Blade in hand, this mysterious expert had single-handedly annihilated a Super Guilds Main City. Moreover, the Ash Blade this person wielded was incredibly powerful. Even Epic Weapons would break after suffering three or four hits from the Ash Blade. Only Fragmented Legendary Weapons could barely withstand its power. For this reason, everyone had suspected that the Ash Blade was a Legendary Weapon. Hence, Shi Feng had kept the Ash Blade all this time instead of discarding it. After all, there might be a day when he could recast it. Of course, there was another legend regarding the Ash Blade, which stated that the Ash Blade was a clue to the God Slayers Legacy. However, according to historical materials in the libraries of the various kingdoms and empires, nobody had ever found the Ash Blade. Only after that mysterious expert had appeared and thoroughly shattered the status quo of Gods Domain did everyone start paying attention to the Ash Blade. How interesting. Out of the people that arrived this time, someone actually brought that item. It seems you are quite lucky. While Shi Feng was surprised by the Ash Blade, a deep and indifferent voice came from the depths of the cave. It used not the human language but divine language instead. Similar to the demonic language, despite Shi Feng having no knowledge of the divine language, his brain still understood the meaning conveyed by the words. Before Shi Feng could react to the divine words, an elderly man clad in a gray robe appeared before him. This elderly mans body was in a translucent soul state. Moreover, it was incredibly unstable, as if it would disappear at any moment. However, Shi Feng could still feel great power coming from the old man, which awoke in Shi Feng the urge to submit. The old mans information was thoroughly hidden; it was impossible to glean any information about him at all. Esteemed Elder, we came here purely by mistake. We did not come here with any purpose. I hope you can forgive us, Shi Feng said apologetically to the old man. He dared not display any disrespect to the elder before him. Although Shi Feng wasnt aware of the old mans true identity, the fact that the old man could stop time meant that he was undoubtedly at the Tier 6 standard. Even if the old man was only a remnant soul now, he still wasnt an existence Shi Feng could afford to offend. You dont have to lie. I know why you came here, the old man said as he looked at Shi Feng quietly, his deep gaze seemingly seeing through Shi Fengs soul. Not only did you acquire that map, but you even hold the Ash Blade. In that case, you qualify to enter this place and know its secret. How much you can gain from this secret will depend entirely on yourself. I am only an observer and the protector of this place. I wont do anything to interfere with your progress. Shi Feng felt deeply relieved when he heard the old mans words. As for whether the old man was lying to him or not, Shi Feng didnt care. After all, even if the old man was lying to him, Shi Feng couldnt do anything about it. Esteemed Elder, may I know what will happen to my friends? Shi Feng asked worriedly. Although he himself was no longer in any immediate danger, he couldnt say the same for his teammates. It was entirely possible for the old man to erase their existences permanently to keep this place a secret. Dont worry. I wont kill them, the old man said, chuckling as he glanced at Shi Fengs teammates. After all, they are individuals blessed by heaven. They wont die even if they are killed, right? Shi Feng couldnt help growing slightly nervous at the old mans question. For some reason, he had a feeling that this old man knew a lot of things. In fact, he might even understand the true existence of players. Otherwise, he wouldnt have asked such a question. This was the first time Shi Feng had met such an NPC. Alright, Ill stop messing with you. Since Shi Feng didnt dare respond to his question, the old man dropped the topic. He then said, You hold the Ash Blade, which means you are the chosen one. Hence, you may enter the cave. As for the others, they will be teleported out of this place. Of course, as you have been lucky enough to get selected, you can also bring nine people with you. However, youd best think about who to bring with you. The secret of this place isnt something heaven-blessed individuals like yourselves can imagine. A single mistake might even result in a true death for you. When the old man said the words true death, he even placed emphasis on them. It sounded as if he was warning Shi Feng, yet it also sounded as if he was teasing him. His behavior made it impossible for Shi Feng to guess his thoughts. Nonetheless, Shi Feng did not pay too much heed to the old mans warning. His goal in visiting the Ruined Mountain Range was the Earthfall Secret Land. Although he did not know what kind of secret the secret land contained, from what he heard, the three Super Guilds that monopolized the secret land had acquired a lot of benefits. This meant that the secret land shouldnt be a very dangerous place. Ive decided to bring the four of them. May I know if that is okay? Shi Feng asked as he pointed at Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, and Cleansing Whistle. Only four? After taking a glance at Lifeless Thorn and the others, the old man looked at Shi Feng in surprise and asked, Are you sure you dont want to bring more? You should know that the cost of entering that place is extraordinary. The amount of time you can stay there is also very limited. Im sure. Shi Feng nodded. Initially, he had considered bringing more people with him. However, with the possibility of this secret being much greater than he imagined, every additional person he brought along would be an additional risk. Hence, he decided to bring only Lifeless Thorns group of four. After all, the four of them had long since known many of his secrets. They could truly be considered his people already. However, the Asura adventurer teams other members were not as reliable. Alright, this is your decision. The old man no longer pursued the matter and waved his hand at the four selected people. Apart from Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, and Cleansing Whistle, all the others immediately transformed into streaks of light and flew out of the cave. The streaks of light then left the Ruined Mountain Range, dodging the purple lightning decorating the neutral maps sky. Meanwhile, Lifeless Thorn and the others suddenly jumped up in surprise.Whats going on? When Lifeless Thorn and the others saw their current situation, they fell into a daze. Just a moment ago, there had been nobody standing before them. In fact, even Shi Feng had been behind them. However, in the blink of an eye, not only did Shi Feng appear in front of them, but the rest of their team also disappeared without a trace. It was obvious that there was a blank in their memories. e was Now, a scary old man stood before them. And they couldnt read any information about this old man. Alright, stop looking around randomly. Your gazes are very annoying. Do you really think I cant sense them? the old man suddenly shouted at Lifeless Thorn and the others, the brief pressure he exuded nearly making their knees buckle. Ill let you off this time, but if you behave like this to anyone else, they wont be as easy on you as I am! Upon hearing the old mans words, Lifeless Thorn and the others hurriedly nodded and promptly stopped using their Identification Skills on the old man and their surroundings. Thats more like it. Now, follow me! 2764 Land of Fallen Gods Were we resurrected? Unyielding Heart looked at his surroundings with some confusion. Why did we get resurrected here? Wheres Brother Black Flame?. The Devouring Swamp was a neutral map adjacent to the Ruined Mountain Range. However, the map was very high-level, with monsters at Level 130 or above. It wasnt suitable for them to travel across. Hence, they had previously traveled through a Level 120 neutral map to enter the Ruined Mountain Range. I dont think we got resurrected, Illusory Words said, shaking her head. We were most likely teleported here, probably the doing of that horrifying existence we came across just now. Although she didnt know what had happened, the most likely possibility was that they were banished from the cave since none of them had lost any levels. Big Sis Illusory, aside from Black Flame, Asuras side seems to be missing four people too, Blue Gown said strangely after carefully inspecting the team. At Blue Gowns words, everyone else noticed that Lifeless Thorn and three others of the Asura adventurer team were indeed missing. At this discovery, Asuras members couldnt help becoming anxious. Did they get left behind? Unyielding Heart subconsciously muttered a guess. At Unyielding Hearts words, everyone present felt chills crawling down their backs. Before they lost consciousness, they had clearly felt a frightening mental influence from the depths of the cave. If not for them losing consciousness a moment later, they might have dropped to their knees the next second. Without a doubt, the source of the mental influence was the most terrifying existence they had come across since entering Gods Domain. They found it truly hard to imagine the consequences of being targeted by such an existence. If thats true, this is bad. Illusory Words also frowned at this possibility. Against that kind of frightening existence, even a Tier 4 player like Shi Feng would be no different from an ant. In fact, the said existence might even be able to obliterate their souls. After all, a few of the many frightening existences she knew of possessed this kind of horrifying ability. Not to mention, the existence they just met was many times stronger than any of those frightening existences. Lets reorganize the team and go back to take a look. Simply standing around and doing nothing isnt a solution, Unyielding Heart suggested. How so? Unyielding Heart asked strangely. Although Illusory Wordss deduction might be correct, they couldnt just abandon Shi Feng and the others without doing anything. After all, they didnt even know whether they had accomplished their task. If the task wasnt completed, their three Guilds would be in big trouble afterward. I just received news that not only did the number of NPCs increase again, but the various powers members are also facing greater difficulties in leveling up. Shortly after we started sending our members into the Secret Covenant Tower, the superpowers began having designs over it. They think that the tower is an excellent leveling spot, and theyve already clashed with us outside Sky Spring City several times, Illusory Words explained. We need to head back as soon as possible to preside over the situation. Otherwise, itll be impossible to seal off Sky Spring City with just a bunch of Tier 3 experts. Theyre taking action already? Unvielding Heart was surprised by this revelation. Initially, he thought that the various superpowers wouldnt pay as much attention to the Secret Covenant Tower just for the sake of leveling. Hence, he hadnt anticipated such a development. However, the massive increase in the NPC population had undoubtedly increased the various powers urgency and difficulty in leveling up. This made excellent leveling spots even more valuable than before. Now, just for the sake of leveling up quickly, many superpowers had already started targeting the Secret Covenant Tower. If these superpowers entered the tower and discovered the Tier 3 Legacies inside, the situation would definitely become even more troublesome. So, we need to return quickly to ensure nobody sneaks into Sky Spring City and the Secret Covenant Tower. Otherwise, the various superpowers wouldve already occupied the tower before Black Flame completes his task. If that happens, well end up even more passive, Illusory Words said. She then took out a Transfer Scroll and immediately teleported to Crimson Emperors Residence in Silverwing City. After Illusory Words teleported away, the other Crimson Emperor members took out Transfer Scrolls and teleported to Silverwing City one after another. What should we do? Mu Lingsha asked Unyielding Heart as Crimson Emperors members left. Do we return too? Thats the only thing we can do. Lets just hope Brother Black Flames side is safe. Otherwise, well have a difficult road to walk down the line, Unyielding Heart said, sighing as he took out a Transfer Scroll himself. Unyielding Souls other members immediately followed suit one after another. As for Asuras members, they planned to remain in the Devouring Swamp and level up while waiting for their vice commanders to contact them before taking further action. During the time Illusory Words and Unyielding Heart had returned to Silverwing City to control the overall situation, Shi Feng and the others in the distant Ruined Mountain Range had arrived at the deepest part of the cave. This This Is this the secret of this cave? Shock and surprise filled Lifeless Thorn as he stared at the icy cavern before him. The icy cavern was over a dozen kilometers wide. Its interior was a snowy-white world, with ice sculptures in the shape of humans, Elves, Half-orcs, Giants, Dwarves, and other races erected all over. Every one of these ice sculptures radiated an aura that was stronger than the Demon Prince Froberos. Meanwhile, these statues numbered in the tens of thousands. Moreover, the dozen or so ice sculptures at the caverns center radiated an aura that was much stronger than that of the other ice sculptures. Despite standing so far away, Lifeless Thorn still felt awe and fear in his heart when he looked at these statues. He dared not approach any of them. At this moment, let alone Lifeless Thorn, even Shi Feng was astounded by this scene. Shi Feng had a much clearer idea than Lifeless Thorn did of what kind of existence those central ice sculptures were. Indeed! Those dozen or so ice sculptures were bona fide Tier 6 Gods. He had even read about a few of them in libraries. From the scene in the cavern, he could tell that these Gods and people of various races had been going up against something. Only, the end result was that every one of them got frozen into eternal ice sculptures. What the hell happened here? Shi Feng was greatly puzzled as he looked at this horrific scene. Tier 6 Gods were existences that stood at the apex of Gods Domain. A force of over a dozen Gods could devastate the continent. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that such a force could even sweep through the Dark Abyss. In fact, even if all of the Tier 6 God-ranked experts that existed in his previous life joined hands, they could just barely manage to contend with a force of a dozen or so Tier 6 Gods. 2765 God Slayers Legacy You had best not ask or think about what happened in the past and what caused the deaths of so many of the worlds powerful people and even Gods. You also must not look into these matters. The consequences of doing so are not something even heaven-blessed individuals like yourselves can bear. You might even lose your minds as a result, the old man warned when he saw the curiosity on the faces of Shi Feng and the others. Although the old mans voice did not carry any mental influence or coercion, the certainty in his tone made Shi Feng shudder involuntarily. As for Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, and Cleansing Whistle, although they reacted fearfully to the old mans warning, the curiosity on their faces was clear for all to see. It was evident that they did not take the old mans words seriously. After all, this was a matter related to Gods. Players who were new to Gods Domain treated the word God as merely a noun. At best, Gods were a type of powerful monster to them. However, those who truly ventured around Gods Domain and studied the historical materials in the libraries of the various kingdoms and empires would realize that Gods werent just powerful existences. Simultaneously, they represented a kind of extreme, a road leading to the top of Gods Domain. Hence, anything related to Gods represented a massive opportunity for players. This was especially true for Tier 3 players like themselves. They were quite aware that they could no longer advance on their own. If they wished to get to the next level, they would have to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors. Meanwhile, the footsteps of Gods were undoubtedly the best to follow. None of you should look deeper into this matter, at least not now, Shi Feng suddenly said to Lifeless Thorn and the others. He knew very well how attractive Gods were to Tier 3 experts. They wouldnt hesitate to look into matters related to Gods, even if the risks were big. After all, the road to promotion was simply too difficult. Normally, players could already improve significantly with the ruins left behind by Tier 5 existences, let alone those of Tier 6 Gods. However, the disappearance of some peak experts and apex experts from both the game world and the real world most likely had something to do with Tier 6 Gods. Anyone who tried to get involved with Tier 6 Gods as Tier 3 and Tier 4 players would die before achieving anything. If they were lucky, they would have their accounts destroyed and need to start all over again. If they were unlucky, they might disappear like those experts in the past. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Lifeless Thorn and the others eyed him curiously. They never thought that Shi Feng would actively stop them from looking into this matter. At the old mans words, Lifeless Thorn and the others promptly awakened from their greed. Thanks, Commander. I never thought I would get seduced by the benefits in front of me, Lifeless Thorn said in gratitude, a hint of fear in his voice. Gods Domain had always emphasized balance. All gains came with losses. If one tried to secure an opportunity despite lacking the necessary strength, they would only wind up dead. Currently, they hadnt even reached Tier 4, yet they were actually thinking of looking into the secrets of Tier 6. That was simply suicide. That is normal. After all, not many people in Gods Domain can remain calm when faced with matters related to Gods, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. If not for him having a wealth of experience adventuring in Gods Domain, he wouldnt have fared any better than Lifeless Thorn. In fact, he mightve reacted even more crazily. In the current era where the Gods had withdrawn from the world, even the various superpowers would go nuts over a clue related to Tier 6 Gods. In fact, even Tier 5 NPCs would fight desperately to secure this clue. Alright, thats enough talking. After seeing that Shi Feng and the others had calmed down, the old man beckoned to them and said, Come here. Next up is the moment you have all been waiting for. It is also the final wealth and treasure that person left behind for you heaven-blessed individuals. A treasure left behind by the God Slayer? Shi Feng grew a little excited at the old mans words. The God Slayer was a mythical figure in Gods Domain. Although it wasnt certain whether the God Slayer had become a God or not, it was certain that he was born a human. Meanwhile, the God Slayer was an existence that even Gods feared. In fact, the number of Gods the God Slayer had slain exceeded ten. However, for reasons unknown, the God Slayer had suddenly vanished into Gods Domains history, leaving behind only a few clues pertaining to his existence. Normally, these clues were acquired from ancient ruins. It was almost impossible to find any records of the God Slayer in the various kingdoms and empires libraries, as if the God Slayers existence had been wiped out by history. Future generations couldnt look into the God Slayers existence, even if they wanted to. However, there were a lot of negative comments about the God Slayer. Some people said that the God Slayer was a great sinner of Gods Domain, and others said that the God Slayer was the culprit behind the Twilight of the Gods. Shortly afterward, the old man led Shi Fengs group of five to the caverns center, where the dozen or so frozen Gods stood. Upon arriving there, Shi Feng and the others noticed a space-time crack there, as small as a fingernail, undetectable from a distance. Only after moving within 30 yards of the crack did they barely notice it. Directly underneath this space-time crack was an incomparably complicated magic array. It was so complicated that even Shi Feng, who was an Advanced Magician, felt dizzy after just one glance at it. Needless to say, he couldnt even begin to decipher it. This is the treasure? Solitary Nine was stunned when he saw this tiny space-time crack. For a moment, he even felt that the old man had duped them. What possible use could they have for a fingernail-sized space-time crack? Even if this space-time crack led to somewhere, with how small it was, players couldnt enter it. Thats right. This is the treasure, the old man said, chuckling. You might think that such a small space-time crack is no big deal, but what if I say that it connects to the past? Connects to the past? Solitary Nine was again stunned. Crossing timelines was simply impossible. It should still be impossible even in a virtual reality game like Gods Domain. Esteemed Elder, are you perhaps saying that this space-time crack can allow us to travel to an Otherworld? Lifeless Thorn asked, thinking that the old man did not understand what the words connects to the past meant. In fact, even Shi Feng suspected that what the old man truly meant was that the space-time crack allowed people to travel to a different space. After all, there were plenty of foreign spaces and Otherworlds in Gods Domain. No, it is really linked to the past. It isnt linked to an Otherworld or a different space, the old man insisted, shaking his head. He could tell what Shi Feng and the others were thinking, and he said in a determined tone, I know you dont believe me. There is no way you can believe me, either. After all, time travel is something even Ancient Gods are incapable of accomplishing. However, it is true. Moreover, this space-time crack is connected to the ancient era of Gods Domain! The old mans words dumbfounded everyone present. Connected to the ancient era of Gods Domain? Shi Feng felt his worldview crumbling, shocked beyond words. Could this be the Earthfall Secret Lands true secret? The ancient era of Gods Domain was an era of wonders. Various super-civilizations were intertwined during this era when Gods still roamed the world. And because the Twilight of the Gods had yet to occur, the world of Gods Domain was incredibly rich in resources. The present era of Gods Domain couldnt hold a candle to the ancient era in this regard. I wont say anything more. Since this is your first time, you can enter it without any cost. However, you can only spend a limited amount of time inside. Moreover, the stronger you become and the greater your impact during the ancient era, the easier it will be for the world to notice your presence. If that happens, the world will reject your existence and expel you. What you can obtain during the ancient era will all depend on your own abilities, the old man said slowly. However, I have to warn you that the ancient era is not the paradise you imagine it to be! You will die a permanent death if you arent careful! 2766 Ancient Era Both sides suffered severe casualties, their blood staining the valley red. The smell of blood carried for tens of thousands of yards; even those inured to battle would find this situation uncomfortable and unbearable. However, neither side showed any intention of stopping, both prepared to fight to the bitter end. Of the two armies battering each other, the Demon army was led by a Level 135, Tier 4 Great Demon, while a woman led the human army. The woman in question possessed golden hair and crimson eyes. She wielded a silver sacred sword and was clad in a knights blue sacred armor. As the woman contended against several dozen Level 130-plus, Tier 3 Demons, her HP continuously decreased. However, despite being at a complete disadvantage, the more she fought, the brighter the glow her sacred sword radiated. The power she exhibited also kept increasing. Dammit! Youre actually using the Aria of Holy Blood?! Dont even think I will let you finish it! The Tier 4 Great Demons expression turned solemn when he saw the glowing sacred sword. Immediately, he spread out his four wings and flew toward the crimson-eyed woman. Everyone, protect the Commander! Do not let that Great Demon approach the Commander! a tall man shouted before rushing at the Great Demon with his golden shield raised. Subsequently, several dozen other melee classes nearby also charged at the Great Demon, all of them ignoring the fact that they were merely at Tier 2. Scram! Seeing the crowd charging at him, the Demon Commander pulled out his crimson greatsword and slashed the space in front. Over a hundred crimson beams shot forth, tearing apart space as they advanced. The power they carried simply wasnt something even Tier 3 existences could dream of withstanding. Boom! The next moment, the several dozen Tier 2 melee classes were instantly vaporized, while the shield-bearing man was sent smashing into the mountain. Dammit! Ill kill you! When a man standing nearby saw this scene, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he promptly charged at the Great Demon with his sword raised. However, before this man could even get near the Great Demon, the long-range Spells of several Tier 3 Demons had already killed him. In the meantime, blood had already dyed the body of the crimson-eyed woman fighting several dozen Tier 3 Demons. Her complexion was also deathly pale. However, despite the state of her body, her gaze remained indescribably firm. Be punished, Demons! the crimson-eyed female knight bellowed as she raised her sacred sword. The female knights words stimulated the surviving humans. They began madly fighting against the Demons. However, after a few exchanges, the humans present were dumbfounded, staring at a distant pile of Demon corpses in disbelief. The next moment, the Great Demon Commander, who was over a dozen meters tall, emerged from this pile of corpses, a hint of mockery and contempt on his face. The Aria of Holy Blood is indeed powerful. And for you to still be alive after using this desperate move, your mental willpower is truly astonishing. Im certain you can rank among the top Tier 4 powerhouses, the Great Demon said as he looked at the crimson-eyed knight. He then asked mockingly, But can you use it a second time? At this Great Demons words, the complexions of the surviving humans instantly turned ashen. This was the Aria of Holy Blood they were talking about! This was the Sacred Sword Blood Moons Unique Spell. Most people would be able to use it only once before departing for the netherworld. This was because the consequent pain of the body and mind was not something ordinary people could bear. However, in return for the steep price, once the Aria of Holy Blood was cast, it exerted astonishing power. Even a Great Demon would sustain heavy injuries and lose half of their HP after getting struck by this move. Moreover, without restoration items such as the Water of Life, it would be impossible to recover from the attack. Yet, now Needless to say, it would be impossible for the female knight to use Aria of the Holy Blood again. However, with the humans current combat power, they were no match for the Great Demon. After all, the Great Demon before them was a bona fide Demon Marquis. The purity of his Bloodline was far superior to that of ordinary Great Demons. Since you no longer have any other moves to make, its my turn now. When the Great Demon saw the silent humans before him, an indescribably excited and joyful expression appeared on his face. Dont even think about it! The female knight suddenly appeared above the Great Demons head and brandished her sacred sword. Three phantom swords appeared in the sky, the sight stunning everyone present. This isthe Sword Saint Lord Lockess personal technique, Sky Cleaver! The Commander actually mastered it? When the surviving humans saw the three phantom swords in the sky, a look of awe and admiration appeared on their faces. Youre already on your last breath, yet youre still putting up such boring resistance? When the Great Demon saw the three phantom swords, he did not reveal any awe or fear whatsoever. On the contrary, he nonchalantly brandished his greatsword. Boom! The greatsword and three phantom swords collided, the resulting shockwave sent both humans and Demons stumbling backward. Large cracks formed on the ground the Great Demon stood on, and the greatsword the Great Demon wielded let out a low hum. The Great Demons arms were also trembling. Upon seeing this scene, the humans felt both encouraged and excited. Sure enough, a Sword Saints personal technique was truly extraordinary! However, a moment later, everyones joy turned into despair because the crimson-eyed knight hadnt fared too well, either. Not only was her complexion paler, but even her pupils had begun to fade. It was evident that she was on her last breath; she could no longer fight. Hahaha! Amazing! Amazing! This is the first time I, Nemen Carlo, have seen a powerful Tier 4 human like you! The Great Demon burst out laughing as he looked at the female knight. However, it all ends here. Before you die, I will drag you all down to hell first! After saying so, Nemen Carlo began chanting the incantation for the Tier 4 Spell Hells Gate. Suddenly, the sky darkened. A huge door decorated with skulls appeared, the blood-red glow from the skulls eye sockets and the agonizing screams coming from the door seemingly telling everyone that their destiny was about to end. Even if the humans present wished to interrupt Nemen Carlos Spell, they couldnt do so, as the surviving Demons were doing their best to stop them. However, just as the formation of the Hells Gate was about to culminate, a spatial tear over a thousand yards long suddenly split the sky. The resulting spatial storm not only disrupted the Mana in the sky but even shattered the magic array summoning the Hells Gate. Afterward, several figures fell out of the spatial tear and crashed onto the battlefield in the valley, their landing sending clouds of dust into the air. 2767 You Chose the Wrong Opponen Who are they? They came out of that large spatial tear, so they shouldnt be ordinary existences. Maybe theyre Guardians from the Holy City? However, their auras seem weak. Those people are also only at Tier 3. They shouldnt be the Holy Citys Guardians. Moreover, judging by their looks, they seem to be heaven-blessed individuals. The humans began a hushed discussion among themselves as they scrutinized Shi Fengs group. Initially, they had held hope that Shi Fengs group could save them. However, after noticing the five players auras, they immediately fell into despair. The crimson-eyed knight peered at Shi Fengs group with her blurry sight. It was evident that she, too, felt surprised and puzzled by the sudden appearance of Shi Fengs group. Humanitys heaven-blessed individuals? When the Great Demon Nemen Carlo saw Shi Fengs group, he, too, was shocked. How is this possible?! Nemen Carlo wasnt particularly surprised to see more heaven-blessed individuals of the human race appearing in this place. What shocked him was the spatial crack that these humans had arrived through. That massive spatial crack had carried an extraordinary amount of power; even he would lose his life if he accidentally came into contact with it. Yet, Shi Fengs group had actually come out of it directly. Compared to the humans and Demons originally fighting on this battlefield, however, the ones most surprised by the present situation were Shi Fengs five. How is this possible? Shi Fengs heart surged with shock as he looked at a group of people standing among the human army. Why are there other players here? Aside from the many NPCs, the human army also had quite a number of players. Moreover, the average level of these players was incredibly high; even the lowest-leveled among them was Level 128, while some had even surpassed Level 130. Shi Feng was certain that he had arrived in the ancient era of Gods Domain. After all, the environment here simply couldnt be found anywhere in the modern Gods Domain. The Mana in this land was so abundant that it was close to condensing into a liquid state. He could even clearly feel the magic elements in the air. Like sprites, some of the magic elements were cheerful and lively, some were cold and lonely, some were hot and angry, etc. He could sense all of this with exceptional clarity. Moreover, the NPCs on this battlefield wore significantly different gear compared to the NPCs of modern times. Their weapons and equipment were of much higher quality. However, that was far from the case for the NPCs here. Every NPC had at least one or two Fragmented Legendary items. The female knight leading the human army was even fully equipped in Fragmented Legendary items. The sword she wielded was also a top-tier Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Moreover, what was even more incredible was that Shi Feng had found someone he recognized. This person was none other than Yu Luo, a captain of the Heavens Blade adventurer team, based on Dragonheart Island. Only, unlike the Yu Luo he had met on Dragonheart Island, the one he was looking at now was like a completely different person. Presently, not only had Yu Luo reached Level 129 already, but she even sported an Epic Staff and a full suit of Epic Equipment. Although her Epic Equipment wasnt a set, her equipment standard was still ridiculously excellent. Unlike the last time Shi Feng met Yu Luo, though, the Cleric looked much more haggard. She did not possess the aura and spirit of a peak expert at all. Guild Leader Black Flame?! Meanwhile, at this time, Yu Luo, who stood amid the human army, also noticed the five new arrivals on the battlefield. And when she saw that the man leading this group was none other than Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, her originally dispirited expression immediately became energetic. Do you know them, Yu Luo? the female Oracle standing beside Yu Luo asked curiously upon seeing the latters reaction. The female Oracle was a Level 131 player clad in a white dress, wearing a white priests hat. Yes. Moreover, hes my fellow countryman, Yu Luo said, nodding excitedly. Fellow countryman? The female Oracle scrutinized Shi Fengs group. She soon noticed that the average level of Shi Fengs group was quite low, and their appearances indeed resembled Yu Luos a lot. Particularly, the feeling of incompatibility Shi Fengs group had with the other players in Gods Domain was exactly the same as Yu Luo. The female Oracle then shook her head and said, What a pity. His luck is truly poor. He actually got teleported to this place. Upon hearing the female Oracles words, Yu Luo remembered the situation they were in, and her heart grew cold. The joy on her face promptly disappeared. The death penalty in the Gods Domain they were currently in was different from the Gods Domain on the other side. Players would not only lose two or more levels upon death but also fall into a mentally weakened state. Depending on the severity of the situation, players might even lose some of their memories. And worse, the use of Resurrection Spells could only mitigate the loss of EXP and not restore the lost memories. Moreover, even when resurrected using a Resurrection Spell, players wouldnt be resurrected on the spot but inside the Life Temple of a random Main City run by humans. Of course, if players had registered themselves with a Main City, they could get resurrected in the Life Temple of a fixed Main City. However, Shi Fengs group had just arrived in this world. They definitely hadnt registered themselves with a Main City yet. If they died, they would get resurrected at a random Main City. Meanwhile, a great distance separated the Main Cities run by humans-and there were no teleportation arrays in these cities. In other words, so long as Shi Fengs group died, Yu Luo was unlikely to meet him again. After all, humans had many Main Cities, even in this world. Just the ones she knew already numbered over 500. As for the possibility of Shi Fengs group coming out alive from this battlefield, that was simply impossible. In the original Gods Domain, a group of Tier 3 players could still put up a fight against a Tier 4 Great Demon. However, in this world, let alone putting up a fight, Tier 3 players would be considered capable if they could escape with their lives. The reason for this was the incredibly high average combat standard of the monsters here. Monsters of the caliber of Great Demons would possess combat standards rivaling peak experts. However, the combat system of monsters was completely different from the Realms of Refinement players relied on. In Skill and Spell utilization, monsters such as Great Demons could display combat standards at the Spiritualization Realm without having to exert themselves. Such monsters were not opponents Void Realm experts like herself could hope to match. However, before Yu Luo could snap out of her daze, the Great Demon Nemen Carlo stopped paying attention to Shi Fengs group and shifted his gaze back to the crimson-eyed knight. The Great Demon then looked at the dozen or so Tier 3 Demons around him and commanded, Go get rid of them! Please leave it to us, Milord! The heavily injured Demons nodded and flapped their wings. They then flew toward Shi Fengs group of five, their speed greatly surpassing even Tier 3, Agility-focused Assassins. Not good! Those Demon Leaders are working together to target them! The Level 131 female Oracle was shocked by this development. She never thought that Nemen Carlo would have his trusted subordinates deal with Shi Fengs group. Although these Demon Leaders had been heavily injured by the Aria of Holy Blood, individually, they were still stronger than Tier 3 experts. In addition, if over a dozen of them worked together, they could form a demonic array that greatly increased their combat power. Big Sis Cloud, lets go save them quickly! Yu Luo urged anxiously when she saw the Demon Leaders targeting Shi Fengs group. She knew that Shi Feng was incredibly strong. After all, he was someone the various superpowers on Dragonheart Island had labeled a peerless expert. His strength surpassed even that of Domain Realm monsters. However, not only did the Demons of this world possess high combat standards, but their demonic arrays also operated like the humans battle arrays. Even a peerless expert would fall in the face of such a group of Demons. Die, humans! Runes suddenly lit up all over the Demon Leaders bodies. The auras they radiated also intensified significantly until they were just short of rivaling ordinary Great Demons in terms of strength. Simultaneously, the weapons in their hands turned into brilliant rays of light. Tier 3 Combination Skill, Skyflowers Shadow! Immediately, countless red petals fell from the sky, heading toward Shi Fengs group. Every flower petal tore space as they fluttered down, making it seem as if night was falling. You used a good Skill; Ill give you that. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong opponent! Shi Feng snorted when he saw the red flower petals descending toward him. He then unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and unleashed his aura. Simultaneously, a Mana Domain spread out from his body, instantly covering a 1,000-yard radius and enveloping the entire battlefield. The next moment, Yu Luo saw Shi Feng execute an upward slash with the Abyssal Blade. 2768 Repelling Demons, Sacred Sword Blood Moon Boom! The next moment, the dazzling stars shattered the descending flower petals and attacked the Demon Leaders. Before the Demon Leaders could react, they were already flying back over a hundred yards away, their HPs decreasing in large chunks. They even had difficulty standing up. Hesstrong! He sent so many Demon Leaders flying with just one move. Could he really have been sent here from the Holy City?! Tier 4! Crap! This aura definitely belongs to a Tier 4 class! Hes a Tier 4 Sword Emperor! With that power, hes a powerhouse even among other Tier 4 classes! Everyone was momentarily stunned by this development. None of them thought that the seemingly ordinary Shi Feng would send over a dozen Demon Leaders flying in one move. Moreover, he was even a bona fide Tier 4 Sword Emperor, an existence capable of rivaling Tier 4 Great Demons. Yu Luo, your fellow countryman is so strong! No wonder you were so excited to see him. I never thought he would be a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. With that kind of strength, he can definitely rank within the top fiveor maybe even top three in our city, the female Oracle named Cooling Cloud exclaimed as she looked at Shi Feng. She, too, had not expected Yu Luos acquaintance to be so powerful. A Tier 4 player! This was a goal players like herself struggled toward desperately. Unfortunately, the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was simply too challenging. Her one attempt had failed. In the Main City she resided in, there were only three known Tier 4 players. Every one of them was a bigshot in the city. They were existences far beyond Tier 3 players like herself. However, at this moment, let alone Cooling Cloud, even Yu Luo, who was familiar with Shi Feng, was wide-eyed in shock and incredulity. Tier 4! She had improved a lot after arriving in this world. However, Tier 4 remained a huge threshold to cross. Unless she could take one step further in her combat standard, she would be doomed to hover forever in the ranks of Tier 3. However, despite being at Level 127, Shi Feng had already become a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Moreover, he had accomplished this feat even before entering this unbelievable world. Meanwhile, as the humans were goggling at Shi Feng in shock, the Great Demon Nemen Carlo gazed at Shi Feng with a solemn expression, as if he was looking at a monster. Who are you? Nemen Carlo asked, a hint of fear appearing in his eyes. A heaven-blessed individual cant possibly wield such power! Generally, suppressing a Tier 4 existences strength by even 10% was already a difficult feat, what more 40%. Yet, Shi Feng had done it. Thats none of your business. Shi Feng paid no heed to the Great Demons question. Instead, he smiled and said, I will give you two options now. The first is for us to continue fighting and determine the victor through life and death. The second option is for you to get out of my sight, together with your people. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the battlefield. Yu Luo and the other players, in particular, gaped, their wide-open mouths forming an O. Is he crazy? Even if hes a Sword Emperor, Nemen Carlo wont spare him after being threatened in such a way! Its over! That Nemen Carlo will definitely go all-out against us! Demons had always been arrogant in Gods Domain. They did not place other creatures in their eyes at all, even when dealing with the Dragon race. Needless to say, the arrogance of a Demon Marquis was even greater. Even their commander, Angelica Teresa, would not dare utter such words to Nemen Carlo. After all, Nemen Carlo was truly powerful. His strength was outstanding even among Tier 4 Demons. He had the potential to become a Demon Prince. Otherwise, he wouldnt have become the commander of a Demon army. Sure enough, after the Demon Marquis heard Shi Fengs words, Nemen Carlos complexion turned indescribably ugly. Simultaneously, everyone felt the ambient Mana grow violent. However, just when everyone thought a bloody battle was about to begin Were leaving! Nemen Carlo said, his mouth practically twisting. After giving Shi Feng one last glare, he turned around with clenched fists and instantly disappeared, leaving behind only a group of Demons exchanging stunned looks. What?! He left?! Whats going on?! Everyone in the human army was dumbfounded at Nemen Carlos departure. After all, even with the assistance of a Tier 4 Sword Emperor like Shi Feng, their army was still in dire straits. Yet, Nemen Carlo had actually left without saying another word. He behaved nothing like a Demon at all. Angelica Teresa, the commander of the knight legion present, couldnt help looking at Shi Feng strangely. She never thought that Shi Fengs words would carry such great deterrence for the Demons. The Great Demons here are actually so smart? Cleansing Whistle was also surprised when she saw Nemen Carlo leaving. She knew that Shi Feng possessed the Bible of Darkness, which could be used not only to summon Demons but also to suppress hostile Demons. This was why Shi Feng could push back those Demon Leaders so easily. However, of those present, only Shi Feng knew what exactly had happened. The Bible of Darkness held absolute control over Demons. Although Nemen Carlo did not know Shi Feng held the Bible of Darkness, the Great Demon still possessed an instinctive fear and dread of it. Moreover, Shi Feng had repelled over a dozen Demon Leaders with a single move. This aggravated the fear in Nemen Carlo. Demons were very smart creatures. After the first major update took place, Demons would almost never fight battles that they were not confident of winning. Even if Nemen Carlo were significantly stronger than Shi Feng right now, the fear and dread he felt for the Bible of Darkness would deter him from casually starting a fight. After the Demons left the battlefield, the surviving humans all breathed out a sigh of relief. They then began reorganizing their formation and treating the injured. A large number of people also gathered by Angelica Teresas side with downcast and unreconciled expressions. This was because the female knights mental state and soul had already reached the brink of collapse, despite her having a lot of HP remaining. This was clear even to the Tier 3 individuals present. Commander! Its all our fault! If we werent so useless, the Commander wouldnt have had to use the Aria of Holy Blood! Dammit! Someone in the city mustve leaked information on our operation! Otherwise, Nemen Carlo couldnt have led an army to surround us! Both NPCs and players present expressed sadness when they saw Angelicas current state. It was evident the female knight was loved and respected by these people. Unlike players, it was incredibly difficult for NPCs to get resurrected. Big Sis Cloud, what should we do now? The Commander wont last at this rate! Yu Luo said while frantically casting Healing Spells on Angelica. However, Healing Spells worked on only physical injuries. They had no effect on damage to ones mental state and soul. Commander Angelica Teresa was the only hope for their Main Citys survival. In this world, both NPCs and players had difficulty surviving because this world was several times crueler than the modern Gods Domain. It was also because of Angelica that Yu Luo had managed to live well until this day. Yet, now Theres nothing we can do. The Aria of Holy Bloods backlash is too powerful. The fact that the Commander managed to cast it once is already plenty amazing. Yet, after using the Spell, she even used a Taboo Skill that placed a huge burden on the mental state. Now, even a Tier 4 Great Divine Official cant save her, Cooling Cloud said as she shook her head, a gloomy expression appearing on her face. While the two Tier 3 healers, Yu Luo and Cooling Cloud, were doing everything they could to save Angelica Teresa, Shi Feng, who watched all of this from a distance, was filled with an indescribable sense of shock and surprise. Shes actually Angelica Teresa? Shi Feng couldnt help doubting his eyes for a moment as he gazed at the frail female knight. Whats the matter, Commander? Solitary Nine asked curiously when he noticed Shi Fengs surprise. In Solitary Nines opinion, there shouldnt be anything in Gods Domain capable of surprising Shi Feng. Yet, now, the man actually evinced surprise because of an NPC. This was a truly strange situation. Have you never visited a library to read about Gods Domains history during your free time? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Solitary Nine. She is the Angelica Teresa. She holds the title of Valkyrie and is one of the two Founding Elders of the Fire Dragon Empire! Shes a founding member of one of the four ancient countries? Solitary Nine did a double-take at Angelica Teresa when he heard Shi Fengs words. The four ancient countries of the modern Gods Domain were the only four human empires that had existed since the ancient era. According to legend, the founding emperors of these empires possessed incredible power. In the case of the Fire Dragon Empire, though, a large part of the reason it survived the ancient era was the contributions of its two Founding Elders, and even Gods feared these two Founding Elders. However, by the looks of it, she seems to be dying, Lifeless Thorn said in a quiet tone. Maybe she just has the same name? No, she is definitely that person, Shi Feng affirmed. The Sacred Sword Blood Moon is ranked sixth among Gods Domains Famed Swords. It is said that this sword once belonged to Angelica Teresa, one of the Fire Dragon Empires Founding Elders. While a person can have the same name, the chances are low that she would wield the same weapon. Gods Domains 36 Famed Swords were unique existences, and their owners were all historical figures in Gods Domain. In other words, it was precisely because of the people wielding these swords that the swords became unique existences known throughout Gods Domain. What should we do now, then? If she dies, will it alter Gods Domains history? Solitary Nine asked anxiously. At this point, he still couldnt tell whether they had arrived in the real ancient era of Gods Domain or just a replica. If it was a fake, then good. If it was real, then the results would be very bad. 2769 Inferior Mythic Ques System: You have triggered an optional Inferior Mythic World Quest. Quest content: Assist Angelica Teresa to become Meteorite Citys Lord. Rewards one unknown item and Gods Domain World Authority +2. Penalties unknown. System: You have 30 seconds to consider. Quest will be accepted by default if no response is made. An Inferior Mythic Quest? Shi Feng couldnt help doubting his ears when he heard the system. As far as he knew, Legendary Main Storyline Quests were already the most challenging quests players could pick up. However, there were quests of a higher grade than Legendary Main Storyline QuestsMythic Quests, which had always been a mystery of Gods Domain. Despite the rumors of Mythic Quests, nobody had ever personally verified their existence. Yet, he had now triggered an Inferior Mythic Quest. Do I accept it? Shi Feng hesitated. This was most likely the only opportunity he would ever get to challenge such a quest. After all, he had never even heard of anybody receiving a quest of this rank. He had most likely triggered such a quest only because he happened to visit Gods Domains ancient era and came across a key historical figure. Moreover, by the looks of it, the other players around him had not received this quest. This meant he had satisfied some unknown conditions to trigger this quest. Only, the penalty for failing a Legendary Quest was already more than enough to end a players career in Gods Domain. The penalty for failing an Inferior Mythic Quest would most likely be several times greater. If he failed to complete the quest after accepting it However, when he saw the reward of Gods Domains World Authority +2, greed momentarily overwhelmed him. In the present Gods Domain, everyone else was probably unaware of Gods Domains World Authority, as it was simply far too difficult to obtain. Normally, players had to have achievements that affected the entirety of Gods Domain to acquire this World Authority. Players who successfully obtained World Authority, even if only one point of it, would receive unimaginable assistance in their progression in Gods Domain. Just like the name suggested, gaining World Authority meant one would become an existence with special rights in Gods Domain. The various superpowers were willing to go all-out and risk incurring massive losses just to obtain the special rights the War Gods Temple offered. After all, obtaining these rights meant ones Guild could surpass other Guilds by a large margin and solidify its position in Gods Domain. Individual players could also obtain special rights in Gods Domainthis was World Authority. Obtaining even one point of World Authority was equivalent to attaining Gods Domains recognition. Players with World Authority would then gain an unimaginable affinity with the world. In the past, for the sake of producing Tier 6 God-ranked players, the various Super Guilds were willing to do everything they could just to help a select few of their members gain World Authority. However, even the Five Great Super Guilds had managed to gather only a handful of World Authority points after struggling for four or five years. Nevertheless, it was also a fact that every player that obtained World Authority points had reached Tier 6. Now that Shi Feng had the opportunity to obtain two World Authority points just by completing one quest, how could he not feel greedy? If he succeeded, let alone Tier 5, even getting promoted to Tier 6 would become a lot easier. Commander, are you alright? Yan Ya asked worriedly when she noticed Shi Fengs strange expression. Did you consume too much Concentration after using that combat technique just now? Previously, Shi Feng had exhausted himself during the fight with Todelya. Although they had taken a small break afterward, the amount of Concentration he managed to recover was most likely limited. Im fine, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then looked toward Angelica Teresa, who currently lay weakly on the ground, and gritted his teeth. It seems I have no choice but to help her. Truthfully, he didnt wish to take part in this matter. After all, the old man from before had emphasized that if he overdid things here, the world would quickly discover his existence and forcibly return him to the modern world. If that happened, it would be a huge loss for him. After all, the environment here was truly wonderful. Moreover, Gods Domains ancient era was far superior to the modern era in many aspects. The available Legacies aside, just the materials, weapons, and equipment available here were already leaps and bounds superior to the modern Gods Domain. At this point, he had yet to find out how he could earn a large amount of resources from this ancient era, so he naturally couldnt recklessly take action. This was also why he had chosen to chase away Nemen Carlo instead of killing the Great Demon. Needless to say, he also wished to avoid saving the NPCs of this era if possible. This was especially true for a bigshot like Angelica Teresa. Steady progression was the way to go in Gods Domain. However, the quest rewards were far too generous. Even if it meant taking a huge risk, Shi Feng still planned to give it a try. After all, in his current state, he really wasnt confident of getting promoted to Tier 5. If he merely relied on Legacy Guidances, constructing even a completely new Mana Body would be tough, let alone constructing a Mana Body that matched the physique of Tier 5 monsters. Ultimately, Shi Feng walked up to Angelica Teresa, his actions causing the other people present to grow alert. Although Shi Feng had repelled the Demon army for them, he was still a foreign powerhouse. Their wariness of him was only natural. After all, there were many insidious people in Gods Domain who were capable of stabbing others in the back with a smiling face. No one wouldnt be completely safe from such people, regardless of ones identity. The best example would be their Commander. Their Commander possessed a great reputation in their city. Most of the citys bigshots respected and favored her, yet she still ended up getting stabbed in the back. Upon seeing Shi Feng walk over, Yu Luo gritted her teeth and asked in a quiet tone, Guild Leader Black Flame, do you have a way to save our Commander? So long as you can save the Commander, I will help you with whatever you want! Even if it means sacrificing myself! In reality, Yu Luo did not think Shi Feng would have a way to save Commander Angelica Teresa. After all, even Cooling Cloud, who was both a skillful healer and Advanced Master Alchemist, was helpless. I indeed have a way to save her. However, I dont need you to sacrifice yourself or anything of the sort. Shi Feng smiled involuntarily when he saw the resolution on Yu Luos face. I just need you to tell me about the situation here once afterward. Even if Yu Luo didnt ask for his help, he would still save Angelica Teresa. After all, a dead person couldnt become the overlord of Meteorite City. You have a way to save the Commander, Guild Leader Black Flame? Yu Luo was momentarily stunned by Shi Fengs reply. However, she quickly recollected herself and said excitedly, No problem. So long as it is something I know, I will definitely tell you. On the other hand, Cooling Cloud, who stood at a side, was confused when she heard Shi Fengs confident reply. She was an Advanced Master Alchemist, yet even she was helpless about Angelicas situation. She found it truly hard to believe a fellow countryman of Yu Luos had a way to save the Commander. This wasnt because Cooling Cloud was belittling Shi Feng and Yu Luo but because the knowledge Yu Luo had shown regarding Gods Domain was simply too inadequate. Even her usage of Skills and Spells was crude. In addition, while it wasnt necessary for all healers to become a specialized Master Alchemist, it was still common sense for healers to know how to craft some potions. Yet, Yu Luo did not. Hence, Cooling Cloud concluded that Yu Luo and Shi Feng came from some backwoods. Otherwise, they shouldnt lack such common sense. However, Shi Feng did not respond to Yu Luos question. He merely took out a translucent crystal from his bag and passed it to her. Have her eat this. Shell gradually recover once she does, Shi Feng said without further explanation. Yu Luo was confused when she received the translucent crystal from Shi Feng, not understanding how such a crystal could save Commander Angelica. However, when Cooling Cloud saw the crystal in Yu Luos hand, she was shocked. A Crystal of Souls?! How is this possible?! At Cooling Clouds exclamation, the other healers present stared at Shi Feng as if they were looking at a monster. Big Sis Cloud, is this Crystal of Souls something amazing? Yu Luo asked, bewildered. Realizing that she had lost her composure, Cooling Cloud quickly calmed herself, then explained, The Crystal of Souls isnt just valuable. It is incomparably rare even on the scale of the entire Gods Domain. The Holy Citys side can secure only a few of such crystals, as they are simply too rare. Normally, such crystals appear in places where souls gather, such as the Netherworld. These crystals can not only heal ones mental state but also strengthen the soul to a certain degree. It is impossible to purchase a Crystal of Souls on the market, and it is many times more valuable than even the Water of Life. Its such a rare item? Yu Luo was startled. She never thought Shi Feng would actually use such a precious item to save someone. With this, she would owe him a massive favor. Alright, youd best save her first, Shi Feng said. When he saw the astonished looks everyone was giving him, he only shook his head and smiled. The Crystal of Souls was indeed precious. Under normal circumstances, he wouldnt be willing to use it. After all, he had to rely on himself to harvest the necessary monster souls to create Crystals of Souls. However, the crystals werent so precious that he couldnt afford to waste them on others. After all, the Soul Orb was one of the Seven Treasures that could easily produce Crystals of Souls. He merely needed to kill Great Lord ranked monsters five levels higher than himself to obtain the necessary monster souls. At Shi Fengs reminder, Yu Luo quickly snapped out of her daze and helped Angelica consume the Crystal of Souls. Shortly afterward, Angelicas complexion recovered significantly. Although she had fallen unconscious after consuming the Crystal of Souls, one could tell that her condition was no longer critical. Now, all they needed to do was wait. By the time Angelica woke up on her own, she would be thoroughly recovered. Meanwhile, after seeing that Angelica was saved, Cooling Cloud, as a captain in the knight legion, took the initiative to invite Shi Fengs party to rest in Meteorite City, the Main City they resided in. Shi Feng did not refuse the invitation, as he was curious to learn more about Gods Domains ancient era. 2770 City of Riches After the knight legion registered the information of Shi Fengs party with the city, Cooling Cloud led the five straight into the city. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng and his party members were non-residents of Meteorite City, they each had to pay an entrance fee of five Magic Crystals. Let alone Lifeless Thorn and the others, even Shi Feng was stunned by this fraudulent price. Meteorite Citys entrance fee was more than ten times greater than the various Guild Cities, not to mention that of modern NPC cities. At this point, the market value of Magic Crystals had already risen to 40 Silver per crystal. Five Magic Crystals was the equivalent of two Gold. Unless the citys Mana had condensed into a liquid state, only a fool would pay such an entrance fee. However, from the behavior of the NPCs and players here, it looked as if they had long since gotten used to this situation. Even Yu Luo paid the five Magic Crystals without hesitation. Guild Leader Black Flame, this is the standard price here. Naturally, Yu Luo could tell what was going through the minds of Shi Fengs party. Smiling, she whispered, But please believe me that this price is absolutely reasonable! Initially, she, too, had been shocked by this price. After all, she wasnt the Guild Leader of a Guild, unlike Shi Feng, but merely a team leader in an adventurer team. The Magic Crystals she had on hand had only numbered 200 or so. Paying five Magic Crystals just to enter a city had been an extravagant expenditure for her. However, after entering Meteorite City, she quickly realized that this price was definitely reasonable. Compared to the NPC Main Cities in the modern Gods Domain, Meteorite City could practically be considered a Holy City. Of course, Shi Feng wouldnt dwell on this matter. After all, five Magic Crystals was basically nothing to him. He was merely surprised by the absurd entrance fee. Afterward, Shi Feng paid the entrance fee for his party of five, then followed Cooling Cloud and Yu Luo through the magic array that enveloped Meteorite City. This is a Main City of the ancient era? When Shi Feng set foot in Meteorite City, a comfortable feeling immediately enveloped his body. Nonetheless, the environment inside Meteorite City was actually significantly better than the environment outside. In fact, Shi Feng even had a hunch that if he used a Legacy Guidance here, he could exceed his Mana Bodys 100% limit in just a few days. The magic array protecting the city is personally crafted by a human Saint. Not only does it have strong defensive properties, but it even improves the Mana Perception of the citys inhabitants. However, operating this magic array requires a lot of Magic Crystals, hence the entrance fee, Yu Luo explained. Actually, Meteorite Citys big trade market and huge population flow have already helped reduce the entrance fee. Some cities even charge seven or eight Magic Crystals. No wonder you managed to improve your control over Mana so much, Shi Feng said in realization as he looked at Yu Luo. Yu Luo had already unlocked her Mana Bodys potential to 100%, and her control over Mana had even reached the Master Magician standard. If her Concentration standard reached Tier 4, she would be able to form her own Mana Domain and become top-tier among Tier 3 peak experts. Most Domain Realm experts hadnt even reached the Master Magician standard at this stage of the game. And although Yu Luo was very talented, she was still far from comparable to Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow. Yet, even with his help, those two were still half a step away from becoming Master Magicians, so how could Yu Luo possibly overtake them? The only explanation was the environment here. Mhm. Ive improved a lot after arriving here, Yu Luo said as she nodded confidently. Thats right. Yu Luo has been improving rapidly during this period. Now, she can already rank among the knight legions top five healers, Cooling Cloud said, nodding. Although she didnt have a high opinion of Yu Luos initial strength, she very much acknowledged the Clerics talent. Actually, it is all thanks to Lady Angelicas teachings, Yu Luo said. At the mention of Angelica Teresa, an expression of gratitude and admiration appeared on her face. Its a pity that we failed to complete the quest this time. Had we succeeded, Lady Angelica mightve become the Lord of Meteorite City. If the city comes under Lady Angelicas leadership, the city will prosper and possibly even rank up into an Advanced Main City. Become the Lord? What kind of quest is she trying to do? Shi Feng asked curiously. His Inferior Mythic Quest had stated that he needed to help Angelica Teresa become Meteorite Citys Lord. Now that a clue on how he could do so had appeared, he naturally was curious. Its nothing. Everyone in the city already knows about it at this point. Since Shi Feng expressed interest in this topic, Cooling Cloud explained slowly, Meteorite City has been developing for hundreds of years already, and its population and scale of operation have grown significantly. However, at this point, the city has reached a bottleneck. The old City Lord also abdicated recently. As one of the candidates to replace the Lord, Lady Angelica Teresa wishes to improve Meteorite City. Meanwhile, there are two ways to help Meteorite City develop further. The first is to expand the city. However, the citys magic array was personally established by the Saint, and nobody in the city is capable of modifying it. The only way to modify the magic array is to go to the Holy City and meet with the Saint. The chances of success are dismal. Setting aside how far away the Holy City is, just trying to meet with the Saint is already an incredibly difficult task. Hence, Lady Angelica can only resort to the second method-strengthening the magic arrays core, which would, in turn, upgrade the magic array. Recently, we received news that a Tier 4 Infant Dragon appeared over at the Ghostfire Hills. If we can hunt this Infant Dragon and secure its Dragon Eyes and Dragon Crystal, we can strengthen the magic arrays core. Only At this point, Cooling Cloud sighed. Let alone hunting that Tier 4 Infant Dragon, they had already fallen prey to a Demon armys ambush shortly after leaving Meteorite City. What followed next was what Shi Feng himself had witnessed. Travel to the Holy City to meet with the Saint or kill a Tier 4 Infant Dragon? Shi Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly at Cooling Clouds words. Although he didnt know where the Holy City was, since the NPC cities here had no teleportation arrays linking them, the journey to the Holy City could easily take several months. Moreover, even after arriving at the Holy City, it wouldnt necessarily be possible to meet with the rumored Saint. As for the other option of killing a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, that was even more ludicrous. A Tier 4 Infant Dragon was an existence above even Demon Princes. It was an existence that could truly match Tier 5 existences. When Shi Feng was in his Tier 4 Legacy Land, even after reaching Tier 4 and gaining a Tier 4 Legacy Skill, he could only put up a fight against the Tier 3 Infant Dragons there. Even with the Heavenly Dragon Breaths help, he still couldnt kill those Tier 3 Infant Dragons. Now, Angelica Teresa actually had designs on a Tier 4 Infant Dragon despite being only at Tier 4 herself. Calling her actions suicidal would be an understatement. Moreover, killing the Infant Dragon probably had to be done as soon as possible. After all, Dragons did not have the habit of living in a fixed location long-term. If he couldnt help Angelica kill the Infant Dragon before it went elsewhere, he would have to look for the elusive Saint. Sure enough, this isnt a quest that can be completed easily. However, Shi Feng did not feel particularly surprised by this situation. A Legendary Quest was already monumentally difficult to complete; an Inferior Mythic Quest would only be worse. He also had to admit that Angelica Teresa matched the legends, which portrayed her as a brave warrior who stood up against Dragons. If Angelica succeeded in slaying a Tier 4 Infant Dragon despite being at Tier 4 herself, that would truly be a legendary feat. The only thing Shi Feng could do now was look for opportunities to improve both his and his partys strength. Otherwise, he would be utterly helpless against the Infant Dragon. Under Cooling Cloud and Yu Luos lead, Shi Fengs party arrived at Meteorite Citys trade market. When Lifeless Thorn and the others saw the dazzling items put up for sale, their eyes widened in shock. The basic currency used in the market here was actually the Magic Crystal. Coins did not exist here. However, they also had to acknowledge that the ancient era of Gods Domain was truly amazing. The NPCs here even sold Epic Weapons and Equipment players could use. Only, the price was somewhat high; even a random piece of Level 150 Epic Equipment sold for 20,000 Magic Crystals. If converted to the Gold Coins used in the modern era, that would be equivalent to 8,000 Gold per piece of Level 150 Epic Equipment. While the various Super Guilds would kill to purchase Level 150 Epic Equipment for 8,000 Gold, it was a different story if the payment had to be in Magic Crystals. In addition to Epic Equipment, Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Equipment occasionally appeared in Meteorite Citys Auction House, which the various player forces in Meteorite City competed for. Only, one needed a minimum deposit of 300,000 Magic Crystals just to participate in the auction. Meanwhile, these Fragmented Legendary items usually ended up selling for over 400,000 Magic Crystals. Whether it was Lifeless Thorn or Shi Feng, they couldnt help feeling like they had become beggars after entering Meteorite City. Although Shi Feng carried some Magic Crystals with him, that number was only 50,000, just enough to purchase two pieces of Epic Equipment, at most, here. Of course, it was also much easier to earn Magic Crystals here than in the modern Gods Domain since the Magic Crystal was the main currency used in the ancient era. Whether one completed quests or traded materials with NPCs, payment was in Magic Crystals. Hence, local players found the prices of the Epic and Fragmented Legendary items reasonable. After walking around for several hours, Cooling Cloud bid goodbye to Shi Fengs party since she still had matters to deal with as a captain in the local knight legion. As for Yu Luo, she stayed behind to serve as a tour guide for Shi Fengs party. Inside a high-class hotel in Meteorite City Staying in one of the ordinary rooms here cost 50 Magic Crystals a day, while the high-end rooms cost 200 Magic Crystals per day. Shi Feng chose to rent a high-end room without hesitation. Shortly afterward, Shi Fengs party of five and Yu Luo sat quietly inside the room. 2771 Alien-like Players Ever since they arrived in this place, they had come across too many unknown and surprising matters. However, the only thing they could do was remain silent and quietly observe everything, including the so-called NPCs and players here. In their opinion, be it the NPCs, monsters, or players here, they all felt alien. This was especially true for the players here. Despite being players, the players here gave them a completely different feeling than the members of their party. It felt as if the players here were not players at all, but rather the original inhabitants of this world. It was as if these players had already accepted this virtual world as their own. No! To be precise, these players treated the world of Gods Domain as a real world. Moreover, judging by these players behavior, they had resided in this world for a considerably long period. Otherwise, the alien feeling they gave off wouldnt be so conspicuous. This alien feeling was especially familiar to Shi Feng. Looking at the players in this ancient era felt like looking at Phoenix Rain back when he met her in Flame Dragon City. It was just that Phoenix Rain seemed more alien back then than these people. She felt as if she was a player yet not a player at the same time. In short, she gave off a very strange feeling. Now, the players here gave him a similar feeling. Hence, the shock he felt when he met these players initially was much greater compared to that of Lifeless Thorn and the others. However, he couldnt openly state his feelings. After all, the matter concerning Phoenix Rain was of great importance. Moreover, at the same time as their party was finding the players here alien, these players had similarly noticed the strangeness of their party. It was evident that these players were foreign to players like their party as well. In addition, through the previous conversation he had with Cooling Cloud, Shi Feng got the impression that they lived in completely different worlds. The old man in the cave had already stated that this world was the ancient era of Gods Domain. Logically, there shouldnt be any other players in this world. Yet, not only were there players living in this world, but there were even a large number of them. Based on his initial estimates, there should be well over five million players residing in Meteorite City. This was already on the level of royal capitals in the modern era. Meanwhile, according to Cooling Cloud, there were at least 500 such Main Cities on the continent. If Meteorite City was representative of these Main Cities, there should be well over 2.5 billion players in the ancient era. Thats right. Everything is as you guys have guessed. When Yu Luo saw the look everyone was giving her, her originally light and happy expression instantly vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. Whether it is this Gods Domain or the players here, both come from a different world from ours! A different world?! Solitary Nines breathing grew heavy at Yu Luos words. How is this possible?! Although he had already had suspicions, he still found it unbelievable after hearing Yu Luos confirmation. While it was indeed true that Gods Domain was a virtual reality game like no other, it was still far-fetched to say that people of a different world were playing the game with them. No, it would be somewhat incorrect to say that theyre from a different world. Shaking her head, Yu Luo smiled and added, To be precise, they are people living in a different world. What do you mean? Shi Feng asked curiously. You should know of the migration plan that took place a hundred years ago, right? Of course, we know. Back then, due to a shortage of resources and the worsening environmental pollution, Earth had gradually become unsuitable for human life. Hence, a migration plan was executed. I heard that many people at that time were sent out to explore the universe for habitable planets, Solitary Nine answered, nodding. Could it be Are you saying these players are the people who were sent out? Yes. They are the descendants of those explorers, Yu Luo said. Back then, Earth had already discovered several habitable planets. However, they were too distant from Earth, and the journey would take a long time. Hence, after gathering all of the worlds power, several hundred interstellar spaceships with self-sustaining environments were constructed. These spaceships then set forth toward the selected habitable planets while carrying all sorts of resources and hundreds of millions of Earths outstanding personnel. These people have been living on the interstellar spaceships for these past hundred years. However, these people experienced a much longer time than people on Earth during their journey. I heard that theyve been living in space for over 600 years. Some spaceships have even experienced over 900 years of life. The population on these spaceships has also continued to grow over time, with the total population having exceeded ten billion long ago. The original spaceships have also acquired resources from various planets on the way and modified and upgraded themselves. At this point, these spaceships can no longer be considered mere spaceships but more like interstellar continents. And they are still making their way to the habitable planets. However, as these interstellar continents had limited resources, the majority of their population can only reside in virtual worlds. Only a small minority has the privilege to roam the outside world. Hence, these people are accustomed to virtual worlds. The professional players of our worlds cant even compare to these people in this regard, as virtual worlds have long since become a part of these peoples lives. After Gods Domains launch, the game became their everything. The understanding they have of Gods Domain far exceeds ours. When Yu Luo finished speaking, silence enveloped the room for a long time. Solitary Nine and the others even had their mouths hanging wide open. They never thought that they would actually be ignorant of such a huge matter happening outside Earth. They also couldnt even begin to imagine how it felt to live out in the open universe for several centuries. I see. After hearing Yu Luos explanation, Shi Feng came to another realization. During his previous life, right before he reincarnated, Gods Domain had suddenly launched an expansion pack for seemingly no rhyme or reason. It was the most special expansion pack ever added to the game. Normally, the Main God System would first implement a new expansion pack in the game before notifying players about it. However, news of this expansion pack had spread in the real world before its implementation. In fact, even its name had been revealed beforehand. War of Worlds! The description that came with this announcement also clearly stated that there would be several worlds attacking the main continent of Gods Domain. For the sake of their own survival, these worlds would wage war with each other on an unprecedented scale. The winner would live, and the loser would die! This announcement had agitated countless people in Gods Domain when it came out. After all, the territories on the main continent were basically fixed at that point, and few disputes occurred between the various powers. The game had been trending toward stability. With the sudden appearance of several new worlds, how could the players of Gods Domain not feel excited? The various major powers, in particular, had immediately begun sharpening their blades after the announcement. So long as the new expansion pack took place, they would immediately invade these new worlds and start a new journey. However, as a consequence of the expansion pack, Shi Feng found himself fired. Upon seeing the stunned expressions of the people around her, Yu Luo revealed a bitter smile and said, My arrival here was a complete accident. While exploring an underground space in Dragonheart City by myself, I got caught in a space-time storm. By the time I woke up, I was already in this place. Currently, I have spent 20 days here already. Although I want to go back, I havent been able to return even after dying or jumping into other space-time storms. Whats most frustrating is that I cant log out of the game from here. You cant log out? At Yu Luos words, Solitary Nine and the others hurriedly checked whether they could log out or not. If they couldnt, then it would be a huge problem. Nowadays, all virtual gaming cabins had a Nutrient Solution storage that could let players stay online for one or two months without any problem. The latest model could even let players stay online for three months. And in the event that players depleted their supply of Nutrient Solution and couldnt leave their gaming cabin for some reason, the cabin would issue a system alert, and professionals would come quickly to deal with the problem. Hence, players had no need to worry about starving to death. Even so, this wasnt good news. No way! I really cant log out! Solitary Nine couldnt help growing anxious. It would be very inconvenient for them if they couldnt go offline. After all, there were many things they needed to do in the real world. Moreover, staying online long-term would affect their physical bodies to a certain degree. They cant log out? Looking at the Logout button on his system interface, Shi Feng found that it was still brightly lit, indicating that he could go offline whenever he wanted. Is it because of that World Stone in my bag? After some thought, the only explanation Shi Feng could come up with for this situation was the World Stone. After all, this item could stabilize the principle of all things, which meant that he should be able to bypass the rules of this world. With this, it seems I dont need to be too anxious. While the ancient Gods Domain was indeed excellent, he also had many things he needed to do in the real world. He couldnt stay online long-term. With the World Stone, he could now feel relieved. Shi Feng then conversed with Yu Luo about the basic information of this world, particularly about information relating to Legacies. After the conversation, Lifeless Thorn and the others sighed ruefully. The ancient Gods Domain was indeed different. Compared to the modern Gods Domain, the players living in the ancient Gods Domain had a much easier time getting promoted. With a reliable team, players had no problem at all securing a complete Tier 3 Legacy. In fact, with enough rare materials, one could even seek out a Tier 3 instructor to exchange for a complete Legacy. The only limitation of this method was that players could only exchange up to three Legacies. As for the promotion to Tier 4, while it was significantly more difficult than that to Tier 3, it was still much easier compared to the process in the modern Gods Domain. At the very least, players didnt have to seek out a Legacy Land in the middle of nowhere. They could simply head to a Tier 4 instructor and choose to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. They would then be teleported to a Tier 4 Legacy Space. However, the cost of this method was high. Each challenge required the payment of 15,000 Magic Crystals. The difficulty of the Promotion Quest was the same as in modern times. Players still had to learn a Tier 4 Legacy Skill or Spell during the allotted time. Failure meant having to wait 20 natural days before they could re-challenge it. At this time, only three players in Meteorite City had successfully reached Tier 4. At this point, Shi Feng wished he could bring all of Zero Wings Tier 4 Flowing Water Realm experts and above to this place. Even if it meant spending a lot of Magic Crystals, it would still be much better than searching for a Legacy Land. After all, searching for a Legacy Land was not only time-consuming, but success was also highly dependent on luck. If word of this matter got out in the modern Gods Domain, every power across the continent would most likely do everything they could to secure this opportunity. Commander, can I borrow 10,000 Magic Crystals from you? Lifeless Thorn asked as he looked at Shi Feng. Ill pay you back double as soon as we return. Commander, you cant play favorites! Solitary Nine objected hurriedly, knowing that Shi Feng did not bring a lot of Magic Crystals with him to the ancient Gods Domain. Every bit given away counted. Meanwhile, Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle also stared at Shi Feng with eloquent eyes. Relax. Shi Feng smiled spontaneously when he saw everyones reactions. Although I didnt bring a lot of Magic Crystals with me, I still have a way to let each of you challenge your Promotion Quests once. You can challenge yours as well, Yu Luo. Me? Yu Luo was stunned by Shi Fengs words. But I dont have that many Magic Crystals. She, too, yearned to challenge her Tier 4 Promotion Quest. However, it wasnt easy to save up Magic Crystals while living in Meteorite City, as everything cost Magic Crystals here. Even until now, she had only around 4,000 Magic Crystals, still far off from the 15,000 required. So long as you help me with a matter, Ill pay you 15,000 Magic Crystals as remuneration. How about it? Shi Feng asked as he looked at Yu Luo. The ancient Gods Domain was a massive treasure trove, its value easily billions of times greater than a Grade 1 ore vein. It was no wonder three of the Five Great Super Guilds had deemed it worthwhile to work together to seal off the Earthfall Secret Land. If such a secret became public, the consequences would be unimaginable. Of course, acquiring the various resources of the ancient Gods Domain wouldnt be an easy task, either, since the base currency used here was the Magic Crystal, something relatively rare in the modern Gods Domain. And while the ancient Gods Domain had an abundance of Magic Crystals, it would be nigh-impossible for modern players to earn a large amount of Magic Crystals here. After all, the modern Gods Domain was inferior to the ancient Gods Domain in almost every aspect. For players living in the modern Gods Domain, visiting the ancient Gods Domain would be equivalent to Stone-Age people visiting the modern era. Modern players would need to work hard to earn Magic Crystals here. Fortunately, it wasnt completely impossible for modern players to earn money in the ancient era. One way to do so would be to take advantage of the unskillful handling of problems relating to the mind and soul in the ancient Gods Domain-particularly when it came to healing ones mental state. The ancient Gods Domain was actually far weaker than the modern Gods Domain in this aspect. This point was obvious from the gap between the Concentration Recovery Potions sold on the market and those made by Cooling Cloud, an Advanced Master Alchemist. In short, there were very few methods available for players to recover their Concentration. Moreover, the death penalty here even placed players in a mentally weakened state for long periods, which prevented them from exhibiting their full strength. This meant that methods that could help heal the soul and mind were incredibly valuable. Okay! Yu Luo agreed immediately, understanding that Shi Feng was trying to help her. What do you need me to do? Taking out a Crystal of Souls from his bag, Shi Feng said, Take this Crystal of Souls and consign it to the Auction House for now. Youre a member of the local knight legion, so you should be able to spread information about it quickly. Just say that this is the Crystal of Souls that healed Angelica Teresa and that it has a minor soul-strengthening effect, which can increase ones chances of passing the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Can you do that? No problem. If it is only publicizing the crystal, I can probably inform the whole city in just a few hours, Yu Luo said, nodding as she accepted the Crystal of Souls. She had personally witnessed the Crystal of Soulss effects, so she knew that Shi Feng was indeed telling the truth. As for the aid the crystal could provide in the Tier 4 Promotion Quest, it was partly true. After all, if ones soul got strengthened, ones learning ability would improve as well. Hence, it couldnt be considered an outright lie. Meanwhile, spreading this news throughout the city was a piece of cake for her as a member of the local knight legion. Yu Luo left the hotel room to get the word out, while Lifeless Thorn and the others went to their respective rooms to sort out their thoughts and prepare themselves to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. Once Shi Feng was alone in his room, he took out a Memory Crystal from his bag. This crystal was none other than the complete Legacy Guidance Crystal he had obtained from killing Todelya. The effects of this room sure are excellent. My perception is strengthened by a further 30% compared to the outside world. Now that I have some time to myself, I can give it a try. 2772 Breakthrough A short moment later, the Mana inside the room started surging toward the Memory Crystal. Afterward, the crystal radiated a dark blue glow that enveloped Shi Feng. What a powerful Legacy! Shi Feng was astonished when the blue light engulfed him. This was because the owner of this Legacy wasnt an ordinary person but someone known as the Saint of the Ice World. The quality of this Legacy was far superior to that of ordinary Legacies. In addition, the Ice World Saints Legacy explained a lot about the ice elements operating principles and described some basic methods to construct ones Mana Body using the ice element as the basis. This sort of Legacy Guidance was incredibly rare in Gods Domain. In most cases, Legacy Guidances only provided a demonstration of the manipulation of magic elements and some explanations of their operating principles. The chances of a Legacy Guidance containing a demonstration of how to construct a Mana Body from scratch were less than 0.1%, let alone a Saints guidance and demonstration. Existences holding the title of Saint were either Gods or existences approaching Gods. Some Saints were even existences that Gods feared greatly because a Saint represented the epitome of a certain aspect in Gods Domain. Not even Gods could match a Saint in their specialty. In other words, while a Saint could be a God, a God wouldnt necessarily be a Saint. The requirement to become a Tier 6 God wasnt to achieve the extreme of a certain aspect. Instead, one only needed to reach a certain threshold. As to what that threshold was, only those who had actually reached Tier 6 would know. Meanwhile, the Ice World Saint had undoubtedly attained the ultimate in the manipulation of the ice element. Hence, the Ice World Saints control over the ice element was undoubtedly superior to everyone elses. Even Gods wouldnt be a match for the Ice World Saint. Following this, time passed by, second after second. As Shi Feng injected more Mana into the Memory Crystal, the Ice World Saints demonstration sped up. The information the Saint conveyed also became increasingly complicated. Half an hour later, the Saints demonstration ended. Shi Feng, who had been focused on the demonstration the entire time, felt mesmerized by the information he learned. What a pity! The guidance barely talked about elements other than the ice element. If the guidance for the other elements were as detailed as the one for the ice element, my control over the magic elements would definitely reach the Grandmaster standard. At that time, I might even stand a chance against Superior Mythic monsters. He had to admit that the existences granted the title of Saint were indeed powerful. Saints who had reached the ultimate in control of a specific magic element were especially amazing. Their understanding and explanation of magic elements were incredibly enlightening. However, the Ice World Saints explanation became increasingly complicated as it progressed, and Shi Feng found himself struggling to understand the lecture. It felt as if the Saints explanation had gone from talking about one dimension to two dimensions to three dimensions to four dimensions. He could still understand up to the third dimension, but when the explanation progressed to the fourth dimension, his mind failed to comprehend the Saints thinking. Despite understanding the surface meaning of the Saints words, he couldnt understand how to apply them in practice. Hence, Shi Feng could only treat the magic element usage methods explained at the end as gibberish. Nevertheless, he had still made massive gains. At the very least, he had made qualitative improvements in manipulating and understanding the ice element. Now, all he needed to do was experiment with his newfound knowledge. This Ice World Saints Legacy is truly extraordinary. I will have to get Violet Cloud and the others to study it earnestly. It would simply go to waste if given to someone without an affinity with the ice element. Shi Feng now placed even greater importance on the Legacy Guidance Crystal in his hand. He wouldnt have if it were any other Legacy Guidance, but this was a Saints guidance they were talking about. The Ice World Saints guidance even provided such detailed information about the magic elements. Giving this Legacy Guidance to someone without an affinity with the magic elements would be a complete and utter waste. In fact, had he used this Legacy Guidance Crystal in the modern Gods Domain instead of the ancient Gods Domain, he wouldve wasted a precious opportunity. If the information he absorbed from watching the Legacy Guidance here consisted of only 20% of the total information, then he probably would have failed to comprehend even 5% of the information had he watched it in the modern Gods Domain. After all, he didnt possess much affinity with the ice element; he was much more attuned to the fire element. Fortunately, the environment in the ancient Gods Domain was excellent, and it drastically improved his affinity with and perception of the ice element. Now, he could perceive the ice element much more clearly than he could the fire element when he was in the modern Gods Domain. After absorbing the Ice World Saints Legacy Guidance, Shi Feng took out a drop of Soul Water and drank it, boosting his Concentration recovery and energizing his brain. Immediately afterward, he began attempting to break through his Mana Bodys 100% threshold by constructing a new and simpler control array to link and control the various magic arrays all over his Mana Body. Previously, I insisted on using only one Mana manipulation method to control the magic arrays of my body. On the other hand, the Ice World Saint constructed his Mana Body with the ice element and used several Mana manipulation methods to gather and manipulate the ice element. For now, I should follow his example and try using two manipulation methods to control my Mana Bodys magic arrays. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began experimenting Previously, he had been controlling the magic arrays on his Mana Body according to the Mana Bodys construction because he believed this was the only way to manipulate the Mana in his Mana Body. However, his thoughts changed after seeing the Ice World Saint using multiple Mana manipulation methods to control the magic elements in his Mana Body. Master Magicians like Shi Feng excelled in attacking from multiple fronts. Since he couldnt break through the 100% threshold by attacking from only a single front, he would try attacking from multiple fronts simultaneously, which would allow him to maximize the effects of every magic array. Subsequently, the intensity of the Mana Shi Fengs body radiated fluctuated repeatedly. Sometimes, his Mana didnt even reach the standard of ordinary Tier 3 players. Sometimes, it would far surpass the times he had fully exerted himself. He experimented for three consecutive hours and tested several dozen Mana manipulation methods. From his experimentation, he concluded that using multiple methods simultaneously to manipulate his Mana Body was incredibly difficult. Even with his current Concentration standard, he could just barely implement three at a time. However, the benefits of a threefold manipulation method were also evident. He had directly broken through the 100% threshold and reached the legendary 112% mark. Unfortunately, when implementing a threefold manipulation method, his mind would be so occupied that he couldnt execute a Bronze Combat Technique, much less a Mana Technique. Hence, to maintain his combat power, Shi Feng had no choice but to abandon a threefold manipulation method for a twofold manipulation method. 87% 102% 99% The Completion Rate of Shi Fengs Mana Body changed constantly. At the same time, the rate at which he expended his Concentration also increased. This is the last option that suits me. Ill be satisfied so long as it goes beyond 103%! Of the various twofold manipulation methods Shi Feng had tried, the best one produced a result of 103%. However, he wasnt particularly satisfied with it. After all, he had already experienced what having a Mana Body with 112% of its potential unlocked felt like, and it was a truly amazing experience. Meanwhile, after combining the manipulation method of Lightshadow, the Mana Technique he frequently used, with his original Mana manipulation method and continuously refining the combination, he had produced what he deemed to be the best combination currently possible. If this one still didnt work, he would have no choice but to settle for the 103% manipulation method. Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng opened his eyes abruptly and began manipulating the magic arrays inside his Mana Body. Immediately, the magic arrays began operating one after another, drawing upon the ambient Mana in the room. The Mana density around him increased steadily. 120% 134% 157% As the density of the Mana surrounding Shi Feng increased, the sensitivity of his five senses also improved slightly. Although the improvement was minor, there was no doubt that they had improved. The next moment, the numerous magic arrays all over Shi Fengs Mana Body began combining into a super-large magic array. Boom! Suddenly, a ripple of Mana spread from Shi Fengs body and surged toward the surrounding walls. The Mana inside the living room then stilled. However, a moment later, every bit of Mana inside the room converged around Shi Feng, a faint layer of mist forming around him. If one did not possess an acute sensitivity to Mana, they would most likely have difficulty noticing this layer of condensed Mana flowing over Shi Fengs body. 2773 Mana Beyond the Limi The Mana manipulation method of Lightshadow was much more refined than the methods he had thought up by himself, especially in the aspect of manipulating magic elements. His own manipulation methods utilized only the Four Major Elements, while Lightshadow utilized both the Four Major Elements and the Seven Supreme Elements. Due to this difference, he had managed to unlock his Mana Bodys potential to 110% with just a twofold manipulation method. And although there was only a 7% difference between this twofold manipulation method and his previous best method, past the 100% threshold, every 1% increase provided significant improvements to the Mana Body. The difference between a 103% Mana Body and 110% Mana Body was like the difference between heaven and earth. Subsequently, Shi Feng punched at the empty space before him. Boom! All of a sudden, the living rooms stable space shattered, spatial cracks forming one after another. Only after extending to the living rooms wall and coming into contact with the magic barrier there did this phenomenon stop. What an amazing result! Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the fractured space before him. His Mana Body had truly undergone a qualitative transformation after reaching a 110% Completion Rate. Now, even his normal punches carried a hint of a Mana Techniques power. Moreover, he didnt even need to manipulate his Mana actively to gain such an effect. Afterward, Shi Feng closed his eyes and felt his surroundings. Even with his eyes closed, he could still perceive the entire room within his mind. Not even a speck of dust escaped his perception. Not only has my physique improved by at least 30%, but even my five senses have risen to the next level. In my present state, my perception is just slightly inferior to a Demon Princes. Shi Feng opened his eyes, an ecstatic look appearing on his face. Although he still wasnt Froberos equal in terms of physique and five senses, he was much closer to matching the Demon Prince than before. This was undoubtedly joyous news for him. Originally, he felt that a Tier 4 player needed a Legendary Weapon to contend with a Tier 4 Demon Prince. After all, the difference in physique between the two was massive. However, Shi Feng now felt that it might just be possible for players to gain the astonishing physique of a Demon Prince while still at Tier 4. After all, his current Mana Body was only at a 110% Completion Rate, yet he was already close to matching a Demon Princes physique. If he could push his Mana Body to the rumored 120% Completion Rate, his physique then might match that of a Demon Prince. Now that Ive reached the limits of twofold manipulation, Ill need to raise my Concentration standard so that I can execute threefold manipulation fluidly. This way, Ill have a high chance of achieving a 120% Completion Rate. At that time, whether it is that Divine Dragons trial or that mysterious NPC, I wont be utterly helpless. At this point, confidence welled up within Shi Feng. However, for safetys sake, I should first gather the Solomons Sword fragments. If I have the complete Solomons Sword, I wont have to fear going up against even true Tier 5 existences. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt that he needed to resolve his matters in the ancient era quickly and return to the modern era to secure the remaining two fragments of Solomons Sword. Previously, he still hadnt been particularly confident of securing the two remaining fragments. However, now that his Epic Mana Body had reached a 110% Completion Rate, he could probably solo even Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. The reason for his confidence was the qualitative transformation his Mana had undergone. Originally, the Mana flowing inside his Mana Body was merely gaseous, albeit of incredibly high density. However, after his Epic Mana Body had reached a 110% Completion Rate, the Mana flowing within it had thoroughly condensed into a mist. Moreover, it had achieved this state without him needing to manipulate external Mana. Since Gods Domains foundation was Mana, the strength of a players Mana had a huge impact on their combat power, especially when using Skills and Spells. A Skill powered with mist-like Mana wouldnt just be 30% or 50% stronger than a Skill powered with gaseous Mana. Instead, the two would be on completely different levels. Why were Superior Mythic monsters so much more powerful than Mythic monsters of the same level? It was because their physique and the quality of the Mana inside their bodies were superior to ordinary Mythic monsters. Currently, although Shi Fengs physique still wasnt a match for Superior Mythic monsters, the quality of his Mana was already on par with theirs. That, combined with the weapons and equipment he possessed, made it entirely possible for him to offset the difference and fight against Superior Mythic monsters on an equal footing. As Shi Feng was immersing himself in the effects of his improved Mana, Yu Luo suddenly contacted him. Guild Leader Black Flame, information on the Crystal of Souls has already spread across Meteorite City. Many player forces and even NPC forces have expressed interest in the crystal. All of them are requesting to purchase it at a high price, Yu Luo said excitedly. The Skyflare adventurer team, one of the top three player forces in the city, contacted me, saying they are willing to purchase the crystal for 150,000 Magic Crystals. If it were in the modern Gods Domain, 150,000 Magic Crystals would be equivalent to 60,000 Gold! That was already enough money to arm a 100-man team to the teeth. In Meteorite City, 150,000 Magic Crystals could still fully gear a player in Level 150 Epic Equipment. That wont be necessary. Since we said we would auction it, we will do just that. If they wish to buy it, they can buy it through the auction, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The offer of 150,000 Magic Crystals was indeed incredibly high. If the Crystal of Souls were to be auctioned in the modern Gods Domain, it definitely wouldnt sell for such a high price. In fact, it would be a miracle if he could sell it for 50,000 Magic Crystals. However, it was a different story in the ancient Gods Domain, where methods to recover from a mentally weakened state were incomparably rare. In fact, the streets of Meteorite City were littered with players in mentally weakened states. All of these players could only rely on the citys dense Mana to slowly recover. After players fell into a mentally weakened state, a full recovery would take a very long time, even with the help of dense Mana. If these players were willing to stay cooped up in Meteorite City without leaving to grind even once, they would still need around two weeks to recover. Yet, it was simply impossible for expert players to stay inactive for such a long period. A period of two weeks was already enough to create a huge gap between expert players. In fact, even dying twice wouldnt cost as much as remaining inactive for two weeks. Hence, an excellent recovery item like the Crystal of Souls was considerably precious to the ancient Gods Domains players and NPCs. Meanwhile, his purpose in holding the auction this time was simply to find out the market price for the Crystal of Souls. Only after doing so could he maximize his profits. After all, he didnt have a lot of Crystals of Souls on hand since he didnt kill a lot of monsters that were five levels higher than himself and at the Great Lord rank or above. Not to mention, he would also use some of the crystals normally. As a result, he only had 43 Crystals of Souls saved up. On the other hand, he had plenty of Soul Water. At this time, he already had 2,764 drops accumulated. This was the fruit of long-term accumulation. Although he had given out a lot of Soul Water to the Guild members using the Bronze and Silver Legacy Tablets, he still had a lot remaining. However, the Soul Waters effects were significantly inferior to those of the Crystal of Souls. If the Crystal of Souls couldnt sell for a high price, then the Soul Water naturally wouldnt sell for much, either. But now that Skyflare is also competing for the Crystal of Soul, both player and NPC forces will most likely step aside out of respect for Skyflare. After all, aside from Skyflares commander, one of Skyflares vice commanders is rumored to have also reached Tier 4 already, Yu Luo explained. She naturally understood Shi Fengs thoughts. The various powers wont pick a fight with Skyflare just for one Crystal of Souls. If you go through with the auction, Im afraid it wont go for a high price. This world was different from the world they came from. The NPC cities here were separated by great distances. Only after reaching Tier 4 would players be able to travel between NPC cities without worry. Tier 3 players could only roam the vicinity of the Main City they belonged to. This meant that players residing in the same city would often come across each other. Meanwhile, Tier 4 combatants were considered true powerhouses in Gods Domain. Even NPCs feared them greatly, all the more the player forces. If one angered the Skyflare adventurer team, one shouldnt even think about leaving the city to grind for levels anymore. A player force is suspected to have two Tier 4 players? Shi Feng was surprised by this revelation. He never thought that the player forces in the ancient Gods Domain would be so powerful to actually have two Tier 4 players-one more than what Zero Wing had. Although the search for Legacy Lands played a huge factor in this disparity, it wasnt so easy for players to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, either. Immediately, he said, How about this? Ill rent a hall at the Auction House, and well organize a small auction of our own. Announce that we will be selling a total of five Crystals of Souls, in addition to 50 drops of Soul Water, which is a slightly inferior version of the crystals. If we do that, that Skyflare adventurer team will have difficulty monopolizing everything. Shi Fengs words surprised Yu Luo. She never thought he would actually have other Concentration recovery treasures besides the Crystal of Souls. He was practically a walking treasure trove. Moreover, if Shi Feng were to sell so many Crystals of Souls and Soul Water, Skyflare would indeed have difficulty monopolizing everything. There was no way the various powers in the city would step aside in the face of such numbers. After all, aside from being useful for healing the mind, these treasures could also increase by a small margin ones odds of completing the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. Not to mention, Skyflare wasnt the only power in the city with Tier 4 combatants. 2774 Ancient Legacy Inheritor The Skyflare adventurer team was one of the top three powers of Meteorite City, and the Skyflare Hotel it owned was one of the citys landmarks. Not only did the hotel boast 19 floors, but it even occupied the largest plot of Land in the citys business district, with roughly the footprint of a sports stadium. The Skyflare Hotel also had the best resting environment in Meteorite City. Due to its relatively reasonable prices, it had become the first choice of many players and NPCs for lodging. The hotel was so popular that it ranked within the top 10 most profitable businesses of Meteorite City. At this time, a Level 131 female Assassin clad in pitch-black Epic Equipment walked into the Skyflare Hotels top-floor lounge. She then stopped before an imposing man sorting documents behind an office table. This imposing, middle-aged man was none other than the Skyflare adventurer teams commander, Lionheart, nicknamed Raging Lion. Commander, Ive already looked into the person you mentioned. Shes Yu Luo, a Cleric from the knight legion. Shes the one responsible for spreading the information across the city. Not long ago, she made another announcement stating that her side will be hosting a small auction at the Auction House. They will be selling five Crystals of Souls and 50 drops of Soul Water, which is an inferior version of the Crystal of Souls, the black-clad Assassin reported. She then passed a Memory Crystal to Lionheart and continued, There is a record of her image in there. From what I found out, she seems to be a proxy. The real seller should be the party of five people that entered Meteorite City with the knight legion. I included a record of their appearances in the crystal. Of the five, the cloaked man walking in the lead is verified to be a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. However, I did not find any records of him appearing within Meteorite Citys vicinity. Good job, said the crimson light armor-clad Lionheart, who had reached Level 133. After glancing at the images recorded in the Memory Crystal, he nodded and looked toward the several vice commanders inside the lounge. He then asked calmly, What do you guys think of this matter? Theyre simply picking a fight with Skyflare! Weve already shown a lot of respect to that Sword Emperor by offering such a high price, yet they still refuse to reciprocate! sneered a gloomy man standing beside the French window. I think we need to teach these outsiders a lesson. If they wish to mingle in Meteorite City, they need to know their limits! The treasure in question can increase the success rate of completing the Tier 4 Promotion Quest. We absolutely cannot let the other powers in the city get their hands on it! The three other vice commanders present nodded in agreement with the gloomy man, Wind Chaser. Simply put, this was the best opportunity for the Skyflare adventurer team to consolidate its grip on Meteorite City. Hence, how could they let other player forces gain an opportunity to rise up? Now that the several outsiders were showing no respect to their adventurer team, they definitely needed to teach these outsiders a lesson. It didnt matter even if the other party had a Tier 4 Sword Emperor on its side. After all, not only did Wind Chaser hold a Peak Hidden Class, but he had even inherited a special Mana Technique. So long as he was hidden in the darkness, he could potentially one-shot even Tier 4 MTs, let alone a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Well, lets go over and talk to him first. If we can agree on a good price, everybody can be happy. If not, it wont be too late to take action, Lionheart said after giving the matter some thought. Lionheart, too, agreed with Wind Chasers opinion, especially about the Crystal of Souls, which could strengthen a players soul by a small margin. After all, the strength of a players soul would greatly affect their learning ability. Even a small boost to the soul would be a great help to players learning a Tier 4 Skill or Spell during their Promotion Quest. Hence, Skyflare had to obtain the Crystal of Souls. The four vice commanders present all nodded in agreement with Lionhearts decision. Billow, find out that Sword Emperors current location. I need to know right away, Lionheart ordered the black-clad Assassin. Commander, dont you know how I operate? Smiling, the petite Assassin named Crimson Billow added, As soon as you told me to look into this matter, I set my sights on that Sword Emperor. Hence, I had people keep track of his every move. Currently, that Sword Emperor is at the Auction House. By the looks of it, he plans to rent an auction hall to host a small auction. Good! Lionheart nodded in satisfaction as he looked at Crimson Billow. Billow, you and Chaser will follow me in secret. Ill meet with that Sword Emperor in person and find out his origins and purpose. Truthfully, he felt very curious about the Sword Emperor mentioned. Tier 4 players were still incredibly rare in the current Gods Domain. According to Skyflares information network, most Main Cities had only one Tier 4 player. The Main Cities with two or three Tier 4 players were all cities with massive populations. Logically, after a player reached Tier 4, the first thing they should do was expand their influence in their city as much as possible, capitalizing on their advantage. However, this foreign Sword Emperor had actually chosen to visit another city. It was simply inconceivable. Understood! Crimson Billow and Wind Chaser responded respectfully. Meteorite City, Auction House: Meteorite City was a large trade city, and the Auction House could be said to be the most prosperous place here. Not only was the local Auction House much larger than the ones found in the modern Gods Domains royal capitals, but its visitor traffic was also massive. A huge variety of products was on sale, including Mana Ore, which was quite rare in the modern Gods Domain, sold by the stackat dastardly cheap prices. One stack of 200 Mana Ores cost only 49 Magic Crystals! If sold in the modern Gods Domain, it would be bought out instantly. After all, Mana Ore was a byproduct of certain ores, and the chances of acquiring it were low. Hence, the price of Mana Ore in the modern world was already close to 30 Silver Coins per piece. Even then, supply was still tight. Its a pity I cant travel freely between the two worlds. Otherwise, I could definitely make a killing, and Zero Wing wouldnt have to worry about lacking funds and resources anymore, Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at the available items in the Auction House. According to the old mans words, only ten people could visit the ancient Gods Domain at a time. Moreover, while first-time visitors could get in for free, the second visit onward had a price. It might be fine if the price was reasonable, but if it was exorbitant, his visits to the ancient era would be limited. Although he could leave the visits to other people, the importance of the ancient Gods Domain was too significant. If the Earthfall Secret Lands secret got out, every superpower on the continent would either try to annihilate Zero Wing or compete for the secret land. Shi Feng spent 500 Magic Crystals to rent a small auction hall that could fit 200 people, at most. For Meteorite Citys various powers, this number was already more than enough. After Shi Feng finished making the necessary arrangements, an imposing and mighty man suddenly approached him. The man was clad in crimson light armor and carried a knights shield with crimson runes. At the appearance of this imposing man, silence descended momentarily on the entire Auction House. Everyone looked at this man in surprise, a hint of awe and admiration gleaming in the eyes of both players and NPCs. Crap! Its Lionheart! He looks so handsome! He looks much better than the photo on Skyflares promotional posters! But, why is a bigshot like him here? Could it be because of the news of that small auction? A discussion over Lionheart promptly broke out in the Auction Hall. Everyone couldnt help wondering why a VIP like Lionheart would personally visit the Auction House. Skyflares commander?! He actually came in person?! Yu Luo, who had just arrived in the Auction House, gaped in shock and doubted her eyes when she saw Lionheart enter the building. Lionheart was an amazing individual. Despite having started with nothing in this ruthless world, the adventurer team he established had grown to the point where it managed to defeat several large Guilds and become one of the top three powers in Meteorite City. In terms of achievements, the Skyflare adventurer team easily eclipsed the Heavens Blade adventurer team. On the Interstellar Continent, living resources were incredibly scarce. Ordinary civilians couldnt hope to compare with large Guilds in terms of the resources they could acquire. This was because large Guilds generally had high-level authorities as backers. These authorities boasted resources and influence far greater than those of the large Guilds on Earth. Just one word from these high-level authorities would be enough to allow a civilian who could barely feed themself to move to the Interstellar Continents core area. In the core area, one would be able to not only eat like a king but also enjoy recreational activities in the real world and appreciate the beauty of the vast universe. Just this point alone allowed large Guilds to walk over civilian players with no background. Meanwhile, Lionheart was only a civilian on the Interstellar Continent. His development of Skyflare to such an extent was a remarkable feat. He was practically a legend among the civilians there. If he were in the modern Gods Domain, he would definitely become a noteworthy existence known throughout the mainland. The next moment, Lionheart stopped before Shi Feng. Immediately, everyone in the Auction House focused on Shi Feng curiously, the stares making him feel very uncomfortable. Youre the person selling the Crystals of Souls, right? Looking at Shi Feng, Lionheart went straight to the point, saying, I am Lionheart, the Skyflare adventurer teams commander. You shouldve heard of me already. Of course, Ive heard of you. In fact, Ive heard a lot about you. Shi Feng did not deny Lionhearts statement. Calmly, he asked, May I know what business you have with me? Shi Feng had gained plenty of information regarding Lionheart. The man was undoubtedly a powerhouse. Not only did he reach the Domain Realm, but he had even set foot onto the second step-the Upper Domain Realm. The amount of time he had spent immersed in virtual reality games was much greater than that of the modern Gods Domains players. Rumor had it that Lionhearts control over Mana had already reached the Advanced Master Magician standard and that he was only half a step away from becoming a Grandmaster. In addition, Lionheart also possessed an Ancient Hidden Class called the Blood Knight, which gave him the strongest Defense among players. At this point, he was a complete monster when it came to Defense. His terrifying Defense was why the Skyflare adventurer team had managed to conquer plenty of powerful Bosses. The adventurer team had even killed quite a few Level 120 Superior Mythic Bosses. Hence, Lionheart was also known as Meteorites Wall by Meteorite Citys players. This isnt a place to talk. Why dont we find a place to sit down and have a proper conversation? Lionheart suggested as he scrutinized Shi Feng. When he saw Shi Fengs special state, he was surprised and confused. However, he quickly set aside his surprise and treated Shi Feng with the respect due a foreign Tier 4 expert. 2775 Astronomical Transaction Yu Luo was confused when she followed Shi Fengs gaze. After all, there was nobody there. Even when she pushed her perception as a Void Realm expert to the limit, she still couldnt sense any aura or presence of a living being. She didnt notice any unusual fluctuations in space, either. Experts at the Void Realm would be aware of even the slightest disturbances around them. At the end of the day, an Assassins Stealth only turned them invisible to the naked eye; they remained physically present in the world. So long as they moved, no matter how slow, they would cause some air turbulence. Such unnatural changes wouldnt escape the perception of a Void Realm expert. Hence, even a Void Realm Assassin generally couldnt get within 30 yards of other Void Realm experts undetected. Normally, they could operate only outside the 30-yard radius. As for Assassins at the Domain Realm, while they could perform better, they still wouldnt be able to get within 20 yards of Void Realm experts undetected. And even if they did manage this feat, they would be able to maintain it for only a matter of seconds. However, the spot Shi Feng was currently looking at was within 20 yards of himself. Moreover, the conversation between Shi Feng and Lionheart had lasted more than a few seconds already. Even a Domain Realm expert wouldnt be able to stay hidden for so long. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Lionheart was slightly surprised. Simultaneously, a hint of alertness and admiration appeared in his eyes. Amazing! As expected of a Tier 4 expert capable of moving between Main Cities! Part of the reason Lionheart had brought Wind Chaser and Crimson Billow with him this time was to test Shi Fengs strength. Crimson Billow was ranked second in Skyflare in terms of stealth. Utilizing her advantages as a Domain Realm expert, she had created a unique concealment technique that allowed her to maintain a high degree of stealth despite being in motion. Meanwhile, after combining this technique with a potion that hid ones life aura, let alone Tier 3 Domain Realm experts, even Tier 4 Domain Realm experts wouldnt detect her even when she was within 20 yards of them. Of course, Tier 4 Domain Realm experts would definitely detect her once she got within 16 yards of them. Even so, being able to conceal herself to such an extent was already more than enough for her to rank at the top of Meteorite City and instill fear into Tier 4 experts. Wind Chaser was even more powerful. After reaching Tier 4, his Stealth Skill was no longer limited to just turning his physical body invisible and concealing his life aura. Instead, the Skill would place his body in a shadow space. No matter what he did inside this space, it wouldnt affect the outside world. Naturally, others wouldnt be able to detect his movements while he was inside this shadow space. Nevertheless, Shi Feng had stated that there were two people behind Lionheart. This meant that he had detected both Crimson Billow and Wind Chaser. Chaser, Billow, you two can show yourselves now, Lionheart said, smiling as he looked at the empty space Shi Feng indicated. No need to hide anymore. As soon as Lionheart finished speaking, two figures gradually appeared in that empty space. They were none other than Wind Chaser and Crimson Billow. The two Assassins were looking at Shi Feng with eyes brimming with surprise and confusion. Commander, did I show some irregularities just now? Crimson Billow quietly asked Lionheart through the team chat. Afraid that she would get detected, she had deliberately maintained a 21-yard distance between herself and Shi Feng. After all, she hardly knew anything about Shi Feng, apart from the fact that he was a Tier 4 expert, and she didnt wish to ruin Lionhearts attempt at probing Shi Fengs strength. Yet, despite the 21-yard distance, he still detected her. Excluding Lionheart, this was the first time a Tier 4 individual perceived her from beyond 20 yards. You didnt. Its just that this person is much stronger than we thought, Lionheart responded, shaking his head. Dont act rashly against him afterward. Shi Feng had discovered not only Crimson Billow but also Wind Chaser. While defeating a Tier 4 expert like Shi Feng would be simple for the current Skyflare, killing him would be incredibly difficult. Unless absolutely necessary, they had best not offend this Sword Emperor. In response, both Crimson Billow and Wind Chaser nodded silently. The trio had conversed for only two or three seconds, so outsiders did not find anything wrong with the situation. They merely saw Wind Chaser and Crimson Billow approaching Lionheart slowly after making their appearance. When Yu Luo, who stood beside Shi Feng, saw the two Assassins walking over, her eyes widened in shock. There really are two people! Despite the two Assassins being so close to her, she actually failed to notice either of them. This overturned her understanding of the Assassin class. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw the two Assassins, a hint of wariness also appeared in his eyes. The two Assassins were astonishingly strong. This was especially true for Wind Chaser. If not for the recent breakthrough Shi Feng achieved with his Mana Body, which granted him a physique and perception far superior to ordinary Tier 4 individuals, he wouldve most likely failed to notice Wind Chasers presence. If Wind Chaser really were intent on targeting a specific player, it would be a nightmare for the said player. After all, the Tier 4 Assassin was capable of suddenly appearing within 20 yards of his target without giving off any indications-a distance that any Tier 4 combatant could cross in the blink of an eye. If Shi Feng was not careful, even he might end up falling prey to Wind Chasers ambush. Lets head to a reception room to continue our conversation, Lionheart suggested to Shi Feng Sure. Shi Feng did not object to the proposal. His original goal in coming to the ancient Gods Domain was to acquire a large amount of resources. Meanwhile, the best way to do so was by partnering with a local tyrant. He could gather resources much faster this way than if he did it by himself. In fact, he could even gain access to items that normally wouldnt appear on the market. Lionhearts taking the initiative to seek him out was naturally good news for Shi Feng. Lionheart led Shi Feng and Yu Luo to the top-floor reception room he had reserved beforehand. Commander Lionheart. After taking his seat, Shi Feng went straight to the point, saying, Please just say what you have to say. There is no need for us to waste both our time by playing around with words. You really are a straightforward person, Brother Black Flame. Lionheart smiled at Shi Fengs words. I was thinking the same thing. In that case, Ill be blunt with you. Skyflare wishes to purchase all of the Crystals of Souls and Soul Water you are selling. It seems you are very ambitious, Commander Lionheart. You actually plan to monopolize Meteorite City? Shi Feng didnt feel particularly surprised at Lionhearts declaration. Calmly, he said, Of course, we can go with such an arrangement as well. Only, I have quite a number of these items, and Im afraid your adventurer team cant swallow them all. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Wind Chaser, who stood behind Lionheart, laughed. What a joke! There is nothing in Meteorite City that our adventurer team cannot swallow! Looking at Shi Feng, Wind Chaser sneered, Of course, that is under the premise that your price is fair. At Wind Chasers provocation, Shi Feng simply shook his head and smiled. Truthfully, even at 150,000 Magic Crystals per Crystal of Souls, you wont be able to afford everything. Not to mention, there is still the Soul Water. He had a total of 43 Crystals of Souls. If he sold each for 150,000 Magic Crystals, that would equate to 6.45 million Magic Crystals. Even though the ancient Gods Domain was rich in resources, a player force with a sphere of activity limited to just one city couldnt take out such an amount. At Shi Fengs words, Wind Chaser, who initially planned to probe Shi Feng further, fell silent. There was no way a Tier 4 expert like Shi Feng wouldnt know about the Skyflare adventurer teams status and general wealth in Meteorite City. For Shi Feng to say such words meant he had absolute confidence backing him. Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs response, both Yu Luo and Crimson Billow couldnt help gasping. They never thought that Shi Feng would actually be so wealthy. They had already investigated the Crystal of Souls, so they knew it was a precious treasure that wasnt obtained easily. Yet, Shi Feng had just declared that Skyflare couldnt afford to purchase all his stock. This proved that Shi Feng had a lot of Crystals of Souls on hand. Who knew how many Tier 4 experts one could create with so many Crystals of Souls? You truly are extraordinary, Brother Black Flame. Lionheart immediately broke into a smile. Moreover, this was a very sincere smile. I apologize to you on behalf of my brother. At the same time, I also hope that the Skyflare adventurer team can form a long-term partnership with you. What do you think? I admit that Skyflare cannot take out the necessary Magic Crystals to purchase all your Crystals of Souls. However, our adventurer team still ranks within the top three of Meteorite Citys player forces in daily income. We might not be able to swallow everything in one bite, but Im sure we can do so after several or a dozen bites. Furthermore, I can assure you that not only will we purchase each Crystal of Souls for 200,000 Magic Crystals, but we will also ensure a weekly transaction of three million Magic Crystals at a minimum. May I know what you think of this, Brother Black Flame? Yu Luo gaped in shock at Lionhearts words despite herself. She never imagined that the Skyflare adventurer team had such astonishing wealth. Even the superpowers in the modern Gods Domain were far from comparable to Skyflare in Magic Crystal acquisition. Moreover, Lionheart even raised the price of the Crystal of Souls to 200,000 Magic Crystals. Skyflare was probably the only power in Meteorite City capable of offering such a price. After all, a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment cost only around 500,000 Magic Crystals, while Fragmented Legendary Weapons cost around one million Magic Crystals. Lionhearts promise of a weekly transaction of three million Magic Crystals meant Skyflare was trading away three Fragmented Legendary Weapons every week! Commander? At this time, even Wind Chaser was stunned by Lionhearts offer. The Skyflare adventurer team operated only in Meteorite Citys vicinity, and there were only so many resources available in the area. If Skyflare really pushed through with this transaction, the adventurer team would have to tighten its belt and strictly limit its future expenditures. Okay, I can agree to those conditions, Shi Feng said, nodding. After giving the matter some thought, he felt that this price was probably the best he could get for the Crystals of Souls. Even if he could get a higher price at an auction, it wouldnt be much higher. However, before this, I wish to test you, Commander Lionheart. We can verify our transaction depending on your performance. What do you think? Test our commander? Shi Fengs words infuriated Wind Chaser. Crimson Billows complexion also darkened, a hint of hostility appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Even Super Guilds would not dare say that they wished to test their commanders qualifications for cooperation, yet a person of unknown origin actually did so. Shi Feng was utterly looking down on the Skyflare adventurer team. However, before Wind Chaser or Crimson Billow could say anything else, Lionheart extended a hand to stop them. He then looked at Shi Feng with a glint of determination in his eyes as he asked, May I know how you wish to conduct your test, Brother Black Flame? 2776 Duel Between Sword and Shield Lionheart was momentarily stunned by Shi Fengs words. Even Wind Chaser and Crimson Billow fell into a daze for a long time. They felt that Shi Feng was simply toying with the Skyflare adventurer team. Looking at Shi Feng, Wind Chaser asked to verify, Are you sure this is your condition? Do you know what title our commander holds in Meteorite City? Initially, Wind Chaser thought that Shi Feng would make things difficult for them to invalidate this transaction. Yet, Shi Fengs condition for partnership was simply for Lionheart to survive a hit from him. This test was beyond simple. Let alone Tier 4 players, even Superior Mythic monsters were incapable of one-shotting Lionheart. The Skyflare adventurer team had relied precisely on Lionhearts overwhelming Defense to develop to its current extent. It would be a complete and utter joke to say that a Tier 4 player could one-shot Lionheart. For a moment, Wind Chaser even suspected that Shi Feng had never bothered looking into Lionhearts information. Either that or the man thought that Lionhearts fame was exaggerated. Of course. Im very certain. Shi Feng nodded earnestly. Yu Luo also couldnt help looking at Shi Feng strangely. She simply couldnt understand why Shi Feng would set such a meaningless condition. She knew that Shi Feng was indeed very strong. This was evident from how he repelled over a dozen Tier 3 Demon Leaders with one move. However, Lionheart wasnt a pushover, either. The achievements he had today were piled up through innumerable battles. Wind Chaser and Crimson Billow turned to Lionheart. Although they didnt know what Lionheart thought of this matter, Shi Fengs test presented no problem to them. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to call it a free pass. Meanwhile, so long as their two sides entered into a partnership, the Skyflare adventurer team would be able to gain full control over Meteorite City easily. In fact, it wouldnt be long before they could start establishing branches in other NPC Main Cities. And even if the player forces of the other cities opposed Skyflares intrusion, they would have difficulty doing so. After all, what truly mattered in a fight between powers were Tier 4 combatants. Although the saying one Tier 4 player could easily go up against a countless number of Tier 3 players was indeed exaggerated, it was still a fact that Tier 4 players could do many things that Tier 3 players couldnt. This was the difference between tiers and Life Ratings. No problem. I agree to your condition, Lionheart said. After giving the matter some thought, he couldnt find any problems with Shi Fengs condition. However, are we going to hold the test here?. Even when he had only the Fragmented Legendary Shield and Armor, he could already fend off Superior Mythic monsters. In fact, if not for the high HP and Defense of Superior Mythic monsters, he could even solo these monsters, given enough time. Now that he had the Windwall Ring, his defensive capabilities had soared even further. Im afraid this place isnt sufficient. Well need to rent an advanced combat room, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. In that case, lets go to our adventurer teams Skyflare Hotel. Theres a special combat room there. It should be enough for us to display our strengths, Lionheart suggested. A special combat room? Shi Feng was surprised at Lionhearts words. He never thought that special combat rooms already existed in the ancient Gods Domain. Special combat rooms were far superior to advanced combat rooms. They were perfect for practicing Skill and Spell usage. However, special combat rooms simply werent something that could be acquired at this stage of the game. Lets go to the Skyflare Hotel, then. Shi Feng and Yu Luo followed Lionhearts group to the Skyflare Hotel, which was only one block away from the Auction House. The instant the group walked into the Skyflare Hotel, Yu Luo grew a little excited. The Skyflare Hotel wasnt a place just anyone could enter and rest at. Aside from Skyflares members and the members of partnered powers, who received a 50% discount, visitors would be charged the full price when staying at the hotel. Meanwhile, even the most basic room here cost 400 Magic Crystals per day. Even a Tier 3 Void Realm expert like herself wouldnt dare stay here for no good reason. Only when she needed to verify some theories and techniques she thought of would she make an exception and stay here. As for Shi Feng, he felt as if he had just walked into a sacred training ground. The density of the Mana here was truly amazing, much more than even in Stone Forest Citys Freedom Hotel. In fact, the boost he got for his perception of magic elements was roughly 20% higher than what he got from the hotel he was currently staying at. No wonder hes so confident of being able to take out three million Magic Crystals per week. At this time, Shi Feng finally understood why Lionheart was so confident in the Skyflare adventurer teams abilities. Meanwhile, along with Shi Feng and Yu Luos arrival, an uproar occurred among Skyflares executives. I heard that guy named Black Flame wants to test the commander. What? That guy must be crazy. He thinks the commander is someone he can test? Even if the commander just stands there and does nothing, he wont be able to injure the commander in the slightest. Its not a standard PvP, though. He only wants the commander to take a hit from him. It seems this person is trying to show his strength to our adventurer team. He must be worried that he cant beat the commander, so he came up with that kind of condition. At that time, even if he fails to injure the commander, he could still salvage his reputation somewhat. When Skyflares several dozen executives looked at Shi Feng, who had already entered the special combat room, they promptly conducted hushed discussions among themselves. They all felt that Shi Feng was pulling such a stunt because he wished to gain respect yet was also worried about making a fool of himself. However, in their opinion, Shi Fengs actions were pointless. After all, when Lionheart dueled against other players, he almost never used his full strength to achieve victory. Even Wind Chaser, who had reached Tier 4 as well, had been almost helpless against Meteorites Wall. And although Wind Chaser had eventually emerged victorious in his duel against Lionheart, he had done so by dragging out the fight and chipping away at Lionhearts HP. Not to mention, this was in a situation where Lionheart had not gone all-out. Otherwise, even Wind Chaser shouldnt think of harming Lionheart in the slightest. Shortly afterward, all of Skyflares executives packed the special combat rooms spectator stands. Some executives had even abandoned their quests to spectate this duel. Lionheart had never fought in a duel since Wind Chaser had gotten promoted to Tier 4. During this period, Lionheart had improved significantly. Not only did he gain a new Tier 4 Legacy Skill, but he had also obtained the Fragmented Legendary ranked Windwall Ring, a defense-oriented ring. At this point, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that their commanders strength had already surpassed their imagination. While Skyflares executives were eagerly waiting for the duel to begin, Shi Feng and Lionheart were standing in the middle of the rooms spacious battlefield. At this point, both fighters had already adjusted their conditions and were ready to take action at any time. Im ready. You can make your move whenever you want, Lionheart said as he raised his shield and longsword. From the crimson runes decorating the shield and longsword, it was evident the two were a set. Only, the Mana gathered around the weapon was slightly inferior in quality compared to what was around the Bulwark of the Holy Blood. At this time, Lionheart stopped concealing his statistics. Immediately, his HP of 16.6 million appeared for everyone to see, flaunting the high HP of a Tier 4 defensive class. It was evident that Lionheart planned to let Shi Feng see his own strength. He has 16.6 million HP?! How is this possible?! Yu Luo gasped reflexively when she saw Lionhearts HP. As a defensive-class player, Lionheart already possessed incredibly high Defense, to begin with. Combined with his various defensive Skills and HP, he was practically a Boss monster. Yu Luo even doubted that Shi Feng could one-shot Lionheart even if the latter did not defend himself. In fact, it would already be a miracle if Shi Feng could remove one-third of Lionhearts HP in one hit. Amazing. Level 130 Tier 3 defensive classes usually have only nine million HP on average, yet you have almost twice that, Shi Feng said in admiration. Its nothing. Its only because of my unique Legacy. Lionheart didnt pay particular attention to Shi Fengs words of appreciation. On the contrary, he wanted to use this opportunity to let Shi Feng realize the Skyflare adventurer teams might. After all, Skyflare had already lost once to Shi Feng before. He needed to reclaim this loss and level the playing field. Since youre ready, Ill begin. Shi Feng naturally understood what was going through Lionhearts mind. Unfortunately, Lionheart simply wasnt aware of Shi Fengs aim. Come! Lionheart readied his shield, a serious expression appearing on his face. Immediately afterward, not only did Lionhearts aura skyrocket in intensity, but a faint, blood-red barrier had also appeared around his body. Crap! The commander is getting serious! Hes actually going all-out and fully exerting his Mana Body right off the bat! one of Skyflares vice commanders, a robust, Level 132 Shield Warrior, said in astonishment. Blood Armor! This was the Tier 4 Legacy Skill Lionheart obtained after achieving a 100% Completion Rate with his Mana Body. Although the magic barrier appeared flimsy, it could absorb up to five million damage. Moreover, the barrier would replenish itself once every 40 seconds. In other words, if one failed to cause over five million damage to Lionheart within 40 seconds, one had no chance of slaying him. Had Lionheart used this move during his duel with Wind Chaser back then, Wind Chaser wouldnt have been able to harm him at all. However, before Skyflares members were done admiring their commanders Tier 4 Passive Skill, they saw Shi Feng unsheathe the Abyssal Blade. Immediately afterward, everyone clearly sensed the Mana in the room trembling and freezing momentarily! Before anyone could react to the unexpected development, Shi Feng raised the Abyssal Blade with both hands and looked at Lionheart. The Mana inside the special combat room then began to boil, the phenomenon causing everyone present to shudder involuntarily. Afterward, everyone felt a wave of scorching heat wash over their body. This How is this possible?! When Wind Chaser sensed the Mana around him boiling, he was stunned. After all, the space inside the special combat room was massive, with a 1,000-yard radius. That was more than enough for two Tier 4 players to fight to their hearts content. Nevertheless, Shi Feng caused all of the Mana inside the combat room to boil just by entering a stance. This kind of thing was simply unheard-of. At this time, Lionhearts gaze also changed. If entering a stance was enough to trigger such a phenomenon, Shi Fengs strength was definitely far more extraordinary than he initially thought. However, before Lionheart could take any further action, the flow of time inside the combat room seemed to slow down. The only thing capable of moving was apparently the sword in Shi Fengs hands. Second Sword, Holy Devour! As the longsword descended, an overwhelming pressure fell upon the room. Afterward, space within the room ignited, as if it couldnt withstand the terrifying and violent pressure. The resulting flames threatened to burn everything in the room into nothing. Not good! Holy Blood Wall! Four Saints Descent! Upon seeing the boundless flames approaching him, Lionheart hurriedly activated the Defensive Skill Holy Blood Wall, then stabbed his shield into the ground and activated his strongest Tier 4 Defensive Legacy Skill. The next moment, a twofold magic array appeared before the Bulwark of Holy Blood, which was followed by an illusory crimson shield that was over a dozen meters tall. Crimson runes flared all over Lionhearts body, solidifying the surrounding space until it was as sturdy as a steel wall. Meanwhile, the instant Lionheart used Four Saints Descent, the endless sea of flames devoured him like a giant beast. Boom! 2777 Shocking Skyflare Meanwhile, when Skyflares executives, seated in the spectator stands, saw this scene, they were dumbfounded. How can one slash carry such destructive power? Even those Tier 4 NPCs arent capable of exhibiting such power! Is he really just a Tier 4 player?! He has such terrifying strength, yet we actually failed to find any information on him. Just who is he? After a moment of silence, Skyflares executives began a heated discussion among themselves as they goggled at the battlefields shattered space. At this time, they no longer underestimated Shi Feng in the slightest. Now, only shock and fear filled their hearts. With such terrifying combat power, Shi Feng was no longer an opponent vulnerable to zerg tactics. Only powerful Tier 4 NPCs could match him. He was actually so strong?! tas Yu Luos eyes were also wide with disbelief as she looked at the shattered space. Even Angelica Teresas strongest attack would fall short of Shi Fengs from what she could tell. Angelica Teresa was a Peak-rank Tier 4 existence and one of the top five powerhouses of Meteorite City. In addition, as an NPC, the items and Basic Attributes she possessed were also far superior to players. Yet, Shi Feng had actually executed an attack way stronger than even Angelica Teresas strongest attack. Commander! The commander couldnt have fallen, right? After a while, Wind Chaser and the others snapped out of their daze and searched hurriedly for Lionhearts figure in the dark void. Out of the player attacks they had seen thus far, Shi Fengs was undoubtedly the strongest. Even Tier 4 NPCs were unlikely to be capable of executing such an attack. Hence, although they knew that Lionheart possessed a heaven-defying Defense, they couldnt help doubting his ability to survive Shi Fengs attack. After everyone had searched for some time, the shattered space gradually recovered. Two vague figures appeared, standing in the recovering space, with one of them looking incredibly miserable. This is great! The commander is still alive! I knew the commander could withstand it! He is Meteorites Wall, after all! Theres no way he can be one-shotted by a player! When Skyflares members saw Lionhearts figure, they immediately grew excited. However, unlike his colleagues, Lionheart did not feel happy or excited at all. Instead, his heart pounded with fear and relief. That was too close. If not for the Windwall Ring, I wouldve definitely been one-shotted. Lionheart smiled bitterly when he looked at his remaining HP. The Windwall Rings Passive Skill, Winds Protection, was capable of reducing all the damage he received by 35%. Even if he received a Tier 5 attack, its damage would still be reduced by a full 35%. Winds Protection was also the Windwall Rings only Skill. The Windwall Ring was different from other equipment with Passive Damage Reduction Skills. Although the alternatives might even have Skills offering much greater reductions than Winds Protection on paper, there were hidden limits to these Skills. Generally, their upper limit was Tier 4; once an attack reached the Tier 4 standard, their effect would be significantly weaker. And against Tier 5 attacks, their effect was practically negligible. However, that was not the case for the Windwall Rings Winds Protection. The Skills description clearly stated that it could reduce the damage of even Tier 5 attacks by 35% and not 1% less. On the other side, after Shi Feng executed Holy Devour, his complexion had paled significantly. Is it still too much to execute this move? When Shi Feng sensed that more than half of his Concentration had disappeared, he was shocked. He had already developed his Epic Mana Body to 110% Completion Rate, yet he still had trouble gathering and condensing the Mana required to execute Holy Devour. For a moment, he couldnt help imagining what kind of power he could exhibit if he successfully executed the Third Sword, Holy Annihilation. Tier 5? Tier 6? Regardless, this is a good result. At the very least, I can now use the complete Holy Devour. Now, I should be able to cope, even against a Half-step Demon King. As Shi Feng sheathed the Abyssal Blade, he was satisfied with his previous attack. Although his Mana had undergone a qualitative transformation, thanks to the improvement of his Mana Body, the improvement this change brought to his Skills and Spells was limited. It wasnt enough for them to undergo a qualitative transformation. However, it was a different story for Mana Techniques, whose power was highly dependent on the quality of the Mana used. Now, if he went all-out, he could execute an attack at the Tier 5 standard. The only drawback of Holy Devour was the huge burden it placed on his Concentration. Even at peak condition, he could execute the complete Holy Devour only once. Nevertheless, it was already more than enough as a trump card. As Shi Feng was savoring the experience of executing Holy Devour, Lionheart approached him. Brother Black Flame, that move of yours really is ruthless. If I hadnt gained some improvements recently, I wouldve really died, Lionheart said jocularly. At this moment, Lionheart no longer underestimated or looked at Shi Feng with contempt; only respect was present in his eyes. The fact that Shi Feng had managed to execute such a move as a player meant that he already stood at the apex of the entire Gods Domain. Just this point alone was already more than enough to earn him everyones respect. In Gods Domain, strength was everything. It was also something that could not be faked. For Shi Feng to have developed himself to this extent, he mustve experienced countless trials and hardships. Youre too humble, Commander Lionheart. The fact that you managed to block my attack is all due to your own ability, not luck. Looking at Lionheart, Shi Feng added, Now that our one-hit agreement is complete, according to our previous arrangement, I will supply the Crystals of Souls and Soul Water to only the Skyflare adventurer team for Meteorite Citys side. Thank you. As for the matter of Magic Crystals, please rest assured. The Skyflare adventurer team definitely wont let you down, Brother Black Flame. Lionheart couldnt help feeling a little happy at Shi Fengs words. With Shi Feng willing to partner with Skyflare, Skyflare would be able to take full control of Meteorite City easily. Next, lets talk about the specifics of our transaction. Going straight to the point, Shi Feng said, Like I said before, so long as you manage to withstand one hit from me, I will agree to partner with you, Commander Lionheart. However, after we start our cooperation, Ill need your help with something. Of course, I wont have you help me for nothing. In exchange, Ill sell the Crystals of Souls at 150,000 Magic Crystals each to Skyflare. How about it? One hundred and fifty thousand each? Lionheart was slightly tempted. May I know what you need help with?. Previously, when he offered to purchase the Crystals of Souls at 200,000 Magic Crystals each, the price was actually a little too high for Skyflare to bear. However, the Crystals of Souls were far too important. They would also play a crucial role when Skyflare attempted to conquer other Main Cities. Hence, he had gone through with the price. Lowering the price to 150,000 Magic Crystals each would definitely alleviate a lot of Skyflares burden. Help me kill a Boss, Shi Feng said, smiling. The reason Shi Feng wanted to test Lionheart wasnt just to experiment with the power of his upgraded Mana Body. He had also wished to see whether Lionheart could withstand the attack of a Tier 4 Infant Dragon. After all, if he didnt have anyone capable of tanking a hit from a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, slaying it would be utterly impossible. Since Lionheart clearly met this requirement, combined with the effects of the Heavenly Dragons Breath, challenging an unrestrained Tier 4 Infant Dragon was entirely feasible. Kill a Boss? Lionheart was a little puzzled. He never thought Shi Fengs request would be so simple. Is this Boss very strong? Very strong. Not bothering to hide the truth, Shi Feng said, Its a Tier 4 Infant Dragon! A Tier 4 Infant Dragon? Lionheart gasped at Shi Fengs words. Immediately, he thought of something and asked, Are you referring to the one Lady Angelica is trying to challenge? Thats right. Its that one. Shi Feng nodded. Actually, this matter is also beneficial to you as well, Commander Lionheart. After all, Meteorite Citys promotion will attract more players and resources to the city. At that time, Skyflare can grow stronger together with the city. Lionheart nodded in agreement. In reality, he, too, wished for Meteorite City to grow stronger and become an Advanced Main City. However, the incredibly high difficulty of challenging a Tier 4 Infant Dragon made him decide to have Skyflare opt out of Angelica Teresas expedition. After all, Skyflare already had two Tier 4 players under its command, and it had yet to stabilize its advantages. If Skyflare eagerly participated in the risky expedition and failed, the adventurer team would definitely lose a lot of its advantages. What do you think, Commander Lionheart? Shi Feng asked. Previously, he didnt hold much hope for slaying the Tier 4 Infant Dragon. After all, a Tier 4 Infant Dragon was comparable to Tier 5 existences; it was much stronger than even a Demon Prince. Even though he could use the complete Holy Devour now, it wouldnt make any difference since he couldnt use the technique indefinitely. However, the story would change if Lionheart was present. The fact that Lionheart could survive a Tier 5 attack meant that he could defend against a Tier 4 Infant Dragons attack. Okay. After thinking for a while, Lionheart gritted his teeth and agreed to Shi Fengs condition. However, Brother Black Flame, as Skyflare has just gained some advantages, we cannot afford to invest everything into helping you. We can send only a 100-man team, at most. In response to Lionhearts worries, Shi Feng simply chuckled and said, Thats already more than enough. In fact, its fine so long as Skyflare can dispatch its two Tier 4 players, let alone a 100-man team. May I know when we will begin the operation? Lionheart asked. Raiding a Tier 4 Infant Dragon was an important matter. Preparing the necessary manpower and supplies would take a lot of time. Were not in a rush right now. Im afraid it will still take several days before we can set out, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Ill notify you when the time comes, Commander Lionheart. Challenging a Tier 4 Infant Dragon with just three Tier 4 players would be outright suicide. It wouldnt matter even if they had a large number of Tier 3 players supporting them. Fortunately, the ancient Gods Domain did not require players to search for their Legacy Lands to challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. So long as he had Lifeless Thorn and the others challenge their Promotion Quests and some of them succeeded, he would have a much greater chance of success. Alright. If thats the case, I can make more preparations on my side. Lionheart breathed out a sigh of relief at Shi Fengs words. Afterward, Shi Feng signed a partnership contract with Lionheart to the effect that Skyflare would purchase Crystals of Souls from Shi Feng at 150,000 Magic Crystals per crystal and Soul Water at 30,000 Magic Crystals per drop. For the first transaction, Skyflare purchased a total of 20 Crystals of Souls and 50 drops of Soul Water, the total expenditure amounting to 4.5 million Magic Crystals. When it came to Magic Crystals, Skyflare was wealthier than most superpowers operating in the modern Gods Domain. When the transaction was completed, Shi Feng couldnt help his elation. After all, he now had the eight million Magic Crystals required to construct the Small Mobile Fortress. Afterward, all he needed to do was collect two million pieces of Mana Ore and 30,000 Mana Stones. In addition, he also had a chance to raid the Tier 4 Infant Dragon. Leaving the Skyflare Hotel, Shi Feng looked at the additional 4.5 million Magic Crystals in his bag and smiled. 2778 Semi-finished Mana Body After Shi Feng received 4.5 million Magic Crystals from Skyflare, he returned to the Silver Hotel with Yu Luo. As for the small auction he initially planned to hold, Lionheart had announced to the public that Skyflare would monopolize all of the products. Hence, the commotion over the auction died down quickly. None of Meteorite Citys various powers dared to voice their opinions on Skyflares monopoly. After all, Skyflare was the sole power in the city with two Tier 4 combatants under its command. Previously, the powers with Tier 4 combatants still dared to stand up against Skyflare because Lionheart could not easily kill other Tier 4 combatants by himself. However, now that Skyflares Wind Chaser was a Tier 4 Assassin, it would be a piece of cake for Skyflare to kill any individual Tier 4 combatant. Hence, even the other two of the top three player forces in Meteorite City decided to tolerate the situation. Not to mention, while the Crystal of Souls could indeed strengthen an individuals soul, the amount of help this improvement could provide in the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was minuscule. Even if Skyflare obtained all five Crystals of Souls, the adventurer team would, at most, increase the number of Tier 4 combatants it had from two to three. Meanwhile, back in his room, Shi Feng promptly took out 75,000 Magic Crystals and distributed them to Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, Yan Ya, Cleansing Whistle, and Yu Luo. Right, each of you take a drop of Soul Water as well, Shi Feng said as he took out five drops of Soul Water and distributed them. Once you are done collecting the Legacy Fragments, drink it immediately. Although it isnt as effective as the Crystal of Souls, it can still clear your mind. You should have an easier time learning your Legacy Skill. In response, Lifeless Thorn and the other Asura members nodded and accepted the Soul Water. Yu Luo, however, hesitated. She didnt know whether she should accept the Soul Water, which cost 30,000 Magic Crystals a drop. Guild Leader Black Flame, this Soul Water is too valuable. I already feel very indebted to you just for letting me challenge my Tier 4 Promotion Quest this time. I really cannot accept this Soul Water, Yu Luo said, rejecting Shi Fengs gift after giving the matter some thought. Heavens Blade had cooperated with Zero Wing only once. The two organizations couldnt even be considered allies. If she accepted this Soul Water, she would owe Shi Feng a huge favor. In that case, she would have a difficult time explaining herself to Zwei once she returned. However, in response to Yu Luos rejection, Shi Feng shook his head and said, Miss Yu Luo, you mustve misunderstood me. Im not giving you this Soul Water for free. I need you to help me with something in the near future. If you reach Tier 4, well have a higher chance of success. Thats right. I plan to raid that Tier 4 Infant Dragon. However, Tier 3 players are useless against an Infant Dragon. Only Tier 4 players will matter. Meanwhile, as youve reached the Void Realm already, your control over Mana should be excellent. Your Concentration should also be only one step away from reaching the Tier 4 standard. With the Soul Waters help, youll have a better chance of promoting to Tier 4, Shi Feng said, nodding. Hence, this Soul Water is my investment in you. Im not giving it to you for free, so you dont need to overthink things. The upcoming raid of the Tier 4 Infant Dragon wasnt something Tier 3 players could stick their hands into. Only Tier 4 players could be of help. A Tier 4 healer would be especially useful. Since Shi Feng couldnt guarantee that Yan Ya would succeed in her Tier 4 Promotion Quest, having a backup plan would naturally be better. Not to mention, he currently had over 2,000 drops of Soul Water on hand. He could still afford such a small investment. I understand. If I dont get promoted to Tier 4 this time, I will find a way to pay you back for this Soul Water, Yu Luo said. With Shi Fengs words, the burden she felt lightened considerably. Truthfully, she would be lying if she said that she did not want the Soul Water. After all, the Tier 4 Promotion Quest was no walk in the park. Meteorite Citys peak experts demonstrated this point quite well. Among all the peak experts who had challenged their Tier 4 Promotion Quest, less than 10% succeeded. Not to mention, she was slightly weaker than them. However, if she had the Soul Waters mind-cleansing effect, she would most likely be able to stand on equal footing with the local peak experts. Yu Luo accepted the Soul Water, a glint of determination appearing in her eyes. This was because this drop of Soul Water represented not just hope but also a burden. If she completed her Tier 4 Promotion Quest, then she would be able to repay all of the favors she owed right away. After all, Tier 4 Great Clerics were incredibly rare even in the ancient Gods Domain, let alone the modern Gods Domain. You guys can go now. Whether you can get promoted or not will all depend on yourselves now, Shi Feng said after Yu Luo accepted the Soul Water. He then instructed the group of five, Remember: act according to your strengths when choosing your respective Tier 4 Skills. There is no need to learn the strongest one. Instead, learn the one youre most proficient at. He did not doubt the ability of the five people before him to collect the necessary number of Legacy Fragments. His only worry was their ability to learn a Tier 4 Legacy Skill within the allotted time. Afterward, under Yu Luos lead, Lifeless Thorn and the others departed for Meteorite Citys Tier 4 instructors. Now, only Shi Feng remained inside the hotel room. Lets hope a few of them can reach Tier 4. If thats the case, well have an easier time dealing with that Infant Dragon. Looking at the group of fives departing figures, Shi Feng inwardly celebrated the fact that he managed to get through his Tier 4 Promotion Quest previously. Immediately afterward, he sensed the state of his Mana Body and smiled. Its about time I grinded for some levels. If I dont get used to this Mana Body, I might cause the quest to fail. After unlocking his Mana Body to a 110% Completion Rate, he had not had an opportunity to get used to it properly. His duel with Lionheart didnt prove anything. After all, Mana Bodies provided all-around improvements to players. There was no way he could determine all of these improvements just by putting all his strength into one attack. In fact, he couldnt even tell if his overall combat power had improved or not through his duel with Lionheart. This was because the Mana Bodys improvement mainly led to subtle improvements in various aspects. On the surface, it was impossible to tell if his improved Mana Body had brought any changes to his overall combat power. After all, his Basic Attributes remained the same as before. Right now, the only obvious improvements were in the density of his Mana, his control over Mana, his physique, and his five senses. During his fight with Lionheart, he had only proven that the improvement of his Mana Body had positive effects on his Mana Techniques. Even then, he still wasnt clear how the improvement had triggered such a change. Needless to say, he was even more clueless about the other benefits his improved Mana Body had to offer. If he wished to fully utilize his new Mana Body and maximize his combat power, he would need to readapt to his Mana Body. It was akin to learning a new Skill or Spell. He would need to put in a lot of time and effort into adapting and training. Only after he could make use of his Mana Body at an instinctive level could he be considered to have truly adapted to it. At this point, his Mana Body could only be considered a semi-finished product. Next, he would have to explore his Mana Body thoroughly. Shi Feng drank a drop of Soul Water, recovering some of the Concentration he had expended executing Holy Devour. He then put on his Black Cloak and silently departed from Meteorite City. 2779 Astonishing Improvements Firstly, the thin Mana environment here prevented players and NPCs from exhibiting the power of their Skills and Spells to their fullest extent. This, in turn, would put players and NPCs at a severe disadvantage against monsters. Secondly, what little Mana there was in the Antimagic Volcano was incredibly chaotic, which made it nigh-impossible to control. Hence, doing combat here would not allow one to improve their control over Mana. Thirdly and most importantly, the monsters inhabiting the Antimagic Volcano consisted solely of fire-type elemental creatures and beasts. These monsters had a combat power a lot higher than the average monsters. In addition, they existed in large numbers in the Antimagic Volcano. Even a 1,000-man team of Tier 3 players would have difficulty staying alive in this map, let alone grinding for EXP. However, unlike other players, Shi Feng considered this neutral map the perfect leveling spot for him. This place really is amazing. There are actually so many Great Lords and Grand Lords here. As Shi Feng looked down at the wandering monsters while hovering in midair, he couldnt help a little excitement. With this, I wont have to worry about not having enough Crystals of Souls. (Volcanic Behemoth) (Demonic Beast, Grand Lord) Level 139 HP 3,600,000,000 [Infernal Warlord) (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 137 HP 1,320,000,000 [Infernal Chieftain] (Elemental Creature, Grand Lord) HP 3,100,000,000 Shi Feng had to admit that the Antimagic Volcano was a sight to behold. This neutral map teemed with Great Lord ranked monsters. Moreover, they moved in large groups of 100 or more closely positioned to each other. If one made too much of a commotion when fighting a group of monsters here, one would easily attract monsters from other areas. However, despite the high difficulty of this map, it was the perfect grinding spot for Tier 4 existences, specifically Tier 4 experts with a Mana Domain. Shi Feng charged at the Volcanic Behemoth, the strongest monster in sight, without hesitation. The next moment, when Shi Feng got within 300 yards of the Volcanic Behemoth, the Grand Lord in question noticed his presence. Immediately, the 30-meter-tall beast covered in flaming scales let loose a deafening roar. The roar instantly attracted the wandering and resting Volcanic Beasts, and over 3,000 Volcanic Beasts converged on the Volcanic Behemoths location in the blink of an eye. The majority of these Volcanic Beasts were Level 135-plus Lords, with some of them Great Lords. Suddenly, thousands of fiery attacks shot into the air, heading toward Shi Feng. Although the attacks were not fully synchronized with each other, the sheer number still allowed them to exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard. That was more than enough to deter any ordinary Tier 4 combatant from tanking the attacks. Come! However, when Shi Feng saw the several thousand attacks coming at him, not only did he not show the slightest sign of fear, but he even displayed excitement. The next moment, Shi Feng swung his hand and began manipulating his Mana Bodys power. Suddenly, with Shi Feng as the center, a ripple spread into the surroundings. At the same time, a storm brewed in the surrounding space, causing even space to shudder. Boom! Boom! Boom! For a time, explosions echoed throughout the sky in rapid succession. The sky itself transformed into a sea of flames as the storm annihilated the thousands of fiery attacks. Afterward, the Volcanic Beasts enveloped by the storm knelt on the ground one after another. Only the Great Lord ranked Volcanic Beasts remained standing. However, standing was pretty much all they could do, as even moving their bodies took grueling effort. As for the Volcanic Behemoth, the leader of the Volcanic Beasts, it didnt fare that much better than the Great Lord ranked Volcanic Beasts, either. My Mana Domain has improved to such an extent? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the thousands of kneeling Volcanic Beasts and the Volcanic Behemoth, which had great difficulty moving His current Mana Domain was actually capable of suppressing even a Grand Lord to such an extent. Despite being a Strength-based Demonic Beast, the Volcanic Behemoth had barely half of its mobility left. If he used his Mana Domain against Agility-based Demonic Creatures, the suppression effect would most likely be even more prominent. After a moment reveling in the improvement of his Mana Domain, Shi Feng stopped being polite with the Volcanic Beasts. Immediately, he activated Blade Domain and began slaughtering the Volcanic Beasts with the seven summoned magic swords. All his attacks dealt damage in the tens of millions, with critical hits causing over a hundred million damage. In the case of the Lord ranked Volcanic Beasts, which had only several hundred million HP, they fell after just two or three hits. In the end, it took Shi Feng less than half an hour to annihilate the 3,000-plus Volcanic Beasts. Even the Volcanic Behemoth failed to escape his grasp. Since Shi Feng fought monsters of a higher level, his experience bar skyrocketed after the battle ended. Of course, as he had already reached Tier 4, monsters at the Lord rank and below granted him diminished EXP; only those at the Great Lord rank and above granted him normal amounts of EXP. This could be considered one of the disadvantages of getting promoted to Tier 4. Even so, Shi Feng still reached 34% of Level 127 after the battle. His leveling speed was simply phenomenal. At this rate, he could easily level up twice by the end of the day. However, he wasnt the slightest bit surprised by this situation. In Gods Domain, after one reached Tier 4, leveling up became a very simple task. All one needed to do was search for places with a lot of monsters. Hence, in the past, Tier 4 players would complain about the lack of grinding spots in Gods Domain. Often, the task of searching for monsters was much more troublesome for Tier 4 players than the task of killing monsters. What was even more troublesome was collecting the monsters loot. The time it took to collect the loot of the monsters they killed was several times longer than the time it took to kill the monsters. Sure enough, the loot collection process is much more tiresome than the grinding process. Shi Feng got a headache when he saw all the loot scattered within a 1,000-yard radius of himself. At this moment, he finally understood the suffering of those Tier 4 experts in the past. However, ignoring the loot wasnt an option, either. After all, these monsters dropped considerably excellent loot. Among the items dropped were standard Magic Crystals, fire-attributed Magic Crystals, and various rare ores. The fire-attributed Magic Crystals were especially valuable, worth far more than the standard Magic Crystal. Attributed Magic Crystals were essential in the production of certain Epic Weapons and Equipment. Some Peak Constructions also required attributed Magic Crystals to build. However, attributed Magic Crystals were incredibly rare in the modern Gods Domain. Hence, it would be a massive waste to simply ignore the loot. Shi Feng ended up spending two whole hours gathering all of the items scattered across the battlefield. However, he had to admit that he had earned a huge harvest. Even if he ignored the numerous Level 130 Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment he got, just the Magic Crystals numbered over 4,000 already. He had also picked up over 300 fire-attributed Magic Crystals. Afterward, he killed several more groups of monsters in the Antimagic Volcano, pushing his level from 127 to 128, the total number of Magic Crystals collected to beyond 30,000, and the number of fire-attributed Magic Crystals collected to 1,500. Be it his leveling speed or money-making speed, both exceeded the standard of ordinary Tier 4 players. Since the sky was darkening, Shi Feng found a safe cave and called up his system interface. Thats enough for today. With several more days grinding here, I should be able to exceed the average level of the peak experts here. By then, I shouldnt be at a disadvantage in levels when the Infant Dragon raid takes place. When Shi Feng saw that he had already reached 19% of Level 128, he found his leveling speed very satisfactory. Not to mention, he had managed to produce seven Crystals of Souls through todays grind far more than what he could produce in the modern Gods Domain. Afterward, Shi Feng logged out of the game to rest. After all, he had already spent more than 24 hours online. Even if he was using the Fearless Cabin now, staying online for long periods still wasnt wise. Once he went offline, before he could even climb out of his cabin, a message notification sounded in his cabin. The messages sender was none other than Liang Jing, the person managing Zero Wings headquarters on his behalf right now. Guild Leader, you finally decided to pick up! Liang Jing said in exasperation. Ive already brought the two Vice Guild Leaders to Yuantian City as per your request. What should we do now? Youre here already? Surprised by Liang Jings swift action, Shi Feng chuckled and said, Okay, bring them to the Upper Zones entrance now. Ill wait for you there. The Upper Zones entrance? Liang Jing couldnt help growing a little excited at Shi Fengs words. Okay! Well be there in three hours! Shi Feng burst into laughter at Liang Jings excited expression. However, he understood her mood. After all, the Upper Zone was a place countless people yearned to enter. But this is a problem. I only managed to get 100 points yesterday, even after exchanging all of the Credits I had. If the two of them join me, I cant even afford food for the three of us. It seems Ill have to convert those 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal now. The thought of the food prices here gave Shi Feng a headache. Fortunately, he had earned a killing from Mythology. Otherwise, he would have to start begging for food. 2780 Minor Character? Shi Feng enjoyed the scenery of the base layer as he strolled around the residential area he lived in. Contrary to his expectations, he did not see any of the paradisiacal sceneries depicted in the rumors spread in the outside world. Instead, what he saw were only high-rise buildings; the areas not occupied by high-rise buildings held facilities such as restaurants, training halls, and gyms. Moreover, compared to the outside world, almost all of the people gave the impression that they were incredibly busy, and they all had tense expressions on their faces. This could be considered natural. After all, the Upper Zone wasnt some kind of paradise. Instead, it was a place with far more intense competition than the outside world. From what Shi Feng understood, Yuantian Citys Upper Zone had a population of less than 300,000, nearly a quarter of which were employees of the Green God Company. As for the remaining inhabitants, the majority of them belonged to the various major corporations, and only a small portion were people who had entered the Upper Zone through special selections or reserved slots. Meanwhile, unlike what the general public thought, one wouldnt live a carefree life after entering the Upper Zone. On the contrary, one would face even greater pressure than when they lived in the outside world. The reason for this was the Upper Zones ridiculously high cost of living. Just the matter of food already gave Shi Feng a headache. Even the most basic meal cost 30 points, equivalent to 300,000 Credits. Nobody would pay such an absurd price for food in the outside world. Yet, in the Upper Zone, this amount of money would buy only the most basic meal. This was still only a small problem in the Upper Zone. The truly troublesome aspect was the various training resources available here. Just living in the Upper Zone wouldnt be enough for a person to achieve longevity. One still needed to include various exercises and medicines into the equation, all of which cost a lot of points. Without sufficient wealth and resources, one couldnt live in the Upper Zone at all. Those born in the Upper Zone were allowed to live freely until the age of 12. Afterward, they had to undergo a series of tests until they reached 15. If they failed the tests, they would be banished from the Upper Zone. Moreover, passing the Green God Companys basic assessment would only qualify one to work at the lowest level of the Green God Company. Only if one conquered the Mental Path before the age of 20 or made a great contribution to the Green God Company would one gain authority and be considered an ordinary person in the Upper Zone. After all, the base layers average lifespan might be 150 years, but that didnt mean every individual would live up to 150 years old. Moreover, there was also the matter of retaining ones youth and physical vitality. For residents living in the base layer, even if they could live a fulfilling life and constantly supplement themselves with the various resources available in the base layer, they could retain their youth until the age of 50, at most. Afterward, their physical fitness would decline. By the time they reached 100 years old, they would have entered old age. However, in the case of people living in the middle layer, they would still retain their youthful vitality even at the age of 80. Appearance-wise, they would look like they were just entering their 30s. In other words, the middle layers residents got to retain their youth for nearly twice as long as the base layers residents. And even at the age of 120, they would only be middle-aged and look like they were just entering their 40s. Who wouldnt go crazy at such a temptation? After strolling about for a while, Shi Feng rode one of the Upper Zones free levitating smart cars and arrived at the Green God Tower roughly 20 minutes later. At the end of the journey, he had to admit that the Upper Zone was truly amazing. The various transportation facilities here were completely free, and the cars were even equipped with fully intelligent navigation systems. He could travel anywhere he wished with just a word. Shi Feng made his way to the Green God Towers seventh floor, which was where all resource exchanges took place in the base layer. Everyone seeking to convert Credits into trade points, exchange rare resources for trade points and contribution points, or exchange points for the various medicines the Green God Company offered would come here. Upon arriving on the seventh floor, he found that the hall, which was the size of eight basketball courts, was crowded with thousands of people. Compared to the registration room he visited previously, this place was many times livelier. Most of the gathered people were wealthy children seeking to exchange for trade points using Credits. As to why they were doing so, the reason was simple. Most, if not all, of the major corporations operating in the Upper Zone had existed for over a century already. After operating for such a long time, the shareholder families running these corporations had grown significantly in size. At this point, with how large the shareholder families population had become, these families would be fortunate to put their children into the Upper Zone. In addition, the resources the Green God Company sought were all incredibly rare and valuable. For the sake of their own future in the Upper Zone, the various corporations wouldnt let the children of their shareholder families casually exchange resources for points at all. Hence, aside from the designated heir or heiress of their respective families, the other children who had entered the Upper Zone would have to rely on themselves to secure resources in the Upper Zone. However, as most of these children were not particularly talented, they naturally didnt have the means to get the necessary resources or achievements to earn themselves a lot of trade points and contribution points. They could only visit the exchange center every day to exchange for trade points using Credits. As a result, despite the Green God Towers exchange center being open 24/7, there would almost always be people lining up before the credit areas exchange counters. If news of such a scene were to reach the outside world, jaws would definitely drop. After all, every one of the wealthy children lining up in the exchange center was a prince or princess of a major corporation. Normally, they would have numerous people at their beck and call. Yet, in the exchange center, they had no choice but to behave like normal people and stand in line themselves. And even more surprisingly, none of these wealthy children in the queue was making a fuss. Unlike the credit area, there was only one exchange counter in the contribution area. Usually, almost nobody stood before this exchange counter, and anybody wishing to use its services could do so without having to wait. However, when Shi Feng approached the contribution area, two people were already standing before the exchange counter there. Moreover, he actually recognized both of them. One of them was none other than Han Yifeng, the heir of the Five States Corporation. Out of all the corporation heirs Shi Feng had met before, Han Yifeng had the most exaggerated physical fitness. Han Yifeng also did not behave like the typical princeling of a major corporation. The person standing behind Han Yifeng was the butler Zhuo Linqiu. Young Master, now that weve completed the Green God Companys assignment, I believe your total contribution points will reach 60,000 once the evaluation is complete and enter the top ten rankings. If we factor in the corporations decision to support you fully this time, Im certain youll be able to enter the top three in the contribution competition this time, Zhuo Linqiu said excitedly. The contribution competition was held once every three months. The top three of the competition would gain the right to stay in the middle layer. Although the duration of the stay was only three short months, this was also one of the few ways the various corporations could gain access to the middle layer. Meanwhile, so long as Han Yifeng entered the middle layer, he could acquire resources that were far superior to what was available in the base layer. At that time, his status in the Upper Zone would immediately skyrocket. However, Han Yifeng remained indifferent to Zhuo Linqius words. Shaking his head, he said, While I am confident of getting into the top five, my chances of getting into the top three are still slim. The people currently ranked among the top three have held those positions for the past two years. According to rumors, those three people are close to gaining High Grade authority. They will definitely do everything they can to retain their positions, so it wont be easy to surpass them in contributions. In fact, despite not having put in any real effort, they have already accumulated over 100,000 contribution points. If we show signs of trying to compete for the top three, it wouldnt be strange if their points suddenly doubled or tripled. At Han Yifengs words, Zhuo Linqiu fell silent, acknowledging that the top three rankers were indeed a cut above everyone else. After all, those three people had already monopolized the top three positions of the contribution competition for the past two years. Trying to surpass them in contributions definitely wouldnt be an easy task. While Han Yifeng and Zhuo Linqiu were conversing, the staff member manning the exchange counter finished calculating Han Yifengs contribution. Sir, after including the assignment you completed this time, you now have 62,425 contribution points accumulated. You are currently ranked seventh in the contribution competition. Seventh? Han Yifeng did not feel particularly happy to hear that he was ranked seventh in the competition, taking the result in stride. After giving the staff member a nod, he promptly turned around to leave. The instant Han Yifeng and Zhuo Linqiu turned around, they noticed Shi Feng making his way to the counter. Why is he here? Zhuo Linqiu rubbed his eyes in doubt when he saw Shi Feng, who was dressed in white casuals. The Upper Zone was a place that countless people sought to enter but couldnt. The Guild Leaders of many superpowers didnt have the qualifications to enter the Upper Zone even now. Yet, Shi Feng, who was merely the Guild Leader of a pseudo-superpower, had actually entered it. This was simply incredible. At this time, let alone Zhuo Linqiu, even Han Yifeng revealed a rare look of surprise on his face. When Han Yifeng last met Shi Feng, in Fenglin Citys Redstone Restaurant, the latter was merely an insignificant minor character in his eyes. After all, Shi Feng and his subordinates simply werent capable of reaching the playing field Han Yifeng fought on. At best, he could only use Zero Wing as a pawn to hinder his opponents. Even when Zero Wing developed rapidly and became enemies with many superpowers, he still thought nothing of the Guild. After all, what the various major corporations were truly competing for wasnt Gods Domain, but the Upper Zones resources. Yet, now, a minor character like Shi Feng had actually set foot into the Upper Zone. This situation was as unbelievable as a fairy tale. Did the Boulder Corporation give him a reserved slot? Han Yifeng muttered in speculation. That should be the case. Otherwise, theres no way someone like him, with no background, can enter the Upper Zone, Zhuo Linqiu said, nodding in agreement. In the recent struggle for the reserve seats of Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds, Frost Heaven had surpassed everyones expectations and secured itself a seat, instantly becoming a true titan in Gods Domain. The biggest contributor to Frost Heavens victory was undoubtedly Zero Wing. Hence, it wouldnt be strange for Frost Heaven to grant Zero Wing a few of the Upper Zones reserved slots in gratitude. After thinking up to this point, Han Yifeng and Zhuo Linqiu calmed down. Meanwhile, as Shi Feng walked over, he merely glanced at Han Yifeng and Zhuo Linqiu before continuing on his way. He did not take the initiative to say hello. After all, he wasnt exactly familiar with the two. He was also in a hurry right now. Zhuo Linqius expression turned ugly at Shi Fengs response. He never imagined that Shi Feng would actually show so little respect to Han Yifeng. The man didnt even bother saying hello and merely walked away like a stranger. Shi Feng simply didnt place the Five States Corporation in his eyes. However, before Zhuo Linqiu could vent his anger, he was stunned to see Shi Feng stop before the contribution areas exchange counter. What is he trying to do? Han Yifeng was confused when he saw Shi Feng conversing with the staff member at the counter. Thats the exchange counter for the contribution area. Did he come here to exchange for trade points because there was no line here? Sure enough, he is a minor character. He only knows how to head to places where he can gain advantages. He thinks he can save time by coming here, yet he is wholly ignorant of the rules, Zhuo Linqiu sneered as he looked at Shi Feng, who was still conversing with the staff, in contempt. Chapter 2781 - Times Have Changed When Zhuo Linqiu heard the Green God Companys staffs words, he was dumbfounded. In fact, even Han Yifeng, who possessed an apathetic personality, felt a little dazed at the staff members words. After all, Shi Feng was initially only a pawn in their eyes. Yet, not only did he climb up to the same playing field they fought on, but he was now even actively competing with them. No wonder he didnt put us in his eyes. Realization dawned upon Zhuo Linqiu as he looked at Shi Feng. However, a moment later, a hint of mockery appeared on his face as he said, Its a pity he doesnt know that the contribution competition participants are just warming up and that the current rankings are only temporary. The Upper Zones contribution competition had been going on for many years now, and everyone mostly understood how it worked. Those intent on participating in a particular seasons competition generally wouldnt reveal their cards in the first two months of the season. This was because contribution points were basically trump cards for participants. Naturally, it would be best if participants hid their cards as deeply as possible and only revealed them at the last possible moment. Only then could these trump cards play a vital role. Moreover, there was an added benefit to accumulating contribution points in secret: deciding whether one would continue participating in a particular seasons contribution competition or not. After all, aside from time-based assignments, other forms of contributions could be reserved for future competitions if necessary. Since the contribution competition had been running for many years now, some participants had been accumulating contribution points for a long time. These participants were waiting for the fateful day when they would reveal all their cards, instantly securing one of the top three positions, and gain access to the middle layer. Meanwhile, the current contribution competition was less than a month along. Hence, the various participants were still testing the waters and had yet to seriously invest their contribution points. The majority of their current points were from completing time-based assignments the Green God Company issued, not from long-term assignments that could be turned in at any time. There were many instances where multiple participants joined hands to compete in the contribution competition. After all, unlike contribution points gained through completing assignments, points gained through other sources could be freely traded in secret. When a competition was about to end, participants who were close to the top three positions would often purchase the hidden points of other participants. Naturally, as Han Yifeng was aiming for one of the top three positions this time, he would also participate in this practice. The exchange rate would be based on the prices of the items sold by the Green God Company. Just do as I say. The Green God Company announced that the top 20 participants would receive a reward, so many people are trying to compete for the top 20 positions. It is only natural for the price of contribution points this time to be higher, Han Yifeng said, shaking his head. According to the information he had obtained, the Green God Company intended to further squeeze the various corporations for their wealth. To do so, the company had intensified the competition by allowing the top 20 participants to exchange for a limited number of items exclusive to the middle layer. Once this information spread, the price of contribution points would definitely increase. However, while a price hike was inevitable, the increase wouldnt be exaggerated, either. After all, there were only so many items the top 20 participants could exchange using contribution points. Beyond that purchase limit, whatever contribution points they had remaining would become useless. I understand. Zhuo Linqiu nodded and walked toward Shi Feng. On the other side, Shi Feng was currently ecstatic. Just a second ago, he had still been a poor bastard in the Upper Zone. Now, however, he had 5,000,000 trade points to his nameenough to purchase five ordinary housing units in the base layer. Of course, these points were still insufficient to purchase a large villa in the base layer. However, they were definitely more than adequate for his daily expenditure. At the very least, even after welcoming Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose into the Upper Zone, he wouldnt have to worry about their necessities. However, its going to be difficult to get another large influx of points. It seems Ill have to think of a long-term way to secure Seven Luminaries Crystals in bulk, Shi Feng thought with a sigh. Five thousand units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was a significant amount, yet it was only enough to get him 5,000,000 trade points and 50,000 contribution points. With just this many trade points and contribution points, let alone catching up with the top three rankers of the competition, he probably couldnt afford anything from the middle layer. However, for his present self, obtaining more Seven Luminaries Crystals wasnt much of a challenge. After all, he was currently in the ancient Gods Domain. The resources available in the ancient era were far more abundant than in the modern era. After verifying on his quantum watch that he had received the 5,000,000 trade points and 50,000 contribution points, Shi Feng planned to head for the Upper Zones entrance to receive Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. After all, this was the first time they were visiting the Upper Zone. Without anyone to guide them, it was very easy for problems to occur. There were many taboos in the Upper Zone. If they accidentally violated one of these taboos, there was a high chance they would be banished from the Upper Zone permanently. However, before Shi Feng could leave the exchange counter, Zhuo Linqiu appeared beside him. Guild Leader Shi, we meet again. Although Zhuo Linqiu felt displeased at Shi Fengs earlier attitude, as Han Yifengs butler, he still greeted Shi Feng politely. Master Zhuo, do you have business with me? Shi Feng asked calmly as he looked at Zhuo Linqiu. Inwardly, though, Shi Feng was a little surprised by this situation. Although he had expected Han Yifeng to seek him out sooner or later, he never thought that the man would act so quickly. Kerui had informed him about the ins and outs of the contribution competition, so he knew that those competing for the top three spots would secretly purchase contribution points from other participants. Now that he had just exchanged for 50,000 contribution points in one fell swoop, those seeking the top three spots couldnt ignore his existence. Chapter 2782 - Wealthy Shi Feng Double the market value? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he heard Zhuo Linqius words. According to Kerui, the transaction price for contribution points would reach 1.5 times the market value at most. Moreover, that was when the contribution competition was incredibly intense. After all, unless one entered the middle layer, it didnt matter how many contribution points one managed to accumulate. Yet, Han Yifeng was offering double the market value. Even if the Green God Company would allow the top 20 participants to exchange for three items from the middle layer this time, this was still a very high price. After all, the difficulty of getting into the top three was simply too great. Before Shi Feng looked into the current top three participants, he had still been confident of getting into the top three. However, after gaining an understanding of those three participants, all thoughts of entering the top three had disappeared from his mind. This was because those three people could instantly gain an additional one million contribution points if they grew serious. In other words, if he wished to secure one of the top three positions, he would need 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal at the very minimum. What did this amount represent? Even if he squeezed the Five Great Super Guilds and a dozen other superpowers dry, getting such a huge number of Seven Luminaries Crystals was impossible. Moreover, this was only the minimum requirement to compete for the top three positions. Hence, he had no choice but to wait for Zero Wing to grow stronger and set aside trying for one of the top three spots for the future. In the current competition, he simply had no chance whatsoever. Even if he was currently in the ancient Gods Domain, with its more abundant resources, the Seven Luminaries Crystal was still an incomparably valuable commodity. Moreover, its rarity was not the slightest bit lower than in the modern era. In fact, competition for the Seven Luminaries Crystal was intenser in the ancient era. From what he heard, the Interstellar Continents various powers were similarly purchasing Seven Luminaries Crystals at astronomical prices. Residents of the Interstellar Continent could exchange for living resources in the real world using Seven Luminaries Crystals. In fact, if one collected a sufficient number of Seven Luminaries Crystals, one could even get promoted from an ordinary civilian to a resident of the core area. Simply put, every player in the ancient era was competing for Seven Luminaries Crystals. On the other hand, only the major corporations based in Upper Zones were competing for Seven Luminaries Crystals in the modern Gods Domain. The competition over the crystals had nothing to do with ordinary players. In fact, it didnt even have anything to do with ordinary corporations. Hence, even if he were to contest frantically for Seven Luminaries Crystals in the ancient era, the amount he could get his hands on was unlikely to secure him one of the top three spots in the current contribution competition. Now, he would be satisfied so long as he could secure one of the top 20 positions, and he could indeed afford to sell a portion of his additional points. Thats right. Double the market value. Guild Leader Shi, you should be able to see Young Master Hans sincerity in this matter, Zhuo Linqiu said, chuckling. I can assure you that you wont find another person in the base layer who would offer you such a price. The Five States Corporation was one of the top corporations in the country. It had deeper foundations than even the Boulder Corporation, albeit by only a slight margin. In addition, the corporation even had a genius like Han Yifeng as its heir. It was only a matter of time before the corporation set foot in the middle layer. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng replied, I can agree to that price, but I have a condition. Han Yifengs offer would tempt anyone. After all, this was equivalent to receiving a 50% discount on the various products the Green God Company put up for exchange. For Shi Feng, who was currently severely lacking in the Upper Zones resources, Han Yifengs offer was heaven-sent. Condition? What condition? Zhuo Linqiu frowned slightly. In his opinion, the price Han Yifeng offered was already quite generous. He never thought that Shi Feng would want a foot after getting an inch. I want to settle the transaction using Life Potions, Phantom Potions, or the middle layers limited products, Shi Feng said. I will not accept anything else, apart from these items. Five million trade points were already more than enough for him to get by in the base layer; there was no point in getting more. Only the limited exchange items were of value to him. Particularly, the Life Potion and the Phantom Potion werent available in the outside world. Even if he tried to exchange for these items using his authority, he could get only five bottles per year. This amount wasnt even enough for his own use, much less sharing it with other people. This condition is too much! You should know that those items cant be bought even with a large number of trade points and contribution points! Zhuo Linqiu flatly refused Shi Fengs condition. Nobody in the entire base layer would satisfy this condition of yours. Whether it was the Life Potion, the Phantom Potion, or the middle layers limited items, they were all incredibly precious to the various corporations. No one would casually trade them away. How about I buy them at their original price? Shi Feng suggested. Shi Feng understood that he was indeed asking for a lot with his condition. However, this was also how negotiations worked. Only after both sides agreed on a price could a transaction take place. You Zhuo Linqiu fell speechless at Shi Fengs response. He felt that Shi Feng didnt understand his previous words at all. However, before Zhuo Linqiu could manage a response, Han Yifengs holographic projection suddenly appeared from Zhuo Linqius quantum watch. It is impossible for me to sell those items at base price. However, with my authority, I can sell some to you at double the price. This is also the lowest I can go, Han Yifeng said. Moreover, I believe that nobody else in the base layer would offer you a better price. That works. Shi Feng didnt feel particularly surprised at Han Yifengs counter offer. On the contrary, he found this outcome to be quite excellent already. The limited items the Green God Company offered for exchange came with fixed price tags, and residents with the necessary authority could exchange for these items at any time. However, as their description suggested, each resident could exchange for only a limited number of these items. If a person wanted to get their hands on more, they could purchase these items from other residents at a marked-up price. Moreover, even if one were willing to pay the extra cost, one wouldnt necessarily be able to find a willing seller. That settles it, then. Han Yifeng nodded. However, let me get one thing straight first. Every transaction we conduct must be valued at 50,000 contribution points or more. Otherwise, our transaction will be invalid. That wont be a problem, Shi Feng assured, smiling. He understood what was going through Han Yifengs mind. A sum of several thousand contribution points was most likely nothing in Han Yifengs eyes. Moreover, such an amount wouldnt be of any help to him in the contribution competition. After all, if the top three participants were serious, they could easily add a million points to their names. Hence, a transaction of 50,000 contribution points was most likely the lowest acceptable amount for Han Yifeng. Okay. So long as youve collected 50,000 contribution points, you can come and find me at any time, Han Yifeng said before disconnecting the quantum communication. After Han Yifeng finished speaking, Zhuo Linqiu turned around and walked away, leaving Shi Feng alone at the exchange counter. When Zhuo Linqiu returned to Han Yifengs side, he had a hesitant expression. Just speak your mind, Han Yifeng said as he looked at his old butler. Young Master, Im afraid the Old Master and the others will have big opinions about your decision to sell him those items at just double the price, Zhuo Linqiu said worriedly. After all, those items are things the corporation went to great lengths to accumulate. They are meant to serve as the foundation for the familys younger generations. Foundation? Han Yifeng suddenly smiled. Unless we enter the middle layer, the Five States Corporation will be nothing but ants in the eyes of those above. Also, we have failed to enter the middle layer after all these years. If we dont fight now, when will we fight? Moreover, the family has already promised to assist me with everything they have. If theyre not even willing to part with these items, how are we supposed to compete with the other participants? However, just Shi Fengs 50,000 contribution points wont change anything, Zhuo Linqiu said. I naturally know this. Shi Feng is only one of the small sources for me to secure contribution points. At this point, Han Yifengs eyes began glowing slightly. The old man has already met with the other corporations in the Upper Zone and made some promises to them. I believe he should have no problems securing seven or eight hundred thousand contribution points for me. Afterward, itll depend on whether I can complete the Green God Companys bounty. So long as I succeed, I am certain I can enter the top three! He was hell-bent on winning the contribution competition this time. Meanwhile, after Han Yifeng and Zhuo Linqiu left the exchange center, Shi Feng made his way to the item exchange counter. Compared to the contribution points counter, the item exchange counter had many more people lined up before it. After waiting in line for around fifteen minutes, Shi Feng exchanged for five Phantom Potions and five Life Potions, as well as five Strengthening Potions, which cost the same as the Phantom Potions and Life Potions. In the end, he spent a total of 75,000 trade points. In the outside world, that was already equivalent to 750 million Credits. The Strengthening Potion was considered the least promising product in the Upper Zone because it had only one function: the strengthening of the users physical fitness. However, residents in the Upper Zone would have their physical fitness automatically raised to a certain level, even without any training. If one combined this effect with daily exercise, they could elevate their physical fitness to astonishing levels. Hence, there was simply no need to spend 5,000 trade points to exchange for a Strengthening Potion. Nevertheless, Shi Feng naturally believed it was better for him to raise his physical fitness as quickly as possible. After all, the stronger his physical fitness became, the easier it would be to improve his brain activity. Often, when Shi Feng gained enlightenment and achieved a qualitative improvement in his techniques, he would find himself facing various problems stemming from his inadequate physical fitness. Had he been as fit as Han Yifeng during those times, he wouldnt have faced any problems at all. Hence, he felt that it wasnt a loss to spend 25,000 trade points for five Strengthening Potions. Not to mention, he could already be considered a wealthy person in the base layer. Its almost time to pick up Qingxue and Aqua. After taking a look at the time, Shi Feng promptly departed the Green God Tower and hurried over to the Upper Zones entrance. Two hours later, a levitating car stopped at a designated parking lot before the gigantic metal door serving as the Upper Zones entrance. Four peopleone man and three women-then alighted from the car. They were none other than Lei Bao, Liang Jing, Bai Qingxue, and Aqua Rose. As to why Lei Bao had come along, it was as a precaution. After all, many powers were currently targeting Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Liang Jing, someone with little combat power, was unsuited for going out alone. Hence, Lei Bao would usually accompany her whenever she left Zero Wings headquarters. Ordinary bodyguards would have little to no use against the opponents Zero Wing faced. So, this is the Upper Zone? Liang Jing was surprised when she saw the vast steel wall at the Upper Zones entry. Even Lei Bao was surprised by the sight. He never thought that the rumored Upper Zone would have such an appearance. Chapter 2783 - Era of Hegemony Upper Zone, entrance: While Liang Jing and Lei Bao were shocked by the sight before them, Shi Feng, who had been waiting quietly by the entrance for some time, approached them. How is it? Its different from what you imagined, right? Shi Feng asked, smiling faintly as he looked at the two. Their expressions and thoughts were exactly the same as his when he first arrived before the Upper Zone. Guild Leader, how is the Upper Zone? Liang Jing asked as she looked at Shi Feng. Is it as amazing as the rumors make it out to be? There were many rumors circulating in the outside world about the Upper Zones. Nobody was allowed to go near the Upper Zones without permission despite them being in the middle of bustling cities. Hence, while everyone knew of the Upper Zones existence, no outsider truly understood them. In fact, there was not the smallest piece of official news on the Upper Zone in the world. The information everyone knew came only from rumors. Lei Bao couldnt help pricking up his ears at Liang Jings question. To him, the Upper Zone was a place he never even dared to dream of visiting. After all, even world champions in fighting couldnt visit it. Its amazing! Shi Feng replied with a smile. Its even more amazing than the rumors make it out to be. The people inside can constantly grow stronger physically without doing any training. So, is it true that even world-champion-level fighters are not a big deal in the Upper Zone? Lei Bao asked when he heard Shi Fengs words. The fact that a place could automatically improve a persons physical fitness was simply unbelievable. This revelation thoroughly shattered his view of physical training. That rumor is slightly exaggerated, but its not far off from the truth, either, Shi Feng replied, not trying to conceal the truth. Even without physical training, the Upper Zones residents can still achieve a physical fitness rivaling Henglian masters. With some systematic training, their physical fitness becomes even more astonishing. Its actually such an amazing place? Lei Bao was shocked. He had undergone plenty of intense training to achieve his current physical fitness, yet the Upper Zones residents could easily accomplish a similar feat without any training. Who would possibly believe this? However, Lei Bao knew that Shi Feng wouldnt lie to him, so this inflicted an even greater shock. All of a sudden, Lei Bao felt as if he had lived his life for nothing. He felt as if all his previous efforts were nothing but a joke. Master Lei Bao, no need to be discouraged. Looking at Lei Bao, who suddenly grew disheartened, Shi Feng said, Zero Wing will also develop in the Upper Zone in the future. At that time, it wont be just Qingxue, Aqua, and myself who can enter this place. I will let many more people join us. Just like those international corporations, we will treat the Upper Zone as our headquarters! Although Shi Feng did not speak loudly, both Lei Bao and Liang Jing gasped involuntarily at his words. At the same time, a hint of anticipation and excitement flashed in their eyes. If anyone else had made this statement, they wouldve most likely treated it as a joke. However, Shi Feng was someone who constantly worked miracles, having single-handedly developed Zero Wing to its current scale. Moreover, he never did anything he was not confident of succeeding in. His declaration meant that he had some way to achieve this goal. Zero Wing will also develop in the Upper Zone in the future? Liang Jing couldnt help growing excited when she looked at the distant steel wall. If Zero Wing really accomplished this feat, it would truly become a powerful existence. At that time, even ordinary superpowers would be a joke to the Guild. Lei Bao clenched his fists in excitement and anticipation. He felt that his decision to join Zero Wing was the wisest choice he had made in his life. These three bottles here are Strengthening Potions. Liang Jing, take two back and give them to Fire and Violet, Shi Feng said as he took out three Strengthening Potions and handed two to Liang Jing. He then turned to Lei Bao and said, Master Lei Bao, you take one, as well. I believe that you should be able to go a step further with this Strengthening Potion. Fire Dance and Violet Cloud normally trained their physical bodies very seriously. The two of them also possessed incredible talent in this regard. Unfortunately, due to insufficient resources, their improvements had been gradual. With the Strengthening Potions assistance, their development would no longer be hindered. As for Lei Bao, he also possessed excellent talent. Unfortunately, as he had always been a lone wolf, he never managed to get his hands on any resources and could only rely on hard work. However, he had reached the point where he couldnt improve further through hard work alone. Although Shi Feng had previously given Lei Bao several bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, which allowed him to improve his physical fitness significantly, it was evident that S-rank Nutrient Fluids alone couldnt fully bring out Lei Baos potential. However, with the Strengthening Potion, Lei Bao might be able to go a step further and become a Half-step Henglian grandmaster. Meanwhile, if Lei Bao succeeded, then Zero Wing would gain an additional layer of protection. Thank you, Guild Leader. I wont disappoint you. Lei Baos eyes shone with gratitude as he looked at Shi Feng. He had heard of the Strengthening Potion before. This thing was basically treated as a divine item in the fighting industry. Just one bottle could allow a persons physical fitness to undergo a qualitative transformation. Unfortunately, the medicine was incredibly rare, much rarer than even the Life Potion. According to rumors, even grandmaster martial artists had difficulty getting their hands on a bottle. In fact, some grandmasters would even put their lives on the line just to get their hands on it. Yet Shi Feng not only took out three bottles but even gave him one. How could Lei Bao not grow excited in this situation? With this Strengthening Potion, he was confident that even if he couldnt become a Henglian grandmaster, he could, at least, reach a level where he could contend with neutralizing grandmasters. By the way, Guild Leader, more and more NPCs are appearing in Gods Domain. As a result, some superpowers have designs on the Secret Covenant Tower. In fact, theyve already clashed with us over a dozen times outside Sky Spring City. Currently, both sides have lost over a thousand Tier 3 players, Liang Jing said suddenly. Fortunately, Vice Guild Leader Illusory Words and Vice Guild Leader Unyielding Heart returned in time to preside over the situation. Otherwise, the consequences wouldve been unimaginable. However, the two of them believe that if this situation continues, their two Guilds are unlikely to hold back the various superpowers for very long. Moreover, some small Guilds have already begun disbanding due to the NPC population pressure. Many new NPC forces have also emerged in the various NPC cities, and these NPC forces are constantly harassing the local Guilds and pose a headache even for the various superpowers. Hence, the various superpowers are all trying to enter the Secret Covenant Tower, which doesnt have NPC intervention. Moreover, Im afraid that they will only grow more desperate as the NPC forces scale up their harassment. Shi Feng frowned upon hearing Liang Jings report on Gods Domains and the Secret Covenant Towers present situation. He hadnt anticipated that the NPC forces would actually begin taking action so soon. Moreover, with the NPC forces now taking action, the main continent of Gods Domain would enter an era where hundreds of countries fought for hegemony. To survive the upcoming chaos, the various superpowers would probably do everything they could to secure the sacred leveling ground known as the Secret Covenant Tower. I understand. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng looked at Liang Jing and instructed, For now, have everyone in the Guild avoid going out to do quests if possible Instead, have them focus on grinding in the Secret Covenant Tower and restrict their sphere of activity to Sky Spring City and our three Guild Cities. Also, have Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul hasten their exploration. It doesnt matter even if it increases the chances of the secret getting out. Our side will do the same as well. Originally, he thought that it would take the NPC forces another two weeks to take action. However, contrary to his expectations, the NPC forces had evidently completed their investigations already and made a move. Once begun, the NPC forces harassment would only escalate as time passed. It wouldnt be long before members of player forces would get attacked if they left the confines of towns and cities. Given enough time, NPC forces would even start launching attacks on Guild Towns and Cities, forcing the various Guilds to abandon their Guild Towns and Cities. This, in turn, would cripple the Guilds income and force them to disband. Okay. Ill contact them once I return. Liang Jing nodded. Shi Feng gave Liang Jing a few more instructions, such as secretly collecting the basic materials needed to construct the Small Mobile Fortress, then brought Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose into the Upper Zone. As for Liang Jing and Lei Bao, after looking at the three of them enviously for a moment, they promptly left in the levitating car. In the Upper Zone, Gentle Snow and Aqua Roses condition immediately saw slight improvements. Now, they no longer looked as cold and indifferent as before. The degree of mental deterioration they suffered also declined significantly. After they consumed the luxury set meals, which Shi Feng bought for 300 trade points each, their mental states even showed signs of stabilizing. They also no longer appeared indifferent to everything around them. At the very least, they display some interest in the Upper Zones matters. Occasionally, they even took the initiative to say a few words. Seeing the twos condition stabilizing, Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief. The environment here should sustain the two of them for a long time. The next step is to figure out a way to consolidate my standing within the top 20. After seeing Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose enter their respective Fearless Cabins, Shi Feng started planning how to earn Seven Luminaries Crystals in Gods Domain. Although he was currently ranked tenth in the contribution competition, the other participants had yet to take things seriously. Meanwhile, the competitions top 20 participants being able to exchange for three items from the middle layer presented a huge opportunity for the various corporations. They would definitely do everything they could to enter the top 20. If he wished to secure his position within the top 20, he would need 200,000 contribution points, at the very least, and possibly more if the competition was intense. After all, the various corporations had been operating in the Upper Zone for a long time now. The wealth they had accumulated wasnt something he could hope to rival. In other words, he was still short of 15,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals right now. This was an astronomical number, even for the Five Great Super Guilds. Afterward, Shi Feng drank a Strengthening Potion and Life Potion before lying down in the Fearless Cabin in his bedroom. Log in! Chapter 2784 - Tier 4 Upper-rank Antimagic Mountain Range, Deep Valley: At the Antimagic Mountain Ranges core area, the Mana was scorching hot. Individuals without 300 points in Fire Resistance would instantly die upon entering Deep Valley. In addition, plenty of Level 140 Great Lord ranked monsters occupied this place. Due to the environment, native Lord ranked monsters could exert power on the level of Great Lords, while Great Lord ranked monsters could exhibit combat power at the standard of Grand Lords. Let alone players, even Tier 4 NPCs of the same level wouldnt dare come here. However, a black shadow was currently flying through the flame-filled magma valley with over 100 Great Lord ranked Magma Colossi on its tail. All of these Magma Colossi were over ten meters tall. When over a century of them ran together, their footsteps shook the valley. The commotion continuously attracted Lord ranked monsters to join in the chase. [Magma Colossus] (Elemental Creature, Great Lord) Level 140 HP 1,950,000,000 It seems this is the most I can attract in this area. After a glance at the Magma Colossi and Magma Golems chasing after him, Shi Feng began chanting an incantation in midair. He had spent over a dozen minutes luring Magma Colossi. Despite his efforts, the group grew to just a little more than 100. Even the number of Lord ranked Magma Golems only hovered around 3,000. When he tried luring more, some of the ones chasing after him would lose interest and return to their original locations. It was evident that the Main God System did not want to allow Tier 4 players to slaughter these low-intellect Elemental Creatures freely. Hence, the system had granted them the instinct to remain in their respective territories. Meanwhile, as the Magma Colossi were about to get close enough to attack Shi Feng, he completed the incantation for Flame Domain and released it. Originally, Flame Domain was only an AOE Offensive Spell; its range and power werent comparable to large-scale destruction Spells. Even so, it still possessed incredible power. However, Shi Fengs Mana Domain, Mana quality, and the environment here had buffed Flame Domain to the point where it rivaled Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells. Even though the Magma Colossi and Magma Golems possessed high Elemental Resistance as Elemental Creatures, in front of absolute power, their HPs still fell rapidly. The monsters lost over 16 million HP every second. Moreover, the damage even increased by 20% every second. By the time Flame Domains seven-second duration ended, the Magma Golems were already in tatters; they had clearly fallen into a heavily injured state. The Magma Colossi, though, fared much better, as they had lost only around a hundred million HP and nothing else. If only I had a Great Wizard here! Just one Tier 4 Curse would be enough to deal with the Lord ranked rabble. Afterward, all I would have to do is focus on dealing with the Great Lords. Shi Feng felt a little frustrated as he looked at the heavily injured Magma Golems. He had been grinding for six consecutive days now, and he had basically wiped out the monsters in the Antimagic Mountain Ranges outer and inner areas. Now, he was left with only the monsters in the core area to grind for EXP. However, the majority of the monsters here were only at the Lord rank, and they awarded him with barely any EXP when killed. Moreover, they took the most time to kill due to their numbers. Fortunately, he had quite a few AOE Skills at his disposal. The Seven Luminaries Rings Flame Domain was especially helpful. Without these Skills, he wouldve collapsed from exhaustion just dealing with the Lord ranked Magma Golems. The next moment, after casting Flame Domain, Shi Feng followed up with Lightning Edge. This Lightning Edge was completely different from the Lightning Edge he had used in the past. When he executed the Skill now, it looked as if he had summoned a raging river in the sky, one that covered 200 yards. When the raging river flowed across the crowd of monsters, the weakened Magma Golems were instantly killed. The power of the Skill was not the slightest bit weaker than that of Tier 4 Skills. Lightning Edge was capable of exhibiting such power now because Shi Feng had already upgraded it to the limits of Tier 3. The Skills current power was worlds apart from when it was still at Tier 1 and Tier 2. Of course, the amount of EXP Shi Feng had to invest in the Skill was astronomical. This was also why despite having grinded for six consecutive days, Shi Feng had only reached 53% of Level 138. Otherwise, he wouldve long since shot past Level 140. However, Shi Feng didnt really care about losing so many levels. After reaching Tier 4, levels were no longer that important to players. For Tier 4 players, reaching Level 150 or even Level 200 was a simple task. After all, they could earn EXP many times faster than Tier 3 players. In front of a Tier 4 player, Great Lord ranked monsters that Tier 3 players had difficulty dealing with were no different from Common monsters. They merely had more HP and took more time to kill. Despite this being the case, during Shi Fengs previous life, one would often see Tier 4 players stuck at around Level 130, even though Tier 3 players had reached Level 145 already. The reason for this was simple. After reaching Tier 4, players would no longer gain significant improvements by relying on Epic Weapons and Equipment; only Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Equipment could help. Meanwhile, apart from obtaining Fragmented Legendary items, one other way Tier 4 players could improve their combat power by a large margin was through Tier 4 Skills and Spells. Hence, after reaching Tier 4, anyone with brains would search for Tier 4 Skill and Spell Books. This was especially true for Tier 4 magical classes. A Tier 4 Spell Book was more valuable than several pieces of top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment. Of course, due to the rarity of Tier 4 Skill and Spell Books, not all Tier 4 players would be lucky enough to invest their EXP into nurturing their Skills to Tier 4. Instead, most Tier 4 players would have to spend Legacy Skill Points to learn Tier 4 Legacy Skills. Such players would be fortunate to have three or four Tier 4 Skills in their arsenal. This was also why most independent players who reached Tier 4 would possess high levels, while the various large Guilds Tier 4 experts would have low levels. After all, the search for Tier 4 Skill Books required a lot of manpower. They were not items that could be found easily by relying on one persons strength. Lightning Edge was a Tier 4 Skill Shi Feng had obtained from the Titan Library. Previously, when he was still at Tier 3, he couldnt gain EXP rapidly. Hence, he had always left the Skill at Tier 2. Now that he had reached Tier 4, he naturally couldnt continue wasting the Skills potential. After all, the Titan Library was a place players could enter only three times in their entire lifetimes. In other words, players could obtain three Skill Books, at most, from there. Most of the players that had visited the Titan Library had left with Tier 4 Skill Books because the Tier 5 and Tier 6 Skill Books were not things ordinary people could obtain. Even now, Shi Feng was not confident he could get his hands on a Tier 5 Skill Book. After all, the higher a players tier was, the more challenging the trial they would face inside the Titan Library. Back then, he had managed to reach the librarys central area because he was only at Tier 2. If he had visited the Titan Library when he was at Tier 3, he might not have reached the central area. Needless to say, now that he was at Tier 4, his chances of success were even lower. Hence, unless he spent his Legacy Skill Points, he wouldnt be able to learn new Tier 4 Skills for the foreseeable future. This fact remained true even though he was currently in the ancient Gods Domain. Even during the ancient era, Tier 4 Skill Books were not common goods. Following this, Shi Feng spent around 20 minutes finishing off the remaining Magma Colossi. After he defeated all of the monsters chasing him, his experience bar had gone up from 53% to 66%. Unfortunately, while these monsters awarded a lot of EXP, it would be some time before they would respawn. Apart from the generous EXP, the core areas monsters also awarded much more lucrative loot. Just killing this group of monsters netted Shi Feng over 500 fire-attributed Magic Crystals, 4,000 ordinary Magic Crystals, and plenty of Epic materials. As for the rest of the items the monsters dropped, Shi Feng simply chucked them into his bag without checking. After all, it would take him a lot of time to inspect and organize all of the loot. To earn as much EXP as possible, he decided to ignore the items for now and have other people help him inspect the loot after he returned. as He had to admit that the benefits of reaching Tier 4 and grinding in high-level maps ahead of others were truly wonderful, especially in the ancient Gods Domain. Not only did he not have to worry about competition, but he could also earn resources by the truckload. Since he started grinding in the Antimagic Mountain Range until now, he had collected over 350,000 standard Magic Crystals and 43,000 fire-attributed Magic Crystals. Subsequently, Shi Feng continued clearing out close to half of the Magma Colossi in the core area. His level had finally reached Level 139 as a result. This was a level that even the ancient eras Tier 3 experts wouldnt dream of reaching at this point. With this much EXP, I should be able to upgrade Lightning Edge to Tier 4. After looking at Lightning Edges Skill Window, Shi Feng promptly chose to upgrade it to Tier 4. Shi Fengs level dropped from 139 to 136. The Skill had instantly devoured three levels worth of EXP. What a gluttonous fellow. Thank goodness I leveled up to 139 beforehand. Otherwise, I wouldnt even be at the average level of Tier 4 players right now. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at his own level. If he hadnt leveled up to Level 139, Lightning Edges upgrade wouldve taken at least four levels worth of EXP, dropping him to Level 135 or lower. However, the benefits he gained were correspondingly massive. With Lightning Edge at Tier 4, the Skill would finally blossom and reveal its true power. (Lightning Edge] (Action-type) Tier 4 Upper-rank (When Skill Completion Rate reaches 120%, the Skill can exhibit power at the Tier 4 Peak-rank.) Channeling time: 0.2 second Deals 1,200% physical and 1,500% lightning damage in a cone in front of the user. Initial coverage range is 500 yards. Duration: 7 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes Amazing! As expected of a Tier 4 Skill from the Titan Library! Shi Feng was astonished when he read Lightning Edges detailed introduction. It can already exhibit power at the Tier 4 Upper-rank standard even in its normal state. If I can execute it at 120% Completion Rate, combined with the Skills range, it is practically comparable to a Tier 4 Taboo Skill. As a Swordsman, most of his Skills were single-targeted-a huge limitation when fighting large numbers of monsters. However, Lightning Edge could now make up for this weakness. The only downside was the Skills relatively long Cooldown. Even so, it would be more than enough to inflict heavy injuries on monsters and Mythic Bosses. Just as Shi Feng was planning to continue grinding for levels, he suddenly received a message alert. The sender of the message was Solitary Nine, and the messages content was simple: Everyone has left their respective Legacy Lands already. Thats quick of them. Shi Feng smiled when he saw Solitary Nines message. Now that Ive resolved the problem of my deficient Skills and level, its time to head back. He activated the Seven Luminaries Rings Space Movement, teleporting toward Meteorite City. As Return Scrolls did not exist in the ancient Gods Domain, players had to rely on their own two feet to travel to NPC towns and cities, which was a great inconvenience. If not for him having reached Tier 4, which granted him the ability to fly freely, and the omnipotent Seven Luminaries Ring, returning to Meteorite City would take ages. However, perhaps that was why the ancient eras players did not surpass the modern eras players by too much in terms of levels despite the ancient eras advantages over the modern era. Twenty minutes later, Shi Feng arrived before Meteorite Citys entrance. Just like before, he could still see a ton of people coming and going Chapter 2785 - Differences Gradually Emerge Chapter 2785 C Differences Gradually Emerge Meteorite City, main street: As Shi Feng walked through the citys main street, he noticed a visible change in the citys players. The number of Tier 3 experts roaming the main street was around 10% more than before. While this increase didnt seem significant, if one street saw a 10% increase to its Tier 3 traffic, then the other streets shouldve experienced a similar increase as well. In other words, Meteorite City as a whole had gained a 10% increase to its Tier 3 player population. In the case of Meteorite City, such an increase meant that the city had gained over 100,000 more Tier 3 experts-a number that probably exceeded even the total of the Five Great Super Guilds Tier 3 experts. Aside from the Tier 3 player population, another evident change had also occurred to the citys atmosphere. To be precise, an atmosphere of tension and excitement now enveloped the city. Before Shi Feng could start looking into the citys situation, though, he overheard a conversation between several Tier 3 experts in a nearby open-air bar. Crap! My application actually got rejected! Im a Level 131, Tier 3 Ranger, for gods sake! Any other adventurer team or Guild would be more than happy to welcome me with open arms! Skyflare is simply too arrogant! a tanned, robust youth snarled. A Level 132 middle-aged man carrying a round shield shook his head and chuckled at the male youths complaint. Youre not the only one. The number of Tier 3 experts Skyflare is rejecting currently ranges between 700 to 1,000 daily. Less than 10% of those who apply at Skyflare actually get in. Moreover, Skyflares recruitment criteria are growing stricter by the day. Thats right. The present Skyflare is no longer the same as before. It already has four Tier 4 experts. Moreover, according to insider information, two of them managed to reach Tier 4 thanks to the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water. From what I heard, Skyflare still has plenty of Crystals of Souls and Soul Water, a Level 131, Tier 3 Assassin youth said, agreeing with the middle-aged mans words. I heard that one of those two newly promoted Tier 4 experts relied on only the Soul Water to get promoted, the middle-aged man added. The Crystal of Souls is incomparably rare, but its a different story for the Soul Water. Even Skyflares normal members have a chance to get a drop of Soul Water. Right now, if you lined up the people trying to join Skyflare, the line would probably extend from one end of the city to the other. I also heard that news of this has reached the neighboring cities Tier 3 experts, and many of them are already making their way to Meteorite City. Once they arrive, the number of Skyflares applicants will definitely skyrocket. If Id known something like this would happen, I wouldve joined Skyflare long ago. Even if I cant get my hands on a Crystal of Souls, I would still be able to get a drop of Soul Water and maybe get promoted to Tier 4 and live a good life in the civilian area, the Assassin youth sighed. The Skyflare adventurer team had recently raised its recruitment standards. Now, even ordinary Tier 3 experts wouldnt be accepted; at the very least, one needed to be at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard or Truth Realm standard to join. It seems Skyflare has recently developed quite a bit. When Shi Feng overheard the Tier 3 players conversation, he didnt feel particularly surprised. After all, the Skyflare adventurer team possessed a bunch of peak experts. In addition, unlike the modern eras experts, the ancient eras experts had long since regarded Gods Domain as their everything. The combat standards of the players here were far superior to those of the modern eras players. If not for the ancient Gods Domain lacking means of restoring ones Concentration, there wouldve been many more Tier 4 players roaming the world. After all, the ancient eras players had a massive advantage when it came to getting promoted to Tier 4. Afterward, Shi Feng eavesdropped on a few more conversations about Skyflares and Meteorite Citys current state. From what he heard, he understood that Skyflare was preparing to expand its influence to other NPC Main Cities, and it was recruiting the necessary manpower to do so. Once it had enough Tier 3 experts, it would most likely make a beeline for the neighboring Main Cities. As for the local player forces of those Main Cities, they would probably have difficulty stopping Skyflares encroachment. This was welcome news for Shi Feng. After all, the stronger Skyflare became, the easier obtaining all sorts of resources would be. After listening in on a few more conversations and finding no more useful information, Shi Feng went to the Silver Hotel. Silver Hotel, high-end room: When Shi Feng entered the room, he found Lifeless Thorn and the others waiting for him Of the five people in the room, three looked elated while two looked crestfallen. Shi Feng also noticed that the auras of the three had undergone a qualitative transformation. These three people were Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo. As the three of them did not wear a Black Cloak to conceal themselves, their Tier 4 life auras were on full display. Commander, weve let you down, Yan Ya said in a depressed tone as she watched Shi Feng walk over. Cleansing Whistle, who stood beside Yan Ya, was also gloomy. It was evident she felt frustrated over her failure to get promoted to Tier 4. No need to be discouraged. Getting promoted to Tier 4 has never been easy. Even peak experts have a high chance of failure, let alone your present selves, Shi Feng said in consolation. Moreover, now that you know where youre lacking, you can spend this time thinking of ways to address your flaws. I believe it wont be long before you two reach Tier 4 as well. Shi Feng didnt feel particularly surprised by Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistles failure. In fact, he wouldnt even have found it strange if Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine had failed. After all, the Tier 4 Promotion Quest truly was a difficult hurdle to cross, one players couldnt overcome just by relying on combat standards. It required players to comprehend Tier 4 Skills and Spells under time constraints. However, there was a massive difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 Skills. Learning a Tier 4 Skill to 80% Completion Rate within a limited period was an incredibly difficult feat. In fact, a large part of the reason why Shi Feng had managed to complete his own Promotion Quest was his extensive experience, having undergone it several times before. In comparison, Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle did not have such experience. Hence, their failure was very normal. According to past statistics, 99% of the various superpowers core members failed their Tier 4 Promotion Quest when they challenged it for the first time; most never reached Tier 4. Those capable of reaching Tier 4 had normally experienced two or three failures before succeeding, with some even having suffered five or six failures. Hence, Tier 4 could be considered an invisible barrier that thoroughly distinguished players from each other. It was also because of this invisible barrier that an insurmountable gap had formed between the various superpowers and ordinary powers. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Yu Luo nodded subconsciously in agreement, as she had very nearly failed her Promotion Quest this time. Were it not for the Soul Waters help, she definitely wouldnt have finished learning her Tier 4 Spell within the allotted time. Guild Leader, can Whistle and I remain here, then? Yan Ya asked Shi Feng. Unlike the modern Gods Domain, players here were not required to search for their Legacy Land when challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. They could attempt their promotion so long as they paid the necessary Magic Crystals. The only problem was that players who failed their Promotion Quest had to wait 20 natural days before they could challenge it again. This Shi Feng was at a loss as to how to answer Yan Ya. I cant say for certain. I dont mind letting you challenge your Promotion Quests again 20 days later. However, I honestly dont know whether you can remain here for such a long period. The old man did not say how long they could stay in the ancient Gods Domain. They also didnt know what would hasten their departure from the ancient era. Of course, they werent completely without options for leaving. Previously, the old man had said that if they drew the attention of the world of Gods Domain, they would be repatriated to the modern era. In other words, so long as they did something to make the world notice them, they would quickly be banished. One possibility Shi Feng could think of was raiding the Tier 4 Infant Dragon themselves, without Angelica Teresas help. Angelica Teresa was a historical figure in the modern Gods Domain. If the miracle of her slaying a Tier 4 Infant Dragon disappeared, the world of Gods Domain would most likely notice them. If even that didnt work, they could just cause a ruckus in the ancient era, such as killing important NPCs and affecting Gods Domains history. The world would definitely notice them then. However, Shi Feng didnt know when they could return to the ancient era again in that case. He also didnt know what kind of effects their actions would have on the world. Is that so? Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle couldnt help feeling helpless when they heard Shi Fengs answer. If they returned to the modern Gods Domain, reaching Tier 4 would become many times more difficult. After all, the task of searching for their Tier 4 Legacy Land was incredibly challenging Afterward, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo shared their experiences learning their respective Tier 4 Skills and Spells with Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle. At the same time, the three of them also sought guidance from Shi Feng regarding the combat methods of Tier 4 players. They were especially keen to learn how to utilize environmental Mana in combat. After reaching Tier 4, they finally understood just how massive the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 classes was. Particularly, the way they controlled Mana was completely different. As the first among them to reach Tier 4, Shi Feng naturally had a better understanding in this regard. After Shi Feng taught Lifeless Thorns group for half an hour, Skyflares commander, Lionheart, suddenly contacted him. In the ancient Gods Domain, if two players were too far away from each other, video calls between them would be impossible. At most, they could only exchange messages. The transmission of messages wasnt instantaneous, either. Depending on the distance, the transmission times would also vary. In the aspect of communication, the ancient Gods Domain was far inferior to the modern Gods Domain. However, it was this inferiority that made the ancient era feel more like a real world. Brother Black Flame, youre finally back, Lionheart said, a hearty look appearing on his face when he saw Shi Feng. May I know when we can meet up? We can meet up now. Ive already dealt with the matters on my side, Shi Feng replied, smiling. It just so happens that I need to discuss the previous matter with you. From Lionhearts expression, Shi Feng could tell that the Crystals of Souls and Soul Water were of significant help to the Skyflare adventurer team. Otherwise, Lionheart wouldnt have contacted him as soon as he returned. Okay. Lets meet in the Skyflare Hotel. Ive already prepared everything on my side, Lionheart said, smiling. I also have a big surprise prepared for you, Brother Black Flame. No problem. Ill head over now. Shi Feng nodded. He then disconnected the call and turned to Lifeless Thorn and the others. The three of you should get ready. Well be heading to the Skyflare Hotel in a moment, and we might begin the operation right away. In response, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo nodded without hesitation. They understood that they were what Shi Feng had been waiting for all this time. Now that they had completed their Promotion Quests, it was indeed time to take action. As for Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle, Shi Feng decided to let the two of them remain in Meteorite City in the hopes that they could avoid the worlds detection and challenge their Tier 4 Promotion Quests again 20 days later. Shortly afterward, Shi Fengs four left the Silver Hotel and made their way to the Skyflare Hotel. Chapter 2786 - Foundation Versus Foundation? Chapter 2786 C Foundation Versus Foundation? Meteorite City, Skyflare Hotel: Due to the arrival of Shi Fengs group of four, Skyflares executives had decided to assemble in full. As a result, the conference room serving as the meeting venue seemed a bit crowded despite being the size of a basketball court. Over 100 Skyflare executives filled the conference room, every one of them at Level 133 or above. Even the weakest among those present were at the Refinement Realm and Truth Realm standards. The number of peak experts exceeded 20. If Skyflare operated in the modern Gods Domain with such a force, it would be considered a top adventurer team that even the various superpowers would be wary of. After all, only the superpowers could match such a force; first-rate Guilds wouldnt even dream of accomplishing a similar feat. In addition, among Skyflares executives, five possessed incredibly strong life auras, proof that they had crossed the Tier 4 threshold already. Compared to the rumors floating around the city, Skyflare actually had one more Tier 4 player under its command. Of the three newly promoted Tier 4 players, one of them was the female Assassin Crimson Billow. The remaining two were both vice commanders of Skyflare. One of them was Blood Blade, a Level 135 male Berserker, while the other was Fated Fern, a Level 135 female Oracle. What do you think, Brother Black Flame? Lionheart asked when he saw Shi Feng enter the room. Pointing at the gathered Skyflare members, he chuckled and said, These are the elites of Skyflare. Are they to your satisfaction? They are indeed excellent. Shi Feng nodded in agreement as he scanned the crowd before him. Smiling, he asked, Is this the surprise you told me about, Commander Lionheart? Setting aside the five Tier 4 experts, just the 100-plus Tier 3 experts present already represented astonishing combat power. Many of these Tier 3 experts sported Epic items, with some even boasting Fragmented Legendary items. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the total number of Fragmented Legendary items that Skyflare had exceeded that of any individual superpower operating in the modern era. With such a well-equipped team at his command, Lionheart indeed had the qualifications to be proud. Of course not. Lionheart smiled, shaking his head. He then took out an ancient crystal from his bag and asked, What do you think this is? After a casual glance at the crystal, Shi Feng immediately revealed a look of surprise on his face. A Tier 5 Sealing Crystal! Shi Feng couldnt help doubting his eyes as he took in the dark-gray crystal in Lionhearts hand. Tier 5 Magic Scrolls were incredibly rare in Gods Domain because Tier 5 Skills and Spells possessed astonishing power. The requirement for sealing them in a Magic Scroll was incredibly high. Moreover, even if one successfully stored a Tier 5 Skill, one would be fortunate if the resulting Magic Scroll could exhibit half of the Skills original power. A Sealing Crystal, on the other hand, could perfectly seal Skills and Spells at the Tier 4 standard or above. Moreover, although Sealing Crystals were one-time-use items, they did not impose any usage requirements. Players could freely use the stored Skill or Spell at 100% potential. Meanwhile, the darker the color of a Sealing Crystal, the stronger the Skill or Spell stored inside. Since Lionhearts Sealing Crystal was dark gray, the sealed Skill or Spell was at the Tier 5 standard at the very minimum. Thats right. This is indeed a Tier 5 Sealing Crystal, Lionheart said with a faint smile. We got lucky and came across a visiting high noble from another city. After helping him complete an incredibly difficult quest, we were able to purchase this Tier 5 Sealing Crystal from him. I believe that with this Tier 5 Sealing Crystal, our operation will proceed much more smoothly. Indeed. If the Skill or Spell sealed inside is sufficiently powerful, it might be enough to land a heavy blow on the Infant Dragon, Shi Feng said, nodding. While it was true that an unrestrained Tier 4 Infant Dragon was on par with Tier 5 monsters, that was true only for the average Tier 5 monster. A Tier 4 Infant Dragon still couldnt stop Tier 5 Skills and Spells that were above average in power. Hence, this Tier 5 Sealing Crystal could indeed serve as a trump card in the upcoming raid. Skyflare will assist you with everything it has this time, Brother Black Flame. I have gathered all of Skyflares top experts. We have a total of 124 people, five of whom are at Tier 4. We have also finished distributing the teams. For the following operation, we will all listen to your command, Brother Black Flame, Lionheart said proudly. If you have anyone you wish to include in the team, you can freely make adjustments to the team, as well. I really have to thank you for this, Commander Lionheart, Shi Feng said gratefully. While he was somewhat confident of dealing with the Tier 4 Infant Dragon, he had never actually killed an unrestrained Tier 4 Infant Dragon. Hence, it wouldnt be strange if their team suffered annihilation. For the Skyflare adventurer team to give him its full support for such a risky operation required a lot of courage and determination. Nonsense. We are only helping each other, Brother Black Flame. If this operation succeeds, Skyflare will also greatly benefit from it, so how can we not give it our all? Lionheart said. If there are no problems on your side, we can take action at any time. Lionheart understood that their operation this time carried great risks. However, he had decided to go through with it not because he was betting on the low odds of success but to tie Shi Feng to his boat. Both the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water were of considerable help to players in completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quest. One example of this was Crimson Billow, who had failed her Promotion Quest before. After using a Crystal of Souls, she had completed her Promotion Quest on the second attempt. In fact, even Blood Blade and Fated Fern had mentioned that without the help of the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water, they wouldve most likely failed their promotions. Hence, Lionheart began placing even greater importance on the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water. Meanwhile, if he wished to secure a stable supply of these two items, he had to befriend Shi Feng. As for the Infant Dragon raid itself, Lionheart didnt really care whether it succeeded or failed. So long as he could tie Shi Feng to his side, he would make a profit. Theres no problem on my side. However, well need to reorganize the composition of your team, as I am going to add three people, Shi Feng said. Three people? Lionheart looked reflexively at the three people standing behind Shi Feng. At this time, the three people behind Shi Feng had concealed their auras and information using Black Cloaks. However, based on the appearances they revealed, Lionheart recognized one of them as Yu Luo, whom he had met at the Auction House previously. As for the two other people, they should be part of the group that entered Meteorite City with Shi Feng. What surprised Lionheart was that Shi Feng was actually bringing only three people for the operation. After all, they were going to raid an Infant Dragon, a creature known to be invincible against opponents of the same tier. Let alone a team of 100-plus Tier 3 experts, even an army of 10,000 Tier 3 experts might not be enough to defeat the Infant Dragon. Yet, Shi Feng was planning to bring only three people to the raid. Mhm. This is my first time visiting Meteorite City, Shi Feng said, nodding. Sorry for the poor display, Commander Lionheart. Nonsense. Since you wish to adjust the team, we naturally dont have a problem with it, Brother Black Flame, Lionheart said, shaking his head. He then invited Shi Feng to the team and passed the team leaders authority to Shi Feng. Afterward, Shi Feng inspected the teams statistics and assigned Skyflares five Tier 5 players to one squadron. As for the Tier 3 players, he divided them across six squadrons, with one squadron having 12 healers and the other five having none. Upon seeing Shi Fengs team distribution, Skyflares members were inevitably confused. If their squadrons did not possess a single healer, what would they do when they got damaged? While healers could heal players belonging to different squadrons, placing all of the teams healers in a separate squadron would definitely lower their healing efficiency. Due to positioning issues, the healers wouldnt be able to react immediately if players from other squadrons received damage. However, what Skyflares members didnt know was that Shi Feng had never thought about the teams Tier 3 players taking damage and losing HP. After all, if a Tier 3 player got hit by a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, even if it were just a scratch, the player would die without question. There was no need for a healer at all. Everyone in the healer squadron must prepare at least 20 Master Mana Recovery Potions and 20 Master Steel Potions. If you dont have enough, you can go buy them now. Ill pay for them, Shi Feng said as he looked at the 12 Tier 3 healers. At Shi Fengs words, everyone present gasped. A Master Mana Recovery Potion could not only instantly restore a players Mana to full but also increase a players Mana recovery speed by 150% for three minutes. With 20 Master Mana Recovery Potions, a healer could last through a battle involving hundreds of thousands of players. A Master Steel Potion was even more extraordinary. At this stage of the game, it was considered a divine lifesaving potion. When players consumed the potion, not only would their Defense increase by 300%, but their maximum HP would also increase by 1,000%. Although the potion only had a 15-second duration, its Cooldown was only 60 seconds. If every healer carried 20 Master Steel Potions with them, they would practically be immortal healers, so long as their potion stock lasted. Oh, I almost forgot. Every healer must also carry at least five Magic Scrolls holding Tier 3 Defensive Curses. It would be even better if you have a Tier 4 Defensive Magic Scroll, Shi Feng added. This Lionheart felt a little awkward when he heard Shi Fengs words. Brother Black Flame, I dont think there are even 20 or 30 Magic Scrolls holding Tier 3 Defensive Curses. Im afraid itll be impossible to supply every healer with five. Is that so? After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, If thats the case, have everyone bring at least one. Afterward, Shi Feng spent the next half an hour reorganizing and reoutfitting the team until he was satisfied. This should be enough. Looking at the items the team members carried, Shi Feng nodded and said, Next, we can start making our way over to the Dragon. Okay! Lionheart revealed a bright smile when he heard Shi Fengs words. He then turned to Wind Chaser and said, Chaser, go make the necessary preparations quickly. Understood! Wind Chaser nodded, aware of Lionhearts intentions. Their purpose in assisting Shi Feng this time wasnt to raid the Tier 4 Infant Dragon but to rope him to their side, as well as show him the power of the Skyflare adventurer team. Preparations? Arent we setting off right away? Shi Feng asked strangely. Brother Black Flame, you might not be aware of this, but that Infant Dragons location is far from Meteorite City. Even if we travel on Mounts, itll take us around three days to arrive, Lionheart said. Hence, for the sake of this operation, I contacted the citys high nobles a few days ago to borrow some Flying Mounts from them. Youll rent Flying Mounts? Shi Feng was a little surprised. He never thought that Lionheart would help him to such an extent. Cros me The Ghostfire Hills where the Infant Dragon had its lair was indeed distant. Even the shortest route there would require them to cross nearly 30 leveling maps, including some Level 140 to Level 150 maps along the way. Hence, reaching the Infant Dragon wouldnt be an easy task. In addition, Flying Mounts were exceedingly rare in the ancient Gods Domain, for some reason. They were so rare that no player in Meteorite City had gotten their hands on a Flying Mount even now. Hence, players who wished to travel across long distances quickly would have to rent Flying Mounts from the citys high nobles. However, to do so, one would first have to raise their Favorability with a high noble to the level of Respect. Meanwhile, in Meteorite City, the players eligible to rent a Flying Mount numbered no more than ten. Moreover, the rental cost was a whopping 5,000 Magic Crystals per day. Most importantly, players could rent Flying Mounts only ten times per month at most. Hence, the citys player forces would normally choose to rent Flying Mounts only for urgent matters. With so many people participating in the operation this time, Skyflare would have to rent at least seven Flying Mounts. In other words, Skyflare would use up seven of its monthly rental opportunities. Thats right. With the Flying Mounts, well need only half a day to reach the Ghostfire Hills, Lionheart said delightedly. In the entire Meteorite City, he was most likely the only person who would dare make such a generous move. However, Shi Feng shook his head in response and said calmly, Theres no need to rent Flying Mounts from those high nobles. Youll be wasting your rental opportunities. We can just fly there right away. Fly there right away? Lionheart parroted Shi Fengs words in confusion. Mhm. Shi Feng nodded. Smiling, he said, I have a Flying tool, so we can fly there right away. Theres no need for you to trouble yourself. After saying so, Shi Feng led Lionheart and the others to the Skyflare Hotels rooftop. Skyflares bewildered members followed after Shi Feng, trying to figure out what kind of means Shi Feng had that could fly their whole team to the Ghostfire Hills. After all, their team had over 120 people. It would take seven Flying Mounts just to transport their whole team simultaneously. However, as Skyflares executives were whispering among themselves, Shi Feng opened the lid of a pouch hanging at his waist. The next moment, a metallic behemoth over 100 meters in length emerged from the pouch, thoroughly blocking out the sky above everyone. Chapter 2787 - Unfathomable Black Flame Chapter 2787 C Unfathomable Black Flame A Flying Ship?! How is this possible?! Skyflares members gaped in shock as they looked at the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship in the sky, unable to get their minds around this scenario. This must be an illusion! Blood Blade declared, his eyes filled with disbelief. This must be fake! How can a Flying Ship appear in the hands of a player? In an era where players didnt possess even Flying Mounts, a Flying Ship was basically an item of legends. In fact, he had only ever seen Flying Ships mentioned in books before. Not a single Flying Ship had ever appeared even in a trade city like Meteorite City. According to rumors, only the Holy Citys patrol guards had Flying Ships, which they would use when they patrolled the human territories of Gods Domain. Flying Ships simply werent objects players could get their hands on. At this moment, let alone Blood Blade, even Lionheart was stunned when he saw the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. As for Crimson Billow and Wind Chaser, after briefly falling into shock, they turned reflexively to look at Shi Feng. Who is this Black Flame? This question continuously resounded in their minds. They had conducted plenty of investigations into Shi Feng and his entourage. After all, they were planning a long-term partnership with him, so they had to gain some understanding of him. Only, the more they looked into Shi Feng, the more they found him unfathomable. They simply couldnt see through his depths. Initially, they merely assumed Shi Feng was a Tier 4 expert from another NPC city. However, after they saw the effects of the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water he took out, they knew that they were definitely mistaken. After all, none of the neighboring NPC cities offered such items. From then onward, they felt that Shi Feng was someone extraordinary, potentially the executive of a major power from a distant NPC city. Otherwise, he couldnt have casually taken out such precious items. Not to mention, he also possessed incredible strength as an individual. This was one of the reasons their commander, Lionheart, wished to display Skyflares strength to Shi Feng and rope him to their side. After all, partnering with a major power of such caliber would be of great benefit to the Skyflare adventurer team. Now, Shi Feng even brought out a legendary item like the Flying Ship. They simply couldnt figure out his identity. At this point, the Skyflare adventurer team practically had exclusive ownership of Meteorite City already. Although Skyflare still wasnt comparable to large Guilds that occupied several cities, it could already be considered an overlord in Gods Domain. Even if Skyflare was still inferior to the various top Guilds, the distance between them definitely wasnt that massive. When Yu Luo saw the reactions of Skyflares members, she wasnt particularly surprised. After all, back when Shi Feng first revealed the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship in the modern Gods Domain, he had similarly shocked the entire world. Alright, lets head up, Shi Feng said before nonchalantly jumping onto the Flying Ship. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was an Advanced Flying Ship capable of carrying up to 130 peoplejust enough to accommodate everyone present. At Shi Fengs words, Skyflares members promptly snapped out of their daze. They then silently boarded the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship while doing their best to suppress the excitement and shock in their hearts, afraid of appearing like provincials to Shi Fengs group. Despite their best efforts, their suppressed emotions instantly exploded as soon as they arrived on the Flying Ships deck. After all, the feeling of overlooking Meteorite City while standing aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was simply wonderful. Just the fact that the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship was parked in the air above Meteorite City instantly made it the most eye-catching existence in the city. At this time, players and NPCs on the streets were gazing at the Flying Ship, their eyes wide with shock and envy. They also held heated discussions, curious about why a Flying Ship would appear above the Skyflare Hotel all of a sudden. The players, in particular, went into an uproar when they saw Skyflares members aboard the Flying Ship. However, before Meteorite Citys players could come to any conclusions, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship began gradually ascending into the sky. Afterward, it transformed into a streak of light and vanished from Meteorite City, even faster than the Flying Mounts available for rent. How fast! At this speed, we can probably reach the Ghostfire Hills in around a dozen hours, Lionheart exclaimed. He was astonished to see Meteorite City rapidly shrinking behind him. He had ridden Flying Mounts before. However, compared to the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, those Flying Mounts were significantly slower. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship is still alright in terms of speed, Shi Feng said calmly. However, while it is indeed slightly faster than Common Flying Mounts, it is still much slower than Tier 3 Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mounts. In terms of destructive power, though, it is comparable to Tier 4 Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mounts. Although Shi Feng had spoken very calmly, Lionheart and the others paid close attention to his every word, afraid that they would miss out on even the tiniest bit of information. Brother Black Flame, you mustve spent a lot of Magic Crystals to secure this Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, right? Lionheart asked after giving the matter some thought. The Flying Ship he was standing on was simply too cool. From Shi Fengs description of it, it was basically a tyrant of the skies. Anyone who said they werent interested in the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship would be lying. Quite a lot. Even now, my Guild has only managed to produce nine, Shi Feng said, nodding m Most of the materials the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship needed were relatively common. However, it was a different story for the Titan Silver and Magic Elven Stones required, especially the Magic Elven Stones. Despite having bought out all of the Magic Elven Stones on the market, Zero Wing had managed to construct only nine Crimson Dragon Flying Ships until now. Nine? Lionheart nearly failed to close his mouth. In his opinion, a Guild would be plenty amazing to be able to procure even one of such sky tyrants. Yet, Shi Fengs Guild had nine? Are you interested in the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, Commander Lionheart? Shi Feng couldnt help chuckling at Lionhearts astonished expression. I would be lying if I said I wasnt interested in such a treasure. While scanning the Flying Ships deck, Lionheart said enviously, If Skyflare could have a Flying Ship like this, let alone occupying multiple NPC Main Cities, even going up against the top Guilds wouldnt be a problem. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ships combat power might not be a big deal for Skyflare now that the adventurer team had five Tier 4 players, but the Flying Ships carrying capacity and speed were simply astonishing. With this Flying Ship, Skyflares teams would no longer have a problem leveling up. They could travel to anywhere they wished. Skyflare could even use the Flying Ship to ferry resources between cities and earn a ton of Magic Crystals. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the existence of just one Flying Ship could allow Skyflare to undergo a qualitative transformation. Skyflares executives nodded in agreement with Lionhearts words. It would be wonderful if their adventurer team could get their hands on a treasure like the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. In fact, even if Skyflare gained an additional dozen or so Tier 4 players, the value these Tier 4 players could bring wouldnt even be close to what one Flying Ship could bring. A faint smile appeared on Shi Fengs face as he said, Commander Lionheart, since you are so interested in the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, I can sell one to the Skyflare adventurer team. The instant Shi Feng finished speaking, every one of Skyflares members turned to him involuntarily. Shi Fengs words were a siren song; they couldnt help getting ensnared. Lionhearts breathing also quickened at Shi Fengs words as he sought confirmation. Brother Black Flame, is what you said true? Of course, but it wont be cheap, Shi Feng said, nodding In reality, part of the reason he had taken the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship out was to display it to Skyflares members and lure the adventurer team into buying it. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Lionheart answered with no hesitation whatsoever. Brother Black Flame, please state your price! So long as you are willing to sell this Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, Skyflare will do everything it can to buy it! Chapter 2788 - Illusory Flames Chapter 2788 C Illusory Flames While Lionheart agreed enthusiastically to Shi Fengs offer, Yu Luo looked at Shi Feng in surprise. She never thought that Shi Feng would actually be willing to sell the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. In the modern Gods Domain, Zero Wing was the sole Guild to own Flying Ships. Many superpowers wished to purchase one from Zero Wing, yet Zero Wing had rejected all offers. Of course, everyone could also understand that decision. After all, Zero Wing could reap more advantages by monopolizing the Flying Ship than selling it. If news got out that Shi Feng was selling a Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to the Skyflare adventurer team, the various superpowers operating in the modern era would definitely die of envy. However, what Yu Luo wasnt aware of was that Shi Feng had decided to sell Skyflare a Flying Ship because matters of the ancient era wouldnt influence the modern era. It was challenging for players of the modern era to visit the ancient era. And even if they managed to travel to the ancient era by luck, they wouldnt be able to stay for long. The number of players that could travel to the ancient era wouldnt be significant, either. Likewise, the ancient eras players would have a tough time visiting the modern era. It was unlikely for the two worlds to have any major interaction with each other at this point. To put it simply, even if he sold a Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to the Skyflare adventurer team, Skyflare wouldnt affect Zero Wings advantages in the modern era. Hence, he could trade some precious items to Skyflare without worry. Moreover, if Skyflare grew stronger in the ancient era, the adventurer team would also have an easier time collecting the ancient eras various resources for him. After all, he had neither the time nor the strength to establish his own force in the ancient era. In that case, relying on the local powers to secure resources was the next best option. Most importantly, the fewer the people that knew of the secret between the two worlds, the better. Otherwise, be it in the ancient Gods Domain or modern Gods Domain, he shouldnt think of living a peaceful life. Commander Lionheart, if you wish to purchase the Flying Ship, it will cost you 10,000 Titan Silver ingots, 1,000 Magic Elven Stones, and 1,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals, Shi Feng stated his price directly. For the time being, he could already secure more than enough Magic Crystals through exchanging the Crystals of Souls and Soul Water. Compared to Magic Crystals, he prioritized obtaining materials that were rare in the modern Gods Domain and Seven Luminaries Crystals. se rare Moreover, trying to obtain these rare materials with the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water would be difficult since Crystals of Souls and Soul Water were nonessentials. After all, they merely increased players chances of completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quest by a little. More precisely, the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water merely helped players complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quests ahead of time. In the case of players who never had a chance to complete their Tier 4 Promotion Quest to begin with, the items would be useless. This point was something anyone who had used the two items would know. Hence, while the various powers could accept using Magic Crystals, which were abundant, to exchange for Crystals of Souls and Soul Water, they would think twice if the requested currency was a strategic or rare material. After all, collecting these materials wasnt an easy task, and they were necessary for many applications. These materials basically served as the foundation of the various powers. That much? Lionheart frowned automatically when he heard Shi Fengs price. Although he had known that the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship wouldnt be cheap, he never expected such a steep price. Titan Silver and Magic Elven Stone were precious resources essential to the construction of many buildings and the production of important items. As for the Seven Luminaries Crystal, it was something all players and powers coveted. The Skyflare adventurer team had gone to great lengths and sacrificed many experts to occupy a small area that generated Seven Luminaries Crystals. Moreover, Skyflare still had to station over a thousand Tier 3 experts there to guard the area at all times. Meanwhile, the price of 1,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals would basically zero out Skyflares stockpile. Upon seeing Lionhearts reaction, Shi Feng said unhurriedly, Of course, this is only the first option, Commander Lionheart. You can also consider going with the second option, which is to let me invest in Skyflare and give me 5% of Skyflares income in the future. Five percent? Lionheart pondered Shi Fengs offer carefully. Honestly speaking, 5% of the current Skyflare adventurer teams income wasnt a significant amount. However, the story would change when Skyflare grew stronger. In the long run, the income Skyflare lost would definitely far exceed the price of Shi Fengs first offer. Commander, my suggestion is to go with the first option, Wind Chaser whispered as he looked at Lionheart agonizing over Shi Fengs offer. Although well be broke for some time after buying the Flying Ship, Skyflares value will far exceed those resources in the future. Now that Skyflare already had five Tier 4 players, its future was promising. Giving away part of its income for just one Flying Ship was unnecessary. The other Skyflare executives also looked toward Lionheart, their eyes clearly conveying agreement with Wind Chaser. Taking a deep breath, Lionheart looked at Shi Feng and said, Brother Black Flame, I chose the first trading option. Once this operation is over, we can conduct the transaction in Meteorite City. However, the amount of materials you need is too significant. While we have enough Seven Luminaries Crystals, I cant say the same for the Titan Silver and Magic Elven Stones. I dont think we can meet your demands even if we take out Meteorite Citys stockpile. We can, at most, fulfill 50% of your required amount. May I know if we can make up for the remaining amount using 100 top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment? This After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, Thats fine as well, but I will accept only Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. In Meteorite City, the total value of 5,000 Titan Silver ingots and 500 Magic Elven Stones was equivalent to 80 top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment, at most. Moreover, acquiring so many top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment wouldnt necessarily be possible. After all, while many NPC merchants in the ancient Gods Domain sold Epic Weapons and Equipment, there was still a limit. This was especially true for top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment. Their rarity in the ancient era was not the slightest bit lower than in the modern era. Often, acquiring these items meant raiding Mythic Bosses and even Superior Mythic Bosses. Bosses of such caliber were incredibly limited, and one would be fortunate to find even 20 of such Bosses within Meteorite Citys vicinity each week. Moreover, even if Skyflare now had many Tier 4 experts, raiding Superior Mythic Bosses still carried great risks. Lionhearts offer of 100 top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment to make up for the difference was definitely favorable for Shi Feng. Shi Feng understood Lionhearts reason for doing so. In fact, if he were in Lionhearts shoes, he would go with such an option too. After all, the risks that came with giving away Skyflares shares were massive. However, Shi Feng didnt really mind Lionhearts choice, either, since his initial goal was to obtain a large amount of Titan Silver, Magic Elven Stones, and Seven Luminaries Crystals. The second option wasnt actually a good option for him. After all, the number of times he could enter the ancient Gods Domain was limited. For Zero Wing, which was currently in dire need of resources, such a long-term investment wasnt desirable. This outcome was undoubtedly the best for Shi Feng. Moreover, exchanging half of the required Titan Silver and Magic Elven Stones into top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment was also a good deal for him. After all, the current Zero Wing hardly had any Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. With these top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment, Zero Wings executives would also have an easier time completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. That wont be a problem. Lionheart nodded. Simultaneously, he revealed a bitter smile. For the sake of purchasing one Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, he had basically emptied out Skyflares coffers. After this transaction, Skyflare would severely lack for not only Magic Crystals and various strategic resources but also weapons and equipment. However, despite knowing this, all of Skyflares executives revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces. They also continuously admired and inspected the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. It was as if they could already imagine the beautiful future that awaited Skyflare once they obtained the Flying Ship. The Crimson Dragon Flying Ship flew for a dozen hours or so. After passing through numerous large maps, it finally arrived at a dusky land. Despite flames burning everywhere, this land was heavily forested. As soon as everyone entered this map, they immediately felt their Stamina and Concentration depleting. In response, Crimson Billow drank a Fire Resistance Potion. However, she still sensed her Stamina and Concentration decreasing gradually and couldnt help feeling a little surprised. Fire Resistance has no effect on the flames here. At this rate, Im afraid well run out of Stamina and die if we stay here for more than a dozen hours. Normally, an increase in a persons Fire Resistance would allow them to counter all debuffs from fire. However, her increased Fire Resistance was actually useless here. This situation was simply unprecedented. e It seems that well have to move quickly. While sensing the changes in his own body, Wind Chaser said, Otherwise, well probably be annihilated before we can kill that Tier 4 Infant Dragon. Nodding, Shi Feng promptly commanded, All Tier 3s will remain on the Flying Ship, while Tier 4s spread out and search for the Infant Dragon. Once you locate the Infant Dragon, report back immediately! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Skyflares five Tier 4 players promptly floated up, ready to start looking for the Tier 4 Infant Dragon. Meanwhile, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo, who had been concealing their auras with their Black Cloaks all this time, also gradually rose into the air, the sight attracting the attention of Skyflares executives. Theyre Tier 4s too? Crimson Billow was shocked as she looked at Lifeless Thorns group of three. Although Shi Feng had already surprised her plenty of times, she still found it astonishing that the three players who had tagged along with Shi Feng were also Tier 4 players. After all, Tier 4 players were still rare in the entire Gods Domain. On average, a Main City would only have one or two Tier 4 players. Yet, it was revealed that not only Shi Feng but even the people following him were Tier 4 players. Since when were Tier 4 players as common as cabbages? It seems Black Flame has far more secrets than we think. Fortunately, we chose to partner with him. I really dont want to imagine what would have happened had we chosen to make an enemy out of him, Wind Chaser said, smiling bitterly. Yu Luo aside, Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine were part of the group that entered Meteorite City with Shi Feng. Now that three out of the group of five were confirmed to be Tier 4 players, it wouldnt be strange that the other two players were hidden Tier 4s as well. To think that we were actually planning to use force if negotiations failed In retrospect, Wind Chaser found their thoughts laughable. Subsequently, after Shi Fengs group of nine searched for about half an hour, Crimson Billows voice suddenly appeared in the team chat. I found the Infant Dragon! Its resting inside a cave in the southwest valley! Chapter 2789 - Dragon’s Might Chapter 2789 C Dragons Might In a cave on the southwestern side of the Ghostfire Hills After Crimson Billow sent the Infant Dragons coordinates, Shi Feng had quickly gathered everyone. Now, all 128 members of the team were sneaking deeper into the cave. The flames seem to be getting stronger and stronger, Yu Luo said worriedly when she sensed her Stamina and Concentration depleting at a quicker rate. Moreover, the burning sensation is also growing stronger, the deeper we go. At this rate, Im afraid the burning sensation will grow so strong that we wont be able to focus during the battle. Indeed. The burning sensation here is getting worse. Wind Chaser nodded in agreement. Under this burning sensation, Im afraid ordinary Refinement Realm experts wont be able to exhibit combat standards at the Refinement Realm. Previously, the illusory flames merely ate at his Stamina and Concentration. However, he now felt as if his whole body was scorching. Although the pain was subtle, it would still impact the performance of people with weak minds. Combat techniques, Skills, and Spells required precision control. Even a slight deviation could result in a massive difference in the combat power one could exhibit. After observing the environment, Lionheart suggested to Shi Feng, Brother Black Flame, this cave is indeed extraordinary. I think our best option is to take the fight out of the cave. Otherwise, well have difficulty exerting our strength. Im afraid that wont do. Shaking his head, Shi Feng said with certainty, We must finish the Infant Dragon in this cave. Moreover, this is most likely our only chance. Outside this cave, well have trouble even touching the Infant Dragon. Dragons were the rulers of the sky. On paper, fighting the Infant Dragon outside the cave might seem to be to their teams advantage. However, doing so would actually place their team at a disadvantage. This was especially true for the teams Tier 3 players. Without the help of special Skills, Tier 3 players couldnt fly by themselves. Hence, if they fought the Infant Dragon outside, the teams Tier 3 members would get sidelined. As for utilizing the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship to fight the Infant Dragon, that was simply a joke. Against a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, even an Advanced Flying Ship wouldnt last more than three or four hits. In fact, it wouldnt be strange if the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship fell after just one attack. After all, the Flying Ship was merely capable of withstanding the attacks of ordinary Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Its defenses would crumble instantly before a Tier 5 attack. Shortly afterward, Shi Feng and the others came across Crimson Billow, hiding underneath a rock. At present, though, Crimson Billow had a wilted expression on her face. What happened? Lionheart asked strangely when he saw Crimson Billows condition. Its nothing. Shaking her head, Crimson Billow smiled bitterly and said, Im just wondering whether we can really win against that Infant Dragon. Although it is an Infant Dragon, our team isnt a pushover, either. How would we know we cant win if we dont give it a try? Blood Blade said confidently as he looked at Crimson Billows defeated expression. Dont forget that we have nine Tier 4 players this time. That Infant Dragon is also only at Tier 4. However, after Blood Blade finished speaking, the cavern at the end of the road appeared in front of everyone. And a creature with a pale golden body over 100 meters long entered their sight. [Infant Golden Dragon) (Dragon, Mythic) Level 140 HP 112,000,000,000 How is this possible?! Everyone gasped involuntarily when they saw the Infant Dragons statistics. Even Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine, who had seen a Half-step Demon King before, were astonished. The Infant Golden Dragons stifling aura aside, just its HP of 112 billion was already plenty mind-boggling With 112 billion HP, the Infant Dragon would recover 2.24 billion HP every five seconds, or roughly 400 million HP every second. Even assuming each of their Tier 4 players could cause 50 million damage per second, after excluding the two Tier 4 healers, they could deal only around 350 million damage per second with the remaining seven Tier 4 players. Moreover, this was all under the premise that the Infant Dragon didnt possess a powerful Defense and wouldnt put up any resistance. Not to mention, the Infant Dragon before them was part of the Golden Dragon tribe. Its Bloodline was of a much higher purity than ordinary Dragons. Among the Dragon race, the Golden Dragons Bloodline was second only to Divine Dragons. Its no wonder they say Dragons are invincible among existences of the same tier. With such HP, even if we can survive this Infant Dragons attacks, I doubt we can actually kill it. Wind Chaser couldnt help feeling shaken. Although HP wasnt everything, it could still provide an intuitive gauge of an existences general strength. With how much HP the Infant Dragon possessed, it was easy to imagine how terrifying its Basic Attributes were. They were definitely at least two or three times higher than those of the average Superior Mythic monster of the same level. What did that mean? With an attack from a Superior Mythic monster of the same level, a Tier 4 player would still receive significant damage even if they merely defended themself. However, if a Tier 4 player tried defending against one of the Infant Golden Dragons attacks, they would be fortunate to retain a scrap of HP to keep themself alive. If they were unlucky, they would be one-shotted. In other words, if their team wished to fight the Infant Golden Dragon, they couldnt allow even a graze from it. Otherwise, lives would be lost. At this moment, Lionheart and the other Skyflare executives finally understood why Shi Feng didnt assign healers to any of the Tier 3 combat squadrons. After all, Tier 3 players would be no different from ants in the upcoming battle. They were insignificant existences that would disappear upon coming into contact with even the slightest shockwave. Hence, there was naturally no need to assign healers to them. An Infant Golden Dragon? Shi Feng also smiled bitterly when he saw the mountain-like Dragon before him. No wonder this quest was evaluated at the Inferior Mythic rank. This Tier 4 Infant Golden Dragons combat power reached the Tier 5 Intermediate rank. Even Frobero in his heyday wouldnt be a match for this Infant Dragon. In other words, the Infant Dragon simply wasnt an existence Tier 4 players could hope to confront. Possibly, only Tier 4 experts wielding Legendary Weapons and geared in Legendary Equipment could hope to defeat the Infant Golden Dragon. Otherwise, the best option for players coming across this Infant Dragon was to obey their instincts and flee immediately. Brother Black Flame. At this time, Lionheart couldnt help but look at Shi Feng and shake his head. Although I dont want to say it, Im afraid there really is no hope of killing this Infant Golden Dragon. After seeing the Infant Golden Dragon for himself, he finally understood that the records in books werent entirely trustworthy. After all, the Infant Dragon before him was many times more terrifying than what was described in the library books he read. It simply wasnt an existence Tier 4 players could hope to fight. At the very least, it is absolutely impossible for their present selves. Most likely, only Tier 4 NPCs would have a glimmer of hope. No, thats not necessarily true, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. A hint of determination appearing in his eyes, he continued, Were not exactly out of options. Its just that well need to gamble. Killing this Tier 4 Infant Golden Dragon was imperative. However, it wasnt just for the sake of completing his Inferior Mythic Quest, but because he couldnt continue staying in the ancient Gods Domain. After all, his initial goal in visiting the Earthfall Secret Land was simply to acquire the necessary resources for constructing the Small Mobile Fortress. Now that he had achieved his goal, he couldnt remain here, as there were still many things he needed to attend to in the modern Gods Domain. Meanwhile, killing the Infant Dragon before him was his best chance to attract the worlds attention and get the world to banish him from the ancient Gods Domain. Gamble? Lionheart was slightly surprised by Shi Fengs words. He simply couldnt see how they could possibly defeat the Infant Dragon before them. I will start chanting an incantation in a moment, and it will most likely cause quite a commotion. So, I will need you to erect a magic barrier now to prevent the Infant Dragon from noticing it, Shi Feng said, taking a deep breath. As for the subsequent battle, I will need you, Commander Lionheart, to act as support. Both Yu Luo and Fated Fern will be tasked with healing you. Nine, youll protect the healer squadron. As for the healer squadron, use everything you have to heal my summoned creature. Do not stop for even a moment. Summoned creature? Lionheart and the others were confused by Shi Fengs words. They found it hard to imagine that any summoned creature could stop the Infant Golden Dragon for even a moment. Despite their doubts, everyone still obeyed Shi Fengs commands. The next moment, over a hundred people each took out a Magic Array Scroll from their bags and instantly erected a barrier to isolate the tunnel from the cavern. With this magic barrier present, the Infant Golden Dragon wouldnt detect anything they did inside the barrier even if it was awake right now. Brother Black Flame, everything is ready! You can begin whenever you want! Lionheart said. Looking at the Advanced Magic Array, he couldnt help feeling a little heartache. However, to avoid disturbing the Infant Golden Dragon, they had no choice but to use it. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng personally verified that everything was set up correctly, he took out the Bible of Darkness and began chanting an incantation. Originally, he had not planned to use the Bible of Darkness. After all, the cost of using it at Tier 4 was far too great. He estimated that after a few more uses, his soul would get devoured by the Power of Darkness. However, if he wished to slay the Infant Golden Dragon now, he could only take the risk. Immediately after Shi Feng began chanting, the Mana inside the barrier gave off a bone-chilling sensationthe complete opposite of the burning sensation it gave off previously. Before anyone could react to the change, the barriers interior suddenly went dark. Everyone could feel endless loneliness, coldness, and despair coming from the darkness around them. Standing in this dark environment didnt feel the slightest bit better than standing in the Infant Dragons presence. As Shi Feng continued incanting, the Infant Golden Dragon slumbering outside the barrier suddenly opened its eyes as if startled awake. Its massive eyes then looked directly at the barrier-enveloped tunnel vigilantly. How is this possible?! Fated Fern, who was hosting the magic barrier, was stunned by this development. The Advanced Magic Array they used, Spatial Wall, could thoroughly isolate an area from the outside world. Even if a large explosion went off inside the barrier, nobody in the outside world should be able to notice it. Nonetheless, the Infant Dragon had clearly noticed them. What a despicable dark energy. Looking at the empty tunnel before it, the Infant Golden Dragon bellowed, It seems you humans have fallen as well! To think you would actually come seeking death together with a Demon! The Infant Dragons bellow instantly extinguished the Advanced Magic Barrier like a storm blowing out a candle. Simultaneously, the figures of Shi Feng and the others appeared before the Infant Dragon. Brother Black Flame? Seeing that the Infant Dragon had already stood up, Lionheart raised his shield anxiously. He then sent a sidelong glance at Shi Feng and asked, Are you still not done? The power of the Dragon before them far exceeded his expectations. Normally, even Mythic monsters couldnt destroy the Spatial Wall so easily, yet the Infant Dragon had accomplished this feat with just one roar. He simply didnt dare imagine how powerful an actual attack from the Infant Dragon would be. Im done! I made it just in time! Shi Feng said, a smile appearing on his pale face. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a dark void appeared in the caverns ceiling. A stone door even larger than the Infant Golden Dragon then fell out of this void. Before the players and Infant Dragon could react to this turn of events, the stone door gradually opened. Chapter 2790 - Heaven-defying Battle Chapter 2790 C Heaven-defying Battle The Demon Gate inside the cavern opened. However, when the door was only partly open, a cold voice suddenly came from beyond it. Shi Fengs group and the awakened Infant Golden Dragon shuddered involuntarily upon hearing this voice. A little golden lizard and a heaven-blessed individual Wait, no, youre not an existence of this world! Interesting! How interesting! Oh? The Bible of Darkness is actually damaged? Wonderful! This is truly wonderful! The demonic words that came out of the door echoed in everyones mind. Although the voice spoke in a calm tone, the aura escaping the door paralyzed everyone momentarily. The Infant Golden Dragon glared at the door in fear. A Tier 5 Demon King? Shi Feng was astonished when he sensed the frightening aura from the Demon Gate. According to his expectations, he would already be fortunate if he could summon even a Demon Prince. After all, the Bible of Darkness had yet to reach its perfect state. However, the existence behind the Demon Gate was undoubtedly much stronger than a Demon Prince. In fact, none of the Tier 5 existences he had come across thus far had exuded such a powerful aura. This book isnt suitable for a little guy like you. Give it to me! Only if it is in my hands can I truly descend onto this land! At the Demon Kings words, Shi Feng suddenly sensed his control over the Bible of Darkness waning, and the Bible actually started flying toward the Demon Gate. Seeing this, Shi Feng couldnt help being shocked. He never thought that a Demon could resist and manipulate the Bible of Darknesss power. Hurriedly, he used all his strength to wrestle back control over the Bible of Darkness. Stop wasting your energy, little fellow. I will be taking this damaged Bible of Darkness. However, you can also rest assured. Once my clan and I thoroughly descend upon this world, I will make sure to spare you! At these words, the Bible of Darkness struggled even harder to break free from Shi Fengs grasp. In fact, his connection with the Bible of Darkness was even severed completely, and the only thing he could do now was hold on to the book with brute force. Despicable human, you actually dared summon that thing here! the Infant Golden Dragon bellowed. Evidently, it had figured out the identity of the existence beyond the Demon Gate. I will not let you succeed! Die! After letting out a roar, the Infant Dragon suddenly widened its mouth. Immediately afterward, a threefold magic array took shape before it. Not good! Its using Dragon Breath! Everyone, dodge quickly! Shi Feng shouted, surprised by the Infant Dragons actions. A Tier 4 Dragon Breath would undoubtedly carry power at the Tier 5 Intermediate-rank standard. Let alone Tier 3 players, even Tier 4 players would die if they faced it. The only way they could survive this attack was to dodge it! However, the Infant Golden Dragon was simply too fast. Before anyone could react, the threefold magic array had already taken shape. The next moment, a destructive energy ball shot out of the Infant Dragons mouth, the energy balls speed and size making it impossible for anyone to avoid in time. Everyone could only watch as the Dragon Breath approached them. Its over Lionheart reflexively closed his eyes when he saw the approaching Dragon Breath that destroyed everything in its path. As for everyone else, they also revealed looks of despair and bitter smiles. Previously, they thought that they still stood a chance against the Infant Golden Dragon, albeit a small chance. However, after seeing the destructive power the Dragon Breath carried, they realized that any form of resistance would be meaningless. The only thing they could do was wait for death. However, just when the Dragon Breath was about to reach Shi Feng and the others, that cold voice came from the half-opened Demon Gate again. A little lizard thinks it can stop my descent? An illusory hand suddenly appeared out of thin air before Shi Fengs team and caught the approaching energy ball. The giant hand then squeezed the energy ball, shattering it into countless dispersing particles of light. How is this possible?! Everyone was thunderstruck by this scene. The Dragon Breath that carried such devastating power had actually been stopped so easily. They couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful the Demon behind the Demon Gate was. However, despite this sudden turn of events, Shi Fengs complexion did not improve. On the contrary, it even turned gloomier instead. Despite being only halfway summoned, the summoned Demon King could already exert enough strength to block a Tier 4 Dragon Breath casually. The Demon Kings strength was definitely at the Tier 5 Peak rank. This meant that the existence beyond the Demon Gate wasnt just an ordinary Tier 5 Demon King. It was a Tier 5 Great Demon King! If Shi Feng allowed a Great Demon King to descend onto Gods Domain, even if it was the ancient Gods Domain, it would still spell disaster for the entire continent. reco However, before Shi Feng and the others could recover from their surprise, the Infant Golden Dragon suddenly appeared above them. At this time, golden runes covered its body, and the aura it exuded was significantly stronger than before. It can still become stronger? When Shi Feng looked at the Infant Golden Dragon in the air, he was genuinely shocked for the first time in a long while. After all, the Infant Golden Dragon was much stronger than he expected. Comparable to Tier 5 existences? What a joke. The aura and power the Infant Golden Dragon currently displayed had already more than doubled. It was definitely much stronger than ordinary Tier 5 existences. In fact, he doubted he could survive one attack from it even if he activated his Berserk Skill. Despicable Demon, you cant use your full strength while behind that door. I refuse to believe you can keep blocking my attacks! So long as your summoner dies, you will have to remain in that endless abyss forever! The Infant Golden Dragon glared at the Demon Gate, a hint of disdain and mockery in its eyes. It then opened its mouth and launched another Dragon Breath. This Dragon Breath was much more terrifying than before. As soon as the Infant Dragon inhaled, Shi Feng and the others sensed the Mana within the cavern disappear completely. In addition, the Tier 3 players even had their Mana rapidly sucked from their bodies. And although the Tier 4 players managed to prevent their Mana from getting plundered, their ability to manipulate Mana was greatly hindered. Now, they couldnt even exhibit half of their usual combat power. This is that Infant Dragons true strength? Blood Blade fell into despair as he looked at the massive figure in the air. Seeing it now, he couldnt help but find their previous notion of challenging the Tier 4 Infant Dragon laughable. The Infant Golden Dragon was much stronger than what its HP portrayed. It simply wasnt an existence Tier 4 players could hope to challenge. This moment drove home to Shi Feng why the quest he received was of the Inferior Mythic rank. He also understood why humans capable of slaying Dragons were highly praised in Gods Domain. It would already be a miracle if a human could fight a Dragon of the same tier and level to a standstill, let alone kill one. This was especially true for Dragons that had reached Tier 4 or above. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to refer to such a feat as a myth. Roar! Accompanied by a deafening roar, a dazzling energy sphere carrying devastating power descended toward the team. Little lizard, you have truly angered me now! The Infant Golden Dragons efforts to prevent the Great Demon King beyond the Demon Gate from descending enraged him. Suddenly, boundless Power of Darkness flooded out of the Demon Gate. A gigantic hand five times larger than the one before emerged from the ground. The hand was so massive that the Infant Dragon looked like a toy in comparison. Boom! Not only did the gigantic hand shatter the Dragon Breath instantly, but it even grabbed the Infant Dragon. And despite the Infant Dragon struggling desperately to break free, the giant hand remained unfazed as it smashed the Infant Dragon into the ground. Boom! A crater with a radius of 1,000 yards and a depth of 100 meters appeared on the cavern floor. Apart from the Tier 4 players and the Tier 3 healers, who had consumed Master Steel Potions, the other players in the cavern were instantly killed by the resulting shockwave. Although Shi Feng and the Tier 4 players remained alive, they had lost over two-thirds of their HPs. As for the surviving healers, their HPs had also fallen to a critical level; they had very nearly lost their lives. Meanwhile, after the dust in the vast cavern dissipated, the giant hand was nowhere in sight. The only thing in the crater was the Infant Golden Dragon. Presently, however, the Infant Dragon had both its wings broken, with blood flowing out from all over its body. Its life aura had also weakened significantly, and its HP had even fallen to just 63%. Given the Infant Dragons current state, it was evident that the Great Demon Kings attack had heavily injured it. How strong! So, this is the strength of a Tier 5 Great Demon King? Shi Feng was dumbfounded by this outcome. The Infant Golden Dragon had put its all into the last attack, and the attacks power had definitely reached the Tier 5 Advanced-rank standard. Yet, it still suffered a brutal beating. The difference in strength between the Infant Dragon and Great Demon King was clear for all to see. In fact, if not for the Demon Gate severely dampening the Great Demon Kings strength, the Infant Dragon wouldve most likely died from that one attack. Meanwhile, after the Great Demon King executed this attack, his control over the Bible of Darkness had also weakened significantly. At the very least, Shi Feng could now sense a connection between him and the Bible of Darkness. Shi Feng hurriedly canceled the summoning. Previously, due to the severance of his connection with the Bible of Darkness, he couldnt stop the summoning even if he wanted to. However, now that he had recovered a small portion of control over the Bible of Darkness, he could cancel the summoning. As for the cost of forcibly canceling the summoning, he couldnt care less about it right now. After all, if he allowed a Tier 5 Great Demon King to descend onto the continent, only death awaited him. Moreover, the cost of this death wouldnt just be a loss of one or two levels. Instead, his body might very well end up a puppet of the Great Demon King, and he would have no choice but to re-train a new account. Hence, he absolutely couldnt let the Great Demon King exit the Demon Gate, even if doing so would leave himself in a weakened state. You damned heaven-blessed individual! I will make you pay a heavy price the next time we meet! Upon seeing the Demon Gate closing, the Great Demon King bellowed angrily and repeatedly attacked the door, causing it to tremble violently. Fortunately, the Demon Gate was sufficiently powerful. No matter how much the Great Demon King assailed it, the Demon Gate continued closing at a steady pace. Finally, 20 seconds later, the Demon Gate closed and disappeared from this space, leaving behind only the heavily injured Infant Golden Dragon and Shi Fengs team in the cavern. Brother Black Flame, what should we do now? Lionheart asked in an uncertain voice after seeing the Demon Gate disappear. He didnt know whether they should flee or try to kill the Infant Golden Dragon while it was heavily injured. Although the Infant Dragon was significantly weaker than before, it was still much stronger than Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Is there even a need to ask? Looking at the Infant Dragon that was struggling to stand up, Shi Feng said in a determined tone, Now is our only chance to slay this Infant Dragon. With our strength, we cant defeat it in its peak state. Dont tell me youre willing to miss out on such an opportunity, Commander Lionheart? At Shi Fengs words, Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine nodded in agreement. If the Infant Golden Dragon wasnt heavily injured, killing it with their present strength was nigh impossible. Only Tier 5 players could possibly go up against it. I guess youre right. As Lionheart looked at the Infant Golden Dragon, a trace of determination also appeared in his eyes. He then said, Since thats the case, lets kill it before it recovers! After saying so, Lionheart raised his shield and led the charge against the Infant Golden Dragon, with all the other Tier 4s-except for Shi Feng-following close at his heels. Chapter 2791 - Infant Golden Dragon’s Fall Chapter 2791 C Infant Golden Dragons Fall Insignificant humans! Do you think you can insult me just because I am heavily injured? When the Infant Golden Dragon saw Lionheart and the other Tier 45 charging toward it, anger flared in its amber pupils, and it let loose a deafening roar. A shockwave immediately spread from the Infant Dragon to its surroundings. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of collisions echoed throughout the cavern as Lionheart and the others got hit by the shockwave. Aside from Lionheart and Solitary Nine, everyone else on the team went flying back several dozen meters, a stinging pain washing through their bodies. They also lost over two million HP from the attack. Lifeless Thorn and the others, who only had around six million HP, had basically lost one-third of their HPs to the shockwave. Its still so strong even after getting injured?! Everyone gasped when they saw their own HP bar. The Infant Golden Dragon was clearly extremely weakened right now, yet it still managed to inflict so much damage with only its roar. Its strength was simply terrifying! At this time, even Shi Feng was stunned by this situation. In addition to its heavy injuries, the Infant Dragon was also suffering from the Heavenly Dragons Breaths suppression. Otherwise, everyone wouldve most likely lost over half of their HP from the shockwave. Tier 3 healers, keep up! Restore the damage dealers HP with everything youve got! Dont stop even for a moment! Shi Feng, who was currently incapacitated due to the backlash from forcibly canceling the Demon Summoning, hurriedly issued commands across the distance. Yu Luo and Fated Fern, you two prioritize healing Lionheart and Nine! Make sure their HPs are full at all times! At Shi Fengs command, Fated Fern, a Tier 4 Oracle, swung her staff and double-cast two Tier 3 Curses. Tier 3 Defensive Curse, Contract Barrier! Tier 3 Strengthening Curse, Heavenly Gods Prayer! Immediately, a translucent barrier formed around the bodies of Lionheart and Solitary Nine. Simultaneously, divine runes appeared on the bodies of everyone on the team, doubling everyones Resistances and Defense and increasing everyones physique by 20% for 20 minutes. She even has a Tier 3 AOE Strengthening Curse? Shi Feng was surprised as he looked at Fated Fern Strengthening Spells were incredibly rare in Gods Domain. In fact, they were ten times rarer than ordinary Curses of the same tier. This was especially true for AOE Strengthening Spells. The value of such a Spell was practically equivalent to a Fragmented Legendary item. In his previous life, any player who wielded Strengthening Spells would receive the VIP treatment from the various superpowers. This was because, unlike Berserk Skills, Strengthening Spells had short Cooldowns and long durations. An AOE Strengthening Spell could elevate a teams combat power to a whole other level. In the past, one of the reasons Violet Cloud was recognized as one of the Ten Great Cleric Gods was her possession of many AOE Strengthening Spells. This prompted the various superpowers to desperately seek her. As far as Shi Feng knew, nobody in the modern Gods Domain had gained a Strengthening Spell even now. Yet, not only did Fated Fern possess a Strengthening Spell, but it was even of the AOE variety. How could he not be surprised by this situation? Meanwhile, after Fated Fern cast Heavenly Gods Prayer, the teams overall combat power evidently rose by a slight margin. Good! Lets continue! After seeing the barrier protecting his body, Lionheart charged forward once more. This time, the Infant Dragon no longer attacked with its roar. Instead, it swept its tail at the approaching players. However, despite seeing the tail that shattered even space itself bearing down on him, Lionheart did not back away. Instead, he raised his shield and stood his ground. He then activated the Tier 3 Defensive Skill, Blood Cloud. A crimson barrier appeared before his body, one capable of absorbing six attacks. Although the barrier could fully nullify only attacks at the Tier 4 standard and below, it could still diminish the damage of Tier 5 attacks. Boom! The Blood Cloud instantly exploded upon coming into contact with the Infant Dragons tail. However, thanks to the Blood Cloud dampening the blow, Lionheart only stumbled two steps backward and lost a little over six million HP. For Lionheart, who had already reached Level 137 and possessed 17.2 million HP, this amount of damage was still tolerable. Upon seeing that Lionheart could take on the Infant Dragons attacks, everyone else on the team breathed out a sigh of relief and began assaulting the Infant Dragon. Blood Blade used his Tier 4 Legacy Skill Storm Dance! Lifeless Thorn also used his Tier 4 Legacy Skill Lightning Serpent! Tier 4 Skills and Spells bombarded the Infant Dragons body one after another, every one of them dealing over 50 million damage, with some even doing over 100 million critical damage. However, compared to the Infant Dragons remaining 60 billion HP, this amount of damage appeared minuscule. Is the damage still not enough? Shi Feng frowned when he saw the result of the frenzied barrage. Apart from Lionheart, the five other Tier 4 players fighting were currently attacking the Infant Dragon with everything they had. Yet, the damage they caused just barely exceeded the Infant Dragons battle recovery. Moreover, this was with the Infant Dragons battle recovery halved due to its heavy injuries. The Tier 3 healers healing from a distance also couldnt help growing anxious in this situation. At this rate, their team would need more than an hour to finish the battle. Meanwhile, one hour was definitely more than enough for the Infant Golden Dragon to recover from its injuries. If that happened, they would be doomed. Lionheart and the others were also aware of the situation. However, this was already the best they could do. Although they could activate their Berserk Skills to raise their damage output temporarily, doing so would be meaninglessand would prompt the Infant Dragon to enter its berserk phase earlier. At that time, without their Berserk Skills, they would be utterly incapable of defending against the Infant Dragons attacks. Do any of you have Combat Resurrection? Shi Feng asked the 12 Tier 3 healers behind him. In the ancient Gods Domain, ordinary resurrection methods couldnt resurrect players on the spot. One special type of resurrection method could. However, the player resurrected through this method would suffer a higher death penalty. I do! Eight of the Tier 3 healers responded to Shi Fengs question. Good! Go and resurrect the eight players with the highest Strength! Shi Feng breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw how many responses he received. The next moment, the eight healers with Combat Resurrection resurrected eight of Skyflares fallen members. Take these spears and divide them among yourselves. After looking at the eight resurrected players, Shi Feng took out the 600-plus Thunder Spears stored in his bag. Drink a Master Strength Potion and activate your Berserk Skills. Afterward, use everything you have to throw these spears at the Infant Dragon! Its best if you can use up all these spears before your Berserk Skills run out! Dont hold back! Yes, sir! The eight players nodded, fully understanding Shi Fengs intentions. As Tier 3 melee players, they couldnt even be considered cannon fodder in front of the Tier 4 Infant Dragon. After all, if they tried moving up close to the Dragon, they would instantly die to any random roar. The only way they could contribute to the raid was by relying on external items. Only then would they have a chance of dealing damage to the Infant Dragon. The eight players consumed the Master Strength Potions they had prepared beforehand, which increased their Strength Attribute by 70% for three minutes. They then activated their respective Berserk Skills, further improving their Basic Attributes. In terms of Strength, the eight of them could already rival Mythic monsters of the same level. After seeing the Infant Dragon swing its tail, exposing its back, Shi Feng ordered, Attack! Aim at the Dragons injuries or the reverse scale on its back! At Shi Fengs command, the eight melee players promptly threw the Thunder Spears they held with all their might. Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh The next moment, eight lightning arcs cut through space and landed on the Infant Dragons injuries and reverse scale. Roar! The Infant Dragon roared in pain at the attacks. Simultaneously, damages exceeding 50 million appeared above its head one after another. There was even one critical hit that dealt over 130 million damage. The eight melee players attacks were not the slightest bit weaker than those of Lifeless Thorn and the other Tier 4 combatants; only the frequency of their attacks was slightly inferior. Good! Next volley! Seeing that the attacks were highly effective, Shi Feng promptly called for another attack. In response, the eight melee players each took out another Thunder Spear and hurled the weapons at the Infant Dragon. When the attacks connected, the Infant Dragons HP bar finally shrank, albeit slightly. As expected of the commander! We have a chance now! Solitary Nine couldnt help growing excited when he saw the rate of the Infant Dragons HP decrease accelerating. Crimson Billow, who was frantically attacking the Infant Dragon, looked toward Shi Feng in surprise despite herself. He still has a trump card? She never thought that Shi Feng could actually add eight more Tier 4 combatants to the fight. Now, with their damage output, killing the Infant Dragon within a short period was entirely possible. The Infant Golden Dragons HP continuously decreased over time. 60% 40% 30% The speed at which the Infant Dragon lost HP was nothing like before. Only, in exchange for this boost in DPS, the supply of Thunder Spears declined rapidly. In just two minutes, the eight Tier 3 players had already used up more than 400 Thunder Spears. Everyone, be careful! Its going berserk! Shi Feng warned when he saw that the Infant Dragons HP bar had fallen to a critical level. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the Infant Dragon suddenly let out an angry roar. Simultaneously, the Dragons body gave off a dazzling, golden glow, and its eyes turned bloodshot. It had evidently entered a berserk state. Alright! Since Brother Black Flame has let us see his cards, lets show him ours as well! Glancing at Fated Fern, Lionheart shouted, Fern, its your turn now! Leave it to me! Fated Fern smiled. She then took out the Tier 5 Sealing Crystal from her bag and began chanting an incantation. Immediately, as if time had frozen, silence fell over the entire cavern. The only exception to this phenomenon was the gradually shattering crystal in Fated Ferns hand. Before the Infant Golden Dragon could smash its claw at Lionheart, a magic spear several hundred meters long suddenly appeared above the Infant Dragon and struck its head. Tier 5 Spell, Destruction Spear! Boom! The Infant Dragons titanic body instantly collapsed to the ground, the impact creating a crater several dozen meters deep. The space surrounding the crater even turned into a dark void. The next moment, a damage value exceeding 10 billion appeared above the Infant Dragons head. In addition, not only did the Infant Dragons berserk state get interrupted, but the Infant Dragon was even powerless to push itself off the ground. The power of the Destruction Spear stupefied everyone present. Even Shi Feng never thought that the Sealing Crystal would hold such a powerful Spell. The Destruction Spear was just slightly inferior to the Great Demon Kings attack from before. Good! Everyone, attack with everything youve got! Shi Feng shouted. Ignoring the fact that he was still in a weakened state, he activated Power of Darkness, which allowed him to move his body. He then charged straight at the incapacitated Infant Dragon. As for everyone else, they, too, activated their Berserk Skills at Shi Fengs command, instantly doubling their Basic Attributes. Damages exceeding 100 million appeared above the Infant Dragons head one after another. 10% 6% 3% Just as the Infant Dragon was about to recover from its incapacitated state, Shi Feng activated Divine Providence before using his strongest trump card. Tier 3 Skill, Blade Awakening! Tier 4 Skill, Lightning Edge! The next moment, Shi Feng, who had entered a transcendent state, brandished the Abyssal Blade. A river of light then descended upon the Infant Golden Dragons body. -135,474,514! -129,435,471! -264,854,214 A series of damages exceeding 100 million appeared above the Infant Golden Dragons head in rapid succession, the attack thoroughly plundering its remaining HP. Chapter 2792 - Astonishing Harvest! Chapter 2792 C Astonishing Harvest! The Infant Golden Dragon uttered a mournful cry as its titanic body crashed to the ground. Subsequently, an unprecedented silence descended on the cavern. We did it! We succeeded! Everyone heaved a deep sigh of relief when they looked at the Infant Dragons corpse lying on the ground. Simultaneously, an indescribable sense of joy and excitement also appeared on their faces. After all, they had just created a miracle -a full dragon-slaying battle. Even if their opponent was merely a Tier 4 Infant Dragon, they had still slain a real Dragon. The next moment, before the survivors of the team could recover from their joy, brilliant flashes suddenly enveloped their bodies as their experience bars filled up rapidly. The amount of EXP the Infant Golden Dragon awarded was leagues above the EXP from ordinary Mythic Bosses. Even Shi Feng leveled up three times consecutively, reaching 32% of Level 140. As for everyone else, they gained even more levels from the raid, with Lionheart reaching Level 141 and Yu Luo reaching Level 139. Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine even went from Level 127 to Level 138. The amount of EXP everyone received stupefied them. Nobody thought that killing a Level 140 Infant Dragon would grant so much EXP. Of those present, only Shi Feng and Lionheart did not place much concern on their levels. After all, as veteran Tier 4 players, they knew very clearly how easy it was for Tier 4 players to gain levels. In fact, they could most likely attain Level 150 in ten days, reaching the minimum requirement to challenge their Tier 5 promotion. However, players would not necessarily be able to get promoted to Tier 5 just by meeting the level requirement. After all, players would have to create a powerful Mana Body of their own. Compared to the levels he gained, Shi Feng was much more concerned about the Infant Golden Dragons loot. The Infant Golden Dragon they had killed was a Dragon in the truest sense, not one that the Main God System had weakened drastically. This point was clear just from the EXP the Infant Golden Dragon awarded. Compared to the Magic Dragon Kland that Shi Feng had killed some time back, the Infant Golden Dragon was like an entirely different creature. Some time after the Infant Golden Dragon died, sacred light descended from the cavern ceiling, illuminating the entire cavern. Simultaneously, melodious hymns also echoed in everyones mind. It seems Divine Providence did its job. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the sacred light shining down from the ceiling Although Divine Providence increased his Luck Attribute significantly, the Hidden Attributes effects would be diminished when dealing with monsters at the Superior Mythic standard or above. And while the Infant Golden Dragon was considered only a Mythic monster, it was still part of the Dragon race; it was far stronger than ordinary Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Hence, the fact that he managed to trigger a Divine Hymn was truly a stroke of luck. Of course, part of the reason he managed to trigger a Divine Hymn was most likely this being the first kill of a real Dragon in the ancient Gods Domain. Meanwhile, as the Divine Hymn descended, a system notification also entered everyones ears. System: Congratulations! You have killed a Tier 4 Infant Golden Dragon. You have obtained the Dragon Slayer title, World Reputation +100, and one Gold Legacy Treasure Chest. Crap! Theres such a benefit as well? Blood Blade was astonished when he saw the system notification. Initially, he thought that they would be working for Shi Feng for free. He never imagined that slaying the Infant Dragon would earn them such astonishing rewards too. At this time, even Lionheart was surprised by this situation. After all, the rewards were simply too lucrative. Firstly, the Dragon Slayer title would allow them to enjoy the status of a high noble in the various cities of Gods Domain. In fact, their authority would be even greater than the typical high nobles, close to reaching that of a city lord. Not to mention, with the Dragon Slayer title equipped, their Basic Attributes and physique would increase by 20% when dealing with Dragon-type monsters in the future. As for the awarded Gold Legacy Treasure Chest, it was something all Tier 4 players would dream of obtaining. The Gold Legacy Treasure Chest had a considerable chance of awarding a Legacy Book, which would grant the user with a significant number of Legacy Skill Points when used. The treasure chest also had a high chance of containing rare Tier 4 Skill and Spell Books, as well as a small chance of containing a Legacy Guidance for the road beyond Tier 4. These rewards were far more valuable than weapons, equipment, and Magic Crystals. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the Gold Legacy Treasure Chests value was equivalent to a Fragmented Legendary items. For some people, the treasure chest was even better than a Fragmented Legendary item. Meanwhile, aside from the reward notification, Shi Feng, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo received a second system notification. System: Warning! The world of Gods Domain has noticed your existence as an outsider. You will be expelled from the world in one natural day. Sure enough, it was a success. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile upon seeing the system warning If killing the Infant Golden Dragon and altering a small portion of Gods Domains history could not get him out of the ancient Gods Domain, he would really have a headache. After all, he had already achieved his original goal in coming here, and he still had many matters he needed to deal with in the modern Gods Domain. He simply couldnt afford to waste time here. As for the matter of earning various resources here, that was supposed to be a long-running project. Moreover, the amount of resources he could obtain depended entirely on the Skyflare adventurer teams strength and resources. Meanwhile, Skyflares development couldnt be accomplished overnight. This is great! I can finally go home! As for Yu Luo, she, too, grew joyful when she saw the system warning. In fact, she felt even happier at seeing this system warning than when she received the Gold Legacy Treasure Chest. While everyone rejoiced over the Gold Legacy Treasure Chest they received, over a hundred items appeared in midair and began descending to the ground. The sight of the Infant Golden Dragons loot made everyone present momentarily forget about the Legacy Treasure Chest. IIIOI The aura of items can actually reach such an intensity? Crimson Billow was astonished as she studied the items that were gradually piling up on the ground. Just what kind of items dropped? Could there be a Legendary item? This question plagued everyones mind. The reason for everyones reaction was the aura that the Infant Dragons loot radiated, which practically rivaled that of Superior Mythic monsters. Even ordinary Tier 3 players would have to expend a lot of effort just to approach the loot. At this time, only Shi Feng managed to remain relatively calm. This was because he had heard of other people slaying Dragons before. Only, the Dragons that the God-ranked expert teams killed back then werent Tier 4 Infant Dragons but Adult Dragons at the peak of Tier 5. According to what he had heard, the sight of those Dragons loot was truly a spectacle to behold. Just the visual phenomenon the loot created had covered a radius of over ten thousand yards. The combined aura the items radiated had also been so powerful that even Tier 4 players couldnt approach the loot; only Tier 5 players and above could do so. In comparison, the visual phenomenon created by the Infant Golden Dragons loot only covered a radius of several hundred yards. The aura the loot radiated was so weak that even Tier 3 peak experts could approach it if they gritted their teeth. Hence, Shi Feng didnt find this outcome particularly surprising However, the Infant Golden Dragons loot and Tier 5 Adult Dragons loot wouldnt actually have a significant difference in quality. What difference in quality there was would only be akin to the difference between an Epic item and a Fragmented Legendary item. It wouldnt be as significant as the difference between a Fragmented Legendary item and a Legendary item. After all, both kills were Dragons; one side was just slightly stronger. Moreover, as Tier 6 God-ranked experts were responsible for killing the Adult Dragons, the loot quality was reduced. In comparison, their team had defeated a Tier 4 Infant Dragon without a single Tier 5 player on the team. If one were to talk about raid difficulty, their team faced a much greater difficulty than the Tier 6 God-ranked expert teams. I wonder if it dropped a complete Saint Guidance? If one did drop, I might be able to improve my Mana Body further. Shi Feng prayed inwardly as he looked at the items slowly piling up on the ground. At this time, compared to materials, weapons, and equipment, what he hoped to obtain more was a Legacy Guidance. This was typical of Tier 4 experts. After all, even with multiple Fragmented Legendary items, a Tier 4 expert wouldnt be able to go up against Tier 5 existences. As for the possibility of the Infant Golden Dragon dropping a Legendary item, that was utterly impossible. As far as Shi Feng knew, players couldnt obtain Legendary items through killing monsters. It didnt matter even if the monster in question was a Dragon. At best, monsters would only drop Fragmented Legendary items that could be repaired into Legendary items. Thus, every Legendary item was incredibly precious, and a Tier 5 expert would be fortunate to obtain even one. After another dozen seconds or so passed, all of the items finally landed on the ground. Shi Feng immediately approached the mountain of loot and began sorting through it. The spectating Skyflare members couldnt help drooling, wishing they could help Shi Feng with the loot. Guild Leader Black Flame has really hit the jackpot this time. I wonder if a Legendary item dropped? If he gets a Legendary item, his combat power would most likely skyrocket and approach the Tier 5 standard, Wind Chaser sighed as he enviously watched Shi Feng collect the loot. He finally understood how big a gap divided Tier 4 and Tier 5 existences. It was even larger than the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 existences. Ordinary weapons and equipment couldnt make up for this gap. Only the rumored Legendary Weapons and Equipment might work. If Shi Feng could get himself a Legendary Weapon now, he would truly become an invincible existence. After all, no Tier 4 player could go up against Tier 5 existences yet. Meanwhile, after working nonstop for ten minutes, Shi Feng finally finished sorting through the loot. Once he organized the loot, he had to press his hand against his chest to suppress the excitement in his heart. The loot dropped this time was simply too amazing! It was definitely the most amazing loot he had ever seen. This included even the loot he had seen in his previous life. Setting all else aside, just the golden longsword sitting in his bag had very nearly made him faint from happiness. This weapon was one of Gods Domains Ten Great Legendary Weapons as well as one of Gods Domains Thirty-Six Famed Swords. It was also the prototype of the weapon Void Breaker and could cut all existences. Its name was the Light of Two Worlds, also known as the World Breaking Gold! Chapter 2793 - World Authority Chapter 2793 C World Authority The golden longsword covered in crimson divine runes sitting inside his bag was definitely the dream weapon of all Swordsmen. So, thats why the Light of Two Worlds was rumored to have been destroyed and no longer existed in Gods Domain in the past. Shi Feng couldnt help his elation as he inspected the longsword in his bag. As it turns out, the weapon cant be obtained in the modern Gods Domain but only in the ancient Gods Domain. (Light of Two Worlds] (One-handed Sword, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 6,000, Tier Attack Power (270% of Strength) Attack Speed (3% of Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks gain the Mana Annihilation effect, causing a spatial collapse in an area of 4*100 yards; Attacks have a 50% chance to deal 300% damage; Strength increased by 70%, Agility increased by 60%, Intelligence increased by 30%, Endurance increased by 60%, Attack Speed increased by 40%; Ignore Levels +50; All Sword-type Skills effect increased by 40%; All Sword-type Skills +1 Level; Effect of Mana increased by 50%. Additional Skill 1 Spatial Slash (Tier 4): For one attack, increases Strength by 200%, power by two ranks (up to Tier 5 Advanced rank at maximum), and attack range to 1,000 yards. Cooldown: 40 seconds Additional Skill 2 Golden Soul (Tier 4): Improves perception of magic elements by 200% and Mana control by 300%. Reduces all Concentration consumption by 70%. Duration: 1 minute Cooldown: 6 hours Additional Skill 3World Breaker (Tier 4): Consumes half of the users Concentration and Mana to enhance the Light of Two Worlds, granting the weapon the power to break worlds for one attack. Forcibly increases the power of attack by one tier (up to Tier 5 Advanced rank at maximum). Cooldown: 1 hour Created by the Ancient God of Light. The Light of Two Worlds possesses the power to cut all things. The Divine Power Sources within the weapon have been destroyed by an inexplicable power. However, as the weapon itself is still intact, it is possible to fully repair it by injecting new Divine Power Sources. (Divine Power Source injected C 0/2) Despite being the prototype of the Void Breaker, the Light of Two Worlds had still managed to rank number one among Gods Domains Thirty-six Famed Swords. One could easily imagine how powerful the weapon was. Although the Light of Two Worlds was currently incomplete, just the Basic Attributes it provided already made it far superior to even the Abyssal Blade. It undoubtedly had the highest Attack Power out of all the one-handed swords Shi Feng had ever seen. Not to mention, there were also the outrageous Skills the weapon carried. Just by wielding the Light of Two Worlds, a Tier 4 Swordsman would be capable of exchanging one move with a Tier 5 existence. This was a feat that was impossible with ordinary Fragmented Legendary Weapons. However, while the Light of Two Worlds was incredibly powerful, its usage condition was also astonishingly high. Without the several Fragmented Legendary items on Shi Feng, he wouldnt be able to equip the weapon. Meanwhile, the Light of Two Worldss appearance could also be considered heaven-sent. Now that Shi Feng had reached Level 140, both the Twilight Blade and Killing Ray could no longer keep up with his level. Hence, he had mainly been fighting with only the Abyssal Blade all this time, with the Twilight Blade and Killing Ray as support. However, now that he had the Light of Two Worlds, he could arm both his main and sub arms with adequate weapons. In fact, even if he failed to collect the two remaining fragments of Solomons Sword, he wouldnt have to worry about finding a replacement weapon. Moreover, even if he did manage to complete Solomons Sword, the complete Light of Two Worlds wouldnt be the slightest bit inferior to it. The only problem was that Divine Power Sources were incredibly hard to find. In fact, Shi Feng had only ever heard rumors of Divine Power Sources; he had never actually seen one before. This was because Divine Power Sources were far more valuable than God Crystals. They were the power sources of Gods, and they carried incredible strength. The value of a Divine Power Source was comparable to a Legendary item. Meanwhile, the Light of Two Worlds actually required two Divine Power Sources. It seems Ill need to have the Guild investigate Divine Power Sources. Looking at the Light of Two Worlds, Shi Feng inwardly resolved to repair the weapon, no matter the cost. Legendary Weapons were far too rare in Gods Domain. Now that one had appeared before him, it would be a huge waste if he did not try to repair it. Meanwhile, after seeing Shi Feng had finished sorting through the loot, Lifeless Thorn and the others approached him with curious eyes. Commander, did anything good drop this time? Looking at Shi Feng, Solitary Nine asked in a whisper, Did a Legendary item really drop? They had just defeated an unrestrained Tier 4 Infant Dragon. If Shi Feng said nothing good dropped, nobody would believe him. Solitary Nine was very curious to find out just how excellent the Infant Golden Dragons loot was. After all, there was still no news of any player obtaining a Legendary item, so nobody could tell how powerful Legendary items were. If a Legendary item had truly appeared among the items dropped, they wouldve hit a huge jackpot. Arent you guys taking Legendary items too lightly? Theres no way a Legendary item can drop from a monster. Shi Feng smiled and shook his head when he saw the excited expressions of Solitary Nine and the others. He then said vaguely, However, while there is no Legendary item in the loot, there are several items whose value is comparable to Legendary items. To me, at least, these items are almost as valuable as actual Legendary items. He had no intention of telling everyone the specifics of the items dropped this time. This was because the loot was truly astonishing. Aside from the Light of Two Worlds, there were two other items that could easily cause a sensation among Gods Domains various powers. One of the two was a Magic Array Design. Although the design only recorded a Master Magic Array, this Master Magic Array was more valuable than even some Grandmaster Magic Arrays. This was because this magic array existed only in the ancient Gods Domain. The Twelve-array Magic World! This magic array could increase the density of all Mana within its area of influence by 200% and players Mana perception by 100%. Although it only had two specific functions, if brought back to the modern Gods Domain, it would definitely stand at the peak among all magic arrays in existence. As for the second item, it was a Mysterious Flame! Be it in the ancient Gods Domain or modern Gods Domain, Mysterious Flames were incredibly rare items, especially Tier 3 Mysterious Flames and above. A Tier 3 Mysterious Flame was just as rare as a Fragmented Legendary item. Meanwhile, the Mysterious Flame the Infant Golden Dragon dropped was the Tier 4 Mysterious Flame Hellfire! A Tier 4 Mysterious Flame was something Shi Feng had only ever heard about in Gods Domain. According to rumor, after reaching Tier 4, Mysterious Flames would all possess astonishing power and a variety of incredible effects. Take the Soul Fire, for example. It was a Mysterious Flame capable of annihilating a players soul, leaving the said player with no choice but to delete their accounts and restart from scratch. Such a feat was impossible for most Tier 5 existences. Moreover, even if a Tier 5 existence had the ability to wipe out a players soul, it would only work on low-tier players. As players reached higher tiers, their souls would also grow stronger and become more resistant to destruction. After a certain point, even a Tier 6 God wielding the power to annihilate the Immortal Souls of players wouldnt be able to force the said player to delete their account. Nevertheless, the Tier 4 Soul Fire could easily annihilate even the souls of Tier 3 players. Only after reaching Tier 4 would players become somewhat resistant to the Soul Fires strength. This was also why the corrosive effect of the mysterious NPCs Soul Chain had weakened considerably after Shi Feng had reached Tier 4, allowing Shi Feng to live for much longer. Now, he had obtained a complete Tier 4 Mysterious Flame. It was different from the incomplete Soul Fire that he had gained through the mysterious NPCs soul beast. The other dropped items were similarly very precious. Out of the 100-plus items dropped, over 30 were Legendary materials such as Dragon Claws, Dragon Teeth, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Blood. There were also over a dozen Master Recipes and Epic Equipment Forging Designs. The rest were mainly Inferior Legendary materials and Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. Two materials stood out among all that bounty both Inferior Divine Artifact ranked materials. The Dragon Eye and the Dragon Crystal! These were the quest items Angelica Teresa needed. Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs words, Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine stopped asking questions. They understood that the items dropped this time were extraordinary and could not be revealed. Moreover, Shi Feng had already answered the main question plaguing their mindsthere was no Legendary item among the dropped items. Yu Luo, you guys start resurrecting the others. Well return to Meteorite City afterward, Shi Feng said to the teams healers as he looked at the dead Skyflare members corpses scattered around the cavern. Once everyone was alive again, Shi Feng opened a Spatial Gate in the direction of Meteorite City. Thanks to the Spatial Gate, the return trip, which shouldve originally taken a dozen hours or so by Flying Ship, only took four hours, astonishing Skyflares members. If not for the Spatial Gates long Cooldown and short duration, it wouldve definitely been considered a godly Skill in Gods Domain. After returning to Meteorite City, Shi Feng completed all his transactions with Lionheart. Aside from the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, Lionheart also purchased an additional 20 Crystals of Souls and 100 drops of Soul Water, which netted Shi Feng an additional six million Magic Crystals. Lionheart also used three million pieces of Mana Ore, which was treated as equivalent to 750,000 Magic Crystals, to exchange for another five Crystals of Souls. Although the Mana Ores price had been slightly inflated, this was unavoidable, as purchasing Mana Ore in bulk was incredibly difficult. Purchasing too many would naturally raise the ores market value. However, for Shi Feng, getting three million pieces of Mana Ore for the price of just 750,000 Magic Crystals was already a bargain. After the transactions with Lionheart, Shi Feng passed 30 Crystals of Souls and 1,000 drops of Soul Water to Yan Ya for her to conduct future transactions with the Skyflare adventurer team. At the same time, he also tasked her with secretly purchasing some of Gods Domains rare items. Finally, after settling all his business affairs, Shi Feng handed the Dragon Eye and the Dragon Crystal to Angelica Teresa, who was still recuperating from her injuries. As soon as he handed over these two items, not only did Angelicas Favorability of him increase by 100 points, but she also gave him a Tier 5 Legacy Guidance she had obtained from a Sword Saint. Shi Feng was a little surprised by this reward. Is this the hidden reward for not bringing Angelica Teresa on the raid? While the Infant Golden Dragon had indeed dropped a lot of excellent items, it hadnt dropped any Legacy items. This situation had rendered Shi Feng quite speechless at the time. Now, Angelica Teresa directly handed him the Legacy Guidance he wished for dearly. After the conversation with Angelica, Shi Feng immediately received a system notification. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Inferior Mythical Quest Worlds Choice. You have gained World Authority +2. System: You have obtained World Authority. World Authority currently at Level 1. Please feel the specific effects of World Authority on your own. As soon as the system notification appeared, an indistinct chain became visible around Shi Fengs body from the void. A moment later, this chain suddenly disintegrated, and he immediately felt the world around him becoming much clearer than before. He could even sense that his intimacy with the world of the ancient Gods Domain had improved slightly; the world was no longer as hostile toward him as before. So, these are the effects of World Authority? Shi Feng was astonished when he sensed the changes to his body. His affinity with the magic elements was at least 50% better than before. His perception of his Manas operating principle had also improved significantly. After careful observation, he noticed that the layer of white mist that hindered his perception had thinned out by roughly 30%. With such a tremendous improvement, his chances of constructing a Tier 5 Mana Body would increase by at least 20%-at least ten times more than what a Legendary item could provide. Meteorite City, Silver Hotel: After spending half a day experiencing the benefits of having World Authority, Shi Feng decided to take a break. Ive already made major strides in my Mana control in merely half a day of experimenting. At this rate, my control over Mana can probably reach the Advanced Master standard in just half a month. Shi Feng looked at the time in astonishment. Initially, he had estimated that he would take three or four months to reach the Advanced Master standard for Mana control. Now, he would need only half a month to accomplish this feat. The amount of time he could save with World Authority was astonishing. After reaching Tier 4, what was most important to players would no longer be weapons and equipment but their control over Mana. The stronger a Tier 4 players Mana control was, the easier using Skills and Spells would be. They would also have an easier time constructing their Tier 5 Mana Body. From what he knew, ones Mana control needed to be at the Advanced Master standard at the very minimum to construct a Tier 5 Mana Body. In other words, so long as his Mana control reached the Advanced Master standard, he could begin attempting to construct a new Mana Body! Commander, its almost time, Lifeless Thorn said as he entered the room. Okay. Ive finished all my business here already. We can go now. Shi Feng nodded. Afterward, Shi Feng, Lifeless Thorn, and Solitary Nine went in secret to a forest several thousand yards away from Meteorite City and met up with Yu Luo, who had been waiting there for quite some time now. Guild Leader Black Flame, will we really be able to return? Yu Luo couldnt help asking as she counted down the time. She had tried all sorts of methods to leave the ancient Gods Domain, yet none of them had succeeded. Although there was the system notifications assurance this time, she still felt a little doubtful. Relax. The system wont lie to us, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anxious look on Yu Luos face. Shortly after Shi Feng finished speaking, the systems timer of one natural day struck zero. Immediately, the space around the four shattered, forming four small space-time tears. An invisible force then pushed them into these space-time tears. In the blink of an eye, Shi Fengs group of four disappeared from the quiet forest as if they never existed here in the first place. Chapter 2794 - God’s Domain’s State of Affairs Chapter 2794 C Gods Domains State of Affairs This place was a vast, blue ocean with nary a cloud in the sky. At this time, a tear in space spanning over a thousand yards suddenly appeared above the ocean, its appearance kicking up strong winds that disrupted the peace of this place. A moment after the spatial tear formed, four figures flew out of it and plopped into the ocean. Their impact on the water generated waves dozens of meters tall, the commotion attracting the attention of the dozen or so ships sailing nearby. The Mana here is so thin! The sense of rejection is gone! I think were back! While standing on the oceans surface, Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo grew excited when they sensed the familiar low-Mana environment and the lack of rejection from the world. Although the ancient Gods Domain had plenty of benefits that the modern Gods Domain did not possess, they had played in the modern Gods Domain for most of their career in Gods Domain. Most of the people and matters they knew of were found here. Naturally, they were glad to return to the modern Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the appearance of Shi Fengs group also gave the players on the nearby ships a huge shock. Crap! Who are they? How can they stand on water? They should be using some kind of Levitating Skill. No. If they were using a Skill or Spell, there should be strong Mana fluctuations. But I dont sense any coming from the four of them. At this moment, Shi Fengs group of four had all their information concealed with their Black Cloaks, so the surrounding players couldnt uncover any information about them. The only thing the surrounding players were certain of was that the four were all players. Knowing this, the surrounding players couldnt help wanting to find out the identity of Shi Fengs group. Lets hurry up and leave, a Level 123, Tier 3 Ranger driving an Advanced Speedboat said. The situation in this sea zone has been chaotic recently. Well be doomed if we get dragged into the war between adventurer teams on Dragonheart Island! Indeed. Lets leave this place quickly. Now that such a huge commotion has occurred here, War Bloods members will definitely come over. If they find us here, they might take us for members of other adventurer teams and kill us, the Level 122 Shield Warrior standing beside the Ranger youth said, nodding in agreement. While the players on this Advanced Speedboat were conversing with each other, Shi Feng and his companions, around 100 yards away, heard every word of their conversation. So, this place is near Dragonheart Island. Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. It seems we were lucky. We didnt get teleported to some dangerous and remote location. Space-time teleportation was incredibly random. If they got teleported into a dangerous location, such as a forbidden land or a special location that prevented teleportation, making their way home would be very troublesome. Nodding, Lifeless Thorn said, But based on these peoples words, there seems to be quite a struggle occurring on Dragonheart Island. Thats normal. With the NPC population growing continuously, the number of NPCs operating at sea would naturally increase. While they might not be as numerous as the landlocked NPCs, they will still outnumber players by a large margin. And with the participation of NPCs, the various powers will definitely struggle even more desperately among themselves for resources, Shi Feng said, unsurprised by Dragonheart Islands current state of affairs. This was because he had received some news from Liang Jing a few days ago. According to her, Gods Domain was truly messed up right now, and NPC forces had even begun taking action against the Guild Towns of players. Although the NPC forces did not directly assault Guild Towns, they still created a lot of trouble inside the Guild Towns. They forced the Guilds running these towns to submit to them and pay a ton of resources and Coins in tribute. Otherwise, they would continue their harassment until the Guild Town imploded. In Shi Fengs previous life, many unrated Guilds and third-rate Guilds had no choice but to submit to these NPC forces extortion. After all, if these Guilds lacked the income from their Guild Towns, they would truly be doomed. Now that Gods Domains first major update had arrived ahead of schedule, once the NPCs began taking action with full force, even first-rate Guilds and superpowers would have no choice but to pay tribute to the NPC forces to buy time to develop themselves. After all, in Gods Domain, players were merely a minority. One could also say that players were outsiders. Apart from immortality, players did not have any advantages over the original inhabitants of Gods Domain. Gods Domains inhabitants far outnumbered players when it came to the top combatants both sides possessed. This would remain true even ten years after Gods Domains launch. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, a hint of anxiety appeared on Yu Luos face. Immediately, she took to the skies and flew toward the nearby Advanced Speedboat, her approach giving the six players on the boat a fright. These six players stared at Yu Luo with horrified expressions. Their reaction was because the ability to fly freely in the sky was unique to players at Tier 4 or above. Tier 4 players were existences that even NPCs feared. Although there were only a small number of Tier 4 experts in Gods Domain, every one of them was a bigshot capable of shaking heaven and earth with their every move. These Tier 4 experts were not existences ordinary Tier 3 experts like themselves could meet. How may I help you, miss? the Tier 3 Ranger serving as the leader of the party asked respectfully as he looked up at Yu Luo. The strong were respected in Gods Domain. This fact might not have been evident in the past. However, after experiencing the changes brought by the systems major update and the various NPCs arrogant behavior, these players thoroughly understood that the world of Gods Domain was a much more straightforward and crueler place than the real world. When it came to dealing with Tier 4 powerhouses, if they offended the other party, it wouldnt be strange for them to get annihilated the next second. They also wouldnt be able to do anything about it. Do you know Heavens Blades situation? Yu Luo asked. Heavens Blade was her home. Its well-being had also been a concern for her all this time. Before she entered the ancient Gods Domain, the competition on Dragonheart Island had already been incredibly intense. Heavens Blade had even clashed with several of the islands top adventurer teams and suffered casualties numbering in the thousands. This was why she had risked grinding and exploring a dangerous location by herself. Since her disappearance from the modern Gods Domain until now, a month had gone by. Meanwhile, one month was more than enough for the entirety of Gods Domain to undergo significant changes, let alone a small place like Dragonheart Island. Heavens Blade? The Ranger youth was surprised and confused by Yu Luos question. What? Have you never heard of Heavens Blade before? Yu Luo frowned. Or do you not want to say it? As Yu Luos voice chilled, the Tier 3 Shield Warrior and the others shuddered involuntarily and looked toward the Ranger youth. They didnt know whether they should speak up. Although Yu Luo hadnt revealed any killing intent thus far, her aura alone was already more than enough to instill fear in them. After all, they had personally witnessed just how powerful a Tier 4 player could be. A Tier 4 player could kill hundreds of Tier 3 players with just the flip of a hand. The silence had stretched out for a second when the Ranger youth wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead and said hurriedly, Miss, you misunderstand me. Its not that I refuse to tell you. Its just that this matter is already common knowledge in Gods Domain. I was just wondering why you would ask such a question, miss. Common knowledge in Gods Domain? Yu Luo couldnt help feeling a little confused. According to Shi Feng, before his group entered the ancient Gods Domain, nothing big had happened to Heavens Blade. It had simply been competing with Dragonheart Islands several top adventurer teams for resources as usual. Shi Feng had left the modern Gods Domain only a few days ago. Logically, nothing significant should have happened to Heavens Blade. Thats right. This incident caused quite the commotion back then. It affected over a dozen superpowers, the Ranger said, nodding. Three days ago, through some unknown means, not only did War Blood enter into an alliance with one of Dragonheart Islands local NPC forces, but someone from War Blood also got promoted to Tier 4. As a result, War Bloods influence on the island skyrocketed, and even Thirteen Thrones suffered losses at the hands of War Blood. What about Heavens Blade? Yu Luo asked. Heavens Blade The Ranger hesitated to answer because he knew that the Tier 4 powerhouse before him was definitely related to Heavens Blade. After taking a deep breath, he continued, Heavens Blade disbanded two days ago. Disbanded? Yu Luo was stunned. How is this possible?! She had developed from the ground up together with Heavens Blade, and the adventurer team was basically her home. Yet, now, she was being told that Heavens Blade had disbanded? At this moment, let alone Yu Luo, even Shi Feng was stunned when he overheard the Rangers words from a distance. Heavens Blade was one of Dragonheart Islands top five adventurer teams. Not only did the adventurer team boast close to ten peak experts under its command, but its commander, Zwei, was even one of Dragonheart Islands top three MTs. In the past, Zwei had also been a legendary figure, and she had developed Heavens Blade into an overlord-like existence in Gods Domain. Hence, hearing that Heavens Blade had actually disbanded now came as a shock to him. If Heavens Blade disbanded, where did Heavens Blades executives go? Suppressing the emotions in her heart and doing her best to stay calm, Yu Luo asked in a quivering voice, Where did Commander Zwei and the others go? Shaking his head, the Ranger replied, This, I do not know. I only know that Heavens Blade seems to have enraged War Blood. War Blood is still hunting down Heavens Blades members even now, going as far as sealing off Dragonheart Island. People on Dragonheart Island cant contact the outside world. Even those seeking to leave Dragonheart Island need to go through War Bloods inspection. If I were to guess, Heavens Blades executives have probably left Dragonheart Island and already gone somewhere else to develop. I understand. You may go now! Yu Luo could no longer remain calm after listening to the Rangers words. After waving her hand at the party of six, indicating that they were free to continue with their business, she turned around and flew back to Shi Fengs group. After hearing Yu Luos words, the party of six felt like death-row prisoners who had just been granted amnesty. Hurriedly, they sailed away from the area on their Advanced Speedboat, not daring to remain for even a moment longer lest Yu Luo change her mind and vent her anger on them. Yu Luo, what do you plan to do now? Shi Feng asked as he took in Yu Luos downcast expression. According to their original plan, they would go their separate ways after returning to the modern era. However, it turned out that Heavens Blade had disbanded. And Yu Luo probably couldnt save Heavens Blade by herself. Me? Shi Fengs question left Yu Luo at a loss. I dont know. The modern Gods Domain she was familiar with no longer existed, so she didnt know what she should do. Since thats the case, why dont we go take a look at Dragonheart Island for now? Shi Feng suggested. I still have some matters to deal with on Dragonheart Island. Meanwhile, although Heavens Blade has disbanded, I believe Commander Zwei and Heavens Blades other executives wouldnt leave the island so easily. After all, their foundation and all their resources are on Dragonheart Island. It would be difficult for them to decide to change their base of operations within a short period. So, once we reach Dragonheart Island, you might be able to contact them. Yu Luos eyes immediately glowed at Shi Fengs words. She felt that what he said was indeed true. Heavens Blades members had been residing on Dragonheart Island for such a long time now. How could they possibly just pack up and leave? Not to mention, even if Heavens Blade was no more, she could still contact Commander Zwei and the others. After all, unlike the ancient Gods Domain, long-range communication between players was possible in the modern Gods Domain. Okay. Ill follow you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Yu Luo nodded. Afterward, Shi Feng opened a Spatial Gate and teleported toward Dragonheart Island. Chapter 2795 - Dragonheart Island’s Chaos Chapter 2795 C Dragonheart Islands Chaos The waters surrounding Dragonheart Island: Over a thousand ships were currently scattered around the islands surrounding Dragonheart Island, all bearing the mark of the War Blood adventurer team. Any ship traveling to Dragonheart Island had to submit to War Bloods inspection. In addition, as Dragonheart Island was enveloped by a sealing magic array, communication between the island and the outside world was impossible. Teleportation into and out of the island was also blocked. At this time, Dragonheart Island was practically War Bloods territory. Dammit! War Blood is too vicious. We clearly arent Heavens Blades members, yet they charged us three Magic Crystals and twenty Ancient Bronze just for leaving Dragonheart Island! a Level 114, Tier 2 Berserker driving a speedboat cursed angrily as he watched the departing speedboat belonging to War Blood. Shh! Keep your voice down! They still havent gone far. A Level 120, Tier 3 Elementalist on the same speedboat hurriedly covered the angry Berserkers mouth. He then warned, War Blood has the final say on everything on Dragonheart Island right now. Even the superpowers have no choice but to go along with War Bloods whims. We are leaving Dragonheart Island to sell our haul this time. Well be finished if we get targeted. I wonder what Heavens Blade did to anger War Blood to such an extent? Even now, War Blood is still hunting for Heavens Blades members. The captured members are even sent to be imprisoned by NPCs, a Level 117, Tier 2 Oracle mused when she saw that War Bloods speedboat was already more than 300 yards away. Isnt that obvious? War Bloods clearly trying to get Heavens Blades Lands near the World Tower, the Berserker said indifferently. They are discovering more and more treasures in the World Towers underground floors right now. The fourth underground floor is especially amazing. However, the abnormal energy in the fourth floor is overwhelming, and the food needed to recover from this energy is incredibly expensive and uneconomical. The only other way to recover quickly is to rest in the special region around the World Tower. Meanwhile, Heavens Blade owns a total of five plots of Land in that special region, including the sole large-sized plot in the special zone and a medium-sized plot. War Blood is currently in a frenzy to expand its influence, so how can it possibly let such a fat piece of meat get away? Indeed. The Lands around the World Tower are in high demand right now. Since War Blood has already forced Heavens Blade to disband, it naturally wont let go of Heavens Blades Lands. The reason War Blood is capturing Heavens Blades members is simply to force Heavens Blades commander to submit and give up those Lands, the Elementalist youth said, nodding. However, I doubt Heavens Blade will give up so easily. After all, so long as Heavens Blade has those five plots of Land, it can make a comeback any time. When the players aboard the speedboat spoke of the World Tower, they couldnt help a sense of yearning for it. Before the players on Dragonheart Island began exploring the World Towers fourth underground floor, they hadnt placed much importance on the Lands around the World Tower. After all, those Lands were absurdly expensive. Moreover, they were far from Dragonheart Islands business district. Naturally, nobody had been willing to purchase them. However, after players began exploring the fourth underground floor, they found that it actually housed Tier 4 Legacy Lands! As a result, the fourth underground floor was now a bone of contention for all superpowers in Gods Domain. Unfortunately, there were only 34 plots of Land around the World Tower, which werent even enough to divide among the local player forces, let alone the foreign superpowers. Moreover, it turned out that not only did Heavens Blade own five plots of Land in that special zone, but the adventurer team had even gotten its hands on the best one. How could this not make the various superpowers and War Blood go crazy? Before the party of six could continue their conversation, a loud explosion suddenly sounded in the distance. Immediately, the party of six, together with the other players in the vicinity, turned to look toward the origin of the explosion. The next moment, what entered everyones eyes was a group of around 30 cloaked players summoning two Flying Mounts. The two Tier 3 peak experts leading the team worked together and rapidly finished off 20 Tier 3 War Blood experts. Afterward, they each hopped onto a Flying Mount and broke through War Bloods encirclement together with their team. Its Heavens Blades remnants! Activate the magic array! Dont let them escape! When the nearby War Blood members saw this scene, they promptly sprang into action. Suddenly, the several dozen War Blood speedboats positioned around the two Flying Mounts set up a sealing barrier. It was evident that War Bloods members were prepared for Heavens Blades members. The next moment, before the two Flying Mounts could ascend 200 yards into the air, they were trapped within a magic barrier covering over a thousand yards. The translucent barrier had visible runes decorating it. One could easily tell that it was an Advanced Magic Array at a glance. If trapped by this barrier, even Tier 4 Mythic monsters would need a lot of time to break out of it, let alone Tier 3 players. Dammit! the female Guardian Knight leading Heavens Blades team cursed when she saw the barrier, a trace of frustration appearing in her eyes. She then turned to the man standing at the front of the other Flying Mount and asked, Vice Commander Shadow, what should we do? Itll take us at least three minutes to break out of this barrier. Thats more than enough time for War Bloods members to surround us. At the Guardian Knights words, the man named Divine Shadow standing atop the Flying Serpent frowned. It was clear that he hadnt expected War Blood to use such a powerful move against them. We have no choice but to fight. Ill activate my Berserk Skill and distract them afterward. In the meantime, you guys figure out a way to escape this place, Divine Shadow said as he looked at War Bloods approaching experts. He then turned to the female Knight Cleansing Flame and added, Remember! Do everything you can to leave, even if it means escaping by yourself! Only if you escape will Heavens Blade have hope! Yes, sir! Cleansing Flame answered, a solemn expression appearing on her face. Now that Heavens Blade had already disbanded and War Blood was even hunting down Heavens Blades members on Dragonheart Island, Heavens Blades only hope of making a comeback was to seek help from the outside world. With the Deeds of the special zones Lands in her hands, it was entirely possible to recruit the help of a Super Guild if they paid a certain price. However, before Cleansing Flame could control her Flying Serpent to head for the barriers edge, a powerful voice echoed in the ears of Heavens Blades members. Escape? Do you think its that easy? None of you should think of leaving today! Before Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame could react to the situation, a man suddenly appeared in front of them. This crimson-eyed man wore a dark red robe and held a crimson wooden staff. His entire being also gave off an indescribably evil feeling. Just by hovering in the air, this evil-looking man exerted a powerful pressure on Heavens Blades members. Divine Shadow and the others felt as if a mountain were weighing down their bodies. They could also feel the Mana surrounding them growing hostile. Autumn Plant?! A hint of confusion appeared in Divine Shadows eyes when he saw the crimson-robed man. Impossible! Shouldnt you be leading a team to the fourth floor? The evil man blocking their team was none other than Autumn Plant, one of War Bloods Four Great Vice Commandersas well as War Bloods sole Tier 4 member. As a Great Wizard, he was an existence capable of destroying half of a small island with one attack. Previously, Autumn Plant had even single-handedly wiped out tens of thousands of Thirteen Throness experts using a single Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spell. Over twenty of the casualties were Void Realm experts, and three were Domain Realm experts. As a result of this severe loss, Thirteen Thrones had no choice but to back off from competing with War Blood. After this battle, Autumn Plant had also been crowned the undisputed number one player on Dragonheart Island. Meanwhile, it was because they had caught wind that Autumn Plant had left for the World Towers fourth underground floor that they had attempted to escape Dragonheart Island. Yet, now Hahaha! If I didnt visit the fourth floor, would you remnants be willing to come out? Autumn Plant sneered contemptuously as he looked down on Divine Autumn and the others. You tricked us! Divine Shadow clenched his fists in anger. He never thought that he would fall for Autumn Plants trap. Weve always been rivals in the past. Now that youve gotten promoted to Tier 4, I want to see just how strong youve become! After saying so, Divine Shadow activated his Berserk Skill, his aura skyrocketing to the point of rivaling Tier 4 Mythic monsters. At this time, if comparing purely in terms of aura, Divine Shadow was not the slightest bit inferior to Autumn Plant. Fool! When Autumn Plant sensed the intensity of Divine Shadows aura skyrocketing, his ssion remained unchanged. Instead, he merely waved his hand. Before Divine Shadow could react, over a dozen crimson chains appeared out of thin air and bound his body. And despite struggling with all his might, he couldnt break free from their restraint, no matter what. On the contrary, his resistance weakened as time passed. How is this possible?! Cleansing Flame was stunned. Divine Shadow was one of Heavens Blades few Domain Realm experts. With his Berserk Skill activated, logically, he should be able to put up a good fight against a Tier 4 player. Yet, Divine Shadow was captured instantly. Autumn Plant had thoroughly shattered their understanding of Tier 4 existences. Hmph. You people dont know just how massive the gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 classes is. Do you really think you can turn things around when going up against me? Looking at Cleansing Flames stunned expression, Autumn Plant sneered, Let alone one Domain Realm expert, even ten Domain Realm experts working together wont last more than three moves against me. Realizing the difference between them, Divine Shadow turned to Cleansing Flame and the others and shouted, Dammit! Dammit! Everyone, kill yourselves! Dont let him capture you! Dont even think you can kill yourselves so easily! Autumn Plant said, brandishing his staff. The next moment, blood-red chains appeared from the void and bound Cleansing Flame and the others, preventing them from moving their bodies at all. The difference between the two sides was clear for all to see. How can a Tier 4 class be so powerful?! Divine Shadow and the others stared at Autumn Plant with disbelief. They had seen Shi Fengs battle video during the reserve seat competition at the War Gods Temple. In their opinion, although Tier 4 players were powerful, they were not an insurmountable opponent. However, they actually couldnt offer even the slightest resistance to Autumn Plant. The strength Autumn Plant displayed far surpassed Shi Fengs. While Heavens Blades members were shocked by the massive gap in strength between them and Autumn Plant, War Bloods other members caught up with them and secured them. Alright, take them to the NPCs. Looking at Divine Shadow and the other remnants of Heavens Blade, Autumn Plant smiled and said, Now that weve caught two big fish, I refuse to believe that Zwei wont submit! Its over! Its over! Everythings over this time! Divine Shadow fell into despair when he saw Heavens Blades captured members. Ive truly doomed you guys this time! The only reason why they had decided to take on such a risky operation this time was the misinformation he had believed. Now, everyone was doomed because of his foolishness. After all, if players were imprisoned by NPCs, nothing would change even if they forcibly logged out of the game; they would still reappear in prison after they logged back into the game. Unless they could break out, they would have to spend at least 15 days in prison. A 15-day gap was more than enough for everyone to fall far behind Gods Domains frontline players. However, as Divine Shadow was falling into a pit of despair and self-reproach, a Horned Eagle carrying four people suddenly came flying over from a distance. To everyones surprise, the Horned Eagle actually sported Heavens Blades flag extremely conspicuously. More remnants of Heavens Blade? Seeing as they have a Horned Eagle, it seems another big fish has arrived. Autumn Plants lips curled up in delight when he saw the Horned Eagle. Meanwhile, this unexpected situation also confused Divine Shadow and the others. They couldnt understand why one of Heavens Blades Horned Eagles would be flying to them from outside Dragonheart Island. However, when they recalled Autumn Plants capabilities, they immediately began shouting at the people riding the Horned Eagle to escape. Although Tier 4 players could fly, their flying speed wasnt comparable to Flying Mounts. Hence, it was still possible to escape if the Horned Eagle flew at full speed. Escape? Do you think thats possible? After saying so, Autumn Plant used Instantaneous Movement and rapidly approached the Horned Eagle. A Tier 4 Great Wizards Instantaneous Movement had a range of 3,000 yards, many times superior to a Tier 3 Great Mages Instantaneous Movement. Chapter 2796 - Black Flame’s Astonishing Appearance Chapter 2796 C Black Flames Astonishing Appearance When Divine Shadow and the other Heavens Blades members saw Autumn Plant teleporting away, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they desperately tried to stop him. Unfortunately, none of them managed to break free of their restraints, and they could only watch helplessly as the scene before them continued playing out. Dammit! At this moment, Divine Shadow couldnt help wondering why Autumn Plant had managed to get promoted to Tier 4. In terms of combat standards, Autumn Plant couldnt even rank within Dragonheart Islands top 20. The only advantage he had was his race as a Half-elf, which granted him a slightly better affinity with Mana. However, the Promotion Quest of Half-elves was also much harder than that of humans. For the sake of balance, races with strong talents in Gods Domain would often find their talents becoming shackles that prevented them from advancing. Hence, not many players were willing to convert to other races. Only those with incredible willpower would take this risky path. As proof of the limitation of other races, Autumn Plant had gotten promoted to Tier 3 slightly later than players of similar levels and combat standards. Yet, he was actually the first to reach Tier 4 on Dragonheart Island. This situation was simply unbelievable, no matter how Divine Shadow looked at it. In reality, though, Autumn Plants promotion to Tier 4 was a complete accident. It wasnt something he had actively sought to accomplish. Instead, his promotion was related to the Legacy of his hidden class. Vice Commander, we dont have many Horned Eagles. Aside from the two of the other Vice Commanders remaining on Dragonheart Island, the only other Horned Eagle I can think of belongs to the missing team leader, Yu Luo, Cleansing Flame said worriedly as she looked at the approaching Horned Eagle. Could that person flying toward us be Team Leader Yu Luo? It should be, but its useless to say anything now, Divine Shadow said, smiling helplessly. If we cant do anything against Autumn Plant, what more can Yu Luo do? At this time, he no longer held any hopes of Yu Luo escaping. It might have been a different story if Yu Luo were a scout class, but as a Cleric, she wouldnt notice Autumn Plants rapid approach before it was too late. Thats right. Now that Autumn has taken action, they cant escape. You should just obediently follow us back and persuade your commander. At this time, a blue-clad woman suddenly appeared beside Divine Shadow and the others, giving Cleansing Flame and the others a scare. This female Ranger was none other than Ink Feather, another one of War Bloods Four Great Vice Commanders. I never thought that War Blood would send two of its vice commanders just to stop us. What an honor, Divine Shadow said provocatively as he looked at Ink Feather. Shadow, theres no point in inciting me. Sneering, Ink Feather said, Even without Autumn here, do you think you can escape me? You should know very well that if we were to fight, I would have a greater chance of winning. Not to mention, I am more proficient at hunting down targets. At Ink Feathers words, Divine Feather stopped speaking As a Domain Realm expert himself, he had to admit that Ink Feather was powerful. Previously, he could still beat her when she had yet to reach the Domain Realm. At present, however, not only was Ink Feather in the Domain Realm already, but it was even rumored that she had obtained a Fragmented Legendary Bow. Her strength was incredibly close to catching up with Tier 4 existences. Hence, in an actual confrontation, the chances that he would lose were indeed very high. You dont have to worry. Yu Luo wont be in any pain. Looking at Divine Shadow and the others, Ink Feather smiled faintly and added, Shell soon be like you. Once within Autumns sight, nobody can escape. Afterward, Ink Feather and the other War Blood members shifted their gaze toward Autumn Plant, who had already popped up before the Horned Eagle. Upon noticing Autumn Plant, the flying Horned Eagle felt uneasy and came to an abrupt stop, looking at the Tier 4 Great Wizard with fear in its eyes. I dont know whether to call you bunch brave or stupid to approach while riding one of Heavens Blades Horned Eagles, Autumn Plant said, smiling as he looked at the four cloaked figures atop the Flying Mount. At this time, only three people in Heavens Blade possess a Horned Eagle. Of the three, two are still hiding inside Dragonheart Island. Even if you dont reveal yourselves, I can guess that one of you is that missing team leader, Yu Luo, right? War Blood had conducted a detailed investigation into Heavens Blades organizational structure after forcing the latter to disband. The sudden disappearance of Yu Luo was included in the information they dug VI up. Yu Luo did not bother refuting Autumn Plants words. She simply looked at the Great Wizard and said calmly, I never thought you would actually be the first on Dragonheart Island to get promoted to Tier 4. Thats right! But many more unexpected things have occurred as well, such as the dissolution of Heavens Blade and the fact that youre now a prisoner of War Blood! Autumn Plant said contemptuously instead of growing enraged at Yu Luos words. Now, do you want me to take action, or are you going to follow me obediently? However, no sooner had Autumn Plant finished speaking than a chuckle came from behind Yu Luo. Long time no see, Vice Commander Autumn. It seems youve grown to have quite the arrogant tone. As this voice spread, Autumn Plants complexion changed, and he stared automatically at the cloaked man standing behind Yu Luo. You are For a moment, Autumn Plant doubted his ears. After all, he was familiar with this voice, to the point where just hearing it disgusted him already. In fact, he even had trouble speaking right now. BlackFlame! Autumn Plants reaction was because this man was the culprit responsible for War Bloods loss of reputation on Dragonheart Island. This man had also very nearly turned War Blood into a joke to the various superpowers. Hence, this man was the person Blood Oath, War Bloods commander, wished to kill the most. Thats right. Nodding, Shi Feng removed his hood and smiled at Autumn Plant. We meet again, Vice Commander Autumn. The instant Shi Feng removed his hood, a wave of restlessness spread through the War Blood members spectating the situation from a distance. Heavens Blades members were similarly astonished to see Shi Feng. Black Flame was currently a bigshot that everybody in Gods Domain knew of. He had thoroughly risen to fame during the reserve seat competition as the first player in Gods Domain to reach Tier 4. Although there hadnt been any news of him recently, his performance during the competition was still being discussed by countless players even today. This is great! Its really Guild Leader Black Flame! Cleansing Flame grew ecstatic when she saw Shi Feng. Although Heavens Blade wasnt considered allies with Zero Wing, the organizations had a relatively good relationship. In fact, Zero Wing was one of the Guilds they intended to seek help from when they were planning to escape from Dragonheart Island. The arrival of Zero Wings Guild Leader was undoubtedly a wonderful situation for Heavens Blade. Moreover, Shi Feng was a Tier 4 player. Even Autumn Plant shouldnt dare act recklessly before him. However, as Cleansing Flame and the others were rejoicing, Ink Feather sneered at them. Dont celebrate too soon! Black Flames appearance here is just perfect! Looking at Shi Fengs distant figure, Ink Feather smiled faintly. He turned War Blood into everyones laughingstock previously. Now, well let him know that he wont get off scot-free for interfering in War Bloods matters! After saying so, Ink Feather shot a dazzling arrow into the sky, which was visible even from 10,000 yards away. Immediately afterward, the War Blood members patrolling on speedboats in the vicinity each took out a stone with strange runes engraved on it. They then began frenziedly pumping their Mana into the stone. Suddenly, a storm brewed, blanketing the entire sea zone. Simultaneously, multiple barriers emerged from the ocean, thoroughly enveloping Shi Fengs group of four. An endless supply of water-type Mana also bound them, the restriction weakening their Basic Attributes and physique by 30%. What a powerful restriction. Shi Feng was a little surprised by this situation. There were very few magic arrays capable of affecting Tier 4 players significantly. Even a Master Magic Array would only be capable of reducing a Tier 4 players Basic Attributes; it would hardly affect a Tier 4 players physique. Nevertheless, the magic array used on them had reduced both their Basic Attributes and physique by a significant margin. This was truly an amazing magic array. Hahaha! Black Flame, youve really barged your way into hell now! Autumn Plant burst into delighted laughter when he saw that the magic barrier had taken effect. We originally intended this Sea Prison to be a present for Heavens Blades Zwei. Now, though, were giving it to you. What do you think? Under normal circumstances, Autumn Plant would still have to be afraid of Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng was the first player to reach Tier 4. Hence, Shi Fengs understanding of Tier 4 classes should greatly surpass his own. There was also the fact that the moves Autumn Plant had employed against Tier 3 players would have hardly any effect on Tier 4 players. However, the situation was different now. The Sea Prison was a magic array capable of suppressing even Tier 4 existences significantly. While a 30% reduction of Basic Attributes couldnt be considered significant, a 30% reduction of physique was massive. Such a suppression would basically reduce a Tier 4 physique to the Tier 3 standard. With such a huge difference in physique, even if Shi Feng possessed astonishing Basic Attributes, he wouldnt be a match for Autumn Plant. This Sea Prison is not bad, but you wasted it for nothing. After observing the runes on the barrier, Shi Feng found that this ancient magic arrays current performance could only be considered half-baked at best. At the very least, it needed over a dozen Master Magicians to exhibit its capabilities fully. What arrogance! Upon seeing Shi Fengs nonchalant behavior, Autumn Plant brandished his staff. Death is already knocking on your door! I want to see just how long you can keep up your facade! After saying so, Autumn Plant summoned several dozen crimson chains that shot at Shi Feng. Tier 4 Legacy Spell, Blood-bound Lock! However, just as the crimson chains were about to reach Shi Feng, a ripple of Mana came from his body and stopped all of the chains cold one meter away from him. Afterward, a voice entered Autumn Plants ears. This Binding Spell is pretty good. Unfortunately, you used it on the wrong person! Chapter 2797 - Splitting the Sea Chapter 2797 C Splitting the Sea As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the War Blood members spectating from a distance couldnt help gaping in shock at the scene playing out before them, their minds refusing to accept this was true. Even Heavens Blades members felt as if they were dreaming when they saw this scene, having personally experienced the power of those crimson chains. Those chains carried immense power; even a Mythic monster should be incapable of struggling free of them. Moreover, evading those chains was also impossible. Nevertheless, the crimson chains Autumn Plant summoned actually failed to get within one meter of Shi Feng! Moreover, they hadnt seen Shi Feng make any movements. From their perspective, the chains seemed to be afraid of Shi Feng and did not dare move closer to him. Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Autumn Plant was dumbfounded as he looked at the scene before him. In fact, compared to the surrounding spectators, he was even more confused by this situation. After all, as the summoner of these chains, he knew that he had not held back in the slightest. Theres no way he can stop a Tier 4 Spell without using any Skill or Spell of his own! This is absolutely impossible! Glaring at Shi Feng, Autumn Plant demanded, What did you do?! Had Shi Feng used a Skill or Spell to stop his Spell, Autumn Plant wouldve found this situation reasonable. However, Shi Feng clearly did not do anything. The man simply unleashed his Mana to the surroundings, yet that actually rendered the chains summoned by Blood-bound Lock incapable of getting close to him. At this moment, let alone Autumn Plant, even Yu Luo, Lifeless Thorn, and Solitary Nine were surprised by this situation. They knew that Shi Feng was incredibly strong. After all, he had very nearly killed Lionheart in one move. However, they never thought that he could actually stop a Tier 4 Binding Spell just by unleashing his Mana. This situation had thoroughly shattered their understanding of Shi Feng Cant you see it very clearly? Looking at Autumn Plants horrified expression, Shi Feng said calmly, As a Tier 4 Great Wizard, you should be well aware that a Spells performance is dependent on the difference between the quality of the Spells Mana and that of the targets Mana. Do you think a fragile rope can restrain an elephant? After obtaining Level 1 World Authority, aside from a slight improvement in his affinity with and control of Mana, he had also gained a significant boost in his understanding of the operating principles of Mana. Hence, he was now capable of condensing Mana of much higher quality and in much greater quantity. Now, the Mana he could conjure was at least 50% stronger than what he could with just a 110% Completion Rate Mana Body. Thanks to this improvement, all Mana that entered his Mana Domain was subject to his control. Autumn Plants attempt to bind him with a Tier 4 Binding Spell that hadnt even reached a 100% Completion Rate was a complete and utter joke. Rather than relying on such a Spell, Autumn Plant would be more effective if he tried to attack Shi Feng with his staff. What do you mean? Shi Fengs words confused Autumn Plant. A Spells performance was indeed dependent on the quality of its Mana and of its targets Mana. However, he was currently a Tier 4 Great Wizard. The Spell he used was also at the Tier 4 standard. How could his Spell not have any effect against a player of the same tier? What do I mean? Shi Feng shook his head in disappointment. He had already given Autumn Plant a clear explanation, yet the latter still failed to understand the cause of his failure. Alright, then. Ill just let you feel it yourself! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a ripple of Mana spread out from his body. The space within a 1,000-yard radius of Shi Feng darkened. When looking at this darkened region from a distance, one would even see space within this region warping. Caught within Shi Fengs Mana Domain, Autumn Plant suddenly felt his mind turning sluggish. He also felt as if his body had fallen into a mire, as the ambient Mana had undergone a complete change. At this point, the Mana around him couldnt even be considered Mana. Unlike normal Mana, this Mana felt dark, murky, and silent. Surrounded by this Mana, Autumn Plant very nearly retched in disgust, his complexion turning incomparably pale. No! This isimpossible! How can youhave such Mana?! When Autumn Plant looked at Shi Feng now, his eyes were filled with fear and madness. He simply couldnt fathom how there could be such a person in this world. Meanwhile, upon seeing Autumn Plant rambling on like a lunatic while looking at Shi Feng, Ink Feather immediately contacted him. Autumn, what happened on your side? Ink Feather stared at Autumn Plants crazed behavior in confusion. Do you need our help? Autumn Plant had clearly been normal just a second ago. However, as soon as the dark space appeared, he began behaving abnormally. No! Run! Run quickly! Autumn Plant urged frantically when he received Ink Feathers call. Hes not human! Hes not human at all! Not human? What do you mean? Ink Feather grew even more confused at Autumn Plants words. His Mana is too terrifying! We are absolutely no match for him! Autumn Plant exclaimed with a horrified expression. You need to escape quickly! Immediately notify the commander and have him contact Secret Hand! Only Secret Hand can go up against him! Notify Secret Hand? Is there a need to go that far? At this point, Ink Feather suspected that something was wrong with Autumn Plants mental state. Their opponent was only a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Even if Shi Feng was indeed the first player to reach Tier 4, there shouldnt be any need to seek help from the Secret Hand Association, the largest NPC force based on Dragonheart Island. After all, War Blood still had plenty of trump cards in reserve. Even if they couldnt get rid of Shi Feng, Shi Feng shouldnt think of breaking out of the Sea Prison. Hostile players caught inside the Sea Prison would have their Stamina and Concentration drained rapidly; even a Tier 4 player wouldnt last more than ten minutes within it. And if a players Stamina and Concentration zeroed out, they wouldnt be able to move their body at all. They might even die outright. Hence, even if their team was no match for Shi Feng in a frontal confrontation, they could still whittle him to death inside the Sea Prison. When Ink Feather showed no intention of listening to his words, Autumn Plant felt like he was about to go crazy. No! Listen to me! You dont know just how po -11 Before Autumn Plant could say anything more, Shi Feng finally took action. The Swordsman unsheathed the Abyssal Blade, raised the Magic Weapon slightly, and executed a vertical slash at the space in front of him. First Sword, Lightshadow! Suddenly, an illusory greatsword several hundred meters long appeared in the sky and fell toward Autumn Plant, leaving a dark void that divided the world into two in its wake. Before anyone could react, the Sea Prison trapping Shi Fengs group split in half, and a massive void spanning over a thousand yards opened up in the ocean. Seawater then flooded into the dark void, creating spectacular waterfalls. Surging waves carried the nearby ships toward this spatial tear, and the ships that fell into the void had their crews instantly vaporized. The thousand-plus War Blood members maintaining the Sea Prisons magic array spat out blood on the spot and fell into a mentally weakened state. It was evident that they had suffered a severe backlash from the barriers breaking Meanwhile, a dark void had replaced the area Autumn Plant originally occupied. As for Autumn Plant himself, he was nowhere in sight. Chapter 2798 - Another Tier 4! Chapter 2798 C Another Tier 4! No! This is impossible! Ink Feather and the other War Blood members were thunderstruck by the scene before them. The Sea Prison was an ancient magic array capable of trapping even Superior Mythic monsters, yet it had shattered from just one attack. Moreover, this same attack had also annihilated Autumn Plant, a Tier 4 Great Wizard. How could they possibly believe this? Shi Feng and Autumn Plant were both Tier 4 players, so how could there be such a huge disparity between them? Not to mention, Shi Feng had executed his attack while under the Sea Prisons suppression. Even if Autumn Plant truly wasnt a match for Shi Feng, he shouldnt be utterly powerless to resist the attack. Nevertheless, let alone putting up a fight, Autumn Plant couldnt even escape. Divine Shadow and the other Heavens Blade members also couldnt help gaping in shock at this scene. After watching Shi Fengs heaven-splitting slash, they finally understood the true strength of Tier 4 existences and why Gods Domains NPCs would behave so fearfully and respectfully toward Tier 4 existences. Shi Feng had transformed the terrain with just one attack. If a full-blown fight ensued between two Tier 4 existences, the effect the fight would have on the surroundings would be unimaginable. Vice Commander, what should we do now? The Sea Prison is already broken, and Vice Commander Autumn has been killed. Im afraid that we a Level 122, Tier 3 Assassin asked worriedly as he looked at Ink Feather. Have everyone retreat! Ink Feather said, gritting her teeth. Also, notify the commander of everything that happened here. Black Flame is no longer someone we can handle. We need Secret Hands assistance! Understood! The Tier 3 Assassin breathed out a sigh of relief when he heard Ink Feathers words. If they were to fight Shi Feng, they would die without question. Subsequently, War Bloods members frantically retreated to Dragonheart Island, many of them even using Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scrolls or other lifesaving scrolls. Their reaction was because they knew very clearly just how terrifying a Tier 4 player could be. While more than 3,000 yards might separate them from Shi Feng right now, the Swordsman could probably close the distance in just a few seconds if he flew at full speed. Black Flame! War Blood will remember this transgression! We will be waiting for you on Dragonheart Island! Ink Feather bellowed. With Shi Fengs group rapidly approaching, she promptly activated her Tier 3 Instantaneous Movement Scroll and disappeared, abandoning the bound Heavens Blades members. Two seconds after Ink Feather disappeared, Shi Fengs group of four arrived before Divine Shadow and the others. Those people were so arrogant before, yet they ran away even faster than rabbits. Solitary Nine burst into laughter when he saw that none of War Bloods Tier 3 experts remained in the vicinity. In response, Lifeless Thorn also laughed and said, Its normal. They know that theyll just die even if they stay behind. After all, even their sole Tier 4 expert died, so Tier 3 players like themselves wouldnt be able to do anything. The strength Shi Feng displayed was truly astonishing. Let alone War Bloods members, even Lifeless Thorn himself was shocked. During the fight with the Infant Golden Dragon, Shi Feng had forcibly canceled his summoning; the backlash had drastically reduced both his Concentration and Basic Attributes throughout the raid. And although he had activated a Berserk Skill near the end of the raid, the Skill only allowed him to just barely participate in the fight. Hence, one could say that Shi Feng had never exerted his normal strength in the entire Infant Dragon raid. However, when Shi Feng went up against Autumn Plant, he had already fully recovered. Only, Lifeless Thorn had never imagined that Shi Feng had already become so strong. Now, Lifeless Thorn wouldnt find it strange if Shi Feng could go toe-to-toe against a Superior Mythic monster. After all, the attack Shi Feng executed earlier was simply astonishing. It definitely carried power at the Tier 5 standard. Guild Leader Black Flame, I am Vice Commander Divine Shadow of the Heavens Blade adventurer team. I really have to thank you for your help this time. If not for you, we wouldve definitely been imprisoned by War Blood for 15 days, Divine Shadow, who had been freed from his restraints, hurriedly stepped forward to thank Shi Feng. At this moment, the only feeling in his heart was a deep sense of awe! In the past, Divine Shadow only considered Shi Feng a local tyrant who had better luck than others. In his opinion, so long as he got promoted to Tier 4, he wouldnt be inferior to Shi Feng in any way. However, Divine Shadow now found his previous thoughts laughable. After all, in terms of strength, Shi Feng and he were like the sun and a candle. Even if he really managed to get promoted to Tier 4, he doubted he could last a single move against Shi Feng. As for Cleansing Flame, when she looked at Shi Feng, complicated emotions momentarily filled her heart. Previously, it was only thanks to Shi Fengs help that Heavens Blade had managed to survive the existential threat it faced. Originally, she thought that with the significant improvements she made during this period, she had shortened the gap between herself and Shi Feng. However, it seemed that the gap between them had widened even further instead. In fact, Shi Feng had become so strong that she could no longer grasp just how powerful he was exactly Its nothing. I just happened to pass by, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Divine Shadow. Team Leader Yu Luo and I were trapped in the same place for some time. After we left that place, we appeared near Dragonheart Island. Can you tell me what Dragonheart Islands present situation is like? Although the World Stone allowed him to log in and out of Gods Domain anytime he wanted, he had not logged off for several consecutive days because he had focused on grinding for levels. Meanwhile, Gods Domain was a game that was constantly changing. Several days was more than enough time for significant changes to sweep through the entire Gods Domain, let alone a small area like Dragonheart Island. Dragonheart Island was a location he had paid constant attention to as well as one of Zero Wings development focuses. The World Tower on Dragonheart Island was incredibly special. Even Tier 5 players could benefit from it because there were plenty of ancient ruins hidden inside. In addition, once communication between the two main continents of Gods Domain increased in frequency, Dragonheart Island would become an important trade hub. Hence, he had established roots on Dragonheart Island a long time ago. However, due to the many matters he had to deal with on the eastern continent, he had no choice but to leave Dragonheart Islands matters to someone else. As a result, Zero Wing had never been able to develop properly on Dragonheart Island. Now that his strength had undergone a qualitative transformation and he also possessed massive wealth, he would naturally have to write Zero Wings development on Dragonheart Island into his agenda. After all, Dragonheart Island had plenty of rare and precious resources. In fact, the rare basic materials that he needed for the construction of the Small Mobile Fortress could all be found on the island. This was also one of the reasons why he had decided to head to Dragonheart Island directly. I see. Realization dawned upon Divine Shadow when he heard Shi Fengs words. He now roughly understood why Yu Luo was with Shi Fengs party. He then shook his head and sighed, Guild Leader Black Flame, Dragonheart Island has already become War Bloods private playground. Outside forces are unable to interfere with Dragonheart Islands affairs at all. Even Heavens Blade has been forced to disband because of War Blood. Is it because of an NPC force? Shi Feng asked. Mhm. Somehow, Blood Oath actually managed to partner up with the Secret Hand Association, Dragonheart Islands strongest NPC force. Because of this, even Dragonheart Islands local superpowers have to abide by War Bloods will to avoid getting targeted, Divine Shadow answered, his heart brimming with hatred toward War Blood. If not for the Secret Hand Association, War Blood couldnt have forced Heavens Blade to disband no matter what. Even if War Blood had Autumn Plant, it would still be incredibly difficult for one Tier 4 player to deal with the entirety of Heavens Blade inside the vast World Tower. Naturally, it was also impossible for one Tier 4 Great Wizard to besiege a fortress. However, it was a different story for NPC forces. Even the weakest NPC force operating on Dragonheart Island had several Tier 4 NPCs under its command, what more the Secret Hand Association. According to the information Heavens Blade found, the Secret Hand Association had as many as 14 Tier 4 NPCs. Moreover, some of these Tier 4 NPCs even held considerably high positions in Dragonheart City. Hence, it was a piece of cake for the Secret Hand Association to deal with a player force like Heavens Blade in Dragonheart City. Most importantly, after the systems major update, NPCs no longer had any restrictions placed on them. While NPCs might still hesitate to take action inside an NPC city, once outside the city, NPCs could freely attack players. Therefore, any player force that dared to oppose War Blood would have their members hunted by the Secret Hand Association outside Dragonheart City. However, getting hunted and killed by the Secret Hand Associations NPCs still wasnt the worst part. In fact, getting killed would have been preferable. After all, these NPCs could actually imprison players for up to 15 natural days! Let alone Tier 3 peak experts, even Tier 3 apex experts couldnt afford such a penalty. I see. No wonder War Blood dares to be so arrogant. After hearing Divine Shadows explanation, Shi Feng more or less understood his frustration. Even in his previous life, such occurrences had been prevalent after Gods Domains first major update. Now that most players had yet to reach even Tier 3, they would find it even more impossible to oppose NPC forces. Guild Leader Black Flame, now that youve killed Autumn Plant, Im certain Ink Feather will relay this matter to Blood Oath. Since they know theyre no match for you, they will definitely contact Secret Hand. However, Secret Hand should take some time to react. Hence, my suggestion is that we leave Dragonheart Islands vicinity during this time. That way, those NPCs wont be able to do anything against us. Although the Secret Hand Association was powerful, so long as they left the Associations sphere of influence, the Associations NPCs would most likely stop pursuing them. At worst, they would no longer be able to mingle on Dragonheart Island. However, Gods Domain was a massive world. They could easily head to other locations to grind for levels. It wouldnt be too late for them to seek payback once they raised their strength. No. I wont be leaving with you. I still have some matters I need to deal with on Dragonheart Island, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Smiling, he continued, Moreover, I have a debt to collect from War Blood. After Shi Feng finished speaking, Yu Luo added in a determined tone, Thats right! Im also going to Dragonheart Island to meet with the commander! I will definitely make War Blood pay! Divine Shadow couldnt help growing anxious at Yu Luos words. They had gone to great lengths to escape from Dragonheart Island. If Yu Luo were to head to Dragonheart Island now, it would be a one-way trip. Yu Luo, stop fooling around. Guild Leader Black Flame is a Tier 4 player, so he might not have any problems, but you are An astonishing aura suddenly burst forth from Yu Luos body, interrupting Divine Shadow and subjecting him and the others to powerful pressure. The aura Yu Luo released was even more frightening than Autumn Plants. You Divine Shadow was dumbfounded when he sensed Yu Luos aura. Only after a long time did he manage to ask, Youve reached Tier 4? Chapter 2799 - Returning to Dragonheart City Chapter 2799 C Returning to Dragonheart City In response to Divine Shadows question, Yu Luo faintly smiled and nodded. Mhm. I was lucky to get promoted, thanks to Guild Leader Black Flame. Despite Yu Luos humble response, her affirmation still dumbfounded Divine Shadow. However, the life aura Yu Luo radiated couldnt be faked. Basic Attributes couldnt make up for the difference in Life Rating he sensed. Team Leader Yu Luo, youre amazing! Cleansing Flame was similarly stunned by the revelation. After snapping out of her daze, she exclaimed joyfully, Now that youve gotten promoted to Tier 4, that makes you Dragonheart Islands second Tier 4 expert! If the commander finds out about this, shell definitely be tickled pink! The current era no longer belonged to Tier 3 players but to Tier 4 players. So long as a power gained a Tier 4 player, it would receive a significant boost to its status and authority, and even NPC forces would not dare offend it recklessly. When Divine Shadow remained in a daze even after a long time had passed, Yu Luo smiled and prompted, Vice Commander Shadow, may I return to Dragonheart City together with Guild Leader Black Flame now? You are now a Tier 4 player, so I naturally cant stop you. There is also no need to stop you, Divine Shadow replied, sighing. He never thought that after not seeing each other for only a month, Yu Luo wouldve already grown into an existence he had to look up to. He then continued, However, I will return with you. Things on Dragonheart Island have changed significantly after the major update. You can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble if you have me guiding you. Vice Commander, Ill go with you too. Currently, after the commander, I have the highest status in Dragonheart City out of everyone in Heavens Blade. With me around, those NPCs shouldnt make too much trouble for us, Cleansing Flame volunteered. Status? Trouble? Yu Luo was confused by Cleansing Flames words. Since when did players require a certain degree of status to enter Dragonheart City? On the other hand, Shi Feng understood what Cleansing Flame meant. After the systems first major update, aside from NPCs becoming the majority in Gods Domain, NPCs would also start behaving more realistically. This was especially true for the various NPC forces. Although NPC forces were powerful, most of them still operated under the banner of specific kingdoms, empires, or neutral cities like Dragonheart City. Hence, ostensibly, these NPC forces wouldnt dare mess around with players in NPC cities. However, that did not stop these NPC forces from abusing their positions to harass player forces. One example would be imposing pointless inspections on players trying to enter or exit the city, which wasted their time. Hence, a players status in NPC cities became very important. However, the status mentioned here was different from the noble ranks players gained. Having status in an NPC city meant obtaining a position carrying actual power in the city. As for the noble ranks players gained previously, they were merely empty titles after the major update took place. Noble ranks no longer granted players actual power in an NPC city, only benefits such as the ability to recruit Personal Guards. Take Shi Fengs visit to the Twin Towers Kingdoms capital city, for example. The way the senior administrator of the City Hall there referred to him was completely different from how most NPCs referred to him before the major update. The senior administrator hadnt addressed Shi Feng with honorifics such as Bronze Legatee, Lord Earl, etc. Instead, the NPC merely addressed him as Sir. Only after Shi Feng had taken out the War Gods Temples certification did the NPC change his address to Lord Guild Leader. This was because he was the Guild Leader of a Guild the War Gods Temple recognized officially. In NPC cities, his status was roughly equivalent to the Deputy City Lords. Without the War Gods Temples certification, though, Shi Feng would merely be an insignificant existence to the senior administrator. Of course, had Shi Feng revealed his Tier 4 ranking, he would similarly receive different treatment. Only, compared to that of players holding actual positions of power, his treatment would still be slightly inferior. After all, no individual Tier 4 player would dare cause a ruckus in an NPC city unless they were tired of living. Hence, so long as an NPC wasnt an adventurer that frequently operated out in the fields, they wouldnt fear Tier 4 players at all. Alright, you can come with us. Divine Shadow couldnt help feeling a little helpless as he looked at Cleansing Flame. However, what she had said was also true. Previously, if not for Cleansing Flame holding the position of a squadron captain in Dragonheart Citys Dragonheart Knight Legion, they wouldve had trouble even stepping out of the citys entrance, let alone escaping Dragonheart Island. Afterward, Divine Shadow secretly led Shi Fengs group back to Dragonheart City. As for the other Heavens Blade members, they used this opportunity to depart from Dragonheart Islands vicinity quickly to avoid the Secret Hand Associations pursuit. Dragonheart Island, Dragonheart City: Due to the systems major update, Dragonheart City had become much livelier. Now, NPCs of foreign races were everywhere in the citys port, and previously scarce Tier 3 NPCs crowded the port. Most of these NPCs were at Level 130, with some even reaching Level 150. They were practically comparable to the Tier 3 NPC guards of Dragonheart City. Meanwhile, Dragonheart Citys player population had also increased significantly. This was especially true of Tier 3 independent experts. Roughly 30% of the Tier 3 independent experts operating in the major sea zones surrounding Dragonheart Island gathered here. As for the reason, firstly, Dragonheart Citys trade market was much more prosperous than other locations. Here, one could purchase many items that normally couldnt be found in the outside world. For example, Dragonheart Citys Auction House sold Epic Weapons and Equipment usable by players. The only problem was that the currency used here was not the standard Coins but Ancient Coins. Secondly, the World Towers fourth underground floor had Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Moreover, aside from independent experts, many of Gods Domains superpowers had also dispatched their members to develop on Dragonheart Island. Because of this situation, Dragonheart City most likely housed the largest number of Tier 3 players out of the various cities in Gods Domain. This was also one of the reasons why Shi Feng decided to visit Dragonheart City in person. However, before Shi Feng and the others could enter Dragonheart City, they came across Ink Feather once more. At this time, Ink Feather and several hundred other War Blood members were carefully inspecting the players trying to enter the city. Even Blood Oath was standing by the entrance and quietly observing the moving crowd. His appearance at the entrance garnered a lot of attention from the surrounding players. Whats going on? Why is Blood Oath here? I heard that someone killed one of War Bloods executives in the nearby waters. Blood Oath mustve come to deal with those offenders personally. Crap! Whos the daring bastard that killed War Bloods members? The players began a quiet discussion among themselves as they looked at Blood Oath. They admired the person who dared kill War Bloods executive. After all, even the superpowers had to behave themselves around War Blood on Dragonheart Island. Otherwise, they would meet a tragic end. A single death definitely wouldnt be enough to compensate for the offense of killing one of War Bloods executives near Dragonheart Island. Hush! Keep your voice down! Dont you see that man beside Blood Oath? a Level 122, Tier 3 Ranger said, berating his guildmates. Pointing at a stalwart man clad in silvery knight armor standing beside Blood Oath, the Ranger said, That person is Sabrid, one of the Secret Hand Associations Tier 4 NPCs. He is also one of the vice commanders of the citys knight legion. If he hears you, youll be locked up for several days! At the Rangers warning, his party members promptly stopped speaking. The name Sabrid was one they were very familiar with. This NPC was precisely why the various superpowers seeking to establish roots on Dragonheart Island had suffered severe losses. These foreign superpowers had many of their Tier 3 experts caught and jailed in Dragonheart Citys prison for three days. The reason for their imprisonment was that they had offended Sabrid. Dammit! Blood Oath actually managed to get Sabrid here in such a short time! Divine Shadows complexion darkened when he saw the knight standing beside Blood Oath. That Sabrid will definitely cause all sorts of problems for us to prevent us from entering the city, and so long as we show even the slightest sign of aggression, hell abuse his authority to have guards capture us. Before Divine Shadow could finish explaining, Blood Oath noticed Shi Fengs group, and a sly smile appeared on his face. Lord Sabrid, I found those troublemakers, Blood Oath said to Sabrid as he pointed at Shi Fengs group. Its those people. That man standing in the lead even let Heavens Blades remnants get away, disrupting War Bloods expansion plans completely! Is that so? Sabrid, who looked to be in his early 40s, looked at the location Blood Oath indicated. Narrowing his eyes, he said to the soldier standing beside him, Bring them to me. If they resist, you know what to do, right?. Leave it to us, Vice Commander! The Level 150, Tier 3 soldier smiled and nodded. He then led a team of around a dozen guards and approached Shi Fengs group. Chapter 2800 - Silent Entrance Chapter 2800 C Silent Entrance Upon seeing the squad of NPC soldiers walk out of the entrance, the War Blood members standing by the gate looked at Shi Fengs group triumphantly. The soldier squad consisted of 12 Level 150, Tier 3 NPC soldiers. These NPCs were already close to 30 levels higher than the current average level of Tier 3 players in Gods Domain. In addition, these NPCs also possessed the identity of Dragonheart Citys soldiers. After the major update, the NPC soldiers of NPC cities were no longer as rigid as before, enforcing all rules thoroughly and behaving impartially in their judgment. Instead, these NPC soldiers had become humanized, bending the rules to their liking. They could be strict with some and lenient with others. Meanwhile, so long as their actions fell within the permissible range of the rules, players would be utterly helpless against them. Vice Commander Feather, lets see how Black Flame can continue acting arrogantly! Snowy Afterglow, who had reached Level 123, said to Ink Feather as he watched the NPC soldiers approach Shi Fengs group. Even if hes Tier 4, he will still have to behave here! Black Flame isnt a simple person. If he can restrain his temper, with his status as a Tier 4 player, these soldiers wont dare make things too difficult for him, Ink Feather said, shaking her head. Everything will depend on Black Flames subsequent actions. Forbearance was a basic quality leaders of Guilds possessed. As the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, Shi Feng naturally possessed this quality too. If Shi Feng decided to behave this time, the means they could use against him wouldnt be very effective. If they failed to exact their revenge on Shi Feng now, the only thing they could do was ambush him outside Dragonheart Island. He has always been arrogant. I doubt hell tolerate this humiliation, Snowy Afterglow said. Even if he can, so long as he dares show even a little bit of resistance or behave disrespectfully to Lord Sabrid, well be able to take care of him! Lets hope so. Ink Feather also hoped that Shi Feng would choose not to tolerate the NPC guards harassment. That way, they would have an easy time dealing with him. While the soldiers were approaching Shi Fengs group, the surrounding players who saw this scene couldnt help stopping to spectate the situation. Whats the matter with these soldiers? They can actually leave the entrance on their own initiative? Wait, that Assassin seems to be Divine Shadow, one of Heavens Blades vice commanders! What? Heavens Blades members actually took the initiative to show themselves? Are they tired of living? The surrounding players recognized Divine Shadow in no time at all and were astonished. After all, War Blood had long since placed a bounty on all of Heavens Blades members in Dragonheart City. By showing up at the citys entrance now, Heavens Blades members were basically throwing themselves into the jaws of death. Now that these NPC soldiers are going straight for them, theyre seriously doomed. These NPCs are first-rate when it comes to making life difficult for others. They interrogated me for two whole hours the last time I came here. If I hadnt bribed them with a Magic Crystal, I wouldve most likely had to wait for a few more hours before I could enter the city. These soldiers are probably the Secret Hand Associations members as well. If Heavens Blades members get detained, it definitely wont end with just a few hours of interrogation. These soldiers will most likely corner them until they speak out in retaliation. And if they do that, theyll be jailed right away. Seeing the NPC soldiers taking the initiative to walk away from the entrance, the surrounding players looked at Shi Fengs group in pity. However, none of them stepped forward to help. After all, it would be an express train to hell if they did so. While the surrounding players were discussing quietly among themselves, the 12 NPC soldiers had surrounded Shi Fengs group. Dragonheart City is in chaos right now, so our superior has instructed us to tighten inspections to prevent people from making trouble in the city. Not only are you bunch acting suspiciously, but you are even concealing your identities with cloaks. Remove your cloaks and come with us! said the rough-looking guard heading the squad. Sneering, he added, Rest assured, the interrogation will be over quickly. Itll only take around a dozen hours, so it wont delay you for too long. Oh, right. Just in case, please open your spatial bags and let us inspect them. We cannot let you bring any prohibited items into the city. As soon as the head soldier finished speaking, the other guards began smiling as well. Thats right! Hurry up and open your bags! Dont worry. We wont take any of your items. Well only take a look at them. Right, right! Its just for an inspection! This is for Dragonheart Citys safety! The several NPC soldiers laughed as they looked at Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Divine Shadows complexion turned ashen when he heard the soldiers words. He had never imagined that the Secret Hand Associations NPCs would be so ruthless. A spatial bag was a players greatest secret. Revealing the contents of a players bag to other players would not only potentially attract trouble but also expose their trump cards. Excuse me, but we dont plan on entering Dragonheart City, Divine Shadow said, rejecting the soldiers demand outright. There was no way they could allow the soldiers to inspect their bags. This was especially true for Shi Feng, the Guild Leader of Zero Wing. It was evident that these soldiers were trying to pick a fight with them. Now, their only choice was to abandon their plan to enter Dragonheart City. However, the head soldier smiled when he heard Divine Shadows refusal. It doesnt matter whether you enter the city or not. In fact, you bunch look even more suspicious now! So, there is an even greater need for you to be checked! Youd best open your spatial bags quick! Otherwise, my brothers and I will personally take action! the head soldier said, raising his hand. Immediately, the 11 other soldiers gripped their weapons and released their killing intent. However, as these soldiers gripped their weapons, Cleansing Flame stepped forward. She then took out a bronze token from her bag. I am Cleansing Flame, a captain of the Dragonheart Knight Legion. These people are my companions. I can prove that they have no problems, Cleansing Flame said. In a slightly annoyed tone, she continued, Moreover, you people from the City Defense Legion are responsible for maintaining order within the city, not outside! You are overstepping your boundaries! When Cleansing Flame took out her Dragonheart Knight Token, Divine Shadow breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that he had brought her along. Otherwise, they wouldve gotten caught in the Secret Hand Associations trap. As Dragonheart Citys trump card legion, the Dragonheart Knight Legion was far superior to the City Defense Knight Legion. Moreover, the City Defense Knight Legion did not have the authority to inspect members of the Dragonheart Knight Legion. The Dragonheart Knight Legion? Looking at Cleansing Flame, the head soldier smiled nonchalantly and said, Since you are a member of the Dragonheart Knight Legion, we naturally have no right to inspect you. However, that is not the case for your companions. They are acting suspiciously and are even wearing cloaks. As Dragonheart Citys first line of defense, we have a responsibility to maintain the citys safety. Hence, we cannot leave them be. They must be checked! You The soldiers words enraged Cleansing Flame. I will report this to Commander Anos! Go tell him, then. I believe Commander Anos will understand our painstaking efforts, the head soldier said, smiling. However, before that, your companions must undergo inspection! I will give you only ten seconds to consider. If you dont open your bags yourselves, dont blame us for doing it for you! As the head soldier finished speaking, the other soldiers readied their weapons. It was evident that they did not plan on giving Shi Fengs group any chance to escape. Meanwhile, when the surrounding players saw this scene, they gasped. How ruthless! Sure enough, nobody can afford to offend War Blood on Dragonheart Island. No wonder even the superpowers dare not disrespect War Blood on Dragonheart Island. Although many of the players present would normally suffer at the hands of these NPC soldiers, the soldiers would only put them through long hours of interrogation, at most. This was definitely the first time the players had seen these soldiers draw their weapons against players. Hahaha! Amazing! Amazing! As expected of Secret Hands members! I want to see what that Black Flame is going to do now! Snowy Afterglow burst into laughter when he saw this scene. I heard that Black Flame has many treasures on him. If we can get him to reveal those treasures, all our efforts this time would definitely be worthwhile! Ink Feather also nodded in agreement with Snowy Afterglows words. In reality, even she did not think that the Secret Hand Association would be so ruthless. Now, Shi Feng was truly between a rock and a hard place. Whether he chose to anger the guards or reveal his spatial bag for everyone to see, he would still suffer in the end. Black Flame! Now, its my turn to let you know what it feels like to live in misery! When Blood Oath saw the scene playing out before him, the smile on his face grew even brighter. Previously, when Shi Feng had killed him during the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions conference, Blood Oaths reputation had plummeted on Dragonheart Island. However, the tables had turned now. After partnering with the Secret Hand Association, Blood Oath had always hoped that Shi Feng would come to Dragonheart Island. To ensure this happened, he had even had his subordinates provoke Zero Wing frequently. Now, his chance for vengeance had arrived. This was also only the first step of Blood Oaths vengeance. Even if Shi Feng agreed to the soldiers demand, he still had plenty of things prepared for Shi Feng afterward. It wouldnt matter even if Shi Feng was a Tier 4 player. Dragonheart City was different from the average NPC city. In terms of combat power, Dragonheart City was even stronger than the capital cities of some empires. Moreover, as Dragonheart City was a neutral city, the identities and positions one held in kingdoms and cities did not matter here, only Dragonheart Citys identities and statuses. This was also why the various superpowers had no choice but to submit to War Blood. While everyone was secretly discussing the situation, Divine Shadow whispered to Shi Feng, Im sorry for this situation, Guild Leader Black Flame. Ill hold them back afterward, so run away when you get the chance. These soldiers wont dare abandon their post, so as long as you leave Dragonheart Islands vicinity, they wont continue chasing you. Their only way out of this situation now was to flee. Confronting these NPC soldiers would only mean death for them. If they did that, they would be playing into Blood Oaths hands. Hence, Divine Shadow decided to exchange his own life for everyone elses freedom. No, that wont be necessary, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Leave the rest to me. Guild Leader Black Flame? Divine Shadow was a little confused as he looked at Shi Feng. There was clearly no room for reconciliation between them and the NPC soldiers. Aside from escaping, he simply couldnt figure out how they could get out of this situation. At this moment, let alone Divine Shadow, even Yu Luo found this situation strange. She couldnt understand what Shi Feng could possibly do in this situation, either. When the head soldier saw Shi Feng stepping forward, he grinned and asked, What? Have you made up your mind? Shi Feng was the person Vice Commander Sabrid had singled out. No matter what Shi Fengs answer was, the head soldier would have ways to make things difficult for him. Made up my mind? Chuckling, Shi Feng said, Indeed, I have made up my mind. Good! Nodding, the head soldier said, Then, open up your spatial bag!. As soon as the head soldier finished speaking, Shi Feng made his move. The next moment, a fleeting flash appeared before Shi Feng, and the head soldiers body got bisected. The soldiers 20 million HP instantly fell to zero, the two halves of his body spraying blood all over the place as they fell to the ground. Chapter 2801 - Combating a Tier 4 NPC! He killed the NPC? How dare he?! Everyone present was taken aback when they saw the head soldier bisected. Even Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame had their mouths hanging wide open, neither of them having expected Shi Feng to take action. Moreover, not only did Shi Feng take action, but he had even directly killed an NPC soldier. This was simply This guy is doomed! Hes definitely dead! He actually killed one of Dragonheart Citys NPC soldiers! This wont end with just a few weeks imprisonment! Dragonheart City was a neutral city. Hence, its management was much stricter than that of NPC cities in kingdoms and empires. Before the major system update took place, players who killed another player or NPC within Dragonheart City would not only be killed on the spot but also be prohibited from logging into the game for a month. And when they could log back into the game, they would lose ten levels and have their souls placed into a weakened state for ten days. This penalty would basically cripple a players account. Now, not only did Shi Feng commit murder after the system update, but the person he killed was even an NPC soldier. At this point, everyone no longer dared imagine what kind of punishment he would receive should he be killed or caught. Ink Feather and the other War Blood members standing by the entrance were caught off guard by Shi Fengs actions. How much courage does he possess? Ink Feather couldnt believe her eyes as she took in Shi Fengs casual appearance. Did he lose his mind? She had thought of the possibility of Shi Feng resisting the NPC soldiers and escaping. However, the possibility of him killing an NPC soldier had never occurred to her. Yet, Shi Feng had executed this feat so decisively. As for Blood Oath, when he saw this scene, he became ecstatic. Good! As expected of the first player to get promoted to Tier 4! Blood Oath sneered. Unfortunately, today will be the day you fall! However, before everyone could recover from the surprise of seeing Shi Feng kill the head soldier, Shi Feng brandished the Abyssal Blade once more. The next moment, a galaxy of stars appeared around Shi Feng and enveloped the 11 NPC soldiers remaining of the squad. Swords Orbit! Damages exceeding 50 million appeared above the Tier 3 NPCs heads one after another, the 11 NPC soldiers getting killed instantly. A bunch of useless fools! Do you think Dragonheart Citys rules have any use against me? Shi Feng said as he glanced at the fallen NPC soldiers indifferently. He then sheathed the Abyssal Blade casually as if he hadnt done anything to speak of. If it were before he had entered the ancient Gods Domain, he would still have to be wary of Dragonheart Citys rules. However, he no longer had such worries now. At Shi Fengs words, a deathly silence momentarily enveloped the surrounding area. Hes nuts! Hes definitely nuts! Who is this guy? He actually dares slaughter Dragonheart Citys NPC soldiers? When the spectators saw Shi Fengs actions, some felt crazed, some felt fearful, some felt excited, and some felt awed. One thing was for certain, though-Shi Fengs feat of killing 11 NPC soldiers in one go would be forever etched in their minds. Without a doubt, Shi Feng was the most ruthless player in Gods Domain! The surrounding players became curious about Shi Fengs identity. Meanwhile, when the silver-armored knight Sabrid saw this scene, his eyes turned bloodshot, and the intensity of his aura skyrocketed. He no longer suppressed his aura, thoroughly displaying the power of a Level 160, Tier 4 NPC. His aura was so overbearing that everyone nearby shuddered involuntarily. Outrageous! You dare lay hands on the City Defense Knight Legion?! Dont even think of leaving this place alive today! Sabrid bellowed as he leaped into the air. Simultaneously, the other NPC soldiers stationed at the entrance also took action, their numbers exceeding 100. Were really doomed this time Divine Shadow despaired when he saw Sabrid taking action. He couldnt understand why Shi Feng had acted so rashly. Their group stood no chance against a Level 160, Tier 4 NPC, even though Shi Feng was Tier 4. After all, NPCs possessed not only higher Basic Attributes than players but also superior Mana control. Their weapons and equipment were likewise superior to those of players in general. However, while Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame were despairing over this matter, two voices of complaint entered their ears. Guild Leader, youre too fast! Thats right! You shouldve told us in advance if you were going to attack! At least give us some time to prepare! The next moment, both Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine took out their weapons in frustration, evidently intending to fight these NPC soldiers. Have they lost their minds, too?! Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame were on the brink of mental collapse at this moment. Shi Feng was famous for being an arrogant Guild Leader, so while his reaction was shocking, it was still within the realm of expectations. However, what was up with the two players following Shi Feng? Yu Luo, though, did not appear surprised by Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nines actions. She, too, grabbed her staff and said quietly to Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame, Vice Commander, Flame, wait behind us. Ill deal with the NPCs coming at us. IL11 At Yu Luos words, Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame turned to the Cleric in surprise and confusion. What had become of this world? Was this really the same Yu Luo they knew? Seeing the twos horrified eyes, Yu Luo smiled and consoled, Dont worry. Nothing will happen. Were just dealing with a bunch of NPC soldiers. Out of everyone present, she reacted the calmest to Shi Fengs actions. As she had reached Tier 4 herself, she understood quite well that Tier 4 powerhouses were no pushovers. Even the NPCs in the ancient Gods Domain didnt dare offend Tier 4 players. Yet, these Tier 3 NPCs in the modern Gods Domain actually dared do so. They were simply tired of living. After all, even the kings of kingdoms dared not casually offend Tier 4 powerhouses! She had to admit that while some NPCs had grown smarter after gaining conscious thought, some had grown dumber as well! Either that or pushing around Tier 3 players had become a habit for these Tier 3 NPCs, and they now assumed that the existence known as players were pushovers that didnt know how to retaliate. The fact that players still had the mindset that NPCs shouldnt be provoked had most likely contributed to this misconception as well. However, after experiencing life in the ancient Gods Domain, Yu Luo understood very clearly that Gods Domain never had any absolute rules. The only absolutes were strength and status. In the ancient Gods Domain, instances of players killing NPCs occurred frequently. Even killing City Lords wouldnt be a problem so long as one could bear the consequences and had the strength necessary to accomplish the feat. Hence, she found it laughable that War Blood thought it could rule over Dragonheart City without fear just because it had gained the support of an NPC force. War Blood was utterly ignorant of the fact that after players reached Tier 4, they would be living in a completely different world from Tier 3 players! At this time, Sabrid had already arrived in the air above Shi Fengs group and was looking at Shi Feng with anger in his eyes. This was because even he hadnt expected that Shi Feng would dare kill the soldiers; furthermore, he would be held responsible for their deaths. Unable to hold back his anger, he bellowed, Foolish heaven-blessed individual! Do you think nobody can punish you just because youve reached Tier 4? None of you will escape today! After saying so, Sabrid unslung the snowy-white greatsword he carried on his back and executed a slash at Shi Feng. A sword light shot at Shi Feng, leaving behind a black tear in space that extended hundreds of yards away. The power of this attack could heavily injure even a Mythic monster of the same level. Tier 4 Skill, Sky Splitting Flash! Well said! Looking at Sabrids approaching attack, Shi Feng said leisurely, However, you provoked the wrong person! After saying so, Shi Feng unsheathed the Light of Two Worlds and brandished it. Chapter 2802 - Power of Two Worlds Swords Orbit! Boom! When the two attacks collided, a powerful shockwave spread to several hundred yards away. Even the nearby Tier 3 experts stumbled a few steps back, while the Tier 2 players went flying several dozen yards. He blocked it? Who is he?! The spectating players were stunned when they saw Shi Feng still standing in his original position. Despite going up against a Level 160, Tier 4 NPCs Tier 4 Skill, Shi Feng was actually an even match, emerging from the exchange unscathed. At this time, let alone the spectators, even Sabrid was surprised by this situation. Surprised? Looking at Sabrids slightly bewildered expression, Shi Feng smiled faintly and said, It seems that the vice commander of Dragonheart Citys City Defense Knight Legion only amounts to this much. However, despite saying such words, Shi Feng dared not be careless around Sabrid. The Light of Two Worlds had indeed increased his Basic Attributes and the power of his Sword-type Skills significantly. Thanks to it and the several other Fragmented Legendary items he equipped, his Basic Attributes reached an astonishing level. Although he still wasnt a match for Superior Mythic monsters of the same level, he wasnt that far off, either. However, Sabrid was at Level 160, 20 levels higher than Shi Feng. In terms of Basic Attributes, Shi Feng definitely lost to Sabrid by a large margin. Hence, the only way he could beat the NPC was by relying on his powerful Mana and superior combat techniques. Boy, you are courting death! Sabrid grew even more enraged at Shi Fengs words. Suddenly, the Mana within a thousand-yard radius began gathering around Sabrid in a frenzy. It was evident that the knight had not used his full strength for the previous attack. After the gathered Mana reached a critical point, Sabrid instantly transformed into several dozen afterimages that surrounded Shi Feng. The NPC was dazzlingly fast. Tier 4 Skill, Broken Shadow! At this time, even Shi Feng couldnt tell which of these afterimages was the real Sabrid. It felt as if the NPC had truly split into several dozen clones of himself. Before Shi Feng could react, fiery runes appeared on Sabrids snowy-white greatsword, the flames the runes gave off incinerating even space itself. Tier 4 Taboo Skill, Starfire Blade! The next moment, every one of Sabrids afterimages executed a slash. Despite the Starfire Blade being effective for only one attack in reality, Sabrid had turned it into several dozen attacks. Amazing! As expected of a knight legions vice commander! He actually managed to fuse his Tier 4 Skills to such an extent! Shi Feng couldnt help being in awe when he saw the several dozen attacks coming at him from all directions. Combining two Skills was much more difficult than combining two Spells. However, so long as one succeeded, one could dramatically increase the effectiveness of the Skills. Disappear! Sabrid bellowed, the power that his weapon radiated skyrocketing even further. It was clear he had stopped holding back and planned to slay Shi Feng. Seeing the several dozen space-tearing greatswords approaching him, Shi Feng held up his sword horizontally before him. Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Blade Domain! Immediately, seven magic swords materialized around Shi Feng. The magic swords then transformed into innumerable stars in his surroundings. Swords Orbit! Boom Boom Boom A series of explosions and shockwaves blanketed the area in front of Dragonheart Citys entrance. After several dozen clashes, the ground under Shi Feng cracked, and the space around him shattered. His HP had fallen by more than five million as well, his HP bar falling by one-third of its capacity. He didnt die?! Ink Feathers eyes widened in shock when she saw the amount of HP Shi Feng lost, her mind refusing to believe this outcome. Sabrid was a Level 160, Tier 4 NPC; moreover, he was the vice commander of one of Dragonheart Citys knight legions. His strength was above average even among Tier 4 NPCs. With his combination of a Tier 4 Skill and a Tier 4 Taboo Skill, he could inflict significant damage on Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Yet, Sabrids attack had only taken one-third of Shi Fengs HP. Amazing! The power of this fusion attack actually reaches the Tier 5 Basic rank! After taking a look at his remaining HP, Shi Feng felt even greater admiration for Sabrid. If he hadnt switched to the Light of Two Worlds, which raised all his Sword-type Skills by one level, he wouldve had to activate his Berserk Skill to repulse Sabrids fusion attack. However, activating his Berserk Skill would also mean that he had been pushed to his limits, on the brink of death. After all, Berserk Skills werent unique to players; NPCs had them as well. Boy, it seems youre quite sturdy! Sabrid was inwardly astonished when he saw Shi Feng still standing. He never imagined that a heaven-blessed individual could be so strong. However, this is the end for you! After saying so, Sabrid raised his greatsword into the air. Immediately afterward, a dozen identical greatswords appeared around him, forming a magic array. Tier 4 Skill, Blades Shadow! Tier 4 Taboo Skill, Sealing Void! The next moment, the dozen greatswords transformed into black holes that shot toward Shi Feng. Upon seeing the black holes spanning several dozen meters, the nearby spectators, both players and NPCs, fell into despair. This was because they could already foresee that once these black holes collided with the ground, the impact would vaporize everything within several hundred yards. Sure enough, Tier 4 NPCs are no pushovers. However, this still isnt enough to get rid of me! Shi Feng smiled when he saw the descending black holes. Lets test this move on you! The next moment, Shi Feng tightened his grip on the Light of Two Worlds and poured half of his Mana into the weapon. Suddenly, crimson divine runes lit up all over the sword, releasing a dazzling and mesmerizing brilliance. As this dazzling light bloomed, a deathly silence enveloped the world around Shi Feng. Even time itself seemed to flow significantly slower. Subsequently, Shi Feng swung the Light of Two Worlds at Sabrid. World Breaker! Boom! A strange light instantly penetrated the descending black holes like a hot knife through butter before landing on Sabrid. When the strange light disappeared, time began flowing normally again. Meanwhile, the black holes in the sky had all disappeared. As for Sabrid, he had lost over half his HP from the attack, retaining only around 200 million HP. Cracks had also appeared on the armor he wore, and fresh blood flowed out from all over his body. However, before Sabrid could react, the slightly pale Shi Feng had already arrived before the NPC. Not giving Sabrid any time to catch his breath, Shi Feng brandished the Light of Two Worlds once more. Spatial Slash! Swords Transmigration! Although the fusion of Skill and combat technique wasnt comparable to the fusion of Skill and Skill, the combination still increased the effectiveness of his Skill significantly. The next moment, six sword lights tore through space and approached Sabrid. Reacting quickly, Sabrid held his greatsword horizontally before him and activated the Tier 4 Defensive Skill, Steel Fortress. The Skill created a defensive barrier in front of him and increased his Defense by 500% temporarily. One slash! Two slashes! Three slashes! Every one of Shi Fengs attacks managed to slice through Sabrids defensive barrier without fail, but the barrier still bought Sabrid enough time to defend against the attacks with his greatsword. Boom Boom Boom The next moment, explosions echoed throughout Dragonheart Island one after another. Simultaneously, Sabrids HP fell time after time. When the last sword light collided with Sabrids greatsword, the NPC got smashed into the ground at the speed of light, the impact creating a crater over a dozen meters deep. This last attack also zeroed Sabrids HP, and the knight passed away with a reluctant look on his face. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, hovering in the air, saw his experience bar filling up rapidly. In no time at all, a golden glow enveloped him as his level rose from Level 140 to Level 141. However, nobody paid any attention to Shi Feng at this time. Instead, everyone had their heads down as they gaped at Sabrids corpse lying in the crater. As if time had stopped moving, a deathly silence enveloped the entrance of Dragonheart City. Chapter 2803 - God’s Domain’s Strongest He died? A Tier 4 NPC died, just like that? When the spectating players saw Sabrids dead body, they couldnt help doubting their eyes. Some of them even thought that the NPC was only playing dead and hadnt actually been killed. Blood Oath, standing by the entrance, also felt that the scene before him was fake. Sabrid was the vice commander of one of Dragonheart Citys powerful knight legions. He stood at the peak among Tier 4 existences. How could he possibly have been killed by a player? Of the spectating players present, the only ones who remained relatively calm at this situation were Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo. They didnt find it particularly surprising that Shi Feng had killed Sabrid. After all, Shi Feng had already reached Level 140. For Tier 4 existences, a 20-level gap wasnt much of a difference. However, the three of them had never imagined that Shi Feng would be able to kill Sabrid so cleanly. The attack he used to injure Sabrid heavily was especially amazing. If not for that attack, the fight between the two wouldve lasted much longer. Unlike Lifeless Thorns trio, Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame had their mouths fall wide open when they saw this scene. Their minds clearly failed to process what had just happened. While everyone was struggling to accept this scene, reality poured a bucket of cold water over them. The next moment, several items actually appeared around Sabrids corpse. Of them, one was even the greatsword Sabrid used. The greatsword hovered in the air, radiating an unparalleled aura. Upon being subjected to this aura, many of the Tier 2 players felt an instinctive fear overwhelming their bodies. Only the Tier 3 players fared better. A Fragmented Legendary Weapon! Nobody knew who shouted this sentence. However, it snapped everyone out of their daze, and they couldnt help ogling the snowy-white weapon with glowing eyes. Some players even had the urge to charge forward and snatch it. However, before anyone could step forward, Shi Feng had already arrived beside Sabrids body, the aura he radiated scaring everyone into retreating. The pressure Shi Feng gave off was simply too powerful. Even though he had already retracted his Mana Domain, everyone still felt stifled, none of them daring to look him in the eye. As for the Fragmented Legendary Weapon, none of the players present dared entertain any thoughts of it now. After all, Shi Feng had just killed a Level 160, Tier 4 NPC. A single thought from him was probably more than enough to kill players like themselves. For a time, the tens of thousands of players and NPCs standing in the vicinity quietly watched Shi Feng collect the items Sabrid dropped one after another. If I can become like him one day, my life would be complete. Let alone becoming like him, I can most likely walk around Dragonheart Island fearlessly with even half of his strength! As the adventurer team players spectating the fight from the distant port watched Shi Feng collect Sabrids loot, a sense of yearning and admiration awoke in their hearts. They also grew excited beyond words. The fact that Shi Feng had managed to slay a Tier 4 NPC right in front of Dragonheart City, a large neutral city, definitely made him Gods Domains strongest player. In fact, most likely, nobody would believe them even if they described this scene to others. Nonetheless, they had managed to witness this miraculous feat. How could their blood not boil in this situation? However, amid everyones excitement, Shi Feng suddenly disappeared. Before anyone realized it, Shi Feng had already reappeared in front of Blood Oath, catching Blood Oath and the three peak experts protecting him off guard. Commander Blood Oath, we meet again, Shi Feng said with a faint smile. Im sure you know why I came here. Although Shi Feng spoke in a calm tone and was even smiling, Blood Oath and the others paled as if they had just seen a ghost. Black Flame Youd best not mess around! Doing his best to calm his anxious heart, Blood Oath glared at Shi Feng and added in a low tone, This is already inside Dragonheart City! Moreover, now that youve killed Sabrid, neither Dragonheart City nor Secret Hand will spare you! If you know whats good for you, youd best leave now! Youll be dead once the City Lord or the City Defense Legions commander arrives! On Dragonheart Island, players would suffer entirely different penalties depending on whether they had fought inside or outside Dragonheart City. The fight with Sabrid had been outside the city. Hence, even though Shi Feng had killed Sabrid, the penalty he would suffer wouldnt be particularly severe. After all, the area outside the city wasnt subject to the citys protections. Even if a fight took place right outside the citys entrance, the citys NPC soldiers would, at most, move to stop the fight. They wouldnt detain the offenders at all. This was also why Sabrid and the other NPC soldiers dared take the initiative to persecute Shi Fengs group before. However, Blood Oaths current position was inside Dragonheart City. If Shi Feng killed him now, the severity of his crimes would be on a whole other level. Is that so? Smiling, Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and brandished it. Three sword lights shot out from his weapon and instantly plundered the lives of the three peak experts standing around Blood Oath. Even when their bodies hit the ground, none of the three had realized what had happened. Shi Feng then turned to Blood Oath and asked, What about now? You How dare you? Blood Oath was thunderstruck when he saw his three subordinates killed. Everyone else in the vicinity also saw this scene without missing a detail. Crap! Awesome! This is awesome! Black Flame! He must be Black Flame, right?! He actually killed three of War Bloods peak experts right in front of Blood Oath, and Blood Oath doesnt even dare make any strange moves. Am I dreaming? Everyone felt their blood boil with excitement when they looked at Blood Oath, who dared not move a muscle in front of Shi Feng. Their worship of Shi Feng rose to a whole new level. Blood Oath was known throughout Gods Domain. After all, he was a big shot that even the superpowers had to submit to on Dragonheart Island, an existence standing at the peak of Dragonheart Island. Nonetheless, Blood Oath looked no different from an ant in front of Shi Feng. This situation was simply crazy! It was so crazy that they couldnt even react to it! However, shortly after the crowd began bubbling with excitement, three figures suddenly descended from the sky and landed at the entrance. Every one of these figures exuded an aura much stronger than that of Sabrid. Upon seeing these figures, Blood Oath reacted as if he had seen his savior. He looked at Shi Feng and laughed, Black Flame, you are finished! Now that the Vice City Lord and two knight commanders have arrived, you shouldnt even think of leaving this place alive! One of the three new arrivals was none other than Kroos, Dragonheart Citys Vice City Lord. He was a Level 180, Tier 4 Great Wizard, a big shot standing at the top of Gods Domain. According to rumors, he was only half a step away from Tier 5 and could even contend against Demon Princes of the same level. As for the two other figures, one of them was Shera Veria, the commander of the Holy Star Knight Legion and one of the World Towers Protectors. She was a bona fide Level 200, Tier 5 Great Holy Knight. The last person was Landrek, the commander of the City Defense Knight Legion. He was a Level 180, Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Although he was the weakest among the group of three, he was still significantly stronger than Sabrid. This was because Landrek owned Earthen Glory, a genuine Legendary Spear. With this weapon, he was fully capable of contending with Tier 5 existences of the same level. With these three NPCs around, even a Tier 5 player wouldnt be able to escape! Chapter 2804 - Difference in Status Why did all these big shots show up?! The players present gasped when they saw Kroos, Shera Veria, and Landrek at the entrance. They never thought that Shi Fengs fight would attract so many NPC powerhouses. After all, players normally couldnt meet even one of these big shots. Nevertheless, three of them now appeared. Protector Shera Veria, in particular, was one of the apex powerhouses of Gods Domain. In the absence of Tier 6 Gods, she would be part of the strongest group of existences. This was because not only was Shera Veria a Tier 5 NPC, but she even owned two Legendary items: the Galaxy Sword and Bulwark of Light. She had slain dozens of Demon Kings, Elven royalty, and Void Demons before. Even if a Tier 5 player existed now, they would simply be seeking death if they tried challenging her. The next moment, Blood Oath walked up to Vice City Lord Krooss side quickly, then pointed at Shi Feng and said respectfully, Lord Vice City Lord, not only did this ruffian kill Vice Commander Sabrid, but he even killed my companions inside the city! You must punish this ruffian and protect Dragonheart Citys order! Blood Oath spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice, his words echoing throughout the entrance. It sounded as if he was pronouncing the death sentence on Shi Feng. Upon seeing the arrival of the three NPCs, Ink Feather breathed out a deep sigh of relief. When she looked at Shi Feng again, a hint of glee appeared in her eyes. Lets see how you get out of this situation! When the other players present saw this scene, they couldnt help shaking their heads dejectedly. With three of Dragonheart Citys NPC powerhouses here, it was most likely impossible for Shi Feng to escape with his life. Just when everyone thought another battle would break out, Kroos, the white-bearded old man standing beside Blood Oath, spoke up. A Dragon Slayer. I never thought I would get to see one in my lifetime, and such a young one at that, Kroos said, a faint smile appearing on his face. It seems times are changing. The Vice City Lords words rendered everyone present stunned and confused. What Dragon Slayer? Blood Oath was similarly stunned by Krooss words. He couldnt figure out what the Vice City Lord was getting at. Instead of punishing Shi Feng as soon as possible, the NPC brought up the topic of Dragon Slayer out of nowhere. Just what was this NPC trying to do? You overpraise me, Lord Vice City Lord. Turning to look at Kroos, Shi Feng said, My friends and I just got lucky to slay a Dragon that had yet to enter adulthood. No, no! A Dragon is a Dragon. Your accomplishment of slaying a Tier 4 Infant Dragon while being at Tier 4 yourself is something even Lady Shera never achieved, Kroos countered, shaking his head. If not for you, Lady Shera wouldnt have left the World Tower to come here in person. Krooss words left Blood Oath dumbfounded. Shera Veria actually came here not because Shi Feng had killed Sabrid but merely to take a look at Shi Feng? At this time, let alone Blood Oath, most of the other players nearby were stupefied as well. What was going on with this situation? When Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame saw this scene, they were at a complete loss for words. They felt as if they were living in a completely different world from Shi Feng. Not only had Shi Feng killed the City Defense Legions vice commander, but he also had subsequently killed three of War Bloods peak experts inside the city. Nevertheless, Dragonheart Citys Vice City Lord was chatting with him as if none of these offenses had ever occurred. At this time, among the spectating players, only Lifeless Thorn, Solitary Nine, and Yu Luo knew why this was happening. The Dragon Slayer title wasnt just a title. It symbolized the accomplishment of a legendary feat in Gods Domain. With this title, no matter which NPC city one visited, one would enjoy a status close to that of the City Lord. For someone with such a status, killing a couple of provocateurs wouldnt be a problem at all. The only reason Sabrid had dared act rudely to Shi Feng was his low standard, which prevented him from seeing through the Black Cloaks concealment effects. Otherwise, let alone provoking Shi Feng, he wouldnt even have dared speak casually around Shi Feng, knowing that Shi Feng was a Dragon Slayer. After glancing at Lifeless Thorn and the other two Tier 4 players standing at a distance, Shera Veria turned to Shi Feng and asked softly, Young Dragon Slayer, are you and your companions willing to serve as the Holy Star Legions honorary knights? Honorary Knights? The Holy Knights words caught Shi Feng slightly off guard. However, a moment later, he replied without hesitation, It is our honor! In an NPC knight legion, the position of honorary knight was second only to the position of commander. In the absence of the commander, an honorary knight even had the authority to mobilize the legion. Moreover, despite not being bound to the knight legion, an honorary knight would still enjoy various privileges and benefits from the knight legion. Meanwhile, the Holy Star Knight Legion was the knight legion tasked with protecting the World Tower. Compared to other knight legions, one could gain even more benefits as an honorary knight of the Holy Star Knight Legion. In the past, countless Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts had sought to join the Holy Star Legion. However, due to the legions strict requirements, less than ten percent of the Tier 4 experts had gotten chosen and become an official member of the legion, let alone becoming an honorary knight. Hence, the fact that Shera Veria was offering to let them become honorary knights greatly exceeded Shi Fengs expectations. Good! You are now members of the Holy Star Knight Legion! Fight to protect the rules of the World Tower! Shera Veria nodded approvingly as she looked at Shi Feng. You can head to the World Tower to collect your honorary badge afterward. As soon as Shera Veria finished speaking, she vanished from everyones sight. This Blood Oath was dumbfounded by this situation. He never thought that Shera Veria had come here just to meet Shi Feng. Moreover, she hadnt even mentioned a single word about Sabrid, as if Sabrid was merely an insignificant insect. Before Blood Oath could snap out of his daze, Vice City Lord Kroos walked up to Shi Feng. Congratulations, Young Dragon Slayer, Kroos said happily. It has been 50 years since Lady Shera last conferred the Holy Star Legions honorary knight position to anyone. Even Commander Landrek is still challenging for that position. Upon seeing Kroos speaking with Shi Feng so amicably, the surrounding players felt their world views fragmenting. They simply couldnt figure out what exactly Shi Feng had done to garner the appreciation of these NPC powerhouses, so much so that they even ignored the killing of Sabrid, the City Defense Legions vice commander. The next moment, just as Blood Oath was about to say something, Shi Feng cut him off, saying, Lord Kroos, when my companions and I were trying to enter the city before, this person here accused me of being suspicious and instigated Vice Commander Sabrid to provoke my group. May I know if it is possible to imprison him as punishment? Black Flame! Youre slandering me! Blood Oath panicked at Shi Fengs words. Hurriedly, he explained, I have done no such thing! It was Lord Sabrid himself who decided to do so! The people around us can testify for me! At this time, Blood Oath already understood that Vice City Lord Kroos had no intention whatsoever of pursuing Shi Feng for Sabrids murder. Moreover, now that Shi Feng had gained a very high position in Dragonheart City, if Blood Oath did not withdraw from this place immediately, he would definitely suffer. Do you mean that I, an honorary knight of the Holy Star Legion, am lying? Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at Blood Oath. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Kroos nodded and looked at Blood Oath. He then said sternly, Regardless of whether your words are true or false, you have slandered one of the Holy Star Legions honorary knights. For this offense, you will be imprisoned for 15 days as punishment! No! This is unfair! He clearly attacked first! Blood Oath was startled by this turn of events. He never thought that Shi Feng would play such a hand. However, it was useless to resist. Glaring at Shi Feng, he bellowed, Black Flame, Ill make you pay for this! The Secret Hand Association wont let you off, either! Get out of prison first, then talk. Smiling nonchalantly, Shi Feng said, Rest assured, once you get out, everything outside wouldve already ended. The Secret Hand Association indeed possessed a lot of Tier 4 NPCs. On the other hand, he was no pushover, either. This was especially true now that he was an honorary knight of the Holy Star Knight Legion. The Association would have to think twice before they tried anything against him. The Holy Star Knight Legion was both the manager and protector of the World Tower. The Secret Hand Association would be suicidal to attack him inside the World Tower. As for Dragonheart Islands surrounding sea zones, he rarely visited these areas normally. At most, he would be sailing by. Moreover, once the seal on Dragonheart Island was lifted, he could outright teleport to and from the island. Before Blood Oath could say anything more, a squad of Level 160 soldiers came and escorted him away. How ruthless! Is this the status and influence Tier 4 powerhouses possess? Tier 4! I must get promoted to Tier 4! So, this is Zero Wings Black Flame? Hes even more amazing than the rumors. I wonder if Zero Wing is recruiting Tier 2 players? If I can join such a Guild, I wont have to worry about anything in Dragonheart City. When the surrounding players saw NPC soldiers bundling off Dragonheart Islands most feared man, they were taken aback by Shi Fengs capabilities. They also understood why Shi Feng had not killed Blood Oath outright. Compared to the penalty of dying once, the consequences of getting imprisoned for 15 days were much more severe. This was especially true now that Shi Feng had gained such a high status in Dragonheart City. For him, 15 days was more than enough to bring down the War Blood adventurer team. Meanwhile, all Blood Oath could do was watch as all of this happened. At this time, everyone present could already foresee Zero Wing standing at the peak of Dragonheart Island. Our problem has been resolved. After watching Blood Oath getting taken away, Shi Feng returned to Divine Shadow and the others. Smiling, he said, We can enter Dragonheart City now. In response, Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame nodded their heads stiffly. Even now, they still found it difficult to believe what had happened. Just a moment ago, War Blood had been at the apex of its power. Yet, with only a few words from Shi Feng, it now faced the threat of dissolution. Meanwhile, news of this situation spread like wildfire. In only a matter of minutes, it entered the ears of everyone in Dragonheart City. The news caused an especially large commotion among the citys various Guilds and adventurer teams. Chapter 2805 - Fame Shakes Dragonheart City What did you say?” Black Flame killed a Tier 4 NPC and even got Blood Oath imprisoned for 15 days? When the various Guilds and adventurer teams operating in Dragonheart City heard of Shi Fengs miraculous feat, they were thunderstruck. They repeatedly pressed the reporting personnel for confirmation regarding the validity of this information. As if having expected such a reaction, the reporting personnel promptly sent a battle video of Shi Feng killing Sabrid to their respective superiors, as well as videos of Shi Feng killing three of War Bloods peak experts right in front of Blood Oath and of NPC soldiers dragging Blood Oath off to prison. Dragonheart City, Bloodstone Bar: A group of Level 123-plus, Tier 3 experts had gathered in this bar. Of the group, even the weakest person was at the Refinement Realm standard. There were also more than a dozen peak experts and four apex experts. Meanwhile, seated at the head of this group was none other than Elder Wu, one of Thirteen Throness founders. Thousand, are you sure this information is correct? Elder Wu couldnt help feeling skeptical as he read the report from a woman shrouded in a layer of black mist. This was because Thousand Livess report was simply too astonishing. After all, the reason their group was currently operating so secretively was War Blood. Nevertheless, Elder Wu was being told that War Blood was finished. Moreover, its destruction was due entirely to Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame. How could he possibly believe this? It is 100% true. Many powers already have designs on War Bloods territory. If not for War Blood still retaining some contact with Secret Hand, they wouldve most likely taken action already, Thousand Lives insisted in a determined tone. Moreover, according to the information I collected, Heavens Blade appears to have formed a close relationship with Black Flame. If Zero Wing has Heavens Blades full support, Im afraid it wont be long before Zero Wing occupies a significant portion of Dragonheart Citys various resources. What is Black Flame thinking? He actually has the leisure to come to Dragonheart City? Is he not worried about the deteriorating situation over at the Twin Towers Kingdom?. Elder Wu, who wore a somewhat haggard expression, was surprised by Thousand Livess words. Simultaneously, he was confused as to how Shi Feng had grown so terrifying this rapidly. The fact that Shi Feng had killed a Tier 4 NPC without any repercussions and imprisoned Blood Oath with just a few words proved that he already stood at the top of Dragonheart City in terms of status. He was now an existence that Dragonheart Citys various powers had to look up to. Yet, according to Elder Wus information, Zero Wings operations over at the Twin Towers Kingdom were in dire straits. At this stage of the game, complete Tier 3 Legacies were of utmost importance to the various superpowers. These Legacies would allow them to go up against the NPC forces. Hence, over 20 superpowers were currently harassing Zero Wings operations in the Twin Towers Kingdom with peak experts every day. While these superpowers were going up against the alliance of Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor at Sky Spring City, they had also dispatched many members to head to the Secret Covenant Tower from the neighboring NPC cities. To prevent these players from flooding into the Secret Covenant Tower, Zero Wings alliance had stationed a large number of personnel on the routes to the tower. Thus far, battles between both sides involving over 100,000 players had already occurred five times, while battles involving several tens of thousands of players had occurred more than 20 times. In the most recent battle, Starlink and Miracle had even joined in the fray and dispatched a total of four Tier 4 experts. Fortunately, Zero Wings side had dispatched three Tier 4 experts to counter. One of them was the commander of Zero Wings main force, Fire Dance, one was Unyielding Souls Vice Guild Leader Unyielding Heart, and one was Crimson Emperors Vice Guild Leader Illusory Words. As for Black Flame, he was nowhere to be seen. In regard to this situation, everyone was confused as to why Black Flame sat out this battle. This battle had thoroughly shaken the entire Gods Domain. It was the first one involving multiple Tier 4 experts since Gods Domains launch. By the end of this battle, a large portion of the Glacial Lake Plain, where the conflict took place, had been reduced to a barren wasteland. Although the fight had ended in Zero Wings victory, if not for Zero Wings powerful war weapons, such as the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, Combat Puppets, and Advanced Barriers, the outcome wouldve been different. Moreover, the increasing rampancy of NPC forces had forced the various superpowers to conserve a significant portion of their forces. However, Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor were no longer in a good state. The three Guilds had suffered tremendous losses due to the protracted war. This was especially true for Zero Wing. After all, unlike Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor, Zero Wing had no background to rely on whatsoever. Knowing this, the various superpowers had also put in a lot of effort to whittle Zero Wing to death as quickly as possible. The actions the various superpowers took included poaching Zero Wings experts and cutting off Zero Wings income sources. Zero Wings loss of income sources in the real world had put the Guild in an especially difficult position. Most importantly, the various superpowers had also blocked Zero Wings equipment and material sources. Although it wasnt a complete embargo, the various superpowers had jacked up the prices of equipment and materials to absurd levels. Now, just producing a piece of Level 120 Mysterious-Iron Equipment cost 30 Gold Coins. If it were before, 30 Gold would already have been more than enough to produce a piece of Level 120 Secret-Silver Equipment! In addition, the various superpowers also purchased all of the Level 110-plus Secret-Silver Equipment and above from the market, leaving nothing for Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor. After the many battles fought, the equipment stockpile of the three Guilds should already be bottoming out. Meanwhile, without good weapons and equipment, how were their members supposed to fight? A player fully equipped in Secret-Silver Equipment would have more than a 20% advantage in Basic Attributes over a player fully equipped in Mysterious-Iron Equipment. Needless to say, the gap with players fully equipped in Fine-Gold Equipment would be even greater. Moreover, without proper weapons and equipment, the three Guilds members would also have more difficulty grinding in the Secret Covenant Tower. At this time, Thousand Lives suddenly received a message from one of her subordinates. After reading it, she said, I just received insider information from War Blood. It seems Black Flames actions have affected even Secret Hands control over the World Tower, so Secret Hand plans to teach Black Flame a lesson. However, since Secret Hand cant do anything against him on Dragonheart Island, it plans on partnering with Starlink to wipe out Zero Wings forces in the Twin Towers Kingdom. Interesting! Black Flame really knows how to cause trouble! However, this is also a good opportunity for Thirteen Thrones! A good opportunity? Thousand Lives parroted, confused by Elder Wus words. Looking at Thousand Lives and the male Ranger standing beside her, Elder Wu said, Thousand, Rain, you two follow me. Everyone else, continue resting here and wait for our return. Yes, sir! everyone responded respectfully. Afterward, Elder Wu secretly left the Bloodstone Bar together with Thousand Lives and Modern Rain. Elder Wu, where are we going? Shouldnt we be heading to the fourth underground floor as planned? Thousand Lives asked curiously as she looked at the pleasantly smiling Elder Wu. We wont be going there for now. We have something more important to do, Elder Wu replied. Something more important? Having thought of something, Thousand Lives asked in surprise, Are we going to partner with Zero Wing? Partner? Shaking his head, Elder Wu said, We dont need to partner with Zero Wing. We will just be giving Zero Wing an opportunity to defend the Secret Covenant Tower! Defend the Secret Covenant Tower? How is that possible? Thousand Lives couldnt help doubting Elder Wus words. It might be fine if Starlink and the various superpowers were the only ones targeting Zero Wing. However, the situation was different now that the Secret Hand Association had joined the fray. At that time, who knew how many Tier 4 NPCs the Association would send to deal with Zero Wing? With the forces Zero Wing currently had in the Twin Towers Kingdom, defending the Secret Covenant Tower would be utterly impossible. Seeing Thousand Livess doubt, Elder Wu smiled and asked, But what if Zero Wing has a City Building Order? Elder Wu, do you plan on selling that City Building Order to Zero Wing? Realization immediately dawned upon Thousand Lives. The City Building Order was an incredibly rare item. Thus far, even Thirteen Thrones had managed to acquire only two. And as the Guild had already used one of these two orders, it only had one left. With the City Building Order, players could construct a Guild City in any kingdom or empire they wished. If Zero Wing could establish a Guild City right beside the Secret Covenant Tower, then its ability to control the tower would increase significantly. Combined with its Tier 4 combatants, Zero Wing would have a much better chance of defending the tower. Whether I sell it or not will depend on Zero Wings sincerity! Elder Wu said, smiling. Upon hearing Elder Wus words, Thousand Lives shook her head and smiled. At the same time, she also pitied Shi Feng slightly. Since Elder Wu grasped Zero Wings lifeline, he would definitely take a huge bite out of Zero Wing. This was especially true now that Shi Feng stood at the apex of Dragonheart City. Elder Wu, according to our investigation, Black Flame is currently inside that Wanderers Shop, Modern Rain said as he pointed at a tattered, three-story Shop some distance ahead. Good. Well go meet with Guild Leader Black Flame now. Elder Wu nodded. He then made his way to the Wanderers Shop together with Thousand Lives and Modern Rain. Chapter 2806 - The Astonishing Zero Wing Dragonheart City, Wanderers Shop: When Elder Wus group of three entered the Shop, a magnificent sight instantly entered their eyes. The scenery within the Shop was a stark contrast to its dilapidated facade. Whats going on here? Thousand Lives was astonished as she inspected the space within the building. This place looks completely different from the last time I visited. On her previous visits to the Wanderers Shop, the buildings interior had looked as dilapidated as its exterior. And while the Shop sold excellent items, everything here was absurdly priced. If one werent in a hurry to obtain a specific item, one wouldnt come here to shop. Now, not only had the Shops interior become splendid, but the Shops area had also expanded from a cramped room to half a basketball court. The number of items on display had doubled, and the item quality was drastically better. Now, almost everything on display was a precious treasure. Tier 3 Magic Scrolls! Master Potions! Alchemy Gold! The Alchemy Gold, in particular, was a treasure of alchemy. It could increase not only the success rate of forging by 15% but also the Basic Attributes of the forged item by 10%. Moreover, it was even effective in the production of Epic Weapons and Equipment. However, Alchemy Gold was impossible to find on the market. Players could obtain it only from ancient ruins; Alchemy Gold was even rarer than Epic items. Nevertheless, the Wanderers Shop had a total of 10 ingots of Alchemy Gold for sale. Moreover, they were only on the first floor right now. The Wanderers Shop had three floors, and the value of the products sold in the Shop increased with each subsequent floor. In other words, the products on the first floor were the lowest in quality. Rain, take a look around afterward! If you see anything we need, buy it! Elder Wu instructed Modern Rain. When he saw the items sold in the Shop, even he was moved. The items sold here were indeed exceedingly expensive, with the cheapest item priced at 20 Ancient Gold and valuable items like the Alchemy Gold priced at 1,000 Ancient Gold. However, most of the items sold here were nigh-impossible to purchase in the outside world. Besides, Thirteen Thrones was in urgent need of items such as Alchemy Gold. After the major system update, monsters became much more difficult to deal with. Previously, Tier 3 teams could cope with Grand Lord ranked monsters, even with just Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Now, however, Tier 3 teams needed to be fully equipped in Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Moreover, the teams MT would need to have two or three pieces of Epic Equipment. Otherwise, tanking a Grand Lord would be incredibly tough without help. Needless to say, the requirements for raiding Mythic monsters were even higher. Players could no longer rely on just their combat standards to defeat powerful monsters. They also needed Epic Weapons and Equipment to support them. Otherwise, the benefits of exploring Level 120-plus maps werent worth the cost. Meanwhile, Alchemy Gold increased the success rate of producing Epic Weapons and Equipment. In the hands of an Advanced Master Forger, success was almost guaranteed. Moreover, the produced item would also have a 10% boost to its Basic Attributes. Yes, sir! Modern Rain nodded after snapping out of his daze. Elder Wus group proceeded to the second floor. And upon seeing the items displayed there, Modern Rain very nearly drooled. This was because the second floor actually sold Epic items. Although these Epic items werent weapons or equipment, they were still incredibly rare and useful. [Confinement Crystal] (Epic Consumable) Seals a 2,000-yard radius and lowers the Basic Attributes of all enemies within the magic array by 40% (25% for Tier 4) for two hours. [Wind Manipulating Rope] (Epic Item) Increases the Movement Speed of Land Mounts by 15% and Flying Mounts by 25%. The display of Epic items was simply dizzying. With a single glance, they discovered at least 60 Epic items. What rendered them speechless were the prices. Even the cheapest Epic item cost 1,500 Ancient Gold. However, they had to admit that these Epic items were all things the various powers desired. Aside from Epic items, all sorts of excellent tools required by Lifestyle players were also available, such as a set of Dark-Gold alchemy tools. The only problem was that the set cost 5,000 Ancient Gold. After Elder Wu and the others browsed through the items sold on the second floor, they felt as if they had just walked into a treasure house. Every item on sale here moved their hearts. Unfortunately, the more astonishing an item was, the more astonishing its price was. With just the 60,000 Ancient Gold they had on hand, they could purchase only a few items from this floor. Just as Elder Wus group was about to head to the third floor to take a look, a lithe figure suddenly blocked their way. The frightening aura this person exuded instantly subjected Elder Wu and the others to powerful pressure. No outsiders are allowed beyond this point, Yu Luo said softly to Elder Wus group. If you wish to shop here, you can do so only on the first and second floors. When Thousand Lives and Modern Rain saw Yu Luo, they couldnt help doubting their eyes. Tier 4! A bona fide Tier 4 Cleric! Both Thousand Lives and Modern Rain recognized Yu Luo. After all, Yu Luo had been one of Heavens Blades team leaders. Simultaneously, she was one of the few peak experts operating on Dragonheart Island. Only, they never thought that Yu Luo would get promoted to Tier 4 already. After all, anyone capable of getting promoted to Tier 4 at this stage of the game had the full support of an entire Guild. Yet, Yu Luo, a Cleric who had gone missing one month ago, had actually reappeared now as a Tier 4 Cleric. This was simply unbelievable. Little Missy, may I know if you are the one running this Wanderers Shop? Elder Wu couldnt help asking the question on his mind. No, this Shop is run by Guild Leader Black Flame. I am only managing this place on his behalf, Yu Luo said, shaking her head. Black Flame runs this place? Elder Wu was stunned. In its current magnificent state, the Wanderers Shop was most likely worth a million Ancient Gold or more. Elder Wu mightve believed it if Heavens Blade owned this place. After all, Heavens Blade had been operating on Dragonheart Island for a long time now. However, he was told that Shi Feng actually owned this Shop. How could he swallow such a tale? While Elder Wu was stunned, Thousand Lives quickly reacted, asking, We are from Thirteen Thrones. We are acquainted with Guild Leader Black Flame, and we currently have business to discuss with him. Can we meet him now? Im afraid you will have to wait awhile, Yu Luo said, shaking her head. Over a dozen of Dragonheart Islands powers are currently discussing business with Guild Leader Black Flame, so it isnt appropriate for you to enter now. However, you wont have to wait too long, either. I believe they will be done in another dozen minutes or so. Over a dozen powers? Elder Wu was slightly surprised. He never thought that so many of Dragonheart Islands powers had already made a move. Alright. Well wait. Elder Wu had expected that some of Dragonheart Islands powers would try to meet with Shi Feng since Shi Feng was basically the overlord of Dragonheart Island now. It was only natural for Guilds and adventurer teams to try to partner with Zero Wing. However, Elder Wu wasnt too worried about these other Guilds and adventurer teams. After all, unlike them, Thirteen Thrones had the City Building Order, something Zero Wing urgently needed, as a bargaining chip. After waiting for around a dozen minutes, Elder Wus group saw more of Dragonheart Islands local powers arrive and join them waiting on the second floor. Among these powers was the Four Saints Society, a Super Guild that was equal in strength to Thirteen Thrones, represented by its First Vice Guild Leader, Intoxicated Drunkard. He was a monster with the title of Strongest Shield of the Sea. Unlike other superpowers, though, the Four Saints Society had focused its development entirely on the sea. Its naval strength now rivaled that of the Five Great Super Guilds. Intoxicated Drunkards arrival surprised even Elder Wu. However, as the various powers observed each other, Yu Luo, who had been quietly standing guard by the staircase, suddenly said, Guild Leader Black Flame just finished his discussions with the first batch of powers. You may now go upstairs. Will everyone be going together? Thousand Lives asked. They wanted to negotiate with Shi Feng in private. A group negotiation was out of the question. Thats right. There are too many powers seeking to meet with Guild Leader Black Flame. Holding private discussions would take too long. Yu Luo nodded. If you wish to meet with Guild Leader Black Flame privately, you can return a few days later. You people Thousand Lives grew a little angry at Yu Luos words. They were representatives of Thirteen Thrones, a Super Guild. They had already shown plenty of respect by waiting here for over a dozen minutes. Yet, their treatment was no different from what the other powers here received. Thousand, it doesnt matter. Well enter together if we have to, Elder Wu said, chuckling. He then continued in a whisper, Black Flame really knows how to play his cards. He knows the various powers are bringing various partnership offers and business deals to him, so hes basically having everyone compete with each other. At the same time, he gets to choose the best deal. Unfortunately, our proposal is something Black Flame will not be able to refuse! After giving the matter some thought, Thousand Lives nodded in agreement. In any case, Shi Feng would still have to beg them for help. It wouldnt matter whether they negotiated privately or in a group. In this situation, the Four Saints Societys group remained silent. It was evident that they were also confident in their proposal. Meanwhile, upon seeing this situation, Yu Luo smiled and said, Please enter. After Yu Luo finished speaking, the representatives of the dozen or so powers present made their way up to the Wanderers Shops third floor. However, upon arriving on the third floor and seeing the items displayed here, everyone nearly had their eyes fall out of their sockets. Level 120 to Level 130 Dark-Gold Set Equipment Designs! Level 100-plus Epic Equipment Designs! Advanced Magic Array Designs! Advanced Shop Construction Design! Advanced Hotel Construction Design! Master Icefire Bomb Design! Each and every item displayed here was something that couldnt be found easily in the outside world. However, the items were also astonishingly expensive. Even the cheapest cost 6,000 Ancient Gold-enough money to purchase a relatively good plot of Land in Dragonheart City. However, while the gathered group was agog over the items available on the third floor, a sense of oppression suddenly enveloped everyone, making them feel incredibly uncomfortable. This sense of oppression originated from the two cloaked men standing beside Shi Feng. Tier 48? Why are there even more Tier 4s?! Both Elder Wus group and Intoxicated Drunkards group were shocked by this situation. First, it was Heavens Blades Yu Luo. Now, two more Tier 4 players actually appeared behind Shi Feng. Moreover, the two mens auras were much stronger than that of any of the Tier 4 players they had come across before. Tier 4 players currently stood at the very top of Gods Domains player hierarchy. Having one Tier 4 player would already allow a player force to gain a stable foothold in the games currently chaotic state and become an object of fear for the various superpowers. Shi Feng currently had three Tier 4 players on his side. Including Shi Feng and Fire Dance, this meant Zero Wing had a total of five Tier 4 players under its command. This caliber of strength was simply maddening! Even the Five Great Super Guilds were unlikely to have as many Tier 4 players as Zero Wing did. Meanwhile, after scanning the crowd before him, Shi Feng said calmly, Everyone, if you have something to say, please say it directly. I still have many matters to attend to, so I truly do not have time for beating around the bush. Chapter 2807 - 3-Star Wanderer’s Shop Shi Fengs statement was like a hammer that struck everyones mind. For a time, those intent on negotiating with Shi Feng to maximize their own profits were nonplussed. Even Elder Wu, who had come here brimming with confidence, was momentarily at a loss for words. Shi Fengs display of power was simply too astonishing! Zero Wings strength had severely exceeded Elder Wus expectations. The four Tier 4 players here in this Wanderers Shop plus the three Tier 4 experts over at the Twin Towers Kingdom meant Zero Wing had a total of seven Tier 4 players on its side. With such strength, even NPC forces would find dealing with Zero Wing tough. While the gathered crowd suspected that Shi Feng was trying to instill fear into them by showing off his power, Shi Feng himself didnt think he was doing such a thing at all. This was because he was truly busy. Initially, Shi Feng planned to contact Heavens Blades commander after entering Dragonheart City. However, for some reason, Divine Edge and the others couldnt contact Zwei, not even through offline means. This situation temporarily prevented Zero Wing and Heavens Blade from furthering their partnership, and it severely affected Shi Fengs plans. Fortunately, Divine Shadow had agreed to gather up the remaining Heavens Blade members and put Heavens Blade under Zero Wings banner in the meantime. Now, Heavens Blade was barely considered an adventurer team subordinated to Zero Wing and had to obey Shi Fengs arrangements. Dragonheart Islands various powers had long since split Heavens Blades territories inside the World Tower among themselves after the adventurer team disbanded. However, War Bloods fall granted Dragonheart Islands various powers a new opportunity to gain more territory. Hence, Shi Feng had tasked Divine Shadow with snatching War Bloods territory first. After all, these territories were important sources of Ancient Coins. He couldnt keep Heavens Blades members fed for free. Aside from territories inside the World Tower, Heavens Blade also had over a dozen Shops in key locations inside Dragonheart City. Shi Feng planned on bringing some of Candlelights products to sell in these Shops. As for the Lands surrounding the World Tower, due to Zweis absence, Divine Shadow could only delegate one medium-sized Land to Zero Wing with his authority. What this Land would be used for was entirely up to Shi Feng. However, half of the profits the Land generated would have to be split with Heavens Blade. After all, there were still plenty of people in the adventurer team that needed nurturing Shi Feng had no opinion in regard to this situation. On the contrary, he was very happy to secure the management rights of a medium-sized Land. After all, Zero Wings members also had to explore the World Tower. The hotel built on a small-sized Land was hardly enough for Zero Wings purposes. A medium-sized hotel would alleviate the Guilds pressure. Hence, Shi Feng needed to arrange what kind of hotel to construct. Aside from this, Shi Feng also received another piece of good news when he entered Dragonheart Citythe Wanderers Shop was eligible for promotion to 3-star status. Originally, he had only planned to have the Wanderers Shop purchase some Epic materials and the precious materials necessary to construct the Small Mobile Fortress. He never thought that in the time he was away, the Wanderers Shop would actually meet the conditions for promotion to 3-star status. So long as a Wanderers Shop reached 3-star status, it would undergo a qualitative transformation. Hence, Shi Feng had decisively spent 30,000 of the Ancient Gold the Wanderers Shop had earned during his absence, and upgraded the Shop to 3-star status. However, before he could even check out the 3-star Wanderers Shops specifics, Dragonheart Citys various powers had come looking for him already. This forced him to push back his schedule and negotiate with these profit-hungry powers seeking a share of War Bloods corpse. Meanwhile, after silence enveloped the room for a short moment, Intoxicated Drunkard, the Four Saints Societys Vice Guild Leader, stepped forward. Guild Leader Black Flame, I understand that Zero Wing is planning to partner with Heavens Blade to annex all of War Bloods resource spots. However, although Blood Oath is currently imprisoned and War Blood is in chaos, War Bloods backer, the Secret Hand Association, is not to be trifled with. With Secret Hands presence, annexing the 17 resource spots War Blood holds on the fourth underground floor will be difficult. Of course, I believe that with your strength, annexing those resource spots shouldnt be a problem; however, maintaining them will be. Such a task will require a large number of experts; it cant be done with just a few Tier 4 experts. Hence, the Four Saints Society wishes to partner with Zero Wing to go against War Blood and Secret Hand, Intoxicated Drunkard said confidently. Once we annex all of War Bloods resource spots on the fourth floor, each of our sides will take half. Of course, we wont let Zero Wing give up these resource spots for nothing. After saying so, Intoxicated Drunkard took out a City Building Order from his bag. The Four Saints Society understands that Zero Wing is currently having difficulty defending the Secret Covenant Tower. However, with this City Building Order, Zero Wing can instantly construct a Guild City beside the tower. With this Guild City to fall back on, Zero Wing should have a much easier time repelling the various superpowers. In addition, the Four Saints Society will also trade various rare materials and Level 110-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment with Zero Wing. We will sell these items to Zero Wing at market value. May I know what you think of this, Guild Leader Black Flame? When Intoxicated Drunkard took out the City Building Order, the other powers representatives were dumbfounded. This situation also made many of the powers seeking to partner with Zero Wing despair. The Four Saints Society was a Super Guild; only a few powers operating on Dragonheart Island could match its resources, manpower, and background. Even setting aside the fact that the Four Saints Society was a Super Guild, just the City Building Order alone made it impossible for the various powers present to compete with the Four Saints Society. This was because the City Building Order was what Zero Wing currently needed the most! At this time, a gloomy expression appeared on Elder Wus face. He never thought that the Four Saints Society would have a City Building Order too. This would undoubtedly increase the competition. After the silence in the room had stretched for some time, Shi Feng swept a glance at the various powers representatives. May I know if anyone else has something to say? If not, I will have to ask you to leave. I still have to continue detailed discussions with Vice Guild Leader Drunkard, Shi Feng said in a calm tone. However, his interest in the City Building Order was obvious to everyone present. Upon seeing this situation, Intoxicated Drunkard smiled in satisfaction. He was very confident in the success of the partnership this time, as he was certain Zero Wing wouldnt be able to resist the City Building Orders temptation. Hence, he had paid no heed to having to attend negotiations together with the other powers. What should we do now, Elder Wu? Thousand Lives asked anxiously. The World Towers fourth underground floor was crucial for them to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. The influence of a Tier 4 player was not something Tier 3 players could hope to match. Every addition of a Tier 4 player could increase a Guilds overall strength by a large margin. Simultaneously, Tier 4 players were crucial in resisting the invasion of NPC forces. For the current Super Guilds, Tier 3 players were no longer the thing they lacked the most. After all, they had the required foundation and resources to nurture a large number of high-caliber experts. Even without complete Tier 3 Legacies, it was only a matter of time before these experts reached Tier 3. As proof of this point, not one of the superpowers attempting to wrestle control over the Secret Covenant Tower was a Super Guild. Only super-first-rate Guilds, which were lacking in foundation and resources, were contending for the tower. However, the World Towers fourth underground floor, which could reliably generate Tier 4 Legacy Lands, was a different story. Moreover, the World Tower still had the fifth underground floor and beyond. The chances of Tier 4 Legacy Lands appearing in these locations were most likely even higher. However, if a power did not possess a base of operations on the fourth underground floor, exploring the even more dangerous fifth underground floor would be utterly impossible for this power. Just as the various powers representatives were about to turn around and leave, a deep voice resounded in the room. Wait a minute! Guild Leader Black Flame! Suddenly, Elder Wu said, Thirteen Thrones plans on partnering with Zero Wing as well. Moreover, the conditions we offer will not be any inferior to the Four Saints Societys. After saying so, Elder Wu also brought out a City Building Order. Crap! Another City Building Order?! The representatives of the various powers present gasped at this situation. The City Building Order was an incomparably rare item, no less rare than Fragmented Legendary items. Meanwhile, it was many times more valuable than Fragmented Legendary items. After all, there was no way a Fragmented Legendary item could compare with an entire Guild City. When Elder Wu took out a City Building Order, Intoxicated Drunkards complexion darkened slightly. This is interesting. What shouldve originally been a monopoly has now become a two-sided competition. I wonder how Black Flame will decide? Both parties are Super Guilds, and neither is weaker than the other. Moreover, both have their own advantages as well. The various powers representatives couldnt help their curiosity as they looked at Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard. They wondered how Shi Feng would proceed in this situation. By stating that Thirteen Thrones would match the Four Saints Societys offer, Elder Wu was basically hinting to Intoxicated Drunkard for their two Guilds to avoid competing with each other. That way, they could maximize the profits from Zero Wing. Simultaneously, his words also compelled Shi Feng to make a decision. Shi Feng should choose to partner with either Thirteen Thrones or the Four Saints Society. If Shi Feng refused to choose one, then negotiations would not proceed. Naturally, Intoxicated Drunkard quickly picked up on Elder Wus intentions. Hence, he remained silent and simply looked at Shi Feng. Evidently, he planned on taking the same stance as Elder Wu. It seems both of you came with sincerity for cooperation. Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the two City Building Orders before him. Unfortunately, I cannot agree to any of your conditions. Chapter 2808 - Shi Feng’s Conditions Chapter 2808 C Shi Fengs Conditions You cant agree? What do you mean by that, Guild Leader Black Flame? Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard were confused when they heard Shi Fengs response. Similarly, the representatives of the other powers present were stunned by Shi Fengs words. Originally, they thought that they would see an intense clash between Thirteen Thrones and the Four Saints Society, and Zero Wing would decide how to settle the fight. Yet, Shi Feng had outright rejected both Guilds. What was going on here? Is Black Flame trying to teach Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard a lesson for banding together? Probably. After all, Zero Wing isnt faring that well over at the Twin Towers Kingdom. It definitely needs a City Building Order. If I were in Black Flames shoes, I would probably do something like this too. After all, thats half of the fourth floors resource spots as well as fortresses and Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Trading away all these things just for one City Building Order is simply absurd. Although the two Super Guilds offered to help garrison the resource spots, that kind of help is inconsequential. With Black Flames status and deterrence on Dragonheart Island, theres no way anyone would dare have any designs on War Bloods resource spots and fortresses. As the various representatives discussed Shi Fengs actions and realized his aim, they couldnt help admiring him for his wisdom. He had thoroughly placed both Super Guilds in a bind with this move of his. After all, both the Four Saints Society and Thirteen Thrones were incredibly desperate to produce Tier 4 players. This was because a few super-first-rate Guilds had already produced Tier 4 players, yet these two Super Guilds had not produced one even now. In terms of top combatants, the two Guilds had already fallen way behind their peers. Hence, the two Guilds desperation for Tier 4 players. Otherwise, with the status of these two Super Guilds, they wouldnt take the initiative to seek cooperation with Zero Wing at all. While the onlookers were discussing quietly among themselves, Shi Feng looked at Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard and said, Please do not misunderstand. I see your sincerity in this matter. However, a City Building Order isnt particularly urgent for Zero Wing. In fact, you can even say that we dont need it. Dont need it? Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard smiled subconsciously when they heard Shi Fengs words. May we know what you need most now, Guild Leader Black Flame? The two of them felt that Shi Feng was basically treating them like three-year-old children. If he were the Guild Leader of any other Guild, they might actually believe these words. After all, a Guild City would only increase the number of strongholds a Guild owned by one. However, with NPC forces currently running rampant, having one additional stronghold meant that a Guild would have to spread its forces even thinner, which was indeed an incredibly troublesome matter. In the case of Zero Wing, though, these words were blatant nonsense! However, Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard knew that it wouldnt be appropriate for them to call Shi Feng out on his lie, so they decided to play along with him. Manpower! Ignoring the act the two people before him were putting on, Shi Feng laughed and said, You two might not believe me, but what Zero Wing lacks now is only manpower. We do not lack anything else. If your two Guilds really wish to partner with Zero Wing and acquire World Towers fourth underground floors resource spots, take out some real sincerity. Truth be told, the City Building Order was something Shi Feng could do without. A Small Mobile Fortress was basically half a city. Not to mention, an ordinary Guild City wouldnt suffice to let Zero Wing exert complete control over the Secret Covenant Tower. Only a fortress could do that. This was because a Guild City was more focused on defense than offense. A Guild City mainly served as a place for players to rest and trade. At best, it could provide some benefits to the players heading into the Secret Covenant Tower. It couldnt actually prevent other powers from forcing their way into the tower. In the end, Zero Wing would still have to rely on its own strength to accomplish this feat. This just so happened to be something beyond Zero Wing right now. However, it was a different story for a Small Mobile Fortress. Mobile fortresses possessed great defensive capabilities and were top-tier war weapons. Otherwise, they wouldnt have been able to become the overlords of the sky. Manpower? Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard nodded slightly at the same time. Although they found Shi Fengs words more agreeable now, they still felt he was putting on an act. The two of them then exchanged looks and came to a tacit understanding. Since Shi Feng insisted on acting, they would play along and see how long Shi Feng could keep doing so. Smiling, Intoxicated Drunkard asked, May I know how you plan on having our two Guilds cooperate with you, Guild Leader Black Flame? Simple. I just need your two Guilds to supply me with 300 Advanced Forgers, 200 Advanced Alchemists, 500 Advanced Architects, 100 Advanced Magicians, and two Master Magicians. Ill also need 10,000 Tier 3 players. Lend these people to me for half a month, Shi Feng said, chuckling. If you can agree to that, I will give you two of War Bloods Small Fortresses. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard were stunned. They couldnt understand Shi Fengs purpose Not only did he not want their City Building Orders, but he was even asking for a large number of Lifestyle players. Although Shi Feng had also asked for 10,000 Tier 3 experts, the various superpowers already had around 50,000 Tier 3 expert players on average at this stage of the game. Lending 10,000 Tier 3 experts wouldnt be a problem for their two Super Guilds. On the contrary, the conditions Shi Feng offered were incredibly advantageous to their two Guilds. With a Small Fortress on the World Towers fourth underground floor, their two Guilds could reside on the fourth floor in the future. Simultaneously, they would have the necessary foundation to explore the fifth underground floor. May I know your thoughts on this? Shi Feng asked, smiling. City Building Order? The fourth underground floors Small Fortresses? Tier 4 Legacy Lands? These things were inconsequential to his present self. So long as he had the Small Mobile Fortress, nobody in Gods Domain would be able to threaten Zero Wing. Not even Tier 4 players! The only problem was the massive scale of the Small Mobile Fortresss construction, which required a considerable amount of manpower. It wasnt something he could accomplish easily by himself. Initially, he had been considering having all of Candlelights Lifestyle players halt their work and focus on constructing the Small Mobile Fortress. He never imagined that two Super Guilds would send themselves to his doorsteps. Is what you say true, Guild Leader Black Flame? Intoxicated Drunkard asked skeptically. You can rest assured on this point. We can sign a contract for this. Your two Guilds will be free to capture the two promised fortresses, and Zero Wing will not lay a finger on them. I can even stop Secret Hands NPCs from interfering with your two Guilds, Shi Feng said with a sincere smile on his face. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words of assurance, Elder Wu said without hesitation, In that case, I agree to your offer on behalf of Thirteen Thrones, Guild Leader Black Flame. What Super Guilds lacked the least was manpower. Even though Shi Feng was asking for quite a lot of manpower, it was well within their tolerance. The Four Saints Society has no problem with this arrangement, either! Intoxicated Drunkard said, an indescribably happy smile appearing on his face. For the Four Saints Society, being able to gain one of War Bloods Small Fortresses just by loaning some manpower was an incredibly profitable trade. It was much better than surrendering a precious City Building Order. As for the threat of the Secret Hand Association, just one word from Shi Feng would most likely prevent any of the Associations Tier 4 NPCs from setting foot in the World Tower. After all, the Holy Star Knight Legion was both the protector and manager of the World Tower. Prohibiting NPCs that attacked players from entering the World Tower would be an easy task for the knight legion. Without the Secret Hand Association, the only Tier 4 combatant War Blood would have on its side would be Autumn Plant. While he would still pose a problem, the Four Saints Society and Thirteen Thrones could handle him. S was Upon seeing this situation, the other powers representatives grew envious. They never thought that Shi Feng would offer such loose conditions to the two Super Guilds. Nonetheless, fulfilling these conditions was still impossible for the other powers. Setting aside the large number of Lifestyle players Shi Feng sought, just the condition of 10,000 Tier 3 experts was already beyond them. Only the superpowers had the ability to do so. Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard signed a contract with Shi Feng on behalf of their respective Guilds right away. According to the contract, Thirteen Thrones and the Four Saints Society would lend the stated manpower to Shi Feng for half a month. Moreover, all operations for this half a month had to be kept a secret. After signing the contract, the two Super Guilds promptly summoned the necessary manpower to Dragonheart Island. This was because the contract would take effect only after all the required manpower was assembled and transferred to Shi Feng. Before that, their two Guilds shouldnt even think of capturing War Bloods Small Fortresses. Having concluded negotiations with the two Super Guilds, Shi Feng finally had some free time to himself. Inside the quiet third floor, Shi Feng took out the several items he acquired from killing Sabrid and began inspecting them. Previously, he had been too busy to inspect Sabrids loot. Now that he had finished his tasks, he could finally take a proper look at them. Sabrid had been the vice commander of Dragonheart Citys City Defense Legion, a Level 160, Tier 4 NPC, and an executive of the Secret Hand Association. Nobody would believe that he had only one Fragmented Legendary item on him. Chapter 2809 - Half a Step Away Chapter 2809 C Half a Step Away Sabrid had dropped a total of six items. Aside from the Fragmented Legendary Greatsword Demonic Shadow, the five remaining items looked very ordinary. In fact, they looked so normal that Shi Feng was confused when he first stored them in his bag. This was because the five items appeared to be a set. Of the five items, four were mirrors made entirely of crystal. However, unlike the Fragmented Legendary Greatsword, these four mirrors did not radiate a frightening aura. More precisely, they did not even have a hint of aura. They looked ordinary beyond ordinary. As for the fifth item, it was an ink-black crystal the size of a basketball. Like the four crystalline mirrors, this crystal ball was similarly indescribably ordinary. It did not radiate even a whiff of Mana. Interesting! Realization flashed in Shi Fengs eyes as he looked at the ink-black crystal ball and four crystalline mirrors placed before him. If I didnt take a closer look at them, I would never have thought these five items actually had a Magic Disguise. The standard of this disguise is also absurdly high. It is definitely at the Half-step Grandmaster standard. In Gods Domain, apart from special items, players needed to use the Appraisal Skill on most items to inspect their information. However, there was also another type of item that was outside of this category, and that was magically disguised items. Items that had Magic Disguise used on them would have their information concealed. Using the Appraisal Skill on these items would show that they were no different from ordinary garbage. However, applying a Magic Disguise on an item was a complicated process, and even a Master Magician would need several hours just to complete a Master Magic Disguises magic array. Needless to say, placing a Half-step Grandmaster Magic Disguise would be even more tedious. And worse, the disguise would disappear whenever the disguised item was used. One would have to apply a new Magic Disguise to disguise the item again. Thus, magically disguised items were incredibly rare in Gods Domain. Most players wouldnt even come across one throughout their career in Gods Domain. And if players did come across such an item, they would often treat it as garbage and dispose of it. However, Sabrid was both the vice commander of Dragonheart Citys City Defense Knight Legion and a Level 160, Tier 4 NPC. In Gods Domain, Dragonheart City could be considered a kingdom. In terms of status, the neutral city rivaled imperial capitals. Hence, despite being only the vice commander of one of Dragonheart Citys knight legions, Sabrids status was higher than even that of Magistrates that managed the various kingdoms Main Cities. In addition, Sabrid was also an executive of the Secret Hand Association, the strongest NPC force on Dragonheart Island. If one were to say that an NPC like Sabrid had dropped a bunch of odds and ends, let alone Shi Feng, even ordinary players wouldnt believe it. Of course, perceiving such a high-level disguise wasnt an easy task. Let alone the standard Appraisal Skill, even Shi Fengs Omniscient Eyes would allow him to see only the cover information of a disguised item. Only those with great mastery over magic arrays would notice that an item was magically disguised. The five items placed before Shi Feng were precisely magically disguised items. On the surface, these five items looked ordinary and unremarkable. If not for Shi Fengs in-depth understanding of the operating principles of Mana, he wouldnt have noticed anything wrong at all. Thank goodness Im already an Advanced Master Magician. Otherwise, I really wouldnt have noticed such an exquisite disguise. Looking at the five items, Shi Feng couldnt contain his elation as he studied the disguise. While it was possible for one to remove a Magic Disguise forcibly, that option should only be a last resort because doing so would damage the disguised item. Not to mention, the removal of a Magic Disguise was a process favored by all Magicians. The removal of a Magic Disguise was an opportunity for a Magician to improve their knowledge since the removal process tested a persons knowledge and control over magic arrays. One would have to locate the fixed Mana routes and identify the manipulation method of the magic array to remove the disguise. This was why players seeking to improve their knowledge of magic arrays would usually purchase disguised items from Magic Shops. Only, the more profound a Magic Disguise was, the greater their price and rarity. Magic Disguises at the Master rank and above were especially rare. This was partly because Master Magicians could earn much more money through selling other magic arrays. Moreover, creating these other magic arrays took much less time than the Master Magic Disguises magic array did. Creating Master Magic Disguises simply wasnt cost-effective. Subsequently, the seconds and minutes passed by rapidly. While Shi Feng attempted to undo the disguise, three hours elapsed in the blink of an eye. He had started with manipulating six independent strands of Mana simultaneously to trigger the magic arrays Mana nodes, then gradually increased that number to 12. Shi Feng had to admit that a Half-step Grandmaster Magic Disguise was truly profound. Even after he had switched to manipulating 16 strands of Mana simultaneously, he managed to trigger only 60% of the magic arrays Mana nodes. This isnt right. There are over a thousand Mana nodes on this thing. If I merely follow the predetermined Mana routes, I doubt I can trigger every Mana node even if I control 32 strands of Mana simultaneously. The more Shi Feng studied the Half-step Grandmaster Magic Disguise, the more he found it to be amazing. The creation of this thing had already exceeded the limits of the human mind. Although it was only simple Mana manipulation, the degree of multitasking required to fully activate it put him in a huge bind. He simply couldnt get all of the magic arrays 1,000-plus Mana nodes running simultaneously with his current standard. Afterward, Shi Feng earnestly inspected the Magic Disguise once more. He had a vague feeling that he had found a pattern, but he couldnt tell what it was exactly. Immediately, he took out a Crystal of Souls from his bag and consumed it to calm and empty his mind. One hour Two hours Four hours Before Shi Feng realized it, he had already spent half a day scrutinizing the magic arrays Mana nodes. I see! Every several dozen of these nodes form a small magic array, and some of the nodes on these small magic arrays connect with other small magic arrays. If I start my attack from the crucial nodes, I should be able to save myself a lot of trouble. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began manipulating the magic arrays Mana once more. This time, though, he started with the Mana nodes with the highest repetition rate. Completion Rate 20% 40% 60% 80% When the disguise magic array lit up, Shi Feng grew ecstatic. However, his joy wasnt just from cracking the magic array. It was also because his understanding of magic arrays had further improved and he finally grasped the difference between Advanced Master Magicians and Half-step Grandmaster Magicians. The sound of glass shattering echoed in the room. Subsequently, the undisguised crystalline mirror made the space within the room incomparably cold and heavy. What powerful Mana! Even for Shi Feng, this was the first time he had felt such strange and heavy Mana. It felt as if the object before him wasnt an item but an Ancient God instead. In fact, he even had the misconception that the energy flowing around him was no longer Mana but a more terrifying energy that carried great destructive power. If not for him having reached Tier 4 already, he mightve lost consciousness just from being subjected to this oppressive energy. Crap! Who was this Sabrid?! Shi Feng was dumbfounded when the crystalline mirrors statistics appeared in front of him. Chapter 2810 - World Mirror Chapter 2810 C World Mirror Shi Feng had considered many possibilities for the items Sabrid dropped. He had even entertained the possibility that one of the disguised items might be a damaged Legendary item. After all, killing a Tier 4 NPC inside Dragonheart City was incredibly difficult. Had Sabrid not taken the initiative to leave the citys boundaries and stood inside the city instead, the odds of Shi Feng killing the NPC wouldve been zero. This was because Dragonheart Citys defensive magic array strengthened all allied NPCs within the city. Unless Sabrid violated Dragonheart Citys laws, the other NPCs within the city wouldve immediately come to Sabrids assistance as soon as Shi Feng attacked him. In fact, Shera Veria couldve saved Sabrid as Shi Feng was about to land the killing blow. After all, all Tier 5 NPCs were capable of World Creation. One shouldnt underestimate Shera Veria simply because she arrived at Dragonheart Citys entrance by flying to the scene slowly. If she wished, she could have moved from the World Tower to the citys entrance in the blink of an eye. Looking at the crystalline mirror in his hand, Shi Feng began speculating about Sabrids identity. This was because this item didnt belong in the hands of a minor character. Turning to the three other crystalline mirrors and the ink-black crystal ball, Shi Feng smiled involuntarily. According to rumors, only those who succeed in conquering an empire can obtain the World Mirror. Yet, I actually got it from a Tier 4 NPC. I doubt anybody would believe me if I told them about this. The World Mirror! Also known as the Space Mirror, the World Mirror was a treasure passed down since ancient times. It wasnt something the modern Gods Domain could produce. This was because the World Mirror originated from Ancient Gods. Even creating a replica of it was impossible. These items were treated as national heirlooms by the various empires! Without taking control of an empire, players wouldnt be able to obtain a World Mirror at all. Of course, the World Mirror Shi Feng acquired from Sabrid wasnt complete. The World Mirror was a set of 12 mirrors and one control core. He would have to gather all 13 components to complete it. A complete World Mirror could seal the sky, lock the earth, and move space itself. One shouldnt compare the World Mirror to a simple sealing barrier; the World Mirror was far more than that. It could not only seal a designated space but even transform the sealed space into a world of its own. Even Tier 5 existences shouldnt think of breaking out of this miniature world. Within the boundaries of this miniature world, a hostile existences strength would plummet. Tier 5 existences would be fortunate to exhibit 30% of their strength while subject to the World Mirrors suppression; existences below Tier 5 would fare even worse. The World Mirror possessed an incredible range. Once activated, it would have no problem sealing an area encompassing several large maps. In the past, unless a Tier 6 God-ranked expert took to the field, any player forces that possessed a World Mirror had been unstoppable within the territory protected by their World Mirror. Even Tier 6 experts had their combat power weakened significantly under the World Mirrors influence. This was also why Super Guilds with several Tier 6 experts had sometimes been helpless against the territories of top-ranking first-rate Guilds with only one Tier 6 expert defending them. The World Mirror Shi Feng possessed was incomplete, so it couldnt create a world of its own. Regardless, this incomplete World Mirror would still be considered a priceless treasure by any Guild. It was far more valuable than even Legendary items. This was because even an incomplete World Mirror boasted many incredible effects. One example would be its ability to move a Guild City to any desired location. Aside from that, if Shi Feng bound this incomplete World Mirror to the core magic array of a Guild City, the said Guild City would be immediately promoted to Basic Main City. A complete World Mirror could elevate a Guild City to the status of an Advanced Main City. Most imperial capitals were merely Advanced Main Cities. Holy Cities, one level above Advanced Main Cities, numbered less than a handful in the modern Gods Domain. Meanwhile, a Holy City was something that couldnt be conquered without Tier 6 Gods! Anyone who attacked a Holy City without a Tier 6 God on their side would only be seeking their own deaths. It wouldnt matter how many Tier 5s they had. This was because one of the conditions for promotion to Holy City was the World Mirrors protection. Even having multiple Tier 5 existences garrisoning a city wouldnt suffice to meet a Holy Citys defensive requirements. Now that Sabrid had dropped such a treasure, how could Shi Feng not be shocked and confused? Although I dont know who exactly this NPC is, now that I have the World Mirror, I can adjust my development plan. Various thoughts occurred to Shi Feng as he looked at the World Mirror. Even though this World Mirror was incomplete, it could still exhibit astonishing effects. He couldnt create a Holy City now, but he could still create a Main City. If Zero Wing gained a Main Guild City at this stage of the game, it would do wonders for the Guild. The footprint of a Main City was three times that of an Advanced City. In terms of defense, a Main City could easily withstand the attacks of Tier 4 existences. Most importantly, at the Main City standard, a Guild City would have no problem establishing itself almost anywhere in Gods Domain, aside from forbidden lands. It wouldnt have to worry about defending against monster tides. While Shi Feng was debating which of Zero Wings cities he should bind the World Mirror to, he suddenly received a message from Intoxicated Drunkard. Guild Leader Black Flame, both our Guilds have already gathered the people you require in Dragonheart City. In a slightly eager tone, Intoxicated Drunkard asked, When will you come to receive them? Already? This news surprised Shi Feng. Looking at the time, he saw that only half a day had gone by since the contract signing with the two Super Guilds. With Dragonheart City still sealed, teleporting into the city was impossible; hence, traveling to Dragonheart City would be difficult for players. Needless to say, assembling so many Lifestyle players in Dragonheart City would be even more difficult. He had anticipated having to wait at least two days, yet the two Super Guilds had fulfilled their end of the bargain in just half a day. Their efficiency was truly superb. Of course. Smiling proudly, Intoxicated Drunkard said, You shouldnt forget that our two Guilds have focused on maritime development, Guild Leader Black Flame. This much is still within our capabilities. Okay. Ill head over right away. Nodding, Shi Feng stored the World Mirror and promptly left the Wanderers Shop to receive the two Super Guilds people. A group of 20,000 Tier 3 experts and several thousand Lifestyle players would attract anyones attention. However, as Elder Wu and Intoxicated Drunkard understood Shi Fengs thoughts very well, they did not conduct the handover in Dragonheart City. Instead, they chose to do it outside the city. This way, the transaction would be sub rosa, and Shi Feng wouldnt have to worry about his intentions getting exposed. Guild Leader Black Flame, all of the manpower you requested is here. These people will follow your command for the next half-month. Moreover, they have also signed a contract that prohibits them from leaking information on the task they have to do, Intoxicated Drunkard said, smiling as he pointed at the tens of thousands of players standing in the valley behind him. Now that weve fulfilled our end of the contract, may we know when our two Guilds can head to the World Tower? Their two Guilds urgently needed the fourth underground floors Small Fortresses. After all, the sooner they occupied the fortresses, the sooner they could start searching for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Otherwise, they wouldnt have expended so much effort to bring all these people to Dragonheart City in such a short time. Looking at the anxious expressions of Intoxicated Drunkard and Thousand Lives, Shi Feng chuckled and said, You can begin capturing the fortresses now. I have already notified Yu Luo about it. She is also an honorary knight, and she will keep an eye out for War Blood and Secret Hand inside the World Tower. If Secret Hand dares to try anything, they wont get away with it. So, you can do as you wish inside the tower. In that case, thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Intoxicated Drunkards eyes glowed brightly when he heard Shi Fengs reply. I still have matters to attend to, so Ill take my leave first. Thousand Lives similarly departed in a hurry after thanking Shi Feng. After the two Guild executives left, the remaining members of the two Super Guilds looked at Shi Feng in a daze, wondering what Shi Feng planned on having them do afterward. Everyone, follow me. Im afraid youll be very busy for the upcoming period. After glancing at the tens of thousands of players in the valley, Shi Feng nodded and led them to a nearby island. He then set up a sealing barrier there to prevent anyone on the island from contacting the outside world. This barrier also prevented players from going offline. Anyone who wished to log out of the game would have to leave the barrier first. Three days later, on a barren island nearby Dragonheart Island With a face full of excitement, Solitary Nine flew up to Shi Feng, who was drawing a magic array inside a humongous steel fortress. Commander, I just received news from Dragonheart City. Starlink and Miracle have begun taking action. Should we head over now? After completing the core magic array, Shi Feng breathed out a deep sigh. Those guys sure moved quickly, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Fine. Im done here as well. Have Thorn get ready on his side. Were returning to the eastern continent now! Yes, sir! Solitary Nine nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. Chapter 2811 - Changes to Sky Spring City Chapter 2811 C Changes to Sky Spring City Twin Towers Kingdom, Sky Spring City: Accompanied by several bright flashes, three cloaked figures appeared in the citys Teleportation Hall. These three figures belonged to none other than Shi Feng, Lifeless Thorn, and Solitary Nine. The sight of a massive crowd of players greeted the trio upon arrival. At a glance, they could estimate that the building held over 10,000 players. The place looked much more prosperous than even the Teleportation Hall of the Twin Towers Kingdoms royal capital. The majority of the players present were Tier 3 and sported Guild Emblems belonging to various Guilds. These players all radiated a cold killing intent, which created a strange atmosphere inside the Teleportation Hall. Why are there so many Guild experts here? Solitary Nine was surprised as he took in the surroundings. Even Dragonheart Citys Teleportation Hall is far from comparable to this place! From what Solitary Nine could tell, quite a few of these Tier 3 experts were at the Refinement Realm standard. Even among the superpowers, Refinement Realm experts were treated as core members. However, he counted more than 500 Refinement Realm experts just in the Teleportation Hall alone-around the number of Refinement Realm experts an average superpower possessed. Friends, you mustve just arrived in the Twin Towers Kingdom, right? Ill have you know that this day might very well go down in the history books of Gods Domain, a robust, Tier 3 Berserker said, smiling as he walked out of the teleportation array. This Tier 3 Berserker had reached Level 122. He was fully equipped in Level 120 Fine-Gold Equipment and carried a Level 120 Dark-Gold Axe on his back. Based on equipment alone, he could rank among the top of Tier 3 players. Moreover, this Berserker did not wear a Guild Emblem. This meant he was an independent expert. Being able to secure himself such high-quality equipment was a testament to his capabilities. The dozen or so players following after the Berserker possessed similar equipment standards. Since everyone in the group had a white lion symbol marking their equipment, they evidently were members of the same adventurer team. Go down in Gods Domains history? Stunned by these words, Solitary Nine asked curiously, Friend, we have indeed just arrived in this kingdom. Do you mind telling us whats going to happen here today? Our White Lion adventurer team just received news of this as well. It seems that Starlink somehow managed to recruit the help of some Tier 4 NPCs, and these NPCs captured around a dozen Guild executives from Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor during a fight at a blockade. These Guild executives are currently imprisoned in Starlinks Residence, the robust Berserker said. Starlink has announced a crusade against Zero Wings blockade at the Secret Covenant Tower and is calling for all powers to gather in Sky Spring City. Starlink is also demanding the three Guilds remove the seal on Sky Spring City. Otherwise, its going to use the captured executives as a sacrifice as an opening gambit. I heard that besides Zero Wings Alluring Summer and Shadow Sword, even Unyielding Souls Vice Guild Leader Mu Lingsha and Crimson Emperors up-and-coming talent Blue Gown were captured. If the three Guilds dont concede, Starlink will have the Tier 4 NPCs kill these people using a method that will harm their souls. Not only will these people suffer increased death penalties, but they will also enter a weakened state for a long period. Theres even a possibility that their accounts will get crippled. Upon hearing the Berserkers words, Shi Feng frowned slightly. He never thought that the Secret Hand Associations Tier 4 NPCs would actually interfere in this matter. How bold of Starlink. It dares wag its tail in Zero Wings territory and even use the three Guilds executives as a sacrifice? Shi Feng sneered. I know, right? But you have to admit that Starlink is no longer the same as before. Rumors have it that Starlink has three Tier 4 players, as well as several superpowers backing it. Now, it even has an NPC force supporting it. In terms of influence on the eastern continent, even the Five Great Super Guilds cant compare to Starlink now. The robust Berserker nodded. As our White Lion adventurer team is quite well-known in the Twin Towers Kingdom, we received an invitation to take part in the crusade. Hence, we decided to come to expand our horizons. Moreover, I heard that the three Guilds executives would be making an appearance as well. If negotiations sour, it will definitely lead to the biggest battle in Gods Domains history! I see. Shi Feng nodded. After listening to the Berserker, Shi Feng roughly understood what Starlink was planning Simply put, Starlink was trying to show off its strength with this operation. One of its reasons for doing so was to deal with Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor. Another reason was to present itself as an existence rivaling the Five Great Super Guilds. Hence, it had invited so many powers to take part and witness the operation. Friends, Sky Spring City is a mess right now. If youre trying to enter that rumored Secret Covenant Tower, Im afraid you visited the wrong city. Moreover, many superpowers are keeping a close eye on the tower right now. If independent players like ourselves are not careful, we might get treated as one of the three Guilds members. If that happens, things will get troublesome. Looking at Shi Fengs group of three, the robust Berserker cautioned, You might get killed, if youre lucky, or captured, if youre unlucky. So, its best to be careful. Thank you for the warning, Shi Feng said. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he left the Teleportation Hall with Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine. After Shi Fengs group departed, a male youth from the Silver Lion adventurer team looked at the robust Berserker in confusion and asked, Boss, why did you start talking to those strangers all of a sudden?. Its nothing. I just thought that those three felt extraordinary. The more friends you have, the more options you have in life. It hasnt been easy for our adventurer team to grow to its current state. If we manage to befriend some experts, it will only benefit us, the robust Berserker replied, chuckling as he looked at the departing figures of Shi Fengs group. Also, that cloaked Swordsman looks quite familiar, though I cant remember who he is at the moment. Extraordinary? Familiar? Snickering, the youth said, Boss, everyone who visits Sky Spring City is at Tier 3. Which one of them isnt an expert? Its also normal to think that youve met someone familiar. After all, everyone looks mostly the same while wearing a Black Cloak. Honestly, I doubt that those three are anything amazing. After all, they came here without even knowing about the crusade. They also didnt receive an invitation from Starlink. They are probably experts from some backwater city. Experts were a dime a dozen in Gods Domain nowadays. However, only a small portion of these experts could make a name for themselves. Meanwhile, any of such experts operating in the Twin Towers Kingdom and the neighboring countries would have received an invitation from Starlink. The fact that Shi Fengs group didnt proved that they were only ordinary experts unworthy of the White Lion adventurer teams attention. Meanwhile, outside the Teleportation Hall Commander, are we going there now? Lifeless Thorn asked when he saw that Shi Feng wasnt heading for Zero Wings Residence. Starlink has invited experts from all over for a crusade and is even planning on using Zero Wings executives as sacrifices. How can I not go there to congratulate it? Shi Feng said, rolling his eyes at Lifeless Thorn. Shi Feng made his way to Starlinks magnificent and luxurious Residence that stood on the citys main street. Chapter 2812 - Storm Brewing at the Residence Chapter 2812 C Storm Brewing at the Residence Sky Spring City, Starlinks Residence: At this time, Tier 3 experts were thronging to Starlinks Residence, which occupied an area equivalent to two sports stadiums. Before Shi Fengs group of three could arrive at the entrance of Starlinks Residence, they saw the players crowding the main street stepping aside and opening a path for a 100-man team. All the members of this 100-man team were at least a Level 125, Tier 3 expert. They were also equipped with Level 120 Dark-Gold Equipment and two or three pieces of Epic Equipment. The two people walking in the head of this team were even more eye-catching. Not only were they equipped with six or more pieces of Epic Equipment each, but both of them were actually Tier 4 players. One of them was a Level 129 Berserker Emperor, while the other was a Level 130 Sword Emperor. Just seeing their gear, levels, and tier made the surrounding players sigh in fascination. Crap! Who are these people? Why havent I seen that Guild Emblem before? You dont know? Theyre from a Guild called Hundred Ghosts, an incredibly mysterious Guild that appeared recently. I heard that it has an incredible origin. Although the Guild has very few members, every one of them is an expert at Tier 3 or higher. Thats right. That man and woman you see leading them are especially amazing. Before they got promoted to Tier 4, they secretly challenged the various superpowers monsters and won 49 out of 49 challenges. I never thought that those two would get promoted to Tier 4 after disappearing from the public eye for some time. If they already had an undefeated record before reaching Tier 4, doesnt this make them nigh-invincible now that theyve reached Tier 4? The surrounding players held heated discussions over Hundred Ghostss 100-man team. Simultaneously, they couldnt help admiring Starlink. Hundred Ghosts was a Guild that did as it pleased. It did not show respect to any superpower, yet it had actually accepted the invitation to participate in Starlinks crusade. Hundred Ghosts? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he overheard the surrounding players conversations. In the past, he had heard a little of the Guild known as Hundred Ghosts. The Guild had been an incredibly mysterious existence even back then. Moreover, it had revealed itself to the public three years after the games launch, shortly after the first major system update. The moment this Guild made its existence known to the world, it had shaken the entire Gods Domain. This was because Hundred Ghosts had actually had over 30 Tier 4 experts at the time. Back then, even the superpowers only had around 30 Tier 4 experts, with stronger ones having around 40. In addition, after Hundred Ghosts made its public appearance, the Guilds Tier 4 experts began frenziedly challenging the various superpowers and took the continent by storm. However, for some reason, after Hundred Ghosts had finished challenging the various superpowers and proving its strength, it suddenly went silent. The next time it appeared, the Guild already had Tier 5 experts and began challenging the Five Great Super Guilds. Despite having the ability to challenge the Five Great Super Guilds, Hundred Ghosts did not possess even a single Guild Residence on the main continent. The Guild did not compete for resources, either. The only thing the Guild did was do combat. This situation had given the Five Great Super Guilds headaches back then. After all, the Hundred Ghosts Guild was simply too mysterious. It did not have any roots, so it was impossible to target the Guilds base of operations. On the other hand, the number of Tier 5 experts the Guild had was not the slightest bit inferior to the Five Great Super Guilds. In this life, Gods Domains first major system update had taken place two years ahead of time. And Hundred Ghosts had also appeared two years ahead of time. This situation put Shi Feng in a reverie. Could they be a Guild from an Interstellar Continent? If it were before he had visited the ancient Gods Domain, he probably wouldnt have any idea how such a strange Guild could appear out of nowhere. However, after visiting the ancient era, he understood that Gods Domain housed players not just from Earth but from the several Interstellar Continents as well. Just like the ancient Gods Domain, Hundred Ghosts could be from another version of Gods Domain, only this version of Gods Domain overlapped with the modern Gods Domain much more closely than the ancient Gods Domain. Hence, Hundred Ghosts could bring so many players to the modern Gods Domain. In fact, Shi Feng even suspected that the mysterious area Lifeless Thorn and the others fell into previously was Hundred Ghostss home world. However, Lifeless Thorn and the others had been repatriated to the modern Gods Domain before they could learn much about this other version of Gods Domain. This would also explain why Hundred Ghostss members gave off a similar, but more subdued, sense of abnormality as the ancient Gods Domains players. Another thing that surprised Shi Feng was that Starlink had actually managed to connect with Hundred Ghosts. This never happened in Shi Fengs previous life. Now that so many powers are gathered, Im afraid Zero Wing will have it tough later. I know, right? The experts from Starlink, Miracle, and the other superpowers aside, just the number of experts gathered here is still more than enough to make Zero Wing suffer. I wonder if Zero Wing even dares come? Starlink has obviously set up a trap. I doubt it will. Since this is Starlinks Residence, even if Starlinks experts take action inside, the citys NPC soldiers wont care at all. Zero Wings experts can only rely on themselves. The players on the main street couldnt help worrying for Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor as they watched the various powers experts enter Starlinks Residence one after another. Although Zero Wing had the home ground advantage in Sky Spring City, how could the three Guilds possibly beat more than 20 superpowers when it came to expert count? Not to mention, a bunch of experts from the various major powers had also come to support Starlink. If it came down to a fight, the three Guilds wouldnt stand a chance at all. So long as the three Guilds experts dared show up, only death would await them. Yet, if the three Guilds did not show up, their reputation would most likely go down the drain. After all, if news of this matter spread, everyone would definitely think that the three Guilds have grown timid. If the three Guilds didnt even dare accept a challenge, their aim of becoming titans in Gods Domain was an utter joke. While the rubberneckers were conversing among themselves, a team of several dozen players suddenly appeared on one end of the main street, their arrival startling the gathered crowd. This was because these players were members of the three Guilds. Leading this team of players were none other than Fire Dance, Unyielding Soul, and Illusory Words. Moreover, aside from these three, there was actually another Tier 4 expert with them. The aura this fourth Tier 4 player released was so terrifying that the gathered crowd gasped reflexively. What?! Another person from Zero Wing reached Tier 4?! That person should be Violet Cloud, right? The feeling she is giving off is completely different from before! Everyone fell into a daze as they looked at the lithe figure standing at the head of the three Guilds team. Violet Cloud wore a mages robe that resembled the starry night sky, and she had her hair tied into a ponytail with a matching ribbon. She looked nothing like a sacred Cleric but more like a wise and pure goddess. Her level had even reached 131, which was higher than any other Tier 4 player they had seen thus far. Shortly afterward, Violet Cloud and the other members of the three Guilds arrived at the entrance of Starlinks Residence. As if expecting their arrival, Lu Xingluo and his entourage appeared at the entrance at this time. Compared to Zero Wings group, Lu Xingluo had five Tier 4 players on his side, of which two were from Miracle; that was one more Tier 4 player than his side had previously. The new addition was Miracles Sword Freak, Miracle Dragon. At this time, Miracle Dragon had already reached Level 130, and the oppressive aura he exuded was not much inferior to Violet Clouds. Looking at Lu Xingluo, Illusory Words said coldly. Lu Xingluo, weve come. You can let them go now! Your courage is praiseworthy, Vice Guild Leader Illusory. However, Ive changed my mind. Smiling nonchalantly, Lu Xingluo said, We went to great lengths to capture these people. If we just let them go so easily, wouldnt we superpowers suffer a hit to our reputations? How about we have a match in the Residence? If you win, you can take them and leave. If you lose, all of you stay here. Do you three Guilds dare accept this challenge? Chapter 2813 - Powerful Showdown Chapter 2813 C Powerful Showdown Lu Xingluo spoke in a low tone, but his words echoed throughout the area. Everyone turned reflexively to look at Fire Dance and the others from the three Guilds. A match? This is going to be interesting! I wonder if Zero Wing will accept it? If they dont, theyll embarrass themselves in front of the various powers Starlink invited. Although Zero Wing had arrived with great momentum, Starlinks side came prepared as well. Just by looking at the five Tier 4 players on Starlinks side, one could tell that Zero Wing held no advantage in this situation at all. Not to mention, the two sides had clashed with each other many times now and suffered severe losses. Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor had already begun living off their past gains. Their stockpile of weapons and equipment was dwindling, and they were starting to have difficulty compensating their members for their losses. Simply put, only morale was keeping the three Guilds alive now. However, if the three Guilds refused or lost in the match, morale in the three Guilds would plummet. At that time, the performance of the three Guilds members would definitely be affected greatly. Upon realizing this situation, the spectating crowd was in awe of Lu Xingluos clever move. Originally, everyone thought Starlink was merely trying to get Zero Wing to remove the seal on Sky Spring City. However, if Starlink got the three Guilds top combatants to remain in Starlink by winning a match, Sky Spring Citys seal would no longer be a problem. While the spectators were having a quiet discussion among themselves, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Unyielding Heart, and illusory Words briefly exchanged glances. Fine! Fire Dance answered as she looked at Lu Xingluo. What kind of match do you have in mind, Guild Leader Xingluo? Their original plan was to break into Starlinks Residence and rescue their captured members. However, now that Starlink had gained another Tier 4 combatant, the risk of their plan had undoubtedly increased. Not to mention, the Secret Hand Associations NPCs might be hiding inside the Residence. At that time, they would have to go up against not only those NPCs but also five Tier 4 combatants. This would truly put them in a tough spot. After all, anyone capable of reaching Tier 4 was no pushover. In fact, they were among the best in Gods Domain when it came to combat standards, weapons, equipment, Legacies, etc. Simple. Both sides will each select one person for a duel, and we will decide the winner in one match! Lu Xingluo said, smiling. What do you think of this, Commander Fire Dance? Fine. Fire Dance agreed without hesitation. Good. After hearing Fire Dances response, Lu Xingluo turned to Miracle Dragon and said, Our side will have Miracle Dragon represent us. At Lu Xingluos words, Miracle Dragon leaped into the air and hovered above Starlinks Residence. He then looked down quietly at the Zero Wing contingent, evidently prepared for a fight. Big Sis Fire, let me take him on, Violet Cloud volunteered. I havent gotten a chance to fight against other Tier 4s ever since I reached Tier 4. I dont want to miss out on this. Fire Dance and the others exchanged looks at Violet Clouds words, hesitation appearing on their faces. The fact that Lu Xingluo dared let Miracle Dragon represent Starlinks side meant that he was confident of victory. Otherwise, he wouldve had a veteran Tier 4 player take to the field instead. Of course, Lu Xingluo could have made such a decision because the other Tier 4 players had long since exposed their cards during the past few battles. In contrast, Miracle Dragon had only gotten promoted to Tier 4 recently, so the moves he possessed were still unknown to Zero Wings side. Alright, but be careful. In the end, Fire Dance still nodded and consented to Violet Clouds request. Their side couldnt afford to lose this battle. However, Zero Wings veteran Tier 4s faced a similar problem to Starlinks veteran Tier 4s. On the other hand, Violet Cloud was not the slightest bit inferior to the three of them in combat standards. Now that she had gotten promoted to Tier 4 as well, it went without saying her strength rivaled theirs. Hence, letting Violet Cloud represent Zero Wings side wasnt exactly a bad decision. Unyielding Heart and Crimson Emperor did not oppose Fire Dances decision. Instead, they warned Violet Cloud to stay out of melee range from Miracle Dragon. Otherwise, Miracle Dragons lightning-quick attacks would devastate a magical-class player like Violet Cloud. Afterward, Violet Cloud similarly leaped into the air and hovered 100 yards away from Miracle Dragon. I lost to Gentle Snow last time because of my Basic Attributes, but you wont be as lucky as Gentle Snow! Miracle Dragon said as he looked at Violet Cloud with a cold and arrogant gaze. Because I will come at you seriously this time! After Miracle Dragon finished speaking, energy rippled out from his body and instantly enveloped the vicinity. Meanwhile, those caught within his Mana Domain immediately felt their bodies become incomparably heavy; even Tier 3 players found it difficult to move their bodies. A Supergravity Domain? Fire Dance frowned subconsciously when she experienced Miracle Dragons Mana Domain. This was the first time she had experienced such a powerful Mana Domain. Although this Supergravity Domain didnt affect the Basic Attributes of players, the increased gravity would affect the players mobility significantly. In fact, Fire Dance estimated that her mobility would be halved because of this Mana Domain. Needless to say, magical-class players that didnt possess much Strength would fare even worse in this Mana Domain. Before Fire Dance and the others could recover from their shock, Miracle Dragon unsheathed the silver greatsword he carried. Immediately, not only did the intensity of the aura he exuded skyrocket, but another ripple of energy spread out from his body. Unlike the earlier energy ripple, this one caused the flowing Mana in the air to stagnate Impossible! Unyielding Heart couldnt help doubting his eyes as he looked at Miracle Dragon. Two Domains?! It was already incredibly difficult for a Tier 4 player to obtain even one Mana Domain. Hence, any Tier 4 player that succeeded in doing so would become a force to be reckoned with even among other Tier 4 players. Now, Miracle Dragon revealed that he actually possessed two Mana Domains. This completely shattered Unyielding Hearts understanding of Mana Domains. Meanwhile, Lu Xingluo and the others on Starlinks side who were standing at the Residences entrance, smiled when they saw the reactions of Fire Dance and the others from the three Guilds. Commander Fire Dance, get ready to lose. Miracle Dragon has the Supergravity Domain and the Space Freezing Domain. He is the absolute bane of magical classes, Lu Xingluo said, smiling calmly as he looked at Fire Dance. Of course, the outcome wont change even if you have someone else take to the field. Under the effects of these two Mana Domains, nobody can defeat Miracle Dragon in single combat! A Dual Domain wasnt just a simple addition of two Mana Domains. Instead, the effects of the two Mana Domains would overlap and generate exponentially greater results. When Miracle Dragon activated both of his Mana Domains, he could take on two of Starlinks veteran Tier 4s simultaneously and still hold his ground. Meanwhile, the spectators also stirred at this scene. They never thought a person could have two Mana Domains. As expected of the Sword Freak! Even Black Flame will most likely have trouble going up against Miracle Dragon! I know, right? Black Flame only managed to stand out because he was lucky to reach Tier 4 before everyone else. But in a situation where both sides are at Tier 4, nobody can tell who is truly the best at the sword without a fight. How can the Secret Pavilion just arbitrarily label Black Flame the strongest? The rubberneckers were astonished by Miracle Dragons abilities. After all, this was the first time any of them had seen a Dual Domain. One could also easily determine the Dual Domains effects just by looking at the Tier 3 players enveloped within it. At this time, these Tier 3 players were already kneeling on the street from the overbearing pressure. This result was much greater than that of the Mana Domain Shi Feng had displayed previously. Commander, should we intervene now?. Lifeless Thorn asked as he looked at Shi Feng. This Dual Domain is going to be a tough nut to crack. If its just Violet alone, Im afraid No, well continue watching, Shi Feng replied, shaking his head and smiling. If we take action now, everyones going to think that Zero Wing has no capable people to rely on. But that Space Freezing Domain prevents the use of Instantaneous Movement. Miracle Dragon is also known for his speed and Strength. Her chances of victory are really slim, Lifeless Thorn argued. While he understood what Shi Feng was trying to say, Miracle Dragons Dual Domain was a perfect counter for magical-class players. Relax. Chuckling, Shi Feng looked at Violet Cloud and said, Having more Mana Domains isnt necessarily an advantage. Moreover, Violets strength is no longer the same as before. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, they saw Violet Cloud take out Deaths Sigh. However, compared to before, the current Deaths Sigh released a much more terrifying aura. The instant Violet Cloud wielded it, an aura of death instantly spread into the surroundings. A Dual Domain might be amazing, but a lone Mana Domain isnt necessarily inferior! After saying so, Violet Cloud operated her Mana Body at maximum capacity. The next moment, energy rippled out from her body, instantly pushing back Miracle Dragons Dual Domain and preventing it from extending more than 30 yards from Miracle Dragon. The difference between the Mana Domains of both sides was instantly determined! Chapter 2814 - Astromancer’s Might Chapter 2814 C Astromancers Might Whats going on? Why did a Dual Domain lose to a single Domain? The various experts looking up at the sky were bewildered when they saw Miracle Dragons Dual Domain getting suppressed. They couldnt understand how a single Domain could win against a Dual Domain. After all, the Mana and pressure Violet Clouds Mana Domain radiated were both weaker than those of Miracle Dragons Dual Domain! This is interesting. This little beauty has actually surpassed Miracle Dragon in knowledge and control over Mana by a large margin, a handsome youth wearing Hundred Ghostss Guild Emblem said, a faint smile appearing on his face as he looked at Violet Cloud. I never thought there would be such a talent in Zero Wing. Hmph. The people here think that just having high Basic Attributes is sufficient; they dont know that whats most important for Tier 4 players arent Attributes or combat standards but control and understanding over Mana, sneered the beautiful woman with short, blue hair standing beside the handsome youth. A Mana Domain is the result of making an areas Mana into ones own. Miracle Dragon can operate the Mana of his two Mana Domains only at a basic standard. How can he possibly win against someone with better control over Mana? Looking at Violet Cloud with fascination, the handsome youth said, But this little beauty is quite the genius. We can have her join us and become one of our outer supporting members. Abyss! Dont go acting on your old habits again! Dont forget why we came to this continent! the short-haired woman warned. Relax. I know what Im doing. Nobody on this continent is a match for me. Zero Wings alliance will crumble for certain this time. Nothing will change even if that Black Flame shows up. If this little lady wants to protect Zero Wing, shell have no choice but to beg me. Shell definitely take the bait at that time, the handsome youth said, smiling. The short-haired beauty carrying a battle axe did not refute the youths statement. After all, it was indeed true that they could keep Zero Wing alive with just a word. While the pair from Hundred Ghosts were conversing, Miracle Dragon had taken action. Unfazed by the fact that his Dual Domain had been suppressed, he flew within 50 yards of Violet Cloud and brandished his greatsword. Nine Extreme Slashes! Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Light Shatterer! Nine sword lights tore through space and instantly appeared around Violet Cloud. Moreover, as if to prove that Miracle Dragon had reached the Domain Realm already, the nine sword lights moved around Violet Cloud like a bunch of lively monkeys, their attack trajectories unpredictable. Facing this tricky move, Violet Cloud flicked her staff and activated Blink, instantly appearing 30 yards away and dodging the nine sword lights in the nick of time. Boom! A moment after Violet Cloud used Blink, the nine sword lights converged on her original location and exploded, transforming the area within a 20-yard radius into an empty void. The power of this attack practically rivaled that of Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. However, before Violet Cloud could catch her breath, several more sword lights appeared around her, to which she responded by using Blink again. This process repeated itself over and over, the sword lights hounding Violet Cloud like her shadow. This scene dumbfounded the spectating crowd. After all, at this time, Miracle Dragon looked more like a ranged player than a melee player. Every time he brandished his greatsword, several sword lights would appear around Violet Cloud. Despite the distance between the two players, it was as if Miracle Dragon were right beside Violet Cloud. Miracle Dragon really isnt holding back. Thousand Miles, who was standing at the entrance, burst into laughter as he watched the fight in the sky. At this rate, the fight will end in less than ten seconds. Miracle Dragon was a Magic Swordsman. His class perfectly combined magic with the sword. The class was proficient in melee combat as well as ranged combat. While it was indeed amazing that Violet Cloud managed to render Miracle Dragons Dual Domain useless, thanks to the Light Shatterer Skill, Miracle Dragon could still thoroughly exhibit the might of his godly fast attacks. You might have a lot of Movement Skills, but while my Light Shatterer Skill is active, it wont matter where you run to, so just surrender obediently! Miracle Dragon said, smirking as he watched Violet Cloud constantly dodging his attacks. Most people might expect him to be at a disadvantage when going up against magical-class players, but he was a Magic Swordsman. It didnt matter whether he fought at close quarters or range. He was proficient in both forms of combat. Meanwhile, Light Shatterer had a three-minute duration. Even if Violet Cloud had many Movement Skills, she definitely wouldnt have enough to last three minutes. And once she ran out of Movement Skills, all she could do was wait for death. Thank you for your warning. Looking at the arrogant Magic Swordsman, Violet Cloud smiled faintly and said, I might not be able to dodge them if Im alone, but what if there are multiple copies of myself? After saying so, Violet Cloud swung her staff and summoned several dozen identical copies of herself within her vast Starry Domain. Then, the figures of Violet Cloud and her copies turned blurry, becoming indistinguishable from one another. Doppelgangers? Miracle Dragon was momentarily startled. No, their auras are too weak to be doppelgangers. They should only be illusions, and there should only be one physical body. Watch me break this move of yours! Miracle Dragon began brandishing his greatsword wildly. Unlike before, his sword lights no longer converged on a single point. Instead, they scattered all around Violet Clouds Starry Domain, leaving empty voids wherever they passed and turning the Starry Domain into a place of death. After the series of rampant attacks, black voids filled the Starry Domain, which covered a 300-yard radius, this outcome thoroughly demonstrating the power of a Tier 4 Magic Swordsman. You refuse to come out even in death? Miracle Dragon was puzzled as he looked at the dark void before him. His attacks had left no corner untouched. While Tier 4 players could indeed survive inside the empty void, they could do so only for a short period. They would still die if they lingered. As soon as Miracle Dragon finished speaking, however, Violet Cloud came strolling out of the black void-entirely unscathed. It was evident that Miracle Dragons rampant assault just now did not affect her. She avoided everything? Miracle Dragon was surprised by this scene. He knew the speed of his attacks very well. Only by using Skills like Blink could magical-class players dodge them; relying solely on physical movements for evasion was impossible. Tanking his attacks would also be utterly foolish, and he would be more than glad to see Violet Cloud try. After all, her defense was bound to slip up against his swift and violent attacks. Nevertheless, Violet Cloud remained unscathed. Even her robe was intact. This proved that Violet Cloud had actually dodged all his sword lights. Amazing! I didnt even have time to cast my Spells while dealing with those fast attacks! Thankfully, my Starry Domain just so happens to counter you. Otherwise, this really would be a tough fight. Violet Cloud sighed ruefully as she looked at the dark space around her. While the doppelgangers she summoned might seem like illusions, they were, in a certain sense, real. This was because she could freely shuttle her real body between these doppelgangers. This ability was much stronger than her Blink Skill. Moreover, while this ability cost Concentration and Mana to use, it didnt have a Cooldown. And once her control over this ability improved, she could potentially summon thousands of copies of herself within her Starry Domain. Little girl, youre as arrogant as your Guild Leader! I refuse to believe you can dodge my attacks forever! Miracle Dragon said. He then held up his greatsword in preparation for another round of attacks. However, before Miracle Dragon could brandish his weapon, shadow blades emerged from the dark void behind Violet Cloud, numbering 600. Miracle Dragon, did you think I was hiding in the void just to dodge your attacks? Chuckling softly, Violet Cloud said, I spent a long time preparing to deal with you. Now, let me see how you block these 600 shadow blades! As soon as Violet Cloud finished speaking, the 600 shadow blades carrying devastating power began raining down on Miracle Dragon like a hail of bullets. Miracle Dragon knew that there was no way he could dodge them all. Immediately, he activated his Berserk Skill, drastically increasing his Basic Attributes and doubling his attack speed. The next moment, he brandished his greatsword, blocking the shadow blades one after another in rapid succession. Boom Boom Boom A shadow blade would get sent flying away every time Miracle Dragon swung his greatsword. However, under Violet Clouds control, these shadow blades would quickly correct their trajectories and attack him once more. The space above Starlinks Residence transformed into a dark void, the shockwaves of the battle spreading throughout Sky Spring City. Rather than a clash between players, the duel between Violet Cloud and Miracle Dragon looked more like a clash between monsters. From watching this battle, the Tier 3 players present thoroughly understood how insignificant they were in front of Tier 4 players. Despite Miracle Dragons best efforts, there were just too many shadow blades. Moreover, Violet Cloud was also constantly making subtle adjustments to her attack patterns. As a result, roughly 20 seconds later, Miracle Dragon finally slipped up, and one shadow blade penetrated his defense. Just one hit took away one-quarter of Miracle Dragons HP. Moreover, within a few more seconds, he slipped up three more times. The next moment, the clash in midair came to an abrupt halt, and Miracle Dragons eyes closed reluctantly as his body fell into the compound of Starlinks Residence. Only Violet Cloud and her 600 shadow blades remained hovering in the air, the frightening aura they released instilling fear into everyone. Guild Leader Lu Xingluo, you can release our people now! Chapter 2815 - How Bold of You Chapter 2815 C How Bold of You At Violet Clouds words, Lu Xingluos complexion turned ashen. Never did Lu Xingluo think that Miracle Dragon would lose. Moreover, the man had lost so miserably. Now, not only did Lu Xingluo fail to humiliate Zero Wing, but the morale on his side had even suffered a hit. This situation put him at a loss as to how to respond to Violet Cloud. Lu Xingluo wasnt the only one taken aback by this outcome. The various major powers were similarly stunned beyond belief. Everyone present could clearly tell that Miracle Dragon was monstrously powerful, yet Violet Cloud had actually displayed even greater strength. At this time, they even started to think that Violet Cloud could take on two or three Tier 4 experts simultaneously and still hold the upper hand. So, this is Zero Wings strength? Amazing! With this, Starlink and the various superpowers will have to act more humbly. From how leisurely Violet Cloud had defeated Miracle Dragon, it was evident she still had strength to spare. This meant that even though Zero Wings side had one Tier 4 expert less than Starlinks side, the latter still wouldnt hold any advantages. Beautifully done! Unyielding Heart praised as he looked up at Violet Cloud. Now that Starlinks side has one less Tier 4, even if Lu Xingluo goes back on his word, we still have a much greater chance of rescuing our people! Illusory Words nodded in agreement with Unyielding Heart. This duel held great importance for both sides. If Lu Xingluo handled this matter poorly, he would become the laughing stock of Gods Domain. After all, Lu Xingluo had overreached himself. He had actually planned to rely on this opportunity to elevate Starlink into an existence on par with the Five Great Super Guilds. Only, his grand plan had already been foiled right at the very first step. If he werent standing in public right now, Lu Xingluo would have most likely spat out blood already. When everyone thought Lu Xingluo was going to lose his mind, the man actually smiled. Good! Very good! As expected of one of Zero Wings peak experts. Your strength is truly astonishing, Lu Xingluo said, chuckling as he looked up at Violet Cloud. Fine. Well let your people go. Guild Leader? Sword Demon, who had also reached Tier 4, was stunned by Lu Xingluos words. He never thought that Lu Xingluo would release Zero Wings people so decisively. Theyll grow even more fearless if we let their people go! It doesnt matter, Lu Xingluo said as he glanced at Sword Demon nonchalantly. Release them. Sword Demon had no choice but to release the three Guilds captured members. The next moment, Alluring Summer, Shadow Sword, Mu Lingsha, Blue Gown, and several other players were released from Starlinks Guild Hall. From the time they emerged from the building until they walked out of the Residences entrance, none of Starlinks or the various superpowers members stopped them. Hes releasing them without a fight? Unyielding Heart was stunned when he saw Mu Lingsha and the others free. Honestly, Unyielding Heart didnt believe any of the words Lu Xingluo said before. To his disbelief, Lu Xingluo had actually gone through with his promise and released the captured players without a fight. However, as soon as the bindings on Alluring Summer and the others were removed, Alluring Summer shouted, Run! Commander, you guys need to get away fast! Its a trap! Unfortunately, as soon as Alluring Summer finished speaking, a threefold magic array suddenly appeared in the sky above Starlinks Residence. The magic array instantly expanded and covered a 1,000-yard radius. Apart from Starlinks and the various superpowers members, everyone caught within the barrier felt their bodies growing heavier. Even Tier 4 players like Unyielding Heart found their Basic Attributes falling by 30%. Run? You think you can run away today? Lu Xingluo sneered as he looked at the members of Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor. Ive released your people, so dont say I didnt abide by our agreement. However, whether you can leave this place alive is another matter altogether. Oh, by the way, this magic barrier is a Master Barrier. Let alone you Tier 4s, even a Superior Mythic monster cant break out from it. At the same time as Lu Xingluo finished speaking, three NPCs flew out of Starlinks Residence and looked down at the three Guilds members from the air. With the appearance of these three NPCs, Violet Clouds Starry Domain was instantly overwhelmed by a much stronger and violent Mana Domain. As a result, her Starry Domain contracted to only 50 yards away from herself. Meanwhile, upon seeing these three NPCs, everyone present gasped involuntarily. (Victor Palome (Secret Hand Association Elder)] (Tier 4 Great Wizard) Level 160 HP 180,000,000 (Claire Saviron (Secret Hand Legion Vice Commander)] (Tier 4 Sky Knight) Level 160 HP 330,000,000 (Melt Kabara (Secret Hand Legion Commander)] (Tier 4 Elemental Hunter) Level 162 HP 270,000,000 Three Tier 4 NPCs?! How is this possible?! The various major powers members gaped in shock at these three NPCs. Although they knew that Starlink had worked together with the Secret Hand Association to capture the three Guilds executives, they had thought that only one Tier 4 NPC was aiding Starlink. Now, three Tier 4 NPCs had appeared. Their combined combat power was enough to destroy even Sky Spring City! Melt Kabara, an elderly man apparently in his 50s who carried a crystalline bow, turned to Lu Xingluo and said, Guild Leader Xingluo, youve done well this time. Our Association will help you take control of the Secret Covenant Tower as agreed. Thank you, Commander Melt. Lu Xingluo beamed at Melt Kabaras words. Lu Xingluos goal since the very beginning had been the three Guilds Tier 4 members. The main reason he had Miracle Dragon partake in a duel was to create a distraction while the Secret Hand Association set up the magic barrier. After all, setting up such a powerful barrier would create powerful Mana fluctuations. Only a duel between two Tier 4 players could conceal these Mana fluctuations. Hence, Lu Xingluo never really cared whether Miracle Dragon won or lost the duel. How vicious of Lu Xingluo! He was planning to wipe out the three Guilds top combatants all along! It seems Zero Wings side is finished. A force of three Tier 4 NPCs is basically unstoppable in the Twin Towers Kingdom. At this time, everyone already understood that this was a trap Starlink set up for the three Guilds. So long as the three Guilds top combatants got annihilated here, the three Guilds would be finished. They would no longer have the ability to resist Starlink and the various superpowers. The complexions of the three Guilds members darkened when they saw this situation. How is this possible?! How did Lu Xingluo recruit the help of so many Tier 4 NPCs?! Unyielding Heart couldnt help despairing as he looked at the three Tier 4 NPCs in the air. According to the information they obtained, only one Tier 4 NPC had been present when Mu Lingsha and the others were captured. They had originally planned for him and Illusory Words to work together to pin down this Tier 4 NPC, while Violet Cloud and Fire Dance went up against Starlinks Tier 4 players. Now, the number of Tier 4 NPCs they had to face had tripled. Moreover, they were even caught inside a Master Barrier. They couldnt escape even if they wanted to. While the three Guilds members were at a loss as to what to do, Melt Kabara glanced at them. Capture Zero Wings members. Kill everyone else using soul attacks. I want to let Black Flame know the consequences of provoking the Secret Hand Association! Melt Kabara commanded the two people beside him. In response, Elder Victor Palome chuckled and said, Rest assured, Commander Melt, none of Zero Wings members will escape today! Melt Kabaras words stunned the spectating crowd. These NPCs are here for Zero Wing? Crap! What did Zero Wing do to have an NPC force aim for their lives? At this time, let alone the various major powers, even Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words were stunned. An NPC force had actually mobilized such a powerful party just to take revenge on Shi Feng? However, before Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words could react to this piece of information, the three NPCs made their move, splitting up and charging at Violet Cloud and Fire Dance. Zero Wing! This is the consequence of your sins! Lu Xingluo burst into maniacal laughter when he saw the three NPCs taking action. I didnt even do anything this time! Previously, Lu Xingluo had still felt quite troubled by the three Guilds resistance. However, Shi Feng had offended the Secret Hand Association on Dragonheart Island, which, in turn, prompted the Association to seek a partnership with Lu Xingluo. He had nearly gone crazy from joy back then. Now that three of the Associations Tier 4 NPCs were taking action, there was no way Zero Wings members could escape. Now, all he had to do was wait for Zero Wings destruction and take over Zero Wings possessions. However, just as the three NPCs were about to reach Fire Dance and her companions, who were prepared to fight to the death, a sword light suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the battlefield. This lightning-fast sword light cut straight at Melt Kabara, who led the charge against Zero Wings members. However, Melt Kabara was no ordinary Tier 4 NPC. Quickly responding to the attack, he used his crystalline bow as a melee weapon and struck the approaching sword light. Boom! An explosion occurred, and space within a radius of several dozen yards shattered. The Elemental Hunter went flying over a hundred yards away, a damage exceeding one million appearing above his head. Secret Hand Association, how bold of you! I didnt bother picking a fight with you in Dragonheart City, yet you actually have the gall to come and pick a fight in my territory? It seems you people are tired of living, just like Sabrid! Before anyone could react to the sudden attack, a cold voice echoed throughout the battlefield. Everyone turned to the voices origin, curious to find out who had sent Melt Kabara flying. The next moment, what entered everyones eyes was a cloaked man walking out of the crowd. The man wielded a golden sword decorated with crimson runes, and his frightening aura made them feel as if the god of death had descended onto the battlefield. Black Flame?! Chapter 2816 - Nobody Is Leaving! Chapter 2816 C Nobody Is Leaving! Everyone couldnt help doubting their eyes when they saw the cloaked man. After all, Melt Kabara was a Level 162, Tier 4 NPC. Although he was only a Tier 4 Ranger, which wasnt a Strength-oriented class, he still possessed a massive advantage in terms of levels. He simply wasnt an existence current players could go up against. Nevertheless, Shi Feng had sent the Elemental Hunter flying with one hit. How frightening was his Strength?! Hes actually that Black Flame? Standing in the spectating crowd, the robust man from the Silver Lion adventurer team was astonished when he discovered Shi Fengs identity. His team members were similarly stunned. They never imagined that the stranger their commander decided to befriend would actually be a big shot. Moreover, it was even a big shot capable of shaking the entire Gods Domain. Guild Leader? Fire Dance and the others were also surprised when they saw Shi Feng approaching them. They hadnt thought that Shi Feng had already returned. Brother Black Flame, youve really made us wait! Unyielding Heart revealed a bitter smile when he saw Shi Feng. Although not much time had passed since they parted ways at the Ruined Mountain Range, it felt like months and years had gone by on their side as the pressure they faced from the various superpowers increased by the day. Fortunately, their peak experts had found several Tier 4 Legacy Lands while exploring Level 130 maps. As a result, their three Guilds managed to produce three Tier 4 players quickly, instantly alleviating the pressure they faced at the Twin Towers Kingdom by a large margin. They were also continuously obtaining complete Tier 3 Legacies from the Secret Covenant Tower, which allowed their Guilds to produce Tier 3 players rapidly. As a result, their three Guilds had managed to last until today, albeit by the skin of their teeth. Shi Fengs return had undoubtedly increased their staying power. When Illusory Words saw Shi Feng, she, too, heaved a deep sigh of relief. They had been fighting long and hard just to endure until this moment. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs appearance also caused a stir among the members of Starlinks faction. None of them had expected Shi Feng to reappear in such a sudden and powerful manner. Black Flame, youre finally willing to show yourself! Lu Xingluo laughed as he looked at Shi Feng. Ive been waiting for a long time! Today, Ill let you see Zero Wing perish before your eyes! Everyone, attack! In truth, Lu Xingluo was slightly surprised by Shi Fengs arrival. He never thought that Shi Feng would be able to return from the sealed Dragonheart City so quickly. Lu Xingluo had originally planned to use the annihilation of Fire Dance and the others to force Shi Feng to come forward. Now, he no longer had to trouble himself. As soon as Lu Xingluo finished speaking, Sword Demon, Wind Demon, and Tengu, who had all reached Tier 4, moved to surround Zero Wings members. Only, shortly after the trio exited the Residences entrance, two figures intercepted them. Youll need to beat the two of us first before you proceed! Lifeless Thorn said as he grabbed the spear slung on his back and swept it at the three enemies before him. At this time, Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine stopped concealing their life auras. Two more Tier 4 auras spread across the battlefield, stunning Sword Demons group. Two more Tier 4s?! How many Tier 4s does Zero Wing have?! The various major powers exclaimed in surprise when they sensed Lifeless Thorns and Solitary Nines auras. At this stage of the game, Tier 4 players were still as rare as a phoenixs feather. A superpower would be fortunate to have even one Tier 4 player. Yet, based on what they could see now, Zero Wing actually had five Tier 4 players already. Even the Five Great Super Guilds didnt have such a force yet. You people from Zero Wing are indeed capable. After glancing at Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine, Lu Xingluo turned to Shi Feng and sneered, Unfortunately, all of you are inside a Master Barrier right now. Even if you have more Tier 4s on your side, you still dont have a chance at victory! Upon hearing this, the various onlookers snapped out of their daze and very much agreed with Lu Xingluos words. March, you go as well! Thousand Miles commanded as he looked at Silent March. Make sure Black Flame doesnt leave this place alive! Well be in trouble afterward, otherwise! Yes, sir! Nodding, Silent March took out her staff and joined Sword Demons trio. Seeing that Silent March, a Tier 4 Necromancer, was taking action as well, the spectating players sighed subconsciously. Although Starlinks side was still outnumbered, it had the help of a Master Barrier and three Tier 4 NPCs. Zero Wings side stood no chance at all. However, before Silent March could arrive before Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine, Shi Feng suddenly slashed at the sky. World Breaker! The next moment, a dazzling brilliance shot into the sky and instantly penetrated the magic barrier. Subsequently, the barrier shattered, and the overwhelming pressure Zero Wings members felt disappeared. What Master Barrier? Looking at Lu Xingluo, Shi Feng asked calmly, Do you mean this broken thing? At Shi Fengs words, silence enveloped the entire battlefield. Lu Xingluo, in particular, was utterly thunderstruck as he looked at the dissipating barrier. Impossible! Even a Superior Mythic monster would have a difficult time breaking this barrier. How could he just At this time, Lu Xingluo felt as if he was having a nightmare. Either that or the heavens were playing a trick on him. Guild Leaderare youstill just a Tier 4 player? At this time, let alone Lu Xingluo and the various superpowers members, even Fire Dance and the others gaped in shock at this scene. This was a barrier capable of trapping Superior Mythic monsters! Yet, Shi Feng had destroyed it with one slash. Not good! They can run away now that the barrier is broken! Reacting to the situation quickly, Thousand Miles looked at Lu Xingluo and urged, Guild Leader Xingluo, we need to figure out a plan fast! If a Tier 4 player wanted to escape, even Tier 4 NPCs would have trouble stopping them. Meanwhile, if their faction failed to capture Zero Wings members alive, they would have a much harder time dealing with the three Guilds afterward. On the other hand, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words breathed out a sigh of relief at this situation. With the magic barrier gone, so long as they scattered and fled, the three Tier 4 NPCs wouldnt be able to capture them. Moreover, they were still inside Sky Spring City. If the three Tier 4 NPCs caused a commotion, Sky Spring Citys Tier 4 Magistrate would definitely intervene. At that time, the Magistrate would be able to pin down at least one of Secret Hands NPCs. However, before Lu Xingluo and Thousand Miles could issue commands, Shi Feng jumped into the air above Starlinks Residence and scanned the crowd beneath him. This situation confused the various spectating players. They couldnt understand why Shi Feng had approached Starlinks Residence instead of running away. Run away? Looking at Thousand Miles, Shi Feng laughed and said, Do you think youre the only ones capable of summoning Tier 4 NPCs? Nobody is leaving today! All of you will stay here! After saying so, Shi Feng took out two Summon Guard Scrolls from his bag and activated them. Chapter 2817 - Reversal Chapter 2817 C Reversal As Shi Feng chanted the incantation to activate the Summon Guard scrolls, two magic arrays appeared before him. One second later, two figures emerged from these magic arrays. Along with the appearance of these two figures, everyone present felt an unprecedented pressure weighing down their body. Tier 4 Personal Guards?! How did he do it? The various major powers members gasped when they saw the two new figures in the air. Many players owned Personal Guards in Gods Domain, but those capable of owning Tier 4 Personal Guards at this stage of the game could be counted on ones fingers. This was because NPCs had much more difficulty getting promoted to Tier 4 than players. Even Fine-Gold Guards had no more than a 25% chance of success. And in the event of failure, these Personal Guards would have to wait one whole month before they could challenge their Promotion Quest again. Moreover, the success rate wouldnt change in the slightest. Yet, now, Shi Feng had actually summoned two Tier 4 Personal Guards. Meanwhile, these two Personal Guards were none other than Kite and Anna. As the two NPCs had been busy challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quests previously, Shi Feng had not summoned them for quite some time now. Fortunately, Kite and Anna possessed incredibly high Growth Potentials. Both of them had successfully gotten promoted to Tier 4, and their current levels even surpassed Shi Fengs by a large margin. At this time, Kite had already reached Level 146, whereas Anna was at Level 149. While their levels were still lower than the Secret Hand Associations three NPCs, the difference was negligible. After reaching Tier 4, the main factors that allowed Tier 4 NPCs to undergo qualitative improvements were Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Equipment, control over Mana, and the number of Tier 4 Skills and Spells learned. With Kite and Annas arrival, even a fool could tell that the tables had turned. Previously, after Starlink and the various superpowers lost the support of their Master Barrier, their disadvantage in numbers meant they could only rely on the Secret Hand Associations NPCs to overwhelm Zero Wings side. However, Kite and Anna could fend off at least two of the Associations Tier 4 NPCs. And with the growing commotion, Sky Spring Citys Tier 4 Magistrate would most likely come to help soon. Hence, Starlink and the various superpowers no longer had any advantages at this time. In fact, they were even at a disadvantage since Zero Wings side had three more Tier 4 players than they did. A difference of three Tier 4 players might not seem like much, but it was already more than enough to elicit despair in Starlink and the various superpowers. This was because even 10,000 Tier 3 players wouldnt be enough to go against three Tier 4 players. That would only result in a one-sided massacre. Moreover, with the seal over Sky Spring City still in effect, the only way players could teleport out of the city was through the Teleportation Hall. This situation was considerably disadvantageous for Starlinks side. When Lu Xingluo recognized the situation, his complexion turned indescribably ugly. He had never dreamed that Shi Feng would be able to reverse the situation and even put him in dire straits. Guild Leader Xingluo, what should we do now? If it comes down to a fight, Im afraid our side Thousand Miles asked anxiously as he looked at Lu Xingluo. Lu Xingluo had full responsibility for this operation. Miracle and the various superpowers were simply here to show support. After all, Lu Xingluo had repeatedly guaranteed that he would take down Zero Wing this time. Then, the various superpowers would divide the Secret Covenant Tower and the three Guilds territories among themselves. Now, before Miracle even took a cut out of Zero Wing, it had already lost Miracle Dragon. Moreover, at this rate, even Silent March and Thousand Miles himself would most likely perish. I understand. Sighing helplessly, Lu Xingluo said, I originally thought that these means would already be enough to take down Zero Wing. It seems I still have to request their help in the end. Request their help? At Lu Xingluos words, realization dawned upon Thousand Miles. He then looked at a nearby team of several dozen players and muttered, Could it be Thousand Miles had heard of the mysterious Guild known as Hundred Ghosts. This was a Guild that showed no respect or fear for even the Five Great Super Guilds. He never thought that Lu Xingluo would actually have such a deep connection with Hundred Ghosts. Thats right. Its them. Lu Xingluo nodded. He then looked at the handsome youth leading Hundred Ghostss team and called out, Brother Abyss, Im afraid Ill have to bother you for help. Once we get out of this predicament, Starlink will agree to all your conditions! Good! Ive been waiting a long time for these words, Guild Leader Xingluo! Awakened Abyss smiled when he heard Lu Xingluos promise. Since youve thought it through already, Hundred Ghosts naturally wont sit back and do nothing. Thank you, Brother Abyss! Lu Xingluo breathed out a sigh of relief. Shi Feng had really boxed Lu Xingluo into a corner this time. Since they were inside Sky Spring City, which also happened to be Zero Wings territory, Starlinks members would all end up jailed if they died or got captured inside the city. Meanwhile, the prison sentence could last anywhere from a few days to over a dozen days. This absolutely wasnt an outcome Lu Xingluo could tolerate! Now that Hundred Ghosts had agreed to intervene, though, Starlink would escape this predicament. Lu Xingluo knew very clearly what kind of power was backing Hundred Ghosts. It simply wasnt something the main continents superpowers could go up against. The various major powers present overheard the conversation between Lu Xingluo and Awakened Abyss. However, they couldnt understand why Lu Xingluo, Starlinks Guild Leader, would ask Awakened Abyss for help. Moreover, Lu Xingluo relaxed visibly when he heard the handsome youths positive response. Who are those people? Lu Xingluo is actually begging them for help?. How ignorant are you guys? Thats Hundred Ghosts! I never imagined that Starlink would manage to partner up with Hundred Ghosts. Starlink really hit the jackpot this time. I heard that even the Five Great Super Guilds have to show respect to Hundred Ghosts. Although the Five Great Super Guilds initially sent a lot of famous experts to pick a fight with Hundred Ghosts, none of those experts returned alive. Many of the major powers present were ignorant of Hundred Ghostss existence. After hearing the explanation of some well-informed people, they quickly understood how extraordinary an existence Hundred Ghosts was. On the other hand, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words couldnt help making ugly expressions. Dammit! Why would Hundred Ghosts partner with Starlink? Frustration filled Unyielding Hearts eyes when he heard Awakened Abyss agreeing to Lu Xingluos request. After Hundred Ghosts made its debut on the main continent, his Guild Leader had received an astonishing secret message. Afterward, his Guild Leader warned everyone in the Guild not to provoke Hundred Ghostss members. Otherwise, there would be unimaginable consequences. Initially, Unyielding Heart thought that Hundred Ghosts had merely accepted Starlinks invitation so that they could challenge some of the experts here. It never occurred to him that Hundred Ghosts actually planned to partner with Starlink. Illusory Words was similarly filled with frustration. After seeing Shi Feng summon his Personal Guards, she thought they would be able to deal a heavy blow to Starlink and the various superpowers. However, now that Hundred Ghosts, an existence that even the Five Great Super Guilds feared, had agreed to step in for Starlink, if their three Guilds insisted on taking action against Starlink, they would make an enemy of Hundred Ghosts. The next moment, after Awakened Abyss agreed to Lu Xingluos request, he looked up at Shi Feng and said, Guild Leader Black Flame, Hundred Ghosts has some dealings with Starlink. Can you spare Starlink out of respect for Hundred Ghosts? If Zero Wing needs help in the future, I, Awakened Abyss, will definitely lend a helping hand. As soon as Awakened Abyss finished speaking, everyone present turned to Shi Feng, who was still hovering in midair. They all wondered how he would answer. Although sparing Starlink here would mean losing an opportunity to deal a heavy blow to Starlink, Zero Wing would gain Hundred Ghostss favor. This wouldnt necessarily be a losing transaction. After all, Hundred Ghosts was a mysterious Guild that even the Five Great Super Guilds had to show respect to. Gaining the favor of such an existence could bring many benefits. Respect? Favor? Shi Feng laughed as he looked at Awakened Abyss. When Starlink was pushing our three Guilds into a dead end earlier, why didnt I see you standing up for us at that time? Yet, now that Starlink is in a desperate situation, youre telling us to let them go? Do you think my respect is so cheap? What will you do if I dont give it to you? Chapter 2818 - You Think Too Highly of Yourself Chapter 2818 C You Think Too Highly of Yourself When Shi Feng finished speaking, silence enveloped the entire battlefield. Nobody had expected that Shi Feng would show no regard at all for Hundred Ghosts. A cold glint flashed in Awakened Abysss eyes at Shi Fengs response. Guild Leader Black Flame, my suggestion is beneficial for both our sides. If Hundred Ghosts interferes, setting all else aside, just in terms of number of Tier 45, Zero Wing wont have much of an advantage, Awakened Abyss said coldly. If you insist on remaining obstinate, Ill have to take it as Zero Wing having hostile intentions toward Hundred Ghosts. After saying so, Awakened Abyss stopped concealing his life aura. Immediately, a life aura rivaling that of the Secret Hand Associations Tier 4 NPCs spread across the battlefield. Simultaneously, Awakened Abyss revealed the glow effect of his equipment, the result making the surrounding spectators gasp. This was because Awakened Abyss was actually fully geared in Epic Equipment! Moreover, apart from a full set of Epic Equipment, Awakened Abysss longsword was also extraordinary, sporting six gleaming gemstones inlaid into it. And although the longsword looked old-fashioned, the aura it exuded was much stronger than that of the Epic Equipment he wore by a large margin. Meanwhile, the short-haired woman standing beside Awakened Abyss also stopped concealing her life aura and equipment. And like Awakened Abyss, she was fully geared in Epic Equipment and carried a battle axe that rivaled Awakened Abysss longsword. Arent those two a little too well-equipped?! No wonder even the Five Great Super Guilds are wary of Hundred Ghosts. Even Starlink and the various superpowers cant afford to arm their members to the teeth with such excellent items. When the various major powers saw the dazzling glow enveloping Awakened Abyss and the short-haired beauty, they were startled. Everyone present had seen Epic Weapons and Equipment before. However, trying to fully gear a player with Epic items that suited them was incredibly difficult. Yet, Hundred Ghosts had managed to do so for two players. One could see just how powerful Hundred Ghosts was through this point alone. Hence, it was clearly unwise for Zero Wing to make an enemy of Hundred Ghosts at this time. Hostile intentions? Shi Feng laughed as he looked at Awakened Abyss. You think too highly of yourself! Since you wish to stand on Starlinks side, then die with them! After saying so, Shi Feng unsheathed the Light of Two Worlds and executed a downward slash at Awakened Abyss. First Sword, Lightshadow! An illusory greatsword over a hundred meters long appeared in the sky and descended toward Awakened Abyss and the short-haired woman. Space ruptured in the greatswords wake, and Awakened Abyss and the woman suddenly found themselves having difficulty moving. How dare he?! When Lu Xingluo and the various superpowers executives saw this scene, they gaped in shock. They never thought that Shi Feng would even attack Hundred Ghostss envoys. Crazy bastard! Awakened Abyss revealed a startled expression when he saw the illusory greatsword. He hadnt expected Shi Feng to take such prompt action. Moreover, he found the power of Shi Fengs attack stifling. Even the Tier 4 NPCs he had faced before couldnt execute such a powerful attack. Almost by instinct, Awakened Abyss took out a crystal and shattered it without hesitation. Two barriers instantly appeared before Awakened Abyss and the short-haired woman, protecting them. Boom! When the illusory greatsword came into contact with the first barrier, the barrier immediately cracked. Only after the first barrier had shattered completely did the illusory greatsword disappear. Awakened Abyss and the short-haired woman stared at this outcome in disbelief. This dual-layered barrier was the product of a Tier 4 Curse, a tool they carried for emergencies. Even Tier 4 NPCs couldnt break the generated barriers, yet Shi Feng had shattered one layer. In other words, Shi Feng needed only one more attack to destroy this Tier 4 Defensive Curse. Were leaving! Awakened Abyss commanded his team to retreat without hesitation. His Mana Technique is too powerful! Only the Elders can deal with him! We wont be able to stop his third attack! As soon as Awakened Abyss finished speaking, Hundred Ghostss members promptly scattered and fled. Awakened Abyss and the short-haired woman leaped into the air and made a beeline for Sky Spring Citys gate. They dared not try to put up a fight. It seems youre not completely inept, Shi Feng commented indifferently as he looked at the remaining barrier before him. He then looked at Awakened Abysss and the short-haired womans fleeing figures and continued, However, since you dare interfere in Zero Wings matters, Ill have one of you stay behind today to teach you a lesson! After saying so, Shi Feng suddenly disappeared from where he hovered. When he reappeared, he was in front of Awakened Abyss. You Shi Fengs appearance shocked Awakened Abyss. Shi Feng was too fast. His Movement Speed in the air practically rivaled a Flying Mounts. However, before Awakened Abyss could react to the situation, Shi Feng swung the Light of Two Worlds once more. It was evident he had chosen Awakened Abyss as his target of detention. Spatial Slash! Black Flame! Unwilling to take any chances, Awakened Abyss activated his Berserk Skill, boosting his Basic Attributes by a large margin. Now, he could go toe-to-toe against a Superior Mythic monster of the same level. Dont go too far! Awakened Abyss used his full strength to counter Shi Fengs attack, his longsword radiating a colorful brilliance as it swung to meet Shi Fengs Light of Two Worlds. Now, the power of his attack was not the slightest bit weaker than that of the Lightshadow Shi Feng executed before. Boom! Two sky-splitting spatial tears appeared when the two swords collided. Immediately afterward, Awakened Abyss crashed into the ground below like a cannonball, and his HP plummeted. In the blink of an eye, Awakened Abysss HP, which exceeded 20 million, fell to zero, and the youth became deader than dead. Abyss? The short-haired woman was stunned when she saw Awakened Abyss killed. Awakened Abyss was one of the top three experts among Hundred Ghostss younger generation, yet he actually couldnt withstand even one attack from Shi Feng. When Lu Xingluo and the others standing inside Starlinks Residence saw this scene, they, too, were flabbergasted. They never thought Shi Feng would actually kill Awakened Abyss without hesitation, showing no fear of Hundred Ghosts whatsoever. Run away!!! Nobody knew who said these words. However, as soon as they appeared, the tens of thousands of players inside Starlinks Residence came to a tacit agreement and began fleeing immediately. Even the Secret Hand Associations NPCs had grim expressions when they saw Shi Fengs might. Were leaving! Melt Kabara commanded, understanding that the situation was no longer in their favor. With just the three of them here, they would be helpless against Shi Feng. Immediately afterward, the Secret Hand Associations three Tier 4 NPCs turned to flee Sky Spring City. You want to escape? Dream on! Looking at Kite and Anna, Shi Feng commanded, Kill all of these people! Yes, sir! Kite and Anna, who had remained on standby until now, responded respectfully. They then split up and took independent action. The next moment, Anna set out in pursuit of Melt Kabaras group. As for Kite, he joined Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine in dealing with Starlinks Tier 4 players. You think you can stop us by yourself? You must be tired of living! Melt Kabara was incensed when he saw Anna coming to block his group by herself. Although Anna was also a Tier 4 existence, she was merely Level 149. She would have trouble stopping even one of them, let alone all three. She was basically insulting their strength by coming at them alone. However, before Melt Kabara could say anything more, Anna unleashed her Mana Domain. Immediately, Annas Mana Domain enveloped the entire Sky Spring City, transforming the city into a world of black and white. Under the effects of her Mana Domain, Starlinks and the various superpowers Tier 3 players couldnt even budge. As for Melt Kabaras group of three, they felt immense pressure pressing down on them, subjecting the Mana within their bodies to a powerful suppression. The three of them could barely extend their own Mana Domains 20 yards from themselves. The might of Annas Mana Domain was simply unbelievable. Before Melt Kabara and the other two could react, countless pitch-black chains assaulted them from all directions. Simultaneously, innumerable holy swords appeared in the sky and shot at all three of them. Despite the trio working together and doing their best to fend off the attacks, they actually remained at a complete disadvantage. Anna thoroughly displayed her strength as an Epic Guard, and it was only a matter of time before she defeated the three hostile NPCs. Lu Xingluo, you should follow your friends as well! Shi Feng instantly appeared in front of Lu Xingluo and swung the Light of Two Worlds at him. He gave Lu Xingluo no room to even catch a breather. Dammit! Dammit! Black Flame, Ill make you pay for this! Hundred Ghosts will make you pay for this too! Lu Xingluo gritted his teeth and shattered one of the crystal rings he wore. The next moment, a strange, gray space formed around Lu Xingluo and thoroughly negated Shi Fengs attack. However, Lu Xingluo also let out an agonized scream in the gray space. It was evident that getting caught within this gray space wasnt entirely pleasant for Lu Xingluo. A second later, the gray space disappeared together with Lu Xingluo. He sure knows how to run quickly. Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised when Lu Xingluo escaped. After all, Lu Xingluo was Starlinks Guild Leader. It would be strange if he didnt have a few powerful lifesaving items. Fortunately, Shi Feng had already achieved his goal in coming here. After todays event, Starlink and the various superpowers would lose tens of thousands of Tier 3 experts and many Tier 4 experts. Moreover, even if these experts died, they would still be detained for several days in Sky Spring Citys prison once they respawned. Less than ten minutes later, with Anna and Kites assistance, Zero Wings members annihilated the Secret Hand Associations three Tier 4 NPCs and the various superpowers Tier 3 and Tier 4 experts. The spectating powers were awestruck to witness the deaths of the various superpowers experts. None of them had ever dreamed that the superpowers crusade against the Secret Covenant Tower would come to such an end. Zero Wings hidden strength also exceeded their imagination. The Guild simply wasnt an existence the various superpowers could go up against. This astonishing piece of news quickly spread all over the Twin Towers Kingdom. It even reached the neighboring kingdoms and empires, shocking the various player forces there. Chapter 2819 - Changes in the Twin Towers Kingdom Chapter 2819 C Changes in the Twin Towers Kingdom In a certain border town of the Fire Dragon Empire At this time, a 3,000-man team of Tier 3 players was resting in two bars on the main street. All the town residents, be they players or NPCs, were extremely afraid of this team. This was because the average level of this team was Level 125three levels higher than the average level of Tier 3 players in the Fire Dragon Empire. Meanwhile, leading this powerful team of Tier 3 players was a long-haired woman with a heroic air. When the players looked at this white-clad woman, their gaze held awe and respect. This woman was none other than the first player in Mythology to have gotten promoted to Tier 4, Cold Shadow, who was now Mythologys First Vice Guild Leader. In addition, she had even reached Level 133, 11 levels higher than the average Tier 3 player. The cold and sharp aura she exuded was so powerful that even Tier 3 players over a hundred yards away shuddered involuntarily. Vice Guild Leader, news just came in from the Twin Towers Kingdom, White Feather, who was now a Level 130, Tier 4 Guardian Knight, reported to Cold Shadow. Starlink suffered a tragic defeat. Moreover, because of Black Flames sudden appearance, with the exception of Lu Xingluo, none of the various superpowers experts escaped. Nearly 20,000 Tier 3 experts were penalized with ten days confinement in Sky Spring Citys prison. Hes finally willing to show himself. Cold Shadow, who was resting quietly with her eyes shut, wasnt the slightest bit surprised when she heard White Feathers report. Unfortunately, although Black Flame dealt a heavy blow to Starlink and the various superpowers, he still let the key person escape. Zero Wing will most likely face a lot of trouble after this. After all, the person standing behind Lu Xingluo isnt some random pushover. That person is also adamant in acquiring the Secret Covenant Tower. According to our insider reports, Black Flame killed Hundred Ghostss Awakened Abyss, White Feather said in a quieter tone. In fact, out of Hundred Ghostss team of several dozen players, only Vice Commander Jade Leaf managed to escape. This bit of news had Cold Shadow opening her eyes in shock. Has Black Flame lost his mind? He actually killed Awakened Abyss? Does he not know Awakened Abysss identity? Awakened Abyss was a talent Hundred Ghosts placed great importance on. The youth was so important that Hundred Ghosts had even tasked Jade Leaf, a Tier 4 expert, to accompany him as his bodyguard. Meanwhile, Hundred Ghosts was an existence that even the Five Great Super Guilds dared not offend. The power this mysterious Guild wielded simply defied common sense. At this point, the only thing the Five Great Super Guilds could do was form partnerships with Hundred Ghosts. They absolutely couldnt afford to make an enemy of the Guild. This was something Odin repeatedly emphasized. Hence, everyone in Mythology was currently doing their best to avoid Hundred Ghostss people. Yet, Shi Feng had done the exact opposite. Not only did he choose to oppose Hundred Ghosts, but he had even killed Awakened Abyss. When Hundred Ghosts learned of this, the Guild would definitely go into a frenzy. In that case, should we take action now? White Feather asked. Zero Wing was a Guild that Mythology had to destroy, no matter what. Now that Shi Feng had dealt a heavy blow to Starlink and the various superpowers, these Guilds definitely wouldnt just let the matter lie. In fact, they might even put everything on the line to fight Zero Wing After all, these superpowers had lost so many Tier 3 experts already. If they still couldnt secure the Secret Covenant Tower, recovering from this loss within a short period would be impossible. Not to mention, Hundred Ghosts would most likely retaliate against Zero Wing as well. At that time, a spectacular battle would definitely occur at the Secret Covenant Tower, which would be the perfect opportunity for Mythology to take action. No, it still isnt time. Cold Shadow shook her head. We have just recently completed that Inferior Legendary Quest and obtained a Mana Body Legacy. We need to digest this Legacy first. It wouldnt be too late to take action once we have improved our Mana Bodies. After all, when it comes to matters regarding the Mana Body, Black Flames side has already made significant progress. I doubt we are a match for him in this regard even now. I understand. Ill notify the others about this and have them head to the Divine Cave, White Feather said, nodding. Theres no need for us to head to the Divine Cave yet. We are merely learning a Legacy. We can learn it anywhere, Cold Shadow said. After reading a message one of her subordinates just sent her, she smiled faintly and continued, Moreover, if we head to the Secret Covenant Tower now, we might get an opportunity to understand Hundred Ghostss strength. Hundred Ghosts is taking action already? White Feather was surprised when she heard Cold Shadows words. The strength Zero Wing had displayed thus far was incredibly terrifying. The Guild had not only five Tier 4 players but also two Tier 4 Personal Guards, who were far superior to the average Tier 4 NPC. At this stage of the game, even the Five Great Super Guilds could only resort to a war of attrition with Zero Wing. In a frontal confrontation, their chances of defeating Zero Wing would be zero. Hence, White Feather found it incredible that Hundred Ghosts would retaliate against Zero Wing right after losing several dozen of its top combatants. Thats not entirely true, Cold Shadow said, chuckling. A hint of anticipation appearing in her eyes, she added, Youll understand once we get there. If Zero Wing doesnt abandon the Secret Covenant Tower this time, itll most likely be doomed forever! After Cold Shadow finished speaking, White Feather promptly organized a group of peak experts, and they accompanied Cold Shadow to the Secret Covenant Tower. Twin Towers Kingdom, Sky Spring City: Guild Leader, were done compiling the list of items we got, Fire Dance reported as she approached Shi Feng. With an excited look on her face, she continued, We obtained close to 20,000 weapons and equipment from this battle, including over 6,000 Level 110-plus Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment and over 2,000 Level 110-plus Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. The rest are all Level 110-plus Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. This harvest will mitigate a significant portion of the losses we suffered previously. Currently, Fire Dance, Youlan, and Melancholic Smile were managing the affairs of the entire Guild. Dealing with the Guilds weapon stockpile gave Fire Dance massive headaches. Previously, when she had merely been commanding Zero Wings main force, she hadnt known just how important it was for the Guild to have a sufficient stockpile of weapons and equipment. However, after taking over Gentle Snows and Aqua Roses responsibilities and repeatedly clashing with the various superpowers, she finally understood what a Guilds foundation referred to. Originally, she believed that a Guilds foundation referred to the number of experts a Guild possessed. However, after the various superpowers began waging war against Zero Wing, she realized that what truly served as a Guilds foundation were weapons and equipment. If not for the Candlelight Trading Firm having a sufficiently large number of Lifestyle players, Zero Wing wouldve long since run out of weapons and equipment. And if that happened, members would definitely withdraw from the Guild in droves. After all, nobody would want to fight for a Guild that couldnt even arm them with weapons and equipment. Give half of the weapons and equipment to Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul, Shi Feng said, smiling. I believe they havent been faring well recently, either. These weapons and equipment should help them cope with their troubles. Shi Feng had a very thorough understanding of the issues involved in Guild wars. When he led Shadow in his previous life, there had been instances when the Guilds warehouse had only Bronze Weapons and Equipment. Back then, Shadow had only been a small Guild. If a superpower were to face a situation where its warehouse had only Bronze Weapons and Equipment, everyone in the Guild wouldve long since quit. After all, even if Guild players died and lost levels, so long as they had sufficiently good weapons and equipment, they could quickly recover their levels. However, without weapons and equipment, they might as well be independent players. At the very least, hostile forces wouldnt persecute them. Before Shi Feng could issue any more commands, Illusory Words approached him with a grim look on her face. Guild Leader Black Flame, a big problem appeared in Barren Forest City, near the Secret Covenant Tower! Illusory Words said anxiously. According to our scouts, over a million Faux Saint monsters have appeared there and are making their way toward the Secret Covenant Tower. The majority of them are Level 135 Great Lords, and there are also roughly 1,000 Level 140-plus Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters. A thousand Mythic monsters? Fire Dance was stunned when she heard what Illusory Words said. For a moment, she even wondered if her ears were working properly. Normally, it would be incredibly difficult to come across even one Mythic monster. Not to mention, monsters had gained the ability to think for themselves after the major system update. This had increased their combat standards by a large margin and improved their capacity for cooperation. Under normal circumstances, a Tier 4 expert would have to flee if they came across two or three Mythic monsters of the same level simultaneously. And with around ten Mythic monsters, one could even attack towns and cities. Nonetheless, she was being told that their opponent had 1,000 Mythic monsters? A thousand? Shi Feng was also surprised by this piece of news. The strongest monster tide he had come across out in the fields had only around 100 Mythic monsters. That monster tide had successfully destroyed a Guild City defended by several Tier 4 players. Now, the enemy had 1,000 Mythic monstersFaux Saint monsters possessing above-average combat standards. This was undoubtedly a devastating force. Thats right. There are at least 1,000 of them. Illusory Words nodded, an ugly expression appearing on her face. According to their Movement Speed, itll take them around ten hours to reach the Secret Covenant Tower. We should have enough time if we withdraw from the tower now. They didnt have any hope of defeating a force of 1,000 Level 140-plus Mythic monsters, even if they had a Guild City as support. Without a Guild City for protection, their only option was to give up. After all, players killed by those Faux Saint monsters would suffer heavy penalties. No wonder Lu Xingluo was so confident even while retreating. It turns out he still had such a trump card hidden, Shi Feng said in sudden realization. Chuckling, he continued, It seems they are really desperate this time. It would have been a different story if Saints Hand had mobilized this legion of Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters in a neutral map, but it was currently moving within the Twin Towers Kingdoms borders. The kingdom would definitely mobilize its army once it noticed the Faux Saint monsters. A kingdoms army wasnt an existence to be trifled with. This was especially true now that the NPC population in the game had skyrocketed. Once the Twin Towers Kingdom mobilized its army, even a force of 1,000 Mythic monsters would meet a tragic end. Meanwhile, this legion of Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters was probably close to everything Saints Hand had. The fact that Saints Hand was willing to go so far probably meant that Lu Xingluo and the various superpowers had paid it an astronomical price. Anxiously, Fire Dance asked, Guild Leader, should we withdraw our members from the tower now? No! Shi Feng shook his head. A manic gleam appearing in his eyes, he said, Since these people wish to die, well fulfill their wish! When Illusory Words and Fire Dance heard Shi Fengs words, their first thought was that he had truly gone mad. After all, he was actually still planning to engage the enemy in such a situation. A legion with 1,000 Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters was something only NPCs could handle at present. It simply wasnt a force players could go up against. Guild Leader Black Flame At this time, Illusory Words suddenly thought of something, and a hint of shock flashed in her eyes. That thing Have you completed it? Mhm. Its completed. Shi Feng nodded. However, I still need to make some final adjustments. For now, Ill have to trouble you two to gather our manpower at the tower as soon as possible. Ill meet you there. After saying so, Shi Feng summoned the Thunder Eagle and flew straight to the Secret Covenant Tower. Chapter 2820 - Sudden Appearance of the Steel Fortress Chapter 2820 C Sudden Appearance of the Steel Fortress Barren Forest City, Frostrain Ridge: Frostrain Ridge was a Level 70 map. Snow blanketed the place all year round, and it was famous for Cryolite. In Gods Domain, Cryolite was one of the rare ores that could be used to manufacture alchemy tools. Hence, it had incredibly high demand. However, as its output was relatively low and the appearance of its deposits was random, its price was constantly high. Currently, one piece of Cryolite could sell for 20 Silver on the market. Hence, many newcomers in Gods Domain would choose to grind for levels in the Frostrain Ridge. Doing so earned them EXP and a considerable sum of money. However, the vast Frostrain Ridge was devoid of players and NPCs at this time. The entire map had become a land of death due to the invasion of Faux Saint monsters. Above Frostrain Ridge, a 20-meter-long Darkfire Crow flew through the sky and stopped before a 200-meter-long Ancient Demonic Serpent hovering in the air. The Ancient Demonic Serpent was like the king of the skies, overlooking all existences. Even the Extraordinary ranked Darkfire Crow was like an infant before the Ancient Demonic Serpent. In fact, despite being at the Tier 3 Peak standard, the Darkfire Crow actually bristled in fear when it arrived before the Ancient Demonic Serpent. If not for its master forcing it, the Darkfire Crow wouldve tried to stay as far away as possible from the Ancient Demonic Serpent. A total of 300 players rode on the back of the Ancient Demonic Serpent. These players were all at least Level 126 and radiated an aura similar to that of Tier 4 Mythic monsters. They wore black heavy armor, and their eyes gave off a bloody glow. In addition, leading these players were five bona fide Tier 4 players. If Shi Feng were here, he would recognize one of these five players, the short-haired woman Jade Leaf. At this time, though, she had a respectful and fearful expression on her face as she looked at the elderly man before her. Elder Windshadow, I apologize for the long wait, said Lu Xingluo from the Darkfire Crow. At this time, Lu Xingluos appearance had undergone significant changes. If one looked past the gray cloak he wore, one would notice scarlet runes ringing his neck. The pupils in his eyes were now dark-gold reverse crosses. Smiling, Lu Xingluo said to the elderly man riding at the head of the Ancient Demonic Serpent, I didnt expect Elder Windshadow to bring the Black Knights here. It seems that you really plan on making Zero Wing disappear. At this point, the various superpowers in Gods Domain knew very little about the Guild known as Hundred Ghosts. However, Lu Xingluo was quite clear about how powerful the Guild was. The Black Knight Legion was Hundred Ghostss trump card legion, and it was much more powerful than even the Five Great Super Guilds trump card legions. This was because the members of this legion could no longer be considered human. Not only did every one of them possess a special Bloodline, but even the weakest among them was at the Flowing Water Realm standard. Combined, their five senses, raw power, and reaction speed allowed them to surpass even the average Tier 4 player. The Black Knights equipment standard was even more amazing. Every member was geared in Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment. With this set, even an ordinary Tier 3 expert could hold their ground against Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Of course, this Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment wasnt something just anybody could use. This was because the set had an incredibly high Strength requirement, which was already at the Tier 4 standard. Even a Tier 3 Berserker who had invested all their Free Attribute Points into Strength couldnt meet this requirement; it was unrelated to the levels of players. Only these monsters the Hundred Ghosts nurtured could equip this Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment while still at Tier 3. In addition, Mana Equipment had a massive flaw. Unlike ordinary equipment, Mana Equipment couldnt be repaired. Every reduction in durability was permanent. Hence, using this Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment was incredibly costly; even an existence like Hundred Ghosts dared not resort to it frequently Hundred Ghosts had 1,000 of such monstrous players. Although the Guild had dispatched only 300 now, these players could already move across the main continent unhindered. Its nothing. Since Zero Wing thinks we are pushovers, this old man will let everyone know what we are capable of, Windshadow said as he looked at Lu Xingluo, who appeared rather inhuman, with indifferent eyes. He then shifted his attention to the man behind Lu Xingluo and asked, Guild Leader Xingluo, wont you introduce the expert behind you? If one were to say that Lu Xingluo currently resembled a Demonkin, then the mysterious, bandaged man sitting behind Lu Xingluo was a real Demon. Although the bandaged man did not reveal his aura, he still made Windshadow feel threatened. Oh, right. I nearly forgot. Chuckling, Lu Xingluo said, Let me introduce you. This person here is the real owner of Saints Hand, Guild Leader Beast Emperor! Lu Xingluos introduction surprised Windshadow slightly. I never thought that Saints Hand would actually be the claws of the Evil Gods Temple. Looking at the Faux Saint army on the ground below, Windshadow said, If thats the case, these Faux Saint monsters should be special Evil Beasts in disguise, right?. That is incorrect, Elder Windshadow. This isnt a disguise but an evolution! Beast Emperor said, smiling. Now that youve witnessed the power of the Faux Saint army, if you need its help in the future, feel free to contact me through Xingluo, Elder Windshadow. That wont be necessary for Hundred Ghosts. However, it seems you have quite a grudge against Zero Wing, Lord Beast Emperor, Windshadow said as he glanced at the 1,000 Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters marching at the front of the Faux Saint army. Such a large-scale operation will definitely attract the attention of the Twin Towers Kingdoms NPC army. If they move, I believe your Faux Saint army will suffer severe losses. Youve misunderstood me, Elder Windshadow. I might have a grudge against Zero Wing, but I would very much like to thank Black Flame. If not for his help, I wouldnt have gotten this far. I am here now only to help Xingluo with his problem, as well as meet with my old friend Black Flame, Beast Emperor retorted nonchalantly. It was as if he placed no importance on the kingdoms army whatsoever. I see. Since thats the case, do you mind leaving Black Flame and Zero Wings Tier 4 experts to us? Windshadow asked. No problem. Nodding, Beast Emperor said, I only want their corpses. After Windshadow and Beast Emperor reached an agreement, they continued toward the Secret Covenant Tower. While the two powers were traveling to the Secret Covenant Tower, two people riding a Blazing Dragon were observing their movements from far away using a Magic Mirror. Amazing! I never thought that Beast Emperor would actually be Saints Hands true Guild Leader! Looking at Windshadows and Beast Emperors figures displayed on the Magic Mirror, Cold Shadow smiled and said, With those 300 monsters from Hundred Ghosts joining in, Zero Wing really is doomed this time. Should we still go to the Secret Covenant Tower, then? White Feather asked. No. Now that such a large army is heading to the tower, we might get dragged into the fight if we arent careful, Cold Shadow replied, shaking her head. If Zero Wing doesnt concede the tower this time, it will definitely suffer a heavy loss. Right now, Hundred Ghosts and Beast Emperor pose more of a danger to us. We need to head back now and make the necessary preparations. The War of Worlds will be coming soon! After saying so, Cold Shadow took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to the Fire Dragon Empire. She had no intention of watching the upcoming fight whatsoever. After all, the fights outcome was a no-brainer. Rather than watching a walkover, her time would be better spent improving her strength. In the meantime, the members of Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor who were grinding inside the Secret Covenant Tower had assembled outside the tower at the behest of their Guilds executives. After seeing that everyone was gathered, Flying Shadow approached Shi Feng and reported, Guild Leader, everyone grinding inside the tower has come out. They are ready to be dispatched at any time. Nodding, Shi Feng said, Good. Have everyone get ready. Also, place those at the Advanced Magician standard and above in a separate group. Yes, sir! Flying Shadow promptly executed Shi Fengs instructions. While Flying Shadow was sorting out the assembled players, Shi Feng flew several thousand yards away from the Secret Covenant Tower and began chanting an incantation. After he had chanted for 30 seconds, the region suddenly darkened as a gigantic magic array with a radius of several thousand yards suddenly appeared in the sky. This was undoubtedly the largest magic array anyone present had ever seen. However, before anyone could react to this situation, a metal fortress that was as large as a mountain slowly emerged from the magic array. Chapter 2821 - Astonishing Mobile Fortress Chapter 2821 C Astonishing Mobile Fortress The metal fortress gradually descended from the sky, its whole figure eventually appearing before everyones eyes. Silence fell over the entire region. From a distance, the metal behemoth several kilometers wide and hundreds of meters tall hovering about a dozen meters above the ground looked like some kind of slumbering island monster. With the appearance of this metal behemoth, the Mana within a 10,000-yard radius began converging upon it. Even the players standing several hundred yards away could sense dense Mana flowing around them. Everyones eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Even Flying Shadow, who had seen many spectacular sights throughout his career in Gods Domain, was dumbfounded. Only after a long time had passed did he manage to snap out of his daze. A Sky City? No! This is a fortress! Moreover, its a Sky Fortress capable of movement! A Sky Fortress? I must be dreaming! When the gathered players recovered from their initial shock, exclamations rang out one after another. As everyone gazed at the steel fortress in front of them, their minds churned with excitement, disbelief, and madness Unyielding Souls and Crimson Emperors members, in particular, eyed Zero Wings members with envy. At this time, Gods Domain had already become something like a real world. For many people, the game was an important part of their lives. Numerous fantastic sceneries that couldnt be found in the real world could be found in Gods Domain. Moreover, there were still countless unexplored maps and unknown sceneries awaiting discovery. In this wonderful world, everyone had their own dreams. Among these dreams, the biggest one would most likely be to gain the ability to fly freely in the sky. However, Flying Mounts were incredibly rare in Gods Domain, not something ordinary experts could get their hands on. Even the various superpowers only had a few Flying Mounts. Yet in an era where there were hardly any Flying Mounts, Zero Wing had actually obtained a Sky Fortress. Who wouldnt grow crazy and envious over this fact? Looking at the assembled players shocked expressions, Shi Feng chuckled and said, Alright, Ive already granted entry access to everyone. You can now head inside. The magician team, follow me. In reality, even Shi Feng harbored a great yearning for the Mobile Fortress. In the past, he could only look at the various Super Guilds Mobile Fortresses from afar. As these Mobile Fortresses were generally deployed to strategic locations, such as Level 150-plus maps, they were never opened to the public. At most, those Super Guilds would allow their allies to visit their Mobile Fortresses. Everyone else was barred from entering Now, he had finally gained a Mobile Fortress of his own. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the gathered crowd promptly jumped into the fortresss open steel gate. The moment everyone entered the fortress, they sustained another shock. This was because the Mobile Fortresss interior was like a completely different world compared to outside. e Not only did the fortresss interior have astonishingly dense Mana, but it also increased players affinity with Mana. Even those insensitive to Mana could feel their affinity with Mana improving significantly. The environmental effects of this fortress were far superior to those of any city they had ever visited. Most importantly, when inside the fortress, everyone could feel the foreign energy corroding their bodies vanishing rapidly. After making some rough calculations, they concluded that resting for one hour inside the fortress yielded the same recovery effects as resting for one day in the outside world. This benefit would greatly enhance their leveling speed. Moreover, the boost to Concentration recovery in the fortress was at least two or three times stronger than in the various Guild Cities. Crap! If I can rest and train my Skills here, I can probably get twice the results Id get from training in Stone Forest Citys combat rooms! Youd probably get even better results if you train combat techniques here since combat techniques place much greater emphasis on Mana control. Meanwhile, the boost to Mana affinity this place provides would most likely improve ones Mana control by a significant margin. After everyone entered the Mobile Fortress, they quickly understood its hidden benefits, and their eyes glowed with excitement. Resting was an important part of a players life in Gods Domain. In fact, resting accounted for around one-third of the time most players spent in the game. Even combat fanatics spent at least one-fifth of their time resting. This was especially true for players grinding in Level 100-plus neutral maps, where foreign energies constantly corroded their bodies. After the corrosion reached a certain extent, players would have to rest even if they didnt want to. Otherwise, death would claim them. Hence, rest areas were incredibly important for players. So long as a player had a good place to rest in, their leveling speed and self-improvement speed would both improve significantly. This was especially true for expert players. Peak experts would even pay high prices to visit the capitals of kingdoms and empires just to recover quickly. This was because these cities sold foods and beverages that could greatly enhance recovery rates, as well as offer other buffs. If not for the high price tags of these delicacies, even ordinary experts would fight to buy them. After Shi Feng entered the Mobile Fortress, he led the magician team straight to the Fortress Lords Mansion. Looking at the 1,000-plus Advanced Magicians before him, Shi Feng said, The fortresss magic arrays are fully operational now. What I need you to do is work in shifts of 300 to maintain the normal operation of these magic arrays. Do you have any questions? The Mobile Fortress was mainly made up of Magic Crystals, and most of its operations relied on Mana. Hence, a lot of manpower was required to operate it. This Small Mobile Fortress needed 300 Advanced Magicians to keep its magic arrays fully operational. In addition, the Mobile Fortress consumed a lot more Magic Crystals than Guild Cities. Just its normal operation mode cost 50,000 Magic Crystals per day. If the fortresss offensive and defensive magic arrays were activated as well, this cost would zoom. It was fortunate that Shi Feng was incredibly wealthy right now. Even after deducting the Magic Crystals used in the Mobile Fortresss construction, he still had 5.8 million Magic Crystals left. Otherwise, even if he had completed the Mobile Fortress, he wouldnt have dared activate it. After all, Zero Wing still had many areas it needed Magic Crystals for. Leave it to us, Guild Leader Black Flame. We will make sure nothing goes wrong with these magic arrays, the Advanced Magicians responded enthusiastically, none of them dissatisfied at getting assigned the menial task of maintaining magic arrays. This was because the benefits of working in the Fortress Lords Mansion were practically visible to the naked eye. The Mana inside the mansion was much denser than the Mana outside, and the boost in Mana affinity was much stronger as well. This place was not only an excellent rest area but also an excellent training environment for magicians like themselves. They couldnt find such a wonderful environment in the outside world even if they wanted to. Meanwhile, less than half an hour after the Mobile Fortress appeared, news of its existence spread like wildfire. In no time at all, word of it appeared on the Twin Towers Kingdoms official forums. Sky Fortress Appears beside the Secret Covenant Tower! For a time, players throughout the kingdom were in an uproar! Chapter 2822 - Pinnacle of God’s Domain A Sky Fortress?! Whats going on!? This is a lie! This is definitely a lie! How can such a thing appear at this stage of the game?! There are pictures and videos of it. I heard that the fortresss interior is a paradise for training. It even provides a significant boost to Mana affinity. Zero Wing is really on the rise now! When news regarding the Small Mobile Fortress first broke out in the Twin Towers Kingdom, many people refused to believe it. After all, no matter how they thought about it, they simply couldnt see how Zero Wing could come to possess such a mythical fortress. However, the information leak came with photographic and video evidence; even if everyone refused to believe the report, they couldnt change the fact that Zero Wing owned a flying fortress. The leaked videos showed a fortress hundreds of meters tall, covered in all kinds of magic runes, hovering in the sky above the Secret Covenant Tower. A faint layer of mist enveloped the fortress. From afar, it looked like a city found in paradise. No words could describe how spectacular the fortress was. This Sky Fortress looks so cool! The view from up there will definitely be amazing! When will this Sky Fortress be open to the public? I heard Zero Wing is limiting entry to its members and allies. I doubt anyone else will have the chance to visit the fortress. After all, it isnt particularly large. It should house one or two million people at most. Moreover, it is even being used to garrison the Secret Covenant Tower. Zero Wing isnt letting any outsiders get close to the tower now, let alone the Sky Fortress. Im joining Zero Wing! I must join Zero Wing! The Twin Towers Kingdoms players, both independent and Guild members, couldnt help drooling when they saw the Sky Fortress above the Secret Covenant Tower. Many independent players immediately thought of joining Zero Wing. The fight in Sky Spring City had already proven that Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperors rule over the city and the Secret Covenant Tower was unshakable. Zero Wing even revealed that it had five Tier 4 players, far surpassing the various superpowers. The addition of the Sky Fortress basically solidified Zero Wings hold over the Secret Covenant Tower. Now, it would be utterly impossible for the various superpowers to compete with Zero Wing when it came to providing their members with an excellent leveling spot. For a time, the number of players visiting Zero Wings Residences to apply for Guild membership skyrocketed. The atmosphere within Zero Wing was also boiling, with many members celebrating the fact that they had not rashly quit the Guild. Meanwhile, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words arrived in front of the Secret Covenant Tower together with a bunch of Tier 3 experts. When they saw the Mobile Fortress floating above the tower, despite having long known about the fortress, they were still shocked. After all, the Mobile Fortress was simply too overwhelming! Tier 3 players might not be able to tell, but as Tier 4 players, the two of them could clearly feel that all the Mana within a 10,000-yard radius had converged upon the fortress. This was an unimaginable amount of Mana. Most importantly, the Mobile Fortress was capable of movement. Just this point alone made it invincible. After all, if the fortress faced an insurmountable opponent in a certain location, it could simply transfer elsewhere. With this Mobile Fortress, Zero Wing has truly reached the pinnacle of Gods Domain, Unyielding Heart said enviously as he looked at the Mobile Fortress. He couldnt help sighing ruefully. Back when he first learned of Zero Wings existence, Zero Wing had only been a small Guild. Now, even Unyielding Soul had to look up to it. Of course, Zero Wings foundation was still weak. However, so long as the Guild could maintain its hold over the Secret Covenant Tower, its rise would be inevitable. Nodding in agreement with Unyielding Hearts words, Illusory Words said, Although I dont know whether we can successfully defend the Secret Covenant Tower, even if we fail, it wouldnt affect Zero Wing by much. With this Mobile Fortress, Zero Wing can simply set up shop in a Level 130 map. At that time, the leveling speed of its members wouldnt be in any way inferior to grinding in the tower. They just wouldnt be able to produce Tier 3 players as quickly as before. Previously, Zero Wing could be described as a ferocious tiger. While it was incredibly strong in one-on-one combat, it was still vulnerable against multiple strong opponents. However, after gaining the Mobile Fortress, Zero Wing had become a behemoth that no superpower could threaten. Even economic suppression would no longer be effective against it. Lets hurry inside. Looking at the time, Unyielding Heart said, The Faux Saint army should arrive in just a few more hours. Mhm. If we can defend the tower, our two Guilds might be able to contest with those Super Guilds, Illusory Words said, glancing at the Secret Covenant Tower behind her. She then led her subordinates into the Mobile Fortress. While the three Guilds Tier 3 experts were entering the Mobile Fortress one after another, the distant Faux Saint army was steadily making its way to the Secret Covenant Tower. Throughout its march, the army continuously devoured the players and NPCs it came across, adding to its numbers. Lord Beast Emperor, will we have any problems with the Mobile Fortress Zero Wing brought out? Lu Xingluo asked worriedly as he looked at Beast Emperor. According to reports, more than 40,000 Tier 3 players have also gathered in the fortress. The fight in Sky Spring City had gutted Starlinks combat power; the Guild would take a long time to recover from this loss. If he failed to secure the Secret Covenant Tower this time, he would most likely have to lie low for some time. Someone might even replace him as Starlinks Guild Leader. He had a very good understanding of that old undeads personality. That person definitely wouldnt let him remain as Starlinks Guild Leader simply because he was the heir of a major corporation. After all, the only reason Hundred Ghosts was even willing to partner with Starlink was that old undead. It had nothing to do with him at all. Meanwhile, the defensive capabilities of a fortress far surpassed those of a Guild City. Zero Wings Mobile Fortress definitely wouldnt have any problems defending against the attacks of Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Relax. This Mobile Fortress might pose a problem for other people since it is floating in the sky, but you shouldnt forget that Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters can fly. They are walking now only because they need to protect the Great Lords and Grand Lords, Beast Emperor replied nonchalantly. A fortress might be capable of blocking the attacks of Mythic monsters, but doing so should still consume a large amount of Mana. How long do you think a fortress can last against the bombardment of a thousand Mythic monsters? If they had only several dozen Mythic monsters, they would indeed be helpless against a fortress. After all, the attacks of Mythic monsters couldnt exceed the defensive threshold of a fortresss defensive magic array. However, 1,000 Mythic monsters would be a different story. The attack of each Mythic monster might deplete only a small portion of the defensive magic arrays Mana, but when multiplied by 1,000, even a Main Citys defensive magic array wouldnt last very long. Yes, youre right. Who can possibly go up against 1,000 Mythic monsters? Lu Xingluo regained his confidence when he looked at the Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters marching on the ground below. A fortress might be amazing, but there was also strength in numbers! After saying so, Lu Xingluo looked at the giant serpent flying nearby, a cold glint appearing in his eyes. Hundred Ghostss Ancient Demonic Serpent was an extraordinary existence. Not only was the Flying Mount itself at the Tier 4 Mythic standard, but it was also a Legendary Flying Mount, one of the rulers of the sky during ancient times. According to rumors, the strength of the Ancient Demonic Serpents Bloodline was close to rivaling that of Dragons. In air combat, the combat power it could display surpassed even that of a Flying Ship. Hence, their side wouldnt necessarily lose to Zero Wings Mobile Fortress in air combat. Time passed quickly. After traveling for another six hours, Lu Xingluo and Beast Emperor saw a gigantic, floating fortress on the distant horizon. So, that is the Mobile Fortress? Beast Emperor was a little surprised when he first laid eyes on the Mobile Fortress. Afterward, though, a smirk appeared on his face. Black Flame, I admit that you are indeed capable. However, I wonder if youll go mad if I destroy this fortress of yours? After saying so, Beast Emperor gestured with his hand. In response, his armys 1,000 Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs[1] took to the skies and flew straight toward the Mobile Fortress. Their speed in the air was just slightly inferior to that of Flying Mounts, and they gave Zero Wings side no time to react whatsoever. Chapter 2823 - Fortress’s Abilities The 1,000 Faux Saint Saboteurs flew across the sky with their ten-meter-tall bodies. From the Mobile Fortresss perspective, they looked like a dark cloud flowing toward it. In addition, over a million Faux Saint monsters marched toward the fortress on the ground. The ground shook with every step these monsters took, the spectacular sight stupefying the players standing guard on the Mobile Fortress. It seems we cant underestimate this Beast Emperor, after all. Despite being only a puppet of the Evil God, hes actually capable of mobilizing so many Mythic monsters. With this, even if we dont make a move, Zero Wing probably wont last very long, a five-meter-tall, middle-aged man atop the Ancient Demonic Serpent said. Laughing, he continued, We wont even get to teach Zero Wing a lesson now. Although this golden-armored Giant only spoke normally, his deep voice made the surrounding space tremble. If Shi Feng were here, he would definitely be shocked to see this golden-armored Giant. This middle-aged man was not only a bona fide Giant but also a Level 133, Tier 4 Berserker. The surrounding space already grew heavier just from the aura he exuded. That isnt necessarily a bad thing. With this, we can avoid exposing our strength and reduce the Black Knight Legions expenditure, Windshadow said as he looked at the Faux Saint monsters above and below him. Dont forget that our goal this time is to rescue that good-for-nothing brat from Sky Spring Citys prison. Dealing with Zero Wing is secondary. I guess youre right. Lets hope Sky Spring Citys Magistrate can let me stretch my muscles a little, the golden-armored Giant said, nodding While Windshadow and the golden-armored Giant were conversing, Jade Leaf, who sat at a side, dared not utter a word, shame filling her face. Protecting and rescuing Awakened Abyss shouldve been her job, yet she had to turn to Elder Windshadow and Long Day, the vice commander of Hundred Ghostss main force, for help. This was a severe dereliction of duty on her part. She was very likely to get removed from the priority list for training when she returned to the Guilds headquarters. After all, not only was Awakened Abyss one of Hundred Ghostss top talents, but his status was one that even Elder Windshadow dared not offend. Inside the Mobile Fortress, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words saw the overwhelming army of Faux Saint monsters and couldnt help gasping in shock. Although they had long since known that their enemy consisted of over a million Faux Saint monsters and 1,000 Faux Saint Saboteurs, this terrifying scene still frightened them. The Faux Saint army on the ground aside, just the 1,000 Faux Saint Saboteurs in the air already posed a massive threat. Such a large force of Mythic monsters could easily break through even the defensive magic arrays of NPC cities. Generally, fortresses possessed significantly stronger defensive magic arrays than cities. However, the Mobile Fortress was different from a stationary fortress. To gain the convenience of movement, the Mobile Fortress sacrificed a portion of its defensive capabilities. Hence, while the Mobile Fortress was still capable of blocking the attacks of these Faux Saint Saboteurs, it was unknown how long it could continue doing so. Once the defensive barrier broke, these Faux Saint Saboteurs would slaughter the players inside the fortress. Even Tier 4 players like themselves wouldnt be able to stop these monsters. After all, the difference in numbers was simply too massive. Everyone, get ready! Attack with everything youve got once these Faux Saint monsters enter within range! Unyielding Heart shouted. Remember! Do not hold back anything! Fight with everything youve got right off the bat! Only by removing these Mythic monsters as soon as possible will we have a greater chance of victory! Yes, sir! When the players stationed atop of the fortress walls saw the approaching Faux Saint Saboteurs, they couldnt help gulping nervously. The outcome of the upcoming battle would be decided by whether they managed to finish off these Faux Saint Saboteurs before the latter destroyed the fortresss defensive magic array. This would be a race against the duration of the defensive barrier! Meanwhile, on the Fortress Lords Mansions top floor, which was also the highest point in the fortress Guild Leader, theyre here, Fire Dance reported. When the Faux Saint Saboteurs were less than 1,000 yards away from the fortress, she asked nervously, Should we start attacking now? No, let them come closer, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Mobile Fortress had 26 Large Magic Elven Cannons and eight Magic Charging Towers. Its overall firepower exceeded that of Guild Cities by leaps and bounds. However, this frightening firepower came at an equally frightening cost. Every shot the Large Magic Elven Cannons fired cost 6,000 Magic Crystals, and they had a Cooldown of one minute. As for the Magic Charging Towers, they cost 20,000 Magic Crystals to fire each time and had a Cooldown of three minutes. Although Shi Feng had over five million Magic Crystals on hand, he still couldnt afford to employ these weapons freely. Hence, they had to make the most of every shot. Meanwhile, a distance of 1,000 yards was practically nothing to the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs. Just three seconds later, they appeared before the Mobile Fortresss defensive barrier. Immediately afterward, all 1,000 Faux Saint Saboteurs raised the various weapons they held and launched a barrage of ruthless attacks on the defensive barrier. The next moment, deafening noises came from outside the Mobile Fortress. Numerous spatial tears also appeared around the fortresss defensive barrier. The barrier itself trembled violently, and even the players inside the fortress could clearly sense the power of the attacks. Outside the Mobile Fortress, the thunderous assault was audible even from over 10,000 yards away. What powerful attacks! If it were a Guild Citys defensive magic array, it wouldve most likely crumbled at the first wave of attacks, Long Day exclaimed in astonishment. The simultaneous attacks of 1,000 Mythic monsters were simply earth-shattering. Even a Tier 5 large-scale destruction Spell would pale in comparison to this barrage! Jade Leaf also nodded in agreement. Even an NPC Main Citys defensive magic array would suffer tremendously before this combined attack, let alone a measly Mobile Fortress. However, when the attacks ended, Hundred Ghostss members and the players standing atop the Mobile Fortresss walls were all stunned. Its fine? At this time, not only were there no cracks on the defensive barrier, but the magic power oscillation from the barrier also remained frighteningly smooth and steady. It was evident that the Faux Saint Saboteurs attacks failed to reach the barriers defensive limit. Meanwhile, at the Fortress Lords Mansion, Fire Dance goggled in shock. Isnt this barrier a little too strong?! She had a clear view of the defensive barriers energy level right now. Let alone 1%, the barrier barely lost 0.01% of its Mana reserves after the Faux Saint Saboteurs first wave of attacks. Given a depletion rate of 0.01% per second, the Faux Saint Saboteurs would take 166 minutes to break the barrier. However, the barriers Mana reserves could be replenished at intervals of 30 minutes, with each restoration costing 100,000 Magic Crystals. In other words, so long as they had sufficient Magic Crystals, the 1,000 Mythic monsters before them wouldnt be able to destroy the Mobile Fortresss defensive magic array, no matter what. Not bad, Shi Feng said calmly. Inwardly, though, he, too, was surprised by this outcome. He never thought that the Mobile Fortresss defensive capabilities were so amazing. No wonder the Mobile Fortresses I saw in my previous life were capable of blocking the attacks of even Tier 5 players. The next moment, Shi Feng turned to Fire Dance and said, Have the ones below start testing the power of the Magic Elven Cannons! Chapter 2824 - Silent World Chapter 2824 C Silent World At Shi Fengs command, Fire Dance notified the players stationed at the 26 Large Magic Elven Cannons. In response, all 26 cannons in the Mobile Fortress began gathering and condensing Mana from their surroundings. The originally mist-like Mana liquefied. The condensed Liquid Mana then flowed into the cannons. A short moment later, a crimson, threefold magic array appeared before the muzzles of these cannons, the tremendous power these magic arrays carried distorting the surrounding space. The next moment, after the Faux Saint Saboteurs completed their third barrage, 26 crimson beams shot into the dusky sky all of a sudden. These beams of light then burst in midair, and numerous smaller beams rained down on the Mythic monsters. Even though the Faux Saint Saboteurs had reacted quickly to the attack, they were somewhat crowded, so most of them still ended up engulfed by the crimson rain. When the crimson rain ended, what entered everyones eyes were the Faux Saint Saboteurs battered bodies. Every Mythic monster that got caught under the red rain had burn marks mottling their bodies, with some even on fire. Meanwhile, the attacked Faux Saint Saboteurs 7.3 billion HP fell below 5.5 billion, with some even having only around 4 billion HP remaining. Arent those cannons a little too powerful?! Unyielding Heart, who was commanding the battle from the wall, was astonished at this sudden turn of events. Normally, killing Mythic monsters was a long and arduous process. Yet, the Large Elven Magic Cannons dealt over 200 million damage per attack. Moreover, their AOE covered at least an 800-yard radius. Had the Faux Saint Saboteurs positioned themselves more closely together, just one volley from the 26 cannons might have been enough to reduce the HP of these Mythic monsters to a critical level, and two volleys would be enough to wipe them out of existence. At this time, let alone the players inside the Mobile Fortress, even Lu Xingluo and Beast Emperor were thunderstruck. How is this possible?! How can a fortress possess such strong offensive capabilities?! Lu Xingluo felt his brain freezing when he saw that the Faux Saint Saboteurs had lost a quarter of their HP from just one volley. He had seen fortresses before. He had also seen fortresses dealing with monster tides before. From what he had seen, fortresses indeed possessed incredible offensive capabilities. Even facing an army of 100,000 monsters and over a dozen Mythic monsters, a fortress could easily emerge victorious within an hour. However, what was up with this Mobile Fortress in front of him? The Mobile Fortresss cannons had actually reaped a quarter of the Faux Saint Saboteurs HP with just one volley. In other words, just four cannon volleys would be enough to annihilate most of the Saboteurs. At this time, even Hundred Ghostss members, who were watching the fun from afar, were shocked by this outcome. They never thought that the Mobile Fortress would possess such puissant offensive capabilities. Although they had the means to evade the attacks of these Large Magic Elven Cannons, just one mistake would mean an express trip to the afterlife for them. Only the Ancient Demonic Serpent could possibly endure a blow from the cannons. Out of everyone on the battlefield, only Shi Feng didnt find this outcome surprising. After all, the Mobile Fortress was a stronghold capable of resisting Tier 5 existences. If it didnt even have the ability to go up against a group of Tier 4 monsters, how could it go up against Tier 5 monsters? However, Shi Fengs heart still ached after this volley. After all, the 26 shots fired cost 156,000 Magic Crystals in total. Converted to Coins, that was 62,400 Gold. While Shi Feng was feeling distressed, Beast Emperor hurriedly gave out a command to the Faux Saint Saboteurs. Spread out and attack from all directions! I refuse to believe they can fire those cannons without limit! The use of any strategic weapon in Gods Domain came at a great price. Given the effects of the Large Magic Elven Cannons, he doubted that Zero Wing could keep on firing those things forever. Following Beast Emperors command, the Faux Saint Saboteurs promptly scattered around the Mobile Fortress. Now, each cannon fire would hit several dozen Saboteurs, at most, simultaneously. In this scenario, it would take several hundred shots from the cannons to annihilate all 1,000 Saboteurs. Despite seeing this situation, Shi Feng remained unfazed. Start the Magic Charging Towers as well! Yes, sir! Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, Fire Dance couldnt help feeling a little excited. If the Large Magic Elven Cannons attack was a fusillade, then the Magic Charging Towers attack was a carpet bombing. Moreover, its power reached the Tier 5 threshold! Immediately, the eight Magic Charging Towers scattered across the Mobile Fortress began accumulating Mana, transforming into eight miniature suns that brightly illuminated the entire fortress. Before the Faux Saint Saboteurs could react to this development, the eight miniature suns shot into the sky and transformed into eight threefold magic arrays, each covering a 2,000-yard radius. These gigantic magic arrays extended over not only the entirety of the Mobile Fortress but also everything within a 2,000-yard radius of the fortress. What?! Have they lost their minds?! Lu Xingluo was thunderstruck when he saw the eight gigantic magic arrays in the sky. While he didnt know exactly how powerful these magic arrays were, going by the fact that they had drawn in all Mana within a 10,000-yard radius, he could easily imagine how powerful they were. However, these magic arrays didnt cover just the Faux Saint Saboteurs. Even the Mobile Fortress itself lay within the magic arrays AOE. By deploying these magic arrays, Zero Wing was basically saying it intended to die with the Saboteurs. Run! All of you, run away! Seeing the eight magic arrays panicked Beast Emperor into ordering the Faux Saint army to retreat because the Faux Saint Saboteurs werent the only ones caught within the magic arrays AOE. The magic arrays also covered one-third of the Faux Saint army on the ground. For a time, the Faux Saint Saboteurs in the air and the Faux Saint monsters on the ground all could be seen turning around and fleeing. However, the eight magic arrays in the sky were simply too massive. Before any of the Faux Saint Saboteurs could fly more than 1,000 yards away from the Mobile Fortress, a white light descended from the eight magic arrays. The next moment, everything within a 2,000-yard radius of the Mobile Fortress transformed into a world of white, the appearance of this white world bringing silence to the entire battlefield. Meanwhile, this white pillar of light was clearly visible even from tens of thousands of yards away. Whats happening over there? That place should be where the Secret Covenant Tower is! We can see it all the way from Sky Spring City. Just how big is the coverage of that beam? Most players in Sky Spring City were ignorant of the battle taking place at the Secret Covenant Tower, so they couldnt help growing curious when they saw a white pillar of light suddenly appear in the distance. As for the player forces who knew of the battle, because of their insufficient strength, they could only spectate from a safe distance. Shortly afterward, the light pillar gradually dissipated. The Faux Saint army on the ground had also disappeared, and in their place were craters several dozen meters deep. As for the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs in the air, they fell to the ground one after another at this time. Although these Saboteurs were still alive, every one of them had fallen into a heavily injured state, and their current combat power was nowhere near what they had before. Chapter 2825 - All-encompassing Seal Chapter 2825 C All-encompassing Seal A thousand Mythic Faux Saint monsters got done in, just like that? When Unyielding Heart and the others standing on the Mobile Fortresss walls looked at the Faux Saint Saboteurs scattered on the ground and saw that these Mythic monsters had less than one-third of their HPs remaining, they couldnt help gaping in shock. They had all anticipated a bitter fight. They had even prepared themselves to fight day and night and suffer innumerable casualties. After all, the Faux Saint monsters possessed above-average combat standards and cunning minds. Their ability to learn and improve on combat techniques also made them increasingly tougher to fight as the battle went on. Moreover, their high HPs meant these Faux Saint monsters could stay in battle for long periods. However, with just two rounds of attacks, the Mobile Fortress had heavily injured the 1,000 Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs and killed several hundred thousand lower-ranked Faux Saint monsters. This wasnt a battle but a one-sided massacre. No wonder he never paid any attention to the various superpowers from the very beginning. With this Mobile Fortress, even the Five Great Super Guilds would be helpless against the present Zero Wing. Unyielding Heart smiled bitterly when he looked at the land of death below the fortress. Whether it was Starlink or Hundred Ghosts, neither of them mattered in front of the Mobile Fortress. Meanwhile, atop the Fortress Lords Mansion, Shi Fengs heart ached once more. Activating all eight Magic Charging Towers had cost him 160,000 Magic Crystals. At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds would have 400,000 Magic Crystals, at most, in their stockpile. He had burned through nearly half of a first-rate Guilds Magic Crystal stockpile in just one round of attacks. On the other hand, outside the Mobile Fortress, Hundred Ghostss members, Lu Xingluo, and Beast Emperor all remained silent for a long time upon seeing the Magic Charging Towers attacks. Beast Emperor was especially shocked by this outcome. Originally, he thought that with his army of a million Faux Saint monsters, he could trample over the entire Twin Towers Kingdom, that nobody short of the kingdoms NPC army would be a match for his army. Yet, now As for Hundred Ghostss members, they also felt pressured by this outcome. After all, the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs had survived the Mobile Fortresss attacks due only to their high HP. If players like themselves were to suffer a hit from one of these attacks, they would die without question. At this time, Jade Leaf turned to Windshadow and said, Elder Windshadow, this Mobile Fortress is too powerful. If we charge in blindly Im afraid our chances are slim In air combat, the Ancient Demonic Serpent was indeed powerful. It could even go up against a handful of Faux Saint Saboteurs simultaneously and still hold the upper hand. However, even if the Ancient Demonic Serpent could survive the Mobile Fortresss heaven-defying blow, they, the Flying Mounts passengers, would most definitely be reduced to ashes. Not to mention, despite the mutually destructive blow, the Mobile Fortresss defensive barrier remained intact. Such being the case, even the Ancient Demonic Serpents strongest blow would only exhaust some of the barriers energy reserves. After hesitating for some time, Windshadow announced, Were retreating! The Ancient Demonic Serpent was a Tier 4 Legendary Flying Mount. Its strongest blow touched upon the threshold of Tier 5-an attack that even an Advanced Guild Citys defensive magic array couldnt withstand. Originally, Windshadow believed that, while the Mobile Fortresss defensive magic array might be strong, destroying it shouldnt be a problem for the Ancient Demonic Serpent, given enough time. However, let alone destroying the barrier, just surviving that purifying light would be a problem. Since it was evident they couldnt do anything against the Mobile Fortress, they naturally had no reason to remain here. At this time, Windshadow wasnt the only person with such thoughts. Beast Emperor similarly commanded his Faux Saint army to retreat immediately. After ordering a retreat, Beast Emperor looked at Lu Xingluo and said, Lets go. Theres no point in staying here anymore. Trying to clash with the Mobile Fortress now was simply suicidal. Their only choice was to retreat and figure out other options to deal with the fortress. Securing the Secret Covenant Tower was also no longer possible. So long as the Mobile Fortress remained in the towers vicinity, they couldnt do anything about the tower. Lord Beast Emperor, dont you have any way at all? Ive bet everything on you! Lu Xingluo said, looking at Beast Emperor with crazed eyes. Starlink had suffered a massive blow from the battle in Sky Spring City. He would be finished if he failed to secure the Secret Covenant Tower as well. Xingluo, you might not be able to return to Starlink, but with the Starline Corporations financial strength, you can still follow me, Beast Emperor consoled. Youve seen for yourself how quickly the Faux Saint army expands. It will only grow stronger from now on. Even that old undead backing you wont be able to go up against the Faux Saint army in the future. As for Zero Wing, I will eventually erase its existence from Gods Domain! When Beast Emperor mentioned the name Zero Wing, his voice grew cold. If not for Zero Wings interference, his army wouldve long since trampled over Star-Moon Kingdom and the Black Dragon Empire. He wouldnt have had to resort to creating Saints Hand, an organization filled with cunning opportunists, to help him. As for the losses he suffered this time, he didnt place much importance on them. After all, for his current self, Faux Saint monsters below Mythic rank were incredibly easy to produce. As for the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs, while they were severely weakened right now, if they focused on fleeing, nobody could stop them. Zero Wing would be able to kill only a few of them at most. In addition, after todays event, he finally understood the reason for Zero Wings confidence. Now, all he needed to do was wait. He would wait until he produced a Tier 5 Faux Saint monster! So long as a Tier 5 Faux Saint monster appeared, let alone Zero Wings Mobile Fortress, even Gods Domains various kingdoms and empires would no longer pose a threat to him. However, producing a Tier 5 Faux Saint monster wasnt an easy task. It required a large number of Tier 4 Faux Saint monsters to serve as a base, as well as a large amount of resources. Only after fulfilling these two conditions could he produce a Tier 5 Faux Saint monster. Meanwhile, Lu Xingluo, the heir of the Starline Corporation, was the perfect cash cow to help him fulfill these requirements. After hearing Beast Emperors words, Lu Xingluo could only nod in frustration, throwing in his lot with Beast Emperor. From today onward, he would stand against the players of Gods Domain and acquire the Upper Zone resources he needed from Beast Emperor. This was also Lu Xingluos only option. Otherwise, let alone the position of Starlinks Guild Leader, he might even get replaced as the Starline Corporations heir. After all, there were still several reserve heirs in the corporation eagerly waiting to supplant him. Upon seeing the distant Darkfire Crow and Ancient Demonic Serpent turning around and leaving, Fire Dance smiled and said, Guild Leader, it seems they plan to retreat. She found their enemys decision to retreat reasonable. After all, anyone would lose the will to fight after witnessing that devastating blow. Unfortunately, they couldnt deal any additional damage to the Faux Saint army. Although the Mobile Fortress possessed incredible offensive capabilities, it had no means to seal its opponents in place. It would also be foolish to leave the safety of the fortress to pursue the Faux Saint monsters. This was most likely what Lu Xingluo and the others hoped to see the most. Leave? Since theyre already here, then they shouldnt think of leaving! Shi Feng smiled when he saw the retreating figures of Beast Emperor and Hundred Ghostss members. He then took out 3,000 Mana Stones he had synthesized beforehand and injected them into the core of the unsealed World Mirror. An invisible ripple of energy immediately spread rapidly from the Mobile Fortress to the surroundings. A moment later, a dense layer of mist formed around the edges of the map of the Secret Covenant Tower. If one looked at the map from the outside, the inside of the map would appear illusory, like it was completely isolated from the outside world. Chapter 2826 - Slaughter Time Chapter 2826 C Slaughter Time A map seal? Lu Xingluos complexion darkened when he saw the scenery in the distance blur. The Mobile Fortress was an unshakable existence at this stage of the game. If they couldnt leave this place now, only death awaited them. How ruthless of Black Flame. Hes actually thinking of keeping all of us here? Looking at the dense mist enveloping the entire map, Beast Emperor sneered, However, he must be dreaming if he thinks he can stop us with such a wide seal! In Gods Domain, the larger the area a magic barrier covered, the weaker it would be. While the map-wide barrier Zero Wing deployed might seem spectacular, only a fool would think that it could stop a force of 1,000 Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs. After saying so, Beast Emperor had a small number of Saboteurs in relatively good condition move ahead of the army and fly straight toward the mist. Meanwhile, sharing similar thoughts with Beast Emperor, Hundred Ghostss members remained unfazed, even after seeing the whole map getting sealed. They calmly continued flying toward the maps border. Mobile Fortress, Fortress Lords Mansion: Seeing the Faux Saint army and Hundred Ghosts members moving farther and farther away, Fire Dance couldnt help growing anxious. Guild Leader, why dont we go after them? If we let them reach the barriers edge, Im afraid itll become very difficult to keep them here. A barrier capable of sealing an entire map was indeed amazing. However, such an extensive barrier definitely couldnt rival the Mobile Fortresss barrier in terms of defensive capabilities. The seal would most likely break after a few attacks from the Faux Saint monsters. Smiling, Shi Feng shook his head and said, No, let them run for a while longer. Well first clean up the nearby Faux Saint Saboteurs. Have Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words start moving as well. Also, have the Elven Cannons keep an eye on the Faux Saint army. If those monsters think of coming back, strike them down immediately! Other people might not understand the effects of the World Mirror, but he did. Including the two additional crystalline mirrors he had obtained after killing those three NPCs from the Secret Hand Association, he now had six of the 12 mirrors that made up the World Mirror. Although he still couldnt utilize many of the World Mirrors functions since it was incomplete, he could isolate an entire map. Even Tier 5 existences would have great difficulty breaking out of this isolated region. While the Faux Saint army indeed possessed great numbers, the quality of its combatants was severely inadequate. It would need over an hour of continuous attacking to deplete the World Mirrors energy reserves. One hour was more than enough for Zero Wing to do a lot of things. Moreover, even if they couldnt finish off the Faux Saint army within one hour, he could simply inject another 3,000 Mana Stones to replenish the World Mirrors energy. Unlike defensive magic arrays, the World Mirror did not have a Cooldown for replenishing its energy reserves. The only trade-off was that once the World Mirror was activated, it would remain active until it exhausted all its energy. It couldnt be turned off midway the way defensive magic arrays could. Most importantly, he had expended a lot of Magic Crystals in this battle. If he couldnt earn some EXP from these Faux Saint monsters, he would eat a huge loss. After all, no matter how many monsters the fortresss static defenses killed, none of the defenders inside the fortress would gain any EXP. At most, the defenders would get to collect the loot of the monsters. However, the Faux Saint monsters were basically beggars when it came to items. Even if they did drop items, those items would be of inferior quality. Their only saving grace was the above-average EXP they provided when killed. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he flew out of the Mobile Fortress and chased the fleeing Faux Saint Saboteurs. Although the incomplete World Mirror couldnt reduce the Basic Attributes of the hostile units trapped within it, it did reduce their Movement Speed and reaction speed. The Movement Speed of enemies flying in the air, in particular, was at least 60% slower. Furthermore, all of the Faux Saint Saboteurs had suffered heavy injuries, which meant their flying speed became incredibly slow. After Shi Fengs departure, Fire Dance quickly carried out his commands before leaving the Mobile Fortress together with Violet Cloud. As for Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine, the two of them had long since followed Shi Feng out of the fortress. After all, Mythic monsters were incredibly rare in the outside world. This was especially true for Level 140-plus Mythic monsters. Now that the 1,000 Faux Saint Saboteurs before them were heavily injured, these Mythic monsters were basically walking sacks of EXP. It would be a huge waste to let them get away. In less than ten seconds, Shi Feng caught up with a group of several dozen Saboteurs. He immediately brandished the Light of Two Worlds. Lightning Edge! The next moment, a river of lightning washed over the area ahead of him and extended up to 500 yards away. Damages exceeding 100 million then began appearing above the Saboteurs heads one after another. After the Skills 7-second duration ended, the Saboteurs that were originally at critical HPs crumbled into ashes. Subsequently, Shi Fengs experience bar rose rapidly. In just one second, he broke through to Level 142. Some time later, his experience bar settled at 82% of Level 142. The Saboteurs were far more generous with EXP than the standard Mythic monster. As for the 11 Saboteurs that survived his attack, Shi Feng used Formless Blade, a Tier 4 Legacy Skill he had spent 110 Legacy Skill Points to learn, on them. The next moment, the 13 sword lights the Skill created transformed into innumerable shooting stars that struck down at the critically damaged Saboteurs. Every one of these attacks dealt over 200 million damage to the Mythic monsters, with critical hits dealing over 400 million damage, killing them on the spot. Immediately afterward, another bright glow enveloped Shi Feng as he reached Level 143. Meanwhile, following the deaths of these Faux Saint Saboteurs, strands of dark-gray mist escaped from their corpses and flowed into Shi Fengs mind. Every strand of mist that entered his mind increased his affinity with Mana by a small margin, and this bonus could be accumulated continuously. What a magical energy! Although I still got Soul Marks inflicted on me, like when I killed that Faux Saint Devourer, the effect of this strange energy is completely different from the white mist from before. It is incredibly attractive to Mana. Shi Feng was surprised when he sensed the changes to his body. At this moment, Shi Feng wasnt the only person to notice this benefit. The others who had joined in on the chase likewise noticed the benefit of killing the Faux Saint Saboteurs. These Faux Saint Saboteurs might not drop any loot, but they are truly walking treasure troves! If some of our Tier 3 experts get this benefit, they should have a much easier time getting promoted to Tier 4! After killing off two Faux Saint Saboteurs, Unyielding Heart was surprised by the benefit he received. Some distance away, Illusory Words also killed a Saboteur and noticed the unexpected benefit. Surprised, she exclaimed, These Saboteurs are probably of greater help to us Tier 4s. If we can continuously boost our Mana affinity, well understand Mana more easily. This will be of great help in breaking through the limits of our Mana Bodies. After reaching Tier 4, improving ones Mana Body became of utmost importance. Now, these Faux Saint Saboteurs were providing them with a shortcut for doing so. Upon thinking up to this point, the two of them hastened their killing speed. Now, they werent just killing the Saboteurs for EXP but for the sake of further improving themselves. For a time, Shi Feng and the others could be seen frenziedly mowing down the fleeing Faux Saint Saboteurs, their levels rising rapidly. Beast Emperor, who had reached the maps border, couldnt help gnashing his teeth angrily. He had gone to great lengths to produce these Faux Saint Saboteurs, only for them to become leveling tools for Shi Feng and the others. At this time, he had already lost more than 300 Saboteurs. If he werent afraid of the Mobile Fortresss offensive capabilities, he definitely wouldve commanded every surviving Saboteur to surround and kill Shi Fengs group. Black Flame! Ill make you pay sooner or later! Beast Emperor bellowed, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he glared at Shi Feng, over 10,000 yards away. Meanwhile, Lu Xingluo, who sat beside Beast Emperor, also resolved to make Shi Feng pay, both in Gods Domain and in the real world, for todays loss. Turning to the dense mist before him, Beast Emperor commanded the several hundred Faux Saint Saboteurs around him, Attack! Shatter this damned barrier! Chapter 2827 - Surrender and Death Chapter 2827 C Surrender and Death Obeying Beast Emperors command, several hundred Faux Saint Saboteurs swung their weapons at the dense mist before them. Although these Saboteurs were heavily damaged, with their extraordinary techniques, they still managed to exhibit power at the Mythic standard in their attacks. Boom! Every one of the Saboteurs attacks opened a tear in space upon impact, the spatial tears bringing momentary darkness to the area. When the spatial tears disappeared, though, both Beast Emperor and Lu Xingluo were thunderstruck. Impossible! Defying expectations, the Saboteurs all-out attacks not only failed to crack the barrier, but the barrier didnt even fluctuate in the slightest. It remained perfectly intact like before. Hundred Ghostss members were also surprised. Do these Saboteurs not have enough power to shatter this barrier after being heavily injured? Jade Leaf wondered when she saw that the layer of mist remained dense despite the Saboteurs attacks. Being able to envelop an entire map and hinder teleportation and communication was already plenty amazing for a magic barrier. Yet, it was now revealed that this barrier could actually withstand the attacks of so many Faux Saint Saboteurs. This was simply unbelievable. Nodding in agreement, Long Day, the golden-armored Giant, said, They probably dont have enough destructive power. Lets make a move ourselves. It seems that is our only option, Windshadow said. Under Windshadows manipulation, the Ancient Demonic Serpent immediately opened its mouth and released a Breath of Darkness. The power of the breath attack far exceeded that of the Faux Saint Saboteurs attacks, the attack eradicating everything in its path. Boom! Upon collision, the space within a several-hundred-yard radius of the point of impact turned into a dark void. The mist layer at that point also trembled violently, the vibrations extending several thousand yards away. Only after several seconds had passed did the mist layer revert to normal. Its still standing? Like Beast Emperor and Lu Xingluo, Hundred Ghostss members now had dumbfounded expressions on their faces. They couldnt believe what had just happened. After the Ancient Demonic Serpent got promoted to Tier 4, its all-out attack had power at the entry level of Tier 5. Even Superior Mythic monsters of the same level wouldnt dare take this attack head on. In fact, this attack could one-shot the defensive magic arrays of Guild Cities. Yet, when this attack struck the barrier enveloping this entire map, it failed to create even a single crack. At this time, let alone Hundred Ghostss members, even Unyielding Heart and illusory Words, who had just caught up with the rest of the Faux Saint army, were stunned by this scene. Both of them could tell that the Demonic Serpents attack was on par with the all-out attack of Todelya the Soul Singer, a Realm Lord of the Ruined Mountain Range. Nevertheless, the Demonic Serpents attack had failed to break through the seemingly flimsy layer of mist surrounding the map. The strength of this magic barrier was simply unheard-of. Since this magic barrier enveloped the entire map, its withstanding Tier 4 attacks was already unbelievable, all the more Tier 5 attacks. With the combination of this magic barrier and the Mobile Fortress, Zero Wing was most likely invincible in Gods Domain already. However, Beast Emperor and Hundred Ghostss members evidently had no intention of giving up. After snapping out of their daze, they promptly bombarded the mist layer in a frenzy. In their opinion, even if their attacks failed to destroy the barrier, their attacks had most likely exhausted a significant portion of the barriers energy reserves. If they pressed their offensive, the barrier would crumble in no time at all. For a time, the Faux Saint army and Ancient Demonic Serpent blitzed the magic barrier. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs group mowed down the Faux Saint Saboteurs they came across. One minute Three minutes Ten minutes At this time, Shi Fengs group had already killed over 600 Saboteurs. From the EXP they gained, Shi Feng had reached Level 146, while Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Unyielding Heart, and Illusory Words had reached Level 141. Lifeless Thorn and Solitary Nine were now at Level 143. When Shi Feng and the others stood only 500 yards away from the Faux Saint army, Beast Emperor and Hundred Ghostss members finally snapped out of their trance and stopped assailing the barrier. They then looked at Shi Fengs group and the distant Mobile Fortress warily. It seems we meet again, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at Beast Emperor and Windshadow. Now, will you surrender quietly, or do you want me to send you on your way? Black Flame, dont get too full of yourself! My Saboteurs have fully recovered already! Beast Emperor snarled as he glared at Shi Feng. Although I only have around 300 left, at this distance, killing you bunch wont be difficult! Beast Emperors heart was practically bleeding from Shi Fengs group killing nearly 700 of his Faux Saint Saboteurs. If not for his fear of the Mobile Fortress, he wouldve long since had his Faux Saint army surround and kill Shi Fengs group already. However, unlike Beast Emperor, Windshadow was exceptionally calm. Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Windshadow, an Elder of Hundred Ghosts. After taking a deep breath, Windshadow continued slowly, Hundred Ghosts admits defeat this time. We are willing to pay ransom for our release and the release of Awakened Abyss. Elder Windshadow? Jade Leaf was taken aback by Windshadows words. Hundred Ghosts was different from the Guilds of the main continent. Even the Five Great Super Guilds were of no significance to Hundred Ghosts. Yet, their Guild was admitting defeat to Zero Wing. Their Guild would turn into a laughingstock for the main continents various superpowers. Moreover, they wouldnt have any way of explaining this humiliation to the Guilds higher-ups. Beast Emperor and Lu Xingluo were also stunned by this situation. They never thought that Windshadow would surrender without hesitation. This would undoubtedly reduce their chances of defeating Zero Wings forces. Elder Windshadow, it seems Hundred Ghosts only amounts to this much. To think you are already afraid of Zero Wing before we even start fighting, Beast Emperor ridiculed. Lord Beast Emperor, Hundred Ghosts operates by its own rules. Moreover, Hundred Ghosts doesnt have much of a grudge against Zero Wing, to begin with. Our conflict simply stems from one of our juniors ignorantly offending Zero Wing in Sky Spring City. It is only right that he is punished, Windshadow retorted nonchalantly. How righteous of you, Elder Windshadow. I am truly in awe. Beast Emperor glared at Windshadow. He had never thought that the man would care so little for Hundred Ghostss reputation. It was evident that Windshadow was trying to disassociate Hundred Ghosts from him in front of Shi Feng. Sneering, Beast Emperor said, Unfortunately, Black Flame wont necessarily spare you! Thats right. I doubt Guild Leader Black Flame will let us off the hook so easily. Chuckling, Windshadow added, But what if I say Hundred Ghosts is willing to use a Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment Forging Design as compensation? Have you lost your mind? Beast Emperor exclaimed in shock. Beast Emperor could tell how powerful Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment was just by looking at the Black Knights seated behind Windshadow. If not for their lower levels, they could most likely exhibit combat power on par with the Faux Saint Saboteurs. Even without any Tier 4 players, just Hundred Ghostss possession of this Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment would most likely be enough to deter the Five Great Super Guilds from clashing with it. Yet, Windshadow was actually using the forging design for this divine equipment as ransom? Let alone Beast Emperor and Lu Xingluo, even Shi Feng was stunned by Windshadows offer. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to make an exorbitant demand of Windshadow. And if Windshadow refused his demand, Shi Feng would kill Hundred Ghostss members. After all, now that he had the Mobile Fortress, nobody could threaten Zero Wings existence. Naturally, he wouldnt need to care about making an enemy of Hundred Ghosts. However, Shi Feng couldnt help being moved by Windshadows offer. Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment was something he knew plenty about because its existence was recorded in the Mana Forging Notes. However, the volume he owned did not include its production method. Looking at Shi Feng, Windshadow asked, May I know if you are willing to conduct this transaction, Guild Leader Black Flame? Okay, I agree to your offer, Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. However, I will need you to cooperate with my side to kill Beast Emperors group. Also, my people must be the ones to land the killing blows on these Saboteurs. Black! Flame! Beast Emperor had the urge to charge forward and kill Shi Feng when he heard the latters words. Just you wait! Sooner or later, Ill However, before Beast Emperor could finish speaking, Shi Feng, who had been standing over 400 yards away, suddenly appeared in front of him. Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Magic Light Assault! Shi Fengs attack was so quick that nobody could react to it. By the time anyone realized what was going on, the Light of Two Worlds had already pierced through Beast Emperors heart! You! SV Beast Emperor was stupefied when he saw the sword stabbed in his heart. He had never dreamed that Shi Feng would take action so decisively, leaving him with no time for any of his lifesaving moves. And worse, as he was losing all his HP to one attack, he noticed Shi Feng holding a burning, pitch-black scroll. This pitch-black Magic Scroll was something familiar to Dark Players like Beast Emperor. It was the Tier 3 Magic Scroll Abyssal Curse. When activated, the scroll would lock on to a target and increase the targets death penalty by three to five times for three minutes. Lu Xingluo was dumbfounded at this scene. He never thought that Shi Feng would have such a frightening move up his sleeve. He also never thought that Beast Emperor would die, just like that. The next moment, Shi Feng drew his sword from Beast Emperors corpse and picked up the two items the latter dropped. He then shifted his gaze to Lu Xingluo and smiled calmly. Guild Leader Xingluo, its time we settled our old debts. Chapter 2828 - Skyrocketing Levels Chapter 2828 C Skyrocketing Levels In a towering temple built within a gloomy and silent mountain A black flash suddenly appeared on the altar in the center of the temple. When this black flash disappeared, Beast Emperors bandaged figure stood in its place. Apart from Beast Emperors aura being slightly weaker, his level actually remained the same. He was still at Level 132, Tier 4, despite Shi Feng having killed him just a moment ago. Black Flame! You thought you could land a blow on me using the Abyssal Curse? Dream on! I received the Immortal Body Curse from the Evil God! Dont even think you can harm me so easily! When Beast Emperor recalled the moment Shi Feng killed him, he sneered. Just you wait! I already have the foundation to evolve a Tier 5 Faux Saint monster. Once I gather enough materials, Ill let your Zero Wing feel the fear of death! The Tier 4 Curse Immortal Body allowed him to get resurrected instantly at his designated Evil Gods Temple without penalty once a day. He could also use the Curse to kill himself, and even being under restraints wouldnt stop this Curse from activating. This move was the trump card he prepared in case of capture by NPCs. After all, if he got caught by NPCs, particularly the War Gods Temples NPCs, he would be doomed eternally. It was also because of this Curse that he no longer had to live in hiding and didnt have to fear capture. Its a pity I didnt manage to rescue Lu Xingluo. With his help, I could produce the Tier 5 Faux Saint monster much sooner. Once again, it seems I have nobody but myself to rely on, Beast Emperor thought to himself. Unlike himself, Lu Xingluo was only at Tier 3. Shi Feng could easily capture Lu Xingluo. Moreover, Lu Xingluos previous escape from Sky Spring City had tainted his body with evil energy. If Shi Feng handed Lu Xingluo over to the War Gods Temple, then it would be game over for the latter. Not only would Lu Xingluo have to create a new account, but he would also have to wait over a dozen days before he could do so. But so what if I have to rely on myself? Now that I have that great treasure, let alone 1,000 Mythic Faux Saints, I can create even 5,000 Mythic Faux Saints in a short time! After thinking up to this point, Beast Emperor opened his Spatial Bag to take out the great treasure he obtained recently. Panic surfaced on Beast Emperors face a moment later. Its gone? After looking through his Spatial Bag three times, Beast Emperors mind went blank. It couldnt have At this thought, Beast Emperors face turned ashen. Black Flame! I wont rest until youre dead! Beast Emperor bellowed. The deafening roar echoed throughout the silent cavern. At the same time as Beast Emperor got resurrected, near the distant Secret Covenant Tower, Shi Feng restrained Lu Xingluo with a Darkness Bind and captured him with a Mobile Prison. He gave Lu Xingluo no opportunity to escape or commit suicide. The entire process of Shi Feng killing Beast Emperor and imprisoning Lu Xingluo took only five seconds, and watching this scene play out made Hundred Ghostss members break out in a cold sweat. This was because Shi Fengs attack was astonishingly fast. Even Windshadow, a Tier 4 Shadow Dancer, had reacted to the attack only when Shi Feng was already standing in front of Beast Emperor. Moreover, the power of Shi Fengs attack was equally incredible. Apart from Tier 4 defensive classes, any other Tier 4 player would most likely die instantly if struck. Meanwhile, after Beast Emperors death, the Faux Saint army fell into chaos, and the remaining hundreds of thousands of Faux Saint monsters began fleeing in all directions. Only the Mythic ranked Faux Saint Saboteurs remained relatively calm. Knowing that they couldnt break the barrier sealing the map, the 300-plus Saboteurs promptly swarmed toward Shi Fengs group in a last-ditch effort. Foolish resistance! Seeing the Saboteurs reaction, Shi Feng took out the Ring of Gospel, injected 5,000 Magic Crystals into the ring, and activated Miniature World. Immediately, the space within a 5,000-yard radius of Shi Feng froze. Simultaneously, a powerful pressure descended from the sky, increasing the weight of all Faux Saint monsters present and reducing their Basic Attributes and physique drastically. In the blink of an eye, the Faux Saint monsters had their combat power halved. World Suppression? Long Day exclaimed in astonishment when he noticed the Faux Saint Saboteurs physique and speed plummeting. How many trump cards does this Black Flame have? Previously, he thought that the remaining 300-plus Faux Saint Saboteurs would still bring Zero Wing a lot of trouble. However, seeing the present situation, he found his earlier thoughts laughable. World Suppression was different from the suppression effect of ordinary magic barriers. It suppressed a person from all aspects, and even Tier 4 existences with a Mana Domain couldnt resist it. And if a Tier 4 existence did not possess a Mana Domain, they couldnt fly within the frozen space. As a result of Shi Fengs Miniature World, the Faux Saint Saboteurs now possessed combat power at only the entry-level of Tier 4. Every one of them had also fallen to the ground after losing their ability to fly. At this time, let alone Tier 4 players, even Tier 3 peak experts could put up a fight against these Mythic monsters. Ladies and gentlemen from Hundred Ghosts, can you take action now, as per our agreement? Shi Feng asked, smiling as he turned to look at Hundred Ghostss members. Or were your words from before merely a joke? You jest, Guild Leader Black Flame. We will certainly adhere to our agreement, Windshadow replied, chuckling. With a wave of his hand, he commanded, You bunch, get moving! Obeying Windshadows command, the Black Knight Legions members promptly intercepted the Faux Saint Saboteurs. Although these Black Knights were only at Tier 3, they sported Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment. In terms of raw power, they surpassed even the Faux Saint Saboteurs when these monsters were at their peak, let alone now. The next moment, the Saboteurs could be seen getting repulsed after just one exchange. They were no match for the Black Knight Legion at all. After glancing at the Black Knights, Shi Feng turned to Fire Dance and said, Fire, have Summer and the others join the fight as well. Everyone should get at least three Saboteur kills. These Faux Saint Saboteurs were absolute treasures. Although they did not drop any loot, the dark-gray mist that they released was of incredible value not only to Tier 4 players but also Tier 3 players. Now that the era of Tier 4 had come, it would be best if he helped Alluring Summer and the others reach Tier 4 as well. Okay, Ill have them come right away. Fire Dance nodded and promptly contacted the Mobile Fortress. As Fire Dance was summoning Alluring Summer and the others, Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words suddenly approached Shi Feng. Guild Leader Black Flame, is it possible for you to sell us a dozen or so of these Saboteurs? Unyielding Heart asked in embarrassment. We are willing to pay one complete Tier 3 Legacy for each of Saboteur. There was no way the two of them wouldnt covet these Faux Saint Saboteurs. With the help of that gray mist, they could increase their Guilds peak experts chances of reaching Tier 4 by a significant margin. At this stage of the game, the various superpowers were all in urgent need of Tier 4 combatants to defend their territories. If their two Guilds could gain a few more Tier 4 players within a short period, they would survive these difficult times much more easily. Looking at the embarrassed expressions of the two people before him, Shi Feng chuckled and said, Say no more. Your Guilds have sacrificed a lot in helping Zero Wing resist the superpowers. You can each take 30 Saboteurs as compensation. I dont need you to pay anything for them. Truthfully, he felt very grateful to Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor. If not for the help of these two Guilds, Zero Wing couldnt have held the Secret Covenant Tower until he returned. Thus, he didnt mind giving away a few Faux Saint Saboteurs. Not to mention, if the two super-first-rate Guilds grew stronger, they would be of much greater help to Zero Wing as well. Most importantly, Zero Wing didnt have that many Tier 3 players who could make use of the Saboteurs gray mist. The gray mist could be described as icing on the cake. Like the Crystal of Souls and Soul Water, the gray mist was useful only to players with the potential to reach Tier 4. Meanwhile, there were fewer than 20 such players in the present Zero Wing. It also wouldnt serve any purpose to let these players gain more than one stack of the gray mist. The help they could gain for their promotion from one stack would be the same as what they could gain from multiple stacks. Hence, it would be much better to use the additional Saboteurs to raise the levels of Fire Dance and the others instead. Thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Unyielding Heart and Illusory Words were jubilant upon hearing Shi Fengs words. Sixty Saboteurs would be more than enough for their two Guilds peak experts. Subsequently, after around an hour of battle, Shi Feng and the others annihilated the Faux Saint army. By then, Shi Fengs level had risen from 146 to 148, while Fire Dance and the other Tier 4 members of Zero Wing had risen to Level 145. As for Alluring Summer and the other Zero Wing executives who were still stuck at Tier 3, they had risen to Level 130 and above. Everyone had leveled up remarkably from this battle. After killing the Faux Saint army, Windshadow handed a Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment Forging Design to Shi Feng as agreed. And after receiving the forging design, Shi Feng released Awakened Abyss from Sky Spring Citys prison and let Hundred Ghostss members leave intact once the World Mirror deactivated. With the end of the battle at the Secret Covenant Tower and the disappearance of the World Mirror, news of this battle spread like wildfire. Chapter 2829 - Beast Emperor’s Loot Chapter 2829 C Beast Emperors Loot Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon City: The Faux Saint army got annihilated, and Hundred Ghosts surrendered? How is that possible? When the various superpowers learned about the outcome of the battle at the Secret Covenant Tower, they were dumbstruck. After all, the forces attacking Zero Wing had included 1,000 Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters and the top combatants of Hundred Ghosts, a mysterious Guild that even the Five Great Super Guilds feared. Nevertheless, such a force had actually lost. Moreover, the loss had been an utter rout, a one-sided massacre. The various superpowers were especially shocked when they saw the video of the purifying light vaporizing a large chunk of the Faux Saint army and heavily injuring every one of the Faux Saint Saboteurs. They felt as if the system was playing a cruel joke on them when they watched this attack. Meanwhile, inside Frost Heavens Residence When Muxin read the report her subordinate sent her, she exclaimed in shock, Amazing! As expected of Zero Wing! Frost Heaven had considered helping Zero Wing out of its predicament. However, after gaining a reserve spot for the Twelve Great Guilds, Frost Heaven had faced many problems. Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire were especially troublesome. The two Super Guilds had clashed with Frost Heaven on numerous occasions in the Fire Dragon Empire after the competition. In addition, superpowers like Mythology and Miracle secretly interfered with Frost Heavens operations. This made it incredibly difficult for Frost Heaven to spread its influence across the Fire Dragon Empire. If not for Frost Heaven garrisoning various major NPC cities in the Fire Dragon Empire and gaining a home-ground advantage, the Guild wouldve long since gotten torn to shreds. After all, Sky Dragon House and Pride Empire had incredibly deep roots in the Fire Dragon Empire. In fact, some of the Fire Dragon Empires NPC forces had even allied with the two Super Guilds. Fortunately, Frost Heaven had also occupied the Snow Lion Kingdom, a coastal country. The kingdom provided Frost Heaven with a continuous supply of resources and funds, allowing the Guild to keep fighting in the Fire Dragon Empire. A Mobile Fortress, is it? Hong Xinyuan also couldnt help feeling a little envious when he read the information regarding the Small Mobile Fortress. I wonder when we will be able to obtain one of our own? According to the reports, with the offensive and defensive capabilities of the Mobile Fortress, it could survive in a Level 140-plus neutral map. This made it a dream facility of all superpowers at this stage of the game. Not only did Level 140-plus neutral maps allow players to level up much more quickly, but they also held various rare resources, Legacies, ancient ruins, and even Seven Luminaries Crystals. Originally, players could acquire Seven Luminaries Crystals from only a few specific maps. However, all maps above Level 140 had a considerable chance of spawning Seven Luminaries Crystals. This was because the random Team Dungeons and time-limited Regional Dungeons that appeared in these maps all had a small chance of dropping Seven Luminaries Crystals. However, Level 140-plus maps were incredibly dangerous. Not only did foreign energies that would rapidly corrode a players body permeate these maps, but powerful monsters were also rife in them. Although Level 140-plus maps were not as dangerous as forbidden lands, beast tides frequently occurred there, regardless of night and day. Even Tier 4 experts would perish if they accidentally came across one of these beast tides and got surrounded. Most importantly, Level 140-plus maps were the main hunting ground of NPCs. Now that Zero Wing had the Mobile Fortress, Hong Xinyuan could already imagine just how much of an advantage the Guild would have in the future. In fact, its complete control over the Secret Covenant Tower already provided it an advantage not even Super Guilds possessed. At this point, all Zero Wing needed to do was wait until it had a sufficiently large number of Tier 3 players. With ample strength, the Guild could begin occupying various resource spots and NPC cities in Gods Domain. Eventually, Zero Wing might even become an existence rivaling the Five Great Super Guilds. At the same time, Cold Shadow, in the distant Apocalypse Empire, also received this shocking piece of news. Interesting. Even the Faux Saint army and Hundred Ghosts are helpless against them. Cold Shadow revealed a rare smile on her face when she read the report her subordinate sent her. After suffering such a miserable loss, Lu Xingluo will most likely lose his position as heir. What should we do now, Vice Guild Leader? White Feather asked worriedly. The Guild Leader sent us here to lay a solid foundation on the eastern continent so that we can dominate both continents in the future. Yet, Zero Wing is growing stronger while Miracle has half a foot in the grave. Dont worry. So long as we complete the task Lord Odin gave us, Mythology will no longer face any hindrances on the eastern continent, Cold Shadow said with a faint smile. If were lucky, we might even get to take over Zero Wings cities. After all, the eastern continents various powers dont have much time left. Not much time left? White Feather was slightly surprised to hear Cold Shadows words. However, she quickly recalled something and asked, Has Lord Odin succeeded on his side already? Mhm. The eastern continent will become the first battlefield. Cold Shadow nodded. When that time comes, the eastern continents various powers can only watch as they gradually perish. Even Zero Wing with its Mobile Fortress wont be spared! Twin Towers Kingdom, Sky Spring City: Because of Zero Wings landslide victory, the various superpowers that had forcibly occupied Sky Spring City fell into dismay. They never thought that all their efforts would end up being for naught. Unlike the superpowers members, though, the members of Zero Wing, Unyielding Soul, and Crimson Emperor cheered and celebrated like maniacs. After all, the battle at the Secret Covenant Tower had left their three Guilds with complete ownership of the tower. Meanwhile, with the Tier 3 Legacies the tower produced, the number of Tier 3 experts in their three Guilds would skyrocket. Eventually, even Super Guilds would be no match for them. In fact, given enough time, their three Guilds wouldnt even have to worry about NPC forces anymore. Elder Windshadow, why did you give the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment Forging Design to Zero Wing? That will just make Zero Wing even stronger and drastically affect our plans. The Guild Leader will definitely reprimand us once we return, asked Awakened Abyss, who had just been released from Sky Spring Citys prison. He had been rendered speechless when he heard of Windshadows actions. The Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment could allow Tier 3 players to combat Tier 4 players. Any Guild that could mass-produce this set would become a huge threat in the game. In fact, the sets forging design could even be considered more valuable than the Mobile Fortress. After all, the Mobile Fortress could secure only one location at a time. In comparison, having multiple Tier 4 combatants allowed a Guild to secure multiple positions simultaneously. Abyss, do you still not understand Elder Windshadows personality? Long Day suddenly asked, smiling. Do you really think he would let Zero Wing take advantage of him? What do you mean? Awakened Abyss asked in wonder. With how powerful the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment is, do you think Zero Wing can mass-produce it just by having its forging design? Chuckling, Long Day explained, The minimum requirement to forge the set is an Advanced Master Forger. In addition, the forger in question has to be at the Advanced Magician standard. Most importantly, the set needs incredibly rare materials to produce. Mana Adamantite is hardly available even on our side, let alone here. And even if we assume Zero Wing can actually manufacture the set, there is still the Tier 4 Strength requirement for equipping it. If Zero Wing cant fulfill even one of these points, that forging design will be no better than a piece of scrap paper. Upon listening to Long Days explanation, Awakened Abyss immediately came to a realization. Smiling, he said, In other words, what Zero Wing got is merely a piece of scrap paper? Thats right. That Black Flame thinks that he made a huge profit, but thats far from being the case in reality, Long Day said, nodding. However, we should leave this place quickly. The Guild Leader notified us that this continent is soon to be doomed. Once we finish our tasks here, we need to return as soon as possible. It would be bad if we got dragged into the mess. I understand. Ill go complete the tasks the Guild Leader gave me together with Jade Leaf, Awakened Abyss said, growing even more excited after hearing Long Days subsequent words. Previously, he had still been entertaining thoughts of revenge on Zero Wing. However, they now seemed superfluous. While Hundred Ghostss members were preparing to leave Sky Spring City, inside the distant Mobile Fortress, Shi Feng was shocked when he inspected the items Beast Emperor dropped. How did this thing end up in his hands? For a time, Shi Feng couldnt help doubting his eyes. This was because both items Beast Emperor dropped were extraordinary. One of them was even something Shi Feng had been searching for all this time. The Treasure of Fire, Purification Crown! Chapter 2830 - Treasure of Fire Chapter 2830 C Treasure of Fire Shi Feng couldnt help growing ecstatic as he looked at the Purification Crown. Finding the Seven Treasures wasnt easy. Even though he could use the Golden Stigmatas Detect Skill to locate the Seven Treasures, the Skill had a limited range. Moreover, there were many ways one could block the effects of the Skill. Take the Purification Crown in his hands, for example. Neither Detects active or passive detection effects were reacting to it at all. Hence, obtaining the Treasure of Fire from killing Beast Emperor came as an absolute surprise to Shi Feng. He tapped his finger on the Purification Crown and called up its Attribute Panel, curious about the functions of this legendary Treasure of Fire. [Purification Crown] (Fragmented Legendary Rank Item) A fragment of the Treasure of Fire. However, due to being sealed by the Evil God, the fragment is incapable of exhibiting its true power. Skill 1 Seed of Flame: Can control and transform all flames into Seeds of Flame. Upon absorbing the Seed of Flame, the user will be able to manipulate the flame used to create the Seed of Flame. (Can transform up to Tier 4 flames) Cooldown: 3 days Skill 2 Purification Fire: Expend 300 fire-attributed Magic Crystals to produce a Purification Fire. The Purification Fire has a 20% chance of elevating a creatures Life Rating and an 80% chance of thoroughly extinguishing a creature. Skill 3 Divine Purification: Expend God Crystals to purify the Purification Crown. (A total of 20 God Crystals are required to purify the Purification Crown. Current number of absorbed God Crystals: 0) This item is corroded by the Evil Gods power. The Golden Stigmata can purify the evil energy corroding this item with the help of God Crystals. Cannot be destroyed. Has a chance of dropping on death. No wonder Beast Emperor was able to create so many Mythic Faux Saints. Hes been relying on this crowns ability. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng when he finished reading the Purification Crowns Attributes. He had to admit that every one of the Seven Treasures was heaven-defying. The Purification Crowns Purification Fire Skill was an absolute treasure when it came to elevating a creatures potential. Its only flaw was the 80% chance of causing the death of the target creature. Unless one had already exhausted their latent potential and were still seeking further improvement, making use of the Purification Fire should be their last resort. Only someone like Beast Emperor, who could mass-produce Faux Saint monsters easily, could use the Purification Crown without worries. So long as he managed to produce even one Mythic ranked Faux Saint monster, it wouldnt matter even if he expended hundreds of Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint monsters in the process. After all, producing Grand Lord ranked Faux Saint monsters was an incredibly simple process. The only real problem Beast Emperor had was finding the necessary fire-attributed Magic Crystals. If the Purification Fire Skill required ordinary Magic Crystals instead, Beast Emperor wouldve most likely had tens or even hundreds of thousands of Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters. This also explained why Beast Emperor had created an organization like Saints Hand to support him. This Purification Fire really is a gem. Even though its success rate is only 20%, the possibility of elevating a creatures Life Rating makes the risk completely worthwhile, Shi Feng sighed ruefully as he looked at the effects of the Purification Fire. The term creature did not refer to just Faux Saint monsters. It encompassed Mounts and NPCs. In fact, the Purification Fire worked on players as well, only with significantly diminished effects. At most, it could raise a players Basic Attributes and physique. It couldnt help players in getting promoted to Tier 4 or above. However, it was a different story for Mounts and NPCs. For Mounts and NPCs, improving their Life Ratings would significantly increase their chances of completing their promotions. At this time, though, Shi Feng dared not experiment with the Purification Fire. At the very least, he wouldnt do so while the Skills success rate was only at 20%. After all, Flying Mounts and Personal Guards with high Growth Potential were not easy to find. If he got unlucky and ended up burning one out of existence, he would definitely die of regret. Subsequently, Shi Feng set his sights on the Purification Crowns first Skill. This Seed of Flame is good stuff. A powerful flame might be meaningless for ordinary players, but it was a divine tool for Lifestyle Players, particularly forgers and alchemists. Having a powerful flame would increase their production success rate considerably. This was especially true for Mysterious Flames. Even a Tier 1 Mysterious Flame would be of significant help to players. The only problem was that absorbing a Mysterious Flame was an excruciatingly painful process, something not just anyone could endure. Moreover, the stronger the Mysterious Flame, the more painful the absorption process would be. Previously, when Shi Feng had bound the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame, he had suffered immensely. Given the level of pain he experienced, he doubted that specialized Lifestyle players could absorb a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame. After all, unlike himself, specialized Lifestyle players tended to have less tolerance for pain. However, the Seed of Flame Skill could dampen this excruciating absorption process by transforming flames into Seeds of Flame. Absorbing a Seed of Flame was significantly less painful than absorbing a flame directly. Players would have an easier time taking control over a flame. Of course, the best part about the Seed of Flame Skill wasnt the fact that it could turn Mysterious Flames into Seeds of Flame. The Skills description clearly stated that it could transform all flames into Seeds of Flame. Flames didnt refer to just Mysterious Flames; there were other types of flames, such as the flames spat out by monsters and naturally occurring flames. In other words, the Seed of Flame Skill was a heaven-defying Skill capable of creating Mysterious Flames! All Shi Feng needed to do was search for powerful flames and convert them into Mysterious Flames. However, as the Purification Crown was sealed, the most it could create were Tier 4 Mysterious Flames. Even so, this was already an incomparably precious ability. In Gods Domain, the rarity of Tier 3 Mysterious Flames was on par with that of Fragmented Legendary items. As for Tier 4 Mysterious Flames, they were basically the stuff of legends. Nevertheless, the Purification Crown was actually capable of creating Tier 4 Mysterious Flames. One could see just how heaven-defying this ability was. Of course, finding a flame that could be converted into a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame wouldnt be an easy task. After all, existences capable of producing such powerful flames werent a dime a dozen. However, Shi Feng would be satisfied so long as he could produce a couple of Tier 3 Mysterious Flames. For the Candlelight Trading Firms Lifestyle players, being able to own a Tier 3 Mysterious Flame was something that only happened in their dreams. Shi Feng took out the Tier 4 Hellfire, an excited expression appearing on his face. I initially planned to wait a little while longer before absorbing this, but I think I can give it a try now. He had been looking forward to absorbing the Hellfire for a long time now. However, he also understood that taking control of a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame would be unimaginably difficult. The process would have an extremely high demand on his Concentration and pain tolerance. If he failed to absorb the Hellfire, he might even suffer a backlash. Hence, after obtaining the Hellfire, he did not dare casually absorb it. Moreover, after he had reached Tier 4, his soul had been strengthened significantly, which allowed him to resist the Soul Chains threat for a much longer period. There had been no need for him to take such a risk. However, now that he had the Purification Crown, he wouldnt have to worry about the risks of absorbing the Hellfire. Subsequently, Shi Feng used the Purification Crown on the Hellfire. The crown immediately released a dazzling radiance, and a golden mist enveloped the Hellfire. Upon sensing the threat from the Purification Crown, the Hellfire began resisting violently, its aura flaring until it rivaled that of Superior Mythic monsters. However, the Purification Crown was one of the Seven Treasures, an item carefully crafted by the Goddess of Space, an Ancient God. Even if it was only a fragment of the original Treasure of Fire, its power wasnt something a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame could resist. Twenty seconds later, the Purification Crown devoured the Hellfire completely and transformed it into a dark-gray Seed of Flame. In its current form, the Hellfires power was drastically suppressed. System: Do you wish to absorb the Seed of Hellfire? Absorb! Upon seeing the system prompt, Shi Feng chose to absorb the Tier 4 Seed of Flame without hesitation. Chapter 2831 - Tier 4 Mysterious Flames Effects As soon as Shi Feng chose to absorb the Seed of Flame, the dark-gray seed in his palm turned into streaks of light that merged with his body. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng couldnt help gritting his teeth. It hurts so much! The pain he currently felt was far beyond what he had felt when he absorbed the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame. It was like his blood was boiling and millions of ants were nibbling at his bones. If not for the recent breakthrough in his Concentration, he wouldve most likely failed to endure this pain. The next moment, a loading bar showing his fusion progress with the Seed of Hellfire appeared before him. The loading bar filled up at a snails pace, increasing by only 1% every dozen seconds or so. The pain is already so unbearable even with the help of a Seed of Flame. Its no wonder so few players managed to control a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame in the past. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng as he looked at the slowly rising fusion bar. Any normal person would lose their mind if they had to endure this pain for even a second, yet this pain was only the result of absorbing a Tier 4 Seed of Flame. He couldnt even begin to imagine how much pain directly absorbing a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame would involve. At this point, Shi Feng suspected that the people who had successfully absorbed Tier 4 Mysterious Flames in his previous life had done so using special means like he did. After all, he had honed his pain tolerance for ten years in the game. In this life, he had even developed his Concentration beyond what he had in his previous life. Despite that, he still found absorbing even a weakened Tier 4 Mysterious Flame unbearable. What would it take to absorb an unaltered Tier 4 Mysterious Flame? 3% 10% 30% Hold on! I must hold on! At this point, Shi Feng was gritting his teeth, and his eyes were bloodshot. His complexion was also unprecedentedly pale. And worse, as the fusion progressed, its rate of increment gradually slowed down. Even after two whole hours had gone by, the fusion bar had reached only 73%. In addition, when the fusion crossed 60%, the Seed of Flame within him began radiating powerful mental assaults every second, battering his sea of consciousness. The subsequent mental assault that hit him at 74% nearly made him collapse. His consciousness began blurring, and he felt as if he was about to lose control of his body. This wont do. I need to think of a way to resist these mental assaults. Otherwise, I wont last until the end. While fusing with a Mysterious Flame, players had to remain conscious throughout the process. Otherwise, the fusion would be deemed a failure. Upon thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began applying his mental defense technique against the Seed of Flames mental assaults, gathering his focus into a single point and steeling his mind. While this technique worked wonders initially, after the fusion progress reached 80%, the Seed of Flame seemingly noticed his trick. Immediately afterward, the Seed began releasing mental assaults at a much higher rate, going from once per second to twice per second, then even increasing to three, four, five times per second The frequency of the mental assaults continuously escalated, the Seed of Flame adamant in breaking Shi Fengs mind. It can even play such a move? Shi Feng was stupefied by this situation. Faced with these high-frequency mental assaults, Shi Feng dared not relax for even a moment. However, maintaining his mental defense technique also made him feel indescribably uncomfortable. This technique was akin to a person flexing their muscles. While one could harden ones muscles by flexing them, it would be exhausting to keep ones muscles flexed for long periods. Likewise, Shi Feng couldnt keep his focus condensed for long periods. Moreover, as his mental defense technique was much more complex than the flexing ones muscles, the time he could maintain it was even shorter. 83% 87% 92% The more frequent the mental assaults were, the less time he had to breathe. At some point, his mind even began feeling suffocated. Is it still not done? Looking at the fusion bar, Shi Feng felt as if he was on the brink of collapse. At this time, his body pains already felt insignificant compared to the mental suffocation. In fact, his body was already ignoring the burning pain the Seed of Flame inflicted. Now, the only thing his mind could think of was finding an opportunity to catch a breath. Just when Shi Feng felt as if he would die from suffocation, the systems indifferent voice entered his ears. System: The Hellfires fusion is complete. The Hellfire is now bound as Player Ye Fengs personal property. System: Congratulations! You have been tempered by the Hellfire. All Basic Attributes increased by 300 points, all Basic Attributes increased by 10%, physique improved by 20%, reaction speed improved by 20%, mental control improved by 40%, Fire and Ice Resistances +150, and control over fire-type Mana improved by 20%. Shi Feng inhaled deeply upon hearing the system notification. When air filled his lungs again, he felt revived. After relaxing his mind, he could feel the Hellfires energy spreading throughout his body. His originally depleted Concentration also began recovering crazily. So, this is the power of a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame? At this moment, Shi Feng felt reborn. His Basic Attributes might not have increased by much after absorbing the Hellfire, but his acuity of the world of Gods Domain had undergone a drastic change. He felt as if he had stepped into a whole new world. His Concentration standard, in particular, had gone from the Tier 4 Intermediate standard to the Tier 4 Peak standard. Aside from the improvements to his mind and body, the Hellfires active power was similarly astonishing. [Hellfire] (Tier 4 Mysterious Flame) When activated, improves destructive power by 100% and effects of fire-type Skills and Spells by 100%, grants attacks a 150% mental assault modifier, and increases the success rate of forging, alchemy, and cooking by 25%. Upon reading the Tier 4 Hellfires active effects, Shi Feng finally understood why Tier 4 Mysterious Flames were regarded as legends in Gods Domain. The Tier 4 Hellfire was a heaven-defying tool for both combat and Lifestyle players. The Hellfires ability to add mental assaults to attacks was especially amazing, far more amazing than purely physical or magical attacks. After all, there was no clear Attribute for mental assaults in Gods Domain. Likewise, there were no in-game methods for resisting mental assaults. Players could only rely on their own minds to withstand such assaults. Players lacking in mental fortitude could lose control over their bodies after suffering just one strike. And even if they didnt, they would still feel disoriented and their bodies uncomfortable. Now that Shi Feng had the Hellfire in his possession, he dared to confront even Superior Mythic monsters of the same level directly. However, rather than the combat bonuses the Hellfire provided, what Shi Feng paid more attention to were its supportive effects. The Hellfires 25% increase to production success rate was something even Grandmaster Forgers would desire greatly. The higher the quality of an item, the lower its production success rate. Normally, the theoretical production success rate provided by the system was the highest success rate achievable. However, even after reaching the Grandmaster standard, players still wouldnt be capable of reaching this upper limitand this was after high-quality tools were included in the equation. Not to mention, tools that increased production success rates were less effective the higher the quality of the item being produced was. However, Mysterious Flames were an exception. Their effects remained the same regardless of the quality of the item being produced. With the Tier 4 Hellfire, I can probably produce Epic Weapons at a 30% success rate now. Shi Feng felt indescribably excited. When he obtained the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment Forging Design, he had decided to set it aside temporarily. One of the reasons for doing so was his disinclination to waste precious materials. After all, Mana Adamantite was incredibly precious. In the modern Gods Domain, its rarity almost rivaled that of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Secondly, he wished to use Mana Iron Ore as a replacement. However, he needed Mana Iron Ingots of considerably high purity to accomplish this. Although the Tier 3 Purple Thunder Flame possessed excellent smelting capabilities, it still couldnt smelt Mana Iron Ore into Special ranked Mana Iron Ingots, producing only Advanced Mana Iron Ingots at best. Only a Tier 4 Mysterious Flame could accomplish such a feat. Of course, using Special Mana Iron Ingots to produce the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment would degrade the set slightly. However, the end result would still let Tier 3 players hold their ground against Mythic monsters. As Shi Feng was contemplating how to mass-produce the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment, he suddenly received a call from Fire Dance. After accepting the call request, Shi Feng asked, Did something happen over at Sky Spring City? News of the battle at the Secret Covenant Tower had shaken the entire Gods Domain. At this point, it was no exaggeration to say that no player forces in the Twin Towers Kingdom would dare go against Zero Wing. Logically, there shouldnt be any problems there. No. Its just that there are too many people applying to join Zero Wing right now, Fire Dance replied with a bitter smile. We gained over 500,000 new members after just half a day, including over 10,000 Tier 3 players. All of the top-tier weapons and equipment we got from the battle in Sky Spring City before have already been exchanged. If we dont replenish the warehouse, we wont be able to expand our forces further even if we want to. I understand. Shi Feng smiled at Fire Dances words and said, I still have some Epic items as well as a bunch of Level 130-plus weapons and equipment. They should be enough to tide us over for now. Ill figure out a follow-up solution later. Fire Dance simply responded with a helpless nod. With the number of Guild members waiting to exchange for weapons and equipment, a few hundred pieces of Level 130-plus weapons and equipment wouldnt make much of a difference. They would most likely be gone in half an hour. However, as she was pondering how the Guild could acquire more weapons and equipment, a massive batch of weapons and equipment suddenly appeared in Zero Wings Guild Warehouse. These weapons and equipment were none other than the Epic Weapons and Equipment Shi Feng had purchased in the ancient Gods Domain. There were also the various weapons and equipment he got from grinding at the Antimagic Volcano, which numbered over 6,000, with even the most inferior piece being Level 130 Bronze Equipment. Chapter 2832 - Popular Warehouse Sky Spring City, Zero Wings Residence: Boss, now that weve joined Zero Wing, I get the feeling that Zero Wing isnt so amazing after all, a Level 121, Tier 3 Summoner commented to the red-haired woman standing beside him. Looking at a few Tier 3 players walking some distance away, he continued, These core members of Zero Wing arent even as well-equipped as the members of our Crimson Wolf adventurer team. Most of the Tier 3 core members in the Guild Residence were equipped with Level 110 Secret-Silver Equipment, with only a few with Level 120 Fine-Gold Equipment. In comparison, of the several hundred Crimson Wolf members who had joined Zero Wing, even the most inferior were geared in a mix of Level 120 Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. Their weapons were also Level 120 Fine-Gold Weapons or better. Their commander even sported Level 120 Dark-Gold Equipment, two pieces of Epic Equipment, and one Epic Weapon. Although these three Epic items had a maximum level of Level 120, they were still far stronger than Level 120 Dark-Gold items. Thats normal. Zero Wing just finished a fight with the various superpowers. From what I heard, every one of Zero Wings Tier 3 experts died at least two or three times, with some dying up to six times. Its only natural to have subpar equipment standards after suffering so many deaths, the red-haired woman clad in fiery-red light armor said. Chuckling, she continued, Also, we didnt join Zero Wing because of its weapons and equipment but for the sake of grinding in the Secret Covenant Tower and training in the Mobile Fortress. At this stage of the game, the various superpowers were mostly equal in their stockpiles of weapons and equipment. Not to mention, how could the importance of weapons and equipment possibly beat the importance of getting promoted to Tier 4? She had been looking forward to getting promoted to Tier 4 for a long time now, all the more after witnessing the battle in Sky Spring City. That battle had driven home how insignificant Tier 3 existences were before Tier 4 existences. Despite being one of the top-ranking peak experts in the Twin Towers Kingdom, she doubted she could last more than one hit from a Tier 4 player. However, getting promoted to Tier 4 was incredibly difficult. Even if she could find a Tier 4 Legacy Land, completing her Promotion Quest would still be a struggle with her present technical standards. Meanwhile, the quickest way she could develop her techniques to an adequate standard was by joining Zero Wing. This was also the case for everyone else in the Crimson Wolf adventurer team. Presently, it was already public knowledge that the Mobile Fortress boasted incredibly dense Mana. Moreover, the environment inside the fortress also enhanced ones sensitivity to Mana. This would be of great help not only when practicing their Skills and Spells but also for understanding the operating principles of Mana. Since more and more players were reaching Tier 4 in Gods Domain, information about the Tier 4 Promotion Quest had also leaked to the public. According to the leaks, a part of the quest required players to learn a Tier 4 Skill or Spell within a limited period. Thus, to complete this challenge, players needed to have a considerable understanding of and control over Mana. Otherwise, even if one managed to find a Tier 4 Legacy Land, one still wouldnt reach Tier 4. While Crimson Wolfs members were conversing, a commotion suddenly entered their ears, catching their attention. I remember thats where the Guild Warehouse is, the Summoner youth said as he looked in the direction of the commotion curiously. Did Zero Wings Warehouse go empty? No, those people appear excited, the crimson-haired woman said, shaking her head. However, as soon as Crimson Wolfs commander finished speaking, a few excited voices reached them. Crap! Isnt the Guild being too generous?! Theyre actually letting us exchange for Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment! I heard that the other superpowers have only several dozen Level 120 Epic Weapons and Equipment in their Guild Warehouses, yet there are over a hundred Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment here! Did the Guild executives make a mistake? Thats very possible. Even so, our Guild is simply amazing. Other Guilds barely have any Level 130 equipment in their Warehouses, yet we have over 6,000. I even saw quite a few Level 140 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment in the Warehouse. With this, we wont have to worry about finding replacement gear after reaching Level 130. The veteran members and new members of Zero Wing standing in front of the Guild Warehouses exchange counters all had excited looks on their faces. For most players in Gods Domain, nothing was more important than weapons and equipment, especially top-tier weapons and equipment. Those were items countless players dreamed of obtaining. At this time, Zero Wing had actually put over a hundred Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment up for exchange. No other superpower had ever shown such generosity before. In any other Guild, a Level 150 Epic Weapon or Equipment would have been immediately monopolized by the Guild executives. Normal members of the Guild would never have a chance with these items. Of course, exchanging for Zero Wings Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment wasnt easy, either. Firstly, one had to be an elite member or above. Secondly, one needed an astronomical number of Guild Contribution Points. This was because even the cheapest piece of Level 150 Epic Equipment cost three million GCPs. According to Zero Wings internal market, one GCP was worth 20 Copper Coins; thus, three million GCPs would be worth 6,000 Gold Coins. Although 6,000 Gold was an astronomical price even for Level 150 Epic Equipment, it was nigh-impossible to find Level 150 Epic Equipment on the market right now. Guild executives were monopolizing every piece of Level 150 Epic Equipment available. Nevertheless, Zero Wing was allowing even its elite members to exchange for these items. This was undoubtedly a great benefit. Boss, I take back what I just said. Zero Wings foundation is insane. If we can exchange for a full set of these Epic Weapons and Equipment, well be unstoppable! Crimson Wolfs Summoner youth said. When he saw the large number of Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment in the Guild Warehouse, he was similarly astonished. Even the eyes of Crimson Wolfs red-haired commander blazed with passion as she looked at the exchange list before her. Fire, notify everyone in the team immediately! Have everyone start accumulating as many GCPs as possible! We need to secure a few of these Epic items before the other adventurer teams clear them out! the red-haired woman said to the Summoner youth. Okay! Ill notify them right away! The urgency of the situation spurred the Summoner youth to contact the other Crimson Wolf members who had joined Zero Wing as fast as possible. For a time, many of the new members bustled about, every one of these Tier 3 experts adamant in getting a share of those Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. Some of the adventurer teams that joined Zero Wing recently even exchanged their Level 110 to Level 120 top-tier equipment for GCPs. Since the Guild purchased weapons and equipment at 10% to 15% below market value, nobody would normally be willing to trade in their old weapons and equipment for GCPs. They would rather slowly accumulate GCPs through Guild Quests. However, the current situation was different. There were only so many Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment available for exchange. If they did not secure these items as soon as possible, other people would do so. Meanwhile, trading in weapons and equipment was undoubtedly the quickest way to accumulate several million GCPs. As a result, in just half an hour after Zero Wings Warehouse was updated, it had gained an additional 2,000 Level 120 top-tier equipment and 7,000 Level 110 top-tier equipment. The Guilds equipment crisis got resolved in the blink of an eye. Guild Leader, this move of yours worked wonders! With all these adventurer teams contributing their weapons and equipment to us, we should be able to last for a few more days, Fire Dance said joyfully. Its still too soon to celebrate. Looking at Fire Dances excited expression, Shi Feng smiled and said, Notify everyone in the Guild that the Guild will no longer restrict their activity to just the Guild Cities and Secret Covenant Towers vicinities. Everyone can move freely now. Were lifting the restriction now? Fire Dance was surprised by Shi Fengs words. Currently, NPC forces were running rampant in the fields, robbing and attacking even the superpowers. Previously, to avoid these predicaments, Zero Wing had chosen to restrict its members movement to just the Guild Cities and Secret Covenant Towers vicinities. Removing this restriction now would undoubtedly increase the Guilds expenditure. Mhm. Nodding, Shi Feng said, We have fallen behind the other superpowers in raiding Dungeons and acquiring resources. Letting this situation continue will only be detrimental to the Guild. Now that the various superpowers no longer dare have designs on the Secret Covenant Tower, theres naturally no need for us to continue hiding. I understand. Ill make the necessary preparations right away, Fire Dance said. After giving the matter some thought, she found Shi Fengs words reasonable. Now that Zero Wings existence was unshakable, they indeed didnt have to lie low anymore. Meanwhile, as Fire Dance was drafting this announcement, Shi Feng finished installing the sixth mirror of the World Mirror into the distant Zero Wing Citys City Lords Mansion. System: Do you wish to bind the World Mirror with Zero Wing City? Bind, Shi Feng answered without hesitation. System: World Mirror bound successfully. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing City has reached the requirement to become a Basic Main City. Do you wish to upgrade it? Chapter 2833 - Promotion to Main City Seeing the system prompt, Shi Feng chose to upgrade Zero Wing City without hesitation. System: Main City upgrade will cost 500,000 Gold Coins and 200,000 Magic Crystals. Do you wish to proceed? Proceed! Shi Feng was not at all surprised by the upgrade cost; he had long since prepared the necessary funds. The next moment, 500,000 Gold Coins and 200,000 Magic Crystals disappeared from his bag. He then received another system notification. System: Payment completed. All players within Zero Wing City will be teleported out of the city in three minutes. Upgrade is estimated to take two hours. Zero Wing City Region System Announcement: Zero Wing City will commence upgrading into a Basic Main City. All players within Zero Wing City will be teleported out of the city in three minutes. Players within the city are advised to make the necessary preparations. After the regional announcements appearance, the several hundred thousand players that populated Zero Wing City promptly broke out in doubt and exclamations. Whats going on? Zero Wing Citys getting upgraded into a Main City? Zero Wing City isnt even an Advanced City yet. How can it get promoted into a Main City? What did Zero Wing do? The independent players and Guild players operating in Zero Wing City were thunderstruck by this unexpected piece of news. This was especially true for the various Guild players. They felt as if the system was playing a bad joke on them. Ordinary players might not understand the significance of a Main City, but Guild players like themselves knew just how difficult it was to raise a Guild Citys status to Main City. In fact, even upgrading a Guild City into an Intermediate City was already incredibly difficult for Guilds at this stage of the game. After all, Guilds needed to ensure the constant development of their Guild Cities popularity and security standards, and fulfilling these requirements required a lot of manpower and resources. However, after Zero Wing had prohibited NPCs from entering its Guild Cities and increased the entrance fees the cities charged, Zero Wing Citys prosperity and popularity had plummeted. At this point, let alone getting promoted into a Main City, even getting promoted to an Intermediate City should be impossible. Yet, the system was now telling them that Zero Wing City was already getting upgraded into a Main City. This defied credence! However, no matter how much the players inside Zero Wing City refused to believe the system announcement, the systems timer continued counting down the seconds. Eventually, after three whole minutes elapsed, every player in the city was teleported out of the city. Only after finding themselves standing outside the city walls did everyone understand that Zero Wing Citys promotion was real. This astonishing piece of news quickly reached the ears of Star-Moon Kingdoms various powers, and all of these powers were inevitably shocked. In an era where most superpowers did not even possess a single Intermediate Guild City, Zero Wing had already secured itself a Main Guild City. This situation was simply unbelievable. When Liang Jing, who was working in Silverwing City, heard about Zero Wing Citys promotion, she hurriedly contacted Shi Feng and asked, Guild Leader, what did you do? How did Zero Wing City get promoted into a Main City? Currently, even the popular Silverwing City was still a long ways from becoming an Advanced City. She found it simply incredible that Zero Wing City, which was drastically inferior in terms of popularity, could become a Main City ahead of Silverwing City. However, while Liang Jing was confused by this unexpected development, she couldnt help growing excited over it as well. After all, Zero Wings present situation wasnt as rosy as everyone thought. Although the various superpowers had given up on cornering Zero Wing after the battle at the Secret Covenant Tower, they continued to suppress Zero Wing economically. Although Zero Wing indeed possessed combat power surpassing even that of the Five Great Super Guilds, it was still limited to passive self-defense; the Guild couldnt actively wage war against the various superpowers. Not to mention, due to the war of attrition with the various superpowers, Zero Wing was now severely lacking in weapons and equipment. To make matters worse, the income Zero Wing generated from its Guild Cities continued to decline. After the major system update, maintenance costs for NPCs had increased. Moreover, Guilds were now required to pay upkeep for buildings and magic arrays. And although there was the Teleportation Hall in Silverwing City, most adventurer teams dared not enter Silverwing City at all, due to the pressure from the various superpowers. At this point, if not for the huge sum of funds from Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul, Zero Wing wouldve long since gone bankrupt and crumbled. Gaining a Main City now would undoubtedly solve Zero Wings financial problems. This was because a Main Guild City was much more amazing than an ordinary Guild City. First and foremost, a Main City was much larger than an ordinary Guild City. Even a Basic Main City could easily accommodate more than ten million inhabitants. Secondly, there were some high-end buildings that could be constructed only in Main Cities. Thirdly, a Main City could recruit up to 30,000 NPC soldiers. With so many NPC soldiers, the Main Citys security system would be much less vulnerable than ordinary Guild Cities. Lastly, a Main City had the authority to govern a region. With this authority, a city could dispatch up to 20,000 of its soldiers to fight outside the city. In other words, the entire map the city was located in would be under the citys control. If Zero Wing City really did become a Main City, the Guild could afford to open the city to NPCs, and none of the various NPC forces would dare make trouble in the city. Its a secret, Shi Feng replied, chuckling. However, you should get ready on your side. Once Zero Wing Citys upgrade is complete, I plan to open the city to the public and construct a Teleportation Hall in the city that will connect it with Sky Spring City. At that time, Ill need you to manage Zero Wing City. As for Silverwing Citys management, leave that to Melancholic. Youre having me manage Zero Wing City? Liang Jing was confused. But isnt Melancholic working in White River City? Wouldnt it be more convenient to have her manage Zero Wing City? Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, No. After Zero Wing Citys upgrade, I plan to transfer it to a neutral map far away from Star-Moon Kingdom. Melancholic already has her hands full with Candlelights matters in Star-Moon Kingdom. The most she can do is manage Silverwing City. It would be impossible for her to manage Zero Wing City. Not only did Melancholic Smile have to manage the Candlelight Trading Firm, but as an Advanced Master Forger, she also had to work on getting promoted to Grandmaster Forger. If she had to manage a Main City on top of that, she wouldnt even have time to sleep. After all, a Main City had many more things that required management than an ordinary Guild City. Just the recruitment and management of the Main Citys 30,000 NPC soldiers would be more than enough to keep a person occupied. Zero Wing Citys manager would have to assign daily tasks to these soldiers as well as constantly revise the weapons and equipment configuration of these soldiers, allocating better gear and positions to soldiers who performed well, and so on. From his experience as a Guild Leader in his previous life, Shi Feng understood just how tedious it was to manage a Main Guild City. In the past, it was precisely because he had to devote a significant portion of his time to handling Guild affairs that he failed to reach Tier 4. Hence, in this life, he had pushed all these tasks to other people while he focused on improving himself. Otherwise, he wouldnt have achieved his current combat power. Youre also going to move the city? Liang Jings breathing quickened when she heard Shi Fengs words. Just the fact that Zero Wing City was getting promoted into a Main City was already plenty shocking. If Shi Feng could also move the city to a neutral map, Zero Wing would be rich. Mhm, so I need you to begin the necessary preparations now. Youll probably be very busy afterward, Shi Feng said, nodding. Simultaneously, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes. Currently, of Zero Wings three Guild Cities, Stone Forest City in the Dark Night Empire and Silverwing City in the Orc Empire held strategic locations. In the case of Stone Forest City, it was necessary to stop the Dark Worlds invasion. As for Silverwing City, it served as a barrier to the Faux Saint armys expansion. Hence, both cities should not be moved unless absolutely necessary. This left Zero Wing City as the only option to use as a foothold in high-level neutral maps. After all, unlike Stone Forest City and Silverwing City, Zero Wing City didnt counter any player forces. Moreover, Zero Wing Citys position in Star-Moon Kingdom no longer brought much value to the Guild. Two hours went by quickly, and an entirely new Zero Wing City came into view. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng arrived in the City Lords Mansions core control room and injected 5,000 Mana Stones into the World Mirror. He then transferred Zero Wing City to a Level 140 neutral map, leaving the excited crowd outside the city dumbfounded. Chapter 2834 - New Zero Wing City The city disappeared? Whats going on? Wasnt Zero Wing supposed to get promoted into a Main City? The players gathered at the Witchs Hill were inevitably confused when they saw Zero Wing City disappear all of a sudden. It just vanished into thin air. Did Zero Wing transfer the city elsewhere? That shouldnt be possible, right? This is a Main City were talking about. I looked into it before. If a Main City will relocate within the borders of a country, transferring it requires not only an Advanced City Transfer Order but also the permission of the host country. This is because a Main City is deeply involved in the governance of the region it is in. A heated debate promptly arose over Zero Wing Citys disappearance. Star-Moon Kingdoms various powers, in particular, were nervous. After all, Zero Wing would automatically gain the ruling rights of whichever location Zero Wing City was transferred to. If this location happened to fall within their territory, they would have to say goodbye to their territory. Meanwhile, as Star-Moon Kingdoms various players and powers were discussing this matter Level 140 neutral map, Arctic Canyon: A majestic and wealthy city suddenly appeared on a cliff near the coast of this map, instantly occupying nearly half of the 20,000-yard coastline. The city faced a boundless, snowy forest and had its back to the frozen sea. Its finally my turn to control this region in this life. Shi Feng couldnt help being a little excited as he looked at the ocean view outside the city. The Arctic Canyon was a Level 140 to Level 160 neutral map, one of the few neutral maps on the main continent connected to the sea. The Sea of Death was near the Arctic Canyon, and by crossing the Sea of Death, one could reach the western continent. The Arctic Canyon was one of the eastern continents closest shores to the western continent. In addition, the Arctic Canyon also lay close to the Top of the World! This was a new continent that countless experts in Gods Domain sought to conquer! Not only was the Arctic Canyon one of the few maps that led to the Top of the World, but it was also the easiest entry point to this continent, which was 100,000 meters above sea level. In the past, every inch of land in the Arctic Canyon was worth its weight in gold. It was a place where the various superpowers sought to establish a foothold, no matter the cost. However, as most of the Arctic Canyons terrain was uneven, the map could house only a limited number of Guild Cities, especially Guild Cities at the Main City standard. The Arctic Canyon could house four Main Cities and 22 ordinary Guild Cities at most. Guild Towns couldnt survive in this place at all. Even if the town received protection from a Tier 5 player, the blizzards here would still reduce it to a pile of ruins in an instant. For a shelter to survive here, it would need to be at the Advanced City standard at a minimum. With such limited space, first-rate Guilds and weaker would be dreaming if they thought they could establish a foothold here. In fact, most superpowers failed to do so in Shi Fengs previous life. The four plots of land that could house Main Cities, in particular, were so heavily contested that even the Five Great Super Guilds met with failure. In the end, the Five Great Super Guilds had to share two of these lands, while the various superpowers shared the remaining two. Yet, Shi Feng had now claimed the Arctic Canyons best plot of land for himself. How could he not be excited by this situation? After all, any player that had reached Level 150, Tier 4 would have to visit the Top of the World. This was because this new continent held plenty of ancient treasures and Legacies, all of which were crucial for these players to further improve themselves. Back then, the Top of the World was such a tempting place that even Tier 3 players had come to challenge it. Unfortunately, due to the Top of the World being too distant from Star-Moon Kingdom, it had been completely outside Shadows sphere of development. Hence, Shi Feng never actually set foot into the Top of the World in the past. He had only ever heard stories about it. The Arctic Canyon, though, was a place he had visited in his previous life. This was because the Arctic Canyon served as a trade hub for the two main continents. Over 20% of the ships traveling between the two continents would stop at the Arctic Canyon. After all, not everyone had a Flying Mount, and neither was everyone capable of reaching Tier 4. The intercontinental magic arrays available had also been monopolized by the various superpowers. As a result, most trades conducted between the two continents were still seaborne. With this place serving as Zero Wings base, the Guild would no longer have to worry about matters relating to funds, resources, and leveling up. Even the various superpowers working together wouldnt be able to suppress Zero Wing. Next up is to set up the Twelve-array Magic World. Shifting his gaze to the control rooms core magic array, Shi Feng took out various materials he had prepared beforehand. Apart from some basic materials, the Twelve-array Magic World also required 300,000 Magic Crystals, 100 Seven Luminaries Crystals, and 200 Magic Elven Stones to set up. Once operational, the magic array would need 800 Mana Stones every day to maintain it. Even with the Philosophers Stones Alchemical Synthesis, it would still cost 40,000 Magic Crystals daily. Just its maintenance could already bankrupt the average first-rate Guild. An hour later, Shi Feng finished integrating the Twelve-array Magic World with Zero Wings core magic array. Once he injected the necessary Mana Stones into the magic array, he could activate it whenever he wanted. However, Shi Feng did not rush to activate the Twelve-array Magic World. Instead, he took out a gigantic, pitch-black heart from his bag. The heart was translucent like a crystal, and one could even see it beating occasionally. This crystalline heart was one of the two items Beast Emperor dropped. An Evil Demon Kings Heart! It was a bona fide Inferior Divine Artifact ranked material! The value of this item rivaled a Dragons Heart. Back when Shi Feng picked up this item, he had even wondered if he had killed a Tier 5 Evil Demon King instead of Beast Emperor. An Inferior Divine Artifact ranked power source was beyond extraordinary. It could even elevate a Basic Main City into an Advanced Main City. Of course, the Evil Demon Kings Heart wasnt suitable to be used as a citys power source since it contained evil energy. Using it as a citys power source would contaminate the citys Mana. However, the Evil Demon Kings Heart was perfect to be used as a magic barriers core. This was because a magic barrier exhausted the energy it was supplied with to manipulate the power of the outside world. In contrast, a citys core magic array didnt consume its supplied energy to generate results but spread the energy to all parts of the city. Previously, the Twelve-array Magic World had given Shi Feng a headache since it was only a Master Magic Array. Normally, only Grandmaster Magic Arrays could cover a Main City. Although the Twelve-array Magic World was indeed powerful, it could cover only an entire Basic City at best. Lets hope this thing lets the magic array undergo a qualitative transformation. Taking a deep breath, Shi Feng placed the Evil Demon Kings Heart onto the Twelve-array Magic Worlds core. He then activated the magic array. Suddenly, he sensed a terrifying and violent energy flowing into the magic array. This violent energy then shattered the space above Zero Wing City through the magic array, creating a dark void with a 10,000-yard radius. Upon the appearance of this dark void, the nearby Great Lord ranked monsters promptly fled the covered area, none of them daring to remain there. Immediately afterward, boundless Mana surged out of the dark void and cascaded over Zero Wing City like a waterfall. So, this is the power of an Inferior Divine Artifact ranked power source? Shi Feng was dumbfounded by this situation. The present Zero Wing City already had extraordinarily dense Mana due to the presence of the Mana Tower and the Main City ranked core magic array. In fact, its Mana was even superior to Silverwing Citys. Yet, the instant the boundless Mana flowing out of the dark void flooded Zero Wing City, the Mana in the city had turned into mist. However, due to the Twelve-array Magic Worlds suppression, the misty Mana actually disappeared immediately afterward, hiding within the void of this area. On the surface, it looked as if everything had reverted to its original state. In reality, though, the Mana within the city had undergone a qualitative transformation. At this point, Shi Feng could sense that his perception of Mana had improved by at least 150% compared to before. The affinity with and perception of Mana he experienced here practically rivaled what he experienced in the NPC city he visited in the ancient Gods Domain. Guild Leader, how are things coming along on your side? At this time, Liang Jing suddenly contacted Shi Feng. Im already done selecting the first batch of players to send to Zero Wing City. These players are completely loyal to us and have fought dozens of small and large battles for us. Every one of them has reached Tier 3 and possesses great potential. I believe they can adequately handle Zero Wing Citys security and suppress any NPC troublemakers in the city. Im done here too. Chuckling, Shi Feng added, However, I think its best if you come here in person first before deciding on the exact arrangements. Ive already granted you access to the city. You can teleport here through a Residence now. Chapter 2835 - News of Zero Wing City Sky Spring City, Zero Wings Residence: At this time, more than 10,000 Tier 3 experts had gathered in Zero Wings Residence in Sky Spring City. Such a force was already enough to overwhelm even first-rate Guilds. Moreover, this number continued to increase as time passed. This development inevitably shocked the various powers operating within Sky Spring City. Whats going on with Zero Wing? Why is it gathering so many of its Tier 3 members in its Residence? Is Zero Wing planning some kind of big operation? That might be possible. After the battle at the Secret Covenant Tower, Saints Hand declared an all-out war on Zero Wing. Meanwhile, since the popular Orc Empire is Saints Hands home ground, other Guilds have stopped visiting Silverwing City lest they offend Saints Hand and get targeted by those Faux Saint monsters. So, theres a good chance that Zero Wing is gathering its forces for a counterattack. The various powers secretly discussed Zero Wings purpose in gathering its forces. Many of them guessed that Zero Wing wanted to make use of its current advantage to launch a big operation. After all, now that Zero Wing had the Secret Covenant Tower as its foundation, nobody was capable of threatening the Guilds existence. With Zero Wings ability to produce a large number of Tier 3 players continuously, it wouldnt necessarily be impossible for the Guild to confront Saints Hand in the Orc Empire. At this time, the people in the outside world werent the only ones confused by Zero Wings sudden decision to gather its Tier 3 members. Even the players in Zero Wings Residence were confused by this situation. Fire, have you found out what is going on? Solitary Sword, the red-haired commander of the Crimson Wolf adventurer team, asked curiously as she looked at the Tier 3 Summoner youth hurrying toward her. It would be hard not to notice the sudden appearance of so many Tier 3 experts in the Residence. This was especially true now that so many top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment had appeared in Zero Wings Warehouse. In less than a day, eight of the 100-plus Epic Weapons and Equipment in the Guild Warehouse had already been claimed. And this was only the beginning. As more time passed, the various adventurer teams that had recently joined Zero Wing would accumulate more and more GCPs. Then, more and more of these Epic items would get taken away. Although she had already managed to exchange for an Epic Headgear for Swordsmen, she still had her eyes on an Epic Weapon. So long as she could obtain this weapon, her combat power would definitely undergo a qualitative transformation. If all of these many Tier 3 experts, who had suddenly appeared in the Residence, were aiming at the Epic Weapons and Equipment, the competition would intensify sharply. Boss, I asked around. I even asked some of the adventurer teams I have friendly relations with. However, none of them know whats going on. Even the Guilds core members have no clue about this situation, the Summoner youth replied, shaking his head. However, I did find out why so many Tier 3 members have gathered in Sky Spring City. It seems theres an emergency summons from the Guild Leaders assistant. Also, the ones summoned are all veteran members of the Guild. The Guild specifically summoned these core members? Solitary Sword frowned at this information. If thats the case, the Guild is most likely undertaking a large-scale operation. Guilds would generally award a generous amount of Contribution Points to members who participated in their large-scale operations. Now that Zero Wing was gathering its veteran Tier 3 members for a large-scale operation, the competition for the Epic Weapons and Equipment would undoubtedly intensify. While Solitary Sword worried over this situation, a large group of players suddenly entered the Guild Residence. Not only did none of these people wear Zero Wings emblem, but they all exuded astonishingly powerful auras. The man leading the group even had an oppressive aura that verged on the aura of Tier 4 players. Why is Heavens Blades vice commander here? I heard rumors stating that Heavens Blade became Zero Wings subsidiary after the incident on Dragonheart Island. It seems these rumors were actually true. The arrival of Heavens Blades Tier 3 experts in Zero Wings Residence stunned the players idling around outside the Residence. The various Guild players were especially shocked. Although Heavens Blade was only an adventurer team, it possessed incredible fame. The adventurer team even had three Domain Realm experts. Moreover, many superpowers in Gods Domain had tried recruiting Heavens Blade, but the adventurer team had refused all the invitations it received. Yet, Heavens Blade now appeared in Zero Wings Residence. Given the rumors surrounding the two organizations, Heavens Blades arrival was basically a declaration that the adventurer team now belonged to Zero Wing. This was absolutely bad news for the various Guilds. Thus far, Zero Wing could only remain on the defensive due to a lack of manpower. However, things would definitely change now that Heavens Blade had come under Zero Wing. Vice Commander, Zero Wing really is amazing. It already has so many Tier 3 experts now. At this rate, it wont be long before Zero Wing overtakes the various superpowers in this regard, Cleansing Flame said, sighing ruefully as she took in her surroundings. She had heard something of the battle that had taken place at the Secret Covenant Tower. At one point in the past, Heavens Blade had been an existence that could contend against the various superpowers. At that time, the adventurer team had more experts than Zero Wing. Now, Zero Wing had become a true behemoth. Despite not being an actual superpower, it had already surpassed the various superpowers. Chuckling at Cleansing Flames words, Divine Shadow said, Alright, lets hurry up. We shouldnt make Guild Leader Black Flame wait for too long. Nodding, Cleansing Flame quickly followed Divine Shadow to the Residences Guild Hall. Personally, she was very curious about why Shi Feng had suddenly called for Heavens Blades top combatants this time. Logically, with the number of Tier 3 experts Zero Wing had assembled in Sky Spring City, it shouldnt lack manpower here. In fact, the Guild should be sending more manpower to Dragonheart Island instead. After all, the exploration of the World Towers fourth underground floor wasnt an easy task. Shortly afterward, Divine Shadow and Cleansing Flame reached the top-floor meeting room of Zero Wings Residence. At this time, the executives of Zero Wing and the Asura adventurer team had long been waiting here. The arrival of Heavens Blades members confused these executives. However, as Zero Wings and Asuras executives wondered why Shi Feng had invited Heavens Blades members, Shi Feng and Liang Jing also entered the room. After taking his seat, Shi Feng scanned the crowd before him and said, Sorry for the long wait. At Shi Fengs words, everyone in the room fell silent and looked at Shi Feng with curious eyes. Liang Jing. Seeing everyones confusion, Shi Feng chuckled and said, Brief everyone about the specifics of the situation. In response, Liang Jing stepped up to the table and opened the booklet she held. After taking a deep breath, she said, Everyone, I believe you should know by now that Zero Wing City has been upgraded into a Main City. The reason we have gathered you here today is to discuss Zero Wing Citys future development. Zero Wing Citys future development? Divine Shadow found Liang Jings explanation strange. If todays meeting was about Zero Wing Citys future development, there should be no reason for the Guild to invite Heavens Blade to attend. After all, this was Zero Wings internal matter. It should have nothing to do with an affiliated adventurer team. Thats right. Nodding, Liang Jing said, Before this, everyone has been wondering where Zero Wing City went. Now, I can tell everyone that Zero Wing City is currently located in the Arctic Canyon, a Level 140 neutral map. After saying so, Liang Jing shared the specifics regarding the Arctic Canyon through the conference tables virtual interface. These are the Arctic Canyons details. Feel free to study them. At Liang Jings words, everyone promptly opened the file they received and began reading up on Arctic Canyon. After a short silence, gasps sounded in the room one after another. Chapter 2836 - Zero Wings New Benefits? The information Liang Jing provided was very detailed. According to the information, the Arctic Canyon had its back to the ocean and also served as the entrance to the Top of the World. These two points aside, just the fact that Tier 4 Legacy Lands spawned in the Arctic Canyon was already more than enough to drive countless Tier 3 players wild. When everyone in the room finished reading the information provided, they could already imagine the sensation Zero Wing City would cause throughout Gods Domain as soon as it opened to the public. It wouldnt even be strange if Zero Wing City became the most popular city in the game. At this time, let alone Zero Wings members, even Heavens Blades Divine Shadow couldnt help gazing at the information before him with passionate eyes. Although the World Towers fourth underground floor was a good place to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands, it was still significantly inferior to the Arctic Canyon. This was because the fortresses on the fourth floor were far from comparable to an actual city. Unlike fortresses, cities were made as rest areas for players. Cities addressed the various needs of players, such as providing a place for trade in the form of an Auction House. Fortresses did not possess such functions. After reading the information, Fire Dance turned to Shi Feng and asked, Guild Leader, do you mean to close Zero Wing Citys access to the public and have us monopolize the map for now? Upon hearing Fire Dances words, everyone else looked at Shi Feng curiously as well. Since todays meeting was to discuss Zero Wing Citys future development, the best option would definitely be opening the city to the public right off the bat. This way, the city could rake in a fortune just from entrance fees alone. After all, with Zero Wing Citys advantages, it would instantly become the most popular city in Gods Domain, surpassing even imperial capitals. It would become a mecca for countless Tier 3 experts. However, if Shi Feng had decided to simply open Zero Wing City to the public, there would be no point in gathering them here today. He could do so on his own volition. Thats right. Now that we have secured such a big advantage, we naturally have to use it to benefit ourselves. Only after we have grown stronger will we open Zero Wing City to the public, Shi Feng said, nodding. Its just that operating a Main City costs a lot. If it were an ordinary Guild City, just the maintenance cost of 30,000 NPC soldiers could bankrupt several first-rate Guilds. Moreover, he had enhanced the city with the Twelve-array Magic World, further increasing the citys demand for Magic Crystals. Hence, he had no choice but to give up on his plan to limit access to the Guilds several thousand core members. After all, a measly few thousand players could hardly cover the expenditure of such a Main City. In that case, we might as well give access to all Guild members. Of course, we will also have to charge an adequate fee since running a closed city is a losing business, Flying Shadow suggested. That wont do. Shaking his head, Blackie said, We have a lot of people joining Zero Wing recently. If the various powers successfully sneak some of their members into our Guild, well suffer a huge loss. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement with Blackie. Currently, many Guilds had already begun sneaking their members into Zero Wing just because of the benefits offered by the Mobile Fortress and the Secret Covenant Tower. To counter this problem, Fire Dance had deliberately made core membership a requirement for entering the Mobile Fortress. To become a core member of Zero Wing, one would have to contribute a lot to the Guild. It would take a new member one or two months to accumulate sufficient contributions. Only after this new regulation appeared did the various Guilds dismiss their plans. However, this new regulation failed to deter the adventurer teams. Adventurer teams still joined Zero Wing one after another, all of them with the purpose of utilizing the Mobile Fortresss training environment. They had joined the Guild solely to exploit the Guild for their own benefit. Once these adventurer teams achieved their goals, there was a high chance they would just pack up and leave. Of course, Zero Wing didnt mind that much. After all, these adventurer teams would have to make the corresponding contributions to obtain the benefits they sought. At this time, Youlan suggested, How about we learn from the Mobile Fortresss example and let only core members enter? Im afraid we wont have enough numbers if thats the case. Shaking her head, Liang Jing explained, Based on our current estimates, we need at least 80,000 people to keep Zero Wing City running normally. Even then, wed have to charge one Magic Crystal per person. It cost 40,000 Magic Crystals just to keep the Twelve-array Magic World running. After factoring in the Magic Crystals needed to keep the citys various other magic arrays and constructions operating, the city would need to make at least 80,000 Magic Crystals per day to avoid falling into the red. Moreover, this still didnt include the cost of the 30,000 Tier 3 NPC soldiers the Guild planned to recruit. That much? Youlan was slightly surprised. A daily operational cost of 80,000 Magic Crystals was something even the various superpowers would find hard to stomachespecially since this was only one city they were talking about. Thats why Liang Jing and I plan to open Zero Wing City to the elite members of Zero Wing and Zero Wings affiliated powers as well. However, everyone will have to cover the teleportation fees themselves. Elite members will also have to pay three Magic Crystals to enter the city, while core members will have to pay two Magic Crystals, Shi Feng said. Apart from the core members we gathered this time, everyone else will be free to choose whether they want to enter the city or not. Three Magic Crystals per person? This entrance fee rendered everyone present speechless. It was undoubtedly the highest ever charged in Gods Domains history. If the city were open to the public, there might still be many people entering the city despite the high cost. However, if access was limited to Guild members, the number of players entering the city would be minimal. After all, players had far too few sources of Magic Crystals. For the average player, they could obtain Magic Crystals only by harvesting ores, doing quests, opening Treasure Chests, and raiding large-scale Team Dungeons. It was almost impossible for them to obtain Magic Crystals through standard grinding. If a player was merely seeking to level up, they would be much better off heading to the Secret Covenant Tower instead of the Arctic Canyon. As for those trying to find Tier 4 Legacy Lands To put it bluntly, how many players in Zero Wing were actually confident of completing their Tier 4 Promotion Quests? Tier 4 Legacy Lands were necessary for the Guild, not for the Guilds members. If the average Guild member found a Tier 4 Legacy Land, they would, at best, receive a reward from the Guild. However, if obtaining this reward meant having to explore a Level 140 neutral map and pay an entrance fee of three Magic Crystals, very few people would accept such a business proposition. After listening to Shi Fengs words, Cleansing Flame turned to Divine Shadow and asked quietly, Vice Commander, should the two of us head to Zero Wing City and take a look first? Although we brought only core members with us this time, it would still be a considerable cost if all 2,000 of them enter the city. It would be a lie to say that they werent tempted by the prospect of finding Tier 4 Legacy Lands. However, Heavens Blade had already suffered a major loss due to its previous disbandment. Apart from some fixed assets, Heavens Blade didnt have much resources left, and just maintaining the adventurer teams daily operation was a struggle. If they splurged their precious Magic Crystals now, they would be putting the cart before the horse. After all, Magic Crystals were different from Ancient Coins and standard Coins. While purchasing Magic Crystals in small quantities was possible, purchasing them in bulk was absolutely impossible. At this stage of the game, due to the high demand for Magic Crystals, even the Five Great Super Guilds had begun publicly purchasing Magic Crystals. Yet, they only managed to purchase the crystals in small quantities from independent players seeking to earn Credits. None of the various Guilds or adventurer teams members would be dumb enough to trade Magic Crystals for Credits. Mhm. Well do that, Divine Shadow said, nodding. If the Arctic Canyon is better, we can shift our base of operations to Zero Wing City instead of continuing our struggle with the various superpowers on Dragonheart Island. Shortly after Shi Feng and the others concluded their meeting, Zero Wing suddenly announced a new Guild benefit on its noticeboard. The announcement included information on Zero Wing Citys current location and the qualifications and cost of entering the city. A sensation immediately spread within the Guild. Can this be considered a benefit? Although Zero Wing Citys location is good, the Guild is charging elite members three Magic Crystals to enter. Isnt the Guild just trying to harvest us for Magic Crystals? Thats right! Thats a Level 140 neutral map were talking about! Our average level is only Level 122. Even Tier 3 players will have difficulty killing the monsters in the Arctic Canyon. If the Guild really wants to give us a new benefit, it should let us enter for free. However, the Arctic Canyon is an unexplored neutral map. There will be plenty of Treasure Chests and Dungeons waiting for us. We also wont have to worry about competing with the members of the other powers. Exploring the Arctic Canyon will definitely be more profitable than exploring Level 130 neutral maps. For a time, Zero Wings members debated heatedly among themselves. While some felt that the entrance fee was too much, others felt that the benefits they could gain from the Arctic Canyon were worth the cost. Boss, should we head to Zero Wing City? the Tier 3 Summoner youth from the Crimson Wolf adventurer team asked Solitary Sword. Many of our teams members are planning to head to the Secret Covenant Tower to grind for levels first. They think that theres no need to explore the Arctic Canyon for now. Of course. Why wouldnt we go? Solitary Sword said with a faint smile. Ive always been thinking of finding a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Now that theres an opportunity before me, why wouldnt I take it? Besides, Im curious to see what the Guilds Main City looks like. Its just three Magic Crystals. Its not like were going to be operating out of Zero Wing City. Subsequently, Solitary Sword went to Sky Spring Citys Teleportation Hall together with several dozen of her Tier 3 companions. At this time, hardly any players could be seen teleporting from Sky Spring City to Zero Wing City. The majority of Zero Wings elite members didnt have much of a desire to visit Zero Wing City. Compared to spending three Magic Crystals to go sightseeing in Zero Wing City, they would rather spend one Magic Crystal to enter the Secret Covenant Tower and grind for levels. Shortly afterward, the Teleportation Halls teleportation array leading to Zero Wing City flashed. The several hundred members standing on the teleportation array then disappeared and reappeared in the distant Zero Wing Citys Teleportation Hall in the blink of an eye. Chapter 2837 - Holy Land Zero Wing City, Teleportation Hall: Accompanied by a bright flash, several hundred players suddenly appeared on one of the teleportation arrays in the Teleportation Hall. With the arrival of these players, the teleportation array, which was the size of a basketball court, instantly became overcrowded. However, despite this uncomfortable situation, none of the people present raised a fuss. On the contrary, they all stood blankly on the spot as if petrified. How is this possible?! How can the Mana here feel so dense?! Cleansing Flame, who stood among the crowd, was shocked and confused when she sensed the Mana surrounding her. The ambient Mana clearly wasnt a mist, yet she felt as if she had sunk into a lake the instant she arrived. This was the first time she found Mana heavy. Even Mana that had taken on a mist form could not compare to the density of the Mana she was experiencing. The two were worlds apart from each other. After thoroughly experiencing the calm and empty feeling brought about by the surrounding Mana, the astonished Cleansing Flame muttered, Training in this magical environment will probably yield double the results compared to training in other Guild Cities. Although there were many items in Gods Domain that could help players clear up their minds and invigorate their thoughts, the effects of these items paled significantly when compared to the effects of Zero Wing Citys Mana. Double? Youre severely underestimating this place. The Mana here isnt just incredibly dense, Divine Shadow said, shaking his head. With his face blank with astonishment, he continued, My Mana affinity feels like it doubled or more. I can perceive the operating principles of Mana with much greater clarity. If we train here, our training efficiency will quadruple at the very least. Moreover, this place should also be of great help toward reaching Tier 4. What made the Tier 4 Promotion Quest challenging wasnt just the troublesome process of finding a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Having to learn a Tier 4 Skill or Spell within a short time was also a huge hurdle. This condition placed an incredibly high demand on players understanding of and familiarity with Mana. This was akin to asking a programmer to create a game of epic proportions within a limited period. While most programmers knew the programming language necessary to create the game, not every programmer had the skill and understanding to complete the game within the time limit. Hence, apart from a small number of geniuses gifted in this regard, everyone else would face great difficulty completing this condition. In this situation, the only thing players could do to remedy this problem was improve their familiarity with and control over Mana. Only, doing so was easier said than done, as very few external items in Gods Domain could help in this regard. Now, Zero Wing City made this possible. Upon hearing Divine Shadows words, Cleansing Flame also focused on her affinity with the surrounding Mana. Immediately afterward, an indescribable sense of shock overwhelmed her. At this time, her perception of the operating principles of Mana had undergone a massive transformation. Previously, whenever she tried perceiving the operating principles of Mana, it was as if a dense layer of fog hindered her perception. Without assistance from Legacies and graphical introductions, she wouldnt have understood anything. Now, when she tried perceiving how Mana operated, her perception was no longer as foggy as before. Instead of a dense layer of fog, it was more like a thin gauze hindered her perception. Even without concentrating, she could still perceive the operating principles with great clarity. With this improvement in her perception, she quickly found answers to the problems previously plaguing her. Now, I know why Guild Leader Black Flame dared to collect Magic Crystals so wantonly and even called this city a Guild benefit. When Divine Shadow perceived his improved control over Mana, he couldnt help a bitter smile. With the Mana density here, he doesnt need to worry about nobody visiting the city at all. In fact, countless Tier 3 experts will probably want to enter the city. The special nature of Zero Wing Citys Mana simply couldnt be found in any other Guild City in Gods Domain. This was especially true for the improved perception of the operating principles of Mana. This effect could hardly be found anywhere in the continent. It also wasnt something that training could offset. At this time, Divine Shadow wasnt the only person with such thoughts. The other people standing on the teleportation array shared his outlook. Amazing! This is simply amazing! If I can stay here long-term, aside from improving my combat standards, I can probably rapidly unlock my Mana Body to 100% Completion Rate, too! the Tier 3 Summoner youth from Crimson Wolf exclaimed. Although he had already reached Tier 3 for some time now, he was still far from fully unlocking his Mana Bodys potential. Meanwhile, the difference between fully unlocked and partially unlocked Mana Bodies was significant. Previously, he was already at the brink of despair over fully unlocking his Mana Body. However, he saw hope again after arriving in Zero Wing City. Moreover, he felt that his odds of success were excellent. So, this is why Zero Wing isnt afraid of making enemies of the various superpowers. With this city, Zero Wing will have to mess up very badly to fail in its development, Solitary Sword said. She, too, felt incredibly excited when she realized Zero Wing Citys benefits. Previously, she had anticipated that Zero Wing City would only provide temporary shelter while she searched for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Now, however, she could also use Zero Wing City to improve herself and increase her chances of promotion to Tier 4. After a brief silence, the several hundred players standing on the teleportation array could no longer suppress the restlessness in their hearts. They charged out of the Teleportation Hall, curious to see what the situation in Zero Wing City was like. As soon as everyone exited the building, they were dumbfounded by the sight that greeted them. Zero Wing City was practically more developed than NPC cities. Not only was the city filled with high-rises, but there were also all sorts of high-end buildings. Most importantly, this city had a Battle Arena! This was a place where players could conduct PvP to their hearts content! Originally, the Battle Arena held very little attraction for Tier 3 players. This was because the Battle Arena provided very little benefit to Tier 3 players, apart from the opportunity to spar against powerful experts. Only Tier 2 players and below preferred to visit the Battle Arena for sparring. In the present Zero Wing City, however, the Battle Arena had undoubtedly become the place everyone paid most attention to. All of the new arrivals in the city wished they could charge into the Battle Arena and start sparring immediately. As more and more players arrived in Zero Wing City, news about the city quickly spread in Zero Wings Guild channel. In less than half an hour, Zero Wings elite members started flocking to Sky Spring City like a bunch of madmen, crowding the citys Teleportation Hall. Many of these elite members had to wait for several dozen minutes before they could teleport to Zero Wing City. Naturally, the mass gathering of Zero Wings elite members resulted in information about Zero Wing City reaching the ears of the various powers and independent players. The various powers couldnt help wishing they could head to Zero Wing City and take a look at the situation there for themselves. Unfortunately, with Zero Wings regulations, they could only watch from the sidelines. Contact Zero Wing immediately! Tell them that the Wind Valley Guild is willing to partner with them so long as they open Zero Wing City to us! Contact Zero Wing and say that the Draconic adventurer team is willing to join Zero Wing, but Zero Wing must make all our members elite members! For a time, various Guilds contacted Zero Wing for partnership, while adventurer teams sought to join the Guild as a whole. There were even superpowers that made overtures to Zero Wing. Guild Leader, over 40 first-rate Guilds and 200 adventurer teams have contacted us already. We even received calls from five superpowers. All of them are either looking to form partnerships or join us with the condition of receiving access to Zero Wing City, Fire Dance reported excitedly when she read the statistical data her subordinate sent her. Some Guilds are even willing to pay an entrance fee of ten Magic Crystals per player. According to our current estimates, we can get an additional 500,000 players entering the city. Should we let them in? If they charged ten Magic Crystals per person, they could gain an additional income of five million Magic Crystals per day. Even superpowers would go crazy from jealousy if they saw Zero Wing City raking in so many Magic Crystals. After all, the average superpower would have a stockpile of only several million Magic Crystals at this stage of the game, while Zero Wing City could earn that amount every day. Now still isnt the time to let them enter the city, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. However, you can tell them that Zero Wing is willing to conduct some preliminary partnerships. We will offer one million entry slots for now. Only one million? Fire Dance asked, confused. Zero Wing City was already a Main City. Let alone one million, it could easily accommodate ten million players. Even if they excluded the slots Zero Wing needed, such a tight restriction to the entry slots shouldnt be necessary. After all, they would be making ten Magic Crystals for every non-Guild member that entered the city. Mhm. Any Guild that has signed a strategic alliance or resource alliance with Zero Wing can purchase these slots, Shi Feng said, nodding. We will auction off these slots through Candlelight, with a starting bid of ten Magic Crystals per slot. Auction? Fire Dances eyes lit up in realization when she heard Shi Fengs words. I understand. Ill notify them now. Chapter 2838 - Astonishing News Orc Empire, Crimson Flame Fortress: How arrogant of Zero Wing. Arent they afraid of suffering a backlash for pulling such a stunt? Snow Scar, who was now a Level 130, Tier 4 Berserker, sneered as he looked at the information displayed on the conference table. They probably arent aware that Saints Hand has already established a city in the Black Hills, together with over a dozen superpowers. The Black Hills! This was a Level 130 neutral map connected to the Valley of Death, a forbidden land. Meanwhile, the Valley of Death was also the map that current players had the best chances of exploring successfully. Although the forbidden land was dangerous, according to the reports of the Tier 4 experts who had explored it already, the number of Tier 4 Legacy Lands appearing inside far exceeded that of other places. There were also plenty of ancient ruins hidden in the map, which were of significant help with getting promoted to Tier 4. In fact, even Tier 4 players could reap a lot of benefits from these ancient ruins. In response to Snow Scars words, Jing Yang, who was now a Level 131, Tier 4 Great Wizard, turned to the woman exuding a heroic and charming aura, seated at the tables seat of honor. In a respectful tone, he said, Vice Guild Leader, Saints Hand has sent us an invitation as well. They say they will offer us 10% of their new citys shares once it is constructed. However, we will need to garrison the city with one Tier 4 player and 20,000 Tier 3 players in return. How calculative of Saints Hand. They must be aiming to have us help them deal with Zero Wing in the Orc Empire, a Level 128, Tier 4 female Assassin said, smirking. However, if they want to use us as pawns, dont you think that the price theyre offering is too low? Snow Scar also nodded in agreement with the female Assassin. The Blackwater Guild was no longer the same as it was before. Under Xuanwu Chisas lead, the Guild had grown to a point where it could rival even Super Guilds. Moreover, unknown to the public, the Guild even had six Tier 4 experts already. Jing Yang, tell Saints Hand that they need to show more sincerity if they want to partner with us. We want at least 30% of the citys shares, Xuanwu Chisa said, opening her eyes. Also, notify Zero Wing of Saints Hands actions. Tell them that Blackwater is willing to partner with Zero Wing to go up against Saints Hands alliance. However, in return, they must allow all of Blackwaters elite members into Zero Wing City. Vice Guild Leader, you know how Zero Wing operates. Theres no way they will agree to such a condition, Jing Yang argued, feeling a headache incoming. He had negotiated with Zero Wing for partnership many times in the past, yet he had faced rejection every time. Now that Zero Wing had the potential to rival the Five Great Super Guilds, it had even less need to heed Blackwaters demands. It doesnt matter if they dont accept it now, Xuanwu Chisa said nonchalantly. Once Saints Hand opens their city and that side arrives, Zero Wing will have no choice but to agree to our demands. I understand. Jing Yang nodded. The current Zero Wing indeed had the qualifications to be arrogant. However, once Saints Hand opened its city in the Black Hills, the situation would quickly reverse. After all, mainstream players were currently only at Level 120. Although the Arctic Canyon was also an excellent location, it simply wasnt a place mainstream players could visit. At most, they could only make use of Zero Wing Citys incredible Mana environment. Not to mention, Saints Hands alliance consisted of more than a dozen superpowers. With the manpower and resources available to them, the alliance would soon become an existence that even the Five Great Super Guilds had to be wary of. At that time, Zero Wings advantage in Tier 4 players would also disappear. However, Saints Hands alliance still wasnt the biggest problem Zero Wing would have to face but the world-shattering war looming over the main continent. A Guild like Zero Wing, which had established a base in a Level 140 neutral map, would definitely head the list of cannon fodder for this war. Currently, though, very few people in Gods Domain actually knew of this upcoming war. The only reason Blackwater knew about it was Xuanwu Chisas special identity. Just when Blackwater was about to notify Zero Wing of Saints Hands actions, Saints Hand actually announced its astonishing plan to the entire eastern continent. Moreover, Saints Hand even declared that it would open its city to everyone and charge a cheap entrance fee of only one Magic Crystal or 50 Silver Coins. As soon as this news came out, many of the first-rate powers considering partnering with Zero Wing promptly changed their minds. After all, although Zero Wing City possessed an excellent environment, the entrance fee it charged was simply beyond the various first-rate powers means. Not to mention, the citys entry slots would be auctioned. In other words, the entry slots wouldnt cost just ten Magic Crystals. By the end of the auction, each slot might actually go for 15 or even 20 Magic Crystals. Moreover, this was only the price to enter the city. Once inside the city, they were bound to incur all sorts of other expenditures as well. Rather than spending all those Magic Crystals, it would be much better to head to Saints Hands city and explore the Valley of Death for ancient ruins and Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Not only could they save up on a lot of Magic Crystals by doing so, but their potential income was also higher. Sky Spring City, Zero Wings Residence: Guild Leader, 90% of the first-rate powers seeking to partner with us and 80% of the adventurer teams seeking to join us changed their minds after Saints Hands announcement, Fire Dance said, a hint of disbelief in her eyes as she read the report she just received. There wont be any competition for the entry slots. In fact, the one million slots were offering exceed the remaining Guilds demand. It doesnt matter. Let Saints Hand do whatever it wants. Our plan will remain the same. We will still sell one million entry slots during the auction, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at the statistical report. When the time comes, just sell as many slots as possible. To begin with, were not doing this to earn Magic Crystals. Were just trying to keep Zero Wing City operational. You might be right, but if we have enough Magic Crystals, we could construct another Mobile Fortress, right? Fire Dance said regretfully. The Magic Crystals Zero Wing earned from its members visiting Zero Wing City were already more than enough to keep the city functioning normally. The only problems remaining were the recruitment and maintenance of the citys NPC soldiers. However, resolving these issues wasnt a big deal for the present Zero Wing. This was because many Guild members were willing to develop themselves in Zero Wing City. There were also more than 20,000 Tier 3 experts from Heavens Blade and Asura. In total, Zero Wing City already had an astonishing 50,000 Tier 3 players operating in it. At this point, all they needed to do was wait until the Guild accumulated enough Tier 3 members to ensure Zero Wing Citys security. Once the citys security was no longer a concern, they could open up the city to NPCs and begin recruiting NPC soldiers in large numbers. However, the Mobile Fortresss power had made a deep impression on Fire Dance. She believed it would be wonderful if Zero Wing could gain another Mobile Fortress. Lets not talk about getting another Mobile Fortress, Shi Feng said, chuckling. What we can do is further increase the number of Tier 4 players we have to improve the Guilds strength. Further increase? Fire Dance parroted, confused by Shi Fengs words. Is that even doable? Producing Tier 4 players was easier said than done. Finding Tier 4 Legacy Lands was one thing; mastering a Tier 4 Skill or Spell within the allotted time was another thing altogether. The help Zero Wing Citys environment provided for this aspect could already be regarded as the best available in Gods Domain. She found it hard to imagine other ways to help Zero Wing produce even more Tier 4 players. Of course. Smiling, Shi Feng said, Contact Summer and the others and have them gather in Zero Wing Citys City Lords Mansion. If it were before he had visited the ancient Gods Domain, he would indeed have no way of accomplishing such a feat. However, after his trip to the ancient era, he did. And that was by using the Ancient Beast Sculpture! Chapter 2839 - Statues Astonishing Function Alluring Summer, Shadow Sword, Turtledove, Cola, Youlan, Blackie, Flying Shadow, Silent Blade, Stubborn Bone, Ye Wumian, Rampant Blade, Su Qianliu, Minor Wind, and Graceful Moon gathered in the second underground floor of the City Lords Mansion after receiving Fire Dances summons. Looking at Fire Dance, who was guiding their group, Cola asked curiously, Commander, why did the Guild Leader suddenly have us come over? At Colas question, the others in the group also looked at Fire Dance curiously. For the sake of raising their chances of getting promoted to Tier 4, they had all focused on training in the Battle Arena recently to improve their control over Mana. In Zero Wing Citys Mana environment, their control over Mana had improved at a noticeable rate. Among them, Alluring Summer had become a Master Magician and even gained her own Mana Domain. Her achievements had spurred the rest of them to train even more zealously. Yet, instead of letting them focus on their training, Fire Dance had suddenly summoned them here. Its a secret, Fire Dance answered with a smile. Moreover, this trip will be beneficial for you. You might even increase your chances of getting promoted to Tier 4 by a large margin. Fire Dance naturally knew of everyones desire to get promoted to Tier 4. After all, Zero Wing Citys environment was greatly beneficial to even a Tier 4 player like herself, let alone Tier 3 players. Moreover, in the current Gods Domain, Tier 3 players couldnt make any waves at all. Only by reaching Tier 4 would a player have an impact on the big picture. Are you trying to trick us, Commander? We already have Zero Wing Citys environment to help us. Is there really another way to increase our chances of promotion further? Shadow Sword asked skeptically. However, he couldnt help growing a little eager and excited at Fire Dances answer. He understood very clearly that with his current standards, it would be incredibly difficult for him to get promoted to Tier 4even with the support of Zero Wing Citys excellent environment. It would most likely take him several attempts before he could get promoted. And worse, players who failed their Tier 4 Promotion Quest had to wait for a long period before they could rechallenge their Promotion Quest. Even if he could find another Tier 4 Legacy Land quickly, he would still have to wait up to a month. If he suffered consecutive failures, it could very well take him up to half a year or possibly more to reach Tier 4. If he were to hover at Tier 3 for half a year, he simply couldnt imagine how far he would fall behind the current Tier 4 players. After all, there were still many places in Gods Domain that only Tier 4 players and above could set foot in. Meanwhile, the opportunities, Legacies, and items available in these forbidden lands were far superior to what other maps provided. That was what the Guild Leader said, Fire Dance said, nodding. Otherwise, he wouldnt have interrupted your training spree and called you here. After saying so, Fire Dance stopped before a stone door sealed by a magic array. Standing guard beside this stone door were four Level 140, Tier 3 Fine-Gold Guards. Even if a Tier 4 player came here, they shouldnt think of getting past these NPCs quickly. When the four NPCs saw Fire Dance, they promptly removed the seal on the stone door. Subsequently, the stone door parted slowly, revealing a room the size of a basketball court. Many magic arrays isolated the room. Even if a Tier 4 player made a ruckus inside the room, their actions would go unnoticed in the outside world. Shi Feng was waiting inside the isolated room. After glancing at everyone, Shi Feng said, Come on in. In response to Shi Fengs words, Fire Dance entered the room curiously, followed by the rest of the group shortly afterward. After everyone entered the room, the four guards outside the room closed the door and quietly stood watch by the door, none of them daring to relax for even a moment. Having entered the room, Fire Dance and the others couldnt help looking at Shi Feng in confusion. This was because even after entering the isolated room, they failed to sense anything special about it. In fact, the Mana density inside the room even seemed slightly lower compared to outside. Upon seeing everyones confusion, Shi Feng smiled and said, You must be wondering why I summoned you to such a place, right? Guild Leader, the Commander said you have a way to further increase our chances of getting promoted to Tier 4. Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, Cola asked, Is that true? Truthfully, Cola didnt have much confidence in getting promoted to Tier 4 since his combat standard was still stuck at the Flowing Water Realm even now. His control over Mana was also only at the Advanced Magician standard. It was basically impossible for him to learn a Tier 4 Legacy Skill within a short period. Its true. However, how much improvement you gain will depend on yourselves, Shi Feng said, nodding. He then pointed at the Ancient Beast Statue set up in the center of the room and continued, This thing is the key to your promotion to Tier 4! A statue? Everyone present grew even more confused when they heard Shi Fengs words. Even Fire Dance was no exception. Although the statue in front of them looked exquisite, no matter how they looked at it, it did not seem like a tool that could help them reach Tier 4. Observe it from a closer distance, Shi Feng said, chuckling. But dont use your eyes; use your whole body to perceive it. The Ancient Beast Statue was an incomparably mysterious object, and it was incredibly difficult for someone to notice its uniqueness. This was because the Ancient Beast Statue would reveal its properties only in an environment with incredibly dense Mana. Moreover, these properties were noticeable only at close distance. If one stood too far away from the statue, one wouldnt sense anything special about it. In fact, placing the statue in a room would even cause the density of the Mana in the room to drop. In the past, some players had even treated the Ancient Beast Statues as junk and sold them cheap. At Shi Fengs advice, Cola and the others approached the statue. And when everyone got within ten yards of the Ancient Beast Statue, their expressions promptly changed. How is this possible?! The operating principles of Mana have become much clearer! Theres at least a 50% improvement! As a Tier 4 player, Fire Dance was the quickest to notice the changes the Ancient Beast Statue brought about, and she couldnt help gaping at the statue in disbelief. Assuming that she could view the operating principles of Mana at only 10% clarity under normal circumstances, then in Zero Wing Citys environment, she could view the operating principles at 20% clarity. However, standing beside the Ancient Beast Statue, she could view the operating principles at 30% clarity. Cola and the others did not achieve as good a result as Fire Dance since they were still at Tier 3; however, they still managed to achieve a clarity of at least 20%. At this time, their perception of the operating principles of Mana was superior to the average Tier 4 players. Now, they were basically viewing the world around them from a higher perspective than even Tier 4 players. As Tier 3 players, the benefits they could gain from such an experience were immeasurable. If this situation leaked to the public, the various powers of Gods Domain would most likely go crazy. Fire Dance finally understood why Shi Feng had instructed her to be extremely careful when coming to this place and even limiting the people she could invite to only the Guilds core executives. The next moment, the isolated room fell indescribably quiet. This was because Cola, Alluring Summer, and everyone else had wholeheartedly thrown themselves into their enhanced perception with no intention of exiting this immersion. Shi Feng did not find this situation surprising, either. After obtaining World Authority, his perception of the operating principles of Mana had reached an incredibly high level. Within the Ancient Beast Statues vicinity, he could even achieve a 40% clarity. Back when he was controlling Frobero, a Half-step Demon King, he had only managed to achieve a 50% clarity, yet he already had a feeling of invincibility. Of course, this was only a misconception arising from suddenly obtaining so much power. Even so, the brief experience of viewing the world through Froberos senses had provided him with immense help in developing his Mana Body and improving his control over Mana. Although he didnt get the same feeling when standing next to the Ancient Beast Statue, he was relatively close to that feeling already. And while subject to this sensation, even he couldnt help wishing he could disregard all his duties and focus solely on researching the operating principles of Mana, so what more Cola and the others? Shortly after Fire Dance immersed herself in her enhanced perception, the Mana around her body began rampaging. It was evident that she was trying to break through her Mana Bodys 100% threshold. Shi Feng was slightly surprised to see this. He then took out a colorful crystal from his bag and handed it to Fire Dance, saying, Dont rush to break through yet. Do it after you finish learning the Legacy inside this thing. In response to Shi Fengs words, Fire Dance halted her attempt to break through and accepted the Memory Crystal. However, after checking the Memory Crystal, she was stunned. She never thought that Shi Feng would actually possess such a precious Legacy. Moreover, the Legacy recorded in the Memory Crystal even contained information on how to reconstruct ones Mana Body. For Tier 4 players like herself, this information was priceless. Guild Leader, this is a Sword Saints Legacy. Giving it to me would be wasteful, Fire Dance said hesitantly. She was no fool. Anyone who had gotten promoted to Tier 4 would know what was most important to a Tier 4 playerachieving a breakthrough in ones Mana Body and reconstructing it. This was the basis of getting promoted to Tier 5. However, Shi Feng simply chuckled and said, Relax. This is a complete Legacy Crystal. It can be used up to nine times. Every person will get the best result from the crystal only on their first use. Using it more than once would be a waste. Now that you are one of Zero Wings key combatants, it will be of great help to the Guild if you can further improve yourself. Teresa had given him a complete Tier 5 Legacy Crystal that could be used nine times. And although it was a Sword Saints Legacy, as the Swordsman and Assassin classes were both physical classes, an Assassin could still gain significant help from the Legacy. If Fire Dance could elevate her Mana Bodys potential to 105% due to this Legacy Crystal, it would be of significant help to the present Zero Wing. Since Shi Feng wasnt accepting any argument, Fire Dance eventually gritted her teeth and activated the Memory Crystal. After all, what Shi Feng said was true. There were significant differences even between Tier 4 players. Take Violet Cloud, for example. Because she had long since broken through her Mana Bodys 100% threshold, her combat power had surpassed Fire Dances by a large margin as soon as she reached Tier 4. If Fire Dance could break through the 100% threshold now, she would be able to hold her ground even against monstrously strong Tier 4 experts. Immediately, the colorful crystal in Fire Dances hand released several streaks of light that flowed straight into her eyes. Simultaneously, a large amount of information was transmitted directly into her brain. Chapter 2840 - – Consecutive Breakthroughs Chapter 2840 C Consecutive Breakthroughs As information from the Sword Saints Legacy flooded Fire Dances mind, the Mana she exuded strengthened and weakened in intervals. It was evident that she had received a lot of inspiration from the Legacy. Both her control over Mana and understanding of Mana rose at a visible rate. Seeing this development, Shi Feng couldnt help growing envious. Truthfully, he had constantly been thinking of using the Sword Saints Legacy himself ever since he received it. However, he also understood that he wouldnt benefit much from it. This was because the current bottleneck he faced wasnt related to Mana but his Concentration. To raise the strength of his Mana Body to a whole new level, he needed to raise his Concentration to a point where he could control his Mana Body with a threefold manipulation method. Hence, using the Sword Saints Legacy now would simply be a waste. I should start training and adapting to a threefold manipulation method as well. Shi Feng smiled involuntarily when he saw everyone in the room improving rapidly. Then, he sat down and began his own training. Back when he was in the ancient Gods Domain, his Concentration standard had only been at the Tier 4 Intermediate standard. Among Tier 4 existences, that wasnt anything to brag about. However, merging with the Tier 4 Hellfire had thoroughly tempered his Concentration. He now estimated that his Concentration was at the Tier 4 Peak standard already. He should be only one step away from reaching the Tier 5 standard and achieving World Creation. Of course, just elevating his Concentration standard to Tier 5 wouldnt be enough to achieve World Creation. He would still need to become a Grandmaster Magician first. This was also the main reason many players and NPCs couldnt achieve World Creation even after reaching Tier 5. After all, becoming a Grandmaster Magician was incredibly challenging. Generally, most people capable of becoming a Grandmaster Magician were Lifestyle Grandmasters. Yet, most of these Lifestyle Grandmasters were unsuited for combat and were incapable of reaching Tier 5, only reaching Tier 4 at best. This situation was especially obvious among players. In the past, over 70% of experts that had achieved World Creation were Lifestyle Grandmasters stuck at Tier 4, and many experts who had risen to Tier 5 couldnt help envying those players. After all, the disparity in combat power between individuals with and without World Creation was like the difference between heaven and earth. Even at Tier 5, World Creation could still influence a battle. Following which, time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, half a day had gone by already. Amid Shi Fengs repeated attempts at executing a threefold manipulation method, the Mana Fire Dance exuded suddenly skyrocketed in intensity. Her rapid transformation even kicked up a Mana storm, the phenomenon startling everyone in the room. Whats going on with Bis Sis Fire? The Mana shes exuding is so powerful! Flying Shadow exclaimed. He was thunderstruck when he saw the white mist wreathing Fire Dances body. She shouldve broken through her Mana Bodys limits, Turtledove said enviously. No, this shouldnt be just a simple breakthrough, Alluring Summer said, shaking her head. Ive broken through the 100% threshold as well, yet compared to Fire Dance right now, the phenomenon my breakthrough created was much weaker. Even if she achieved her breakthrough at Tier 4, the reaction shouldnt be so exaggerated. Alluring Summer had much greater authority when talking about breaking through the Mana Bodys limits since she had unlocked her Mana Body to 102% potential already. Back when Alluring Summer broke through, her Mana Body had indeed undergone a qualitative transformation and provoked a powerful reaction in her surroundings. However, that reaction was much more subdued than Fire Dances. At this time, the Mana surrounding Fire Dance was already almost liquid. Even if Alluring Summer factored in the special environment of this room and the fact that Fire Dance was at Tier 4, a breakthrough in the Mana Bodys limits still shouldnt generate such a powerful reaction. Several more minutes later, Fire Dance finally stabilized her Mana, and an excited expression immediately appeared on her face. Guild Leader, I succeeded! Fire Dance said as she looked at Shi Feng excitedly. My Mana Body is currently at a 107% Completion Rate! If you give me a little more time, I can even reach 110%! She had heard plenty regarding the Mana Body from Shi Feng. According to him, after breaking through the 100% threshold, the Mana Body would see further qualitative transformations at the 105% and 110% thresholds. Although she had yet to reach a 110% Completion Rate, with the information the Sword Saints Legacy provided and the Ancient Beast Statues effect, she was now confident of reaching that threshold. At that time, her combat power would definitely surpass Violet Clouds. After all, Violet Clouds Mana Body was only at a 108% Completion Rate right now. You reached 107% on the first breakthrough? Shi Feng was shocked. Normally, a player couldnt reach or exceed 105% on their first breakthrough. Even Violet Cloud was no exception. After all, players would need to overhaul the method they used to manipulate their Mana Body to reach this threshold. Nevertheless, Fire Dance had skated through this process. The improvement she achieved was beyond remarkable. That Sword Saint had a very thorough understanding of the Mana Body. His explanations were also simple to understand. Its a pity that Im not a Swordsman myself. Otherwise, I wouldve improved even more, Fire Dance said regretfully. If this Legacy is given to Shadow Sword and the others, they should have a very easy time breaking through the 110% threshold. If you used it, you would probably achieve even more astonishing results, Guild Leader. The Legacy actually has such great effects? Shi Feng couldnt help feeling tempted by Fire Dances words. However, he still suppressed his agitated heart in the end and said calmly, Ill pass for now. However, we can let Shadow Sword and the other Swordsmen use the Legacy once they reach Tier 4. Anyone with a physical class can also use it if they manage to break through the 100% threshold. Shi Feng was indeed very tempted to use the Sword Saints Legacy and go beyond his Mana Bodys present 110% Completion Rate. He might even be lucky enough to reach a 115% Completion Rate. If that happened, he would have full confidence in completing the Divine Dragons trial. However, his current priorities were developing his Concentration standard and improving his understanding of magic arrays. So long as he succeeded in doing so, combined with the Sword Saints Legacy, he could develop his Mana Body beyond even a 115% Completion Rate. In fact, once he reached Level 150, he could even start trying to create a personalized Mana Body. After all, not every Tier 5 expert in the past had started creating personalized Mana Bodies only after exceeding the 110% Completion Rate. Many of these Tier 5 experts had tried and succeeded even at 109% and 110%. This was because there was no integral connection between a Mana Bodys Completion Rate and the creation of a personalized Mana Body. Having a higher Completion Rate only meant that a player was more familiar with the Mana Body they currently had. At most, this familiarity would grant the player an easier time in creating a personalized Mana Body; it wasnt essential. As for the matter of sharing the Sword Saints Legacy, if it were possible, he would prefer to let only Tier 4 Swordsmen use it. However, given the circumstances, Zero Wing didnt have seven more Tier 4 Swordsmen suitable. Hence, he had no choice but to loosen the condition. That way, the Guild could produce more above-average Tier 4 players. I understand. Fire Dance nodded. Over the next ten days, Zero Wings core executives achieved significant breakthroughs one after another, thanks to the Ancient Beast Statue. In addition, as the Guild had discovered quite a number of Tier 4 Legacy Lands in the Arctic Canyon, everyone began challenging their Tier 4 Promotion Quests. As for Fire Dance, after reaching a 110% Completion Rate with her Mana Body, she led an exploration team into the Arctic Canyon, drastically increasing Zero Wings income, particularly of top-tier Level 130-plus equipment and materials. The amount of equipment and materials Zero Wing was currently raking in surpassed even that of ordinary superpowers. Among the harvests Zero Wing made, the most notable one was Seven Luminaries Crystals. Because the Arctic Canyons Team Dungeons dropped small quantities of Seven Luminaries Crystals, Zero Wing earned over 600 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in just ten short days. Even Shi Feng was astonished by this harvest. He never thought that the Arctic Canyon would be so rich in resources. Fire Dances team was responsible for more than half of the Seven Luminaries Crystals earned. At this time, he could already foresee that once Zero Wing gained more and more Tier 4 players, the Guilds income of Seven Luminaries Crystals would reach staggering levels. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had been relatively free compared to Fire Dance and the others these past ten days. He was also only half a step away from successfully implementing the threefold manipulation method on his Mana Body. However, during this time, huge events had also taken place in Gods Domain one after another. Firstly, there was the appearance of Saint Heart City. Secondly, the various superpowers had received news that Lu Xingluo had his qualifications as the Starline Corporations heir stripped due to his numerous failures and that his game account had gotten crippled. This unexpected development placed heavy pressure on the heirs of the major corporations leading the various superpowers. Thirdly, the first batch of players belonging to Zero Wings allies had entered Zero Wing City. When these 20,000 players entered the city, Zero Wings allies instantly understood Zero Wing Citys value. For a time, Zero Wing Citys entry slots enjoyed even greater popularity. However, the best piece of news for Zero Wing was Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, Zhao Yueru, Yan Tianxing, and Yi Luofeis successful promotion to Tier 4. Their success had instantly boosted Zero Wings overall combat power by a large margin, and exploring the Arctic Canyon became a lot easier. Zero Wing City, Candlelight Trading Firm, Special Forging Room: Sure enough, breaching the Grandmaster Magician threshold isnt an easy task. A pale-faced Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment he had just produced. After several days of research, he concluded that only two methods would let him achieve threefold manipulation: developing his Concentration to the Tier 5 standard and becoming a Grandmaster Magician. For the time being, developing his Concentration to the Tier 5 standard was nigh-impossible since it required fortuitous encounters and undergoing tempering. This left him with raising his Magician rank. Producing Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment was one of the ways that could help him do so because the most difficult aspect of producing the set was engraving its magic array. Although the system deemed the sets magic array as only a Master Magic Array, it rivaled even Grandmaster Magic Arrays in complexity. If he could successfully engrave the entire magic array in one go, he wouldnt be far off from becoming a Grandmaster Magician. Unfortunately, even after working for several days consecutively and producing more than 200 sets of Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment, he still couldnt engrave the sets magic array in one go. He felt as if an invisible barrier was preventing him from advancing. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also happened to reach Level 150the threshold where he could get promoted to Tier 5. Guild Leader, you previously asked the Boulder Corporation to look into Phoenix Rains little sister, right? At this time, Liang Jing suddenly contacted Shi Feng. They just sent back news that Phoenix Rains little sister should be staying in Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Alright, got it. Nodding, Shi Feng promptly chose to log out of Gods Domain and decided to pay Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Apart from checking up on Phoenix Rains little sister, he could also use this opportunity to broaden his business circle to Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Every Upper Zone had its own contribution competition. Since the various corporations were placing such heavy importance on this seasons competition, it would be a huge waste not to take advantage of it and make a killing. After all, Zero Wing was already a massive organization that had many mouths to feed. A large number of newcomers with great potential had even joined the Guilds headquarters recently. There were also the resources needed to nurture Zero Wings executives. With all the Guilds resource requirements, simply relying on the Five States Corporation would be far from enough. Chapter 2841 - Mental Strength Training House Haitian City, Upper Zone: A luxury hovercar slowly landed in front of the Upper Zones entrance. A man and a woman then got out of the car, their appearance instantly attracting the hundreds of teenage boys and girls waiting by the entrance. This man and woman were none other than Shi Feng and Muxin. However, all of the teenagers focused on Muxin, their eyes filled with surprise and confusion. Why is the Boulder Corporations heir here at Haitian Citys Upper Zone? Could she be transferring to our Upper Zone? Thats impossible. I heard that Muxin broke through recently and acquired Grade 1 authority in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Moreover, not only does she have the Boulder Corporations full support, but the base layers supervisor is also quite supportive of her. At this rate, she might enter the middle layer of Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Why would she want to come to our Upper Zone? The teenage boys and girls began a heated discussion among themselves when they saw Muxin. They couldnt understand why a big shot like her would suddenly come to Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Muxin, on the other hand, paid no attention to the teenagers discussing her. She behaved as if these people did not exist at all. Why are there so many people taking Haitian Citys test? Its more than ten times the number I saw at Yuantian City, Shi Feng asked, astonished when he saw the crowd thronging the entrance. When he took the test to enter Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, there had only been several dozen other people taking the test with him. Such a huge difference between Upper Zones was incredible. Haitian Citys Upper Zone is more populous than Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. It was also constructed a little earlier. Looking at the teenagers waiting by the entrance, Muxin shook her head and explained, However, these people arent talents the Green God Company is nurturing internally. They were born inside Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Also, this place is holding its annual evaluation, which is why so many people are here. The corporations behind these people will use the test results to determine their future successors and daily resource allocations. For these people, this period will most likely be the most competitive period of their lives. At this point, a hint of frustration darkened Muxins eyes. It was precisely because of this competition that her relationship with Kerui wasnt particularly good. Compared to life in the outside world, life in an Upper Zone was much harsher. I see. So thats why these children have such astonishing physical fitness, Shi Feng commented. When he looked at the teenagers before him, he couldnt help sighing ruefully. He had to admit that the Upper Zones children were indeed amazing. From what he could see, every one of these teenagers could easily beat up martial artists below the master standard. This wasnt a standard the youths born and living in the outside world could match. Having such amazing physical fitness at such a young age, these teenagers would become even more amazing once they entered Gods Domain. Let alone reaching Tier 4, they could very well reach Tier 5. At this moment, Shi Feng finally understood why the various superpowers had so many Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts. He could produce many Tier 4 experts just from the group of youngsters in front of him. Lets hurry inside. Taking a look at the time, Muxin said, If we wait until the Mental Path activates, like last time, itll be even more difficult to find that girl you mentioned. After all, we are residents of Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, not of Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Shi Feng nodded in response and followed Muxin straight into Haitian Citys Upper Zone. Although a person could freely visit all Upper Zones once they had a registered ID, the Upper Zones operated like independent organizations and competed with each other. In fact, some of the tasks the Green God Company assigned to the various Upper Zones were dependent on the performance of each Upper Zone. Hence, the residents of every Upper Zone were somewhat hostile toward the residents of other Upper Zones. Under normal circumstances, an Upper Zones resident wouldnt visit another Upper Zone. After all, one mistake could easily result in a fight. Upon seeing Muxin and Shi Feng walking straight into the Upper Zone, the teenagers standing by the entrance couldnt help envying them. This was because people older than 20 who could enter the Upper Zone directly had already obtained IDs in the Upper Zone. These people wouldnt have to struggle to enter the Upper Zone, unlike themselves. Whos that man? Why is a person like Muxin escorting him? He might be the son of some big shot living on the middle layer. Otherwise, why would someone of Muxins standing guide him? Dammit! This is too enviable! If I were the son or nephew of a mental strength master, I wouldnt have to struggle here so desperately! I could even enter one of the middle layers mansions for training! At this time, the teenagers waiting by the entrance couldnt help gazing at Shi Feng with jealous eyes. As children of major corporations, they might be objects of envy for the people living in the outside world, but they were nothing in the Upper Zone. Only the big shots living in the Upper Zones middle layer would garner respect from the Upper Zones residents. After entering Haitian Citys Upper Zone, Shi Feng found that this place was indeed more populous than Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. In fact, one could even consider it more prosperous. Not only were there high-rises all over the Upper Zone, but there was also something called the mental strength training house here. Such a facility did not exist in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. The mental strength training house wasnt particularly large. The entire building was only two stories tall, with the footprint of a basketball court. Yet, a crowd waited to enter this small building, including children of major corporations and the Green God Companys talents. There were even direct successors of major corporations standing in line. This was a sight that definitely couldnt be found in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. In fact, even Muxin felt an urge to enter the mental strength training house when she saw it. However, she could only let this urge fade away. This was because the notice outside the training house very clearly stated that only those with Grade 2 authority or above in Haitian Citys Upper Zone could use the training house. People of other Upper Zones would not be allowed entry at all. Arent Upper Zones open to all residents with ID? Shi Feng was confused when he saw the notice. Why is there such a rule in Haitian Citys Upper Zone? Isnt this unfair to people of other Upper Zones? The Upper Zone placed extreme importance on mental strength. One could easily imagine how attractive a place capable of helping a person improve their mental strength would be for the residents of the various Upper Zones. Theres no helping this. The mental strength training house is a resource Haitian Citys Upper Zone won after competing with the other Upper Zones. Hence, the Green God Company gave the residents of Haitian Citys Upper Zone exclusive use of it. It is also why many more corporations are willing to invest in Haitian City compared to the other Upper Zones, Muxin said, shaking her head. A bitter smile appearing on her face, she added, If not for the Boulder Corporation having deep roots in Yuantian City, we wouldve most likely moved the focus of our development to Haitian City already. Muxins words didnt particularly surprise Shi Feng. Although he had not experienced the training houses effects, mental strength was everything in the Upper Zone. It would naturally be very attractive to the various corporations. In fact, Shi Feng also felt tempted to transfer to Haitian Citys Upper Zone. After all, his Concentration was currently bottlenecked at the Tier 4 Peak standard. Thus far, he had already used three Phantom Potions, yet he was still nowhere near the Tier 5 Concentration standard. While Shi Feng and Muxin were conversing, an argument suddenly broke out in front of the training house. Lu Tiandi, Ive already said my adventurer team will never join you! A fair-skinned girl sporting a double ponytail and wearing light-blue sportswear glared at a handsome and dapper young man in his early twenties, her eyes blazing with indescribable rage. However, the young man in question paid no heed to the girls anger at all. Instead, a robust, middle-aged man standing beside him smiled and said, Miss Ji Luorong, you are free to refuse my young masters invitation, but if you do, you can forget about obtaining resources from anyone in this Upper Zone from now on. You should understand very clearly that my young master has the power to blacklist you! You! None of the people present dared to refute the middle-aged mans words. In fact, nobody stepped forward to champion the girl. This was because Lu Tiandi was the Starline Corporations new heir. With the Starline Corporations influence in Haitian Citys Upper Zone, it would be childs play for it to prevent the Upper Zones residents from selling resources to a specific individual. Looking at the girl named Ji Luorong, the middle-aged man chuckled and said, Miss Ji, I advise you to listen obediently to my young masters words and have your entire adventurer team join us. Otherwise, you shouldnt think of staying in Haitian Citys Upper Zone anymore because nobody here will sell you any resources. You shouldnt even think of asking your older sister for help, either! At the middle-aged mans words, many of the corporate children present looked at Ji Luorong sympathetically. In Haitian Citys Upper Zone, even major corporations wouldnt dare to offend the Starline Corporation outright, let alone an individual with no background. If Ji Luorong refused Lu Tiandis demand, everyone could already foresee the girl having to leave the Upper Zone shortly after due to a lack of resources. However, as Ji Luorong remained silent, the middle-aged man smiled triumphantly, and the spectating crowd sighed ruefully, a low voice suddenly resounded in the area. Is that so? What if I want to sell resources to this young lady? Chapter 2842 - Silent Upper Zone A deathly silence suddenly fell over the area as everyone turned toward the voices origin. What entered everyones sight was an ordinary-looking young man clad in dark-gray casualwear. Besides his ordinary appearance, the young man also felt no different from an ordinary passerby. This person was none other than Shi Feng. Although he had grown a lot taller as his physical fitness improved, he still couldnt change his plain appearance. Who is that guy? Isnt he a little too courageous? That guy is dead for sure. Even the successors of the other major corporations here wouldnt dare blatantly refute Lu Tiandis words. Could this guy be a newcomer to the Upper Zone? The gathered people were astonished as they looked at Shi Feng. They never imagined that such an ignorant person could exist in Haitian Citys Upper Zone. If it were the Starline Corporation of the past, there would still be many people who would dare go against it. They definitely wouldnt let Lu Tiandi, who was merely the corporations heir, act so arrogantly. Even Lu Xingluo, the corporations previous heir, hadnt dared behave like Lu Tiandi was behaving now. However, Lu Tiandis background was different from Lu Xingluos. Lu Tiandi had caught the eye of one of the middle layers big shots at a young age and had been secretly nurtured by this big shot since then. Only after Lu Tiandi had replaced Lu Xingluo as the Starline Corporations new successor had this matter gotten exposed. Due to this revelation, the Starline Corporations status in Haitian Citys Upper Zone had instantly skyrocketed. Now, even the other major corporations operating in the base layer had no choice but to tuck their tails in front of the Starline Corporation. Otherwise, Yi Kui, Lu Tiandis butler, wouldnt have dared to be so arrogant, openly making such a bold statement in public. Ji Luorong, who had been standing silently in front of the training house all this time, couldnt help turning to Shi Feng in surprise and confusion. She never thought that someone would be willing to stand up for her. At the same time, though, she couldnt help worrying for Shi Feng. This was because she was well aware of Lu Tiandis extraordinary identity. He was destined to live in the middle layer, and even the Green God Company would have to show him a certain degree of respect. Kid, it seems youre quite courageous, huh? Do you not know who my young master is? Yi Kui asked as he looked at Shi Feng coldly. Or do you intend to make an enemy of the Starline Corporation? Yi Kui had just stated that so long as Lu Tiandi gave the word, nobody in Haitian Citys Upper Zone would dare trade resources with Ji Luorong. Yet, no sooner had he made this declaration than Shi Feng announced his intention to trade with Ji Luorong. Shi Feng had basically slapped the Starline Corporations face. Upon hearing Yi Kuis words, many people present frowned at Shi Feng worriedly. Everyone could tell that Yi Kui was up to no good. The middle-aged man was escalating a trivial matter into a problem that concerned the reputation of the entire Starline Corporation. If Shi Feng dared to say anything more now, the consequences were unimaginable. He might even face a similar end as Ji Luorongs and get kicked out of the Upper Zone eventually. After all, it was incredibly difficult to live in the Upper Zone without resources. When Ji Luorong heard Yi Kuis words, she gritted her teeth and resolved to stop Shi Feng from championing her. However, just as she was about to take action, a lithe figure suddenly appeared before her. Little girl, you dont need to worry about him, Muxin said. Looking at Ji Luorongs worried expression, Muxin smiled and continued, Even the Starline Corporation wouldnt dare do anything against him. Shi Feng not only possessed Grade 1 authority in the Upper Zone but was also a neutralizing grandmaster. Let alone the measly heir of the Starline Corporation, even if the Starline Corporations current owner were here, he wouldnt be able to do anything against Shi Feng. Looking at Muxins dazzling beauty, Ji Luorong could tell that Muxin had an extraordinary backgroundwhich should mean that Shi Feng did as well. However, she still couldnt help worrying. But Before Ji Luorong could say anything more, however, a low voice resounded throughout the area once more. So what if I am? These five simple words instantly created a commotion among the spectating crowd. Is he crazy? Hes actually openly making an enemy of the Starline Corporation? Does he not know what death is? If it were the Starline Corporation of the past, even the Upper Zones ordinary corporate children wouldnt fear offending it. After all, they were all residents of the Upper Zones base layer. Why should they be afraid of each other? However, the situation was different now that the Starline Corporation had the backing of a middle-layer big shot. That big shot could just make some random excuse and have them removed from the Upper Zone temporarily. Once they were outside the safe haven known as the Upper Zone, the Starline Corporation would have plenty of means to deal with them. Upon hearing Shi Fengs response, Yi Kui was momentarily dumbfounded as well. After snapping out of his daze, he bellowed, Punk! It seems you really are itching for a beating! In that case, Ill help you loosen those bones of yours! Although the Green God Company prohibited fighting in the Upper Zone, the company would turn a blind eye to small conflicts in private settings. So long as one did not go too far, the Green God Company wouldnt look too deeply into the matter. After all, disputes were bound to occur wherever people gathered. However, if anyone dared to take things too far, the Green God Company was bound to dish out a severe penalty. In fact, many corporations and forces had gotten banished from the Upper Zone and suffered an early demise because they had crossed this line. Hence, nobody would dare to openly defy the Green God Companys rules. The next moment, Yi Kui stomped his right foot on the ground, and his body shot forward like a cannonball. The impact of his feet shook the ground slightly and even left a deep footprint behind on the cement. As his body shot forward, Yi Kui punched, perfectly integrating his fists speed with the speed of his moving body. His fist generated explosive noises due to this perfect combination as it collided with the air. Evidently, his punch had already exceeded the speed of sound. A sonic boom?! Hes a Henglian grandmaster! When everyone heard the explosive noises, they stared at Yi Kui in shock. The Upper Zones environment allowed one to develop ones physical fitness rapidly. In fact, even developing ones physical fitness to the standard of a Henglian master or a half-step Henglian grandmaster wouldnt be a problem. However, those who could actually overcome the final hurdle and become a Henglian grandmaster were incredibly rare. Even in the Upper Zone, such people were considered top-tier experts and treated as VIPs by major corporations. These corporations would even be willing to grant a Henglian grandmaster the position of Elder to rope in such individuals. This was because every Henglian grandmaster was no different from a humanoid beast! Hence, everyone couldnt believe that Yi Kui was serving as a mere butler of a corporations successor, despite being a Henglian grandmaster. Let alone the spectators, even Muxin was astonished by this situation. Only two people werent surprised by this situationLu Tiandi and Ji Luorong. Its over Ji Luorong reflexively shut her eyes at this sight. She had found out that Yi Kui was a Henglian grandmaster only because Yi Kui himself had revealed his strength to her during one of their previous meetings. Hence, she knew that Yi Kui wasnt just an ordinary butler but was also a terrifying bodyguard. If Shi Feng got struck by Yi Kuis punch, he would be fortunate to leave with only a few broken bones; it wouldnt be strange if he ended up hospitalized for half a month. Boom! The next moment, as if a grenade had exploded, the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the area. Even those standing over a dozen meters away felt the intense impact. Almost everyone present shut their eyes subconsciously. After all, they could easily imagine the outcome that awaited those struck by a Henglian grandmaster. If a Henglian grandmaster managed to land a square blow, they could kill a bull with one hit. Even a neutralizing grandmaster would end up with broken bones if they got struck by a Henglian grandmaster. Meanwhile, the sound of an impact meant that Yi Kuis punch landed on Shi Feng. However, when everyone opened their eyes again, they were dumbfounded. How is this possible?! At this time, not only was Shi Feng completely intact, but he had actually caught Yi Kuis iron fist with just one hand. Yi Kui himself was surprised by this situation. He never thought that his punch would meet with such a result. Youve made your move. Holding on to Yi Kuis fist, Shi Feng looked at the middle-aged man and asked calmly, Is it my turn now? Chapter 2843 - Shocking the Upper Zone Shi Fengs words seemed to stimulate Yi Kui, the latters face immediately turning ashen. Yi Kui was indeed surprised that Shi Feng had blocked his punch, but that was merely because he had not expected that Shi Feng would actually be a neutralizing grandmaster. Moreover, although his previous punch seemed fierce and domineering, he had actually used only about half of his strength. After all, he would be in big trouble if he created too much of a scene. At that time, even Lu Tiandi wouldnt be able to protect him. However, Yi Kui never thought that Shi Feng would take advantage of this fact and turn him into a laughingstock in the eyes of the crowd. He was a dignified Henglian grandmaster. Even the owners of international corporations would have to be polite to him and treat him as a VIP when meeting him. As for neutralizing grandmasters, they could only cower in fear in front of him. He had never once suffered such humiliation before. You bastard! Yi Kui took a step forward and punched with his other hand. Half-step Collapsing Punch! This time, Yi Kui did not hold back at all. The only thing on his mind was to make Shi Feng regret his words. Shi Feng responded to this second attack in a similar manner, extending his other hand to catch the punch. He didnt seem to have noticed that Yi Kuis present punch was different from the one before. Upon seeing this, Yi Kui sneered. A punch carrying 50% of his strength indeed wouldnt pose a threat to a neutralizing grandmaster. A neutralizing grandmaster could easily block the attack by relying on technique. However, it was a different story for a punch carrying his full strength. A neutralizing grandmaster who tried blocking such an attack would definitely end up with broken bones. Yet, Shi Feng was ignorantly trying to receive his punch using the exact same method. Boom! A loud explosion rang out as Yi Kuis fist collided with Shi Fengs palm. The shockwave generated by the impact this time was much stronger than before. Nevertheless, Yi Kui was still dumbfounded as he looked at Shi Feng. This was because the result of his second punch was exactly the same as his first. Shi Feng had still caught his fist without fail. Did I subconsciously hold back in fear of getting into trouble? Inevitably, such a thought occurred to Yi Kui. After all, this was the only reasonable explanation he could think of for this situation. Otherwise, how could a neutralizing grandmaster possibly receive his full-powered punch? However, Shi Feng did not give Yi Kui any time to react at all. Immediately, he pushed Yi Kuis hands aside and executed a palm strike on the latters chest. The palm strike was so fast that the attack had already connected with Yi Kuis chest before he realized what was going on. However, even after noticing the attack, Yi Kui paid no attention to it at all. As a Henglian grandmaster, he had long since developed an instinctual defensive mechanism. Whenever his body received an attack, his muscles would tighten, giving them a toughness resembling steel and neutralizing the attacks impact. If neutralizing grandmasters were proud of their techniques, then Henglian grandmasters were proud of their physical bodies toughness. In simpler terms, a Henglian grandmaster was someone trained to take hits and dish out devastating blows. Even if a Henglian grandmaster managed to land only one out of 100 attacks on a neutralizing grandmaster, this one attack would end the fight instantly. Boom! Yi Kui stood steadily even after receiving Shi Fengs palm strike. He also looked at Shi Feng in silent contempt. Nobody present found it surprising that Shi Fengs attack had no effect on Yi Kui, either. This was because Henglian grandmasters were precisely this powerful. They were truly monsters in human skin, and trying to harm these monsters with the hands and feet of ordinary humans was an utter joke. This was also why the various major corporations in the Upper Zone would desperately try to recruit or befriend Henglian grandmasters. Kid, I admit that youre strong. However, you cant hurt me. Patting his clothes, Yi Kui said disdainfully, On the other hand, how long do you think your stamina can hold out against my attacks? A neutralizing grandmasters ability to exert complete control over their physical body was indeed extraordinary. However, when it came to stamina, a neutralizing grandmaster was far from comparable to a Henglian grandmaster. A Henglian grandmaster could fight three days and three nights without rest. In contrast, a neutralizing grandmaster would be fortunate to last even half a day. Hence, neutralizing grandmasters would frequently curse Henglian grandmasters as merely a bunch of simple-minded brutes with well-developed bodies. Spectating from the sidelines, Muxin grew worried when she saw this situation. She never thought that Lu Tiandi would have a Henglian grandmaster as his bodyguard. The Boulder Corporation had to pay a great price just to get a Henglian grandmaster to become one of its Elders. Moreover, apart from the Boulder Corporations master, everyone else in the corporation treated this Henglian grandmaster with awe and respect. Yet, Lu Tiandi actually had such a powerful expert working as his henchman. It was ineffective? Shi Feng also couldnt help looking at Yi Kui in surprise. Ever since his Concentration had reached the Tier 4 Peak standard, his control over his body in the real world had improved by a significant margin. After factoring in his improved physical fitness, he now even dared to apply some of the techniques he used in Gods Domain in the world. This was also why Shi Feng had provoked Yi Kui. He was very curious to find out where his current limits lay. When Shi Feng was catching Yi Kuis second punch, he hadnt just caught the attack with an open palm. Instead, he had executed three rapid palm strikes against Yi Kuis fist. In other words, he had used the Three Extreme Slashes technique, a simplified version of Miracle Dragons Six Extreme Slashes. As Shi Feng had executed his three palm strikes against Yi Kuis fist almost in the same instant, it was practically impossible for the human body to tell that it wasnt just one but three separate attacks. Thus, Shi Feng had succeeded in blocking Yi Kuis full-powered punch. Otherwise, even if his physical fitness had improved a lot after he began living in the Upper Zone, he would still have to avoid Yi Kuis full-powered attack. Meanwhile, the offensive palm strike Shi Feng executed against Yi Kui was currently his strongest attack. Four Extreme Slashes! From an outsiders perspective, Shi Fengs attack would look like an ordinary palm strike. In reality, his attack consisted of four palm strikes executed in rapid succession on the same location. This attack placed a heavy burden on his mental strength, and he couldnt use it a second time even if he wanted to. Looking at Shi Fengs surprised expression, Yi Kui smiled. Kid! Now itsmyturnto Just when Yi Kui thought to attack again, his body suddenly stiffened, and he collapsed to the ground willy-nilly. His breathing became stifled, and he had difficulty even speaking. In fact, even his vision started to blur. These abrupt changes discombobulated Yi Kui. He couldnt understand what was happening at all. You What the helldid you doto me? Struggling to lift his head, Yi Kui gaped at Shi Feng in confusion. He simply couldnt wrap his mind around how Shi Feng had managed to injure him so severely with just a palm strike. Now, he found even standing up from the ground difficult. The spectators were likewise surprised when they saw Yi Kui collapse to the ground. He defeated a Henglian grandmaster in one strike?! Who is this guy? At this time, the onlookers eyed Shi Feng as if he were a monster. They even began wondering whether the scene before them was staged. After all, who could possibly believe that a Henglian grandmaster would fall from just one palm strike? I think I know who he is. Some time ago, two people managed to pass Yuantian Citys Mental Path together. One of these people was even someone the Boulder Corporation brought in using its reserve slots. According to the rumors, that person was Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame. Although this guy looks different from Gods Domains Black Flame, they should be the same person! What?! Hes the guy responsible for dragging down the Starline Corporations Lu Xingluo? Among the crowd, some people who kept tabs on Yuantian Citys Upper Zone recognized Shi Feng. For a time, the street bubbled with commotion. Nobody had thought that Black Flame, the mythical Sword Emperor of Gods Domain, would actually appear in their Upper Zone. Moreover, the man had even defeated a Henglian grandmaster with a single palm strike. His strength was simply terrifying. So, he is the Black Flame Big Sis told me about? Ji Luorong gaped in shock as she looked at Shi Feng. After all, Black Flame was currently rumored to be the strongest person in Gods Domain right now. He was an existence even the Five Great Super Guilds had to tiptoe around. Chapter 2844 - Gods Domains Black Flame So, thats why he dared to stand against Lu Tiandi! Hes the one responsible for Lu Xingluos removal! Lu Tiandi will probably have to tread cautiously around him. Amazing! As expected of Black Flame! I never thought that he would be the person who received Grade 1 authority in Yuantian City recently. This is interesting. It seems Lu Tiandi has met his match. Everybody present knew of Black Flame, but they did not know much about Black Flames identity in the real world. After all, they had many things they needed to handle. How could they possibly have the time to look into the real-world identity of every famous expert in Gods Domain? Only if they were particularly interested in a specific person would they spend some money to commission a detailed investigation. Not to mention, Black Flame was someone who had never publicly declared his Gods Domain identity in the real world. This made it even more difficult to investigate his situation. Only superpowers that paid close attention to Zero Wing would know of Black Flames identity. While most people did not know of Black Flames identity in the real world, it was a different story for the name Black Flame itself. This name was far too well-known in Gods Domain. Not only was this name involved in many iconic battles in the game, but it was also behind the creation of many miracles. In fact, many of Black Flames battle videos had circulated through the various kingdoms and empires forums and were regarded as a paradigm for Swordsmen. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that almost every player operating on the eastern continent would know Black Flames name. Needless to say, residents of Upper Zones like themselves, who were expert players in Gods Domain, would definitely know of Black Flame. Although Zero Wing started out as a Guild with no backing or background, it was now publicly recognized as a superpower. Compared to the various superpowers that had relied on powerful organizations to gain their strength, the influence Zero Wing had over the public was many times greater. In fact, Zero Wings influence over the virtual gaming industry almost rivaled the Five Great Super Guilds already. Zero Wing had already become an absolute titan in Gods Domain! Thus, Ji Luorong felt like she was dreaming when she looked at Shi Feng. While the onlookers were discussing quietly among themselves, Lu Tiandi, who had been silently spectating the situation all this time, suddenly approached Shi Feng. It seems I have been impolite. I didnt think that you would be Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, Lu Tiandi said as he looked at Shi Feng with a friendly smile. He also gave off an indescribably calm feeling, betraying no anger over Shi Feng having heavily injured his butler. Hello, my name is Lu Tiandi, the current Guild Leader of Starlink. You have truly helped me a bunch by defeating Lu Xingluo, Guild Leader Black Flame. Otherwise, I would most likely have to expend a lot of time and effort to take over Starlink. No need for thanks. You and I are not allies, Shi Feng retorted nonchalantly. Others might not know about Lu Tiandi, but Shi Feng had a very deep understanding of him. This was because Lu Tiandi had been a well-known Tier 6 God-ranked expert in the past. However, he had not joined any Guild. Instead, he had led an adventurer team while working under Starlink. Although Lu Tiandi appeared friendly on the surface, he was deep down a very conniving person. He had toyed with many powers in the past. These powers had worked for Lu Tiandi only to get backstabbed. For this reason, many superpowers had detested Lu Tiandi. However, because of Lu Tiandis extraordinary strength and his Tremorous Clown adventurer team, one of Gods Domains Seven Great Dark Adventurer Teams, none of the various superpowers could do anything against him. Guild Leader Black Flame, must you be so unapproachable? Lu Xingluo and I are two different people. There are many people within the corporation who dislike Lu Xingluo for his overbearing and arrogant attitude as well. However, he is, after all, the Patriarchs son. Even if others have an opinion regarding his behavior, nobody dares to say anything. Guild Leader Black Flames dragging Lu Xingluo off his pedestal is an event worth celebrating for the Starline Corporation, Lu Tiandi said, chuckling. Since Miss Ji is your friend, Guild Leader Black Flame, I will naturally stop trying to recruit her. Also, I have admired Zero Wing for a long time now. May I know if you are willing to form a partnership with me? To present Starlinks sincerity in this partnership and apologize for my rudeness to Miss Ji, I can sell a large batch of Phantom Potions to you and Miss Ji at cost on behalf of Starlink. May I know what you think of this, Guild Leader Black Flame? At Lu Tiandis words, everyone couldnt help envying Shi Feng. The Phantom Potion was something the various major corporations coveted. Let alone at cost, they would even be willing to buy the Phantom Potion at double or triple the original price. After all, the importance of improving ones mental strength trumped everything else in the Upper Zone. Ji Luorong was tempted by Lu Tiandis offer. She currently held only Grade 2 authority in Haitian Citys Upper Zone. If she could acquire a few more Phantom Potions and improve her mental strength, she might reach Grade 1 authority. At that time, she would have a much easier time operating in the Upper Zone. After all, only around 300 people held Grade 1 authority in Haitian Citys Upper Zone, and the Green God Company placed heavy importance on every one of them. At that time, even if a corporation in the Upper Zone wished to target her, they would face incredible difficulty. She also wouldnt be tight for resources, as the tasks offered to Grade 1 authority holders would sometimes award Phantom Potions. Thank you for your goodwill, Guild Leader Lu, but Zero Wing already has its own collaborators. Currently, Zero Wing has no plans to cooperate with more Guilds, so there is nothing I can do about this, Shi Feng said, directly rejecting Lu Tiandis offer. If there is nothing else, we will be taking our leave now. If thats the case, then it truly is a pity. Sighing, Lu Tiandi said, If you have any intentions of forming a partnership in the future, feel free to contact me any time, Guild Leader Black Flame. Shi Feng responded to these words with just a polite smile. He then turned around and left the training house together with Ji Luorong and Muxin. The spectating crowd also dispersed, leaving Lu Tiandi and Yi Kui alone. After the crowd dispersed, Yi Kui made a full recovery after consuming a Life Potion. Looking at Shi Fengs departing back, Yi Kui said in a quiet voice, Young master, Black Flame is simply too arrogant. You already extended such a sincere invitation to him, yet he actually refused to show you any respect. Its no wonder he managed to anger Lu Xingluo that much. Should I find an opportunity to teach that kid a lesson? Yi Kui was furious over Shi Fengs successful surprise attack on him. Had he been a little more careful earlier, he definitely wouldnt have suffered such a serious injury. Moreover, he had also noticed that Shi Feng looked a little pale after attacking him. Shi Feng had probably suffered a significant backlash from his own attack. If that were the case, landing a fatal blow on Shi Feng would have been entirely possible. I dont know why, but he seems to be extremely wary of me, although this is clearly our first meeting. It seems itll be impossible to use him for our own purposes. If thats the case, lets teach him a small lesson. However, Im afraid you alone wont be enough, Lu Tiandi said, shaking his head. That Shi Feng actually managed to execute Miracle Dragons trademark move in the real world. Evidently, he has reached an incredibly high level in both his physical fitness and mental strength. Itll be tough for you to take care of him by yourself. Ill ask Brother Wang to accompany you. Youll have Mr. Wang come as well? Yi Kui was momentarily surprised by Lu Tiandis words. However, he quickly revealed an ecstatic expression and said, If this is the case, that kid is dead. The Brother Wang Lu Tiandi mentioned was a Henglian grandmaster who was only half a step away from becoming a mental strength master. He was also Lu Tiandis senior brother and a resident of the Upper Zones middle layer. It would be childs play for such an expert to take action against someone living in the base layer. By the way, when you head back, notify the others in the team to take action against Ji Luorongs adventurer team immediately. Make sure to destroy them as quickly as possible, Lu Tiandi instructed calmly. Since I cant have Ji Luorongs adventurer team, theres no reason why I should let Shi Feng have it! Rest assured, young master. We have long since been keeping track of those people. If not for your love of talent, they wouldve been doomed already, Yi Kui responded, smiling. Nodding, Lu Tiandi then entered the mental strength training house. Chapter 2845 - Soon-to-Break Seal Chapter 2845 C Soon-to-Break Seal Haitian City Upper Zone, Northern Mountain Villa Community: Shi Feng couldnt help doubting his eyes as he stared at the three-story mansion before him. Youve been living in this place all this time? Shi Feng asked as he looked at Ji Luorong strangely. The mansion before him not only looked luxurious but also occupied an area as large as two basketball courts; it was even larger than the Boulder Corporations mansion in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, which had cost 30 million trade points to exchange. Meanwhile, Ji Luorong lacked both influence and authority in the Upper Zone. In fact, she was even living in the Upper Zone by herself. Apart from her familys corporation operating in the outside world, she did not possess any backers or background whatsoever. Hence, Shi Feng found it truly hard to believe that she had managed to purchase such a large mansion. Even Muxin was a little surprised by this situation. After all, the base layers mansions couldnt be bought by just anyone with sufficient points. Normally, one also needed to have Grade 1 authority or above. However, from the information she obtained on Ji Luorongs background, the latter had only Grade 2 authority. This is the mansion my maternal grandfather left behind, Ji Luorong said, nodding. Because of my familys decline, we had no choice but to live in the outside world. However, because my mental strength showed promise, my family decided to make use of the reserve slot my maternal grandfather left behind and let me live in the Upper Zone. Realization immediately dawned upon Shi Feng at Ji Luorongs explanation. This also explained why Phoenix Rain had been living in the outside world despite her family having such a large mansion in the Upper Zone. The Upper Zone had existed for a long time already. During this period, there had indeed been many families that had fallen into obscurity and were forced to leave the Upper Zone. After all, the strong preyed upon the weak in the Upper Zone. Without a reserve slot or sufficient talent in the mental strength department, one would not qualify for residency in the Upper Zone at all. Through this revelation, Shi Feng also realized that the Ji family was indeed extraordinary. Although it was in decline now, the fact that it had managed to acquire such an extravagant mansion in the Upper Zone proved that it had once been a powerful force there. This also explained how Phoenix Rain managed to rely on her own strength to become one of the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions Pavilion Masters. As Ji Luorong talked about her family circumstances, the group arrived inside the mansion. Upon entering the mansion, Shi Feng had to admit that it was indeed much better than his housing unit. Not only was the place much more spacious, but it also provided much greater help toward the improvement of ones mental strength. After entering the mansion, Shi Feng turned the conversation to Ji Luorongs current circumstances and Phoenix Rains brief reappearance in Gods Domain after her disappearance. Upon hearing news of her older sister, Ji Luorong breathed out a small sigh of relief. She had been incredibly worried when she found out that her older sister had disappeared. When she heard that her older sister had been brought to Haitian Citys Upper Zone, she had repeatedly searched the base layer for clues of her older sister. Despite her efforts, she had come up empty. The only possibility she could think of was that her older sister had been transferred to the middle layer. Hence, she had been anxiously trying to enter the middle layer to verify her older sisters condition. Hearing that her older sister had once appeared in Gods Domain after her disappearance and even expressed that she was safe had lifted the stone weighing on her heart. Now, she could finally relax a little bit. By the way, why did Lu Tiandi come to find you? Do you have any grudges with him? Shi Feng asked curiously as he looked at Ji Luorong. His main goal in coming to Haitian Citys Upper Zone was to check Ji Luorongs situation. After all, he had promised Phoenix Rain to take care of her little sister. Meanwhile, Lu Tiandi wasnt a kind person. Catching his attention was akin to catching the attention of a fox. One was bound to meet with misfortune. I dont have any grudges with him. In fact, today is only our second meeting, Ji Luorong sighed. As for why he is approaching me, it is because he wants Eternal Glory, the adventurer team I established, to join his adventurer team, Tremorous Clown. He wants to annex your adventurer team? Shi Feng was surprised by this answer. Tremorous Clown was an extraordinary dark adventurer team. According to his past knowledge, the team had been active on the western continent and possessed powerful members. At its peak, the team had even had three Tier 6s and nine Tier 5s. Even the various superpowers dared not casually offend the adventurer team. Back then, many experts operating on the dark side of Gods Domain had sought to join Tremorous Clown. However, only a small minority had succeeded because Tremorous Clowns entry requirement was Tier 4. Normally, only peak experts who had reached Tier 4 could join the team. Shi Feng also knew a little about Ji Luorongs adventurer team since Ji Luorong had also been relatively famous in the past. Although not on the level of the Demon Queen Phoenix Rain, Ji Luorong had still been a bona fide Tier 5 apex expert, only half a step from reaching Tier 6. Eternal Glory had also been a famous top adventurer team. At its peak, the team had had not only a Tier 6 God-ranked expert but also three Tier 5 experts. However, Eternal Glory was currently merely a well-known adventurer team. Its overall strength was still incredibly weak. This included Ji Luorong, the adventurer teams commander. Shi Feng doubted that the team even had a single Tier 4 player in its ranks right now. Hence, he found it inconceivable that Lu Tiandi wished to annex Eternal Glory. Of course, Shi Feng wasnt looking down on Ji Luorong and her companions. The present Tremorous Clown was far stronger than Eternal Glory. Tremorous Clown probably rivaled the average superpower in the number of its peak combatants. Now that Lu Tiandi had acquired Starlink as well, the overall strength of the forces under his command should be at an astonishing level. My team is indeed incapable of catching Lu Tiandis attention. The only reason I can think of for his efforts to annex us is the special Legacy we obtained, Ji Luorong said after giving the matter some thought. Some time ago, we visited a very special secret land and found a massive World Passage sealed there. We even came across a person who might be a Tier 6 God. According to that person, the seal on the World Passage would soon break, and the War of Worlds would soon begin. Our team received a special Legacy from that person. Recorded inside the Legacy was a sealing magic array. If we sacrifice EXP to the magic array, we can isolate a specific area from the rest of the world for a long period. It can be considered a means to resist the War of Worlds. However, at that time, other players aside from our team entered that place as well. In hindsight, those people might have been Tremorous Clowns members. Ji Luorongs words shocked Shi Feng. This was because he had never heard of a War of Worlds happening at this stage of the game in his previous life. However, he also doubted that Ji Luorong was lying. After all, he had visited the ancient Gods Domain. He wouldnt find it strange if there were other timelines of Gods Domain. This was especially true after seeing Hundred Ghostss members. Those people clearly didnt come from the ancient Gods Domain but most likely were from another Interstellar Continent. This so-called War of Worlds was probably a great war between Earths players and the said Interstellar Continents players. If this was true, it would be a disaster for Earths Gods Domain. After all, in terms of resources and experts, the Interstellar Continents Gods Domain was far superior to Earths Gods Domain. If the two sides were to wage war against each other, it wouldnt take a genius to imagine that Earths side would suffer a catastrophic defeat, with many superpowers getting annihilated. Even the present Zero Wing would have a difficult time facing the Interstellar Continents offensive. This explained why Lu Tiandi wanted Ji Luorongs adventurer team to join Tremorous Clown. After all, the ability to isolate an area from the outside world would be of significant help to a Guild in the upcoming war. When Muxin heard Ji Luorongs words, her complexion darkened. Muxin did not doubt that the War of Worlds would happen. This was because of information Frost Heaven obtained from investigating Hundred Ghosts. Previously, she had still been questioning the validity of this information. However, after listening to Ji Luorongs tale, everything made sense. Yet, she couldnt bring herself to be happy about this discovery. Frost Heaven had gone to great lengths to secure one of the reserve seats for Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds. Yet, just when the Guild was about to usher in an era of rapid development, the War of Worlds was about to begin. This was an absolute nightmare for Frost Heaven. However, Muxin felt a little fortunate. If she hadnt chosen to accompany Shi Feng to Haitian Citys Upper Zone, she wouldve most likely remained ignorant about this upcoming, world-shaking change. If Frost Heaven did not prepare for the War of Worlds, it wouldnt be strange if the Guild got annihilated. While Muxin was pondering Frost Heavens future, Shi Feng looked at Ji Luorong and said earnestly, Luorong, now that Lu Tiandi has set his sights on you and you have even rejected his offer, with his personality, Im afraid it wont be long before he takes action against your team. It is no longer suitable for you to remain in Haitian Citys Upper Zone. It will be safer if you move to another Upper Zone. I have a housing unit in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Although it isnt comparable to this mansion, you can still conduct daily exercises there. Would you like to move there? Shi Feng knew Lu Tiandis personality better than anyone. Lu Tiandi would eliminate anyone he deemed his enemy. With the Starline Corporations present influence over Haitian Citys Upper Zone, Ji Luorong definitely couldnt live there in peace. Only by leaving Haitian Citys Upper Zone would Ji Luorong escape Lu Tiandis clutches. Go to Yuantian Citys Upper Zone? Inevitably, Ji Luorong hesitated. However, she also knew that Shi Feng was right; living in Haitian Citys Upper Zone would no longer be safe. Miss Ji, if you find it inconvenient to live with Guild Leader Shi Feng, you are welcome to live with me. Although the Boulder Corporation isnt as powerful as the Starline Corporation, we have established a solid foundation in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, Muxin invited. Miss Muxin, you misunderstand. I dont find it inconvenient. I am already very satisfied to be able to live in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, Ji Luorong said, shaking her head. I am just worried about my friends. They dont live in the Upper Zone. If Lu Tiandi targets them, Im afraid they wont be able to hide from him for very long. If it were before, when Gods Domain still didnt hold such great importance to the various corporations, she wouldnt have to worry about the Starline Corporation secretly taking action against her companions. However, the situation was different now. Because of the extreme importance the Green God Company placed on Gods Domain, the various major corporations now prioritized the game. It wouldnt be strange if they took action against individuals in the real world. In response to Ji Luorongs worries, Shi Feng chuckled and said, That is simple. Just have your friends head to Zero Wings headquarters. Ill have everything arranged for their stay. He very much welcomed alliances with experts. Meanwhile, Eternal Glory had plenty of experts in its ranks. Once these players grew up, they would become formidable allies. Sheltering Eternal Glorys members now would only benefit Zero Wing. Moreover, Lei Bao was currently at the half-step Henglian grandmaster standard already. There was also Fire Dance, who was not much inferior to Lei Bao. Combined with the various top-level security measures set up in Zero Wings headquarters, even a Henglian grandmaster would have difficulty making trouble there. After hearing Shi Fengs words, Ji Luorong couldnt help rejoicing. Excitedly, she said, Thank you, Guild Leader Shi Feng. I assure you that they will listen to all of Zero Wings arrangements during their stay. The fact that her adventurer teams members could stay in Zero Wings headquarters was definitely good news. After all, the present Zero Wing was already very strong. Moreover, the various major corporations hadnt been able to do anything against the Guild thus far. Hence, her companions should be relatively safe once they moved to its headquarters. After ending her conversation with Shi Feng, Ji Luorong promptly contacted her companions and had them hurry to Zero Wings headquarters immediately. Chapter 2846 - Frightening Headquarters The sun was setting, and the sky was growing darker. Originally, this was a time when countless office workers would be getting off work and going home. However, the lights of Zero Wing Tower remained brightly lit. Compared to the buildings around it, the tower looked much livelier, with many people coming and going from it. There was even a long queue of young men and women waiting outside the entrance to take the basic tests for joining Zero Wing. At this time, a group of several dozen people of various origins and clad in diverse styles suddenly appeared in front of the tower and quietly studied the tall building before them with curious expressions. So, this is Zero Wings headquarters? a young man with freckles on his face said in disdain as he looked at the line of young men and women waiting outside the building. I really wonder whats gotten into the commander. Why does she want us to train in Zero Wings headquarters all of a sudden? Although Zero Wing is a powerful Guild in Gods Domain, the number of peak experts it actually has isnt a lot. These people trying to join Zero Wing are obviously newbies as well. I bet they cant clear the Trial Towers third floor. Yet, the commander actually wants us to train with Zero Wing? None of the group objected to the youths derisive remarks. It was evident that they agreed with him. As people who had chosen to join an adventurer team, the thing they disliked the most was being tied down by various restrictions. Hence, they also held players who joined Guilds in extreme contempt, considering Guild players to be basically weaklings who feared the strong but bullied the weak. In comparison, every member of their adventurer team could become a core member of a Guildeven a Super Guildshould they choose to join one. This was because they had honed their combat techniques through fighting powerful monsters and various outdoor PvPs without relying on any background or backer. They were completely different from the experts pampered and cultivated by Guilds. Moreover, they were also incredibly strong in real-world combatmuch stronger than the fighting champions frequently mentioned on TV. This was also why they felt that going out of their way to train with Zero Wing was a complete waste of their time. However, the middle-aged man leading the group shot a glance at the freckled youth and said coldly, Enough, Tiantong! This is the commanders order! Either you go to Zero Wing or leave the team. Do you wish to leave the team? The freckled youth named Tiantong no longer dared complain. Although he was still unreconciled to the situation, he did not dare defy the middle-aged man. Similarly, everyone else in the group held their tongue, nobody daring to voice any opinions. This was because this middle-aged man wearing a black shirt was not only Crimson Mask, the Eternal Glory adventurer teams vice commander, but also the strongest person in the adventurer team. He was so powerful that even if everyone in their adventurer team, including their commander, Ji Luorong, banded together, they would just barely be able to hold their ground against him. On the western continent, he was also known to many as Crimson Mask the Demon! In one instance, in order to save a companion cornered by a large Guild, he had charged into a map sealed off by an army of 10,000 all by himself. This army had over 1,000 Tier 3 experts, yet not only had this 10,000-man army gotten routed, but none of the 10,000 players had managed to leave the map alive, either. After this battle, the nickname Crimson Mask the Demon began to spread across the continent. As a result, Eternal Glory had a much easier time operating out in the fields. Moreover, Crimson Mask possessed an extraordinary identity even in the real world. He used to be very famous in the bodyguard industry. Many international corporations had sought to employ him. However, for some reason, he had suddenly retired as a bodyguard to become a full-time gamer, thoroughly investing his life in Gods Domain. As for his decision to join Eternal Glory, which had been a weak adventurer team back then, that had simply been an accident. After seeing that everyone had quieted down, Crimson Mask nodded and led the group into Zero Wing Towers lobby. As soon as Crimson Mask and the others entered the lobby, a beautiful woman with shoulder-length hair in sportswear approached their group. The core members emblem pinned on her top indicated that she was a member of Zero Wing. When this woman appeared, Eternal Glorys members automatically raised their guard. The expression of Crimson Mask, in particular, turned grave when he saw her. This was because the pressure and presence this woman gave off were simply too powerful. Although the woman did not exude any kind of aura, they couldnt help feeling nervous for some reason when standing in her presence. Faced with this feeling, ordinary people would most likely think nothing of it. However, as players who had fought in numerous life-and-death battles in Gods Domain, Eternal Glorys members had long since honed their intuition beyond that of ordinary people. Anyone capable of making them feel nervous definitely wasnt an ordinary person. Eyeing the woman approaching them, Crimson Mask inwardly calculated his chances of winning should he fight her. However, after a round of careful observation, he was surprised to conclude that he had only an even chance of victoryand this was only because his physique was stronger. Could she be Fire Dance, the commander of Zero Wings main force? No matter how Crimson Mask thought about the situation, this was the only possibility he could think of. Otherwise, he couldnt explain why this woman before him gave him such immense pressure. You must be Eternal Glorys members, right? the woman said, smiling as she scanned the group before her. You can call me Turtledove. Ive already heard about your situation from the Guild Leader. Since you have come to Zero Wing, you can treat Zero Wing as your home from now on. Your rooms are ready, so you can go there and rest whenever you want. After saying so, Turtledove led Crimson Mask and the others toward the elevator to the residential area. Turtledove? While following after Turtledove, Crimson Mask and the others revealed confused expressions. This was especially true for Crimson Mask. Before going to Zero Wings headquarters, he had looked into the peak experts under Zero Wings command. However, there was no one named Turtledove on the list. Even Tier 4 experts dont give off such powerful mental pressure. Could she be one of the trump cards Zero Wing is secretly cultivating? Tiantong was also inwardly surprised when he looked at Turtledove. Tiantong had met many experts, but this was the first time he had come across someone capable of giving such powerful pressure in the real world. Moreover, this was merely a pressure Turtledove was radiating subconsciously. Only those who had experienced countless harsh battles and training would develop such a temperament and aura. This was something even Crimson Mask had yet to accomplish even now. Crimson Mask was incredibly strong. He could defeat even master martial artists in a few moves. Despite his strength, Tiantong had never felt such pressure coming from the middle-aged man. As the group was waiting to enter the spacious elevator, two men walked out of it. These two men were clad in sportswear similar to Turtledoves. They also wore the emblem for Zero Wings core members on their tops. The instant these two young men appeared, Crimson Mask and the others broke out in a cold sweat. This was because, in their eyes, the two men that just exited the elevator were no different from beasts. Even someone with dull senses would feel a chill crawl down their spine when bathed in the violent auras and oppressive feeling the two men exuded. Moreover, the two were incredibly fit as well. In fact, they were even superior to Crimson Mask. However, the presence of these two young men did not cause any of the Zero Wing members nearby any trouble. Instead, these Zero Wing members acted as if they did not see these two people, with some of them even chatting and laughing among themselves. Whats wrong with these people? Tiantong was flabbergasted when he saw the behavior of the Zero Wing members around him. Can they not sense this oppressive feeling at all? Right now, Tiantong felt as if a lion was baring its fangs and claws at him, as if death itself was staring at him. If an ordinary person were subjected to such a feeling for long periods, they might even go crazy. Yet, Zero Wings members seemed oblivious to this oppressive feeling. Looking at the two departing men, Crimson Mask couldnt help asking Turtledove, Miss Turtledove, may I know who those two people are? The instant those two young men exited the elevator, Crimson Mask had the feeling that he was doomed. This was because both of those young men were evidently stronger than him. If the two of them attacked him together, he wouldnt even have a chance to retaliate. Theyre Shadow Sword and Flying Shadow, Turtledove answered calmly. Because they have been improving quite slowly recently, Big Sis Fire has been scolding them a lot. Currently, the two of them must train with Master Lei Bao for two hours every day. Otherwise, they will be prohibited from entering Gods Domain. Slow improvement? Turtledoves words rendered Tiantong speechless. She must be boasting! Yes! Turtledove is definitely boasting! After all, who could possibly find two guys who are both stronger than Crimson Mask to be lacking? However, when Tiantong and the others finished settling into their rooms and visited Zero Wings training room, they discovered that Zero Wings headquarters was basically a den of monsters. This was because they witnessed Shadow Sword and Flying Shadow getting beaten up and yelled at by a sultry beauty dressed in a red T-shirt and shorts. The two young men were utterly incapable of fighting back at all. From an outsiders perspective, it looked as if an adult was beating up two children. While Eternal Glorys members were training in Zero Wings headquarters, Shi Fengs group arrived back in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Muxin promptly bade farewell to Shi Feng and returned to the Boulder Corporations mansion. She intended to report the matter of the War of Worlds to the Guild and begin preparations for it as soon as possible. As for Ji Luorong, she arrived at Shi Fengs residential unit. To her surprise, there were actually two big sisters sharing the residential unit. Neither of these two big sisters was inferior to her older sister in appearance. This was especially true for Gentle Snow. She was basically a goddess who had descended to the mortal world. Moreover, these two big sisters were incredibly strong and knowledgeable in combat as well. When the two of them saw Ji Luorong going through her daily training, not only were they able to point out her flaws in the blink of an eye, but their advice was also easy to understand. Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, in a restaurant a short distance away from Shi Fengs residential unit Yi Kui stood respectfully beside a burly young man and reported carefully, Mr. Wang, according to my investigation, Black Flame and that little girl are living in that residential area. However, they are currently remaining in their house, so it isnt suitable to take action now. Im afraid Ill have to waste some of your time. No need for that much trouble. Chuckling, the youth named Wang Xuanming said nonchalantly, Thats merely an ordinary residential area. Besides, its just teaching a neutralizing grandmaster a lesson. I can just sneak in at midnight. I guarantee that none of the surveillance systems in place will notice me. Then, Ill have to trouble you with that, Mr. Wang. Yi Kui did not doubt Wang Xuanmings claim. Those surveillance systems might be able to stop him, but they definitely couldnt stop someone like Wang Xuanming. Of course, it would be a different story if Shi Feng were living in a mansion. Unfortunately, Shi Feng was only living in an ordinary residential area, and the level of security in such a place wasnt particularly amazing. Chapter 2847 - Den of Monsters? The night was quiet, and the moon hung high in the sky. Apart from the street lights, no other light source shone in the Sixth Southern District. It was evident that the people living in this residential area had already gone to bed. Outside the residential area, Yi Kui approached Wang Xuanming, who was all in black, and reported carefully, Mr. Wang, all the houses in the residential area have already turned off their lights. Only a few monitoring facilities are still operating there. In addition, we found 32 Enforcement Robots patrolling the area. They do not follow any set patrol routes. The reason the Upper Zone was incredibly safe wasnt just the Green God Companys absolute authority in the Upper Zone. Apart from that, there was also the fact that anyone who had lived here for some time would gain a physique rivaling that of Henglian masters in the outside world. Moreover, while the Upper Zone prioritized mental strength above all, every resident living in the Upper Zone still possessed exceptionally high combat standards. Defeating such people within a short period would be incredibly difficult. Most importantly, Enforcement Robots constantly patrolled every corner of the Upper Zone. Not only did these Enforcement Robots operate using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, but their bodies were also made of titanium alloy and other special alloys. Even if they received a hit from a cannon of ancient times, they would, at most, suffer minor damage, although it was highly unlikely that a cannon could ever land a hit on these Enforcement Robots. This was because these robots possessed inhuman reaction speeds and physiques. Thanks to these factors, they could rival neutralizing grandmasters. Before these Enforcement Robots, both neutralizing grandmasters and Henglian grandmasters were nothing. Hence, Henglian grandmasters dared not take any covert action in the Upper Zone. At most, they would openly cross hands with their opponents. This frightening technology was exclusive to the Green God Company and was one reason the various corporations worldwide feared the Green God Company so much. Thirty-two? Nodding, Wang Xuanming said, Okay. Give me a map of their general location. Wang Xuanming was not the slightest bit surprised to find so many Enforcement Robots in a residential area. In fact, this number was significantly lower than what mansion districts would boast. Even an ordinary mansion district would have at least 200 Enforcement Robots on patrol at all times. The security there was truly impeccable. It was only because Shi Feng was living in an ordinary residential area that Wang Xuanming had an opportunity to take action. Even then, Wang Xuanming was only confident of teaching Shi Feng a small lesson and heavily injuring him. This was because these Enforcement Robots were incredibly fast. The first Enforcement Robot would arrive within eight seconds of the moment he broke into Shi Fengs house. This was also the basic arrangement for ordinary residential areas. Hence, after Wang Xuanming factored in the time he needed to escape, he concluded that he only had a very short time to do battle. If he delayed too long and got discovered by an Enforcement Robot, he shouldnt even think of escaping. As for putting up a fight against the Enforcement Robots, that was simply suicidal. These are the locations of the 32 robots ten seconds ago, Yi Kui said as he transferred the data to Wang Xuanmings quantum watch. Immediately, 32 red dots appeared on the map displayed on Wang Xuanmings watch. After glancing at the map, Wang Xuanming smiled and said, It seems Xia Qingying is treating this guy quite well. With this distribution, Ill only have seven seconds to conclude the operation. Seven seconds? Yi Kui frowned at Wang Xuanmings estimate. How about I attract the attention of those robots? There might only be a one-second difference between seven seconds and eight seconds, but a Henglian grandmaster could cross a distance of several dozen meters in one second. Hence, one second was by no means a short period. Relax. Grinning, Wang Xuanming said, Let alone this residential area, Ive infiltrated even more dangerous places than this in the past. Seven seconds is more than enough for me already. If an ordinary Henglian grandmaster were taking action, seven seconds would indeed be insufficient for them to injure a neutralizing grandmaster and escape without getting caught. Not to mention, Shi Feng was a neutralizing grandmaster who had achieved an incredibly high standard in his mental strength. The control he had over his body was far superior to the average neutralizing grandmasters, which would make teaching him a lesson even more difficult. However, this wasnt a problem for Wang Xuanming. After all, he was only half a step away from becoming a mental strength master. The control he could exert over his body was far beyond what an ordinary Henglian grandmaster like Yi Kui could exert. In a situation where Wang Xuanming fully exerted himself, he would need only three seconds to kill a Henglian grandmaster, let alone a neutralizing grandmaster. Besides, his goal was only to injure Shi Feng heavily. Yi Kui did not doubt the man in the slightest. After all, not only was Wang Xuanming incredibly famous in Haitian Citys Upper Zone, but Yi Kui had sparred with him before and suffered defeat after exchanging a single punch. Moreover, after that exchange, his entire arm had gone numb and became paralyzed for a short perioddespite Wang Xuanming holding back. Before that fight, Yi Kui had never thought that it would be possible for a person to possess such incredible strength. Wang Xuanmings strength could practically rival Supermans. With such strength, it would be childs play for Wang Xuanming to teach Shi Feng a lesson. After Wang Xuanming made some basic preparations, he promptly sneaked into the residential area by himself. Wang Xuanmings actions were swift and silent. Despite Yi Kui keeping a close eye on him, the latter disappeared from his sight after just three seconds. Did his control over his body improve even further? Yi Kui shuddered involuntarily when Wang Xuanming disappeared into the coverless residential area. This was the first time he had seen someone with such an astonishing grasp of their body and surroundings. If Wang Xuanming decided to take action against him, the consequences would be unprecedented. Yi Kui felt very fortunate that Lu Tiandi had a good relationship with Wang Xuanming. If the two of them were hostile, then as Lu Tiandis butler-cum-bodyguard, he would definitely suffer a miserable death. While Yi Kui was in awe of Wang Xuanmings capabilities, Wang Xuanming successfully evaded the Enforcement Robots one after another and arrived before Shi Fengs residential unit undetected. However, Wang Xuanming did not rush to break into the house. Instead, he hid in a corner and silently observed his surroundings, then inspected the distribution of the 32 Enforcement Robots. He was being so cautious because the only way he could enter the house was by breaking down the door; hacking the lock system was simply impossible. Meanwhile, the moment he broke down the door, the nearby Enforcement Robots would take action. Hence, he needed to have a precise grasp of his timing and plan his escape route first. Otherwise, he would definitely get caught. Good! There are three escape routes! So long as I can teach that Shi Feng a lesson in five seconds, I can get out of this residential area scot-free! After planning his escape routes on his quantum watch and conducting some mental simulations, Wang Xuanming set his sights on the nearby door. He then put on the helmet he carried, thoroughly concealing his identity. And as soon as he finished mentally preparing himself, he strode forward silently and arrived in front of the door in the blink of an eye. Subsequently, he kicked the door without hesitation. The door deformed, smashed open in an instant. Immediately afterward, the alarm in the house rang, and six Enforcement Robots received the alert almost simultaneously. These six Enforcement Robots then dashed straight for Shi Fengs house. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who was logged into Gods Domain, also received the intruder alert as soon as the alarm sounded, and logged out of the game immediately. His reaction speed was so fast that he completed the entire process in just one second. However, for a Henglian grandmaster, one second was a long time. Even though the house had a 200-square-meter footprint, Wang Xuanming still passed through the long corridor and arrived in the middle of the living room in just one second. The next moment, just as Wang Xuanming entered the 60-square-meter living room and was about to charge toward Shi Fengs bedroom, he was stunned. This was because he discovered a woman with silky, waist-length hair sitting on the living room sofa. Wearing a snow-white nightgown, she quietly regarded Wang Xuanming with eyes that carried neither joy nor sorrow. Looking at the absolute beauty before him, Wang Xuanming smiled and said, Miss, its bad for your skin to stay up this late! Wang Xuanming did not stay surprised for long. This was because the information he had acquired had indicated that Shi Feng was living together with two women, who appeared to be Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders. As Wang Xuanming spoke, he did not stop his feet at all. In just a few steps, he had already arrived before Gentle Snow. Immediately afterward, he executed footwork and split his body into three afterimages. These three afterimages then executed a chop at Gentle Snow simultaneously, the chops breaking the sound barrier. Rest up for a week! The three chops Wang Xuanming executed were lightning-fast. Facing this move, even a neutralizing grandmaster would barely manage to stop two of the blows. The next moment, the three chops could be seen landing on Gentle Snows body simultaneously. Huh? However, the instant his hand hit Gentle Snows body, Wang Xuanming was stunned. An afterimage! Moreover, before Wang Xuanming realized it, another lithe figure had appeared beside him. This figure was none other than Gentle Snow. At this time, Gentle Snow still regarded him with the same emotionless gaze, apparently unaffected by his attack. Dammit! Where did that guy find such a monster?! Wang Xuanming stared at Gentle Snow in shock and confusion. He also couldnt understand how Gentle Snow could be so powerful despite being so young. Before clashing with Gentle Snow, he already had an inkling that she would be a difficult opponent. Hence, he had gone all-out right off the bat to end the fight quickly. However, when he exchanged moves with Gentle Snow, he understood just how terrifying the woman was. No! Shes not just terrifying! Shes practically inhuman! He could clearly tell that Gentle Snows physical fitness was only at the standard of Henglian masters, which was far inferior to his own. Nevertheless, she had reacted to his attack as if she had long since known what he would do. Moreover, he had even failed to perceive her evasion. While he was executing his earlier attack, the figure he saw sitting on the sofa had merely been an afterimage his mind had fixated on. The moment he began his attack, Gentle Snow herself had already disappeared from the sofa. The ability to evade a Henglian grandmasters mental perception wasnt something that could be gained overnight. It was a high-level technique that had to be cultivated through rigorous training and countless battles involving life and death. While Wang Xuanming might look like a 25-year-old man, he was, in reality, nearing 35 already. Yet, even at his age, he had just barely touched upon the threshold of this technique. In contrast, not only had this young woman before him learned this technique, but she had also mastered it to the point where she could dodge the attack of a half-step mental strength master with ease. Upon thinking up to this point, Wang Xuanming rushed to the door almost immediately. He had no intention of staying here for even a second longer. If he were to clash against such a monster, it would be impossible for him to produce any results within the limited time available. If he stayed any longer, the Enforcement Robots would catch him. However, when Wang Xuanming reached the entrance, he found another lithe figure standing by the door. This person was none other than Aqua Rose. Scram! Looking at the woman dressed in a light-blue nightgown before him, Wang Xuanming grew enraged. Not only had he failed to accomplish his mission, but there was even a monster behind him. If he wasted any more time here, he would definitely fall into the Enforcement Robots hands. Hence, Wang Xuanmings first reaction when seeing Aqua Rose was to attack her with everything he had. The next moment, over a dozen fists could be seen punching at Aqua Rose, every punch carrying the full strength of a Henglian grandmaster. Even a Henglian grandmaster would suffer internal injuries and lose consciousness if they got hit by such a barrage of punches. However, Wang Xuanming was dumbfounded once he finished executing his attack. When his fists had landed on the woman before him, he felt as if he were shadow-boxing. Not only did his attacks fail to repel the woman, but the woman had even moved closer to him. By the time Wang Xuanming had executed well over a hundred punches, Aqua Rose stood only half a step away from his two-meter-tall body, her delicate palm smacking his chest. Despite Aqua Rose only executing a gentle strike, Wang Xuanming felt an intense pain in his chest. The pain was so unbearable that he stumbled two steps back. How is this possible?! Wang Xuanming gaped at the woman before him in disbelief. A monster! Another monster! At this time, Gentle Snow arrived behind Wang Xuanming and was quietly looking at the burly man. Wang Xuanming revealed an incomparably ashen expression as he switched his gaze between Aqua Rose and Gentle Snow, wishing he could kill Yi Kui. How did that man conduct his investigation? Two inhuman monsters actually lived inside an ordinary residential unit. Even the security level at the mansion areas couldnt compare to the security of this little house. Chapter 2848 - Uproar At the entrance of the Sixth Southern District Ten minutes have gone by already. Looking at his quantum watch, Yi Kui smiled in delight. Mr. Wang should be taking action right about now. Yi Kui did not doubt Wang Xuanmings strength in the slightest. If not for the Enforcement Robots being too powerful, Yi Kui wouldve wanted to spectate the fight at a close distance and see how terrified and helpless Shi Feng was against Wang Xuanming. After all, a neutralizing grandmaster like Shi Feng would be utterly incapable of resisting Wang Xuanmings strength. The most he could do was run away. Once Shi Feng was taken care of, dealing with Ji Luorong would become a lot easier. Just as Yi Kui was entertaining such thoughts, a loud noise suddenly came from the residential area. Has he started taking action? Yi Kui grew excited when he heard the noise, and he couldnt help taking a few steps toward the residential area. Although he knew that the most he would see from his location was Shi Fengs building, this was more than enough. He was only curious to find out how many seconds Shi Feng would last against a monster like Wang Xuanming. Three seconds? Or perhaps four seconds? Based on the strength Shi Feng had displayed previously, Yi Kui admitted that the younger man was indeed stronger than himself. However, if it came down to an all-out fight, he would have a great chance of victory. After all, Henglian grandmasters did not possess just incredible defensive capabilities but also recovery abilities far superior to the average persons. Yi Kui mightve suffered significant damage from Shi Fengs palm strike, but he had also recovered from the injury very quickly. One could say that the only advantages Shi Feng had over the average Henglian grandmaster were speed and destructive power. However, in front of Wang Xuanming, these advantages would be negligible. Hence, Shi Feng would probably last against Wang Xuanming roughly as long as an average Henglian grandmaster would. After leaving his hiding spot, Yi Kui immediately noticed Wang Xuanming charging into Shi Fengs house. Wang Xuanmings speed was so fast that Yi Kui didnt even catch a clear sight of him. However, two seconds after Wang Xuanming disappeared into the house, he actually reappeared at the entrance. Hes done already?! Yi Kui was dumbfounded when he saw Wang Xuanming back at the entrance of Shi Fengs house. He never thought that Wang Xuanming would be so powerful as to end the fight in just one second. With such strength, calling Wang Xuanming a monster wouldnt be an exaggeration at all. Wang Xuanming was on a whole different level from Henglian grandmasters like himself. However, in the next moment, Yi Kui was stunned once more. A woman wearing a light-blue nightgown had actually appeared before the entrance without him realizing it. Meanwhile, as if agitated by this womans appearance, Wang Xuanming promptly launched a flurry of punches at her. Even from several hundred meters away, Yi Kui could clearly sense the terrifying aura Wang Xuanming exuded. Madness! Violence! Destruction! Nobody could possibly survive Wang Xuanmings chaotic punches. Has he lost his mind? Yi Kui was horrified. If Wang Xuanming had simply taught Shi Feng a lesson and landed the latter in the hospital for several months, the Green God Company wouldnt look too deeply into the matter. At most, it would strengthen the residential areas security and give Shi Feng some compensation. However, if Wang Xuanming took a life in the Upper Zone, he would touch the Green God Companys bottom line. At that time, the company would definitely conduct a thorough investigation into the matter until it found the culprit. Once Wang Xuanming was caught, even the big shots living in the middle layer wouldnt be able to help him. In fact, he might even drag down Lu Tiandi and Yi Kui as accomplices. However, before Yi Kui could recover from his shock, he received yet another jolt. This time, his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. This was because the woman dressed in a nightgown actually remained unscathed despite facing Wang Xuanmings flurry of punches. She even moved closer and closer to Wang Xuanming and eventually planted a palm on his chest. The instant the womans blow landed, Wang Xuanming actually stumbled two steps back and clutched his chest in pain. He also stared at the woman before him with fear in his eyes. Who is she? Why did such a monster appear in Shi Fengs house? Yi Kui was shocked and confused as he looked at Aqua Rose, who stood in the corridor outside Shi Fengs house. He even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasnt hallucinating. Wang Xuanming, an incredibly powerful Henglian grandmaster, had actually lost to a frail woman. As Yi Kui gaped in shock, Wang Xuanming added to Yi Kuis confusion by charging forward and attacking Aqua Rose once more. He actually showed no signs of trying to escape from another location. However, Yi Kui quickly noticed that another woman of extraordinary beauty had walked out of the house. This woman was similarly dressed in a snow-white nightgown and had silky black hair flowing down to her waist. Under the illumination of moonlight, she looked just like a goddess that had descended to the mortal world. Although this woman did not exude an imposing aura, the indifference in her eyes combined with Wang Xuanmings strange behavior allowed Yi Kui to guess what was going on. Most likely, the woman behind Wang Xuanming was a monster as well. Hence, he did not choose to enter the house and break out from another location. After all, if Wang Xuanming were to fight inside the more spacious house, he would have to face those two monstrous women simultaneously. No matter how powerful Wang Xuanming was, he definitely wouldnt have any opportunity to escape under such circumstances. Hence, he could only choose to fight in the narrow hallway and risk a pincer attack. However, contrary to Wang Xuanmings expectations, Gentle Snow had no intention of double-teaming him. She simply stood aside and quietly looked at the broken door, appearing quite bothered about it. In other words, the broken door seemed much more important to Gentle Snow than Wang Xuanming was. On the other side, Aqua Rose treated Wang Xuanmings series of desperate attacks as if they were childs play. Not only did she evade all of them effortlessly, but she also landed another palm strike on Wang Xuanming, aggravating his injuries. Their clash continued for four seconds. At this point, Wang Xuanming could no longer stand steadily, so weakened that even a Henglian grandmaster could go up against him. Trying to escape in such a condition was a luxury he couldnt afford. Before Wang Xuanming could launch another round of attacks against Aqua Rose, the alerted Enforcement Robots finally arrived at the scene. After distinguishing everyones identities, the Enforcement Robots promptly took Wang Xuanming into custody. Once arrested by the Enforcement Robots, even a Henglian grandmaster would have no chance of putting up a struggle. As Yi Kui watched Wang Xuanmings capture, he noticed Gentle Snow walking out of the house and looking in his direction. Fear seized Yi Kuis mind, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He instinctively turned around and fled immediately. She shouldnt have seen me. I was so far away, and I even had my aura concealed. Even if shes a monster, she shouldnt have discovered me. Yi Kui reassured himself this way as he fled. He repeatedly told himself that he was merely imagining things. Only after Yi Kui had left Yuantian Citys Upper Zone did he finally calm down from receiving Gentle Snows attention. That was too damned scary! How can such a monster exist in this world?! Chills crawled down Yi Kuis back when he recalled Gentle Snows indifferent gaze. I need to have the young master report this matter to the higher-ups immediately! Those monsters arent things we can offend! Those two women simply arent human! As Yi Kui was fleeing Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, Xia Qingying, the base layers general manager, arrived at Shi Fengs residential area together with several supervisors. Whos the fool who would actually dare assault someone in a residential area? Luo Hanbin frowned as he looked at the broken door before him. It had already been several years since a home assault had happened in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. The previous occasion had greatly angered the Green God Company. Although the victim had sustained only heavy injuries, not only had the offender gotten banished from the Upper Zone forever, but he was even imprisoned for ten years once outside. Now that another occurrence had taken place, even if the Green God Companys executives didnt say anything, the managers of Yuantian Citys Upper Zone definitely wouldnt spare the offender. However, when Luo Hanbin entered the house and saw Wang Xuanming being held in place by two Enforcement Robots, his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Wang Xuanming! A peerless genius of Haitian Citys Upper Zone! Wang Xuanming was a big shot who was only half a step away from becoming a mental strength master. Even a supervisor like Luo Hanbin had to act politely around him. Meanwhile, with Wang Xuanmings strength, he could rank within the top three of Haitian Citys Upper Zones base layer. The man even had a mental strength master as his teacher. With all these conditions, he was almost certain to become a permanent resident of the middle layer. Let alone Luo Hanbin, even Xia Qingying was shocked. Originally, she had expected the offender to be an ignorant punk. She never imagined that the offender would be a peerless genius of Haitian Citys Upper Zone. She also couldnt help wondering how Shi Feng had apprehended Wang Xuanming. With Wang Xuanmings skills, Xia Qingying had only a slight edge over him. She couldnt guarantee she would win if they clashed. And if Wang Xuanming focused solely on escaping, even she wouldnt be able to hold him down for seven or eight seconds. Looking at Shi Feng sitting on the living room sofa, Xia Qingying blurted out, You sure know how to surprise people. The last time, you broke the Mental Paths record. Now, you even brought down Haitian Citys Wang Xuanming. Smiling bitterly, Shi Feng said, An accident. This really is an accident. I never thought that a big shot from Haitian Citys Upper Zone would actually take action against me out of the blue. From the time Wang Xuanming had broken into the house and until his apprehension, Shi Feng hadnt done anything. He had been a spectator all the while. He also never expected an expert like Wang Xuanming to attack him. Not wishing to reveal Gentle Snow and Aqua Roses matters for the time being, he did not dispel Xia Qingyings misunderstanding. Alright, then. Seeing that Shi Feng didnt intend to continue speaking, Xia Qingying said, Now that Wang Xuanming has been arrested, the Green God Company will definitely punish him. Even his teacher wont be able to do anything about it. However, his teacher is incredibly protective of his students. While he might not be able to do anything about Wang Xuanmings punishment, he is sure to pick a fight with you. Although we will strengthen the security of this area, you should still be careful. Its best if you dont leave the residential area for the time being. Even base layer general managers like herself would have a headache dealing with the anger of a mental strength master, let alone Shi Feng, who held only Grade 1 authority. Thank you for your warning, General Manager Xia, Shi Feng said, nodding. Shortly after Xia Qingyings group left with Wang Xuanming, word of Wang Xuanmings assault on Shi Fengs house spread like wildfire. Even though it was already midnight, everyone in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone still quickly received news of it. Chapter 2849 - Hong Xinyuan’s Choice In one of Yuantian Citys Upper Zones mansion districts Uncle Hong, did something happen? Why did you suddenly call for me? Muxin asked in confusion as she looked at Hong Xinyuan, who was standing by a French window and looking at the night view outside. She was just about to explore an ancient ruin. She had gathered her subordinates already. If she were lucky, she might discover a Tier 4 Legacy Land or a Legacy Guidance there. These things were incredibly important for the current Frost Heaven. The War of Worlds would be starting soon. Although her investigation had turned up very little information about the war, she had managed to deduce that they would face players of another world. At that time, the only options left for them would be to conquer or be conquered. It would be different from when players of Otherworlds entered the main continent. There would be no third option available to them. Hence, Frost Heaven needed to make as many preparations as possible before the War of Worlds began. Naturally, increasing the number of Tier 4 players the Guild had was a top priority. Kerui, who stood beside Muxin, was also confused by Hong Xinyuans summons. She had just fallen asleep, yet before she could get any rest, she was rudely roused out of bed. Hence, she was still incredibly sleepy and wanted nothing more than to crawl back into her bed right now. Take a look for yourselves, Hong Xinyuan said as he passed a document to Muxin and Kerui. The document was none other than a summary of Wang Xinyuans home assault in the Sixth Southern District. How is this possible?! Muxin couldnt help doubting her eyes when she read the report. She had heard of Haitian Citys Upper Zones Wang Xuanming. An expert of his caliber could definitely rank as the number one or number two expert in the base layer of Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. If such an expert decided to take covert action, even the Boulder Corporation would be powerless. All the corporation could do was have its members take shelter in its mansion temporarily. Nevertheless, Wang Xuanming had not only failed in his attack on Shi Feng but even gotten apprehended. How could anyone possibly believe this? He was actually that powerful? After reading the report, Kerui was now wide-awake. Simultaneously, a hint of confusion had appeared in her eyes. Everything is as the report states. Looking at Muxins surprised expression, Hong Xinyuan said, I have to admit that I indeed underestimated Shi Feng. It seems that he has kept a lot more secrets than we thought. After pondering on the matter for a moment, Muxin asked, Uncle Hong, do you mean for us to deepen our relationship with Zero Wing? Thats right. You already know whats coming in the future. When the war begins, even superpowers will have difficulty surviving. If we wish to survive, thoroughly solidifying our alliance with Zero Wing will undoubtedly be a good choice, Hong Xinyuan said, nodding. I also plan to sell some of the corporations Phantom Potions and Life Potions to Zero Wing. These should be what Zero Wing lacks the most right now. I understand. Ill contact Zero Wing immediately. Muxin nodded and promptly left the living room. Kerui snapped out of her daze. Looking at Hong Xinyuan, she asked, Uncle Hong, do we need to go to such lengths? If Hong Xinyuan were merely trying to form a strategic alliance with Zero Wing, then she could still accept such a decision. After all, the present strength and potential Zero Wing had displayed far exceeded those of the various superpowers. In fact, Zero Wing might even become an existence rivaling the Five Great Super Guilds. The only things the Guild lacked now were time and talents. However, Hong Xinyuans decision to sell some of the Boulder Corporations Phantom Potions and Life Potions to Zero Wing greatly confused her. These items served as the foundation for the various corporations. Even the successors of major corporations could get their hands on only a limited number of them. You dont understand. Wang Xuanming isnt someone who can be defeated so easily. The cards and secrets Shi Feng has hidden are absolutely extraordinary. Shaking his head, Hong Xinyuan said, Deepening our relationship with him now will be beneficial for both the corporation and you two sisters. In reality, apart from Shi Fengs great potential, another reason behind Hong Xinyuans decision to go to such lengths to befriend Shi Feng was an astonishing piece of information Xia Qingying had leaked to him. Shi Feng wasnt the person who defeated Wang Xuanming! Hong Xinyuan knew that Wang Xuanmings combat power was only slightly beneath Xia Qingyings. Hence, defeating Wang Xuanming was an incredibly challenging proposition. Needless to say, defeating him in just a few seconds would be even more difficult. Only the big shots living in the Upper Zones middle layer could defeat Wang Xuanming that fast. If the Boulder Corporation could befriend such big shots, it would bring much greater benefits to the corporation than simply silently developing its foundations on the base layer. At the same time, inside a mansion in the distant Haitian Citys Upper Zone Young master, what should we do? Yi Kui asked in a worried tone as he looked at Lu Tiandi, who had just exited his gaming cabin. Yuantian Citys Upper Zone has already apprehended Mr. Wang. If your teacher blames you Wang Xuanming was a bona fide peerless genius. Finding a student like him was difficult, even for the middle layers big shots. Now that Wang Xuanming had been caught conducting a home assault, he would definitely be banished from the Upper Zone. Without the Upper Zones various resources, any further improvements would be utterly impossible for him. After hearing Yi Kuis report, Lu Tiandi smiled and said, We dont need to do anything! Although the outcome is different from what I imagined, things are still progressing according to plan. Now, all we need to do is sit back and wait. Wang Xuanming had always been their teachers favorite pupil, receiving the best resources available. Hence, Lu Tiandi had always gotten short-changed in terms of resources. If not for Lu Xingluo suffering a major failure, his teacher wouldnt have started placing importance on Lu Tiandi at all. Lu Tiandis original plan had Wang Xuanming and Shi Feng forming a grudge against each other. In his opinion, with Shi Fengs abilities and potential, Wang Xuanming probably couldnt do anything significant to Shi Feng. Once Wang Xuanming failed in his attack, Shi Feng would definitely retaliate and create a lot of problems for Wang Xuanming. Naturally, Wang Xuanming wouldnt sit still and would retaliate against Shi Feng as well. Shi Feng had exceeded Lu Tiandis expectations and defeated Wang Xuanming. However, this was not bad news for Lu Tiandi; in fact, this was the outcome he hoped to see the most. After all, not only would Wang Xuanming get banished from the Upper Zone now, but Shi Feng would also earn the ire of their teacher. Once their teacher retaliated, Shi Feng would most likely be forced to leave the Upper Zone. In fact, he might even disappear from the world altogether. At that time, Lu Tiandi could plan on taking over Zero Wing. According to plan? Yi Kui shuddered involuntarily when he saw Lu Tiandis indifferent smile. He never thought that Lu Tiandi would scheme against even Wang Xuanming. Ignoring his butlers reaction, Lu Tiandi said, Alright, move along. I still need you to take care of Ji Luorongs group in Gods Domain! Yes, sir! Yi Kui responded in a hurry. Although he had long since known that those who stood in Lu Tiandis way would never have a good ending, he still got frightened when he saw one of Lu Tiandis schemes coming to fruition. Meanwhile, after Wang Xuanmings assault, Yuantian Citys Upper Zone arranged for Shi Fengs group to live in a better residential unit. Xia Qingying had an Enforcement Robot stationed near Shi Fengs new house long-term to prevent a similar situation from occurring. As icing on the cake, the Green God Company gifted ten Phantom Potions and ten Life Potions to Shi Feng as compensation. However, Shi Feng did not feel happy at all in this situation. On the contrary, he even felt slightly pressured. Now that Wang Xuanming is in custody, his teacher definitely wont spare me. Even with an Enforcement Robot guarding the house 24/7, itll probably be difficult to stop the retaliation of a mental strength master. As Shi Feng studied the information Xia Qingying supplied him, his head ached. Fu Jiuzhong, Wang Xuanmings teacher, was no ordinary individual. He was an expert that ranked at the top even in the middle layer and wielded incredible authority. He even had influence over several corporations operating in Yuantian City that rivaled the Boulder Corporation in scale. If Fu Jiuzhong began targeting Shi Feng, Shi Feng would most likely have difficulty acquiring resources from Yuantian Citys base layer. Although it is still a little early, it seems I have no choice but to take on the Divine Dragons trial. Even now, Shi Feng still wasnt confident of completing Auerbecks trial. This was because a Tier 4 Divine Dragon was much stronger than an ordinary Tier 4 Dragon. Even Tier 5 existences were unlikely to be a match for a Tier 4 Divine Dragon. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to challenge the trial only after further improving his Mana Body. However, it seemed that he had no choice but to push his plans forward. It was of utmost importance that he completed the Divine Dragons trial now! This was because only by completing Auerbecks trial would he become the Divine Dragons true companion. If that happened, Zero Wing could thoroughly solidify its position on the western continent, and the Starlight Fortress could serve a much greater purpose. At that time, Zero Wing would be able to not only recruit talents from the western continent in large numbers but also acquire large amounts of Seven Luminaries Crystals. After all, a Heaven Mode Regional Dungeon produced an astonishing amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals. With the Seven Luminaries Crystals he acquired, he would then be able to exchange for a bunch of Phantom Potions and Life Potions. Only by securing Phantom Potions and Life Potions in bulk could he achieve a breakthrough in his mental strength in the real world and his Concentration in Gods Domain. After returning to his room, Shi Feng promptly consumed a Phantom Potion and a Life Potion. He then lay in his Fearless Cabin and logged into the game. Chapter 2850 - Divine Dragon’s Trial Zero Wing City, Zero Wings Residence: After Shi Feng came online, the first thing he did was assign tasks to Liang Jing and Youlan, particularly the distribution of the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment he had produced. He had made more than 200 of these sets, and he tasked Youlan with secretly gathering a batch of Tier 3 experts who could equip them. Once these experts were geared with the Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment, Zero Wing would gain an additional trump card. Although the modified Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment wasnt as powerful as the original version, there was only a 15% decrease in the Basic Attributes it provided. A Tier 3 player equipped with the modified set could still go up against Mythic monsters of the same level. In addition, Shi Feng passed the Treasure of Fire to Melancholic Smile and had her procure as many Mysterious Flames as possible. They could offer the Seeds of Flame converted as an award for the Candlelight Trading Firms forgers and alchemists. By doing so, they could not only increase Candlelights productivity but also attract more Lifestyle players to join the firm. After all, a Lifestyle players promotion was largely influenced by their production success rates. When Melancholic Smile received the Treasure of Fire from Shi Feng, she was shocked. Then, uncontrollable excitement welled up inside her. She had always had a passion for Mysterious Flames. However, incredibly powerful Mysterious Flames werent easy to find. And even when the Guild did find some, she didnt have the ability to make it her own. Thus, the Mysterious Flame she currently used was only a Tier 2 Mysterious Flame. No Lifestyle player had managed to absorb either of the two Tier 3 Mysterious Flames sitting in the Guild Warehouse even now. However, the Purification Crown resolved the hurdle preventing Lifestyle players from absorbing stronger Mysterious Flames and could even produce Mysterious Flames using various types of flames. Melancholic Smile could already envision the swarms of Lifestyle players fighting to join the Candlelight Trading Firm. At that time, be it the construction of the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships or another Mobile Fortress, Candlelight wouldnt have to worry about lacking talents and manpower. At the same time, with Gentle Snow and Aqua Roses return, Zero Wing no longer lacked apex combatants to protect it. Hence, Shi Feng tasked Fire Dance with secretly gathering information on the Seven Treasures and collecting them directly, if possible. The Seven Treasures were not only crucial for his quest, but their various supportive functions were simply heaven-defying, providing incredible help to both individuals and Guilds. Previously, when players in Gods Domain were still low-leveled and weak, the likelihood of them encountering the Seven Treasures was low. However, now that more and more Tier 4 players had begun appearing, the chances of players stumbling over the Seven Treasures were much greater. Not to mention, the present Zero Wing was already far stronger than before. After its recent rapid development, Zero Wing now had more than 50,000 Tier 3 players under its commanda number that rivaled what the various superpowers had. In addition, the number of partners Zero Wing had continued to increase. Recently, Frost Heaven had thoroughly solidified its alliance with Zero Wing, drastically increasing Zero Wings influence on the eastern continent. At this point, Zero Wing could expand its territory already. Hence, his hunt for the Seven Treasures was no longer an impossible task. Moreover, he had to get his hands on the Seven Treasures to elevate Zero Wings strength further. This was because only by gathering all of the Seven Treasures could he fully utilize their power. In fact, the Seven Treasures could even suppress the Endless Abyss. If Zero Wing could acquire this power, thoroughly making an enemy out of the Five Great Super Guilds wouldnt be a problem. It also wouldnt have to fear the invasion of other Gods Domains. After Shi Feng finished assigning tasks, he promptly teleported to the Starlight Fortress to take on the Divine Dragons trial so that he could solidify Zero Wings position on the western continent. At that time, even if the World Seal broke and the War of Worlds began, Zero Wing would have the ability to defend itself against the attacks of the foreign Gods Domains powers. Western continent, Starlight Fortress: The summoning array at the top of the Summoning Tower lit up, and Shi Feng appeared in the Summoning Hall a moment later. Standing atop the Summoning Tower, Shi Feng had a full view of the Starlight Fortresss situation. At present, the Starlight Fortress was no longer the same as before. Not only had the number of players visiting the fortress increased massively, but even the weakest among them was at Tier 3. There were even quite a number of Tier 4 experts roaming the streets. After briefly scanning the fortress, Shi Feng discovered at least ten Tier 4 players, nearly outnumbering what Zero Wing City had. If not for the Divine Dragons presence, even if the Starlight Fortress had Divine Tribe and Netherworld Empires assistance, it would still be very difficult to keep all these players in check, not to mention the large number of visiting NPCs and NPC forces greedily eyeing the fortress. Yet, due to the Silver Divine Dragon, these players and NPCs had no choice but to lie low. After checking the fortresss situation, Shi Feng went to the Summoning Towers Summoning Altar, which was also the Silver Divine Dragons resting place. When Shi Feng arrived in the spacious Summoning Altar, what greeted him was the sight of a miniature version of the Silver Divine Dragon Auerbeck. The Divine Dragon, which was only around a dozen meters in length, was sleeping quietly in the middle of the room. At this time, Auerbeck had already reached Level 164. The aura it released now was on a whole other level. It was also much stronger than the Dragon Shi Feng had slain in the ancient Gods Domain. In fact, Shi Feng found it quite difficult to stand in the aura Auerbeck exuded. If an ordinary Tier 4 player were in his place, they wouldnt even be able to approach the Divine Dragon. Looking at the fully recovered Silver Divine Dragon, Shi Feng gained further understanding of Divine Dragons. He had to admit that Divine Dragons truly werent existences humans could offend. Despite Auerbeck being only at the Tier 4 Mythic rank, it was still strong enough to defeat ordinary Tier 5 existences. As for Tier 4 existences, they were nothing but ants in front of a Tier 4 Divine Dragon! Little human, youve come. Auerbeck woke up upon sensing Shi Fengs arrival. Looking at Shi Feng with its golden eyes, it said in satisfaction, It seems you have made your preparations to challenge the trial. Yes, Esteemed Divine Dragon, Shi Feng agreed, nodding. Both his Mana Body and Concentration standards had already reached a bottleneck, and it was unlikely he could make a breakthrough within a short time. If he wished to elevate his strength further, the only way to do so would be by obtaining a Legendary Weapon or Equipment. However, this evidently wasnt a feasible plan, as every Legendary Weapon and Equipment required a lot of time and manpower to acquire. Good! Since youre confident in taking on the trial, I will let you challenge it as per our previous agreement. However, let me make this clear. You only have three opportunities. If you fail to pass the trial in three tries, the contract between us will be dissolved, Auerbeck said as it rose from the ground. As for the trial you will be undertaking, it is the trial that has been passed down through generations among the Dragon race. Originally, this trial was created for Dragons. However, since you wish to become my companion, you will have to complete the Tier 4 Infant Dragons trial at the very minimum! A trial for Tier 4 Infant Dragons? Shi Feng was astonished by Auerbecks words. Although he had long since known that the Divine Dragons trial wouldnt be simple, it would seem that he had still underestimated it. A Tier 4 Infant Dragon could fight even Tier 5 existences. Yet, he was supposed to face a trial created for Tier 4 Infant Dragons. I will teleport you to the Dragon Temple. Remember: you will not be able to use external tools there. You must rely on your own strength to conquer the trial. If you die within the trial, you will be teleported back here automatically. After saying so, Auerbeck began chanting an incantation in Dragon tongue, generating divine runes around Shi Feng one after another. Five seconds later, Shi Feng was cocooned in countless golden divine runes. He then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the Summoning Altar, leaving Auerbeck by itself in the spacious room once more. After briefly getting dazzled by runes, Shi Feng gradually recovered his sight and found that he stood before a majestic temple. The temple was tens of thousands of meters tall, and it looked like a huge mountain. Even a Dragon would appear tiny in front of this temple, let alone a human. As soon as Shi Feng walked up to the thousand-meter-tall door before him, an ancient and deep voice suddenly rang out in his mind. A human? No, youre not a human. How interesting. Auerbeck actually sent you here to take the trial? Along with this voice, the phantom of a gigantic Dragon gradually faded into view before Shi Feng. This Dragon was well over a thousand meters tall, and when it appeared, Shi Feng immediately felt stifled. For a moment, he wondered if he was standing before a Tier 6 God. It seems that little fellow has a really favorable opinion of you to actually let you take the trial, the Dragon said as it looked at Shi Feng. Smiling, it continued, Very well. I will abide by the old contract since Auerbeck has sent you here. You should prepare yourself. You might not be able to pass this trial, but if you do your best, you will still receive great benefits, so make sure to cherish this opportunity! After the Dragon finished speaking, Shi Feng found that the view in front of him had changed completely. Now, what was before him wasnt a massive temple but a broken bridge covered in gray mist. Meanwhile, he was currently standing on this broken bridge, and he could vaguely make out land in the distance. The instant the gray mist enveloped him, Shi Feng was stupefied. Eternal Energy! No! To be precise, its Eternal Energy condensed into a mist form! The moment the gray mist enveloped Shi Feng, his mind felt refreshed like never before. Numerous ideas constantly emerged from the depths of his brain, and he could also view the operating principles of the Mana surrounding him with unprecedented clarity. Before Shi Feng could recover from his shock, the Dragons deep voice echoed in his mind once more. Repair the broken bridge using Mana. So long as you repair one-third of the bridge, you will pass the trial. Your time limit is three days. However, for every 300 meters you progress, the time limit will get extended by an additional day. If you fail to repair one-third of the bridge when your time runs out, you will have failed the trial. When the Dragon finished speaking, Shi Feng heard rocks breaking off somewhere nearby. Turning toward the sounds source, he found that the bridges broken end was continuously crumbling. At this rate of collapse, let alone three days, the remaining portion of the broken bridge would disappear completely in just a few hours. And once the bridge disappeared, he would plunge into the endless darkness below. Chapter 2851 - Mana Reconstruction Chapter 2851 C Mana Reconstruction What an amazing bridge! When Shi Feng spread his senses across the broken bridge, he was astounded. This was because this bridge was actually made entirely of Mana that had solidified. Although this Mana was solid, it was akin to sand. He could walk on this bridge without it collapsing like a sandcastle only because of special Mana Constructs holding the grains of sand together. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng promptly extended his Mana Domain to take control of these Mana Constructs and prevent the bridge from collapsing any further. However, the instant he did so, he was stunned. Manipulating solidified Mana is this taxing? Shi Feng had plenty of experience manipulating Mana that had condensed into a mist or liquid. In fact, he could control liquid Mana as if it were his own arms. Yet, when he tried manipulating only a small bit of solid Mana, he felt as if he was trying to move arms that had been injected with lead. Not only was the process incredibly strenuous, but even the slightest distraction meant immediately losing control of the Mana. Meanwhile, the difficulty of maintaining the entire bridges integrity was akin to holding up a weight of tens of tons. Not to mention, he also had to have this solid Mana move according to his will to reconstruct the collapsed portion of the bridge. Looking at the continuously collapsing bridge, Shi Feng finally understood just how difficult this trial was. Let alone reconstructing the bridge, just keeping the bridge from collapsing any further was already a monumental task. As Shi Feng racked his brain over how to prevent the bridge from collapsing, the phantom of a gigantic Dragon was quietly observing him in a distant cloud of mist. His grasp on Mana is too immature. Let alone three days, he wont last even three hours at this rate. After taking a look at Shi Fengs understanding and control over Mana, the Dragon shook its head and wings, disappearing silently from the mist. Time passed quickly. Now, less than half of the broken bridge, which was originally over 20 meters long, remained. Moreover, the bridges rate of collapse was even accelerating as it grew shorter. This wont do. At this rate, the entire bridge will be gone in less than half an hour. I need to think of a way to stabilize a small portion of the bridge first. Shi Feng had a headache as he looked at the collapsing bridge. He gave up on manipulating the entire bridge and chose to secure only a two-meter-length of the bridge. This was also the maximum amount of solid Mana he could currently manipulate. Any more and the solid Mana would challenge his control. Everything progressed just as Shi Feng expected. In less than 20 minutes, the portion of the bridge he had given up on collapsed completely, and only the two-meter stretch under his feet remained relatively stable. Even so, this small portion was still disintegrating gradually. How strange. Shi Feng stared in confusion at the drastically slower collapse. The Mana Constructs that had been keeping the bridge together before clearly had their Mana supply cut off and operations stopped after I arrived. However, the bridges initial rate of collapse was much slower than when I started controlling it. The rate of collapse accelerated afterward. When he saw the broken bridge starting to collapse right after he appeared, he thought it signaled the start of his trial and represented his time limit. However, when he began manipulating the solid Mana, he realized that he had been mistaken. The Mana Constructs keeping the bridge together had simply stopped operating, so the solid Mana would naturally try to revert to its original form. Is there something wrong with my manipulation method? Shi Feng couldnt help entertaining such a question. However, he promptly shook his head and denied this thought. No, I was simply manipulating the solid Mana according to the original Mana Constructs. There shouldnt be a problem with my manipulation method. Otherwise, the entire bridge wouldve collapsed instantly instead of breaking apart bit by bit. A Mana Construct was similar to a magic array. If one did not use the appropriate method to manipulate a magic array, it would not activate. This was also the case for Mana Constructs, except Mana Constructs were much more fragile than magic arrays, crumbling if manipulated incorrectly. Due to his understanding of Mana Constructs, Shi Feng had to wonder what exactly he had done wrong in preventing the bridges collapse. Due to the Eternal Energy surrounding him, Shi Fengs mind was operating with unprecedented clarity and activity. Numerous ideas came to mind, and he considered the issue from various perspectives. When less than one meter of the bridge remained, Shi Fengs eyes suddenly widened in realization. I see! Ive been doing things wrong from the very beginning! I shouldnt have tried to force the Mana! Whether manipulating my own Mana or the ambient Mana, I should guide it down the desired path instead of compelling it to do so. While forcing Mana does produce some results, Mana has its own operating principles. Not only is forcing Mana strenuous, but the bridges Mana will also conflict with my own Mana. Upon thinking up to this point, Shi Feng immediately began guiding his own Mana into the Mana Constructs holding the broken bridge together. He no longer compelled it to enter the Mana Constructs. However, guiding Mana was much more difficult than he had thought. This was because the Mana in the environment was heterogeneous. Even his own Mana was composed of various types of Mana. Needless to say, trying to guide all these diverse types of Mana to do the same thing was an impossible task. This meant that he had to refine and separate the different elements of Mana in his body and have them do different things. Originally, accomplishing such a refinement would require a lot of time. After all, the disparate elements of Mana in his body were all intermixed. Just separating them would already drive countless expert players to despair. To put this task into perspective, one could imagine a players Mana Body as a box filled with millions of marbles of different colors, and these marbles represented Mana of different elements. If players wanted to use a specific type of Mana within their bodies, they would have to sort through all of these marbles and take out the ones they wanted to use. Doing so would be incredibly difficult and time-consuming. Not to mention, a Mana Body was much more complex than a box of marbles, which would further add to the difficulty. Fortunately for Shi Feng, he had acquired a Saints Legacy. Although the Ice World Saints Legacy focused more on the ice element, the Legacy had provided an introduction to the other elements. Thank goodness that Saint Legacy mentioned the various elements of Mana. Otherwise, I likely wouldnt have any hope of completing the trial this time. Shi Feng couldnt help smiling bitterly as he sensed the jumbled Mana flowing within his body. Previously, when he made use of Mana, he did not bother segregating it at all. He simply used it as it was and didnt find any problem with it. Now, however, he realized that his past actions had thoroughly mixed up the various types of Mana in his body and made them even more difficult to separate. Separating the various types of Mana in his body without knowing their basic properties would be akin to sorting a box of colorful marbles while colorblindthat would be mission impossible. Immediately, Shi Feng began classifying his Mana based on the Ice World Saints introduction on the various elements. Fire-type Mana was violent, scorching hot, and extremely difficult to control. Ice-type Mana was quiet, cold, and hardly moved. Wind-type Mana was free, refreshing, and spirited. Different elements of Mana had their own habits and operating principles. If it were in the past, Shi Feng wouldve found it impossible to distinguish them in detail. However, Shi Feng was currently a Half-step Grandmaster Magician. While distinguishing between the various types of Mana remained difficult, it wasnt impossible. One trick he thought of to facilitate this process was constructing a single-attributed Elemental Magic Array for each of the various elements. This magic array would act as a filter and capture only the specific element of Mana it was made to capture; the other elements would pass through the magic array unimpeded. This way, whenever he wished to call upon a particular element, he could immediately use the corresponding Elemental Magic Array to gather the Mana he needed. Originally, constructing these Elemental Magic Arrays within ones Mana Body was a very delicate task. Even a Half-step Grandmaster Magician like Shi Feng would need one or two days to construct all of the necessary Elemental Magic Arrays. However, thanks to the Eternal Energy surrounding him, Shi Feng spent only 15 minutes constructing all the necessary magic arrays. Immediately, the various elements of Mana in Shi Fengs Mana Body gathered at specific locations, no longer one big heterogeneous mess. Amazing! So, this is the effect of segregating Mana? When Shi Feng scanned the Mana in his body, he found that not only had its purity undergone a qualitative transformation, but his Mana Body also resonated far more powerfully with the environment. In fact, he also had a much easier time manipulating the magic array responsible for controlling his Mana Body. Now, he could even operate his Mana Body with a threefold manipulation method. So, this is why I couldnt cross the 110% threshold despite my Concentration having reached the Tier 4 Peak standard! Looking at the system notification that had appeared before him, Shi Feng grew ecstatic. Just a moment ago, his Mana Bodys Completion Rate had hit the legendary threshold! His Mana Body had reached a 120% Completion Rate! Meanwhile, the instant his Mana Body reached the 120% threshold, Shi Feng sensed his physique improving significantly and his perception of his surroundings rising to a whole other level. Most importantly, his Mana was not only much denser than before, but its quantity had also doubled. Now that Im done segregating my Mana, its about time I started taking on the trial! Shi Feng shifted his gaze toward the half-meter-long bridge underfoot. Chapter 2852 - – Breakthrough, Tier 5 Concentration Chapter 2852 C Breakthrough, Tier 5 Concentration Even without Shi Feng deliberately maintaining the bridge, the aura he radiated was now enough to slow the bridges collapse drastically. A 120% Completion Rate Mana Body truly is amazing. No wonder people thought players could contend against a Dragon of the same tier once a players Mana Body reached 120% Completion. Shi Feng was astonished as he studied the stabilized bridge underfoot. Despite not making a conscious effort to control his Mana Body, he exerted a powerful stabilizing effect on his surroundings. With how powerful his current Mana Body was, he couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful his Mana Domain had become. Fighting a Dragon of the same tier and level aside, he could now contend against a Half-step Demon King of the same level, at the very least. Afterward, Shi Feng began injecting his segregated Mana into the broken bridge. Once he did so, the broken bridge seemed renewed. The bridges gradual collapse instantly halted, and its toughness had clearly risen to a whole new level as well. At this time, the bridge could probably receive Tier 4 attacks without sustaining any damage. Amazing! Sure enough, this is the true way to use Mana! In the past, whenever he activated a Skill or Spell, he would make use of every type of Mana available in his body to manipulate the ambient Mana around him. Achieving a 10% efficiency by doing so would already be fortunate. This was because most Skills and Spells utilized only a specific element of Mana to activate. To manipulate only a specific type of Mana in the environment, using the corresponding element of Mana to do so would yield the best results. Using other elements would still allow one to exert a certain degree of control; however, the efficiency would be incredibly poor. A backlash might even occur. Now that Shi Feng had perfectly matched his Mana with the ambient Mana, he could use the ambient Manas power at 100% efficiency. One could easily imagine how much of a boost to his combat power this change would bring. After thoroughly stabilizing the broken bridge, Shi Feng shifted his attention to the Mana Constructs keeping the bridge together. Keeping the bridges Mana Constructs stable and operational could be considered the bottom line for this trial. If he wished to pass the trial, he would need to reconstruct the bridge. Otherwise, all he could do was stand still and stare idly at the distant land until his time ran out. This is After carefully inspecting the bridge, Shi Feng was surprised. Previously, he had focused entirely on stabilizing the bridge, so he hadnt spent much time observing the bridge itself. Now that his Mana Body had reached a 120% Completion Rate, his perception of his surroundings had improved to a point where it felt as if he had again taken over a Half-step Demon Kings body. DI As expected of the Dragon races trial! This bridges Mana Constructs are simply phenomenal! Shi Feng sighed in awe as he observed the broken bridges structure. This bridge has made use of practically every property and operating principle of the various elements of Mana. Without a considerable understanding of these aspects, it would be impossible to create such Mana Constructs. In Gods Domain, it was already a heaven-defying task for players to gain a deep understanding of the operating principles of the various types of Mana. Hence, making proper use of these types of Mana was simply a luxury players couldnt afford. In fact, even the Ice World Saints Legacy provided a detailed introduction of only ice-type Mana and just briefly touched on the other elements. Needless to say, the Legacy didnt include instructions on how to use these other Mana types. However, the bridge Shi Feng stood on perfectly displayed the basic use of the various elements of Mana. It was much better than a simple text introduction! Of course, it wouldnt be an easy task to see how exactly this bridge was constructed. This was because ordinary Tier 4 existences couldnt get a clear view of the operating principles of Mana, let alone the operating principles of a Mana Construct. Only Dragons with their high Life Ratings could possibly accomplish such a feat at Tier 4. Even so, this situation was definitely a massive opportunity for Tier 4 players. The biggest hurdle Tier 4 players needed to cross to reach Tier 5 was the construction of their personalized Mana Body. This process required players to have not only excellent control over Mana but also a profound understanding of the operating principles and usage of Mana and knowledge of the construction of Mana Bodies. Meanwhile, the broken bridge underneath Shi Feng just so happened to address these problems. Suppressing the impatience in his heart, Shi Feng immediately began reconstructing the broken bridge with his own Mana. Following this, time passed quickly. Although reconstructing the bridge was incredibly challenging, due to the Eternal Energy surrounding him, Shi Feng found that the incomparably complex Mana Constructs werent impossible to understand. Despite encountering failure one after another, Shi Feng did not grow disappointed but even became increasingly excited instead. This was because he was making progress with each failure. As he continuously adjusted his utilization of the various Mana types, his control over them also improved in precision and efficiency. After experimenting for two days straight, Shi Feng finally constructed a half-meter-long bridge. I did it! I finally did it! An indescribable sense of joy and excitement welled up in Shi Fengs heart as he looked at the portion of the bridge he had reconstructed. Although the bridge he reconstructed looked much cruder than the original bridge, it did not send him plunging into the abyss below when he tried to stand on it. Most importantly, he had finally gained a basic understanding of the various Mana Constructs. This meant that he had finally reached a qualified level when it came to utilizing the various elements of Mana! With these achievements, he was confident he could begin constructing his Tier 5 Mana Body. Of course, Shi Feng did not let his achievements blind him. He still gave the trials completion top priority. After all, having a Divine Dragon as a companion was much more important than constructing his personalized Mana Body. Immediately afterward, he resumed reconstructing the broken bridge and advanced toward the distant land. Although Shi Feng had spent two days reconstructing his first half-meter-long segment, now that he had a foundation, he could reconstruct the subsequent segments much more quickly. Moreover, he also improved his precision with every segment he reconstructed, which, in turn, made his reconstructions look increasingly refined. After working for nearly a day, Shi Feng finally reached the 500-meter mark, his achievement extending his time limit by one day. The distance from the starting point to the distant land is roughly 20 kilometers. So, Ill need to extend the bridge by seven kilometers or so to pass the trial. If I can complete 500 meters per day, I should finish this trial within half a month. After Shi Feng made some rough mental calculations, anticipation filled him. Although he would be spending much more time in this trial than he initially expected, the harvest he would gain was very much worth the time spent. After resting for a moment, Shi Feng promptly resumed his job as a construction worker. Meanwhile, after another eight days had gone by while Shi Feng was reconstructing the broken bridge, a loud tearing sound suddenly appeared in a secret land in the eastern continent. A spatial channel several kilometers tall and 20 kilometers wide was sealed in this secret land. The moment the loud tearing noise sounded, the divine runes sealing this spatial channel shattered and faded out of existence. It is still starting in the end? An illusory figure appeared before the spatial channel. After looking at the spatial channel with a complicated gaze, this figure then disappeared without a trace. At the same time as this illusory figure disappeared, nearly 20 figures emerged from this gigantic spatial channel. Every one of these figures exuded powerful and ancient auras highly incompatible with the surrounding space. Hahaha! Its finally open! Our Guild was even the first to discover it! So, this is an alternate Gods Domain? Why is the ambient Mana here so thin? Although the Mana density is somewhat low here, it is still another Gods Domain. Hurry up and notify the Guild Leader and the others. Tell them that the seal has been lifted and that the World Passage is open. Have them make the necessary preparations. Ill go ahead with a team to understand the situation of this Gods Domain. We must claim this world for ourselves ahead of the other Guilds! said the middle-aged man standing at the head of the team. At the middle-aged mans words, the team immediately split into two groups: three players returned to the World Passage, while the remaining 15 players charged straight toward the secret lands exit. As these foreign invaders were taking action, Shi Feng was struggling inside the distant special space. I didnt think that reconstructing the bridge would place such a huge burden on the brain. Its already been eight days, yet I havent even reached the 3,400-meter mark. Ive also exhausted more than half of my Concentration already. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the distant land. At this time, he more or less understood why the giant Dragon had such low hopes for him. Originally, he thought that he could progress 500 meters a day. However, the more time he spent in the trial, the greater the mental pressure he suffered from reconstructing the bridge. Whenever he tried manipulating the bridges Mana Constructs, he felt like needles were pricking his mind. Moreover, the degree of pain intensified as he progressed, making the bridges reconstruction increasingly difficult. Now, he couldnt even manage 300 meters in a day. Despite this situation, Shi Feng had no intention of giving up. After all, every moment he spent in this special space allowed him to improve his control over the various elements of Mana. If possible, he even wished he could spend several months in this special space. However, this obviously wasnt allowed, as proven by the increasingly powerful mental pressure he suffered. This feature was most likely implemented to deal with anyone trying to exploit this special spaces benefits. Shi Feng continued pushing forward for the next three days. By the end of the third day, Shi Feng would suffer intense pain even if he only slightly manipulated his Mana. After the fourth day, Shi Fengs complexion had not only become deathly pale, but even his consciousness was beginning to blur. Meanwhile, as his consciousness grew increasingly hazy, he gradually understood that his time in the trial was coming to an end. This wasnt just because he was running out of time but also because he would thoroughly exhaust his Concentration and collapse after a few more attempts. The next moment, after Shi Feng completed another one-meter-long segment and was about to lose consciousness, the systems crisp and indifferent voice suddenly entered his ears. System: Congratulations! Your Concentration has reached the Tier 5 standard! It is also detected that your Mana Body has reached the 120% Completion Rate. You have one opportunity to receive a World Blessing and reconstruct your Sea of Consciousness. Do you wish to activate the World Blessing now? (Opportunity will be rejected by default if you do not respond in three minutes.) Chapter 2853 - Upgraded Soul Chapter 2853 C Upgraded Soul Reconstruct my Sea of Consciousness? Shi Feng was shocked and confused as he looked at the system notification. The concept of reconstructing ones Sea of Consciousness wasnt foreign to him. In fact, he knew plenty about it. However, it was precisely because of this that he found this situation unbelievable. The Sea of Consciousness, to put it simply, referred to a players soul. It was also something related to the promotion of Tier 5 players to Tier 6. The qualitative transformation of the soul! Any player who wished to get promoted to Tier 6 needed to have not only a powerful body but also a powerful soul. Only when both requirements were met could players get promoted to Tier 6. Of the two conditions, the requirement of a sufficiently powerful soul was more difficult to fulfill. This was because the soul was an illusory object. The only thing players could do to upgrade their soul was continuously raise their Concentration standard. By doing so, their soul would automatically grow stronger over time. However, this form of improvement was incredibly slow. Even if a players Concentration reached the Tier 5 Peak standard, their soul wouldnt develop that fast. If one wished to let ones soul undergo a qualitative transformation, one would need to experience numerous events that tempered the mind. Of course, there was an even quicker method to do so-raising ones Concentration to the Tier 6 God-ranked standard! This was an incredibly frightening Concentration standard where players could continuously modify and improve their Sea of Consciousness through their own will. The benefits a Tier 6 Concentration provided were far superior to those of a Tier 5 Concentration. In addition, there was also a third method C relying on external items to destroy ones inherent Sea of Consciousness and construct a new one. This method was similar to how players with Tier 6 Concentration modified their Sea of Consciousness, only much more ruthless and thorough. Reconstructing a Sea of Consciousness meant destroying everything that currently existed and creating a completely new one. It was different from what players with Tier 6 Concentration did; these players would gradually address the flaws of their existing Sea of Consciousness, refining it over time. For Tier 5 players, the opportunity to reconstruct their Sea of Consciousness was both rare and precious. Shi Feng never even dreamed of receiving such an opportunity before getting promoted to Tier After pondering in silence for a moment, he chose to accept the World Blessing and the opportunity to reconstruct his Sea of Consciousness. System: The World Blessing will be granted in 30 seconds. Please make the necessary preparations. The higher your Completion Rate, the better the reconstructed Sea of Consciousness will be. The higher the Completion Rate, the better? Not daring to be careless, Shi Feng took a deep breath, stopped work on the bridge, and focused only a portion of his consciousness on stabilizing it to prevent it from collapsing. He planned to give the reconstruction process his all. Thirty seconds went by in the blink of an eye. Shi Feng felt an unprecedented pain assault him as if his soul was getting ripped out of his body. Had he not absorbed the Tier 4 Hellfire before, he wouldnt have been able to endure this pain at all. However, after ten seconds of this soul-wrenching pain, it disappeared all of a sudden. Simultaneously, Shi Feng felt his mind go completely blank. As for his soul, what remained of it were only countless soul fragments. Immediately afterward, numerous magic arrays appeared before him. These magic arrays were so complex that despite being a Half-step Grandmaster Magician himself, he was still shocked. He spotted over a dozen Grandmaster Magic Arrays. As for Master Magic Arrays, they easily numbered over a hundred. Meanwhile, all of these magic arrays joined together to form an incomparably large Soul Array. System: You have four hours to reconstruct your Sea of Consciousness. Once four hours have passed, the World Blessing will disappear. If you do not achieve at least a 40% Completion Rate by the end of these four hours, your Sea of Consciousness will not be reconstructed. Afterward, as a consequence of having your soul shattered, you will enter a Weakened Soul state for 20 natural days. Twenty days? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised by the penalty for failure. Opportunities and risks came hand in hand in Gods Domain. In fact, a 20-day penalty could even be considered very light. If a Tier 5 expert were to find out that this opportunity came with such low risks, they would do everything they could to secure it. Subsequently, Shi Feng stopped thinking about other things and focused on copying the Soul Array into his Sea of Consciousness. He couldnt decide whether he was fortunate or unfortunate. The fortunate part of this situation was that he had accepted the World Blessing while in this special space full of Eternal Energy. He would have a much easier time drawing the Soul Array in this environment. The unfortunate part was that, along with the destruction of his soul, he had lost the ability to stabilize the broken bridge. In other words, he didnt have four hours to complete the Soul Array at all. Despite his frustrations, Shi Feng did not give up on this opportunity. Moreover, due to the Eternal Energys effects, he managed to familiarize himself with the Master Magic Arrays and replicate them with ease. The Soul Arrays Completion Rate rose at a rate visible to the naked eye. 1% 3% 7% In just one hour, Shi Feng had already completed 16% of the gigantic Soul Array. At this rate, he could definitely reach the required 40% within four hours. Even if copying the Grandmaster Magic Arrays later would slow down his progress, reaching 40% shouldnt be difficult. Another one and a half hours went by, during which the Soul Arrays Completion Rate had reached 35%. Shi Feng found his progress unbelievable. Hence, he attempted to copy his first Grandmaster Magic Array. The instant he completed the magic array, his progress rose from 35% to 38%. It increased by this much? Shi Feng looked at his progress bar in surprise. Completing a Master Magic Array didnt even increase his progress by 0.5%. Now, completing just one Grandmaster Magic Array had raised his progress by 3%. Meanwhile, under the Eternal Energys effects, his speed in copying the Grandmaster Magic Array wasnt much slower than when he worked on the Master Magic Arrays. Without my support, the bridge can last three hours at most. I only have about 20 minutes left now, so I can only attempt one more Grandmaster Magic Array. Although Shi Feng guessed that the broken bridge would remain stable for three hours without his support, that was only an estimate. As a precaution, he decided to conclude his attempt after copying one more Grandmaster Magic Array. The Soul Array was massive. However, the crucial parts of the Soul Array were still the dozen or so Grandmaster Magic Arrays, particularly the six serving as the Soul Arrays core. Originally, Shi Feng had thought to complete more Master Magic Arrays to allow the core magic arrays to exhibit greater functionality. Unfortunately, he clearly did not have time for that. Now, he could only grit his teeth and draw the second core magic array. Time passed quickly. Ten minutes later, Shi Feng finished drawing the second core magic array. The Soul Arrays Completion Rate jumped from 38% to 41%, reaching the systems requirement. Upon seeing this, Shi Feng chose to complete the reconstruction. System: Magic Array Completion Rate at 41%. You have met the basic requirement for reconstruction. Your Sea of Consciousness will be reconstructed according to the constructed magic array. Do you wish to begin the reconstruction? Reconstruct! Shi Feng promptly chose to go through with the reconstruction. Although he had more than an hour remaining before the World Blessing disappeared, if he died midway, his reconstruction attempt would become forfeit as well. The next moment, after he approved the reconstruction, the Soul Array drawn in his Sea of Consciousness began operating. Although the Soul Array was still incomplete, just like the system stated, it was functional. As his Sea of Consciousnesss reconstruction began, Shi Feng experienced an unprecedented mental clarity. His mind became much more active, and his reaction speed also improved significantly. After 20 seconds into the reconstruction, he discovered that his previously blurry Sea of Consciousness had become much more tangible. The change was akin to mist condensing into water. The change might not seem significant, but the density of his Sea of Consciousness had undergone a qualitative transformation. Although his Sea of Consciousness was still in an illusory state, Shi Feng could tell that his thinking speed had more than tripled. So long as he focused his mind, he could observe the world around him in a decelerated state. Amazing! Shi Feng was astonished as he inspected his newly reconstructed Sea of Consciousness. No wonder so many Tier 5 experts in the past had been so crazy about reconstructing their Sea of Consciousness. With my current Sea of Consciousness, even though my Concentration is only at the Tier 5 Basic standard, the rate of my souls improvement is probably faster than someone with Tier 5 Peak Concentration. His Concentration remained at the Tier 5 Basic standard. However, his souls strengthening rate was superior to even that of experts with Tier 5 Peak Concentration. The next moment, when Shi Feng opened his eyes again, his surroundings looked completely different from before. The range of his mental perception had increased from 100 yards to 500 yards, and his five senses had also undergone a qualitative transformation. Similarly, his body felt more flexible and sharper than ever before. At this time, even though he wasnt actively manipulating his Mana, the two-meter-long bridge under him actually remained nearly stable. Moreover, his Concentration was no longer depleted. Instead, it was brimming like never before. It seems I shouldnt have any problems completing the trial now. Shi Feng smiled subconsciously as he looked at the relatively stable bridge. Previously, he had to make an effort to ensure that the bridge did not collapse. Doing so had taken up a lot of his focus. Now, he no longer needed to split his attention between the reconstruction and maintaining the bridges integrity. He only needed to concentrate on reconstructing the broken bridge. This would reduce his mental stress by a large margin. Following this, Shi Feng resumed reconstructing the bridge. He had a much easier time than before, which allowed him to progress at a flying pace. After just three more days, his progress finally reached the one-third mark of the entire bridge. However, Shi Feng had no intention of stopping here. After all, the Eternal Energy in this place was simply wonderful. By staying here, he could not only further his understanding of the various Mana types but also familiarize himself with his new Sea of Consciousness and verify the theories he thought up for his new Mana Body. Hence, he did not rush to exit the trial, continuing to advance and reconstruct the broken bridge. As Shi Feng got closer to the distant land, he found that he also had to improve the quality of the supports he constructed. Otherwise, the bridge wouldnt be able to withstand the corrosion of the abyss below. After working for another four days and arriving at the halfway mark, he could no longer advance any further. However, his failure to progress wasnt because he had exhausted his Concentration but because the supports he constructed could no longer withstand the abysss corrosion. Short of a qualitative transformation, they wouldnt be able to hold up the bridge at all. It seems this is as far as I can go. Shi Feng couldnt help feeling a little disappointed as he looked at the distant land. At this time, it looked much clearer than before. From what he could sense, he should be able to receive massive benefits in that land. However, with his current standards, it was evidently impossible to construct a bridge of a much higher quality. Shi Feng immediately chose to leave this special space. Chapter 2854 - Upgrading the Abyssal Blade Chapter 2854 C Upgrading the Abyssal Blade Inside the ancient Dragon Temple How surprising! the Dragon phantom exclaimed in astonishment when Shi Feng suddenly appeared before it. Despite having the body of a human, you actually managed to clear a trial made for the Dragon race. Moreover, you managed to reach the halfway point. This is a rare achievement, even among the Dragon race. A rare achievement? Shi Feng was surprised by the Dragons words. The Dragon race was an apex race. The perception of Dragons was definitely far superior to his own. Not to mention, there were even Divine Dragons among the Dragon race. For Divine Dragons, let alone reaching the halfway point, even completing the entire bridge and reaching the distant land shouldnt be strange. After all, the Life Rating they possessed far exceeded that of humans. Thats right. This is a rare achievement, the Dragon phantom said, nodding. In the Dragon races long history, only five have managed to reach the halfway point while still at Tier 4. Every one of them is a genius of the Dragon race with an excellent Bloodline. Hence, I find it truly incredible that you accomplished the same feat with just the body of a human. Shi Feng was surprised once more. He never thought that even among the Dragon race, only five Dragons had reached the halfway point while still at Tier 4. Reaching the halfway point was indeed a challenging task. Not only would one need to have a sufficiently powerful soul, but one would also need to utilize the various elements of Mana to their very limits. However, having a powerful soul was a given for Dragons. As for utilizing the various elements basic properties, this was also as easy as drinking water for Dragons. Otherwise, there was no way Dragons could be so powerful. Normally, Dragons that can reach the halfway point are already adults. I can now see why Auerbeck decided to let you undertake the trial, the Dragon phantom said, its eyes filled with praise as it looked at Shi Feng. Now, according to the ancient contract, you may take one of the three Treasure Chests stored within the treasury. As soon as the Dragon phantom finished speaking, three massive Treasure Chests appeared before Shi Feng. The instant these Treasure Chests appeared, the Mana within the Dragon Temple immediately thickened. In fact, a faint hint of Divine Might now wafted into the temple. As expected of the Dragon races reward. I doubt I can get such loot even from killing a Tier 6 God. Shi Feng was filled with an indescribable sense of shock as he inspected the three Treasure Chests before him. The trial rewards this time were simply mind-blowing. If taken to the outside world, any one of these three Treasure Chests could drive the entire Gods Domain wild. The first chest, named the Blackstone Treasure Chest, gave players one Fragmented Legendary Weapon and two pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment that suited them. The second chest, named the Red Crystal Treasure Chest, contained four items, either Tier 5 Skill Books or Tier 5 Legacy Guidances suitable for the player. The third chest, named the Purple Jade Treasure Chest, rewarded players with 10 to 12 God Crystals. The Blackstone Treasure Chest aside, both the Red Crystal Treasure Chest and Purple Jade Treasure Chest provided things Shi Feng greatly desired. At this time, he only needed to create a personalized Mana Body to get promoted to Tier 5. Hence, Tier 5 Skill Books were of great importance to him. If he relied only on Legacy Skill Points, he would be able to acquire only two Tier 5 Skills at best. God Crystals were equally important to him. This was because God Crystals were needed to upgrade many of the weapons and equipment he possessed, and upgrading these items would provide a tremendous boost to his combat power. Pick one. The Dragon phantom smiled faintly when it saw the gleam in Shi Fengs eyes. I will teleport you back in three minutes, so youd best not take too long in choosing. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said earnestly, Ive decided. I will go with the Purple Jade Treasure Chest. While the Red Crystal Treasure Chest was indeed important to him, he was, after all, still at Tier 4 right now. Moreover, the items appearing inside the Red Crystal Treasure Chest were completely random. If he were unfortunate, he might end up getting four Tier 5 Legacy Guidances. Moreover, God Crystals werent easy to come by. If he missed this opportunity, who knew how long he would have to wait before he received another opportunity to improve his weapons and equipment further? Alright, this Purple Jade Treasure Chest is yours, the Dragon phantom said, lifting a claw. Immediately, the barrier sealing the Purple Jade Treasure Chest disappeared. Shi Feng chose to open the Treasure Chest without hesitation. After all, there was no way he could bring such a massive Treasure Chest away. The instant the Treasure Chest opened, Divine Might gushed out of it. Bathed in this Divine Might, even ordinary Tier 4 players would grow fearful and dare not approach the Treasure Chest. However, now that Shi Fengs Concentration had reached the Tier 5 standard, resisting this Divine Might wasnt much of a problem. In fact, he was confident he could stand tall in the presence of even a bona fide Tier 6 God in his present state. Eleven? Shi Feng couldnt help feeling a little disappointed when he saw the number of God Crystals in the Treasure Chest. If not for the Luck Attribute having no effect on high-caliber Treasure Chests, he definitely wouldve activated Divine Providence to boost his Luck. After all, the value of one God Crystal nearly rivaled that of Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, God Crystals were just as rare as Fragmented Legendary items. Although thats one less God Crystal than I hoped for, I have more than enough to upgrade my weapon now. The next moment, Shi Feng had the Abyssal Blade absorb four God Crystals without hesitation. Now that he was at the Half-step Tier 5 standard, only the Light of Two Worlds was an adequate weapon for him. The Abyssal Blade couldnt keep up with him any longer. Hence, he had to upgrade it. After the Abyssal Blade absorbed the four God Crystals, its Skills got upgraded to Tier 4, and its Basic Attributes underwent some changes. (Abyssal Blade) (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 3,000, Agility 2,000 Attack Power (235% of Strength Attribute) Attack Speed (2.3% of Agility Attribute) All Attributes (Increases according to users level) Ignore Levels +35 Attacks have: 70% chance to cause 250% damage; 40% chance to cause 300% damage; Every attack increases attack speed by 2% to a maximum of 30%. When equipped: Strength increased by 50%, Agility increased by 50%, Intelligence increased by 35%; Endurance increased by 50%; Attack Speed increased by 40%; All effects of weapon-related Skills increased by 20%; All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. If wielder belongs to a Swordsman-related class, all Skill Levels +6. Increase Free Ability Points received for every increase in Level by 2 points. Equipment Tier 4. Can be evolved (Devour 9 God Crystals to evolve to Tier 5). Additional Active Skill 1: Darkness Bind (Tier 4). Binds all enemies within a 500-yard radius for 4 seconds and reduces their Defense and Magic Resistance by 100% for 20 seconds. Cooldown: 40 seconds Additional Active Skill 2: Darkness Domain (Tier 4). Converts an area of 800 yards around the user into a Darkness Domain. Weakens the senses of all enemies within the Darkness Domain and reduces enemies Basic Attributes by 20%. While inside the Darkness Domain, the user may control up to 36 strands of Power of Darkness. Each strand carries a force equivalent to 150% of the users Strength and causes 200% darkness damage. Duration: 60 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes Additional Passive Profound Inheritance: Mana Abyss (Tier 4). The higher the density of the Mana surrounding the Abyssal Blade, the more power the weapon will exhibit. The power of the weapon can be increased up to 150%. Additional Active Profound Inheritance: Black Dragons Soul (Tier 4). Grants the user the Black Dragon Kings soul and transforms the user into the Black Dragon King. The higher the density of the surrounding Mana, the higher the Black Dragon Kings Life Rating will be. Can use the Skill, Dragon Breath. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 15 hours A sword recast from the fragments of an ancient, unknown weapon. The Black Dragon Kings power has been sealed within the sword, although the Black Dragon King has cursed the weapon. Beyond the immense strength the blade offers, the wielder must face a Backlash after a certain amount of time. If the wielder cannot suppress the Backlash, the wielder will receive the Black Dragon Kings curse, permanently reducing all Attributes by 70%. Unable to be dropped. Unable to be traded. Unable to be destroyed. After the Abyssal Blade absorbed the four God Crystals, its Attributes and Skills received significant improvements. Although the Magic Weapon was still no match for the Light of Two Worlds in terms of Attack Power and attack speed, it was still top-tier among Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Shi Feng felt very satisfied after upgrading his weapon. Now that he had the Tier 4 Abyssal Blade, combined with his Half-step Tier 5 standard, he was confident he could hold his own even against a real Tier 4 Dragon. After all, once he transformed himself into a Tier 4 Dragon, his combat standards and mastery over the elements would become much superior to the average Tier 4 Dragons. Although Shi Feng also had the option of repairing the Disintegration Armor instead of upgrading the Abyssal Blade, he had decided against it. The Disintegration Armor was Legendary Set Equipment. If he couldnt gather the complete set, the equipment requirement of an individual piece would be higher than normal. This would make it impossible for him to equip the Disintegration Armor. After all, Legendary Weapons and Equipment were crafted for Tier 6 Gods. Aside from a few unique Legendary Weapons and Equipment, most would need players to reach Tier 5 at minimum to equip them. If he repaired the Disintegration Armor and ended up unable to equip it, he would definitely die of regret. Hence, he decided to upgrade the Abyssal Blade instead, to play safe. As for the Disintegration Armor, it wouldnt be too late to find more God Crystals to repair it once he had reached Tier 5. Its time to leave, the Dragon phantom said, snapping Shi Feng out of his reverie. It then raised a claw at Shi Feng. Immediately, divine runes appeared around Shi Feng one after another, enveloping him completely. His body then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the Dragon Temple. When the divine runes surrounding Shi Feng disappeared, he found that he was back in the Summoning Towers Summoning Altar. Chapter 2855 - Global Transformation Chapter 2855 C Global Transformation Inside the Summoning Altar, as the divine runes enveloping Shi Feng disappeared, Auerbeck snapped his eyes open and stared at him in surprise. Yousucceeded? Actually, Auerbeck could tell that Shi Feng had completed the trial the moment he laid eyes on the human. This was because Shi Feng looked completely different in his eyes right now. Although there was no change to Shi Fengs level, the Mana he radiated was completely different from before he challenged the trial. Not only did Shi Fengs Mana blend much better with the ambient Mana, but the quality of his Mana had also undergone a qualitative transformation. The fact that Shi Feng had such exquisite control over his own Mana proved that he had conquered the trial. However, Auerbeck still found this situation unbelievable. Shi Feng would already be plenty amazing if he managed to complete the trial on his third attempt. Yet, now, Shi Feng had actually completed the trial on his first attempt. Mhm, I got lucky. Shi Feng nodded. If his Concentration hadnt broken through to the Tier 5 standard at the very last minute, which allowed him to receive the World Blessing to reconstruct his Sea of Consciousness, completing the trial wouldve been a pipe dream. No. It is impossible for someone to pass the trial by relying on luck. It is all because of your own strength, Auerbeck said, shaking his head. Since youve passed the trial, according to our contract, I, Auerbeck, acknowledge you as my contractor from now on. d m now As soon as Auerbeck finished speaking, Shi Feng felt a scorching sensation on his left arm. Before Shi Feng realized it, the symbol of a silver dragon had been branded on his left arm. Simultaneously, the systems emotionless voice rang out in his mind. System: Congratulations! You have completed the second phase of the Epic Quest Void Cage and received the Silver Divine Dragon Auerbecks acknowledgment. You have become a true Dragons Contractor. You now have the ability to call upon the Silver Divine Dragon to fight for you at any time. Rewarding 30 Legacy Skill Points and one level. Shi Fengs level immediately rose from Level 150 to Level 151. His Legacy Skill Points also increased by 30. If you encounter any troubles in the future, call upon me, Auerbeck said. With the Contractors Mark, I can teleport to your location at any time. However, you should still be cautious. The Contractors Mark has limited power. I cannot sense its location in certain areas. Moreover, the current Gods Domain is no longer the same. Although you have made significant growth, if you behave too aggressively outside, you might still fall into a desperate situation. You might even have your soul annihilated. Different? Has the World Passage opened already? Auerbecks words startled Shi Feng. Auerbeck could defeat even ordinary Tier 5 individuals. Since he was issuing such a dire warning, the current Gods Domain mustve undergone drastic changes. Thats right. The World Passage is completely open now. Existences of another world have invaded this world. In fact, some of Gods Domains rules have already changed. You will understand what I mean if you go out and take a look, Auerbeck said, nodding. He then pointed at the door that was sealed by a magic array and continued, If you encounter trouble, it is best if you summon me immediately. Thank you for your warning, Your Excellency. I will be careful. Shi Feng nodded and mentally noted to himself to be more careful. Afterward, he departed from the Summoning Altar. As for Auerbeck, the Silver Divine Dragon resumed its slumber in the Summoning Altar. The moment Shi Feng exited the Summoning Tower, he was stunned. What dense Mana! The density of the Starlight Fortresss ambient Mana had more than doubled compared to before he went to the Dragon Temple. Apart from Zero Wing City, probably no other Guild City in Gods Domain possessed such dense Mana. Even Stone Forest City couldnt compare. Moreover, Shi Feng could feel his affinity with Mana increasing while bathed in this dense Mana. He could also perceive the operating principles of Mana with much greater clarity. This place was practically a weakened version of the ancient Gods Domain. However, compared to the Mana environment, the changes to the Starlight Fortresss player population were even more shocking. Before Shi Feng left to challenge the Divine Dragons trial, the Starlight Fortresss player traffic had already reached a very frightening level. However, the present fortresss player population had more than tripled since then. Shi Feng even spotted quite a few Tier 4 experts just on the street he was walking on. Moreover, he sensed the presence of at least 70 Tier 4 experts inside the Starlight Fortress. This number was simply mind-blowing. However, this still wasnt the most shocking part about the fortress! Compared to the Starlight Fortresss interior, the fortresss surroundings were much more crowded. From what Shi Feng could tell, well over a million players were lining up to enter the fortress. These players werent ordinary players. Even the weakest one among them was a Tier 3 player, and every one of them was at least at Level 135. There were also Tier 4 experts standing in the queue. If not for these players standing in line obediently, Shi Feng wouldve suspected that these people were aiming to capture the Starlight Fortress. However, before Shi Feng could recover from his surprise, he saw a group of people charging through the main street toward the fortresss entrance. This groups leader was none other than Magic-eye Goddess Fithalia, the commander of Divine Tribes Divine Hymn Legion. At this time, Fithalia had reached not only Tier 4 but also Level 145. Given the intensity of the Mana she radiated, she had broken through her Mana Bodys 100% threshold as well. From what Shi Feng could tell, Fithalia should also have at least two Fragmented Legendary items on her. In her current state, she could probably hold her ground against a Superior Mythic monster of the same level. Moreover, aside from Fithalia, there were three other Tier 4s in the team she led. These three players were at the Void Realm standard and boasted eight or more pieces of Epic Equipment. The only unfortunate part was that none of them had transcended the limits of their Mana Bodies. Even so, the strength of Fithalias team was more than enough to raid Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. However, Fithalia and the others looked anxious as they rushed toward the entrance. Did something happen? Curious, Shi Feng stealthily followed Fithalias team. Divine Tribe could be considered Zero Wings strategic ally on the western continent. Moreover, it was tasked with maintaining the Starlight Fortresss security on Zero Wings behalf. Unless something major occurred, someone of Fithalias status wouldnt take action. If need be, Shi Feng naturally had to lend her a helping hand. Shortly afterward, Fithalias team arrived at the Starlight Fortresss entrance. At this time, the players outside the entrance were staring curiously at a group of people standing before the fortresss checkpoint. To be precise, it was a mixed group of NPCs and players. Among these players were five Tier 4s. As for the NPCs, there were actually over a dozen Tier 4s among them. Why are people of the Blood Alliance here? Dont the superpowers in the alliance mainly operate out at sea? It is indeed strange. From what I remember, theyve never been active on land. Instead, theyve been dominating the seas since the start of the game; even the Five Great Super Guilds dont dare offend them out at sea. I heard that many naval forces have clashed with the Outerworlds forces at sea. Although neither side managed to secure an advantage, the Blood Alliance suffered heavy losses in these clashes. Rumor has it that the alliance has over five million Tier 3 casualties thus far. Three of the alliances islands were razed to the ground The players in the queue couldnt help starting heated discussions among themselves as they looked at the Tier 4 players and NPCs. While the Blood Alliances sphere of operations was mostly limited to the sea, the Starlight Fortress was nowhere near the sea. Just teleporting from a coastal city to the Starlight Fortress cost nearly six Gold Coins. Are they greedy for the Starlight Fortresss benefits? Thats probably the case. After all, the current Starlight Fortress is simply amazing. Its Mana density and the benefits the Mana provides are much greater than what you can find elsewhere on the continent. Not to mention, it is also near a God Mode Regional Dungeon. That cant be, right? Dont they know that a Tier 4 Divine Dragon is guarding this place? Thats not something Tier 4 existences can go up against. While everyone wondered why members of the Blood Alliance had come to the Starlight Fortress, Fithalias team arrived before the Blood Alliance group. Guild Leader Brut, to what do we owe this sudden visit? Fithalia asked a thin man wearing a gray robe and carrying a dark wooden staff. The Blood Alliance had arrived with more than a dozen Tier 4 NPCs and three of the Blood Alliances top ten Tier 4 experts. It definitely wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Blood Alliance came with bad intentions. Commander Fithalia, you dont need to be so nervous. We are not here to ask for trouble. Moreover, we arent here to meet you, Brut said, smiling faintly. In fact, this matter doesnt have anything to do with Divine Tribe. We are simply here to find Zero Wing and negotiate a partnership. Negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing? Fithalia laughed at Bruts statement. I naturally dont have a say in such a matter. However, seeing as youve brought so many Tier 4 NPCs with you, no matter how I look at it, it doesnt seem like youve come for a friendly negotiation. I didnt call them here, Brut countered, shaking his head. These people are the representatives of various NPC naval forces. Representatives of NPC naval forces? Fithalia was surprised by Bruts answer. If only one NPC force had sent these Tier 4 NPCs, she wouldnt have found the situation strange. However, it was a different story if these NPCs represented multiple NPC forces. This was something she had to take seriously. In Gods Domain, the reason many kingdoms and empires had chosen not to spread their influence to the sea wasnt just the presence of powerful sea monsters. Another reason was the extraordinary strength of many NPC naval forces, with some even having Tier 5 NPCs leading them. Nodding, Brut said in an indisputable tone, Thats right. Its fine if you do not let us enter, Commander Fithalia. However, I dont mind letting you know that the Blood Alliance plans to requisition a portion of the Starlight Fortresss temporary Residences to resist the Outerworld invaders. Chapter 2856 - Half-step Tier 5 Chapter 2856 C Half-step Tier 5 Requisition? Fithalia was momentarily stunned by Bruts words. Have you lost your mind, Brut? Fithalia wasnt the only person to have such thoughts. The spectating crowd thought so as well. The Blood Alliance, with its many superpowers and NPC forces, was indeed powerful. However, the alliances strength was only in the sea. On the western continent, the Blood Alliance held no advantages. Since the Starlight Fortress was far from the sea, the Blood Alliance had no way to dispatch a large army to the Starlight Fortress. Moreover, the Starlight Fortresss defenses were something that even the Five Great Super Guilds were helpless against. After all, the fortress had a Tier 4 Divine Dragon guarding it. Even Tier 5 NPCs wouldnt dare go against such an existence. This was why Zero Wing could retain control over the Starlight Fortress despite having barely any of its own forces stationed on the western continent. Otherwise, the surrounding NPC forces with Tier 5 NPCs leading them wouldve long since targeted the fortress. The only measure one could employ to suppress the Starlight Fortress was to place a thorough lockdown on the Star Valley. However, the Blood Alliance clearly didnt have the capability to pull off such a feat. Lost my mind? Laughing, Brut retorted, I dont think so at all. The Starlight Fortress indeed possesses powerful defensive capabilities, and there are very few forces in Gods Domain capable of threatening it. However, if over a hundred Tier 4 NPCs lock down the Star Valley, I wonder how long the Starlight Fortress will last? Over a hundred Tier 4 NPCs? When Brut finished speaking, the spectating crowd gasped. Currently, not only were NPCs much higher leveled than players on average, but NPCs were also stronger than players of the same level and tier on average. This was because NPCs weapons, equipment, Skills, and Spells were superior to those of the average player. Meanwhile, a force of more than a hundred Tier 4 NPCs was something not even a kingdom possessed. In other words, the Blood Alliance could actually dispatch an entire kingdoms top combatants to seal a map! Moreover, I heard that the situation over on the eastern continent is quite adverse, and many superpowers have already gotten annihilated. Even Zero Wing can barely keep itself afloat and cant roam about freely. In such a situation, obtaining resources will naturally be impossible, Brut said. Without the Starlight Fortresss resources, I believe Zero Wing will have even more difficulty surviving, right? Hence, we are inviting Zero Wing to become a member of the Blood Alliance right now. Not only will we help the Starlight Fortress develop, but we will also help Zero Wing defend against the Outerworld invaders. Wouldnt this situation be the best of both worlds? Upon hearing Bruts proposal, nobody present could offer any rebuttals, not even Fithalia. The chaos on the eastern continent was no longer a secret. The entire Gods Domain had been greatly shaken on the day the World Passage had opened, the sudden event catching countless powers off guard. After all, a group of unknown player forces had suddenly appeared and taken over many Guild Cities of first-rate Guilds. In fact, these unknown player forces had even laid their hands on the Guild Cities of superpowers. Originally, these superpowers had planned to retaliate against these unknown invaders. However, when they marched their armies to reclaim their cities, they found a large number of experts already gathered in their captured cities. Moreover, there were even many Tier 45 among these players. Needless to say, none of the superpowers managed to recapture their cities. Initially, the various powers of Gods Domain thought that this was merely a hidden superpower making its public debut. After all, this wasnt the first time such a situation had taken place. Many player forces would continuously accumulate their strength in secret and make a powerful debut all of a sudden. Hence, the various powers of Gods Domain had not placed too much attention on this matter. However, the next day, over a dozen superpowers had suddenly made their presence known to the world, and the number of Tier 4 players these superpowers commanded far exceeded that of the local superpowers. On that very day, these new superpowers annihilated a local superpower and split up its territory among themselves. This war had thoroughly stupefied the various powers of Gods Domain! It was one thing to see a new superpower emerge, but it was another thing altogether to see so many superpowers appear out of the blue. Moreover, all of these superpowers boasted an incredible number of Tier 4 players. No matter how one looked at this situation, it was simply unbelievable. After a series of frantic investigations, the various powers of Gods Domain eventually discovered that these new superpowers didnt originate from their version of Gods Domain but from another Gods Domain. Moreover, the players belonging to these superpowers didnt live on Earth but on an Interstellar Continent. The human population of this Interstellar Continent rivaled that of Earth. Most importantly, the average combat standard of these Interstellar Continent residents was much higher than that of Earthlings. This was because the world of Gods Domain was everything for these people! In addition, these Outerworld superpowers were much stronger than the native superpowers. In fact, the two couldnt even be compared on the same level. In less than five days, these Outerworld superpowers had not only destroyed several native superpowers but even taken over seven kingdoms. These kingdoms were now paradises for Outerworld NPCs, who rapidly harvested the various resources available in these kingdoms to keep growing stronger. Meanwhile, in response to these invaders, the various native kingdoms and empires had gathered players to fight off these Outerworld players and NPCs. The subsequent war was most likely one of the biggest in Gods Domains history, as several dozen kingdoms and empires had joined hands to counter the invasion. And after fighting dozens of battles, both large and small, the eastern continents native forces eventually managed to isolate the Outerworlds NPC forces to one corner of the continent. However, in exchange for this outcome, the eastern continents native forces had lost nearly one-third of their land. Moreover, this isolation affected only the Outerworlds NPC forces. The Outerworlds individual NPCs and player forces could still roam freely. In a situation where native players were inferior in terms of both levels and combat standards, the eastern continents players were at an absolute disadvantage. Only by cooperating with native NPCs could they resist the Outerworld players. It was obvious that the eastern continents native forces would crumble in the near future as more and more Outerworld players and NPCs invaded the eastern continent. In fact, it wouldnt be long before the western continent would get dragged into the war since the various sea zones were already engulfed in the flames of war. If the Starlight Fortress were to get isolated now, Zero Wing would definitely suffer immeasurable consequences. After all, due to the Outerworld forces occupying many of the eastern continents resource spots, prices of various resources had more than doubled. If Zero Wing were to lose the resources from the Starlight Fortress, the Guild would most likely struggle to defend its Guild Cities. In this situation, Fithalia herself was powerless to do anything. Even if Divine Tribe were willing to help Zero Wing with all of its strength, there was no way Divine Tribe could win against a force of over a hundred Tier 4 NPCs. Eventually, Fithalia sighed and said, I understand. Ill convey your words to Zero Wing. Good, then. Nodding, Brut said indifferently, However, our patience is limited. Tell Zero Wing that they only have one day to reply. If they dont give us an answer by then, we will begin sealing the map immediately! One day? Fithalia frowned. This was too short. It was barely enough time for her to convey the message and for Zero Wing to hold a short discussion among its executives. Zero Wing wouldnt have any time to make the necessary preparations at all. Thats right. Only one day. Zero Wing had best not waste any time! That wouldnt be beneficial to the Blood Alliance or Zero Wing! Brut said in a determined tone. I can even tell Zero Wing now that if they refuse our offer, while it might give the Blood Alliance some trouble, I can guarantee that they will suffer 100 times more than us! After Brut finished speaking, the Tier 4 NPCs standing behind him promptly unleashed their auras. The combined aura of over a dozen Tier 4 NPCs pressured even Fithalia. If not for the buff from standing inside the Starlight Fortress, she mightve even succumbed to this mighty aura and stumbled back. As for the other Divine Tribe members, their complexions had paled. It was evident that they felt very uncomfortable beneath this frightening aura. However, just as Fithalia was about to speak up, a calm and deep voice suddenly entered everyones ears. A partnership wont be necessary. Zero Wing doesnt need allies like you bunch. At this voice of rejection, everyone present turned reflexively toward its origin, curious to see who would be so bold as to decide for Zero Wing. Who said that? Come out! Brute, in particular, reacted with anger and displeasure. He never thought that someone would dare openly challenge the Blood Alliance. Black Flame? Zero Wings Guild Leader has arrived already? When everyone present saw the cloaked man approaching Fithalia and Brut, they quickly recognized him, based on the two longswords hanging by his waist, as well as his dark and determined eyes. Guild Leader Black Flame? Fithalia was stunned when she saw Shi Feng. This was because Shi Fengs present self was completely different from when she last met him. Not only did his body radiate frighteningly dense Mana right now, but she could also sense a difference in Life Rating between them! Half-step Tier 5?! When the elderly Level 167, Tier 4 NPC at the head of the Blood Alliances group saw Shi Feng, he gasped in shock. Half-step Tier 5? How is this possible? When the surrounding players overheard the elderly NPCs words, they similarly gaped at Shi Feng with astonished gazes. Nowadays, Tier 4 players were no longer as rare as before. Hence, most Tier 3 players in Gods Domain no longer found Tier 4 players foreign. At the same time, they also knew just how difficult it was to get promoted from Tier 4 to Tier 5, as well as how wide the gulf between Tier 4 and Tier 5 existences was. Meanwhile, a Half-step Tier 5 existence referred to Tier 4 individuals who had achieved an incredibly high standard in their control over Mana and their Mana Body. After reaching this stage, so long as a Tier 4 individual successfully constructed a sufficiently strong Mana Body for themself, they would become a Tier 5 existencean existence even NPC empires feared greatly. Yet, in an era where mainstream players had just reached Tier 3 and only an extremely small number of experts had reached Tier 4, they were now being told that Shi Feng had already reached the Half-step Tier 5 standard. No matter how they thought about it, this didnt seem plausible. However, as a Tier 4 NPC had said these words, they were unlikely to be false. I said that. What kind of guidance do you have for me, I wonder, Guild Leader Brut? Shi Feng asked calmly as he stared at Brut. Chapter 2857 - Black Flame? Chapter 2857 C Black Flame? Youre Black Flame? Brut was stunned when he saw Shi Feng. Half-step Tier 5! In the current era, where the various superpowers barely had any Tier 4 players under their command, a Half-step Tier 5 existence was practically invincible. In fact, one would have difficulty finding a Half-step Tier 5 existence even among the Outerworlds players and NPCs. Thats right. I am, Shi Feng said, nodding. So, its Guild Leader Black Flame. Everything before was only a misunderstanding. We dont have any intentions of isolating the Starlight Fortress, Brut said, smiling fawningly. Since you arent interested in partnering with us, the Blood Alliance wont force the issue, Guild Leader Black Flame. If there is nothing else, we will take our leave now. As soon as Brut finished speaking, he turned around, planning to leave the Starlight Fortress together with the Blood Alliances members. He had no intention of staying even a second longer. A misunderstanding? Shi Feng laughed at Bruts words. Guild Leader Brut, you brought over a dozen Tier 4 NPCs and came all the way here to declare that you plan to isolate the Starlight Fortress, yet youre telling me this is a misunderstanding? Since youve already come here, then stay here! After saying so, Shi Feng manifested his Mana Domain, enveloping a 4,000-yard radius in liquid Mana. As soon as Shi Feng unleashed his Mana Domain, Brut and the others stiffened. Their bodies felt indescribably heavy as if they had sunk into a swamp. The Level 160-plus, Tier 4 NPCs were just barely able to counter this suppression by releasing their own Mana Domains. However, none of them could manipulate the Mana around them. Fithalia was astonished when Shi Feng took action. She never thought that he would do so without a second word. After all, the Blood Alliances side had more than a dozen Tier 4 NPCs. While these NPCs might not be a match for Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight, if they worked together, they could potentially take on even a Tier 5 existence. Not good! This is World Creation! the elderly Tier 4 NPC leading the other NPCs exclaimed, an indescribably grim expression appearing on his face as he stared at Shi Feng. The fact that Shi Feng was at the Half-step Tier 5 standard was already plenty frightening. That, combined with his control over Mana being at the World Creation standard, meant he could fight Tier 5 existences already. In front of such an expert, even a group of Tier 4 individuals would be insignificant. What made Tier 4 individuals much more powerful than Tier 3 individuals was their ability to strengthen their abilities using the ambient Mana. However, individuals who had reached the World Creation standard could create a miniature world with their Mana Domain; all the Mana within the Domain would operate by rules favorable to the user and disadvantageous to hostile forces. Unless one had similarly reached the World Creation standard, manipulating the ambient Mana while standing in a World Creation-level Mana Domain would be impossible. One could only rely on the Mana in ones body to do battle, essentially losing all the advantages of Tier 4. World Creation was something Shi Feng achieved after his Concentration had reached the Tier 5 standard. To be precise, he had first reached the Grandmaster Magician standard after his Concentration had reached the Tier 5 standard; then, his Mana Domain had automatically transformed into a miniature world. He didnt even have to transform it consciously. Run! Brut shouted in a panic. Run? With your abilities? Shi Feng unsheathed the Abyssal Blade and activated Darkness Bind. After getting upgraded to Tier 4, Darkness Binds range had improved tremendously. The next moment, pitch-black chains emerged from the void within a 500-yard radius and instantly constrained the Blood Alliance members movements. The chains not only prevented the use of Skills and Spells but also drastically reduced their targets mobility. Shi Feng appeared before the Blood Alliance members and brandished the Light of Two Worlds. Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Formless Blade! Swords Transmigration! Thirteen sword lights shot at the chests of Brut and the others, so fast that barely any of them managed to react to the attacks in time. Of the Blood Alliance players, only Brut, who had broken through the 100% threshold of his Mana Body, managed to activate a Tier 4 Defensive Spell in time. Even so, the Tier 4 Barrier he summoned shattered after receiving Shi Fengs attack. As for the other Tier 4 players, none of them survived the attack. Even a Tier 4 Shield Warrior died on the spot. The Tier 4 NPCs fared a little better than the players. Because of their significant advantage in levels and equipment, they all managed to activate a Tier 4 Defensive Skill or Spell in time and block the attacks directed at them. Even so, having used up one of their lifesaving measures, these NPCs wouldnt be able to reuse these Skills and Spells within a short time. However, Shi Feng had no intention of giving the Blood Alliances members any room to catch a breather. After completing his first attack, he promptly activated Blade Domain and executed Swords Transmigration once more. Under Shi Fengs control, the seven magic swords exhibited power at the Tier 5 standard. Brut and the Tier 4 NPCs were cornered and had no choice but to work together to cope with Shi Fengs attacks. Despite not holding anything back, they were still forced to use their lifesaving measures one after another. For a time, explosions and spatial tears roiled the entrance of the Starlight Fortress. After these noises continued for around 30 seconds, Brut and the Blood Alliances Tier 4 NPCs all turned into ashes, becoming deader than dead. They died, just like that? So, this is Black Flames strength? Amazing! Isnt he basically a Tier 5 now?! The spectators gaped in shock when they saw the Blood Alliances people annihilated, unable to get their minds around this situation for a long time. After all, Brut was a Domain Realm expert. If he worked together with more than a dozen Tier 4 NPCs, they could probably raid even Tier 5 Legendary monsters. However, in front of Shi Feng, these powerful individuals were like children. Throughout the fight, they could only defend themselves; they didnt have any leeway to retaliate or even heal themselves. Anyone who slipped up on their defense for even a moment got killed instantly. At this time, let alone the spectating crowd, even Fithalia was flabbergasted by this situation. She never thought that a persons combat power could achieve such frightening heights after reaching the Half-step Tier 5 and World Creation standards. With such combat power, Shi Feng could probably go up against a true Tier 5 existence. Meanwhile, after killing the Blood Alliances members, Shi Feng didnt hesitate to pocket the items they dropped. Simultaneously, he marveled at the excellence of the items they dropped. Just the Epic Weapons and Equipment he obtained numbered more than ten. Moreover, every one of them could be used up to Level 150. After collecting his loot, Shi Feng went to Fithalias group and said gratefully, Thank you for helping out with the Starlight Fortresss troubles throughout this period. If not for you all maintaining the fortress, it wouldve most likely become a mess long ago. From the Blood Alliances movements, he could tell that many powers on the western continent already had their sights set on the Starlight Fortress. The threat of the Divine Dragon was no longer sufficient to ensure the Starlight Fortresss development. After all, so long as these powers isolated the Starlight Fortress and prevented other players from visiting it, they could easily stifle the fortresss development. You exaggerate, Guild Leader Black Flame. However, you dealt a heavy blow to the Blood Alliance; the alliance is unlikely to take this lying down, Fithalia said. She then added, We have already conducted a thorough investigation into the Blood Alliance. It consists of more than ten superpowers and quite a number of powerful NPC forces. Some of these NPC forces even have Tier 5 NPCs leading them. This is why even the Outerworld invaders are just barely able to suppress the Blood Alliance and not defeat it outright. With Shi Fengs strength, offending superpowers wouldnt be a problem. However, it was a different story for NPC forces. Now that NPCs were no longer restricted by the system, so long as there were sufficient benefits to be had, they would be more than willing to take action against players. If a Tier 5 NPC were to attack the Starlight Fortress, even if the fortress could remain standing, it would still be a nightmare for the fortress. Relax. Even if a Tier 5 does come, they can do nothing, Shi Feng said, chuckling nonchalantly. If it were before he had challenged the trial, he would indeed hesitate to clash with the Blood Alliance. However, he now had the ability to contend against Tier 5 existences. Not to mention, the Starlight Fortress even had Auerbeck guarding it. The Silver Divine Dragon could suppress even ordinary Tier 5 existences of the same level. Do nothing? Fithalias eyes widened in shock. She couldnt help growing curious about the basis of Shi Fengs confidence. In the current era where Gods had secluded themselves, Tier 5 existences were considered the strongest combatants in Gods Domain. This was the same for the Outerworld. Every Tier 5 individual was a strategic existence that could singlehandedly ensure the safety of a region. Hence, she found it inconceivable that Shi Feng already had the ability to go up against Tier 5 existences. Not to mention, these were Tier 5 NPCs they were talking about, not Tier 5 players. Commander Fithalia, may I trouble you to get me these materials? Instead of explaining his confidence, Shi Feng took out a list and handed it to Fithalia. I am willing to purchase them using Magic Crystals at double the market value. After taking a look at the materials on the list, Fithalia found that although these materials were rare and valuable, gathering them shouldnt be a problem with Divine Tribes abilities. This shouldnt be a problem, but why would you want to purchase these materials at such a high price? With Zero Wings abilities, you should be able to gather these materials yourself. Theres no need to pay double for them, much less pay in Magic Crystals, Fithalia asked as she looked at Shi Feng strangely. Aside from the Magic Elven Stone, the other materials on the list were relatively easy to obtain for a superpower. So long as Shi Feng returned to the eastern continent, he could gather these materials at any time through Zero Wing. There was no need to pay such an exorbitant price. Not bothering to hide his motives, Shi Feng explained calmly, I dont have a choice. I urgently need these materials to connect the two continents. I wont have enough if I rely on only the Starlight Fortresss material stockpile, so I have to ask your Guild to acquire them for me. Now that he could summon the Divine Dragon to his aid at any time, he could do many things that he dared not do before. Connect the two continents? Fithalia momentarily doubted her ears when she heard Shi Fengs words. How is this possible?! The two main continents of Gods Domain were incredibly far apart from each other. This was why the various superpowers had desperately contended over intercontinental teleportation arrays. Even so, these teleportation arrays came with a lot of limitations. If Shi Feng really had a way to allow people to travel between the two continents freely, then that would be simply amazing! However, Shi Feng just smiled in response to Fithalias doubt and did not explain himself further. His past self would indeed be incapable of accomplishing such a feat. However, now that he was a Grandmaster Magician, combined with the Starlight Fortresss Summoning Tower, such a feat wasnt particularly difficult. Chapter 2858 - Intercontinental Teleportation Magic Array Chapter 2858 C Intercontinental Teleportation Magic Array Starlight Fortress, Summoning Tower: After spending over 80,000 Magic Crystals to purchase all of the materials he needed from Divine Tribe, Shi Feng immediately began working on the Summoning Towers teleportation array. The Summoning Towers main purpose was to summon monsters. It was a construction unique to the Starlight Fortress. However, the Starlight Fortress itself could be considered a Teleportation Tower, as it possessed a teleportation array and a spatial node passed down since ancient times. These inheritances were what allowed the Summoning Tower to summon monsters from other worlds to fight for the Starlight Fortress. Under normal circumstances, it shouldnt be possible for the Summoning Tower to facilitate intercontinental teleportation. However, Shi Feng was now a Grandmaster in manipulating magic arrays. He even possessed a Teleportation Magic Array Design. Hence, he could make the impossible possible. Not to mention, he had also seen quite a few Guild Cities that possessed player-made intercontinental teleportation arrays in his previous life. To achieve intercontinental teleportation, one needed to fulfill three conditions. The first condition was to have a Grandmaster Magician. The second condition was to have a Teleportation Magic Array Design. The third and most important condition was to have a spatial node on one of the two continents. Only after fulfilling these three conditions could one construct an Intercontinental Teleportation Magic Array. Meanwhile, there werent many spatial nodes on the two continents. In total, they numbered less than 20. Moreover, many of them were in dangerous forbidden lands. However, so long as one managed to secure a spatial node, they could freely travel between the two main continents, no longer subject to the various limitations of ancient intercontinental magic arrays. This was why Shi Feng was adamant about acquiring the Starlight Fortress previously. The only flaw intercontinental teleportation arrays had was their colossal energy consumption. Instead of using Magic Crystals like ordinary teleportation arrays did, an intercontinental teleportation array required Mana Stones as fuel. Moreover, each teleportation cost ten Mana Stones. If the job of synthesizing Mana Stones using Magic Crystals were left to a Master Alchemist, it would cost nearly 1,000 Magic Crystals per teleportation. With such a high cost, even superpowers wouldnt be able to afford to teleport people between continents in large numbers. However, even with such a limitation, the intercontinental teleportation array was still plenty amazing After all, the two main continents had different resources. Trading in these resources could net massive profits. Moreover, transportation by teleportation was much more convenient than by air or by sea. Most importantly, an intercontinental magic array could allow a Guild to synergize its forces on the two continents. This Guild could operate on the two continents as if operating on a single continent, free of the problems arising from operating on two different continents. This was also one reason Shi Feng had been desperately working to become a Grandmaster Magician all this time. As Shi Feng was quietly constructing the intercontinental magic array in the Summoning Tower, Divine Tribes executives suddenly held a meeting in the Guilds temporary Residence in the Starlight Fortress. Fithalia, is what you say true? Can Black Flame really connect the two continents? Great Elder Adolf asked in disbelief as he looked at Fithalia. When Adolf heard that Shi Feng had reached the Half-step Tier 5 and World Creation standards and single-handedly killed over a dozen Tier 4 NPCs, he had already been incredulous. Yet, Fithalia was now telling him that Shi Feng could also create an intercontinental teleportation array. How could he possibly believe her? However, Adolf also understood one thing very clearly-Fithalia was never one to exaggerate things. Since she had said so, then this matter was most likely true. Only, he still couldnt help seeking further confirmation from her. With Black Flames personality, its unlikely he would lie. Not to mention, he doesnt have any reason to lie to us, Fithalia replied after giving the matter some thought. After all, even if he cant connect the two continents, with the strength and potential he has displayed and the Starlight Fortresss support, should Zero Wing fall on the eastern continent, it can easily rise again on the western continent. Zero Wing wont need our support at all. That makes sense. Adolf nodded. The Starlight Fortress had a Tier 4 Divine Dragon guarding it. Unless a Tier 6 God or a group of Tier 5 existences attacked the fortress, nothing could threaten the fortress. Not to mention, Shi Feng was already highly likely to get promoted to Tier 5. Whether it was now or in the future, he definitely couldnt be underestimated. The reason I called everyone here is to recommend that we deepen our partnership with Zero Wing, Fithalia said as she took out a set of documents detailing the eastern continents situation. After sending a copy to everyone present, she continued, This is the latest report on the eastern continents state of affairs. Several more superpowers have come from the Outerworld recently. Although there shouldnt be any large-scale battles occurring between the Outerworld invaders and the eastern continents natives, friction between the two sides will definitely occur one way or another. Meanwhile, Zero Wings resources are extraordinary. A battle between Zero Wing and the Outerworld invaders is inevitable. Hence, I propose that we have some of the Guilds Tier 4s head to the eastern continent to support Zero Wing. This way, Divine Tribe will have some initiative in future partnerships with Zero Wing. When Fithalia finished speaking, everyone present promptly nodded in agreement. Before today, they had merely treated Zero Wing as an ordinary superpower and did not put much thought into their partnership with the Guild. However, after todays incident, they could no longer afford to do so. This was because Zero Wing possessed not only a Half-step Tier 5 expert but also an intercontinental teleportation array linking the two continents. Once word of this teleportation array got out, the Starlight Fortress would undoubtedly become the western continents focal point. At that time, the Starlight Fortresss income would definitely multiply by tenfold or more. If Divine Tribe could get a cut of this pie, it would be of significant help to the Guild. With Divine Tribes foundations, the resources from the Starlight Fortress might even allow it to rival the Five Great Super Guilds. I dont see any problem with this. Looking at Fithalia, Adolf pondered for a moment before saying, Since we are going to help Zero Wing on the eastern continent, Fithalia, take MacAffrey and Crimson with you. The two of them should be able to help Zero Wing solve many problems. Thank you, Great Elder. Fithalia was overjoyed when she heard Adolfs words. MacAffrey and Crimson Witch were top combatants of Divine Tribe. The two of them possessed Fragmented Legendary items and were fully geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment. Most importantly, both had broken through the 100% threshold of their Mana Bodies. Crimson Witch, in particular, had even reached the 105% Completion Rate. Adolf aside, the Completion Rate of Crimson Witchs Mana Body was the highest in Divine Tribe. If not for Fithalia owning a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, she wouldnt be a match for Crimson Witch. Ill contact the two of them in a moment. As for everything else, Ill leave it up to you, Adolf said, nodding. Originally, Adolf had other plans for MacAffrey and Crimson Witch. However, taking into account Zero Wings potential, he deemed deepening Divine Tribes relationship with Zero Wing much more valuable. Shortly after Divine Tribes executives concluded their meeting, Shi Feng completed the intercontinental teleportation array at the top of the Summoning Tower. Good! The spatial coordinates are stable! Now, I just need to set up a corresponding teleportation array on the eastern continent, and the two continents will be connected! Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the intercontinental teleportation array before him. This intercontinental magic array was definitely his best creation since he began playing Gods Domain. Not only did constructing this magic array require a lot of knowledge and understanding of the various elements of Mana, but he also had to convert a Master Teleportation Magic Array into a Grandmaster Teleportation Magic Array. The difficulty of such a feat was simply extraordinary. Shi Feng suddenly received a call soon after completing the intercontinental teleportation array. Guild Leader Black Flame, I have already arranged the matter you asked before, Fithalia said as she looked at Shi Feng through the video chat. Smiling, she continued, You can head over to the eastern continent together with us at any time. If its the intercontinental teleportation array in the Hell Forest City Secret Land, we should be able to reach the eastern continent in less than two days. Together? Surprised by Fithalias words, Shi Feng asked, You plan on heading to the eastern continent as well, Commander Fithalia? From what he understood, Divine Tribe had never shown any interest in the eastern continent. The Guild had always focused on the western continent. Not to mention, the current eastern continent was an incredibly dangerous place. Most importantly, Divine Tribe had to pay a huge price to send people to the eastern continent. The superpowers controlling ancient intercontinental teleportation arrays normally charged around 8,000 Magic Crystals and various precious materials per person when facilitating travel between the two continents. Moreover, this was still considered a friendship price. Even for a superpower, having many people travel between the two continents would still be a considerable expenditure. In response to Shi Fengs question, Fithalia nodded and smiled. Mhm. Our Guild has some matters to deal with on the eastern continent. Im afraid we will have to trouble you at that time, Guild Leader Black Flame. Youre being too polite, Commander Fithalia. Your Guild has helped me plenty on the western continent, Shi Feng said, chuckling. If you encounter any trouble on the eastern continent, feel free to look for me. Since youve said so, I definitely wont hold back when that time comes, Guild Leader Black Flame, Fithalia said, her smile turning even brighter. Naturally. Shi Feng nodded. Besides Divine Tribes status on the western continent, just being able to form friendly relations with Fithalia herself was already well worth his time. After all, there werent many players capable of reaching Tier 6 in Gods Domain. Shi Feng ended his call with Fithalia, then sorted out the Starlight Fortresss income. He collected the 2.14 million Gold and 930,000 Magic Crystals the fortress earned during this period and made his way to the fortresss entrance. And after he met up with Fithalias group of three, they promptly made their way to the Hell Forest City Secret Lands intercontinental teleportation array. After waiting for more than a day for the teleportation array to activate, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the secret land. Chapter 2859 - – Returning to the Eastern Continent Chapter 2859 C Returning to the Eastern Continent Eastern continent, Demon Mist Valley: What rotten luck. We actually got teleported to a forbidden land. Crimson Witch frowned as she observed the faint red mist surrounding her. Divine Tribe had conducted a thorough investigation into the forbidden lands on both continents. This was because these locations were incredibly dangerous; current players couldnt visit them. Moreover, players would first have to exit the forbidden land before they could teleport out of the map. After players entered Level 100-plus maps, it was found that these maps possessed plenty of spatial tears and random teleportation points. Any one of these traps had a high chance of teleporting players to dangerous locations like forbidden lands. Hence, to reduce the chances of their important combatants dying after getting teleported forcibly to a forbidden land, the superpowers investigated the various forbidden lands and provided this information to their members. The Demon Mist Valley was one of the better-known forbidden lands on the eastern continent. The reason for its fame was the red mist shrouding the map all year round. Anyone who entered this place, even Tier 48, would have their physique and senses heavily suppressed, unable to exert even half of their normal combat power. In addition, the monsters in the Demon Mist Valley possessed incredibly powerful Defense and Magic Resistance. The weakest monster here was a Level 130 Great Lord; there were also plenty of Mythic monsters and even Superior Mythic monsters. Even Tier 4 experts would have a very low chance of survival if they got sent to this forbidden land unprepared. Hence, the various superpowers had placed particularly great importance on the Demon Mist Valley. Our luck isnt all that bad. At least we didnt get sent to the central region. Were only at the boundary between the inner and outer regions, MacAffrey, the Silver Lion Legions vice commander, said after checking his map. Pointing at the valley in the forest in front, he continued, We should reach the outer region in three hours if we head in that direction. The Demon Mist Valley did not just prevent teleportation, but its red mist also prevented Tier 4 players from flying. In fact, even Flying Mounts could only walk here. Guild Leader Black Flame, let us hurry out of here. Well get surrounded by monsters if we stay for too long. At that time, leaving the Demon Mist Valley will become even more troublesome, Fithalia suggested as she looked at Shi Feng. Although the red mist heavily suppressed players perception, the monsters inside the Demon Mist Valley were unaffected. Hence, monsters would almost always notice players before players detected them. In addition, now that monsters in Gods Domain had gained self-awareness and greater intelligence, they would almost always ambush players in packs. Not to mention, their group was currently in the Demon Mist Valleys inner region. According to Divine Tribes research, the chances of a Superior Mythic monster appearing here was quite high. Quite a number of Mythic monsters also roamed the area. If their group caused a huge commotion, it could easily attract a pack of Mythic monsters. Even for Tier 4 players like themselves, fighting multiple Mythic monsters was very dangerous. Sure. Shi Feng nodded. After arriving in the Demon Mist Valley, he had already spread his senses. Despite his perception getting suppressed to just a 2,000-yard radius, he still managed to discover two Mythic monsters and more than 30 Level 140-plus Grand Lords. It would indeed be very troublesome if their small group had to fight against all these monsters. Following this, the group of four made their way into the valley under Shi Fengs lead. Now that Shi Fengs Concentration had reached the Tier 5 standard and his control over Mana had achieved World Creation, even after walking through the valley for over an hour, the four did not come across a single battle. This situation confused Fithalia and the others, and they could only assume that an army of players had cleared this valley recently. However, as the group approached the outer region, the density of the monsters in the area also increased. Although Shi Feng had a perception range of 2,000 yards, he still had greater difficulty finding a safe route to travel. Huh? Players? Suddenly, Shi Feng detected strong Mana fluctuations coming from a forest some distance ahead, indicating a battle taking place there. After advancing a little more, the group even began hearing sounds of battle. Shortly after hearing the noise, the group saw a Level 145 Superior Mythic ranked Four-winged Feathered Dragon rising from the forest a thousand yards away. The Feathered Dragon then used a breath attack, turning the forest within a 500-yard radius into ash. Along with the destruction of a portion of the forest, three figures-one female and two males-entered the sight of Shi Fengs group. These three players were all Tier 4 players. Shi Feng even recognized two of them. One was Sixteenth Cloud, the Second Vice Guild Leader of Shining Tiger; the other was the Assassin Sorrowful Silence. The only reason the trio managed to survive the Feathered Dragons breath attack was the Tier 4 Guardian Knight of the group. However, after taking on that breath attack, the Guardian Knight did not have much HP remaining. None of the three was a healer, either, so the Guardian Knight could only rely on potions to heal himself. Evidently, it wouldnt be long before they fell to the Superior Mythic monster. Dammit! To think well actually die here! Sixteenth Cloud, who wielded a crimson staff, glared at the Four-winged Feathered Dragons 60-meter-long frame with inevitable frustration. Thats right! We shouldve fought those people outside instead. It would be much better than getting killed by this monster, Sorrowful Silence said, nodding in agreement. Theres no helping it. Who wouldve thought we would encounter such a monster as soon as we ducked into the inner region? Sixteenth Cloud said with a bitter smile. I guess fate really wants us dead. They had gone to great lengths to escape the Outerworld experts pursuit, running all the way from the Demon Mist Valleys outer region to the inner region. Originally, they thought they could lose those Outerworld experts after hiding in the inner region. They never imagined that a Superior Mythic monster might be guarding the border. The Four-winged Feather Dragon wasnt just a Superior Mythic monster. It was also the Realm Lord of this area. Even a 20-man Tier 4 team would have difficulty fighting it under normal circumstances, what more under the Demon Mist Valleys suppression? And worse, the Feathered Dragon could fly. There was no way to escape it. Players that encountered the Feathered Dragon had only two options: kill it or be killed by it. There was no third option. However, before Sixteenth Cloud and Sorrowful Silence could continue their conversation, the Feathered Dragon flapped its two sets of wings, sending countless wind blades at the three players. The Boss did not give the trio a chance to catch a breather. Upon seeing the approaching wind blades, Sixteenth Cloud swung her crimson staff, instantly raising a wall of flames in front of the three. The wall of flames rose over a hundred meters, blocking all the oncoming wind blades. And once the flames stopped the attacks, they transformed into a phoenix that flew toward the Feathered Dragon. Tier 4 Curse, Phoenix Flame! Phoenix Flame was actually a Tier 4 Offensive Curse. However, Sixteenth Cloud not only utilized it as if it were a Defensive Curse but even switched it to offense afterward. Her mastery of this Tier 4 Curse was simply superb. However, just as the phoenix was about to devour the Feathered Dragon, the latter suddenly let loose a deafening roar. Immediately afterward, the flames making up the phoenix got extinguished one after another. The phoenix eventually disappeared before it could reach the Feathered Dragons body. Mana Annihilation!? Sixteenth Cloud was thunderstruck when she saw the flames disappearing, her mind unable to accept this situation. If the flames had merely failed to damage the Feathered Dragon because they lacked power, she would still be able to understand it. However, as she held full control over the flames, she could tell that the flames hadnt died naturally. Instead, they got extinguished because the Mana used to create and fuel them had been annihilated. How can a Boss hold such a Skill?! This is cheating! Sorrowful Silence fell into despair as he looked at the Feathered Dragon. Although he didnt know the exact details of the situation because he wasnt the creator of those flames, he could tell that those flames had died due to Mana Annihilation. In other words, all Spells would be a joke in front of the Feathered Dragon. Moreover, as an Inferior Dragon, the Four-winged Feathered Dragon possessed incredible Defense. If magical attacks were ineffective against it, it would be a nigh-invincible existence. After destroying Sixteenth Clouds Curse, the Feathered Dragon flapped its wings and sent wind blades at the three players once more. It seems this is the end for us. Looking at the innumerable oncoming wind blades, Sixteenth Cloud could only shrug helplessly and wait for death to claim her. Originally, she had hoped her Tier 4 Curse would heavily injure the Feathered Dragon, creating an opportunity for their party to escape. However, let alone heavily injuring the Feathered Dragon, she couldnt even damage it. In front of an Inferior Dragon capable of using Mana Annihilation, an Elementalist like herself was nothing but a joke. She was of no threat to it at all. Yet, just as the countless wind blades were about to strike Sixteenth Cloud and the others, a magic barrier suddenly emerged from the ground before them. The barrier stopped the wind blades, releasing the trio from deaths grip. Crystalline Barrier? When Sixteenth Cloud saw the shattered magic barrier in front of her, she immediately recognized the Tier 4 Spell used to create it. With his keen eyes, Sorrowful Silence quickly noticed some figures emerging from the distant forest. Vice Guild Leader, there are people coming from over there. At Sorrowful Silences words, Sixteenth Cloud promptly turned toward the direction he indicated. What entered her vision were four people, two male and two females, emerging from the forest roughly 500 yards away. It was evident that these four people were responsible for the Tier 4 Defensive Spell that had saved their party. Black Flame? When Sixteenth Cloud saw one of the cloaked men of the group, she couldnt help her surprise. She had met with the man known as Black Flame once before, when negotiating with Zero Wing for partnership on behalf of Shining Tiger. However, after that event, she had paid very little attention to Zero Wing, focusing it all on developing Shining Tigers forces in the Glory Empire. If not for Shi Feng having accomplished astonishing feats that shook the entirety of Gods Domain, she wouldve long since forgotten his appearance. Chapter 2860 - Eastern Continent’s Situation Chapter 2860 C Eastern Continents Situation Sixteenth Cloud and the others noticed the three people moving behind Shi Feng and were stunned when they saw the faces of these three people. No way! Commander Fithalia of Divine Tribes Divine Hymn Legion is here! Isnt Divine Tribe active only on the western continent? Shes not here alone. Even the Silver Lion Legions Vice Commander MacAffrey and Divine Tribes Crimson Witch are here. Both of them are Divine Tribes top combatants. Crimson Witch is probably the one who helped us just now. Why did they come here all of a sudden? Although Divine Tribe wasnt famous on the eastern continent, it was very well-known on the western continent. The Guilds development had even skyrocketed recently, and it was now an existence close to rivaling the Five Great Super Guilds. Naturally, Divine Tribe was many times stronger than a recently established superpower like Shining Tiger. Yet, three of Divine Tribes top combatants were now here. With the ability of these three people, they could normally preside over the Guild affairs on their own. Having the three of them together was akin to Divine Tribe having its trump card legion stroll down the street of a city. Unless Divine Tribe was planning an important operation, such an action would be a complete waste of manpower. However, before Sixteenth Cloud and the others could recover from their surprise, Fithalia and MacAffrey suddenly appeared beside the Four-winged Feathered Dragon. Fithalia promptly brandished her longsword and bombarded the Realm Lord with a rain of sword lights. As for MacAffrey, he raised his greatsword and stabbed it into the ground. Subsequently, massive greatswords emerged from the ground and stabbed at the airborne Feathered Dragon. Compared to the Shining Tiger trio, Fithalia and MacAffrey evidently had far superior control over Mana. Their ordinary Tier 4 Skills nearly rivaled Tier 5 Skills in power. They also perfectly coordinated their attacks, such that the Feathered Dragon could only defend against the attack of one and had no choice but to take the attack of the other. -31,654,215! Damage exceeding 30 million appeared above the Feathered Dragons head, the attack provoking a pained cry from the Superior Mythic. Although this amount of damage was nothing compared to the Feathered Dragons nearly 20 billion HP, Sixteenth Cloud and the others couldnt even damage the Realm Lord. n How strong! So, these are Divine Tribes top combatants? Sixteenth Cloud was astonished when she saw the combat prowess Fithalia and MacAffrey displayed. Although Sixteenth Cloud recognized that she still couldnt rank at the very top of Gods Domain in terms of combat power, she was still a Domain Realm Tier 4 expert. She was also fully equipped with Epic Equipment. Yet, compared to Fithalia and MacAffrey, she still had a long way to go before reaching the top of Gods Domain. However, before Shining Tigers trio could overcome their shock from Fithalia and MacAffreys display of power, an overbearing sword light suddenly cut through space and sliced off one of the Feathered Dragons claws. The attack wrenched an agonized shriek from the Feathered Dragon, and its HP instantly plunged by more than 100 million. The horrified Feathered Dragon immediately flapped its wings and fled the scene like a powerful storm, not daring to remain for even a moment longer. The Feathered Dragon was much faster than the average Tier 4 Flying Mount. Upon seeing this scene, Sixteenth Cloud and the others reflexively turned toward the origin of the sword light with stunned looks on their faces. This was because the origin of this sword light was none other than Shi Feng. Currently, he radiated a Mana so dense that it was liquid. How is this possible? Sixteenth Cloud gaped in shock at Shi Feng. Not only did Shi Feng scare a Superior Mythic ranked Realm Lord away with one attack, but the strength of his Mana was simply unbelievable. The density of his Mana was something she had seen radiating from only Tier 5 NPCs. However, while the information Shining Tiger obtained said that Shi Feng was indeed powerful to the point where he could slay Tier 4 NPCs-it did not say that he was this powerful. The attack Shi Feng had used to scare the Feathered Dragon away wasnt a Skill because the attack did not create any Mana fluctuations whatsoever. It was an ordinary attack executed with a combat technique. Meanwhile, seeing the Feathered Dragon fly away left Shi Feng feeling a little frustrated. How unfortunate. The Demon Mist Valleys restraint prevented even him from flying. Hence, if a flying monster fled from him, he had no way of catching up. Not to mention, the Four-winged Feathered Dragon was even a Realm Lord. This was why players had an incredibly difficult time killing Mythic monsters or above in forbidden lands that prevented flight. After all, the majority of the Mythic monsters in forbidden lands could fly. Unless players prepared an ambush beforehand, they could, at most, repel Mythic monsters but not kill them. Are you three alright? After seeing the Feathered Dragon flying into the distance, Shi Feng approached Sixteenth Clouds group and asked curiously, This isnt a place ordinary Tier 4s can visit. Why did you come here? Unlike the Ruined Mountain Range, which was a forbidden land only for humans, the Demon Mist Valley was a forbidden land for all lifemuch more dangerous than the Ruined Mountain Range. Tier 4 players traveling alone or in a small group could only explore the Valleys outer region, at most. Normally, if players wished to enter the Demon Mist Valleys inner region, they needed a team of 20 Tier 4 players at the very least. Meanwhile, Sixteenth Clouds group only had three people. Entering the Valleys inner region was a death sentence for them. You misunderstand us, Guild Leader Black Flame. If possible, we wouldnt have chosen to enter this place, either, Sixteenth Cloud replied with a bitter smile. The three of us entered this place because we had no other choice. Otherwise, the Outerworld Tier 4 experts chasing us wouldve long since killed us. She was both Shining Tigers Second Vice Guild Leader and a Tier 4 Domain Realm expert. If it were a month ago, nobody would believe her if she told them that other players were hunting her and had even driven her into a desperate situation. In fact, if Sixteenth Cloud had come across such a situation, she definitely wouldnt tell anyone about it. Now, however, Sixteenth Cloud did not mind revealing this matter to an outsider at all. She also didnt find it damaging to her self-esteem. On the contrary, she even felt proud about the situation. The three of you were actually cornered? Is the eastern continents situation that bad? Shi Feng was surprised by Sixteenth Clouds words. In his previous life, Tier 4 experts remained existences that could not be underestimated, even ten years after Gods Domains launch. Even superpowers with Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts wouldnt have an easy time targeting and hunting down Tier 4 experts keen on escaping After all, there were simply far too few experts in Gods Domain capable of getting promoted to Tier 4, and the bare minimum requirement for players to participate in a hunt for Tier 4 players was to be Tier 4 themselves. Otherwise, they wouldnt be able to catch up with and surround the targeted Tier 4 player at all. And while Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts were indeed capable of overpowering Tier 4 experts in a head-on fight, they had to track down their target first before they could do anything. Hence, even for the various superpowers, hunting down Tier 4 experts was a headache. Yet, Sixteenth Clouds group of three Tier 4 experts was actually getting hunted. This told Shi Feng that the eastern continent was in far direr straits than what Divine Tribes report described. Guild Leader Black Flame, you mustve been away from the eastern continent during this period, right? Sixteenth Cloud wasnt particularly surprised by Shi Fengs question. Without withholding any information, she replied, A few days ago, another ten or so Outerworld superpowers arrived on the eastern continent. One of these superpowers is incredibly strong-probably on the level of the Five Great Super Guilds. This superpower has many Tier 4s, as well as Tier 3 experts that exhibit combat power at the Tier 4 standard. Because of this superpowers appearance, the originally stable situation on the eastern continent changed instantly. Previously, the Tier 4 experts of the eastern continents superpowers could still roam the Demon Mist Valleys outer region. Now, however, let alone grinding peacefully in the outer region, wed be fortunate not to get hunted by those Outerworld experts. Previously, there had indeed been a huge difference between the eastern continents superpowers and the Outerworlds superpowers. However, it wasnt as if the eastern continents superpowers were utterly helpless to fight back. After all, even in the Outerworld, reaching Tier 4 wasnt easy. As a result, the Outerworlds superpowers did not have many Tier 4 players under their command, either. However, after that superpower showed up, the Outerworlds forces suddenly gained a slew of Tier 4 combatants. This instantly shattered the balance between the two sides and placed native Tier 4 experts like herself at an absolute disadvantage. Almost all of the eastern continents resource-rich maps had already become the backyard of those Outerworld players, and trying to level up in these maps was now a monumental challenge for native players. I see. No wonder you ran all the way here. Shi Feng finally understood the situation. There were many ways in Gods Domain to allow Tier 3 experts to possess Tier 4 combat power. Besides Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment, combat arrays were more than capable of doing the job. However, combat arrays were incredibly rare, and producing them was also extremely troublesome. This was especially true when it came to the materials required. Nevertheless, so long as one managed to manufacture combat arrays capable of granting Tier 3 players Tier 4 combat power, one would be more than capable of dealing with Tier 4 players. After all, the precondition for Tier 4 players invulnerability to zerg tactics was that their opponents were Tier 3 combatants or weaker. If a Tier 4 player had to go up against a group of Tier 4 players, even a Tier 4 apex expert would be pushed to the brink of death very quickly. Guild Leader Black Flame, if you plan on leaving the Demon Mist Valley, Id advise you to wait here for the time being. We entered this place just recently, so those Outerworld experts are probably still hanging around the outer region, Sixteenth Cloud said. Although those Tier 3 experts with Tier 4 combat power are strong, their resistance to the foreign energy in the environment is still at the Tier 3 standard, so they cant stay in a forbidden land for too long. Judging by Shi Fengs reactions, Sixteenth Cloud guessed that the man had not been updated about the eastern continents situation for quite some time now. Although Shi Feng was indeed extraordinarily strong and even had three powerful experts following him, his group would most likely still face a bitter battle if it had to go up against a large number of Tier 4 combatants. If the four werent careful, they might even end up losing their lives. At present, the wisest option would be to wait until those Tier 4 combatants had left the forbidden land. Thank you for the warning, but that wont be necessary. Shi Feng shook his head in response to Sixteenth Clouds advice. After voicing his gratitude, he promptly led Fithalia and the others out of the inner region. When Shi Fengs party of four had gotten several hundred yards away, Sorrowful Silence and the Tier 4 Guardian Knight turned to Sixteenth Cloud. What should we do now? Sorrowful Silence asked. Do we wait here? Now that the Four-winged Feathered Dragon had fled this place, they should be safe for some time. We dont have a choice. Lets follow Guild Leader Black Flame, Sixteenth Cloud replied, gritting her teeth. It might be impossible to break out of the encirclement with just the three of us, but with the strength of Guild Leader Black Flames group, we should have a chance. Sixteenth Cloud and the others ran after Shi Fengs group. Chapter 2861 - Natives? Chapter 2861 C Natives? Demon Mist Valley, outer region: Due to the red mist shrouding the Demon Mist Valley all year round, the forbidden land was very humid, abounding with lush vegetation. Unlike the plants found in the outside world, the plants here seemed self-aware as they constantly moved about slowly. This made one feel they were traversing a maze when they traveled through the valley. Dammit! Those people sure know how to run! If theyd just tamely let us kill them, we wouldnt have to suffer so much! a Level 143, Tier 4 female Swordsman grumbled in dissatisfaction. That might be the case, but we also have to thank these people, a Level 143, Tier 4 male Berserker standing beside the female Swordsman said. If not for these native Tier 4 experts, we wouldnt have an opportunity to earn Alliance Contribution Points. I guess thats true. So long as we gather a few more points, we will be able to stay in the luxury zone where those major powers stay, the female Swordsman said, nodding. A hint of anticipation flashing across her eyes, she continued, I heard that the luxury zone even sells drugs that extend ones lifespan. We can also use the extra points we earn to exchange for those drugs. Ive heard about them too. Normally, those things are reserved for the upper-class young masters and young ladies. Ordinary people like us have no chance to touch these things, said a middle-aged man who was a Level 145, Tier 4 Elementalist. Now, though, those major powers have no choice but to ask professionals like us for help to take over this backwater world. Its a pity that the natives here are too inferior. Their control over Mana, Skills, and Spells is terribly clumsy. If they were a little better, we would have more targets to hunt and more points to earn. As these Tier 4 players were chatting merrily, a party of players was eyeing them with contempt. These mercenaries really know how to dream. Do they think they can exchange for those life-extending drugs so easily? Jade Leaf commented as she looked at the bragging Tier 4 experts in disdain. Even our Guild has trouble getting our hands on a few bottles, yet they think mercenaries like them can exchange for some? Jade, you cant say that. If we dont provide these people with some benefits, how would we get them to work for us? Awakened Abyss said, smiling. Moreover, thanks to this operation, we also get to exchange for those precious life-extending drugs without limit this time. This is a rare opportunity from the higher-ups. In the world they lived in, life-extending drugs were incredibly precious items. Even children of major families like themselves had great difficulty getting their hands on a bottle. However, they could now use the Alliance Contribution Points they earned from killing native Tier 4 experts to exchange for these drugs-a precious opportunity, even for them. After all, who wouldnt want to live a longer life? Before Awakened Abyss could continue speaking, a Level 144, Tier 4 Ranger suddenly approached him in a hurry. Commander, we found traces of a group of people. These should be auras left behind by natives, the Ranger reported in a quiet tone. Three of the auras belong to the three people we were pursuing earlier. Good! Gather everyone for an ambush! Awakened Abyss commanded with a smile. So long as we kill them once, well see how Shining Tiger will continue bringing their members here to grind! The main reason the eastern continents native superpowers continued to survive was their Tier 4 experts leading teams into forbidden lands to grind. Killing the native superpowers Tier 4 experts once would be more than enough to deal a heavy blow to the native superpowersespecially if the death penalty players suffered were increased. While EXP meant very little to Tier 4 players, it was a different story for weapons and equipment. If Tier 4 experts suddenly lost two or three pieces of their equipment, the native superpowers would definitely suffer heartache. It would also be very challenging for these native Tier 4 experts to recover from their losses. Understood! At Awakened Abysss command, the Ranger promptly contacted the other members of their hunting group to gather at the specified ambush point. In a woodland in the Demon Mist Valleys outer region If we continue running in this direction for another four to five hours, we should be able to leave the Demon Mist Valley, Sixteenth Cloud said excitedly as she pointed at a mountain range looming in the distance. The Demon Mist Valleys terrain continuously changed. The one constant in this place was the mountains. Meanwhile, the distant mountain range was none other than the one Sixteenth Clouds party had passed through to enter the forbidden land. The sight of this same mountain range meant that their journey was nearing its end. Once they left the Demon Mist Valley, they could teleport to safety using a Return Scroll. At that time, the Outerworld invaders wouldnt be able to chase them. Sorrowful Silence and the Tier 4 Guardian Knight also grew excited when they saw the distant mountain range. The three of them had been inflicted with a curse that drastically increased the death penalty they suffered and would randomly resurrect them within the forbidden land. Previously, they thought that they no longer had any hope of surviving this ordeal. Now, their hopes were rekindled. It wouldve been incredibly difficult for their party of three to escape the outer region by themselves. After all, the outer region had not only Outerworld players hunting them but also powerful monsters roaming everywhere. If they got entangled with monsters for too long, the resulting commotion would definitely attract the Outerworld players to them. However, when following Shi Fengs party of four, they actually did not encounter a single monster. It was as if those monsters had vanished from the map. They had to marvel at Shi Fengs partys heaven-defying luck. Now, all they needed to do was run to that distant mountain range. After that, they would be able to fly freely in the sky like birds. However, when the seven arrived at the foot of the mountain range, a magic barrier suddenly enveloped them. Given its 1,000-yard radius, one could easily tell that it was at the Master standard. Even Superior Mythic monsters would have difficulty breaking out of it. Not good! We got fooled! Sixteenth Clouds complexion paled when she saw the barrier forming She had thought that they had already shaken off the Outerworld players pursuit. Evidently, these Outerworlders had simply waited for them to throw themselves into this trap. With this area sealed with a Master Magic Barrier, they had no hope of escaping whatsoever. Just then, a savage and brawny Level 145 man emerged from the forest in front of Shi Fengs group and said with a sadistic look, You people have made me wait for a very long time. Lets see how you get out of this situation now! The last time his hunting group had come across Shining Tigers party, it shouldve succeeded in annihilating the trio. However, the instant Sixteenth Cloud noticed the ambush, she had decisively fled with her party before his hunting group could trap them with a barrier. This time, his hunting group had discovered traces of Sixteenth Clouds party early and managed to discern where the party was heading. And with this information, his hunting group could easily set up an ambush. At this time, Sixteenth Cloud couldnt help looking at Shi Feng with guilt. Guild Leader Black Flame, this is all my fault. If I had suggested we take another exit, they wouldnt have caught us. The Demon Mist Valley didnt have just one exit. Had they chosen any of the other exits instead, they wouldnt have gotten trapped. Vice Commander Cloud, you dont need to blame yourself, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. After all, I was the one who asked you to find the nearest exit. Even if you didnt guide us, we wouldve had to clean up these hindrances sooner or later. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the approaching brawny man automatically frowned. Clean up us hindrances? What big words you have there! Commander Eagle, why are you wasting time speaking with these people? These ignorant natives just dont know how large the gap between them and us is! Lets just get rid of them now! Shi Fengs words enraged the Outerworld players surrounding his party. In their opinion, the residents of this Gods Domain were no different from natives living in an undeveloped wilderness. Yet, these natives werent kneeling and begging them for mercy but even treating them like annoying flies. Such arrogance was beyond salvation. However, while the Outerworld hunting groups 30-plus Tier 4 experts and 100-plus Tier 3 experts were raising a ruckus, the brawny man leading them turned his gaze toward Awakened Abysss group. Commander Abyss, youre finally here. May I know if your group will be taking action, or will you leave it to us? Chapter 2862 - Hunter? Or Hunted? Chapter 2862 C Hunter? Or Hunted? Quasi Eagles words agitated the Tier 4 experts around him so much that they wished they could charge forward and finish off the seven native players in front of them immediately. Currently, the Alliances price for native Tier 4 experts was 300 Contribution Points per kill. If a curse was used on the kill, they would receive 1,000 points. These prices represented a fortune, even for the luxury zones residents, let alone residents of the commoner zone like themselves. If converted into income, 1,000 Alliance Contribution Points were equivalent to ten years of salary for an ordinary person living in the luxury zone. Indeed! The Interstellar Alliances bounty for native Tier 4s was that high! This demonstrated the Interstellar Alliances determination in acquiring this Gods Domain. More importantly, Alliance Contribution Points could be exchanged for money but not vice versa. Meanwhile, Alliance Contribution Points could be used to exchange for many items and resources that normally could not be bought with money. Hence, the seven Tier 4 players in front of them were basically walking treasure troves. Even if they split the points among their group, they would still earn a significant income. However, Awakened Abyss did not respond to Quasi Eagles question. Instead, he stared at the group of native players in front of him. More precisely, he was looking at the cloaked man standing at the head of this group. Despite being surrounded by over 100 Tier 4 combatants and suppressed by a Master Magic Array, this cloaked man remained incredibly calm. Guild Leader Black Flame! Youve really made me search for you! Awakened Abyss ignored everyone around him, focusing solely on Shi Feng, the words he uttered carrying endless rage and killing intent. Although Awakened Abyss had eventually gotten rescued from Sky Spring Citys prison, his reputation in the Guild had still plummeted. As a result, despite being one of the Guilds top three talents, he had no choice but to complete a bunch of meaningless missions, such as hunting down Shining Tigers Tier 4 experts. Hence, Awakened Abyss bore deep hatred for Shi Feng. Only, after the World Passage opened, he had not obtained any information on Shi Fengs whereabouts, so he had no opportunity to reclaim his honor. However, Shi Feng ignored Awakened Abysss anger and hatred entirely. Looking at the young man, Shi Feng said calmly, So, its Commander Abyss of Hundred Ghosts. It seems youve improved a lot since we last met. Awakened Abyss was evidently much stronger than when Shi Feng saw him in Sky Spring City. The young man had not only reached Level 145 but even broken through the 100% threshold of his Mana Body; his Mana Bodys Completion Rate definitely rivaled Fithalias. Most importantly, aside from sporting Epic Set Equipment, Awakened Abyss also had three Fragmented Legendary items on him. Given that he was at the Domain Realm and had gotten far in the Realms of Truth, the combat power he could display was most likely superior to the average Tier 4 NPCs. Thats right! This is all thanks to you, Guild Leader Black Flame! Awakened Abyss gnashed his teeth at Shi Fengs words. Since we had the fortune of meeting today, how about we C 11 Just as Awakened Abyss was about to propose a duel, Jade Leaf hurriedly tugged his sleeve and said quietly, Abyss, dont mess around! His strength has already reached monstrous levels! Moreover, the Elder told you that now still isnt the time for us to make an enemy of Black Flame! Awakened Abyss had been imprisoned in Sky Spring City, so he had not witnessed the battle outside the Secret Covenant Tower. Back then, not only did Shi Feng single-handedly slay hundreds of weakened Tier 4 Faux Saint Saboteurs as if he was cutting up a bunch of vegetables, but he also revealed extraordinary trump cards. Shi Feng also possessed an incredibly powerful Mana Domain. When he deployed his Mana Domain, none of the Faux Saint Saboteurs managed to exhibit more than half of their usual combat power. While one of the reasons Windshadow had chosen to surrender to Zero Wing was indeed the Mobile Fortresss threat, a larger part was Shi Fengs trump cards. Hence, he had chosen to surrender and compensate Zero Wing. Although their hunting group currently had a significant advantage in numbers and even had a Master Magic Array suppressing Shi Feng, Jade Leaf still couldnt see their group having any chance of victory against Shi Fengs party. At Jade Leafs reminder, Awakened Abyss gradually cooled down. I know! Although Awakened Abyss wanted nothing more than to kill Shi Feng right now, his circumstances were no longer the same as before. He could no longer afford to act willfully. Take Jade Leaf, for example. In addition to protecting him, she was also tasked with supervising him. If Awakened Abyss dared defy Windshadows command and Jade Leaf reported his disobedience, it wouldnt matter whether he managed to kill Shi Feng or not; nothing good would come of it. In fact, he might get even more marginalized in the Guild. After Awakened Abyss finished his conversation with Jade Leaf, he turned to Quasi Eagle. Commander Eagle, remove the barrier! Were leaving! At Awakened Abysss words, Quasi Eagle and the other Tier 4 experts of the hunting party were all stunned. Whats going on? Sixteenth Cloud also goggled in shock. She couldnt understand why the situation had taken such an unexpected turn. While she wasnt aware of the history between Awakened Abyss and Shi Feng, she could tell from the anger and hatred Awakened Abyss had displayed toward Shi Feng a moment ago that Awakened Abyss wouldnt let them go. In fact, it was already incredible that Awakened Abyss did not take action immediately. Yet, Awakened Abyss was now saying to let them go. If not for her clearly sensing the resentment Awakened Abyss radiated, she would even suspect that Awakened Abyss had merely been feigning anger before and that he actually had an excellent relationship with Shi Feng. Let alone Sixteenth Cloud, even Shi Feng found this situation surprising. He couldnt help wondering if Awakened Abyss had blown a fuse or two in his brain from his previous outburst and had a slip of the tongue. Commander Abyss, what are you saying? Looking at Awakened Abyss in confusion, Quasi Eagle asked, Weve expended so much manpower and resources to hunt them down, yet you want us to just release them? It wasnt easy to hunt down and surround the native superpowers Tier 4 experts, who were now operating very cautiously. If it were before, they wouldve required a team of only a dozen or so Tier 4 combatants to hunt down a handful of native Tier 4s. Now, they needed to mobilize over a hundred Tier 4 combatants just for three of Shining Tigers Tier 4 experts. Since their hunting group had surrounded seven Tier 4 expertsfour more than expected they would make a fortune if they simply finished the job. Yet, Awakened Abyss was telling them to let these Tier 4 experts go. For a moment, Quasi Eagle suspected that Awakened Abyss had gone crazy. In response, Awakened Abyss clenched his fists and repeated, Yes, let them go. Sixteenth Cloud and her two Guildmates heaved a deep sigh of relief at Awakened Abysss affirmation. Although they didnt know why such a situation was happening or who exactly Awakened Abyss was, Awakened Abyss appeared to be the leader of this hunting group. And since the leader had spoken, her party should be safe. However, contrary to the Shining Tiger trios expectations, Quasi Eagle, the mercenaries leader, behaved as if he had not heard Awakened Abysss command. He didnt call off his subordinates or remove the Master Magic Array Sorry, but I cannot listen to your words, Commander Abyss. I dont know what kind of relationship you have with this Guild Leader Black Flame, but I need to take care of my brothers. We went to great lengths to trap these people in a barrier. If we let them go now, my brothers will have nothing to eat! Looking at Awakened Abyss, Quasi Eagle smiled faintly and said, Since you are unwilling to take action, we will do it instead. If you cant bear to watch, you can shut your eyes and stand aside. I promise we wont let your friends suffer and will finish the battle quickly! I support you, Boss! Commander Abyss, even if youre the leader, you have to ask our weapons first whether we agree with your commands! Thats right! Commander Abyss, if you cant bear to attack your friend, just stand aside! The other mercenaries promptly voiced their agreement with Quasi Eagle. Players like them relied on bounties to make a living. Now that they had found themselves a big catch, there was no way they would let their prey get away. When Awakened Abyss heard these mercenaries words, he had an urge to puke blood. You When did I become friends with Black Flame? Despite his anger at the mercenaries comments, Awakened Abyss was actually delighted about this situation. In fact, he wished these mercenaries would blow up this situation even further. At that time, even if the higher-ups of his Guild wanted to pin the blame on him, they couldnt. Although Awakened Abyss was slightly displeased that he wouldnt get revenge with his own hands, watching Shi Feng get killed wasnt a bad option, either. Jade Leaf, on the other hand, frowned at this sight. She never thought that these mercenaries would be so crazy. These mercenaries were treating a monster like Shi Feng as an average Tier 4 expert under the command of the native superpowers. Instead of conducting detailed research on the man, the only thing they had in their minds was money. Jade, you saw it yourself. I tried to let him go, but these people arent willing to do so. Theres nothing I can do about this. Pretending to be angry, Awakened Abyss said, These mercenaries simply arent treating me like their leader at all. Thats why Ive been saying that Im not suited to leading these mercenaries. After this mission, you must talk to Elder Windshadow for me. Forget it! Were leaving! Jade Leaf couldnt be bothered with these mercenaries. The instructions of the Guilds higher-ups were simple: they were to avoid making an enemy out of Zero Wing, no matter what, for the moment. However, since they had no control over these mercenaries, the higher-ups naturally couldnt blame them for negligence if the mercenaries acted on their own. Jade Leaf promptly drew Hundred Ghostss members aside, refusing to participate in this affair. Good! Seeing Jade Leaf moving away, Quasi Eagle smiled and said, Brothers, time to work! Make sure not to show too ugly of a scene to our dear Commander Abyss! The other mercenaries present laughed, all them gazing at Shi Fengs group with ill intentions. Friends, dont blame us for this! Were only doing this to make a living. For our sake, Ill have to trouble you to suffer a little bit! Quasi Eagle said as he looked at Shi Fengs group of seven, his eyes radiating killing intent. Trouble? Shi Feng chuckled. It seems you people have made a mistake. Mistake? Quasi Eagle eyed Shi Feng strangely. What mistake? Youve mistaken the roles of the hunter and the hunted in this situation! After saying so, Shi Feng extended his Mana Domain, instantly enveloping a 2,000-yard radius in his Mana and shattering the magic barrier trapping the seven. Chapter 2863 - Peerless Overlord Chapter 2863 C Peerless Overlord World Creation?! How is this possible?! Sixteenth Cloud gaped in shock when she saw the magic barrier disappear and the pressure weighing down her body vanished. She simply couldnt bring herself to believe this situation. Even acquiring a Mana Domain was already tough for Tier 4 players; anyone who managed to do so would become an absolute powerhouse among Tier 4 existences. Meanwhile, World Creation was something even Tier 5 existences had difficulty achieving. Anyone who reached the World Creation standard could create a small world of their own, which was much more powerful than a barrier created using a magic array. It was akin to a passive, large-scale magic barrier. What was even more amazing was that the owner of this small world could isolate enemies from the ambient Mana. So long as the trapped enemies had yet to reach Tier 5 or the World Creation standard or did not possess Fragmented Legendary items capable of countering a World Creation Mana Domain, resisting the owner of the small world was impossible. In front of a World Creation expert, Tier 4 experts were hardly any different from Tier 2 and Tier 3 players; they just had stronger Basic Attributes and physiques. Let alone Sixteenth Cloud, even Awakened Abyss and Jade Leaf were stunned by this situation. How can he be at the World Creation level already?! Isnt he just a native?! Awakened Abyss couldnt believe his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Even in the Gods Domain they came from, only experts standing at the apex of the world had reached the World Creation standard-all of them old monsters belonging to the few transcendental powers. However, Shi Fengs appearance indicated he was only 30, at most. Moreover, the Gods Domain he lived in was not only sparse in Mana but also lacking in Legacies. No matter how Awakened Abyss looked at it, there was no way anyone in this Gods Domain could achieve such strength at this stage of the game. So, this is his hidden strength? Jade Leaf was horrified by this revelation. Previously, when Windshadow told her that Shi Feng was still hiding a lot of his strength and that they needed to be careful around him, she hadnt thought much of his warning. She had reminded Awakened Abyss to avoid clashing with Shi Feng simply because she did not want to disobey Windshadows orders. However, after Shi Feng revealed his hidden strength, Jade Leaf found him much scarier than even Windshadows predictions. The next moment, before Quasi Eagle and the other mercenaries could snap out of their daze, Shi Fengs Light of Two Worlds swung toward them. Tier 4 Skill, Lightning Edge! Countless sword lights descended from the sky, creating a mesmerizing river of light. Quasi Eagle and the other mercenaries indeed possessed combat power at the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, even the weakest Tier 3 expert among them was at the Refinement Realm standard. However, since they couldnt tap the ambient Mana, none of the defensive maneuvers and Lifesaving skills they used could withstand Shi Fengs attack. As a result, apart from Quasi Eagle and a Tier 4 Elementalist, both of whom had broken through the 100% threshold of their Mana Bodies, everyone else lost their lives to the sword lights. When the river of light disappeared, a ravine dozens of meters deep and nearly a thousand meters long had formed in the forested region, with weapons and equipment strewn inside it. How is this possible?! Quasi Eagle, who had survived thanks to a Tier 4 Defensive Skill, was stupefied when he saw most of his team of more than 100 Tier 4 combatants wiped out. When he and the surviving Elementalist looked at Shi Feng again, they shuddered involuntarily, horror swamping their hearts. The two of them finally understood that what Shi Feng had said earlier was true. From start to end, their team had merely been a bunch of clowns. They arrogantly thought of Shi Fengs group as sheep for the slaughter, not knowing that they themselves were the actual sheep. World Creation No wonder Awakened Abyss conceded without hesitation Quasi Eagle smiled bitterly as he looked at Shi Feng. The loss of levels was a small matter for Tier 4 players like them. However, the loss of weapons and equipment wasnt something that they could recover from easily. Boss, what should we do? the Level 144, Tier 4 male Elementalist asked Quasi Eagle in a panic. Theres no way we can get away from him inside this small world. We also cant fly inside the Demon Mist Valley. Once a World Creation expert unleashed their Mana Domain, escape was impossibleespecially for players like themselves. At the Elementalists question, Quasi Eagle gritted his teeth and said to Shi Feng, Friend, my brother and I surrender. We are willing to compensate you with two pieces of top-tier Epic Equipment for each of us. What do you think? Quasi Eagles proposal surprised Awakened Abyss and the other Hundred Ghosts members. The commander of the Wild Hunt mercenary group was considered above average among the Tier 4 experts in their Gods Domain. For him to actually bow down to another was simply unbelievable. Quasi Eagle was known to be a ruthless person in their Gods Domain. He had once gone up against a Guild all by himself. Despite getting killed more than a dozen times, he still did not give up clashing with the Guild. Eventually, the Guild in question suffered a major loss in a Guild war. And with Quasi Eagle incessantly targeting the Guilds experts, the Guild had no choice but to concede and provide all sorts of compensation to Quasi Eagle to put this feud to rest. This incident had spurred Quasi Eagles rise to fame. He had then gone on to establish the present Wild Hunt mercenary group, which had a reputation as a pack of mad dogs in their Gods Domain. Yet, Quasi Eagle was actually taking the initiative to admit defeat after suffering such a small setback. How could Awakened Abyss and the others not find this situation surprising? Unfortunately, Shi Feng showed no interest whatsoever in Quasi Eagles proposal. Three pieces! Well pay three pieces of Epic Equipment each! Quasi Eagle said, gritting his teeth. Even if you kill us, the most we will drop is two items each. Top-tier Epic Equipment is rare even in the present Gods Domain. This is definitely a worthwhile transaction for you! Normally, Quasi Eagle wouldnt have minded getting killed. However, he currently had a precious treasure on his person, and it had a certain chance of dropping upon death. It was precisely thanks to this treasure that he had managed to break through his Mana Bodys 100% threshold. Meanwhile, this was only the tip of the iceberg of what this treasure had to offer. Although he didnt know what exactly this treasure was, since it had such an ability, it was definitely more valuable than even Fragmented Legendary items. He naturally wouldnt dare bet on the chance that it wouldnt drop. Hence, he endured the humiliation of surrendering. However, before Quasi Eagle could finish speaking, Shi Feng had already slashed out with the Abyssal Blade. First Sword, Lightshadow! You lunatic! When Quasi Eagle and the Elementalist saw the towering greatsword descending toward them, they promptly activated another Lifesaving Skill. The two of them then fled in different directions, neither daring to receive the descending greatsword. They could clearly sense the frightening power the illusory greatsword carried. This attack was most likely much stronger than even that of Superior Mythic monsters. Receiving it would be suicide. One slash Two slashes Three slashes As Quasi Eagle and the Tier 4 Elementalist used up one Lifesaving Skill after another, Shi Feng executed Lightshadow time and again. After five consecutive slashes, Quasi Eagle and the Elementalist finally fell to the illusory greatsword and transformed into ashes, each of them dropping two items as they died. This scene rendered Awakened Abyss and Jade Leaf speechless for a long time. So, this is the power of World Creation? Sixteenth Cloud similarly found herself at a loss for words when she saw Quasi Eagle getting killed in just a few moves. Her party of three had previously clashed with the mercenary commander. Despite the three of them working together to fight him, they were still at a disadvantage. Yet, Shi Feng had overwhelmed Quasi Eagle and another Tier 4 expert, who had also broken through the 100% threshold of his Mana Body, so much that the two couldnt even retaliate. Afterward, Shi Feng collected the loot from Wild Hunt, then glanced at Hundred Ghostss group. Awakened Abyss and the dozen or so Tier 4 experts around him shuddered involuntarily. A few of them even stumbled two steps back. Shi Feng turned to Sixteenth Cloud and the others. Lets go. Leaving behind the petrified members of Hundred Ghosts, Shi Feng led Sixteenth Cloud and the others straight out of the Demon Mist Valley. Chapter 2864 - Astonishing Zero Wing Chapter 2864 C Astonishing Zero Wing Hes finally gone. Jade Leaf heaved a deep sigh of relief when Shi Fengs group disappeared into the distance. Previously, she thought that Shi Feng would take action against them. Although they werent afraid of getting killed, losing equipment would still impact them to a certain extent. Black Flame! Awakened Abyss glared at the distant sky. Just you wait! Ill get back at you one day! Although Shi Feng was indeed powerful, he wasnt an invincible existence. This was especially true in the War of Worlds. Let alone Tier 4 World Creation experts, even Tier 5 NPCs were incapable of stopping their invasion. Otherwise, so many kingdoms on the eastern continent wouldnt have fallen so soon after the War of Worlds began. Now, while it might seem like both sides had reached a balance, they were merely accumulating their strength. Moreover, it wouldnt be long before the next large-scale operation began. Abyss, youd better not mess around. Black Flame is much scarier than we initially expected. If you disrupt the Alliances plans, even Elder Windshadow wont be able to protect you, Jade Leaf warned. What we need to do now is notify the Elder about Black Flame as soon as possible. Although a peerless overlord like Shi Feng couldnt affect the overall situation of the war between the two Gods Domains, he could still affect the outcome of some war theaters. I know. Awakened Abyss nodded. After this operation, Ill return to headquarters and apply for a trial slot. Youll apply for the trial now? Isnt it too soon? Jade Leaf asked in surprise. The Gods Domain they came from was different from this Gods Domain. Their world had plenty of Legacies. One of the more valuable Legacies Hundred Ghosts possessed was an ancient trial, and the entry slots for this trial were generally reserved for the Guilds top talents. However, while this ancient trial could provide significant growth to players, it also came with significant risks. Failure would put players souls into a weakened state for a long period. Moreover, every top talent in the Guild had only one opportunity to challenge this trial. If I can improve my strength now, I can earn more Contribution Points in the upcoming war. So long as I accumulate enough points, I can just exchange for another trial slot. Awakened Abyss had long considered challenging the ancient trial. The Interstellar Alliance was adamant in acquiring the eastern continent; hence, it had offered incredibly lavish rewards to those willing to contribute to this cause. With his status as one of Hundred Ghostss peerless geniuses, acquiring another slot for future use wouldnt be difficult so long as he made enough contributions in the war. se His only problem was that he needed to achieve World Creation in this trial. Previously, Awakened Abyss had only heard rumors regarding the strength of World Creation, but he hadnt known exactly how powerful the ability to create a small world was. However, after seeing Shi Fengs battle, he finally understood the power of World Creation. This was why he had decided to challenge the trial ahead of time. Arctic Canyon, Zero Wing City: Several bright flashes appeared above the teleportation array inside Zero Wing Citys Teleportation Hall as Shi Fengs party of seven teleported into the city. So, this is Zero Wing City? Sixteenth Cloud was astonished when she arrived inside the Teleportation Hall. What incredibly dense Mana! Although she had long since heard rumors that Zero Wing Citys Mana was extraordinary, she found that the city was even more amazing than the rumors had depicted it to be. Zero Wing City was bustling with people. All sorts of NPC merchants and NPC nobles were walking down the street outside the Teleportation Hall. She spotted even Tier 4 NPCs wandering the city. If not for her coming to Zero Wing City to sign a partnership contract with Zero Wing on behalf of Shining Tiger, she wouldve never realized that Zero Wing City was such an amazing place. Fithalia, MacAffrey, and Crimson Witch were also shocked by the city. Not only did Zero Wing City possess superior Mana to the Starlight Fortresss, but its security standard was also incredible. There were even Tier 4 NPCs patrolling the city. Zero Wing Citys security standard was something no other Guild City in Gods Domain could even imagine having. While the various superpowers boasted Tier 4 NPCs of their own, these NPCs were Personal Guards the various superpowers nurtured. The superpowers treated every one of these NPCs as their most precious combatants, normally using them to defend entire towns or cities single-handedly. However, in Zero Wing City, Tier 4 NPCs were actually tasked with leading patrol squads. Moreover, there wasnt just one such patrol squad patrolling the city streets but many. The Tier 4 NPCs that were precious in the eyes of the various superpowers were no different from cabbages in Zero Wing City. Shi Feng, though, did not find this situation particularly surprising. Zero Wing City was currently the only Main Guild City in Gods Domain. It was even situated in the Arctic Canyon, a high-level neutral map. The number of Tier 4 NPCs seeking to develop themselves here would naturally be significant. Hence, Zero Wing City could recruit a group of Tier 4 NPCs to serve as soldiers. Not to mention, Zero Wing Citys Mana environment rivaled that of the ancient Gods Domain, making the city even more attractive to Tier 4 NPCs. After all, if one wished to develop themselves further, one would need to improve ones understanding of Mana. However, Shi Feng had to admit that Zero Wing City had truly made significant progress while he was gone. Not only had the strength of the citys NPC soldiers improved, but even the players occupying the city had grown stronger. Now, the players here were all Tier 3 or above, with even the lowest-leveled among them at Level 136. He had even noticed quite a few Tier 4 players in the city. On the way from the Teleportation Hall to Zero Wings Residence, Shi Feng had spotted more than ten Tier 4 players, which meant that Zero Wing City was even more prosperous than the Starlight Fortress. After all, any player capable of entering Zero Wing City now was a member of either Zero Wing or one of the Guilds partners, and this drastically reduced the number of players capable of entering the city. Apart from that, the number of Zero Wings members present in the city had reached an incredible number. When Zero Wing City was first opened after its promotion to Main City, only several tens of thousands of Zero Wing members had entered it. Yet, according to the information Shi Feng received from the Guild Residence, there were more than 500,000 Zero Wing members in the city now. Given that one needed to be at least Tier 3 to operate around Zero Wing City, Zero Wing currently had at least 500,000 Tier 3 players under its command. This number definitely surpassed that of ordinary superpowers by a large margin and rivaled what Super Guilds had. Guild Leader, this is our Guilds latest development report, Liang Jing said with a hint of pride as she handed Shi Feng a statistics report. Although a lot of things had occurred on the eastern continent during Shi Fengs absence, because of the Mobile Fortress and three Guild Cities, Zero Wing managed to hurdle most of these problems. In fact, during the War of Worlds, Zero Wing City had practically become a shelter that all players sought to enter. Many annihilated Guilds and wandering adventurer teams had chosen to join Zero Wing, which resulted in Zero Wings member count skyrocketing If not for resource limitations, the Guilds member count wouldve most likely doubled by now. Amazing! Shi Feng was astounded when he read the numbers on the report. At present, Zero Wings total Tier 3 member count already exceeded 800,000, more than 500,000 of which were operating in Zero Wing City. The rest were operating in Stone Forest City, Silverwing City, and the Mobile Fortress. However, this still wasnt the most astonishing part. What was more important was that Zero Wing now had 73 Tier 4 players under its command. This number was even higher than what the average Super Guild had. For a moment, Shi Feng even wondered if he had returned to the wrong Guild. After all, super-first-rate Guilds currently had only a dozen or so Tier 4 players, with stronger ones having 20. Super Guilds had only around 30 or 40. Only existences like the Five Great Super Guilds had over 70 Tier 4 experts. Moreover, according to Liang Jings report, Zero Wing still had over 40 players stuck inside their respective Tier 4 Legacy Lands, and half of them were expected to succeed in their promotion. In other words, Zero Wing would soon have over 100 Tier 4 experts under its command. Of course, the main reason Zero Wing could produce such frightening numbers was Zero Wing Citys environment. The environment here allowed players to continuously improve their knowledge of and control over Mana. Looking at Shi Fengs surprised expression, Liang Jing suggested, Guild Leader, several more Outerworld superpowers arrived on the eastern continent recently, and some of the eastern continents superpowers got annihilated as a consequence. I think we should absorb the Tier 3 and Tier 4 players of these fallen superpowers. Since our income of resources has reached a bottleneck, and we can support only so many Guild members with what we currently have, I wish to open Zero Wing City further. With the citys advantages, we can easily acquire even more resources. Then, we can recruit more experts into Zero Wing. Shi Feng nodded in agreement with Liang Jings suggestion. The War of Worlds was indeed a scary event, but it was also a good opportunity for development. This was because the moment the World Passage opened, the players of the two Gods Domains were enemies. Not only were players from the two Gods Domains incapable of adding each other as friends, but they couldnt communicate with each other through the system, either. In addition, players of the two worlds could kill each other without accumulating any Crime Value. In fact, native players would even receive gifts and EXP from killing Outerworld players-albeit significantly lower EXP than the EXP awarded for killing monsters and NPCs. Most importantly, native players couldnt join Outerworld Guilds and vice versa. Hence, native forces were the only option available to members of fallen superpowers. We should indeed open Zero Wing City further to the public. Smiling, Shi Feng added, Before that, though, we still need to do something. We still need to do something? Liang Jing parroted in confusion. In her opinion, Zero Wing had already done everything possible and reached its current development limit. To expand its forces further, the only option it had was to open up Zero Wing City. As for Zero Wings other territories, developing them any further was impossible at present. Thats right. Nodding, Shi Feng took out a document and said, Prepare the materials on this list for me. I need them immediately. Further opening Zero Wing City to the public was a must. However, before doing so, he needed to complete the intercontinental teleportation array. With it, the citys opening would generate much better results. Chapter 2865 - – Special Loot Chapter 2865 C Special Loot After Liang Jing left the room to prepare the listed materials, Shi Feng finally had time to sort through the loot from the Outerworld players. Even the weakest among Quasi Eagles group was a Tier 3 player with Tier 4 combat power, so they all possessed excellent equipment, especially those Tier 3 players. If he could gather a complete set of their equipment, he would be able to increase Zero Wings number of Tier 4 combatants by one. As Shi Feng inspected the loot, he couldnt help feeling some awe at the Outerworld players equipment. Every one of those Tier 3 experts was actually geared in Tier 3 Mana Set Equipment. In the current Gods Domain, a full set could easily sell for over 10,000 Gold. However, compared to the Tier 4 experts loot, the Tier 3 experts loot was inferior by a large margin. Even the worst item dropped by the Tier 4 Outerworld players was Level 150 Epic Equipment; some of them had even dropped parts of Epic Set Equipment. Judging by the loot, Shi Feng could say with certainty that these Tier 4 Outerworld players were using full sets of Epic Set Equipment. Even the current Zero Wing didnt have Epic Set Equipment. Setting aside how rare Epic Set Equipment was, even if one found a way to obtain a set, one would still have to expend an incredible amount of time and manpower to acquire the full set. After all, there was no way to gather a full set just by killing one type of Boss monster; one would have to kill multiple types of Bosses. Moreover, these Bosses were not guaranteed to drop the equipment one desired. In other words, if one didnt kill a large number and variety of Bosses, gathering a complete set of Epic Set Equipment would be impossible. Meanwhile, killing a bunch of Level 150 Mythic ranked Bosses was a task that required a large number of Tier 4 players. Of course, one part of an Epic Set Equipment from the Outerworld players didnt prove anything. However, Shi Feng didnt have just one part but five. Moreover, this was merely the loot he got from killing Tier 4 experts of an Outerworld mercenary group. He could easily imagine how excellent the equipment of the Outerworld superpowers Tier 4 experts was and how many Tier 4 experts these superpowers possessed. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a measly mercenary group to gather so much Epic Set Equipment. No wonder the eastern continents superpowers are powerless to retaliate. In terms of equipment standards alone, they are already behind by more than half a year. Not to mention, there is also the massive difference in the number of Tier 4 experts. Shi Fengs head ached as he looked at the items before him. Originally, he thought that the difference between Earths Gods Domain and the Interstellar Continents Gods Domain lay only in the number of Tier 4 experts and combat techniques they possessed. Now, he found that there was a massive gap even in weapons and equipment. He had to admit that the threat level of the Outerworlds players and forces exceeded his expectations. After all, even now, Zero Wing could manufacture only individual pieces of Epic Equipment. Moreover, the production volume was incredibly low since only a handful of players could make them. And worse, according to the statistics report regarding Zero Wings Tier 4 members, less than 30% of them were currently equipped with five or more pieces of Level 150 Epic Equipment. The rest had only three or so pieces of Level 150 Epic Equipment on average. As for Epic Set Equipment? Dream on! Zero Wings Tier 4 experts had that many pieces of Level 150 Epic Equipment mainly because of the Arctic Canyon. In addition, Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle had returned from the ancient Gods Domain with a large number of Level 150 Epic Equipment. If not for these factors, Zero Wings Tier 4 experts would be even more poorly equipped right now. However, it wasnt exactly accurate to describe Zero Wings Tier 4 experts as poorly equipped. At the very least, they were much better equipped than the native superpowers Tier 4 experts. They were only inferior when compared to the Outerworlds Tier 4 experts. It seems Ill have to start acquiring some top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment once I finish setting up the intercontinental teleportation array. Otherwise, even if we have enough Tier 4 experts, we still wont be able to go up against the Outerworlds superpowers. While it was indeed important for one to acquire Legacy Guidances and improve ones control over Mana after reaching Tier 4, that didnt mean one could just ignore ones weapons and equipment. After all, there was at least a 20% difference in Basic Attributes between a full set of disparate Epic Equipment and a full set of Epic Set Equipment. This difference would become even more significant with amplification by Skills and Mana control. After Shi Feng finished inspecting the weapons and equipment dropped, he set his sights on a shabby, crystalline statue. When he inspected the statue, though, he was stunned. An Eternal Item? No matter how he looked at the crystalline statue, it appeared ordinary. Yet, when he tried inspecting it, he actually failed to get any information. All he got was a bunch of Unknowns. Moreover, when he carefully spread his senses around the statue, he felt an urge to devour this statue, just like when he received the World Stone from Phoenix Rain. Immediately, Shi Feng activated Omniscient Eyes to identify the statue. Due to his Mana Body having reached the 120% threshold, Omniscient Eyes took less than 30 seconds to finish the appraisal. [Origin Statue] (Eternal Item) Effect 1: Guides the principle of all things. Effect 2: Indestructible object. Guides the principle of all things? Shi Feng was momentarily confused by the item description. The World Stones description stated that it could stabilize the principle of all things. It had allowed him to log in and out of the game freely while in the ancient Gods Domain. However, what did the system mean by guiding the principle of all things? Just as Shi Feng was wondering about the Origin Statues function, Liang Jing contacted him. Guild Leader, Ive prepared the materials you asked for. I can have them delivered to the Teleportation Hall now. Okay. Ill head over right away. At Liang Jings report, Shi Feng stopped studying the Origin Statue in his hand. After casually storing it in his bag, he hurried to the Teleportation Hall to strengthen the existing teleportation array. Only with the modification could the teleportation array manipulate enough Mana to connect with the western continents spatial node and form a stable teleportation channel. And once a stable channel was established, easy travel between the two continents would become possible. He would no longer have to trouble himself with searching for unreliable ancient teleportation arrays. Zero Wing City, Battle Arena: The Battle Arena covered an area of several sports stadiums. Presently, the establishment was crowded with players, and even Tier 4 players were waiting in line to reserve a combat room. The liveliness here was even more exaggerated than the Auction Houses of imperial capitals. Looking at MacAffrey and Crimson Witch, who had just exited a combat room, Fithalia asked curiously, Affrey, what do you think of the combat rooms effects? Initially, they had visited the eastern continent to assist Zero Wing and deepen the relationship between Divine Tribe and Zero Wing. However, after experiencing Zero Wing Citys Mana, they couldnt suppress their curiosity about the effects of training in such an environment. Hence, they came to this place to sate their curiosity. After all, the Battle Arena was the only place in Zero Wing City that allowed players to do combat. How should I put it After pondering for a moment and mentally sorting his words, MacAffrey said, If the Starlight Fortresss training efficiency is a 10, then this place is above 30. Isnt that too much of an exaggeration? Fithalia couldnt help feeling skeptical of MacAffreys evaluation. Although she knew that MacAffrey was an austere person and that Zero Wing Citys environment was extraordinary, MacAffreys evaluation of the citys training effect was simply too exaggerated in her opinion. For players of their caliber, the quality of their training environment would need to be significantly better for them to see any improvements to their training efficiency. Hence, no matter how excellent Zero Wing Citys environment was, she couldnt bring herself to believe that someone like MacAffrey would see his training efficiency triple. No! Its not an exaggeration! Commander Fithalia, although the Mana here isnt misty, when you start manipulating the ambient Mana, youll discover that its density is actually much greater than the Mana mist you find in the outside world, Crimson Witch insisted earnestly. If you fight against an expert of the same caliber in this environment, the insights you can get are on a completely different level. This is especially true for your control over Mana. I really dont know how Zero Wing accomplished this. They actually managed to let a Guild City have such dense Mana. You can even view the operating principles of Mana with such high clarity! Shes right. If I can train here, Im confident I can further improve my Mana Body in less than ten days, MacAffrey said, nodding. He then looked enviously at the Zero Wing members in the building. The Divine Tribe trio had the fortune of visiting Zero Wing City only because they had followed Shi Feng to the eastern continent. If not for Shi Feng granting them access, they wouldnt have been able to enter the city. They also wouldnt have realized how astonishing the citys environment was. Meanwhile, Zero Wings members could actually enjoy the environment here every day. How could he not envy them? At his current standard, increasing his Mana Bodys Completion Rate by even 1% was incredibly challenging. Yet, in Zero Wing City, he saw the chance to improve his Mana Body rapidly. A glimmer appeared in Crimson Witchs eyes as she insisted, Commander Fithalia, we must recommend establishing a temporary Residence in Zero Wing City to the Grand Elders and Guild Leader once we return. It doesnt matter even if we have to pay a significant price. The short-term effects might not be obvious, but the long-term benefits for the Guild are absolutely unimaginable. Surpassing the Five Great Super Guilds might even become possible. Fithalia smiled wryly at Crimson Witchs strong recommendation. I want to, but once the intercontinental teleportation array is activated, Im afraid itll become difficult for Divine Tribe to secure a temporary Residence. Once Zero Wings intercontinental teleportation array began operating, so long as the two continents superpowers were not stupid, they would understand just how valuable Zero Wing City was, not to mention the extraordinary Mana environment in this place. She could easily imagine how many superpowers would seek to garrison Zero Wing City at that time. No! You cant say that, Commander Fithalia! Looking at Fithalia, MacAffrey suddenly smiled and said, I heard that Black Flame lives in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. With your familys influence and connections, if you personally paid him a visit, wouldnt he agree to a partnership immediately? Fithalia was a potential successor of a powerful family based in the Upper Zone. Her beauty and figure in the real world were also at the level of toppling nations. If she personally visited someone in the Upper Zone and sincerely proposed a partnership, hardly anyone in the Upper Zone would refuse her. Upon hearing MacAffreys suggestion, Crimson Witch nodded in agreement. Youtwo! Fithalia sputtered, rendered speechless by her two companions. However, before Fithalia could say anything more, a sudden commotion came from outside the Battle Arena. Then, the Mana in the city grew violent and irritable. When Fithalia and her companions walked out of the lobby, they promptly noticed a tower of light rising from the Teleportation Halls direction. Chapter 2866 - Astonishing Transformation Chapter 2866 C Astonishing Transformation Its done! Shi Feng grew ecstatic as he took in the pillar of light rising from the teleportation array in front of him. Previously, he had indeed been certain that he could strengthen the teleportation array until it could handle enough Mana to support a teleportation channel connecting the two continents. However, when he began working, he started to have doubts. After all, the teleportation channel had to span not only the distance between the two continents but also the distance between the western continents edge and the Starlight Fortress, which was nowhere near the ocean. If the teleportation array didnt have enough Mana for this additional distance, it still wouldnt connect with the spatial node in the Starlight Fortress. Fortunately, he succeeded in the end. At this time, Liang Jing called him and asked in a panic, Guild Leader, did something happen on your side? A pillar of light suddenly came from the Teleportation Hall. Right now, everyone in the city is talking about it, thinking that something big happened there. The Teleportation Hall was an important economic resource for Zero Wing City. At the same time, it was the foundation of the citys prosperity. In the absence of a Guild Residence and the teleportation array, players could only run to the distant Arctic Canyon. If this were to happen, Zero Wings partner forces and their members would definitely be less enthusiastic about visiting Zero Wing City. Relax. Everythings fine, Shi Feng said, chuckling. I just completed the teleportation array connecting the two continents. From now on, we can freely teleport to the western continent from the Teleportation Hall, and there wont be any restrictions on time or headcount. We can freely teleport to the western continent? Liang Jing was momentarily stunned, her mind failing to process Shi Fengs words. Her eyes were wide with disbelief as she looked at Shi Fengs face on the screen. Before the World Passages activation, connecting the two main continents held great importance only in terms of trade. However, after the World Passage opened, battlefields appeared all over the eastern continent, and massacres became common out in the wild. Due to the chaos and constant threats, many of the eastern continents powers and players sought to develop on the western continent. Unfortunately, there was a limited number of ancient teleportation arrays on the eastern continent. Even among the superpowers, very few could travel between the two continents. Moreover, even these few superpowers could transport only a small number of elites at a time. Now, Shi Feng was telling her that Zero Wing Citys Teleportation Hall could facilitate travel to the western continent without any restrictions. How could she possibly believe this? If news of this matter were to get out, a tsunami of players would flood Zero Wing City within a day. This function would overturn the situation on the eastern continent; it was game-changing. Yes. Didnt you propose to open Zero Wing further? Smiling, Shi Feng said, Now that the intercontinental teleportation array is completed, you can announce to the public that Zero Wing City will be fully opened to the public starting today. Our partner and subordinate forces will enjoy a 70% discount on all teleportations! Originally, he had not intended to fully open Zero Wing City so soon. However, the citys development was astonishing, hitting a bottleneck already. To further spread Zero Wings influence, he could only fully open Zero Wing City to the public. In this way, Zero Wing could attract an ocean of wealth and resources to Zero Wing City, as well as more expert players to the Guild. Fully open the city? Guild Leader, isnt this a littletoo soon? Liang Jing panicked at Shi Fengs words. Zero Wing Citys present environment and security standards are already enough to drive many players and superpowers wild. Once news that our Teleportation Hall is connected to the western continent spreads, we will definitely become a thorn in the eyes of all forces on the eastern continent. Even the Outerworlds forces will probably go nuts over Zero Wing City. Liang Jing didnt even need to think about what would await Zero Wing City if the city were fully open to the public. It would definitely spark massive changes in the entire eastern continent-no, the entire Gods Domain! The intensity of the changes would not be the slightest bit inferior to the World Passages activation. At that time, Zero Wing would become the focal point of the entire Gods Domain even if it tried to maintain a low profile. With access to such frightening resources and influence, Zero Wing would soon grow into an existence that could surpass even the Five Great Super Guilds combined. This definitely wasnt an outcome any superpower-native or Outerworld-would be willing to see. Hence, as long as news of Zero Wing Citys full opening spread, Zero Wing would become the common enemy of all native and Outerworld superpowers. While Zero Wing had recently grown significantly, it definitely couldnt go up against so many superpowers simultaneously. Not to mention, the Outerworld superpowers were existences that had successfully destroyed more than a dozen kingdoms. Moreover, the number of Tier 4 NPCs a kingdom commanded far exceeded Zero Wings number of Tier 4 experts. The royal capitals of NPC kingdoms had stronger defenses than Zero Wing City, yet these cities had still fallen in the end. Of course, a large part of why these kingdoms had fallen was the Outerworlds NPC forces. However, nobody could say for certain that the Outerworlds players couldnt guide or cooperate with the Outerworlds NPC forces to target Zero Wing. Naturally, Shi Feng understood Liang Jings concerns. In an earnest tone, he explained, I understand, but this is a problem we will have to face sooner or later. Thus, we should strike while the iron is hot and strengthen Zero Wing in one fell swoop. If we succeed, well have a much better chance at contending with the native and Outerworld superpowers. Previously, Sixteenth Cloud had provided him with plenty of information regarding the Outerworlds various forces. Hence, he understood that the main reason the eastern continent had yet to fall completely was that only a small portion of the Outerworlds superpowers and NPC forces had crossed the World Passage. However, as more time passed, more Outerworld NPC and player forces were bound to arrive on the eastern continent. Eventually, Zero Wing would have to go up against these Outerworld forces. To put it simply, Zero Wing wasnt in a race against the various forces but against time. Under these circumstances, the Guild would naturally be better off developing as quickly as possible. Rather than acquiring small amounts of resources and developing slowly in secret, Zero Wing would be better off going big and developing rapidly while the Outerworlds forces were still settling down in the eastern continent. Not to mention, Zero Wing currently had a lot of partner forces already. With these partners, it wouldnt necessarily be impossible for Zero Wing to go up against the native and Outerworld superpowers that had yet to develop themselves adequately. This Liang Jing was momentarily at a loss for words. In her opinion, Shi Fengs decision was simply absurd. However, she didnt have a better suggestion. Relax. I know what Im doing, Shi Feng consoled when he saw Liang Jings hesitancy. Just get everything prepared on your side. Also, notify Melancholic and Youlan about this. Im afraid you three will be very busy in the future. Liang Jing had no choice but to nod helplessly. Shi Feng had always acted more like a figurehead than an actual Guild Leader. Although he had laid a massive foundation for the Guild, he would leave the Guilds daily maintenance and operation to others. Naturally, Liang Jing felt incredibly frustrated by this situation, and she frequently wished she could curse him to his face. Deep down, however, she still felt happy and excited for some inexplicable reason. After disconnecting the call, Liang Jing promptly began making the necessary preparations, while Shi Feng headed to Zero Wing Citys City Lords Mansion. City Lords Mansion, second underground floor, statue room: At this time, apart from Shi Feng, everybody else had been told to leave the room. Shi Feng had also temporarily removed the entry rights for core members and ordered the two Tier 4 Fine-Gold Guards outside to prevent anyone from approaching the room. Now that my Concentration is at Tier 5, and my understanding of and control over Mana have reached their limits, its about time I tried breaking through to Tier 5. Looking at the Ancient Beast Sculpture in front of him, Shi Feng began constructing an entirely new Mana Body. Chapter 2867 - Promotion to Tier 5 Chapter 2867 C Promotion to Tier 5 Although Shi Feng had never tried to create a personalized Mana Body, he was very confident of success, now that he had grasped the basic use of Manas various elements and his Mana Body had reached a 120% Completion Rate. After spending close to an hour inside the statue room, Shi Feng finished constructing a brand-new Mana Body. Simultaneously, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: The strength of the constructed Mana Body is at 144% of your current Mana Body. It is not at the Tier 5 standard. Shi Feng revealed a wry smile as he looked at the system notification. Sure enough, constructing a Tier 5 Mana Body isnt easy. In his opinion, the new Mana Body he constructed was perfect. He had thoroughly implemented the basic properties of the various elements of Mana into his Mana Body. He had even built an Elemental Magic Array for each element, making it much easier to manipulate the ambient Mana. Hence, he never thought that the strength of the new Mana Body would be at only 144% of his current Mana Body. From what he heard in his previous life, the requirement for the constructed Tier 5 Mana Body would depend on the rank of the players existing Mana Body. The higher the rank, the lower the requirement. Take the Gold Mana Body, for example. One would need to construct a Mana Body that was at least 300% stronger to meet the Tier 5 Mana Body standard. On the other hand, a Bronze Mana Bodys owner would need to reach 500% to get promoted to Tier 5. This was why expert players needed to secure the best Mana Body possible at Tier 3. This decision didnt just relate to the strength of ones Mana. It also served as a massive hurdle to reaching Tier 5. If I didnt meet the requirement even with 144%, it seems Ill need to reach at least 200% to get promoted to Tier 5 with an Epic Mana Body. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng took out the Sword Saints Legacy he had obtained in the ancient Gods Domain. He then began accepting the Legacy Guidance in silence. The Mana Body he constructed just now was already the limit of his current abilities. In his opinion, there were three possible reasons behind his failure to meet the requirements. The first was that his control over Mana was insufficient. The second was that his understanding of Mana was insufficient. The third was that his understanding of Mana Bodies was insufficient. Shi Feng felt that his control over and understanding of Mana had already reached the limits of Tier 4. It should be impossible to improve on them any further. Not to mention, the Dragon phantom in the trial had praised his level and even stated that some Tier 5 Dragons might not be able to rival him in these two aspects. Hence, these two aspects were unlikely to be his stumbling block. In that case, the problem should lie with his poor understanding of Mana Bodies. Meanwhile, solving this problem was simple. Previously, he had refrained from accepting the Sword Saints Legacy Guidance because he was afraid of wasting it. Back then, he felt that his foundation was still lacking and that he still needed to accumulate more strength. The stronger he became, the greater his harvest from the Legacy Guidance. However, his foundation had now grown so sturdy that even Tier 5 Adult Dragons might not be a match for him. It was the perfect moment for him to accept the Sword Saints knowledge. Following this, time passed rapidly inside the statue room. A flood of information kept pouring into Shi Fengs mind. The more information he browsed through, the brighter his eyes became. Thanks to this information, many of his questions had gotten answered. He also grew increasingly mesmerized by the Sword Saints knowledge. After the Legacy Guidance was over, Shi Feng stared at the Ancient Beast Sculpture idly, his mind immersed in the knowledge he gained. While Shi Feng quietly processed the Sword Saints Legacy Guidance, a commotion raged in Zero Wings Guild Cities. Just a moment ago, Zero Wing had announced that it would open Zero Wing City to the public. All players could teleport to Zero Wing City via Sky Spring City and enter it from the Arctic Canyon. Everyone who received this piece of news found it to be unbelievable. Awesome! This is great! I heard that you could raise your training efficiency by several times inside Zero Wing City. I never thought that Zero Wing would open such an amazing place to the public. Thats not all of it. Did you see the levels of Zero Wings members? Not that long ago, I was at roughly the same level as their Tier 3 members. Now, theyre at least three levels above me. The grinding speed in the Arctic Canyon is simply ridiculous. Nowadays, no player on the eastern continent was unaware of Zero Wing Citys existence. However, as Zero Wing had reserved the city for its exclusive use, everyone not affiliated with the Guild could only watch in envy from the sidelines. Even the various superpowers were helpless against Zero Wing City. Now that Zero Wing City is open to the public, how could they not feel excited? Less than half an hour after Zero Wings announcement, practically every native player and player force on the eastern continent had found out about it. Fire Wing Empire, Secret Pavilions headquarters: As the most well-informed transcendental organization in Gods Domain, the Secret Pavilion was one of the first Guilds to learn of Zero Wing Citys public opening. It had even found out detailed information, such as Zero Wing Citys entrance fee pricing and current player population. Uncle Yuan, it seems Zero Wing finally plans on giving its all. Purple Jade smiled as she read the detailed report in her hands. Looking at Yuan Tiexin, she said, This development will probably make the eastern continents superpowers pretty anxious. At this time, Purple Jades aura had already undergone a massive transformation. Not only did she give off an otherworldly vibe, but she also exuded an indescribable feeling of sharpness. She was now a Level 153, Tier 4 Sword Emperor. The Mana she radiated even appeared somewhat misty. If Shi Feng were to see her now, he would be surprised. Zero Wings development has reached a bottleneck. If the War of Worlds did not take place, it mightve been able to continue developing quietly for some time. While sorting through the reports spread across his desk, Yuan Tiexin was slightly surprised when reading the news on Zero Wing. However, now that the Outerworld players have intruded into the eastern continent, Zero Wing has to open Zero Wing City to acquire even more resources if it wants to make any further progress. However, it is also a risky move, given Zero Wings current state. I initially thought Zero Wing would maintain a low profile for a while longer; Black Flames opening the city as soon as he returned was beyond my expectations. I cant help thinking that he is rushing things a little too much. Yuan Tiexin did not doubt that Shi Feng had opened Zero Wing City to the public because of the Outerworld players invasion. However, while doing so would allow Zero Wing City to develop rapidly, it would also turn the city into an eyesore. The Outerworld superpowers were not as easy to deal with as the eastern continents native superpowers. Not to mention, the Outerworld superpowers definitely would not wish to see the remnant forces of the native superpowers they defeated flocking to Zero Wings banner and creating a colossal native power. Previously, the Outerworld superpowers had refrained from targeting Zero Wing because the latter had always operated like a turtle, limiting its members activity to the vicinity of its strongholds. With Zero Wings Guild Cities and Mobile Fortresss immense defensive capabilities, devouring the Guild was a very challenging proposition. The Guild Cities of other superpowers posed much easier targets. However, now that Zero Wing had fully opened Zero Wing City to the public, even a fool could foretell the consequences of this action. With the citys massive advantages, Zero Wing would become the strongest and largest Guild on the eastern continent. Moreover, it wouldnt take long for this future to come to fruition. Given this situation, although Zero Wing was a tough nut to crack, the Outerworld superpowers would still choose to annihilate Zero Wing first for the sake of their future. However, unlike Yuan Tiexin, not only did Purple Jade not feel confused by this situation, but it had even ignited her fighting spirit. Uncle Yuan, since youre free right now, why dont we go take a look at Zero Wing City? Ive been thinking of visiting Guild Leader Black Flame. Ive improved a lot after returning from that place, but I havent had a chance to test myself. I can use this chance to ask Guild Leader Black Flame for some guidance and see which one of us has made greater improvements during this period. After she returned from her training, nobody among the Secret Pavilions younger generation could match her. Since she had always set Shi Feng as her target, she was very curious to see whether she could now defeat him and become Gods Domains number one Swordsman. Alright. Since you wish to go, Ill go with you. Yuan Tiexin revealed a bitter smile as he took in Purple Jades spirited look. She had been restless ever since completing her training. However, he also felt that Shi Feng would be a good opponent for the current Purple Jade. Afterward, Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade departed the Secret Pavilions headquarters and teleported to Sky Spring City. While the eastern continent was in an uproar over Zero Wing Citys opening Inside the City Lords Mansion of Zero Wing City, Shi Fengs eyes opened abruptly. Amazing! As expected of a complete Legacy Guidance from an ancient Sword Saint! After processing the Sword Saints Legacy Guidance, Shi Feng finally understood what exactly a complete Legacy Guidance was. He also understood why Fire Dance would make such significant improvements after experiencing the Legacy Guidance. The Legacy Guidance described the properties and usage methods of the various elements of Mana in detail and provided a comprehensive introduction to the components and basic applications of the Mana Body. Although the information provided mainly targeted the Swordsman class, it was also beneficial to the other classes. This was especially true for the information on the Mana Bodys components. Of course, if one lacked a good understanding of the fundamental properties of Manas various elements, one would have difficulty understanding all of the information provided. Naturally, ones improvements would also be limited. This was because all of the Mana Bodys basic applications mentioned in the Legacy Guidance required familiarity with the various elements of Mana. My previous considerations for the Mana Body were too arbitrary. Moreover, they were all modifications based on my existing Mana Body when the Tier 5 Mana Body is essentially something completely different. When Shi Feng thought about the Mana Body he previously created, he couldnt help laughing at his ignorance. Why were Tier 5 entities so much more powerful than Tier 4 entities? It was because Tier 5 existences possessed Life Ratings far superior to Tier 4 existences. The two couldnt even be considered the same type of creature. Yet, he had foolishly tried to use his Tier 4 Mana Body as a base for his Tier 5 Mana Body. His idea was fundamentally flawed. Another reason contributing to a Tier 5 existences strength was their powerful Mana. The Mana flowing within their bodies was no longer gaseous or misty; instead, it was liquid. Hence, when constructing a Tier 5 Mana Body, one had to liquefy their Mana. If one couldnt achieve such Mana, constructing a Tier 5 Mana Body would naturally be impossible. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng began his second attempt at constructing his Tier 5 Mana Body. Liquefying ones Mana might be incredibly difficult for others, but it wasnt an impossible task for a Grandmaster Magician like Shi Feng. All he needed to do was integrate a magic array that condensed Mana within his Mana Body. Moreover, he had even identified the magic array for this job. The Twelve-array Magic World! The Twelve-array Magic World was an ancient magic array created by a Saint. Although its simplicity meant even Master Magicians could learn it, Shi Feng felt that this magic array was incredibly powerful, particularly its ability to improve the Mana affinity of those within its range. At the very least, such a feat was still beyond him even now. Shi Feng began trying to integrate the Twelve-array Magic World with the Mana Body he constructed. One failure Two failures Three failures Time passed rapidly as the number of failures piled up. After an unknown amount of time had gone by with success still nowhere in sight, Shi Feng began to doubt his plans feasibility. However, just when he considered giving up System: Congratulations! You have successfully constructed a new Mana Body. The constructed Mana Bodys strength is at 336% of your current Mana Body and has reached the Tier 5 standard. The created Mana Body is evaluated to be at the Epic rank. Do you wish to replace your current Mana Body with it and get promoted to Tier 5? A Tier 5 Epic Mana Body? Shi Feng was momentarily dumbfounded. He had known that so long as he succeeded, his personalized Mana Body wouldnt be of low quality; it would reach the Gold rank at the very least. However, he never expected that integrating the Twelve-array Magic World into his Mana Body would yield such an astonishing result. He immediately chose to replace his Mana Body without hesitation. He had created this Mana Body out of sheer luck. If he tried re-creating it, he wouldnt necessarily achieve a similar standard. Hence, he naturally had to accept it. Chapter 2868 - Sword Saint Chapter 2868 C Sword Saint When Shi Feng chose to replace his existing Mana Body, the Mana within the room practically vanished. His new Mana Body had drawn even the Mana stored within the deep void. Like a hungry beast, his new Mana Body devoured the Mana around it, nourishing itself continuously. This phenomenon lasted for more than a minute before it finally stopped, and the rooms Mana gradually recovered. Tier 5! So, this is the power of Tier 5? When Shi Feng sensed the frightening power his body exuded effortlessly and the indescribable feeling of omnipotence, he finally understood why even Tier 4 World Creation experts couldnt defeat a bona fide Tier 5 existence. He also fully understood the strength and terror of Tier 5 existences. Compared to when he was a Tier 4, the Mana flowing inside his Mana Body was many times denser. The volume of his Mana had also increased by more than tenfold. Now, even the world around him was having trouble holding his Mana. If even the world of Gods Domain itself could not withstand the Mana of a Tier 5 existence, there was no need to mention the small world created by a Tier 4 World Creation expert. Moreover, this wasnt the only factor that made Tier 5 existences powerful. System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 5 Blade Saint (Sword Saint). All Basic Attributes +5,000, all Resistances +500, Mana recovery rate increased by 300%, all physical and magical attacks received that are below Tier 5 will be weakened by 40%, all Basic Attributes increased by 150%, physique increased by 200%, and reaction speed improved by 100%. Rewarding 200 Legacy Skill Points. He had received a flat increase of only 2,000 points to all Basic Attributes when he got promoted to Tier 4 yet received a 5,000-point boost for reaching Tier 5. None of his weapons and equipment could provide such a significant amount of Basic Attributes, not to mention the massive boost to his physique. Right now, even if he replaced all his equipment with Bronze Equipment, he could still beat up a Tier 4 expert fully geared in Epic Equipment. In terms of Basic Attributes, he could match a Tier 4 expert with several pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Only a Legendary Weapon could offset this difference. As for Legendary Equipment, the Basic Attributes provided would still be slightly insufficient to fill the gap. Of course, Basic Attributes didnt represent everything. If a Tier 4 experts combat standards surpassed a Tier 5 experts, the Tier 4 expert could still emerge victorious in a fight. With this power, I will have no problem fighting even Tier 5 NPCs. After seeing his Basic Attributes, Shi Feng felt more confident about Zero Wings future development. His Strength and Agility Attributes both exceeded the 60,000 mark already. Typically, a Tier 4 Berserker fully geared in Epic items would have only around 15,000 Strength at Level 150. And even if the Berserker possessed a top-tier Fragmented Legendary Weapon, the Berserker would only have about 22,000 or 23,000 Strength. As for NPCs, according to the research of players in his previous life, a Level 180, Tier 5 NPC would have around 70,000 or 80,000 points in their main Basic Attributes. While Shi Feng was still inferior to Tier 5 NPCs in Basic Attributes, this difference wasnt impossible to overcome. Moreover, now that he had reached Tier 5, every level-up he achieved would significantly boost his Basic Attributes. With his current equipment, he could easily breach the 80,000 mark once he reached Level 180. Not to mention, his combat standards were much superior to the average Tier 5 NPCs. Overall, he was already more than capable of contending with Level 180, Tier 5 NPCs. Of course, while he might have the ability to fight Tier 5 NPCs, he wasnt so arrogant as to provoke Tier 5 NPCs. After all, he currently could cope with the most common Tier 5 NPCs, but if a Tier 5 NPC possessed even a single piece of Legendary Equipment, he would have to avoid them like the plague. It seems Ill have to get Fire and the others to search for some God Crystals. In an era where Gods had secluded themselves from the world, Tier 5 existences were indeed the apex combatants of Gods Domain. However, there were still significant differences even among Tier 5s; the possession of Legendary Weapons and Equipment played a vital role in this difference. Only after obtaining a Legendary Weapon or Equipment could a Tier 5 expert enter the leading echelon of Tier 5 existences and walk around Gods Domain without fear. Such a Tier 5 expert would be an invincible existence short of Tier 6 Gods. However, if a Tier 5 expert did not own a Legendary Weapon or Equipment, they would only be second-rate among Tier 5 existences, regardless of any heaven-defying combat standards. While they might be able to contend against Tier 5 experts belonging to the leading echelon, they would never be part of it. Indeed. The difference between having a Legendary item and not having one was precisely that massive. In the past, every Tier 5 expert capable of transcending tiers to fight Tier 6 God-ranked experts owned a Legendary Weapon or Equipment, with some even having more than one. If Shi Feng wanted to roam Gods Domain without fear, obtaining a Legendary Weapon or Equipment was of utmost importance. After Shi Feng familiarized himself with his Tier 5 Mana Body, he left the statue room. However, when he stepped into the City Lords Mansions lobby, he was stupefied by the sight that greeted him. People crowded the room to capacity. Apart from the Zero Wing members maintaining order, the other players in the lobby were members of Guilds and adventurer teams. These players were lined up in front of the service counters to rent either a Shop or a private house in Zero Wing City. They had bloodshot eyes and frantic looks on their faces as they waited in line. ere il le If not for the 200 Tier 3 NPCs, three Tier 4 NPCs, and many Tier 3 members of Zero Wing maintaining order, a fight wouldve long since broken out in the lobby. Didnt I tell Liang Jing to raise the rentals for the Shops? Did she make a mistake? Shi Feng found this scene very puzzling. Anyone who wasnt a fool could tell how popular Zero Wing City currently was. However, Zero Wing City had limited Land. Even if it was now a Main City, it still didnt have enough Land to satisfy the eastern continents entire player population. Hence, to maximize Zero Wings profits, raising rentals was a must. Shi Feng approached one of the service counters to inspect Zero Wing Citys Shops rental prices. However, what he saw made him gasp. How ruthless is she?! Even a small Shop located in Zero Wing Citys outer area had a rental of 3,000 Magic Crystals and 600 Gold per week-more than double the price Shi Feng intended. The amount of Magic Crystals Liang Jing charged was particularly maddening. Ever since the Outerworld players invaded the eastern continent, Magic Crystal production had plummeted, and the various native powers had suffered immensely. In Shi Fengs opinion, renting a small Shop in the citys outskirts for 1,000 Magic Crystals would already be pushing the envelope. Liang Jings price of 3,000 Magic Crystals was no different from daylight robbery. As for the Shops located on Zero Wing Citys main street, the minimum price was 20,000 Magic Crystals. One couldnt even use Coins to offset part of the rent. Moreover, one had to bid for these Shops in an auction. Despite these cut-throat prices, players still filled the City Lords Mansions lobby. Shi Feng found this situation utterly unbelievable. For a moment, he even wondered if Magic Crystals had suddenly depreciated during his seclusion. Just when Shi Feng thought of contacting Liang Jing to ask her about Zero Wing Citys situation, he suddenly received a call. The caller was none other than Liang Jing. Guild Leader, can I interrupt you for a moment? Liang Jing asked anxiously. Did something happen to Zero Wing City? Shi Feng asked strangely. No, its just that the Secret Pavilions people came to visit. Aside from them, three of the Five Great Super Guilds have sent representatives to us. There are a lot of them, and some of them dont seem to be here with kind intentions, Liang Jing said nervously. They are waiting in the Residences reception room right now, and they say they must meet with you, no matter what. The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental power, while the Five Great Super Guilds were godlike existences in the virtual gaming world. If news that three of the Five Great Super Guilds had arrived were to spread, it would cause a sensation. Alright, I got it. Ill head over now. Have them wait for a moment. Shi Feng chuckled when he heard Liang Jings words, not at all surprised by this situation. After all, the current Zero Wing City was no ordinary city. What would be strange would be these titans of the gaming world not showing any reaction. He immediately left the City Lords Mansion and made his way to Zero Wings Residence. Chapter 2869 - Apex Gathering Chapter 2869 C Apex Gathering Zero Wing Residence, top-floor reception room: As the primary Guild Residence of a Main City, Zero Wings Guild Hall was a 30-story-tall building almost 200 meters high. One had an unobstructed view of the entire Zero Wing City if one looked out the top-floor reception rooms windows. Since Zero Wing City was located in a snowland and backed by the endless sea, the view here was unique for players who often operated around NPC cities surrounded by greenery. Unfortunately, none of the dozen or so people currently seated in the reception room showed any interest in admiring this beautiful scenery. Instead, they focused on sizing up each other. Zero Wing City has attracted a lot of bigwigs. Yuan Tiexin was a little shocked as he observed the rooms occupants. Mythologys Grand Elder Situ Qingtian, Netherworld Empires Grand Elder Nether King Relos, and even the Solar Temples Honorary Elder Chiyang Tianhe. It seems these Guilds are serious this time. Three of the Five Great Super Guilds had sent representatives to Zero Wing City. Moreover, these representatives were all key figures in their respective Guilds management, individuals fully capable of making decisions on behalf of their respective Guilds. Usually, meeting even one of these individuals would be challenging. Yet, three of them had gathered in Zero Wing City. However, Yuan Tiexins surprise didnt last too long. After all, Zero Wing had created too huge a scene this time; the Five Great Super Guilds could no longer ignore it. At this stage of the game, there was probably no Guild uninterested in a teleportation array that could facilitate unrestricted travel between the two main continents. The ongoing War of Worlds only served to make this intercontinental teleportation array even more precious. If not for another important matter occupying the Secret Pavilions Guild Leader, Yuan Tiexin wouldnt be the one sitting in this room, representing the Secret Pavilion. Netherworld Empire sure moved fast. It has been active only on the western continent all this time, yet it sent an old guy like the Nether King here, Matt of Mythology said, surprise appearing in his eyes as he looked at a bald old man in a white robe. It hasnt been long since I last met him, yet this old guys strength has already improved so much. The Mana hes radiating has nearly doubled in density. I also see two new pieces of equipment on him. Thats normal. He wouldnt have given Odin so much trouble if he hasnt made any significant improvements after all this time, Situ Qingtian, the white-haired old man seated beside Matt, said calmly. He then glanced at the masked young man standing behind Relos and continued, That masked kid behind Nether King, though, is quite something. Although I cant say for certain, he shouldnt be any weaker than Prosciutto. Surprised by Situ Qingtians assessment, Matt looked toward the masked youth and asked, Is he that strong? The Silver Ghost Prosciutto was already the strongest among Mythologys younger generation. Not only did he possess excellent equipment, but his Mana Body had even exceeded the 110% Completion Rate already. Now, only a handful of people within the Guild could defeat him. After hearing Situ Qingtians assessment, Cold Shadow, who sat on the elderly mans other side, also looked at the masked youth in surprise. Situ Qingtian had instructed countless students, and his insight was many times superior to that of youngsters like Matt and herself. Since Situ Qingtian had given the masked youth such an evaluation, the youth definitely couldnt be underestimated. Its not just that masked kid. The long-haired kid sitting beside Chiyang Tianhe isnt any weaker, either, Situ Qingtian said, smiling as he looked at the long-haired, male youth seated some distance away from him. I have to say that times have changed. He looks to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven years old, yet he has already reached the peak of the Domain Realms second step. Its been three decades since I last saw such talent. When Situ Qingtian finished speaking, Cold Shadow was surprised again. Even now, she was barely touching the fringes of the Domain Realms second step, and it would still take a lot of time and effort for her to reach it, let alone climb to the peak of the second step. Experts capable of reaching this step were as rare as a phoenixs feather in the virtual gaming industry. If such an expert could take one more step forward, they would become an existence standing at the very apex of Gods Domain. Situ Qingtian did not lower his voice when speaking. He also didnt talk through a private channel. Hence, every Tier 4 expert in the reception room heard his words loud and clear. ro0 All of the youths present, including Purple Jade and Netherworld Empires masked youth, turned reflexively to look at the long-haired youth carrying the blood-red greatsword, their eyes full of fighting spirit. Situ Qingtian, youre still the same gossipy bastard as before! Chiyang Tianhe said, glaring at Situ Qingtian. While our kid has indeed made a breakthrough recently, do you think I cant see through that young lass beside you? If Im not mistaken, she has at least four Fragmented Legendary items on her, right? As soon as Chiyang Tianhe finished speaking, everyones head snapped toward Cold Shadow. The masked youth and the long-haired youth, in particular, looked at her with fiery gazes. Nowadays, Epic Weapons and Equipment were a lot more common in Gods Domain. Fragmented Legendary items, on the other hand, were still incredibly rare even for the various superpowers. Even in Netherworld Empire and Solar Temple, less than 30% of their Tier 4 experts had even one Fragmented Legendary item, while their Grand Elders would be fortunate to have one or two Fragmented Legendary items. Yet, Chiyang Tianhe had revealed that Cold Shadow owned at least four Fragmented Legendary items. How could they not envy her? After reaching their level, every Fragmented Legendary item could provide them with significant improvements. The total improvement four Fragmented Legendary items could provide would be massive. This old bastard! Cold Shadow glared at Chiyang Tianhe. A display of talent would, at most, make others envious. However, weapons and equipment were a different story. Unlike talent, others could snatch these items. With her current strength, she wouldnt stand a chance if two or more of the people present attacked her. After all, every person in the room was a bona fide monster. Looking at Cold Shadow, Chiyang Tianhe smiled and asked, What is it? Do you wish to take action, young lass? Chiyang Tianhe! Glaring at Chiyang Tianhe coldly, Situ Qingtian threatened, Do you think we wont dare make a move? Immediately, the atmosphere in the room solidified, an indescribable sense of coldness spreading throughout the room. At this development, the members of Mythology and Solar Temple instinctively gripped their weapons. If an ordinary Tier 4 expert were to stand in this heavy atmosphere, they would most likely break out in a cold sweat and flee the scene immediately. What rotten luck. Just what are these people trying to do? Yuan Tiexin grew a little nervous as he looked at the members of the two Super Guilds. Mythologys and Solar Temples Tier 4 experts were far from ordinary. This was especially true for Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe. A fight between them would be a calamity. The others in the room might even become collateral damage if things got too out of hand. To make matters worse, Netherworld Empires members also showed signs of restlessness. Evidently, if Mythology and Solar Temple fought, Netherworld Empire wouldnt mind joining in the fray. Just as a fight was about to ensue, the woman standing by the rooms door all this time suddenly stepped forward. She was none other than Fire Dance. At this time, not only was Fire Dance at Level 155 already, but the quality of the Mana she radiated was also much more powerful than when she first entered the statue room. Looking at the members of Mythology and Solar Temple, Fire Dance warned, Everyone! This is Zero Wings territory. Fighting is forbidden here. I ask you to show Zero Wing some respect. Show Zero Wing respect? Glancing at Fire Dance, Chiyang Tianhe said nonchalantly, Sure. As long as you can get Situ to shut up, I wont have any problems! Not one to fall behind, Situ Qingtian looked at Fire Dance and said, Young lady, this old man isnt trying to disrespect Zero Wing, but Chiyang Tianhe has gone too far. So long as you can get that old ghost to apologize to us, we wont take any direct action. The two old mens rejoinders rendered Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade speechless. Fire Dance was indeed powerful, but she was still slightly weaker than the two old men. At most, she could contend against the younger generation of Mythology and Solar Temple. Hence, it was impossible for her to silence the two Guilds all by herself. Moreover, based on the words spoken by Chiyang Tianhe and Situ Qingtian, the two of them were clearly trying to make a show of power to Zero Wing. If Fire Dance failed to deal with this situation appropriately, she would make a fool of herself and Zero Wing. However, without any hesitation, Fire Dance calmly told the two old men, If you two refuse to give up, then please leave Zero Wing City. Zero Wing does not welcome such guests! Chapter 2870 - Shi Feng’s Sword Chapter 2870 C Shi Fengs Sword Fire Dances words resounded like thunder in the reception room, causing silence to descend on the room momentarily. Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade also stared at Fire Dance reflexively. Has she lost her mind? Both Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe were big shots who spoke and acted on behalf of their respective Guilds. The two had behaved rudely to show off their power and gain an advantage in their upcoming negotiations with Zero Wing, but Fire Dances words cornered them; they couldnt back down without harming their reputation. If these two old men got angry for real, the consequences would be unimaginable. Although Zero Wing City had many Tier 4 players and NPCs defending it, if the two old men were intent on making a ruckus, it would take a long time for the city to suppress them. They might even escape capture. After all, this wasnt the first time they had done such a thing. Most importantly, the two of them represented Mythology and Solar Temple, two of the Five Great Super Guilds. Moreover, compared to the other three, these two Super Guilds held far greater influence on the eastern continent. The two Guilds might currently be incapable of retaliating against Zero Wing, but as holders of reserve seats for Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds, they could ruin the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom with just a word. Now that the Outerworlds forces were rapidly expanding their influence, the NPC kingdoms and empires had limited combat power to spare. As a result, the united army these countries formed couldnt protect every kingdom on the continent. With the resumption of the war imminent, if Mythology and Solar Temple requested the NPC forces not to defend the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom, the two kingdoms would face swift destruction. Without the support of these two kingdoms, even if Zero Wing had Zero Wing City and the ability to teleport between the two continents, its income would still plummet. This was because most of the independent players and Guild players visiting Zero Wing City could reach the city only via Sky Spring Citys Teleportation Hall. It wasnt possible to teleport to Zero Wing City from other NPC cities. If Sky Spring City disappeared, these players would naturally lose the means to teleport to Zero Wing City. Meanwhile, Zero Wing couldnt garrison any other NPC city at this time. The special rights Zero Wing received from the War Gods Temple as a reward from the reserve seat competition were a one-time privilege. If Zero Wing wished to garrison another NPC city, it would have to become a reserve for Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds. However, this wasnt possible right now. This was also precisely the reason Mythology, a Guild that had been suppressing Zero Wing all this time, dared to come to Zero Wings doorsteps and negotiate for partnership. The next moment, Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe turned to Fire Dance, a hint of coldness and playfulness in their eyes. Little girl, we traveled a long distance to come to negotiate a partnership with Zero Wing. Is this how Zero Wing treats its guests? Situ Qingtian asked as he visually inspected Fire Dance. Revealing a faint smile, he continued, If Zero Wing doesnt wish to partner with Mythology, Mythology will naturally find it unfortunate and frustrating. However, if Zero Wing comes across difficulties in the future, dont blame Mythology for not helping. Situs words might not sound nice, but they are logical. Chiyang Tianhe also looked at Fire Dance and said in a deep voice, We came here with kind intentions. Now that the Outerworlds forces have invaded the eastern continent, only by cooperating will we be able to stop their advance. If we separate on bad terms here, the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom will suffer. When Fire Dance heard the two elderly mens words, her complexion sank. She never expected the two of them to suddenly stand on the same side and work together to pressure Zero Wing. Seeing Fire Dances grim expression, Situ Qingtian chuckled and said, I know you have your own difficulties, young lady. Im sure you just made an unintentional mistake just now. Your words represent only your thoughts, right? At this time, Situ Qingtian did not dare to truly offend Zero Wing. After all, the benefits of Zero Wing City were too great to pass on. However, he still had to teach Fire Dance a lesson and let her know that she couldnt provoke just anyone in Gods Domain. Chiyang Tianhe, who remained seated, nodded and chimed in, Thats right. There are some things you cant say arbitrarily, little girl. Elders like us might be able to ignore such a transgression, but if it were anyone else, your words would have severe consequences! Nether King Relos shook his head and sighed at this situation. Fire Dance was too young. Because of her inexperience, she had failed to notice that Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe had aimed for such an outcome right from the very beginning. They had deliberately made a commotion in the reception room in the hopes of hooking Fire Dance. Now that she had taken action on Zero Wings behalf, she was bound to suffer humiliation. Driving away Mythologys and Solar Temples members wouldnt be possible unless Zero Wing was willing to abandon the profits of the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom. Just when Fire Dance was at a loss as to what to say, the doors to the reception room suddenly opened. A tall figure then entered, looked at Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe, and demanded coldly, Do you old fools think Zero Wings main force commander cannot represent Zero Wing? Or do you think Zero Wing is a pushover? I can tell you now that Fire Dances previous words represent my will! You may leave now! Shi Feng did not speak loudly, but a bone-chilling cold enveloped the entire room at his words. Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe, in particular, were dumbfounded. Even Relos, who had been a spectator all this time, was stunned. He never thought that Shi Feng would chase off Mythology and Solar Temple without any negotiations. Guild Leader Black Flame, arent you going a little too far? Situ Qingtian asked in a cold voice. Our two Guilds have come in sincerity. Are you going to abandon the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom just because of a little girls few words? At this time, Chiyang Tianhe interjected hurriedly, Guild Leader Black Flame, must you take things so seriously? We were merely making a joke. Abandonment is a joke? Looking at the two elderly men before him, Shi Feng sneered, You two think too highly of yourselves! Ill give you five seconds to leave! Otherwise, Ill send you back myself! Shi Fengs words shocked everyone present once more. Is he really going to do that? When Yuan Tiexin looked at Shi Feng, he felt that Shi Feng was even crazier than Fire Dance. Fire Dance had merely acted to preserve Zero Wings reputation. However, Shi Feng was blatantly declaring war on Mythology and Solar Temple. After this declaration, even if Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe previously wanted to pursue negotiations for a partnership, they wouldnt do so anymore. Good! Very good! Situ Qingtian suddenly smiled as he looked at Shi Feng. This old man admires your will to make an enemy out of Mythology and abandon two kingdoms. However, Im curious to see how you plan on sending this old man back! After saying so, Situ Qingtian stood up and unsheathed the dark greatsword slung on his back. Simultaneously, not only did his body radiate a frightening aura, but the Mana surrounding him also took on a near-liquid form, sparkling as it circled his silvery-gray armor. Sensing the pressure he radiated, Fire Dance and the other youngsters in the room subconsciously took a step back. As expected of this old bastard! His Mana Body has broken through the 115% threshold! He can probably hold his own against even a Superior Mythic monster of the same level now! Relos was astonished when he sensed Situ Qingtians unparalleled aura. Everyone has been saying that you are Gods Domains strongest, Guild Leader Black Flame. This old man has been curious about the validity of this rumor for a long time now! After Situ Qingtian unleashed his aura, Chiyang Tianhe, who sat nearby, also stood up and raised a crimson staff. The white robe he wore instantly transformed into a robe of flames, making it seem as if the God of Fire had just descended to the mortal world. The aura he radiated was not the slightest bit inferior to Situ Qingtians, and his level had even surpassed Situ Qingtian by one, at Level 154 already. Amazing! So, these are the apex combatants of these two Super Guilds? Yuan Tiexin was astounded as he looked at Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe. Under normal circumstances, the average Tier 4 expert would have difficulty fleeing from a Superior Mythic monster of the same level, let alone fighting one. Yet, these two elderly men now radiated an aura rivaling that of a Superior Mythic monster of the same level. Their combat power ranked at the very top of Gods Domain at this stage of the game. Now, even a dozen Tier 4 experts working together would most likely have difficulty suppressing Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe. Not to mention, the twos combat standards were incredibly close to reaching the Beyond Domain Realm. Lets see how you recover from this now, Black Flame! Cold Shadow, who now stood at a side, grew excited when she saw that Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe intended to take action. She might not know precisely how powerful Chiyang Tianhe was, but she knew how powerful Situ Qingtian was. Moreover, it had been a long time since she had seen Situ Qingtian take action. With the two of them working together, even a monster like Shi Feng would have difficulty defeating them within a short period. A fight between Shi Feng, dubbed Gods Domains strongest expert, and two legendary figures in the virtual gaming industry deserved to be called an apex battle in Gods Domain. If both sides fought for a sufficiently long time, she might gain enough insight to improve her combat standards further. Cold Shadow wasnt the only person with such thoughts. Purple Jade, Netherworld Empires masked youth, and Solar Temples long-haired youth were similarly curious to see how this fight would play out. Since you two want me to send you back, Ill grant you your wish! After glancing at the two elderly men, Shi Feng stopped concealing his aura and Mana. Immediately, the space within the room froze, a stifling pressure enveloping everyone. Even Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe subconsciously stumbled two steps back, their eyes filled with fear and confusion as they gaped at Shi Feng. Tier 5? The same question simultaneously ran through the minds of the two elderly men. However, before they could respond to the situation, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before them, his movements so fast that it seemed as if he had split into two. Shi Feng then stabbed their hearts with his sword. Afterward, Shi Feng returned to one entity, now standing quietly by the window wall behind the two elderly men. And before anyone realized what had happened, the sword in his hand was already back in its sheath, as if Shi Feng had never drawn it. Meanwhile, Situ Qingtians and Chiyang Tianhes HPs, which exceeded ten million, had zero out by the time everyone realized what was going on. The twos bodies then collapsed to the ground, neither managing to react from start to finish. Chapter 2871 - Tier 5? Chapter 2871 C Tier 5? Theyre dead? The spectators in the room were stunned to see Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe collapsing to the floor, their minds failing to process this situation. Cold Shadow and the long-haired youth from Solar Temple, in particular, appeared petrified, their bodies remaining utterly motionless as they stared at the two sprawled corpses. How is this possible!? The instructor failed to endure even a single hit? Compared to everyone else present, Cold Shadow and the long-haired youth had a much better understanding of Situ Qingtians and Chiyang Tianhes strengths. Setting aside the fact that the two elderly men had combat standards close to the Beyond Domain Realm, just their Basic Attributes and Mana Bodies were more than enough for them to combat Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Despite being so monstrously powerful, Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe had failed to mount even the slightest bit of resistance to Shi Feng before dying. This was simply unbelievable. Yuan Tiexin and Purple Jade were similarly astonished at this situation, their minds unable to recover from the shock even after a long time. They had expected a heaven-defying battle and even felt that Shi Feng had been unwise to provoke Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe. After all, if these two Superior Mythic equivalents went all out, destroying Zero Wings Residence wouldnt be impossible for them. Even if Shi Feng eventually succeeded in killing them, Zero Wing would still have to pay a significant price. Yet, now However, unlike everyone else present, Nether King Reloss attention wasnt on Situ Qingtians and Chiyang Tianhes corpses. Instead, he stared at Shi Fengs figure standing calmly by the window wall, his eyes wide with fear and horror. A Tier 5 Sword Saint? Although it was only an instant, Relos had felt unprecedented fear overwhelming his body when Shi Feng executed his attack. That spine-chilling fear hadnt come from just witnessing Shi Fengs frightening power. Instead, it was an instinctive, bone-deep fear. Relos was no ordinary Tier 4 player; he was someone who had developed his Mana Body to an incredible extent. If he were facing a player of the same tier, his body wouldnt have such a reaction. The only way Relos could explain this situation was that Shi Feng was no longer a Tier 4 player. Instead, Shi Feng was already a Tier 5 Sword Saint! Although Relos had subconsciously muttered to himself, he had not done so on a private channel. Hence, no matter how soft his voice had been, the Tier 4 experts present heard him loud and clear. Tier 5? Everyone turned toward Shi Feng, one after another. Previously, they had been so shocked by Situ Qingtians and Chiyang Tianhes deaths that they had forgotten about Shi Fengs existence and the brief stagnation and fear they had felt. How is this possible?! Hes reached Tier 5 already?! Cold Shadow and the long-haired youth wore grim expressions as they looked at Shi Feng, their minds in denial. Shi Feng no longer concealed his power. Hence, everyone in the room could feel tremendous pressure originating from a difference in Life Rating. Shi Fengs Life Rating was something no Tier 4 player could possess, no matter what. If a Tier 4 players Life Rating were equated to a bonfire, then Shi Fengs Life Rating was like the scorching sun. Unless he deliberately suppressed and concealed his Life Rating, there was no way anybody could fail to notice it. Is this why he dares to ignore the two Super Guilds? When Yuan Tiexin looked at Situ Qingtians and Chiyang Tianhes corpses and then at Shi Fengs nonchalance, the shock in his heart multiplied exponentially. Meanwhile, Purple Jade was at a loss for words, a complicated expression on her face. She had come to Zero Wing City to determine her growth and whether she could catch up to Shi Feng However, let alone catching up, the two of them werent even standing on the same playing field anymore. Tier 5! In the current era, Tier 5 existences were already considered the apex existences of Gods Domain. They were capable of single-handedly destroying an entire kingdom, monsters that no current Tier 4 player could hope to go up against. Guild Leader! Fire Dances eyes brimmed with jubilation and shock when she looked at Shi Feng. This revelation was too shocking! If Zero Wing still had to be fearful of the Five Great Super Guilds before, then it could now ignore their existence. After all, the gap between Tier 4 and Tier 5 was utterly massive. Even if the Five Great Super Guilds had many monstrously strong players and even individuals at the Beyond Domain Realm, none of them would be a match for a Tier 5 existence. Unless the Five Great Super Guilds similarly produced a Tier 5 expert, it wouldnt matter, even if they attacked Zero Wing with a large number of Tier 4 experts. Not to mention, destroying a Guild City was childs play for a Tier 5 player. Only a Main City-level Guild City could repulse a Tier 5. Moreover, if one didnt have any means of retaliation, even a Main City would eventually fall to a Tier 5 player. While Fire Dance was inwardly celebrating Shi Fengs achievement, Shi Feng turned his sights to Cold Shadow and the long-haired youth from Solar Temple. He then said calmly, I only dealt a small punishment to the two of them today. If your two Guilds pull such a stunt one more time, I wont mind visiting your headquarters! Cold Shadow and the long-haired youth did not have any thoughts of refuting Shi Feng. They promptly left the reception room, together with their Guild members. Netherworld Empires and Secret Pavilions members quietly watched with complicated feelings as the two Super Guilds members left. Before, they had been treating Zero Wing as just another superpower. However, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call Zero Wing the number one Guild of Gods Domain now. Not only did Zero Wing possess a Tier 5 Sword Saint, but it even had a holy land like Zero Wing City. At this point, even the Five Great Super Guilds couldnt hope to compete with it. Given enough time, Zero Wing was sure to become Gods Domains number one Guild. At this point, Relos suddenly stood up from his seat, approached Shi Feng, and said respectfully, Guild Leader Black Flame, I, Relos, wish to establish a partnership with Zero Wing on behalf of Netherworld Empire. We do not want much. We only need one temporary Guild Residence in Zero Wing City. In return, Netherworld Empire will provide Zero Wing with resources and business connections in the western continent. We will also establish a military alliance with Zero Wing to resist the Outerworld players. May I know what you think of this proposal, Guild Leader Black Flame? Although Reloss respectful demeanor and sincere offer might seem surprising to others, the masked youth from Netherworld Empire and Yuan Tiexin did not find this situation unexpected at all. While reaching Tier 5 might not be impossible for an expert like Relos, it would still be incredibly challenging. This was because the promotion to Tier 5 had nothing to do with a players combat standards. Instead, it depended entirely on ones control over and understanding of Mana and the ability to construct a Tier 5 Mana Body. Before reaching Tier 5 himself, Relos would only be seeking death if he behaved arrogantly in front of a Tier 5 existence. Not one to fall behind, Yuan Tiexin also extended a similar partnership offer on behalf of the Secret Pavilion. The only difference was that the Secret Pavilion would only help defend Zero Wing City and Stone Forest City; it would not take part in any other battles. Sure, I can agree to your conditions, Shi Feng said after hearing the two Guilds offers. However, I have an additional condition. Upon receiving this encouraging response, Relos grew a little excited and prompted, Please speak, Guild Leader Black Flame. Initially, Relos thought that Shi Feng wouldnt agree to his offer and would choose to monopolize Zero Wing Citys resources. Shi Fengs willingness to negotiate was a positive outcome. Yuan Tiexin also nodded in agreement with Reloss words. Shi Feng smiled and said, My condition is simple-a complete Guild Legacy. If your two Guilds can provide me with your complete Guild Legacies, I can give you temporary Residences in Zero Wing City immediately! Zero Wing was not lacking in resources at the moment. So long as Zero Wing City remained standing, the Guild would have no trouble acquiring resources. However, a Guilds development did not rely solely on resources. It also needed manpower and talents. Hence, acquiring a complete Guild Legacy was of utmost importance for Zero Wing. Only with a complete Guild Legacy could Zero Wing reliably nurture its experts to the Domain Realm. Okay, I agree to your condition on Netherworld Empires behalf! Relos answered without hesitation. Upon hearing Reloss response, Yuan Tiexin gritted his teeth and said, The Secret Pavilion has no problem with this, either. When Shi Feng heard the two Guilds positive replies, he inwardly sighed in relief. After all, a Guild Legacy was the root of a Guild. Many Guilds would rather face annihilation than share their Guild Legacy. He then nodded and said, Good! I wish our three Guilds a happy partnership from now on! Shortly afterward, Shi Feng signed a contract with the Secret Pavilion and Netherworld Empire, taking an essential step toward Zero Wings becoming Gods Domains number one Guild. As Shi Feng concluded his discussion with the two Guilds, news of his promotion to Tier 5 and his killing Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe in Zero Wing City quickly spread and reached the ears of Gods Domains various powers. For a time, the entire Gods Domain was in an uproar! Chapter 2872 - God’s Domain Shaken Chapter 2872 C Gods Domain Shaken Zero Wing City, Battle Arena: Guild Leader Black Flame has been promoted to Tier 5? Sixteenth Cloud was stunned when she read the report she received. Looking at Sorrowful Silence, she asked, Have you verified this? Although quite a number of Gods Domains Void Realm experts had gotten promoted to Tier 4 already, with Domain Realm experts even making considerable progress in developing their Mana Bodies, everyone was still a long way from reaching Tier 5. Creating a Tier 5 Mana Body was an entirely different matter from improving the Completion Rate of ones Mana Body. Since most Tier 4 experts hadnt even developed their Mana Bodies to a significant extent, getting promoted to Tier 5 shouldnt be possible. Hence, Sixteenth Cloud found it truly hard to believe that Shi Feng had already reached Tier 5. However, instead of getting the answer she hoped for, Sorrowful Silence nodded solemnly. He then said in a shocked voice, Yes, I happened to be in another reception room at the time, negotiating with Zero Wings representative for a long-term lease of the Battle Arenas combat rooms. My room was quite close to the reception room used to host the Secret Pavilion and the three Super Guilds. Every Zero Wing member on the floor reacted strongly. I also saw Mythologys and Solar Temples members leave the Residence, looking grim. In reality, Sorrowful Silence didnt just hear about Shi Fengs promotion to Tier 5 from Zero Wings members. He had also personally experienced the frightening aura Shi Feng had exuded. Despite being in an entirely different room, he had still sensed that aura clearly, and it had been much stronger than the auras of the Tier 5 NPCs he had come across before. Of course, the Tier 5 NPCs Sorrowful Silence met previously had never displayed any killing intent. They had even been actively suppressing their auras. In comparison, Shi Feng had not held anything back when he attacked Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe. This was why Sorrowful Silence was confident Shi Feng had reached Tier 5. This is interesting. Sixteenth Cloud revealed a hint of joy and excitement after hearing Sorrowful Silences confirmation. Now that Zero Wing has a Tier 5 combatant and opened Zero Wing City to the public, the eastern continents status quo will get reshuffled! Thats right! Thank goodness were already strategic allies with Zero Wing! Sorrowful Silence said, nodding in agreement with Sixteenth Cloud. Tier 5 existences were different from Tier 4 existences. Tier 4 players couldnt capture a Guild City all by themselves. That was a task that required a large number of Tier 4 players. When Tier 4 players were still scarce, Zero Wing mightve been able to pose a significant threat to the various superpowers, but it didnt threaten their roots. However, the situation had changed. A Tier 5 player could effortlessly capture a Guild City-even a superpowers headquarters which meant that Zero Wing had the power to uproot and destroy superpowers. Moreover, now that Zero Wings expert count had skyrocketed, it was entirely capable of expanding its territory and occupying more Guild Cities. It wouldnt face a manpower shortage even if it captured five or six more Guild Cities. When the eastern continents various powers received this piece of news, the superpowers that had always been working against Zero Wing fell into an awkward situation. This was especially true for Starlink. Upon learning about Shi Fengs promotion to Tier 5, Starlinks executives all had ashen complexions. Inside the Guild Leaders office of Starlinks Residence in the Dark Night Empire Commander, now that Black Flame has gotten promoted to Tier 5, he definitely wont spare Starlink. Should we migrate our experts to the western continent now? a Level 150, Tier 4 female Ranger suggested as she looked at the handsome youth quietly reading documents in the office. How many times have I told you to refer to me as Guild Leader? I am no longer just the commander of Tremorous Clown but Starlinks Guild Leader as well, Lu Tiandi said as he glanced at the enchanting female Ranger. Yes, Guild Leader, the Ranger responded calmly as she looked at Lu Tiandi. She then repeated, Should we migrate now? That wont be necessary. Looking at the report in his hands, Lu Tiandi explained nonchalantly, Black Flames promotion to Tier 5 is indeed a big problem for us, but theres no need for us to be afraid of him yet. The eastern continents situation is no longer the same as before. The Outerworlds forces are Zero Wings biggest problem. Black Flames promotion to Tier 5 should pose a considerable headache for those Outerworld players. Moreover, Zero Wing has severed all chances of friendly relations with Mythology and Solar Temple. In the next war, the eastern continents native NPC forces will definitely not provide Star-Moon Kingdom and the Twin Towers Kingdom with any support. At that time, Zero Wing might not even be able to defend its own Guild Cities, let alone target other forces. If I were Black Flame, I wouldnt have exposed myself as a Tier 5 so soon and become a target for the Outerworld forces. Instead, I would focus on raiding Dungeons and World Bosses to raise my Guilds strength. Gods Domain isnt a single-player game. A single Tier 5 player cannot stop all of the Outerworlds NPC forces! The enchanting Rangers eyes brightened at Lu Tiandis words. Doesnt this mean we have a chance? We can forget about Silverwing City since the Outerworld forces will capture it. On the other hand, we can get our hands on Stone Forest City since it is close to the Dark Night Empire. Even if Black Flame is Tier 5, he can defend only one location at a time. Once the war resumes, hell be preoccupied with Zero Wing City. At that time, we can find an opportunity to secure Stone Forest City! Lu Tiandi said, smiling. However, this isnt something we can accomplish alone. Go and contact the superpowers that have a grudge against Zero Wing now. I believe they will be more than willing to come on board this plan. Yes, sir! The Ranger nodded. While Gods Domains various powers were reeling from the news of Shi Fengs promotion to Tier 5 and preparing countermeasures, Shi Feng had finalized his discussion with the Secret Pavilion and Netherworld Empire over the specifics of their partnership. Guild Leader, now that we have the two Guild Legacies, we can probably nurture a batch of Void Realm experts and possibly Domain Realm experts within a short period, Fire Dance said. When she thought about how the Secret Pavilion and Netherworld Empire would be sending all their information on the Realms of Refinement to Zero Wings headquarters tomorrow, she couldnt help feeling excited. Although the Guild Legacy Zero Wing received from Unyielding Soul previously was indeed valuable, the information provided allowed Zero Wing to nurture experts only to the Flowing Water Realm at a reliable rate. It was still a far cry from a complete Guild Legacy. After all, only Void Realm experts could serve as a superpowers mainstay. Zero Wing had far too few of such peak experts. The only reason Zero Wing managed to produce as many Tier 4 experts as it had now was the various Gods Domain Legacies and excellent training environment the Guild possessed. Even then, these Tier 4 experts could only rank among the lower rungs of Tier 4 players. Thats right! Shi Feng nodded. He similarly felt happy over this matter. Only when Zero Wing possessed a complete Guild Legacy of its own could it become a true titan in Gods Domain. Once the Guild had the Secret Pavilions and Netherworld Empires Guild Legacies, it would no longer have to worry about lacking peak experts. Zero Wing could also recruit more talented players since these talents would no longer have to worry about Zero Wing lacking a Guild Legacy. Guild Leader, what should we do next? Fire Dance asked. Now that weve become enemies with Mythology and Solar Temple, the Outerworld forces will target Star-Moon Kingdom and the Twin Towers Kingdom once the war resumes. Should we start withdrawing our forces from those two kingdoms? Mythology and Solar Temple held significant influence in the eastern continent. It was also certain that the Outerworld forces would target Zero Wing. However, with Zero Wings current strength, defending Star-Moon Kingdom and the Twin Towers Kingdom wouldnt be feasible. To reduce Zero Wings losses, the Guild ought to begin pulling its forces out of these two kingdoms as soon as possible. Next? Chuckling, Shi Feng said, Go and gather all of the Guilds Tier 4s now. Gather all of the Guilds Tier 48? Shi Fengs command confused Fire Dance. With the imminent war, what they should do was relocate the Mobile Fortress and Silverwing City. Otherwise, once the Outerworlds NPC army arrived, Zero Wing would lose both strongholds. Yes. Smiling, Shi Feng said, Since Ive reached Tier 5 already, its about time we took care of the trouble over at the Orc Empire. Well also use this opportunity to let the various superpowers know the consequences of offending us! The current Gods Domain had far too little knowledge of Tier 5 existences. Even if Shi Feng had killed Situ Qingtian and Chiyang Tianhe, the various superpowers only knew that he was much stronger than Tier 4 players. They still didnt understand what Tier 5 represented. Ill have them gather right away! Fire Dance burned with eagerness when she heard Shi Fengs words. Ever since she had gotten promoted to Tier 4, she had never had a good fight or launched an all-out war against other superpowers. She also wasnt the only person to hold such sentiments. The other Tier 4 experts in the Guild harbored similar thoughts. Now, they finally had the opportunity to display their strength. Chapter 2873 - Present Zero Wing Chapter 2873 C Present Zero Wing Orc Empire, Silverwing City: Droves of people came and went on the citys main street. More than half of these people were NPCs from the neighboring kingdoms and empires. Due to the World Passages opening and the invasion of the Outerworlds player and NPC forces, both native players and NPCs had their range of activity restricted significantly. As the strongest city in the Orc Empire, one capable of fending off attacks from anything below Tier 5, Silverwing City had already become a mecca for the neighboring kingdoms and empires players and NPCs. Moreover, the news of Black Flame reaching Tier 5 sent the number of players visiting Silverwing City skyrocketing, resulting in overcrowding. All of these new arrivals sought to join Zero Wing and develop long-term in Silverwing City. At this time, Tier 4 experts radiating frightening auras appeared in Zero Wings Residence, one after another. The arrival of these experts instantly silenced the bustling Residence. Even the players lining up to take the test to join the Guild couldnt help feeling frightened. Whats going on with Zero Wing? Why have so many Tier 4 experts gathered? Are they here to maintain order since there are so many people applying to join the Guild? Amazing! So, this is Zero Wing? I saw over 50 Tier 4 experts already! Some Super Guilds dont have this many Tier 4 experts! Thats not all of it! Look at their equipment! Every one of them has at least three pieces of Level 150 Epic Equipment! I wonder when Ill be able to get one for myself? The eyes of the players lined up in the Residences courtyard widened in shock as they took in Zero Wings Tier 4 experts. Previously, they had recognized that Zero Wing was a powerful Guild but felt that it had become a superpower in Gods Domain only because of Zero Wing City and Black Flames undefeated legend. Upon seeing the situation now, they realized that Zero Wings foundation was far more terrifying than they thought. Not only did Zero Wing possess far more Tier 4 experts than most superpowers, but these experts also had superior equipment standards compared to the various superpowers Tier 4 experts. Currently, over 50 Tier 4 experts were gathered in the courtyard. This was a spectacular scene that those present would rarely get to see in their lifetimes. Not to mention, these Tier 4 experts were not repressing their auras at all. When these auras overlapped, they came together to generate an aura far more frightening than that of Superior Mythic monsters. Even Tier 3 experts shuddered involuntarily, forced to keep their distance from these Tier 4 experts. Why would Zero Wing gather so many Tier 4 experts here? Is it conducting a major operation or something? This is indeed unusual. A Guild would gather so many of its Tier 4 experts in one place only for a special event. As the number of Tier 4 experts kept increasing, the non-members in the courtyard felt something amiss. Even Zero Wings members started growing antsy at this situation. Ji Luorong looked at Violet Cloud, who had just arrived in the courtyard, and asked, Big Sis Violet, do you know why the Guild Leader suddenly summoned us? I dont know, either. Big Sis Fire suddenly contacted me and told me to come here right away, Violet Cloud replied, shaking her head. She then visually inspected Ji Luorong and exclaimed in surprise, Luorong, your Mana Body is at the 110% Completion Rate already?! Youve made so much progress! Ji Luorong had joined Zero Wing only recently. Although Zero Wing was much stronger than before, the fact that Ji Luorong managed to increase her Mana Bodys Completion Rate from under 105% to her current 110% proved that she was monstrously talented. Hehe. Its because of the Sword Saint Legacy Big Sis Fire gave me. If not for it, I wouldve taken much longer to reach 110%, Ji Luorong said, smiling. Inwardly, she still felt a little delighted. After all, only a tiny number of experts in Gods Domain had managed to develop their Mana Bodies to a 110% Completion Rate at this stage of the game. However, when Ji Luorong carefully sensed the Mana surrounding Violet Clouds body, her delight instantly vanished. The Mana close to Violet Cloud had already liquefied. Although it was limited to a small portion of her Mana, it was still better than nothing. The fact that Violet Cloud could accomplish this feat meant that her Mana Bodys Completion Rate had already reached 115% or above, according to what Shi Feng told them. She mightve even reached the 120% Completion Rate already. At this time, a masked, middle-aged man clad in black approached Ji Luorong. The aura this man radiated practically rivaled that of a Superior Mythic monster. This middle-aged man was none other than Crimson Mask, another Eternal Glory member who had joined Zero Wing. Commander, why did Big Sis Fire suddenly call for us? Is something big going on? Crimson Mask asked curiously as he looked at Ji Luorong I dont know. Big Sis Fire only told me to come here as soon as possible and nothing else. Ji Luorong shook her head. When she noticed the qualitative transformation of Crimson Masks demeanor, she couldnt help sighing to herself ruefully. * Y. Initially, Crimson Mask had opposed Eternal Glorys joining Zero Wing. He felt that even without joining a Guild, he could still develop Eternal Glory to great heights. However, after a few bouts with Fire Dance and receiving a sound thrashing each time, Crimson Mask had changed completely. Now, he was even referring to Fire Dance as Big Sis. However, Crimson Mask was much more fortunate than someone else, his fate considerably better. Besides Crimson Mask, a lunatic named Invincible Swallow had come to Zero Wing to challenge Violet Cloud, and the fate this lunatic suffered was simply terrible. That fight could be described as an adult beating up a toddler. Afterward, when Invincible Swallow returned for a rematch at a later date, Violet Cloud just so happened to be out on an errand. Aqua Rose had been present at the time, so he challenged her instead. After that match, Invincible Swallow began questioning his life. Even now, he was still training crazily in Stone Forest Citys Battle Arena every day. While Zero Wings Tier 4 members wondered why Fire Dance had suddenly gathered them, a man and a woman approached the courtyard from a distance. These two people were none other than Shi Feng and Fire Dance. Shi Feng was just walking casually, yet his steps distorted the space around him. It was as if the surrounding space couldnt contain his presence and could crumble at any time. In addition, as Shi Feng did not bother concealing his aura, everyone present gasped involuntarily when they sensed it. Although Shi Feng wasnt directing any hostility at anyone, merely letting his aura radiate freely, the Tier 4 players present felt their bodies becoming incredibly heavy as if someone had tied metal weights to their bodies. As for the Tier 3 players present, they instinctively retreated from Shi Feng, not daring to move even an inch closer to him. Hes the Guild Leader? Crimson Mask was shocked as he looked at Shi Feng. Before today, Crimson Mask had only ever heard the name of Black Flame. From the gossip circulating inside Zero Wing, he knew that Shi Feng was Zero Wings number one expert and that his existence was the linchpin of the entire Guild. Crimson Mask had thought that Shi Feng was only slightly stronger than Fire Dance. However, given this situation, Shi Feng wasnt just somewhat stronger than Fire Dance. He was practically standing on a whole other level. Aside from Crimson Mask, many of the Tier 4 experts who had joined Zero Wing recently were also stunned by Shi Fengs terrifying aura. After glancing at the crowd gathered, Fire Dance reported to Shi Feng, Guild Leader, apart from the two Vice Guild Leaders and around a dozen others, who are currently occupied with important matters, all of the Guilds Tier 4 members are here. Not bad! Shi Feng nodded in approval as he scanned the crowd before him. A total of 59 Tier 4 players waited in the courtyard, their levels ranging from Level 148 to Level 156. More than half of these players had broken through the 100% threshold of their Mana Bodies already, with nearly 20 having reached the 105% threshold and seven at the 110% threshold. The seven to reach 110% Completion Rate or above were Violet Cloud, Fire Dance, Ji Luorong, Alluring Summer, Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, and Silent Blade. One could consider this lineup a spectacular force at this stage of the game. At this time, Cola, who had already reached Level 150, could no longer hold back his excitement, asking, Guild Leader, are we going to raid the Orc Capital City? The Orc Capital Citys core area was a special secret land. The degree of danger in this secret land closely rivaled that of a God Mode Regional Dungeon. The loot inside was likewise incredible. However, one required a sufficiently large team of Tier 4 players to raid it. This was why nobody had succeeded in raiding it even now. Meanwhile, Zero Wing currently had 59 Tier 4 players and one Tier 5 player gathered. They were already more than qualified to raid the Orc Capital Citys secret land. When everyone heard Colas words, they immediately grew restless. After all, this was a Level 150-plus secret land they were talking about. They would definitely gain significant harvests if they raided it. No, I didnt gather you here for the Orc Capital City, but for something else instead, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Something else? Cola and the others grew confused. Thats right. Smiling, Shi Feng explained, To ensure our survival in the upcoming war and Zero Wings future development, I plan on annihilating Ancient Rock City and eliminating Beast Emperor from the Orc Empire! Chapter 2874 - Descending upon Ancient Rock City Chapter 2874 C Descending upon Ancient Rock City Orc Empire, Ancient Rock City: The walls of Ancient Rock City were over 50 meters tall. Despite numerous Faux Saint monsters roaming the barren land outside the city walls, the Tier 3 players patrolling atop the walls completely disregarded these monsters as if they did not exist. Surprisingly, the Faux Saint monsters that most of the eastern continents players regarded as a nightmare showed no intentions of attacking Ancient Rock City. They behaved like scarecrows under the city walls. At this time, a merchant caravan, composed of over a hundred players and over a dozen horse-drawn carriages, slowly approached Ancient Rock City from a distance. Despite catching sight of these players, the countless Faux Saint monsters roaming the barren land outside Ancient Rock City behaved as if they did not see this caravan. Looking at the Level 120 Faux Saint monsters around him, a Level 136, Tier 3 Swordsman escorting the caravan exclaimed, The Sacred Heart Amulet Saints Hand sold us is amazing. Those Mythic Faux Saint monsters ignore us even when were only 30 yards away from them. Even NPCs were helpless against the Faux Saint monsters running rampant in the many neighboring kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire. The danger made it increasingly difficult for merchant caravans to make money. However, so long as a caravan carried a Sacred Heart Amulet, it could avoid the Faux Saint monsters attacks altogether. At the Swordsmans words, the Level 137, Tier 3 Guardian Knight sitting at the head of the caravan looked at the Sacred Heart Amulet in his hand. With a hint of ambition in his eyes, he said, I know, right? We must buy some more of these Sacred Heart Amulets in Ancient Rock City! We can make a fortune reselling them in the neighboring kingdoms and empires! The Sacred Heart Amulet was a non-bag space item. Although players could wear it on their person, they couldnt store it in their bags. It also couldnt be transported by teleportation. However, Saints Hand sold the Sacred Heart Amulet only in Ancient Rock City. None of Saints Hands other Residences sold it. Many merchant players and adventurer teams had realized that they could make a fortune by purchasing the Sacred Heart Amulets in bulk from Ancient Rock City and reselling them in the neighboring kingdoms and empires. Nowadays, many Faux Saint monsters roamed the territories of the neighboring kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire. Leaving the safety of towns and cities would expose players to not only the standard monsters but also a large number of Faux Saint monsters. The Sacred Heart Amulet could mitigate the danger. More importantly, the Sacred Heart Amulet was a Consumable, so it was always in high demand in the neighboring kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire. Selling these amulets in these countries wouldnt be a problem. The main reason their Fighting Tiger adventurer team had invested a considerable fortune into hiring more than a dozen Advanced Carriages was to make an even bigger fortune off these amulets. At this time, a Level 136, Tier 3 female Ranger standing atop the leading carriage pointed at a distant silhouette and shouted, Commander, were almost at Ancient Rock City! Okay! Everyone, get yourselves ready, newbies especially! Ancient Rock City is different from other Guild Cities! the leading Guardian Knight shouted through the team chat. Although the city prohibits fighting, it is still a bona fide Dark City! There are tons of Dark Players there, so make sure not to get marked by them! Otherwise, well be in a ton of trouble once we leave the city! At the Guardian Knights words, the teams veterans promptly took out a Magic Scroll for the Tier 1 Mana Guard Spell and used it on themselves. With the Mana Guard active, the common tracking mark would be ineffective against them. Upon seeing this, the newbies to Ancient Rock City also took out the Magic Scrolls they prepared and used the scrolls on themselves. As the caravan trundled increasingly closer to Ancient Rock City, the newbies couldnt help gasping in shock at their first sight of the towering stronghold. Ancient Rock City was undoubtedly the most spectacular Guild City they had ever seen in their careers in Gods Domain. Not only did the city have walls over 50 meters tall guarding it, but it covered an area rivaling NPC Main Cities. Most importantly, two 30-meter-tall Faux Saint monsters flanked the citys entrance. The two monsters wore steel plate armor, and each carried two gigantic swords. If one inspected these two monsters with an Identification Skill, one would find that they were Level 160 Superior Mythic ranked Faux Saint Slayers! The aura of these two Faux Saint Slayers sent involuntary shudders through all the players entering Ancient Rock City. Just by standing there, the two Superior Mythics made everyone feel as if their souls would get devoured. Besides the two Faux Saint Slayers standing guard, more than 30 Evil Dark Dragons wheeled in the sky above Ancient Rock City. These 50-meter-long Evil Dark Dragons radiated auras close to rivaling the Superior Mythic ranked Faux Saint Slayers. When the Fighting Tiger adventurer team arrived before the city gate, the members spotted a long line of players and NPCs waiting to enter the city. Many of these NPCs exuded dense bloodlust, which proved that they roamed the dark side of Gods Domain. At this time, however, even Tier 4 NPCs were obediently waiting in line. Amazing! There are so many Tier 4 monsters and NPCs here! Even a kingdoms capital city isnt comparable to this place! the first-time visitors among Fighting Tiger exclaimed. Of course. Ancient Rock City is Saints Hands main headquarters. Moreover, the city has already become a mecca for the dark forces operating in the neighboring kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire. If we include the citys defensive structures, even the Outerworld forces will have difficulty taking down Ancient Rock City. Now, many well-known and top adventurer teams are developing here, the leading Guardian Knight explained. From what I heard, the superpower Miracle has also dispatched many experts to garrison Ancient Rock City. Ancient Rock City is the safest city in the Orc Empire! Nobody will dare target it! The Saints Hand member conducting inspections nearby overheard the Guardian Knights words and couldnt help putting on a prideful expression. ds Currently, Ancient Rock City was only one step away from becoming a Main City. Its combat power far exceeded that of Guild Cities of the various superpowers. Had Saints Hand not been wary of the Outerworlds NPC forces, it wouldve long since flattened the neighboring kingdoms and the Black Dragon Empire, becoming an existence surpassing the Five Great Super Guilds. However, as the Fighting Tiger adventurer team was undergoing inspection, a gigantic figure suddenly approached Ancient Rock City from the distant sky. Its speed was as fast as a mighty gale, and it stopped only after arriving in front of the city. The steel behemoth over 100 meters long hung in the sky roughly 400 yards from Ancient Rock City, overlooking the entire city. Several dozen players stood on this steel behemoth. At this steel behemoths appearance, the entire Ancient Rock City went into an uproar. Its the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship! Thats Zero Wings Flying Ship! Quick, look! Isnt that Black Flame?! Nowadays, almost everybody in Gods Domain was familiar with the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. After all, this thing had long since become Zero Wings signature. Zero Wing was even using some of these Flying Ships to transport cargo across the sea, to the envy of many superpowers. However, Zero Wings sudden visit to Ancient Rock City confused many of the citys players. Meanwhile, upon spotting the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, the Evil Dark Dragons patrolling the citys airspace let loose deafening roars. The two Faux Saint Slayers standing guard by the citys entrance also raised their heads and gripped their weapons, going on full alert against the Flying Ship. As everyone in Ancient Rock City fell into panic and confusion, Shi Feng looked down at the city below from aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and shouted, Five minutes! I will give you five minutes to withdraw from the city if you do not wish to get dragged into Saints Hands problem! Anyone who doesnt withdraw after five minutes will disappear from Gods Domain together with Ancient Rock City! Chapter 2875 - Ancient Rock City in Peril Chapter 2875 C Ancient Rock City in Peril Is Zero Wing planning to attack the city? This is crazy! Zero Wing mustve lost its mind! How dare they attack Ancient Rock City?! Inevitably, Ancient Rock Citys inhabitants doubted Shi Fengs declaration, with many of them considering it a joke. Saints Hand had continuously strengthened Ancient Rock City. Currently, the citys defenses were superior to those of other Guild Cities, and the combatants stationed within the city were more than enough to instill fear in the various superpowers. Not to mention, the dark forces of over a dozen countries gathered in the city. Apart from Dark Guilds, there were also plenty of NPC forces among these dark forces. These forces had paid a considerable price to settle in Ancient Rock City and even treated the city as their base of operations. Anyone who dared to attack Ancient Rock City would make an enemy of these dark forces. Be it Dark Guilds or dark NPC forces, every one of them had at least two or three Tier 4 combatants under their command. Moreover, Miracle had recently garrisoned the city, so there should be close to 200 Tier 4 combatants defending Ancient Rock City right now. One could conquer an entire kingdom with that many Tier 4 combatants. Most importantly, Ancient Rock City was currently an Advanced Guild City, only one step away from becoming a Main Guild City. Ancient Rock Citys resident players werent the only ones shocked by this situation. Beast Emperor, who was conducting research in the City Lords Mansion, inadvertently crushed the research instrument he held when he received news of Zero Wings sudden arrival. Black Flame, how bold of you! It seems youve gotten arrogant while I was lying low! Beast Emperor growled with a cold glint in his eyes. Lord Beast Emperor, Black Flame is rumored to have reached Tier 5 already. Should we notify the Sacred Envoy? the Level 152, Tier 4 Berserker, who had made the report, asked. News of Shi Fengs promotion to Tier 5 had long since reached the ears of Gods Domains various powers. Meanwhile, a Tier 5 player was an existence even Saints Hand had to be wary of. Putting away the tools on his table, Beast Emperor glanced at Saints Hands Guild Leader, Furious Fist, and smiled lightly. No need. Call for some people and come along with me. I want to see what exactly gives Black Flame the confidence to act arrogantly in my Ancient Rock City! After saying so, Beast Emperor turned around and left. A robust man with black skin covered in flashing runes, who stood guard before the research room, silently trailed him. Yes, sir! Furious Fist hurriedly followed after the robust man. Less than three minutes after Shi Fengs declaration, many players and adventurer teams, afraid of trouble, had already withdrawn from Ancient Rock City. Only Dark Players and a few courageous normal players chose to remain. At the same time, players from the various dark adventurer teams and Dark Guilds also gathered at Ancient Rock Citys entrance, one after another, and watched the fleeing players. These cowards! Zero Wing sent only a few dozen players, yet these people are already running away! Zero Wing is famous, after all. Its normal for them to run away. Not to mention, Black Flame is also here. Itd be strange for them not to escape. These people are simply idiots! Zero Wing won its past battles only because of the powerful defenses of its cities! Thats right! So what if Zero Wing managed to produce a Tier 5 player? Well teach these guys what it means to offend us dark forces! The Dark Players revealed expressions of rage and excitement as they looked up at the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. Zero Wings reputation was through the roof right now. Moreover, Shi Feng had gotten promoted to Tier 5. Hence, players were starting to consider Zero Wing Gods Domains number one Guild. If a battle were to occur in the outside world, Dark Players like themselves would indeed be afraid of Shi Feng. However, it was a different story if the battle took place inside Ancient Rock City. With the citys magic array, they could still take him on with the many Tier 4 players they had. Not to mention, a large number of Faux Saint monsters protected Ancient Rock City, including two Superior Mythic ranked Faux Saint Slayers. Even if they couldnt kill Shi Feng, they could, at least, make the other members of Zero Wing suffer! As the five-minute limit approached, the number of players retreating from Ancient Rock City also increased. At this time, the players that had withdrawn from Ancient Rock City suddenly felt a chill envelop their bodies. Even Tier 3 experts found themselves partially kneeling on the ground. The next moment, a group of 40 players flew out from the City Lords Mansion. Apart from Furious Fist and Saints Hands Tier 4 executives, 17 players on the team were people that none of Ancient Rock Citys inhabitants had ever seen before. These 17 players looked nothing like humans. Not only were their bodies pitch-black, but there were also flashing runes engraved all over their bodies. These players auras were also stronger than even that of Superior Mythic monsters. When combined, their auras transformed into a tsunami that swept through the entire city and its surroundings. Amazing! Is this Saints Hands rumored Bloodstained Knight Legion? Thats not all! Even Beast Emperor left the City Lords Mansion! It seems well have a good show this time! Indeed. I heard that Beast Emperor has constantly been plotting revenge on Zero Wing after getting slaughtered at the Secret Covenant Tower. Now that Zero Wing has come knocking on his door, theres no way Beast Emperor will spare Zero Wing! The various major powers experts standing atop the city walls were surprised when they saw Beast Emperor and the Bloodstained Knights making an appearance. At the same time, they were shocked by the power Saints Hand displayed. The superpowers on the eastern continent had always been fearful of Saints Hand, and this situation greatly confused the various major powers. However, after seeing Saints Hands top combatants, they realized that the superpowers fear of Saints Hand wasnt without basis. Setting aside the fact that Saints Hand had over 20 Tier 4 experts at the Void Realm or above, just the 17 rumored Bloodstained Knights were more than enough to instill fear into any player force. After all, even a Tier 4 player would tremble in fear if they had to go up against a Bloodstained Knight, let alone 17 Bloodstained Knights simultaneously. That would be a nightmare. Shortly afterward, Beast Emperors group arrived above the city gate. Seeing this, the various powers leadership promptly stepped forward to greet Beast Emperor. Thousand Miles, one of Miracles Vice Guild Leaders, was even among them. Thousand Miless actions astonished the various major powers present. They never thought that even a superpower like Miracle would defer to Beast Emperor. After Beast Emperor responded to a few greetings, he flew into the air with his subordinates and glared at Shi Feng on the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. He then said coldly, Black Flame! You and I couldve stayed out of each others way in the Orc Empire, yet you chose to come to attack me! So long as you apologize right now, I can ignore this transgression for the time being! Otherwise, none of you will be returning alive today! After Beast Emperor finished speaking, a frightening amount of Evil Energy erupted from the 17 Bloodstained Knights behind him, distorting the surrounding space and muddying it. The terrifying power within the Evil Energy made even those who had fled more than a thousand yards from the city tremble. Moreover, the two Faux Saint Slayers had flown to flank the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, while the 30-plus Evil Dark Dragons had surrounded it, thoroughly sealing off all of Zero Wings escape routes. The fleeing players gasped at this scene. With such a force under Saints Hands command, the Guild could take on even an empire! Dammit! I thought Saints Hand was going to suffer this time, but it seems I miscalculated! Zero Wing has always relied on Black Flame to survive. Now, it seems Zero Wing has finally met its match. If this situation isnt handled properly, apart from Black Flame, the other Zero Wing members present probably wont leave alive. At this time, even a fool could tell how powerful Saints Hands forces were. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that even an NPC force with a Tier 5 combatant under its command wouldnt dare to offend Saints Hand casually, let alone Zero Wing. Apologize? Shi Feng laughed. Beast Emperor, it seems youre growing senile. Have you forgotten how you died at my hands last time? Youbastard! Shi Fengs words enraged Beast Emperor. However, before Beast Emperor could say anything more, Mana exploded from Shi Fengs body. Immediately, an indescribably heavy pressure descended on the entire Ancient Rock City. World Creation! The next moment, Beast Emperor and the others plummeted to the ground one after another. Even the Tier 4 experts standing on the city walls found themselves on one knee under the strong pressure. Chapter 2876 - Shock! Chapter 2876 C Shock! Impossible! Every player inside Ancient Rock City nearly had their eyes fall out of their sockets when they saw Beast Emperor and the other Tier 45 plummeting to the ground. Even the Zero Wing members present were stunned. This scene thoroughly exceeded their imagination. In the current Gods Domain, Tier 4 players were already considered peak combatants and displayed a Guilds foundation. Yet, under Shi Fengs Mana Domain, Beast Emperor and the other Tier 4 combatants on his side could exhibit only 20% or so of their usual combat power. They even lost their ability to fly and manipulate ambient Mana. In the blink of an eye, these existences that originally stood at the peak of Gods Domain had become no different from Tier 3 players. At this time, let alone a Tier 5 player like Shi Feng, even Tier 4 experts could slaughter Ancient Rock Citys defenders. This is the strength of Tier 5s? When the players who had evacuated Ancient Rock City looked at Shi Feng hovering proudly above the city, an indescribable sense of shock and horror filled their hearts. As veteran players of Gods Domain, they knew that a significant difference existed between tiers. They also knew that a Tier 5 player undoubtedly stood at the apex of all players in the current Gods Domain. However, only after witnessing the power of a Tier 5 player did they understand how large the gap between Tier 4 and Tier 5 was. In front of a Tier 5 existence, Tier 4 players would only be making fools of themselves if they tried to win by zerg tactics! The Tier 4 monsters among Ancient Rock Citys defenders, though, werent as badly off as the Tier 4 players. Because monsters mainly relied on their Basic Attributes and rarely manipulated the ambient Mana to do combat, their penalty was not as large as the Tier 4 players. Regardless, the Mythic ranked Evil Dark Dragons still had their combat power reduced by half, whereas the Superior Mythic ranked Faux Saint Slayers had theirs reduced by 30%. Moreover, all of them lost their ability to fly. Against Tier 4 players capable of flight, they would be at a significant disadvantage. Unlike everyone else, Shi Feng wasnt surprised at the scene before him. Everyone failed to understand that his Mana Domain was different from the average Mana Domain. Existences at the World Creation standard could create a small world within their Mana Domains. The power of such a Mana Domain was on an entirely different level compared to the average Mana Domain. Even a Tier 5 existence would be at a disadvantage if they got caught within a Tier 5 World Creation experts Mana Domain without any countermeasures, let alone Tier 4 players and monsters. Meanwhile, after experiencing this unexpected turn of events, a hint of fear had surfaced in Beast Emperors eyes. Despite this situation, he still sneered, Black Flame, dont get too delighted just yet. Dont forget that this is Ancient Rock City! As soon as Beast Emperor finished speaking, an enormous, threefold magic array manifested from the City Lords Mansion. After the magic array gathered Mana from the surroundings for a brief moment, it released pulses of Mana that enveloped the city. Immediately, the city defenders felt the heavy pressure on their bodies disappear. Now, although Shi Fengs Mana Domain still subjected everyone to a certain degree of suppression, their combat power had recovered to 80% of their usual. More importantly, they had also regained their ability to fly. Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he looked at the barrier enveloping Ancient Rock City. What a powerful barrier. It seems youve invested quite a lot into this city. His Mana Domain could render even Master Magic Barriers useless. One would need to use at least a Grandmaster Magic Barrier to contend with his Mana Domain. Meanwhile, Grandmaster Magic Arrays were incredibly rare in Gods Domain, let alone a Grandmaster Magic Array that could cover an entire city. The value of every set of scrolls for such a magic array could rival that of Fragmented Legendary items. Black Flame! Do you think youre the only one with the means to defend cities? Looking at Shi Feng, Beast Emperor sneered, This is an Ancient Grandmaster Magic Array! Although Ancient Rock City hasnt reached the Main City level yet, it is no weaker than a Main City in terms of defense! Although youre Tier 5, dont even think about taking down Ancient Rock City! A Main Citys defensive magic array was wholly capable of withstanding Tier 5 attacks. So long as the magic array had a constant energy supply, even Tier 5 existences shouldnt think of penetrating it. Meanwhile, exhausting the energy supply of a Main Citys defensive magic array wasnt something just one Tier 5 existence could accomplish. One would need several Tier 5 individuals or siege weapons with Tier 5 destructive power to do so. However, Zero Wing only had one Tier 5 combatant now. In other words, breaking through Ancient Rock Citys defensive barrier would be nothing but a pipe dream! When Beast Emperor finished speaking, the members of the various powers in Ancient Rock City sighed in relief. They then looked at Shi Feng with sneers on their faces. Black Flame, so what if youre Tier 5? Thats right! What can you do by yourself?! When Shi Feng had extended his Mana Domain before, everyone within Ancient Rock City had felt strong pressure overwhelming them. Saints Hands Tier 4 experts were no exception. However, now that Ancient Rock City had deployed its defensive magic array, even a Tier 5 player like Shi Feng would be helpless against them. Next, all they needed to do was fight a war of attrition, something they did not fear in the slightest. After all, Ancient Rock City had accumulated a massive stockpile of Magic Crystals from the sales of Sacred Heart Amulets. Not to mention, the Outerworlds NPC forces would soon begin the second war against the eastern continents native forces. And in this upcoming war, the Outerworld forces would set Zero Wing as their primary target. Zero Wing couldnt afford a war of attrition with Ancient Rock City at all! The longer it fought, the worse off it would be in the upcoming war! Guild Leader, lets attack the barrier together! I want to see how long it can last against our combined attacks! Fire Dance said, gnashing her teeth as she looked at Ancient Rock Citys arrogant residents. Thats right! If its Spells with Tier 5 power, I can use a few as well! I refuse to believe we cant break this barrier! Zhao Yueru said, nodding in agreement with Fire Dance. For other Tier 4 players, exhibiting Tier 5 power would indeed be a challenging task. However, her Frostflames Wrath was a top-tier Fragmented Legendary Weapon. With it, the fire- and ice-type Tier 4 Spells she cast could exhibit Tier 5 power. No, that wont be necessary, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Zhao Yueru was a bona fide mobile turret. If he hadnt gotten promoted to Tier 5, she would rank at the very top of Zero Wing in terms of firepower. However, besieging a city was different from attacking monsters. The defenders inside the city could launch attacks to counter Zhao Yuerus Spells. The defenders could even target her directly, preventing her from casting her Spells altogether. This would drastically reduce Zhao Yuerus ability to damage the defensive magic array. Having only the occasional Tier 5 attack land on the defensive magic array would yield hardly any effect. But we cant just sit still and do nothing, right? Zhao Yueru said in annoyance. Although she knew that she couldnt contribute much, it was still better than nothing. Moreover, if they allowed Saints Hand to continue behaving so arrogantly, it would deal a massive blow to Zero Wings morale. After all, Zero Wing had already declared to the public that it would capture Ancient Rock City. Currently, everyone was watching this fight; the various powers absent from this battlefield were no exception. They were all observing every detail of the battlefield and tensely awaiting the outcome of this siege. If Zero Wing won, then the various superpowers would no longer dare entertain thoughts of resisting Zero Wing on the eastern continent. However, if Zero Wing returned foiled, many superpowers would begin having designs on Zero Wing. They might even ally with Saints Hand to deal with Zero Wing. Of course not, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Im merely saying that you dont need to take action. All you need to do is watch. Just watch? Zhao Yueru looked at Shi Feng in confusion. The Guild City in front of them rivaled a Main City. How could they possibly capture it just by looking at it? The other Zero Wing members present were also confused, failing to understand what was going through their Guild Leaders mind. However, Shi Feng did not bother explaining himself. Instead, he flew to an altitude several hundred meters above Ancient Rock City and began chanting an incantation, his chanting causing the surrounding Mana to swarm toward him. Upon seeing Shi Fengs actions, Ancient Rock Citys defenders laughed. Are you trying to use a Tier 5 large-scale destruction Spell? Beast Emperor sneered as he looked at Shi Feng. This is nothing but a futile struggle! Let alone a Tier 5 Sword Saint like yourself, even a Tier 5 Divine Mage cant do anything against Ancient Rock Citys defensive magic array! Everyone, prepare for battle! Target the Flying Ship! Beast Emperor ignored Shi Fengs attack, as there was no way weakened Tier 4 attacks could do anything against Shi Feng. However, it was a different story for the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. The Flying Ship wouldnt last long before a barrage of Tier 4 attacks. It would fall quickly even if Zero Wings Tier 4 experts defended it. The many Tier 4 magical classes atop the city walls promptly began casting their respective Spells, while the other Tier 4 ranged classes launched attacks at the Flying Ship. The 30-plus Evil Dark Dragons took to the skies and bombarded the Flying Ship. The Zero Wing members aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship felt an invisible pressure weighing down their bodies. Upon seeing the oncoming attacks, Fire Dance yelled hurriedly, Magical classes, deploy defensive magic arrays! Even a Tier 5 Legendary monster would suffer if it tried to take on the attacks of more than a hundred Tier 4 individuals, let alone Tier 4 players like themselves. Moreover, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship only had Tier 4 combat power. However, just as the two sides were about to clash, Shi Feng finished his incantations final verse. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a spatial tear spanning over a thousand yards appeared above Ancient Rock City. The spatial tear made it seem as if the sky was about to collapse, inevitably drawing everyones attention. What is Black Flame trying to do? Questions filled everyones mind as they gazed at the gigantic spatial tear. Simultaneously, everyone felt an inexplicable chill overwhelm their heart. They could sense something terrifying in the spatial tear, and this feeling made even their souls shudder with dread. Before anyone could say anything more, a gigantic claw the size of a four-story building extended from the spatial tear. Subsequently, a titanic figure gradually emerged from the spatial tear, blotting out the sky completely. When everyone eventually discerned the identity of this figure, they were dumbfounded. A Dragon?! Chapter 2877 - Divine Dragon’s Might! Chapter 2877 C Divine Dragons Might! A Tier 4 Dragon?! Its a real Tier 4 Dragon! Any veteran of Gods Domain would have heard of the creatures known as Dragons. Ancient Rock Citys inhabitants, who were at Tier 3 on average, had an even better understanding of Dragons. However, when everyone in Ancient Rock City saw the Dragon in the sky, they finally understood how terrifying Dragons were. The Tier 4 Dragon that had just appeared above Ancient Rock City was around 500 meters long, its massive body blotting out the sun. Its aura covered a radius of several thousand yards, making every Tier 3 player in that area shudder involuntarily. Compared to the Tier 4 Evil Dark Dragons protecting Ancient Rock City, this Tier 4 Dragon was akin to a God. This is a fake! This must be a fake! How can a player summon a real Tier 4 Dragon?! The various powers experts standing atop the city walls revealed expressions of shock and horror. A Tier 4 Dragon rivaled Tier 5 existences. Current Tier 4 players couldnt afford to provoke it. Likewise, it shouldnt be something players could control. Nevertheless, Shi Feng had summoned a Tier 4 Dragon. How could they believe this? This situation was even more unbelievable and shocking than Shi Fengs promotion to Tier 5. After all, given enough time, a Dragon would reach Tier 5 without fail. Meanwhile, a Tier 5 Dragon was practically an invincible existence in Gods Domain! Everyone, dont panic! While a Tier 4 Dragon is scary, Ancient Rock Citys defensive magic array isnt weak, either! Saints Hearts Guild Leader, Furious Fist, shouted hurriedly when he saw the panicked defenders. Its just one more Tier 5 combatant! So long as we combine our strengths, Black Flame will still be helpless against us! Furious Fists words calmed Ancient Rock Citys experts somewhat. When they remembered how extraordinary the citys defensive magic array was, they felt that defending against Zero Wings assault wouldnt be impossible. However, regardless of this battles outcome, most likely nobody in Gods Domain would dare provoke Zero Wing anymore. Zero Wing would also officially become Gods Domains number one Guild. After all, which player force in Gods Domain could contend against the combination of a Tier 5 player and a Tier 4 Dragon? At this time, some of the Dark Guilds based in Ancient Rock City started regretting making an enemy of Zero Wing. While they might escape tragedy today, thanks to Ancient Rock City, what about the future? They couldnt possibly hide in Ancient Rock City forever, right? While the various Dark Guilds regretted their decisions, Thousand Miless complexion turned indescribably ashen as he looked at the Dragon in the sky. Noticing Thousand Miless pallidness, Furious Fist asked, Vice Guild Leader Miles, whats wrong? Is there a problem with that Dragon? No matter how many times Furious Fist inspected the Dragon hovering in the sky with his ordinary Identification Skill, the result said this Dragon was the real deal. Moreover, there was no doubt that the Dragon was Tier 4, and it had reached Level 165. However, he couldnt get any further information on the Dragon without a higher-ranking Identification Skill. As a Vice Guild Leader of Miracle, Thousand Miles should have a high-ranking Identification Skill, so it wouldnt be strange if he managed to see some more information. A look of despair appeared on Thousand Miless face as he said, Thats not just a Dragon Thats a Divine Dragon! A Silver Divine Dragon! Divine Dragon? Furious Fist was stunned. Glaring at Thousand Miles, he demanded, Brother Miles, youre not joking with me, right? If you are, this joke isnt funny at all. Divine Dragons were kings among the Dragon race. An ordinary Dragon and a Divine Dragon were as different as an ordinary monster and an Archaic Species. The two were completely different creations. Turning to Furious Fist, Thousand Miles smiled wryly and said, I wish that were the case, but do you think Im joking? Thousand Miles regretted using his high-ranking Identification Skill on the Dragon. Had he not probed any further, he wouldve held some hope for victory in his heart. Now, though, no such hope existed. Meanwhile, when the players who had fled Ancient Rock City gazed at the distant Silver Divine Dragon, they were flabbergasted for a long time. Is this why Zero Wing was confident in attacking Ancient Rock City? A Divine Dragon!? I must be dreaming! Thats right! This must be a dream! I just reached Tier 4, so how could Black Flame have reached Tier 5 and gained control over a Divine Dragon already?! This is a dream! Many people began deluding themselves as they looked at the Silver Divine Dragon, none of them willing to face reality. However, Beast Emperor, who stood atop the city gate, had no plans of giving up. Glaring at the Divine Dragon in the sky, he ranted with a maniacal expression, Black Flame! So what if you have a Divine Dragon?! My Ancient Grandmaster Magic Array can stop it! The Silver Divine Dragon in the sky suddenly opened its maw before Beast Emperor could continue. The next instant, all Mana within a 10,000-yard radius vanished, and everyone within this area felt indescribably stifled. Roar! Accompanied by a deafening roar, a beam of divine light devoured the entire Ancient Rock City. Divine Dragons Breath! When the dazzling divine light descended upon Ancient Rock City, it forced all players within a radius of several tens of thousands of yards to shield their eyes. The divine light gradually faded away, and only then did everyone open their eyes again to inspect the breath attacks effect. This How Impossible! When the players standing several thousand yards from Ancient Rock City saw the city again, they were utterly dumbfounded. The Divine Dragons Breath didnt just shatter Ancient Rock Citys defensive magic array. It had even vaporized the towering City Lords Mansion at the center of the city-along with almost every player and building in the city. Taking their place was a massive crater that spanned the entire city. Only the Tier 4 experts on the city walls who managed to activate their Lifesaving Skills in time and the two Faux Saint Slayers had survived the attack. Everything inside Ancient Rock Citys perimeter wall had been reduced to a wasteland. No! No! This isnt possible! Beast Emperor fell into chaos and madness as he looked at what remained of his city. And he wasnt alone. Furious Fists mind also stopped working at this cataclysmic scene, his body crumbling powerlessly to the ground. cr All of the investments weve made! All of the forces weve gathered! Gone! As if they were nothing but a joke! Thousand Miles, who had also survived the ordeal, was rendered speechless for a long time. One attack! It had taken just one attack for Ancient Rock City, a city rivaling Main Cities, to disappear! Who could believe this? Zero Wings members aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship were similarly stunned by this scene. This was especially true for Ji Luorong and Crimson Mask, who had been active on the western continent until recently. An indescribable sense of shock filled the two. The western continent had legends describing the Dragons devastating power and how a single breath attack could destroy entire cities. There were also stories of kingdoms meeting their end because they had angered a Dragon. Previously, Ji Luorong and Crimson Mask treated these stories as mere folklore. Now, they finally understood that those stories werent just legends to embellish Gods Domain but facts! In reality, even Shi Feng was shocked by this outcome. This is the power of a Divine Dragon? When Shi Feng saw the ruin before him and Auerbecks nonchalant demeanor, he was momentarily at a loss for words. Shi Feng had seen Tier 6 God-ranked experts single-handedly destroy cities in the past. However, compared to the power displayed by those Tier 6 God-ranked experts, Auerbecks performance gave Shi Feng a much greater shock. This was because Auerbeck was only at Tier 4! Originally, Shi Feng thought that Auerbecks breath attack would, at most, deplete a significant portion of the defensive magic arrays energy. Yet, the entire city had disappeared. He couldnt help looking at the crazed Beast Emperor apologetically. He even wanted to tell Beast Emperor that he hadnt done this on purpose. Of course, while Shi Feng pitied Beast Emperor, he did not show the latter any mercy. Unsheathing the Abyssal Blade, he activated the Tier 4 Darkness Bind, binding Beast Emperor and the other surviving defenders. Now that Ancient Rock Citys defensive magic array was no more, Beast Emperor and the others were subject to the full power of Shi Fengs Mana Domain. Without the ability to manipulate the ambient Mana, Beast Emperor and the others were basically Tier 3 players with above-average Basic Attributes. Hence, they were utterly incapable of resisting Shi Feng and got caught easily. And under the restraint of Darkness Bind, they couldnt die even if they wanted to. After Shi Feng destroyed Ancient Rock City and captured Beast Emperor and the others, news of this battle spread like wildfire across the entire Gods Domain. Chapter 2878 - Ancient Rock City’s Secret Chapter 2878 C Ancient Rock Citys Secret Fire Dragon Empire, Flame Dragon City, Mythologys Residence: A Tier 3 Ranger barged into the meeting room occupied by Mythologys executives, earning the dissatisfaction of Situ Qingtian and the others in the room. Looking at the Ranger, Situ Qingtian asked in a displeased tone, Did something happen? Its news of Zero Wing! the Ranger said hurriedly. According to your orders, weve kept tabs on Zero Wing. However, just a moment ago, Zero Wingdestroyed Ancient Rock City! Upon hearing the Rangers words, Cold Shadow responded dubiously, Impossible! Its only been around ten minutes since Zero Wing arrived at Ancient Rock City! Even if Black Flame is Tier 5, they cant possibly capture the city so quickly! Ancient Rock City was Beast Emperors base, and the man had long since armed the city to the teeth. Beast Emperor also had the Evil Gods Temples backing, a powerful existence capable of going against the War Gods Temple. Although Shi Feng was a Tier 5 player, capturing Ancient Rock City should be tough. No! Vice Guild Leader, Zero Wing didnt capture Ancient Rock City! It razed the entire city in one blow! Ancient Rock City is now a ruin! the Ranger countered, shaking his head. He then took out a Magic Crystal Recorder and placed it on the meeting table. This is the battle video we received. Immediately, the Magic Crystal Recorder projected the image of a Dragon. With just one breath attack, this Dragon leveled the entire Ancient Rock City, leaving nothing unscathed. A Tier 4 Divine Dragon! It managed to destroy the entire Ancient Rock City in one hit? Deathly silence enveloped the meeting room momentarily as Mythologys executives stared at the video projection with gloomy expressions. Shock and fear also surfaced in their eyes. Their astonishment was so obvious that even the reporting Tier 3 Ranger could sense it. No wonder No wonder he dared refuse our two Guilds partnership So this is the reason for his confidence Cold Shadow looked at the Tier 4 Divine Dragon and the ruined Ancient Rock City in the video with complicated feelings. Shi Feng had been a minor character unworthy of her attention in the past when Zero Wing was a Guild reliant on external items to defend its territories. Yet, both Shi Feng and Zero Wing were now bona fide titans that even Mythology could not and would not dare to offend. What was even more laughable was that just a moment ago, Mythologys executives had been discussing how to take revenge on Zero Wing in secret. Now, however Black Flame! I indeed underestimated you before! Situ Qingtians gaze grew cold as he looked at the video projection. Repressing the reluctance in his heart, he uttered slowly, Temporarily halt all retaliation against Zero Wing we discussed before! Practically every superpower in Gods Domain had heard about Shi Feng killing Situ Qingtian in Zero Wing City. As a result, Situ Qingtians reputation had taken a nosedive. Although Situ Qingtian yearned to take revenge on Zero Wing, he knew full well that doing so right now would be no different from suicide. With the combined strength of a Tier 5 player and such a frightening Divine Dragon, Zero Wing could destroy every Guild City in Gods Domain. Dammit! Are we going to let Zero Wing go, just like that? a Mythology executive complained in a hate-filled voice. Situ Qingtian shook his head. Looking at Shi Fengs projected image, he sneered, Of course not! There is only one thing we need to do now, and that is wait! We wait until the start of the second war! Even if Zero Wing has Black Flame and that Divine Dragon, it still cant stop the Outerworlds advance! Also, start searching ancient ruins for clues to the Tier 5 promotion! Spare no cost at all! We must have our own Tier 5! Although Situ Qingtian did not wish to admit it, the era of Tier 4 was already over. Tier 5 players would rule the future. If Mythology did not have its own Tier 5 player, its position as one of the Five Great Super Guilds would be in danger. Shortly after Situ Qingtian issued his command, the other superpowers of Gods Domain also issued similar commands. They frantically searched ancient ruins for clues to help their Tier 4 experts get promoted to Tier 5 as quickly as possible while quietly awaiting the arrival of the second War of Worlds. Meanwhile, inside the Orc Empires Ancient Rock City, Fire Dance and the other Tier 4 experts of Zero Wing finally killed the two surviving Faux Saint Slayers. The deaths of the two Superior Mythic monsters granted everyone a generous amount of EXP, and they all managed to gain at least one level. However, compared to the EXP the Faux Saint Slayers contributed, Shi Feng was more interested in the pitch-black stones the two monsters dropped after death. Previously, whenever players killed Mythic ranked Faux Saint monsters, the player who landed the finishing blow would have a dark-gray mist invade their body. This gray mist would increase the players affinity with Mana for a lengthy period. This was also why Shi Feng had not taken action against the Faux Saint Slayers and had instead allowed Fire Dance and the others to kill the two monsters. Yet, the two Slayers did not release any mist from their bodies. Instead, they each dropped a fist-sized stone. What dense Soul Energy! Shi Feng was surprised when he spread his senses across the two black stones. When his Concentration had reached Tier 5, his soul had also undergone a qualitative improvement. It was akin to his soul liquefying. However, compared to the Soul Energy in the pitch-black stone, his Soul Energy was nothing. After all, these two stones were solidified Soul Energy. Guild Leader, are those things useful? Cola asked curiously as he looked at the black stones in Shi Fengs hands. More than that! Smiling, Shi Feng said to Zero Wings members, Theyre even better than Fragmented Legendary items! Is there anyone here with Concentration at the Tier 4 Peak standard? After Zero Wings members exchanged glances, only Violet Cloud stepped forward. Guild Leader, my Concentration reached the Tier 4 Peak standard recently. However, the two Vice Guild Leaders shouldve reached this standard too. Good! Take this soul stone. Afterward, find a quiet place and eat it. It should increase your Concentration standard. If youre lucky, you might even raise it to Tier 5, Shi Feng said as he handed one of the black stones to Violet Cloud. He then said to the others, If anyone else manages to reach the Tier 4 Peak standard, you can get this soul stone from me. The other Zero Wing members nodded their heads, none of them objecting to Shi Fengs method of distribution. However, when Beast Emperor, who was restrained in a corner, saw Shi Fengs actions, he dearly wanted to strangle Shi Feng to death. Shi Feng was actually treating the two Faux Saint Slayers cores as a snack and letting others eat them. This was simply outrageous! He had fed the two Faux Saint Slayers the souls of tens of thousands of Tier 3 players to transform their cores into a Soul Core. So long as he had a Soul Core, he could create another Faux Saint Slayer. Yet, Violet Cloud received one of these Soul Cores as a snack. Black Flame! Youll pay for this! Beast Emperor bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng. It doesnt matter even if you caught me! The Evil Gods Temples rise is already a foregone conclusion! At that time, the Faux Saint army will devour everyone from Zero Wing! Foregone conclusion? Shi Feng laughed. Looking at the restrained Beast Emperor, he pointed at the ruined Saints Hand Residence in the distance and asked, Are you talking about that secret land beneath your Guild Residence? I-I dont know what youre talking about! Beast Emperor stammered in a panic. No need to pretend. Do you think Tier 5 is a joke? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Beast Emperor. While Ancient Rock Citys defensive magic array was still active, Shi Feng hadnt been able to sense the secret lands existence. However, with the defensive magic array gone, nothing in Ancient Rock City could hide from his Tier 5 World Creation Mana Domain. Moreover, Shi Feng had already been suspicious about how Beast Emperor had managed to develop Ancient Rock City to its current level. Zero Wing had poured an astronomical amount of resources into developing Stone Forest City and Zero Wing City. Yet, the two cities were still stuck as Intermediate Cities, far from becoming Advanced Cities. So, how did Ancient Rock City develop into an Advanced City that was close to becoming a Main City? Only a fool wouldnt suspect there was a secret behind this achievement! Black Flame! Beast Emperor was momentarily enraged at Shi Fengs ridicule. However, he soon calmed down and said, So what if youve discovered the Evil Gods Secret Land? Do you think you can defend it? Even if youve captured me, I will still spread this information to the entire Gods Domain! At that time, even the Outerworld forces will be drawn here! Do you think you can stop all of them? The Evil Gods Secret Land was originally his biggest secret and something he had invested heavily in. This secret land was also why he had gained his current power. Although the Evil Gods Secret Land would be of significantly less help to those not belonging to the Evil Gods Temple, the benefits were still enough to drive everyone in Gods Domain wild. How would I know if I dont try? Suddenly, Shi Feng executed a slash at Furious Fist, instantly killing him. As Furious Fist collapsed reluctantly to the ground and transformed into countless particles of light, two items appeared in his place. Of the two items Furious Fist dropped, one was a piece of Epic Equipment, while the other was a token. You! Beast Emperors complexion paled when he saw the token. This token was none other than Ancient Rock Citys City Lords Token. With this token, one could take control of Ancient Rock City. Only, Beast Emperor couldnt figure out how Shi Feng knew Furious Fist had held the City Lords Token. It seems my luck is good. Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the City Lords Token. It dropped on the first kill. Beast Emperor nearly fainted when he heard Shi Fengs words. What Beast Emperor didnt know was that aside from Beast Emperor, everyone else held no value as prisoners in Shi Fengs opinion. Meanwhile, the City Lords Token couldnt be taken out of the city. Otherwise, it would be automatically teleported back to the City Lords Mansion after some time. And with how precious the City Lords Token was, Beast Emperor naturally wouldnt leave it to just anyone. The person holding the token would have to be a Tier 4 Guild executive of Saints Hand at the very least. Hence, if Furious Fist hadnt dropped the City Lords Token, Shi Feng would have killed Saints Hands Tier 4 experts one by one until it dropped. The instant Shi Feng picked up the City Lords Token, a system notification rang in his ears. Chapter 2879 - – Colossal Wealth Chapter 2879 C Colossal Wealth System: Congratulations! You have obtained Ancient Rock Citys City Lords Token. Do you wish to bind the token? Once bound, you will become Ancient Rock Citys ruler and obtain full authority over the city. Shi Feng chose to bind the token without hesitation. System: Binding in progress. You will have full authority over Ancient Rock City after four hours. You should not move beyond 1,000 yards from the city during these four hours. If you leave this area or get killed during this time, the binding process will be canceled, and you may not make another binding attempt for one natural day. ces Four hours? Shi Feng was a little surprised by the notification. Has it reached the Main City standard already? When one tried to bind the City Lords Token of a Guild City, the binding time would depend on the citys rank. Main City-level Guild Cities normally took four to six hours to bind. Guild Leader, did something happen? Fire Dance asked when she saw Shi Fengs strange expression. Its nothing. I just didnt expect Ancient Rock City to be this special, Shi Feng said, glancing at the raging Beast Emperor. Smiling, he continued, Since we have to wait for four hours, lets pay that Evil Gods Secret Land a visit. Black Flame, dont get too delighted just yet! Its useless even if youve obtained Ancient Rock City! That secret land isnt a place you can touch! Without my means of entering, you cant obtain anything inside that secret land! Beast Emperor sneered. Ill spread the secret lands entry methods to all your enemies and even those Outerworld people! At that time, you can only watch as they take all of the secret lands treasures right before your eyes! Zero Wing could indeed better defend itself after acquiring Ancient Rock City. However, Beast Emperor also knew very well that the Outerworld forces had already deemed Zero Wing an eyesore. Once the Outerworlds army arrived, neither Star-Moon Kingdom nor the Orc Empire would survive. At that time, the Outerworld forces would snatch the Evil Gods Secret Land from Shi Feng, and Shi Feng would be helpless to resist them. However, Shi Feng ignored Beast Emperor and led Zero Wings members to Saints Hands Residence. Although Ancient Rock City was now in ruins and Saints Hands Residence had been leveled, the Guild Warehouse was situated on the first underground floor, so Saints Hands Guild Warehouse remained intact. After Shi Fengs group took care of the one Tier 4 NPC and several Tier 3 NPCs guarding the Warehouse, they gained full access to it. Everyone from Zero Wing salivated when they stepped into Saints Hands Guild Warehouse. The Warehouse, which was the size of two sports stadiums, was packed with all sorts of items. Gold Coins covered the floor, and Magic Crystals formed numerous mounds. At a glance, they estimated it held at least three million Gold Coins and four million Magic Crystals. This stockpile of Magic Crystals was only slightly inferior to Zero Wings. Were rich! Guild Leader, were rich! Fire Dance exclaimed in excitement as she looked around the Warehouse. With all these Coins and Magic Crystals, we wont have to worry about upgrading the buildings of our cities anymore! Zero Wing Citys public opening had indeed generated a lot of additional income. Unfortunately, the Guilds expenditure still exceeded that amount. This was because Zero Wing Citys public opening necessitated an increase in the citys security. The city had to recruit many NPC soldiers to fill as many of the 30,000 slots as possible. While Zero Wing could skim on the benefits provided to the hired soldiers by virtue of Zero Wing City being a Main City, the cost of employing Level 150-plus, Tier 3 NPCs was still high. With everything taken into account, maintaining a Tier 3 NPC cost five Gold Coins. If Zero Wing City filled all 30,000 of its soldier slots with Tier 3 NPCs, the NPC soldiers daily upkeep alone would total 150,000 Gold! Moreover, this still did not include the NPCs weapons and equipment or the maintenance cost for the Tier 4 NPCs hired. Simply put, Zero Wings daily expenditure had skyrocketed after Zero Wing Citys public opening. At this time, the Guilds stockpile of Coins was close to empty. Fortunately, thanks to Saints Hands contribution, Zero Wings Warehouse would soon be rich again. Seeing Fire Dances joy, Shi Feng chose to hide the fact that Ancient Rock Citys reconstruction would probably eat up all of this money. Zero Wing might even need to provide additional funds. Guild Leader, come here quick! There are Seven Luminaries Crystals here! Blackie said after opening a chest as tall as he was. With glittering eyes, he continued, There are at least 50,000 units here! Thats even more than what we have! Before Shi Feng left for the western continent, he had tasked Blackie with acquiring as many Seven Luminaries Crystals as possible. Hence, Blackie placed particular importance on the crystals. However, Zero Wings Warehouse currently had only around 30,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal despite his efforts. And if it werent for Zero Wing having a monopoly over the Arctic Canyon, this amount would be even lower. Yet, Saints Hands Warehouse had more than 50,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Thats nothing! Blackie, come over to my spot! Ill let you know what real wealth is! shouted Cola, who stood in another corner of the Warehouse, as he pointed at the several hill-sized chests beside him. All of these chests here are full of Epic materials or above! From what I can tell, there are at least 300,000 Epic materials, 20,000 Inferior Legendary materials, and 3,000 Legendary materials! Everyone, including Shi Feng, was stunned when they heard Colas words. This was on the level of a kingdoms treasury! Ordinary kingdoms might not even reach this standard. Only high-ranking kingdoms would have so many rare materials. However, upon hearing Colas words, Beast Emperor, who had been dragged along to the Warehouse, turned livid, his eyes becoming bloodshot. He had accumulated these materials by ransacking multiple kingdoms with the Faux Saint army and destroying numerous NPC cities. Yet, all his efforts had ended up benefiting Zero Wing. Afterward, Shi Feng tasked Blackie with sweeping through the Warehouse and transporting everything back to the Guild Warehouse in Zero Wing City. He then brought Fire Dance and the others to a secret room on the second underground floor. The secret room was only the size of a basketball court, with a pitch-black door in the middle of it. Upon entering the room, Fire Dance and the others felt an incomparably powerful pressure enveloping their bodies. Fire Dance had unlocked her Mana Body beyond the 110% Completion Rate already, yet even she had difficulty walking inside the secret room. After three steps, the pressure was so strong that she couldnt move her body. If an ordinary Tier 4 player were to enter this room, they would most likely crumple to the floor, unable to advance even a single step. Hahaha! I already said that you people would never be able to touch the Evil Gods Secret Land! Beast Emperor laughed when he saw Fire Dance and the others immobilized. He then looked at Shi Feng and taunted, Black Flame, its the same even if youre Tier 5! Without my special method, none of you should think of entering! Beast Emperor had reached the peak of Tier 4 already. He also had the benefit of being an Evil God worshipper. Nevertheless, he still struggled to enter the Evil Gods Secret Land. This was why Beast Emperor was confident that Shi Feng would be helpless against the Evil Gods Secret Land even though he had discovered its existence. Is that so? Shi Feng stepped into the secret room after glancing at the laughing Beast Emperor. Chapter 2880 - God Mode Secret Land Chapter 2880 C God Mode Secret Land What bold words! I want to see just how far you can go! Beast Emperor watched with ridicule and complacency as Shi Feng entered the secret room. He was fully confident that the Evil Gods Secret Land would repel Shi Feng. However, after Shi Feng entered the room One step Two steps Three steps Apparently unhindered by the oppression the pitch-black door exerted, Shi Feng advanced 20 steps without stopping. He showed no signs of discomfort whatsoever. It was as if the pressure that rendered even experts at the peak of Tier 4 helpless was nothing to him. ??? Confusion flooded Beast Emperors heart as he looked at Shi Feng. Whats going on? When Shi Feng arrived before the pitch-black door, let alone Beast Emperor, even Fire Dance and the others were stunned. How did you do it, Guild Leader? Fire Dance asked, unable to contain her curiosity. The intensity of the pressure she felt from the secret room was unprecedented. Even the Divine Might she experienced in Lightforged City could not compare. After taking three steps into the room, she could no longer advance by even another inch. She couldnt even lift her feet. While Tier 5 players were indeed stronger than Tier 4 players, the disparity shouldnt be so significant. Logically, there was no way Shi Feng would remain unaffected by the rooms oppression. At Fire Dances question, the other Zero Wing members also looked at Shi Feng curiously. How did I do it? Seeing everyones curious expressions, Shi Feng smiled faintly and said, I just walked here, of course. However, I did use a little technique. Technique? The Zero Wing members were momentarily stunned. They hadnt seen anything peculiar about Shi Fengs gait. He had merely walked to the door in a normal fashion. Moreover, how could a technique completely mitigate such terrifying pressure? However, when Beast Emperor heard Shi Fengs words, he stared at the latter as if he had just seen a ghost. No! Impossible! Who are you?! How can you know such a technique?! There was indeed a trick to approaching the pitch-black door. However, Beast Emperor had never told anyone this trick. He was the only player in Gods Domain who knew it. Moreover, even if one knew the trick, one still couldnt approach the door without the Evil Gods blessing. Shi Feng couldnt help rolling his eyes at Beast Emperor. The technique required to approach this door is indeed complicated, but do you think the fundamental technique to manipulate the various elements of Mana is unique to the Evil Gods Temple? When Shi Feng saw the pitch-black door and the hurdle Fire Dance and the others faced after entering the secret room, he quickly noticed a similarity between the secret room and the Dragon Temples trial area. In the Dragon Temples trial, players had to construct a bridge using Manas various elements. The secret room, on the other hand, was filled with chaotic Mana. The closer to the pitch-black door, the more chaotic the ambient Mana was. What players needed to do was return this chaotic Mana to its original state. Only by doing so could players approach the door. Simply put, both places tested players usage of the various elements of Mana. For Shi Feng, who had already mastered the basic usage of the various elements of Mana, approaching the pitch-black door was a walk in the park. It was much easier than the trial in the Dragon Temple, which had required him to expend a lot of Concentration and manipulate a significant amount of Mana. The secret room, on the other hand, did not put a burden on his Concentration or require him to manipulate a lot of Mana. The secret land aside, this room is quite a good training spot for those seeking to learn the basic usage of the various elements of Mana. Scrutinizing the secret room, Shi Feng said happily, I was worrying about how to help everyone accomplish this, so this saves me a lot of time. It wasnt easy to learn to manipulate the various elements of Mana independently. Even if he provided Zero Wings members with an explanation, the learning process would be highly inefficient without a reference. They could be taking a dead end for all they knew. The secret room just so happened to provide players with an environment for testing their application of the various elements of Mana. It was undoubtedly a precious training ground. One would also have an easier time getting promoted to Tier 5 if they trained here, as having the ability to manipulate the individual elements of Mana was crucial in constructing a Tier 5 Mana Body. When Beast Emperor heard Shi Fengs words, he promptly fainted. Ignoring the unconscious Beast Emperor, Shi Feng set his sights on the pitch-black door. The door was five meters tall and two meters wide, made of a material Shi Feng didnt recognize. When he opened the door, a pitch-black whirlpool greeted him. The vortex exuded Divine Might, and players at Tier 4 or below shouldnt even think of setting foot into this whirlpool. After Shi Feng inspected the whirlpool with Omniscient Eyes, a few lines of information appeared before him. (Evil Gods Secret Land] God Mode Secret Land Raid Level 150-200 What a powerful secret land! The displayed information astonished Shi Feng. Now, he understood why Beast Emperor was confident he couldnt obtain the Evil Gods Secret Land. Secret Lands were like Dungeons in Gods Domain. The higher their ranking, the higher their raid difficulty. God Mode was the highest difficulty for secret lands. Unlike Dungeons, though, secret lands would not reset. According to Shi Fengs memories, there were less than ten Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Lands in the entire Gods Domain. Meanwhile, even Tier 6 God-ranked experts could fall in a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land! However, countless player forces would seek to enter a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land. It was also a place all Tier 5 players had to enter. This was because these secret lands held clues to the Tier 6 promotion! Which player who had climbed to Tier 5 wouldnt wish to advance further and reach Tier 6? Hence, Gods Domains various forces would fight over any Level 150-plus, God Mode Secret Land that appeared. It seems Ill now have to defend Ancient Rock City, no matter what. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the Evil Gods Secret Land. Due to the Outerworld forces invasion, he had intended to defend Ancient Rock City only temporarily. After all, Zero Wing had limited combat power. In its current state, just defending the Guild Cities it already had from the Outerworlds player and NPC forces would be difficult. Adding Ancient Rock City to the list would only make things even more difficult for the Guild. However, the Evil Gods Secret Land was extraordinary. Shi Feng mightve ignored it if it were only an Asura Mode Secret Land, but a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land was something he had to protect at all costs. After all, finding another secret land of such caliber wouldnt be easy, even for him. The entrances of Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Lands typically appeared at random locations and existed for only a set period. Thus, none of the superpowers in his previous life had ever managed to occupy a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land. On the other hand, the entrance to the Evil Gods Secret Land in Ancient Rock City was fixed. This increased the entrances value drastically. Moreover, this Evil Gods Secret Land might very well hold the key to Shi Fengs promotion to Tier 6. Following this, Zero Wings logistics members began ransacking Saints Hands Warehouse, while Shi Feng taught Fire Dance and the others the fundamental technique to manipulate Manas various elements. Like so, four hours went by in the blink of an eye, and Shi Feng received a notification. System: Congratulations! You have become Ancient Rock Citys ruler. Do you wish to reconstruct Ancient Rock City? Reconstruct! Shi Feng said in a determined tone. System: A God Mode Secret Land has been discovered. Do you wish to integrate the secret land with Ancient Rock City? Chapter 2881 - – Integration Chapter 2881 C Integration Integrate? Shi Feng grew confused as he read the system notification. This was the first time he had heard of a secret land being integrated with a Guild City. He had seen many player forces constructing Guild Cities on top of precious secret lands in the past. However, even as these Guild Cities developed, they never received any opportunity to merge with these secret lands directly. For a moment, Shi Feng hesitated. The Evil Gods Secret Land was a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land. If he recklessly merged it with Ancient Rock City and the secret land disappeared, he would suffer a huge loss. However, before Shi Feng could ponder things further, he received another system notification. System: It is detected that you have 3,000,000 Magic Crystals and 5,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals on your person. You have fulfilled the conditions to reconstruct Ancient Rock City with the Evil Gods Secret Land as the core. Do you wish to integrate the secret land and upgrade the city? Agree! Shi Feng agreed without hesitation when he heard the contents of the notification. There were several Holy Cities in Gods Domain, and one of these Holy Cities had a God Mode Secret Land as its core. The War Gods Temple had also established its main headquarters in this Holy City. Sanctuary! This sacred place was also why all Tier 5 experts sought to visit the Top of the World. Sanctuary was the sole ancient city in Gods Domain that players had verified to hold clues to the Tier 6 promotion. The city was so old that nobody could ascertain its age in this modern day. Rumor had it that any Tier 4 player that entered Sanctuary had a 100% chance of getting promoted to Tier 5. However, what made Sanctuary amazing wasnt the knowledge it stored. Instead, the Holy City held complete control over a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land. Players that gained sufficient authority in the city-even Tier 3 playerscould enter the secret land. It was different from the God Mode Secret Lands found in the outside world, where the minimum entry requirement was Tier 4 because of the suppression of Divine Might. Although great dangers existed in a God Mode Secret Land, they werent everywhere. Moreover, the environment inside Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Lands was different from the outside world, resembling that of ancient times, the era abounding with Gods. Hence, entering a God Mode Secret Land was an excellent opportunity even for low-tier players. Now that Ancient Rock City could become another Sanctuary, how could Shi Feng possibly turn down this opportunity? After Shi Feng voiced his approval, some of the Magic Crystals and Seven Luminaries Crystals he had acquired from Saints Hands Warehouse vanished from his bag space. Simultaneously, Ancient Rock City shook briefly. Ancient Rock City Region System Announcement: Ancient Rock City will commence with an upgrade. All players within Ancient Rock City will be teleported out of the city in ten minutes. Players within the city are advised to make the necessary preparations. The system announcement echoed three times throughout the region. Subsequently, Shi Feng received a personal system notification. System: Ancient Rock Citys upgrade is estimated to take one natural day. As you hold Ancient Rock Citys City Lords Token, you may not move more than 3,000 yards away from the city. You can also choose to log off and rest. Why is it so long? Shi Feng was rendered speechless by the notification. A Guild Citys upgrade would typically take only several hours. Nevertheless, Ancient Rock City needed one day for its advancement. By the time the city was ready, Beast Emperor wouldve long since spread the Evil Gods Secret Lands information to all of Gods Domain. And worse, Ancient Rock City would be at its weakest after the reconstruction and upgrade process. Before the systems first major update, Guild Cities got a grace period whenever they underwent an upgrade. Now, Guild Cities no longer received that benefit; players had to defend their cities on their own. If the Outerworld forces were determined, Ancient Rock City might be greeted with a battle as soon as its reconstruction ended. At this time, Fire Dance looked toward Shi Feng and asked, Guild Leader, weve emptied Saints Hands Warehouse already. Should we retreat now? No, bring Beast Emperor and the other captives back to Silverwing City first, Shi Feng replied, shaking his head. Also, have Liang Jing gather the necessary manpower in Silverwing City ahead of time. As soon as Ancient Rock City opens, have them garrison the city immediately! Yes, sir! Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Fire Dance understood that trouble would accompany Ancient Rock Citys promotion. There might even be a big battle awaiting the city. She immediately set out to execute his orders. After Fire Dance left Ancient Rock City, Shi Feng chose to log off and rest. He had been busy with various tasks previously, so he hadnt had a chance to take a break from the game. Now that the system had prohibited him from leaving Ancient Rock Citys vicinity, he could use this opportunity to rest up. Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, Sixth Southern District: The Fearless Cabins hatch opened slowly, and Shi Feng climbed out of the gaming cabin. The instant Shi Feng exited the cabin, dizziness assaulted him. He very nearly fell back into the cabin. Whats going on? As the world spun before him, Shi Feng felt an indescribable hunger. Confused, he wondered, Are my mind and body failing to adapt because I spent too much time in the Dragon Temple? However, Shi Feng dared not ponder on this matter for too long because he knew there was only one thing he needed to do right noweat! He had experienced this hunger once before, so he knew that his anemic symptoms resulted from his body lacking energy. Fortunately, Shi Feng had prepared for such situations. After Zero Wing partnered with the Boulder Corporation, the latter had given Zero Wing 30 bottles of Life Potion. Shi Feng had distributed most of them to Zero Wings executives but kept five for himself as a precaution. This situation was precisely when he needed to use those Life Potions. Shi Feng emptied two bottles of Life Potion in the blink of an eye. However, although the anemic symptoms he suffered eased, his mind and body still lacked energy. Only after downing the fifth bottle did Shi Feng feel himself reviving. Thank goodness I prepared five bottles. I wouldnt have recovered from this predicament with only four. Shi Feng couldnt help sighing deeply as he looked at the empty bottles in front of him. These five bottles of Life Potion shouldve lasted him two months. Now, he had finished all five in one fell swoop. If Muxin and Kerui found out about this, they would have a heart attack. After all, this was half a years worth of provisions for them! However, while Shi Feng felt heartache over the consumption, he also felt completely reinvigorated. His physical fitness, mental strength, perception, and physical aspects had undergone tremendous growth. Now, even with both eyes closed, he could still perceive the outline of his room. He could even sense the lifeforce of those in the entire building block if he concentrated. This was simply unbelievable. Could I have become a mental strength master already? This thought occurred to Shi Feng when he detected the lifeforce of others in the building. He couldnt think of any other explanation for this change. Only the rumored mental strength masters might have such an ability. At this time, even his view of the world had changed. After Shi Feng immersed himself in this experience for a dozen minutes, he smiled. Although I dont know if Ive become a mental strength master or not, with my current standard, I shouldnt have to worry about the mental strength master backing Lu Tiandi. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng tidied up himself and left his house. He planned to visit the Five States Corporations mansion to replenish the resources necessary for both his and Zero Wings development. Previously, he had been worried about Lu Tiandis mentor targeting him, so he hadnt dared to venture too far from his residential area. Now that his strength had improved significantly, he naturally didnt have to hold back anymore. He could do his tasks without worry. Chapter 2882 - Upper Zone Transaction Chapter 2882 C Upper Zone Transaction When Shi Feng exited his home and looked at the surrounding streets and buildings, a faint smile appeared on his face. How generous. He actually sent over a dozen half-step grandmasters to keep an eye on me. He had been living in the Upper Zone for quite some time now. After getting more information from Muxin, he more or less understood the general situation in the Upper Zone. While master-level experts could be found everywhere, experts at the half-step grandmaster level were even in the Upper Zone. They were the mainstays of the various Upper Zone organizations. Normally, only the direct successors of a corporation would qualify to have an expert of such caliber accompany them. Typically, only a first-rate corporation operating in the Upper Zone would have more than a dozen half-step grandmasters under its command. However, Shi Feng did not pay much attention to the experts trailing him. Behaving as if he never noticed them, he made his way toward the mansion area with a smile. Butler Yi, that kid clearly noticed us, yet he doesnt seem to care about us for some reason, a black-clad, middle-aged man standing on the rooftop of an apartment said as he looked at Shi Fengs departing back. He then turned to Yi Kui, who stood beside him, and asked, Does he have some kind of backing? The Infinity Master Fu Jiuzhong had been thoroughly enraged when he learned of his student Wang Xuanmings expulsion from the Upper Zone. Afterward, he had requested the Elders of the several families in his debt to keep an eye on Shi Feng. And if the opportunity presented itself, they were to get rid of Shi Feng. Naturally, the Elders of the requested families were more than willing to sell Fu Jiuzhong this favor. After all, according to their investigations, Shi Feng had no background. He had managed to get into the Upper Zone only because of the Boulder Corporations Hong Xingyuan. The only noteworthy thing about him was some achievements in Gods Domain. In response to the black-clad mans question, Yi Kui shook his head and said, From what I know, apart from the Boulder Corporation, his only other connection in the Upper Zone is General Manager Xia. However, her interest in him hasnt reached a level where she is willing to make an enemy of us for his sake. He might be ignoring us now because of the strengthened security around him. If thats the case, this kids days are numbered! the middle-aged man said as he looked coldly at Shi Fengs distant figure. In a duel between two grandmasters, it would indeed be difficult to decide the matchs outcome within a short time. However, their side had six half-step Henglian grandmasters and eight grandmasters. Three of the eight grandmasters were even bona fide Henglian grandmasters. If they worked together, even an expert like Wang Xuanming would fall quickly and have no opportunity to escape. In that case, Ill leave the rest to you all, Elder Qi. I will wait here for your good news, Yi Kui said respectfully to the black-clad, middle-aged man. Elder Qi was the Elder of a first-rate corporation. Although he could no longer improve due to his old age, he was still a Henglian grandmaster. His strength even surpassed Wang Xuanmings slightly. If not for Fu Jiuzhong, Elder Qi wouldnt have paid any attention to the Starline Corporation whatsoever. No problem. Leave it to us. Once we get an opportunity, well cripple him! Elder Qi said as he stroked his beard. Well teach this kid that he cant offend just anyone he wants in the Upper Zone! The Upper Zone was indeed a safe place, as even mental strength masters wouldnt dare take a life here. Otherwise, the Green God Company would investigate the matter. Even a mental strength master shouldnt think of continuing their days in the Upper Zone at that time because this was the Green God Companys bottom line. However, teaching someone a lesson or crippling them was a different story. If the Green God Company did not catch the culprit red-handed, it would turn a blind eye to the matter. After all, so long as a person was alive, the Green God Company could let them make a full recovery within a short time with their technology. After saying so, Elder Qi began tailing Shi Feng, together with the other experts. Upper Zone, mansion district: After strolling in the mansion district for half an hour, Shi Feng arrived in front of a three-story mansion that occupied an area equivalent to four basketball courts. As expected of the Five States Corporation. There are only ten such mansions in this district; even the Boulder Corporation didnt manage to get one. No wonder Han Yifeng dares to compete for one of the middle-layer slots. Shi Feng couldnt help his surprise as he inspected the luxurious mansion before him. He had seen the pricing for such large mansions. Not only did it cost 140 million trade points, but one also had to have 100 million contribution points. While one wouldnt be required to spend the 100 million contribution points, accumulating that many points was an incredibly difficult task. Meanwhile, such large mansions were much better than the average mansion. Apart from offering more space, these mansions also stood closer to the waist of the mountain. In the base layer, they were the closest buildings to the middle layer. Hence, the mysterious energy filling the environment here was much denser than in other places. After Shi Feng took a deep breath here, his mind already felt refreshed. He felt as if he had set foot into paradise on Earth. Shortly after Shi Feng pressed the doorbell, the tightly shut metal gate opened, and a person walked out. This person was none other than Zhuo Linqiu, Han Yifengs butler. Looking at Shi Feng, Zhuo Linqiu asked, Mr. Shi, may I know what business you have with us today? Its about the agreement Young Master Han and I made, Shi Feng replied calmly. As per our agreement, I have come to do business with Young Master Han. Business? Please follow me. Zhuo Linqiu nodded and led Shi Feng into the mansion. When Shi Feng entered the mansion, he immediately noticed several young men and women training under an elderly man in the mansions outdoor training ground. The elderly man wore a martial arts robe. Although he had a head of white hair, the aura he exuded was more powerful than what Shi Feng had sensed from Wang Xuanming previously. Upon Shi Fengs arrival, the young men and women turned to look at him curiously, wondering who Shi Feng was for the Five States Corporation to treat him as a guest. However, after getting berated by their elderly instructor, they promptly focused on their training again. It seems I really cant underestimate the Five States Corporation. Shi Feng was surprised when he spread his senses across the mansion. There are six grandmasters and more than ten half-step grandmasters in this mansion alone. Even the Boulder Corporation doesnt have this many experts. After guiding Shi Feng to a reception room on the third floor, Zhuo Linqiu pushed apart the wooden doors to the room and said, Mr. Shi, the young master is waiting inside. Shi Feng nodded and walked into the room. He found Han Yifeng seated behind a solid wood desk with his eyes closed. Currently, Han Yifeng did not exude the slightest bit of aura and felt no different from an ordinary person. Compared to the last time Shi Feng had met him, Han Yifengs aura had changed dramatically. Upon sensing Shi Fengs arrival, Han Yifeng opened his eyes. Revealing a faint smile, Han Yifeng said, Brother Shi, I didnt think you would come to find me so soon. I expected you would wait for the last ten days to get a better price. At this point, Shi Fengs name was already known throughout Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Not only was he the cause of Wang Xuanmings banishment from the Upper Zone, but he was even Zero Wings Guild Leader. The resources he had on hand tempted many of the corporations participating in this seasons contribution competition. If not for Wang Xuanmings teacher, Fu Jiuzhong, many of the corporations based in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone wouldve long since visited Shi Feng and proposed a partnership I doubt that will happen. I know I am not your only source of contribution points, Young Master Han. Had I waited until the last moment, I probably wouldve gotten a lower price instead. You might not even have wanted my points at that time, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Originally, Shi Feng had indeed considered waiting for a better price. Now, though, he couldnt afford the delay. Zero Wing urgently needed a large amount of resources, especially Life Potions. The Life Potion was the perfect drug to improve ones physical fitness. If not for the limitation of physical fitness, Fire Dance, Lei Bao, and several other people in Zero Wing wouldve long since become neutralizing grandmasters. Brother Shi, you jest. In that case, well proceed with the two-to-one ratio we previously agreed on. Ill buy however many points you have, Han Yifeng said, chuckling. However, Shi Feng shook his head and countered in a determined voice, No, I want a one-to-one ratio! Chapter 2883 - Overnight Fortune Chapter 2883 C Overnight Fortune One-to-one? Han Yifeng frowned. Brother Shi, isnt your asking price a little too high? At this time, Han Yifeng wasnt the only one dissatisfied. Standing by the door, Zhuo Linqiu looked at Shi Feng with a hint of anger and ridicule in his eyes. A one-to-one exchange ratio was something no organization operating in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone would accept. Life Potions and Phantom Potions served as an organizations foundation. Their stockpile was also something accumulated over many years. These potions werent items that one could obtain on a whim. Yet, Shi Feng wanted to purchase these precious potions at a one-to-one exchange rate. Did he take the Five States Corporation for a fool? The Five States Corporation had many sources for contribution points. Meanwhile, these sources only sought a two-to-one ratio. On what basis was Shi Feng asking for a one-to-one ratio? Young Master Han, dont be in a hurry to refuse, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at Han Yifengs cold expression. A one-to-one ratio is a fair price. A fair price? Han Yifeng laughed. May I know how you think it is fair, Brother Shi? Because I can guarantee you a slot to enter the middle layer, Young Master Han! Shi Feng said confidently. Do you think this is a fair deal now? At Shi Fengs words, Han Yifengs cold expression changed slightly. However, he quickly recollected himself and asked, Those are some confident words, Brother Shi. If what you say is true, I can consider a one-to-one ratio. May I know what exactly you are counting on to help me? Six hundred thousand contribution points! That, combined with the points you already havewhile I dont know if you can secure first place, getting within the top three shouldnt be a problem, right? According to Muxins information, the top three rankers limit should be around one million contribution points. It would be difficult for them to acquire more than this because one could earn only so many contribution points through real-world resources. The only other way these top rankers could acquire more points would be to obtain many Seven Luminaries Crystals in Gods Domain. However, Seven Luminaries Crystals were incredibly precious in Gods Domain, and even the various superpowers barely had any. cure Shi Feng estimated that acquiring 800,000 contribution points shouldnt be a problem for the Five States Corporation. If the corporation included his 600,000 points, it could secure one of the top three spots with a 100% certainty. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Zhuo Linqiu couldnt help staring at Shi Feng in disbelief, his eyes very nearly falling out of their sockets. Each of the Five States Corporations point sources could contribute only several tens of thousands of contribution points. After totaling the points from all sources, the corporation should gain around 600,000 contribution points. Not to mention, these sources would not necessarily sell all their points to the Five States Corporation. After all, the Upper Zones various organizations were purchasing contribution points at a high price. The Five States Corporation would be fortunate if it could acquire 400,000 contribution points in the end. However, if the corporation could gain an additional 600,000 contribution points now, it could secure one of the top three spots in the competition. At this time, even Han Yifeng was visibly moved. Six hundred thousand?! He has this much strength? In Han Yifengs opinion, taking out 200,000 contribution points would be plenty impressive already. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals were not easy to acquire in Gods Domain. Shi Feng had even traded some with him already. With 600,000 contribution points as his base, Shi Feng could even try to fight for one of the top three positions himself. Shi Feng smiled when he saw Han Yifengs reaction. He then asked, What do you think, Young Master Han? If Han Yifeng had one million contribution points as his base, all he needed to do next was acquire another 300,000 points or so to solidify his victory. After pondering for a moment, Han Yifeng gritted his teeth and said, That is indeed sufficient qualification. However, a one-to-one ratio is still too much. The Five States Corporation cant take out so many potions in a short time. If converted to trade points, 600,000 contribution points would be worth 60 million trade points. And when converted to Life Potions, that would be equivalent to 12,000 Life Potions. This was by no means a trifling amount. Shi Feng didnt find Han Yifengs words surprising, either. Instead, he chuckled and said, If thats the case, how about this? Ill only ask for 2,000 potions. Ill exchange the remainder for a large mansion in the Upper Zone. What do you think? I recall that the Five States Corporation still has the authority to purchase another one. The base layer had only ten large mansions, and only eight had owners. After some research, Shi Feng found that these large mansions were excellent accommodations. Not only could they house 40 people easily, but the strange energy in the air was also much denser in these large mansions. This denser energy would be of greater help in stabilizing Gentle Snow and Aqua Roses condition. Shi Feng, dont go too far! Zhuo Linqiu blurted angrily. A one-to-one ratio is already an astronomical price! Yet, youre asking for a large mansion thats worth 140 million trade points? Do you take the Five States Corporation for a fool? The value of 10,000 Life Potions was equivalent to only 50 million trade points-a little more than one-third of a large mansions value. Shi Fengs terms were no different from daylight robbery. My asking price is indeed a little excessive, but purchasing a large mansion doesnt require you to spend contribution points. You only need to have accumulated 100 million contribution points. Meanwhile, not only will my Seven Luminaries Crystals provide you with contribution points, but they will also provide you with an ample amount of trade points. Exchanging a large mansion for these crystals wouldnt be a loss for your corporation, Shi Feng said. Of course, if your corporation isnt willing to do this transaction, I can find someone else to partner with. I believe the other people competing for the top three spots will be interested in my proposal. You Zhuo Linqiu was momentarily rendered speechless by Shi Feng. What Shi Feng said was indeed true. Contribution points were far more important than trade points, especially in the middle layer. Moreover, compared to contribution points, trade points were much easier to acquire. Thats enough, Old Zhuo! Han Yifeng shot a glance at his butler, silencing him. He then returned his gaze to Shi Feng and said, I agree to your offer. However, I will need time to acquire the large mansion. As for the potions, I can give you 1,000 bottles now. I will pay you the remaining 1,000 bottles and the large mansion within the next five days. What do you think? Sure, I dont have any problem with that. Shi Feng nodded. In Shi Fengs opinion, the five days Han Yifeng stated were only a ploy. Han Yifeng wanted to purchase as many contribution points as possible from his other sources during these five days because once news of his acquisition of 600,000 contribution points spread, purchasing points would become much more difficult. Afterward, Han Yifeng signed a contract with Shi Feng. According to the agreement, Shi Feng would transfer 60,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals to Han Yifeng through Gods Domain within half a day. At the same time, Han Yifeng would pay Shi Feng 1,500 bottles of Life Potion, 500 bottles of Phantom Potion, and one large mansion in return. With the contract signed, Han Yifeng had Zhuo Lingiu pass 100 bottles of Life Potion to Shi Feng, with the rest to be delivered secretly to Shi Fengs house. After concluding the deal, Shi Feng left the Five States Corporations mansion with a crate of Life Potions. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng left, Zhuo Linqiu turned to Han Yifeng and warned quietly, Young Master, your elders will criticize you if they find out you made such an unfavorable deal. Criticize? Sending Zhuo Linqiu a glance, Han Yifeng sneered, So long as I get into the middle layer, do you think Ill care about what they have to say? Everyone living in the base layer wished to enter the middle layer. The environment there far surpassed the base layers. The middle layer was also home to many mental strength masters. If he could befriend even one of these masters, his position within the Five States Corporation would become unshakable. At that time, would he have to care about the criticisms of his elders? Gazing through the window at the distant middle layer with eyes burning with zeal, Han Yifeng said, Head out and purchase contribution points from those organizations immediately! It doesnt matter even if you have to offer them a 1.5-to-1 ratio! While Han Yifeng was secretly going around purchasing contribution points from various organizations, Shi Feng left the Upper Zone together with his crate of Life Potions. Previously, despite receiving the Secret Pavilions and Netherworld Empires Guild Legacies, Zero Wing could afford to nurture only a small number of experts due to its limited resources. However, now that Zero Wing had sufficient Life Potions, let alone Void Realm experts, the Guild could nurture even Domain Realm experts within a short time. This was something even the various superpowers couldnt accomplish. After all, when nurturing new talents, the superpowers would provide only S-rank Nutrient Fluids at most, not something as precious as the Life Potion. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng left the Upper Zone, Elder Qi and the others stalking him were stunned. Is this kid crazy? a Henglian grandmaster asked when he saw Shi Feng entering the Mental Path. He dares to leave the Upper Zone at this time? Could it be that he didnt notice us in the first place? a lanky neutralizing grandmaster wondered Theres no way he hasnt noticed us! I am certain on this point! Elder Qi declared. Looking at Shi Fengs distant figure coldly, he continued, Hes looking down on us! Since hes so arrogant, Ill fulfill his wish! Everyone, get ready to take action outside! I want to see what ability this kid has! After saying so, Elder Qi promptly set off after Shi Feng. The other experts followed Elder Qi after briefly exchanging looks with one another. Chapter 2884 - Ruthless Shi Feng Chapter 2884 C Ruthless Shi Feng Fenglin City, Zero Wings headquarters: Shi Feng stood in front of Zero Wings headquarters. The place had undergone significant changes since his last visit. Currently, people crowded the plaza in front of the building, many of them young men and women. These people were either waiting to enter the building or taking various tests out in the plaza. This prosperous sight was even more spectacular than what could be found at the various Super Guilds headquarters. As Shi Feng made his way to the entrance, he overheard these young men and women discussing Zero Wings matters. As they spoke about Zero Wing Citys training environment or the heaven-defying battle that had taken place at Ancient Rock City, their eyes glowed with anticipation. Before Shi Feng could reach the entrance, a long-haired man in his thirties approached him. Looking at Shi Feng, who was clad in sportswear, the long-haired man said in a friendly tone, Friend, youre here to join Zero Wing, right? Me? Join Zero Wing? Shi Feng was stunned by the long-haired mans words. Although the long-haired man looked ordinary, Shi Feng sensed intense lifeforce from him. In terms of physical fitness, the long-haired man could practically rival Henglian masters. However, before Shi Feng could say anything, the long-haired man unzipped his jacket and revealed a six-winged emblem pinned on his T-shirt, proving that he was an internal member of Zero Wing. I can tell that youre extraordinary at a glance, Brother, the long-haired man said while showing off his emblem. He then pointed at the long line of people waiting to enter the building and grinned, saying, Look at how long that line is. If you grab a ticket and join the line now, itll take you forever before your turn arrives. However, Im an internal member of Zero Wing. I have a recommendation slot that lets me help one person bypass the initial test. What are you trying to say? Shi Feng asked curiously. I can see that youre extraordinary, so I plan to recommend you to the Guild. However, once you become an internal member of Zero Wing, youll need to join my team. What do you think? Looking at Shi Feng with a serious look, the long-haired man said earnestly, The team I belong to is extraordinary. Although it was established only recently, it has become a second-line team already! Its only one line behind the main force! Shi Feng was at a loss for words. He never imagined such competition existed between Zero Wings various teams. If he werent Zero Wings Guild Leader, he wouldve most likely been tempted by the long-haired mans words already. After all, apart from Zero Wings main force, any other team that had a Tier 4 player leading it would be considered a second-line team. Meanwhile, all second-line teams could raid Level 150, 100-man Hard Mode Team Dungeons. What? You dont believe me? Upon seeing Shi Fengs startled expression, the long-haired man said delightedly, Do you know who my team leader is? Youll get a fright if I tell you! Just when Shi Feng wondered who this strange mans team leader was, the sounds of fighting came from inside the lobby. The din was like a sledgehammer pounding the ground. However, neither the long-haired man nor the other Zero Wing members present showed any concern over these loud sounds, appearing wholly accustomed to them. The newcomers, though, all expressed curiosity and tried sneaking peeks into the lobby. Ignore that. Its nothing to fuss about, the long-haired man said when he saw the curiosity on Shi Fengs face. He then added nonchalantly, Its just the experts of another superpower coming to provoke Zero Wing. I believe Master Lei Bao will take care of them in a moment. Shi Feng asked, Have there been a lot of such situations happening in Zero Wing lately? Its been like this since before I joined. However, its become much more frequent recently, the long-haired man said as he nodded in frustration. These superpowers cant bear to see Zero Wing developing. However, as they cant do anything to us in Gods Domain, they keep coming to our headquarters to make trouble. They keep asking us to sell them Zero Wing Citys Lands. I heard that the group that came here this time consists of six superpowers, one of them the Super Guild Mythology. Mythologys group is even led by the Fang familys young lady. That Fang Shihan really is something. Not only is she beautiful, but shes also frighteningly strong. She can take down master-level experts in practically one hit. Im afraid only our Big Sis Fire Dance can take her on. The long-haired man shuddered when he spoke of Fang Shihan. It was evident he feared the latter greatly. After the long-haired man finished speaking, the lobbys door opened abruptly, and a group of people stalked out of the building. These people were representatives of superpowers, and they currently had angry expressions. However, when they looked at Fire Dance and Lei Bao, who walked out of the building shortly after them, and then looked at the injured master-level experts and one half-step neutralizing grandmaster beside them, they dared not do anything. Just you wait! Dont think that, just because we are helpless against you in Gods Domain, youll be invincible in the real world as well! Zero Wing will only encounter more trouble for refusing to cooperate with us! The various superpowers representatives barked arrogantly at Fire Dance and Lei Bao, their voices growing complacent as they spoke. While master-level experts might be powerless against Zero Wing, there were bound to be superpowers capable of inviting grandmaster-level experts to move for them. The corporations operating within the Upper Zone might even take action. After all, Zero Wing was too large a cake to pass on. According to the information the various superpowers had gathered, some forces based in the Upper Zone were already investigating Zero Wing, evidently interested in the Guild. Hence, it was only a matter of time before grandmaster-level experts came to find trouble with Zero Wing. Fire Dance and Lei Bao revealed somewhat grim expressions on their faces when they heard the representatives words. They had expected the battle at Ancient Rock City to have caught the attention of many organizations in the Upper Zone. Hence, they were certain that grandmaster-level experts would eventually come to Zero Wing seeking trouble. While these grandmasters might not be capable of doing anything against Zero Wing on the surface, if they came every day to pick a fight, it would ruin Zero Wings reputation, not to mention the other unscrupulous tactics they could employ. However, when the various superpowers representatives were getting full of themselves, Fang Shihan suddenly left the group and headed toward Shi Feng. The cold gaze she directed at him made the temperature in the surroundings fall by more than ten degrees; the long-haired man standing beside Shi Feng shuddered in fear despite himself. Looking at Shi Feng, the long-haired man asked, Friend, did you offend her in some way before? Why do I get the feeling that shes coming for you? In this situation, the nearby young men also looked at Shi Feng and began a quiet discussion. They all wondered who Shi Feng was to warrant such attention from a great beauty like Fang Shihan. I dont think Ive done anything to her, Shi Feng said. He likewise found it strange that Fang Shihan was walking to him. After giving the matter some thought, he added, The only things I remember doing are killing one of her elders and telling her to get lost. I dont think Ive ever done anything else to her. Shi Fengs words stupefied the long-haired man. He never thought that Shi Feng would be so ruthless as to pull such stunts with the Fang familys lady. It would be strange if Fang Shihan didnt try to take Shi Fengs life. However, when Fang Shihan arrived in front of Shi Feng, she looked at him and asked quietly, Can I speak with you in private? Immediately, be it the long-haired man or the other men present, they all couldnt help staring at Shi Feng with wide eyes. What was going on here? Chapter 2885 - – Sword Saint Black Flame? Chapter 2885 C Sword Saint Black Flame? Shi Feng couldnt help taking a closer look at Fang Shihan when he heard her words. Currently, Fang Shihan looked slightly frailer than the last time he saw her. She also no longer exuded the imposing aura of before, although the ambition in her eyes still burned bright. Just the two of us? Shi Feng stole a glance at the robust Matt and an elderly man standing among the group of superpower representatives. This elderly man possessed a powerful lifeforce; he was absolutely a grandmaster-level expert. Moreover, judging by how respectfully Matt was behaving around this elderly man, it was easy to guess that the elderly man held an eminent position in Mythology. He should be a Guild Elder at the very least. However, seeing as Fang Shihan was asking for a private conversation, Shi Feng could tell that Fang Shihan had her own thoughts and that these thoughts did not align with Mythologys plans. Thats right, just the two of us. Fang Shihan nodded, then glanced at the long-haired man beside Shi Feng and smiled sweetly, saying, Of course, you can bring someone with you. However, its not my fault if our relationship gets exposed. The long-haired man immediately revealed a look of shock and confusion when he heard Fang Shihans words. Fang Shihan was the young lady of a major corporation. According to rumor, she was even an Upper Zone resident. In addition, not only did she possess a divine level of beauty, but she was even a Vice Guild Leader of Mythology. Countless talented young men wished to get close to her but never got the opportunity to do so. She had an air of indifference even when dealing with Zero Wings big shots like Cola. Nevertheless, she was taking the initiative to seek out Shi Feng. Her friendly behavior with Shi Feng made the long-haired man doubt if she was even the same person as before. Who is this guy? Questions filled the long-haired mans mind as he looked at Shi Feng. However, after snapping out of his daze, he gazed at Shi Feng with anticipation shining in his eyes. Fang Shihan was an individual of high status. If he could get close to her by even a little bit, even if he were only a third wheel, this achievement would earn him bragging rights for the rest of his life. Alright, just the two of us, then. Shi Feng nodded, ignoring the hopeful look the long-haired man was giving him. Fang Shifan was not at all surprised by Shi Fengs response. She pointed at a maglev limousine nearby and said, Lets talk in my car, then. Nobody will bother us there. Zero Wings battle at Ancient Rock City had thoroughly shaken Gods Domain. Zero Wing Citys public opening also allowed Zero Wing to rake in tons of wealth and resources every day. The resources earned even included the Seven Luminaries Crystal that the Upper Zones various forces sought to obtain. The city was so tempting that even the Five Great Super Guilds had designs on it, let alone Fang Shihan. Zero Wing was currently rejecting all partnership offers for Zero Wing City, choosing to monopolize all of the citys benefits; the various superpowers could not get even the smallest cut of this juicy pie. To make matters worse, none of the superpowers could do anything about this situation. However, Fang Shihan was confident she could accomplish what the various superpowers couldnt. With her familys position and resources in the Upper Zone, she should be able to get Zero Wing to agree to a partnership. After all, Shi Feng was currently in a lot of trouble because he had offended a mental strength master. Although Shi Feng lived in a different Upper Zone from Fu Jiuzhong, the mental strength master had plenty of means to deal with him. Among the organizations operating within the three Upper Zones based in the country, those capable of protecting Shi Feng numbered very fewthe Fang family just so happened to be one of them. When Shi Feng saw the maglev limousine, a hint of envy appeared in his eyes. This limousine was a global limited edition, and it was constructed with a top-tier alloy used for spacecraft. This alloy not only had excellent sound insulation properties but could even withstand missile strikes. He had thought of buying one for Zero Wing but lacked the connection to do so. Nodding, Shi Feng said, Sure, lets get in the car. In that case, this way, please, Guild Leader Black Flame! Fang Shihan smiled and took the initiative to lead Shi Feng to the limousine. Her words left the long-haired man stupefied. H-HestheGuild Leader? The long-haired man stared at Shi Fengs back with wide eyes. When he recalled how he had treated Shi Feng like a little brother, he suddenly felt faint. After all, Black Flames name in Gods Domain was synonymous with a killing god. He would create rivers of blood because of a disagreement. He had even killed one of Mythologys legendary figures without hesitation. The long-haired man wasnt the only one stunned by this revelation. The young men and women in queue also took some time to process this information. Hes Guild Leader Black Flame? No way! Hes that Sword Saint?! Dont the rumors say that Guild Leader Black Flame is a man in his thirties? That guy looks no more than 22 or 23! Apart from Zero Wings executives and a portion of the Guilds core members, the only other people who knew Black Flames actual identity and appearance in the real world were the various superpowers executives. The average player was unaware that Black Flame was only a disguise. You really know how to keep a low profile, Guild Leader Black Flame. Even the internal members of your own Guild dont know who you are, Fang Shihan said, smiling when she looked back and saw the long-haired mans pale complexion. That guy will probably lose sleep for the next several days. Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Fang Shihan. Fang Shihan knew that the long-haired man was unaware of his identity as Black Flame and had deliberately revealed his identity to mess with the man. However, when Shi Feng and Fang Shihan were roughly ten steps from the limousine, Shi Feng suddenly stopped and turned to the crowd in the plaza. Guild Leader Black Flame? Fang Shihan was a little confused by Shi Fengs actions. She followed Shi Fengs gaze and looked toward the plaza. Although there were well over a thousand people crowded in the plaza, Fang Shihan faintly sensed killing intent from that direction. Moreover, there wasnt just one source of killing intent but more than a dozen. This killing intent was well-hidden. If one werent a half-step grandmaster expert or above, one would have difficulty noticing it. This cant be! That side is already taking action?! Fang Shifan frowned. Only the Infinity Master Fu Jiuzhong could mobilize so many powerful experts. She whispered to Shi Feng, Guild Leader Black Flame, they should be experts the Infinity Master sent. The other side has a significant advantage in numbers. Its best if we pretend we didnt notice them and get into the car quickly. Even if its them, they cant do anything against my car. A force of over a dozen half-step grandmasters or above was indeed powerful. However, against the global limited edition limousine, even these experts could only lament their lack of strength. This was also why many major corporations wished to purchase this limousine. However, only 100 people in the world actually managed to get their hands on one. No, theres no need for that, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He then began walking toward the plaza. I initially planned to ignore them, but since they came all the way here, Ill deal with them now. Its annoying to have them constantly buzzing me like flies. Chapter 2886 - Mental Strength Master? Chapter 2886 C Mental Strength Master? When Fang Shihan saw Shi Feng slowly making his way to the plaza, she was stunned. She never thought Shi Feng would confront the enemy! The enemy had over a dozen half-step grandmaster experts or better on their side. Among the sources of killing intent she sensed, a few even struck fear into her. Facing so many experts of such caliber, even a Henglian grandmaster would suffer miserably. This crazy bastard! Fang Shihan gritted her teeth and followed after Shi Feng She was the Fang familys young lady. Even the Upper Zones organizations would have to show her some respect. If she stood up for Shi Feng, the other party wouldnt dare go too far lest they incur the Fang familys wrath. However, before Fang Shihan could catch up to Shi Feng, 14 people in the crowd approached him. They had concealed their auras so well that they looked no different from ordinary pedestrians; none of the people around them paid them any attention. Kid, since youre so eager to die, Ill grant you your wish! Elder Qi said when he saw that Shi Feng had already walked into the crowd. Sneering, he commanded, Everyone, attack! If Shi Feng had chosen to remain somewhere with little foot traffic, they would quickly get noticed by others if they took action. However, it was a different story in a crowded location like this plaza. With their standards, they could attack Shi Feng without anyone noticing. By the time the bystanders realized what was going on, they wouldve long since left the scene. The distance between both sides continuously shortened. Thirty meters Twenty meters Ten meters When the two sides were less than three meters apart, one Henglian grandmaster, one neutralizing grandmaster, and four half-step grandmasters began walking straight toward Shi Feng. The six experts continued moving like ordinary pedestrians, with the four half-step grandmasters even chatting merrily like close friends. Nobody could tell that these six experts were approaching Shi Feng with hostile intentions. When the four half-step grandmasters were within one meter of Shi Feng, both the four half-step grandmasters and the two true grandmasters took action simultaneously, so fast that ordinary people couldnt even see their afterimages. The six experts launched punches, palm strikes, and claw strikes. Aimed at Shi Fengs vitals, their attacks did not create even the slightest ripple in the air. Although the six experts had different strength levels, their coordination was perfect, and they moved as if they were of one body. Fang Shihans complexion darkened at this scene. If she were in Shi Fengs shoes, she could, at best, stop two or three attacks. The rest would land on her without fail. It might be a different story if a Henglian grandmaster received these attacks, but Shi Feng was only a neutralizing grandmaster. He would most definitely die if he received all these attacks. However, when the six experts attacks were about to land, Shi Fengs body suddenly twitched and moved like flowing water. As if his various body parts had a mind of their own, they instinctively dodged the six experts attacks. Shi Fengs movements were so fine that he dodged some attacks with less than half a centimeter to spare. ro The six experts were startled by this outcome. However, before they could launch another round of attacks, Shi Feng casually scraped his shoulder past one of them and bumped into another. He then executed a punch, an elbow strike, a palm strike, and a kick against his other four opponents. The next moment, the two grandmasters and four half-step grandmasters stiffened and stopped moving. They stood still among the crowd like statues. When Shi Feng had walked three meters away, the six experts eyes rolled back, and their bodies collapsed to the ground. This How is thispossible? Fang Shihans eyes widened, and her jaw dropped at this scene. Of the six experts, two were bona fide grandmasters-one of them a Henglian grandmaster. Yet, Shi Feng had taken care of these experts in the blink of an eye. The fight had ended so quickly that she didnt even see what had happened. She mightve been able to accept such an outcome if the two grandmasters were both neutralizing grandmasters. With internal force, Shi Feng could knock them out instantly when his attacks connected. However, knocking out a Henglian grandmaster in one hit was an incredibly difficult feat. Otherwise, Henglian grandmasters wouldnt be renowned as troublesome opponents. Fang Shihan wasnt the only person shocked by this situation. Elder Qi and the other experts similarly tensed up at this scene. Even they were incapable of defeating Henglian grandmasters in one hit. While Shi Feng might have employed a dirty tactic, there was no denying that he had felled a Henglian grandmaster in one hit. The remaining experts turned to Elder Qi to seek his opinion on the matter. Elder Qi was their leader this time. He also possessed incredible strength, being slightly stronger than even the well-known Wang Xuanming. If Elder Qi chose not to attack now, they naturally did not need to attack, either. After all, Shi Fengs display of strength just now had thoroughly stunned them. Shi Fengs feat was even more unbelievable than a person killing an elephant with one punch. Seeing Shi Feng approaching their group, Elder Qi gritted his teeth and advanced. Although Elder Qi didnt know what method Shi Feng employed just now, he was confident he could stop any neutralizing grandmasters attack. After all, his mental strength was just a tad short of the mental strength master level. His perception and sixth sense were both much stronger than the average Henglian grandmasters. All tricks were useless against him! When the other experts saw Elder Qi moving, they quickly followed after him. However, their mentality toward Shi Feng was completely different from before. Now, they had ramped up their vigilance to the max. Elder Qis group of eight split up and approached Shi Feng from eight different directions. They occasionally used the crowd to conceal their bodies and obscure their movements from Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng remained unfazed and continued approaching Elder Qi casually. What arrogance! Do you think Ill fall for your tricks like those fools? Elder Qi accelerated his footsteps when he saw Shi Fengs indifference, not wanting to give Shi Feng any more time to observe and prepare. With six grandmasters in their group of eight, they could give even a mental strength master a headache if they attacked together. After all, a mental strength masters physical fitness was only slightly superior to theirs. What made mental strength masters powerful was their perception of danger and their control over their bodies. However, when Elder Qi was less than six meters away from Shi Feng, he suddenly lost sight of Shi Feng. He disappeared? Elder Qi was stunned as he stared at the spot Shi Feng disappeared from. Shi Feng had vanished not only from his vision but also from his perception. Elder Qi and the seven other experts immediately began looking around frantically, searching for Shi Feng. Several seconds later, Elder Qi suddenly noticed a figure walking past him, and he was stunned once more. Shi Feng? However, before Elder Qi could turn around, he felt a stinging pain in his chest. He then found his body paralyzed, and his vision darkened as if death had come for him. When Elder Qi saw Shi Feng disappearing past him, a thought appeared in his mind, and fear surfaced on his face. Mentalstrengthmaster! Apart from Shi Feng being a mental strength master, Elder Qi couldnt think of any other explanation for this situation. After all, only a mental strength master could evade his perception. However, before Elder Qi could warn the others, he noticed Shi Feng walking past his approaching companions, one after another. Unlike himself, though, his companions didnt even notice Shi Feng. And after Shi Feng passed them, their bodies abruptly stiffened. It was evident that they had suffered a similar fate to his. In the end, Elder Qi could only watch helplessly as his companions collapsed one after another. Chapter 2887 - 7 – Powerful Mental Strength Master Chapter 2887 C Powerful Mental Strength Master When Elder Qi and the others collapsed, one after another, in the plaza, they quickly attracted the attention of the surrounding people. The small plaza grew noisy for a time as the passersby gathered around these collapsed experts and discussed among themselves. Shi Feng exited the crowd in the meantime, his departure going entirely unnoticed. He had practically zero presence, as if he was no different from the roadside trees and bushes. Hes a mental strength master?! Shock filled Fang Shihans eyes as she switched her gaze between Shi Feng and Elder Qis group. She felt like her world had just come crashing down on her. Apart from Shi Feng being a mental strength master, she could think of no other explanation for how he had defeated a force of eight grandmasters and six half-step grandmasters so easily. Despite knowing this, Fang Shihan still couldnt bring herself to believe Shi Feng was a mental strength master. Mental strength masters were big shots even in the Upper Zone, and every one of them lived in the middle layer. Numerous organizations based in the Upper Zone tried to curry favor with these individuals. All of these powerhouses had reached the level of a mental strength master only in their thirties or later. On the other hand, how old was Shi Feng now? Not to mention, according to Fang Shihans investigations, when Shi Feng first entered the Upper Zone several weeks ago, the Green God Company had evaluated his mental strength as Special Grade only. He had still been a long distance from Master Grade. When Shi Feng arrived in front of Fang Shihan, she finally snapped out of her daze. She then scrutinized him as if she was meeting him for the first time. Has your mental strengthreached the master level already? Fang Shihan asked despite herself. Although she was already certain Shi Feng was a mental strength master, she still couldnt believe that someone could reach this level before 25. If news of this matter spread, it would shake the entire Upper Zone. Even the Green God Companys executives would take an interest in Shi Feng once they learned of his potential. Meanwhile, the Green God Companys executives were existences even mental strength masters wanted to befriend. These executives helmed the various Upper Zones, individuals standing at the top of the Upper Zone! I had the fortune of achieving a breakthrough recently. Shi Feng nodded, not bothering to conceal this fact. He then turned to look at the collapsed experts in the plaza, an indescribable feeling appearing in his heart. Previously, when he had first become a mental strength master, he had noticed that his bodys physical fitness had improved significantly. The sharpness of his perception had also become far superior to before. However, only after clashing with Elder Qi and the others did Shi Feng realize how powerful and frightening mental strength masters could be. Mental strength masters might be only slightly superior to Henglian grandmasters in physical fitness, but their control over their bodies reached an incredible level. Not only could they control the fine movements of muscles and the physical body, but they could also exert much greater control over their brains. While in combat, Shi Feng had managed to accelerate his thought processes by more than tenfold. In his eyes, Elder Qi and the others had looked like they were moving in slow motion. After including his enhanced perception of his surroundings, let alone dodging the eyesight and senses of several grandmasters, he could even replicate Gods Domains Void Steps momentarily. It was no wonder the Upper Zones various organizations feared mental strength masters so much. Shi Feng also felt fortunate that he had been cautious and stayed indoors for the past few weeks. Otherwise, he mightve really ended up in trouble. After all, killing a lone grandmaster-level expert was childs play for a mental strength master. Meanwhile, after Shi Fengs admission, Fang Shihan was momentarily at a loss for words. Originally, she had hoped to acquire a portion of Zero Wing Citys resources by offering Shi Feng protection. In doing so, she could increase her authority within Mythology and solidify her position as the First Vice Guild Leader. Now, her plan was nothing but a joke. There was no way a mental strength master would fear another mental strength master. More importantly, with how young Shi Feng was, once the Green God Company found out about his achievement, the company would undoubtedly place heavy importance on him. The status he would enjoy at that time would far exceed Fu Jiuzhongs. After all, the Infinity Master was already an old man and showed precious little signs of improvement nowadays. So long as Fu Jiuzhong wasnt a fool, he would give up on revenge against Shi Feng. On the contrary, he might even try to mend his relationship with Shi Feng. After all, the life of mental strength masters in the Upper Zones middle layer wasnt as smooth sailing as others thought. Looking at the vacant expression on Fang Shihans face, Shi Feng asked strangely, The trouble has been dealt with already. Do you still see a problem in this, Miss Fang?. Fang Shihan recovered from her stupor at Shi Fengs words. Putting away her previous nonchalant attitude, she said respectfully, You jest, Master Shi. The powers behind those experts will be scared stiff once they hear about your current status and identity. How could they possibly cause you any more problems? Is that so? Shi Feng felt a little awkward when Fang Shihan suddenly spoke to him respectfully. Her passionate gaze, in particular, was as if she had just seen an absolute beauty; it gave him an uncomfortable feeling. Master Shi, my visit this time isnt for anything significant. After observing Shi Feng a little while longer, Fang Shihan revealed a rare smile and said, I only wish to partner with Zero Wing on a personal level. A personal partnership? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised by these words. Calmly, he asked, May I know what kind of partnership you have in mind? Taking a deep breath, Fang Shihan said solemnly, I am willing to invest 100 billion into Zero Wing to help develop all of the Guilds necessary facilities and territories. Simultaneously, I can also provide ten reserve slots for the Upper Zone and 1,000 bottles of potions of various kinds. I will also bring a large batch of peak experts and over 300 plots of Land located in the NPC cities of both the eastern and western continents into Zero Wing! Shi Feng couldnt help being tempted when he heard Fang Shihans offer. He then asked, What are your conditions? The funding aside, just the 1,000 bottles of various potions, the large batch of peak experts, and 300 plots of Land were more than enough to elevate Zero Wings overall strength by a large margin. Zero Wing would instantly surpass ordinary Super Guilds. It would be a lie to say this offer didnt tempt him. The Lands of the western continents NPC cities, in particular, were things Zero Wing needed urgently right now. With these Lands, Zero Wing could maximize the use of its intercontinental teleportation array. The Guild might even be able to establish a solid foothold on the western continent in one fell swoop. Seeing the interest in Shi Fengs eyes, Fang Shihan replied, Simple. Become my backer! ???!! Shi Feng was slightly stunned as he looked at Fang Shihan, his mind failing to comprehend her words momentarily. Whats going on? Chapter 2888 - – Zero Wing in an Uproar Chapter 2888 C Zero Wing in an Uproar Fang Shihan couldnt help a smile when she saw Shi Fengs stunned face. She then asked leisurely, Do my conditions confuse you, Master Shi? Indeed, a little. Shi Feng nodded. There was no doubt that the Fang family had extraordinary origins. Moreover, Fang Shihan herself was Mythologys First Vice Guild Leader. No matter how he looked at it, the woman already had a boundless future ahead of her. She was an existence nobody in the outside world dared to offend. He mightve become a mental strength master, but the benefits he could bring to Fang Shihan were merely limited to the Upper Zones commodities. This was also the main reason the Upper Zones various organizations bent over backward for mental strength masters. Apart from these trade commodities, he found it hard to imagine what other help Fang Shihan might need from him. I believe you should also understand what it means to own wealth beyond ones capabilities, Master Shi. Sighing, Fang Shihan said slowly, The Fang family used to have a mental strength master. However, along with this masters passing, the Fang familys circumstances in the Upper Zone have deteriorated. At this point, many of the middle layers various organizations are even targeting the middle-layer reserve slot I own. Hence, I hope you can intervene in this matter for me, Master Shi. If you do, those organizations might back off out of fear. A reserve slot for the middle layer? Shi Feng was startled by Fang Shihans words. The reserve slots for the Upper Zones base layer were already incomparably precious, and they were more than enough to tempt the base layers various organizations. A reserve slot for the middle layer would be even more precious and tempting Moreover, based on Fang Shihans words, this reserve slot was transferable; it didnt bind to specific individuals after use. This reserve slot was countless times more precious than the temporary three-month slots the base layers organizations competed for in the contribution competitions. It would be strange if the middle layers organizations were not interested in acquiring this reserve slot. Master Shi, would you be willing to cooperate? Fang Shihan asked, a hint of apprehension flashing across her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Originally, she had already decided to give up on this reserve slot because she couldnt keep it with Mythologys strength. However, an opportunity had presented itself to her now. If she found the help of an ordinary mental strength master, the middle layers various organizations wouldnt fear her at all. They would still try to snatch her reserve slot without fear. However, it was a different story if the mental strength master were Shi Feng. Shi Feng had become a mental strength master at an unprecedentedly young age. With his potential, the Green God Company was bound to place great importance on him. So long as Shi Feng was willing to stand up for her, she might be able to keep this reserve slot. After Shi Feng gave the matter some thought, he said, Alright, I agree to your conditions. However, I need to add one condition. Please speak, Master Shi, Fang Shihan responded without hesitation. One hundred million trade points! Shi Feng stated. What are your thoughts on this, Miss Fang? Apart from the trade points he earned from trading in Seven Luminaries Crystals to the Green God Company some time ago, he hadnt made any extra points during this period. Meanwhile, apart from Life Potions, he also needed to spend a lot of trade points while living in the Upper Zone. This would only increase after he had Fire Dance and the others move into the Upper Zone. His expenditure of trade points would skyrocket if he had to nurture a mansion full of people. Hence, acquiring trade points was a must. One hundred million? After pondering the condition, Fang Shihan gritted her teeth and answered, No problem. I can transfer them to you through my account. Once Fang Shihan agreed to his extra condition, Shi Feng made his way into Zero Wings headquarters and signed a contract with her, assuring both sides. After signing the contract, Fang Shihan promptly left Zero Wings headquarters to make the necessary preparations. She acted decisively and carefully on this matter. Inside the maglev limousine heading to the airport Vice Guild Leader, do you really intend to follow Shi Feng in the future? White Feather asked as she looked at Fang Shihan, who had her eyes closed and was deep in thought. If you leave the Guild so abruptly, the Guild wont spare you. Although Shi Feng is now a mental strength master, there are significant differences between mental strength masters. He wont necessarily be able to stop all the organizations operating in the middle layer. If he handles things poorly, youll not only lose your reserve slot but also have to face the Guilds retaliation. Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Some of the Upper Zone organizations that had partnered with the Guild because of Gods Domain had the support of powerful and high-ranking mental strength masters. Fang Shihan was Mythologys First Vice Guild Leader. Her abrupt departure from Mythology would deal a massive blow to the Guilds reputation and morale. Mythology would seek revenge for this matter, both in Gods Domain and in the Upper Zone. I dont have a choice. This is my last chance, Fang Shihan replied with a wry smile. If I continue waiting, Ill lose the reserve slot for sure. Once that happens, I doubt I can get it back, even if a powerful mental strength master stands up for me. I can only pray that Shi Feng is capable of fending off those greedy organizations now. Even mental strength masters had extreme difficulty securing one middle-layer reserve slot, and they treated these slots like family heirlooms. After all, these slots could allow a person to live in the middle layer unconditionally. If she couldnt retain this reserve slot, her chances of becoming a mental strength master were practically zero. In the Upper Zones history, the people capable of becoming a mental strength master without ever setting foot into the Upper Zones middle layer were few and far between. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that 99% of the mental strength masters that had ever walked this world became mental strength masters only after living in the middle layer for some time. While Fang Shihan was making her way back to the Upper Zone, news of Elder Qis group getting crippled reached Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, shocking the various organizations based there. None of these organizations ever thought that Shi Feng possessed such frightening strength. He had single-handedly fended off the encirclement of so many grandmaster-level experts. This unexpected development prompted many organizations looking to sell the Infinity Master a favor to shrink back. What should we do, Young Master? The organizations in Haitian Citys and Yuantian Citys Upper Zones are no longer willing to assist us, Yi Kui asked worriedly after calling Lu Tiandi. Moreover, now that Shi Fengs prestige has increased, many organizations are considering partnering with him to acquire Seven Luminaries Crystals from Zero Wing. I understand. Withdraw from Yuantian Citys Upper Zone for now, Lu Tiandi said, smiling faintly. Teacher has learned about this situation. Hell most likely personally cripple Shi Feng. All we need to do now is sit back and watch. Yes, sir! Yi Kui grew joyful when he heard Lu Tiandis words. If Fu Jiuzhong personally took action, then everything would be fine. Once Zero Wing no longer had Shi Feng backing it, Starlink would have a much easier time annexing Zero Wing. Fenglin City, Zero Wing Tower: Along with Shi Fengs return, excitement filled Zero Wings members, particularly the experts who had joined Zero Wing only recently. The reason for everyones excitement was Shi Fengs awarding Life Potions to Fire Dance and a dozen other core executives in front of all of the Guilds internal members. Afterward, he had announced that he would award those internal members who performed excellently with Life Potions. They even had the opportunity to enter the Upper Zone! This announcement threw the entire headquarters into an uproar. The Upper Zone was a dreamland countless people wished to enter. Let alone living in the Upper Zone, they usually didnt even dare dream of entering the Upper Zone. This was because the Upper Zone was a place only a select few organizations in the world could come into contact with. Ordinary civilians like themselves had no chance of entering the Upper Zone. However, the impossible had now become possible! Guild Leader, is this really fine? Fire Dance asked worriedly when she saw the new reward system. In the new reward system, a Tier 4 internal member that successfully raised their Mana Bodys Completion Rate to 110% would receive three bottles of Life Potion. Afterward, they would receive one bottle for every subsequent percent of improvement. If they reached 115%, they would receive another three bottles. There was also a reward for Concentration standards. After one reached the Tier 4 Basic Concentration standard, every increase in rank would net them one Phantom Potion, three bottles if they reached the Tier 4 Peak standard, and ten bottles if they reached the Tier 5 standard. As for combat standards, internal members would receive one Life Potion if they reached the Void Realm and three bottles if they reached the Domain Realm. Most importantly, anyone in the Guild who got promoted to Tier 5 would get to live in the Upper Zone with 100% certainty! Setting aside the Upper Zones residency, just the reward of the various potions was already plenty absurd. Others might not understand how precious these potions were, but Fire Dance knew that these potions were available only in limited quantities. Relax. There wont be a problem, Shi Feng said, chuckling. On the contrary, I hope more people can claim the rewards. The Life Potion was of significant help for improving a persons physical fitness. Meanwhile, if Zero Wing wished to develop quickly, it wouldnt do for the Guild to rely solely on him. Zero Wing needed at least several grandmaster-level experts under its command. Only then would it no longer have to fear the provocation of other forces. Hence, he needed to increase the rewards for Zero Wings internal members. By doing so, he could also raise the motivation of Zero Wings members and the chances of producing Void Realm experts and Domain Realm experts. Moreover, with the Life Potions he provided, Fire Dance and Master Lei Bao would break through to the grandmaster level in a few days. This was especially true for Fire Dance, who had already reached the Domain Realm in the Realms of Refinement and the Ascension Realm in the Realms of Truth. She only lacked a bit of inspiration and a boost to her brain activity to become a neutralizing grandmaster. Afterward, Shi Feng discussed the Guilds rapid development with Fire Dance and the Guilds other executives. Dealing with the Outerworld forces invasion wasnt an easy task. If handled poorly, the Guild might lose Silverwing City and Ancient Rock City. One day went by quickly. Its about time I returned to the game. After taking a look at his watch, Shi Feng drank a Life Potion, lay down in the virtual gaming cabin in his bedroom, and logged into Gods Domain. Chapter 2889 - Astonishing Ancient Rock City Chapter 2889 C Astonishing Ancient Rock City Orc Empire, Ancient Rock City: When Shi Feng appeared before Ancient Rock Citys entrance, the city had already taken on a new look. It now had much taller walls covered with magic runes. Even though the citys core magic array was currently inactive, the magic runes naturally absorbed Mana from the environment and generated a magic barrier. The magic barrier was so powerful that even a Tier 5 existences full-powered attack might not break it. So long as there was Mana within and around the city, this magic barrier would always exist. It would even automatically repair itself for free. Tall buildings had replaced the ruins inside the city, and a thin layer of fog surrounded this forest of buildings. The citys Mana density practically rivaled Zero Wing Citys already. When Shi Feng took to the skies to get a better view of the city, the sight that greeted him gave him a burst of ecstasy. Did it get automatically promoted to Main City? The current Ancient Rock City was slightly larger than even Zero Wing City. What used to be Saints Hands Residence had been converted into a gigantic City Lords Mansion. The City Lords Mansion was well over 300 meters in height, and glowing divine runes surrounded the building. These divine runes didnt look manmade. Instead, the various elements of Mana around the building formed them spontaneously. If players had a sufficiently high perception of the operating principles of Mana, they could even learn the essence of the various elements of Mana through these naturally occurring divine runes. No wonder cities with secret lands as their cores are of significant help to players in their tier promotions. Just these naturally occurring divine runes can already provide a significant boost to Tier 4 players. When you factor in the environment inside the Evil Gods Secret Land as well, a Tier 4 players chances of getting promoted to Tier 5 here should be 20 to 30 percent higher than in the outside world. Shi Feng fell into a daze as he looked at the majestic City Lords Mansion. While Shi Feng was quietly observing Ancient Rock City, the number of players around the city continuously increased. When these players laid their eyes on the city, they, too, were stupefied. What had originally been a ruined city was now a magnificent city much larger than even royal capitals. The Mana density within the city was at a level where the Mana was visible to the naked eye. Coupled with the citys proximity to the Orc Empires inner region, it made for the perfect resting place for players seeking to raid the Orc Capital City. Since more and more people were gathering, Shi Feng promptly entered the city and flew toward the City Lords Mansion. Now that cities no longer received protection from the system after undergoing an upgrade, Ancient Rock City was currently at its weakest. If hostile forces attacked the city now, defending it would be incredibly difficult. Hence, the first thing he needed to do was activate the City Lords Mansions core magic array and generate the citys defensive magic array. Now that Ancient Rock City had become a Main City, so long as its defensive magic array was active and had a sufficient supply of Magic Crystals, the city could take on even two Tier 5 existences without trouble. After Shi Feng entered the City Lords Mansion, he was surprised once more. Not only did the City Lords Mansion possess an environment rivaling that of the ancient Gods Domain, but the clarity of the operating principles of Manas various elements in this place surpassed even that of the secret underground room in Zero Wing City. Zero Wing Citys secret underground room only managed to gain such an environment thanks to the Ancient Beast Sculpture and the expenditure of a ton of Magic Crystals. Even then, the secret room could accommodate only several dozen people at a time. On the other hand, Ancient Rock Citys City Lords Mansion possessed an even better environment and could allow more than 10,000 players to train in this environment simultaneously. When Shi Feng arrived inside the core control room, he saw a fully opened set of pitch-black doors. The Evil Gods Secret Lands Mana continuously flowed out of the open doors and into the City Lords Mansion. The secret land itself had also undergone significant changes. Previously, the Evil Gods Secret Land prevented all outsiders from approaching. Now, there was a flight of stairs with 49 steps leading into the secret land. These steps tested players on their ability to stabilize their surroundings. The higher one climbed on this staircase, the higher the requirement would become. By the time players reached the top, they wouldve gained basic mastery over the various elements of Mana. Another staircase from the control rooms second floor led directly into the Evil Gods Secret Land. However, players needed to be at least Level 150, Tier 4 to use this entry method. They also had to pay 1,000 Mana Stones per player to enter. In other words, there were two methods to enter the Evil Gods Secret Land. One method was free but required players to have basic mastery over the various elements of Mana. The other method had much more lenient entry requirements, but players had to pay 1,000 Mana Stones. This method was a huge benefit for Tier 4 players. After all, Tier 4 players could obtain significant help in their Tier 5 promotion from a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land. Not to mention, monsters inside a God Mode Secret Land were filthy rich. According to the rumors Shi Feng had heard, the Mythic monsters inside Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Lands provided at least five times more EXP and three times better loot than Mythic monsters in the outside world. They were walking treasure troves. Of course, securing these walking treasure troves wouldnt be easy, either. This was because even the weakest monster inside these secret lands rivaled Refinement Realm experts in combat standards, with the more powerful ones on par with Void Realm experts. And worse, all of these monsters moved in groups. If an ordinary Tier 4 expert entered a God Mode Secret Land by themselves, they wouldnt even know how they died. And while Tier 5 players could survive in a God Mode Secret Land by themselves, they would still die if they came across a Tier 5 Legendary monster. All Legendary monsters in a God Mode Secret Land possessed combat standards rivaling peak experts at the very minimum, as well as powerful Basic Attributes. The average Tier 5 player would have difficulty facing a Legendary monster by themself; normally, raiding a Legendary monster would need three Tier 5 players. Moreover, these three players needed to fill the roles of MT, healer, and damage dealer. Only with all three roles filled would they have a chance at killing a Legendary monster. If players wished to guarantee a kill on a Legendary monster, they would need to add two more Tier 5 damage dealers to their party formation. Shi Feng felt a little tempted as he looked at the Evil Gods Secret Lands entrance. This was because the monsters inside Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Lands had a chance of dropping God Crystals, materials essential to upgrading many Fragmented Legendary items, as well as Tier 5 Skill and Spell Books, which all Tier 5 players needed to raise their combat power. However, Shi Feng quickly calmed himself. He knew full well that he couldnt take on a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land by himself. Even if he brought Fire Dance and the others with him, they could, at best, kill a bunch of Tier 4 Superior Mythic monsters-a Tier 5 Legendary monster was out of the question. Afterward, Shi Feng spent 300,000 Magic Crystals to activate the control rooms core magic array, which created a barrier of divine runes around Ancient Rock City. The citys defensive magic array was significantly stronger than before. With the core magic arrays activation, Ancient Rock City woke up like a slumbering beast. The city drew all Mana within a 20,000-yard radius toward itself, depleting the Mana in the vicinity. Now, only Tier 3 players who had activated their Mana Bodies could survive in the surroundings, and Tier 4 players in the area saw their flight speed plummeting. If a Tier 5 existence attacked Ancient Rock City now, they would also find the power of their attacks diminished by a significant margin. Inside the City Lords Mansion, Shi Feng was dumbfounded by the sight before him. What a powerful core magic array! Initially, he had thought to strengthen Ancient Rock Citys core magic array using the Twelve-array Magic World. However, he dared not interfere with it now. This was because countless divine runes made up the core magic array. He could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary core magic array, and even the slightest of modifications could have catastrophic consequences. Meanwhile, with this core magic array, Ancient Rock Citys defensive standard was probably close to that of Zero Wing City, which had the protection of a World Mirror. And this was when the core magic array was operating in normal mode, not at maximum capacity. After activating the core magic array, Shi Feng contacted Fire Dance and had her begin transferring the manpower gathered in Silverwing City to Ancient Rock City. In less than 20 minutes, over 200,000 Tier 3 members and over 30 Tier 4 members from Zero Wing arrived at Ancient Rock Citys empty streets. As an added precaution, Fire Dance also mobilized three Crimson Dragon Flying Ships, six Tier 4 Fine-Gold Guards, and two Tier 4 Dark-Gold Guards. The assembled combat power in Ancient Rock City could already rival that in the various superpowers headquarters. After reading an update from her subordinate, Fire Dance asked Shi Feng, Guild Leader, weve completed the basic setup. Should we open Ancient Rock City now? Open it, Shi Feng replied without hesitation. Set the entrance fee to one Magic Crystal or 40 Silver Coins. Only after a Guild City had opened its doors to the public could it recruit NPC soldiers and strengthen its defenses at a much faster rate. Moreover, if Zero Wing wished to keep Ancient Rock City operating normally, it would have to spend at least 100,000 Magic Crystals per day. If the Guild tried to operate the city privately, it would eventually run out of Magic Crystals. When Ancient Rock City opened, many scouts from Guilds and adventurer teams flooded in. Adventurer teams that made a living from raiding the Orc Capital City even entered the city in full despite the high entrance fee. The Orc Capital City was a huge treasure trove. Moreover, all players raiding the Orc Capital City were frontline experts in the current Gods Domain. Even the weakest among them possessed peak Tier 3 combat power. Currently, these players could reap a significant harvest just by farming the monsters in the Orc Capital Citys outer and inner regions. With luck, they could even get their hands on Level 150 Epic Equipment. Meanwhile, as Ancient Rock City was the closest Guild City to the Orc Capital City, it was only natural these players would choose it as their base of operations even if they had to pay an exorbitant entrance fee. Over 600,000 players flooded into Ancient Rock City in less than two hours, and every one of these players was a Tier 3 expert. Upon entering Ancient Rock City, all of these experts were stunned by the citys splendorous view and wonderful environment. Not only could they recover from the corrosion of foreign energies extremely quickly here, but they could even store up to two whole levels worth of the Double EXP buff just by resting in the city. The accumulation rate for the buff was even a staggering 30% per 24 hours. While 30% might not seem like much, Tier 3 players couldnt even earn 30% worth of EXP by grinding nonstop for 24 hours. Players who had reached Level 140 would be considered grinding freaks if they could gain even 20% per day. Meanwhile, by resting on the streets of Ancient Rock City, not only could players avoid delaying their leveling progress, but they could even level up faster than normal. The effect would be even better if they rested in hotels. News regarding Ancient Rock City spread throughout the entire eastern continent. When the superpowers that were planning on attacking Ancient Rock City heard about the citys defensive standard, they gnashed their teeth and abandoned their notions. Now, they had no choice but to wait for the Outerworld forces to take revenge for them. While the vast number of Tier 3 experts were exclaiming over Ancient Rock Citys environment, Shi Feng brought Beast Emperor to Star-Moon Citys War Gods Temple. Previously, because the system prevented Shi Feng from leaving Ancient Rock Citys vicinity, he could only imprison Beast Emperor temporarily. Now that he had settled Ancient Rock Citys matters, he naturally couldnt spare Beast Emperor. Not to mention, because the War Gods Temple abhorred the Evil Gods Temple, it offered extremely generous bounties for the capture of high-ranking Evil God Envoys like Beast Emperor. After Shi Feng entered the War Gods Temples lobby with Beast Emperor in tow, a Level 180 senior administrator promptly approached him. Greetings, sir. You are here to collect a bounty, right? Please follow me. The Temple Lord is currently present in the War Gods Hall, the Level 180, Tier 3 senior administrator said respectfully as he looked at Shi Feng Okay, lead the way. Shi Feng nodded. Chapter 2890 - War God’s Temple’s Reward Chapter 2890 C War Gods Temples Reward War Gods Temple, War Gods Hall: In a hall enveloped by starlight, a middle-aged man wearing a white divine robe and a turquoise crown sat on a throne made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystals. The man slowly opened his eyes when he sensed the arrival of Shi Feng and the senior administrator. After reaching the middle of the hall, the senior administrator reported respectfully, Lord Temple Lord, this person is here to claim the bounty on an Evil God Envoy. The robed man took a closer look at Shi Feng and the restricted Beast Emperor upon hearing the senior administrators words. He then nodded and said, Administrator Roa, you may take your leave. Normally, a lofty Temple Lord wouldnt need to handle the bounty of an Evil God Envoy. However, Shi Feng was a Tier 5 individual, an existence standing at Star-Moon Kingdoms apex. Hence, even the Temple Lord had to treat this matter with care. Shi Feng likewise curiously scrutinized the Temple Lord. Star-Moon Citys War Gods Temple was the headquarters for the War Gods Temples branches in Star-Moon Kingdom. Meanwhile, Howard Ragewind, the Temple Lord of this branch headquarters, also happened to be the War Gods Temples strongest combatant stationed in Star-Moon Kingdom. After taking a look at Howard Ragewind, Shi Feng had to admit that the War Gods Temple deserved to be called the strongest force in Gods Domain. This was because even the Temple Lord of a kingdoms branch headquarters was a Level 200, Tier 4 NPC. A half-step Tier 5 NPC, to be precise. Not only did Howard Ragewind possess an incredibly high Life Rating, but his mastery over the various elements was also considerable. He was only a short distance from creating his Tier 5 Mana Body and getting promoted to Tier 5. Moreover, the staff and crown Howard Ragewind owned were both Legendary items. Even an actual Tier 5 existence would struggle against him. Looking at Shi Feng, Howard Ragewind asked, Lord Sword Saint, may I verify that Evil God Envoy? Certainly. Shi Feng waved his hand. Beast Emperors body immediately flew toward the Temple Lord. However, because Beast Emperor had forcibly logged out of the game already, his body was merely an empty shell. After Beast Emperors soulless body arrived in front of Howard Ragewind, its restraints disappeared. Simultaneously, the magic arrays set up around the hall activated and bound Beast Emperors body with golden chains covered with divine runes. Even if Beast Emperor were a Tier 5 player, he wouldnt be able to break these divine chains. You are amazing, Lord Sword Saint. You actually caught an Evil God Envoy. This is a subordinate the Evil God has spent much to nurture. Now that youve captured one, the continent will be in peace for quite some time, Howard Ragewind said, his eyes glowing with joy when he finished inspecting Beast Emperors body. The Evil God was incapable of descending onto the main continent. At most, he could only plague the continent through the Legacies he left on the continent. Meanwhile, people who had acquired and utilized the Evil Gods Legacies were known as Evil God Envoys. Compared to Evil God Apostles, the capture of an Evil God Envoy was many times more valuable. This was because only Evil God Envoys could use the power of the Evil Gods Legacies. There was a limited number of Evil God Legacies on the continent, so the loss of an Envoy meant the disappearance of one Evil God Legacy. You overpraise me, Lord Temple Lord, Shi Feng said calmly. Shi Feng had long since known that Beast Emperor was an Evil Gods Envoy. Otherwise, he wouldnt have visited the War Gods Temple in such a hurry. Afterward, Howard Ragewind chanted an incantation, and Beast Emperors body gradually disintegrated under the power of the golden chains. When Beast Emperors physical body disappeared, Shi Feng saw a translucent soul appear in its place. However, under the magic arrays effects, the translucent soul also dissipated quickly. The entire process lasted no more than 20 seconds. When Howard Ragewind stopped chanting, Beast Emperors existence had been expunged from Gods Domain. Beast Emperor would have to start from scratch if he wished to enter Gods Domain again. Meanwhile, without the Evil Gods Legacy, Beast Emperor would pose no threat to Zero Wing. He might even have problems reaching Tier 4. After Beast Emperor disappeared, Shi Feng received a notification from the system. System: Congratulations! You have captured an Evil God Envoy. Rewarding 100,000 War Gods Temple Merit Points, 3,000 War Gods Temple Reputation Points, five Levels, and 50 Legacy Skill Points. System: Your War Gods Temple Reputation has reached 6,700 points. Rewarding War Gods Envoy title. You will enjoy status and authority equivalent to a War Gods Temple Elder with this title. Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the rewards. Although he had expected a generous reward, he never dreamed it would be this generous. Setting aside how many items he could exchange from the War Gods Treasury with 100,000 Merit Points, just the War God Envoy title more than justified his efforts. While the War Gods Temple had countless branches across Gods Domain, it had a limited number of Elders. The status of Elder exceeded even that of Branch Temple Lords in the War Gods Temple. With this status, Shi Feng could directly recommend Zero Wing be one of the Top Ten Rookie Guilds of Gods Domain. Zero Wing would no longer have to go through the coming years selection competition. Instead, it could directly participate in the competition for the twelve reserve seats. Moreover, Gods Domains Top Ten Rookie Guilds also got to enjoy a portion of the twelve reserve seats authority, including having a Guild garrison a kingdom and enjoy the worship of this kingdom. Seeing Shi Feng in deep thought, Howard Ragewind approached him and said respectfully, Lord Sword Saint, because of your contributions, you are now the War Gods Temples Envoy. If you encounter any trouble in the future or need help with something, I will be more than happy to help. Thats great. Upon hearing the Temple Lords offer, Shi Feng asked, I wish to recommend my Guild as a candidate for the Top Tep Rookie Guilds. I also wish to have my Guild garrison Star-Moon Kingdom. May I know what I need to do to accomplish this? This was his first time enjoying an Elders privileges in the War Gods Temple, so he had no clue how to recommend a Guild become a Top Ten Rookie Guild. Howard Ragewind was undoubtedly the perfect candidate to answer this question. This is simple. All you need to do is write a recommendation letter, and Ill pass it on to the main headquarters Elders. Afterward, you just need to wait. I believe that news of your Guild becoming one of the Top Ten Rookie Guilds will spread across the continent in a few days, Lord Sword Saint, Howard Ragewind replied, smiling. Having your Guild garrison Star-Moon Kingdom is even easier. I am good friends with the King. Once the War Gods Temple makes its announcement, the King will be more than happy to let your Guild garrison Star-Moon Kingdom. So long as you give your approval, your Guild can become Star-Moon Kingdoms Representative Guild on the same day! I will have to trouble you with that, then, Lord Temple Lord, Shi Feng said joyfully. He initially thought he would face a troublesome process. The Top Ten Rookie Guilds enjoyed extraordinary status in Gods Domain. Although they didnt have the authority to decide the development of an entire country, the benefits of becoming the Representative Guild of a country were massive. Representative Guilds would receive precious resources from their respective countries upon taking the position, and these resources included Seven Luminaries Crystals and various Legendary materials. With luck, a Guild might even receive Inferior Divine Artifact ranked materials. After writing the recommendation letter, Shi Feng went to the temples core treasury, a place only those at the Branch Temple Lord status or above could enter. Sure enough, its impossible to exchange for Legendary Weapons and Equipment directly. Shi Feng sighed in disappointment when he scanned the exchange list at the treasury. Although the War Gods Treasury offered Legendary Weapons and Equipment for exchange, only NPCs could use these items. The weapons and equipment usable by players were limited to the Fragmented Legendary rank or below. Of course, the Divine Artifacts that cost over 200,000 Merit Points were the exception. However, it was practically impossible for anyone to accumulate that many points. At this point, Shi Feng switched to browsing the treasurys materials. When he saw the list of materials, he couldnt help sighing in admiration. After all, the treasury housed over 500,000 Legendary materials and 10,000 Divine Artifact materials! This isa Divine Power Source! Shi Feng was stunned when he read the description of one Divine Artifact ranked material. (Scorching Eye) (Divine Artifact Rank Material) An Eye of Flame naturally formed from a Divine Power Source. The Scorching Eye can be merged with a persons body to improve their Life Rating significantly. Required Merit Points: 70,000 Shi Feng had investigated Divine Power Sources on multiple occasions. However, he never managed to find any information on them. He never thought that he would come across one in the War Gods Temple. However, he gasped involuntarily when he saw how many Merit Points the Scorching Eye cost. The average Fragmented Legendary Weapon only cost around 40,000 Merit Points, yet the Scorching Eye cost 70,000 Merit Points despite being only a material. For comparison, God Crystals, which were also considered materials, only cost 7,000 Merit Points. There are four Divine Power Sources in the War Gods Treasury, but I can afford only one with my current points. If I exchange for God Crystals instead, I would probably have enough to upgrade Fragmented Legendary Equipment to Legendary rank already. Shi Feng hesitated over the Scorching Eye. There was no way he could acquire more Merit Points within a short period. After all, there was no second Evil God Envoy waiting for him to catch. Meanwhile, the Scorching Eye was the cheapest of the four Divine Power Sources available for exchange. The others cost around 80,000 points. If he chose to exchange for enough God Crystals to upgrade a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment, he wouldnt be able to afford any Divine Power Sources at all. Finally, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and said, Ill exchange for the Scorching Eye and four God Crystals! Please wait for a moment, the receptionist in front of Shi Feng said, smiling before leaving to find the items he chose. Some time later, the Scorching Eye and four God Crystals entered his hands. Simultaneously, the Merit Points he had also plummeted. However, Shi Feng did not regret his decision. Based on how few Divine Power Sources the War Gods Temple owned, he could tell that these items were incredibly rare and precious. Obtaining even one Divine Power Source in the outside world would already be close to impossible, let alone two. God Crystals, though, were a different story. While God Crystals might be rare, Shi Feng still had ways to obtain them. I wonder how much the Light of Two Worlds will improve? Looking at the fist-sized Scorching Eye in his hand, Shi Feng drew the Light of Two Worlds. System: Divine Power Source detected. Do you wish to let the Light of Two Worlds absorb it? Absorb! Chapter 2891 - Upgrade to Legendary The moment Shi Feng chose to have the Light of Two Worlds absorb the Scorching Eye, the latter transformed into a bundle of flames and merged with the Fragmented Legendary Weapon. The crimson flames made the sword spontaneously ignite, and the cracked divine runes engraved on it began mending. Several seconds later, crimson divine runes lit up all over the sword, followed by a significant increase in the Light of Two Worldss aura. What a powerful aura! Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the weapon in his hand. The aura the Light of Two Worlds now exuded was more than enough to deter ordinary Tier 4 players from approaching it. A Tier 4 player would need to break through the 100% threshold of their Mana Body to withstand the devastating power overflowing from the sword. However, compared to the Light of Two Worldss external changes, the changes to its statistics were much more remarkable. The upgrade had boosted the Basic Attributes that the weapon provided by 15%. With the weapon, Shi Fengs Strength finally exceeded the 70,000 threshold. Now, he was only slightly inferior to Level 150, Tier 5 Legendary monsters in the Strength Attribute. In addition, the Light of Two Worldss three Additional Skills had been upgraded to Tier 5. World Breaker, in particular, could now increase an attacks power up to the Tier 6 Basic rank. The Skills Cooldown had also decreased from one hour to just half an hour. After Shi Feng got over his joy of upgrading the Light of Two Worlds, he shifted his attention to his Nightwalkers Cape. Now that Ive upgraded the Light of Two Worlds, theres no hurry to improve my weapons anymore. However, as a Tier 5, the Lifesaving Skills I have are far too few. I wonder how much the Nightwalkers Cape will improve if I upgrade it? Shi Feng took out three more God Crystals from his bag as he looked at the Nightwalkers Cape, completing the seven God Crystals required to repair the Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Initially, he had planned to upgrade the Abyssal Blade to Tier 5 once he had saved up enough God Crystals, so he never bothered using the seven leftover God Crystals from the Dragon Trial. However, now that he had upgraded the Light of Two Worlds, he wasnt in as much of a rush to upgrade the Abyssal Blade. This meant there was no need for him to reserve those remaining God Crystals. Instead, he could use them to raise his survivability. After all, Tier 5 players might be powerful, but they werent invincible. It might be fine if he died in a Dungeon, but if he died in the outside world, he would suffer immense losses. After players reached Tier 5, they wouldnt just lose a level when they died. Their Mana Bodies would also suffer damage, and a full recovery would take at least three or four days. Either that or players could spend Seven Luminaries Crystals to speed up the recovery process. Because of this significant death penalty, all players would try to raise their survivability as much as possible after reaching Tier 5. System: Sufficient God Crystals detected. Do you wish to let the Nightwalkers Cape absorb them? Absorb! Shi Feng agreed to the prompt without hesitation. The seven God Crystals in Shi Fengs hands gradually disintegrated into seven streams of light that lingered around the Nightwalkers Cape, then merged with the capes tattered divine runes, repairing them. When the seven God Crystals were gone, the Nightwalkers Capes divine runes suddenly lit up. A layer of black fog then appeared around the ordinary-looking cape, reducing Shi Fengs presence significantly and preventing others from inspecting his information. Now, Shi Feng could even erase his presence completely if he wanted to. Apart from the capes hidden effects, its statistics had also undergone earth-shattering changes. (Nightwalkers Cape] (Legendary Rank, Cape) Equipment Requirement: Strength 8,000, Agility, 5,000 When equipped: All Resistances increased by 300%; All damage received reduced by 60%; Strength increased by 150%; Agility increased by 120%; Endurance increased by 120%; Ignore Levels +80; Movement Speed increased by 100%; Attack Speed increased by 100%; Reaction speed increased by 100%. Additional Passive Skill 1 Nightwalker: When the cape is equipped, no information about the player can be examined. Physique improved by 60%. Additional Passive Skill 2 Divine Speed: Players starting Movement Speed increased to 100% of players maximum Movement Speed. Additional Passive Skill 3 Void Walk: Players can freely enter the void and traverse it. Void Walk significantly weakens the oppression exerted by the void. Additional Active Skill 1 Divine Steps: Summons 36 doppelgangers before a maximum of 36 targets for five seconds. Doppelgangers do not possess any attack capabilities and are invulnerable to attacks. Player can switch positions with any doppelganger freely. Maximum cast range of 2,000 yards. Cooldown: 5 minutes Additional Active Skill 2 Void Shield: Forms a shield with an HP ten times the players maximum HP for ten minutes. As long as the shield exists, the players HP recovery speed increased by 500% and Movement Speed increased by 300%. Damage from Tier 5 sources or below is reduced by 90%, and damage from Tier 6 sources is reduced by 60%. Cooldown: 15 minutes The Blacksmith God Bayer crafted this cape for the Tyrant of Destruction. It possesses the power to traverse the void. No wonder they say Legendary Weapons and Equipment grant players the power to transcend tiers! This Nightwalkers Cape is simply preposterous! Shi Feng was thunderstruck when he read the Nightwalkers Capes information displayed before him. Although the Nightwalkers Cape still couldnt let Tier 5 players stand toe-to-toe with Tier 6 players, it at least provided Tier 5 players with a certain degree of survivability against Tier 6 players. The Skill Void Walk was especially excellent for escapes. If Shi Feng escaped into the void, even a Tier 6 player would have difficulty searching for him. After all, even Tier 6 players would be subject to a powerful oppression when traversing the void. If a Tier 4 player were to equip the Nightwalkers Cape, their strength would approach that of Tier 5 players. Unless a Tier 5 player could counter the Nightwalkers Capes abilities, or the Tier 4 player in question did something stupid, it would be impossible for a Tier 5 player to kill a Tier 4 player equipped with the Nightwalkers Cape. Meanwhile, after upgrading the Nightwalkers Cape, Shi Fengs Strength Attribute skyrocketed once more, hitting the 90,000 mark. Now, he had 10,000 more Strength than the average Level 180, Tier 5 NPC. In terms of Basic Attributes, he already stood at the peak of Tier 5 existences, inferior only to Tier 5 NPCs wielding Legendary Weapons. I thought I would have to wait a little longer before I could challenge the Evil Gods Secret Land, but now it seems that wont be necessary. Fighting spirit flared in Shi Fengs eyes as he thought about the God Mode Secret Land. An ordinary Tier 5 player would not have the ability to challenge the Evil Gods Secret Land. However, with the Nightwalkers Cape, combined with his above-average Basic Attributes, he was more than qualified to enter the God Mode Secret Land. Moreover, he had to raid the secret land, no matter what. After all, the wealth it contained surpassed the treasuries of several kingdoms combined. But Ill need to make preparations first before challenging it. Other people in Gods Domain might be ignorant of the situation inside God Mode Secret Lands, but not Shi Feng. Although he had never entered a God Mode Secret Land in his previous life, he had heard many stories of Tier 5 players rashly entering a God Mode Secret Land and meeting an untimely death. A God Mode Secret Land had an excellent environment rivaling that of ancient times, and the concomitant dangers of ancient times. The poison fogs and extreme weather found inside God Mode Secret Lands were more than enough to claim a Tier 5 players life. Hence, before entering a God Mode Secret Land, the various superpowers would always gather many Master and Grandmaster Alchemists to craft Magic Resistance Potions and potions that strengthened the users physique. These potions were essential for Tier 4 players seeking to enter the secret land. Without these potions, they could die at any given moment. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng contacted Melancholic Smile and had her prepare the necessary potions, particularly Grandmaster Potions. The more Grandmaster Potions they had, the better. Acquiring Grandmaster Potions wasnt difficult for Zero Wing now, as Silent Wonder had recently become a Grandmaster Alchemist. Time passed quickly. Two days after Zero Wing began preparing to raid the Evil Gods Secret Land, shock and fear suddenly swept the eastern continents various forces. Just a while ago, the eastern continents various forces received news that a large number of players had emerged from the World Passage. Their numbers were unprecedented, with many Tier 4 players among them. According to the reports of scouts and insider information from Outerworld players, more than 20 superpowers had entered Gods Domain from the Outerworld. The Outerworlds NPC conquest army had also finished gathering its forces, and this army consisted of NPCs from over 30 kingdoms and six empires. One could say that the Outerworlds NPC forces were adamant in conquering the eastern continent this time. This conquest army had already gathered on the other end of the World Passage and was steadily making its way to the eastern continent. The advent of the second War of Worlds was here. In response, the eastern continents native forces began frantically raising their defenses, recruiting experts, and increasing their levels. They also banded together, forming a coalition to defend against the Outerworld forces. At this time, though, an equally jaw-dropping incident took place in Gods Domain. Mythologys First Vice Guild Leader, Cold Shadow, left Mythology and joined Zero Wing with a large number of experts and resources, becoming one of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders! Chapter 2892 - All Sides Shaken Dark Night Empire, Dark Night City: Starlinks Residence had once been brightly lit and crowded with people. However, after Zero Wings rise, the number of players visiting Starlinks Residence had steadily decreased. Now, apart from Guild members, almost nobody visited Starlinks Residence. Starlink was now the least prosperous of the Dark Night Empires top four Guilds, not even comparable with first-rate Guilds. However, many people had gathered in the Residences top-floor meeting room, including representatives from the various superpowers and executives of many Dark Guilds. These people were here to discuss how to oppose the increasingly powerful Zero Wing in secret and the Outerworlds invasion. Only, after everyone present read the report they just received, their complexions turned indescribably ashen. Has Cold Shadow lost her mind?! She left Mythology for Zero Wing?! Is she not afraid of Mythologys retaliation?! Hasnt Cold Shadow always been at loggerheads with Zero Wing? Whats up with this situation? It seems Mythology is also stunned by this development. According to the reports I received, Cold Shadow seems to have planned this betrayal with her subordinates long ago. Not only did they annex hundreds of Shops simultaneously, but they also exchanged all their GCPs for resources. She took Mythology completely by surprise. Although the importance of Cold Shadows betrayal was insignificant compared to the Outerworlds invasion, the various superpowers present were still shocked and confused by this situation. Mythology was one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Cold Shadow herself also possessed extraordinary strength and status within the Guild. She had a high chance of becoming Mythologys Guild Leader. With such a bright future ahead of her, there should be no reason for her to leave Mythology. Moreover, Zero Wing was currently in a terrible situation. The Guilds ability to facilitate teleportation between the two main continents had made it an eyesore for the native superpowers and also a priority target for the Outerworld forces. Now that the second War of Worlds had begun, everyone was steering clear of Zero Wing. Despite that, Cold Shadow had taken the initiative to join Zero Wing. The various representatives present simply couldnt wrap their heads around this situation. Some of them even suspected Cold Shadow of having a secret relationship with Shi Feng. Otherwise, why would Cold Shadow, a woman with a promising future, join Zero Wing, a Guild in a precarious situation? All of you, be quiet! Lu Tiandi shouted as the babel in the room reached unbearable levels. Standing up, he said, Although Cold Shadows betrayal has increased Zero Wings strength substantially, our plans remain unchanged. According to the information I obtained, over ten Outerworld superpowers will lead a portion of the NPC conquest army to the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom. To ensure the swift destruction of these two kingdoms, we must get the experts there to leave as quickly as possible. We must also get the players of the neighboring kingdoms and empires to distance themselves from these two kingdoms. Without the help of expert players, the two kingdoms will fall with only their NPCs and Zero Wing to defend them! The various superpowers representatives and the various Dark Guilds executives nodded in agreement with Lu Tiandis words. Guild Leader Lu, rest assured, we will mobilize all available personnel to lure the independent experts of those kingdoms and empires away! We wont let them assist Zero Wing! Thats right! We can also commission those experts to join the armies of other kingdoms and empires! I believe those independent experts will be more than happy to do so for an appropriate price! The Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom will have nobody to help them! In the current era where Zero Wing dominated the eastern continent, the superpowers and Dark Guilds hostile to Zero Wing were having an incredibly bad time. Moreover, with Shi Feng defending Zero Wing, even the Five Great Super Guilds could do nothing against Zero Wing. Nevertheless, Zero Wing couldnt stop them from secretly carrying out small schemes. Players played a significant role in the War of Worlds. This remained true even for Tier 3 players because players could resurrect continuously even after falling in battle. While NPCs could also be resurrected, the process was much more complicated. Moreover, the battlefield spanned far and wide. Even if an individual possessed heaven-defying combat power, they could affect the outcome of only a limited area. Winning the war still required the cooperation of a large number of expert players. In the first War of Worlds, the only reason the eastern continents forces managed to stop the Outerworld NPC armys advance was the large number of expert players who had participated in the war. Otherwise, the eastern continent wouldve long since fallen. Hence, the various superpowers and Dark Guilds present were confident of destroying the two kingdoms serving as Zero Wings backbone in the upcoming war. While the various superpowers and Dark Guilds were secretly colluding against Zero Wing, a large number of Tier 4 experts had gathered in the distant Orc Empires Ancient Rock City. Looking at the pedestrians coming and going on the main street, the female Guardian Knight White Feather exclaimed, Vice Guild Leader, this city is absurd. Not only does it have stronger defenses than a royal capital, but the number of Tier 4 NPCs here also surpasses even that of certain imperial capitals. White Feather had been living and developing in the Fire Dragon Empire all this time, so she was accustomed to the prosperous and powerful Flame Dragon City. Hence, no Guild City had ever managed to catch her eye. However, after arriving at Ancient Rock City, White Feather had to acknowledge the citys magnificence. The number of Tier 4 NPCs visiting Ancient Rock City was especially amazing, practically comparable to Flame Dragon Citys! Meanwhile, the presence of Tier 4 NPCs would greatly impact a Guild Citys defensive standard and the fortuitous opportunities available within it. It is indeed well-developed. Even Mythologys main headquarters cant compare, Cold Shadow said, nodding in agreement. Originally, she still had some misgivings about her decision to join Zero Wing. However, seeing Ancient Rock City had considerably alleviated her worries. With Ancient Rock Citys advantages, the city could repulse the various superpowers attacks even if Shi Feng were absent. It also wouldnt have any problems fending off Mythologys retaliation. Moreover, given enough time, Ancient Rock City would not only attract a large number of players from the surrounding kingdoms and empires but also acquire increasingly better resources from the Orc Capital City. Afterward, so long as the eastern continent succeeded in fending off the Outerworlds army, it wouldnt be difficult for Zero Wing to become Gods Domains strongest Guild. Her only concern was that fending off the Outerworlds conquest army wouldnt be an easy task. If the defense were mishandled, Zero Wing might even perish in the upcoming war. After thinking up to this point, Cold Shadow couldnt help frowning. She couldnt understand why Shi Feng had suddenly called for Tier 4 members like herself to gather in Ancient Rock City. Now that the second War of Worlds was imminent, there was a lot of work to be done. It was especially important for them to recruit expert players from the neighboring kingdoms and empires. If they acted slowly, the other superpowers would definitely interfere with their plans. When Cold Shadow and her team of nearly ten Tier 4 experts entered the City Lords Mansion, they were instantly stunned by the environment inside the building. Why are the operating principles of Mana so clear here? The clarity inside Mythologys special secret land doesnt even come close, White Feather exclaimed. The special secret land Mythology had found and secured after paying a great price had an excellent environment that provided players with greater insight into the operating principles of Mana. However, only a limited number of people could enter the secret land at a time, resulting in fierce competition among the Guilds many Tier 4 experts and the Tier 3 experts seeking to get promoted to Tier 4. Moreover, even after one clinched a slot, they still needed to fork out a lot of resources to enter the secret land. One had to pay for these resources out of ones own pockets, the total cost of which was enough to make even Tier 4 experts wince. Yet, not only did Ancient Rock Citys City Lords Mansions environment surpass that of Mythologys special secret land, but there was hardly an entry limit. With the size of the City Lords Mansion, thousands of players could enjoy this wonderful environment simultaneously. If Mythologys many Tier 4 experts found out about this, they would probably die of envy. While Cold Shadow and the others were in a daze, Shi Feng, who had been waiting in the City Lords Mansion for some time now, suddenly said, Alright! Now that everyones here, lets enter the Evil Gods Secret Land! Chapter 2893 - Natural Holy Land Entering the secret land at this time? Cold Shadow was stunned when she saw Shi Feng instructing Zero Wings executives to enter the Evil Gods Secret Lands entrance located on the second floor. She couldnt understand what was going through Shi Fengs mind. It wouldnt be long before the Outerworlds NPC conquest army launched its invasion of the eastern continent. Meanwhile, even ten Zero Wings wouldnt be enough to stop the advance of these armies. Zero Wings top priority should be the recruitment of a large number of expert players to fend off the Outerworlds players and NPCs. Otherwise, only annihilation awaited the Guild. Even without conducting any investigations, Cold Shadow was certain that the eastern continents various superpowers had already begun recruiting expert players themselves. If Zero Wing did not hurry, it would fall behind them. Hence, this was no time for Zero Wings Tier 4 members to be raiding a secret land. However, when Cold Shadow saw Zero Wings members entering the secret land one after another, she had no choice but to enter the secret land together with White Feather and the others. After all, not only was this the Guild Leaders arrangement, but the other Zero Wing executives did not voice any objections, either. It wouldnt be appropriate for a newcomer like herself to express her views in such a situation. What Cold Shadow didnt know was that Fire Dance and the others had previously reminded Shi Feng of Zero Wings situation. However, Shi Feng still insisted on carrying out this raid. His insistence on this raid was because he was certain that apex combatants would play the main role in deciding the upcoming wars outcome. While low-tier expert players could indeed play an important role in wars involving kingdoms, empires, and even entire worlds, they were still significantly weaker than higher-tier players. Several thousand Tier 3 players were no match for one Tier 4 player in a large-scale battle. Similarly, several hundred Tier 4 players couldnt compare with one Tier 5 player. In a situation where the NPC combatants of both worlds were roughly equal, the players apex combatants would play a vital role. If the eastern continents player forces lacked sufficiently powerful apex combatants to influence the battlefield, no amount of Tier 3 players could change the wars outcome. There was no way a bunch of Tier 3 players could defend against Tier 4 and Tier 5 players in the long run. Hence, at this critical moment, Zero Wing needed to increase its apex combatants. Otherwise, Shi Feng wouldnt have decided to enter the Evil Gods Secret Land after preparing potions for just two days. After Cold Shadow and the others entered the Evil Gods Secret Land, Shi Feng took the other entrance, leaving behind only four Tier 4 NPCs to guard the control room. Upon entering the Evil Gods Secret Land, a wave of nausea assaulted everyones brain, and everything around them appeared pitch-black. After this situation lasted for ten seconds, they gradually recovered, and they found themselves standing in a primitive forest. Whats with this situation?! White Feather gaped in shock when she saw the forest around her. She had visited many secret lands before, so she had long since become familiar with them. Even if it was a secret land she had never visited before, she was confident she could cope with whatever situation she came across. However, the sight before her was a first for her. A dark sky enveloped the entire secret land, and only a blood moon served as a faint light source. The trees in the forest were hundreds of meters tall, with some even towering over a thousand meters. Compared to the trees here, the trees in the outside world were saplings. Players like themselves were practically ants when standing beside these gigantic trees. However, the blood moon and gigantic trees still werent the most astonishing part about this secret land. Instead, the greatest shock was the monsters here. At a glance, White Feather spotted over a hundred Level 150-plus Mythic monsters in the vicinity, outnumbering the entire team. These monsters stood in groups of ten to twenty, and a Level 160-plus Superior Mythic monster led each of these groups. The aura these Superior Mythic monsters radiated was also significantly more powerful than that of Superior Mythic monsters in the outside world. (Evil Blood Soldier] (Evil Creature, Mythic) Level 153 35,000,000,000 (Evil Blood Stalker] (Evil Creature, Superior Mythic) Level 160 80,000,000,000 To White Feathers horror, all of these Mythic and Superior Mythic monsters had already noticed the teams presence. However, instead of charging at the team like wild beasts, these monsters stood still and appeared to be observing the team. They would also grunt occasionally. Evidently, these monsters were communicating with each other and were in no hurry to take action. However, amid her horror, White Feather also sensed the Evil Gods Secret Lands incredible environment. Even without deliberately focusing her senses, White Feather could tell that the secret lands Mana density was incredible. She felt as if she was drinking a mouthful of water with every breath she took. The clarity of the Manas operating principles was also unprecedented, surpassing even that of the City Lords Mansion by a large margin. She even felt that if she could stay here, she could improve her Mana Body before long. Perhaps she could even try to reach the 115% Completion Rate, a threshold very few people had reached in Mythology. The space here is unique. The suppression it imposes on our bodies is significant, Cold Shadow said, frowning slightly after she tried moving her body. Im afraid itll be difficult for us to fight these monsters under these conditions. The number of Mythic monsters was already more than what their team could handle. With their mobility restricted on top of that, there was no way they could survive, let alone enjoy the Mana environment here and improve themselves. Upon hearing Cold Shadows deduction, Fire Dance tried moving her body as well. She instantly created three afterimages around her, her speed so fast that the Tier 4 players could barely keep her in sight. She then nodded and said, It will indeed be slightly difficult, but it is still within an acceptable range. Still within an acceptable range? White Feather gaped in shock when she saw Fire Dances ghost-like movements. White Feather had already developed her Mana Body to the 105% Completion Rate. However, when she tried moving in this secret land, she felt as if someone had replaced her blood with lead. She couldnt move her body freely, let alone create afterimages like Fire Dance. However, Fire Dance wasnt a unique case. When the other Zero Wing members tried moving, the effects the suppression from the surrounding space had on their mobility and combat power were limited and almost negligible. White Feather and the other Tier 4 experts from Mythology were dumbfounded. Even Cold Shadow was astonished. Are they all monsters? It was understandable for Fire Dance to negate the secret lands suppression, as she was the commander of Zero Wings main force. However, what was up with the others? Cold Shadow herself faced a significant reduction in combat power in this secret land. Yet, Zero Wings 60-plus Tier 4 members fared better than her. In particular, Violet Cloud, Gentle Snow, and Aqua Rose appeared utterly unaffected by the secret lands suppression. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng arrived in the secret land and tried moving his body, he smiled and thought to himself, This Evil Gods Secret Land truly is paradise. The air is filled to the brim with powerful Mana. Someone without sufficient control over the elements will face suppression from the space here. But if they stay here for a while, theyll receive great help in developing and creating Mana Bodies. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to rely on the ancient Gods Domains environment to improve Zero Wings members. However, he didnt need to do so anymore. The Evil Gods Secret Land was the perfect replacement. Moreover, players wouldnt have to waste time on training. Fighting the monsters in this secret land would more than suffice to let players familiarize themselves with Manas operating principles. This was because players could even sense the operating principles of Manas various elements in the secret land with their bodies. Hence, players simply had to fight and experience the ambient Manas operating principles repeatedly to improve their control over Manas various elements. However, when Shi Feng arrived, the surrounding Mythic monsters immediately grew alert. Shortly afterward, a 40-meter-tall Evil Blood Stalker clad in exquisite armor and holding a spear let loose a roar, inciting all of the monsters to charge at Zero Wings members. Dammit! Why are they charging at us all of a sudden? Cold Shadow frowned when she saw the oncoming monsters. Because of the secret lands suppression, they might not even be a match for these monsters in a one-on-one situation. Over a hundred of these monsters charging at them en masse was an absolute nightmare. Among those present, only Shi Feng could cope with the attacks of multiple Mythic and Superior Mythic monsters simultaneously. However, Shi Feng wasnt an MT but a damage dealer. In front of high-intellect monsters, dealing high damage wouldnt be enough to attract their aggro. Only the Mock Skills of MTs could forcibly secure the aggro of these monsters; Shi Feng couldnt aggro all of these monsters to himself. So, theyve decided to get rid of everyone else before targeting me? How smart of them. Shi Feng smiled when he saw the Evil Blood Soldiers and Stalkers splitting up and targeting different players. Unfortunately, group tactics are useless against me! He immediately unleashed his Mana Domain and caught the Evil Blood Soldiers and Stalkers within it. The instant he did so, Cold Shadow and the others were dumbfounded. This was because Shi Feng was practically a God descending onto the mortal world at this time. Despite the Mana Domain holding no hostility to them, they still had their breath stifled. As for the oncoming Evil Blood Soldiers and Stalkers, Shi Fengs Mana Domain reduced their mobility by at least 50%. Some Evil Blood Soldiers even had difficulty taking a step. Compared to the time Shi Feng unleashed his Mana Domain against Saints Hands Tier 4 experts, his current Mana Domain was significantly more powerful. Chapter 2894 - Rapid Improvement This is a real Tier 5?. Cold Shadow and her subordinates were all deeply shocked by the strength Shi Feng displayed. The Evil Beast Soldiers Basic Attributes far surpassed those of the average Tier 4 player. Even Tier 4 players wielding Fragmented Legendary Weapons and had Mana Bodies developed to the 110% Completion Rate would have difficulty going up against these Mythic monsters. Yet, Shi Feng had immobilized the 100-plus Evil Blood Soldiers after deploying his Mana Domain. If this Mana Domain were used against players, the results would be unimaginable. Cold Shadow and the others had already gotten a solid understanding of how powerful Tier 5 existences were from watching Shi Fengs fight against Beast Emperor and Saints Hand. But it was only after experiencing Shi Fengs power in person that they understood the terror of Tier 5 existences. When subject to Shi Fengs Mana Domain, they would be fortunate if they could even move their bodies to launch an attack at him, let alone trade blows with him. Truthfully, this outcome gave even Shi Feng himself a bit of a surprise. He never thought that his Mana Domain would improve so much after equipping one Legendary Equipment. If it were before he had upgraded the Nightwalkers Cape, his Mana Domain would reduce the mobility of monsters like the Evil Blood Soldiers by 60%, at most. It couldnt have lowered these monsters combat power by over 70%. Ill keep those four Stalkers busy! You guys deal with those Soldiers! Shi Feng commanded after seeing that the Evil Blood monsters didnt halt their charge. He then activated Blade Domain, created four magic swords, and launched them at the four Evil Blood Stalkers. Although Blade Domain was only a Tier 4 Legacy Skill, in Shi Fengs hands, every magic sword carried power close to the Tier 5 Advanced standard. Even Superior Mythic monsters couldnt take such powerful attacks. When the four magic swords collided with the Evil Blood Stalkers, they pierced through the monsters armor like a hot knife through butter. The four Stalkers let loose agonized cries on the spot, and a damage value nearing 300 million appeared above each of their heads. Their HP bars also fell by a visible chunk. Apart from dealing significant damage, Shi Fengs attacks had also inflicted serious injuries to the four Stalkers, further reducing the Superior Mythic monsters combat power. Upon seeing this, the nearby Evil Blood Soldiers shuddered involuntarily. If this werent a secret land but a forest in the outside world, they wouldve most likely turned tail and fled already. This scene stunned Cold Shadow and the others. Given this ability to inflict such frightening damage, Shi Feng could easily kill all of the Evil Blood monsters present by himself. After Shi Feng pinned down the four Evil Blood Stalkers, he shouted, Its your turn now! Fire Dance and the others immediately split up and charged at the slowly advancing Evil Blood Soldiers. The members of Cold Shadows group also snapped out of their daze and went into action. However, instead of tackling the Evil Blood Soldiers in groups, everyone found a specific Evil Blood Soldier to take on alone. Everyone knew that Shi Feng had created an opportunity for them to familiarize themselves with the Evil Gods Secret Lands environment. If they didnt maximize this opportunity, they were unlikely to receive another one later on. After all, they were currently at the secret lands entrance, which was typically the safest place in a secret land. Once they moved deeper into the secret land, they would face more challenging situations and wouldnt necessarily have the leeway to familiarize themselves with the environment then. While Shi Feng could still take control of the situation, they naturally had to make the most of these Evil Blood monsters. For a time, Zero Wings members fought separate battles in the forest. All of them took on at least one Evil Blood Soldier, while Fire Dance, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, and Cold Shadow, among others, took on two or more Evil Blood Soldiers simultaneously. Everyone placed themselves at the edge of danger to familiarize themselves with the operating principles of Mana. Time passed quickly, four hours going by in the blink of an eye. Yet, even after four hours had elapsed, the Evil Blood Soldiers HPs remained above 99%. They were practically intact. Even the four Evil Blood Stalkers Shi Feng fought had hardly lost any HP, all four of them retaining more than 80% of their HPs. However, while the Evil Blood monsters mightve sustained barely any damage, all the Tier 4 players had made significant improvements. Initially, everyones movements when fighting the Evil Blood Soldiers had been awkward. Now, their movements were as smooth as flowing water, evidence that they had acclimatized to the ambient Mana. However, they still would occasionally feel a sense of disharmony or blockage when using Skills, Spells, or combat techniques. So, this is how the various elements of Mana work? While evading and blocking the attacks of four Evil Blood Soldiers, White Feather had an epiphany. Her aura immediately skyrocketed in intensity, and she started having a much easier time dodging the Mythic monsters attacks. Her Mana Bodys Completion Rate had finally reached the 110% threshold. At this moment, White Feather felt as if all the questions she had accumulated before had received answers in one fell swoop, and a burst of power flooded her body. White Feather wasnt the only one to achieve a breakthrough. Many others did so as well. Cold Shadow had successfully pushed her Mana Body to the 115% Completion Rate roughly an hour ago. Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose achieved even more astonishing results. Before entering the Evil Gods Secret Land, the two had already developed their Mana Bodies to the 115% Completion Rate. Now, they had reached the legendary 120% threshold. They were truly monsters. At this time, Shi Feng even suspected that Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose could get promoted to Tier 5 should they wish. After all, the two of them were having too easy a time against the Evil Blood Soldiers. Their grasp of the operating principles of Mana had reached perfection. They were entirely capable of creating their Tier 5 Mana Bodies. After Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose was Violet Cloud. While she hadnt reached the 120% Completion Rate yet, she was very close. And after Violet Cloud were Fire Dance, Yan Tianxing, and Yi Luofei. While Zero Wings Tier 4 members were frenziedly sparring with the Evil Blood Soldiers, large batches of NPCs came through the World Passage one after another. Their arrival terrified the scouts the various superpowers had sent to monitor the World Passage. Its over! Its over! Why are there so many Tier 4 NPCs?! When the Tier 4 Assassins saw the NPC army emerging from the World Passage, despair filled their hearts. This was because Tier 4 NPCs composed roughly 1% of the NPC army. In other words, there was one Tier 4 NPC in every 100 NPCs in the army. At this time, the portion of the NPC army that had crossed over to the eastern continent already exceeded ten million. This meant that more than 100,000 Tier 4 NPCs had crossed over to the eastern continent. And more NPCs were yet to come. Moreover, the average kingdom had only a little over a thousand Tier 4 NPCs operating within its borders. Even if hidden Tier 4 NPCs were included, this number would only hover around two or three thousand. Tier 4 NPCs were not cabbages that one could find anywhere. Nevertheless, the Outerworld forces had dispatched three times more NPCs than they had previously. During the first War of Worlds, the eastern continent had lost nearly 20 kingdoms to the Outerworld forces. In this upcoming war, even empires wouldnt be safe. After the eastern continents various forces received this piece of news, they all fell silent. The Outerworlds NPC latest army thoroughly exceeded the various forces expectations. If they factored in the Outerworlds player forces, it wouldnt be impossible for the Outerworld forces to conquer the entire eastern continent. Meanwhile, the threat posed by the Outerworld NPC army had the eastern continents various player forces frantically recruiting helpers. Many superpowers even contacted the western continents player forces. And upon receiving the request for help, the western continents player forces agreed without hesitation. After all, once the Outerworld forces took over the eastern continent, their next target would be the sea and the western continent. For a time, anxiety enveloped both players and NPCs native to the eastern continent. However, Shi Feng and the others inside the Evil Gods Secret Land were wholly unaware of the situation outside. They were still sparring with the Evil Beast Stalkers and Soldiers. After everyone had sparred for over a dozen hours and resolved most of their problems, Shi Feng gave the command to start culling the Evil Blood Soldiers. The Mythic monsters of a God Mode Secret Land were unquestionably powerful. Even when working together in groups of 20, Fire Dance and the others took over a dozen minutes to kill just one Evil Blood Soldier; if not for Shi Fengs Mana Domain, they mightve taken more than an hour. Shi Feng fared much better. In the time Fire Dance and the others took to kill one Evil Blood Soldier, he had already killed all four Evil Blood Stalkers. Due to the four Evil Blood Stalkers deaths, everyone in the team leveled up twice. Even Shi Feng had reached Level 157. And after he landed the killing blow that finished off all four Evil Blood Stalkers simultaneously, the loot that appeared made Cold Shadow and the others rub their eyes in doubt. Chapter 2895 - Treasure Trove-like Secret Land The loot of the four Evil Blood Stalkers rained down from the sky. At a rough glance, the four Superior Mythics had dropped a combined total of over 300 items, including at least 30 Epic items and two Fragmented Legendary items. The Evil Blood Stalkers loot was significantly better than that of the outside worlds Superior Mythics. Even Shi Feng was slightly surprised by this situation. Although he had already expected the God Mode Secret Lands monsters to drop significantly better loot, he was still shocked when he actually saw the loot. Past Level 150, Epic Weapons and Equipment would have significantly reduced drop rates. One would be fortunate to get even two or three pieces of Epic Equipment from a Level 150-plus Superior Mythic. Nevertheless, the four Evil Blood Stalkers had dropped more than 30. Moreover, these were all Level 150-plus Epic items! However, Shi Feng did not rush to collect the loot. Instead, he joined the others to clear out the Evil Blood Soldiers. Only after fighting for close to an hour did the team finish off the 100-plus Evil Blood Soldiers. Although the deaths of the Evil Blood Soldiers did not raise anyones level, everyone still saw their experience bar increase by a sizable chunk. Moreover, the total number of Epic items the Evil Blood Soldiers dropped was not the slightest bit lower than that of the Evil Blood Stalkers. Guild Leader, I found some Epic Weapons and Equipment! They can all be used up to Level 180! Moreover, one of them is even part of Level 180 Epic Set Equipment! Cola said excitedly as he ran up to Shi Feng while waving a plate-armor glove in his hand. Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the glove Cola held. The eight-piece Level 180 Saints Heart Set? Level 180 Epic Sets were rare in Gods Domain, and eight-piece sets were even rarer, rivaling Fragmented Legendary items. Typically, even the Guild Leaders of large Guilds would have difficulty getting themselves an eight-piece set. However, so long as one completed a set, the Basic Attributes they received from the set would be only slightly inferior to equipping eight discrete pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. The set could be used up to Level 200 without any problems. It wasnt an exaggeration to call an eight-piece Level 180 Epic Set Equipment a graduation set in Gods Domain. In his previous life, Shi Feng had owned only a six-piece set of Level 180 Epic Set Equipment; an eight-piece set had been something he could only dream of owning. Rather than trying to get an eight-piece set, it had been more realistic to try to obtain one or two Fragmented Legendary items. He never thought that these Evil Blood monsters would drop eight-piece Level 180 Epic Sets. This was definitely a pleasant surprise. A complete set would be the best set equipment available in the current Gods Domain. It could let an ordinary Tier 4 player gain Tier 5 combat power. Unless a real Tier 5 player appeared, this Tier 4 player would be invincible! Shortly afterward, Yan Tianxing also picked up a part for an eight-piece set of Level 180 Set Equipment. However, this wasnt for the Saints Heart Set but for the Spirit Abyss Set, a cloth-armor set. Moreover, this wasnt the only piece their team got for that set; Violet Cloud also found one. When all of the loot had been tallied, everyone couldnt help their excitement. They had obtained 71 Level 180 Epic Weapons and Equipment, including five pieces for eight-piece Level 180 Sets: one for the Saints Heart Set, two for the Spirit Abyss Set, and two for the Magic Dragon Set of leather armor. They also had two Fragmented Legendary items. One of them was a shield called Winds Protection, and the other was a ring called the Spectral Ring. Most importantly, there was also one God Crystal among the loot. Upon seeing the Evil Blood monsters loot, Cold Shadow and the others were exhilarated. Although current superpowers had already acquired a substantial number of Fragmented Legendary items, with some powerful Super Guilds having up to 30, these were still far from enough to sate demand. With how many experts there were in a superpower, even core executives would be fortunate to obtain one Fragmented Legendary item. Moreover, the drop rate of Fragmented Legendary items did not increase along with the level of players. Players had only so many sources of Fragmented Legendary items. The God Crystal, on the other hand, was crucial for the upgrade of many Fragmented Legendary items, and practically all superpowers sought to obtain a God Crystal. Unfortunately, nobody knew of any reliable sources of God Crystals. After Shi Feng took a look at the two Fragmented Legendary items, he said, White Feather will take the Winds Protection. The Spectral Ring is suitable for Assassins, so Fire Dance will take it. The GCPs for these two items will be gradually deducted from you two afterward. Does anyone have a problem with that? Upon hearing Shi Fengs decision, White Feather hurriedly tried to reject his offer, saying, Guild Leader Black Flame, Im just a newcomer. Isnt it inappropriate to let me have this shield? She would be lying if she said she didnt want the Winds Protection. However, Fragmented Legendary items served as a Guilds foundation. They would normally be passed to the most trustworthy members of the Guild. Meanwhile, she had joined Zero Wing just recently. If she were to receive a Fragmented Legendary Shield out of the blue, many people within the Guild would surely have opinions about it. When White Feather tried to refuse the shield, Fire Dance said, Little Sister White, you should take it. The Guild Leader naturally has his reasons for assigning the shield to you. Moreover, its just a Fragmented Legendary Shield. The other Tier 4 MTs in our team already have one. If you dont use this one, itll just end up in the Warehouse. Rather than let it collect dust, we would be better off increasing our teams combat power. Cola, Ye Wumian, and Turtledove nodded in agreement. Only four MTs were participating in this raid, and White Feather was one of them. If she didnt have a Fragmented Legendary Shield, she would be in for a tough time later. Seeing that none of the three other MTs objected to Shi Fengs and Fire Dances words, White Feather decided to accept the shield. Although she didnt voice her feelings, the sense of belonging she felt for Zero Wing increased significantly. She also secretly admired Zero Wings generosity. Following this, Zero Wings members continued exploring the Evil Gods Secret Land after an hours rest. The team encountered many ambushes throughout the expedition, with some ambush parties having more than 200 Evil Blood Soldiers. The combat tactics these Evil Blood monsters employed also became increasingly subtle. Initially, they only blindly charged at Zero Wings members. Afterward, they began launching sneak attacks and relying on healers in combat. At one point, they even set traps for Shi Feng, incapacitating him for short periods. Fortunately, thanks to Shi Fengs presence, Zero Wings team never suffered a catastrophic loss. After every battle, the dead were resurrected, and the teams combat power returned to peak condition. The team fought in the Evil Gods Secret Land for four consecutive days. Apart from logging off to rest and receive updates on the outside worlds situation, everyone spent the rest of their time exploring the secret land until they reached the inner region. By the time the team arrived in the inner region, everyone was at least Level 165 already. Shi Feng had even reached Level 167. Their leveling speed was astonishing even for Tier 4 and Tier 5 players. Past Level 150, every level-up required an astronomical amount of EXP. Tier 4 players would be fortunate if they could gain a level a day. Yet, Zero Wings members had gained over ten levels in the past four days. However, compared to their levels, what excited everyone more were the weapons and equipment they got. At this point, everyone in the team had already replaced their old items with Level 180 Epic Weapons and Equipment. The team had also obtained a total of 45 Fragmented Legendary items. Even Shi Feng was astonished by this harvest. He never thought that a Level 150-plus God Mode Secret Land would be such an amazing place. It was no wonder the various superpowers in the past had been so desperate to enter these secret lands. In addition to this harvest, the team had also completed six eight-piece Level 180 Epic Sets: one Saints Heart Set, three Spirit Abyss Sets, and two Magic Dragon Sets. The sight of these sets rendered Cold Shadow and her subordinates utterly speechless. In the current Gods Domain, Level 150 Epic Sets obtained by players numbered less than a handful, let alone Level 180 Epic Sets. After some deliberation, Shi Feng had decided to give the Saints Heart Set to Gentle Snow, the Spirit Abyss Sets to Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, and Yi Luofei, and the Magic Dragon Sets to Fire Dance and Yan Tianxing. Upon equipping these sets, the six players saw their combat power skyrocket. Now, their Basic Attributes were only second to Shi Fengs. Gentle Snow, in particular, had her Strength Attribute near the 70,000 mark, surpassing even ordinary Level 150, Tier 5 NPCs. Lastly, Shi Feng had given the 24 God Crystals they acquired during these past four days to Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and Fire Dance to upgrade their Fragmented Legendary Equipment to Legendary rank. Even Cold Shadows eyes had grown bloodshot at this sight, envy filling her heart. At this time, Fire Dance, who was scouting ahead of the team, suddenly reported through the team chat, Guild Leader, I found a primordial ruin! Chapter 2896 - Primordial Ruin A primordial ruin? Shi Fengs interest was piqued when he heard the words primordial ruin. Ruins were commonly found in secret lands, and they could be differentiated into ancient ruins and primordial ruins, depending on their era of creation. Of the two, primordial ruins were much rarer because they predated ancient ruins and the ancient eras residents had already explored and dismantled many of them. Primordial ruins that managed to last until the modern era were as rare as Legendary items. Meanwhile, the primordial era was a time when Gods flourished and Ancient Gods still wandered the land. With luck, one might even come across an item left behind by an Ancient God inside a primordial ruin. Where are you? Shi Feng asked through the team chat. A canyon stream in the south. There are many Evil Blood Soldiers wandering here, probably more than 3,000. They seem to be guarding that primordial ruin, Fire Dance reported quietly as she observed the patrolling Evil Blood Soldiers around her. I also saw quite a few Level 160-plus Superior Mythic ranked Evil Blood Priests walk into the ruin just now. I suspect theyll conduct some kind of ritual inside. However, the place is heavily guarded, so itll be difficult for us to sneak into the ruin. The only way we can enter is by breaking through from the front. Over 3,000 Evil Blood Soldiers? Shi Feng frowned. If their opponents consisted of only several hundred Evil Blood Soldiers, their team could still secure victory under his leadership. However, 3,000 Evil Blood Soldiers was a number even he couldnt stop. Not to mention, there were bound to be many Superior Mythics as well. Even if he could withstand their assault, the others on his team couldnt. After all, these Evil Blood monsters werent idiots. If all 3,000 Evil Blood Soldiers used their Tier 4 Skills simultaneously, even Shi Feng wouldnt dare take them head-on. He would have to evade their attacks and kite them. After all, a Tier 5 player would still take significant damage if a Tier 4 Mythic monsters attack struck him. Naturally, it would be even more impossible for Tier 4 players to dodge and block so many Tier 4 Skills. It wouldnt matter even if a Tier 4 player were at the World Creation standard. This was because Mythic monsters could keep up with the speed of Tier 4 players, and thus could precisely aim and time their attacks. Let alone hundreds or thousands, just a few dozen Evil Blood Soldiers working together would be more than enough to take down a Tier 4 MT at the World Creation standard. A team would need at least three or four Tier 5 players to take on 3,000 Mythic ranked Evil Blood Soldiers adequately. Relying only on one Tier 5 player and several dozen Tier 4 players was simply impossible. Such a team would have to expend all its efforts just dodging and blocking the Tier 4 Skills and Spells of the Mythic monsters. In other words, while Zero Wings team could defend itself against the army of Evil Blood monsters, it had no chance of defeating the army. Guild Leader, how about we take them on in batches? Cold Shadow suggested. Those Soldiers might be numerous, but they arent grouped up closely. Itll take some time for all of them to gather at a single point. We can use this time to kill some of them and retreat once their combatants have gathered. With sufficient repetition, those Soldiers are bound to fall. After listening to Cold Shadows suggestion, Shi Feng shook his head and said, That is one way to do it. However, that assumes that the other side doesnt have any healers. Those Evil Blood Priests are all capable of healing. Moreover, as Superior Mythics, their healing range should be massive. If Im not mistaken, the Soldiers are patrolling within the healing range of the Priests. Once we attack the Soldiers, the Priests will heal the injured Soldiers immediately. Unless we can one-shot those Soldiers, there is no way we can out-damage a Superior Mythics healing. Cold Shadow fell silent at Shi Fengs words. Choosing to kill the Evil Blood Soldiers or the Evil Blood Priests first didnt matter. Neither was a viable option. The Evil Blood Priests healing capabilities were simply too powerful. If the team didnt have the strength to kill several Evil Blood Priests instantaneously and simultaneously, they couldnt deal with so many Evil Blood monsters. Are we going to give up, just like that? White Feather grew anxious. Thats a primordial ruin were talking about! Even Mythology had never found a primordial ruin. It had only ever explored ancient ruins. Even so, the Guild had still reaped significant harvests from those ruins, particularly regarding the improvement of the Mana Body. Those harvests were the reason Mythologys old monsters managed to develop their Mana Bodies so quickly. Meanwhile, a primordial ruin was far more precious than an ancient ruin. It wouldnt be strange if it contained treasures that could help players reach Tier 5 more easily. After all, primordial ruins dated from the era of the Ancient Gods. The Legacies left behind in these ruins would be far superior to the Legacies created during ancient and modern times. Were not completely out of options. After giving the matter some thought, Shi Feng said, However, this will be very risky. We might even suffer a team-wipe. All secret lands had entrance limits. Depending on a secret lands rank, the entrance limit imposed on players would also differ. In the case of God Mode Secret Lands, players could enter only once every ten days. If a player team suffered annihilation, they would be resurrected outside the secret land and would have to wait ten days to re-challenge it. Meanwhile, the teams significant harvest in the Evil Gods Secret Land meant they didnt have to risk their lives for a primordial ruin. They could just continue hunting in safer parts of the secret land and raising their strength. Upon hearing Shi Fengs statement, Cold Shadow asked curiously, Guild Leader, how confident are you? Roughly 30 percent, Shi Feng said. Of course, thats assuming nothing unexpected happens inside the ruin. Thirty? Cold Shadow did a double take at Shi Feng. This was already a very high success rate considering their opponents consisted of 3,000-plus Evil Blood Soldiers and Priests. She then said, I think we can give it a try. While it would indeed be unfortunate if we failed, in our current state, achieving further qualitative improvements in the Evil Gods Secret Land would be difficult unless we venture deeper into the inner region. However, there should be plenty of Tier 5 Legendary monsters roaming there, and we dont know if we can defeat such a monster. Rather than take our chances against a Legendary monster, we might as well risk our lives for a primordial ruin. Itll be a huge jackpot for us if we succeed. Tier 5 Legendary monsters werent easy opponents to defeat even if they had a Tier 5 player on their team, just like how Tier 4 players had great difficulty soloing a Tier 4 Mythic monster. Moreover, a fight with a Legendary monster inside the Evil Gods Secret Land would easily attract more Legendary monsters. If two Legendary monsters appeared, a team-wipe was all but guaranteed. Only Shi Feng might escape alive. When Blackie, Cola, and the others heard Cold Shadows reasoning, they, too, nodded in agreement. Their teams equipment standard had improved by leaps and bounds already, and further significant improvements would be difficult within a short time. Only eight-piece Level 180 Epic Sets and Fragmented Legendary items could provide them with such improvements. Upgrading Fragmented Legendary items into Legendary items was also highly dependent on luck, as not every Fragmented Legendary item needed only God Crystals for their upgrade. Not to mention, the drop rate of God Crystals was completely random. These werent items that could be obtained on demand. Since you all see no problem with it, lets give it a try, then, Shi Feng said when he saw everyones willingness to risk their lives. Entering the primordial ruin is actually a very straightforward process. I just need someone to attract the Evil Blood monsters attention. So long as a sufficient number of them get lured away, I will be able to enter the ruin. However, you must also make sure to pin down those lured monsters. Otherwise, if they flood into the ruin after me, I wont be able to do anything. Leave it to us, Guild Leader! Cola said, confidently patting his chest. If we four MTS take turns using our Mock Skills and Lifesaving Skills, we can keep them busy for five minutes without any problem. We magical classes can also use our magic barriers to trap those monsters for some time, Zhao Yueru said, nodding. After hearing everyones suggestions, Shi Feng nodded and said, Alright, Ill leave it to you. Ill try to explore the ruin as quickly as possible. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Fire Dance, Cold Shadow, and Yan Tianxing split up, moving in different directions. The three Assassins attracted the Evil Blood Soldiers attention and lured them toward the appointed location. However, after attracting the attention of a certain number of Evil Blood Soldiers, the three Assassins had to activate their Berserk Skills and all sorts of Lifesaving Skills to stay alive. Fortunately, they eventually succeeded in luring over 70% of the Evil Blood Soldiers to the appointed location. There, Cola, Ye Wumian, Turtledove, and White Feather used their Mock Skills on the lured Evil Blood Soldiers, forcefully shifting the monsters aggro to themselves. The four MTs then activated their Lifesaving Skills and began kiting and dodging the monsters attacks. The healers standing in the distance also showered Healing Spells on the four MTs, repeatedly dragging them back from the jaws of death. Once the four MTs had the Evil Blood Soldiers pinned down, Shi Feng, who was hiding near the primordial ruin, entered the void and dashed toward the ruin. With the Nightwalkers Capes ability, Shi Feng could cross several hundred yards with just one step. As if he had activated Instantaneous Movement several times consecutively, he crossed a distance of several thousand yards in just two seconds and arrived at the primordial ruins entrance. And before the Evil Blood monsters standing guard there could react to his arrival, he had already dashed inside. The instant Shi Feng entered the primordial ruin, the Evil Blood monsters in the vicinity went into a frenzy and swarmed toward him. The several Evil Blood Priests kneeling inside the ruins main hall also began chanting incantations and bombarded Shi Feng with Tier 4 Curses, one after another. However, now that Shi Feng possessed a piece of Legendary Equipment, this degree of offensive was nothing to him. He easily evaded the oncoming attacks. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the main hall and entered the tunnel leading underground. Although he came across various Magic Traps along the way, they were practically nonexistent to him, as he was a Grandmaster Magician. In less than a minute, Shi Feng arrived in the primordial ruins deepest section. The deepest part of the ruin was like an empty void. A majestic, ancient temple stood in this void. Despite the corrosion of countless years, the temple still radiated an unbelievably powerful Divine Might. If Shi Feng had come here before reaching Tier 5, he wouldnt have been able to withstand this Divine Might. What a powerful temple! If I hadnt upgraded the Nightwalkers Cape to Legendary rank, its Divine Might wouldve had a significant effect on me. Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the temple before him. The Nightwalkers Cape didnt just hide his aura. It also functioned to resist the auras of others. It acted as an isolation barrier that prevented the users aura from interacting with other auras. However, despite the Nightwalkers Capes isolation effect, the temples Divine Might still reduced Shi Fengs mobility by 30%. Even a true Tier 6 Gods Divine Might couldnt compete with this ancient temples Divine Might. Apart from Ancient Gods, there should be no other existence capable of creating such a powerful construct. When Shi Feng arrived in front of the temple, the several hundred Evil Blood monsters that had been frenziedly chasing him suddenly stopped. They simply stood at a distance and worshipped the temple, none of them showing any intention of approaching it. Shi Feng sighed in relief at this sight. Now, all he needed to do was figure out how to enter the ancient temple. However, when Shi Feng entered the temple, what greeted him inside the brightly illuminated hall was the sight of a cloaked, scholarly young man. The youth was piecing together several golden tablets using magic arrays so complex that they gave Shi Feng a headache. The instant Shi Feng laid eyes on this youth, his soul shuddered. Its you?! Shi Fengs eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at the scholarly youth. This was because this youth was none other than the mysterious youth who had caused a huge commotion in Blackwing City and bound his soul using soul chains during the early stages of the game. Oh? Its you? The mysterious youth was slightly surprised when he saw Shi Feng behind him. You actually survived until now, even after getting hit by my soul chains? What a surprise. Should I be honored that you remember me? Shi Feng eyed the mysterious youth cautiously. Back when he encountered the mysterious youth in Blackwing City, he had already thought the NPC was extraordinary, definitely not your average Tier 5 NPC. Otherwise, this mysterious youth couldnt have escaped Blackwing City after causing such a huge scene. In fact, Shi Feng still couldnt glean much information from the mysterious youth despite being Tier 5 himself. The only thing he found out from inspecting the mysterious youth was that the latter was also at Tier 5. Moreover, the mysterious youth gave off a weird vibe; Shi Feng felt an inexplicable fear when standing in the youths presence. Not bad. Not only are you blessed by this world, but you also managed to get promoted to Tier 5 so quickly. You just barely qualify to become my puppet, the mysterious youth said, a delighted smile appearing on his face as he looked at Shi Feng, like a child who had just found a new toy. Since you took the initiative to come find me, let me liberate you from your suffering! After saying so, the mysterious youth raised his arm and pointed a finger at Shi Feng. A black ball of Mana shot toward Shi Feng. In mid-flight, the ball of Mana shattered and enveloped the surrounding space in darkness. Tier 5 Curse, Dark Wonderland! Chapter 2897 - Terrifying Scholar Shi Feng tensed when he saw the mysterious youths Tier 5 Curse activate. He immediately unsheathed the Light of Two Worlds and counterattacked. World Breaker! Suddenly, a blinding beam struck at the endless darkness. The two powers entangled for a moment, neither side gaining an advantage over the other until a second later. Boom! Accompanied by an explosion, an intense shockwave sent Shi Feng stumbling two steps back. His HP also instantly fell by over nine million. Besides reducing Shi Fengs HP by more than 20%, the shockwave also left his entire body trembling. The hand he used to wield the Light of Two Worlds was numb. In contrast, the mysterious youth came out unscathed from the clash. He still stood quietly in his original position. He also maintained the incomparably complex fourfold magic array he was using to manipulate the several golden tablets with his other hand throughout the attack. As expected of an existence daring enough to cause a scene in Blackwing City. He not only cast a Tier 5 Curse without chanting but even maintained such a complex magic array while doing so. Shi Feng frowned when he looked at his trembling right arm. This was undoubtedly the most dangerous situation he had ever come across since entering Gods Domain. Shi Feng had long since known that the mysterious youth was incredibly powerful and that the youth could cast Tier 5 Curses without chanting. However, only after facing the youths Tier 5 Curse did he understand just how frightening the mysterious youth was. If Shi Feng hadnt upgraded the Light of Two Worlds, the Tier 5 Curse wouldve killed him just now. Meanwhile, the powerful shockwave from their clash also shattered the space some distance behind the youth, revealing a woman with eight black wings. Numerous chains bound this womans body, and her HP was below 10%. However, despite being practically at deaths door, she radiated an aura that sent shivers down Shi Fengs spine. How is this possible?! Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he saw the eight-winged woman. A Fallen Angel! Moreover, a Fallen Archangel! A Fallen Angel of the highest order! Fallen Angels possessed Life Ratings close to those of Dragons. Meanwhile, Fallen Archangels Life Rating surpassed even that of ordinary Dragons. They almost rivaled Divine Dragons. Yet, the mysterious youth had incapacitated a Level 180, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel with one hand. The Fallen Archangel was even losing HP and gradually approaching deaths door. While Shi Feng was in a daze, the mysterious youth also looked with surprise at the Light of Two Worlds Shi Feng wielded. It seems you are incredibly lucky. You actually got your hands on a weapon lost during the ancient era. Looking at the Light of Two Worlds, the youth evaluated calmly, Its a pity that this Light of Two Worlds is damaged. Otherwise, you mightve been able to injure me with its power. Although the mysterious youths words sounded arrogant, Shi Feng did not think so at all. On the contrary, his mood grew even heavier after hearing the mysterious youths statement. The mysterious youth could strangle even a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel to death. Even if the Light of Two Worlds were at its peak, Shi Feng doubted he could injure the mysterious youth. After all, a weapons performance depended heavily on its user. Shi Feng had only recently reached Tier 5. He didnt even know how to go about getting promoted to Tier 6. Even if he wielded the undamaged Light of Two Worlds, he could, at most, exchange one move against a Tier 6 God-ranked player who didnt possess any Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Moreover, just like the mysterious youth had said, Shi Feng was indeed very lucky. If the mysterious youth werent focusing a significant portion of his strength on dealing with the Fallen Archangel guarding the temples entrance, Shi Feng wouldve long since died already. However, our little game ends here. Im busy. I dont have much time to waste on you, so can you please die? The mysterious youth waved his hand in annoyance once more. This time, though, he also chanted an incantation. Shi Feng sensed the Mana around the temple vanishing. Moreover, it wasnt limited to just the Mana in this plane of existence. Even the Mana in the void was disappearing, making Shi Feng feel stifled. In the meantime, silver magic arrays appeared, one after another, before the mysterious youths hand, layering to create a fourfold magic array. The Tier 5 Curse Space-time Disintegrator? Shi Fengs complexion darkened like never before when he saw the gradually forming fourfold magic array. There were significant differences even among Tier 5 Curses. Dark Wonderland was a Tier 5 Intermediate Curse, but the Space-time Disintegrator was a Tier 5 Peak Curse. This attack could heavily injure even a Tier 6 God if it landed. Die! The mysterious youth gently pushed the fourfold magic array with his free hand. Suddenly, the space in front of Shi Feng began distorting and disintegrating. With the Tier 5 Curses speed and AOE, Shi Feng had no way to dodge or escape it in time. Moreover, even a Tier 5 Defensive Curse wouldnt have the power to stop this attack. Dont even think of killing me so easily! Looking at the oncoming attack, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and took out the greatest trump card in his bagthe Dragon Summoning Flute. He then injected the 3,000 Advanced Magic Cores he had prepared into the flute. Immediately, space around Shi Feng began distorting as well. Five gigantic figures flew out of the warp and instantly occupied a significant portion of the space around the ancient temple. Boom! Accompanied by the sound of an explosion, the sight of five Level 180, Tier 5 Dragons entered Shi Fengs eyes. The brief invulnerability Shi Feng received from using the Dragon Summoning Flute had helped him resist the Space-time Disintegration, allowing him to survive the ordeal. However, Shi Fengs situation did not change for the better even after the five Dragons appeared. When the mysterious youth looked at the five Tier 5 Dragons, his expression remained completely unfazed, as if only five harmless lizards had appeared in front of him. He placed no importance whatsoever on their existence. The Scholar? This summoner has found a troublesome opponent for us. ever If I knew this would happen, I would never have agreed to the Dragon Summoning Flutes contract! This is a massive loss! The five Dragons with bodies measuring several hundred meters in length revealed traces of frustration and helplessness in their eyes when they saw the mysterious youth. Their voices also carried hints of dissatisfaction directed at Shi Feng. Meanwhile, after briefly scanning the five Dragons, the mysterious youth asked calmly, Are you five going to become my enemies? Scholar, how about we talk this out? If you help us fulfill our contract by letting this heaven-blessed individual go, then we wont have to clash, the leading Bronze Dragon said. The Bronze Dragons suggestion completely ignored Shi Fengs will. However, Shi Feng didnt have any opinions on it, either. He simply observed the mysterious youth and awaited the latters decision. Is he one of the three existences Phoenix Rain warned me to avoid? As Shi Feng scrutinized the mysterious youth, he faintly understood why Phoenix Rain had given him such a warning The mysterious youths strength was simply unbelievable. Shi Feng couldnt even inspect his level. Moreover, even Tier 6 Gods would have a headache when facing five Tier 5 Dragons. Nevertheless, the mysterious youth showed no reaction whatsoever. When the Bronze Dragon made its suggestion, the mysterious youth remained unchanged. In a calm tone, he asked, Do you think thats possible? You are merely a bunch of ghosts from the past, yet you dare speak conditions with me? After saying so, the mysterious youth took action. A golden staff appeared in his hands, and Shi Fengs pupils shrank at the sight of this weapon. This was because Shi Feng was incredibly familiar with the golden staff. The World Staff! One of Gods Domains Ten Great Legendary Weapons! It seems a battle is inevitable, the Bronze Dragon sighed helplessly. It then looked at Shi Feng and said, Once the fight begins, find an opportunity to escape. The five of us cant stop him for long. Outside this secret land, he cannot act without restraint. So long as you get out, hell have a much more difficult time dealing with you. After the Bronze Dragon finished speaking, the four other Dragons unleashed their auras. All five Dragons were prepared to duke it out with the mysterious youth. Act without restraint? The Bronze Dragons words clued Shi Feng in on the mysterious youths weakness. The mysterious youth most likely couldnt act freely in the outside world due to certain restrictions. This would also explain why he had fled Blackwing City previously instead of clashing with Sharlyn. Logically, with the mysterious youths strength, he shouldnt fear Sharlyn. After all, the mysterious youth remained fearless and still insisted on killing Shi Feng despite facing off against five Tier 5 Dragons. Yet, he had fled Blackwing City back then. However, before Shi Feng could properly process the information, the five Dragons began clashing with the mysterious youth. The Dragons did not hold anything back, utilizing their breath attacks right off the bat. Meanwhile, the mysterious youth waved his staff. A barrier appeared before him, stopping the breath attacks completely. As a result, the two sides entered a stalemate. You damnable things! If I wasnt occupied with something important here, do you think you five little bastards can stand up against me? The mysterious youth grew dissatisfied when he saw the stalemate. Ignoring the mysterious youths words, the leading Bronze Dragon shouted at Shi Feng, Run now! Although the five Dragons had pinned down the mysterious youth with their breath attacks, the mysterious youths barrier was also steadily advancing toward the Dragons. He held a clear advantage over the Dragons. Do I leave? Shi Feng hesitated as he looked at the mysterious youth and the golden tablets beside him. He had a hunch that if he let the mysterious youth achieve his goal, something very troublesome would happen in the near future. He might even get swept up in this big problem. Despite facing the all-out attacks of five Tier 5 Dragons, the mysterious youth still split a significant portion of his attention into manipulating the golden tablets to unravel the divine runes wrapped around the Fallen Archangel. Shi Feng was certain that the Fallen Archangel had a big secret hidden on her body. Screw it! Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng chose to spend his Legacy Skill Points to learn the Tier 5 Legacy Skill Returning Bladethe sole Tier 5 Berserk Skill available to him. Even after players reached Tier 5 in Gods Domain, the Legacy Skill Points they earned through leveling up wouldnt be enough to learn even one Tier 5 Legacy Skill. Typically, they would still need to accumulate more points through quests. Fortunately, Shi Feng had acquired a lot of Legacy Skill Points from handing Beast Emperor over to the War Gods Temple. Those, combined with his leftover points, were just enough to learn one Tier 5 Legacy Skill. Shi Feng had previously chosen not to learn a Tier 5 Legacy Skill first to have more options in future predicaments. However, he no longer had the luxury of waiting. Immediately after learning Returning Blade, Shi Feng activated the Berserk Skill, causing the Light of Two Worlds he wielded to vibrate and let out a low hum. Simultaneously, incomparable power flowed into Shi Fengs body, elevating his Basic Attributes and Life Rating to a whole other level. The next moment, Shi Fengs Strength Attribute broke through the 200,000 threshold. His HP also exceeded 100 million. Now, even if he didnt rival Tier 6 God-ranked experts, he was very close already. Thirty seconds! I need to foil his plans in 30 seconds! If I fail to do so, I must leave immediately! After taking a look at Returning Blades description, Shi Feng found that the Skill had a 45-second duration and a Cooldown of one natural day. He estimated that escaping the Evil Gods Secret Land within 15 seconds shouldnt be difficult with his current Basic Attributes. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng charged straight toward the restricted Fallen Archangel. Shi Feng didnt have the slightest thought of dealing with the mysterious youth. If even five Level 180, Tier 5 Dragons were helpless against the mysterious youth, then his chances were even less. The only thing he could do in this situation was kill the Fallen Archangel and foil the mysterious youths plans. After all, he had long since formed an irreconcilable grudge with the mysterious youth. If he didnt kill the mysterious youth, or the mysterious youth did not take the initiative to dissolve the soul chains binding his soul, he would still perish sooner or later, despite being a Tier 5 player. In that case, he might as well use this opportunity to weaken the mysterious youth. For all he knew, he might even get to live longer. You bastard! The mysterious youths complexion sank when he saw what Shi Feng was trying to do. Immediately, he began chanting an incantation. Tier 5 Curse, Dark Space! Numerous pitch-black chains emerged from the space above the temple and shot toward Shi Feng, preventing him from approaching the Fallen Archangel. Upon seeing the several hundred chains raining down toward him, Shi Feng immediately activated Divine Steps. Suddenly, 36 doppelgangers emerged from Shi Fengs body and dashed toward the Fallen Archangel from different directions. As these doppelgangers were invulnerable to attacks and Shi Feng could swap positions with any of them at any time, the mysterious youth had a headache dealing with Shi Feng. Catching Shi Feng alone using several hundred chains might be easy, but catching 37 individuals of Shi Fengs caliber was not. In less than two seconds, one of Shi Fengs doppelgangers reached the Fallen Archangel and executed an attack. However, before the doppelgangers attack could connect, several dozen chains immediately bound its body. Afterward, six more doppelgangers arrived before the Fallen Archangel, and the several dozen chains in the vicinity were insufficient to stop all of them. In the end, one of the doppelgangers successfully evaded the chains and executed a ruthless attack on the Fallen Archangel. The moment the doppelgangers sword was about to connect, Shi Feng, who had been preparing for an attack in the distance, swapped positions with this doppelganger. Second Sword, Holy Devour! Now that Shi Feng had a Life Rating and Basic Attributes close to rivaling Tier 6 God-ranked players, he could perfectly execute Holy Devour. The next moment, scorching flames capable of devouring even space itself enveloped the defenseless Fallen Archangel. -5,416,541,412! A damage value exceeding 5.4 billion appeared above the Fallen Archangels head as she lost more than 2% of her HP. This development ignited some hope in Shi Feng. You little bastard! Youve angered me now! A cold gleam flashed in the mysterious youths eyes as he shook his staff. The barrier he summoned shoved back the five Dragons Dragon Breath completely, and the golden staff he wielded released a blinding radiance. Then, the space around the Fallen Archangel shattered. Countless beams of light shot out of the shattered space and pierced every one of Shi Fengs doppelgangers, leaving an irrecoverable wound on them. If Shi Feng hadnt swapped positions with his distant doppelganger immediately, he wouldve most likely lost his life to this attack. However, Shi Feng did not stop despite this situation. Without hesitation, he used the Light of Two Worldss Spatial Slash. Shi Feng swung his blade, his attack instantly cutting through the Fallen Archangel. The attack was so fast that the mysterious youth, whom the five Dragons pinned down, failed to stop it. Meanwhile, this attack had reaped nearly 3% of the Fallen Archangels HP. Thats enough from you! The mysterious youth began chanting another incantation for a Defensive Curse when he saw the Fallen Archangels dwindling HP. Die! Knowing that once the mysterious youth completed his incantation, all hope of success would be lost, Shi Feng immediately executed the strongest move his Mana Technique had to offer. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Holy Annihilation was an unostentatious technique. There was no giant blade of light or a scorching sea of flames. All that could be seen was Shi Feng executing a simple downward slash. However, when this modest slash connected, it plundered all of the Fallen Archangels remaining HP. Following the Fallen Archangels death, Shi Fengs level skyrocketed, and several hundred items appeared around her corpse. The mysterious youths eyes turned bloodshot, and he went into a frenzy. Shi Feng immediately grabbed a few of the strongest items he saw, swapped positions with his doppelganger again, entered the void, and dashed for the temples exit. Chapter 2898 - Mana Advances The instant Shi Feng made for the temples exit, the mysterious youth took action. Now that the mysterious youth no longer had most of his strength and attention tied up with the Fallen Archangel, he had recovered to his peak condition. With a wave of his staff, he summoned three fourfold magic arrays around him. Tier 5 Curse, World Severance! Tier 5 Curse, Space-time Seal! Tier 5 Curse, Holy Spirit Collapse! Triple silent-casting?! Shi Feng was thunderstruck when he saw the three magic arrays. In Gods Domain, the difficulty of silent-casting a Spell increased along with the tier of the Spell. Even Tier 5 Divine Mages would have difficulty silent-casting one Tier 5 Spell, while double silent-casting Tier 5 Spells was something only the best among Tier 5 magical classes could accomplish. Moreover, this applied only to Tier 5 Spells, not Tier 5 Curses. Only Tier 6 Gods could double silent-cast Tier 5 Curses. As for triple silent-casting Tier 5 Curses, Shi Feng had no recollection of anyone ever accomplishing this feat in his previous life. Nevertheless, the mysterious youth had accomplished this feat. Before Shi Feng could reach the exit, he suddenly found himself immobilized inside the void. In the end, not only was he forced to exit the void, but his mobility was also severely restricted by the surrounding space. A distorted barrier enveloped the entire temple hall. Six pillars of light then appeared around Shi Feng, forming an intricate magic array that caged him. Afterward, the ground lit up with a divine glow, causing the Mana within the affected space to disintegrate rapidly. Just as the mysterious youth was about to obliterate Shi Feng, the five Dragons simultaneously chanted an incantation in the language of Dragons. A five-colored disk of light formed around Shi Feng, isolating him from the outside world. Boom! When the divine light dissipated, Shi Feng remained perfectly intact. However, the brightness of the disk of light protecting him had dimmed significantly as a result. Evidently, it could withstand only a limited number of attacks from the mysterious youths Holy Spirit Collapse; it wasnt an invincible Defensive Spell. The mysterious youth glared at the five Dragons hatefully and said coldly, A futile struggle! All of you will die here today! After saying so, the mysterious youth waved his staff, and the space within the temple darkened. Countless dark-purple chains emerged from the void and instantly bound three of the five Dragons, thoroughly immobilizing them. Only the leading Bronze Dragon and a Fire Dragon had managed to evade the chains initial assault by relying on their skills. Shi Feng had also managed to evade the chains, thanks to his 36 doppelgangers. However, now that chains surrounded the entire hall, he was in a tight spot. With World Severance and Space-time Seal acting on the hall, even a Tier 6 God-ranked player would have trouble breaking out, let alone a Tier 5 player like Shi Feng. Its all or nothing! Looking at the nearby distorted barrier, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and used the Light of Two Worldss second Skill, Golden Soul. After he had reached Tier 5, the Skill had also undergone a qualitative transformation. Instead of providing a boost to his perception and control of Mana, it now upgraded the quality of his soul. Activating the Skill would grant him a soul bordering that of Tier 6 Gods. However, activating this Skill came with risks. When activated at Tier 5, Golden Soul would leave his soul in a weakened state for a short period once the Skills duration ended. A side effect like this would significantly impact a players performance. This made Golden Soul a Skill reserved for last-ditch stands. After Shi Feng activated Golden Soul, his perception of the world around him changed completely. As if he was a three-dimensional being looking at a two-dimensional world, he could see everything around him with incredible clarity. The ambient Mana also became an extension of his body, and he could freely manipulate it at will. It was much better than when he manipulated it using his Mana Domain. He had finally reached the level of actually manipulating Mana! Immediately, Shi Feng brandished the Light of Two Worlds at the distorted barrier before him. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Compared to the Holy Annihilation Shi Feng executed before, the one he executed now had undergone a heaven-defying transformation. Now, even the space around him had become one with his sword. He felt as if he was swinging space itself at the distorted barrier. Boom! The distorted barrier shook violently from Shi Fengs Holy Annihilation. A small crack also appeared on the barrier, although the barrier quickly repaired this damage. Now, this is the true Holy Annihilation! I was mistaken when I tried to guide ambient Mana using my own Mana. Instead, I shouldve converted the ambient Mana into my own Mana! Only by doing so can I maximize my attacks power! Shi Feng didnt despair when he saw the distorted barrier repairing itself. On the contrary, excitement burned within him. He finally understood how to progress to the next step of Mana manipulation. Initially, he had used his own Mana to force ambient Mana into doing his bidding, an incredibly crude method of manipulating Mana. Afterward, he had learned to guide ambient Mana into doing his bidding. While this method had indeed significantly increased the power he could exert, it still wasnt the best method of utilizing ambient Mana. Instead, the optimal way of utilizing Mana was to convert ambient Mana into his own Mana. However, accomplishing this feat was easier said than done. Firstly, players needed to have an in-depth understanding of Manas operating principles. Secondly, players Concentration needed to be close to the Tier 6 standard. Only by having a near-solid mental will could players perfectly integrate their Mana with the ambient Mana. Players needed to have such a powerful Concentration that they could project their will beyond their physical bodies and exert it over the Mana surrounding them. Thirdly, players needed the ability to multitask to the extreme. The more Mana players tried to influence, the more multitasking they had to do. If players wished to improve their ability to integrate and manipulate ambient Mana, they had to keep refining their understanding of Mana to reduce the mental burden from controlling Mana. Meanwhile, after finding a clear path of advancement, Shi Feng began frenziedly executing Holy Annihilation against the distorted barrier. Every time he executed Holy Annihilation, his control over Mana also became increasingly smoother. Simultaneously, admiration for the Heavenly Blue Saint Eliadi filled his heart. Holy Annihilations use of Mana far exceeded the basic standard. The basic use of Mana only allowed one to create inanimate objects like the Mana bridge. However, Eliadis usage allowed her to create living objects. Her technique, Holy Annihilation, basically modified ambient Mana into a true extension of the body. If Shi Feng hadnt reached the Grandmaster Magician standard, he wouldve never understood this concept. After he gained this understanding, every subsequent Holy Annihilation he executed was more powerful than the previous one. By the time he had executed two dozen attacks, the colorful disk of light was close to dissipating. Fortunately, he had finally achieved a breakthrough. The next time Shi Feng executed Holy Annihilation, a white light enveloped the world around him. Mana, space, and even the void disappeared. The next moment, a 30-meter-long gash appeared in the previously invincible barrier. The barrier failed to repair the damage and collapsed. So, this is what it feels like to employ the advanced method of using Mana? Shi Feng was startled when he saw the barrier generated by World Severance crumble. The attack he just executed had undoubtedly reached the Tier 6 standard-far stronger than even an attack using the Light of Two Worldss World Breaker. However, after executing this attack, Shi Feng felt his mind stagnate slightly. In his current state, he definitely couldnt execute the complete Holy Annihilation. Unless he upgraded his Concentration to the Tier 6 standard, he could only keep this move as a trump card. As the distorted barrier shattered, the mysterious youth finally restricted all five Dragons. He then sent his remaining chains after Shi Feng. Upon seeing this, Shi Feng promptly activated Void Shield, his last trump card, increasing his Movement Speed by 300%. Even under the suppression of the mysterious youths Space-time Seal, he still managed to escape from the temple instantly and flee the primordial ruin. However, the mysterious youth did not give up. Several hundred dark-purple chains relentlessly tried to hinder Shi Fengs escape. Every collision with a chain inflicted over 10 million damage. If not for Void Shields protection, he wouldve died after receiving a few hits. After exiting the primordial ruin, Shi Feng contacted Zero Wings members, who were close to dying to the Evil Blood monsters, and commanded them to leave the Evil Gods Secret Land immediately. If they got caught by the mysterious youths chains, they couldnt die even if they wanted to. Although everyone was confused by Shi Fengs command, they still obeyed it without hesitation and were out of the Evil Gods Secret Land in no time. As for Shi Feng, because the mysterious youths Space-time Seal stopped affecting him after he left the primordial ruin, none of the dark-purple chains could do anything to him. In less than ten seconds, he exited the secret land. Two seconds later, the mysterious youth appeared by the secret lands exit, with an indescribably cold light in his eyes. When the mysterious youth failed to kill Shi Feng, the restrained, leading Bronze Dragon laughed and said, Scholar, how pitiful of you! Not only did your many years of planning come to naught, but you even let the cause of your failure escape! So what if he escaped? Do you think I cant do anything to him outside? The mysterious youth did not get angered by the Bronze Dragons words. Sending a calm glance at the Bronze Dragon, he said, I will settle his debt with me eventually. So long as he is inside this cage, he will not escape my hands. I will also escape this cage sooner or later! After saying so, the mysterious youth waved his staff and turned the five Dragons into ash. On the other side, Shi Feng finally arrived back in the City Lords Mansions control room. After staring at the Evil Gods Secret Lands entrance for some time, he breathed out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself, Seeing as theres no reaction after all this time, I should be fine now. Shi Feng did not wish to meet the mysterious youth a third time. The mysterious youths combat power exceeded common sense. If not for the five Dragons assistance, Shi Feng wouldve perished just now. Guild Leader, what did you do inside the ruin? How are you Level 172 already? Fire Dance asked in confusion after seeing Shi Feng exit the secret land. Shi Feng had only been Level 167 when he entered the primordial ruin, yet he was now Level 172. He had gained five whole levels in a matter of minutes. His leveling speed was out of this world. When Shi Feng took a look at his own level, he, too, was slightly surprised. He never thought that killing a Level 180, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel would grant so much EXP. Not to mention, he hadnt killed the Fallen Archangel by himself. What he had done was basically kill-steal, so he hadnt received all of the EXP the Fallen Archangel granted. Yet, he still leveled up five times. Through this, he could tell just how powerful the Fallen Archangel was. If he had come across her under normal circumstances, he wouldve died without a doubt. You killed a Level 180, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel?! Guild Leader, youre not lying to us, right? Thats a Fallen Archangel were talking about! Everyone was momentarily stunned when they heard Shi Fengs explanation. They couldnt help doubting his words. Fallen Archangels were existences rivaling Divine Dragons. A Tier 5 Fallen Archangel was an existence standing at the apex of the current Gods Domain. A Tier 5 player would be fortunate to escape a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel, let alone kill one. Of course not. Shi Feng chuckled when he saw the skeptical looks they all gave him. What good would lying to you do? Moreover, I also grabbed some items that Fallen Archangel dropped. After saying so, Shi Feng took out the four items he looted from the Fallen Archangel. As soon as he did so, the Mana in the control room froze, and everyone gasped inadvertently. They all felt their hearts palpitating in fear in the presence of the four items, and they stumbled back despite themselves. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng took a look at one of the items he took out of his bag, he, too, was stunned. Astonishment filled his eyes as he stared at the rainbow-colored crystal ball before him. An Ancient Gods Eye? Chapter 2899 - Ancient God’s Legacy When Shi Feng brought out the Ancient Gods Eye, he wasnt the only one surprised by the items identity. Cold Shadow, who stood nearby, also widened her eyes in shock. She couldnt help looking at Shi Feng, who had acquired this item, as if he was some kind of alien. An Ancient God! Ancient Gods were the oldest Gods in Gods Domain. They were existences that had come into being along with Gods Domain. The many Gods of later generations only managed to gain their strength because of the Legacies from these Ancient Gods. However, after Gods Domain transitioned from the primordial era to the ancient era, Ancient Gods had suddenly disappeared from the world. In the modern era, barely any records mentioned Ancient Gods. However, according to those found in the modern eras libraries, a large part of the reason humans managed to rise up during ancient times was the Ancient Gods Legacies, which allowed the human race to give birth to many Gods. Although the rainbow crystal ball Shi Feng held was named an Ancient Gods Eye, it wasnt actually an eyeball. Instead, it was an Ancient Gods Legacy. It was a Legacy that could help players reach Tier 6! It was much stronger than the Legacies of ordinary Gods! No wonder that mysterious youth wanted to deal with the Fallen Archangel! Let alone a Tier 5 existence, even Tier 6 Gods would covet an Ancient Gods Eye. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng as he looked at the crystal ball he held. (Ancient Gods Eye) (Divine Artifact Rank, Consumable) This is a Legacy item left behind by an Ancient God. It records the Ancient Gods many Legacies. Each activation of the Ancient Gods Eye requires 1,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals. It can be activated up to nine times. Once the activation limit is reached, all information recorded within the Ancient Gods Eye will disappear. (Current usage count: 0) Out of all the Legacies available in Gods Domain, an Ancient Gods Legacy belonged to the strongest category. If a player managed to grasp even a portion of the Legacy, becoming a Tier 6 God wouldnt be difficult. If a player managed to grasp a significant portion, becoming a God was practically inevitable. It was no exaggeration to say that this single Ancient Gods Eye was worth more than ten Legendary Weapons and the loss of the Dragon Summoning Flute. However, Shi Feng quickly suppressed his excitement and turned his attention to the three other items he looted. Although these three items were not as powerful as the Ancient Gods Eye, they still radiated incredibly potent Divine Might. Even Fire Dance felt pressured by them, what more the other Tier 4 players present. That mysterious youth definitely wont let me off the hook after this. Shi Feng chuckled when he saw the three other items identities. All three items were extraordinary. Two were Inferior Divine Artifact ranked materials, and one was an Inferior Divine Artifact ranked Consumable. One of the two materials was even a Divine Power Source. As for the Consumable, it was the Ancient Gods Blood, an item that could elevate a non-player creatures Growth Potential and Life Rating. It was undoubtedly the most powerful enhancement item Shi Feng had ever seen in Gods Domain. The total value of the four items Shi Feng got from killing the Fallen Archangel was something he couldnt get even if he killed three or four Tier 6 Gods. Shi Feng was also certain that these were all items that mysterious youth wanted. Now that he had acquired them instead, the mysterious youth would definitely take action against him at all costs. After a brief silence fell in the hall, Fire Dance reported to Shi Feng, Guild Leader, according to Liang Jing, the Outerworlds NPC army has arrived on the eastern continent. Currently, it has split into six groups of over 30,000 Tier 4 NPCs and four million Tier 3 NPCs each. All of these NPCs are above Level 150. As we expected, one of these groups is marching toward the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom. At their current speed, itll only take them another three or four days to reach the Twin Towers Kingdoms vicinity. In the case of the Outerworld superpowers, their forces have already gathered outside the Twin Towers Kingdom. They have even dispatched many scouting teams to invade the kingdom, and the kingdoms forces have already clashed with these scouting teams. Although the two sides are at a stalemate now, it is only a matter of time before the kingdoms side loses. According to Melancholics investigations, Starlink and many other superpowers are offering excellent incentives to independent experts to have them head to the Dark Night Empire and the Black Dragon Empire. They plan to resist the Outerworld forces together with the two empires. Because of this, many independent experts have decided to abandon Twin Towers and Star-Moon. When Fire Dance finished speaking, Cold Shadow frowned and said, How foolish these people are! Sticking with an empires defensive line might be a good choice, but abandoning all resistance in the various kingdoms will inflict a severe loss to the various kingdoms armies! All theyre doing is giving the Outerworld forces an advantage! Unlike for players, resurrection was a very troublesome process for NPCs. The Outerworlds NPC army wasnt endless, either. Hence, if players worked together to defend the various kingdoms, repelling the Outerworld forces was entirely possible. In the worst-case scenario, they could, at least, weaken the Outerworld forces. Abandoning the various kingdoms outright and choosing to fight a decisive battle at the defensive lines of empires was an absolutely foolish decision. C However, Shi Feng wasnt too surprised by this situation. Calmly, he said, This is normal. Although players can recover the levels they lose with a little effort, finding replacements for the weapons and equipment they lose is very difficult. Given a choice, they will naturally prefer a more stable battle. Not to mention, with Starlink and the other superpowers interference, its only natural for independent players to abandon resisting in kingdoms and choose to fight in empires instead. In his previous life, the most astonishing aspect of a war between countries wasnt the number of player deaths. Instead, it was the weapons and equipment lost. Many kingdoms and empires had suffered annihilation because the player forces in those countries had depleted their stockpile of weapons and equipment. As a result, the players of those countries became weaker and weaker as they fought. In the end, they could only watch their enemies annex their nations bit by bit until the country disappeared completely. The current War of Worlds was a similar situation. After realizing this fact, all Starlink and the various superpowers needed to do was put out appropriate bait, and the various independent players would automatically swarm to the bait. Guild Leader, how about I bring the main force to the Twin Towers Kingdom and participate in the battle there? Cola suggested. I refuse to believe that we cant kill a bunch of scouting teams! So long as we secure a few victories, I believe many players will be willing to stay and fight with us! Although Cola didnt understand much about battles on the scale of countries, he knew that without the support of a large number of independent players, the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom would fall to the Outerworld forces. The reason many independent experts were abandoning the two kingdoms was simply their belief that defending against the Outerworld forces in an empire would be easier. Meanwhile, all Zero Wing needed to do was suppress and repel the Outerworld players plaguing the Twin Towers Kingdom. Then, the independent players who had left would see hope for successfully defending the kingdom. Once that happened, they would definitely return to help in the kingdoms defense. After all, abandoning ones roots and restarting development in a foreign country wasnt easy. That wont be necessary. Shi Feng shook his head. Smiling calmly, he said, Dealing with those scouting teams will only be a waste of time. If were going to do something, we should go for something bigger! Bigger? Cola parroted in confusion. Fire, bring a team and look into the Twin Towers Kingdoms current situation. Make sure to find the base camp of the Outerworld players invading the Twin Towers Kingdom. Once you do, notify me immediately! Shi Feng instructed. When Cold Shadow heard Shi Fengs words, she turned to Shi Feng with a stunned look. Guild Leader, are you thinking ofwiping them out? Nodding, Shi Feng said earnestly, Of course. If Starlink and the other superpowers want to waste their time, let them. However, Zero Wing doesnt have that much time to waste. The real role of high-end combatants wasnt in defending strongholds but attacking the enemys core combatants. In his previous life, any player force that dared to gather their troops into one big army was simply asking for death! However, be it the eastern continents players or the Outerworlds players, neither had a clear understanding of truly large-scale battles in Gods Domain yet. They were still acting as if they were playing traditional virtual reality games, entirely ignorant of just how much power a single individual could wield! Ill head out right away. Fire Dance grew excited at Shi Fengs affirmation. After saying so, Fire Dance activated a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to the Guild Residence at Sky Spring City. As for everyone else present, Shi Feng had them take a break and dismissed them. After all, their continuous battles in the Evil Gods Secret Land had taken a huge toll on their minds and bodies. After settling his affairs here, Shi Feng made his way to the City Lords Mansions secret room to rest and recuperate. Shi Feng had exhausted his Concentration during his fight with the mysterious youth. Now, even his soul was in a weakened state. To recover quickly, he had to rest in the City Lords Mansions underground secret room, which held the densest Mana in Ancient Rock City. This environment should be enough. Now, all I need to do is recover my Concentration. After setting up a simple Mana Gathering Magic Array, Shi Feng took out a Crystal of Souls from his bag and ate it. Immediately, a wave of comfort spread across his soul. Once his soul had fully recovered, Shi Feng fished the Ancient Gods Eye from his bag. He then took out 1,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals from his dwindling stockpile and injected them into the Ancient Gods Eye. During his fight with the mysterious youth, Shi Feng had come to understand just how feeble he was. Now that Shi Feng had the threat of the mysterious youth and the Outerworld forces looming over him, it was best if he increased his strength as quickly as possible. Hence, he did not intend to strengthen himself before receiving the Legacy Guidance in the Ancient Gods Eye. Instead, he would inherit it now to maximize his current strengths. After Shi Feng injected the 1,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals, the Ancient Gods Eye suddenly released purple fumes, which gradually seeped into his body and merged with his soul. The moment his soul came into contact with the purple fumes, Shi Feng suffered a splitting headache, and an unprecedented heat spread throughout his body. He felt as if someone was trying to cram an endless amount of knowledge into his brain, and his brain was working overtime and heating up as it tried to process all this information. This sensation lasted for several minutes before it gradually dissipated. When all of the purple fumes from the Ancient Gods Eye had merged with Shi Fengs soul, the Legacy Guidance finally ended. Chapter 2900 - Legendary Weapon Even after the purple fumes in the secret room disappeared, Shi Feng remained seated, unmoving like a statue. Only after more than a dozen minutes had gone by did he slowly open his eyes and take a deep breath. How close! Shi Feng celebrated inwardly as he looked at the Ancient Gods Eye. Had my Concentration not reached the Tier 5 Intermediate standard already, I wouldve most likely failed to absorb 100% of the Legacy Guidance. The Ancient Gods Eye conveyed a massive amount of information. If his soul hadnt recovered to peak condition, he wouldnt have been able to accept all of the information. Meanwhile, if he missed out on even a small portion of the Legacy, he wouldve failed and obtained nothing at all. But this is a surprise. I never thought that the key factor in getting promoted to Tier 6 would be Seven Luminaries Crystals. Shi Feng sighed as he recalled the information he received. Seven Luminaries Crystals had always been a rare resource in Gods Domain, and this was true even in the ancient era. Although Shi Feng had long since known that all organizations with Tier 6 God-ranked experts would frenziedly collect Seven Luminaries Crystals, he had thought that they had done so mainly to exchange for the Green God Companys products and construct their personal virtual space in Gods Domain. He never imagined Seven Luminaries Crystals had such a use as well. Now, Shi Feng slightly regretted selling his Seven Luminaries Crystals. According to the Ancient Gods Legacy, apart from having Tier 6 Concentration and an excellent grasp of the worlds laws, players seeking to get promoted to Tier 6 also needed an enormous amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals to construct a Divine Body. Each attempt at creating a Divine Body required at least 50,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals! Moreover, this was only for the most common Divine Body. According to the Ancient Gods Legacy, Divine Bodies had two categories: ordinary Divine Bodies and Superior Divine Bodies. Ordinary Divine Bodies were the most common in Gods Domain. Over 99% of Gods and God-ranked players had an ordinary Divine Body. Superior Divine Bodies, on the other hand, were much rarer. The Divine Bodies of the three Goddesses rumored to have saved Gods Domain, as well as those of the War God, the God Slayer, and many Ancient Gods, were at this level. Superior Divine Bodies were that rare because their creation required an individual to have ultimate mastery over a certain World Law. This was also why individuals titled Saints possessed the strength to contend against Gods. Saints were mortals who had achieved ultimate mastery over a certain World Law but did not become Gods. In addition to this requirement, constructing a Superior Divine Body cost 100,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals. And worse, players would lose all of the invested crystals if they failed even once. In contrast, the construction of an ordinary Divine Body occurred in stages. Even if players failed, they would lose only the crystals they invested in that particular stage. This gradual method also allowed them to know where they went wrong. However, that wasnt the case for the construction of a Superior Divine Body, which was an all-or-nothing attempt. Players were required to spend all 100,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals in one fell swoop to construct their Divine Bodies. If they succeeded, then good. If not, then all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals they invested would disappear. Currently, though, Shi Feng couldnt afford even the construction of an ordinary Divine Body. For current player forces, Seven Luminaries Crystals are merely a commodity for the construction of personal virtual spaces or the acquisition of resources from the Green God Company. It shouldnt be difficult to obtain a large amount right now. Shi Feng fell into deep thought as he recalled the information from the Ancient Gods Legacy. Constructing an ordinary Divine Body shouldnt be a tough challenge, but a Superior Divine Body is still far out of my reach. Achieving ultimate mastery in one World Law is already extremely difficult. Not to mention, I also need to create the Divine Body itself. From the information he inherited, Shi Feng already knew what a World Law was. The so-called World Law was basically a type of advanced usage over the various Mana elements. An example would be the Heavenly Blue Saints Mana Technique Holy Annihilation. However, only after one could manipulate the various elements of Mana at an advanced standard would one master a World Law. Simply being able to execute Holy Annihilation didnt cut it. Currently, apart from his inadequate Concentration standard, so long as Shi Feng collected enough Seven Luminaries Crystals, he could already get promoted to Tier 6. The Heavenly Blue Saints World Law was the Law of Destructionwhich covered the destruction of everything, even the most basic elements of Mana. This was why Shi Feng managed to break through the mysterious youths Space-time Seal and World Severance with Holy Annihilation. Had Holy Annihilation been based on any other World Law, he wouldnt have escaped the Evil Gods Secret Land with his life. The bottleneck many Demigods faced after mastering a World Law was in the creation process of a Superior Divine Body. This was because there were many methods to create a Superior Divine Body, with the core principle being the integration of the mastered World Law into their Divine Body. Of course, while this problem was incredibly challenging for others, the difficulty for Shi Feng had been reduced significantly. The Ancient Gods Legacy he absorbed recorded a basic flowchart for creating a Superior Divine Body. So long as he followed this flowchart, his success rate would increase by 30 to 40 percent. One could say that the most important information recorded in the Ancient Gods Legacy was this flowchart. Roughly 90% of the recorded information was related to it. In fact, 90% out of this 90% was the Superior Divine Bodys flowchart itself. This was also the amazing aspect of the Ancient Gods Legacy. It was completely different from an ordinary Gods Legacy. While I currently dont have any methods to improve my Concentration, I can focus on achieving ultimate mastery over the Law of Destruction. Although Shi Feng wasnt yet confident of creating a Superior Divine Body, he was optimistic about his chances of gaining ultimate mastery in a World Law. After all, he could already utilize Holy Annihilation. So long as he perfected his use of the technique, he should reach ultimate mastery in the Law of Destruction. Moreover, his World Authority had already reached Level 1. He would have a much easier time perfecting the Holy Annihilation technique than other players. After Shi Feng finished processing the information from the Ancient Gods Eye, he took out the Divine Power Source he had obtained. Shi Feng grew a little hesitant as he looked at this Divine Power Source. According to the Ancient Gods Legacy, Divine Power Sources were birthed by the world and carried the worlds power. They were incredibly useful in helping one understand World Laws. In other words, by merging the Divine Power Source with his body using a special technique, he could elevate his World Authority. This would, in turn, allow him to understand World Laws more easily. The Ancient Gods Legacy also recorded this integration technique. Now that war is imminent, I should prioritize increasing my strength above all else. Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng had the Light of Two Worlds absorb the Divine Power Source. Shi Feng still wasnt fully confident of defending the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom against the Outerworld forces. After all, his enemies werent limited to just the Outerworlds players. He also had to face the Outerworlds NPCs. While the Outerworld NPCs might not have Tier 6 Gods in their ranks, they were bound to have quite a few Tier 5 NPCs. And in the case of Tier 5 NPCs, so long as their status in society was sufficiently high, acquiring a Legendary Weapon or Equipment wouldnt be difficult. Take the Branch Temple Lord of Star-Moon Kingdoms War Gods Temple, for example. Despite being a Tier 4, he owned two Legendary items. Meanwhile, the difference between having and not having a Legendary Weapon or Equipment was massive for Tier 5 NPCs. Once the Light of Two Worlds perfectly absorbed the icy-cold tree branch Shi Feng held, it released a dazzling, golden glow. The divine runes on the weapons blade also lit up gradually. After several minutes, the divine runes on the swords blade and hilt connected and became one. Boom! The next moment, the Light of Two Worlds released a pulse of energy that made Shi Feng stumble. The magic barrier enveloping the secret room also shuddered violently and nearly crumbled. As expected of one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons! Its strong! Shi Feng was stunned when he read the Light of Two Worldss details displayed before him. [Light of Two Worlds] (One-handed Sword, Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 20,000, Tier 3 Attack Power (450% of Strength) Attack Speed (4% of Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks gain the Mana Annihilation effect, causing a spatial collapse in an area of 4*100 yards; Attacks have a 50% chance to deal 300% damage; Attacks have a 20% chance to deal 500% damage; Attacks deal 300% damage to targets under Tier 6; Attacks carry the Mana Destabilization effect; Strength increased by 240%, Agility increased by 210%, Intelligence increased by 180%, Endurance increased by 60%, Attack Speed increased by 200%; Ignore Levels +100; All Sword-type Skills +2 Level (up to Tier 6 Peak); Power of all attacks increased by two ranks (up to Tier 6 Peak); Effect of Mana increased by 150%. Additional Passive Skill World Power: Increases the users Life Rating. Additional Active Skill 1 Spatial Slash (Tier 6): For six attacks, increases Strength by 1,500%, power by two ranks (up to Tier 6 Peak rank at maximum), and attack range to 5,000 yards. Cooldown: 30 seconds Additional Active Skill 2 Golden Soul (Tier 6): Upgrades the users soul by one rank and World Authority by one level (up to Level 3) and reduces Concentration consumption by 90%. Duration: 2 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Active Skill 3 World Breaker (Tier 6): Consumes 10% of the users Concentration and Mana to enhance the Light of Two Worlds, granting the weapon the power to break worlds for one attack. Forcibly increases the power of attack by one tier (up to Tier 6 Peak rank at maximum). Cooldown: 30 minutes Created by the Ancient God of Light. The Light of Two Worlds possesses the power to cut all things. Looking at the Basic Attributes the Light of Two Worlds provided, Shi Feng finally understood why people wielding Legendary Weapons could transcend tiers. A Tier 3 player wielding this thing could probably beat up Tier 4 players. While holding the Light of Two Worlds, Shi Feng inadvertently recalled the several heaven-defying feats that had taken place in his previous life. Back then, players who had been lucky enough to get their hands on Legendary Weapons while still at Tier 3 had actively hunted all sorts of Tier 4 players. While the Legendary Weapons those players wielded werent as strong as the Light of Two Worlds, the Basic Attributes those weapons provided had still been more than enough for Tier 3 players to trounce Tier 4 players. Only Tier 4 players with highly developed Mana Bodies and several Fragmented Legendary items could contend against a Tier 3 player wielding a Legendary Weapon. After Shi Feng equipped the Light of Two Worlds, his Strength Attribute instantly skyrocketed to 190,000. Now, he was only slightly inferior to the average Tier 6 God-ranked player. Now, I can put up a fight even against Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Shi Fengs confidence rose as he looked at the weapon in his hand. Now, even if he had to go up against the mysterious youth, he wouldnt be completely powerless to resist. Following this, Shi Feng began familiarizing himself with the fully recovered Light of Two Worlds. After training for five hours, he received a call from Fire Dance. Guild Leader, Ive found their base camp. Theyre hiding in the Shadow Forest, outside the Twin Towers Kingdom. Chapter 2901 - Wind Rises in Twin Towers Twin Towers Kingdom, Shadow Forest: A six-man scouting party led by a Level 154, Tier 4 Assassin slowly traversed the rainforest. Dark clouds hovered over the Shadow Forest all year round, shrouding the forest in gloom even during hot summer days when the sun shone bright. The mist enveloping the forest also hindered players perception, and even Tier 3 experts familiar with the terrain would lose their way if they werent careful. Commander, weve been investigating this place for half a day now, yet we havent found any traces of the Outerworlds player army. Should we take a look at the other maps? a blue-clad Level 142, Tier 3 Assassin suggested as he looked at a tree-lined gorge. With the War of Worlds imminent, many of the Twin Towers Kingdoms player forces had dispatched scouting parties to seize the initiative. Among the scouting parties duties, the top priority was investigating the exact state of the Outerworlds player army. Many of the Twin Towers Kingdoms forces were offering astronomical prices for the information. If one managed to get detailed information on the Outerworlds player army, one could receive not only a Level 150 Epic Weapon for the information but also 200,000 Credits. Hence, although many independent experts in the kingdom had fled to the Black Dragon Empire and the Dark Night Empire, adventurer teams from the neighboring kingdoms and empires still dispatched expert players to investigate. The Sand Fox adventurer team was one of them. The Sand Fox adventurer team was well-known in the Dark Night Empire. Although Sand Foxs overall combat power was nothing noteworthy in the Dark Night Empire, its scouting ability ranked among the top ten of the empires adventurer teams. After the blue-clad Assassin finished speaking, a Level 136 Assassin youth in the party suddenly jumped off the tree branch he stood on, and stopped moving. He then quietly observed the empty woodland in the distance. The Assassin youths actions alerted the rest of the party, and they promptly halted their advance, not daring to move even a muscle. Blade, is something wrong with that place?. the Tier 4 Assassin Sky Fox asked quietly as he looked at the Assassin youth. The other players in the party also looked at the Assassin youth curiously. The Assassin youth, Blade Heart, had started playing Gods Domain only recently, and his level was the lowest in the party. However, he possessed incredible technique and intuition. Often, he would notice things that even their commander, Sky Fox, had failed to notice. This was why they had brought Blade Heart along on this scouting mission. After studying the empty woodland ahead for a while, Blade Heart said hesitantly, I cant say for certain, but my gut tells me something is there. What thing? Sky Fox scrutinized the empty woodland. However, no matter how Sky Fox looked at the area, he failed to see anything out of the ordinary. Even his high-ranking Identification Skill didnt come up with anything. That empty woodland was nothing but an ordinary forested region. Let alone players, he couldnt even detect any signs of other creatures. However, several minutes after Sky Fox and the others continued their observation of the empty woodland, they spotted a 20-man team approaching the woodland. This team was incredibly strong. All 20 members were Tier 4 playersand also above Level 155. The most inferior piece of equipment they wore was Level 150 Dark-Gold Equipment, and the team leader even had five pieces of Epic Equipment. These people should be one of the Outerworld armys scouting teams. Why are they here instead of investigating the Twin Towers Kingdom? Blade Heart was confused when he saw this 20-man team. The Outerworlds player army had dispatched a lot of experts to harass and investigate the Twin Towers Kingdom. Many of the expert teams sent were led by Tier 4 experts. The 20-man team they were seeing now was definitely one of the Outerworld armys elite forces. The other players in the party also grew confused and curious about this situation. Logically, a team of such caliber shouldve been dispatched to investigate the Twin Towers Kingdoms inner regions and even cause a huge commotion in the kingdom. After all, the average player force couldnt contend against such combat power. Only first-rate Guilds could possibly take on such a team. While Sky Fox and the others were wondering why this team was in this deserted location, the 20-man team suddenly stopped in the empty woodland. However, none of them got off their Mounts. Instead, they simply stood there as if waiting for something. Roughly ten seconds later, the space of the empty woodland became blurry, and a tear in the space opened up. A magic barrier? Almost all players in Gods Domain knew of magic barriers. However, the scene that just took place still stunned Sky Fox and his team. None of them had known that magic barriers could be used in such a manner. Through the gap in the barrier, Sand Foxs members saw an ocean of players. From a rough glance, they could estimate that the barrier hid at least several hundred thousand players. Moreover, they spotted many Tier 4 experts among those players. Why are there so many Tier 4 players?! Its over! Twin Towers is finished! We wont have enough to defend against so many Tier 4 experts, even if we gather the players from the Black Dragon Empire and Dark Night Empire! The information those superpowers obtained are completely wrong! The eastern continent is going to lose at this rate! Blade Heart and the others paled and despaired when they saw the player army in the barrier. Although Gods Domain had given birth to many Tier 4 players already, they were still incredibly rare. At this stage of the game, a kingdom was considered top-tier if it had at least three hundred Tier 4 players operating within its borders. Even the strongest empire didnt have more than 1,500 Tier 4 players operating within it. While these numbers might seem large, the player populations of kingdoms and empires were calculated in the hundreds of millions. There wasnt even one Tier 4 expert for every 100,000 players. Yet, from what they could see, the Outerworlds player army before them had over 5,000 Tier 4 players. It was capable of destroying even the Black Dragon Empire and Dark Night Empire, let alone the Twin Towers Kingdom. Commander, what should we do now? Blade Heart asked nervously. With so many Tier 4 experts on the Outerworlds side, the Black Dragon Empire and Dark Night Empire will definitely fall. Revealing a bitter smile, Sky Fox said, What can we do? Our only option now is to notify the Black Dragon Empires and Dark Night Empires superpowers and have them gather the neighboring kingdoms and empires Tier 4 experts. Otherwise, all of us will have to leave the eastern continent. But will those superpowers listen to us? Blade Heart asked worriedly. Those superpowers are all focused on dealing with Zero Wing now, and theyre hoping to see Twin Towers and Star-Moon fall. Would they be willing to gather their forces to help defend the Twin Towers Kingdom? Thats none of our concern. Helplessly, Sky Fox said, Our job now is to spread this information and hope for the best. Truthfully, Sky Fox had already lost hope for the Twin Towers Kingdom. Nevertheless, he still felt that they needed to try defending against the Outerworlds player army for as long as possible. That way, the eastern continents native Tier 3 players would have more time to get promoted to Tier 4. However, when Sky Fox and his team were about to leave, a loud hum came from the distant sky. When the party sought the noises origin, what entered their eyes was a crimson behemoth heading in their direction. Zero Wing? Why are they here? Could they have discovered the Outerworlds player army already? Sky Fox and the others grew confused as they watched the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship approach. Nowadays, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships were synonymous with Zero Wing. Almost no player in Gods Domain was ignorant of their existence. Now that one of these Flying Ships had appeared in this deserted location, the only explanation for it was that Zero Wing had discovered the Outerworlds player army. In no time at all, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship arrived and stopped above the empty woodland. Obviously, Zero Wing already knew about the hidden magic barrier. Is Zero Wing planning to attack the Outerworld players? Blade Heart wondered as he looked at the Flying Ship. Thats most likely the case, but Zero Wing probably doesnt know how many Tier 4 experts are hidden inside the barrier. Itll definitely suffer a loss afterward, Sky Fox said worriedly when he saw Shi Feng walking to the Flying Ships bow. The battle at Ancient Rock City had boosted Black Flames fame. He was publicly recognized as Gods Domains strongest player. However, even a Tier 5 Sword Saint stood no chance against a force of more than 5,000 Tier 4 players. After all, a Tier 5 player would still lose a lot of HP if they got hit by a Tier 4 players attack. Not to mention, these Tier 4 players came to wage war. They most definitely had Combination Skills and battle arrays prepared. As soon as Sky Fox finished speaking, the magic barrier enveloping the empty woodland suddenly revealed itself. At this time, the Tier 4 magical-class players inside the barrier had split into groups of 100 and were casting all sorts of large-scale Spells, including Tier 4 Defensive Spells and Offensive Spells. These large-scale Spells-numbering more than a dozen-were not the slightest bit weaker than the average Tier 5 Defensive Spell and Offensive Spell. A Summoning Array maintained by 600 players could also be seen in the center of the magic barrier. The Summoning Array was incredibly complex, making it impossible for outsiders to tell its rank. After these 600 players finished their incantation, the phantom of a nine-headed snake emerged from the ground. Tier 5! Thats definitely a Tier 5 Legendary monster! Although Sky Fox and his team didnt know what kind of monster the Outerworld players had summoned, they could tell that it wasnt just a Tier 4 monster based on its aura. Aside from the rumored Tier 5 Legendary monsters, they couldnt think of any other possibility. Facing such a monster, let alone one Tier 5 Sword Saint, even two or three Tier 5 players working together would fall. Upon seeing this monster, Sky Fox and the others couldnt help revealing looks of bitterness and despair. A force of 5,000-plus Tier 4 experts was already plenty shocking, and it allowed them to realize just how wide the gap between the players of Gods Domain and of the Outerworld was. Yet, reality now told them that the gap was far wider than they thought. The force of 5,000-plus Tier 4 experts was only the tip of the iceberg. However, unlike Sky Fox and his team, Shi Feng, aboard the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, remained unfazed by this situation. He simply took to the air and arrived above the magic barrier. He then unsheathed the newly upgraded Light of Two Worlds. Disappear! Shi Feng brandished the Light of Two Worlds against the barrier. Holy Annihilation! Chapter 2902 - Power of Tier 6 When Shi Feng brandished the Light of Two Worlds, a dazzling brilliance replaced the dark clouds overhead, and the sky itself descended to the ground. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of deafening explosions rang through the forest, the effects of Shi Fengs attack stupefying Sky Fox and the others. With just one attack, Shi Feng destroyed all of the Outerworld players Offensive Spells, as well as the magic barrier protecting the Outerworld players. Only after destroying several more Defensive Spells did the brilliance Shi Fengs attack generated begin to dissipate. However, the areas Shi Fengs attack passed through were now devoid of Mana. Moreover, the resulting shockwave was so powerful that it reached Sky Foxs party several thousand yards away, sending the six players smashing into trees and stifling their breath. Isnt he a little too powerful?! Sky Fox and the others were at a loss for words as they looked at Shi Feng. All of them could tell that Shi Fengs attack wasnt a Skill but a combat technique. Nevertheless, he had managed to destroy all of the Outerworld players Offensive Spells and most of their Defensive Spells. Even the Tier 5 Imperial Knight I saw previously wasnt this strong! Blade Heart exclaimed. Is this the strength of Gods Domains strongest player? Everyone in Gods Domain had already gotten a clear look at Shi Fengs power during the battle at Ancient Rock City. However, compared to that time, the power Shi Feng had just displayed was on a whole other level. The Tier 4 Combination Defensive Spells the Outerworld players used rivaled Tier 5 Defensive Spells in power. Even Tier 5 NPCs needed quite a few attacks to break through a Tier 5 Defensive Spell. Yet, Shi Feng had destroyed multiple Tier 5 Offensive and Defensive Spells with just one attack. Such power was beyond even Tier 5 NPCs. Shi Feng was practically a God who had descended to the mortal world. Black Flame, is it? Fighting spirit ignited in Blade Hearts eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Im going to become as strong as him one day! At this time, Sky Foxs party wasnt the only one shocked by Shi Fengs display of power. The millions of Outerworld players were similarly thunderstruck. What?! Why does this world have such a powerful player?!. He must be a Demigod NPC in disguise! Even a Tier 5 player cant destroy so many large-scale Defensive Spells! Unlike Gods Domains players, the Outerworlds players had a considerable understanding of Tier 5 existences. This was because there were already some Outerworld players who had attempted to get promoted to Tier 5. Many superpowers had also clashed against Tier 5 Legendary monsters before, with some even succeeding in slaying one. As far as the Outerworld players knew, Tier 5 players could only hold their ground against Legendary monsters. They couldnt solo one. Even experts at the Tier 5 Peak standard couldnt. With so many Tier 4 players working together, they could heavily injure even a Tier 5 Legendary monster, let alone a Tier 5 player. Hence, what just happened was simply unbelievable. However, unlike most of the Outerworld players, the superpower executives in charge of the army reacted much more calmly to this situation. As expected of our primary target this time. I can see why Hundred Ghosts is so afraid of him that they did not send anyone over this time, the four-meter-tall man serving as the armys general said in commendation as he observed Shi Fengs hovering figure. No sooner had the giant man finished speaking than the female Elf standing beside him said nonchalantly, He might be strong, but hes facing the Weeping God Army now! He still isnt qualified to fight us alone! Nobody present rebutted the female Elfs words. Some of them even revealed excited expressions. Nine player armies had crossed the World Passage this time, every one of them established by the various superpowers. The Weeping God Army was one of these nine armies, and heading it was Land of Gods, one of their Gods Domains Seven Great Guilds, with the support of four other superpowers. And out of the nine player armies, the Weeping God Army ranked third in strength. The reason behind the Weeping God Armys name was its successful slaying of an Ancient Demigod, an existence far stronger than even Tier 5 Legendary monsters. This brilliant achievement was also why the Weeping God Army had accepted the task of taking down Zero Wings supporting kingdoms. Alright. Although it is a little early, well summon the Nine-headed World Snake, the general said. He then turned to the female Elf surrounded by dense bloodlust and said, Wind, join the fight with your group as well. Let this worlds natives know our power! Land of Gods had brought out their precious Nine-snake Summoning Array to let all of Gods Domains forces know of its power. This summoning array was also the main reason the Weeping God Army had managed to slay an Ancient Demigod. However, one had to pay a colossal price for each use of the summoning array, and it could be used only four times. Moreover, controlling the Nine-headed World Snake summoned was incredibly challenging. The task required nine players with excellent control over Mana and one player with remarkable control over their physical bodyin other words, an existence at the Beyond Domain Realm. Anyone weaker than that would have difficulty controlling the World Snakes gigantic body. The female Elf named Nightmarish Wind nodded and led nine Tier 4 experts with incredibly powerful Mana Domains to the summoning array. All ten of them then jumped into the illusory nine-headed snakes body. Immediately, the illusory nine-headed snake grew more tangible. Its size also increased. In just three seconds, the nine-headed snakes body, which originally measured around a hundred meters in length, had grown to a thousand meters. Each of its nine heads had also enlarged to the size of mountains. Moreover, each of these heads now held mastery over a particular magical element, and they could independently cast Spells of their respective element. Black Flame! I heard youre this worlds strongest player! Nightmarish Wind, who was hidden inside the World Snakes translucent body, sneered when she saw Shi Feng still standing his ground. Unfortunately, youre not going to leave this place alive today! After saying so, Nightmarish Wind had the World Snake fly toward Shi Feng. The power its body exuded was so strong that the space in its path shattered. Simultaneously, the World Snakes nine heads cast nine different Tier 5 Spells and launched them at Shi Feng. This scene made Sky Fox and his team shudder in fear. The current Nine-headed World Snake radiated a much more powerful aura than before, so much so that it felt like a completely different creature. Even the Tier 5 NPCs they had come across previously couldnt compare to this monster. Meanwhile, in front of the World Snake, Shi Feng looked like an ant, as if the World Snake could wipe him out of existence with a single swipe of its tail. The simultaneous bombardment of nine Tier 5 Spells was something even several Tier 5 NPCs working together would fail to stop. However, even after seeing the World Snakes attack, Shi Feng remained unfazed. He simply raised the Light of Two Worlds once more and swung it at the World Snake. World Breaker! Boom! For an instant, everyone on the battlefield felt the world around them disappear. Apart from an empty space filled with light, they could neither see nor feel anything around them. Everyone gradually recovered their senses, and once they did, they couldnt help gaping in shock, their minds going blank. Gone! The Nine-headed World Snake is gone! Moreover, the Nine-headed World Snake wasnt the only thing that disappeared. A significant part of the vast forest had also disappeared, and in its place was a crater over 4,000 yards in diameter, with the endless void in its depths. From the sky, it would seem as if something had just taken a bite out of the Shadow Forest. This sight rendered every surviving member of the Weeping God Army speechless. Even the armys general couldnt bring himself to say anything for a long time. After all, Shi Fengs strike didnt kill just the Nine-headed World Snake but also over a quarter of the Weeping God Army. After falling into a daze for over a dozen seconds, the Outerworld armys general inhaled deeply and yelled with all his might, Run! Everyone, run immediately! Hes no longer human! This shout snapped the Weeping God Armys surviving members out of their daze, and they began scattering and fleeing frantically. As for the general himself, he took out a Tier 4 Instantaneous Movement Scroll and teleported out of the area immediately. He had no intention of lingering for even a moment longer. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng looked at the vast abyss in the middle of the forest, he couldnt help sighing ruefully. No wonder Tier 6 players rarely fought on the main continent. If two Tier 6 players clashed, they could probably erase an entire empire from the continent. World Breaker wasnt an AE Skill. Even so, it had still wreaked such damage on the Shadow Forests terrain. This was something Shi Feng never expected. After dealing a devastating blow to the Outerworld army, Shi Feng showed no interest in hunting down the fleeing players. That would simply be too tedious. Moreover, his attack had killed at least 70% of the Outerworld armys Tier 4 players, allowing him to level up to Level 174. It was easy to surmise just how many Tier 4 and Tier 3 players he had killed. Meanwhile, players killed by a Tier 6 attack wouldnt be able to log into the game for some time. Even if a Tier 6 attack didnt specifically target the soul, it would still cause significant damage to souls. Hence, players killed by Tier 6 attacks would get barred from the game for some time, and their souls would fall into a weakened state for five or six days afterward. Shi Feng flew back to the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship and returned to Sky Spring City, leaving behind the fleeing Outerworld army and the stupefied members of Sky Foxs party in the Shadow Forest. Commander, what should we do? What else can we do? Hurry up and spread this information! Well most likely need to rely on Zero Wing for this War of Worlds! Chapter 2903 - Fame Shakes God’s Domain Dark Night Empire, Winter Night Border Fortress: With the opening of the second War of Worlds, the Outerworlds NPC army had appeared at the borders of many of the eastern continents kingdoms and empires. Although no full-blown battles had taken place yet, many skirmishes had occurred already. Guild Leader Lu, Im afraid things will be troublesome this time. The Outerworlds NPC army is much larger than we anticipated. Although the Outerworld player army we have to deal with is much smaller than those at the other empires, well still face a tough fight, even if we work together with the empires army, Hidden Cloud, the Fifth Floor Master of the Super Guild Nine Heavens Pavilion, said with a frown as he read the latest report on the Outerworlds NPC army. If we cant even hold our side, theres no need to mention pushing back the Outerworlds NPC army and taking Zero Wings two cities in the Orc Empire. During the first War of Worlds, both sides had gathered all their forces at one location for a decisive battle. However, the Outerworlds NPC army had acted differently this time, splitting into several dozen smaller groups and invading multiple kingdoms and empires simultaneously. Many of their targets were even empires holding strategic locations on the eastern continent. The forces the Outerworld NPCs had invested into this second war were on a whole other level compared to before. Thus, many of the eastern continents kingdoms and empires had no choice but to focus on defending their own territory. In this situation, even if the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom fell, Starlink and its several allied superpowers wouldnt be able to get the eastern continents various kingdoms and empires to retake Star-Moon Kingdom. And if Star-Moon Kingdom remained in the Outerworld NPCs hands, taking Zero Wings lost Ancient Rock City and Silverwing City would also be impossible. You can rest assured, Brother Cloud. According to the information I got, the several kingdoms neighboring the Dark Night Empire that arent under attack are already mobilizing their troops to the Dark Night Empire, Lu Tiandi said, assuaging Hidden Clouds worries. Once these kingdoms armies arrive, combined with the players we have here, defending against the Outerworlds NPC army shouldnt be difficult. As for Zero Wings two Guild Cities, it doesnt matter even if we cant acquire them fully as planned. Once the Twin Towers Kingdom falls, Zero Wing will have to beg us to help defend Star-Moon Kingdom to keep those two cities. At that time, let alone obtaining shares to those two Guild Cities, we might even be able to acquire shares for Zero Wing City. After hearing Lu Tiandis words, Hidden Cloud nodded in agreement. Although there was a slight change to their plans, the overall situation remained in their favor. The Dark Night Empire had an advantage in players over the Outerworld army, so it wouldnt be difficult to repel the enemy. After all, players did not fear death, unlike NPCs. Moreover, the Dark Night Empire had opened its treasury to players this time. Players fighting for the empire would receive Contribution Points if they managed to kill the Outerworld NPCs, and these points could be exchanged for weapons and equipment. Hence, the empires players no longer had to worry about running out of weapons and equipment. The only uncertainty left in their plan now was Zero Wings decision. Zero Wing could either choose to monopolize Zero Wing Citys benefits and abandon Star-Moon Kingdom and its two Guild Cities in the Orc Empire or give away a portion of Zero Wing Citys benefits to secure Star-Moon Kingdom and those two Guild Cities. However, just when Lu Tiandi, Hidden Cloud, and the other superpowers executives present were about to continue discussing how to proceed in the current situation, a commotion suddenly erupted among the Winter Night Fortresss players. Moreover, it grew louder and louder as more time passed. This situation confused Lu Tiandi and the others, who were holding a meeting atop the fortresss wall. Guild Leader! Something big happened! Suddenly, a middle-aged man approached the group of executives hurriedly and arrived before Lu Tiandi. This person was none other than Yi Kui, Lu Tiandis butler. At this time, Yi Kui had an anxious expression, his usual composure nowhere in sight. What happened? Why are you in such a hurry? Lu Tiandi asked in dissatisfaction as he looked at Yi Kui. As his butler and secretary in the Guild, Yi Kui could be considered a representative of Starlink. Yi Kui was simply embarrassing Starlink by displaying such uncouth behavior in front of the various superpowers executives. This Yi Kui hesitated to speak as he looked at the various representatives present. From Yi Kuis hesitancy, Lu Tiandi understood that his butler had something very important to tell him. He then said, If you cant say it, send the information to me. Immediately, Yi Kui forwarded the relevant information to Lu Tiandi. Although this situation piqued the various executives curiosity, none of them said anything about Lu Tiandi and Yi Kuis exchange. After all, every Guild had its secrets. However, roughly ten seconds after Lu Tiandi began reading the information Yi Kui provided, his expression changed drastically. He even failed to control himself and shouted his thoughts. Impossible! Lu Tiandis loss of composure surprised the various superpowers executives. Lu Tiandi had criticized Yi Kui for the latters loss of composure just a moment ago, yet he was now behaving even worse than Yi Kui. Just when the various superpowers executives were about to ask Lu Tiandi what information he had received, they suddenly received a message from their respective subordinates. The content of the message was simple, and it even came with a battle video attached. When the various executives played the battle video, what first entered their eyes was a man swinging a sword at one of the Outerworlds player armies. However, the next moment, both a gigantic nine-headed snake and over one-quarter of the player army vanishedalong with a significant portion of the forest. Afterward, the remaining Outerworld players scattered and fled the area. As for the man, he returned to the Flying Ship behind him and departed the area as well. A Crimson Dragon Flying Ship? Is he Black Flame? Questions and shock flooded the heads of the various superpowers executives. All of them were Tier 4 players, so despite the battle videos brevity, their eyes still managed to take note of every little detail in it. Although they couldnt see the nine-headed snakes information, based on the spatial fluctuations surrounding it, the monster was undoubtedly at the Tier 5 Legendary rank. They also counted at least 4,000 Tier 4 players in the Outerworlds player army-far more than what any single empire on the eastern continent had faced so far. Yet, Shi Feng had not only killed the Tier 5 Legendary monster with one attack but also defeated the army of millions. After several minutes of silence, the various superpowers executives snapped out of their daze one after another. However, their earlier complacency was nowhere to be seen, replaced by solemn expressions. Guild Leader Lu, I still have something to do, so Ill be taking my leave first. Guild Leader Lu, my superior suddenly called me back for a meeting, so excuse me! Guild Leader Lu The next moment, the various superpowers executives gave all sorts of excuses and left the fortress in quick succession. Even Hidden Cloud, Lu Tiandis staunch supporter, suddenly said he felt ill and logged out of the game to rest. In no time at all, only Lu Tiandi and Yi Kui remained on the fortresss wall. Yi Kuis complexion turned livid as he watched the various superpowers executives leave. He then asked Lu Tiandi, What should we do now, Young Master? The strength Shi Feng displayed had already thoroughly exceeded their imagination. After the battle in the Shadow Forest, Yi Kui could already foresee the Outerworlds players abandoning their attack on the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom. Since the Outerworlds NPC army had split into several dozen groups, mainly targeting the various empires, Zero Wing should have no problem defending the Twin Towers Kingdom. Not to mention, Shi Feng could solo Tier 5 Legendary monsters. So long as he didnt foolishly rush into the NPC armys base camp, killing the Outerworlds NPCs would be a cakewalk for him. In contrast to Zero Wings situation, Starlinks situation was absolutely abysmal. If they went by the reactions of the various superpowers executives, these superpowers intended to abandon Starlink. We havent lost yet! Lu Tiandi said as he sent a cold glare at Yi Kui. Black Flame is the core of everything! So long as we deal with Black Flame, everything else will be simple! But Black Flames strength is extraordinary. The grandmasters the various corporations sent last time are still lying in the hospital Yi Kui said. Yi Kui had received a fright when he heard this news back then. That was a force of 14 half-step-grandmaster- and grandmaster-level experts! Yet, these experts had actually lost. Moreover, according to them, Shi Feng had defeated them all by himself. The strength he wielded was simply unbelievable. Moreover, the grandmasters in the group even judged that Shi Feng was most likely a mental strength master already! A mental strength master was an existence Starlink couldnt afford to offend, no matter what. At best, he has just become a mental strength master. He is still far from a match for my teacher, Lu Tiandi said coldly. I dont know what happened, but my teacher suddenly became interested in Gods Domain recently and now wants to gain control over a powerful force in Gods Domain. He even told me to figure out a way to do so. My original plan was to annex Zero Wing for myself, but seeing as thats not possible now, I can give it to my teacher instead. With Zero Wings current influence and resources, theres no way my teacher wont be interested. Moreover, Black Flame even got my senior brother kicked out of the Upper Zone. Given my teachers personality, he will deal with Black Flame, even if Black Flame is now a mental strength master! Lu Tiandi no longer held any hope of annexing Zero Wings resources. Nevertheless, he couldnt let Shi Feng off the hook so easily. After Lu Tiandi finished speaking, he assigned some tasks to Yi Kui and logged off to contact his teacher. In the meantime, the various powers of Gods Domain had also received news of Shi Feng defeating one of the Outerworlds player armies. The superpowers were shaken for a time, and their fear of Zero Wing skyrocketed. Some superpowers even began planning to convey good intentions to Zero Wing. However, Shi Feng wasnt present in Gods Domain to receive any of these good intentions, as he had promptly logged out of the game after returning to Sky Spring City. This was because today was the day he would receive his large mansion! Chapter 2904 - Changing Times Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, base layer, Upper-class Mansion District: Brother Shi, I really have to congratulate you this time. This large mansion is the last one available in the base layer. You probably cant get another one in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone even if you want to in the future, Han Yifeng said when he saw Shi Feng registering himself as the owner of the mansion in front of him. Looking at the three-story mansion, which occupied an area as large as half a football field, he couldnt repress his envy as he said, Youre only one of three people to own a large mansion as an individual in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. The base layers ten large mansions didnt just have the best position and environment. They also served as a status symbol. The only reason Han Yifeng got to stay in a large mansion himself was his status as the Five States Corporations heir. The other members of his family, even those with excellent performance, could stay in the large mansion for only a short period. In comparison, Shi Feng had purchased a large mansion all by himself. Moreover, he wouldnt have any people disturbing his peace. The heirs and heads of the base layers various corporations would be green with envy once they heard about this. The last one? Shi Feng was a little surprised. Werent there two left before? Did someone buy the other one during this time? Mhm. They concluded the purchase yesterday, Han Yifeng said, nodding. Sighing ruefully, he continued, Moreover, you might very well know the person who bought it. I know them? Shi Feng grew even more surprised. There were only ten large mansions in the base layer; even a powerful organization like the Boulder Corporation didnt have the ability to purchase one. He found it truly hard to imagine that any of his acquaintances did. You might not know her in real life, but youve probably heard of her in Gods Domain, Han Yifeng said, chuckling. Does the name Endless Scars or Weiyang Qianhen[1] ring any bells? The Midnight Tea Party she belongs to is currently the target of recruitment of even the Five Great Super Guilds. Rumors say that she has already developed her Mana Body to the 120% Completion Rate, and she can probably get promoted to Tier 5 at any time. Its her?! Shi Feng was startled. He had a general idea of Endless Scarss identity. He was sure that she was the princess of a major corporation and that she might live in the Upper Zone. However, he never thought that Endless Scars would hold such great strength in the Upper Zone that she could afford a large mansion. It seems you do know her. Looking at Shi Fengs surprised expression, Han Yifeng smiled and said, Shes quite something. You can even say that shes astounding. She managed to buy that mansion this time not because of her family but because her senior brother gifted it to her. Gifted? Shi Feng was flabbergasted. He had spent a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals to purchase a large mansion, and he didnt know how much time he would need to collect so many crystals again. Thats right. Its because she has incredible talent. A big shot in the middle layer recently took her in as his student. I heard that this big shot even paid a high price to borrow a middle-layer reserve slot for her to help her break through to mental strength master, Han Yifeng said, a hint of envy appearing in his eyes. I have to admit that her talent is truly astonishing. Shes been labeled the best talent Yuantian Citys Upper Zone has seen in the past hundred years. Once she reaches the middle layer, shell probably take only a few months to become a mental strength master. And with her talent, beauty, and a middle-layer big shot supporting her, she naturally became the target of pursuit of many of the Upper Zones youths. One of them is Qin Baiyi, her senior brother. Qin Baiyi is also an extraordinary talent. He successfully broke through and became a mental strength master two years agothe youngest mental strength master in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone in the past twenty years. Because Weiyang Qianhen arrived at Yuantian Citys Upper Zone only recently, Qin Baiyi bought a large mansion as a temporary residence for her to adapt to the lifestyle here. Having spoken up to this point, Han Yifeng, who was normally indifferent to his surroundings, betrayed some yearning for the woman named Weiyang Qianhen. After all, mental strength masters were incredibly rare, and a beautiful mental strength master was rarer. However, before Han Yifeng could fantasize for long, Shi Feng interrupted him, asking, Young Master Han, do I need to go through any procedures to let other people live in this mansion long-term? Fang Shihan had transferred ten Upper Zone reserve slots, and he had already assigned them to Fire Dance and the others. The ordinary housing unit he had couldnt accommodate them all. Meanwhile, one would enjoy vastly different treatment depending on whether one had housing or not. A housing status didnt just signify that one had lodging; it also determined the exercise equipment and food one could gain access to, among other things. Those without housing could only enjoy the most common training facilities and food. If one wished to eat better food or rent the Upper Zones high-tech training facilities, one needed to have housing status. There are some, Han Yifeng said, nodding. All you need to do is register their identities at the Green God Tower. If youre not familiar with anyone there, you can come with me. It so happens that I also need to register someone to my mansion. At this point, Han Yifeng no longer dared underestimate Shi Feng. In fact, he had even begun placing great importance on Shi Feng. Shi Fengs defeating multiple Henglian grandmasters all by himself aside, just the position and resources Zero Wing currently held in Gods Domain already made the Guild worthy of befriending for the Upper Zones various organizations. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals couldnt be acquired easily in Gods Domain. Ill have to trouble you then, Young Master Han, Shi Feng said. Although Shi Feng understood Han Yifengs motives, he didnt reject the other partys goodwill. His partnership with Han Yifeng might be a long-term one, as he was severely lacking in resources and trade points. Meanwhile, the Five States Corporation possessed great influence in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. There should be a lot of things they could partner on in the future. Following this, Han Yifeng gave Shi Feng a rundown on the basics of the large mansion; then, the two made their way to the Green God Tower. The Green God Towers lobby was as crowded as ever. Members of corporations and internal members of the Green God Company were lined up, waiting to exchange for various potions. These people easily numbered over a thousand, and more were still joining the line. The situation at the housing registration counter wasnt the slightest bit inferior, either. When Shi Feng and Han Yifeng entered the exchange center, a young and beautiful girl wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and denim shorts noticed them. She immediately strode over with her long legs and approached them in a sprightly manner. Upon seeing the approaching girl, Han Yifeng turned to Shi Feng and said, This is my younger cousin, Han Rongrong. The family recently decided to have her live in the mansion because of her talent. When Shi Feng saw the lively girl in front of him, he was somewhat surprised. Firstly, it was because of Han Rongrongs talent. From what he could tell, the girl was only around 16 or 17 years old, yet she had already reached the half-step Henglian grandmaster standard. Secondly, it was because Han Rongrongs appearance resembled the famous Chaos Witch of his previous life. Although Chaos Witch was labeled a Witch, she didnt actually play a magical class in Gods Domain. Instead, she was a Guardian Knight. Unlike Gentle Snow and Phoenix Rain, who had risen to fame early on in Gods Domain, Chaos Witch had joined Gods Domain two years after its launch. However, her rise was rapid, getting promoted to Tier 5 in less than two years. She had also become one of Gods Domains Twelve Sacred Guardian Knights and had been only half a step away from getting promoted to Tier 6. Hello! My name is Han Rongrong! I heard a lot about you from my cousin. He says youre very strong! If theres an opportunity, we must have a spar with each other! Han Rongrong said as she looked at Shi Feng with eyes sparkling with curiosity and fighting spirit. Rongrong, stop messing around! Brother Shi can defeat even Henglian grandmasters! Someone who isnt even a Henglian grandmaster has no business challenging him! Han Yifeng said as he glared at Han Rongrong. After taking a deep breath, he continued, Lets head to the VIP hall to get the residence registration done. However, Han Rongrong paid no heed to Han Yifengs scolding. She even made a funny face at Han Yifeng. While following behind her cousin, she quietly observed Shi Feng, the rumored extraordinary expert. The Green God Towers VIP hall, located on the 22nd floor, was dedicated to receiving people of a certain status in the base layer. The base layers average resident couldnt come here even if they wanted to. Only heirs of major corporations like Han Yifeng had the qualifications to do so. However, the so-called VIP hall wasnt anything special. It merely functioned as a specialized housing registration center. VIPs seeking to exchange for points and items still had to line up downstairs like everyone else. When Han Yifeng, Shi Feng, and Han Rongrong entered the VIP hall, they found it nearly empty. However, upon seeing a group of five in the hall, Han Yifeng couldnt help tensing up. Of the five, four were male, and one was female. Three of the four males were the top three rankers of the current contribution competition, while the last was a young man clad in white. As for the female, she was a beautiful young woman in a blue dress with an indifferent expression. Currently, the four males surrounded the woman. This woman was none other than Weiyang Qianhen, or Endless Scars, the person Han Yifeng mentioned earlier. When Shi Fengs group entered the hall, Weiyang Qianhen shifted her gaze toward them. Before Shi Feng and the others could react, she suddenly made her way toward them, causing Han Yifeng to widen his eyes in shock. Shi Feng, right? Or should I call you Guild Leader Black Flame? Weiyang Qianhen said, smiling faintly as she took in Shi Fengs dazed expression. You deceived me so badly before! Chapter 2905 - High Grade Authority When Weiyang Qianhen finished speaking, both the men tagging along with her and Han Yifeng turned to look at Shi Feng in disbelief. Weiyang Qianhens tone was gentle. Although her words sounded reproachful, they were actually intimate. Han Yifeng found this situation particularly unbelievable. He looked at Shi Feng as if he was looking at a monster, his mouth nearly failing to close properly. Weiyang Qianhen currently enjoyed a lofty position in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, far out of even the Five States Corporations reach. Many youths in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone could only dream of getting acquainted with Weiyang Qianhen, let alone having her strike up a conversation with them. Previously, when Han Yifeng spoke with Shi Feng about Weiyang Qianhen, he thought Shi Feng only knew of the womans existence. After all, the Midnight Tea Party was extremely famous in Gods Domain as one of the best adventurer teams in the game. Anyone with a reliable information network in Gods Domain would have heard of it. Han Yifeng never thought that the two of them were actually acquaintances and shared a good relationship. Meanwhile, in response to Weiyang Qianhens questioning, Shi Feng smiled bitterly and said, It seems Ive made a fool of myself in front of Miss Weiyang. However, I was forced by circumstances to hide my true identity back then. You sure know how to act mature, Weiyang Qianhen said sourly. Previously, she had thought Shi Feng was older than her, at least in his thirties, which explained how he came to possess such incredible strength. Afterward, she had constantly thought of surpassing Shi Feng one day, going as far as to leave the Midnight Tea Party for a long period to train like crazy. After all, Shi Feng had given her a lot of surprises during their initial meeting. She never thought a person could become so powerful. However, just when she thought she was catching up to Shi Feng, she received a shocking piece of news-Black Flames true identity was actually that of a young man who wasnt even 25. Moreover, he was a bona fide self-made expert who didnt possess the slightest bit of background or expert guidance. She had fallen into depression for quite some time after learning about this. Shi Feng laughed blankly at Weiyang Qianhens comment. In reality, it wasnt wrong to say that he was a man in his thirties. After all, he had been one when he reincarnated. Its been a while since we met, and it seems youve undergone an amazing transformation. Youre now a celebrity in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Me? Thats where you are wrong. Weiyang Qianhen shook her head. She then pointed at the white-clad youth nearby and said, Id better introduce you to my senior brother! When Weiyang Qianhen said the words senior brother, she deliberately emphasized the word senior, causing the white-clad youth to smile bitterly before walking over. And this is? When Shi Feng looked at Qin Baiyi, he found the white-clad youth somewhat familiar. He felt as if he had met the other party somewhere before, yet he couldnt recall where. Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. We meet again, Qin Baiyi greeted with a smile. Again? Have we met before? Shi Feng grew confused when he saw Qin Baiyi greeting him like an old acquaintance. Of course youve met! He likes to act mature, exactly like you! Weiyang Qianhen said as she glared at Qin Baiyi, gritting her teeth slightly. Smiling awkwardly, Qin Baiyi said, Let me introduce myself. You can call me by my real name, Qin Baiyi. You can also call me by my game ID, Breeze Wine. Breeze Wine! Youre Breeze Wine?! Shi Feng was startled when he heard Qin Baiyis words. Breeze Wine was the Midnight Tea Partys commander, someone Shi Feng had met and was relatively familiar with. However, the white-clad youth in front of him had a completely different look and bearing from Breeze Wines wildness and boldness. While Shi Feng was feeling surprised, Han Yifeng, who stood beside him, was deeply shocked. Qin Baiyi was not only a mental strength master but also the youngest mental strength master in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Who wouldve thought that a mental strength master was actually the commander of a 20-man adventurer team? Yet, Gods Domains various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds had ignorantly used threats against the Midnight Tea Party to recruit the adventurer team. Those superpowers were simply tired of living. Dont mind it, dont mind it, Qin Baiyi said awkwardly when he saw the surprise on Shi Fengs face. I wasnt hiding it. Playing Gods Domain is just one of my hobbies. After hearing Qin Baiyis introduction, Shi Feng finally understood how Weiyang Qianhen managed to catch the eye of a middle-layer big shot. It was very likely due to Qin Baiyis introduction. Shi Feng also understood why the Midnight Tea Party wasnt afraid of the various superpowers and could continue existing all this time. With Qin Baiyis status, which superpower in Gods Domain would dare offend him? Seeing Shi Feng in deep thought, Qin Baiyi took the initiative to say, Guild Leader Black Flame, you and your friends must be here to register your housing status as well, right? We are also here to deal with housing matters. Why dont we get it done together? Ill be in your care, then, Shi Feng said, accepting the offer. There were still a few people lined up, waiting to get their business done in the hall. If Qin Baiyi was willing to help expedite the procedure, it was naturally good news for Shi Feng. After all, the sooner he got Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose into the large mansion, the sooner he could alleviate the stress on their mind. Naturally, Han Yifeng also didnt refuse the offer. He wanted nothing more than to establish a connection with Qin Baiyi right now. Although the Five States Corporation had a solid foundation in the base layer, the influence the corporation held in the Upper Zone was still insignificant compared to Qin Baiyis. If Han Yifeng could get acquainted with Qin Baiyi now, he would have an easier time when he entered the middle layer. After all, the middle layer wasnt an easy place to survive in. The competition there was even fiercer than in the base layer. Subsequently, the group had all its needs taken care of in less than ten minutes. When the group arrived at the Green God Towers entrance and was about to part ways, a commotion erupted from the street outside. The next moment, a maglev car suddenly descended from the sky and landed in front of the entrance, catching the attention of all the nearby pedestrians. Although the Upper Zone allowed residents to drive their own cars, that was limited to road use. Cars were prohibited from flying. The only ones allowed to do so were people with very high status in the Upper Zone. After the maglev car parked in front of the Green God Towers entrance, two peopleone young and one old-emerged from it. The young man was none other than Lu Tiandi, Starline Corporations current heir. However, Lu Tiandi showed none of his usual arrogance, standing humbly and respectfully behind the black-robed elderly man. At this old mans appearance, many of the corporation heirs present gasped reflexively Han Yifengs expression even paled when he saw the man. Why would he come here personally? Han Yifengs eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at the approaching black-clad elder. This was because the black-clad old man was none other than the Infinity Master of Haitian Citys Upper Zone, a mental strength master holding Two-star High Grade authority in the Upper Zone. In the Upper Zone, the Green God Company would award anyone who had become mental strength masters with High Grade authority and permanent residence in the Upper Zones middle layer. However, as mental strength masters were not equal, High Grade authority was also categorized into different ranks, from one star to three stars. Most mental strength masters in the Upper Zone held only One-star High Grade authority, with only a small number holding Two-star High Grade authority. For two-star authority holders, their position in the middle layer rivaled the middle layers general managers. The Green God Company awarded those who reached two-star authority with one permanent reserve slot for the middle layer and the authority to banish disrespectful mental strength masters from the Upper Zone for a duration of one to three years. Meanwhile, Han Yifeng knew that the Infinity Master, Fu Jiuzhong, held a slight grudge against Shi Feng. However, in his opinion, someone like Fu Jiuzhong had no reason to take action personally. At most, the Infinity Master would send some of his subordinates to harass Shi Feng. Doing more wouldnt be befitting of his status. Yet, contrary to Han Yifengs expectations, Fu Jiuzhong had made a personal visit to Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. After arriving before Shi Feng, Fu Jiuzhong demanded with a lofty aura, Are you Shi Feng? The one who caused my student, Wang Xuanming, to get kicked out of the Upper Zone. When Fu Jiuzhong finished speaking, the surrounding passersby couldnt help looking at Shi Feng with pity. At the same time, they also wondered who Shi Feng was to warrant the Infinity Masters direct intervention. Moreover, based on Fu Jiuzhongs tone, if this situation wasnt handled properly, he might very well utilize his authority to banish Shi Feng from the Upper Zone for some time. And once outside the safe zone known as the Upper Zone, Shi Feng was unlikely to keep his life. At this time, Qin Baiyi stepped forward with a smile and said, Master Fu, this person here is my friend. Is there perhaps a misunderstanding here? Misunderstanding? I dont think so. Glancing at Qin Baiyi, Fu Jiuzhong said, Also, youd best not interfere in this matter! I dont care, even if you have your teachers support! Master Fu, although you have Two-star High Grade authority, this is Yuantian Citys Upper Zone! Qin Baiyi said with a solemn look. Qin Baiyi felt a little helpless against Fu Jiuzhong right now. He was but an entry mental strength master, no match for a veteran like Fu Jiuzhong. Only his teacher could possibly put up a fight against the Infinity Master. After all, the Two-star High Grade authority wasnt just a status symbol for a mental strength master; it also symbolized strength. So what? Fu Jiuzhong sneered. Let alone you, even if your teacher personally shows up now, I still wont give a damn! You! Qin Baiyi was helpless at the moment. If Fu Jiuzhong intended to abuse his authority now, Bai Qinyi wouldnt be able to do anything about it with only his One-star High Grade authority. After all, these were the Green God Companys rules. As for what kind of excuse Fu Jiuzhong would give to get the Green God Company to banish Shi Feng from the Upper Zone, he could simply trump up random offenses. However, as Qin Baiyi was thinking of how to buy time and get his teacher to come and help, Shi Feng suddenly stepped forward. Wang Xuanming, is it? Looking at Fu Jiuzhong, Shi Feng responded neither humbly nor arrogantly, If youre talking about that home intruder, I am indeed the one who handed him over to the Green God Company. May I know what guidance you have to provide, Master Fu? Chapter 2906 - Combating a Mental Strength Master Although Shi Feng spoke in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, the surrounding passersby and Han Yifeng couldnt help falling silent, a hint of shock appearing in their eyes. Thats the Infinity Master hes talking to! Has he lost his mind?! Han Yifeng felt his legs weaken when he saw Shi Fengs unyielding attitude. For long-time residents of the Upper Zone, mental strength masters were existences that shouldnt be provoked-all the more so a mental strength master with Two-star High Grade authority. Even the base layers top-ranking organizations wouldnt dare to offend such an existence. Mental strength masters with two-star authority could not only banish people from the Upper Zone for long periods but also teach those who offended them a lesson with little to no repercussions. While the Green God Company might penalize the mental strength master by deducting their trade points and contribution points, such penalties were nothing for a mental strength master of such caliber. Although Shi Fengs words and manner of speaking couldnt be considered offensive to Fu Jiuzhong, it was still a slap to the face for the Infinity Master. Han Yifeng failed to understand why Shi Feng would step forward himself instead of letting Qin Baiyi cover for him. In his opinion, Shi Fengs action was simply insane! At this time, let alone Han Yifeng, even Han Rongrong, who had been quite courageous before and even dared to challenge Shi Feng, shuddered involuntarily in fear. This was because a bone-biting chill was enveloping her entire body right now. Killing intent! This was a frightening killing intent Han Rongrong had never experienced before. The killing intent was so intense that Han Rongrong, a half-step Henglian grandmaster, had the illusion that she would get killed the next moment. Her terror was so overwhelming that it had taken over her body, making her tremble despite herself. So, this is the strength of a two-star master? Weiyang Qianhen revealed an indescribably grim expression as she looked at Fu Jiuzhong, feeling somewhat uncomfortable before the Infinity Masters mental deterrence. She had sparred with Qin Baiyi previously, so she wasnt completely ignorant of the strength of mental strength masters. However, compared to Qin Baiyi, Fu Jiuzhong was on a completely different level. From sparring with Qin Baiyi, she had come to understand that his mental perception and brain activity were vastly superior to hers. If he was willing to pay the price, he could even increase his brain activity and perceptions sensitivity by more than tenfold at will, allowing him to make inhuman reactions. Fu Jiuzhong, on the other hand, wasnt just capable of simply boosting his thinking speed; he could already influence others with his mental will. It was akin to employing powerful hypnosis on his opponents. Most importantly, this mental deterrence wasnt directed at her but merely spillover. She found it truly hard to imagine what kind of hell the actual target of Fu Jiuzhongs mental power was experiencing right now. Of those present, only Qin Baiyi fared slightly better. Even so, he was still affected by Fu Jiuzhongs mental deterrence. Dammit! Its over! Fu Jiuzhong has actually broken through to that stage already! Theres no way someone who hasnt reached the level of a mental strength master can resist this mental deterrence Qin Baiyi inwardly cursed this situation as he endured Fu Jiuzhongs mental deterrence. In Qin Baiyis opinion, Shi Feng was an excellent seedling. Not only did Shi Feng become a neutralizing grandmaster at a young age, but his mental strength standard had already reached the peak of the Special Grade. According to the report he received, Shi Feng had even defeated several Henglian grandmasters simultaneously. With such ability, Shi Feng might very well be only half a step away from becoming a mental strength master. Originally, Qin Baiyi planned to learn more about Shi Feng and then introduce Shi Feng to his teacher. However, all of his plans were ruined now! Mental deterrence was something that liberated a persons deepest fears. For this reason, it was normal for the minds of people subjected to mental deterrence to collapse. If a person had weak willpower, they might even die on the spot. Even people with very strong willpower would suffer trauma when subjected to mental deterrence, which would impact their future mental growth. Normally, only three-star mental strength masters could exhibit mental deterrence. Although Fu Jiuzhongs mental deterrence wasnt as strong as an actual three-star masters, his use of this technique proved that he was already close to reaching the three-star standard. He mightve already taken a step into the stage. However, when Qin Baiyi turned to look at Shi Feng, he was stunned. How is this possible?! Fu Jiuzhong had clearly directed his mental deterrence at Shi Feng. Yet, apart from wearing a slightly solemn expression, Shi Feng showed no fear or discomfort on his face. It was evident that he could withstand the Infinity Masters mental deterrence. In fact, he was enduring it much better than even Qin Baiyi. Hah! Fu Jiuzhong remained mostly unfazed even after seeing Shi Fengs reaction, sneering, I initially had suspicions when I heard Tiandi say you mightve become a mental strength master already, but I didnt think you had really become one. When Fu Jiuzhong finished speaking, everyone present turned to Shi Feng in disbelief. Han Yifeng, in particular, was thunderstruck by this revelation. Is he still human? The first time Han Yifeng met Shi Feng, the latter was merely the Guild Leader of a large Guild. Although Shi Feng possessed some strength at the time, it was still insignificant in Han Yifengs eyes. The next time they met, Shi Feng had already become a resident in the Upper Zone, with a considerable amount of resources that could be traded for contribution points. Now, Shi Feng had even become a mental strength master, an existence many corporations operating in the Upper Zones base layer feared. Shi Fengs growth speed was simply out of this world. Han Yifeng wasnt the only one shocked by this revelation. Qin Baiyi similarly felt his heart pounding madly. A mental strength master under the age of 25? Previously, Qin Baiyi still had his doubts about Shi Feng being a mental strength master. However, since Fu Jiuzhong had said so, then it must be true. Nevertheless, he found it difficult to digest this information. Mental strength masters were special existences in the Upper Zone, the goal of countless young talents. However, typically, one could already be proud of oneself if one became a mental strength master by the age of 60 or 70. Qin Baiyis achievement of becoming a mental strength master in his thirties already made him a rare talent that only appeared once every several decades in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. However, compared to Shi Feng, Qin Baiyis achievement paled significantly. At Shi Fengs age, the growth rate of his mental strength was still at its peak. Only after the age of 30 would his growth slow than five years of rapid growth. If he continued developing himself, he could definitely become a three-star mental strength master in the future, and possibly even reach the legendary grandmaster standard. When Qin Baiyi thought about the possibility of introducing Shi Feng to his teacher, excitement filled his heart. However, before Qin Baiyi could grow excited for long, Fu Jiuzhong suddenly changed his tone and said coldly, Your achievement of becoming a mental strength master might be excellent, but do you think you can behave arrogantly in front of me just because youve become one? After saying so, Fu Jiuzhong suddenly punched at Shi Feng. Although Fu Jiuzhong had only executed a textbook punch, in everyones eyes, this punch seemed to carry the power of heaven and earth. The power of this punch was unstoppable, and everyone instinctively tried to run away. Not good! Qin Baiyis expression immediately underwent a drastic change. Dodge it! Fu Jiuzhongs punch didnt just exude a mighty aura that daunted others hearts. The Infinity Master had also removed the limiters on his body to exhibit 100% of his bodys strength. Moreover, he had perfectly concentrated this strength into his fist. Even a bona fide three-star master would have difficulty blocking this punch. It was evident that after seeing Shi Fengs true potential, Fu Jiuzhong intended to cripple Shi Feng to rid himself of a future threat! Shi Feng, the target of Fu Jiuzhongs punch, understood how powerful the oncoming attack was. Fu Jiuzhongs fist wasnt the only threat like most people thought. There was also the intent from the Infinity Masters fist. Although the fist intent didnt have a tangible form, it was by no means harmless. Moreover, even if Shi Feng could evade Fu Jiuzhongs fist intent, he couldnt dodge the punch itself. And although Shi Feng didnt know how powerful Fu Jiuzhongs punch was, he had a hunch that if he allowed the fist to connect, he would end up either crippled or dead. And worse, he couldnt stop the punch with his current strength utilization technique. This was because he was currently incapable of removing all of the limiters his brain placed on his body. No! I will not let things end like this! As Shi Feng watched Fu Jiuzhongs fist moving closer and closer to him, his brain raced, thinking of ways to block the punch. When Fu Jiuzhongs fist was only half a meter away, a potentially viable technique suddenly occurred to Shi Feng-a technique he had wanted to use in the real world all this time but couldnt due to physical fitness and mental capacity limitations. Block it! With a shout, Shi Feng concentrated the strength of his body and removed the limiters on his two arms. He then brandished his arms as if he were brandishing swords and instantly executed the sword technique he had used thousands of times in Gods Domain. Swords Transmigration! Chapter 2907 - Taking on a Three-star Mental Strength Master Bang! Along with the sound of an explosion, the ambient air fluctuated, and even those standing more than ten meters away from Shi Feng and Fu Jiuzhong felt these shock waves. The next moment, Fu Jiuzhongs punch came to an abrupt end, while Shi Feng stumbled several steps back before he managed to stabilize his body. The outcome of the initial confrontation between the two mental strength masters was clear for all to see. However, this result had Han Yifeng and the others looking at Shi Feng in shock and disbelief. He blocked it!? How did he do it?! Fu Jiuzhongs punch was akin to a behemoths attack. One could tell how much power the punch carried just by looking at the shattered stone slabs under Fu Jiuzhongs feet. The Upper Zones pavement was extraordinary, its hardness comparable to steel. Even a Henglian grandmasters full-powered attack would, at most, crack it. Yet, the stone slabs directly under Fu Jiuzhongs feet had basically disintegrated, while the adjacent slabs had web-like cracks spread across them. Fu Jiuzhongs punch could probably knock a car back over a dozen meters. The attack undoubtedly reached inhuman levels already. What did he do just now? Qin Baiyi stared at the uninjured Shi Feng in confusion. Compared to the other spectators, Qin Baiyi had a far better understanding of how much power Fu Jiuzhongs punch carried. An entry-level mental strength master would be fortunate to sustain only minor injuries from the punch, let alone emerge intact. Typically, if the average human removed all of the limiters restricting their body, they could lift an entire car. Meanwhile, Fu Jiuzhong was a mental strength master who had tempered his body over several decades. One could easily imagine how much power he could exert if he removed his limiters and concentrated all his strength into his fist. Of course, executing such a move would also place a huge burden on the body. If an ordinary person tried replicating Fu Jiuzhongs move without having absolute control over their physical body, they would most likely end up crippled afterward. This was because the limiters the brain placed was a form of protection for ones body. However, it was a different story for mental strength masters of Fu Jiuzhongs caliber. Currently, not only did Fu Jiuzhong have perfect control over his bodys strength, but he could also freely turn his bodys limiters on and off. So long as he turned off his limiters the moment he attacked and instantly turned them back on after executing his attack, he could minimize the damage to his body. He might even be able to offset the damage completely by using his bodys resilience. n This was also what made three-star mental strength masters so frightening. On the other hand, Shi Feng was evidently incapable of removing all of his bodys limiters right now. Yet, by relying on a strange technique and incredible speed, he had successfully blocked Fu Jiuzhongs punch. More precisely, he had deflected the power of the Infinity Masters punch and received only part of the attacks power and impact. This feat was simply incredible. In reality, Qin Baiyi wasnt the only one surprised by this outcome. Shi Feng himself felt shocked and ecstatic. He never thought his plan would succeed. Although he had failed to fully replicate Swords Transmigration just now, the incomplete technique still allowed him to resist Fu Jiuzhongs full-powered blow. However, Shi Feng now felt his mind stagnating slightly, due to using Swords Transmigration with his mortal body. His brain had evidently overloaded itself to enable his body to execute the technique. He diverted my strength? Fu Jiuzhong eyed Shi Feng in incomprehension. He couldnt understand how Shi Fengs two strange chopping strikes had managed to scatter the power in his fist. At the moment of contact, he had felt some kind of power invade his body and deform his posture slightly. This, in turn, caused the power of his punch to plummet and allowed Shi Feng to escape unscathed. Was it luck? Fu Jiuzhong shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. He promptly dashed toward Shi Feng and executed a flurry of punches, giving him no time to catch a breather or create another miracle. Fu Jiuzhong had come to Yuantian Citys Upper Zone intending to teach Shi Feng a lesson, have Shi Feng give up a significant portion of Zero Wings shares, and avenge his student. After seeing Shi Fengs potential, though, he realized there was no way the young man would give up Zero Wings shares. However, reconciliation between them wasnt possible after Fu Jiuzhong had sent the various corporations experts after Shi Feng. Fu Jiuzhong also couldnt forgive the arrogant behavior Shi Feng took in front of him. Hence, only one path remained open to Fu Jiuzhong-crippling Shi Feng and utilizing his mental deterrence to arouse Shi Fengs inner fears. Even if Shi Feng was a mental strength master, this would still leave an indelible trauma in his heart. If that happened, Shi Fengs future as a mental strength master would be over. And while Fu Jiuzhong would suffer repercussions from the Green God Company afterward, the penalty wouldnt be anything severe. After all, there was no way the Green God Company would choose to lose a three-star mental strength master after already losing a young talent. Fu Jiuzhong executed his punches with all his might, without a fixed pattern. Of course, with how fast his attacks were, Fu Jiuzhong couldnt concentrate all his strength into every punch. Hence, the punches he currently executed were significantly weaker than his first one. Even so, they still werent attacks an ordinary mental strength master could receive. Afterimages of Fu Jiuzhongs fists filled the space between Fu Jiuzhong and Shi Feng. Even ordinary mental strength masters, who could amplify their perception by more than tenfold, couldnt adequately capture every one of these punches with their senses. Is he nuts? Shi Fengs complexion changed as he faced Fu Jiuzhongs attacks. Even an expert of Fu Jiuzhongs caliber would suffer serious injuries if he executed so many attacks without any limiters. The fact that he was doing so was simply ridiculous. However, Shi Feng also had to admit that Fu Jiuzhongs attacks were effective. He could hardly keep up with the attacks, let alone execute Swords Transmigration to deflect them. When Fu Jiuzhongs punches were about to reach him, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and liberated the limiters on his muscles once more. He then brandished his arms as if they were two longswords. Swords Orbit! Bang Bang Bang Less than one meter separated Fu Jiuzhong and Shi Feng as they clashed in front of the Green God Tower. Although none of the surrounding pedestrians could see the arms of either mental strength master, the numerous thunderous explosions and shock waves made everyone feel as if they were standing in a storm. Two seconds into the clash, Shi Feng began retreating step by step, evidently at a disadvantage. And although Shi Feng had successfully deflected all of Fu Jiuzhongs punches thus far, his complexion grew paler and paler as time passed. Lets see how long you can last! Fu Jiuzhong sneered when he saw Shi Fengs poor complexion. Although Fu Jiuzhong was sustaining heavy damage by executing so many attacks with his limiters fully liberated, the damage wasnt unbearable. At worst, he would have to consume Life Potions for a month, but all his injuries would eventually disappear as if they never existed. However, it was a different story for Shi Feng. If the young man failed to hold on now, he would be crippled in the future. The seconds ticked by one after another. Qin Baiyi, who was watching the entire fight, grew increasingly anxious. Senior Brother, is there nothing you can do? Weiyang Qianhen asked when she saw Shi Fengs ashen face. In a frustrated tone, Qin Baiyi responded, I want to step in, but the fight between them is no longer at a level where I can intervene. I might even make the situation worse for Shi Feng. All we can do is wait for Teacher to arrive. Qin Baiyi wanted nothing more than to intervene in the fight, but he simply lacked the ability to do so. After all, even after pushing his senses to their limits, he still couldnt keep up with Shi Fengs and Fu Jiuzhongs movements. If he charged in recklessly, he might get sent flying by some random attack. Ten seconds into the fight, Fu Jiuzhongs complexion began turning red, while Shi Fengs turned deathly pale. A look of deep fatigue also surfaced in Shi Fengs eyes, and it was evident he could last only a few more seconds. Die! Fu Jiuzhong accelerated his punches when he noticed Shi Feng faltering. He planned to end the fight right here and now. Upon seeing this, Qin Baiyi reflexively closed his eyes, while Weiyang Qianhens complexion turned grim. Just as Fu Jiuzhongs fists were about to overwhelm Shi Fengs defense, a rebuke suddenly echoed in everyones ears. Both of you, stop fighting this instant! Although this voice wasnt deafening, it still stimulated everyones mind and compelled them to obedience. Among those present, only Fu Jiuzhong, Shi Feng, and Qin Baiyi remained mostly unaffected by the voice. However, immediately afterward, an incomparably powerful mental deterrence assaulted Fu Jiuzhong and Shi Feng, causing them to stumble back several steps. This scene amazed the surrounding spectators, and everyone couldnt help wondering about the identity of the voices owner. When everyone turned toward the voices origin, what they saw were two people walking out of the Green God Towers entrance. One was a beautiful woman with her black hair tied into a ponytail, and the other was a white-clad old man walking with a hunched back and a cane. Most of the people present quickly recognized the woman. She was none other than Xia Qingying, the base layers general manager. The old man Xia Qingying was supporting, though, was someone unfamiliar to them. Only Qin Baiyi recognized the old man, and he couldnt help a look of panic and disbelief at seeing the old man. Looking at the approaching old man, Fu Jiuzhong gnashed his teeth and yelled, Wuyuan! Im only teaching an arrogant kid a lesson! Are you going to interfere in this as well?! The white-clad old mans name was Xia Wuyuan. In addition to being the middle-layer general manager of Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, he was also a bona fide three-star mental strength master, someone with real authority in Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Rumor had it that he was only half a step away from becoming a mental strength grandmaster. However, for Fu Jiuzhong, who had just recently become a three-star mental strength master, Xia Wuyuan wasnt an existence to fear. Jiuzhong, this is Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Do you take this place for a joke? Xia Wuyuan said as he glanced at Fu Jiuzhong. This matter ends here. Shi Feng is already a talent Yuantian Citys Upper Zone has set its eyes on. I wont sit still if you persist in making a scene. Xia Wuyuans words thundered in Fu Jiuzhongs ears, causing his expression to turn ugly. Fu Jiuzhong then glared at Shi Feng and said coldly, Consider yourself lucky today, kid! However, dont think youll be as lucky next time! After saying so, Fu Jiuzhong got back into his maglev car together with Lu Tiandi and departed the area, disinclined to exchange any more words with Xia Wuyuan. Teacher, are we going to let Shi Feng go, just like that? Lu Tiandi asked. With them having thoroughly offended Shi Feng, if they didnt cripple Shi Feng now, he would definitely become a thorn in their side with his extraordinary potential. After taking a deep breath, Fu Jiuzhong shook his head and said, That old ghost is already close to crossing that threshold. I cant go up against him. However, that doesnt mean Ill let that kid off. After I apply for Three-star High Grade authority and get it approved, Ill have one chance to train in the core area and solidify my gains. Once that happens, that kid wont be able to stop me as easily as he did today! Lu Tiandi breathed out a sigh of relief at Fu Jiuzhongs words. If Fu Jiuzhong could train in the Upper Zones core area even for a short period, he would definitely return stronger and would have a much easier time dealing with Shi Feng. Most importantly, Fu Jiuzhong could afford to do a lot more things once he gained Three-star High Grade authority. Meanwhile, after Fu Jiuzhong and Lu Tiandi left, Shi Feng hurriedly approached Xia Qingying and Xia Wuyuan to thank them. If not for Xia Wuyuans intervention, Shi Feng really wouldve succumbed to Fu Jiuzhongs attacks. This little fellow has quite the talent, Xia Wuyuan thought to himself as he scrutinized Shi Feng. He then said, Qingying mentioned you to me before. She said you were even more talented than Baiyi. I initially thought she was joking, so it is fortunate I had some business here today. Otherwise, Fu Jiuzhong wouldve crippled you. Thank you for helping me, Elder Xia. Thank you as well, General Manager Xia, Shi Feng said as he looked at Xia Wuyuan and Xia Qingying Nodding at Shi Feng, Xia Qingying said, You really surprised me. Although Ive long since known you would become a mental strength master sooner or later, I didnt expect you to break through in such a short time. It seems I didnt invite my grandfather here in vain. Shi Feng grew a little awkward after hearing Xia Qingyings words, unsure of how to explain himself. After all, his rapid growth was a complete accident. Ahem, thats enough talking. Youll have plenty of chances to talk in the future, Xia Wuyuan said, faking a cough. He then looked at Shi Feng and said, Kid, now that youve become a mental strength master, come with me to the middle layer! Chapter 2908 - Middle Layer Were going to the middle layer now? Shi Feng was a little surprised by Xia Wuyuans words. According to his understanding, while one could indeed live in the middle layer once one became a mental strength master, one would first need to clear the Green God Companys internal test and review. One couldnt enter the middle layer simply on the assumption that one was a mental strength master already. After all, the middle layer was an incredibly important location for the Green God Company. Even the middle layers official residents needed to undergo strict inspections every time they entered and left. When Qin Baiyi overheard Xia Wuyuans words, he was dumbfounded. Qin Baiyi still remembered that after he became a mental strength master, he had to go through an incredibly troublesome process to gain access to the middle layer. Yet, Shi Feng could enter the middle layer before even receiving the Green God Companys recognition. However, Xia Wuyuan indeed had the authority to make such a decision as the middle layers general manager. Even if Shi Feng werent a mental strength master, Xia Wuyuan could still bring him into the middle layer, just without official residential status. Of course. Although you havent passed our internal test and review yet, the fact that you held your ground against Fu Jiuzhong proves that you are indeed a mental strength master, Xia Wuyuan said, nodding. He then smiled and continued, Since you are now one of Yuantian Citys Upper Zones mental strength masters, you naturally have to get registered at the middle layer immediately. Or are you telling me you dont want the middle layers residential status? Of course not, Shi Feng said hurriedly. It will naturally be wonderful if I can get my residential status for the middle zone right now. The resources available to the middle layers residents were beyond the reach of the base layers residents. Specifically, he could purchase Life Water once he gained middle-layer residential status. Good. Lets go, then! After Xia Wuyuan finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a maglev limousine marked with the Green God Companys logo descended from the sky. He then entered the limousine together with Xia Qingying and Shi Feng, and the three of them flew straight toward the mountains halfway point. At this sight, Han Yifeng and the other corporation heirs aiming to enter the middle layer inevitably grew envious. Brother Shis status is going to skyrocket now. Han Yifeng was filled with complex emotions as he watched Shi Feng depart. Han Yifeng had constantly been seeking to gain the privilege to live in the middle layer. Yet, Shi Feng now had this privilege at his fingertips. Shi Feng had even gained the attention of Xia Wuyuan, the middle layers general manager. Even after entering the middle layer, Shi Feng would not have to fear being targeted. What a pity Qin Baiyi also sighed inwardly at this situation. If the middle layers big shots found out about Shi Fengs talent, they would desperately try to get him as their student; Qin Baiyis teacher wouldnt be an exception. Now, though, Xia Wuyuan had gotten ahead of everyone. A mental strength master, is it? Ill soon catch up to you! Unlike Qin Baiyi and the others, when Weiyang Qianhen saw Shi Feng departing for the middle layer, the urge to compete with Shi Feng bloomed in her heart. On the other side, Shi Fengs group arrived in the middle layer after going through multiple electronic scans and inspections. Upon entering the mist-shrouded area, Shi Feng felt a significant portion of his accumulated mental fatigue clear up. The middle layers recovery effects were drastically better than those of the large mansions environment. When Xia Wuyuan brought Shi Feng to a mansion flanked by a lush mountainside and a small waterfall, Shi Feng was completely stunned by the environment. Isnt the environment here a little too amazing? Its at least twice as good as the environment I felt when I entered the middle layer. Even without doing anything, I can probably live up to 160 or 170 years old in such an environment, Shi Feng exclaimed as he experienced the changes the mansions environment brought to his body. This is one of only 20 top-tier mansions in the middle layer. Let alone 160 or 170, a Henglian grandmaster can live up to 200 here without any problems, Xia Wuyuan said, chuckling. As the Green God Companys life technology continues improving, the lifespan of the middle layers residents will also increase. Eventually, this place will let even ordinary people live up to 200 years old. As for mental strength masters like yourself, you might live to celebrate your 300th birthday. Three hundred? Shi Feng was a little dazed. Three hundred years was already enough for a change in dynasties during ancient times. Thats right. Although it is still somewhat difficult to reach such an age in the middle layer right now, the improvement is only a matter of time, Xia Wuyuan said, nodding. However, if you become a mental strength grandmaster, reaching 300 wont be difficult at all. Are mental strength grandmasters that strong? Shi Feng asked in surprise. With his current physical fitness, even with the support of Life Potions and the middle layers environment, he could, at most, live to around 200 years old. He dared not think about living up to 300. Yet, Xia Wuyuan stated that a mental strength grandmaster could currently live up to three centuries. This was incredible. Of course! Mental strength grandmasters are much stronger than you think. They can exert 100% control over their brains. To ordinary people, they are no different from gods. The Green God Companys creator was also a mental strength grandmaster, Xia Wuyuan said, awe and envy appearing on his face. Shi Feng was stunned once more. The Green God Company was the most influential corporation in the world. The combined influence of every other corporation worldwide couldnt match the Green God Companys influence. Shi Feng never imagined that the founder of this corporation was a mental strength grandmaster. This was simply unbelievable. Seeing Shi Fengs dazed expression, Xia Wuyuan added, You, too, have a small possibility of becoming a mental strength grandmaster. It is for this possibility that I brought you to the middle layer. Only by living here can you better develop your mental strength. Letting you remain in the base layer is simply a huge waste. Shi Feng immediately came to a realization when he heard Xia Wuyuans words. It was no wonder Xia Wuyuan brought him straight to the middle layer without undergoing the Green God Companys test. When Xia Wuyuan saw Shi Fengs contemplative expression, he smiled faintly and asked, Youre thinking that with your potential, Im underestimating you by saying that you only have a small possibility of becoming a mental strength grandmaster, right? Shi Feng didnt deny Xia Wuyuans guess. In his opinion, if the Tier 5 Concentration standard of Gods Domain represented the master standard for mental strength in the real world, then the Tier 6 Concentration standard should correspond to the mental strength grandmaster standard. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was relatively confident that he could get promoted to Tier 6 in his current state. After all, he had an Ancient Gods Legacy. He even had items that improved Concentration, such as the Soul Water and Crystal of Souls. Raising his Concentration to the Tier 6 standard with the help of these items shouldnt be difficult. As if having seen through Shi Fengs thoughts, Xia Wuyuan said, Even if your Concentration reaches the Tier 6 standard in Gods Domain, you will still be a long way from becoming a mental strength grandmaster. According to Gods Domains Concentration categorization, the Tier 6 Concentration standard is only equivalent to the half-step mental strength grandmaster standard. Currently, you are still far from becoming a half-step grandmaster, let alone becoming an actual grandmaster. You are, at best, close to the two-star master standard. The Tier 6 Concentration standard is equivalent to only the half-step mental strength grandmaster standard? Shi Feng was startled. Shi Feng had experienced what it was like to have Tier 6 Concentration thanks to the Light of Two Worlds, and the experience was amazing beyond imagination. With Tier 6 Concentration, he could suppress even ordinary Tier 5 existences with his mental oppression. Tier 4 players that werent at the peak of Tier 4 would even lose consciousness on the spot. In his opinion, this should already be equivalent to the rumored mental strength grandmaster standard. Yet, according to Xia Wuyuan, that wasnt the case at all. If Xia Wuyuan was telling the truth, then Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful a mental strength grandmasters mind was. Can you not make it sound as if half-step mental strength grandmasters are very weak? Ill have you know that even Yuantian Citys Upper Zone has only three half-step grandmasters, while some of the other Upper Zones have only two. Our Upper Zone is considered above average already, Xia Wuyuan said, rolling his eyes at Shi Feng. Also, I managed to assign you this top-tier mansion only because of one other persons recommendation. Otherwise, even with your excellent talent, youd only get to live in a basic mansion in the middle layer. Youd need first to become a three-star master to live here! Another persons recommendation? Shi Feng grew curious. Most of his acquaintances in the Upper Zone lived in the base layer, and he knew none of the big shots living in the middle layer. You know this person. Shes the person youve been secretly investigating. Her ID in Gods Domain is Phoenix Rain, Xia Wuyuan said. If not for this girls recommendation, you wouldve received a similar treatment to the other mental strength masters. Phoenix Rain? Shi Feng was surprised. Shes also living in the middle layer? What is her current condition? Shi Feng had conducted plenty of investigations into Phoenix Rain. After all, Ji Luorong was very concerned about her elder sister. However, he never managed to find any information. He never thought that he would receive news of Phoenix Rain from Xia Wuyuan. Moreover, it was even Phoenix Rain who had recommended him to the middle layer. I can only say that it isnt good. Apart from that, there is nothing else you should know right now, Xia Wuyuan replied, shaking his head. To be precise, you still dont have the qualifications to know. Her condition isnt good? Shi Feng fell into deep thought. After a moment, he asked, Elder Xia, how do I get the qualifications you speak of? Originally, Shi Feng didnt hold much hope of acquiring information about Phoenix Rain. This was because Phoenix Rains situation definitely involved a huge secret. He was fortunate to obtain even this slight bit of information. But now that he was a mental strength master, if he could help Phoenix Rain, he would naturally do so. After all, Phoenix Rain had helped him a lot previously. Phoenix Rains little sister, Ji Luorong, was now an important member of Zero Wing as well. There was no reason not to help. If you make a significant contribution to the Green God Company and elevate your authority to the Three-star High Grade status, you can know a little more, Xia Wuyuan said after giving the matter some thought. Significant contribution? Upon hearing that he had a chance, Shi Feng asked hurriedly, May I know how many contribution points I will need for that? Significant contributions cannot be weighed using contribution points, Xia Wuyuan replied, shaking his head. If you want to make a significant contribution, the only available avenue for you right now is driving off the Outerworlds NPC army in Gods Domain. If you can do that, you might even be able to meet with her. Repel the Outerworld NPC army? Shi Feng frowned slightly at Xia Wuyuans answer. The Outerworlds NPC army was different from the Outerworlds player army. After all, the player army didnt even have a single Tier 5 player in its ranks. In contrast, the NPC army had Tier 5 NPCs and might even have Demigod-level NPCs. Just stopping the NPC armys advance was already a difficult feat. Repelling it was simply impossible for the eastern continents native forces. You should stop thinking about this matter and focus on developing your mental strength, Xia Wuyuan said. Although youve become a mental strength master and entered the middle layer, Fu Jiuzhong has already become a three-star master. If hes really intent on targeting you, youll probably have to spend the rest of your life cooped up in here. Outside of the middle layer, hell have plenty of ways to deal with you. Shi Feng nodded in agreement. Currently, the Infinity Master indeed posed a significant threat to him. If Xia Wuyuan hadnt appeared today, Shi Feng definitely wouldve suffered severe injuries. Moreover, he couldnt stay in the middle layer or Upper Zone forever, as he needed to manage Zero Wings affairs in the outside world. Elder Xia, may I know how I can purchase Life Water? Shi Feng asked. Shi Feng might not be able to leave the Upper Zone right now, but with Fu Jiuzhongs status and pride, the latter definitely wouldnt stoop so low as to target Zero Wings other members. After all, none of Zero Wings other members could pose a threat to him. And if Fu Jiuzhong targeted Zero Wings other members, the Upper Zones other residents would look down upon him. However, Shi Feng couldnt discount the possibility of Fu Jiuzhong having the Upper Zones various corporations secretly target Zero Wing, either. Hence, the first thing Shi Feng needed to do now was let Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose recover. With their strength, protecting Zero Wing from Fu Jiuzhongs henchmen wouldnt be difficult. Chapter 2909 - Soul Improves Purchase Life Water? Looking at Shi Fengs slightly pale complexion, Xia Wuyuan said in confusion, Your current authority is One-star High Grade, so youre allowed to exchange for only one bottle per year. However, the main purpose of Life Water is to replenish life. With a mental strength masters regenerative abilities, you can just use the Life Potions or the Meditation Potions exclusive to the middle layer to repair minor physical or mental damages. Are you sure you want to exchange for Life Water? I can only exchange for one bottle per year? Shi Feng frowned slightly at Xia Wuyuans words. In Gentle Snow and Aqua Roses current condition, they would easily survive for more than a year if they lived in the base layers large mansion. However, Zero Wing couldnt afford to wait for a year. After all, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose had many responsibilities they needed to handle. This was especially true for the management of the Guilds headquarters in the real world. Fire Dance and Lei Bao couldnt manage the entire headquarters by themselves. Not to mention, Fire Dance and the others would be coming to the Upper Zone to train soon. There are alternatives available if you wish to exchange for more Life Water, Xia Qingying said when she saw Shi Fengs disappointed look. Smiling faintly, she continued, As you managed to become a mental strength master before the age of 30, the Green God Company will be giving you a reward. A reward? Shi Feng immediately grew interested. Thats right. It is a reward for mental strength masters under the age of 30, Xia Wuyuan said, nodding in agreement. However, I do not recommend you use this reward to exchange for Life Water. This reward is something even three-star masters desire greatly, as it can be used to redeem the privilege to enter and train in the core area, which is the top layer of this mountain. This privilege is for one month, and it will greatly help in the development of your mental strength. Normally, only after a person becomes a three-star master would they get an opportunity to exchange for this privilege and its for only ten days. Compared to this privilege, Life Water is something you can redeem any time. Are you certain you want to exchange for Life Water? Yes! Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Alright, then. I really dont know whats going through the minds of you young people these days, Xia Wuyuan sighed when he saw Shi Fengs determined expression, evidently dissatisfied with Shi Fengs decision. He then turned to Xia Qingying and said, I still have to report this matter to the higher-ups, so Ill leave the rest of the explanation to you. Xia Qingying nodded obediently in response. After Xia Wuyuan finished speaking, he turned away and left the mansion, having no intention of continuing his conversation with Shi Feng. Shi Feng smiled bitterly at the old mans reaction. Dont mind it too much. Grandpa is just grumpy that you failed to meet his expectations. He doesnt know your circumstances, Xia Qingying consoled Shi Feng after seeing Xia Wuyuan leave. Since you wish to exchange for Life Water, you need only two bottles, correct? I can exchange for two bottles? Shi Feng was stunned. Originally, he thought that he could obtain only one bottle of Life Water as his reward and that he would have to spend trade points and contribution points to exchange for the other one. However, based on Xia Qingyings tone, it appeared that he could receive more than just one bottle of Life Water as his reward. This reward allows you to exchange for three bottles of Life Water. If you only need two bottles, I recommend you replace the remaining bottle with Meditation Potions. The Meditation Potion is more effective than the Phantom Potion and also functions to repair a persons mental state. Normally, a one-star master can exchange for only five bottles per year. But if you trade in your third bottle of Life Water, you can get ten Meditation Potions. Okay, Ill take the ten Meditation Potions, Shi Feng said with a nod, astonished by the reward the Green God Company offered. This reward was hundreds of times better than what he received for clearing the Mental Path above the age of 20. Shi Feng couldnt help being in awe of the Green God Companys generosity. Now, he realized how valuable the privilege to enter the top layer was. It was no wonder Xia Wuyuan felt disappointed at his decision. Nodding at Shi Fengs reply, Xia Qingying said, You probably cant return to the base layer any time soon, so Ill pass the Life Water to those two on your behalf. As for the Meditation Potions, you can exchange for them through the mansions storage room. Ill have to trouble you with that, General Manager Xia, Shi Feng said gratefully. Its no trouble. This is also within the scope of my duties. You are, after all, a talent I discovered. If you perform well in the middle layer, itll be of great help to me, Xia Qingying said, waving her hand. Alright, I wont disturb your rest any longer. After saying so, Xia Qingying boarded another maglev limousine and departed the middle layer, leaving Shi Feng alone to observe his top-tier mansion. Compared to the base layers large mansion, this waterfall mansion had a slightly larger footprint. The waterfall alone occupied an area of two basketball courts. The water vapor coming from the waterfall was also incredible. Shi Feng felt his body becoming refreshed after inhaling only a mouthful of it. The regenerative effects of this water vapor probably nearly rivaled those of the S-rank Nutrient Fluid-without any side effects. This small waterfall was an unlimited supply of weakened S-rank Nutrient Fluids. If sold to the outside world, it could definitely fetch an astronomical price. Probably no corporation in the outside world would ever dream that something like this waterfall could exist. After all, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were incomparably precious to the outside worlds corporations, with only a very limited amount available each year. In fact, even the corporations operating in the Upper Zones base layer would never think of drinking S-rank Nutrient Fluids like water. After Shi Feng finished marveling at the waterfall, he made his way into the mansion. So this is why anyone who has lived in the middle layer before would never wish to leave it again. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng as he looked at the hall in front of him. After he entered the mansion and closed the doors, the sound of splashing water cut off completely. The mansions sound insulation was perfect. In addition, the special energy flowing inside the mansion was twice as strong as outside. If ordinary people lived in such an environment, even if they did nothing but lie on the ground, their physical fitness would still reach the half-step Henglian grandmaster standard. If they trained their bodies a little, developing their physical fitness to the standard of Henglian grandmasters would be no trouble at all. Moreover, this special energy also had an effect on a persons mental state, allowing a person to remain mentally energized as well as maintain an ethereal mood. If a person trained in such an environment for a long period, even if they didnt become a mental strength master, they would be close. Shi Feng could easily imagine how scary it would be to go from living in such an environment to living in the base layers environment. The transition would be akin to being a billionaire living a rich and happy life in one moment and then suddenly becoming an ordinary person in the next moment. No ordinary human could possibly accept such a drastic change. It also explained why Fang Shihan was so adamant in preserving her middle-layer reserve slot. So long as Fang Shihan could remain in the middle layer, her chances of becoming a mental strength master would be at least double than if she lived in the base layer. Is this the storage room? While touring the mansion, Shi Feng noticed a small room made entirely out of some unique metal. When he entered the room and accessed the interface inside, he had to marvel at the Green God Companys financial prowess. According to the introduction displayed, the storage room housed all the resources available for exchange in the middle layer. This storage room even had Life Water stocked. Through the storage room, he could immediately obtain the potion he wanted. He wouldnt have to spend time on a trip to the Green God Tower during emergencies. This was a great convenience provided to the middle layers residents. Seeing this, Shi Feng decided to give this exchange system a try. The next moment, several laser scanners scanned Shi Fengs body and acquired his biometric data. After verifying his identity, the rooms interface displayed the resources available to him. Currently, he had ten Meditation Potions to his name, each worth four million trade points and one hundred thousand contribution points. Four million trade points might not be anything to the base layers corporations, but one hundred thousand contribution points was an entirely different story. Even the Five States Corporation would have a heart attack if it had to spend so many contribution points on one item. For the time being, Shi Feng chose to redeem only one Meditation Potion. According to the product introduction, the Meditation Potion had to be stored in a special environment. And if taken out of storage, it could last for only one day in the outside world. After one day, the drug would lose its effects. Hence, he should only exchange for the amount he needed. How interesting. When Shi Feng spread his mental perception over the dark-blue potion in his hand, he actually sensed weak mental fluctuations from it. Normally, he would pick up such mental fluctuations only from living creatures. However, he didnt dwell on the matter, consuming the Meditation Potion immediately. After all, his mental state was in dire need of it right now. Shi Feng had kept his brain overclocked throughout his fight with Fu Jiuzhong. While he had managed to smile and converse normally with Xia Wuyuan and Xia Qingying earlier, that was possible only because of his powerful willpower. If someone else were in his shoes, they probably wouldve passed out already. The moment Shi Feng consumed the Meditation Potion, the scorching heat he felt in his brain instantly cooled. His complexion also rapidly changed from pale white to rosy red. Amazing! This is simply amazing! Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he sensed his mental state. With just one Meditation Potion, not only did he fully recover from his weakened state, but his mental state had also become surprisingly excellent. He even sensed faint improvements to his mental perception. These changes felt as if he had just consumed a Crystal of Souls from Gods Domain. With the Meditation Potions effects, I will definitely improve further after consuming ten bottles. This really makes a person wonder how the Green God Company managed to produce such a miracle drug. If this thing can be mass-produced, it will become possible to mass-produce mental strength masters. Shi Feng was astounded as he looked at the nine remaining Meditation Potions he could exchange. After recovering to peak condition, Shi Feng promptly logged back into Gods Domain. Although he currently didnt have any good ideas on how to repel the Outerworlds NPC army, he could share the news of Phoenix Rains location and condition with Ji Luorong. This would, at least, give Ji Luorong some hope, and the girl wouldnt have to worry about her elder sisters whereabouts every day. Twin Towers Kingdom, Sky Spring City: When Shi Feng entered Gods Domain again, he was surprised to find that his perception of the world around him had changed slightly. Whats going on? Shi Feng was greatly confused as he perceived the world around him. For some reason, his brains recognition of Gods Domain was a bit different, and the world of Gods Domain now felt even more realistic than before. Is it because I used a combat technique in the real world? Shi Feng could sense that his soul was stronger. This, in turn, directly elevated his Concentration, which was previously almost Tier 5 Advanced rank, to the Tier 5 Peak rank. Now, he was only half a step from Tier 6 Concentration. However, before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, he suddenly received a call from Fang Shihan. Guild Leader, are you alright?! Fang Shihan asked worriedly as she looked at Shi Feng through the video call. I heard you clashed with Fu Jiuzhong! Fu Jiuzhong is now a three-star mental strength master in Haitian Citys Upper Zone! Even if youre a mental strength master, your body will still be affected significantly after fighting with him! The existence of three-star mental strength masters was no secret to middle-layer residents. It wasnt difficult for the base layers top-tier corporations to find out about them, either. Relax. Ive made a full recovery already, Shi Feng replied, smiling. He was even tempted to say that should he clash with Fu Jiuzhong again, he definitely wouldnt end up in as miserable a state as before. Thats wonderful. Fang Shihan breathed out a sigh of relief. She then said, Guild Leader, while you were logged-off, the Outerworld NPCs started their invasion. Several empires have already clashed with the Outerworld NPCs and suffered heavy casualties. According to our estimates, the battle at the Twin Towers Kingdom will begin soon. So far, Ive already contacted the various powers based in the Twin Towers Kingdom, Star-Moon Kingdom, and several neighboring kingdoms that arent embroiled in the war for a meeting in Sky Spring City. However, Im not particularly confident we can get the neighboring kingdoms player forces to cooperate with us since the superpowers based in the engaged empires are doing their best to recruit them. Alright, I understand, Shi Feng said, nodding. Also, tell them that our meeting venue will be changed to Star-Moon City. Change the venue to Star-Moon City? Fang Shihan was a little confused. While Zero Wing indeed possessed a Guild Residence in Star-Moon City, the royal capital wasnt one of Zero Wings main NPC cities. Hence, Zero Wing didnt have much manpower available there. Meanwhile, organizing the meeting this time required a lot of manpower. Not to mention, in terms of quality and quantity, Zero Wings members in Sky Spring City were far superior to those in Star-Moon City. If they held the meeting in Sky Spring City, Zero Wing could better display its current strength and raise the various player forces confidence in defending the Twin Towers Kingdom. Mhm. Set it at Star-Moon City! Shi Feng said in a determined tone. I understand. Ill notify them right away. Fang Shihan didnt pursue the matter. She then disconnected the call and began contacting the various powers. Meanwhile, Shi Feng promptly teleported to Star-Moon City and went straight to the War Gods Temple there. Previously, the Branch Temple Lord Howard Ragewind had promised Shi Feng that he would handle all of the necessary procedures for Zero Wing to garrison Star-Moon Kingdom. Now that so much time had passed, the Branch Temple Lord should be mostly done. Chapter 2910 - Kingdom’s Foundation When Shi Feng entered the War Gods Temples first-floor hall, a Level 180, Tier 4 general manager approached him in a respectful manner. Upon seeing this sight, the players looking to pick up quests from the War Gods Temple turned to Shi Feng with envious and curious gazes. Who is that guy? Why is the general manager personally receiving him? I recall some Tier 4 experts coming to pick up quests some time ago. That general manager didnt bat an eye at them, yet hes actually taking the initiative to welcome a player now. Could that guy be Black Flame? He must be Black Flame! I heard Black Flame always moves alone and loves concealing his identity. Out of all the players operating in Star-Moon Kingdom, only Black Flame might get the general manager to treat him with such respect. Shortly after the players in the hall observed Shi Fengs cloaked figure, passionate flames flared up in their eyes. They also began approaching him, hoping to take pictures or videos as mementos of meeting the legendary Sword Saint. After all, Black Flame was a living legend in the current Gods Domain. He was also the reason many new players had chosen to play the Swordsman class. In no time at all, posts with titles such as Sword Saint Black Flame appears in War Gods Temple and Sword Saint Black Flame seen in Star-Moon City began appearing on Star-Moon Kingdoms official forums one after another. This situation rendered Shi Feng speechless. He had initially used the Nightwalkers Cape to conceal his identity. Nevertheless, these cunning players still managed to identify him almost immediately. Lord Sword Saint, the Temple Lord instructed me to give you this should you visit us, the general manager said respectfully as he proffered a rolled-up parchment. The contracts contents will take effect as soon as you sign it. After receiving the parchment scroll, Shi Feng nodded and said, Please thank the Temple Lord for me. The contract the general manager handed Shi Feng held the signature of Star-Moon Kingdoms ruler. Once Shi Feng signed his name on the contract, Zero Wing would officially garrison Star-Moon Kingdom and become its Representative Guild. At that time, Zero Wing would be able to dictate the kingdoms development and even mobilize the kingdoms army. After reading the contracts contents, Shi Feng signed it without hesitation. The sound of a system notification immediately entered his ears. System: Congratulations! Your Guild, Zero Wing, has officially garrisoned Star-Moon Kingdom and become the kingdoms Representative Guild. Zero Wing will now enjoy a portion of the kingdoms management rights. At the same time, a system announcement rang throughout Star-Moon Kingdom. Star-Moon Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for officially garrisoning Star-Moon Kingdom and becoming the kingdoms Representative Guild. Zero Wing will now enjoy a portion of the kingdoms management rights. The system announcement echoed in the minds of the Star-Moon Kingdoms players three times, triggering an uproar among the kingdoms players. Whats going on? Zero Wing garrisoned the kingdom? Didnt they say that only the reserve Guilds of Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds are qualified to garrison a country? The sudden system announcement confused many players. Zero Wings members, though, were exhilarated-especially the Guilds new members. After this announcement, even a fool would understand that Zero Wing now had the final say in everything inside Star-Moon Kingdom. Now, even the superpowers wouldnt dare interfere in the kingdoms matters. With this development, Zero Wings newcomers could not only grind without worry within the kingdom but also gain access to numerous Kingdom Quests unavailable to other players. These Kingdom Quests would instantly resolve Zero Wings concerns of developing its newcomers. Many of Star-Moon Kingdoms player forces could already imagine Zero Wings future rapid development. After all, now that Zero Wing had Star-Moon Kingdom as a buffer, the Guild could recruit new members without worrying about training resources. It wouldnt have to recruit only Tier 3 elite players and above. While elite players were indeed stronger than ordinary players, they made up only a small portion of Gods Domains player base. And with Zero Wings current size, the Guild might be able to defend its existing territory, but it would face great difficulty if it wanted to expand. However, this development resolved Zero Wings weakness. Good! I finally did it! Shi Feng smiled spontaneously when he saw the system notification. Immediately afterward, he left the War Gods Temple and made his way to Star-Moon Kingdoms national treasury. Guilds that garrisoned an entire kingdom or empire actually received a massive hidden benefit. Apart from the monthly tribute from the garrisoned country, Representative Guilds also gained access to the countrys national treasury! A countrys national treasury housed Heirlooms that served as the countrys foundation. And while players could exchange for these Heirlooms using resources, they had to have the status of a Grand Duke in the country. Although Shi Feng didnt have the status of a Grand Duke in Star-Moon Kingdom, he had the status of an Elder in the War Gods Temple. In Gods Domain, an Elder of the War Gods Temple sat higher than even the Grand Dukes of empires. Shi Feng naturally wouldnt have any problems exchanging for the Heirlooms in a kingdoms national treasury. Meanwhile, Royal Heirlooms were far more valuable than what one could normally obtain through killing powerful monsters. They were items that could change the fate of an entire kingdom or empire. Hence, once a Guild became a reserve Guild of the Twelve Great Guilds, dethroning it was incredibly difficult. In no time at all, Shi Feng arrived at the palace and reached the treasury unhindered. It was no exaggeration to say that the national treasury was the safest location in the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. Eight Level 180, Tier 4 NPCs stood guard at the entrance alone. Moreover, these eight NPCs were no ordinary NPCs. Although none of them wielded a Legendary Weapon, they were all clad in Fragmented Legendary Set Equipment. In terms of individual strength, these NPCs were more than capable of holding their ground against ordinary Tier 5 existences. Apart from these eight NPCs, there was also a Level 200, Tier 4 Knight Captain stationed inside the treasury. The Knight Captain sported a Legendary Chest Plate, and his combat power had undoubtedly reached the Tier 5 threshold. Most importantly, a magic barrier enveloped the entire treasury. If one wished to break through this magic barrier, one would need a force of three to five Tier 5 existences, at the very least. Lord Sword Saint, may I know what business you have here? the Knight Captain asked respectfully when Shi Feng entered the treasury. Im here to exchange for the items here, Shi Feng stated. Please follow me. The Knight Captain then led Shi Feng to the After descending four floors and walking for around half an hour, Shi Feng arrived in front of a secret room enclosed by a magic barrier. Sitting quietly inside the room was an old man who made Shi Feng feel pressured. A Tier 5 Grand Wizard? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the old man. Star-Moon Kingdoms foundation was far stronger than he expected. After all, apart from being a Tier 5 existence, the old man in front of him also wore a Legendary Hat. Ordinary Tier 5 existences who tried to invade the treasury would only get roundly thrashed by this old man. Lord Sword Saint, please enter! the Knight Captain said while respectfully gesturing for Shi Feng to enter the secret room. From the Knight Captains actions, Shi Feng guessed that the other party could go only as far as the secret rooms entrance. After giving the Knight Captain a nod, Shi Feng stepped into the room. Shi Feng immediately noticed the rooms uniqueness. The environment here resembled the ancient eras environment, which was already rare in the current Gods Domain. Lord Sword Saint, since you have already signed a contract with His Majesty, according to the contract, you are qualified to exchange for one of the items here, the old man said as he looked at Shi Feng. He then waved his hand, summoning three items in front of Shi Feng. The Founding King left behind these three items. These items are why our Star-Moon Kingdom was able to rise up in the main continent. I hope one of them can be of help to you! When Shi Feng saw the three items before him, his eyes bulged immediately. This was because Star-Moon Kingdoms foundation far exceeded Shi Fengs expectations, so much so that he wondered how a kingdom could have such a powerful foundation. The three items before him were neither Inferior Divine Artifact ranked items or Legendary ranked items. Instead, they were two designs and one recipe, and any of them could influence even an empires development! The first to enter Shi Fengs eyes was the design for a Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship, which was many times stronger than the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship, an Advanced Flying Ship. Not only was it capable of going up against Tier 4 Superior Mythic monsters, but its strongest attack even reached the Tier 5 Intermediate standard. It could tear through the defensive magic arrays of cities like paper. Moreover, it had a maximum carrying capacity of 300 people. However, it cost a mind-blowing 1.5 million Gold Coins and 1 million Magic Crystals to exchange for the Mysterious-Iron Flying Ships design. The second item that drew Shi Fengs eyes was the recipe of the Divine Power Potion, a Grandmaster Potion. As the potions name suggested, players would gain divine power when they consumed the potion. For half an hour, players would have their tier elevated by one, up to a maximum of Tier 4. Although Shi Feng had heard of potions that raised a players tier by one, he had never heard of any that could raise a players tier to Tier 4. Moreover, the potion even had a long duration of 30 minutes. In the current era where Tier 4 players were still as rare as a phoenixs feather, the recipe for the Divine Power Potion was priceless. Even an ordinary first-rate Guild would become an existence feared by the Five Great Super Guilds should it get its hands on this recipe. Meanwhile, this recipe cost 1 million Gold Coins and 1.5 million Magic Crystals. The last item to enter Shi Fengs eyes was the design for a Combat Puppet-a Secret-Silver Combat Puppet. Throughout both his lives, Shi Feng had seen a Secret-Silver Combat Puppet only once. In Gods Domain, Bronze Combat Puppets possessed power at the Tier 3 Peak standard. Even in the current Gods Domain, a Bronze Combat Puppet was an incredibly powerful existence. Unless a Tier 4 existence appeared, a Bronze Combat Puppet was unlikely to get destroyed. Above Bronze Combat Puppets were Mysterious-Iron Combat Puppets, which possessed combat power at the Tier 4 Peak standard. They could go toe to toe against bona fide Tier 4 players. As for Secret-Silver Combat Puppets, they possessed strength at the Tier 5 Basic standard. Tier 4 existences would have a very difficult time destroying a Secret-Silver Combat Puppet, and normally only Tier 5 existences could damage one. Meanwhile, the design for the Secret-Silver Combat Puppet cost 2 million Gold Coins and 1 million Magic Crystals. Chapter 2911 - Heirlooms Secured Shi Feng hesitated over the Star-Moon Kingdoms three Royal Heirlooms. All three treasures could help a kingdom rise to prominence and a Guild to reach the apex of Gods Domain instantly. Moreover, each had its advantages. I can exchange for only one? Shi Feng couldnt help asking. Only one, the old man replied with a smile. However, if you manage to help elevate Star-Moon Kingdom into an empire, you are free to exchange for all three. Promotion to an empire? Shi Feng shook his head and smiled bitterly. While he knew of a few ways to get a kingdom promoted into an empire, none of these methods was easy to realize. They all needed a long time to accomplish. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng suddenly had an idea. He then asked the old man, What if I offer to swap Heirlooms? Heirlooms could be categorized into Royal Heirlooms, Imperial Heirlooms, Continental Heirlooms, and World Heirlooms. In the past, the players that had the fortune to come across an unidentified Royal or Imperial Heirloom would do everything they could to find the fallen country the Heirloom used to belong to. Since these Heirlooms were treasures left behind by fallen kingdoms and empires, so long as one successfully identified the Heirloom, one could use it to reestablish that kingdom or even empire. However, locating kingdoms and empires that had long since disappeared from Gods Domain wasnt easy. The endeavor rivaled a Legendary Quest in difficulty. Take Shi Feng for example. Although he had found an Imperial Heirloom very early into the game, he still hadnt managed to find any clues to the empire the Heirloom belonged to. However, this didnt particularly surprise him. After all, at this stage of the game, players had explored less than 20% of Gods Domains maps. Indeed. Even now, the players of Gods Domain had explored barely 15% of the worlds maps. In Gods Domain, human kingdoms and empires occupied only a small portion of the worlds territories. Most of the two main continents consisted of Level 150-plus neutral maps, and only after 40% of the games player base reached Level 180, Tier 3 or above could players adequately explore these maps. Not to mention, this was only the two main continents. There was still the vast ocean in Gods Domain, which held innumerable islands, some as large as kingdoms and empires. Hence, finding a fallen empire in Gods Domain was unbelievably difficult. This was why one of the Top Ten Rookie Guilds in the past, which had acquired an unidentified Imperial Heirloom through an auction, had used this Imperial Heirloom to exchange for an identified Royal Heirloom from a kingdom. Afterward, the Guild saw explosive growth and quickly became one of the reserve Guilds of Gods Domains Twelve Great Guilds at the time. Although Shi Feng wasnt sure how that Guild had conducted the exchange, it would be a huge waste if he didnt ask if he could conduct a similar exchange. Swap Heirlooms? The old man was a little stunned by Shi Fengs question. After pondering for some time, he said, Thats possible, but are you willing to pay such a huge price? What is the price? Shi Feng asked. Firstly, youd need to find an unidentified Imperial Heirloom. Secondly, youd need to pay double the price for a Royal Heirloom, the old man answered. Double? Shi Feng was flabbergasted. A Royal Heirloom was by no means cheap, and all three of the Royal Heirlooms before him cost upwards of one million Gold Coins and one million Magic Crystals. If this price were doubled, even superpowers couldnt afford them. Thats right. However, the most important part is still the Imperial Heirloom. Without it, it wont matter how many resources you offer, the old man said, nodding. Deal! Ill trade an unidentified Imperial Heirloom for the Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship! Ill also use my exchange opportunity for the Secret-Silver Combat Puppet! Shi Feng said, gritting his teeth as he took out the Imperial Heirloom sitting inside his bag. Before visiting the royal treasury, he had already taken all the funds Zero Wing could spare; however, he only had a total of 5.5 million Gold Coins and 5.3 million Magic Crystals on him. After all, the recruitment of NPC soldiers and the construction of defensive structures in Ancient Rock City cost a lot of money and resources. Although Zero Wing City and Ancient Rock City were raking in a significant income now, it still wasnt enough to cover Ancient Rock Citys development costs. You actually have one! The old man was surprised to see the Imperial Heirloom in Shi Fengs hands. Yes, so hurry up with the exchange! Shi Feng nodded with an aching heart. Alright. That will be five million Gold Coins and three million Magic Crystals in total, the old man said as he extended his hand to Shi Feng. Verify the amount, Shi Feng said as he transferred the necessary amount of Coins and Magic Crystals to the old mans spatial bag. After verifying that the amount was correct, the old man waved his hand, and two ancient designs flew to Shi Feng. When Shi Feng saw these two designs, his heart pounded with excitement. Although purchasing these two designs had nearly bankrupted him, their value was immeasurable. Now, all he needed to do was gather the necessary materials and begin mass production. The materials needed are certainly extraordinary. Even the most common of these materials is incredibly rare in the current Gods Domain. Producing both of these items will also require a ton of Titan Gold and Magic Elven Stones. Veins of Titan Gold Ore were considered Grade 2 veins in Gods Domain and incredibly rare, but they were the only way players could acquire Titan Gold Ore in large quantities; other types of Grade 2 veins produced Titan Gold Ore only occasionally. Overall, Titan Gold was super rare, and just one ingot could sell for over a dozen Gold Coins. As for the Magic Elven Stone, acquiring it had given Shi Feng a headache when he was planning to construct the Crimson Dragon Flying Ship. However, the Crimson Dragon Flying Ships construction cost was nothing compared to the Mysterious-Iron ranked Blue Thunder Flying Ship. Even if he excluded the other materials required, just the 5,000 ingots of Titan Gold and 600 Magic Elven Stones required would already cost a fortune. As for the Secret-Silver ranked Flame Beast Puppet, its construction required 1,000 ingots of Titan Gold and 200 Magic Elven Stones. Both items required Magic Elven Stones in significant quantities to produce! Fortunately, when Yan Ya and Cleansing Whistle returned from the ancient era, they had brought back plenty of Magic Elven Stones. Currently, Zero Wing had a stockpile of over 4,000 Magic Elven Stones, just barely enough to construct an adequate number of Blue Thunder Flying Ships and Flame Beast Puppets. The only problem now was the Titan Gold; Zero Wing only had around 30,000 ingots. While Shi Feng was studying the two designs, Fang Shihan suddenly called him. Guild Leader, the Guild Leaders and representatives of the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdoms various player forces have arrived. However, hardly any Guilds from the neighboring kingdoms showed up, Fang Shihan said in frustration. None of the two superpowers came, and only three of the eight first-rate Guilds showed up. As for second-rate Guilds, they number less than 20. This attendance rate was abysmally low. The Guilds that came to help from the several neighboring kingdoms were fewer than the Guilds in Star-Moon Kingdom. Not to mention, neither of the two superpowers decided to show up. Are they all waiting to jack up the price? Shi Feng chuckled. He could understand the two superpowers refusal. After all, the various superpowers had a lot of territories to cover, and they focused mainly on defending empires. However, there was no excuse for first- and second-rate Guilds that werent involved in the war to withhold their help. The only reason they decided not to show up at Zero Wings war meeting had to be that they considered this a good opportunity to make a profit. If Zero Wing wished to get their help, then it would have to pay a price. Revealing a bitter smile, Fang Shihan said, The first-rate Guilds that arent attending indeed have such an intention. In return for their full support, they are demanding the rights to purchase private houses and Guild Residences in Zero Wing City or Ancient Rock City. They say that the other superpowers have already promised them such conditions. However, if we agree to their demands, then they will choose to help our side instead. Shi Fengs act of devastating the Outerworlds player army with a single attack had indeed caused a huge sensation in Gods Domain. It had also prompted most of the superpowers targeting Zero Wing to abandon their ambitions. Many of the Twin Towers Kingdoms and Star-Moon Kingdoms independent experts had even returned to help in the two kingdoms defense. Most importantly, the number of players seeking to join Zero Wing had also skyrocketed. Unfortunately, all these changes still werent enough to persuade the unengaged player forces to help Zero Wing. This was because the Outerworlds NPC army was more formidable than the Outerworlds player army. There were multiple Tier 5 NPCs in the NPC army, and the upcoming battlefield would span a significant portion of the Twin Towers Kingdoms border. All sorts of siege battles and guerilla warfare would take place, and there was no way Shi Feng could be present for every one of these fights. Moreover, the NPC army on the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdoms side was significantly weaker than the Outerworlds NPC army. Because of Mythology and Solar Temples interference, the neighboring kingdoms uninvolved in the war didnt send their armies to reinforce the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom but to other kingdoms and empires. Hence, the NPC army defending the Twin Towers Kingdom consisted of the NPCs of only the two kingdoms. Although the Outerworlds NPC army had split up into several dozen smaller groups and the detachment marching toward the Twin Towers Kingdom didnt have player support, this detachment could still put the two kingdoms joint army through hell. Hence, a large number of players was needed to fight the Outerworlds NPCs. And realizing this fact, the neighboring kingdoms first-rate Guilds naturally wouldnt miss the opportunity to get a cut of Zero Wings resources. Good! Very good! Shi Feng smiled when he heard Fang Shihans words. Tell those first-rate Guilds that they can come if they want. But if they dont, then they can forget about coming to us in the future! This Shi Fengs reply rendered Fang Shihan momentarily speechless. If she relayed Shi Fengs words to those five first-rate Guilds, it would be no different from severing all ties between Zero Wing and these first-rate Guilds. Meanwhile, the War of Worlds wouldnt end in just one day. As both sides continuously grew stronger and more numerous, it would end up a war of attrition between Gods Domain and the Outerworld. If Zero Wing rejected the help of these Guilds now, it would have much more difficulty finding helpers in the future. After all, battles were taking place all over the eastern continent, and everywhere was lacking in manpower. It was also why the superpowers tolerated the various first- and second-rate Guilds absurd demands. Otherwise, the superpowers wouldve long since dealt with these large Guilds. Shi Feng naturally understood what Fang Shihan was trying to say. He waved the two designs in his hand and smiled, saying, Look what I have here. Chapter 2912 - Confidence When Shi Feng took out two old and tattered designs, Fang Shihan initially discounted them. She still thought that his decision was too rash. While the five first-rate Guilds in question might not have as many peak experts as the various superpowers, they still had over 300,000 Tier 3 players under their command, with some even having 400,000. Such a large force of Tier 3 players could influence the Twin Towers Kingdoms defensive battle significantly. Even the current Zero Wing only had around 1.2 million Tier 3 players, just the average for a superpower. However, after Fang Shihan took a look at the text on the designs, she immediately fell into a daze. Guild Leader, are you playing a trick on me? Fang Shihan couldnt help asking. She had seen many treasures during her time in Mythology. However, no matter how she looked at the designs for the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and Flame Beast Puppet, she still felt as if she was dreaming. At this stage of the game, the Five Great Super Guilds had already acquired their own Flying Ships. However, those were only Basic Flying Ships, which were significantly inferior to the Crimson Flying Ship, let alone the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. As for Combat Puppets, as far as she knew, Mythologys strongest Combat Puppets were three Mysterious-Iron Combat Puppets, which were used to safeguard Mythologys main headquarters. Mythology had even tasked Tier 4 NPCs to keep a constant watch on these war weapons to prevent theft. Do you think I need to do that? Shi Feng chuckled when he saw Fang Shihans skeptical look. He could understand Fang Shihans doubts. Mysterious-Iron Flying Ships and Secret-Silver Combat Puppets shouldnt be available to players at this stage of the game, let alone the designs for them. With these designs, so long as Zero Wing had sufficient materials, it could produce a plethora of these war weapons. And with the power of these war weapons, Zero Wing could devastate the entire continent. Sure! Ill go and reject those Guilds now! Fang Shihan said, smiling. A hint of excitement also gleamed in her eyes. Although she had already grown accustomed to holding a powerful identity and position during her time as one of Mythologys Vice Guild Leaders, her heart still swelled with excitement and expectations. If Zero Wing could produce the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and Flame Beast Puppet in time, it was almost certain to win the upcoming defensive battle at the Twin Towers Kingdom. Afterward, the five first-rate Guilds and numerous second-rate Guilds peacefully developing in the kingdoms neighboring the Twin Towers Kingdom received Fang Shihans overbearing response. Fang Shihan did not embellish her message with any redundant words. Instead, her reply contained only one word. Scram! The five first-rate Guilds and many second-rate Guilds were dumbfounded upon seeing this response. What arrogance! Zero Wing is simply too arrogant! Zero Wing isnt taking our five Guilds seriously at all! When the Guild Leaders of the five first-rate Guilds, who had gathered for a meeting, saw Fang Shihans reply, they unanimously jumped out of their seats and cursed in anger. Before the War of Worlds began, the superpowers held incredibly powerful influence over Gods Domain, such that first-rate Guilds like theirs could only bear with the injustice and live with their heads down. However, after the Outerworlds NPC army invaded, the eastern continents superpowers had no choice but to beg the first-rate Guilds for help to defend their territories and roots. Yet despite facing imminent danger, Zero Wing actually dared tell their five Guilds to scram. Zero Wing was simply tired of living! If Zero Wing wants to be arrogant, let it! the Guild Leader of Holy Seal sneered as he read Fang Shihans reply. Once the battle at the Twin Towers Kingdom begins, well see how Zero Wing continues behaving arrogantly when it lacks manpower! Thats right! Since Zero Wing looks down on us, well just help other superpowers! Zero Wing will live to regret its decision today! the Guild Leader of another first-rate Guild said, nodding. If Zero Wing asks us for help later on, it wont get such a good price from us again! Many superpowers had already sent representatives to deliver invitations to their five first-rate Guilds. Among them, Starlinks offer was particularly generous. Their five Guilds had no need to worry about finding a superpower to employ them for their services. Their five first-rate Guilds combined could field a massive army of 1.6 million Tier 3 players and 64 Tier 4 players. Apart from peak experts and apex experts, the alliance of their five Guilds was not the slightest bit weaker than the average superpower. This was the basis of their confidence. Once their five Guilds went to aid Starlink and Starlinks side repelled the Outerworlds NPC army, Zero Wing would definitely regret rejecting their offer. And once Zero Wing came begging them for help, they would thoroughly bleed the Guild for every penny it had. The other three Guild Leaders nodded in agreement, wanting Zero Wing to taste the misery of defending the Twin Towers Kingdom without their five Guilds. Following this, the five first-rate Guilds collaborated with the uncommitted second-rate Guilds and accepted Starlinks invitation to join the Dark Night Empires defensive line. This sudden development caught even Lu Tiandi off guard momentarily. Young Master, what do you think is going through Black Flames mind? Yi Kui asked curiously as he looked at the signed contracts he just received. The combined force of these five first-rate Guilds is by no means weak, and even the Super Guilds over at the Fire Dragon Empire have eagerly sought their help. With how much these five Guilds covet Zero Wing City and Ancient Rock City, even if Zero Wing allots only a small portion of those two cities shares to them, these five Guilds would probably agree to help Zero Wing. Yet, now Black Flame is just too prideful. He thinks that just because he is a Tier 5 Sword Saint and Gods Domains strongest player, he doesnt need to fear the Outerworlds NPC army, Lu Tiandi said nonchalantly. He doesnt know just how powerful the NPC army is. Once the real battle begins, even Tier 5 players will be nothing but a joke! If it were before Lu Tiandi had clashed with the Outerworlds NPC army, he would have considered Shi Fengs decision unwise but understandable. After all, Tier 5 players were many times stronger than Tier 4 players. It wouldnt even be surprising to see a Tier 5 player single-handedly destroy a city. However, after experiencing the Dark Night Empires defensive battle against the Outerworlds NPC army, Lu Tiandi now understood that while Tier 5 NPCs were indeed powerful, they werent invincible. This was especially true in battlefields that involved war weapons and Tier 4 NPCs using battle arrays. Every targeted city in the Dark Night Empire would face at least ten battle arrays formed by Tier 4 NPCs and around 500 Tier 4 NPCs. Even if a superpower dispatched all its Tier 4 players, it wouldnt be able to do a thing against such a force. Not to mention, Zero Wing was going to defend an entire kingdom by itself, so there was no way it could afford to concentrate all its Tier 4 players in one battlefield. Moreover, unlike the previous War of Worlds, the Outerworlds NPC army had many more Tier 5 NPCs in its ranks this time. Just one Tier 5 player couldnt do anything against the Outerworlds NPC army. A large number of Tier 3 and Tier 4 players was necessary to whittle down the NPC army and achieve victory. Otherwise, the Outerworlds NPC army would simply trample over the Twin Towers Kingdoms cities and fortresses. But this is good for us. If not for Black Flames arrogance, these five first-rate Guilds wouldnt have joined us, Lu Tiandi said, smiling. Starlink wasnt the only superpower defending the Dark Night Empire. There were also Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul. Only, the three Guilds were separately defending their respective territories. If Crimson Emperor and Unyielding Soul failed to defend the NPC cities and fortresses they operated, both Guilds would suffer a major setback. After all, both Guilds had their headquarters in the Dark Night Empire. However, while the eastern continents various superpowers were discussing Zero Wings unwise decision, Zero Wing continued operating as usual. The Guild frenziedly recruited Gods Domains newcomers and sequentially developed Zero Wing City and Ancient Rock City. It also relied on the Tier 3 Legacies from the Secret Covenant Tower to steadily increase its Tier 3 population. The five first-rate Guilds partnership with Starlink did not affect Zero Wings operations at all. On the contrary, the number of independent experts coming to help defend the Twin Towers Kingdom even skyrocketed. This was because after Zero Wing garrisoned Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon Kingdoms NPC cities established direct teleportation links to Zero Wings Guild Cities. This was a great convenience for players seeking to travel to Zero Wings Guild Cities. The ability to teleport straight to Ancient Rock City was especially welcomed by players seeking to explore and raid the Orc Capital City. Because of the popularity of this new teleportation service, Fang Shihan created a bounty system for Outerworld NPCs. Under this bounty system, players would receive five points for killing a Tier 3 NPC, 500 points for killing a Tier 4 NPC, and 100,000 points for killing a Tier 5 NPC. Players would also receive ranks according to the points they accumulated. Players that accumulated 100,000 bounty points would receive the bronze rank, which would entitle them to a lifetime discount of 5% on entrance fees and accommodation fees for all of Zero Wings Guild Cities. At 1,000,000 points, players would receive the silver rank and enjoy a 10% discount. At 10,000,000 points, players would receive the gold rank and enjoy a 20% discount. After the announcement of this bounty system, over a million Tier 3 independent experts and 200 Tier 4 independent experts flooded into the Twin Towers Kingdoms border cities and fortresses from other kingdoms in just one day. All of them sought to accumulate Zero Wings bounty points to reduce their expenditure in Ancient Rock City and Zero Wing City. The various superpowers grew envious over this situation and promptly adopted Zero Wings ranking system. Only, the results werent as effective. While independent players were flooding the Twin Towers Kingdom, Shi Feng gathered the Candlelight Trading Firms elites and began frantically researching, then manufacturing the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and Flame Beast Puppet. Manufacturing these two war weapons didnt require just precious materials but also high-level forging techniques, alchemy techniques, enchanting techniques, and knowledge of magic arrays. Grandmaster-level Lifestyle players had to take charge of the process. The Blue Thunder Flying Ship, in particular, required the cooperation of three Grandmaster Forgers. In the current Gods Domain, only the Candlelight Trading Firm could provide such manpower. Even after researching for an entire day, Shi Feng and the others only managed to scratch the surface of the design. It would take several more days to construct a Blue Thunder Flying Ship. On the other hand, to Shi Fengs joy, both Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose finally made a full recovery. Apart from losing some of their combat memories and having their combat standards weaken slightly, they experienced no other side effects after taking Life Water. Moreover, the two of them also succeeded in creating their Tier 5 Mana Bodies and got promoted to Tier 5. This increased Zero Wings overall combat power by a large margin. On the fifth day Shi Feng and Candlelights members were working on the Blue Thunder Flying Ship, Fang Shihan, who was responsible for the Twin Towers Kingdoms defensive preparations, suddenly contacted Shi Feng Guild Leader! The Outerworlds NPC army has started moving! Chapter 2913 - Blue Thunder Flying Ship An army of more than ten million NPCs? Shi Feng was a little shocked when he read the detailed report Fang Shihan sent him. He had experienced wars between kingdoms and empires in his previous life. However, the kingdoms involved had pitted armies of a million NPCs, at most, against each other. These wars had also typically lasted over a month as the involved kingdoms conducted all sorts of battles to annex each others land. This was because one of the conditions for a kingdom to become an empire was occupying a sufficiently large area of land. In the case of wars between empires, even if two empires waged a full-blown war with each other, the total number of NPCs participating would reach only ten million. Yet, just one of the Otherworld NPC armys several dozen detachments had a force of ten million NPCs, equivalent to the combatants of two empires combined. At their rate of advance, they will reach the Steel Lion Fortress, which is the closest to the border, in two hours. Fire Dance and I are on our way there with 800,000 Tier 3 players and 50 Tier 4 players. We should arrive within an hour. As for the two other targeted locations, Aqua Rose has garrisoned Thunder Gorge City with 700,000 Tier 3 players and 70 Tier 4 players, while Gentle Snow has garrisoned the Redthorn Fortress with 1,000,000 Tier 3 players and 100 Tier 4 players. As for the independent players, they will probably make their way to these three locations soon. The good news is that, according to our investigations, not many Outerworld players are joining the battlefield here, so we shouldnt face as much trouble as the various empires. We only need to focus on the NPC army. Border strongholds generally only had small teleportation arrays, which limited the number of players that could get through. Hence, Fang Shihan could only have everyone hurry over to these strongholds on foot when faced with the Outerworld NPC armys sudden invasion. Shi Feng understood their current predicament. Unlike NPCs, players couldnt stay cooped up in a border stronghold forever. They needed to grind for levels and better equipment. Hence, in preparation for the imminent war, most players had chosen to bind their return point to the NPC cities located closest to the border strongholds. Only when the actual war began would they teleport to these NPC cities and travel to the border strongholds on their Mounts. Ill leave command to you all for now, but Ill hurry over to help afterward, Shi Feng said. One hour! With his speed, he could definitely make it to the Steel Lion Fortress within an hour. Currently, the only thing the Blue Thunder Flying Ship lacked was the core magic array. So long as he finished engraving it, the Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship would be complete. A Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship could play a significant role in a defensive siege. Its importance even surpassed two or three ordinary Tier 5 existences. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he promptly disconnected the call and began engraving the core magic array. The core magic array comprised three Advanced Grandmaster Magic Arrays. These magic arrays were so complex that even a Basic Grandmaster Magician wouldnt be able to construct them. This feat should also be beyond Shi Feng, who had gotten promoted to Grandmaster Magician just recently. However, after his Concentration standard reached the Tier 5 Peak rank, his brains activity and computing power had improved drastically. In addition, the core arrays three Advanced Grandmaster Magic Arrays shared some similarities with some of the magic arrays passed down through the Ancient Gods Legacy. These factors made it possible for Shi Feng to carve out the three Advanced Grandmaster Magic Arrays. The past three failures occurred because of a mistake in the final fusion process. With my degree of control, the magic arrays carved should be perfect, so why cant I merge them? Is my control of magic arrays insufficient? Or is there another problem? Confusion filled Shi Fengs mind as he repeatedly inspected the core magic arrays design. He had already succeeded in engraving the core magic array without pausing, yet he failed to activate the magic array when he tried injecting Mana into it. This was definitely the first time he had encountered such a problem. Typically, if players succeeded in engraving a magic array, the magic array would activate once it received a supply of Mana. Only if there was a problem with the magic array would the activation fail. Guild Leader, I keep getting the feeling that this core magic array is very strange, Melancholic Smile suddenly said as she looked at the core magic array. Each of the three magic arrays in it is meant to absorb one specific type of Mana, so why are they forcing these three types of Mana to fuse afterward? The three elements have their own characteristics; how could they be merged into one? Currently, Melancholic Smile was only half a step away from becoming a Grandmaster Magician. And because she didnt invest her time in combat, the amount of research she conducted into Grandmaster Magic Arrays surpassed even Shi Fengs. When she first looked at the Blue Thunder Flying Ships core magic array, she already found the magic array strange. However, since the Flying Ships design stated that the magic array should be constructed that way, she didnt voice her concerns. Now that the core magic array couldnt be activated, though, this proved that there was indeed a flaw in the design. However, Shi Feng simply smiled when he heard Melancholic Smiles questions. The various elements of Mana indeed have their own operating principles, and merging them is impossible. However, thats not the case for this extraordinary magic array. After absorbing ambient Mana, the magic array will first break up the operations of these different types of Mana. And before they recover, the magic array will influence them to operate under a new set of operating principles. Although the change will last for only a brief moment, the core magic array can, without a doubt, change the operating principles of Mana. Something like that is possible? Melancholic Smile was startled. In her opinion, the operating principles of Mana were unchangeable. Take the way some players forcefully manipulated Mana to use Skills. While these players might succeed in activating their Skills, the result would have significantly weaker effects. After all, the Mana they manipulated was actively resisting them. For this reason, players who had reached Tier 4 would try to activate their Skills and Spells by following the operating principles of Mana instead of forcing Mana to do their bidding As Shi Feng was about to explain further, he suddenly fell into a daze. I see! So, this is the Law of Destructions true usage method! An ecstatic expression appeared on Shi Fengs face as realization dawned upon him. Recently, he had fallen into despair, as he found himself stuck at Holy Annihilations entry level. No matter how he tried to convert ambient Mana into his own Mana, the area he could influence only grew alongside his Concentration. While this was indeed the correct way to manipulate Mana, it wasnt the case if he was trying to make use of a World Law. The reason Holy Annihilation could exhibit such devastating power was a complex Destruction Magic Array designed for the Mana Technique. The fact that he could utilize the Heavenly Blue Saints Destruction Magic Array and merge it into various combat techniques and Mana manipulation methods proved that he was starting to master the Law of Destruction. However, he still didnt truly understand how the Destruction Magic Array operated. But Shi Feng understood everything now. The Law of Destructions essence wasnt to make Mana disappear. Instead, it was to break the operating principles of Mana, causing Mana to lose its original effects. Hence, if he wished to grasp the Law of Destruction fully, he shouldnt be relying on the Destruction Magic Array to guide Mana. Instead, he should rely on his mind to halt the operations of Mana naturally. Of course, it was easier said than done. Not only did he need powerful mental strength, but he also had to reverse the operations of different types of Mana precisely. Only by doing so could he perfectly stop the operation of Mana. At this point, Shi Feng finally understood why the core magic array wouldnt activate. So, it is because the strength of my Mana is too weak? Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the engraved magic array in front of him. Mana was required to control Mana. If a person lacked Mana, they naturally couldnt manipulate ambient Mana. If one wished to break the operating principles of Mana, one would need incredibly powerful Mana. Liquid Mana wouldnt suffice; one would need solid Mana at the very least. Shi Feng immediately began concentrating all of the Mana within his body, condensing it into a grain of sand that sat on his palm. He then injected the grain of solid Mana into the core magic array. Boom! Along with the sound of an explosion, the Blue Thunder Flying Ships core magic array came to life. The ambient Mana surrounding the Flying Ship then began flooding the core magic array, becoming fuel for the Flying Ships engine. System: Congratulations! You have successfully created the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. Forging Proficiency increased by 100,000,000 points. Level increased by two. Simultaneously, all players who participated in the Blue Thunder Flying Ships production received a corresponding amount of EXP and Proficiency. Although the amount they received wasnt as exaggerated as Shi Fengs, it was still significant nonetheless. Currently, though, nobody paid attention to the reward they just received. Instead, their eyes were all glued to the completed Blue Thunder Flying Ship. The Blue Thunder Flying Ship measured 500 meters from stem to stern, and it could carry up to 300 players at a time. It boasted 40 Advanced Magic Elven Cannons, each capable of launching attacks at the Tier 5 Basic standard, and 12 Floating Crystal Cannons, which could be used for both offense and defense. Offensively, the Floating Crystal Cannons could launch attacks at the Tier 5 Basic standard. Defensively, they could withstand attacks even from Tier 5 existences. In addition to these two types of cannons, the Flying Ship also had a main cannon capable of launching attacks at the Tier 5 Intermediate standard. Lastly, the Flying Ships flight speed was comparable to that of Tier 5 Extraordinary Flying Mounts. Twin Towers Kingdom, Steel Lion Fortress: Assembled atop the Steel Lion Fortresss 50-meter-tall steel walls were more than 300,000 Level 150-plus, Tier 3 NPCs, all geared in Level 150-plus Dark-Gold Equipment. These NPCs were without a doubt the cream of the crop of the Twin Towers Kingdoms army. There were also close to 30 Tier 4 NPCs standing on the wall, and the one leading these Tier 4 NPCs was a Level 200, Tier 4 Sky Knight. The Sky Knight was a man who appeared to be in his late 50s, clad in a complete set of Fragmented Legendary Set Equipment. The aura he exuded was comparable to that of an ordinary Tier 5 NPC. Apart from the fortress walls, there were also two dozen Tier 4 NPCs chanting an incantation inside the fortresss core control room. Because of these magical-class NPCs manipulation, the fortresss defensive magic array, which used to have only one layer, was now a threefold magic array instead. Even a Tier 5 existence on a rampage wouldnt be able to destroy it. At most, the other party would merely expend some of the fortresss energy supply. A total of 30 Magic Cannon Towers rose above the fortress, and more than 600 Large Destruction Ballistas were set up on the fortress walls. In the sky, ten Flying Ships hovered over the fortress: nine Advanced rank and one Bronze rank. Alongside these Flying Ships were over a hundred Tier 3 and Tier 4 Flying Mounts. The sight was simply spectacular and absolutely not something anyone would get to see very often. More than two million players gathered in the fortress, making the Steel Lion Fortress incredibly crowded. At this moment, though, none of the players inside the Steel Lion Fortress felt relaxed or excited. This was because some distance from the Steel Lion Fortress was an army of over three million NPCs, and the number of Tier 4 NPCs in that army exceeded 500. It came bearing various siege weapons-Large Catapults and Advanced Mana Pulse Cannonswhich easily numbered more than a thousand. Meanwhile, hovering above this Outerworld NPC army were more than 50 Flying Ships. Six of them were Bronze Flying Ships while the rest were Advanced Flying Ships. In combination with the 500-plus Tier 3 and Tier 4 Flying Mounts, they practically blotted out the entire sky. The disparity in combat power between the two sides was clear for all to see. Even the players who came to spectate and conduct a live broadcast of the battle wore gloomy expressions when they saw the Outerworlds NPC army. On the Twin Towers Kingdoms forums, the live broadcasts caused an uproar among the kingdoms players. Is this the Outerworlds real strength? Can we really hold the Twin Towers Kingdom? Although many of the Twin Towers Kingdoms players had heard bits of information regarding the battles that had taken place at the various empires, the most they got were rumors and some pictures. They didnt have a clear understanding of the Outerworld NPC armys true might. Moreover, as players of another country, they previously considered these battles none of their business. However, after seeing the army outside the Steel Lion Fortress, they felt an indescribable sense of despair. The players standing inside the Steel Lion Fortress especially understood what a war between kingdoms and a War of Worlds entailed. Battles between players were nothing compared to a war between worlds. The next moment, amid the anxiety and despair of the Twin Towers Kingdoms players, the commander of the Outerworlds NPC army raised his right hand and swung it forward. Following his actions, both the war weapons on the ground and the Flying Ships and Flying Mounts in the sky began advancing. Activate all defenses! Everyone, prepare for battle! the Steel Lion Fortresss commander, Sky Knight Sepel, shouted as he raised his longsword. In response to Sepels command, the NPCs within the fortress armed the Magic Cannon Towers and Large Destruction Ballistas, nocked their bows, and chanted incantations. Shortly afterward, the first exchange between the two sides took place. The sky instantly turned into a sea of flames as explosions of varying degrees shook the sky and the ground. The explosions were so deafening that all of the players inside the fortress felt their heads ring. After taking a look at the burning battlefield, Fang Shihan, who stood atop the fortress wall, turned to the players below the wall. Using a Voice Amplification Spell, she ordered calmly, Everyone, dont panic. Move as weve planned! Ranged players, head up the walls! Melee players, move to the agreed-upon defensive points! Once the magic barrier breaks, it will be your turn to attack with everything youve got! We must prevent the Outerworlds NPCs from destroying the core magic array at all costs until the magic barrier recovers! So long as we can hold our ground, those Outerworld NPCs will be forced to retreat sooner or later! The fortresss defensive magic array wasnt invincible. In the face of such a powerful offensive, it was only a matter of time before it shattered. Meanwhile, what players like themselves needed to do during this battle was protect the fortresss core magic array while the defensive magic array was down and buy as much time as possible until the defensive magic array came back online. They would also try to kill as many Outerworld NPCs as possible during this time. Once they repeated this cycle a few times, the Outerworlds NPC army would eventually have to retreat. When Fang Shihan finished speaking, many of the players present calmed down, and confidence rekindled in their hearts. NPCs had a very difficult time getting resurrected, and even more so in an intense battle like this. However, it was a different story for players like themselves. If they died, they could be resurrected quickly and rejoin the battle. If there was a healer nearby, they could even be resurrected on the spot at the cost of some EXP. However, three minutes after Fang Shihan finished speaking, the sound of glass shattering entered everyones ears. This sound originated from none other than the Steel Lion Fortresss defensive magic array. Vanguard! Charge! the Outerworld armys commander commanded. Immediately, the Outerworlds Tier 3 NPCs began charging toward the Steel Lion Fortress in a frenzy. As for the Outerworlds Tier 4 NPCs, they flew straight for the Fortress Lords Mansion, attracting the Steel Lion Fortresss Tier 4 NPCs to intercept them. Trap those Tier 4 NPCs with magic barriers! Fang Shihan hurriedly commanded when she saw the hundreds of Tier 4 NPCs and Flying Mounts heading into the fortress. All melee players, stop those Tier 3 NPCs from entering the fortress! At Fang Shihans command, Zero Wings members promptly deployed the Master Magic Barriers they had prepared, trapping more than half of the Outerworld NPCs and Flying Mounts and isolating them into over a dozen different combat zones. Immediately afterward, the Tier 4 players cooperated with the fortresss Tier 4 NPCs to engage the Outerworlds Tier 4 NPCs and Flying Mounts. As for the Tier 3 melee players, they cooperated with the fortresss Tier 3 NPCs to stop the Outerworlds Tier 3 NPCs outside the wall. For a time, sounds of battle rang out from all over the Silver Lion Fortress, originating from individual battles, group battles, and one-sided slaughters. On the ground, the fortresss Tier 3 players were holding up pretty well against the Outerworlds Tier 3 NPCs. Although there was indeed a difference in levels and equipment between the two sides, the Tier 3 players managed to mitigate this difference by relying on their superior combat standards and coordination with other players. The difference in numbers between the two sides wasnt overwhelming, either. So, the fortresss Tier 3 players managed to trade at a relatively good ratio of two-to-eight with the Outerworlds Tier 3 NPCs, with two Outerworld NPCs dying for every eight fortress players. This was undoubtedly a beneficial outcome for the players. However, in the aerial battle, the Twin Towers Kingdoms side had fallen into an absolute disadvantage. Setting aside the difference in the number of Flying Ships and Flying Mounts the two sides possessed, just the difference in the number of Tier 4 combatants already posed an insurmountable gap. And worse, the fortresss Magic Cannon Towers were hardly of any use against the Outerworlds Tier 4 combatants. Moreover, if not for Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Yan Tianxing working together to hold off the leader of the Outerworld armys vanguarda Level 180, Tier 5 NPCthe Advanced Master Barriers trapping and suppressing more than half of the Outerworlds Tier 4 NPCs wouldve long since been shattered. As for the other Tier 4 experts, apart from those at the Void Realm standard or above, everyone else couldnt even put up a fight against the Outerworlds Tier 4 NPCs. The difference in the number of Tier 4 combatants is too great. No wonder the superpowers in the empires are losing fights one after another. At this rate, it wont take more than ten minutes before the core magic array is destroyed. After killing a Level 180, Tier 4 Great Wizard, Fang Shihan glanced at Cola and White Feather, who were doing their best to stop attacks from reaching the Fortress Lords Mansion. When she saw they faced a dozen or so Tier 4 NPCs, she felt powerless. On her side, she only had to handle three Level 180, Tier 4 NPCs by herself, so she could more or less cope. As for Cola and White Feather, they might not have any problem holding off a dozen or so Tier 4 NPCs by relying on their skills and techniques for now, but that would remain true only while they had Skills to use. Not to mention, this wasnt all the Outerworld army had to offer. It had over 500 Tier 4 NPCs in total and even Tier 5 NPCs leading it. The disparity between the Twin Towers Kingdoms army and the Outerworlds army was utterly demoralizing. After some more time passed, eight of the Twin Towers Kingdoms Tier 4 NPCs and more than 20 Tier 4 players fell. In contrast, the Outerworld army lost only six Tier 4 NPCs -three of which were Fang Shihans kills. The stark difference between the two sides plunged the Tier 4 players into despair. Keep fighting! We must not retreat on our first battle! Fang Shihan bellowed when she saw her peoples demoralized expressions. Even if we die! We must make these Outerworld NPCs pay a sufficient price! Fang Shihan wasnt too surprised that the Steel Iron Fortresss defenses were crumbling. The disparity between the Outerworlds army and the Twin Towers Kingdoms army was simply too immense. The only way the Twin Towers Kingdom could emerge victorious was by whittling down the Outerworlds army through multiple battles at multiple strongholds. However, the first battle was also when the Twin Towers Kingdoms combat power was at its peak. If the Twin Towers Kingdom failed to deplete a significant portion of the Outerworlds armys forces, the subsequent battles would be even more difficult. As soon as Fang Shihan finished speaking, however, the Outerworld armys commander, who rode on one of the Bronze Flying Ships, stood up and suddenly released a frightening aura that enveloped the Steel Lion Fortress. Upon coming into contact with this aura, all the players within the fortress felt their heartbeats accelerate and their bodies grow heavier. It was evident that the Outerworld armys commander no longer intended to watch from the sidelines and would now enter the battlefield. A Level 200, Tier 5 Holy Grail Knight? A solemn expression appeared on Fang Shihans face when she saw the enemy commander walking step by step in the air. The aura the enemy commander radiated was significantly stronger than what the enemys vanguard leader radiated. Moreover, he even wielded a Legendary Greatsword. The enemy commander probably stood at the top even among Tier 5 existences. If the Steel Lion Fortresss defenders had to clash against such an existence, their defensive line would probably crumble in an instant. When the other players saw the enemy commander taking the field himself, none of them had any doubts that this siege battle was over. However, just as the enemy Holy Grail Knight arrived above the Steel Lion Fortress and was about to take action, a deafening roar suddenly came from the distant sky. Before anyone could turn toward the source of the noise, a dark-blue behemoth arrived in the airspace above the fortress like a lightning bolt. Both players and NPCs present were startled by the dark-blue behemoths sudden appearance. A Flying Ship?! Is that really a Flying Ship?! The Flying Ship above them was simply massive. Even the Bronze Flying Ships, which measured close to 200 meters in length, looked like infants beside the dark-blue behemoth. Moreover, this dark-blue behemoth distorted the space around it just by hovering in place. The Mana within and around the Steel Lion Fortress gathered fervently around this dark-blue behemoth, and even the Outerworld armys vanguard commander had the Mana in his Mana Domain drawn away. As the dark-blue behemoth began descending toward the fortress, a man wearing a black cloak walked to the bow of the Flying Ship. Upon seeing this man, the players in the fortress immediately burst into cheers. Guild Leader! Youre finally here! Fang Shihan said in a disgruntled tone as she looked at the man standing atop the dark-blue behemoth. Shi Feng had promised to arrive at the Steel Lion Fortress before the battle began, yet he showed up only after they had been fighting for some time. Sorry for the long wait, everyone, Shi Feng said apologetically as he looked at Fang Shihan and the others. He then shifted his gaze to the Outerworld NPC army and smiled, saying, Now that Im here, leave the rest to me! Chapter 2914 - – Law Technique? Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Fire Dance, Cola, Violet Cloud, Yan Tianxing, and the other long-time members of Zero Wing felt an indescribable sense of relief and excitement. Guild Leader, our situation is terrible. The enemys airpower is too strong, Fang Shihan said in a helpless tone as she pointed at the enemys Tier 5 commander and the 30-plus Flying Ships. The fortresss defensive magic array still needs more than ten minutes to recover. Im afraid we wont last that long. Although Shi Fengs arrival meant that they had someone to hold back the enemy commander, they still had to contend with hundreds of Tier 4 NPCs and Flying Mountswhen their side had less than a hundred Tier 4 combatants. Although they had the fortresss magic arrays support, which mitigated the effects of the Tier 5 NPCs Mana Domains and suppressed the enemy Tier 4 NPCs, they were still at an absolute disadvantage. Not to mention, the Steel Lion Fortresss commander, the Level 200, Tier 4 Sky Knight Sepel, currently had less than 50% of his HP remaining. If not for the many Tier 3 and Tier 4 healers supporting him, he wouldve long since fallen to the 20-plus Level 180, Tier 4 NPCs ganging up on him. Relax. After looking at Fang Shihan, Shi Feng turned to the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and smiled, saying, If its airpower, we dont lack any, either. We dont lack any? Fang Shihan glanced at the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and then turned to survey the enemys fleet of Flying Ships, her worries not easing in the slightest. Naturally, she knew that a Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship was powerful and that it could go up against Tier 5 combatants. However, the enemys Tier 5 combatants were by no means weak. Moreover, several dozen Tier 4 NPCs had constructed a summoning array some distance behind the enemys commander. A monster summoned by several dozen Tier 4 NPCs definitely wouldnt be weak. There was even a high possibility it would be a Tier 5 Legendary monster. No sooner had Fang Shihan finished speaking than those several dozen Tier 4 NPCs completed their incantations. A gigantic Bone Dragon then emerged from the summoning array, its 500-meter-long body matching the Blue Thunder Flying Ship in size. The Bone Dragon also had a wingspan of 1,000 meters. When this Bone Dragon appeared and let loose a roar, the intense shockwave it generated made all the Tier 3 combatants on the battlefield feel lightheaded. [Ancient Bone Dragon) (Undead, Legendary) Level 180 HP 200,000,000,000 Upon seeing the Ancient Bone Dragons statistics, the players inside the Steel Lion Fortress gasped reflexively. Even the players spectating the battle through the Twin Towers Kingdoms forums were dumbfounded, many people spitting out the drink in their mouth. This was the first time any of the Twin Towers Kingdoms players saw a Legendary monsters statistics, and they all couldnt help despairing. Even the Tier 4 players in the fortress revealed a bitter smile. Setting aside the wide-range attacks the Bone Dragon could execute with its massive body, just its 200 billion HP was more than enough to make any Tier 4 player lose hope. After all, the Ancient Bone Dragon could recover 2% of its HP every five seconds due to its battle recovery. In other words, it could regenerate four billion HP every five seconds. Combined with its Tier 5 Defense, even a hundred Tier 4 players attacking with everything they had wouldnt be enough to kill it. Itsover Were dead for sure this time Many of the Tier 3 players in the Steel Lion Fortress lost their fighting spirit as they looked at the Ancient Bone Dragon in the sky. Shi Fengs arrival was indeed a huge help to them. However, along with his arrival, the enemy forces had become even stronger. Although Shi Feng was a Tier 5 Sword Saint, he couldnt go up against one Tier 5 NPC and one Tier 5 Legendary monster simultaneously. Not to mention, the enemys Tier 5 commander was far from ordinary, clad in a complete set of Fragmented Legendary Set Equipment and even wielding a Legendary Greatsword. He was a top-ranking existence even among Tier 5 existencesand definitely not someone current Tier 5 players could contend with. When Fang Shihan saw the Ancient Bone Dragon, her complexion also turned very ugly. She had never imagined that the Outerworld NPCs could summon an actual Tier 5 Legendary monster. This Ancient Bone Dragon was much stronger than the Nine-headed World Snake the Outerworld players summoned previously. The summoning array the Outerworld players had used was something similar to the Divine Beasts Descent Magic Array. The monster summoned wasnt an actual monster but a magical illusion. So long as one heavily damaged the summoning array, one would dispel the illusion. It was a different story for actual summoned monsters. The only way to get rid of a summoned monster was by killing either the monster or the monsters summoner. However, there was no specific summoner in a group summoning. Unless one killed all of the summoners involved, the summoned creature would remain, obedient to the summoners commands. Before the Steel Lion Fortresss players could overcome their despair, the Outerworlds Tier 5 commander, Los Ferid, pointed at the Steel Lion Fortress and ordered, Attack! Kill all of the natives! At Los Ferids command, the Ancient Bone Dragon, along with the 30-plus Advanced Flying Ships and six Bronze Flying Ships, began bombarding the Steel Lion Fortress. The Ancient Bone Dragon used the Tier 5 Spell Hell Lotus and showered the Steel Lion Fortress with crimson flames so hot that they incinerated space itself. Meanwhile, the Flying Ships fired all their cannons, raining hundreds of destructive beams on the fortress. Boom! The resulting explosion was so devastating that it was audible even tens of thousands of yards away. The consequent shockwave ravaged the area within 3,000 yards of the fortress. Upon seeing this attack, the Outerworld NPCs charging at the Steel Lion Fortress revealed joyous expressions. If the Steel Lion Fortress received such an attack without its defensive magic array, all of the fortresss inhabitants would disappear without a trace. However, when the smoke enveloping the fortress dissipated, the Outerworld NPCs suddenly fell silent. How is this possible?! The Outerworlds Tier 3 NPCs stared at the sight before them with dumbfounded expressions. In fact, even the people inside the Steel Lion Fortress were stunned by this situation, their minds boggled. Before anyone realized it, a gigantic magic barrier had formed around the Steel Lion Fortress and blocked all the attacks from the Flying Ships and the Ancient Bone Dragon. Let alone annihilating the fortresss inhabitants, the Flying Ships and the Ancient Bone Dragon had even failed to scratch the fortress walls. However, before anyone could snap out of their daze, the barrier enveloping the fortress suddenly disappeared. Six crystalline spheres the size of a small house then flew toward the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and hovered around it. That Flying Ship created that barrier just now? Are you kidding me?! Is that really a Flying Ship?! How can it stop a Legendary monsters Tier 5 Spell?! Be it the players or NPCs inside the Steel Lion Fortress, all of them currently had their mouths hanging wide open as they stared at the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. After all, the Flying Ships performance had shattered their notions of Flying Ships. The Blue Thunder Flying Ships defensive capabilities practically rivaled a Mobile Fortresss! At this time, even Fang Shihan, who knew the specifics of the situation, was rendered speechless. She had no idea that a Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship could be that strong. Of those present, only Shi Feng found this situation normal. The Gray Thunder Flying Ship might only be a Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship, but its technological content exceeded that of the average Mysterious-Iron Flying Ship. Its usage of Mana was particularly exceptional. If not for its inadequate materials and power source, it could easily become a Secret-Silver Flying Ship. Now that youre done attacking, its our turn now! Pointing at the Outerworlds NPC army, Shi Feng commanded, Beat them up! Along with Shi Fengs command, the Zero Wing members seated on the Blue Thunder Flying Ship eagerly revved up the engines output to maximum. Subsequently, the Flying Ships 40 Advanced Magic Elven Cannons, 12 Floating Crystal Cannons, and Thunder of Destruction main cannon fired at the enemy Flying Ships and Flying Mounts and the Ancient Bone Dragon simultaneously. Boom Boom Boom For a moment, countless lightning arcs and beams of light filled the battlefield, making it seem as if the heavens were doling out divine retribution. The Ancient Bone Dragon and Outerworld NPCs reacted quickly and activated Defensive Spells to protect themselves. However, apart from the Ancient Bone Dragons defensive barrier, the defensive barriers conjured for the Flying Ships and Flying Mounts all shattered without exception. When the barrage ended, several dozen Flying Mounts crashed to the ground. The Advanced Flying Ships also suffered severe damage, their mobility plummeting significantly. With how much damage they took from just one bombardment, they would probably fall after another three or four. As for the Bronze Flying Ships, although they didnt take any serious damage, their armors durability still plummeted by a significant margin. After the Blue Thunder Flying Ship ended its barrage, everyone on the battlefield turned to stare at it, petrified. This This Isnt this thing a little too strong?! So, this is Zero Wings trump card? The Steel Lion Fortresss players found their minds stagnating as they took in the tattered state of the Outerworld armys air units. Just a moment ago, they were clearly at an overwhelming disadvantage in airpower. However, the Blue Thunder Flying Ship had instantly turned the tables with its arrival. This situation was simply unbelievable. When Cola looked at the distant Blue Thunder Flying Ship, his eyes glowed and his mouth watered. He then turned to Shi Feng and asked, Guild Leader, when can I buy one? Compared to Flying Mounts, traveling across the continent in the Blue Thunder Flying Ship would be a much more wonderful experience! Youll get your chance eventually, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw Colas excitement. However, this thing needs ten people to pilot. Its not something you can pilot alone. When Shi Feng finished speaking, the Zero Wing members present were all thrilled. After all, based on Shi Fengs words, the Guild would eventually sell the Blue Thunder Flying Ship to its members once the Flying Ship was available in larger numbers. This meant that all of them had an opportunity to own this steel behemoth. And even if they couldnt ride it alone, they could simply form a team to do so. However, shortly after Shi Feng finished speaking, the enemy commander, who had not taken any action thus far, suddenly turned to Shi Feng. At this time, though, the contempt in Los Ferids eyes had disappeared. There was even a faint smile on his face. You are an exceptional heaven-blessed individual, Los Ferid said as he lifted his greatsword and rested it on his shoulder. Smiling, he asked, May I know your name? Black Flame, Shi Feng replied calmly. Although Black Flame wasnt his real ID, he had long since gotten accustomed to using it. Moreover, the Outerworld knew of only Black Flame and not Ye Feng. Black Flame? Los Ferid, who appeared to be in his 50s, nodded. He then earnestly introduced himself, I am Los Ferid, the commander-in-chief of the Gods Domain Crusade Armys 19th Corps and one of the Seventeen Stars of the Holy Grail. You are qualified to be my enemy! After Los Ferid finished speaking, the strength of his Mana Domain suddenly increased. Now, even the fortresss magic arrays couldnt nullify it. The instant Los Ferids Mana Domain enveloped the Steel Lion Fortress, everyone inside the fortress felt their bodies become significantly heavier. Now, the fortresss Tier 3 combatants even had difficulty lifting their heads. A scorching heat also blanketed their bodies as if they were standing in a burning hell. Even Fire Dance, who had an eight-piece Epic Set Equipment equipped and wielded a Legendary Weapon, felt immense pressure on her body. She would be fortunate to exhibit even 60% of her usual combat power. And as a result of this suppression, she became even less of an opponent for the enemys Level 180, Tier 5 vanguard leader in front of her. One of the Seventeen Stars of the Holy Grail? Shi Feng grew more cautious after hearing Los Ferids introduction. Although he had never heard of the Seventeen Stars of the Holy Grail, Gods Domain had an official ranking list known as the Ten Saints, which represented the ten strongest combatants recognized by the War Gods Temple. Every one of these Ten Saints was rumored to have Demigod-level combat power. Shi Feng guessed that Los Ferid was probably on par with the Ten Saints. Based on his observation of Los Ferids Mana Domain, he could tell that the other party had already mastered a World Law. The only thing holding the NPC back from reaching Tier 6 was his Concentration. Nevertheless, with a Legendary Weapon in hand, Los Ferid should be a powerhouse even among Demigods. However, although Los Ferid possessed a powerful Mana Domain, it had no effect on Shi Feng whatsoever. Immediately, Shi Feng unleashed his own Mana Domain, canceling out Los Ferids and even suppressing the NPC slightly. Lets fight! Let me see how powerful you heaven-blessed individuals are! Los Ferid said, his body suddenly splitting into more than a hundred doppelgangers that charged at Shi Feng from different directions. Tier 5 Skill, Shadowlight Kill! After activating Shadow Kill, Los Ferid spun and swung his greatsword. Tier 5 Skill, Great Holy Cross! Tier 5 Skill, Draconic Stars! Immediately, Los Ferids doppelgangers transformed into gigantic crosses that pierced through space. Each of these crosses then split and transformed into several dozen serpentine dragons. Several thousand serpentine dragons flew toward Shi Feng, their large numbers making it impossible to dodge or block them all. He combined three Tier 5 Skills?! Fire Dance and the others were startled when they saw Los Ferids attack. For true expert players, combining the effects of Skills was a must-learn technique. However, the higher the tier of the Skills, the more difficult combining them would be. Currently, even Domain Realm experts like Fire Dance and Yan Tianxing could just barely combine two Tier 4 Skills. Yet, Los Ferid had combined three Tier 5 Skills. Los Ferids combat standard was simply unprecedented. Every addition to a Skill combination would double the power of the combined attack. Los Ferids combined Tier 5 Skills could exhibit quadruple the power of a standard Tier 5 Skill. Moreover, Los Ferid was also wielding a Legendary Weapon. These two factors would probably deter even a Tier 5 Dragon from receiving Los Ferids attack. Amazing! When Shi Feng perceived the several thousand serpentine dragons flying toward him, he was awed. If this were before his fight with the Scholar, he would definitely rank Los Ferid number one when it came to the usage of Skills out of all the NPCs he knew. However, while Los Ferids attack might seem unstoppable in the eyes of other players, that wasnt the case for Shi Feng. After Shi Fengs Concentration reached the Tier 5 Peak standard, his brains processing speed had undergone another qualitative transformation. Previously, he could only increase his brains processing speed twofold. Now, he could increase it fourfold. This was also the part that made mental strength masters powerful. Nonetheless, he still didnt dare take the approaching serpentine dragons lightly. Immediately, he unsheathed the Light of Two Worlds and executed a horizontal slash. Spatial Slash! Swords Transmigration! Shi Feng had gotten promoted to Tier 5 only recently, so he had hardly any Tier 5 Skills that could counter Los Ferids attack. His only option to offset this shortcoming was to rely on his weapons, equipment, and techniques. The Light of Two Worlds was one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. It was among the strongest Legendary Weapons in existence, not something ordinary Legendary Weapons could hope to match. The next moment, with Shi Feng as the center, a golden lotus bloomed on the battlefield, the petals of the lotus nullifying the energy making up the serpentine dragons. In the blink of an eye, the several thousand serpentine dragons vanished from the battlefield. Upon seeing that his first attack had failed, Los Ferid immediately took a different approach and transformed into a streak of light shooting toward Shi Feng. Tier 5 Skill, Shadowlight Steps! Shadowlight Steps not only provided Los Ferid with a brief moment of invulnerability but also increased his attack speed and destructive power. After appearing in front of Shi Feng and swinging his greatsword down at him, Los Ferid also let out a roar. Tier 5 Skill, Voice of the Soul! When activated, Voice of the Soul would stun all enemies within a radius of several hundred yards, causing their reaction speed to plummet. The Skill also dealt a heavy blow to their souls. However, Los Ferid still wasnt done, even after activating Voice of the Soul. He also activated World Strike, an Additional Skill that came with his greatsword. It allowed him to launch an attack at the Tier 6 Peak standard and had a one-hour Cooldown. Even a Tier 6 existence would have to be wary of the combination of these three Skills, what more a Tier 5 player like Shi Feng. However, as Los Ferid took action, Shi Feng activated Divine Steps and instantly swapped positions with a doppelganger located over a thousand yards away from him, dodging the NPCs Voice of the Soul. Unfortunately, as all 36 of his doppelgangers were still within range of Los Ferids World Strike, Shi Feng had no choice but to counter with World Breaker. Boom! An explosion took place in midair, and everyone on the battlefield gaped in shock when they saw the aftermath of the clash between Shi Feng and Los Ferid. The sky above the Steel Lion Fortress had turned into a dark, empty void. Some of the Advanced and Bronze Flying Ships, unfortunate enough to be caught within this void, even turned to dust. That is a powerful sword you have there. Not only did it break my World Strike, but it even injured me, Los Ferid exclaimed as he looked at the Light of Two Worlds in Shi Fengs hand. The greatsword he wielded was top-tier even among Legendary Weapons. Yet, even after he activated his greatswords strongest Skill, his attack still lost to Shi Fengs. This was simply unbelievable. Although he lost less than 10% of his HP from the exchange, this was still an astonishing outcome. After all, ever since he equipped the Holy Star Set, he had never received so much damage from a single attack-until now. Meanwhile, the players inside the fortress were dumbfounded by the outcome of the clash between Shi Feng and Los Ferid. In their opinion, this was no longer a battle between humans but a battle between Gods. When Los Ferid executed his earlier attack, most of them already thought they would die. Fortunately, Shi Feng had shattered the attack. Otherwise, the Steel Lion Fortress would probably have disappeared from the Twin Towers Kingdom. You overpraise me. When Shi Feng saw that Los Ferid had received some damage, he immediately followed up on his small victory with Golden Soul, elevating his soul to the Tier 6 standard. He then swapped positions with the doppelganger closest to Los Ferid and swung the Light of Two Worlds at the NPC. Holy Annihilation! Now that Shi Fengs Concentration was elevated to Tier 6 and he understood the true way to utilize the Law of Destruction, he executed Holy Annihilation with much greater proficiency than before. However, when executing this attack, Shi Feng didnt use the Heavenly Blue Saints Destruction Magic Array. Instead, he tried using his own Mana to break the operations of the ambient Mana. Originally, when Shi Fengs Concentration was only at the Tier 5 Peak standard, accomplishing this feat wouldve been incredibly difficult. However, after activating Golden Soul, his control over and perception of Mana had undergone a qualitative transformation. This, in turn, reduced the difficulty of the challenge significantly, turning the impossible possible. The next moment, the space Shi Fengs sword passed through transformed into an empty void, the power of his attack having reached the Tier 6 Intermediate standard already. A Law Technique? Los Ferid was startled when he saw the destroyed space. As someone who had already mastered a World Law, integrating the World Law into his swordsmanship was something he had always dreamed of. However, accomplishing this feat was simply too difficult, which was why even Demigods could normally only rely on Mana Techniques as a guide to make use of World Laws. However, Shi Feng currently wasnt relying on any magic arrays as a guide. He was making use of a World Law purely with his own strength. The power one could exhibit this way was much greater than what one could exhibit by relying on a Mana Technique. This was because a Mana Technique was a fixed sword technique. If one had to rely on Mana Techniques to make use of World Laws, one could use only these specific Mana Techniques. However, if one could freely make use of a World Law, then regardless of what technique one used, all of ones techniques would carry the power of the World Law. The difference in flexibility between the two was like heaven and earth. Of course, the Law Technique Shi Feng currently displayed was extremely crude, and he could use only a small portion of the Law of Destructions power. Nonetheless, Los Ferid dared not act recklessly against Shi Fengs attack. He immediately swung his greatsword. Mana Technique, Burning Sea! Boom! When the two swords collided, a vast void and a sea of flames appeared in the sky once more. The terrifying shockwave the collision generated even obliterated the Tier 3 combatants nearby, while those standing farther away got sent flying. Subsequently, the clangor of swords clashing rang out in the sky time after time. Apart from some Tier 4 individuals with incredibly high Basic Attributes, everyone else dared not stay anywhere near Shi Feng and Los Ferids battle. The clash between Shi Feng and Los Ferid continued for more than a minute, the deafening explosions numbing everyones mind. However, the more Shi Feng fought, the fiercer his attacks became. Despite Los Ferid doing his best to avoid a head-on clash, Shi Feng took the initiative to do the exact opposite. Shi Feng was relying on this intense life-and-death battle to familiarize himself with the process of breaking the operations of Mana. As more time passed, Los Ferid gradually fell into a disadvantage, his HP decreasing continuously. Only after two minutes had gone by and the effect of Shi Fengs Golden Soul disappeared did Los Ferid regain the upper hand. Nevertheless, Los Ferid still couldnt put an end to the battle. This was because even after losing the ability to use his Law Technique, Shi Feng could still rely on Holy Annihilation to use the Law of Destruction. Hence, he had no problem clashing with Los Ferid. Moreover, both of them had healers supporting them. Unless one of them made a fatal mistake, neither was unlikely to die. In the meantime, the Blue Thunder Flying Ship was deeply entangled with the Ancient Bone Dragon. However, as the Blue Thunder Flying Ship had a lot of cannons, it managed to pin down the Ancient Bone Dragon while shooting down the enemys Flying Ships and Flying Mounts one after another. When Los Ferid saw another Bronze Flying Ship crash to the ground, his eyes twitched involuntarily. At this point, his army had already lost four Bronze Flying Ships and over 20 Advanced Flying Ships. The loss of Flying Mounts was even worse. These things were practically mobile targets in front of the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. And worse, the Steel Lion Fortresss defensive barrier was gradually taking shape once more. Evidently, the fortresss defensive magic array had already been fully reactivated. After the Tier 5 vanguard leader repelled Fire Dance and saw that the fortresss defensive barrier was re-forming, he looked toward Los Ferid and said, Lord Ferid, we cannot continue like this. Once the defensive barrier is up again, well be very passive. At the vanguard leaders words, Los Ferid gritted his teeth and commanded, Everyone, retreat! Obedient to Los Ferids command, the Outerworlds NPC army, which only had around two million NPCs remaining, began an orderly retreat from the Steel Lion Fortress. Los Ferid, the vanguard leader, and the Ancient Bone Dragon served as the rearguard, preventing Shi Feng and the Blue Thunder Flying Ship from giving chase. After the Outerworld NPCs opened a teleportation portal and left the battlefield, Los Ferid and the vanguard leader promptly retreated into the portal as well, leaving the Ancient Bone Dragon behind. The summoning array used to summon the Ancient Bone Dragon could keep it under control for only a certain period. After this period was over, the Ancient Bone Dragon would regain its freedom. Hence, they might as well leave it behind and have it pin down Shi Feng and the others. Once the Outerworlds NPC army retreated, Shi Feng and the others spent around 20 minutes killing the Ancient Bone Dragon. When the Level 180 Legendary monster died, Fire Dance and the others leveled up once. The monsters death also awarded Zero Wing with one Fragmented Legendary Weapon, over a dozen Level 180 Epic Weapons and Equipment, and several dozen Legendary materials. Upon seeing the loot, the Tier 3 and Tier 4 players belonging to other Guilds couldnt help growing envious. Afterward, Shi Feng immediately rode the Blue Thunder Flying Ship to the Twin Towers Kingdoms two other battlefronts. The Redthorn Fortresss and Thunder Gorge Citys situations were much better than the Steel Lion Fortresss. This was especially true for Thunder Gorge City. Because Aqua Rose was now a Tier 5 Grand Wizard, the Outerworld NPC army that attacked Thunder Gorge City received a resounding defeat, similar to the army that attacked the Steel Lion Fortress. As for the Redthorn Fortress, although the defenders here suffered somewhat terrible losses, they still managed to repulse the enemy. With the successful defense of these three strongholds, the Twin Towers Kingdoms players exploded with joy. Meanwhile, news of this astonishing outcome immediately spread across the entire continent, causing a sensation in Gods Domain. Chapter 2915 - Tides Have Turned Dark Night Empire, Thousand Nights City: Although nightfall was still several hours away, players already flooded the citys streets. In addition, more than 70% of the citys players were Level 140-plus, Tier 3 experts. At this time, though, all of these experts had nervous and solemn expressions on their faces. The reason for their sullen mood was the consecutive failures to defend several of the Dark Night Empires border fortresses and cities. By now, the empires players had no choice but to retreat to the largest border city in the south to fight the Outerworlds NPCs and players. Currently, over eight million Tier 3 players and 200 Tier 4 experts had gathered in the city-more than what one would normally see even in Dark Night City. Starlinks Residence, Guild Leaders office: They won? Lu Tiandi was stunned when he read the report regarding the Twin Towers Kingdom his subordinate sent him. The Outerworlds NPC armys abrupt decision to begin its invasion of the Twin Towers Kingdom had been Lu Tiandis dearest wish. With just the NPC forces available in the Twin Towers Kingdom and Star-Moon Kingdom, there was no way the Twin Towers Kingdom could repel the Outerworlds NPC army. After all, there were almost no Tier 5 NPCs in these two kingdoms. In contrast, the Outerworlds NPC army had multiple Tier 5 NPCs leading it. In Lu Tiandis opinion, even with Shi Fengs presence, the Twin Towers Kingdom would be fortunate to defend even one fortress, and the kingdoms fall was inevitable. Currently, out of all the eastern continents empires fighting against the Outerworld forces, only the Fire Dragon Empire managed to repulse the Outerworld NPC armys invasion. Nonetheless, it had still lost two fortresses and had to resort to guerilla warfare to stop the NPC armys advance completely. Yet, he was now told that Zero Wing had successfully defended not only the Steel Lion Fortress but also the Redthorn Fortress and Thunder Gorge City. Zero Wing had stopped the Outerworld NPC army in its tracks at the Twin Towers Kingdoms borders. Five first-rate Guilds Guild Leaders standing nearby similarly looked dumbfounded, having never thought that Zero Wing would succeed in repelling the Outerworlds NPC army even without the support of their five Guilds. Moreover, Zero Wing had even dealt significant damage to the Outerworlds NPC army. This victory also meant that the Guild and independent players who had participated in the defense would earn a fortune. After all, without the interference of enemy air units, they would have a much easier time killing the enemys Tier 3 NPCs. Guild Leader, according to our investigations, Zero Wings Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose have both gotten promoted to Tier 5. Moreover, the main reason behind Zero Wings successful defense is its Blue Thunder Flying Ship. That single Flying Ship has the power to suppress the Outerworld armys airpower, Yi Kui said, a hint of envy appearing on his face when he mentioned the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. If not for that Flying Ship, Zero Wing wouldnt have been able to retain those three strongholds even with three Tier 5s! The Blue Thunder Flying Ship? After watching a battle video showing the Blue Thunder Flying Ships performance, Lu Tiandi turned to Yi Kui and ordered in a determined tone, Do everything you can to find out how Zero Wing acquired this Flying Ship! So long as we can get one ourselves, resisting the Outerworlds NPC army will no longer be a problem! The main reason why the Dark Night Empire failed to defend its border fortresses and cities was its inadequate airpower. As soon as the fortresses and cities defensive magic arrays fell, the Outerworld NPC armys air units had destroyed the core magic arrays very quickly, depriving the defenders of their advantages. However, the Blue Thunder Flying Ship had easily solved this problem! Not only did the Flying Ship have the power to pin down a Legendary monster, but it even pummeled the Outerworlds air fleet to the ground while doing so. It was basically a tyrant of the skies. Lu Tiandi wasnt the only one with designs on the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. After seeing its performance, the various superpowers and even the Outerworlds player forces began looking into how Zero Wing acquired this flying behemoth. Countless spies began sneaking into Star-Moon Kingdom and Zero Wing. Lu Tiandi had gone the extra mile, offering 100 million Credits to anyone who could provide detailed information and the source of the Flying Ship. He had even offered 100 billion Credits to anyone who could get a complete Blue Thunder Flying Ship for Starlink. The bounty Lu Tiandi offered instantly caused an uproar among Gods Domains players. After all, the average person wouldnt even see ten million Credits in their lifetime. Star-Moon Kingdom, Star-Moon City: Guild Leader, many of our trading firms core members fell for Starlinks temptations and sold all information regarding the Blue Thunder Flying Ship to Starlink, Melancholic Smile said in an embarrassed tone as she handed a list of names to Shi Feng. Many of these people are even old members, who have been with Candlelight since its establishment. Yet, this time The Blue Thunder Flying Ships construction required a lot of manpower. Although all the participants had been required to sign a confidentiality agreement and given a significant amount of remuneration for silence, some people still fell for Starlinks inducement. Now, everyone knew of the Blue Thunder Flying Ships specifications and that the Flying Ships design originated from Shi Feng At Melancholic Smiles words, Fire Dance, who stood beside Shi Feng, chuckled and said, Thats nothing. Quite a few of Zero Wings members even tried to steal the Flying Ship itself when it was getting repaired in the Sky Spring City Residence. If not for Blackie and the others taking turns guarding it, these people mightve even succeeded. The Blue Thunder Flying Ship wasnt bound to any specific player. Although its activation required a key, storing it into an Epic Spatial Bag didnt. Its 100 billion Credits, after all. Even Im tempted to sell the Flying Ship, let alone them, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Its impossible to stop others from targeting the Flying Ship. Letting someone carry it isnt an option, either. The only thing we can do is strengthen the security around it. Piloting the Blue Thunder Flying Ship required a minimum of ten people. While having someone carry it in their bag might prevent theft to a certain degree, nobody knew when the Outerworlds NPC army would strike again. Should the Outerworlds NPC army return and the person holding the Flying Ship just so happened to be preoccupied with something, Zero Wing would be put into a very awkward situation. Ive already stationed four Tier 4 Fine-Gold Guards inside the Flying Ships control room. Without orders from you or one of the Vice Guild Leaders, they will not allow anyone to pilot it, Fang Shihan said, nodding in agreement with Shi Fengs words. Even if someone inside the Guild plans to steal the Flying Ship, they will need to deal with those four guards first. The Tier 4 Fine-Gold Guards possessed combat power at the Tier 4 Peak standard. Each of them could take on two or three ordinary Tier 4 players easily. Only Tier 4 players at the Void Realm standard and fully geared in Epic Equipment could fight one-on-one with these guards; Tier 3 players stood no chance whatsoever. By the way, hows the production of the Blue Thunder Flying Ships and Flame Beast Puppets coming along? Shi Feng asked Melancholic Smile. Even Tier 5 combatants could do very little to affect the state of the current War of Worlds. To defend against the Outerworlds NPC army adequately, Zero Wing would need a large number of Blue Thunder Flying Ships and Flame Beast Puppets. The Flame Beast Puppets production difficulty and manpower requirement are lower, so weve already manufactured three of them thus far. We just need to engrave the core runes and magic arrays to complete them, Melancholic Smile reported. As for the Blue Thunder Flying Ship, we have encountered some difficulties. With the materials we have on hand, we can produce three more Flying Ships. However, because of the information leak, the various powers have started purchasing the production materials as well, so subsequent manufacturing will be a problem. In that case, build those three Flying Ships first and then focus on producing the Flame Beast Puppets, Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. The Outerworlds 19th Army Corps had attacked only three locations in the Twin Towers Kingdom. With the 19th Army Corps strength, it could attack five or six locations simultaneously if it wanted to. If that happened, Zero Wing wouldnt be able to defend all of the targeted locations in time. At least three Blue Thunder Flying Ships were needed to defend the Twin Towers Kingdoms borders adequately. Guild Leader, the Secret Pavilion contacted us earlier, asking us to help them using the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. In return, they are willing to pay us 100,000 Gold Coins and 300,000 Magic Crystals as remuneration, Fang Shihan said as she forwarded the Secret Pavilions request for help to Shi Feng. She then added, Because of the rewards we gave out to players who managed to kill the Outerworld NPCs, Zero Wing Citys and Ancient Rock Citys incomes have been greatly reduced. If we help the Secret Pavilion a few times, it will relieve a lot of the financial pressure on the Guild. Previously, Shi Feng had basically wiped out all of Zero Wings liquid funds to obtain the two designs. The Guild was also spending a lot of money to strengthen Ancient Rock City and recruit more members. After pondering on the matter for a moment, Shi Feng said, We can help them, but we currently cannot afford to mobilize the Blue Thunder Flying Ship. Tell them that we are willing to send, at most, three Flame Beast Puppets. Also, in addition to the Coins and Magic Crystals, we will need 20 Magic Elven Stones, 100 Titan Gold ingots, and 100 Seven Luminaries Crystals as payment. The Blue Thunder Flying Ship was of utmost importance to the Twin Towers Kingdoms defense right now, so it definitely couldnt be sent outside the kingdoms borders. However, if the Secret Pavilion was only looking to defend a fortress or city, three Flame Beast Puppets would more than suffice as reinforcements. After all, Tier 5 combatants were rare even among the Outerworlds NPC army. Although the addition of three Tier 5 combatants might not let the Secret Pavilion achieve a landslide victory, the Secret Pavilion wouldnt have any trouble defending its fortresses and cities. Ill notify them right away, Fang Shihan said, nodding Although Shi Fengs conditions were slightly more demanding, they were preferable to losing a fortress or city. After all, losing an areas stronghold to the Outerworld NPCs also meant losing access to the areas resources. Once the Outerworld NPCs captured an area, no native player would dare set foot there to harvest resources anymore. Just as Fang Shihan expected, the Secret Pavilion agreed to Shi Fengs conditions without hesitation. The Secret Pavilion also asked that Zero Wing come over as soon as possible, as the Outerworlds NPC army had already started moving. The NPC army would take another one or two days, at most, before it began its assault on another one of the Fire Wing Empires NPC cities. In response to the Secret Pavilions request, Shi Feng immediately started engraving the core magic arrays of the three Flame Beast Puppets. A few hours later, he completed the engravings and had Fang Shihan bring the three 50-meter-tall Combat Puppets to East Lake City, one of the Fire Wing Empires border cities. When the battle at East Lake City took place, the difference between the two sides was significant. Although the Fire Wing Empire had dispatched two Tier 5 NPCs and over 500 Tier 4 NPCs to defend the city, the Outerworlds NPC army had dispatched an even stronger force of four Tier 5 NPCs, over a thousand Tier 4 NPCs, and six million Tier 3 NPCs. The difference between the player armies of the two sides was also significant. Although the Secret Pavilion had dispatched many of its experts and gathered the help of many Guilds, it only managed to form an army of around 400 Tier 4 players and 10 million Tier 3 players. In comparison, the Outerworlds player army had over 800 Tier 4 players and 10 million Tier 3 players. The battle at East Lake City lasted more than a day. During this time, the three Flame Beast Puppets played a vital role, pinning down two Tier 5 NPCs and one Tier 5 summoned creature. In the end, the Tier 5 summoned creatures control duration ran out, and the Outerworlds NPCs and players had no choice but to retreat. Although the Secret Pavilion suffered a casualty ratio of six to four, with six of the Secret Pavilions members dying for every four of the Outerworlds players, this result still shook the entire eastern continent. This was because no empire had ever attained such a casualty ratio before this battle. Typically, the various empires had an eight-to-two or even nine-to-one casualty ratio. If all battles could end with a six-to-four casualty ratio, the eastern continents native forces would have a significant advantage in the long run, and the Outerworld forces would eventually suffer defeat. This was because of the significant difference between the respawn points of the two sides. The Outerworld players who died in battle could get resurrected only at the World Passages entrance. This meant that they would have to travel a great distance to return to the battlefield. Native players, on the other hand, could get resurrected in the fortresss or citys Resurrection Temple and rejoin the battle immediately. After the battle at East Lake City, many of the eastern continents superpowers started sending requests for help to Zero Wing. Shi Feng was naturally more than happy to accept these requests. Zero Wing could earn a ton of wealth, as well as the materials needed to manufacture the Blue Thunder Flying Ships and Flame Beast Puppets, through these requests and even accumulate Seven Luminaries Crystals. Subsequently, for the next month or so, Zero Wings Flame Beast Puppets visited one battlefield after another on the eastern continent. Initially, there were only three Flame Beast Puppets moving from one battlefield to another. Later on, there were a dozen Flame Beast Puppets divided among three or four battlefields at a time. Eventually, there were 34 Flame Beast Puppets fighting in more than ten battlefields simultaneously. Because of these Flame Beast Puppets, the eastern continents overall war situation experienced a significant improvement. In the meantime, Zero Wing had made a huge profit. And because of this massive wealth, not only did Zero Wing City, Ancient Rock City, Silverwing City, and Stone Forest City receive comprehensive improvements, but even the Lost Town had been upgraded to a Basic City. Now, over a million Zero Wing members could be seen training in the Lost Town at all times. Moreover, during this past month, Zero Wings Tier 3 member count had also breached three million. And thanks to the Lost Towns Extraordinary Tower and the environments of Zero Wing City and Ancient Rock City, the number of experts getting promoted to Tier 4 in Zero Wing also far exceeded that of all Guilds in Gods Domain. Zero Wing now had over 200 Tier 4 players under its command. In addition, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Yan Tianxing had succeeded in creating their Tier 5 Mana Bodies and gotten promoted to Tier 5, instantly increasing Zero Wings overall combat power by a considerable margin. This development caused all of Gods Domains Guilds to grow envious. After all, during the same period, the Five Great Super Guilds had managed to produce only one Tier 5 player each in contrast to Zero Wings three. Moreover, this was after they had expended all their war contributions to exchange for resources that could aid in the Tier 5 promotion. Meanwhile, with Zero Wings combat support, many player forces had managed to produce a significant number of Tier 4 players by utilizing the resources they acquired from their respective kingdoms and empires. This, in turn, gradually bridged the gap between Gods Domains and the Outerworlds players and turned the tide of the War of Worlds in the eastern continents favor. On the other hand, Starlink, which had constantly been opposing Zero Wing, wasnt doing so well. Starlink had failed to defend many of the NPC cities it controlled in the Dark Night Empire and lost most of its investments there. The situation in the other empires and kingdoms Starlink operated was similar, and Starlink fell to the bottom of the various superpowers. Now, many of its members were even withdrawing from the Guild. However, just when everyone thought the second War of Worlds would stabilize again, like last time, an earth-shattering battle took place in Flame Horn City, one of the Fire Dragon Empires top eight cities. Working together, Flame Horn Citys Magistrate Krobidi, who was the Fire Dragon Empires former Deputy Knight Commander and a Level 200, Tier 5 Dragon Knight, and the War Gods Temples Elder Lovefrid, who was a Demigod-level existence and one of the Ten Saints, fought a mysterious youth in Flame Horn City. However, after only three exchanges, the mysterious youth reduced both Krobidi and Lovefrid to ashes, and Flame Horn City disappeared from the Fire Dragon Empire. Five days later, the mysterious youth appeared in the Glory Empires Light City, along with several of the Outerworlds Tier 5 NPCs. Together, they stormed the palace in Light City and killed the Glory Empires emperor and over a dozen other Tier 5 existences. Afterward, Light City also disappeared from the map of Gods Domain. The Glory Empire fell in the blink of an eye, which plunged the eastern continent into unprecedented fear. During the first War of Worlds, only kingdoms had fallen to the Outerworld. In the eyes of players, empires were unshakable existences. This was because an empires foundation wasnt something that Tier 5 existences could threaten. Even the appearance of multiple Tier 5 Dragons would, at most, cause an empire severe losses. Not to mention, the attacked city was the Glory Empires capital. The ancient barrier protecting the city could allow an allied Tier 5 combatant to go up against several hostile Tier 5 combatants easily. Light City itself had also had over a dozen Tier 5 NPCs garrisoning it, with some of them even equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. It was no exaggeration to say that Light City could put up a fight against even Tier 6 Gods. Yet, the invincible Glory Empire had still fallen. Moreover, the souls of a considerable portion of the players killed in Light City had sustained heavy damage, which prohibited those players from logging into the game for one whole month. Some even had to restart with a new account. Ancient Rock City, City Lords Mansion, core control room: Currently, Shi Feng sat alone inside the quiet and spacious hall. With Golden Soul activated, he tried using his mind to completely stop the operation of all Mana within his vicinity. Over the past month, Shi Feng had not only reached Level 192 but also learned how to forcibly stop the operation of Mana. Even without the help of Golden Soul, he could now incorporate the Law of Destruction into his sword techniques. The only problem was that doing so placed a much heavier burden on his Concentration. It seems I need to push my Concentration to Tier 6, no matter what. Otherwise, I cant truly control the Law of Destruction. When the effects of Golden Soul disappeared, Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the shattered space around him. At this point, he was already flummoxed by the difficulty of raising his Concentration to the Tier 6 standard. He had originally thought that he could continuously develop his Concentration with the help of Soul Water and Crystals of Souls. Even if the process took a lot of time, it wouldnt matter. Unfortunately, he discovered that he was mistaken. Roughly two weeks ago, he had sensed that his Concentration had reached the limits of Tier 5. No matter how much Soul Water and Crystals of Souls he consumed after that, his Concentration did not improve in the slightest. In contrast, after consuming the Meditation Potions in the real world, he had broken through to the three-star mental strength master standard two days ago. His improvement in the real world was many times faster than in Gods Domain. Just when Shi Feng was racking his mind on how to improve his Concentration, Fang Shihan suddenly entered the hall. Approaching Shi Feng with a Magic Crystal Recorder, Fang Shihan said with a grim expression, Guild Leader, Ive uncovered the purpose of that mysterious youths actions. Whats his aim? Shi Feng asked with concern. When the mysterious youth appeared in Flame Horn City, Shi Feng had already guessed the other partys identity. The mysterious youth was none other than the Scholar. However, compared to their meeting in the Evil Gods Secret Land, the Scholar who had appeared in Flame Horn City had undergone significant changes. During their last meeting, the Scholar didnt have any divine markings on his face. In Flame Horn City, the Scholar had dark-purple divine markings on his forehead and cheeks. Moreover, he also gave off a sacred feeling. His aim should be the Seven Treasures. According to the information and video recordings taken, he demanded the Seven Treasures from the NPCs he fought, Fang Shihan said as she passed the Magic Crystal Recorder to Shi Feng. When Shi Feng activated the crystal, what appeared before him was a video recording of the battle in Light City. This video was taken by a Tier 4 Assassin who had been spectating the battle from far away using a Magic Mirror. In the video, the Glory Empires emperor could be seen taking out a silver emblem. Several barriers then appeared in front of the emperor, which blocked all of the Scholars attacks. After seeing his attacks blocked, the Scholar said, As expected of the Treasure of Space! Hand over the Spatial Emblem, and I will spare your life! However, the emperor did not agree to the Scholars demand, and he fought the Scholar to a standstill, relying on his superb spatial manipulation techniques. Eventually, though, the Scholar took out his staff, and the battle was quickly decided. Meanwhile, after seeing that the situation was amiss, the Tier 4 Assassin, who was recording the battle, promptly fled Light City. Hes looking for the Seven Treasures? Shi Feng frowned. Shi Feng had constantly been searching for the Seven Treasures. However, even now, he had managed to acquire only four of them: the Treasure of Illusion, Treasure of Time, Treasure of Fire, and Treasure of Wind. The Treasure of Wind was something Fire Dance and the others had gone to great lengths to locate and obtain. As for the three remaining treasures he was missing, he never found any information on them. Shi Feng never thought that the Scholar would also be looking for the Seven Treasures. This was undoubtedly terrible news for him. Shi Feng suspected that the Scholar was currently under some restrictions, which prevented the Scholar from attacking him. However, there was no doubt that the Scholar was slowly and steadily removing those restrictions. Otherwise, he wouldnt have dared attack and kill Tier 5 NPCs. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Scholar came for him. Oh, by the way, Guild Leader, Ive found the two weapons you asked me to find, Fang Shihan said as she took out two longswords from her bag. With a pained expression, she continued, The one named Broken Steel cost us one Fragmented Legendary Weapon and one Fragmented Legendary Armor to acquire. The two longswords she took out were both Epic Weapons that could be used up to Level 180. Although they were excellent weapons for Tier 4 experts, they were hardly as valuable as Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Yet, Shi Feng was willing to exchange for them using Fragmented Legendary Weapons. This was simply a huge loss. Great! This is great! Shi Feng grew ecstatic as he looked at the two longswords. Of the two swords, the sky-blue one was named Broken Steel, while the black one was named Night Slayer. Although Fang Shihan deemed Shi Fengs decision wasteful, he paid no heed to the cost at all. After all, even ten Fragmented Legendary Weapons werent worth as much as one Legendary Weapon. Not to mention, Solomons Sword was one of Gods Domains Ten Great Legendary Weapons. Previously, after the Scholars sudden appearance in Flame Horn City, Shi Feng had been thinking of completing Solomons Sword to elevate his strength further. Otherwise, with the Light of Two Worlds alone, he would have difficulty keeping himself alive in front of the Scholar. The instant Shi Feng accepted the two longswords from Fang Shihan, a system notification entered his ears. System: All the fragments of Solomons Sword detected. Do you wish to recast Solomons Sword? Recast it! Chapter 2916 - Solomon’s Sword When Shi Feng chose to recast Solomons Sword, the five fragments of Solomons Sword appeared in front of him one after another. Killing Ray, Disaster Blade, Netherworld Brilliance, Night Slayer, and Broken Steel. The five longswords resonated with one another and released a dazzling brilliance. A few seconds later, the five longswords fused, transforming into a crimson longsword with black markings. Black electric arcs flickered around the blade of the weapon, their presence repeatedly shattering the surrounding space. The instant the crimson longsword took shape, Fang Shihan was stunned. A Legendary Weapon? At this point, Fang Shihan was already familiar with the aura of Legendary Weapons. After all, Zero Wing had five. Besides Shi Fengs Light of Two Worlds, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and Yan Tianxing each had a Legendary Weapon. Recently, Violet Cloud had also finally upgraded her Deaths Sigh to the Legendary rank. Every Legendary Weapon could grant its user the power to transcend tiers. With a Legendary Weapon, a Tier 5 player would instantly become an existence close to rivaling Tier 6 Gods. Legendary Weapons far exceeded Fragmented Legendary Weapons in performance. After Solomons Sword took shape, Shi Feng excitedly grabbed it and checked its statistics. [Solomons Sword] (One-handed Sword, Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 50,000, Tier 4 Attack Power (460% of Strength) Attack Speed (3% of Agility+Vitality) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks ignore 100% Defense; Attacks have a 15% chance to increase attack speed by 300%; Attacks have a 60% chance to deal 300% damage; Attacks have a 20% chance to deal 1,000% damage; Attacks deal 200% damage to targets under Tier 6; Attacks carry the Soul Weakening effect; Strength increased by 300%, Agility increased by 180%, Intelligence increased by 150%, Endurance increased by 80%, Attack Speed increased by 170%; Ignore Levels +80; All Sword-type Skills +2 Level (up to Tier 6 Peak); Power of all attacks increased by two ranks (up to Tier 6 Peak); Effect of Mana increased by 200%; All Concentration consumption reduced by 30%. Additional Passive Skill Eternal Soul: Improves the users soul significantly and increases World Perception by one level. Additional Active Skill 1 Destructive Thunderbolt (Tier 6): With the user as the center, inflict devastating damage to all enemies within a 10,000-yard radius for up to ten seconds. The longer the Skill is kept active, the greater its power becomes (up to Tier 6 Peak). Cooldown: 1 minute Additional Active Skill 2 World Sword (Tier 6): Create 99 formless swords using the power of the world. The created swords will carry power two ranks higher than the user. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Active Skill 3 Final Sword (Tier 6): Activate all of Solomons Swords power using the power of the users soul for one attack. The stronger the users soul, the stronger the activated power will be (up to Tier 6 Peak rank). The resulting attack is capable of destroying the soul of all things. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Created by the Ancient God of Thunder. Solomons Sword possesses the power source of an Ancient God, and it is capable of destroying all things. As expected of one of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. Its Attributes are not the slightest bit inferior to the Light of Two Worldss. Shi Feng was astonished when he read Solomons Swords statistics. The Light of Two Worlds was a weapon focused on improving its wielders Life Rating, while Solomons Sword focused on improving its wielders soul. The effects of the two weapons were of equal importance. When used together, they easily surpassed other Legendary Weapon pairings. Although Shi Feng still hadnt reached Tier 6, both his Life Rating and Soul were now close to reaching the Tier 6 standard. If he were to fight Los Ferid, the commander of the Outerworlds 19th Army Corps, he could probably gain the upper hand even without using Golden Soul. By the way, theres one more important matter I need to tell you, Guild Leader, Fang Shihan said. She then took out an invitation card made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystal and handed it to Shi Feng. This is the invitation the Five Great Super Guilds sent to all first-rate Guilds and above in Gods Domain. They are hosting a conference in Blackwing City tomorrow to discuss countermeasures for the Outerworld forces and that mysterious youth. Seven Luminaries Crystal? What a generous move. Shi Feng was a little surprised when he looked at the invitation card in his hand. Seven Luminaries Crystal was a resource the various superpowers were desperately trying to acquire. Even though Zero Wing had done the same, the Guild only had a stockpile of 160,000 units and dared not spend them recklessly. Yet, the Five Great Super Guilds had used Seven Luminaries Crystals to create the invitation cards they sent to the various Guilds. Moreover, this invitation card wasnt just a plain card; it had a special teleportation array engraved on it that allowed the cards owner to teleport to Blackwing City. Shi Feng estimated that one invitation card would cost at least five Seven Luminaries Crystals to make. Meanwhile, there were easily over a thousand first-rate Guilds, super-first-rate Guilds, and Super Guilds in Gods Domain. In other words, the Five Great Super Guilds wouldve had to spend at least 5,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals. The Seven Luminaries Crystal invitation card is the highest-ranking invitation. Below it are Mana Stone and Magic Crystal invitation cards, Fang Shihan explained. According to the different invitation cards, the number of companions one can bring along will differ as well. The Magic Crystal invitation only allows you to bring one companion, while the Mana Stone invitation allows for two companions, and the Seven Luminaries Crystal invitation allows for four companions. Even so, this is still plenty amazing. Creating these special teleportation items alone would cost a pretty penny, after all, Shi Feng said. If it were up to him, he definitely wouldnt be willing to spend so much just to host a conference. Of course, the fact that the Five Great Super Guilds were willing to go so far also showed how much of a threat the mysterious youth was. Even in his previous life, he had never once seen such a grand conference in Gods Domain. Are we going? Fang Shihan couldnt help asking. In terms of overall combat power, Zero Wing was currently the undisputed number one Guild in Gods Domain. The Guild also wouldnt have any problems defending the Twin Towers Kingdom and its several Guild Cities. Hence, it didnt really matter whether Zero Wing participated in this conference or not. Moreover, Zero Wing was enemies with two of the Five Great Super Guilds. Of course were going! Shi Feng said, smiling. Have Fire, Violet, and Tianxing get ready. The four of you are coming with me. At this point, he no longer cared about the Outerworlds NPC army. However, it was a different story for the Scholar. According to Zero Wings investigations, the Scholar had deep ties with the Outerworlds NPCs. It was quite likely that Shi Feng would have to face the Outerworlds NPC army when he met with the Scholar again. Hence, he had to get the help of Gods Domains player forces. After all, the various kingdoms and empires had opened up their treasuries because of the War of Worlds. With the various promotion resources these treasuries offered, the players of Gods Domain would improve rapidly. At the current rate, Tier 5 players would probably start popping up in larger numbers in another one or two months. At that time, the various superpowers advantages would start to reveal themselves, and they would become significantly more useful than they were now. Most importantly, Zero Wing could take advantage of this Guild conference to solidify its position in Gods Domain. After all, Zero Wing currently had very little influence in the western continent. Moreover, because the western continent wasnt involved in the War of Worlds, the western continents exploration of Dungeons and ruins was significantly faster than the eastern continents. Ill notify them right away. Fang Shihan nodded to Shi Fengs command. Truthfully, she was very interested in this gathering. After all, once the conference ended, the experts of the various Guilds would interact with each other. These interactions might not seem like much on the surface, but they would allow experts to learn about different combat techniques and expand their knowledge of Mana. If she was lucky and received inspiration, she might be able to create her Tier 5 Mana Body. Currently, her Mana Bodys Completion Rate had reached 120%, and she couldnt improve it, no matter how much she tried. Rather than persisting in her current training, it would be much better to spar with other experts. Early the next morning, Shi Feng teleported to Blackwing City together with Fang Shihan and the others. As for Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, they were tasked with keeping guard over Zero Wings Guild Cities and the Twin Towers Kingdom as a precaution. Blackwing City, Teleportation Hall: Along with a flash of light, Shi Fengs group of five arrived in the Teleportation Halls central teleportation array. Blackwing City was much more crowded than normal. Apart from the experts of the invited Guilds, experts from uninvited Guilds and independent players were also in the city. The Five Great Super Guilds had invited all of Gods Domains first-rate Guilds and above to attend the conference this time. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that most of Gods Domains top experts were gathered in Blackwing City today. This was a situation that normally couldnt be found in any city. Even if the uninvited Guilds and independent players couldnt participate in the conference, they could still get a look at Gods Domains strongest players. If they were fortunate, they might even get to see these top experts sparring with each other. Hence, when news of the Five Great Super Guilds holding a grand conference got out, countless Guilds and players sought to enter Blackwing City. If not for Blackwing City requiring an entry pass, players wouldve long since flooded the city to the point of overflowing. Nonetheless, the number of players currently gathered in Blackwing City still exceeded 30 million. Moreover, most of the players roaming Blackwing Citys streets were Tier 3. Tier 4 players were also present in large numbers. In the current Blackwing City, even Refinement Realm experts would have to act carefully and humbly. Otherwise, there was a high chance they would end up offending a Flowing Water Realm expert or even a Void Realm expert. When Shi Feng arrived at the Blackwing Auction House, the designated conference venue, he found that over a thousand Tier 4 experts belonging to the Five Great Super Guilds had established a perimeter. Even the weakest among these Tier 4 experts was at Level 170 and geared in Level 180 Dark-Gold Set Equipment. Quite a number of these experts also had four to five pieces of Level 180 Epic Equipment and Weapons. As for the five players standing in the lead, not only were they over Level 180, but even the weakest piece of equipment on them was Level 180 Epic Equipment. All five of these players also boasted a Fragmented Legendary Weapon paired with two or three pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. These players thoroughly displayed the Five Great Super Guilds might. With all these Tier 4 players gathered in front of the Blackwing Auction House, the terrifying aura they exuded deterred even ordinary Tier 4 players from approaching the building. This is crazy! So, this is the Five Great Super Guilds strength? Crap! Our Guild barely has any Level 180 Epic Equipment, yet every one of the Five Great Super Guilds Tier 4 experts has at least one! I think that any one of those five people standing in the lead can easily beat up our entire Guild! Who do you think you are? Your Guild is only a third-rate Guild! Those five people wouldnt have trouble wiping out even second-rate Guilds! Do you know who those people are? Theyre the strongest talents belonging to the Five Great Super Guilds younger generation! I heard that not only have all five of them reached the Domain Realm, but their Mana Bodies are even above the 110% Completion Rate! They are all bona fide monsters! Its a pity our Guild isnt a first-rate Guild. Otherwise, we would get to participate in the conference too. The players crowding the street outside the Blackwing Auction House spoke with awe as they looked at the Five Great Super Guilds members. At the same time, they also felt envious of the players participating in the conference this time. After all, if they could learn a thing or two from one of the Five Great Super Guilds Tier 4 experts, it would easily save them several months of training. Amid the crowds hushed discussions, Tier 4 experts approached the Blackwing Auction House and presented their invitation cards one after another. Then the Five Great Super Guilds experts ushered them into the Auction House. At one point, when the leader of a three-man group presented a Seven Luminaries Crystal invitation, a commotion immediately erupted among the bystanders. This was because the middle-aged man, who was the leader of this three-man group, was actually a Tier 5 expert-one nobody had ever heard of before. What a bunch of ignorant fools. Do they think only superpowers can produce Tier 5 experts? one of the three-man groups members, a female Great Wizard holding a crimson staff, scoffed as she looked at the surrounding crowd scornfully. Sooner or later, our name of Shadow Vengeance will echo throughout Gods Domain! She felt only contempt for the various superpowers experts. This was because the various superpowers experts had relied on an astronomical amount of resources to develop themselves. In comparison, she and the experts of her Guild had achieved their current strength through one battle after another. I heard that the eastern continents Zero Wing would be attending as well. Between Guild Leader and Black Flame, I wonder, who is stronger? the third member of the group, a brown-haired youth, said excitedly. Of course, our Guild Leader is stronger! That Black Flame is only famous because hes the first person to reach Tier 5, the female Great Wizard sneered. She had great confidence in Iron Soul, their Guild Leader. This was because Iron Soul could receive a Tier 5 Legendary monsters attack and survive while at Tier 4. Now that Iron Soul had reached Tier 5, his strength was immeasurable. Iron Soul, the middle-aged man, did not refute his companions words, either. One of his goals in participating in the conference this time was to spar with Gods Domains other Tier 5 players and use this opportunity to bring Shadow Vengeances name to fame. However, shortly after the Great Wizard finished speaking, crisp and sweet laughter entered the ears of their group of three. What a bold claim! I wonder if your Guild Leader really is as strong as you say he is? As soon as these words fell, the trio from Shadow Vengeance turned toward the source of the voice and found themselves looking at a group of five. The one who spoke was a tall woman with an alluring body clad in dark-red leather-Zero Wings Fire Dance. Four Tier 5s? Currently, Shi Fengs group of five did not bother concealing their identities or statistics. Hence, the surrounding crowd gasped when they saw their tiers. Tier 5 players were basically mythical existences in the current Gods Domain. Most superpowers didnt even have one Tier 5 player under their command, yet Zero Wing had gained three more Tier 5 players aside from Black Flame, Gentle Snow, and Aqua Rose. At this time, the trio from Shadow Vengeance felt pressured. They never thought that Zero Wing was this strong. If it were a one-on-one, Iron Soul was confident he could still put up a fight. However, he would only be seeking his own death if he tried to fight four Tier 5 experts. After all, anyone capable of reaching Tier 5 definitely wasnt a weakling. If Tier 5 experts worked together, it wouldnt merely be a simple addition of combat power. Instead, their combat power would rise exponentially. Just when the female Great Wizard from Shadow Vengeance was about to say something, Fire Dance suddenly disappeared from everyones sight. Before Iron Soul and his companions could react, Fire Dance was already standing in front of the three of them. Her movements were even more astonishing than someone using Instantaneous Movement. Someone using Instantaneous Movement would at least generate spatial fluctuations that others could detect. However, Fire Dances movements generated neither sound nor fluctuation. Her presence had even disappeared completely when she moved. By the time Iron Souls group detected her presence again, she had already crossed the 100-yard distance between them, as if she had been standing in front of them all along. If you want to fight our Guild Leader, youll have to go through me first, Fire Dance said, smiling as she looked at Iron Souls group. She then disappeared and reappeared by Shi Fengs side. Only after Shi Fengs group of five had entered the Blackwing Auction House did the Tier 4 players outside the Auction House snap out of their daze. What amazing footwork! Iron Soul had a grim expression as he looked at Fire Dances departing figure. Guild Leader, did you manage to see what she did? the female Great Wizard couldnt help asking. Tier 5 players possessed far superior Life Ratings than Tier 4 players. There was even a massive gap in Basic Attributes. Hence, it was incredibly difficult for a Tier 4 player like herself to perceive the movements of a Tier 5 player. However, it should be a different story for Iron Soul. He could speed up his thoughts twofold with his Tier 5 Concentration, so he should be able to perceive Fire Dances movements. I didnt, Iron Soul said, shaking his head. In a quiet tone, he added, Rather than saying that shes fast, itd be more appropriate to say that she exists everywhere within her Mana Domain. The mastery she has over her Mana Domain far exceeds mine. Is she that strong? The female Great Wizard was astonished. Since someone as strong as Iron Soul had said so, even if she didnt want to, she had no choice but to acknowledge that Fire Dance was probably stronger than Iron Soul. After recollecting himself, Iron Soul looked at his two companions and said, There are countless experts in Gods Domain, and anyone capable of reaching Tier 5 is extraordinary. You should be more careful with your words. The fact that Black Flame has garnered such a reputation for himself proves that he isnt weak. At this point, Iron Soul no longer had any plans to ask Shi Feng for a spar. After all, his chances of defeating even Fire Dance were slim already. What qualifications did he have to challenge Gods Domains strongest player? Besides Shadow Vengeance, the other player forces originating from the western continent promptly stopped underestimating Zero Wing. This was especially true for the superpowers that had managed to produce Tier 5 players. Time passed quickly, the number of Guilds gathered in the Blackwing Auction House continuously increasing. Several hours later, all of the invited Guilds had finally arrived. Over a thousand Guilds were attending the conference, bringing more than 2,000 Tier 4 players and 23 Tier 5 players in all. The number of Tier 5 players attending the conference far exceeded everyones expectations. Of the 23 Tier 5 players in attendance, ten belonged to the Five Great Super Guilds. Apart from the original five Tier 5 players, the Five Great Super Guilds had each produced one more Tier 5 player during this period. The Secret Pavilion, Battle Wolves, Flower of Seven Sins, Violet Sword, Sacred Temple, and Divine Tribe had each produced one Tier 5 player as well. And in addition to Shadow Vengeance, two other first-rate Guilds had also produced one Tier 5 player each. Even Shi Feng did not expect such a development. With this revelation, the hierarchy of Gods Domains player forces was bound to change drastically. However, compared to the change in Gods Domains power hierarchy, the information the Five Great Super Guilds and Secret Pavilion shared was even more astonishing. According to their investigations, the mysterious youth had actually unified the Outerworlds NPC army. Currently, all of the Outerworlds NPCs scattered across the eastern continent were quietly making their way to the Fire Dragon Empire. This revelation put a grim expression on everyones face. Needless to say, the mysterious youth intended to strike at the Fire Dragon Empire, one of Gods Domains Four Great Empires, by gathering such a large force. Although they didnt know the mysterious youths aim, if the Fire Dragon Empire disappeared, the eastern continent would probably be doomed as well. That basically sums up the situation. After the Secret Pavilions Yuan Tiexin shared all of the investigation results with everyone in the hall, he said, Currently, the eastern continents various kingdoms and empires have started sending troops to the Fire Dragon Empire already. They are also doing their best to hinder the Outerworld NPC armys movements. However, we estimate that the Outerworld NPC army will finish gathering in, at most, another month. Once the Outerworld NPCs have gathered, they will launch an all-out attack on the Fire Dragon Empire. To weaken the Outerworld NPCs, we need to conduct guerilla warfare together with the various kingdoms and empires and try to reduce the Outerworld NPC armys strength as much as possible! However, just as Yuan Tiexin was about to go into detail about the Secret Pavilion and the Five Great Super Guilds plan to weaken the Outerworlds NPC army, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the Blackwing Auction House. The next moment, the space within the stadium-sized conference venue shattered, and two eight-winged women walked out of the shattered space. The aura that the two alluring women radiated immobilized all of the Tier 4 players present; only the Tier 5 players could barely move. Fallen Archangels?! Why would they appear here? Everyone doubted their eyes when they saw the two alluring women. Fallen Angels were existences close to rivaling Dragons, while Fallen Archangels rivaled Divine Dragons. Meanwhile, the two women before them were both bona fide Level 200, Tier 5 Fallen Archangels. In an era where Tier 6 Gods had disappeared from the mortal world, Tier 5 Fallen Archangels were no different from Gods. Heaven-blessed individuals, hand over the Seven Treasures! After declaring the reason for their presence, one of the Fallen Archangels turned to Shi Feng, while the other faced a Tier 5 middle-aged man, Iron Soul. Theyre going straight for the Seven Treasures? Shi Fengs expression turned solemn as he looked at the two Fallen Archangels. Shi Feng already had a huge headache dealing with the Scholar. However, he never thought that the Scholar could get two Fallen Archangels to do his bidding. This situation was simply inconceivable. Others might not know the true extent of a Tier 5 Fallen Archangels strength, but he did. In the past, he had watched a Tier 6 God-ranked expert clash with a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel. That person was none other than Endless Scars, the number one expert on Gods Domains Experts List at the time. Back then, despite wielding a Legendary Weapon, Endless Scars had struggled to kill a Level 220, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel. If an ordinary Tier 6 God-ranked expert encountered a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel, their only option was to run away. After all, a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel could slay a Tier 6 God-ranked expert by relying on their immensely high HP. Now, two Fallen Archangels had appeared in the Blackwing Auction House! Chapter 2917 - Ancient God’s Awakening When the two Fallen Archangels saw that neither Shi Feng nor Iron Soul showed any intention of handing over the Seven Treasures, they both immediately summoned a spear of crimson lightning. Die! The two Fallen Archangels threw their spears at Shi Feng and Iron Soul simultaneously. Tier 5 Taboo Skill, Thundering Devastator! The lightning spears were incredibly fast, leaving red trails as they shot toward their respective targets. The Tier 4 players in the spears paths died instantly, their bodies evaporating without a trace. The Tier 4 players killed didnt even realize that they had died. They only saw a red light enter their vision before they found themselves forcibly logged out of the game. Of those present in the hall, only the Tier 5 players managed to react to the Fallen Archangels lightning spears. Iron Soul immediately grabbed his shield and entered a defensive stance when he saw one of the lightning spears coming for him. Simultaneously, spatial barriers formed in front of him one after another, thirty of them tightly packed in front of Iron Souls Dark Mist Shield. This was Iron Souls trademark move. Mana Technique, Boundless Barrier! Boundless Barrier was also why he managed to block an attack from a Tier 5 Legendary monster when he was still at Tier 4. Now that he was at Tier 5, the techniques defensive power had also undergone a qualitative transformation. Boom! The next moment, the lightning spear thrown at Iron Soul pierced through the spatial barriers one after another. However, with each layer the spear penetrated, the spears power also weakened. When the spear broke through all 30 layers and landed on Iron Souls Dark Mist Shield, the shield acted like a black hole that absorbed all of the spears remaining power. Iron Soul stumbled half a step backward and lost around ten million HP. For Iron Soul, a Level 186, Tier 5 Guardian Knight, losing ten million HP was nothing. Not to mention, unlike the average Tier 5 Guardian Knight, who had around 200 million HP, Iron Souls maximum HP was 300 million. This was because, in addition to coming across many fortuitous opportunities, he also boasted a Legendary Shield. Iron Soul might not rank at the top among Tier 5 players in Attack Power, but he definitely ranked first in Defense. This was also what gave Iron Soul the confidence to challenge the various superpowers Tier 5 experts. However, before any of the players could voice their awe of Iron Souls amazing Defense, the lightning spear thrown at Shi Feng crashed into an invisible wall and deflected toward the halls ceiling. The spear then pierced through the ceilings defensive magic array and opened a hole in the ceiling, revealing the sky outside. Everyone was thunderstruck. What did he do?! Thats a Tier 5 Taboo Skill were talking about! Many of the Tier 4 experts and even the Five Great Super Guilds Tier 5 experts hadnt caught how Shi Feng had actually deflected a Tier 5 Taboo Skill just now. Moreover, Shi Feng did not receive even a point of damage in the process. He was evidently much stronger than Iron Soul. However, Shi Feng did not relax after turning the Fallen Archangels attack. Instead, he shouted, Everyone, exit the hall immediately! This is Blackwing City! So long as the NPCs arrive, these two Fallen Archangels should leave! Everyone hurriedly moved their feet when they heard Shi Fengs words, none of them daring to linger for even a moment longer. Although Shi Feng and Iron Soul had effortlessly stopped the two Fallen Archangels attacks, everyone could tell that the Fallen Archangels had merely launched a casual attack just now. Apart from the Tier 5 players present, anyone that accidentally got caught in one of the Fallen Archangels attacks would probably vaporize. After all, these two Fallen Archangels were existences capable of rivaling Tier 6 Gods. Even ordinary Tier 5 players were nothing in front of them. The Tier 4 experts in the hall promptly evacuated. As for the Tier 5 experts, they surrounded the two Fallen Archangels. I never thought my first battle after being promoted to Tier 5 would be against such monsters. Whats even more surprising is that Ill be fighting alongside you old monsters, Mythologys Odin, who was wearing a white cloak and had completely concealed his face, said as he looked at the several Tier 5 experts around him. You can fight them by yourself if you dont want to work together. I wont stop you, an old man in dark-gray armor from Netherworld Empire said as he glanced at Odin. As for the elderly men from the three other Super Guilds, they remained silent as they looked at Odin and the old man in dark-gray armor, knowing that these two old men were long-time rivals. If the conference this time did not concern Gods Domains continued existence, neither of them wouldve been willing to stay in the same room as the other. Meanwhile, the two Fallen Archangels before them were existences that even Beyond Domain Realm experts like themselves had to be wary of. (Xiluwaer) (Fallen Archangel, Legendary) Level 200 HP 900,000,000,000 (Garudaka) (Fallen Archangel, Legendary) Level 200 HP 900,000,000,000 Even if all 23 Tier 5 experts worked together, they wouldnt be able to kill even one of these Fallen Archangels, let alone two. Lowly ants, learn the consequences of going against the master! the Fallen Archangel Xiluwaer said as she looked with disdain at the Tier 5 players surrounding her. She then began chanting an incantation. The magic arrays of three Tier 5 Curses started forming around Xiluwaer, drawing all of the Mana in the hall. Compared to the Taboo Skill she used before, these three Curses were significantly stronger. However, the players present were all Tier 5 experts. They had no intention of letting Xiluwaer complete her incantation. When Xiluwaer began chanting, Odin had already appeared behind her and silently stabbed his translucent Spatial Sword into the Fallen Archangels back. -41,564,786! Damage exceeding 40 million appeared above Xiluwaers head. However, Odin showed no excitement whatsoever when he saw this damage. On the contrary, a frown even formed on his face. What high Defense! The dark-gray armored old man holding a greatsword exclaimed as he looked at Xiluwaer. Odins Attack Power ranked third in their group of five old men. Meanwhile, the attack he just used against Xiluwaer was also his strongest move-a combination of a Tier 5 Skill with the Silver Combat Technique Blades Heart. If a Tier 5 player got hit by this move directly, they would die on the spot. Yet, Odins attack only cost the Fallen Archangel 40 million HP. It didnt even affect Xiluwaers chanting in the slightest. After nonchalantly completing the incantations for her Curses, Xiluwaer said, Ants! Your struggles are futile! The three Tier 5 Curses magic arrays fully took form, and thousands of pitch-black feathers manifested inside the hall. These feathers then transformed into crows made of crimson lightning that flew toward Odin and the others. A triple Spell combination? The Five Great Super Guilds old monsters were momentarily stunned by this situation. In Gods Domain, merging Spells was much more difficult than merging Skills. However, so long as one succeeded, the result would be much stronger than the fusion of two Skills. Since Xiluwaer had merged three Spells into one, the power of the resulting attack would definitely be unprecedented in Gods Domain. Immediately, the five old monsters used their respective Lifesaving Skills while doing their best to evade the lightning crows. They were no match for the Fallen Angel Xiluwaer at all. Upon seeing this, Iron Soul, who was going up against the Fallen Angel Garudaka, wore a grim expression on his face. He could sense that every one of these lightning crows carried power at the Tier 6 Basic standard. Although they werent as powerful as the earlier lightning spear, their large numbers made it impossible to completely block and dodge them all. Of the players present, only Shi Feng did not find this situation surprising. A Level 200, Tier 5 Fallen Archangel was basically a Tier 6 God. Meanwhile, killing a group of Tier 5 players was practically childs play for a Tier 6 God. Normally, players needed to reach Tier 6 to stand a chance against a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel. However, all of the Tier 5 players present had only recently gotten promoted to Tier 5. Their mastery of Mana and equipment standards were nowhere near the passing mark for a Tier 5 player. Although they had astonishingly high combat standards, they couldnt bridge the gigantic gap in Basic Attributes. Meanwhile, after Xiluwaer had thoroughly suppressed the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters, Garudaka also took action. Similar to Xiluwaer, Garudaka used a triple Spell combination. However, rather than creating thousands of lightning crows, she created hundreds of lightning swords instead. Although these lightning swords werent as flexible as the lightning crows, they were much faster than the lightning crows. Every lightning sword also carried power at the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, and any Tier 5 player that got struck by them would die without question. For a time, more than 500 lightning swords rampantly attacked Shi Feng, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Yan Tianxing. There were also over a hundred lightning swords attacking Iron Soul. This situation forced Shi Fengs group and Iron Soul to defend themselves frantically. Shi Feng fared relatively well against the lightning swords. Solomons Sword had improved both his soul and World Perception, which allowed him to perceive the lightning swords movements with excellent clarity. In addition, as the power of these swords was only at the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, he was more than capable of blocking them with his swords. As for Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, and Yan Tianxing, the three worked together to make up for their respective shortcomings. They also had Violet Cloud to provide constant healing and defensive buffs and Shi Feng to cover any blunders. Hence, no matter how well Garudaka coordinated her lightning swords, she didnt pose a real threat to Zero Wings group of four. Iron Soul, on the other hand, continuously lost HP throughout the battle. Even with Violet Cloud healing him occasionally, his HP still fell steadily. Guild Leader, we cant continue like this, Violet Cloud said as she started having difficulty keeping up with the healing. These lightning swords are weakening the effects of my Healing Spells. At this rate, hell get killed in another ten seconds. Garudakas rampant attacks prevented Iron Soul from approaching their group and vice versa. However, if Iron Soul continued fending off those lightning swords on his own, he was sure to die. Ill pin her down, so find an opportunity to group up! When Shi Feng saw that Iron Soul had less than half of his HP remaining, he decided to stop holding back and activated World Sword. Immediately, 99 formless swords appeared around Shi Feng, each one carrying power at the Tier 6 Peak standard. Shi Feng then sent these formless swords at Garudaka. Swords Orbit! When Garudaka sensed the formless swords approaching her, she promptly recalled all her lightning swords to defend herself. How is he so strong?! Iron Soul was stunned when he saw Garudaka actively defending herself and at a disadvantage. From what Iron Soul could see, Shi Feng was no match for the Fallen Archangel when it came to manipulating a large number of swords. With his 99 formless swords, Shi Feng exhibited combat standards at only the Refinement Realm. In comparison, the Fallen Angel Garudaka exhibited combat standards at the Flowing Water Realm with her several hundred lightning swords. However, because Shi Fengs formless swords carried much greater power, they could overcome the hundreds of lightning swords. While such a victory might seem crude, it was still incredibly astonishing. After all, the other Tier 5 players in the room were basically running for their lives when faced with the two Fallen Archangels attacks. Yet, Shi Feng was fighting toe-to-toe with a Fallen Archangel. With Shi Feng holding off Garudaka, Iron Soul was finally able to join Violet Clouds group of three. The four of them then supported Shi Feng from the side, and Garudakas HP bar actually decreased slightly. Although Garudakas battle recovery could easily restore all of the HP she lost, this situation still astonished the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters. After the battle continued for another ten seconds, the first casualties finally appeared as Xiluwaer killed two Tier 5 experts. This situation infuriated the other Tier 5 experts present, but there was nothing they could do about it. After 26 seconds had passed since Shi Feng activated World Sword, the space within the hall suddenly shattered once more. A woman wielding a seven-colored staff and wearing a sacred white robe and a golden crown then walked out of this shattered space. The Tier 5 players present froze for a second as an indescribably holy aura enveloped the room upon this womans appearance, the aura instilling a sense of fear in their hearts. As for the two Fallen Archangels, they similarly stopped their attacks and stared at the approaching woman with eyes brimming with fear. This holy woman was none other than Sharlyn, who had been resting in Blackwing City. However, compared to the last time Shi Feng had met with Sharlyn, this woman felt like a completely different person. Currently, Sharlyn looked and felt no different from a God, and every one of her actions was intertwined with the world itself. Her mere presence inspired feelings of reverence toward her. Dammit! Those good-for-nothings actually let this Goddess escape! Xiluwaer cursed out loud when she saw the two dozen or so dead or heavily injured Tier 5 Outerworld NPCs in the shattered space behind Sharlyn. The Scholar must have lost his mind, seeing as he summoned you creatures, Sharlyn said as she looked at Xiluwaer and Garudaka. After glancing at Shi Fengs group, she continued, But since youve come here already, stay here forever! You think you can keep us here? After observing Sharlyn in greater detail, Xiluwaer laughed and said, Youve just awakened. Do you think were no match for you? However, as soon as Xiluwaer finished speaking, Sharlyn waved her seven-colored staff. Suddenly, all of the Tier 5 players present, including Shi Feng, felt time slowing down. Even though their brains were still capable of thought, they couldnt move their bodies at all. She stopped time? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the gray world around him. Sharlyns magic was simply heaven-defying! However, no more than one second after Sharlyn stopped time, the two Fallen Archangels actually broke free from the restraints of time, regaining their movement. They then charged at Sharlyn with spears of lightning in their hands. However, their movements now were much slower than before-so slow that even Tier 1 players could keep up with their movements. Meanwhile, Sharlyn simply raised a hand and shattered the surrounding space into countless fragments. She then turned these spatial fragments into blades and launched them at the two Fallen Archangels. The two Fallen Archangels brandished their spears to defend themselves, but they couldnt stop all of the spatial blades. The next moment, damage values exceeding 200 million appeared above the two Fallen Archangels heads one after another. After one round of attacks, the two Fallen Archangels had lost over five billion HP each. However, compared to their maximum HP of 900 billion, a loss of five billion was nothing but a scratch. After the battle continued for another 20 seconds, the two Fallen Archangels HP had fallen to the 80% threshold, proving that Sharlyn had the ability to kill them. Dammit! She has actually awakened to such an extent already! Xiluwaer glared at Sharlyn in vexation. Well die here if we keep fighting, Garudaka said with a grim expression. We need to retreat. If we wait until Blackwing Citys ruler returns, we wont even have a chance to flee. We have no other choice but to use that move, Xiluwaer said, gritting her teeth as she took out a black rock. The moment Xiluwaer took out this black rock, a hint of wariness appeared on Sharlyns face. When the Tier 5 players present saw Sharlyns reaction, they were puzzled, as they couldnt sense any aura or power from the black rock. In their eyes, the black rock was just an ordinary rock. However, before anyone could react, the black rock in Xiluwaers hand disintegrated into dust. A strand of incomprehensibly strong power then formed on her palm and shattered the restraints of time on her, allowing her to recover her full mobility. World Blade! After regaining her mobility, Xiluwaer gripped the strand of power in her hand and swung it at Shi Feng, Iron Soul, and Sharlyn. The frozen time in the hall immediately started flowing again, and three streaks of black light that cut through the world itself flew toward Shi Feng, Iron Soul, and Sharlyn. Shi Feng and Iron Soul were surprised by this development. They never thought that Xiluwaer would persist in attacking them, even in this situation. When Shi Feng saw the approaching black light, he felt his soul shuddering like never before. He promptly activated Void Shield, World Breaker, and Final Sword simultaneously, then executed Swords Transmigration without hesitation. As for Iron Soul, he similarly activated his strongest trump card, his Legendary Shield transforming into a dark mist that enveloped him. Boom! Along with a powerful explosion, the figure of a person shot out of the dust cloud like a cannonball and struck one of the conference halls iron walls, shattering the magic arrays strengthening the wall. Guild Leader! Fire Dance was startled when she recognized the person planted in the wall. Shi Feng could cut apart even the world itself when using World Breaker. Yet, even after he had combined World Breaker with Final Sword and Swords Transmigration, he still suffered a severe blow, losing over two-thirds of his HP. This outcome was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, when the dust settled, Iron Soul appeared standing in his original position. However, his body had been cleanly bisected, and nothing remained of his HP bar. Along with Iron Souls death, a bronze ring had also appeared by his corpse. Upon seeing this bronze ring, Xiluwaer promptly grabbed it. In the meantime, Garudaka took advantage of the opportunity and thrust her spear at Shi Feng. Facing Garudakas thrust, Shi Feng felt powerless. After defending himself against Xiluwaers World Blade, not only did he enter a heavily injured state, but both his arms had also gone numb. He wouldnt be able to move them any time soon. However, just when Garudaka was about to hit Shi Feng, Sharlyn suddenly appeared in front of him and stopped Garudakas lightning spear with the tip of her finger. Boom! The next moment, the lightning spear suddenly dissipated harmlessly. An invisible force then sent Garudaka flying backward and smashing into the wall on the other side of the room, her HP falling by over 100 million. Not good! Run! Xiluwaer shouted. She then tore space and disappeared into the opening together with the bronze ring she snagged. Garudaka also tried to flee when she saw Xiluwaer retreating However, before Garudaka could even turn, Sharlyn was already in front of the Fallen Archangel, tapping her staff on the other partys forehead. Garudaka found herself immobilized, her HP plummeting. After this situation continued for 30 seconds, Garudakas body transformed into a muddy crystal the size of a fist. Simultaneously, the intensity of Sharlyns aura dropped off. After storing the muddy crystal, Sharlyn turned to Shi Feng, who had just gotten back on his feet after much difficulty, and said, You come with me. Everyone else, hurry back and get ready. You dont have much time left. After Sharlyn finished speaking, she waved her staff and summoned a teleportation gate. She then entered the gate, leaving behind Shi Feng and the other Tier 5 players, who were still in a daze. After scanning the surviving players, Shi Feng had Fire Dance and the others return to Zero Wing first. He then contacted Melancholic Smile and had her use all the available manpower to produce the Blue Thunder Flying Ship and the Mobile Fortress. These mobile weapons of mass destruction would play a crucial role in hindering the Outerworld NPC armys advance. Afterward, Shi Feng stepped into the teleportation gate Sharlyn summoned. The remaining players in the conference hall also understood what Sharlyns words meant. Now that the mysterious youth had acquired another of the Seven Treasures, his strength would most likely soar. If that happened, they would definitely have a much more difficult time fighting the Outerworlds NPC army. Hence, they needed to return and immediately initiate countermeasures. They would also need to accelerate their plan to hinder the Outerworld NPC armys advance. For a time, all of the eastern continents player forces seethed with activity. Even the western continents player forces began sending reinforcements en masse to the eastern continent. This was because everyone understood that the Fire Dragon Empires fall basically meant game over for the entire Gods Domain. Hence, they needed to defend the empire at all costs. On the other side, after Shi Feng took the teleportation gate, he found himself in the top-floor hall of the Stargazing Tower. Sharlyn was sitting on the throne at the end of the hall, her complexion a little pale. She looked much weaker than when she killed the Fallen Archangel Garudaka. The Scholar has lost his mind. Now that he has obtained another of the Seven Treasures, he will eventually recover a significant portion of his power, Sharlyn said, getting straight to the point when she saw Shi Feng. You currently have four of the Seven Treasures on you. He will definitely target you next. If he acquires all of the Seven Treasures, he will be able to recover fully and regain control over the entire Gods Domain. At that time, none of you heaven-blessed individuals will escape his wrath. Youll even be banished from this world of Gods Domain. Regain control over Gods Domain? Shi Feng was confused by Sharlyns words. The Ancient Gods used to rule over Gods Domain but ultimately lost control over it in the final struggle. The Scholar is one of those Ancient Gods, Sharlyn said, nodding. Currently, most of his power is sealed in the Seven Treasures. Or to be precise, the Seven Treasures were created using his power. Right now, only a Tier 6 heaven-blessed individual can prevent him from making a full recovery. And as you are only one step away from getting promoted to Tier 6, I hope you can accomplish this quest. As soon as Sharlyn finished speaking, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Fengs ears. System: Congratulations! You have triggered the Mythical Quest Ancient Gods Awakening. Quest content: Prevent the awakening of the Ancient God. Quest reward unknown. There will be no penalty for failing the quest. Do you wish to accept this quest? Shi Feng was nonplussed when he read the quest content. Did he even have a choice? Sharlyn had already stated very clearly that all players would be finished if he failed the quest. In that case, there naturally wouldnt be a need to impose any penalties. I accept this quest, Shi Feng said as he looked at Sharlyn. After further thought, he added, However, my Concentration is currently stuck at the Tier 5 Peak standard. Without it reaching Tier 6, I cant get promoted to Tier 6, much less stop that Ancient God. Sharlyn smiled at Shi Fengs attempt to bargain with her. She then said, Just say it if you want benefits. Im not a stingy person. Since youve already agreed to take on this quest, Ill naturally provide you with a certain degree of support. Currently, your Concentration is indeed incapable of reaching Tier 6, and the reason for that is simpleyou still lack accumulations. The gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6 is much greater than you think. At your current improvement speed, youll probably need one and a half years to elevate your Concentration to Tier 6. A year and a half? Do I have that much time? Shi Feng asked, frowning. Now, let alone one and a half years, it would be a miracle if he had even two or three months to reach Tier 6. After all, the person targeting him was an Ancient God. Of course not. However, the Scholar has acquired the three Treasures only recently. He also fears you somewhat. Until he recovers to a certain extent, he wont attack you anymore. If youre afraid for your safety, you can remain in Blackwing City. He wont dare barge into this place in his current state. However, the Fire Dragon Empire will probably be in trouble. Theres a person sealed in the Fire Dragon Empire, and if this person is released, all of you will similarly be doomed, Sharlyn said, chuckling. As to how you can improve your Concentration quickly, dont you have the Treasure of Illusion? You can use it to forcefully raise your Concentration. After saying so, Sharlyn took out a muddy crystal, which was the crystallized form of the Fallen Archangel Garudaka. This is that Fallen Archangels soul. You should be able to produce a Crystal of Souls of incredible purity with it and break through to Tier 6 with her accumulations, Sharlyn said as she tossed the muddy crystal to Shi Feng. Start your attempt now. You dont have much time left. When Shi Feng accepted the muddy crystal, he could sense incredible soul power in it. Only, this soul power was too chaotic; even a small portion of it could cause a Tier 5 player to lose their mind. Afterward, Sharlyn disappeared, leaving Shi Feng alone in the hall. Shi Feng did not hesitate for long. He took out the Soul Orb and began refining the Fallen Archangel Garudakas soul. The outcome turned out as Sharlyn said. When the Soul Orb finished refining Garudakas soul, it produced a seven-colored Crystal of Souls containing soul power of incredible purity. Everything is up to you now. After Shi Feng took a long look at the seven-colored Crystal of Souls, he swallowed it without hesitation. Suddenly, an indescribable comfort enveloped his body as boundless energy flooded his mind, continuously expanding his Sea of Consciousness. One hour Three hours One day After two whole days, Shi Feng opened his eyes and found that the world around him had changed. Compared to before, the various elements of Mana in the natural environment looked much more orderly. Before, he had felt as if he were looking at a pile of rubbish when he tried perceiving the Mana around him. Everything was a mess, and sorting through them required a lot of effort. Now, the various elements of Mana were like items neatly displayed on a shelf. He could easily locate and reach out to any element he wanted, which made it much easier to control Mana. Amazing! This is simply amazing! Just one of these seven-colored Crystals of Souls increased my Concentration to the Tier 6 Intermediate standard! Shi Feng was filled with ineffable excitement. He had thought he would be fortunate if the seven-colored crystal could raise his Concentration to the Tier 6 Basic standard. He wouldve been satisfied with such a result, as it would qualify him to challenge his Tier 6 promotion. Although his chances of creating a Superior Divine Body with Tier 6 Basic Concentration would be less than 20%, it was still better than nothing. However, now that his Concentration had reached the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, his control and perception of Mana were much stronger than if he only had Tier 6 Basic Concentration. Now, his chances of successfully creating a Superior Divine Body should be around 30%. Following this, Shi Feng had Zero Wing frantically collecting Seven Luminaries Crystals for the subsequent month. He even traded some of the Flame Beast Puppets for Seven Luminaries Crystals, with one Flame Beast Puppet going for 4,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals, 200 Magic Elven Cores, and all the materials needed to manufacture one Flame Beast Puppet. Initially, Shi Feng had not intended to sell the Flame Beast Puppets. This was because Fire Dance and the others already had the strength needed to explore the Top of the World, where they could acquire a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals. However, to strengthen Gods Domains player forces enough to resist the Outerworlds NPC army properly, selling the Flame Beast Puppets became a necessity. After all, the Secret-Silver Combat Puppets required highly skilled pilots to exhibit their full strength. Ordinary experts wouldnt cut it at all. It would take at least a Void Realm expert to display the Flame Beast Puppets Tier 5 combat power. There were only so many Void Realm experts in Zero Wing. Even if their numbers kept increasing, the rate of increase couldnt match the Flame Beast Puppets production rate. Zero Wings sales of Flame Beast Puppets immediately boosted the overall combat power of the player forces hindering the Outerworld forces advance. The Guild even earned over 200,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals from the exchanges, increasing Shi Fengs stockpile to 400,000. Apart from the players side, the number of NPC armies gathered at the Fire Dragon Empires borders increased a lot during this past month. On the Outerworld NPCs side, close to half of the NPC army had already assembled outside the Fire Dragon Empire, preparing to launch an all-out assault on the empire. Blackwing City, Stargazing Tower: Looking at the pile of Seven Luminaries Crystals in front of him, Shi Feng took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself. During this past month, he had already fully mastered the Law of Destruction. He had also mentally simulated the creation process for his Superior Divine Body hundreds of times to improve his chances of success. Without further elevating his Concentration standard, he couldnt increase his success rate any further. However, raising his Concentration standard was impossible within a short period. I have four chances! This should be enough with a 30% success rate! After saying so, Shi Feng followed the records of the Ancient Gods Legacy and began constructing his Superior Divine Body using the Law of Destruction. Constructing a Divine Body was much more complicated than constructing a Mana Body. This was because a Divine Body was akin to a miniature world, not something that could be completed with just a few magic arrays. It required more than 300 Grandmaster Magic Arrays as its core. These Grandmaster Magic Arrays would then absorb the power within the supplied Seven Luminaries Crystals through the designated World Law and create a complete miniature world. Simultaneously manipulating so many Grandmaster Magic Arrays was unfeasible without Tier 6 Concentration. Meanwhile, the process of constructing a Superior Divine Body was even more rigorous. A Superior Divine Body needed over a thousand Grandmaster Magic Arrays as its core. Unless ones control of Mana reached a certain level, manipulating such a complex core magic array was out of the question. Moreover, the Mana within Seven Luminaries Crystals was of incomparable purity-more than ten times heavier than even ordinary solid Manaand thus incredibly difficult to manipulate. The next moment, Shi Feng stimulated 100,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals with his Mana and guided the Mana that burst out from them into the 1,000-plus Grandmaster Magic Arrays he had preconstructed. Boom! However, partway through activating the magic arrays, half of them suddenly stopped working, and the entire core magic array crumbled. Failure! Manipulating the Seven Luminaries Crystals Mana indeed isnt easy. Shi Feng wasnt too surprised by his failure. After all, this was his first time manipulating Mana from Seven Luminaries Crystals. Following this, he rested for three hours. After his mental state had fully recovered, he promptly began his second attempt. Boom! Another failure. Third attempt! This time, Shi Feng had a crazy idea-utilizing the Light of Two Worldss Golden Soul to elevate his souls standard. Although Golden Soul had a short duration, he could use this buff to get through the instability caused by the initial burst of Mana. The only problem with this plan was that his Concentration standard would plummet once Golden Souls duration ended, which would increase the difficulty of manipulating the core magic array afterward. Golden Soul, activate! Shi Feng tightened his grip on the Light of Two Worlds as he decided to take the risk. As expected, he got through the initial burst of Mana much more easily with his elevated Concentration standard, and he activated all of the Grandmaster Magic Arrays right away. He also guided the Seven Luminaries Crystals Mana into these magic arrays with relative ease. However, when he had guided half of the Mana into the magic arrays, Golden Soul lapsed. The buffs disappearance nearly caused him to lose control of the Mana. Five minutes! So long as I can last five more minutes, Ill be able to finish transferring all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals Mana! Shi Feng gritted his teeth and struggled desperately to keep the Grandmaster Magic Arrays in operation. He also overburdened his mind, not daring to make even the slightest mistake. One second Ten seconds Thirty seconds Shi Fengs complexion turned paler and paler as the seconds ticked by. Sweat continuously formed on his forehead. Nevertheless, he persisted. After the third minute elapsed, Shi Fengs vision became blurry and his mind cloudy. His body also began shivering slightly. One last minute! Onelastminute Shi Feng started feeling very sleepy, and even the system had begun warning him to log out and rest. However, he forced himself to remain conscious, going as far as biting his tongue and using the pain to stay awake. Ten seconds Twenty seconds Thirty seconds At this point, the world around Shi Feng had become one big blur, and his mind was basically shutting down already. However, relying on instinct and his familiarity with manipulating magic arrays, he was barely able to continue guiding the Seven Luminaries Crystals Mana into the Grandmaster Magic Arrays and keep them operating normally. Shortly afterward, though, Shi Fengs consciousness lapsed briefly, and he lost control of the core magic array. Did I fail? After Shi Feng recovered from his brief lapse, his heart sank. At this time, though, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have successfully constructed a Superior Divine Body. The constructed Superior Divine Bodys Completion Rate is at 92% and has reached the Tier 6 standard. The constructed Superior Body is evaluated to be at the Epic rank. Do you wish to get promoted to Tier 6? Chapter 2918 - New World (Grand Finale) Fire Dragon Empire, Million Forest City: Currently, over 50 million expert players had gathered in Million Forest City, the largest city in the south of the Fire Dragon Empire. Even the weakest among these players was a Level 100-plus, Tier 3 player. The number of Tier 4 players gathered even exceeded 10,000. However, an indescribably solemn atmosphere shrouded Million Forest City, and everyone looked tense. This was because Million Forest City was the biggest barrier in the south. If the Outerworld NPC army broke through here, it could march straight for Flame Dragon City. The executives of the various player forces had gathered on top of Million Forest Citys front wall. Their faces were pallid as they quietly observed the Outerworld NPC army hidden in the distant forest. These Outerworld NPCs are simply insane. They actually gathered one-third of their total forces just to attack Million Forest City. Are they planning to fight to the death? Sixteenth Cloud, the Second Vice Guild Leader of Shining Tiger and an expert who had reached Tier 5, said, frowning as she observed the Outerworlds NPC army through a Magic Mirror. The Outerworld NPCs and players had a numerical advantage over Gods Domains NPCs and players in terms of Tier 4 combatants. Logically, they shouldve split up and attacked multiple locations, as this would bring them the most benefits. The biggest advantage Gods Domains players had was their ability to get resurrected and rejoin the battle quickly. If the Outerworld forces split up and attacked numerous locations simultaneously, Gods Domains players would likewise have to split up and guard multiple locations. Moreover, Gods Domains players would have to guard more locations than what was necessary, to prevent ambushes. This would result in a huge waste of combat power. Hence, if Gods Domains players could gather all their experts in one location and have an all-out battle, it naturally couldnt be better for them. Maybe they think their chances of victory are slim, so they plan to concentrate their forces to secure a decisive victory. After all, Gods Domains various kingdoms and empires are continuously sending their NPC armies to reinforce the Fire Dragon Empire. The longer the war goes on, the better it would be for us. Perhaps they dont wish to drag things out any longer, Unyielding Souls Unyielding Heart, who had similarly reached Tier 5, said, smiling. During the past month of battles at the Fire Dragon Empires borders, the empires defenders had constantly been at a disadvantage. However, as time passed, the number of NPC armies gathered in the empire increased, gradually tipping the scales to the empires side. Moreover, in this past month alone, over 100 players had reached Tier 5! Unyielding Heart had to admit that the War of Worlds was incredibly helpful to the development of players, especially during the defense of the Fire Dragon Empire. Although the Outerworld NPCs scattered across the eastern continent hadnt fully gathered yet, the battles taking place at the Fire Dragon Empires borders had never once ceased. Meanwhile, through constant battles with the Outerworlds Tier 4 NPCs and players, Gods Domains Tier 4 players were able to improve their control and understanding of Mana rapidly and continuously. In comparison, before the War of Worlds, Tier 4 players would have difficulty finding another Tier 4 player to fight, let alone Tier 4 players who were at the Void Realm standard or above. At one point, Unyielding Heart even wished that the War of Worlds would last a little longer. Lets hope Im just overthinking things, Sixteenth Cloud said, nodding. Truthfully, an all-out fight was something she hoped to see the most. This was because there were currently more than 80 Tier 5 players gathered in Million City Forest, not to mention over a hundred Flame Beast Puppets and eight Blue Thunder Flying Ships. Every one of these war weapons created by Zero Wing possessed combat power at the Tier 5 standard. Including the Tier 5 NPCs, there were close to 300 Tier 5 combatants stationed in Million Forest City. Meanwhile, according to their investigations, the Outerworld army stationed outside Million Forest City only had around 400 Tier 5 combatants in total. The difference wasnt particularly significant. Even if they traded two-for-one with the Outerworld army, they would still end up winning the war since they could be resurrected and rejoin the battle almost immediately. In reality, Sixteenth Cloud and Unyielding Heart werent the only Tier 5 experts entertaining such thoughts. The Tier 5 experts of the other player forces present were also confident of victory in the upcoming battle. And so long as they won this battle, the Outerworlds NPC army would have difficulty causing problems in the future. Some time later, when the number of players gathered in Million Forest City reached 70 million, a gigantic island suddenly appeared above the city, instantly triggering an uproar among the citys players and NPCs. Crap! Zero Wing! That is Zero Wings Mobile Fortress! Isnt Zero Wings Mobile Fortress stationed beside the Secret Covenant Tower?. Wait! This isnt the same one! Ive seen the one stationed at the Secret Covenant Tower, and that one only has two barriers protecting it! This one has three! Zero Wing mustve constructed a new Mobile Fortress! Amazing! Zero Wing truly is Gods Domains number one Guild! With this, those Outerworld NPCs and players are finished! The Mobile Fortress that just appeared above Million Forest City was something basically everyone in Gods Domain knew about. This was because the Mobile Fortress had allowed Zero Wing to establish its position in Gods Domain. Now that there was also a Mobile Fortress protecting Million Forest City, how could everyone not get excited? Amid the excited cheers of Million Forest Citys players, 16 players flew out of the Mobile Fortress. Upon seeing these 16 players, the players in the city grew even more excited. Even the citys Tier 5 commander and Tier 5 NPCs took the initiative to receive these 16 players. These 16 people were none other than Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, Fire Dance, Violet Cloud, Yan Tianxing, Yi Luofei, Silent Blade, Alluring Summer, Cold Shadow, Crimson Mask, Ji Luorong, Lifeless Thorn, Blue Frost, Zhao Yueru, White Feather, and Invincible Swallow. Crap! All of Zero Wings top experts are here! Even a Demigod NPC has gone to welcome them! Whats going on here? I heard that the War Gods Temple recently added Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose to the Ten Saints. The two of them are even stronger than the NPC ranked fifth in the Ten Saints. Those ranked within the top five of the Ten Saints are supposedly close to rivaling Tier 6 existences, while those in the top three are basically Tier 6 Gods in disguise. Zero Wing is truly a den of monsters. I heard that three of the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters joined the Ten Saints only recently. Yet, Zero Wing actually has two people in the Ten Saints now. Moreover, both are ranked within the top five. I wonder when Ill be able to join the Ten Saints? If I can get into the Ten Saints, I can die with no regrets. For a time, Zero Wings members became the focal point of the entire Fire Dragon Empire. This was especially true for the players who had recently started playing Gods Domain and were watching the live broadcast of Million Forest Citys situation. When they looked at Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, their eyes shone with ambition. They all wished they could become as strong and famous as these two women. Currently, Tier 5 NPCs were still existences to be feared for the various player forces, and even the king of a kingdom had a difficult time meeting a Tier 5 NPC. Yet, these powerful Tier 5 NPCs were behaving respectfully toward Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. This situation was simply unbelievable. However, of the players in the Fire Dragon Empire, only the superpowers experts truly understood what it meant to be a member of the Ten Saints. The Ten Saints were existences standing at the very apex of Gods Domain. Although Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose were Tier 5 players, just like the superpowers Tier 5 experts, the difference between the two sides was like heaven and earth. Killing ordinary Tier 5 players was childs play for these two women. Meanwhile, when the Star Alliances Galaxy Past and Purple Eye, who stood among the many players in Million Forest City, saw Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, complex emotions appeared on their faces. Back when Zero Wings operations were still confined to Star-Moon Kingdom, the two of them had treated Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose as their rivals. Now, although Galaxy Past and Purple Eye had gotten promoted to Tier 4 and were even top-tier among Tier 4 experts, they were merely a part of the crowd gathered in Million Forest City. In contrast, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose already stood at the apex of Gods Domain. They were now existences that countless players looked up to, and even Tier 5 NPCs and the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters had to be wary of them. Galaxy Past and Purple Eye werent alone in their feelings. Matt and Prosciutto from Mythology shared their complicated mood. When Fang Shihan had decided to betray Mythology and join Zero Wing, she had invited Matt to join her. However, Matt had refused her offer, believing he could develop much more rapidly in Mythology. Yet, reality turned out to be completely different. Matt was still stuck at Tier 4. In comparison, White Feather, who had joined Fang Shihan, had already reached Tier 5 and become an existence he had to look up to. As for Prosciutto, he was confused by Fang Shihans rapid improvement. In terms of talent, he was much superior to Fang Shihan. Although he had also gotten promoted to Tier 5, there had been a huge difference between them when they were both still at Tier 4. However, his Tier 4 Mana Bodys Completion Rate had only been at 118% when he had gotten promoted to Tier 5. Meanwhile, according to Mythologys investigation, Fang Shihan had gotten promoted to Tier 5 with her Tier 4 Mana Bodys Completion Rate at 120%. Moreover, Odin had said that Fang Shihan was even under consideration as a reserve member for the Ten Saints and that it wouldnt be strange if she managed to defeat one of the Ten Saints in the near future. Her strength already approached that of Demigod NPCs. In comparison, Prosciuttos combat power was only at the Tier 5 Peak standard, still nowhere near the Demigod standard. While Prosciutto was in a daze, Zero Wings members had arrived above Million Forest Citys gate. You guys are finally here, Unyielding Heart said, smiling at Zero Wings members. With you here, its even less likely for the Outerworld forces to take down Million Forest City. Even the weakest of Zero Wings 16 Tier 5 experts present had combat power at the Tier 5 Peak standard. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose could take on 10 to 15 ordinary Tier 5 combatants by themselves. Their participation in Million Forest Citys defense had narrowed the gap in Tier 5 combatants between the two sides significantly. Whats our current situation? Gentle Snow asked. At Gentle Snows question, Aqua Rose and the others turned to look at Unyielding Heart. During these past few days, they had been fully focused on raiding a primordial ruin in the Top of the World, so they werent up to date on the Fire Dragon Empires situation. Only after receiving the Secret Pavilions notification did they rush over with the newly constructed Mobile Fortress. While I cant say its good, we definitely have a fighting chance, Unyielding Heart said. He then took out a Memory Crystal and displayed the information recorded in it. According to our latest investigations, the Outerworlds NPC army has over 130 million Tier 3 NPCs, around 150,000 Tier 4 NPCs, and over 200 Tier 4 NPCs. As for the player army, there are close to 200 million Tier 3 players, over 50,000 Tier 4 players, and over 100 Tier 5 players. Upon hearing Unyielding Hearts words, many of the Tier 4 experts nearby felt suffocated. Setting aside the Tier 3 players, the difference in Tier 4 players between the two sides was simply massive. Even now, Million Forest City only had around 15,000 Tier 4 players gathered. In comparison, the other side had over 50,000. If Million Forest Citys defensive magic array shattered, there was a high chance that some of these Outerworld Tier 4 players would sneak past the citys defenders and reach the City Lords Mansion. That would spell the end for the city. After all, the City Lords Mansions defensive magic array wasnt as strong as the citys. The only fortunate matter was that there wasnt a significant difference in Tier 5 combatants between the two sides. With the help of the citys magic arrays, they might be able to repel the Outerworld forces. It seems the Outerworld forces are intent on winning this battle, no matter what. Aqua Rose was slightly astonished when she heard Unyielding Hearts report, and she turned reflexively toward the distant forest. An army of such size and power was more than capable of destroying an empire. Isnt that just perfect? If we can get rid of this army, dealing with the follow-up will become much easier, Fire Dance said, fighting spirit burning in her eyes. They had suffered a miserable defeat in the battle in Blackwing City. However, her strength had undergone an earth-shattering transformation during the past month. Apart from touching upon the entry level of utilizing a World Law, she had also acquired two pieces of Legendary Equipment. Including her Legendary Weapon, she now had three Legendary items. She was confident she could now put up a fight against a Fallen Archangel. None of Zero Wings members refuted Fire Dances words, either. With Shi Fengs guidance, they had improved their equipment standard significantly during this past month. Although they didnt gain any additional Legendary Weapons, they did acquire quite a few pieces of Legendary Equipment. Moreover, even the weakest piece of equipment on them now was Fragmented Legendary Equipment. In equipment standards, they were in no way inferior to Tier 5 NPCs. Among their group of 16, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and Violet Cloud were the luckiest, having each acquired a complete set of Fragmented Legendary Set Equipment. In terms of Basic Attributes, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that they rivaled Tier 6 players. However, just when everyone was thinking about how to cope with the Outerworld armys offensive, the Outerworld army hidden within the distant forest suddenly moved. Boom! Accompanied by a thundering noise, heavy clouds suddenly appeared over the forest, bringing darkness to the area. The sky then split apart, and two giant claws several hundred meters long descended from the massive tear in space. A short moment later, a monster several dozen kilometers tall emerged from the dark void. It had a gigantic mouth and hundreds of eyes and claws. The monster also exuded a turbid mist that corroded the surrounding space, causing it to disintegrate. The sight of this monster shocked the people in Million Forest City and the Outerworld army. So, this is the World Eater of legends? Hundred Ghostss Elder Windshadow, who stood in the forest outside Million Forest City, couldnt help doubting his eyes as he looked at the big-mouthed monster before him. The World Eater was a monster recorded in legends, and he had only found out about its existence after stumbling across a record of it. The World Eater was born in the endless void, and its sole purpose in life was to devour worlds. In front of a World Eater, even the Dragon race, Gods Domains strongest race, was nothing. Even a Tier 4 Infant World Eater could devour a Tier 5 Dragon. Meanwhile, the World Eater in front of him was an adult. At its current strength, even Tier 6 Gods would have to avoid confronting it. When Awakened Abyss, who had already reached Tier 5, saw the behemoth in the sky, excitement filled his eyes as he exclaimed, Amazing! Were sure to win now! (World Eater) (Chaos Beast, Legendary) Level 210 3,000,000,000,000 Similar to Awakened Abyss, the other Outerworld players present also grew excited when they saw the World Eater. However, when Fire Dance and the others in Million Forest City saw the World Eater, a grim expression appeared on their faces. Although they didnt know what a World Eater was, they could still tell what a terrifying existence it was just by looking at its three trillion HP. After all, the average Level 200 Legendary monster only had around 300 billion HP, and even a Tier 5 Fallen Archangel only had 900 billion HP. Yet, the World Eater had more than three times that amount. Activate the defensive magic array! All Magic Cannon Towers prepare to fire! Victory for the Fire Dragon Empire! Mecabod, a Level 200 Demigod NPC and the commander of Million Forest Citys army, ordered when he saw the World Eater starting to make its way toward the city. A total of four magic barriers promptly appeared over Million Forest City, the barriers stabilizing the space within a 10,000-yard radius of the city. The barriers also created a separate world within them, isolating Million Forest City from the outside world and preventing the World Eaters powerful mental oppression from spreading into the city. Miniature World! After seeing the citys defensive magic array activating, Aqua Rose used the Ring of Gospel that Shi Feng had passed to her. During their exploration of the primordial ruin in the Top of the World, they had managed to upgrade the Ring of Gospel to the Legendary rank. Now, the ring could call down a complete miniature world, and its suppression effect was only slightly inferior to the World Mirrors. Although each activation of Miniature World now cost 5,000 Mana Stones, instead of just 5,000 Magic Crystals, the Skills duration had increased from 10 minutes to 30 minutes. The Skills AOE had also expanded to 50,000 yards, and even Tier 5 players wouldnt be able to make use of the ambient Mana within the affected area. Moreover, all hostile units below Tier 6 would be subjected to a 30% reduction in Basic Attributes and physique, while Tier 6 enemies would be subjected to a 15% reduction. After Miniature Worlds activation, the Outerworlds Tier 3 combatants charging toward Million Forest City stumbled and fell to the ground like dominoes. Their movements also became as slow as a turtle, making combat practically impossible for them. As for the Tier 4 combatants, although they retained a certain degree of combat power, they lost their ability to fly. Unfortunately, Miniature World had very little effect on the World Eater in the sky, the Chaos Beast losing only 10% of its Basic Attributes. Even so, seeing this situation still let Million Forest Citys defenders breathe out a sigh of relief. With the Outerworlds Tier 3 and Tier 4 combatants incapacitated for the most part, they could focus on dealing with the World Eater and the Outerworlds Tier 5 combatants, 1,000-plus Flying Ships, and 10,000-plus Tier 4 Flying Mounts. Holy Realm! However, the Outerworlds various superpowers had come prepared for such a situation. Immediately, 1,000 Tier 4 magical-class players cooperated to create a gigantic, three-layered barrier to counter Miniature Worlds effects. Although the three-layered barrier didnt completely nullify Miniature Worlds effects, it still allowed all of the Outerworlds combatants to use the ambient Mana. Only the debuff on Basic Attributes and physique remained. The next moment, hundreds of thousands of Tier 4 combatants and millions of Tier 3 combatants resumed their charge toward Million Forest City. In the sky, the World Eater lashed out at the citys defensive magic array with its several hundred claws, every claw carrying the power to crush time and space. Attack with everything youve got! Stop those claws! Seeing the approaching claws, Fire Dance promptly issued a command to the Mobile Fortress and all of the Blue Thunder Flying Ships present. Beams of destruction shot at the World Eaters claws one after another. Simultaneously, Million Forest Citys Magic Elven Towers and Magic Cannon Towers also bombarded the World Eater. The series of attacks and explosions turned the sky outside of Million Forest City into an empty void. Unfortunately, these attacks managed to deflect only a portion of the World Eaters claws; over a hundred claws connected with the citys defensive magic array. The next moment, the four-layered magic barrier shattered under the World Eaters attacks, unable to withstand the World Eaters power. All hail the World Eater! Its time for you natives to go to hell! When the Outerworlds players saw the citys defensive magic array shattering after only one exchange, they burst into laughter. Originally, they thought this would be a tough fight. However, the battle ended up entirely one-sided. Now, even if they did nothing, the NPCs and the World Eater could still destroy Million Forest City easily. Meanwhile, the players inside Million Forest City fell into despair at this moment. How were they supposed to fight with such a horrifying monster on the Outerworld armys side? Theres no other way. Aqua and I will keep that World Eater busy. Everyone else, do everything you can to stop these invaders from entering the city, Gentle Snow said as she looked at the several dozen Tier 5 NPCs hindering the World Eater. So long as we keep the core magic array safe, more of Gods Domains experts and NPCs will come to support us! The various Guild executives present nodded in response to Gentle Snows command and promptly went into action. They all took out their trump cards and readied themselves to fight a war of attrition with the Outerworld army. Although the World Eater was powerful, victory still wasnt out of reach. Currently, many of Gods Domains experts had yet to reach Million Forest City. Hence, the longer they dragged out this fight, the higher their chances of victory. Subsequently, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose flew toward the World Eater. Upon getting within attack range of the World Eater, Gentle Snow promptly swung her greatsword and executed her Mana Technique, Spatial Cleave. Several dozen sword lights cut at the World Eaters claws attacking Million Forest City, sending them off course. Aqua Rose waved her staff and summoned numerous gigantic serpents made of water. She then had the water serpents bite the World Eaters claws, preventing them from getting close to Million Forest City. Are they monsters? The Outerworld players gasped when they saw Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose putting up a good fight against the World Eater. Even the Outerworld Tier 5 experts were astonished by this spectacle. All of the World Eaters claws carried power at the Tier 6 Peak standard. Even Tier 5 experts wielding Legendary Weapons could block only a few hits from these claws with their Legendary Weapons Active Skills. However, Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose did not use their weapons Skills; they stopped the World Eaters claws using only Mana Techniques and combat techniques. For a time, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, and the World Eater became the absolute center of the sky. Even other Tier 5 players dared not approach the three of them, as even the shockwaves of their clashes could kill ordinary Tier 5 players. Apart from Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, only Tier 5 combatants dared fight in the sky above Million Forest City. The two sides Tier 4 combatants kept to the ground because those who tried to fly would get swept up by the shockwaves and turn into ashes the next moment. Hence, the Tier 4s could only become cannon fodder on the ground like the Tier 3 combatants. Currently, more than 700 Tier 5 combatants were fighting in the sky. Originally, Million Forest Citys Tier 5 combatants shouldve been weaker due to their significant numerical disadvantage. Yet, the two sides turned out evenly matched in reality, confusing the Outerworld Tier 5 combatants. Dammit! Why are these natives so strong?! The speechless Awakened Abyss glared at Ji Luorong, who was fighting him. Not only was Ji Luorong fighting two Tier 5 NPCs simultaneously, but she also managed to pin him down while doing so. The level of skill she demonstrated in Mana utilization was simply unbelievable. Moreover, Ji Luorong wasnt even the most conspicuous of them all. Instead, the most conspicuous person was Zero Wings Violet Cloud, the girl he had once considered recruiting into Hundred Ghosts. She was practically a monster. From what he could tell, Violet Cloud should only be at the Domain Realm. Yet, she could actually hold her own against over a dozen Tier 5 NPCs. If not for Windshadow, who wielded a Legendary Weapon, joining the fight, one or two of these Tier 5 NPCs wouldve already died in battle. As for Fire Dance and Fang Shihan, these two women were practically Grim Reapers as they weaved through the shadows of the battlefield. Under their coordinated attacks, they could kill a Tier 5 NPC within five moves and a Tier 5 player within three moves. As more time passed, Million Forest Citys Tier 5 combatants gradually began to gain the upper hand in the battle. Elder Windshadow, weve already lost more than two dozen Tier 5 players. Well be at a serious disadvantage if this situation continues, Jade Leaf, who had repelled a Tier 5 NPC with her battle axe, said to Windshadow when she saw Fire Dance and Fang Shihan killing another Tier 5 player. Nobody can stop Zero Wings Fire Dance and Cold Shadow. Originally, their side had over 170 Tier 5 players. Now, only a few minutes into the battle, they had already lost more than 10% of this number. In comparison, the other side had lost only a dozen or so Tier 5 players. Moreover, these fallen Tier 5 players managed to get resurrected quickly and rejoin the battle. They had also prepared replacement equipment beforehand, so they lost hardly any combat power even after rejoining the battle. Windshadow also recognized their dire situation and frowned involuntarily. He had never thought Zero Wing would have so many monstrously strong experts, apart from Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. Currently, Zero Wings Tier 5 players were doing as much work as all of Million Forest Citys other Tier 5 players combined. Just as Windshadow was about to have everyone retreat, a spatial tear suddenly appeared some distance from Million Forest City. A young man wearing a light-blue robe with dark-purple divine patterns on his face then walked out of this spatial tear. A Fallen Archangel followed after him, and this Fallen Archangel was none other than Xiluwaer. With the arrival of these two people, Million Forest City fell deathly silent. Even the Tier 5 combatants in the sky automatically stopped fighting. This was because the young mans presence was simply too intense. His presence was akin to the midday sun. The aura he exuded while just standing still inflicted a stinging pain into everyones soul; not even the Tier 5 combatants present were immune to this pain. What a bunch of rubbish! You still havent dealt with these ants even now?! the Scholar bellowed angrily as he glared at the Outerworld armys commander-in-chief. My Lord, these heaven-blessed individuals are much stronger than we expected, and even the World Eater is incapable of going against them for the time being, Fez Taide, the Outerworld armys commander-in-chief and one of the Seventeen Stars of the Holy Grail, said anxiously as he looked at the youth before him. Them? Scholar glanced at Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, who were hovering beside the World Eater, a look of surprise appearing on his face. Transmigrators? No wonder they can deal with the World Eater. However, they are still too weak! After saying so, the Scholar pointed a finger at Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, a fivefold magic array appearing at his fingertip. Immediately, everyone on the battlefield felt time stagnate. The Tier 3 combatants present even found their thoughts freezing. Tier 6 Curse, Hand of Death. The next moment, a titanic claw appeared above Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. This claw was as large as the World Eater, and it swiped at the two immobilized women as soon as it took shape. Its over. How can there be such a monstrous existence? When Sixteenth Cloud, Unyielding Heart, and the other Tier 5 players saw the gigantic claw from a distance, despair overwhelmed them. Not only did the Scholar slow down time for the entire battlefield, but he had even used a Tier 6 Curse. This single attack could probably wipe out the entire Million Forest City, not just Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose. However, when the monstrous claw was only several yards away from Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose, a sword light suddenly shot out from Million Forest City and struck the claw. Boom! Accompanied by a loud explosion, the restraints on the battlefields time shattered. Simultaneously, the space above Gentle Snow and Aqua Rose transformed into an empty void. The attack was blocked? Something like that can be blocked? Who did it? Everyone gaped in shock at the empty void in the sky, then automatically turned to look at the sword lights origin. The next moment, what entered everyones eyes was a cloaked man wielding a golden longsword flying out of Million Forest Citys Teleportation Hall. Everyone present gasped involuntarily. Tier 6? He actually got promoted to Tier 6? Everyone present was very familiar with the cloaked man. This was because he was none other than Shi Feng. However, the aura Shi Feng exuded was simply unbelievable, especially for players who had visited ruins left behind by Gods. The power they sensed from Shi Feng was one that they had only ever felt in those ruins. Only, Shi Fengs aura was several hundred times more powerful. Indeed! That was Divine Might! Guild Leader, you succeeded? Fang Shihan asked as she looked at Shi Feng, who had arrived before her. Although the Divine Might Shi Feng radiated proved that he had reached Tier 6, Fang Shihan couldnt help asking for confirmation. Tier 6! This was the true pinnacle of Gods Domain! I succeeded. Shi Feng nodded with a smile. Actually, he also wanted to say that he didnt just get promoted to Tier 6 with an ordinary Divine Body, but with a Superior Divine Body instead. The difference between the two was akin to that between Mythic and Superior Mythic monsters; the two were on entirely different levels. Upon hearing Shi Fengs acknowledgment, Zero Wings members grew ecstatic. Now that Shi Feng had reached Tier 6, the Outerworlds NPCs and players would no longer be a problem. Moreover, Zero Wing would become Gods Domains bona fide number one Guild from now on. The Outerworld players were dumbfounded by this development. After all, the Outerworlds various superpowers were practically going crazy just trying to get their respective Guilds best talents promoted to Tier 5. Getting one of their members to Tier 6 was something none of them had ever dreamed of doing at this stage of the game. After all, none of them had any information on how players could go about reaching Tier 6. So what if youve reached Tier 6? Youre nothing but another ant trapped in this world! Do you really think youre a match for me? the Scholar said contemptuously as he looked at Shi Feng. He then pointed the golden staff he held at Shi Feng. Suddenly, the world fell silent once more. When the Scholar launched his previous attack, the Tier 4 combatants present had still retained some of their consciousness. Now, even the Tier 5 combatants present found their brains stagnating significantly. It was evident that time on the battlefield had slowed by a far greater extent this time. The next moment, dark-purple chains engraved with divine markings emerged from the sky and the earth. Upon seeing these chains, even the World Eater shuddered in fear. After these chains had completely materialized, they shot toward Shi Feng from all directions. When the Tier 5 combatants present sensed the aura of these purple chains, an unprecedented fear overwhelmed them. Even their souls were instinctively warning them not to touch these chains, no matter what. Are these the legendary Chains of Law? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he saw the dark-purple chains. The Ancient Gods Legacy he acquired contained information on the Chains of Law, stating that these chains carried power surpassing the Tier 6 Peak standard. Even a Tier 6 God would have difficulty moving when caught by these chains. And unless the Tier 6 Gods strength surpassed the Tier 6 Peak standard, they would eventually die to these chains. Seeing the hundreds of Chains of Law closing in, Shi Feng unsheathed Solomons Sword and brandished it together with the Light of Two Worlds. Swords Orbit! Shi Feng moved freely, unaffected by the time stagnation affecting the battlefield. A galaxy of stars formed around him, each of these stars carrying earth-shattering power. These stars struck down the Chains of Law that came close to Shi Feng, preventing them from coming into contact with him. After striking down all of the Chains of Law, the stars surrounding Shi Feng spread into the surroundings. A moment later, the battlefields stagnant time started flowing once more. Impossible! A look of surprise and confusion appeared on the Scholars calm countenance when he saw Shi Feng emerge unscathed from his attack. Those were the Chains of Law! Even an actual Tier 6 God would have to flee when confronted with those chains, as they would lose their life if even one of those chains latched on to their bodies. Yet, Shi Feng had deflected all of the chains with a simple sword technique! What the Scholar found even more unbelievable was that his time-stagnation technique was utterly ineffective against Shi Feng. Do you find it strange? Shi Feng chuckled at the look of surprise on the Scholars face. Do you think you Ancient Gods are the only ones who can have Superior Divine Bodies in Gods Domain? The Superior Divine Body could be said to be the main factor behind the strength of Ancient Gods. This was because only with a Superior Divine Body could one perfectly utilize the power of the world. Meanwhile, the Chains of Law was one method of utilizing the worlds power. However, if Shi Feng similarly imbued the worlds power into his swordsmanship, he naturally could stop the chains easily. Youhave a Superior Divine Body?! The Scholar was thunderstruck when he heard Shi Fengs words. The Superior Divine Body was something even Ancient Gods had difficulty creating. Meanwhile, in the Scholars eyes, Shi Feng was nothing but an ignorant ant, yet Shi Feng actually had a Superior Divine Body. If the Scholar told this matter to other Ancient Gods, none of them were likely to believe him. Your rampage ends here! After saying so, Shi Feng disappeared and reappeared in front of the Scholar, the speed of his movement so quick that it seemed as if he had been standing in front of the Scholar all this time. He then activated World Breaker and Final Sword simultaneously. Two sources of light immediately enveloped his swords and fused perfectly. The combination of these two Skills was something Shi Feng had been continuously practicing and perfecting over the past month. Apart from the fusion of these two Skills, Shi Feng had also been modifying Swords Transmigration, and he eventually ended up creating an Advanced Silver Combat Technique. Swords Ripple! A torrent of light cut across the sky, erasing everything that existed in front of Shi Feng. When the light faded, the Scholar was nowhere to be seen. Instead, hovering in his place were three of the Seven Treasures. The next moment, the translucent figure of a person appeared in the empty void, and this person was none other than the Scholar. At this time, though, the Scholar no longer had any divine markings on his face; he looked and felt no different from an ordinary youth. Dammit! Its this outcome again! Why do you ignorant ants always come foiling my plans?! bellowed the Scholar, who had been reduced to a soul, as he glared at Shi Feng with eyes full of resentment and anger. However, his anger soon faded, and he started laughing. Dont get too proud of yourself. You cant do anything to me even if you have a Superior Divine Body! My soul is eternal and indestructible! What you have destroyed is nothing but a shell to house my soul! I can re-create more of such shells in no time at all! Sooner or later, I will have all of you ignorant ants disappear from this world! After saying so, the Scholar laughed louder and louder, his mood getting better and better. The Scholars words made everyone on the battlefield shudder. If a monster like the Scholar could resurrect infinitely, then it would be an absolute nightmare for them. Thats right. You indeed have an immortal soul, and even true Ancient Gods cant erase your existence, Shi Feng said, nodding as he looked at the Scholar. He then chuckled and continued, However, while your soul might be indestructible, it can be infinitely weakened. Im guessing itll take you a long time to recover if that happens, right? After saying so, Shi Feng collected the three items in front of him. He then took out the other Seven Treasures. Immediately, the Seven Treasures resonated with one another and instantly recovered to their peak states, revealing their original brilliance. You! The Scholars expression instantly changed when he saw the Seven Treasures, and he turned and tried to flee into the void. However, Shi Feng did not give the Scholar any opportunities to do so at all, grabbing the repaired Soul Orb and activating it. Devour! The Soul Orb immediately began absorbing the Scholars soul, continuously weakening it. After this situation continued for four minutes, the Scholars soul disappeared, and the Soul Orb produced a nine-colored Crystal of Souls. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Mythic Quest Ancient Gods Awakening. Rewarding one Ancient Gods Soul Crystal and two levels of World Authority. Ancient Gods Soul Crystal? After observing the nine-colored Crystal of Souls for a moment, Shi Feng tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it. He wanted to see what effects the Ancient Gods Soul Crystal had. Moreover, doing so would prevent the Scholar from regaining his power. The Soul Orb mightve absorbed the power of the Scholars soul and made it seem as if the Scholar had died, but that wasnt true at all. In time, the Scholar would still gradually recover his strength. This was also what made Ancient Gods amazing. As soon as Shi Feng swallowed the Ancient Gods Soul Crystal, he felt a tingling and burning sensation in his brain. It was completely different from the refreshing sensation he felt when he swallowed the Crystal of Souls made from the Fallen Archangel Garudakas soul. Only after this burning sensation had continued for several minutes did it gradually disappear. Is thisthe Tier 6 Peak standard? When Shi Feng looked at the world around him, he found its clarity and realism unprecedented. No! Even if my Concentration reached the Tier 6 Peak standard, there shouldnt be such a significant change! Did I just reach the mental strength grandmaster standard? Apart from a breakthrough to the mental strength grandmaster standard, Shi Feng couldnt think of any other explanation for this situation. This was because his current thought process was at least ten times faster than before. He could also manipulate Mana from Seven Luminaries Crystals as if it was soft cotton. However, Shi Feng didnt pay too much attention to these changes, as he still had a bunch of enemies he had to deal with in front of him. Run! Everyone, retreat! Upon seeing Shi Feng slay the Scholar, the Outerworld NPCs and players started frantically fleeing the battlefield. All of them wanted nothing more than to run back to the World Passage right now. They felt that only by returning to their own Gods Domain would they truly be safe from Shi Feng However, Shi Feng had no intention of letting any of these people escape. With a swing of his sword, he effortlessly massacred the Outerworld forces and wiped out the forest ahead of him. Let alone escaping, the army of millions didnt even get to leave their ashes behind on the battlefield. The conclusion of this battle sent tremors across Gods Domain. The Outerworld NPCs and players in other parts of the eastern continent promptly retreated to their home world upon receiving news of Shi Fengs achievements, none of them daring to stay behind for even a moment longer. In addition, Zero Wing became the undisputed number one Guild in Gods Domain because of this battle. As a result, countless players started trying to join Zero Wing, and Zero Wings several Guild Cities became overcrowded with players. However, Shi Feng paid no attention to these requests to join Zero Wing. Instead, he simply handed off his responsibilities to his Vice Guild Leaders. After turning in the Seven Treasures Main Storyline Quest, he chose to log out of the game and meet with Xia Wuyuan. After all, he was very curious to find out about Phoenix Rains matter. And now that he had fulfilled the conditions Xia Wuyuan had given him, he should be qualified to find out more about the matter. Not to mention, after he devoured the Ancient Gods Soul Crystal, he could sense things that he had never been able to sense before. He had many questions regarding these new findings, and he estimated that Phoenix Rain would have answers. Middle layer, Green God Courtyard: The Green God Courtyard was a place specifically reserved for the Green God Companys internal members. Apart from serving as a residence, it was also the office that handled the middle layers various affairs. There werent a lot of people in the Green God Courtyard. Even after arriving in front of Xia Wuyuans residence, Shi Feng had come across only several dozen people. From this, he could tell that the Green God Company didnt have many internal members. When Shi Feng entered Xia Wuyuans residence, he found the old man sitting in the living room and brewing tea in front of the coffee table. There was also a cup of freshly brewed tea on the other side of the coffee table, as if Xia Wuyuan had known ahead of time that Shi Feng would visit him. Pointing at the sofa opposite himself, Xia Wuyuan looked at Shi Feng and said, Have a seat. You knew I would come to find you now? Shi Feng couldnt help asking. Of course. I know everything you do in Gods Domain, Xia Wuyuan said. Taking a sip of tea, he smiled and continued, I also know that youve long since broken through to the three-star mental strength master standard and that youve already reached the grandmaster standard now. You knew? Realization dawned upon Shi Feng when he heard Xia Wuyuans answer. It seems the Green God Company really is the developer behind Gods Domain. Youre only half correct, Xia Wuyuan said, shaking his head. What do you mean? Shi Feng asked. The Green God Company didnt develop Gods Domain. Instead, we only run it, Xia Wuyuan explained. The Green God Company didnt develop it? Shi Feng was a little surprised by this answer. From what he knew, there shouldnt be another company on Earth with the technology required to develop a game such as Gods Domain. How is this possible? Could there be a corporation in this world capable of surpassing the Green God Companys technology? Didnt you want to see Phoenix Rain? Xia Wuyuan said suddenly. Confused by Xia Wuyuans sudden mention of Phoenix Rain, Shi Feng asked curiously, Can I meet with her now? Of course. You now have the qualification. Xia Wuyuan snapped his fingers, and a hologram of a person suddenly appeared beside him. This person was none other than Phoenix Rain. Your improvement speed really is as unbelievable as ever, Phoenix Rain said, smiling as she looked at Shi Feng. If not for Elder Xia keeping me updated, I wouldnt have dared believe youve already grown so much. Where are you now? Shi Feng asked, getting straight to the point. He had been very curious about Phoenix Rains sudden appearance. In their previous meeting, she had even spoken as if she had long since known that the Scholar would cause a problem in Gods Domain; hence, she had warned him of the Scholar. Her understanding of Gods Domain was simply incredible. The Green God Companys refusal to let others meet with Phoenix Rain was also puzzling. It seems youve already guessed that Im not present in the world you live in. Smiling, Phoenix Rain explained, You are correct in your assumption. I am currently living in neither Earth nor Gods Domain. Instead, I am in a world beyond Gods Domain. To be precise, I am living in the true Gods Domain. Youre not in the real world, but the true Gods Domain? What do you mean? Did your soul get digitized? Shi Feng was shocked. Looking at Shi Fengs confused expression, Phoenix Rain chuckled and said, My soul didnt get digitized. Rather, my spirit is currently located in a special three-dimensional world. The Gods Domain youve been playing in all this time is actually another three-dimensional world as well. Because of a unique reason, I ended up getting smuggled into a higher-level three-dimensional world, or a main three-dimensional world, if you will. On the other hand, the Gods Domain youve been playing in is merely one of the countless sub-worlds of this main three-dimensional world. Three-dimensional world? The Gods Domain Ive been playing in is only one of the many sub-worlds of a main three-dimensional world? Shi Feng suddenly felt he lacked the brains to process the information Phoenix Rain provided. Although the various phenomena in Gods Domain could serve as proof that the world of Gods Domain wasnt just a simple virtual world, calling it a real three-dimensional world was still a little too much of a stretch. Just what kind of technology was necessary to let someone mentally connect to another three-dimensional world? What she says is true. The Gods Domain you are playing in is indeed a three-dimensional world. However, this three-dimensional world is very special, and outsiders can enter it only through their minds, Xia Wuyuan explained, smiling when he saw the skeptical look on Shi Fengs face. Now that youre a mental strength grandmaster, you are also qualified to know the Green God Companys biggest secret. I previously told you that the Green God Companys founder is a mental strength grandmaster. He is also the first human in our world to develop his mental strength to the grandmaster level. After reaching the grandmaster level, he happened across a device that a four-dimensional civilization left behind for all three-dimensional civilizations. This device allows people to enter a special three-dimensional world created by the four-dimensional civilization. This three-dimensional world is akin to a game world where everything is statisticalized, and people in this world can continuously grow stronger by training. In addition, the four-dimensional civilization left all its technologies in this three-dimensional world and made it so that whichever three-dimensional civilization succeeds in taking control of this world would inherit all its technologies. Therefore, any three-dimensional civilization that discovers this special world will try to compete for it. After all, with the four-dimensional civilizations technologies, not only can a civilizations citizens gain a near-infinite lifespan, but a three-dimensional civilization can also become the ruler of all other three-dimensional civilizations. A four-dimensional civilization? Although Shi Feng still felt skeptical after listening to Xia Wuyuans explanation, he was now open to the possibility of Gods Domain being an actual three-dimensional world. After all, the humans of Earth were merely three-dimensional creatures. They couldnt possibly fathom the strength of a four-dimensional civilization, just like how two-dimensional creatures couldnt understand three-dimensional creatures. Our world is very fortunate. Not only did it produce a mental strength grandmaster, but we even discovered the device the four-dimensional civilization left behind. Hence, our world has the qualification to compete for the special three-dimensional world. It is also because of this special world that the Green God Company has managed to create so many miracles thus far. However, we were very weak when we first started out in that special world and could hardly acquire anything. This is because only mental strength grandmasters are capable of using the inherited device, and each grandmaster can bring along a maximum of only 60 people when entering that special world. Moreover, all the companions must be at the half-step grandmaster standard. Hence, the group our people formed in that special world is no different from an insignificant small Guild in Gods Domain. Fortunately, as the people of our world continued developing and the number of half-step grandmasters increased, we eventually managed to secure the rights to control a subsidiary world, which is also the Gods Domain you are currently playing. Since it is only a subworld, the entry conditions arent as stringent. So long as one isnt an infant or a child, one may freely enter this sub-world. Improving ones mental strength also becomes a lot easier in this sub-world, so we can keep developing half-step grandmasters. In your case, you even managed to become a mental strength grandmaster. Speaking up to this point, Xia Wuyuan looked at Shi Feng in excitement. Now that Earth had gained one more mental strength master, they could bring an additional 60 half-step mental strength grandmasters to the main three-dimensional world. This would greatly enhance Earths overall strength. So, this is why other Gods Domains are trying to invade us. They were trying to gain the ruling rights to another sub-world. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng. The sub-worlds of Gods Domain were akin to a nursery for nurturing newcomers. The difference between having and not having a subworld and between having one or more sub-worlds was massive. Entering the main world isnt an easy task. The more sub-worlds a civilization controls, the higher their chances of producing Tier 6 players or half-step mental strength grandmasters. In Phoenix Rains case, she managed to enter the main world out of sheer luck. Its a pity nobody else managed to be that lucky, Xia Wuyuan said, sighing ruefully. Phoenix Rains entry into the main world can be considered a rare opportunity. If she logged out of the game, she would no longer have this opportunity. Thus, upon noticing the anomaly, we immediately transferred her body to the core area. With the core areas power, she wont have to worry about her physical body even if she remains in the main world for a long period. Shi Feng understood what Xia Wuyuan was trying to say. Since a mental strength grandmaster could bring only 60 people with them into the main world, every additional combatant Earth could get into the main world was incredibly precious. Hence, it was only natural for the Green God Company to want Phoenix Rain to remain connected to the main world. But its fine now. With you here, well have a much easier time in the main world, Xia Wuyuan said, smiling. It doesnt matter even if Phoenix Rain returns since you have brought 60 additional slots to our world. Once news of your breakthrough spreads, the various Upper Zones old bastards will probably try to buy these slots from you. However, you mustnt sell the slots to them on a whim. Back then, those old bastards stole a lot of resources from Yuantian Citys Upper Zone. Our Upper Zone will be relying on you to reclaim our reputation. If you wish to deal with Fu Jiuzhong, you can also apply to get him banished from the Upper Zone. I bet that old bastard in Haitian Citys Upper Zone wont dare say anything about it. Shi Feng nodded at Xia Wuyuans words. As for Fu Jiuzhong, Shi Feng was no longer concerned about the Infinity Master. This was because a mental strength grandmaster was many times more powerful than a three-star mental strength master. He could even make Fu Jiuzhong suffer a mental breakdown. Afterward, just as Xia Wuyuan said, the general managers of the various Upper Zones around the world all paid a visit to Yuantian Citys Upper Zone, and every one of them wanted the entry slots for the main world of Gods Domain. Moreover, without Shi Feng saying anything, Haitian Citys Upper Zone had taken the initiative to banish and imprison Fu Jiuzhong. However, Shi Feng did not casually sell his entry slots. After all, now that he knew the main Gods Domains importance, he naturally had to give Zero Wing priority for these slots. In the end, he chose to sell only ten slots to the top ten Upper Zones in the world, gaining one favor from these Upper Zonesthe creation of his own Upper Zone. The Upper Zones located around the world werent natural occurrences. Instead, they were created using the four-dimensional civilizations technology. However, the creation of every Upper Zone required a lot of resources, many of which these top-ranking Upper Zones could provide. Once he had these resources, so long as he obtained a few more items from the main Gods Domain, he could create his very own Upper Zone. Once he had his own Upper Zone, he would no longer have to follow the rules of other Upper Zones. He could bring anyone he wanted into his Upper Zone. Time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, three months had already gone by since Shi Feng became a mental strength grandmaster. During these three months, Shi Feng had brought his family and Zero Wings many core members into Yuantian Citys Upper Zone one after another. Afterward, he had Zero Wing compete fervently for resources and players in Gods Domain. He had even tasked the Guild with preparing to invade the Outerworld and plunder the resources there. In addition, thanks to the Upper Zones resources and the Ancient Gods Legacy, Gentle Snow, Aqua Rose, Violet Cloud, Fire Dance, Cold Shadow, Yan Tianxing, Lifeless Thorn, and Blue Frost also successfully reached Tier 6. This meant that they had become half-step mental strength grandmasters and were qualified to enter the main Gods Domain. Inside a large mansion in the core area of Yuantian Citys Upper Zone After looking at Gentle Snow and the others, who lay inside their respective special rest cabins, Shi Feng entered the main cabin and readied himself to begin a new journey. Log in! Chapter 2919 - SS1 – Gentle Snow (1) March 6th, 2129. Dragon Demon War, a virtual reality game known for being incredibly realistic, having a realism rate reaching 90%. The game also constantly remained one of the top 30 most popular virtual reality games in the world. However, at this time, the game had also reached a perfect ending because of one final Kingdom War. In the battle between four first-rate Guilds and more than 20 second-rate Guilds, the first-rate Guild Ouroboros emerged as the victor and became Dragon Demon Wars Kingdom Overlord. With this victory serving as its base, Ouroboros would have a massive advantage for its future endeavors in the game. Because of this victory, over a hundred thousand Ouroboros members had gathered in the capital city and were currently celebrating. Meanwhile, leading this victory celebration was none other than the person known as the Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow. Gentle Snow had joined Ouroboros for only two years. However, with her exquisite and perfect body combined with her divine appearance, she had long since become a living advertisement for Ouroboros. In fact, any company seeking to invite her to do an ad would have to schedule an appointment for two years later Inside a bright and tidy bedroom located on the top floor of Ouroboross main headquarters Zhao Yueru, who wore a red miniskirt and possessed a sexy and curvaceous figure, watched as Gentle Snow climbed out of her virtual gaming cabin. She then grumbled a complaint, Qingxue, arent you working a little too hard? Youve fought nonstop for over a week in this war, yet you still choose to continue working instead of relaxing. I ended up having to visit that new restaurant by myself. Hearing Zhao Yuerus complaint, Gentle Snow, who had just changed into a white T-shirt, smiled wryly. Yueru, you know as well as I do about the current situation in Ouroboros. Although Ive already made a name for myself, I have only joined the Guild recently, after all. I wont be able to win the Grand Elders support without sufficient merit. But didnt you win in the final battle this time? Those Grand Elders should have nothing to say after this, right? Zhao Yueru couldnt help but feel distressed at seeing Gentle Snow working so desperately. After all, Gentle Snow was her best friend. However, it was also because she was Gentle Snows best friend that she understood Gentle Snows difficulties and why Gentle Snow couldnt live freely like herself. For the sake of taking control over the Guild her elder brother left behind, Gentle Snow had to accomplish merits that could convince everyone in the Guild of her abilities. After all, the White Clan Group wasnt the sole owner of Ouroboros. There were still several other companies backing Ouroboross development. Meanwhile, these companies definitely wouldnt hand over Ouroboros to Gentle Snow simply because she was the younger sister of Ouroboross creator. This was because Ouroboros was now a famous first-rate Guild, and many interests were involved with the Guild. Just the sponsorships and advertising fees Ouroboros received annually amounted to more than one billion Credits. Not to mention, the Guild still received various other benefits from the games it took part in. These merits are still not enough, Gentle Snow said, shaking her head. Recently, not only did Cao Chenghua make a fortune from two virtual reality games, but he has even gained the full support of a large company. If I rely only on my achievements in Dragon Demon War, I would be fortunate if I can match him. If I want to have those Grand Elders stand on my side, I will still need to do more. Ouroboros really is a troublesome Guild. If you were to go to any other Guild, you wouldve long since become the Guild Leader there with your merits, Zhao Yueru said, sighing. She then suggested, Now that youre done with work, I bet youre hungry, right? Lets head to that new restaurant. I heard that the restaurant added a few new dishes to its menu yesterday, and they seem to be quite popular. Ive been holding back myself because of you. Hah Looking at Zhao Yuerus glowing eyes, Gentle Snow sighed helplessly. If you can direct half your passion for food toward virtual reality games, you wouldve long since become one of the Guilds top-ranking experts instead of being stuck as just an ordinary core member right now. Gentle Snow couldnt help but feel a little frustrated over her friend. Despite Zhao Yueru having an excellent talent for virtual reality games, she showed no particular interest in them at all. Zhao Yueru also didnt like working. If she hadnt forcibly dragged Zhao Yueru to help her in Ouroboros, her friend would most likely remain jobless even until now and would be berated continuously by Uncle Zhao for being useless. Isnt this because virtual reality games are boring? All we do every day is fight and kill. How can that be better than enjoying delicacies every day? Zhao Yueru said, chuckling nonchalantly. It would be great if theres a game that lets you enjoy delicacies. That way, I can work while enjoying gourmet food every day. I also wont have to hear my old man nagging me to attend marriage meetings every day. Delicacies? A smile appeared on Gentle Snows face when she heard Zhao Yuerus words. I recently heard that a new virtual reality game is going to launch soon. Although I dont know which company is developing this game, I heard that it has a powerful origin. Moreover, the games realism rate reaches up to 99%, and the game world feels almost like the real world. You should be able to taste a lot of delicacies there. Really? Zhao Yueru shot up from her seat upon hearing Gentle Snows words, her eyes glowing in excitement and anticipation as she looked at her friend. If she could taste good food in the virtual world, not only could she avoid her fathers constant nagging, but she also wouldnt have to worry about growing fat from overeating. She would be killing two birds with one stone. It should be true. Seeing Zhao Yuerus sudden interest, Gentle Snow smiled and explained, Although I dont know the exact details, I heard that many Super Guilds plan to shift their focus to this new game. Ouroboros is no exception as well. So, I believe this game shouldnt be bad. Are you going to abandon things in Dragon Demon War? Zhao Yueru asked in surprise. Gentle Snow had expended a lot of blood and sweat to develop Ouroboros in Dragon Demon War. It would be a huge waste for her to hand her work to another person. Dragon Demon War is only ranked within the top 30 of virtual reality games. Although it is quite popular, it is several leagues below the top 10 games. Moreover, this new game called Gods Domain is something even the various Super Guilds have set their sights on. This is a good opportunity for me. In an earnest tone, Gentle Snow said, So long as I can achieve excellent merits in Gods Domain, I believe none of those Grand Elders should have any more opinions of me! She hadnt overseen Ouroboross operations in Dragon Demon War since the very beginning. Instead, she only joined after the Guild had developed in the game for a few years. Hence, even if she achieved any merits in the game, these merits couldnt be linked to her entirely. However, it was a different story for Gods Domain. Everyone would have a new start in the game. This would be the best stage for her to display her current abilities. In that case, Ive decided! Ill properly improve myself and clean up Cao Chenghuas henchmen! Zhao Yueru said eagerly. Once I do that, Ill see if that old man of mine still dares to call me useless! Seeing Zhao Yuerus declaration and fighting spirit, Gentle Snow couldnt help but sigh in relief. She had finally accomplished Uncle Zhaos request of her. Otherwise, at this rate, Uncle Zhao would most likely ask her to accompany Zhao Yueru in attending another marriage meeting April 25th, 2129. At nine oclock in the evening, Gentle Snow put on a set of white pajamas and laid down in her virtual gaming cabin. She then chose to log into Gods Domain. Chapter 2920 - SS2 – Aqua Rose (1) Wind Chime Town, Red Thorn Bar: Wind Chime Town was the most populated town in the Storm Empires western region. Despite the bar charging 10 Copper Coins even for its cheapest ale, which was a significant expenditure for current players, the bar would still be overcrowded every day. Currently, many of the bars patrons had their eyes directed toward one corner of the bar. To be precise, they were looking at an alluring woman dressed in a lavender robe. With how many eyes focused on this woman, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the bar had to thank this woman for more than half of its customers. Many of the players who had just entered the bar, both male and female, would also inadvertently have their eyes drawn toward this woman. At this time, a brawny Level 6 man fully clad in dark-gray Bronze Equipment walked into the bar. When he saw the beautiful woman sitting in the corner and drinking by herself, he couldnt help but be thunderstruck. Who is that beauty?! Not only has she reached Level 7, but she even has a set of Mysterious-Iron Equipment! Gods Domain had just launched recently, and the brawny man was one of the top-ranking experts of Wind Chime Town. Even then, he had only recently reached Level 6, while most Wind Chime Towns experts were stuck at Level 5 still. As for weapons and equipment, the average player would only have Common Equipment that didnt provide any Attributes. If one could have several pieces of Bronze Equipment at this stage of the game, they would become a target for attention when they walked out on the street. If one owned a piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, they would instantly become the center of attention of any street or establishment they visited. As for having a complete set of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, that was something simply unimaginable! Brother Chen, I dont see a Guild Emblem on her. She might be an independent player. Why dont we invite her into our Ghost Blade adventurer team? a Level 6 Ranger youth following behind the brawny man suggested. At the youths words, the other dozen or so men in the adventurer team nodded in agreement, their eager reactions earning them the contempt of the several female players in the adventurer team. However, despite their contempt for their team members, when these female players saw the beautiful woman seated at the corner, they similarly felt their hearts moved. Meanwhile, the brawny man standing in the groups lead also nodded in agreement with the youths words. Youre right. If we can get her to join our team, we should have an easier time clearing the Hard Mode of that Level 5 Team Dungeon. When the brawny man finished speaking, the Ghost Blade members immediately grew excited. Their Ghost Blade adventurer team was one of the top-ranking adventurer teams operating in Wind Chime Town. They were so powerful that they even dared go against large Guilds. For this reason, many expert players sought to join them. However, as their adventurer team had strict requirements, only a small number of experts would ever get to join them. Meanwhile, their commander, Brother Chen, was one of Wind Chime Towns top ten Shield Warriors. Anyone who joined their adventurer team would have a bright future. Now that they were taking the initiative to invite the lavender-clad woman, the latter should have no reason to refuse them. However, before Brother Chen could approach the beauty in question, another beautiful woman entered his eyes. This woman had snow-white hair and a mesmerizing appearance. She wore a dark-blue robe and carried a Secret-Silver staff made of white jade. Meanwhile, this person approached the lavender-clad woman and sat down beside her. After seeing this, Brother Chen halted his footsteps immediately, not daring to move even a step further. Noticing his frozen commander, the Level 6 Ranger youth asked, Brother Chen, whats wrong? Its nothing. Brother Chen said as he shook his head. Lets forget about inviting that beauty. Why so, Brother Chen? the Ranger youth grew agitated.Is our teams fame insufficient to recruit her? It would be tough for them to find such a beautiful expert again. If they put forth the name of their adventurer team now, the woman might very well agree to their invite. If that happened, he would have more opportunities to come into contact with this woman in the future. Yet, now, he was being told to give up on recruiting her? Do you see that white-haired beauty? Brother Chen said as he pointed at the woman who just sat down. In a frustrated tone, he continued, Now that she has already made her move, we wont have any chance. Why is that so? The Ranger youth grew confused. He acknowledged that the white-haired woman indeed rivaled the lavender-clad woman in terms of appearance and figure. She also possessed amazing strength, her level having reached Level 6 already. She even wielded a Secret-Silver Staff. However, the white-haired woman was an independent player as well. How could their Ghost Blade adventurer team possibly lose out to an independent player? Shes that Unyielding Ice! Brother Chen said. Do you think we have any chances now? Unyielding Ice? Shes Wind Chime Towns number one expert? The Ranger youth was stunned. Logically, with Gods Domain having launched only recently, there shouldnt be anyone capable of being recognized as a towns number one expert. At most, powerful experts would be recognized as being part of the top 10 or 20 strongest players in a town. However, Unyielding Ice was different. She had made everyone in Wind Chime Town recognize her strength. With just the power of one person, she had killed over a hundred experts a large Guild had sent to hunt her. At this stage of the game, the differences in levels and equipment between players were tiny. Adding on the limitation of Stamina, it was practically impossible for one player to kill over a hundred players of the same level. Yet, someone in Wind Chime Town had carried out this feat. Due to this reason, Unyielding Ices name became the biggest taboo in Wind Chime Town overnight. She was also recognized as the towns most terrifying existence. Brother Chens eyes were filled with fear as he looked at Unyielding Ice, chatting and smiling in the distance. Patting the Ranger youth on the shoulder, he advised, By the looks of it, those two should be friends. Well only be making a fool of ourselves if we try to invite that beauty. Its best if you abandon those childish thoughts of yours. Those two women are living in a completely different world than us. If we offend that Unyielding Ice and make her unhappy, none of us should think of leaving Wind Chime Towns gate ever again. I understand, Brother Chen. The Ranger youth acceded to Brother Chens advice. However, he still couldnt help himself from looking at the great beauty seated beside Unyielding Ice, a hint of curiosity appearing in his eyes. Who is that person, though? Shes having such a friendly chat with a cold killer like Unyielding Ice. Meanwhile, after Ghost Blades members abandoned their plan and found a seat far away from Unyielding Ice, Unyielding Ice sent the group a glance. She then returned her gaze to the extraordinary beauty beside her and said frustratingly, Aqua, you sure know how to pick meeting locations. If I hadnt arrived ahead of time, that adventurer team wouldve been met with tragedy. Aqua Rose was the Honorary Elder of Twilight Echo, a first-rate Guild. Setting aside her extraordinary personal strength, she could easily make sure that a measly adventurer team like Ghost Blade disappear with her influence in the Storm Empire. Im not that terrible. Aqua Rose rolled her eyes at Unyielding Ice. She then smiled and said, Also, I wouldve never imagined that the girl famed for being gentle in our school would become Wind Chime Citys famous cold killer. Now, even that well-known Dark Zone is afraid of you. If our classmates find out about this, theyll probably be given a scare. Its not my fault. They forced my hand. Anyway, lets not talk about me, Unyielding Ice said, a look of frustration appearing on her face as she took a sip of water from the glass the waiter had prepared for her. If possible, she wouldnt have wanted to kill all those people and become famous, either. However, the second-rate Guild Dark Zone had targeted a treasure she acquired. If she hadnt gone all-out to protect that treasure, it would be impossible for her to achieve success in Gods Domain in the future. You could easily join a Super Guild with your strength, yet you chose to operate solo. Its only natural youd get targeted by the various powers, Aqua Rose said. How about joining Twilight Echo? With my status in the Guild, I promise you wont get dragged into any Guild affair. You can continue operating alone as you are now. Thanks, but no thanks. Im used to operating solo, Unyielding Ice said, shaking her head. She then put on a serious look and continued, What about you? How are you doing in Twilight Echo? From what I heard, Brilliant Wargod is sticking to you like a fly. I also heard that he has your familys full support, and even your maternal grandfather seems interested in him. I see youre still as well-informed as ever. Aqua Roses smile disappeared. Then, she slowly said, Brilliant Wargods family isnt much of a problem since my familys Sun and Moon Group isnt any weaker than his familys company. However, my maternal grandfather and the other elders of the family share deep ties with the elders of Brilliant Wargods family. This is also the case for my fathers generation. Theyre deliberately pushing this matter so that our two families can have a better future development. Looking at Aqua Roses frustrated look, Unyielding Ice smiled and suggested, Why dont you go independent and come with me? So long as we make some achievements, I doubt your parents will have any problems. No, no, I wont give up. Aqua Rose shook her head. With confidence, she said, Ill show an amazing performance in Twilight Echo! Once I have greater authority in the Guild, neither my parents nor maternal grandfather can say anything about my decisions anymore! Brilliant Wargods side wont be able to do anything about it, either! Very well, then. In that case, lets see which one of us will achieve our goals first, Unyielding Ice said, smiling. Ill definitely be first. Ive already established a powerful team. Give me some time, and Im confident my team can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Guilds main force! Aqua Rose said confidently. Alright, lets get back to the topic. Why did you call me here? Unyielding Ice asked, not willing to continue arguing over this topic. After all, this wasnt the first time they had this discussion. The reunion meeting is approaching. Youve been so busy recently that nobody was able to get in touch with you. So, our old class monitor asked me to notify and persuade you. Heres the invitation. Dont forget to attend, Aqua Rose said before forwarding an email to Unyielding Ice. Although they were currently in Gods Domains virtual world, it was possible to upload files into the game from the real world. The only problem was that the transfer of files had to be done face-to-face. Alright, I got it. Unyielding Ice nodded after she received the digital invitation letter. She then grabbed a black crystal out of her bag and said, Ill give this thing to you. I dont have any use for it, but it should be of some help to you. Looking at the black crystal, Aqua Rose asked strangely, Whats this? A teleportation token; something I got from killing a monster. You can use it to teleport to an NPC city called Blackwing City. I believe you can buy a lot of things from that place, Unyielding Ice explained. An NPC city? Many thoughts appeared in Aqua Roses mind as she looked at the crystalline token. This is interesting. Thanks! No need for thanks between us. If you come into trouble, contact me anytime. I might not be able to help with big problems, but I can still help out with small problems, Unyielding Ice said with a smile. She then stood up and left the Red Thorn Bar, leaving Aqua Rose alone with the crystalline token. The Guilds Elders meeting is in three days. Since I dont have anything better to do, lets take a look at this Blackwing City! Thinking up to this point, Aqua Rose settled the bill with one Silver Coin and left the bar as well. Chapter 2921 - SS3 – Fire Dance (1) Bingquan City, Brawler Training Center: The Brawler Training Center was the most popular training center in Bingquan City, and more than 10,000 people visited the establishment each day. Not only did this place own the best training facilities available, but it also had excellent instructors. However, the main contributor to the training centers popularity would still be the small fighting competitions the training center held weekly. Moreover, it was even an indiscriminate fighting competition. When the referee gave his verdict, cheers filled the arena in the arena located on the third-floor hall. The champion of this weeks competition had just been crowned. Moreover, to everyones surprise, this weeks champion was a young and beautiful woman. This young woman possessed attractive facial features and a sensual body that drew both mens and womens eyes. Big Sis Fire Dance, youre amazing! There was a professional fighter participating in todays competition, yet you still beat him nonetheless! That person has even won the championship of the citys fighting competition before! With this, there is hardly anybody who can be a match in Bingquan City! a robust man, who was nearly two meters tall and looked to be in his late twenties, said as he looked at the young woman, who had just won the weekly competition, in admiration. When the robust man and young woman stood side by side, they also created a disharmonious scene for the surrounding people. Despite being larger and older than the young woman, the robust man behaved as if he was the womans little brother Water Buffalo, how many times have I told you not to call me by my ID when were outside? the woman named Fire Dance said, rolling her eyes. She then smiled faintly and continued, If you call me by my ID one more time, Ill let you experience the joy of that professional fighter as well! The stout man named Water Buffalo shivered when he recalled the sight of Fire Dance nearly breaking the professional fighters leg. I wont do it anymore! I promise! I swear! Fire Dance might seem like an alluring and delicate beauty, but her combat power was on the level of monsters. Many of their current team members were professional fighters; a few even had some fame in their respective cities. However, Fire Dance had still beaten every one of them into submission. With his skills, Water Buffalo doubted he could last more than five moves. Out with it, Fire Dance said. Why did you suddenly come looking for me today? The raid members for the Dark Moon Graveyard have gathered, but someone in our team named Little Seven got targeted by a Guild player and is currently being hunted Water Buffalo said in frustration. I wanted to ask for your help, but you were so busy with the competition that I couldnt even contact you. So, I had no choice but to visit you in person. Does the other party have a powerful background? Fire Dance asked. She had played many virtual reality games before, so she knew how troublesome it would be to become hostile with a large Guild. She had also experienced being hunted by a large Guild to the point of having no choice but to retire from the game. Meanwhile, she liked the virtual reality game known as Gods Domain very much. If this problem involved a large Guild, she would have to be cautious in dealing with it. I heard that the other party is an elite member of Martial Union, Water Buffalo said. Got it. Ill go online as quickly as possible and head to the Dark Moon Graveyard with you. I want to see exactly how powerful this Martial Union is! Fire Dance nodded, an icy gleam flashing across her eyes. She had gone to great lengths to establish her current team. It was also her ambition to create a powerful team in Gods Domain. How could she possibly let other people humiliate her team at this stage of the game? Afterward, Fire Dance rushed back to her home, logged into Gods Domain via her virtual gaming helmet, and met up with Water Buffalo. Star-Moon Kingdom, Dark Moon Graveyard: While Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were hurrying their way from Red Leaf Town to the Dark Moon Graveyard, they suddenly received two regional announcements. White River City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with 10 Reputation Points in White River City. Red Leaf Town Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Ouroboros for becoming the first team to conquer the Hell Mode of Dark Moon Graveyard. All players within the team will be rewarded with 30 Reputation Points in Red Leaf Town. Someone cleared the Dark Moon Graveyard? Water Buffalo couldnt believe his eyes when he read the system announcements. How is this possible? The various Guilds had only begun raiding the Dark Moon Graveyard recently. With the levels and equipment standard of the various Guilds main force, it should take them at least five days to even conquer the Dark Moon Graveyards Hard Mode, let alone the Dungeons Hell Mode Ouroboros? Fire Dances eyes widened in shock as she read the system announcements. Is there such a huge gap between us? She had more or less heard of the Guild Ouroboros. Unlike the unrated Guilds operating in Red Leaf Town, Ouroboros was a bona fide first-rate Guild. However, Fire Dance previously thought there wasnt much of a gap between herself and a first-rate Guild. She had been extremely diligent in leveling up, and she had even reached Level 6 already. At this stage of the game, she definitely ranked among the top echelon of players in Red Leaf Town. Meanwhile, according to the research she conducted on the Dark Moon Graveyard, let alone Level 6, even Level 10 players would have difficulty conquering the Dungeons Hard Mode. Needless to say, the Dungeons Hell Mode would be even more challenging. Originally, she had been confident that her team could clear the Dungeons Normal Mode within the next three days. Afterward, they would challenge the Dungeons Hard Mode and compete with the various Guilds teams. Now, however, her ambitions had become a complete joke During the time Fire Dance and Water Buffalo were processing the shock brought by the regional announcement, they quickly met up with Little Seven, who had been hiding in the forest surrounding the Dark Moon Graveyard. Little Seven, are you alright? Fire Dance asked with concern as she looked at the delicate little girl in front of her. Im fine, Big Sis Fire. Ive been hiding inside this tree hole all this time, so they never managed to find me, Little Seven explained and nodded. They were close to finding me originally, but because of the recent system announcement, they suddenly began making their way to the Dungeon. If not for that, I wouldve died for sure. Thats good. Water Buffalo sighed in relief. We dont have to fight with Martial Union now. Little Seven had only risen to Level 6 recently. She even wielded a Mysterious-Iron Staff and wore several pieces of Level 5 Bronze Equipment. She was their teams main firepower. If she got killed and lost one of her items, their plan of raiding the Dark Moon Graveyard would have to be delayed. We wont let this matter slide! Since Martial Union dares target our team members, well need to make it pay! Fire Dance snarled. Well head to the Dungeon and see what theyre up to! After saying so, Fire Dance entered Stealth and dashed toward the Dark Moon Graveyards entrance. Seeing this, Water Buffalo couldnt help but sigh in frustration. After having Little Seven return to town, he followed after Fire Dance with haste. Chapter 2922 - Star Star-Moon Kingdom, Red Leaf Town: NPCs who behaved almost the same as real people crowded the streets of Red Leaf Town. Whether it was the environment or perception of players, everything in Gods Domain felt incredibly realistic. Anyone who entered this game would feel as if they had arrived in an actual alien world instead of a virtual world. If not for the system interface hovering in front of every player and the different icons hovering above the heads of players and NPCs, the world of Gods Domain would look no different than a real world in the eyes of players. This game is amazing. I thought the games promotion was exaggerated, but this is simply incredible. I really wonder which company made this game, Zhao Yueru exclaimed. Zhao Yueru was currently sitting on the roof of a three-story restaurant. As she observed the view beneath her, she couldnt help but be awed. She had played many virtual reality games before, but none of them came even close to matching Gods Domain. The game known as Gods Domain was many notches above even the best virtual reality game that currently existed. The food in this game was also different from other virtual reality games, which only offered basic flavors and nothing else. Eating food in Gods Domain was akin to eating food in the real world. Everything from textures and flavors was replicated perfectly. In this game, eating food would no longer have to be for the sole purpose of replenishing ones in-game stamina or health. Instead, one could also eat for the sake of enjoyment. Of course, the precondition for enjoyment was that one ate food that was delicious. If one ate the black bread that was selling for only two Copper Coins per five loaves, rather than enjoyment, it would become torture instead. Yes, Gods Domain is indeed incredible, Gentle Snow, who was currently geared in white plate armor and carrying a silver greatsword on her back, said, nodding in agreement. A hint of confusion flashing across her eyes, she continued, Although Ive previously looked into it, I still couldnt find out which company developed Gods Domain. Its as if the game appeared out of thin air. Moreover, it even received the support and promotion of many major powers. Even the Green God Company is showing great interest in this game. Whats even more amazing is the level of technology used in this game. It is several generations ahead of other virtual reality games in this regard, and it has even accomplished the impossible feat of accelerating time. When playing the standard virtual reality game, one hour spent in the game world was one hour spent in the real world. However, it was different for Gods Domain. Two hours spent in the game world was one hour spent in the real world. This functionality was simply unheard of. Isnt that great? Zhao Yueru couldnt help but smile when she saw the amazed look on Gentle Snows face. We players get to enjoy double the pleasure in Gods Domain. No, you dont understand the true meaning of this technology, Gentle Snow said, shaking her head. Initially, Gentle Snow believed that Gods Domain would become a popular virtual reality game and eventually have a massive player base. She felt that it might even become one of the top five best-selling games in the world. However, her opinions changed after realizing that the game possessed the never-before-seen time-dilation technology. With this technology implemented into the game, players could essentially double their expected lifespans by playing the game. Players could also double their work or study efficiency by bringing their work or studies to the world of Gods Domain. With this technology alone, Gods Domain could easily surpass any pre-existing virtual reality games. As icing on the cake, the degree of realism in Gods Domain was also unprecedented, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call it a second world for human beings. At this point, Gentle Snow could already foresee that Gods Domain would become the sole virtual reality game in the world in a few months. This would deal a devastating blow to all virtual reality games currently on the market. It might even redefine virtual reality games completely. However, Zhao Yueru had no clue what her best friend was saying. She simply nodded every now and then while enjoying the blueberry pie in front of her. By the way, how is that recipe we got from Ye Feng? Gentle Snow suddenly asked. Gentle Snow placed heavy importance on the Basic Strength Potion Recipe they got from Ye Feng. After raiding the Hell Mode Deathly Forest, she had told Zhao Yueru to immediately hand it to one of the Guilds alchemists for production. An increase in six points to Strength might not seem like much, but it was a significant increase for players who were only at Level 4 or Level 5. After excluding the used ones, we currently have around a thousand bottles stocked up. Thanks to these Basic Strength Potions, we are making good progress in raiding Level 4 and Level 5 Party Dungeons. Currently, all of our elite members have at least four pieces of Bronze Equipment each. At this rate, I believe raiding the Dark Moon Graveyard shouldnt be a big problem, Zhao Yueru said in a slightly excited tone. We currently have a huge lead over the Guilds elite teams located in other towns when it comes to levels and equipment. Many of the Guild members from the neighboring towns are gradually making their way to Red leaf Town. If this continues, the advantage well have when we enter White River City will grow bigger and bigger. Are the effects this great? Gentle Snow was a little surprised. Gentle Snow had been entirely focused on grinding and raiding Dungeons recently, so she hadnt been paying much attention to Guild affairs. She only tasked Zhao Yueru and Xiao Yueer with managing the Basic Strength Potions matter. However, Gentle Snow never thought that the Basic Strength Potion Recipe they got from Ye Feng would have such astonishing effects. Gentle Snow couldnt help but admit that Ye Fengs present was truly amazing. Thats right. If not for this potion, Im afraid we will have to delay our plans to raid the Dark Moon Graveyard by one or two days, Zhao Yueru said, nodding. I really dont know if Ye Feng is lucky or very lucky. Our members have raided the Deathly Forest over a dozen times already, yet they havent gotten even one extra Basic Strength Potion Recipe until now. Instead, all they got are a bunch of other recipes. I dont think thats a matter of luck. Ye Feng might look ordinary, but he gives off an indescribably calm and confident feeling. I have seen many confident and prideful experts before, but his confidence gives me completely different vibes. It feels as if he has an excellent understanding of Gods Domain, and his movements in the Dungeon make it seem as if he had raided it many times before, Gentle Snow said, shaking her head. She remembered the expression Shi Feng made when their party had conquered the Deathly Forest. There was no joy in his expression. Instead, he reacted as if their success was an inevitable outcome, and this was a bizarre reaction. It should be known that the Deathly Forest was Red Leaf Towns first Party Dungeon. The achievement of being the first party to clear the Dungeon held extraordinary significance. Even a beta tester of the game should feel excited over such an achievement. After all, the Deathly Forests parameters shouldve been altered after the games official launch. This was especially true for the Bosss statistics and attack patterns. However, Shi Fengs reaction to their success was indescribably bland. He looked as if he was a veteran carrying a party of newcomers. Snow, you think too highly of him. Hes only relying on the fact that hes a beta tester to behave that way. However, the beta test doesnt have Team Dungeons. Everyone will have the same starting point when it comes to Team Dungeons, Zhao Yueru said nonchalantly. If he has even half of Black Flames abilities, Ill bow down in deference to him. Zhao Yueru held great admiration toward the person known as Black Flame. The man had made a fortune through the Glimmer Chestplate he created. The amount of money he had earned was something even first-rate Guilds like Ouroboros envied. Most importantly, he could produce Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Equipment. With this kind of ability, Black Flame was more than capable of influencing an entire Guild. Even a first-rate Guild like Ouroboros desperately sought to partner with him. Relying on his status as a beta tester, is it? Gentle Snow mumbled. However, although she felt that Zhao Yuerus words sounded reasonable, her intuition told her that Shi Feng wasnt as simple as he appeared. While Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru talked about Shi Feng, a girl dressed in an exquisite white robe suddenly approached them. This person was none other than Xiao Yueer, one of Gentle Snows close confidants. In an anxious tone, Xiao Yueer said, Big Sis Snow, something big happened. I dont know what Cao Chenghua said, but the Grand Elders suddenly decided to hold an executive meeting. They plan to decide on the next Guild Leader during this meeting. Currently, all of the Guilds Elders and Grand Elders have already reached the meeting venue, and were the only ones absent. So soon? Zhao Yueru was stunned when she heard this news. Ouroboros currently still lacked a Guild Leader. And because of this problem, numerous arguments had occurred between Gentle Snow and Cao Chenghua. As their two sides possessed significant influence in the Guild, the Guild Elders could never decide who should become the next Guild Leader. Originally, the plan was to wait for another year and a half for both Guild Leader candidates to display their abilities before deciding who would succeed the Guild Leader position. Either that or if one of the candidates managed to make a significant achievement in Gods Domain. Currently, it had only been a few days since Gods Domain launched, yet the Guilds Elders and Grand Elders already planned to choose the next Guild Leader. This was simply too soon! I understand. Well log off and head over immediately, Gentle Snow said after pondering over the matter. She then looked at Xiao Yueer and said, Get the Glimmer Chestplates matter settled as soon as possible. Gentle Snow was certain Cao Chenghua had made plenty of preparations now that he had persuaded the Grand Elders to host such an impromptu meeting. If that were the case, what came next would be a comparison to see who had the bigger fist in Gods Domain! Ill go get it done right away. Xiao Yueer hurriedly left the restaurant and made her way to the Forging Association immediately. Meanwhile, after Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru paid the bill for their meal, they logged out of the game and made their way to Ouroboross top-floor meeting room. Chapter 2923 - SS5 – Gentle Snow (3) Ouroboross headquarters, top-floor meeting room: Several dozen Ouroboros executives were currently gathered inside the basketball-court-size meeting room. These people were either the branch managers of an area or Elders of the Guild. Meanwhile, the Guilds five Grand Elders and Vice Guild Leaders were seated at the head of the table. As the meeting had yet to begin, the branch managers and Guild Elders were having private discussions with each other. Whats going on? Why did even the five Grand Elders show up? Is it because of Gods Domain? It must be. Gods Domain is too popular. Right now, it has already become the most popular game in the world. I even heard that some major corporations are investing in this game. So, if our Guild wants to take a step further in the virtual gaming industry, Gods Domain will be the best place to do so. But from what I heard, it seems the discussion topic this time isnt just limited to how we should tackle Gods Domain. It seems we will also be discussing who will succeed the Guild Leader position. Thats natural. The Guild Leader position has been vacant for a long time already, and the two Vice Guild Leaders have been responsible for managing the Guild all this time. It sounds like a joke when you mention it to others. Everyone present was aware that something big would happen in todays meeting. Not to mention, it was already common knowledge that Cao Chenghua was greedily vying to become Ouroboross Guild Leader. However, recently, Gentle Snow, the Guild Leaders younger sister, had also been showing excellent performance. She had helped the Guild develop significantly. She had even helped the Guild garner a lot of sponsors and advertising fees. At this point, Gentle Snow had already become Ouroboross label, and many players had joined the Guild because of Gentle Snow. Even so, Cao Chenghua wasnt a pushover. The achievements he had accomplished were not the slightest bit inferior to Gentle Snows. He also had the majority support from the various corporations sponsoring Ouroboros. Most importantly, many of the Guilds older generation experts were standing on Cao Chenghuas side. Meanwhile, expert players held a very crucial position in a Guild. A Guild needed the support of expert players. Certain Guild affairs couldnt be completed with just one or two expert players, but many instead. Because of this reason, the Guilds Grand Elders had a much more favorable opinion of Cao Chenghua compared to Gentle Snow. After the private discussions in the room continued for some time, a lithe and beautiful figure walked into the room. Youre finally here. When the tall and robust man seated at the head of the meeting table saw Gentle Snow entering, a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes as he said, Youve certainly made us wait! The man had spoken in a loud voice, so everyone in the room heard him. However, nobody present dared stand out to refute him. This was because this tall man was Blackhearted Arrow, who was also a Vice Guild Leader of Ouroboros like Gentle Snow. You! Zhao Yueru, who followed after Gentle Snow, glared at Blackhearted Arrow when she heard the other partys words. They were the last to be notified about this sudden meeting. Everyone else had been informed about it half an hour earlier. If not for Xiao Yueer acting quickly, they wouldve arrived at an even later time. Just as Zhao Yueru was about to say something more, Gentle Snow held out a hand and stopped her friend. Then, she gazed in Blackhearted Arrow and calmly said, Sorry for being late. Blackhearted Arrow chuckled. Then, in a condescending tone, he said, Now thats more like it. You are one of the Guilds Vice Guild Leaders and the previous Guild Leaders younger sister. You might become your elder brothers successor in the future. If you cant lead by example, how will the Guild continue operating in the future? Many of the Guild Elders and branch managers present couldnt help but nod in agreement. When the former Guild Leader was still around, he had always been a role model for everyone. Because of this, Ouroboros was able to become a publicly acknowledged first-rate Guild in the virtual gaming industry. If not for that accident, Ouroboros wouldve been more prosperous than it was now. Alright, hurry up and take a seat, Vice Guild Leader Qingxue. We have something very important to discuss in todays meeting, Cao Chenghua, who sat beside Blackhearted Arrow, said as he sent a glance at Gentle Snow. In response, Gentle Snow nodded and sat down on one of the main seats. Meanwhile, Zhao Yueru sat beside her with a frustrated expression on her face. Zhao Yueru couldnt understand why Gentle Snow would allow Blackhearted Arrow to question her authority and let everyone in the Guild look down on her. However, Zhao Yueru also failed to notice that Blackhearted Arrows smile actually held a hint of anger because his plans to further escalate the matter had failed. Since everyone is here, lets begin todays meeting, Cao Chenghua said, taking charge of the meeting. Then, putting on a faint smile, he continued, I know everyone has many questions regarding the sudden meeting today. First and foremost, I would like to express my apologies for interrupting any prior arrangements youve made. Vice Guild Leader Cao, no need to humble yourself like that. Since the Guild has an important affair, it is only natural for us to answer its call immediately, Blackhearted Arrow said, chuckling. Then, he sent a glance at Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru and flatly stated, Were not like some people who would dismiss the Guilds affairs because of some private matters! Upon hearing Blackhearted Arrows words, many of the executives present nodded in agreement. Alright, then. In that case, I wont waste time with words. Ive invited everyone here today for two matters, Cao Chenghua said when he saw that he had received the crowds support. The first matter is a suggestion. I suggest that from this moment onward, we halt all affairs in other games and focus all of our manpower on Gods Domain. I have information relating to Gods Domain here. It also records the series of actions taken by the various super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds. After saying so, Cao Chenghua had his secretary pass a document to everyone present. The document recorded in detail the actions of the virtual gaming industrys various superpowers. As everyone can see, ever since Gods Domains launch, every other virtual reality game has been seeing a rapid decline. Now, the various superpowers have even begun gradually shifting all of their focus to Gods Domain. Therefore, if Ouroboros wishes to avoid getting eliminated and take a step further, we will also have to shift our strength to Gods Domain. Otherwise, we wont even have the strength to establish ourselves in Gods Domain. Cao Chenghuas information was incredibly detailed, and everyone couldnt help but be dumbfounded by what they saw. According to the report, Gods Domains development was simply astounding. Now, just the number of players playing Gods Domain had already exceeded the total number of players playing every other virtual reality game. At this growth rate, even a fool could tell that Gods Domain would reign supreme in the virtual gaming industry in the future. Yes, it seems we have to focus our strength in Gods Domain. The various superpowers have a significant advantage over us in terms of manpower and foundations. If we dont move quickly, we might not even be able to establish a foothold in the future. When the Grand Elders finished reading the report, all five expressed strong support toward Cao Chenghuas suggestion. As for the other people present, none of them voiced any objections, either. Some of the branch managers who hadnt started developing in Gods Domain couldnt help but wish they could enter Gods Domain and start leveling up immediately. Since there are no objections, Ouroboros will begin tackling Gods Domain in full force from today onward. I hope everyone can make the necessary preparations as soon as possible, Cao Chenghua said, a happy smile appearing on his face when he saw everyones unanimous agreement to his suggestion. Now, for the second matter. Since Ouroboros is now fully invested in Gods Domain, we cannot delay the matter of deciding the Guild Leader any longer. After all, a Guild without a Guild Leader will face many problems when executing important tasks. It will also be impossible to unite the Guilds strength. Indeed. It might be fine during other times, but we are at a juncture that will decide the Guilds future, Blackhearted Arrow said. If the Guild doesnt have a Guild Leader to preside over the general situation, all talks about succeeding in Gods Domain is futile. So, I suggest that Vice Guild Leader Cao takes over the Guild Leader position. After all, Vice Guild Leader Cao has already laid significant foundations for the Guild in Gods Domain. He has even attracted the sponsorship of several corporations recently. I believe Ouroboros will be able to quickly set up shop in Gods Domain with Vice Guild Leader Cao leading us. At Blackhearted Arrows words, the executives supporting Cao Chenghua promptly raised their hands in agreement. As for the neutral executives and Grand Elders, their eyes briefly glowed when they heard Blackhearted Arrows words. Although Ouroboros currently had ample funding, if the Guild could acquire more funds, it would be able to further increase its strength. After all, establishing a foundation in a new game was incredibly important. The more investments a Guild made during the early game, the easier of a time it would have when developing in the future. When Cao Chenghua saw that over half of the people present had sided with him, his lips curled into a smile. Meanwhile, Blackhearted Arrow looked toward Gentle Snow and delightedly asked, May I know what is your opinion on this matter, Vice Guild Leader Qingxue? Chapter 2924 - SS6 – Gentle Snow (4) As soon as Blackhearted Arrow spoke, the branch managers present couldnt help but look at Gentle Snow sympathetically. They also couldnt help but admit that Cao Chenghua had made a decisive move. Not only did Cao Chenghua come to this meeting with ample preparations, but he had even bought the full support of Blackhearted Arrow, the Guilds Third Vice Guild Leader. In addition, half of the Guilds executives agreed with Cao Chenghuas suggestion. In such a situation, how could Gentle Snow, who lacked the support of investors, possibly compete against Cao Chenghua? At this time, one of the Grand Elders looked at Gentle Snow and sighed. Then, he said, Qingxue, we know that todays meeting is quite sudden. We also know the contributions youve made to the Guild. But for the sake of the Guilds future development in Gods Domain, we need to have a Guild Leader to oversee the Guilds affairs. Also, the matter this time relates to the Guilds continued existence. If we can secure the investments of several more corporations, Ouroboros will stand a greater chance in Gods Domain. As soon as this Grand Elder finished speaking, the other Grand Elders present also nodded in agreement. Before the advent of Gods Domain, they wouldnt have minded letting Gentle Snow and Cao Chenghua continue fighting over the position of Guild Leader. However, the Guild was currently stuck at a crossroads, and it was of utmost importance that the Guild had a Guild Leader. Meanwhile, the one most suitable for this position would naturally be the person capable of bringing the Guild to greater heights. And while it was indeed true that the previous Guild Leader had said to give his little sister four years to prove her eligibility to become Ouroboross next Guild Leader, that decision was inappropriate for the Guilds current circumstances. After scanning the faces of the Grand Elders, Gentle Snow fully understood that the five Grand Elders were greatly tempted by the potential investors Cao Chenghua could bring. So, she said, I understand. Its good that you understand. After all, times have changed already. So long as Ouroboros has a Guild Leader, we can surely surpass the other first-rate Guilds in Gods Domain, the Grand Elder said, nodding. However, in the next moment, Gentle Snow added, I had originally prepared over a thousand Basic Strength Potions and over three hundred Bronze Weapons and Equipment for the Guild, but now it seems that wont be necessary. Over a thousand Basic Strength Potions and three hundred Bronze Weapons and Equipment? The management personnel responsible for Gods Domain couldnt help but perk up their ears and look at Gentle Snow when they heard her words. To people who had never played Gods Domain before, they would most likely think nothing of Basic Strength Potions and Bronze Weapons and Equipment. However, for those who had played Gods Domain, they would know that let alone Bronze Weapons and Equipment, even Common Weapons and Equipment were incredibly difficult to acquire at this stage of the game. This was because Gods Domains drop-rate for weapons and equipment was absurdly low. The drop-rate was so terrible that any Common Weapon or Equipment that got into the market would get sold instantly. As for Bronze Weapons and Equipment, these were items all Guilds were eyeing desperately. Meanwhile, an arsenal of 300-plus Bronze Weapons and Equipment would be more than enough to form five 20-man elite teams, and these teams could start raiding Team Dungeons right away. As for the Basic Strength Potion, many people present had also heard of this item before. This was because it was an item players could obtain through obtaining Treasure Chests found near the various towns. When consumed, this potion provided players with a 6-point increase to the Strength Attribute. Thus, it was the perfect item for exploring high-level areas and raiding challenging Dungeons. However, as the Basic Strength Potions drop-rate was abysmally low, every bottle was sold on the market for astronomical prices. A supply of 1,000 Basic Strength Potions would be more than enough to let Ouroboross vanguard teams sweep through Team Dungeons several dozen times. If Ouroboros could have Gentle Snows mentioned supply of Basic Strength Potions and Bronze Equipment, the Guild could surpass the other first-rate Guilds by a large margin. This was especially true when it came to raiding Team Dungeons. At this time, Cao Chenghua and Blackhearted Arrow were also in disbelief as they looked at Gentle Snow. It should be known that Gentle Snow didnt have a lot of personnel on her side. With the numbers she had, it would be fortunate if she could even secure enough equipment for her subordinates. It shouldve been impossible for her to acquire so many additional Basic Strength Potions and Bronze Equipment. Over a thousand Basic Strength Potions and three hundred Bronze Weapons and Equipment? Blackhearted Arrow sneered as he looked at Gentle Snow. Vice Guild Leader Qingxue, I know youre dissatisfied over this matter, but its not good to make baseless claims. If you say you have a thousand Basic Strength Potions and three hundred Bronze Weapons and Equipment, I can just as easily say that I have two thousand Basic Strength Potions and six hundred Bronze Weapons and Equipment. I knew you people wouldnt be convinced. Zhao Yueru couldnt help but smile upon hearing Blackhearted Arrows words. Immediately, she pulled out a set of data from her quantum watch and transferred it into the meeting tables computer. As soon as she did so, the tables projector displayed many images relating to Gods Domain. The images shown were photos of Gentle Snows private warehouse, and inside her private warehouse lay a large number of Common and Bronze Weapons and Equipment. There were also piles of Basic Strength Potions sitting in the warehouse. Well? Weve shown our evidence now, so wheres yours? You bunch joined Gods Domain the same time as we did, so what achievements have you made so far? It was only because of their possession of the Basic Strength Potions recipes that their factions members could effortlessly raid Party Dungeons and achieve the current results they had. Zhao Yueru refused to believe that Cao Chenghua and co. were also capable of securing a limitless supply of Basic Strength Potions. Impossible! Blackhearted Arrow was dumbfounded when he saw the displayed images. He and Cao Chenghua had been playing Gods Domain since the game launched, yet even until now, their faction could barely secure enough equipment to gear a 20-man team. Yet, even though Gentle Snow had far fewer players on her side, her faction had acquired enough equipment to gear ten 20-man teams. How could anyone possibly believe this? This is still nothing. Well even be acquiring a large batch of Level 10 Mysterious-Iron Plate Armor sometime later, Zhao Yueru said, feeling indescribably pleased when she saw the astonished look on everyones faces. Once we equip the MTs of our 20-man teams with that plate armor, well have an even easier time raiding Team Dungeons. Though, looking at it now, it seems Qingxues abilities are limited, so well leave the Guilds preparation for raiding Team Dungeons to Vice Guild Leader Cao. After all, Vice Guild Leader Cao is very competent. Im sure he wont have any problems handling such a small matter. As soon as Zhao Yueru finished speaking, Cao Chenghuas complexion turned ashen. Many of the Guild Elders present also revealed complicated expressions. Cao Chenghua was indeed capable of bringing more investors to the Guild, which was something crucial for the Guilds development. However, the weapons, equipment, and potions in Gentle Snows possession were equally important. After all, so long as Ouroboros had these items, the Guild could surpass the other first-rate Guilds in Gods Domain. If Ouroboros could secure the First Clear of multiple Team Dungeons, it would be highly beneficial toward raising the Guilds reputation. Meanwhile, the benefits the Guild could reap from gaining such a reputation would be significantly greater than the benefits money could bring. At this time, one of the Elders on Cao Chenghuas side smiled and said, Yueru, dont say that. We never denied Qingxues ability. We were just having a discussion on the Guild Leaders position. Thats right. We were just discussing. See? We havent decided who will become the next Guild Leader yet, right? The other Guild Elders and branch managers also started speaking out one after another, making it look like the support they previously showed for Cao Chenghua had never happened. Seeing this, the five Grand Elders couldnt help but be dumbfounded. What was up with these people? Why did they suddenly start fawning over Gentle Snow one after another? No, no, Qingxues abilities are too lacking to succeed the position of Guild Leader, Zhao Yueru said, shaking her head. As for these weapons, equipment, and Basic Strength Potion, well keep them for ourselves. Everyone here can look for Vice Guild Leader Cao if youre interested in acquiring some for yourselves. The Elders and branch managers responsible for the Guilds affairs in Gods Domain couldnt help but be frustrated at Zhao Yuerus refusal to budge. However, the Basic Strength Potions and Bronze Weapons and Equipment were also too tempting for them to give up. Grand Elders, I propose we let Vice Guild Leader Qingxue become the Guild Leader! Vice Guild Leader Qingxue is already so capable despite being so young. The ex-Guild Leader has also appointed her as the acting Guild Leader. She couldnt be more suitable for the position! an Elder, who had succumbed to the temptation of items, said in a righteous tone. Thats right! Ive long since known that Vice Guild Leader Qingxue wouldnt disappoint us! I, too, recommend we let Vice Guild Leader Qingxue become the next Guild Leader! an older Guild Elder said with a gratified expression. When Cao Chenghua and Blackhearted Arrow saw that more than half of the Guilds executives had switched to Gentle Snows side, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. They were especially confounded by the actions of the several Guild Elders that had suggested for Gentle Snow to become the next Guild Leader. These people had been saying that Gentle Snow was unsuitable for the position just a few minutes ago. Yet, now, they were standing on Gentle Snows side Meanwhile, when the several Grand Elders saw this situation, they couldnt help but suspect that the Guilds executives had lost their minds! Since when did these people support Gentle Snow so strongly? Had they been in support of Gentle Snow all this time, there wouldnt have been any point in holding a competition for the Guild Leader position in the first place! After pondering for a moment, the leading Grand Elder helplessly shook his head and said, Since everyone cant make up their minds right now, well temporarily set aside the decision to choose a Guild Leader. However, it still doesnt change the fact that Ouroboros will now be fully invested in Gods Domain, so head back and make the necessary preparations! After the Grand Elder finished speaking, the meeting also came to an end. And as soon as the meeting was over, many of the Guild executives present ran to Gentle Snows side, every one of them hoping to receive some support from Gentle Snow. Consider yourself lucky! But dont think this matter will end like this! Cao Chenghua said, sending Gentle Snow a glare before leaving the meeting room. Meanwhile, after the meeting, Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru returned to their shared bedroom in the Guild headquarters. Zhao Yueru also couldnt help but cheer in delight when she recalled Cao Chenghuas unsightly defeat today. Yueru, its not time for celebrations yet, Gentle Snow said as she looked at the delight on her friends face. Then, she revealed a bitter smile and continued, Cao Chenghua has plenty of financial support, so he will develop rapidly in Gods Domain. We will have to accelerate our progress if we want to continue beating him. Youre right. Zhao Yueru nodded. Go get ready. Well need to make some achievements in tomorrows Dark Moon Graveyard raid, Gentle Snow said with a solemn look on her face. Initially, Gentle Snow thought that she still had some buffer time. However, now that Cao Chenghuas faction had secured significant financial support, her faction would need to secure the First Clear of a Team Dungeon at the very least. Otherwise, with the manpower under her command, there was no way she could compete against Cao Chenghua in Gods Domain. Afterward, Gentle Snow and Zhao Yueru logged into Gods Domain once more. Chapter 2925 - SS7 – Fire Dance (2) Chapter 2925 SS7 C Fire Dance (2) In a certain forest path located near the Dark Moon Graveyard Fire Dance frenziedly charged toward the forests center after entering Stealth. Meanwhile, Water Buffalo closely followed after her. As they moved closer and closer to the Dark Moon Graveyard, located at the forests center, Water Buffalo grew more and more frightened. Martial Union was but an unrated Guild. Logically, the Guild shouldnt have too many of its members gathered in a place like Red Leaf Town during the beginning stages of the game. However, the number of Martial Union members they came across only continued to increase as they moved closer to the Dark Moon Graveyard. Initially, they only counted a handful of Martial Union members. After some time, that number had increased to several dozen. Moreover, these players were all relatively geared, with some of them even having up to three pieces of Bronze Equipment. When they arrived at the Dark Moon Graveyards entrance, the Martial Union members they counted had already exceeded a hundred. Seeing this, Water Buffalo couldnt help but break out in cold sweat. He was terrified that Fire Dance would impulsively pick a fight with Martial Unions members. If that happened, they would be all but dead meat. When Water Buffalo was about to walk out of the forest, Fire Dance, clad in dark-red leather armor, suddenly appeared before him. Currently, she stood beside a large tree, quietly observing the distant Martial Union members every action. Big Sis Fire! Water Buffalo anxiously called out to Fire Dance when he saw the eager look on her face. Dont tell me youre planning on taking action? Water Buffalo had a good understanding of Fire Dance, so he knew she was incredibly protective of her companions. Now that Martial Unions members had targeted Little Seven, Fire Dance would definitely try to teach them a lesson. The next moment, Fire Dance turned around and rolled her eyes at Water Buffalo. Then, she said, Do you think of me as a fool? Cant you see how many experts they have here? Water Buffalo sighed in relief when he heard Fire Dances words. Though, it seems that these people from Martial Union are planning on taking action against Ouroboross members that just came out of the Dungeon, Fire Dance said as she looked at the 20-man team Martial Unions members currently surrounded. Then, narrowing her eyes, she continued, If they start fighting, do you think those 20 players will agree if we offer them our help in exchange for a Secret-Silver Equipment from the Dark Moon Graveyard? The 20 players Martial Unions members currently surrounded all possessed blindingly excellent equipment. Every one of them had more than one piece of Mysterious-Iron Equipment, something that was incredibly rare in Red Leaf Town. A few of them even had Secret-Silver Equipment. This group was definitely unique in Red Leaf Town. When Water Buffalo took a look at the team of 20, he couldnt help but break out in cold sweat as he said, I think thats going to be difficult. That beauty standing in the front is Gentle Snow, one of Ouroboross Vice Guild Leaders. Thats a bona fide first-rate Guilds Vice Guild Leader were talking about. If we try to take advantage of their predicament, Im afraid well have trouble mingling in Red Leaf Town in the future Grow a pair, will you? Fire Dance said as he looked at Water Buffalo in contempt. Im offering to save them here. Is it too much to ask for just one Secret-Silver Equipment as compensation? Fire Dance was wholly confident in her own skills. While she couldnt face multiple Level 5 experts in a frontal confrontation simultaneously, she could distract and kill at least a dozen of Martial Unions members by herself if she relied on guerilla warfare. If she included Water Buffalos assistance, the two of them should have no problems dealing with 20 Martial Union members. Among Martial Unions members, the only person who could be considered a threat would be Ironsword Lion. If it was a one-on-one fight, Fire Dance had a high chance of beating him. However, if Ironsword Lion had the help of even one Level 5 expert, then she would have no choice but to flee. Meanwhile, during the time Fire Dance was pondering how she could extort a piece of Secret-Silver Equipment from Ouroboros, Martial Unions Ironsword Lion suddenly let loose an angry roar. Immediately afterward, every one of Martial Unions members in the area charged toward Ouroboross 20-man team. What?! Theyre taking action already?! My Secret-Silver Equipment! Fire Dance panicked a little when she saw that both Guilds had started clashing already. Secret-Silver Equipment was the highest-quality equipment players could acquire at this stage of the game. So long as she could get her hands on a piece, it would substantially increase her Basic Attributes and boost her leveling efficiency by a large margin. However, shortly after the clash between Martial Union and Ouroboros began, Fire Dance and Water Buffalo couldnt help but be dumbfounded by what they saw. Logically, Martial Union, which had an absolute superiority in numbers, shouldve had the upper hand in this fight. However, in reality, what happened was the exact opposite as Ouroboross 20-man team cut apart Martial Unions members as if they were chopping vegetables. Zhao Yueru, the woman clad in red robes, especially stood out. Just one of her Fireballs could take away half of a Shield Warriors HP. And whenever she cast an AOE Spell, she would claim the lives of several players. Equally as astonishing was Gentle Snow. Clad in silver armor, she looked like a Goddess of War as she brandished her greatsword on the battlefield and claimed the head of an enemy player with her every swing. On the occasions she executed Whirlwind Slash, a large group of Martial Union members would fall simultaneously. None of Martial Unions members could put up any resistance against her After witnessing the performance of Ouroboross members, Water Buffalo gulped nervously and looked at Fire Dance. Big Sis Fire, youre not really going to try and extort a Secret-Silver Equipment from them, right? Although he had long since heard of Gentle Snow, he didnt think she was so powerful as to kill Level 5 experts as if she was cutting up vegetables. If they were to try and extort a piece of Secret-Silver Equipment from the Snow Goddess, they would probably not live to see the sun tomorrow. What are you talking about? What Secret-Silver Equipment? While looking at the dead Martial Union members laying around Gentle Snow, Fire Dance pretended to be calm and said, I only said that their Secret-Silver Equipment looked good and that it would be great if I can own a piece as well. You best not cause them to misunderstand! I am a very upright Assassin! Water Buffalo: While Gentle Snow and Ouroboross other members were slaughtering Martial Unions members, a person of average height suddenly charged into Martial Unions rear line. Then, this person started slaughtering Martial Unions healers. In the blink of an eye, every one of Martial Unions dozen or so healers had fallen. Seeing this, Ironsword Lion let loose an angry bellow and charged at that person with his greatsword wielded. However, the next moment, another shocking scene occurred. The mysterious assailant had repulsed Ironsword Lions greatsword with one of his one-handed swords with just a simple movement. Then, this person appeared behind Ironsword Lion and began brandishing his two swords, instantly sending eight sword images cutting at Ironsword Lion. Although Ironsword Lion had reacted quickly, he only managed to block six of the sword images and ended up losing more than half of his HP to the remaining two attacks. From just this single exchange, the difference between both sides was as clear as day. Realizing that he was at a disadvantage, Ironsword Lion promptly turned around and fled after downing a Regeneration Potion. However, before he could get anywhere, three gleaming slashes claimed the rest of his HP. Just like that, in less than three seconds, one of Red Leaf Towns top experts had died Crap! Who is that guy?! Thats Ironsword Lion were talking about! Water Buffalo nearly had his eyes fall out of his sockets when he saw Ironsword Lion dying. Ironsword Lion was one of Martial Unions executives. His combat power was not much inferior compared to Fire Dance. The fact that the mysterious assailant had managed to kill Ironsword Lion so effortlessly meant that he could also do the same for Fire Dance. However, Gods Domain had only launched recently. Therefore, there should hardly be any difference in Basic Attributes between expert players. Let alone killing someone in two moves, an expert would be amazing if they could even kill another expert within a dozen moves. Meanwhile, shock also filled Fire Dances heart as she watched the mysterious assailant collect the equipment Ironsword Lion dropped. Ye Feng, is it? Chapter 2926 - SS8 – Aqua Rose (2) Blackwing City, Business District: Gods Domain had only launched recently, so the teleportation array for NPC cities hadnt even been activated yet. When Aqua Rose arrived in Blackwing City, she was deeply astounded by the citys majesty and prosperity. Not only did tall buildings cover the city, but the number of NPCs roaming the streets also far exceeded that of any town Aqua Rose had visited before. Moreover, these NPCs were even capable of conversing with each other and expressing emotions. If it werent for the NPC symbol hovering above their heads, she wouldve mistakenly assumed that this place was a real world instead of a virtual world. Blackwing Citys Business District dazzled Aqua Rose especially. Unlike in the various NPC towns, players were prohibited from setting up street stalls in Blackwing City. If one wished to sell their items, one would have to do so through the Auction House or own a Shop. The scale of trade between Blackwing City and NPC towns was utterly different. I really have to thank Ice this time. As Aqua Rose observed the Shops around her, she started mentally strategizing the actions she needed to take once she reached Level 10 and gained access to NPC cities. If other NPC cities followed Blackwing Citys business model, Shops would undoubtedly become the target of contention for Guilds in the future. The Shops located in the various cities main streets would be especially invaluable. If she could take proper advantage of the knowledge she just gained, it would definitely allow her to surpass her rivals once players started making their way into NPC cities. While collecting all sorts of information on NPC cities, Aqua Rose also inspected the various items Blackwing City had to offer, and she couldnt help but be shocked by what she saw. Unlike NPC towns, the variety and quality of items Blackwing City sold were many times superior. There was even a Magic Shop that sold Magic Scrolls unavailable in NPC towns. However, what shocked Aqua Rose even more was the actions of a cloaked man. Aqua Rose had encountered this cloaked man in the Blackwing Auction House, and he had spent over 50 Gold on a measly Skill Book. The degree of his wealth was so astonishing that even Aqua Rose, the Honorary Elder of a first-rate Guild, couldnt help but be in awe. Moreover, after further observation, Aqua Rose found that this man was an independent player; he wasnt affiliated with any Guild. It should be known that she carried only 15 Gold Coins on her person, and this was the result of after taking additional funds from the Branch Guild she oversaw. Had she not done so, she wouldnt even have three Gold Coins right now Meanwhile, after further investigating this cloaked man, Aqua Rose couldnt help but be given a fright. Star-Moon Kingdoms Chief Forger, Black Flame! Not only was this man the pioneer of a piece of Bronze Equipments design, but he was even the manufacturer of the Secret-Silver Weapon Silver Dawn. Aqua Rose always believed that it was to her benefit to befriend capable people. This was especially true if the other party was a master capable of producing Secret-Silver rank items. In the Storm Empire, talents of such caliber probably did not exceed a handful. So, Aqua Rose gritted her teeth and decided to treat this master to a meal, which ended up costing her more than 30 Silver Coins. Although she found this price to be heart-wrenching, she had no choice but to pretend like it didnt faze her. Fortunately, Aqua Roses self-proclaimed superb acting skills did not fail her, and she successfully avoided making a fool of herself in front of Black Flame. On the contrary, the other party appeared very interested in her. She even succeeded in acquiring a business deal that even the first-rate Guild Bloodthirsty Wargod had failed to acquire. As icing on the cake, this was a deal that was highly beneficial to her, as she only needed to pay ten Gold Coins to acquire 500 Glimmer Chestplate Designs. Although Aqua Rose also had to pay 17.88 million Credits on the spot and an additional 65 Gold Coins within the following month, she still deemed this transaction to be the most successful business deal she had ever made in her life. Hehe, lets see what my old man has to say now! After sending off Black Flame, Aqua Rose couldnt help but laugh in glee as she looked at the Glimmer Chestplate Designs in her bag. The Glimmer Chestplates production was simple and cheap. In the current era where Bronze Equipment was still relatively rare, the Glimmer Chestplate Design was definitely an object of contention for the various powers. If she were to sell these designs in the Storm Empires various towns, she was confident she could earn several thousand Gold Coins without trouble. This was a sum of money that even Super Guilds had trouble acquiring! Needless to say, Twilight Echo could benefit substantially from having such a large sum of money. Baidi City, Restaurant Brilliance: Aqua Rose stepped out of a maglev car parked in front of the restaurant. Clad in a white dress, she looked like a fairy as she walked toward the restaurant entrance. The moment she stepped into the restaurant, the bustling establishment instantly fell silent. Whether it was the young men and women here to attend their class reunion or the restaurants other guests, everyone found themselves inadvertently turning to stare at Aqua Rose. They were all deeply attracted by Aqua Roses appearance and temperament. After entering the restaurant, Aqua Rose approached a woman standing by the door. Unlike Aqua Rose, though, this other woman wore a light-blue T-shirt and shorts. She also covered most of her face with a jet-black baseball cap. Upon reaching this other woman, Aqua Rose extended her arms and embraced her from behind without hesitation, giving the other party a scare. Xiangxiang, did you get fatter? Aqua Rose asked as she pinched the other womans willowy waist, her voice filled with serious concern. Upon seeing this scene, everyone in the restaurant couldnt help but salivate. This was because everyone just realized that the woman in the light-blue T-shirt was actually a beauty comparable to Aqua Rose. The only reason they failed to notice her beauty before was because of the baseball cap she wore. However, after Aqua Rose bumped into the woman and knocked off her cap, her beauty also became exposed for all to see. Meanwhile, after receiving a fierce glare from Shuang Wugui, also known as Unyielding Ice, Aqua Rose awkwardly released her hands and dared not fool around anymore. After seeing the anger in her friends eyes, she knew that should she go any further, she would end up becoming a panda, just like she did in the past. After all, her friend was not one to show mercy to even beautiful women Meanwhile, Unyielding Ice started scrutinizing Aqua Rose. When she failed to find any of the distress she had previously seen on her friends face, she said in surprise, It seems that Glimmer Chestplate Design you mentioned through the phone has earned you a lot of money. Your complexion looks much better than before. Yeah! Even I didnt expect the design to be so popular! Ive already made 3,000 Gold Coins thus far! You can call me Miss Tycoon from now on! Aqua Rose gleefully said. Neither the Guild Leader nor those Elders know how much money I have right now. Once I reach Level 10, Ill be able to swipe the Lands and Shops of NPC cities and make an even bigger killing! How carefree you are, Miss Tycoon, Unyielding Ice said, rolling her eyes. Then, she lowered her voice and continued, I just received some information stating that many of your Guilds Grand Elders are voicing their opinions on how much Credits and Guild resources youve spent. Theyre just jealous, Aqua Rose said nonchalantly. Also, now that youre doing so well, Im guessing that Brilliant Wargod wont be able to sit still for much longer. Eventually, he might even make use of his familys strength to harass you, Unyielding Ice said. While doing so, she also sent a glance at a robust young man, who was sneaking glances at Aqua Rose. This youth was none other than Brilliant Wargod. If he decides to take action, hell probably strike at your relationship with Black Flame. After all, Black Flame is an independent player without any backing. He indeed will take action, Aqua Rose said, nodding. However, she quickly smiled and added, But if he tries to go against that person, hell probably be humiliating himself. Unyielding Ice couldnt help but be a little surprised by Aqua Roses words. She didnt think that her friend would be so confident in the person known as Black Flame. This aroused her interest in Black Flame, and she couldnt help but wonder what kind of person he was. However, it didnt take long for Unyielding Ice to know more about Black Flame. On the second day after the class reunion ended, she received shocking news from her informant in Twilight EchoBrilliant Wargod had fallen from Level 9 to Level 0 Chapter 2927 - Alt.end Chapter 1 C Waking Up After Ten Years Jin Hai City, business district: Many high-rise buildings and all kinds of luxury goods shops occupied both sides of the street. Young men and women dressed in fashionable clothing also walked the street in groups of twos and threes. Occasionally, one could also see luxurious, levitating supercars roaring through the street, earning the envious and yearnful gazes of many young men and women. Despite today being a rest day, people crowded the business districts central plaza. At this time, dozens of handsome men and women could be seen holding various street performances by one of the central plazas fountains. These performers either danced or sang. Paired with the use of vivid, holographic images, they managed to attract a lot of spectators. Among them, the most popular performer was a female singer singing Gods Domains theme song. The singer also paired her performance with the holographic promotional video for Gods Domains latest expansion pack War of Worlds. The video depicted the World Passage activating and the soldiers of two worlds clashing frenziedly on the battlefield. Tens of millions of people fought on the battlefield, and all sorts of Flying Ships and war weapons could be seen deployed to battle. Everyone was fighting desperately for the survival of their respective worlds. The spectacular scene caused the spectators blood to boil in excitement. Meanwhile, along with the ending of the song, the advertising screen hovering above the central plaza also began broadcasting todays news. Greetings, everyone! This is the Gods Domain Morning News! Greetings, everyone! This is the Gods Domain Morning News! Our first news of the day comes from our citys Shadow Guild! Shadow has already announced that it will be merging into the Super Guild World Domination effectively today, becoming World Dominations 73rd Affiliated Guild! Along with this merger, Shadow will also welcome Gu Yiren as its new Guild Leader! Gu Yiren is one of World Dominations rising stars, and he expresses that Shadow will make far better progress than it has before under his command. In addition, Gu Yiren states that Shadow will, under World Dominations support, establish a new city in the Flame Woodland located outside the World Train, and he welcomes everyone with ambition to apply for the Guild. He also promises to bring Shadow into the ranks of first-rate Guilds as soon as possible! Next, a quick news from our city! Dazzle Wave Workshop, one of the top three workshops in Fenglin City, will be signing a contract with Wu Xiaoxiao, the champion of our citys Talented Rookie Tournament, on August 26, 2139. The head of Dazzle Wave has stated that he would use the best resources available to nurture Wu Xiaoxiao. Not only will Wu Xiaoxiao receive a guaranteed annual salary of 100 million CRedits, but she will also receive the best Legacies Dazzle Wave has to offer! Last but not least, she will also receive a fully-customized Epic Set Equipment to aid her in reaching Tier 5 as soon as possible! When the people in the plaza heard the news report on Wu Xiaoxiao, many of them revealed looks of envy. In the current age, if one were to ask which profession would earn one a fortune the quickest, 9,999 out of 10,000 people would answer being a professional player in Gods Domain. As those who answered otherwise, they needed to get their heads checked. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also stood among the crowd of people in the plaza. Currently, he wore a casual, light-blue T-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants. His hair was in a mess, and his face looked slightly pale. At first glance, he looked like someone who frequently worked overtime. As Shi Feng stared at the news bulletin hovering above the plaza, a bitter smile formed on his face as he muttered, Fate really knows how to mess with people. Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he stared at the time displayed on the news bulletin. Although this was a time period similar to the one he remembered, the news report he heard caused his heart to grow restless. Previously, he had returned ten years into the past, created his own Guild, and developed it into the number one Guild in Gods Domain. He had even gotten promoted into a Tier 6 Sword God, an achievement he had only dreamed of accomplishing before he went back in time. Afterward, to protect his own world, he had even set foot into a new world and continued his fight there. Ten years! Ten whole years! He had re-lived ten whole years! Yet, as if playing a joke on him, fate had suddenly returned him to his original world, the world he resided in before he got reincarnated. Everything in this world was just like before he had reincarnated. After wasting ten years of his life struggling for Shadow, not only did he get removed from the Guild, but he even had his account deleted. Now, he was nothing but an unemployed, 32-year-old uncle. The only fortunate thing was that he wasnt completely broke. At the very least, he had a villa situated in a high-class residential district and five million Credits in the bank, so he shouldnt have any trouble getting by for the short term. When Shi Feng first returned to this world, he had trouble telling which world was real, and which world was a dream. If he were to say that his current world was the real one, it didnt make sense for him to remember everything about the previous world so vividly. Even now, he could recall the many events, both big and small, that had taken place in the previous world. Moreover, after he returned, although his 32-year-old body was still as terrible as he remembered it to be, his mental state was surprisingly excellent. The level of control he could exert over his physical body far exceeded that of the average neutralizing grandmaster. In fact, he was already nearing the mental strength master standard. If he were to say that his current world was a dream, then it didnt make sense why he couldnt wake up from this dream. Not to mention, the hidden injuries he had sustained during his early years of training still remained on his body. The only thing that confused Shi Feng was the sword scar left over his heart. From what he could recall, he had never sustained an injury at that location, let alone getting cut by a sword there. This would definitely be a fatal injury. Moreover, in the real world, even if fights occurred, people would fight using their fists and legs; they wouldnt use weapons at all. Most importantly, whenever Shi Feng tried to remember how he got this scar, he would get a massive headache that made him feel as if his brain was about to explode. Because of this, he had no choice but to abandon thinking of this matter. The reason why my brain cant withstand that segment of my memories is probably because my mental strength is too weak. So long as I raise my mental strength, I should be able to recall that memory, Shi Feng deduced based on his past experiences. There were times when he would also experience headaches when trying to learn complex Legacies in Gods Domain. However, once he raised his Concentration standard to a sufficiently high level, he no longer experiences those headaches. Although Shi Feng couldnt tell whether this world was real or fake right now, he felt that the scar over his heart should be of significant importance. It might even be related to his return to this world. It seems Ill have to find opportunities to improve my mental strength. Shi Feng began carefully planning his future actions. The loss of his memories made Shi Feng feel extremely uncomfortable. If he didnt properly look into it, he wouldnt even be able to sleep well. While Shi Feng was seated on a stone bench in the plaza and pondering how he should go about improving his mental strength, a middle-aged man wearing a suit and leather collar ran up to him in a hurry. Meanwhile, this middle-aged, tanned-skin man was none other than Blackie, the person who had fought alongside Shi Feng in Gods Domain for many years. However, compared to the Blackie in the previous world, the Blackie in front of Shi Feng had been stuck working in Shadows management for the past ten years. Hence, he had already gained a rotund belly and a chubby face. If the Blackie in the other world found out about this, he would probably have a mental breakdown Brother Feng! I finally found you! What have you been up to recently? Blackie asked as he looked at Shi Feng with a reproachful gaze. You never answered any of my calls, and you werent home when I went to look for you! For a moment, I even thought you wanted to take the short way out! You really worried me! Lan Hailong might be garbage, but theres no need for you to despair, Brother Feng! Dont forget that your skills still remain! Even if youve lost your account, you can easily retrain one with your skills! Theres no need to do any stupid things! Looking at Blackies anxious expression, Shi Feng faintly smiled and said, Relax; Im fine. How about you? Is everything alright on your side? The newly designated Guild Leader will probably try to replace old employees like you. Now that youre out here during work hours, hell have even more reason to fire you. Im just a small time manager in the Guild. Theres no way that genius from World Domination will bother with me, Blackie said, clicking his tongue. Then, he nonchalantly continued, What do you plan on doing next, Brother Feng? You dont have a character in Gods Domain anymore, so you cant make use of your skills. How about I have some of the Guilds experts power-level you? It wont take more than a month for you to reach Level 100, Tier 3. Afterward, you can find an opportunity to take revenge on Lan Hailong. Gods Domain had already been in operation for ten years now. So long as a player had someone to power-level them, and the player themself had sufficient skills, reaching Tier 3 within a short period was a piece of cake. In fact, many workshops in Gods Domain were providing such power-leveling services. After all, there were many players in Gods Domain who had failed to complete an Epic Quest and had their accounts crippled. So, getting Shi Feng to a high level wasnt a problem at all. The only problem would be getting him weapons and equipment that rivaled the ones he previously used. No need for all that trouble, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The most recent expansion pack is starting soon. I heard that once it takes effect, players who used to own a Level 150, Tier 3 character or above can take the systems trial and get directly promoted to Level 100, Tier 3. Ill just take that route instead. I guess youre right. Blackie nodded in agreement after recalling this matter. This is a much faster way of leveling up. When that time comes, Ill have someone prepare you a set of Level 100 Epic Equipment. No need to hurry for that, Shi Feng said. Didnt you tell me before that Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy is recruiting instructors before? Now that Gods Domain had already become a part of everyones lives, most universities in the world would provide specialized education on Gods Domain to students. These education programs were funded by the various corporations, and they were meant to nurture students into elite and expert players. These students would then become the new blood that supported these various corporations. Meanwhile, Jin Hai Citys Jin Hai University was one such university. Jin Hai University had even received funding from an international corporation this year, hence it expanded its Gods Domain education program. And because of this expansion, the university was now offering high salaries to recruit Gods Domains experts to serve as instructors or trainers. To Shi Feng, this was definitely an opportunity he could capitalize on. The resources international corporations had access to far surpassed the likes of ordinary Guilds. They even had access to resources that couldnt be acquired by the general public. Although Shi Feng currently had five million Credits in the bank, without the necessary connections, he wouldnt be able to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids to improve his physical fitness and recover his vitality. However, if he became an instructor at Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy, he might gain a connection to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids. If he could mend the hidden injuries in his body and improve his physical fitness, he would have an easier time improving his mental strength standard. Otherwise, with his current bodys standard, he wouldnt be able to improve his mental strength even if he trained for another 20 years. Thats correct. The Academy has even sent people over hoping that some of our frontline experts can work part-time there. But the Guilds frontline experts are too busy. They barely have enough time nurturing the Guilds newcomers, let alone other people, Blackie said, nodding. Then, he curiously asked, Brother Feng, do you plan on going there? Mhm, Im thinking of paying it a visit, Shi Feng said, not bothering to hide his intentions. After all, he currently had nothing noteworthy in his possession. Blackie sighed in relief upon hearing Shi Fengs words. Then, he said, Alright, Ill get things straightened out for you, then. When the time comes, all you need to do is report directly at the Academy. Two days later, on the 24th of August, 2139 Shi Feng, in his tracksuit, arrived back at his starting point ten years later! Chapter 2928 - Alt.end When Shi Feng entered the school grounds of Jin Hai University, he found that the place looked the same as ten years ago. He could feel the air of youthfulness all around and hear the insects reverberating under the scorching sun. Although the new semester had yet to start, many students could already be seen doing either self-studies in the library or participating in club activities. The small plaza by the universitys entrance was especially crowded due to the registration booths set up there. Many university applicants accompanied by their parents could be seen lining up in front of these booths. Meanwhile, among the many registration booths, the one for the Gods Domain Academy was, without a doubt, the most popular. There were easily over a hundred applicants waiting for their turn in front of the booth. None of the other registration booths could come close to competing with this number. While Jin Hai City might be an inconspicuous third-tier city, Jin Hai University was one of the more well-known universities throughout the country as its Gods Domain Academy had produced many talents. In the current era where Gods Domain had become a part of human life, Jin Hai Universitys performance would naturally attract the attention of many. Not to mention, Shadow, one of Jin Hai Citys top four Workshops, also originated from Jin Hai University. This contributed even more to the universitys fame. Moreover, for those who successfully get accepted into the Gods Domain Academy, not only would they receive the guidance and nurturing rivaling what large Guilds provided, but they would also get to enjoy the freedom of independent players. After graduation, students of the Academy were also almost guaranteed to become internal members of large Guilds, receiving priority nurturing and a salary far surpassing white-collared workers. And if one was fortunate enough to pass the Gods Domain Professional League Selection during their school years, one could also become a professional fighter, an entity akin to a celebrity. Meanwhile, professional fighters were existences that even Super Guilds sought to recruit. This was also one of the primary sources Gods Domains various superpowers recruited their internal members from. After all, even the various superpowers were limited in their ability to recruit talented people. It was inevitable for the various superpowers to let some talents slip out of their radar. Hence, the Gods Domain Professional League was an excellent way to catch these talents. After Shi Feng strolled around the familiar yet foreign school compound, he made his way to the Academic Affairs Office to register himself. And because of Blackies strong recommendation, Shi Feng got to bypass the many troublesome reviews and got directly hired as a junior instructor of the Gods Domain Academy. Instructor Shi, our Gods Domain Academy imposes much less restriction compared to that of rival academies, especially when it comes to our instructors. We do not look at a persons academic qualifications or history; we only look at their current abilities, Lin Yaoyue, the Gods Domain Academys director and a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, explained to Shi Feng. You might be Shadows ex-Guild Leader, but we cannot provide you with any special treatment. You will be treated like any other junior instructor. You wont need to hold lectures every day; you only need to hold two lectures a week. When you plan to hold a lecture, you need to notify one of the counselors one day in advance, then the counselor will make the necessary arrangements for you. As to whether the students are willing to attend your lectures, that will depend on your personal charm. If it were the past Gods Domain Academy, someone of Shi Fengs stature wouldve been given the VIP treatment. However, that was no longer the case now. Now that Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy had received investments from major corporations, even current Guild Leaders of second-rate Guilds were of little significance to the Academy. After all, many Guild executives of large Guilds were now frantically trying to apply for a position in the Academy in the hopes of forming a connection with the Academys investors. If Shi Feng werent Shadows ex-Guild Leader, he wouldve had to go through a series of rigorous tests before he could become an instructor in the Gods Domain Academy. Not to mention, even after struggling in Gods Domain for ten years, Shi Feng had failed to even reach Tier 4. Only those who had reached Tier 4 could be considered an expert in Gods Domains upper echelons in the current Gods Domain. As for Tier 3 experts, they could be found everywhere in Gods Domain. At most, these existences could strut around in small kingdoms. In regards to the benefits offered to junior instructors, you will receive a monthly salary of 20,000 Credits and free access to the Academys basic training facilities. While the Academy also has state-of-the-art training facilities and resources, you will have to exchange for those using Academy Points. An example of one of the available resources would be the popular S-rank Nutrient Fluid; each bottle will cost one million points. There are two main ways for you to acquire Academy Points. The first way is to hold lectures. A junior instructor will receive ten points for each participating student per lecture, whereas intermediate instructors will receive twenty points, and senior instructors will receive fifty points. The second way is to take in students as apprentices and train them. This is also the quickest method to acquire Academy Points. If you can get a willing student to become your apprentice and guide them, every level your apprentice manages to progress in the Trial Tower will award you with a large amount of Academy Points. If your apprentice reaches the expert standard, which is the early stage of the towers fifth floor, you will be awarded 20,000 points. If your apprentice reaches the sixth floors early stage, then you will receive 100,000 points. Simultaneously, apprentices also play a role in an instructors promotion. Only instructors who have successfully guided three apprentices to the sixth floors early stage can become intermediate instructors. Meanwhile, only intermediate instructors and above qualify to exchange for S-rank Nutrient Fluids; junior instructors dont have the qualification to do so. Shi Feng was a little surprised when he heard Lin Yaoyues explanation. He didnt think that the current Jin Hai University had become so wealthy and generous. An intermediate instructor, is it? Initially, Shi Feng thought he would have to become a senior instructor at the Academy before being qualified to exchange for S-rank Nutrient Fluids. After all, that was a resource that even master-level fighters had difficulty getting their hands on. In the current market where supply couldnt meet demand, one couldnt get an S-rank Nutrient Fluid even for the price of one million Credits per bottle. By the time Lin Yaoyue was done explaining the Gods Domain Academy to Shi Feng, the two of them had also arrived at the Academys testing area for new students. The Gods Domain Academy functioned as a place to nurture talents for Gods Domains various powers, so it was only natural for the Academy to take the path of the elite in its education method. Rather than treating its students equally, it would allocate resources to its students depending on their talent and capabilities. After all, the Academy had limited resources. Hence, after students registered for the Gods Domain Academy, they would have to undergo a test. To put it simply, new students would have to challenge the classical Trial Tower of Gods Domain. This was also the best method to test a persons combat standards. Instructor Luo Tiancheng, this is our new teacher, Instructor Shi Feng, Lin Yaoyue said, introducing Shi Feng to a bald and robust middle-aged man standing in the testing area. I still have other matters to attend to, so I hope you can introduce Instructor Shi Feng to the matters here. No problem, Luo Tiancheng said. Then, glancing at Shi Feng, he smiled and continued, Instructor Shi Feng and I are old buddies! Leave it to me! Hearing this, Shi Feng also glanced at Luo Tiancheng, faintly recalling that he was acquainted with such a person in this life. From what Shi Feng could remember, Luo Tiancheng was one of Shadows frontline experts, and he was someone nearly touching upon the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. He was also one of Lan Hailongs trusted aides. Shi Feng never thought that the man would come here to become an instructor. Since youre acquaintances, then Ill leave it to you, Lin Yaoyue said, nodding before leaving the testing area immediately. She had no interest whatsoever in the affairs of junior instructors. What she cared more about was the improvement of her own strength. Meanwhile, after Lin Yaoyue left, Luo Tiancheng put on a big grin as he shifted his sights toward Shi Feng. Then, in a sarcastic tone, Luo Tiancheng said, Instructor Shi Feng! No, I mean Guild Leader Shi Feng! I really didnt expect we would meet at this place. Im even a little surprised to see that our Guilds Sword Magician would fall to the extent of becoming a measly junior instructor at this place. Director Lan will probably cry if he finds out about this. Shi Feng did not get angry at Luo Tianchengs comment. Instead, he calmly said, Its okay. This Gods Domain Academy is much better than I thought. Also, arent you here as well? After having reincarnated twice, Shi Feng no longer felt anything toward the rise and fall of his life. At most, he would just have to start from scratch. Although the starting conditions for a new independent player in the current Gods Domain were different from when Gods Domain first launched, Shi Feng had a much better start than other independent players. After all, he got to enjoy the benefits the Gods Domain Academy offered. The resources he had access to were much better than most newcomers in the current Gods Domain. Dont think of celebrating just yet. Sneering, Luo Tiancheng said, This Academy isnt as easy of a place to survive in as you think. Director Lin probably didnt tell you this, but every junior instructor will need to recruit twenty apprentices when the new students officially enroll in the Academy. And if you fail to do so before the new semester begins, youll have to get lost! There were currently less than three days before the new semester officially began. Most importantly, today was the last day for new students to register and get themselves tested. Hence, after today, the difficulty of recruiting apprentices would increase exponentially. Not to mention, all new students would immediately seek apprenticeship from an instructor as soon as they completed their test. After all, the instructor they chose to apprentice under played a vital role in their subsequent education and development in Gods Domain. Otherwise, they would have to rely on attending theoretical classes while playing solo in Gods Domain. Moreover, because of the Gods Domain Academy receiving investments from major corporations, the Academy had also gained many junior instructors. There simply werent enough students to share between all of these instructors. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was nothing but a fired Guild Leader. He had no connections or resources to speak of in Gods Domain. He didnt even have his account anymore. And even if he did, he had also only reached Tier 3 during his peak. With practically nothing to his name, how could he possibly compete against the various large Guilds executives in gaining apprentices? Chapter 2929 - Chapter 3 – Changing Environment Shi Feng frowned a little when he heard Luo Tianchengs words. Lin Yaoyue had left in quite a haste just now, and she had indeed forgotten to mention this important detail to him. Or, to put it in another way, she found it awkward to bring up this condition to Shi Feng, hence she left it to Luo Tiancheng, one of Shi Fengs old buddies. The main reason why many students were willing to apply to the Gods Domain Academy instead of taking the application tests of large Guilds and becoming their internal members was because of the Academys instructors. The Gods Domain Academy wasnt paying a high price to hire expert players as instructors solely to teach the Academys students. Instead, the Academy also depended on these expert players to support its students. After all, newcomers to Gods Domain would have nothing to their name. They also had nobody to rely on for help. Meanwhile, the Academys instructors were players who had mingled in Gods Domain for many years. They were bound to have amassed a wealth of resources in the game, which would help make up for the Gods Domain Academys lack of resources in the game. With the support of expert players, newcomers to Gods Domain could not only integrate with the game world quickly, but they also wouldnt have to worry about leveling up or upgrading their equipment. Moreover, in the sixth year of Gods Domains operation, the game had introduced the Apprentice System. This system was also the basis for Gods Domain to influence universities. Through the Apprentice System, expert players could temporarily lower their levels to match that of the players they were helping. The system would even automatically adjust the level and statistics of players weapons and equipment. This allowed expert players fighting at the frontlines to guide new players without having to create a new account. They could also raid Dungeons together with new players. Initially, Shi Feng had planned to casually teach some techniques in the Gods Domain Academy and nothing more. After all, he was someone who had become a Tier 6 God in his other life. The combat standard he could currently exert far exceeded the imagination of measly Tier 3 and Tier 4 experts. Let alone guiding new players, he could serve as an instructor for even Tier 4 players. Unfortunately, his current self had absolutely nothing in Gods Domain. Compared to the various large Guilds upper echelons, he would have a much more difficult time persuading new students to come under his wing. This would also explain why Lin Yaoyue had left so hastily. She mustve found it awkward to bring up such a matter. As for the We do not look at a persons academic qualifications or history; we only look at their current abilities claim Lin Yaoyue made, it was nothing but drivel! Guild Leader Shi, you dont look too well, Luo Tiancheng said, laughing when he saw Shi Feng frowning. How about I share a few students with you? At least you wont look too bad when you have to leave the Academy. Unlike Shi Feng, Luo Tiancheng was still a member of Shadow. Meanwhile, through relying on Shadows fame, he had recruited over 40 apprentices. In terms of apprentice count, he was among the top ten of junior instructors. Luo Tiancheng had always looked down upon Shi Feng. This was because his technique standards were superior to Shi Feng, in his opinion. Luo Tiancheng was also confident he was not the slightest bit inferior to Shi Feng when it came to talent. The only advantage Shi Feng had was his early start in Gods Domain. Yet, just because of this early start, he got to become Shadows Guild Leader. Meanwhile, the current situation was the best way for Luo Tiancheng to prove that he was superior and that Shi Feng was nothing without Shadows support. Its just a few students. No need to trouble yourself over it, Instructor Luo, Shi Feng calmly said as he looked at Luo Tiancheng. No matter what, I am still Shadows ex-Guild Leader. I used to instruct experts like you, so I can at least manage this much. After saying so, Shi Feng made his way to the testing area. He paid no heed to the grim expression Luo Tiancheng made. Laugh all you want now! You are nothing without Shadows support! Luo Tiancheng thought as he viciously glared at Shi Fengs departing figure. Lets see how Ill laugh at you the day you get kicked out of this place! Meanwhile, over a dozen junior instructors were currently crowded outside the testing hall. These people were either Shadows executives or frontline experts of third-rate Guilds. When these junior instructors saw a new student exiting the testing hall, they promptly swarmed the student. Fellow student, I can see that youre very talented! You managed to reach the late stage of the Trial Towers fourth floor! You are an extraordinary talent! I am an Elder of the Blood Spirit Guild. So long as you become my apprentice, I can guarantee you will get to use Dark-Gold Equipment up to Level 150! Bah! Blood Spirit is nothing but a third-rate Guild. Young man, you should join our Wolf Whisper Guild! Wolf Whisper is a second-rate Guild! We are many times stronger than a measly third-rate Guild! Let alone Dark-Gold Equipment, I can get you even Epic Equipment up to Level 150! If you can reach the sixth floors early stage, Ill even get a Level 150 Epic Weapon for you! In no time at all, over a dozen middle-aged uncles surrounded the young man looking to be around the age of 17 or 18. Every one of them fervently voiced their offers to recruit the boy. Shi Feng also took a look at the troubled teenager in sportswear. Reaching the late stage of the Trial Towers fourth floor at the boys age without any prior guidance showed that the boy had good talent. According to the Gods Domain Academys talent ranking system of A, B, C, and D, the boy would be given a ranking of B. He wasnt that far off from reaching the middle stage of the Trial Towers fifth floor, which was also the standard of ordinary experts in Gods Domain. If a first-rate Guild provided enough training and resources for the boy, he could become a Refinement Realm expert in the future. After all, a players physical and technique development would be at their fastest before the age of 25. After one crossed this age, the speed of their improvement would rapidly fall off. Meanwhile, so long as the boy could become a Refinement Realm expert, he could become a mainstay of a first-rate Guild. If he received sufficient resources, it was highly possible he could become a Tier 4 player in the future. So, it was no wonder why so many junior instructors were fighting for the boy. However, Shi Feng did not bother joining in on the fun. Instead, he made his way straight to the testing halls entrance. Then, he sat down on one of the prepared seats, held up his quantum watch, and projected a holographic white sheet in front of him. Afterward, Shi Feng wrote a few words on the white sheet, the words he wrote shocking many of the waiting students in the hall. Even the junior instructors outside the testing hall were dumbfounded when they saw Shi Fengs words. On-the-spot guidance. I will help you improve your Trial Tower performance by one stage. Each guidance costs 100,000 Credits. I will only teach each person once. First come, first served. Did that instructor go crazy for money? One hundred thousand Credits? I can live four years without working with that money! But its not a bad deal if he can help improve my result by one stage. The test results affect the leveling resources the Academy gives us, after all. If I can reach the Trial Towers late stage, Ill get a B-rank evaluation. Many of the new students present were slightly tempted by Shi Fengs advertisement. This was especially true for students who had reached the fourth floors middle stage. After all, this was the dividing line between B-rank and C-rank students. Meanwhile, not only would B-rank students get a 30% discount for using the Academys resources, but they would also receive 12 bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluid each year. In the outside world, a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid was sold for 10,000 Credits. It was not something ordinary people could afford to drink. Even middle-income families could only afford to feed their children B- and C-rank Nutrient Fluids, which cost 1,000 Credits and 400 Credits respectively. Meanwhile, 12 bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluid was equivalent to 120,000 Credits! Not to mention, there was also a 30% discount for school resources. This meant that B-rank students could purchase A-rank Nutrient Fluids for only 7,000 Credits per bottle. If Shi Fengs claim was true, then this was a worthwhile transaction. In no time, a lovely girl with her hair tied into pigtails approached Shi Feng with curious eyes. Then, she asked, Instructor, is what you say true? Meanwhile, along with this female students appearance, many other students and instructors turned to look in Shi Fengs direction. This was because this female student was Wu Lingling, one of the most talented students among this class of freshmen. She was also the younger sister of Wu Xiaoxiao, the Gods Domain Academys strongest talent. Even though Wu Lingling was only 16 this year, the Gods Domain Academy had gone out of its way to send her a direct invitation. Currently, she had already reached the early stage of the Trial Towers fifth floor, and her performance was not much inferior to Wu Xiaoxiaos past performance. However, before Shi Feng could speak up, Luo Tiancheng, who had enough of Shi Fengs arrogance, suddenly walked over and said, Miss Wu Lingling, dont fall for this persons trickery. He is nothing but a junior instructor who had come to work here for the first day. He was also only a Tier 3 player at his peak. His claim of improving your performance by one stage in one teaching session is something not even Tier 4 experts dare make. You should know yourself how difficult it is to improve your result in the Trial Tower. That is something that requires continuous effort over a long period. He will be getting kicked out of the Academy soon because he doesnt have enough apprentices under him. Hes just trying to make a quick buck off of you before leaving. Upon hearing Luo Tianchengs words, many of the new students present nodded in agreement. They had to train hard every day and study the battle videos of experts to reach their current standard. Meanwhile, a persons combat standard became increasingly harder to improve the further they progressed. It wasnt something that could be accomplished within a day. Not to mention, Shi Feng was nothing but a Tier 3 player. How could he possibly accomplish something that not even Tier 4 players could? In the blink of an eye, the students initially interested in Shi Fengs offer gave up on their thoughts. Seeing this, Luo Tiancheng looked toward Shi Feng and revealed a delighted smile. However, just as Wu Lingling was about to give up and leave, Shi Feng calmly smiled and said, Right, I forgot to write a sentence here. If you dont make any improvements, I wont charge you anything! Chapter 2930 Shi Feng did not speak loudly, and the expression on his face remained calm. However, as if his voice carried some kind of magic power, the many students in the testing hall found themselves inadvertently turning their heads toward Shi Feng. Even Wu Lingling, who was about to turn around and leave, halted her footsteps, her eyes full of surprise. You wont charge anything? Instructor, are you telling the truth? For Wu Lingling, 100,000 Credits wasnt a significant amount of money. This was because her elder sister Wu Xiaoxiao earned a lot of money through Gods Domain, and the occasional pocket money she received from her elder sister amounted to tens of thousands. And through saving this money, Wu Lingling had already accumulated over one million Credits by now. Previously, Wu Lingling had only thought about leaving because she thought Shi Feng was a scammer. However, Shi Feng had declared that he wouldnt take any fees if she didnt make any improvements. If Shi Feng was someone without abilities, he definitely wouldnt dare make such a claim. Not to mention, Shi Feng was indeed an instructor of the Gods Domain Academy. At this time, even Luo Tiancheng was surprised by Shi Fengs claim. He never thought that Shi Feng would take such decisive action. However, Luo Tiancheng knew better than anyone of Shi Fengs combat standards. Shi Feng was someone who hadnt even reached the Refinement Realm. This meant that he couldnt even exert subtle control over his physical body. So, what qualifications did Shi Feng have to teach others? Although Shi Feng could provide some pointers by relying on his ten years of combat experience, the points he could give were mostly specialized in fighting monsters. At most, he could teach the students here the techniques players could employ when fighting against other players. However, these experiences wouldnt be of much use in the Trial Tower. This was because the Trial Tower tested the players themselves. Players needed to develop their combat standards to a certain extent to clear the tests in the Trial Tower. After taking these factors into account, Luo Tiancheng concluded that Shi Feng intended to take a gamble. After all, if it was a talent like Wu Lingling, the specialized knowledge Shi Feng provided might just be enough to help the girl get from the fifth floors early stage to the fifth floors middle stage. Then, if Shi Feng succeeded in his gamble, he would instantly attract the attention of the other new students. Of course, if Shi Fengs bet failed, he would solidify his identity as a scammer in the new students eyes. At that time, he would have no hope of remaining in the Gods Domain Academy. Noticing that Shi Fengs words had tempted many of the new students present, Luo Tiancheng looked at Shi Feng and smiled, saying, Instructor Shi, youre not fit to be an instructor if you entice students in such a manner. You might not gain any money if your students dont improve, but you dont stand to lose anything, either. At most, you can just blame your students, saying that they failed to learn the essentials, hence they failed to improve and that it isnt your teaching that has a problem. In contrast, if a student coincidentally makes a breakthrough in the Trial Tower, wouldnt you make a lot of money? Upon hearing Luo Tianchengs words, many of the students also noticed the problem in Shi Fengs offer. So, Instructor Luo, are you saying that Im being unfair to these students? Shi Feng said, smiling as he glanced at Luo Tiancheng. In that case, do you have any brilliant ideas to share? I dare not offer any brilliant ideas. I just feel that as an instructor, you shouldnt be playing such word games with your students, Luo Tiancheng said. When he saw that Shi Feng remained calm even after he had exposed the mans ploy, he couldnt help but feel a little strange. Even so, he still provocatively suggested, Since you are so confident in your teaching, Instructor Shi, it shouldnt be difficult for you to help all of your students make improvements in the Trial Tower, right? Wu Lingling was one of the best talents the Gods Domain Academy had welcomed this semester. If Shi Feng got lucky, it was indeed possible for Wu Lingling to achieve a breakthrough after listening to his guidance. However, it would be a different story if Shi Feng had to help multiple students achieve a breakthrough. The sun would be rising from the west tomorrow if he managed to accomplish such a feat. If anyone else was standing in Luo Tianchengs place right now, they might just allow Shi Feng to bet on his luck. However, Luo Tiancheng wouldnt. He wanted to cut off all of Shi Fengs paths of retreat and watch Shi Feng leave the Gods Domain Academy in humiliation. Of course, Luo Tiancheng also knew that Shi Feng wasnt an idiot. The man definitely wouldnt accept such a suggestion. However, if Shi Feng rejected his suggestion, he could simply say that Shi Feng had a guilty conscience. In turn, this would cause the new students to present to doubt Shi Fengs abilities. However, contrary to Luo Tianchengs expectations, Shi Feng nodded his head and said with a look of realization, What you said is reasonable, Instructor Luo. This is indeed a good solution. If I only guide a small number of students, the results I achieve cant be used to prove anything. But Instructor Luo, as you can see, no students are coming to sign up for my lesson. How about you help me find 20 students? ??? Luo Tiancheng was momentarily dumbfounded when he heard Shi Feng agreeing to his suggestion. Whats going on? Is he taking the initiative to put himself onto the path of no return? Also, arent I trying to prevent him from recruiting apprentices? Why must I help him find 20 students now? Instructor Luo, youve constantly been casting suspicion over my abilities, yet you arent even giving me a chance to prove myself. Should such slanderous actions be coming from an instructor? Shi Feng said with a grin. Moreover, you are one of the more well-known junior instructors in our Academy. You should be acting as a role model. If you question someone, you should first provide the relevant evidence. The new students present nodded in agreement with Shi Fengs words. Then, they moved their gazes from Shi Feng to Luo Tiancheng. Since Luo Tiancheng doubted Shi Fengs abilities, he should provide substantive evidence to prove his claims. Otherwise, he would be doing nothing but create rumors, and who wouldnt know how to create rumors? Fine! Ill help you find 20 students! Luo Tiancheng gnashed his teeth as he glared at Shi Feng. Because of Shi Fengs words, he had now become a rumor monger in the new students eyes. But if you fail to help those 20 students improve, you better not blame your failure on the students lack of ability! Naturally, Shi Feng confidently said. In reality, Shi Feng had had a headache trying to figure out a way to attract new students. Firstly, not all freshmen had the financial wealth to pay 100,000 Credits. Secondly, the freshmen that had yet to seek apprenticeship were already dwindling in number. If he started his performance with only a small batch of students, by the time he finished teaching these students, had them challenge the Trial Tower, and spread his fame, the other junior instructors present wouldve long since snatched away the remaining students. By that time, even if there were students who wanted to come under his wing, they wouldnt be able to do so. After all, under the Gods Domain Academys rules, students who had apprenticed themselves under an instructor were not allowed to change their instructors within a year. However, even for Luo Tiancheng, someone who had worked in the Gods Domain Academy for several years, he failed to find more than a few students who were willing to spend the money to take Shi Fengs lesson. After all, 100,000 Credits was a significant sum of money for most of the students present. This situation rendered Luo Tiancheng speechless. In the end, Luo Tiancheng had to offer to pay for these students to get them to try out Shi Fengs lesson. As soon as he went with this option, he quickly managed to bring 20 new students to Shi Feng. Instructor Shi, here are your 20 students, Luo Tiancheng said, glaring at Shi Feng. He even took the initiative to transfer two million Credits to Shi Feng. Now, please begin your performance! Although Luo Tiancheng didnt know why Shi Feng behaved so confidently, he refused to believe that Shi Feng could create a miracle. After all, even Tier 4 experts were incapable of helping many freshmen achieve a breakthrough in the Trial Tower through just a brief lesson, let alone a Tier 3 expert like Shi Feng. No problem. Shi Feng felt delighted when he saw the transaction notification appearing on his quantum watch. If he combined these two million Credits with his own five million, he wouldnt have to worry about equipment and resources for a while once he reentered Gods Domain. Then, he looked toward the 20 students in front of him and said, Ill be doing a set of aerobics in a moment. All you need to do is learn the whole set. Once I see that youve reached an adequate proficiency, you may challenge the Trial Tower. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the 20 freshmen in front of him instantly became dumbfounded. Aerobics? They had learned aerobics when they were in elementary school, but such exercise was only meant to loosen their muscles. However, they had never heard of aerobics being able to help one improve ones combat standard. Aerobics? It seems I have underestimated you, Instructor Shi. I am truly ashamed of my ignorance, Luo Tiancheng sarcastically said. At this time, he wanted nothing more than to laugh out loud. Should I play some music for you as well? Initially, Luo Tiancheng had thought that Shi Feng had prepared some kind of secret technique to turn the tables on him, but Aerobics? Shi Feng was simply tired of living! It should be known that the Gods Domain Academys students were all befitting the title of genius. This was especially true for Wu Lingling. Right now, many first-rate Guilds had already put their attention on the girl, confident that she would become a future powerhouse in Gods Domain. Yet, now, Shi Feng was having these geniuses do aerobics like a bunch of elementary students! If news of this spread, Shi Feng would become the joke of the city. And if none of his students managed to make any improvements, his image in the Academy would also fall into tatters! That wont be necessary, Shi Feng answered. Then, behaving as if he didnt see the awkward looks on the students faces, he said, There are nine movements in the set. I dont need you to execute them to perfection; I just need you to reach a passing standard. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the 20 students before him couldnt help but look at him in contempt and anger. After all, they were people capable of perfectly executing even Gods Domains complex combat techniques, let alone a bunch of measly aerobic movements. Meanwhile, Wu Lingling suddenly felt as if she had been tricked, and her IQ insulted. However, Shi Feng did not care about any of the looks of contempt and anger he received. He simply began executing the aerobic movements he mentioned while explaining the movements. The set of aerobics Shi Feng currently executed was something he had invented during his other life, and it was used as part of the basic training for Zero Wings newcomers. Meanwhile, anyone in the Guild capable of perfectly executing the entire set would be instantly promoted into a core member. Shi Feng had created this aerobic exercise using a combination of multiple combat techniques found in Gods Domain and his understanding of the Refinement Realm. Although the sets nine movements appeared ordinary, the execution difficulty increased with each subsequent movement as the minute movements became more and more complicated. One would need to be at the Refinement Realm standard to perfectly execute all nine movements. Currently, most of the students in front of him were still stuck on the Trial Towers fourth floor. They were merely laymen when it came to manipulating their physical bodies. Needless to say, they were still miles away from rivaling Refinement Realm experts. Meanwhile, the aerobics he taught would allow them to gradually understand how they should control their bodies. As to the extent to which they could improve, that depended entirely on the individual. After all, the aerobic exercise only provided them with a clear direction to advance in. Subsequently, after Shi Feng completed the first set of aerobics, he had the students start exercising with him. One repetition Three repetitions Ten repetitions As the 20 students began following Shi Fengs instructions, the students who arrived in the testing hall afterward couldnt help but be shocked by the sight. This situation caused the 20 students to feel greatly embarrassed. Then, after guiding the 20 students through the aerobic exercise for nearly three hours, Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction at the sweaty students in front of him and said, Alright, the lesson is over. You can challenge the Trial Tower now! Chapter 2931 - Frantic Testing Hall Outside of the testing hall As soon as Shi Feng gave his approval to take the test, the 20 students before him couldnt help but look at him with skeptical and dumbfounded expressions. Thats all, Instructor Shi? When Wu Lingling saw the satisfied look on Shi Fengs face, she couldnt help but feel that Shi Feng was challenging her intellect. She had already humiliated herself by earnestly doing aerobics that only grade-schoolers would do. Although she could indeed sense her body becoming more flexible after the exercise session, that was it. She couldnt sense any improvements to her combat standard and combat techniques at all. In other words, nothing would change even if she challenged the Trial Tower now. Initially, she had thought that Shi Feng would more or less give them some pointers on their combat techniques once they were done with the aerobics. Either that or provide some useful tips to tackle the Trial Tower. Yet Yet Shi Feng had concluded the training session, just like that. Shi Feng was charging them 100,000 Credits, for heavens sake! Yet, all he did was have them exercise their bodies for several hours. Mhm, thats enough, Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the dumbfounded look on Wu Linglings face. Itll cost you more if you want to receive more guidance. Of course, I can give you a 40% discount if you become my apprentice. Shi Fengs words instantly flabbergasted Wu Lingling and the 19 other students present. When other students sought apprenticeship under other instructors in the Academy, the instructors would eagerly shower them with resources and provide them with personalized instructions. After all, it was in the instructors best interest to help their apprentices improve as quickly as possible. Yet, when it came to Shi Feng, not only did he not offer any resources to his apprentices, but even the lessons he provided came with a price tag. Moreover, he was only offering a pitiful discount of 40% to students who became his apprentices At this time, even Luo Tiancheng, who had been spectating from the side all this time, couldnt help but give Shi Feng a look of admiration. Shi Feng was definitely the first instructor in the Gods Domain Academy to ever charge their students money for lessons! It would be an absolute miracle if he still managed to gain any apprentices under such a situation! However, Shi Feng didnt bother explaining himself. While ignoring the looks of contempt his students were giving him, he pointed at the testing hall and said, Theres not much time left. You might not make it if you dont go test yourselves now. Hearing Shi Fengs words, the 20 students turned to look at the large digital clock set up inside the testing hall and found that they were indeed running out of time. Immediately, they ran into the hall and joined the queue to take part in the test, leaving behind Shi Feng and Luo Tiancheng. Its finally time! Lets see how long you can keep pretending to be calm! Luo Tiancheng inwardly laughed as he glanced at Shi Fengs calm expression. Originally, Luo Tiancheng thought that Shi Feng had an ace hidden under his sleeve. After all, Shi Feng used to be Shadows Guild Leader. It wouldnt be strange for him to know some secrets that others did not. However, looking at things now, Luo Tiancheng felt that he had been worried for nothing. A measly set of aerobics wouldnt be of any help to a fight even in the real world, let alone the virtual world. All Shi Feng was doing was spouting nonsense to grab attention. Time passed by quickly. After 20 minutes had gone by, one of the students Shi Feng taught finally got his turn to test himself. The students name was Meng Ziyou, and he was one of the freshmen who had already taken part in the test once before. Meng Ziyou had previously reached the fourth floors late stage, but he wasnt satisfied with this result. After all, he could only receive a B-rank evaluation with this result, which would net him only 12 bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluid per year and a 30% discount to all school resources. However, if he could reach the Trial Towers fifth floor, even if it was only the early stage, he would receive an A-rank evaluation. In that case, he would receive 24 bottles of A-rank Nutrient Fluid per year, which was equivalent to 240,000 Credits or a high-ranking white-collar workers annual salary. Most importantly, he would also enjoy a 40% discount for all school resources and free access to the schools basic training facilities. The difference in benefits might not be significant for wealthy students, but Meng Ziyou came from an average family. He would be able to afford more resources for himself with the additional discount. After all, Gods Domain was unlike any other virtual reality game. It placed heavy importance on a persons physical fitness. Only by having a strong physique in the real world could one let their brain better exhibit its potential in Gods Domain. As to why Meng Ziyou decided to try Shi Fengs course, it was simply because Luo Tiancheng had offered to pay the 100,000-Credit fee for him. Since the course was free, he naturally had to try it. He didnt have anything to lose even if he tried it. However, if the course worked, then he wouldve struck the jackpot. After taking a deep breath, Meng Ziyou anxiously stepped into one of the virtual gaming cabins prepared in the testing hall. That Meng Ziyou looks like a good seedling. Once he comes out, I should think of a way to get him to become my apprentice, Luo Tiancheng thought as he watched Meng Ziyou entering the gaming cabin. Despite being only 17 years old and having received no prior training, Meng Ziyou had managed to reach the fourth floors late stage. It was an incredible achievement. After all, the boy was only two steps away from reaching the recognized expert standard in Gods Domain, which was the fifth floors middle stage. Even after Gods Domain had been in operation for ten years, it still wasnt an easy task for players to reach the recognized standard for ordinary experts in Gods Domain. This was especially true for someone as young as Meng Ziyou. One would need to have great talent to do so. Based on Meng Ziyous current performance, if the boy received systematic training, he could become a first-rate expert in no time. He might even have a chance at becoming a Refinement Realm expert in the future. After all, the various powers of Gods Domain had been enhancing and refining their training processes throughout the years. New players joining Gods Domain now enjoyed much better training conditions than players who started playing Gods Domain ten years ago. If Luo Tiancheng didnt have his physique and brain activity regress along with age, he could also become a Refinement Realm expert. At this time, Luo Tiancheng wasnt the only one to have his eyes on Meng Ziyou. The other instructors present were also figuring out how they could win over Meng Ziyou. After all, they would receive significant rewards if they could help their respective Guilds welcome a young genius. Not to mention, they could also form a connection with a potential expert, which would ensure them a better future. However, even though many of the basic instructors present were looking to rope Meng Ziyou to their side, none thought about laying their hands on Wu Lingling. After all, Wu Lingling was a genius that first-rate Guilds and even super-first-rate Guilds had set their sights on. The resources she could receive from these existences were leaps and bounds better than what she could receive from second- and third-rate Guilds. Wu Lingling would be an utter fool to seek apprenticeship under the basic instructors present. After the instructors outside the testing hall waited for some time, Meng Ziyou suddenly left his gaming cabin, joy and surprise coloring his face. Whats going on? Did he make an improvement? The many instructors shared the same thought when they saw Meng Ziyous expression. However, they also couldnt help but doubt their guesses. After all, they had also been present when Shi Feng made his students do aerobics. There was no way such simple exercises could help the students make substantial improvements in the Trial Tower. Just when a few instructors thought to approach Meng Ziyou and ask the boy about his test result, the screen displaying test scores inside the hall released Meng Ziyous result. Meng Ziyou, 17, Trial Tower: Fifth Floors Early Stage (Previous best result was Fourth Floors Late Stage), Evaluation: A Silence immediately enveloped the area outside the testing hall. Apart from Shi Feng, every basic instructor present looked at Meng Ziyou as if they had just seen a ghost. Impossible! Luo Tiancheng rubbed his eyes and took a look at the screen again, his mind unable to accept what his eyes were seeing. After all, who could believe that Meng Ziyou had improved his performance in the Trial Tower by a stage after doing a few hours of aerobics? However, Meng Ziyou had no reason to hide his strength and help Shi Feng. Most importantly, Luo Tiancheng had personally recruited Meng Ziyou for Shi Fengs lesson. Are you kidding me?! How is that possible?! Could this be an act? The instructors werent the only ones dumbfounded at this time. Even the other students present couldnt help but doubt the situation before them and suspect that Shi Feng and Meng Ziyou were in cahoots with each other. Luck! This is just luck! Luo Tiancheng said in denial. Meng Ziyou probably only failed to reach it before because he wasnt in peak condition! He must have already had the strength to reach the fifth floor before! Everyone hurriedly nodded in agreement when they heard Luo Tianchengs words, finding his words to be reasonable. After all, not everyone could maintain themselves in peak condition at all times. Small problems such as anxiety could easily affect ones performance. However, shortly after the crowd agreed with Luo Tianchengs opinion, another person exited their gaming cabin. This person was a girl with an innocent look, and she was also one of the students Shi Feng instructed. And just like Meng Ziyou, the girl wore a look of joy and excitement on her face. I did it! I did it! I finally broke through to B-rank! Along with the girls excited shouts, her score appeared on the central screen. The crowd outside the testing hall instantly fell silent upon seeing the girls result. Even Luo Tiancheng became thoroughly dumbfounded. Subsequently, as more and more of Shi Fengs students completed their test, the crowd outside the testing hall also grew more and more silent. Finally, when all of Shi Fengs students completed their tests, the crowd immediately exploded into an uproar. The reason for the uproar was because Wu Lingling, the last of Shi Fengs students to complete their test, had surpassed her previous record and reached the fifth floors middle stage, becoming an officially recognized expert in Gods Domain! Simultaneously, Wu Lingling had also become the second student after Wu Xiaoxiao, her elder sister, to achieve such a result on the day she enrolled into the Gods Domain Academy! Luo Tianchengs eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw Wu Linglings score. He couldnt help but feel as if he was dreaming. At this time, let alone the spectating crowd, even Wu Lingling herself was still in shock over her achievement. Her mind failed to process how she had made such an improvement. After all, she previously had failed to break through the fifth floors early stage no matter what she tried. She didnt even have a clue as to what she needed to do to make further progress. Yet, when she challenged the Trial Tower this time, she had cleared the fifth floors early stage with surprising ease. Among those present, only Shi Feng wasnt surprised by this outcome. The aerobic exercise he formulated wasnt any ordinary aerobics. Instead, it was created based on Gods Domains combat techniques and the Refinement Realms principles. If one earnestly practiced these movements, not only could one experience the Realms of Refinement much more easily, but one would also start to notice subtle movements that one normally wouldnt notice. Although one couldnt reach the Refinement Realm just by practicing this aerobic exercise, once one became familiar with the management of these subtle movements, one could reduce the unnecessary movements in ones actions. In turn, ones movements would flow much more smoothly. Moreover, the effects of these changes would become even more prominent in the virtual world of Gods Domain. After all, players controlled their virtual bodies with their minds, and their virtual bodies had much fewer physical limitations than their physical bodies. Hence, certain actions and reactions would be amplified, and one could execute movements that one normally couldnt execute. Naturally, this would lead to significant improvements in ones combat standard. In reality, the exercises real benefits would only start to show themselves if one practiced it over a long period. To be precise, one needed to practice the exercise to the point where one could instinctively reduce their unnecessary movements. The benefits one could gain from practicing the exercise for a few hours were hardly anything noteworthy. Of course, helping someone stuck beneath the Trial Towers sixth floor improve their performance by a stage was still entirely possible. Instructor Luo, thank you for your two million Credits, Shi Feng calmly said as he glanced at the dumbfounded Luo Tiancheng. Now that Ive already recruited 20 apprentices, Ill be taking my leave. Wu Linglings shocking performance had worked as a great advertisement. Shi Feng had managed to recruit 30 students as his apprentice in less than five minutes. Of them, 20 were the students he had taught. Even Wu Lingling had sought apprenticeship under him after hesitating for some time. As a result, Shi Feng had met the minimum requirement to remain as one of the Gods Domain Academys basic instructors. Shi Feng, dont get too delighted! Luo Tianchengs complexion was pitch-black right now. However, when he looked at Shi Fengs departing back, he sneered and said, So what if you become a basic instructor at the Academy? Do you think you can return to your peak? After saying so, Luo Tiancheng left the area as well, his eyes full of resentment. Two million Credits! He had spent years saving that money! However, when Luo Tiancheng recalled that Shi Feng had been kicked out of Shadow like a loser, his mood brightened up a lot. The Gods Domain Academy might have access to many real-world resources, it was a different story when it came to Gods Domains resources. Now that Shi Feng had no Guild backing him, there was no way he could achieve anything in the Academy. At night, Wanhao Villa District: Inside the top-floor training room of a three-story villa, Lin Yaoyue wiped the sweat on her forehead and grabbed a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid from the nearby refrigerator. The way she gulped down the liquid paired with the tight sportswear she wore that outlined her charming figure created a sight that would make any men drool with desire. However, there were no men present in this room. Instead, the only other occupant of this room was a gorgeous woman wearing a short lace dress. Even so, when this woman looked at Lin Yaoyues attractive figure, she couldnt help but lick the corners of her mouth. Yaoyue, it seems your combat standard isnt the only thing that has improved a lot in the time we havent met. That place of yours has developed a lot as well. If Young Master Li and the others find out about this, theyll probably become even crazier than before! the woman in the dress said, smiling as she looked at Lin Yaoyue. Stop teasing me, Yalin, Lin Yaoyue said as she looked at her best friend, Zuo Yalin. Then, she curiously asked, Ive been busy with the Academy recently. Hows the situation in the Guild? What else could be going on? Everyones preparing for the War of Worlds expansion pack thats going live tonight, Zhuo Yalin said with a slightly tired look. Ive been busy running around looking for information on this expansion pack recently as well. Is the small ancient world described in that new expansion pack that amazing? Lin Yaoyue asked. The new War of Worlds expansion pack was something announced over a month ago. Once the expansion pack went live, not only would their Gods Domain have to fight against another Gods Domain, but a small ancient world would also come into existence. Meanwhile, according to rumors, this small ancient world possessed an environment comparable to that of the ancient Gods Domain. Such an environment would be of significant help to the development of players. Hence, many of Gods Domains various powers were thinking of competing for this small ancient world. That place is much more amazing than you think. Rumors say that it is the creation of an Ancient God and that it is a small part of our Gods Domain that was separated during ancient times. If thats the case, there should be plenty of Legacies and resources that are only available during ancient times, Zhuo Yalin said, a hint of excitement appearing in her eyes. But according to the information provided on the expansion pack, the rules of this ancient world are a little unique. Only players who have reached Level 100, Tier 3 and above are allowed to enter. Moreover, once players enter that world, they will have their progress reset to Level 100, Tier 3. Even so, because of the environment and Legacies available in there, many Tier 3 and Tier 4 experts are thinking of taking a gamble on that small ancient world to try and rectify their lacking foundations. Hasnt the Tier 5 promotion been troubling you? You can consider giving that place a try. Ill consider it. Lin Yaoyue nodded. Her friends words had piqued her interest. The difficulty of Gods Domains tier promotion increased exponentially with each subsequent tier. Meanwhile, the Tier 5 promotion was akin to a nightmare for Lin Yaoyue. If she could lay herself a better foundation in the small ancient world, she would undoubtedly have a much better chance at reaching Tier 5. By the way, I heard that Shadows ex-Guild Leader joined your place. What do you think of him? Zhuo Linya suddenly asked. Most of our Guilds experts are stuck having to defend against the Outerworld forces, so we still need many more experts to secure a foothold in the ancient world. Since he is Shadows ex-Guild Leader, he should be quite strong. If we can recruit him, it should significantly increase our combat power in the small ancient world. That man is indeed capable. He managed to recruit 30 apprentices in the Academy within a day, Lin Yaoyue said as she forwarded Shi Fengs personal information to Zhuo Yalin. Then, she shook her head and continued, But he is, in the end, only a Tier 3 expert. He is also growing in age. Itll be difficult for him to make any further improvements. Moreover, Shadow is still keeping an eye on him even now. There is also World Domination standing behind Shadow. Its best if we give up on him. Is that so? Zhuo Yalin muttered as she read Shi Fengs information. Then, after pondering for a moment, she sighed and said, What a pity. With his standards, if he wasnt Shadows ex-Guild Leader, he could easily join the middle management of any first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, when Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin were chatting with each other, Shi Feng, who was living in a villa located in the distant Blue Bamboo Villa District, laid into his virtual gaming cabin and entered Gods Domain once more. TL Notes: Made an edit to Chapter 4: Realms of Refinement -> Refinement Realm The aerobic exercise Shi Feng developed is based on the Refinement Realms principles only. Principles of the Flowing Water Realm and Void Realm arent included. Chapter 2932 - Black Flame Gods Domain was a virtual reality game that had been operating for ten years already. Since Gods Domains launch, people worldwide have gradually learned to accept this virtual world. By now, Gods Domain had already become an integral part of human life, and many people sought to live and rise in this second world. Meanwhile, the flow of time in Gods Domain was different than that of the real world. Two hours in Gods Domain was only equivalent to one hour in the real world. Hence, one could experience up to 48 hours a day if they spent their entire day in Gods Domain. Moreover, Gods Domain experienced a standard 30-hour daytime and 18-hour nighttime. One could technically double their lifespan by playing Gods Domain. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng found himself arriving in a colorful space-time passage. After walking along this passage for ten seconds or so, an ancient temple suspended in the starry sky appeared in front of him. Subsequently, Shi Feng felt an invisible force carry his body toward the ancient temple that was the size of a mountain. When he arrived before the temple, a female Angel with four pairs of white wings and clad in a holy dress flew out of the temple and hovered in front of him. Meanwhile, this was a scene Shi Feng was incredibly familiar with. This female Angel was none other than Gabriel, the Angel that would only appear when players first created their character. However, unlike the Gabriel Shi Feng had seen when Gods Domain had first launched, the Gabriel before him had already undergone significant changes. When Gods Domain first launched, Gabriel was only the size of a palm. Now, though, she had a normal persons height. The sacred aura her body exuded had also become much more powerful than before. In front of this Angel Lord, players would feel as if they were no different than ants. Hello Adventurer, welcome to Gods Domain. I am the Navigation Angel, Gabriel. I will be introducing to you the four main categories and twelve main classes. Please choose the class that you like most, Gabriel said to Shi Feng with a smile on her face. Then, she extended a hand and summoned a list showing the twelve available classes to Shi Feng. These twelve main jobs were categorized into four main classes. Warrior: Shield Warrior, Guardian Knight, Berserker. Weapons Specialist: Swordsman, Assassin, Ranger. Healer: Cleric, Druid, Oracle. Mage: Elementalist, Summoner, Cursemancer. As this is your second time creating an account and your first account has satisfied the Swordsman classs Level 180, Tier 3 condition, if you select the Swordsman class again, you can start as a Level 100, Tier 3 Swordsman. If you choose any other class, you will have to start from Level 0, Gabriel said after giving an introduction on the twelve main classes. Then, she asked, Do you wish to choose the Swordsman class again? I will choose the Swordsman class, Shi Feng said in a resolute tone. He had spent a total of 20 years fighting in Gods Domain as a Swordsman in his two lives. He was even the first player to become a Tier 6 God in his second life. Hence, the Swordsman class had already become something inseparable from him. Now that he would be starting another journey in Gods Domain, he naturally wouldnt select any other classes. He had already determined himself to reach the apex of Gods Domain as a Swordsman in this life. He would make up for the regrets he had in this dream-like world and recover his missing memories. Shi Feng felt that the missing part of his memories should be tied to Gods Domains existence. Meanwhile, only by reaching the apex again could he potentially recover those memories. Class selection complete, Gabriel said, nodding. Please designate a name for your character. Hearing this, Shi Feng pondered for a moment before saying, Black Flame. Black Flame was the pseudonym he had used most of the time in his other life. In that life, Black Flame was also the name of the Sword God that everybody in Gods Domain knew of. Now that he was no longer Shadows Sword Magician, he naturally didnt have to continue using his original ID of Ye Feng. Naming successful. Do you wish to adjust your appearance? The adjustment rate is limited to 15%, Gabriel added. Shi Feng had decided to alter his characters appearance to match the original Black Flames appearance. Although he couldnt mimic it perfectly due to the limitations imposed, his character still turned out very similar to the Black Flame in his other life. His character looked very close to becoming a middle-aged uncle, and his eyebrows also gave off a strict feeling. Appearance adjustment complete. Please select a birthplace. After confirming Shi Fengs appearance adjustment, Gabriel waved her hand again and summoned the complete map of the Gods Domain Continent and the map of an unknown landmass. Then, she said, You are allowed to choose any major city in Gods Domain as your birthplace because you will be re-entering Gods Domain as a Level 100, Tier 3 player. Apart from the major cities, you can also choose the newly-appeared Miniature Ancient World as your new birthplace. I can start directly in the Miniature Ancient World? Shi Feng was slightly surprised by this revelation. The environment found during the ancient times of Gods Domain was significantly better than the environment found in modern times. Not only was the mana during ancient times more plentiful, but the mana itself also provided significant help in improving the Concentration of players. This, in turn, could increase the success rate of players in completing their tier promotions. After reading about the upcoming expansion pack in Gods Domain, Shi Feng had planned to search for a way to enter this Miniature Ancient World. Now, it would seem that he didnt need to waste his time doing so. Now that Gods Domain had already been in operation for a decade, most of the available resource spots and leveling spots in Gods Domain already had an owner. Unless Shi Feng joined one of the major powers, he would have difficulty acquiring any useful resources. Leveling up would become an especially big problem. After all, the prime leveling spots of Gods Domain were the various Guilds capital to help their new recruits catch up to frontline players as quickly as possible. There was no way these Guilds would share their leveling resources with outsiders. If Shi Feng couldnt gain access to these prime leveling spots, even if he was a Level 100, Tier 3 expert, his leveling speed would be astonishingly slow. It would take ages for him to return to Level 200. Meanwhile, the Miniature Ancient World was a place untouched by Gods Domains various powers. It was undoubtedly good news for Shi Feng that he could enter the Miniature Ancient World straight away. After seeing Shi Feng remaining unresponsive for some time, Gabriel couldnt help but ask, Do you wish to select the Miniature Ancient World as your birthplace? Yes! Shi Feng nodded. Player Black Flame has selected to be born in the Miniature Ancient World. Initiating teleportation in five seconds. I wish you a happy gaming experience! Gabriel nodded to Shi Feng before chanting an incantation. Five seconds later, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of white light and disappeared from the space in front of the ancient temple. Then, after an unknown amount of time had passed, Shi Feng opened his eyes again and found himself standing in the middle of a majestic city filled with tall buildings. To be precise, he currently stood in the plaza in front of a War Gods Temple, the bustling plaza filled with tens of thousands of players who had similarly just arrived in the Miniature Ancient World. Hundred Flow City, is it? When Shi Feng checked the system map for the citys name, he couldnt help but be astonished by what he saw. According to the map, Hundred Flow City measured 40 kilometers from side to side. It was much larger than any Main City found on the main continent. Even a Tier 3 player would need to run at full speed for 15 minutes and in a straight line to cross the city. Meanwhile, the mana flowing in the air was simply wonderful. When standing in this mana, Shi Feng could feel his mind clearing up to a great extent. Afterward, Shi Feng closed the system map and called up his current characters Attribute Panel. Character: Black Flame (Human) (Miniature Ancient Worlds suppressed state) Affiliated City: Hundred Flow City Title: None Class: Swordsman Level: 100 HP: 96,000/96,000 Attack Power: 7,432 Defense: 9,140 Attack Speed: 186 Movement Speed: 450 Attributes: Strength 2,050, Agility 1,849, Endurance 2,100, Intelligence 1,670, Vitality 1,594. Free Attribute Points: 0 Sword King Class Talent: Obtain 30 Free Attribute Points every level. What a ruthless suppression. Shi Feng was a little astonished when he saw his statistics. The starting equipment the system provided him was by no means terrible. The system had given him a full set of Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment paired with two Level 100 Fine-Gold ranked longswords. With such equipment, he should have Basic Attributes rivaling a Level 100 High Lord. However, because of the Miniature Ancient Worlds suppression reducing his Attributes, he was only slightly stronger than the average Level 100 Lord. With such Basic Attributes, ordinary experts would need to form parties if they wanted to defeat Level 100 Lords efficiently. If an ordinary expert tried soloing a Level 100 Lord with so little Attack Power, it would take them ages to defeat the monster. What gave Shi Feng an even larger headache was the state of his Mana Body. The Mana Body played a pivotal role in determining a Tier 3 players strength. The stronger a players Mana Body, the stronger their Skills and Spells would become. Moreover, a strong Mana Body would also allow players to recover their Stamina and Concentration much more rapidly. Meanwhile, Mana Bodies were divided into four ranks: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Epic. In his first and current life, Shi Feng had only completed a Bronze Mana Body the first time he reached Tier 3. This was also one of the main reasons preventing him from reaching Tier 4. Although the system had directly elevated his new character to Tier 3, his Mana Body remained at the Bronze standard. If he had to rely on such a weak Mana Body, he would have a much more difficult time getting promoted into higher tiers. Fortunately, this ancient world has a solution to make up for this problem. Otherwise, Id have no choice but to start over from Level 0. The minimum entry condition for the Miniature Ancient World was Level 100, Tier 3. Meanwhile, once players entered the ancient world, their statistics would be forcibly reset to Level 100, Tier 3. It didnt matter whether a player was a Tier 4 or Tier 5 expert in the outside world. Despite this being the case, many Tier 4 experts had chosen to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, one of their reasons for doing so was that this Miniature Ancient World provided players with a chance to reconstruct their Tier 3 Mana Body without starting all over from scratch. They would get the opportunity to pave a much sturdier foundation and create a much brighter future for themselves. During the time Shi Feng was inspecting his statistics, most of the players who had appeared together with him in the plaza had already left the area. Now, only a few thousand players remained. These people sure know how to move quickly! When Shi Feng saw the many players rushing toward the citys center, he leisurely made his way out of the plaza and followed after them as well. Every NPC City found in the Miniature Ancient World housed a special building known as the Ancient Colosseum. This was also the only place where Tier 3 players could acquire the opportunity to reconstruct their Mana Bodies. Chapter 2933 - End Chapter 7 C Epic Challenge Hundred Flow City, Colosseum: The Colosseum was a massive building that occupied an area spanning six sports stadiums and extended over 300 meters into the air. It was without a doubt the most prominent building in Hundred Flow City. Just by approaching the Colosseums metal gates that measured several dozen meters in height, players could feel a strong bloodlust radiating from the building. When Shi Feng arrived before the Colosseum, over 200,000 players had already flooded the place. Among these players, only a small part of them were players who had recreated their accounts and entered Hundred Flow City, while most of them were players who had teleported from the main continent of Gods Domain. As Shi Feng made his way into the Colosseum, he saw many players hawking their wares by the entrance. Selling six-piece Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment for cheap! Each set only costs 2,000 Gold Coins or 200,000 Credits! You can use it up to Level 120! It is a must-have for new accounts! Level 150 Epic Equipment going for only 2,000 Gold per piece! Level 150 Epic Weapons going for only 5,000 Gold each! These are must-haves for those challenging the Colosseum! Stock is limited! First come, first served! Six-piece Level 120 Epic Set Equipment for only 20,000 Gold! Ten percent off paying by Credits! Hundreds of players continuously hawked their wares in front of the Colosseum, adding even more noise and liveliness to the crowded establishment. This was a rare sight in Gods Domain nowadays. It was as if the game had reverted to its launch day. Only, not many players took these hawking players offers. Instead, most of them looked at these hawking players in contempt. These merchant players must be insane! Level 150 Epic Weapons are only going for 2,000 Gold outside, yet theyre asking for 5,000 Gold here! This is daylight robbery! I know, right? Thankfully, I bought myself an eight-piece Level 150 Epic Set Equipment before coming here. Also, players can only bring up to 1,000 Gold and not a Copper more to the Miniature Ancient World. These people mustve lost their minds! Ten years had passed since Gods Domain launched, and players had already explored over 90% of the games available maps. Hence, currency in Gods Domain was no longer in as high demand as it had been initially. At launch, players could exchange one Copper Coin for up to 30 Credits. Now, though, one could get one Gold Coin, which was the equivalent of 10,000 Copper Coins, for just 90 Credits. Meanwhile, the exchange rate had remained like this for two years without changing. Although the Miniature Ancient Worlds release had affected the recent pricing of Gods Domains currency, the change wasnt particularly drastic since players could only bring a limited amount of money into the Miniature Ancient World. Hence, the exchange rate had only gone up from 90 Credits to 100 Credits per Gold Coin. Of course, currency wasnt the only thing players were limited to bring into the Miniature Ancient World. The weapons, equipment, tools, and materials they were allowed to bring were also limited. For example, items at the Fragmented Legendary rank or above were prohibited, and some powerful Epic items were barred. Moreover, players were only allowed to bring up to Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. For expert players seeking to explore the Miniature Ancient World, this was a massive restriction. After all, only items at the Fragmented Legendary rank or above could allow players to transcend tiers. However, most players entering the Miniature Ancient World welcomed these restrictions. After all, even in this day and age, the number of players in possession of Fragmented Legendary items and above was few and far between. Not to mention, over 90% of them were the executives or peak experts of the various Guilds. If these players were allowed to bring such powerful items into the Miniature Ancient World, ordinary experts would stand no chance against them. With these restrictions, though, everyone would have a fairly even starting point since even ordinary experts could get their hands on Epic Weapons and Equipment so long as they were willing to put a few holes into their wallets. Hence, Guild experts would no longer have as much of an advantage over independent experts in the Miniature Ancient World. These restrictions had undoubtedly created an opportunity for many players seeking to explore the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was also one of the beneficiaries of these limitations. Before returning to Gods Domain, Shi Feng had even thought about selling his mansion to exchange for Coins. After all, a six-piece Level 150 Epic Set Equipment alone would cost over a million Credits. He also had to buy individual Epic Equipment pieces and Epic Accessories to fill the rest of his equipment slots. At the end of the day, he was merely a Level 100, Tier 3 player right now. Even if he had amazing skills, without having a bunch of Epic items to support him, he would still have a difficult time getting by in the Miniature Ancient World, let alone reaching the apex of this world. After looking at the various items the merchant players were selling, Shi Feng shook his head and made his way inside the Colosseum. He had to admit that these merchant players were exemplary businessmen. The prices they sold their Epic Weapons and Equipment at were truly reasonable. After all, the prices were only two or three times higher than those found outside the Miniature Ancient World If Shi Feng had to rely on these merchant players to fully equip himself in Epic items, the Credits he currently had on him wouldnt be enough at all. He would have to sell the mansion he had as well Not to mention, the priority of players who had just entered the Miniature Ancient World wasnt to spend all of their funds on weapons and equipment. Instead, they needed to spend their money on supportive consumables. In the Miniature Ancient World, the areas outside of NPC cities were filled with a strange and corrosive energy. So long as players left the protection of NPC cities, this strange energy would immediately start corroding their bodies. Once the corrosion level reached a certain point, not only would players lose Stamina and Concentration rapidly, but they would even have their Basic Attributes reduced as well. Eventually, they would even lose their lives to the corrosion. For this reason, players could only spend a very limited amount of time outside of the confines of cities. Meanwhile, players would need to rest inside NPC cities to expel this corrosive energy out of their bodies. And if players wished to expedite this process, they would have to consume expensive foods or potions. In addition to supportive consumables, players also needed to save their money for the crucial services offered in NPC cities, and one of these services was the Colosseum. The process of acquiring the opportunity to reconstruct ones Mana Body in the Colosseum wasnt free. On the contrary, players had to spend a fortune to acquire this opportunity. The Colosseum was split into five floors, with the first floor being used as a reception hall and the second to fifth floors being used for challenges. The challenges were split into four ranks, namely Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Epic, and each of the four floors corresponded to a particular difficulty. The rank of the challenges also corresponded to the rank of the Mana Body players would get to create. Meanwhile, the cost of the challenges ranged from 10 Gold to 500 Gold per try. It was undoubtedly an exorbitant expenditure. It should be noted that new characters created in the Miniature Ancient World were only provided with a starting fund of one Gold. This wasnt even enough to pay for a Bronze Challenge. Hence, after entering the Colosseum, Shi Feng spent the two million Credits he won from Luo Tiancheng and bought 20,000 Gold from a few merchant players. He would use this money as his starting capital in the Miniature Ancient World. After acquiring his starting capital, Shi Feng headed straight for the fifth floor. The fifth floor only housed a few arenas, and each one was almost the size of two football fields. Currently, in one of the few arenas, a player was fighting against ten eight-meter-tall, four-armed Sea Giants. The player looked like an infant in front of these Sea Giants. Moreover, these Sea Giants possessed a special Bloodline, and even the weakest among them was a Level 100 Great Lord, while the strongest was a Level 100 Grand Lord. There was no doubt that the Sea Giants had the upper hand when it came to speed and power. So, the player fighting these Sea Giants dared not confront the Sea Giants head-on at all. To make matters worse, all ten Sea Giants were armed, with some of them wielding shields, some wielding longbows, some wielding spears, and some wielding greatswords. They also synchronized their movements with each other, moving as if they were of one body. They attacked the player continuously, giving the player no opportunities to catch his breath. The player would be besieged from all sides should he make even the slightest error while dodging. Eventually, faced with this constant pressure, the player wearing Epic Set Equipment crumbled in less than twenty seconds, his body perishing to an arrow the size of a ballista bolt Thats another one Isnt the Epic Challenges difficulty a little too high?! I know that guy, and hes a Tier 4 expert who had long since reached the Refinement Realm already, yet he didnt even last 30 seconds! Can anyone even survive the one-minute requirement? Thats right. Over a hundred Tier 4 experts have taken the challenge already, yet none managed to succeed. It seems well have no choice but to go for the Gold Challenge instead. A Gold Mana Body is plenty good already. Some Tier 5 experts only have Silver Mana Bodies. After seeing one expert after another fail the Epic Challenge, the thousands of experts present started changing their minds about going for the Epic Challenge. However, just when some of the experts present were about to leave for the fourth floor, the spectators on the other side of the hall suddenly burst into gasps and cheers, attracting the attention of everyone in the hall. On the other side of the hall, a beautiful woman with her silver hair tied into a ponytail slowly walked out of the arenas there. The woman was clad in seductive black leather armor and wielded two crescent scimitars in her hands. As the woman left the arena, the words Challenge Successful C A-rank appeared above the arena. What?! Someone succeeded?! Crap! A-rank?! She lasted two minutes?! Who is that person?! I know her. Shes the first-rate Guild Mysterious Moons Nightingale Zhuo Yalin. Shes the vice commander of Mysterious Moons Third Legion. I heard that she was only half a step away from reaching Tier 5. I didnt think she would come to the Miniature Ancient World as well The spectating crowd was in disbelief when they saw the silver-haired woman named Zhuo Yalin completing her challenge. They also couldnt help but grow envious of the woman. After all, her success meant that she had earned an opportunity to construct an Epic Mana Body for herself. For an expert of Zhuo Yalins caliber, if she could successfully construct an Epic Mana Body, then her future would be limitless. While the spectating crowd discussed Zhuo Yalins success, several experts from Mysterious Moon excitedly approached the silver-haired woman. Youre amazing, Big Sis Zhuo! a female Oracle dressed in white robes exclaimed as she looked at Zhuo Yalin with sparkling eyes. Youre the first person to ever pass this Epic Challenge! With this, our Guild will become famous in Hundred Flow City! Its only the challenge that I completed. Its no big deal. The important part has yet to come, Zhuo Yalin said, smiling while shaking her head. She did not grow prideful over her recent success at all. This was because completing the challenge was only the first step to reconstructing her Mana Body. The truly difficult part was the actual reconstruction of her Mana Body. However, despite Zhuo Yalins words, many of the experts present in the hall still approached her to strike up a conversation and ask for pointers. Everyone present was well aware of the Epic Challenges difficulty, and it definitely wasnt as easy as Zhuo Yalin made it out to be. Meanwhile, during the time the many experts were crowding around Zhuo Yalin, Shi Feng approached an unoccupied arena in the hall. Each challenge costs 500 Gold, the arenas manager, a Level 150, Tier 4 NPC, indifferently said to Shi Feng. You will receive varying rewards depending on the evaluation of your challenge. Do you wish to proceed? Heres the money, Shi Feng said, nodding. He then handed 500 Gold to the manager and walked into the arena. Chapter 2934 - Chapter 8 – Expert? Chapter 2934 Chapter 8 C Expert? Hundred Flow City, Colosseum, one of the Epic Challenges arenas: Along with her successful challenge, Zhuo Yalin became the topic of discussion for everyone in the Colosseum. Many of the various first-rate Guilds peak experts present also looked at her with envy. Among the crowd in the fifth-floor hall, a girl wearing light blue armor and carrying two longswords around her waist stared at Zhuo Yalin from a distance. A look of worship on her face, the girl with her hair tied into double ponytails exclaimed, Big Sis Nightingale is so amazing! As expected of the genius whos on par with our Academys Director Lin! Now that she has cleared the Epic Challenge, it seems shes certain to set foot into this years A-League! In the ten years Gods Domain had been in operation, all sorts of combat tournaments revolving around the game had been created. Among these many tournaments, the Professional League could be considered the most popular tournament. The Professional League was something countless experts aspired to participate in. This was because the Professional League was a place for players to display their skills to the innumerable players of Gods Domain. The tournament garnered well over ten billion spectators each year, and the revenue it generated was astronomical. The Professional League was divided into multiple stages: Preliminaries, B-League, A-League, and lastly, the Ten Saints League. Meanwhile, the top ten winners of the tournament would be officially recognized as the Sacred Ten of Gods Domain. Setting aside becoming one of the Sacred Ten, anyone capable of setting foot into the A-League would already be considered a peak existence in Gods Domain, their names capable of sending tremors throughout the continent. However, after the girls exclamation, the gray-robed middle-aged man standing beside the girl dismissively said, You dont need to envy her, Lingling. Setting aside the fact that your sister is also close to reaching the A-League, you yourself possess talent rivaling your sisters. With the Dazzling Wave Workshops support, it is only a matter of time you enter the A-League as well. Hearing the middle-aged mans words, Wu Lingling bitterly smiled and shook her head, saying, You think too highly of me, Uncle Gan. Im not even qualified to participate in the Professional Leagues Preliminaries right now, let alone reaching the A-League. You dont need to be so humble, Lingling. When your elder sister first joined the Gods Domain Academy, she had to undergo one month of training under our vice commander before she managed to reach the middle stage of the Trial Towers fifth floor. You, on the other hand, achieved this without receiving such training, Gan Yuan, the middle-aged Elementalist, said confidently. Now, you have even become one of Dazzling Waves seeded talents. Otherwise, the vice commander wouldnt have let me come here in person. This really is a misunderstanding, Uncle Gan. I only managed to reach the fifth floors middle stage because of Instructor Shis guidance. Otherwise, I wouldve needed to train for much longer, Wu Lingling earnestly explained. Originally, she had not been receiving much attention from the Dazzling Wave Workshop. Yet, because of her results in the Gods Domain Academys admission test, she had immediately become one of the Workshops seeded talents. The Workshop had even officially recruited her as a member and sent Gan Yuan, a Tier 4 expert, to train her. Wu Lingling was naturally happy that a first-rate Guild like Dazzling Wave could value her. However, she also knew that her achievements werent all to her natural talent, but Shi Fengs guidance instead. As proof, everyone Shi Feng had taught outside the testing hall had made significant improvements. She was merely one out of many. Stop being humble, Lingling. I understand that you place a lot of importance on bonds, Gan Yuan said. The more he looked at Wu Linglings humble behavior, the more he liked the girl. He had seen many talents in his life, yet almost every one of them had a little arrogance in their behavior. For Wu Lingling to be so well-behaved and humble despite being so gifted was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise. Then, Gan Yuan continued, Since Ive already come here, Ill make sure that Instructor Shi of yours receives plenty of benefits. I heard that Shadow has dismissed him and has even sent some veteran employees to keep an eye on him. Hell probably have a difficult life in the future if this keeps up. However, if I bring it up with Shadow, I believe hell be fine from now on. As for your future lessons, you just need to follow me in this Miniature Ancient World. Uncle Yuan, isnt thisagainst the rules? I finally became a student of the Academy. Ive also apprenticed under Instructor Shi. If I keep training with you, Im afraid many people in the Academy will speak badly of Instructor Shi, Wu Lingling said in disagreement. How about I train under you after I pass the Preliminaries, become a professional player, and formally join Dazzling Wave? There were many precedents of the Gods Domain Academys students joining a Guild while still a student. However, these students would generally only do so after successfully qualifying for the Professional Leagues Preliminaries. This was because of the regulations the Academy had set up to prevent the various powers from rampantly snatching talents. According to the Academys rules, students would either have to graduate from the Academy or qualify for the Professional League before joining any Guild. Before students met either of these conditions, they would have to study under the Academys instructors. Although many Guilds would secretly start to cultivate the talents they prioritized even before these talents met the Academys requirements, these Guilds typically did so in secret. If Guilds blatantly nurtured their unqualified talents, it would be a huge disrespect to the Academy and the instructors involved. Dont worry, Lingling. I came here specifically to talk with that Shi Feng. I believe he will be more than happy to cooperate once he hears me out, Gan Yuan confidently said while caressing his goatee. Before meeting up with Wu Lingling, Gan Yuan had already conducted a thorough investigation on Shi Feng and found out that the other party was merely the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. Moreover, even at his peak, Shi Feng was only a Tier 3 expert who hadnt even reached the Refinement Realm. He was nothing but an insignificant existence in Gods Domain. In comparison, Gan Yuan was a Tier 4 Refinement Realm expert. Any smart person would eagerly try to curry favor with him. This Wu Lingling was momentarily at a loss for words. Having a Tier 4 Refinement Realm expert serving as a personal instructor was indeed something many students in the Gods Domain Academy looked forward to. However, for some inexplicable reason, Wu Lingling did not think that Shi Feng would be in any way inferior to Gan Yuan when it came to instructing students. Unfortunately, Wu Lingling didnt have a say in this matter. Her elder sister, Wu Xiaoxiao, had acquired this opportunity for her and even told her to cherish it. After all, Tier 4 experts were considered mainstays in first-rate Guilds, and every one of them was incredibly busy. These experts usually didnt even have time to instruct the Guilds new members, let alone provide one-on-one guidance to someone who hadnt even formally joined the Guild. Lets stop talking about this, Gan Yuan said, interrupting Wu Linglings thoughts when she saw the girls hesitance. By the way, where is that Instructor Shi of yours right now? Whats his ID? Didnt he say to meet here? Im not sure. Instructor Shi only said to wait for him in the Colosseums fifth floor, Wu Lingling said, shaking her head. Then she quickly typed out a message and sent it to Shi Feng, asking for his whereabouts. A moment later, she received a reply and read it. Instructor Shi just replied. His ID is Black Flame, and he says he is preparing to enter Arena No.3. Hell come to meet us once hes done with his challenge. Black Flame? Gan Yuan frowned, feeling dissatisfied with Shi Fengs behavior. Then, he sneered and said, Since hes taking the challenge in Arena No.3, well meet him there. I also can use this opportunity to see how capable he is. The players in Hundred Flow City capable of passing the Colosseums Epic Challenge probably numbered only a handful. Shi Feng was nothing but a Tier 3 expert who hadnt reached the Refinement Realm at his peak. Let alone completing the Epic Challenge, he would have difficulty even completing the Silver Challenge. When Gan Yuan and Wu Lingling arrived before Arena No.3, the challenge in the arena had already begun, and many players in the fifth-floor hall had come to watch. There were only eight arenas in the Epic Challenges hall, and each challenge cost 500 Gold. In a situation where Coins were limited, even frontline experts wouldnt recklessly take on the Epic Challenge. Instead, they would first watch other people take on the Epic Challenge and learn from their attempts. Along with the start of Shi Fengs challenge, ten Sea Giants wearing tattered armor appeared in the blood-stained arena. As soon as these Sea Giants appeared, they immediately sprung into an attack. Three bow-wielding Sea Giants sealed off Shi Fengs escape routes with arrows, two shield-bearers charged straight at Shi Feng to force him into revealing weak points, three sword-bearers executed a flurry of sword strikes, and two spear-bearers waited for an opportunity to strike. The Sea Giants had distinctly divided their responsibilities, and their movements were in sync with one another. They left no room for their opponent to catch a breather, and their assault was unrelenting. Thanks to Shi Feng, many of the spectating players got to experience the Sea Giants accurate and vicious three-pronged assault once more. What a crazy guy. He came here to take on the challenge right after recreating his account. He didnt even bother getting a single piece of Epic Equipment. Hes probably here to test the waters. Even so, he looks quite skilled. Its been ten seconds already, yet the Sea Giants still havent managed to corner him. I think he wont have any problems lasting 20 or 30 seconds. Thirty? Are you kidding me? I say hell last 20 seconds at best! The challenges difficulty ramps up every 15 seconds. Each of those archers is only firing two to three arrows at a time right now, but after the 15-second mark, theyll be firing four to five! Although the arrows the Sea Giants fired would have their power decreased along with the increase of their arrow count, even the weakest arrow carried the power of a Level 100 Great Lord. That wasnt something a player without a single piece of Epic Equipment could receive without flinching. Not to mention, Shi Feng was fully geared in Secret-Silver Armor only. If even one of those arrows landed on him, he would be knocked back and have his posture ruined. At that time, he would open himself to the attacks. Gan Yuan also nodded in agreement with the other spectators comments. Gan Yuan had watched the Sea Giants three-pronged assault many times already, so he knew very well how powerful the group of Sea Giants was. So long as players allowed themselves to get cornered by the three archers, the true nightmare would begin. Meanwhile, when Wu Lingling watched Shi Feng weaving around the stone pillars in the arena while dodging the Sea Giants arrows, anxiety overwhelmed her. Shi Feng dodged every arrow only by a hairs breadth. He had evidently reached his limit already. So long as the number of arrows he faced increased by a few, he would certainly die. Subsequently, the seconds ticked by one after another. When the challenge reached the 15-second mark, the three bow-wielding Sea Giants suddenly changed their rhythm. In the blink of an eye, the three archers launched a total of 14 arrows from three separate directions! Moreover, apart from the arrows, each of the remaining seven Sea Giants had also positioned themselves beside a pillar near Shi Feng. So long as Shi Feng dared try to use the pillars to shield himself from the arrows, they would be ready to strike at him. Its over! Gan Yuan smiled as he looked at Shi Feng. Wu Lingling, on the other hand, clenched her fists and looked at Shi Feng with a heavy gaze. At this moment, even an ordinary expert like her could tell that there was no way Shi Feng could dodge those 14 arrows. And even if he desperately evaded himself, three or four arrows should still strike him. He would need to actively defend himself with his weapon if he wanted to neutralize this threat. However, Shi Fengs current equipment was However, when the 14 arrows were less than ten yards, Shi Feng suddenly switched his footwork, his bodys movements accelerating by a large margin. From afar, it looked as if his body had accelerated from rest to lightning speed in an instant, then instantaneously returned to rest once again. Moreover, Shi Feng was repeating this cycle one after another. The sight was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, through this series of stops and movements, Shi Feng weaved through the 14 arrows like flowing water, letting none of the arrows hit him. Impossible! What did he do? The spectating players in the arena momentarily fell silent as they stared at Shi Feng. The player who said that Shi Feng wouldnt last more than 20 seconds before even had his mouth fall wide open Chapter 2935 - Astonishing Sword Chapter 2935 Chapter 9 C Astonishing Sword Formless Water? Gan Yuan muttered, his eyes filled with disbelief when he saw Shi Feng dodging the arrows in the arena. Formless Water? Wu Lingling curiously looked at Gan Yuan when she overheard his mutterings. This was the first time she had heard of the term Formless Water. Right! This is the rumored Formless Water! Crap! Who is this guy?! Shouldnt Formless Water be an ultimate move that only geniuses at the Flowing Water Realm can master? Amazing! I only saw this move twice in last years A-League, but this guys evasive maneuvers look even more natural than those two people! Could he be some superpowers bigshot here to have some fun? Initially, most of the experts present had failed to discern the identity of Shi Fengs evasive technique. However, when some of the nearby experts overheard Gan Yuans mutterings, realization quickly dawned upon them. Simultaneously, they also grew curious to find out Shi Fengs identity. Instructor Shi is amazing! Meanwhile, when Wu Lingling overheard the nearby experts exclamations, excitement filled her heart. She never thought that Shi Feng was such a powerful expert. Although Wu Lingling didnt know how amazing the Formless Water technique was, based on the surrounding experts comments, the technique was something only experts at the Flowing Water Realm or above could execute. Meanwhile, Flowing Water Realm experts were much more powerful than Refinement Realm experts. If a Flowing Water Realm expert chose to join a first-rate Guild, this person would be given an executive position at the very least. Not to mention, from what she had overheard, not all Flowing Water Realm experts could master the Formless Water technique. Instead, only experts capable of qualifying for the Professional Leagues A-League could do so. The A-League! That was a realm that her elder sister was constantly seeking to reach. However, even until now, her elder sister was still half a step from reaching it. Yet, now, Shi Feng had revealed that he had already reached this realm. Impossible! He is merely the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild! There is no way he can master such a profound technique! Gan Yuan instinctively shook his head and denied his conjecture. Then, he said in a determined tone, This must be an advanced combat technique resembling Formless Water. There is no way it can be the true Formless Water! Fifteen seconds! At most, he will deplete his Stamina and Concentration after 15 seconds from using such a combat technique! Formless Water was an ultimate move that tested the level of control players had over their bodies. Only by having superb control over ones body could one execute this technique. However, it was a different story if Shi Feng had executed one of the many combat techniques found in Gods Domain. These in-game combat techniques could allow players to exhibit effects resembling Skills and Spells or even combat standards of a higher realm. For the average expert, the combat techniques they would typically come across could be categorized into basic and advanced combat techniques. And unlike Skills and Spells, these combat techniques did not have a Cooldown, and neither did they cost any Mana to use. Instead, players only needed to expend a significant amount of their Stamina and Concentration to use these combat techniques. In the case of combat techniques that could allow their users to exhibit combat standards at the Flowing Water Realm, they were typically considered advanced combat techniques. However, if a Tier 3 player tried using an advanced combat technique, it would place a huge burden on their Stamina and Concentration. Thus, it was unlikely that Shi Feng could continue struggling for much longer. Gan Yuan also dismissed any possibilities of Shi Feng executing the actual Formless Water technique. After all, Shi Feng was merely a Tier 3 player who couldnt get promoted to Tier 4 even at his peak. There was no way he could master an ultimate move like Formless Water. It should be known that Flowing Water Realm experts were existences that even Gods Domains various superpowers welcomed with open arms. If Shi Feng was a Flowing Water Realm expert, there was no way a second-rate Guild like Shadow would dismiss him. An advanced combat technique? Wu Lingling couldnt help but doubt Gan Yuans explanation. After all, Shi Fengs movements were like flowing water as he dodged the Sea Giants arrows. Moreover, he showed no signs of exhaustion even until now, so it didnt seem like he was exerting himself when executing those movements. Youll see soon enough, Gan Yuan confidently said and nodded. In the meantime, Shi Feng could be seen moving about the arena like a ghost. Not only did he effortlessly evade the arrows flying toward him, but he also evaded the other Sea Giants offensive like flowing water. Moreover, Shi Feng would sometimes even use the Sea Giants charging at him as shields against the incoming arrows, making dodging even easier. Before anyone realized it, 15 seconds had already passed since the challenge had begun. At this point, every expert present in the hall had their eyes focused on Shi Fengs movements. During the past 15 seconds, every move Shi Feng made was a textbook example. He had dodged every attack sent at him with minimal movement, and he had utilized the surrounding environment to maximize his advantage. How is this possible?! Gan Yuan was dumbfounded when he saw that Shi Feng showed no signs of tiring. Since Shi Feng began his challenge, Gan Yuan counted at least two dozen movement techniques. Even a Tier 4 expert would feel tired after using two dozen advanced combat techniques consecutively. Yet, Shi Feng behaved no differently than when he started his challenge Before Gan Yuan could recover from his shock, the ten Sea Giants in the arena suddenly increased their offensive. Not only did the three bow-bearers fire 18 arrows simultaneously, but the three sword-bearers also activated a Tier 3 Skill. Tier 3 Skill, Spatial Fissure! Immediately, the three sword-bearers brandished their blades, every swing they executed creating energy blades that reached up to 50 yards away. The energy blades carried so much power that they could even bisect the stone pillars situated around the arena. When the spectating experts saw the storm of energy blades that filled the arena, a grim look appeared on their faces. Thus far, most of the Epic Challenges challengers had failed at this stage. Even someone wielding an Epic Weapon wouldnt be able to block those energy blades without getting pushed back. To make matters worse, the wide coverage of those energy blades made it incredibly difficult to dodge them. Unless one possessed powerful Lifesaving Skills, one would fall to those energy blades in no time at all. It seems that person wont last for much longer, Big Sis Zhuo, the female Oracle standing beside Zhuo Yalin said, sighing. Although Zhuo Yalin didnt say anything in response, she still silently agreed with her companions words. Past the 30-second mark, the Epic Challenge would no longer test the equipment standard of players. Instead, it tested players mastery over their Skills and Spells. However, judging by Shi Fengs equipment, he was someone who had entered the Miniature Ancient World by recreating his account. If that was the case, he wouldnt have learned any powerful Tier 3 Skills or Spells at all. For him to take on the Epic Challenge in such a state was simply a joke. The next moment, the timer displayed above the arena jumped to its 33rd second. Immediately afterward, an energy blade flew straight at Shi Feng, who was in the midst of evading several oncoming arrows. The energy blade left no room for Shi Feng to avoid it, and Shi Fengs only option was to receive it. It seems this is the end. The spectators shook their heads when they looked at the ten-meter-wide energy blade. Even a Tier 3 Berserker fully equipped in Epic Equipment and wielding an Epic Weapon would lose 50% of their HP if they received an energy blade with their weapon. If Shi Feng tried to receive the energy blade in his Tier 3 starter set, the energy blade would kill him instantly. Just as the energy blade was about to devour Shi Feng, Shi Feng finally unsheathed the silver sword hanging beside his waist. Then, he brandished the sword against the oncoming energy blade. Break! Shi Feng let out a low roar. Immediately, the longsword in his right hand split into six afterimages that moved to meet the approaching energy blade. One slash! Two slashes! Three slashes! Four slashes! Five slashes! Six slashes! The six afterimages landed on the same spot one after another. Then, the energy blade miraculously deviated from its original path and flew toward a shield-bearing Sea Giant. Boom! The energy blade sent the shield-bearing Sea Giant flying. Meanwhile, Shi Feng remained perfectly unharmed. This sudden development silenced the entire hall momentarily, and only after a second had passed did the spectating experts gasp and snap out of their daze. Crap! Thats theSix Extreme Slashes! He knows how to use Miracle Dragons trademark move? His Six Extreme Slashes look so similar to the real deal. Could he be the Sword Freak himself? Practically everyone in Gods Domain knew of Miracle Dragon the Sword Freak. He was an existence standing at the apex of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, one of the main contributors to his fame was the technique Six Extreme Slashes. Miracle Dragon had defeated countless experts by relying on this move. Who is he? At this point, even Gan Yuan, who knew about Shi Fengs identity, couldnt help but gasp. The shock he currently felt could no longer be described using words. It was true that Miracle Dragon wasnt the only person in Gods Domain who could execute the Six Extreme Slashes. However, it was also a fact that every person who had mastered this move was an existence capable of shaking Gods Domain with their name. Before Gan Yuan could recover from his shock, Shi Feng continued executing Six Extreme Slashes one time after another to deflect the Sea Giants attacks. Moreover, he did so until the one-minute time limit was up. Meanwhile, as soon as the challenge ended, the following words appeared above the arena: Challenge Successful C S-rank! Chapter 2936 - Fame Begins To Spread S-rank? Mysterious Moons Nightingale barely managed to keep her HP at 80% even when shes fully equipped in Epic Equipment. How can a Tier 3 newbie like him take no damage whatsoever? Could he be some Super Guilds bigshot here to experience the life of a newbie? I doubt thats the case. I heard that the various superpowers bigshots are currently preparing to go up against the Outerworlds apex experts. How would any of them have the time to retrain an account? He must be a superpowers bigshot. Otherwise, how can he execute Miracle Dragons Six Extreme Slashes with such proficiency? Shi Fengs performance had dumbfounded the spectating players in the hall. Everyone was also curious to find out Shi Fengs true identity. They were more interested in his identity than the fact that he had just gotten an S-rank evaluation in the Colosseums Epic Challenge. However, when Shi Feng got teleported out of the arena, he paid no attention to the crowd talking about him. Instead, he calmly made his way to the NPC manager managing his arena to retrieve his rewards. Your performance was outstanding. You are the first to have completed the challenge unharmed in Hundred Flow Citys Colosseum in the past few decades, the Tier 4 NPC said, a hint of respect appearing in his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Then, he retrieved an exquisite crystal box from the container beside him and handed it to Shi Feng, saying, Here is your reward. Apart from the Demon Gods Blood necessary to construct an Epic Mana Body, there is also a Colosseum Masters Insignia for Hundred Flow City inside. From now on, you are a VIP of Hundred Flow City, and you will get to enjoy the privileges of a noble in the city. A nobles treatment? Shi Feng was slightly surprised when he took out the golden lion insignia from the crystal box. The process of becoming a noble in the Miniature Ancient Worlds NPC Cities was much more tedious compared to the outside worlds NPC Cities. The average city here required players to accumulate 500 Contribution Points through completing quests, and each quest only awarded around three to five points. Meanwhile, after becoming an NPC Citys noble, players could enjoy certain privileges such as the right to buy Land and Shops. This privilege was especially important since players without noble status could not purchase Lands and Shops in the Miniature Ancient World. This restriction was also why despite many Guilds and adventurer teams entering the Miniature Ancient World, nobody had managed to acquire any Land or Shops in Hundred Flow City even until now. This saves me a lot of trouble. Shi Feng couldnt help but smile when he looked at the Colosseum Masters Insignia. In his current state, he would have difficulty competing with the various large Guilds for resources even in the newly-opened Miniature Ancient World. After all, there was strength in numbers. The various large Guilds also had numerous experts under their command. Meanwhile, if one did not have sufficient resources in Gods Domain, let alone advancing through the tiers, even leveling up quickly would become a problem. The resources one consumed increased with each subsequent tier they advanced in Gods Domain. For this reason, most independent experts without powerful backers would choose to join a Guild after struggling by themselves for a certain period. Otherwise, they could kiss their progress goodbye. Needless to say, hardly anyone in Gods Domain would refuse to make progress when given the opportunity. After all, ones status and standing in Gods Domain would improve dramatically with each tier one ascended. If a player managed to become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, they could receive VIP treatment from even world-class corporations in the real world. In Gods Domain, they would become existences capable of vaporizing an entire city with a single attack. Even flattening a kingdom consisting of several hundred cities wasnt out of the question. However, Shi Feng currently had nothing in both the real world and in the world of Gods Domain. The current funds he had were also far from enough to let him improve his physical fitness in the real world, let alone helping him return to Tier 6 in Gods Domain. Thus, acquiring resources in Gods Domain became a must for Shi Feng. Originally, Shi Feng had been pondering how he could go about becoming a noble in Hundred Flow City as quickly as possible and securing himself a Shop in Hundred Flow City before the various Guilds. Now, he no longer had to worry about these problems. Whether in the real world or Gods Domain, real estate was the mother of wealth. Now that countless players had swarmed into the Miniature Ancient World, so long as he could secure some Land and Shops in Hundred Flow City, he wouldnt have to worry about making money in the future. Subsequently, Shi Feng wore the Colosseum Masters Insignia and approached Wu Lingling, who stood nearby. Currently, Wu Lingling had her eyes glued to the S-rank evaluation displayed above Arena No. 3, an indescribable sense of joy and excitement coloring her eyes. Meanwhile, Gan Yuan, the gray-robed middle-aged man standing beside her, wore a complicated look on his face. Even until now, he still hadnt recovered from the shock of witnessing Shi Fengs battle. Gan Yuan dared not and could not believe this outcome. According to the intelligence report Gan Yuan received, Shi Feng was nothing but the abandoned Guild Leader of Shadow, a second-rate Guild. Moreover, even at his peak, Shi Feng had only reached Tier 3. Yet, now, not only did Shi Feng come out unscathed after clashing with ten powerful Sea Giants for one minute, but he had even shown astonishing mastery over Miracle Dragons Six Extreme Slashes. No matter how Gan Yuan looked at it, Shi Feng should be a mighty expert that shouldnt be underestimated. If speaking solely based on technique standards, Shi Feng would be unmatched in Dazzle Wave, a first-rate Guild. Yet, a Guild like Shadow had banished such an expert because he was too weak? Did we get the wrong person? Gan Yuan couldnt help but harbor such a thought. However, before Gan Yuan could snap out of his daze, Shi Feng approached them and looked at Wu Lingling apologetically, saying, Sorry for the wait. You seemed to be in a hurry to look for me, Wu Lingling. Do you have some urgent business with me? Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Wu Lingling glanced at Gan Yuan before carefully saying, Its nothing big actually, Instructor Shi. Uncle Gan is just hoping to talk with you. Wu Lingling didnt wish to bring up the matter of Gan Yuan replacing Shi Feng as her instructor. After all, it was too disrespectful toward an instructor of the Academy. Moreover, she felt that learning from Shi Feng wasnt a bad idea, either. Six Extreme Slashes was the trademark move of Miracle Dragon, the person she idolized. It was also a combat technique she had constantly been thinking of learning. Now that Shi Feng had shown himself to have incredible mastery over the technique, this was undoubtedly the best opportunity for her to learn it. However, her elder sister had gone out of her way to get Gan Yuan to train her, and she couldnt simply ignore her elder sisters decisions. Thus, she decided that it was best to let Gan Yuan bring up the troublesome matter instead. Talk with me? Hearing Wu Linglings words, Shi Feng turned toward Gan Yuan and narrowed his eyes. Then, he smiled and asked, May I know what business Brother Gan has with me? Are you perhaps here to discuss Wu Linglings future education with me? Wu Linglings talents were clear for all to see. There was no way the Guild Wu Xiaoxiao belonged to wouldnt be interested in such a talent. Although recruiting Wu Lingling shortly after she joined the Gods Domain Academy would be going against the Academys rules, the benefits far outweigh the risks. If Dazzle Wave could recruit Wu Lingling before she developed, not only could the Guild better-develop her potential, but doing so would also increase Wu Linglings loyalty to the Guild. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng spoke up, Gan Yuans expression immediately turned awkward. He didnt think that the person before him was the Instructor Shi he was looking for. To make matters worse, Shi Feng had even seen through his thoughts. For a time, Gan Yuan was at a loss for words. Originally, Gan Yuan had planned to simply greet Shi Feng and forget about Wu Linglings matter. After all, offending a Tier 3 expert with no background and offending an expert who had acquired an S-rank evaluation in the Colosseums Epic Challenge were two entirely different things. Right now, Gan Yuan wanted nothing more than to beat up the person responsible for collecting information on Shi Feng! However, Gan Yuan was an executive of a first-rate Guild. He had experienced many crests and troughs during his career in Gods Domain. Although he felt very embarrassed on the inside, he behaved as if nothing had happened on the outside. With a bright smile on his face, he said, You jest, Instructor Shi. All academies associated with Gods Domain have a common rule prohibiting organizations from poaching talents in advance. Although Dazzle Wave isnt a superpower, it is still a first-rate Guild in Gods Domain, so we strictly abide by the rules. I am only here this time because I have long since heard of your great name. I never got the opportunity to meet you, so I asked Lingling to introduce me. Please dont misunderstand my intentions, Instructor Shi. Wu Lingling couldnt help but be dumbfounded when she heard Gan Yuans words. She looked at the man as if she was meeting him for the first time. I see. Shi Feng nodded. Then, his expression brightened up a little as he said, However, Im afraid Ill have to disappoint you, Brother Gan. I am merely a Tier 3 player that Shadow has banished. How can I possibly enter the eyes of a first-rate Guild like Dazzle Wave? Gan Yuan awkwardly laughed when he heard Shi Fengs words. He also quietly wiped the sweat dripping down from his forehead. Although Shi Feng hadnt said anything hostile, Gan Yuan felt as if he was standing in front of a ferocious beast capable of seeing through all lies. When he looked at Shi Fengs faint smile and calm eyes, he saw no signs of a downtrodden man in his thirties whatsoever. Is he only the ex-Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild? Gan Yuan wondered as he looked at Shi Feng. In Gan Yuans opinion, Shi Fengs insightfulness and the oppressive feeling he gave off far superior to those of even Dazzle Waves Guild Leader. When standing in front of Shi Feng, Gan Yuan felt no different than a child. When Gan Yuan was about to say something, a group of players wearing Mysterious Moons Guild Emblem suddenly approached Shi Feng. Why are they here? Gan Yuan couldnt help but be surprised when he saw these players. Out of the dozen or so Mysterious Moon members standing before him, every one of them was fully equipped in Level 150 Epic Equipment. Moreover, the dense killing intent they radiated deterred even the many experts present in the hall from approaching them. At a glance, Gan Yuan could tell that these Mysterious Moon members were battle-hardened experts, and he couldnt help but feel frightened when standing in their presence. Zhuo Yalin, the leader of the group, gave off an especially bone-chilling aura. Gan Yuan felt as if he was standing within a cave made out of ice when he stood beside her, and he dared not loosen his guard even for a moment. Before Gan Yuan could react to the situation, Zhuo Yalin stepped closer to Shi Feng and started scrutinizing him with an enchanting smile on her face. Then, she enthusiastically introduced herself, Hello, I am Nightingale from Mysterious Moon. Your performance just now has truly amazed me. Can I ask for the opportunity to treat you to a drink? Zhuo Yalins voice was as beautiful as an orioles, and her actions carried both a ladys charm and bold enthusiasm. Many of the male players present were instantly captivated by her, and they couldnt help but look at Shi Feng with eyes full of envy. Meanwhile, Wu Lingling gaped in shock in this situation, her eyes filled with disbelief as she switched her gaze between her idol Zhuo Yalin and Shi Feng. Zhuo Yalin was the prided genius of Mysterious Moon, a first-rate Guild. She was also the vice commander of Mysterious Moons main force. She was even being nurtured as a potential Vice Guild Leader candidate in the Guild. There was no doubt that she was a core executive in Mysterious Moon. As icing on the cake, Zhuo Yalin also possessed an enchanting body and exquisite face. Many young talents from the various superpowers had once sought to pursue Zhuo Yalin. However, the number of invitations Zhuo Yalin accepted numbered less than a handful. Yet, now, Zhuo Yalin was taking the initiative to invite Shi Feng out for a drink. Even the Vice Guild Leaders and Guild Leaders of other first-rate Guilds were unlikely to receive such treatment. Hello, Miss Nightingale. Shi Feng smiled as he looked at Zhuo Yalin. He had somewhat an impression of the woman before him since she was quite the celebrity in Gods Domains Professional League. Many superpowers had tried recruiting her before, but she had refused all invitations and chose to remain in Mysterious Moon. Im sorry, but Im afraid I will have to turn down your invitation since I am very busy right now. If you wish to have a drink, we can do so on another day. Of course, if you wish to discuss business with me, I very much welcome it. You are as great as I imagined you to be, Mister Black Flame. Zhuo Yalins smile deepened. She wasnt at all surprised to hear Shi Feng refusing her invitation. Ill get straight to the point, then. I highly admire your skills. Thus, I would like to invite you to join me in besieging the Darkmoon Outpost ten days later. As for remuneration, feel free to name your price! Besieging the Darkmoon Outpost? Realization dawned upon Gan Yuan when he heard Zhuo Yalins offer. The Miniature Ancient World was filled with a type of hostile energy that corroded players bodies. This energy was much more hostile than ones found on the main continent, thus reducing the amount of time players could spend outside the safety of NPC cities even further. To make matters worse, Mounts originating from the main continent couldnt be used here, so players could only travel across maps by foot. This greatly restricted players range of activity and exploration progress of the Miniature Ancient World. Fortunately, there was a solution to this problem. Mana Outposts were located all across the Miniature Ancient World, and players could use the environment and facilities in these outposts to dispel the hostile energy in their bodies. Although the effectiveness of these outposts wasnt comparable to NPC Cities, players could still use these outposts to increase their range of activity by a significant margin. Thus, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that whoever controlled these Mana Outposts controlled the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, a battle for control over these Mana Outposts would be hosted once a month, and among the many Mana Outposts out there, the Darkmoon Outpost was located closest to Hundred Flow City. Hence, practically every Guild based in Hundred Flow City had their eyes set on the Darkmoon Outpost. However, there was a participation limit for the battle over the Darkmoon Outpost. To participate in the battle, players had to acquire a Permission Token dropped by specific targets scattered across the wild, and only 5,000 of such tokens would drop each month. If every Guild in Hundred Flow City competed for these tokens, each Guild could only acquire a small amount. Meanwhile, in such a small-scale battle, the role a powerful expert could play was massive. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng smiled at Zhuo Yalin and said, I am interested in your offer. However, I have two conditions. Zhuo Yalin was a little surprised by Shi Fengs response. She didnt think that Shi Feng would agree so readily. Then, she revealed a seductive smile and generously said, Please speak, Mister Black Flame. For my first condition, if we win, I hope to acquire the rights to a Large Shop in the Darkmoon Outpost, Shi Feng stated in a definitive tone. This Zhuo Yalin hesitated a little when she heard Shi Fengs condition. Immediately, the tall and robust man standing behind Zhuo Yalin glared at Shi Feng and said, Our vice commander is sincerely extending an invitation to you, Mister Black Flame. You are only participating by yourself, so dont you think youre asking a little too much? A Mana Outpost only has six Shops, and only one of them is a Large Shop! The other Mysterious Moon experts also nodded in agreement. They also felt that Shi Feng was going too far in his demands. However, Shi Feng didnt mind their reactions and continued, This brings us to my second condition. I wont be participating alone. Instead, I hope you can prepare 31 slots for us. Thirty-one slots? Zhuo Yalin was a little surprised, not expecting Shi Feng to already have his own team. However, after thinking it over, she found this situation to be reasonable. After all, how could such a powerful expert not have a team to support him? Immediately, she nodded and said, Alright. If you can help Mysterious Moon achieve victory, I can agree to give you a Large Shop, Mister Black Flame. Afterward, Shi Feng signed a contract with Zhuo Yalin via the Main God System. So long as Mysterious Moon acquired the Darkmoon Outpost, Shi Feng would gain the rights to the outposts largest Shop. As their interaction had attracted a lot of attention, Zhuo Yalin didnt continue chatting with Shi Feng after signing the contract. Immediately, she left the Colosseum together with her team, leaving Shi Feng, Gan Yuan, and Wu Lingling behind. When Wu Lingling could no longer see Zhuo Yalin in the hall, she quietly asked Shi Feng, Instructor Shi, about the 31-man team you mentioned Dont tell me youre talking about me and the other new students? Wu Lingling had a rough idea of Shi Fengs situation. So, when she heard the headcount of 31, she couldnt help but grow worrisome. What do you think? In response, Shi Feng gave Wu Lingling a look and chuckled before leaving the Colosseum as well. Chapter 2937 - Reconstructing Mana Body Chapter 2937 Chapter 11 C Reconstructing Mana Body Even after Shi Feng had left the Colosseum, it took a long time for Wu Lingling to come back to her senses. What are your thoughts on Instructor Shis words, Uncle Gan? Do you think he really intends to have us students participate in the battle for the Darkmoon Outpost? Wu Lingling asked as she looked at Gan Yuan, her heart filled with anxiety and excitement. The Darkmoon Outpost was a stronghold that every Guild based in Hundred Flow City sought to obtain. Meanwhile, because of the limited number of people that could participate in the actual competition, every participating Guild would undoubtedly be sending their strongest members to represent them. Although many of Gods Domains Guilds did not send their truly powerful experts to develop in the Miniature Ancient World, some of the larger Guilds should not have any problems dispatching peak experts to fight for the Darkmoon Outpost. In the case of first-rate Guilds, even the weakest member they sent would most likely be first-rate experts that were capable of reaching the Trial Towers seventh floor. In comparison, most of the students apprenticed under Shi Feng hadnt even reached the Trial Towers fifth floor. With their strength, they couldnt even serve as cannon fodder if they participated in the competition Of course, Wu Lingling couldnt rule out the possibility that Shi Feng was trying to widen their horizons. After all, it was rare to see battles involving thousands of powerful experts in Gods Domain, let alone participate in one. If budding players like them could take part in such a battle, it would significantly help their future development. However, as the first Mana Outpost one would encounter after leaving Hundred Flow City, the Darkmoon Outpost held extraordinary significance to the various Guilds. It was also why Zhuo Yalin tried to recruit Shi Fengs help even if it meant paying a steep cost. Only, if Zhuo Yalin were to find out that Shi Fengs so-called teammates were merely a bunch of freshmen from the Gods Domain Academy, she would absolutely refuse Shi Fengs demand. If Mysterious Moon failed to occupy the Darkmoon Outpost, the entire Guild would probably bear an eternal grudge against Shi Feng. After all, the 30 participation slots Shi Feng asked for could significantly impact the competitions outcome. Not to mention, Mysterious Moon had no lack of peak experts and first-rate experts to fill these slots. The Guild wasnt so desperate as to seek freshmen students as backup. He is probably joking with you, Gan Yuan said, shaking his head and smiling. There are only 5,000 participation slots in total, and there are more than 30 second-rate Guilds and seven first-rate Guilds based in Hundred Flow City. There are also numerous third-rate Guilds and unrated Guilds. A first-rate Guild would be fortunate to even secure 300 slots. If he lets you students take up 10% of Mysterious Moons slots, Mysterious Moon might as well call it quits already. In Gan Yuans opinion, there was no way an expert of Shi Fengs caliber would not know of the Darkmoon Outposts significance. Even if he wanted to train his students, there was no need to do so during such a crucial event. Having the students participate in the competition would be no different than making an enemy out of Mysterious Moon. Although Shi Feng possessed great combat standards, even he would suffer if he angered a first-rate Guild. After all, even Tier 5 experts dared not go up against first-rate Guilds upfront. Otherwise, they would have to face the pursuit of several Tier 5 experts. However, shortly after Gan Yuan finished speaking, Wu Lingling received a message that thoroughly dumbfounded her and Gan Yuan. Is he insane? Gan Yuan felt his mind falling into disarray when he read the message Wu Lingling shared with him. The messages content was simple. Shi Feng had appointed Wu Lingling as his class representative, and he had tasked her with contacting her classmates and gathering them in Hundred Flow Citys Blue Rose Bar in eight hours. At the end of the message, Shi Feng had also stated that all students under him would be participating in the battle for the Darkmoon Outpost ten days later What should I do, Uncle Gan? Wu Lingling couldnt help but be scared by this situation. Should I ask Big Sis to send some experts over? Wu Lingling was truly afraid now that she was certain of Shi Fengs intentions. After all, what Shi Feng was doing was no different than playing with their lives. If this situation wasnt handled properly, all of them would be dragged down into the abyss. In response to Wu Linglings question, Gan Yuan shook his head and said, Theres no point in doing that. Entering the Miniature Ancient World is equivalent to starting a new account. Not everyone is willing to take such a risk since there is no guarantee that they can return to and surpass their strongest state. Although the benefit of reconstructing ones Mana Body was indeed tempting, the Mana Body wasnt the only factor that affected a players ability to ascend to higher tiers. There were still many other factors that had to be taken into account. Typically, only experts who had poor foundations and encountered very little fortuitous opportunities in Gods Domain would be willing to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Either that or the Mana Body they created was far from ideal. Take Gan Yuan, for example. He had only created a Silver Mana Body with a 76% Completion Rate when he was at Tier 3. While it wasnt terrible, it wasnt good, either. If he kept with that Mana Body, it was unlikely that he would ever reach Tier 5 in his lifetime. Thus, he had decided to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Not to mention, he could also nurture a budding talent like Wu Lingling and earn a favor from Wu Xiaoxiao, one of the top prodigies of the Guilds younger generation. Apart from him, few of the Guilds other Tier 4 experts were willing to enter the Miniature Ancient World. And for those who did enter the Miniature Ancient World, the Guild had long since assigned them other important tasks. There was no way theyd be willing to make time to help a bunch of outsiders. Upon hearing Gan Yuans words, Wu Lingling remembered that they were no longer on the main continent but in the Miniature Ancient World instead. Here, even a prioritized talent like her elder sister would have difficulty mobilizing groups of experts. But you dont have to worry too much. I know a few skilled experts who have entered the Miniature Ancient World. If I give them a call, Im sure we wont have any problems coping with the competition, Gan Yuan said, smiling when he saw Wu Linglings crestfallen expression. However, Ill need you to talk things out with Instructor Shi first. Under normal circumstances, Gan Yuan wouldnt have bothered himself with such a troublesome matter. However, after witnessing Shi Fengs skills, he felt that it wouldnt be a bad idea to befriend such a powerful expert. After all, it was rare for Tier 4 experts like Gan Yuan to come across an expert of Shi Fengs caliber. And even if he managed to come across such an expert, the other party wouldnt bother interacting with him. After all, they were standing on two completely different levels Meanwhile, for experts like Gan Yuan, who were stuck at Tier 4, their only option to make further progress was to acquire more resources. However, the resources necessary were not things that measly Tier 4 experts could obtain. Only experts of Shi Fengs caliber could do so. Thus, now that there was an opportunity to befriend such an expert, Gan Yuan would naturally take it. Wu Lingling also nodded to Gan Yuans request. Hundred Flow City, City Hall: After leaving the Colosseum, Shi Feng had visited the City Hall and made his way up to the second floor. When Shi Feng arrived on the second floor, a blond elven woman wearing black office wear approached him. Then, the woman pointed at a record book on a nearby coffee table and smiled, saying, Greetings, sir. You can find all of Hundred Flow Citys vacant Lands and Shops sold here. If you are interested in a particular Land or Shop, feel free to tell me. I will do my best to give you the best price. The record book was very thick. When Shi Feng flipped through the pages, he found that the number of Lands and Shops available in Hundred Flow City far exceeded even that of royal capitals found on the main continent. Looking at all the available options, Shi Feng didnt know where to begin his search for his ideal Shop. After looking through the record book for some time, Shi Feng gave up and asked, Do you have any recommendations for Shops in the central area? There are two excellent Shops in the central area. One is an Advanced Shop located near the main street. It has seven floors, and it is selling for 45,000 Gold. The other one is a hotel located near the Teleportation Hall. The hotel has three floors, and it is selling for 22,000 Gold, the elven administrator said as she took out two projection crystals and activated them. These two locations have only gone up for sale starting this month. Whether it is their price or location, they are rare finds in Hundred Flow City. Shi Feng couldnt help but be moved as he looked at the projected images. The Lands and Shops found in Hundred Flow Citys central area were exceptionally expensive. Even a Basic Shop sold for upwards of 30,000 Gold, while vacant Lands sold for upwards of 20,000 Gold. Moreover, these prices only referred to Small Lands. Meanwhile, the two locations the administrator introduced both occupied Medium Lands. The fact that theyre being sold for such a low price could be considered a hidden benefit to the first player to purchase Shops and Lands in Hundred Flow City. Moreover, out of the two recommendations, one of them was even an Advanced Shop. If Shi Feng could purchase this Shop, he could make a fortune just by letting other players consign their items at the Shop. Not to mention, an Advanced Shop would also come with its own specialty goods, and he could use these goods to earn a stable income. As for the hotel, it wasnt a bad option, either. Now that there were no Guild Residences in Hundred Flow City yet, the only way players could accumulate the Double EXP buff and accelerate their grinding speed would be to stay in hotels. Thus, Shi Feng could also earn a significant income if he bought the hotel. Unfortunately, Shi Feng lacked the Coins to purchase even the hotel. Previously, he had spent two million Credits to purchase 20,000 Gold from a player merchant. Afterward, he had spent 500 Gold in the Colosseum. Thus, he only had 19,500 Gold in his bag right now. Can I get a discount if I decide to make a purchase? Shi Feng asked as he looked at the administrator. The elven administrator pondered for a moment when she heard Shi Fengs question. Then, she said, You are the first person to have acquired Hundred Flow Citys Colosseum Masters Insignia in the past few decades. If you decide to make a purchase, I can give you a 20% discount on one purchase. Twenty percent? Shi Feng was surprised. Originally, he thought it would be great if he could get even a 5% discount. He didnt think that the Colosseum Masters Insignia would provide him with such an amazing benefit. Okay, Ill take this hotel, then, Shi Feng said as he pointed at the three-story hotel projected before him. Although the Advanced Shop was tempting, he currently lacked funds and resources. Thus, the hotel was his best option. Moreover, he still needed to guide a bunch of students. If he bought the hotel, he could save on their accommodation fees, killing two birds with one stone. Very well. That will be 17,600 Gold, the administrator said. You will also have to pay a monthly management fee of 1,000 Gold for this hotel. If you fail to make payment for three consecutive months, we will be repossessing the hotel. Afterward, Shi Feng decisively paid 17,600 Gold to the elven administrator and received the hotels Deed in return. Then, he left the City Hall and visited the hotel to complete the property transfer. The hotel was located next to the Teleportation Hall, so it could be considered prime real estate in Hundred Flow City. After all, every player that teleported into Hundred Flow City using a Return Scroll would arrive in the Teleportation Hall. So, the street the Teleportation Hall was located on became a place where almost all players had to pass through. In reality, the hotels value was far from being worth just 17,600 Gold. Even if it was sold for an astronomical price of 50,000 Gold, Guilds would still fight to purchase it. A magic array currently sealed the three-story hotel, and no employees were working in the establishment. Only Shi Feng, the holder of the hotels Deed, could enter the place. The density of the Mana here is quite good. Its actually 30% higher than the outside world. Shi Feng felt very satisfied when he sensed the Mana within the hotel. A difference of 30% in Mana density might not seem like much, but the Mana in the Miniature Ancient World was originally much higher than the main continents Mana already. Thus, an increase of 30% was substantial. Players could receive substantial benefits if they tried to perceive and manipulate Mana in this environment. Afterward, Shi Feng started inspecting the hotels interior. The hotel had 600 rooms spread across its three floors, of which 560 were basic rooms and 40 were advanced rooms. This was an impressive number for a Basic Hotel. Even if he charged only 20 Silver per room, he could still make 120 Gold per day. Currently, ordinary Tier 3 experts earned only two to three Gold per day on average. After deducting the money spent on repairing equipment and purchasing supplies, a Tier 3 expert would be fortunate if they could have one Gold remaining. Meanwhile, a daily income of 120 Gold was unfathomable for the average Tier 3 expert. When Shi Feng entered an advanced room, he found that the density of the Mana here was 20% higher than the Mana found inside the basic rooms. This is a good place to reconstruct my Mana Body. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to visit an Advanced Hotel in Hundred Flow City to reconstruct his Mana Body. The construction of a Mana Body heavily depended on the ambient Manas density. Players would have a much easier time constructing their Mana Bodies if they did it in a place with dense Mana. Of course, after a certain point, the benefits high-density Mana brought would start to diminish. Meanwhile, the density of the Mana found in this hotels advanced rooms was already considerably high. Even if Shi Feng visited a place with even denser Mana, the benefits he could gain would be negligible. Immediately, Shi Feng sat cross-legged on the Mana Gathering Magic Array prepared in the middle of the room. Then, he took out the Demon Gods Blood that he had won from the Colosseum. The instant Shi Feng opened the vial housing the Demon Gods Blood, a powerful Divine Might instantly flooded the room. Even Shi Feng found himself having difficulty breathing under the pressure of this Divine Might. System: Do you wish to use the Demon Gods Blood and begin reconstructing your Mana Body? Yes! Chapter 2938 - – Going Beyond Epic As soon as Shi Feng chose to reconstruct his Mana Body, the crimson blood in the vial transformed into streams of purplish-red mist that flowed into his body. Three seconds later, golden divine runes appeared around Shi Feng one after another, emitting ripples of Divine Might. The Divine Might was incredibly powerful, and even Tier 4 experts would find themselves immobilized when subjected to it. The divine runes that appeared were akin to flames as they continuously burned and erased Shi Fengs original Mana Body. One minute Three minutes Ten minutes After 15 minutes had passed, Shi Feng could feel the Divine Might that enveloped his body growing weaker and weaker. Likewise, the presence of his Mana Body also grew fainter and fainter. By the time the Divine Might disappeared completely, his Mana Bodys presence had disappeared completely. Simultaneously, a feeling of weakness spread across Shi Fengs body. Amazing! It removed my Mana Body completely! Shi Feng grew excited when he sensed that his Bronze Mana Body had disappeared already. Although players could progress up to Tier 6 in Gods Domain, the biggest milestone was at Tier 3. This was because the Mana Body players constructed at Tier 3 would play a significant role in their advancement to higher tiers in the future. The Mana Body was also the main factor that separated Gods Domains experts into two distinct classes. Even if a player managed to reach Tier 4, if their Mana Body did not reach the Silver rank, they couldnt be regarded as an upper-class expert no matter what. They could never become a true mainstay in first-rate Guilds and above. However, this wasnt an unreasonable distinction. After all, the Mana Body represented a players future potential. No Guild would be willing to support and nurture a person with no potential. This was also why second- and third-rate Guilds could never contend against first-rate Guilds. Unlike second- and third-rate Guilds, first-rate Guilds would only accept those with a Silver Mana Body or above as their mainstays and executives. Next is the last step. Shi Feng focused his attention on the system notification that had appeared before him. System: You have begun the reconstruction of your Mana Body. You have six hours to reconstruct your Mana Body. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to have acquired a Perfect Epic Demon Gods Blood! You can choose between obtaining one Legendary Mana Body Diagram, one Peak Epic Mana Body Diagram, or one Advanced Epic Mana Body Diagram. Legendary? Shi Feng was dumbfounded. After all, in the eyes of most Guilds, Gold Mana Bodies were already the best Mana Body one could acquire. Information on Epic Mana Bodies was so rare that most people didnt even know they existed. If not for the Miniature Ancient Worlds expansion pack information publicizing the existence of Epic Mana Bodies, the first-rate Guilds in this life probably wouldnt even know that there existed Mana Bodies surpassing Gold Mana Bodies. As for Legendary Mana Bodies, that was something even Shi Feng had never heard of after becoming a Tier 6 Sword God. It should be known that players with a Gold Mana Body could already roam the continent without fear of the hostile energies that plagued high-level maps. If a player acquired an Epic Mana Body, they could further boost their Stamina and Concentration recovery rates. Even their perception toward Mana would receive a considerable improvement. The benefits an Epic Mana Body provided could probably allow players to move about freely even in the Miniature Ancient Worlds hostile environment. Acquiring an Epic Mana Body was also part of Shi Fengs plan to restart his campaign in Gods Domain. However, Shi Feng never thought that there existed another rank above Epic. Before Shi Feng could recover from his surprise, another system notification appeared. System: You have 15 minutes to choose a Mana Body Diagram. If you fail to decide within 15 minutes, you will receive the Advanced Epic Mana Body by default. Interesting. Shi Feng smiled when he saw the system notification. Then, he began carefully inspecting the three Mana Body Diagrams the system provided. If given a choice, Shi Feng would naturally choose the best Mana Body he could get his hands on. However, that was based on the precondition of completing the construction process within the allotted time. If he went with the Legendary Mana Body out of greed and failed to construct it, he would simply be throwing away the opportunity to secure himself an Advanced Epic Mana Body or Peak Epic Mana Body. Ten minutes later, Shi Feng closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As expected of a Mana Body that is above Epic rank. Even apex experts are unlikely to be able to complete this Legendary Mana Body in just six hours. Shi Feng already experienced constructing an Advanced Epic Mana Body in his previous life, so he was confident he could construct a perfect one this time. He was even confident he could construct a Peak Epic Mana Body with a 95% Completion Rate or above. The construction of a Mana Body depended on the players control over Mana. The more adept one was at manipulating Mana, the easier it would be for one to construct ones Mana Body. Meanwhile, as someone who had become a Tier 6 God in the past, Shi Fengs mastery over Mana manipulation had long since reached a realm that ordinary experts could not fathom. However, the Legendary Mana Bodys complexity was far above that of even Epic Mana Bodies. Even Shi Feng had barely met this requirement. Moreover, this still wasnt the most crucial point What made constructing the Legendary Mana Body truly challenging was that players needed to construct seven Master Magic Arrays and connect them to form one Grandmaster Magic Array. Although Shi Feng had been a Grandmaster Magician during his previous life, with his current tier and Concentration standard, he would be hard-pressed to construct so many high-ranking magic arrays. Not to mention, every one of these magic arrays needed to have a considerably high Completion Rate. Otherwise, the Legendary Mana Body he created might even lose out to an Epic Mana Body with a high Completion Rate. However, despite knowing the difficulty, Shi Feng still chose to construct the Legendary Mana Body without hesitation. He had lost his memories for some inexplicable reason after entering the Main World in the past. This showed that the Main World was a much more dangerous place than he expected and that the strength he had back then wasnt enough to ensure his safety in the Main World. Thus, what he needed to do now was simplebecome much stronger than he had been in his previous life. Only by doing so would he have a chance at recovering his lost memories. Meanwhile, the Legendary Mana Body was undoubtedly the first step into helping him grow stronger. Thus, regardless of the difficulty, he needed to try constructing the Legendary Mana Body. Subsequently, Shi Feng began manipulating the surrounding Mana and constructing the Legendary Mana Body based on the provided diagram. Because Shi Feng sorely lacked in Concentration recovery methods right now, manipulating 16 sources of Mana simultaneously placed a heavy burden on his mind. At this time, he was relying entirely on his knowledge and experience as a Grandmaster Magician to create the nine supporting magic arrays and one Grandmaster Magic Array. As time passed and he encountered failure after failure, he grew increasingly familiar with the Grandmaster Magic Arrays construction process. After working continuously for four hours, Shi Feng finally completed his first attempt at constructing the Legendary Mana Body. System: Mana Body constructed. Completion Rate 71%. Do you wish to keep this Mana Body? No! Shi Feng rejected without hesitation. A Mana Body needed to reach an 80% Completion Rate for it to function normally. Below 80%, a Mana Body would have its effects weakened. Thus, Shi Fengs Legendary Mana Body needed an 80% Completion Rate at the very minimum. Otherwise, he wouldve been better off going for an Epic Mana Body with Completion Rate above 90%. After all, a Mana Body with a 90% Completion Rate would be able to perform at 100% capacity, and every additional percentage gained in Completion Rate would improve the Mana Bodys performance significantly. In the past, Shi Feng had been lucky and achieved a 91% Completion Rate on his Advanced Epic Mana Body. It had saved him a lot of trouble when he was advancing to higher tiers. Subsequently, Shi Feng started his second attempt. Because of his previous experience, Shi Feng took less than half an hour this time to complete his Mana Body. Moreover, its Completion Rate had surpassed the passing mark and reached 83%. However, Shi Feng wasnt satisfied with this outcome, so he proceeded with his third and fourth attempts. Shi Feng made a slight mistake on his third attempt, and the Completion Rate he got was 76%. On his fourth attempt, he managed an 86% Completion Rate. For the average expert, they would be delighted with such a result even if their Mana Body was only at the Silver rank, let alone the unheard-of Legendary rank. However, Shi Feng still wasnt satisfied with this result. I only have time for one more try? Shi Feng hesitated for a moment when he saw the remaining time. However, after thinking it over, he clenched his teeth and began his fifth attempt. Shi Feng would be lying if he said he wasnt satisfied with an 86% Completion Rate. However, if he wished to surpass his previous life, this result wasnt enough. After all, he no longer had the support of a Guild in this life. If he lacked a sufficiently powerful Mana Body, he would have a tough time rising to the top of Gods Domain. After four attempts, Shi Feng had already become very familiar with the Legendary Mana Bodys construction process. On his fourth attempt, he needed ten minutes to construct the seven Master Magic Arrays and link them into one big Grandmaster Magic Array. Now, he needed only seven minutes to do so. Moreover, the construction process went much more smoothly than before. However, time was also ticking away rapidly as Shi Feng constructed his Mana Body. Seventeen minutes remaining Twelve minutes remaining Six minutes Three minutes When less than two minutes remained, Shi Feng inhaled and exhaled deeply. Good! Its done! Shi Feng exclaimed out of excitement. Simultaneously, a system notification also appeared before him. System: Mana Body constructed. Completion Rate 94%. Do you wish to keep this Mana Body? Chapter 2939 - Inherent Mana Domain Chapter 2939 Chapter 13 C Inherent Mana Domain Ninety-four percent? Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he read the system notification. A Mana Body with a 90% Completion Rate could already perform at 100% capacity, and every percentage increase after 90% would further enhance the Mana Body to a certain extent. Meanwhile, an additional 4% would provide a massive improvement. To provide some context, take Alice, the Witch of the West, for example. She was known by all in Gods Domain for her Gold Mana Body that had a 98% Completion Rate. This Gold Mana Body granted her extraordinary perception and control toward Mana, which, in turn, allowed her to stand above all magical class players. Meanwhile, the only Mana Body that could match Alices near-perfect Gold Mana Body was probably Shi Fengs Advanced Epic Mana Body, which had a 91% Completion Rate. Now, though, not only did Shi Feng have a Legendary Mana Body, but its Completion Rate had even reached 94%. If comparing solely in terms of Mana perception and control, he was leagues above his previous life. System: Mana Body constructed. Completion Rate 94%. Do you wish to keep this Mana Body? Upon receiving another reminder from the system, Shi Feng quickly snapped out of his daze and chose to keep the Mana Body he created. Immediately afterward, golden divine runes appeared around Shi Fengs body. The dense Mana surrounding Shi Feng also flooded into his body, continuously improving his bodys overall strength and perception. In just several seconds, Shi Feng could sense that he had already surpassed himself when he first constructed his Advanced Epic Mana Body. The strengthening process continued for nearly 20 seconds before the divine runes faded out of existence. At this time, not one bit of Mana remained inside the room. Mana was the foundation of all life in Gods Domain, so a place without Mana was not a place that living creatures could survive in. Even Tier 3 players with a Gold Mana Body could only survive in a space void of Mana for a short period. Yet, at this time, Shi Feng did not feel even the slightest discomfort while sitting in this Manaless room. So, this is a Legendary Mana Body? An indescribable sense of shock filled Shi Feng as he perceived the space around him. When he had first completed his Advanced Epic Mana Body in his previous life, he had only acquired a rudimentary form of a Mana Domain whose only function was to prevent the Mana in his body from leaking away. However, the completion of the Legendary Mana Body had directly provided him with a fully functioning Mana Domain. Although this Mana Domain only covered a small radius of 10 yards, it was still a bona fide Mana Domain. Within the space the Mana Domain covered, he was the ruler. He could freely manipulate Mana within this space and prevent it from being influenced by the Mana outside. Typically, players would only begin creating a rudimentary form of a Mana Domain after they had reached Tier 4. Meanwhile, only a small minority of experts would be capable of creating a full-fledged Mana Domain at Tier 4. Yet, Shi Feng had received a full-fledged Mana Domain immediately after he had constructed his Mana Body. Apart from the full-fledged Mana Domain, what also surprised Shi Feng was the improvement he received toward his Mana perception, recovery speeds for Stamina and Concentration, and the toughness of his body. Afterlife Of The Party It Came From Below Free Guy: Guy Meets Girl (60 Second Spot) Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings: Icon (Spot) Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings: Tickets On Sale (Spot) A Journal For Jordan (Teaser Trailer 1) Everyones Talking About Jamie: (Trailer 2) Hes All That (French Trailer 1) Free Guy: Las Reacciones Maximas De Deadpool (Latin America Market Subtitled) Collection Even though a Mana Body didnt provide players with any increase in Basic Attributes, it still influenced a players performance heavily as it provided nonstatistical improvements such as Mana perception, recovery speed, and physical toughness. Firstly, Mana perception. Mana perception played an important role in players ability to manipulate Mana. Meanwhile, the better a player was at manipulating Mana, the higher their Skills and Spells Completion Rates would be. Secondly, recovery speed. The greater a players recovery speed was, the quicker they could recover the Stamina and Concentration they expended in battle. This, in turn, would increase the duration in which they could stay in the battle. Lastly, physical toughness. Physical toughness affected a players ability to withstand attacks. Although physical toughness wouldnt reduce the amount of damage players took, it reduced players chances of suffering physical injuries. If a player had sufficiently high physical toughness, an attack that shouldve originally caused a heavy injury might only end up causing a light injury. This was a significant difference as a light injury wouldnt hamper a players performance, whereas a heavy injury would. If a player sorely lacked physical toughness, they might even lose their limbs to a powerful attack, severely affecting their combat performance. Currently, Shi Feng could sense that his Mana perception was already on par with what he had when he initially reached Tier 4 during his previous life. He could already clearly perceive the basic operating principles of the various elements of Mana surrounding him. As for his recovery speed, it was double that of the Advanced Epic Mana Body. Even though he was only a Tier 3 Sword King right now, he could execute Six Extreme Slashes, an Advanced Combat Technique, without burden. As for his physical toughness, it was already on par with the physical toughness of the average Tier 4 Mythic monster. Now, attacks at the Tier 3 standard couldnt even put a scratch on him, and only Tier 4 attacks could threaten him. This inherent Mana Domain saves me a lot of trouble. Shi Feng couldnt help but smile as he manipulated his Mana Domain. His Mana Domain would only cover a 10-yard radius around him when he wasnt actively controlling it. However, once he actively controlled it, the Mana Domain could cover up to a 50-yard radius. While a 50-yard radius was below-average for a full-fledged Mana Domain, it was more than enough for a Tier 3 player. This was because the maximum attack range of the average Tier 3 expert was only 50 yards. Meanwhile, his Mana Domain would weaken all enemies within its range by a certain extent. Originally, Shi Feng had been having a headache trying to think of a way to help his students. His students were far too weak right now, and if he wanted them to be of any help to him, he needed to improve their combat standards. Only, improving their combat standards was easier said than done Even though he had taught his students the Refinement exercise, they couldnt reach the Refinement Realm solely by relying on the exercise. They needed to pair the exercise with lots of combat experience. If he still had the resources available to Zero Wing, he couldve simply let his students participate in simulated battles against Refinement Realm experts and gain combat experience that way. This was also how the various superpowers trained their young talents. However, he was merely the ex-Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild right now. He didnt have any training resources in his possession right now. Trying to mimic the training methods of superpowers was nothing but a dream. Thus, the only option available to him was to have his students partake in live combat! Before constructing his Legendary Mana Body and acquiring a Mana Domain, Shi Feng wouldve had difficulty creating a safe environment for his students to carry out live combat. However, now that he had a Mana Domain, that would no longer be a problem. So long as his students fought within his Mana Domain, he could control the flow of battle as he wished, thereby minimizing the risk of casualties. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng was inspecting his new Mana Domain, he suddenly received a call from Wu Lingling. Everyone has gathered in the Blue Rose Bar already, Instructor Shi, Wu Lingling said as she looked at Shi Feng through the video chat. Then, she worriedly asked, Should I make some additional arrangements? Previously, Shi Feng had already made it clear in his message that they would be challenging the Withered Ruins, the nearest Level 100 Regional Dungeon to Hundred Flow City. Unlike Team Dungeons, Regional Dungeons didnt have an entry limit. Players could enter the map by themselves or in massive teams. Meanwhile, not only did the monsters inside a Regional Dungeon provide ample EXP, but they also had much better loot than monsters found in the outside world. Thus, the Withered Ruins was the perfect place for Hundred Flow Citys experts to grind at. However, grinding at the Withered Ruins wasnt an easy task. Like Team Dungeons, Regional Dungeons could similarly be categorized by difficulty, with the first three difficulties being Normal, Hard, and Hell. Among them, Hard Mode Regional Dungeons were already enough to deter the average Tier 3 team. Only teams made up of Tier 3 experts could cope in these Dungeons. Meanwhile, the Withered Ruins was a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. Even Tier 3 expert teams could face annihilation if they werent careful inside. Typically, only the frontline teams of large Guilds could operate with relative safety inside a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. As for freshman students like themselves, they were almost guaranteed to die should they enter the Withered Ruins If they wanted to grind inside the Withered Ruins, they would need to recruit the help of some frontline experts. After all, there was no way Shi Feng could take care of everyone on the team. Shi Feng chuckled at Wu Linglings concern. Then, he said, Since youve already gathered, fill your stomachs with some food and drinks. Well meet up at the Withered Ruins entrance in two hours. Fighting in a Regional Dungeon is much more exhausting than fighting in the outside world, so you should also prepare some Stamina and Concentration Recovery Potions. After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call, his words rendering Wu Lingling speechless. A female Guardian Knight wielding Dark-Gold ranked buckler and clad in Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment happened to overhear Shi Feng and Wu Lingling. In a worried voice, the female Guardian Knight asked, Could Instructor Shi be joking with us, Class Rep? The Withered Ruins is a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. If we head there as we are now Previously, when the other students heard from Wu Lingling that they would be going to the Withered Ruins, they had reacted in joy and excitement. Hell Mode Regional Dungeons were places where even ordinary expert teams dared not enter, and only the expert teams of powerful Guilds and adventurer teams would set foot into it. Under normal circumstances, students like themselves wouldnt even dare harbor any thoughts of entering a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. Even the advanced instructors of the Gods Domain Academy wouldnt bring their students into one. After all, doing so would require them to hire a bunch of frontline experts as babysitters, and they definitely wouldnt be willing to foot such a cost for mere students. Thus, they were ecstatic when they first heard that Shi Feng would be taking them into the Withered Ruins. Now, though Is Instructor Shi trying to take a gamble? Its the freshman tournament tomorrow, and every instructor has to send three students out to fight as a team. I heard that the top three instructors would get to visit one of the Secret Pavilions training branches. This is a rare opportunity even in our academy, a male Assassin with a lean body suddenly said. Upon hearing this male Assassins words, realization immediately dawned upon the other students present. The Secret Pavilion was a transcendental existence in Gods Domain, and innumerable experts had originated from it. Even among Super Guilds, few were capable of rivaling the Secret Pavilion when it came to training talents. However, the Secret Pavilion would only ever train its own talents. Never did it allow the talents and experts of the various academies to join its training program. Now, though, the Secret Pavilion was allowing the Gods Domain Academys instructors to visit one of its training branches. This was undoubtedly a rare opportunity for the Academys instructors. Meanwhile, it was already common knowledge that Shi Feng had been Shadows ex-Guild Leader and that he had failed to break out of Tier 3 even after many years of struggles. If he could participate in the Secret Pavilions training session, he might finally achieve a breakthrough and reach Tier 4. Meanwhile, out of the 30 students apprenticed under Shi Feng, only Wu Lingling was capable of ranking among the top of this years freshmen. However, the freshman tournament was a team match. There was no way Wu Lingling could win the tournament by herself. She needed teammates that could be of help to her. Thus, Shi Feng was taking them to the Withered Ruins and betting on the possibility that the other students might improve there. Alright, stop making blind guesses. Lets get ready and set out. When Wu Lingling saw her classmates starting to voice opinions about Shi Fengs decision, she quickly stopped them in their tracks. Though, she didnt know whether to laugh or cry on the inside. If they were already complaining about grinding in the Withered Ruins, what would happen if she told them about the matter regarding the Mana Outpost? Chapter 2940 - Entering Hell Mode For The First Time Chapter 2940 Chapter 14 C Entering Hell Mode for the First Time The Withered Ruins was a magnificent city surrounded by a dead forest. Currently, over 30 teams had gathered in front of the magic barrier that surrounded the dead forest. Every one of these teams had at least 100 members, with some having up to 200 members. Moreover, even the weakest player was equipped in Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, while the strongest was fully equipped in Epic Equipment. When Wu Lingling and the others first arrived before the Withered Ruins, they immediately felt an oppressive feeling enveloping their bodies. Right now, even a fool could tell that their group of students did not belong to this place. They stood out like a sore thumb when they stood among these expert players. Meanwhile, the arrival of Wu Linglings group also attracted the attention of the many expert teams present. This was especially true for one particular 200-man team. After taking a glance at Wu Linglings group, a woman clad in an exquisite robe and wielding a crystalline Epic Staff sneered and said, Whats a bunch of children like them doing here? What is their leader even thinking? Do they think that a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon is some playground for children? The words of the woman attracted the approval of many of her team members. Like the woman, these people also looked at Wu Lingling with eyes full of contempt. While it was true that any player who met the level requirement could enter a Hell Mode Team Dungeon, it didnt mean anyone who met the level requirement should enter a Hell Mode Team Dungeon. After all, it wasnt without reason that Hell Mode Team Dungeons were known as leveling spots for expert players. There was no possibility that Wu Lingling and her teammates were experts disguised to look like university students, either. Although players could alter their character appearances in Gods Domain, they couldnt hide their age. Meanwhile, anyone could tell at a glance that Wu Lingling and her teammates were merely a bunch of students. Moreover, judging by how they moved, they were definitely a bunch of newbies who had entered Gods Domain only recently. With the combat standards they possessed, let alone putting up a fight, they couldnt flee for their lives should they enter the Withered Ruins. While the members of this 200-man team were having a hushed discussion about Wu Linglings group, a middle-aged man clad in silver armor and wielding two tower shields also glanced at Wu Linglings group. Then, he looked at his team members and said, Its time! Get ready to enter! As soon as this middle-aged man spoke, everyone on the 200-man team promptly shut their mouths and readied themselves to enter the Withered Ruins. Even the woman wielding the crystalline Epic Staff dared not continue speaking. Instead, she took out a Magic Scroll from her bag and started casting a Spell that increased everyones Basic Attributes. Although their team had entered many Hell Mode Regional Dungeons before, those were Dungeons found on the main continent. The Miniature Ancient World had a much harsher environment than the main continent, and the monsters here were much stronger. Since this was their first time entering a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon in the Miniature Ancient World, they had no idea exactly how powerful the monsters inside were. Thus, they dared not act recklessly. At the same time as this 200-man team started getting ready, the other teams present also began making their respective preparations. The behavior of these teams made it look like this 200-man team was their leader. The reason for everyones reaction was simple. It was because this 200-man team had an extraordinary origin. Although this 200-man team consisted of only independent players, these players were all members of Soulfire, a top adventurer team in Gods Domain. Soulfire was an adventurer team that only appeared five years after the launch of Gods Domain. The adventurer team had started as a small group of several dozen players. Now, though, it had already become one of the top 50 adventurer teams on the eastern continent, its member count exceeding 200,000. Although Soulfires member count was inferior to even third-rate Guilds, every member qualified to join Soulfire was an expert capable of reaching the Trial Towers sixth floor at the very least. Thus, Soulfires overall strength rivaled even that of first-rate Guilds. Moreover, the person leading Soulfires 200-man team this time was none other than Southern Tiger, one of Soulfires 16 captains and a Half-step Tier 5 expert during his peak. Although Tier 5 players were labeled as apex existences in Gods Domain, the existence of Tier 5 players was incredibly rare. Tier 5 players were so rare that any one of them could instantly become the backbone of a first-rate Guild should they choose to join one. In a situation where only a small portion of Gods Domains players had chosen to enter the Miniature Ancient World, the existence of a Half-step Tier 5 player was as rare as a phoenixs feather, let alone actual Tier 5 players. After all, not all players who had reached Tier 4 or higher possessed the courage to restart their progress from Level 100, Tier 3. Meanwhile, even if everyone now had their tiers reduced to Tier 3, an expert who had once reached the Half-step Tier 5 standard was still an existence worthy of everyones respect. Move out! Southern Tiger bellowed as he looked toward the Withered Ruins. Immediately, Soulfires 200-man team began marching toward the magic barrier that enveloped the Regional Dungeon. As for the other teams, they waited for around a minute after Soulfires team disappeared before entering the Dungeon themselves. Evidently, they planned on letting Soulfire test the waters and open the way for them. When all but Shi Fengs students remained outside the Withered Ruins, Qin Wuchen couldnt help but turn toward Wu Lingling and asked, What should we do now, Class Rep? According to the information they found, it wasnt safe for players to enter the Withered Ruins whenever they wanted. This was due to the effects of the magic barrier enveloping the Dungeon. On the surface, there was only one entrance into the Withered Ruins. However, in reality, the instant players walked through the magic barrier, they would be teleported to a random location inside the Dungeon depending on their time of entry. Meanwhile, the current time just so happened to be when players were guaranteed to get teleported to the Withered Ruins outer region. Once players missed this safe period, they would have to either wait six hours for the next safe period or risk getting teleported to the Withered Ruins inner region. Even for current expert teams, a Level 100 Hell Mode Regional Dungeons outer region was a huge challenge, so getting teleported to the inner region would be an absolute nightmare. This was also why the many expert teams from before did not enter the Withered Ruins as soon as they arrived. Wu Lingling grew anxious when she heard Qin Wuchens question. She had no idea what they should do right now. If they rashly entered the Dungeon without Shi Feng accompanying them, they would all but guarantee their deaths. Yet, if they didnt enter the Dungeon now, they would have to wait for six more hours to do so! The Miniature Ancient World had been opened to players only recently, so now was the best time for players to grind for levels. It was also a crucial period for players to secure the many opportunities available in the Miniature Ancient World for themselves. Their group had already wasted a lot of time gathering up previously. If they wasted six more hours on top of that, they would certainly miss out on many opportunities. During the time Wu Lingling was stomping her feet out of anxiety, a figure slowly approached the group of students. Meanwhile, this figure belonged to none other than Shi Feng. What took you so long, Instructor Shi?! The safe period is almost over! If we dont get ready to enter now, well have to wait here for another six hours! Wu Lingling immediately started complaining when she saw Shi Feng approaching. Compared to the expert teams from before, students like themselves needed to make many more preparations before entering a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. Not only would they need to cast all sorts of buffs on themselves, but they would also have to use various enhancement potions. Most importantly, they needed to sort out everyones responsibilities and positionings in battle. Otherwise, they would only be getting themselves killed if they entered the Withered Ruins. Similar to Wu Lingling, everyone else on the team also couldnt help but grow nervous. Although everyone had previously been afraid and opposed Shi Fengs decision to grind in the Withered Ruins, after arriving before the Regional Dungeon and seeing all those expert teams, they couldnt help but desire to compete with and grind at the same location as those expert teams. Thus, seeing Shi Fengs late and unhurried arrival stimulated their nerves. Meanwhile, Shi Feng chuckled when he saw the anxiety on his students faces. Then, he said, A Hell Mode Regional Dungeon isnt as tough as you imagine. You dont need any troublesome preparations, either. You bought the Stamina Recovery Potions I asked you to, right? Have everyone take a bottle now, and lets enter the Dungeon. Just one Stamina Recovery Potion is enough? Wu Lingling couldnt help but doubt her ears when she heard Shi Fengs words. The Stamina Recovery Potion was an item sold in almost every potion shop in Gods Domain. Although the potion had an exorbitant price tag of one Gold per bottle, it was a must-have item when grinding out in the fields. This was especially true in the Miniature Ancient World. However, apart from improving the users Stamina recovery rate, the potion provided no other benefits. Yet, Shi Feng was now telling them that they only needed a Stamina Recovery Potion to enter a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon? Alright, hurry up! Were running out of time! Shi Feng said after taking a look at the time. What about the teams division of labor and positioning, Instructor Shi? Qin Wuchen asked in an exasperated tone. A teams positioning and division of labor were the foundation of team battles. If everyone on the team didnt have a clear task, chaos would ensue once the battle began. In such a situation, the team would be fortunate if it could even exhibit 30% of its combat power. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had not told them anything about their respective responsibilities when he gathered them before. Most of them had also only gotten acquainted with each other today, so they had no experience working together before. If they rashly entered the Withered Ruins under such circumstances, the consequences would be unimaginable In response, Shi Feng smiled and leisurely said, We can do that after we are inside. You guys really dont need to stress yourselves out so much. Its just a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. Shi Fengs words rendered everyone speechless. Everyone also couldnt help but cast looks of contempt at their calm instructor. Even Wu Lingling was at the brink of tears when she heard Shi Fengs words. This was a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon they were talking about! Even the various large Guilds expert teams wouldnt dare act recklessly inside such a Dungeon! Yet, now, Shi Feng spoke as if they were about to go and grind some Common monsters at the beginner area However, Shi Feng paid no attention to the looks of contempt he received. After having his students stand in a group, he promptly walked into the Withered Ruins. Seeing this, Wu Lingling and the others had no choice but to follow Shi Feng. Inwardly, they prayed that they wouldnt meet any monsters after entering the Dungeon. The moment everyone stepped through the barrier, a bright light blinded them momentarily. Then, when their vision recovered, they found themselves standing on a hill a short distance away from the dilapidated city walls. Standing on top of the hill gave everyone a good view of their surroundings. They could see everything within a radius of several thousand yards. However, it was precisely because of this good field of view that Wu Lingling and the others couldnt help but gasp in shock. What?! Wu Lingling and the others felt a chill crawling down their spines when they saw the Half-orcs that covered the forest at the bottom of the hill. [Demonized Half-orc Fighter] (Demonized Creature, High Lord) Level 100 HP 50,000,000 [Demonized Half-orc Warrior] (Demonized Creature, GreatLord) Level 100 HP 140,000,000 These Demonized Half-orcs were five to six meters tall, and ominous pitch-black runes covered their robust bodies. Moreover, every one of these Half-orcs patrolled the dead forest in groups, with the smaller groups having over 200 Half-orcs and the larger groups having over 500 Half-orcs. To make matters worse, Demonized Half-orc Warriors made up at least 20% of every one of these groups numbers. However, what made these Demonized Half-orcs truly terrifying was the number of HP bars they had. Even weaker Half-orc Fighters had five HP bars! In Gods Domain, the number of HP bars a monster had also represented the combat standards they possessed. Meanwhile, a monster with five HP bars would possess combat standards rivaling ordinary expert players. If ordinary experts came across such a monster, they would have to take the long way around, as picking a fight with such a monster would only lead to their deaths. Yet, even the weakest Demonized Half-orc here had five HP bars, while the stronger ones had seven HP bars Let alone their team of 30 students, even the 200-man expert team they came across would suffer if they fought against these Demonized Half-orcs. Meanwhile, during the time Wu Lingling and the others were stunned by the sight before them, Shi Feng suddenly said, Alright, lets start grinding! Before Wu Lingling and the others could react, Shi Feng picked up a small rock by his feet and threw it at a Demonized Half-orc Warrior in the nearby forest, the rock transforming into a streak of light and accurately hitting the Half-orc Warriors head. Immediately, the Half-orc Warrior that was struck turned to Shi Fengs direction and let loose an angry roar, the roar inciting the other Half-orcs nearby into a frenzy. Then, every one of these frenzied Half-orcs turned their heads toward Shi Fengs group Chapter 2941 - Unfolded Mana Domain When the Demonized Half-orcs turned to look at Shi Feng, time on top of the hill seemingly froze as Wu Lingling and the others stopped moving, expressions of shock and horror coloring their faces. This was Shi Fengs so-called grinding? Even the weakest Demonized Half-orc was a Level 100 High Lord. In terms of Basic Attributes, they were superior to even Level 100, Tier 3 experts fully equipped in Dark-Gold Equipment. Adding on their combat standards that rivaled ordinary experts, even veteran Tier 3 expert players would have difficulty fighting these monsters. Not to mention, there were also plenty of Great Lord ranked Half-orc Warriors among the group of Half-orcs, and these monsters possessed even stronger Basic Attributes and combat standards. Even a large Guilds expert team would have to set up traps and magic arrays beforehand when going up against such a frightening group of monsters. Yet, now, Shi Feng wanted them to fight these monsters with no preparations whatsoever. This situation was simply absurd. Before Wu Lingling and the others could recover from their shock, Shi Feng nonchalantly told them, Each of you pick a target, lure it aside, and think of a way to beat it. Remember to stay within a hundred yards of me at all times. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Wu Lingling couldnt help herself from asking, What about the other monsters, Instructor Shi? Immediately, the other students looked toward Shi Feng as well, curious to know the answer. Everyone had selectively chosen to ignore the part where Shi Feng required them to each lure a monster away. For them, accomplishing such an action wasnt at all difficult. The truly troublesome part was the remaining several hundred Demonized Half-orcs, particularly the Great Lord ranked Half-orc Warriors. Normally, it would take several Tier 3 experts working together to defeat even one of these monsters. Leave the rest to me, Shi Feng calmly replied. However, despite Shi Fengs calm and gentle tone, his words stunned everyone present. Even Wu Lingling, who believed in Shi Fengs strength, couldnt help but be surprised. Under normal circumstances, even a Tier 4 player wouldnt dare to fight against a large number of Great Lords unless they possessed a significant advantage in Basic Attributes. After all, there was strength in numbers. Not to mention, monsters in Gods Domain typically knew how to work together in battle. With their high HP, they could exhaust and kill a Tier 4 player without any problems. Currently, let alone having an advantage in Basic Attributes, Shi Feng didnt even have an advantage in tiers or levels. Yet, he spoke as if the approaching monsters were a bunch of insignificant creatures During the time everyone was in a daze, the 300-plus Demonized Half-orcs had already arrived within 60 yards of the team. This was already a dangerous distance for both ranged and melee Tier 3 players. Alright, get ready! Shi Feng said, bringing everyone back to reality. Immediately, the students instinctively moved into battle positions and began choosing their respective Half-orc Fighters. Sacred Punishment! Starlight Arrow! Shadow Chaser! Thunder Howl! Wu Lingling and the other 29 students used their Skills on their respective targets one after another, aggroing the monsters. Then, following Shi Fengs instructions, they spread out, lured the monsters away from the main group, and started fighting against these 30 Half-orc Fighters. As to whether they could defeat these Half-orc Fighters, none of them cared about that now. After all, no matter how their individual battles turned out, they were destined to lose this battle. Subsequently, the rest of the Demonized Half-orcs started moving closer and closer to Shi Feng. Fifty yards Forty yards Thirty yards As the main group of Half-orcs moved closer and closer to Shi Feng, Wu Lingling and the others also grew more and more nervous. Even the ground trembled at the charge of the five-meter-tall Half-orc Fighters. The Mana in the air had even turned violent, causing Wu Lingling and the others to experience a suffocating sensation. However, what made this group of Demonized Half-orcs truly terrifying wasnt their individual prowess. When the Half-orcs were within 30 yards of Shi Feng, they suddenly split into two groups and encircled Shi Feng. Over 30 Half-orc Warriors also took the lead in attacking Shi Feng from all directions, leaving no gaps for Shi Feng to escape through. Wu Linglings complexion paled at this scene. She did not expect the Half-orcs to behave in such a manner. Normally, monsters that had reached Level 100 in Gods Domain would gain a certain degree of intelligence and no longer mindlessly attack players. Instead, they would first probe their opponents strength and target their opponents weak points. When faced with such a reckless assault, even a Tier 4 player would have to rely on their superior Basic Attributes and physique to evade the monsters attacks. If they tried clashing head-on, they would certainly suffer injuries and maybe even get killed. After all, even a Tier 4 player would still take a lot of damage if they received an attack from a Tier 3 Great Lord, let alone a Tier 3 player. While Shi Feng indeed possessed combat standards and techniques that left even Gan Yuan in admiration, he was only a Tier 3 Sword King right now. Moreover, the gear he currently had on him was the default equipment players received when creating a new character in the Miniature Ancient World. He couldnt afford to make even the slightest mistake when going up against the 30-plus Great Lords with such parameters. Otherwise, death would instantly claim him Contrasting Wu Linglings reaction, Shi Feng remained calm even in the face of the Half-orc Warriors frenzied assault. It looked as if he hadnt noticed the approaching Half-orc Warriors. Instead of hastily taking evasive maneuvers, he simply took a small step forward. Shi Fengs action looked incredibly natural and gentle. However, the instant Shi Fengs right foot touched the ground, Wu Lingling and the other students were immediately stunned. Suddenly, the space around Shi Feng had seemingly frozen as all of the Half-orc Warriors charging at him had stopped moving simultaneously. Although these Half-orc Warriors quickly started moving again, their movements had become much more sluggish and awkward than before. It looked as if these monsters were trying to maneuver inside a muddy swamp. However, what surprised Wu Lingling and the others the most was the Mana surrounding Shi Feng! Previously, the Demonized Half-orcs presence had caused the ambient Mana to grow violent. Now, though, none of the Demonized Half-orcs present were able to influence the Mana surrounding them. Moreover, the density of the ambient Mana had increased to a point where it had condensed into mist A Mana Domain?! Qin Wuchen couldnt help but rub his eyes in disbelief when he saw this scene from nearby. Most players in Gods Domain had trouble improving even the quality of the Mana within their own bodies, let alone altering the Mana around them. Of course, that wasnt to say that players couldnt accomplish such a feat. One method players could use to accomplish this feat was to set up a magic array to alter an areas Mana composition and improve it. However, such magic arrays required many players to operate, with some even requiring the efforts of dozens of players. Apart from magic arrays, there was only one other method players could utilizeMana Domains! Normally, players would have to reach the peak of Tier 4 before they even had a chance of creating a Mana Domain of their own. Even then, the players who managed to acquire a Mana Domain at Tier 4 were still few and far between. Meanwhile, acquiring a Mana Domain at Tier 3 was a feat of legends! Any player who managed to create a Mana Domain at Tier 3 would be invincible among those below Tier 4! However, before Qin Wuchen and the others could recover from their shock, Shi Feng had already started his attack. Normally, Swordsmen would try to avoid fighting against groups of enemies since the Swordsman class focused more on single-target combat than group combat. However, Shi Feng did not back down from the Half-orc Warriors charge. Unsheathing his two swords, Shi Feng charged at the oncoming Half-orc Warriors without hesitation. The Demonized Half-orc Warriors were six-meter-tall giants wielding greatswords of similar sizes to them. Whether it was Shi Feng or the longswords he wielded, both looked tiny and harmless in comparison. Yet, when Shi Fengs longswords clashed with the Half-orc Warriors greatswords, the greatswords had shockingly altered their trajectories from Shi Feng and struck the Half-orc Fighters near them instead. -734,644! -1,432,154! -713,464! Immediately, damage values in the hundreds of thousands appeared above some of the Half-orc Fighters heads, some even exceeding one million. All of a sudden, the Half-orc Warriors had gone from being formidable enemies into becoming weapons for Shi Feng. Moreover, the damage output of each of these weapons far exceeded the damage output of the average Tier 3 expert party It should be noted that the monsters in the Miniature Ancient World possessed much tougher bodies than monsters on the main continent. A Tier 3 Berserker fully geared in Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment would be fortunate to cause 40,000 damage to a Level 100 High Lord with their normal attacks. Even if the Berserker used a Tier 3 Skill, he would, at most, cause around 100,000 damage. However, Tier 3 Skills and Spells had Cooldowns, and most Tier 3 players would only have a handful of Tier 3 Skills and Spells in their arsenal. It was impossible for players to continuously attack using Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Thus, a six-man party would need a long time to defeat even a Level 100 High Lord. Yet, now, Shi Feng needed less than a minute to defeat a Demonized Half-orc Fighter Every attack Shi Feng redirected from a Half-orc Warrior would hit at least three Half-orc Fighters. As a result, the Half-orc Fighters 50 million HP could be seen rapidly decreasing. Even though these Demonized Half-orcs possessed frightening recovery and could regenerate 2% of their HP every five seconds, the amount of HP they recovered was nothing in the face of Shi Fengs damage output. How is this possible? This scene momentarily stupefied wu Lingling. As the younger sister of Wu Xiaoxiao, the Gods Domain Academys top talent, she had watched many spars between the experts of first-rate Guilds before. She had also watched Tier 4 experts grinding out in the fields before. However, none of those experts could manipulate 30-plus Great Lords and use them as their puppets like Shi Feng. The degree of awareness and control Shi Feng had over his surroundings was simply astounding. Even powerful Great Lords were nothing but a joke in front of him. However, what Wu Lingling didnt know was that while a Mana Domain could indeed grant players a significant advantage in manipulating their surroundings, if the difference in Basic Attributes was too significant, even a Mana Domain would be of no use. Meanwhile, the Demonized Half-orc Warriors Basic Attributes wasnt exceptional among Great Lords of the same level. On the contrary, the Half-orc Warriors had average Basic Attributes for Great Lords. Rather than Basic Attributes, the part that made them difficult opponents was their combat standards. Meanwhile, a competition of combat standards was the thing that Shi Feng worried about the least. Thus, he could toy with these Demonized Half-orcs as if he were messing around with puppets. If Shi Feng were to go up against Great Lords with Basic Attributes rivaling Grand Lords, though, even he would have no choice but to evade the monsters attacks. He would simply be seeking a quick death if he tried to divert their attacks. After Shi Feng fought for some time, he took a glance at Wu Lingling and the others. Then, he said in the team chat, Dont just look at me; pay attention to your targets. Although I am suppressing the mobility and Basic Attributes of these Demonized Half-orcs with my Mana Domain, their combat instincts remain unaffected. Their Basic Attributes are also not at a level where you can casually block their attacks. I wont be able to save you if you get hit. Upon hearing Shi Fengs reminder, Wu Lingling and the others quickly snapped out of their daze and focused their attention on the Half-orc Fighters in front of them. Sweat had also started covering their foreheads as reality dawned upon them. They had been so shocked by Shi Fengs Mana Domain just now that they had forgotten that it only helped in weakening the enemy; it didnt prevent one from taking damage. Not to mention, this Mana Domain didnt even belong to them, so it didnt provide them with any performance enhancements. Shi Feng might have stabilized the situation on his side already, but what about them? What should they do against their respective opponents? They were talking about a Level 100 High Lord in the Miniature Ancient World here! Even frontline Tier 3 experts had difficulty fighting a one-on-one battle against a Level 100 High Lord. What could students like themselves, who couldnt even be considered experts, do against such an opponent? Dont panic! The maximum reach of these Half-orc Fighters normal attacks is 12 yards, and they can only attack up to six times in a row! Afterward, they will fall into a brief moment of stagnation to catch their breath! Their speed is no match for yours, neither is their reaction speed! Use this knowledge to find opportunities to attack! While the many students wondered how they should fight against the Demonized Half-orc Fighters before them, Shi Fengs voice rang in their ears once more. An attack range of 12 yards and a maximum attack count of six? Qin Wuchens eyes brightened when he heard Shi Fengs advice, the worry on his face lessening. The scariest part about fighting monsters in Gods Domain was not knowing the limits of a monster. In Gods Domain, Monsters possessed intelligence and were afraid of death. Thus, they would hide their strength in battle, only exposing their limits when necessary. In a way, this was similar to how players fought. Normally, Qin Wuchen and the others would gradually probe the limits of the monsters they fought over the course of the battle. However, they dared not conduct such casual probings with the Demonized Half-orc Fighters since the other party possessed far superior Basic Attributes. They would die if they made a mistake. However, now that they knew about the Half-orc Fighters limits, their confidence grew. It was akin to having a lamp shine on them as they were walking down a dark road. They now knew what they should do to achieve victory. Subsequently, the students began maintaining a 12-yard gap between themselves and their opponents, preventing any of the Half-orc Fighters normal attacks from reaching them. Now, they only had to pay attention to when the Half-orc Fighters used their Skills. The Half-orc Fighters movements when using Skills were vastly different from when they were attacking normally. Thus, it was very easy to tell when they were attacking with a Skill. All the students needed to do was figure out how they should dodge these Skills. For a time, the students, who were originally at an absolute disadvantage, began holding their ground against the Demonized Half-orc Fighters, neither side getting the better over the other. The more talented of the bunch had even started retaliating against the Half-orc Fighters, inflicting some damage to the High Lords. Of these talented students, Wu Linglings performance stood out the most. She grew braver and more excited with every passing moment. Although Wu Lingling had previously sparred with the experts of her elder sisters Guild, those experiences did very little in helping her improve. Even though the experts she fought had matched their Basic Attributes with hers, there was simply too huge a gap in combat standards and techniques. Thus, she could never last more than a few moves against these experts. However, it was a different story for the Demonized Half-orc Fighter before her. Currently, the High Lord was no match for her in terms of reaction speed and mobility, so she could see its movements with perfect clarity. The Half-orc Fighters combat standard was also only superior to hers by a small margin, so she could quickly discern her flaws through the Half-orc Fighters attacks. As the battle progressed, Wu Lingling could tell that she was improving. Subsequently, time passed by quickly. After battling continuously for several hours and killing several groups of Demonized Half-orcs, Shi Feng and the others saw their experience bars rising by 15% or more. The Half-orc Warriors they killed had also dropped plenty of equipment. Originally, Wu Lingling and the others werent particularly interested in the equipment dropped. After all, the Demonized Half-orc Warriors only dropped Level 100 Secret-Silver Equipment. Meanwhile, every one of them was fully equipped in Level 100 Fine-Gold Equipment, with some even fully equipped in Dark-Gold Equipment. Thus, the Half-orc Warriors loot held no significance to them. However, when Shi Feng shared the statistics of the weapons and equipment dropped, everyones eyes immediately turned red with desire. Crap! These things buff Mana affinity?! Qin Wuchen was greatly shocked when he saw the statistics of the Level 100 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment Shi Feng shared. In the current Gods Domain, even Epic Weapons and Equipment rarely had Attributes that increased the users Mana affinity. Yet, now, even the Secret-Silver Equipment the Demonized Half-orc Warriors dropped could increase players Mana perception and Mana affinity! Although these Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment was a measly 5% improvement to Mana perception and Mana affinity, they could probably sell for more than even Level 100 Dark-Gold Weapons. Some people might even be willing to trade Level 100 Epic Weapons for these Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment. After all, Mana was everything in Gods Domain. There were many people in Gods Domain whod be willing to spill blood just to acquire a piece of equipment that improved Mana affinity. Depending on the items quality, some Guilds were even willing to wage war with each other. This was because a boost in Mana perception and Mana affinity could make it much easier for players to ascend through the tiers. Now that such an effect had appeared on a bunch of Level 100 Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment, how could Qin Wuchen not be shocked? Meanwhile, after taking a glance at the dozen or so Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment, Shi Feng said to his students, There isnt a significant difference in Basic Attributes between Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Equipment. I recommend that you swap out your Fine-Gold Equipment for this Secret-Silver Equipment. These things should be of much greater help to you in improving your techniques. To be honest, even Shi Feng was surprised that the Withered Ruins monsters could drop such weapons and equipment. If the outside world were to find out about this, the various large Guilds would flood the Regional Dungeon. They might even lock down the area to monopolize these items. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the students quickly allocated the loot and replaced their old equipment. Then, the group of students continued following Shi Feng into the Withered Ruins inner region, slaughtering any Demonized Half-orcs they came across on the way. Because of their increase in magic affinity, Wu Lingling and the others saw a visible improvement in the Completion Rate of their Skills and Spells. They could also move their bodies much more naturally, which, in turn, improved their combat standards. After battling for over ten hours, Shi Feng and the others arrived in front of the city wall that separated the Withered Ruins inner and outer regions. Apart from Shi Fengs team of 31 players, there was another team of 200 players resting a short distance away. Meanwhile, this 200-man team was none other than the Soulfire adventurer team Wu Lingling and the others encountered at the Withered Ruins entrance. Soulfires members were currently huddled around campfires, eating and drinking to recover their Stamina and concentration. It was evident that they planned to head to the inner region to grind. When Shi Fengs team arrived at the inner regions entrance, they immediately attracted the attention of Soulfires members. When the woman wielding the crystalline Epic Staff saw Shi Fengs team, a look of surprise flashed across her face, and she couldnt help but mutter, How is this possible? Whats wrong, Rain? Southern Tiger, who had been resting with his eyes shut, asked when he heard the womans words. Captain! Look at them! the woman named Moon Rain said as she pointed at Shi Fengs team. Hearing this, Southern Tiger followed Moon Rains finger and looked over to Shi Fengs team. Immediately, surprise flashed across Southern Tigers eyes. Level 101? Chapter 2942 - Tier 5 Existence In front of the wall that led to the Withered Ruins inner region, Southern Tiger, Moon Rain, and the other members of Soulfire couldnt help but be shocked when they saw Shi Fengs team. Level 101? How can their team reach this place? Questions appeared in the minds of Soulfires members one after another. Some of them even rubbed their eyes, thinking that they were hallucinating. Captain, could they be monsters disguised as players? Moon Rain asked in a quiet voice as she warily looked at Shi Fengs team. Moon Rain had scrutinized Wu Lingling and the other students at the Dungeons entrance, so she knew what kind of combat standards they possessed. Let alone reaching the Withered Ruins inner region, these students would be fortunate if they could last even half an hour in the outer region. Yet, now, not only did Wu Lingling and the others reach the inner regions entrance, but they had even managed to level up within this short period. Moreover, none of them looked to be in a miserable state. No matter how Moon Rain looked at this situation, she couldnt help but find it unbelievable. Instances of monsters disguising themselves as players were not unheard of, and monsters capable of such disguises were incredibly dangerous in Gods Domain. This was because these monsters were not only highly intelligent, but they were also capable of devouring players. Meanwhile, players that were devoured would not only be prevented from logging into the game for half a month, but they would also permanently lose a small portion of their Basic Attributes. To make matters worse, even high-ranking Identification Skills did not work on these monsters. One would need a top-tier Identification Skill to see through their disguises. Meanwhile, out of the 200 players in their team, only Southern Tiger owned a top-tier Identification Skill. No, they are indeed the people we met at the entrance. They arent disguised monsters, Southern Tiger said, shaking his head. Then, in a confused voice, he continued, Im not sure if my senses are playing tricks on me, but I feel that they have undergone a slight transformation since we last met them. Transformation? Moon Rain started paying closer attention to Wu Lingling and the others after hearing Southern Tigers words. Is it their equipment? Southern Tiger was one of Soulfires 16 captains. While he might not be the strongest captain, he was the best when judging people. If Southern Tiger said that a person had changed, it was almost certainly true. However, even after scrutinizing Wu Lingling and the others for some time, Moon Rain failed to see any substantial change in these students. Apart from their levels, the only difference she could see in these students was their equipment. Moreover, it wasnt a positive change, but a negative one instead. Initially, these students had been fully equipped with Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment. Yet, now, many of them had Secret-Silver Weapons and Equipment mixed in their gear. If Moon Rain was meeting these students for the first time, she wouldve mistakenly assumed that they were players who had recreated their accounts. Its not their equipment. Its their attitude that has changed, Southern Tiger said. Then, after taking a moment to think, he continued, Yes! Its their composure! Every one of them looks much more composed now than before! Composure? Moon Rain took another look at Wu Lingling and the others. Thanks to Southern Tigers hint, realization quickly hit her. If Moon Rain were to equate the students she saw at the Dungeons entrance as frightened rabbits, the students she was looking at now were akin to seasoned hunters. Even after arriving at the inner regions entrance, Wu Lingling and the others behaved calmly and showed no sense of crisis. Meanwhile, this was a strange sight no matter how Moon Rain looked at it. The Withered Ruins was a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon. Even frontline experts would need to remain at high alert when roaming in the Dungeons outer region, let alone the area close to the inner regions entrance. Even their team was no exception. Although they were currently resting in front of the inner regions entrance, none of them had loosened their guard. This was because even the slightest mistake could lead to the annihilation of their team, which would, in turn, waste all of the efforts they had put into grinding previously. However, Wu Lingling and the others currently behaved as if they were on a sightseeing trip. None of them showed any signs of crisis whatsoever. Maybe they didnt encounter any monsters on the way here? Moon Rain asked. The change in the behavior of Wu Linglings group was simply too unbelievable. No matter how she racked her mind, she couldnt figure out what gave these students the confidence to behave so calmly in front of the dangerous inner regions entrance. The only reasonable explanation Moon Rain could come up with was that these students had not encountered any monsters on the way here. After all, players would be teleported to a random location when they entered the Dungeon. It might be possible that Wu Lingling and the others had been teleported to a safe location, thus explaining their calm behavior. However, Southern Tiger couldnt help but roll his eyes at Moon Rain when he heard her words. Then, he said, If they didnt encounter any monsters, do you think they could reach Level 101 before us? Ah, youre right. Moon Rain immediately realized the flaw in her explanation. However, this outcome only served to further confuse her. But how can they reach this place so quickly with their strength? We have a 200-man team while their team only has 31 players. Moreover, every one of them is so weak. Although the Withered Ruins teleportation was random, those teleported to the outer region wouldnt be transported anywhere close to the inner region. Moreover, the closer one got to the inner region, the more monsters one would encounter. Moon Rain found it hard to believe that a team as weak and small as Wu Linglings group could reach the inner regions entrance so quickly. My guess is that it is related to that male Swordsman, Southern Tiger said as he shifted his gaze to Shi Feng. Then, a hint of fighting spirit appeared in his eyes as he continued, Its been a long time since I came across such a powerful expert. I didnt think I would actually meet one in the Miniature Ancient World. Moon Rain followed Southern Tigers gaze and looked at Shi Feng as well. However, when she saw Shi Fengs terrible equipment and sensed his lack of presence, she couldnt help but grow confused and asked, Hes an expert? Even the average Tier 4 expert could easily secure themselves a full set of Level 100 Epic Equipment when they entered a Miniature Ancient World, let alone someone capable of being regarded as an expert by Southern Tiger. In Gods Domain, anyone Southern Tiger regarded as an expert would be at the Half-step Tier 5 standard at the very least. Meanwhile, such experts were existences capable of serving as the cornerstones of first-rate Guilds. These existences could easily get a 1,000-man expert team to help them level up should they choose to do so. Yet, what about Shi Feng? Not only was he geared in Secret-Silver Equipment, but the team he led only had 31 players. To make matters worse, his teammates were nothing but children with immature combat standards. If she were to tell others that a Half-step Tier 5 expert was using such equipment and leading such a team, others would probably call her out as crazy. Its normal that you cant tell. Real experts will never show their true colors. Whether it is their killing intent or aura, they will only reveal these things when they take action as this is a sign that they have perfect control over their bodies, Southern Tiger said, chuckling when he saw Moon Rains skepticism. Seeing that he can conceal his aura to such an extent, Im guessing that his combat standard might be at the level of Blue Smiles. How is that possible?! Moon Rain couldnt help but look at Southern Tiger skeptically. Not only was Blue Smile Soulfires Honorary Elder, but she was also a Tier 5 Guardian Knight. She was one of Soulfires strongest combatants, and her combat standard had already reached an inhuman level. So, Moon Rain found it unbelievable that an expert of Blue Smiles caliber had entered the Miniature Ancient World and was even grinding together with a bunch of children. Seeing that Moon Rain still doubted him, Southern Tiger did not try to persuade her further. This was because even he wasnt sure about his conjecture. After all, Tier 5 experts were esteemed individuals in Gods Domain. These experts were typically busy searching for ways of getting promoted to Tier 6. There was no way they would casually abandon their past achievements to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, during the time Moon Rain and Southern Tiger were conversing with each other, Shi Fengs group had also arrived in front of the city wall that measured several dozen meters in height. Then, when Wu Lingling and the other students saw Soulfires team resting in front of the wall, every one of them grew ecstatic. Instructor Shi is amazing! We actually caught up to Soulfires exploration progress! Im definitely going to boast about this to my old classmates! Im not dreaming, right? We outleveled Soulfires team? Previously, when Wu Lingling and the others had been continuously slaughtering Demonized Half-orcs with Shi Feng and refining their combat standards, they already knew that their leveling speed had surpassed that of the average expert. However, they never thought that their leveling speed would surpass Soulfires team. However, before everyone could get too excited, Shi Feng suddenly said, Everyone, quiet down. Its getting late, so we will log off here for today. Well proceed to the inner region after the Academys enrollment ceremony, so make sure to rest up. When everyone heard Shi Fengs words, they couldnt help but grumble in complaint. They felt that it was still too early to rest. After all, they were still brimming with energy, and there were still two hours left until the enrollment ceremony. So, they eagerly suggested that they enter the inner region now. By doing so, not only could they enter the inner region before Soulfires team, but they could even hone their techniques against stronger monsters. However, Shi Feng shot down every one of his students suggestions. Players in Gods Domain might be able to mitigate their fatigue using Stamina and Concentration Recovery Potions, but these items did not reduce the mental stress they experienced. After grinding continuously for so many hours, everyones minds had long since entered an incredibly tense state. If he let his students fight in such a state, they wouldnt achieve any significant improvements. Rather than wasting time trying to achieve negligible improvements, itd be better if everyone got some rest now. That way, they would be able to explore the inner region with much greater efficiency afterward. Faced with Shi Fengs rejection, Wu Lingling and the others had no choice but to log out and rest. After all, theyd be committing suicide if they insisted on going into the inner region without Shi Feng. After seeing all 30 of his students log out, Shi Feng chose to rest as well. Today would be the first day he officially began his duties as one of the Gods Domain Academys instructors, after all. He could no longer act with as much freedom as he did in his previous life. However, as the mansion Shi Feng lived in was quite distant from the Gods Domain Academy, by the time he arrived, there were only 15 minutes left until the enrollment ceremony began. He had just barely arrived on time. Originally, Shi Feng didnt think much of the enrollment ceremony. However, when he entered Jin Hai Universitys indoor arena, he couldnt help but be surprised by the scale of the enrollment ceremony. Whats going on? At this time, not only were there over a thousand students standing in the arena, but there were also many executives of first- and second-rate Guilds seated on the spectator stands. Based on the seating arrangements, there should be at least 30 Guilds present. Rather than an enrollment ceremony, it looked more like a fighting competition was being held here. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng arrived at the seats reserved for instructors, the several dozen instructors present immediately turned to look at Shi Feng and began a quiet discussion among themselves. So, hes Shi Feng? The ex-Guild Leader of Shadow? I didnt think he would dare show himself. Does he not know that Gu Yiren is attending the ceremony in person today? Maybe he thinks that Wu Lingling can win against Gu Yirens cousin. She is one of the few freshmen capable of rivaling Gu Tong, after all. He must be dreaming. Wu Lingling might stand a chance in a one-on-one fight, but the competition is a team battle. Gu Tong has two other talented freshmen on his team, while Wu Lingling has nobody. There is no way Wu Lingling can hold off three people by herself. I heard that Gu Yiren has personally come here to watch his cousin secure the championship for the freshman competition today. If Gu Tong secures the championship, he will become an unofficial internal member of Shadow and get the opportunity to visit the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. Many of the instructors present secretly ridiculed Shi Feng for his shamelessness and overestimating himself when they saw him attending the enrollment ceremony. After all, even though he had already been dismissed from Shadow, he still planned to rely on Wu Lingling, whom Shi Feng had tricked into becoming his student, to increase his reputation. Meanwhile, Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but smirk gleefully when he thought of what was to come. Lets see how you embarrass yourself when you try to compare with Guild Leader Gu! Amidst the various instructors quiet discussions, the Gods Domain Academys enrollment ceremony officially began. After the Academys director finished her speech, the executives of the various attending Guilds also went up the stage to give a short speech. The sweet promises these executives made excited the freshmen present, and many of them couldnt help but wish they could join these large Guilds immediately. Meanwhile, after the various Guild executives finished their speeches, the highly anticipated freshman competition also officially began. Immediately, the mood in the arena soared to its peak. Instructor Shi, did you properly read the competition rules I emailed you? At this time, Lin Yaoyue, who was wearing a black suit that emphasized her enchanting body, approached Shi Feng and asked in confusion, Are you sure you want to let Wu Lingling participate by herself? Chapter 2943 - Chapter 2.017 Although Lin Yaoyue had spoken softly, the instructors present were seated nearby. Moreover, Lin Yaoyues existence in the Gods Domain Academy was akin to a celebrity. No matter where she appeared, she would become the center of attention of every instructor. Thus, the instructors present all heard Lin Yaoyues words clearly. For a time, every instructor present couldnt help but shift their line of sight toward Shi Feng, surprise and confusion in their eyes. Hes sending only Wu Lingling? What is he trying to do? Did he not read the rules properly? Does he think its going to be one-on-one fights? Most of the instructors present had done some research on Shi Fengs situation. On one side, there was Shi Feng, Shadows dismissed Guild Leader. On the other side, there was Gu Yiren, Shadows newly promoted Guild Leader. Since Gu Yiren was here to show support to his younger cousin Gu Tong in the freshman competition, the competition could be said to be Shi Fengs best opportunity to one-up Gu Yiren and show his worth in the Gods Domain Academy. Shi Feng even had the necessary conditions to achieve this goal. So long as he paired the incredibly talented Wu Lingling with two other talented students, he would have a high chance to win against Gu Yiren. Yet, now, Shi Feng was letting Wu Lingling participate by herself? It should be known that Wu Lingling and Gu Tong had similar results in the entrance evaluation. Both had reached the Trial Towers fifth-floor early stage. So, the two could be regarded as evenly matched, and it wouldnt be strange for any of them to win against each other. Although Gu Tongs teammates were stronger than any of Shi Fengs other students, Wu Lingling still had a winning chance so long as she had reliable teammates to support her. Although the competitions rules did not state that participating teams needed to have three members, sending a one-man team to participate was no different from forfeiting the competition. Instructor Luo, do you think that Instructor Shi got scared after experiencing Guild Leader Gus frightening aura? a young junior instructor sitting beside Luo Tiancheng asked. Then, he smirked and continued, Even if hes unwilling to embarrass himself and forfeit the match, theres no need to have Wu Lingling participate by herself. If Wu Xiaoxiao learns of this, his career as an instructor will probably come to an end. Everyone capable of enrolling into the Gods Domain Academy possessed a certain degree of talent. Even if Wu Lingling was superior to her peers, she hadnt reached a level where she could fight multiple opponents by herself. Not to mention, having teammates meant that one could execute many more strategic maneuvers. Thus, Wu Lingling would face an overwhelming defeat even if she fought in a two-on-one matchup, let alone a three-on-one matchup. Wu Xiaoxiao, one of the Gods Domain Academys brightest students, definitely wouldnt be willing to watch her little sister suffer a miserable defeat. Even if everyone could understand the reason for Wu Linglings miserable defeat, it still wouldnt sound nice when others talked about it. Meanwhile, if a top student like Wu Xiaoxiao tried to seek justice for this matter, the Academy would probably fire Shi Feng without hesitation. After all, Shi Feng was merely a newly-hired junior instructor. In regards to this situation, Luo Tiancheng glanced at Shi Feng and sneered, saying, You cant say that about Instructor Shi. Who knows? Instructor Shi might be aiming to replicate Senior Instructor Qis achievement several semesters ago and make a name for himself in this freshman competition. How is that possible? Instructor Qi was in charge of the Academys Golden Duo at the time. Although Wu Lingling is a genius in her own right, she is still only one person, the young junior instructor said, shaking his head. However, he also understood that Luo Tiancheng was trying to ridicule Shi Feng, so he didnt continue detailing the matter. In reality, there had been many past instances where instructors would send only one or two students to represent them in the freshman competition. However, out of the many instructors who did so, only Instructor Qi had ever secured the championship. Moreover, his achievement was largely attributed to his two students being twins. Not only did these twins have incredible talent, but they also had extraordinary coordination. Thus, they managed to win despite fighting in two-on-three matchups. However, Wu Linglings situation was different. She didnt even have someone to rely on, let alone a twin sibling. In such a situation, she wouldnt even get through the preliminary round, let alone winning against Gu Tongs team of three. In the meantime, Shi Feng ignored the discussions taking place around him and calmly nodded to Lin Yaoyue, saying, Mhm, just her. It wont be interesting if I send too many. It wont be interesting? Lin Yaoyue was momentarily stunned when she heard Shi Fengs answer. Her mind failed to comprehend what Shi Feng was trying to say. As for the instructors seated nearby, they laughed when they heard Shi Fengs answer. It wont be interesting if he sends too many? Does he think its interesting to watch three people gang up on one person, then? Could he be insane? I dont know whether Instructor Shi is insane, but I do know hell go insane once Wu Xiaoxiao finds out about this! The many instructors present discussed and laughed over Shi Fengs words. Some instructors also started to look forward to the end of the competition. After all, nobody in the Academy had ever seen Wu Xiaoxiao go berserk before. However, they might just get the opportunity to see it this time. While a commotion was taking place over the instructors seating area, the Academys dean also officially announced the start of the freshman competition. The competitions format was simple. There were six virtual gaming pods prepared in the center of the arena, and participating teams would fight each other in the virtual realm. There was also a holographic screen projected above the gaming pods to allow spectators to see the fights. Participants would automatically receive a virtual body with a Level 100, Tier 3 physique and weapons and equipment of similar quality when they entered the virtual realm. Afterward, all they needed to do was select their classes, and they would be automatically teleported into a randomized battlefield that spanned a radius of 200 yards. Unlike the Professional League, the freshman competition was a contest of skills and tactics. Meanwhile, after the dean explained the competition rules, he also revealed the list of participating students and their respective teams. Then, when Wu Lingling saw the teammates she had, or lack thereof, she couldnt help but have a huge headache. Is Instructor Shi insane? Wu Lingling was a little stunned when she saw that Shi Fengs team only had her name in it. Although she had long since known that she would be chosen to participate in the competition, she never thought she would do so without even a single support As soon as Wu Lingling snapped out of her daze, she immediately tried to call Shi Feng and ask him why he was having her participate by herself. Wu Lingling admitted that her combat standard had improved significantly after her training session in the Withered Ruins. He had also learned many evasive maneuvers from Shi Feng, which elevated her dodging standard to a whole new level. However, she hadnt gotten so arrogant as to think she could go up against three opponents simultaneously. Even if all three of her opponents were freshmen capable of only reaching the Trial Towers fourth floor, it didnt matter. In a situation where all participants had similar Basic Attributes, weapons, and equipment, so long as the other party didnt foolishly take independent action, their victory against her would be guaranteed. However, before Wu Lingling could call Shi Feng, the holographic screen in the middle of the arena revealed the first matchup of the competition. Upon seeing the matched teams, the entire arena instantly fell silent. As if fate was toying with her, Wu Lingling had gotten matched against Gu Tongs team in the very first round. The matchup that everyone thought would only appear in the final round had actually appeared in the first round. Huh? Wu Lingling doesnt have any teammates? Wu Lingling is participating by herself? Is she insane? Surprise and confusion flashed across Gu Tongs eyes when he saw the information displayed on the holographic screen. Out of the thousand or so freshmen this year, the only person Gu Tong acknowledged as his rival was Wu Lingling, Wu Xiaoxiaos younger sister. As for everyone else, he placed no importance on them at all. Once he defeated Wu Lingling, he even planned to challenge Wu Xiaoxiao before graduating, becoming a legend in the Gods Domain Academy. While everyone was still trying to process this situation, the mechanical voice of the competitions administrative system echoed throughout the arena. May the participants of both teams enter the virtual gaming cabins! The match will begin in one minute! The mechanical voice interrupted everyones thoughts. When Wu Lingling saw Gu Tongs team walking to the gaming cabins, she gritted her teeth and swiftly made her way to the center of the arena as well. Then, she laid down into a gaming cabin and entered the virtual arena. While both teams were waiting for the timer to count down and the system to teleport them to a random battlefield, Gu Tongs team members couldnt help but look at Gu Tong and ask, Boss Gu, should we step aside and let you fight Wu Lingling one-on-one? The two of them knew that Gu Tong had originally planned to utilize his victory against Wu Lingling to increase his reputation in Shadow. However, now that Wu Lingling was participating by herself, itd be meaningless even if the three of them won against her. No! Gu Tong shook his head. Then, in a definitive tone, he said, Well fight together! Since Wu Lingling has given up on the competition, she is no longer worthy of being my rival! Chapter 2944 - Shocking Technique Chapter 2944 Chapter 18 C Shocking Technique Gu Tongs words were cold and determined, and even his teammates could feel his anger and disdain for Wu Lingling. Bingshou, you support from range once the match begins. Lieyun, you keep her distracted with feints. Ill land the finishing blow on her! Gu Tong said to his teammates as he unsheathed his two daggers. However, make sure to be careful when you attack her, Lieyun. Wu Lingling might be a Swordsman, but shes even more agile than an Assassin. She also has numerous attack patterns. Make sure you do not get caught up with her for too long. It doesnt matter even if your Strength is greater than hers. You wont be able to cope with her attacks once the fight prolongs. I understand. You can rest assured, Boss Gu, Lieyun, a Berserker who was nearly two meters tall and clad in armor, said and nodded. Lieyun was well aware of Wu Linglings strengths. Even his instructor had praised Wu Lingling for her offensive capabilities in one-on-one combat. When it came to one-on-one combat, Wu Lingling was the undisputed number one among the freshmen this year, and even Gu Tong was slightly weaker than her in this regard. Meanwhile, Lieyun couldnt last more than ten seconds in a frontal confrontation against Gu Tong, so hed be foolish to try to win against Wu Lingling by himself. Bingshou, when youre attacking Wu Lingling, you dont need to care about me or Lieyun. Just make sure Wu Lingling cannot chain her attacks, Gu Tong said as he looked at the short-haired girl, who wielded a bow and wore light armor, standing beside Lieyun. Many people are watching this competition. We cannot let Wu Lingling have any chances at showing us off! When the girl named Bingshou heard Gu Tongs words, her expression immediately sharpened. At this time, she and Lieyun had already been recognized as reserve internal members of Shadow. Meanwhile, the treatment they would receive as internal members would depend on their performance in todays competition. While Gu Tong was discussing strategies with his teammates, the timer above the waiting area finished counting down. Immediately, the trio found themselves teleported into a forest and saw Wu Lingling, who wielded two longswords and was clad in light silver armor, standing beside a large tree that was around 100 yards away from them. Along with the start of the match, the spectators in the arena also started making a racket. Its finally starting! A forest? Wu Lingling might still have a chance after all. The question now is whether Gu Tong will go for a one-on-one fight. I heard that Gu Tong is treating Wu Lingling as his rival and that he intends on beating her to secure himself as number one among the freshmen. What a pity. If Wu Linglings instructor wasnt that Shi Feng, we couldve witnessed an interesting match today. The many students, instructors, and Guild executives present held a hushed discussion as they looked at the holographic display with great interest. After Wu Xiaoxiao, Wu Linglings and Gu Tongs names received the most attention in the Gods Domain Academy right now. Many people would also frequently compare the two with each other. Some people even believed that this generations freshmen would lead the Gods Domain Academy into its golden era because of these two students. However, to everyones surprise and confusion, Wu Lingling had actually chosen to apprentice under Shadows ex-Guild Leader. Now, because of Shi Feng, she even had to go up against Gu Tongs team of three all by herself While the spectators outside were discussing among themselves, Gu Tong did not remain idle on the battlefield. Dont let her escape our sight! Bingshou, seal her movements! Lieyun, charge with me! After arriving on the battlefield, Gu Tong immediately analyzed the battlefield and shouted instructions to his teammates. Simultaneously, he activated his Stealth skill and charged at Wu Lingling without hesitation. When Lieyun heard Gu Tongs command, he instantly reacted and activated the Tier 3 Flame Charge, transforming into a huge ball of flames that charged at Wu Lingling. As for Bingshou, she drew her longbow and used the Tier 3 Wind Wings against Wu Lingling. Then, as soon as she released her bow, eight arrows shot out of her bow and transformed into blades of wind that flew at Wu Lingling from multiple directions, cutting off Wu Linglings paths of escape. When Luo Tiancheng, who sat in the spectator stands, saw the actions of Gu Tongs team, he couldnt help but sneer and think, As expected of the Guild Leaders little brother! Beautifully done! Originally, Luo Tiancheng had still been rather worried that Gu Tong would grow soft-hearted against his opponent and choose to fight Wu Lingling one-on-one. If that happened, it would give Wu Lingling a significantly greater chance of winning. That, in turn, would improve Shi Fengs performance as an instructor. Thankfully, Gu Tong did not choose to fight Wu Lingling one-on-one. Moreover, he had even wisely instructed his teammate to seal off Wu Linglings paths of retreat. Now, Wu Lingling had no choice but to clash against Gu Tongs team of three. In such a situation, Gu Tongs team was almost certain to win. It might even become a landslide victory. If that happened, Wu Xiaoxiao, the Academys top talent, would definitely come and find trouble with Shi Feng. Meanwhile, when Lin Yaoyue saw the development on the battlefield, she couldnt help but frown and glance at Shi Feng, who sat in front of her. What is he thinking? Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but be confused by Shi Fengs actions. While she wasnt interested in the affairs between Shi Feng and Shadow, that didnt mean she was willing to watch one of the Academys top talents suffer a humiliating defeat in front of so many people. Moreover, Shi Feng had just arrived at the Gods Domain Academy. Logically, if he wanted to raise his position in the Academy or prove his value to Shadow, he should cherish Wu Lingling a lot. After all, there had been many instances in the past where instructors of the Academy had received a huge promotion because of a talented student. This was also why the Academys instructors were willing to sacrifice a lot of their time and resources into nurturing their students. However, no matter how Lin Yaoyue looked at the current situation, it did not seem like Shi Feng was trying to nurture Wu Lingling at all. On the contrary, he seemed to be trying to harm Wu Linglings future. Back on the battlefield, Lieyun had already arrived before Wu Lingling and swung his battle axe at her, the two-handed weapon releasing a blinding radiance and increasing in size as it made its way to Wu Lingling. At the same time, Gu Tong had used Shadow Steps and appeared behind Wu Lingling. Then, he brandished his daggers at Wu Linglings back. Die! Combat technique, Phantom Snake! Immediately, the two gleaming daggers transformed into multiple phantom snakes that struck at Wu Lingling from various blindspots, the attacks seamlessly timed with Lieyuns gigantified axe. How ruthless! The various instructors and Guild executives were astonished when they saw Gu Tong and Lieyuns joint assault. The two students joint assault was something even veteran experts like themselves would have trouble dealing with if their Basic Attributes were equalized. This was because the two students were attacking with the intention of trading lives. In the case of Lieyun, he was attacking Wu Lingling without paying any regard to his defense. He was fully intent on receiving any counterattacks Wu Lingling launched with his body. Moreover, to ensure his attack landed on Wu Lingling, he had even chosen to use an AOE Skill with wide coverage. And seeing how close Gu Tong was to Wu Lingling, it would seem that Lieyun intended on hitting Wu Lingling even at the cost of hitting Gu Tong. As for Gu Tong, he showed no intentions of dodging Lieyuns attack, either. Instead, he focused all of his attention on striking Wu Linglings weak points and sealing off any possible paths of retreat for the Swordsman. In this situation, even if Wu Lingling had noticed Gu Tongs presence behind her, there was nothing she could do to avoid both Lieyuns and Gu Tongs suicidal attacks. The only thing she could do was choose to dodge one of their attacks. However, no matter which attack Wu Lingling chose to evade, she would still end up getting killed by the other persons attack. Normally, in a three-on-one situation, the side with the numerical advantage wouldnt have chosen such a suicidal combat method. Instead, they would rely on their numerical advantage to suppress and whittle down their opponent. Yet, Gu Tongs team had chosen this suicidal combat method to ensure their victory and leave Wu Lingling with no opportunities to make a comeback. Back on the battlefield, even when Lieyuns gigantified axe and Gu Tongs shadow snakes were about to devour Wu Lingling, Wu Lingling actually remained motionless, behaving as if she had not noticed the two attacks coming at her. Did she give up? Gu Tong couldnt help but be confused when he saw Wu Linglings lack of reaction. In his opinion, an expert like Wu Lingling should more or less put up a struggle even when faced with such a hopeless situation. Yet, now It seems I have overestimated you! Gu Tong said, his eyes filled with disappointment. At the same time, his hands also moved with greater speed as he planned to end this boring battle quickly. However, as soon as Gu Tong finished speaking, a crisp and sweet voice suddenly appeared from beside him. I think so as well. Gu Tong was startled when he heard this voice. This was because he couldnt be any more familiar with this voice. Wu Lingling! This was Wu Linglings voice! Glancing at the source of the voice, Gu Tong immediately found himself stunned. Through the corner of his eyes, Gu Tong actually saw Wu Lingling standing a short distance away from him, behaving like a spectator as she watched him and Lieyun executing their suicidal assault. Gu Tong wasnt the only one who saw this scene. Lieyun and Bingshou also saw this scene. However, unlike Gu Tong, they quickly recovered from their shock and started shouting at Gu Tong to get out of the way in a panic. After all, with Lieyuns combat standards, he was incapable of altering his attack trajectory this late into his attack. Meanwhile, a full-powered attack from a Tier 3 Berserker was not something a Tier 3 Assassin could survive. So, Gu Tongs only chance to live now was to dodge Lieyuns attack. Only, that evidently wasnt possible with Gu Tongs current state of mind Meanwhile, when the various instructors and Guild executives saw this scene, they couldnt help but cry out in surprise. Mirage Steps?! Impossible! Mirage Steps is a top-tier footwork among basic combat techniques! Even veteran frontline experts have a hard time learning it! How can a freshman like Wu Lingling master it already?! The many experts in the arena quickly understood the cause for two Wu Linglings to appear on the battlefield. Seeing as there were no fluctuations in the Mana around Wu Lingling, the girl definitely did not use a Skill or Spell. Thus, the only explanation they could come up with for this situation was that Wu Lingling had executed Mirage Steps, a basic combat technique. However, Mirage Steps was a special footwork that even frontline experts had difficulty mastering. Anyone capable of mastering it would be regarded as a powerful expert even in first-rate Guilds. Is this the reason for his confidence? At this time, even Lin Yaoyue was surprised when she saw this scene, her eyes inadvertently turning to Shi Feng, who currently wore a calm expression on his face. Chapter 2945 - Chapter 19 Chapter 19 C Monster Most of the spectators in the arena were shocked when they saw the footwork Wu Lingling executed. The only exceptions were Qin Wuchen and the other students who had fought alongside Wu Lingling in the Withered Ruins. Their expressions remained calm throughout the entire process. Meanwhile, after seeing Wu Linglings performance, Qin Wuchens friend from high school enviously said to him, So this is why you decided to follow a newbie instructor, Wuchen! I didnt know you had such a strong class rep! Her footwork is simply amazing! With her taking the lead, your class will be blessed when competing for school resources in the future! The Gods Domain Academy might have abundant resources, it didnt mean that it could afford to waste them. Not to mention, the Academys goal was to produce expert players. Thus, rather than treating all students equally, the Academy distributed its resources based on the students performances. While this might seem like a harsh method of education, the world of experts in Gods Domain was cruel. Meanwhile, if students of the Academy wished to obtain more resources, apart from choosing a good instructor and working hard, they could also pray for capable classmates. This was because the Academy would hold monthly class competitions for resource distribution. In these monthly competitions, students from the classes ranked within the top three would each receive a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid. They would also receive free access to the schools simulation training room for three days, allowing them to spar against simulated experts. Although the Academys simulation training room was inferior to that of first-rate Guilds, it was still significantly better than the simulation training room of most large Guilds. However, as operating a simulation training room consumed High-level Energy, even first-rate Guilds experts had few opportunities to use it. Moreover, these experts typically had to pay a huge price to use their Guilds simulation training rooms. Yet, the Gods Domain Academy was offering this opportunity to its students for free. Thus, the Academys monthly class competitions were extraordinarily intense. Meanwhile, having capable students like Wu Lingling in a class was sure to increase the classs chances of ranking within the monthly competitions top three. Amazing footwork? Qin Wuchen couldnt help but look at his friend strangely. The class rep is simply evading Gu Tong and Lieyuns joint assault normally. I dont know what those two are thinking. Why are they using such predictable attacks? Theyre not even comparable to the Half-orc Fighters. Or are they probing the class rep? Hearing Qin Wuchens comments, Xiao Yuheng, another one of Shi Fengs students, nodded in agreement and said, Thats probably the case. The class rep is the only freshman who rivals Gu Tong, so Gu Tong must be checking to see if the class rep is qualified for him to get serious. But isnt this too simple of a probe? It feels like he is looking down on the class rep. Xiao Yuheng considered Wu Linglings current performance to be standard. Wu Lingling was neither underperforming nor overperforming. After fighting in the Withered Ruins for over a dozen hours, Wu Lingling had already become capable of holding her ground against three Demonized Half-orc Fighters. As for the other students in Shi Fengs class, while they couldnt match Wu Linglings performance, they could still withstand the joint assault of two Half-orc Fighters. Meanwhile, the Half-orc Fighters attack patterns were varied and constantly changing. It was especially true when they worked together. If one was not careful when going up against multiple Half-orc Fighters, one would quickly find themselves overwhelmed. However, Gu Tong and Lieyuns joint assault was nothing like that. While Gu Tong and Lieyun might seem to have good coordination with each other, their attack patterns were simple and predictable. So long as one grasped the timing of their attacks, it wouldnt be difficult to dodge their joint assault. In Xiao Yuhengs opinion, at least half of Shi Fengs class could dodge this joint assault, let alone Wu Lingling, the classs top student. As for the afterimages Wu Lingling created, that was merely the byproduct of an evasive maneuver, which was part of the aerobic exercise Shi Feng had taught them previously. The evasive maneuver required them to exert the muscles in their entire body during the moment of evasion, going from static to top speed instantly. Not only could the instantaneous burst of speed prevent their opponents from predicting the trajectory of their evasion and launching follow-up attacks, but it could also fool their opponents vision, making their opponents see an afterimage of themselves. During the training session in the Withered Ruins, Shi Feng had already explained the theory behind this evasive maneuver to them. Meanwhile, the faster one could go from static to top speed, the more realistic ones afterimage. However, the fact that Wu Lingling had managed to create a realistic afterimage with her evasive maneuver shouldnt be regarded as anything amazing. On the contrary, the afterimage should be considered an unwanted byproduct instead. When a truly powerful expert executed an evasive maneuver, they wouldnt create any visual afterimages at all. Instead, they would vanish from their opponents field of vision completely, their evasive technique making it so that their opponents brain became unaware of their presence. To be precise, the evasive technique created visual signals so complex that the human brain couldnt process them. Thus, the brain would actively ignore such signals, thereby erasing the technique users presence completely. Indeed. At least half of our class can dodge such a simple probing attempt. I honestly dont know whats going through Gu Tongs and Lieyuns minds, Qin Wuchen said, nodding in agreement with Xiao Yuhengs comment. However, as soon as Qin Wuchen finished speaking, his high school classmate and the freshmen from other classes sitting nearby were immediately rendered speechless. Simple probing attempt? At least half the class could dodge it? Were they even speaking the same language? It should be known that Wu Linglings current performance had amazed even the many Guild executives present. Yet, Qin Wuchen and Xiao Yuheng regarded Wu Linglings performance as nothing special! Did these two think everyone else was an idiot? While everyone was talking about Wu Linglings footwork, Gu Tong had used the Tier 3 Lifesaving Skill Shadowless Step to forcibly enter Stealth. Then, he used the 0.5-second invulnerability period the Skill provided to tank Lieyuns attack, allowing him to avoid the awkward situation of getting heavily injured due to friendly fire. However, after using up his Lifesaving Skill, Gu Tong fell into the predicament of having no means of escaping Wu Linglings follow-up attacks. The Assassin class wasnt designed for frontal combat. The class shined most when executing surprise attacks and dexterous combat methods. In contrast, not only was Wu Linglings Swordsman class adept at frontal combat, but Wu Lingling herself was also known for her agile combat style. Because of these factors, Gu Tong continuously lost HP when he clashed blades with Wu Lingling. And although Lieyun was frantically trying to attack Wu Lingling from behind, Wu Lingling seemingly had eyes growing on the back of her head as she could always evade Lieyuns attacks at the very last moment. In this situation, Lieyun might as well not exist as his attacks were hardly doing anything to affect Wu Linglings fight with Gu Tong. Dammit! How is she so strong?! Has she been hiding her strength all this time?! Feelings of frustration and confusion filled Gu Tongs heart as he desperately tried to defend against Wu Linglings attacks. Lieyun and Bingshou also experienced the same feelings when they saw Wu Lingling evade every one of their attacks with little effort. After the clash continued for around 20 seconds, Wu Lingling successfully whittled Gu Tong to death. As for Lieyun and Bingshou, they didnt even last 20 seconds against Wu Lingling after losing their teams core When the administrative system announced the end of the match, silence filled the arenas spectator stands as everyone turned to watch Wu Lingling climb out of her virtual gaming cabin, their eyes looking at Wu Lingling as if they were looking at a monster. Chapter 2946 - Chapter 20 Chapter 20 C Merely a Junior Instructor What a monstrous talent! Even the top talents of first-rate Guilds can hold a candle to her! I never thought Wu Linglings talent would actually surpass that of Wu Xiaoxiaos! Shortly after Wu Lingling exited her gaming cabin, voices of exclamation filled the arena. The Academys instructors and various Guild executives, in particular, looked at Wu Lingling as if she were their golden goose. As for Luo Tiancheng, his eyes were close to popping out of their sockets as he looked at Wu Lingling in utter disbelief. Impossible! How can Wu Lingling be this strong? Gu Tong, the younger cousin of Shadows current Guild Leader Gu Yiren, had actually lost to Wu Lingling even while having a numerical advantage. After this incident, Shadows plans to expand its influence in the Gods Domain Academy had thoroughly become a joke Meanwhile, unlike everyone else in the arena, Lin Yaoyue did not focus her gaze on Wu Lingling. Instead, she looked at Shi Feng, who sat in front of her. So this was what he meant? Lin Yaoyue had previously been confused when she heard Shi Feng saying, It wont be interesting if I send too many. However, after witnessing this match, she found that Shi Fengs words indeed made sense. With Wu Linglings strength, if the girl gained two more people to support her, the match probably wouldve ended as soon as it began. Gu Tongs team wouldnt have gotten the opportunity to put up any resistance, and the match wouldnt have lasted for several dozen seconds. However, after looking at Shi Feng for a moment, Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but sigh and look at the man with a sympathetic gaze. Originally, Shi Feng couldve relied on Wu Lingling to make a name for himself in the Academy and even secure a respectable position in Jin Hai City. Unfortunately, it was a sin to possess treasure without having the strength to protect it! In the current era, Gods Domain had already become a second world for people. In fact, its importance even surpassed that of the real world. After all, people could essentially double their lifespans by living in Gods Domain. Thus, Gods Domain had also become a place of competition for both individuals and competition. Meanwhile, organizations seeking to secure a better standing in Gods Domain needed to recruit highly talented individuals. Although Gu Tong was recognized as a genius by Gods Domain Academy, he could only be regarded as such in a third-rate city like Jin Hai City. One could find many other geniuses like him in the various first-rate Guilds. Thus, none of the various first-rate Guilds in Gods Domain had deemed it necessary to poach him before he met the Academys requirements to join a Guild. Previously, this was also the case for Wu Lingling. Although the first-rate Guild Dazzle Wave had already shown signs of trying to recruit Wu Lingling, that was only because of Wu Xiaoxiaos influence and Wu Linglings relatively good talent. If it werent for her elder sister, Wu Lingling definitely wouldnt have received such treatment. However, the situation was different now! The talent Wu Lingling displayed had already surpassed that of Wu Xiaoxiao, the Academys current star, let alone Gu Tong. The various first-rate Guilds would definitely fight to recruit such a talent. Shi Feng was merely a junior instructor at the Academy who possessed no backing whatsoever. The Academy wouldnt allow Shi Feng to nurture a top-tier talent like Wu Lingling. After all, Wu Lingling was the Academys chance to make a name for itself throughout the country. The Academys influential senior instructors probably wouldnt let go of this opportunity, either. Apart from Lin Yaoyue, many of the intermediate instructors also looked at Shi Feng with sympathetic gazes. After all, every one of the Academys senior instructors had already run to the Academys dean by now, evidently trying to secure her as their apprentice. Moreover, Senior Instructor Qi was even among these people. Not only did Instructor Qi possess deep ties with Shadow, but he was also Gu Tongs instructor. Although the Academys rules indicated that students couldnt change their instructors for a year after they apprenticed themselves under an instructor, it wasnt impossible to circumvent this rule. So long as the students and instructors involved agreed to the change, students could change instructors at any time. As for top-tier geniuses like Wu Lingling, they wouldnt even need their instructors consent to change instructors. Wu Zhenyang, who was seated in the VIP section, was presently experiencing a huge headache. Jin Hai Citys Gods Domain Academy had four senior instructors, and every one of them was an influential individual in Jin Hai City. They had nurtured many professional players throughout their career, and even the citys various large Guilds respected them greatly. Yet, now, because of Wu Linglings fight, all four of these senior instructors had come running to him in an attempt to secure Wu Lingling as their student. They didnt even care that there were a bunch of Guild executives sitting around them Dean, this is the first time our Academy has seen a student as talented as Wu Lingling. We must develop her using the best resources available. Thats right. Shi Feng is merely a newly-hired junior instructor. He doesnt have any resources in Gods Domain, either. The responsibility of nurturing Wu Lingling is too heavy for him. You should leave it to me instead. Dean, Ive helped nurture many professional players for the Academy these past few years, but I have never encountered a truly excellent sapling. How about letting me nurture Wu Lingling? I promise she will have a much brighter future than Wu Xiaoxiao! I can even guarantee that she will make it into the A-League! Three of the four senior instructors blabbered away like desperate salesmen in front of Wu Zhenyang, their usual arrogance nowhere to be seen. When the various Guild executives sitting nearby saw this scene, they couldnt help but be a little dumbfounded. Meanwhile, shortly after the three senior instructors finished their sales talk, Instructor Qi, the youngest out of the four senior instructors, looked at Wu Zhenyang and solemnly said, Wu Linglings talent is exceptional, Dean. If you are willing to let Wu Lingling come under my wing, I promise to give her a training slot in World Dominations branch headquarters! As soon as Instructor Qi made his offer, the other three senior instructors and various Guild executives couldnt help but gasp. None of them had expected Instructor Qi to be willing to pay such a huge price. As a Super Guild, World Domination was a bona fide titan in Gods Domain. It was an existence that far surpassed the various first-rate Guilds. Although they had no idea how Instructor Qi had managed to form a connection with a Super Guild like World Domination, the fact that he was willing to part with a training slot in World Domination was simply absurd. Even if it was only a branch headquarters training slot, it was still something countless geniuses sought to obtain. The training one could acquire through this training slot was something no first-rate Guild could ever hope to provide. If Wu Lingling could receive World Dominations training slot, her future would be limitless! This Wu Zhenyang hesitated to make a decision. After thinking for a long time, he looked at the four senior instructors in front of him and said, I cannot arbitrarily agree to your requests. This matter requires the approval of Instructor Shi and Wu Lingling herself. If the two of them agree to the change, I wont have any problems with it, either. Is that so? Wu Zhenyangs words put the four senior instructors into thought for a moment. Then, without saying anything more, the four of them turned around and left. Wu Zhenyang had already made it clear with his words that he did not wish to offend anyone and that he wouldnt meddle in this affair. Thus, it was up to them to persuade Wu Lingling to become their apprentice. As for Shi Feng, he was a non-factor. He was merely a junior instructor in the Academy, after all. He had nothing to offer Wu Lingling. According to the rumors they heard, he was even someone dismissed by Shadow. So long as Wu Lingling agreed to become their apprentice, it wouldnt matter even if Shi Feng opposed the change. After the four senior instructors left the VIP section, Wu Zhenyang and the various Guild executives returned their attention to the central display. However, after witnessing the match between Wu Lingling and Gu Tongs team, it became a little boring to watch the matches of the other students. Two hours later, the freshman competition ended without any suspense. To nobodys surprise, Wu Lingling became the competitions champion and won the privilege of visiting the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters a few days later, earning the envy of Gu Tong and the other freshmen. After the freshman competition ended, Gu Tong went out of his way to appear before Wu Lingling and enthusiastically declared, Just you wait, Wu Lingling! You might have won this time, but dont think Ill just let you have Instructor Qis training slot in World Domination so easily! After saying so, Gu Tong turned around and left. However, despite his arrogant statement, none of the freshmen nearby thought that he was being overconfident. After all, everyone present was aware that Gu Tongs cousin was Gu Yiren, Shadows current present and a genius nurtured internally by World Domination. The resources he had access to far surpassed that of the average person. However, Wu Lingling couldnt help but be confused by this situation. Since when did she possess a training slot in World Domination? Ignore that crazy bastard, Class Rep! Instructor Shi told us to get online as soon as the competition ends! Qin Wuchen reminded Wu Lingling when he saw her deep in thought. Well be exploring the Withered Ruins inner region next! We might miss the chance to get in if were late! Upon hearing Qin Wuchens words, Wu Lingling quickly snapped out of her daze and followed Qin Wuchen to the Academys rest area. Gods Domain Academy, Instructors Rest Area: Just as Shi Feng was about to enter one of the private rooms and log into Gods Domain, a familiar figure approached him. This person was none other than Luo Tiancheng, the right-hand man of Shadows director Lan Hailong. At this moment, though, instead of the hostile and contemptuous expression he previously wore, Luo Tiancheng currently wore a wide smile on his face. What are you looking at me like that for, Instructor Luo? Shi Feng calmly asked as he looked at the hindrance blocking his way. Do you have some good news to tell me? You guessed correctly. I did come here with good news, Luo Tiancheng said, nodding. The Academys Senior Instructor Qi has set his sights on Wu Lingling, so Director Lan plans to give you a chance. So long as you hand over the position of Wu Linglings instructor, Director Lan will allow you back into Shadow. Although you wont be able to return to the Guild Leader position, it shouldnt be a problem for you to become a team leader for one of the Guilds second-line teams. With that position, you wont have to worry about money for the rest of your life. I see. Shi Feng had more or less expected something like this to happen, so he wasnt surprised by Luo Tianchengs good news. Calmly, he said, In that case, Ill have to trouble you to pass a word to Director Lan, Instructor Luo. What is it? Luo Tiancheng asked with a puzzled look. Scram! Chapter 2947 - Chapter 21 Chapter 21 C Arrogant Shi Feng Jin Hai City, the top floor of Hailong Tower: Hailong Tower was one of the tallest buildings located in the central business district of Jin Hai City. It also served as the Lan Hua Groups trademark building. Meanwhile, the room located on Hailong Towers top floor was a luxurious room that granted one an uninterrupted view of Jin Hai City. However, at this moment, even though there were only two people inside this room, the atmosphere in the room was incredibly tense. Of the two people in the room, the one standing was Luo Tiancheng, while the one sitting on the luxurious leather sofa was a solemn man in his mid-thirties. What did you say? Lan Hailong asked rhetorically, his cold voice sending shivers down Luo Tianchengs spine. Are you trying to tell me that not only did Shi Feng refuse my kindness, but he even had you convey to me the word scram?'' The identity of the solemn man was none other than Lan Hailong, the true wielder of authority behind the Shadow Guild and the Lan Hua Group. He was also the legendary individual who had climbed to the top of Jin Hai City by relying on his great business acumen in investing all of the Lan Hua Groups available resources into tackling Gods Domain since the games launch and continuously expanding Shadows influence in Gods Domain. All of my words are true, Chief Lan. I even have a complete recording of Shi Fengs words here, Luo Tiancheng hurriedly said. He was incredibly arrogant back then! He showed no regard for Shadow at all! I wanted nothing more than to teach him a lesson on the spot! Raising an eyebrow at Luo Tiancheng, Lan Hailong asked, Why didnt you take action, then? An awkward expression suddenly appeared on Luo Tianchengs face as he said, Thats the Gods Domain Academy were talking about, Chief Lan. There are many people there. Although I have a much stronger physique than Shi Feng, I wont be able to do any serious damage to him within a short time. Rather than teaching a lesson, he might end up using the fight as an excuse to file a complaint Enough with the excuses! Lan Hailong said, stopping Luo Tiancheng in his tracks. Do you think Im not aware that youre no match for Shi Feng? You might have a stronger physique, but his combat experience far surpasses yours. Youd be fortunate if you could fight him to a draw, let alone teach him a lesson. Hearing Lan Hailongs words, Luo Tiancheng dared not continue making excuses for himself and simply accepted Lan Hailongs harsh criticism. What Lan Hailong said was true, after all. No matter how weak Shi Feng was in the past, he was still the Guild Leader of Shadow. Thanks to his high status, he had gotten many opportunities to spar with master-level martial artists. He could easily overcome the small difference in physique with the wealth of combat experience he had accumulated over the past decade . Chief Lan, should I find an opportunity to go and take care of him with Brother Hu? Luo Tiancheng suggested. The Brother Hu Luo Tiancheng mentioned was Zhou Yuhu, the deputy chief instructor of Shadows training center. Although Zhou Yuhu didnt possess much skill in Gods Domain, he had not stopped training his body in the real world for even a day throughout the past decade. When it came to combat in the real world, he easily ranked within the top five of Shadow. However, Lan Hailong shook his head and dismissively said, That wont be necessary. Shi Feng might pose a problem if he were five years younger, but his time is already over now. He wont be a threat to us even if we let him be. Are we going to let him go just like that, Chief Lan? Luo Tiancheng asked in an unreconciled tone. You have no idea how arrogantly he acted at the time. He showed no respect to Shadow at all. Thats normal. Lan Hailong chuckled. He now has an excellent student under his belt, so of course, he has the capital to be arrogant. Even that famous Instructor Qi has directly contacted me for this student. It is already certain that Wu Lingling will surpass Wu Xiaoxiao in the future. She might even get recruited by a Super Guild in the future and surpass the golden generation brought up by Instructor Qi. Instructor Qi was one of the Gods Domain Academys senior instructors. He was an existence that even the executives of Jin Hai Citys various large Guilds had to treat with respect. The reason for this was that several years ago, two of his students had successfully joined the Super Guild World Domination. Now, those two students had even become members of World Dominations middle management. Their positions were much more prestigious compared to Gu Yiren, Shadows current Guild Leader. After all, Gu Yiren was merely one of the many geniuses nurtured by World Domination. He would have to first surpass his peers before he would have a chance at joining World Dominations middle management. It was precisely this reason that Instructor Qi held such prestigious status in the Gods Domain Academy and that Gu Yiren had assigned his younger cousin to become Instructor Qis apprentice. Now that Wu Lingling had shown herself to possess talent surpassing even her elder sister, it was entirely possible for her to join the middle management of a Super Guild in the future if she received proper training. At that time, Shi Feng could rely on his connection with Wu Lingling to put pressure on Shadow. In front of a Super Guild, a second-rate Guild like Shadow was nothing but an insignificant ant. If Shadow failed to handle the situation properly, it might even become history in Gods Domain. With such a powerful card in his hand, itd be strange if Shi Feng didnt behave arrogantly. It was also for this reason that Luo Tiancheng was incredibly envious of Shi Feng. He couldnt understand how Shi Feng could be so lucky to acquire a student like Wu Lingling. However, Shi Feng wont be able to stay arrogant for very long, Lan Hailong said, smiling. A good student is all that he has. If this good student ceases to be his student, he will know how laughable his behavior today is! Chief Lan, dont tell me youre planning on using that slot? Luo Tiancheng asked as he suddenly thought of something. Yes! Lan Hailong nodded. While the Legacies in those special Dungeons are valuable, theyre worth nothing if we dont have the necessary talent to make use of them. Rather than waste our Legacy slot on an ordinary genius, itd be much better if we use it to win over Wu Lingling. With our Legacy slot and the benefits Instructor Qi offered, Wu Lingling will definitely choose to go under Instructor Qi so long as she isnt a fool. Leave it to you to come up with such a brilliant plan, Chief Lan! If Shi Feng finds out about this, hell definitely regret the words he said today! Luo Tiancheng said. He couldnt help but laugh when he thought back to Shi Fengs arrogant behavior before. According to the various large Guilds investigations, there were special Dungeons located throughout the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, these Dungeons were 1,000-man Team Dungeons that had never been seen on the main continent before. However, the huge entrance limit and one-week Cooldown of these Dungeons wasnt what made them special. Instead, what made them special was the Ancient Legacies they dropped. By using these Ancient Legacies, players would get to inherit crucial information about their respective classes, which would, in turn, increase their chances of advancing to higher tiers in the future. Although nobody knew how much improvement these Ancient Legacies could provide as of yet, even a tiny improvement would make invaluable items. After all, one would typically have to rely on luck to encounter items and events that improved ones chances of ascending to a higher tier. However, raiding these special Dungeons was easier said than done. Apart from gathering 1,000 experts, one would also need to make sure that the gathered experts were sufficiently skilled. At the very least, these experts needed to be capable of reaching the late stage of the Trial Towers sixth floor. With such stringent requirements, even Shadow, a second-rate Guild, could only form one such team. Itd be impossible for an independent player like Shi Feng to form such a team. Alright, thats it for today. After you return, make sure you find an opportunity to make contact with Wu Lingling, Lan Hailong said. Remember to be quick! Wu Xiaoxiao is still out training with her instructor right now, so she shouldnt be aware of her sisters talent yet! Leave it to me, Chief Lan! Luo Tiancheng said confidently. Immediately afterward, Luo Tiancheng left Hai Long Tower and hurried back to the Gods Domain Academy. Meanwhile, inside the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng and his students had finally finished resting and organizing themselves in the Withered Ruins outer region. After seeing that all of his students had recovered, Shi Feng nodded and said, Alright, time to head inside! Chapter 2948 - Chapter 22 Chapter 22 C Primordial Archaic Species Withered Ruins inner region: Upon entering the inner region, Shi Feng and his students were greeted by a street lined with dilapidated buildings covered in trees and vines. A strong stench of blood also filled the air, the stench originating from the numerous Half-orc corpses that covered the street. Amazing I cant believe Soulfire managed to clear out so many High Lords and Great Lords Qin Wuchen exclaimed when he saw the corpses covering the dilapidated street. Even at a glance, he could tell that over 10,000 fresh monster corpses covered the street. Meanwhile, every one of these Demonized Half-orcs was a Level 105 High Lord or above. Yet, Soulfires members had managed to defeat all of these Demonized Half-orcs with just a team of 200. Even if one searched through the entire Hundred Flow City, one was unlikely to find more than a handful of such teams. Standing beside Qin Wuchen, Wu Lingling nodded her head in shock. Then, she sighed in relief and said, Thankfully, we didnt come in before them. Otherwise, we might not even get the chance to escape if we have to face so many Demonized Half-orcs. The other students on the team also nodded in agreement. Before entering the inner region, everyone was excited to finally grind in the inner region. After all, only a few teams from Hundred Flow City could grind in the Withered Ruins inner region. Any team that could grind here would all be made up of top-tier experts. If their team could grind here as well, they would gain a lot of bragging rights among their peers at school. However, after seeing the large number of Half-orc corpses littering the street before them, they couldnt help but break out in cold sweat. Although they had already made significant improvements in their combat standards after grinding in the outer region, those improvements were nowhere near enough to help them survive in the inner region. The difference between the Withered Ruins inner and outer regions was simply too massive! In the outer region, even the biggest group they faced only had four or five hundred Demonized Half-orcs. The number of Great Lords in these groups was also few and far between. However, judging by the massacre before them, the inner regions monsters should move in groups of thousands or more. Moreover, each group should have hundreds of Great Lords and even several dozen Grand Lords It should be known that players who entered the Miniature Ancient World would have their Basic Attributes suppressed. Currently, even Tier 3 experts had difficulty facing Great Lords in a one-on-one situation. As for Grand Lords, a party of six experts would be needed to deal with one at the very minimum. Yet, just one group of monsters in the Withered Ruins inner region had several dozen Grand Lords. If all of these Grand Lords attacked together, even a 1,000-man expert team of the same level would face annihilation if they werent careful, let alone their small team of 31 players. At this time, Xiao Yuheng, a girl with long golden hair and long pointed ears, suggested to Shi Feng, Instructor Shi, how about we go back to the outer region and grind there? The inner region is far too dangerous for our team to deal with. Xiao Yuhengs combat power ranked among the top five of Shi Fengs students. Upon hearing her suggestion, the other students promptly nodded their heads in agreement. While Shi Fengs Mana Domain allowed him to toy with Great Lord ranked Demonized Half-orcs previously, the present situation was different. The scale of the monsters was simply too great. With how many monsters there were, it wouldnt matter even if Shi Fengs Mana Domain could weaken them. These monsters would still trample over their team easily. Meanwhile, Shi Feng wasnt surprised by his students reactions. Any normal player would make such a judgment. Chuckling, he said, What you say is correct. This place is no longer suitable for you to grind in. With your current strength, even the smallest monster group here would annihilate us. But who said that we were here to grind? Shi Fengs words instantly stunned everyone present. Did we not come to the Withered Ruins to grind, Instructor Shi? Wu Lingling curiously asked. Others might not know it, but Wu Lingling knew that Shi Feng had an agreement with Mysterious Moons Zhuo Yalin. For the sake of acquiring the Darkmoon Outposts resources, Shi Feng had promised to bring 30 experts to help Mysterious Moon in contesting for the Outpost. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs so-called experts were none other than his students. If they didnt quickly raise their levels right now, they would be making a fool of themselves once it was time to compete for the Darkmoon Outpost. They might even become enemies with Mysterious Moon. After all, Mysterious Moon had placed significant importance on the Darkmoon Outpost. It was also the Guilds first step in contending for the Miniature Ancient Worlds resources. The Guild couldnt allow any mistakes to happen. In response to Wu Linglings question, Shi Feng put on a serious face and said, Thats right. We have already done enough grinding in the outer region. Our goal in entering the inner region now isnt to level up, but to improve our equipment instead. Our leveling speed will be greatly affected if we dont have adequate weapons and equipment. However, despite seeing the logic in Shi Fengs words, everyone couldnt help but be rendered speechless. If they couldnt even beat the inner regions monsters, how could they improve their weapons and equipment? Dont worry and just follow me. Looking at the battle traces, they shouldnt have moved too far away from us, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw everyones exasperated expressions. Then, he turned around and started marching down the dilapidated street, making his way toward the citys center. Meanwhile, Wu Lingling and the others couldnt help but turn to look at each other, none of them able to make sense of their instructors words. In a situation where they couldnt even beat the monsters they faced, how were they supposed to improve their weapons and equipment? After Wu Lingling and the others followed Shi Feng through the corpse-laden streets for half an hour, they spotted a group of people gathered in front of a ruined plaza some distance ahead. Meanwhile, these people were none other than Southern Tiger and the other members of Soulfire. At this time, though, Southern Tiger and his teammates all bore somber expressions on their faces. Then, when Wu Lingling and the others arrived at the ruined plaza, they couldnt help but gasp in shock. A Fallen Angel?! How can this be?! Previously, due to the obstructions around the plaza, Wu Lingling and the others had failed to notice anything strange about the plaza. However, after arriving at the plazas edge, their eyes were immediately attracted to the strange woman standing quietly in the plazas center. Specifically, they were attracted by the three pairs of pitch-black wings on this womans back. Meanwhile, this winged woman was none other than a Fallen Angel, a legendary existence capable of rivaling Dragons. In Gods Domain, Dragons were synonymous with natural disasters. They could single-handedly destroy entire kingdoms, and even experts at the peak of Tier 5 would have trouble holding their ground against one. Now that an existence capable of rivaling the mighty Dragons had appeared in this place, how could everyone not be frightened? No, shes not a Fallen Angel, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Shes not? Wu Lingling asked. Then, after taking a closer look at the woman quietly standing in the middle of the plaza, she continued, But her appearance is similar to the Fallen Angels Ive seen in books and video records! After Wu Lingling posed her question, a deep voice suddenly entered everyones ears. Hes right. She is indeed not a Fallen Angel. Upon hearing this voice, WU Lingling and the other students promptly turned to its source. Then, they couldnt help but be surprised when they saw a middle-aged man wearing silvery-gray heavy armor and carrying two shields walking over to them. After all, the middle-aged man who spoke was none other than Southern Tiger, one of Soulfires sixteen captains and a mighty expert in Gods Domain! Seeing the surprised look on the faces of Wu Lingling and the others, Southern Tiger smiled and said, If you dont believe me, you can check using an Identification Skill. Upon hearing Southern Tigers reminder, Wu Lingling and the others promptly used their Identification Skills on the distant woman. [Tyrian (Realm Lord)] (Primordial Archaic Species, Mythic) Level 106 HP 6,000,000,000 When everyone saw the strange womans stats, they finally understood that the strange woman was indeed not a Fallen Angel. Even so, they still couldnt help but gasp when they saw the strange womans stats. These stats far surpassed what an ordinary Tier 4 Mythic monster possessed! After seeing the looks of shock on Wu Lingling and the others, Southern Tiger shrugged and said, Although she isnt a Fallen Angel, her strength is unquestionable. It is virtually impossible to kill her at this stage of the game. Tyrians six billion HP and corresponding battle recovery were already more than enough to give current teams in the Miniature Ancient World a huge headache, let alone Tyrians other Attributes. Hearing Southern Tigers words, the other members of Soulfire couldnt help but reveal bitter smiles. Originally, they thought their team could become the first team to reap the Withered Ruins pioneering benefits. Never did they expect to meet such a troublesome existence here. Friend, if you are thinking of sneaking the Purple-Gold Treasure Chest behind her, I advise you to give up, Southern Tiger said when he noticed Shi Feng staring at the treasure chest situated behind the Realm Lord. Smiling, he explained, That treasure chests defensive magic array is tied with the Boss. You cant get the treasure chest if you dont kill the Boss. The Purple-Gold Treasure Chest behind Tyrian naturally tempted Southern Tiger. However, after attempting to acquire it a few times, he found that the treasure chests defensive magic array was linked with the Bosss HP. So long as the Boss remained alive, the defensive magic array would have an inexhaustible supply of energy powering it. Thus, his previous attempts to distract the Boss and steal the treasure chest ended up failing. Just when Southern Tiger was trying to further dissuade Shi Feng from giving up on the treasure chest, Shi Feng suddenly said, Just kill the Boss and take the treasure chest, then. Chapter 2949 - Chapter 23 Chapter 23 C Tier 3 Sword King? Shi Fengs words rendered Southern Tiger speechless. As for Moon Rain, who stood nearby, she rolled her eyes and cast a scornful gaze at Shi Feng, her eyes seemingly saying, Thank you for stating the obvious. Friend, its not that we dont want to kill the Boss. Its just that this Boss simply isnt something we can kill at this stage of the game. Well need at least a Tier 4 MT to tank it, Southern Tiger patiently explained. Moreover, even if we do have a Tier 4 MT to keep the Boss distracted right now, itll still be very challenging to kill this Boss with our current DPS. The other members of Soulfire repeatedly nodded to Southern Tigers words. Every Soulfire member present was a veteran player who had played Gods Domain for at least seven years, so they couldnt be more familiar with the strategies used to hunt wild Bosses. While it might seem like players could raid any Bosses so long as they could survive the Bosss attacks, that wasnt entirely true. An example of an exception would be Tyrian. Despite being a Level 100 Mythic Boss, it had HP surpassing even Level 130 Mythic Bosses. It was no exaggeration to say that Tyrian had the highest HP out of all the Level 100 Mythic Bosses they had seen thus far. Meanwhile, with this much HP, Tyrian could recover 120 million HP every five seconds simply by relying on its 2% battle recovery. If a team was incapable of outputting at least 24 million damage per second, itd be impossible to defeat Tyrian. However, it should be known that due to the Miniature Ancient Worlds restrictions, even the peak experts of Super Guilds could only bring a full set of Level 100 Epic Equipment with them. They couldnt bring any Fragmented Legendary items or higher. With only Epic Weapons and Equipment, a peak expert would be fortunate to even cause 500,000 damage per second to an ordinary Mythic monster, let alone a Mythic monster with the Realm Lord title. Moreover, this DPS was calculated based on the assumption that the Boss wouldnt dodge or block any attacks. After factoring in these situations, the realistic DPS would need to be halved or more! In other words, only if a 200-man team was composed entirely out of Super Guild-level peak experts and fully geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment would the team have a chance at killing Tyrian. Trying to raid Tyrian with anything less would be nothing but folly! After hearing Southern Tigers explanation, Wu Lingling and the other students inwardly expressed their agreement as well. Although they were unfamiliar with raiding Mythic Bosses, they still knew that the current problem they faced wasnt a lack of combat standards. Instead, it was a matter of their lacking equipment standards and Basic Attributes. Tyrian simply wasnt a Boss they could topple simply by having good techniques and strategies. Meanwhile, after hearing Southern Tigers explanation, Shi Feng also nodded in agreement. Then, he turned to look at Tyrian and said, The concerns youve stated are indeed problematic. However, I have a special method to make up for our lacking DPS. The only problem is whether we have a sufficiently good MT to contain this Boss. In Gods Domain, Realm Lords were not existences that ordinary teams could challenge without having a significant advantage in levels. Firstly, it was because Realm Lords possessed great destructive power. Ordinary teams would have difficulty finding an expert capable of tanking a Realm Lords powerful attacks. Secondly, it was because Realm Lords possessed astonishing HP and Defense. These two factors combined were more than enough to deter any ordinary team from challenging a Realm Lord. However, these two factors still werent the most crucial problem. Instead, what made Realm Lords tricky opponents was their Mana Domains. Not only could they gather dense Mana to strengthen their Defense, but they could also use this gathered Mana to enhance their destructive power. Meanwhile, there were only two solutions to a Realm Lords Mana Domain. The first solution was for players to have extraordinary Basic Attributes and destructive power. The second solution was to destroy the Realm Lords Mana Domain, which would, in turn, reduce the Realm Lords raid difficulty. Only, the latter of the two methods was much more difficult to achieve. Are you serious, Friend? Do you really have a way to raid this Boss? Southern Tiger eagerly asked when he heard Shi Fengs words. Thats six billion HP we are talking about. Even a 1,000-man team of experts will have trouble toppling such an HP! As the Realm Lord of a Level 100 Hell Mode Regional Dungeon, Tyrian was undoubtedly an invincible existence to the current players in the Miniature Ancient World. If they could successfully raid Tyrian, setting aside the potential rewards, just the fame they could obtain would instantly put them in the spotlight of the entire Hundred Flow City! At this time, even Moon Rain couldnt help but take a second look at Shi Feng, her eyes filled with surprise and suspicion. Previously, when Southern Tiger told her that Shi Feng might be a great expert capable of rivaling Soulfires Honorary Elder Blue Smile, she had more or less been skeptical about his judgment. However, after hearing the words Shi Feng just uttered, she was certain that Shi Feng wasnt a mighty expert. After all, what Shi Feng had just said was simply ludicrous. Anyone with even a bit of knowledge regarding Realm Lords would find his words laughable. Rather than a powerful expert, Moon Rain felt that Shi Feng was more likely to be a scammer. Now that people worldwide had already acknowledged Gods Domain as the second world for humans, the status players held in Gods Domain had become just as important as the status they held in the real world. Meanwhile, because of the Soulfire adventurer teams standing in Gods Domain, countless people sought to befriend Soulfires executives. Among these people, many would boast about their ability to accomplish amazing feats just to attract attention to themselves and create the illusion that they were powerful experts. However, when these people were asked to put their words into action, they would back away and start making all sorts of excuses for their inability. In Moon Rains opinion, Shi Feng was no different than these people. Thinking up to this point, Moon Rain suddenly smiled and looked at Shi Feng, saying, Since you think we can raid the Boss, why dont we cooperate? We have many capable MTs here. So long as we can raid this Boss, well split the loot 30:70. Youll take 70 while well take 30. You can treat it as us doing work for you. What do you think? Upon hearing Moon Rains words, the other Soulfire members present couldnt help but look at her in confusion. Soulfire was a top adventurer team in Gods Domain. Typically, when Soulfire raided Bosses for others, Soulfire would get at least half of the Bosss loot. After all, raiding a Boss came with significant risks. It was especially true for wild Bosses. Even if players could get resurrected by healers, they would still lose a significant portion of their EXP. Thus, Soulfires standard practice was to split the loot evenly with the employer. At most, the employer would have priority pick over the loot. Although their team was indeed desperate to raid Tyrian, giving away 70% of the Bosss loot was still a little too much. After all, they had 200 players on their side, whereas Shi Feng only had 31 players on his side. Not to mention, 30 of these 31 players were students. Anyone could tell that their team would be the one doing the bulk of the work. However, despite their confusion, everyone on Soulfires team simply kept their opinions to themselves. Moon Rain was the teams second-in-command, after all. While the decision she made was a little surprising, it wasnt entirely unreasonable. In such a situation, even Southern Tiger couldnt casually refute her without offering a better solution. At this time, even Wu Lingling and the other students couldnt help but look at Moon Rain in surprise. Although they were unfamiliar with raiding Mythic Bosses, they knew that employing the services of a top adventurer team like Soulfire shouldnt be so cheap. A 30:70 split with Soulfire taking the smaller share would be an unimaginable price in the outside world. Not to mention, Soulfires services werent something just anyone could ask for. One would typically have to put a hefty down payment to get Soulfire to move. Moreover, this down payment would not be returned regardless of the tasks success. Yet, now, a team from Soulfire was taking the initiative to seek cooperation. It was simply unbelievable. Excited over this situation, Wu Lingling and the others turned to look at Shi Feng with expectant gazes. Im sorry, but I cannot agree to your offer, Shi Feng flatly rejected Moon Rains offer, contrary to everyones expectations. Then, just when Moon Rain was about to laugh and say something, Shi Feng added, A 30:70 split is too small. If we are to cooperate, itll have to be a 10:90 split at the very least! A 10:90 split? Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Moon Rain retracted her laughter and angrily glared at Shi Feng. Then, in a sharp tone, she said, Who do you think you are? On what basis are you asking for such a price? Why dont you rob us instead? Meanwhile, just when the other Soulfire members were about to nod in agreement with Moon Rains words, Shi Feng calmly said, On the basis that I am a Tier 3 Sword King with a Mana Domain! Immediately after Shi Feng finished speaking, space around Shi Feng suddenly warped, and everyone from Soulfire felt their bodies becoming extremely heavy! Chapter 2950 - Chapter 24 Chapter 24 C Beyond Epic How is this possible?! What a powerful Mana Domain! When Soulfires members felt the frozen space and mist-like Mana around them, they couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng in shock. Moon Rain, in particular, was utterly dumbfounded by this situation, the words she had originally prepared to say vanishing without a trace. Meanwhile, standing behind Shi Feng, Wu Lingling and the others revealed faintly smug and prideful expressions on their faces. In Gods Domain, although players capable of casting Mana Domains werent as rare as a phoenixs feather, they were still very rare existences. Typically, one would only start seeing players with Mana Domains more frequently after reaching Tier 5. Even then, only one or two out of ten Tier 5 players would be capable of casting a Mana Domain. Moreover, most of them were magical class players. Meanwhile, Tier 5 players were apex existences in Gods Domain. They would be considered bigshots even in the various Super Guilds. Thus, Shi Fengs ability to cast a Mana Domain at Tier 3 was practically legendary in Gods Domain. According to rumors, only Gods Domains Tier 6 God-ranked experts were capable of such a feat! Miss Moon, may I know if I am qualified now? Shi Feng calmly asked as he looked at Moon Rains frozen expression. There was no hint of anger or print in his voice as he spoke. It sounded as if he was merely bringing up an insignificant matter. However, when Moon Rain snapped out of her daze, she couldnt help but be at a loss for words, an embarrassed expression on her face. This was because Shi Fengs words had put her in a bind. Even if she admitted that Shi Feng was qualified, with her status as Southern Tigers vice-captain, she did not have the authority to offer the 10:90 split price Shi Feng was asking for. Yet, if she said that Shi Feng was unqualified and her higher-ups learned of her actions, she would probably have to kiss her position as vice-captain goodbye. After all, an expert capable of casting a Mana Domain at Tier 3 was not an existence Soulfire would dare to casually offend. Just when Moon Rain was contemplating how she should answer Shi Feng, a thick voice rang in everyones ears. Yes! Of course you are qualified, Brother Black Flame! Southern Tiger said with a friendly smile on his face. I can agree on Soulfires behalf to cooperate with you, Brother Black Flame! Captain? Moon Rain was surprised when she heard Southern Tigers words. This was definitely the first time since Soulfires establishment that they had accepted a 10:90 split. Even when they partnered with a Super Guild previously, they had only offered the Super Guild a 20:80 split. Moreover, that was mainly because Soulfire only played a supporting role in the job. However, they were clearly going to be the main contributors to the Tyrian raid. They bore significant risk, yet all they would get for their efforts was merely 10% of the loot? If news of this spread, it would negatively affect the adventurer teams reputation. It wouldnt matter even if Shi Feng was a Tier 3 Sword King who had a Mana Domain. Its fine. I know what Im doing, Southern Tiger said, smiling. Have everyone get ready. I understand. Seeing Southern Tigers expression, Moon Rain had no choice but to prepare the team for the upcoming raid. Meanwhile, when Wu Lingling and the others saw this scene, they couldnt help but gape in shock. They actually agreed? I doubt even Super Guilds will get a 10:90 split in such a situation, right? Originally, Wu Lingling and the others felt that it was unlikely for Soulfire to accept Shi Fengs absurd demand. After all, accepting a 10:90 split would be no different from working for free. It should be known that the average Tier 4 Mythic Bosses would only drop around 30 to 40 items, with only three or four of these items being actually useful. If Soulfire gave Shi Feng 90% of Tyrians loot, Shi Feng would be taking all of the best items dropped. As for the remaining items, even if they were valuable, they probably couldnt hold a candle for the best items. Rather than take on such a thankless job, Soulfire would be better off killing a weaker Boss. Not only would Soulfire gain a bigger harvest, but the risk it had to take would also be smaller. It was also because of this reason that players would typically split the loot evenly when cooperating to take down a powerful Boss. Depending on the strength of the participating forces, the loot division ratio might go down to 30:70. However, never would anyone accept a 10:90 split. While Wu Lingling and the other students were having a hushed discussion among themselves, Shi Feng suddenly turned to Southern Tiger and said, Since you have agreed to my request, can you give me command over the team afterward? Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Wu Lingling and the others immediately started growing nervous again. A teams commanding rights were crucial to a team. Whoever held these rights held the life and death of everyone on the team. Hence, what Shi Feng for was the right to manage the life and death of Soulfires members. It might be fine under normal circumstances, but the various powers were desperately fighting to get a lead over each other in the Miniature Ancient World right now. If Southern Tigers team ended up suffering a teamwipe here, it would bring catastrophic to Soulfire. That wont be a problem, Southern Tiger said, nodding without hesitation. Well leave everything to you, Brother Black Flame. Immediately after hearing Southern Tigers response, Moon Rain, who was issuing commands to the team, frowned and looked at Southern Tiger as if she was looking at a stranger. Eventually, unable to help herself, she quietly whispered to Southern Tiger, Captain, isnt this a little too much? If he improperly commands us into a teamwipe, whether intentionally or unintentionally, itll ruin all of our plans in the Miniature Ancient World! Is this really worth it? Soulfire had great ambitions for the Miniature Ancient World. Otherwise, the adventurer team wouldnt have sent Southern Tiger, a Half-step Tier 5 expert, into the Miniature World and had him restart his progress from Tier 3. Yet, now, not only was Southern Tiger having their team of experts take on great risk to work as free labor for Shi Feng, but he was even handing over the rights to command the team to Shi Feng. What Southern Tiger was doing was no different than gambling all of Soulfires investments in the Miniature Ancient World on Shi Feng Yes! Southern Tiger firmly answered. Yes? Hearing Southern Tigers answer, Moon Rain couldnt help but take another look at Shi Feng, a confused look appearing on her face. While it was indeed amazing for someone to be capable of casting a Mana Domain at Tier 3, it wasnt so strange to see such people in the Miniature Ancient World. Anyone who was once an apex expert with a Mana Domain in the outside world could probably accomplish the same feat. After all, they were merely retraining their game characters. The experiences they had accumulated in the outside world remained. Meanwhile, seeing the confusion on his vice captains face, Southern Tiger smiled and whispered, You might not know this since you havent reached the Tier 5 threshold yet, but his Mana Domain is different from the pseudo-Mana Domains youve seen those legendary experts cast when they were at Tier 3. His is a complete Mana Domain! A complete Mana Domain? Moon Rain grew even more confused. Whats the difference? In her recognition, a Mana Domain was a Mana Domain. It was something that allowed players to take control over the Mana in the area surrounding them. At most, Mana Domains would differ in terms of strength. She had never heard of there being fake Mana Domains. Seeing that Moon Rain did not believe him, Southern Tiger helplessly shook his head and said, Of course there is a difference. It isnt a matter of a Mana Domain being weak or strong. If players wish to cast a complete Mana Domain, they need to satisfy two conditions. What conditions? Moon Rain asked curiously. The first condition is to be a Grandmaster Magician! Southern Tiger said. Then, he turned to look at the distant Shi Feng, a solemn expression appearing on his face as he continued, The second condition is to construct a Mana Body beyond the Epic rank at Tier 3! Chapter 2951 - Chapter 25 Chapter 25 C Future Tier 6? His Mana Body has reached beyond the Epic rank? Moon Rain was filled with an indescribable sense of shock when she heard Southern Tigers explanation. Previously, in her opinion, Shi Feng was merely a peak expert with some strength. Even if he could cast a Mana Domain at Tier 3, he should, at most, be a match for Soulfires strongest combatant Blue Smile. While Shi Feng indeed deserved Soulfires respect for having such strength, he still wasnt at the level of being an existence Soulfire would fear. After all, Soulfire was one of the few top adventurer teams in Gods Domain. However, after hearing Southern Tigers explanation, Shi Fengs value in Moon Rains eyes changed drastically. Before the Miniature Ancient Worlds introduction, most players and powers were unaware that apart from Bronze, Silver, and Gold, a higher rank known as Epic existed for Mana Bodies. However, constructing an Epic Mana Body at Tier 3 was nigh-impossible, and even Tier 5 experts who had the opportunity to construct an Epic Mana Body had failed to do so. Meanwhile, according to the various superpowers investigation, every expert who managed to construct an Epic Mana Body had eventually grown to become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert without fail. Because of this, many powers and experts came to the Miniature Ancient World after its introduction into Gods Domain. Every one of these people was thinking of constructing an Epic Mana Body and becoming a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in the future. However, constructing an Epic Mana Body was easier said than done. Even Southern Tiger, someone who was once a Half-step Tier 5 expert, had failed to construct an Epic Mana Body and could only settle for a Gold Mana Body. Yet, it was now revealed that Shi Feng possessed an Epic Mana Body!** A future God-ranked expert, is it? When Moon Rain looked at Shi Feng slowly walking over to them, understanding and envy filled her eyes. Although Tier 6 God-ranked experts were regarded as Gods Domains strongest combat power, most Tier 6 experts operated very secretively. Under normal circumstances, even Tier 5 experts had difficulty meeting a Tier 6 expert. As for other players, meeting a Tier 6 expert was no different than winning a lottery. Meanwhile, an independent expert who had the potential to become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in the future was someone even Super Guilds would try to befriend, let alone Soulfire. Thus, Southern Tigers previous behavior was completely reasonable. While Moon Rain was immersed in her thoughts, Shi Feng had also arrived before Southern Tiger and Moon Rain. Looking at Shi Feng, Southern Tiger smiled and asked, Have you finished preparing on your side, Brother Black Flame? Yes. Shi Feng nodded. Then, in a slightly awkward tone, he said, All Im missing now is the data of your members. Can I trouble you to show me everyones data? Honestly, even Shi Feng wasnt 100% confident in taking down Tyrian. After all, the standard of his weapons, equipment, and Skills was subpar at best. He was merely relying on his Mana Domain to weaken Tyrian and lower the raid difficulty. As for whether the raid could succeed, it would still depend on the teams overall standard. However, player data was private information. If someone had their player data exposed, it could potentially lead to them getting targeted by those with malicious intent. Hence, whether Guild players or independent players, nobody would willingly share their player data unless they knew the other party could be trusted. As the commander for the upcoming raid, it was normal for Shi Feng to ask for his team members player data. However, to Soulfires team, this was probably a very tall order to fulfill. This was also why player teams wouldnt casually pass command over the team to an outsider. However, as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Moon Rain suddenly handed Shi Feng a list and said, This is a general list of the weapons and equipment our team members have. I can also give you a list of their Skills and Spells if you need it. Upon receiving the list of data, Shi Feng couldnt help but look at Moon Rain in slight surprise. He failed to understand why this woman, who previously expressed mild disgust toward him, would suddenly behave so cooperatively. However, he quickly pushed this thought to the back of his head and calmly nodded, saying, Thanks. This much is enough. As Shi Feng read through the provided player data one after another, Southern Tiger asked in a slightly proud tone, What do you think of our teams standard, Brother Black Flame? Southern Tiger was relatively confident in the team he led. While his team might be inferior to the various Super Guilds frontline teams, it was top-tier when placed among the various first-rate Guilds frontline teams. Not bad, Shi Feng said, nodding. According to the list, apart from Southern Tiger and Moon Rain, who were armed to the teeth with Epic Weapons and Equipment, the other team members were mainly geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment as well. Moreover, these Epic items were all custom-made by players. They had much higher compatibility with their users than Epic Weapons and Equipment obtained through killing monsters. Although there was also a small minority of players geared in Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment, the gear they used was an incredibly rare, custom-made eight-piece Dark-Gold Set Equipment. The effect of such a set was much better than eight pieces of randomly matched Epic Equipment. Soulfires team was definitely ranked at the top in the current Hundred Flow City. Only the various Super Guilds teams could possibly beat it. Im relieved that you think so, Southern Tiger said, smiling. Everyone in the team has Magic Scrolls and Attribute Potions allocated to them already. Ill leave you with command over the team now, Brother Black Flame. Subsequently, after receiving the rights to command Soulfires team, Shi Feng started inviting Soulfires members to his team. Meanwhile, when Wu Lingling and the others saw this scene, they couldnt help but be surprised and excited. What?! Instructor Shi is actually going to be commanding Soulfires members?! Instructor Shi is amazing! What kind of magic did he use? I doubt even our Academys dean can receive such treatment! Crap! Is this for real? Not only do we get to raid a Boss with Soulfires members, but our instructor will even be the one commanding the team? People from the other classes will definitely think Im crazy if I tell them about this! Originally, everyone had already been greatly shocked by the strength Shi Feng displayed. This was especially true for the students who were still worried about Shi Fengs capabilities as an instructor. After all, Shi Feng was a dismissed Guild Leader from Shadow. He had no background or resources in Gods Domain whatsoever. While it was true that he could teach them many combat techniques, Gods Domain was a world that revolved around resources. Only by having better resources could one have a better time developing in Gods Domain. This had long since become common knowledge in Gods Domain. However, Shi Feng had now shown that not only could he teach them combat techniques, but he had also shown that he had the strength to attract the interest of major powers such as the Soulfire adventurer team. With such strength, there was no way he couldnt earn a bunch of resources! Meanwhile, after Shi Feng took charge of Soulfires members, he quickly split the teams MTs across nine parties, each party having two MTs and four healers. Once the raid began, these nine tank parties would take turns tanking the Boss. As for everyone else, Shi Feng merely told them to attack with everything theyve got Will everything really be alright, Captain? Moon Rain couldnt help but ask Southern Tiger after hearing Shi Fengs strategy. Although she trusted Southern Tigers judgment and understood that Shi Feng was an expert who even Super Guilds would try to befriend, being a powerful expert and a capable commander were two entirely different things. Bosses at the Mythic rank or above would possess a certain degree of intelligence. If the commander of a team was incapable of making the right decisions at the right time during a Boss raid, it could easily lead to severe casualties and possibly even a teamwipe. Against a Realm Lord like Tyrian, they would need at least four Tier 3 MTs taking turns sharing the damage under normal circumstances. If they only sent two Tier 3 MTs to tank Tyrians attacks, even if these MTs didnt get one-shotted by the Boss, the healers wouldnt be able to keep up with their healing. After all, the gap in Basic Attributes was too massive. Otherwise, they wouldnt have found it impossible to raid Tyrian previously. Probably. When Southern Tiger saw how Shi Feng had arranged the team, he couldnt help but lose confidence in his judgment as well. While it was true that Mana Domains had a weakening effect against monsters, a Mana Domain cast by a Tier 3 player should have very little effect against a Realm Lord like Tyrian. Even after being subjected to the effects of Shi Fengs Mana Domain, Tyrian would still be too strong for just two Tier 3 MTs to tank it. Probably? Moon Rain was rendered speechless when she heard Southern Tigers uncertain tone. They had truly gotten themselves into trouble this time. Now, they could only hope that the partnership this time would be enough to give Shi Feng a good impression of Soulfire. That way, they would have an easier time explaining themselves to the other captains. While Southern Tiger and Moon Rain were discussing their chances of success, Shi Feng said through the team chat, Alright, lets begin! First party, advance! Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, the first party consisting of two Level 100, Tier 3 Guardian Knights and their four accompanying healers promptly charged into the plaza. Then, as soon as the two Guardian Knights stepped into the plaza, Tyrians eyes promptly snapped open. Immediately afterward, everyone present suddenly experienced a suffocating sensation. Even Southern Tiger, who stood 200 yards away, was no exception. He felt as if someone had just poured a bucket of ice-cold water onto him. Not good! Run away quickly! Southern Tiger shouted. However, by the time Southern Tiger had finished speaking, Tyrian had already teleported and appeared in front of the two Guardian Knights. When everyone laid eyes on Tyrians alluring figure and enchanting eyes, they momentarily found themselves mesmerized. However, this mesmerizing feeling only lasted for a moment as everyones attention was quickly drawn to the purple spear Tyrian had pulled out of thin air. Afterward, everyone felt as if an invisible mountain had just landed on them, their bodies becoming inexplicably heavy. Die, intruders! After uttering one simple sentence, Tyrian raised her spear into the air and summoned a purple light that instantly enveloped the entire plaza. Chapter 2952 - Sword God? Chapter 2952 Chapter 26 C Sword God? Were really in trouble now Southern Tiger inwardly sighed when he looked at the purple glow spreading out from Tyrian. Previously, he thought that Tyrian was merely a Realm Lord with a special Bloodline, which would explain her ridiculously high HP. Meanwhile, so long as they had Shi Fengs Mana Domain, the difficulty of raiding Tyrian should be no different than that of an ordinary Mythic Boss. However, after seeing Tyrian taking action, Southern Tiger immediately realized that he had severely underestimated the Realm Lord. Rather than an ordinary Mythic Boss, Tyrians strength was already on par with Superior Mythic monsters. Even on the main continent, Superior Mythic monsters were incredibly challenging opponents. This was because ordinary Tier 4 MTs were incapable of surviving the attacks of a Superior Mythic of the same level. A Tier 4 MT would need a Fragmented Legendary Shield at the very minimum to survive against a Superior Mythic. Now that their team was entirely composed of Tier 3 players, even if they had a Mana Domain supporting them, challenging Tyrian would still be suicidal. In fact, they wouldnt even be able to escape from Tyrian, let alone kill her. This was because every monster that reached the Superior Mythic rank or possessed strength rivaling Superior Mythics would have a Mana Domain. Meanwhile, in the face of a Mana Domain, all players below Tier 3 were nothing but ants! Players couldnt even last more than a hit within a Superior Mythic monsters Mana Domain! At this time, Southern Tiger wasnt the only person to realize the desperate situation. Moon Rain and the other experts from Soulfire also fell into despair. This was because they understood that so long as Tyrians Mana Domain enveloped them, only one outcome would await them. Death! Yet, despite knowing this, none of them had the ability to resist. They could only watch as Tyrians Mana Domain rapidly approached them However, just when the purple glow was about to envelop the two Guardian Knights, who stood at the forefront of the team, a low shout suddenly entered everyones ears. Halt! Immediately afterward, a gray mist rapidly spread from Shi Fengs body and collided with the expanding purple glow. Then, as if hitting an immovable wall, the purple glow came to a grinding halt. It stopped? When Southern Tiger saw the clash between purple and red happening before him, he couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng in surprise and confusion. Not all Mana Domains were equal in Gods Domain. Instead, the strength of Mana Domains varied based on the degree of control its user had over Mana. Meanwhile, a Superior Mythic monsters Mana Domain was superior to even a Mana Domain cast by an actual Tier 4 player. This was because the quality of Mana Superior Mythic monsters held in their body far surpassed that of Tier 4 players. Meanwhile, the greatest difference that separated Tier 4 players from Tier 3 players was the quality of the Mana they possessed. It was utterly impossible for a Tier 3 player to surpass a Tier 4 player in this regard. So, logically, a Tier 3 players Mana Domain should be inferior to a Superior Mythics Mana Domain, even if said players Mana Domain was a complete one. Yet, now, the Mana Domain Shi Feng cast had managed to fight Tyrians Mana Domain to a standstill. This situation had completely shattered Southern Tigers knowledge of Mana Domains. However, at this time, Southern Tiger wasnt the only one feeling surprised and confused right now. Shi Feng, who was clashing with Tyrian using his Mana Domain, was also surprised. Though, Shi Fengs reason for being surprised was slightly different from Southern Tigers. What powerful Mana! I didnt think her Mana wouldve completely liquidized already! Is this the strength of a Primordial Archaic Species? Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed as he looked at Tyrian. Thank goodness my Mana Body has already reached the Legendary rank. Otherwise, it wouldve been a disaster. In Gods Domain, the average Tier 4 Mythic monsters Mana would only take on a mist-like state. Even among Superior Mythic monsters, only a small portion would start condensing a portion of their Mana into liquid. Yet, even though Tyrian wasnt at the Superior Mythic rank, she already possessed Liquid Mana. Apart from Dragons and other apex races, Shi Feng had never seen other monsters capable of such a feat. Brother Black Flame! This Bosss strength has far exceeded our initial expectations! Should we retreat and discuss a countermeasure for now? Southern Tiger asked Shi Feng through the team chat. Upon hearing Southern Tigers question, the other members of Soulfire couldnt help but be rendered speechless. For a moment, they even wondered if the Southern Tiger in front of them was the captain they knew. They were already in such a precarious situation, yet Southern Tiger was still asking for Shi Fengs opinion on whether they should retreat? Of the Soulfire members present, only Moon Rain was not too surprised by Southern Tigers actions. Though, she still couldnt help but grow anxious as she waited for Shi Fengs answer. No, that wont be necessary, Shi Feng said as he glanced at Southern Tiger. Then, he returned his gaze onto Tyrian and calmly said, Everyone, move according to plan! Not necessary? Southern Tiger was confused as he looked at Shi Fengs calm behavior. In the current situation, even a layman would understand that the raid was hopeless. Although Tyrians Mana Domain was being kept in check now, the same could be said for Shi Fengs Mana Domain. Meanwhile, without a Mana Domain suppressing Tyrian, itd be utterly impossible for their team to raid Tyrian. They simply didnt have the DPS to take her down. Continuing the raid would only lead to the teams annihilation. Shi Feng was an expert capable of casting a complete Mana Domain at Tier 3, so there was no way he wouldnt understand this. So, Southern Tiger couldnt understand why Shi Feng insisted they continue the raid. However, before Southern Tiger could make sense of Shi Fengs decision, he saw Shi Feng taking a step forward and instantly appearing within 100 yards of Tyrian. Then, Shi Feng unsheathed one of his longswords and gathered Mana around his blade. Break! Shi Feng shouted as he swung his sword at the space before him. Suddenly, the gray mist that protected everyone from Tyrians Mana Domain transformed into a sharp blade that slashed at the purple glow. Boom! Accompanied by the sound of an explosion, the purple glow dissipated, and the gray mist instantly enveloped Tyrian and the rest of the plaza. Subsequently, the frightening aura Tyrian radiated weakened drastically. Meanwhile, along with this unexpected development, the entire plaza fell silent as if time had stopped. Tyrians Mana Domain is gone? What did Instructor Shi do? At this moment, whether it was Shi Fengs students or Soulfires experts, everyone gaped in shock as they looked at the gray mist that dominated the plaza. Specifically, they were shocked by the sudden disappearance of Tyrians Mana Domain. Everyone present had watched videos of apex experts with Mana Domains clashing before. However, in these videos, even when a stronger Mana Domain clashed with a weaker Mana Domain, the weaker Mana Domain would only have its radius forcibly reduced. Never had they seen a Mana Domain completely dominating another Mana Domain. Yet, in a situation where his Mana Domains strength was equal to Tyrians Mana Domain, Shi Feng had managed to collapse Tyrians Mana Domain. This situation had completely shattered everyones understanding of Mana Domains. DomainTransformation! He actually knows Domain Transformation! Southern Tiger was thunderstruck as he looked at the gray mist that dominated the plaza. Then, he turned to look at Shi Feng, a grave and confused expression appearing on his face as he muttered, Who is he? Why is a Sword God like him here? Domain Transformation? Sword God? Moon Rain grew confused when he overheard Southern Tigers mutterings. What do you mean, Captain? In response to Moon Rains question, Southern Tiger looked at her sternly and said, There is no benefit in you knowing these things right now. All you need to know is that he is a Sword God. Also, I need you to log off now and contact the Head Captain. Say that we found a nameless Sword God whos not affiliated with any power! Domain Transformation! This was an unfamiliar term to most players in Gods Domain. Even among peak experts, only a very small minority knew about Domain Transformation, and Southern Tiger was one of the lucky few to know about it. Simply put, Domain Transformation was a technique that only experts who had achieved ultimate mastery over Mana could use. In Gods Domain, only Tier 6 God-ranked experts could touch upon the extremes of Mana. To be precise, only players who have achieved ultimate mastery over Mana could reach Tier 6. Hes a Sword God? How is this possible? Moon Rain instinctively tried to refute Southern Tigers words. After all, there should be no reason why a Tier 6 God-ranked expert would come to the Miniature Ancient World. However, looking at the serious expression on Southern Tigers face, Moon Rain understood that what he said should be true. So, without asking for any additional explanation, she quickly said, I understand! After saying so, Moon Rain promptly logged out of the game, ignoring the fact that she would incur a harsh penalty from doing so. Chapter 2953 - Realm Of Gods Chapter 27 C Realm of Gods Why did the vice-captain log off? What happened to Soulfires vice-captain? Is Soulfire planning to give up? The instant Moon Rain logged off, everyone on the team received a notification indicating that she had logged out of the game. However, apart from Southern Tiger, everyone else couldnt help but be confused by this situation. It was especially true for Wu Lingling and the other students. Unity was crucial in a Boss raid. Although Wu Lingling and the others didnt know what kind of influence Moon Rain held in Soulfires team, as the vice team leader of Soulfires team, her sudden disappearance definitely wouldnt benefit the team in any way. After all, Moon Rain had chosen to leave the raid even at the cost of incurring the penalty for forcibly logging out of the game. This fact alone was more than enough to influence the teams mental state. If Soulfires team were to suddenly withdraw from the rain, death would be the only outcome awaiting them. After all, Soulfires team was the main fighting force in this raid, while their group of students was only here to act as mascots However, before the situation could get out of hand, Southern Tiger suddenly turned to Shi Feng and apologetically said, Im sorry Brother Black Flame. Something urgent suddenly came up for Moon Rain, so she needed to log off immediately to deal with it. However, her absence wont affect Soulfires performance. Moreover, to express our apology, we will help you take down the Boss at all costs. Soulfire wont take any of the loot, either. Help us take down the Boss at all costs? Wont take any of the loot? Wu Lingling and the other students couldnt help but be dumbfounded when they heard Southern Tigers words. They also felt that Southern Tiger was joking with them. While it was true that Moon Rains absence would affect the teams performance slightly, Southern Tiger, the de facto team leader of Soulfires team, was still present. So long as Southern Tiger was still willing to let Shi Feng have command over the team, none of Soulfires members would dare have any objections against Shi Fengs leadership. They were members of a top adventurer team, after all. Even if they were dissatisfied with Shi Fengs leadership, their honor and professional ethics prevented them from behaving excessively. However, it was a different story if Southern Tiger gave all of the Bosss loot to Shi Feng. No amount of professionalism would allow them to work for free while taking on a huge risk. Ever since Gods Domain became the second world for humans, many expert players had already bet their lives on Gods Domain. So, even ordinary experts would never work for free, let alone Soulfires main force members, who were experts among experts. It seems this Southern Tiger isnt as simple as he seems. I didnt think he would notice. Shi Feng was slightly surprised by Southern Tigers actions. However, he did not show it on his face as he said, Okay, I have no problem with that. Domain Transformation was a technique that could only be accomplished by pushing the basic usage method of Mana to its extremes. Meanwhile, this technique had an alias among those in the industry. Realm of Gods! The alias was used to refer to people who had reached the realm of God-ranked experts in terms of Mana control. Only, the people who knew about this name and its meaning numbered incredibly few. Typically, only those with close ties to God-ranked experts would know about these things. Meanwhile, judging by Southern Tigers behavior, it was evident that he knew something about the Realm of Gods. Captain, isnt this too much? Even if we end up succeeding in this raid, well still end up with a loss Many of Soulfires members couldnt help but express their concerns when they heard Southern Tigers decision. While Soulfire was indeed a top adventurer team, the treatment Soulfires members received was far inferior to Guilds players. Not only did Soulfires members not receive a basic salary, but the distribution of the items they acquired through raiding Bosses was done through internal auctions. Thus, if Soulfires members wished to earn money, they would have to place their hopes on raiding Bosses, picking up personal commissions, or completing commissions assigned by the adventurer team. It could be said that over 85% of their income relied on their own decisions. The adventurer team was only there to provide them with the opportunity to make money. Meanwhile, the reason why every one of them had paid a huge price to enter the Miniature Ancient World was so that they could hopefully make it big here. However, if they received no payment for helping in the Tyrian raid, it would cause them to miss out on many opportunities in the Miniature Ancient World later on. After looking at his teammates anxious expressions, Southern Tiger calmly explained, You dont need to worry about this. The adventurer team will compensate for all of your losses. Even if the adventurer team doesnt compensate you, I will fully compensate you myself! Did you lose your mind, Captain? Crap! Who is that Black Flame? Could that Black Flame be the heir of an international corporation? The Soulfire members present placed great trust in Southern Tigers words. Since Southern Tiger had already said he would cover their losses, everyone naturally had nothing else to say. Even so, they couldnt help but wonder about Shi Fengs identity. After all, even when the apex experts of Super Guilds came to Southern Tiger to commission a job, Southern Tiger had not given them such treatment. Alright, everyone, listen to Brother Black Flames commands! Leave your discussions for later! Southern Tiger shouted when he saw his teammates whispering incessantly. Seeing that Southern Tiger was behaving seriously, the other Soulfire members promptly halted their discussions and encircled Tyrian as planned. Meanwhile, after Tyrian tried and failed to manipulate the Mana around her several times, a look of confusion appeared on her face. Evidently, she did not expect to lose control over the Mana surrounding her. Even so, Tyrian didnt dwell on the matter for too long as she promptly charged toward Shi Feng, the person standing nearest to her. Seeing this, Shi Feng immediately commanded, Her attack is coming! You two Knights, activate your Divine Protection and take the hit together! Also, use Justice Roar on the Boss while youre at it! No problem! The two Guardian Knights standing behind Shi Feng responded and stepped forward simultaneously. Then, they followed Shi Fengs command and activated their strongest Defensive Skill Divine Protection as they entered a defensive stance. Not only did the Skill reduce the damage they took by 60%, but it also mitigated impact forces by 90%. Meanwhile, the Skill had a duration of 30 seconds and a Cooldown of five minutes. Subsequently, when Tyrian was within 30 yards of Shi Feng, one of the Guardian Knights started radiating a dazzling light as he let loose a deafening roar, his voice continuously echoing in Tyrians mind and causing her intense pain. Now, Tyrian had no choice but to shift her attention to the Guardian Knight. Only by doing so would the pain subside. The next moment, Tyrian shifted her direction and charged for the two Guardian Knights instead, her spear poised to strike. Meanwhile, even without the surrounding Mana amplifying Tyrians strength, Tyrians aura was so intimidating that the two Guardian Knights even subconsciously raised their shields a little higher than usual. Boom! Accompanied by a loud boom, a frightening shockwave spread across the battlefield. Even those standing over 100 yards away felt their bodies shaking. As for the two Guardian Knights who received Tyrians attack together, they stumbled three steps backward before they managed to stabilize their bodies. Their HPs had also fallen by more than 50% They blocked it! Everyone widened their eyes in shock when they saw that the two Guardian Knights were still alive. Soulfires various experts were especially dumbfounded. As veteran players in Gods Domain, they had challenged many powerful Bosses before. So, they could tell just how powerful Tyrian was when they felt her aura. The Realm Lord definitely wasnt an existence Tier 3 players could contend against. Even if Tyrian was incapable of using her Mana Domain right now, she was still much stronger than the average Mythic Boss. Yet, the two Guardian Knights had stopped her attack! Its doable! This damage is well within the tolerance of our healers! Quick! Heal those two back up! The Boss is getting ready for another attack! When Soulfires members saw that their two teammates arms were only trembling slightly after receiving Tyrians attack, they immediately grew ecstatic. In fact, they felt even more excited right now than when they saw Shi Feng shattering Tyrians Mana Domain. Meanwhile, out of everyone present, only Shi Feng had reacted calmly to this outcome. What made Realm Lords powerful wasnt their above-average Basic Attributes. Instead, it was their ability to manipulate their surrounding Mana to elevate the destructive power of their attacks. Now that Tyrian had lost that ability, even if she was a Primordial Archaic Species, she was only slightly stronger than the average Mythic Boss. After all, unlike a true Fallen Angel, Tyrian did not possess extraordinary combat standards. If a Tier 3 MT was fully clad in custom-made Epic Equipment, tanking Tyrians attacks would be no problem at all. Not to mention, Soulfires MTs were frontline experts with high combat standards. Some of them were even Refinement Realm experts. So, relying on techniques to mitigate a portion of a Mythic Bosss damage was childs play for them. Everyone, start attacking the Boss with everything youve got! Shi Feng shouted when he saw that the two Guardian Knights had thoroughly secured Tyrians aggro. Second Party, get ready to step in as soon as Divine Protection is over! Everyone on the team had long since grown restless from watching. So, upon hearing Shi Fengs command, they promptly started bombarding Tyrian with all sorts of attacks. Tier 3 Spell, Flame Explosion! Tier 3 Skill, Anti-magic Slash! Tier 3 Skill, Storm Arrow! Tier 3 Skills and Spells bombarded Tyrian one after another. Even though Tyrian had dodged and blocked a portion of the attacks, she still took over a hundred attacks to her body. Meanwhile, without her Mana Domain to weaken the attacks, damages in the hundreds of thousands started appearing above her head one after another. The Bosss HP is falling! Quick! Everyone, increase your attacks! Someone shouted when they noticed Tyrians HP falling gradually. Faced against the attacks of nearly 200 players, even Tyrians battle recovery could not mitigate the damage she received. Theres a chance! At this rate, well definitely be able to down the Boss! Everyone grew even more excited when they saw Tyrians HP falling steadily. The rotation of nine tank parties plus Southern Tiger, who was capable of tanking Tyrians attacks all by himself, created a perfect defensive cycle as every MT had sufficient downtime to wait for their Defensive Skills to come off Cooldown. Meanwhile, thanks to this perfect defensive cycle, everyone else on the team could focus solely on attacking. So long as no accidents happened, it would only be a matter of time before Tyrian fell. Initially, everyone had merely thought that they had a chance at taking down Tyrian. However, after the raid continued for some time, everyone already understood that they had a high likelihood of killing Tyrian, the Realm Lord of the Withered Ruins. Meanwhile, if that happened, they would become the first team to successfully raid a Hell Mode Regional Dungeons Boss in the Miniature Ancient World. It should be known that this was the First Kill of a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon! This achievement would get their names recorded on the totem outside the Dungeon! Subsequently, as time passed, little by little, everyone on the team also grew more and more excited. After more than four hours of continuous combat, everyone was already reduced to a haggard state. Among Shi Fengs students, Wu Linglings complexion even looked a little pale. Yet, despite this being the case, there was not the slightest sign of sluggishness in her movements. On the contrary, her movements had become even more fluid as she continuously simplified and stripped away her superfluous movements. The power of her Skills also grew more and more powerful. Interesting! Shi Feng also noticed the change in Wu Linglings Skills, and he couldnt help but be surprised. Shes only half a step away from reaching the Truth Realm? However, Shi Feng didnt pay too much attention to Wu Linglings improvement. Quickly, he returned his attention to Tyrian. Eventually, after nearly five hours of continuous battle, Tyrian finally collapsed under everyones bombardment, her HP falling to zero! Chapter 2954 - God’s First Appearance Chapter 28 C Gods First Appearance As Tyrians unreconciled scream faded from the plaza, silence suddenly enveloped the entire battlefield. Is she dead? Did we do it? Whether it was Shi Fengs students or Soulfires members, everyone looked at Tyrians motionless body on the ground, anticipation and apprehension filling their hearts. After hours of continuous combat, everyone had long since grown exhausted. They were merely holding on by virtue of their willpower. Meanwhile, as the Boss of a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon, a Realm Lord, and a Mythic ranked Primordial Archaic Species, there was no way Tyrian would fall so easily no matter how they looked at it. Not to mention, it wasnt unprecedented for powerful Bosses to resurrect with full health after death. Many teams had suffered huge losses because they did not expect the Bosses they raided to have such an ability. Thus, even if a Boss in Gods Domain died, one couldnt simply write it off as dead. At this time, one of Soulfires team leaders asked Southern Captain, Captain, this Boss should be fully dead, right? As soon as this party leader posed his question, many of the other Soulfire members around him turned to look at Southern Tiger with curious gazes as well. Although they were all main force members of Soulfire, they were merely the adventurer teams eleventh main force that Southern Tiger managed. When it came to raiding powerful Bosses, they werent as experienced as Southern Tiger. This was because Southern Tiger would often follow Soulfires head captain on hunts for Tier 5 Bosses. He had even fought against a Tier 5 Dragon before. Met with everyones expectant gazes, Southern Tiger was momentarily at a loss for words. Just as he was opening his mouth to say something, he suddenly closed his mouth again, a heavy expression appearing on his face as he noticed cracks appearing on Tyrians body. Immediately afterward, streaks of dazzling purple light escaped from these cracks. Additionally, as the cracks on Tyrians body increased in size and number, an indescribably powerful aura also spread out from Tyrians body. This new aura was magnitudes stronger than Tyrians original aura, and everyone felt as if they had just been put into a solid block of steel, their bodies becoming immobilized No way! She really resurrected?! This is cheating! How are we even supposed to beat her?! Qin Wuchen and the others couldnt help but be dumbfounded by this situation. Even Wu Lingling, who had the toughest spirit out of Shi Fengs students, couldnt help but reveal a bitter smile in this situation. With everyones present conditions, they couldnt even beat Tyrian in her original state, let alone her strengthened state. Is this a Primordial Archaic Species ability? At this time, even Shi Feng couldnt help but frown as he looked at Tyrian hovering in the air. Although he could still use his Mana Domain to suppress Tyrian, over half of the team already had their Concentration pushed to their limits. Apart from Stamina, the other Hidden Attribute that restricted players bodies was Concentration. If players had their Concentration reduced to a certain level, even if they still had plenty of Stamina to spare, they would still lose control over their bodies, becoming unable to lift even a finger. However, just when Shi Feng was pondering whether they should retreat, Tyrian suddenly exploded into a dazzling brilliance that enveloped the entire plaza, nay, the entire city. Despite the sky being dimly lit just a moment ago, it had now become as bright as day. A moment later, a dazzling figure had walked out of the epicenter of the light explosion. Then, a staircase made of light formed under this persons feet, and this person slowly walked down to the plaza. Meanwhile, this person was none other than Tyrian. Only, at this time, her wings had already disappeared. Moreover, her expression was no longer the same as before. Rather than anger, her face now depicted indifference, her eyes containing neither joy nor sorrow. With each step Tyrian took down the staircase, everyone on the plaza could feel the pressure on their bodies increasing. By the time Tyrian had stepped onto the plaza, the intensity of her aura had also reached its peak, causing everyone but Shi Feng and Southern Tiger to involuntarily collapse onto the ground Divine Might?! How is this possible?! Southern Tigers eyes were filled with incredulity as he looked at Tyrian, his body doing its best to resist the mental pressure exerted by her frightening aura. Divine Might! It was a name given to the auras radiated by Gods in Gods Domain. It was an aura capable of making all creatures beneath Tier 6 submit and grow fearful. At this time, let alone Southern Tiger, even Shi Feng couldnt help but be shocked. He never thought that the Mythic ranked Tyrian would be a Tier 6 God! Tier 6 Gods were existences standing at the absolute apex of Gods Domain. Even a Tier 6 God-ranked expert would have no choice but to flee if they faced a Tier 6 God in a one-on-one situation. At least a group of Tier 6 God-ranked experts would be needed to contend against such an existence. Meanwhile, such an existence had actually appeared in the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, the location of her advent was merely a Level 100 Regional Dungeon As for the people on the ground, they, too, wore dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Although they couldnt move their bodies right now, they possessed a certain degree of understanding toward Divine Might. Moreover, seeing as Tyrian had managed to suppress them to such an extent using her aura alone proved that she could only be a Tier 6 God and nothing else. A God! An actual Tier 6 God! Am I dreaming? Shock was the only thing present in everyones minds right now as they looked at Tyrian. They were so shocked that even their previous despair and helplessness had disappeared. Tier 6 Gods were practically myths in Gods Domain. Most players could only see a Tier 6 God through the videos recorded by some Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Meanwhile, every time a Tier 6 God appeared would also result in a great upheaval in Gods Domain. This was because apart from representing the apex of strength in Gods Domain, Gods also represented the biggest opportunity players could find! However, among the fallen crowd, one person paid less attention to Tyrian and paid more attention to Shi Feng. Meanwhile, this person was none other than Wu Lingling. Who exactly is Instructor Shi? Confusion and curiosity filled Wu Lingling as she looked at Shi Feng, who remained unperturbed in front of Tyrian. Logically, a Tier 6 Gods Divine Might shouldnt be something Tier 3 players could withstand. Although resisting a Gods Divine Might mainly depended on ones willpower, Basic Attributes still played an important role. Meanwhile, even a famous expert like Southern Tiger was barely keeping himself on his feet. Yet, Shi Feng, whose Basic Attributes were vastly inferior to Southern Tiger, remained in his normal state. While Wu Lingling tried to make sense of Shi Fengs composure, Tyrian also looked toward Shi Feng, a hint of surprise appearing on her face. Interesting, Tyrian whispered under her breath, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. Then she softly said to everyone present, I didnt think you mortals would dare trespass here and even defeat my doppelganger. Normally, I wouldve bequeathed you with eternal death, but I will spare you as an acknowledgment of your glory as the victors. You can also take this treasure chest as a reward for your efforts. However, should you step into this place again, you will be turned into dust forever! After saying so, Tyrian gently waved her hand, summoning a gigantic spatial rift above the plaza. Immediately afterward, a powerful suction force pulled everyone into the spatial rift, removing them from the plaza. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng and the others had disappeared, Tyrian looked up into the sky. Specifically, she was looking at the place beyond the sky. Has the time finally come? Tyrian silently whispered a sentence before disappearing from the plaza as well. At the same time as Tyrian vanished from the plaza, the outside of the Withered Ruins had also exploded with commotion! Chapter 2955 - Chapter 29 Chapter 29 C Primordial Object Whats going on? Why did we suddenly get teleported out of the Dungeon? Quick, look! The Dungeons entrance is sealed! The players who had been inexplicably teleported out of the Withered Ruins were agitated by the situation before them, their hearts filled with questions. A Regional Dungeons entrance suddenly got sealed? Did someone trigger a major event inside? Thats most likely the case. This is a Hell Mode Regional Dungeon we are talking about, after all. Unless a major event occurs, theres no way it would get sealed all of a sudden. Moreover, this seal is actually composed of a fourfold magic array. Anyone capable of constructing such a seal should be a Tier 5 NPC at the very least. An opportunity! This is definitely a big opportunity! Quick! Notify the higher-ups and have them send over some experts proficient in magic arrays! There must be a big secret inside the Dungeon! Our Guild must be the first to decode this fourfold magic array! After a brief moment of agitation and confusion, the leaders of the various teams present promptly reported this abrupt development back to their respective powers executives, their eyes filled with joy and madness. Even on the main continent, there had never been a case where an entire Hell Mode Regional Dungeon had been sealed, and the players within it teleported out. The only explanation for this unprecedented situation was that an unknown event had taken place inside the Dungeon. Meanwhile, an event that involved a Tier 5 NPC was something even Super Guilds would take seriously. After all, such events would typically benefit players in getting promoted to Tier 5. Depending on the Tier 5 NPC involved, the event might even be helpful in reaching Tier 6. It should be known that even the addition of one Tier 5 expert could influence the power structure of a huge region, let alone a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Should a new Tier 6 God-ranked expert appear, it would change Gods Domains power structure in its entirety. However, unlike the other teams going crazy over this unexpected development, Soulfires team, which was similarly teleported out of the Dungeon, remained strangely calm. The several party leaders of Soulfires team werent even paying attention to the seal on the Dungeon like everyone else. Instead, they looked toward their captain, Southern Tiger. Then, they looked toward Shi Feng, who stood a short distance away, their eyes filled with greed and excitement. Should we take them down, Captain? a robust youth carrying a greatsword on his back asked Southern Tiger in a whisper. Upon hearing this youths words, the other party leaders also looked toward Southern Tiger, their eyes tinted with bloodlust and madness. The outsiders present might not be aware of the situation, but they knew what had exactly happened inside the Withered Ruins. Meanwhile, a Tier 6 Gods advent was a massive event that had only happened a handful of times in Gods Domain. The previous instances of these events happening had even sparked wars between several dozen Guilds. Moreover, even the weakest among these participating Guilds was a top-ranking first-rate Guild. An adventurer team like Soulfire didnt even have the qualifications to participate in those wars. Yet, now, such an opportunity had presented itself before them. Moreover, they were the only ones who knew about the event. Most importantly, the treasure chest they had acquired through this event was currently in the hands of the team leader, that is, Shi Feng. A treasure chest bestowed by a Tier 6 God! Although the treasure chest was currently in Shi Fengs possession, so long as they killed Shi Feng within two hours, the treasure chest would drop with 100% certainty. They could take the treasure chest for their own. However, when Southern Tiger heard his subordinates suggestion, he only hesitated for a moment before determinedly saying, No! We cannot do such a thing! Why? Thats right, Captain! Why not? Thats a treasure chest bestowed by a Tier 6 God! We might be able to get an extra Tier 5 powerhouse if we have it! Even producing a Tier 6 God-ranked expert isnt out of the question! We might not get another opportunity like this if we miss out on it now! When the many party leaders present saw Southern Tigers determined attitude, they couldnt help but start questioning him. While they recognized that Shi Feng was a powerful expert worthy of Soulfire to befriend, the current situation involved Soulfires future. If Soulfire could produce an extra Tier 5 expert through this opportunity, it wouldnt matter even if they lost Shi Fengs friendship! However, when Southern Tiger saw his party leaders manic expressions, he took a deep breath and solemnly said, You dont need to know the reason. All you need to know is that he is worth it! Hes worth it? Southern Tigers words stumped everyone. They failed to understand why Southern Tiger placed such high hopes on Shi Feng, so much so that he was willing to sacrifice Soulfires opportunity to further develop itself. Seeing everyones confusion, Southern Tiger merely responded with a bitter smile. A Tier 6 God-ranked expert was not an existence Soulfire could afford to offend. Moreover, this was even a Tier 6 God-ranked expert that nobody had ever heard about. There must be a lot of issues involved in this matter. Meanwhile, Soulfire definitely couldnt afford to get involved in these issues. Thus, it was best that only a few people learned about Shi Fengs identity. This was also why he had tasked Moon Rain with logging off and contacting the head captain. If this matter wasnt handled properly, it wouldnt even be strange for Soulfire to disappear from Gods Domain. This wouldnt be the first time such a thing had happened in Gods Domain, either. Meanwhile, what he needed to do now was to wait for the head captains feedback. After all, matters concerning an unknown Tier 6 God-ranked expert were already outside his authority as a captain to decide upon. At the same time as Southern Tiger made his decision to maintain friendly relations with Shi Feng, Shi Fengs students couldnt help but grow anxious and fearful. It was especially true when they saw the bloodlust in the eyes of Soulfires members. Instructor Shi, we should hurry up and leave. I keep getting the feeling that these people are looking at us strangely, Xiao Yuheng, who had a straightforward personality, suggested to Shi Feng when she saw Soulfires party leaders discussing something with Southern Tiger. Qin Wuchen and the others also nodded their heads in agreement. Anyone who said that they werent tempted by a Tier 6 Gods treasure chest would definitely be lying. Just when Qin Wuchen and the others thought to further persuade Shi Feng into fleeing, Southern Tiger also started making his way over. Seeing this, Qin Wuchen and the other students immediately grew nervous. However, contrary to everyones expectations, Southern Tiger did not come to demand the treasure chest from Shi Feng. Instead, he approached Shi Feng with a friendly smile and retrieved a golden token from his bag. Then, he sincerely said, Now that we have fulfilled our agreement, we will be taking our leave, Brother Black Flame. This is Soulfires Gold Order. If you meet with any troubles in the future, feel free to seek our help using this Gold Order. Soulfire will accept any request you make. Soulfires Gold Order?! How can this be?! When Wu Lingling, who similarly remained on high alert against Southern Tiger, saw the golden token Southern Tiger took out, astonishment immediately colored her face. Meanwhile, when Qin Wuchen and the others overheard Wu Linglings quiet exclamation, they asked Wu Lingling in a whisper, What are you so surprised about, Class Rep? Whats this Gold Order? Is it something incredible? Incredible? Wu Lingling couldnt help but roll her eyes when she heard her classmates questions. There are three kinds of orders in Soulfire: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. If you have these orders, you can ask Soulfire to help you out with one matter for free. Depending on the orders rank, the things you can ask for help on will be limited. Meanwhile, the Gold Order is the highest-ranked order, and it is also known as the Order of No Regrets. With a Gold Order, you can ask Soulfire to help you with anything, and Soulfire will get it done or die trying. However, each captain in Soulfire will only ever receive one Gold Order, which means they can only ever give it to one person. So, how incredible do you think the Gold Order is? Wu Lingling had only managed to hear about Soulfires Gold Order because her elder sister had mentioned it to her in passing. At the time, Soulfire had ended up offending a superpower because of a Gold Order, nearly facing destruction as a result. The matter had only settled after an expert from Midnight Tea Party had stepped forward to resolve the issue. It was also after this Gold Order incident that Soulfire had gradually become famous in Gods Domain. Originally, Wu Lingling had only thought it was a story and nothing more. Never did she think that the Gold Order existed. Meanwhile, after Qin Wuchen and the others learned about Soulfires Gold Order, shock immediately filled their eyes when they looked at the gold token in Southern Tigers hand. This was a token capable of influencing Soulfires continued existence. Yet, Southern Tiger was now giving it to their instructor. This was simply unbelievable. However, contrary to everyones expectations, Shi Feng did not accept the golden token. Instead, he shook his head and calmly said, Its fine. I dont need this thing. This Southern Tiger couldnt help but feel a little awkward when he heard Shi Fengs answer. As for Qin Wuchen and the others, they immediately gaped in shock. The Gold Order was capable of ordering Soulfire, an adventurer team that rivaled first-rate Guilds, to do anything. Yet, Shi Feng had refused it without hesitation If you want to give it away, give it to my student here. Noticing the awkwardness on Southern Tigers face, Shi Feng pointed at Wu Lingling and said, She should be needing this token more than I do right now. Me? Wu Lingling was momentarily dumbfounded. When Southern Tiger heard Shi Fengs words, he did not hesitate for even a moment as he handed the Gold Order to Wu Lingling. He even very kindly said, This token is yours now, young lady. If you need help with anything, feel free to find us at any time. So long as it is something Soulfire can help with, we will definitely get it done for you! After saying so, Southern Tiger promptly walked away and left the Withered Ruins with his team. He gave no time for Wu Lingling to react at all. Having a hard time processing this situation, Wu Lingling looked toward Shi Feng and asked, Instructor Shi? What should I do with this token? While the Gold Orders benefits were immense, it was also a significant favor. It definitely wouldnt be easy for her to return such a favor. Just take it. This is your reward for winning the championship in the freshman competition, Shi Feng nonchalantly said. If you need any Legacies or opportunities to enter Secret Lands to improve your combat standard, you can ask for their help using this token. With Soulfires strength, they should be able to accomplish these things. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Qin Wuchen and the others couldnt help but look at Wu Lingling in shock and envy. None of them had thought that Shi Feng would use something as valuable as the Gold Order as a prize for winning the freshman competition. It should be known that the Gold Order was akin to a free pass to obtaining Legacies for rare combat techniques and hidden classes. Even the various superpowers wouldnt casually bestow such a benefit to their young talents. After all, acquiring these Legacies required significant manpower and resources. Moreover, such rare Legacies were typically limited in number. Thus, only talents deemed worthy could receive these Legacies for free. Meanwhile, after Soulfires team left, Shi Feng also had his students log out and rest for the day. The long raid had taken a toll on everyones mind. Under such a state, they couldnt fight as efficiently as they normally did. Rather than waste time grinding inefficiently, itd be better if they got some rest. After seeing all of his students logging off, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to Hundred Flow City. However, Shi Feng did not hurry in opening Tyrians treasure chest after returning to the city. Instead, he visited the biggest hotel available in the city and rented the most expensive VIP room, which cost 20 Gold per day. That was equivalent to two or three days worth of income for a frontline Tier 3 expert. Meanwhile, only after entering the room and activating the rooms defensive magic array did Shi Feng retrieve the treasure chest out of his bag. The treasure chest was colored purple and gold. Previously, the seal placed on the treasure chest had prevented Shi Feng from seeing it clearly, but now that the seal was gone, he noticed black electric arcs appearing around the treasure chest from time to time. It looked as if even the surrounding space rejected the treasure chests existence. Interesting! A flash of excitement appeared in Shi Fengs eyes when he saw this phenomenon. I thought it was merely an ordinary Purple Magic Crystal Treasure Chest at first, but to think that it holds an outerworld object in it In Gods Domain, there were also special treasure chests apart from the standard treasure chests, such as the Purple Magic Crystal Treasure Chest. These special treasure chests werent part of the standard ranking system for treasure chests since they originated from a distant era. Their value could also vary significantly, with some being comparable to merely Bronze Treasure Chests and some surpassing even Inferior Legendary Treasure Chests. However, any item that the world actively suppressed was undoubtedly priceless. When Shi Feng opened the treasure chest, a black glow immediately escaped from the treasure chest. Not only did this black glow give off a chilling sensation, but it even caused the space in the room to crack and tremble. This intense reaction naturally triggered the rooms defensive magic array. In the blink of an eye, a threefold defensive magic array appeared and stabilized the space inside the room. The cracks in space had also quickly mended and vanished. However, the chilling aura coming out of the treasure chest did not weaken at the slightest, making it difficult for anyone to approach it. This situation continued for three seconds before an ink-black longsword and a gray key surrounded by a spatial tear slowly hovered out of the treasure chest. Meanwhile, upon sensing the ancient aura these two items exuded, even Shi Feng couldnt help but gasp. Primordial Objects?! Chapter 2956 - Final Creation Shi Feng was momentarily stunned as he looked at the icy-cold longsword and gray key hovering before him, his mind having a hard time accepting this situation. In the present Gods Domain, the number of people who knew about Primordial Objects probably did not exceed ten. Items of this level could only be found outside the world of Gods Domain or ruins of Ancient Gods. This was because Gods Domain had been split into countless fragments during the Great Ancient War. The current main continent that most players roamed on was merely one part of the true Gods Domain. The Miniature Ancient World he currently resided in was once a part of the main continent of Gods Domain as well. Not to mention, even Legendary items would be damaged and disappear under the erosion of time. Thus, Primordial Objects were incredibly rare in the present era, so rare that they could rival the rarity of Eternal Items. Shi Feng knew about Primordial Objects because he came across one while participating in an auction in an Outerworld (another worlds Gods Domain). The Primordial Object he saw was a severely damaged breastplate, and it was utterly unusable at the time. However, the materials used to craft the breastplate were stronger than even the materials used to craft modern Divine Artifacts. So, although the breastplate was no longer usable, it could be melted to produce a new weapon or equipment. At the time, many Outerworld God-ranked experts had fought to acquire this breastplate. Eventually, a Tier 6 Berserker God had won the breastplate after paying a steep price of four Legendary items. Then, he had a Famed Smith craft him a new breastplate. Meanwhile, the quality of the breastplate had exceeded the Legendary rank, becoming the first Fragmented Divine Artifact ranked equipment usable by players! Indeed! A Fragmented Divine Artifact! It was an item that had reached the step above Legendary. It was also an item that many God-ranked experts had once thought that players couldnt use. Even Shi Feng was under the same assumption that that was the case. After all, he had seen even Divine Artifacts before, let alone Fragmented Divine Artifacts. In fact, any player who had reached Tier 5 wouldve probably seen a Divine Artifact or two at some point. This was because there were two Divine Artifacts displayed in the War Gods Temples treasury: Meteor Glow and Frost Heaven. Meteor Glow was a staff, and Frost Heaven was a spear. Both were the best items the War Gods Temple had to offer. Initially, Shi Feng had thought that the War Gods Temple was only showing off those items to players due to their absurdly expensive price tags. However, after that Tier 6 Berserker God had worn a Fragmented Divine Artifact, everyone finally understood that players, too, could use Divine Artifact ranked weapons and equipment. It was also because of that Fragmented Divine Artifact that the Berserker God who owned it became publicly acknowledged as the number one Berserker God across multiple worlds, and no other Berserker God could ever hope to be a match for him. Meanwhile, not only did the Purple Crystal Treasure Chest in front of him contain two Primordial Objects, but both items were complete and usable. How could Shi Feng not be surprised and shocked by this situation? It should be known that whether it was in this Gods Domain or other Gods Domains, none of the Primordial Objects he had heard about had ever been a complete item! Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart and retrieved the two Primordial Objects in front of him. Then, he opened their Attribute Panels, eager to see what they were like. Final Creation? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the icy longswords information. [Winter of Eternal Night] (One-handed Sword, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 5,000, Tier 3 Attack Power (260% of Strength) Attack Speed (3% of Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks gain the Extreme Frost effect, inflicting the Freezing effect within a 10*25 yard area of the attack; Attacks have a 30% chance to deal 400% damage and weaken the effectiveness of all Mana defenses by 40%; Strength increased by 6%, Agility increased by 70%, Intelligence increased by 20%, Endurance increased by 60%, Attack Speed increased by 40%; Ignore Levels +50; Effect of all Sword-type Skills improved by 50%; Power of all Sword-type Skills increased by one rank; Effect of Mana increased by 50%. Additional Passive Skill: Winters Body. Winter of Eternal Night will absorb its users Mana to strengthen its users physique. The higher the Manas quality, the greater the improvements. Improvement limited at 100%. Additional Active Skill 1: Radiant Night (Tier 4). Adds the power of erosion to all of the users attacks and forcibly increases the rank of the users attacks by two (up to Tier 5 Intermediate). Duration: 20 seconds Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Active Skill 2: World of Frost (Tier 4). Casts the shadow of a world around the user, enveloping an area of a 500-yard radius. The user may summon up to nine frost swords within the enveloped area. Each frost sword will carry 120% of the users Strength. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 2 hours Additional Profound Inheritance 1: Formless Sword. Converts heaven and earth into a temporary sword. The quality of the sword created depends on the surrounding environment and the magic array constructed by the user. Duration: 1 hour Cooldown: 1 natural day Additional Profound Inheritance 2: World Sword. Devour World Sources to evolve. The Ancient God of Thunders final creation. Winter of Eternal Night holds the power source of an Ancient God, and it is capable of freezing all things. Shi Feng wasnt a stranger to the Ancient God of Thunder. This was because the creator of the Solomons Sword he used in his previous life was none other than the Ancient God of Thunder. Meanwhile, Solomons Sword was also considered one of Gods Domains Ten Great Legendary Weapons. The sword that I failed to find in my last life I didnt think it would be here. Its no wonder why I couldnt find it no matter how much I searched the main continent. Shi Feng couldnt help but reveal a bitter smile as he looked at the pitch-black longsword in his hand. As one of the oldest Ancient Gods, the Ancient God of Thunder had created many swords during his existence. Among them, the most famous one was none other than Solomons Sword. However, few people knew that Solomons Sword wasnt a completed product but a half-finished product instead. The reason for that was that nobody had ever managed to gather all of the necessary fragments, not even Shi Feng. After Shi Feng had acquired Solomons Sword and used it for some time, he realized that the weapon was actually missing half of its power source. Meanwhile, after doing some research, he discovered that the remaining half was inside the Ancient God of Thunders final creation. Yet, now that Solomons Sword was no longer in his possession, he had obtained the final creation instead However, after rueing over this ironic situation for a moment, Shi Feng wiped his bitter smile away and stored the Winter of Eternal Night away. Although Solomons Swords fragments were currently scattered across Gods Domain right now, it was still a good start to have the Winter of Eternal Night. Subsequently, Shi Feng shifted his attention onto the gray key, his expression growing stern. Not only did this gray key not originate from his current sub-world, but it was even an item from the main world of Gods Domain. Although he was missing a significant portion of his memories right now, he still vividly remembered that any item from the main world would pose extreme danger to a sub-world. He had heard of one instance where a main world item had caused the disappearance of an entire sub-world in the past. Moreover, every Tier 6 God-ranked expert that couldnt hold back their curiosity and tried to look into this matter had fallen It should be known that Shi Feng wasnt a Tier 6 Sword God right now. He was merely a Tier 3 Sword King who had practically nothing to his name. If a problem occurred due to this gray key, he would be utterly powerless to salvage the situation. Meanwhile, the gray key had a very simple function. So long as one could perfectly solidify Mana, one could activate the key and travel between the many worlds of Gods Domain! While this function might not seem like much, if any Super Guild learned of it, they would probably lose their minds over it. They wouldnt even hesitate to start a war against every power in Gods Domain so long as they could acquire this gray key. At this point, the various Super Guilds shouldve already learned that there wasnt just one Gods Domain in existence, but many instead. They shouldve also learned about the main world and its importance. Unfortunately, entering the main world and securing a foothold wasnt an easy task. It was an endeavor that required a large number of God-ranked experts. However, producing a God-ranked expert was easier said than done. Not only did it require an astronomical amount of resources, but it also required a large number of opportunities and Legacies. Meanwhile, a single sub-worlds limited resources and opportunities were only enough to facilitate the birth of a limited number of Tier 6 God-ranked experts. If a sub-world wanted to produce more God-ranked experts, it would have to plunder resources and opportunities from other sub-worlds. However, entering other sub-worlds was a difficult feat even for God-ranked experts. Normally, only when a World Passage appeared could the players of two sub-worlds freely travel to each others world. Although other means were available for players to travel between sub-worlds, achieving success with these means was unimaginably difficult. Moreover, even if players got lucky and crossed worlds, they would still have to deal with the foreign worlds suppression. In the end, they wouldnt be able to accomplish anything meaningful. However, it was a different story for the gray key before him. Not only did it allow him to open passages to other sub-worlds, but it also allowed him to avoid facing any suppression from the foreign sub-worlds. This gray key was essentially a free pass to the many sub-worlds of Gods Domain. Even describing this key as heaven-defying would be an understatement! Whatever. I can only take things one step at a time right now. After taking a long look at the key in his hand, Shi Feng stored it in his bag and chose to log off for the day. He needed to plan out how he should earn Academy Points. After all, what he needed to do most right now was improve his physical fitness in the real world and improve his brains activity. If he couldnt even get his body to meet the minimum standards of getting promoted to Tier 4, thered be no point in talking about the future. Gods Domain Academy, advanced training hall: Various smart training equipment was situated across the hall that was the size of a sports arena. Not only could this training equipment perfectly measure a persons physical parameters, but it could also provide personalized training solutions to allow users to train with maximum efficiency. There were also autonomous robots available for sparring purposes, and those who chose to spar with these robots could maximize the improvement of their physical fitness and combat techniques. These were all advanced technological products that ordinary training centers in the outside world couldnt purchase. Meanwhile, in addition to the Academys instructors, only a few students were present inside the training hall. This was because only the Academys instructors and students who had received A-rank evaluations on their academic performance were qualified to enter this training hall. Moreover, just spending one hour in this training hall would cost one 2,000 Credits or 2,000 Academy Points. It was not an expenditure that ordinary students and instructors could afford. However, at this time, most of the instructors and students present werent actually doing any training. This was because they had their attention attracted toward the person who had just entered the hall. The person in question was a sexy girl with shoulder-length brown hair. She wore a white sports T-shirt and shorts that revealed much of her healthy wheat-colored skin. Meanwhile, as soon as this woman entered the hall, she promptly made her way toward Wu Lingling, who was going through a reaction test right now. Crap! Isnt that Senior Ziyou?! Why is one of the Four Heavenly Kings here?! I know, right? After she won in the Professional Leagues third preliminary round, I heard that she is now in line to be selected as one of the preliminaries seeded candidates! I heard that even some first-rate Guilds have extended an invitation to her already! When the students in the hall saw this brown-haired girl, feelings of admiration appeared in their eyes. Many of the instructors present even cast envious gazes at this girl. Apart from Wu Xiaoxiao, the Gods Domain Academys star and a monstrous genius, the Academy also had four top-tier geniuses. Every one of these four geniuses had long since surpassed most of the Academys instructors in terms of combat standards. If not for Wu Xiaoxiaos appearance, these four top-tier geniuses wouldve been the Academys pride. Meanwhile, Chen Ziyou, the brown-haired girl, was one of these four top-tier geniuses, also known as the Academys Four Heavenly Kings. However, despite Chen Ziyou being such a talented beauty, few boys in the Academy dared to pursue her. Even the Academys wealthy young masters dared not have any designs over her. This was because Chen Ziyou wasnt just one of the Academys Four Heavenly Kings. At the same time, she was also Senior Instructor Qis favored student. In the future, there was a very high chance that she would join one of Gods Domains Super Guilds. After all, Chen Ziyou was currently only in her third year. She still had one entire year to develop herself. Apart from Chen Ziyou, there was also a man who had entered the hall at the same time as she did. This person was none other than Luo Tiancheng, who had come running here in a hurry after learning about Chen Ziyous visit. At this moment, though, Luo Tianchengs dignity as a teacher was nowhere to be seen as he simply stood behind Chen Ziyou like a follower while Chen Ziyou waited for Wu Lingling to come out of the reaction tester. After a minute, Wu Lingling came out of the reaction tester covered in sweat. Then, when Chen Ziyou saw the result displayed on the tester, she said, Not bad, Little Ling. Its been a while since I last saw you, but I didnt think your reaction standard had already reached Excellent. Youre outperforming even your elder sister. The reaction test results could be categorized into five ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Excellent, and Perfect. Even among senior students, those who received an Advanced evaluation for their reaction test were the minority. As for those with Perfect evaluations, they could rank among the Academys top 30 students. It should be known that even Chen Ziyou herself had reached Perfect only recently Why are you here, Big Sis Ziyou? Wu Lingling asked, feeling slightly surprised when she saw Chen Ziyou. Chen Ziyou was one of her elder sisters good friends and someone akin to a second big sister. Even before she entered the Gods Domain Academy, Chen Ziyou had given her a lot of pointers and helped her with training. Of course, it is because I have business with you. Moreover, it can be considered good news for you, Chen Ziyou said, smiling. There was also a hint of envy in her voice when she spoke. Good news? Wu Lingling grew confused. What good news? Seeing the bewildered look on Wu Linglings face, Chen Ziyou put on a formal smile and said, My instructor, Instructor Qi, wishes for you to become his student. Moreover, so long as you become my instructors student, not only will you get a training slot in World Domination, but you will also receive one of the Legacy slots Shadow acquires in the Miniature Ancient World! Chapter 2957 - Jade Asura Chapter 2957 Chapter 31 C Jade Asura World Dominations training slot?! The Legacies found in the Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons require even large Guilds to go all out to raid. Yet, Shadows giving Wu Lingling one of the few Legacies they can get from these Team Dungeons? Is another bigshot going to appear in our school? As soon as Chen Ziyou finished speaking, the instructors and students paying attention to her couldnt help but gasp. Then, they turned to look toward Wu Lingling with shock in their eyes. At this time, even Luo Tiancheng, who stood behind Chen Ziyou, couldnt help but look at Wu Lingling enviously. A Super Guilds training slot was something all players in Gods Domain dreamed of obtaining. However, even the experts of Super Guilds had a hard time obtaining such a training slot, let alone outsiders. Meanwhile, so long as a player participated in a Super Guilds systematic training, this player was bound to have a promising future. Setting aside the precious training resources a Super Guild could provide, just getting acquainted with the other trainees was an invaluable opportunity. After all, anyone who managed to get selected for training by a Super Guild was a promising talent capable of reaching Tier 4 at the very minimum. Some of these talents could even reach Tier 5, becoming an executive in a Super Guild and the overseer of an Advanced Main City. Not to mention, there was even the Miniature Ancient Worlds Legacy slot! The Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons were unlike those found on the main continent. Not only did they appear randomly, but they even had a massive entrance limit of 1,000. Moreover, each Team Dungeon would only drop Legacies on their First Clear. So, after considering all of these factors plus the competition from other players, even Super Guilds wouldnt be able to get their hands on many Legacies, let alone weaker Guilds. Meanwhile, all Legacies dropped allowed players to acquire hidden classes originating from ancient times. Depending on the standard of the hidden class, not only could it increase ones chances of getting promoted to Tier 4 by a significant margin, but it could even provide a certain degree of help in reaching Tier 5. A Super Guilds training slot and an Ancient Legacy? Wu Lingling grew silent when she heard Chen Ziyous words. Meanwhile, seeing that Wu Lingling was seemingly pondering over the offer, Chen Ziyou sincerely said, Lingling, this is a rare opportunity. Instructor Qi has been holding onto this training slot for a long time. He didnt even offer your sister this slot when she became famous in the Academy. If you can use this training slot properly, the things you can accomplish will far surpass your current achievements. You might even be able to get into the A-League in the future. Not to mention, you even have an Ancient Legacy waiting for you. With these two things aiding you, itll only take two or three years before you become your sisters pride. As for Instructor Shis side, you dont need to worry about that, either. While it is important to respect your teachers, this matter concerns your future. I believe Instructor Shi will understand your situation. Moreover, I can promise you that the matter between Instructor Shi and Shadow will end as well. Even Instructor Qi will recommend the Academy to promote Instructor Shi into an intermediate instructor next year. Instructor Shi has a wealth of experience in combat and management, after all. Instructors like him are rare even in the Academy. Luo Tiancheng repeatedly nodded in conjunction with Chen Ziyous words. His mouth, though, curled into a faint sneer. If Shi Feng lost his precious student, what could he possibly do without any background or strength? However, just when Luo Tiancheng was about to further reaffirm Chen Ziyous statement about Shadows promises, Wu Lingling suddenly shook her head and said to Chen Ziyou, Big Sis Ziyou, I am very happy that Instructor Qi has such high hopes for me, but I still think that Instructor Shi is better. Instructor Shi is better? Chen Ziyou frowned a little. At the same time, she couldnt help but admire Wu Linglings loyal personality. Lingling, both the training slot and Legacy slot are precious resources. While Instructor Shi might be an excellent instructor, he cannot provide you with these resources. Thats right! Luo Tianchen proclaimed. Then, in a confident tone, he said, Let alone World Dominations training slot, Shi Feng cant even get you a Legacy slot! Although Chen Ziyou didnt say anything about Luo Tianchengs interruption, her eyes expressed her agreement with his words as she looked at Wu Lingling. Shi Feng was merely the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. He was neither a Tier 4 player nor did he have the support of a Guild. He would have difficulty even surviving in the Miniature Ancient World, let alone raiding a 1,000-man Team Dungeon. However, Wu Lingling simply shook her head and said determinedly, Big Sis Ziyou, Instructor Shi is very amazing. He might not be able to get me a Super Guilds training slot, but getting a Legacy slot isnt a problem for him. Isnt a problem? Chen Ziyou couldnt help but palm her forehead when she heard Wu Linglings words. Then, in an exasperated tone, she explained, Lingling, do you know how difficult it is to get a Legacy in the Miniature Ancient World? Not only will you need to gather 1,000 professional-level experts, but you will also need to find a Team Dungeons entrance. Just looking for the entrance will require significant manpower. It isnt something one person can accomplish alone. Not only did the entrances of the Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons appear randomly, but each entrance will only exist for three to five hours before vanishing. Even ordinary Guilds would have to stretch themselves to find a Team Dungeons entrance. After all, a Guild could only send so many people to the Miniature Ancient World before it affected their operations on the main continent. Typically, only second-rate Guilds and above had the strength to locate and raid a Team Dungeon in the Miniature Ancient World. Im serious, Big Sis Ziyou, Wu Lingling said when she saw Chen Ziyous exasperated expression. Refusing to concede, she continued, If you dont believe me, I can prove it to you. Prove? Can such a thing even be proved? Chen Ziyou asked, feeling a little surprised when she saw the serious look on Wu Linglings face. Meanwhile, Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but snicker when he heard Wu Linglings words. He knew much better than anyone what Shi Feng was capable of. Let alone obtaining an Ancient Legacy, even gathering a team of 1,000 experts would be a pipe dream for him! Of course I can prove it! Wu Lingling said, feeling a little dissatisfied when she saw the look of contempt on Luo Tianchengs face. Youll know once you follow me. After saying so, Wu Lingling grabbed her sports jacket she had placed on a nearby bench and left the training hall without saying another word. Seeing this, Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but look toward Chen Ziyou for her opinion. I really dont know whats gotten into this girls head. How can she put so much trust in that Instructor Shis abilities? Chen Ziyou complained. However, Chen Ziyou understood Wu Linglings personality very well. Once the girl had set her mind on something, she wouldnt change her decision easily. If she wanted to persuade Wu Lingling, she would have no choice but to make Wu Lingling give up voluntarily. So, she said to Luo Tiancheng, Lets go and see what she wants to show us, then. Subsequently, Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng followed Wu Lingling out of the training hall. Then, under Wu Linglings lead, they took a taxi and arrived at Jin Hai Citys central business district. When the taxi stopped in front of a majestic tower that stretched over a hundred floors, Wu Lingling got out of the car and walked into this tower without hesitation. The Gods Domain Association? Chen Ziyou was momentarily stunned when she saw the crowded entrance of the magnificent tower. The Gods Domain Association had come into being after Gods Domain had become globally popular, and competitions surrounding Gods Domain had appeared one after another. Not only would the association host small competitions throughout the globe, but it was even responsible for hosting the Professional League. Moreover, it had branches established across all cities around the world. Meanwhile, after Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng followed Wu Lingling into the Gods Domain Association, they were greeted by the sight of an even larger crowd. Among them, there were talented youths and famous figures originating from the various industries of Jin Hai City. However, when Chen Ziyou entered the building, many people in the lobby quickly turned their attention to her. Crap! Its Chen Ziyou! Why is she here? I thought there werent any league matches today? Is she planning to challenge the 51st Floor Master today? Thats most likely the case. I remember that she had nearly succeeded in her last attempt. When I watched her previous match in the preliminaries, she seemed to have improved a lot since that time. She might be able to succeed if she challenges the 51st Floor Master now. Damn! It will be awesome if she becomes the new 51st Floor Master! Even the lowest Floor Master will get a house of their own on the 101st floor! I know, right? Those rooms come fully equipped with all the necessary training facilities. You even get to have an amazing night view of Jin Hai City! Everyone quickly broke into an enthusiastic discussion when they saw Chen Ziyou arriving in the building. The youths present, in particular, looked at her with an envious and yearning gaze. Aside from playing host to competitions, the Gods Domain Association also provided ample support to young experts in Gods Domain. Specifically, those aged 25 or under could participate in a daily tower challenge hosted by the association. Meanwhile, those who succeeded in the challenge would receive Association Points to spend as currency in the Gods Domain Association. Not only could these points be used to rent the associations training facilities, but they could also be used to exchange for the luxurious and nutritional meals the association offered. However, the best treatment one could receive through this daily challenge would undoubtedly be the privilege to become a Floor Master in the Gods Domain Association. There were 50 Floor Master positions in total, going from the 51st floor to the 100th floor. If a person became a Floor Master, not only would they get to live on floors 101 and above, but should they win their matches, they would also receive a portion of the revenue generated through the broadcasting of their matches. Meanwhile, the higher ones Floor Master position, the greater the revenue. After reaching the 80th floor, the income a Floor Master could receive could cause even executives of large Guilds to grow envious. Chen Ziyou did not pay attention to the gazes she received. Instead, she looked at Wu Lingling, who had already arrived in front of the front desk, and asked, What did you bring us here for, Lingling? After saying a few words to the receptionist at the front desk, Wu Lingling glanced at Chen Ziyou and mysteriously said, Youll find out in a moment. Chen Ziyou couldnt help but be a little stunned. She failed to understand what Wu Lingling was trying to do. After the trio waited in the lobby for a few minutes, a young man exuding a dignified aura walked out of the elevator lobby. Meanwhile, upon seeing this young man, both Luo Tiancheng and Chen Ziyou couldnt help but be surprised. Jade Asura Lin Kuiyi! At this time, apart from Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng, the many youths in the lobby also couldnt help but gasp in surprise. It was because this dignified young man was incredibly famous in Jin Hai Citys Gods Domains Association. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that everyone in the city knew about him. After all, not only was Lin Kuiyi the 93rd floors Floor Master, but he was even a core member of Soulfire, one of Gods Domains top adventurer teams. Meanwhile, after entering the lobby, Lin Kuiyi approached Chen Ziyous group of three and respectfully asked, May I know which one of you is holding the Gold Order? Chapter 2958 - Chapter 32 Chapter 32 C Instructor Shi Is Very Amazing Gold Order? Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng grew confused when they heard Lin Kuiyis question. Soulfires Gold Order was well-known in Gods Domain. So long as one was a member of a major power, one would more or less hear about it. After all, the first time the Gold Order was used, it had involved a Super Guild and the legendary Midnight Tea Party. While the Midnight Tea Party might only have several dozen members, every one of its members was an expert among experts. Even the weakest among them was a Tier 5 player, while several were even Tier 6 God-ranked experts. When the adventurer team was at its peak, even Super Guilds avoided it like the plague. Thus, even though a lot of time had passed since the Gold Order incident, none of the major powers in Gods Domain dared to provoke Soulfire even until now due to its close ties with the Midnight Tea Party. While Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng were in a daze, Wu Lingling calmly said, Its me. Hearing this, Lin Kuiyi promptly turned to look at Wu Lingling. Then, he asked in a friendly tone, May I know which captain gave you the Gold Order? Its Senior Southern Tiger, Wu Lingling said. Please wait here for a moment. Ill go verify it right away, Lin Kuiyi said, nodding. Then, he promptly turned around and left the lobby. Meanwhile, after Lin Kuiyi left, Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng immediately looked at Wu Lingling with shock and confusion in their eyes. Lingling, you acquired Soulfires Gold Order? Chen Ziyou couldnt help herself from asking. Ordinary experts might not know about Soulfires Gold Order, but not Chen Ziyou. After being selected as a candidate for a seed position in the Professional Leagues preliminaries, Chen Ziyou had already received an invitation from the Gods Domain Academys dean, Lin Yaoyue. So, she could now be regarded as a half-inner member of the Mysterious Moon Guild, which, in turn, allowed her to learn more about Gods Domain. Meanwhile, out of Gods Domains many first-rate powers, the Guild had placed heavy emphasis on the Soulfire adventurer team. Thus, Chen Ziyou knew exactly how valuable Soulfires Gold Order was. Mhm. Instructor Shi awarded it to me, Wu Lingling said, nodding. Instructor Shi awarded it to you? Chen Ziyou was a little stunned. Could such an item even be awarded? Meanwhile, upon hearing Wu Linglings words, Luo Tiancheng, who had originally been in a daze, suddenly laughed and said, Student Wu Lingling, that Shi Feng mustve tricked you. I know him much better than you do. There is no way he can get his hands on Soulfires Gold Order with him alone. He mustve tricked you because he is afraid that you would leave him. Luo Tiancheng was fully aware of Shi Fengs past and present situation. Shi Feng had hardly met any executives of first-rate Guilds during his time as Shadows Guild Leader, let alone a top adventurer team like Soulfire. Yet, Wu Lingling said that Shi Feng had awarded her with Soulfires Gold Order? It should be known that the Gold Order was a priceless treasure that could allow a player to order Soulfire to do their bidding! It was something many first-rate powers dreamed of obtaining! Chen Ziyou also expressed her agreement with Luo Tianchengs words. No matter how she thought about it, there was no way for a second-rate Guilds former Guild Leader to get his hands on a Gold Order. Hurriedly, she said, Lingling, youve gone too far with your joke this time. The Gold Order holds great significance to Soulfire. Once Lin Kuiyi returns, you have to explain the situation in detail. Otherwise, even your elder sister wouldnt be able to cover for you. The Gold Order was a very important item and symbol for Soulfire. Anyone who tried to joke around with the Gold Order would be provoking the entire Soulfire adventurer team. The consequences of doing such a thing would be unimaginable Seeing the worry on Chen Ziyous face, Wu Lingling bitterly smiled and explained, Instructor Shi did not trick me, Big Sis Ziyou. This Gold Order is real. Moreover, Captain Southern Tiger even handed it to me personally. Southern Tiger handed it to you? Luo Tianchengs smile grew even wider when he heard Wu Linglings words. To think Shi Feng has even hired an actor It seems he has put quite a lot of effort into this con. He wont be able to die even if he wants to right now. It should be known that Southern Tiger was a mighty Half-step Tier 5 expert. He was someone who even Gu Yiren, Shadows current Guild Leader, was not qualified to meet, let alone Shi Feng. Meanwhile, having a Half-step Tier 5 expert personally hand Soulfires Gold Order to a university student was something even the various Super Guilds executives dared not do. After the trio waited for a short moment, Lin Kuiyi walked out from a VIP room nearby and made his way over to them. However, Lin Kuiyi wasnt alone this time as a woman accompanied him. Specifically, Lin Kuiyi followed this woman out of the VIP room with a respectful smile on his face. Although this woman was dressed plainly, her appearance and body were not at all inferior to the beautiful Lin Yaoyue. The womans body also exuded an extraordinary temperament that exerted an invisible pressure to those around her. An internal force master?! Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng were inwardly shocked as they looked at the approaching woman. Now that Gods Domain had become a second world for humans, martial arts also became an inseparable part of Gods Domain. This was because the various combat techniques in the real world could be applied in Gods Domain. Thus, if players could improve their combat techniques in the real world, it would also be of significant help to them in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, among martial artists, experts capable of exerting complete control over their physical bodies and using internal force were known as masters. Even the various first-rate powers would fight to recruit such experts, hiring them to nurture their young talent. However, even after trying for many years, Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy had never managed to hire even one internal force master to work as an instructor This is bad Chen Ziyou started sweating profusely when she watched the mysterious woman moving closer and closer to them. Even though her strength ranked among the top ten in the entire Gods Domain Academy, if an internal force master decided to take action, she wouldnt last more than a move. At this time, even Luo Tiancheng dared not smile anymore, a grim expression appearing on his face. He also couldnt help but lament his terrible luck. Even though Shi Feng was the scammer in this situation, he was the one having to bear the anger of an internal force master instead. Had he known this would happen, he shouldve never tagged along on this trip Just as Luo Tiancheng was about to turn around and flee, the mysterious woman suddenly looked at Wu Lingling and smiled, saying, I knew it was you! You look almost the same as you do in Gods Domain! You are? Wu Lingling couldnt help but be confused when she looked at the mysterious beauty in front of her. Me? Seeing the dazed expression on Wu Linglings face, the mysterious woman smiled and said, Moon Rain. Moon Rain? Wu Linglings eyes widened in shock, her mind unable to believe what she was seeing. Compared to the refreshing beauty she saw in the game, the great beauty in front of her was like a completely different person. Whether it be their appearance or temperament, she couldnt link the two women together no matter what. It was especially true for their temperament. The Moon Rain in Gods Domain and the Moon Rain in the real world were polar opposites in this regard. Our captain originally said that it would be a while before you come to find us, so I didnt think you would come so quickly. Moreover, it just so happens that youre living in the region Im responsible for, Moon Rain said. She wasnt surprised that Wu Lingling would have such a reaction upon discovering her identity. This was because everyone who met her in the real world after meeting her in the game had similar reactions. Chuckling, she continued, Go on. What do you need Soulfire to do for you? Meanwhile, when Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng saw Moon Rains carefree attitude, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Its real? How is this possible?! Chen Ziyous and Luo Tianchengs hearts were filled with shock when they turned to look at Wu Linglings calm expression. This was Soulfires Gold Order they were talking about! It was a priceless treasure that could be used to order Soulfire around. Yet, Shi Feng had actually given it to one of his students. Nobody would believe this if they retold this matter to others. With the Gold Order, Shi Feng couldve asked Soulfire to exert pressure on Shadow. That way, Shadow wouldnt dare continue harassing him. After all, Soulfires Order of No Regrets was a name that constantly circulated among Gods Domains various powers. Even if Shadow was subordinated to a Super Guild, it wouldnt choose to offend Soulfire over a former Guild Leader. However, it didnt seem like the woman named Moon Rain was putting on an act, either. So, even if they didnt want to believe it, they had no choice but to do so. After all, internal force masters were treated as VIPs by Gods Domains first-rate powers. There was no need for Moon Rain to come and trick them. In fact, it would be even more unbelievable if Shi Feng had managed to get an internal force master to put on an act for him. I want an Ancient Legacy from one of the Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons. Will that be difficult? Wu Lingling tentatively asked. She understood that Southern Tiger had given her this Gold Order as a favor for Shi Feng. Meanwhile, the significance of this favor would depend on the request she made using the Gold Order. To not burden Shi Feng with too huge a favor, she had to avoid making an outrageous request. An Ancient Legacy, is it? Moon Rain fell into thought for a moment. Then, she said, Can you give us three days? The Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons appear too randomly, so we wont be able to locate one within a short period. Three days?! How can something like that be accomplished in such a short time?! Luo Tianchengs eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at Moon Rain. Currently, even though Shadow had already mobilized all of its available manpower in the Miniature Ancient World, the Guilds estimates showed that it would take at least ten days to secure the first Ancient Legacy. After all, having 1,000 professional-level experts standing by wasnt an easy feat. It was especially true now that the Miniature Ancient World had only launched recently. Everyone was busy training and improving their equipment standard. No sane expert would idly wait to raid a high-difficulty Team Dungeon. Hearing Luo Tianchengs doubt, Moon Rain confidently smiled and said, Three days is more than enough. We at Soulfire have always valued our words. If we cant accomplish this task within three days, well give you an Ancient Legacy for free. Ill have to trouble you with this matter then, Big Sis Moon, Wu Lingling said, joy filling her heart. If she could acquire an Ancient Legacy within three days, her strength would undoubtedly rise to the next level. At that time, she could perform much better when she visited the training grounds at the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. Nodding, Moon Rain smiled and said, Leave your contact information with me. Ill give you a call within three days. When the time comes, all you need to do is follow our team and leave the rest to us. Afterward, Wu Lingling gave Moon Rain her contact information. That way, Soulfire would be able to contact her as soon as they found the entrance to a Team dungeon. Meanwhile, after Wu Lingling and the others left the Gods Domain Association, Wu Lingling looked at Chen Ziyou and Luo Tiancheng, who were still feeling a little dazed, and proudly said, What do you think, Big Sis Ziyou? I didnt trick you two, right? It seems I have underestimated Instructor Shi, Chen Ziyou said forthrightly after snapping out of her daze. But do you really intend on giving up the chance to receive a Super Guilds training? Even your elder sister didnt manage to get such an opportunity. While it is indeed a pity to give up on such an opportunity, I dont think that Instructor Shis guidance will be inferior to a Super Guilds training. Not to mention, wont I be visiting the Secret Pavilions training grounds soon? Wu Lingling said, smiling. Instructor Shis guidance is a match for a Super Guilds training? Chen Ziyou felt her worldview tested when she heard Wu Linglings words. How could the guidance of a second-rate Guilds former Guild Leader possibly rival a Super Guilds carefully constructed training? It should be known that a Tier 5 expert would always head a Super Guilds training camp. In comparison, Shi Feng was someone who had failed to even reach Tier 4. How could his teachings possibly match a Tier 5 experts? However, Chen Ziyou knew that Wu Lingling wasnt an ignorant little girl. On the contrary, Wu Lingling was very knowledgeable about Gods Domain and the inner workings of Gods Domains various powers. There was no way she didnt know about the value of a Super Guilds training. Yet, she still spoke about Shi Fengs teachings with such confidence. Mhm. Instructor Shi is amazing. He helped me improve my results in the Trial Tower in only a few hours. Afterward, under his teachings, my reaction standard also increased from Advanced to Excellent, Wu Lingling said. Is he that amazing? Chen Ziyou was a little stunned. For a moment, she even wondered if Wu Lingling had gone insane. Even a Tier 5 expert couldnt help someone improve their results in the Trial Tower in only a few hours. So, how could a second-rate Guilds former Guild Leader possibly accomplish this feat? It just so happens that Instructor Shi is holding his first public class tomorrow. If you dont believe me, you can come and listen to him, Big Sis Ziyou. Who knows? You might gain some harvest, Wu Lingling said, confidently advertising Shi Fengs teachings. If you are going that far Alright, then. Ill go take a look tomorrow, Chen Ziyou said, feeling a little tempted. However, if hes not as magical as you say he is, you best consider switching to Instructor Qi. No problem, Wu Lingling answered without hesitation. After Wu Lingling and Chen Ziyou talked for a while longer, Wu Lingling made her way back to the Academys dormitory. Meanwhile, once Wu Lingling was out of her sight, Chen Ziyou turned to look at Luo Tiancheng and asked, Instructor Shi is completely different from what you told me, Instructor Luo. Also, what kind of relationship does Instructor Shi share with Soulfire for him to receive a Gold Order? She had promised her instructor that she would recruit Wu Lingling for him. Yet, now, she had just made a fool out of herself. This Luo Tiancheng broke out in cold sweat when he saw the annoyance on Chen Ziyous face. The Academys Four Heavenly Kings were not existences that a junior instructor like himself could afford to offend. Hurriedly, he said, Ireally have no idea about this. Ive already told you everything I know about Shi Feng. Enough! Stop making excuses! Chen Ziyou frowned. Since we now know that Instructor Shi is somehow related to Soulfire, things have just become a lot more difficult. You contact Director Lan and inform him of the situation. I will contact Instructor Qi. Let them decide what to do next. Okay! Ill notify Director Lan right away! As if receiving amnesty, Luo Tiancheng hurriedly hailed a taxi and headed to Hailong Tower. Chapter 2959 - Chapter 33 Chapter 33 C Ruthless Shi Feng Gods Domain Association, first-floor lobby: After Wu Linglings group left, Lin Kuiyi, who had stood silently behind Moon Rain throughout the entire conversation, looked at Moon Rain in confusion and asked, Big Sis Rain, Did Captain Tiger really hand the Gold Order to that girl himself? I remember hearing that the Honorary Elder has constantly been asking for it, even going as far as to promise him an opportunity to reach Tier 5. Mhm, he did, Moon Rain said, nodding as she looked at the direction Wu Lingling left in. That Did he give it to that girl for free? Lin Kuiyi couldnt help but be a little stunned. With the current state of Gods Domain, many shops in the real world had even started accepting Gods Domains virtual currency as payment. Some shops even preferred accepting Gods Domains currency over real money. So, one could easily imagine how valuable the opportunity to get promoted to Tier 5 was. However, according to the quick investigation he conducted before, there was no way Wu Lingling was worthy of a Gold Order. While Wu Linglings identity as Wu Xiaoxiaos little sister and her extraordinary talent made her an individual worthwhile for Soulfire to befriend, that was about as much as she was worth. After all, geniuses of her caliber were aplenty in Gods Domain. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that geniuses like Wu Lingling appeared and disappeared every day. For a genius originating from Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy, even giving Wu Lingling a Bronze Order would be somewhat extravagant, let alone the precious Gold Order. In Soulfire, players capable of acquiring a Bronze Order were typically Refinement Realm experts at the very least. Moreover, these players had already made significant progress in the Refinement Realm. They were far stronger than players who had only recently reached the Refinement Realm. Only Wu Xiaoxiao could barely qualify for a Bronze Order in the entire Gods Domain Academy. So, how could Wu Lingling, who was much weaker than her elder sister, possibly qualify for a Gold Order? The girl naturally doesnt have that qualification, Moon Rain said, shaking her head. Then, her lips curled up slightly as she continued, But the person behind her does. The person behind her? Lin Kuiyi was confused. Could she be the heiress of a major corporation? But thats not possible. Such people would typically train in secret under the superpowers their corporations have invested in. Theres no way they would reveal themselves in public. Besides, Wu Xiaoxiao and Wu Linglings family background is no secret. Their parents are merely the upper management of a small company. Theres no way they have any kind of significant background. You can stop guessing, Moon Rain said as she looked at Lin Kuiyi. That person should be her instructor. Instructor?! Lin Kuiyi grew even more shocked after hearing this. How can that be?! Lin Kuiyi knew perfectly well what kind of state Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy was in. Before the higher-ups had relocated Moon Rain to oversee operations in Jin Hai City, he was responsible for poaching talents here. Naturally, the Gods Domain Academy was one of the places he had to visit to do his job. However, it was precisely because of this understanding of the Gods Domain Academy that he couldnt believe Moon Rains words. Even if the Gods Domain Academy had recently received investment from major corporations and the support of experts from first-rate Guilds, there was still no way the Academy could hire an existence worthy of Soulfire giving them a Gold Order for free. If such a bigshot existed in the Academy, he wouldve long since reported this person to the higher-ups already. Didnt you say that Wu Zhenyang has been trying to invite me to become the Academys head combat instructor? Moon Rain asked, not bothering to explain herself any further. Send him a reply saying that I agree. Are you really going, Big Sis Rain? Hearing Moon Rains words, Lin Kuiyi happily said, Thats wonderful! You have no idea how many times Dean Wu has pestered me over this! Moreover, he has even offered us a lucrative price. I was worried that you wouldnt want to go, so Ive been thinking of how to reject him. Of course I am going. But I have a condition for becoming their Academys head combat instructor. A condition? Lin Kuiyi was a little surprised. He found it hard to believe that Jin Hai Citys Gods Domain Academy could have anything that could tempt Moon Rain, a vice-captain in Soulfire. Early morning the next day, Gods Domain Academy, Teaching Block No.3: As the first official day of classes at the Gods Domain Academy, Teaching Block No.3 was currently packed with students. Among them, the freshmen had their eyes filled with anticipation. After all, today would be the first day they set foot into Gods Domains professional circle. In the current Gods Domain where experts were aplenty, learning from an instructors systematic education was much better than learning through online videos. Moreover, for the sake of their own reputation and Academy Points, every one of the Gods Domain Academys instructors would be sharing their signature moves and knowledge that werent typically available online. I heard that theres going to be two senior instructors holding a class today. I wonder which senior instructor I should go to? I heard that Instructor Qi is quite amazing and that some of his students even managed to get into World Domination. We should probably attend his class. Okay. Well go to his class today. The freshmen enthusiastically discussed which instructors class they should attend after entering the teaching block, creating quite a lot of noise in the crowded teaching block. Sure enough, this years freshmen are the same. Do they think they can simply attend a senior instructors class just because they want to? I wonder how many freshmen will actually get a spot later on? Definitely not more than two! I remember that only one freshman managed to get into a senior instructors class last year. That Gu Tong is Instructor Qis student, so he should get in for free. As for the remaining spot, it should probably go to Wu Lingling, the top student among this years freshmen. I heard that Instructor Qi is trying to recruit her as his student and that he has even offered her an extremely lucrative price. If she attends his class, she will definitely get in for free. When the senior students overheard the freshmens discussions, they couldnt help but snicker. Some of them even broke out into laughter. There were only four senior instructors in the Gods Domain Academy. Although these senior instructors had fixed the prices for their classes at only 50 points per person, there were limited spots in their classes. Even the biggest classroom could fit only 200 people. So, students would need to compete with each other should they wish to attend a senior instructors class. The Gods Domain Academy required students and instructors to use Academy Points to exchange for all resources. This included attending classes held by instructors. Apart from the apprentices who could attend their respective instructors classes for free, other students would have to bid for the remaining spots. Meanwhile, it had only been a few days since first-year freshmen had started attending school. They were bound to have little points accumulated under their name. It would be a fools dream if they thought they could outbid the senior students. While the senior students were having their discussions, they quickly arrived at Teaching Block No.3s largest classroom. Meanwhile, this classroom belonged to none other than Instructor Qi, one of the Academys four senior instructors. At this time, the hallway that could fit six people walking side-by-side was packed with at least 500 people. However, out of the many students standing in line, a cool and lonely young man became the center of everyones attention. Look! Gu Tong is here, just as expected. Geniuses truly are made differently. I can tell he is extraordinary just by looking at him. I also heard that under Instructor Qis tutelage yesterday, he had already reached the middle stage of the Trial Towers fifth floor just an hour ago. Moreover, he has very nearly broken through to the late stage. Hes already at the fifth floors middle stage on his first day of class? This years freshmen really are scary. Although Gu Tong was only a freshman, as the younger cousin brother of Shadows current Guild Leader, it was no exaggeration to say that his fame had already spread throughout the entire Academy. However, shortly after the senior students started discussing Gu Tong, a series of noises came from nearby the corridor. Meanwhile, as the noise grew louder and closer, a small path could be seen opening up in the middle of the crowded hallway. Subsequently, two figures appeared in this small path. Of them, one was a cute girl with a double ponytail wearing a blue sweatshirt, while the other was a mature beauty with wheat-colored skin wearing a pair of denim shorts and a casual jacket. Crap! Why is Chen Ziyou here?! Didnt she receive Instructor Qis acknowledgment long ago? Is there still a need for her to attend classes? Many senior students gasped when they saw the beauty wearing the denim shorts and casual jacket. In the eyes of the Academys students, the Academys Four Heavenly Kings were individuals akin to legends. This was because these four people had long since surpassed the standard of students. While they might still hold the status of students on the surface, their positions in the Academy already rivaled that of senior instructors. They were existences that many students looked up to. Meanwhile, along with Chen Ziyous appearance, even Gu Tong couldnt help but break his aloof act and walk forward to greet her. Good morning, Senior Ziyou, Gu Tong greeted as he arrived before Chen Ziyou. Then, he briefly looked toward the girl with the double ponytail before asking Chen Ziyou in a respectful tone, Are you taking Wu Lingling to meet with the instructor? None of the senior students were surprised to see the previously haughty Gu Tong behave respectfully around Chen Ziyou. It was because everyone, including Gu Tong himself, was fully aware that while he might be one of the top geniuses of the Gods Domain Academy, he was still significantly inferior compared to Chen Ziyou, who had already made a name for herself in Gods Domains professional circle. Gu Tong still had a long way to go before catching up to Chen Ziyou. I wish. Unfortunately, I failed to persuade her, Chen Ziyou said, shrugging helplessly as she turned to look at the girl beside her. Im just here today to check out what kind of person Linglings Instructor Shi is. Big Sis Ziyou, please save your conversation for later. Instructor Shis class will be starting soon. Well be late if we waste any more time, Wu Lingling hurriedly said when she saw Chen Ziyou spending her sweet time talking to Gu Tong. Meanwhile, seeing Wu Linglings anxious appearance, Chen Ziyou lazily said, Okay, okay, well go right away. Chen Ziyou honestly didnt care about Shi Fengs class. She had even thought of canceling her appointment with Wu Lingling today. After all, there were no longer any instructors in the Academy capable of teaching her. However, after she brought up Shi Fengs close ties with Soulfire to her instructor, they decided to first learn more about Shi Feng. Only after investigating the relationship between Shi Feng and Soulfire could they develop the appropriate countermeasures. After all, Soulfire was relatively strong even among first-rate powers. If Soulfire became Shi Fengs backing, it would be a lot more difficult to poach Wu Lingling from him. Afterward, Chen Ziyou quickly followed Wu Lingling upstairs, leaving a dazed Gu Tong behind. One of the Four Heavenly Kings is going to attend Instructor Shis class? Does that Instructor Shi have some kind of amazing ability? Lieyun and Bingshou, the two people standing beside Gu Tong, couldnt help but grow curious about Shi Feng. The Academys Four Heavenly Kings had long since surpassed most instructors in combat standards. However, even if the Academys senior instructors could no longer teach them, these senior instructors still had valuable connections that could smoothen the path the Four Heavenly Kings had to walk on. Yet, now, Chen Ziyou had chosen to attend Shi Fengs class instead of Instructor Qis class. This was simply unbelievable. Alright, stop making guesses, you two, Gu Tong said to his two companions. Then, he looked at Wu Linglings departing figure and coldly said, I know full well how strong Senior Ziyou is. An instructor who only managed to reach Tier 3 at his peak is simply overestimating himself if he thinks he can teach Senior Ziyou. Im sure Senior Ziyou knows this as well, so shes probably here to put that Shi Feng in his place in front of Wu Lingling. That makes sense. Lieyun and Bingshou nodded in agreement. Its a pity we still need to attend Instructor Qis class. Otherwise, we couldve gone to watch the show. One of the Academys Four Heavenly Kings was about to teach an instructor a lesson! Just the thought of it was already plenty exciting! Dont get happy too soon, Gu Tong said as he rolled his eyes at his two companions. Once Wu Lingling becomes Instructor Qis students, well have to face even fiercer competition. Upon hearing Gu Tongs words, Lieyun and Bingshou immediately got a headache. While it was indeed exciting to learn that Chen Ziyou would be teaching Wu Linglings instructor a lesson, should Wu Lingling become Instructor Qis student, it would also spell bad news for them. If Wu Lingling transferred to Instructor Qis class, it would also mean that their competition would increase. While Gu Tong and his two friends were chatting, Wu Lingling and Chen Ziyou had also arrived at Classroom No.8, the classroom in which Shi Feng had chosen to hold his class. Classroom No.8? Chen Ziyou was surprised when she saw the classroom Wu Lingling was walking towards. Classroom No.8 was one of the smallest classrooms available in Teaching Block No.3. At most, the classroom could fit 50 people. However, even junior instructors would typically hold their classes in rooms that fit 100 people. After all, the more students an instructor taught, the more Academy Points they could earn. Meanwhile, when Chen Ziyou snapped out of her daze, she finally noticed that over two dozen students were standing outside the class. Are you guys not going in? Wu Lingling curiously asked as she approached Qin Wuchen and the others. We wish we could Revealing a bitter smile, Qin Wuchen pointed at the electronic display by the classrooms entrance and said, Youll know once you look at it. Hearing Qin Wuchens words, Wu Lingling and Chen Ziyou couldnt help but turn to look at the electronic display. Currently, displayed on the screen was only one line of text. Lecture costs 10,000 points per person. Apprentices get 40% off. Wu Linglings eyes widened like golf balls when she saw this text. Previously, Shi Feng had indeed told them that he would be charging points for lessons during enrollment day. Even if they were his apprentices, they would only receive a 40% discount. Originally, Wu Lingling thought that Shi Feng was only joking. Never did she think that he was serious At this time, let alone Wu Lingling, even Chen Ziyou couldnt help but be stunned by this situation. For the sake of persuading more students to attend their classes, the Academys instructors would try to lower the cost of their lectures as much as possible. If the Academy hadnt set a standard for pricing lectures, these instructors wouldve probably offered their lectures free to everyone. Today, however, Chen Ziyou had finally found the odd one out among these instructors! Not only did Shi Feng not reduce the cost of his lectures, but he was even asking for an astronomical price! One lecture for the price of 10,000 points was simply unheard of in the Academy! At this time, Chen Ziyou even started suspecting if Shi Feng had long since known that she would come to investigate him, thus he decided to con her out of some points. Only, wasnt Shi Feng being a little bit too ruthless? Not only was he trying to con an outsider like herself, but he wasnt even sparing his own apprentices Ruthless! Shi Feng was so ruthless that Chen Ziyou had no choice but to tip her hat off to him! Chapter 2960 - Chapter 34 Chapter 34 C Master? Lingling, do you really want to attend Instructor Shis class? Chen Ziyou asked as she looked at Wu Lingling, who was similarly dumbfounded by the price of Shi Fengs class. I dont think anyone in the Academy has ever heard of a class costing 10,000 points. Even if you are his apprentice, youll still have to pay 6,000 points. While you might have won the freshmen competition, I doubt youll have more than 4,000 points on your hands right now. Your instructor clearly doesnt want anyone to attend his class. It was difficult for students to earn Academy Points in the Gods Domain Academy. Besides making improvements in personal performance and getting awarded for it, the only other way students could earn points was by completing the Academys contribution tasks and participating in various competitions. The situation was even worse for freshmen. Since it was only the first day of classes, apart from the monthly performance evaluation, the only other way freshmen could earn points was through the freshmen competition. However, as only a small number of students could participate in the competition, not everyone would get the opportunity to earn points from it. In Wu Linglings case, apart from the 3,000 points she earned from winning the freshmen competition, she also earned 1,000 points by scoring an Excellent rank in her reaction test. However, as Wu Lingling typically ate and lived at school, she wouldve more or less spent some of her points exchanging for resources. And even if she didnt, she would, at most, have 4,000 points on her hands right now. Out of all freshmen in the Academy, only Wu Lingling could have this many points. The other freshmen would be fortunate if they even had 1,000 points. Six thousand points? That was an amount that even many geniuses couldnt accumulate even until they graduated. Big Sis Ziyou. After snapping out of her daze, Wu Lingling turned to look at Chen Ziyou, a look of determination appearing in her eyes as she asked, Can I discuss something with you? Seeing Wu Lingling suddenly becoming serious, Chen Ziyou said in a surprised tone, Of course you can. Go ahead. Can I borrow some points from you? Wu Lingling asked, her voice sounding a little embarrassed. I only have 3,000 points right now. Im still 3,000 points away from reaching 6,000 Wu Linglings words immediately dumbfounded Chen Ziyou. What was going on? Although Academy Points could be traded, this was the first time Chen Ziyou had heard of anyone borrowing points for the sake of attending a class. Moreover, the class in question had an astronomical price of 6,000 points per lecture. At this time, Chen Ziyou couldnt help but wonder if Wu Lingling had gone crazy. It was merely the lecture of a junior instructor. Even if Wu Lingling was attending a senior instructors class, her improvements in one lecture would be considerably limited. After all, the improvement of ones combat standard was a gradual process. It wasnt something that could be accomplished in a short period. Is thata no? Wu Lingling asked hesitantly when she saw Chen Ziyous stunned expression. Then, she hurriedly said, I can exchange with you using credits. Will 6,000 Credits do? Six thousand? Hearing Wu Linglings question, Chen Ziyou couldnt help herself from asking, Lingling, this is only one lecture. Is there a need to go so far? Situations where students exchanged Academy Points for Credits with each other would occasionally happen in the Gods Domain Academy. Meanwhile, the standard exchange rate was 1:1.5. In other words, 1,000 Academy Points was worth 1,500 Credits. However, few students were willing to spend Credits to buy Academy Points. After all, the actual value of Academy Points only had a 1:1 ratio to Credits. Moreover, many services offered by the Academy could be paid using Credits, and few aspects of the Academy accepted only Academy Points. So, buying Academy Points at an inflated price was simply a waste of money. Yet, now, Wu Lingling was willing to buy 3,000 points for 6,000 Credits. This was a confusing reaction no matter how one looked at it. If its Instructor Shis lesson, its worth it, Wu Lingling said in a determined tone. Seeing the serious look on Wu Linglings face, Chen Ziyou sighed and said, Alright, then. I can sell the points to you so long as you dont regret it. I dont have any use for my points, anyway. Just make sure you dont tell your sister. Otherwise, shell definitely give me an earful. Mhm, I wont tell her. Wu Lingling nodded earnestly. When Chen Ziyou saw Wu Linglings serious behavior, she couldnt help but wonder what kind of magic Shi Feng had used on Wu Lingling for the girl to behave so fanatically. While Chen Ziyou was transferring her Academy Points to Wu Lingling, a tall figure suddenly appeared beside them. Meanwhile, this figure belonged to none other than Qin Wuchen, who had previously been distressed as he stood outside the classroom. Senior Ziyou, can I also buy some points from you? Qin Wuchen asked, his eyes practically glowing as he looked at Chen Ziyou. I dont need a lot; just 5,000 points will do. I can pay you 10,000 Credits. Chen Ziyou fell into a daze once more when she heard Qin Wuchens words. What the hell was going on here??? Chen Ziyou could understand Wu Linglings blind faith in Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng had given Wu Lingling a Gold Order from Soulfire. One couldnt even buy a fraction of a percentage of a Gold Order with 6,000 Credits. But what the hell was wrong with the male student in front of her? Although Chen Ziyou didnt know what kind of family background Qin Wuchen came from, a student who was willing to pay 10,000 Credits just to listen to a junior instructors lesson must have something wrong with his head! However, when Chen Ziyou snapped out of her shock, she noticed that the other students in the hallway had also turned to look at her with hopeful gazes Afterward, Chen Ziyou looked at Wu Lingling, who still wore an expectant look on her face, and wondered if Wu Lingling had conspired with her classmates beforehand to test her worth and plunder her points while they were at it. However, Chen Ziyou knew that Wu Lingling was a simple-minded girl, so there was no way Wu Lingling would do such a thing. Subsequently, she looked at the students in the hallway and smiled bitterly, saying, Dont look at me like that. I might be one of the Academys Four Heavenly Kings, but that doesnt mean I am swimming in points. After excluding the points I traded to Lingling, what I have left is only enough for me to attend one of Instructor Shis lectures. Is that so Disappointment colored the faces of Qin Wuchen and the other students when they heard Chen Ziyous words. Although Academy Points could be freely exchanged, they couldnt accumulate such a large amount of points within a short period. Unless they could find the other three Heavenly Kings, who no longer had any need for Academy Points, they would have to settle with trading with multiple senior students. However, if they did that, Shi Fengs class wouldve long since started by the time they accumulated the necessary points. Lets go in quickly, Big Sis Ziyou, Wu Lingling urged when she saw Chen Ziyou explaining her lack of points to the others. Class is starting soon! Hearing this, Chen Ziyou nodded and looked at the electronic display by the classrooms entrance. Then, she gritted her teeth and paid 10,000 points before entering the classroom with Wu Lingling. Upon entering the classroom that could only fit 50 people, the first thing that entered Chen Ziyous eyes was a man wearing a black short-sleeved T-shirt sitting behind the lectern. Currently, this man was drinking a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid as he leisurely gazed out of the nearby window. Meanwhile, on the field a short distance away from the window were around a hundred young and beautiful female students conducting combat practice. These female students were dressed in form-fitting shirts and pants as they executed various combat poses, fascinating the nearby male students who were also training on the field It seems he is nothing but an uncle. Contempt appeared in Chen Ziyous eyes when she looked at Shi Feng. Originally, Chen Ziyou had still held hopes regarding the mysterious Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng was the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. He had even managed to turn Wu Lingling, the top student among this years freshmen, into such a fanatic. Even if he wasnt an impressive and domineering expert, he was at least a battle-hardened expert. He mustve witnessed a lot of scenes that the average person had never experienced. So, he should more or less behave like an expert. Yet, the current Shi Feng behaved no different than an ordinary middle-aged uncle. He did not have the sharp temperament and consciousness of an instructor at all Godspeed Reflex? When Shi Feng noticed Chen Ziyou entering the classroom, he couldnt help but be momentarily surprised. But why hasnt a natural genius like you reached the Refinement Realm yet? What have you been doing normally? Godspeed Reflex? When Wu Lingling heard Shi Fengs words, she also turned to look at Chen Ziyou in surprise. Big Sis Ziyou is? Godspeed Response was a term that almost all players of Gods Domain were familiar with. This was because Gods Domains renowned Miracle Dragon had relied on his Godspeed Reflex to rise to fame. His trademark combat technique, Six Extreme Slashes, was even something that everyone in the game knew about. Meanwhile, Godspeed Response referred to a persons brains neural reaction speed. The fastest reaction speed an ordinary person could achieve was 0.2 seconds. Even after undergoing intensive training, a normal person could, at best, lower their reaction speed down to 0.1 seconds. However, a person with Godspeed Response was born with the ability to achieve a reaction speed of under 0.1 seconds. A person with Godspeed Response could theoretically achieve many more actions within the same period than an ordinary person. Meanwhile, in Gods Domain, such people were regarded as natural geniuses. It was precisely because of this natural talent that Miracle Dragon could exert his Six Extreme Slashes to an unreachable extent. Moreover, people with Godspeed Response were typically much more agile than ordinary people. Thus, all geniuses with Godspeed Reflex were capable of reaching great heights in the Realms of Refinement. It was no exaggeration to say that so long as a person with Godspeed Reflex appeared, this person would immediately become the target of contention for the various major powers. They would instantly be put into a core position and receive priority training. How did you know? Shi Fengs words caused Chen Ziyous eyes to widen in shock. The matter of her having Godspeed Response was something she had only discovered herself by chance. However, she had never shared this discovery with anyone, nor had she ever displayed it to anyone before. It could be regarded as her biggest secret, and nobody had noticed it until this day. It was also why she had the confidence to surpass Wu Xiaoxiao in the future. Yet, Shi Feng had immediately found out about her secret after looking at her. This was simply unbelievable. Is it that hard to notice? Shi Feng revealed a faint smile. People born with Godspeed Response are much more sensitive and hyperactive than ordinary people. From the moment you entered, I noticed the number of minute movements youve made had exceeded Wu Linglings by more than double. Wu Linglings reaction speed is already top-tier among ordinary people. So, doesnt it show that there is a problem if your minute movements surpass hers by more than double? Although people with Godspeed Response were rare, Shi Feng had seen plenty of such natural geniuses during his previous life. He had also fought against many of these people before, so he was well aware of the characteristics of such people. Only, noticing these characteristics required a lot of careful observation, an opportunity that ordinary experts didnt have. Is that so? Realization dawned upon Chen Ziyou. Then, she quickly stared at Shi Feng and eagerly asked, In that case, what should I do to reach the Refinement Realm, Instructor Shi? Chen Ziyou longed to reach the Refinement Realm. However, even with her Godspeed Response, she had still failed to reach it even until now. It didnt matter how many training sessions and live combat she experienced. She simply couldnt control all of her movements to a minute extent. Thats simple. Faced with Chen Ziyous expectant gaze, Shi Feng calmly said, All you need to do is block one punch from me. Block one punch? Chen Ziyou felt that Shi Feng was trying to dupe her when she heard his words. Are you sure that I only need to block one punch, Instructor Shi? The Refinement Realm was something that countless experts in Gods Domain dreamed of reaching. Meanwhile, those who had reached this realm were all experts that had undergone countless battles and training sessions. The Refinement Realm simply wasnt something one could stumble into. Yet, now, Shi Feng told her that she could reach the Refinement Realm so long as she could receive one punch in the real world. How could she possibly believe such a thing? At this time, even Wu Lingling found Shi Fengs words a little unbelievable. Although Chen Ziyou had already reached the Half-step Refinement Realm, there was still a significant gap between the Half-step Refinement Realm and Refinement Realm. This was because a Half-step Refinement Realm expert could only exert excellent control over parts of their bodies, whereas Refinement Realm experts could perfectly control their bodies movements. There were a lot of intricacies involved in the process of reaching the Refinement Realm, and many Half-step Refinement Realm experts could never cross this threshold no matter how hard they tried. Of course. Shi Feng nodded. Then, he said, However, if you fail to block it, you, will, die. Do you still want to try it knowing that? I will! Chen Ziyou answered without hesitation. However, she didnt really believe Shi Feng could kill her with one punch. After all, Shi Fengs physical fitness was only at the standard of first-rate athletes. He was significantly inferior to her no matter how she looked at it. She was confident she could come out unscathed even after receiving 10 or 20 punches, let alone one. Here I come. Seeing that Chen Ziyou had already entered a defensive stance, Shi Feng promptly got ready to throw out a punch. Okay! Come! Chen Ziyou nodded confidently. As soon as Chen Ziyou finished speaking, Shi Feng also took a step forward. However, the instant Shi Fengs foot touched the ground, Chen Ziyous confident expression instantly turned into one of horror. Hes an internal force master? The moment Shi Fengs foot touched the ground, the sturdy marble floor had actually shattered, and the entire classroom had started shaking and trembling Chapter 2961 - Reaching Refinement In One Punch Chapter 36 C Reaching Refinement in One Punch Dodge it! I must dodge it! When Shi Feng threw out his punch, Chen Ziyou promptly snapped out of her daze and began treating Shi Fengs attack with unprecedented focus. A masters punch could stumble an elephant! This was a saying that had constantly circulated in the fighting industry. When hearing this saying, ordinary people would typically laugh it off as a joke. After all, an elephant was a humongous creature that weighed several tonnes. A humans punch would be fortunate if it could even give the elephant an itch, let alone stumbling an elephant. However, Chen Ziyou knew exactly how frightening a masters punch could be. It was because she had personally witnessed an internal strength master exploding a sandbag weighing hundreds of kilograms with one punch. Although the internal force master she previously saw had a much larger build than Shi Feng, even the weakest internal force master could execute a punch carrying 500 kilograms of force. Even professional athletes would get crippled if they tried to receive such a powerful punch, which was why everyone regarded internal force experts as masters Seeing Shi Fengs fist moving closer and closer to her, Chen Ziyous mind began overclocking itself as she manipulated every muscle fiber in her body in an attempt to dodge Shi Fengs punch. However, even though Chen Ziyou had reacted swiftly thanks to her innate Godspeed Response, Shi Fengs fist had seemingly seen through her actions as it changed course to match her evasive maneuver. This situation forced her with no choice but to block the attack. How is this possible?! Chen Ziyou despaired at the abrupt change in the trajectory of Shi Fengs fist. The previous evasive maneuver was already the best she could accomplish within this limited time frame. Yet, her prided reactions were utterly useless against Shi Fengs fist. She could only watch on helplessly as Shi Fengs fist moved closer and closer to her Am I really going to die here? Countless thoughts ran through Chen Ziyous mind as she looked at the seemingly gigantic fist approaching her. In the past, whether it was in the real world or Gods Domain, she could always rely on her Godspeed Response to defeat opponents stronger than herself. Yet, now, faced with Shi Feng, someone who had weaker physical fitness than herself, she could not even dodge his attack. When facing Shi Feng, she felt like all the battles she had fought before were nothing but a joke. No! I cannot die yet! I still have to challenge Wu Xiaoxiao! I still have to see the wider world! The appearance of these thoughts caused Chen Ziyou to grow frenzied. Then, almost instinctively, she twisted her body and spun it sideways, her body barely dodging Shi Fengs fist by a hairs breadth before stopping beside Shi Feng. Not bad. Shi Feng retracted his fist after seeing Chen Ziyou dodge his punch. At this time, Wu Lingling, who had witnessed this brief scene, gaped in shock. She never thought that Shi Feng would be an internal strength master, an existence that numbered around only a handful in the entire Jin Hai City. She also didnt think that Chen Ziyou would be so amazing as to dodge an internal force masters punch. Previously, it was evident that Chen Ziyou couldnt execute any more evasive maneuvers after dodging Shi Fengs punch the first time. Yet, Chen Ziyou had defied all odds and executed a maneuver that no normal person could execute in that short time. During that instant, Chen Ziyous speed was so fast that Wu Lingling couldnt even keep up with her. When Wu Lingling put herself in Chen Ziyous shoes, she suspected that she wouldnt even realize how she had lost to Shi Feng. I dodged it? Chen Ziyou muttered in surprise and confusion as she looked at Shi Feng. In her mind, there was no way she could have dodged Shi Fengs punch. When she mentally simulated herself spinning her body to dodge Shi Fengs punch, the outcome she got was that she would get struck and killed. Yet, now, she was standing in one piece beside Shi Feng. This situation simply didnt make sense. However, before Chen Ziyou could figure out what was happening, Shi Feng suddenly sent another punch flying at her head. Moreover, the speed of his fist was much faster than before as it created even a sonic boom this time. Instructor Shi?! Wu Lingling was horrified when she saw this. Shi Fengs punch occurred too suddenly. Even while watching this scene play out from a distance, it still caught her off guard. If she were the one standing beside Shi Feng instead of Chen Ziyou, she definitely wouldnt have any time to react and wouldve gotten killed on the spot. Boom! When the loud boom echoed throughout the classroom, Wu Lingling had also thoroughly fallen into shock and confusion. How is this possible?! Contrary to Wu Linglings expectations, Shi Fengs fist did not land on Chen Ziyous face. Instead, it stopped just short of an inch from Chen Ziyous chin due to Chen Ziyou lifting her head and tilting it sideways. Refinement Realm! I entered the Refinement Realm! Compared to Wu Lingling, Chen Ziyou was in even greater shock and confusion right now. Never did she think that Shi Fengs statement was true. Being a Refinement Realm expert meant having the ability to manipulate ones body to a minute degree and use the simplest and most efficient actions to do combat. Meanwhile, trying to reach the Refinement Realm in the real world was significantly more challenging than in Gods Domain. Yet, the evasive maneuvers she just took were indisputable proof that she had already reached the Refinement Realm. Do you still not get it? Shi Feng was rendered slightly speechless when he saw the look of confusion on Chen Ziyous face. The reason why you couldnt reach the Refinement Realm all this time is because you tend to think too much. You are too skilled at utilizing your innate talent. This, in turn, has caused your control over your body to become sluggish and prevented you from reaching the Refinement Realm. Shi Feng had to admit that Chen Ziyou was incredibly talented. Chen Ziyou had already trained herself to sufficiently high standards when it came to body manipulation. However, one couldnt just rely on critical thinking and perfect control in combat. One also needed to rely on ones bodily instincts to a certain extent. Hence, to stop Chen Ziyous brain from trying to exert perfect control over her body, she needed to experience a true life or death situation, which would, in turn, force her to rely on her combat instincts. So thats why I keep getting a feeling of inconsistency when Im fighting Its because I have been limiting myself too much? Chen Ziyou muttered when she heard Shi Fengs explanation, a hint of self-deprecation in her voice. In the past, she indeed had a habit of analyzing her actions carefully before acting in battle. Even if her opponent made an unexpected move, she could still swiftly react to it thanks to her Godspeed Response. However, she never thought that her Godspeed Response would become her biggest constraint to improve Alright, its your turn next, Wu Lingling, Shi Feng said as he looked toward Wu Lingling. Your talent is too subpar, so you still have quite a ways to go before you reach the Refinement Realm. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Chen Ziyou, who had just snapped out of her daze, couldnt help but turn to look at Wu Lingling in astonishment. Subpar talent? If it wasnt for the strength and combat standards Shi Feng had just displayed, Chen Ziyou wouldve definitely cast him a contemptuous look. After all, Wu Linglings talent was one of the best the Gods Domain Academy had ever seen. Even the various first-rate Guilds executives recognized her as a top-tier genius in Gods Domain. Even if she were to be put into a superpower, she would still receive priority training. If Wu Linglings talent was considered average, Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy would have no geniuses. Yet, after hearing Shi Fengs words, Wu Lingling readily nodded and made a worried and embarrassed expression. This situation surprised and confused Chen Ziyou. Ignoring Chen Ziyous reactions, Shi Feng asked Wu Lingling, Whats your current progress on the exercise I previously taught you? How long do you need to finish a set? Around six minutes, Wu Lingling said confidently. Previously, it had taken her ten whole minutes to complete one set of the aerobic exercise Shi Feng previously taught her. However, after the training session in the Withered Ruins, her control over her body had improved slightly, so she managed to reduce her time to six minutes. Thats barely passable, I guess, Shi Feng said calmly. Next, I will teach you a breathing technique. Pair it with the aerobic exercise I taught you. Whenever you can finish a set in under one minute, you will reach the Refinement Realm. Before reaching the Refinement Realm, though, you must make sure to do at least 30 sets a day. Only after reaching the Refinement Realm are you allowed to stop doing it. Mhm, Ill work hard, Wu Lingling said, nodding earnestly. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs words had further dumbfounded Chen Ziyou. Since when did the lofty Refinement Realm become something so worthless? The Refinement Realm was something even the various first-rate Guilds core executives had gone through great pains to reach. Yet, now, Shi Feng was saying that a couple of exercise moves and a breathing technique were all that was needed to become a Refinement Realm expert. How could anyone possibly believe such a thing? Even after knowing that Shi Feng was an internal force expert, Chen Ziyou couldnt help but feel that Shi Feng was tricking Wu Lingling. Yet, what made things worse was that Wu Lingling believed him Afterward, Shi Feng started instructing Wu Lingling on how to execute the breathing technique he mentioned. Then, once he was done, he had Wu Lingling apply this breathing technique while executing the aerobic exercise. After Wu Lingling repeated the exercise for over an hour, Chen Ziyou became thoroughly dumbfounded. Impossible! Is she a monster?! Chen Ziyou thought as she stared at Wu Lingling in shock. If it was before she had reached the Refinement Realm, she wouldve most likely treated the exercise Wu Lingling was doing as nonsense. However, it was a different story now that she had reached the Refinement Realm and understood it for what it was. Simply put, reaching the Refinement Realm meant achieving subtle and proper manipulation of ones body. Meanwhile, on Wu Linglings first attempt at completing the exercise set, her control over her bodys movements could only be described as strained. However, on her subsequent repetitions, the minute movements her body executed had started to become smoother and smoother. It should be known that manipulating the subtle movements of ones body was easier said than done. Accomplishing this feat required one to undergo numerous live combat situations, conduct many combat reviews, and experience repeated trials and errors. Only then could one start to exert control over ones minute movements. Meanwhile, this was something that most people could not do. Yet, in less than two hours, Wu Lingling had continuously improved her control over her minute movements. By now, she could already control her limbs subtle movements to a smooth extent. Rather than doing simple aerobic exercise, it felt more like she had just undergone thousands of arduous battles. It should be known that Chen Ziyou had taken three months to accomplish similar results! Meanwhile, after reaching this standard, players already possessed the qualifications to challenge the early stage of the Trial Towers sixth floor! Was he really just a Tier 3 expert at his peak? Chen Ziyou couldnt help but grow confused and curious as she watched Shi Feng instructing Wu Lingling. Chen Ziyou admitted that Wu Lingling was a top-tier genius. However, even if Wu Lingling was a genius, there was no way she could go from being at the fifth-floor middle-stage standard to the sixth-floor early-stage standard after just one lesson. Moreover, Chen Ziyou herself had reached the Refinement Realm she had dreamt of after dodging only one punch from Shi Feng. Shed be lying to herself if she said that these two things were merely coincidences. Not only was Shi Feng an internal force master, but he even possessed such extraordinary teaching standards. How could such a person possibly be a measly Tier 3 expert in Gods Domain? At this time, even if someone were to tell her that Shi Feng was a Tier 4 expert, she wouldnt doubt this statement in the slightest. However, while Chen Ziyou was immersed in her thoughts, the bell in the classroom had rung. Realizing that class was over, Chen Ziyou couldnt help but regret wasting her time thinking about useless matters instead of asking Shi Feng for more pointers. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do but watch as Shi Feng left the classroom. Subsequently, after Chen Ziyou bid goodbye to Wu Lingling and arrived at the teaching blocks entrance, she found Luo Tiancheng and Gu Tong standing there waiting for her. Senior Ziyou, how was Wu Lingling? Did she end up learning nothing from Instructor Shis class? Gu Tong asked in a delighted tone. Wu Lingling couldve gained a significant harvest had she attended Instructor Qis class instead. Its a pity that she missed it. I heard that there would be a practice match held during the Secret Pavilion tour two days later. Ill be sure to show her how important it is to have a good instructor at that time. Originally, Gu Tong did not have the qualifications to visit the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. However, his instructor was a senior instructor in the Academy, and every one of the Academys senior instructors would receive a slot for this field trip. Meanwhile, as he was Instructor Qis best-performing student this semester, Instructor Qis slot naturally went to him. However, when Chen Ziyou heard Gu Tongs words, she couldnt help but sigh and look at her junior with sympathy as she said, I understand that you want to avenge your past disgrace, but with her current standards, Im afraid she is already invincible among you freshmen Gu Tong grew confused when he heard Chen Ziyous words. However, before he could say anything, Luo Tiancheng anxiously asked, Student Ziyou, did you find out what kind of connection Shi Feng has with Soulfire? I havent found any clues as of yet, Chen Ziyou said, shaking her head. Then, with a strange look on her face, she asked Luo Tiancheng, But I am suddenly interested in learning one thing about Shadow. May I know if you can humor me, Instructor Luo? Seeing the strange gaze Chen Ziyou was giving him, Luo Tiancheng asked curiously, What is it? Why did Shadow dismiss Instructor Shi from the Guild in the first place? Chapter 2962 - Chapter 36 Chapter 36 C Godslayer Why are you suddenly asking about this matter, Student Ziyou? Luo Tiancheng asked, growing curious after hearing Chen Ziyous question. Gu Tong, too, was bewildered, failing to understand why Chen Ziyou would ask such a strange question. Shi Feng was merely a Tier 3 player. No matter how one looked at it, he wasnt suited to serve as the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. It was especially true now that Shadow had gone under World Dominations wing. If Shadow allowed a Tier 3 player to continue serving as its Guild Leader, it would probably become a joke to everyone. Seeing the confusion in Luo Tianchengs eyes, Chen Ziyou explained, Its nothing. I just think that Instructor Shi is very strong. Even if he couldnt remain as Shadows Guild Leader, he should have no problems taking on the position of an Honorary Elder. Yet, now, he is working as an instructor in the Academy. So, I couldnt help but find it puzzling. Strong? Shi Feng? Luo Tiancheng laughed. You must love your jokes, Student Ziyou. While I admit that Shi Feng is talented, to say that he is very strong is a joke. Also, it is as youve said: with his current strength, he is indeed worthy of becoming an Honorary Elder or even a Vice Guild Leader. However, he failed to see the changing times and cherish the opportunity Director Lan gave him. Is that really the case? Chen Ziyou was a little surprised to hear Luo Tianchengs words. Thats right! Luo Tiancheng nodded. Then, in a slightly envious tone, he said, If I were him, I wouldve long since gone to beg Director Lan. I would be satisfied with even a Vice Guild Leader position. At the very least, I would still hold real authority within the Guild, and it is a much more comfortable position than a junior instructor. Hearing Luo Tianchengs words, Chen Ziyou couldnt help but give the other party a strange look. She had a feeling that Luo Tiancheng must be joking with her. An internal force master was an existence even the various first-rate Guilds would fight to recruit. Yet, Shadow, a second-rate Guild, had driven one away without hesitation. She really couldnt understand what was going through the heads of Shadows shareholders. Moreover, even crazier was that Luo Tiancheng wanted an internal force master to go and beg Lan Hailong. Even the directors of the various first-rate Guilds wouldnt dare to do such a thing! However, Chen Ziyou didnt think too much over this matter. This was Shadows problem, after all. It had nothing to do with her. Next, she looked at Luo Tiancheng and asked, Can you sell me some Academy Points, Instructor Luo? Academy Points? Luo Tiancheng was a little surprised to hear Chen Ziyous request. It was normal for the Academys students to lack Academy Points. In comparison, the Academys instructors had vastly greater points since they had many more acquisition methods available to them. Hence, when students needed points, they tended to purchase points from instructors. It could be considered one of the several ways the Academys instructors generated income. However, when students reached Chen Ziyous level, they would typically have no more need for Academy Points. Rather than purchasing points, Chen Ziyou should be selling her points to others. Thus, Luo Tiancheng was surprised. Even so, he still readily agreed to Chen Ziyous request, asking, How many do you want? I want everything you have, Chen Ziyou said without hesitation. I have 300,000 points on me. Are you sure you want everything? Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but ask. He had spent the past year or so accumulating these 300,000 points. With this many points, he could sponsor a talented student from enrollment until graduation and still have points to spare. In fact, he would have plenty to spare. After all, the stronger a student was in the Academy, the less need they would have for the Academys resources. Rather than exchanging for resources, such students would use their points to exchange for Credits instead. Mhm, I want everything, Chen Ziyou said affirmatively. Alright, Ill transfer them to you now. Luo Tiancheng also agreed to the transaction without hesitation. He even grew a little excited over this situation. After all, it was rare to have a student come and purchase so many points from him. However, he still couldnt help himself from asking, What do you need so many points for, Student Ziyou? If I recall correctly, there shouldnt be any events going on in the Academy that require such a huge sum of points. Gu Tong also expressed his curiosity toward Luo Tianchengs question as he looked at Chen Ziyou. It was true that many places in the Academy required significant expenditures of points. One example would be the Academys advanced training hall that cost 2,000 points per hour of visit. However, even then, purchasing a massive sum of 300,000 points was still overkill. Its nothing. In a slightly helpless tone, Chen Ziyou said, I just need some points to attend classes. I already spent all of my points attending the previous class. Gu Tong felt his worldview cracking slightly when he heard Chen Ziyous words. Unable to hold back his curiosity, he asked, Do you need so many points to attend class? That was 300,000 points they were talking about! With this many points, he could attend the classes of senior instructors continuously until he graduated! Student Ziyou, didnt you attend Shi Fengs class just now? Luo Tiancheng was also surprised by Chen Ziyous answer. Hurriedly, he asked, Did he deliberately scam you because he found out that you were there to investigate him? No, Instructor Shi did not scam me. Ten thousand points for a class is already very cheap, Chen Ziyou said, shaking his head. Moreover, Im afraid 300,000 points still isnt enough. Ill have to go and buy some more from the other instructors later on. Ten thousand points for a class is cheap? Chen Ziyous words dumbfounded Luo Tiancheng and Gu Tong. They couldnt help but feel that Chen Ziyou was messing with them. Either that or Chen Ziyou had gone crazy after getting provoked by Shi Feng. Even the Academys senior instructors would only charge a few hundred points per class. Yet, Shi Feng, a junior instructor, was charging 10,000 points. Moreover, even with such a price tag, Chen Ziyou still thought it was cheap and planned to go for more classes Who would believe this? However, after Chen Ziyou finished speaking, she promptly ran for the faculty office. Her hurried behavior made it seem like those instructors points would disappear if she spent even a second longer here Instructor Luo. While looking at Chen Ziyous departing figure, Gu Tong couldnt help but ask, Do you think Senior Ziyou was messing with us? I dont know. Even I cant figure out whats going through the mind of a genius like Student Ziyou, Luo Tiancheng said, shaking his head. Then, he turned to look at the teaching building behind him, a sneer appearing on his face as he continued, However, that Shi Feng is probably a goner this time. Instructors are only allowed to change the price of their classes once a month. Moreover, junior instructors must hold at least 15 classes a month and have at least 40 students attending their classes. They will be fired if they cant meet this quota. Luo Tiancheng had originally thought he couldnt do anything about Shi Feng anymore. After all, Shi Feng had already taken in a genius as his apprentice. A loyal one at that. However, all of Luo Tianchengs worries had disappeared now. Ten thousand points per class! How many students could possibly afford to attend such a class? Meanwhile, so long as Shi Feng was fired, he naturally couldnt remain as Wu Linglings instructor anymore. At that time, hed be nothing but an easy game. Miniature Ancient World, Hundred Flow City: After ending his class, Shi Feng paid no heed to his students, simply telling them to practice the exercise he taught them previously and prohibiting them from entering Gods Domain until they could finish the whole workout in under three minutes. This class assignment had left all of Shi Fengs students in despair and confusion. After all, they needed ten minutes to complete the exercise on average. Even someone as talented as Wu Lingling had only managed to lower her time to five minutes. It was simply a tall order to have them complete the whole exercise set in three minutes. Many students even suspected that Shi Feng had only given them an impossible task because he didnt wish to teach them. What made things worse was that Shi Feng had even prohibited them from logging into Gods Domain before accomplishing this task. While everyone was frantically grinding for levels and resources in the Miniature Ancient World, they were stuck doing exercises in the real world Unlike his students, Shi Feng had gone home without hesitation and logged into Gods Domain. Meanwhile, after returning to Gods Domain, Shi Feng made his way to the hotels core room and took out the hotels deed, which had a magic array drawn on it. Then, he started chanting an incantation while holding the deed against the core rooms magic array, gradually removing the magic barrier sealing the hotel. System: Hotels magic barrier has been fully unlocked. Do you wish to open the hotel? Open it, Shi Feng answered. System: Please give your hotel a name. ,,, A name? Shi Feng fell into thought for a moment as he looked at the system notification. Then, he said, Lets go with Candlelight, then. He had relied on the Candlelight Trading Firm as his foundation to sweep across the entire Gods Domain continents economy during his previous life. Now that he was restarting his campaign in Gods Domain, he planned to have Candlelights name shine on the entire Gods Domain again! System: Naming successful. The Candlelight Hotel will be fully opened in five minutes. System: The Candlelight Hotel is currently a 1-star Hotel. It requires 10,000 Popularity Points and 30,000 Gold to become a 2-star Hotel. Just reaching 2-star status costs 10,000 Reputation Points and 30,000 Gold already? Shi Feng was flabbergasted when he saw the hotels upgrade cost. A 1-star Hotel could be regarded as the most common hotel in an NPC City. Players could only recruit the most basic of NPCs as hotel staff. Meanwhile, apart from providing players a roof over their heads, a 1-star Hotel did nothing else. It had no advanced functions whatsoever. Typically, players would only be willing to spend money to stay in a 1-star Hotel if it was located in an NPC City with a special environment or a Guild Town or City close to a leveling spot. Otherwise, theyd be wasting their money for no reason. Meanwhile, on the main continent, the promotion of 1-star Hotels located in NPC Cities generally only required around 1,000 Popularity Points and several thousand Gold. It seems I have no choice but to convert some of my Credits into Coins if I want to upgrade the hotel to 2-star status quickly. Shi Feng smiled bitterly as he looked at the shabby hotel lobby. He, a Tier 6 Sword God in the past, was now having a headache over money. Nobody would believe him if he shared this matter with other people in his previous life. When Shi Feng was about to find a player merchant to exchange for Coins, he suddenly received a call notification. Meanwhile, the caller was none other than Mysterious Moons Zhuo Yalin. Whats with the sudden call, Miss Nightingale? Did something happen? Shi Feng asked curiously after answering the call. You sure are a straightforward person, Mr. Black Flame, Zhuo Yalin said, smiling. Responding in kind, she got straight to the point and said, I am indeed calling because something came up. Moreover, it is something big. May I know if you have time to spare right now, Mr. Black Flame? After thinking for a moment, Shi Feng said, Sort of. He was in no hurry to exchange for Coins. After all, his hotel still needed to accumulate 10,000 Popularity Points before he could upgrade it. Thats great! Zhuo Yalin grew happy immediately. We found the entrance of a Hell Mode Team Dungeon, and we wish to invite you to join us. May I know if you are willing to join us? A Hell Mode Team Dungeon? Shi Feng was a little stunned. Unlike the Team Dungeons found in the outside world, everything about the Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons was random. Not only did these Team Dungeons appear randomly, but even their difficulty was random, going from Normal Mode to Hard Mode and Hell Mode. Naturally, the higher the difficulty, the greater the harvest one could obtain from these Team Dungeons. It was especially true for Hell Mode Team Dungeons. These Dungeons had a considerably high chance to drop two Legacies instead of just one. So, coming across a Hell Mode Team Dungeon in the Miniature Ancient World was akin to hitting the jackpot. Thats right. A Hell Mode Team Dungeon, Zhuo Yalin said excitedly. Of course, Im not asking you to work for free. If a second Legacy appears, you can have it. What do you think? Ill pass on the Legacy, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. I only want the priority to choose three items from the Bosss loot. You dont want the Legacy? Zhuo Yalin was surprised when she heard Shi Fengs words. The Legacies dropped in the Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeon didnt just provide knowledge on Mana manipulation. It also provided players with the opportunity to acquire a hidden class. Not only could a hidden class increase ones strength, but it could also increase ones chances of getting promoted to higher tiers. This was also one of the reasons why so many experts from the main continent had flooded into the Miniature Ancient World. Mhm. I dont need it. Three items from the Boss will do, Shi Feng said affirmatively. He had never been interested in the Miniature Ancient Worlds Ancient Legacies. It was especially true after he acquired that gray key. He had seen plenty of Legacies during his previous life. This included Legacies from Ancient Gods. However, compared to the Godslayers Legacy, even the Legacies of Ancient Gods were slightly inferior. According to his research, the Godslayer hadnt killed only Tier 6 Gods. When the Godslayer reached Tier 6, he had killed even Ancient Gods! It was precisely because of this that the Godslayer had acquired his title. However, Shi Feng had already reached Tier 6 when he learned about the Godslayers Legacy during his previous life. At that point, he could no longer learn the Legacies of others. So, he had no choice but to give up on the Godslayers Legacy. Now that Shi Feng had restarted his progress from Tier 3, he naturally wouldnt consider any other Legacies. Alright. Zhuo Yalin agreed to Shi Fengs condition without hesitation. Then, she sent Shi Feng a message and said, This is our current location. Alright, Ill head over immediately. After looking at the Dungeons coordinates, Shi Feng promptly set the hotel to hire employees automatically before setting out. While Zhuo Yalin held her conversation with Shi Feng, a gorgeous woman also stood beside her. This woman was none other than Lin Yaoyue, who had only entered the Miniature Ancient World recently. Meanwhile, as soon as Zhuo Yalin ended her call with Shi Feng, Lin Yaoyue frowned in dissatisfaction as she said, Youve gone too far, Yalin. This is the Boss of a Hell Mode Team Dungeon we are talking about. Do you know how many Refinement Realm experts will go crazy just for one item? Yet, not only did you promise that guy three items, but youre even letting him have first pick for all three of them. The others in the Guild will definitely grow dissatisfied once they learn about this. Zhuo Yalin nodded in response to her friends complaints. Then, she smiled and said, I understand, but he is really strong. Hes an expert who managed to secure an S-rank evaluation in the Colosseum. He is definitely much stronger than your average Refinement Realm expert. Lets hope he is as strong as you say he is, Lin Yaoyue said, rolling her eyes at Zhuo Yalin. Then, she looked at the other Guild team standing a short distance away, a wary expression appearing on her face as she continued, Although we got lucky and found the Dungeons entrance this time, the Star Alliances side has acted quickly as well. Hopefully, the Star Alliance doesnt send someone powerful. The Star Alliance was a veteran first-rate Guild in Gods Domain. Even after experiencing the dozen or so major upheavals that had occurred in Gods Domain, it had remained standing firmly. The strength of its foundations far surpassed that of Mysterious Moon without question. When Mysterious Moons executives learned that the Star Alliance was using Hundred Flow City as its base in the Miniature Ancient World, they had promptly dispatched a large number of experts to the Miniature Ancient World as reinforcements. Meanwhile, Lin Yaoyue was one of these experts. Zhuo Yalin nodded when she heard Lin Yaoyues words. Then, when she looked at the 200 or so players gathered a short distance away, fighting spirit appeared in her eyes as she said, So what if they send a powerful expert? The Star Alliance might be strong on the main continent, but that remains to be seen in the Miniature Ancient World! However, shortly after Zhuo Yalin finished speaking, the atmosphere over at the Star Alliances side suddenly turned silent and solemn. The next moment, the 200-plus Star Alliance members separated into two groups, forming a wide and open path between them. Afterward, a stalwart man in his forties walked down this path and quietly observed the Dungeon entrance that had formed only a while ago. During this time, every Star Alliance member looked at this middle-aged man with a reverent look on their faces. Meanwhile, upon seeing this middle-aged man, Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Galaxy Past?! Why is the Star Alliances First Generation Guild Leader here?! Chapter 2963 - Chapter 37 Chapter 37 C Galaxy Past Why is he here?! Both Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue were shocked and confused when Galaxy Past appeared among the Star Alliances team. Galaxy Past could be regarded as a legendary figure in Gods Domain. When he was in his thirties, he had made the decision to have the Star Alliance, which wasnt particularly well-known in the virtual gaming industry back then, tackle Gods Domain using all of its available assets. Afterward, he had led the Star Alliance to prominence in the Star-Moon Kingdom, defeating several rival first-rate Guilds in the process and developing the Star Alliance into a top-tier first-rate Guild capable of competing against even super-first rate Guilds. Moreover, he had done so while refusing all investment offers made by powerful international corporations. Because of his feats, he became a bigshot known by all in Gods Domain. However, not long ago, Galaxy Past suddenly announced his retirement and handed his position to Purple Eye, another legendary individual coming from the Star Alliance and one of the top 16 contenders for the current Ten Saints League. Afterward, he vanished from the public scene, and nobody had heard from him ever since. Yet, now, Galaxy Past had suddenly appeared in the wilderness here While Zhuo Yalin, Lin Yaoyue, and the other members of Mysterious Moon were shocked by Galaxy Pasts sudden appearance, Galaxy Past shifted his attention away from the Dungeons entrance and turned around. Then, he started slowly making his way toward Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue. It seems you two are Mysterious Moons leaders this time around. After scrutinizing Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue for a moment, Galaxy Past praised, Not bad. It seems Ol Confused Hearts efforts these past years hadnt gone to waste if he managed to nurture geniuses like you two. Mysterious Moon wont have to worry about not having people to run it in the future. You jest, Guild Leader Galaxy, Zhuo Yalin replied humbly after composing herself. We are still too weak to take on the great responsibility of leading the Guild. Elder Heart has always urged us to learn from Senior Purple Eye. Hearing Zhuo Yalins words, Lin Yaoyue lowered her head and kept silent, a bitter smile appearing on her face. Although Elder Confused Heart was only Mysterious Moons Great Elder and not the Guild Leader, his position in the Guild was the highest. Even the Guild Leader needed to treat Elder Confused Heart respectfully and carefully listen to his suggestions. This was because Elder Confused Heart was responsible for teaching most of the Guilds peak experts. Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin were also disciples of Elder Confused Heart. Meanwhile, only apex experts such as Galaxy Past would be worthy of referring to the Great Elder as Ol Confused Heart. Im not the one responsible for teaching Purple Eye. I dont have that kind of ability, either. She has relied entirely on her efforts to reach her current strength, Galaxy Past said, shaking his head. Then, he let out a soft sigh as he continued, If I had Ol Confused Hearts teaching abilities, the Star Alliance wouldnt be stuck as just a first-rate Guild right now. Zhuo Yalin remained silent in response to Galaxy Pasts words. It was just as Galaxy Past had said. If the Star Alliance could produce a sufficient number of peak experts, it wouldve long since become a super-first-rate Guild by now. After all, the Star Alliance currently had a God-ranked expert in its ranks. Meanwhile, this person was none other than the Star Alliances current Guild LeaderWind God Purple Eye! After getting emotional for a moment, Galaxy Past suddenly put on a stern gaze as he said, Alright, Ive wasted enough time talking. The Star Alliance wants this Hell Mode Team Dungeon. However, I dont want others saying that I am bullying two little girls, so I will give you three chances to challenge me. So long as you can last three moves against me, the Star Alliance will give up on this Dungeon. Of course, if you dont wish to accept this challenge, I dont mind starting an all-out fight here, either. This Zhuo Yalin was at a loss for words when she heard Galaxy Pasts words. The other Mysterious Moon experts standing behind Zhuo Yalin also grew silent. If any other executive from the Star Alliance had said these words, they wouldve chosen to fight without hesitation. After all, everyone present was currently Tier 3. Even if there was a difference in combat standards, the difference in actual combat power wouldnt be significant. However, it was an entirely different matter if Galaxy Past were the one saying these words Not only was Galaxy Past the Star Alliances former Guild Leader, but he was also a Tier 5 apex expert during his peak. Even on the scale of the entire Gods Domain, he could be considered a top-ranking expert. Even if Galaxy Past had regressed to Tier 3 now, the strength he could exhibit would still be far beyond the imagination of ordinary experts. It was no exaggeration to say that he could single-handedly turn the tides of a battle involving thousands. I can give you ten minutes to consider, Galaxy Past said. Then, after giving Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue one last look, he turned around and returned to his team to start preparing for the upcoming Dungeon raid. His behavior made it seem like he didnt care what choices Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue made. Meanwhile, after Galaxy Past walked away, Lin Yaoyue looked toward Zhuo Yalin and whispered, What should we do? Neither the Guild Leader nor Elder Heart is in the Miniature Ancient World. It doesnt matter whether we choose to fight one-on-one or as a group; we wont have any advantages either way In Mysterious Moon, the Guild Leader and Elder Confused Heart were the only people who could win against Galaxy Past. Although the Guild had other apex experts, they would have difficulty even matching Galaxy Past, let alone defeat him. Not to mention, these apex experts were elusive individuals. It was also highly unlikely that any of them had entered the Miniature Ancient World since that would mean restarting their progress from Tier 3. Unless an apex expert had great determination and willpower, they absolutely would not set foot into the Miniature Ancient World. Indeed, we dont have any advantages, Zhuo Yalin said, nodding. Then, a passionate fighting spirit appeared in her eyes as she continued, However, we must still try and fight for this Team Dungeon! Are you insane?! Hearing her friends words, Lin Yaoyue hurriedly said, Our team cant afford to take on such a loss right now! The various powers that had entered the Miniature Ancient World were currently frantically developing their influence and increasing their levels. Meanwhile, for the sake of raiding the Hell Mode Team Dungeon this time, Mysterious Moon had already gathered most of its experts. If all of these experts got killed and regressed to Level 100, it would become very difficult for them to catch up to the experts of other Guilds. How stupid do you think I am? Zhuo Yalin couldnt help but smile when she saw the nervous look on Lin Yaoyues face. What I mean is that we should go for the one-on-one challenge. Even if we lose, it wont affect the big picture. Also, I will be taking one of the three spots. As for the two other spots, theyll go to whoever is willing to take up the challenge. Ill take up one as well, then, Lin Yaoyue said, gritting her teeth. If they were on the main continent, she absolutely would not dare to challenge Galaxy Past. After all, a Tier 5 expert could kill them with the flick of a finger. However, Galaxy Past had also regressed to Tier 3 now. She wanted to use this opportunity to see how much of a difference there existed between herself and an apex expert. Was it really true that she couldnt last even three moves? Thats great! We can also use this chance to see who has improved more during this period! Zhuo Yalin said with a smile. Afterward, Zhuo Yalin brought up the remaining slot to the other team members, checking to see if there were any other volunteers. Then, in no time at all, a tall and robust Level 101 Berserker clad in Epic Set Equipment walked out of the crowd. Meanwhile, when Zhuo Yalin announced her decision to challenge Galaxy Past to a one-on-one fight, the Star Alliances members instantly exploded into rage. Are you really going to accept their challenge, Guild Leader? Thats right! Theyre merely a bunch of blind and ignorant brats! Who do they think they are to challenge you, Guild Leader?! Thats right, thats right! Lets just kill them all! The Star Alliances core experts present voiced their dissatisfaction with Zhuo Yalins decision one after another. Everyone in the Star Alliance respected and revered Galaxy Past. Even if Galaxy Past had withdrawn from the frontlines, he was still the Star Alliances Guild Leader in everyones eyes. Hence, seeing someone daring to challenge Galaxy Past angered them greatly. Enough! Be quiet! Galaxy Past said sternly. I was the one who suggested this challenge, so dont go blaming them. Also, I have already said many times that I am no longer the Guild Leader. Just call me Elder. After getting reprimanded by Galaxy Past, the Star Alliances members instantly fell silent. Nobody voiced their complaints and dissatisfaction anymore. Though, their eyes looked like they could kill when they looked at Zhuo Yalin and the others. Meanwhile, when Zhuo Yalin walked into the clearing separating the two teams and sensed the burning gazes the Star Alliances members were giving her, she couldnt help but smile bitterly as she thought to herself, Is there a need to react like that? You can make the first move, little girl, Galaxy Past said after entering the PvP site. Then, while watching Zhuo Yalin unsheath the two daggers hanging on the back of her waist, he shook his head and said, You shouldnt have stepped forward first. Zhuo Yalin was an Assassin, so the foremost thing she should do was understand her opponent. The more she understood her opponent, the higher her chances of executing a successful ambush. It was especially important that she succeeded in ambushing a Berserker like him. The Berserker was a heavy-armor class. Not only would an Assassin have a difficult time damaging a Berserker with their weapons, but so long as the Assassins ambush got countered or resisted, the Assassin would fall into a passive state immediately. Now that he had given Mysterious Moon three chances to challenge him, the optimal choice for Zhuo Yalin to make would be to have the other two challengers probe him first. Yet, Zhuo Yalin had chosen to step forward first. I know. Zhuo Yalin nodded. Her eyes brimming with fighting spirit, she said, But I want to see how far I can go with my true strength! Good! As expected of Ol Confused Hearts disciple, Galaxy Past said in approval. In that case, come at me! After saying so, Galaxy Past started walking closer toward Zhuo Yalin. However, he showed no intention of drawing his weapon at all. Meanwhile, Zhuo Yalin didnt hold back even after seeing this, choosing to activate Stealth and the Tier 3 Shadow Split without hesitation. Not only did she vanish from everyones vision, but she even split into three copies of herself while in stealth. Then, all three of her copies charged at the unarmed Galaxy Past from three different directions. Formless Steps! This little girl is quite skilled! Many of the Star Alliances older generation experts were surprised when they noticed Zhuo Yalin disappearing from their perception completely. As the Star Alliances older generation experts, they had experienced countless battles throughout their career in Gods Domain. They had naturally seen many Assassin experts as well. Hence, they knew that Assassins capable of erasing their presences completely were experts who had trained in Formless Steps to the extreme. Formless Steps was one of Gods Domains most complicated top-ranking advanced combat techniques. Typically, only experts who had reached the Void Realm could master this combat technique. Meanwhile, Assassins could erase their presences completely while in Stealth after mastering this skill. This, in turn, would allow them to challenge even opponents that were much stronger themselves. Has she mastered it already? Lin Yaoyue was also surprised and overjoyed to see Zhuo Yalin using Formless Steps. Formless Steps! This was one of Elder Confused Hearts strongest moves. He had successfully assassinated many apex experts by relying on this combat technique. Although Zhuo Yalin had only recently reached the Flowing Water Realm, now that she had mastered Formless Steps, she should have no problem withstanding three moves from Galaxy Past. What a pity On the battlefield, Galaxy Past muttered softly after looking at his surroundings. Then, he took a sidestep and suddenly threw a punch behind him. Tier 3 Skill, Mountain Splitter! It was a Skill that increased ones Strength by 60% and doubled ones damage and destructive power for one attack. Boom! Accompanied by an explosive sound, Zhuo Yalins figure suddenly appeared behind Galaxy Past. Then, like a cannonball, her body flew across the air and landed 30 yards away. When she landed, her HP started plummeting rapidly, showing no signs of stopping even after reaching a critical level How is this possible?! He killed her in one hit? Mysterious Moons experts gaped in shock when they saw Zhuo Yalin getting sent flying. Although they had long since known that Zhuo Yalin wasnt a match for Galaxy Past, they didnt think that Zhuo Yalin, one of the younger generations geniuses cultivated by the Guild, would get killed in one hit While everyone was still in shock, Lin Yaoyue was the first to react as she hurriedly shouted, Healers, save her quickly! Upon hearing Lin Yaoyues words, the healers on Mysterious Moons team promptly snapped out of their daze and started casting Healing Spells on Lin Yaoyue. In Gods Domain, even if players received damage that exceeded their HP threshold, so long as their HP did not reach zero, it was still possible to heal them using special Healing Spells. Meanwhile, the struck player could avoid death so long as the healers managed to outheal the damage dealt. After several healing lights landed on Zhuo Yalins body, her HP eventually stopped falling and settled at 1. Then, subsequent heals quickly brought her back to full HP. However, as Zhuo Yalin had already entered a heavily injured state, it would take some time before she could fully recover her combat power. After recovering her HP, Zhuo Yalin slowly stood up and looked at Galaxy Past reluctantly, saying, I lost Are you wondering why I can see through your Formless Steps so easily? Galaxy Past asked, a smile appearing on his face when he saw the unreconciled look on Zhuo Yalins face. Yes. My Formless Steps shouldve been perfect, Zhuo Yalin said, nodding. Even if someone managed to see through her Formless Steps, it shouldnt be possible for them to strike directly at her defensive blindspot. Yet, Galaxy Past had done so without a shred of hesitation. His attack was so quick and precise that she didnt even have time to defend herself. Shaking his head, Galaxy Past said, Your Formless Steps might be good, but it is far from perfect. It was especially true when you were attacking. Your killing intent was too obvious, or should I say immature. You didnt try to package it at all. In my eyes, you might as well not have entered stealth. I didnt package my killing intent? Zhuo Yalin was rendered speechless when she heard Galaxy Pasts words. Could something like killing intent even be packaged? Not to mention, it had already taken all of her focus to maintain Formless Steps. She couldnt afford to split her attention to do other things at all. Galaxy Past did not continue explaining. Instead, he looked to the other members of Mysterious Moon and asked, Alright, whos next? Even though Galaxy Past spoke in a calm and neutral voice, none of Mysterious Moons members dared to step forward. Even Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but hesitate. Even someone as strong as Zhuo Yalin had lost without knowing how, so how could any of them stand a chance against Galaxy Past? Just when Mysterious Moons members would forfeit the rest of the challenge, a cloaked man with a black longsword by his waist sighed softly before walking out of the crowd and asking: May I? Chapter 2964 - Chapter 38 Chapter 2964 Chapter 38 C Fair Fight Who is he? He doesnt seem like someone from Mysterious Moon; theres no Guild Emblem on him. Since youre not someone from Mysterious Moon, what are you making trouble for?! Get lost! Do you really think just anyone will have the qualifications to challenge our Guild Leader? The Star Alliances members were enraged when they looked at the young man who had walked out of the crowd, many of them having the urge to just charge forward and kill him immediately. Who is he? Did our Guild have such a member? Meanwhile, Mysterious Moons members were confused when they looked at the cloaked young man. Mr. Black Flame! Zhuo Yalin immediately recognized the cloaked young man when she saw the other party. He was none other than Shi Feng, the person whom she had invited to help raid the Hell Mode Team Dungeon this time. Black Flame? Lin Yaoyue also turned to look at Shi Feng when she heard Zhuo Yalins words. Then, a look of surprise appeared in her eyes as she asked, Is he that expert you were talking about? At this time, although Shi Feng was wearing a Black Cloak to hide his information, the cloak didnt do much to hide the shape of his easily-recognizable starters equipment. Lin Yaoyue found it hard to believe that an expert capable of scoring an S-rank evaluation in the Colosseums Epic Challenge would still be using starters equipment even until now. It should be known that any Tier 3 expert who had spent some time playing Gods Domain could easily acquire a Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment when entering the Miniature Ancient World. Mhm, its him. Zhuo Yalin nodded, a hint of excitement appearing in her eyes. We finally have a chance now! A chance? No matter how Lin Yaoyue looked at Shi Feng, the latter did not seem like an expert at all. So, she couldnt help but doubt her friends judgment. Are you sure? Hes still using starters equipment, while Galaxy Past is using the eight-piece Blood Dragon Set. That set is labeled as one of the nine strongest Level 100 Epic Set Equipment in Hundred Flow City. Just the boost it provides to the Strength Attribute is enough to let a Tier 3 player rival Tier 4 players Lin Yaoyue wouldnt have doubted Shi Fengs abilities if he was at least geared in an eight-piece Epic Set Equipment like Zhuo Yalin. Suppose that was the case, they might have a small chance of winning. But starters equipment versus the Blood Dragon Set? There was already an insurmountable difference in just the Basic Attributes the two provided. An ordinary expert geared in the Blood Dragon Set could beat up even a Refinement Realm expert in Level 100 Dark-Gold Set Equipment, let alone someone geared in Secret-Silver starters equipment. Upon hearing Lin Yaoyues concerns, Zhuo Yalin also finally noticed the state of Shi Fengs equipment. Suddenly, her confidence wavered as she hesitantly said, It should be fine Meanwhile, when Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue were conversing with each other, Shi Feng had also arrived in front of Galaxy Past. Not bad. You are a very courageous young man, Galaxy Past said, smiling as he examined Shi Feng. You say that you want to challenge me, but can you represent Mysterious Moon? Ill need to ask, Shi Feng said. He honestly wasnt sure whether Mysterious Moon would let him represent it. So, he turned to Zhuo Yalin and asked, Miss Nightingale, can I fight on behalf of Mysterious Moon? If you are willing, Mysterious Moon wont have any problems with it, Mr. Black Flame, Zhuo Yalin said, nodding. Good! Since Mysterious Moon doesnt have any problem, I dont have any problems with it, either, Galaxy Past said when he saw Zhuo Yalin nodding. Then, he returned his gaze to Shi Feng and said, Young man, I wont bully you as a senior, so you can make the first move. No need. Lets just have a fair fight, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Honestly, Shi Feng felt rather complicated facing Galaxy Past, who was talking to him from the perspective of a senior. The Zero Wing Guild Shi Feng created during his previous life had clashed with the Star Alliance on many occasions. However, later on, Zero Wing had already grown to a state where the Star Alliance couldnt even hope to match. So, whether it was the Star Alliance or Galaxy Past, both had long since faded out of Shi Fengs vision. Now that Shi Feng was meeting with Galaxy Past again, he couldnt help but feel a sense of familiarity. Even if the current Galaxy Past did not know him, Shi Feng still found it a rare opportunity to meet someone familiar in this foreign world. At this time, apart from the Hell Mode Regional Dungeon, a larger part of the reason why Shi Feng had stepped forward was to see how strong Galaxy Past had become after fighting in Gods Domain for ten years. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the Star Alliances members couldnt help but laugh. Hah! He really thinks he can fight with the Guild Leader! Even Nightingale with her eight-piece Set Equipment had fallen after receiving one punch from our Guild Leader, so how dare he utter such bold words while clad in starters equipment?! Thats right! The Guild Leader is too soft-hearted! If he fights fairly, those people probably wouldnt even know how they died! The Star Alliances members ran their mouths one after another, their words causing Mysterious Moons members to feel angry and ashamed. This was because everything the Star Alliances members said was true. If even Zhuo Yalin, the Third Legions vice commander, couldnt last more than a punch against Galaxy Past, anyone else who challenged Galaxy Past would probably suffer an even more miserable fate. So, Mysterious Moons members had no choice but to keep quiet in this situation and pray that Shi Feng wouldnt lose too miserably. Okay! Galaxy Past looked at Shi Feng in admiration when he heard the other party asking for a fair fight. Let me see if you can make me give you a fair fight, then! After saying so, Galaxy Past leaped into the air and threw a punch at Shi Feng. Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Tiger Transformation! Immediately, Galaxy Pasts body increased in size, his height reaching four meters. The intensity of the aura he radiated also soared, transforming from a calm sea into a violent storm that threatened to devour all life. His fist had even transformed into a tiger claw the size of a boulder. When Galaxy Pasts fist fell, even the space around it had started cracking. It was as if his punch was bringing down the entire sky with it. It was an attack that could neither be dodged nor blocked! Its over Zhuo Yalins complexion paled when she saw Galaxy Pasts attack. Tiger Transformation was one of the Skills Galaxy Past was known for. Not only did the attack have a wide AOE, but it also had astonishing destructive power. Moreover, the Skill even doubled its users Strength during the attack. One could say that it was a mini Berserk Skill. When used against an opponent with weaker Basic Attributes, the Skill could achieve a crushing victory. Most importantly, Galaxy Pasts actions were simply too fast to keep up with. Even with her standards, she had failed to react immediately when Galaxy Past had launched his attack. She reacted to his attack only after he had activated Tiger Transformation and his fist was falling. If she were standing in Shi Fengs shoes, it wouldve already been too late for her to do anything. In such a situation, the only thing she could do was watch as Galaxy Pasts fist came for her Boom! Accompanied by a deafening boom, a shockwave spread across the battlefield, covering a radius of several hundred yards. Within several dozen yards of the shockwaves epicenter, dust and dirt were also sent flying over a dozen meters into the air. Hahaha! Hes a goner for sure! Serves him right for behaving so arrogantly! Even Mysterious Moons healers wont be able to save him now! The Guild Leader is too serious. Hes only going up against a newbie, yet he even brought out Tiger Transformation. I guess that kid got a worthwhile death. The Star Alliances members started chatting merrily when they looked at the dust clouds surrounding the battlefield. They were not surprised by this outcome at the slightest. As for Mysterious Moons members, their expressions turned very gloomy. It was especially true for Zhuo Yalin. It was another one-hit knockout. While Mysterious Moons members were shaking their heads and sighing, the dust on the battlefield also gradually settled. However, to everyones surprise, they could faintly see two figures standing among the dust clouds. How is this possible?! He didnt die? Everyone was shocked when Shi Fengs figure appeared among the dust clouds. At this time, not only was Shi Feng still standing, but he didnt even lose a single point of his HP. As for Galaxy Past, he had missed his punch and created a crater several meters deep beside Shi Feng. Did the Guild Leader miss his attack? That shouldnt be the case! With the Guild Leaders strength, he wouldnt miss even if he closed his eyes! The Star Alliances members were greatly surprised by this scene. None of them could make sense of the situation. Meanwhile, Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue were even more confused by this situation, their minds failing to understand how Galaxy Past had missed his attack. At this moment, out of everyone present, only Galaxy Past looked at Shi Feng with a serious gaze. Unlike everyone else, he knew that he didnt mess up his attack just now. Instead, Shi Feng had preemptively dodged his attack. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the instant he started moving, Shi Feng had seemingly already seen through his attack trajectory and dodged to the side ahead of time. Moreover, he had failed to get a hold of Shi Fengs evasive trajectory Godspeed Response? Luck? These thoughts surfaced in Galaxy Pasts mind one after another. However, Shi Feng seemingly paid no heed to his extraordinary evasion as he looked at Galaxy Past and asked calmly, Can you get serious now? Chapter 2965 - Chapter 39 Chapter 2965 Chapter 39 C Sword Technique! Swords Orbit! Get serious? What bold words! Thats right! He only dodged the Guild Leaders punch by instinct! He wouldve long since died if the Guild Leader got serious! Although Shi Feng did not speak loudly, everyone present was a Tier 3 expert. They could hear him loud and clear even from over a hundred yards away with their senses and physique. Meanwhile, the Star Alliances experts promptly rose to a clamor upon hearing Shi Fengs question. In the opinions of the Star Alliances experts, Shi Feng mustve relied on luck to dodge Galaxy Pasts punch. After all, the difference in Basic Attributes between the eight-piece Blood Dragon Set and the Secret-Silver ranked starters equipment was more than double. Faced against Galaxy Pasts Tiger Transformation, even the peak experts in the Professional Leagues A-League would have an extremely difficult time dodging it. After all, Galaxy Past was only half a step away from reaching the legendary tier. His ability to perceive and predict the movements of Void Realm experts had already reached the extreme. In comparison, Shi Feng was merely a nobody using starters equipment. In a situation where his Basic Attributes were vastly inferior to Galaxy Past, luck was the only reasonable explanation for his success in dodging Galaxy Pasts attack. A fluke? Zhuo Yalin was also surprised and confused when she looked at Shi Feng. In her opinion, it was simply impossible to dodge Galaxy Pasts attack that had been empowered by Tiger Transformation. Even if Shi Feng was an expert capable of achieving an S-rank evaluation in the Colosseums Epic Challenge, she didnt think he could evade Galaxy Pasts attack. It was especially true when he was only geared in starters equipment. While a commotion was happening outside the PvP area, Galaxy Past suddenly smiled. Good! Very good! Its been a long time since I met an expert like you! Galaxy Past said, a hint of fighting spirit appearing in his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Although I dont know whether luck was involved just now, you are now qualified for me to get serious. After saying so, Galaxy Past moved his finger around at the empty space before him. He had obviously called out his system interface and was doing something with it. A moment later, a massive saber appeared in Galaxy Pasts hand, the weapon matching his height. The saber had a snowy-white body made out of a special type of crystal. Just the weapons emergence had caused the surrounding temperature to plummet. Meanwhile, the instant Galaxy Past held onto the saber, the intensity of the aura he radiated also increased significantly. Now, he felt more like a humanoid beast than a player, and everyone present felt an invisible pressure bearing down on them. Its Ice Roar! Madness! This is madness! He actually brought a Famed Saber to the Miniature Ancient World?! Can anyone even match him now?! When Mysterious Moons members saw the greatsword in Galaxy Pasts hand, every one of them felt their sanity falling a little. During Gods Domains ten years of operation, players didnt just pay attention to the various experts in the game. They had also made various ranking lists for the various weapons that existed in Gods Domain. Among them were lists for Famed Swords, Famed Sabers, etc. Every list had 100 entries, and the lists recorded weapons beneath the Legendary rank. Meanwhile, any weapon capable of making these lists was unquestionably a weapon with powerful Basic Attributes and heaven-defying abilities that could drastically increase its wielders combat power. Some weapons could even allow their users to transcend tiers. Meanwhile, Ice Roar was ranked 83 in the ranking list for Famed Sabers. It was also known as the River Sealer. Although Ice Roar was only an Epic Weapon, its combat effects were not the slightest bit inferior to Fragmented Legendary Weapons. It was a godly weapon that one couldnt even acquire even after offering up an entire Guild Town. Upon seeing Ice Roar, Zhuo Yalins expression instantly turned grave. Only experts who had reached her caliber would understand just how terrifying an expert like Galaxy Past could become if he had a weapon like Ice Roar. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that he would become invincible among Tier 3! Meanwhile, after holding onto Ice Roars hilt, Galaxy Past casually swung the massive saber. Boom! Immediately, a dazzling energy blade cut through the air and flew up to 50 yards away, transforming the grassy plain in its path into an icy plane Afterward, Galaxy Past looked toward Shi Feng and proudly said, Alright! Receive my second move! After saying so, Galaxy Past raised Ice Roar and swung it at Shi Feng, who stood less than 15 yards away. Similar to before, Galaxy Pasts slash had generated another energy blade. However, unlike the one before, this energy blade continuously distorted its shape and altered its trajectory mid-flight, making it impossible for others to predict its trajectory. Advanced Combat Technique, Curved Light! Then, when Shi Feng was evading the energy blade, Galaxy Past suddenly stepped forward and rapidly rotated his body. Tier 3 Legacy Skill, Frenzied Gale! Immediately, Galaxy Past transformed into an icy tornado that devoured all life around him. How is this possible?! Zhuo Yalins mouth widened slightly when she saw Galaxy Past transforming into an icy tornado. Its actually a fusion technique! Combat techniques in Gods Domain were different from Skills and Spells. So long as players successfully learned a combat technique, they could use it repeatedly without having to wait for a Cooldown. Moreover, the power of a combat technique was in no way inferior to the average Skill and Spell. However, the downside of combat techniques was the significant Stamina and Concentration consumption. The expenditure was so significant that first-rate experts would exhaust themselves just by using an ordinary combat technique, while Refinement Realm experts would barely be able to use an advanced combat technique. As for fusing combat techniques with Skills and Spells, that was a feat even most peak experts had trouble accomplishing. However, so long as one could accomplish this feat, not only would the power of their Skills and Spells increase drastically, but their Skills and Spells would also carry some of their combat techniques properties. These results could easily allow expert players to transcend tiers. The Guild Leader is finally getting serious! Lets see how that kid dodges the Guild Leaders attack now! The Guild Leader can clash with even Mythic monsters using his ice tornado. The move even has a wide AOE of 50 yards. Theres no way that kid can evade the Guild Leaders attack. The Star Alliances members grew excited when they saw Galaxy Past transforming into an icy tornado. At this moment, they could already foresee the moment Shi Feng got shredded to death. Meanwhile, inside the PvP area, Shi Feng finally unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night after seeing the approaching icy tornado. Thats not a bad move, but it is still not enough to kill me, Shi Feng calmly commented while he leisurely brandished his longsword. Sword Technique! Swords Orbit! Suddenly, a galaxy of stars formed around Shi Feng. Then, when the icy tornado was about to hit Shi Feng, it suddenly veered past him, landing not a single hit on him. When the icy tornado eventually disappeared, the battlefield had also transformed into a river of ice. However, contrary to everyones expectations, Shi Feng remained standing on the battlefield. Moreover, the area within five yards of him did not contain even a single speck of frost No! This cant be! I must be dreaming! Everyone couldnt help but rub their eyes in doubt when they saw this scene, their minds refusing to believe the reality before them. You How did you At this moment, even Galaxy Past was flabbergasted when he saw Shi Feng coming out of his attack unscathed. Never did he imagine such an outcome would occur. However, before Galaxy Past could speak his mind, Shi Feng suddenly raised the Winter of Eternal Night and said: Now that Ive received your attack, its time you received mine! After saying so, Shi Feng swung down his sword. Sword Technique, Swords Transmigration! Chapter 2966 - Chapter 40 Chapter 2966 Chapter 40 C Who Is He? When the Winter of Eternal Night descended, everyone immediately saw a snowy-white lotus flower blooming around Shi Feng, the sight beautiful and transcendental. A Bronze Combat Technique?! Galaxy Pasts expression turned unprecedentedly grave when he saw this snowy-white lotus. Combat techniques in Gods Domain could be differentiated into various ranks. Meanwhile, ranked above advanced combat techniques were Bronze Combat Techniques, and combat techniques of this rank were so rare that even most Tier 5 experts didnt possess one. However, so long as a Tier 5 expert managed to acquire a Bronze Combat Technique, their combat power would instantly skyrocket to the peak of Tier 5. It wouldnt even matter even if they only had average equipment standards. The reason for this was because Bronze Combat Techniques provided players with the strength to transcend tiers. This remained true even for Tier 5 existences. I have to block it! When Galaxy Past saw the gigantic lotus flower moving toward him, he promptly let out a shout as he used the Tier 3 Legacy Berserk Skill Savage Gods Howl. Suddenly, an illusory behemoth appeared around Galaxy Past as his Basic Attributes doubled. The space surrounding him also began to shatter, looking as if it couldnt withstand the new source of power that dwelled within his body. Then, after activating his Berserk Skill, Galaxy Past promptly brandished his saber against the approaching lotus flower. Advanced Combat Technique, Sky Breaker! All of a sudden, several blades of light shot out from Galaxy Pasts saber before merging to form a gigantic saber that crashed into the lotus flower. Boom! A deafening boom shook the area within a thousand yards of the battlefield. The trembling ground and spreading shockwaves could even be felt by the spectating players standing over a hundred yards away. In addition, the grassland within a 100-yard radius of the collision had also transformed into barren land, and the ground had sunk by more than ten meters I dont think even top-tier Tier 4 players can deform the terrain to such an extent Are they really Tier 3 players? Mysterious Moons members subconsciously gasped when they looked at the state of the battlefield. In Gods Domain, players were known to become superhumans after reaching Tier 3. However, when it came to destructive power, even a large-scale Destruction Spell used by a Tier 3 magical class player couldnt deform the terrain to such a great extent. Typically, only after reaching Tier 4 would players have the strength to do so. Even then, the area of destruction would be limited. Few Tier 4 players could cause as much destruction as Shi Feng and Galaxy Past did. It should be known that there was a huge gap in strength between Tier 3 and Tier 4. There was even a saying in Gods Domain which stated that all those beneath Tier 4 were ants. Through this saying, one could tell how much stronger Tier 4 players were than Tier 3 players. Looking at the destroyed terrain before her, Zhuo Yalin dazedly muttered, Is this a fight between first-generation experts? Lin Yaoyue also nodded in agreement when she overheard Zhuo Yalins mutterings, her eyes filled with shock and excitement. Although she had seen countless experts clashing in Gods Domains Professional League before, she had never seen players causing such devastation at Tier 3. This was, without a doubt, her first time. Rather than a fight between Tier 3 players, itd be more apt to call this a fight between two behemoths. While everyone was in a state of shock, the dust clouds covering the battlefield also gradually dissipated, revealing two people staring off at each other. Unlike Shi Feng, though, Galaxy Pasts HP was no longer in a pristine state. Instead, 10% of it was missing. Evidently, Galaxy Past had lost in his clash with Shi Feng. The Guild Leader lost? How is this possible?! The Guild Leader even used his Berserk Skill already! How could he still lose?! The Star Alliances experts were flabbergasted when they saw the state of Galaxy Pasts HP, their minds unable to accept this reality. With the combination of a Tier 3 Legacy Berserk Skill and an advanced combat technique, Galaxy Past should be able to exert as much power as a Level 100 Mythic monster with his attacks. Yet, even with such power, he still lost to a player geared in starters equipment. Who could possibly believe this? At this time, let alone the Star Alliances members, even Mysterious Moons members were stunned by this situation. Yaoyue, does this mean we won? Zhuo Yalin asked, her eyes blinking in disbelief. It should be. Lin Yaoyue nodded stiffly as she looked at Shi Feng. She, too, found this outcome unbelievable. This was Galaxy Past they were talking about! Galaxy Past was a mighty expert standing at the top of Gods Domain. He was considered top-tier even among Tier 5 experts. Yet, even after wearing the eight-piece Blood Dragon Set and wielding the Famed Saber Ice Roar, Galaxy Past had still lost. If news of this matter spread, it would certainly cause an uproar in the entire Gods Domain. Black Flame, is it? Looking at Shi Fengs cloaked figure, Galaxy Past asked in an excited voice, With your strength, there is no way you would appear in a small place like the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, out of all the experts I know of in Gods Domain, I dont recall an expert like you. May I know if you are a person from that side? An expert with a Bronze Combat Technique capable of defeating him while using only starters equipment couldnt be a nameless person in Gods Domain. Yet, Galaxy Past had never heard of the name of Black Flame. There was also no possibility of one of Gods Domains bigshots starting a sub-account. Gods Domain didnt allow players to have two accounts, after all. There was also no way any of those bigshots would be willing to abandon their accounts and start all over again. Thus, the only explanation left for Shi Fengs existence was that he was someone from that side! Someone from that side? What side? What does the Guild Leader mean? The surrounding spectators grew confused when they heard Galaxy Pasts words. What did he mean by someone from that side? When Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue heard Galaxy Pasts words though, their expressions instantly changed as they turned to look at Shi Feng in shock and surprise. No way! Hes someone from that side? Ordinary experts in Gods Domain and even the middle management of the various major powers would probably be confused if they heard Galaxy Pasts words. However, it was a different story for Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue, who were reserve executives of first-rate Guilds. Thanks to their status, they had the qualifications to touch upon information not privy to most ordinary powers in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, according to what they heard from their superiors, there wasnt just one world of Gods Domain, but many instead. Moreover, these other versions of Gods Domain were played by people from other planes of reality. Take the latest expansion pack, for example. When everyone heard that a war between two worlds of Gods Domain was going to be held, most people only assumed that the people from the other Gods Domain were merely other people from the same reality. After all, Earth wasnt the sole living place for humans. Humans living on other planets might be playing Gods Domain as well. Meanwhile, communication between planets was incredibly difficult, so it wasnt strange that they hadnt heard about humans on other planets playing Gods Domain until now. However, according to their understanding, the players from other versions of Gods Domain werent living in the same reality as them at all. When Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue first learned of this information, both of them had found it to be unbelievable. They thought it was nothing more than fantasy. However, after their superiors showed them evidence, they came to understand that all of this was true. Moreover, they also came to understand that the virtual reality game known as Gods Domain definitely wasnt as simple as everyone imagined it to be. Instead, it was a game that wagered the fate of humanity. Chapter 2967 - Chapter 41 Chapter 41 C Its Name Is Zero Wing Yalin, should we inform Elder Heart now? If Black Flame is from that side, Im afraid we wont have the qualifications to handle this matter, Lin Yaoyue said, reminding her friend, who was still in a daze, of the severity of the situation. If the man known as Black Flame really came from that side, his value would be unimaginable. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that matters involving him were already outside their authority. According to the information they got from Mysterious Moon, the overall standard of Outerworld players was generally stronger than the players in their Gods Domain. In addition, these Outerworld players also surpassed them in terms of training efficiency by a large margin. If they could join forces with an Outerworld power, they might be able to raise the strength of their Guild members by a large margin. It might even be possible to instantly elevate the Guilds rank by one whole level. However, this still wasnt the most important point. Rather than training methods, what was crucial to the various powers of their Gods Domain was the Outerworlds material resources. According to investigative reports, Outerworlds had many precious resources not available in their Gods Domain. While these resources were deemed worthless by these Outerworlds, they would become incredibly valuable when put in their Gods Domain. Some of these resources could even provide players with significant help in improving their personal strength. Meanwhile, seeing how abnormally strong Black Flame was, there was no way he would be a nobody in the Outerworld he came from. He might even have a massive power backing him. If this was the case, the person known as Black Flame was no different than a mountain of endless treasures to them. All forces in Gods Domain would go crazy for him. It should be known that even after the World Passage had opened, players still couldnt freely travel between the two linked worlds of Gods Domain. Setting aside the various travel restrictions, just the resistance put up by the local powers would become a huge limiting factor. After all, none of the two worlds local powers would casually allow outsiders from entering their world and plundering the resources there. It was only natural that they would desperately fight to control the World Passage and protect their resources. Seeing that Black Flame had managed to appear in the Miniature Ancient World despite this fact, it proved that Black Flame must have a secret path that allowed him to travel between different worlds of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the value of such a secret path went without saying. However, Mysterious Moon wasnt the only Guild that had discovered this matter thus far. There was also the Star Alliance, a Guild which was stronger than Mysterious Moon. If they handled this situation poorly, they would become the sinners of Mysterious Moon. No wonder he is using starters equipment even though he has such astonishing skills! So this is the reason why? At this time, Zhuo Yalin also came back to her senses. When she remembered the scene when she first saw Shi Feng, she felt that she had finally strung things together. Then, she nodded and said, Youre right. Although we still cant be sure if Black Flame is someone from that side, Guild Leader Galaxys insight and experience make it unlikely that he will be wrong. Ill log off now and contact Elder Heart and the others. Before that, you must find a way to fight for this opportunity, Yaoyue! After saying so, Zhuo Yalin promptly logged out of the game, not daring to waste even a moment. In the meantime, Lin Yaoyue took a deep breath to calm her frantic heart. Then, she quickly walked up to Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was a little surprised by Galaxy Pasts inquiry. He didnt think Galaxy Past would mistake him for a player from another Gods Domain. However, it made sense after he thought about it. A nameless expert wearing starters equipment had defeated a highly celebrated apex expert in Gods Domain. No matter how one thought about it, there was no way such a situation could happen. Unless, of course, this nameless expert didnt originate from this world. After letting out a sigh, Shi Feng looked at Galaxy Past and said, With the current situation, I doubt youll believe me even if I deny it, right? You jest. Im sure an expert like you is a man of your word. Moreover, you dont need to lie to me, right? Galaxy Past said, smiling. However, even though he spoke as if he would believe Shi Feng regardless of Shi Fengs answer, the confidence and determination in his eyes said otherwise. Seeing the look of determination on Galaxy Pasts face, Shi Feng helplessly nodded and said quietly, Okay, I admit that I am not from this world. It was pointless for Shi Feng to explain himself and clear up Galaxy Pasts misunderstanding. Rather than waste his time on such a futile effort, he might as well keep up the misunderstanding and make the best of the situation. Shi Feng was well aware that a solo player couldnt progress far in Gods Domain. If a player wished to climb to great heights, they would need the support of an organization. Even he, a former Tier 6 Sword God, was no exception. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to develop his own force after he had developed his strength and foundation a little more. Now, though, he could just skip this process. Meanwhile, Lin Yaoyue, who had just walked over, shuddered upon seeing Shi Feng nodding. Its actually true? An inexplicable sense of excitement filled Lin Yaoyue as she looked at Shi Fengs cloaked figure. However, she maintained a calm expression on her face, pretending as if she found this matter to be insignificant. I knew you couldnt be bothered to lie to me, Galaxy Past said. He, too, grew a little excited after hearing Shi Fengs affirmation. I havent had time to introduce myself before. I am Galaxy Past, the former Guild Leader of the Star Alliance, a first-rate power in this Gods Domain. May I know which Outerworld power you come from, Mr. Black Flame? Zero Wing, Shi Feng said, memories of his previous life suddenly surfacing in his mind. Then, after reminiscing for a brief moment, he added, Its a relatively idle power. However, it is also the strongest power in the Gods Domain I come from. When talking about Zero Wing, Shi Fengs words exuded the pride and confidence of a superior. The emotions in Shi Fengs voice were so vivid that Galaxy Past could even feel the influence Zero Wing held in the Gods Domain Shi Feng originated from. The strongest power?! Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs statement, both Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue were secretly shocked. At the same time, the enthusiasm in their hearts also cooled down a little. Neither of them had thought that Shi Feng would have such a huge origin. Originally, they had wanted to fight for trading rights with Shi Feng by relying on the influence and strength of their respective first-rate Guilds. However, all of their previous thoughts had become a joke at this moment. If a Guild could call itself the strongest power in a Gods Domain, one could easily imagine how frightening the strength and influence it held was. It should be known that even if the current Five Great Super Guilds banded together, they wouldnt dare to call themselves the strongest power in Gods Domain. Yet, Shi Feng had spoken without hesitation. Through this, they could tell that Zero Wings strength in Shi Fengs world was undisputed. It was also unlikely that Shi Feng would lie to them. After all, experts were prideful creatures. It was especially true for experts of Shi Fengs caliber. In addition, they were well-versed at reading people thanks to their experiences. Meanwhile, they could tell that Shi Feng wasnt lying when he said he came from the strongest power in his Gods Domain. In that case, how could the strongest power of an entire Gods Domain possibly put first-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance and Mysterious Moon in its eyes? I know you want to trade with me, or rather, you want to make deals with the power behind me. Shi Feng smiled when he noticed the expressions of the two people before him turning a little ugly. Unfortunately, the Guilds behind you do not have such qualifications. Even so, theres no need for you to be discouraged. Although the Guilds behind you arent qualified to be equal trading partners, your Guilds have the chance to become an affiliated power. May I know if you two are interested? Chapter 2968 - Chapter 42 Chapter 2968 Chapter 42 C Zero Wings Foundation? An affiliated power? Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue were stunned when they heard Shi Fengs words. Then, complicated emotions appeared on their faces. If the person saying these words to them wasnt Shi Feng, the representative of Zero Wing, but a representative of some other superpower instead, their answers wouldve told this person to get lost without hesitation. Although there were many first-rate Guilds in Gods Domain, it didnt mean that they were weaklings. A typical first-rate Guild would have control over a hundred major cities or more. Top-tier first-rate Guilds would even have control over an entire medium-sized kingdom. Hence, first-rate Guilds were by no means pushovers. It was especially true for their two Guilds. They were confident that their respective Guilds could become a super-first-rate Guild and join the ranks of Gods Domains superpowers in the future. At that time, apart from the Five Great Super Guilds, there would be no other existence that their two Guilds would be afraid of offending. Thus, asking their two Guilds to become affiliated powers was nothing but a joke. After pondering in silence for a moment, Lin Yaoyue took a deep breath and said in a neutral tone, Im afraid I do not have the authority to give you an answer right now, Mr. Black Flame. I will have to discuss your offer with my superiors first. Im afraid I will also have to discuss it over with my Guilds current Guild Leader, Galaxy Past said, nodding in agreement with Lin Yaoyue. Do you think that my condition is a little too brazen? Shi Feng wasnt surprised when he heard Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue rejecting his offer. Chuckling, he said, Dont be so quick to shoot down my offer. I understand the pride you have for your respective Guilds. After all, a first-rate Guild is only one step away from joining the ranks of superpowers. Im guessing that your respective Guilds arent even afraid of ordinary superpowers right now, much less becoming an affiliated power to one. Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue remained silent as they looked at Shi Feng, evidently agreeing with what Shi Feng had just said. Since you wish to consider, take your time doing so, Shi Feng said. However, before that, I plan to show you Zero Wings foundations. How about making a decision after that? May I know how you plan to display it, Mr. Black Flame? Galaxy Past asked curiously. Lin Yaoyue also nodded her head, her eyes looking at Shi Feng with curiosity. There was no way any of their Guilds would willingly become an affiliated power without something to convince them. Though, even if Shi Feng did show them Zero Wings might, their two Guilds would most likely still reject his offer. After all, their two Guilds possessed great ambitions for the future. How could they possibly submit themselves to another power just for some small profits? However, itd be a lie if they said that they werent curious about how powerful Outerworld powers were. After thinking for a moment, Shi Feng said, How about we raid this Team Dungeon together? Raid this Team Dungeon? Does that mean you plan on having your Guilds other experts come over? Galaxy Pasts eyes brightened. The strength of a power relied heavily on the number and quality of the experts it possessed. If he could use this opportunity to see the number and quality of experts Zero Wing possessed, he could make a rough guess of Zero Wings strength. No, itll be just me, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Only one person? Lin Yaoyue was stunned. She failed to understand Shi Fengs intentions. How will you display Zero Wings strength, then? A powers foundation couldnt be composed of just one expert. Even if a Guild had a Tier 6 God-ranked expert leading it, it would simply be evaluated as a top-tier first-rate Guild in Gods Domain. Ill show it through our Mana Technique! Shi Feng said with a faint smile. Mana Technique? Lin Yaoyue grew even more confused. Any expert at Tier 4 or above would come into contact with Mana Techniques. It was because Mana Techniques were a form of manipulating Mana, just like how combat techniques were a form of manipulating the physical body. Meanwhile, after reaching Tier 4, players would need to learn a lot about Mana usage since only by doing so could they display the power of Tier 4 Skills and Spells. Hence, so long as players reached Tier 4, they would have to touch upon knowledge of this aspect even if they didnt want to. Meanwhile, Mana Techniques were the best tools for learning how to manipulate Mana. However, while Mana Techniques might be rare in Gods Domain, their rarity hadnt reached a point where they could be considered priceless. Even first-rate powers would have a few Mana Techniques in their possession, let alone superpowers. Thus, Mana Techniques couldnt be used to prove a Guilds strength. Youll understand once we reach the Boss, Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain himself. What do you two think? The Star Alliance has no problem with this arrangement, Galaxy Past said nonchalantly. Since he had already lost the challenge, the Star Alliance naturally wouldnt have anything to do with this Hell Mode Team Dungeon any longer. However, while he couldnt acquire the items inside the Team Dungeon, getting the opportunity to understand an Outerworld expert wasnt a bad idea, either. After all, the current powers of Gods Domain had incredibly little information on Outerworld players. Mysterious Moon doesnt have any problem with this arrangement, either, Lin Yaoyue said, nodding. Good. Well form a 1,000-man team and enter right away, then, Shi Feng said. Then, he sent a team invitation to Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue. Meanwhile, neither Galaxy Past nor Lin Yaoyue had a problem with Shi Feng becoming the leader of the team. After all, they wouldnt have felt reconciled if they had let each other lead the team. Rather than have one of them lead the team and the other feeling unreconciled, they might as well let Shi Feng become the team leader. After joining Shi Fengs team, Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue had their respective team disband and join Shi Fengs team. In less than ten minutes, a team of 1,000 top-tier experts was formed and ready to enter the Hell Mode Team Dungeon. The inside of the Miniature Ancient Worlds Team Dungeons was completely different from that of the outside worlds Team Dungeons. The inside of the Team Dungeon was so massive that it looked more like a Regional Dungeon instead. Moreover, not only were there Level 103 to Level 105 Great Lord ranked Demonic Beasts, but there were also plenty of Level 105 Grand Lord ranked Demonic Beasts leading these Great Lords. Even the smallest group of monsters in the Team Dungeon had at least several thousand Great Lords and 50 Grand Lords, while some of the bigger groups had over a hundred Grand Lords and a Mythic ranked Demonic Beasts leading them. Rather than a Dungeon raid, it felt more like they were fighting on a primordial battlefield instead. Moreover, these Demonic Beasts behaved more like soldiers than monsters. Not only did they move in unison, but they would also always fight in groups instead of alone. An ordinary Tier 3 expert team would stand no chance against these organized monsters. However, faced against the elites of two first-rate Guilds, these Demonic Beasts were still a little lacking. Even the weakest expert on the team was geared in a mix of Level 100 Dark-Gold and Epic Equipment. In addition, there were over a dozen Refinement Realm experts on the team plus Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past. Lin Yaoyue was a Great Mage who had reached the Flowing Water Realm. She was akin to a human-shaped cannon, and she could instantly cast Tier 3 AOE Spells one after another. As for Galaxy Past, he was a Domain Realm Berserker. Even when Mythic ranked Demonic Beasts tried to attack Lin Yaoyue and stop her rampage, none of them could get close to her because of Galaxy Past. In less than five hours, Shi Feng and the others had already successfully arrived at the central castle inside the Team Dungeon. And here I thought this Hell Mode Team Dungeon was going to be challenging. It seems I overestimated it. Thats not true. We already killed four Mythic monsters on our way here. These Mythic monsters could already be regarded as the Final Boss in other Dungeons. Moreover, you shouldnt forget that our team consists of the core experts of two first-rate Guilds. Any other team wouldve gotten annihilated several times by now. Thats right. Didnt you see Guild Leader Galaxy stopping a Level 105 Mythic monster all by himself? I doubt you can find another expert with such strength in the Miniature Ancient World. Everyone was thrilled when they arrived in front of the ancient castle. It also didnt look like they had just experienced a series of tough battles at all since none of them looked tired. This should be where the Legacy is located, right? Everyones already rested, so should we open the door now? Lin Yaoyue asked Shi Feng when she saw that everyone was mostly rested. Shi Feng had hardly ever fought on their way here. Apart from when he needed to protect the healers, he spent most of his time commanding the team. Meanwhile, Lin Yaoyue had to admit that Shi Feng was an incredibly capable commander, his commands maximizing the teams combat power. However, even until now, she had yet to see the foundation Shi Feng had promised to display. Now that they were about to fight the Final Boss, she couldnt help but wonder what the Mana Technique Shi Feng mentioned was all about. Alright, open it! Shi Feng said as he stood up from the stone pedestal he sat on. Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, the several dozen Berserkers on the team approached the massive stone doors that measured 30 meters in height. Then, they pushed against it with all their might, opening it slowly. When a gap formed between the doors, an ancient aura promptly flooded out of the gap. At the same time, a vast courtyard with a dragon statue in the middle entered everyones eyes. There were also divine runes engraved across the courtyard ground. Meanwhile, as the doors gradually opened, not only did the runes on the ground light up as if awakened, but the dragon statue in the middle also started to tremble and crack. Then, under everyones gaze, the statue exploded, and a real Dragon appeared in its place. A Tier 4 Bronze Dragon?! How is this possible?! Why would a Dragon appear in a Hell Mode Team Dungeon?! Everyone was stunned when they looked at the 80-meter-tall Bronze Dragon. [Schwartold] (Dragon, Mythic) Level 105 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Dragons were the personification of destruction in Gods Domain. They were also the apex race of Gods Domain. Even a Tier 3 Infant Dragon was more than capable of destroying a city by themselves, while a Tier 4 Adult Dragon could plunge an entire kingdom into despair and possibly even annihilation Lets retreat quickly, Mr. Black Flame. A Tier 4 Dragon isnt something current players can go up against, Lin Yaoyue hurriedly suggested. Even Tier 5 players would have a headache fighting a Tier 4 Dragon, let alone Tier 3 players like themselves. Unless they could get the help of a Tier 5 expert, only death would await them if they tried to challenge Schwartold. A Dragon? No, thats not right! After looking at the engravings on the ground, Shi Feng said, While he might be a bona fide Tier 4 Dragon, he has already died for quite some time by the looks of it. His body is merely being controlled by the runes on the ground. That should be the case. Galaxy Past agreed with Shi Fengs analysis. If this Hell Mode Team Dungeon really requires players to fight against a Tier 4 Dragon, I doubt there is any team in the current Miniature Ancient World capable of raiding this Dungeon. Looking at the raid environment, I believe we are required to figure out a way to destroy the pillars with engravings located around the battlefield. If we do that, the Dragon will probably fall on its own. That is true, but we have to face a Tier 4 Dragon as we destroy those pillars! Lin Yaoyue said, feeling a little exasperated. Even if they had the strength to destroy the pillars, they had to survive the Dragons onslaught before they could do so. However, even if all of them combined their strength, they probably couldnt survive even a hit from the Tier 4 Dragon Indeed. If we cannot face the Dragons attacks, destroying those pillars will be nothing but a dream, Galaxy Past said, nodding in agreement. It seems our only option now is to retreat. Lets leave quickly, then. If the Dragon starts attacking us, none of us should think of leaving, Lin Yaoyue hurriedly said. Hold on a second, Shi Feng suddenly said. Although we have to face a Tier 4 Dragon, we are not without a chance. A chance? Looking at Shi Feng in confusion, Lin Yaoyue asked, What chance? Honestly, Lin Yaoyue felt reluctant to give up on the raid so easily. After all, this was one of the Miniature Ancient Worlds Legacies they were talking about. If she could get her hands on it, she might be able to improve herself further. However, no matter how she looked at it, there was simply no way they could go up against a Tier 4 Dragon. Im not sure if I can succeed, but I will only know after I try. After saying so, Shi Feng took a step forward, instantly entering Schwartolds area of influence. Immediately, the Bronze Dragon stood up from its resting position and swung one of its massive claws at Shi Feng. Is he crazy? Lin Yaoyue was momentarily dumbfounded by this situation. At this time, even Galaxy Past couldnt help but gape in shock at this scene. He didnt think that Shi Feng meant this when the other party said he would try. Shi Feng had just provoked a Tier 4 Dragon! Although it is a little early, I can use this opportunity to test out the effects of this move, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the approaching claw that destabilized the surrounding space. Then, he unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night, wielded it over his head with both hands, and activated the swords Skill Radiant Night, which increased the rank of his attack by two. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng swung down his sword against the approaching dragon claw. First Sword, Lightshadow! Chapter 2969 - Chapter 43 Chapter 43 C One Sword to Shake the Ages When Shi Feng swung the Winter of Eternal Night, an illusory sword measuring over a dozen meters long suddenly appeared. Then, the illusory sword created a dark trail in the air as it descended toward the oncoming dragon claw, the constantly extending spatial tear making it seem as if the sky was being cleaved in half. Boom! Accompanied by a deafening boom, spatial cracks appeared all around the courtyard. Immediately afterward, a shockwave spread across the courtyard, the shockwave so strong that everyone standing outside the courtyards entrance had stumbled backward. Even Galaxy Past, a player as strong as a Tier 4 Mythic monster, had to take half a step back before he managed to stabilize his body Was he not serious during our previous fight? Galaxy Past was shocked when he saw the state of the courtyard. Although Galaxy Past dared not say that he was the strongest Tier 5 player before coming to the Miniature Ancient World, he still considered himself one of the top-ranking Tier 5 experts in Gods Domain back then. Now that he had entered the Miniature Ancient World with the Blood Dragon Set and Famed Saber Ice Roar, he felt he should be an invincible existence here. Even if there was someone stronger than him, the gap in strength between them should be limited. An example would be how Shi Feng was only slightly stronger than him even after relying on a powerful Bronze Combat Technique. However, what was up with this situation? Right now, Shi Feng had not only shattered space with one move, but he had even forcibly stopped a Tier 4 Dragons attack! This was no longer at the level of just being slightly stronger. Shi Feng was already standing in a completely different dimension. Is this the Mana Technique he spoke of? Lin Yaoyue was also dumbfounded by this scene. She had seen experts using Mana Techniques before, and the power of these Mana Techniques went without saying. The boost in power a Mana Technique provided could practically rival a Tier 4 Berserk Skill. However, even the strongest Mana Technique she knew of could not let a Tier 3 player contend against a Tier 4 Dragon. Dragons were existences regarded as invincible among opponents of the same tier. Even Domain Realm experts would need to have an advantage of at least one tier to go up against a Dragon of the same level. Meanwhile, experts capable of going up against Dragons of the same tier were regarded as legendary individuals in Gods Domain. When everyone was in shock, a figure flew out of the shattered space in the courtyards center and landed around 20 yards away. As expected of a Tier 4 Dragon. It still has such power even though it is already dead. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile as he looked at his trembling hands and humming weapon. It seems this is the limit of this move. Lightshadow was the first of three parts of the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique that the Heavenly Blue Saint Eliadi was known for. Even though Lightshadow was only the weakest out of the three parts, it still surpassed the standard of the Mana Techniques used by ordinary Tier 6 Gods. Not only did one require an extremely powerful physique to use Lightshadow, but one would also need an incredibly high Concentration standard. Under normal circumstances, a Tier 3 player should be incapable of executing Lightshadow perfectly. However, thanks to his Legendary Mana Body and Winter of Eternal Night, Shi Feng managed to turn the impossible possible. Unfortunately, even with the complete Lightshadow at his disposal, Shi Feng still didnt have enough strength to go up against a Tier 4 Dragon. After only one exchange, not only did he get sent flying, but he had also lost around one-third of his HP. In other words, he would be killed after receiving three more normal attacks from Schwartold. Before Shi Feng could finish lamenting his weakness, Schwartold suddenly flapped its wings and soared into the air. Then, it raised its claw once more and started gathering Mana around it. Evidently, the Bronze Dragon planned to use a Skill or Spell this time instead of a normal attack Not good! Thats the Tier 4 Dragon Magic, Meteor! Lin Yaoyues complexion paled when she saw the magic arrays forming around Schwartolds claw. Dragon Magic was a type of ancient magic that surpassed the magic found in modern Gods Domain. Under the same tier, the power of Dragon Magic far surpassed that of ordinary magic. The cast time was also much shorter. Dragon Magic was one of the reasons that made Dragons invincible among opponents of the same tier. Meanwhile, among Tier 4 Dragon Magic, Meteor was a large-scale destruction Spell capable of obliterating an area of several hundred yards in one hit Its over Theres no way we can run away in time How can this be?! Everyones expressions turned ugly when they looked at the Bronze Dragon in the air. Dragon Magic of the destruction variety wasnt just capable of destroying physical objects. After the Spells power reached a certain extent, it could even destroy souls, which also included the souls of players. If they got hit by Schwartolds Meteor now, even if their souls didnt get erased, their souls would still enter a heavily injured state. They would most likely be prohibited from logging into Gods Domain for at least half a month if that happened. If they were still on the main continent, they wouldnt have minded losing half a months worth of progress. However, now that everyone was desperately fighting for resources in the Miniature Ancient World, losing half a months worth of progress would create an insurmountable gap between them and the experts of other Guilds. At this time, even Galaxy Past couldnt help but smile bitterly at this situation. He had originally come with the goal of spectating. He didnt think he would end up getting dragged into such a mess. This would become a huge loss for the Star Alliance. However, when everyone was quietly waiting for death to claim them, Shi Feng suddenly shouted in the team chat, saying, Guild Leader Galaxy, Ill pin down the Boss while you figure out a way to destroy those stone pillars! Pin down the Boss? Didnt you try that already? Galaxy Past couldnt help but grow confused when he saw Shi Feng suddenly charging at the Bronze Dragon once more. It was already a miracle that Shi Feng had managed to receive the Bronze Dragons normal attack without dying previously. After all, Shi Feng was only geared in starters equipment right now. There was no way Shi Feng could stand a chance against Tier 4 Dragon Magic. It should be known that the legendary individuals who had managed to clash against Dragons of the same tier had done so while being fully geared in godly equipment. Had they repeated their feats using only Secret-Silver Equipment, they wouldve died ten times out of ten. Not to mention, Shi Feng was currently one tier lower than the Tier 4 Bronze Dragon. Only death would await him if he tried to stop the Bronze Dragons Tier 4 Dragon Magic with the move he used before. The move before might not work, but I still have another move I can try, Shi Feng said in a serious tone. However, you need to move quickly. I wont be able to hold it down for very long. He still has another move? Galaxy Past was momentarily stunned. Then, just when he thought of dissuading Shi Feng, he saw Shi Feng leap into the air and stay suspended in mid-air Hes hovering?! Isnt the flight ability only available at Tier 4? Could it be a Tier 3 Skill or Spell? Everyone was once again shocked when they looked at Shi Feng hovering in the air. No, hes using his Mana Domain to fly! Moreover, Its a complete Mana Domain! Galaxy Past also felt flabbergasted by this situation. Is he really human? How can he already use a complete Mana Domain at Tier 3? An Epic Mana Body?! Does he have an Epic Mana Body?! Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but rub her eyes and wonder if she was dreaming when she saw Shi Feng flying. Unlike ordinary expert players, she knew that players would need to fulfill one condition if they wished to use a complete Mana Domain at Tier 3, and that was to have an Epic Mana Body! Something that even Tier 6 God-ranked experts dreamed of obtaining! Roar! When everyone was in shock, Schwartold let loose an angry roar, seemingly dissatisfied with Shi Feng standing at the same height as him. In the blink of an eye, the magic arrays surrounding his claw finished forming, and he promptly smashed his claw down at Shi Feng. Come! Seeing the descending claw, Shi Feng raised the Winter of Eternal Night once more. This time, though, he got into a stance for a horizontal slash instead of a vertical slash. Immediately afterward, both the Mana in the courtyard and the Mana in the void started gathering around the Winter of Eternal Night, the speed at which Mana gathered dozens of times faster than that of Schwartolds Meteor. The Mana vortex that formed had even taken on physical properties already. Second Sword, Holy Devour! Shi Feng swung his sword, summoning a torrent of blinding flames that brightly illuminated the entire courtyard, the flames devouring even space itself as they made their way toward the oncoming dragon claw. Boom! Boom! Boom! The collision between the torrent of flames and the dragon claw was akin to a collision between two meteors. Flames instantly flooded the entire courtyard, and the entire sky had transformed into an empty void! Meanwhile, after the flames in the void vanished, the Bronze Dragon in mid-air could be seen pushed back by half a step from its original position. Several scales had also fallen off its claw, and dark golden blood could be seen flowing from its wounds Chapter 2970 - Chapter 44 Chapter 44 C The Fifth Person? The Dragons injured! He managed to injure a Tier 4 Dragon? Is he even human? Everyone gasped when they saw the dark golden blood flowing down from Schwartolds claw, their minds having a hard time believing this situation. Looking at Shi Feng suspended in mid-air, Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but ask Galaxy Past, If Black Flame can injure a Tier 4 Dragon at Tier 3, he should be on par with those legendary individuals. Right, Guild Leader Galaxy? No, Im afraid that even those legendary individuals are incapable of accomplishing such a feat, Galaxy Past said, shaking his head after snapping out of his daze. I think only those four are capable of doing something like this. Those regarded as legends in Gods Domain were God-ranked experts who had accomplished many miraculous feats and possessed astonishing battle records. However, Galaxy Past had never heard of anyone ever managing to injure a Tier 4 Dragon while they were only at Tier 3. Those four? When Lin Yaoyue heard Galaxy Pasts analysis, a deep sense of awe and yearning also appeared in her eyes. If one were to try and decide who was the strongest among the many God-ranked experts in Gods Domain, it would only lead to an endless and inconclusive argument. However, if one were to point out which God-ranked experts shouldnt be provoked at any costs, it would have to be those four God-ranked experts. Unlike other God-ranked experts, those four were the real deal. They were existences capable of holding their ground against Tier 6 Gods all by themselves. The strength of Tier 6 Gods was undisputed in Gods Domain. Even creatures as strong as Dragons had no choice but to submit in front of Gods. This was because any random God possessed the strength to transcend tiers. They were not existences that ordinary Dragons could hope to match. Meanwhile, it was also because of the existence of these four God-ranked experts that the Five Great Super Guilds wouldnt dare to call themselves the strongest even if all five of them banded together. Only, this was a secret only known to a small number of people. Typically, only the executives of first-rate powers and superpowers would know about this secret. As for everyone else, they recognized the Five Great Super Guilds as the strongest powers in Gods Domain. Now that Shi Feng had displayed strength on par with those four, Lin Yaoyue had no choice but to start reconsidering Shi Fengs previous offer. At this moment, though, Shi Feng wasnt faring as well as everyone thought as he faced the Bronze Dragon before him. Sure enough, Holy Devour isnt something that can be used at Tier 3. Ill be drained of Concentration and Stamina if I use it a few more times, Shi Feng thought, a bitter smile appearing on his face as he looked at his trembling arm. Originally, Shi Feng had only planned to display Lightshadows effects to let Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue become aware of the existence of such a special Mana usage method. After all, there was a significant difference even among Mana Techniques. In the case of the average Mana Technique, it could only increase a players combat power to a certain extent and help players familiarize themselves with the basic principles of Mana. However, in the case of powerful Mana Techniques, not only could they allow players to transcend tiers, but they could also improve players control over Mana drastically. Meanwhile, even stronger Mana Techniques would be the ones created by Saints. Not only could these Mana Techniques allow players to thoroughly grasp the basic operating principles of Mana, but they could also grant players the opportunity to master a Law. The Holy Annihilation Mana Technique was something the Heavenly Blue Saint had created. Mana Techniques of such caliber were extraordinarily rare even among the many worlds of Gods Domain Shi Feng had visited during his previous life. Meanwhile, so long as players perfectly mastered a Mana Technique, they could create countless copies of the techniques manual and share it with others, just like combat techniques. Only, achieving perfect mastery over a Mana Technique was very challenging. Even among Tier 6 God-ranked experts, few could achieve such a feat. However, as luck would have it, Shi Feng had perfectly mastered the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. So, he could make as many copies of Holy Annihilations manual as he wanted. This was also why he was confident in negotiating with the Star Alliance and Mysterious Moon. However, Shi Feng felt that he had just incurred a huge loss. Not only did he fail to let Lightshadows effects shine, but he had even used Holy Devour, something that he shouldnt be using at Tier 3. To make matters worse, even after using Holy Devour, he had only managed to push back the Bronze Dragon and nothing more. There isnt much time left. It seems I have no choice but to go for broke. After taking a look at Radiant Nights remaining duration, Shi Feng shouted in the team chat, Guild Leader Galaxy! Ten seconds! I can only hold the Boss for ten seconds! Only ten? Galaxy Past was surprised when he heard Shi Fengs words. He didnt think that Shi Feng could only pin down the Bronze Dragon for such a short time. However, after thinking it over, he felt this was a reasonable outcome. After all, it was already unbelievable that Shi Feng could hold off a Tier 4 Dragon for ten seconds using only starters equipment. Immediately, Galaxy Past responded, Okay! Since thats the case, well go all out as well! Destroying all pillars in ten seconds?! How is that even possible?! When Lin Yaoyue looked at the stone pillars located around the courtyard, she couldnt help but feel that the time Shi Feng had given them was too short. There were three stone pillars in the courtyard, and every one of them had a magic barrier protecting them. Moreover, based on the structure of the barriers, she could tell that these barriers were created by Tier 4 defensive magic arrays. Attacks under Tier 4 would do little to no effect against them. Moreover, even if their team could launch attacks at the Tier 4 standard, they still needed to deplete the Mana reserves of these barriers. In other words, they needed to overcome three Tier 4 defensive magic arrays in the short time of ten seconds. It should be known that even the weakest Tier 4 defensive magic array would need over a hundred Tier 4 attacks to deplete. Currently, Galaxy Past was the only person on the team capable of launching Tier 4 attacks. No matter how Lin Yaoyue looked at it, there was no way Galaxy Past could destroy three Tier 4 defensive magic arrays in ten seconds. Just leave it to us, little girl. Once we start charging for the pillars, all you need to do is dump as many AOE Spells on the pillars as you can, Galaxy Past said with a confident smile. Lin Yaoyue grew even more confused after hearing Galaxy Pasts words. She couldnt understand what the other party planned to do. However, she still nodded and said, That wont be a problem. However, AOE Spells dont differentiate between friend and foe. Dont blame me if you get hurt. Dont worry. Weve long since gotten used to such matters, Galaxy Past said nonchalantly. Then, he looked at the eight Refinement Realm experts behind him and said, Alright, lets begin! Hearing Galaxy Pasts words, the eight Refinement Realm experts from the Star Alliance smiled bitterly. Then, they each took out a blood-red crystal from their bags and started chanting an incantation. As soon as the eight Refinement Realm experts were done chanting, blood-red magic arrays started appearing around Galaxy Past. Then, a massive amount of Mana flooded Galaxy Pasts body, causing his aura to increase in intensity rapidly. A battle array! Lin Yaoyue was dumbfounded when she saw this scene. Battle arrays were incredibly rare in Gods Domain as they allowed a group of players to share their Mana and increase their combat power significantly. However, the various large Guilds treated battle arrays as their trump cards. No Guild would take out their battle array for use without an important reason. Even though she was a reserve executive of Mysterious Moon, she had never gotten the opportunity to personally see a battle array in action. After all, battle arrays were Consumables that would disappear after use. There was no way Guilds would use such precious items to raid a Dungeon. Before Lin Yaoyue could recover her senses, Galaxy Past had already transformed into an afterimage as he dashed straight for the nearest stone pillar. His speed was so fast that even Tier 3 experts had a hard time catching him with their eyes. Roar! Meanwhile, the instant Galaxy Past started charging for one of the pillars, the Bronze Dragon in the air also let loose an angry roar. Evidently, Schwartold had realized Galaxy Pasts intentions. Dont even think of getting away from me! However, Shi Feng naturally wouldnt allow Schwartold to interrupt Galaxy Past. Immediately, he sent another Holy Devour smashing into the Bronze Dragon. Meanwhile, seeing the dazzling torrent of flames appearing once more, Schwartold hurriedly dismissed his thoughts of stopping Galaxy Past and swiped its tail at the flames. It dared not receive the full brunt of Shi Fengs attack with its body at all. Boom! Boom! Boom! Subsequently, intense shockwaves shook the entire castle, and the space above the courtyard transformed into a dark void. Good! I nearly thought I was a goner! Galaxy Past breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw Shi Feng successfully stopping the Bronze Dragon. Then, he promptly started brandishing his saber against the magic barrier in front of him. One slash! Two slashes! Three slashes! Four slashes! Advanced Combat Technique, Sky Breaker! Four energy blades converged into one before smashing into the magic barrier, the powerful attack instantly reducing the barriers defensive properties by a large margin. Attack it quickly! Galaxy Past hurriedly shouted upon seeing the magic barrier weakening. Heeding Galaxy Pasts command, Lin Yaoyue and the other magical class players, who had already finished chanting the incantation for a large-scale Combination Spell, promptly released their Spell at the weakened magic barrier. Boom! After just one hit, the weakened magic barrier started cracking slowly. Then, after this phenomenon continued for two seconds, the magic barrier disappeared, and the stone pillar it protected transformed into dust. In the meantime, Galaxy Past had already arrived in front of the second stone pillar and executed another Sky Breaker against the magic barrier before him. Seeing this, Lin Yaoyue started double-casting without hesitation and bombarded the weakened magic barrier with a series of Spells. Five seconds later, the second stone pillar also turned to dust. Despicable intruders! You have angered me! Along with the second pillars destruction, Schwartolds anger also reached its peak. Immediately, he flapped his wings and soared higher into the sky, having no intention of getting entangled with Shi Feng any longer. Then, after putting a hundred yards between himself and Shi Feng, he opened his mouth. As soon as the Bronze Dragon opened his mouth, time in the surrounding area had seemingly stopped for a moment. Then, all Mana within the area disappeared into the Bronze Dragons mouth, the absence of Mana causing everyone to feel uncomfortable and suffocated. Die! The Bronze Dragon let loose an angry roar. Then, a destructive beam of light that was as bright as the sun shot out of the Bronze Dragons mouth. Not good! Its a Dragon Breath! Thats cheating! Why is his Dragon Breaths preparation time so short?! Everyone fell into despair when they saw the descending beam of light. Dragon Breath was the strongest attack a Dragon was capable of using. It was stronger than even Dragon Magic. Meanwhile, the Dragon Breath used by a Tier 4 Dragon could instantly destroy an entire city. It simply wasnt something that a bunch of Tier 3 players could stop. At this time, Shi Feng also wore a grave expression on his face. Immediately, he swung the Winter of Eternal Night horizontally and activated World of Frost. Afterward, with Shi Feng as the center, the temperature within a 500-yard radius instantly plummeted. Then, nine massive frost swords appeared out of thin air, the presence of these swords causing the surrounding space to tremble. Go! With a pale complexion, Shi Feng manipulated the nine frost swords and executed Lightshadow with all nine of them. He fused a Mana Technique with a Skill?! How is this possible?! When Lin Yaoyue and the others saw Shi Feng using Lightshadow with all nine frost swords, they were so shocked that they had even forgotten about their fear of the oncoming Dragon Breath. It was common knowledge that Mana Techniques were special means of manipulating Mana. In essence, Mana Techniques were the same as Skills and Spells. The only difference was that Mana Techniques did not rely on magic arrays to take form. Hence, it should be impossible to use Mana Techniques in conjunction with Skills and Spells. At most, players could Mana Techniques with Support Skills and Spells that buffed their combat performance indirectly. Yet, now, Shi Feng was using Mana to manipulate Mana, achieving a true fusion between Mana Technique and Skill. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out in the sky as the frost swords clashed with the Dragon Breath one after another. Meanwhile, along with the destruction of each frost sword, the power of Schwartolds Dragon Breath also grew weaker and weaker. By the time the seventh frost sword had disappeared, Schwartolds Dragon Breath had also faded out of existence. At the same time as Shi Feng successfully stopped the Dragon Breath, Galaxy Past and the others had also destroyed the last stone pillar, which, in turn, caused the Bronze Dragon in the sky to transform into dust with a reluctant expression Chapter 2971 - Chapter 45 Chapter 45 C Dragons Loot We did it! We won! Everyone cheered out loud when they saw the Bronze Dragon disappearing. Although everyone present had raided many Hell Mode Team Dungeons in the past, this was undoubtedly the first time they raided one with a Tier 4 Dragon guarding it. Moreover, they had done so while still being at Tier 3 only. This was a feat that could go down in the annals of Gods Domain. While everyone was celebrating in joy and excitement, the sound of a system notification entered their ears. System: Congratulations! You are the first team to have raided the Hell Mode Team Dungeon Sleeping Dragons Castle. Hundred Flow City Reputation +100, Level +1, Legacy Skill Point +5. What abundant rewards! As expected of the Miniature Ancient World! I cant believe it gave us a whole level. It would be great if we can get a few more of these rewards. One hundred City Reputation Points. With this many points, we can already start accepting City Quests from the Adventurers Association. Everyone was flabbergasted by the abundant First Clear reward. It was especially true for the Star Alliances members. This was a pleasant surprise to all of them. Setting aside the EXP they gained, just the five Legacy Skill Points reward was already more than enough to make the time they spent here worthwhile. In Gods Domain, players could only learn their respective classes Legacy Skills through spending Legacy Skill Points. However, obtaining Legacy Skill Points outside of the leveling up was incredibly difficult. Typically, only Epic Quests would award Legacy Skill Points. Even then, players could only get three to five points per quest. For experts of their caliber, the value of Legacy Skill Points far surpassed that of top-tier weapons and equipment. Now that everyone on the team had received five Legacy Skill Points, it was as if everyone had just completed an Epic Quest. The First Clear reward was truly generous. However, after a moment of excitement, everyone quickly had their attention drawn toward the rain of light that had appeared after the Bronze Dragons death. When the bundles of light landed on the ground one after another, they transformed into glittering items and quickly formed a small mountain. Eventually, when the rain of light ended and two stone tablets radiating a dark-purple glow appeared, both the Star Alliances and Mysterious Moons members couldnt help but gulp. Crap! Are you kidding me?! This is insane! Two Ancient Legacies! Moreover, both are Peak Legacies! Mysterious Moon really lucked out this time! They might even get two apex combatants thanks to these Legacies! At this moment, even Galaxy Past, who was originally behaving indifferently toward the Bronze Dragons loot, couldnt help but grow envious when he saw the two Peak Legacies hovering in the air. If players wished to have a better future in Gods Domain, they would have to climb to higher tiers. Meanwhile, the best way to improve ones tier was to obtain a hidden class. While it was true that hidden classes tended to increase the difficulty of leveling up and getting promoted to higher tiers, the difficulty increase was negligible compared to the boost in combat power and knowledge players could obtain. Players would still have a net positive gain after obtaining a hidden class. According to the statistics players in Gods Domain had made throughout the years, even a Basic Class Legacy could increase an expert players chances of reaching Tier 4 by 10%, while an Advanced Legacy provided a 30% increase, and a Peak Legacy provided a 50% increase. In the case of Peak Legacies, they could even increase players chances of reaching Tier 5 by roughly 10%. While 10% might not seem like much, it should be known that Tier 4 experts would have to go to hell and back to even increase their chances of reaching Tier 5 by 1%. An increase of 10% would require a Tier 4 player to experience numerous fortuitous opportunities to obtain. We hit the jackpot! Two Peak Legacies! With this, Vice Commander Sky and Vice Commander Nightingale will have a chance at reaching Tier 5! What do you mean they have a chance? The two vice commanders already had a huge chance at reaching Tier 5 originally. If they receive a Peak Legacy on top of that, its almost guaranteed that theyll reach Tier 5! If we gain two more Tier 5 experts, our Guild will instantly enter the ranks of top-tier first-rate Guilds! Mysterious Moons members grew ecstatic as they looked at the two stone tablets floating in the air. The strength of a Guild depended on the number of experts it possessed. In the case of first-rate Guilds, their strength was determined based on the number of Tier 5 experts they possessed. Meanwhile, if a first-rate Guild possessed ten Tier 5 experts, it would be categorized as a top-tier first-rate Guild. Of course, if a first-rate Guild had one Tier 6 God-ranked expert, it could similarly be categorized as such. Previously, Mysterious Moon had always been stuck at just nine Tier 5 experts. Hence, it could never enter the ranks of top-tier first-rate Guilds. Now that Mysterious Moon had acquired two Peak Legacies, it was almost certain that Mysterious Moon would become a top-tier first-rate Guild in the future. However, during the time Mysterious Moons members were celebrating joyfully, Lin Yaoyue suddenly approached Shi Feng and took a deep breath, saying, Mr. Black Flame, although you have previously told Nightingale that you dont need any Legacies, a Peak Legacy is far more valuable than the average Legacy. I believe you will need it as well. However, may I ask if you can let Mysterious Moon have both of them? Mysterious Moon is willing to pay you the appropriate price. Upon hearing Lin Yaoyues words, Mysterious Moons members instantly fell silent. Then, they turned to look at Shi Feng, their hearts palpitating anxiously. Peak Class Legacies possessed extraordinary value in Gods Domain. When confronted with two Peak Legacies, even Super Guilds would break their promises without hesitation, let alone an Outerworld player power. If the person they were dealing with was an ordinary expert, they wouldnt have bothered negotiating at all. They wouldve simply gone along with their previous agreement and taken the two Peak Legacies for themselves. However, the person they currently faced was Shi Feng, an existence capable of contending against a Tier 4 Bronze Dragon at Tier 3. Shi Feng could decide their life and death with nothing more than a thought. Not to mention, the Star Alliance was also present. So long as Shi Feng gave the word, the Star Alliance would probably be willing to work for him and split the loot with him so long as he gave the word. What a smart little girl. No wonder Ol Confused Heart has so many praises for her and the other girl. Galaxy Smile secretly revealed a bitter smile as he watched Lin Yaoyue calmly negotiating with Shi Feng. If it werent for Shi Fengs presence, Galaxy Past wouldnt be polite with Mysterious Moon at all. As for their previous agreement, that was nothing but a joke! In Gods Domain, strength was everything! Even Super Guilds would be tempted by the prospect of gaining two Tier 5 players, let alone first-rate Guilds like the Star Alliance. However, unbeknownst to Galaxy Past, Lin Yaoyue wasnt as calm as she showed herself to be. On the contrary, her heart started beating rapidly in fear as soon as she finished speaking. She was very much afraid that Shi Feng would refuse her offer. You dont have to test me, Miss Clear Sky, Shi Feng said as he looked at Lin Yaoyue. Then, in a contemptuous tone, he continued, A promise is a promise. It is just two Peak Legacies. Zero Wing isnt so desperate to renege on a promise for this bit of resources. This bit of resources? Lin Yaoyue was rendered speechless when she heard Shi Fengs contemptuous words. Even if Shi Feng was a legendary expert, she still felt that Shi Feng was being too boastful in his words. At this time, even Galaxy Past, who was watching from nearby, was at a loss for words. A Peak Legacy was essentially a shortcut to reaching Tier 5. Even if Zero Wing was as powerful as Shi Feng said it was, there was no way it could ignore two Peak Legacies. After all, reaching Tier 6 was incredibly challenging in Gods Domain. Luck and strength were both needed in abundance, and it was no longer a goal that could be reached simply by dumping a ton of resources. Hence, Tier 5 players were considered the main fighting force of the various superpowers. Dont believe me? After taking a look at Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past, Shi Feng took out several Memory Crystals that could be bought from any NPC grocery store and said, I believe you mustve seen the Mana Technique I used before, right? Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past silently nodded in agreement. The sight of a Tier 3 player repulsing a Tier 4 Dragon without relying on external strength was something they could never forget even if they wanted to. Shi Fengs usage of Mana was simply brilliant. Seeing the look of fascination on Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Pasts faces, Shi Feng fiddled with the Memory Crystals in his right hand and said slowly, The complete guide to the Mana Technique you just saw is recorded inside these Memory Crystals. Chapter 2972 - Chapter 46 Chapter 46 C Zero Wings Initial Establishment The Mana Technique just now is recorded inside this Memory Crystal? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past promptly turned their gazes toward the five Memory Crystals in Shi Fengs hand, their eyes filled with shock and burning desire. The tier progression in Gods Domain was brutal. The higher one reached, the more difficult it would be to make further progress. It was especially true for players seeking to reach Tier 5 and beyond. They would have to develop their physique and control over Mana to an extremely high standard. Meanwhile, between Peak Legacies and Mana Techniques, Peak Legacies served mainly to improve a players physique, whereas Mana Techniques served to improve a players control over Mana. Both were essential for players seeking to ascend to higher tiers. However, the Mana Technique Shi Feng had previously displayed was unprecedented. It wouldnt even be an overstatement to say that the Mana control he exhibited was at a divine level. If they could master such a Mana Technique, let alone reaching Tier 5, even reaching Tier 6 might not be a problem. In comparison, a Peak Legacys value paled significantly. After all, a Peak Legacy provided almost no help to players in getting promoted to Tier 6. These things should be enough to prove my point, right? Shi Feng said, a faint smile appearing on his face as he looked at Lin Yaoyues and Galaxy Pasts expressions. Just one copy of this Mana Technique should be worth four or five Peak Legacies, right? Indeed, Galaxy Past said, nodding as he walked closer to Shi Feng and Lin Yaoyue. Then, with overflowing desire in his eyes, he continued, It is just as you say, Mr. Black Flame. Let alone four or five Peak Legacies, the various superpowers will probably be willing to trade ten Peak Legacies for just one copy of this Mana Technique. At the end of the day, a Peak Legacy could only be used to produce a Tier 5 expert. However, the Mana Technique in Shi Fengs possession could increase a players chances of reaching Tier 6 significantly. Just this point alone was more than enough to cause all superpowers in Gods Domain to go crazy for it. After all, the value of a Tier 6 God-ranked expert easily exceeded the total value of ten Tier 5 experts. Although powers with only one Tier 6 God-ranked expert could only be considered a top-tier first-rate power, it would become a first-rate power that no superpower would dare to provoke. Meanwhile, if a power had two Tier 6 God-ranked experts, it would be considered a superpower regardless of the standard of its other members. This showed just how powerful Tier 6 God-ranked experts were. It seems I have indeed been ignorant, Mr. Black Flame, Lin Yaoyue said as she retracted her gaze from the Memory Crystals. Then, she looked at Shi Feng and tentatively asked, May I know if you are willing to sell this Mana Technique, Mr. Black Flame? Compared to a Peak Legacy, Shi Fengs Mana Technique would be of much greater help to a magical class player like herself. If she could get her hands on one of those Memory Crystals, she would have a much easier time progressing on the path of becoming a Mage God. If you are willing to sell it, the Star Alliance will pay double of whatever Mysterious Moon offers, Mr. Black Flame! Galaxy Past said without hesitation. He did not hide his desire for the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique at all. Guild Leader Galaxy, you Lin Yaoyue grew anxious when she heard Galaxy Pasts offer. Unlike Galaxy Past, the Star Alliances former Guild Leader, she was only a reserve executive of Mysterious Moon. Meanwhile, her desire to obtain the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique was for her personal benefit. Mysterious Moon definitely wouldnt be willing to pay too high a price for her. Seeing that the two people before him were about to break into an argument, Shi Feng promptly stored the Memory Crystals away and said, You two dont need to argue over it. There is no way I can sell this thing. Its not for sale? Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue were visibly disappointed when they heard Shi Fengs words. However, they felt that it made sense after giving it some thought. Such a precious Mana Technique could be used as a Guilds foundation. How could Shi Feng possibly sell them? It was true that Mana Techniques were similar to combat techniques in that they could be duplicated infinitely once a player had achieved perfect mastery over them. It was also true that players could benefit massively by selling these duplicates. However, by doing so, players would also be strengthening potential rivals and enemies. They would essentially be putting the cart before the horse. Although I wont be selling this Holy Annihilation Mana Technique, that doesnt mean you dont have a chance at obtaining it, Shi Feng said when he saw the crestfallen looks of Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past. It simply depends on whether you are interested in my offer. Hearing this, Galaxy Past hurriedly nodded and said, Of course I am interested. May I know what your offer is, Mr. Black Flame? Before entering the Miniature Ancient World, Galaxy Past had been stuck at Tier 5 for many years. Now that there was a chance for him to reach Tier 6, he would be lying if he said he wasnt interested. Meanwhile, Lin Yaoyue also silently nodded in response to Shi Fengs words. Although her circumstances differed from Galaxy Past, she was well aware of her limits. With her current talent, itd be challenging for her to even reach Tier 5, let alone Tier 6. However, if she had the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique, she was certain she could reach Tier 5 at the very least. Become an outer member of Zero Wing, and youll have the opportunity to learn the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Looking at the two people before him, Shi Feng proudly said, Normally, you two wouldnt have any chances at joining Zero Wing. However, Zero Wing is looking to develop in this world, so it is indeed of talents and resources. While you two arent particularly skilled, you still barely qualify. After thinking about it, Galaxy Past asked, Do you mean for us to abandon our current Guilds and join Zero Wing, Mr. Black Flame? Hearing this, Lin Yaoyue also grew a little hesitant. After all, abandoning Mysterious Moon to join an unknown Outerworld Power was simply too big of a risk. No. Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, I previously mentioned that Zero Wing is a rather idle power. It is especially true for outer members. There arent many restrictions in place for outer members. Becoming an outer member is more like joining an adventurer alliance than joining a Guild. Once you two join, you can do whatever you want so long as you dont make an enemy out of Zero Wing. You can also complete orders or tasks issued by Zero Wing to earn points and exchange them for Zero Wings resources. In the past, after the sub-world he operated in gained access to the many worlds of Gods Domain, the bigshots of the various sub-worlds had used a similar method to form alliances with his sub-worlds various powers. Compared to taking over other sub-worlds, this was a much more feasible method for a power to gain access to the resources of other sub-worlds. Now that the sub-world he resided in had yet to gain full access to the many sub-worlds, he could use this chance to lay a foundation for himself in advance. If thats the case, I am willing to join, Lin Yaoyue said without hesitation. I dont have a problem with it, either, Galaxy Past said, nodding. The two of them definitely couldnt give up their existing Guilds to join Zero Wing. However, it was a different story if Shi Feng was only having them join a casual organization as individuals. Such an arrangement was no different than players joining the Adventurers Association. Both sides would only take what they needed from each other. It wouldnt affect their positions in their current Guilds. Good! Shi Feng nodded slightly. Then, he took out two Magic Contracts he had prepared beforehand and handed them to Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past, saying, Sign it if you two dont have any problems with the contract. Magic Contracts were the highest degree of protection in Gods Domain. It was also the main means the sub-world alliances used to bind their members. Once players signed a Magic Contract, it didnt matter which sub-world they were in. So long as they went against the contracts terms, the penalty stated on the contract would take effect immediately. Even Tier 6 God-ranked experts couldnt escape the contracts effects. After receiving the Magic Contract, Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue gave the stated terms a read. The contract was relatively simple. It prohibited them from becoming enemies with Zero Wing and leaking its secrets to players outside the Guild. Of the two clauses, the second one would remain in effect even after they left or got dismissed from Zero Wing. Meanwhile, they would be prohibited from logging into Gods Domain forever if they break any of these conditions! After reading the contracts content, Lin Yaoyue looked at Shi Feng and asked, Mr. Black Flame, am I allowed to invite others to join after entering Zero Wing? Chapter 2973 - Chapter 47 Chapter 47 C Zero Wings Membership Slots Upon hearing Lin Yaoyues question, Galaxy Past couldnt help but turn his gaze to Shi Feng. He, too, was concerned about this issue. While Galaxy Past might not know how strong Zero Wing was exactly, he had seen Shi Fengs prowess with his own two eyes. One sword to shake a Dragon! This was a frightening battle record that only four other people could accomplish in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, every one of these four people was an existence the various Super Guilds feared. Just this point alone was more than enough reason for him to join Zero Wings alliance. Not to mention, there was even the benefit of being able to exchange for the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. If he could get a bunch of his companions to join Zero Wing, it would become a lot easier to accumulate contributions in Zero Wing. One! Seeing the expectant gazes the two people were giving him, Shi Feng slowly said, Each of you will have only one invitation slot. Moreover, the people you invite must be at the Refinement Realm at the very least. If the invited player wishes to have an invitation slot, they need to reach the Flowing Water Realm first. Depending on the combat standards of the invited players, you will also receive a corresponding amount of points. Zero Wings points will follow the value of Gods Domains Coins, with one point equalling one Gold Coin. You will receive 1,000 points for Refinement Realm experts, 3,000 points for Flowing Water Realm experts, and 10,000 points for Void Realm experts. If you manage to invite a Domain Realm expert, not only will you receive 50,000 points, but you will also receive an additional invitation slot. If you yourself reach the Domain Realm, you will also receive an additional invitation slot. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to have Lin Yaoyue and Galaxy Past invite as many people as possible so that Zero Wing could grow strong quickly. However, rapid development would only lead to Zero Wings early destruction with his current strength and resources. Moreover, after experiencing the world after the many sub-worlds of Gods Domain gained free access to each other, he knew that numbers would only be important during the early phase. Later down the line, it was quality that mattered. Hence, Shi Feng planned to raise his requirements this time and develop Zero Wing into a true alliance of experts. He would develop Zero Wing into an organization similar to Demons Gate, an assassin organization feared by even the bigshots of the various sub-worlds. Part of the reason why Demons Gate was feared was because it had nine experts with the strength to solo kill Tier 6 Gods. However, what made the various bigshots truly fear Demons Gate was when the organization had destroyed an entire sub-world. Back then, news of the matter had shaken the many sub-worlds, and Demons Gates existence instantly became taboo among the many sub-worlds. Nobody dared to offend Demons Gate even at the slightest. One point equals one Gold Coin? Thats a generous invitation bonus, Galaxy Past muttered in surprise. Then, in a disappointed tone, he continued, But Id rather have a smaller reward and more invitation slots instead Lin Yaoyue also nodded slightly when she heard Galaxy Pasts mutterings. Receiving 1,000 Golds worth of Zero Wing Points just for recruiting a Refinement Realm expert was certainly a generous reward. After all, at the current market rate, 1,000 Gold was worth 100,000 Credits. That was already enough money to cover an ordinary familys living expenses for a year. Not to mention, after the Miniature Ancient World was released, the price of Coins was continuously rising. In the Miniature Ancient World, where using low-quality equipment was out of the question, players could get a relatively good Level 100 Epic Weapon with 1,000 Gold. That would increase an expert players strength significantly. However, for executives of first-rate Guilds like themselves, Zero Wings invitation slots were much more important than the invitation rewards. If there wasnt an invitation limit, they could invite many experts and companions to join them in completing Zero Wings tasks and acquiring points. They would also have an easier time communicating with their allies. After all, Zero Wings contract explicitly prohibited them from sharing Zero Wings secrets with outsiders. Now that they could only invite one player each, they would have to carefully consider whom to use their invitation slot on. By their most conservative estimates, a Mana Technique as powerful as the Holy Annihilation Technique should be worth 50 million points at the very least. After all, a Peak Legacy typically sold for 10 million Gold on the main continent, which was already enough to empty the working capital of an ordinary first-rate Guild. Meanwhile, 50 million Gold was an astronomical sum that neither the Star Alliance nor Mysterious Moon possessed The only fortunate matter was that they could exchange for the Holy Annihilation Technique as soon as they had enough Zero Wing Points. In comparison, they wouldnt be able to purchase a Peak Legacy even if they had the money to do so. If you want to acquire more invitation slots, you will have to think of ways to improve yourselves, Shi Feng said, a faint smile appearing on his face when he saw the bitter faces on Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue. Now that youve signed the contract, if you wish to acquire points, exchange for resources, or invite your companions into the Guild, you can do so at Hundred Flow Citys Candlelight Hotel. However, I advise you to consider who you use your invitation slot on since points wont be so easy to come by. With that said, I will be taking my leave now. After saying so, Shi Feng extended his arms in the direction of Schwartolds loot. Immediately afterward, three items radiating a purplish-golden hue flew into Shi Fengs hand. At a glance, anyone could tell that these three items were extraordinary. Their value was most likely second to only the Peak Legacies dropped. However, nobody present had any qualms with Shi Feng claiming these three items. On the contrary, they felt that it was only right that he did so. After all, a God-ranked experts service wasnt something one could normally buy with just three items from a Tier 4 Dragons loot. After obtaining the three items, Shi Feng took out a Return Scroll for Hundred Flow City and activated it, showing no intentions of staying for even a moment longer. He left already? Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but feel a little disappointed when she saw Shi Feng disappearing from the Dungeon. She would benefit immensely if she could receive even a little bit of guidance from a God-ranked expert. The progress she could make wouldnt be something she could achieve with just hard work alone. Do you really think God-ranked experts have a lot of time on their hands? Galaxy Past said, rolling his eyes at Lin Yaoyue. Experts of their caliber have many things they need to consider and deal with. The volume of work they have on their plates is not something we can hope to imagine. The fact that a God-ranked expert is willing to spend so much time talking to us can already be considered a rare opportunity, so stop being greedy. Right now, what you should be thinking of is who you are going to invite. Thanks to his many interactions with Purple Eye, who was now a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, Galaxy Past knew exactly how busy a Tier 6 God-ranked expert was. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that even a second of their time was incredibly precious. The reason was that players would get to touch upon some of the true secrets of Gods Domain after reaching Tier 6. Meanwhile, the things they did and the considerations they had to make were no longer restricted to only the world they lived in. Instead, their focus was on a much wider world. However, what Galaxy Past did not know was that Shi Fengs swift departure wasnt due to any of the reasons he assumed. Instead, Shi Feng had left because he had exhausted both his Stamina and Concentration after overusing Holy Devour, and he was in urgent need of rest. Meanwhile, after hearing Galaxy Pasts reminder, Lin Yaoyue quickly decided who she should invite. Obtaining Zero Wing Points, is it? I should discuss it properly with Yalin. Lin Yaoyue didnt intend on notifying the Guild regarding Zero Wings invitation this time. Instead, she planned to tell only Zhuo Yalin and have her friend join Zero Wing secretly. After all, Shi Feng had only mentioned Zero Wings matter to her and Galaxy Past. Everyone else on the team was excluded from the conversation. Meanwhile, after all was said and done, Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin were only reserve executives in Mysterious Moon. Although they would receive priority for resources in the Guild, it didnt mean they would receive the best resources available. Lin Yaoyue was certain that should she tell this matter to the Guild Leader or Elder Confused Heart, they would undoubtedly take her slot away. Once that happened, it would take ages before she could earn another slot to invite Zhuo Yalin into Zero Wing. Subsequently, after the Star Alliances and Mysterious Moons members disbanded the team and left the Dungeon, Galaxy Past chose to log out of the game immediately. This trip to the Miniature Ancient World wasnt a waste after all! If I have this Mana Technique, Im sure my strength will rise to the next level! When Galaxy Past stepped out of his virtual gaming cabin and rewatched the footage he recorded of Shi Fengs fight with the Bronze Dragon, he couldnt help but grow ecstatic. Points! I need to get more points! After rewatching Shi Fengs battle video a few times, Galaxy Past promptly called up his contact list on his quantum watch. Then, he scrolled to the very bottom of the list and clicked on the name he had rarely ever contacted. Although fear briefly appeared in his eyes when he clicked on this name, he eventually chose to call this person still. Since he could gain one additional slot by inviting a Domain Realm expert, itd be a waste to invite anyone weaker! Galaxy Past? Whats an old man like you calling me for? the lithe figure that appeared above Galaxy Pasts quantum watch said, her voice full of contempt. I dont remember us being familiar with each other. It is true that we arent familiar. However, Miss Soul, I have a proposition that you will definitely be interested in! Galaxy Past said. Even when faced with the other partys arrogance, he did not get angry in the slightest. On the contrary, he met the other partys arrogance with a smile. This was because the other party was Hidden Soul, one of the former commanders of the infamous Flower of Seven Sins! Chapter 2974 - God’s Domain’s State Of Affairs Chapter 48 C Ancient Gods Blood Hundred Flow City, Candlelight Hotel: After exiting the Teleportation Hall, Shi Feng hurriedly made his way to the hotel and slumped down to the ground with a pale complexion. Sure enough, its still too much for me to use it repeatedly. Ill probably have to refrain from combat for the next two days. Shi Feng breathed out a deep sigh when he looked at his trembling hands under his cloak. At the same time, he also felt glad as he thought, Thankfully, they didnt notice anything. Itd be a huge embarrassment, otherwise. The Holy Annihilation Mana Technique was powerful, but its flaws were also evident. It placed too huge of a burden on the users Stamina and Concentration, and it simply wasnt something players could use at Tier 3. Even using it at Tier 4 was pushing the envelope a little. Shi Feng might have behaved normally when he fought against Schwartold, even going as far as to use Holy Devour to repulse the Bronze Dragon, but that was entirely because of his Legendary Mana Body and the Winter of Eternal Nights heaven-defying Skill. Otherwise, even if he managed to use Holy Devour, he wouldnt have been able to injure the Bronze Dragon. Instead, he would get smacked to death like a fly. Moreover, the burden Holy Devour placed on his body wouldve reached unimaginable levels, and it might have even injured his mind and soul. If he hadnt achieved perfect mastery over the Holy Annihilation Technique long ago, the instant he executed his first Holy Devour, he wouldve probably lost consciousness already. Even then, the few seconds he fought with the Bronze Dragon had nearly paralyzed him. His mind had also fallen into a weakened state, and he had only been holding on thanks to his strong willpower. In the end, he even had to go through the troublesome way of picking up his loot using his Mana Domain to protect his and Zero Wings image. Although I overexerted myself this time, judging by those twos reactions, they shouldnt doubt my words for the time being. When Shi Feng recalled the longing expressions Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue wore on their faces, a hint of expectation appeared in his eyes. Next, all I need to do is have them gather those items for me. Then, Ill be able to challenge the Godslayers Legacy. So long as I acquire the Godslayers complete Legacy, Ill have enough confidence to clash against those Outerworld bigshots once we gain access to the other sub-worlds. The current sub-world he resided in was different from the sub-world he fought in during his previous life. Back then, because he had become a Tier 6 Sword God very early on, he had propelled his sub-worlds development significantly, allowing it to gain access to the greater world of Gods Domain much sooner. Meanwhile, powers from other sub-worlds had nearly taken over their entire sub-world when that happened. This was because, unlike their sub-world, the other sub-worlds had gained access to the Greater Gods Domain much sooner than they did. The amount of time these Outerworld powers had to develop themselves was over ten times more than they did. The foundation these Outerworld powers had built for themselves was far superior to the powers of their sub-world. In a sense, their sub-world was akin to a baby competing against adults. Fortunately, thanks to the suppression of the worlds power, they were able to catch a breather and gradually reclaim their lost world. Meanwhile, this process had taken three years to accomplish Although the current sub-world he resided in had already been developing for ten years, it was merely a slightly bigger baby in the eyes of the other sub-worlds. It was still nothing but easy prey. Hence, before this sub-world gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, he needed to make sufficient preparations. Otherwise, let alone returning to his peak, even reaching Tier 6 would most likely become a dream. This was because promotion to Tier 6 required a large amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Meanwhile, Seven Luminaries Crystals were a rare and precious commodity even in the Greater Gods Domain. It was also one of the main factors limiting players from reaching Tier 6. Shortly after Shi Feng entered the hotel and sat on the floor, a beautiful woman dressed in a black uniform approached him. After giving Shi Feng a curious look, the NPC receptionist Blakeana asked, You dont look so well, Owner. Should I call a Cleric here? No need. Ill be fine after a little rest, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. How many customers have visited the hotel while I was away? Now that Gods Domain had been developing for ten years, the intelligence of NPCs was no different than that of players. The only thing that separated NPCs from players was their need to follow certain protocols. Because of the intelligence of NPCs, many players would even make friends with NPCs in Gods Domain. Players were now treating Gods Domain as a real world. A total of two people visited. They are currently staying in the basic guest rooms, Blakeana said as she handed Shi Feng a detailed list. Shi Feng couldnt help but smile bitterly when he saw the list. Originally, he thought that many players would come to rest here since the hotel was located near the Teleportation Hall. After all, not only could players get rid of the foreign energy in their bodies much more quickly by resting in a hotel, but they could also accumulate the Double EXP buff. Yet, even after such a long time had passed, not one player had visited the hotel. The two customers the hotel welcomed were both NPCs Should I get you a cup of water, Owner? Blakeana asked with concern when she saw Shi Fengs complexion becoming paler. No, Im fine. Shi Feng shook his head. It seems I wont be able to attract people here unless I make some sacrifices. According to his initial estimates, now that the Miniature Ancient World had only opened recently, players were unlikely to skimp on hotel fees to facilitate their grinding process. Hence, the hotel business should be booming around this time. It should be especially so for a hotel close to the Teleportation Hall. However, the Miniature Ancient Worlds players were much looser with their money than expected. Rather than staying at a 1-star Hotel, players had chosen to rest in higher ranking Hotels instead The 30,000 Gold required to upgrade the Candlelight Hotel to 2-star status wasnt a problem for Shi Feng right now. He could instantly acquire it so long as he issued a few tasks to Galaxy Past and Lin Yaoyue. Although doing so would slightly affect Zero Wings image, it was a necessary sacrifice. However, while money might not be a problem, the 10,000 Popularity Points needed to reach 2-star status was a problem. If a hotel wanted to grow its popularity, players and NPCs would need to stay in it. Afterward, Shi Feng had Blakeana help him to the hotels core control room. Then, he had the receptionist help him buy 3,000 Magic Crystals and various magic materials from player merchants using his remaining Gold Coins, essentially bankrupting himself. Shi Feng wasnt just a Tier 6 Sword God during his previous life. He was also a Grandmaster Magician. Although he didnt have any magic array designs and couldnt construct complicated Grandmaster Magic Arrays by memory alone, so long as he had enough materials, constructing a Master Mana Gathering Magic Array still wasnt a problem for him. After working continuously for three hours, Shi Feng looked at the magic array he drew in satisfaction. With this magic array, luring players and NPCs shouldnt be a problem anymore. The Ancient Magic Array Seven-star Magic World was one of the mainstream Master-ranked Mana Gathering Magic Arrays in the Greater Gods Domain. Although it cost a hefty 600 Magic Crystals daily to maintain, it could increase the Mana density of the affected area by 50% and speed up the removal of foreign energy by 50%. In the Greater Gods Domain, the Seven-star Magic World was one of the must-have magic arrays for housing. After solving the hotels customer problem, Shi Feng returned to his advanced guest room and activated its defensive magic array. Then, he carefully took out the three items he looted from the Bronze Dragon. I didnt think I would see these things here. This Miniature Ancient World really is extraordinary. Shi Feng couldnt help but sigh ruefully as he looked at the three items before him. Shi Feng had already seen through the identity of these three items when he picked them up with his Mana Domain. He was also incredibly familiar with these three items. They were a rare and highly demanded resource among the Outerworld powers. Mana Protection Crystal! The Mana Protection Crystal was one of the main reasons why Outerworld experts were as powerful as they were. This was because the Mana Protection Crystals main purpose was to improve a players Mana Body! Indeed! It could improve a players most fundamental Mana Body! So long as these Mana Protection Crystals were refined using a magic array, it was possible to extract a few strands of an Ancient Gods Blood from it. Meanwhile, these few strands of blood could be used to strengthen a players Mana Body. Of course, each player could only use one strand of Ancient Gods Blood in their lifetime. Moreover, the blood could only strengthen a Mana Body up to the Basic Epic rank. Although the effects were significantly weaker than the Miniature Ancient Worlds Demon Gods Blood, the Ancient Gods Blood was still amazing nonetheless. After all, once players constructed their Mana Body at Tier 3, they couldnt replace it or reconstruct it. Even players who managed to reach Tier 6 were no exception. These crystals are quite large. I wonder how many strands of blood I can extract? Afterward, Shi Feng started carving a magic array while observing the three Mana Protection Crystals hovering in mid-air, his eyes full of expectations. Hundred Flow City, Teleportation Hall: The main street outside the Teleportation Hall was crowded with players. After a day of grinding, many players had returned to the city, and all of them were discussing their harvests with great enthusiasm. However, amidst the lively crowd, two cloaked players silently approached the Candlelight Hotel. Of these two cloaked players, one was a man, and the other was a woman. Although the woman had concealed her appearance with her cloak, the cloak couldnt hide her stunning body. At a glance, one could tell that this woman was a breathtaking beauty, and many young men walking nearby couldnt help but turn to look at her. Is this the place you talked about? the cloaked woman asked the middle-aged man beside her after taking a look at the Candlelight Hotel. It should be, the middle-aged man said, nodding. I hope youre not lying to me! Otherwise, be prepared for the consequences! the woman gave the middle-aged man a long look before pushing open the hotels doors and walking into the establishment. TL Notes: Greater Gods Domain is a term the author introduces in Chapter 71, but I am introducing it in advance as a replacement for many/various worlds of Gods Domain. From my understanding of the term, Greater Gods Domain refers to the network of sub-worlds, not the main world of Gods Domain. Im not sure if the main world is included in this network, though. Chapter 2975 - Chapter 49 – Sin Of Pride Chapter 49 C Sin of Pride After seeing the cloaked woman enter the Candlelight Hotel, the middle-aged man couldnt help but grow worried as he looked at the ordinary-looking hotel before him. Lets hope Mr. Black Flame didnt lie to me. Otherwise, this fierce woman will definitely turn the entire Star Alliance upside down the middle-aged man prayed before following the cloaked woman into the hotel. If Lin Yaoyue was present right now, she would definitely be greatly surprised. This was because the middle-aged man was none other than Galaxy Past, the Star Alliances former Guild Leader and a Tier 5 apex expert during his peak. Yet, as strong as he was, Galaxy Past was actually behaving timidly around a woman. It was simply unbelievable. However, only Galaxy Past knew just how frightening the woman he brought was. She was someone even the various superpowers feared. Hidden Soul! Hidden Soul was a legendary Assassin in Gods Domain. At the same time, she was also one of the former commanders of the Flower of Seven Sins, Gods Domains strongest assassination organization. A few years ago, Hidden Soul had killed even the Guild Leader of a Super Guild before. Back then, her achievement had shaken the entire Gods Domain and propelled her to become a legendary individual known by all. Although Hidden Soul had never managed to reach Tier 6 all these years, she was undoubtedly one of the trickiest players to deal with under Tier 6. It was especially true when the battlefield was set in the wilderness. She would become a death god with the cover the wilderness afforded her. In the past, one Tier 6 Berserker God had even publicly expressed that Hidden Soul had nearly assassinated him out in the wild. Hence, even though Hidden Soul was only a Tier 5 player, no Tier 6 God-ranked expert dared to underestimate her. If not for the sake of obtaining Zero Wing Points and one additional invitation slot, Galaxy Past definitely wouldnt have sought the help of Hidden Soul. While Galaxy Past was inwardly praying, he suddenly noticed Hidden Soul stop moving abruptly after entering the hotel. Did something happen?! Galaxy Pasts heart thumped as he hurriedly stepped forward. The instant Galaxy Past entered the Candlelight Hotel, he immediately felt his body brimming with energy and his mind becoming refreshed. At this moment, he even had the illusion that he had just woken up from a dream. How can the Mana here be so dense?! Galaxy Past was filled with disbelief when he sensed the near-misty state of the Mana in the air. Mana was the foundation of everything in Gods Domain. It was true that the Miniature Ancient Worlds environment rivaled that of ancient times, and the density of the ambient Mana here far surpassed that of the main continent. Meanwhile, this Mana density would be further amplified under the magic arrays of hotels. However, compared to the environment found in other hotels, the environment in the Candlelight Hotel was on a whole other level. Specifically, there was a qualitative difference between the Mana in the Candlelight Hotel and the Mana in other hotels. If players trained in such a Mana-rich environment, it would help significantly in improving their control over Mana. Not only is the Mana here dense, but it is also very stable. I can sense the operation of the magical elements much more clearly here, Hidden Soul commented, opening her eyes after carefully analyzing the Mana around her. Even those Super Guilds will have a hard time letting an ordinary hotel gain such a Mana-rich environment. It seems you didnt lie to me. Of course. Youve seen that battle video for yourself. You should know as well as I do that such an expert has never been seen in our Gods Domain, Galaxy Past said with a hint of pride. Indeed. Out of the experts I know, none of them resemble him. The attack he used to injure the Bronze Dragon is especially something. Out of everyone in Gods Domain, only those four could probably accomplish a similar feat. But there is no way those four would be so free as to come to this place, Hidden Soul said, nodding. However, she still held a skeptical attitude as she added, But I still dont think that person and the Zero Wing that you spoke of can help me reach Tier 6. Unlike Galaxy Past, Hidden Soul used to be the commander of the Flower of Seven Sins Sin of Pride. She had free access to the Flower of Seven Sins information network, which was only slightly inferior to the Secret Pavilions information network. She even had the fortune of visiting other Gods Domains linked to their Gods Domain. Thus, the things she knew of far exceeded that of Galaxy Past. The other Gods Domains she visited were much stronger than their Gods Domain. Yet, even the strongest powers in these Gods Domains didnt have the foundation necessary to help her reach Tier 6. This was because the cause of her inability to reach Tier 6 was no longer related to her combat standard. Her combat standard had long since surpassed many Tier 6 God-ranked experts. The standard of her Mana control was even top-tier among Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Even if she were to fight Shi Feng, someone capable of butting heads with a Tier 4 Bronze Dragon, she was confident she could hold her ground and potentially kill him even. After all, combat with monsters was completely different from combat with other players. Seeing Hidden Souls confidence, Galaxy Pasts confidence also started wavering a little. Even so, he still firmly said, I understand, but isnt that why I called you here to verify it personally? Galaxy Past didnt know exactly how strong the Guild known as Zero Wing was. However, judging by the strength Shi Feng had displayed thus far, Zero Wing was definitely stronger than the current Five Great Super Guilds. After all, Zero Wing could afford to let a God-ranked expert like Shi Feng come to the Miniature Ancient World to restart his progress. This point alone was more than enough to prove Zero Wings strength. If a Guild wasnt overflowing with Tier 6 God-ranked experts, thered be no way it would dare let a Tier 6 God-ranked expert retrain his account. Since Zero Wing had so many Tier 6 God-ranked experts, it shouldnt be difficult to help Hidden Soul, whose combat standards surpassed ordinary Tier 6 God-ranked experts, reach Tier 6. Amidst the conversation between Hidden Soul and Galaxy Past, Blakeana approached the two and asked, Welcome to the Candlelight Hotel. May I know if you two need any help? Hello, we wish to meet with Mr. Black Flame. May I know if he is in? Galaxy Past asked, getting straight to the point. Alright, please wait for a moment. I will notify the owner of your request, Blakeana said, nodding before contacting Shi Feng. Second-floor advanced room: After refining the Mana Protection Crystals for ten minutes, the three crystals gradually disintegrated in the magic array Shi Feng drew and revealed several strands of purple-gold blood. Then, as soon as these strands of blood were freed from their containers, they started rapidly absorbing the rich Mana in the room, depleting the room of Mana in just three seconds. Meanwhile, after absorbing all that Mana, the purple-gold blood radiated an ancient Divine Might that filled the entire room. Success! Shi Feng grew excited when he looked at the strands of purple-gold blood hovering and flowing before him. I cant believe I managed to extract twelve strands of Ancient Gods Blood from just three crystals. Those Outerworld powers will probably die from envy if they learn of this. While Mana Protection Crystals could be found in the Greater Gods Domain, every crystal would involve a struggle between a group of Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Some Tier 6 God-ranked experts even sustained severe injuries during these struggles and required astronomical amounts of resources to recover. Hence, one could easily imagine the value of the Mana Protection Crystal. Meanwhile, Mana Protection Crystals typically yielded only two strands of Ancient Gods Blood, with larger ones yielding three strands at most. Yet, Shi Feng had extracted four strands of blood from each Mana Protection Crystal, netting himself twelve strands in total. Meanwhile, shortly after Shi Feng finished extracting the Ancient Gods Blood, he suddenly received a call from Blakeana. Owner, two people have come to the hotel asking to meet you. They are a man and a woman. Do you want to meet them? Blakeana asked. A man and a woman? Shi Feng quickly stored the Ancient Gods Blood away after hearing this. Then, he said, Bring them here, then. Shortly afterward, Blakeana knocked on the rooms door. Ive brought them here, Owner, Blakeana said from outside the door. You can head back to work. Have them enter on their own, Shi Feng said casually as he tidied up the Magic Crystal dust and remnant magic materials on the floor. After hearing Shi Fengs words, Blakeana bowed slightly to Galaxy Past and Hidden Soul before returning downstairs by herself. You want us to enter on our own? Lets see if you are as powerful as Galaxy Past says you are, then! Hidden Soul smirked and unsheathed the tattered short sword she carried on her back when she heard Shi Fengs words. Immediately. Then, she abruptly opened the door and dashed inside, leaving behind an afterimage. Chapter 2976 - Chapter 50 Chapter 50 C Frightening Zero Wing Stop! Soul! Galaxy Past panicked when he saw Hidden Soul dashing into the room with her short sword drawn. Although he had long since known that Hidden Soul was a crazy woman, he didnt think that she would try to test Shi Fengs strength as soon as they met. Maniac! Hidden Soul was a true maniac! However, ignoring Galaxy Pasts words, Hidden Soul promptly vanished from Galaxy Pasts vision and perception. The standard of her footwork and body technique were leagues ahead of Zhuo Yalins. Its over Galaxy Past fell into despair when he saw Hidden Soul vanishing. Originally, he had wanted to rely on Hidden Soul to help him earn points at a quicker rate. Yet, now, Hidden Soul had ended up trying to assassinate Shi Feng. There was no way he could salvage the situation now. Hidden Soul was labeled as a death god in Gods Domain because she could kill almost anyone within ten steps of her. Even Tier 6 God-ranked experts were at risk of death if they werent careful. It should be known that there was a gigantic gap in Basic Attributes between Tier 5 and Tier 6 players. So, it was almost impossible for a Tier 5 player to assassinate a Tier 6 player. Although Hidden Soul had regressed to Tier 3 now, even Tier 4 experts were probably at risk of dying at her blade, let alone Tier 3 experts Just when Galaxy Past thought that he had ruined his partnership with Zero Wing, he suddenly heard a loud boom coming from inside the room. It sounded like something crashing to the ground. Upon hearing this sound, he hurriedly entered the room with a worried heart. However, as soon as Galaxy Past entered the room, he was instantly dumbfounded. How is this possible?! Currently, inside the spacious living room, Galaxy Past saw Shi Feng quietly sitting on the living room sofa while Hidden Souls body lay paralyzed on the living room carpet. At a glance, it looked like something heavy was pressing down on Hidden Souls body, and no matter how much she struggled, she couldnt break free from her current state This outcome far exceeded Galaxy Pasts expectations, and his mind had difficulty processing this situation. In a situation where both Hidden Soul and Shi Feng were at Tier 3, not only did Hidden Soul fail to assassinate Shi Feng, but judging by the current situation, it would seem that she didnt even manage to lay a finger on Shi Feng However, after observing this scene for less than half a second, Galaxy Past suddenly felt an unbearably heavy pressure acting on his body, causing him to instantly collapse to the ground. At the same time, he also felt his mind being assaulted by a frighteningly powerful mental attack. Divine Might?! Galaxy Past grew even more shocked after falling to the ground. As a Tier 5 player, he would often come into contact with items belonging to Gods. Hence, Divine Might was something he was incredibly familiar with. Yet, the Divine Might he was familiar with felt incredibly foreign right now. Divine Might was usually used to refer to the mental deterrence created by Gods. It was something unique to Tier 6 Gods, Tier 6 God-ranked experts, and possessions of Gods. Meanwhile, the Divine Might that covered the room right now was so terrifyingly powerful that he felt as if a true Tier 6 God was standing before him. Such frightening Divine Might simply wasnt something Tier 3 players could resist. The only thing they could do in this situation was to submit. Even Hidden Soul, someone who had assassinated Tier 6 God-ranked experts before, was no exception. Yet, despite being enveloped by this same Divine Might, Shi Feng remained seated on the sofa nonchalantly, his behavior making it seem as if the Divine Might in the room did not exist at all Oh, right, I forgot that the Divine Might in this room hasnt fully dissipated yet. Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the two people collapsed on the ground before him. Then, he quickly snapped out of his daze and apologized, Sorry. I was handling something just now. I think itll be a while longer before this Divine Might disappears completely. It was indeed tough for players to resist Divine Might before reaching Tier 5 or higher. Not to mention, the Divine Might the Mana Protection Crystals radiated belonged to that of Ancient Gods. It was also because of this reason that unless one could resist an Ancient Gods Divine Might, one couldnt even extract the Ancient Gods Blood stored inside Mana Protection Crystals. Meanwhile, there existed mental techniques for players in Gods Domain to resist things such as Divine Might. Only, such mental techniques werent commonly seen in Gods Domain. However, once this Gods Domain gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, learning such mental techniques would become a basic requirement. He was handling something? Galaxy Past suddenly felt his mind freezing. He couldnt even begin to imagine what item Shi Feng was handling to fill this room with such frightening Divine Might. However, after some time had passed, the Divine Might in the room had gradually disappeared, just like Shi Feng said it would. Meanwhile, Hidden Soul had also stood up, her eyes filled with fighting spirit and wariness as she looked at Shi Feng. Hidden Soul, stop messing around! Galaxy Past, who was still stuck on the ground, shouted hurriedly when he noticed Hidden Souls expression. Hidden Soul? Sin of Pride? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he looked at the woman standing before him. He was well acquainted with Hidden Soul during his previous life. He had even teamed up with the other party for an expedition before. However, it was precisely because of his familiarity with Hidden Soul that he found it hard to believe that the cloaked woman before him was the same Hidden Soul he knew of. Although Hidden Souls impressive body remained the same, the aura she currently radiated felt completely different. During his previous life, the Hidden Soul he knew of was an outstanding woman with individual strength so strong that she could fight Divine Heart Carbet, one of Demons Gates Nine Great Experts, to a standstill. Yet, now, the current Hidden Soul felt like a crazed, hungry wolf, her body radiating a cold and violent aura. Thats right! Im the former Sin of Pride, Hidden Soul! Hidden Soul did not refute Shi Fengs words. However, when she mentioned the words Sin of Pride, a hint of bitterness briefly appeared on her face. Then, she quickly reverted to her normal state, a hint of fear subconsciously appearing in her eyes. I was skeptical when Galaxy Past told me you were powerful before. After all, resisting a Dragons attack only proves that your attacks are strong. It is an entirely different matter for combat standards. Unlike Galaxy Past, who had only come across Divine Might radiated by items belonging to Gods, she had fought actual Tier 6 Gods before. So, she knew what a Tier 6 Gods Divine Might felt like. Hence, she knew that the Divine Might she just experienced didnt come from a Tier 6 God, but a much more ancient and powerful being instead. Faced with such a powerful Divine Might, even a Half-step Tier 6 God-ranked expert like herself was rendered powerless. Yet, Shi Feng had behaved nonchalantly while subjected to this same Divine Might. If she hadnt personally witnessed this scene for herself, she wouldnt have believed it. Now that youve seen me in person, what do you think of my combat standard? Shi Feng asked with a smile. You are very strong! Hidden Soul readily admitted. At the very least, your combat standard ranks within the top ten of the people I know. Top ten? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised by Hidden Souls appraisal. Then, he asked, So, may I know the purpose of your visit? To join Zero Wing. Honestly, Ive been on the fence on this matter originally, which is why I decided to come here in person to see if Zero Wing can help me. But after seeing you, I think the likelihood of that happening is low, Hidden Soul bluntly stated. Ive seen several experts of your caliber in other Gods Domains, but none of the powers backing them can help me reach Tier 6. The strength of an expert could reflect the foundation of the power they belonged to. This was also why she wanted to test Shi Feng by launching a sneak attack on him. However, while Shi Feng had displayed extraordinary Concentration standard and willpower, his combat standard wasnt any better than the monsters she had come across. At most, he was on par with them. So, does this mean you dont plan on joining Zero Wing? Shi Feng asked as he looked at Hidden Soul. Thats right. Hidden Soul nodded. Upon hearing Hidden Souls response, Galaxy Past, still stuck lying on the floor, immediately grew nervous. If Hidden Soul refused to join Zero Wing, itd be tough for him to find another Domain Realm expert. After all, he couldnt randomly invite any Domain Realm expert he knew since he needed to take the Star Alliances benefit into account. In Hidden Souls case, she could already be considered an independent player. Even if she joined Zero Wing, it wouldnt disadvantage the Star Alliance in any way. However, just when Hidden Soul was about to leave, Shi Feng suddenly smiled and said, If you were to ask for anything else in this Gods Domain, Zero Wing might have trouble fulfilling your request. However, if your request is only to reach Tier 6, Zero Wing can help you with that. Is what you say true? Hidden Soul couldnt help but turn to Shi Feng, her eyes burning with passion. Honestly, she was already in despair over trying to reach Tier 6. Otherwise, she wouldnt have come to the Miniature Ancient World seeking an opportunity. Of course. While scrutinizing Hidden Souls expression, Shi Feng said, There are two main conditions players need to fulfill if they wish to reach Tier 6. The first condition is to have sufficient control and understanding over Mana. The second condition is to have Concentration at the Tier 6 standard. You have clearly fulfilled the first condition already, so the reason why youve failed to reach Tier 6 thus far is because of your lacking Concentration. Meanwhile, the reason why your Concentration has failed to reach the Tier 6 standard is also simple. A strong body requires a strong mind. Likewise, a strong mind requires a strong body. I can see that your Mana Body is at the Peak Gold standard, and its Completion Rate is also very high. Normally, you shouldve long since reached Tier 6. Yet, the fact that you havent reached it shows that your mental state is incredibly unstable, so you need an even stronger body to compensate for it. What you say is true. It is also the reason why I came to the Miniature Ancient World. Hidden Soul was not at all fazed by Shi Fengs words. After all, these were all things she had long since known about. Ive already tried challenging the Colosseum, but my limit is the Peak Gold standard. My Completion Rate is also at 100%. I cant make any further progress unless I can obtain a God Legacy. However, the rarity of God Legacies goes without saying. Even if someone manages to obtain one, there is no way they will sell it to me. Does Zero Wing have God Legacies available? God Legacies? Hearing Hidden Souls question, Shi Feng thought of a few God Legacies that should be undiscovered yet as of now. Then, he shook his head and said, We do have a few, but as youve said, they are incredibly valuable. They are not things an outer member should think of obtaining. Zero Wing has God Legacies? Galaxy Past couldnt help but lift his head and look at Shi Feng upon hearing Shi Fengs words. If Zero Wing had God Legacies available for exchange, then Zero Wings strength was far more frightening than he initially thought. Theyre available for exchange? At this moment, even Hidden Soul was a little stunned. She could tell that Shi Feng wasnt boasting or lying through his tone and facial expression. In that case, how strong must a Guild be to have the leeway to offer God Legacies for exchange? You shouldnt go thinking about those things right now, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he noticed Hidden Souls fiery gaze. Ive already said that theyre not things an outer member can obtain. You can only use other methods if you wish to reach Tier 6. Other methods? Hidden Soul grew curious. Thats right. While a God Legacy is indeed your best option, it isnt irreplaceable, Shi Feng said, smiling. Then, he took out a strand of Ancient Gods Blood from his bag and said, Ancient Gods Blood, an item that can push your Mana Body to the next level! Chapter 2977 - Chapter 51 Chapter 51 C Zero Wings Outer Member Ancient Gods Blood?! Am I dreaming?! Galaxy Pasts eyes were filled with disbelief as he looked at the strand of Ancient Gods Blood stored in the crystal vial in Shi Fengs hand. In the current era where Gods had gone into seclusion, it was incredibly rare to come across even the possession of normal Gods. Meanwhile, Ancient Gods were the most ancient existences among Gods, and the possessions of Ancient Gods were incredibly rare even during the ancient era, let alone the modern era. It was especially true for an Ancient Gods precious blood. At this time, even the knowledgeable Hidden Soul was shocked and confused by the strand of Ancient Gods Blood before her. Compared to Galaxy Past, Hidden Soul had a much more extensive information network in Gods Domain. Hence, she knew that there were only a few Ancient Gods possessions that had been found in the current Gods Domain. She also knew the identity of these items, but none of them was as precious as the Ancient Gods Blood. Even in the other Gods Domains she visited, she had never heard of anything like the Ancient Gods Blood. However, just when Hidden Soul and Galaxy Past were about to ask about the Ancient Gods Bloods authenticity, a terrifying Divine Might suddenly descended upon the room once more. Immediately, both Hidden Soul and Galaxy Past fell flat to the floor again, neither of them able to put up any resistance Meanwhile, the origin of this Divine Might was none other than the strand of purple-gold blood inside the crystal vial. Seeing the two people before him falling to the floor once more, Shi Feng returned the Ancient Gods Blood into his bag and said, Youve experienced the Divine Might this thing radiates for yourself now. Meanwhile, its effects are what I just told you. It can strengthen a players Mana Body once, but to what extent depends on the player using it. At most, it can strengthen a Mana Body up to the Epic rank. This thing, no, this Ancient Gods Blood After struggling to stand up again, Hidden Soul asked Shi Feng, Can Zero Wings outer members exchange for it? Hearing Hidden Souls question, Galaxy Past, who remained lying on the floor, perked up his ears in interest. After all, hed be lying if he said he wasnt interested in obtaining an Epic Mana Body. Otherwise, he wouldnt have abandoned his original level and achievements to restart his progress in the Miniature Ancient World. Yes, Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw Hidden Souls interest toward the Ancient Gods Blood. Are you interested in joining Zero Wing now? During Shi Fengs previous life, Hidden Soul was one of the Flower of Seven Sins seven commanders. Back then, her strength ranked at the very top even in the Greater Gods Domain. Although Shi Feng didnt know why Hidden Soul would suddenly become a former commander of the Flower of Seven Sins in this life, itd be a huge loss if he let her slip out of his grasp. After all, not only was Hidden Soul a Domain Realm expert, but she was even someone who had already taken the next step in the Domain Realm. Even if she wasnt as strong as she was in her previous life, she could still be regarded as a first-rate God-ranked expert in the Greater Gods Domain. It should be known that Shi Fengs current physique in the real world was terrible. The state of his mind was also dragged down because of his poor physique. In a fight of pure skill, he would be no match for Hidden Soul whatsoever. Hence, if he could recruit Hidden Soul into Zero Wing, itd help him significantly. Id be lying if I said I wasnt interested, Hidden Soul said after taking a deep breath. Then, she turned to Galaxy Past, who had just stood up, and earnestly said, I will remember the favor youve done for me this time. As per our agreement, I will work together with you to earn points from now on. Its great that youre willing to join, Galaxy Past said with a happy smile. I guess we are allies now. Okay. Since you wish to join, heres the contract, Shi Feng said, nodding as he passed the Magic Contract he prepared beforehand to Hidden Soul. Then, he turned to Galaxy Past and continued, Since you invited a Domain Realm expert this time, you will receive 50,000 Zero Wing Points and one additional invitation slot. After saying so, Shi Feng took out two lists from his bag and handed them to the two people before him. These are the items outer members can exchange. There is also a list of tasks and items you can use to acquire points. Take a look at them yourselves. After acquiring the Mana Protection Crystals, Shi Feng had drawn up an item exchange list and task list to help create a positive development cycle for Zero Wing while also ensuring that things didnt get out of his control. Currently, Zero Wing offered three services as an alliance. The first service was the exchange of Zero Wing Points for items. The second service was the acquisition of points through tasks. The third service was the acquisition of points through item exchanges. As calculating and managing points was a relatively easy task, Shi Feng could leave it to the hotels NPC receptionist, Blakeana. So expensive Galaxy Past was flabbergasted when he saw the list of items available for exchange. Currently, there were only three items available for exchange. The first item was the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. It cost 40 million points, significantly less than his previous predictions. Even so, exchanging for the technique wouldnt be an easy task. After all, 40 million points were equivalent to 40 million Gold. It was a significant sum of money that even the various superpowers would need some time to accumulate. The second item on the list was the Ancient Gods Blood. It cost 10 million points to exchange. If converted to Coins, it was an amount that would take a top-tier first-rate Guild like the Star Alliance a significant amount of time to exchange. Although it was still incredibly expensive, it was far less unattainable than the Holy Annihilation Technique. The third item up for exchange wasnt exactly an item. Instead, it was an opportunity to receive pointers. Each opportunity cost one million points. Although this was an astronomical price to pay for mere guidance, it was a worthwhile exchange if one could receive some inspiration when stuck at a bottleneck. However, the biggest problem here wasnt the cost of these items. Instead, the main problem was the lack of methods Shi Feng provided to acquire points. Currently, there was only one task on the task list, and that was to guide players. They would receive 500,000 points if they could help an appointed player reach the Refinement Realm, 2,000,000 points for reaching the Flowing Water Realm, and 5,000,000 points for reaching the Void Realm. While the rewards of this task might seem lucrative, helping a non-Refinement Realm player reach the Refinement Realm was easier said than done. It was a process highly dependent on luck, and the process could take anywhere from several days to several years. It was even more so for the Flowing Water Realm and Void Realm. Apart from tasks, the only other method of acquiring points was trading in items. Currently, there were only three items they could exchange for points. The first item was Seven Luminaries Crystals, something which all powers in Gods Domain needed. One unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal could be traded for 5,000 points. In Coins, that was the current market rate for Seven Luminaries Crystals. Only, nobody would trade one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal for 5,000 Coins. The second item was the Holy Sword Broken Steel. It was one of the Famed Swords in Gods Domain, and it could be exchanged for 10 million Zero Wing Points. The amount of points Shi Feng offered far exceeded the actual value of the Holy Sword. However, Broken Steel was currently in a mighty experts possession. Even if said expert was no longer using the Holy Sword, it wouldnt be easy to get it off his hands The third item was Legendary materials such as Dragon Fangs, Dragon Claws, Dragon Scales, etc. Each material could be exchanged for 5,000 points. The price could also be considered reasonable. However, such materials typically came from Dragons or Inferior Dragons, so obtaining them would be very challenging. If you wish to trade in items for points, you can do it with me here or Blakeana at the front desk, Shi Feng said. If you wish to receive pointers, you will have to wait until I am present in the Candlelight Hotel. Afterward, Hidden Soul and Galaxy Past discussed something privately with each other. Then, Hidden Soul chose to accept the teaching job while Galaxy Past logged out of the game immediately. Evidently, Galaxy Past planned to mobilize the Star Alliance to acquire some of the items on the item exchange list. Mr. Black Flame, how many players can I teach at a time for this teaching task? Hidden Soul asked after giving the matter some thought. You can teach at most five players at a time, Shi Feng explained. You also cant change your students unless they reach one of the three milestones. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to teach his students himself. However, he simply had too many things to do now that he had just established Zero Wing. Not to mention, he had just gained a Domain Realm expert like Hidden Soul. Itd be a huge waste not to make proper use of her expertise. Do I instruct them in Gods Domain? Hidden Soul asked another question. Thats right. Shi Feng nodded. However, you must keep everything about yourself a secret from these people. All you need to do is instruct them. That wont be a problem. Ill keep my cloak on at all times, Hidden Soul answered without hesitation. Can I start now, then? As a former commander of the Flower of Seven Sins, keeping secrets was her forte. Although she didnt know why Shi Feng wasnt doing the teaching himself, she understood that some questions were best left unasked. It was especially true when the questions involved Zero Wing, a Guild capable of offering items such as the Ancient Gods Blood and God Legacies for exchange. Im afraid youll have to wait in the hotel for a bit, Shi Feng awkwardly said. I still need to contact the relevant people. Alright. Hidden Soul readily agreed with Shi Fengs arrangement and went downstairs to wait. Meanwhile, Shi Feng hurriedly logged out of the game. Gods Domain Academy, advanced training hall: At this time, a tall young woman with silver hair and a frosty expression walked out of the advanced reaction tester. Then, she looked at the robust man standing beside the tester and coldly said, What did you say? Lingling became a junior instructors student?! Mhm. That Instructor Shi used to be the Shadows Guild Leader, but he was dismissed because of some matters. I dont know what he said to Student Wu Lingling, but she adamantly insists on getting taught by him Luo Tiancheng hastily replied, his body shuddering involuntarily when subjected to the silver-haired girls cold gaze. However, he did not feel the slightest bit angry even when faced with the silver-haired girls rude questioning. On the contrary, he behaved respectfully in front of her. It was especially true after he saw the result displayed on the advanced reaction tester. S-rank! Originally, the basic reaction tester the Academy possessed would only have evaluations of Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Excellent, and Perfect. However, after receiving a capital injection from various corporations, the Academy had introduced an advanced reaction tester to the advanced training hall. The tester was set to the standards of the various superpowers, and the tester similarly had five evaluation ranks: B-rank, A-rank, S-rank, SS-rank, and SSS-rank. However, achieving a B-rank evaluation in the advanced reaction tester was even more difficult than achieving a Perfect evaluation in the basic reaction tester. The advanced reaction testers testing criteria were so stringent that even some Refinement Realm experts could only score an A-rank evaluation, which was also Wu Xiaoxiaos best score previously. Yet, after leaving the Academy for training for a short period, Wu Xiaoxiao was now able to achieve an S-rank evaluation! It was simply astounding! She wants only him to teach her? Wu Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes on Luo Tiancheng. Then, she grabbed her jacket from the nearby bench and coldly said, I know what youre up to, Luo Tiancheng. Dont think that I cant see that youre trying to sow discord. Even so, that man should think twice if he thinks he can delude Lingling. I want to see what kind of abilities he has to dare boast about teaching Lingling! Chapter 2978 - Chapter 52 Chapter 52 C Silver Witch Early morning, Gods Domain Academy, sports field: Although autumn had yet to arrive, the cooling wind persuaded many students to wear their sports jackets as they did their morning exercise. Some students chatted as they jogged around the field, while some did basic strength training. The lively atmosphere on the field was not at all inferior to that of the Academys library. You finished the nine movement sets so quickly, Yu Heng! Qin Wuchen exclaimed as he looked at Xiao Yuheng, who was covered in sweat and gasping for air. Amazing! You finished in just five minutes and thirty-three seconds! Didnt it take you seven minutes and fifty-two seconds to finish the whole exercise yesterday? Wu Lingling said, her mouth gaping slightly as she looked at the time displayed on her stopwatch. The nine movement sets Shi Feng taught them might seem simple, but after combining it with his special breathing method, every movement executed placed a huge strain on their bodies. It even felt like their hearts would explode when they did the exercise. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that completing one movement set was akin to running a thousand-meter lap. By the time they completed all nine movement sets properly, they would collapse to the ground in exhaustion. If they hadnt been training their bodies since young, they couldnt have completed even one repetition of the exercise at all. Hehe. After completing one repetition, Xiao Yuheng giggled as she looked at Qin Wuchen and Wu Xiaoxiao. Then, she cheekily said, Its a secret! Thats mean of you, Yuheng. I even shared with you some of the basic techniques Instructor Shi taught me before, Wu Lingling said, puffing up her cheeks and pretending to be angry. Although she had managed to shorten her time to three minutes and forty seconds after receiving Shi Fengs catered instructions, she was still far from reaching Shi Fengs requirement of three minutes. If she kept on training at her current pace, itd take her at least three to five days to achieve the target. Theres nothing I can do about it. Shrugging helplessly, Xiao Yuheng said, Only I am suitable to use this method. Its impossible for other people. Only you can use it? After hearing Xiao Yuhengs answer, Wu Lingling understood that Xiao Yuheng wasnt trying to monopolize the secret. Instead, there should be some special reason involved. Feeling a little frustrated, she said, In that case, Ill probably have to attend another one of Instructor Shis lessons before I can hit the three-minute mark. Upon hearing Wu Linglings words, Qin Wuchen looked at her aggrievedly and said, Compared to Yuheng, youre the more ruthless one, Wu Lingling. You wiped out all the points of so many instructors. Now, the rest of us have no choice but to buy points at a higher price from the seniors. Even then, I only managed to secure enough points to attend one lesson thus far. Previously, after learning that they needed to pay 6,000 points to attend Shi Fengs classes, they had tried to purchase points from the other instructors. Yet, when they tried to do so, every instructor they asked responded by saying they had already sold all of their spare points to Wu Lingling. That was more than 80,000 points they were talking about! Meanwhile, due to Wu Linglings antics, the rest of the class had no choice but to buy points from the seniors. However, even after asking every senior they could find, they only managed to gather enough for each person to have 6,000 points. Hearing Qin Wuchens words, Xiao Yuheng and the others nodded to express their agreement. Because of Wu Linglings behavior, not only did they have a difficult time buying points, but the price of points had even inflated Serves you right! Who told you guys to move so slowly? Wu Lingling said and stuck out her tongue, a hint of pride on her petite face. She had spent all of her savings to acquire around 80,000 points. With this many points, she shouldnt have to worry about not having enough points for the next two months. By the way, about the message Instructor Shi sent us, he wants the top five among us to head to Gods Domains Candlelight Hotel for special training. What do you think Instructor Shi is planning on doing, Lingling? Xiao Yuheng asked after catching her breath. There was a reason why their whole class had suddenly come to the field early in the morning to exercise. It wasnt because they were diligent. Instead, it was because they were testing the time it took them to complete one repetition of Shi Fengs exercise and find the top five among them as per Shi Fengs instructions. Im not sure, Wu Lingling said, shaking her head. However, I suspect that it has something to do with the visit to the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. The Academy has just informed the instructors that the Secret Pavilion has decided to increase the number of students allowed to visit its branch headquarters. Instructor Shi mustve received news of this as well, so hes probably conducting special training in preparation for that. After all, there is bound to be a spar between academies once we reach there. Were going to have to fight for our academys reputation. Thats possible. Qin Wuchen nodded. Thanks to the Four Heavenly Kings, our academy always managed to rank within the top eight of the Provincial Academy Competition. Although the visit to the Secret Pavilion this time wont involve all academies in the province, I heard that there will still be more than ten academies participating in the tour. Itd be disgraceful for our academy if we performed poorly in the spar. An ordinary province would have around 70 or 80 Gods Domain Academies, while larger ones would have over a hundred. For an academy in a third-tier city like Jin Hai City, it was amazing that their academy managed to rank within the top eight of the province in the past. After all, there was a significant difference between third-tier cities and first- and second-tier cities since the stronger a Guild was in Gods Domain, the more likely they would have their headquarters set in high-tiered cities. The fact that their academy managed to rank within the top eight despite this fact was proof of their strength. Naturally, they couldnt sully this reputation during their visit to the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. Subsequently, after everyone completed their test and decided on the top five of the class, the noisy sports field suddenly grew quiet. Confused by this situation, Wu Lingling and the others looked toward the sports fields entrance. At this time, the crowd originally gathered at the sports fields entrance had taken the initiative to separate and open up a path. Meanwhile, every student standing amidst the crowd wore expressions of respect and admiration on their faces. A short moment later, two people appeared on the opened path, one of them being Luo Tiancheng, a junior instructor of the Academy, and the other being a silver-haired girl. What?! Thats Wu Xiaoxiao! Senior Wu Xiaoxiao is back already? Qin Wuchen and the others promptly grew excited when they saw the approaching silver-haired girl. Wu Xiaoxiao! She was the number one genius of Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy. At the same time, she was also the most talented student in the Academys history. Even though she was still a student, she had already become the vice commander of Dazzle Waves main force. At the same time, she was also only one step away from entering the Professional Leagues A-League, and she was known as the Silver Witch among Gods Domains new generation of experts. Because of Wu Xiaoxiaos presence, Jin Hai University managed to rank within the top five out of all the provinces Gods Domain Academies these past few years. Otherwise, even with the Four Heavenly Kings presence, Jin Hai University probably couldnt even rank within the top ten. Why are you here, Big Sis? Wu Lingling obediently walked up to and greeted her sister. Shouldnt you be out training? The special training is already over. When Wu Xiaoxiao saw her cute little sister, her expression softened significantly. My initial plan was to come and see you after the results of my training are out, but do you think I can sit still after learning that you became the student of a junior instructor? Hearing Wu Xiaoxiaos words, Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but sneer. Now that Wu Xiaoxiao had made a personal appearance, it wouldnt matter what Shi Feng did. Wu Lingling would definitely be changing instructors now. Youre overthinking things, Big Sis. Wu Lingling understood where her elder sister was coming from, so she explained, Instructor Shis teaching standard is incredible. Im confident he is in no way inferior to the Academys senior instructors. Lets hope thats the case, Wu Xiaoxiao said, paying no heed to her little sisters words. Can I meet with your instructor now? You want to meet with Instructor Shi? After thinking for a moment, Wu Lingling said, Instructor Shi isnt at school right now. If you want to meet him, youll have to do so in the Miniature Ancient World. I just so happen to be in the Miniature Ancient World. Ill go online in a moment, so take me to him, Wu Xiaoxiao said, her tone allowing no objections. If I deem him inadequate, you must transfer under my instructor. Alright, then. But you mustnt behave rashly, Wu Lingling said. She knew that she couldnt change her elder sisters mind with words alone, so she had no choice but to agree with her elder sisters demand for now. Wu Xiaoxiao nodded. Afterward, Wu Lingling and the other top five students of the class made their way back to the Academys dormitory and logged into Gods Domain. Chapter 2979 - Chapter 53 Chapter 53 C New Era Hundred Flow City, Candlelight Hotel: Although the sun had already set and the only illumination on the main street came from magic street lamps, the number of players flooding the main street did not decrease in the slightest. Instead, they gathered at the bars and restaurants lining the street to talk and laugh about their harvests and encounters. Did you hear? Many superpowers are now planning to send a large number of experts into the Miniature Ancient World because of the World Passages opening. I did. According to a friend of mine, this Miniature Ancient World of ours is very special. It seems to be located at the boundary between two Gods Domains, and players from both Gods Domains can enter this Miniature Ancient World. The only reason why we havent met any players from the other Gods Domain is because we start in different zones. Thats right, but the information I heard is a little more specific. You guys know about the Boundary River Regional Dungeon, right? I heard that so long as we reach Level 120 and cross the Boundary River, well be able to reach the Miniature Ancient Worlds public training zone. There, players of both Gods Domains wont be subjected to any penalties. We can even freely trade resources between the two Gods Domains. This is definitely a good opportunity to get rich! Nonsense! This is more than just an opportunity to make money! Its a chance for independent players like us to make it big in Gods Domain! Unlike on the main continent, we get to have the same starting point as the various major powers! If we make good use of this opportunity and seize the public zones resources and territory ahead of the major powers, well be set for life! Thats right! Ive already gambled all of my life savings into the Miniature Ancient World! So long as I can get into the public zone ahead of the major powers, Ill be able to secure a plot of Land for sure! I bet the income I can generate wont be any lower than that of an imperial capitals golden Land! Ive decided! Other than eating and going to the toilet, Im spending all of my time playing! Many of the players drinking and dining by the roadside talked about the current status quo in the Miniature Ancient World with great enthusiasm. Some of these players even wore fanatic looks on their faces. Sis, is what they say true? Wu Lingling, who had overheard the conversation of these players, asked as she looked at Wu Xiaoxiao with deep excitement and expectation in her eyes. The current Gods Domain could be described as a puddle of stagnant water. In fact, even the real world could be described as such. The various powers of Gods Domain had long since divided all of the resources available in both worlds among themselves. There were no longer any fights for supremacy like during Gods Domains launch. However, if the Miniature Ancient World was really as these players said, Gods Domain would be ushering in a new and unprecedented era. New experts would emerge, and old legends would reappear! To members of the new generation like themselves, this was undoubtedly the best stage for them to shine. After hearing Wu Linglings question, Qin Wuchen and the others perked up their ears. It was especially true for Liu Yuehang and Lu Wuxuan. The two had struggled greatly to enter the top five of the class, and their test results were only a few seconds faster than the students ranked behind them. Yet, now, not only did they manage to rank within the top five of their class, but they even got to walk together with Wu Xiaoxiao, the Academys biggest star. It was simply an unbelievable situation. Meanwhile, as the vice commander of a top-tier first-rate Guilds main force, Wu Xiaoxiao naturally had access to more information than the average independent player and executives of small Guilds. So, it stood to reason that she should know more about the Miniature Ancient World. What they say is true, Wu Xiaoxiao said, a hint of fiery passion appearing on her icy face. Currently, all of the new talents nurtured by the various powers are starting to grow restless because of the Miniature Ancient World. Here, they get to start from the same position as the older generation experts and have a fairer competition. Moreover, there are many more opportunities available in the Miniature Ancient World than on the main continent. This is also why I entered the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, I can tell you now that the various superpowers are mass recruiting fresh talent right now. Some of them are even going as far as to nurture the talents of first-rate Guilds partnered with them. So, you guys must cherish this opportunity. With the arrival of this new era, the various major powers placed unprecedented importance on rookie talents like themselves. Even the various superpowers were no exception. After all, the older generation experts would have most of their advantages wiped out when entering the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, rookies like themselves had much greater growth potential. Their rate of improvement was also much faster compared to older generation experts, whose growths had already stagnated. This was also why Wu Xiaoxiao had met with her little sister in such a hurry. Luo Tiancheng thought that by stirring up trouble, he could make Wu Lingling become Instructor Qis student. However, little did he know that Wu Xiaoxiao had never set her sights on Instructor Qi at all. Instead, her goal was to turn her little sister into a talent nurtured by a superpower. Meanwhile, after hearing Wu Xiaoxiaos words, Qin Wuchen and the others promptly grew excited, their minds fantasizing about the possibility of clashing against the experts of legends. This is the Candlelight Hotel, Sis, Wu Lingling said as she pointed at the tattered, three-story hotel in front of her. Then, putting on a serious expression, she continued, Let me make it clear first. You absolutely cannot mess around. Ill ignore you if you make Instructor Shi angry. Wu Lingling knew of her elder sisters personality very well. Her elder sister was a brutally straightforward person, and her words would almost always put others into an awkward situation. You little girl! Wu Xiaoxiao huffed grumpily when she heard her little sisters words. Its only been a few days since you became his student, yet youre already prioritizing him over me?! Do you promise or not? Wu Lingling said, puffing up her cheeks. Fine, I promise you, Wu Lingling said, shaking her head helplessly. However, if I find that he is lacking, you must leave with me. That wont be a problem. Wu Lingling nodded. Are you that confident in him? Wu Xiaoxiao was a little surprised to see her little sister agreeing to her demand so readily. She had been close to her little sister since young, so she knew that Wu Lingling had a stubborn personality. Once the girl had decided on something, itd be nigh-impossible to change her mind. However, so long as she promised to do something, she would always keep her promise. Originally, Wu Xiaoxiao had been thinking about how she could get her little sister to agree to her bet. Now, though, she didnt have to go through such troubles anymore. Hearing her elder sisters words, Wu Lingling puffed up her chest and confidently said, Of course. Even Big Sis Ziyou has nothing but praise for Instructor Shis teaching standard. Ziyou? Wu Xiaoxiao grew even more surprised after hearing Wu Linglings words. She naturally knew of Chen Ziyous standards. If Shi Feng managed to gain Chen Ziyous acknowledgment, it meant that he indeed possessed some skill. However, Wu Xiaoxiao subsequently shook her head and said, Alright, then. Lead the way. Wu Xiaoxiao admitted that Chen Ziyou was a talented individual. Chen Ziyous strength also went without saying. Before participating in a superpowers training, she wouldve needed a long time to beat Chen Ziyou in a fight. However, that was no longer the case. Now, in a situation where they had similar Basic Attributes, levels, and tiers, Wu Xiaoxiao was confident she could beat Chen Ziyou in three moves. Indeed. The superpowers of Gods Domain were just that powerful. The world of superpowers was something she couldve never imagined before receiving priority training from a superpower. Afterward, Wu Lingling led Wu Xiaoxiao into the Candlelight Hotel. Crap! Isnt the Mana density here a little too crazy?! Is this the benefit of staying in a hotel in the Miniature Ancient World? Qin Wuchen and the others were shocked when they entered the hotels lobby. Mana was the foundation of everything in Gods Domain, and a good Mana environment could provide significant benefits to players. Meanwhile, the density of the Mana inside the Candlelight Hotel was on a completely different level compared to the Mana outside. After entering the Candlelight Hotel, they could feel their minds gaining unprecedented clarity. They even experienced the feeling of being omnipotence. Interesting. The Mana density here is even comparable to some holy lands. Wu Xiaoxiao was shocked after carefully sensing the Mana inside the hotel. In Gods Domain, holy lands were considered the best place for players to train themselves. However, the various superpowers had already monopolized the holy lands on the main continent, and even most first-rate Guilds could only dream of visiting these places. While Wu Xiaoxiao and the others were dazed, a low but pleasant voice suddenly entered their ears. Youre finally here. Everyone promptly turned toward the source of the voice upon hearing it. Then, they found themselves looking at a cloaked woman with a magnificent body sitting on a couch in the lobby. Chapter 2980 - Chapter 54 Chapter 54 C This Person Is a Monster! Has this person always been here? Qin Wuchen couldnt help but ask the others through the team chat when he saw the cloaked woman sitting on the sofa. Players would have their five senses enhanced significantly after reaching Tier 3. Meanwhile, thanks to the combat experience he had racked up during his journey to Tier 3, he would always subconsciously spread out his senses wherever he went to familiarize himself with his surroundings. Yet, before the cloaked woman spoke up, he had failed to notice her presence even at the slightest. This situation was simply astonishing. She shouldnt be, right? Xiao Yuheng said hesitantly. No, she shouldve been there the entire time, Wu Xiaoxiao said, shaking her head. Then, in a wary tone, she continued, Its just that she has hidden her presence very well, and none of us managed to notice her before she spoke up. Upon hearing Wu Xiaoxiaos analysis, everyone immediately grew cautious of the cloaked woman. An expert capable of coming so close to them without their notice was without a doubt a huge threat to them. After all, there were many Red Players in Gods Domain, and a large portion of them were crazy players who PKed solely for fun. It would be an absolute nightmare if such a player targeted them. When Wu Xiaoxiao saw the cloaked woman standing up and approaching them, she took the initiative to ask, May I know what business you have with us, Maam? Mr. Black Flame assigned me to teach you, Hidden Soul, the cloaked woman, said. Then, she glanced at Wu Linglings ID of Whimsical Wind and continued in a slightly surprised tone, Your ID matches, but why are there six of you? Whatever. Six is even better. You lot, come with me. Is Instructor Black Flame not in the hotel? Wu Lingling asked. Although Shi Feng had previously stated in his message that someone would be helping them train in Gods Domain, they didnt come here just to train this time. Instructor Black Flame? Hidden Soul was surprised once more. She didnt think that Shi Feng had taken in students under his wing. However, she quickly concluded that Shi Feng was most likely trying to develop his own troops so that Zero Wing could have an easier time managing its affairs in this Gods Domain. Mr. Black Flame has already gone offline because he has something to do. I will be overseeing your training in Gods Domain in his stead. Alright, enough talking and come with me to the combat room. I need to check your actual combat standards before I decide how I should train you. Hes leaving the teaching to others? Wu Xiaoxiao inwardly sneered when she heard Hidden Souls words. Its a clever approach. Unfortunately, you used it in the wrong place! Originally, she thought that Shi Feng possessed some level of skill. However, she didnt think that Shi Feng would have caught wind of her arrival and hired an expert to teach in his place. The method Shi Feng employed could be regarded as perfect. Even if the instructor he hired taught poorly, it couldnt be considered his problem. After all, he wasnt doing the teaching personally. At most, he could give the excuse that he had failed to account for the expert he hired to be bad at teaching. On the other hand, if the hired instructor did well, not only could Shi Feng flaunt his expansive connections, but he could also show off his excellent insight, killing two birds with one stone. Unfortunately, he had met her! Wu Xiaoxiao admitted that the cloaked woman before her was a capable expert, so much so that she had failed to notice the other partys presence immediately. However, she had fought against many such experts in the Professional League before. If it were in the past, Wu Xiaoxiao wouldve had a headache dealing with such concealment experts. After all, as an Elementalist, shed fall into a huge disadvantage if she allowed an Assassin to come close to her. She might even get killed quickly. However, after returning from Crimson Emperors special training course, her combat standard had undergone a qualitative transformation. Now, she would have no problem dealing with experts like Hidden Soul. It was especially true in the Miniature Ancient World, where older generation experts and rookie experts had almost no difference in equipment standards. Sis, Instructor Shi isnt here. Will you still be joining us? Wu Lingling whispered to her elder sister. Of course. Since your instructor has hired such an expert, wouldnt it be a waste if I dont take a look at this scheme? Wu Xiaoxiao said nonchalantly. After saying so, Wu Xiaoxiao followed Hidden Soul to the hotels underground combat room. Meanwhile, when Wu Lingling and the others saw this, they quickly followed the two. Unlike Wu Xiaoxiao, Wu Lingling and the others didnt have any problems with Shi Feng finding someone else to teach them. After all, even Southern Tiger, a captain of the Soulfire adventurer team, had tried to curry favor with Shi Feng. So, it stood to reason that the expert Shi Feng hired was someone strong. At the very least, Hidden Soul should be enough to teach freshmen like them. Candlelight Hotel, underground combat room: The hotels underground combat room was designed specifically for players. Although it didnt come equipped with as many functions as the combat rooms found in the Battle Arena, and its size was only a mere 50-yard radius, it was more than enough for players to practice their Skills and Spells in. Miss Instructor, how will you be testing our actual combat standards? Qin Wuchen curiously asked when he saw the relatively small combat room. This small combat room might be suitable for Tier 2 players to duel in, but it was somewhat lacking for a duel between Tier 3 players. After reaching Tier 3, experts would only need a few steps to cross a distance of 100 yards. A Tier 3 Great Mage could even cover the entire room with their AOE Spells. So, for Tier 3 players, a combat room so small was only useful for target practice and nothing more. Just come at me together. Dont worry about anything and attack me with everything youve got, Hidden Soul calmly said as she swept a glance at Wu Xiaoxiao and the others. I wont use any weapons. Its your win so long as you can land a hit on me. I can give each of you an Advanced Class Legacy if you win. I can even give you a Peak Class Legacy if you want. Advanced or Peak Class Legacies? The eyes of Qin Wuchen and the others instantly reddened a little when they heard Hidden Souls words. Hidden classes were incredibly rare in Gods Domain, and even a Basic Hidden Class was worth astronomical amounts of money. In the case of Advanced Legacies, even first-rate powers would go crazy for them. They werent items that ordinary experts could get their hands on at all. Is what you say true? At this time, even Wu Xiaoxiao felt a little tempted. After all, she didnt even have an Advanced Legacy right now, let alone a Peak Legacy. Instead, she only possessed the Basic Hidden Class Illusionist. Even though the hidden class only allowed her to create illusions in battle, making it difficult for her opponents to keep track of her, it had still helped her greatly thus far. If she could obtain an Advanced Legacy, not only would it increase her strength significantly, but it could also help her massively when she tried to reach Tier 5 in the future. Dont believe me? Seeing the skeptical look on Wu Xiaoxiaos face, Hidden Soul took out a stone tablet that radiated a golden aura from her bag and said, Take a look at it yourself. An Advanced Legacy! Its a real Advanced Legacy! Qin Wuchens eyes bulged when he saw the stone tablet. Ive seen one in a battle video before! In that case, Ill gladly take you up on your offer! Wu Xiaoxiao said, her expression turning serious when she saw the stone tablet. Immediately, Wu Xiaoxiao and the others took out their weapons. Then, without prior discussion, the six of them tacitly scattered across the room, fully intent on going all out for Hidden Souls test. Meanwhile, as soon as everyone was in position, Wu Xiaoxiao waved her Epic Staff and cast two Spells simultaneously. Tier 3 Spell, Phantom Art! Tier 3 Spell, Thunderbolt Lock! Immediately, not only did Wu Xiaoxiao split into more than ten copies of herself, but every one of them held a chain made of lightning in their hands. It was impossible to distinguish her real body from the fakes at all. As for the others, they coordinated their movements with Wu Xiaoxiao, with Xiao Yuheng firing a series of arrows at Hidden Soul, Wu Lingling charging forward after using Wind Blade, Lu Wuxuan standing close to Wu Xiaoxiao with his shield raised and his body poised for action, Liu Yuecheng casting a Truth Shield on Wu Xiaoxiao, and Qin Wuchen secretly entering Stealth. Although the six of them had no prior experience working with each other before, there wasnt any conflict in their classes. On the contrary, their classes allowed them to make up for each others flaws, doubling their effective combat power. I already told you to attack me with everything with your full strength. Why are you using a Boss-raiding strategy to fight a player? Hidden Soul said in a slightly frustrated tone when she saw Wu Xiaoxiao and the others scattered around her. Have any of you fought with other players all these years? After letting out a sigh, Hidden Soul took a step forward. Subsequently, Hidden Souls cloaked figure split into over a dozen indistinguishable copies, each copy charging in different directions. What kind of Skill is this? Wu Lingling, who had charged to the forefront, was a little dumbfounded when she looked at the realistic doppelgangers in front of her. Typically, even if a Tier 3 Assassin had a Doppelganger Skill, they could, at most, produce three to five realistic doppelgangers or a dozen or so false doppelgangers. There shouldnt be a Tier 3 Doppelganger Skill capable of producing over a dozen realistic doppelgangers. No, this isnt a Skill! Wu Xiaoxiao exclaimed, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at Hidden Souls doppelgangers. Shes using the Bronze Footwork Thousand Shadow Steps! During her training at Crimson Emperor, the instructor overseeing the training had shown them a video of an expert executing Thousand Shadow Steps, so Wu Xiaoxiao could quickly discern the move Hidden Soul used. Meanwhile, the instructor at the time had specifically told them that should they encounter an expert capable of using the Bronze Combat Technique under Tier 5, there was only one thing they should do. Run! This was because anyone capable of using Thousand Shadow Steps before reaching Tier 5 was essentially invincible among experts beneath the Domain Realm. Moreover, such an expert could be regarded as a one-man army, their effectiveness in PvP matching that of a 1,000-man team Meanwhile, as soon as Wu Xiaoxiao finished speaking, a familiar voice suddenly entered her ears. Good insight, average talent, a good degree of Mana control, and good reaction. Unfortunately, your combat standard is too low, and you didnt even use your Berserk Skill. You even used double speed-casting in this confined space instead of leaving it as a backup plan. If I were to score you out of one hundred points, Id give you only five points. As soon as these words entered her ears, Wu Xiaoxiao suddenly felt her vision darkening. Meanwhile, just as Wu Xiaoxiao was about to collapse to the ground, she vaguely saw Wu Lingling and the others collapsing to the ground one after another A monster?! Chapter 2981 - Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Candlelight Hotel, underground training room: Along with the appearance of several bundles of light, Wu Xiaoxiao and the others quickly reverted to their original state, shock and confusion coloring their faces as if they had experienced the same dream. One person! In a situation where everyone was at Level 101 and geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment at most, they didnt even know how they lost to Hidden Soul, let alone clashing against her. Meanwhile, all of this ended in an instant What kind of monster is she?! After snapping out of her daze, Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt help but look at Hidden Soul in shock. Even the training camps head instructor doesnt have strength like this. Could she be a God-ranked expert? The various superpowers would typically have Tier 5 experts lead their training camps. Meanwhile, when participating in Crimson Emperors training camp for top-tier geniuses, Wu Xiaoxiao had the fortune of meeting Blue Gown, a legendary individual from Crimson Emperor. The Glorious Saint Blue Gown was once one of the top three geniuses in Crimson Emperor. After becoming a Vice Guild Leader in Crimson Emperor, she even became one of the Twelve Sacred Knights in Gods Domain. Now that so many years had passed since Blue Gown had made these achievements, she had already become one of the top-ranking players in the A-League. Although she had never reached Tier 6, few under Tier 5 could be her match. Yet, despite Blue Gown being such a strong individual, Wu Xiaoxiao felt that Blue Gown couldnt even hold a candle to the mysterious cloaked woman before her right now. The two were standing on completely different levels. However, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly shook her head and denied the possibility of Hidden Soul being a God-ranked expert. No matter how she thought about it, there was no way a Tier 6 God-ranked expert would come to the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, she didnt think that Shi Feng, the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, could be acquainted with a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Even so, Wu Xiaoxiao still couldnt help but wonder how Shi Feng had managed to get acquainted with such a powerful expert. Have you six been sleeping in Gods Domain all these years? If I were to score your combat standards, I would give the best among you only five out of one hundred points, while the rest of you wont receive more than three points. To make things worse, all six of you only have mediocre talent, Hidden Soul said, her eyes filled with frustration when she looked at Wu Xiaoxiao and the others. She had originally thought that Shi Feng would surprise her with amazing geniuses. Now, though, it would seem that she was thinking too much. Shi Feng had simply found a few trustworthy players to train in the Miniature Ancient World. Mediocre talent? Five points? Qin Wuchen and the others couldnt help but look at Wu Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingling when they heard Hidden Souls evaluation. They felt that Hidden Soul was joking with them. After all, Wu Lingling was currently regarded as the Gods Domain Academys number one genius. Even the Academys current Four Heavenly Kings wouldnt be a match for Wu Lingling when they were still in their freshman year. As for Wu Xiaoxiao, not only was she a publicly acknowledged top-tier genius in Gods Domain, but she was also only half a step away from entering the Professional Leagues A-League. It should be known that the A-League was a stage where many of Gods Domains apex experts fought. Anyone capable of setting foot on this stage was a famous bigshot in Gods Domain. Yet, despite Wu Xiaoxiao being such a talented expert, Hidden Soul had written her off as worthless Instructor My big sisterdefinitely isnt At this time, even Wu Lingling couldnt help but want to refute Hidden Souls evaluation. She wasnt doing this for her own sake. Instead, she sincerely thought that her elder sister was a true genius. You dont need to defend me, Lingling. Wu Xiaoxiao reached out and interrupted Wu Lingling. What this instructor said is true. My talent is nothing special among the rookies the various superpowers are nurturing. In fact, my talent doesnt even reach the average standard. Wu Xiaoxiao was not the slightest bit surprised by Hidden Souls evaluation. If it was before Wu Xiaoxiao had participated in Crimson Emperors special training, she wouldve most likely tried to refute Hidden Souls evaluation. However, after seeing the various superpowers and first-rate Guilds rookie talents, she came to understand one thingher talent was truly mediocre. It was also because Wu Xiaoxiao came to understand this that she wanted to let Wu Lingling partake in Crimson Emperors special training even more. This was because her little sister was much more talented than her. Despite having only enrolled in the Gods Domain Academy recently at 17, Wu Lingling had already mastered Formless Steps, a top-tier basic combat technique. Her talent could be considered rare even among Crimson Emperors young geniuses. If Wu Lingling could receive Crimson Emperors priority training, Wu Xiaoxiao was confident that her little sisters future achievements would far surpass hers. Not bad. At least youre self-aware of your weaknesses, Hidden Soul said, a rare smile appearing on her face. Since you know you are mediocre, you need to work even harder if you want to become strong in the future. What you six need to do next is simple: fight me. You will pass when one of you manages to last more than a move against me. We will begin the real training once you pass. After saying so, Hidden Soul vanished from everyones sights and mental perception once more. Not good! Spread out immediately! Wu Xiaoxiao promptly activated her Berserk Skill when she saw Hidden Soul disappearing. Then, she cast a magic barrier around herself. Tier 3 Spell, Water Barrier! Unfortunately, even though Wu Xiaoxiao had reacted quickly, she saw a dilapidated short sword cutting at her before her Water Barrier could even finish taking shape. Then, her vision darkened, and her body collapsed to the ground. Moreover, Wu Xiaoxiao wasnt the only one who had collapsed. Wu Lingling and the others had also collapsed to the ground simultaneously Your response was good this time. Its a pity that your reactions are still too slow, Hidden Soul said as she reappeared in front of everyone once more. Then, she shouted, Again! Ten times Twenty times Thirty times As if entering a cycle of death, Wu Xiaoxiao and the others got slaughtered by Hidden Soul one time after another. The entire process could be summed up as Wu Xiaoxiao and the others trying to escape as soon as they got resurrected. However, even after exhausting all of their strategies, Wu Xiaoxiao and the others were still met with death. At best, they had managed to delay their deaths by 0.5 seconds. Meanwhile, along with their repeated deaths, Wu Xiaoxiao and the others also came to understand the horror of Hidden Soul. Rather than a monster, it would be more appropriate to call Hidden Soul a god of death! They would die as soon as she laid eyes on them! In the meantime, inside one of the villas[1] of the Qingzhu Villa District, Shi Feng leisurely took out a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid from the fridge and drank it. Then, he started doing the nine movement sets he had taught to Wu Lingling and the others. Only, the breathing technique he used in conjunction with this exercise was completely different, and its complexity was many times greater. After completing one repetition, Shi Feng approached the fridge again, grabbed another bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid, and emptied the bottles contents into his stomach. As expected, the recovery effect of A-rank Nutrient Fluids is lacking. I can only complete the Body Strengthening Technique twice a day. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile when he looked at his trembling fists. At this rate, itd take me at least a year or two to get my physical fitness to the master standard. The exercise he taught to Wu Lingling and the others was a simplified version of his Body Strengthening Technique. Meanwhile, the Body Strengthening Technique was a training method he developed after combining the training methods he had gathered from other sub-worlds. The Body Strengthening Technique allowed him to train the muscles throughout his entire body, and it did so by enriching his body cells with oxygen and accelerating his metabolism. This, in turn, helped with improving his physique from all aspects, and these improvements would continue until his physical fitness reached the standard of a Henglian master. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, the Body Strengthening Technique he created was extremely popular. The only problem with the technique was the harm it did to the users body. Normally, one would need the help of S-rank Nutrient Fluids to perfectly restore the damage caused by overloading the body. If Shi Feng had enough S-rank Nutrient Fluids to help him recover, he would only need one month to bring his physical fitness to the level of a Henglian master. Just when Shi Feng was about to head to the Gods Domain Academy for class after taking a short rest, the doorbell of his villa suddenly rang. Then, the houses smart housekeeper displayed the holographic image of a young man in front of Shi Feng. Meanwhile, this young man was none other than Gu Yiren, one of World Dominations internal experts and Shadows current Guild Leader! Chapter 2982 - Chapter 56 Chapter 56 C Secret Discovered Why is he here? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the white-clad young man in the holographic display. He hadnt really interacted with Gu Yiren before. Even before he reincarnated, he had only learned of the other party through reading the files Lan Hailong gave him. According to those files, Gu Yiren had passed World Dominations internal member trial when he was 17. There had been over 100,000 rookie players partaking in the trial back then. Among them, there were plenty of talented young men and women who could easily get into top-tier schools. Yet, out of the 30 rookies World Domination recruited, Gu Yiren managed to come in fourth place. After joining World Domination, Gu Yirens growth accelerated even further. By 20, he had already become a vice commander in World Dominations main force. It should be known that even the minimum requirement to become a vice commander of one of World Dominations frontline teams was to be a Tier 4 Refinement Realm expert. The requirement to become a vice commander in World Dominations main force was even higher. If Gu Yiren were to join a first-rate Guild, he would instantly be made into an Elder-level executive or possibly even a Vice Guild Leader. Currently, due to Gu Yiren being Shadows Guild Leader, many people have ignored the fact that he was only 21 years old this year. At that age, he would only be a fourth-year student in university. However, compared to Wu Xiaoxiao, the Gods Domain Academys current star, Gu Yiren was definitely superior. Honestly, with Gu Yirens standards, having him serve as a second-rate Guilds Guild Leader was somewhat of an overkill. Can we have a talk, Instructor Shi? Gu Yirens holographic image asked. Sure, come in, Shi Feng said. Then, he had the smart housekeeper open the front door. When Gu Yiren entered the first-floor living room, Shi Feng noticed that the other party didnt come alone. Instead, there was a beautiful girl dressed like a secretary standing behind Gu Yiren. It seems Ive underestimated the importance Shadow holds in World Dominations eyes. To think it would send two top-tier talents to oversee a mere second-rate Guild Shi Feng murmured to himself, feeling a little surprised when he saw the girl dressed like a secretary. Even though the girl looked like she was only 20 years old, her physique was already at the half-step Henglian master standard. Even in the entire Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy, nobody was capable of rivaling this girl in terms of physique. Moreover, judging by the way she carried herself and the level of alertness she showed, the girl was probably at the Flowing Water Realm already. A 20-year-old Flowing Water Realm expert was an existence only the various superpowers could reliably produce. Such an existence wasnt something the various first-rate powers of Gods Domain could hope to produce. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Fengs soft mutterings, the girl, Tao Yuwei, couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise and caution. Ever since Tao Yuwei arrived in Jin Hai City, she had disguised herself as Gu Yirens secretary, and not even Lan Hailong, Shadows president[1], knew of her actual identity. In everyones eyes, she was nothing but an ordinary secretary. Nobody in the city had yet to realize that she, too, was one of World Dominations top-tier geniuses. Yet, now, less than three seconds after she stepped into this living room, Shi Feng, the former Guild Leader of Shadow, had effortlessly seen through her disguise. This situation was inconceivable no matter how she thought about it. Hahaha! You truly do have great eyes, Instructor Shi! No wonder why a genius like Wu Lingling insists on having you as her instructor! Gu Yiren openly acknowledged Shi Fengs words. As youve surmised, this person beside me is Tao Yuwei. She is my junior sister and similarly a vice commander of World Dominations main force. Unfazed by this revelation, Shi Feng got straight to the point and asked, So, what business do you have with me? Join us. Or, more specifically, return to Shadow. I will give you the position of Vice Guild Leader and let you manage all of Shadows affairs. What do you think? Gu Yiren asked with a smile. Of course, I will handle the explanation on Lan Hailongs side. He shouldnt have any qualms with my decision. That easily? Shi Feng smiled. Dont I need to do something? Of course, there is a price. However, it is a simple price to pay for you, Gu Yiren said, chuckling. Then, he earnestly said, So long as you hand over the complete version of your training methodthe exercise you taught to Wu Lingling and the othersyou can continue being Shadows Guild Leader. Yuwei and I wont remain in Shadow forever, so it is only a matter of time before you get the position back. We can even help you secure Shadow if you want. At that time, Lan Hailong will only be president in name. You will have the final say in Shadow. When Gu Yiren spoke up to this point, Tao Yuweis eyes briefly sparkled. Before investigating Wu Lingling, they assumed that Wu Lingling was a rare talent in Jin Hai City. They had even made plans to recruit Wu Lingling into World Domination. However, after investigating deeper into Wu Lingling, they discovered that the girl wasnt as excellent as they thought. Specifically, Wu Lingling didnt use to be as excellent as they thought. However, everything changed on the day Wu Lingling took her enrollment test. Wu Lingling, who shouldve only received an A-rank evaluation for her enrollment test originally, had unexpectedly received an S-rank evaluation. It might be fine if Wu Lingling was the only person to have made such a sudden improvement. However, after they looked deeper into the matter, they discovered something shockingevery student who participated in Shi Fengs brief training session had their evaluations increased by one rank. Indeed! In only a few short hours, every one of Shi Fengs students had raised their evaluations by one rank! In the eyes of ordinary powers, they would probably only find this situation to be amazing and nothing more. However, it was a completely different story for the various superpowers. The feat of helping someone make visible improvements to their combat standards in a matter of a few hours was something even the various superpowers could not accomplish. It didnt matter even if the person in question had only gone from the Trial Towers fifth-floor early stage to the fifth-floor middle stage. At most, the various superpowers could help bona fide top-tier geniuses achieve such rapid improvement. If a person only had average talent, even the best training methods the various superpowers could offer couldnt help this person make visible improvements in only a few hours. Moreover, Wu Linglings subsequent performances were even more astonishing. Not only did she single-handedly win the freshman competition, but her combat standard had even reached the fifth floors late-stage already at the time of the competition! It should be known that the freshman competition was held the day after the enrollment test. Meanwhile, the increase in the difficulty of the Trial Towers challenges grew greater and greater the higher one climbed. So, the amount of time one needed to pass each stage would also increase exponentially. Wu Linglings rate of improvement simply defied common sense! Compared to Wu Lingling, the various superpowers top-tier geniuses were nothing but a joke! Afterward, they had secretly hired some of the Academys freshmen to challenge Qin Wuchen, Xiao Yuheng, and the other students under Shi Feng to a spar. Meanwhile, they found that every one of Shi Fengs students had displayed far superior combat standards than what they previously displayed in their enrollment test. Qin Wuchen, in particular, had already reached the fifth-floor middle-stage standard. It should be known that Qin Wuchen had only scored an A-rank evaluation in his enrollment test. Yet, he had already caught up with Gu Tong, who was publicly recognized as a genius. Not to mention, even Gu Tong had only reached the fifth floors middle stage recently. After racking their heads over this situation, the only explanation Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei could come up with for this astonishing situation was the exercise Shi Feng had taught to Qin Wuchen and the others. Meanwhile, after coming to this conclusion, the two of them had secretly tried to mimic the exercise. However, even after mimicking the nine movement sets perfectly, they failed to experience any benefits from the exercise. This meant that there must be a secret to this exercise that they werent aware of and that blindly copying the movements was useless. In that case, if they wished to obtain the complete version of the exercise, they would have to get it from Shi Fengs hands. However, after hearing Gu Yirens words, Shi Feng simply smiled and asked, What if I refuse? Chapter 2983 - Chapter 57 Chapter 57 C The Sky Is Falling Not interested, are you? Seemingly having expected Shi Fengs answer, Gu Yiren smiled and said, Im sure you have many partners you can trade with, Instructor Shi, so you dont necessarily have to trade with us. However, I can assure you that we are your best option. It is especially true around this time. I know what you mean. Nonchalantly, Shi Feng said, Since you managed to find out about this matter, other people can naturally do so as well. However, those people wouldnt necessarily be as amiable as you, right? Im glad that you are an understanding person, Instructor Shi. Without hiding anything, Gu Yiren said, Ill get straight to the point, then. The training method you have in your possession is extraordinary, Instructor Shi. Once news of it gets out, even Soulfire wont dare to get involved with it, let alone Jin Hai University. Meanwhile, once the various superpowers start to take action, what youll be faced with isnt a transaction offer but a one-sided offering instead. If handled poorly, you might even get struck down into the abyss. However, if you trade with us now, we will help you fend off all of these problems. You can even return to your previous Guild Leader position. Moreover, with our support, Shadow will also become your possession. This is a win-win solution for both of us. At this point, Gu Yiren was adamant in obtaining the complete version of Shi Fengs exercise. Even though this exercise could only help players reach the Refinement Realm according to their understanding, it was still plenty astonishing to the various superpowers. After all, nurturing a player to the Refinement Realm wasnt an easy task as factors such as luck and talent played an important role. Otherwise, the various superpowers wouldve long since been flooded with Refinement Realm experts. Meanwhile, if he could acquire this Refinement exercise, both he and Tao Yuwei would instantly become high-level executives in World Domination and acquire resources unimaginable to them before. They might even gain access to the legendary Upper Zone. Thank you for your concern, Guild Leader Gu, but I am still uninterested in your offer, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. If you really wish to trade, it will cost you 500 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid! Five hundred?! Are you insane?! Tao Yuwei subconsciously raised her voice when she heard Shi Fengs demand. It was impossible to find S-rank Nutrient Fluids on the open market. Although they were privately traded for one million Credits per bottle, even the various superpowers could only acquire a limited amount from the various major corporations. Meanwhile, this amount wasnt even enough to satisfy the various superpowers internal needs. Even though she and Gu Yiren were regarded as top-tier talents in World Domination, they could only exchange for five bottles per year or ten bottles in total. Yet, Shi Feng was asking for 500 bottles! This was daylight robbery! If you dont have that many, theres nothing I can do to help you, Shi Feng said, shrugging. At the same time, he couldnt help but feel a little disappointed. He wasnt against selling his exercise if he could get a sufficient amount of S-rank Nutrient Fluids in exchange. After all, all this exercise did was lower the bar for players to reach the Refinement Realm. It didnt mean that anyone who practiced it could reach the Refinement Realm. You Tao Yuwei grew even more furious after hearing Shi Fengs response. She was a top-tier genius in World Domination. Never had she suffered such humiliation before! Since you arent interested in trading, we will be taking our leave first, Instructor Shi. But if you change your mind in the future, feel free to contact me at any time, Gu Yiren said. Unlike Tao Yuwei, he did not get angry over Shi Fengs response. On the contrary, he politely bid goodbye to Shi Feng and dragged Tao Yuwei out of the villa with him. Meanwhile, after leaving the villa, Tao Yuwei glared at Gu Yiren in dissatisfaction and asked, Why did you stop me just now, Senior Brother? I was only trying to teach him a lesson! Otherwise, hell really think that hes amazing and that he can trade with us as equals! Teach him a lesson? Gu Yiren rolled his eyes at Tao Yuwei. Then, he looked back at the villa with a heavy expression and said, If I didnt stop you just now, you wouldve most likely gotten into big trouble by now Is he that strong? Tao Yuwei asked skeptically as she looked at the fearful expression on Gu Yirens face. She had conducted a thorough investigation into Shi Fengs history, so she knew he was merely an ordinary person. He did not have any background or powerful experts supporting him. His performance was also extraordinarily mediocre throughout the ten years he spent in Gods Domain. She had even looked into Shi Fengs friends and knew that all of them were ordinary people. Moreover, because Shi Feng had failed to receive systematic training when he was young, even after receiving training resources from Shadow later down the line, his physical fitness was only on the level of first-rate athletes. She would need only one punch to topple such a person. You know that Ive always had a sharp intuition, Gu Yiren said. It is precisely because of my sharp intuition that Teacher chose to take me under his wing. Teacher says that I am extremely gifted when it comes to mental strength. Teacher has even taught me a few meditation techniques that have helped develop my mental strength greatly. Tao Yuwei silently nodded to Gu Yirens words. She was aware that Gu Yiren possessed a sharp intuition. Because of his sharp intuition, Gu Yiren had managed to come in fourth place during the rookie test. In comparison, she only managed to come in tenth. My perception of experts is also different from other people. In my eyes, some experts are like household cats, while some are like hungry wolves and lions. However, when I looked at Shi Feng before, I couldnt sense anything from him. He felt no different than a tree in my perception. If I hadnt seen him talking, I wouldve even suspected that he wasnt alive. But the moment you tried to take action Gu Yiren paused for a moment when he spoke up to this point. Then, the fear on his face intensified as he continued in a slightly trembling voice, Do you know what I felt? What? A tiger? Or is it a monster brandishing its claws? Tao Yuwei grew curious when she saw Gu Yirens fear intensifying. She knew that Gu Yiren could express the threat he perceived from his opponents in various forms. Meanwhile, if his opponents threat level manifested in the form of household pets such as cats and dogs, it meant that his opponent was merely an ordinary Refinement Realm expert or a half-step master in the real world, individuals incapable of posing any significant threat to him. However, if the opponents threat level manifested as a wolf, it was almost certain that the opponent was a martial arts master in the real world. In the case of lions and tigers, these manifestations were reserved for top-tier martial arts masters. I didnt perceive any animal or monster, Gu Yiren said, shaking his head. That proves he isnt anything, then, Tao Yuwei said, feeling a little speechless. Ignoring Tao Yuweis words, Gu Yiren turned around and looked at his junior sister. Then, he took a deep breath and whispered, Instead, what I perceived was the sky falling Chapter 2984 Chapter 58 C You Brought This Onto Yourself The sky fell? Tao Yuwei scratched her head, failing to understand Gu Yirens point. This is also my first time coming across such a situation, Gu Yiren said with a bitter smile. All I know is that the moment you tried to take action, I got the feeling that the sky was falling, and an indescribable sense of death filled the living room. Are you sure nothings wrong with your mind, Senior Brother? Tao Yuwei asked when she saw Gu Yirens abnormal behavior. Shi Feng was nothing more than a Tier 3 player during his peak. Even if he used to be Shadows Guild Leader, Shadow was only a second-rate Guild. In the eyes of the various superpowers, Shi Feng was nothing more than an insignificant ant. Yet, now, Gu Yiren was describing Shi Feng as if he was someone amazing. Those unaware of Gu Yirens abilities might even think that he had gone crazy. Anyway, we should be more careful of Shi Feng, Gu Yiren said. Dont forget that he managed to see through your strength with just a glance. He isnt as simple as he looks. However, I have already told this matter to Teacher, and Teacher has said that he will make a trip here soon. It wouldnt be late for us to teach Shi Feng a lesson at that time. Teacher is coming here in person? Tao Yuweis eyes lit up when she heard Gu Yirens words. Thats wonderful! Well see how Shi Feng continues behaving arrogantly at that time! Their teacher was a legendary individual in World Domination. If their teacher visited Jin Hai City, Shi Feng would have to hand over the complete version of the Refinement Realm exercise even if he didnt want to. Meanwhile, inside Shi Fengs villa, after Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei left, Shi Feng quietly stood by the window and took an extra look at Gu Yiren. It seems I have underestimated the superpowers of this world. I didnt think he would notice my intentions of attacking just now. Shi Fengs face took on a slightly serious look as he watched Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei driving away in their car. Ill have to raise my physical fitness as quickly as possible. On an individual level, Shi Feng did not see Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei as a threat at all. Even if his body was in poor shape right now, he could still beat the two of them effortlessly. After all, he had been a neutralizing grandmaster and a mental strength grandmaster during his previous life. Few people could match him even in the Upper Zone. While his current physique might be terrible, the skills he honed during his previous life remained. He would have no problems defeating even internal force masters in his current state. Not to mention, neither Gu Yiren nor Tao Yuwei was an internal force master. However, Gu Yirens arrival had also served as a wake-up call for Shi Feng. He would probably have a tough time going up against the various superpowers old monsters. After all, the difference in physical fitness between them was far too massive. It wasnt a gap that could be easily bridged using techniques alone. Hence, he needed to improve his physical fitness as quickly as possible. At the very least, he needed to reach the half-step master standard. If he could accomplish that, he would be able to deal with most problems he would encounter. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng reluctantly put on his jacket and drove his car to Jin Hai University. He had to admit that being a teacher was truly a tedious job However, this was the most reliable way Shi Feng could think of to acquire S-rank Nutrient Fluids. It was true that he had many things he could use to trade with the various superpowers, with many of these things being even better than the exercise Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei sought. However, all transactions were established based on equality. He would simply be seeking an early death if he tried to trade with the various superpowers without having sufficient strength. Jin Hai University, Gods Domain Academy, Teaching Block No.3: Although classes had only started officially yesterday, many of the Academys well-known instructors were busy conducting special training with their apprentices outside of the Academys campus, so they didnt have time to hold classes at all. Even so, students still flooded the teaching block. When Shi Feng entered Teaching Block No.3, he found himself looking at many instructors fighting over the available classes in the lobby. Whats going on? Teaching Block No.3 had over 200 classrooms. Yet, now, only a few were left. Moreover, all of the remaining classrooms were super-large classrooms. Not even one small classroom remained available right now. The teaching blocks super-large classrooms were unique compared to the other classrooms available. Apart from being able to accommodate 400 people, the super-large classrooms also had state-of-the-art technology that allowed occupants to connect their Gods Domain IDs and conduct virtual battles and guidance inside the classroom. Only, apart from senior instructors, other instructors wouldnt usually touch these classrooms. The reason for this was simplethese super-large classrooms were simply too expensive to rent. An instructor would have to fork out 30,000 points to hold one lecture in a super-large classroom. It was simply impossible for junior and intermediate instructors to recuperate such a hefty cost. While Shi Feng was feeling surprised, a tall and robust man approached him. Meanwhile, this man was none other than Luo Tiancheng. Why, if it isnt Instructor Shi! Luo Tiancheng exclaimed with a smile as he looked at Shi Feng. Whats wrong? Cant find a classroom? Well, I guess thats normal after the recent announcement. With the opportunity to visit the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters presented to them, anyone would at least try to compete for it. If you didnt know, the Secret Pavilion has recently announced that it is letting more students and instructors visit its branch headquarters. So, apart from the senior instructors, our Academy is also letting five other instructors to take part in the tour. Meanwhile, these five instructor slots would be granted to the top five performing instructors today. Moreover, junior instructors can even get promoted to intermediate instructors depending on their performances. Of course, while you might be Student Wu Linglings instructor, you wont receive any special treatment, Instructor Shi. If you want to participate in the tour, youll have to compete for these top five positions just like everyone else. After all, a students excellence and a teachers excellence shouldnt be confused with each other. Only through holding classes can an instructor adequately display their strength. Otherwise, instructors who only have luck to rely on would only bring shame to our Jin Hai University if they visited the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. Dont you think so, Instructor Shi? Thats right. Shi Feng nodded. Then, he looked at Luo Tiancheng with conviction in his eyes, saying, What you say is very much correct. Such a method of selection will allow the Academy to best demonstrate the standard of its instructors. I didnt think our Academy would be so generous to its instructors. Originally, Shi Feng had been pondering how he could quickly get promoted to an intermediate instructor. Now, he wouldnt have to worry about this problem anymore. After saying so, Shi Feng promptly chose to rent a super-large classroom via the classroom reservation board in the lobby. Then, he went upstairs and made his way to the classroom he rented. A super-large classroom?! Is he nuts?! Luo Tiancheng was momentarily dumbfounded when he saw that Shi Feng had rented a super-large classroom. However, a moment later, he turned to look at Shi Fengs departing figure and sneered, thinking, You brought this onto yourself! Lets see how youll enter the top five after this crazy stunt! Had Shi Feng chosen to borrow a classroom from the other instructors, he might have had a chance to compete for the top five instructor spots. After all, he had students such as Wu Lingling, who didnt care about spending large amounts of points. If he managed to rope in one or two more idiots into his exorbitant class, it was entirely possible for him to rank among the top five. However, by choosing a super-large classroom, Shi Feng had put himself at a deficit of 30,000 points right off the bat. In this situation, itd be a miracle if he could even earn enough points to cover his expenses, let alone compete for the top five instructor slots. Not to mention, it wasnt even certain if Wu Linglign would continue attending Shi Fengs classes. After all, Wu Xiaoxiao had no intentions of letting Shi Feng remain as Wu Linglings instructor. While Luo Tiancheng was secretly snickering and getting ready to head to his classroom, a loud commotion suddenly occurred at the teaching blocks entrance. Subsequently, a silver-haired girl and a petite-looking girl entered the building. Meanwhile, these two girls were none other than Wu Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingling. Chapter 2985 - Chapter 59 Chapter 59 C Watching Him Rise, Watching Him Entertain Important Guests, Watching Him Sure enough, this is going to be interesting. Before seeing Wu Xiaoxiao, Luo Tiancheng still felt that Shi Feng could recoup his losses at the very least by relying on Wu Lingling and a few more of his students. However, now that Wu Xiaoxiao was here, Shi Feng shouldnt even think of earning back the points he put into renting the super=large classroom. The reason why Luo Tiancheng thought so was because of a shocking piece of news he received not long ago. Apparently, while Wu Xiaoxiao was out participating in the Super Guild Crimson Emperors special training, she showed relatively good talent and performance, so she managed to get herself selected for Crimson Emperors priority training list. This news had excited Dazzle Waves executives greatly. After all, Crimson Emperor would choose only ten players from its affiliated powers to offer priority training. Meanwhile, not only did Crimson Emperor have over a hundred affiliated powers, but each affiliated power had even sent two or three representatives to participate in its training camp. Thus, the difficulty of ranking within the top ten out of these several hundred people was enormous. Now that Wu Xiaoxiao was slated to receive the treatment of Crimson Emperors top-tier internal talents, if no mishaps occurred, she would become one of Dazzle Waves successors in the future. Her current status in Dazzle Wave and Gods Domain was completely different from before. With her current status and identity, Wu Xiaoxiao would have no trouble providing more resources for her little sister Wu Lingling. She could even recommend Wu Lingling to Crimson Emperor, allowing Wu Lingling to participate in Crimson Emperors next training camp and potentially get selected for priority training. Currently, the various powers of Gods Domain were in urgent need of experts because of the Miniature Ancient World, and they were doing everything they could to fulfill this shortage. Thus, Crimson Emperors next training camp might arrive much earlier than expected. It might even be in the works already. After all, a superpower would always act while looking a few steps ahead. Unlike the average power in Gods Domain, the various superpowers didnt have to worry much about resources when planning for the future. Shortly after Wu Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingling entered the Teaching Block, another commotion occurred at the entrance as a refined-looking middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses walked into the building along with a young man and a young woman. Crap! What kind of day is today!? Senior Wu Xiaoxiaos arrival just now was already plenty surprising. I never thought that two of the Academys Four Heavenly Kings would also come here. Is there some kind of bigshot teaching here today? Why is Instructor Qi here as well? Dont senior instructors get to attend the tour without having to compete? Upon seeing this trio, every student and instructor nearby couldnt help but be surprised. This was because the middle-aged man was none other than the Academys famous Senior Instructor Qi, while the young man behind him was Liang Feng, and the young woman was Chen Ziyou. Despite looking thin and sickly, Liang Feng was the youngest out of the Academys Four Heavenly Kings, and he was currently only a second-year student. As for Chen Ziyou, she, too, was one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Meanwhile, both of them were Instructor Qis students. It was also because of these two students that Instructor Qi managed to hold an absolute position in the Academy and stand toe-to-toe with Wu Xiaoxiaos instructor. What brings you here today, Instructor Qi? Didnt you plan to provide special training for Gu Tong and the others before the Secret Pavilion tour? Luo Tiancheng asked in confusion after approaching Instructor Qi. The Academy placed significant importance on the Secret Pavilion tour this time, so much so that it had promised generous rewards to the four senior instructors. After all, the tour this time would determine the standings of Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy among the other academies in the province. Thus, all four senior instructors were privately training their respective apprentices in preparation for the tour. Ziyou says that Instructor Shis classes are amazing, Instructor Qi said as she gave a grumpy look at Chen Ziyou. Im skeptical of her claims, so I came here to take a look for myself. In response, Chen Ziyou simply made an embarrassed smile and didnt offer any explanations. You are thinking too highly of that Shi Feng, Instructor Qi. How can his class possibly be better than yours? Luo Tiancheng was shocked when he heard Instructor Qis words. Moreover, Shi Feng is charging 10,000 points for one class. Thats simply daylight robbery. Instructor Qi held a prestigious position in the Academy. The average instructor in the Academy would even try to attend Instructor Qis classes. This was because Instructor Qi used to be a core member of the top adventurer team Heavens Wind. However, after Heavens Winds disbandment, Instructor Qi stopped being active in Gods Domain and focused on teaching at Jin Hai University instead. One shouldnt underestimate Instructor Qi simply because he had a refined and scholarly appearance. Although Instructor Qi could only exhibit combat standards at the Refinement Realm when manipulating his in-game character due to his deteriorated mental state, he had reached the peak of the Flowing Water Realm during his prime. It was even rumored that he was only one step away from reaching the Void Realm. For this reason, Instructor Qi held connections with many major powers and even superpowers. I know that, which is why I came prepared, Instructor Qi said, nodding. This Luo Tiancheng was at a loss for words. Then, he turned to look at Liang Feng in the hopes of getting the boy to put some sense into Instructor Qi. Currently, every additional person that attended Shi Fengs class would increase Shi Fengs chances of attending the Secret Pavilion tour, so Luo Tiancheng couldnt allow Instructor Qis group of three to attend Shi Fengs class. Meanwhile, it was well known that Liang Feng had a conflicting relationship with Chen Ziyou. If Chen Ziyou was adamant in siding with Shi Feng, Liang Fengs reaction would naturally oppose her. Dont worry, Instructor Luo. I also brought enough points with me, Liang Feng said, completely misunderstanding Luo Tianchengs signal. ??? Luo Tiancheng was flabbergasted when he heard Liang Fengs words. Was that what he meant? Or was this one of the Academys so-called geniuses? Amidst Luo Tianchengs shock, Wu Xiaoxiao and Wu Lingling suddenly walked over to the group. Hello, Instructor Qi. Despite her cold nature, Wu Xiaoxiao had taken the initiative to greet Instructor Qi. May I know if I can trouble you with something? Wu Xiaoxiaos sudden greeting had surprised Luo Tiancheng and the surrounding people. Wu Xiaoxiao was known for being a prideful lone wolf in the Academy. Other than her instructor, she would never take the initiative to greet anyone in the Academy. Yet, now, she had taken the initiative to greet Instructor Qi. Is she trying to band together with Instructor Qi to pressure Shi Feng? When Luo Tiancheng thought about Wu Linglings present situation, he felt that the likelihood of that happening was high. Currently, Wu Lingling behaved as if she were possessed as she adamantly insisted on remaining as Shi Fengs apprentice. She refused to change her mind no matter what others said to her. However, if the Academys brightest star and one of the Academys prestigious senior instructors joined hands to exert pressure on Shi Feng, Shi Feng would have no choice but to abandon Wu Lingling lest he wanted to get isolated in the Academy. Thinking up to this point, Luo Tiancheng grew a lot more spirited. How can I possibly refuse a request from Student Wu Xiaoxiao? Instructor Qi was similarly surprised to see Wu Xiaoxiao greet him. Then, he happily said, Ask away! Can I buy some points from you, Instructor? Wu Xiaoxiao said in slight embarrassment. I spent most of my points at the advanced training hall previously, and I dont even have 10,000 points on me right now. Yet, my little sister refuses to lend me any points no matter what. May I know if you can sell me a couple hundred thousand points? Chapter 2986 - Chapter 60 Chapter 60 As soon as Wu Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Luo Tiancheng, who was about to laugh at Shi Fengs predicament, was promptly dumbfounded. Luo Tiancheng could understand Instructor Qi and Liang Feng holding an interest in Shi Fengs class. After all, they had Chen Ziyou fanning the flames from the side. However, it made zero sense why someone as prideful as Wu Xiaoxiao would attend Shi Fengs class. At this moment, Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but think that Wu Xiaoxiao was playing a joke on him. Or was it this world that was joking with him? In Luo Tianchengs opinion, Shi Feng would already be fortunate if Wu Xiaoxiao didnt give him a beating. Yet, not only was Wu Xiaoxiao going out of her way to buy points to attend Shi Fengs lesson right now, but she was even buying points in the hundreds of thousands. Evidently, she didnt plan to stop at just one lecture This was Shi Feng they were talking about! Even at his peak, Shi Feng was merely a Tier 3 expert who hadnt even reached the Refinement Realm. It was only due to the early advantage he had accumulated during the early stages of Gods Domain that he managed to become Shadows Guild Leader. Although Luo Tiancheng was slightly inferior to Shi Feng when it came to individual strength, he was confident he surpassed Shi Feng when it came to teaching standards. So, what qualifications did Shi Feng have to attract the Academys top-tier talents and a senior instructor to attend his class? However, what Luo Tiancheng didnt know was that Wu Xiaoxiao was only behaving this way because of Hidden Soul. She naturally had to meet the person capable of recruiting the help of such a monster. If Shi Feng was indeed as amazing as her little sister described, she planned to recommend him to Crimson Emperor. After all, Crimson Emperor was in urgent need of experts right now. A couple hundred thousand? I dont have that many points on me right now, Instructor Qi said, shaking his head. Then, he turned to look at Chen Ziyou, who wore a delighted look on her face, and awkwardly said, I did have a lot of points before, but I sold most of them to Ziyou already. I only have a little more than 60,000 points right now, but I still need to take a look at Instructor Shis class, so I can only sell you 50,000 points. Ever since Chen Ziyou had attended Shi Fengs first lecture, she had become a harvesting machine for Academy Points. She had even praised Shi Feng to the sky. If it wasnt for the fact that Chen Ziyou had indeed reached the Refinement Realm after attending Shi Fengs class, Instructor Qi wouldnt have believed her claims at all. It should be known that Chen Ziyou had been stuck on the cusp of the Refinement Realm for a long time already. Even though her techniques were already on the level of Refinement Realm experts, she couldnt reach the Refinement Realm no matter what. Yet, Shi Feng had resolved Chen Ziyous problem after just one lesson. Even as an instructor, Instructor Qi couldnt help but find this unbelievable. Okay! Ill take all of them! Wu Xiaoxiao transferred the Credits for the 50,000 points to Instructor Qi without hesitation, giving no time for Instructor Qi to even think or hesitate. Meanwhile, Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but be dumbfounded by Wu Xiaoxiaos actions. Was Shi Fengs class really so magical that Wu Xiaoxiao saw the need to seek points so desperately? Thank you, Instructor Qi. Well be taking our leave now, Wu Xiaoxiao said after seeing the 50,000 points being credited to her account. Then, she promptly left for Shi Fengs classroom with Wu Lingling. Seeing this, Chen Ziyou also hurriedly urged, Lets hurry over there as well, Instructor. Instructor Shis class will be starting soon. After looking at the time and seeing that Shi Fengs class was indeed starting soon, Instructor Qi quickly concluded his conversation with Luo Tiancheng and went upstairs with Chen Ziyou and Liang Feng. This world mustve gone crazy! It must have! Luo Tiancheng was in complete and utter disbelief right now. Even though Shi Feng was no longer Shadows Guild Leader Even though Shi Feng had already been knocked down from his lofty position Even though Shi Feng had already been reduced to nothing but a loser For some inexplicable reason, Shi Feng was shining even brighter than when he was Shadows Guild Leader It should be known that Wu Xiaoxiao and Instructor Qi were individuals that even Lan Hailong, the president of Lan Hua Group, was trying to befriend. Yet, now, these two people were taking the initiative to attend Shi Fengs class Meanwhile, shortly after Wu Xiaoxiao and Instructor Qi entered Shi Fengs classroom, waves quickly spread throughout the campus. Whats going on?! Who is this Instructor Shi?! How did he get Wu Xiaoxiao and two of the Academys Heavenly Kings to attend his class?! Could this Instructor Shi be some bigshot that came from another city? Thats not right. I know that Instructor Shi. If I remember correctly, he should be Shadows former Guild Leader. He only came to work as an instructor after Shadow dismissed him. Are you sure thats not a mistake? Even if Gu Yiren were to hold a class right now, Instructor Qi and Senior Wu Xiaoxiao wouldnt necessarily attend it. It is especially true for Senior Wu Xiaoxiao. She is currently being nurtured as a top-tier talent by Crimson Emperor. It wouldnt be long before she enters the A-League at this rate. Unless Instructor Shi has incredibly high combat standards, why would she attend his class? Many students were originally unfamiliar with Shi Fengs name. However, thanks to Wu Xiaoxiao and the others, Shi Feng had instantly become the center of attention of the entire Academy. After all, whether it was Wu Xiaoxiao or the Academys Four Heavenly Kings, every one of them had a dazzling future ahead of them. The fact that these people chose to attend Shi Fengs class proved that he wasnt ordinary by any means. For a time, some students started fervently looking into Shi Fengs history. In the meantime, inside the faculty office near the teaching block Yaoyue, this academy of yours really is interesting, Zhuo Yalin, wearing a short black dress, said as she lazily pointed at a document displaying Shi Fengs information. To think that the famous Silver Witch in Gods Domain would go out of her way to attend a junior instructors lesson Is this guy really just the former Guild Leader of Shadow? That is the case on paper, at the very least, Lin Yaoyue said as she sorted through the documents on her desk. However, judging by how he behaves, I find it hard to believe that he is a former Guild Leader dismissed by his Guild. He behaves more like a laid-back princeling instead. In that case, he shouldnt be as simple as he looks. He might even be hiding a lot of secrets. Otherwise, there is no reason why the Silver Witch would attend his class, Zhuo Yalin said, a hint of interest appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Fengs photo. It really makes you wonder what was going through Lan Hailongs mind to actually exclude such an individual from his Guild. Hearing Zhuo Yalins words, Lin Yaoyue grew a little exasperated as she said, Shi Feng might be extraordinary, but he is still far from being a match for Mr. Black Flame. Have you thought over my proposal yet? I understand your point. Joining Zero Wing in a personal capacity is indeed a good idea for us. However, after thinking it through, I feel that it is best if you give your slot to Big Sis first, Zhuo Yalin said, her originally lazy expression suddenly becoming serious. You and I both know what kind of talent and strength Big Sis possesses. She is, without a doubt, a monster-class expert. If not for her family holding her down, she wouldve long since become a bigshot in Gods Domain. If she can join Zero Wing, it might help resolve her predicament. At that time, with Big Siss talent, it shouldnt take long before she acquires an invitation slot. It wouldnt be late for me to join at that time. Big Sis, is it? A hint of excitement appeared in Lin Yaoyues eyes when she heard Zhuo Yalins words. Youre right. That might be for the better if we can persuade Big Sis. Ill try to contact her within the next few days. Lin Yaoyue had nothing but praise and admiration for the person she and Zhuo Yalin referred to as Big Sis. If not for some problems their Big Sis faced with her family and Guild during the early years of Gods Domain, she wouldve probably been standing at the top of Gods Domain right now. Moreover, even before Gods Domains launch, their Big Sis had already been regarded as one of the goddesses in the virtual gaming world. The Snow Goddess, Gentle Snow! Chapter 2987 - Chapter 61 Chapter 61 C Academys Apex Third Teaching Block, top-floor super-large classroom: Including Shi Feng, a total of 35 people occupied the spacious classroom that could sit 400 people. Yet, despite less than 10% of the classroom being filled, the classrooms occupancy had caused an uproar throughout the campus. This was because, in just one class, Shi Feng had earned a whopping 220,000 Academy Points. Even after deducting the 30,000-point fee to use the classroom, he would still make a net profit of 190,000 points. With this many points, Shi Feng had become the undisputed number one on the instructor points list. However, contrasting the noisy campus, the inside of the super-large classroom was filled with silence. Everyone kept their mouths shut as they focused their attention on Shi Feng. It was especially true for Qin Wuchen and the other students apprenticed under Shi Feng. Every one of them wore excited looks on their faces, and they thoroughly pushed their five senses to their limits for fear of missing out on even one of Shi Fengs words. Are freshmen nowadays so rich? Liang Feng, who sat in the last row of the classroom, couldnt help but be surprised when he looked at Qin Wuchen and the others. Liang Feng was aware that Shi Feng possessed some ability. Otherwise, Chen Ziyou couldnt have reached the Refinement Realm under Shi Fengs tutelage. This was also why Liang Feng had taken the initiative to attend Shi Fengs class. However, Shi Fengs class was anything but cheap. Even if Qin Wuchen and the others were Shi Fengs apprentices, they still needed to pay 6,000 points to attend a class. This was an amount even Liang Feng didnt possess when he was in his freshman year. Yet, all 30 of Shi Fengs students were in attendance right now Its not that these freshmen are rich, but that Instructor Shis class is really worth the price, Chen Ziyou said with a faint smile. If I were a freshman, Id even go as far as to pay 60,000 points just to attend one of Instructor Shis classes, let alone 6,000 points. Keep on boasting, Liang Feng said as he rolled his eyes at Chen Ziyou. Even if Instructor Shi has some abilities, the development of combat standards isnt something that can be done overnight. Your case is just an outlier. Otherwise, the various superpowers wouldnt be stuck with so few Refinement Realm experts. What you say might be right, Liang Feng, but what Ziyou said is also correct, Instructor Qi, Qi Lianshan, said as he observed Shi Feng, a rare smile appearing on his face. Instructor Shi is indeed an extraordinary individual. Setting aside his teaching standards, he definitely has me beat in combat standards. I wouldnt be a match for him even if I were still in my prime. Youre no match for him even in your prime, Teacher? Is he that strong? Liang Feng couldnt help but be surprised as he turned to look at Shi Feng, who currently stood on the podium. He had personally witnessed Qi Lianshans true strength. Even at his current deteriorated strength, Qi Lianshan could easily get into the mid-to-upper ranks in the Professional Leagues B-League should he choose to participate. Qi Lianshan was probably stronger than even the current Wu Xiaoxiao. If Qi Lianshan was still in his prime, he would definitely rank at the top of the B-League. He might even have a chance at qualifying for the A-League. He is far stronger than you think, Qi Lianshan said, chuckling. You might mistake him for your average civilian because he looks and feels so ordinary. However, it is precisely because he is so ordinary that he is scary. He has already reached a level where he can integrate his every movement with his surroundings. Such a person should be a Void Realm expert at the very least. So, how could I, someone who has only ever reached the Flowing Water Realm, match him? Upon hearing Qi Lianshans explanation, Liang Feng couldnt help but examine Shi Feng again seriously. If Shi Feng truly was a Void Realm expert, he would be one of the strongest experts in Jin Hai City. Even the various superpowers would fight to recruit him. A tiny place like Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy wouldnt be able to accommodate him at all. At this time, even Chen Ziyou was surprised to hear Qi Lianshans explanation. Although she had long since known that Shi Feng was an internal force expert with high combat standards, she never thought Shi Fengs combat standard would be this high. With his combat standard, Shi Feng could become a top-level executive if he joined a superpower. He could become a frightening existence that qualified to oversee the management of a royal capital. While Liang Feng and Chen Ziyou were awed by Shi Fengs strength, Shi Feng scanned the classroom and said in a good mood, Since nobody else is joining, let us begin the class. However, as everyones standard isnt uniform, I will be providing one-on-one instruction to each of you. Which one of you will go first? Instructor Shi, can I be the first? Wu Xiaoxiao, who sat in the first row, suddenly stood up, her beautiful silver hair coupled with her otherworldly temperament instantly aweing everyone in the classroom. Sure, come on up, Shi Feng said, nodding. He wasnt surprised at all by Wu Xiaoxiaos initiative. Even before entering Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy, Shi Feng had already heard of Wu Xiaoxiaos name. Now that Wu Lingling had become his student, Wu Xiaoxiao would certainly come to test him. Shi Feng had no intentions of letting Wu Lingling go. After all, Zero Wing was a Guild, and a Guild needed experts if it wanted to grow stronger. Not to mention, Gods Domain had never been a single-player game. Meanwhile, although Wu Lingling and the others might not be the most talented players out there, they were still considerably talented. So long as he nurtured them well, they could quickly be of help to him. This was also one of the reasons why he had chosen to come to the Gods Domain Academy in the first place. There was no place more suitable for recruiting rookies than in the Gods Domain Academy! Meanwhile, after Shi Feng finished speaking, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly walked up to the podium in a few steps and stared at Shi Feng with a penetrating gaze. Crap! What an exciting situation right off the bat! Liang Feng became greatly interested when Wu Xiaoxiao got onto the podium. The name of the Silver Witch was unique in the Gods Domain Academy. The Silver Witch was much stronger than the Academys Four Heavenly Kings. She had also reached the Refinement Realm long ago. Meanwhile, although Wu Xiaoxiao had stated that she had come here for guidance today, everyone present knew that that wasnt her goal at all. Instead, she had come here to determine whether Shi Feng was qualified to teach Wu Lingling or not. Stay focused, Qi Lianshan reprimanded as he looked at Liang Feng. Wu Xiaoxiao mustve gained a significant harvest after her training in Crimson Emperor. If you wish to fight for a high position in Gods Domain in the future, she will inevitably become a mountain that you have to cross. Mhm! Immediately, Liang Feng and Chen Ziyou took on a serious attitude. Now that the Miniature Ancient World was released, a new generation of experts would also emerge. If they wanted to achieve something in Gods Domain in the future, they would have to triumph over these new experts. After all, Gods Domain had limited resources, so the number of players that could stand at the top was naturally limited as well. Chapter 2988 - Chapter 62 Chapter 62 C Flowing Water Realm Log into your ID, Shi Feng said to Wu Xiaoxiao as he pointed at the virtual gaming cabins situated beside the podium. Due to Gods Domains global popularity and increasing relevance in the real world, entertainment and training centers werent the only ones with virtual combat rooms nowadays. Even the various Gods Domain Academies would have virtual training facilities. Meanwhile, the super-large classroom came equipped with over a hundred holographic imaging equipment that could perfectly replicate a persons Gods Domain character in the classroom. Moreover, users could operate their characters as if they were moving their real bodies; there wouldnt be any delay in control whatsoever. With this equipment, instructors could provide more in-depth guidance to students even without entering Gods Domain. After hearing Shi Fengs words, Wu Xiaoxiao got into a virtual gaming cabin without hesitation. Then, a moment later, a silver-haired woman holding a crystal staff and wearing a golden robe appeared on the podium that measured over a dozen meters in radius. Thats the Crimson Meteor! I cant believe Dazzle Wave actually gave her one of their most prized weapons! Liang Feng exclaimed, feelings of shock and envy appearing in his eyes when he saw the crystal staff in Wu Xiaoxiaos hand. The crystal staff was named Crimson Meteor, and it ranked 99th in the Gods Domain Epic Weapon List! One shouldnt underestimate the Epic Staff simply because it was ranked 99th. The Gods Domain Epic Weapon List was a list the Secret Pavilion created, and it featured only 100 of the best Epic Weapons that existed in the current Gods Domain. Every Epic Weapon on the list was a supreme weapon capable of rivaling Fragmented Legendary Weapons, and players could use them up to Level 150 without having to change weapons. Her robe is not much inferior to the Crimson Meteor, either, Chen Ziyou said, her eyes similarly filled with jealousy when she looked at Wu Xiaoxiao. The Starlight eight-piece set. This is the Epic Set Equipment that Skyfrost relied on to become a Famed Smith. I heard that only three sets were made. Back when it was first created, one Starlight Set could go for a plot of golden Land in any of the five Holy Cities. It sure is great to have a major powers backing. Shes practically unstoppable in the Miniature Ancient World with such equipment. I think she can even fight against the Mythic monsters in the Miniature Ancient World, Liang Feng said with a bitter smile. While combat standards were indeed important in Gods Domain, weapons and equipment were even more important. This was because weapons and equipment served as the foundation of players, whereas combat standards acted as a bonus to this foundation. Without proper equipment, the benefits a player could reap from their combat standard would be significantly reduced. To offer an example, imagine an ordinary player geared in top-tier equipment rated at 100 points. If this ordinary player was capable of exhibiting only 50% of their actual combat power, the actual combat power of this player would be rated at 50 points. Then, imagine a top-tier player capable of exhibiting 90% of their actual combat power geared in average equipment rated at 50 points. The actual combat power of this top-tier player would be rated at only 45 points. Despite having vastly superior combat standards, the top-tier player with average equipment would still be inferior to the ordinary player with top-tier equipment. This was the harsh reality players needed to face in virtual reality games such as Gods Domain. Not to mention, combat power was only one of the many bonuses players had to boost their combat power. After factoring in other bonuses, the gap between the two players would only continue to grow. Although Liang Feng and Chen Ziyou had also received secret invitations from many first-rate Guilds, the amount of support these first-rate Guilds were willing to provide them definitely wasnt close to the support Wu Xiaoxiao had received from Dazzle Wave. Now, not only were they inferior to Wu Xiaoxiao in terms of combat standards, but they were also inferior to her in terms of equipment standards. It was a truly despairing situation Meanwhile, after Shi Feng scrutinized Wu Xiaoxiaos equipment for a moment, he nodded and said, Not bad. Your equipment is good. Do you have any specific guidance you want to receive? Others might think that Wu Xiaoxiaos equipment standard was excellent, but it could only be considered average for Shi Feng. It was especially true now that the current Gods Domain had yet to join the Greater Gods Domain. These so-called top-tier weapons and equipment would only be useful in the current Gods Domain. Once this sub-world gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, over 99% of the currently available weapons and equipment would fall into disuse. The reason for this was simple. It was because the craftsmanship level of this sub-world was vastly inferior to the craftsmanship level of other sub-worlds. In other more-developed sub-worlds, all of the weapons and equipment they produced were close to rivaling Mana Weapons and Equipment. Not only did the items these Outerworlds created carry Mana, but they could even be repaired using Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, these Mana-imbued items gave players an easier time to use combat techniques, Mana Techniques, Skills, Spells, etc., drastically increasing their combat power. Simply put, the bonuses provided by the current Gods Domains equipment came in the form of addition, whereas the bonuses provided by Outerworld equipment came in the form of multiplication During Shi Fengs previous life, it had been a huge shock to everyone when they discovered the craftsmanship level of more-developed sub-worlds. Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs question, Wu Xiaoxiao pondered for a moment before Hidden Souls figure suddenly popped into her mind. Then, she asked, I have been having trouble facing the ambush of Assassins recently, Instructor Shi. Is there any way I can deal with these ambushes? After training with Hidden Soul, Wu Xiaoxiao had come to appreciate the terror of Assassins. At the same time, she came to realize how unprepared she was for melee combat. Although she had racked her mind for solutions, not once did she manage to dodge or block Hidden Souls attacks throughout their several hour-long training session. As soon as Wu Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Qin Wuchen and the others also promptly perked up their ears. Big Sis is so cunning. Shes actually having Instructor Shi to help her answer Instructor Souls challenge. Wu Lingling grew speechless when she heard her elder sisters question. Even so, she still couldnt help but lean forward a little to hear Shi Fengs response. Cope with an Assassins ambush? Looking at Wu Xiaoxiao, Shi Feng calmly said, Thats simple. You just need to reach the Flowing Water Realm. Chapter 2989 - Chapter 63 Chapter 63 C True Flowing Water Realm! Reach the Flowing Water Realm? Wu Xiaoxiao blinked her eyes in disbelief. However, when she looked at Shi Fengs expression, it didnt seem like the other party was joking with her. Then, revealing a bitter smile, she said, That is indeed a good solution, but reaching the Flowing Water Realm is easier said than done, Instructor Shi. I might have reached the Refinement Realm for some time already, but I have yet to reach the Flowing Water Realms threshold. Wu Xiaoxiao naturally yearned to reach the Flowing Water Realm. After all, Refinement Realm experts were merely considered entry-level experts in the various superpowers. Only after reaching the Flowing Water Realm would an expert be regarded as a mainstay by the various superpowers and granted important tasks to handle. This was because Flowing Water Realm experts could single-handedly influence the outcome of a battle involving thousands of ordinary experts. However, reaching the Flowing Water Realm wasnt an easy feat. The Flowing Water Realms principles could be regarded as an upgraded form of the Refinement Realms principles. To reach the Flowing Water Realm, a player would need to extend the range of their control past their body and onto their opponents. Essentially, one would have to predict the opponents movements and respond using the most efficient method, and the whole process had to be completed in one go. It could be considered an extreme way of utilizing the Refinement Realms principles. This was why the various superpowers believed that the Flowing Water Realm was a realm of painstaking effort. So long as a Refinement Realm expert invested enough time and effort into training, they would be able to reach the Flowing Water Realm without fail. Meanwhile, according to the evaluation Wu Xiaoxiao received from Blue Gown, the head instructor of Crimson Emperors special training, she would need to train hard for at least half a year before she could reach the Flowing Water Realm. It might even take her up to a year depending on the circumstances. The fact that you havent touched the threshold yet shows that your training method is wrong or that youve taken a detour, Shi Feng said as he called up the classrooms virtual interface. I will set up some arrow attacks now, so try to dodge and block as many as you can. Well see where your problem lies. Other than having the function to simulate in-game characters, the super-large classrooms also had the function of setting up a variety of training methods. A moment later, 30 holographic archers appeared around Wu Xiaoxiao, each archer having Strength that was 30% higher than Wu Xiaoxiaos. The advantage in Strength made it difficult for the testee to block them, and this could be considered one of the most rudimentary methods of testing ones dodging capabilities. After setting up the test, Shi Feng looked at Wu Xiaoxiao and said, If you have no more questions, we will begin now. After sweeping a glance at the archers around her and memorizing their positions, Wu Xiaoxiao nodded and said, Im ready. At this time, everyone else in the classroom also started paying close attention to the podium. They were all curious to find out how many arrows Wu Xiaoxiao could dodge at a time. This arrow-dodging training method was very common in Gods Domain. Faced against archers with superior Strength Attributes, classes other than the Assassin class would have difficulty achieving a good result. It was especially true for magical classes. Within the standard 30-yard range, even a magical class expert who had reached the Refinement Realm could, at most, dodge 12 or 13 arrows simultaneously when they were at Tier 3. After all, the arrows were incredibly fast. With the arrows needing to cover a distance of only 30 yards, even if one managed to predict where the arrows would come from, there was still a limit to the responses one could make with a Tier 3 physique. Well start with five arrows for the first round, Shi Feng said. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Immediately, five arrows launched into the air, each flying toward Wu Xiaoxiao from different directions. This drastically reduced the space Wu Xiaoxiao had to maneuver around, and she would have no choice but to improvise if she didnt want to get cornered. However, Wu Xiaoxiao didnt even blink when facing the five arrows. Calmly, she did a sidestep followed by a turn, her actions resulting in the five arrows grazing past the edges of her robe. The degree of control she had over her body had already reached a perfect level, and she did not execute even a single unnecessary movement. What a beautifully executed evasive maneuver! Liang Feng marveled. Is this Wu Xiaoxiaos current strength? Chen Ziyou clenched her fists when she saw the unfazed expression on Wu Xiaoxiaos face. Although she had already reached the Refinement Realm, she was still nothing but a joke compared to the current Wu Xiaoxiao. After Wu Xiaoxiao successfully dodged the first volley of arrows, the second volley of ten arrows quickly followed. Meanwhile, the sight of ten archers firing their arrows at Wu Xiaoxiao simultaneously stressed Wu Lingling and the other spectating students. Such a situation was even scarier than getting surrounded by ten monsters. After all, even if ten monsters surrounded them, only a few of these monsters could attack them at a time. However, that was not the case for the arrows launched by archers. Moreover, with all ten arrows coming in from different directions, even if their minds managed to perceive the trajectory of these arrows, their bodies wouldnt be able to execute the necessary amount of responses to dodge all of them However, unlike Wu Lingling and the others, Wu Xiaoxiao still didnt feel pressured when faced with the ten oncoming arrows. Similar to before, she moved about the podium leisurely as if she was dancing, her movements resulting in the arrows missing their mark and harmlessly grazing past her robe. It wasnt until the fourth volley of arrows that Wu Xiaoxiao got hit. Faced with 20 arrows flying at her simultaneously, Wu Xiaoxiao could no longer dodge all of them perfectly. So, she chose to block a portion of them using her staff. However, in doing so, the resulting impact forced her body out of position, and she ended the round with three arrows in her body. The test also came to an end along with the fourth round. Even so, Wu Xiaoxiaos performance had stunned the spectating crowd, and everyone couldnt help but applaud her in admiration. Seventeen arrows! Wu Xiaoxiao is truly a terrifying genius! I was nowhere close to achieving such a result when I was still at the Refinement Realm, Qi Lianshan exclaimed. The arrow test was one of Gods Domains more notorious strength tests. Typically, those capable of dodging 12 arrows were experts who had already reached the Refinement Realm, while those capable of dodging 18 arrows were Flowing Water Realm experts. The fact that Wu Xiaoxiao had managed to dodge 17 arrows proved that she was already at the peak of the Refinement Realm and that she was only half a step away from reaching the Flowing Water Realm. Her previous statement of not having reached the Flowing Water Realms threshold was definitely false. This is my current limit, Instructor Shi. May I know if there are any problems with my training method? Wu Xiaoxiao asked Shi Feng as she got down from the podium. Wu Xiaoxiao felt that she had already done her best in this test. During the fourth round, she had perceived the trajectories of all 20 arrows. She had also executed all of her movements flawlessly. Yet, she simply couldnt dodge all of the arrows. She found it hard to imagine what else she couldve done to evade more arrows. The problem is massive, Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he looked at Wu Xiaoxiao. The reason why the Flowing Water Realm is called as such is because the practitioner needs to keep their heart as calm as water and their body moving like flowing water. Youve gotten the calm part down, but youve never even considered the other part. Rather than a player, youve treated yourself as a Great Mage instead. But how can I possibly block those arrows Wu Xiaoxiao said, feeling somewhat unconvinced. She had tried blocking those arrows before. However, it was precisely because she tried to block them that she ended up breaking her stance. After all, she was only a Tier 3 Great Mage, not a Tier 3 Berserker. Is that so? Seeing that Wu Xiaoxiao looked unconvinced, Shi Feng put on the auxiliary guidance helmet and said, I will demonstrate it to you only once. How much you can gain from it is up to you. The super-large classrooms auxiliary guidance helmet allowed instructors to directly manipulate their students in-game characters. Although the characters handling wouldnt be as smooth compared to a character controlled using a virtual gaming cabin, the owner of the controlled character could get a first persons point of view of their characters movements. Upon receiving the prompt to share her characters control, Wu Xiaoxiao accepted it without hesitation. She was curious to see how a Swordsman like Shi Feng would control a Great Mage to dodge all those arrows. Lets begin! After taking over Wu Xiaoxiaos character, Shi Feng promptly started the test again. Immediately, five arrows launched toward Shi Feng. However, instead of taking evasive maneuvers like Wu Xiaoxiao, Shi Feng swung the staff in his hand horizontally. Then, at a speed invisible to the naked eye, the five arrows bounced off course and struck the ground. Following the five arrows were ten arrowsfifteen arrowstwenty arrowsthirty arrows Even though the arrows he faced kept increasing, Shi Feng did not move an inch from his position. He simply swung around the staff in his hand, knocking down every oncoming arrow before they could land on him. Moreover, his movements were so fast that they were practically invisible to the naked eye. It simply wasnt a speed the average Tier 3 Great Mage could achieve with their weapon. Even until the end of the test, Wu Xiaoxiaos character remained standing in its original position. The only difference was that a large number of arrows had appeared around its feet Chapter 2990 - Chapter 64 Chapter 64 C Above the Apex This isa Great Mage? Liang Feng and Chen Ziyou couldnt believe their eyes when they looked at the arrows embedded in the ground around Wu Xiaoxiaos character. Magical classes were known for being made out of paper in Gods Domain. Moreover, they were also the weakest in Strength and Agility. This was because most, if not all, magical class players would invest the Free Attribute Points they received from leveling up into Intelligence. Thus, compared to classes that prioritized Strength and Agility, magical classes were vastly inferior in reaction speed and melee confrontations. Yet, when Shi Feng controlled Wu Xiaoxiaos character, rather than a Great Mage, the character performed as if it were a war god instead. How is this possible?! Wu Xiaoxiao was also dumbfounded when she saw the arrows scattered around her character. Compared to Liang Feng and the other spectators, Wu Xiaoxiao had experienced first-hand the impact transmitted through the staff when Shi Feng deflected those arrows. Thus, she could tell that under Shi Fengs manipulation, the intensity of the impact was much lower than when she was the one manipulating the staff. However, compared to the significantly dampened impact force, what surprised her the most was the speed at which Shi Feng swung the staff. As a Great Mage, Wu Xiaoxiao could confidently say that she was the most knowledgeable out of everyone in the classroom regarding the limitations of a Great Mage. Meanwhile, based on her understanding, she knew that it should be physically impossible for a Great Mage to swing their staff fast enough to block even 15 arrows, let alone 30 arrows. However, after replaying Shi Fengs actions in her mind one more time, Wu Xiaoxiao suddenly came to a realization as she asked, Is it Strength as One? Its good that you understand, Shi Feng said, nodding after removing the auxiliary guidance helmet from his head. Previously, when Wu Xiaoxiao was dodging the arrows, she had indeed exerted perfect control over her body, using minimal movements to dodge the oncoming arrows. However, by separately manipulating her various body parts, Wu Xiaoxiao had forgotten that her body was actually one big mechanism. She might have succeeded in manipulating the various parts in this big mechanism without making any unnecessary movements, but she had failed to manipulate this mechanism as a whole. She had only used individual parts of her body to cope with the oncoming arrows instead of using her entire body. This was a common problem all magical class players faced. They might have top-tier control over their minute movements, but they failed to exert their entire bodys strength to cope against attacks like melee players. Conversely, by virtue of how melee classes functioned, melee players had a much easier time reaching the Flowing Water Realm. They only needed to learn how to exert minute control over their various body parts to reach the Flowing Water Realm. Afterward, Wu Xiaoxiao looked at the arrows surrounding her again and smiled bitterly, saying, But even if I achieve Strength as One, I doubt I can perform to such an extent. She wasnt a fool. While Shi Feng had indeed performed the Strength as One technique necessary to reach the Flowing Water Realm, the average Flowing Water Realm expert could only cope against 18 arrows. Yet, not only did Shi Feng manage to cope with 30 arrows, but he had also done so without evading any of them. He had thoroughly blocked all 30 arrows using his staff without moving a single step. It should be known that even Void Realm experts could only cope against 27 arrows after pushing Strength as One to its limits. There was no way a Void Realm expert could deal with 30 arrows as easily as Shi Feng There was no doubt that Shi Fengs combat standard had already reached the apex of Gods Domain. No, he might even be above the apex! Amazing! Truly amazing! Qi Lianshan couldnt help but grow excited as he looked at Shi Feng. Never in my dreams did I imagine that such a mighty expert would appear in our Jin Hai University! So this is the true Flowing Water Realm! This is the true Flowing Water Realm? Chen Ziyous eyes also lit up with excitement. Previously, she had been wondering how she could further improve herself after reaching the Refinement Realm. After all, even her instructor, Qi Lianshan, didnt know the exact method to do so. The only solution he could offer was to train her control over her minute movements to its limits. However, after seeing Shi Fengs display, she already had an idea of how she should proceed. So this is the difference between the Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm! Liang Feng also came to a realization when he heard Qi Lianshans words. At the same time, though, he couldnt help but fall into thought as he wondered, But why would Shadow dismiss such an expert? Is Shadow crazy? However, Liang Feng didnt dwell too deeply into the matter, focusing on the class instead. Subsequently, Shi Feng started providing one-on-one guidance to the rest of the class. Even Qi Lianshan couldnt help but pose a few questions to Shi Feng. By the end of the class, everyone in the classroom had received a significant harvest. It was especially true for Liang Feng, becoming the second student after Chen Ziyou to reach the Refinement Realm under Shi Fengs guidance. Meanwhile, after the class ended, Qi Lianshan hurriedly approached Shi Feng, who was just about to exit the class, and asked, Instructor Shi, may I know if you will allow people outside the Academy to attend your class? Chapter 2991 - Chapter 65 Chapter 65 C Rising Again in the Miniature Ancient World Instructor Shi, may I know if you will allow people outside the Academy to attend your class? Qi Lianshan sincerely asked as he looked at Shi Feng. Of course, I will pay the 10,000 Academy Points as usual. I will also pay for the expenses of this super-large classroom. People outside the Academy? Shi Feng was a little surprised by Qi Lianshans words. Is that allowed? The Academy isnt against it. It is fine so long as the instructor agrees, Qi Lianshan explained. I know this is a troublesome request for you, but I really cant think of anyone else who can help my niece, Instructor Shi. Upon hearing Qi Lianshans words, the students and instructors in the hallway fell silent. Am I dreaming? Instructor Qi is actually asking Instructor Shi to teach his niece? Whats wrong with Instructor Qis niece? You might not know it since youre a freshman, but Instructor Qis niece is someone amazing. She used to be a genius Mythology specifically went out of its way to recruit, and she had already reached the Refinement Realm at the age of 16. However, for some reason, she stopped improving after entering Mythology. Eventually, Mythology kicked her out, and she is now attending Tianshu Universitys Gods Domain Academy, the number one academy in our province. She still hasnt resolved this problem even until now. Seeing that Instructor Qi is asking Instructor Shi for help, does that mean Instructor Shi has a solution? Thats most likely the case. This is Instructor Qi we are talking about, after all. The fact that he made such a request shows that he acknowledges Instructor Shis abilities. The bystanders exchanged words with one another, and everyone couldnt help but look at Shi Feng with curious gazes. They wondered what abilities Shi Feng possessed to receive Qi Lianshans acknowledgment. At the same time, they also came to understand that from today onward, their Gods Domain Academy would probably be welcoming its fifth senior instructor. After all, apart from Qi Lianshan, Wu Xiaoxiao and two of the Academys Four Heavenly Kings also acknowledged and revered Shi Feng greatly. This was more than enough to show how high Shi Fengs teaching standard was. Okay. You can bring her over the next time I have a class, Shi Feng said after thinking it over. Accepting Qi Lianshans request wouldnt do him much harm, and he could also save on a significant expense. Thanks a lot, Instructor Shi. Qi Lianshan was overjoyed when he heard Shi Fengs answer. Immediately, he bid goodbye to Shi Feng and ran to contact his niece to have her hurry over to Jin Hai City. Subsequently, when Shi Feng arrived downstairs and was about to exit the Teaching Block, Luo Tiancheng suddenly appeared in his way with a gloomy and manic look on his face. Youve really hidden yourself well, Shi Feng. I didnt expect you to have this kind of ability. It seems President Lan and I have underestimated you, Luo Tiancheng said, sneering as he glared at Shi Feng. First it was Wu Lingling, then it was Chen Ciyou. Now, even Wu Xiaoxiao and Qi Lianshan are treating you with respect. You really are basking in glory right now. Unfortunately, what use is there for you to have glory alone? President Lan originally only planned to put some pressure on you. However, President Lan is very angry now that youve made Shadow lose face. I heard that Blackie and the others were involved in getting you into Jin Hai University? What are you trying to say? Shi Feng suddenly had a bad premonition. Nothing. You are now a celebrity at Jin Hai University. What can Shadow possibly do to you? Luo Tiancheng said, smiling. The most we can do is take away Blackie and the others accounts and drive them out of Shadow. After all, a small place like Shadow cant afford to accommodate bigshots like you. Shadow was indeed incapable of doing anything to Shi Feng right now. However, it was different for Blackie and Shi Fengs other close friends. How ruthless of Lan Hailong. Blackie and the others have not done anything to betray Shadow, Shi Feng said, his expression turning cold when he thought about his brother-in-arms. Unlike him, Blackie and the others didnt have much money saved up. While it was true that they earned much higher wages than the average white-collar worker, they had also invested a lot of money into Gods Domain. Thus, they didnt get to save a lot of money throughout these years. Blackie and the others were no longer young. If they suddenly lost their income source and the accounts theyve operated for all these years, even making a living would become a problem for them in the future Who told them to be involved with you? Luo Tiancheng laughed. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for behaving arrogantly! President Lan wouldnt have gotten so angry if you hadnt behaved excessively in the Academy and made Shadow into a laughingstock! Good! Very good! Shi Feng also laughed. Then, he narrowed his eyes and said, I didnt plan to deal with you people if you didnt provoke me, but since Lan Hailong wants to play, tell this to him for me: Since I can bring up Shadow to its current state, I can naturally make it disappear from Gods Domain as well! Good! Ill be sure to relay these words! After saying so, Luo Tiancheng let out a contemptuous laugh and walked away. The current Shadow was no longer the same as before. The Guild now had World Domination backing it. Let alone Wu Xiaoxiao and Qi Lianshan, even the Soulfire adventurer team couldnt make Shadow disappear from Gods Domain. Meanwhile, after Luo Tiancheng left, Shi Feng promptly gave Blackie a call. Brother Feng? Whats with the sudden call? the slightly chubby Blackie asked in surprise. I heard about your matter already. With an apologetic look on his face, Shi Feng said, Its all my fault that you guys What are you talking about, Brother Feng?! How can this be your fault?! Lan Hailong wouldve found some other reason to get rid of us old people even without your matter. Moreover, we have long since felt dissatisfied with that ungrateful bastard. He has no ability whatsoever, yet he wants to blindly issue commands every day! We cant be happier now that weve left Shadow! Blackie said nonchalantly. Also, so what if weve left Shadow? With our abilities, what Guild wouldnt want to recruit us? However, despite Blackies words, Shi Feng knew that it wouldnt be easy for Blackie and the others to join a good Guild. It was especially true now that they were in their thirties. While it was true that there were no age restrictions for players to develop their combat standards in Gods Domain, the brain activity of players would deteriorate once they entered their thirties. It would become much more difficult for such players to reach higher combat standards in Gods Domain. Hence, the various powers in Gods Domain would rather recruit youngsters whose combat standards were only at the Trial Towers fifth floor than recruit older experts at the sixth or seventh floor standards. It was especially true if these older experts used to belong to other Guilds. There was no saying whether these experts might be secretly working as spies. It just so happens that I have something I want to tell you guys. I recently formed a Guild, so Im wondering if you are interested in joining? Chapter 2992 - Chapter 66 Chapter 66 C One Reason You formed a Guild, Brother Feng? Blackie was momentarily stunned when he heard Shi Fengs words. Then, immediately afterward, he revealed an excited look as he said, Thats great! Well join! Well definitely join you! Our initial plan was to contact you about joining the Guild Qianliu is forming, anyway! With this, we can start something big in the Miniature Ancient World! Su Qianliu is also forming a Guild? Old memories started surfacing in Shi Fengs mind when he heard this name. Ice Queen Su Qianliu. She was one of Shadows Five Demon Generals, and she was also one of the Guilds few rare beauties. Lan Hailongs cousin brother had fervently tried to pursue Su Qianliu initially, and Lan Hailong had also put a lot of pressure onto her to coerce her into entering a relationship with his cousin. Eventually, Su Qianliu got fed up with the harassment, choosing to delete her account and leave Shadow. At the time, many of Shadows outer members were Su Qianlius fans. So, upon learning of her departure, these players also left Shadow and formed an adventurer team with Su Qianliu. When Su Qianliu left, Shi Feng would often have Blackie secretly siphon some of Shadows resources to help Su Qianlius adventurer team. As a result, Su Qianlius adventurer team quickly made a name for themselves in the Black Dragon Empire and received many recruitment offers from large Guilds. However, as far as Shi Feng recalled, Su Qianliu never agreed to merge her adventurer team with any Guild. Qianliu does have such intentions, Blackie answered. Now that the Miniature Ancient World has just opened, she thinks its a good opportunity to set up a new Guild. She has long since started preparing for this, and she has even found several investors. I heard the total investment capital she got is quite significant. Now, all thats left is to form a Guild in the Miniature Ancient World and decide which NPC City to develop in. When Qianliu learned that we had left Shadow, she contacted us and asked us about joining her. She even said that itd be best if I could get you to join her as well. Now that everyones in agreement, we can start a conquest in the Miniature Ancient World together. Shes already found investors? A slight frown formed on Shi Fengs face. Mhm. These investors are betting a lot on the Miniature Ancient World. Each of them has promised at least several hundred million to Qianliu. We can even set up our headquarters in Jin Hai Citys city center with that kind of money. Moreover, with this capital, not only can we start Guild operations immediately, but we can also recruit a bunch of independent experts. I believe it wont take more than two months before we can establish a foothold in the Miniature Ancient World, Blackie said in a passionate tone. Seeing that Blackie was about to continue speaking, Shi Feng quickly interrupted him and said, I dont intend on taking any investments for the Guild formed, Blackie. No investments? Blackie couldnt help but take a second look at Shi Feng when he heard Shi Fengs words. Brother Feng, things are no longer the same as when Gods Domain first launched. Back then, everyone only treated Gods Domain as another game, but Gods Domain has already become an integral part of real life. Even if the Miniature Ancient Worlds launch is a good opportunity to establish a Guild, you should know that establishing a Guild costs a lot of money. If we dont offer enough benefits, theres no way we can attract any players to join. Not to mention, before the Guild starts making a profit, the Guild still needs to feed a bunch of people I understand. Shi Feng nodded. Then, he smiled and said, But I will think of a solution for these problems. So, are you still willing to join my Guild after learning about my decision? Shi Feng naturally knew about the various problems one would meet when establishing a Guild in Gods Domain, which was why he chose to establish the Candlelight Hotel first. After all, maintaining a Guild wasnt an easy task. It was especially true when the Guild still lacked their own territory and Guild Town. He couldnt possibly ask the Guilds members to work for free. People still needed to live. What is the Guilds name? Blackie curiously asked instead of answering. Zero Wing! It is currently a small Guild with only a few members, Shi Feng said. Zero Wing? Nodding, Blackie said, Good name! Ill contact the others right away and meet up with you in the game. Sure. Come over to Hundred Flow City, and Ill take you guys out to level, Shi Feng said, smiling. Its a deal, Blackie said with a helpless smile. But Ill also have to go talk to Qianliu about this. She came to us with sincerity, after all. Do you have a way to get her to join us? Shi Feng asked. If she joins us, itll boost our Guilds management and overall strength significantly. Su Qianliu used to be one of Shadows Five Demon Generals, so her combat standards and talent naturally went without saying. She only failed to realize her true potential because she failed to get sufficient resources during her time with Shadow. During Shi Fengs previous life, Su Qianliu had been a bona fide Tier 5 apex expert in Zero Wing. If he could get Su Qianliu to join Zero Wing again, it would undoubtedly help him a lot. This Im afraid itll be difficult, Blackie said, shaking his head. You should know that she has her own team now, Brother Feng. She needs to be responsible for those people. Moreover, it had taken her great pains to persuade those investors. Getting her to abandon those investors to join us will be very tough. Unless we can provide her with a convincing enough reason, there is absolutely no way she will take the risk. A convincing reason? After thinking for a moment, Shi Feng smiled and said, Sure. Give her a call, and Ill give her a convincing reason! Chapter 2993 - Chapter 67 Chapter 67 C Zero Wings Benefits Miniature Ancient World, Hundred Flow City: Roughly 30 to 50 thousand new players appeared in the citys magnificent and ancient plaza every day. The huge influx of players quickly turned the city that used to be dominated by NPCs into a city dominated by players. So, this is the Miniature Ancient World? The Mana here is so dense! So this is why the various powers are desperately trying to get in on the action. Among the hundreds of players that had just appeared in the plaza, a few dozen players wearing beginners gear looked around with hopeful and curious looks on their faces. Unlike most of the players around them, these several dozen players looked to be in their thirties on average. Some of them even looked like they were 35 years old or older. These players could be regarded as older generation players in the current Gods Domain. Blackie, does the Guild Leader plan on developing in this place? This isnt a bad place. The player traffic here is comparable to royal capitals. Itll be much easier for us to recruit players in the future. But we came here a few days later than everyone else. We dont even have any good equipment right now, either. Im afraid well have to work overtime if we want to catch up. Does the Guild Leader have any arrangements in mind, Blackie? The group of veteran players asked questions one after another as they looked at the slightly chubby man standing at the head of their group, their faces filled with expectations. Since Brother Feng asked us to come here, he should be planning on using this place as a base, Blackie said, smiling when he saw everyones enthusiasm. Although Brother Feng says that he has already established his Guild, I still dont know what the exact situation surrounding it is. We should apply to join the Guild first and see what arrangements Brother Feng has for us. Everyone nodded and followed Blackie to the Adventurers Association. Then, they applied to join Zero Wing. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who was planning the Guilds management system and point system in the Adventurer Associations temporary Guild lounge, couldnt help but smile when he saw Blackie entering the lounge. Arent you moving a little too fast? I just finished setting the Guild regulations, yet youve brought everyone here already. Anyway, come and take a look at the regulations Ive set. Creating a Guild wasnt an easy task. It was especially important to get the Guilds organizational structure and promotion system right during the Guilds inception. If these matters werent handled properly, it would lead to big problems when more players joined the Guild in the future. However, Shi Feng was already familiar with these matters, so it didnt take much effort for him to write everything down. After reading the regulations Shi Feng had set, Blackie couldnt help but frown and said, Guild Leader, I think your requirements for members are too high. Youre asking for combat standards at the Trial Towers fifth-floor late-stage just for outer members. Thats higher than even the ordinary expert standard right now. You can become at least an internal member in a third-rate Guild with such standards. Youre even asking for the sixth-floor middle-stage standard for official members and the seventh-floor early-stage standard for internal members Blackie felt that Shi Feng was joking when he read the various rank requirements. It should be known that even veteran players like themselves were only at the seventh-floor early-stage standard. Meanwhile, they were already considered first-rate experts in Gods Domain. Otherwise, Su Qianliu wouldnt have invited them to create a Guild together. In the current Gods Domain, a first-rate expert could receive an elite members treatment at the very least in a first-rate Guild, while most would receive the treatment of core members. In a small Guild, a first-rate expert would be granted the position of Guild executive or vice commander of a legion. Yet, in Zero Wing, first-rate experts were only qualified to become internal members These requirements are indeed a little high for the current Gods Domain, Shi Feng said, not surprised by Blackies evaluation. However, he didnt continue elaborating on the matter. Instead, he smiled and asked, How did your talk with Su Qianliu go? She says she wants to meet and talk in detail first, but we need to go to Rock Devil City first. Also, she is currently in a meeting with the investors, so itll take another six or seven hours before she can meet us, Blackie said, shaking his head. Judging by her response, I think itll be tough to sway her thoughts. After all, she has over a billion in investments dangled in front of her Its fine so long as she has agreed to meet, Shi Feng said with a faint smile. Since we have another six hours to waste, go and gather everyone. Since everyone trusts me so much, I naturally cant mistreat you all. Guild Leader, dont tell me youre planning on digging up your life savings for us? When Blackie heard Shi Fengs words, he hurriedly said, We might not have saved up a lot all these years, we can still make do with what we have! You dont need to dig into your pockets! Seeing Blackies anxious look, Shi Feng laughed and said, What are you talking about? Do you think I have that much money? Didnt you think that I set the Guilds standards too high just now? Im planning to let you guys see whether the benefits our Guild offers are worth the high requirements. Is that the case? Ill call them over, then. Blackie nodded and left the lounge. A short time later, 63 players gathered in the lounge. Every one of these players used to be a first-rate expert in Shadow, and a few of them were even team leaders and vice team leaders in Shadows main force in the past. If it werent for their growing age and stagnating development, Lan Hailong wouldnt have been so ruthless as to dismiss so many first-rate experts from the Guild at a time. What did you call us over for, Guild Leader? Are we going out to grind? Everyone revealed excited expressions when they looked at Shi Feng. Ever since Shi Feng became Shadows Guild Leader, they never really got the opportunity to team up anymore. So, it had been a very, very long time since they last teamed up and grinded together. No, I only called you here to distribute the Guilds internal member benefits to you, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. I believe all of you should be aware of the Miniature Ancient Worlds uniqueness. Here, you get the opportunity to reconstruct your Mana Bodies. Our Guild might not have a lot of funds or resources right now, but our Guild has a Mana Legacy that can help you construct a better Mana Body! After saying so, Shi Feng took out the Memory Crystals he had prepared beforehand and distributed one to every person in the room. This isa Mana Technique?! Am I dreaming? Arent Mana Techniques supposed to be incredibly rare? Even first-rate Guilds hardly have any. When Blackie and the others saw the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique recorded in the Memory Crystals, they couldnt help but doubt their eyes. Did you rob a Gods treasury, Guild Leader? Blackie asked, his face filled with an indescribable sense of shock as he looked at Shi Feng. It should be known that Mana Techniques were one of the best methods available for players to improve their control over Mana, and every copy of a Mana Technique was worth over 10,000 Gold. Yet, Shi Feng had brought out 63 copies However, Shi Feng simply chuckled and did not answer Blackies question. Instead, he said, We dont have a lot of time, so quickly learn it and head to the Colosseum to reconstruct your Mana Bodies. We still need to meet with Su Qianliu and give her a convincing reason. Right! Time is limited! Blackie also revealed an excited expression like the others after hearing Shi Fengs words. Well go right away! Chapter 2994 - Chapter 68 Chapter 68 C Shi Fengs Means Due to the rarity of Mana Domain Legacies in Gods Domain, even geniuses nurtured by the various superpowers had difficulty getting their hands on one. After Blackie and the others received the Memory Crystals from Shi Feng, every one of them eagerly rented an advanced training room in the Adventurers Association to inherit the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Then, in less than an hour, everyone had successfully digested all of the information contained in the Memory Crystals. Whats the rank of this Mana Technique of yours, Guild Leader? It feels so powerful. I never thought you could use Mana in such a way. I cant believe this Mana Technique uses multiple magic arrays to channel the various individual elements and utilize them simultaneously, Blackie said, an ecstatic expression on his face after he processed the information he just inherited. Although Holy Annihilation was a sword technique, the method in which the technique made use of Mana was simply astounding. It was completely different from how he made use of Mana normally. Even if he wasnt a Swordsman player, he still benefited significantly from the technique. How is it? Are you confident in improving your Mana Body now? Shi Feng asked, chuckling when he saw Blackies excited look. Nobody had a better idea than he did regarding the might of the Holy Annihilation Technique. After all, it was the ultimate technique of the Heavenly Blue Saint. It should be known that the title of Saint was granted only to people who had reached the extremities of a particular field. Even among Tier 6 Gods, one would rarely find anyone capable of achieving such a feat. When competing in their respective fields of expertise, Saints were stronger than even Gods. Advanced Silver. With my current grasp over Mana and combat standard, I should have no problem securing an Advanced Silver Mana Body, Blackie said excitedly. Meanwhile, upon hearing Blackies answer, everyone else present also started wearing hopeful and expectant looks on their faces. In the past, acquiring a Silver Mana Body was nothing more than a dream for them. Even the strongest among them had only managed to acquire an Advanced Bronze Mana Body. Meanwhile, it should be known that most Tier 4 experts only possessed Basic Silver Mana Bodies. There were even some Tier 5 experts with Silver Mana Bodies only. If they could secure themselves an Advanced Silver Mana Body now, reaching Tier 4 would no longer be a dream. Advanced Silver? Shi Feng shook his head when he heard Blackies answer. Its still a little low. If you want to accomplish anything big in the future, youll need to have a Gold Mana Body at the very least. Gold? Blackie was rendered speechless momentarily when he heard Shi Fengs words. How can that be possible? Setting aside our control over Mana, our combat standards dont even meet the mark When he was still working in Shadows middle management, he had researched the Miniature Ancient Worlds Colosseum. While it was true that the Miniature Ancient World granted everyone a chance to reconstruct their Mana Body, it wasnt easy to secure this opportunity. If players wanted to acquire a Gold Mana Body, theyd have to take on the Colosseums Gold Challenge. Meanwhile, the Gold Challenge placed a high requirement on players combat standards. At the very least, one needed to be a Half-step Refinement Realm expert geared in top-tier equipment to pass the Gold Challenge. Currently, he was merely at the Trial Towers seventh-floor middle-stage standard. He was still a little ways off from reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. He was also geared in beginners equipment only. In his current state, the best he could do was complete the Silver Challenge. Meanwhile, everyone else also nodded in agreement with Blackies words. They would naturally try to obtain a Gold Mana Body if they could. Unfortunately, Gods Domain was a cruel place. Oftentimes, even if a treasure was placed right before ones eyes, one wouldnt be able to acquire it if one lacked strength. The Colosseum might not allow others to take on the challenge on the challengers behalf, but it doesnt prohibit others from providing guidance from the side. Ill be instructing you all afterward. Although I cant guarantee that every one of you will make it, I can at least give you the possibility of passing, Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw everyones lack of confidence. Give us the possibility of passing? Blackie couldnt help but think that Shi Feng was joking with them when he heard Shi Fengs words. He also couldnt help but grow a little confused by Shi Fengs recent behavior. It felt like Shi Feng had become an entirely different person. It was especially true when he learned that Wu Xiaoxiao and Qi Lianshan had attended Shi Fengs class. It should be known that Wu Xiaoxiao was a bona fide Refinement Realm expert, while Qi Lianshan was a former Flowing Water Realm expert. However, even if Shi Feng possessed incredible teaching abilities, it was still too far-fetched to say that his pointers could help them pass the Gold Challenge. It should be known that combat at the Tier 3 standard happened at very fast speeds. Life and death could be decided within an instant. Although having someone stronger providing guidance from the side would indeed help a little, the amount of help one could receive through this method was limited. Lets just go and give it a try first, Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain himself any further. Even if we fail, well only lose a few Coins. An ordinary experts guidance might achieve limited results, but a Domain Realm experts pointers were a different story. A Domain Realm expert possessed inhuman control over their surroundings, so it was entirely possible for them to guide others as if they were manipulating their own weapons. Although the effectiveness would be reduced significantly, a Domain Realm expert manipulating someone could achieve combat standards surpassing the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Not to mention, Blackie and the others were already close to reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. This would make it even easier to manipulate them. While Shi Feng couldnt help them complete the Epic Challenge, completing the Gold Challenge wasnt out of the question. Blackie and the others might have their combat standards stuck on the Trial Towers seventh-floor standard, they possessed a wealth of combat experience. Their knowledge over terrain utilization, combat tactics, Skill and Spell usage, and Mana control were comparable to that of younger Refinement Realm experts. Hence, Shi Feng decided to give helping them a try. Meanwhile, everyone felt that Shi Fengs words made sense, so they quickly followed Shi Feng to the Colosseum. Chapter 2995 - Chapter 69 Chapter 69 C Monstrous Mana Miniature Ancient World, Rock Devil City: As a city situated deep in the mountains, Rock Devil City sat at the top of a mountain, overlooking the surrounding mountains while surrounded by a thin layer of mist. Due to the magnificent scenery here, Rock Devil City became crowded with players only a few days after the Miniature Ancient Worlds opening. Now, the citys player population had already exceeded 10 million, and it could be considered above average among the nearly 1,000 cities in the entire Miniature Ancient World. Apart from the magnificent scenery, Rock Devil City also had something other NPC Cities did not. The Thousand Stars Tower! The Thousand Stars Tower was an ancient construction that measured several thousand meters in height. It was also because of this towers presence that many powers had chosen to establish their base here. The Thousand Stars Tower was essentially a super-sized hotel. So long as one could afford the rent, one could rent a residence inside the tower that could accommodate a large number of players. These residences were rentable Guild Residences in a sense. Meanwhile, in the middle zone of the Thousand Stars Tower, several hundred players clad in Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment had gathered in a residence the size of a Large Shop. These players were of varying ages, with the youngest being only 20 years old while the oldest was already in their fifties. All of these players carried a decisive air around them, and one could tell that these people were veterans of combat at a glance. They were undoubtedly experts who had experienced numerous life or death trials. They were completely different from the sheltered talents nurtured by the various large Guilds. Is there even a need to talk with them, Commander? a bald, middle-aged Guardian Knight asked as he looked at the elegant and lovely woman before him. The Level 102 Guardian Knight looked like he was in his mid-forties, and he wore dark-gray heavy armor while carrying a spear and a shield on his back. Of course, the woman wearing a noble light-blue robe said, sipping on a cup of refreshing tea as she looked at the mountains outside the window. We were only able to form an adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire back then because of Blackie and the Guild Leader secretly supporting us. We are also in need of experts currently. Now that theyve been kicked out of Shadow, its a good opportunity for us. But by the looks of it, the Guild Leader plans to operate without investors. How are we supposed to negotiate with him? the bald Knight said. The current Gods Domain is no longer the same as ten years ago. Establishing a large Guild is even more difficult than establishing a listed company. Every aspect of a Guild requires money. Id have no comments if he has money, but does he have any, though? Moreover, even if he does have the money, I still dont think he is qualified to be the Guild Leader. Times have changed, and strength is everything now. He is no more than a Tier 3 expert even at his peak, and his combat standard is at the Half-step Refinement Realm at maximum. How can he compare to you, Commander? Hearing the Guardian Knights words, the several hundred players nearby nodded their heads in agreement. At present, Su Qianliu had already become an expert standing at the peak of Tier 4, and she was a well-known expert even in the Black Dragon Empire. She was completely different from when she was still one of Shadows Five Demon Generals. It was also because of her strength that those investors were willing to invest so much money into helping them establish a Guild. Thats different. I only got lucky and made a breakthrough, Su Qianliu said, shaking her head. I am not interested in the Guild Leader position, either. Personally, Id prefer if we could pull the Guild Leader and the others to our side. That way, our Guild will have a more stable time developing. If thats your decision, we will naturally comply, the Guardian Knight said, sighing. Then, he chuckled and continued, Also, you dont have to worry about convincing them. After all, they have no idea how strong we are right now. They probably still think that we are a weak adventurer team. Shadow was based in the Star-Moon Kingdom, so it was utterly unaware of how their adventurer team fared in the Black Dragon Empire and how much improvement their adventurer team had made. Initially, their adventurer team had only started as a small group of several hundred players. Now, though, the adventurer team already had several thousand members. Moreover, their adventurer team even had three Refinement Realm experts, ten Half-step Refinement Realm experts, and nearly two hundred first-rate experts. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that their adventurer teams main force was stronger than even Shadows main force. Otherwise, they wouldnt have come to Rock Devil City and been able to occupy a residence in the Thousand Stars Towers middle zone. After all, the cost of renting a residence here was 100,000 Gold and 100,000 Magic Crystals per month. Isnt it almost the appointed time? Why arent they here yet? Do they really think we have a lot of time on our hands? a tall and beautiful girl carrying a two-handed saber that was as long as she was tall said in dissatisfaction. Just wait a little bit longer, Su Qianliu said as she looked at the impatient girl. Then, the corners of her mouth curved up slightly as she continued, By the way, I heard that youd made significant improvements again recently, Snow. Even Firecloud says that he is no longer a match for you. I guess it wont be long before you become our adventurer teams number one expert. The beautiful girl was named Happy Snow, and she was their adventurer teams pride. Not only did she reach the Refinement Realm at a young age, but she had even mastered an advanced combat technique. Her talent was comparable to that of the various superpowers top-tier geniuses. Meanwhile, the fact that she managed to defeat Firecloud, a vice commander in their adventurer team, further validated her strength. Youre making fun of me again, Big Sis Qianliu, Happy Snow said. Then, she glared at the bald Guardian Knight, who was scratching his head awkwardly, and she said, I only won because Uncle Firecloud let me. He never fights me seriously. While Su Qianliu and her companions were chatting merrily with each other, several dozen people appeared outside the residences courtyard. Theyre finally here, Firecloud, the bald Guardian Knight, said when he saw Shi Fengs group walking into the courtyard. Then, in a contemptuous tone, he said, it seems they brought quite a few first-rate experts with them. Unfortunately, they are overestimating themselves if they think they can convince us with just that. After saying so, Firecloud snapped his finger. Immediately afterward, the players standing around him stopped suppressing their auras, their auras exploding forth like an erupting volcano. Many of the players walking on the street outside the residence were even frightened by this situation. Putting on a show of power? Shi Feng couldnt help but smile and shake his head when he noticed Firecloud and the others unleashing their auras simultaneously. Alright, then. Blackie, its best if you show them whos stronger. Roger! Blackie immediately grew excited when he heard Shi Fengs words. Then, he turned around and said, Brothers, no need to be polite with them! As soon as Blackie finished speaking, the Zero Wing members present quietly nodded and stopped suppressing their auras and Mana as well. Boom! Immediately, with Zero Wings members as the center, a towering pillar of Mana visible to the naked eye appeared in the middle of the courtyard. The terrifying aura Zero Wings members radiated also drowned out the auras of Firecloud and the others. This How How is this possible?! Firecloud couldnt believe his eyes when he looked at Blackie and the others. Chapter 2996 - Chapter 70 – Mana Bodies Galore Chapter 70 C Mana Bodies Galore How can they release such strong Mana? This Mana! What are the ranks of their Mana Bodies? Shock filled the hearts of Firecloud and the others as they looked at Blackies group of 63. At the same time, they couldnt help but grow curious and confused. Everyone present was a veteran expert in Gods Domain, so they knew that Mana radiating from a players body could only come from two sources. The first source was weapons and equipment that housed powerful Mana. The second source was the Mana contained within the players Mana Body. Typically, weapons and equipment that carried powerful Mana were Fragmented Legendary items at the very least, and few were Epic items. The Miniature Ancient World had only opened recently, so Fragmented Legendary items couldnt possibly appear among players yet. As for Epic Weapons and Equipment that carried powerful Mana, every article was incredibly rare. Even first-rate Guilds wouldnt have more than a handful of such Epic items. Hence, there was only one explanation for the powerful Mana that Blackie and the others radiated. The Mana Body! Only by having powerful Mana Bodies could Blackie and the others manipulate and radiate such powerful Mana. The Mana they currently radiated was so strong that it had elevated the Mana density in the courtyard by a small margin. At this time, Su Qianlius eyes suddenly flashed purple as she scanned Blackie and the others. Immediately afterward, a look of shock appeared on her face. Whats their situation, Big Sis Qianliu? Happy Snow asked curiously when she noticed Su Qianliu using her special Identification Skill. Su Qianliu didnt try to hide the information she just discovered as she said, Fourteen Gold Mana Bodies and forty-nine Peak Silver Mana Bodies. Fourteen Gold Mana Bodies and forty-nine Peak Silver Mana Bodies? Happy Snows eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to look at Blackie and the others. Uncle Firecloud, didnt you say that they were people Shadow dismissed? Mana Bodies served as the foundation of players in Gods Domain. The stronger a players Mana Body, the sturdier their foundation and the greater their future growth potential. So long as an expert possessed an Advanced Silver Mana Body, even if they werent a genius, first-rate Guilds would still cultivate them as if they were geniuses. The reason for this was simple. So long as said experts combat standard reached the Trial Towers seventh-floor middle-stage, it was almost certain that they could reach Tier 4 if they had sufficient resources. As for the Peak Silver Mana Body, which was also the Mana Body Su Qianliu had reconstructed through the Colosseum, it granted players the foundation to reach Tier 5. Even in the various superpowers, an ordinary expert with a Peak Silver Mana Body would receive priority training on par with top-tier geniuses. As for the Gold Mana Body, that was something unattainable by the average expert. At least, that shouldve been the case. After all, even among the various superpowers, less than one-third of their peak experts possessed a Gold Mana Body. Normally, even the various superpowers dared not dismiss a group of experts with such powerful Mana Bodies, let alone a second-rate Guild. Yet, Shadow had done exactly that At this time, Firecloud had no idea how to answer Happy Snows question. After all, he, too, failed to process the current situation. For a moment, he even suspected whether Shi Feng and the others were the same people he knew. According to his understanding, Shadow didnt even have the ability to muster such a force, much less have the leeway to dismiss it. While Firecloud and the others were still feeling shocked and confused, Shi Feng raised his hand and signaled for Blackie and the others to retract their Mana. Then, he turned to Su Qianliu and said, Qianliu, I believe Blackie has already told you the details of the situation, so I wont repeat them. All I want to know is whether you are willing to join us right now? This Su Qianliu grew hesitant when she heard Shi Fengs straightforward question. Meanwhile, seeing Su Qianlius hesitance, Blackie advised, Dont hesitate, Qianliu. Nothing can go wrong with following Brother Feng. Isnt it just a bunch of Credits? So long as we have strength, would we need to worry about earning Credits? Firecloud, who had strongly advocated for Su Qianliu to give up on Shi Fengs group previously, had surprisingly chosen to remain silent right now. He simply stood aside and waited for Su Qianlius answer. Firecloud wasnt the only one who took such a stance. At this time, the other members of Su Qianlius adventurer team had also turned to look at their commander with expectant gazes. They might have written off Shi Fengs Guild previously, but after seeing Blackie and the others, theyd be blind, deaf, and retarded if they couldnt see Zero Wings potential. It should be known that Blackie and the others were all first-rate experts. With the current Mana Bodies they possessed, at least 90% of them would reach Tier 4 in the future. In other words, Zero Wing would have at least 50 Tier 4 experts under its command! Only pseudo-first-rate Guilds and above could possibly field such a force. In comparison, the Guild they were creating could, at best, reach the third-rate standard after two or three months of development, and that was under the condition that they had ample financial support. Meanwhile, unless Su Qianliu or Happy Snow could reach Tier 5, their Guild would, at most, develop into a top-tier second-rate Guild in the future. Dont look at me like that. I know what you guys are trying to say, Su Qianliu said, a bitter smile on her face as she shook her head. Then, she looked at Shi Feng and continued, Guild Leader, I can agree to join Zero Wing with my team, but if I do so, Im afraid well lose the chance to enter the Ancient Demon Court that we found Ancient Demon Court? Theres an Ancient Demon Court here? Shi Fengs eyes lit up with excitement when he heard Su Qianlius words. However, he quickly suppressed his restless heart as he asked, Can you elaborate on the situation, Qianliu? At this moment, apart from Shi Feng, Blackie and the others also grew excited when they heard the mention of an Ancient Demon Court. An Ancient Demon Court! That was something that had set off many wars in Gods Domain in the past. As the name Ancient Demon implied, Ancient Demons were Demon Gods that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain. They were Ancient Demon Gods, so to say. Meanwhile, the strength of these Ancient Demon Gods varied significantly, with the stronger ones rivaling Gods and the weaker ones rivaling Inferior Dragons. A portion of Gods Domains Archaic Species were also the descendants of these Ancient Demon Gods. During ancient times, Demon Gods were one of the pinnacle races in Gods Domain. They possessed their own civilization, and Ancient Demon Courts were towns and cities in which these Demon Gods resided. Needless to say, the treasures and Legacies available in these Ancient Demon Gods were incredibly abundant. However, the Ancient Demon Courts werent just simple treasure troves. As someone who had experienced the Greater Gods Domain, Shi Feng knew much more about the Ancient Demon Courts than Blackie and the others. On the surface, the Ancient Demon Courts might seem like the residence of Demon Gods, but they were far more complicated than that. The existence of the Ancient Demon Courts involved core secrets of Gods Domain, and one example of these secrets was the demise of the Ancient Demon Gods! Chapter 2997 - Chapter 71 – Ancient Demon Court Chapter 71 C Ancient Demon Court The Book of Ends stored in the Fire Dragon Empires library recorded some information on Ancient Demon Gods. The Ancient Demon Gods were a race that used to rival Dragons, and the race was only second to the God race. Yet, as powerful as they were, the Ancient Demon Gods had suddenly vanished from Gods Domain within a span of less than a year, leaving behind only descendants with trace bloodlines. Meanwhile, it was also because of the Ancient Demon Gods disappearance that Gods Domains ancient era came to an end. However, only after gaining access to the Greater Gods Domain did Shi Feng understand part of the reason why the Ancient Demon Gods had disappeared from Gods Domain. The Ancient Demon Gods had touched upon Gods Domains forbidden technologies! Meanwhile, these forbidden technologies laid slumbering in the various Ancient Demon Courts, and they were the main reason why the Greater Gods Domains various powerhouses had desperately searched for Ancient Demon Courts. After all, some of these powerhouses had only managed to gain their achievements and status in the Greater Gods Domain thanks to the forbidden technologies they acquired from Ancient Demon Courts. During Shi Fengs previous life, due to his sub-world lacking knowledge about the Ancient Demon Courts, they hadnt put much importance on exploring and exploiting the various Ancient Demon Courts found. As a result, when they gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, the various Outerworld powers had severely oppressed them, and they had very nearly lost their sub-world and their spot in the competition between parallel worlds Shi Feng never thought that he would come across an Ancient Demon Court so quickly in this life. So, how could he not be excited by this piece of news? The reason why I managed to attract so many investors was mainly because of this Ancient Demon Court, Su Qianliu said, sighing. The value of an Ancient Demon Court goes without saying. It is especially true when it is located in the Miniature Ancient World. Those investors naturally know this as well. However, you should also know that exploiting an Ancient Demon Court isnt an easy task. You cant even get past the entrance without sufficient strength. So, the joint exploration of the Ancient Demon Court was listed as one of the conditions in the partnership contract. In exchange for funding our Guild, we will have to share the Ancient Demon Courts harvests with those corporations. At the same time, those corporations will be sending the main force of the first-rate Guilds they have shares in to help us in exploiting the Ancient Demon Court. After discussion, we settled for a 70-30 split in their favor. I already signed the contract and told them the Ancient Demon Courts location yesterday. They have even scouted out the area already. If we renege on the contract now, they can simply remove us from the equation and monopolize the Ancient Demon Court for themselves. They also have the strength to do that You shouldve told us sooner if you found an Ancient Demon Court, Qianliu! Blackie said with a pained expression. The Miniature Ancient World had only been open for a few days, so it meant that Su Qianliu had only discovered the Ancient Demon Court not long ago. They couldve secretly monopolized the Ancient Demon Court if she had told them about her discovery earlier. Hearing Blackies words, Firecloud said in dissatisfaction, What can we do about it? How were we supposed to know about your potential? Now that things are already like this, if we want to acquire the Ancient Demon Courts resources, we will have no choice but to accept their investment. They will only get 49% of the Guilds shares, anyway. We still hold the right to make decisions with 51% of the shares. Upon hearing Fireclouds words, Su Qianliu and Blackie looked toward Shi Feng for a decision. If they accepted the investment, not only would they receive ample funding, but they could also acquire the Ancient Demon Courts resources. The only problem was that they would have to give away a significant portion of the Guilds shares. Even so, they would still hold the right to make decisions in the Guild. However, if they refused the investment, theyd have nothing to do with the Ancient Demon Court anymore I dont plan on accepting any investments, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. I already stated clearly that I do not wish for Zero Wing to be put under any restrictions. Even a possible restriction is unacceptable. I guess well have to give up on the Ancient Demon Court, then, Su Qianliu said, finding this situation a pity. She understood Shi Fengs personality. Since Shi Feng had said that he wouldnt accept any investments, he definitely wouldnt be accepting them. The Ancient Demon Court was something her adventurer team had discovered by luck. Originally, she thought it would become their capital to establish a Guild in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, now, it had become the possession of those major corporations Hearing Shi Fengs decision, the members of Su Qianlius adventurer team couldnt help but lower their heads and sigh as well. The Ancient Demon Court was a treasure trove that even the various superpowers would fight for. Yet, now, they had given one away with nothing to show for Give up? Who said we are giving up? Shi Feng couldnt help but roll his eyes when he heard Su Qianlius words. Then, in a serious tone, he said, Since we were the ones who discovered the Ancient Demon Court, it naturally belongs to us! But Those corporations have already dispatched their teams, Su Qianliu said awkwardly. I talked about this with them during our meeting just now. Originally, we would be heading for the Ancient Demon Court after we were done talking with you, Guild Leader Blackie was rendered speechless by Su Qianlius words. He didnt think that Su Qianliu would act so decisively. At this time, Happy Snows eyes suddenly flashed with inspiration as she suggested, How about we explore the Ancient Demon Court with them without telling them about our plans first? You wish, Firecloud said, shaking his head and smiling as he looked at Happy Snows scheming expression. Do you take these corporations for fools? Theyve already listed all of the preventive measures in the contract. Their teams will be holding onto the loot we get during the exploration. Only after the Guild theyve invested in is fully established will they hand our portion of the loot to us, or rather to the Guild Tell me it isnt true, Big Sis Qianliu, Happy Snow said as she looked at Su Qianliu in dismay. Nodding, Su Qianliu said, That is indeed the case. There are over a billion Credits involved, after all. Those corporations also place significant importance on the Ancient Demon Courts items. Doesnt that mean we wont get anything? Happy Snow asked in frustration. You dont have to do all these unnecessary things. Looking at Su Qianliu, Shi Feng said, Just tell them that our partnership contract is dissolved. What about the Ancient Demon Court, then? Su Qianliu asked. We will go over there now and reclaim it, of course, Shi Feng said. Then, he scanned the experts belonging to Su Qianlius adventurer team and continued, You guys are already prepared, right? Exploring an Ancient Demon Court was indeed a challenging task. However, it wasnt so challenging that a first-rate power couldnt raid it. Meanwhile, it should be known that everyone present was a first-rate expert at the very least. If they set aside the difference in equipment, there was only a small difference between the strength of their team and a first-rate powers main force. Su Qianliu also took a look at everyone present. Although their current team was no match for the teams those corporations organized, they werent without a fighting chance. So, after gritting her teeth, she said, Okay, Ill go tell them now. Chapter 2998 - Chapter 72 – Gathering At The Ancient Settlement Chapter 72 C Gathering at the Ancient Settlement Gray Forest Mountain Range, Tifa Mine: Inside the dull-gray mine illuminated by magic light, thousands of sword-wielding Level 105 Elemental Golems laid motionlessly in front of a metal door measuring several dozen meters in height. If one looked carefully at these Elemental Golems, one would find that they were coated with anti-magic metal, which granted them superb resistance to magical attacks. Meanwhile, due to the nature of golems, the Elemental Golems also possessed superb physical resistance. Most importantly, every one of these Elemental Golems was a Great Lord. With several thousand of them gathered together, even a team of several thousand ordinary experts would have a tough time going up against them. Yet, now, these Elemental Golems had lost to merely a team of 500 players. As expected of an Ancient Demon Courts guards. I didnt think they could form a Super Gravity Domain when gathered in groups of one hundred, a one-eyed man carrying a greatsword on his back said as he kicked the Elemental Golem before him. Then, he turned to the beautiful and curvaceous woman beside him and said, Thankfully, we have you leading the team, Goddess Rue. If it werent for your Frostflame Domain counteracting their Super Gravity Domain, we wouldve had much greater difficulty getting to the Ancient Demon Court this time. When the one-eyed man spoke up to this point, many of the surrounding people also turned to look at the beauty wearing a red robe and wielding a crystalline staff, their faces filled with admiration and reverence. This was because this beauty was none other than Gods Domains famous Frostflame Goddess, Cleansed Rue. Not only was she a Vice Guild Leader in the first-rate Guild Hundred Flower Palace, but she was also one of the top 100 experts in the Gods Domain Experts List. Ranking within the top 100 might not seem like anything special, but it should be noted that the Secret Pavilion only recorded 1,000 players on the Gods Domain Experts List. Moreover, even the weakest player on this list was at Tier 5. Thus, anyone capable of ranking within the top 100 was a top-tier Domain Realm expert. Meanwhile, in response to the one-eyed mans flattery, Cleansed Rue simply kept her staff away and indifferently said, Even without my Frostflame Domain, nothing can go wrong here with you around, One-eyed Ghost. One-eyed Ghost was the most recent player to become one of Gods Domains Eight Sword Meisters. Apart from being an Honorary Elder in the first-rate Guild Nature Hall, he was also one of the top 100 experts in the Gods Domain Experts List. Moreover, he was even in possession of the incredibly powerful Darkness Domain. Before entering the Miniature Ancient World, he was regarded as one of the experts with the highest chance of reaching Tier 6. Meanwhile, One-eyed Ghost was known for being a smiling tiger in Gods Domain. He might have a cheeky personality on the surface, but he was actually an incredibly ruthless person on the inside. If their two Guilds hadnt partnered to raid the Ancient Demon Court, Cleansed Rue wouldnt have been willing to interact with someone like One-eyed Ghost. I might have a Mana Domain, but I am still only a Swordsman. How can my Mana Domain possibly compare to that of a Tier 5 Divine Mage like yourself, Goddess? One-eyed Ghost said with a light smile. Then, he sighed as he continued, But it really is a pity. I thought I would get to travel with two great beauties this time. I didnt think that the other beauty would give up on partnering with our two Guilds. It is indeed a pity. Cleansed Rue also sighed when she heard One-eyed Ghosts words. Su Qianliu was someone whom she had her eye on. Before, she had even tried to recruit Su Qianliu into the Hundred Flower Palace. After all, Su Qianliu was not only a great beauty, but she also possessed excellent management capabilities. People like her were rare in Gods Domain. Unfortunately, Su Qianliu had rejected her invitation. Now, Su Qianliu had even strangely given up on their partnership and the Ancient Demon Court to join a newly-established Guild called Zero Wing. Cleansed Rue found this to be a truly bizarre situation. Thats because Su Qianliu is stupid, Big Sis Rue. Not only did she reject our Guild invitation, but she even gave up on our partnership to join some no-name Guild. Shell definitely regret her decision later on, a Level 102 female Knight said contemptuously. Many of the Hundred Flower Palace present silently nodded in agreement. While Tier 4 experts were indeed rare in Gods Domain, they could, at most, serve as mainstays in the various first-rate Guilds. A single Tier 4 expert wasnt enough to let a Guild dominate an entire region. Meanwhile, Su Qianlius decision to join a newly-established Guild and abandon the opportunity to raid an Ancient Demon Court was no different than putting the cart before the horse. It was an incredibly foolish action. However, Cleansed Rue didnt comment on the matter. After all, everyone had their own decisions. Immediately, she commanded through the team chat, Everyone, rest up! Well be going inside in a moment! Although the Ancient Demon Court was an ancient settlement, its nature was more like a Trial Dungeon. The level of the monsters inside would change according to the players level, and their levels could increase up to Level 150. Meanwhile, after players successfully raided an Ancient Demon Court, they would be rewarded according to their performance. An Ancient Demon Court was essentially a Dungeon that players could raid infinitely. Moreover, the rewards one could acquire would change every time depending on ones level and performance. Thus, one could also say that an Ancient Demon Court was a treasure trove. Of course, this treasure trove didnt come without restrictions. Specifically, players could only enter an Ancient Demon Court once every seven days. In other words, a team could only raid an Ancient Demon Court once a week. However, while this restriction might be severe toward individual teams, it wasnt as significant to a Guild. After all, a Guild had more than one team under its command. This was also why the Ancient Demon Courts found on the main continent had become private grinding spots for the various powers. Meanwhile, in the Miniature Ancient World, where Dungeons appeared randomly, the value of an Ancient Demon Court was many times higher than on the main continent. Goddess Rue, Ill say this first, but, as per our agreement, you must let Nature Hall have the Ancient Demon Courts key if it drops, One-eyed Ghost said, smiling as he looked at Cleansed Rue. Naturally. But dont forget that the inner zones teleportation stone belongs to Hundred Flower Palace, Cleansed Rue reminded. Although the Ancient Demon Court resembled a Trial Dungeon, it also possessed the properties of a settlement. So long as players acquired the key to an Ancient Demon Court, they wouldnt have to worry about others occupying the Ancient Demon Court in the future. This was because the key could be used to open or close the entrance to the Ancient Demon Court. In addition, the inside of an Ancient Demon Court could be split into two zonesouter and inner. However, players would need a specific teleportation stone to enter an Ancient Demon Courts inner zone. Without the teleportation stone, players wouldnt be able to enter the Ancient Demon Courts inner zone and acquire its true treasures. You can rest assured, Goddess Rue. Nature Hall sticks by its words. Not to mention, our two Guilds have already signed a contract on this, One-eyed Ghost said, chuckling. After both sides verified their arrangements once more, Hundred Flower Palaces and Nature Halls members finally merged into an actual 500-man team, which was also the Ancient Demon Courts maximum entrance limit for a team. Chapter 2999 - Chapter 73 – Stop That Lunatic! Chapter 73 C Stop That Lunatic! After resting for around ten minutes, Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost gathered everyone to enter the Ancient Demon Court. However, before they could enter, they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the cavern entrance. Immediately, the members of both Guilds turned toward the source of the footsteps and saw a team of nearly 300 players led by a cloaked man entering the cavern. Walking beside the cloaked man was a beautiful woman, and this woman was none other than Su Qianliu. Why are they here? Didnt already give up on partnering with our two Guilds? Did they regret their decision? The members of Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall began a quiet discussion among themselves as they looked at Su Qianlius group. What is Su Qianliu trying to do, Big Sis Rue? Didnt she already terminate our partnership? Rain Song, the female Knight carrying a round shield and a one-handed axe on her back, asked. They should be planning on raiding the Ancient Demon Court by themselves by the looks of it, Cleansed Rue said. They want to raid it themselves? Song Rain couldnt help but blink her eyes in disbelief when she heard Cleansed Rues answer. Are they stupid? Although the Ancient Demon Court was only a Trial Dungeon, its raid difficulty was more than double that of Hell Mode Team Dungeons of the same level. Moreover, unlike Hell Mode Team Dungeons, the loot players could acquire from an Ancient Demon Court was highly dependent on the evaluation they received, and the loots quality would be reduced significantly if players couldnt achieve a high evaluation. The Ancient Demon Courts raid evaluation was split into five ranks: D, C, B, A, and S. The difficulty of achieving a higher rank increased exponentially, and players would need to score at least a B-rank evaluation for a high evaluation. This was also why their two Guilds had dispatched their best players to raid the Ancient Demon Court. Yet, now, Su Qianliu was trying to raid the Ancient Demon Court with her adventurer team that didnt even reach the standard of well-known adventurer teams. (TL/N: ordinary -> well-known -> top adventurer team) Maybe they came prepared, Cleansed Rue said as she moved her gaze from Su Qianliu to Shi Feng. Although I dont know who that Swordsman is, the fact that he managed to get Su Qianliu to join him must mean that he is strong. Hearing this, Song Rain retrieved her axe and shield and asked, Should we get rid of them now? Now that Su Qianliu had already withdrawn from their partnership, they were no longer in the same boat. Meanwhile, an Ancient Demon Court in the Miniature Ancient World was of extraordinary value. Before the entrance key was found, anyone could freely enter the Ancient Demon Court. It might be fine if Su Qianlius team lacked the strength to raid the Ancient Demon Court, but itd be a problem if her team did have the necessary strength. However, Cleansed Rue shook her head and said, Let them be. I concur, One-eyed Ghost said, nodding. Then, he smiled as he continued, They are aware of the Ancient Demon Courts location. While we might be able to kill them here, if they publish the Ancient Demon Courts coordinates to everyone out of spite, well be the ones to suffer. If the various superpowers learned of this Ancient Demon Court, they definitely wouldnt let it be. Meanwhile, their two Guilds couldnt guarantee that they could acquire the key on their first try. So, the best solution now was for both sides to keep the Ancient Demon Court a secret and rely on their respective abilities to secure the ancient settlement. At the same time as Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost had come to an agreement, Su Qianliu, Blackie, and the other members of the team couldnt help but feel shocked and anxious. Crap! Its the Frostflame Goddess and new Sword Meister! Blackie was flabbergasted when he saw Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost in the distance. With those two here, their team is probably on par with the various superpowers main force Guild Leader, Im afraid itll be tough for our team to compete with theirs, Su Qianliu said to Shi Feng with a worried look on her face. She didnt think that Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall would send two such experts into the Miniature Ancient World. The strength of two top 100 Gods Domain Experts List experts was no laughing matter. Even if Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost were only at Tier 3 right now, it was still impossible for their team to win against these two experts. After all, each of these people could constitute an entire team by themselves. Raiding a Dungeon and combat standards are two separate matters, Shi Feng said nonchalantly as he glanced at Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost. They might have a significant advantage over us, we have our own strengths as well. Strengths? Su Qianliu asked skeptically. No matter how she thought over the situation, she couldnt figure out how their team was superior to the other partys team in any way. Do we have any? Of course, Shi Feng said. Then, he walked up to the Ancient Demon Courts massive entrance and reached for the magic array engraved on it, saying, For example, the ability to stir up trouble! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the magic array on the door suddenly glowed with a dazzling light. Not good! Stop that lunatic! One-eyed Ghost shouted, his expression sinking when he saw the magic array activating. Although the Ancient Demon Court was an ancient settlement, it had a few similarities with Team Dungeons. One example would be the different difficulty settings. Meanwhile, the Ancient Demon Court had two difficulties: Normal Mode and Hard Mode. However, unlike Team Dungeons, the difference in raid difficulty in the Ancient Demon Courts Normal Mode and Hard Mode was massive. Hard Modes difficulty was at least several times higher than that of Normal Mode. Moreover, once an Ancient Demon Courts difficulty was set, it couldnt be changed again for a month. This crazy bastard! Cleansed Rues expression also turned ugly when she saw Shi Feng adjusting the Ancient Demon Courts difficulty. If the difficulty was changed to Hard Mode, itd become much more difficult for them to acquire a high evaluation. Meanwhile, it was almost impossible for them to acquire the Ancient Demon Courts key without a high evaluation. However, before One-eyed Ghost and Cleansed Rue could say anything else, another change occurred to the doors magic array. Specifically, the magic arrays color had gradually changed from red to black. HellMode How is thispossible?! Cleansed Rue was utterly shocked when she saw the familiar skull illusion appearing in front of the door. At this time, apart from Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost, even Su Qianliu couldnt help but be dumbfounded by this situation. In Gods Domain, it was common knowledge that the highest difficulty the Ancient Demon Courts had was Hard Mode. Never had a higher difficulty been seen before. Yet, now, the black skull illusion unique to Hell Mode Dungeons had appeared above the teleportation portal in front of the Ancient Demon Courts entrance Alright, now it is fair for all of us. Lets go in, then, Shi Feng said before walking into the portal. The Ancient Demon Courts indeed only had two difficulty settings on the surface. However, during his previous life, after his sub-world gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, the various powers in his sub-world came to realize that the Ancient Demon Courts actually had a hidden difficultyHell Mode. Apart from being a much more challenging mode to tackle, Hell Mode was also the only place where players could acquire the true treasures the Ancient Demon Courts had to offer. Meanwhile, activating an Ancient Demon Courts Hell Mode was simple. All that was needed was for a Grandmaster Magician to adjust the difficulty setting. However, as Grandmaster Magicians and Tier 6 God-ranked experts typically wouldnt visit Ancient Demon Courts, nobody in his previous lifes sub-world had noticed this feature until they gained access to the Greater Gods Domain. Chapter 3000 - Chapter 74 – Success And Failure Chapter 74 C Success and Failure Dammit! We were still a step too late! When Rain Song saw Su Qianliu and the others rushing into the portal, she couldnt help but curse as she gripped her axe tightly. Lunatics! What a bunch of lunatics!! A Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court! This was something they had never even heard of. The Ancient Demon Courts Normal Mode was already plenty challenging for most experts. In the case of Hard Mode, even after their two Guilds had joined hands, they would still face extreme difficulty in obtaining a high evaluation. Now that the Ancient Demon Court before them had its difficulty changed to Hell Mode, itd probably be impossible for anyone to clear it with a high evaluation for one month. One whole month! There was no doubt that the Ancient Demon Courts existence would get exposed during this long period. At that time, the various superpowers would definitely flock to this place, and neither their two Guilds nor Su Qianlius group would benefit from the Ancient Demon Court At this time, other than Rain Song, Nature Halls One-eyed Ghost also wore a grim expression on his face. While staring at the portal Su Qianliu had disappeared into with a cold gaze, he said, Good! Very good! As expected of someone capable of making a name in the Black Dragon Empire! If the Ancient Demon Courts difficulty was only changed to Hard Mode, their team could still cope with it one way or another. While their chances of obtaining a high evaluation wouldnt be 100%, they should still have around a 60% chance of succeeding. However, it was a different story for Hell Mode. He had no confidence that their team could score a high evaluation in a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court. After all, even in normal Team Dungeons, the difficulty gap between Hard Mode and Hell Mode was massive. This gap would only be even more significant in Ancient Demon Courts. Meanwhile, players would be subjected to a one-week Cooldown when challenging the Ancient Demon Court. If they failed to receive a high evaluation after clearing it, theyd have to wait for one whole week before they could try again. Many variables could occur in one week in the current Miniature Ancient World. What should we do now, Big Sis Rue? Rain Song asked as she turned toward Cleansed Rue. Now that those lunatics have activated the Ancient Demon Courts Hell Mode, should we still move according to plan and go inside? Well wait! Cleansed Rue said as she stared at the black skull above the teleportation portal. Although theyve messed up our plans with this move, it isnt necessarily a bad thing for us. While the Ancient Demon Courts difficulty has indeed been increased, this is the first time a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court has appeared in Gods Domain. If we can succeed in raiding it, well probably get an astonishing harvest. I have already contacted the Guild for reinforcements. I believe it wont be long before the higher-ups send more Tier 5 experts to help us. Upon hearing Cleansed Rues words, Rain Song quickly came to a realization as she exclaimed, Thats right! How could I forget about this! Risks and opportunities came hand-in-hand. This was an unchanging law in Gods Domain. Just like Cleansed Rue stated, having a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court appear wasnt necessarily a bad thing for them. On the contrary, if they could raid it successfully, the benefit they could reap from it would definitely exceed their imaginations. As expected of you to notice this detail, Goddess Rue, One-eyed Ghost said, his grim expression suddenly changing into a carefree one. Then, he lightly chuckled and continued, Su Qianliu might have thought that she was creating trouble for us, but she failed to realize that all she did was to give us even more benefits. It was true that neither of their Guilds could field a team rivaling the various superpowers main force. However, if their two Guilds worked together and concentrated their top combatants into a single team, they could match the various superpowers main force. After all, the number of Tier 5 experts their two Guilds possessed was only slightly inferior compared to the various superpowers. Unless Tier 6 God-ranked experts were involved, their two Guilds would remain mostly even with the various superpowers. Everyone, listen up! Seal this cavern with an Advanced Barrier immediately! One-eyed Ghost commanded as he looked at the other Nature Hall members present. From now onward, nobody is allowed to enter or leave this place until our reinforcements arrive! So long as Su Qianlius team dies out of the Dungeon, use the Death Lock Scroll on them immediately! Unlike Team Dungeons, players were prohibited from using Magic Scrolls inside Ancient Demon Courts. For this reason, Ancient Demon Courts were much harder to raid than the average Team Dungeon. The inability to use Magic Scrolls naturally meant that players couldnt use Return Scrolls to leave an Ancient Demon Court. In this situation, there were only two ways players could exit the Dungeon: die or clear the Dungeon. Apart from these two methods, there were no other ways for players to exit an Ancient Demon Court. Yes, sir! Immediately, both Nature Halls and Hundred Flower Palaces members started setting up Advanced Barriers around the cavern. With these barriers in place, even Tier 4 players would have difficulty entering or leaving the cavern. After seeing several barriers go up around the cavern, One-eyed Ghost looked toward the teleportation portal, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he thought to himself, Lets see if youll still be as tough once you come out of the Dungeon! Meanwhile, Cleansed Rue couldnt help but shake her head and sigh when she noticed the killing intent One-eyed Ghost radiated. Although she didnt know what had caused Su Qianliu to take such a crazy action, there was no question that Su Qianliu had angered their two Guilds. After all, neither of their two Guilds had initially planned on dispatching many Tier 5 experts into the Miniature Ancient World. This situation had foiled many of their plans, and theyd have to halt and reorganize their plans. Right now, even if she chose not to take action against Su Qianliu, One-eyed Ghost definitely wouldnt let Su Qianliu get away. He might even hunt down Su Qianlius team until they all deleted their accounts. After all, this wasnt the first time One-eyed Ghost had done such a thing Chapter 3001 - Chapter 75 Chapter 75 C One Persons Strength Inside the Ancient Demon Court, Su Qianliu and the others remained wholly unaware of what was going on outside. Even if they did know what was going on, they wouldnt be in the mood to care since they were currently in shock over the environment inside the Ancient Demon Court. What violent Mana! So, this is Hell Mode? Everyones faces paled when they looked at the dilapidated settlement and the Death Energy that filled the streets before them. Although they had long since known that an Ancient Demon Courts Hell Mode wouldnt be an easy challenge, they never thought it would be this difficult. Setting aside the violent Mana that constantly inflicted pain onto their bodies and affected their ability to control their bodies, just the Death Energy that filled the settlements streets was more than enough to instill despair into them. Death Energy was a special type of energy with extremely powerful corrosive effects. It might be fine if it was present in scant amounts. At most, it would only prevent players from operating their bodies normally. However, if the presence of Death Energy was so dense that it was visible to the naked eye, it would be fatal to players. Even if Death Energy was only visible as a thin layer of gray gas, it was already more than enough to corrode players minds and rapidly reduce their Concentration. Meanwhile, if players Concentration fell below the critical threshold, their characters would become an empty shell, and itd be no different than if they had died. Im afraid theres no way we can raid this Ancient Demon Court, Guild Leader. Setting aside the violent Mana, just the Death Energy thats floating in the air is already too much for us to handle. Apart from those with a Gold Mana Body, everyone else would die in under thirty minutes Su Qianliu said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she looked at Shi Feng. Originally, before entering the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court, she had thought that they might have a chance at clearing it. After all, their team was not weak by any means. However, after entering the Ancient Demon Court, she realized that she had been too naive With such a harsh environment, even the Five Great Super Guilds main force would probably have difficulty surviving in such an environment. Not to mention, the Bosses in Level 100 Hell Mode Team Dungeons were typically Tier 4 Mythic monsters that had their HP, Attack Power, and Defense boosted significantly. After getting strengthened, their overall strength could rival Mythic ranked Archaic Species found in the outside world. Meanwhile, seeing as they were inside a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court, the Boss they had to face was probably on par with Mythic ranked World Bosses. In other words, they had to face a Mythic monster with at least 50% more Basic Attributes than the average Mythic monster Death Energy and violent Mana? After surveying their surroundings, Shi Feng nodded and said, It seems we got lucky. Lucky? When Happy Snow heard Shi Fengs words, she couldnt help but roll her eyes at him. She felt that Shi Feng was truly skilled at consoling people. How could their current situation even be considered lucky? Faced with such dense Death Energy, Happy Snow felt that she could, at best, last half an hour with her Peak Silver Mana Body. As for the others with weaker Mana Bodies, they probably wouldnt last more than fifteen minutes. As soon as they stepped into the settlement before them, theyd be taking a ride on hells tour bus. They could probably meet God even without fighting. We are indeed very lucky, Shi Feng said, calmly smiling when he saw the look of contempt Happy Snow was giving him. Ancient Demon Courts are products of the ancient era. When we consider the fact that the Ancient Demons were suddenly wiped out and the Ancient Demon Courts were sealed, we can consider ourselves lucky that all we have to face right now is a little Death Energy and some Mana fluctuations left behind from back then. Shi Feng had visited quite a few Ancient Demon Courts during his previous life. Among them, many had much harsher environments than the one they currently faced. In one instance, not only did he have to deal with violent Mana and dense Death Energy, but he also had to be wary of a temporal storm that was capable of obliterating everything. Even a random gust of wind that came out of that temporal storm could severely injure a Superior Mythic. Meanwhile, the temporal storm back then had covered the entire settlement. The scene back then was both beautiful and devastating. In comparison, the Ancient Demon Court here only had violent Mana and Death Energy. Among the many Ancient Demon Courts in existence, it could be considered a relatively mild one. What should we do next, Guild Leader? We have no way to retreat now, but we cant progress in such an environment, either. Even with my Gold Mana Body, I doubt I can last more than an hour. If I have to fight monsters on top of that, I dont think I can last more than twenty minutes, Blackie said anxiously as he looked at the settlement ahead. While a Gold Mana Body was stronger than a Silver Mana Body, it wasnt invincible. It merely provided players with stronger adaptability. Dont worry. Since I decided to come here, I naturally came prepared, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Whether it is the violent Mana or Death Energy, both are merely a form of external energy. Why do you think a Gold Mana Body can have a better time adapting to harsh environments? Upon hearing Shi Fengs question, Blackie immediately came to a realization as he said, Its because of the enhanced control it provides toward Mana! So long as we can control the Mana around us, well be able to resist the Mana and Death Energy here! Thats right. Shi Feng nodded. Rather than a Dungeon, an Ancient Demon Court is more like a trial for players. If players can control their Mana well, they can drastically reduce the pressure they face from the surrounding environment. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, whether it was the violent Mana or Death Energy surrounding him, both had stopped half an inch away from his body. It looked as if there was an invisible barrier surrounding him. What powerful Mana control! Firecloud mentally exclaimed when he saw what Shi Feng just did. Forming a Mana Barrier around ones body was easier said than done. This was due to the way players visualized Mana. It was especially true when the Mana in question came from ones own body. The average player couldnt see or touch Mana at all, and the only way they could manipulate their Mana to form an external barrier was through relying on magic arrays. The process of forming an external Mana barrier was essentially players compressing the Mana they radiated to form a dense coating of Mana around their bodies. It shouldnt be mistaken with the action of severing ones Mana flow to prevent ones Mana from leaving ones body. The two achieved entirely different effects, and the former was much more difficult to accomplish than the latter. Meanwhile, the closer the compressed layer of Mana got to ones body, the denser it would become. As a result, the resistance it put up would also grow stronger. Without incredible control over Mana, there was no way a player could compress their Mana to within half an inch of their body. With Shi Fengs reminder, everyone present started compressing their Mana to form a barrier that repelled the violent Mana and Death energy surrounding them. Fortunately, everyone present was a veteran expert. They possessed excellent control over Mana, and everyone managed to form a barrier that was, at most, one-yard thick. In Su Qianlius case, she managed to form a half-inch thick barrier with ease, and none of the surrounding violent Mana and Death Energy managed to affect her in the slightest. Well done. Shi Feng nodded approvingly when he saw that everyone had more or less managed to resist the surrounding environments effects. Alright, lets start the raid for real now. Ill be splitting you all into three separate teams from now on. All Guardian Knights and Shield Warriors will be in Team One, the remaining melee players will be in Team Two, and all ranged players will be in Team Three. Without my command, nobody in Team Two is allowed to take action. As for Team One, you are only allowed to use your shields to block the attacking monsters. You are forbidden from attacking and attracting aggro. For Team Three, you will attack whichever monster I tell you to attack. You are not allowed to attack any other monsters. Chapter 3002 - Chapter 76 – Guild Leader? Chapter 76 C Guild Leader? After splitting the team into smaller groups, Shi Feng led the team to within 500 yards of the settlement. Upon reaching this point, a large group of fully-armed Elemental Golems suddenly marched out of a corner of the main street and entered their view. The Elemental Golems were of varying sizes, the smaller ones measuring around two or three meters and the larger ones measuring up to eight meters. At a glance, there should at least be ten thousand Elemental Golems in the group. Apart from their large numbers, these Elemental Golems also behaved like a well-trained army. The golems wielding shields stood at the front, the golems wielding spears stood in the middle, and the golems wielding staves stood at the rear. [Elemental Destroyer] (Great Lord) Level 105 HP 300,000,000 [Elemental Annihilator] (Grand Lord) Level 106 HP 1,000,000,000 Crap! Are you kidding me?! Why do these monsters have so much HP?! Blackie felt his scalp turning numb when he saw the Elemental Golems stats. The HP of these golems was at least twice as high as monsters of similar rank and level found in the outside world. Su Qianliu, Happy Snow, Firecloud, and the others also frowned at this situation. Unlike monsters, players were restricted by the Hidden Attribute known as Stamina. In other words, the amount of time they could spend fighting was limited. It was especially true during intense fights. Right now, their team only had 300 players. Normally, theyd have exhausted most of their Stamina even if they fought against just two or three thousand Great Lords of the same rank. Yet, now, not only did they have to face over ten thousand Great Lords and Grand Lords, but these monsters even had unusually high amounts of HP Rather than a trial, what awaited them ahead was a massacre! Guild Leader, its too disadvantageous for us to fight against such a larger group of monsters. Well run out of Stamina before we can even finish them. I suggest that we split the team and conduct guerilla warfare using the small alleys, Su Qianliu suggested. Fighting a large-scale battle while being severely disadvantaged in numbers wouldnt benefit them in any way. In comparison, while splitting up the team across the settlements alleys would scatter the teams strength, it would also reduce the number of monsters each player needed to face. This, in turn, would reduce their Stamina consumption and increase their endurance in battle. The Elemental Golems were merely monsters with high physical and magical resistances. They didnt have extraordinary combat standards. At most, their combat standard reached the Trial Towers fifth-floor early-stage standard. In a situation where the gap in Basic Attributes wasnt too significant, first-rate experts would have no problem going up against three or four golems at a time. Blackie, Happy Snow, Firecloud, and the others also nodded in agreement with Su Qianlius suggestion. After seeing the scale of the monster army before them, they finally understood why the Ancient Demon Courts and various secret lands remained the private playground of only first-rate powers and above. Without a significant advantage in Basic Attributes, experts of their caliber had no way of fighting large-scale fights in these dangerous locations whatsoever. Faced with so many tanky monsters, it wouldnt matter even if they worked together. There was simply no way they could achieve victory. Although it was a bit of a pity to split up their combat power, this was the best solution available to them. Afterward, all they could do was hope that a few healers could survive until the dust settled so that they could resurrect those who had died in battle. No need to go through such hassle, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. While these Elemental Golems might be numerous, they have a fatal weakness. Fatal weakness? After thinking for a moment, Su Qianliu asked, Is it the density of their surrounding Mana? Unlike other creatures, Elemental Creatures relied heavily on Mana. The more violent and denser the surrounding Mana, the stronger Elemental Creatures would become. Of course, the reverse was also true. Nodding, Shi Feng said, Thats right. The reason why these golems have such high HP is largely due to the violent Mana here. So long as we lower the density of the ambient Mana or stabilize it, we can nullify the buffs of these golems. Ancient Demon Courts existed to test players, not to kill them. Thus, there were tricks to raiding every Ancient Demon Court. So long as players found the trick, the raid difficulty would plummet. This was also why Shi Feng dared to challenge a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court with Su Qianliu and the others. After Shi Feng finished speaking, everyones eyes glowed in excitement as they turned toward Su Qianliu. Dont look at me. The Mana here is too violent. Itd take an incredibly powerful Mana Domain to expel or stabilize the Mana here, Su Qianliu said with a bitter smile when she noticed the hopeful gazes everyone was giving her. I might have a Peak Silver Mana Body, but my Mana control still isnt enough for me to cast a Mana Domain After hearing Su Qianlius words, Happy Snow and Firecloud turned toward Blackie. Blackies Mana Body was stronger than even Su Qianlius. Moreover, he had even completed his Gold Mana Body at an 85% Completion Rate. A Mana Body of this caliber could rank at the top even among the various superpowers top-tier talents. Me? Scratching his face awkwardly, Blackie said, Im no good, either. With my control over Mana, I dont even know if I can cast a Mana Domain after reaching Tier 4, let alone now. Blackie might have a Gold Mana Body, but the way he obtained it could be considered borderline cheating. If he hadnt relied on Shi Fengs real-time instructions and some luck, it wouldve been impossible for him to construct a Gold Mana Body with an 85% Completion Rate. In comparison, Su Qianliu had relied entirely on her own efforts to construct her Peak Mana Body. When it came to Mana control, she was undoubtedly much better than him. Upon hearing Blackies helpless words, everyone present despaired a little. If even the teams two strongest magical class players couldnt cast a Mana Domain, it was even more impossible for everyone else. You dont need to worry about the matter with the Mana Domain. I have a solution for that, Shi Feng suddenly said. Just follow my orders afterward and attack the Elemental Annihilators that charge forward. Magical classes, dont hold anything back and dump everything you have. He has a solution? Su Qianliu couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise and confusion. After all, players could only create a Mana Domain when they had developed their Mana control to an extreme level. It wasnt something that could be obtained via words alone. However, before Su Qianliu and the others could figure out Shi Fengs words, the Elemental Golems had already moved within 50 yards of their team. This distance was already within the attack range of Great Lords and Tier 3 players. Tier 3 Assassins could even cross this distance in just two steps. Attack! Shi Feng commanded, having already moved within 40 yards of the nearest Elemental Annihilator. Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, everyone stopped holding back and used their Skills and Spells one after another. The magical class players, in particular, used their trademark moves right off the bat, bombarding the Elemental Annihilators charging at the forefront with AOE Spells and large-scale Combination Spells. Some had even used Tier 3 Curses. For a time, the land between both sides turned into a sea of flames. The ground also shook violently as if a meteor had just hit the ground. What power! Is this the effect of violent Mana? Happy Snow was a little dumbfounded when she saw the devastated battlefield. Even though they were only casting Tier 3 Spells, the raw power their Spells exuded rivaled Tier 4 Spells. Because of their Spells, the Elemental Annihilators had their advance forcibly halted, and damages exceeding a million appeared above their heads one after another. However, before everyone could celebrate this situation, what took place next instantly extinguished the confidence they just recoveredthe cracks on the Elemental Annihilators bodies were rapidly mending, and even their HPs were healing at a rate visible to the naked eye. The recovery speed of these monsters was far superior to the monsters found in the outside world. At this time, the shield-wielding Elemental Destroyers had also caught up to the Elemental Annihilators. Then, with their shields raised, these Elemental Destroyers blocked the oncoming Skills and Spells without getting affected in any way. Subsequently, when less than 30 yards separated both sides, and Firecloud and the other tanks were subconsciously trembling while wielding their shields Halt! A low voice suddenly echoed throughout the team. Immediately afterward, an invisible ripple spread across the entire battlefield, causing the violent Mana to settle down and Mana density to plummet. Meanwhile, along with these abrupt changes to the ambient Mana, all Elemental Golems standing within the affected area had their Movement Speeds reduced drastically and their HPs reduced to less than one-third of their original. Moreover, their body sizes had shrunk by half, their Basic Attributes had fallen by over 30%, and their battle recovery had halted completely Guild Leader? Chapter 3003 - Chapter 77 Chapter 77 C Flying Improvements Su Qianlius eyes widened in shock as she looked at Shi Feng. She dared not believe that such a powerful Mana Domain actually came from Shi Feng. A Mana Domain! It was something that only those who had achieved incredible mastery over Mana could possess. It should be known that even the various superpowers top-tier geniuses wouldnt necessarily be able to cast a Mana Domain when they first reached Tier 4. Yet, now, Shi Feng had cast a Mana Domain as a Tier 3 Swordsman. Moreover, the strength of his Mana Domain was so great that it could even suppress Grand Lords in all aspects. This was a feat that she had only ever heard of in rumors Meanwhile, Happy Snow, who stood guard beside Su Qianliu, was also dumbfounded by this situation. Then, after snapping out of her daze, she asked Su Qianliu, Is he really just Shadows former Guild Leader, Big Sis Qianliu? At this moment, Su Qianliu and the members of her adventurer team werent the only ones shocked and confused by this situation. Blackie and the others, who had stayed with Shadow all these years, also couldnt help but doubt their eyes as they looked at Shi Feng. Brother Feng! No, Guild Leader! You Blackie was at a loss for words as he looked at Shi Fengs Mana Domain. Compared to the shock he received when he received the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique from Shi Feng previously, the shock he felt now was many times greater. There were more than ten thousand Great Lord and Grand Lord ranked Elemental Golems here! Yet, now, with just one move, Shi Feng had crippled every one of these powerful monsters! Alright, I know what you want to say, but our priority now is to clear out these Elemental Golems first, Shi Feng said as he pointed at the golems ahead. Right! We have to get rid of these golems first! Immediately, Blackie, Su Qianliu, and the others promptly snapped out of their daze and got serious. Then, following Shi Fengs command, the melee players of the team charged at the Elemental Annihilators. Due to Shi Fengs Mana Domain, the mighty Elemental Golems were nothing but a joke now. Under the Mana Domains effects, not only did the golems lose a significant portion of their Basic Attributes and HP, but their reaction speeds had also dropped by 30% or more. Now, instead of being stronger than their counterparts in the outside world, these Elemental Golems had become weaker instead. For a time, Happy Snow and the teams other melee players slaughtered the Elemental Annihilators and Destroyers, converting these monsters into EXP for everyone. Unlike Team Dungeons, the monsters in Ancient Demon Courts provided much higher EXP than monsters found in the outside world. It was even more so for the monsters in a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court. After including the level-gap bonus, the EXP the Elemental Golems provided was several times higher than their counterparts in the outside world. In less than four hours, the team wiped out the 10,000-plus Elemental Golems. Meanwhile, the abundant EXP everyone received had boosted Blackie and the others from Level 100 to Level 103. As for Shi Feng, Su Qianliu, and the others, they had leveled up from 102 to 104. In the current Miniature Ancient World, they were undoubtedly at the forefront when it came to levels. However, compared to the EXP they gained, everyone paid more attention to the loot the Elemental Golems dropped. As Elemental Creatures, the Elemental Golems did not drop any Coins. Instead, they dropped Magic Crystals and various types of Elemental Cores. On average, a Magic Crystal would drop for every two or three Elemental Destroyer killed. Magic Crystals was a hard currency on the market. It was needed for many aspects of Gods Domain. Since players werent allowed to bring Magic Crystals with them when they entered the Miniature Ancient World, the current market value of Magic Crystals was around 50 Silver each. Moreover, one wouldnt necessarily be able to buy any Magic Crystals even if one had the money. Yet, now, the Elemental Golems had dropped over 6,000 Magic Crystals. In addition, the Elemental Golems also dropped over a thousand Level 100 and Level 105 weapons and equipment. Although they were all at the Fine-Gold rank, they were still better than the Level 100 Secret-Silver ranked beginners equipment. Seeing the Elemental Golems drop over a thousand Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment, everyone couldnt help but be amazed by the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Courts profitability. If they came here at Level 150, the harvest they could acquire would be massively beneficial to their Guild. Guild Leader, something good dropped, Blackie said excitedly as he ran up to Shi Feng with a dark-red plate armor in his hands. Tier 3 Mana Equipment? Shi Feng also grew interested when he saw the magic patterns and magic arrays engraved on the chest piece. Mana Equipment was different from conventional equipment. They were not divided by ranks, only tiers. The boost to Basic Attributes Mana Equipment provided was also changed according to the users level. They were similar to Epic Weapons and Equipment in a sense. Moreover, the Basic Attributes Mana Equipment provided could rival the average Epic Weapon and Equipment. The Skills and Spells that came with Mana Equipment even possessed superior effects than most Epic Weapons and Equipment. The only flaw with Mana Weapons and Equipment was the fact that they were consumables. They would become useless once their durability ran out. They couldnt be repaired from conventional equipment. It is indeed Tier 3 Mana Equipment, but it isnt the same Mana Equipment that we know, Blackie said, shaking his head. Then, in an even more excited tone, he continued, Instead, its a piece of Ancient Mana Equipment. Ive already had Qianliu check it, and this Ancient Mana Equipment doesnt have the same durability limitation as ordinary Mana Equipment. We can replenish its durability using Magic Crystals! How many pieces did we get? Shi Feng asked, his eyes lighting up in excitement when he heard Blackies words. According to Blackies introduction, this Ancient Mana Equipment was none other than the mainstream equipment used in the Greater Gods Domain. If they could collect a full set of this Ancient Mana Equipment, the boost in combat power it could provide to a player would surpass even that of an Epic Set Equipment. After all, apart from providing players with a significant amount of Basic Attributes, this Ancient Mana Equipment could also help players significantly in their control over Mana, Skills, and Spells. It could even help players with their combat techniques to a certain extent. Meanwhile, Blackie chuckled and raised five fingers upon hearing Shi Fengs question. Five pieces? Shi Feng grew a little disappointed when he saw Blackies response. If only five pieces dropped, there definitely werent enough to make a set. The average Mana Equipment came in six-piece sets, while the best came in eight-piece sets. Meanwhile, Mana Equipment that wasnt in a complete set would only be slightly stronger than Dark-Gold Equipment of the same level. No, its fifty pieces! A whopping fifty pieces dropped! We hit the jackpot this time! Blackie laughed. Moreover, out of these fifty pieces, we managed to come up with six complete sets! Three sets are for physical melee classes, one is for physical ranged classes, and two are for magical classes. Can you speak in full next time? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. Inwardly, though, he was very excited over this situation. Six sets of Ancient Mana Equipment would greatly help their current team. I already brought a physical melee set here for you. Here, try it on, Blackie said as he took the remaining five set pieces out of his bag. You are Zero Wings Guild Leader, after all. Others will laugh at us if you keep wearing beginners equipment. When Shi Feng took a look at the equipment he currently used, he felt that Blackies words made sense. Although the Winter of Eternal Night was a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, it was still no excuse for him to wear beginners equipment as Zero Wings Guild Leader. Zero Wing would become a joke if others saw him in such a state. Chapter 3004 - Chapter 78 Chapter 78 C Tier 4 Threshold As soon as Shi Feng put on the Nightwatcher Set, the Tier 3 Ancient Mana Set Equipment, his aura instantly underwent a complete transformation. Shi Feng had to admit that the Nightwatcher Set really made him stand out like a sore thumb. Not only was the armor set strikingly pitch-black, but it was also engraved with blood-red runes all over. The armor even emitted a faint black mist. In the blink of an eye, he had gone from looking like an ordinary passerby to looking like a gent who had just stepped out of hell. Aside from appearances, the Nightwatcher Set also provided astonishing bonuses in Basic Attributes. Shi Fengs Strength Attribute instantly reached the Tier 4 threshold upon donning the armor set. Thats right! The Tier 4 threshold! It wasnt just close to reaching the Tier 4 standard. Instead, it was at the Tier 4 standard already. Now, he could exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard even without employing any techniques. At this time, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to describe him as a humanoid beast. As for the five remaining Ancient Mana Equipment Sets, Shi Feng allocated them to Blackie, Su Qianliu, Happy Snow, Firecloud, and Desolate Star, a Ranger and a vice commander in Su Qianlius adventurer team. Upon distributing these sets, the teams overall combat power instantly increased by a significant margin. Outside the Ancient Demon Court, due to the sky outside darkening, the inside of the cavern also grew darker and colder. Unlike before, there were over a thousand expert players currently gathered in the cavern, and even the weakest among them was a first-rate expert. The number of Refinement Realm experts had also increased to over a hundred. Such a team was a force to be wary of no matter which part of Gods Domain the team was put in. I cant believe the mighty One-eyed Ghost actually got toyed by a nameless junior. If the Guild Leader learns of this, hell probably laugh for half a year, a wild-looking man carrying a large saber on his back said, laughing as he looked at One-eyed Ghost. Yet, despite this wild-looking mans ridicule, One-eyed Ghost had surprisingly chosen to remain silent. He did not do anything else besides glare at the other party to express his dissatisfaction. Seeing One-eyed Ghosts abnormal behavior, the other members of Nature Hall also chose to remain silent, none of them daring to speak up for him. There was only one person in the Guild who dared to speak with One-eyed Ghost in such a way was none other than Stalwart Bear, Nature Halls strongest Tier 5 player. In addition, Stalwart Bear was the second strongest expert in the Guild after Nature Manifestation, Nature Halls Guild Leader and the Guilds only Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Moreover, he was also Tyrant Blade of the Five Blades, an equivalent ranking list to the Eight Sword Meisters. Since everyone is here already, should we discuss our subsequent plans, Stalwart Bear? a woman with short hair and crimson eyes from Hundred Flower Palace suddenly spoke up. However, her tone indicated that she had no intentions of discussing anything whatsoever despite her words. Meanwhile, as soon as this short-haired woman finished speaking, the silence in the cavern grew even heavier, and many people couldnt help but lower their heads to reduce their presence. Dont tell me theyre going to start a fight? When Rain Song saw Stalwart Bears expression suddenly growing cold, she turned to Cleansed Rue, hoping that she could try to dissuade the short-haired woman from aggravating the already tense situation. Of those present, the only ones qualified to participate in a fight between Stalwart Bear and the short-haired woman were Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost. So, apart from them, nobody else had the qualifications to speak. Dont look at me. Theres nothing I can do about Crimson Heart, Cleansed Rue said in a helpless tone. Crimson Heart! Hundred Flower Palaces First Vice Guild Leader! Whether in terms of combat standards or individual combat power, Crimson Heart was second only to Hundred Flower Palaces Guild Leader. She was an existence that rivaled Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Even after entering the Miniature Ancient World, Cleansed Rue still didnt think she could match Crimson Heart. I cant believe youd actually come to the Miniature Ancient World, you crazy woman. It seems Hundred Flower Palace is betting everything on this place, Stalwart Bear casually said. He remained unfazed even in the face of Crimson Hearts oppressive aura. Arent you the same, you barbarian? Crimson Heart calmly responded. Well? Do you plan on going in, or stand guard outside? Go in? Stalwart Bear rolled his eyes at Crimson Heart. Then, he sneered and said, Do you think Nature Hall runs a charity? Since these bastards dare mess with Nature Hall, they naturally have to pay the price. Isnt it just a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court? We can clear it any time we want. After hearing Stalwart Bears words, Crimson Heart took a look at the time. It was nearing ten hours since Shi Fengs team had entered the Ancient Demon Court. After so much time had passed, even if Shi Fengs team was still alive inside, their Stamina and Concentration should be close to depletion, so it wouldnt be long before they exited the Dungeon. Realizing this, Crimson Heart looked at Stalwart Bear and stated, Two hours! Hundred Flower Palace will only wait for two hours! After two hours, you must enter the Dungeon with us! Hearing Crimson Hearts condition, Stalwart Bear cooperatively nodded and said, So be it. I refuse to believe they can last for that much longer. Meanwhile, after Stalwart Bear and Crimson Heart ended their discussion, everyone couldnt help but sigh in relief. One-eyed Ghost and Cleansed Rue were especially relieved. After all, they knew just how important the Ancient Demon Court meant for their two Guilds. They couldnt afford to be careless with it at all. If they wasted too much time waiting for Su Qianlius team to come out, there was a high risk of the various superpowers finding out and coming to contest it. If that happened, their chances of acquiring the Ancient Demon Court would reduce significantly. Meanwhile, inside the Ancient Demon Court Guild Leader, the Boss has appeared! Chapter 3005 - Chapter 79 – Mana Equipment Set’s Effects Chapter 79 C Mana Equipment Sets Effects Upon hearing the Assassin scouts report, Shi Feng promptly assembled the resting members of his team and made his way to the Assassins location. Even though everyone had already been fighting in the Ancient Demon Court for ten long hours, none of them showed any signs of exhaustion. On the contrary, every one of them wore excited expressions on their faces. After grinding in the Ancient Demon Court for many hours, everyone had to admit that a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court was a paradise for players. After killing only two groups of 10,000-plus Elemental Golems, Blackie and the others new to the Miniature Ancient World had already reached Level 104. Shi Feng, Su Qianliu, and the members of Su Qianlius adventurer team had even reached Level 105. However, compared to levels, what surprised everyone more was the Ancient Mana Equipment they acquired. Originally, they only had enough pieces to complete three sets. Now, they had 11 complete sets and 26 individual pieces. However, considering the Guilds future development, Shi Feng did not distribute the five new sets to anyone. Instead, he intended to put these sets into the Guild Warehouse and let Guild members exchange for them using points. Nobody objected to Shi Fengs decision, either. On the contrary, everyone strongly supported it. The Tier 3 Ancient Mana Equipment Sets were incredibly valuable. Previously, the people Shi Feng had assigned the sets to were Zero Wings core executives, such as Su Qianliu, her two vice commanders, and the talented Happy Snow. Every one of them was a Refinement Realm expert. As for Blackie, he was the person in charge of Guild affairs. He also had a Gold Mana Body. Thus, it wasnt strange for him to receive a set as well. Apart from those five players, the others were essentially equals. If Shi Feng allocated the five new sets to someone, those who didnt get chosen would probably feel unreconciled. In that case, the wisest and fairest method of distributing these sets would be to put them up for exchange using GCPs. Everyone would have to rely on their own abilities to acquire the sets. There was also no need to worry that nobody would try to exchange the sets. Everyone had already witnessed the set in action before, and they couldnt help but drool over it. Before Blackie donned his Ancient Mana Equipment Set, the Grand Lord ranked Elemental Annihilators were still tough opponents for him. However, after putting on the set, every one of his Tier 3 Offensive Spells could easily impact the movements of the Elemental Annihilators. If he used a Tier 3 large-scale destruction Spell, he could even heavily injure the Elemental Annihilators. Overall, the set had doubled the power of his Spells. Compared to the Ancient Mana Equipment Set, the six-piece Epic Equipment Sets he had seen in the past might as well be wall decorations. Those without the Mana Equipment Set werent the only ones surprised by the sets effects. Su Qianliu was also surprised by the effects. The average Epic Weapon and Equipment could only grant players powerful Basic Attributes, physique bonuses, and additional Skills. However, the Mana Equipment Set was different. Although it didnt provide as huge of a boost to Basic Attributes, the boost it provided to the power and control of the users Skills and Spells was on an entirely different level. As an ex-Tier 4 player, Su Qianliu could cast her Spells with a 90% Completion Rate on average and 95% at best previously. However, after receiving the Mana Equipment Sets bonuses, she could cast all of her Tier 3 Spells at 100% Completion Rate, with some even reaching up to 102%. A 10% increase might not seem like much, but beyond 85%, every 1% increase in Completion Rate would improve a Skill or Spells effects by at least 10%. That number would increase to 20% or higher past the 100% Completion Rate threshold. In other words, Su Qianliu had the effects of her Spells improved by at least 100% after putting on the Mana Equipment Set. At this time, Su Qianliu even had the illusion that her current self was not much weaker than when she was still at Tier 4 in the outside world. She was only missing a few Tier 4 Spells and a stronger physique. Meanwhile, if even the Ancient Demon Courts mobs had already provided such a huge harvest, the harvest they could acquire from clearing the Ancient Demon Court would be unimaginable. Subsequently, after everyone ran for some time, they arrived in front of a dilapidated tower. Although a huge portion of the tower had crumbled away due to the erosion of time, the tower still measured over 200 meters in height. It looked like a huge mountain as it stood in the middle of the settlement. Meanwhile, situated at the bottom of this tower was a gigantic, pitch-black snake with two heads. Each of the snakes heads was the size of a two-story house, and the snakes body measured over a hundred meters in length. If it wasnt curled up right now, it could probably oversee the entire settlement if it decided to extend its body. The system must be insane! How can anyone get past a Twin-headed Destruction Snake?! Blackie cried out in frustration as he looked at the slumbering snake ahead. The Twin-headed Destruction Snake! It was one of the top-ranking Demonic Beasts found during ancient times. Although its Life Rating was only slightly stronger than the average Archaic Species and nowhere near Dragons, they were much more formidable than Dragons in certain aspectsspecifically, the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes Eyes of Destruction. The Demonic Beasts Eyes of Destruction could launch powerful mental attacks against all targets they gazed upon. Depending on the targets strength, the Eyes of Destruction could even destroy the targets soul. Meanwhile, mental attacks were the most difficult type of attack to block in Gods Domain since players Defense was utterly useless against it. Players could only rely on their mental fortitude to resist them. If players failed to resist the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes mental attacks, their souls would crumble, and they would die on the spot. [Twin-headed Destruction Snake] (Ancient Demonic Beast, Mythic) Level 106 40,000,000,000 As expected of an Ancient Demon Court. Its no wonder why the various superpowers are the only ones capable of raiding Ancient Demon Courts. This difficulty simply isnt something we can tackle, Firecloud said with a bitter smile. In Fireclouds opinion, the Twin-headed Destruction Snake before them was even more frightening than a Dragon of the same level and tier. Its HP of 40 billion was simply maddening. There was simply no way they could finish off the Boss before they exhausted their Concentration. Forty billion HP? Su Qianliu also couldnt help but gasp when she saw the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes stats. Originally, she thought they had a chance of raiding the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court successfully after their team had received such a significant boost in strength. However, looking at the Twin-headed Destruction Snake, she realized that it was merely wishful thinking. Setting aside the Bosss combat standards, just the Bosss Eyes of Destruction and frightening HP was already more than enough to dash any hopes for them to raid it. This was no longer a matter of lacking Basic Attributes. Faced against Tier 4 Mythic ranked Eyes of Destruction, Tier 3 players would last no more than five minutes before their souls crumbled. Meanwhile, killing the Twin-headed Destruction Snake in five minutes was nothing but a fools dream. Its a Twin-headed Destruction Snake? At this time, Shi Feng also frowned when he looked at the slumbering twin-headed snake. Although he had long since known that it wouldnt be easy to raid a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court, he didnt think that his luck would be this bad. Before reaching Level 120, the average Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court would only be an ordinary Superior Mythic. Although the Boss they currently faced wasnt a Superior Mythic, it was a top-ranking Ancient Demonic Beast. After factoring in the bonuses in HP and Basic Attributes the Twin-headed Destruction Snake received for being a Dungeon Boss, it was a much more challenging opponent than the average Superior Mythic found in the outside world. Chapter 3006 - Chapter 80 – Ten Million With One Sword Chapter 80 C Ten Million With One Sword Should we retreat now, Guild Leader? Blackie asked as he looked toward Shi Feng. Without a Tier 4 team, there was no way they could take down the Twin-headed Destruction Snake. It didnt matter even if they had a Mana Domain on their side. This was because top-tier Ancient Demonic Beasts were born with Mana Domains. Thus, unless they had a Master Magic Barrier, they would have no choice but to fight the Twin-headed Destruction Snake at its peak. Retreat? Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Blackie. We went through a lot of trouble to get here. How can we just retreat? But well suffer a huge loss if we fail to kill the Boss and die, Blackie said reluctantly as he looked at his own level. Well only lose 20% EXP if we get killed by mobs inside the Ancient Demon Court. But if we get killed by the Final Boss, well lose an entire level Had they challenged the Twin-headed Destruction Snake before they increased their levels, they couldve just challenged it without any worries. However, everyone on the team had already reached Level 104 or Level 105. They had already surpassed most players in the outside world in terms of level. Most importantly, Level 105 was a small milestone that allowed players to equip Level 105 weapons and equipment. So long as everyone on the team equipped themselves with Level 105 Fine-Gold Equipment, they could head to a Level 110 map to train and widen the gap between them and other players. After all, due to the significant level suppression in the Miniature Ancient World, even Refinement Realm experts wouldnt dare to grind in Level 110 maps before reaching Level 105. However, if they got teamwiped by the Final Boss now, they would lose a significant portion of the advantages they had accumulated in the Ancient Demon Court. Shi Feng naturally understood what was going through Blackies mind. Smiling, he said, Although this Twin-headed Destruction Snake is powerful, we arent without a chance. We still have a chance? Blackie was stunned. Then, he subconsciously turned to the Twin-headed Destruction Snake in the distance. He had a feeling that their entire team combined wouldnt even be enough to fill one of the twin-headed snakes mouths. Su Qianliu and the others also felt that Shi Feng was joking with them when they heard his words. After all, nobody on their team could last more than a few minutes against the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes Eyes of Destruction. We naturally arent able to resist the Eyes of Destruction for long periods. After stretching his body a little, Shi Feng chuckled and said, But what if we make it so that it cant open its eyes for long periods? Preventing it from opening its eyes? Su Qianliu grew confused as she watched Shi Feng walk forward. But where would we find enough experts to target all of its eyes? The simplest method to deal with the Twin-headed Destruction Snake was to target its Eyes of Destruction. So long as one could seal its eyes, the Twin-headed Destruction Snake would be no different than an ordinary Mythic monster. However, the Twin-headed Destruction Snake had a total of eight eyes, four on each head. The Boss also possessed strong regenerative strength, and it could repair any injuries in just one second. Meanwhile, even the Boss could launch its mental attacks if even one of its eyes remained open. In other words, players needed to attack all eight eyes once every second. Moreover, these attacks needed to destroy all eight eyes. To make matters worse, the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes combat standard was at the Trial Towers seventh-floor early-stage standard. Thus, itd take at least eight Refinement Realm experts to accurately target and destroy the Bosss eyes. Currently, setting aside whether they had enough Basic Attributes, they didnt even have eight Refinement Realm experts on the team However, Shi Feng did not bother explaining himself. Instead, he looked toward Su Qianliu and asked, Can you guys seal four of its eyes? After thinking for a moment, Su Qianliu said, If its only four eyes, me, Happy Snow, Firecloud, and Desolate Star can just barely handle one each. Thats enough, then. Ill take care of the other head by myself, Shi Feng said, nodding. Everyone else, just focus on dealing damage. Tanks, your job is to prevent the Boss from charging into the crowd and using AOE attacks. Healers, all you need to do is keep the five of us healed. You are going to seal an entire head by yourself, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu couldnt help but be stunned when she heard Shi Fengs words. Wouldnt that put a lot of pressure on you Su Qianliu recalled that Shi Feng was quite strong before she left Shadow. Even so, he was only at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard back then. Of course, it had been several years since she left Shadow, so Shi Feng must have made some improvements during this period. The fact that Shi Feng managed to cast such a powerful Mana Domain was proof of that. Meanwhile, seeing that he had made such significant improvements in his Mana control, he shouldve made some improvements in his combat standard as well. At this time, he might have already reached the Flowing Water Realm or the Flowing Water Realms peak. However, destroying four Eyes of Destruction in one second wasnt an easy task. It was especially true when Shi Feng needed to face the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes physical and mental attacks while doing so. Even a Void Realm expert would have trouble accomplishing such a feat. In addition, the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes high HP meant that they would be in for a long battle. Meanwhile, a long battle also meant more chances to make mistakes, and even one slip-up in this battle could cost everyone their lives. However, before Su Qianliu could finish speaking, Shi Feng had already charged toward the Twin-headed Destruction Snake. Subsequently, when Shi Feng moved within 100 yards of the Twin-headed Destruction Snake, the Boss immediately woke up, lifted its head, and opened its eight eyes. When the eight crimson eyes the size of study desks opened, everyones worlds had seemingly distorted, and everyone had difficulty telling which direction was which. At the same time, an intense headache assaulted everyones minds, making it impossible for them to stay calm. Its mental attacks are too strong! We cant even get close at this rate! Firecloud said, clenching his teeth as he looked at the Twin-headed Destruction Snake. Meanwhile, Su Qianliu also frowned in this situation, her complexion paling slightly from the intense headache she experienced. At this time, her head hurt so much that she couldnt even cast a Tier 3 Spell, much less attack the Boss with Shi Feng However, while everyone was despairing over the situation, Shi Feng had jumped into the air and arrived above the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes heads. Then, he unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night in mid-air. Close those damned eyes! Eight Extreme Slashes! The next moment, Shi Feng brandished the Winter of Eternal Night, creating eight crescent moons that tore through space and landed on the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes eight eyes. The Boss had just opened its eyes, so it couldnt keep up with Shi Fengs actions at all. Psh Psh Psh Roar! The Twin-headed Destruction Snakes two heads let out a painful howl, the intense pain coming from its eyes causing its massive body to distort and flatten the surrounding streets Subsequently, frightening damages appeared above the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes left head one after another. -1,035,445! -2,130,546! -1,120,648! Damages exceeding one million appeared one after another, the total damage racking up to over ten million and causing everyone to gape in shock. Chapter 3007 - Chapter 81 Chapter 81 C Hell Modes Evaluation Everyone gaped in shock at the damage Shi Feng dealt. Big Sis Qianliu, didnt you say that the Guild Leader was only a Tier 3 Half-step Refinement Realm expert before? Are you sure hes not a Half-step Domain Realm monster instead? Happy Snow asked as she looked toward Su Qianliu dubiously. She could more or less accept that Shi Feng possessed a Mana Domain. After all, a Mana Domain was the product of having superb control over Mana. However, the Eight Extreme Slashes technique was an advanced combat technique that even sword-wielding Tier 5 experts had difficulty executing. Any expert capable of executing this technique below Tier 6 was more than qualified to compete for a spot among the Eight Sword Meisters. This Su Qianliu was momentarily rendered speechless. She didnt know whether to laugh or cry in this situation. The little girl beside her had never doubted her words before today. Yet, this was already the second time she had questioned her today. However, rather than getting angry, Su Qianliu was ecstatic at being questioned. If she were to point out what was most important in Gods Domain, she would have only one answerexperts! It was especially true for monster-caliber experts capable of fighting thousands by themselves! Why could Shadow never become a first-rate Guild after developing in Gods Domain for a decade? Why could Su Qianlius adventurer team never enter the ranks of well-known adventurer teams in the Black Dragon Empire? The answer was simple. It was because they lacked a truly powerful expert to protect the Guilds interests. Take Tier 6 God-ranked experts, for example. Even if a Guild had only one Tier 6 God-ranked expert and zero Refinement Realm experts, it would be publicly recognized as a top-tier first-rate Guild, and even the various superpowers wouldnt dare to mess around with it for no good reason. Zero Wing might be a new guild right now, but so long as it had a Half-step Domain Realm expert like Shi Feng leading it, itd have no trouble rising through the ranks of Gods Domain at all. At this time, apart from Su Qianliu, the other members of Su Qianlius adventurer team also grew excited, their confidence in Zero Wings future skyrocketing. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw that everyone was still staring at him idly, he couldnt help but shake his head and smile helplessly. Then, he asked, How long are you guys going to continue watching? Can you start fighting the Boss now? Shi Feng wasnt surprised by everyones reaction to his show of strength. On the contrary, this was the effect he wanted. After all, a Guilds leader needed to be someone that members could put their trust in. Although Su Qianliu had joined Zero Wing with her adventurer team, the loyalty of her adventurer teams members remained with her, not him. If he wanted to have these experts follow his orders willingly, he needed to let them understand his strength. Otherwise, hed have a challenging time ahead of him as Zero Wings Guild Leader. After Shi Feng finished speaking, everyone promptly recovered their senses and began attacking the Twin-headed Destruction Snake. Moreover, nobody showed any resistance toward Shi Fengs orders any longer. Now, everyone followed his orders with respect and expectations. Meanwhile, with Su Qianliu and the other Refinement Realm experts joining in, the team quickly sealed all eight of the Bosss Eyes of Destruction. Now, everyone simply needed to give their all in attacking the Boss without having to bother about anything else. Speed up the damage output! The Bosss recovery speed will only increase as the battle progresses! All melee players pay attention to the Bosss tail swipe and magic attacks! Shi Feng issued commands to the team one after another while repeatedly destroying four of the eight Eyes of Destruction. In reality, Shi Feng was more than capable of handling all eight Eyes of Destruction by himself. After all, not only did he have his experiences as a Tier 6 Sword God in his previous life, but his Strength Attribute had also reached the Tier 4 threshold already. The Twin-headed Destruction Snakes mental attacks were no trouble to him, either. These mental attacks might affect other players, but they were no different than a gentle breeze to him. The threat level of these mental attacks wasnt even comparable to that of the Bosss Tier 4 Skills and Spells. However, when considering Zero Wings future development, Shi Feng decided to use the Twin-headed Destruction Snake to train everyone. After all, opportunities for players to come across mental attacks in Gods Domain were few and far between. Meanwhile, players could develop their Concentration standard by a certain extent when defending against mental attacks. Thus, it was fine even when Su Qianliu and the others slipped up and allowed the other four Eyes of Destruction to regenerate from time to time. Their mistakes would allow everyone to experience the Bosss mental attacks. Then, everyone could figure out ways to adapt or resist these mental attacks. Subsequently, time passed by quickly. Without realizing it, everyone had already fought against the Twin-headed Destruction Snake for over an hour and whittled the Bosss HP to just 10%. When the Bosss HP reached 10%, it also entered a berserk state. Although its Basic Attributes remain unchanged, it started releasing AOE mental ripples even with all eight of its eyes destroyed. Although these Tier 4 mental ripples werent as powerful as the direct Tier 4 mental attacks from before, they were still very effective against Tier 3 players. While subjected to stinging pain in their mind and body, everyone couldnt exert more than 50% of their combat power. This situation forced everyone to find a way to defend against the mental ripples while attacking the Twin-headed Destruction Snake. As a result, the fall of the Bosss HP slowed down significantly, and casualties also began appearing one after another. Meanwhile, faced with this dangerous situation, everyones minds became even more focused, which, in turn, subtly improved everyones Concentration standard. Eventually, though, the Twin-headed Destruction Snake still fell under everyones attacks, and countless particles of holy light started raining down from the sky, brightly illuminating the dusky sky. We won! We did it! Awesome! We actually got the First Clear of a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court! The surviving members of the team collapsed to the ground and cheered when they saw the light shower and the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes corpse. At this time, even Su Qianliu had a hard time believing that they had completed the raid. On the main continent, Ancient Demon Courts were the various superpowers exclusive playground. Although first-rate Guilds could also raid an Ancient Demon Court, several first-rate Guilds would need to work together to do so. Yet, now, their newly-established Guild had just raided an Ancient Demon Court! Moreover, it was even a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court! While everyone was cheering in celebration, a golden glow enveloped many players in the team as these people leveled up from 104 to 105. As for those who were originally at Level 105 already, they saw their experience bars filling up by a large margin. The amount of EXP the Twin-headed Destruction Snake gave was enough to make up for two days worth of solo grinding. At the same time, the systems mechanical voice also entered everyones ears. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing has obtained the First Clear for the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court. Rewarding all participants with 10 Miniature Ancient World Reputation Points and 5 Legacy Skill Points. Loot quality upgraded by one rank. Guilds World Reputation +500. System: Raid evaluation for the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court is S-rank. S-rank?! Crap! We got an S-rank evaluation! Blackie couldnt help but rub his eyes in shock when he read the pop-up notification before him. Am I dreaming? No way! Firecloud was also thunderstruck after he took a closer look at the system notification. It really is an S-rank evaluation! The Ancient Demon Court had five evaluation ranks: D, C, B, A, and S. However, even when raiding the Hard Mode Ancient Demon Court, the various superpowers could usually only obtain an A-rank evaluation. Yet, now, their team had obtained an S-rank evaluation for Hell Mode. This situation simply felt unrealistic. Of those present, only Shi Feng found this outcome normal. The Ancient Demon Courts evaluation system was based on two main criteria: time and casualty count. For the first criteria, the average clear time for the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court was around 16 hours, so their clear time of under 12 hours was considerably fast. For the second criteria, a team would receive an excellent result so long as the number of deaths did not exceed 200. The fact that they were the first team to clear this Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court also added bonus points to their evaluation. Thus, it wasnt impossible for them to acquire an S-rank evaluation. Chapter 3008 - Chapter 82 Chapter 82 C Astonishing Reward When the system notification ended, hundreds of items started raining down from the sky. Every one of these items radiated a dazzling golden glow, some of them even radiating a purplish-golden glow coupled with a frightening amount of Mana. In a matter of moments, the several hundred items reached the ground and formed a small mountain in front of everyone. Meanwhile, when everyone saw these items, their mouths watered, and their eyes turned red. So, this is the loot of a Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court? When Blackie saw the many Epic items and several unidentifiable items among the mountain of loot, his eyes widened in shock. I doubt even a Superior Mythics loot can match 10% of the loot here, Happy Snow commented, her eyes glowing in excitement as she looked at the loot mountain. When their adventurer team had been operating in the Black Dragon Empire, the strongest Boss they had fought was a Superior Mythic. However, the quality of the loot that Superior Mythic dropped was nowhere near being a comparison to the Twin-headed Destruction Snakes loot. Even without checking the exact quality of the items dropped, she could already tell just how amazing the dropped items were simply through the intensity of the Mana they radiated. The Mana the several unidentifiable items radiated was especially frightening. There was no way these items could be mere Epic items. This left them with only one possibility Fragmented Legendary items! Even after their adventurer team had fought hard in the Black Dragon Empire for many years, they had not obtained even one Fragmented Legendary item before. Yet, now, as many as four Fragmented Legendary items have dropped! We really hit the jackpot this time. Shi Feng also couldnt help but grow excited when he scanned the items on the ground. This was because he had noticed two familiar items among the pile of loot. One was the key to the Ancient Demon Courts outer gate, and the other was the teleportation stone for the inner zone. Both these items were crucial in taking control of the Ancient Demon Court. With these two items, he could turn this Ancient Demon Court into Zero Wings private playground, and there would be nothing outsiders could do about it. Immediately, Shi Feng stepped forward and collected these two items. But these two items I have never seen before Shi Feng collected the two other items that radiated a frightening amount of Mana. of the two, one was a dark-gray crystal inscribed with runes, and the other was a sealed wooden box. Having never seen the two items before, Shi Feng used Appraisal Eyes on them. How is this possible?! Shi Feng instantly lost his composure when the two items stats appeared before him, his eyes colored with shock. Did something good drop, Guild Leader? Blackie curiously asked when he noticed the shock on Shi Fengs face. No, these arent just good items! These are priceless treasures! Shi Feng said, laughing as he looked at the two items in his hands. If these two items were merely Fragmented Legendary items, Shi Feng wouldve only been a little excited. However, the identity of the two items before him had completely exceeded his expectations. Any one of them could cause the entire Gods Domain to go crazy. The dark-gray crystal was named the Settlement Rune Crystal. Although this item did not have a rank, it was a priceless treasure in the Miniature Ancient World. This was because this crystal could be used to summon an ancient settlement in any location in the Miniature Ancient World. At this time, the various powers of Gods Domain had yet to even find a place to settle down in the various NPC Cities, let alone establish a foothold outside of NPC Cities. So, the value of an ancient settlement went without saying. As for the item sealed inside the wooden box, it was similarly an amazing item. The Ancient Mana Equipment Set Design! Unlike the Mana Equipment Set he currently wore, the set recorded in this design did not have its stats restricted to Tier 3. Instead, it followed the rank system of mainstream equipment used in the Greater Gods Domain. The design recorded the production method of two sets. The first set was a Dark-Gold ranked eight-piece set that could be used from Level 100 to Level 120, while the second set was an Epic ranked eight-piece set that could be used from Level 100 to Level 150. The main material used to produce the Dark-Gold set was Magic Crystals, and 1,000 Magic Crystals were needed for each production attempt. As for the supplementary materials needed, although they were rare, they werent particularly expensive. Overall, itd take only around 100 Gold to gather one set of secondary materials. Although the Dark-Gold Mana Equipment Sets Basic Attributes couldnt compete against the Tier 3 Mana Equipment Set, the bonuses the Dark-Gold set provided was slightly better. Moreover, the Dark-Gold set was a good fit for the Miniature Ancient Worlds environment. If players equipped the set, they could significantly extend their activity time in the fields. If he could equip everyone in the Guild with a set, it would boost Zero Wings speed of development. Blackie, once you head back, see if you can recruit a few Master Forgers and Master Alchemists into the Guild, Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. The conditions are negotiable, but make sure to keep everything confidential. Master Forgers and Alchemists? Blackie was a little confused by Shi Fengs request. However, he still nodded and said, Okay, Ill try to find some afterward, but dont get your hopes up. After all, you know how it is with Lifestyle Masters. Every one of them has a high status in Gods Domain. Its fine so long as you can get in touch with them, Shi Feng said, smiling. Afterward, Shi Feng had Su Qianliu and the others sort out the remaining loot, the harvest exciting everyone for a long time. The Twin-headed Destruction Snake had dropped over 300 items. Eight were Epic items, of which three were weapons and five were equipment. The weapons were a staff, a short sword, and a longbow. All three Epic Weapons could be used from Level 100 to Level 150. Although not as much as the Tier 3 Mana Equipment Set, Blackie and the others still saw a significant improvement to their combat power when they equipped the Epic Weapons. Apart from the Epic items, the Boss had also dropped various Legendary and Inferior Legendary materials. These were all crucial materials in producing Epic Weapons and Equipment. However, compared to the weapons, equipment, and materials, what truly excited Su Qianliu and the others were three flutes. This Dungeon is simply amazing! I cant believe it drops Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Mounts! Firecloud exclaimed, his eyes glowing as he looked at the three differently shaped flutes in Su Qianlius hand. Mounts might not be considered rare on the main continent today, but the Miniature Ancient World had only opened recently. So, Mounts were practically non-existent here. Players were incapable of flight before they reached Tier 4. And even if they could fly, they couldnt fly very fast or long. However, if players managed to acquire a Mount, they could increase their travel speed several times without worrying about Stamina consumption. Aside from traveling, Mounts could also be used to improve a players overall combat power. It was especially true for Mounts at the Fine-Gold rank or above. A Fine-Gold Mount might not have superb combat power when summoned, they could provide buffs to players, increasing their combat power by at least 20%. Naturally, a Dark-Gold Mount would be even stronger. Meanwhile, out of the three Mounts that the Boss had dropped, one was the Dark-Gold ranked Thunder Wolf, and two were the Fine-Gold ranked Shadow Panther. This panther looks so cute! Guild Leader, can I have one please? Happy Snow begged Shi Feng coquettishly after seeing the sample images of the Shadow Panther. Happy Snow did not ask for the Dark-Gold ranked Thunder Wolf since it would naturally go to Shi Feng. After all, as the Guild Leader, Shi Feng was the face of Zero Wing. Itd be strange if he used an inferior Mount or no Mount at all. However, it was a different story for the Fine-Gold ranked Shadow Panthers. Bros before hoes, Guild Leader! Blackie hurriedly said. He wouldnt have cared who the Shadow Panthers went to if they were on the main continent. However, in the Miniature Ancient World, a Fine-Gold Mount was a powerful tool for leveling. Surprisingly, Firecloud also nodded in agreement with Blackie. He could concede on any other item, but he absolutely would not concede on the cool-looking Shadow Panthers. Seeing that everyone wanted one of the Shadow Panthers, Shi Feng chuckled and said, Since everyone wants them, well have the top ten contributors this time roll the dice. Thatd be fair for everyone. Everyone readily accepted Shi Fengs suggestion, and the top ten contributors after Shi Feng promptly rolled the dice. After several elimination rounds, the winners of the two Shadow Panthers were Blackie and Su Qianliu. However, Su Qianliu had given her Shadow Panther to Happy Snow, causing the young girl to grow ecstatic. Alright, now that weve gotten everything we came here for, its time you follow us back to Hundred Flow City, Shi Feng said as he looked at Su Qianliu. Well leave Rock Devil City alone for now and come back to develop there in the future. Su Qianliu and her companions did not have any objections toward Shi Fengs arrangement. They had yet to settle down in Rock Devil City, so it didnt matter even if they changed bases of operation. Afterward, Shi Feng led everyone through the portal that had appeared after the Bosss death and teleported out of the Ancient Demon Court. Chapter 3009 - Chapter 83 – Zero Wing? Chapter 83 C Zero Wing? Meanwhile, outside the Ancient Demon Court, chaos had ensued. Not long ago, the Glory Tablet outside the Ancient Demon Court had suddenly displayed that Shi Fengs team had cleared the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Court, the tablet listing the names of the players on the team and the Guild the team was affiliated to. Meanwhile, everyone outside the Ancient Demon Court momentarily fell silent upon seeing these names. Zero Wing? What is this Guild? Why have I never heard of it? Dont tell me its the new Guild Su Qianlius adventurer team joined? Thats Hell Mode we are talking about! How can a new Guild clear it?! Could it be a bug? The many experts present couldnt believe their eyes when they saw the name of the Guild displayed on the Glory Tablet. With their teams strength, even clearing Normal Mode is going to be a challenge, so how did they manage to clear Hell Mode? Could it be that the Ancient Demon Courts Hell Mode is only a front? Rain Song wondered as she looked at the pitch-black skull hovering above the entrance portal. Su Qianliu might have been a Tier 4 expert on the main continent, and her adventurer team might have four or more Refinement Realm experts, but such a team line-up was nothing compared to the various first-rate Guilds main force. If even first-rate Guilds like Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall needed to work together to raid an Ancient Demon Court, there was no way Su Qianlius team could raid it successfully. Yet, not only did this insignificant team clear the Ancient Demon Court, but it had also done it on the Hell Mode difficulty. This situation was akin to a mockery of their two Guilds inability and foolishness Big Sis Rue, do you think that we might have misunderstood the Miniature Ancient Worlds Ancient Demon Courts? Rain Song asked, voicing her confusion to Cleansed Rue. Could it be that the Ancient Demon Courts here are much easier than we believed them to be? We cant exclude that possibility. Cleansed Rue was also feeling a little dazed as she looked at the Glory Tablet. She had never expected such an outcome, and she couldnt help but regret her decision to remain outside. Setting aside the Hell Mode Ancient Demon Courts actual difficulty, just the fact that Su Qianlius team had managed to clear it was undoubtedly a slap to their two Guilds faces. To make matters worse, they had lost the Ancient Demon Court to an unrated Guild under a situation where they had mobilized their best experts. If news of this situation got out, their two Guilds would become a joke in Gods Domain. Had she known this would happen, she wouldnt have wasted time waiting for reinforcements outside. Instead, she wouldve entered the Ancient Demon Court with One-eyed Ghost immediately after Su Qianlius team entered it. Alright, whats done is done. Theres no use for regrets, Crimson Heart, clad in her sacred white armor, said when she saw Cleansed Rues regretful expression. As a Vice Guild Leader, the first thing you should do isnt to regret, but to figure out how you can make up for your mistakes! Vice Guild Leader Crimson is correct, One-eyed Ghost, who was standing some distance away, said when he heard Crimson Hearts words. Then, he revealed a cold smile as he continued, I have indeed underestimated Su Qianlius new Guild. However, this is the end of the line for them. I will let them know how foolish their actions are! The team led by one of the Eight Sword Meisters had actually gotten toyed by a no-name Guild. If news of this got out, he would absolutely become a laughingstock. The only way he could salvage this situation now was to kill every member on Su Qianlius team, take back what was rightfully his, and make the other side into the laughingstock instead! Well said! Its been a while since Ive encountered such interesting people. We must take good care of these people and make sure they learn that there are some things that they cant simply lay their hands on! Stalwart Bear said, nodding in agreement with One-eyed Ghosts words. Then, he looked toward Crimson Heart and said, Crazy woman, my suggestion is for us to use our Guild War Orders and kill them until they delete their accounts! What do you think? The Guild War Order was a privilege afforded to all Guilds, and it could be used to lock down an entire map. However, the Guild War Order had limited duration and a considerably long Cooldown. If they wanted to lock down a map for a considerable period, they would need to use at least two Guild War Orders. Okay, Crimson Heart agreed without hesitation. Do you think Su Qianliu lost her mind, Big Sis Rue? When Rain Song saw Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear agreeing with each other to use their Guild War Orders, she couldnt help but pity Su Qianliu and her team. Had she raided with us, she couldve more or less acquired some benefits. Yet, she chose to monopolize the Ancient Demon Court right in front of our faces The Guild War Order was different from magic barriers used to seal maps. Apart from prohibiting teleportation inside the targeted map, the Guild War Order also prevented players from logging out of the game while inside the map. Players would have to walk out of the affected region before going offline. Otherwise, even if players forcibly logged out of the game, their characters would remain in Gods Domain, and they could still be resurrected, killed, lose items upon death. Moreover, the item drop-rate after death would be extremely high. Thus, the Guild War Order could be considered the biggest trump card of the various Guilds in Gods Domain. Unless conflict between two Guilds had escalated to an unsalvageable point, Guilds wouldnt typically make use of their Guild War Order. Now that Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear had decided to use Hundred Flower Palaces and Nature Halls Guild War Orders, one could see just how angry the two of them were. Cleansed Rue remained silent in response to Rain Songs question. This was because she couldnt understand why Su Qianliu would make such a foolish decision, either. Did Su Qianliu really think that her small team could go against their two Guilds? Or was she so foolish that she had never considered these problems? However, their two Guilds had long since made it clear how much importance they placed on the Ancient Demon Court. Moreover, since Su Qianliu had already told them the Ancient Demon Courts location, her only option was to cooperate. Trying to monopolize the Ancient Demon Court in such a situation was simply foolish. It might be fine if she had failed to monopolize the Ancient Demon Court, but if she succeeded, what she had to face next was the wrath of their two Guilds. Meanwhile, the wrath of two top-tier first-rate Guilds wasnt something a newly-established Guild could endure. Faced with such a situation, there would only be one outcome for the new Guildannihilation! Complete and utter annihilation! Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Su Qianliu had done exactly that. She had given up on cooperating with their two Guilds without hesitation and cleared the Ancient Demon Court in front of them Of course, there was another possibility, and that was the fact that Su Qianliu had never cared about what their two Guilds thought since the very beginning. However, in Cleansed Rues opinion, the likelihood of that being the case was minuscule. While Cleansed Rue was immersed in her thoughts, an energy ripple suddenly spread from Stalwart Bear. The energy ripple spread across a massive area, spreading all the way to Rock Devil City and covering nearly half of the city. A Guild War Order?! Whats going on?! The notification says this is Nature Halls Guild War Order. Is Nature Hall declaring an all-out war against another Guild? Investigate! Find out which power Nature Hall is trying to target immediately! The activation of Nature Halls Guild War Order immediately stirred the various powers based in Rock Devil City, everyones reactions ranging from curious to fearful. They were curious to find out which power had provoked Nature Hall to a point where the top-tier first-rate Guild had used its Guild War Order, and they were fearful that this Guild War Order might be targeted at them. Hence, the various powers based on Rock Devil City promptly dispatched a large amount of manpower to look into the situation. Meanwhile, around 20 minutes after Nature Hall activated its Guild War Order, flashes of light suddenly appeared in front of the Ancient Demon Courts entrance portal one after another. In the blink of an eye, a team of nearly 300 players had appeared in front of Hundred Flower Palaces and Nature Halls members. Chapter 3010 - Chapter 84 – Confidence? Chapter 84 C Confidence? What?! They actually dared to come out?! Do these people really think that our two Guilds will just let them go after theyve cleared the Ancient Demon Court? Hundred Flower Palaces and Nature Halls members couldnt help but be surprised when they saw Shi Fengs team appearing in front of the portal. They never thought that Shi Fengs team would dare come out so soon. The foolishness of these people had gone beyond their imagination. An Ancient Demon Court in the Miniature Ancient World was a resource that even the various superpowers would go crazy for, let alone first-rate Guilds like Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall. In their opinion, Shi Fengs team mustve long since prepared themselves to make an enemy out of their two Guilds, and they must be planning on hiding inside the Ancient Demon Court for some time. After all, the Guild War Order had a limited duration. Even if their two Guilds worked together, they could, at most, seal the region for two days. Once their two Guilds ran out of Guild War Orders to use, they would have to switch to using magic barriers instead. At that time, it was entirely possible for Shi Fengs team to escape. Yet, now, Shi Fengs team had left the Ancient Demon Court less than an hour after clearing it Wait! Their levels Crimson Heart exclaimed, a look of shock appearing on her face when she looked at Su Qianliu and the players around her. Level 105? Upon hearing Crimson Hearts exclamation, the other members of the two first-rate Guilds also used their respective Identification Skills to check the levels of Zero Wings members. Level 105?! How are their levels so high?! How did they do it? Everyone was shocked and confused as they looked at the levels of Zero Wings members. In the current Miniature Ancient World, the average level of mainstream players was only Level 102. Even the various superpowers monsters were nowhere near reaching Level 105. Past Level 100, every subsequent level-up in Gods Domain required a significant amount of EXP. Meanwhile, if players wanted to grind by killing large numbers of Great Lord-ranked monsters, they would typically need to do so in a team. This meant that they would have to share the EXP among multiple players, which would reduce their grinding efficiency. Overall, it would take an expert around three to five days to level up once. Even grinding maniacs would still need around two to three days to level up once. Moreover, this time would further increase as players reached higher levels. Yet, now, Zero Wings members were at Level 105 on average. They were at least ten days ahead of the various superpowers expert teams in terms of leveling progress. If it were on the main continent, a difference of ten days would be insignificant. However, the Miniature Ancient World had only opened recently. Having a ten-day lead was a massive advantage. Zero Wings members could even head to Level 110 maps to grind and further widen their advantage. However, Hundred Flower Palaces and Nature Halls members werent the only ones in shock right now. Su Qianliu and the others were similarly given a shock after exiting the Ancient Demon Court. Hundred Flower Palaces Crimson Heart! Stalwart Bear of the Five Blades! Whats going on?! Why are there so many Tier 5 experts here?! Blackie and the others were both excited and nervous when they saw the two first-rate Guilds members that were glaring at them. This was a situation they had never encountered during the many years they spent in Shadow. Whether it was Crimson Heart or Stalwart Bear, both were myth-like bigshots in Gods Domain. Under normal circumstances, one would have difficulty meeting even one of them. Yet, now, both of them were gathered at the same location. After including the Frostflame Goddess Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost of the Eight Sword Meisters, there were a total of four Tier 5 experts currently gathered here! Have these two Guilds lost their minds?! They sent nearly half of their Tier 5 experts here just to secure the Ancient Demon Court?! Do they not care about the situation on the main continent anymore?! Su Qianlius complexion paled when she saw Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear. Although she had already expected the two Guilds to blockade the Ancient Demon Courts entrance, she never expected them to be this desperate. Not only did they dispatch Cleansed Rue and One-eyed Ghost, but they had also dispatched Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear. At this point, the two Guilds had practically dispatched half of their combat power to the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, they had gathered all of it in front of the Ancient Demon Court. In this situation, even with the help of the Tier 3 Ancient Mana Equipment Sets, their team would be unlikely to escape Level 105? So this is your confidence. After both sides remained silent for a moment, a figure suddenly appeared by the teleportation portal. This figure appeared like a ghost, and the aura he radiated also resembled that of a ferocious ghost. Bathed in this aura, Su Qianliu and the others felt as if their bodies had been submerged into a quagmire, and they couldnt help but feel suffocated. It seems One-eyed Ghost has made significant improvements again, Crimson Heart commented when she saw One-eyed Ghost charging ahead. Then, she turned to Stalwart Bear and indifferently asked, The footwork he used is the Bronze Footwork Phantom Ghost, right? Thats right. Stalwart Bear nodded in delight. Thus far, he and the Guild Leader are the only ones who have mastered it. With this footwork, he should have no problems getting into the top three in the next Sword Meister competition. While Stalwart Bear was talking, One-eyed Ghost had also executed his footwork again, instantly arriving in front of Su Qianliu and the others like a ghost. You have really toyed with our two Guilds, Su Qianliu. It seems all of us have underestimated you, One-eyed Ghost said as he looked at Su Qianliu. Then, he unsheathed the blood-red greatsword on his back and coldly said, But if you think that you can escape from us just because you have a level advantage, then you are sorely mistaken. You have two options right now. The first is to hand over all of the loot and delete your accounts, and the second is for me to kill you until you delete your accounts! Take your pick! As soon as One-eyed Ghost finished speaking, the players maintaining the magic barrier enveloping the area around the portal also strengthened the barriers output. Now, apart from reducing Zero Wings members Basic Attributes by 20%, the barrier also reduced their reaction speed by 20%. Chapter 3011 - Chapter 85 Chapter 85 C Determining Superiority in One Battle Su Qianliu couldnt help but smile bitterly in her heart when she looked at One-eyed Ghost and the 100-plus Refinement Realm experts around them. The current situation was completely outside of her expectations. She had never thought that the Guild Shi Feng created would have such a strong foundation. She also didnt expect Shi Feng to set his eyes on the Ancient Demon Court, something which Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall had already set their sights on, and clear it in Hell Mode. Every one of these miracles was essentially a provocation for the two first-rate Guilds. Although Su Qianliu could empathize with the two Guilds, she really wanted to say one thing to One-eyed Ghost right now: She really didnt do it on purpose However, Su Qianliu also understood that nothing would change even if she said that now. This was because Zero Wing had already acquired the Ancient Demon Court. If Zero Wing wished to retain ownership over the Ancient Demon Court, it would have to fight against the two first-rate Guilds. After letting out a deep sigh, Su Qianliu said in the team chat, Guild Leader, I will distract One-eyed Ghost with Firecloud. I doubt Crimson Heart, Stalwart Bear, and Cleansed Rue would hurry to take action. If everyone on the team scatters and flees, it is unlikely the three of them will pay attention to you. At that time, try to break out of the encirclement. So long as you can break through, our efforts today will not go to waste. Firecloud also nodded in agreement. Although they were currently suppressed by a magic barrier, with the effects of their Tier 3 Ancient Mana Equipment Set, he should have no problems holding One-eyed Ghost back for some time if he worked together with Su Qianliu. After all, they could already exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard with their Tier 3 Skills and Spells. With him holding the line at the front and Su Qianliu launching Spells at the back, it was entirely possible for them to clash against a monster-level expert like One-eyed Ghost. Hearing Su Qianlius words, Blackie and the others also readied themselves to put their lives on the line. However, after seeing everyones resolve, Shi Feng casually looked at One-eyed Ghost and said, No need to go through such trouble. If these are all the forces they have here, they cannot stop me. After saying so, Shi Feng started walking step by step toward One-eyed Ghost. Guild Leader? Su Qianliu was stunned when she saw Shi Feng walking toward One-eyed Ghost. She never thought Shi Feng could settle for a frontal confrontation. However, before Su Qianliu could react to the situation, Shi Feng had already moved within ten yards of One-eyed Ghost. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs words and actions had also surprised the two first-rate Guilds members. We cannot stop you? What bold words you have there, punk! One-eyed Ghosts eyes twitched, his expression turning grim as he looked at Shi Feng. He never thought that some no-name ant would dare disregard him to such an extent. It seems you are eager to die first! In that case, Ill grant you your wish! After saying so, One-eyed Ghost swung his crimson greatsword, sending several crescent blades flying at Shi Feng. Advanced Combat Technique, Fragmented Moon! The vice commander is really mad now. He actually used one of his ultimate moves right off the bat. Thats right! With this, that kid wont last more than a move. Nature Halls members couldnt help but be awed when they saw the crescent blades flying toward Shi Feng. Fragmented Moon was one of One-eyed Ghosts ultimate moves, and it merged four sword lights to form one crescent blade. Although One-eyed Ghost was only at Tier 3 right now, every crescent blade he unleashed carried power at the Tier 4 standard. This move simply wasnt a move ordinary experts could block. Even if a well-equipped Tier 3 Berserker received one of these crescent blades with their weapon, they would get knocked back by over a dozen steps. A Swordsman like Shi Feng would fare even worse if he tried to block those crescent blades. Subsequently, when the crescent blades were about to reach Shi Feng, Shi Feng suddenly brandished the Winter of Eternal Night. Clang! Clang! Clang! A series of metallic sounds echoed throughout the cavern. To everyones surprise, not only did Shi Feng shatter the several crescent blades, but he had done so without taking even half a step back. He behaved as if nothing had happened, and he looked at One-eyed Ghost as if saying: Is this all you got? Good! It seems youre not all talk! One-eyed Ghosts expression turned chilly when he saw Shi Feng neutralizing his attack. Lets see how many times you can repeat this! Getting serious, One-eyed Ghost suddenly transformed into an afterimage. Bronze Footwork, Phantom Ghost! For a time, One-eyed Ghost started appearing and disappearing around Shi Feng like a ghost. The afterimages he left behind looked incredibly realistic, making it impossible for others to pinpoint his real body. What speed! Fireclouds expression grew heavy as he watched One-eyed Ghost flickering around the battlefield. Previously, he thought that he could match One-eyed Ghost for a moment if he worked together with Su Qianliu. However, looking at things now, he realized that he had been very naive. Currently, he couldnt even keep up with One-eyed Ghost with his eyes, let alone stop him Meanwhile, after the afterimages increased to a critical number, they suddenly sent sword lights flying at Shi Feng from multiple directions. Is this the strength of one of the Eight Sword Meisters? Su Qianliu felt her scalp tingling when she saw the numerous sword lights striking at Shi Feng from different directions. Although she had long since known that there was a big gap in strength between her and One-eyed Ghost, she didnt think it would be this huge. At this time, she couldnt even keep up with One-eyed Ghosts movements, let alone fight him. Subsequently, just when the countless sword lights were about to cut Shi Feng into shreds, Shi Feng brandished the Winter of Eternal Night once more. Boom! Space exploded, and a shockwave enveloped a radius of several dozen yards around the epicenter. Immediately afterward, One-eyed Ghosts figure appeared in front of Shi Feng, his crimson greatsword stopped just half a yard away from Shi Feng, unable to proceed even an inch forward. He blocked it?! Before anyone realized it, a hint of shock and gravity had appeared on One-eyed Ghosts angry expression. Even Crimson Heart, Stalwart Bear, and Cleansed Rue couldnt help but be surprised and confused as they looked at Shi Feng. One-eyed Ghosts execution of Phantom Ghost was undoubtedly perfect. When going up against this footwork, unless one possessed extraordinary reaction speed and an absolute perception toward ones surrounding environment, itd be impossible to stop One-eyed Ghosts attack. Isnt the Guild Leader a little too amazing, Big Sis Qianliu?! Hes actually holding his ground against one of the Eight Sword Meisters! Happy Snow exclaimed, her eyes glittering with excitement when she saw Shi Feng holding his ground against One-eyed Ghost. His strength is on par with a Sword Meister? Su Qianliu also grew ecstatic when she saw Shi Feng coming out unscathed. At this point, it wouldnt matter even if they lost this battle and had to start a new account. So long as Zero Wing had Shi Feng, it was only a matter of time before it became a first-rate Guild in Gods Domain. Guild Leader? As for Blackie and the others, they gaped in shock at this scene, feeling as if they were coming to know Shi Feng for the first time. The strength Shi Feng previously displayed in the Ancient Demon Court was already plenty surprising. However, the strength he currently displayed was on an entirely different level. This was one of the Eight Sword Meisters they were talking about! Excluding Tier 6 God-ranked experts, the Eight Sword Meisters were the strongest sword-wielding experts in Gods Domain. Every one of them stood at the apex of Gods Domain, and they could single-handedly threaten a Guild. Yet, now, Shi Feng was standing toe-to-toe with a Sword Meister. This meant that he was already standing at the apex of Gods Domain. In comparison, Shadow and Lan Hailong were nothing but jokes. Chapter 3012 - Chapter 86 Chapter 86 C One Sword to Reach the Apex! It seems I have really underestimated you. I did not think a Domain Realm expert would settle down in a small Guild. It explains why Su Qianliu dared to openly challenge us, One-eyed Ghost coldly said as he looked at Shi Fengs cloaked figure. However, dont you think you are being overconfident if you think you can provoke our two Guilds? After saying so, One-eyed Ghost suddenly vanished from everyones vision. However, unlike before, One-eyed Ghosts disappearance this time also caused the surrounding Mana to grow rampant, and even space itself had started trembling. I want to see how many times you can stop my attacks! After learning that Shi Feng wasnt an ordinary expert, One-eyed Ghost stopped holding back, choosing to unleash his Mana Domain immediately. Then, in conjunction with his Bronze Footwork, he activated his Tier 3 Legacy Skill Bloodshadow Thrust. Bloodshadow Thrust was the fastest sword attack One-eyed Ghost could execute at Tier 3. Upon activating the Skill, One-eyed Ghost would execute thirteen consecutive thrusting attacks, each one faster than the one before. When paired with Phantom Ghost, even Stalwart Bear, one of the Five Blades, wouldnt dare to face One-eyed Ghost directly. This was because the speed of this attack simply wasnt something one could respond to with a Tier 3 physique. Meanwhile, after One-eyed Ghost vanished from everyones vision, the only sign indicating that he was still here were the streaks of red light zipping around the battlefield. One streak Three streaks Seven streaks Each streak of red light that appeared moved faster than the other. Even spatial tears had started appearing around the battlefield by the ninth streak. When Shi Feng saw the thirteen red light streaks coming for him, he revealed a faint smile. Then, after entering a casual stance, he started brandishing the Winter of Eternal Night. Swords Transmigration! Immediately, sword lights also appeared around Shi Feng one after another and clashed with the oncoming red light streaks. Boom Boom Boom Every sword light caused space to shatter and the ground to tremble. The intense shockwaves and explosions gave everyone the illusion that the sky was falling. When all thirteen light streaks disappeared, dust enveloped the entire cavern. Then, once the dust settled, everyone could see two figures standing on the battlefield. At this time, though, one of them was no longer wielding his sword. Or, more specifically, this persons arm, together with his sword, had fallen to the ground. How is this possible?! Everyone was stupefied when the dust thoroughly settled. This was because the person who had lost his arm was none other than One-eyed Ghost. Moreover, his severed arm wasnt the only injury One-eyed Ghost suffered. There were also numerous deep cuts covering his body, and his HP had sharply fallen under the 25% threshold, entering a critical level. The vice commander actually lost!? Nature Halls members were in disbelief when they saw that One-eyed Ghost was heavily injured while Shi Feng remained completely unharmed. Although One-eyed Ghost was no longer as strong as he was on the main continent after entering the Miniature Ancient World, the techniques and combat standard he cultivated remained. Now that he had also mastered the Bronze Footwork Phantom Ghost, he could potentially rank among the top three of the Eight Sword Meisters. Other than God-ranked experts, there was probably nobody capable of defeating One-eyed Ghost without taking any damage. Yet, now, not only did One-eyed Ghost lose to a no-name Swordsman, but he had even suffered a miserable defeat. At this time, One-eyed Ghost also turned to look at Shi Feng, his eyes filled with shock. However, a moment later, he sneered and said, Your skills truly amaze me. This is the first time I have seen someone capable of such swift attacks at Tier 3. Even the top three Sword Meisters pale in comparison. However, if you think that you can act arrogantly in front of our two Guilds just because of that, you should think again. If you dont hand over the Ancient Demon Courts key, none of you should think of leaving here today! As soon as One-eyed Ghost finished speaking, Healing Spells suddenly started landing on him one after another, instantly regenerating his HP back to full. Even his severed arm had regenerated completely. Immediately afterward, the one hundred Refinement Realm experts on standby surrounded Shi Feng. These people are despicable! I cant believe theyre resorting to bullying with numbers after losing a one-on-one fight! Happy Snow said angrily when she saw the many Refinement Realm experts getting ready to fight. Lets join in as well, Big Sis Qianliu! Nodding, Su Qianliu said, Mhm. Everyone, get ready. Well try to blast a hole in the barriers afterward. With the Guild Leaders skills, he should have no problem escaping the two Guilds pursuit. With the help of magic barriers and magic arrays, it wouldnt be a problem for a hundred Refinement Realm experts to whittle down a Domain Realm expert. It was especially true when both sides were still at Tier 3. After all, all players had limited Mana and concentration. Meanwhile, fighting against Refinement Realm experts was an entirely different experience than fighting against ordinary experts. One would need to combine powerful combat techniques and Skills to kill Refinement Realm experts. Meanwhile, doing so would put a huge burden on ones Stamina and Concentration. Hence, in a situation where one didnt have an advantage in tiers, even a Domain Realm expert wouldnt dare to face one hundred well-equipped Refinement Realm experts. Not to mention, Nature Hall and Hundred Flower Palace had four apex experts on their side. Just when Su Qianliu and the others were about to reinforce Shi Feng, Shi Feng glanced at One-eyed Ghost and indifferently said, Me? Arrogant? No, it is you people who are arrogant! Do you honestly think you can do anything against me with just a hundred Refinement Realm experts? After saying so, Shi Feng took a step toward the nearest Refinement Realm expert. Then, with him at the center, the Mana within a 100-yard radius instantly vanished, the sudden change causing the Refinement Realm experts and One-eyed Ghost to feel suffocated. Meanwhile, upon sensing the surrounding Mana disappearing and his Mana Domain getting overwhelmed, One-eyed Ghost couldnt help but be stunned as he exclaimed, This isa true Mana Domain?! However, before One-eyed Ghost could make any further reactions, Shi Feng had already raised the Winter of Eternal Night. Then, concentrating all of the Mana he gathered from his surroundings into the sword, he transformed the weapon into a Mana greatsword that measured one hundred yards in length and swung it. First Sword, Lightshadow! Boom! This was the first time Shi Feng had executed Lightshadow after his Strength Attribute had reached the Tier 4 threshold, and everywhere the sword of light passed through transformed into a pitch-black void. Even a Tier 4 Mythic monster would suffer serious injuries if struck by this attack. A Tier 3 player would be utterly helpless against this attack. The instant the sword of light made contact with One-eyed Ghosts body, his HP fell to zero instantly, and even his body had disintegrated into nothingness Meanwhile, after Shi Feng completed his attack, an unprecedented silence enveloped the cavern as everyone dazedly stared at the broken space around Shi Feng. Chapter 3013 - Chapter 87 Chapter 87 C True Monster He died I must be dreaming! How can he kill a hundred Refinement Realm experts in one move?! This must be a dream! Hundred Flower Palaces and Nature Halls members couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw One-eyed Ghost and the 100 Refinement Realm experts evaporating from the battlefield. They were aware that massive gaps could exist even between Tier 3 experts. Take One-eyed Ghost, for example. They were unlikely to beat him even if they ganged up on him. However, even though they couldnt beat him, they could see and understand why they were inferior to him. The current situation, though, was something they couldnt even understand At this time, let alone the two Guilds experts, even Su Qianliu and the others were flabbergasted by this situation. The attack Shi Feng just executed had already exceeded their common sense of what a Tier 3 player was capable of, and it was something none of them had seen before. What just happened, Big Sis Rue?! Why couldnt I sense even a bit of Mana fluctuation coming from him just now?! Rain Song asked as she turned to Cleansed Rue, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. That attacks power was close to reaching the Tier 4 Peak standard! How can a Tier 3 player like him unleash such power without using any Tier 3 Super Skills?! Space in Gods Domain was incredibly stable, and attacks would typically have to reach the Tier 4 Peak standard to shatter space into oblivion. Unless a Tier 3 player used a Tier 3 Ancient Super Skill or Spell, it should be impossible for them to achieve such power. However, Rain Song had failed to sense any Mana fluctuations coming from Shi Feng just now. In other words, Shi Feng had unleashed that extraordinary attack just now without employing the use of any Skills or Spells. Instead, he had relied entirely on his techniques to execute that attack. Even as someone who used to be at the peak of Tier 4, Rain Song had never heard of a Tier 3 player being able to execute an attack at the Tier 4 Peak standard. He shouldve used some kind of Mana Technique just now, Cleansed Rue said, a grim expression on her face as she looked at Shi Feng. However, out of all the Mana Techniques I know, none of them are capable of unleashing such destructive power. You two can stop guessing. That was indeed a Mana Technique, Crimson Heart suddenly said as she watched the space around Shi Feng slowly mending itself. But this Mana Technique should bea Gods Legacy. A Gods Legacy?! Upon hearing Crimson Hearts words, Rain Song immediately turned to look at Shi Feng, her voice trembling as she muttered, Doesnt that meanhe is Mhm, it is just as you guessed. Look at Shi Feng, Crimson Hearts complexion sank slightly as she said, He should be a Tier 6 Sword God! Crazy! This is crazy! Why would someone like him come to this place?! Rain Song ranted almost frantically as she looked at Shi Feng. Tier 6 God-ranked experts stood at the pinnacle of Gods Domain. Unless Tier 6 Gods appeared, they would be near-invincible existences. Currently, the reason why so many experts had chosen to abandon their achievements on the main continent and enter the Miniature Ancient World was so that they could hopefully ascend to greater heights. Even Tier 5 experts were no exception. However, it was a different story for Tier 6 God-ranked experts. As individuals who had already reached the theoretical finish line of Gods Domain, Tier 6 God-ranked experts did not need to enter the Miniature Ancient World. After all, no matter how great of a fortuitous encounter they came across in the Miniature Ancient World, the best they could achieve was to climb back to Tier 6. Rather than waste their time doing such a futile action, theyd be better off doing other, more productive things. At this moment, Rain Song wasnt the only one confused by this situation. Even Cleansed Rue, a Tier 5 expert, was similarly confused. For what reason did a Tier 6 God-ranked expert like Shi Feng come to the Miniature Ancient World? Did he come here to bully noobs because he had nothing better to do? While Cleansed Rue and the others were feeling shocked and confused, Shi Feng, who stood in mid-air, turned to Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear. Then, like a god looking down at a bunch of ants, he asked, Do you still want to continue? Even before obtaining the Tier 3 Ancient Mana Equipment Set, Shi Feng had never cared about any first-rate Guild. Now that he had the Mana Equipment Set, the only Guilds that could enter his eyes were Super Guilds. Otherwise, he wouldnt have left the Ancient Demon Court with his team. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Fengs question, the two first-rate Guilds members couldnt help but turn to look at Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear, anxiety coloring their faces. Previously, they had looked at Shi Feng and his team as if they were ants. Now, though, the situation had made a complete reversal, and Shi Feng could decide their life and death with just a thought. It should be known that a Guild War Order was sealing the map they were currently in, so they couldnt log out even if they wanted to. Moreover, Shi Fengs team could even freely resurrect them after killing them. If Crimson Heart and Stalwart Bear answered poorly, everyone here would have a bleak future ahead of them You jest, Sir. After a moment of silence, Crimson Heart frankly said, If you wish to leave now, I doubt well be able to stop you even if we wanted to. Shi Fengs attack just now had already destroyed the magic barrier enveloping his team. At this time, even Su Qianliu and the others could freely leave the cavern, let alone Shi Feng. Hearing Crimson Hearts words, Stalwart Bear helplessly gestured for Nature Halls members to step aside and open a path for Zero Wings team. Meanwhile, neither Crimson Heart nor Cleansed Rue was surprised by how decisively Stalwart Bear responded. With Stalwart Bears personality, he wouldve fought to the very end if Shi Feng wasnt a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. It wouldnt matter even if Nature Halls team ran the risk of annihilation. He would take his chances so long as he had the slightest possibility of victory. However, the only solution to a Tier 6 God-ranked expert was another Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Without a Tier 6 God-ranked expert on his side, the only thing Stalwart Bear could do in this situation was to take the loss. This was because it was incredibly difficult to topple a God-ranked expert using numbers. If he did that, he would only be worsening his losses. Not to mention, they were currently in the Miniature Ancient World. Making an enemy out of a Tier 6 God-ranked expert here was no different than courting death. After seeing the two first-rate Guilds members opening a path, Shi Feng locked the Ancient Demon Courts entrance and said through the team chat, Lets go. Meanwhile, whether it was Su Qianliu or Blackie, both of them couldnt help but stare at Shi Feng in a daze. Being able to win against one of the Eight Sword Meisters was already an astonishing feat. Now, Shi Feng had even wiped out a hundred Refinement Realm experts in a single move. Even the legendary experts of Gods Domain were probably incapable of such a feat when they were at Tier 3. Chapter 3014 - Chapter 88 Chapter 88 C Famous After Shi Feng and his team left the cavern, Stalwart Bear couldnt help but turn to Crimson Heart and asked, What do you think of that God-ranked expert? If even you dont know him, do you think I would? Crimson Heart said, rolling her eyes. Out of the God-ranked experts and Tier 5 experts capable of reaching Tier 6, none of them resemble him, Stalwart Bear said with a pondering look. I suspect that he doesnt belong to our Gods Domain. Indeed, the possibility is high, Crimson Heart said, agreeing with Stalwart Bears opinion. There were only so many Tier 6 God-ranked experts and Tier 5 experts with the potential to reach Tier 6 in the game, and everyone belonging to the upper echelons of Gods Domain more or less knew of these people. So, it didnt make sense that an unknown Tier 6 God-ranked expert had suddenly appeared out of thin air. If thats the case, it might be worth befriending this person. A Tier 6 God-ranked expert not belonging to any local power could become a weapon of mass destruction in the Miniature Ancient World. If they could befriend Shi Feng, once it came time for the various powers to compete with each other, their two Guilds could hold a massive advantage in the competition. After all, there was no way any Tier 6 God-ranked expert from the main continent would enter the Miniature Ancient World. They had much more important things to do than retrain their accounts from Tier 3. Im afraid it wont be convenient for Nature Hall to approach that guy, Stalwart Bear said. Then, he turned toward Cleansed Rue and smiled, saying, I heard that you have tried to invite Su Qianliu to Hundred Flower Palace several times before, Miss Rue. In that case, you should have a good relationship with Su Qianliu, right? That Su Qianliu looks like she shares a close relationship with that person, so we will have to rely on you for this matter. Me? Cleansed Rue was a little stunned when she heard Stalwart Bears words. We can only rely on you now, Rue, Crimson Heart said, seconding Stalwart Bears words. Not only did we lose the Ancient Demon Court, but we have also suffered heavy casualties today. If we want to compete with the other first-rate powers, our only hope is to rely on that God-ranked expert. Dont you know Su Qianliu in the real world? Try to learn more about that person through her. If we can tie him to our boat, youll be making a big contribution to the Guild. Alright, then. Ill try my best, Su Qianliu said, sighing. Meanwhile, shortly after Nature Hall and Hundred Flower Palace removed their Guild War Order, the various powers investigating the two Guilds came to learn of an astonishing piece of news. It turned out that the reason the two top-tier first-rate Guilds had locked down a map was because of a newly-established Guild called Zero Wing. However, after the two sides finished clashing, the two first-rate Guilds had kept their mouths shut about Zero Wing and even behaved fearfully when talking about the new Guild. Investigate! Find out Zero Wings origins no matter the cost! It seems Zero Wing isnt some ordinary Guild. Notify everyone in the Guild to be careful around Zero Wings members. The various powers based in Rock Devil City had varying reactions toward Zero Wing. Some grew curious, some grew fearful, and some thought of befriending Zero Wing. For a time, Zero Wings name gradually spread throughout Rock Devil City. While Zero Wings name was spreading, Shi Feng had already returned to Hundred Flow City with Su Qianliu and the others. Guild Leader, there are currently three first-rate Guilds, eight second-rate Guilds, and many third-rate Guilds and adventurer teams operating in Hundred Flow City. These powers are all fervently recruiting members, and the benefits they offer are very high. With our current lack of funds, Im afraid itll be tough for us to attract any new members in Hundred Flow City, Su Qianliu explained, growing a little worried after learning about Hundred Flow Citys situation. My suggestion is that we lower our entry requirement and gradually train the newcomers from the ground up. We can even fill our Guild Warehouse while doing so. What do you think? The Guild benefits Shi Feng had set for Zero Wing were indeed astonishing, and true experts of Gods Domain would find it hard to refuse these benefits. Normally, if a Guild were to offer such benefits, experts would flood to join the Guild. However, the problem now was that Shi Feng had set too high an entry requirement for Zero Wing. Most experts with the strength necessary to meet Zero Wings entry requirement would either be an expert belonging to the various large Guilds or an expert used to the lax management of adventurer teams. Most importantly, the price to exchange the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique was astronomically high. While it was indeed generous of Shi Feng to offer such a powerful Mana Technique up for exchange, the exchange price simply wasnt something the average player could afford. Hence, the Mana Techniques existence was akin to a display item to most players rather than something they could strive for. In comparison, Credits, weapons, and equipment, things that players could use to improve their strength, were much more practical. Unfortunately, Zero Wing just so happened to lack all three of these things. What you say does make sense. Shi Feng nodded. However, I dont plan to develop Zero Wing into a bloated Guild with no substance. It is especially so during the Guilds initial development phase. We simply do not have the resources to train a large number of people. But we wont be able to recruit anyone if we dont do that Su Qianliu said in exasperation. While Zero Wings recruitment standards could be considered on par with the various superpowers, Zero Wing wasnt a superpower. It was merely a small Guild established recently, and it didnt even possess an ounce of fame in Hundred Flow City. Meanwhile, the development of a Guild required a large number of players. After all, one of a Guilds main sources of income was the completion of Guild Quests. The more players a Guild possessed, the greater the income the Guild could generate from Guild Quests. Then, with the money earned from Guild Quests, the Guild could better itself and attract more players, thereby forming a positive development cycle. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng suddenly asked, How many Gold Coins can you amass right now? Around 150,000 Gold, Su Qianliu answered after giving the matter some thought. Youre a really rich woman Shi Feng was a little surprised when he heard Su Qianlius answer. He didnt think Su Qianlius adventurer team would be so wealthy. Thats the money my adventurer team saved up over the years. If not for the Land we rented in the Thousand Stars Tower, we couldve had 300,000 Gold right now, Su Qianliu said, sighing ruefully. A wealth of 150,000 Gold Coins might seem like a lot, but in a large NPC City like Hundred Flow City, that money was chump change. This was because even the smallest Guild Residence here would cost 100,000 Gold to purchase. In the case of medium and large Guild Residences, their prices started from 500,000 and 1,000,000 Gold respectively. This was also why she had sought the capital investment of those several corporations. One hundred and fifty thousand Gold is already enough, Shi Feng said, chuckling. What I need you to do now is to convert all these Coins into Magic Crystals. Try to convert as many as you can. Magic Crystals? Didnt we get over 10,000 Magic Crystals in the Ancient Demon Court just now? Su Qianliu asked in confusion. For a small Guild, a sum of 10,000 Magic Crystals was already a significant amount. It was absolutely more than enough to sustain a small Guild of several thousand members for some time. That amount is far from enough, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. However, he didnt bother explaining his goals. Instead, he said, Anyway, just try to exchange as many Magic Crystals as you can. Ill pay you back twofold afterward. If it was before clearing the Ancient Demon Court, Shi Feng might have followed Su Qianlius suggestion for the sake of keeping Zero Wing operating normally. However, the situation was different now. The most profitable way of earning money in Gods Domain would definitely have to be operating a settlement. It was also why the various Guilds sought to operate their own towns and cities, with some even going as far as to attack and take over NPC Cities. Now that he had obtained a Town Rune Crystal from the Ancient Demon Court, he naturally didnt have to follow the standard development path for Guilds anymore. While a town might not be as profitable as a Guild City, the amount of money a town could generate still far surpassed that of an ordinary large Guild. Chapter 3015 - Chapter 89 Chapter 89 C Small Guild? Hundred Flow City, Teleportation Hall: At this time, three players geared in Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment Sets walked out of the Teleportation Hall and entered the restaurant opposite the Candlelight Hotel. Then, while having a light meal, they scrutinized the Candlelight Hotel across the street. If someone were to carefully observe these three players, they would find that despite looking only around 20 years old, these three players radiated an aura of sharpness and confidence that one would rarely find on ordinary experts. In addition, all three of them were Half-step Refinement Realm experts. Is that where Zero Wings members are resting? a male Berserker carrying a spear on his back asked while scrutinizing the dilapidated hotel across the street. Then, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes as he muttered, What a strange hotel Although the Candlelight Hotel looked dilapidated and inferior to the other brand new hotels in the city, the number of players entering the establishment was astonishingly high. He had already spotted several players entering the Candlelight Hotel in just one minute. Even more surprising was that these people had entered the hotel sneakily and hurriedly. These people would look around their surroundings, making sure that nobody was paying attention to them before swiftly entering the hotel. Its normal for it to be strange. Otherwise, thered be no reason why the higher-ups of our two Guilds would ask us to infiltrate the place, right? a female Elementalist with a refreshing appearance said, a look of interest appearing on her face as she looked at the Candlelight Hotel. Thats right. The last of the trio, a robust male Shield Warrior, nodded. Then, in an excited tone, he said, So long as we can join Zero Wing and become Zero Wings core members, well be able to join the ranks of executives and receive priority training from our Guilds. I really dont know what the higher-ups are thinking. Why would they have us of all people infiltrate a Guild? Shouldnt this job be left to those outer elite members? the Berserker youth said, a pondering look on his face. Its excessive to do this even for another first-rate Guild, let alone a newly-established Guild. The three of them ranked among the top five of their respective Guilds new recruits this year. They were also graduates of top-tier Gods Domain Academies. Yet, instead of providing them with proper training, their Guilds had tasked them with infiltrating a newly-established Guild. Even the various superpowers wouldnt dare to take such an extravagant action. Why are you thinking so much about it? the female Elementalist asked as she glanced at the Berserker youth. Then, she happily said, Judging by how suddenly the higher-ups gathered us this time, they probably didnt have a lot of time to prepare and decided to have us fresh graduates take on this job instead. Not only do we have a clean resume, but well also have an easier time getting accepted as core members in a small Guild like Zero Wing. This is a transaction thats beneficial to our Guilds and ourselves. Rather than complain, wed be better off trying to finish our task as quickly as possible. The robust Shield Warrior nodded, expressing his agreement with the Elementalist. I guess youre right. After thinking it over, the Berserker felt he might have been overcomplicating things. In that case, lets finish our meals and hurry inside. The sooner we join Zero Wing, the sooner well be able to finish the higher-ups task. Afterward, the trio quickly finished their meals, replenishing their Stamina and Concentration back to full. Then, they crossed the street and entered the Candlelight Hotel. However, the moment the trio entered the Candlelight Hotel, they couldnt help but be startled. What dense Mana! Although the Mana outside was already plenty dense, the density of the Mana inside the Candlelight Hotel was even more terrifying. Standing inside the hotel made them feel like they were standing inside a cloud of mist made up of Mana. Their thoughts became much clearer and calmer as soon as they entered the building. How may I help the three of you? Blakeana the NPC asked with a smile when she saw the trio entering the hotel. We are here to join Zero Wing, the Berserker said, getting straight to the point. Very well. Zero Wings registration booth is over there, Blakeana said as she pointed at a corner of the lobby. At this moment, there was not a soul standing in front of Zero Wings registration booth. The only person at the booth was a bored-looking man dressed in a dark-gray robe. Judging by the booths state, it didnt seem like Zero Wing was a Guild worthy of two top-tier first-rate Guilds attention. However, the trio didnt put too much thought into the matter. After all, this was their Guilds instructions. No matter how terrible Zero Wing was, they still needed to join it. Immediately, the trio approached the registration booth. Are you three here to join Zero Wing? When Blackie saw the three youths approaching the booth, his eyes promptly glowed in excitement. Hours! It had already been hours since he had set up this booth! Yet, not even one person had come forth to ask about joining Zero Wing throughout this time. Now that three people had come forth simultaneously, Blackie was so moved that he was about to break into tears. Mhm. The three of us just graduated from our respective academies. We plan to develop in Hundred Flow City, so we are looking to join a Guild, the Berserker youth said, nodding. But the three of us do not wish to become cannon fodder. We want to become core members directly. May I know what the requirement is to become a core member? The female Elementalist and robust Shield Warrior also nodded to express their agreement with the Berserker youths words. In the current state of Gods Domain, itd be incredibly difficult for small Guilds to recruit new members. It was especially true for graduates of Gods Domain Academies. Even if a fresh graduate chose to join a small Guild, they would typically ask to become core members directly. Otherwise, they could simply join a large Guild and become an internal member there instead. You want to become core members directly? Blackie grew a little embarrassed when he heard the Berserker youths words. This Im afraid itll be difficult to fulfill your demand Difficult? Smiling nonchalantly, the Berserker youth said, You can rest assured of our strength. Our equipment might not look like much, but we are confident in our combat standards. May I know whats the combat standard requirement to become a core member in your Guild? Is it the seventh floors early stage? Or the seventh floors middle stage? For the typical small Guild, players would only need to reach the Trial Towers sixth-floor late-stage to become a core member. Even if Zero Wing was a unique case, there was no way its requirement would exceed the seventh-floor early stage. Meanwhile, as Half-step Refinement Realm experts, the three of them could clear even the seventh-floor late-stage. With their current combat standards, they could even become core members in second-rate Guilds, let alone a small Guild like Zero Wing. In response, Blackie looked at the three youths for some time before awkwardly saying, Refinement Realm Chapter 3016 - Chapter 90 Chapter 90 C Hidden Foundation ??? The spy trio fell into a daze as they looked at Blackies slightly chubby body. What about elite members? the Berserker youth asked. Refinement Realm Blackie repeated, scratching his head awkwardly. The trio was rendered speechless by Blackies words. Didnt this basically mean that only Refinement Realm experts were allowed to join Zero Wing? Cliff, do you think this person saw through our intentions? the female Elementalist secretly asked through the team chat. It should be known that if a Refinement Realm expert chose to join a first-rate Guild, they would immediately be accepted into the Guilds main force and given the position of core members. Yet, now, newly-recruited Refinement Realm experts could only become elite members in Zero Wing. No matter how she looked at this situation, it was simply absurd. I dont think so. We were only asking about Zero Wings recruitment standards. We have never specifically expressed our intention to join Zero Wing, the Berserker youth named Dusk Cliff replied. What should we do, then? the female Elementalist asked in exasperation. This Guild is simply insane. The robust Guardian Knight nodded in agreement. If he wasnt here on a mission assigned by his Guilds higher-ups, he wouldve cursed at Blackie already. Refinement Realm? Arent your standards a little too high? After giving the matter some thought, Dusk Cliff looked back at Blackie and asked, The three of us are at the seventh floors middle-stage standard. What position will we be given if we join your Guild? You can become internal members so long as you accumulate enough Guild Contributions, Blackie said in embarrassment. If it werent for Shi Fengs maddening requirements, Zero Wing couldve more or less recruited some expert players by now. Internal members? The spy trio breathed out a sigh of relief when they heard Blackies words. At the very least, they could still join Zero Wing with their strength. Had Blackie said that the minimum requirement to join was also the Refinement Realm standard, they wouldve probably exploded in anger on the spot. Seeing the hesitant expressions on the three youths faces, Blackie hurriedly said, Our Guild offers excellent benefits to internal members. So long as you become an internal member, youll get the opportunity to exchange a Mana Technique Legacy that will help you significantly in reconstructing your Mana Body and reaching Tier 4. Upon hearing Blackies words, the trio looked at each other briefly before turning back to Blackie, a hint of disdain flashing past their eyes. If it werent for their Guilds request, they wouldve probably turned around and left already. After all, no matter how they looked at it, the person before them was undoubtedly a scammer. First, it was the absurd entry requirement into Zero Wing. Now, Blackie was saying that internal members could exchange for an incredibly precious resource in Gods Domain. If they didnt know any better, theyd think that Blackie was recruiting players for a Super Guild rather than a newly-established Guild. No, even the various Super Guilds wouldnt give their recruits the chance to exchange for a precious Mana Technique! However, despite the disdain they held in their hearts, they still kept up their act on the surface. Mana Technique? Okay! The three of us will join! Dusk Cliff said, pretending to be excited. Meanwhile, when Dawn Moon, the female Elementalist, saw Dusk Cliffs performance, she couldnt help but marvel at the mans acting skills and lament over their fate. All three of them were geniuses who graduated from top-tier Gods Domain Academies. Dusk Cliff, in particular, was even the third-ranking genius among Nature Halls new recruits this year. Yet, here he was, forced to react excitedly over joining a small Guild that was recently established Afterward, the trio signed a standard contract for Zero Wings internal members with Blackie, inwardly sighing in relief when they placed their signatures on the paper. They had finally completed the first step of infiltrating Zero Wing with this. Afterward, all they needed to do was think of ways to improve themselves, accumulate Guild Contribution Points, and become core members as soon as possible. Meanwhile, as soon as the three youths signed their contracts, Blackie saw Shi Feng walking down from the second floor. Hurriedly, he walked over and proudly said, Guild Leader, look how amazing I am! I just secured us three internal members! This person is Zero Wings Guild Leader? When Dusk Cliff and the others heard Blackies words, they promptly scrutinized Shi Fengs cloaked figure. At this time, Shi Feng gave off the feeling of an ordinary civilian. If not for Blackie taking the initiative to greet him, they wouldve thought that Shi Feng was merely an ordinary player staying in the Candlelight Hotel. He didnt look like a Guilds Guild Leader whatsoever. Three Half-step Refinement Realm players? After scanning the three youths, Shi Feng nodded and said, Thats quite a good achievement for people your age. When Dusk Cliff and the others heard Shi Fengs words, they couldnt help but sneer inwardly. They didnt think that Zero Wings Guild Leader would spot similar nonsense to the Vice Guild Leader. While they couldnt be considered the best for reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm standard at 20 years old, they were still top-tier among their peers. Not to mention, they could potentially reach the Refinement Realm at any time, becoming a true expert in Gods Domain. Do you have any more questions about our Guild? Shi Feng asked as he looked at the trio. No, Dusk Cliff said. In that case, I have a task to give you, Shi Feng said. I have a group of new recruits who have just finished the first phase of their training and require testing. Can the three of you spar with them? Testing? Dusk Cliff inwardly sneered. Rather than testing the training results of Zero Wings new recruits, he felt that Shi Feng was trying to test the three of them instead. Even so, he still pretended to be happy as he said, If it is a command from you, we are more than happy to oblige, Guild Leader. Okay, come with me, then, Shi Feng said, nodding. Then, he started making his way to the hotels basement. A magic barrier sealed the Candlelight Hotels basement, and non-Zero Wing members were prohibited from entering it. As soon as Dusk Cliff and the others entered the basement, they promptly noticed that the density of the Mana here was much higher than even the Mana found on the first floor, and they couldnt help but be shocked by this discovery. They didnt think that a small Guild like Zero Wing would actually have the means to create such a Mana-rich environment. Even the combat rooms found in Advanced Hotels didnt have such dense Mana. No wonder the higher-ups are having us investigate Zero Wing. If we can acquire the method to create such an environment, the development speed of everyone in our Guilds will increase by a large margin, Dawn Moon said in realization. Chapter 3017 - Chapter 91 Chapter 91 C Gathering of Monsters? A moment later, Shi Feng led the three youths to the largest combat room in the Candlelight Hotels basement. At this time, six people had already gathered inside the combat room with a radius of a hundred yards. Of them, five were young men and women around 17. All five of these youths were only at Level 102, which was the current average for mainstream players, and they were also geared in nothing more than Fine-Gold Equipment. Meanwhile, these youths behaved like frightened rabbits as they stood before a masked female Assassin. When Hidden Soul saw Shi Feng entering the room with three unfamiliar faces, she asked in surprise, Are these three the test opponents? At a glance, Hidden Soul could tell that Dusk Cliff and the others were already close to reaching the Refinement Realm standard. So long as they could make it a habit to remove all of their unnecessary movements, they would reach the Refinement Realm. For these three youths to reach such a standard at such a young age was quite an amazing feat, and they could already barely be considered geniuses if put in the various superpowers. Normally, the various superpowers wouldve long since snatched up such youths, so itd be incredibly difficult to find even one of them unaffiliated to any Guilds. Yet, Shi Feng had found three of such talents. Mhm. Will they do? Shi Feng asked. Theyll do. Hidden Soul nodded. Lets begin right away, then. Meanwhile, when the trio in question overheard Shi Feng and Hidden Soul talking about them in such a casual manner, they felt their blood pressure rising. Alright. Turning toward the trio, Shi Feng pointed at Wu Linglings group of five and said, You will fight the five of them together. There wont be any restrictions imposed. The five of them? Dusk Cliff and the others couldnt help but be a little confused when they turned to look at Wu Linglings group. Not only was there a significant gap in equipment standards between their two groups, but there was also a huge gap in combat standards. Based on their observation, they could say with certainty that nobody in Wu Linglings group had reached the Refinement Realm standard. With such a huge disparity, even one of them could take on Wu Linglings group of five, let alone all three of them. It should be known that they were graduates of Advanced Gods Domain Academies. Taking on a bunch of freshmen was a piece of cake for them. Rather than a test, itd be more appropriate to call this a bullying session. However, Dusk Cliff and the others didnt put too much thought into the matter as they quickly got into battle positions. Dont blame us for this. This is the Guild Leaders instructions, Dusk Cliff said, expressing his helplessness as he looked at Wu Linglings group of five. The requirement of their respective Guilds higher-ups was for them to become core members in Zero Wing. Now that they were only internal members, theyd have to perform well and prove their worth if they wished to become core members quickly. Meanwhile, Wu Lingling and the others didnt say anything in response to Dusk Cliffs words. Instead, all five of them quickly got into position, none of them daring to make even the slightest mistake. After experiencing how scary Hidden Soul could be, none of them wanted to experience it for a second time Begin! After seeing that everyone was in position, Hidden Soul started the combat rooms battle mode. Immediately, Dusk Cliff and the others drew their weapons and got ready to take action against Wu Lingling and the others. Meanwhile, as if Hidden Souls words had triggered something in them, a crazed look suddenly appeared in the eyes of Wu Lingling and the others. Then, before Dusk Cliffs group could react, Wu Lingling the Swordsman activated her Berserk Skill that doubled her Basic Attributes and sent out over a dozen sword lights that locked onto her opponents vitals. At the same time, Xiao Yuheng the Ranger and Liu Yuecheng the Cleric also activated their Berserk Skills. Then, Xiao Yuheng started raining arrows down on Dusk Cliffs group while Liu Yuecheng summoned light barriers to surround the trio. As for Lu Wuxuan the Guardian Knight and Qin Wuchen the Assassin, they had also activated their respective Berserk Skills and appeared in front of Dusk Cliffs group Dammit! Dusk Cliffs group was startled by this situation. They didnt think Wu Linglings group would be so crazy and scary. Hurriedly, they activated their Berserk Skills and tried their best to block the fives coordinated attacks. However, the moment they clashed with Wu Linglings group, Dusk Cliff and the others realized a scary matter. Rather than academy freshmen, itd be more appropriate to describe the five juniors in front of them as reckless little monsters. The coordination between the five was excellent, and the way they chained their attacks was seamless. It was as if the five of them were of one body, and they didnt even need to look to know what each other was doing. They had also flawlessly used each others Skills and Spells to their own advantage. However, this still wasnt the most frightening matter. What was even more astonishing was their combat standards. Even though Wu Lingling and the others looked like they were only 17-year-olds, all five of them were already close to reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm. Or, more specifically, they could already exert fine control over their four limbs. Wu Lingling, in particular, was at the Half-step Refinement Realm already. Subsequently, in less than 30 seconds, all three members of Dusk Cliffs group collapsed to the ground, while everyone in Wu Linglings group remained alive What kind of place is Zero Wing? How can a new Guild produce such a group of little monsters? Even after Dusk Cliff and the others got resurrected, none of them could believe the outcome of the battle. These were 17-year-olds they were talking about! When the three of them were at this age, even the Trial Towers sixth-floor early stage was far out of their reach, let alone the Half-step Refinement Realm. Yet, now Out of the group of five juniors before them, four already possessed combat standards nearing the seventh floors early stage. One of them even reached the Half-step Refinement Realm standard already. After factoring in their perfect coordination, they could probably hold their ground against even a Refinement Realm expert. Meanwhile, after experiencing this fight, Dusk Cliff and the others gradually understood why their two Guilds had tasked them with infiltrating Zero Wing. The Guild known as Zero Wing definitely wasnt as simple as they thought. In reality, let alone Dusk Cliffs group, even Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw how the fight turned out. He didnt expect Hidden Soul to be such a capable trainer. It had only been a few days since Wu Lingling and the others started training under Hidden Soul. Yet, now, the combat experience they showed already surpassed what Blackie and the others possessed. Moreover, they had already practiced the exercise he taught them to a very high level of proficiency, and the way they utilized their Skills and Spells even made use of some of the Flowing Water Realms principles. At this rate, it probably wouldnt take more than half a month before all five of them reached the Refinement Realm. Meanwhile, Hidden Soul nodded her head and said, Not bad. Since all of you passed the test, we can end your training for today. From tomorrow onwards, well be conducting your training outdoors. Upon hearing Hidden Souls words, Wu Lingling and the others loosened their breaths simultaneously. Their tense expressions also relaxed significantly. We finally passed, Wu Lingling said as she patted her chest. Then, she smiled at Qin Wuchen and the others, saying, Thank goodness our opponents this time werent strong. I dont ever want to experience getting killed thousands of times again. Dusk Cliff and the others couldnt help but feel offended as they looked at Wu Lingling. Yet, they had no words to say back to her. Shi Feng also couldnt help but take a look at the resurrected trio before him. Chapter 3018 - Chapter 92 Chapter 92 C Thats Right, She Is Only an Outer Member After the test was over, Wu Lingling and the others logged out of the game to rest. They had been training continuously for a long time before the test, so all of them were incredibly exhausted now. Not to mention, they also had many things they needed to do tomorrow. Meanwhile, after Wu Linglings group left, Shi Feng turned toward Dusk Cliffs group and said, I heard from Blackie that you three wanted to become Zero Wings core members? Yes. Dusk Cliff and the others turned to look at Shi Feng, their eyes full of wariness. Even so, their voices did not contain any hesitation when they spoke. After their fight with Wu Linglings group, they came to understand that the seemingly ordinary man before them definitely wasnt an ordinary person. This was because the moment they stepped inside this combat room, they immediately noticed how powerful and extraordinary of an existence she was. Even though Hidden Soul was clearly standing there, none of them could perceive her presence. Although they had never come across such a situation before, they knew that anyone capable of accomplishing such a feat absolutely possessed incredibly high combat standards. This was because even the Tier 5 Assassins they had come across in their respective Guilds were incapable of erasing their presence to such an extent. In other words, Hidden Soul should be top-tier even among Tier 5 experts. Yet, despite being such a powerful expert, Hidden Soul was not Zero Wings Guild Leader. Moreover, based on the conversation they overheard, it would seem that this female Assassin was answering to Shi Fengs instructions. Gods Domain was a world where the strong were respected. No matter how respected a Guilds Guild Leader was, so long as this Guild Leader lacked strength, experts stronger than the Guild Leader would, at most, treat the Guild Leader as an equal. There was no way these experts would behave like obedient underlings. The fact that Hidden Soul was following Shi Fengs orders without question meant that Zero Wings Guild Leader was stronger than this female Assassin, and under no circumstances should they underestimate him. Meanwhile, few players in Gods Domain would join a Guild without desiring to climb to a high position in the Guild. In the rare case that such players appeared, there was a high chance that they were spies. Hence, rather than deny Shi Fengs question, itd be best if they openly acknowledged it instead. Not bad. Its good to have ambition. Shi Feng nodded. ??? Dusk Cliff and the others were momentarily stunned by Shi Fengs response. What did he mean? Also, why did it feel like Shi Feng had touched a nerve in them? Do you see her? Shi Feng suddenly asked as he turned toward Hidden Soul. Her? Dusk Cliff and the others also turned toward Hidden Soul, feeling a little confused by Shi Fengs question. Mhm. Nodding, Shi Feng said, She is currently an outer member of Zero Wing. Outer member? Her?! Dusk Cliff and the others couldnt help but widen their eyes in shock, feeling as if Shi Feng was playing a joke on them. After all, how could an expert, who they suspected to be at the peak of Tier 5, be only an outer member of Zero Wing? Hidden Soul: Thats right. Looking at the trio, Shi Feng said, But you dont need to be surprised. The only reason she is an outer member is because she wants Zero Wings Mana Technique Legacy but doesnt want to get tied down by restrictions. There Dawn Cliff and the others were shocked. They originally thought Blackie was joking with them when he told them that the Guild offered a Mana Technique for exchange. After all, Mana Techniques were incredibly precious resources, and even the various superpowers top-tier geniuses wouldnt necessarily be able to get their hands on one. Yet, now that a suspected Tier 5 expert had joined Zero Wing for the specific purpose of exchanging Zero Wings Mana Technique, it proved that the matter of Zero Wing offering a Mana Technique Legacy for exchange was true. Moreover, the Mana Technique in question should be beyond the standard fare. Otherwise, there was no way someone of Hidden Souls caliber would want it so much that shed willingly join a small Guild like Zero Wing. After all, the various superpowers would be more than willing to offer her a Mana Technique should she choose to join them. Of course. Shi Feng calmly said. If you can get your hands on that Mana Technique Legacy, not only can you reach Tier 4 in a short time, but you can also establish a sturdy foundation for Tier 5. However, youll need a significant amount of GCPs to exchange it. Even if you three are internal members now, the technique will still cost you eight million GCPs, so youll have to work hard if you want it. Establish a foundation for Tier 5? When Dusk Cliff and the others heard Shi Fengs words, a passionate flame ignited in their eyes. With their talent, the three of them were confident in reaching Tier 4. Reaching Tier 5 was too difficult of a feat, and the chances of them succeeding were incredibly slim. Meanwhile, every Tier 5 expert was an existence standing at the apex of Gods Domain, and even the various superpowers would treat Tier 5 experts as VIPs. If they could get promoted to Tier 5 in the future, they would instantly ascend to the peak of life. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng offered some words of encouragement to Dusk Cliffs group, the trio also went about doing their own things, leaving only Shi Feng and Hidden Soul inside the combat room. You treat your subordinates very well, Hidden Soul said, feeling a little surprised. Theyre not my subordinates, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Or, more precisely, theyre not true members of Zero Wing, but rather spies from other Guilds. ??? Hidden Soul was stunned. You know that Zero Wing is very poor. The Guild has hardly any money and resources right now, Shi Feng calmly said. If I dont give them some encouragement and tell them that the Guild offers Mana Techniques for exchange, would the Guilds behind them willingly send money and resources our way? It should be known that 20-year-old Half-step Refinement Realm experts were considered geniuses even by the various superpowers standards. Yet, three such geniuses had chosen to join Zero Wing instead of a superpower. No matter how one looked at it, there was no way this situation was normal. Otherwise, he wouldnt have bothered wasting so much effort into nurturing Wu Lingling and the others. Hidden Soul had nothing to say. She felt that Shi Fengs words made a lot of sense. At this time, Shi Feng suddenly received a message. Then, after reading the message, he looked at Hidden Soul and asked, Do you have time to go out on a trip with me right now? Go out? Now? Puzzled, Hidden Soul said, Its going to be nighttime soon. The nights here are very dangerous outside. Mhm. Nodding, Shi Feng said sincerely, Thats why I am inviting you. Hidden Soul: ??? After opening the system map, Shi Feng pointed at a place several maps away from Hundred Flow City and said, Dont worry. It isnt a dangerous place. Well only be making a trip to the Misty Canyon. When Hidden Soul took a look at where Shi Feng pointed, she couldnt help but ask, You want to visit a Level 120 map? The Miniature Ancient Worlds level suppression was much stronger than the level suppression on the main continent. Just a difference of five levels would increase a monsters challenge difficulty by one rank. In other words, if players tried to challenge a Great Lord that was five levels higher, they would essentially be going up against a Grand Lord that was five levels higher. If the monster in question was a Grand Lord, its challenge difficulty would increase to that of a Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species. If players fought against monsters 15 levels higher, an ordinary Great Lords challenge difficulty would directly increase to that of a Mythic monster. In response to Hidden Souls question, Shi Feng canceled the concealment effects of his Black Cloak. When Hidden Soul saw Shi Fengs level of 105, she realized that he actually possessed the ability to visit the Misty Canyon. Then, after pondering for a moment, she said, Five hundred thousand points. As a Tier 5 expert rivaling Tier 6 God-ranked experts, her services did not come cheap. It was especially true when she needed 40 million points to exchange for the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Deal. Lets go, Shi Feng said without bothering to negotiate prices. Then, he made his way out of the combat room. Did I ask for too little? Hidden Soul was a little stunned when she saw Shi Fengs decisiveness. However, she still quickly sorted out her equipment and followed Shi Feng. Chapter 3019 - Chapter 93 Chapter 93 C Ancient Dark-Gold Mount Outside the Candlelight Hotel, Su Qianliu and the others had long since been waiting here. Meanwhile, when Su Qianliu saw Shi Feng coming out of the hotel, her first thought was to walk up and greet him. However, before she could do so, she suddenly entered an alert stance when she saw Hidden Soul walking behind Shi Feng. This was because the moment she saw Hidden Soul, her instincts told her that the other party was a monster-level player that could give even the various superpowers a huge headache. There was no doubt that Hidden Soul was much stronger than the likes of One-eyed Ghost. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw Su Qianlius wary expression, he calmly said, No need to worry. She is with us. Shes one of us? Su Qianliu was shocked when she heard Shi Fengs words, and she couldnt help but scrutinize Hidden Souls cloaked figure. The strength of a Guild depended greatly on the number of strong experts it possessed. If one Tier 6 God-ranked expert was enough to elevate a Guild to the status of a top-tier first-rate Guild, then two Tier 6 God-ranked experts could get a Guild recognized as a superpower in Gods Domain. If Hidden Soul truly was Zero Wings member, Zero Wings future wouldnt stop at just the first-rate standard. It was entirely possible for the Guild to become a superpower in the future. Did you bring the things? Shi Feng asked, not bothering to elaborate on Hidden Souls situation. Yes. After snapping out of her daze, Su Qianliu handed a spatial bag to Shi Feng and said, There are 320,000 Magic Crystals here. This is everything I managed to exchange. Mhm, this much should be enough, Shi Feng said. After storing the spatial bag away, Shi Feng took out a black flute from his bag space. A Dark-Gold Mount? Hidden Soul couldnt help but be surprised when she saw the flute in Shi Fengs hand. Dark-Gold Mounts were by no means on the main continent. At this stage of the game, most Guilds Guild Leaders would have a Dark-Gold Mount already. However, it was a different story inside the Miniature Ancient World. Since players werent allowed to bring Mounts with them when transferring here, players would have no choice but to hunt for their own Mounts in the Miniature Ancient World. However, even until now, no information regarding Mounts had spread in the Miniature Ancient World. Even the various superpowers Guild Leaders had to use their own two feet to travel here. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng blew on the flute, a black hole immediately appeared on the street outside the Candlelight Hotel. Then, a giant white wolf that measured seven meters tall and had a purple lightning mark on its head walked out of the black hole, its three snowy-white tails swaying slowly from side to side as it moved. Is it a monster invasion? No, its a Mount! Damn! Someone already got a Mount?! What rank is this Mount? Why does it have such a powerful aura? The players walking on the street grew restless and confused when they saw the Thunder Wolf appearing. Then, they turned toward Shi Fengs group, their eyes filled with curiosity and envy. In the current era where players could only travel using their feet, obtaining even a Basic Mount would elevate their leveling efficiency by a significant margin, let alone a Mount that was as big as the Thunder Wolf. It was common knowledge that a Mounts size reflected their strength to a certain extent. Meanwhile, a seven-meter-tall Mount was at least equal to a Great Lord of the same level in strength. In the current Miniature Ancient World, it would be immensely useful to have a Great Lord on ones side. This Mount looks so cool! Id buy it in a heartbeat even if I have to pay a million Credits for it! Just one million? Are you dreaming? Dark-Gold Mounts go for at least three million even on the main continent, let alone the Miniature Ancient World. Not to mention, with how strong this wolf looks, it might even be an Epic Mount. If thats the case, the various Guilds would probably fight for it even if they have to pay 20 million. A Great Lord ranked Mount isnt just a means of transportation. It can also be incredibly useful in battle. Just this point alone is more than enough for the various Guilds executives to fight to obtain it. Thats right. Id be willing to become the girlfriend of whoever owns such a Mount. When the surrounding crowd saw the Thunder Wolf sitting down before Shi Feng and sticking its tongue out cutely, they nearly drooled out of envy. The biggest trouble players currently faced in the Miniature Ancient World was transportation. Even with the speed of a Tier 3 player, itd take over half an hour just to run from the city to some of the closer leveling spots, while some of the farther ones required one to two hours of continuous running. As for farther maps, few players would be willing to travel there. This was because of the mysterious energy that filled the Miniature Ancient World. So long as players stepped out of the protection of NPC Cities, this mysterious energy would continuously corrode their bodies, reducing their Stamina and Concentration. This meant that players only had limited time to grind out in the fields. If players spent too much time on traveling, it would impact their leveling efficiency significantly. Meanwhile, the assistance a Great Lord ranked Mount could provide would absolutely increase the owners leveling speed by two times or more. A Great Lord ranked Archaic Species? Shi Feng was similarly astonished when he saw the Thunder Wolfs Attribute Panel. On the main continent, the average Level 100 Dark-Gold Mount would only start out at the Lord rank. Moreover, even if players nurtured their Dark-Gold Mounts properly, their Mounts could, at most, reach the Great Lord rank. Yet, now, the Dark-Gold Mount, or, more specifically, the Ancient Dark-Gold Mount before him had actually started out at the Great Lord rank. Moreover, it was even an Archaic Species. In front of it, ordinary Great Lords of the same level were nothing but pushovers. If he nurtured the Thunder Wolf well, it might even ascend to the Tier 4 Mythic rank in the future. At that time, itd be a nigh-unstoppable force on land. However, compared to the Thunder Wolfs combat power, what surprised Shi Feng even more was its Movement Speed. The Thunder Wolfs Movement Speed was close to rivaling that of Tier 3 Common Flying Mounts. In other words, its Movement Speed was on par with that of Tier 4 players. Blackie, how about selling me that Shadow Panther of yours? If a Fragmented Legendary item drops in the future, Ill be sure to let you have it first, Firecloud said to Blackie after seeing the Thunder Wolf. Scram! Im a magical class while youre a melee class! We dont even use the same items! Blackie said contemptuously. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng was done inspecting the Thunder Wolfs stats, he hopped onto its back and looked at Hidden Soul, saying, Hop on. In response, Hidden Soul snapped out of her daze and jumped onto the Thunder Wolfs back as well. Lets go, Shi Feng said to Su Qianliu and the others as he pulled on the Thunder Wolfs reins. Immediately, the Thunder Wolf retracted its tongue and stood up. Then, putting force into its legs, it propelled itself forward, transforming into a gale as it sped through the street and vanishing from everyones vision in the blink of an eye. What speed! Hidden Soul, who was riding atop the Thunder Wolf, couldnt help but be surprised once more when she experienced the Mounts speed. She also had to change her evaluation of the Thunder Wolfs usefulness. Now, she felt that the Thunder Wolf could easily increase Shi Fengs leveling speed by three or four times rather than just two times. Currently, the biggest problem players faced when leveling up wasnt their lacking strength. Instead, it was their limited range of activity. However, with the Thunder Wolfs speed, Shi Feng could increase their range of activity by ten times or more. He could explore places where other players couldnt reach, and all the resources and monsters in these places would belong to him and nobody else. Naturally, his leveling efficiency would increase even further. After Shi Feng rode the Thunder Wolf out of Hundred Flow City, the many players and powers operating in Hundred Flow City promptly started looking into the identity of the Thunder Wolfs owner. Meanwhile, with the Thunder Wolfs speed, it only needed to run for 20 minutes before crossing even the farthest maps that current Hundred Flow City players grinded in. Subsequently, it took another two hours to cross the mountains and forests infested with Level 110-plus monsters. Finally, after running ceaselessly for four hours, Shi Feng and Hidden Soul arrived at the Misty Canyon, a map infested with Level 115 to Level 120 monsters. It was also the closest large map to the Boundary River. Chapter 3020 - Chapter 94 Chapter 94 C Town Rune Crystal Miniature Ancient World, Misty Canyon: Shi Feng pulled the reins of the Thunder Wolf and stopped in front of the Misty Canyon. Then, he looked back to Hidden Soul and said, Were here. Its your turn next. As a Level 120 map, the Misty Canyon was filled with Level 115 monsters or above. Even if he had reached Level 105 already, he would still be under a lot of pressure if he had to fight against monsters ten levels higher. After all, the challenge difficulty of ordinary Great Lords would increase to that of Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species with such a level difference. Even if his Strength Attribute had reached the Tier 4 threshold already, he wouldnt dare to go up against several hundred Grand Lord ranked Archaic Species simultaneously. While these monsters couldnt outright kill him, they were more than capable of exhausting him to death. Not to mention, the Misty canyon was considered a neutral zone in the Miniature Ancient World. It was also the map that linked two Gods Domains together. The monsters inside werent just limited to Great Lords and Grand Lords. Mythic Field Bosses probably littered the place as well. If he came across one of these Field Bosses, he would have difficulty even escaping. Meanwhile, the Assassin class was the most suitable class for exploring maps. This was because the effects of level suppression did not apply to the perception of monsters. With the Stealth Skill and her combat standard, Hidden Soul could remain undetected even if she moved within 100 yards of a Level 120 Mythic Boss. The terrain here is incredibly complex. Are you sure you want to go inside? Hidden Soul asked after glancing at the canyon ahead. Rather than a canyon, the Misty Canyon looked more like a giant meteor crater. Moreover, in addition to the complex terrain, mist also enveloped the entire crater, which reduced visibility to less than 300 yards. Even if she scouted the area beforehand, itd be very easy for them to encounter a group of monsters if they werent careful. The chances of such encounters would also increase the deeper they traveled into the Misty Canyon. Of course. Why would I bring you here otherwise? Shi Feng replied in an affirmative tone. Now that the various powers had increased their efforts in recruiting manpower in the Miniature Ancient World, he needed to do something to make sure Zero Wing didnt fall behind. Meanwhile, with Zero Wings lack of resources and funding, the best solution to improve Zero Wings situation was to secure the Misty Canyon. There were more than ten NPC Cities worth of players trying to enter the Boundary River. Meanwhile, these players could only get to the Boundary River through the Misty Canyon. Adding on the fact that there were no NPC settlements located in or near the Misty Canyon, it went without saying that various powers would fight to establish Guild Towns in the Misty Canyon in the future. Now that Shi Feng had a Town Rune Crystal, he naturally had to secure the best location in the Misty Canyon as soon as possible. Once he did that, not only could he increase the leveling efficiency of Zero Wings members, but the Guild would also have its funding problem resolved. Once players reached Level 110, there would be many experts flooding into the Misty Canyon. At that time, thered be no need to worry about no players coming to rest in Zero Wings town. Itd also become much easier for Zero Wing to recruit expert players. After all, who could resist the opportunity to get a huge lead ahead of others in the Miniature Ancient World? Whatever, its your choice. But dont blame me if you die. Hidden Soul stopped trying to dissuade Shi Feng after hearing his answer. Although she didnt know what Shi Feng was trying to do here, she had no reason to give up on an opportunity to earn 500,000 GCPs just by completing a simple task. Immediately, Hidden Soul jumped off the Thunder Wolfs back and activated Instantaneous Movement, vanishing into mist and disappearing from Shi Fengs perception in the blink of an eye. Seeing this, Shi Feng had to admit that Hidden Soul was indeed a monster. After Shi Feng waited for nearly two hours, he received a message from Hidden Soul that contained a detailed road map leading to the Misty Canyons inner region. Hidden Soul had also marked the layout of monsters along the route and made notes of their rank, level, and perception range. Her infiltration skills are truly amazing. Its no wonder she managed to kill all those Outerworld God-ranked experts and fight Demons Gates Death Wind to a standstill, Shi Feng thought as he looked at Hidden Souls road map in admiration. It should be known that the Death Wind was one of Demons Gates Nine Great Experts, and he claimed that he had a Divine Eye. in terms of strength, Death Wind was capable of going against an entire sub-worlds experts all by himself. No matter how weak a sub-world was, it would have at least several dozen Tier 6 God-ranked experts. In other words, Death Wind was capable of going up against several dozen Tier 6 experts simultaneously. Yet, Hidden Soul managed to fight Death Wind to a standstill in the past. This showed just how much talent and skill she possessed. Although the Hidden Soul in this life had only managed to only reach Tier 5, she definitely wasnt as simple as she seemed. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng researched the road map, he recalled the Thunder Wolf and started following the map on foot. An hour later We cant go any further from here. The area ahead of us is infested with Level 120 Grand Lords and Level 120 Mythic Bosses, Hidden Soul said as she pointed at the area that linked the Misty Canyon and the Boundary River. I have already explored the surrounding area for locations without monsters and vast terrain as you requested. Two places match your requirements. Take a look at them yourselves. After saying so, Hidden Soul marked two locations on Shi Fengs map of the Misty Canyon. Of the two locations she found, one was located by a creek near the Misty Canyons core region, and the ambient Mana here was incredibly dense. The other location was at the top of a cliff in the Misty Canyons inner region, which overlooked a significant portion of the Misty Canyon. Although it had less dense Mana, the location was easily defensible. Meanwhile, after looking at these two locations, Shi Feng hesitated only for a moment before he had Hidden Soul lead him to the creek. Mana was the basis of everything in Gods Domain. Denser Mana meant quicker improvements. A Mana-rich area would be especially useful when nurturing newcomers in the Guild. After circling past a bunch of Level 118 Demonic Beasts, Shi Feng and Hidden Soul arrived before a forest surrounded by a creek. Thats the place, Hidden Soul said as she pointed at the lush forest ahead. Thats it for our agreement. If you dont need me for anything else, I will be taking my leave now. Arent you curious why I came here? Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at Hidden Soul. I might have been curious before, but is there even a need to wonder after seeing all of the actions you have taken here? In a nonchalant tone, Hidden Soul said, You are neither here to grind nor search for treasures. You even asked me to find a safe and spacious area. Other than building a town, I cant think of anything else you would be doing here. Hidden Soul wasnt particularly surprised to learn that Shi Feng was trying to establish a town here. After all, Shi Feng was an Outerworld God-ranked expert. He must possess means beyond the imagination of ordinary powers, so it wouldnt be strange if he could come up with a Guild Town sp shortly after the Miniature Ancient World opened. However, in response to Hidden Souls words, Shi Feng shook his head and smiled, saying, Youre only half correct. Chapter 3021 - Chapter 95 Chapter 95 C Abyssal Star Ancient City TL Notes: Town Rune Crystal -> Settlement Rune Crystal Half? Hidden Soul was a little surprised. I indeed plan to set up a settlement here, but other than a settlement, I also plan on establishing an outer mercenary organization for Zero Wing, Shi Feng said. Meanwhile, I plan on putting you in charge of this mercenary organization. There were all sorts of player forces in Gods Domain. Other than the mainstream forces like Guilds, adventurer teams, trading firms, and assassin organizations, there were also other forces such as mercenary organizations. In the case of mercenary organizations, they catered to independent experts that disliked being bound by restrictions, offering them tasks in exchange for Credits or resources in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, there were many uses for a Guild to establish a mercenary organization. Among them, the biggest use was to recruit a large number of independent experts for the Guilds use. Currently, although Zero Wing already possessed a good foundation, it was still too weak compared to the various long-standing powers in Gods Domain. It simply lacked the strength to protect its interests in Gods Domain. The best example would be the Ancient Demon Court. Had it not been for Shi Fengs strength acting as a deterrence and the Ancient Demon Courts unique characteristics, Zero Wing couldnt have retained ownership over it at all. Meanwhile, with Zero Wings current members, there was no way it would have enough strength to defend a Guild City. It was especially true if the various superpowers set their sights on it. Shi Feng still didnt possess the strength to go up against multiple superpowers simultaneously. Hence, the best solution was for Zero Wing to establish a mercenary organization based in Zero Wings settlement and quickly recruit the help of a large number of independent experts to assist the Guild. By doing so, Zero Wing could ensure its settlements security while acquiring a large amount of Coins and resources. Meanwhile, who better to lead such an organization than Hidden Soul? As a former commander in the Flower of Seven Sins, she was undoubtedly acquainted with many peak and apex independent experts. She would have no trouble attracting these independent experts to work for Zero Wing. I refuse. Hidden Soul shook her head, flatly refusing Shi Fengs offer. My goal is only that Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. I am not interested in anything else. Hidden Soul naturally understood Shi Fengs intentions. He was most likely trying to use her as a cover against the various superpowers while he manipulated the situation in the dark. Shed be a fool if she agreed to his request. Dont be so quick to refuse, Shi Feng said, smiling. I know this job comes with a lot of risks, but with high risks comes high rewards. If you can take on this job and safeguard Zero Wings settlement, I can give you a copy of the Mana Technique for free. Moreover, dont you want to see what kind of settlement Ill be establishing? Hidden Soul was a little tempted when she heard Shi Fengs offer. However, she quickly shook her head after thinking it over. Shed be insane to go against the various superpowers for nothing more than a settlement. However, before Hidden Soul could open her mouth to voice her refusal, Shi Feng took out the Settlement Rune Crystal from his bag and recited the incantation engraved on it. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng started reciting the incantation, an intense pillar of light suddenly emerged from the ground around Shi Feng and shot straight up into the sky. This Mana How is this possible?! Hidden Soul was dumbfounded when she saw the light pillar that enveloped Shi Feng. This was because she could sense that the thing before her wasnt a light pillar at all. Instead, it was a pillar of Mana so pure and intense that it was already comparable to the Mana of Tier 6 Gods. Meanwhile, after this pillar of Mana extended a thousand meters into the air, it began spreading apart to form a magic array that covered nearly half of the entire Misty Canyon. Then, once this gigantic magic array had finished forming, an ancient and majestic settlement gradually emerged from it and descended on the forest Shi Feng designated. When the settlement had flattened the forest and settled on the ground, Shi Feng promptly received a series of system notifications. System: Congratulations! You have successfully summoned the Abyssal Star Ancient City, one of the Nine Ancient Legacy Cities of the Second Sequence, and became the ancient citys governor. System: The Abyssal Star Ancient City will receive full protection for ten natural days. Please construct the citys defenses during the protection period. System: The Abyssal Star Ancient City will be fully opened after ten natural days. All cities in the surrounding region will be notified at that time. Is this the true foundation of an Ancient Demon Court found in the Miniature Ancient World? Shi Feng couldnt help but feel complicated when he read the system notifications. He didnt know whether he should laugh or cry about this situation. One of the Nine Ancient Legacy Cities of the Second Sequence I wont be able to maintain a low profile even if I want to now The Ancient Demon Courts were the Civilization Legacies left behind by the Ancient Demon Gods. Among the Legacies found in Ancient Demon Courts, the best Legacies would undoubtedly be the settlements the Ancient Demon Gods constructed. Meanwhile, these ancient settlements could be categorized into three groups: the Three Holy Cities of the First Sequence, the Nine Ancient Legacy Cities of the Second Sequence, and the One Hundred Towns of the Third Sequence. Although there was a significant disparity between the three groups, even the towns in the Third Sequence were incredibly powerful. Given enough time, a small Guild could easily grow into a superpower with the help of a Third Sequence Town. This was also why Shi Feng was confident he could persuade Hidden Soul to help him. These Legacy Settlements functioned specifically to nurture players. Meanwhile, even Tier 6 God-ranked experts could receive some harvest from a Third Sequence Town, let alone players who hadnt reached Tier 6. However, Shi Feng never imagined that the Settlement Rune Crystal he acquired would yield such an amazing result. He couldnt believe he had summoned the Abyssal Star Ancient City, one of the Nine Ancient Legacy Cities, just by spending 200,000 Magic Crystals It should be known that during his previous life, even with the almighty Zero Wing supporting him, he had relied heavily on luck to summon an ancient city. Meanwhile, thanks to this ancient city, Zero Wing was able to solidify its foundation and establish a foothold in the Greater Gods Domain. In contrast, the current Zero Wing had already gained an ancient city despite being a newly-established Guild. If the Greater Gods Domains various powers were to learn of this, they would probably mobilize the entirety of their respective worlds power to steal this city Compared to Shi Feng, Hidden Soul had a much greater reaction when she saw the majestic city that had replaced the forest before her. With her eyes filled with shock and confusion, she yelled, An ancient city?! Originally, she thought that Shi Feng was merely building a new town. She never expected Shi Feng to summon a city, much less an ancient city. As a former commander of the Flower of Seven Sins, Hidden Soul was no stranger to ancient cities. This was because the Flower of Seven Sins also owned several ancient cities. Meanwhile, every ancient city was a treasure trove left behind by an ancient civilization, and it could provide immense help to both individuals and organizations. Itd be more appropriate to call this a primordial city than an ancient city, Shi Feng said as he looked at Hidden Souls dazed expression. Then, he smiled and said, Lets go in and take a look. After saying so, Shi Feng began walking toward the Abyssal Star Ancient City. Meanwhile, Hidden Soul didnt hesitate for long before she followed after him. TL Notes: I mentioned it in a previous chapter, but I will be using settlement as a general term for towns and cities. When I use settlement, I could be referring to towns, cities, or both. Chapter 3022 - Chapter 96 Chapter 96 C Holy Land The Abyssal Star Ancient City wasnt very large, its size was only that of an Advanced Town. Unlike an Advanced Town, though, the ancient city was surrounded by a circle of tall walls. The moment Shi Feng and Hidden Soul stepped into the city, they could instantly feel the mysterious energy in their bodies disappearing rapidly. The speed at which the mysterious energy dissipated here was more than double what they experienced when resting in the hotels of NPC Cities. How amazing. The core magic array still isnt in operation, yet not only does it have Mana concentration rivaling NPC Cities, but it also has such a powerful cleansing effect. Is this the power of a primordial city? Hidden Soul exclaimed when she noticed the changes to her body after entering a city. There was a huge difference between a city with its core magic array activated and a city with its core magic array deactivated. Meanwhile, this was the first time she had seen a city with such powerful effects even with its core magic array deactivated. Unlike Hidden Soul, Shi Feng took this situation calmly. As one of the nine ancient cities built by the Ancient Demon Gods, the functions Hidden Soul had stated were nothing but the tip of the iceberg. This was because every Ancient Legacy City of the Second Sequence would already possess environments rivaling the holy lands in Gods Domain in its initial stage. Sometime later, Shi Feng arrived at the heart of Abyssal Star City with Hidden Soul. Situated at the citys heart was an ancient tower that extended up to 500 meters into the air. Meanwhile, situated at the top of the tower was a dazzling rune, the rune acting like a lamp that illuminated the entire city. However, this ancient tower wasnt just a simple lighthouse. Instead, the stronghold held the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys secrets. Of the nine Ancient Legacy Cities the Ancient Demon Gods left behind, every one of them possessed a different ability. As an example, the Legacy stored within the ancient city Zero Wing obtained during Shi Fengs previous life was related to Concentration, and it could help players improve their Concentration rapidly. Thanks to this Legacy, the number of Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts Zero Wing possessed far surpassed that of other Guilds. Meanwhile, shortly after Shi Feng and Hidden Soul walked into the ancient tower, they were quickly dumbfounded by what they found. When they entered the towers first floor, the first thing that greeted them was a row of tightly shut stone doors, and every one of these doors had strange symbols engraved on them. Then, after opening a few of these doors, they found that beyond each of these stone doors was a miniature world. Indeed! A miniature world! Every one of these miniature worlds had a unique environment. Or, more specifically, players could freely set the environment they desired in these rooms. They could set the room to become a world filled with only a specific type of Mana. They could also set it so that the Mana was excited or calm. One could say that these rooms were the ideal training ground for players to improve their control over Mana! Incredible The Legacy in this city is truly terrifying. Shi Feng was shocked beyond words as he looked at the many stone doors on the towers first floor. The Mana in Gods Domain was a composite of various types of Mana. It didnt consist of just one specific type of Mana. However, when players used Skills and Spells, they would often use only one specific type of Mana. Meanwhile, depending on how much Mana of that specific type they managed to accumulate, the speed of their spellcasting and the power of their Spells would be completely different. If players stood in an environment that possessed only one type of Mana, the ambient Mana would greatly help them if they were to use Skills or Spells of the same type. It was especially true when it came to mastering the operating principles of that specific Mana type. It should be known that after reaching Tier 5, players would need to understand the operating principles of the various types of Mana in order to construct their Divine Body and reach Tier 6. However, the process of learning these operating principles was incredibly challenging since players couldnt typically see or touch Mana. They could only rely on their other senses to perceive it. The fact that ambient Mana was a composite of various Mana types made things even more challenging. However, the miniature worlds here provided the solution to this problem. By allowing players to filter the ambient Mana around them to just one specific type, these miniature worlds could reduce the difficulty players faced in understanding Mana by more than tenfold. After calming his excited heart, Shi Feng couldnt help but turn toward Hidden Soul, who was still in a daze. Then, he smiled and asked, Now that youve seen this citys abilities, what do you think of my proposal? Are you sure you want to put me in charge of this city? Hidden Soul asked after snapping out of her daze. Shed be lying if she said she wasnt interested in the Abyssal Star Ancient City. To be precise, no player wouldnt be interested in this city. What was her goal in obtaining the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique? Wasnt it so that she could better understand and control Mana? Meanwhile, the Abyssal Star Ancient City provided an unbelievable training environment to improve her learning efficiency by more than tenfold. How could she possibly refuse the chance to make use of this training environment? Since I am having you establish a mercenary organization with this city as its base, I will naturally leave this citys responsibility with you, Shi Feng said, nodding without hesitation. Had he summoned only a Third Sequence Town, he might have had a way of letting Zero Wing defend it. However, a Second Sequence City was no longer something the current Zero Wing could defend. After all, the existence of this city would be revealed to the entire Miniature Ancient World in ten days. The only solution Shi Feng could think of to retain ownership over the city was having Hidden Soul step forward as its governor. After all, the Flower of Seven Sins was an existence no weaker than the Five Great Super Guilds. Of course, Shi Feng also had other solutions to defend the Abyssal Star Ancient City if need be. However, not only would there be no benefits for him in doing so, but revealing these methods would also attract a bunch of trouble to him. Ill say it upfront. If all you want me to do is form a mercenary alliance to guard the Abyssal Star Ancient City, it wont be difficult to do so. I can even contact a group of powerful experts to help us right now, Hidden Soul said after pondering for some time. But the real problem is those superpowers. If they learn of the benefits of this city, they might dispatch Tier 6 God-ranked experts here. In my current state, there is nothing I can do against them. Previously, she had refused Shi Fengs offer because she thought that Shi Feng was merely establishing a Guild Town. If that were the case, the mercenary alliance she established wouldnt attract many independent experts to join. It was especially true for the independent experts she was acquainted with. Every one of them was incredibly prideful, and they showed no interest whatsoever even when the various Super Guilds offered them an advisory position in their respective Guilds. There was no way they would help defend a measly Guild Town just for some meager leveling resources. However, it was a different story if the target of defense was the Abyssal Star Ancient City. With what the city had to offer, she was confident she could persuade her acquaintances to join her. She could even use this chance to reclaim her position in the Flower of Seven Sins. Unfortunately, with the standards of her and her acquaintances, there was nothing they could do if the various superpowers decided to dispatch Tier 6 God-ranked experts. It was especially so when they might have to face more than one Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Dont worry about that. Ill step forward if God-ranked experts come, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Chapter 3023 - Chapter 97 Chapter 97 C Arrival of New Era If you can hold back those God-ranked experts, there shouldnt be any problems on my side, Hidden Soul said, nodding. I wont even need ten days to get the mercenary alliance up and running. Also, my suggestion is that we grade the alliances members based on contribution. For now, the ranks I have in mind are Bronze, Silver, and Gold, and we will use these ranks to determine how long each member can spend inside these miniature worlds. There were a hundred stone doors on the ancient towers first floor, which translated to one hundred miniature worlds. That was by no means a large number. Moreover, although the ancient tower had two more floors, the second and third floors would only open when the city was promoted to a higher rank. Hence, there was no way to increase the number of miniature worlds inside the ancient tower within a short period. However, considering they would be using these miniature worlds to advertise Zero Wings mercenary alliance, they needed to make it possible for as many people to experience the effects of these miniature worlds as possible. Otherwise, the number of players joining the mercenary alliance would decrease drastically. Meanwhile, the best way to do so was by limiting the amount of time each player could spend inside these miniature worlds. No problem. Shi Feng nodded in agreement. But in addition to making contributions, members must also pay a fee to use the miniature worlds. Bronze members will have to pay 200 Magic Crystals per hour, Silver members will get a 10% discount, and Gold members will get a 20% discount. The Abyssal Star Ancient City might be powerful, the miniature worlds cost a lot to operate. Each miniature world consumed 100 Magic Crystals per hour when in operation. If converted to Coins, that would be nearly 50 Gold Coins per hour. If Zero Wing tried to subsidize this cost, the Guild would go bankrupt in less than a day. My thoughts are similar. Ill get the citys management details sorted and send them to you afterward, Hidden Soul said, having no objections about Shi Fengs pricing. In her opinion, there wouldnt be a problem even if they charged 500 Magic Crystals per hour to use the miniature worlds, let alone 200 Magic Crystals. After all, it was incredibly challenging to grasp the operating principles of Mana under normal circumstances. If her acquaintances were to find out that there was a way to reduce that difficulty by more than tenfold, they would probably beg her to let them stay in the miniature worlds for as long as possible. Afterward, Shi Feng passed a portion of the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys authority to Hidden Soul and 100,000 Magic Crystals for backup. Then, after making sure that everything was okay, he chose to go offline to rest. As for the remaining matters relating to the city, he left all decision-making to Hidden Soul. It was without a doubt the best solution. After all, even he wasnt a match for Hidden Soul when it came to managing a mercenary organization. Then, once Hidden Soul had stabilized the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys operations, all he needed to do was have Zero Wing secretly garrison the city. Jin Hai City: When Shi Feng logged out of Gods Domain, the morning sun was already shining into his bedroom on the second floor. Normally, even if he had spent the entire night awake in Gods Domain, he should wake up in a refreshed state. Now, though looked incredibly exhausted as he climbed out of his virtual gaming cabin. Sure enough, the cabins Nutrient Solution isnt enough to supplement the improvements I made this time. When Shi Feng saw that the gaming cabins Nutrient Solution tank was already empty, he quickly retrieved a bottle of A-rank Nutrient Fluid from the fridge. Then, as soon as he drank it, he could feel his exhausted mind recovering significantly. Most people might be treating Gods Domain as merely a virtual reality game, but Shi Feng was fully aware that Gods Domain wasnt just a simple game. Instead, it was also a ladder of evolution. While playing Gods Domain, players would receive gradual improvements to their brains. Then, their bodies would also start to improve to keep up with their brains increased activity. However, these improvements came at the cost of a huge amount of energy. If players couldnt replenish the consumed energy in time, they might even end up burning their life energy. Of course, ordinary Tier 3 players would probably never face a situation where they would burn their life energy. This was because this was a situation that would only occur when the brain had managed to surpass the limits of its mental capacity. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng recovered from exhaustion, he clenched his fists and smiled. Although I exhausted myself by using Lightshadow many times, I made a lot of improvements as a result. My physical fitness is probably on par with top-tier athletes now. At this rate, Ill only need to train in the Body Strengthening Technique for a few more days to reach the half-step master standard. Although the half-step master standard was nowhere near the master standard, so long as he had the physical fitness of a half-step master, he wouldnt have to worry about facing hidden threats. He could even join the Gods Domain Alliance and become an official member. The Gods Domain Alliance would, at most, provide basic support when it came to players who didnt qualify to become an official member. However, it was completely different once someone became an official member. So long as someone managed to become an official member of the Gods Domain Alliance, even the various corporations wouldnt dare to take any actions toward this person in the real world. Not on the surface, at least. Otherwise, it would be a direct provocation to the Gods Domain Alliance, which was something not even international corporations could afford to do. Because of this, powerful experts who had offended the various superpowers would never be afraid of suffering retaliation in the real world. They simply had to figure out how they could survive in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng executed two repetitions of the Body Strengthening Technique, he washed up and got ready to head to the Gods Domain Academy. However, just as he was about to leave his home, the doorbell suddenly rang. Upon checking the front doors security camera through his watch, Shi Feng saw a middle-aged man and a young woman standing outside his house. To his surprise, his visitors were Qi Lianshan and Chen Ziyou. Instructor Qi? Arent we about to head to the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters? Why did you suddenly come to my place? Shi Feng asked, feeling a little surprised and confused as he looked at Qi Lianshan and Chen Ziyou. Today was a big day for Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy. After all, the visit to the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters was essentially a free training session for the Academys students and instructors. Meanwhile, the opportunity to train at a transcendental power didnt come by easily. It is because of this that I hurried here to find you, Instructor Shi, Qi Lianshan said with a bitter smile. Did something happen? Shi Feng asked curiously. The problem lies with me. After taking a look at Chen Ziyou, Qi Lianshan gritted his teeth and continued, I hope that you can become Ziyous instructor, Instructor Shi. Me? Become her instructor? Shi Feng couldnt help but look at Chen Ziyou, who currently had her head lowered in silence. Chen Ziyou was Instructor Qis prized pupil. Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that Qi Lianshan would take the initiative to give Chen Ziyou to him. After all, it should be known that apprentice-teacher relationships were given great importance in the current Gods Domain. Otherwise, there wouldnt have been so many students trying to fight for Wu Lingling. Thats right. Qi Lianshan nodded. Then, he said, I wouldnt have wanted to do this, either, if I wasnt left with no better choice. However, Ziyou can successfully get into Gods Domains Talent Camp, this will all be worth it! Gods Domains Talent Camp? Shi Feng couldnt help but be confused. He had no idea what Qi Lianshan was talking about at all. This is a secret I found out only recently. Withholding no information, Qi Lianshan explained, The visit to the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters today isnt just a simple tour or training camp. In reality, it is a selection meeting for all Gods Domain Academies in the world. It isnt just the Secret Pavilion that is involved. Many Super Guilds are also holding tours today as a front for this selection meeting. Meanwhile, the organizer for this meeting is the Gods Domain Alliance. It seems that the Gods Domain Alliance is planning to go all-out and nurture a group of geniuses to combat the World Passages opening. However, as most fourth-year students have already signed contracts with the various powers, the selection meeting this time is mainly targeted toward third-year students. Chapter 3024 - Chapter 98 Chapter 98 C True Transcendental Power The Gods Domain Alliance is going all-out to nurture geniuses? Shi Feng was very surprised to hear this news. The War of Worlds was no secret to him. Although there also existed an organization similar to the Gods Domain Alliance during his previous life, this organization had only started nurturing talents of the new generation after the World Gate had fully opened. Meanwhile, once the World Gate was fully opened, there wouldnt be just one World Passage connecting the two Gods Domains. Instead, countless passages would randomly form, allowing the two Gods Domains to compete and devour each other. However, as Tier 6 God-ranked experts were needed to safeguard key locations, the main fighting force of the two Gods Domains in the War of Worlds would consist of Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts. Originally, Shi Feng thought it would be much later before the Gods Domain Alliance realized the need to nurture the new generations talents. He didnt think the organization would notice it already. This is indeed outside of everyones expectations, Qi Lianshan said, expressing his understanding when he saw the look of surprise on Shi Fengs face. But I can confidently tell you that this information is true. Originally, the Gods Domain Alliance was merely a loose organization focused on hosting events in the real world. While it might be considered the biggest force in Gods Domain, it had hardly any territory in the game. So, nobody couldve expected that the Gods Domain Alliance would suddenly decide to nurture geniuses unaffiliated to it and spare no cost while doing so. But what does this have to do with Ziyou becoming my apprentice? Shi Feng asked as he looked at Qi Lianshan in confusion. According to my sources, the selection this time requires students to be at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard at the very least. In addition, their instructors must be at the Flowing Water Realm or above. If a student cant meet these two conditions, they wont even qualify to participate in the selection, Qi Lianshan said, sighing. We wouldnt have had to take such measures if I were still in my prime, but Im afraid you are the only person who is in such a realm in our Academy right now, Instructor Shi. It seems the Gods Domain Alliance has put a lot of considerations into this, Shi Feng said, realization dawning upon him. The Gods Domain Alliance indeed had access to an unimaginable amount of resources. However, players couldnt become powerful experts simply by having a lot of resources. They also needed capable teachers to offer them pointers. If a player had a Flowing Water Ream expert by their side constantly offering them guidance, they could improve their combat standards much more quickly. Moreover, Flowing Water Realm experts were Tier 4 players on average, with some even being Tier 5 players. So, they could help their students level up very quickly as well. In other words, while the Gods Domain Alliance might be willing to offer students with resources, students would need to have their instructors resolve the problem of leveling up and improving their combat standards. I know you are very busy teaching Wu Lingling and the others, and you probably dont have a lot of free time to participate in the selection, Instructor Shi. Gritting his teeth, Qi Lianshan said, But so long as you agree to participate in the selection this time, I will give you a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid afterward. S-rank Nutrient Fluids were incredibly precious to expert players. Even though Qi Lianshan was a senior instructor at Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain Academy, it had taken him great pains to exchange even one bottle. Originally, he had planned to use this bottle to recover his mental state. However, compared to Chen Ziyous future, the recovery of his mental state could wait. A bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid? After pondering for some time, Shi Feng said, Okay, I can agree to your offer, but Im not taking responsibility for Ziyous subsequent leveling up. Shi Feng was currently an intermediate instructor already. Although he had the qualifications to exchange for S-rank Nutrient Fluids, it would take him a long time to accumulate one million Academy Points. Most importantly, there was an exchange limit put on S-rank Nutrient Fluids. If he recalled correctly, intermediate instructors were only allowed to exchange one bottle a year. However, one bottle was nowhere near enough for him. After all, he was no longer young. He would need a lot of energy to recover his lifeforce, repair his bodys damaged cells, and improve his physical fitness. You dont have to worry about this point, Instructor Shi. All you need to do is pass the selections test, Qi Lianshan said, feeling a little excited when he heard Shi Fengs answer. Then, he quickly tapped on his quantum watch and transferred Chen Ziyous instructor position to Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Shi Feng promptly clicked Agree when he received the transfer prompt on his watch. With this, he became Chen Ziyous instructor on paper. After settling this matter, Qi Lianshan quickly led Shi Feng to his luxury sedan and drove him and Chen Ziyou to Jin Hai University to meet up with the other students and instructors. Liufeng City, Secret Pavilions branch headquarterS: As a first-tier city, Liufeng Citys population exceeded ten million. Meanwhile, the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters sat in the heart of the city, the headquarters two towers having over two hundred floors and occupying an area of two sports stadiums. The twin towers were more than capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people to work and train inside. How spectacular! So, this is one of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters? As expected of a transcendental power in Gods Domain. Just one of its branch headquarters already looks so amazing! It would be great if I could become an internal member of the Secret Pavilion. Quick, look! The Secret Pavilions recruits are training over there! Its true! The instructor teaching them seems to be Rainbow Chaser, one of the Secret Pavilions newly promoted Tier 5 experts! When Jin Hai Universitys students looked out the windows of their bus and saw the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters, they couldnt help but marvel at the sight before them. The state of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters was on an entirely different level even when compared to the main headquarters of first-rate Guilds. Just the instructor responsible for guiding the recruits at the branch headquarters was already a Tier 5 expert. This was a luxury no first-rate Guild could afford for a branch headquarters. Moreover, the one thousand recruits training on the field between the two towers were incredibly talented. Even though these recruits looked like they were only 14 or 15 years old, even the weakest among them was already at the Trial Towers fifth-floor middle-stage standard. If put in Jin Hai University, theyd be regarded as geniuses among geniuses. Yet, in the Secret Pavilion, these geniuses were nothing more than ordinary recruits, a fact proven by the emblems they wore on their shirts. Before becoming official internal members, the Secret Pavilions recruits would only receive a one-star light-blue emblem. Only after becoming an official internal member would they receive a two-star dark-blue emblem. While Jin Hai Universitys students were in shock over the sight they just saw, a long line of buses started arriving at the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters one after another, their numbers exceeding 80. This meant that at least 80 Gods Domain Academies had come to participate in the Secret Pavilions tour this time. This number far exceeded their initial expectations. Moreover, out of these buses, there were even some that transported students from Advanced Gods Domain Academies. Whats going on? Why are students from Advanced Academies here as well? Gu Tong couldnt help but be shocked when he looked at the students alighting from the various Advanced Gods Domain Academies buses. Advanced Gods Domain Academies! To most students seeking to make a living from Gods Domain, Advanced Gods Domain Academies were schools they dreamed of entering. Unlike the average Gods Domain Academy, Advanced Gods Domain Academies were true high-level education centers with several major corporations backing them. Some even had the support of international organizations. Meanwhile, with such ample funding, the instructors these Advanced Academies could recruit were also much superior in quality, with even the weakest instructor in these Academies being a Refinement Realm expert. Participants of Gods Domains A-League would also hold lectures in these Academies from time to time. However, as with the quality of their instructors, these Advanced Academies also had a high entry requirement. If students wished to even participate in the enrollment test of these Advanced Academies, theyd need to be at the fifth-floor middle-stage standard, which was the official standard of ordinary experts, at the very least. What is the Secret Pavilion even thinking? I cant believe they invited a bunch of nobodies to the tour. Thats right! The Secret Pavilion even wants us to spar with them! How are we supposed to improve by sparring with these country bumpkins? I think we might even regress if we fought them! When a group of freshmen alighted from an Advanced Academys bus and saw the freshmen of the other Academies around them, a look of disdain appeared on their faces. Meanwhile, the students from the other Academies naturally grew angry when they heard the words of this group of students. However, none of them dared to say anything since the other party consisted of experts at the Trial Towers fifth-floor late-stage or above. These students were not people they could compete against. Most importantly, the instructors following these students were not existences they could afford to offend since every one of them was a Flowing Water Realm expert. These experts were either Elders of first-rate Guilds or vice commanders of adventurer teams Meanwhile, after Jin Hai Universitys bus found a parking spot, Lin Yaoyue, the leader of the group, said, Lets get off the bus as well. Chapter 3025 - Chapter 99 Chapter 99 C Extraordinary Realm When Lin Yaoyue alighted from the bus, the many students and instructors gathered on the field couldnt help but turn to look at her. Wow! What a pretty lady! Shes Clear Sky, one of Mysterious Moons top two talents! Jin Hai Universitys development is getting better and better. Previously, it was Wu Xiaoxiao. Now, I hear that even the geniuses of first-rate Guilds are enrolling there. I heard that another genius of Wu Xiaoxiaos caliber has appeared in Jin Hai University. I believe it is Wu Xiaoxiaos little sister, Wu Lingling. She reached the fifth floors middle stage during her enrollment test. With Jin Hai Universitys current state, its Academy might rank within the top four of the province this year. Many of the students and instructors on the field couldnt help but grow envious as they watched Jin Hai Universitys students getting off their bus. Getting on the provincial ranking list was of great importance even to Advanced Gods Domain Academies, let alone ordinary Gods Domain Academies. By getting on the provincial ranking list, not only could an Academy attract more investments from corporations, but it could also recruit better quality students in the coming year. This, in turn, would create a positive cycle that would elevate the Academys status. Meanwhile, the elevation of an Academys status was beneficial to both students and instructors. Not only would their status in the world increase, but the resources they received would also increase. An Academys status was especially important now that the various corporations were placing significant importance on the Miniature Ancient World. Their thirst for talents and the prices they were offering had already reached unprecedented levels. However, while those from ordinary Academies talked about Jin Hai University in admiration, those from Advanced Academies also took notice of Jin Hai Universitys students and instructors. Specifically, a 20-year-old woman with long brown hair and a curvaceous body looked toward Wu Lingling and said, Wu Xiaoxiaos little sister? It seems the freshman competition this time is going to be interesting. Arent you overestimating Wu Lingling, Big Sis? a 17-year-old boy with messy hair and a sleepy face said, sneering as he looked at Wu Lingling as well. Wu Xiaoxiao might be able to call herself your opponent, but Wu Linglings enrollment score is nothing special. The fifth-floor middle-stage standard might be extraordinary in ordinary Academies, but that is just the average in our Tianxing University. Not even those at the fifth-floor late-stage can rank within the top 20, let alone the fifth-floor middle-stage. The dozen or so boys and girls standing around the lazy-looking youth nodded in agreement. As an Advanced Academy, Tianxing Universitys Gods Domain Academy required all applicants to reach the Trial Towers fifth-floor middle-stage at the very least. Meanwhile, those qualified to participate in the Secret Pavilions tour this time were either at the sixth floors early-stage or those close to reaching it. Hence, in their eyes, Wu Linglings enrollment score was nothing noteworthy. Dont be careless, Xuanyi. Other than the freshmen from the various Academies, the Secret Pavilions freshmen will also participate in the freshman competition this time. Those people are true geniuses. If you wish to receive priority training from the Secret Pavilion, youll need to rank within the top 10 at the very least, the brown-haired woman said as she turned to look at the several dozen Secret Pavilion members walking toward the field. Dont worry, Big Sis. Arent you aware of my strength? I can even get into the top 5 without any trouble, let alone the top 10, the young man named Liu Xuanyi said confidently. None of the other students from Tianxing University voiced any objections when they heard Liu Xuanyis arrogant words. This was because Liu Xuanyi was a true genius at Tianxing University, his talent surpassing even his elder sister, Liu Yanya. Meanwhile, Liu Yanya was one of the top two geniuses of their Advanced Academy. When Liu Xuanyi enrolled in Tianxing Universitys Gods Domain Academy, he was already at the sixth-floor middle-stage standard. After receiving guidance from the Academys instructors, his strength had skyrocketed. Thus, he wouldnt have any trouble going up against the Secret Pavilions top-tier geniuses. While Liu Xuanyi and the others were talking, the Secret Pavilions members had arrived at the center of the field. Standing in the lead of these several dozen people was a woman in sportswear looking to be in her early twenties. Meanwhile, the moment everyone looked at this woman, silence instantly enveloped the entire field as excitement and confusion filled everyone. Its Empress Purple Jade! Whats going on? The Empress is actually hosting this tour?! At this moment, even the instructors of the various Academies were surprised to see the woman in sportswear, let alone the students. Empress Purple Jade! She had been one of the Secret Pavilions top three geniuses when Gods Domain first launched. Now, she had even become a Tier 6 Sword God, a legendary existence whom everybody in Gods Domain knew. Normally, one would have a better chance at winning the lottery than meeting Purple Jade in person. Yet, now, Purple Jade had actually appeared in one of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. Moreover, by the looks of it, she would be acting as the host for the tour this time. So, how could everyone not be shocked by this situation? Instructor Shi! My eyes arent playing tricks on me, right?! Its actually Empress Purple Jade! Wu Lingling exclaimed, her eyes filled with an indescribable sense of reverence as she looked at Purple Jade. Shes so beautiful! She also looks much younger than in her combat videos! Shes at the Extraordinary Realm already? Shi Feng was also surprised when he saw Purple Jade. Shi Feng was no stranger to Purple Jade. After all, he had partnered with the Secret Pavilion on many occasions during his previous life. However, unlike in his previous life, the Purple Jade in this life was completely different. Although she had similarly become a Tier 6 Sword God, she looked ridiculously young in this life. It should be known that Purple Jade was only slightly younger than him. Yet, now, she looked no different than a 20-year-old. She even gave off an otherworldly feeling, and it felt like she was no longer mortal Meanwhile, the only explanation he could come up with for this situation was that Purple Jades life rating had already reached the Extraordinary Realm. Meanwhile, the Extraordinary Realm was also known as the great grandmaster realm, and this was an evolution he had expended great effort to achieve. Moreover, this happened after he gained access to the Greater Gods Domain and acquired many fortuitous opportunities. Yet, now, Purple Jade had already reached this realm even before their current sub-world had gained access to the Greater Gods Domain. Her talent was truly terrifying! However, in response to everyones shock and confusion, Purple Jade simply scanned the crowd before her indifferently and said, Welcome to the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. I will be your host for todays tour. TL Notes: [1]life rating: This is unrelated to the Life Rating in Gods Domain. I couldnt think of a better term to use here. Ill be differentiating the two by capitalization. Lowercase(life rating) = real world Uppercase(Life Rating) = Gods Domain [2]great grandmaster realm: Im assuming this refers to the realm above mental strength grandmaster. Chapter 3026 - Chapter 100 Chapter 100 C Leaving Everyone in the Dust After Purple Jade briefed everyone about the upcoming tour, she let the elite members behind her show their guests around the headquarters. Meanwhile, when the various Academies students and instructors got to see and try out the top-tier training facilities available in the headquarters, they couldnt help but be awed and drool in envy. According to what they experienced, they could tell that these training facilities could help an ordinary expert become a Refinement Realm expert in just two or three years. The efficiency of these facilities was beyond anything their Academies had access to. After touring the headquarters for several hours, the Secret Pavilions elite members led everyone to the underground training field to begin todays main event. The freshman competition! The underground training field was much larger than the area the two headquarter buildings occupied on the surface, and it could easily fit four full-sized stadiums. With such a huge area, over ten thousand people could train here simultaneously. Currently, though, there were only a little over a thousand people gathered here, so the field looked empty. The freshman competition this time is going to be slightly different. We wont be holding one-on-one matches. Instead, we will have all participants attempt the Trial Tower, Purple Jade said as she scanned the crowd before her. The Secret Pavilion will award the top ten participants of each Academy with one bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid, and those who rank within the top ten of the overall ranking list will receive an additional three bottles. In addition, those who manage to rank within the top five overall will also get to join the Secret Pavilions genius training program. As soon as Purple Jade finished speaking, the freshmen of the various Academies immediately grew excited. None of them thought that the Secret Pavilion would be so generous. Not only did they have an opportunity to acquire S-rank Nutrient Fluids to strengthen their bodies, but they even had a chance at becoming one of the Secret Pavilions internal members and receiving the training of one. I must get into the top ten! When Gu Tong heard Purple Jades words, he couldnt help but look at Wu Lingling with eyes burning with fighting spirit. Just you wait! Ill make you understand whos the true number one genius in Jin Hai Academy! Top five in the overall rankings? Im getting in for sure! Over at Tianxing Academys group, fighting spirit similarly filled Liu Xuanyi after he heard Purple Jades words. The top five will get to join the Secret Pavilions genius training program? When Chen Ziyou watched as the various Academies freshmen climbed into the prepared virtual gaming cabins one after another, a look of envy appeared on her face. As a transcendental power in Gods Domain, the Secret Pavilion was in no way inferior to the Five Great Super Guilds. Even a genius like Wu Xiaoxiao did not have the qualifications to join the Secret Pavilion and receive priority training. Yet, now, the Secret Pavilion had loosened its requirements and allowed the various Academies freshmen to fight for a spot in its training program. It was a much more extravagant reward than when she participated in the Secret Pavilions tour. Theres no point in envying the opportunities of others, Ziyou, Qi Lianshan said when he noticed the envy on Chen Ziyous face. What you need to do now is figure out how you can pass the Gods Domain Associations selection. So long as you pass the selection, the training and resources youll receive from the Association will not be inferior to what the Secret Pavilion can offer in any way. I understand. Chen Ziyou nodded, the fighting spirit in her eyes flaring up. Although she couldnt receive training from the Secret Pavilion, the Gods Domain Associations training was equally good. I wonder how many of our Academies students will get into the top five of the overall rankings? Hard to say. I heard that the Secret Pavilion has many monstrously talented recruits this year. The only students I can think of who have a chance of getting in would be Tianxing Academys Liu Xuanyi and Liufeng Academys Xia Cheng. Indeed. Liu Xuanyi is the apprentice of Soaring Snake, the leader of Ouroboross Twelve Apostles. I heard that he has already learned two-thirds of Soaring Snakes skills. Liufeng Universitys Xia Cheng isnt any worse, either. I heard that Liufeng Universitys dean is teaching her personally and that she has already mastered an Advanced Combat Technique. I heard that Jin Hai Academy also has a shining star this year. I believe her name is Wu Lingling, and she is that Wu Xiaoxiaos younger sister. According to my sources, Wu Lingling is even more talented than Wu Xiaoxiao, and she has achieved rapid improvements after entering the Academy, so she should have a chance as well. Impossible. Wu Linglings teacher is incredibly weak. I heard that he used to be the Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild, but he ended up getting fired. There is no way the resources he has can compare to Liu Xuanyis and Xia Chengs instructors. Indeed. I heard about Wu Linglings situation as well. If she could find a good instructor, she might have stood a chance against those two little monsters and could have competed for the top five positions. While watching the freshmen getting into the virtual gaming cabins, the instructors from the various Academies discussed who could enter the overall rankings top five. Although the Secret Pavilions freshman competition wasnt an accurate representation of the overall strength of Gods Domains latest generation of players, those who could rank among the top of the overall rankings could still be regarded as one of the top talents in the country. In a situation where veteran powerhouses were reluctant to enter the Miniature Ancient World, the new generations top talents would undoubtedly become the various powers leaders in the Miniature Ancient World in the future. Meanwhile, when Qi Lianshan and the other instructors from Jin Hai University heard the discussion of the other Academies instructors, they couldnt help but sigh dejectedly. Setting aside Shi Fengs teaching standards, just the resources he could offer to Wu Lingling would already put Wu Lingling in a significantly inferior position compared to the likes of Liu Xuanyi and Xia Chen. Unless Jin Hai Academy could attract the attention of international corporations or Gods Domains various superpowers, there was no way Jin Hai Academys resources could match the various Advanced Academies. Inside the lounge of the underground training field Why didnt you notify me that you would be visiting, Commander Zi Qiong? Also, isnt it only a freshman competition? You didnt have to come in person, a burly middle-aged man in his forties said tentatively as he looked at Purple Jade. I just thought of checking Lei Lis progress. You dont need to mind me, Purple Jade replied in a dull tone. The middle-aged man couldnt help but be rendered speechless when he heard Purple Jades words. Although he knew that Purple Jade had designated the girl named Lei Li as her apprentice, and she even pampered the girl quite a lot, he didnt think Purple Jade would prioritize the girl to such an extent. After all, a Tier 6 Sword God had much more important things to do than spectate a competition. However, he also had to admit that Lei Li was incredibly talented. Despite starting as someone who knew hardly anything about Gods Domain, Lei Li had already become the Secret Pavilions number one rookie after undergoing just two months of training. Moreover, her position as number one was unshakable. After all, in just two short months, Lei Li had gone from being just at the Trial Towers first-floor standard to the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Her talent surpassed even Purple Jade. Most importantly, Lei Li was only 16 this year Lei Li will definitely come in first place. There is simply too big of a gap between herself and the others, the middle-aged man said. If nothing unexpected happens, she should be able to compete against the others in the genius training program after one more month of training. It seems she didnt slack off. Purple Jade nodded in relief. TL Notes: [1]Jin Hai Academy: I will be using X Academy to reference X Universitys Gods Domain Academy from now on to simplify things. Chapter 3027 - Chapter 101 Chapter 101 C Hidden Class Magic Dragon Swordsman TL Notes: 20th-February-2022 Please go back and read Chapter 100. I mistakenly separated the chapters and moved some of Chapter 100s content to Chapter 101. I have already added the missing parts back to Chapter 100. Leili came in second? Whos the person in first place? Did something go wrong with the system? How could there be a freshman stronger than Leili? The Secret Pavilions members were stunned when they saw the results displayed on the scoreboard. None of them could believe this was true. This was Leili they were talking about! Leili was the Secret Pavilions most talented recruit this year, and she was a little monster whom Empress Purple Jade had taken the initiative to recruit as an apprentice. Yet, now, Leili had only come in second place. Wu Lingling? How is this possible?! When Liu Xuanyi exited his gaming cabin and looked at the scoreboard, he couldnt help but doubt his eyes. Didnt they say that she was only at the fifth-floor middle-stage standard during her enrollment?! At this time, Liu Xuanyi wasnt the only one with questions regarding Wu Linglings performance. The various Academies instructors and students were similarly shocked and confused by this outcome. Didnt they say that she only reached the fifth floors middle stage during her enrollment test? Could there be a mistake in the information? A monster! Shes truly a monster! She managed to reach the seventh floors late stage at just 16! Moreover, she did it without the help of any superpower or powerful instructor! What kind of luck does Jin Hai Academy have?! Originally, everyone was already plenty shocked by the performance of the Secret Pavilions recruits. However, Wu Linglings performance brought their shock to unprecedented levels. It was understandable for the Secret Pavilions recruits to be amazing since they had access to resources outside the reach of most people. However, what about Wu Lingling? Not only was she a freshman in an ordinary Gods Domain Academy, but she didnt even have a decent instructor. Yet, she had still managed to reach the Trial Towers seventh-floor late-stage at the young age of 16. The degree of her talent could no longer be described with words alone. Even the various God-ranked experts in Gods Domain were unlikely to be a match for Wu Lingling during their younger days. If Wu Lingling could gain access to excellent resources, there was no doubt that she would become a bigshot in Gods Domain in the future. She might even rank highly among Tier 6 God-ranked experts. At this time, it wasnt just the people from the other Academies that were stunned. Even those from Jin Hai Academy couldnt believe their eyes when they looked at the scoreboard. They also couldnt help but grow ecstatic over this situation. Originally, they thought itd be amazing if Wu Lingling could get within the top twenty of the overall rankings. After all, the resources Wu Lingling had access to were vastly inferior to the geniuses from Advanced Academies. Yet, now, Wu Lingling had secured first place in the freshman competition, instantly becoming an existence that even the Secret Pavilion had to take seriously. Once news of Wu Linglings performance got out, it probably wouldnt be long before Jin Hai Academys name reached the various first-rate Guilds and superpowers of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, once Jin Hai Academy became famous, the various superpowers most likely start to send instructors to join the Academy. They might even invest capital into the Academy. Impossible! I must be dreaming! Hasnt it only been a few days?! How did she become so strong already?! Gu Tongs eyes were filled with confusion as he watched Wu Lingling climbing out of her gaming cabin. He might not have thought much about it if he hadnt known about Wu Linglings standards when she first enrolled in the Academy. However, he had always treated Wu Lingling as his rival, so he had a very clear understanding of Wu Linglings situation. During the Academys freshman tournament, he was certain that the gap between him and Wu Lingling wasnt significant. He had only lost to her because his footwork was inferior. Yet, now? The difference between them was like heaven and earth! This situation simply didnt make sense! It should be known that in the process of climbing to the Trial Towers sixth floor, not only did he have to undergo intensive training from his cousin Gu Yiren, but he had come across a fortuitous opportunity shortly after the freshman tournament ended. Yet, despite having made such significant improvements, not only did the gap between him and Wu Lingling not shrink, but it had grown even wider instead However, unlike Gu Tong and most people in the underground training field, Qi Lianshan and Chen Ziyou did not focus their attention on Wu Lingling after learning her result. Instead, they turned toward Shi Feng. This was because they understood that, contrary to what everyone believed, Wu Lingling didnt achieve her current performance simply because she possessed incredible talent. Instead, a large part of why she managed to achieve her current results was most likely because of Shi Fengs teachings. Did she receive a Legacy? Shi Feng was also a little surprised when he saw the scoreboard. The last time Shi Feng saw Wu Lingling was less than a day ago, and the girl was only able to reach the seventh floors middle stage at the time. Moreover, based on her progress at the middle stage, it shouldve taken her at least a few days to reach the seventh floors late stage. Yet, she had accomplished this feat in less than a day. The only explanation Shi Feng could come up with for this situation was that Wu Lingling had obtained a Legacy of some sort before coming to the Secret Pavilions headquarters. Hence, she managed to achieve a qualitative improvement in her combat standards. Meanwhile, just like Shi Feng had guessed, Wu Lingling had indeed acquired a new Legacy. After fighting the spy trio from Nature Hall and Hundred Flower Palace and logging out of the game, Wu Lingling had contacted Soulfire and acquired a powerful Advanced Legacy from the adventurer team. Advanced Hidden Class, Magic Dragon Swordsman! Not only did this hidden class grant a huge boost to her physique, but it had also increased her affinity with Mana drastically, which allowed her to take notice of details she had previously failed to notice. In addition, the Completion Rate of her Skills had also received an improvement. After receiving all these improvements, her combat standard had naturally risen as well. However, if Wu Lingling were to be honest, getting first place in this freshman competition was also outside her expectations. This was because Hidden Soul had constantly said that her talent and combat standard were subpar at best and that she was vastly inferior compared to the various superpowers top-tier geniuses. Wu Lingling didnt doubt Hidden Souls words, either, since she couldnt even survive one move against Hidden Soul Yet, now, she had come in first place in the freshman competition Could it be because the Secret Pavilions recruits are much weaker than usual this year? Is the Secret Pavilion trying to attract new recruits using this competition? When Wu Lingling recalled the attractive rewards the Secret Pavilion offered for the competition this time, she felt as if realization had dawned upon her. However, before Wu Lingling could think further into this matter, she had her attention drawn by the noise everyone suddenly made. At this time, Purple Jade could be seen walking out of the lounge, and following behind her were several Secret Pavilion executives. Then, after leaving the lounge, Purple Jade walked straight toward Wu Lingling. After approaching Wu Lingling and scrutinizing the girl for a moment, Purple Jade asked, Are you interested in becoming my apprentice? Meanwhile, as soon as Purple Jade finished speaking, silence instantly enveloped the entire underground training field. Then, whether it was the various Academies students or the Secret Pavilions recruits, everyone couldnt help but look at Wu Lingling enviously. It should be known that Purple Jade was a Tier 6 Sword God bearing the title of Empress. Not only did she possess top-tier strength among Tier 6 God-ranked experts, but she also held a vital position in the Secret Pavilion. So long as she gave the word, Wu Lingling could instantly become a core executive in the Secret Pavilion and receive whatever resources she wanted. At that time, she would become an existence that even the various international corporations would try to befriend. Meanwhile, Wu Lingling couldnt help but grow ecstatic when she heard Purple Jades question. This was because Purple Jade was her idol. It was also because of Purple Jade that she became a Swordsman. Now that her idol was extending an invitation to her, how could she not be excited? However, after taking a deep breath, Wu Lingling shook her head and said, Thank you for your kind intentions, Commander Ziqiong. However, I already have an instructor, so forgive me for not being able to become your apprentice. Chapter 3028 - Chapter 102 Chapter 102 C Inhuman Precision Are my ears playing tricks on me?! Did Wu Lingling just reject the Empresss invitation!? She mustve lost her mind. I remember that her teacher is called Shi Feng, and he is only the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. Even during his peak, he had only managed to stick around at the top of Tier 3. Tier 3? Doesnt that mean hes just an ordinary expert? Thats right. Any one of my Academys instructors can beat him up. That guy sure is lucky. I cant believe he picked up such a peerless genius. He wouldnt have to worry about his future with such a student following him. When the spectating crowd heard Wu Lingling rejecting Purple Jades invitation, many of them couldnt help but grow confused. In addition, some of the instructors present who knew about Wu Linglings background couldnt help but grow jealous of Shi Feng. After all, even if they set aside the possibility that something might be wrong with Wu Linglings brain, the girl could still easily reach Tier 5 with her monstrous talent. If given enough resources, she might even have a chance at reaching Tier 6. Yet, despite being only an ordinary expert, Shi Feng had actually found himself such a monstrously talented apprentice. She must be out of her mind! If she doesnt want that opportunity, she shouldve given it to me instead! Liu Xuanyi cursed under his breath when he saw Wu Lingling rejecting Purple Jades invitation. He was also a Swordsman. If he could have a Tier 6 Swordsman as his instructor, he would have a much easier time climbing to higher tiers in the future. Wu Xiaoxiaos little sister sure is an interesting person. Shes even more stubborn than her elder sister, Liu Yanya, who stood beside Liu Xuanyi, said as she looked at Wu Lingling. Im afraid shes going to become your biggest rival in the future. Rival? Shaking his head, Liu Xuanyi said, She is not worthy of being my rival now that she has rejected the Secret Pavilions invitation. With only a Tier 3 instructor and no Guild backing her, Ill leave her in the dust the next time we meet in the Academy Competition. I guess youre right. She is the same as her elder sister in this regard, Liu Yanya said, nodding. Their instructor Soaring Snake had extended an invitation to Wu Xiaoxiao multiple times in the past. However, Wu Xiaoxiao had rejected his offer every time. Although Wu Xiaoxiao was already receiving from Crimson Emperor right now, the number of recruits Crimson Emperor needed to train was massive. Thus, even though Wu Xiaoxiao was currently training under a superpower, the resources she received wouldnt be as significant as most people imagined. Had Wu Xiaoxiao accepted their instructors invitation previously, she might even have had a chance to reach Tier 6. Now, though, she could, at most, linger around the Tier 5 threshold. While the surrounding spectators were feeling surprised and confused over Wu Linglings decision, the burly man standing among the Secret Pavilions executives similarly couldnt help but turn toward Jin Hai Academys group with a look of surprise on his face. Whats going on with Jin Hai Academys people? Why arent any instructors coming forward to advise Wu Lingling? Normally, an ordinary Gods Domain Academy would be over the moon if even an ordinary superpower tried to recruit one of their students, let alone a transcendental power like the Secret Pavilion. These Academies wouldve frantically accepted the offer on their students behalf. Yet, Jin Hai Academys side was seemingly filled with eccentric people. Even after hearing Wu Lingling refuse Purple Jades invitation, nobody from Jin Hai University had stepped forward to persuade the girl. On the contrary, every one of them looked at this situation as if they had expected it to happen Meanwhile, when Jin Hai Academys instructors and Lin Yaoyue saw the Secret Pavilions executives looking toward them, they couldnt help but reveal bitter smiles. If it was possible to change Wu Linglings mind, they wouldve long since done so. Unfortunately, Shi Feng seemingly possessed some unknown charm that had thoroughly captivated the little girls heart. At this point, they had long since given up on influencing Wu Linglings decisions, choosing to let the girl decide her own future instead. It wasnt a particularly bad decision to do so, either, since Shi Feng wasnt as weak as he seemed. Otherwise, a senior instructor like Qi Lianshan wouldnt have treated Shi Feng with such respect. How unfortunate. If you come across any problems in your training in the future, feel free to contact me. Purple Jade did not get angry after having her invitation rejected. Instead, she handed Wu Lingling her business card, her action causing many of the Secret Pavilions members present to grow envious. This was because they understood that Purple Jade wasnt putting on an act. Instead, she was sincerely interested in Wu Lingling. After all, only a few people in the Secret Pavilion had Purple Jades contact method. Should I go and talk with Jin Hai Academys side, Commander? I believe that with the Secret Pavilions influence, that Shi Feng wouldnt refuse our offer, the burly man whispered to Purple Jade when he saw that Purple Jade appeared very interested in Wu Lingling. A talent capable of catching Purple Jades eyes was incredibly hard to come by. Although the Secret Pavilions Guild Leader had tried to get Purple Jade to teach the Guilds geniuses in the past, Purple Jade showed no interest in those geniuses whatsoever. The Guild also couldnt force her to teach them since she was one of the Guilds Tier 6 God-ranked experts. It wasnt until recently that Leili had appeared and caught Purple Jades attention. Now that Purple Jade had shown interest in Wu Lingling as well, the Secret Pavilion naturally couldnt let this rare opportunity get away. No need, Purple Jade said, shaking her head. Rather than that, I need you to look into Shi Feng. He definitely isnt as simple as everyone thinks. Huh? The burly man couldnt help but grow confused. I heard from the other Academies instructors that Wu Linglings instructor is only the former Guild Leader of Shadow, a second-rate Guild. In addition, he had never even managed to reach Tier 4 during his peak, which was why Shadows Chairman had fired him. Instead of answering the burly mans confusion, Purple Jade asked, Do you think Wu Lingling is a fool? How can that be? Theres no way she could have reached the seventh floors late stage at 16 if she were a fool, the burly man answered strangely. Doesnt that settle it, then? After rolling her eyes at the burly man, Purple Jade put on a serious expression and said, Moreover, theres one more important reason I said that Shi Feng isnt simple. An important reason? Could it be that there is something special about him? the burly man asked. Its not him whos special, but Wu Lingling instead. Her foundation is simply too solid. It is so solid that I cant help but suspect that she isnt a little girl, but an old monster who has lived for dozens of years! Purple Jade said as she recalled Wu Linglings every action. When I was talking to her just now, I noticed that she has incredibly precise control over her subtle movements. That kind of precision is something you would only find on someone who has already been at the Refinement Realm for over a dozen or several dozen years. Yet, despite having such precision control, the continuity of Wu Linglings movements was an utter mess, which is one of the main reasons recruits often have trouble entering the Refinement Realm. Commander, are you saying that The burly man couldnt help but shudder when the severity of Purple Jades words sank into his mind. Thats right. Either Wu Lingling has someone with godlike understanding over the Refinement Realm teaching her, or the girl is actually an old monster acting young before us, Purple Jade calmly said. However, no matter how I look at it, Wu Lingling is a teenage girl through and through. There is also no point for her to trick us since we can easily discern her actual age and identity through public records. In that case, that leaves us with only one possibility: her instructors understanding has already reached a godlike standard. Ill look into him right away. After saying so, the burly man promptly left the underground training field, not daring to waste even a moment longer. The Refinement Realm might not seem like anything special in the eyes of the various superpowers, which were capable of systematically nurturing their own Refinement Realm experts, but not all Refinement Realm experts were equal. Depending on how sturdy of a foundation a person built for themselves at the Refinement Realm, their future development would also change significantly. Only by having a sturdy foundation could one progress further and faster. Unfortunately, helping players establish a sturdy foundation in the Refinement Realm was a challenge that troubled even the various superpowers. Even Domain Realm experts lacked the ability to help Refinement Realm experts develop their foundations. This was because everyone had bad habits, and changing these habits was incredibly challenging. Moreover, even if a person managed to get out of a bad habit, parts of it would still linger in their subconscious. Meanwhile, the only known way to get rid of bad habits right now was to have players continuously train themselves to change and get used to the Refinement Realm over a long period. However, this process involved a lot of time, and time was money for the various superpowers. Unfortunately, the only way they could streamline this process was if someone managed to achieve godlike understanding over the Refinement Realm and developed a perfect training system. If such a perfect system existed, new players could establish a solid foundation for themselves within a short period, saving them a lot of time in training and improving. However, according to the Secret Pavilions knowledge, no Guild in Gods Domain possessed such a capability yet. Indeed! Not one Guild was capable of accomplishing such a feat! Even the Five Great Super Guilds were no exception! Chapter 3029 - Chapter 103 Chapter 103 C Great Disturbance After the freshman competition ended, the various Academies instructors simultaneously received a message from Gods Domain Association. The messages content was simple. The Association was welcoming all students, who had reached the Half-step Refinement Realm standard, to head to the 175th floor of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters with their instructors and apply to join the Gods Domain Associations training camp. However, the message also stated that the instructors would have to pass the Associations instructor qualification certification, and the Associations certification had three ranks: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Meanwhile, instructors would have to achieve the lowest Bronze certification at the very minimum before their students could apply for the Associations training camp. Depending on an instructors certification rank, their students would also have to participate in different selection competitions and face different opponents. Simply put, the students of Bronze Instructors would compete with the students of other Bronze Instructors, the students of Silver Instructors would compete with the students of other Silver Instructors, etc. However, the lower the certification rank, the lower the number of instructors that could acquire said rank, and the lower the number of students each instructor could have. Conversely, the higher the certification rank, the greater the number of instructors that could acquire said rank, and the higher the number of students each instructor could have. In addition, the number of students that could pass the selection competitions of higher ranks would also be greater than the competitions of lower ranks. In other words, the lower an instructors certification rank, the greater the competition they and their students would face. Fortunately, the training camp wasnt a one-time thing. Instead, each training camp would last a month, and the Association would hold these certification competitions once a month. Thus, even if students failed to qualify for the training camp this time, so long as they managed to pass a selection before they graduated from their respective Academies, they could still qualify to attend the training camp. Meanwhile, shortly after this announcement appeared, the underground training field instantly exploded into an uproar. How generous of the Gods Domain Association! Amazing! After this move from the Association, Refinement Realm experts will become even more common in Gods Domain in the future! This is madness! This wont just popularize Refinement Realm experts! This will reshuffle the status quo of the various Gods Domain Academies! Even the various powers in Gods Domain are probably going to be affected! Everyone was shocked and excited by this explosive news. It was especially true for the students and instructors of ordinary Academies. Nowadays, the various superpowers have monopolized most of the Legacies available in Gods Domain. If ordinary students wished to have a better future in Gods Domain, their only choice was to join the various superpowers. Otherwise, theyd have to face much greater challenges to develop themselves. Meanwhile, the various Gods Domain Academies were also in a similar situation. Due to the lack of good resources, the instructors of ordinary Academies faced great difficulty in producing excellent students. However, the move the Gods Domain Association just made would undoubtedly liberate the students without resources, or more specifically, the younger generation, from the various superpowers restrictions. So long as one was young and talented, one could acquire sufficient resources to develop themselves from the Gods Domain Association. Young players would no longer have to rely on the various superpowers for resources. After reading the Gods Domain Associations, everyone quickly understood that it wouldnt be long before Gods Domain would welcome a large batch of independent Refinement Realm experts. Meanwhile, the various superpowers would no longer be the only ones capable of reliably producing Refinement Realm experts. At the same time, the status and value of instructors would also rise to unprecedented heights in Gods Domain. It seems Ill need to have Hidden Soul act quicker. Shi Feng also started planning for the future after receiving the Gods Domain Associations message. If many independent Refinement Realm experts suddenly appeared in Gods Domain, the power that would benefit the most from this situation would undoubtedly be the various mercenary organizations. During Shi Fengs previous life, after his sub-world gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, the various powers had frantically nurtured players at all costs to cope with the impending danger. Ultimately, however, there were still many players who disliked being bound by Guilds. Yet, these players also wished to acquire precious resources and Credits, so mercenary organizations became their best option. If Zero Wings mercenary organization could take form before the new batch of independent Refinement Realm experts arrived and capitalize on this situation, the organizations growth could easily match that of the various superpowers. Meanwhile, shortly after the Gods Domain Association made its announcement, the various Academies Half-step Refinement Realm students promptly made their way to the application site with their respective instructors. When Shi Feng and Chen Ziyou arrived on the 175th floor, the hall that was the size of half a football field was already crowded with students and instructors. So youve come as well, Ziyou. When Liu Yanya saw Chen Ziyou walking into the hall, she smiled and approached her, asking, Have you thought about my previous suggestion? Thank you for your invitation, but I still dont plan on joining Ouroboros, Chen Ziyou earnestly said as she looked at the brown-haired girl before her. As one of Jin Hai Academys few Half-step Refinement Realm experts, Chen Ziyou had received invitations from many Guilds. Among them, one came from her high school classmate Liu Yanya, who had acted as Ouroboross representative. Wont you consider it again? Liu Yanya frowned. However, she still chose to patiently persuade Chen Ziyou, saying, Now that the Gods Domain Association has made such a huge move, it is a rare opportunity for you to improve your circumstances. According to my sources, instructors will need to be at the Flowing Water Realm at the very least to gain a Bronze certification. However, your instructor Qi Lianshan is, at best, at the Half-step Flowing Water Realm with his current mental state. Theres no way he can help you get into the selection competition. So long as you agree to join Ouroboros, youll get to become Instructor Soaring Snakes apprentice straight away. Now that Instructor Soaring Snake is close to reaching the Domain Realm already, hell have no problems becoming a Silver Instructor. Youll also be able to pass the selection without problems seeing as you are at the Refinement Realm already. However, even after hearing Liu Yanyas advice, Chen Ziyou still shook her head and pointed toward Shi Feng, who was currently registering for the certification test, and said, Thank you, but I have Instructor Shi with me. I should be able to get into a selection competition without trouble. Instructor Shi? Liu Yanya followed Chen Ziyous finger and looked at Shi Feng. Then, with confusion in her eyes, she asked, Is he Wu Linglings instructor? Thats right; its him. Chen Ziyou nodded. You really love to waste time just like Wu Xiaoxiao, Ziyou. After returning her gaze to Chen Ziyou, Liu Yanya contemptuously said, Hes nothing but a former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. He couldnt even reach Tier 4 during his peak. How can you hope for him to get you registered? Instructor Shi is very strong, and even Instructor Qi admires him greatly. Instructor Qi also said that Instructor Shi might be at the Void Realm already, Chen Ziyou said, a hint of reverence appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Void Realm? Liu Yanya couldnt help but take an extra glance at Shi Feng after hearing Chen Ziyous words. However, she suddenly laughed the next moment and said, In that case, I look forward to his performance. Hopefully, youll qualify for a selection competition at the very least. After saying so, Liu Yanya turned around and walked away, choosing not to involve herself with Chen Ziyous foolishness any longer. Meanwhile, on the other side, Shi Feng and many other instructors followed the instructions of the Gods Domain Associations staff and put on their respective customized virtual gaming helmets. Then, they began their instructor certification tests. Chapter 3030 - Chapter 104 Chapter 104 C Global Competition A golden temple stood amidst an ancient forest. The temple had five floors in total, and it measured several hundred meters in height and occupied an area equivalent to six sports stadiums. There was a massive stone tablet erected outside of every floor, and every tablet had a column of numbers going from 1 to 100 listed on it. Currently, though, the space next to these numbers was blank, and beneath these numbers was one line of text. Although the text on each tablet was similar, they werent exactly the same. The texts were simple to understand, and they represented the rewards one could obtain from challenging the temples trials. Simply put, the first 100 people to clear each floor would receive varying amounts of Association Points to be used with the Gods Domain Association. Meanwhile, the first 100 to clear the first floor would receive 100 Association points. The first 100 to clear the second floor would receive 1,000 Association points. The first 100 to clear the third floor would receive 10,000 Association points. The first 100 to clear the fourth floor would receive 100,000 Association points. The first 100 to clear the fifth floor would receive 1,000,000 Association points. How generous of the Association. Not only is it planning on uncovering more talented newcomers, but its also offering such lucrative rewards to the instructors. Is the Association trying to get more experts to become instructors? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he finished reading the rewards stated on the tablets. The Gods Domain Associations Association Points were an incredibly precious resource to the Associations internal members. Even through official channels, one Association Point could be traded for 10,000 Credits. Of course, only a fool would exchange it for such a low price. The Gods Domain Association had access to an ocean of resources, and even the various international corporations couldnt hope to compete against the Association in terms of wealth. Meanwhile, internal members of the Association could exchange for resources that one normally couldnt acquire through the public market. So long as one had enough points, one could exchange for combat techniques, Legacies, and even S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Although the Association had put a price tag of 200 points per bottle on S-rank Nutrient Fluids, it was still a tempting opportunity for many people. In addition, according to Shi Fengs research, the Gods Domain Association even offered the incredibly rare Life Potions for exchange to internal members. The Life Potion was an item that countless wealthy people sought after. Not only could it heal the wounds on the users body, but it could also rejuvenate the life force of the users body cells, extending their life expectancy and youthfulness. However, the Green God Company only produced a very limited amount of Life Potion each year, and even the various international corporations had difficulty obtaining one per year. Yet, internal members of the Gods Domain Association could exchange for it simply by accumulating enough points. The only problem was that the Life Potion cost a whopping 10,000 points to exchange. Ten thousand points! This was an amount that most of the Associations internal members would never acquire in their lifetimes. However, the Associations instructor certification test offered participating instructors the opportunity to make the impossible possible. While Shi Feng was feeling shocked over the Gods Domain Associations generosity, the outside world was similarly shocked over this situation. What is the Association trying to do, Commander Ziqiong?! Once news of these rewards gets out, even the various powers peak experts wouldnt be able to sit still! the burly middle-aged man standing beside Purple Jade exclaimed when he read the report he just received. Setting aside the various top-tier training resources the Association provided, just the S-rank Nutrient Fluid it offered was already a fatal temptation to many experts. It was especially true for Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts. After all, ones brain would have difficulty improving without a strong body to support it. Meanwhile, not only could the S-rank Nutrient Fluid repair the damage on ones body, but it could also strengthen the physical body. Now that the Gods Domain Association was offering players the opportunity to acquire a large amount of Association Points, many experts would most likely be tempted to work as an instructor and take part in the Associations instructor certification test. I dont know what the Association is trying to do, Purple Jade said, shaking her head. Then, with a hint of fighting spirit in her eyes, she continued, But once news of this gets out, most experts around the world will probably grow restless. We might even see a global struggle between experts. Even the various superpowers old monsters and God-ranked experts might not mind revealing their cards if it means gaining access to such lucrative rewards. Register me for the test as well, Star. Youll be participating as well, Commander Ziqiong? the burly man with the pseudonym of Berserk Star asked in surprise. Ever since Purple Jade reached tier 6, she had stopped participating in tests and competitions altogether. In fact, it had already been over a year since Berserk Star saw Purple Jade in action. Of course, Purple Jade said with a light smile. Ive constantly been trying to find other God-ranked experts to fight previously, but those people are so secretive that its hard to find even one of them. This test is a good opportunity to compare myself with the others. While it might not be a frontal clash, it is still a good way to see how I match up with the others. So, how can I miss out on such an opportunity? There were only several dozen Tier 6 experts in Gods Domain. With the exception of a few newly-promoted Tier 6 experts, most veteran Tier 6 experts were incredibly secretive in their actions. Moreover, now that the various powers had already solidified their rule over their respective territories, there was almost no instance where Tier 6 combatants would appear on the battlefield. At most, clashes between powers would involve Tier 5 combatants. Because of this, Purple Jade hardly had any chances to fight against other Tier 6 experts after reaching Tier 6 herself. She was especially curious to find out the gap between herself and the various first-place rankers on the Gods Domain Experts List that had disappeared over the years, the various old monsters, and those four people. Now that the Gods Domain Association had provided the perfect place for her to test her standards, how could she miss out on this opportunity? Alright, Ill get it done immediately. Immediately, Berserk Star stepped out of the lounge and contacted the Gods Domain Associations staff to arrange for Purple Jades participation. While Purple Jade was getting ready to take part in the test, the various superpowers Tier 6 experts also received news of the Gods Domain Associations offer. Interesting! Im going to try out this test! Is the Association trying to come up with a global ranking list for experts? Ive hardly fought with other Tier 6 experts after reaching Tier 6 myself. This is a good chance to check out how strong the other Tier 6 experts are. Shortly after news of the Gods Domain Associations test rewards got out, many Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts worldwide started applying for the Associations test one after another. For a time, the instructors test became the focus of the worlds peak experts and above. Many independent experts had even started broadcasting the status of the tests stone tablets live. Meanwhile, inside one of the test instances In the short time Shi Feng spent pondering over the Associations actions, several dozen names had appeared on the first floors stone tablet. This meant that several dozen people had already cleared the first floors test. So many got through already? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw that the first floors tablet list was nearly filled. According to the information the Association provided, instructors would gain the Bronze certification so long as they cleared the temples first floor. Meanwhile, one needed to be at the Flowing Water Realm at the very least to become a Bronze Instructor. It had only been a few minutes since the test began, yet several dozen experts had already conquered the first floors test. This just showed how high the number and quality of experts participating in the test were. Immediately, Shi Feng also chose to enter the temple. System: Registration is required to participate in the test. You may use your Gods Domain ID or a new name to register. I can choose my own name? Shi Feng was a little surprised by this situation. In that case, Ill go with Asura as my name. Currently, Shi Feng still did not wish to expose his name of Black Flame. After all, both himself and Zero Wing were far too weak right now. So, it was good news that he could use a different pseudonym to challenge the test. System: Naming successful. Player ID Asura registered. Please check in on the first floor. Immediately, Shi Feng transformed into a streak of light that disappeared into the temples first floor. TL Notes: 200 Association Points = 2,000,000 Credits Market value of S-rank Nutrient Fluid is 1,000,000 Credits. Chapter 3031 - Chapter 105 Chapter 105 C Temple Trial After arriving inside the temples first floor, Shi Feng opened his eyes and found himself looking at a vast plain. There were also a hundred humanoid statues standing before him, and these statues wielded varying weapons such as bows, spears, swords, sabers, staffs, etc. At a glance, these statues looked like a small and well-organized army. System: You have one hour to defeat the 100 monsters here. Your character will be fixed at Level 100, Tier 3. Your weapons and equipment will be fixed at the Level 100 Dark-Gold rank. Please select your class. Swordsman. Shi Feng was surprised when he inspected the humanoid statues stats. Each of these statues only had six million HP, which wasnt even at the standard of Level 100 Lords. It was just several times higher than the average HP of players. So, it wouldnt be much of a problem for a Level 100, Tier 3 Flowing Water Realm expert to defeat all of these monsters. In fact, even a Half-step Refinement Realm expert could defeat these monsters in under an hour. However, Shi Feng quickly realized the problem shortly after choosing his class. Specifically, these humanoid statues suddenly exited their inanimate state and began moving their bodies nimbly like Tier 3 NPCs. Their nimble movements were completely different from what one would normally see from golems. Kill! Meanwhile, after these NPC-like golems saw Shi Feng, they revealed fierce expressions and charged him straight away. In the blink of an eye, over 40 NPC monsters wielding longswords, sabers, spears, and shields moved within 20 yards of Shi Feng, their speed far superior to the average Tier 3 NPC. While these melee NPCs were charging at Shi Feng, the ranged NPCs also began raining arrows and Tier 3 Spells at Shi Feng. Their Skill activation and spellcasting were incredibly fast, all of them achieving motionless activation and silent casting. Yet, despite the shortcuts they had taken, the might of their Skills and Spells was at least 50% stronger than normal What incredible technique standards! However, Shi Feng did not rush to take action. Instead, he simply evaded the ranged attacks and blocked the melee attacks directed at him. After several exchanges, Shi Feng made another shocking discoverythese NPCs were gradually improving their coordination. It was especially so for the melee NPCs. After the distant Clerics and Oracles cast their magic shields on them, these melee NPCs would willingly get hit by their allies ranged attacks to attack Shi Feng. Moreover, their attacks werent frenzied and random. Instead, they executed their attacks one after another, creating a perfect chain of attacks that never ended. If a lesser skilled player were to fight against these NPCs, they would be put into a passive state where they could only defend and not launch any effective attacks. When fighting these NPCs, Shi Feng felt as if he were a Boss monster getting raided by players. Is this trial testing the participants knowledge and application of the Realms of Truth? It seems this Gods Domain Association is far stronger than I expected. Shi Feng couldnt help but grow excited as he looked at the Tier 3 NPCs trying to kill him. No wonder the rumors say that only players at the Flowing Water Realm can pass the test. The Realms of Truth! This was still a mastery system foreign to most players in the current Gods Domain. The only mastery system most players knew was the Realms of Refinement, and most players treated the Realms of Refinement as a standard for technique mastery. However, only a small minority of players knew that the Realms of Refinement wasnt a mastery system for technique mastery. Instead, it was a mastery system for a players control over their body. Simply put, when a player made progress in the Realms of Refinement, the flexibility, reaction speed, perception, and other factors of their body would also improve. By making progress in the Realms of Refinement, players would become capable of accomplishing physical movements that they couldnt achieve previously. This, in turn, increased their combat standard. In a sense, improvements made in the Realms of Refinement were similar to the improvement of a players physique in Gods Domain. On the other hand, the Realms of Truth was a true mastery system for technique standards. Unlike the Realms of Refinement, the Realms of Truth did not focus on the development of the physical bodys potential. Instead, it focused on the usage of ones physical body. Thus, one could say that the two mastery systems complemented each other perfectly, and there was no harm in taking on both mastery systems. Meanwhile, the temples first-floor trial might seem like only players at the Flowing Water Realm could clear it, but that wasnt actually the case. Instead, players only needed to exhibit combat power at the Flowing Water Realm standard. If a challenger was only at the Refinement Realm, so long as they were also at the Truth Realm, the first realm in the Realms of Truth, they could similarly pass the first-floor trial. Once a Refinement Realm expert reached the Truth Realm, they could exhibit the power of basic combat techniques with their every move. Combined with their Refinement-level control and reactions, it wouldnt be difficult for them to defeat the Tier 3 NPCs here. After all, the Basic Attributes of these NPCs were only slightly higher than the average Level 100, Tier 3 player. Since I already know what the test is about, its time for you things to disappear! After sweeping a glance at the Tier 3 NPCs charging at him, Shi Feng brandished the two swords in his hands. Swords Transmigration! Immediately, sword lights bloomed on the battlefield one after another, rapidly draining the lives of the melee NPCs. Although the healers standing in the back had tried to save their companions, every attack Shi Feng executed consisted of over a dozen sword lights merged into one. With only six million HP, the melee NPCs couldnt withstand even one attack, their HPs reaching zero instantly. In less than three minutes, Shi Feng had wiped out all 100 Tier 3 NPCs. System: Congratulations! You are the 100th participant to clear the first floors trial. Rewarding 100 Gods Domain Association Points. These points will be bound with your account. These points cannot be traded with others. These points can only be used to exchange with the Gods Domain Association. Im 100th? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw the system notification. Several dozen people had already cleared the first floor when he entered the temple. He had also taken his sweet time clearing the first-floor trial, so he never expected to score within the top 100 still. However, Shi Feng quickly came to a realization. Participants had to face 100 NPCs at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Moreover, these NPCs were capable of exhibiting power close to that of basic combat techniques with their every move. Not to mention, these NPCs had excellent coordination with each other, so they could more or less make up for each others deficiencies. Even if a Flowing Water Realm expert fought against these NPCs, they wouldnt have much of an advantage against these NPCs. Thus, not only would Flowing Water Realm experts require a significant amount of time to clear the first-floor trial, but there was even a chance that they might fail. System: You have cleared the first floor. You are now officially a Bronze Instructor at the Gods Domain Association. You will have one recommendation slot for every Talent Camp the Association hosts. Do you wish to proceed to the second floor and challenge the Silver Instructors test? Proceed to the second floor. Shi Feng chose to enter the second floor without hesitation. Chapter 3032 - Chapter 106 Chapter 106 C Silver Rank? The atmosphere inside the 175th floor of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters was currently boisterous. Shortly after the instructor certification tests rewards were announced, many students paid close attention to the scoreboards situated around the hall. At this time, there had long since been over a hundred participants who had cleared the first floor, so the scoreboard for the first-floor trial had already been filled. This situation proved that many extraordinary experts were participating in the certification test. Moreover, the names ranked on the list were all famous experts in Gods Domain, many of them being Tier 5 experts. However, none of the students in the hall were paying attention to the first-floor trials scoreboard right now. Instead, all of them had their eyes glued to the second floors scoreboard. This was because the second-floor trials first-place ranker had appeared not long ago, and this person was none other than Empress Purple Jade. Everyone couldnt help but be shocked by this situation as they didnt think a Tier 6 Sword God would participate in the Gods Domain Associations instructor test. Of course, everyones surprise was only limited to Purple Jades participation in the test. Nobody was surprised to see that Purple Jade had come in first place for the second-floor trial. After all, Purple Jade was a Tier 6 Sword God. How could Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts possibly compete against her? However, when more names began appearing on the scoreboard, an uproar quickly exploded in the hall. This was because every expert ranked within the top ten of the scoreboard was a well-known Tier 6 God-ranked expert in Gods Domain. 2nd C Witch of the West Alice 3rd C Battle Wolfs Sirius 4th- Silver Ghost Prosciutto 5th C Thirteen Thrones Guild Leader Melancholy 6th C Magic-eye Hunter Fithalia 10th C Azure Chamber of Commerces Hermit At this point, the instructor test was no longer a simple test for participating instructors. Instead, it had become a global ranking list for experts. It should be known that Tier 6 God-ranked experts were all elusive existences. Meeting even one of these individuals was akin to winning the lottery, let alone getting the chance to see these God-ranked experts compete with each other. Oftentimes, people would ask how strong Tier 6 God-ranked experts were and who was the strongest among Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Even though the Secret Pavilion had created a Gods Domain Experts List, those recorded on the list were merely ranked based on their publicly available battle records. It couldnt be considered an accurate measure of strength at all. Not to mention, some God-ranked experts werent even on the list. Thus, the Experts List could, at most, be used as a rough reference. However, the Gods Domain Associations instructor test was different. Although the test did not show how players would perform against each other in a duel, it still showed the exact combat standards of participants. Through this, everyone could tell how strong the participating Tier 6 God-ranked experts were. Currently, the various Academies students werent the only ones paying close attention to the scoreboard. The various powers of Gods Domain were also looking at it with great interest. The Association has really blown the test this time out of proportions, Senior Brother. I cant believe there are so many God-ranked experts participating. Even Teacher couldnt help himself from registering, Tao Yuwei, dressed in a lavender martial artists robe, said as she looked at Gu Yiren. Then, she looked toward the scoreboard for the second-floor trial with an expectant gaze as she continued, I wonder how Teacher will rank among the Tier 6 God-ranked experts? Their teacher was Thousand Swords, a legendary individual in World Domination. He was also the Guilds Great Elder. He had been a powerhouse in the virtual gaming industry since 20 years ago. He had even fought against the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters and won some of these battles. Although their teacher had hidden behind the scenes ever since Gods Domain launched and mainly focused on guiding the younger generations, Tao Yuwei knew that their teacher was not the slightest bit weaker than the top ten rankers on the Gods Domain Experts List. He should have no problem placing within the top five out of the God-ranked experts present, Gu Yiren answered as he looked at the scoreboard. However, itll be difficult to get within the top three. Setting aside the Witch of the West, even surpassing the Silver Ghost will be a great challenge. I heard that the Silver Ghost has already become the commander of Mythologys main force. This goes to show that his strength has already surpassed the previous commander. Aside from the Silver Ghost, Thirteen Thrones Guild Leader and the Magic-eye Hunter are also experts who have reached the extremes of the Domain Realm. It wont be easy for Teacher to win against these people. Tao Yuwei did not disagree with Gu Yirens judgment. This was because the people Gu Yiren mentioned were indeed monsters. Even their teacher had very little chance of winning against these experts. Is this going to be the era where Tier 6s compete? Fighting spirit filled Lin Yaoyues eyes as she looked at the display on the first-floor lobby of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. Originally, Tier 6 God-ranked experts were unreachable existences to her. However, that was no longer the case now. So long as she could successfully persuade her Big Sis and acquire Zero Wings resources, she could secure herself a spot among Tier 6 God-ranked experts in the future. Whats going on? Why hasnt Instructor Soaring Snake cleared the second floor yet? Back on the 175th floor, Liu Yanya couldnt help but grow confused as she watched more and more people clearing the second-floor trial. It should be known that her instructor was the 41st participant to clear the first-floor trial. Currently, it had already been over half an hour since the instructors test began, and over 70 people had already cleared the second-floor trial, yet her instructors name still wasnt on the second floors scoreboard. Sis, you dont have to be too worried. Instructor Soaring Snake is a Tier 5 expert, so he definitely wont have a problem in clearing the second-floor trial, Liu Xuanyi said. The difficulty of the second-floor trial is probably a little harder than we thought. Its just like the first-floor trial. I heard that nearly half of the Flowing Water Realm instructors that participated failed to clear it, while the rest took a significant amount of time to pass. The second floors difficulty is probably the same. Instructor Soaring Snake is at the Void Realms peak, so he should have no problems clearing the second-floor trial. Itll just take a little more time. I understand. Lin Yanya nodded, feeling that her little brothers words made sense. Then, she shifted her gaze to another display that showed the student registration list. The Gods Domain Associations Talent Camp had three registration lists: the Bronze List, the Silver List, and the Gold List. These lists corresponded to the rank of the applicants instructor. Currently, her instructor was still a Bronze Instructor, so her name was placed on the Bronze List. The Bronze List was also the only list with the most applicants right now, the applicant count exceeding over a hundred already. However, out of all these applicants, the Association would only be allowing ten to pass. It should be known that the Bronze Lists applicant count was still growing as time passed. By the time the application period was over, it wouldnt be surprising to see five or six hundred people on the list. Only by entering the Silver List would she face less competition. Although the Association would also only be choosing ten people from the Silver List, there were only ten applicants on the Silver List right now. However, what Liu Yanya couldnt tolerate the most wasnt her slow entry into the Silver List. Instead, what she couldnt tolerate was the fact that Chen Ziyous name was also on the Bronze List! In other words, Chen Ziyous instructor had also cleared the first-floor trial and qualified as a Bronze Instructor. Liu Yanya couldnt help but be upset by this situation. After all, she had confidently extended an invitation to Chen Ziyou before and said that they could enter the Silver List together. Yet, now, she was still stuck in the Bronze List together with Chen Ziyou. Meanwhile, during the time Liu Yanya shifted her attention to the student registration list, all 100 spots on the second-floor trials scoreboard were also filled. He still hasnt passed? No matter how many times Liu Yanya looked at the scoreboard, she simply couldnt find Soaring Snakes name on it. Sis! Look over there! Liu Xuanyi suddenly said as he pointed at the student registration list. Is something wrong with the SilverList? Why is Chen Ziyous name there? Chen Ziyou? Liu Yanya also quickly turned to look at the student registration list upon hearing her little brothers words. This How is this possible!? Liu Yanya couldnt help but be dumbfounded as she looked at the Silver List. There were less than 25 people registered on the Silver List right now, and one of these peoples names was Chen Ziyou. Moreover, the affiliated academy linked to this name was Jin Hai Academy, so there was no doubt that this Chen Ziyou was the same Chen Ziyou she knew Chapter 3033 - Chapter 107 Chapter 107 C Transcendental Realm Silver rank?! Instructor Shi already cleared the second-floor trial?! Chen Ziyou couldnt help but doubt her eyes as she looked at the notification she received on her quantum watch. She also made sure to look at the distant holographic display to ensure she wasnt dreaming or hallucinating. She had long since known that Shi Feng wasnt an ordinary expert. After all, there was no way an ordinary expert could help her grow from the Half-step Refinement Realm to the Refinement Realm with just one short lesson. This was a feat that even Void Realm experts couldnt necessarily accomplish. In fact, after attending just one of Shi Fengs lessons, Qi Lianshan had lauded Shi Fengs teaching abilities and estimated that Shi Fengs strength was at the Void Realm standard at the very least. However, even after seeing the results on the second-floor trials scoreboard and her entry into the Silver List, she still couldnt help but doubt this situation. The Silver List! After getting into the Silver List, it meant that she had a high chance of getting accepted into the Gods Domain Associations Talent Camp. At the very least, she had a success rate of 20%. After all, at the current rate, the Silver List wouldnt have more than 50 applicants by the end of the application period. Meanwhile, the Association would similarly accept ten applicants, so the competition she faced was much fewer than the Bronze Lists applicants. However, other than the surprised Chen Ziyou and shocked Liu Yanya, nobody was paying attention to Shi Feng. Instead, everyone had their attention focused on the third-floor trials scoreboard. Its been nearly 30 minutes since Purple Jade cleared the second floor. Why hasnt she cleared the third floor yet? The third floors difficulty is probably significantly greater. Ive seen many Void Realm experts failing the second-floor trial already. The third-floor trial is probably reserved exclusively for God-ranked experts. I guess thats good. Otherwise, itd be tough for us to tell the actual difference between these God-ranked experts. Empress Purple Jade came in first on the second floor just now. I wonder who will complete the third floor first? Im putting my money on the Witch of the West. Its either going to be her or the Silver Ghost. These two people are ranked within the top ten of the Gods Domain Experts List. Everyone else is a little inferior to them. Everyone began hushed discussions among themselves when they saw that the third floors scoreboard wasnt being updated even after a long time, and they couldnt help but wonder who would clear the third-floor trial first. Tier 6 God-ranked experts rarely fought against each other, so there was no precise way to determine who was stronger and weaker in the past. However, now that so many God-ranked experts were participating in this test for combat standards, everyone could see the difference between these God-ranked experts at a glance. Moreover, there was a slight difference in the scoreboards for the third floor and beyond. Rather than ranking participants by the order in which they cleared the trial, the scoreboards for the third floor and beyond ranked participants based on the time they took to clear their respective trials instead. In other words, the quicker a participants clear time, the higher their rank would be. This would also provide everyone with a much more accurate measure of the participants combat standards. Amidst everyones discussions, the first name had also appeared on the third-floor trials scoreboard. 1st (Current) C Magic-eye Hunter Fithalia C 21 minutes 17 seconds Fithalia actually came in first? It seems the rumors about her strength being barely within the top ten of God-ranked experts is false. Everyone was surprised when they saw the Magic-eye Hunter Fithalia coming in first. They didnt think that the Witch of the West, who possessed extraordinary perception and control, and the Silver Ghost, who mastered several Bronze and Silver Combat Techniques, would actually lose to Fithalia. After all, the publics evaluation of the Magic-eye Hunter wasnt particularly high. Meanwhile, shortly after Fithalia cleared the third-floor trial, the second and third place participants also appeared one after another. 2nd (Current) C Silver Ghost Prosciutto C 22 minutes 39 seconds 3rd (Current) C Witch of the West Alice C 22 minutes 52 seconds 4th (Current) C Thirteen Thrones Guild Leader Melancholy C 24 minutes 26 seconds 5th (Current) C Purple Jade C 26 minutes 31 seconds Those two lost to Fithalia by over a minute? Fithalia has really concealed her strength well! At this rate, unless the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters and those four monsters make an appearance, shell probably rank number one in the test this time! When everyone saw the time it took for the Silver Ghost and the Witch of the West to clear their respective trials, they could clearly tell that there was a significant difference between them and Fithalia. However, just when everyone thought that the top ranks for the scoreboard were set, another name appeared on the third floors scoreboard a few minutes later and pushed Melancholy out of fourth place. 4th (Current) C Thousand Swords C 23 minutes 28 seconds Crap! Whos this Thousand Swords?! Hes actually behind the Silver Ghost and the Witch of the West by less than a minute! I believe this person is World Dominations Great Elder. I remember that he challenged the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters around 20 years ago, and his results were a mix of wins and losses. I didnt think he would still be so strong after such a long time. As expected of a veteran Super Guild. World Domination has powerful foundations. Many people who recognized Thousand Swords name couldnt help but be surprised to see him ranked so highly. After all, he had already reached his prime 20 years ago, yet he was still capable of matching the experts of younger generations. I knew it! Teacher really is amazing! Tao Yuweis eyes sparkled when she saw Thousand Swords name appearing on the third floors scoreboard. Fourth! He actually came in fourth place! Moreover, hes only slightly behind the two in front! With this, everyone will know that World Domination is no weaker than the Five Great Super Guilds! The other superpowers will probably shrink back a little when dealing with our Guild in the future, Gu Yiren said, a rare happy smile appearing on his face. After all was said and done, Gods Domain where strength spoke volumes. Although Tier 6 God-ranked experts rarely took action and typically served as only a deterrence, there was still a difference in the strength of a Guilds deterrence. Now that the various superpowers could see that World Domination possessed a high-ranking God-ranked expert, they would definitely think twice when challenging World Domination in the future. Meanwhile, inside one of the many instances of the third-floor trial Shi Feng was currently facing against 100 Tier 3 NPCs at the Half-step Void Realm standard. Moreover, every one of these NPCs could exhibit the power of an advanced combat technique with their every move. When they combined their attacks, the power they could exhibit easily reached the standard of Mythic monsters. When 100 of such NPCs worked together, itd be a childs play for them to defeat Domain Realm experts. This temple truly is a wonderful place for training. Although it isnt as good as the ancient civilizations Realms of Truth Legacies, it is still one of the few places to train in the Realms of Truth. Shi Fengs eyes burned with passion and excitement as he looked at the Tier 3 NPCs attacking him. The experience of facing these NPCs fierce and unrelenting attacks was an experience that couldnt normally be found in the outside world. If he didnt maximize the use of his offensive power, defensive power, and speed, he wouldnt be able to defend against the fierce assault at all. However, even though Shi Feng was continuously losing HP as time passed, his mind had achieved unprecedented levels of focus as he dodged and blocked the oncoming attacks. After sparring with these Tier 3 NPCs for some time, he could feel that he had finally returned to his prime in the Realms of Truth. Now, not only could he exhibit the power of a Bronze Combat Technique with his every move, but he could also execute every movement as naturally as flowing water. This meant that he had thoroughly mastered the third realm of the Realms of Truth. The Transcendental Realm! Combined with the fact that he had already reached the Domain Realms second step, he could now combine even Bronze Combat Techniques with Skills and Spells. This meant that he could exhibit power at the Tier 4 Intermediate standard with his Tier 3 Skills and Spells, and he would no longer have to rely on the effects of weapons and equipment to transcend tiers. Now that Ive achieved perfect control already, the training session ends here! After saying so, Shi Feng immediately used the Tier 3 Legacy Skill for Swordsman, Consecutive Wind Blades! Suddenly, wind blades that tore through space flew in multiple directions, catching the melee NPCs surrounding Shi Feng off guard and killing them instantly. Moreover, even after the wind blades had their power dampened by the corpses of the NPCs they killed, they still packed enough punch to cause the other melee NPCs in their path to stumble several steps backward. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng followed up his attack using the Tier 3 Skill Storm Rush. There was no gap whatsoever between his Skill uses, so the melee NPCs that had been knocked out of their stances were utterly defenseless against Shi Fengs flurry of slashes, their HPs decreasing by two to three million every attack. Before the rear line healers could even do anything, the melee NPCs in Shi Fengs way had already died in the storm of blades Subsequently, after Shi Feng used a few more Tier 3 Skills, over half of the melee NPCs had died already, and the tides of battle changed to favor Shi Feng. Its a pity I dont have many Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Otherwise, I couldve gotten rid of all of these NPCs in one fell swoop. Shi Feng sighed in pity as he looked at the remaining shield-wielding NPCs surrounding him. Because he had failed to kill all of the melee NPCs within two seconds, those surviving with less than half NPC instantly recovered all of their HP thanks to the rear line healers. They were no different than a group of cockroaches. Unfortunately, now that he had already used up all of his Tier 3 Skills, he had no choice but to go on the defensive until they were ready again. After all, even if he could exhibit the power of a Bronze Combat Technique with his normal attacks, he couldnt kill any of these NPCs within one or two seconds. So, hed only be wasting his energy if he tried to fight them without Tier 3 Skills. Finally, after fighting with these NPCs for several minutes, Shi Feng got rid of the last melee NPC protecting the rear line. Then, with his speed and power that rivaled Tier 4 players, he swiftly took care of the ranged NPCs. System: You have cleared the third floor. Time spent: 9 minutes 23 seconds. You are now officially a Gold Instructor at the Gods Domain Association. You will have three recommendation slots for every Talent Camp the Association hosts. Do you wish to proceed to the fourth floor? The fourth floor? After having experienced the third-floor trial, Shi Feng couldnt help but wonder what challenges would await him on the temples fourth floor. Proceed! Chapter 3034 - Chapter 108 Chapter 108 C Fourth Floor In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng found himself appearing in a completely different location. The setting of the third-floor trial was a stone forest. The fourth-floor trial, on the other hand, was an arena. Or, more specifically, a very modernized arena. Not only could Shi Feng see all sorts of advanced technology around the arena, but there were also many flying disc-like objects hovering above the arena. Moreover, every one of these flying discs had luxuriously dressed people sitting on them, the flying discs granting these people an overlooking view of the arena. Meanwhile, Shi Feng could visibly sense that these spectators were unlike any NPC he had seen before. Whether it was their clothing or behavior, none of these things looked like they belonged to the civilization he lived in. All of these people possessed their own unique cultural heritage. Most importantly, Shi Feng could sense that all of these people were incredibly strong! What is this place? Even the weakest person here is a great grandmaster at the Extraordinary Realm! Shi Feng was greatly shocked as he scanned the people on the flying discs. Shi Feng could also sense that these people werent NPCs in Gods Domain. Instead, they gave off a feeling close to that of players. He could even hear the conversations they were having. Although he couldnt understand the languages they spoke, he could tell through their behaviors that they were laughing at him. However, before Shi Feng could conduct a closer observation on these people, a hostile intent that made him shiver suddenly descended upon him, and he couldnt help but turn to look at the source of this hostility. At this time, the arenas large gate that had originally been shut suddenly opened, and a valiant youth dressed like a Swordsman slowly walked out of it. This valiant youth was indescribably handsome, and he would definitely attract a lot of attention from young women should he walk on a public street. Moreover, he also had pointed ears and turquoise eyes, proof of his elven descent. However, as soon as Shi Feng saw this elven youth, he instantly felt an unprecedented pressure descending upon him. Is he above the Extraordinary Realm? Shi Feng couldnt help but have such a thought when he saw the elven youth. Although the elven youth was similarly at Tier 3, fully clad in Dark-Gold Equipment, and had similar HP as him, the pressure he felt from the youth was much more intense than even a Superior Mythic monster. Meanwhile, after the elven youth stepped into the arena and looked at Shi Feng, he shook his head slightly, a flash of disappointment appearing in his eyes. Then, he took a step forward without even bothering to unsheath the greatsword he carried on his back. In the blink of an eye, the elven youth crossed the distance of over a hundred yards and appeared in front of Shi Feng. What speed! Shi Feng was startled when he looked at the expressionless youth before him. The youths speed was so fast that it had already surpassed the limits of his senses. By the time he picked up on the youths presence, the other party had long since appeared before him. Subsequently, the elven youth swung down an arm at Shi Feng as if he were swinging a sword, the youths arm shattering the space in its path and leaving behind a trail of darkness. I need to block it! Almost instinctively, Shi Feng executed Swords Transmigration. Boom! The Dark-Gold Swords Shi Feng wielded could cut and smash rocks apart. Yet, the instant his swords came into contact with the elven youths arm, he felt as if he had just hit an impenetrable wall. Not only did his arms instantly go numb, but the recoil of his attack and the force exerted by the youths arm had also sent him flying back several dozen yards. When Shi Feng landed on the ground and looked at his longswords, he found that each of them had a deep groove on them. He can break Dark-Gold Weapons with his body? After just a brief contact, each of the Dark-Gold Swords Shi Feng wielded had received a big dent, and their durability had also dropped by 30%. In other words, the elven youth would only need three more attacks to destroy his weapons However, before Shi Feng could figure out an appropriate countermeasure to this situation, the elven youth appeared before him again and executed another chopping attack. This time, the youths attack had bisected the entire arenas space, and even time had begun to slow down in the face of his attack. Faced with this situation, Shi Feng promptly made the decision to combine Swords Transmigration with the Tier 3 Skill Thunder Tiger. Thunder Tiger was the fastest Offensive Skill available to a Tier 3 Swordsman, the Skill increasing the users Attack Speed by 100% and Strength by 80% upon activation. Clang! Unfortunately, the instant the silver longswords came into contact with the elven youths arm, they instantly shattered like glass. Then, an imperceptible black slit cut through Shi Fengs body, instantly dropping his HP to zero. Is this the strength that lies beyond the Realms of Truth? Shi Feng experienced an unprecedented degree of shock as he looked at the elven youth and his shattered longswords. He never thought there would be such a huge gap between the temples fourth-floor and third-floor trials. The standard of the elven youths combat proficiency was definitely the greatest he had ever seen in all three of his lives. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs surroundings began blurring after he died, and a system notification appeared before him. System: You have failed the fourth floor. Time spent: 5 seconds. If you wish to challenge the temple again, you will have to wait for one month. Shortly after the system notification, Shi Feng felt a dizzy feeling assaulting his mind for a moment. Then, by the time his mind regained its clarity, he found himself back on the 175th floor of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters. At this time, several hundred people occupied the 175th floors hall. However, the hall was indescribably quiet as everyone stared at the information displayed on the halls central display. Third-floor Trials Scoreboard: Chapter 3035 - Chapter 109 Chapter 109 C Strongest Tier 6 Player? Asura? Who is this person?! Why havent I heard of this name before?! Isnt this guy a little too strong? Even Fithalia only managed 21 minutes 17 seconds, yet he managed 9 minutes 23 seconds! Hes on an entirely different level! At this time, everyone paying attention to the Gods Domain Associations instructor certification test couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw the rankings for the third-floor trial. Setting aside the Magic-eye Hunter Fithalia, both the Silver Ghost and the Witch of the West were nigh-invincible existences among Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Even superpowers with Tier 6 God-ranked experts wouldnt dare offend these two people without a good reason. This was because both of these two had a frightening record of single-handedly defeating at least two God-ranked experts several years ago. Now that some years had passed since they set these records, there was no doubt that they had grown stronger. Meanwhile, although it was indeed surprising for Fithalia to come in first place previously, Fithalia wasnt some nameless nobody. She had also successfully killed a God-ranked expert by herself in the past. It was even rumored that she had acquired a Gods Legacy. So, it wasnt unacceptable that she managed to surpass the Silver Ghost and the Witch of the West. However, what was up with this Asura? Not only was this person a new name among Tier 6 God-ranked experts, but he had even surpassed the other participating God-ranked experts by a huge margin. He had practically made a fool out of all the God-ranked experts that ranked beneath him. Ive never heard of any God-ranked experts named Asura before. Could this guy be a newly-promoted God-ranked expert? No such God-ranked expert exists among the various powers. Hes probably a lone wolf. This guys amazing! He actually overpowered so many legends as an independent player! With this, nobody will dare look down on us independent players anymore! Investigate! We must get this person to join us! If we have such an expert in our Guild, even the Five Great Super Guilds wont dare to casually offend us! The various powers had varying thoughts when they saw Asuras score on the third-floor trials scoreboard. Some admired him, some were surprised by his strength, and some were curious about his identity. After getting over their initial shock, though, these powers promptly thought of recruiting him. It was especially true for the various corporations that had received news of this matter. The various superpowers had long since divided the current resources in Gods Domain among themselves. It was especially true for the Seven Luminaries Crystals, the resource crucial for reaching Tier 6. With the various superpowers current monopoly, it was utterly impossible to snatch any of these crucial resources from them. Even a new Tier 6 God-ranked expert appearing outside the various superpowers wouldnt change this fact. After all, the various superpowers could produce God-ranked experts at a much higher rate. However, that might change now that the God-ranked expert known as Asura had appeared. Although there were still many God-ranked experts that hadnt taken part in the Gods Domain Associations instructor certification test, the current participants were already more than enough to represent most of Gods Domains God-ranked experts. Meanwhile, with the exception of the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters and those four monsters, it was unlikely that any other God-ranked expert could beat Asuras score. Hence, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Asura was the strongest Tier 6 God-ranked expert in Gods Domain. Asura, is it? When Purple Jade, who was resting in the branch headquarters top-floor lounge, saw the results on the holographic screen before her, her eyes burned with fighting spirit. Personally, Purple Jade felt that she had improved a lot since she reached Tier 6 several years ago. Right now, she felt that she could fight even Prosciutto and Alice and have a chance at winning. Other than those four peerless monsters and the Five Great Super Guilds mysterious old monsters, she doubted that any other God-ranked expert could achieve a decisive victory over her. Now, though, a new target had appeared in Purple Jades mind, and this target was none other than Asura! In the past, unless God-ranked experts decided to fight each other, there was no way to tell the difference between God-ranked experts. However, there was a convenient way to do so nowthe Gods Domain Associations instructor certification test. Anyone who had participated in the test, particularly the third-floor trial, would know how challenging it was to defeat all those NPCs. Every one of those NPCs could rival the average Domain Realm expert in strength. While defeating one of these NPCs might be simple for a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, defeating a large group of them was an entirely different story. Despite how confident Purple Jade was in her strength, even she had taken 26 minutes to clear the third-floor trial. She couldnt even begin to imagine what kind of strength, or, more specifically, what kind of combat standard, was necessary to defeat all those NPCs in just nine minutes. Interesting! I didnt think that other than those old monsters and those four peerless monsters, thered be another person who has managed to reach such a realm! a 60-year-old man who looked like he was in his early forties said, a look of interest appearing on his face as he looked at the holographic scoreboard before him. Is this person really that strong, Great Elder? Can he really match those old monsters? a burly middle-aged man asked as he looked at the lean old man standing beside him. It should be known that the lean old man was Thousand Swords, a legendary individual in World Domination. While he wasnt trying to doubt Thousand Swords judgment, the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters were nigh-invincible existences. So, he found it hard to imagine that a God-ranked expert that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere could match those old monsters. I can only say that they are on the same level, Thousand Swords said after giving the middle-aged mans question some thought. We will only know the exact difference if those old monsters decide to show themselves. After all, youve seen the fourth-floor trial for yourself. I dont think anyone in our current Gods Domain can beat that person. That person on the fourth floor isnt just at the Beyond Domain Realm. He has similarly reached an incredible level in the Realms of Truth. Others might not know how powerful the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters were, but Thousand Swords had fought against some of those old monsters 20 years ago. Although he wasnt sure how strong those old monsters had become after entering Gods Domain, he was certain that all of them were at the Beyond Domain Realm. Indeed! Every one of those old monsters had reached the Beyond Domain Realm! This was also why even until now, none of the various superpowers God-ranked experts had ever questioned the strength of those old monsters. Meanwhile, back on the 175th floor of the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters While everyone was busy discussing Asura and wondering whether he could rival the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters, Liu Yanya had her eyes focused on the student registration list, shock and confusion coloring her face. Gold?! How did Chen Ziyou get into the Gold List?! At this time, there were only a few names on the Gold List. However, one of them just so happened to be Chen Ziyou, a name that shouldnt be there logically. This must be a mistake! How can her instructor be so strong?! Liu Yanya shook her head, refusing to believe this situation to be true. It should be known that her instructor had taken a long time to complete even the second-floor trial and become a Silver Instructor. Yet, just when she thought she could stand on equal footing as Chen Ziyou afterward, Chen Ziyous instructor had become a Gold Instructor. How could she possibly accept this situation? In reality, Liu Yanya wasnt the only one in disbelief over this situation. Even Chen Ziyou herself wore a dumbfounded expression when she saw her name on the Gold List. Instructor Shi? Asura? Chapter 3036 - Chapter 110 Chapter 110 C Start of a New Era The strongest Tier 6 God-ranked expert! So, this is the strength Instructor Shi has been hiding all along? Chen Ziyou dared not believe the crazy thought she just had. Asura! The current number one God-ranked expert in the Gods Domain Associations instructor certification test! Just reaching Tier 6 was already an unachievable goal for most players in Gods Domain, let alone becoming the strongest player among Tier 6 God-ranked experts. With her meager talent and strength, Chen Ziyou had never once harbored any thoughts of having any interactions with such a player. Not to mention, Shi Feng was merely the former Guild Leader of Shadow, a second-rate Guild, in the past. Although Chen Ziyou had long since known that Shi Feng couldnt possibly be just a Tier 3 expert with his combat standards, she had never thought that he would have anything to do with Tier 6 God-ranked experts. However, Chen Ziyou had no choice but to have such thoughts in the current situation. Unlike everyone else, she possessed much more information about the participant named Asura. After all, Shi Feng was her registered instructor. So, the instant Shi Feng became a Gold Instructor, she would be entered into the Gold List as well. Currently, there were already several dozen people registered on the third-floor trials scoreboard. Among them, some were Tier 6 God-ranked experts, and some were apex existences among Tier 5 experts. After all, the trials only tested the participants combat standards. The trials didnt consider the participants tiers, equipment, Skills, Spells, Legacies, etc. So, it wasnt strange for Tier 5 experts to conquer the third-floor trial as well. However, the instant Asuras name got registered on the third-floor trials scoreboard, Chen Ziyou had also received a notification that she had qualified for the Gods Domain Associations Gold List. In Chen Ziyous opinion, this definitely wasnt a coincidence. After all, nobody else had gotten registered on the third floors scoreboard around this time. So, this meant that Asura was Shi Feng, and Shi Feng was Asura. While Chen Ziyou was feeling shocked over this situation, Shi Feng had also walked up to her and quietly said, Dont tell my secret to anyone else for the moment. I still dont want too many people finding out about this. Such a situation wouldnt be beneficial to you or me. Shi Feng wasnt surprised that Chen Ziyou had figured out that he was Asura. After all, he had registered her as his apprentice. So long as Chen Ziyou was paying attention, she could easily connect the dots. Mhm. Chen Ziyou nodded like a timid rabbit, her eyes filled with excitement and reverence as she looked at Shi Feng. After all, the strongest Tier 6 God-ranked expert in Gods Domain was her instructor. There was no way she wouldnt be excited over this situation. She also understood why Shi Feng had given her such a reminder. Situations where destruction pursued the great happened frequently in Gods Domain. Now that Asura had already become known as the strongest God-ranked expert, the various superpowers were probably frantically looking into Asuras identity. It might be fine if Asura belonged to the various superpowers. However, if Asura turned out to be an independent expert with no background, there would only be two possible actions the various superpowers would take: recruiting or disposing of the player known as Asura. With the combat standards Shi Feng had currently displayed, it went without saying that the various superpowers would first try to recruit him at all costs. However, if they failed to get Shi Feng to join them, the subsequent actions they would take went without saying. At that time, the various superpowers probably wouldnt stop at just targeting Shi Feng. Even the people around Shi Feng might not be spared. Meanwhile, as Shi Fengs registered apprentice, Chen Ziyou would definitely be the first to suffer the various superpowers wrath. Youll have to start working harder to improve yourself once we return, Shi Feng said as he looked at the names on the third-floor trials scoreboard. The resources the Association provides are quite tempting, so it wont be long before war breaks out among the various powers. If you dont have enough strength, you might even have difficulty leveling up. The various powers are going to go to war? Chen Ziyou was confused by Shi Fengs words. The current situation in Gods Domain could be described as a pool of dead water. At most, the various powers would engage in insignificant conflicts. Never would they start a full-blown war against one another. So, she found it hard to believe that a war would break out among the various powers. Youll know what I mean soon enough, Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain himself. Then, he turned around and left the 175th floor. The reason the various powers could maintain a stable relationship with one another thus far was due to the vague gap in strength between experts, particularly Tier 5 experts. After all, nobody could tell how strong a Tier 5 expert was compared to other Tier 5 experts until they fought. Meanwhile, although fights between Tier 5 experts happened from time to time, they were still relatively rare. Because of this, most Tier 5 experts were unaware of how strong they were compared to their peers, and the only way to determine a powers overall strength was through the number of Tier 5 experts it had. However, the advent of the Gods Domain Associations instructor certification test had just removed this unknown variable and shattered the balance between the various powers. Now, everyone was aware that not all Tier 5 experts were equal and that it was possible for one Tier 5 expert to defeat multiple Tier 5 experts. In that case, how could the Guilds with fewer but stronger Tier 5 experts be willing to settle for fewer resources than Guilds with more but weaker Tier 5 experts? Gods Domain had already officially become a second world for humans. Every additional territory a power occupied could mean profits that could make even major corporations grow envious. Not to mention, now that Gods Domain faced the threat of invasion by Outerworld forces, the various powers would need more resources to nurture more experts so that they could better defend their territories. Hence, now that the unknown variable known as the strength of experts was out of the way, Gods Domains various powers might very well launch an all-out war against each other after today. Meanwhile, if these powers were willing to go to war with each other, it went without saying that they wouldnt hesitate to target independent players, either. At this time, Shi Feng wasnt the only one who noticed this point. The many powers and experts paying attention to the instructor certification test also realized it. Is this going to be the reshuffling for Tier 5 experts? Lin Yaoyue frowned as she looked at her quantum watchs holographic display. It was a common opinion that Tier 5 experts were largely equal in strength to each other in the past. Even if there was a difference, it wouldnt be significant. However, the scoreboards of the second- and third-floor trials proved otherwise. Contrary to everyones expectations, a massive gap in strength existed even among Tier 5 experts. It was especially true for the gap between the older generation and the newer generation Tier 5 experts. Unexpectedly, everyone had overestimated the older generation experts and underestimated the newer generation experts. This was because most of the Tier 5 experts who had conquered the third-floor trial were newer generation experts. Seeing this situation, there was no way the various powers would remain quiet and settle for the current status quo in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, what caught Lin Yaoyue off guard the most was that neither her Guilds Guild Leader nor Great Elder Confused Heart had made it onto the third floors scoreboard. This outcome would undoubtedly create a huge impact on Mysterious Moons prestige. In the past, other first-rate Guilds had believed that Mysterious Moons Guild Leader and Confused Heart were nigh-invincible existences among Tier 5 experts. Adding on the fact that Mysterious Moon had many Tier 5 experts, the Guild became regarded as top-tier among first-rate Guilds. Meanwhile, thanks to this status, Mysterious Moon was able to occupy crucial territories most other first-rate Guilds could never occupy. Other first-rate Guilds had even taken the initiative to surrender some of the Miniature Ancient Worlds resources to Mysterious Moon out of fear and respect. However, now that both of these supposedly invincible individuals had failed to clear the third-floor trial, it meant that they were no different than the other Tier 5 experts that were stuck on the second-floor trial. This situation would put Mysterious Moon in an incredibly precarious situation On the other side, after the Gods Domain Associations instructor certification test ended, Chen Ziyou got into the Associations Talent Camp without fail, and Shi Feng also received the bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid Qi Lanshan had promised him. Chapter 3037 - Chapter 111 – Ancient City Takes Shape Chapter 3537 C Chapter 111 C Ancient City Takes Shape Jin Hai City, Qingzhu Villa District: After spending the day at the Secret Pavilions branch headquarters, Shi Feng hurriedly returned to his villa to rest. In reality, those touring the branch headquarters could choose to spend the night there. However, when Shi Feng considered the bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid he got from Qi Lianshan and the 11,100 Association Points he earned from the instructor certification test, he didnt wish to waste even a moment longer there. Thus, he left the branch headquarters ahead of time. One bottle of Life Potion and six bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. These supplements should be enough to heal my bodys injuries and replenish my cells vitality, Shi Feng thought expectantly as he looked at the seven bottles he had just placed into the refrigerator. The Gods Domain Associations points could be exchanged for resources at the Association branches located in the various cities. To avoid attracting trouble to himself, Shi Feng had chosen to conceal his identity and exchanged his points at Liufeng Citys Association branch before returning to Jin Hai City. Meanwhile, he had spent all but 100 points to exchange for one bottle of Life Potion and five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Fortunately, as Liufeng City was a first-tier city, the Association branch there had all the resources the Association offered. Moreover, the exchange system was operated by AI. So long as he had enough points to exchange for the items he selected, the AI would send fully automated robots to deliver the items to him. No human was involved in the entire process, so there was no need to worry that his identity would get exposed. Meanwhile, with six bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and one bottle of Life Potion, he should be able to elevate his physical fitness to the standard of master martial artists. Most importantly, the Life Potion would rejuvenate his cells, returning him to his prime of youth. At that time, he would no longer have to worry about facing bottlenecks when developing his body. While Shi Feng was conducting meditation training to put his mind and body into the perfect condition to consume and absorb the drugs, Blackie suddenly contacted him with an anxious expression on his face. Guild Leader, I just received news that the balance between the various powers has been broken because of the Gods Domain Association. Now, the various powers have started competing for leveling spots in both the main continent and the Miniature Ancient World. Battles involving tens of thousands of players have even taken place in a few places already, Blackie said in a helpless tone. Right now, the various first-rate Guilds and Guild alliances have already locked down all leveling maps under Level 110 in the Miniature Ancient World. Theyre not letting any outsiders set foot into these maps. Qianlius side has even clashed with some teams already. Although theyve won every fight so far, weve also suffered a lot of casualties Currently, although Zero Wings internal members were ahead of the various Guilds in terms of levels, their optimum leveling spots were still Level 105 to Level 110 leveling maps due to the inconvenience of travel. Originally, few Guilds would send their teams out to these maps, so Zero Wings internal members got to enjoy ample leveling resources. However, now that the various Guilds were laying claim over these maps, it became a lot more challenging for Zero Wing to monopolize these resources. Although Zero Wings members could fend off those who tried to hinder them, most of the opponents they faced were experts from the various first-rate Guilds. Fighting against these experts while grinding would lower their grinding efficiency significantly. Moreover, as a small Guild, the last thing Zero Wing wanted was to have a protracted fight with a large Guild. After all, a large Guild could afford to have a portion of their members keep Zero Wing busy while the rest of their members focused on leveling up rapidly. That is indeed a problem. Shi Feng fell into thought for a moment when he heard Blackies report. Then, he said, Have them switch to grinding in Level 110-plus maps for now. Although their leveling efficiency will still decrease, it will still be better than if they stayed and fought. Also, you dont need to worry about recruiting new members. Just focus on leveling up for now. Okay. Ill notify Qianliu and the others, Blackie said. After giving the matter some thought, he felt that this was the only solution they had right now. After Blackie disconnected the call, Shi Feng also stopped meditating, took out a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid from the refrigerator, and emptied it into his stomach. It seems Ill have to accelerate the Abyssal Star Citys construction. Although Shi Feng had more or less expected the various powers to make a big move after the instructor certification test, he didnt think they would act so quickly. He also didnt expect the competition to reach the Miniature Ancient World as well. After drinking the S-rank Nutrient Fluid and feeling a warm feeling spreading throughout his body, Shi Feng lied into his virtual gaming cabin and logged into Gods Domain. Misty Canyon, Abyssal Star Ancient City: When Shi Feng logged back into the game, he found that the Abyssal Star City had undergone massive changes. This Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the pedestrians walking along the citys main street. The once deserted ancient city had become populated by numerous NPCs in less than a day. Moreover, many of these NPCs were merchants and adventurers. NPC merchants and NPC adventurers might be a common sight in towns and cities, but it was incredibly strange to see so many of these NPCs in a city that had been summoned only recently. It should be known that NPC merchants and NPC adventurers were crucial for a citys early-stage development. After all, a city could only rent its Shops out if there were NPC merchants seeking to rent them, and a citys Shops would also only have products to sell if NPC merchants were renting them. Meanwhile, a city could only defend itself if there were NPC adventurers applying to become guards. If a city lacked sufficient NPC guards, it couldnt even maintain basic public security. NPC guards were especially important for the Abyssal Star City since it sat in the monster-infested Misty Canyon. Meanwhile, after seeing how rapidly the Abyssal Star Ancient City had developed, Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that Hidden Soul was indeed a capable person. System: Abyssal Star Ancient City has accumulated 2,000 Popularity Points and 500 city guards. Do you wish to spend 20,000 Magic Crystals to unlock the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop? Chapter 3038 - Chapter 112 – Ancient Workshop Chapter 112 C Ancient Workshop An Advanced Workshop? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw the system notification. Shi Feng was no stranger to Workshops. Once a Guild City reached the Main City rank, players could construct a Workshop in the city simply by spending Coins and Magic Crystals. Meanwhile, exactly as its name suggested, the Workshop was a place for the various Lifestyle classes to conduct their work. At the same time, it also possessed some of the Lifestyle Associations functions, such as issuing NPC commissions and trade offers. Not only could Lifestyle Players acquire rare resources through the Workshop, but they also had a certain chance to acquire designs and recipes from NPCs, thereby increasing their Lifestyle standards. In addition, the Workshop would also sell materials needed by the various Lifestyle classes for crafting basic items. Sometimes, it would even sell rare materials cheaply. However, while acquiring a Basic Workshop might be a straightforward process, acquiring an Advanced Workshop was a whole other story. The Advanced Workshop was no longer something players could unlock simply by spending Coins and Magic Crystals. Instead, players needed to acquire the construction design for it. Meanwhile, an Advanced Workshop was a qualitative leap from a Basic Workshop. In the case of a Basic Workshop, it would, at most, have Basic, Advanced, and Special Workrooms. Although these workrooms could help increase players production success rate, the increase was limited and would not exceed 10%. However, it was an entirely different story for an Advanced Workshop. Even the most inferior workroom in an Advanced Workshop would be at the Special rank. Other than Special Workrooms, there were also Magic Workrooms that could increase players production rate by 25%. In Gods Domain, many Master and Grandmaster Lifestyle Players would often defect to another power just so that they could have the privilege of using a Magic Workroom. If news got out that the Abyssal Star Ancient City had unlocked an Advanced Workshop, the various superpowers would definitely lose their minds. After all, this was an Advanced Workshop inside the Miniature Ancient World. Unlock it! Shi Feng chose to unlock the Advanced Workshop without hesitation. Previously, he had already stocked up 100,000 Magic Crystals in Abyssal Star City. Although spending 20,000 Magic Crystals so quickly hurt his heart, it was a small price to pay for an Advanced Workshop. Now that there was an Advanced Workshop in Abyssal Star City, it meant that Zero Wing would have no problem attracting Lifestyle Players to join. The importance of Lifestyle Players was no less than combat players. This was because a considerable portion of Gods Domains Epic Weapons and Equipment came from the hands of Lifestyle Players. Some Lifestyle Players were even capable of crafting Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, compared to items obtained from loot, items created by players were a much better fit for players. It was especially true for Epic and Fragmented Legendary items. This was because items of such rank were typically made to fit the players who would use them. Meanwhile, because these items were made to fit the user, the players using these custom-made items could exhibit close to 100% of these items potential. In comparison, an ordinary expert would, at most, be able to exhibit 70% of a looted items potential, while peak experts could exhibit only 90%. In addition, when using a looted item, players would have to adapt their combat style to the items characteristics instead of the other way around. Depending on how much change players had to make, it might lead to a further reduction in strength. Hence, all experts at the Void Realm standard or above would almost always use custom-made items. It didnt matter even if acquiring these items cost them ten times more than what they would normally have to pay for an item of the same quality. The only times when experts of such caliber would use looted items were when the items in question possessed incredible Basic Attributes or effects. Because of this, almost every Master and Grandmaster Lifestyle Players in Gods Domain had a waiting list of several years. Moreover, if one was making a commission with a Lifestyle Player who wasnt affiliated to ones Guild, one would typically have to pay a much greater price for custom-made items. However, now that Zero Wing had an Advanced Workshop, Zero Wings members would no longer have to worry about custom-made weapons and equipment in the future. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng chose to unlock the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop, a rather dilapidated five-story building along the citys main street suddenly took on a new and vibrant look. Why does this Advanced Workshop occupy such a big area? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he looked at the five-story Workshop. The Workshops building matched the size of a sports stadium, and it was nearly twice as big as the Advanced Workshops Shi Feng had seen before. However, Shi Feng didnt put too much thought into the matter. Immediately, he walked into the Workshop to inspect it. It seems I have really underestimated the Abyssal Star Ancient City. With its abilities, it can probably rank among the top three even within the Second Sequence. After Shi Feng was done inspecting the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop, he couldnt help but take in a deep breath as he tried to calm his restless heart. If he were to describe the citys ancient tower as a holy land for players to develop their control over Mana, then the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop would be a holy land for Lifestyle Players. Not only did the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop have 400 Special Workrooms, but it even had 60 Magic Workrooms. These numbers were more than double that of the average Advanced Workshop. In addition, the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop also had nine incredibly special rooms that could be described as miniature worlds. Meanwhile, these workrooms were named the Sages Room. In these nine Sages Rooms, players could simulate the production process of an item simply by spending some Magic Crystals. Without wasting precious materials, players could familiarize themselves with an items production process, thereby increasing their production success rate. For Master and Grandmaster Lifestyle Players seeking to produce Epic and Fragmented Legendary items, the function of these Sages Rooms was something they dreamed of having. After all, the materials needed to produce Epic and Fragmented Legendary items were incredibly precious. Even the Five Great Super Guilds wouldnt dare let their Lifestyle Players practice with these materials. So, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Sages Rooms simulation function was priceless. Moreover, this simulation function wasnt everything the Sages Room had to offer. The Sages Room still had one more function, and it was even more amazing than the simulation function. Legacy Guidance! Indeed! Legacy Guidance for Lifestyle Players! In an era where almost all Lifestyle Legacies had vanished from Gods Domain, the Sages Rooms ability to offer Legacy Guidances was utterly unimaginable. However, it wasnt completely accurate to say that the Sages Room provided players with Legacy Guidances. Rather than providing players with theoretical knowledge, the Sages Room granted players a buff that increased their Lifestyle rank by one while inside the room. In addition, the Sages Room would also provide players with a simulation of the best possible method to produce a designated item, allowing players to have a clear goal when producing the designated item. Even so, this function would shake the entirety of Gods Domain should it be made known to the public. After all, in the current Gods Domain, the only Legacies that Lifestyle Players had to go by were textual descriptions of production techniques. They were not given any clear requirements or goals they needed to achieve to learn these techniques. This was why the development of Lifestyle Players was incapable of keeping up with the development of combat players, who possessed complete combat systems. Compared to sub-worlds with complete Lifestyle systems, the development of Lifestyle players in this sub-world was at a snails pace. Chapter 3039 - Chapter 113 Chapter 113 C Emerging Strength This is going to be a headache Shi Feng couldnt help but feel his head hurting when he finished looking through the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshops information. If he was merely dealing with an ordinary Advanced Workshop, he couldve recruited Lifestyle Players without worry. However, with the presence of the Sages Rooms, he had to be extra careful when recruiting Lifestyle Players. If handled poorly, the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop might bring an end to the Abyssal Star Ancient City. However, Shi Feng didnt mull over this matter for too long. Since he had already picked up this hot potato, there was nothing he could do but wait for Zero Wings mercenary alliance to grow sufficiently strong. Setting aside the Sages Room, the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop had another amazing function. More specifically, all Advanced Workshops had this functionrecruiting Lifestyle NPCs. Depending on an Advanced Workshops popularity, it could even recruit Master Lifestyle NPCs. Meanwhile, Master Lifestyle NPCs should be enough to cope with the demands of the current Miniature Ancient World. After walking up to the Workshops front desk, Shi Feng activated the Workshops recruitment function. Then, in less than two hours, applications from NPCs began appearing before Shi Feng one after another. Amazing! This Workshop has only opened recently, yet there are already Master Lifestyle NPCs applying to join! Shi Feng couldnt help but be flabbergasted when he looked through the system message bar. Normally, an Advanced Workshop would not attract any Master Lifestyle NPCs as soon as it opened. Applications from Master Lifestyle NPCs would only start appearing a few days after the Workshops opening. Moreover, only one or two would appear. Yet, now, in just two hours, the Abyssal Star Advanced Workshop had already received applications from more than ten Master Lifestyle NPCs. One of them was even a Master Forger. In addition, this Master Forger was only asking for 100 Gold per day, which was only half of the standard price on the main continent. With this, I wont have to get Blackie to recruit Master Forgers and Alchemists. After looking at the long list of applications, Shi Feng chose to hire all 15 of the Master Lifestyle NPCs that applied. Of these NPCs, 14 were Basic Masters, while one was an Advanced Master Forger. Thankfully, I already have the designs ready. Otherwise, these NPCs are going to bankrupt Zero Wing. Shi Feng couldnt help but sigh ruefully as he looked at the total cost of hiring these 15 NPCs. Each of the 14 Basic Masters cost 40 Gold per day to hire, while the Advanced Master cost 100 Gold. In total, it cost 660 Gold per day to hire these 15 NPCs. In the Miniature Ancient World, even third-rate Guilds would have difficulty supporting a daily expenditure of 660 Gold. Firstly, unlike on the main continent, income sources were incredibly limited in the current Miniature Ancient World. Guilds did not have any Guild Towns or Cities to provide them with large amounts of Coins. Right now, the only way Guilds could earn Coins reliably was by selling equipment and having Guild members do quests. Secondly, although the various Guilds had sent many players into the Miniature Ancient World, everyone was just starting out here. Thus, everyone had significant daily expenditures. If not for players being allowed to bring 1,000 Gold with them when they entered the Miniature Ancient World, the various Guilds would probably be dead-ass poor right now. Meanwhile, after the NPCs Shi Feng hired arrived at the Workshop, Shi Feng approached a white-clad old man. Then, he took out the Ancient Mana Equipment Set Design he had obtained from the Ancient Demon Court and asked, Master Horn, how likely are you to succeed in manufacturing this set? Horn Selent, an Advanced Master Forger. On the main continent, even the king of a kingdom would treat him with courtesy. A Mana Equipment Set? Horn caressed his white beard and fell into thought as he looked at the design. Then, after some time had passed, he said, Roughly 40%. Forty? Shi Feng nodded in satisfaction when he heard the old mans answer. The Ancient Mana Equipment Set was extraordinary. If he had a player of the same rank produce it, their success rate would probably be under 30%. Ill leave this design with you, then, Master Horn. Ill also have the other masters assist you as much as they can. With the Sages Rooms effects, Horns success rate should increase past 50%. It cost 1,000 Magic Crystals and 100 Golds worth of other materials to produce an Ancient Mana Equipment Set. If the production success rate was over 50%, each set should only cost 2,000 Magic Crystals and 200 Gold to produce. Even if this standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Set was slightly inferior to the sets obtained from the Ancient Demon Court, they were still far stronger than Dark-Gold Equipment Sets. Currently, what Zero Wing lacked most were weapons and equipment. Although Su Qianlius Thousand Flow adventurer team had brought in many Epic Weapons and Equipment from the main continent, there still wasnt enough to equip everyone in the Guild. After all, even top-tier first-rate Guilds could not fully equip all their experts in Epic Weapons and Equipment. They could only acquire enough to gear their main force members at most. Moreover, most of these Epic Weapons and Equipment were individual pieces rather than sets. For the average expert in first-rate Guilds, theyd be fortunate to have two or three pieces of Epic Equipment. Meanwhile, the eight-piece Dark-Gold ranked Ancient Mana Equipment Set was inferior only to eight-piece Epic Equipment Sets. In some cases, the Mana Equipment Set excelled even more than Epic Equipment Sets. If he could equip every Zero Wing member with a set, Zero Wings overall combat power would definitely skyrocket. Afterward, Shi Feng joined Horn and the other masters in producing the Ancient Mana Equipment Set. Shi Feng wasnt just a Tier 6 Sword God in the past. He was also a Grandmaster Forger. Although he was only a Basic Apprentice Forger with zero Lifestyle EXP right now, he still remembered all the forging techniques he had learned in the past. While Shi Feng might not be able to produce the whole set by himself, he could still help in producing some parts of the set. It was especially true when it came to refining metals and Magic Crystals. These tasks didnt require Lifestyle Levels and relied entirely on technique. Meanwhile, with the techniques Shi Feng had honed, he achieved a 60% success rate when refining, which was 10% higher than the NPC Masters. This, in turn, increased the overall production success rate of the Ancient Mana Equipment Set by a little. In just two days, Shi Feng and the NPCs had successfully produced 50 Ancient Mana Equipment Sets. Shi Feng had also leveled up from 105 to 106 thanks to all the parts he had produced. His leveling speed was not at all inferior to players grinding out in the fields. In addition, he had leveled up twice in his forging standard, going from a Basic Apprentice Forger into an Advanced Apprentice Forger. Now, he was only missing a few more proficiency points to become a Basic Forger. However, in producing all these Ancient Mana Equipment Sets, Shi Feng had also exhausted Zero Wings stockpile of Magic Crystals. If not for the large number of NPC Merchants contributing 70,000 Magic Crystals and 20,000 Gold in rent these past two days, Zero Wing wouldve long since gone bankrupt. Just when Shi Feng was about to continue crafting some parts to level up into a Basic Forger, he suddenly received a call notification. Meanwhile, the caller was none other than Mysterious Moons Zhuo Yalin. Seeing as you are contacting me now, did something happen over at the Darkmoon Outpost, Miss Nightingale? Shi Feng asked when he saw the tired look on Zhuo Yalins face. According to his agreement with Zhuo Yalin, there should still be two days until the battle for the Darkmoon Outpost began. Something has indeed happened, Zhuo Yalin said with a bitter smile. Im afraid we will have to cancel our previous agreement, Mr. Black Flame. World Domination has just moved into Hundred Flow City and laid claim over every map that drops the tokens for the Darkmoon Outpost. First-rate Guilds like Mysterious Moon stand no chance against it Of course, Mysterious Moon will still compensate you with 10,000 Gold. Ever since the Gods Domain Associations temple trial, the entirety of Gods Domain had undergone a massive change. Every leveling spot in the Miniature Ancient World had also transformed into a battlefield between the various powers. Originally, Zhuo Yalin thought that Mysterious Moon stood a chance at securing the Darkmoon Outpost since only a few first-rate Guilds were competing for it. However, after World Domination moved into Hundred Flow City, all of her plans had become a joke. Currently, although Mysterious Moon still retained its hold over some of its leveling spots, every map that dropped the Darkmoon Token had become a forbidden zone thanks to World Domination. Although Mysterious Moon had collected over 60 Darkmoon Tokens thus far, that wouldnt be enough to secure the Darkmoon Outpost. This was because the closer they got to the day of the competition, the higher the drop-rate for the Darkmoon Tokens would become. If World Domination monopolized all of the token maps for the next two days, it would have a huge advantage in numbers during the competition. World Domination has come to Hundred Flow City? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised to learn about this news. The rewards the Gods Domain Association offered were incredibly lucrative, so it wasnt strange for even the various superpowers to make a move. Miss Nightingale, forget the compensation. How about making a deal with Zero Wing? A deal? Zhuo Yalin was a little confused as she looked at Shi Feng. May I know what kind of deal, Mr. Black Flame? Its a huge pity to just give up on the Darkmoon Outpost now. The Darkmoon Outpost is the nearest resting point for Level 110 maps. Well need to wait one whole month if we give up on the competition this time. How about we work together to secure it? Shi Feng asked. Of course, once we secure the Darkmoon Outpost, I want half of the Shops, including the only Large Shop in the Outpost. I also want half of the Outposts revenue. What do you think? Zhuo Yalin couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in disbelief when she heard his words. Mr. Black Flame, dont tell me youplan on attacking World Domination? Chapter 3040 - Chapter 114 Chapter 114 C Zero Wings Strength Zhuo Yalin was both shocked and frightened by Shi Fengs suggestion. This was a Super Guild they were talking about! Even if World Domination wasnt one of the Five Great Super Guilds, it was still a veteran Super Guild that had been publicly acknowledged as such since Gods Domains launch. Although one could often see top-tier first-rate Guilds behaving fearlessly against a Super Guild, that was only on the surface. However, it was a completely different story when it came to attacking a Super Guild. Zhuo Yalin would be lying if she said she wasnt frightened by Shi Fengs suggestion. As an executive of a first-rate Guild, Zhuo Yalin possessed a much greater understanding of Super Guilds than second- and third-rate Guilds in Gods Domain. Or, more specifically, the stronger a power was in Gods Domain, the more afraid they would be of Super Guilds. This was because Super Guilds were nowhere close to being as simple as they seemed on the surface. Otherwise, instances of non-superpowers going up against Super Guilds and coming out on top wouldnt be regarded as legends. Are you not interested in the Darkmoon Outpost, Miss Nightingale? Shi Feng asked with a smile. Of course not, Zhuo Yalin denied, shaking her head. Once ahead, always ahead. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that Mana Outposts located close to NPC Cities were the most important economic resource for a power during the early stages of the Miniature Ancient World. If a power failed to secure a Mana Outpost on this first round, even if it secured an Outpost a month later, the Coins and resources it could earn through the Outpost would be significantly lower than the income the Outpost generated on the first month. Not to mention, the difficulty of snatching an Outpost would rise exponentially after the first competition. After all, the powers that had occupied the Mana Outposts in the first month wouldve utilized the Outposts to generate a massive income, which, in turn, could be used to boost their development in the Miniature Ancient World. Currently, what mattered the most to the various powers of Gods Domain wasnt the resources available in the Miniature Ancient World. Instead, what mattered most to the various powers was to cross the Boundary River and reach the neutral zone as soon as possible. This was because whoever managed to take control of the neutral zone would become the leading force of the two Gods Domains in the future. Hence, the various powers were seeking to get their players to Level 120 and enter the neutral zone to make preparations to control it as soon as possible. After taking a deep breath, Zhuo Yalin said, World Domination is a Super Guild. Even if only a portion of its members is in Hundred Flow City, it still isnt an opponent we can go up against. After all, aside from its own members, World Domination still has many affiliated powers. Just in Hundred Flow City alone, there is one first-rate Guild and three second-rate Guilds affiliated to World Domination. The number of first-rate experts World Domination has far surpasses ours Aside from having many powerful experts, Super Guilds also had many affiliated powers working for them. Otherwise, there was no way a Super Guild could control the massive territory they occupied. Not to mention, they were currently in the early stages of the Miniature Ancient World. While the quality of experts still mattered to a certain extent, quantity played a much more important role now that everyone was at Tier 3. Meanwhile, World Domination had an overwhelming advantage over Mysterious Moon when it came to the quantity of experts they possessed. Even if Mysterious Moon had a Tier 6 God-ranked expert on its side, it still couldnt go against World Domination. The competition for the Darkmoon Outpost wasnt a simple clash between players. Firstly, there were the Darkmoon Tokens needed to participate in the actual competition. The maps the Darkmoon Tokens dropped at were massive, and Tier 3 players would need around eight hours just to run from one side to another. Even if Shi Feng decided to go after World Dominations players, he wouldnt be able to kill many of them. Thus, World Domination could still collect a large number of tokens before the competition began. Secondly, the actual competition for the Outpost involved players killing monsters for resources and occupying resource nodes. Even if Shi Feng was powerful, there was a limit to what a single player could do. If Mysterious Moon went along with Shi Fengs plans and attacked World Domination, not only would World Domination still secure the Darkmoon Outpost, but Mysterious Moon would also end up having to suffer World Dominations retaliation afterward. I know. If we are only talking about first-rate experts, Mysterious Moon naturally cannot beat World Domination, Shi Feng said, nodding. But what if Mysterious Moon has more experts with Tier 4 combat power than World Domination? Mysterious Moon having more Tier 4 combatants than World Domination? Impossible, Zhuo Yalin said as she looked at Shi Feng in confusion. While Mysterious Moon had indeed dispatched a large number of experts to garrison Hundred Flow City, there were only three experts with Tier 4 combat power. Moreover, that was only because they had combat standards at the Flowing Water Realm and were geared with top-tier Epic Weapons that were close to rivaling Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment Sets. Compared to World Domination, the number of Tier 4 combatants Mysterious Moon possessed was nothing. Setting aside World Dominations affiliated powers, just World Domination itself probably had more than a dozen Tier 4 combatants in Hundred Flow City. After all, Hall of Fame-level Equipment Sets might be difficult to acquire for first-rate Guilds, but crafting such sets would be no difficulty for World Domination, a Guild with plenty of Master and Grandmaster Lifestyle Players. It was even possible that every Flowing Water Realm expert or above in World Domination was geared with such a set. Although Epic Weapons that rivaled Fragmented Legendary Weapons might be rarer, these experts could simply make up the gap with their combat standards. Of course it wouldnt be possible if we rely only on your Guild. However, it is a different story if you have Zero Wings assistance, Shi Feng said. However, instead of explaining his plans, he asked, How many Refinement Realm experts does Mysterious Moon have right now? There are 34 in Hundred Flow City and a few more in other NPC Cities. I should be able to gather 40 within a short period, Zhuo Yalin said, not bothering to withhold this information. It wasnt difficult for a first-rate power to find out how many Refinement Realm experts other first-rate powers had sent into the Miniature Ancient World, so there was no point in keeping this a secret from Shi Feng. Forty? Shi Feng was a little surprised. He had to admit that Mysterious Moon indeed deserved to be regarded as a top-tier first-rate Guild. The number of experts Mysterious Moon had dispatched to the Miniature Ancient World was only a small portion of its members. After all, the Guilds main operations remained on the main continent. Yet, Mysterious Moon still had 40 Refinement Realm experts in the Miniature Ancient World. In other words, Mysterious Moon should have at least 200 Refinement Realm experts in total That was an overwhelming difference compared to second- and third-rate Guilds with no Refinement Realm experts. Seeing a lack of response from Shi Feng, Zhuo Yalin said, This is already the limit. Although I can ask headquarters to send more people, it is a huge risk. Moreover If they had a real chance at securing the Darkmoon Outpost, she could certainly try to persuade her superiors to send more experts into the Miniature Ancient World. However, the consequences of failure were not something Mysterious Moon could afford to bear. No need. This many is enough. Now, it just depends on whether Mysterious Moon decides to go along with this partnership or not, Shi Feng calmly said. If your side doesnt have any problems, you can have these Refinement Realm experts gather in Hundred Flow City. Zero Wing will help you secure the Darkmoon Outpost! Despite Shi Fengs calm words, Zhuo Yalin still couldnt help but grow anxious. However, when she thought about how these words came from a power capable of sending a Tier 6 God-ranked expert into the Miniature Ancient World, she felt that Zero Wing must have its reasons for being so confident. So, after pondering for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, Okay. Ill contact them right away. Afterward, Zhuo Yalin hung up the call and began contacting the Guilds core experts. Chapter 3041 - Chapter 115 Chapter 115 C Confrontation? Inside a luxurious five-story mansion in Hundred Flow City Currently, 40 players who had reached Level 103 were gathered inside the mansions fifth-floor conference room. All 40 of these players were fully geared in Epic Equipment, and they radiated an aura that would instill fear into an ordinary Tier 3 expert. Some of these players even radiated dense bloodlust, their bodies surrounded by a faint layer of red mist. Why did you suddenly gather us here, Nightingale? Did something happen? the 30-year-old man radiating the densest bloodlust asked as he looked at Zhuo Yalin coldly, his voice showing no respect for her whatsoever. You should know how important the Crimson Mist Legions missions are. We do not have time to waste here with you. The mans unforgiving words caused the Mysterious Moon experts present to fall silent, none of them daring to say a word as they looked at Zhuo Yalin. The Crimson Mist Legion! It was the only trump card legion Mysterious Moon possessed, and the legions commander was Crimson Seal, the grim-looking man speaking to Zhuo Yalin. At the same time, Crimson Seal was also one of Mysterious Moons Vice Guild Leaders. Normally, Crimson Seal shouldve been responsible for overseeing Mysterious Moons operations in the Miniature Ancient World. However, the Guild Leader had decided to leave this responsibility to Zhuo Yalin to nurture her into one of the Guilds future leaders. Hence, Zhuo Yalin was technically Crimson Seals superior in the Miniature Ancient World. However, because of this situation, Crimson Seal ended up having great opinions about Zhuo Yalin. After all, in terms of management capabilities and combat standards, Crimson Seal was still significantly superior to Zhuo Yalin. It was especially true when it came to combat standards. In Mysterious Moon, Crimson Seal was a Void Realm expert capable of ranking within the top five in the Guild, and he was just half a step away from reaching the Domain Realm. In contrast, Zhuo Yalin was only a Flowing Water Realm expert. However, Zhuo Yalin had long since gotten used to Crimson Seals strictness. So, she smiled and said, Vice Guild Leader Seal, I know the Guild Leader has assigned many missions to you, but I have gathered everyone here today to make an important announcement. An important announcement? With eyes full of disdain, Crimson Seal said, What do you think can be more important than collecting the tokens for the Twin Lions Citys Greyhawk Outpost? World Dominations entry into Hundred Flow City had thoroughly messed up Mysterious Moons original plans, and this forced Mysterious Moon with no choice but to move their base of operations to the Twin Lions City. Meanwhile, the competition for the Greyhawk Outpost, the Mana Outpost closest to the Twin Lions City, was already closing. Some of Hundred Flow Citys other first-rate Guilds had also moved to the Twin Lions City. Thus, competition for the Greyhawk Outpost was going to be much more intense than the competition for the Darkmoon Outpost. The Darkmoon Outpost! Zhuo Yalin said in a serious tone. We have already invested a lot into Hundred Flow City. We will incur massive losses if we give up on it now. My intention is for us to follow our original plans and continue competing for the Darkmoon Outpost! As soon as Zhuo Yalin finished speaking, many people in the room couldnt help but gasp and look at her in disbelief. A Super Guild! This was a giant mountain that towered above the many first-rate Guilds in Gods Domain. Many people in Mysterious Moon might think that their Guild had no reason to fear a confrontation with a Super Guild, but core members like them know that this was nothing but a delusional fantasy. As core members of the Guild, they knew just how big of a gap there existed between Mysterious Moon and a Super Guild. Compete for the Darkmoon Outpost? Crimson Seal couldnt help but laugh when he heard Zhuo Yalins words. Are you telling us to attack World Domination? Thats right. Zhuo Yalin nodded. Are you insane, Nightingale? Crimson Seal abruptly stood up from his seat and glared at Zhuo Yalin. The Guild Leader might have left you in charge of the Guilds affairs in the Miniature Ancient World, but he did not grant you permission to send the entire Guild to the grave! At this moment, other than Lin Yaoyue, who sat beside Zhuo Yalin, everyone else in the room couldnt help but deeply agree with Crimson Seal. Thats right! While I understand you find it difficult to accept losing the investments we have made in Hundred Flow City, you cant joke around using the Guilds future, Vice Commander Nightingale. World Domination might not have sent many people to Hundred Flow City, but their experts still outnumber us by a large margin. We will only be seeking our own deaths by competing with World Domination. Based on our findings, World Domination has dispatched three legions to Hundred Flow City this time. Of them, there is even a trump card legion led by World Dominations Vice Guild Leader Zuo Tiankuang. You are aware of how powerful World Dominations trump card legions are, right, Vice Commander Nightingale? Of each legions 1,000 members, even the weakest among them is at the Half-step Refinement Realm, and many among them are at the Refinement Realm. The team leaders in the legion are also at the Refinement Realms peak at the very least. With our forces, how can we even hope to compete with World Domination? For second-rate Guilds and below, they would only know that Super Guilds were existences that shouldnt be offended. However, they were unaware of how powerful a Super Guild was exactly. A Half-step Refinement Realm expert that would be treated as an integral member of a first-rate Guild would be nothing but the weakest member in a Super Guilds 1,000-man trump card legions. Even in a Super Guilds normal 1,000-man legions, a Half-step Refinement Realm expert could, at most, become a team leader, while the normal members of the legion were first-rate experts at the very least. Meanwhile, World Domination had dispatched two normal legions and one trump card legion to Hundred Flow City. Faced against such a force, it wouldnt matter even if every first-rate Guild in Hundred Flow City banded together. They still wouldnt be able to go against these three legions from World Domination. Indeed! This was the difference between a first-rate Guild and a Super Guild. The two were standing on entirely different levels. I understand your concerns, Zhuo Yalin said patiently after hearing everyones objections. Which is why Mysterious Moon wouldnt be the only one competing for the Darkmoon Outpost this time. Zero Wing will also be assisting us! Zero Wing? Upon hearing Zhuo Yalins words, everyone quickly thought of something. Is it the Guild established in Hundred Flow City by that Outerworld God-ranked expert? Although Zero Wings existence remained a secret in Mysterious Moon, everyone present was a core expert of the Guild. So, they had more or less heard about Zero Wing and its origins. While Mysterious Moon had thought of partnering with Zero Wing previously, the demands of Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame were simply far too much for Mysterious Moon to accept. Currently, though, Zero Wing was nothing but an empty shell of a Guild. The only noteworthy expert in Zero Wing was Black Flame. As for the Thousand Flow adventurer team that had joined the Guild, it was nothing but an insignificant existence. Meanwhile, Crimson Seal sat down again and sneered, saying, Nightingale, Zero Wing might have a God-ranked expert, but the Darkmoon Outposts problem isnt something just one God-ranked expert can resolve. At this moment, even Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but be confused by Zhuo Yalins decision, let alone Crimson Seal. While Black Flame was indeed powerful, with Zero Wing in its current state, there was very little the Guild could do in the Miniature Ancient World, much less clash against a Super Guild in a direct confrontation. However, before Zhuo Yalin could offer a response, a knocking sound suddenly came from the door. Then, the person outside the conference room loudly reported: Vice Commander Nightingale, Black Flame and his companion have arrived at the mansions entrance. Should I let them in? Invite them in. Chapter 3042 - Chapter 116 Chapter 116 C Ice Queen The conference room fell silent when everyone heard Zhuo Yalins words. None of them thought Zhuo Yalin had invited Black Flame to this conference. What do you think this little girl is trying to do, Vice Guild Leader? Is she really intent on fighting for the Darkmoon Outpost? the 50-year-old thin man dressed like a knight sitting next to Crimson Seal asked in a whisper. I dont know. Crimson Seal shook his head. Then, in a resolute voice, he said, But if that really is the case, I will have no choice but to carry out the Guild Leaders secret command and deprive her of her authority. I guess thats the only thing we can do if she is bent on having her way, the thin man said, nodding. Then, he let out a sigh and muttered, But it truly is a pity Their Guild Leader and Great Elder had already designated Zhuo Yalin as the future leader of Mysterious Moon. Meanwhile, with the Miniature Ancient Worlds launch, the Guild Leader had decided to use this opportunity to nurture Zhuo Yalin. However, the Miniature Ancient World was crucial to Mysterious Moons future. So, as a preventive measure, the Guild Leader had also sent Vice Guild Leader Crimson Seal and several other old fellows like him to the Miniature Ancient World. On the one hand, they would be assisting Zhuo Yalin in managing the Guild. On the other hand, they would be testing Zhuo Yalins capabilities. Currently, though, they couldnt help but find Zhuo Yalins behavior to be a little too over the board. It was simply absurd to fight against World Dominators just to salvage the Guilds losses. Let alone them, even the Guild Leader and Great Elder probably wouldnt wish to see the Guilds future successor have such a behavior. Meanwhile, so long as Vice Guild Leader Crimson Seal carried out the Guild Leaders secret command, it would mean that Zhuo Yalin would thoroughly lose her qualifications to become the Guilds future successor. After all, if a Guild wished to survive for a long time, its leaders would need to know when to cut their losses and seek other alternatives. Stubbornly insisting on a path would simply plunge the Guild into the abyss. While Crimson Seal and the vice commander of the Crimson Mist Legion were having a hushed conversation, the conference room doors suddenly opened. A moment later, a man and a woman walked into the room. The man wore a Black Cloak and had a pitch-black longsword hanging by his waist, while the woman wore a luxurious dark-red mages robe. At a glance, the man looked like he was a wanderer in the wilderness, while the woman was a beauty who radiated an air of elegance and maturity. Meanwhile, upon the arrival of these two people, Mysterious Moons members couldnt help but look at them curiously. Everyone paid especially close attention to Shi Feng. Is he that God-ranked expert? Even though hes standing right in front of me, I cant feel even the slightest hint of his presence. Is this the degree of control a God-ranked expert has over his body? Mysterious Moons experts wore a look of shock and yearning as they observed Shi Fengs every movement. Tier 6 was a goal that all players in Gods Domain dreamed of reaching. Yet, despite there being several dozen billion players in Gods Domain, only a few dozen had managed to reach Tier 6. One could easily imagine how difficult it was to become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Now that everyone got to see a God-ranked expert in person, their previously faded ambitions had ignited once again. However, not long after everyone started observing the two new arrivals, they couldnt help but gasp in shock. Level 106?! How is her level so high? Shi Feng was wearing a Black Cloak, so everyone couldnt see his level. However, Su Qianliu wasnt wearing one, so they could easily determine her level by using a simple Identification Skill. Meanwhile, what they discovered blew their minds. It seems rumors about the Ice Queen arent completely baseless, Crimson Seal muttered. He, too, was a little surprised when he saw Su Qianlius level. Crimson Seal was the Vice Guild Leader of Mysterious Moon, a first-rate Guild. Thus, he had never paid much attention to the name of Ice Queen Su Qianliu. Or, more specifically, he had never even heard of Su Qianliu before coming to the Miniature Ancient World. After all, Mysterious Moon didnt have any operations in the Black Dragon Empire. The only information Mysterious Moon had bothered to collect was on the empires peak experts, first- and second-rate Guilds, and top ten adventurer teams. Meanwhile, Su Qianlius Thousand Flow adventurer team was barely considered a well-known adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire. Thus, it was only natural that it did not enter Mysterious Moons eyes. Crimson Seal would never have learned about Su Qianlius name if not for Zero Wing. However, the current Su Qianliu far surpassed Crimson Seals initial expectations. Su Qianliu was only the commander of a well-known adventurer team in the Black Dragon Empire. Yet, in the current Miniature Ancient World, where only an extreme few experts had managed to reach Level 103, Su Qianliu had already reached Level 106 What rapid leveling speed! Zhuo Yalin was also surprised by Su Qianlius level. She never thought that Zero Wing would be so powerful to help Su Qianliu level up so quickly. Meanwhile, when Mysterious Moons members had their attention focused on Su Qianlius level, Shi Feng also arrived before the conference table. After Su Qianliu briefly introduced both parties, Shi Feng made his way up to the conference stage. I believe Miss Nightingale has already informed everyone present of the situation. After sweeping his gaze across the people in the room, Shi Feng got straight to the point and said, Zero Wing is similarly very interested in the Darkmoon Outpost. Hence, we plan to work with Mysterious Moon to secure it. May I know what everyone thinks about this arrangement? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence enveloped the room as Mysterious Moons experts pondered over his words. Theyd be lying if they said they werent interested in working together with a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. However, if a Tier 6 God-ranked expert was all the assistance Zero Wing had to offer, Mysterious Moon would still be unlikely to win the competition for the Darkmoon Outpost. They were going up against a Super Guild, after all. If they handled this matter poorly, they might end up dragging the entirety of Mysterious Moon into the abyss. A moment later, Crimson Seal stood up from his seat and glanced at Zhuo Yalin. He felt that Zhuo Yalin was still too much of a greenhorn when handling Guild affairs. Or, more specifically, the mystery surrounding Tier 6 God-ranked experts was far too great. Meanwhile, this mystery had clouded Zhuo Yalins ability to make a proper judgment. In his opinion, while Zero Wing might have some capabilities, these capabilities were still not enough for it to go against a Super Guild. Afterward, Crimson Seal turned to Shi Feng and bluntly said, Mr. Black Flame, you might be a God-ranked expert, but dont you think that you are underestimating World Dominators a little too much? World Dominatorss foundations are not something you can uncover just by spending a few days in the Miniature Ancient World. In regards to your invitation, forgive Mysterious Moon for rejecting it. You say that I am underestimating World Dominators? Looking at Crimson Seal, Shi Feng calmly asked, In that case, may I ask how much do you know about Zero Wing, Vice Guild Leader Seal? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Su Qianliu, who stood beside him, suddenly unleashed a burst of Mana. Su Qianlius Mana flooded the room instantly, causing every Mysterious Moon present to experience a suffocating feeling. In addition, everyone also found that they had lost the ability to use the Mana surrounding them However, compared to Su Qianlius Mana, the aura she radiated was much more terrifying. Faced against Su Qianlius aura, many of the Refinement Realm experts couldnt help but react like frightened rats and instantly retreated by over a dozen yards away from her, their eyes full of wariness as they looked at her. Tier 4 strength?! Crimson Seal was dumbfounded as he looked at Su Qianliu. Chapter 3043 - Chapter 117 Chapter 117 C Extraordinary Foundations How is this possible?! Could she have reached Tier 4 already? Shes only at Level 106 right now, so theres no way she is at Tier 4. It is probably because of her weapon and equipment. That cant be possible, right? It would take at least a Fragmented Legendary item for her to have such powerful Mana and aura. But her staff is giving off an Epic ranked glow, while her equipment is giving off a Dark-Gold ranked glow. Theres not even one Fragmented Legendary item on her. Mysterious Moons members felt as if they were standing in the presence of a Mythic monster right now, and they couldnt help but grow confused by this situation. Tier 4 strength! This was the greatest combat power players could muster in the current Miniature Ancient World. Even the various superpowers apex experts were only at this level. However, the various superpowers apex experts could only acquire such strength because they had the help of Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment Sets in addition to their extraordinary combat techniques. Even then, only the raw power of their attacks would reach the Tier 4 standard. The standard of their Mana would still be at Tier 3. It should be known that Su Qianliu was only at the Flowing Water Realm. Some of the Mysterious Moon experts present were even superior to her when it came to combat standards, let alone the various superpowers apex experts. Yet, even without entering combat, Su Qianliu already possessed strength and Mana at the Tier 4 standard. In other words, Su Qianliu possessed the true might of a Tier 4 player. If Su Qianliu were to enter combat and use Skills, Spells, and combat techniques, she could unleash even greater strength. If it came down to a fight, even Crimson Seal wouldnt necessarily match Su Qianliu. At this moment, let alone Mysterious Moons other members, even Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue, who were relatively familiar with Zero Wings members, couldnt help but be shocked. Is this what Zero Wing is capable of? Lin Yaoyues eyes burned with a passionate flame as she scrutinized Su Qianliu. Although she had previously learned from Shi Feng that Zero Wing was an extraordinary existence in the world it came from, she felt that as an Outerworld power, the things it could do here should be incredibly limited. She felt that she could, at most, acquire some Legacies and combat techniques from Zero Wing, which could, in turn, pave a smoother path for her in the future. If she relied solely on Zero Wing, itd be impossible for her to become an expert that even the various superpowers feared. However, she no longer felt that way now! After the Thousand Flow adventurer team joined Zero Wing, Lin Yaoyue had conducted an investigation into Su Qianliu. According to her investigation, while Su Qianliu was indeed a Tier 4 expert in the Black Dragon Empire, she was only at the Flowing Water Realm standard. She might be able to get into the upper echelons of a first-rate Guild with such standards, but she definitely couldnt become one of the leading executives. Yet, after joining Zero Wing for a few days, Su Qianliu had gained strength so overwhelming that even Crimson Seal had to fear her! How many people with such strength do you think World Dominators has, Vice Guild Leader Seal? Shi Feng smiled as he looked at Crimson Seal. Ten? Twenty? Or is it thirty? After Su Qianliu returned to Hundred Flow City, Shi Feng had passed the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique to her. In addition, he had also given her a drop of Ancient Gods Blood, upgrading her Mana Body to the Gold rank. After combining these factors with the Ancient Mana Equipment Set acquired from the Ancient Demon Court, Su Qianlius Basic Attributes and Mana were now extremely close to reaching the Tier 4 standard. The only thing she was missing now was a Tier 4 physique and Tier 4 Spells. There shouldnt be more than ten, Crimson Seal said after giving Shi Fengs question some thought. If World Dominators invested all of its available resources and manpower into the Miniature Ancient World, it might be capable of producing 30 Tier 4 combatants. However, if they were only talking about Hundred Flow Citys side, World Dominators probably couldnt even muster five Tier 4 combatants, let alone thirty. World Dominators might not have trouble getting their hands on Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment Sets, but it was a different story for Epic Weapons that rivaled Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Even with World Dominators influence, it could, at most, acquire 30 of such weapons. This was because Epic Weapons of such caliber were even rarer than the average Fragmented Legendary Weapon. In addition to items, players also needed to be at the Domain Realm to achieve Tier 4 combat power. In Gods Domain, Domain Realm experts were incredibly rare even in the Five Great Super Guilds, let alone World Dominators. Every one of these experts was a core executive in the Guild. Currently, out of World Dominatorss members in Hundred Flow City, only Zuo Tiankuang and his two vice commanders were likely to have Tier 4 combat power. The likelihood of anyone else having such combat power was incredibly low. What about experts with combat power close to reaching the Tier 4 standard? Shi Feng asked. There shouldnt be more than 20, Crimson Seal answered definitively. Although the requirements for achieving combat power close to the Tier 4 standard werent as strict, players still needed to be at the Void Realm standard at the very least. While Void Realm experts werent as rare as Domain Realm experts, they were still relatively rare. Typically, they could be seen working as legion vice commanders in the various Super Guilds. With there being only three legions in Hundred Flow City, there was no way World Dominators could have more than 20 players with combat power nearing the Tier 4 standard based here. Less than 20? After scanning the crowd before him, Shi Feng said, If Mysterious Moon agrees to partner with Zero Wing, Zero Wing will let everyone here gain strength close to the Tier 4 standard. Will that be enough strength to fight against World Dominators now? What did he say? How is that possible?! Mysterious Moons members couldnt help but feel that Shi Feng was joking with them when they heard his words. Although achieving strength nearing the Tier 4 standard wasnt as challenging as achieving strength at the Tier 4 standard, it still wasnt something that could be achieved easily. Not to mention, most of the people present were only at the Refinement Realm standard. Trying to achieve such combat power was nothing but a pipe dream for them. The only feasible way Shi Feng could accomplish such a feat was if he gave everyone here a Fragmented Legendary item each. However, that evidently wouldnt be possible. Even on the main continent, Super Guilds would have great difficulty taking out 40 Fragmented Legendary items on the spot. Needless to say, the difficulty of doing so in the Miniature Ancient World was exponentially greater. In response to everyones doubtful gazes, Shi Feng took out one of the Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Sets in his bag and put it on the conference table. Then, he said, Wont you find out if Im telling the truth or not if you take a look? Everyone quickly started inspecting the Ancient Mana Equipment Sets effects upon hearing Shi Fengs words. A Mana Equipment Set? The eight-piece set effect improves physique by 40%?! Isnt this set effect insane?! No! Whats truly amazing about this set is the Mana! The Basic Attributes the set provides might be inferior to eight-piece Epic Sets, but the boost it gives toward Mana is simply absurd! It practically doubles the power of all Skills and Spells! Everyone couldnt help but gasp when they saw the Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Sets statistics. Although this standardized set couldnt provide players with Tier 4 Basic Attributes, the improvements it could provide in actual combat were simply ridiculous. With the effects of this set, Tier 3 Skills and Spells used by Tier 3 players would most likely exhibit power at the Tier 4 standard. Moreover, the higher the players Skill or Spell Completion Rate, the greater the improvements they would see. For Refinement Realm experts like themselves, if they paired this Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Set with a top-tier Epic Weapon, they could easily hold their ground against a Tier 4 Mythic monster. No wonder he has such confidence, Crimson Seal thought as he looked at Shi Feng. He finally understood how Su Qianliu managed to gain her current strength. Forty sets! Shi Feng said, smiling as he extended four fingers to the crowd before him. If you partner with Zero Wing, Zero Wing will provide you with 40 of these Mana Equipment Sets! Chapter 3044 - Chapter 118 Chapter 118 C What About Super Guilds? Forty sets?! What?! Zero Wing has forty of such Mana Equipment Sets?! I must be dreaming! Even the Five Great Super Guilds will have trouble getting ten of such sets, let alone forty! Everyone couldnt help but doubt their ears when they heard Shi Fengs words. Mana Equipment Sets capable of surpassing eight-piece Epic Equipment Sets in combat performance were unbelievably rare even on the main continent, let alone the Miniature Ancient World. If a Guild could acquire even ten of such sets, itd be nigh-unstoppable in the current Miniature Ancient World. They couldnt even imagine what they could achieve if they had forty of such Mana Equipment Sets. At this time, even Zhuo Yalin, who supported partnering with Zero Wing, couldnt help but think that Shi Feng was joking with them. Although she knew that Shi Feng mustve come prepared, the promise he just made simply sounded too exaggerated to be true. If any of the current powers could get their hands on so many Mana Equipment Sets, itd be a devastating force in the Miniature Ancient World. It could probably even exchange blows with the Five Great Super Guilds if it werent afraid of the repercussions. Meanwhile, after taking a deep breath, Crimson Seal looked at Shi Feng with a serious expression and said, Mr. Black Flame, if what you say is true, then Mysterious Moon will be willing to partner with Zero Wing to secure the Darkmoon Outpost! Crimson Seals sudden change in attitude stunned many of the Mysterious Moon members present. Of course, everyone could also understand his reaction. There was probably no power in Gods Domain that could turn down the opportunity to gain forty of such heaven-defying Mana Equipment Sets. Dont be in such a hurry to make promises, Vice Guild Leader Seal. I still havent finished speaking, Shi Feng said with a light smile. He wasnt at all surprised by Crimson Seals sudden change in attitude. Although I have talked about the partnership with Miss Nightingale, Zero Wing will not be providing these Mana Equipment Sets for free. That is only natural, Crimson Seal said, nodding. Thered have to be something seriously wrong with the brains of Zero Wings leadership if the Guild provided the forty Mana Equipment Sets for free. It should be known that if any power in Hundred Flow City managed to acquire these forty sets right now, itd become Hundred Flow Citys overlord immediately. With these forty sets as a bargaining chip, Zero Wing could also talk with any of the other first-rate Guilds in Hundred Flow City and get a good deal. Zero Wing had no obligation to partner with Mysterious Moon at all. After saying so, Crimson Seal couldnt help but glance at Zhuo Yalin, who was still in a daze, his evaluation of the girl increasing significantly. Then, he said, Nightingale is the person in charge of Mysterious Moons affairs in the Miniature Ancient World. She can represent Mysterious Moon on all matters here. If you have any conditions to make, feel free to state them to Nightingale, Mr. Black Flame. Crimson Seal wasnt a fool. He naturally noticed the hint in Shi Fengs words. Mysterious Moon only had the opportunity to partner with Zero Wing now because of Zhuo Yalin. Without her, thered be no foundation for their two Guilds to negotiate partnership on. Thus, it was only right that he let her handle negotiations with Zero Wing. The other Mysterious Moon members present also nodded in agreement with Crimson Seals words, and this situation caused Zhuo Yalin to look at Shi Feng gratefully. Because of a few simple words from Shi Feng, her position in Mysterious Moon had changed completely. Now, she was finally Mysterious Moons person-in-charge in the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also inwardly sighed in relief when he saw this situation. After reaching this point, he could finally begin carrying out his plans. Immediately, he looked toward Zhuo Yalin and said, Miss Nightingale, since Mysterious Moon has already agreed to the partnership, I can offer Mysterious Moon two methods of acquiring these forty Mana Equipment Sets. In the first method, Zero Wing will rent these sets to Mysterious Moon at a rate of 200 Gold and 1,000 Magic Crystals per set per day. In the second method, Zero Wing will sell these sets to Mysterious Moon for 4,000 Gold and 10,000 Magic Crystals per set. Zero Wing will only accept one-time payments for both these methods. In addition, after we secure the Darkmoon Outpost, Mysterious Moon must give Zero Wing three of the six Shops in the Outpost. Of them, one must be the Large Shop. Mysterious Moon must also give Zero Wing half of the Darkmoon Outposts total revenue. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Su Qianliu, who stood beside him, frowned slightly. Then, she asked in a whisper, Are you really going to sell them these sets, Guild Leader? Although the Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Sets were slightly inferior to the sets looted from the Ancient Demon Court, they were still heaven-defying equipment in the current state of the Miniature Ancient World. She could understand it if Shi Feng chose to rent these sets to Mysterious Moon. After all, Zero Wing didnt even have the necessary Refinement Realm experts to take advantage of these sets full potential. However, she couldnt help but be confused by Shi Fengs offer to sell these sets. If these forty sets were used on Zero Wing, it could allow Zero Wing to trample over the various powers in Hundred Flow City. Thered be no power in Hundred Flow City that could oppose Zero Wing. However, if Zero Wing sold these sets to Mysterious Moon, Zero Wing would be unnecessarily creating competition for itself in Hundred Flow City. In reality, Su Qianliu wasnt the only one surprised by Shi Fengs offer. Even Mysterious Moons members were taken aback. None of them thought that Zero Wing would be selling them these Mana Equipment Sets. It should be known that every Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Set could be used to produce a Tier 4 combatant. In the current era where players were still far from reaching Tier 4, the value of having forty Tier 4 combatants went without saying. Dont worry. I know what Im doing, Shi Feng replied without explaining his decision. The Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Set might be powerful, but its flaws were also obviousit had a high upkeep cost. Every durability point consumed required ten Magic Crystals to replenish. Meanwhile, it wasnt strange for the set to lose several, or even over a dozen, durability points after a single battle. Such expenditure might not be a problem for a first-rate Guild like Mysterious Moon, but it wasnt something the current Zero Wing could afford at all. Not to mention, Zero Wing needed to spend a lot of Coins and Magic Crystals to further its development. Rather than hold onto a bunch of Mana Equipment Sets that Zero Wing couldnt adequately make use of, itd be much wiser to convert these sets into Coins and Magic Crystals. He could also pull Mysterious Moon in as an ally for Zero Wing by doing so, killing two birds with one stone. As soon as Shi Feng finished answering Su Qianliu, Zhuo Yalin promptly said, Mysterious Moon will choose the second method. We will pay the full amount tomorrow. However, we hope Zero Wing can provide us with the forty sets today. May I know if you can allow that, Mr. Black Flame? After all, there isnt much time left until the competition for the Darkmoon Outpost, and itd take some time to gather so many Magic Crystals These forty Ancient Mana Equipment Sets were undoubtedly Mysterious Moons best chance at striking it big in the Miniature Ancient World. Shed be an utter fool not to buy them. However, an expenditure of 160,000 Gold and 400,000 Magic Crystals was a heavy burden even for Mysterious Moon. It was especially true for the 400,000 Magic Crystals. Mysterious Moon couldnt take out so many Magic Crystals right now even if it wanted to. Shed have to request headquarters to transfer more resources over from the main continent. That wont be a problem. Shi Feng nodded. Afterward, Zhuo Yalin and Shi Feng signed a contract with each other, the contract stating that Shi Feng needed to transfer forty Ancient Mana Equipment Sets to Mysterious Moon by today, while Mysterious Moon needed to pay him 160,000 Gold and 400,000 Magic Crystals by tomorrow. After signing the contract, Shi Feng took out the forty Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Sets in his bag and handed them to Zhuo Yalin. Then, Zhuo Yalin quickly distributed these sets to the Mysterious Moon members in this room. A Super Guild, is it? Fighting spirit burned in Zhuo Yalins eyes when she looked at everyone wearing the Mana Equipment Set. Its about time you learn whos boss! Ever since the situation in Gods Domain had stabilized a few years ago, not a single non-superpower had ever dared to challenge a Super Guild. However, that was all going to change after today. Today, Mysterious Moon would become the first non-superpower to challenge a Super Guild after so many years! Chapter 3045 - Chapter 119 Chapter 119 C The Beginning of Madness New Moon Forest: A 100-man team of Level 103 experts geared with Dark-Gold and Epic Equipment was in the midst of fighting against a horde of Undead numbering in the thousands. Although there were quite a few Level 105 Great Lords among these Undead creatures, this expert team quickly and steadily reduced the hordes numbers. The leader of this 100-man team was a male Berserker wielding a blood-red two-handed saber. In addition to holding off several Great Lords by himself, this Berserker was also issuing commands to his teammates that precisely targeted the weak points of the Undead horde. In less than half an hour after the battle began, the 100-man team successfully cleaned up the horde of several dozen Great Lord ranked Undead Knights and several thousand other Undead creatures. Not only did the team suffer zero casualties, but they had also expended little Stamina throughout the battle. If they kept up this pace, the team could probably take care of several more Undead hordes of such size without having to take any breaks in between. Youre really the best, Boss Blade! As expected of the leader of our Guilds Five Demon Generals! Youre probably the only person in the Guild who can lead a team so efficiently! Luo Tiancheng, clad in silver armor and carrying a greatsword on his back, complimented as he approached the Berserker leading the team. Its so-so. If Guild Leader Shi were still around, this level of combat would be nothing, Rampant Blade nonchalantly said as he glanced at Luo Tiancheng. Ever since Shadows Five Demon Generals disbanded and Guild Leader Shi Feng left the Guild, he had become the only person capable of supporting Shadows ambitions. Although there were quite a few first-rate experts in the Guild that were close to reaching the Half-step Refinement Realm standard, none of them could take charge in large-scale battles effectively. An example would be two of Lan Hailongs close confidants, Luo Tiancheng and Zhou Yuhu. As for Gu Yiren and those from World Dominators, they couldnt be relied on whatsoever. This was because Gu Yiren never had any intentions of managing or developing Shadow at all. Since taking over as Shadows Guild Leader, the only thing he had done was order Shadows members around to help him with miscellaneous work. Most of the time, Gu Yiren would be doing his own thing with his team from World Dominators. Not once had he helped train anyone from Shadow before. Youre being too modest, Boss Blade. Now that youve reached the Refinement Realm already, combined with World Dominators resources, its only a matter of time before you reach Tier 4 in the future. Theres no way that Shi Feng can hope to match you, Luo Tiancheng said, laughing. Once we complete our mission this time, Chairman Lan will discuss with Guild Leader Gu to let you become the Guilds Acting Guild Leader. At that time, youll get to manage all of the Guilds affairs. Refinement Realm? Rampant Blade revealed a bitter smile when he heard these words. I reached this realm over a year later than Su Qianliu. I also heard that Su Qianliu has apparently joined the new Guild that Guild Leader Shi and Blackie established. An expert of my caliber is only strong in a Guild like Shadow. In reality, Rampant Blade had received an invitation to join Zero Wing from Blackie. However, he had grown attached to Shadow over the years, and he still had many brothers in Shadow, so he eventually rejected Blackies offer. Youre putting Zero Wing on too high of a pedestal, Boss Blade. Zero Wing is nothing but a newly-established small Guild with a few thousand members. Even with Su Qianlius Thousand Flow adventurer team serving as its base, theres no way it can compete with our Guild. After all, Shadow now has World Dominators backing it. Once the resources from World Dominators start piling up, our Guild will have many Tier 4 experts in the future. In contrast, Zero Wing is going to have a tough time even surviving, Luo Tiancheng said in disdain. In Luo Tianchengs opinion, Shi Fengs statement to make Shadow disappear was nothing but a joke. Even Chairman Lan Hailong had laughed when he heard of it. While the Miniature Ancient Worlds launch had indeed granted Shi Feng a lot of advantages and reduced the various powers influence, it didnt change the fact that a Guild required resources and experts to prosper. Although Shi Feng now possessed high status in Jin Hai Academy, Jin Hai Academy was nothing but a Gods Domain Academy. The things it could do and the resources it possessed were incredibly limited. Trying to go against Shadow, which had several hundred thousand members and controlled ten city states, was nothing but lunacy. There was also no competition between the experts of Zero Wing and Shadow. Ever since Shadow received the Guild Legacies from World Dominators, Shadows members achieved significantly faster growth. Rampant Blade had even become a Refinement Realm expert thanks to these resources. Even if Zero Wing had a Refinement Realm expert like Su Qianliu[1], it still couldnt compete with Shadow in the future. In fact, after Shadow completed the mission assigned by World Dominators this time, World Dominators would be able to control the entirety of Hundred Flow City through the Darkmoon Outpost. Once that happened, Shadow could take advantage of World Dominatorss influence to eradicate Zero Wing. Lets stop talking about this. Have everyone look for the Darkmoon Tokens quickly, Rampant Blade said, not bothering to refute Luo Tianchengs words. Based on the current situation, Shadow was indeed growing stronger and stronger. As evidence, even Luo Tiancheng had reached the Half-step Refinement Realm already. We need to meet our quota of 200 tokens by today. Otherwise, World Dominators is going to halve our training resources, Luo Tiancheng nodded. Then, he hurriedly had everyone on the team sort through the loot. At the same time, he sent the teams Assassins and Rangers to scout around for more Undead creatures. Meanwhile, during the time Rampant Blades team was looting their kills, Rampant Blade suddenly heard a message notification. This Has Mysterious Moon gone crazy? Rampant Blade couldnt help but be stunned when he read the message Gu Yiren sent him. Meanwhile, noticing Rampant Blades shocked expression, Luo Tiancheng asked, What happened, Boss Blade? Mysterious Moon has suddenly declared war on World Dominators! Rampant Blade said after taking a deep breath. Moreover, just a few minutes ago, Mysterious Moon annihilated one of World Dominatorss 100-man teams Annihilated? Luo Tiancheng was also shocked and confused when he heard Rampant Blades words. Is Mysterious Moon looking to die? It might be fine if it were merely a simple conflict with a few players from a different Guild. World Dominators wouldnt even care if a few of its players got killed. After all, such minor conflicts were frequent in Gods Domain. There was no way a Super Guild like World Dominators would bother to pay attention to these trivial matters every day. After all, there were millions of members in the Guild. Thered be no end if it tried to take care of every personal conflict that took place. However, it was different if an entire 100-man team got annihilated. It was especially true now that World Dominators had declared monopoly over the New Moon Forest. Such an act of transgression represented an entirely different meaning. War! This was a declaration of war! It had already been many years since anyone dared to declare war on a Super Guild. Meanwhile, the last time it happened, a first-rate Guild had gotten erased from Gods Domain TL Notes: [1]Even if Zero Wing had a Refinement Realm expert like Su Qianliu: This isnt a translation error. Shadow most likely isnt aware that Su Qianliu has become a Flowing Water Realm expert. Chapter 3046 - Chapter 120 Chapter 120 C Zero Wing? All party leaders! Contact all the nearby teams and have them gather at our location immediately! Rampant Blade shouted after getting over his shock. Gu Yiren had explicitly stated in his message for all Guilds affiliated with World Dominators to form 1,000-man legions and surround the lake region in the New Moon Forest. Meanwhile, his goal in doing so was very obvious. Mysterious Moon had already angered World Dominators. So, now, World Dominators was preparing to make a move against Mysterious Moon! Under Rampant Blades command, his party leaders promptly began contacting the other teams operating nearby, everyone reacting both anxiously and excitedly over this situation. Quick! Bring your team over! Mysterious Moon has declared war on World Dominators, and World Dominators is now planning on taking action against Mysterious Moon! Youre going to miss the show if you dont hurry over! Thats right! World Dominators must be preparing to take revenge! A top-tier first-rate Guild versus a Super Guild! Its been many years since something like this has taken place! At this time, Shadows members werent the only ones excited over this situation. The members of World Dominatorss other affiliated Guilds operating in the New Moon Forest also grew restless over this situation. Ever since the incident where a Super Guild had erased a first-rate Guild took place several years ago, no more of such incidents took place in Gods Domain. At most, conflicts between first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds were limited to small fights. This time, however, World Dominators was evidently planning on getting serious. Hundred Flow City: Inside a Guild-owned three-story mansion located along the citys main street One first-rate Guild, three second-rate Guilds, and seven third-rate Guilds It seems World Dominators is really planning on using Mysterious Moon to set an example this time a white-clad old man sitting behind a desk muttered as he read the news he just received. Do you think we should cooperate with World Dominators this time, Elder Liu? a woman sitting on the sofa in front of the desk asked. The woman radiated a bold aura, and she was sipping on a cup of tea as she spoke to the white-clad old man. Witchs Sin might have become a pseudo-super-first-rate Guild in these past few years, but we still cant hold a candle to World Dominators, so we still need to send some people over, the old man said with a light smile. But I dont believe Mysterious Moon has gone crazy. Since they dare bare their fangs against World Dominators, they must have their reasons for doing so. Take a team with you. Im sure Zuo Tiankuang wont make a fuss if we send a team led by one of our Vice Guild Leaders. But remember that youre only there to spectate. Youre not there to work for World Dominators. I understand, the woman said as she got up from her seat. Then, with a slight smile, she continued, I can also use this chance to pick a fight with Nightingale. Hopefully, she wont disappoint me. After saying so, the woman vanished from the office as if she had never appeared here before. It seems this little girl is still hung up over the Secret Pavilions past evaluation, the white-clad old man said with a slightly bitter smile when he heard the leather-clad womans words. The woman named Blue Sheath had been entered into the Secret Pavilions Rookie Assassin List together with Mysterious Moons Nightingale in the past. However, Blue Sheath was ranked one place behind Nightingale at the time. The two of them had known each other since young, and they had always been each others rivals. So, Blue Sheath couldnt help but feel peeved over the evaluation. Initially, the old man thought that Blue Sheath had forgotten about her rivalry with Nightingale after having most of her time occupied with training under World Dominators. However, it would seem that Blue Sheath had never let go of this rivalry. Meanwhile, during the time Witchs Sin was dispatching experts to the New Moon Forest, a commotion also took place throughout Hundred Flow City. Whats going on? Why are so many Guild experts leaving the city together? Dont you know? Mysterious Moon declared war on World Dominators. World Dominators has decided to deal with Mysterious Moon, so it is now calling on all of its affiliated Guilds to gather at the New Moon Forest. News of this has long since spread throughout the entire city. A first-rate Guild is declaring war on a Super Guild? Did Mysterious Moons leadership lose their minds? Who knows? Maybe Mysterious Moon is confident in winning? Not a chance. Thats a Super Guild were talking about. The only thing that could come of declaring war on a Super Guild is death. The players in Hundred Flow City began discussing Mysterious Moons actions as they watched the various large Guilds experts leaving the city in large groups. Meanwhile, opinions on Mysterious Moon were split into two camps. One camp felt that Mysterious Moon was simply seeking its own death, while the other camp felt that Mysterious Moon was worthy of becoming the various first-rate Guilds role model. Some people also felt that it might be time to rewrite Gods Domains history. New Moon Forest, New Moon Lake: The silvery-white lake looked like the moon from afar, and the radiance it gave off illuminated the surrounding forest. The scenery here was spectacular, and many players grinding in the New Moon Forest would often stop by this place to enjoy the view. At this moment, though, the New Moon Lakes beauty was partially eclipsed by the 10,000 or so first-rate experts gathered beside it. Most of the various Guilds experts have gathered here already, Guild Leader Gu. We can conduct a sweep of the forest at any time, Rampant Blade reported respectfully as he looked at Gu Yiren, who was currently resting underneath a tree. Although Gu Yiren had never cared about Shadows affairs and never bothered to help Shadows members grind, nobody in Shadow dared to question Gu Yirens strength and authority. Take the current situation, for example. Even though the various first-rate Guilds present originated from ten different Guilds, all of them were under Gu Yirens complete control. Good. Gu Yiren nodded as he swept his gaze across the small army before him. Split everyone into 1,000-man legions and search the forest. Kill all outsiders you come across! All? Rampant Blade couldnt help but ask. A Guild would easily incite anger from the public if it randomly killed players out in the fields. Even when a Guild blockaded a map to fight another Guild, it would, at most, warn non-enemy players to leave the map. Only when these outsiders refused to abide by the warning would a Guild decide to kill them. I dont want to repeat myself, Gu Yiren said as he glanced at Rampant Blade. Also, notify immediately if any of you come across Mysterious Moons core team. World Dominators must be the one to annihilate them! So, this is a Super Guild? Rampant Blade had his impression of Super Guilds refreshed when he saw Gu Yirens complete disregard toward making enemies. Normally, most powers in Gods Domain would more or less worry about involving outsiders when declaring war on others. After all, the last thing they wanted to do was to offend a power they couldnt afford to offend. However, World Dominators didnt seem to care about this in the slightest. Judging by Gu Yirens tone, it would seem that he wouldnt hesitate to take action even if the other party was another Super Guild. Afterward, the gathered first-rate experts split into 1,000 legions and spread out in all directions, conducting a thorough search of the entire New Moon Forest. Sometime after the hunt for Mysterious Moons members began, a Ranger from Shadow urgently contacted Rampant Blade and said, Vice Guild Leader, two of our Assassin parties suddenly got annihilated less than 1,000 yards away from the New Moon Lake! Moreover, the people who annihilated those two parties are now heading toward your direction! Theyre heading for us? Rampant Blade couldnt help but grow confused when he heard the Rangers report. Can you send their images over? They were using the New Moon Lake as their base of operations this time. To ensure that they had enough forces to dispatch as reinforcements at all times, they had kept a force of 2,000 players by the lake. Gu Yirens team from World Dominators was also on stand-by here. Thus, itd be suicide for any enemies to come to their location. Yes. I already captured their appearances with Eagle Eyes. Ill send the image over now, the Ranger said, nodding. A moment later, an image appeared in front of Rampant Blade. The enemies that killed the two Assassin parties only numbered a few. Meanwhile, every one of them was wearing a Black Cloak to hide their information. This isZero Wing? When Rampant Blade looked at the picture, he quickly noticed two familiar figures. Although these two players had hidden their player information, they didnt bother hiding their appearances. So, Rampant Blade instantly recognized Su Qianlius and Blackies faces. However, before Rampant Blade could react to this discovery, several figures gradually walked out of the forest ahead of him Chapter 3047 - Chapter 121 Chapter 121 C Five is Enough What are they trying to do? Are they also planning to make an enemy out of World Dominators? Rampant Blade was astonished and confused when Blackie and Su Qianliu walked out of the forest. It was already a well-known fact that Mysterious Moon and World Dominators were at war with each other. Moreover, World Dominators had also made it clear that it wouldnt forgive Mysterious Moon for this slight. It was already bad enough that Blackie and Su Qianlius group had come to the New Moon Forest and gotten rid of two of Shadows scout parties. After all, this was already a blatant act of provocation toward World Dominators. Yet, to make matters worse, they had even appeared before Gu Yiren. With the strong stance Gu Yiren was taking in this war, he would absolutely make sure that Blackie and Su Qianlius party vanished from Gods Domain. At this time, Rampant Blade couldnt help but feel conflicted over this situation. Whether it was Blackie or Su Qianliu, both had been his comrades for many years in Shadow. They used to go on adventures and brave all sorts of danger together. So, he did not wish to see the two falling into the abyss. However, with the situation at hand, there simply wasnt anything he could do to salvage this situation Subsequently, the various experts gathered by the New Moon Lake also started noticing Su Qianlius group one after another. Havent we blocked off the New Moon Forest already? How did these people get in? Theyre hiding their player information. Could they be Mysterious Moons helpers? Thats possible, but it is also possible that they are not. They might be from a superpower trying to take advantage of this situation to strike at World Dominators. After all, its not like World Dominators is free of enemies. The experts present quietly discussed themselves when they saw Su Qianlius group emerging from the forest. The current Miniature Ancient World was a chaotic mess as every power in Gods Domain sought to get a piece of the pie and become the future leader of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, as a Super Guild, World Dominators was a strong competitor for the various superpowers of Gods Domain. Now that Mysterious Moon had suddenly declared war on World Dominators, it wasnt strange that some superpowers had decided to muddy the waters. After Gu Yiren saw Su Qianlius group, he walked up to them and demanded, How bold of you to come here! Who are you people? Which superpower are you from? Is it Battle Wolves? Or is it Sacred Temple? In Gu Yirens opinion, the only outsiders who dared come to provoke World Dominators now would either be Mysterious Moons helpers or World Dominators rivals. Meanwhile, the possibility of Battle Wolves and Sacred Temple trying to stir up trouble was the highest. Zero Wing! Su Qianliu stated. Zero Wing? Where is Zero Wing based? Why havent I heard of such a superpower before? Could this be a cover name? Theyre wearing Black Cloaks to hide their identities, after all. How can they possibly expose their real identities now? The various experts present couldnt help but be surprised and confused when they heard Su Qianlius answer. There was a limited number of superpowers in Gods Domain, and every one of them possessed powerful origins. Hence, any player that had played Gods Domain for some time would more or less know about the various superpowers. The various large Guilds members even had to undergo a compulsory course on the various superpowers basic information. Zero Wing? a piece of information suddenly flashed across Gu Yirens mind when he heard this name. Is it the new Guild that Former Guild Leader Shi Feng established? Meanwhile, when Luo Tiancheng saw Su Qianliu, he couldnt help but feel a sense of familiarity. Then, after racking his mind for a moment, he suddenly exclaimed, You Youre Su Qianliu! Su Qianlius appearance was a sight that almost all veteran members of Shadow would remember. After all, she used to be one of the most beautiful female members in Shadow. On top of that, she also used to be one of the strongest experts belonging to Shadow. Thats right. Su Qianliu did not deny Gu Yirens and Luo Tianchengs words. Were not here to go against World Dominators today. Were just here to settle some personal grudges. Personal grudges? Gu Yiren sneered as he suddenly thought of something. Do you mean taking care of Shadow? According to his informant, Shi Feng, the former Guild Leader of Shadow, had a thorough falling out with Shadow after Lan Hailongs shameless behavior. As a result, Shi Feng had publicly declared that he would erase Shadows name from Gods Domain. Originally, Gu Yiren thought that Shi Feng was only speaking out of anger. He never thought that Shi Feng actually planned on carrying out his words. At this time, Shi Feng, who had hidden both his information and appearance, suddenly said, Thats right. We hope that unrelated people do not interfere to avoid causing unnecessary misunderstandings. In reality, Shi Feng couldve let Mysterious Moon take care of a second-rate like Shadow. However, after thinking it over, he decided that itd be best if he erased Shadow from Gods Domain with his own hands. You want to deal with one of World Dominatorss affiliated Guilds right in front of our eyes? Do you think well allow that? Gu Yiren asked, laughing. Dont you think youre being too arrogant? Do you take World Dominators for a decoration? Thats right! Who do you think you are? One of the Five Great Super Guilds? Luo Tiancheng said, fanning the flames. With just the five of you, do you really think you can do anything to Shadow? The other members of Shadow also nodded in agreement, a nonchalant expression on their faces. Shadow had well over a thousand first-rate experts gathered by the New Moon Lake right now. Among them, there were even a bunch of Half-step Refinement Realm experts. With such a force, they could even take on two Mythic monsters simultaneously, let alone five measly players. In response, Shi Feng said in a definitive tone, Five is enough! Five is enough? Gu Yiren couldnt help but laugh. Then, his gaze grew cold as he said, In that case, let me see how you five are going to fight us! After saying so, Gu Yiren waved his hand. Immediately, two dozen Refinement Realm experts from World Dominators charged at Shi Fengs party of five. Chapter 3048 - Chapter 122 Chapter 122 C Difference in Strength Two dozen Refinement Realm experts? Rampant Blades expression grew somber when he saw World Dominatorss experts charging toward Blackie and Su Qianlius party. He didnt think that Gu Yirens team members would be this powerful. It was true that Su Qianliu and Blackie were considered experts even by first-rate Guilds standards. It was especially true for Su Qianliu. Not only did she reach the Refinement Realm long ago, but it was even rumored that she had reached the Flowing Water Realm already. However, even a Flowing Water Realm expert would find it difficult to go up against two dozen Refinement Realm experts simultaneously. Not to mention, these were Refinement Realm experts from World Dominators, a Super Guild. Not only did they have much better training, but they were also fully equipped with Epic Weapons and Equipment You overconfident fools! Do you think World Dominators will hold back against you? Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but sneer as he looked at Shi Fengs party. World Dominators was a Super Guild. There was no way it would sit by and watch as one of its affiliated Guilds got targeted. It would become a joke in Gods Domain if it did that. The two dozen Refinement Realm experts reached within 50 yards of Shi Fengs party in the blink of an eye. Then, every one of them began revealing their strongest moves, none of them intending to hold back or play around with Shi Fengs party. At a glance, one could tell that these were all veteran experts with real experiences clashing with other players. Restrict them! In response to the two dozen Refinement Realm experts assault, Blackie waved his staff and cast a Spell without chanting an incantation. Even the Mana fluctuations that came from him were incredibly weak. Boom! Along with a loud bang, several hundred shadow vines emerged from the ground beneath the two dozen Refinement Realm experts feet. In addition, from start to end, none of the shadow vines radiated any Mana fluctuations, the appearance of these vines swift and silent. What?! Double speed-casting?! Rampant Blade was shocked when he saw Blackies attack. He felt as if he was coming to know Blackie for the first time. Double speed-casting! This was a spellcasting technique that only an extremely few magical class experts could master. Even most Refinement Realm experts were incapable of such a feat. Yet, now, not only did Blackie effortlessly execute a double speed-casting, but his Mana control was so excellent that he had leaked hardly any Mana throughout the entire spellcasting process. The level of technique Blackie had just displayed was something even Flowing Water Realm experts could not accomplish Similar to Rampant Blade, the two dozen Refinement Realm experts were similarly caught off guard by Blackies response. The speed of Spells might not be as fast as melee attacks, but Spells made up for their lack of speed with numbers. Meanwhile, the countermeasure experts had developed to counter Offensive Spells with a large number of attacks was to detect the Mana fluctuations caused by the Spell targeted at them and take evasive measures in advance. However, if a Spell gave off no Mana fluctuations during its formation, itd be nigh-impossible to dodge it preemptively. In such a scenario, the only response one could make was to prepare oneself to block the Spell. The next moment, the several hundred shadow vines lashed out at the Refinement Realm experts simultaneously, causing these experts to lose at least one-third of their HP. Some had even lost half of their HP. The appearances of these experts were also reduced to a mess, and they looked nothing like an expert team from World Dominators What a powerful magical class expert! Blue Sheath, who was spectating the battle from a distant treetop, couldnt help but focus her gaze on Blackie. World Dominatorss Refinement Realm experts all possessed Strength rivaling Grand Lords of the same level. Yet, even though these experts had blocked the shadow vines attacking them, they had still lost over one-third of their HP. In Gods Domain, the power of Spells relied on two factors. The first factor was the players Basic Attributes, while the other factor was the Spells Completion Rate. Of these two factors, the latter played an especially important role. With a sufficiently high Spell Completion Rate, ones Spell could exhibit power several magnitudes greater than a similar Spell cast by a player with the exact same Basic Attributes. Although Blackies aura felt extraordinary in Blue Sheaths eyes, it was, at most, on par with World Dominatorss Refinement Realm experts. This meant that both sides should possess roughly similar Basic Attributes. Thus, the reason Blackie managed to cause so much damage to those Refinement Realm experts despite this fact must mean that his Spell Completion Rate was extremely high! Impossible! Luo Tianchengs eyes bulged when he saw the effect of Blackies Spell. How did he get so strong? The two dozen Refinement Realm experts made up a frightening force. Yet, with just a simple wave of his staff, Blackie had not only stopped these two dozen Refinement Realm experts assault, but he had even reduced them into a miserable mess. Luo Tiancheng was fully aware of Blackies standards. Back when Blackie was still with Shadow, he had only been a member of the Guilds middle management. Moreover, he was focused mainly on handling Guild affairs, and his combat standard was only at the level of first-rate experts. He couldnt even be considered one of the top-ranking experts in the Guild. Yet, what was with this situation? Meanwhile, after Shi Feng took a look at World Dominatorss Refinement Realm experts, he turned toward Happy Snow the Berserker and said, Go and help Blackie. Itll be tough for him to deal with these people alone. After all was said and done, Blackie still hadnt reached the Refinement Realm standard. While he might have a Gold Mana Body, the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique, and the Ancient Mana Equipment Set helping him, he could still die easily if he got caught in a melee or targeted by numerous ranged attacks. Simply put, Blackie was currently a glass cannon. He might have astonishing offensive capabilities, but he wouldnt last more than a few moves in an actual duel with a Refinement Realm expert Fine, then. Ill use these guys to test my recent improvements, Happy Snow said, curling her lips in dissatisfaction. Immediately, Happy Snow unsheathed the two-handed saber hung on her back. Then, in the blink of an eye, she instantly appeared amidst the two dozen Refinement Realm experts, her speed superior to even Assassins of the same level. Subsequently, before World Dominatorss Refinement Realm experts could react, Happy Snow swung her massive saber at the nearest Shield Warrior. Advanced Combat Technique, Wolf Pack! Happy Snows saber instantly transformed into five phantom wolves that pounced at the Shield Warrior. However, the Shield Warrior was no pushover. Although he had reacted slowly to Happy Snows appearance, as soon as he noticed Happy Snow attacking him, he promptly raised his shield and activated the Tier 3 Defensive Skill Iron Wall. Aside from increasing his Defense by 200% and reaction speed by 50%, the Skill also reduced the numbing effects he suffered by 100%. Other than the Shield Warrior, a nearby Oracle also quickly reacted to Happy Snows attack. Immediately, the Oracle cast a defensive barrier on the Shield Warrior, the barrier nearly doubling the Shield Warriors maximum HP. Boom! When the first phantom wolf collided with the Shield Warriors shield, the Shield Warrior stumbled one step backward and nearly lost his balance. As a result, when the second phantom wolf struck, the Shield Warrior promptly lost his balance and fell on his back. Immediately afterward, the third, fourth, and fifth phantom wolves pounced on the Shield Warrior afterward, instantly tearing through the Oracles barrier and reducing the Shield Warriors HP to zero. The Shield Warrior had died so quickly that the nearby healers didnt even have time to heal him. She killed him in one move?! Rampant Blade couldnt help but gape in shock when he saw Happy Snow killing the Shield Warrior after just one exchange. Rampant Blade had seen Happy Snow before, and he knew that the little girl had only reached the Refinement Realm recently. Yet, now, she had instantly killed a veteran Refinement Realm expert. It was simply unbelievable! Not bad. I like this feeling, Happy Snow stated excitedly as she looked at the Shield Warriors vanishing body. Not only did the Ancient Mana Equipment Set increase her Skill Completion Rate, but it had also improved the density of her Mana and her control over Mana. Because of this, she had a much easier time executing combat techniques, and she became able to execute Wolf Pack effortlessly. If it was before she acquired this set, she wouldnt have been able to make use of the Advanced Combat Technique in actual combat. Of course, the Ancient Mana Equipment Set wasnt the only factor contributing to her success. A more important factor was the Ancient Gods Blood Shi Feng had given to her. Thanks to the Ancient Gods Blood, her Mana Body had also reached the Gold rank. Moreover, it was even a Peak Gold Mana Body. This improvement had cleared up her mind significantly, and she could now execute combat techniques much more efficiently. Previously, she could only create four phantom wolves when executing Wolf Pack. Moreover, it was also under a practice setting. Now, not only could she freely execute the combat technique in battle, but she could even create five phantom wolves with it. What power! Is she a monster? When the other experts from World Dominators saw their companion getting killed, they couldnt help but gulp nervously. If Happy Snow could kill even a Shield Warrior in one move, it went without saying that she could do the same for other classes. To make matters worse, they still had to keep an eye out for Blackies ranged attacks. If they received a direct hit from one of Blackies Spells, they wouldnt even know how they died. Meanwhile, seeing World Dominatorss experts growing cautious, Shi Feng asked, Do you still want to continue? Chapter 3049 - Chapter 123 Chapter 123 C One Sword for Thousands Although Shi Feng spoke in a calm and low voice, nobody present dared to underestimate him. Previously, everyone thought that Shi Feng was simply spouting nonsense when he said that just the five of them were enough. However, after seeing Blackies and Happy Snows overwhelming performance, nobody doubted Shi Fengs words anymore. The combat power Blackie and Happy Snow displayed was something only apex experts could exhibit in the current Miniature Ancient World. Two dozen Refinement Realm experts couldnt even serve as a warm-up for these two players. Only the various Super Guilds apex experts could possibly fight the two of them. It seems Zero Wing cannot be underestimated. Despite being a new Guild, it has so many powerful experts. Indeed. But World Dominators isnt a pushover, either. With only five players, Zero Wing will still have difficulty targeting Shadows members. Faced with this sudden turn of events, the various large Guilds experts couldnt help but turn toward Gu Yiren. Currently, Gu Yiren still held the initiative in his hands. After all, World Dominators currently had the entire New Moon Forest on lockdown. Now, it was up to him to decide whether they would fight or not. If Gu Yiren chose to fight, his side would most likely sustain severe losses, and his progress in the Miniature Ancient World would slow down significantly. However, if Gu Yiren chose not to fight, his reputation among World Dominatorss various affiliated Guilds would most likely plummet. His actions might even end up affecting World Dominatorss prestige. Two experts with apex-level strength, is it? I can see why you dare to behave so boldly, Gu Yiren said as he looked at Shi Feng coldly. However, dont forget where this place is! Apex experts might be powerful, but they arent invincible in the Miniature Ancient World! As soon as Gu Yiren finished speaking, the various Guilds experts promptly advanced and got ready for battle, their numbers exceeding 2,000. Aside from first-rate experts, there were also some Refinement Realm and Half-step Refinement Realm experts among these 2,000-plus players. Even if they were up against two experts with apex-level strength, they could rely on zerg tactics to whittle down and kill the opponent. After all, there was a limit to a players Stamina and Concentration. Take Happy Snow, for example. While it was true that she had killed a Shield Warrior in one move, she had done so with the help of an Advanced Combat Technique, something that cost a significant amount of Stamina and Concentration to use. How about giving up now, Mister? Nobody can annihilate Shadow today, Tao Yuwei, who stood behind Gu Yiren this entire time, suddenly stepped forward to advise Shi Feng. World Dominators has similarly dispatched apex experts to the New Moon Forest. If the battle drags out, you wont even have the chance to escape later. The various Guilds experts also nodded in agreement with Tao Yuweis words. In reality, none of them wished to fight against Shi Fengs group of five. However, Gu Yiren had already made himself clear that he wouldnt let Shi Feng touch Shadow. Thus, even if it meant dying and losing a level, they needed to stop Shi Fengs party. Otherwise, World Dominators would make it so that they couldnt continue surviving in Gods Domain. So what youre saying is Instead of answering Tao Yuweis question, Shi Feng smiled and asked, Youre not going to give way? You can think of it that way, Tao Yuwei said nonchalantly. If she came across Shi Fengs party under normal circumstances, she absolutely wouldnt dare to antagonize them at all. This was because her Guild wouldnt go out of its way to target a Domain Realm expert for her sake alone. However, she was currently working under Zuo Tiankuangs orders, and they were also currently in the middle of a Guild War. If Shi Fengs party killed them, their Guild would definitely avenge them for the sake of its reputation. Not to mention, so long as Shi Fengs party dared make a move, she would promptly contact Zuo Tiankuang and notify him about the situation here. With a force of over 2,000 first-rate experts, they had more than enough fodder to keep Shi Fengs party busy until Zuo Tiankuang and the other apex experts arrived. In that case, you can be buried together with Shadow! Shi Feng absolutely wouldnt let go of this opportunity to heavily damage Shadow. Immediately, he unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and enveloped the many experts present in his Mana Domain. A Mana Domain?! How does he have a Mana Domain at Tier 3?! The various large Guilds experts were dumbfounded when they felt Shi Fengs frightening Mana enveloping their bodies. Disappear! Shi Feng swung the Winter of Eternal Night horizontally. Second Sword, Holy Devour! Even with the Ancient Mana Equipment Sets bonuses, it was still a significant burden for Shi Feng to execute Holy Devour. If he tried to execute Holy Devour at full power, he could, at most, use it three times in a battle. After three executions, he would immediately fall into a mentally weakened state. Thus, this was a trump card he wouldnt casually use under normal circumstances. However, out of all the attacks in Shi Fengs repertoire, Holy Devour had the largest AOE. Shi Feng was only a Tier 3 player right now. If he had to kill 2,000-plus first-rate experts one by one, hed die from exhaustion before he could even get rid of all of them. Thus, the best solution was to use an attack with a big AOE and reduce the enemys numbers as much as possible. Then, he would leave the rest for Su Qianliu and the others to deal with. Not good! Meanwhile, when Blue Sheath saw the sudden change in Shi Fengs aura, she instinctively executed Shadow Walk, an Advanced Combat Technique, and distanced herself from the battlefield. She had also activated Shadow Flash, a Tier 3 Lifesaving Skill that increased her Movement Speed by 300% for five seconds. While retreating, though, she kept a constant look over the battlefield, ensuring she didnt miss out on anything. The next moment, before Blue Sheath could move even 100 yards away from her previous location, a scorching light suddenly enveloped her vision, the light incinerating everything in its path and shattering even space itself This Blue Sheath was dumbfounded. One attack! It was only one attack! With just one attack, Shi Feng had extinguished the lives of nearly half of the 2,000-plus experts, erasing even their ashes from the battlefield TL Notes: [1]apex experts and experts with apex-level strength: Apex experts refer to Domain Realm experts; Experts with apex-level strength refer to expert players capable of exhibiting the raw power of Domain Realm experts. They arent necessarily Domain Realm experts, though. Chapter 3050 - Chapter 124 Chapter 124 C End of an Era What is this? Isnt he just Tier 3?! How can he have such power?! He can already shatter space at Tier 3. Could he be a God-ranked expert? When the experts caught outside of Shi Fengs Mana Domain saw the fragmented void in front of them, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. They had seen experts shattering space with their attacks before. On the main continent, any Tier 4 expert could easily accomplish such a feat. Some of them even used to be Tier 4 experts on the main continent. However, the Miniature Ancient World had only opened recently. It was impossible for players to even reach Level 120 at this stage of the game, let alone Tier 4. Yet, the cloaked man before them had accomplished a feat that could typically only be accomplished by Tier 4 players. With just one singular attack, he had exhibited power on par with Tier 4 Taboo Skills at Tier 3! At this moment, there was only one plausible explanation everyone could come up with for this unbelievable situation. A Tier 6 God-ranked expert! An existence capable of turning the impossible possible! Shadow is really finished this time When Rampant Blade saw Shadows experts disappearing without a trace, he couldnt help but turn to look at the proud figures of Su Qianliu and the others, his eyes full of bitterness and lamentation. In the past, he used to hold the same position as Su Qianliu as one of Shadows Five Demon Generals. Yet, in the time it took him to reach the Refinement Realm, Su Qianliu and Blackie had already become existences that even World Dominators found tricky to deal with. The two of them were even capable of killing Refinement Realm experts like ants In reality, Rampant Blade had felt that Shi Feng was joking when he heard about the other partys declaration to erase Shadow from Gods Domain. After all, there was simply too significant of a gap between Shadow and Zero Wing. Now, however Over 80% of the experts Shadow had dispatched to the Miniature Ancient World had just been killed. On the surface, it might seem as if these experts had just lost a level and a piece of equipment. However, in the current state of the Miniature Ancient World, this was an irrecoverable loss. After all, these experts were all geared with top-tier weapons and equipment that Shadow had paid a huge price to procure. It wouldnt be an easy task to replace all of these items. Meanwhile, before they could recover these lost items, Shadow would be much more restricted in what it could do in the Miniature Ancient World. Needless to say, itd also be impossible for Shadows experts to catch up to the experts of other Guilds in terms of levels. Simply put, Shadow had already lost its initiative in the Miniature Ancient World. It had already been kicked off the frontlines and lost the opportunity to contest crucial resources. Naturally, all of the investments it had made thus far were also for naught. However, these losses still werent the biggest problem. The biggest problem Shadow now faced was Zero Wings Tier 6 God-ranked expert! If it were before the Secret Pavilions recent move, it wouldnt have been a significant problem for Shadow to be targeted by a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. After all, the God-ranked expert in question wasnt on the main continent. Meanwhile, Shadows main source of income remained on the main continent. However, the various powers of Gods Domain were currently frantically competing for the Miniature Ancient Worlds resources. Among these powers, there were bound to be some who wouldnt mind destroying Shadow, both on the main continent and in the Miniature Ancient World, if they could gain a Tier 6 God-ranked experts favor. Not to mention, they could also reduce the number of competition they needed to face in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, in the distant forest, Blue Sheath couldnt help but sigh in relief when she saw that Shi Feng had stopped attacking. What rotten luck. I nearly got killed just now, Blue Sheath muttered under her breath. The attack just now had triggered all of her danger senses, and she felt as if her life was hanging by a thread. It had already been many years since she had experienced such a feeling. What the hell is Shadow thinking? Even World Dominators wouldnt dare to recklessly provoke a God-ranked expert. But after this mess, World Dominators will have no choice but to pick a fight with this God-ranked expert. The experts of one of World Dominatorss affiliated Guilds had just been annihilated. Even if World Dominators was reluctant to, it would have no choice but to go after Zero Wing. Otherwise, itd become a laughingstock among the various powers, and no power would be willing to attach themselves to it. Meanwhile, during the time Blue Sheath was resting, sounds of battle suddenly came from a different location. Moreover, these sounds were rather loud, and Blue Sheath could hear them clearly even though the battle took place several hundred yards away. Whats causing such a loud commotion? Has Zuo Tiankuangs legion finally started clashing with Mysterious Moons experts? A hint of anticipation appeared in Blue Sheaths eyes as she looked at the intermittent flashes coming from a distant part of the forest. Immediately, she went into Stealth and dashed toward the other battlefield. Anyone capable of causing such a huge commotion in the current Miniature Ancient World must possess strength at the Tier 4 standard. Out of World Dominatorss forces scattered across the New Moon Forest, only the trump card legion led by Zuo Tiankuang possessed Tier 4 combatants. Meanwhile, if Zuo Tiankuangs legion was making a move, it went without saying that they had discovered Mysterious Moons members. Thus, Blue Sheath needed to head over to the other battlefield immediately. Otherwise, she might miss out on her chance to challenge Nightingale. Boom! Boom! Boom! As the sounds of battle continued echoing throughout the forest, Blue Sheath arrived within 100 yards of the battlefield. There were several hundred players fighting on the battlefield right now. Of the two clashing sides, the side with greater numbers consisted of players wearing World Dominatorss Guild Emblem, while the side with fewer numbers consisted of players wearing Mysterious Moons Guild Emblem. Meanwhile, after observing the battle for a moment, Blue Sheath couldnt help but be stunned. How is this possible!? Logically, World Dominators shouldve been at an absolute advantage thanks to their overwhelming numbers. Yet, now, World Dominatorss members were fighting a retreating battle, their team of several hundred members getting pummeled by Mysterious Moons several dozen members. At this moment, even World Dominatorss Zuo Tiankuang was getting pinned down by Mysterious Moons Vice Guild Leader, Crimson Seal. However, this still wasnt the most shocking part. What astonished Blue Sheath the most would still have to be the sight of the silver-haired female Assassin dashing around the battlefield, killing one player after another. Meanwhile, this silver-haired Assassin was also the opponent Blue Sheath was seeking to challengeNightingale! Currently, Nightingale wore leather armor engraved with magic patterns, and her body radiated Mana from top to bottom. The Mana she radiated had even taken on a faint, misty form. As for the two crescent blades she wielded, they were like demonic claws that tore through everything in their path. Even Lonely Dragon, a Hammer Knight and Zuo Tiankuangs vice commander, couldnt face Nightingales attacks directly. When confronted with Nightingales attacks, his only option was to rely on his footwork to evade Nightingales attacks. Even then, he didnt last more than 30 seconds before he lost all of his HP to Nightingales crescent blades The current Nightingale was so strong that even Blue Sheath dared not move forward to challenge her. Moreover, Nightingale wasnt the only anomaly on this battlefield. The other Mysterious Moon experts were also exhibiting extraordinary combat power. Forty?! Since when did Mysterious Moon have so many experts with near Tier 4 strength?! After observing the battle for some time, Blue Sheath finally understood why World Dominatorss members were at such a severe disadvantage. Although Mysterious Moon only had 40 members on this battlefield, every one of them was an expert with combat power nearing the Tier 4 standard. This number was double of what World Dominatorss side possessed. Even though World Dominatorss side had more players, most of these players were of no help whatsoever. In front of an expert with near Tier 4 strength, ordinary Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts were nothing more than cannon fodder. After the battle continued for a few more minutes, Zuo Tiankuang had finally died after getting besieged by several Mysterious Moon experts. Along with Zuo Tiankuangs death, the final member of World Dominatorss trump card legion had also disappeared from the New Moon Forest Chapter 3051 - Chapter 125 Chapter 125 C Hundred Flow City in an Uproar Jin Hai City, Downtown Area, Lan Family Mansion: What?! Nearly all of our experts in Hundred Flow City got annihilated?! Impossible! Hadnt you been moving with World Dominators?! How can nearly all of you get killed?! Also, you all got killed by Zero Wing of all Guilds?! Lan Hailong, dressed in a collared suit with two female secretaries standing by his side, bellowed as he glared at Luo Tiancheng through the video call. When he heard the news Luo Tiancheng suddenly brought him, he couldnt help but shoot up from his seat, the grape wine in his hand spilling all over the floor. Zero Wing was nothing but a small Guild established by someone he had dismissed from his Guild. Yet, now, he was being told that this small Guild had eradicated nearly all of his Guilds experts. How could he possibly believe this? The most ridiculous part about this was that Zero Wing had accomplished this feat with only one player. Its true, Chairman Lan! Luo Tiancheng said with a helpless and bitter smile. Moreover, it isnt just us who got done in. Guild Leader Gu and his team also got wiped out by that mysterious Swordsman from Zero Wing. According to Guild Leader Gus analysis, he suspects that person might be a Tier 6 God-ranked expert One attack! With just one attack, that mysterious Swordsman from Zero Wing had snuffed out the lives of over a thousand players. The attack had happened so quickly and suddenly that Luo Tiancheng didnt even manage to react to it. Before he knew it, the world around him had turned gray, and his connection with his body was forcibly disconnected. The only thing he managed to see was a cloaked figure holding a sword in the distance. A God-ranked expert?! Impossible! How can a small Guild have ties with a God-ranked expert?! Also, Gu Yiren is one of World Dominatorss top-tier geniuses! Even a God-ranked expert wont have an easy time killing him in the Miniature Ancient World! Lan Hailong instinctively refused to believe Luo Tianchengs words. Gu Yiren was one of the people World Dominators had tasked with managing its affiliated Guilds in the Miniature Ancient World. Setting aside the fact that Gu Yiren was a Flowing Water Realm expert, just the fact that he was considered a top-tier genius in World Dominators meant that he would have received some tools that could save him during desperate times. The various superpowers might not care much about the lives of their normal members, but it was a different story for the lives of their top-tier geniuses. The cost of even a single death was high in the Miniature Ancient World. If the various superpowers wanted to ensure their advantage in the Miniature Ancient World, they would definitely do everything they could to prevent their top-tier geniuses from dying. As a Super Guild, there was no way World Dominators would supply its top-tier geniuses with lifesaving items. Meanwhile, just like Lan Hailong surmised, Gu Yiren had indeed received lifesaving items from his Guild. With the items he had, he could easily survive an assassination attempt from even Domain Realm experts. Unfortunately, Gu Yiren hadnt expected Shi Fengs attack to be so strong and fast. Everything happened so quickly that he had already gotten killed before he even realized what was going on. Naturally, he didnt have time to use his lifesaving items, either. Otherwise, even if Shi Fengs attack could shatter space, he couldnt have stopped the activation of a Tier 4 Teleportation Scroll. Im telling the truth, Chairman Lan. You can ask Guild Leader Gu about this yourself, Luo Tiancheng said. When he saw Lan Hailongs crazed expression, he could understand what was going through the other partys mind. If he were standing in Lan Hailongs shoes, he wouldnt have been able to accept this situation, either. In order to capitalize on the Miniature Ancient Worlds benefits, Shadow had borrowed a lot of Credits to gear its experts with Level 100 Epic Weapons and Equipment. After all, Shadows experts had achieved significant improvements in their combat standards after receiving World Dominatorss training resources. If they combined their improved combat standards with Epic Weapons and Equipment, they could go against even the experts of first-rate Guilds. Yet, now After taking a deep breath, Lan Hailong asked, How many? How many Epic Weapons and Equipment did we lose? Roughly 500 pieces, Luo Tiancheng answered carefully. Although Shadow had suffered over a thousand casualties in the fight with Zero Wing, not everyone was geared with Epic Weapons and Equipment. After all, even if Shadow had the money, there werent that many Level 100 Epic Weapons and Equipment available for sale. At a reasonable price, that is. Because the various powers were frantically buying up Epic Weapons and Equipment, the average price of these items had also skyrocketed. With Shadows limited financial strength, it could only equip around half of its experts with Epic Weapons and Equipment. Hence, the loss they suffered wasnt as terrible as one would expect. However, Lan Hailong nearly fainted when he heard Luo Tianchengs answer. The average price of a piece of Level 100 Epic Equipment was 300,000 Credits, while the price of a Level 100 Epic Weapon was 700,000 Credits. If he assumed half of the Epic items lost were weapons, his total loss would reach 250 million Credits He had already invested all of the money he had into the Miniature Ancient World. A loss of 250 million was no different than a stab to his heart. World Dominators! Is World Dominators not going to do anything about this situation?! Lan Hailong asked, a glimmer of hope appearing in his heart. Shadow was one of World Dominatorss affiliated Guilds, and its experts had suffered annihilation while carrying out a mission for World Dominators. By reason, World Dominators should avenge Shadow. If that happened, there was a high chance that Shadow could recover the weapons and equipment it lost. Even if they couldnt recover those items, so long as World Dominators offered to help Shadow in Hundred Flow City, Shadow would still have a chance to return to the Miniature Ancient Worlds frontlines in the future. However, as soon as Lan Hailong finished asking his question, a voice came from beside Luo Tiancheng: Thats unlikely to happen. Mysterious Moon has already annihilated all three of World Dominatorss legions that are stationed in Hundred Flow City World Dominators lost? Youre saying World Dominators, a Super Guild, lost? Lan Hailong was dumbfounded as he looked at Rampant Blade, who had appeared in the video call. At this time, let alone Lan Hailong, even Luo Tiancheng couldnt help but be dumbfounded by the news Rampant Blade shared. It was already unbelievable that Zero Wing had a Tier 6 God-ranked expert helping it. However, a first-rate Guild defeating a Super Guild was even more unbelievable. Even if it were only three of a Super Guilds legions, this matter still sounded like fantasy! At the same time, news of World Dominatorss defeat also quickly spread throughout the entire Hundred Flow City. This is crazy! This world must be going crazy! I didnt think Mysterious Moon had hidden its strength so well. I cant believe even World Dominators is no match for Mysterious Moon. Sure enough! Times are changing in Gods Domain! When the various powers and players learned of this shocking piece of news, some felt admiration toward Mysterious Moon, while some felt that World Dominators had weakened. Most importantly, everyone had come to realize one thingSuper Guilds were no longer unbeatable existences! Because of this situation, many powers that had been accumulating their strength in secret had begun growing restless, and all of them were thinking of challenging the various superpowers authority! Chapter 3052 - Chapter 126 Chapter 126 C Saint Legacy? Hundred Flow City, Witchs Sins Residence: Forty? Youre saying Mysterious Moon has forty experts with strength nearing the Tier 4 standard? Liu Wusheng asked, greatly surprised when he heard Blue Sheaths report. Then, realization dawned upon him as he said, No wonder World Dominators stayed silent after losing to Mysterious Moon. Without mobilizing all of its forces, theres no way World Dominators can deal with those forty experts. The public was only aware that Mysterious Moon had won against World Dominators, not how Mysterious Moon had achieved this victory. Although this information was already plenty shocking, it was nothing compared to the information Blue Sheath brought back. I thought World Dominators would try to recover its lost reputation immediately, but it seems that wont be happening any time soon, Liu Wusheng said as he stroked his beard. I have truly underestimated Mysterious Moon. I didnt think they would actually be so far ahead of Witchs Sin. Thats right! I didnt think that Mysterious Moon has hidden its strength so deeply, Blue Sheath said, nodding in agreement. Challenging a superpower was a necessary process for all first-rate Guilds. Only when a first-rate Guild had managed to achieve a victory against a superpower would the other powers in Gods Domain recognize it as a superpower. Otherwise, nobody would be convinced of the first-rate Guilds status, and nobody would fear it as they would fear a superpower. However, while Mysterious Moon might have snatched the initiative, it is Witchs Sins turn to make a move next! Liu Wusheng said, his voice filled with determination. Actually, Mysterious Moons matter isnt the most shocking thing I saw today, Elder Liu, Blue Sheath suddenly said. Before I discovered Mysterious Moons fight with World Dominators, I saw something even more amazing! Something even more amazing? Liu Wusheng couldnt help but be a little surprised. If news of Mysterious Moon having forty experts with near-Tier 4 strength got out, it would most likely shake the entire Miniature Ancient World. Nobody would think that World Dominators had grown weaker after losing to Mysterious Moon, either. On the contrary, they would think that World Dominatorss defeat was inevitable. So, Liu Wusheng found it hard to believe that there was something even more amazing than this matter. A Tier 6 Sword God has entered the Miniature Ancient World! Blue Sheath said, uttering every word loudly and clearly. Moreover, I can guarantee that its a Sword God that I have never seen before! A never-before-seen Sword God in the Miniature Ancient World? Liu Wusheng felt a chill crawling down his spine when he heard Blue Sheaths words. Are you certain? It should be known that Tier 6 God-ranked experts were high and mighty existences. Even if the Miniature Ancient World had a lot of opportunities and potentially even housed God Legacies, these opportunities were nothing to a true Tier 6 God-ranked expert. There was no way a God-ranked expert would do something as stupid as abandoning their Tier 6 status and restarting their progress in the Miniature Ancient World. Even the Five Great Super Guilds wouldnt do such a thing. The reason for this was simple. The birth of every Tier 6 God-ranked expert required an astronomical amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals. It was why only the strongest among first-rate Guilds possessed Tier 6 God-ranked experts. While the various superpowers had the Seven Luminaries Crystals to produce multiple God-ranked experts, they definitely couldnt afford to waste these resources. Hence, there shouldnt exist a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in the entire Miniature Ancient World. If such an expert existed, there could only be one explanation. An Outerworld player! I have a record of the battle, Blue Sheath said as she forwarded the video she recorded of Shi Fengs battle. A Saint Legacy! This was the first thought that came to Liu Wushengs mind after watching the video. Most people would only take Shi Fengs attack at face value when they saw the attack shattering space. However, as a Tier 5 Divine Mage and someone incredibly close to reaching Tier 6, Liu Wusheng possessed much greater knowledge than most players. Meanwhile, thanks to his knowledge, Liu Wusheng could tell that the main reason Shi Feng could exhibit such power with his attack was due to his extraordinary control and usage of Mana. The level of control and usage Shi Feng had exhibited was simply unheard of. Out of all the existences Liu Wusheng could think of, the Saints of legends, individuals who had reached the extremities of one particular field, should be the only existences capable of manipulating Mana in such a precise and ingenious manner. Hence, he concluded that in addition to being a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, Shi Feng must also have a Saint Legacy. I believe Mysterious Moon shares a close relationship with this Sword God. Otherwise, he wouldnt have appeared in the New Moon Forest when Mysterious Moon was challenging World Dominators, Blue Sheath said, offering her opinion on the matter. No! Youre completely mistaken! Liu Wusheng said, shaking his head. Or, more specifically, everyone in Hundred Flow City is mistaken! This God-ranked expert didnt appear because Mysterious Moon decided to challenge World Dominators! Instead, it is because Mysterious Moon has formed a partnership with this God-ranked expert beforehand that it dared to challenge World Dominators! Forty experts with near-Tier 4 strength! This was a force only a veteran Super Guild like World Dominators could muster at this stage of the game. Newer Super Guilds and other superpowers couldnt muster such a force even if they wanted to. Mysterious Moon was merely a first-rate Guild that didnt even have a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. How the hell did it come to possess so many experts of such caliber? What should we do about this, Elder Liu? Blue Sheath asked. After thinking it over, she felt that Elder Lius words made sense. Otherwise, shed have no way to explain how Nightingale, someone slightly weaker than her in terms of combat standard, possessed the ability to kill a Domain Realm expert like World Dominatorss Hammer Knight Lonely Dragon. Go and get ready. Its about time we visit Zero Wing as well, Liu Wusheng said, smiling as he stood up from his seat. We cant let Mysterious Moon monopolize everything! Good things must be shared! I understand. Blue Sheath nodded. Ill have people find out where Zero Wing is based immediately. After saying so, Blue Sheath vanished from the conference room, leaving Liu Wusheng by himself. An Outerworld player, is it? It seems its about time we break free from World Dominatorss control! Liu Wusheng muttered as he looked out the window. Witchs Sin had already reached the standard of a super-first-rate Guild three years ago. Its strength had long since gone beyond the level of even top-tier first-rate Guilds. In addition to having two publicly known Tier 6 God-ranked experts, it also had one other Tier 6 God-ranked expert in secret. With three Tier 6 God-ranked experts and the Guilds near-perfect Guild Legacy that allowed it to nurture players systematically until the Void Realm, Witchs Sin was more than qualified to become a super-first-rate Guild. Even actual super-first-rate Guilds were no better than Witchs Sin in these regards. However, Witchs Sin still chose to conceal its strength and hide behind World Dominators. This was because the leadership of Witchs Sin understood that it still wasnt time for their Guild to reveal its strength. They understood that the pool of water known as Gods Domain was much deeper than most people thought. It definitely wasnt as shallow as it seemed. Three God-ranked experts were far from enough to accomplish anything great in Gods Domain. Witchs Sin still required an opportunity. Meanwhile, now was the chance for Witchs Sin to rise! Chapter 3053 - Chapter 127 Chapter 127 C Astonishing Wealth! Hundred Flow City, New Moon Forest; After Shi Feng exterminated Shadows and World Dominatorss experts, the other experts on the battlefield promptly scattered like a bunch of frightened birds, leaving only Shi Fengs party of five behind. In no time at all, the previously lively surroundings of the New Moon Lake had become desolate and silent. Youre too cruel, Guild Leader! You ruined my wonderful training opportunity! Happy Snow complained when she looked at the desolate lakeside area. Im already close to breaking through the last barrier. All I needed was to spar with a few more Flowing Water Realm experts. Flowing Water Realm experts were incredibly rare in Gods Domain, and opportunities to spar with such experts were even rarer. Unless she went knocking on the door of a Guild with Flowing Water Realm experts, it was unlikely that she would come across such opportunities. Meanwhile, out of the affiliated Guilds World Dominators had gathered today, some of them had dispatched Flowing Water Realm experts. Yet Yet The battle was already over after she had the chance to execute only one move. The Flowing Water Realm experts standing behind Gu Yiren didnt even get the chance to make a move before Shi Feng killed them. It is indeed a pity. Su Qianliu also revealed a disappointed look in regards to this situation. If Shi Feng hadnt made a move, she couldve gotten the chance to spar with true experts like Gu Yiren. Gu Yiren and his subordinates had trained under a Super Guild, so their foundations must be greater than the average Flowing Water Realm expert. If she could spar with such experts, she could definitely improve her combat standards. Can you two battle maniacs stop being ungrateful? I think the Guild Leaders actions are right. See how much work he saved you guys? Blackie reprimanded, curling his lips as he looked at the weapons and equipment scattered across the battlefield. If we had to kill them one after another, most of Shadows experts wouldve fled after realizing theyre no match for us. If we allowed that to happen, whats the point of us coming over to intercept them in the first place? There were only two ways to affect a Guild in Gods Domain. The first way was through targeting a Guilds experts. The second way was through targeting a Guilds income. If one caused sufficient damage through any of these two methods, one could erase a Guild from Gods Domain. Meanwhile, their goal this time was to target Shadows experts. Apart from being the symbol of Shadow, these experts were also the strength Shadow relied on to raid Team Dungeons. Without these experts, Shadow would no longer have a stable supply of high-quality weapons and equipment. If it became known that Shadow lacked the ability to raid high-difficulty Team Dungeons and secure high-quality weapons and equipment, whod possibly be willing to join or stay in Shadow? Eventually, Shadow would gradually lose its members and eventually be forced to disband. However, whether it was Su Qianliu or Happy Snow, neither of them bothered themselves with internal affairs. They remained oblivious to the importance of high-quality weapons and equipment to an organization in Gods Domain. They also didnt know how to cherish a good opportunity to secure a bunch of high-quality weapons and equipment. From how Blackie looked at it, if it werent for Firecloud sacrificing all of his time and energy managing internal affairs, Su Qianlius Thousand Flow adventurer team wouldve never managed to survive in the Black Dragon Empire. Now that Happy Snow and Su Qianliu had joined Zero Wing, they became even more unhinged. They paid zero attention to the Guilds internal affairs and focused entirely on improving their strength. It was especially true after they acquired the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Both of them had become crazed battle maniacs. Alright, hurry up and collect the loot, Shi Feng said as he watched Su Qianliu and Blackie bickering with each other. He wasnt surprised that they had differing opinions, though. Or, more specifically, he had already gotten used to this situation. After all, when they were in Shadow, Blackie was responsible for managing internal affairs, while Su Qianliu was responsible for managing external affairs. It was also the same case in Zero Wing during Shi Fengs previous life. This battle is only a warm-up. The real fight has just started. Just started? Su Qianliu was confused by Shi Fengs words. Hasnt Mysterious Moon defeated World Dominators already? These next two days were the most crucial for competing for the Darkmoon Outpost. After Mysterious Moon had annihilated all three of World Dominatorss legions, the experts of World Dominatorss affiliated Guilds had also fled the New Moon Forest. It was unlikely that World Dominators could organize a force strong enough to go against Mysterious Moon these next two days. Hence, Mysterious Moon was almost guaranteed to secure the Darkmoon Outpost. Aside from having to wait for Mysterious Moon to transfer the Darkmoon Outposts Shops to Zero Wing, there shouldnt be anything that Zero Wing needed to do these next two days. Mysterious Moon has indeed defeated World Dominators, Shi Feng said, chuckling. But do you honestly think a Super Guild has so little strength? After this incident, World Dominators will most likely start retaliating for real. During his previous life, Shi Feng had been the Guild Leader of the number one Guild in Gods Domain. Hence, he knew just how powerful a Super Guild was. World Dominators might have difficulty mustering a force of forty experts with near-Tier 4 strength, but targeting a first-rate Guild and securing a measly Outpost was childs play for it. In Gods Domain, defending ones possessions was often more difficult than fighting for another persons possessions. After this battle, it would be Zero Wing and Mysterious Moons turn to defend, while World Dominators would begin its offensive. Meanwhile, only after they had successfully defended their advantage would their victory count! This was something Mysterious Moon probably understood as well. In fact, Mysterious Moon might have already begun concentrating its strength in Hundred Flow City to solidify its hold over the Darkmoon Outpost. Meanwhile, the Darkmoon Outpost would become the foundation for Zero Wings future development, and a significant amount of money and resources would be necessary to develop it. Hence, Zero Wing needed to take every opportunity it had to secure valuable resources. After ten minutes of looting, Shi Fengs party collected all of the items on the ground. Crap! Since when was Shadow this rich?! Over half of all these items are Epic ranked! Blackie couldnt help but be astonished when he was done sorting through the loot. Lan Hailong will probably have a heart attack if he learns of this loss. They had acquired a little over a thousand weapons and equipment in this battle, and over 600 of them were Epic ranked. It should be known that they had targeted mainly Shadows experts during the previous fight, while the number of World Dominatorss experts they killed was no more than 100. In other words, over 500 of the Epic Weapons and Equipment they looted belonged to Shadow. They could already arm a 100-man team to the teeth with this many Epic Weapons and Equipment. At this time, even Shi Feng couldnt help but feel sorry for Lan Hailong. A 100-man teams worth of Epic Weapons and Equipment! At this stage of the game, even first-rate Guilds could only afford to gear their main force to such an extent. This meant that Shadow had just lost an entire main forces worth of equipment Nice! Weve hit the jackpot this time! Firecloud exclaimed excitedly as he looked at the weapons and equipment in his bag. We wont have to worry about lacking equipment when we recruit more members later! The number of Epic Weapons and Equipment they just acquired surpassed even the total number the Thousand Flow adventurer team possessed when the adventurer team transitioned into the Miniature Ancient World. Zero Wings Guild Warehouse would remain stocked for a long time with this huge influx of weapons and equipment. No, we will be selling everything but the Epic Weapons. The sooner, the better, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Moreover, its best if we can convert these items into Magic Crystals. As for the Guild Warehouse, Ill think of a way to produce more Mana Equipment Sets later. Setting aside Level 100 Epic Weapons, Level 100 Epic Equipment could only be used in the current stage of the game. Once the various powers entered the Level 120 neutral zone and interacted with the Outerworld players, Mana Equipment would quickly become the mainstream equipment. At that time, other than powerful Epic Weapons and Equipment, everything else would become outdated. Rather than wait until the Level 100 Epic Equipment lost their value, itd be better to sell the equipment while they could still get a good price. They could also use the Coins and Magic Crystals they earned to upgrade the Abyssal Star Ancient City. Okay. Ill go and get it done, Blackie said, having no opinions regarding Shi Fengs decision. After experiencing the Mana Equipment Sets effects, he could no longer see ordinary Epic Equipment as excellent. After Shi Fengs party returned to Hundred Flow City, Shi Feng suddenly received an emergency notification from the system. Simultaneously, a window showing the surveillance footage of his villa popped up in front of him. Why are they here? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw the scene displayed in the surveillance footage. Noticing the strange look on Shi Fengs face, Su Qianliu curiously asked, Whats wrong, Guild Leader? Its nothing. Some old acquaintances just appeared outside my house, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Old acquaintances? Who? Blackie asked curiously. He knew that Shi Feng had very few acquaintances in Jin Hai City, and even fewer among them would come knocking on his door at this time. In response, Shi Feng calmly said, Lan Hailong. Chapter 3054 - Chapter 128 Chapter 128 C Fight? Lan Hailong? Why is he here? Blackies expression darkened a little when he heard Shi Fengs words. He had spent the past ten years striving for Shadow. Yet, not only did he have nothing to show for it, but he had even gotten thrown away like a used tool by Lan Hailong. Fortunately, the Miniature Ancient World had appeared, and he had managed to get into Zero Wing. Although he hadnt made any money yet, he could already see the future prospects of the Guild. Zero Wing definitely had a promising future, and it would certainly surpass Shadow by leaps and bounds in the future. Hes probably here for those Epic Weapons and Equipment. Levels lost can be recovered, but it wont be easy to recover all those Epic items, Su Qianliu said, smiling. Even her Thousand Flow adventurer team did not possess this many Epic Weapons and Equipment when it transitioned into the Miniature Ancient World. It wasnt hard for her to imagine how devastated Lan Hailong mustve felt after finding out about such a loss. It might be a different story if Lan Hailong didnt know who had come into possession of these Epic Weapons and Equipment. However, in a situation where he knew who had acquired these items, there was no way he wouldnt do something about it. Guild Leader, that Lan Hailong must be up to no good! Ill bring people over to your place right away! Blackie hurriedly said when he recalled the sinister methods Lan Hailong had employed in the past. No need. I can take care of it by myself. You go and sell the equipment, Shi Feng said, waving his hand. Will you really be fine, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu asked with some concern. Dont worry. Its just Lan Hailong and his thugs. They dont have the strength to do anything against me, Shi Feng said, smiling. Alright, Im logging off. If it were two weeks ago, Shi Feng might have had a little trouble dealing with Lan Hailong. However, the S-rank Nutrient Fluids he consumed had already healed his hidden injuries and revitalized his body cells fully. Combined with his training, he now possessed the physical fitness of a half-step master. Now, he would have no problems facing even martial arts masters. After saying so, Shi Feng promptly chose to log out of Gods Domain. Outside Shi Fengs villa Under the villas surveillance camera, Lan Hailong currently wore an ugly expression on his face. His eyes were also vaguely bloodshot, and even his clothes still had a lot of wine stains left on them. At this moment, he was completely devoid of his past arrogance and majesty. This bastard simply isnt taking us seriously, Chairman! Hes made us wait outside for over ten minutes already! the muscular and balding Zhou Yuhu said impatiently. Should I break inside and drag him out? Zhou Yuhu was currently Shadows chief training instructor. He had also participated in many fighting competitions in the city and won many trophies during his younger days. Although his combat standards were inferior to Shi Feng in Gods Domain, he was far superior to Shi Feng in combat in the real world. With his physical fitness currently at the half-step Henglian master standard, he could easily take on two or three Shi Fengs simultaneously. Meanwhile, the security system of Shi Fengs villa might seem excellent, but Zhou Yuhu was confident he could sneak inside without any cameras catching him. However, after hearing Zhou Yuhus suggestion, Lan Hailong calmed down a little and shook his head, saying, Shi Feng now has a Tier 6 God-ranked expert backing him, so hes naturally feeling arrogant! Well wait! Since Lan Hailong had already said so, as Lan Hailongs number one henchman, Zhou Yuhu had no choice but to dismiss his plans and continue waiting. After another ten minutes had gone by, the villas door finally opened, and standing behind it was Shi Feng. At this time, Shi Feng was dressed in a bathrobe, and his hair was still wet. Evidently, he had just come out of the shower. Shi Feng! Zhou Yuhu immediately felt his anger flaring up when he saw Shi Fengs attire. Weve been standing outside for so long, yet you were inside taking a shower?! Are you even taking us seriously?! Do you have business with me? Shi Feng asked, ignoring Zhou Yuhu as he turned to look at Lan Hailong. Honestly, he wasnt trying to trouble Lan Hailong and Zhou Yuhu by taking a shower. Instead, he had simply taken a shower because his body had grown dirty and sticky after spending many hours cooped up inside his virtual gaming cabin. I know youre very upset with me, Shi Feng. Seemingly regaining his past majesty, Lan Hailong calmly said, Now that you have a God-ranked expert standing behind you, its natural that you can ignore Shadow and me. However, dont you know youve just brought disaster to yourself? Disaster? Shi Feng couldnt help but chuckle when he saw Lan Hailongs high and mighty behavior. What is this disaster you speak of, Chairman Lan? Your Zero Wing might have a God-ranked expert backing it, but not only did your people annihilate Shadows experts right in front of World Dominatorss many affiliated Guilds, but theyve also killed Gu Yiren, one of World Dominatorss administrators in the Miniature Ancient World. Do you think World Dominators will let Zero Wing off the hook after this slight? Lan Hailong asked. When he looked at Shi Fengs nonchalant expression, he could tell that the other party wasnt heeding his words whatsoever. So, he continued, I can tell you now that World Dominators is very angry over this matter. It has even prepared to issue a bounty across the entire Miniature Ancient World. That God-ranked expert might not care about having a bounty placed on him, but what about the rest of you? Do you think you can survive the pursuit of the Miniature Ancient Worlds countless experts? Nodding to Lan Hailongs words, Shi Feng asked, So? Hasnt Zero Wing acquired Shadows lost Epic Weapons and Equipment? Chuckling, Lan Hailong said, I can make you an offer. Think of a way to sell those items back to Shadow; you can at least give that God-ranked expert an explanation that way. In return, Shadow will plead World Dominatorss side for mercy and forget about issuing a bounty on Zero Wing. This is a deal that is good for both of us! Shi Feng quietly looked at Lan Hailong. After listening to Lan Hailongs offer, he suddenly found that Lan Hailong wasnt a brainless fool like he thought. The man was simply ignorant of the current situation. Your offer is good, but I refuse! Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Dont delude yourself, Shi Feng! World Dominatorss bounty will be one that can tempt countless experts! There is no way Zero Wing can survive this! Lan Hailong said, his gaze suddenly turning icy cold. This is your only chance! Lets just fight, then! After saying so, Shi Feng closed the door and stopped entertaining Lan Hailong and Zhou Yuhu, his actions causing Lan Hailong to grow dumbfounded. Chapter 3055 - Chapter 129 Chapter 129 C Arrogant Shi Feng? TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 128 (20th March 2022): bounty -> kill order He He What does he mean? Lan Hailong fell into a daze as he stared at the villas shut door. Fight? Fight who? World Dominators? A Super Guild? Should I take care of him, Chairman? Zhou Yuhu suggested. Dont bother wasting your energy, Lan Hailong said, shaking his head. Then, with a somewhat gloomy expression, he said, Before I came here, Gu Yiren had already told us not to provoke Shi Feng no matter what for now. Does Guild Leader Gu doubt my strength? Zhou Yuhu asked angrily. Im not trying to boast, Chairman, but my physical fitness has improved significantly since I started receiving World Dominatorss training resources. Im only a little ways off from becoming a martial arts master. Its a piece of cake for me to take care of Shi Feng. You should be aware of Gu Yirens strength. Do you think you can beat Gu Yiren in a fight? Lan Hailong asked as he glanced at Zhou Yuhu. Zhou Yuhu shook his head in response. Gu Yirens physical fitness had already reached a realm that was beyond his reach. If they fought seriously, he felt that Gu Yiren could claim his life in a single move. Gu Yiren has said that he isnt a match for Shi Feng. If you still wish to try after hearing this, be my guest, Lan Hailong said as he looked at the lights on the second floor lighting up. If it werent for Gu Yirens warning, he wouldve most likely had a similar idea as Zhou Yuhu. After all, there was no way he would take such a slight sitting down. Initially, Lan Hailong had been skeptical of Gu Yirens claims. However, when he recalled how Gu Yiren talked about Shi Feng fearfully and then saw how nonchalantly Shi Feng treated them today, he realized that Gu Yiren might have been speaking the truth. Even Guild Leader Gu isnt a match? Zhou Yuhu was stunned when he heard Lan Hailongs words. At the same time, a hint of fear had also appeared in his eyes as he stared at the villas second floor. But are we really going to let this matter slide? Since Gu Yiren had already spoken as such about Shi Feng, Zhou Yuhu naturally wouldnt be so foolish as to barge into Shi Fengs villa. If he did that, Shi Feng would be completely within his right to take care of him. Shi Feng could even cripple him without having to worry about any legal repercussions. On the other hand, not only would he have to receive a beating, but he might even get into legal trouble for trespassing onto private property. Let this matter slide? The corners of his mouth lifting slightly, Lan Hailong said, How can we let this matter slide? Shi Feng might think that hes become amazing, but he simply has no idea how powerful a Super Guild is! Just wait and see! It wont be long before Shi Feng comes running to beg me! Before coming into contact with World Dominators, Lan Hailong hadnt thought much of Super Guilds. While he acknowledged that Super Guilds were powerful, he didnt think they were invincible. He even used to think of challenging a Super Guild if there was an opportunity to do so. However, after partnering with World Dominators, he realized just how powerful Super Guilds were. The strength the various Super Guilds revealed to the public was merely the tip of the iceberg. Yet, even this small tip was already enough to scare the various non-superpowers into submission. But what about all those Epic Weapons and Equipment we lost? Zhou Yuhu asked worriedly. Without those items, our main force wont be able to compete against the other powers main force. Well also be a step behind in exploring Level 110-plus maps Currently, most of the various powers experts in the Miniature Ancient World had already reached Level 103. Some powerful experts had even reached Level 104 already. Meanwhile, once the various powers main force members reached Level 105, they would promptly advance into Level 110 maps and widen the gap between them and other players. However, the Miniature Ancient World had a significantly harsher level suppression system. Without a full suit of Epic Weapons and Equipment, players would have difficulty grinding Level 110 monsters at Level 105. We dont have any other choice. Well mortgage one of our Main Cities first and use the money to replace what we lost. I refuse to believe that Shadow cant survive without that batch of Epic Weapons and Equipment Zero Wing stole! Lan Hailong said, gnashing his teeth as he looked at the villas second floor hatefully. I want to see just how long Zero Wing can survive against World Dominatorss kill order! After saying so, Lan Hailong turned around and walked away. Zhou Yuhu also took one last look at the villa before chasing after Lan Hailong. Meanwhile, on the villas second floor After executing three repetitions of the Body Strengthening Technique, Shi Feng grabbed a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid out of the fridge and drank it. Then, he climbed into his virtual gaming cabin and got ready to log into Gods Domain. It seems weve thoroughly enraged World Dominators this time. I didnt think World Dominators would put a kill order on us. Shi Feng frowned a little when he recalled Lan Hailongs words. When a player power issued a kill order, it showed that this player power was determined to kill the person or organization they targeted. Simply put, a kill order was a bounty. However, the bounty offered by a superpower was different from what non-superpowers could offer. The bounty the average power offered wouldnt earn the interest of peak experts. This was because the average power would only offer Credits or Coins for their bounty. At best, it would offer Epic Weapons and Equipment. However, none of these things could catch the interest of peak experts. After all, a peak expert in Gods Domain could easily earn several million Credits from a single commission. Obtaining Epic Weapons and Equipment was a simple task for peak experts as well. Or, more specifically, most peak experts were the ones selling Epic Weapons and Equipment in Gods Domain. Hence, the bounties issued by the average power in Gods Domain wouldnt attract the interest of peak experts at all. However, it was a different story if it were a bounty issued by a superpower. It was especially so if said superpower was a Super Guild, an existence standing at the top among the various superpowers. A Super Guilds bounty could cause even apex experts to go crazy, let alone peak experts. Whenever a Super Guild issued a bounty, the very minimum reward it would offer was a Fragmented Legendary item! Fragmented Legendary items were things that even first-rate Guilds had few of. Typically, even first-rate Guilds wouldnt be willing to offer Fragmented Legendary items as a reward for their bounties. However, a Super Guild wouldnt care about that. Aside from Fragmented Legendary items, Super Guilds would also offer Legacies as rewards. Of course, these werent your average Legacies. Instead, they were God Legacies. These were Legacies that even most first-rate Guilds lacked the ability to acquire. Meanwhile, a God Legacy would have a fatal attraction toward experts stuck in the boundary between Tier 5 and Tier 6. It was similar to how Galaxy Past was adamant in acquiring the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. If World Dominators had decided to issue a kill order on Zero Wing, Shi Feng did not doubt that many peak experts and apex experts would come after Zero Wing. While Shi Feng was confident he could repel these attacks without trouble, it was a different story for Su Qianliu and the others. Currently, the strongest member in Zero Wing after Shi Feng was Su Qianliu. With her combat standards paired with the Ancient Mana Equipment Set, she could fight against an apex expert fully geared in top-tier Epic items. However, while she might be able to fight off one apex expert, what if she had to go up against two or three simultaneously? Many peak and apex experts had flooded into the Miniature Ancient World in an attempt to reach Tier 6. There was no way these experts wouldnt be interested in a kill order issued by World Dominators. Even if Su Qianliu and the others grouped up whenever they went out to grind, it probably wont take more than a few seconds before they got sent back to the city. With World Dominatorss kill order in effect, Su Qianliu and the others wouldnt even be able to leave the city to level up. It seems Ill have to open Abyssal Star City ahead of time. Chapter 3056 - Chapter 130 Chapter 130 C Surge of Wealth By the time Shi Feng had returned to Gods Domain, the entire Hundred Flow City was already buzzing with activity. Almost every player in the city was talking about the battle in the New Moon Forest feverishly. Did you hear? It seems Mysterious Moon has fully occupied the New Moon Forest already! Yet, despite knowing this, World Dominators hasnt dared to send any people there! It seems World Dominators intends to give up on the Darkmoon Outpost. Of course Ive heard about it. Also, your information is outdated. Outdated? According to my sources, World Dominators has already demanded Mysterious Moon to withdraw from the competition for the Darkmoon Outpost. Otherwise, even if Mysterious Moon manages to acquire it, World Dominators will turn the Outpost into a restricted area. World Dominators is going too far! Its behaving no different from a bully at this point! I know, right? But Mysterious Moon has also declared that it would fight till the very end. Moreover, it is currently recruiting new players and experts, and the benefits it is offering are excellent. If Mysterious Moon manages to secure the Darkmoon Outpost as well, all of its members will get to save a lot of travel time. The players on the street discussed the war between Mysterious Moon and World Dominators, and many couldnt help but be enraged by World Dominatorss overbearing attitude. At the same time, independent players who had been subjected to the various superpowers oppression all these years couldnt help but be tempted to join Mysterious Moon. After all, Mysterious Moon was the only first-rate Guild to have achieved victory against a Super Guild these past few years. Now, it had even resolved itself to fight to the bloody end. Ive also received a different piece of news. I heard that World Dominators is also planning on putting a kill order on a Guild called Zero Wing. Zero Wing? Isnt that a newly-established small Guild? I heard that Zero Wing is super-amazing. Despite being only a small Guild, it has a Tier 6 God-ranked expert among its ranks. Moreover, Zero Wing has even annihilated one of World Dominatorss affiliated Guilds right in front of World Dominatorss face. Right now, World Dominators is planning on offering one God Legacy and over a dozen Fragmented Legendary items as a reward for its kill order. Youll get five points for killing Zero Wings elite members, twenty points for killing internal members, one hundred points for killing core members, and one thousand points for killing executive members. You can then use these points to exchange with World Dominators. Crazy! This is crazy! What is going on with this Miniature Ancient World? Its only been a few days since it opened, yet first it was Mysterious Moon, now it is a newly-established Guild! Is everyone trying to go against World Dominators?! Its also because of this situation that World Dominators is trying to set an example. Theres no way anybody couldnt resist the temptation of these rewards. Although it costs twenty million points to exchange for the God Legacy and five million points for each Fragmented Legendary item, its not entirely impossible to obtain this many points. This is a chance for many ordinary experts in the Miniature Ancient World to access these resources. Youve tempted me with your words. Should we team up to hunt Zero Wings members? Ill pass. I heard that while Zero Wing might not have many members, every one of them possesses extraordinary strength. Even the weakest among them is a first-rate expert. Rather than hunt Zero Wings members, Id be giving them equipment instead. When Shi Feng overheard the independent players discussion, he couldnt help but chuckle. World Dominators sure is ruthless. To think it would go as far as to use a God Legacy as a bounty. Even Im feeling a little tempted by this offer. The generosity of this point system should also allow hardworking ordinary experts to exchange for a Fragmented Legendary item. Setting aside the God Legacy, just the Fragmented Legendary items being offered were already more than enough to tempt most players into action. After all, a Fragmented Legendary item could grant players a massive boost to their combat power, much greater than what the Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Sets could provide. Even now, Shi Feng only had one Fragmented Legendary item in his possession, while most first-rate Guilds didnt even have thirty Fragmented Legendary items. Yet, now, World Dominators was offering over a dozen Fragmented Legendary items as a reward for its kill order. When Shi Feng arrived in front of the Candlelight Hotel, he received an urgent call from Blackie. Guild Leader, have you received the news yet? World Dominators has placed a kill order on us! Now, practically every player and power in the Miniature Ancient World is talking about this matter. Ive even received news saying that some superpowers experts are considering World Dominatorss offer, Blackie said anxiously. Many of our members have already asked to withdraw from the Guild because of World Dominatorss kill order. Moreover, Im afraid it will be incredibly difficult for us to go out and grind in the future A Super Guilds kill order! This was the first time Blackie had ever experienced such a situation. In the past, whenever he learned of Super Guilds placing a kill order on someone, he would simply think of it as an entertaining piece of news. However, now that he was the target of one of these kill orders, he couldnt find it entertaining in the slightest. He also understood what it felt like to be subjected to a Super Guilds kill order. As soon as this kill order appeared, he felt that the whole world had become his enemies. Some of Zero Wings members were even selling information on their fellow Guildmates. Since Blackie was an executive of Zero Wing, his head was worth 1,000 points. If others killed him 5,000 times, theyd have enough points to redeem a Fragmented Legendary item from World Dominators. If they killed him 20,000 times, theyd had enough to exchange for a God Legacy. Twenty thousand times! Thatd be enough deaths to last him for ten years Ive heard about it already, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Blackies anxious expression. Its nothing big. Since World Dominators wants to play, well play with them. He had experienced this situation many times during his previous life, so he had long since grown used to it. Adding one more experience to the list wouldnt faze him in the slightest. I want to do that too, Guild Leader, but were dead-ass broke. We dont have anything we can offer as a reward Blackie said with a bitter smile. In addition to a God Legacy, World Dominators had also offered over a dozen Fragmented Legendary items as a reward. These were all items that even apex experts sought to obtain, let alone ordinary experts. The only thing of roughly equal value Zero Wing could offer was the Standardized Ancient Mana Equipment Sets. However, if they recklessly gave these items away, it might backfire on them instead How is the sale of the Epic Weapons and Equipment coming along? Shi Feng asked.[1] Its going along smoothly, Blackie said excitedly. You have no idea how popular Epic Weapons and Equipment are on the market right now, Guild Leader. Everything that appears in the Auction House will get bought out almost immediately. Although weve sold only 70% of our Epic Equipment, weve already made 830,000 Gold and 3.26 million Magic Crystals! That much? Shi Feng was a little flabbergasted. He finally understood Lan Hailong had swallowed his pride to come knocking on his door asking for those Epic Weapons and Equipment. Lan Hailong had even gone as far as to ask to buy those items back. Because of the various powers fervent attempt to secure a foothold in the Miniature Ancient World, the value of Epic Weapons and Equipment here had soared even further. Now, it would seem that demand for these items far surpassed supply. Originally, Shi Feng thought that they could, at most, make two million Gold from the sales of Shadows Epic Weapons and Equipment. Yet, even though they had only sold 70% of their haul thus far, theyve already made over two million Gold in profit. Even for a first-rate Guild, a sum of 830,000 Gold and 3.26 million Magic Crystals was a significant amount of wealth. It should be known that Zero Wings transaction with Mysterious Moon only amounted to 160,000 Gold and 400,000 Magic Crystals. Moreover, the equipment Zero Wing sold to Mysterious Moon came in eight-piece sets. Forty sets in total meant 320 pieces of equipment. Even though there was only a small difference in number, the difference in actual value was massive If we convert all of these Coins and Magic Crystals into Mana Equipment Sets, we might have a chance at fighting against World Dominators, Blackie said, his worries lessening significantly when he recalled how many Coins and Magic Crystals Zero Wing had earned. No! Its too much of a waste to convert everything into Mana Equipment Sets! I have a much better use for these resources, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Come over to the Candlelight Hotel quickly. Ill take you to a good place. TL Notes: The part where World Dominators is offering a God Legacy and over a dozen Fragmented Legendary items is very absurd and contradictory to what weve known thus far about the Miniature Ancient World, so I assume that these rewards will be given out on the main continent instead of in the Miniature Ancient World. Most experts are entering the Miniature Ancient World for an opportunity to reach higher tiers, and Fragmented Legendary items are essentially opportunities for players who werent executives of superpowers or first-rate powers. If they can get a Fragmented Legendary item or a God Legacy reserved to their name on the main continent, they probably wouldnt mind starting over a new character on the main continent. There is also the option of helping others on the main continent acquire these opportunities in exchange for real-world benefits (S-rank Nutrient Fluid, Life Potion, etc.) (A little spoiler, but World Dominators is even going to add a Legendary item in its list of rewards later on. Unless Legendary items have suddenly become worthless, I doubt anyone can acquire a Legendary item in the first few weeks of the Miniature Ancient Worlds launch.) [1]How is the sale of the Epic Weapons and Equipment coming along? Shi Feng asked.: Shi Feng mentioned in Chapter 127 that they would only be selling the Epic Equipment, but the author wrote Epic Weapons and Equipment in this chapter. Im assuming he forgot, or he just typed Weapons out of habit, but Ill leave it as such unless a future chapter proves this otherwise. Chapter 3057 - Chapter 131 Chapter 131 C Zero Wings Guild Residence Hundred Flow City, Candlelight Hotel: At Shi Fengs command, Blackie promptly used a Return Scroll to teleport back to Hundred Flow City. Then, he hurried his way back to the Candlelight Hotel, not daring to delay for even a moment. After entering the hotel, Blackie followed Shi Feng to the secret room located in the hotels basement. Then, after entering the secret room and making sure that nobody else was around, he finally couldnt hold back his curiosity any longer as he asked, Why did you call me back so urgently, Guild Leader? Where are we heading to? To a city. Youll know once we arrive, Shi Feng said as he took out a Guild Transfer Scroll from his bag. Then, he handed the scroll to Blackie and continued, Take this and use it. A Guild Transfer Scroll?! Blackies eyes widened in shock when he saw the magic scroll Shi Feng offered him. Guild Leader, we have a Guild Residence now?! A Guild Transfer Scroll was similar to a Return Scroll. However, instead of teleporting players to a citys Teleportation Hall, it teleported players to the Guild Residence linked to it instead. The Transfer Scrolls could also only be used by the members of the Guild that produced them. Since Shi Feng was giving him a Transfer Scroll, it meant that Zero Wing now possessed its own Guild Residence! Mhm. We did acquire one some time ago, but I kept it a secret from you guys because of reasons, Shi Feng said, nodding. Then, he took out another Transfer Scroll for himself and said, Alright, lets quickly head over. I have many things I need you to do once we head over there. Okay! Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Blackie promptly activated his Transfer Scroll. A Guild Residence was something that almost every Guild player wouldve come across. Any Guild with sufficient strength would have their own Guild Residence. Or, more specifically, only after gaining a Guild Residence would a Guild be recognized as such officially. Meanwhile, a Guild Residence granted many benefits to a Guilds members, and it was of significant help to the development of a Guild. When Blackie opened his eyes again, he found that he had arrived inside an ancient-looking city. Many of the buildings in the city also looked somewhat dilapidated. This Mana Its so dense! Shortly after arriving in the Abyssal Star Ancient City, Blackie quickly realized its uniqueness. Then, when he focused on perceiving his surrounding environment, he couldnt help but grow even more shocked. Not only is the Mana here much denser than Hundred Flow Citys, but its purification properties are also many times greater! Before meeting up with Shi Feng, Blackie had been grinding in the New Moon Forest, and his body had accumulated a significant amount of foreign energy as a result. Normally, if he rested in Hundred Flow City or any other NPC City, he wouldve needed an hour to get rid of this amount of foreign energy. However, upon arriving in the Abyssal Star Ancient City, he discovered that the rate at which the foreign energy in his body disappeared had increased drastically. Ten minutes! At most, it would take ten minutes for all of the foreign energy in his body to disappear! The purification rate here was several times faster than any NPC City! However, this wasnt the end of Blackies surprise. A moment later, he quickly discovered an even more surprising matter. The map! According to his system map, the recommended level for his current area was Level 115 to Level 120! In the current Miniature Ancient World, this was a map that no player could grind in. Moreover, Misty Canyon that the city was located in was only one map away from the Boundary River Noticing the dumbfounded look on Blackies face, Shi Feng smiled and asked, How is it? Not a bad place, right? Blackie couldnt help but be rendered speechless when he heard Shi Fengs words. This bastard was blatantly showing off! How was this just not bad? The value of this place was off the charts! Zero Wing would have a humongous advantage over the other powers if it had access to this city. Setting aside the citys excellent geographical location, just the citys purification ability was already more than enough to put it above any NPC City in the Miniature Ancient World. If Zero Wings members could use this city as their base of operations, their leveling speed would be twice as fast as other players at the very minimum. Not to mention, the city itself was surrounded by Level 115-plus monsters. It wouldnt take more than a few minutes of travel for players to reach a grinding spot. In comparison, players operating from Hundred Flow City would need to travel several hours before they could reach a suitable grinding spot. While Shi Feng was giving Blackie a general introduction of the Abyssal Star Ancient City, a lithe figure suddenly appeared before them. Meanwhile, this lithe figure was none other than Hidden Soul. How is recruitment coming along on your side? Shi Feng asked when he saw Hidden Soul suddenly appearing before him. The main reason Shi Feng had left Abyssal Star City under Hidden Souls control was to get her to recruit mercenary players for him. Then, they would use these mercenaries to rapidly develop and defend the city. Ive recruited a batch already, Hidden Soul said. Then, sighing through her mask, she continued, But Im afraid itll be tough to convince the remainder. At the very least, its unlikely that they will join right now. Are they not interested in the city? Shi Feng asked curiously. He found it hard to believe that any expert could resist the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys temptation. Its not that theyre not interested. Its just that they dont believe me Hidden Soul said with a bitter smile. However, considering that none of them are willing to join or sign a confidentiality contract, its too big of a risk to reveal anything to them. The Abyssal Star Ancient City was too magical. It was especially so for the ancient tower in the middle of the city. It was essentially a holy land for players to learn the operating principles of Mana. Theyd be inviting disaster for themselves if they recklessly revealed the ancient towers secrets to others without having the necessary strength to protect it. Hence, while trying to recruit her acquaintances, she would only vaguely say that the city was an excellent place to improve ones combat standards. Only after these people had agreed to join and signed a confidentiality contract would she share the towers secrets with them. After thinking it over, Shi Feng asked, How many people are we talking about? What are their standards? Hidden Soul raised a finger in response. Ten? Or a hundred? Shi Feng asked in confusion. Hidden Soul rolled her eyes when she heard Shi Fengs question. Then, in a contemptuous tone, she said, Its one thousand! Out of these one thousand players, even the weakest is a Half-step Refinement Ream expert, and over half of them are Refinement Realm experts or above. There are also over twenty Void Realm experts and four Domain Realm experts. That many? How did you find all these people? Shi Feng was honestly shocked when he heard Hidden Souls answer. Originally, Shi Feng thought that Hidden Soul could, at most, recruit a dozen or so Void Realm experts. Then, they could get these Void Realm experts to introduce their acquaintances to join the mercenary alliance. The best-case scenario would be that they managed to recruit a few hundred experts before the citys opening. In the current state of the Miniature Ancient World, this could already be considered a relatively sizable force. Meanwhile, Blackie couldnt help but be dumbfounded by Hidden Souls words. Over 500 Refinement Realm experts! Even first-rate Guilds couldnt field so many Refinement Realm experts. In the Miniature Ancient World, this was a force that only the various superpowers could take out. Dont ask, Hidden Soul said as she looked at Shi Feng. The only thing I can say is that if I can open this place for others to visit, Ill be able to recruit even more experts. However, if I have to operate without exposing this citys existence, itd be difficult for the mercenary alliance to take shape in just ten days. Seeing the anxious look on Hidden Souls face, Shi Feng chuckled and said, Dont worry. You can start sharing some of Abyssal Star Citys information with those people from today onwards. Arent you worried that the various superpowers will surround this place once it gets exposed? Hidden Soul asked as she looked at Shi Feng in surprise. If the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys secrets got out, she did not doubt that the various superpowers would band together to attack this place. Meanwhile, with the citys current defenses, the city would fall instantly. Chapter 3058 - Chapter 132 – Abyssal Star Ancient City’s Strength Chapter 132 C Abyssal Star Ancient Citys Strength That was before. Seeing the astonished look on Hidden Souls face, Shi Feng confidently said, No one will be able to threaten Abyssal Star City from today onward, at least not until Tier 4 players appear! Normally, it would become possible for players to breach a Guild City after reaching Tier 3. This was because the NPC guards a Guild City could recruit were at Tier 3 on average. Their levels would also be ten to twenty levels above the player set as the settlements administrator. Moreover, Guild Cities were limited to the number of NPC soldiers they could recruit. In the Miniature Ancient World, the standard Advanced City would only have a force of 4,000 NPC guards defending it. In other words, an Advanced Guild City could, at most, recruit 4,000 NPCs to defend it. It was true that NPCs were stronger than players on average. NPCs would typically have more Skills and Spells than players of the same tier. It was also much cheaper and easier to fully equip NPC guards in Epic items. Thus, even Refinement Realm experts would have difficulty fighting against an NPC of the same tier. Meanwhile, a force of 4,000 Tier 3 NPCs was more than enough to crush the siege of any superpower. However, faced against the siege of multiple superpowers, a force of 4,000 Tier 3 NPCs would crumble quickly. After all, unlike players, it was much more difficult for NPCs to get resurrected. Hence, in the era of Tier 3, the various superpowers could easily take down an Advanced City so long as they worked together. However, that was no longer the case for the Abyssal Star Ancient City. Shi Feng had money now! As a city of the Second Sequence, Abyssal Star City had a massive advantage over normal cities when it came to recruiting NPCs. So long as one had the money, one could recruit powerful NPC guards to defend the city. It was similar to the NPC Merchants visiting Abyssal Star City. In only a few days, many NPC Merchants had already gathered in Abyssal Star City and rented many of the Shops in the city. Are you really sure about this? Hidden Soul asked. When she looked at Shi Fengs confident look, it didnt seem like he was lying to her. Go ahead and do it. Just make sure to keep Zero Wings connection with this city a secret, Shi Feng said, chuckling. These are your words. Dont say I didnt warn you when you lose this city. After saying so, Hidden Soul promptly logged out of the game, evidently delighted by Shi Fengs proposal. She could already imagine how her acquaintances would react once they found out about Abyssal Star Citys effects. Those people would most likely beg her to let them join the mercenary alliance. After reaching Tier 5, players would need to meet two requirements that involved Mana if they wished to reach Tier 6. The first requirement was to master the basic principles of Mana, while the second requirement was to master the advanced usage of Mana. Unfortunately, even if players managed to find a holy land with incredibly dense Mana, itd still be nigh-impossible to achieve these two requirements. The difficulty of doing so was simply far too great for most Tier 5 players. However, it was a different story for the ancient tower. The ancient towers ability to filter out all but one type of Mana would simplify the process of perceiving, understanding, and learning how to use Mana significantly. Hence, players would have a much higher chance at fulfilling the requirements to reach Tier 6 in the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys ancient tower compared to a holy land. Moreover, these were only the effects of the ancient towers first floor. Along with the Abyssal Star Ancient Citys development, the ancient towers second and third floors would also open up. At that time, even more powerful effects would become available. Hence, in a situation where combat standard requirements were met, the ancient tower would become a crucial component for Tier 5 players seeking to reach Tier 6 in the Miniature Ancient World. What a hurry shes in. Shi Feng couldnt help but shake his head and laugh when he saw Hidden Soul logging out of the game. Then, he looked toward Blackie and said, Lets go. Its time we begin our business. What business? Blackie asked in confusion. I asked you here to help me with two things. While walking toward the City Lords Mansion located in the center of the city, Shi Feng explained, Your first job is to help me organize the recruitment information in the City Lords Mansion. Your second job is to make an announcement to the entire Miniature Ancient World in Zero Wings name. Make an announcement to the entire Miniature Ancient World? Blackie grew even more dumbfounded. Making global announcements was a job Blackie was familiar with. This was because he had been responsible for making these announcements back in Shadow. But why was Shi Feng asking him to make an announcement in Zero Wings name? Were here. Get to doing your first job for now, Shi Feng said as he pointed at the majestic City Lords Manor. You can deal with the second job once youre done with the first one. Leave it to me, Guild Leader. Ill get the recruitment information sorted out by today, Blackie said confidently as he looked at the crowded City Lords Manor. Its not going to be an easy job, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw Blackies confident look. Well need to check every applicants Attribute Panel before registering their information. Wed be lucky if we can get everything done by today The number of NPCs applying for a guard position in Abyssal Star City was massive. If they wanted to recruit a reliable force of NPC guards, theyd have to carefully look through every applicants Attribute Panel before deciding whether to recruit the NPCs. Afterward, Shi Feng and Blackie began inspecting the NPCs gathered in the City Lords Manor one after another. Even though Blackie had done a lot of this kind of work in the past, he still couldnt help but be shocked when he saw the huge assortment of NPC applicants. The strength of the NPCs ranged all the way from Tier 4 on the highest end toTier 1 on the lowest end. However, the Growth Potential of these NPCs also varied significantly. Many of the Tier 1 NPC applicants had great potential, and they should have no trouble reaching Tier 4 in the future. On the other hand, the Tier 3 NPC applicants might have greater strength right now, but most of them had average potential, and there was almost no chance that they could reach Tier 4 in the future. When inspecting these NPCs, Shi Feng chose to recruit the Tier 4 NPCs they came across without hesitation. It didnt matter even if they asked for a weekly salary of 300 Gold, which was ten times higher than what the Tier 3 NPCs asked for. After inspecting the applicants for six hours continuously, Shi Feng and Blackie ended up recruiting 237 Tier 4 NPCs that ranged from Level 120 to Level 125. Although it cost 71,100 Gold just to hire these Tier 4 NPCs for a week, it was a worthwhile investment for the current Abyssal Star City. Every Tier 4 NPC could kill a Tier 3 peak expert with little effort. Meanwhile, a force of 237 Tier 4 NPCs was enough to cover the entire city. Aside from Tier 4 NPCs, they also decided to hire every Tier 3 NPC with great potential. Each of these NPCs cost 30 Gold per week to hire, and they ended up recruiting 2,419 of such NPCs for a total of 72,570 Gold per week. The total hiring cost of the Tier 3 NPCs was almost similar to that of the Tier 4 NPCs, but their numbers were ten times greater than the Tier 4 NPCs. While these Tier 3 NPCs might not be as strong as the Tier 4 NPCs, they would become an integral part of the citys management. After all, there was no way a few hundred Tier 4 NPCs could safeguard every corner of the city at all times. However, compared to the cost of gearing up these NPCs, the cost of hiring these NPCs paled in comparison. It cost 800 Gold to fully equip an NPC in Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. While this price seemed cheap compared to purchasing Epic Weapons and Equipment for players, Blackies heart bled when he saw this price. After all, if they wanted to fully equip every NPC guard with Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment, theyd have to spend over two million Gold That simply wasnt an expenditure Zero Wing could afford at this time. With Zero Wings current finances, the best they could do was equip the Tier 4 NPCs with Epic Weapons and Equipment, while the Tier 3 NPCs would have to settle for Level 120 Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment that cost 100 Gold per set. Even so, the total expenditure of hiring and gearing the NPCs still racked up to 575,170 Gold. Moreover, this was only the initial stage of the citys expenditure If Zero Wing couldnt find a way to earn a large sum of Coins, it wouldnt take more than a month for Zero Wing to go bankrupt. While Blackie was feeling gloomy over parting with a quarter of the money he had earned recently, Shi Feng suddenly received a call from Shi Feng. Guild Leader, someone came to the Candlelight Hotel and specified that they want to meet you, Su Qianliu said after seeing Shi Fengs face appearing in the video call. They say they want to discuss a partnership with Zero Wing. Partnership? Shi Feng was a little surprised by this situation. Who are they? After taking a deep breath, Su Qianliu said, Witchs Sin! Chapter 3059 - Chapter 133 – Tier 6 Saint Chapter 133 C Tier 6 Saint Witchs Sin! This was a name that almost every Guild in Gods Domain knew about. Compared to the other first-rate Guilds, Witchs Sin was the closest to becoming a super-first-rate Guild in Gods Domain. Not only did it have two Tier 6 God-ranked experts, but it also had at least 25 publicly known Tier 5 experts under its command. It was an existence that no power in Gods Domain could afford to underestimate. However, what concerned Su Qianliu right now wasnt that a pseudo-superpower was seeking to partner with Zero Wing. Instead, what concerned her was the fact that Witchs Sin was an affiliated Guild under World Dominators. In a situation where World Dominators had put a kill order on Zero Wing, there was no way Su Qianliu wouldnt doubt Witchs Sins goals. How many people did Witchs Sin send over? Shi Feng asked. Two people; an old man and a girl. The old man is the Witchs Sins Source of Darkness, Liu Wusheng, Su Qianliu answered, her voice taking on a reverential tone when she spoke about Liu Wusheng. Liu Wusheng was a magical class player, and he was akin to a living legend for magical class players. This was because Liu Wusheng had fought a Tier 6 God-ranked expert to a standstill despite being only at Tier 5. The astonishing battle back then had destroyed nearly one-third of a kingdom. Although Liu Wusheng didnt win the fight, the God-ranked expert fighting him didnt win, either. The achievement of fighting a Tier 6 God-ranked expert to a standstill as a Tier 5 player was something only a few players could accomplish. Hence, after that battle, Liu Wusheng became a role model for many Elementalists. Alright, Ill head back now, Shi Feng said, nodding as he hung up the call. Are you really going to meet them now, Guild Leader? Blackie asked, confused by Shi Fengs decision. Witchs Sin might be visiting for a partnership, but the Abyssal Star Ancient City was much more important than Witchs Sin. The sooner they finished filling up the citys NPC guard slots, the sooner they could ensure the citys safety. Meanwhile, ensuring the citys safety was especially important now that Shi Feng had given Hidden Soul the green light to share the citys information. Of course. Witchs Sin isnt as simple as everyone thinks, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, without offering an explanation, he activated his Return Scroll and teleported back to Hundred Flow City. Most people still werent aware how powerful Witchs Sin was exactly in this life. Most people might regard Witchs Sin as a pseudo-superpower, but if they were speaking in terms of strength, Witchs Sin could already be considered a bona fide superpower. Moreover, Witchs Sin had also kept a frightening individual hidden from the public. The Witch of Crime and Punishment, Smooth Life! During Shi Fengs previous life, almost nobody knew that Witchs Sin had kept a Tier 6 Mage God hidden under its grasp. Only after the Greater Gods Domains various powers invaded their Gods Domain did Witchs Sin reveal this Mage God of theirs. Though, rather than a Mage God, itd be more appropriate to address Smooth Life as a Tier 6 Saint instead. In addition to becoming a God-ranked expert, Smooth Life had also successfully reached the extremes of a World Law. Meanwhile, during her debut fight, Smooth Life had single-handedly killed seven Tier 6 God-ranked After that battle, Smooth Life instantly rose to fame in both their Gods Domain and the Greater Gods Domain. Upon reaching Tier 6, the difference between players would become very small. So, it was astounding that Smooth Life managed to go up against seven God-ranked experts simultaneously and kill every one of them. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, few Tier 6 God-ranked experts possessed such heaven-defying combat power. Hence, now that Witchs Sin was taking the initiative to ask for partnership with Zero Wing, Shi Feng naturally couldnt turn down the offer without at least finding out what Witchs Sin wanted. After all, a Tier 6 Saint would be of significant help once the Outerworld powers invaded their Gods Domain. Hundred Flow City, Candlelight Hotel: After Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath had waited for around twenty minutes, Shi Feng finally walked into the lounge they were waiting in. Hello, Mr. Black Flame. I am Liu Wusheng, Witchs Sins Great Elder, Liu Wusheng said, taking the initiative to greet Shi Feng. The person next to me is Blue Sheath, one of Witchs Sins Vice Guild Leaders. Hello, Shi Feng returned the greeting while scanning the two people before him. May I know what partnership you seek to discuss with me? I see that you are a very straightforward person, Mr. Black Flame, Liu Wusheng commented as he caressed his beard. In that case, Ill just get to the point. Blue Sheath and I have come here for one purpose only: to make a deal with you. Chuckling, Shi Feng asked, What kind of deal? The Ancient Mana Equipment Set! Liu Wusheng said, excitement flashing in his eyes. I have already looked into Mysterious Moons situation. The reason Mysterious Moon can produce so many experts with near-Tier 4 strength is entirely because of the Ancient Mana Equipment Sets you provided them. Initially, Liu Wusheng had been confused about why World Dominators had chosen to avoid a frontal confrontation with Mysterious Moon. However, after investigating Mysterious Moon and learning about the Ancient Mana Equipment Sets, he understood why World Dominators had made such a decision. Yes, I did supply those things to Mysterious Moon, Shi Feng said, not bothering to deny Liu Wushengs claims. Anyone intent on investigating Mysterious Moons Ancient Mana Equipment Sets could easily find out the sets origin, so there was no point in hiding this information. We wish to buy those Ancient Mana Equipment Sets as well, Liu Wusheng said, smiling when he saw Shi Feng acknowledging his claim. We are willing to pay twice as much as Mysterious Moon. Moreover, we will also sign a contract stating that we will not use these sets against Zero Wing under any circumstances. Liu Wusheng greatly desired the Ancient Mana Equipment Sets. So long as Witchs Sin could acquire forty of these sets like Mysterious Moon, it could afford to come into the spotlight and get everyone to acknowledge it as a superpower. Your offer is very tempting, Mr. Liu. However, Zero Wing no longer intends on selling these Ancient Mana Equipment Sets, so Im afraid I will have to refuse your offer, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. If two times is not enough, Witchs Sin can offer you three times! Liu Wusheng hurriedly said when he heard Shi Fengs words. The price isnt the problem, Mr. Liu, Shi Feng said. Ive already said that Zero Wing will not sell those sets. However, if you really wish to partner with Zero Wing, I can offer Witchs Sin another option. What option? Liu Wusheng asked out of curiosity. Join Zero Wings mercenary alliance and cooperate with Zero Wing in dealing with World Dominators! Shi Feng stated. Upon hearing Shi Fengs suggestion, the corners of Liu Wushengs mouth lifted slightly. Then, he shook his head and said, Its not that I doubt your strength, Mr. Black Flame, but there is no way you can win against World Dominators. There is no benefit for Witchs Sin to do so, either. You need to know that Witchs Sin is an affiliated Guild of World Dominators! Shi Feng wasnt surprised to hear Liu Wusheng rejecting his offer. Smiling, he asked, What if I give you and Witchs Sins many apex experts a significant chance at reaching Tier 6? Chapter 3060 - Chapter 134 – Basis of Partnership Chapter 134 C Basis of Partnership A significant chance at reaching Tier 6? Liu Wusheng asked out of curiosity, his eyes widening a little when he heard Shi Fengs words. I am not trying to doubt your abilities, Mr. Black Flame, but getting promoted to Tier 6 isnt something that can be accomplished with words alone. Even if I obtain a God Legacy, my chances of reaching Tier 6 will only increase by a small margin. Reaching Tier 6 was the dream of all Tier 5 experts in Gods Domain. However, only an extremely small minority could achieve this dream. Meanwhile, the closer one got to Tier 6, the more they would realize just how challenging it was to reach Tier 6. The difficulty was so high that most people would despair when they learned of it. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Blue Sheath similarly couldnt help but grow interested. Although she was nowhere near meeting the requirements to reach Tier 6 right now, if there was a way to increase her chances of reaching it, she naturally had to secure it as early as possible. Since I dare say so, I naturally have the ability to make it come true, Mr. Liu, Shi Feng said with a faint smile. Moreover, shouldnt we only discuss these things after becoming partners? Yes, youre right, Mr. Black Flame, Liu Wusheng hurriedly said, realizing the blunder he made. He had accidentally revealed his true thoughts in front of Shi Feng. Then, after calming himself, he continued, But if you talk about entering a partnership, shouldnt you show some sincerity first, Mr. Black Flame? After all, Witchs Sin is affiliated with World Dominators. Without sufficient reason, how would we dare betray World Dominators? Shi Fengs smile deepened when he heard Liu Wushengs suggestion. Then, he said, What you say is correct, Mr. Liu. It will indeed be difficult for you to decide to go against a Super Guild without sufficient benefits. Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Black Flame, Liu Wusheng said while caressing his beard. You might think that World Dominators isnt much for a Super Guild after seeing it lose to Mysterious Moon, but I can assure you that World Dominators is not as simple as it seems. If World Dominators wants to, it can destroy Mysterious Moon effortlessly. Even if Mysterious Moon has 40 Primordial Mana Equipment Sets, it will never be able to defend the Darkmoon Outpost! However, Shi Feng simply chuckled in response to Liu Wushengs reminder. Nobody had a better understanding of the various superpowers and Super Guilds than him in this world. If he said he was number two when it came to such knowledge, nobody could say they were number one. Meanwhile, as a veteran Super Guild, the strength and depth of World Dominators were not things someone like Liu Wusheng could uncover. It was also why Shi Feng had chosen to partner with Witchs Sin and form a mercenary alliance. Every Guild that managed to become a Super Guild did not possess just powerful experts. Besides that, Super Guilds also had the ability to acquire strategic tools. Meanwhile, among these strategic tools, many originated from ancient times, and some even originated from primordial times. For most experts in Gods Domain, these strategic tools were completely out of their reach. Theyd have to have heaven-defying luck to get their hands on even one of these items. However, for a Super Guild with countless experts, they could acquire these tools much more easily and reliably. Meanwhile, if a Super Guild decided to use one of these items, they could easily destroy an entire kingdom. This was exactly what had happened during Shi Fengs previous life. When their Gods Domain connected with the Greater Gods Domain and the various Outerworld powers invaded, many Super Guilds used these strategic items to stall the various Outerworld powers advance. Many of these tools even allowed players to transcend tiers. The only problem was that these tools were Consumables. Unless absolutely necessary, the various Super Guilds would use these tools. However, unlike what Shi Feng was thinking, Liu Wusheng interpreted Shi Fengs laugh differently. Contempt! From how Liu Wusheng looked at it, Shi Feng was treating the World Dominators he mentioned with contempt! Ignorant of Liu Wushengs thoughts, Shi Feng asked, May I know if you have time to spare right now, Mr. Liu? We dont have anything going on for the moment, Liu Wusheng said, feeling a little confused by Shi Fengs question. Even if we do have something to do, its importance cant compare to negotiating a partnership with you, Mr. Black Flame. In that case, I wish to invite you to come to a place with me, Mr. Liu. Once we reach there, I will let you know that Witchs Sin will not lose out in partnering with Zero Wing, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Liu Wu Sheng naturally did not object to Shi Fengs suggestion. He was rather curious why Shi Feng was so confident Witchs Sin would be willing to join Zero Wing in opposing World Dominators. Afterward, Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath secretly followed Shi Feng out of Hundred Flow City. After arriving inside a forest several kilometers away from Hundred Flow City, Shi Feng took out a Summoning Flute and summoned his Thunder Wolf. Upon seeing the Thunder Wolf, Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath couldnt help but be surprised. What a powerful Mount! The strength of this Mount already surpasses the average Great Lord! Blue Sheath exclaimed in the party chat. She promptly deduced the standard of the Thunder Wolfs strength with just a glance, and she couldnt help but look at the Mount in admiration. Its a pity that theres still no clear way to obtain Mounts in the Miniature Ancient World. If I can get a Mount like this, my leveling speed will easily double. It seems Black Flames foundations in the Miniature Ancient World arent as simple as I thought. No wonder he managed to convince Mysterious Moon to go against World Dominators, Liu Wusheng said, his evaluation of Shi Feng increasing even further. Having a Great Lord as a Mount might not seem special on the main continent, but this was a feat that even Super Guilds couldnt necessarily accomplish in the Miniature Ancient World. Get on. We have a long road ahead of us. If you have any business to take care of, its best if you make the necessary arrangements now, Shi Feng reminded after hopping onto the Thunder Wolfs back. However, Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath simply smiled when they heard Shi Fengs reminder. How far could they possibly travel? A Great Lord-level Mounts speed was several times higher than players. With the Thunder Wolfs speed, it could easily reach any Level 110 leveling spot around Hundred Flow City within two hours. However, after riding on the Thunder Wolf for some time, Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath quickly realized that they were sorely mistaken. Not only did Shi Feng cross Level 110 maps, but he had even crossed Level 115 maps. After advancing nonstop for eight hours, they arrived at the Misty Canyon, a Level 120 map that was essentially a forbidden area for current players. Meanwhile, after arriving in the Misty Canyon, Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath saw something that blew their minds. A city! There was a city situated deep within the Misty Canyon! Moreover, many NPC Merchants traveled in and out of the citys entrance. The NPC traffic here was only slightly inferior to the average NPC City. When Liu Wusheng saw this prosperous city, a frightening thought suddenly appeared in his mind. Unable to help his curiosity, he turned to Shi Feng and asked, Mr. Black Flame, dont tell me this city is Upon hearing Liu Wushengs trembling voice, Shi Feng smiled and said, Youve guessed correctly. Zero Wing is the owner of this Abyssal Star Ancient City! TL Notes: Just a fyi. The term superpower refers to all organizations that are on the level of a superpower. It isnt limited to just Guilds (super-first-rate Guilds and Super Guilds). So, adventurer teams, mercenary organizations, and whatever organization the author decides to come up with in the future can also fall under the category of superpowers. (25th March 2022) Made a change to Chapter 79: [Twin-headed Destruction Snake] (Ancient Demonic Beast, Mythic) -> [Twin-headed Destruction Snake] (Primordial Demonic Beast, Mythic) (25th March 2022) Further changes: Ancient Demon Court -> Primordial Demon Court Ancient Demon -> Primordial Demon Ancient Mana Equipment Set -> Primordial Mana Equipment Set Abyssal Star Ancient City -> Abyssal Star Primordial City Ancient Dark-Gold Mount -> Primordial Dark-Gold Mount ancient tower -> primordial tower ancient era (certain instances only) -> primordial era Chapter 3061 - Chapter 135 – Holy Land That Surpasses All! Chapter 135 C Holy Land That Surpasses All! Upon hearing Shi Fengs admission, Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath couldnt help but be dumbfounded. How can there be a Guild City so close to the Boundary Mountain Range?! This shouldnt be possible! Blue Sheath couldnt help but deny reality as she looked at Abyssal Star City.[1] On the main continent, Guild Towns and Guild Cities had long since become things that were commonly seen. There even existed quite a few Guild Holy Cities. However, the Miniature Ancient World had only appeared recently. Yet, while the various powers were fighting tooth for nail to gain the privilege of controlling the various Mana Outposts temporarily, Zero Wing had already acquired itself a Guild City. Moreover, this Guild City was located right next to the Boundary Mountain Range, the neutral zone that everyone was trying to secure a foothold in When Blue Sheath thought about the advantage Zero Wing would have over the various powers, she couldnt help but get goosebumps. Is this the reason for your confidence, Mr. Black Flame? Liu Wusheng couldnt help but ask Shi Feng while looking at Abyssal Star City. Zero Wing would have an overwhelming advantage over the other powers in Gods Domain with the Abyssal Star Primordial City in its possession. Naturally, Mysterious Moon, Zero Wings partner, would also gain a significant advantage over the other powers in entering the neutral zone. Meanwhile, with this advantage, Mysterious Moon could abandon its reliance on the main continent completely. So long as Mysterious Moon could secure a stable foothold in the Miniature Ancient Worlds neutral zone, it would be able to obtain much more significant profits than before. In fact, many superpowers would desperately try to partner with Mysterious Moon in the future. At that time, World Dominators would have difficulty even pressuring Mysterious Moon, let alone dealing with Zero Wing. This city? Shi Feng couldnt help but shake his head and laugh when he heard Liu Wushengs question. This city isnt the reason for my confidence. Also, Ive already stated before that so long as Witchs Sin partners with Zero Wing, I will give Witchs Sins Tier 5 experts a significantly greater chance at reaching Tier 6. This isnt all you have to show us? Blue Sheath couldnt help but doubt Shi Fengs words. If news spread that a Guild City had appeared next to the Boundary Mountain Range, it would definitely send shockwaves throughout the entire Gods Domain. Compared to this piece of news, Shi Fengs so-called greater chance at reaching Tier 6 paled significantly. It was commonly known that opportunities that could increase a Tier 5 players chances at reaching Tier 6 were, at best, a God Legacy or something of roughly equivalent standard. However, even a God Legacy could only increase a Tier 5 players promotion success rate by 10%, while most other fortuitous opportunities couldnt even provide a 10% increase. In Blue Sheaths opinion, the fortuitous opportunity Shi Feng hinted at was most likely the attack he had used to annihilate Shadows experts in the New Moon Forest. After all, according to Liu Wusheng, the attack was a product of a Saint-level Mana Technique. A Mana Technique of such caliber naturally could offer players a certain degree of help reaching Tier 6. Moreover, this help would come in a significant amount. At the very least, it would be much better than the average Tier 6 Legacy Guidance. However, even a Saint-level Mana Technique would pale significantly compared to an actual God Legacy. Youll find out once we head inside. Shi Feng did not bother explaining himself. Instead, he rode the Thunder Wolf into the city. At this time, Abyssal Star Citys security had improved drastically thanks to the many NPC guards the city recruited. As a result, the number of NPCs visiting the city had also skyrocketed. When Shi Fengs group made their way down the main street, they could see merchant caravans parked along the entire street while selling their wares. Meanwhile, the quantity and quality of the items these NPC Merchants sold far surpassed the NPC Merchants found in NPC Cities. Some NPC Merchants were even selling Epic Weapons and Equipment, Tier 3 Magic Scrolls, and Tier 3 Skill and Spell Books, things that normally werent sold in NPC Cities. However, compared to the NPC Merchants, what surprised Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath, even more, was the Mana density and the purification rate in Abyssal Star City. Both of these factors were directly related to the leveling speed of players. Meanwhile, with Abyssal Star Citys superior Mana environment and purification rate, players operating from this city would have a significant advantage when entering the neutral zone inside the Boundary Mountain Range. After all, players would have to fully unlock their Mana Body before reaching Tier 4. Meanwhile, a place with high Mana density would benefit players seeking to unlock their Mana Bodys potential. After arriving before the primordial tower in the middle of the city, Shi Feng hopped off the Thunder Wolf and looked at his two passengers, saying, Were here. An ancient tower? Liu Wusheng couldnt help but grow confused as he looked at the majestic tower before him. Ancient civilizations indeed possessed many powerful constructions that could aid players in their development. However, the assistance these constructions could provide was only limited to players below Tier 5. After reaching Tier 5, the help players could receive from an ancient civilizations Legacy was negligible. If Tier 5 players wished to make further progress, they could only rely on themselves to figure things out. After all, Tier 6 existences were incredibly rare, even among ancient civilizations. There are special rooms inside this tower that can let players have an easier time grasping the operating principles of the various types of Mana, Shi Feng said when he noticed the look of confusion on Liu Wushnegs face. However, I doubt youll believe me even if I tell you this, so its best if you head inside and experience it for yourself, Mr. Liu. After saying so, Shi Feng brought Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath into the primordial tower. Then, he let Liu Wusheng enter one of the rooms to experience the miniature world inside it. An hour later, Liu Wusheng left his room with a reluctant expression. His desire to stay inside the room was so obvious that even Blue Sheath could see it. Is the inside of that room really that good, Great Elder? Blue Sheath asked curiously. Currently, Blue Sheath had yet to touch upon the operating principles of Mana. This was because she was only at the standard of a Tier 4 player. Meanwhile, what mattered most for her was not to learn about the operating principles of Mana but to improve her precise control over Mana. Otherwise, she wouldnt even be able to achieve an entry-level understanding of the operating principles of Mana. Good? Liu Wusheng shook his head. Then, with eyes full of excitement and madness, he said, This is no longer a question of whether it is good or not. This place has already surpassed all holy lands in existence! If I can stay inside such a room long-term, I am confident my chances of reaching Tier 6 in the future will exceed 60%! Shi Feng was not surprised that Liu Wusheng would offer such a high evaluation. Looking at Liu Wusheng, Shi Feng smiled and asked, May I know if Witchs Sin is willing to partner with Zero Wing now, Mr. Liu? TL Notes: [1]Boundary Mountain Range: Im not sure if the author forgot, but hes switched to using Boundary Mountain Range(ɽ) in this chapter instead of Boundary River. So far, there have already been two variations of the Boundary River C i) Ͻ; ii) . However, he has used Boundary Mountain Range multiple times in this chapter. Im not sure if hes decided to change Boundary River to Boundary Mountain Range, or if the Boundary River is something inside the Boundary Mountain Range. Chapter 3062 - Chapter 136 - Mercenary Alliance Takes Shape Chapter 136 C Mercenary Alliance Takes Shape Partnership? After hearing Shi Fengs question, Liu Wusheng couldnt help but ask, May I know what conditions Witchs Sin will have to meet if we join Zero Wings mercenary alliance? Right now, Liu Wusheng no longer doubted the possibility of a partnership between Witchs Sin and Zero Wing. On the contrary, he wanted to complete the partnership discussions and finalize everything as soon as possible. However, the situation inside the tower was also obvious. There were only 100 rooms available on the first floor. In other words, the tower could, at most, accommodate 100 players at a time in its current state. However, Liu Wusheng did not doubt that thered be a ton of players trying to join Zero Wings mercenary alliance in the future. There was no way 100 rooms would be enough to accommodate all of these players. Not to mention, Zero Wing would certainly be saving a portion of these rooms for itself. So, the number of rooms left for the mercenary alliance would be even fewer. In other words, there was going to be a restriction set for those seeking to use the rooms in the tower. However, the restrictions couldnt be too absurd, either. If the restrictions Zero Wing imposed were so high that nobody could fulfill them, thered be no reason for Witchs Sin to join Zero Wings mercenary alliance. You dont have to worry about this point, Mr. Liu, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the concerned look on Liu Wushengs face. Aside from the 30 rooms reserved for Zero Wings use, the rest of the 70 rooms will be given the same treatment. Anyone who joins the mercenary alliance would qualify to use the primordial towers rooms as long as they become a Bronze member. It will cost 200 Magic Crystals and 100 Contribution Points to use the rooms for each other. Silver members will also receive a 10% discount, while Gold members will receive a 20% discount. Of course, depending on the players rank, the amount of time they can rent the rooms will also differ. Bronze members can only rent the rooms for one hour a day, while Silver members can rent two hours a day and Gold members can rent four hours a day. Members only need to reach the Bronze rank to use the rooms? Liu Wusheng was a little surprised to hear Shi Fengs answer. He didnt think the condition to use the rooms would be so low. May I know what it would take to become a Bronze member? Also, how will the mercenary alliances contribution system work? In response, Shi Feng said, Its very easy to become a Bronze member. All you need to do is accumulate 5,000 Contribution Points, while becoming a Silver member will require 50,000 Contribution Points, and becoming a Gold member will require 300,000 Contribution Points. Members can earn Contribution Points through completing the quests issued by the mercenary alliance. At the same time, the mercenary alliance will also take on commissions from others. However, the alliance will not offer any Contribution Points for these commissions. The alliance will only serve as an intermediary between players and ensure that the commissions are completed. In exchange, the alliance will charge a small commission fee. If Witchs Sin becomes a partner of the mercenary alliance, you will receive five million Contribution Points to issue commissions with. However, you will have to pay a monthly fee of one million Gold and two million Magic Crystals. You will also have to protect the mercenary alliances interests and Abyssal Star Citys safety. If you fail to do so, you will lose your monthly allocation of Contribution Points. When Shi Feng finished speaking, Blue Sheath couldnt help but gasp in shock. Did Zero Wing start as a band of bandits? Blue Sheath said in a somewhat angry tone. Not only are you asking for a monthly payment of one million Gold and two million Magic Crystals, but you also want us to protect the mercenary alliances interests and the citys safety? If it were on the main continent, Witchs Sin would have no problem paying one million Gold and two million Magic Crystals. However, they were currently in the Miniature Ancient World. Witchs Sin was already expending a ton of Coins and Magic Crystals just to maintain its daily operations. There was no way Witchs Sin could afford to give Zero Wing so many Coins and Magic Crystals. Shut your mouth, Blue! Liu Wusheng suddenly chided. Elder Liu? Blue Sheath froze in shock, and she couldnt help but look at Liu Wusheng in confusion. However, Liu Wusheng simply glared at Blue Sheath, causing Blue Sheath to promptly lower her head and stop speaking. Then, Liu Wusheng looked at Shi Feng apologetically and said, Im sorry to have shown you such an embarrassing sight, Mr. Black Flame. As an apology, Witchs Sin is willing to partner with Zero Wing and join Zero Wings mercenary alliance. We are also willing to double our monthly payments for just nine million Contribution Points each month. When Blue Sheath heard Liu Wushengs words, she couldnt help but be shocked once again. For a moment, she even suspected a spy from Zero Wing had replaced the Liu Wusheng before her. Otherwise, why would Liu Wusheng behave in such a crazy manner? Not only was he not trying to reduce the payment they needed to make to Zero Wing, but he was even offering to give up on more benefits. You have a very keen insight, Mr. Liu, Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw Liu Wushengs apologetic expression. Then, he shook his head and continued, Unfortunately, I cannot agree to your offer. Five million Contribution Points; that is the most I can give you. I will be inviting more powers to join the mercenary alliance in the future, so I cannot let Witchs Sin monopolize everything. What a pity, Liu Wusheng said, sighing. Alright, then. Five million it is. Lets sign the contract immediately! This situation thoroughly dumbfounded Blue Sheath. Even though Liu Wusheng was already offering to pay more, Zero Wing had refused the offer? Wasnt Zero Wing supposed to be a Guild of bandit origins? However, before Blue Sheath could snap out of her daze, Liu Wusheng had already signed a Magic Contract with Zero Wing on Witchs Sins behalf. With the Main God System serving as the guarantor, both parties would have to adhere to the contracts terms unless they no longer wished to exist in Gods Domain. After Shi Feng signed the contract with Witchs Sin, he let Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath take their time strolling around Abyssal Star City. Meanwhile, he made his way to the City Lords Mansion and continued selecting NPCs to hire for the citys security. What happened to you just now, Elder Liu? Why did you offer to pay Zero Wing even more resources? Is Zero Wings mercenary alliance that good? Blue Sheath asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer. Blue Sheath was well aware of Liu Wushengs personality. The old man was the very definition of a miser. Normally, Witchs Sins various Branch Guilds would have to go through a lot of trouble just to ask for some extra resources. Yet, now, Liu Wusheng had taken the initiative to give resources away to Zero Wing, an outsider. This could definitely be considered one of the wonders of Witchs Sin. You have no idea how astonishing that primordial tower is. Now that Zero Wings mercenary alliance is still in its budding phase, we must take full advantage of this opportunity. It is especially so for the monthly allocation of Contribution Points. Those points will be crucial in helping more people in our Guild become Gold members. Otherwise, why would you think Id be willing to pay so many Coins and Magic Crystals? Liu Wusheng said, rolling his eyes at Blue Sheath. I didnt understand why Black Flame was so sure we would partner with him before, but I understood it all after entering the primordial towers miniature world. Is that tower such a magical place, Elder Liu? Blue Sheath asked dubiously. Even a God Legacy could only provide very limited help to Tier 5 players in reaching Tier 6. So, how much help could a measly primordial tower possibly provide to Tier 5 players? Once you reach Tier 5 as well, youll understand just how frightening that primordial towers function is, Liu Wusheng said. He couldnt help but shudder when he recalled the environment he experienced inside the primordial towers miniature world. Right now, I can confidently say that if the primordial towers function gets leaked, the various powers in Gods Domain would either try to extinguish Zero Wing or partner with Zero Wing at all costs. Chapter 3063 - Chapter 137 - Witchs Sins Betrayal? Miniature Ancient World, Hundred Flow City, Teleportation Hall: So, this is the city Zero Wing is based in? a short-haired girl wearing silver heavy armor muttered to herself after walking out of the teleportation array and looking around curiously. Stop looking around, Rain. Were here on official business, a mature beauty wearing a dark-red mage robe said helplessly as she looked at the Guardian Knight beside her. Theres less than ten minutes left until the meet-up time. I dont want to be late. As soon as these two beauties walked out of the teleportation array, they quickly became the center of attention. It was especially true for the woman dressed in the dark-red robe. The many players inside the Teleportation Hall couldnt help but be surprised when they saw her. Crap! Its Hundred Flower Palaces Frostflame Goddess, Cleansed Rue! Amazing! World Dominatorss kill order has managed to attract even the Hundred Flower Palaces Goddess here! What are you getting so surprised about? The bounty World Dominators has put on Zero Wing is the highest in history. Even Tier 5 experts would be tempted by the God Legacy offered. You got that right! I even saw quite a few Tier 5 experts from Miracle arriving in Hundred Flow City some time ago! It seems even Miracle is intent on obtaining that God Legacy. Hundred Flow City has become a lot more popular ever since World Dominators issued its kill order. I wonder how many more experts will come here in the next few days? But I have to say that Zero Wing really is suicidal. Mysterious Moons actions are understandable since it is competing for the Darkmoon Outpost, but Zero Wing is only trying to take revenge on one of World Dominatorss affiliated Guilds. Even if Zero Wing wants to take revenge on Shadow, couldnt it have done so outside of World Dominatorss view? Yet, Zero Wing chose to annihilate Shadows experts right before World Dominatorss eyes. World Dominators will never be able to live this down if it doesnt get rid of Zero Wing. Zero Wings God-ranked expert might not be afraid of World Dominatorss kill order, but the rest of Zero Wings members will have to operate secretly in the future. When the players in the Teleportation Hall saw Cleansed Rue arriving in the city, they couldnt help but talk about the kill order World Dominators had placed on Zero Wing. Meanwhile, opinions on the matter varied, with some people ridiculing Zero Wing for its foolishness and some people pitying Zero Wing for its fate. I finally understand why Little Moon applied to leave Zero Wing. With so many experts targeting Zero Wing, she cant even go out to level up even if she wants to, Rain Song said. She couldnt help but chuckle when she overheard the conversations happening around her. Its not her fault. Who wouldve thought Zero Wing would pull such a huge stunt? Cleansed Rue said, rolling her eyes at Rain Song when she saw the other party gloating over their juniors misfortune. Then, after briefly surveying her surroundings, Cleansed Rue said with a solemn expression, Lets hurry. I can sense over a hundred Refinement Realm experts in the Teleportation Hall alone. Im even getting a dangerous feeling from a few of them. Dawn Moon has just graduated from school. Theres no way she can withstand the stress of this situation. Once we learn about the specifics of Zero Wing, well have her withdraw from Zero Wing as soon as possible. Before coming to Hundred Flow City, Cleansed Rue had already heard that many powers and experts had taken World Dominatorss bait and set their sights on Zero Wing. However, after arriving in the city herself, she realized just how terrible of a situation Zero Wing was currently in. At this moment, Zero Wings members wouldnt necessarily be safe even within Hundred Flow City, let alone outside the city. Rain Song nodded in response to Cleansed Rues words and stopped joking around. Anyone capable of causing Cleansed Rue to feel danger would be more than capable of assassinating players in an NPC City. After all, Hundred Flow Citys NPCs would have to first discover the battle before they could move to stop and apprehend the troublemaker. Meanwhile, the time it took for the NPC guards to make their way to the fight scene was more than enough for a Tier 5 expert to kill a Refinement Realm expert several times. The only reason no Tier 5 expert had made a move in Hundred Flow City yet was because they were still investigating Zero Wing. On the outskirts of Hundred Flow City, inside the top-floor conference room of a three-story Guild Hall Chairman! Good news! Luo Tiancheng, who had fallen to Level 102, cried out excitedly as he entered the conference room. A message just came in from Guild Leader Gu! He says that World Dominators is intent on taking Hundred Flow City this time and has sent five more elite legions and two more trump card legions! World Dominators is currently pressuring Mysterious Moon for peace talks! If Mysterious Moon still intends to compete for the Darkmoon Outpost, World Dominators will make sure that Mysterious Moon cant survive in Hundred Flow City! Good! I knew World Dominators wouldnt abandon us! Lan Hailong exclaimed, an excited expression appearing on his face when he heard the news Luo Tiancheng brought. Luo Tiancheng nodded in agreement. Then, he smiled and continued, Also, Ive received news that more than ten first-rate Guilds and three superpowers have decided to take action against Zero Wing. These powers hesitated to take action previously because Zero Wing is partnered with Mysterious Moon, but once World Dominatorss experts arrive, I believe these powers will begin taking action against Zero Wing immediately. Zero Wing, is it? Lan Hailong sneered. Lets see how Shi Feng stays arrogant once he loses Mysterious Moons backing! Chairman, should we gather some of our forces to teach Zero Wing a lesson? Luo Tiancheng suggested. Sure! Go and make the necessary preparations, Lan Hailong said, laughing. Now that they no longer had to be concerned about Mysterious Moon in Hundred Flow City, itd be childs play for them to deal with Zero Wing. Leave it to me, Chairman! Luo Tiancheng assured. However, just when Luo Tiancheng was about to turn around and leave, the conference room doors suddenly slammed open as Rampant Blade entered in a hurry. Something big has happened, Chairman! Rampant Blade urgently said. I just received news that Witchs Sin has betrayed World Dominators and formed a military alliance Zero Wing! Witchs Sin is now demanding World Dominators retract its kill order on Zero Wing! Otherwise, it is going to declare war on World Dominators! Allied with Zero Wing? Lan Hailong couldnt help but be surprised and confused when he heard Rampant Blades words. Has Witchs Sin gone crazy?! Why would it make an enemy out of World Dominators for Zero Wing?! That was Witchs Sin they were talking about! Witchs Sin was the strongest Guild out of the many Guilds affiliated with World Dominators. Moreover, it was commonly known that Witchs Sin had long since possessed the strength of a super-first-rate Guild. This was also why World Dominators had always treated Witchs Sin differently than its other affiliated Guilds. Yet, now, not only did Witchs Sin defect, but it had even done so because of Zero Wing. This was simply unimaginable! Chapter 3064 - Chapter 138 - Abyssal Star Primordial City Opens Inside a high-class bar located one street away from the city center This is everything Ive uncovered about Zero Wing, Vice Guild Leader, Dawn Moon, who was hiding her appearance and information with a Black Cloak, said as she looked at Cleansed Rue. Then, in a powerless tone, she continued, Many experts are keeping a constant eye on Zero Wing. I have to wear a Black Cloak to even go outdoors. Otherwise, Id have at least a dozen experts tailing me. Zero Wings Guild Leader is simply a lunatic. I cant believe he ignored World Dominatorss warning just to take revenge for a Guild member Based on your report, it would seem that Zero Wing indeed possesses an extraordinary foundation. Not only has it provided Mysterious Moon with the strength to fight against World Dominators, but it also has that Mana Technique. Seeing as Zero Wing can afford to let so many internal members learn it, Black Flame mustve fully mastered that Mana Technique already, Cleansed Rue said, gaining a general understanding of Zero Wings situation after listening to Dawn Moons report. Everything turned out roughly the same as her conjectures. From what she gathered, the person known as Black Flame should be a God-ranked expert from an Outerworld. Moreover, it would seem that Black Flame intended on establishing a power in the Miniature Ancient World, and Su Qianliu and the others were part of the first group of experts Black Flame had recruited. More and more experts are setting their sights on Zero Wing now, Vice Guild Leader. When can I leave Zero Wing? Dawn Moon asked as she looked at Cleansed Rue expectantly. She truly did not wish to stay in Zero Wing for even a day longer. It was simply too stressful to have over a dozen Refinement Realm experts stalking her constantly. This was a treatment that even players who had offended top-tier first-rate Guilds wouldnt get to enjoy. This Cleansed Rue hesitated to give Dawn Moon an answer. Dawn Moon was one of the talents Hundred Flower Palace had set its sights on. If she got targeted by experts every day, itd be difficult for her to even level up, let alone seek out the opportunities scattered across the Miniature Ancient World. However, Zero Wing was also an opportunity for Hundred Flower Palace to learn about other Gods Domains and the powers originating from them. It wouldnt be long before Hundred Flower Palace had to clash with Outerworld powers. So, Hundred Flower Palace needed to learn more about Zero Wing. Before Cleansed Rue could decide on an answer, Rain Song suddenly said, Im afraid youll have to be disappointed, Little Moon. You have to continue staying in Zero Wing. Did something happen? Cleansed Rue asked as she looked at Rain Song strangely. Previously, Rain Song had wanted to plead on Dawn Moons behalf to let Dawn Moon withdraw from Zero Wing sooner. Yet, now, she was saying that Dawn Moon needed to stay in Zero Wing. Moreover, she had spoken in a commanding tone. A message just came in from the Guild. Witchs Sin has openly rebelled, Rain Song solemnly said. Right now, Witchs Sin has formed a military alliance with Zero Wing. Moreover, it has stated that if World Dominators doesnt retract its kill order, it will declare war on World Dominators! Has Witchs Sin gone mad? Cleansed Rue couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Witchs Sin! That was a Guild that had already far surpassed Hundred Flower Palace in strength. While Witchs Sin had yet to be officially acknowledged as a superpower, the many first-rate Guilds in Gods Domain understood that Witchs Sin was already a superpower. In fact, Witchs Sins foundations were already on par with the average superpower. Although there was still a significant difference in strength between Witchs Sin and a veteran Super Guild like World Dominators, there was no doubt that Witchs Sins defection had changed the status quo of the situation. Now, World Dominators would have to carefully consider whether it truly was worthwhile to deal with Zero Wing. However, compared to what would happen in the future, Cleansed Rue was more curious to find out why Witchs Sin was helping Zero Wing to such an extent. At the same time, news of Witchs Sins defection had also spread like wildfire, and the entire Hundred Flow City was in an uproar. Whats going on? Witchs Sin is siding with Zero Wing? Doesnt that mean World Dominators will hesitate to take action now? What is going on? Does Zero Wing have some kind of powerful background? How did it manage to get Witchs Sin to help it to such an extent? The various powers operating in Hundred Flow City began making all sorts of conjectures about Zero Wing after learning about Witchs Sins defection. First, it was Mysterious Moon. Now, it was Witchs Sin. In no time at all, Zero Wing, a small Guild that had originally been unremarkable, had become the center of attention of every power operating in the Miniature Ancient World. However, less than 15 minutes after Witchs Sin made its declaration, World Dominators had also reiterated its intentions to destroy Zero Wing once again. Meanwhile, should Witchs Sin insist on being stubborn, World Dominators would not hesitate to go to war with it! For a time, an uproar occurred among the various powers of Gods Domain. None of the various powers had expected that shortly after the Miniature Ancient Worlds opening, two of Gods Domains superpowers would show intentions of going to war with each other. Originally, the various powers thought that the various small Guilds would be the first ones to ignite the flames of war. Then, third- and second-rate Guilds would follow, and things would gradually heat up until the various superpowers joined into the fray. Yet, now, two superpowers were actually planning to go to war. Moreover, the cause of this war was one small Guild. In addition, shortly after World Dominators announced its stance, it had updated the bounty it offered for its kill order on Zero Wing. Now, not only was World Dominators offering a God Legacy, but it had also added a Legendary item to its list of rewards. A Legendary item! Even the various superpowers only had a few of these items each. Meanwhile, every Legendary item possessed heaven-defying abilities. Some Legendary Weapons could even let Tier 5 players go against Tier 6 God-ranked experts. After the announcement of such an astonishing bounty, even the various superpowers could no longer sit still. Misty Canyon, Abyssal Star City: Were in deep trouble this time, Guild Leader. World Dominators has thoroughly lost its mind, Su Qianliu said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she looked at Shi Fengs face in the video call. According to reports, apex experts from more than five superpowers have gathered in Hundred Flow City ever since World Dominators issued a Legendary item for its bounty. It seems everyone is intent on taking action. Seeing the gloomy look on Su Qianlius face, Shi Feng consoled, Dont worry. Since World Dominators wants to compete using foundations, well compete with it! Well show everyone that Zero Wing wont necessarily lose to World Dominators! We wont lose to World Dominators? Su Qianliu asked in confusion. Gather all Zero Wing members. Chuckling, Shi Feng said, From now onwards, well no longer be grinding in the leveling maps around Hundred Flow City! Where are we going to grind at, then? Su Qianliu asked in confusion. The Boundary Mountain Range, Shi Feng said, laughing. Then, he disconnected the call and called up Abyssal Star Citys control panel. Although its a bit early, since World Dominators isnt holding back, lets see who can hold out until the end! System: Do you wish to open the Abyssal Star Primordial City now? Open it! Shi Feng confirmed his decision without hesitation. Chapter 3065 - Chapter 139 – Sudden Change Chapter 139 C Sudden Change Hundred Flow City, Mysterious Moons Residence: After the battle in the New Moon Forest, Mysterious Moon had become a Guild that many independent experts sought to join. Less than half a day after the battle passed, over 10,000 players had already visited Mysterious Moons Residence to apply for the Guild. Just the sight of the players lining up to join Mysterious Moon had already become one of the more iconic sceneries in Hundred Flow City. However, at this time, Mysterious Moons Residence, which should have been experiencing unprecedented liveliness, was strangely quiet. The atmosphere surrounding the Residence was so tense that none of the independent players seeking to join Mysterious Moon dared to approach. The reason for this was the 1,000-man legion standing outside the Residences entrance. Unlike the independent players seeking to join Mysterious Moon, every member of this 1,000-man legion was fully equipped in Epic Weapons and Equipment. Moreover, every one of them was at Level 103 or above. Among them, the team leaders of the legion were even at Level 104 already. This was a level that most expert players werent even close to reaching at this stage of the game. Judging by their equipment, these people should be from the Sacred Soul Legion, one of the three trump card legions World Dominators had sent to Hundred Flow City. I know about this legion. My friends friend is a reserve member of this legion. According to him, the minimum requirement to join the Sacred Soul Legion is the Refinement Realm standard. Moreover, all applicants must be under the age of 25. To become a team leader, youd have to reach the Flowing Water Realm and be under 30 years old. All 1,000 members are Refinement Realm experts or stronger? Is this the strength of World Dominatorss trump card legions? The crowd gathered outside Mysterious Moons Residence had their knowledge of World Dominators refreshed as they scrutinized the Sacred Soul Legion. Previously, after Mysterious Moon achieved victory against World Dominators in the New Moon Forest, it had managed to acquire a large number of Darkmoon Tokens due to its monopoly over the New Moon Forest. As a result, Mysterious Moon secured an absolute advantage in the upcoming competition for the Darkmoon Outpost. For this reason, everyone in Hundred Flow City felt that Mysterious Moon might become the first top-tier first-rate Guild to become a superpower after the Miniature Ancient Worlds launch. However, after seeing the Sacred Soul Legion, everyone quickly realized that a Super Guilds foundation simply wasnt something a first-rate Guild could hope to match. Or, more specifically, a first-rate Guilds foundation was nothing but a joke in front of a Super Guild. One thousand experts at the Refinement Realm or above! It should be known that Refinement Realm experts were regarded as core combatants in the various first-rate Guilds. In the case of some first-rate Guilds, even the members of their main force were nothing more than Refinement Realm experts. If a Refinement Realm expert was willing to settle for a second- or third-rate Guild, they could even acquire the position of main force commander or Guild Leader. Yet, in World Dominators, Refinement Realm experts could, at most, become ordinary members in the Guilds trump card legions After looking at the Sacred Soul Legions members, both the players on the street and the members of Mysterious Moon couldnt help but feel as if World Dominators had just ridiculed them. It was indeed true that Mysterious Moon had won the battle in the New Moon Forest and defeated one of World Dominatorss trump card legions. However, what Mysterious Moon failed to understand was that World Dominators didnt have only one trump card legion. Moreover, the legion Mysterious Moon had defeated was nothing more than the most common trump card legion under World Dominatorss command. So long as World Dominators wanted to, it was more than capable of sending more trump card legions. Meanwhile, during the time the players outside were discussing World Dominatorss Sacred Soul Legion, a meeting was simultaneously taking place inside the top-floor conference room of Mysterious Moons Residence. Have you all finished considering our offer? a middle-aged man with graying hair asked as he looked at Crimson Seal and Zhuo Yalin, his voice neither friendly nor hostile. This is already the greatest sincerity World Dominators has to offer. So long as Mysterious Moon is willing to give up on the Darkmoon Outpost, World Dominators will stop targeting Mysterious Moon. We will also give up a Shop in the Darkmoon Outpost to Mysterious Moon. However, we will restrict all access to the Darkmoon Outpost if you refuse. I believe you understand that should World Dominators seal off the Darkmoon Outpost; nobody will dare approach it. In addition, so long as any of your Guilds members dare head outside to grind, we will hunt down every one of them. Nothing will change even if you have those Mana Equipment Sets. As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the auras of the several dozen experts standing behind the middle-aged man suddenly skyrocketed in intensity. This isAdvanced Battle Array Equipment?! Crimson Seals complexion darkened when he saw the glowing runes covering the several dozen experts equipment. A battle array was a special type of magic array that could fuse the strength of those making up the battle array. In other words, going up against any member of a battle array was the same as going up against the entire group simultaneously. Meanwhile, an Advanced Battle Array could grant players the strength to transcend tiers. However, Advanced Battle Array Equipment was incredibly rare. Its rarity surpassed even that of Fragmented Legendary items. In terms of value, a complete set of Advanced Battle Array Equipment could rival even Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Even then, not many people would be willing to trade a set of Advanced Battle Array Equipment for a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. This was because Advanced Battle Arrays could grant players strength up to the Tier 4 standard. In other words, an Advanced Battle Array could grant a group of players Tier 4 strength. It was true that a Fragmented Legendary Weapon might be able to let a Tier 3 player gain Tier 4 strength. Even after reaching Tier 5, a Fragmented Legendary Weapon could still be of significant use to players. However, it should be known that the strongest combatants in most second-rate Guilds in Gods Domain were only at the Tier 4 standard. Yet, an Advanced Battle Array could grant a group of people Tier 4 strength. Even if Advanced Battle Array Equipment were Consumable items, the amount of help it could provide to a power far exceeded that of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Thats right. We werent planning on revealing it originally, but Mysterious Moon in its current state has the qualifications for us to reveal it, the middle-aged man said, nodding. Meanwhile, after World Dominators revealed the Advanced Battle Array Equipment, the Mysterious Moon members in the conference room quickly began a hushed discussion among themselves. This is bad, Vice Guild Leader. The effects of the Advanced Battle Array Equipment are no weaker than the Mana Equipment Set. If World Dominators puts it to use, we wont have any more advantage in numbers when it comes to Tier 4 combatants But isnt it too big of a waste to just give up on the Darkmoon Outpost? Moreover, we have a contract with Zero Wing. Well be going against the terms of our contract if we give up now. That is true, but there is simply too huge a gap between World Dominators and us. Moreover, Zero Wing is similarly having difficulty keeping itself alive right now. Mysterious Moons members expressed their opinion on the matter one after another. Although Crimson Seal and Zhuo Yalin remained quiet on the matter, they, too, were feeling a lot of pressure. Previously, they had already made sure to overestimate World Dominatorss strength before they waged war with the Super Guild. However, after seeing World Dominatorss show of force, they understood that a Super Guild simply wasnt an existence a first-rate Guild could hope to go up against. What do you think, Nightingale? Crimson Seal asked as he looked at Zhuo Yalin. He hesitated to decide on this matter, so he decided to leave the decision to Zhuo Yalin. Me? Zhuo Yalin was similarly feeling hesitant right now. Originally, she had been confident that Mysterious Moon could go up against World Dominators. However, she now realized how laughable her confidence was. Alright, hurry up and decide. Our patience is limited, the middle-aged man said as he looked at Zhuo Yalin. Based on his observations, he could tell that Zhuo Yalin was the decision-maker for Mysterious Moon in the Miniature Ancient World, not Crimson Seal. Upon hearing the middle-aged mans urging, Mysterious Moons executives promptly turned to look at Zhuo Yalin. Zhuo Yalin was the person who had single-handedly facilitated the partnership between Zero Wing and Mysterious Moon. So, itd be most appropriate for her to decide whether Mysterious Moon would continue being enemies with World Dominators. When Zhuo Yalin looked at the various executives expressions, she understood that everyone was of the opinion that Mysterious Moon should give up on the Darkmoon Outpost. She, too, understood that this would be the wisest decision to make. Yet, if they gave up now, it would mean betraying Zero Wing, and this was something she definitely didnt wish to do. While Zhuo Yalin was pondering how she should respond to World Dominatorss threat, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered her ears. Miniature Ancient World System Announcement: Misty Canyons Abyssal Star Primordial City is now open. Miniature Ancient World System Announcement: Congratulations to the Abyssal Star Primordial City for becoming the first player-controlled city in the Miniature Ancient World. All players resting in the city will accumulate the Double EXP buff at twice the normal rate for ten days. Teleportation Scroll for the Abyssal Star Primordial City will also be sold in the Teleportation Hall of all NPC Cities. Every player will only be allowed to buy one Teleportation Scroll. This benefit will only remain for one day. Chapter 3066 - Chapter 140 – Miniature Ancient World’s Number One City Chapter 140 C Miniature Ancient Worlds Number One City Abyssal Star Primordial City? A player-controlled city? The Misty Canyon is the map next to the Boundary Mountain Range. I remember that its map level is Level 120. There are players grinding there already? Crap! This is absurd! While the various powers are contesting for the Mana Outposts located near NPC Cities, someone has already built a Guild City? Could this be one of the Five Great Super Guilds doing? Thats most likely the case. Aside from the Five Great Super Guilds, I cant think of any other power that has the ability to establish a city next to the Boundary Mountain Range. As soon as the system announcement appeared, every player and power operating in the Miniature Ancient Would couldnt help but be stunned. In the current Gods Domain, every player in the game was familiar with the concept of Guild Cities. However, the Miniature Ancient World had only been open to players for a short period. Logically, it should be impossible for anyone to acquire a Guild City so soon. It should be known that even the various superpowers were only competing for the Mana Outposts located close to Level 110 maps. Yet, someone had already established a city in a Level 120 map close to the Boundary Mountain Range. The difference between these two sides was like the difference between heaven and earth. Whoever controlled the Abyssal Star Primordial City would have a gigantic advantage over the various superpowers. A Level 120 map? Although I cant grind there right now, it wouldnt hurt to check it out. Whoever built this city is simply amazing. They actually made it possible for others to buy the citys Teleportation Scrolls in the various NPC Cities. This will save us a ton of travel time. The city will also be able to gather players from all over the entire Miniature Ancient World. At this rate, the Abyssal Star Primordial City will probably become the Miniature Ancient Worlds number one city in no time. I wonder if the private housing and Shops in this city are available for sale? If theyre for sale, Im definitely going to buy until I go bankrupt! After a short period of awe, players quickly began reacting to Abyssal Star Citys value one after another. Abyssal Star City was not only the only player-controlled city in the Miniature Ancient World, but it was also a city located close to the Boundary Mountain Range. Hence, all players and powers seeking to enter the Boundary Mountain Range were unlikely to let go of this opportunity. Setting aside the players and powers operating in NPC Cities located far from Abyssal Star City, those operating in NPC Cities close to the Misty Canyon would most likely treat Abyssal Star City as the center of their development. Not to mention, players could purchase Teleportation Scrolls on the first day of Abyssal Star Citys opening and teleport directly to the city. The number of players gathered in the city on this opening day would likely reach unprecedented numbers. This was a massive business opportunity. If they didnt hurry now, itd become incredibly difficult to even get into the city once the city reached full capacity. For a time, players in the various NPC Cities could be seen rushing to their respective citys Teleportation Hall to purchase the Teleportation Scroll for Abyssal Star City. Inside a high-class bar in Hundred Flow City Lets hurry over, Big Sis Rue! We can set aside Zero Wings matter until after we investigate the Abyssal Star Primordial City! Rain Song exclaimed after reading the system announcement. Whoever built this city is simply incredible. It probably wont be long before the city becomes the center of the Miniature Ancient World. Its definitely going to become a target of contention for the various powers. Every power operating in the Miniature Ancient World was looking to enter the Boundary Mountain Range as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Abyssal Star City was undoubtedly the best platform for them to accomplish this feat through. Adding on the fact Every city in Gods Domain had a maximum capacity. As soon as a citys player population reached the maximum, players would no longer be able to enter the city. They would have to wait until others left the city before they could enter. Normally, a Guild City could, at most, accommodate two or three million players. However, there were over a hundred million players in the Miniature Ancient World. If even a fraction of these players tried to enter the Abyssal Star Primordial City, the city would reach full capacity instantly. Okay. Lets hurry over, then, Cleansed Rue said, a look of urgency appearing in her eyes. As a Guild established by an Outerworld power, Zero Wing indeed had a significant partnership value. However, the value of Zero Wings partnership paled in significance compared to the current Abyssal Star City. In fact, the Abyssal Star Primordial City was so important that even Mysterious Moon and World Dominators had unanimously chosen to postpone their discussions and hurried over to the city immediately. Meanwhile, inside the Candlelight Hotel When Su Qianliu saw the system announcement, she couldnt help but be dumbfounded. A city close to the Boundary Mountain Range? It cant be, right? When Su Qianliu recalled Shi Feng mentioning that their Guilds new grinding spot was going to be at the Boundary Mountain Range, she couldnt help but start fantasizing. Currently, Zero Wing was a pitiful Guild that didnt even have a Guild Residence. On top of that, Zero Wing even had to deal with World Dominatorss kill order. Even surviving was a luxury for Zero Wing right now. In Zero Wings current state, obtaining a Guild City was nothing but a dream, let alone obtaining a Guild City close to the Boundary Mountain Range. However, after reading a message Shi Feng had just sent to her, Su Qianlius eyes lit up with an unprecedented shine. The content of Shi Fengs message was simple: To have all Guild members head to the Adventurers Association, purchase a Guild Transfer Scroll, and gather in Abyssal Star City. Why did you call us to gather all of a sudden, Vice Guild Leader? Did something urgent happen? Dawn Moon curiously asked as she looked at Su Qianliu. The other Zero Wing members gathered in the Candlelight Hotel also looked at Su Qianliu with a curious gaze. While they were standing around doing nothing here, everyone else in Hundred Flow City was making their way over to Abyssal Star City. Abyssal Star City was a significant opportunity for all players and powers operating in the Miniature Ancient World. Itd be a huge waste if Zero Wing missed out on this opportunity. I naturally called you here because something came up, Su Qianliu said. Moreover, it is a wonderful matter for us. From now onward, we no longer have to worry about World Dominatorss kill order. We dont have to worry about the kill order? Firecloud was very confused when he heard Su Qianlius words. Did World Dominators retract it? Zero Wing was currently targeted by experts all over the Miniature Ancient World. Unless World Dominators retracted its kill order, no place would be safe for Zero Wings members. Youll find out in a moment, Su Qianliu said. For now, I need everyone to head to the Adventurers Association and buy a Guild Transfer Scroll. Our Guild finally has its own Guild Residence! Everyone was speechless when they heard Su Qianlius words. Having a Guild Residence wasnt anything to be prideful about. After all, the various first- and second-rate Guilds had long since obtained a Guild Residence of their own. While it was indeed good news that Zero Wing now had its own Guild Residence, it definitely wasnt enough for them to stop worrying about World Dominatorss kill order. Alright, hurry up! Well meet up at the Guild Residence later! Su Qianliu said, laughing when she saw the look of contempt everyone was giving her. Su Qianliu was Zero Wings Vice Guild Leader. Since she had given out a command, everyone had no choice but to fulfill it. Immediately, everyone made their way to the Adventurers Association and bought a Guild Transfer Scroll. Then, they activated the scroll and vanished from Hundred Flow City. Chapter 3067 - Chapter 141 - Zero Wings Confidence Misty Canyon, Abyssal Star Primordial City: Flashes of light appeared in the citys central plaza one after another, instantly enveloping the entire plaza in light. When these flashes of light faded, they revealed the figures of players. These players easily numbered in the tens of thousands, and this number was still rapidly increasing with each passing second. So, this is the Abyssal Star Primordial City? What a great place this is! The Mana density here is a great deal higher than even NPC Cities! The purification rate is also several times faster! This primordial city is too amazing! If I can come here once I reach Level 110, my leveling speed will double or even triple! I wonder which of the Five Great Super Guilds built this city? Whoever built it will definitely hold the number one position in the Miniature Ancient World in the future. The instant the various players arrived in Abyssal Star City, they promptly discovered its greatness. Many executives from the various superpowers had also begun contacting their friends in the Five Great Super Guilds, all of them wishing to form a partnership with the owner of this city. However, even after asking around, none of these executives had managed to come up with any useful information. After all, even the Five Great Super Guilds were stunned by this situation. They were all curious which one among them had managed to come up with such a powerful city within such a short time. Out of the swarm of players that had arrived in Abyssal Star City, one particular group of cloaked players behaved differently from the rest of the crowd. While others were randomly wandering around the city and taking in all the information they could, this group of cloaked players swiftly moved around the city as if they had known about its layout beforehand and inspected only the key locations in the city. Some of these cloaked players had even arrived in front of the primordial tower already. Is this the primordial tower that Soul mentioned? This tower should be the Legacy of an ancient civilization. It seems that Soul did not lie to us. I honestly didnt expect Soul to find a powerful backer in the Miniature Ancient World. I thought she would have no chance of wrestling her commander position back. Now, it seems she might have a chance at doing so. I heard Soul say that the owner of this city is a God-ranked expert from an Outerworld power thats even stronger than our Gods Domains Five Great Super Guilds combined. I thought she was joking with me before, but it seems that this might also be true. After all, theres no way any of the current Five Great Super Guilds can come up with such a city. The mercenary alliance Soul invited us to join has relatively lax conditions. Theyre much better than the Flower of Seven Sinss rules. What do you guys think? Soul has gone a little crazy from trying to wrestle back her position, so we cant fully trust her judgment. I think its best if we meet that God-ranked expert she mentioned first. When the six cloaked players gathered in front of the primordial tower talked about Hidden Soul, they spoke as if they were talking about a little kid. It should be known that Hidden Soul was a Tier 5 expert capable of threatening even Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Yet, these six players did not show any fear or respect when speaking about her. If Hidden Soul were here, she wouldnt feel surprised by these six peoples behavior. This was because these six people were very special. They were also the strongest experts she could find. Although these people were not Tier 6 God-ranked experts, every one of them was an expert who had already reached the second step or third step of the Domain Realm. They were far stronger than the average Domain Realm expert, and even most Tier 6 God-ranked experts were only on this level in terms of combat standards. Meanwhile, in the front courtyard of a Guild Hall that occupied a huge area along Abyssal Star Citys main street, over a thousand players wearing Zero Wings Guild Emblem were currently gathered here. This isthe Abyssal Star Primordial City? Our Guild Residence is in Abyssal Star City? Am I dreaming? When the gathered Zero Wing members looked at their system map and the players curiously looking at them from outside the Guild Residence, they quickly realized where they were currentlythe Abyssal Star Primordial City that was now a sensation throughout the entire Miniature Ancient World. For a time, everyone present couldnt help but be dumbfounded. This was the Abyssal Star Primordial City they were talking about! Even though Abyssal Star City had only existed for a short period, many people had already recognized it as the number one city in the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, whoever got to develop in this city would have a significant advantage when entering the Boundary Mountain Range in the future. Currently, countless powers were trying to get in touch with Abyssal Star Citys ruling power. Yet, their Guild had already secured a Guild Residence in the city This was simply unbelievable. At this time, everyone gathered could already imagine what kind of future lay in front of their Guild. Theyd be able to enter the Boundary Mountain Range ahead of everyone else and become the envy of the various powers in Gods Domain. While Zero Wings members were getting excited over this situation, Shi Feng had also arrived at the Residences courtyard. Guild Leader, is this really going to be our Guild Residence? Firecloud couldnt help but ask as he looked at Shi Feng. Zero Wing was currently facing great pressure due to World Dominatorss kill order. While they were still holding on because of the Mana Equipment Set, this wasnt a long-term solution. If they werent careful, they could lose even their Mana Equipment Sets. However, if Zero Wing could have a Guild Residence in Abyssal Star City, the various powers of Gods Domain would have difficulty even coming into contact with them, let alone hunting them. Moreover, since Zero Wing was able to secure a Guild Residence in Abyssal Star City, it meant that Zero Wing shared deep ties with Abyssal Star Citys ruling power. In that case, the various powers experts and independent experts would have to think twice about targeting Zero Wing in the future. Theyd have to consider whether World Dominatorss bounty or Abyssal Star Citys advantages were more important. After all, Abyssal Star Citys ruling power would only need to lift a finger to prohibit specific players from entering the city. Unless those hunting Zero Wings members could hide their identities perfectly, theyd have to say goodbye to Abyssal Star City otherwise. Moreover, players would become Red Players if they killed other players out in the fields. The more players they killed, the longer they would remain as Red Players. Unless these Red Players remained outside of Abyssal Star City forever, there was no way they could avoid getting detected. However, the likelihood of that happening was low. The density of the foreign energy present in the Boundary Mountain Range was incredibly high, so the corrosion speed there was much faster than Level 110 maps. Even players with Silver Mana Bodies could, at most, last a dozen hours in the Boundary Mountain Range. If players exceeded their time limit, they would die to the corrosion of the foreign energy and lose levels and equipment. When Firecloud finished speaking, the other Zero Wing members present also turned to look at Shi Feng, hoping to gain verification directly from Shi Fengs mouth. Dont worry. This Guild Residence belongs to Zero Wing from now on, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw everyones nervous expressions. Also, I have another piece of news to tell you. Zero Wing is one of Abyssal Star Citys founding powers, so you dont have to worry that we might get banished from the city in the future. Nobody will dare offend Zero Wing in this city! Chapter 3068 - Chapter 142 - Join VS Confrontation Chapter 142 C Join VS Confrontation Abyssal Star City, Zero Wings Residence: Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the Zero Wing members present shook with excitement. At the same time, they also couldnt help but sigh in relief. Thank goodness I hadnt left Zero Wing yet. I wouldve definitely died from regret if I did, Dawn Moon thought as she patted her chest. Abyssal Star Citys effects and location made it the best training spot for all players in the current Miniature Ancient World. While Abyssal Star City was open to all players, the number of players trying to visit it was simply too great. Aside from players based in NPC Cities far from Abyssal Star City and players who lacked the strength to survive in the Misty Canyon, everyone else would probably be seeking to operate from Abyssal Star City. Once players reached a high enough level to grind in the Misty Canyon and its surrounding maps, the number of players trying to enter Abyssal Star City would probably exceed one hundred million. One hundred million! Abyssal Star City might be larger than the average Advanced Guild Town, but it was still slightly smaller than the average Guild City. The average Basic Guild City could, at most, accommodate around ten million players, whereas Abyssal Star City could only accommodate around five or six million players. In other words, not everyone could freely enter Abyssal Star City. A majority of the players seeking to enter the city would have to wait in line. Meanwhile, how long would a line consisting of tens of millions of players take to finish? Not to mention, Abyssal Star Citys ruling power would definitely be saving some of the citys population slots for its own use. So, that would leave even fewer slots for players not affiliated with the ruling power. The area Abyssal Star City is located isnt suitable for you to grind right now, but you can head to the nearby Burning Land under the escort of the NPC guards. That place might be a Level 115 map, but the monsters there are only at Level 111 and Level 112 on average. Few monsters are above Level 112. With Su Qianliu and the others taking charge, you guys should be able to just barely grind there. Your leveling speed there should also be similar to Level 110 maps, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the crowd before him sighing in relief. Also, the Guild has added a new benefit. If you are looking to improve your Mana control, you can head over to the primordial tower and give it a try. It should help you make some significant improvements. Zero Wing had lost many members because of World Dominatorss kill order. As a result, Zero Wings already low member count had fallen even lower. Currently, there were only a little over a thousand members in the Guild. There was probably no Guild smaller than Zero Wing in the Miniature Ancient World right now However, this situation had also allowed Zero Wing to weed out the members with fickle loyalty. So, Shi Feng did not intend on being stingy with those who remained. At the very least, he would open access to the primordial tower to all who remained. Moreover, he also planned to pass down the physical exercises he had developed in his previous life to everyone. With this exercise, even an ordinary member of Zero Wing would have a significant chance of reaching the Refinement Realm. It was a stark contrast to the various superpowers, which would only share their Guild Legacies with internal and core members. While Zero Wings members were celebrating in joy and excitement, the various powers that had come to investigate the Abyssal Star Primordial City had also finally discovered the identity of the citys ruling power. The Asura Mercenary Alliance! While it was true that the insignificant Zero Wing and the pseudo-superpower Witchs Sin both possessed a Guild Residence in Abyssal Star City, the most eye-catching building in the city would have to be the five-story building situated next to the primordial tower. The reason the building was eye-catching was that it occupied a huge area that equaled two sports stadiums. It was also the second-largest building in the city after the primordial tower. Of course, the huge size of the building also meant that it came with a huge price tag. Shi Feng had invested 500,000 Magic Crystals and 100,000 Gold into constructing the mercenary alliances headquarters, and it was currently the most expensive building in the city. Meanwhile, aside from having many private rooms, the mercenary alliances headquarters also had quite a few basic combat rooms plus a massive arena that allowed players to spar and train their techniques. Currently, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was mass recruiting players. Anyone who had reached the Trial Towers seventh floor could join the mercenary alliance. Moreover, there was no restriction on a players affiliations. Even players belonging to adventurer teams and Guilds could join the mercenary alliance without having to leave their previous organizations. In addition, so long as one joined the mercenary alliance, one would immediately enjoy a 50% discount on their entrance fee into the city. Normally, players would have to pay 20 Silver to enter Abyssal Star City. So, becoming a member of the mercenary alliance would mean a savings of 10 Silver. Aside from entrance fees, members would also enjoy a 5% discount when staying in Abyssal Star Citys accommodations. They would also have priority when entering Abyssal Star City. These were all privileges exclusively available to the ruling powers members. In the case of Zero Wings and Witchs Sins members, they would have to pay the standard entrance fee when entering the city. Although they could use Guild Transfer Scrolls to enter the city, the selling price of Guild Transfer Scrolls was similarly priced at 20 Silver. Hence, only by becoming a member of the Asura Mercenary Alliance would one receive a privileged status in Abyssal Star City. However, what mattered most to the various powers wasnt the privileges offered to the mercenary alliances standard members. Instead, it was the privileges offered to higher-ranking members. Upon achieving Bronze membership status in the mercenary alliance, players would have the right to rent the rooms inside the primordial tower. Although the various powers didnt know what use the primordial towers rooms had, what they did know was that Silver members could rent Abyssal Star Citys Shops, while Gold members could rent their own private housing in Abyssal Star City. These were the privileges that truly tempted the various powers! Abyssal Star City was fated to become the number one city in the Miniature Ancient World. Currently, the only factors limiting the citys growth were the average level of players and the citys low rank. However, these were all problems that could be solved with time. Once Abyssal Star City developed into a Guild City that could accommodate tens of millions of players, the wealth it could generate would reach astonishing levels. Not to mention, Abyssal Star City was also located close to the Boundary Mountain Range. So, the city would also become the first choice for players looking to enter the Boundary Mountain Range. If they could rent the Shops or private houses here, theyd be able to generate significant amounts of income. Zero Wing truly cannot be underestimated. No wonder Witchs Sin chose to betray World Dominators, Crimson Seal commented after arriving in Abyssal Star City and seeing that Zero Wing had a Residence here. Even the various superpowers will desperately seek to own a Residence here. By the looks of it, Zero Wing must have deep ties with Abyssal Star Citys ruling power. Hearing Crimson Seals words, Zhuo Yalin nodded and said, We absolutely cannot partner with World Dominators now. Although going against World Dominators will create some problems for us down the line, so long as we hold onto our relationship with Zero Wing, Mysterious Moon will have more advantages in Abyssal Star City. Indeed, but we should still go and check out the Asura Mercenary Alliance first, Crimson Seal said. He felt fortunate that they hadnt conceded to World Dominatorss demands yet. Otherwise, they wouldve lost out on the chance to partner with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, sometime after the various powers and independent players had gathered at the Asura Mercenary Alliances headquarters, the mercenary alliance suddenly introduced a new rule that dumbfounded everyone. The rule stated that all players belonging to World Dominators or powers affiliated with World Dominators were prohibited from joining the mercenary alliance. In addition, effective immediately, members of the mercenary alliance could earn Contribution Points for every World Dominators member they killed. They would earn five points for killing ordinary members, twenty points for killing internal members, and one hundred points for killing core members. Chapter 3069 - Chapter 143 – Bounty VS Bounty! The introduction of this new rule caused everyone inside Asuras headquarters to grow silent. The kill order World Dominators placed on Zero Wing previously had shocked the entire Gods Domain to a great extent. However, the Asura Mercenary Alliances action of using Abyssal Star Citys privileges to exchange for World Dominatorss life utterly dumbfounded everyone. Abyssal Star City had already become a holy land for the entire Miniature Ancient World. The privileges Asura offered for its Silver and Gold members were things that even the various superpowers would want. Although the various superpowers had thought of occupying Abyssal Star City by force, none of them dared to make a move, especially not after seeing several hundred Tier 4 NPC guards in the city. Even the imperial capitals on the main continent did not have a force of several hundred Tier 4 NPCs guarding them! It might be true that the various superpowers had trump cards that allowed them to grant Tier 4 strength to Tier 3 players. However, Tier 4 strength was just that and nothing more. The average NPC was significantly stronger than the average player of the same tier. In front of a Tier 4 NPC, a group of players with Tier 4 strength would last no more than a few moves. Hence, even if the various superpowers were tempted by the idea of securing Abyssal Star City for themselves, they could only keep their thoughts in their minds. At the very least, before Tier 4 players appeared, the various superpowers would have no choice but to put their foolish ambitions to rest. With occupying Abyssal Star City not being an option, the only other way the various powers could benefit from Abyssal Star Citys effects right now was by following the rules set by the citys ruling power. Only by doing so could they enter the Boundary Mountain Range at the quickest of speeds. Meanwhile, there was probably no power in Gods Domain that could resist the temptation of entering the Boundary Mountain Range ahead of others. It should be known that the ones tempted this time were Gods Domains various powers, not the various powers experts. The two were entirely different concepts. If a power was tempted to move, every expert under it would also move. It wouldnt just be a few individual experts making a move. Hence, Asuras bounty wasnt one a bounty offered to the individual player. Instead, it was an offer to the various superpowers. In other words, Asura was trying to get the various powers of Gods Domain to go against World Dominators! Holy cow! Isnt Zero Wing a little too amazing?! It can actually influence Asura to such an extent? World Dominators will probably start cursing once it finds out about this bounty. I really dont understand what World Dominators was thinking. Did it have to take things so far against Zero Wing just to avenge a measly second-rate Guild? Just look at what kind of trouble it has gotten into now. Honestly, Im starting to pity World Dominators a little. Zero Wing wasnt even trying to target World Dominators initially. Yet, now, World Dominators will face the threat of destruction just because it tried to stick up for a second-rate Guild. If I were in the shoes of World Dominatorss core executives, Id probably have the urge to crush that second-rate Guild with my own hands. The various superpowers executives inside Asuras headquarters couldnt help but laugh when they realized the implications of Asuras new rule. Many superpowers wished to take World Dominatorss place. However, as World Dominatorss foundations were simply too strong, most superpowers only dared to watch from the sidelines. None of them dared to try and get a cut of World Dominatorss pie. Of course, it wouldve been entirely possible for the various superpowers to eradicate World Dominators if they simply worked together. The only reason they hadnt done so thus far was because they didnt have enough of a reason to do so. After all, even if they worked together and succeeded in getting rid of World Dominators, they would have to suffer immense losses in the process, which would, in turn, leave them vulnerable to others. However, things were different now. The Asura Mercenary Alliances bait was tempting enough for the various superpowers to secretly band together and remove World Dominators from the Miniature Ancient World. Not only could they gain access to Abyssal Star Citys privileges by doing so, but they could also reduce the number of competitors by one. Theyd be killing two birds with one stone, so why would they turn down such an opportunity? This Asura Mercenary Alliance must be crazy! Why are they going so far for a measly Guild like Zero Wing?! When Lan Hailong saw the registration rules displayed in the lobby of Asuras headquarters, he couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Originally, Lan Hailong had felt joyous when he first came to Abyssal Star City. It was especially true after he saw the registration rules for the Asura Mercenary Alliance. The mercenary alliances benefits allowed him to see another opportunity for Shadow to compete in the Miniature Ancient World. However, he never thought that this dream would turn into a nightmare. Once news of Asuras bounty got out, itd be a miracle if World Dominators didnt personally destroy Shadow. Previously, World Dominators had only decided to take action against Zero Wing because it thought that Zero Wing was a small and insignificant Guild. In doing so, it could also set an example for the various powers and increase the loyalty of its affiliated Guilds. However, it was now revealed that Zero Wing had an existence like the Asura Mercenary Alliance backing it. After this revelation, so long as World Dominators wasnt stupid, it definitely would not continue targeting Zero Wing. Otherwise, what awaited it would be a nightmare. Meanwhile, the best way to appease Zero Wing would undoubtedly be to destroy Shadow and thoroughly erase it from Gods Domain. If World Dominators did that, there was no way Zero Wing could have the Asura Mercenary Alliance continue putting a bounty on a Super Guild like World Dominators. Everything happened just like Lan Hailong expected. Less than ten minutes after the Asura Mercenary Alliance introduced its bounty, World Dominatorss executives in the Miniature Ancient World had gathered for a meeting. Looking at the dozen or so people gathered in the conference room, a white-haired middle-aged man indifferently said, Im sure everyone is already aware of the cause and effect of this matter. The Asura Mercenary Alliances bounty on us is already in effect, so state whatever opinions you have! Chapter 3070 - Chapter 144 - Shadows End Chapter 144 C Shadows End There were over a dozen people inside the solemn and majestic conference room. Every one of these people had reached Level 104, and they were all equipped with Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment Sets and Epic Weapons or Magic Weapons that rivaled Fragmented Legendary Weapons. If Mysterious Moons Zhuo Yalin were present in this room, she would definitely be given a fright. This was because every one of the players in this conference room was a Domain Realm expert with Basic Attributes at the Tier 4 standard. Only Crimson Seal with his Mana Equipment Set could stand a chance against these players in a one-on-one situation. Every other Mysterious Moon member in the Miniature Ancient World would be no match. That Asura Mercenary Alliance is simply looking down on us. So what if they put a bounty on us? Im curious to see who, other than the Five Great Super Guilds, would dare to go against us! a rowdy woman wearing silver plate armor said through the helmet covering her face. Those first-rate Guilds can only prance around before us since all of us are Tier 3 right now. Once we reach Level 120, whether it is those first-rate Guilds or that Asura Mercenary Alliance, I want to see just which one of them will dare continue acting so boldly. What you say is true, but we simply cant play to our strengths right now, a white-haired old man sitting beside the rowdy woman said, shaking his head. We might be able to do something if we are only going up against Asura, but many superpowers are also secretly eyeing us. With the conditions Asura has put out, those superpowers will definitely join forces against us. Those superpowers are indeed a trouble. The rowdy woman stopped acting out of anger after hearing the old mans words. Evidently, she, too, was concerned about the various superpowers working together to target World Dominators. That damnable Asura Mercenary Alliance! How shameless must it be to use its citys privileges to tempt those superpowers?! The Abyssal Star Primordial City was simply too tempting of an opportunity to give up. On the one hand, the city was situated next to the Boundary Mountain Range, so it was incredibly advantageous for players seeking to reach Level 120 quickly and enter the Boundary Mountain Range. On the other hand, the citys purification effect was astounding, and it was at least several times faster than the NPC Cities in the Miniature Ancient World. With such a purification speed, players could save plenty of rest time. Most importantly, Abyssal Star City was bound to become one of the vital transit points for players seeking to trade between the two Gods Domains in the future. After all, many precious resources in Gods Domain couldnt be stored in players bag space. Players would need to transport these precious resources bit by bit. Hence, they needed to have transit warehouses along their trade routes. Meanwhile, Abyssal Star City, which was located next to the Boundary Mountain Range, could be said to be the most suitable transit point. According to my sources, even the Five Great Super Guilds are interested in Abyssal Star City. Once their players start to reach Level 120 and get promoted to Tier 4, they will most likely begin taking action against the city, an elegant woman dressed in a black mage robe said, smiling. If we want to deal with zero Wing, all we need to do is endure until Level 120. At that time, Asuras bounty will automatically lose effect. Many nodded in agreement with the elegant womans words. There was no power in Gods Domain that wouldnt be tempted by Abyssal Star City. Naturally, the Five Great Super Guilds were no exception. There might not be anyone capable of taking down Abyssal Star City right now, but once Tier 4 experts started appearing, the Five Great Super Guilds could absolutely capture the city. Level 120? However, the white-haired old man shook his head when he heard the elegant womans words. He scoffed at the womans suggestion to fight a war of attrition with Zero Wing. Even experts like us will need at least a month to reach that level. Can you all honestly accept the losses we will suffer during this one month? The people who previously agreed with the elegant woman fell silent. It might be fine if they were simply going up against the various first-rate Guilds. After all, even the weakest core member in World Dominators was a Refinement Realm expert. Itd be difficult for first-rate Guilds to target experts of such caliber. As for World Dominatorss non-core members, it didnt matter how many of them died. Such a loss would be inconsequential to World Dominators. In Gods Domain, experts beneath Tier 4 were utterly worthless. Any random Tier 4 expert could single-handedly eradicate a force of several thousand Tier 3 experts. The only purpose such experts had was to serve as cannon fodder and carry out menial tasks such as exploration and information gathering. However, if the various superpowers experts took action, World Dominatorss core experts would undoubtedly suffer severe casualties. This, in turn, would put World Dominators at a severe disadvantage when it expanded its development into the Boundary Mountain Range. Alright, thats enough talking. Everyone, cast your votes! the gray-haired, middle-aged man said after seeing everyone failing to come to a unanimous conclusion. Do we continue targeting Zero Wing? Or do we withdraw the kill order and seek reconciliation? Each person only gets one vote. After the gray-haired, middle-aged man spoke up, the people gathered stopped their discussions and voiced their stances. I vote to continue! the rowdy woman said definitively. My suggestion is for us to withdraw our kill order on Zero Wing temporarily. We will have plenty of time to target Zero Wing in the future, the white-haired old man stated. After everyone present expressed their stances, the gray-haired, middle-aged man tallied up the votes. There are fifteen of us here. Six have chosen to continue targeting Zero Wing, and nine have chosen to seek reconciliation. The final verdict is to withdraw our kill order on Zero Wing and seek a way to get Zero Wing to withdraw its bounty on us, the middle-aged man calmly stated. Moving on to the next topic, how will we get Zero Wing to withdraw its bounty on us? Thats simple. Wasnt Zero Wing trying to get revenge on Shadow before? the white-haired old man stated. We can simply offer up Shadow. We can even help Zero Wing and erase Shadow from Gods Domain. That is indeed a good idea, the elegant woman said, nodding. Shadow is nothing but an incompetent bungler. If it werent for Shadow, we would have never had to wage war against Zero Wing. Even if we are to deal with Zero Wing in the future, we absolutely cannot let Shadow remain. We might as well use this opportunity to get rid of it. Lets vote on it, then. Do we assist Zero Wing in disposing of Shadow? the middle-aged man asked nonchalantly. I concur! I second it! Seconded! All fifteen people voted in favor of the motion. Afterward, the middle-aged man announced, All fifteen votes are in favor. The final verdict is to dispose of Shadow! Chapter 3071 - Chapter 145 – Erasure Chapter 145 C Erasure Miniature Ancient World, Hundred Flow City: After the sudden bounty the Asura Mercenary Alliance had put on World Dominators, an uproar also occurred in Hundred Flow City. Zero Wing is amazing! I cant believe it dared to put a bounty on a Super Guild! This is the first time a non-superpower has done such a thing since Gods Domains launch! World Dominators is probably losing its mind right about now! Zero Wing might be a small Guild, but it has a powerful background. That Asura Mercenary Alliance has established a city next to the Boundary Mountain Range, something even the Five Great Super Guilds havent managed to accomplish. World Dominators has gotten itself into big trouble this time. I heard many superpowers are tempted to take action. I wonder what World Dominators plans to do about this situation. Initially, many of Hundred Flow Citys players and powers didnt have much understanding of World Dominators. However, after witnessing the scene over at Mysterious Moons Residence, they understood just how frightening a Super Guild was. So, when everyone learned that Zero Wing had put a bounty capable of tempting even superpowers on World Dominators, they couldnt help but look forward to what would happen next. Gods Domain had already remained peaceful for a long time. Whether it was independent players or the various major powers, everyone had already grown used to being controlled by the various superpowers. Meanwhile, the various superpowers had also seemingly come to a tacit agreement to keep their conflicts contained. Never had any superpower launched a full-scale war against another superpower. Originally, everyone thought that Mysterious Moon would become the first Guild to restart the warring era and initiate a full-scale war against World Dominators. However, the honor of doing so would most likely be going to Zero Wing instead, looking at the current situation. While the players in Hundred Flow City were talking about Asuras bounty on World Dominators, several thousand players suddenly walked out of the citys Teleportation Hall. Not only was every player in this group at Level 103 or above, but they were also fully equipped in Epic Weapons and Equipment. The aura they radiated also caused the surrounding players to feel suffocated. This was because even the weakest among these players was at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard, with most of them being at the Refinement Realm standard. Most importantly, every one of these players wore World Dominatorss Guild Emblem on their chest. Obviously, these players must be from one of World Dominatorss trump card legions. Why did so many experts from World Dominators come to Hundred Flow City? Could World Dominators be thinking of extinguishing Zero Wing once and for all? This is great! The fires of war are finally lighting up! I wonder who will win in the end? Will it be Zero Wing? Or will it be World Dominators? The surrounding players couldnt help but grow excited when they saw World Dominatorss experts making their way to Zero Wings Candlelight Hotel after exiting the Teleportation Hall. The last time a massive war had taken place in Gods Domain was several years ago. It was a war that had destroyed an entire kingdom, and just watching the video recording of the war gave everyone an unforgettable experience. If they could witness such a war taking place with their own eyes, theyd have no more regrets. Inside a three-story open-air bar near the Candlelight Hotel When Rain Song looked at the experts surrounding the Candlelight Hotel, she turned to Cleansed Rue and worriedly asked, Big Sis Rue, why do you think World Dominators suddenly sent so many experts over this time? Could it really be planning on duking it out with Zero Wing? The strength World Dominators had kept hidden was massive beyond comprehension. While Abyssal Star City was indeed an amazing city, Asuras bounty on World Dominators was unlikely to affect World Dominators too significantly. Even if the various superpowers did take action against World Dominators, this situation would, at most, affect World Dominatorss development. It definitely wasnt enough to threaten World Dominatorss continued existence. Meanwhile, if World Dominators decided to crush Zero Wing with everything it had, Zero Wing would stand no chance. Take the current situation, for example. Simply by having experts surround the Candlelight Hotel, World Dominators had essentially rendered the hotel useless. After all, no sane person would try to enter the hotel in this situation. I dont know. Cleansed Rue shook her head. Zero Wing has already moved all its members to Abyssal Star City. Even if World Dominators renders the Candlelight Hotel useless, it would be no skin off Zero Wings nose. On the contrary, World Dominators would be the one suffering a loss for wasting so much manpower. It wasnt just Zero Wing that had shifted its base of operations to Abyssal Star City. If they hadnt agreed to meet with Nature Halls representatives here to discuss Zero Wing, they would probably still be investigating Abyssal Star City. Inside one of the lounges in the Candlelight Hotel A gray-haired, middle-aged man sitting on a sofa was sipping on some tea an NPC had served him while looking at Shi Feng, who sat across from him. Then, after setting down his cup, he smiled and said, You are surprisingly young, Guild Leader Black Flame. I find it hard to imagine thered be a God-ranked expert like you in our Gods Domain. World Dominators is the amazing one. I didnt think it would send its renowned White Devil to the Miniature Ancient World. It seems World Dominators is determined to obtain the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng said, smiling faintly as he looked at the middle-aged man before him. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the middle-aged man suddenly froze. Even the two experts standing next to the middle-aged man couldnt help but look at Shi Feng incredulously. Incredible! the middle-aged man exclaimed after regaining his calm. Less than forty people know of my true identity in World Dominators, yet you managed to find out about it. I have to admit that you have an unbelievable intelligence network behind you. No wonder youre not afraid of our kill order. All I have to say is that I know far more than you think, Shi Feng said, chuckling without elaborating further. World Dominators had five God-ranked experts on the surface. Meanwhile, one of them was White Devil. However, White Devil always wore a helmet whenever he appeared in front of others, so hardly anybody knew White Devils true appearance. Of course, Shi Feng wasnt included in this list. This was because he had seen White Devils true appearance during his previous life. Back then, White Devil had been fighting two Outerworld God-ranked experts by himself. The battle at the time had been astonishing. World Dominators had lost a Holy City, the city reduced to nothing but a fiery crater spanning tens of thousands of yards. As a result of the fight, White Devils Fragmented Legendary Weapon and Helmet had been thoroughly destroyed. Meanwhile, Shi Feng, who had rushed to the scene at the time, just so happened to catch White Devils true appearance. Since thats the case, I wont waste time talking about nonsense. Putting on a serious look, White Devil said, We are planning on dropping our kill order on Zero Wing, so we hope that Zero Wing, or more specifically, the Asura Mercenary Alliance, can cancel its bounty on World Dominators. Do you think you can just put a kill order on us and cancel it whenever you like? Dont you think this is unfair for Zero Wing? Shi Feng bluntly stated. That is true. White Devil nodded. Hence, we plan to give Zero Wing an explanation. What explanation? Shi Feng asked curiously. Arent you looking to deal with Shadow? In a definitive tone, White Devil said, We will erase Shadows name from Gods Domain. What do you think of this condition? Erase Shadow from Gods Domain? Shi Feng grew a little interested. Although he was more than capable of erasing Shadow from Gods Domain himself, doing so would require a lot of time. How long will it take? Two days! White Devil answered without hesitation. In two days, you will no longer see Shadow in Gods Domain! That includes all information on Shadow! Upon hearing White Devils words, Shi Feng couldnt help but marvel at World Dominatorss strength. In addition to claiming that it would eradicate a second-rate Guild, it also promised to do so in two days. It should be known that Shadow was in control of ten City-states. It had many Branch Guilds in Gods Domain and over a million members. If World Dominators wanted to erase Shadow from Gods Domain in two days, it would certainly have to pay a considerable price. May I know what you think, Guild Leader Black Flame? White Devil asked, smiling as he looked at Shi Feng. Chapter 3072 - Chapter 146 - Super Guilds Strength Hundred Flow City, Candlelight Hotel: When the various players and scouts from the various powers saw World Dominatorss experts leaving the Candlelight Hotel peacefully and Shi Feng and Su Qianliu walking out of the hotel, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Whats going on? Zero Wing was actually holding a secret discussion with World Dominators just now? Werent they going to have a big fight? They shouldve reached a conclusion in their talks, by the looks of things. I wonder what decision they came to? Will they be fighting or not? Everyone couldnt help but grow curious about this situation. Interesting! How interesting! It seems we made the right decision to come here this time! Stalwart Bear, who had already reached Level 104, exclaimed, a look of interest appearing on his face as he watched World Dominatorss experts leaving. What do you mean, Elder Bear? Cleansed Rue asked as she looked at Stalwart Bear in confusion. The main reason they gathered in Hundred Flow City this time was to discuss whether they should seek a partnership with Zero Wing. After all, partnering with Zero Wing would mean making an enemy out of World Dominators. Hundred Flower Palace was different from Witchs Sin. Witchs Sin already possessed the strength of a superpower, so World Dominators was unlikely to go to war with Witchs Sin. However, World Dominators definitely wouldnt show mercy against top-tier first-rate Guilds like Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall. I dont know about Hundred Flower Palace, but Nature Hall will be seeking a partnership with Zero Wing, Stalwart Bear said, laughing. Despite having already placed a kill order on Zero Wing, the arrogant and mighty World Dominators had come to negotiate with Zero Wing. Doesnt that tell you anything? Indeed. With World Dominatorss arrogance, if it had a good chance at eliminating Zero Wing, it would never try to negotiate with Zero Wing after putting a kill order on Zero Wing. Itd be a huge embarrassment if it did that. Cleansed Rue nodded. Since World Dominators had come to negotiate, it shows that even World Dominators is fearful of Zero Wing. Although World Dominators had also held a discussion with Mysterious Moon, that was only a normal consultation between Guilds. Mysterious Moons acts of aggression did not anger World Dominators or harm World Dominatorss reputation. However, it was a different story for Zero Wing. World Dominators had already publicly placed a kill order on Zero Wing. Yet, now, it had come to negotiate with Zero Wing. How would the various powers of Gods Domain look at this situation? World Dominators would most likely become a joke in the various powers eyes. There was no way World Dominators wouldnt know what would happen if it tried to negotiate with Zero Wing. Yet, despite knowing it, World Dominators still chose to do so. Im heading back first. If I dont make ample preparations beforehand, its going to be tough to get Zero Wing to agree to a partnership, Stalwart Bear said before standing up and leaving the bar. When Rain Song saw Stalwart Bear leaving, she turned toward Cleansed Rue and asked, What should we do, Big Sis Rue? We are not the same as Nature Hall, Cleansed Rue said, shaking her head and smiling. Nature Hall is only trying to obtain the other Gods Domains resources and strengthen itself, so it is naturally fine for Nature Hall to partner with Zero Wing. However, our Guilds aim isnt the other Gods Domains resources. What we need is a strong partner. Although the various superpowers are an option, partnering with them will be too disadvantageous for us. Meanwhile, Zero Wing is only one of the several powers in our considerations. I understand, Rain Song said, nodding. She was aware that the secret that Hundred Flower Palace was in possession of far exceeded the imaginations of even the various superpowers. Unless Zero Wing possessed incredible strength, it would be unqualified to become Hundred Flower Palaces partner. However, if the information Dawn Moon obtained through her reconnaissance in Zero Wing, Zero Wing would indeed have the qualifications to become Hundred Flower Palaces partner. Lets wait for Dawn Moons report first, Cleansed Rue said. After thinking it over, she decided to wait for more information before deciding. The Abyssal Star Primordial City might be something extraordinary in the eyes of the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers. Still, the secret that Hundred Flower Palace possessed was many times greater than the primordial city. Hundred Flower Palace wasnt afraid that this secret would get exposed. What it feared most was failing to secure this secret. After all, it only had one chance, so it needed to be careful in choosing who it partnered with. Over at the Candlelight Hotel Guild Leader, do you think World Dominators can really fulfill its promise in two days? After seeing that World Dominatorss experts disappearing into the Teleportation Hall, Su Qianliu voiced the question plaguing her mind this entire time. After all was said and done, Shadow was a second-rate Guild with over a million Guild members. No matter how she looked at it, it was simply unrealistic to try and erase Shadows name from Gods Domain in two days. I dont know, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, solemnly, he continued, But the various superpowers have invested far more strength into the Miniature Ancient World than I initially thought. There is no saying whether the other superpowers have sent their God-ranked experts over as well. We have to reach Level 120 as soon as possible and enter the Boundary Mountain Range ahead of the various superpowers. Currently, everyone was still at Tier 3 in the Miniature Ancient World, so even if the various superpowers were strong, there was still a limit to the strength they could exhibit. However, once the various superpowers Refinement Realm experts reached Level 120 and got promoted to Tier 4, they would have an overwhelming advantage over other powers. The advantages Zero Wing currently possessed would cease to exist at that time. If Zero Wing wished to maintain its lead over the various superpowers, it would have to enter the Boundary Mountain range ahead of the various superpowers. After all, the resources and Legacies available in other Gods Domains were vastly superior to their Gods Domain. If the players in their Gods Domain could acquire an Outerworld Legacy, their chances of getting promoted to Tier 4 would increase by 50% or more. Su Qianliu nodded in agreement with Shi Fengs words. Zero Wing might look like it had a good future ahead, but it also had a lot of trouble it needed to face. After all, Zero Wing had already entered the eyes of many superpowers. If Zero Wing wasnt careful, the various superpowers would quickly gobble it up. An hour after Shi Feng concluded his talks with White Devil, World Dominators retracted its kill order on Zero Wing and announced it was no longer affiliated with Shadow. In addition, World Dominators had also announced that it would be erasing Shadow from Gods Domain. When this news came out, the various powers in Gods Domain couldnt help but be stunned. Even Lan Hailong was dumbfounded when he learned of this news. He simply couldnt fathom why World Dominators would suddenly go from supporting Shadow to seeking to annihilate Shadow just because of a bounty from the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Shortly after World Dominatorss announcement, every one of Shadows members in the Miniature Ancient World began hiding in the various NPC Cities. So long as they dared to set foot outside, World Dominatorss experts would swiftly kill them. Things were even worse for Shadow on the main continent. World Dominatorss experts would attack Shadows members regardless of the location, and even those hiding in the imperial capitals of empires were not safe from attacks. A Tier 6 God-ranked expert had also destroyed all ten of Shadows City-states in just one short day. Moreover, just like World Dominators had stated in its announcement, it didnt just stop at causing devastating damage. It had thoroughly erased these City-states from the face of the continent. After just one night, Shadow had lost all of its Guild Cities. Even its Residences inside NPC Cities were flattened. Before one full day had even passed, Shadow had already become nothing more than an empty shell of a Guild. Almost all of its non-internal members had withdrawn. As for Shadows internal members, they didnt even dare log into Gods Domain. World Dominatorss display of strength had thoroughly dumbfounded the various powers. At the same time, everyone in Gods Domain came to understand that in front of a Super Guild, even second- and first-rate Guilds were nothing but a joke. In less than two days, Shadow announced its dissolution, and the Lan Hua Group that backed Shadow went bankrupt Chapter 3073 - Chapter 147 - Popular Zero Wing Jin Hai City, Lan Hua Tower: Due to World Dominatorss attacks and Shadows disbandment, Lan Hua Group had no choice but to declare bankruptcy to repay the many debts it owed. Originally, more than ten thousand people would occupy Lan Hua Tower every day. Now, though, the building had become empty. Aside from Lan Hailong, who was staring off into space in the top-floor conference room, and a few of Shadows executives tidying up their belongings downstairs, nobody else was in the building. That Luo Tiancheng and Zhou Yuhu are bastards through and through. I cant believe they would abscond with the Guilds Epic items and join a third-rate Guild, a robust man grumbled as he glared at Luo Tiancheng and Zhou Yuhu, who were swiftly packing their things over on the other side of the office floor. In contrast, we, the ones fighting on the frontline, ended up getting nothing at all. After glancing at Luo Tiancheng and Zhou Yuhu, Rampant Blade said, Theres no point grumbling about this. Theyve helped out that third-rate Guild a lot in the past. Although theyve now joined that third-rate Guild, they were only given a position in middle management. Theres no way theyd be allowed to join the Guilds upper management, either. So, the most theyll be doing from now on will be guiding newbies. How are you so calm about this, Boss Blade? You probably drew the worst lot out of everyone, the robust man said, sighing. With your strength, you couldve long since joined a first-rate Guild. Yet, because of World Dominatorss purge, not only did your account fall back to Level 100, but youve even lost most of your equipment. Youd probably need a miracle to catch up to the Miniature Ancient Worlds frontline players at this rate As a Refinement Realm expert, Rampant Blade already had the necessary combat standards to become a core member in a first-rate Guild. However, because of his severe loss in level and equipment, even if he managed to get into a first-rate Guild, hed have a hard time catching up with the current level of even first-rate experts. Do you have any plans after this, Stone? Rampant Blade asked. Me? The robust man who Rampant Blade addressed as Stone shook his head. You know as well as I do what kind of combat standard I have. The best I can do is reach the Trial Towers seventh floor. Coupled with my age, Id be fortunate if I can get a team leader position even if I join a third-rate Guild. In the current Gods Domain, the various Guilds placed more importance on recruiting newcomers with great potential than veteran experts with good strength. Even if there was no longer a need to worry that he might be a spy for Shadow, there was no way he could ever become a core member even if he joined a third-rate Guild. At best, he could become an ordinary internal member. Are you interested in joining Zero Wing with me? Rampant Blade asked, smiling. Join Zero Wing? Stone froze when he heard Rampant Blades words. Then, looking at Rampant Blade incredulously, he asked, Can I really join Zero Wing? The current Zero Wing was a famous Guild that many players wished to join in the Miniature Ancient World. Not only did Zero Wing possess a Guild Residence in Abyssal Star City, but it even had the strength to get World Dominators to eradicate Shadow to appease it. Most importantly, Zero Wings Guild Leader was Black Flame, a rumored Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Meanwhile, any power with a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in its ranks would instantly be regarded as a top-tier first-rate power in Gods Domain. Based on what he heard, on the first day World Dominators removed its kill order on Zero Wing and began attacking Shadow, over 100,000 players had swarmed the Candlelight Hotel and applied to join Zero Wing. On the second day of World Dominatorss purge of Shadow, first-rate experts and above had thoroughly surrounded Zero Wings Residence in Abyssal Star City. The situation had gotten so bad that the street outside Zero Wings Residence and three other neighboring streets were crowded with players. In the end, Zero Wing had to mobilize the citys NPC guards just to let Zero Wings members walk out of the Residence The situation had only calmed down a little after Zero Wing announced one of its main recruitment conditions. The condition was simple. Those under 20 years of age could join Zero Wing so long as they could reach the Trial Towers seventh floor. As for those above 20, theyd have to reach the Half-step Refinement Realm standard at the very least, with Refinement Realm experts receiving priority considerations. This condition had instantly disqualified over 90% of the players applying to join Zero Wing. It was no exaggeration to say that this entry requirement was even more stringent than the various superpowers. However, even with this harsh condition, there was still a long line of players waiting outside Zero Wings Residence and the Candlelight Hotel. Blackie sent me an invitation hoping that I could join Zero Wing. He also hopes that I can bring some of Shadows main force members over, Rampant Blade said, nodding. How about it? Interested? Yes! Im interested! Of course Im interested! Stone hurriedly nodded, his face full of excitement. It seems Ill get to continue fighting alongside you in the future as well, Boss Blade! For a veteran Guild player like him, hed have a lot of concerns when joining a new Guild. So, itd be much more assuring to have an old acquaintance as his superior. Not to mention, this was an invitation to join Zero Wing. This was an opportunity that countless experts sought to obtain. Okay. Help me invite the other main force members as well, but make sure to leave out those close to Lan Hailong. Those who joined Zero Wing initially are all people with a grudge against Lan Hailong. I dont want to cause a scene after joining Zero Wing, Rampant Blade said, nodding. Dont worry, Boss Blade. I know what to do, Stone said, laughing. Immediately afterward, Stone began going around the office, visiting Shadows main force members one after another. Apart from Lan Hailongs close confidants, he had invited almost everyone in Shadows main force to join Zero Wing. Meanwhile, everyone who received the invitation to join Zero Wing couldnt help but grow ecstatic. Dammit! That despicable Zero Wing! Luo Tianchengs eyes were full of envy when he saw Stone approaching the other people in the office and inviting them to join Zero Wing. We only sided with Lan Hailong because we didnt have a choice! Shi Feng is just being petty! Meanwhile, Zhou Yuhu was also envious of this situation. At the same time, he also secretly cursed Zero Wing to have a bad future. However, irregardless of what Luo Tiancheng and Zhou Yuhu felt about the situation, Rampant Blade and several dozen members of Shadows main force left Lan Hua Tower with smiles on their faces. Then, they promptly made their way to Zero Wings temporary office located inside the Gods Domain Alliances building. Chapter 3074 - Chapter 148 - Snow Goddess Appears Misty Canyon, Abyssal Star City: As players could only purchase the Teleportation Scrolls for Abyssal Star City on the first day of the citys opening, the number of players in the city had fallen dramatically. The only combat players that remained in the city were the various first-rate powers and superpowers peak experts. These were the only combat players capable of grinding in the Level 110 maps near the Misty Canyon, albeit just barely. Aside from combat players, the various powers merchant players also chose to remain in the city to complete the daily material collection quests and reputation quests the Asura Mercenary Alliance issued. They relied on these quests to accumulate the mercenary alliances Contribution Points and try to become a Bronze member as soon as possible. One could say that aside from Zero Wings and Witchs Sins members, none of the players present in Abyssal Star City was an ordinary individual. Even so, Abyssal Star Citys player population still exceeded one million. It was no exaggeration to say that Abyssal Star City was already the number one city in the Miniature Ancient World. Can we really participate in this Guild activity, Boss Blade? Stone, who was only a Level 100 Shield Warrior, asked Rampant Blade after arriving at Zero Wings Residence using a Guild Transfer Scroll. Currently, nearly 200 players were gathered in the courtyard of Zero Wings Residence. Aside from them, ex-members of Shadow, everyone else was either at Level 103 or Level 104. Moreover, most of these players looked like they were only 20 years old, and every one of them was either at the Half-step Refinement Realm or Refinement Realm already. This situation was unnerving for the ex-members of Shadows. I think so, Rampant Blade said hesitantly. He similarly felt stressed when he looked at the youngsters around him. In Shadow, a Refinement Realm would be regarded as one of the Guilds top combatants without question. Even first-rate Guilds would treat their Refinement Realm experts as mid-level mainstays. After all, in the average first-rate Guild, there would only be several hundred Refinement Realm experts out of the several million members in the Guild. However, despite being a Refinement Realm expert, Rampant Blade felt that he was nothing but an insignificant existence in the current Zero Wing. It was even worse for the other ex-members of Shadow. While Rampant Blade and the others were feeling stressed over their situation, a group of a dozen or so players walked out of the Guild Hall. Rampant Blade spotted two familiar faces among these playersBlackie and Su Qianliu. However, when Rampant Blade saw Blackie and Su Qianliu, he couldnt help but feel a sense of distance. Specifically, the massive distance in strength and levels between them. Currently, both Blackie and Su Qianliu had already reached an astonishing level of 107. Upon seeing their levels, Rampant Blade couldnt help but lose the will to live. It should be known that even the various superpowers peak experts were only at Level 104, and theyd still need at least two days to reach Level 105. Yet, Blackie and Su Qianliu had already surpassed those peak experts by three levels. What kind of leveling speed was this? Alright, since everyones gathered, get ready to move out. Make sure not to fall behind. If you break away from the team, youll have no choice but to wait until the next group training, Shi Feng cautioned as he swept his gaze across the gathered crowd. After two days of research, Shi Feng had already found the ideal grinding spot in the Burning Land. The monsters in that grinding spot consisted of only Level 112 Blackstone Orcs. Moreover, their numbers were quite concentrated, and most of them were only at the High Lord rank, with some at the Great Lord rank. Any random group they lured there would also have at least a thousand Blackstone Orcs. With the suppression of Shi Fengs Mana Domain and Su Qianliu and Blackies Tier 3 AOE Spells, grinding these Blackstone Orcs would be quick and easy. Even without Shi Fengs Mana Domain, Su Qianliu and Blackie could still handle the monsters by themselves since they had already reached Level 107. The only problem was getting to the grinding spot. The journey there involved traveling through the Misty Canyon, which was infested with monsters around Level 117. Even a High Lord of this level could effortlessly slaughter Level 104 Refinement Realm experts. Fortunately, Shi Feng was Abyssal Star Citys administrator, so he could assign some of the citys NPC guards to escort Zero Wings members out of the Misty Canyon. After Shi Feng gave his command, Su Qianliu took charge of the team and followed the NPC guards to the Burning Land. During their journey across the Misty Canyon, Rampant Blade and the other ex-members of Shadow couldnt help but be shocked when they saw many of the teams members nearly getting insta-killed by the monsters that abruptly appeared from the sides. Rather than a grinding activity, it felt more like they were going on a perilous journey instead. After advancing for around five hours, the team finally arrived at the Blackstone tribes campsite in the Burning Land. Ill go and lure the monsters. You guys get ready to cast your Spells, Shi Feng said as he looked at Su Qianliu and Blackie. Then, after saying so, he promptly charged toward the nearest group of Blackstone Orcs. When Rampant Blade and the others, who were grinding here for the first time, saw Shi Fengs actions, they couldnt help but be stunned. Although most of the Blackstone Orcs were only High Lords, they were Level 112 monsters. For a Level 108 player like Shi Feng, these Level 112 High Lords were even stronger than Level 108 Great Lords. As for the Level 112 Great Lords, they were essentially Level 108 Grand Lords to Shi Feng. Yet, despite going up against so many Blackstone Orcs, Shi Feng had charged at the monsters without hesitation. Even apex experts would fall quickly if they pulled such a stunt. However, after Shi Feng released his Mana Domain, the Blackstone Orcs, who normally relied on Mana to strengthen themselves, instantly lost over one-third of their combat power. Now that Shi Fengs Basic Attributes were already at the Tier 4 standard, these Blackstone Orcs had become nothing more than toddlers in front of him. In less than five minutes, Shi Feng had successfully lured a group of over a thousand Blackstone Orcs to Su Qianliu and the others, taking no damage throughout the entire process. Attack! Shi Feng shouted when he saw that the Blackstone Orcs were less than 100 yards away from Su Qianliu and the others. Fire! Su Qianliu commanded. Immediately, Su Qianliu, Blackie, and several other magical class experts equipped with the Primordial Mana Equipment Set unleashed the Tier 3 AOE Spells they had precast, bombarding the Blackstone Orcs with meteorites, ice, and wind. In the meantime, Shi Feng leaped into the air and stayed suspended a hundred meters above ground using his Mana Domain. Then, using his vantage point, he watched the bombardment of AOE Spells. The AOE Spells Su Qianliu and the others cast carried power at the Tier 4 standard. So, even the Level 112 Great Lord ranked Blackstone Orcs were beaten into a heavily injured state after getting hit by the Spells, which, in turn, caused their combat power to plummet even further. All other ranged DPS attack as well! Shi Feng commanded. Upon hearing Shi Fengs command, Dawn Moon and the other ranged players promptly began launching their Spells and Skills as well. Due to the Blackstone Orcs being in a heavily injured state, the effects of the level suppression had been weakened. Although Dawn Moon and the others were incapable of dealing damage in the millions like Su Qianliu and Blackie, their attacks still managed to cause over one hundred thousand damage. When they achieved a critical hit, some of their attacks even caused two or three hundred thousand damage. The Blackstone Orcs only had around 60 million HP, so it didnt take long for them to be reduced into ashes. Meanwhile, after the Blackstone Orcs died, everyone present saw their experience bars increasing by a huge chunk. In the case of Rampant Blade and the other ex-members of Zero Wing, who had their levels reduced to 100 by World Dominators, they saw their experience bars increasing by 20%. This situation thoroughly dumbfounded them. Since when did it become so easy to level up? Good! Ill go and lure another group. In the meantime, rest up and recover your Mana! Shi Feng said to the team before leaving to lure another group of Blackstone Orcs. After Shi Feng lured a few more groups of Blackstone Orcs, Rampant Blade and the other ex-members of Shadow successfully reached Level 101. Many of the Level 103 members present had also risen to Level 104, their current leveling speed vastly surpassing their past leveling speed. Meanwhile, outside the Candlelight Hotel in Hundred Flow City Is Zero Wing really as amazing as you say it is, Yaoyue? an otherworldly beauty wearing light-gray armor asked as she looked at the aged hotel before her, a trace of doubt in her eyes. When this beautiful woman stopped in front of the Candlelight Hotel, the players walking on the street, regardless of gender, couldnt help but stop to look at her. This was because this woman didnt simply possess otherworldly beauty. Even her presence felt otherworldly, and everyone couldnt help but get the urge to appreciate her beauty and presence. Zero Wing has managed to scare off even World Dominators, Big Sis Snow. Moreover, you wont be subjected to any troublesome restrictions even if you join Zero Wing. In the off chance that you do get accepted, you might finally get to resolve the trouble that has been plaguing you all these years, Lin Yaoyue said. Okay. Lets go and take a look, Gentle Snow said, nodding. Chapter 3075 - Chapter 149 - Meeting Gentle Snow for the First Time Burning Land, Blackstone Orcs campsite: After grinding Blackstone Orcs for several hours, Zero Wings members saw an increase in their levels. It was especially true for Rampant Blade and the ex-members of Zero Wing. Despite being at Level 100 just a few hours ago, they were now Level 103. This was due to the significant EXP bonuses they received as a result of the difference in levels between them and the monsters. As for the other players in the team, although not as significant as the ex-Zero Wing members, all of them still leveled up once. Even Shi Feng had leveled up once, reaching Level 109. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Shi Fengs power-leveling rivaled the power-leveling provided by Tier 4 experts on the main continent. While Shi Feng was taking a break after just defeating another group of Blackstone Orcs, the sound of a message notification suddenly entered his ears. Lin Yaoyue is here? Shi Feng smiled when he saw the contents of the message Blakeana, the Candlelight Hotels manager, sent him. Shi Feng had granted Blakeana a certain degree of authority over the Candlelight Hotel. In addition, so long as someone he listed as important visited the Candlelight Hotel, Blakeana would message him and inform him immediately. Currently, there were only three people Shi Feng had listed as important: Galaxy Past, Hidden Soul, and Lin Yaoyue. In Shi Fengs eyes, Lin Yaoyue was a magical genius. While the average Domain Realm expert might not be able to notice this detail, Shi Feng could sense it clearly. Lin Yaoyue possessed an incredibly high affinity with Mana. Even though she was only Tier 3 right now, her perception toward Mana was already nearing the Tier 5 standard. The odds of someone having such a talent were less than 0.01%. Had Lin Yaoyue joined a superpower instead of a first-rate Guild like Mysterious Moon, she wouldve probably gained a Mana Domain already by now, and her combat power would surpass even Galaxy Past. Everyone is close to reaching their corrosion threshold already, Guild Leader, Su Qianliu reminded Shi Feng after looking at Rampant Blade and the others. Judging by their complexions, it was clear that they were no longer at peak mental performance. Compared to the maps located near NPC Cities, the foreign energy present in the Burning Land was much denser. As a result, players bodies also get corroded much more quickly. Meanwhile, in addition to putting players in a hungry and energy-deprived state, the corrosion of foreign energy would also drain a persons mental state. In addition, once a players corrosion threshold reached a certain level, they would quickly die if they didnt return to a city to rest. The foreign energy present in Gods Domains Level 100-plus maps was also the main factor restricting a players leveling speed. Due to the presence of this foreign energy, players could not grind for as long as they wanted. After factoring in travel and recovery times, even if there were 48 hours in a day in Gods Domain, the average player could only spend around a dozen of those hours grinding and leveling up in a Level 100-plus map. The situation was even worse in the Burning Land. Even a player with a Gold Mana Body could, at most, last around 13 or 14 hours here. As for those with Bronze and Silver Mana Bodies, they couldnt even last 10 hours here. Okay. Lets head back and rest, then, Shi Feng said, nodding. The current leveling speed of Zero Wings members was already beyond everyone else in Gods Domain. After all, Zero Wings members had Abyssal Star Citys NPC guards escorting them to the border of the Burning Land. They had a huge advantage over the various superpowers teams that had to travel out of the Misty Canyon by themselves. Rampant Blade and the others sighed in relief when they heard Shi Fengs words. At the same time, they couldnt help but be amazed by Shi Feng, Su Qianliu, and the other executives of Zero Wing. While they were having trouble controlling their bodies due to their hunger and mental fatigue, Shi Feng and the other executives of Zero Wing only looked a little tired. Shi Feng, in particular, behaved no differently than usual, and he could still toy around with the Blackstone Orcs with little effort. Subsequently, Su Qianliu and the others took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported back to Zero Wings Residence in Abyssal Star City. As for Shi Feng, he used a Return Scroll for Hundred Flow City. We are Hosted Nov3l, find us on g00gle. Hundred Flow City, Candlelight Hotel: The Mana here sure is dense. Its much denser than the other hotels in Hundred Flow City, Gentle Snow exclaimed while sitting in the Candlelight Hotels reception room. I can even feel the foreign energy in my body getting purified much more quickly. Its no wonder even World Dominators is fearful of Zero Wing. Increasing the Mana density of an area was a challenging task in Gods Domain. Moreover, the higher the density, the greater the difficulty. The Miniature Ancient World originally possessed a rich Mana environment already, and it was close to matching the various superpowers holy lands on the main continent. Yet, the Candlelight Hotel had managed to further improve this already-dense Mana by a large margin, creating a Mana environment that was superior to even that of the various superpowers holy lands. On top of that, the Candlelight Hotels environment could also accelerate the purification of foreign energy. Not even the various superpowers could produce such a Mana environment in the current Gods Domain. Yet, Zero Wing had accomplished it. This is nothing, Big Sis Snow. Whether it is the Mana density or the foreign energy purification rate here, both are only a fraction of what is available in Abyssal Star City, Lin Yaoyue said. Then, with a look of envy, she continued, Currently, all of Zero Wings members are operating from Abyssal Star City. Their development rate is significantly faster than players like us who can only operate around NPC Cities. Every player in the Miniature Ancient World was looking to reach Level 120 as soon as possible. It was so that they could enter the Boundary Mountain Range and become the first to capitalize on the resources of two Gods Domains. Meanwhile, Abyssal Star City was undoubtedly the easiest solution to achieve this goal. Because of this, Lin Yaoyue had come to join Zero Wing as an outer member. In addition, she had also persuaded Gentle Snow to join Zero Wing with her. Currently, there were only two Guilds garrisoned in Abyssal Star City, and all members belonging to these two Guilds could freely enter the city. Meanwhile, so long as the two of them became Zero Wings outer members, they, too, could freely enter Abyssal Star City. Although Lin Yaoyue wouldnt be able to teleport into Abyssal Star City directly since she was still a member of Mysterious Moon, that wasnt a problem for Gentle Snow. Gentle Snow didnt have a Guild, so she could join Zero Wing and purchase Zero Wings Guild Transfer Scrolls. While Lin Yaoyue and Gentle Snow were talking, the reception rooms doors suddenly opened. Then, a cloaked young man walked into the room, and this person was none other than Shi Feng. Gentle Snow? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the incredibly familiar woman sitting inside the reception room. Chapter 3076 - Chapter 150 - Zero Wing Is a Little Strong Shi Feng was incredibly familiar with Gentle Snow the Snow Goddess. She was one of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders during his previous life. She was also one of Zero Wings earliest members to reach Tier 6. She had even reached the Beyond Domain Realm in terms of combat standards. In short, she was one of Zero Wings strongest combatants! Originally, Shi Feng had thought of seeking out Gentle Snow in this timeline. However, Gentle Snow had long since disappeared from Gods Domain in this timeline. Nobody knew why she had disappeared from Gods Domain, either. Gentle Snow was publicly recognized as an expert with the potential to reach Tier 6 and create all sorts of legendary feats in Gods Domain. So, when she disappeared all of a sudden, many people found the situation a pity. Shi Feng never thought he could meet Gentle Snow again in this life. Mr. Black Flame? Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but look at Shi Feng oddly when she saw the stunned look on his face. It was true that Gentle Snow was as beautiful as a fairy. If she were to appear in public without hiding her appearance, she would mesmerize many people with her beauty. This was true for both men and women. However, the charm of her beauty was only limited to ordinary people. Lin Yaoyue did not believe that a Tier 6 God-ranked expert like Shi Feng would be fascinated by Gentle Snows beauty and temperament. There was simply no way that could happen. Lin Yaoyue was aware that Shi Feng had previously met with the Frostflame Goddess Cleansed Rue, and she was in no way inferior to Gentle Snow when it came to beauty and temperament. Yet, not only did Shi Feng not show any reaction to Cleansed Rues beauty, but he had even caused Hundred Flower Palace and Nature Hall to suffer a huge loss without hesitation. While this information was a secret to most people, Mysterious Moon just so happened to be one of the Guilds that knew this secret. Sorry for keeping you two waiting, Shi Feng said, quickly recovering from his surprise. Then, he looked toward Gentle Snow and smiled as he explained, I didnt expect you to bring the long-vanished Snow Goddess to me, Miss Lin. The various powers would probably be shocked if they learned of her return. When Lin Yaoyue heard Shi Fengs words, realization dawned on her. The Snow Goddesss disappearance from Gods Domain had always remained a mystery. If those who knew about Gentle Snow learned that she had suddenly reappeared, they would most likely be surprised. You flatter me, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am merely someone who has been eliminated by time, Gentle Snow calmly said. You, on the other hand, are someone who has truly shocked the various powers of Gods Domain. Previously, the Five Great Super Guilds were probably the only powers in Gods Domain capable of making World Dominators admit defeat. Now, though, one more had appeared. Thats simply a decision World Dominators reached after weighing its chances against the various superpowers, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He was well aware that the current Zero Wing lacked the strength to make World Dominators admit defeat. Subsequently, Shi Feng looked toward Lin Yaoyue and smiled, asking, Since you came here, I believe youve decided to become an outer member of Zero Wing, right, Miss Lin? Thats right. In addition, I wish to invite Big Sis Snow to become an outer member as well, Lin Yaoyue said, nodding. Although Big Sis Snow hasnt played Gods Domain for many years already, I assure you that her combat standard has not deteriorated. In reality, Lin Yaoyue had been a little apprehensive in inviting Gentle Snow to join Zero Wing. Currently, Gentle Snow was only Level 103 and geared in Level 100 Dark-Gold Equipment. While she might be a Void Realm expert, itd take her a lot of time and effort to catch up to the progress of the various superpowers experts with her lack of level and equipment. At the very least, Gentle Snow wouldnt be of any use to Zero Wing in the short term. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was currently overflowing with talents. As evidence, players seeking to join Zero Wing needed to be at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Older players even needed to be at the Refinement Realm standard to have a chance at joining Zero Wing. Not to mention, Zero Wing could mass-produce the Primordial Mana Equipment Set. So long as a Refinement Realm expert donned that set, they would instantly gain strength nearing the Tier 4 standard. This was a standard that even most peak experts had difficulty achieving in the current Miniature Ancient World. I know. I have a lot of faith in Miss Snows strength, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anxiety on Lin Yaoyues face. Also, Ive already said that I wont force you to do anything even if you join Zero Wing. Our relationship is only a business transaction. Youll help Zero Wing complete quests, while Zero Wing will provide you with the resources necessary for your growth. What kind of quests you complete, what kind of resources you obtain, and how far you can grow depends on you. Of course, if you are willing to become an official member of the Zero Wing Alliance, youll receive assistance far beyond what is available to outer members. In exchange, though, youll have to shoulder a few more restrictions. A few more restrictions? Lin Yaoyue was tempted by Shi Fengs words. May I know what these restrictions are? Currently, Gentle Snow did not possess any background or backing. She had to rely on herself for everything in Gods Domain. Although Lin Yaoyue held an executive position in Mysterious Moon and was regarded as a priority target for nurturing, the resources she could access were still very limited. At most, she could get a few pieces of Epic Weapons and Equipment for Gentle Snow. However, such items simply werent enough to help Gentle Snow achieve rapid growth. However, if Gentle Snow could receive Zero Wings support, she might just be able to achieve a qualitative transformation. That way, she might get some relief from the problems plaguing her. Official members of the Zero Wing Alliance cannot refuse some of the more important quests and commissions. Of course, you will only be required to take on such quests and commissions four times a month. Moreover, these quests and commissions would typically award you with lucrative amounts of Contribution Points upon completion, Shi Feng explained. Then, he shared a list of resources with Lin Yaoyue and Gentle Snow before saying, Here is a list of items available for exchange in the Zero Wing Alliance. Official members will receive a 10% discount when exchanging for these items. Outer members will not receive such a benefit. When Lin Yaoyue and Gentle Snow finished browsing through the resource exchange list, they couldnt help but be shocked. Setting aside the Saint-level Mana Technique, what the heck was this Ancient Gods Blood? They had never heard of an item capable of upgrading a players Mana Body before. Why did so many experts come to the Miniature Ancient World? The main reason was so that they could change their Mana Bodies. This novel is _hosted_ by hosted novel. The Mana Body was a crucial factor that decided a players future tier. The reason so many experts were unable to reach Tier 4 and Tier 5 was mainly because the rank of their Mana Bodies was too low. However, the only way players could change their Mana Bodies on the main continent was by deleting their accounts and restarting their progress. Meanwhile, this was a decision that most people dared not do. After all, nobody could say for certain whether the opportunities they encountered in their new account would be better. It was especially so now that the various powers had long since monopolized most of the resources and opportunities available on the main continent. Playing a new account was a very risky endeavor in such a situation. However, it was a different story for the Miniature Ancient World. In addition to being free from the various powers control, the Miniature Ancient World contained much better opportunities than the main continent. Hence, many experts had flocked to the Miniature Ancient World seeking to improve their Mana Bodies. If there really existed a tool that could upgrade a players Mana Body, the various superpowers old monsters would probably go crazy for it. I am confident in Miss Snows strength, so I can offer you a bonus benefit if you become an official member, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at Gentle Snow. So long as you become an official member, I will give you an Ancient Gods Blood and help you upgrade your Mana Body. When Lin Yaoyue heard Shi Fengs offer, she quickly looked to Gentle Snow and said, Big Sis Snow, you might as well become an official member. If you have the Ancient Gods Blood, you might just be able to get the rumored Epic Mana Body. With it, your chances of reaching Tier 6 will become significantly greater. Currently, Gentle Snow was in possession of a Peak Gold Mana Body. Going by the Ancient Gods Bloods description, Gentle Snow should have a high chance of upgrading her Mana Body to Epic rank if she used it. Even the Five Great Super Guilds old monsters didnt necessarily have an Epic Mana Body. The amount of help Gentle Snow could gain from an Epic Mana Body would be unimaginable. Chapter 3077 - Chapter 151 - Monstrous Talent Chapter 151 C Monstrous Talent After listening to Lin Yaoyues suggestion, Gentle Snow stopped hesitating and nodded to Shi Fengs offer. Then, she signed Zero Wings membership contract and became an official member of the Zero Wing Alliance. Shed be lying if she said if the Ancient Gods Blood didnt tempt her. Even the various Super Guilds old monsters might abandon their original Guilds and join Zero Wing if offered the chance to get their hands on an Ancient Gods Blood. After all, the gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6 was massive in Gods Domain. It was even more so in the real world. The various international corporations in the real world might treat Tier 5 expert players respectfully, but they wouldnt bend their backs over to please these Tier 5 experts. They also wouldnt be afraid of offending a Tier 5 expert should the situation call for it. However, it was a different story for Tier 6 God-ranked experts. When dealing with a God-ranked expert, the various international corporations would behave as if they were dealing with their ancestors. Theyd be too busy currying favor to consider offending a God-ranked expert. Meanwhile, an Epic Mana Body was something that could drastically increase a Tier 5 players chances of reaching Tier 6. It was something that no external item could replace. Since youve signed the contract, you are now an official member of Zero Wing, Miss Snow. Youll have a much more convenient time entering Abyssal Star City. Youll also get to enjoy the benefits of an official member, Shi Feng said as he sent a Guild invitation to Gentle Snow, to which Gentle Snow accepted without hesitation. Meanwhile, Lin Yaoyue couldnt help but be envious of this situation. It was true that Mysterious Moon had already become partners with Zero Wing. In addition, all of Mysterious Moons members had also joined the Asura Mercenary Alliance already. However, the only benefits Mysterious Moons members enjoyed in Abyssal Star City were a 10% discount on their entrance fee and priority entry into the city. If Mysterious Moons members wanted true freedom in entering Abyssal Star City, theyd have to join Zero Wing or Witchs Sin or become a Bronze member in the Asura Mercenary Alliance. However, a lot of Contribution Points were needed to become a Bronze member. Even the various superpowers members would need a lot of time to become Bronze members, let alone everyone else. Subsequently, Shi Feng passed a Guild Transfer Scroll for Zero Wings Residence to Gentle Snow and had her head to Abyssal Star City. Meanwhile, Lin Yaoyue accepted the weapon collection quest for Solomons Swords fragments and logged out of the game. Then, she contacted her Guild to discuss how they should go about collecting these fragments on the main continent. Shi Feng offered a ton of Contribution Points to collect the weapon fragments. Every weapon fragment had a different price tag attached to it, and even the cheapest one was worth several million points, while the most expensive one was worth ten million. It might be challenging to acquire the Holy Sword Broken Blade, which was worth ten million points, but obtaining the other four Epic Weapons wasnt a problem. Meanwhile, so long as they managed to collect two of these Epic Weapons, theyd be able to exchange for one drop of Ancient Gods Blood. Abyssal Star City, primordial tower: Here is the Ancient Gods Blood and the entry pass for the primordial towers rooms. Use the Ancient Gods Blood in one of the towers rooms. The dense Mana in the rooms there should give you a greater chance of upgrading your Mana Body to the Epic rank. Although you can only use the primordial towers rooms for up to four days a month, you dont have to worry about shouldering the cost, Shi Feng said. Then, he took out a Primordial Mana Equipment Set and continued, This is a Mana Equipment Set for Berserkers. It should stay useful until you reach Tier 4. Are you that confident in me? Gentle Snow was a little surprised when she saw the items Shi Feng had given her. She was certain this was her first time meeting with Shi Feng, yet Shi Fengs behavior made it seem like he was dealing with an old and trustworthy acquaintance. Gentle Snow was aware of the primordial towers rooms existence. According to Lin Yaoyue, members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance would only qualify to use the primordial towers rooms after elevating their membership status to Bronze rank. Bronze members were only allowed to use the rooms for one hour a day, while Silver members and Gold members could use the rooms for two and four hours, respectively. Yet, her entry pass granted her access to the rooms for four full days a month. Considering that there were 48 hours in one Gods Domain day, she could access the rooms for even longer than the Asura Mercenary Alliances Gold members. Its not confidence, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. I know you have such strength. The Zero Wing in his previous life had five great experts, and Gentle Snow was one of them. Every one of Zero Wings Five Great Experts had strength rivaling Tier 6 Gods back then. It was also for this reason that Zero Wing could become the number one Guild in their Gods Domain. I have such strength? Gentle Snow felt confused and surprised when she heard Shi Fengs words. Did she really have the strength to warrant such extravagant benefits? However, Shi Feng simply chuckled and had Gentle Snow enter the primordial tower. Meanwhile, after entering one of the miniature worlds in the primordial tower, Gentle Snow couldnt help but be shocked by the miniature worlds environment. This place didnt just have dense Mana. It was essentially a holy land for learning about the operating principles of Mana. Even without trying, she could clearly perceive the operating principles of the Mana flowing around her. No wonder hes so confident in me. Gentle Snow didnt know whether to laugh or cry when she recalled Shi Fengs trust in her. Zero Wings training resources had indeed surpassed her imagination. While standing in this miniature world, she felt that she was only one step away from fulfilling the conditions to reach Tier 6. Correspondingly, if she still couldnt reach Tier 6 with the help of such an environment, shed probably have no hopes of doing so for the rest of her life. Gentle Snow quickly shook her head and stopped thinking. After raising the miniature worlds Mana density to the maximum, she promptly consumed the Ancient Gods Blood and focused on upgrading her Mana Body. Around ten minutes later, Gentle Snows Mana suddenly skyrocketed in intensity. As a result, the Mana her body passively radiated also began taking on a misty form. A day later, the Mana inside the miniature world seemingly found its ruler as it frantically gathered around Gentle Snow. Meanwhile, the concentration of Mana also caused the temperature in Gentle Snows vicinity to plummet. When Gentle Snow eventually stepped out of the miniature world, her presence dumbfounded Su Qianliu and Blackie, who had come to train in the primordial tower. A Mana Domain? If I remember correctly, isnt she a new member who just started training in the tower yesterday? Where did the Guild Leader find such an expert?! Su Qianliu and Blackie were no longer ignorant about Mana Domains. So, they quickly recognized that Gentle Snows Mana Domain wasnt a pseudo-Mana Domain. Instead, it was a true Mana Domain that players could typically only gain at Tier 4. Meanwhile, two conditions needed to be met for a Tier 3 player to obtain such a Mana Domain. The first condition was to be at the Grandmaster Magician standard in Mana control. The second condition was to have an Epic Mana Body. Experts capable of meeting both conditions were exceedingly rare, even among the various superpowers. Yet, now, Zero Wing had two such experts. Why did you suddenly call for me, Guild Leader? Gentle Snow curiously asked after entering the Guild Leaders Office in Zero Wings Residence. Search hosted.novel for the original. Hundred Flower Palaces Vice Guild Leader Cleansed Rue suddenly contacted me asking for Zero Wings help, and the payment she offered is something I cannot refuse. However, Hundred Flower Palace only needs two of Zero Wings strongest combatants for this job. Now that you are a part of Zero Wing, I plan to take you with me, Shi Feng explained as he set aside the documents in his hands. I will give you five million points for taking this quest. Chapter 3078 - Chapter 152 - Outside of Gods Domain Five million points for one mission? Gentle Snow couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in shock. The Zero Wing Alliances Contribution Points were incredibly valuable. This could be seen simply by looking at the Ancient Gods Blood, which cost ten million points per drop. Even if she demanded a Main Guild City for a drop of Ancient Gods Blood, the various superpowers probably wouldnt hesitate to accept the trade. There was no way a superpower would refuse to accept a deal as wonderful as one Main City for one expert with an Epic Mana Body. Yet, now, Shi Feng was offering the equivalent of half a drop of Ancient Gods Blood for just one mission. Unless Shi Feng was incredibly generous, it meant that the difficulty of this mission was incredibly high. With Hundred Flower Palaces strength, there shouldnt be any Dungeon that could trouble them in the current Miniature Ancient World. Unable to hold back her curiosity, Gentle Snow asked, Are they asking us to fight against a superpower? Hundred Flower Palace was a top-tier first-rate Guild. It mustve dispatched quite a few Tier 5 experts to the Miniature Ancient World. While the Miniature Ancient Worlds Hell Mode Team Dungeons were challenging, they werent insurmountable challenges if a team consisting of Tier 5 experts and a large number of Refinement Realm experts raided them. At most, it would take some time to complete the raid. Hence, there was no way Hundred Flower Palace would pay a huge price just to get Zero Wings help to raid a Team Dungeon. Not to mention, this was a price even Zero Wing could not refuse. The only possibility Gentle Snow could think of was that Hundred Flower Palace was facing a problem similar to Mysterious Moon in that it was competing against a superpower for resources. No, theyre only asking for help to raid a somewhat special secret land, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Raiding a secret land? Yet Hundred Flower Palace is only offering two slots to Zero Wing? Gentle Snow couldnt help but grow even more confused. What is Hundred Flower Palace thinking? There were indeed certain secret lands with extraordinarily high difficulty. There were even some secret lands that superpowers couldnt necessarily raid independently. However, a secret land would typically have a maximum entry limit of 100 players or more. This novel is _hosted_ by hosted novel. It was true that Zero Wing didnt have many experts with great combat standards. However, Zero Wing had the Primordial Mana Equipment Sets. If Zero Wing equipped its Refinement Realm experts with these sets, it would have several dozen experts with near-Tier 4 strength. While Hundred Flower Palace had many experts, those possessing near-Tier 4 strength probably didnt amount to more than a handful. So, Gentle Snow had a hard time understanding why Hundred Flower Palace was only asking Zero Wing for two players. When hiring an outside power to help raid a Dungeon or secret land, one would typically pay based on the success or failure of the raid. Rarely anybody would accept payment based on headcount. Since Hundred Flower Palace wanted to raid a secret land, the normal decision for it to make would be to assign as many slots as possible to Zero Wing. Or was Hundred Flower Palace so confident that Zero Wing could complete the secret land with just two players? I already said this secret land is somewhat special, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Moreover, the raid this time wont just involve Zero Wing and Hundred Flower Palace. It will also involve many experts from another Gods Domain. These are all the slots Hundred Flower Palace can take out for now. Many experts from another Gods Domain? Gentle Snow was shocked by Shi Fengs words. How is this possible? The Boundary Mountain Range has yet to open. How can many players from the other Gods Domain show up on our side already? Gentle Snow was aware that Shi Fengs identity was extraordinary and that it was likely that he came from another Gods Domain. However, the various Gods Domains were strictly separated from each other. It might be possible for one player to appear in their Gods Domain, but it shouldnt be possible for many Outerworld players to appear right now. No, its not the other Gods Domain connected to the Miniature Ancient World, but a completely different one instead, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Stratified Abyssal Realm. I doubt youve heard of this name before, but this is a special space that connects the Endless Abyss with the many worlds of Gods Domain. It is also one of the few places that allow players from the many worlds of Gods Domain to gather and interact with each other. The only problem is that it has a strict level limit, and players are prohibited from entering it once they exceed the level limit. Hundred Flower Palace obtained a key that grants access to a special secret realm by chance, and that secret realm houses a pathway leading to the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, that pathway is sealed behind multiple seals. Aside from having a level limit of 110, the pathway also has a strict entry limit that makes it nigh-impossible to clear. Originally, Hundred Flower Palace hadnt planned on challenging this pathway due to the impossible difficulty. However, recently, Hundred Flower Palace found out that it wasnt the only power that had access to that secret land. Instead, a power from another Gods Domain also had access to it. This Outerworld power also has a key for the secret land. Or, more specifically, one part of the full key. When these two key fragments are used together, they can weaken the seals on the Stratified Abyssal Realms pathway. So, Hundred Flower Palace and that Outerworld power agreed to work together. Since the pathway only allowed twelve players to enter at a time, both sides will send six players each. Then, once they clear the pathway, they will split the awarded entry slots for the Stratified Abyssal Realm based on their performance during the raid. So, Hundred Flower Palace hopes that we can send two people to help in the raid. As for the compensation, I doubt Id need to tell you what it is. The entry slots for the Stratified Abyssal Realm? Gentle Snow answered instinctively. Although she didnt know what kind of place the Stratified Abyssal Realm was, the fact that it connected the many worlds of Gods Domain already made it invaluable. It should be known that the Boundary Mountain Range was merely a gathering place for two Gods Domains. Even then, the various superpowers were already losing their minds over it. Thats right. Shi Feng nodded. So long as we can help Hundred Flower Palace outperform that other power, Hundred Flower Palace is willing to give us half of its entry slots! Although the two powers had agreed to leave each other with a minimum number of entry slots, the guaranteed amount was only 10% of the total awarded slots. In other words, it was possible for one side to obtain up to 90% of the total awarded slots. When neither side knew about the others background, no amount of preparation could be considered excessive. There was no saying whether the other side would seek help from other experts and powers, either. However, Hundred Flower Palace dared not seek the help of the various superpowers. Or, more specifically, it dared not seek the help of a power capable of destroying it. Yet, at the same time, the power it sought help from also needed to have extremely powerful experts. This was a very conflicting set of criteria, and only a few powers could meet it. Meanwhile, Zero Wing happened to be one of these powers. Currently, the various superpowers peak experts had already reached Level 105, which was also the recommended level to raid the pathway. So, Hundred Flower Palace naturally couldnt sit still any longer. After all, the other side didnt come from the Miniature Ancient World. There was a possible chance that the other side might find a group of Level 110 players and forcibly break through the seals. If that happened, Hundred Flower Palace would end up with nothing. Hence, Cleansed Rue had sought out Shi Feng to establish such a partnership. Of course, Hundred Flower Palace wasnt so generous as to give away half of the slots to the Stratified Abyssal Realm just for some help. It had also attached an additional condition: the primordial towers training slots. Hundred Flower Palace demanded to acquire 20 Silver membership slots and 80 Bronze membership slots in the Asura Mercenary Alliance. To put it bluntly, if not for Hundred Flower Palace and the other powers discovering the primordial towers uniqueness, Hundred Flower Palace wouldnt have sought out Zero Wing for partnership so quickly. If you dont have any problems on your side, well head over there now. Hundred Flower Palace is quite anxious about this matter. Ive also been waiting for you to come out this entire time, Shi Feng said as he took out two translucent crystals. Then, he passed one of them to Gentle Snow and continued, This is the teleportation crystal for the secret land. Although it can only be used once, it can teleport players directly into the secret land. Im ready anytime. After Gentle Snow finally understood the cause and effect of this situation, a hint of anticipation appeared in her eyes. After all, this was a good opportunity to learn about other Gods Domain! Afterward, Shi Feng and Gentle Snow disappeared from the office as they got teleported to the secret land. Chapter 3079 - Chapter 153 – Outerworld’s Strength? Chapter 153 C Outerworlds Strength? Dragonfall Secret Land, Sealed Land: The Sealed Land was like a gigantic underground maze, and the entrance to this maze was closed off by a set of majestic stone doors. Currently, two dozen players were gathered in front of these doors, and every one of these players radiated an aura that would cause even Refinement Realm experts to tremble. This was because even the weakest one of these players was a Void Realm expert. If these two dozen players operated as one group, even the various superpowers of Gods Domain would have to be wary of them. Currently, these two dozen players were split into two separate teams. Of the two teams, the one that stood out the most would have to be the team standing before Hundred Flower Palaces team. Every player in this team had already reached Level 110, which was the maximum level limit of the Dragonfall Secret Land. However, what was shocking about these players wasnt their levels. Instead, it was their equipment standard. If one inspected them using an Advanced Identification Skill, one would find that half of these people were equipped with one or two Fragmented Legendary items. Some of them even wielded Fragmented Legendary Weapons. As for the others, even the weakest among them wielded a Magic Weapon that rivaled Fragmented Legendary Weapons. In contrast, even the strongest player on Hundred Flower Palaces team was only at Level 105 and fully equipped with Epic items. Just what is the Guild Leader thinking? Why did he agree to partner with such a small Guild? a short and muscular middle-aged man with a big beard said discontentedly as he looked at Hundred Flower Palaces team. Our Tower Alliance can still lift the seal even without the other half of the key. Its only a matter of time. It cant be helped. We might be able to break the seal by ourselves, but itll cost us too much to do so. We already had to resort to borrowing some resources from other Guilds to let us revert to Level 110, Tier 3, a Demidragon woman with a large tail said, sighing. If we try to send any more people here, well run the risk of exposing the Stratified Abyssal Realm to the other powers. So, our best bet right now is to partner with Hundred Flower Palace. Although they are indeed a little weak, they are still more or less useful. I heard that a Miniature Ancient World appeared in their Gods Domain, and that Miniature Ancient World requires them to restart their progress from Level 100. That would explain why their level and equipment are so inferior, an elven man said as he looked at Hundred Flower Palaces beautiful members. Then, he smiled and continued, Its funny how they think they are doing a good job hiding their origins. Im guessing that their Gods Domain should have only appeared recently. I cant believe they dont have even one demihuman species among them. Many players in Gods Domain sought to convert to a demihuman race. This was because demihumans possessed talent and combat power surpassing humans. The only problem with playing as a demihuman was the greater difficulty of getting promoted to a higher tier. However, under the same tier, the raw strength of demihumans far surpassed that of humans. The typical Gods Domain would see at least one-third of its player population playing as a demihuman. Some of the stronger Gods Domains would even have two-thirds of its player population playing as demihumans. Yet, out of the dozen members Hundred Flower Palace had sent here, not even one was a demihuman. This was a very strange situation. The only explanation for this situation was that Hundred Flower Palace came from a Gods Domain that had appeared only recently. Moreover, it was a Gods Domain that had yet to come into contact with the Greater Gods Domain. Hence, it had very few Demihuman Legacies. Isnt that obvious? Just by looking at their combat standards and the way they use their strength, you can tell that their Gods Domain has only opened recently, the middle-aged dwarven man said. These primitive people dont even know that we can tell the strength of their Gods Domain simply by looking at their combat standards. Thats right. Whats even funnier is that they are under the belief that they can perform well later in the Sealed Land, the Demidragon woman said. They have no idea that even if we lowered our equipment standard to match theirs, they still wouldnt be able to contribute half as much as us. The difference in race was only one small difference between the various worlds of Gods Domain. What truly separated the various Gods Domains was their ability to make use of their strength. Meanwhile, when it came to this aspect, Hundred Flower Palaces members were no different than cavemen. They had no idea how to use the raw strength they had developed at all. It was akin to someone having a mountain of treasure but having no idea how to use these treasures to enrich themselves. Weve made a severe miscalculation this time, Crimson Heart, the First Vice Guild Leader of Hundred Flower Palace, said, a hint of helplessness appearing in her eyes when she looked at the Tower Alliances members. Even with Black Flames help, I doubt we can achieve a good performance inside the Sealed Land. Previously, Crimson Heart had more or less expected the Tower Alliance to be a powerful Guild. However, after seeing the experts the Tower Alliance sent, she realized that she had severely underestimated the strength of Outerworld players. Even though the experts of both sides had similar combat standards, Crimson Heart could tell that there was a stark difference in quality between their experts. It was especially true for the six players representing the Tower Alliance in the upcoming raid. In addition to all six being Domain Realm experts, Crimson Heart suspected that they were also Tier 6 God-ranked experts. The reason she thought so was because she had only ever felt such a feeling of powerlessness when standing before a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Meanwhile, all six of the Tower Alliances Domain Realm experts gave her such a feeling If it were up to their Gods Domain, only the Five Great Super Guilds would have the courage to send six God-ranked experts into a secret land with a level limit of 110. Moreover, itd require all five of them working together to form such a party. Cleansed Rue also nodded in agreement with Crimson Hearts words. Although their two teams had yet to clash, the intuition she had developed over her long years of combat told her that all six of the Tower Alliances representatives were monsters. Even if their Guild Leader came along with them, it was unlikely that they could match the Tower Alliances teams performance inside the Sealed Land. Theyd be fortunate if the Main God System would even deem their efforts worth 30% of the raid contributions. While Hundred Flower Palaces members were feeling helpless, two figures appeared at the teleportation area a short distance away. Have all their members finally arrived? the middle-aged dwarven man said as he picked up his Fragmented Legendary Hammer from the ground. Then, when he took a closer look at the two new arrivals, a look of surprise appeared on his face as he said, One of them is quite high-leveled, but what is up with the Level 103 one? Is she here to make up the numbers? The monsters inside the Sealed Land were about Level 110, so players would have to be at Level 105 to fight the monsters effectively. So, having a Level 103 player come here didnt make sense. It should be known that the difficulty rating of monsters would increase by a rank if there was more than a five-level gap. Rather than recruiting a Level 103 expert with superior combat standards, itd be much better to recruit a Level 105 player with slightly inferior combat standards. After all, battles with monsters were different from battles with other players. While combat standards were important, damage output was also very important. At this moment, the Tower Alliances members werent the only ones surprised by this situation. Hundred Flower Palaces members were similarly stunned. The Snow Goddess? Didnt she disappear from Gods Domain long ago? TL Notes: Only one chapter today. Ive severely underestimated my ability to procrastinate. I swear Ill make up for the missing chapter tomorrow. Chapter 3080 - Chapter 154 - Sealing Maze TL Notes: Change made to Chapter 153: Sealed Land -> Sealing Labyrinth Players of the newer generations might not be aware of the Snow Goddesss name, but for the Hundred Flower Palace members present, it was a name that was deeply engraved in their minds. When Gods Domain first launched, Gentle Snow was one of the few female players regarded as a goddess by most players in the virtual gaming world. Meanwhile, out of the several goddesses, Gentle Snow was deemed to have the greatest potential to reach Tier 6. Unfortunately, before Gentle Snow could reach Tier 6, she suddenly vanished from Gods Domain. Her disappearance had sparked many debates at the time. Even Ouroboros, the first-rate Guild Gentle Snow belonged to, had suffered a huge dip in reputation, and it took the Guild quite sometime before it managed to recover. So, now that Gentle Snow had suddenly reappeared before them after all these years, it was inevitable that Hundred Flower Palaces members were shocked. Why would Gentle Snow appear in Zero Wing? Everyone thought she had died after all these years of silence. I never thought she would actually make her reappearance in Zero Wing. Could she be someone else who just looks like Gentle Snow? Unlikely. I saw Gentle Snow during Gods Domains launch. Although her appearance has changed a little, her presence is still the same as before. So, she should be Gentle Snow. Hundred Flower Palaces members couldnt help but discuss Gentle Snow when they saw her approaching together with Shi Feng. Not only did a legendary individual from the past make a reappearance, but she had even become a member of Zero Wing. If news of this got out, it would definitely attract the attention of many powers. Currently, Zero Wing was already one of the most famous Guilds in Gods Domain. It was also publicly acknowledged that Zero Wing was close to rivaling the various superpowers when it came to resources and advantages in the Miniature Ancient World. Now that the Snow Goddess had also joined Zero Wing, it would undoubtedly increase the Guilds overall strength. What a pity. After Crimson Heart scrutinized Gentle Snow for a moment, she let out a rueful sigh and said, If she hadnt disappeared from Gods Domain all those years ago, she wouldve long since become a Tier 6 God-ranked expert already. Based on her observations of Gentle Snows movements, Crimson Heart could tell that Gentle Snow was only at the Void Realm standard. Gentle Snows combat standard remained the same as when she disappeared from Gods Domain. She might have the ability to perceive her surroundings clearly, but she lacked the ability of Domain Realm experts to turn her surroundings into her weapon. While Void Realm experts were rare among the various first-rate powers and superpowers, that was it. They were nowhere near as strong and useful as Domain Realm experts. Take the current situation, for example. The Void Realm expert was merely the minimum combat standard required to enter the Sealing Labyrinth. If Gentle Snow hadnt disappeared all those years ago, she wouldve long since reached the Domain Realm already. She might have reached the next level in the Domain Realm. Sorry for the wait. It took some time to prepare, Shi Feng said apologetically as he looked at Hundred Flower Palaces members. We are already more than grateful that you are willing to come here in person, Mr. Black Flame. We wont even mind waiting for another day if it means we can get your help, Crimson Heart said, her eyes filled with shock and anticipation when she saw that Shi Feng had already reached Level 109. Im afraid well have to trouble you to lead us this time, Mr. Black Flame. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that Shi Feng was Hundred Flower Palaces only chance of securing more slots in the raid this time. After all, there was a high chance that all six of the Tower Alliances representatives were Tier 6 God-ranked experts. However, after seeing that Shi Feng had already reached Level 109, Crimson Heart felt that their side wasnt without a fighting chance. After all, there wasnt much of a level difference between him and the Tower Alliances representatives. Not to mention, Shi Feng was also a bona fide God-ranked expert with a true Mana Domain. No problem. However, I have to reiterate that all of the loot we get inside the Sealing Labyrinth belongs to Zero Wing. Half of the slots you get in the end will also belong to Zero Wing, Shi Feng said. The maze sealing the Stratified Abyssal Realms pathway was a huge treasure trove. Although the loot inside the maze wasnt as valuable as the entry slots to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, it was still more than enough to cause any power to go crazy. This was because every Sealing Labyrinth had a chance of dropping Lineage Crystals. Lineage Crystals were incredibly valuable treasures. Although they had an incredibly low drop rate, so long as one dropped, even the various superpowers would fight to get it. This was because a Lineage Crystal could allow players to mutate their lineage, obtain a bona fide rare race, and gain talents outside the reach of most human players. With the Lineage Crystal, players wouldnt have to do a bunch of troublesome quests to convert their race. In addition, the Lineage Crystal also granted players the freedom to choose from several hundred races to convert into. Of course, the Lineage Crystal was only valuable to Gods Domains that had yet to gain access to the Greater Gods Domain. For those already linked to the Greater Gods Domain, the Lineage Crystal was a relatively common item. Some of the older Gods Domains even had one-third of their player population converted into a rare race already. However, now that their Gods Domain had yet to gain access to the Greater Gods Domain, the Lineage Crystal could become a capital for Zero Wing to grow stronger. Since we are relying on Zero Wing for the raid this time, Hundred Flower Palace will not ask for any of the loot, Crimson Heart said, nodding. While Crimson Heart was speaking, the Tower Alliances members had also walked over. I see you are quite confident, Vice Guild Leader Crimson. You are already discussing how youll split the loot before we even start raiding the labyrinth, the middle-aged dwarven man from the Tower Alliance named Blood Hammer said contemptuously as he looked at Crimson Heart. Then, impatiently, he asked, So, can we open the Sealing Labyrinth now? Opening the Sealing Labyrinth required a special key. Although it was possible to open it with just half of the key, the labyrinths raid difficulty would be doubled. Find the original at *hosted* novel. Yes. Everyone on our side is here already, Crimson Heart said. Although she felt a little angered by Blood Hammers snide remark, she didnt show it on her face. After all, the Tower Alliance indeed possessed the strength to ridicule Hundred Flower Palace. Subsequently, Crimson Heart and Blood Hammer each took out a key and injected Mana into their respective keys. Immediately, the two keys radiated a dazzling glow, and the tightly shut stone doors slowly opened up a gap that allowed for several people to enter. After the gigantic doors opened, a dark and ancient aura flowed out from the gap, the aura causing everyone present to shudder involuntarily. What dense Power of Darkness! the Demidragon woman exclaimed. As expected of a place that connects the Stratified Abyssal Realm. If a dark race were to live inside this place, theyd have a significantly easier time breaking through to higher tiers. Alright, lets head inside. The sooner we reach the fifth underground floor and kill the Guardian Boss, the sooner we can enter the Stratified Abyssal Realm, the elven man standing beside the Demidragon woman said, an excited look appearing on his face. He wasnt a normal Elf, but a Dark Elf instead. So, the denser the Power of Darkness in an area, the more beneficial it would be to him in his development. The strength he could exhibit would also increase significantly. Hearing the elven mans words, the Tower Alliances five other representatives nodded and charged straight into the labyrinth, showing no care for Hundred Flower Palaces representatives whatsoever. Rather than operate as a team of twelve, they operated as a party of six instead. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw Rain Song looking at him anxiously, he chuckled and said, Alright, lets head inside as well. The four players Hundred Flower Palace had sent to participate in the raid possessed extraordinary strength. Their class distribution was also excellent. Rain Song was a Level 105 Guardian Knight, Crimson Heart was a spear-wielding Level 105 Berserker, Cleansed Rue was a Level 105 Elementalist, and Still Moon was a Level 105 Cleric. Rain Song and Still Moon were Void Realm experts, while Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue were Domain Realm experts. Even with the addition of a Swordsman and Berserker like Shi Feng and Gentle Snow, the party would still have a good class distribution. Chapter 3081 - Chapter 155 - Gentle Snows Strength? Sealing Labyrinth, first underground floor: As soon as Shi Fengs party entered the dimly-lit labyrinth, they immediately felt a suppressive power causing their bodies to feel heavier. However, this power didnt achieve this effect by strengthening the gravity acting on them. Instead, it influenced their minds into thinking that their bodies had grown heavier. Meanwhile, under this suppressive effect, theyd be fortunate if they could exhibit even half of their usual combat power. No wonder the Tower Alliance didnt dare to raid the labyrinth with just half of the key, Cleansed Rue thought to herself, frowning when she felt the mental oppression that came from all directions. Not only does this place make our bodies feel heavier, but it also inhibits our ability to manipulate Mana. Itd be impossible to release a Mana Domain in this environment. Although none of their Basic Attributes had changed, their combat standards had plummeted the moment they entered the Sealing Labyrinth. Despite being at the Domain Realm, Cleansed Rue could, at most, exhibit combat standards at the Flowing Water Realm right now. As for Rain Song and Still Moon, who were only at the Void Realm standard, they could, at most, exhibit combat standards at the Refinement Realm. Paired with their equipment standard, each of them could just barely cope with a Grand Lord of the same level by themselves right now. It should be known that Rain Song and Still Moon were both capable of fighting against Tier 4 Mythic monsters of the same level to a standstill under normal circumstances. Moreover, they could hold their ground for a relatively long time. However, unlike Hundred Flower Palaces members, neither Shi Feng nor the Tower Alliances six representatives were surprised by this situation. One could not interpret a Sealing Labyrinth using the standards of the average Dungeon. Sealing Labyrinths were incredibly mysterious, and it was rumored that Ancient Gods were responsible for creating them. In front of an Ancient God, even a Tier 6 God was no different than an infant. Meanwhile, when operating inside a construction built by Ancient Gods, unless one had already reached Tier 6, one would have no choice but to comply with the rules set inside the construction. Meanwhile, a minute after Shi Fengs party started traversing deeper into the labyrinth, they heard fighting coming from a passage a short distance ahead. When they moved closer to the source of the noise, they saw Blood Hammers party clashing against a hundred or so Level 110 Gargoyle Guards. [Gargoyle Guard] (Grand Lord) Level 110 HP 500,000,000 Upon seeing the stats of these Gargoyle Guards, Crimson Heart and the other Hundred Flower Palace members couldnt help but frown. These Gargoyles were equipped with weapons and possessed bodies made out of Demonized Rock, which was much tougher than steel. In addition to having three-meter-tall bodies, they also possessed four arms. So, their combat style was completely different from humans. They also possessed combat standards at the Trial Towers seventh-floor standard. With their current circumstances, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that each one of these Gargoyle Guards was as strong as an expert like Rain Song. Just the thought of fighting over a hundred of these Gargoyle Guards with their party of six gave Hundred Flower Palaces members goosebumps. However, in front of the Tower Alliances party, these Gargoyle Guards were of no threat at all. It was especially so for Blood Hammer and the Demidragon woman, who were responsible for opening a path for the party. Blood Hammer could easily knock the Gargoyles away with just one swing from his hammer. Some of the Gargoyles he sent flying would even hit other Gargoyles and send them flying as well, creating a domino effect. If speaking purely in terms of the Strength Attribute, Blood Hammer was already on par with Level 110 Mythic monsters. The performance of the Demidragon woman was even more exaggerated. The two shields she wielded looked more like powerful blunt weapons than shields. With just a hit using her shield, she could easily send the Gargoyle Guards in her path flying several dozen meters away, every one of these Gargoyles losing a small chunk of their HPs. Some of the Gargoyles she struck were even sent smashing into the labyrinth walls, and these Gargoyles had to struggle for quite some time before they could free themselves from the walls. Meanwhile, because of Blood Hammer and the Demidragon woman, the other four members of the Tower Alliances party could advance with relative ease. They didnt have to waste any Stamina and Concentration on these Gargoyle Guards. Before a minute had even gone by, the Tower Alliances party had already advanced a significant distance. Before entering deeper into the labyrinth, though, Blood Hammer had turned to look at Shi Fengs party, a trace of gloating and disdain in his eyes. Then, after the Tower Alliances party progressed deeper into the labyrinth, some of the Gargoyle Guards that had fallen behind began returning to their original positions one after another Dammit! Rain Song cursed when she saw the Tower Alliances party disappearing from her vision, her eyes filled with resignation. She didnt think that the Gargoyle Guards would stop chasing after the Tower Alliances members. With this, they couldnt chase after the Tower Alliances party even if they wanted to. Although Rain Song was a Guardian Knight, she wasnt a Tier 4 Mythic monster. She might be able to hold her ground against four or five Gargoyle Guards simultaneously if she had healing support. Still, there was no way she could mimic the Demidragon woman and fend off several dozen Gargoyle Guards all by herself. She doubted she could do so even if she activated her Berserk Skill. Meanwhile, Crimson Heart also grew silent when they saw Blood Hammers party disappearing. Find the original at h*sted novel. The gap in strength between their parties was too massive. With her current strength, she could cope against a dozen or so Gargoyle Guards by herself. However, if she had to take on so many of these Gargoyles by herself, she wouldnt have any energy to spare on opening up a path. Not to mention, she still needed to reserve some energy to protect their partys healer and mage. We dont need to try and keep up with them. Its fine if we just progress at our own pace, Shi Feng suddenly said. Sealing Labyrinths typically have five floors, and the suppression effect worsens with every floor you progress. The number of monsters you face will also increase. So, its impossible to clear the labyrinth within a short time. What we should do now is to familiarize ourselves with the combat style of these Gargoyle Guards. Otherwise, itll only get more and more difficult for us to progress later. Sealing Labyrinth were constructions built by Ancient Gods. While it was true that these Sealing Labyrinths functioned as seals for pathways leading to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, they also served as trials and Legacies. However, few people would actually notice these functions. Everyone was so focused on getting to the Stratified Abyssal Realm that they failed to realize that the Sealing Labyrinth itself was also one big treasure trove. Guild Leader Black Flame, every one of these Gargoyle Guards has 500 million HP. Moreover, theyll swarm us as soon as we approach them. Out of everyone in our party, Im afraid you are the only one who can survive fighting against so many of them Rain Song said with a bitter smile. Rain Song had personally witnessed Shi Feng in action, so she knew that he could exhibit strength at the Tier 4 standard. With such strength, the Gargoyle Guards would be no different than Common monsters to Shi Feng. However, it was a different story for everyone else in the party. They didnt possess Tier 4 strength, nor were they Tier 6 God-ranked experts. If over a hundred Gargoyle Guards swarmed them, even if Shi Feng managed to show amazing performance and pin down several dozen Gargoyle Guards by himself, it would still be useless. After all, the rest of them would still need to cope with a dozen or so Gargoyle Guards each. Even assuming they managed to stay alive, they would still have to figure out a way to kill the Gargoyle Guards. However, with the Gargoyle Guards having 500 million HP each, their party would probably die from exhaustion before they could kill even one Gargoyle Guard If all youre worried about is getting surrounded, thats a simple problem, Gentle Snow said as she looked at Hundred Flower Palaces members. Ill restrain their movements for you. Combined with your skills, theyll probably have a hard time forming a proper encirclement around you. Youll restrain them? Cleansed Rue couldnt help but look at Gentle Snow in confusion. The Sealing Labyrinth prohibited the use of Magic Scrolls and tools. It was also this limitation that gave Hundred Flower Palace and the Tower Alliance a headache. My Mana Domain happens to be proficient at this aspect, Gentle Snow frankly stated. After saying so, Gentle Snow walked ahead of the party. Then, as she moved closer and closer to the Gargoyle Guards, everyone could feel the surrounding Mana growing cold and stagnating. A Mana Domain?! How is this possible?! Cleansed Rue was filled with disbelief as she looked at Gentle Snow. How can she still form a Mana Domain while being subjected to the mental oppression here? Chapter 3082 - Chapter 156 - Advanced Lineage Crystal As soon as Gentle Snow extended her Mana Domain, the hundred or so Gargoyle Guards guarding the passage immediately had their mobility and reaction speed slowed dramatically, their bodies behaving as if submerged inside a swamp. Their combat standards had also fallen to the Trial Towers fifth-floor standard. Even a first-rate expert could easily toy with the Gargoyle Guards in their current state. Space Freezing?! Crimson Heart was greatly shocked when she saw Gentle Snows Mana Domain. Is she really a Berserker? Even Cleansed Rue, who used to be a Tier 5 Divine Mage, could not release her Mana Domain in an environment with such powerful mental oppression. Yet, not only did Gentle Snow manage to use her Mana Domain, but she had also managed to execute Space Freezing with it. This had already gone beyond surprising and reached the realm of fantasy! It should be known that Space Freezing was an advanced method of using a Mana Domain, and it was impossible to execute without profound knowledge of Mana. The technique was so complex that only a small minority of Tier 5 magical class experts could execute it. Yet, Gentle Snow had successfully used Space Freezing despite being a Berserker. Lets join in as well. She wont be able to handle so many Gargoyle Guards by herself, Shi Feng said when he saw that Hundred Flower Palaces members remained in a daze. Ill distract the Gargoyles while the rest of you focus them down. The Gargoyle Guards might have had their combat standards reduced to the Trial Towers fifth-floor standard, but they were still Level 110 Grand Lords. A group of more than a hundred Gargoyle Guards was more than capable of wearing out a Domain Realm. If they didnt reduce the Gargoyle Guards numbers quickly, even Shi Feng would be whittled to death, let alone Gentle Snow. Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs reminder, Crimson Heart and the others promptly snapped out of their daze and began taking action. The formation Crimson Heart and the others took was simple. Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue would focus on dealing damage, Still Moon would focus on healing, and Rain Song would focus on guarding Gentle Snow. Maintaining a Mana Domain while in combat was very taxing for players. There was also the ever-present mental oppression in the labyrinth. If Gentle Snow were to fight and keep her Mana Domain functioning normally in this situation, her Concentration would deplete rapidly. So, to reduce Gentle Snows burden, the best solution would be to have her avoid combat. For a time, Shi Feng could be seen distracting over 90% of the Gargoyle Guards while the rest tried to target Gentle Snow. However, due to the Gargoyles weakened combat standards and slugging movements, none of them could get past Rain Song. As for Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue, they frenziedly targeted a specific Gargoyle Guard, with Shi Feng sneaking in a few blows from time to time. The Gargoyle Guards might have 500 million HP, but the battle recovery effect did not exist in the Sealing Labyrinth. This was true for both players and monsters. In addition, both Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue were capable of using basic combat techniques at a masterful level, every basic combat technique they executed allowing them to deal over a million damage. If they combined their basic combat techniques with Tier 3 Skills and Spells, they could cause several million damage per attack. One could say that the two of them had thoroughly utilized their near-Tier 4 Basic Attributes. Crimson Hearts damage output was especially noteworthy as she executed up to four combat techniques every three seconds. She had perfectly incorporated basic combat techniques into her every move, reaching the Realms of Truths entry-level in the truest sense. Under the combined attacks of Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue, the first Gargoyle Guard fell in less than two minutes. At the same time, Gentle Snow and Hundred Flower Palaces four members saw their experience bars increasing by a small but visible chunk. Roughly an hour later, Gentle Snow became the first player in the party to level up, her level increasing from 103 to 104. Her leveling speed here was not the least bit slower than the grinding expedition Shi Feng held for Zero Wings members in the Burning Land. As the number of Gargoyle Guards decreased, Shi Feng also got to attack more and more frequently. This, in turn, accelerated the partys speed at killing the Gargoyle Guards. After another two hours passed, the last of the 100-plus Gargoyle Guards collapsed and disintegrated into dust. Something dropped? When the last Gargoyle Guard disappeared, Rain Song noticed that the Grand Lord had actually dropped an item. Specifically, it was a dark-gold colored crystal that was the size of a fingernail. Initially, Rain Song had thought that the Gargoyle Guards did not have any loot since none of the Gargoyle Guards they defeated had dropped anything. She thought that they were merely here to contribute EXP to players. She didnt think that the last Gargoyle Guard they defeated would actually drop something. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw the dark-gold crystal, a hint of excitement suddenly flashed in his calm eyes. This Sealing Labyrinth is amazing! I didnt think this place would drop something like this! Shi Feng couldnt help but smile when he picked up the dark-gold crystal. Did something good drop, Guild Leader? Gentle Snow asked, her curiosity piqued when she saw the excited look on Shi Fengs face. Its an Advanced Lineage Crystal, Shi Feng said, not bothering to withhold information on the dark-gold crystal from Gentle Snow. This is an amazing item thats highly sought after even among Outerworld experts. Normally, Sealing Labyrinths would only drop the standard Lineage Crystal. Although they also had a chance of dropping Advanced Lineage Crystals, the drop-rate was abysmally low. Players were unlikely to see an Advanced Lineage Crystal drop even after looting over a hundred normal Lineage Crystals. However, so long as an Advanced Lineage Crystal dropped, it would cause even Outerworld experts to lose their minds. The opportunity to convert to a non-human race might not be anything special to Outerworld experts. However, the opportunity to convert to a higher creature was an entirely different story. The higher creature here wasnt referencing the standard higher races such as pure-blooded Elves and Giants. Instead, it referred to higher lifeforms with superior Life Ratings. Take the Demidragon woman from the Tower Alliance, for example. Despite being at Tier 3, her Life Rating was already close to rivaling the Life Rating of Tier 4 human players. This was also why the Demidragon woman managed to show such extraordinary performance against the Gargoyle Guards. Meanwhile, the Advanced Lineage Crystal was an item capable of instantly transforming a normal human player into a higher lifeform like the Demidragon. Can it let players become very strong? Gentle Snow asked, an interested look appearing on her face. Of course. If you absorb this thing, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that youll become invincible among those of the same tier, Shi Feng said, chuckling. But absorbing this crystal requires the help of a magic array thats constructed using a large amount of Mana Stones. If youre interested, I can sell it to you for a member price of ten million points. Find the original at h*sted novel. Shi Feng was already incredibly generous with his price of ten million points. If it were up to the Greater Gods Domains various powers, theyd charge their members a minimum of one top-tier Fragmented Legendary item or something of equal value for an Advanced Lineage Crystal. Chapter 3083 - Chapter 157 - Two Worlds Parties Ten million points? Gentle Snow was astonished when she heard Shi Fengs offer. She didnt think that the dark-gold crystal would be worth as much as the Ancient Gods Blood. While she didnt know what invincible among those of the same tier meant exactly, she had personally experienced the Ancient Gods Bloods powerful effects. The Ancient Gods Blood might not have given her any additional Basic Attributes, but the improvements it did provide had allowed her to achieve a qualitative leap in strength. These changes would also be very useful when she tried to ascend to higher tiers in the future. At this time, Gentle Snow suddenly realized why Shi Feng had demanded all of the loot inside the Sealing Labyrinth. Evidently, Shi Feng had done so for the Advanced Lineage Crystals. The Ancient Gods Blood was an item that assisted players in ascending to higher tiers, while the Advanced Lineage Crystal granted players unparalleled strength among those of the same tier. If a player could get their hands on both of these items, theyd gain an unimaginable advantage over other players. So long as Zero Wing was given enough time, Gentle Snow was certain Zero Wing would grow into a behemoth that would overshadow even the Five Great Super Guilds. After Shi Fengs party rested for a moment, they continued progressing deeper into the labyrinth. The Sealing Labyrinth was massive, and the first floor alone was already one-third the size of a standard grinding map. Fortunately, all Shi Fengs party needed to do was head to the center; they didnt have to explore the entire floor. Even so, Shi Fengs party had still taken over half a day to clear the labyrinths first underground floor. Meanwhile, during this half a day, Gentle Snow and Hundred Flower Palaces members saw a significant improvement in their combat technique proficiency and levels. Gentle Snow had reached Level 105, while Crimson Heart and the others reached Level 106. They could kill the Gargoyle Guards with much greater efficiency thanks to this improvement. However, with each subsequent floor the party progressed, Crimson Heart and the others also grew increasingly anxious. After all, unlike their party, the Tower Alliances party had progressed through the labyrinth without killing any monsters. At the rate their two parties progressed, there was a high chance that the Tower Alliances party wouldve already cleared the labyrinth when they reached the fifth floor After four days of constant fighting, Shi Fengs party finally reached the Sealing Labyrinths fifth floor. Meanwhile, Crimson Heart and the others no longer panicked as soon as they arrived. After all, the labyrinth remained unconquered even though they had already reached the fifth floor. This meant that the Tower Alliances party was still having trouble clearing it. Evidently, the labyrinths difficulty was much greater than they imagined. Since that was the case, they might as well listen to Shi Fengs commands and focus on increasing their levels and combat technique proficiency. Their party had made significant improvements during these past four days. In addition to all of them reaching Level 109, they had also made significant improvements in their proficiency in the Realms of Truth. Crimson Heart, for example, had already reached the Ascension Realm, which was the second stage of the Realms of Truth. It was also the standard that Blood Hammer and the other Tower Alliance members were at. She was only slightly inferior to them due to her lacking experience. Even so, she was already capable of incorporating advanced combat techniques into her every move. However, out of the five of them, the person who made the most improvements in the Realms of Truth was undoubtedly Gentle Snow. She had entered the Sealing Labyrinth with only a little knowledge of the Realms of Truth. Now, though, she had already set foot into the Truth Realm. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that she was monstrously talented. Of course, aside from Gentle Snow, Crimson Heart, and the others, Shi Feng had also acquired a significant harvest during these past four days. Firstly, he had already reached Level 110 and remained stuck there due to the Sealing Labyrinths restriction. Secondly, he had acquired four Advanced Lineage Crystals and 182 normal Lineage Crystals from all the Gargoyle Guards they killed. One could say that Shi Feng had thoroughly capitalized on the pioneering benefits of this Sealing Labyrinth. The only unfortunate part was that there were hardly any monsters on the Sealing Labyrinths fifth underground floor. They would come across a group of 200-plus Level 112 Gargoyle Guards from time to time. At this point, a group of this size could no longer threaten Shi Fengs party of six. After wandering on the fifth underground floor for around six hours, Shi Fengs party arrived at the heart of the fifth floor. It was also the location where the Gate of Crossing was located. The Gate of Crossing was a fifty-meter-tall spatial fissure shrouded in darkness. Currently, though, the fissure was thoroughly sealed by golden runes. Meanwhile, a short distance away from the spatial fissure, the Tower Alliances party could be seen fighting against a thirty-meter-tall, pitch-black metal giant. A Titan? Rain Song was dumbfounded when she saw the metal giant. If Dragons were known as the symbol of destruction in Gods Domain, then Titans would be considered the symbol of strength. Similar to the Dragon race, the Titan race was one of the apex races in Gods Domain, and they were known to be invincible among those of the same tier. They were also the worst nightmare for players. Titans were monsters that resembled NPCs the most. In addition to being extremely intelligent, they also wielded Super-Ancient Spells that NPCs of the same tier couldnt wield. If players in Gods Domain were given a choice, theyd rather face a Dragon of the same tier than a Titan. No, thats not a Titan, Crimson Heart said as she observed the Tower Alliances fight with the metal giant. The metal giant is clearly a Tier 4 Mythic monster. Even if the Tower Alliances members are monsters in their own right, there is no way they stand a chance against a Tier 4 Titan. Thats right. That giant isnt a Titan, Shi Feng said, nodding in agreement with Crimson Heart as he observed the metal giant fight. It should be a dead Titan that has been turned into a puppet. However, while its combat standard might not come close to a living Titan, its Basic Attributes should be no different than an actual Tier 4 Titan. It should also lack the ability to use Super-Ancient Spells. [Dark Titan] (Mythic) Level 112 HP 15,000,000,000 If a Tier 4 Titan appeared in a Sealing Labyrinth that only allowed up to Level 110 players to enter, the Ancient God that created the Dragonfall Secret Land had definitely created the secret land with ill intentions. The Ancient God definitely did not intend for players to clear the secret land. After all, under normal circumstances, even a team of 100 Tier 4 experts had little to no chances of beating one Tier 4 Titan. Challenging a Tier 4 Titan at Tier 3 was simply an absurd notion. Ancient Gods were probably the only existences capable of accomplishing such a feat. At the same time as Shi Fengs party arrived at the labyrinths heart, Blood Hammer and the others also noticed their arrival. How did they get here? A hint of surprise appeared in the Demidragon womans eyes when she glanced at Shi Fengs party. They hadnt killed a single Gargoyle Guard on their way here, and they had done so with the express purpose of hindering Shi Fengs partys progression. After all, Shi Fengs party did not possess the strength to go up against the Gargoyle Guards. Meanwhile, if Shi Fengs party couldnt reach the Guardian Boss, the Tower Alliance would be able to monopolize 90% of the entry slots for the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Yet, now, Shi Fengs party had appeared at the Guardian Bosss location. Moreover, all six of them looked alive and healthy. It seems weve underestimated them a little, Blood Hammer said as he glanced at Crimson Heart and the others. Then, in a contemptuous tone, he continued, But it doesnt matter even if they managed to reach this place. Theres no way they can deal with this Dark Titan. The only thing they can do is watch us fight it. Even in the Tower Alliances party, the only person capable of tanking the Dark Titan was Maria, the Demidragon woman. The Dark Titans Basic Attributes were simply too much for most Tier 3 players to handle. In terms of Basic Attributes, it was definitely on par with Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Only Maria, who wielded Fragmented Legendary Shields and possessed Strength surpassing the average Tier 4 player, could receive the Dark Titans attacks and survive. _ Support us at hosted novel _ If any other Tier 3 MT were to try and tank the Dark Titans attacks, they would die in one move. Ignore them! We need to break away from the fight quickly! Maria said, her voice sounding a little hurried. Weve only shaved away 20% of the Bosss HP, yet weve already expended over half of our Stamina and Concentration! We need to think of a better solution to raid this Boss! Upon hearing Marias words, Blood Hammer and the others couldnt help but look at the Dark Titan in frustration. The Dark Titan simply had too much HP. Their party had already reached the Guardian Boss on their second day inside the Sealing Labyrinth. Afterward, they had constantly been coming up with strategies to raid the Dark Titan. However, even until now, their most successful attempt only saw them shaving off 30% of the Dark Titans HP. Moreover, they had nearly exhausted themselves and gotten teamwiped on that attempt. Subsequently, Blood Hammer and the others quickly withdrew from the Dark Titans sphere of activity. Then, once the Dark Titan had stopped chasing them, they sat down and started resting. There was no foreign energy inside the Sealing Labyrinth, so they didnt have to concern themselves with their bodies being corroded. Moreover, Stamina and Concentration recovery rates were seemingly boosted here. So long as they remained outside of combat and ate some food, they could quickly recover to their peak conditions. This had also made raiding the Boss significantly easier. They seem to have given up, Guild Leader, Gentle Snow said, a surprised look appearing on her face when she saw the Tower Alliances party resting in the distance. Based on the fights progression, she could tell that it was only a matter of time before the Tower Alliances party defeated the Dark Titan. Yet, the Tower Alliances party had suddenly given up on the raid. Since they are stopping, well take their place, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Youll use your Mana Domain, Snow, while Rain Song and I will distract the Boss. Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue, you two look for opportunities to strike. Chapter 3084 - Chapter 158 - Differences Between Parties? When Shi Fengs party started approaching the Dark Titan, the Tower Alliances members noticed their actions. Are they planning to fight the Dark Titan? A look of shock appeared on Marias face as she looked at Shi Fengs party. While it was true Shi Fengs party no longer had to worry about level suppression since they had already increased their levels, the Dark Titan couldnt be compared using the Gargoyle Guards. The labyrinths mental oppression existed even in the Boss area, so none of them could exhibit their usual combat standards. Maria could only tank the Dark Titan because she was a Demidragon and possessed a Fragmented Legendary Shield that reduced all damage she received from attacks under the Tier 5 standard by 60%. Even then, she would still lose one-third of her HP from just one of the Dark Titans punches. Meanwhile, from what Maria could tell, Rain Song, the only MT in Shi Fengs party, was only geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment. She wasnt playing as a rare race or higher lifeform, either. With such circumstances, Rain Song would probably disappear from just one punch. They might be thinking that since we can safely retreat from the Dark Titan, they can probably give it a try as well, Blood Hammer said, laughing when he saw Crimson Heart and the others charging at the Dark Titan. This is good. Itll save us the trouble of worrying about their interference when we are fighting the Boss. Once they get teamwiped here, itll take them a few more days before they can come back here. Previously, Blood Hammer had been worried that Shi Fengs party would try to sneak in some attacks and increase their contributions while their party was keeping the Dark Titan busy. Meanwhile, this was not an outcome the Tower Alliance wished to see. However, so long as Shi Fengs party died here, theyd have to spend the next few days making their way back to the fifth underground floor. We need to come up with an effective strategy quickly. Our food and potions are limited, so we cant afford to waste too much time with the Dark Titan, the elven man said, returning everyones attention to the problem at hand. With the Grandmaster Mana Recovery Potions I have left, we can make, at most, ten more attempts. If we cant beat the Dark Titan in ten attempts, Ill need to head back to restock my potions. Upon hearing the elven mans words, the other five players in the party couldnt help but feel a little pressured. The elven man contributed 40% of their partys damage against the Dark Titan by virtue of his Dark Elf race resonating with the Sealing Labyrinths environment. If they lost the elven mans damage contribution, raiding the Dark Titan would become impossible. While the Tower Alliances members were discussing their raid strategy, Shi Fengs party had already arrived before the Dark Titan. The twenty-meter-tall Dark Titan was like a six-story building. Even without wielding any weapons, it could already cover a huge range with its arms and legs. Unless players were capable of moving up to thirty yards in the blink of an eye, there was no way they could dodge an attack from the Dark Titan. When Shi Feng, who moved at the forefront of the party, entered the Dark Titans attack range, the Dark Titan sent a punch flying at him without hesitation. The Dark Titans punch caused even the surrounding space to crack and stagnate, making it incredibly challenging for players to move around in this space. Hes charging at the forefront even though he isnt an MT? Is he looking to die? Marias eyes widened in shock when she saw Shi Fengs actions. Shi Feng was a Swordsman. Yet, rather than trying to assist in dealing damage from the side, he was the first to charge into battle. Seeing this situation, Maria couldnt help but suspect that Shi Feng had wrongly chosen his class. However, just as the Dark Titans fist was about to reach Shi Feng, a ripple of energy suddenly spread across the battlefield and enveloped the Dark Titan, causing the Dark Titans movements to slow down significantly. Find the original at *hosted* novel. Space Freezing?! When the elven man saw the Dark Titans movements showing visible signs of slowing down, he promptly noticed the cause. Then, he turned to look at Gentle Snow, shock and confusion on his face as he muttered, How can she use a Mana Domain while under such powerful mental oppression? The elven man was also an expert capable of casting a Mana Domain at Tier 3. However, when subjected to the labyrinths mental oppression, he felt as if needles were constantly pricking his brain. Under such a situation, he couldnt even calmly manipulate his Mana, let alone form a Mana Domain. Before the elven man could get over his shock, something even more shocking took place on the battlefield. Even after Gentle Snow had inhibited the Dark Titans movements with her Mana Domain, Shi Feng showed no intentions of dodging the Dark Titans attack. Instead, he created a spatial tear as he swung the Winter of Eternal Night at the Dark Titans fist. Swords Transmigration! Boom! A loud explosion resonated throughout the spacious hall as fist and sword collided. The shockwaves of the impact also caused cracks to appear in the surrounding space. He blocked it? Marias eyes were filled with disbelief when she saw Shi Feng holding his ground against the Dark Titans attack. Although the floor under him had cracked and shattered, he had only lost one-fifth of his HP from the attack. He was even more of an MT than an MT like herself. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Fengs HP dropped, Still Moon, the Cleric, promptly cast a Healing Spell and healed his HP back to full. As expected of a Titan. It truly does have astounding Strength. The power of its punches is definitely at the Tier 4 Peak standard already, Shi Feng thought. Then, when he saw the Dark Titan swinging its other fist at him, he promptly switched to wielding his sword with both hands above his head. First Sword, Lightshadow! Suddenly, the phantom of a gigantic greatsword appeared above Shi Feng. Then, this greatsword descended and smashed into the Dark Titans fist. Boom! The sound of the explosion was much more resonant this time. The impact had even caused a storm to brew within the underground hall. Even Maria and the others, who sat over a thousand yards away, could feel the impacts shockwaves. Meanwhile, unlike the previous exchange, not only did Shi Feng not take any damage this time, but he had also managed to rebuff the Dark Titans fist, the Mythic monsters entire arm thrown backward. The Dark Titan had even lost its footing for a moment, being forced to take half a step back before it managed to stabilize its body. -1,131,654! A damage value exceeding over a million appeared above the Dark Titans head. Although this couldnt be considered a significant amount of damage, the eyes of the Tower Alliances members nearly fell out of their sockets when they saw this outcome. Impossible! He managed to repulse the Dark Titans attack? How strong is that attack of his? The Dark Titans attacks are at the Tier 4 Peak standard on average. Seeing as he managed to not only repulse the Dark Titans attack but also damage it, his attack must be very close to the Tier 5 standard already. Tier 5?! Wasnt their Gods Domain supposed to be one that only appeared recently?! The Tower Alliances members couldnt help but be shocked and confused as they looked at Shi Feng. Logically, even a Tier 3 player wielding a Fragmented Legendary Weapon couldnt exhibit power nearing the Tier 5 standard. The only possibility a Tier 3 player could execute such a feat was if they wielded a Legendary Weapon. However, that clearly wasnt possible. Graysword, youre a Swordsman as well. Can you tell what floor he is on? Maria asked as she looked at the Half-demonkin, who wielded a gray greatsword, sitting next to her. Chapter 3085 - Chapter 159 - Fourth-Floor Expert Chapter 159 C Fourth-Floor Expert I cant say for certain, the Half-Demonkin named Graysword answered. Graysword was a tall and robust man with dark-gray skin covered in pitch-black runes. After quietly watching Shi Fengs battle for a moment, he hesitantly said, But according to my experience as a Swordsman, anyone capable of executing a Saint-level Mana Technique to such a level of perfection should be a fourth-floor expert. A fourth-floor expert?! Blood Hammer couldnt help but turn to look at Graysword in disbelief when he heard the Half-Demonkins words. Their Gods Domain shouldnt have access to the Greater Gods Domain yet, so how can an expert of such caliber appear there already? Before a Gods Domain gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, it would typically categorize its experts based on the Realms of Refinement. However, in the Greater Gods Domain, there was only one publicly acknowledged categorization for strengththe World Tower. The World Tower was similar to the Trial Tower available in every Gods Domain, and all players in the Greater Gods Domain ranked their strengths based on their performance in the World Tower. However, compared to the Trial Tower, the World Towers difficulty was significantly greater. So long as players managed to clear the World Towers first floor, they would be publicly recognized as experts in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, experts of such caliber were welcomed by the various powers in the Greater Gods Domain. If a player successfully cleared the second floor, theyd become an expert that even the Greater Gods Domains various peak powers would actively try to recruit. Meanwhile, experts such as Hundred Flower Palaces Cleansed Rue would be at the World Towers second-floor standard. Going one step above would be the third-floor experts. These experts were also known as God-ranked experts. Typically, only Tier 6 God-ranked experts would be capable of clearing the World Towers third floor. Of course, there were bound to be exceptions since not everyone would have the fortune to reach Tier 6. After all, besides having sufficiently high combat standards, players would also need to have sufficient fortuitous opportunities to get promoted to Tier 6. The current Hundred Flower Palaces Crimson Heart could just barely be considered a third-floor expert. Everyone in the Tower Alliances party was similarly at this standard. Unfortunately, they were all stuck at the cusp of reaching Tier 6. As for experts capable of clearing the World Towers fourth floor, these were existences capable of ranking within the top ten in their Gods Domain. Even the Tower Alliance only had one such player in its midst. It should be known that the difficulty of the World Towers third and fourth floors was worlds apart from each other. The fourth floors challenge was so difficult that every one of their Gods Domains current fourth-floor experts had only managed to clear the fourth floor after gaining access to the Greater Gods Domain and sparring numerous times with the God-ranked experts there. Thus, Blood Hammer found it hard to imagine that a Gods Domain that had yet to gain access to the Greater Gods Domain could produce an expert of such caliber. Not to mention, said expert was only at Level 110 and had come to a place like the Sealing Labyrinth. If thats the case, it might be worth befriending Hundred Flower Palace, Maria said. While watching Shi Feng singlehandedly tanking the Dark Titan, she couldnt help but reevaluate the importance of Hundred Flower Palace. The Stratified Abyssal Realm is the gathering place for the various Gods Domains newbies. Setting aside the native players, the strongest players there are third-floor experts like us. There is no way any power would send a fourth-floor expert there. If we can get a fourth-floor experts help, well have a much easier time establishing a foothold in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. The Stratified Abyssal Realm might be a gathering place for the various Gods Domains newbies, but it was also a place highly contested by the powers of the various Gods Domains. This was because aside from being rich in rare resources such as the Seven Luminaries Crystal, the Stratified Abyssal Realm was also home to many players with superior talent. Due to the Stratified Abyssal Realms nature, many of its native players grew faster than players based in normal Gods Domains. Their chances of becoming second-floor and third-floor experts were also several times higher. Occasionally, fourth-floor experts would even appear in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, these experts had become a resource fought over by the Greater Gods Domains various powers. If Guilds could recruit these native experts to their cause, it would significantly help their development. After all, competition in the Greater Gods Domain was incredibly harsh. NPC protection also did not exist in the Greater Gods Domain. Thus, if a Guild wished to establish a foothold in the Greater Gods Domain, it would need many capable experts. Meanwhile, so long as the Stratified Abyssal Realm developed to a certain extent, it would become a part of the Greater Gods Domain. Once that happened, recruiting the Stratified Abyssal Realms experts would become significantly more difficult since every power in the Greater Gods Domain would be competing over these talents. Hence, before the Stratified Abyssal Realm merged with the Greater Gods Domain, the various Guilds needed to enter the Stratified Abyssal Realm and snatch up as many of these experts as possible. While Maria and the others were holding their hushed discussion, the Dark Titans HP was rapidly decreasing due to the attacks of Crimson Heart, Cleansed Rue, and Shi Feng. Every one of their attacks dealt over a million damage. From time to time, Rain Song would also take over Shi Fengs job of tanking the Dark Titan, giving Shi Feng the opportunity to execute Lightshadow and shave off over ten million of the Bosss HP. Monsters in the Sealing Labyrinth did not have any battle recovery, so every HP the Dark Titan lost would be permanent so long as it remained in combat. Thus, even though the Dark Titan had 15 billion HP, it would eventually fall so long as Shi Feng and the others did not run out of Stamina and Concentration. However, the Dark Titan wasnt as easy of an opponent as everyone thought. When its HP fell to 30%, it suddenly let loose an angry roar. Then, an identical copy of itself split from its body. It can even use Dark Division? Crimson Hearts complexion paled when she looked at the two Dark Titans before her. Dark Division was a Tier 4 Super Spell that allowed users to create a perfect copy of themselves. Although the Spell only had a short duration of several minutes, the doppelganger created would possess all of the originals Basic Attributes, Skills, and Spells. Moreover, even if the doppelganger was killed, it would not affect the main body in any way. They already had their plates full dealing with one Dark Titan. Only death would await them if they had to deal with two Dark Titans. The Boss would use such a move at 30% HP? How is anyone supposed to raid it? Blood Hammer couldnt help but be dumbfounded when he saw this development. He never thought that the Dark Titan would have such a move in store. Previously, he thought that his party still had a chance of raiding the Dark Titan. All they needed to do was come up with a viable strategy. However, after seeing the Dark Titan use Dark Division, he no longer thought as such. After all, there wasnt a second person in their party capable of tanking the Dark Titans attacks. But this is a chance for us, Maria suddenly said, her eyes glowing with excitement as she looked at the two Dark Titans. Currently, neither of their parties could go up against the Dark Titan on their own. They could only get past this Guardian Boss if their parties worked together. Indeed. Theyll have no choice but to cooperate with us now, Blood Hammer said, smiling. However, going against Maria and Blood Hammers expectations, Shi Feng had long since expected such a development. As soon as the Dark Titan used Dark Division, he promptly activated the Winter of Eternal Nights World of Frost. Immediately, nine frost swords appeared around the two Dark Titans, each frost sword carrying 120% of Shi Fengs Strength. Although the Sealing Labyrinths mental oppression prevented Shi Feng from displaying his full potential, he still managed to manipulate the nine frost swords to the point where every frost sword could execute a basic combat technique. Meanwhile, with the help of the nine frost swords, Shi Feng was able to keep both Dark Titans pinned down. Is he really just a fourth-floor expert? This scene dumbfounded Blood Hammer and the others. While they found it shocking that Shi Feng had managed to single-handedly suppress the Dark Titans berserk mode, they found it even more shocking that he could exert such a high degree of control over the nine frost swords with their current circumstances. The level of control Shi Feng exhibited was simply astounding. At this time, even Crimson Heart, Gentle Snow, and the others were stunned by this situation. Under the Sealing Labyrinths powerful mental oppression, the most they could do was execute one basic combat technique at a time. Yet, in addition to executing basic combat techniques with all nine frost swords, Shi Feng was also simultaneously clashing with the Dark Titans directly Subsequently, time passed by quickly. Two minutes after the Dark Titan used Dark Division, the Spells duration expired, and the second Dark Titan disappeared. Meanwhile, as soon as the second Dark Titans disappearance, Shi Feng promptly attacked the original Dark Titan with all nine Frost Swords. World of Frost had a three-minute duration, which was only one minute more than the Dark Titans Dark Division. In a situation where everyones Stamina and Concentration were rapidly depleting, he needed to take advantage of every opportunity to kill the Dark Titan as soon as possible. The Dark Titan already had its hands full fighting Shi Feng, so it naturally didnt have any leeway to defend against the nine frost swords. As a result, the nine frost swords had free rein over the Dark Titans defenseless body, causing over three million damage per attack. Subsequently, the Dark Titans HP bar could be seen draining at a rate visible to the naked eye. Seeing this, Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue also stopped holding back, both of them activating their Legacy Berserk Skills and doubling their Basic Attributes. They intended to shave away the Dark Titans remaining HP in one fell swoop. 20% 10% 3% 1% Boom! Eventually, the Dark Titan fell to its knees as its HP reduced to zero. TL Notes: [1]World Tower: The World Tower() mentioned here is different from the World Tower(֮) located in Dragonheart Island. If I were to translate ֮ in a more direct manner, itd be Worlds Tower or Tower of the World. Chapter 3086 - Chapter 160 - Astonishing Harvest When the Level 112 Mythic ranked Dark Titan died, a bright glow enveloped everyone except Shi Feng as they reached the highest level permitted in the Dragonfall Secret Land. Immediately afterward, a system announcement rang in the ears of both Shi Fengs party members and the Tower Alliances party members. Regional System Announcement: Sealing Labyrinth unlocked. The pathway to the Stratified Abyssal Realm will be unlocked in ten minutes. Regional System Announcement: Sealing Labyrinth unlocked. The Sealing Labyrinth will be converted into a standard region in two natural days, and the entry limit into the region will be removed. Upon hearing the system announcements, Crimson Heart and the other Hundred Flower Palace members couldnt help but grow ecstatic. We did it! Big Sis Rue! Rain Song cheered while shaking Cleansed Rue by the shoulders. Our party will get to monopolize 90% of the entry slots now! The Dark Titan might not have battle recovery, but raiding it was still a great challenge. Had the raid continued for ten more minutes, most of them would have collapsed from Stamina and Concentration exhaustion. Fortunately, the Dark Titans HP ran out before they collapsed from exhaustion. You made a huge contribution to the Guild this time, Rue. If not for you, we wouldve lost out on this huge opportunity, Crimson Heart said as she looked at Cleansed Rue If not for Cleansed Rue strongly recommending Hundred Flower Palace choose Zero Wing as its partner and agreeing to Shi Fengs seemingly absurd demands, Hundred Flower Palace wouldve most likely ended up with only 10% of the Stratified Abyssal Realms entry slots. However, rather than feeling joyful about being praised, Cleansed Rue wore a complicated look on her face as she looked at Shi Feng. The first time Cleansed Rue met Shi Feng was in front of the Primordial Demon Court. At the time, Shi Feng had caused her and Hundred Flower Palace to suffer a huge loss. Yet, now, Shi Feng had helped Hundred Flower Palace secure 90% of the Stratified Abyssal Realms entry slots. She even felt an indescribable sense of reliability when she looked at Shi Fengs back right now Meanwhile, some distance away from Shi Fengs party, the Tower Alliances party of six wore indescribably ugly looks on their faces. Originally, they had entered the Sealing Labyrinth thinking that they would be securing 90% of the Stratified Abyssal Realms entry slots. They had never thought that Hundred Flower Palace would be the one to monopolize 90% of the slots instead. Although they had thought of forcing their way into the raid halfway through to rake in some contributions, they eventually decided against doing so. This was because there was no benefit in doing so. It wouldnt change the outcome in any way. Hundred Flower Palace could simply stop attacking the Boss and switch to annihilating them instead. After all, the agreement the Tower Alliance signed with Hundred Flower Palace did not state that they could not attack each other. They merely agreed to open the Sealing Labyrinth together and split the entry slots for the Stratified Abyssal Realm. While the two Guilds members were busy celebrating and sobbing, Shi Feng, who stood before the Dark Titans corpse, wore a dumbfounded look on his face. I really cannot understand what Hundred Flower Palace is thinking. The entry slots might be important, but the loot of this Boss probably isnt much worse than those slots, Gentle Snow exclaimed, shock coloring her face as she looked at the items scattered across the ground. She used to be the Guild Leader of Ouroboros, a first-rate Guild, several years ago, so she had seen the loot of Mythic Bosses on numerous occasions. She had even seen the loot of many Superior Mythic Bosses. However, all of them paled compared to the Dark Titans loot. This was because the density of the Mana the dropped items carried was on an entirely different level. In the past, the strongest item Gentle Snow had seen might have radiated dense Mana, but the Mana the item radiated remained invisible to the naked eye. However, every one of the items the Dark Titan dropped was currently radiating mist-like Mana. How powerful must these items be for them to radiate such frightening Mana? This loot has indeed exceeded my expectations, Shi Feng similarly exclaimed. If they were to see what the Dark Titan dropped, they would have also regretted agreeing to our deal. For a Mythic monster, the Dark Titan did not drop many items. It had dropped only 32 items in total. Moreover, 30 of them were materials. However, these were all incredibly special materials. Abyssal Heart Fragments! If what they got was the complete Abyssal Heart, they wouldve had an Inferior Divine Artifact ranked material on their hands. Even so, as the fragments of an Inferior Divine Artifact ranked material, the Abyssal Heart Fragments were still rated as Legendary materials. When added into the production of weapons and equipment, an Abyssal Heart Fragment had a 50% chance of granting the item a Mana Amplification effect. In addition, it also had a 20% chance to upgrade a Dark-Gold item to an Epic item and a 1% chance to upgrade an Epic item to a Fragmented Legendary item. Typically, one could exchange for a Fragmented Legendary item with just ten Abyssal Heart Fragments. This meant that the Dark Titan had dropped three Fragmented Legendary items worth of Abyssal Heart Fragments. It should be known that a first-rate Guild would, at most, have several dozen Fragmented Legendary items. So, three Fragmented Legendary items were still a considerable fortune for a first-rate Guild. Not to mention, in addition to the thirty Abyssal Heart Fragments, the Dark Titan had also dropped one Fragmented Legendary item and one Primal Lineage Crystal. [Abyssal Eye] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 1,500, Agility 1,200 All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Increases all Attributes by 40%; Reduces all hostile dark-type effects by 50%; Ignore Levels +10 Additional Skill 1: Dark Star. Continuously cause dark damage to a radius of 500 yards for ten seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Power. Grants the wearer the power of the Abyss, increasing Defense by 100%, Strength by 150%, Agility by 60%, Physique by 50%, and Endurance by 100% for three minutes. Cooldown: 3 hours Possession of the Abyssal Lord. Destroyed by the Eternal Spear, the Abyssal Eyes core has been split into four fragments. The Abyssal Eye will restore itself when the three other core fragments are collected. Current restoration progress (0/3) Rings were much rarer than weapons and equipment in Gods Domain. Typically, even the various superpowers Tier 5 experts would only be using Epic Rings, while most Tier 4 experts would still be stuck using Dark-Gold Rings. Moreover, the level of these rings would be far beneath the players using them. Due to their rarity, rings would typically be valued one rank higher than their actual rank. For example, a Dark-Gold Ring would be valued similarly as an Epic Equipment. Meanwhile, the rarity of Fragmented Legendary Rings was close to rivaling the rarity of Legendary Equipment. Not to mention, the Abyssal Eye was originally a Godly Relic. So long as he could find the three remaining core fragments, he could return the ring to its former glory. Hence, its value was many times higher than the average Fragmented Legendary Ring. However, compared to the Abyssal Eye, Shi Feng cared more about the dark crystal in his hand. This dark crystal was none other than the Primal Lineage Crystal. It was also an item that Shi Feng had never thought he would obtain, and its value was much higher than even the Abyssal Eye. TL Notes: Ive decided to capitalize the physique stat from now on. I didnt capitalize it initially since I wasnt sure if it was an actual in-game parameter. When I realized that it was an in-game parameter afterward, I continued keeping it at lowercase for consistency. But looking at it now, it feels strange leaving physique uncapitalized. Chapter 3087 - Chapter 161 - Primal Lifeform There existed three ranks of Lineage Crystals in Gods Domain: the normal Lineage Crystal, the higher-ranking Advanced Lineage Crystal, and the highest-ranking Primal Lineage Crystal. Primal Lineage Crystals were the only means for players to convert into a primal lifeform. However, Primal Lineage Crystals were so rare that their rarity surpassed even Legendary items. To put it into perspective, a typical Gods Domain would only have around a dozen primal lifeforms. In terms of Life Rating, primal lifeforms did not exceed higher lifeforms such as Demidragons by much. Some primal lifeforms were even inferior to Demidragons when it came to Life Rating. However, there was one aspect in which primal lifeforms had an insurmountable advantage over the higher lifeformsWorld Affinity! Among the many creatures in Gods Domain, primal lifeforms started with the highest World Affinity. In Gods Domain, it was widely known that the higher a players World Affinity was, the higher their affinity with Mana would be. At the same time, they would also have an easier time perceiving the operating principles of Mana. If the average player started with one point in World Affinity, a primal lifeform would start with three points in World Affinity. Even players who had reached Level 1 World Authority wouldnt have such high World Affinity. Most importantly, the World Affinity gained through converting to a primal lifeform stacked with the World Affinity players gained through World Authority. Moreover, the World Affinity gained this way wouldnt disappear even if players left the Gods Domain they came from. This was because it wasnt a blessing granted to them by their homeworld but rather an inherent part of their strength instead. Of course, converting to a primal lifeform wasnt an easy task. Aside from requiring a Primal Lineage Crystal, one would also need 10,000 Mana Stones to activate the Primal Lineage Crystal. Mana Stones were much rarer than Magic Crystals. Although Master Alchemists could synthesize Mana Stones using Magic Crystals, the conversion ratio was 1:100. Moreover, the synthesis success rate wasnt 100%. In other words, itd cost at least one million Magic Crystals to convert to a primal lifeform. It simply wasnt a cost the average person could afford. This saves me a lot of trouble, Shi Feng thought as he put the Primal Lineage Crystal into his bag. Originally, Shi Feng had planned on using an Advanced Lineage Crystal to increase his Life Rating. Then, he would head to the main continent and pick up an Inferior Legendary Quest to increase his World Authority in preparation for his Tier 5 promotion. Not all Tier 6 God-ranked experts were equals. In fact, the difference in strength between God-ranked experts was much greater than even the difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 players. If he did not pave a solid foundation for himself, even if he reached Tier 6, he would merely be an insignificant Tier 6 God-ranked expert in his sub-world and the Greater Gods Domain. Shi Feng might seem very strong right now, but that was only because of a few factors, namely the Winter of Eternal Night, his Legendary Mana Body, and his superb control over Mana. In the Winter of Eternal Nights case, it was a Fragmented Legendary Weapon that closely rivaled Legendary Weapons. In the case of his Mana control, he was confident that nobody could match him in this regard at Tier 3. Even if the Tier 6 God-ranked experts on the main continent reverted to Tier 3, none of them could match him. However, once he climbed to higher tiers, these advantages would quickly grow insignificant. If he climbed to higher tiers without increasing his advantages, the gap in strength between him and his peers would shrink continuously, and some might even surpass him. It should be known that even the Tier 5 experts on the main continent had much greater advantages accumulated than he currently did, let alone the main continents Tier 6 God-ranked experts. This was because every veteran Tier 5 expert on the main continent would have several Fragmented Legendary items, with some even having Legendary Weapons and Equipment. In addition, they also possessed a large number of Tier 5 Skills and Spells. The difference between a player wielding a large number of Tier 5 Skills and a player with only one or two Tier 5 Skills was bigger than the difference between a human and a dog. This was also why few Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts were willing to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Entering the Miniature Ancient World would mean losing all the advantages they had accumulated over the years. There wasnt even a guarantee they could accumulate as many advantages in the Miniature Ancient World as they previously had on the main continent. Shortly after Shi Feng had sorted out the Dark Titans loot and equipped the Abyssal Eye, the chains binding the spatial fissure started shattering one after another. At the same time, the spatial fissures size also expanded by several times, occupying nearly half of the entire hall. Subsequently, the spatial fissure radiated a powerful attraction force that caused everyone to subconsciously gravitate toward it. Shi Feng and the others had to resist with all their strength just to avoid getting sucked into the spatial fissure. At the same time, a system notification rang in everyones ears. System: Gate of Crossing activated. The wielder of the complete key may safely teleport up to 20 people to the Stratified Abyssal Realm through the Gate of Crossing. Once used, the key will enter a Cooldown period of ten natural days to accumulate energy. The key will also be required to safely return from the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Those without the keys protection, please enter with caution. Why are there only twenty slots? Rain Song couldnt help but be confused when she heard the system notification. Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue also couldnt help but be surprised and frown at this revelation. According to the information they found through investigating the Dragonfall Secret Land, they discovered that the Stratified Abyssal Realm was a massive place. It was much larger than even the empires on the main continent. Although the Stratified Abyssal Realm had a strict level limit, its player population should amount to one billion at the very least. After all, aside from the countless native powers, plenty of experts from the various Gods Domains also operated there. In their opinion, the teleportation gate should accommodate a thousand players at a time, at the very least. Otherwise, how were foreign players like themselves supposed to thrive in the Stratified Abyssal Realm? Yet, now, the system was telling them that they would only receive twenty entry slots. After setting aside the Tower Alliances two slots, they still had to split half of the remaining 18 slots to Zero Wing. This meant that Hundred Flower Palace would only have nine entry slots. What could they possibly do with just nine slots? The amount of items nine players could carry was incredibly limited. There was no way they could establish a long-term trade channel with just nine players. Not to mention, the currency used in the Stratified Abyssal Realm was different from the currencies they used. This is much better than we initially anticipated. Unlike Hundred Flower Palaces members, Blood Hammer, the leader of the Tower Alliances party, revealed an excited expression when he heard the system notification. Although they were four or five entry slots shorter than their initial expectations, the Cooldown of the Gate of Crossing here was only ten days. That was significantly better than some of the other gates with month-long Cooldowns. If Blood Hammer were to learn that Hundred Flower Palaces members had come into the Sealing Labyrinth thinking that they could acquire 1,000 entry slots into the Stratified Abyssal Realm, he would probably laugh himself to death. The Stratified Abyssal Realm was a special location that connected the many worlds of Gods Domain. If every Gods Domain could periodically send 1,000 players into the Stratified Abyssal Realm, it wouldnt take long before the various Gods Domains players outnumbered the native players. If that were the case, the various Stratified Abyssal Realms wouldnt have remained under the absolute control of the various native powers all this time. The various Gods Domains powers wouldnt have had to try to butter up to the Stratified Abyssal Realms native powers. Being able to gain nine entry slots every ten days was a privilege that could make even the Greater Gods Domains various peak powers grow envious. Chapter 3088 - Chapter 162 - New Expansion Pack Nine slots? Shi Feng was greatly surprised when he heard the system notification. It seems Ill have to make ample preparations for this. Shi Feng possessed an in-depth understanding of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. The average Gate of Crossing could only accommodate five or six people, with larger ones accommodating up to ten people. Yet, not only could the Gate of Crossing before them teleport up to twenty players at a time, but it only had a short Cooldown of ten days. The value of this Gate alone was several times greater than the combined value of several Tier 6 God-ranked experts. It should be known that in addition to allowing players from Gods Domain to travel to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, the Gates of Crossing also allowed players native to the Stratified Abyssal Realm to travel to Gods Domain. The only difference was that the Stratified Abyssal Realms native players needed to pay an exorbitant price in Seven Luminaries Crystals to travel to Gods Domain. According to Shi Fengs knowledge, the amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals that native players needed to pay to leave would differ depending on their combat standards. The higher a players combat standards, the more Seven Luminaries Crystals they needed to fork out when leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Even experts at the World Towers first-floor standard were already required to pay 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to leave, while second-floor experts were required to pay 3,000 units. However, 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was a sum that a second-rate Guild would need two months to collect. Although first-rate Guilds and superpowers could collect a lot more Seven Luminaries Crystals, it simply wasnt worthwhile to do so. Players who reached the World Towers first floor might be recognized as experts in the Greater Gods Domain, but they werent exceptionally rare or powerful experts. They wouldnt even be considered top-ranking experts in the various first-rate Guilds. As for second-floor experts, while they were indeed powerful combatants, the cost to teleport a second-floor expert out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm was 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even a first-rate Guild could only afford to teleport one such expert out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm once every two months. Not to mention, due to the Stratified Abyssal Realms restrictions, native experts were at a very low level and tier. So, Guilds would have to invest a lot of time and resources to develop these experts to their full potential. For a Gods Domain that had yet to gain access to the Greater Gods Domain, the Stratified Abyssal Realms true value lay in the trade opportunities it offered. The Stratified Abyssal Realm possessed various precious resources that werent available in Gods Domain. Even if they set aside the Stratified Abyssal Realms unique resources, the Skills, Spells, combat techniques, and Mana Techniques the Stratified Abyssal Realm possessed were also far superior to what was available in their Gods Domain. Due to the various Stratified Abyssal Realms having a very low level cap on average, the native players there compensated for their lacking levels and tiers by developing their Skills, Spells, combat techniques, and Mana Techniques. It was especially true when it came to the development of combat techniques and Mana Techniques. The various Stratified Abyssal Realms had far surpassed the many worlds of Gods Domain and reached an entirely different level. Moreover, different Stratified Abyssal Realms would have different civilization cultures and development paths. Because of this, the variety of combat techniques and Mana Techniques the various Stratified Abyssal Realms possessed was so large that it could astonish even the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers. If an isolated Gods Domain could gain access to these combat techniques and Mana Techniques, these techniques would greatly help its development. Meanwhile, nine entry slots were already more than enough for Shi Feng to do many things in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Afterward, Shi Feng, Crimson Heart, and Blood Hammer agreed to meet before the Gate of Crossing two days later. Though, after factoring in the time needed to traverse the Sealing Labyrinth, they would only have one day to prepare once they returned to their respective Gods Domains. So, they were considerably tight on time. After agreeing on a time, everyone promptly took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to their respective Gods Domains. Miniature Ancient World, Abyssal Star City: When Shi Feng and Gentle Snow teleported back to Zero Wings Residence, they quickly noticed that the Residence was missing some of its liveliness and prosperity. Many Guild members in the Residence also wore looks of frustration and envy. Before Shi Feng could even begin to wonder what had happened while he was gone, a series of message notifications rang in his ears. After checking his message interface, Shi Feng found that several dozen people had messaged him these past few days. Among these people, Su Qianliu and Blackie had sent him the most messages, each of them sending several dozen messages. Did something happen? Shi Feng grew a little confused as he looked at the several hundred unread messages in his inbox. Before leaving, Shi Feng had already informed Su Qianliu and Blackie that he would be taking care of something important and that they shouldnt contact him unless it was something urgent. It was especially true for offline communication. He told them that unless Zero Wing was under the threat of destruction, they absolutely should not try to contact him in the real world. The Sealing Labyrinth was a special location that granted access to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, so players were prohibited from communicating with the outside world or logging out of the game while inside it. Although players wouldnt be put into real danger for logging out of the game, their in-game souls would be weakened for a certain period as a penalty. It seems something big happened while we were away, Gentle Snow said. Yaoyue messaged me saying that a new expansion pack called Primordial Demons Awakening appeared while we were away. Along with the introduction of this expansion pack, a special building appeared outside the various NPC Cities. This building leads to a primordial secret land, and players can hunt for Mounts in that secret land. Moreover, the leveling inside is at least two times faster. Hunt for Mounts? Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he heard Gentle Snows words. Mounts could greatly increase a players leveling speed and range of movement. However, there was still no reliable way to acquire Mounts in the Miniature Ancient World. Even Shi Feng had only obtained his Mount in the Primordial Demon Court by chance. Now that a reliable means of acquiring Mounts had appeared, it wasnt strange to see players causing a huge commotion over it. However, this was a huge problem for Zero Wing. After all, Zero Wings operations were based in Abyssal Star City. It didnt have a base of operations in any NPC City. So, there was no way Zero Wing could compete against the various powers. But entering this primordial secret land isnt an easy task. Players will have to raid Team Dungeons to acquire the secret lands teleportation tokens, and each Team Dungeon will only drop around a dozen tokens. Moreover, even after entering the secret land, players are only allowed to stay there for a limited time, Gentle Snow explained. So, the various powers are frantically searching for and raiding Team Dungeons right now. Many powers have started a fight over Team Dungeons, and even Mysterious Moon has already suffered over 10,000 casualties. Theres a dramatic difference in leveling speed between players with and without Mounts. Team Dungeons also appear randomly in the various maps, so not even the various superpowers can monopolize them. Even small Guilds will try to compete for some Team Dungeons in this situation. So long as they get into the Team Dungeon, thered be nothing other powers can do about it. So, its normal for Mysterious Moon to suffer such losses, Shi Feng said. He wasnt surprised that Mysterious Moon had suffered so many casualties. Mounts were a key factor that could decide a Guilds future. No Guild would be willing to give up on the opportunity to acquire a large number of Mounts. While Shi Feng and Gentle Snow were conversing, Su Qianliu suddenly approached them in a hurry. Youre finally back, Guild Leader, Su Qianliu said as she looked at Shi Feng, who had just walked out of the Residences Teleportation Hall. Something big has happened while you were away. Had you taken even a day longer to reply, Blackie and I wouldve had to contact you by force. Did something happen to Zero Wing? Shi Feng asked in confusion. The current Zero Wing was prospering greatly in the Miniature Ancient World. Although the new expansion pack had thrown a monkey wrench into Zero Wings development plans, it wasnt so bad that the Guild would face destruction. Its not Zero Wing, Su Qianliu said, shaking her head. But it isnt completely unrelated to Zero Wing, either. Specifically, something major has taken place over at the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Chief Administrator Hidden Soul and many other peak experts intend to withdraw from Asura TL Notes: For those wondering, peak powers and hegemonic powers are two new terms the author has introduced. Hegemonic powers are above peak powers. I dont know how they compare to the superpowers in Shi Fengs Gods Domain, though. Also, Su Qianliu, Blackie, and the others still arent aware that the Asura Mercenary Alliance is actually owned by Zero Wing. Hence, Su Qianlius manner of speaking. Chapter 3089 - Chapter 163 – Ultimatum? Chapter 163 C Ultimatum? Shi Feng was a little stunned by Su Qianlius words, his mind failing to process those words immediately. Hidden Soul wasnt some nobody. Su Qianliu and the others might not be aware of it, but Hidden Soul was an outer member of Zero Wing. It was also under Shi Fengs suggestion that Hidden Soul had established the Asura Mercenary Alliance and recruited a large number of independent experts for Zero Wing. However, the action of establishing the Asura Mercenary Alliance wasnt only beneficial to Zero Wing. It was also beneficial for Hidden Soul herself. No player in Gods Domain could progress very far if they relied only on themselves. If a player wished to reach the apex of Gods Domain, theyd need a large amount of resources that required a lot of manpower to obtain. This was also why Shi Feng had chosen to establish Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Zero Wing and Asura might not look like much right now, but once they took shape, both organizations would be extremely useful in helping him acquire the astronomical amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals required to reach Tier 6. He would also have a much easier time obtaining high-tiered Skills, high-tiered Spells, and Legendary items. In order to become an apex expert in Gods Domain, players didnt just need to have incredibly high combat standards. They also needed Fragmented Legendary items, Legendary items, and a large collection of high-tiered Skills and Spells. A player would only become complete as an apex expert after meeting all these requirements. Meanwhile, the requirements to become a true Tier 6 God-ranked expert were even higher. In a certain sense, Legendary items and Tier 5 and Tier 6 Skills and Spells were even more important for Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Almost every Legendary item in Gods Domain could grant players the strength to transcend tiers. Suppose that, by some miracle, an ordinary expert managed to get his hands on two or three Legendary items. If a Beyond Domain Realm expert with no Legendary items were to fight this ordinary expert at the same tier, the fight would end with an overwhelming victory in the ordinary experts favor. However, searching for and obtaining Legendary items involved a lot of time and effort. If Shi Feng tried to do everything by himself, all hed end up with was nothing. This was something Hidden Soul was also well aware of. It was also why she had gladly agreed to help him establish the Asura Mercenary Alliance. With Asuras support, she, too, could develop her strength much more rapidly. Yet, now, Su Qianliu was telling him that Hidden Soul wanted to withdraw from the Asura Mercenary Alliance. No matter how Shi Feng thought about it, this situation simply didnt make sense. Im sure you are also aware of Asuras situation, Guild Leader. It is only thanks to Chief Administrator Hidden Soul that Asura has attracted so many powerful experts and customers. It is also thanks to these customers that Zero Wing has managed to earn enough funds to keep itself afloat and even purchase Shadows Lan Hua Tower. Not to mention, Chief Administrator Hidden Soul has also helped out with training Zero Wings recruits. If Chief Administrator Hidden Soul were to leave Su Qianliu dared not continue her words after speaking up to this point. Guild Leader, they are currently holding a meeting in Asuras headquarters. Can you head over there and try to dissuade Chief Administrator Hidden Soul and Asuras executives from leaving? If Hidden Soul were to leave, the Asura Mercenary Alliance wouldnt be the only one affected. Zero Wing would also have its development severely impacted. However, the fact that Asura was still silent about this situation meant that there was still room for negotiations. Unfortunately, Su Qianliu didnt have any rights to speak in the Asura Mercenary Alliance, so she couldnt stop Hidden Soul from leaving. Shi Feng was the only person in Zero Wing who had speaking rights in Asura. Alright, Ill go and take a look, Shi Feng said, nodding. After saying so, he promptly made his way toward Asuras headquarters, questions filling his mind. Inside the top-floor conference room of Asuras headquarters On the surface, it was announced that Asura was currently holding a meeting between its executives. In reality, though, there were only four people seated inside the large conference room. On one side of the conference table sat Hidden Soul and a ferocious man looking to be in his fifties. On the other side sat Liu Wusheng and Blue Sheath. Currently, all four of these people had already reached Level 107. They were two levels higher than the Miniature Ancient Worlds frontline experts, and even the various superpowers peak experts would be shocked if they saw these four peoples levels. This was because even the various superpowers peak experts were only at Level 106. Not to mention, at Level 107, Hidden Soul and the others would no longer have to worry about the problem of level suppression when roaming Level 110-plus maps. Are you intent on withdrawing, Miss Soul? Liu Wusheng asked as he looked at Hidden Soul. Wont you consider talking things out with Mr. Black Flame? Further discussions are unnecessary, Hidden Soul said, shaking her head. The Flower of Seven Sins has already issued its ultimatum. If my old friends and I do not leave Asura, the Flower of Seven Sins will begin targeting Asura in all aspects. Im sure I dont have to explain to you what the Flower of Seven Sins is capable of, Mr. Liu. If we do not leave, Asuras future will be ruined. Im sure this isnt something Guild Leader Black Flame wishes to see. Not to mention, Guild Leader Black Flame is still missing. If we delay our withdrawal any further and the Flower of Seven Sins begins to take action, all of Asuras customers are certain to leave. The same goes for Asuras experts. After hearing Hidden Souls words, Liu Wusheng opened and closed his mouth several times. However, no matter how he racked his mind, he simply couldnt come up with any rebuttals. The various first-rate powers in Gods Domain might not know the full extent of the Flower of Seven Sins capabilities. However, it was a different story for Witchs Sin, a Guild that had secretly reached the standard of the various superpowers already. The Flower of Seven Sins might not have as many members as any of the Five Great Super Guilds, but the number of experts it possessed absolutely exceeded every one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Moreover, because the Flower of Seven Sins wasnt a Guild but a covert organization instead, there was no use placing a bounty on it. Members of the Flower of Seven Sins typically kept their identities hidden. Most members didnt even know where the organizations main headquarters was located. According to rumors, the Great Commander was the only person who knew exactly how many members and trump cards the organization had. Not even the six other commanders of the organization knew about these details. Meanwhile, so long as someone was willing to pay the price, the Flower of Seven Sins would dare to accept even a commission for the heads of the Five Great Super Guilds Guild Leaders. Moreover, not only was there a precedent of this situation, but the Flower of Seven Sins had even completed the commission successfully. Although Liu Wusheng didnt know why the Flower of Seven Sins had decided to target Hidden Soul, an ex-commander of the organization, it was a fact that the assassination organization had issued a warning to the Asura Mercenary Alliance. However, judging by the fact that only the four of them had received this notice, he could also tell that the Flower of Seven Sins didnt wish to offend Asura too much. The organization only wished for Asura to keep its hands out of Hidden Souls problem. However, there wasnt anything Asura could do about this situation, either. Others might not be aware of Asuras current situation, but Liu Wusheng was. If Asura tried to go against the Flower of Seven Sins, itd be no different than trying to crack a rock with an egg. Black Flame, the person behind the Asura Mercenary Alliance, might come from an incredibly strong power, but how much strength could this extraordinary power employ in this Gods Domain? It should be known that the Flower of Seven Sins was one of the strongest powers in this Gods Domain. Getting targeted by the Flower of Seven Sins would be an absolute nightmare for Asura. Interesting. So its a warning from the Flower of Seven Sins? While Liu Wusheng was racking his mind for a solution, the doors to the conference room suddenly opened. Then, a chuckle that Liu Wusheng and Hidden Soul were familiar with came through the doors. Chapter 3090 - SS2.0164: Chapter 164 Guild Leader Black Flame! Liu Wusheng and Hidden Soul were both surprised by Shi Fengs sudden appearance. However, the two wore different expressions when they saw Shi Feng, the former looking pleasantly surprised and the latter looking ashamed. Level 110?! The ferocious middle-aged man seated beside Hidden Soul was similarly surprised when he saw Shi Feng. However, the reason for his surprise was different from Liu Wusheng and Hidden Soul. Unlike the others present, the ferocious middle-aged man had a special Identification Skill that allowed him to ignore the concealment effects of Black Cloaks. Hence, even though Shi Feng was hiding his information with a Black Cloak, he could see Shi Fengs level the instant Shi Feng had entered the room. Liu Wusheng, Hidden Soul, and Blue Sheath were all experts with extraordinary senses. Although the middle-aged man had exclaimed in a very soft voice, the three of them still managed to hear his words loud and clear. Meanwhile, all three of them couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng in even greater surprise after hearing the middle-aged mans mutterings. Have you really reached Level 110 already, Guild Leader Black Flame? Liu Wusheng asked, unable to hold back his curiosity. It should be known that his current level of 107 already allowed him to look down on the entire Miniature Ancient World. He could even move about freely in Level 115-plus maps at this level. Although Liu Wusheng had expected Shi Feng to be above him in levels considering the other partys strength, he didnt expect there to be such a huge difference. If it were in the past, reaching Level 110 wouldnt be a big deal since it was only a minor turning point for players. At most, players would receive more Basic Attributes from their Level 150 Epic Weapons and Equipment. However, that all changed ever since the introduction of the most recent expansion pack. The primordial secret land that got introduced with the expansion pack had two separate maps with different level limits. The first map only allowed players under Level 110 to enter, while the second map only allowed players between Level 110 and Level 120. Before reaching Level 110, players couldnt enter the second map. Currently, the first map only dropped Mounts up to the Mysterious-Iron rank. Meanwhile, a Mysterious-Iron Mounts combat power only rivaled Lord-ranked monsters of the same level. A Mount of this rank could just barely be of help to expert players. On the other hand, the primordial secret lands second map dropped up to Secret-Silver Mounts. Meanwhile, a Secret-Silver Mount possessed strength rivaling High Lords of the same level. With such combat power, a Secret-Silver Mount could be of significant help to players out in the fields. After all, most of the monsters found in even Level 115 maps were only at the High Lord standard. Not to mention, no powers were competing over the second map yet. So, the acquisition rate for Mounts in the second map would surpass the first map. I have indeed reached Level 110 for some time now. Shi Feng nodded, not bothering to hide his level. However, he couldnt help but be surprised as he looked at the middle-aged man beside Hidden Soul. The Black Cloak might not be infallible, but a top-tier Identification Skill would still be required to see through a Black Cloaks concealment effect. Such Identification Skills were not commonly available in Gods Domain. Even a top-tier first-rate Guild wouldnt have more than ten people with such Identification Skills. Yet, despite being an independent expert, the middle-aged man owned one such Identification Skill. Shi Feng had already memorized the names and appearances of the many experts in Gods Domain who possessed such top-tier Identification Skills. Yet, even though the middle-aged man named Frenzied Smile was already at the Domain Realm, Shi Feng had no recollection of this person whatsoever. When Hidden Soul noticed the look of surprise on Shi Fengs face, she took the initiative to introduce the middle-aged man beside her, saying, Let me introduce you. This person here is Frenzied Smile, one of the former Seven Great Elders of the Flower of Seven Sins Board of Elders. Ever since he retired from his position, he has always lived a secluded life. I had to go through a lot of trouble to find him. Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame, Frenzied Smile said as he stood up and nodded at Shi Feng. Although Ive heard Commander Soul speak many things about you before, it would seem that you are even more amazing than she described. You flatter me, Elder Smile, Shi Feng said with a smile. The fact that you are willing to join the Asura Mercenary Alliance is an honor for Asura. Domain Realm experts were highly contested among the various superpowers. Even the Five Great Guilds were no exception. This was because Domain Realm experts had the strength necessary to lead and safeguard important locations. They also had a considerable chance of becoming a Tier 6 God-ranked expert in the future. However, upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Frenzied Smiles expression immediately grew a little awkward. Then, he said, Im afraid Ill have to disappoint you, Guild Leader Black Flame. While my friends and I are interested in becoming a part of Asura, Death Omen, the current commander for the Flower of Seven Sins Sin of Pride, has already issued an ultimatum to Asura. If we insist on joining Asura, not only will we bring no benefit to the mercenary alliance, but we will even bring trouble with us instead. Hidden Soul wore a somber expression when she heard Frenzied Smiles words. Death Omen was Hidden Souls younger cousin sister, and the girl was incredibly talented. Originally, Death Omen was one of the potential contenders for the title of Pride in the Flower of Seven Sins. However, the title eventually landed in Hidden Souls hands, and Hidden Soul became the Sin of Prides first commander in Gods Domain. Now, though, Death Omen had become the Sin of Prides new commander. If Death Omen was the only person Hidden Soul was going up against, she could have simply ignored the girls threat. After all, Death Omen only held command over the Sin of Pride. The problem was that Supreme Sky stood behind Death Omen. Supreme Sky was the owner of Greed, and he was the second most powerful person in the Flower of Seven Sins, coming behind only the Great Commander. Meanwhile, Supreme Sky was typically responsible for handling most of the Flower of Seven Sins affairs. Hence, Death Omens threat could also be regarded as the will of the Flower of Seven Sins. As a former commander of the Flower of Seven Sins, Hidden Soul was fully aware of what it meant to go against the will of the Flower of Seven Sins. If the Asura Mercenary Alliance did not heed the Flower of Seven Sins warning, the only outcome awaiting Asura would be elimination. There was no way Asura, in its current state, could go up against the Flower of Seven Sins. After all, even a veteran Super Guild like World Dominators was no different than an infant before an adult when going up against the Flower of Seven Sins. The only powers capable of truly contending with the Flower of Seven Sins were the Five Great Super Guilds, existences that had existed for more than a hundred years. Arent you underestimating Asura too much, Elder Smile? Shi Feng suddenly laughed as he looked at Frenzied Smiles awkward expression. The Flower of Seven Sins might be strong, but that doesnt make Asura a pushover. Since the Asura Mercenary Alliance has decided to let Hidden Soul become its Chief Administrator and even have her recruit former members of the Flower of Seven Sins like yourself without consulting the Flower of Seven Sins beforehand, it means that Asura has never cared what the Flower of Seven Sins would think of this decision. Hidden Soul was momentarily stunned when she heard Shi Fengs words. She never expected Shi Feng to say such words. At this moment, an array of emotions filled her heart. There was excitement, anxiety, and shame. It should be known that even the various superpowers would grow fearful when hearing the name of the Flower of Seven Sins, let alone receiving a warning from the assassin organization. After all, there were precedents of the Flower of Seven Sins destroying entire superpowers in Gods Domain. At this moment, Hidden Soul wasnt the only person stunned by Shi Fengs words. Liu Wusheng was similarly dumbfounded. Was this the prelude to an all-out war between the Asura Mercenary Alliance and the Flower of Seven Sins? Are your words true, Guild Leader Black Flame? Frenzied Smile asked as he looked at Shi Feng with a serious expression. Im not sure if you know this, but the Flower of Seven Sins has enough strength and wealth to destroy even the superpowers in Gods Domain. The Asura Mercenary Alliance will never regret its decisions. If the Flower of Seven Sins wishes to target Asura, Asura wont mind giving the Flower of Seven Sins a fight, Shi Feng said affirmatively. Good! As expected of a power Commander Soul has settled on! Frenzied Smile laughed. Since the Asura Mercenary Alliance is willing to go to such an extent for retired folks like us, we wont back down, either! We are willing to fight with the mercenary alliance! Elder Smile? Hidden Soul couldnt help but feel exasperated when she heard Frenzied Smiles words. Frenzied Smile had evidently included her in his declaration. Dont tell me youre willing to give in like this, Commander Soul? Frenzied Smile asked as he looked at Hidden Soul. If you still choose to quit even after Asura has agreed to help us, youre going to disappoint us old folks. Hidden Soul hesitated for some time after hearing Frenzied Smiles words. Eventually, though, she gritted her teeth and said, Fine! Ill fight with Supreme Sky, then! Even if I lose, Ill be damned if I dont knock out a few of his teeth! Chapter 3091 - Chapter 165 - Asuras Strength Frenzied Soul sighed in relief when he heard Hidden Souls decision. Hidden Soul was the strongest among the former Flower of Seven Sins members that had joined Asura. If comparing purely in terms of techniques, some Tier 6 God-ranked experts werent even her match. If it were on the main continent, Hidden Soul definitely couldnt pose a threat to the Flower of Seven Sins since she never managed to reach Tier 6. However, it was a different story in the Miniature Ancient World. Now that everyone was still at Tier 3, Hidden Soul was undoubtedly one of the strongest experts in the Miniature Ancient World, and even the Flower of Seven Sins would have difficulty dealing with her. Meanwhile, the benefits the Asura Mercenary Alliance offered were incredibly attractive to them, experts who couldnt reach Tier 6. If they were to leave Asura now, it was almost impossible for them to find another holy land like Abyssal Star Citys primordial tower. So, now that the Asura Mercenary Alliance was willing to shield them even at the risk of offending the Flower of Seven Sins, itd be too much of a waste for them to give up without a fight. Guild Leader Black Flame, we might not have to worry about getting targeted since we have Abyssal Star City as our base, but if the Flower of Seven Sins decides to go after our customers, Im afraid there is very little we can do about it. Many of the experts that have recently joined Asura might even decide to leave as a result Liu Wusheng suddenly said. This is an especially worrisome problem considering many of our customers have been commissioning quests to acquire Mounts recently. This leaves the mercenary alliances experts with no choice but to head for the surrounding NPC Cities to raid Team Dungeons for the primordial secret lands entry tokens. Meanwhile, this is the perfect opportunity for the Flower of Seven Sins to hinder our members from completing their quests. Whenever the Flower of Seven Sins decided to go after a power, it would typically go after the powers core experts and executives. Either that, or it would target the powers various income sources. However, the Asura Mercenary Alliances main development area was centered around Abyssal Star City. Meanwhile, Abyssal Star City was a stronghold that the Five Great Super Guilds could not destroy even if all five of them worked together. Naturally, there was no way the Flower of Seven Sins could do anything about the city by itself. Hence, it was obvious what method the Flower of Seven Sins would choose to target the Asura Mercenary Alliance. The Flower of Seven Sins would target Asuras various businesses and crush the mercenary alliance using its vastly superior manpower and financial strength. Currently, the Asura Mercenary Alliance relied mainly on commissions made by leisure players to earn Credits and sustain the livelihoods of the mercenary alliances independent experts. The main goal of every independent expert in joining the Asura Mercenary Alliance was to earn Credits and resources in Gods Domain. However, if these independent experts were prevented from completing their quests and could not earn any Credits, it was only natural that they would withdraw from the mercenary alliance. After all, these independent experts needed to live. Meanwhile, if the customers who had commissioned the quests saw that their quests werent being completed even after a long time, they would definitely choose to take their business elsewhere. If this situation persisted, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would eventually crumble due to a lack of customers. Of course, there was also the option of Zero Wing and Witchs Sin sending their experts to complete these quests. However, the problem with this solution was that experts werent cabbages. It might be fine to do so once or twice, but Zero Wings and Witchs Sins development would definitely be affected if this method was employed over a long period. Fortunately, not all was lost. There was still one method Asura could employ to counteract the Flower of Seven Sins obstruction: having stronger experts take on the quests. For example, they could have Refinement Realm experts take on a quest that normally needed only first-rate experts to complete. The Flower of Seven Sins could also be regarded as an independent organization in a sense. Whenever the organization had its members do work for it, it would pay them according to the jobs difficulty. Meanwhile, a simple obstruction job would naturally yield a small pay, and powerful experts naturally wouldnt be interested in taking on such jobs. Hence, if Asura raised the overall strength of the experts taking on its quests, the experts the Flower of Seven Sins sent would naturally fail to obstruct Asuras experts. However, if the Asura Mercenary Alliance chose to take this route, it would have to spend money and resources to subsidize the customers quests. Only by doing so would stronger independent experts be interested in taking on these quests. After all, the primordial towers environment wasnt attractive to most independent experts. It was only attractive to Tier 5 experts who had trouble reaching Tier 6. As I thought, its still going to come down to a competition of wealth, huh? Hidden Soul understood what Liu Wusheng was trying to say. Immediately she said, I can provide a billion Credits to the alliance to subsidize the customers quests. Although I cant offer as much as Commander Soul, I can still provide roughly two hundred million Credits. If I get the others to contribute some, it shouldnt be difficult for us to get another one billion, Frenzied Smile said. Witchs Sin can provide five billion Credits, but Im afraid that even this amount of Credits wouldnt last us very long, Liu Wusheng said, shaking his head. Currently, our customers are only offering 100,000 Credits per Basic Mount, which is equivalent to 1,000 Gold. However, it takes at least a 100-man expert team to procure a Common Mount. Assuming they manage to complete the quest in a day, each player on the team will only receive 1,000 Credits. A daily salary of 1,000 Credits will only tempt first-rate experts. If we want to get the independent Refinement Realm experts interested, well need to bump the daily salary up to 3,000 Credits. In other words, well have to subsidize 200,000 Credits per Common Mount. Im afraid its going to be even worse for higher-ranking Mounts. Well have to subsidize around one million Credits for each Bronze Mount and three million Credits for each Mysterious-Iron Mount. Currently, we are receiving over 1,000 Common Mount quests, 70 Bronze Mount quests, and 30 Mysterious-Iron Mount quests per day. Thats around 400 million a day in subsidies. Moreover, this is only the initial estimate. If the Flower of Seven Sins also increases the rewards for its quests, well probably have to spend even more money Hidden Soul and Frenzied Smile felt a little stressed when they heard Liu Wushengs words. Even a conservative estimate placed them at spending 400 million Credits a day. If the Flower of Seven Sins were to increase the rewards for its quests, Asura would also have to respond by further increasing its rewards. This was already beyond the level of throwing money away. It was true that Abyssal Star City was making a lot of money every day. Currently, the city was earning over 100,000 Gold per day in entry fees alone. If they included the income generated through the citys Shops, the city should have no problem ensuring a daily income of 200,000 Gold. However, that was before they included Abyssal Star Citys upkeep cost. Not to mention, the Asura Mercenary Alliance also needed to use a portion of its income to purchase Lands in NPC Cities to expand its sphere of influence. Simply put, Asura couldnt afford to waste so many Credits every day, especially not over a long period. Yet, a competition of financial strength with the Flower of Seven Sins was fated to be a long and arduous process. Theres no need to offer such a large subsidy, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Moreover, none of you need to contribute any Credits. We can simply use the alliances Contribution Points to replace the Credit subsidy. Since this is the alliances problem, it will naturally be up to the alliance to deal with it. But the alliances Contribution Points have limited attraction over independent players. Most independent experts are only trying to acquire a Bronze membership to enter Abyssal Star City freely. They dont have much interest in the primordial tower, Liu Wusheng said with a bitter smile. It would naturally be wonderful if they could use Contribution Points as a subsidy instead of Credits. After all, one Contribution Point was equivalent to 40 Silver Coins already. Moreover, Contribution Points could only be spent in the mercenary alliance. So, by using Contribution Points as a subsidy, not only could they reduce the burden on the alliances finances, but they could minimize the actual outflow of funds. After all, purchasing a Bronze membership in the alliance cost 5,000 Contribution Points, while offering a Bronze membership cost the alliance next to nothing. However, the freedom of entering Abyssal Star City wasnt particularly tempting to most independent experts right now. After all, most players couldnt really benefit from Abyssal Star City before reaching Level 110. Currently, the only players visiting the city were merchant players and the various powers management personnel. No. These independent experts will soon become very interested in Asuras membership, Shi Feng said, smiling. Then, he took out a light-blue crystal from his bag and said, Starting today, members who have reached Bronze status or above in the Asura Mercenary Alliance will be allowed to exchange for this item! Chapter 3092 - Chapter 166 - Frightening Foundations A Lineage Crystal? Liu Wusheng and the others were stunned when they saw the light-blue crystal in Shi Fengs hand. Although they had never heard of the Lineage Crystal before, based on the information displayed before them, this Lineage Crystal was simply amazing! With this Lineage Crystal, players only needed to spend some Magic Crystals to convert to another race. There was no need to go through the trouble of finding and completing rare conversion quests or changing factions. Most importantly, the Lineage Crystal allowed players to convert to races available during primordial times rather than the descendants of those primordial races. This meant that players who converted their race using the Lineage Crystal would have a higher Life Rating than players who converted their race through completing quests. In other words, besides allowing players to convert to another race easily, the Lineage Crystal also increased players Life Ratings Compared to the miniature worlds inside the primordial tower, the Lineage Crystal would definitely be a hundred times more attractive to the majority of the experts in the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Guild Leader Black Flame, pardon me for asking this, but how many of these Lineage Crystals can the Asura Mercenary Alliance provide? Are there twenty? Or are there thirty? Liu Wusheng asked in a slightly trembling voice. Also, how many Contribution Points will it cost to exchange them? Is it two million? Or is it three million? Even by looking at the Lineage Crystals description alone, Liu Wusheng could tell that this item would send the entire Miniature Ancient World into an uproar. Setting aside the opportunity to gain the superior talents of other races, just the Lineage Crystals ability to grant players a higher Life Rating was already more than enough to tempt everyone in the Miniature Ancient World. An increase in Life Rating could bring improvements far more valuable than any piece of weapon or equipment could provide. For example, the higher a players Life Rating in Gods Domain, the stronger ones Basic Attributes and Physique would be compared to other players of the same tier and level. In addition, players would also have an easier time learning combat techniques with a higher Life Rating. It was similar to how players of a higher tier would have an easier time learning combat techniques than players of a lower tier. However, it was far too difficult to increase ones tier. Setting aside the barrier between Tier 5 and Tier 6, just the barrier between Tier 3 and Tier 4 was already more than enough to stump countless expert players. If a player could grow stronger without having to increase their tier, it meant that this player could secure more opportunities than other players of the same tier. This, in turn, meant that this player would have a much greater chance of ascending to a higher tier. With the Miniature Ancient World being opened for less than a month, every combat player in the Miniature Ancient World would probably go crazy over the Lineage Crystal if they learned of its existence. However, if the Asura Mercenary Alliance wanted to attract the attention of independent experts, having just one or two Lineage Crystals wouldnt do it. After all, any independent player with common sense would know that these one or two Lineage Crystals would end up in the hands of the various powers experts. There was no way independent experts like themselves would get a turn. However, if Asura offered twenty or thirty Lineage Crystals up for exchange, even independent players would have a chance at exchanging for a Lineage Crystal. Meanwhile, so long as a chance existed, the many independent players in the Miniature Ancient World would definitely try to earn the Asura Mercenary Alliances Contribution Points as if their lives depended on it. Of course, that was under the precondition that the Lineage Crystal wasnt priced too absurdly. While the Lineage Crystals might be more valuable than even Fragmented Legendary items, even Fragmented Legendary items were only valued at around 500,000 Gold. Although these Fragmented Legendary items were typically of the most inferior quality and only sold in special locations such as the Auction Houses of Dark NPC Cities, they were Fragmented Legendary items nonetheless. They could still provide players with a significant boost to combat power. Even if Fragmented Legendary items were more valuable in the Miniature Ancient World, the most a bottom-tier Fragmented Legendary item could sell for was around one million Gold. So, offering the Lineage Crystals for two million Contribution Points each was just about right. Any higher, and they would no longer be within reach of most independent players. After hearing Liu Wushengs questions, Hidden Soul and Frenzied Smile also turned to look at Shi Feng curiously. They, too, wondered how many Lineage Crystals Shi Feng could take out and how he planned on pricing them. Inwardly, though, both Hidden Soul and Frenzied Smile were resolved to purchase a Lineage Crystal for themselves even if it cost five million ContributionPoints. Two hundred crystals! Shi Feng said with a faint smile. Moreover, it wont cost too much to exchange for them. Anyone who is a Bronze member of the Asura Mercenary Alliance can exchange the Lineage Crystal for just one million Contribution Points. Silver and Gold members will even get 10% and 20% discounts. Of course, each member is only limited to one Lineage Crystal. Two hundred?! And at such a low price?! Liu Wusheng felt his head growing faint when he heard Shi Fengs words. Could you be joking, Guild Leader Black Flame? Although Lineage Crystals didnt provide as significant of an improvement to combat power as Fragmented Legendary items, the ability to reduce the difficulty of learning combat techniques, Skills, and Spells made the Lineage Crystals just as valuable as Fragmented Legendary items. Yet, Shi Feng was offering the Lineage Crystals for only one million Contribution Points. Moreover, this price could even be discounted with higher-ranking memberships. The various independent players would go crazy if they learned about this. After all, it went without saying that the various powers would also try to get their hands on the Lineage Crystals. Meanwhile, so long as an independent player managed to get their hands on a Lineage Crystal, they could immediately resell it for a huge sum of money. Setting aside the various superpowers, even the various first-rate Guilds would probably be willing to pay one million Gold for a Lineage Crystal. Moreover, a supply of 200 Lineage Crystals was more than enough to give independent players a good chance at getting their hands on some. There was no need to worry that the various powers would empty Asuras shelves in the blink of an eye. It should also let Asura attract the attention of the various independent players for a long time. When Shi Feng saw the dubious gazes everyone was giving him, he took out 200 Lineage Crystals from his bag and put them on the conference table. Then, he said, I already told you not to underestimate Asura so much. The Flower of Seven Sins might be strong, but that doesnt make Asura weak. The Lineage Crystals might be valuable, but that was only for now. Once players began entering the Boundary Mountain Range, they would realize that the Lineage Crystals werent all that valuable after all. At most, its value rivaled a top-tier Epic Weapon. The moment Shi Feng had gotten his hands on the Lineage Crystals, he had already decided to use them to increase the Asura Mercenary Alliances fame. Otherwise, once Tier 4 experts started appearing among the various superpowers, there was no way Asura could withstand an assault from them with only the small number of independent experts they managed to attract thus far. There really are two hundred crystals! Am I dreaming?! Liu Wusheng and Hidden Soul widened their eyes in shock when they saw the small pile of crystals on the table. These were two hundred Fragmented Legendary items they were talking about! They could already imagine how much of a sensation these Lineage Crystals would cause once their existence was publicized. Do you believe in Asuras strength now? Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at Hidden Soul. If there are no further problems, send a refusal notice to the Flower of Seven Sins. Tell them that they still do not have the qualifications to tell the Asura Mercenary Alliance how to do things. Also, inform all alliance members about the Lineage Crystals exchange. _ Support us at h+sted novel _ Okay! Ill get it done right away! Hidden Soul said, a rare smile appearing on her face. Chapter 3093 - Chapter 167 - Uproar in the Alliance Miniature Ancient World, Southern Zone, Red Obsidian City: As one of the Twelve Holy Cities in the Miniature Ancient Worlds Four Major Zones, Red Obsidian City was only one sea away from the Boundary Mountain Range. It was the largest seaside city in the Miniature Ancient Worlds Sea of Red Tears. Due to Red Obsidian City being one of the few seaside cities that could conduct maritime trade with the Boundary Mountain Range, it became a highly contested location for the various powers. As evidence, there were at least seven superpowers known to be using Red Obsidian City as the location for their main headquarters. There were also over twenty first-rate powers ignoring the threat of these superpowers and establishing their base of operations in Red Obsidian City. In less than a month since the Miniature Ancient World opened, Red Obsidian Citys player population had already exceeded eighty million. When it came to player population, it was a megacity that could rank within the top five out of the several hundred cities in the Miniature Ancient World. However, what the various powers of Red Obsidian City werent aware of was that there was actually a transcendental power secretly operating within the gray areas of the city. Meanwhile, this power was none other than the Flower of Seven Sins. Inside a VIP room in Red Tears Bar, the best bar available in Red Obsidian City At this time, a masked young man clad in silvery-gray clothing walked into the VIP room. The young man had a relatively average stature, measuring 1.7 meters only. After entering the room, the young man looked at the woman quietly sitting by the window and said, A message came in from the Asura Mercenary Alliance, Big Sis Omen. The woman in question wore a crimson one-piece dress, and she possessed an ethereal beauty that made her look like a beautiful doll carved by a masterful artisan. However, if one observed this woman closely, one would realize that the womans appearance wasnt the only astonishing thing about her. In addition to her looks, her level of 107 was more than enough to take the breath of any ordinary expert. Moreover, her crimson dress wasnt simply a cosmetic item. Instead, it was a bona fide Fragmented Legendary item. What message? the woman named Death Omen lazily asked as she glanced at the masked man. The messages sender is Big Sis Soul. She has turned down our suggestion on Asuras behalf. Moreover, Big Sis Soul has asked you to pass on a message to Commander Sky, saying that she will reclaim the position she lost! the masked man said with a chuckle. What a fool, Death Omen said with contempt on her face. It is precisely because she refused to submit to Lord sky that she has fallen to her current state. Had she chosen to go under Lord Skys wing as I did, she wouldve long since reached Tier 6 by now and matched me in strength. It is also because of Lord Skys kindness that she got away with only getting dismissed. Yet, as soon as she found herself an Outerworld backer, she thinks she can go against Lord Sky? What should we do now? Should we take action against Asura? the masked man asked. A mere Outerworld power dares interfere in the Flower of Seven Sins affairs? Do they honestly think a measly Guild like World Dominators can represent all of the powers in our Gods Domain? Since they refuse to obey, theres no need for them to continue existing in the Miniature Ancient World! Death Omen said, a flash of cold light appearing in her eyes. Pass down my words. From today onward, everyone who takes on the quest to obstruct the Asura Mercenary Alliance will not only receive rewards equivalent to Asuras quests, but they will also receive an additional 100% bonus paid in Contribution Points. A 100% bonus? Isnt that a little too much? the masked man exclaimed. Asura is mainly offering Mount quests right now, and even a Common Mount is worth 100,000 Credits. However, it will take, at most, 20 Half-step Refinement Realm experts to handle a team that is taking on such a quest. Just receiving an equivalent reward is already more than enough for them to make a significant profit. Theres no need for us to subsidize an additional 100,000 Credits. Essentially, theyd have to pay 200,000 Credits just to obstruct one of Asuras quests. Although they could offset half of that price using Contribution Points, these Contribution Points would eventually be used to exchange for the Flower of Seven Sins resources. So, theyd still be paying out of their own pockets at the end of the day. The ones below will only be motivated to move if we offer more money. A reward of just 100,000 Credits can only tempt a limited number of experts. Not to mention, there are plenty of Half-step Refinement Realm experts and first-rate powers helping the Asura Mercenary Alliance. So, its best to have the Refinement Realm experts on our side make a move, Death Omen calmly said. Also, inform the Executioners to move as well. I want you to destroy all of Asuras businesses as soon as possible. Then, well see how much more confidence Hidden Soul has in going against Lord Sky! Other powers in Gods Domain were afraid of going against the Asura Mercenary Alliance because they operated in the light, which made them for easy targets. However, the Flower of Seven Sins operated in the dark. There was no way Asura could target the Flower of Seven Sins if nobody even knew the whereabouts of the Flower of Seven Sins members and base of operations. If the Executioners move as well, that will make things simple, the masked man said, excitement appearing in his eyes. This was the biggest operation the Flower of Seven Sins had carried out since he had entered the Miniature Ancient World. The Executioners were a group of assassins the Flower of Seven Sins had nurtured internally, and even the weakest among them was a Refinement Realm expert. Meanwhile, the Executioners currently present in the Miniature Ancient World numbered 3,000. If 3,000 Refinement Realm experts took covert actions as a group, even the various superpowers would suffer severe losses, let alone an Outerworld power. While the Flower of Seven Sins was making its move, a huge announcement was made in the Asura Mercenary Alliances main headquarters. Lineage Crystals were officially available for exchange now! Are you kidding me? Can we really exchange for such an item? _ Support us at hosted novel _ One million points?! Isnt the exchange price way too high?! You think one million points is a lot? If you have a million points or a Lineage Crystal, Id be willing to buy it off your hands for 500,000 Gold. How about it? One million Contribution Points will only get you 400,000 Gold. Youd be making an easy 100,000 Gold just by reselling the Lineage Crystal to me. Thats basically enough money for a large villa. Ill pay 600,000 Gold! I can give you even more if youre willing to accept Credits! Ill even pay the full sum on the spot! Anyone interested? You want to buy something thats as valuable as a Fragmented Legendary item for just 600,000 Gold? Did you forget to wake up today? Shortly after the exchange list over at the Asura Mercenary Alliances warehouse got updated, a heated debate quickly ensued among the players that had flooded to the warehouse after reading the announcement, a flame of desire igniting in everyones hearts. In the current situation where players could not ascend to Tier 4, anyone who managed to convert to a powerful race would essentially gain a Fragmented Legendary item. They would instantly soar to become one of the strongest experts in the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, thered be no need to worry that others might steal this advantage away from them. Not to mention, the benefits of having a stronger race could remain useful even after players reached Tier 4 and Tier 5. So, how could anyone resist the temptation of the Lineage Crystal? This wont do! I need to tell the commander about this quickly! Have our brothers get ready to move right away! The alliance might run out of quests if we waste any more time! Something big has happened, Guild Leader! The Asura Mercenary Alliance has lost its mind! Its offering an item thats as good as a Fragmented Legendary item for only one million Contribution Points! While the crowd in front of the warehouse talked about the Lineage Crystal, many of those present also started contacting their companions, subordinates, and superiors. For a time, everyone in the Asura Mercenary Alliance went into a frenzy. Meanwhile, shortly after the Asura Mercenary Alliance pulled this stunt, news of the Lineage Crystal also reached the ears of the various powers. Chapter 3094 - Chapter 168 - So, This is Asura? Hundred Flow City, Soulfire adventurer teams gathering point: Stop hesitating, Captain. Many powers have already gathered at Asuras headquarters to register. If we dont hurry up and join as well, there wont be any Lineage Crystals left for us, Moon Rain said as she looked at Southern Tiger. Your strength will rise to the next level so long as you can get your hands on a Lineage Crystal. Well also have a much easier time exploring the Boundary Mountain Range in the future. We might even be able to get ahead of other powers and pioneer a path into the Boundary Mountain Range. Many powers in the Miniature Ancient World had decided to take a wait-and-see approach when the Asura Mercenary Alliance started recruiting members. After all, while Abyssal Star City was located very close to the Boundary Mountain Range, mainstream players were nowhere near reaching Level 115. Moreover, joining Asura would mean losing the ability to go against the mercenary alliance. In addition, members would also be responsible for protecting the mercenary alliance. In a situation where the Five Great Super Guilds were targeting the Abyssal Star Primordial City, most people felt that the Asura Mercenary Alliance could, at most, survive until the various superpowers experts reached Level 120 and got promoted to Tier 4. Not to mention, the various superpowers might have long since established Guild Towns and Cities near the Boundary Mountain Range even before mainstream players reached Level 115. In that case, thered be no benefit in joining the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Most importantly, players could still enter Abyssal Star City even without joining the Asura Mercenary Alliance. At most, theyd have to stand in line for some time. However, things were different now. The Lineage Crystal that the Asura Mercenary Alliance had introduced into its exchange system recently was an item that rivaled Fragmented Legendary items in terms of usefulness. The various powers and independent expert teams might be able to ignore the benefit of having a slightly faster leveling speed. However, there was no way they could ignore something as valuable and useful as a Fragmented Legendary item. After all, the Lineage Crystal was something that could help establish a powerful team, and having a powerful team meant being able to acquire more and better weapons and equipment. Epic Weapons and Equipment might be powerful, but they were only a starting point for peak expert teams. What these teams aimed to acquire were Fragmented Legendary items, and theyd have to raid incredibly challenging Team Dungeons and secret lands to do so. Meanwhile, items such as the Lineage Crystal would be crucial in helping them accomplish this goal. However, the problem was that only members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance could exchange the Lineage Crystal. Or, more specifically, members who had reached the Bronze rank or above. Im not hesitating, Southern Tiger said with a bitter smile. I already sent someone to apply to join Asura as soon as I received news of the Lineage Crystal. However, there are just too many people applying to join, and the guy I sent says that there are several tens of thousands of people waiting in line before him There are actually so many people waiting in line? Moon Rain was a little stunned when she heard Southern Tigers words. After all, it hadnt been more than fifteen minutes since news of the Lineage Crystal came out. Yet, there were already several tens of thousands of players waiting in line to join Asura over at the mercenary alliances registration point in Hundred Flow City The speed of everyones reactions was even more exaggerated than when they were competing for Team Dungeons out in the fields. With so many people waiting in line, itll take us at least a day before we can pick up a quest, Southern Tiger said, sighing. The only thing we can do now is to try and collect some Contribution Points from Asuras members or find a trustworthy member of Asura and have them pick up a quest and turn it in on our behalf. But it wont be easy to find such a person. Asuras regulations state that normal members are only allowed to accept basic quests. Only higher-ranking members are allowed to take on more difficult quests and acquire more Contribution Points. Although quests for Common Mounts are available in large numbers right now, members of Asura will first have to complete fifteen basic quests before they can accept a Common Mount quest. As for Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Mount quests, only Bronze members can accept those. Currently, there are only a very small number of players with Bronze membership in Asura, and every one of them is a target of competition for the various Guilds and adventurer teams. Although Ive tried asking around, none of the people I know have a Bronze membership in Asura Someone with Bronze membership? Moon Rain suddenly thought of someone when she heard Southern Tigers words. Captain, do you still remember that Advanced Legacy we gave away some time ago? You mean the one we gave to that girl from Zero Wing? Southern Tiger said, similarly recalling Wu Lingling. Originally, Southern Tiger was trying to get Shi Feng, a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, to owe Soulfire a favor by giving the other party one of Soulfires Gold Order. Unfortunately, Shi Feng refused to take the bait, so Southern Tiger settled with giving the Gold Order to Wu Lingling. Although Soulfire had technically formed a close relationship with Shi Feng through this action, in essence, Wu Lingling was the one who owed Soulfire a favor. You told me to maintain contact with her afterward, so I did exactly that, and Ive been exchanging messages with her and offering her guidance all this time, Moon Rain said, smiling. Currently, not only has she become a Refinement Realm expert already, but she is also a Bronze member of Asura. We can totally partner with her. I believe she wouldnt refuse our offer, either. Shes a Bronze member in Asura? Southern Tiger was momentarily stunned. He didnt think that the little girl following Shi Feng would improve so rapidly, becoming not only a Refinement Realm expert but even a Bronze member in Asura in such a short time. This was absolutely astonishing. Should I contact her, Captain? Moon Rain asked. Of course! Do it quickly before other powers take her away from us! Southern Tiger hurriedly said. Find the original at h*sted novel. While Asuras member count was skyrocketing, a masked man, who had just arrived in Hundred Flow City with a team of 3,000 Refinement Realm experts, couldnt help but be stunned by the sight before him. Whats going on here? The masked man blinked his eyes in disbelief as he looked at the crowded Teleportation Hall. Setting aside how many people were inside Hundred Flow Citys Teleportation Hall right now, just the number of Refinement Realm experts he could sense exceeded 5,000 already. This was even more exaggerated than the situation in Red Obsidian Citys Teleportation Hall. In addition, the total number of Flowing Water Realm experts and Void Realm experts in the Teleportation Hall easily exceeded 100. Since when did experts of such caliber become so common? It should be known that Hundred Flow City was only a small city compared to the other NPC Cities in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, the quality of its player population right now was superior to even Holy Cities. What the masked man found most unbelievable was that these experts originating from various powers were all eagerly initiating conversations with players wearing the Asura Mercenary Alliances Bronze Emblem. Meanwhile, every one of these experts sought to either befriend or form teams with these Bronze members of Asura Chapter 3095 - Chapter 169 - Madness VS Madness Im afraid well have trouble taking action, Boss Wolf. Most of these expert teams trying to complete Asuras commissioned quests come from the various powers, and many of them have Refinement Realm experts among them, a masked girl with a short stature said as she approached a similarly masked man standing at a corner of Hundred Flow Citys main street. Ive also found out why so many experts have gathered here. Asura has seemingly found some items that can allow players to convert their race, and it is currently offering these items up for exchange. Right now, the various powers and independent experts are all trying to earn the Contribution Points necessary to exchange for these items. Race conversion items? The masked man was a little stunned by this news. Asura is willing to go as far as to let the various powers freely exchange for such items? Race conversion was normally a very troublesome procedure. Even so, many players sought to convert their race. This was because converting to any other race would mean gaining greater combat power than what they would have as a human player. Normally, if a power were to get its hands on a race conversion item, it would definitely use the item on its own members rather than let outsiders exchange for it. Even the Flower of Seven Sins was no exception. Should we proceed with our plans, Boss Wolf? the masked girl asked. The Flower of Seven Sins might be powerful, but it still wasnt an easy task to go up against the Refinement Realm experts of numerous powers. Ill report this to Commander Omen and seek her opinion, the masked man said after giving the matter some thought. In the meantime, keep an eye on Asuras Bronze members. Understood! the masked girl responded before swiftly disappearing. After the masked girl left, the masked man promptly contacted Death Omen and informed her about the Asura Mercenary Alliances latest development. It seems Asura has already prepared a countermeasure for us, Big Sis Omen. Im afraid well have to suffer much greater losses than anticipated if we choose to continue with our plan the masked man said in a low voice. It seems Hidden Soul has found a good backer, Death Omen said, sneering. However, this Asura Mercenary Alliance simply doesnt know what kind of existence it has chosen to provoke. Does that mean we will proceed with the plan, Big Sis Omen? the masked man asked, a hint of excitement appearing in his eyes. Of course! Moreover, were going to make a big fanfare of it and let everyone know that it is the Flower of Seven Sins work! Death Omen said with a somewhat frenzied smile. Well have to let Hidden Soul know how laughable her backer is! Ill start making the preparations right away! the masked man said excitedly. Ill let the various powers understand that its not in their best interests to accept Asuras quests! Go ahead. Make sure to let Hidden Soul know that all of her efforts are futile and that she will only be harming whichever power she relies on! Death Omen said, nodding before hanging up the call. Two hours after Death Omen ended her call with her subordinate, an event that shook the various powers occurred in the Miniature Ancient World. After several years of silence, the Flower of Seven Sins had finally started to take action again! The Flower of Seven Sins had dispatched several thousand Refinement Realm experts or above this time to disrupt those who had taken on the Asura Mercenary Alliances quests. Not only did these experts annihilate the expert teams of Zero Wing and Witchs Sin, but they had also decimated over a hundred expert teams belonging to the various powers. Everyone knew this was the Flower of Seven Sins doing because of the Convict Flower left behind on all of the battlefields. The Convict Flower was a plant the Flower of Seven Sins nurtured. Members of the organization could only collect the Convict Flower when they were out doing a quest on the organizations behalf. Meanwhile, after completing their quest, members of the organization were required to leave the Convict Flower behind to prove they were responsible for completing the quest. However, the Flower of Seven Sins members typically wouldnt leave a Convict Flower behind when dealing with normal quests. Typically, they would only do so when taking on high-profile quests. It had already been several years since anyone had seen the Convict Flower appear. The last time the Convict Flower appeared was when the Flower of Seven Sins had assassinated a Super Guilds Great Elder. Meanwhile, the person responsible for carrying out the assassination was Death Omen, the current bearer of the title of Pride. Death Omen had instantly risen to fame after completing that assassination, and there was nothing the Super Guild in question could do to retaliate against her. After all, Death Omen had already reached Tier 6 back then. Not to mention, the Flower of Seven Sins was an incredibly mysterious organization. Hence, the Super Guild had no choice but to swallow the loss. Now, the Convict Flower had bloomed once again. It was also obvious who the Convict Flower had bloomed for. Indeed! It was for the Asura Mercenary Alliance! Madness! This is madness! Who the heck is targeting the Asura Mercenary Alliance?! Whoever it is, they must have paid an astronomical price to get the Flower of Seven Sins to make such a huge move. Could it be World Dominators? I doubt World Dominators can afford such a price. I heard that the Flower of Seven Sins had dispatched over 6,000 Refinement Realm experts for the operation this time. Thats probably more than half of the Refinement Realm experts the Flower of Seven Sins has sent to the Miniature Ancient World. How much would it take to get the Flower of Seven Sins to mobilize so many people? Im thinking that Asura should have long since known that the Flower of Seven Sins would target it. That would explain why Asura would suddenly offer something as tempting as the Lineage Crystal up for exchange. Indeed. Thats the only way Asura can resist the Flower of Seven Sins. However, after this initial attack conducted by the Flower of Seven Sins, the various powers and independent experts will probably start to weigh their options since continuing to take on Asuras quests would mean going against the Flower of Seven Sins. The Flower of Seven Sins has never failed a job before. I guess Asuras good days are coming to an end. Even if the mercenary alliance doesnt face destruction, it will have no choice but to hide in Abyssal Star City. For a time, the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers and independent players fervently discussed the matter of the Flower of Seven Sins targeting the Asura Mercenary Alliance. The scale of the Flower of Seven Sins operation this time ranked among the top out of all the operations it had carried out in the past. After all, the Flower of Seven Sins had mobilized over 6,000 Refinement Realm experts against the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Some of the weaker Super Guilds might not even have this many Refinement Realm experts in the Miniature Ancient World. In other words, the Flower of Seven Sins had mobilized a Super Guilds worth of Refinement Realm experts against the Asura Mercenary Alliance. The Asura Mercenary Alliance might have the Abyssal Star Primordial City serving as its foundation, but even an existence as powerful as Asura would probably be helpless against so many Refinement Realm experts. Abyssal Star City, Asura Mercenary Alliances headquarters: Currently, four people sat inside the spacious conference room of the headquarters building. They were Hidden Soul, Liu Wusheng, Frenzied Smile, and Shi Feng. Apart from Shi Feng, the others in the room all wore gloomy expressions. Everyone, report your situations, Shi Feng suddenly said. According to Asuras statistics, we have suffered over 20,000 casualties thus far. Of them, over 5,000 are Refinement Realm experts, Hidden Soul said, gritting her teeth. Although these members have not uttered any complaints about their deaths, their willingness to continue taking on commissions is very low Its not just low. Nobody is even willing to apply to join Asura right now. On the other hand, the number of people applying to withdraw from the alliance has increased significantly, Liu Wusheng said, shaking his head. The scale of the Flower of Seven Sins operation this time is simply too large. The difference in strength between both sides is also obvious. Moreover, in the case of partnered Guilds like us, the Flower of Seven Sins is even targeting members who arent taking on the alliances commissions. Im afraid well have to limit our operations to just Abyssal Star City and its surroundings. We cannot continue operations in the various NPC Cities Hidden Souls expression grew even darker when she heard Liu Wushengs words. The scale of the Flower of Seven Sins mobilization this time had thoroughly exceeded their expectations. The organization had mobilized at least 70% of its manpower in the Miniature Ancient World against the Asura Mercenary Alliance. The scale of this operation was so absurd that Hidden Soul couldnt help but wonder if the Flower of Seven Sins had gone crazy. What about the Flower of Seven Sins losses? Shi Feng asked. The Flower of Seven Sins losses? Frenzied Smile revealed a bitter smile when he heard Shi Fengs question. The Flower of Seven Sins has made ample preparations this time. According to my insider information, theyve suffered only a little over a thousand casualties. Compared to the Asura Mercenary Alliances losses, the Flower of Seven Sins losses was nothing. Only a thousand? It seems the Flower of Seven Sins has made quite a profit this time, Shi Feng calmly stated. Since the Flower of Seven Sins is willing to splurge to such an extent, well play along with it. Send a notice to everyone in the alliance. From now on, we will be awarding 10,000 Contribution Points to all Common Mount commissions. Rewards for Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Mount commissions will similarly be increased by five times. Lets see which one of us will last longer! So long as the reward was sufficient, there would always be brave people willing to take the risk. This was also the tactic the Greater Gods Domains various hegemonic powers had used to deal with him and Zero Wing during his previous life. Both he and Zero Wing had suffered a lot because of this tactic. Now, Shi Feng didnt mind letting the Flower of Seven Sins have a taste of this tactic as well. Five times? Hidden Soul couldnt help but look at Shi Feng as if he had gone crazy. Guild Leader Black Flame, well run out of Lineage Crystals in no time if you do that! It only cost one million Contribution Points to exchange for a Lineage Crystal. However, the various expert teams werent just obtaining one Common Mount a day. If an expert team was lucky, it was even possible for them to acquire ten Mounts or more. That would mean a daily income of over 100,000 Contribution Points per expert team. If an expert team got lucky and acquired two or three Bronze Mounts, which would be worth 50,000 Contribution Points after the reward increase, on top of the Common Mounts, it would earn two to three hundred thousand Contribution Points per day. It should be known that this was only one expert team. What if there were fifty or sixty of such expert teams? In that case, Asura would be paying out over fifteen million Contribution Points per day. Moreover, that was before accounting for the other quests Asura offered. At this rate, Asura would probably run out of Lineage Crystals before mainstream players could reach Level 115 and start making use of Abyssal Star City. At that time, Asura would no longer have any means of resisting the Flower of Seven Sins. Aside from that, I have another announcement to make. Asura will also place a bounty on the Flower of Seven Sins members from today onward. Refinement Realm experts will be worth 300 points, Flowing Water Realm experts will be worth 1,000 points, Void Realm experts will be worth 3,000 points, and Domain Realm experts will be worth 10,000 points. We need to make the Flower of Seven Sins know that there is a price to pay for targeting us! Chapter 3096 - Chapter 170 - Earth-Shattering Silence enveloped the conference room after Shi Feng finished speaking. Of the three other people in the room, Hidden Soul and Frenzied Smile looked at Shi Feng in shock and surprise, while Liu Wusheng looked at Shi Feng with unprecedented joy. Guild Leader Black Flame, if you really go through with this, the Asura Mercenary Alliance will be forming a never-ending grudge with the Flower of Seven Sins Frenzied Smile reminded Shi Feng in a low voice. It was true that the Flower of Seven Sins targeting the Asura Mercenary Alliances quest takers had affected the mercenary alliances reputation and development to a significant extent. However, this was merely the Flower of Seven Sins warning and putting on a show of force for the Asura Mercenary Alliance. If Asura was willing to give up on Hidden Soul and the other former members of the Flower of Seven Sins, the Flower of Seven Sins would most likely stop its actions against Asura. After all, sending such a large number of experts against Asura was a significant expenditure even for the Flower of Seven Sins. Once the Flower of Seven Sins achieved its goal, thered be no point continuing this expensive farce. However, if Asura publicly placed a bounty on the Flower of Seven Sins, it would signal the start of an all-out war between Asura and the Flower of Seven Sins. Apart from the Five Great Super Guilds, no other power had ever dared to openly place a bounty on the Flower of Seven Sins thus far. Setting aside the futility of putting a bounty on such a secretive organization, putting a bounty on the Flower of Seven Sins was essentially an act of provocation. Meanwhile, no sane person would want to provoke a transcendental power like the Flower of Seven Sins. If Asura truly dared to place a bounty on the Flower of Seven Sins, it wouldnt matter even if Hidden Soul left the mercenary alliance later. The Flower of Seven Sins still wouldnt spare the mercenary alliance. What of it? Shi Fengs voice suddenly turned cold. The grudge between us has already been formed the moment the Flower of Seven Sins decided to act against us! Shi Feng had never harbored any good feelings toward assassination organizations like the Flower of Seven Sins. He would have turned a blind eye to the Flower of Seven Sins existence had it stayed out of his business. However, now that the Flower of Seven Sins was openly challenging him, he wouldnt mind giving it a fight. So what if the Flower of Seven Sins was a transcendental power? It was only powerful in this sub-world. He had clashed against many powers that were dozens of times stronger than the Flower of Seven Sins in the past. Compared to those powers, the Flower of Seven Sins was nothing. The current Zero Wing might be incredibly weak, and the Asura Mercenary Alliance he had established was just starting to take shape, but that didnt mean he would just allow the Flower of Seven Sins to push him around. Not to mention, he had already gained access to the Stratified Abyssal Realm. If they were competing solely in terms of resources, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was in no way inferior to the Flower of Seven Sins. Hidden Soul felt touched and guilty when she heard Shi Fengs words. Originally, Shi Feng had tasked her with establishing the Asura Mercenary Alliance so that the mercenary alliance could be of service to Zero Wing. Yet, now, not only did the mercenary alliance offer hardly any help to Zero Wing, but it had even ended up offending the Flower of Seven Sins because of her, which had, in turn, caused Zero Wing to suffer significant losses. Carry out the changes. Its about time we let the Flower of Seven Sins know the consequence of provoking the Asura Mercenary Alliance! Shi Feng said firmly. Afterward, everyone present followed Shi Fengs instructions and informed everyone in the Asura Mercenary Alliance of the changes to the quest rewards. A 500% increase?! Asura is amazing! We can earn 10,000 Contribution Points from just one Common Mount and 50,000 Contribution Points from a Bronze Mount. If were lucky, we can get our hands on a Lineage Crystal in only four or five days. With this, even the various superpowers apex experts will probably be tempted to move. The increase to quest rewards is nothing. Have you guys not seen the bounty? This is an open bounty placed on the Flower of Seven Sins! The Flower of Seven Sins will probably go crazy once it learns about this bounty. The Flower of Seven Sins and Asura are definitely becoming mortal enemies now. Unlike past bounties on the Flower of Seven Sins, Asuras bounty is too tempting to resist. Its also much easier to find the Flower of Seven Sins members now since theyre actively attacking those taking on Asuras quests. Asura is paying 300 points per Refinement Realm expert, and the Flower of Seven Sins members typically move in 100-man teams. If we make ample preparations, thats an easy 30,000 Contribution Points. Thats even more profitable than hunting for Mounts. Shortly after the Asura Mercenary Alliances announcement, an uproar erupted among the mercenary alliances members. It was especially true for the various powers expert teams considering withdrawing from the alliance. Now, none of them thought of withdrawing from the alliance. The Flower of Seven Sins assassins might be very scary, but the rewards the Asura Mercenary Alliance offered were simply too much to resist. After all, not even the various superpowers offered the opportunity to exchange for a Fragmented Legendary item in just four or five days. It might be difficult to beat the Flower of Seven Sins experts, but if they prepared some special tools and magic scrolls, it was entirely possible for them to turn the tables on those experts. Not to mention, it didnt really matter even if they couldnt complete their Mount quests since they could similarly earn a significant amount of Contribution Points so long as they killed the Flower of Seven Sins Refinement Realm experts. Less than half a day after the Asura Mercenary Alliance announced the changes to its quest rewards, Hidden Soul hurriedly ran to the Guild Leaders Office in Zero Wings Residence. Youve really blown things out of proportion this time, Guild Leader Black Flame. Six Lineage Crystals have already been redeemed in just half a day. The various major powers expert teams are moving in full force. Even the various superpowers experts have taken action. At this rate, we will have to give away at least a dozen Lineage Crystal a day, and well probably run out of Lineage Crystals in half a month, Hidden Soul said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry about this situation. The Flower of Seven Sins is mostly just sitting aside and observing the situation right now. By the looks of it, they plan to only go all-out once we run out of Lineage Crystals. Hidden Soul had to admit that the rewards Shi Feng offered were indeed effective in getting the various powers to move for Asura. In just half a day, the Flower of Seven Sins plan to target Asura had become a joke. According to the insider information she received, the Flower of Seven Sins had even lost over 2,000 Refinement Realm experts. This was a significant loss, and even the Flower of Seven Sins wouldnt be able to take it if it suffered such losses every day. This was why the Flower of Seven Sins had become warier in letting its experts take action. Of course, to ensure that Asura maintained its high quest rewards, the Flower of Seven Sins would still have some of its members attack Asuras quest takers. The Flower of Seven Sins had even increased the rewards of its assassination quests to tempt some of its stronger members to take action. Simply put, the Flower of Seven Sins was biding its time. Once Asura ran out of Lineage Crystals, the various powers experts would naturally stop behaving so crazily. At that time, it would be the end for the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Im afraid we will have to disappoint them. They will probably never see such a day arrive! Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, he took out a dark-gold crystal from his bag, handed it to Hidden Soul, and said, Take this Advanced Lineage Crystal. Consider it an advance payment for what I need you to do next. Follow the instructions in the item description and absorb the crystal. Then, Ill need you to follow me somewhere. The Stratified Abyssal Realm was a gathering place for the many worlds of Gods Domain. Many powerful native players also inhabited it. So, it wasnt exaggerated to say that the place was infested with experts. It was on an entirely different level compared to the Miniature Ancient World. Likewise, the Stratified Abyssal Realm also possessed bountiful resources. Moreover, every Stratified Abyssal Realm had its own local specialties that could be sold for astronomical prices even in the Greater Gods Domain. So long as he could form a stable trade route with the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Zero Wing would have no trouble asserting dominance over the various powers in the Boundary Mountain Range. At that time, even the Five Great Super Guilds would have a much bigger headache dealing with Zero Wing. However, if Shi Feng wanted to establish a foothold in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, he couldnt do it by himself. He also needed third-floor experts like Hidden Soul. This novel is _hosted_ by h0sted n0v3l. However, not just any third-floor expert would do. After all, this was the Stratified Abyssal Realm they were talking about. Only a third-floor expert who had converted to a higher lifeform could be considered a truly powerful expert in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. An Advanced Lineage Crystal? Hidden Soul was greatly shocked when she looked at the dark-gold crystal in her hand. The normal Lineage Crystal was already plenty amazing of an item. She didnt think thered be an even better version of it available. This situation led her to wonder how much more strength Zero Wing had kept hidden. We have limited time. Quickly go to the primordial tower and absorb the crystal. Whatever higher lifeform you manage to convert to will depend on your personal abilities, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Currently, he only had five Advanced Lineage Crystals on hand. Originally, he had planned to let Su Qianliu and the other executives of Zero Wing use these crystals. However, he quickly abandoned this idea. Advanced Lineage Crystals were different from the normal Lineage Crystals. The greater the control a player had over their body, the better the results they could yield from the Advanced Lineage Crystal. Su Qianliu and the others might have grown a lot recently, but they were still far from having the ability to make full use of the Advanced Lineage Crystal. Meanwhile, each player could only use one Advanced Lineage Crystal in their life. So, itd be a huge waste to let Su Qianliu and the others use an Advanced Lineage Crystal now. Hidden Soul nodded to Shi Fengs urging. She understood that Shi Feng must have something very important he needed her help with. Without hesitation, she promptly left for the primordial tower with the Advanced Lineage Crystal in hand. Meanwhile, after seeing Hidden Soul leave, Shi Feng carefully retrieved a dark crystal from his bag. This crystal was none other than the Primal Lineage Crystal he had obtained from the Dark Titan. I wanted to wait a little longer before using it, but I have no other choice if I want to have an easier time in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng took out the 10,000 Mana Stones he had prepared beforehand and activated the Primal Lineage Crystal. Chapter 3097 - Chapter 171 - Primal Human The Lineage Crystal was different from your average Race Conversion Quests. The races players could convert to using the Lineage Crystal wasnt fixed. Instead, the Lineage Crystal would provide players with a list of optimal races after scanning their current abilities and potential. Meanwhile, the Lineage Crystal identified players potential through the degree of control they could exert over their bodies. A players potential was especially important when using an Advanced Lineage Crystal. Any expert beneath the Domain Realm would only get to choose from the most common higher lifeforms. In such cases, players would only have slightly stronger Physique and Basic Attributes than players who had used a normal Lineage Crystal. Players could only utilize an Advanced Lineage Crystal to its full potential after reaching the Domain Realm. At that time, theyd have a chance of converting into powerful higher lifeforms such as Demidragons and High Elves and gaining strength that would allow them to look down on others of the same tier. Theyd gain strength rivaling Archaic Species of the same tier. Meanwhile, the requirements to use a Primal Lineage Crystal were even higher. Not only did players have to reach the Domain Realm, but theyd also need to have considerable achievements in the Realms of Truth. At the very least, anyone thinking of using a Primal Lineage Crystal should be at the Transcendental Realm, the third level of the Realms of Truth, to make full use of the Primal Lineage Crystal. Fortunately, Shi Feng had already mastered the Transcendental Realm. After Shi Feng completed the dozen or so instructions listed on the Primal Lineage Crystals description, three options appeared before him. The first option was a Dragonoid. If he chose this option, he would gain a three-meter-tall body with a tail and arms covered in scales. Dragonoids were different from Demidragons. They were one of the primal lifeforms in Gods Domain. They were the result of Dragons abandoning their draconic form and taking on human-like bodies. While Dragonoids might not have the powerful bodies of Dragons, they retained the Dragon races talent for magic. The second option was an Ancient Elf. If he chose this option, hed have a two-meter-tall body that was covered in magic runes. Ancient Elves possessed Mana affinity far beyond that of Elves. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that they were Mana itself, and they could effortlessly master Super-Ancient Spells that modern Elves could not. When Shi Feng saw the third option, he couldnt help but be stunned. The sample image of the third option showed no changes to his current appearance. If he had to get into the specifics and point out a difference, itd be his eyes. At first glance, his eyes in the image looked no different than his current eyes. However, when he took a closer look, he noticed tiny specks of starlight scattered across his eyes. When Shi Feng saw this image, a name quickly popped into his mind. Ancient Human! Also known as a Primal Human! Ancient Humans were humans that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain. However, unlike modern humans, Ancient Humans possessed the Eyes of Reality that could see through all things. In reality, the Identification Skills that exist in the current Gods Domain were merely Skills created to imitate the Eyes of Reality of Ancient Humans. Even the War Gods Temples Eyes of Truth was no exception. Meanwhile, the reason these imitations were created was due to the decline of Ancient Humans. Gods Domains environment had continuously declined as time passed, the Mana available in the environment growing thinner and thinner. Because of this changing environment, the quality of Ancient Humans also continuously degraded generation after generation until they eventually became the humans of today. Aside from the Eyes of Truth, Ancient Humans also possessed physical qualities far superior to modern humans. The environment available in the early days of Gods Domain was brimming with Mana. During that era, Ancient Humans had yet to make major advancements in any aspect. Yet, despite this situation, Ancient Humans still managed to survive in a world infested with Ferocious Beasts. That was because Ancient Humans possessed physical qualities that allowed them to trade blows with Ferocious Beasts. Among modern humans, the only existences that could rival Ancient Humans were probably Heroes. Meanwhile, Heroes were existences who had been blessed by Gods and possessed the strength to fight against Dragons. Becoming a Dragonoid or an Ancient Elf might provide me with stronger physical qualities, but the appearances of these two races arent suitable for the current Gods Domain. Moreover, both races tend toward magical classes. So, it seems becoming an Ancient Human is my only choice. After pondering over the three races for some time, Shi Feng eventually settled on the third optionAncient Human. Both Dragonoids and Ancient Elves were races extremely proficient in magic. However, Shi Feng was a Swordsman. While being good at manipulating Mana might give him an easier time ascending to higher tiers, a pair of eyes capable of seeing through everything was much more useful for a Swordsman. After Shi Feng chose to become an Ancient Human, the Mana Stones he prepared promptly transformed into a huge stream of Mana that flowed into his body, the Mana continuously strengthening and altering his body. Meanwhile, this process continued for over an hour before ending. So, this is an Ancient Human? When Shi Feng opened his eyes and looked at the world around him, an indescribable sense of shock and joy filled him. Setting aside his physical body that rivaled Archaic Species of the same tier, just the ability of his eyes to see how Mana operated was already more than enough to cause any magical class expert to lose their minds. Normally, even perceiving Mana was already an incredibly difficult feat. This was because Mana typically couldnt be seen with the naked eye. Seeing mist-like Mana didnt constitute seeing Mana, either. This was because players couldnt actually see how Mana operated just by looking at its physical manifestation. They could only do so by feeling it with their various senses. However, Shi Feng could currently see all of these things visually. Although the colors were faint and translucent, he could see all of the conversions taking place around him with perfect clarity. He could even see the Mana the mundane objects around him radiated. The ability to see the conversion of Mana taking place around him was more than enough to elevate his combat standard to a whole new level. With this ability alone, he could find the best entry point in the Mana around him to execute his Skills, Spells, or combat techniques, improving their raw power. He could also observe the change in his opponents flow of Mana to determine their movements. This would be much more effective than observing the changes in his opponents muscles. In Gods Domain, players had to move their physical bodies as they did with their bodies in the real world. It meant that players had to move several muscles in a series to execute a movement. While this process typically happened in the blink of an eye, it was still a process that involved several steps, and variables could occur at any of these steps. So, predicting a players movements through observing their muscles wasnt 100% reliable. However, it was a different story for Mana. Players only needed one thought to execute an adjustment to their Mana. If players decided to execute an action with their Mana, the changes would reflect on their Mana immediately. This meant that the changes they decided to make would also immediately become apparent to Shi Feng. While this still wasnt enough to tell him exactly what kind of action his opponent was planning to make, it could still let him make better predictions. After spending some time getting used to his new body and talents, Shi Feng quickly contacted Su Qianliu, Blackie, Firecloud, Happy Snow, and Rampant Blade, having them gather at his office. Aside from those five, Shi Feng also called Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and Lin Yaoyue over to his office under the excuse of doing a quest for Zero Wing. Zero Wing might have nine entry slots for the Stratified Abyssal Realm, but hed only be bringing baggage if he brought that lacked strength. Shi Fengs goal was to establish a foothold in the Stratified Abyssal Realm so that Zero Wing could conduct long-term trade with a native power. That way, not only could he shrug off the losses he suffered from clashing with the Flower of Seven Sins, but he could also elevate Zero Wing and Asura into the hegemons of the Miniature Ancient World. After all, the resources available in the Stratified Abyssal Realm were far beyond what was available in an isolated Gods Domain. So long as he partnered with a relatively strong native power in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, acquiring items such as the Lineage Crystal in large quantities wasnt difficult. However, the precondition to partnering with a native power was to have sufficient money and strength. Find the original at h*sted novel. Meanwhile, the eight people Shi Feng had chosen were the best candidates he could think of. There was no need to worry about Zero Wings management, either. Su Qianliu and the others could still manage the Guilds affairs via offline means. As for the Asura Mercenary Alliance, Shi Feng had left its management to Liu Wusheng and Frenzied Smile. Both of them were veterans when it came to managing large organizations. So long as there were enough Lineage Crystals, they should have no problems managing the mercenary alliance. After Su Qianliu and the others gathered in Shi Fengs office, they couldnt help but be surprised when they saw that Hidden Soul had changed into a Demonkin. As for Shi Fengs changes, nobody present noticed a thing. Even after everyone had gathered, Shi Feng briefly told them that theyd be heading to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, which was outside their Gods Domain, and had all eight of them sign a confidentiality agreement. Then, he had everyone teleport to the Dragonfall Secret Land. This situation excited Su Qianliu and the others. They didnt think theyd have a chance to travel outside their Gods Domain. Lin Yaoyue was particularly excited by this situation. As a first-rate Guilds executive member, she knew that this was an incredibly rare opportunity even for Tier 5 experts. Yet, Zero Wing did not hesitate to give an outer member like herself this opportunity. This situation caused her to further elevate her evaluation of Zero Wing. Before teleporting to the secret land himself, Shi Feng had retrieved the two million Magic Crystals stored in Zero Wings warehouse to use as trade currency. Then, after spending some time traveling through the Sealing Labyrinth with his team, they arrived at the Sealing Labyrinths fifth-floor hall within the time he had agreed on with the Tower Alliance and Hundred Flower Palace. When Shi Fengs team arrived, the Tower Alliances and Hundred Flower Palaces members had long since been waiting for them. Evidently, the two sides were much more eager to enter the Stratified Abyssal Realm than Shi Feng. Since everyones here, lets begin! Blood Hammer said eagerly after glancing at Shi Fengs team. Okay, lets begin! Crimson Heart nodded, a hint of anticipation in her eyes. Subsequently, Blood Hammer and Crimson Heart each took out one-half of a key and began chanting an incantation hidden in their respective halves. Then, once the two were done chanting, a divine light enveloped everyone present and dragged them into the Gate of Crossing. Chapter 3098 - Chapter 172 - Stratified Abyssal Realm When Shi Feng, Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, and the others opened their eyes again, what entered their vision was a dark and moonless sky. The only thing they could see in the sky were floating landmasses. Before Shi Feng and the others could get a good feel of their surroundings, a series of system notifications rang in their ears. System: You have discovered the Stratified Abyssal Realm. System: All communication with your homeworld has been severed. System: Due to the influence of the Abysss power, your Physique is reduced by 50%, and your five senses are weakened by 30%. System: The gravity in the Stratified Abyssal Realm is five times greater than Gods Domain. Your mobility is weakened drastically. System: The Stratified Abyssal Realms level limit is 120. You are unable to get promoted to Tier 4 while you remain here. This restriction will only be removed when you enter a higher world. The system notifications stunned Shi Feng and the others. They might not have lost any Basic Attributes after entering the Stratified Abyssal Realm, but their Physique and five senses were weakened significantly. The gravity acting on their bodies had also increased drastically. In a situation where all sorts of Level 105-plus Grand Lord ranked Abyssal Beasts surrounded them, receiving such penalties would put them through hell. At this time, even Shi Feng had a headache over these penalties. Everyone in their group might be above Level 105, but under the Stratified Abyssal Realms suppression, they couldnt even exhibit half of their usual combat power. In their current situation, the only ones who stood a chance against the Level 105-plus Grand Lords roaming around them were players who had converted to another race like himself, Hidden Soul, and the Tower Alliances members. Even Domain Realm experts such as Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue would have difficulty going up against a Level 105 Grand Lord by themselves. As for Su Qianliu and the others, they could just barely fight against a Great Lord of the same level. When Gentle Snow tried using her Mana Domain, she couldnt help but exclaim, The suppression here is absurd. Even though the Mana here is so dense, I can only extend my Mana Domain up to thirty yards away. Thats only one-third of my usual range Thats normal. Over 70% of the Mana here is of the dark element, Shi Feng explained as he scanned his surroundings. Skills and Spells that arent of the dark element will be drastically weakened here. Conversely, Dark Skills and Spells will be strengthened. When observing his surroundings with the Eyes of Reality, Shi Feng could see everything for what it was. Particularly, his ability to see the composition of the Mana around him had reached an extreme extent. Meanwhile, the Stratified Abyssal Realms Mana composition was so skewed that it surprised even him. Even in special elemental worlds, the dominant element there wouldnt occupy more than 30% of the worlds Mana. Yet, it was already more than enough to amplify the power of attacks of that element by 100% or more. Yet, the dark element occupied over 70% of the Stratified Abyssal Realms Mana. This situation was incredibly disadvantageous for players like themselves, who had spent most of their time living in Gods Domain. Fortunately for Shi Feng, he had the Abyssal Eye, and it could reduce all hostile dark-type effects by 50%. Meanwhile, this effect encompassed even the suppression coming from the Stratified Abyssal Realm. So, while he still couldnt exhibit 100% of his usual combat power, he could still exhibit 70% of it. After a brief discussion between Shi Feng, Crimson Heart, and Blood Hammer, they decided to move as a team until they reached a settlement in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. After all, there were many Abyssal Beasts around them. Itd be more efficient if they broke through this area with more people. Subsequently, after everyone decided on a general direction to move in, they began advancing and killing the Abyssal Beasts in their path. The Abyssal Beasts came in all sorts of shapes and sizesThree-Headed Wolves and Twin-Headed Lions, to name a few. Although their levels only ranged between Level 105 and Level 110, and the majority of them were at the Great Lord rank, the challenge difficulty of these monsters gave Crimson Heart and the others a scare. Why do these monsters have such quick reaction speeds? Crimson Heart exclaimed as she fought against a Great Lord ranked Three-Headed Hellhound. She had thrust her spear at the Great Lord over a dozen times, yet only three of her attacks had landed. There wasnt anything special about the Three-headed Hellhounds Basic Attributes. Each of her attacks caused over 600,000 damage to the Great Lord. Meanwhile, the Three-Headed Hellhound only had 50 million HP, so it wouldnt take her more than 100 attacks to take it down. However, unlike the Great Lords she was used to fighting, the Three-Headed Hellhounds dodging capabilities practically rivaled Refinement Realm experts. Combined with the penalties she was currently suffering from, the Three-Headed Hellhounds challenge difficulty was greater than even Great Lords found in the Miniature Ancient World. These monsters arent the only problem. Our Stamina is also depleting much more rapidly here than on our homeworld! The consumption rate has increased by at least five times! We have to end the fight and leave this place quickly! Maria, the Demidragon woman from the Tower Alliance, said, a frown forming on her face as she fought against a Grand Lord ranked Abyssal Two-Headed Manticore. It wouldnt have been a problem if the monsters here were merely more challenging than normal. However, the increase in Stamina consumption was a fatal problem. Under normal circumstances, they could fight continuously for at least ten hours before having to rest. However, they could, at most, fight for two hours continuously while subjected to this penalty. A Grand Lord here had upwards of 200 million. Even if all 20 of them attacked a Grand Lord together, theyd still need three to five minutes to take it down. In a situation where each monster group had six or seven Grand Lords and at least forty Great Lords, it would only take five or six monster groups to kill them from Stamina exhaustion Everyone nodded their heads when they heard Marias words. Immediately, they started using stronger attacks to finish these Abyssal Beasts as quickly as possible. After all, it was common sense that the longer a fight dragged out, the higher the chances of the fight attracting other nearby monsters. After fighting for nearly half an hour, Shi Feng and the others finally defeated the group of fifty or so Abyssal Beasts. As these Abyssal Beasts died one after another, everyone noticed that the Stratified Abyssal Realms monsters provided significantly less EXP than the monsters in Gods Domain; it was only one-third of what they were used to receiving. Moreover, the items they dropped were unexpectedly few. The 40-plus Great Lords they defeated had only dropped a bunch of beast materials and nothing else. Even the Grand Lords had only dropped a bunch of materials and six pitch-black ore pieces. Find the original at h*sted novel. Isnt the Stratified Abyssal Realm supposed to be a land of riches? Why is the loot of these monsters so terrible? Blood Hammer was greatly confused as he looked at the loot they acquired. This situation was completely different from the information they had gathered on the Stratified Abyssal Realm. It should be known that the beast materials were only good for making food and nothing else. As for the ore pieces, as far as he could tell, they did not contain an astonishing amount of energy within them. At best, this black metal could be considered a type of rare metal and nothing more. While it was still a good item, it didnt make sense that this was all of the loot six Grand Lords had to offer. No, this is indeed a land of riches, Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he looked at the black metal piece in his hand. This dark ore isnt as simple as it looks. It might not contain an astonishing amount of energy, but youll get the Black Iron that youre familiar with as long as you refine it. Im sure I dont have to explain the effects of Black Iron to you, right? Black Iron? This is the raw material of Black Iron? Blood Hammer was filled with disbelief as he looked at the dark ore in his hand. Chapter 3099 - Chapter 173 - Immortal Weapon Is that true, Guild Leader Black Flame? Maria, who was resting nearby, couldnt help but stand up and look at Shi Feng with a fervent look on her face when she heard Shi Fengs words. Weapons made using Black Iron were incredibly durable, and these weapons had gained themselves a nickname since primordial times. Immortal Weapons! Black Iron was an incredibly rare material used for weapon production in the Greater Gods Domain. Demand for it was much greater than supply, and it was a resource frenziedly fought over by the various powers in the Greater Gods Domain. This was because only weapons made using Black Iron were tough enough to go up against Tier 4 Mythic monsters and above in the Greater Gods Domain. If a weapon wasnt made using Black Iron, even an Epic Weapon would last no more than a fight when used against the Greater Gods Domains Mythic monsters. Afterward, itd have to be repaired. Naturally, Epic Weapons made without Black Iron would wear out even quicker when used against Superior Mythic monsters or above. Such Epic Weapons were almost certain to break in the middle of the raid. Meanwhile, the consequences of such a situation happening went without saying. Players would be fortunate if they could retain even 10% of their combat power if they tried to fight barehanded. Because of this, weapons made using Black Iron were incredibly valuable in the Greater Gods Domain. Even a Secret-Silver Weapon made using Black Iron would be worth dozens of times more than an Epic Weapon made without Black Iron. When teams were recruiting members to head out into the fields, players without Black Iron weapons would even be disqualified automatically To make matters worse, in addition to being incredibly rare, Black Iron was also incredibly challenging to process into weapons. Even a Grandmaster Forger could only achieve a 30% success rate when producing a Fine-Gold Weapon. Moreover, this was only the success rate on paper. Any Lifestyle Player would know that the 30% success rate the system showed was a big fat lie. With a theoretical success rate of 30%, a Lifestyle Player would typically succeed only once out of ten tries; two out of ten tries if they were incredibly lucky. As for Dark-Gold Weapons and above, the success rate of producing them was even lower. Due to these factors, Black Iron was incredibly rare and precious in the Greater Gods Domain. Currently, the market price for one piece of Black Iron was five units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. It should be known that Seven Luminaries Crystals was necessary for players to reach Tier 6. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, the supply of Seven Luminaries Crystals was very low. Any mine and Regional Dungeon that produced Seven Luminaries Crystals would become a target of competition for the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers. Yet, one piece of Black Iron could easily fetch five units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even then, rarely anybody would trade their Black Iron away for Seven Luminaries Crystals. Thus, Maria was greatly surprised to learn that the Grand Lords they had just killed had dropped the raw material for Black Iron. It should be known that there were numerous Grand Lords in this area, and every monster group had at least six or seven Grand Lords. If news of this matter spread to the Greater Gods Domain, the various hegemonic powers would definitely do everything they could to gain access to this place. Dont look at me like that. I am a forger, so I can still determine the materials necessary to make Black Iron, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he looked at Marias excited expression. Honestly, if he werent a Grandmaster Forger during his previous life, he wouldnt have realized that the inconspicuous dark ore was the raw material needed to produce Black Iron. This was because even in the Greater Gods Domain, most players only knew Black Iron for what it was. They thought that Black Iron was something that occurred naturally in nature. They didnt know that Black Iron was actually a man-made product. There were many powers that werent aware of this secret. Of course, that was only limited to the weaker powers. The various hegemonic powers naturally knew of this secret, and so did a small portion of peak powers. This information could be considered a secret that wasnt a secret among the Greater Gods Domains top circle. However, Shi Feng didnt mind sharing this secret with Blood Hammer and Maria. After all, it didnt really matter even if they knew that Black Iron was a man-made product and what it was made from. Even if they managed to get their hands on Black Irons raw material, they couldnt do anything with it without the design to craft Black Iron. Itd simply be an ordinary piece of ore. Of course, Black Iron Ore could also be found in the Greater Gods Domain. Only, the places that produced Black Iron Ore were thoroughly monopolized by the various peak and hegemonic powers. Other powers had no way of interjecting at all, and their only option was to find them in the various Stratified Abyssal Realms. In fact, according to Shi Fengs knowledge, the places that produced Black Iron Ore in the Greater Gods Domain were actually Stratified Abyssal Realms that had broken their respective seals and were introduced into the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, both Maria and Blood Hammer started looking at the Grand Lords around them in a different light. As for Crimson Heart and the others, they couldnt help but be confused by Shi Fengs conversation with Maria. Even so, judging by Marias reaction, it was obvious that the dark ore they acquired was incredibly valuable, so valuable that it could stir the desires of even suspected God-ranked experts like Maria and Blood Hammer. There isnt much time left before nightfall, so lets quickly leave this place. Well most likely die if we have to face the increased number of monsters at night, Shi Feng said, giving Maria and Blood Hammer a reminder when he saw that the two were looking to hunt more Grand Lord ranked Two-Headed Manticores. Maria and Blood Hammer promptly snapped back to their senses when they heard Shi Fengs words. Then, the team resumed advancing and searching for places with a water source. No matter the world and regardless if it was for players or NPCs, the precondition to establishing a settlement was to build it near a water source. The precondition for establishing a settlement was to build it near a water source. This condition held true for all worlds, players, and NPCs. Hence, if they managed to find a water source, there was a high chance theyd find an NPC settlement nearby. After traveling in this wasteland covered in floating islands for around four hours, Shi Feng and the others arrived at a place with countless ancient trees and rocks that measured several hundred meters in height. As soon as they arrived here, they suddenly heard the sounds of battle. In addition, they also saw a towering pillar of fire rising in the distance, coupled with the sounds of thunder and glaring streaks of lightning coming down from the sky. Immediately, Shi Feng and the others grew alert. That should be Shadow Thunder, a Tier 3 Curse, Cleansed Rue said as she looked at the dark-red lightning bolts in the distant sky. Judging by its power, a player should have cast it, so there should be players fighting there. Moreover, it should be quite a big fight by the looks of it. Shadow Thunder was a super-large-scale destruction Spell. So, one would typically only use it in a fight involving large numbers. Should we go and take a look, Guild Leader Black Flame? Crimson Heart asked as she turned to Shi Feng. Based on their journey thus far, Crimson Heart noticed that Shi Feng was much more knowledgeable about the Stratified Abyssal Realm than everyone else. Even Maria and Blood Hammer couldnt help but listen to Shi Fengs instructions. Moreover, if she were to rank the three groups in their team based on combat power, Zero Wings group would rank first, while the Tower Alliances group would rank second, and Hundred Flower Palaces group would rank last. So, it was completely normal for her to seek Shi Fengs opinion on how they should proceed. At this time, Maria and Blood Hammer had similarly turned to Shi Feng seeking his opinion. Of course were going to take a look. This is our first encounter with other players. If we miss this opportunity, who knows when another one will appear? Theres also only two hours left until nightfall, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw everyone turning their gazes to him. But we have to be careful when approaching them. You mustnt underestimate the strength of the Stratified Abyssal Realms players no matter what. If we create a misunderstanding, we will be the ones to suffer. Everyone nodded their heads and put on their Black Cloaks to hide their information. Then, they followed Shi Feng toward the distant battlefield. Although Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and the others from Zero Wings group knew next to nothing about the Stratified Abyssal Realm, they knew that any player capable of living in the Stratified Abyssal Realms environment would be far superior to the average player in Gods Domain. Not to mention, their Stamina consumption rate here was significantly greater than in the Miniature Ancient World. In such a situation, individual combat power would be severely restricted, and quantity would play a much more important role than quality. If they accidentally provoked one of the major native powers, the fate that awaited them here would be even worse than if they provoked one of the Five Great Super Guilds in the Miniature Ancient World. Chapter 3100 - Chapter 174 - Nation of Ancient Gods Over a thousand players were clashing by the river next to the forest of towering trees and rocks. If one were to inspect these players with an Identification Skill, one would find that in addition to being at Level 110 or above, these players were all geared in Epic Weapons and Equipment. Quite a few of these players were even in possession of Fragmented Legendary items. At a glance, it was obvious that these players were split into two opposing groups. Of the two groups, the first group was composed of around 400 players trying to defend a caravan, while the second group was composed of around 700 players trying to rob the caravan. Even though this battle involved only around a thousand players, Crimson Heart, Lin Yaoyue, and the others, who were spectating the fight from over a thousand yards away, couldnt help but be shocked by what they saw. This was because even the weakest player involved in the fight was a Refinement Realm expert. Moreover, despite being only at the Refinement Realm standard, this expert managed to exhibit combat power rivaling the Void Realm experts, also known as peak experts. It should be known that peak experts were rare existences in their Gods Domain, so much so that they would be given an executive position in any superpower. In first-rate Guilds, Void Realm experts would even be granted positions that allowed them to influence the organizations decisions, their authority rivaling the Guilds Vice Guild Leaders. Yet, the peak experts they came to know as being rare had seemingly become no different from cabbages that were readily available. After all, every player fighting on the battlefield by the river had strength rivaling or surpassing peak experts. Meanwhile, the clash between the two groups of players ahead was even more shocking than an all-out war between two superpowers in their Gods Domain. The battlefields terrain had even undergone significant changes because of these players battle. Isnt the development of magic technology a little too advanced in this world? Has their manufacturing capabilities become so developed that they can afford to use siege weapons for measly caravan escorts? Blood Hammer couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he saw the dozen or so ten-meter-tall metal frames fighting on the battlefield. Combat Puppets! Combat Puppets could be regarded as weapons designed for the specific purpose of sieging cities. Even the weakest Basic Combat Puppet possessed strength at the Tier 3 Peak standard. In other words, even a Tier 1 player could instantly gain raw strength at the Tier 3 Peak standard so long as they got inside a Basic Combat Puppet. Moreover, depending on the users ability to control a Combat Puppet, the Combat Puppet could also exhibit combat power far surpassing its strength level. It was akin to how ordinary experts and Refinement Realm experts could exhibit vastly different combat powers even when both of them possessed the same Basic Attributes. However, Combat Puppets would typically only be used to siege or defend cities in the various worlds of Gods Domain. It simply wasnt a resource that players could afford to waste on a simple caravan escort. Yet, these players from the Stratified Abyssal Realm had not only dispatched multiple Combat Puppets for a caravan escort, but there was even an Advanced Combat Puppet among them. Combat Puppets could be separated into different ranks. A few examples would be Basic Combat Puppets, Advanced Combat Puppets, Bronze Combat Puppets, and High Bronze Combat Puppets. Higher-ranking ones, such as Silver Combat Puppets, also existed, but they were extremely rare even in the Greater Gods Domain. In the case of Advanced Combat Puppets, they could exhibit strength nearing the Tier 4 standard. Including their defensive capabilities that surpassed Mythic monsters, an Advanced Combat Puppet could effortlessly clash against a Tier 4 Mythic monster if piloted by a Refinement Realm expert. Needless to say, an Advanced Combat Puppet would have a very easy time dealing with Tier 3 players. However, the team trying to plunder the caravan similarly had an Advanced Combat Puppet. Moreover, the player piloting it appeared to be much more skilled, allowing the Advanced Combat Puppet to exhibit combat standards at the Void Realm standard. Even though Blood Hammer was a God-ranked expert equipped with a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, if he had to go up against an Advanced Combat Puppet with such a high combat standard, the only thing he could do was run away. There was no way he stood a chance against such an opponent, not when he was suffering from such powerful penalties because of the Stratified Abyssal Realms environment. While Blood Hammer, Crimson Heart, and the others were awed by the Stratified Abyssal Realms magic technology standard, Shi Feng had his eyes glued to a boy with golden markings in his eyes and a crimson-haired girl wielding a divine staff.a The boy looked like he was only around 17 or 18 years old. However, even when he was surrounded by a group of a dozen or so peak and apex experts, he still managed freely dance around his opponents while swinging multiple longswords. If not for two Domain Realm experts, who were also third-floor experts, limiting his range of movement, the boy would have long since killed the other peak and apex experts surrounding him. The girl wielding the divine staff wasnt an ordinary individual, either. Despite being an Oracle, she single-handedly stopped an attack of several hundred arrows and Spells with just a Contract Barrier, a Tier 3 Curse. Thousand Sword Saint Wordless Ember and Dawn Saint Sleeping Quicksand! Why are these two people here? Could this be the nation of Ancient Gods? When Shi Feng saw the boy and girl fighting against multiple opponents on the battlefield, the shock he felt was much greater than the shock Blood Hammer and the others felt when they saw the Combat Puppets. During Shi Fengs previous life, Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand were legendary individuals in the Greater Gods Domain, and their titles of Thousand Sword Saint and Dawn Saint were known by all. Meanwhile, the Bloody Poem adventurer team they had established had caused many hegemonic powers to suffer major losses. Bloody Poem had even managed to defeat Heavens Brilliance, a top-tier hegemonic power, in a frontal confrontation. Bloody Poem only had 10,000 members fighting against Heavens Brilliances army of millions during that confrontation. Heavens Brilliance had even sent as many as 100 Tier 6 God-ranked experts to deal with Bloody Poem. Yet, Bloody Poem had successfully defended its city and killed all 100 of Heavens Brilliances God-ranked experts. Because of this miraculous outcome, the battle was remembered as one of the legendary battles in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, a large part of Bloody Poems success in that battle was due to Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand. The two of them had stopped the majority of Heavens Brilliances God-ranked experts by themselves. Because of their outstanding performance, Wordless Ember became known as one of the Ten Great Sword Gods in the Greater Gods Domain, while Sleeping Quicksand became known as one of the Ten Great Oracles. The Seven Luminaries Alliance, the oldest neutral power in the Greater Gods Domain, had even conferred the title of Saintess to Sleeping Quicksand. The Seven Luminaries Alliance was one of the strongest powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Its hands reached across the entire Greater Gods Domain, and the organizations main purpose was to evaluate Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Moreover, any Tier 6 God-ranked expert could join the organization, regardless of whether they were a member of another power or not. In addition to having no restrictions placed on them, Tier 6 God-ranked experts who joined the Seven Luminaries Alliance would also be given the position of Elder as soon as they joined. The people who held the most authority in the Seven Luminaries Alliance were the Senates Twelve Grand Elders and the Tier 6 God-ranked experts who had been conferred titles by the Seven Luminaries Alliance. However, receiving a title from the Seven Luminaries Alliance was an incredibly challenging task, and the alliance had given out titles to no more than ten God-ranked experts in the last century. Yet, Sleeping Quicksand managed to not only receive a title from the Seven Luminaries Alliance, but also became the youngest God-ranked expert to receive a title from the alliance. After the rise of Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand, others quickly found out that they originated from a Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, after the various powers investigated this Stratified Abyssal Realm, they quickly discovered that it used to be a nation inhabited by Ancient Gods! According to rumors, Sleeping Quicksand had acquired an incredibly powerful Ancient Gods Legacy during her time in this Stratified Abyssal Realm. Hence, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had conferred her the title of Saintess. While Shi Feng and the others were spectating the battle, the two teams fighting in the distance quickly noticed their presence as well. Friends over there, do you mind lending us a hand? Our Purple Light Trading Firm will repay you generously afterward! a middle-aged man defending the caravan shouted when he saw Shi Fengs team. Meanwhile, as soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, a fierce man from the team trying to plunder the caravan shouted, A measly team of 20 dares spectate Death Curses operation? You people must be tired of living! This novel is _hosted_ by hosted novel. As soon as the fierce man finished speaking, the plundering sides Advanced Combat Puppet promptly turned toward Shi Fengs team and fired its magic cannon at them. Immediately, a black beam of light tore through space and flew straight toward Shi Fengs team. The beam was so quick that it crossed the thousand-yard distance and enveloped Shi Fengs team in the blink of an eye Chapter 3101 - Chapter 175 - High Demonkins Might Night Revenant is too much! How can he attack those people without even giving them a warning? Is he not afraid that they might be Upper-class Nobles from Slumber City? It seems that that person from Death Curse has completed the trial. Otherwise, theres no way Death Curses members would act so arrogantly. But those people are truly unlucky. Even the commander cant get away unscathed from an Advanced Combat Puppets magic cannon. Those people must have been wiped out already The expressions of the Purple Light Trading Firms members turned ugly when they saw the Death Curse adventurer teams Advanced Combat Puppet suddenly take action against Shi Fengs team. Originally, Shi Fengs team had been their Purple Light Trading Firms hope. After all, players whod appear in this area would typically be from Slumber City. And since Shi Fengs team dared to travel outside with so few people, it proved that they were strong. Hence, there was a high chance that this might be a team under the command of one of Slumber Citys Upper-class Nobles. After all, Upper-class Nobles were a special group of existences out of Slumber Citys several hundred million players. They had many followers, and they also enjoyed greater authority in Slumber City. Even Slumber Citys various powers would try their best to partner with these Upper-class Nobles. Meanwhile, if an Upper-class Noble was willing to pay the price, even the peak powers in Slumber City would get a headache. Typically, only those who had managed to become Slumber Citys Vice City Lord would dare to provoke Upper-class Nobles. However, to become a Vice City Lord, not only would a player need to have 100 Temple Knight players with Tier 4 strength as followers, but they would also need to complete the Temple Trial. For Death Curse, gathering 100 Temple Knights wasnt a difficult task. However, the difficulty of completing the Temple Trial was on an entirely different level. Many experts had challenged the Temple Trial throughout these years. However, only three people managed to complete it. These three people were essentially invincible existences in Slumber City, and they were also Slumber Citys mainstays. The Purple Light Trading Firm had only managed to gain its current standing and strength in Slumber City because it was backed by one of these three people. However, if that person from Death Curse managed to complete the Temple Trial, itd be a nightmare for the Purple Light Trading Firm since the two organizations were long-time enemies. While the Purple Light Trading Firms members were lamenting over the situation, the destructive beam fired by Death Curses Advanced Combat Puppet didnt hit its mark as intended. Instead, just when it was about to hit Shi Fengs team, the beam suddenly got deflected and struck the nearby ground, instantly evaporating the rocks and trees within a 100-yard radius. The Magic Destruction Cannons beam got deflected?! How is this possible!? The commander is one of the top 100 Knights in Slumber City, but even he cant deflect that powerful beam. Who is that person? The Purple Light Trading Firms members couldnt help but be astonished as they looked at the dagger-wielding woman standing before Shi Fengs team. The Advanced Combat Puppets Magic Destruction Cannon was a weapon specifically meant to target Temple Knights since it possessed the power of a Tier 4 Spell cast by a Tier 4 Mythic monster. Even players with the identity of Temple Knight would die instantly to this attack unless they possessed a Lifesaving Skill. This was also why Night Revenant had instructed the Advanced Combat Puppets user to use the Magic Destruction Cannon without hesitation. Even an Upper-class Nobles team would evaporate under this attack unless the team similarly had an Advanced Combat Puppet to tank the hit. Yet, now, a member of Shi Fengs team had managed to deflect the Magic Destruction Cannons attack with nothing but the tattered dagger in her hand. This was simply unbelievable. At this moment, the Purple Light Trading Firms members werent the only ones surprised by this situation. Even Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, and the others on Shi Fengs team couldnt help but be surprised. Find the original at *hosted* novel. If they were back in their homeworlds, they could similarly replicate this feat easily. However, while subjected to the Stratified Abyssal Realms various penalties, there was no way they could deflect an attack of such caliber. Yet, Hidden Soul had accomplished it. Moreover, she had executed the feat as effortlessly as she was walking When Maria saw the magic runes on Hidden Souls body, shock filled her heart as she muttered, Is she a High Demonkin? What? Shes a High Demonkin? Blood Hammers eyes widened when he heard Marias guess. Demonkins were considered an incredibly rare race, and even ordinary Demonkins already possessed talent rivaling some of the weaker higher lifeforms. Meanwhile, High Demonkins were a race that was rarer than even Demidragons. If Demidragons were known for their physical strength and High Elves for their magic, then High Demonkins were known for their spatial manipulation, which was an incredibly rare ability in Gods Domain. One could say that High Demonkins were the favored child of space! Typically, players would have to master the use of their Mana Domain and reach the World Creation standard before gaining some spatial manipulation capabilities. In other words, players would need to master the power that only an extremely small portion of Tier 5 players could master. However, High Demonkins could skip this step entirely. Although their spatial manipulation ability was far from rivaling that of Tier 5 experts who had achieved World Creation, it still wasnt something players beneath Tier 5 could come into contact with. Simply put, under a situation where the difference in strength wasnt particularly big, itd be incredibly difficult for players to harm a High Demonkin. Even touching a High Demonkin was a challenging task. These people are likely to be Temple Knights from another city, Vice Commander. I dont think itll be wise for us to continue taking action a Level 116 Assassin youth wielding a Fragmented Legendary Dagger said, frowning as he looked at Hidden Souls distant figure. In addition to being an Assassin himself, he was also one of the top 100 Temple Knights in Slumber City. However, even he doubted that he could replicate Hidden Souls feat. He felt that only Temple Knights ranked among the top 30 could do so. Meanwhile, every one of Slumber Citys top 30 Temple Knights was a monstrously powerful expert that even Death Curses commander would have difficulty dealing with. So what if shes strong? Does that make me weak? Night Revenant said as he looked at the Assassin youth contemptuously. Leave those people to me. You guys focus on annihilating Purple Lights members. The Assassin youth nodded and stopped speaking. If Slumber Citys top 30 Temple Knights were considered monsters, Night Revenant was also a monster. Moreover, he was a monster ranked among the top 10 of Slumber Citys Temple Knight Ranking List. Night Revenant was also the biggest reason why Death Curse dared to intercept Purple Lights caravan. Meanwhile, after Night Revenant issued his command, he promptly dashed toward Shi Fengs team, leaving behind afterimages in his wake. This person must be very strong since he dares come at us alone even after seeing the scene just now, Maria commented as she watched Night Revenant rapidly approaching them. Judging by his appearance, he should be a Tigerkin. This race excels in Strength and speed. Magical classes, make sure not to let him get close to you! Ill go and block him! Everyone else, attack him in the meantime! It doesnt matter even if you hit me to attack him! No need. I can handle him by myself, Hidden Soul said, shaking her head before vanishing from her location. Chapter 3102 - Chapter 176 - Splitting Metal That Tigerkins strength shouldnt be underestimated, Guild Leader Black Flame. In terms of combat standards, hes most likely a fourth-floor expert already, Maria said worriedly to Shi Feng when she saw Hidden Soul taking the initiative to meet Night Revenant in battle. Itll probably be difficult for her to deal with him all by herself Maria could tell that Hidden Soul possessed extraordinary combat standards. The other party was undoubtedly at the World Towers third-floor standard already. Even Maria wasnt confident that she could win against Hidden Soul. However, it was also apparent that Night Revenant was superior to Hidden Soul when it came to combat standards. Moreover, Night Revenant was a native of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, so he should have long since adapted to the environment here. These two factors would put Hidden Soul at a considerable disadvantage. Crimson Heart also nodded in agreement with Marias words. This was their first day in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, so itd be wiser if they moved carefully. Regaining the levels they lost from death might not be a problem, but itd be extremely challenging to recover any weapons or equipment they lost. Since Night Revenant was charging at them all by himself, the wiser decision to make would be to focus their firepower and dispose of him first. Shell be enough, Shi Feng calmly said. Rather than interfere with her fight, we should first focus on helping the Purple Light Trading Firm. Its obvious that Purple Lights members cant hold out for much longer. If we wait until Death Curses side takes care of Purple Lights members, Death Curse will have a much easier time dealing with us. Even Shi Feng lacked the strength to go up against hundreds of experts all by himself in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. If Hidden Soul could keep Death Curses strongest expert busy all by herself, it would save them a lot of energy. However, if they were to commit their entire team to deal with one person, the situation would quickly turn disadvantageous for them. Maria, Crimson Heart, and the others quickly came to a realization when they heard Shi Fengs words. Immediately, they followed Shi Feng to reinforce Purple Lights members. Their team of 20 might be able to kill Night Revenant if they worked together. However, by the time they killed Night Revenant, Purple Lights members would have most likely been annihilated already. At that time, theyd have to face Death Curses several hundred members all by themselves, and theyd become the ones to die next. They didnt fall for it? While exchanging blows with Hidden Soul, Night Revenant couldnt help but be surprised when he saw Shi Feng and the others bypassing them and advancing toward the distant battlefield. Your leader is smart to send you, his teams strongest member, to keep me busy while he and the rest of his team deal with the others. Night Revenant was not only in possession of two Fragmented Legendary items, but he also possessed the hidden class Soulwalker. He could last a long time even if he had to go against over a dozen Temple Knights simultaneously. Moreover, there was also zero chance of these Temple Knights killing him. Hence, the best decision for Shi Fengs team would be to prioritize the other experts of Death Curse. It was also a wise decision for Shi Fengs team to send their High Demonkin to keep him busy. Honestly, even Night Revenant found it tricky to deal with Hidden Soul. High Demonkins were famed for being sticky and slippery opponents. This was especially true when a skilled expert like Hidden Soul played this race. Even after trading several dozen blows with Hidden Soul, Night Revenant had not landed even a single attack on the other party. Whenever his attacks were about to land on Hidden Soul, his weapons would simply pass through her body as if it were an illusion. Yet, he was also certain that he wasnt fighting an illusion since Hidden Souls retaliation was very much real. Under such a situation, Night Revenant couldnt chase after Shi Feng and the others even if he wanted to. However, when Night Revenant saw Shi Feng and the others reaching the other battlefield, he suddenly smiled and said, Its a pity all of your actions are futile! As soon as Night Revenant finished speaking, another metal giant measuring over a dozen meters in height suddenly appeared among Death Curses team. This metal giant was Death Curses second Advanced Combat Puppet, and it had promptly swung its massive saber at Shi Fengs team as soon as it appeared. Meanwhile, in addition to carrying power at the Tier 4 standard, the Advanced Combat Puppets attack was also enhanced by Mountain Splitter, a Bronze Combat Technique. Setting range aside, the raw power of this attack was superior to even the Advanced Combat Puppets Magic Destruction Cannon. Even a Mythic monster would fall into a weakened state if it got hit by this attack. There was no way players could defend against it at all. Impossible! A second Advanced Combat Puppet?! The expressions of Purple Lights members turned incredibly ugly when they saw a second Advanced Combat Puppet appearing among Death Curses team. It was especially true for Wordless Ember, Sleeping Quicksand, and the middle-aged man leading the team. Advanced Combat Puppets were an extremely rare commodity in Slumber City. Normally, they would only be used to defend strategic locations such as mines. They were also incredibly useful against monster armies. Even the Purple Light Trading Firm, as powerful as it was, only had five Advanced Combat Puppets in its possession. If it werent for the importance of the cargo they were transporting this time, they would have never been willing to assign an Advanced Combat Puppet to defend their caravan. After all, using it for caravan protection meant that one of their strategic resource nodes would have to go without the support of an Advanced Combat Puppet. This would put the resource node at huge risk of being destroyed by monster tides. However, Death Curse only had four Advanced Combat Puppets. Yet, the adventurer team had sent two to target their caravan. This was simply absurd! At this moment, though, Hidden Soul, who was fighting against Night Revenant, suddenly laughed. Futile? What did I get wrong? Night Revenant asked, feeling a little confused when he saw Hidden Soul stop attacking him. Firstly, Im not the strongest member of my team, Hidden Soul said. Secondly, Im afraid a mere Advanced Combat Puppet is far from enough to stop Guild Leader Black Flames sword! Not enough to stop his sword? Night Revenant nearly laughed when he heard Hidden Souls words. An Advanced Combat Puppet could easily block a Temple Knights attack even without relying on any combat techniques. Meanwhile, an attack from an Advanced Combat Puppet using a Bronze Combat Technique was something even Death Curses commander would have to avoid. Otherwise, Advanced Combat Puppets wouldnt have become the various powers most important trump card. However, just when Night Revenant was about to say something, he was interrupted by the abrupt exclamations of his team members on the other battlefield. He blocked it?! He blocked the Mountain Splitter! Did he use an Invulnerability Skill? The eyes of Death Curses members bulged when they saw Shi Feng single-handedly stopping the Advanced Combat Puppets saber. Moreover, in addition to stopping the weapon that was much bigger than he was, Shi Feng had also blocked the Advanced Combat Puppets attack without moving an inch from his spot or taking a single point of damage As expected of the nation once inhabited by Ancient Gods. Its astonishing that the residents here have managed to develop their Combat Puppet manipulation to such a degree, Shi Feng thought, feeling a little surprised when he saw that the saber before him was creating a void in the surrounding space. It was much more challenging for players to manipulate a Combat Puppet than manipulate their in-game bodies. Even Shi Feng would have difficulty executing a Bronze Combat Technique with a Combat Puppet. Moreover, the Advanced Combat Puppets attack had already reached the Tier 4 Peak standard. If it were before he had converted into an Ancient Human and obtained the Abyssal Eye, Shi Feng wouldnt have been able to divert the attacks power with Swords Transmigration. He would have most likely needed to use one of his trump cards to block the attack. So what if you blocked my attack? I can simply wear you out with the Advanced Combat Puppets limitless Stamina! the middle-aged man manipulating the Advanced Combat Puppet said as he executed Mountain Splitter against Shi Feng one more time. Unlike players, Combat Puppets didnt rely on Stamina to operate. So long as they had enough Mana, Combat Puppets could keep on fighting forever. At most, the player manipulating the Combat Puppet would exhaust some Concentration when executing a combat technique with the Combat Puppet. However, since players didnt have to move inside Combat Puppets, they recovered Concentration much more quickly than if they were fighting themselves. Moreover, Advanced Combat Puppets possessed incredible defensive capabilities, and even an all-out attack from a top-30 Temple Knight would, at most, shave off one durability point. With the Advanced Combat Puppets 3,000 points of durability, itd take several thousand attacks from a top-30 Temple Knight to destroy it. A player would probably die from exhaustion if they had to execute several thousand all-out attacks consecutively. This was also why even the various cities top 100 Temple Knights would choose to flee whenever they came across an Advanced Combat Puppet. However, Shi Feng did not try to defend against the Advanced Combat Puppets attack this time. Instead, he deflected the attack slightly using the Winter of Eternal Night, causing the massive saber to slide to the side. Then, he raised the Winter of Eternal Night with both hands and executed a vertical slash against the metal giant before him. First Sword, Lightshadow! Immediately, an illusory greatsword appeared in the air and descended on the Advanced Combat Puppet at lightning speed. Then, after the illusory greatsword disappeared, the Advanced Combat Puppet suddenly stopped moving and split in half. As for the Domain Realm expert manipulating the Advanced Combat Puppet, he had converted into particles of light and vanished without a trace Chapter 3103 - Chapter 177 - Limit Breaker? TL Notes: Purple Light Trading Firm -> Purple Light Chamber of Commerce When Shi Feng bisected Death Curses Advanced Combat Puppet, silence suddenly enveloped the entire battlefield. Even the members of Purple Light and Death Curse had stopped fighting to look at the destroyed Combat Puppet. It got destroyed? He destroyed it with just one attack? No! Impossible! Thats an Advanced Combat Puppet we are talking about! I must be dreaming! How can a player possibly accomplish such a feat?! Everyone was greatly shocked by the sight of the bisected Advanced Combat Puppet. Advanced Combat Puppets were known for being nigh-invincible existences in the Stratified Abyssal Realms various cities. At the same time, they were the various powers trump cards. Meanwhile, even the administrators of the various cities would have great difficulty destroying an Advanced Combat Puppet. Yet, now, one of these nigh-invincible existences had failed to survive even one attack from Shi Feng and gotten bisected like a piece of tofu Could that person be a Tier 4 NPC in disguise? Wordless Ember muttered, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Shi Feng. When it came to being a Swordsman, Wordless Ember felt that he could easily rank within the top five of Slumber City. Meanwhile, the only Swordsman who could achieve a convincing victory against him in Slumber City was the Purple Light Chamber of Commerces backer, Laura Crader. However, Wordless Ember was certain that the destructive power Shi Feng had just exhibited was something even Shimmering Sword Laura Crader could not accomplish. Yet, it should be known that Laura Crader was the closest person to becoming a Limit Breaker in Slumber City. It might make sense if Shi Feng was a Limit Breaker since it was rumored that Limit Breakers could destroy Advanced Combat Puppets in one hit. However, Shi Feng couldnt be a Limit Breaker. After all, once a player became a Limit Breaker, they could only remain in the Stratified Abyssal Realm for a short time before having to leave for a higher world. So, if Shi Feng wasnt a Limit Breaker, the only plausible explanation for his unbelievable strength was that he wasnt a player but a Tier 4 NPC instead. No, it should be his sword! When he attacked just now, I could feel the power gathered within his sword reaching the Limit Breaker standard, Sleeping Quicksand said, shaking her head as she observed Shi Feng. The sword he wields is most likely extraordinary even among Fragmented Legendary Weapons. In addition, he also has extraordinary combat standards. I believe he should be able to rival those administrators. The administrators? When Wordless Ember heard Sleeping Quicksands evaluation, his fighting spirit promptly flared up. Slumber City might have a player population of several hundred million. Still, the number of Swordsmen who could spar with him numbered only a handful, let alone Swordsmen who could match the citys administrators. If he could engage in an all-out fight with Shi Feng, he was certain that it would greatly help his swordsmanship. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng defeated the Advanced Combat Puppet, Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, Gentle Snow, and the others who followed him also couldnt help but be shocked. They had long since known that Shi Feng possessed astounding strength. After all, he had managed to single-handedly tank the Tier 4 Dark Titan. However, that raid had taken place in Gods Domain, where they didnt have to suffer the Stratified Abyssal Realms severe penalties. Moreover, Shi Feng had used all of his strength to tank the Dark Titan back then. However, they couldnt help but feel that rather than grow weaker, Shi Feng had grown stronger after entering the Stratified Abyssal Realm instead That person is too dangerous, Commander! We might also lose the other Advanced Combat Puppet if we keep on fighting! Should we continue? a Berserker clashing against Echoing Judgment, Purple Lights commander, asked through the team chat urgently. Retreat! Night Revenant commanded without hesitation, his eyes filled with shock as he looked at Shi Feng. Then, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he swore, Well pay him back for this in Slumber City sooner or later! Night Revenant never expected to encounter an existence rivaling Slumber Citys administrators in a 20-man team. He also didnt expect to lose an Advanced Combat Puppet. If news of this spread, Death Curse would definitely suffer a huge loss in reputation. After saying so, Night Revenant promptly disappeared into his shadow, preventing Hidden Soul from perceiving his movement and presence. He left? Just like that? Hidden Soul grew a little disappointed when she saw Night Revenant and the other members of Death Curse retreating. I might have been able to achieve a breakthrough in that Silver Footwork if I could clash with him a little longer Hidden Soul had gained a significant harvest from fighting with Night Revenant. Particularly, the evasive techniques Night Revenant employed was undoubtedly the strangest out of all evasive techniques she had seen used by Assassins. If it werent for her talent as a High Demonkin, she would have likely been led astray by Night Revenants movements and gotten hit on numerous occasions. Meanwhile, after Death Curses members swiftly withdrew from the battlefield, Purple Lights members couldnt help but sigh in relief. The size of Death Curses team exceeded their team by more than two times. They had also fought many battles against monsters before Death Curse had ambushed them, so they didnt have much Stamina remaining. Had the fight with Death Curse continued for a few more minutes, they would have most certainly suffered annihilation. Thank you for your assistance. If not for you all, our entire team would have died here, Echoing Judgment said gratefully after approaching Shi Feng quickly. My name is Echoing Judgment, the Purple Light Chamber of Commerces commander. May I know how I should address you all? Black Flame, Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Everyone else in Shi Fengs team also introduced themselves one after another. It seems you all possess extraordinary skills if you can operate outside with so few people. Could you all be from the Dark Sanctuary? Echoing Judgment asked somewhat excitedly when he saw that there were players with higher races, such as Hidden Soul and Maria, in Shi Fengs team. _ Support us at h+sted novel _ Typically, players in the Stratified Abyssal Realm would operate in teams of 200 at the very least for the sake of survival. If a team operated with only 20 members, the team either had an Upper-class Noble or was made up of overconfident players. In the latter case, they were usually ignorant newcomers who were setting foot into Level 100-plus maps for the first time. Aside from these two scenarios, there was also one more possibility for a small team of 20 to appear in a Level 100-plus map. These players were from the Dark Sanctuary, the center of the Stratified Abyssal Realm! It was rumored that the Dark Sanctuary possessed the secret for players to become Limit Breakers. However, the Dark Sanctuary was isolated from the rest of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, and it was incredibly challenging to get into and out of the Dark Sanctuary. Players seeking to get out of the Dark Sanctuary needed to complete a trial with a participation limit of 20 players per team. Meanwhile, each trial completion would only grant players one exit opportunity. Moreover, teams that sought to leave the Dark Sanctuary could only spend a limited time outside the Dark Sanctuary. For outsiders seeking to enter the Dark Sanctuary, the conditions they needed to meet were even stricter. Not only did they have to complete a trial, but they also needed to find trial certificates before they could even qualify to challenge the trial. Trial certificates dropped randomly in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps, and only after gathering 20 certificates could players challenge the Dark Sanctuarys entry trial. The various cities peak powers all sought to enter the Dark Sanctuary and search for the secret to becoming a Limit Breaker. Unfortunately, even until now, not even one of Slumber Citys powers had managed to gather 20 certificates. In fact, there werent even 20 certificates in total in the entire city. On the other hand, though, there were some players who had managed to come out of the Dark Sanctuary. These were all players belonging to the Dark Sanctuarys various powers, and every one of these players was incredibly powerful. These players had specifically left the Dark Sanctuary to trade with powers outside the Dark Sanctuary, and many powers had skyrocketed in strength because of their trades with the Dark Sanctuarys players. Meanwhile, one of the easiest ways to identify whether a team was from the Dark Sanctuary was by looking at the number of higher races the team had. Higher races were incredibly rare in the various cities. They were so rare that there wouldnt be more than a handful of higher races in a city of several hundred million. Yet, Shi Fengs small team of 20 had two higher races. Moreover, one of them was a High Demonkin, and the other was a Demidragon. Both were extremely powerful races, even among higher races. There was no way any city outside of the Dark Sanctuary could come up with a team with two of these higher races. Thus, the only explanation was that Shi Fengs team came from the Dark Sanctuary! Chapter 3104 - Chapter 178 - Hypersensitivity As soon as Echoing Judgment finished asking his question, the other Purple Light members promptly looked at Shi Fengs team, their eyes filled with excitement and desire. Even Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand wore looks of interest on their faces. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and the others couldnt help but be surprised and confused by this situation. Are you perhaps not from the Dark Sanctuary? Echoing Judgment asked, feeling a little confused when he saw Shi Fengs team remaining silent. Although the levels of Shi Fengs team members were somewhat low, this was a normal situation in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. After all, it was incredibly easy for players to meet death out in the fields. Moreover, leveling up became absurdly challenging after Level 110, each subsequent level-up requiring several times the EXP of the previous level-up. Depending on a players class, the increase in EXP requirement could even reach tenfold. Yet, each death would cost players to lose one entire level Meanwhile, if Shi Fengs team truly came from the Dark Sanctuary, it was completely normal for them to suffer multiple deaths in their process of completing the exit trial. So, it was understandable that their levels were so low. However, if Shi Fengs team wasnt from the Dark Sanctuary, itd be strange why they were so low-leveled despite having such great strength. Youve guessed correctly. We are indeed from the Dark Sanctuary, Shi Feng said without breaking his composure even in the slightest. We had to go through a lot of trouble to come out here, and our goal this time is to find some long-term partners. Shi Feng had heard about the Dark Sanctuary located in the Stratified Abyssal Realm inhabited by Ancient Gods. He even knew about some of the Dark Sanctuarys secrets. Although he could also lie that they were players from another city, they didnt have much knowledge regarding the Stratified Abyssal Realms current state of affairs. If they pretended to be from another city, their act would get exposed very easily. Of course, there was also the option of being truthful and saying they came from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, if they did that, it would put them in a passive state. This was because the Stratified Abyssal Realms native players knew that players from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm were pushovers. Regardless of how powerful an organization these outsiders came from, none of these outside organizations could set foot into the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Moreover, native players also knew that outsiders needed to go through a lot of trouble to enter the Stratified Abyssal Realm. This meant that outsiders didnt really have much to offer. To make matters worse, many outside powers had access to the Stratified Abyssal Realm. It was just that each power could only send a very small number of players into the Stratified Abyssal Realm. This meant that native powers would have no lack of outside powers to partner with. So, the native powers would typically squeeze outside powers for everything theyve got. However, it was a different story for the Dark Sanctuary. The Dark Sanctuary was located in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, and it was a place countless players in the Stratified Abyssal Realm sought to enter. It was just that the various powers were currently stuck outside the Dark Sanctuary. Even so, it was only a matter of time before the various powers got into the Dark Sanctuary. Meanwhile, to ensure their entry into the Dark Sanctuary went smoothly, the various powers based outside the Dark Sanctuary strongly revered and desired to partner with the Dark Sanctuarys local powers. When Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, and the others heard Shi Fengs words, they couldnt help but look at him in astonishment. They didnt think that Shi Feng would dare tell such a lie. Was he not afraid of getting exposed? However, Echoing Judgment and the other Purple Light members simply took Shi Fengs words at face value. Its no wonder he can exhibit destructive power rivaling Limit Breakers. The Dark Sanctuary truly is an extraordinary place. I wonder when well be able to gather twenty certificates? Wordless Ember thought to himself in excitement. It was the dream of every player in the Stratified Abyssal Realm to become a Limit Breaker and leave this world. After all, only by becoming a Limit Breaker could they reach the rumored place in the real world, acquire much longer lifespans and youth, obtain their own city, and set foot into the true Upper World. They wouldnt have to constantly worry about living space and food like they were now. Youre finding partners? Echoing Judgments smile grew even brighter when he heard Shi Fengs words. May I know if you are willing to partner with the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Black Flame? We are willing to show you our absolute sincerity! Partner with you? Shi Feng simply revealed a faint smile as he looked at Echoing Judgment. May I know what you can offer us? You should know that there arent many things that arent available in the Dark Sanctuary. Yes, I am aware of that. However, Slumber Citys local specialty, the Hypersensitivity Potion, is unique in the entire Stratified Abyssal Realm. Im certain this thing will be of great help to you, Echoing Judgment said, smiling as he took out twenty dark-blue potions and handed them to Shi Feng. You can check the description yourself if you dont believe me. You can also take these twenty Hypersensitivity Potions as thanks for helping us. Commander, arent you giving away too many Wordless Ember whispered to Echoing Judgment. The Hypersensitivity Potion was Slumber Citys local specialty. Not only could it double players EXP gain, but it could also put players into a Hypersensitive state. When training under the Hypersensitive state, players could achieve improvements much more quickly than usual. Moreover, the potion lasted 12 hours and a Cooldown of only two natural days. The Hypersensitivity Potion was also the main reason Slumber Citys experts were stronger and more numerous than most other cities. However, the Hypersensitivity Potion had an incredibly low production volume, so even powers based in Slumber City could only acquire a very small amount. Meanwhile, Purple Light could only obtain around 100 bottles each month. No, this is Purple Lights show of sincerity! Moreover, it is thanks to Mr. Black Flames team that we managed to protect our Dark Crystals! Echoing Judgment said. Their caravan carried the Dark Crystals they had gone through great lengths to acquire from several cities. Meanwhile, these Dark Crystals would allow the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce to elevate its contribution in Slumber City to the next level. Compared to the benefits they stood to gain from these Dark Crystals, 20 Hypersensitivity Potions was a small price to pay. Afterward, Echoing Judgment looked toward Shi Feng and asked, May I know if you are interested in this Hypersensitivity Potion, Mr. Black Flame? Meanwhile, after Shi Feng and the others were done reading the Hypersensitivity Potions introduction, their hearts pounded rapidly. They never thought they would come across such a godly item in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. There was no power in Gods Domain that would complain about having too many experts. It was especially true for experts at the Void Realm standard or above. Although there were many external items in Gods Domain that could be used to nurture experts, few could match the Hypersensitivity Potion in terms of efficiency. If they could purchase the Hypersensitivity Potion in large quantities, the benefits they could gain would be no less than if they managed to recruit the Stratified Abyssal Realms experts into their respective Guilds. Wed be lying if we said we werent interested in this potion, Shi Feng said as he put the Hypersensitivity Potions into his bag. Then, he looked toward Echoing Judgment and asked, But how does Purple Light plan on trading this potion? Also, how many can you supply? Judging by this items efficacy, it should be quite difficult to obtain it, right? Im guessing that its supply should also be very limited. Chapter 3105 - Chapter 179 - Upper-class Noble When Shi Feng finished speaking, Crimson Heart and Blood Hammer promptly turned to Echoing Judgment. While they didnt know to what extent the Hypersensitivity Potion could affect players, everything was just like Shi Feng said. It was unlikely that an item as precious as the Hypersensitivity Potion could be produced in large quantities. Naturally, the amount Purple Light would be willing to trade would be even fewer. If Purple Light only offered to trade a few dozen bottles, such a small amount wouldnt mean much to them. You can rest assured of the Hypersensitivity Potions volume. Purple Light has many connections in Slumber City, Echoing Judgment said with a faint smile. So long as the price is right, obtaining even a thousand bottles wouldnt be a problem for Purple Light. Even a thousand bottles wont be a problem? Shi Feng was slightly surprised by Echoing Judgments claim. At the same time, a look of interest appeared on his face. May I know how much you plan to sell these Hypersensitivity Potions for? If he could get his hands on a thousand Hypersensitivity Potions, Zero Wings main force could achieve significant growth within a short period. This would greatly help in Zero Wings development. A Guilds promotion was closely tied to Team Dungeons in Gods Domain. This was because Guild Promotion Orders were mainly found in high-difficulty Team Dungeons. So, if a Guild sought to raise its rank, it would need to have a sufficiently strong main force. The strength of the Guilds main force was especially important for a Cross-Border Guild. Unlike the standard Guild promotion process, Cross-Border Guilds didnt only require Guild Promotion Orders to get promoted. A Cross-Border Guild also needed to pass the Adventurers Associations strength evaluation. Different from the Guild ranking system adopted by the various Gods Domain, the Greater Gods Domains Guild ranking system separated Guilds into Common, Bronze, Silver, and Gold ranks. Meanwhile, to get from a Common Guild to a Bronze Guild, a Guild would need to have 100 experts who have reached the World Towers second floor. In other words, a Guild would need to have 100 Void Realm experts to qualify to become a Bronze Guild. In Shi Fengs homeworld, this was a requirement that only a portion of superpowers could fulfill. Meanwhile, the difference between the benefits a Common Cross-Border Guild and a Bronze Cross-Border Guild enjoyed was massive. This was because Guilds could only establish Branch Guilds and Guild Settlements in the various cross-border regions after becoming a Bronze Cross-Border Guild. This was also why, once a Gods Domain gained access to the Greater Gods Domain, the gap between superpowers and non-superpowers would only grow larger and larger. Thirty Dark Crystals per bottle or one Tier 3 Dark Skill Book for five bottles. We wont add in any additional charges. We only hope to maintain a long-term partnership with you, Mr. Black Flame, Echoing Judgment said sincerely. Of course, you can also provide us with Upper-class Nobles as offerings. We can offer you 30 Hypersensitivity Potions per Upper-class Noble. You wont find a better price than this in Slumber City. Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand were rendered speechless when they heard Echoing Judgments offer. Like Echoing Judgment said, the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce truly wouldnt be earning any profit from this transaction. They were doing it solely to befriend Shi Fengs team. Upper-class Nobles as offerings? Shi Feng nodded after hearing Echoing Judgments words. Okay. Well think about it. Shi Feng knew about the Dark Crystal Echoing Judgment mentioned. It was something similar to the Seven Luminaries Crystal in that it contained energy of high purity. However, unlike Seven Luminaries Crystals, Dark Crystals only contained dark energy. In terms of value, the Dark Crystal was much more valuable than the Seven Luminaries Crystal. This was because Dark Crystals were much rarer in both the various Gods Domain and the Greater Gods Domain. It was one of the precious resources that were highly contested among the various powers. If Shi Feng wanted to acquire Dark Crystals, he could only do so through the Stratified Abyssal Realm. The difficulty of obtaining Dark Crystals from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm would only increase and not decrease. As for Tier 3 Dark Skill Books, while obtaining them wasnt difficult, he would need to make a trip back to Gods Domain, which evidently wasnt possible right now. Thus, the only way Shi Feng could acquire a large number of Hypersensitivity Potions was most likely through the Upper-class Nobles Echoing Judgment mentioned. Only, he lacked information on Upper-class Nobles. He couldnt ask about Upper-class Nobles, either, since doing so would most likely expose his lie about being a player from the Dark Sanctuary. Crimson Heart and Blood Hammer also remained silent as they looked at Echoing Judgment. They both understood that they would have to first enter Slumber City and learn more about the Stratified Abyssal Realm before they could start trading with the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce. Oh, right. Please take these. These emblems prove that you are Purple Lights VIP customers, Echoing Judgment said as he took out twenty light-purple, diamond-shaped emblems and handed them to Shi Feng. This must be your first time leaving the Dark Sanctuary. After entering the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps, youll first have to pass the Abyssal Towers strength test if you want to live in an NPC City. Your test results will determine the status you gain in the city, and the level of authority you enjoy will also change with this status. Youll need to gain a Civilian status before you are allowed to live in the city. Otherwise, youll be driven out without question. You have caused Death Curse to suffer significant losses this time, so Im afraid youll come into some trouble in Slumber City. However, with Purple Lights VIP customer certification, you can take the Abyssal Towers test once without paying any City Contribution Points. So long as you manage to gain a Noble status in Slumber City, Death Curse will have difficulty troubling you in the city. If you manage to become Upper-class Nobles, Death Curse wont dare to recklessly take action against you. Thank you, Shi Feng said, smiling as he accepted the twenty emblems. Although they had ended up offending Slumber Citys Death Curse adventurer team for helping the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce, they had managed to save plenty of trouble thanks to Purple Light. They had even learned about the Hypersensitivity Potion and a few other important pieces of information. Overall, this was a worthwhile transaction. We are only repaying the favor youve done for us, Echoing Judgment said, shaking his head. It is also because of us that youve ended up offending Death Curse. After Shi Feng exchanged a few more pleasantries with Echoing Judgment, he distributed Purple Lights VIP customer certifications and the Hypersensitivity Potions to his teammates. Then, under Echoing Judgments invitation, their team followed Purple Light to Slumber City. Stratified Abyssal Realm, Slumber City: On the main street where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, there sat a Battle Arena that had over twenty floors and occupied an area the size of a sports stadium. Currently, inside one of the Battle Arenas combat rooms, over a dozen Level 115-plus experts wearing the Temple Knight Emblem laid flat on the ground around a Level 118 middle-aged man wielding two greatswords. Interesting. He managed to not only scare off Night Revenant but also destroy an Advanced Combat Puppet in one hit? The middle-aged man smiled when he read the message he had just received. This level of destructive power is already enough to put him in the top five of Slumber City. Its already been two years since the top five ranks in Slumber City have changed owners. I wonder who is stronger between him and me and Death Curses Solitary Soul? Is there even a need to guess? Youre definitely the stronger one, Boss Wolf. With the Legacy you obtained, the Shimmering Sword is probably the only person in Slumber City who can match you now, a Level 116 young man said reverentially as he sat up from the ground and looked at the middle-aged man named Wolf Emperor. The five experts occupying the top five ranks of Slumber Citys Temple Knight Ranking List currently were the citys three administrators, Death Curses Commander Solitary Soul, and Wolf Emperor. Out of these five experts, Wolf Emperor was the only person who had climbed to this position without establishing his own organization or relying on others. Search h0sted n0vel for the original. Because of this, Wolf Emperor had many admirers and followers in Slumber City. Thats not necessarily true, Wolf Emperor said, shaking his head. Solitary Soul has already completed the temple trial, and he should have gained a significant harvest. Even I have no idea how strong he has become already. The Level 116 youth didnt say anything. He simply thought that Wolf Emperor was being too humble. After all, Wolf Emperor had already converted to a higher race, and his strength could no longer be compared to the past. At this time, the youth suddenly received a message. Then, after reading the message, he quickly said, Boss, a friend of mine from Death Curse just messaged me. The group of people who defeated Death Curse has already arrived in Slumber City, and Death Curses three vice commanders have already gone to meet them. It seems that they plan to get rid of these people to restore their reputation. Death Curse has always been overbearing, so its not surprising that theyre making a move, especially not after Solitary Souls recent achievement. But are those three planning to act together? Wolf Emperor grew a little interested when he heard about Death Curses actions. Lets go. Were going to take a look as well. Those three have never acted together aside from when they tried to stop the Shimmering Sword. Chapter 3106 - Chapter 180 - Hidden Ancient Gods Legacy Slumber City, central district: This city is simply astounding There are Refinement Realm experts and above walking around everywhere. The Shops here are even selling Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment. The powers back home will probably lose their minds if they find out about this Su Qianliu muttered as she looked at the players and Shops around her. Probably? More like definitely, Lin Yaoyue said with a bitter smile. I can already feel myself on the verge of a mental breakdown Lin Yaoyue thought that she had already raised her evaluation of the Stratified Abyssal Realm to a sufficiently great extent after watching the battle between Purple Light and Death Curse. However, after arriving in Slumber City, she quickly realized that she had still underestimated how wide of a gap there existed between their homeworld and the Stratified Abyssal Realm. In their homeworld, Refinement Realm experts would be treated as a mid-level mainstay at the very least if they joined a first-rate Guild. Refinement Realm experts were so rare that Mysterious Moon didnt have more than 1,000 such experts under its command. Yet, Lin Yaoyue could spot well over a thousand Refinement Realm experts just by glancing at the street in front of her. The rarity of Hall of Fame-level Epic Weapons and Equipment was even greater. Even first-rate Guilds would only have a very small number of such items. Yet, these items were being sold in almost every Shop present on Slumber Citys main street. Although these items were being sold for Demon Coins, which was the Stratified Abyssal Realms main currency, rather than normal Coins used in Gods Domain, the procurement rates of both currencies shouldnt be all too different. Meanwhile, Hall of Fame-level Epic Weapons could easily go for five or six thousand Coins if sold in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, in Slumber City, these same weapons only cost around five or six hundred Demon Coins to purchase. Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment was even cheaper, each piece selling for a little over 100 Demon Coins only. After arriving in Slumber City, Lin Yaoyue suddenly realized that Mysterious Moon, a high and mighty top-tier first-rate Guild, wasnt so high and mighty as she thought. In fact, she couldnt help but doubt whether their homeworlds top-tier first-rate Guilds could match the average adventurer team here in strength. According to the information theyve learned from Purple Light, the minimum requirement to establish an adventurer team in Slumber City was to have at least three Novice Temple Knights. Meanwhile, Novice Temple Knights were typically Void Realm experts or above. Moreover, the minimum requirement to join most adventurer teams was to be at the Refinement Realm standard. At this moment, Lin Yaoyue couldnt even match a Novice Temple Knight in combat standards. Yet, there were well over ten thousand adventurer teams in Slumber City You dont have to feel dejected, Shi Feng said as he looked at Su Qianliu and Lin Yaoyue. This Stratified Abyssal Realm has existed for at least forty years already. In a situation where their levels and tiers are being heavily restricted, the only way the players here can grow stronger is by developing their technical skills. In this respect, they are vastly superior to even the Super Guilds in our Gods Domain. If you were to experience the same restrictions they face for multiple years, your combat standards wouldnt be any weaker than theirs. Their Gods Domain had only launched ten years ago. Ten years might seem like a long time, but it was nothing compared to other Gods Domains. Their Gods Domain was no different than an infant compared to some of the older Gods Domains. The Stratified Abyssal Realm they were currently in had already existed for over forty years. This meant that this Stratified Abyssal Realm was over thirty years ahead of their Gods Domain in terms of development. This point alone was enough to give the native players here a massive advantage over the players in their Gods Domain. The Abyssal Tower is just ahead, Mr. Black Flame. We should hurry over there quickly, Echoing Judgment hurriedly said as he pointed at an ancient tower some distance ahead. I just received a report saying that Death Curses three vice commanders and their subordinates are swiftly making their way to us. You and your team members still do not have official status in Slumber City, while Death Curses vice commanders and their subordinates are all nobles in Slumber City. They can take direct action against you without having to suffer sanctions from the NPCs. Conversely, if you retaliate against them, the NPCs will take action against you. Okay, Shi Feng said, nodding. Understanding that they were in a rush for time, he quickly led his team toward the Abyssal Tower, which measured several hundred meters in height. In the Stratified Abyssal Realms NPC Cities, NPC guards were essentially invincible existences. This was because even the weakest among them were Level 130, Tier 4 NPCs. In contrast, players here couldnt go beyond Level 120, Tier 3. Thus, so long as the NPC guards took action, any player they targeted would almost certainly die. If players wished to live safely in Slumber City, they would have to obtain a Civilian status first and foremost. With this status, so long as they werent the ones picking a fight, even players with the Noble status could do nothing against them. Shortly after Shi Feng and the others entered the Abyssal Tower and registered for the towers test, a group of players wearing Death Curses emblem arrived in the towers lobby. Meanwhile, the arrival of these players instantly created a commotion in the lobby. It seems youve moved quite quickly, Judgment! Night Revenant said to Echoing Judgment when he failed to see Shi Fengs team in the lobby. Then, wearing a sneer, he continued, Its a pity that your actions are futile! Now that the commander has become a Vice City Lord in Slumber City, it doesnt matter even if they become nobles! A Vice City Lord still has the authority to banish them from the city for some time! All theyre doing now is delaying the inevitable! Solitary Soul succeeded? Echoing Judgments expression turned a little ugly when he heard Night Revenants words. Echoing Judgment had heard that Solitary Soul, Death Curses commander, had entered the Temple and challenged the temple trial a few days ago. However, the temple trial was incredibly challenging, so much so that only three people have managed to pass it thus far. While Solitary Soul was talented, it shouldnt be so easy for him to cross the final hurdle. Not to mention, Solitary Soul had failed the trial only two months ago. In Echoing Judgments opinion, there was no way Solitary Soul could make much progress in just two short months. So, it should be highly unlikely that Solitary Soul could clear the temple trial. However, Echoing Judgment had guessed wrongly, which was terrible news for them. With the authority of a Vice City Lord, Solitary Soul could easily banish players with the Noble and Civilian status from the city for a certain period. Although he could only banish a certain number of players each month, hed have no problem targeting twenty players. Thats right! The commander has already succeeded! We are only here to keep an eye on those people! Night Revenant said with a faint smile. Those outsiders will quickly learn how foolish it is to help Purple Light in Slumber City! Crazy bastards! Echoing Judgment realized that Death Curse was serious about taking action when he saw that more and more Death Curse members were gathering in the lobby. Immediately, he turned to Sleeping Quicksand and said, Quicksand, take a team to the Corroded Ruins right away! Commander Laura has been grinding there throughout this period, but communication is prevented there. I need you to look for her and figure out a way to invite her back! So long as Commander Laura can come back before the test ends, Solitary Soul wont dare to recklessly take action! Understood. Sleeping Quicksand nodded and quickly left the Abyssal Tower with a small team. Their Chamber of Commerce was looking to partner with Shi Fengs team. If Shi Fengs team ended up suffering Death Curses crazed retaliation because of Purple Light, Purple Light would become a laughingstock in Slumber City in the future. Abyssal Tower, trial space: While the situation in the lobby was getting heated, Shi Feng wore a shocked and confused expression after entering the trial space. This was because a series of system notifications had rang in his ears as soon as he entered the trial space. System: You have entered the trial space. You have one natural day to challenge the trial. You will be rewarded based on the floor you reach. You cannot leave the trial space regardless of whether you die or not. However, you are allowed to log off and rest during this time. System: It is detected that your Mana Body is at the Legendary rank. You have fulfilled the condition set by the Ancient Abyssal God. Do you wish to challenge the Abyssal Trial to acquire the Ancient Abyssal Gods Legacy? Chapter 3107 - Chapter 181 – Mana Suppression Chapter 181 C Mana Suppression The Ancient Abyssal Gods Legacy? The unexpected system notification surprised Shi Feng. The Ancient Abyssal God was rumored to be the Abysss creator and one of the oldest Ancient Gods. Although the Ancient Abyssal God had suddenly disappeared for some unknown reason, some of the power the Ancient God had left behind had sparked massive wars in the Greater Gods Domain. Some hegemonic powers had even vanished from the Greater Gods Domain because of these wars. However, rumors also mentioned that the Ancient Abyssal God did not leave any Legacies behind due to his abrupt disappearance. It was even rumored that the Abyss was only half completed when the Ancient Abyssal God disappeared. However, even if it was incomplete, the Abyss still had the strength to clash with the Greater Gods Domain. Shi Feng found it hard to believe that the missing Ancient Abyssal God had actually left one of his Legacies in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Even though the Legacy had an extremely stringent activation condition, it was still unbelievable nonetheless. However, it was also understandable that this Legacy had remained undiscovered until now. After all, it was incredibly hard to obtain a Legendary Mana Body, so much so that one couldnt necessarily find even one player with a Legendary Mana Body in an isolated Gods Domain. The chances of a player obtaining a Legendary Mana Body in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, a place that was severely lacking in Legacies and imposed many restrictions on its players, were even lower. The Stratified Abyssal Realms players might have very high combat standards, but they were inferior to the players in Shi Fengs homeworld when it came to Mana Bodies. Even powerful experts like Echoing Judgment and Sleeping Quicksand only had Gold Mana Bodies, while most other experts in Purple Light only had Silver Mana Bodies. None of them even had an Epic Mana Body, let alone a Legendary Mana Body. System: You have one minute to decide whether to accept the Abyssal Trial. If you fail to decide, you will be given the standard trial by default. Upon hearing this new system notification, Shi Feng dared not hesitate for even a moment longer as he promptly said, Yes! Legacies of Ancient Gods were incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain, and even hegemonic powers would have difficulty getting their hands on one. It was also proven that every Ancient Gods Legacy could overturn the status quo in the Greater Gods Domain. Needless to say, the Legacy of the Ancient Abyssal God, one of the oldest Ancient Gods in existence, wouldnt be in any way inferior in this regard. System: Abyssal Trial activated. Please kill all of the monsters on the fourth floor in one natural day. You will receive the Legacy left behind by the Ancient Abyssal God should you succeed. Kill all of the monsters on the fourth floor in one day? Thats one difficult challenge Shi Fengs expression grew heavy when he saw the notification. According to the information Echoing Judgment provided, the Abyssal Tower had five floors. The number and strength of the monsters players faced would increase with each subsequent floor they climbed. Meanwhile, players would gain the Civilian status in the city so long as they cleared the first floor, the Noble status if they cleared the second floor, and the Upper-class Noble status if they cleared the third floor. Out of the hundreds of millions of players based on Slumber City, those who managed to become Upper-class Nobles did not exceed a hundred. Moreover, every one of these Upper-class Nobles was a veteran player who had honed their strength for many years. As for the fourth floor, not one person in Slumber City had managed to clear it thus far. This was because the Trial Towers trial wasnt merely a simple test of a players combat standards but rather a test of a players adaptability. Shortly after Shi Feng activated the Abyssal Trial, the scenery before him changed into a lush, primal forest. A gigantic hourglass had also appeared in the sky above him, showing his remaining time in the trial space. What a powerful Mana suppression! After arriving in this primal forest, Shi Feng promptly felt an invisible force suppressing his Mana. The suppression was so strong that none of his Mana could flow out of his body. Moreover, he found that apart from dark-element Mana, no other elements were present around him. So thats why there are so few Upper-class Nobles even though there are so many third-floor experts in the city. Just this Mana suppression alone is enough to reduce a players combat power to 10% or lower, Shi Feng thought in realization. Mana suppression was a much more troublesome penalty than the prohibition of Mana usage. The prohibition of Mana usage would only prevent players from using Skills and Spells. However, the suppression of Mana would not only prevent players from using Skills and Spells, but it would also make it incredibly difficult for players to use combat techniques. This was because the constant disruption to the Mana inside a players body would prevent the player from exerting stable and precise control over their bodies. Naturally, executing Mana Techniques would be even more of an impossible challenge. Meanwhile, if players couldnt use any Skills, Spells, combat techniques, or Mana Techniques, they would be left with only normal attacks. In such a situation, one could easily imagine how much of their original combat power players would be left with. Before Shi Feng could adapt to this new and hostile environment, two Level 110 Great Lord ranked Abyssal Hounds emerged from the surrounding bushes and lunged at him. [Abyssal Hound] (Demonic Beast, Great Lord) Level 110 HP 60,000,000 Shi Feng unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and swung it almost instinctively when he sensed the Abyssal Hounds. However, before his attack could connect, the two Abyssal Hounds sensed it and reacted like veteran experts, twisting their bodies in mid-air and evading the attack with less than half a centimeter to spare. Theyre at the Refinement Realm? Shi Feng was stunned by the two Abyssal Hounds actions. He might not have gone all-out with his attack, and there was a slight delay in his execution, but he still had Basic Attributes at the Tier 4 standard. Even if the Abyssal Hounds were Agility-type Great Lords, they still shouldnt be able to dodge his attack unless they were at the Refinement Realm standard. However, Shi Feng didnt have any time to dwell on this matter. While he was in a daze, the two Abyssal Hounds simultaneously activated the Tier 3 Skill Flame Roar. Flame Roar was an AOE attack. Shi Feng dared not face the attacks head-on, so he promptly side-stepped twice and evaded the Abyssal Hounds Flame Roars. Then, he lunged forward and executed a downward strike at the nearest Abyssal Hound. Shi Fengs attack this time was much faster than before. With the Abyssal Hounds nearly two-meter-long body, there was no way it could evade the attack in time. Clang! Sparks flew, followed by a metallic clang that echoed throughout the forest. Just when Shi Fengs sword was about to hit the Abyssal Hound, the Great Lord had leaped backward with its large frame and deflected the weapon with its front claws. Although the impact had sent the Abyssal Hound flying several meters backward and landing on the ground unsteadily, the Great Lord had lost less than 200,000 HP from the exchange. The Abyssal Hound had 60 million HP, so this damage was nothing. It could recover to full HP once its battle recovery ticked five seconds later. It even knows how to deflect attacks? When Shi Feng looked at the Abyssal Hound that was baring its fangs at him, he suddenly felt as if he was facing a veteran Refinement Realm expert rather than a dumb monster. Moreover, this was a Refinement Realm expert with the Basic Attributes of a Tier 3 Great Lord. Before Shi Feng could launch another attack, three more Abyssal Hounds slowly stepped out of the surrounding bushes and coordinated with the first two Abyssal Hounds to form an encirclement around Shi Feng. Chapter 3108 - Chapter 182 - A Different Way to Use Mana When Shi Feng looked at the five Abyssal Hounds surrounding him, he quickly understood why so many players in Slumber City still didnt have the Civilian status. The Abyssal Towers first-floor trial alone was already pitting players against five Great Lords with combat standards at the Refinement Realm. Not to mention, the trial also subjected players to a powerful Mana suppression. Even a Refinement Realm expert fully geared in top-tier Epic Weapons and Equipment would only meet with death in such a situation. The only way a Refinement Realm expert could conquer the first-floor trial was using brute force. Players could not leave the Abyssal Tower even after dying in the trial. Instead, they would be resurrected within the trial space without losing any EXP. In contrast, monsters killed in the trial could not resurrect. Their HP wouldnt even be reset when players died. Instead, they could only recover their HP by relying on their recovery. In other words, they could only recover 2% of their HP every five seconds. Thus, if players were sufficiently tenacious and possessed sufficiently high Basic Attributes, it was theoretically possible for them to complete the first-floor trial. Since the monsters will grow stronger the further I progress, Ill use you guys to adapt to this environment first. When Shi Feng saw the five Abyssal Hounds gradually closing in on him, he didnt take the initiative to attack. Instead, he entered a defensive state and focused on adapting to his current environment. There were only several dozen players who had managed to clear the Abyssal Towers third floor in Slumber City. Logically, one would assume that every one of these players was a top-ranking Temple Knight. However, that wasnt the case at all. Many of these players werent even Temple Knights, let alone top-ranking Temple Knights. The reason for this strange phenomenon was because most players in Slumber City had failed to adapt to the Abyssal Towers combat environment. Conversely, the non-Temple Knight players had learned to adapt to the environment in the Abyssal Tower and maximize the use of their combat power. Adding on the fact that there were no death restrictions, it wasnt exactly impossible for these supposedly weak players to whittle the monsters in the trial to death. Thus, what Shi Feng needed to do now was simplelearn to adapt to the trials environment. If he were to wait until he reached the third or fourth floors to do so, the difficulty would increase drastically. Learning to adapt to the trials combat environment wasnt a difficult task for Shi Feng, either. As a Grandmaster Magician, the understanding and control he had over Mana were far superior to the average expert. Since the trial was interfering with the flow of his Mana, what he needed to do was figure out a way to make his Mana flow along with this powerful interference. Of course, accomplishing this feat was easier said than done. It was especially so since he was currently in combat. Meanwhile, with each subsequent attempt Shi Feng made to adapt to the interference, the flow of Mana in his body also became smoother and smoother. After the trial went on for a little over an hour, Shi Feng suddenly swung his sword and sent the five Abyssal Hounds flying over a dozen meters away. He also left a bone-deep wound in each of the Great Lords and caused them to lose over a million HP. Sure enough, I managed to recover a good portion of my strength after adapting the flow of my Mana to this Mana suppression. Although I can only use 60% of my usual strength, using Basic Combat Techniques from time to time shouldnt be a problem anymore, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the damage he had caused to the Abyssal Hounds. Then, he turned his gaze to the Winter of Eternal Night in his hand and furrowed his brows, thinking, But why does this new flow pattern look like its trying to draw a magic array inside my body? He wouldnt have noticed this little detail if it were before he had become a Primal Human and gained the Eyes of Reality. However, thanks to his enhanced senses, he could clearly feel that the flow of the Dark Mana within him was being used to outline a very complicated magic array. Moreover, this magic array was so ingeniously designed that its construction did not affect the flow of the Dark Mana within him in the slightest. It was essentially watching someone using the existing parts in a machine to perform an entirely different action without modifying the parts. The complexity of this magic array is roughly at the Master standard. With the current control I have, I should be able to replicate it. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng decided to try drawing the magic array. Based on his observation, this magic array was designed to operate with Dark Mana specifically. It could not accommodate any of the other elements at all. This meant that players would need to draw the magic array using Dark Mana only. The level of control required to accomplish this task was so high that even experts with Mana Domains would find it incredibly challenging. Fortunately, the Abyssal Towers environment had greatly suppressed the flow of the other elements. So, Shi Feng had a much easier time manipulating the Dark Mana within his body. Subsequently, Shi Feng resumed evading the Abyssal Hounds attacks while drawing that special magic array using his Dark Mana. His first attempt failed His second attempt also failed Although Shi Feng faced failure after failure, each failed attempt also increased his familiarity with the drawing process. Initially, he could only draw the magic arrays contour. However, gradually, he started producing magic arrays with great clarity. After a little over a dozen hours and several hundred failed attempts later Success! After evading the attack of an Abyssal Hound, Shi Feng suddenly opened his eyes and swung his sword. This time, Shi Feng did not sense any suppression coming from his surrounding environment. On the contrary, his body felt much lighter than normal. He even had a feeling that his body had merged with the surrounding space. When Shi Feng swung his sword, a dark light briefly enveloped the weapon before it connected with the Abyssal Hound. Immediately afterward, the Great Lord got sent flying over a hundred meters away like a ragdoll, its HP falling by 10%. What a powerful amplification effect! Shi Feng was greatly surprised as he looked at the dissipating dark light surrounding the Winter of Eternal Night. This magic array can forcibly increase the strength of a players Mana? The biggest difference that separated players of different tiers was the strength of their Mana. The higher a players tier, the stronger the Mana within their body would become. Meanwhile, the stronger a players Mana, the greater the destructive power they could exhibit with their attacks. It was similar to how the Spells of magical class players would become more powerful when cast in an environment with dense Mana. Yet, the trial spaces magic array could forcibly increase the strength of a players Mana. Although the magic arrays effect required an environment rich in Dark Mana to achieve peak performance, it was amazing nonetheless. After all, apart from some rare weapons, equipment, and tools, the only other way players could increase the strength of their Mana was by increasing their tier. Yet, this magic array allowed players to achieve a similar effect without having to rely on anything aside from their bodies. This magic array would shake even the Greater Gods Domain if its existence was made known. Chapter 3109 - Chapter 183 - Pseudo-Sword Emperor After Shi Feng heavily injured one of the Abyssal Hounds, the four other Abyssal Hounds seemingly got stimulated as they stopped executing any evasive maneuvers. Instead, they began frenziedly trading blow for blow with Shi Feng. As soon as Shi Feng attacked one Abyssal Hound, the other three promptly moved to his sides and either tried to bite him or attack him with Tier 3 Skills and Spells. This reckless way of fighting was one of the tactics players used most frequently in PvP. It was also the most troublesome fighting method for players to deal with. Meanwhile, if the Abyssal Hounds were to employ this strategy against a Refinement Realm expert of the same level, the expert would have no choice but to trade life for life if they wanted to clear the trial. This is a good decision. Unfortunately, it is useless against me! Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the three Abyssal Hounds attacking him. Immediately, he switched his footwork and activated the Tier 3 Skill Dispersing Slash. After drawing the magic array in his body, Shi Feng could feel the Mana suppression acting on him losing 80% of its effect. In his current state, not only could he use combat techniques normally, but he could also use Skills and Spells. Though, due to the surrounding environment, the effects of his Skills and Spells would be weakened significantly. Immediately, several dozen sword lights shot out to Shi Fengs surroundings, every one of these sword lights destabilizing the space around them as they pierced through the three Abyssal Hounds. Boom Boom Boom Once the sword lights disappeared, the forest around Shi Feng became littered with small craters. As for the three Abyssal Hounds, each of them lost over ten million HP and fell into a heavily injured state. Even an ordinary Tier 3 player could kill them effortlessly in their current state. The magic array increased my destructive power to such an extent? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw how his attack had heavily injured the Abyssal Hounds and deformed the surrounding terrain. Isnt this power already close to the level of a Tier 4 Skill used by an actual Tier 4 player? The reason there was a massive gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 players was because the destructive power the two could exhibit were on entirely different levels. It was true that Tier 3 players were akin to superhumans. However, when it came to destructive power, Tier 3 players were only at the level of destroying large boulders with their attacks. However, upon reaching Tier 4, players would have the ability to single-handedly destroy an entire city. Meanwhile, Shi Feng undoubtedly possessed this ability already. In addition to having Basic Attributes and Physique rivaling Tier 4 players, the strength of his Mana was also at the Tier 4 standard now. The only difference that separated him from an actual Tier 4 player now was his lack of Tier 4 Skills and Spells. At this moment, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that he was a pseudo-Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Subsequently, Shi Feng defeated all five Abyssal Hounds in under thirty seconds, received a huge amount of EXP, and leveled up to Level 111 directly. After Shi Feng defeated the five Abyssal Hounds on the first floor, the scenery around him instantly changed, and he found himself standing on a desolate wasteland facing a bunch of Grand Lord ranked Minotaurs. Meanwhile, as soon as these large Minotaurs saw Shi Feng, they promptly attacked him with their tridents. While time passed inside the Abyssal Tower, the number of players gathered in the Abyssal Towers lobby also continued increasing. Whats going on? Why are all of Death Curses experts here? Its not just Death Curse. Purple Light has also gathered all of its experts. Could they be planning on fighting here? I heard that Death Curse tried to rob Purple Lights caravan and failed. On top of that, Death Curse also lost an Advanced Combat Puppet. This is a huge loss for Death Curse since losing that Advanced Combat Puppet was no different than losing one of its mines. Itd be strange if Death Curse didnt try to take revenge for this loss. Its not Purple Light that destroyed Death Curses Advanced Combat Puppet. I heard that it was the doing of a group of outsiders. No wonder Death Curse has mobilized so many people. Death Curse has always vied to become the fourth-ranking power in Slumber City. Now that Solitary Soul has become a Vice City Lord, hes probably thinking of putting on a show of force by dealing with those outsiders. Quick, look! Wolf Emperor is here! When the players in the lobby saw how many experts were gathered in the Abyssal Tower, they faintly realized that the status quo in Slumber City might be changing today. It was especially true after they saw Wolf Emperor, one of Slumber Citys top five experts, making an appearance. Why is Wolf Emperor here? Night Revenants expression turned somber when he looked at the middle-aged man carrying two greatswords on his back. Wolf Emperor! This was a name known by every player operating in Slumber City. He was also the role model for the many independent experts in Slumber City. Wolf Emperor had merely been your average Refinement Realm expert twenty years ago. Wolf Emperor had also been in his thirties already at the time, so one could say that he had already reached the limits of his potential. The best he could hope for with his slowed growth was to reach the Flowing Water Realm in this lifetime. However, that wasnt what had happened at all. Unlike the average genius whod shine from a young age, Wolf Emperor was the very definition of a late bloomer. He had reached the Void Realm at 40, the Domain Realm at 45, and Slumber Citys top 50 rankings at 50. Now, at the age of 54, Wolf Emperor had become publicly acknowledged as one of Slumber Citys top five experts. Moreover, Wolf Emperor didnt become famous just by growing stronger at a late age. He had also grown his fame through a series of battles. Wolf Emperor was a living inspiration for many players who were either deemed to have no talent or exhausted their potential. In fact, some of the current Temple Knights in Slumber City had only gained their current status because of the motivation they received from looking at Wolf Emperors achievements. Hence, Wolf Emperor had become a living legend in Slumber City, and many Temple Knight-level experts had willingly become his followers. Although Wolf Emperor had never established an organization of his own, he was the player with the most Temple Knight-level experts under his command. Wolf Emperor himself was also an Upper-class Noble, an existence inferior to only Slumber Citys three administrators. Now that Wolf Emperor had shown up in the Abyssal Tower, Night Revenant would be delusional if he said that Wolf Emperors appearance wouldnt affect Death Curses plans. While Night Revenant was having a headache over Wolf Emperors appearance, a dark figure suddenly appeared in the lobby. This dark figure moved silently. However, the instant this dark figure appeared, everyone in the lobby felt chills crawling down their backs. Some Temple Knight-level experts even stepped back, their minds subconsciously telling them to keep their distance from this dark figure. Commander! When Night Revenant saw this dark figure, confidence surged within him once more. This was because this dark figure was none other than Solitary Soul, the commander of the Death Curse adventurer team and Slumber Citys publicly acknowledged number one expert! Whats the situation? Solitary Soul asked Night Revenant in a low voice. Theyll be coming out soon. Once they come out, well lock onto them immediately and ensure that none of them can hide their names or run away! Night Revenant reported respectfully. While Slumber Citys various powers and experts were gradually gathering in the Abyssal Tower, Shi Feng had finally defeated the last Mythic ranked Twin-Headed Flying Dragon on the Abyssal Towers fourth floor. At the same time, his level had also gone up from 112 to 113. Thank goodness Im a pseudo-Tier 4 right now. Otherwise, itd be impossible to clear this fourth floor. Shi Feng breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the nine Twin-Headed Flying Dragons around him. He had to die several times to eliminate all nine of these Mythic monsters. The Twin-Headed Flying Dragons had two billion HP each. If his Mana hadnt been strengthened to the Tier 4 standard, he would have never been able to kill all nine of these Mythic monsters. After all, even with his Mana strengthened, he could only deal a few million damage with his Tier 3 Skills and Spells. Even a solid blow with a Bronze Combat Technique only allowed him to deal four to five million damage. Meanwhile, along with the collapse of the final Twin-Headed Flying Dragon, a system notification rang in Shi Fengs ears. Chapter 3110 - Chapter 184 - Seven Luminaries Codex System: Congratulations! You have completed the Abyssal Trial and gained the Abyssal Towers recognition. Rewarding the Abyss Legatee title. System: With the Abyss Legatee title, you will enjoy status equivalent to a Magistrate in any city in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. In addition, all dark-type monsters within a 200-yard radius of you will be weakened by 30%. System: You have activated the Mythical Quest Twilight of the Gods. A Mythical Quest? Shi Fengs mind blanked out when he saw the system notifications, his mind having difficulty believing this to be true. In the world of Gods Domain, even Epic Quests were already enough to cause apex experts to grow ecstatic. This was because the rewards of any Epic Quest could offer even Tier 5 experts to achieve qualitative improvements, the rewards ranging anywhere from Fragmented Legendary items to powerful Legacy items. However, Epic Quests were both loved and hated by players. This was because players would be given a severe penalty should they fail to complete an Epic Quest. Some Epic Quests could even ruin a players whole account. As for Legendary Quests, which were one rank above Epic Quests, they could cause an entire Gods Domain to go crazy. This was because any Legendary Quest could rewrite the status quo in an entire Gods Domain. The completion of a Legendary Quest could easily result in the birth of a new superpower. Hence, even Tier 6 God-ranked experts were constantly searching for clues relating to Legendary Quests. As for Mythical Quests, which were one rank above Legendary Quests, the chances of one appearing in a Gods Domain was almost zero. This was because quests of this rank could affect the entire Greater Gods Domain. In the Greater Gods Domain, standing above the various peak powers and hegemonic powers were apex powers. How powerful were apex powers exactly? Any power that dared to bare its fangs against an apex power would disappear from the Greater Gods Domain. Either that or they would choose to submit under a different apex power. There was no third option. Meanwhile, the main reason the Greater Gods Domains apex powers were able to achieve their current positions was because every one of them had completed a Mythical Quest. Thanks to the Mythical Quest they completed, they were able to establish foundations and gain power beyond the imagination of the various hegemonic powers. Unfortunately, Mythical Quests were exceedingly rare, so much so that the various hegemonic powers were willing to pay one Legendary item just for a clue that could potentially lead to a Mythical Quest. During Shi Fengs previous life, he had spent several years just to find a few clues relating to Mythical Quests. Even then, his findings were more than enough to cause the various top-tier hegemonic powers to grow envious. After all, those top-tier hegemonic powers were only short of one Mythical Quest to become an apex power. Yet, now, Shi Feng had directly activated a Mythical Quest Shortly after the system notifications appeared, a gigantic shadow figure suddenly appeared in front of Shi Feng. The instant this shadowy figure appeared, Shi Feng felt an unprecedented power bearing down on his body. This power was so strong that it made the Divine Might of Tier 6 Gods look insignificant in comparison. Right now, Shi Feng had a feeling that the shadowy figure before him could erase his entire existence with just a thought. Even Tier 6 Gods would probably have difficulty moving before this shadowy figure. Youve done a good job completing the Abyssal Trial, little lifeform, the shadowy figure said as he nodded at Shi Feng. But you are still too leak to obtain my Legacy. Even holding onto my Legacy might cause you to suffer unimaginable disasters in Gods Domain. If you wish to inherit my Legacy, you will need to obtain one item first. Find the original at h*sted novel. Obtain one item? Shi Feng wasnt all too surprised by the shadowy figures claim that his Legacy would bring unimaginable disasters. The shadowy figure might only be a phantom of his real self, but he was already the strongest existence Shi Feng had met to date. If the shadowy figure appeared with his real body, Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful the other party would be. So, the difficulty of obtaining the shadowy figures Legacy would naturally be incredibly high. Yes. Ill leave this item with you. Figure out a way to restore its power. Only after it has recovered can it help you inherit my Legacy. After saying so, the shadowy figure waved his hand and summoned a pitch-black ancient tome in front of Shi Feng. Unlike the average book, this ancient tome exuded an aura rivaling that of Tier 6 Gods. An ordinary Tier 3 expert couldnt even get near this ancient tome, let alone hold it with their hands. The Seven Luminaries Codex?! Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he received the ancient tome. Current players of Gods Domain were most likely unfamiliar with the Seven Luminaries Codex. Even the various Super Guilds were unlikely to know about it. At best, they would know about the Seven Luminaries Scripture. The complete Seven Luminaries Scriptures value could be said to be above Legendary items. This was because the Scripture contained many forbidden magic arrays. With the complete Scripture in hand, players could even use Craftsman-rank Magic Arrays to seal Tier 6 God-ranked experts. However, the Seven Luminaries Scripture was only a replica of the Seven Luminaries Codex. Even the Seven Treasures that existed in Gods Domain were merely items the Three Goddesses made to replicate the Codex. Of course, the Seven Luminaries Codex before Shi Feng wasnt the complete version. Instead, it was only a fragmented item. Or, more specifically, it was the Codexs general outline. It was rumored that the Seven Luminaries Codex was one of the Godly Relics that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain. It was also rumored that it had the power to destroy an entire Gods Domain. Of course, these were merely the descriptions recorded in the Greater Gods Domains Great Galaxy Library. Whether these descriptions were true or false, nobody knew. This was because nobody had managed to obtain even the smallest of clues regarding the Seven Luminaries Codex throughout the several hundred years the Greater Gods Domain had existed. First, find a way to recover its power. We will meet again once it is fully recovered. However, you best restore it as soon as possible since it wont last long with its current power. If you cannot find the seven remaining fragments in time, it will disappear completely with no hope of restoration, the shadowy figure said before disappearing. Before Shi Feng could say anything, another system notification rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Mythical Quest Twilight of the Gods. Quest content: Restore the Seven Luminaries Codex before its power fades completely. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. Sure enough, I dont have any refusal rights. Shi Feng didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he looked at the Seven Luminaries Codex in his hands. The Seven Luminaries Codex was a bona fide Godly Relic. If he managed to fully restore it, even Tier 6 God-ranked experts would have to run if they saw him. Even Tier 6 God-ranked experts with Legendary Weapons were no exception. Of course, this great power came with a correspondingly great price. If he failed to complete this Mythical Quest, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even account deletion would probably be considered the lightest penalty for failing a Mythical Quest. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng couldnt help but tap his finger on the Seven Luminaries Codex, eager to see what was on the Seven Luminaries Codexs Attribute Panel. Chapter 3111 - Chapter 185 - Godly Relic Shi Feng couldnt help but gasp when he finished reading the Seven Luminaries Codexs Attribute Panel. What powerful Skills! As expected of a Godly Relic birthed alongside Gods Domain! I cant believe it has such power even in its current fragmented state! [Seven Luminaries Codex] (Legendary Rank [Current]) One of the Godly Relics birthed along with Gods Domain. The Seven Luminaries Codex carries seven powers of creation. Currently, the Codex has been deprived of all seven of these powers and only retains a small trace of Eternal Energy. Only by collecting all seven powers can the Codexs power be restored. Cannot be destroyed. Cannot be traded. Cannot be dropped. The Eternal Energy in the Codex will dissipate over time. (Currently, there are 365 days remaining until the Codexs energy dissipates completely.) Additional Active Skill 1- Omni-Refinement: Refine all elements and substances unconditionally. No Cooldown. Additional Active Skill 2- Elemental Search: Reveal all mineral veins within a 100,000-yard radius. Cooldown: 1 natural day Additional Passive Skill- Seven Luminaries Guidance: Automatically detects fragments of the Seven Luminaries Codex within a 1,000,000-yard radius. Omni-Refinements ability to refine all elements and substances was a power that every power in Gods Domain would yearn to obtain. For Lifestyle Players, Omni-Refinement was a godly ability. The process of refining materials was the foundation of any production process. It was also the most important step in manufacturing an item. Moreover, the higher the rank of an item, the more difficult the refining process would be, and the lower the success rate would be. However, Omni-Refinement could complete this step with perfection. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that players could get rich just by relying on the Omni-Refinement Skill. For example, players could refine Magic Crystals into Mana Stones[1]. Typically, this was a process that required a Master Alchemist. Meanwhile, in addition to the material cost of 100 Magic Crystals per Mana Stone, Master Alchemists would also charge two Magic Crystals for their labor since the refinement process involved time and energy. However, with the Seven Luminaries Codex, Shi Feng could refine 100 Magic Crystals into a Mana Stone with the push of a button, his efficiency many times greater than the average Master Alchemist. Even if he charged others a labor cost of only one Magic Crystal per Mana Stone, he could still make a killing. After all, hed only need, at most, one second to produce a Mana Stone. That meant he could earn one Magic Crystal per second. With there being 48 hours a day in Gods Domain, he could easily earn up to 170,000 Magic Crystals per day. In the current Miniature Ancient World, 170,000 Magic Crystals were already the daily Magic Crystal income of a first-rate Guild. Aside from Omni-Refinement, Elemental Search was also a Skill that could cause the various powers in Gods Domain to lose their minds. Even the Greater Gods Domains various powers were no exception. Whether it was the production of items or the construction of settlements, both required a large amount of ores. Meanwhile, the most reliable way of obtaining ores was through mining mineral veins. However, mineral veins were extremely rare in Gods Domain, and even the most common Copper veins and Iron veins could cause powers to go to war with each other. This was because every mineral vein had a chance of Magic Stones. It was simply a question of how big the production volume was. Meanwhile, Magic Stones were one of the basic materials needed in the construction of towns and cities. It was also used to produce various daily items and furniture. Hence, the demand for Magic Stones was always higher than its supply, and mineral veins were highly contested among the various powers. In addition, the higher a mineral veins rank, the rarer it would be. Veins capable of producing Magic Crystals had even become a symbol of wealth and strength for Guilds. After all, no matter how powerful a Guild Settlement was, the amount of Magic Crystals it could generate per day couldnt hold a candle to even the most common Magic Crystal-generating vein. With the Elemental Search Skill, it would become much easier for Zero Wing to search for mineral veins. So this is why none of the Greater Gods Domains peak and hegemonic powers stand a chance against the various apex powers. Just this damaged Seven Luminaries Codex is already enough to elevate a hegemonic powers strength to the next level. An apex power with a complete Godly Relic simply isnt an opponent any peak or hegemonic power can hope to compete against, Shi Feng thought to himself as he looked at the Seven Luminaries Codex. Although Shi Feng had long since known that the Greater Gods Domains apex powers were not existences to be trifled with, only now did he understand just how frightening those apex powers were. It should be known that only 99 Godly Relics had existed at Gods Domains birth, and every one of them possessed different functions. Out of those 99 Godly Relics, the Seven Luminaries Codex only ranked 45th according to the Godly Relic Ranking List kept in the Great Galaxy Library. Yet, some of the Greater Gods Domains apex powers were in possession of Godly Relics ranked within the top 30. Moreover, the amount of time these apex powers had existed far surpassed the various superpowers in his homeworld. According to his knowledge, the youngest apex power in the Greater Gods Domain had risen to its position over 600 years ago. In other words, this apex power was already in possession of a Godly Relic for over 600 years. Just thinking about the advantages this apex power had racked up using its Godly Relic throughout all these years sent shivers down Shi Fengs spine. Not to mention, this was only the youngest apex power in the Greater Gods Domain. There were still apex powers that had existed for a much longer time, such as the Seven Luminaries Alliance. A year? Shi Feng couldnt help but frown when he saw the timer displayed on the Attribute Panel. It seems Ill have to enter the Greater Gods Domain as soon as possible. Although Shi Feng knew the clue for another Mythical Quest and said Mythical Quest was related to a top-30 Godly Relic, he would need to reach Tier 5 first to get ahold of this clue. There was also no saying whether this clue was reliable or not. Hence, it would be much more realistic to rely on the Seven Luminaries Codex for his rise in Gods Domain. However, the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments were scattered across the Greater Gods Domain, and finding them would be incredibly challenging. This was the case even with the help of the Seven Luminaries Guidance Skill. Fortunately, his quest only required him to restore the Seven Luminaries Codex, not to restore it within a year. While the Codex might run out of energy in a year, so long as he managed to find one of the Codexs fragments within a year, he should be able to restore some of the Codexs energy and extend his quests time limit. I guess I have no choice but to take things one step at a time. Shi Feng sighed when he thought about the challenges that awaited him in the future. Then, he carefully put the Seven Luminaries Codex into his bag, called up the trials interface, and chose to leave the trial space. Although he only needed to find one fragment for now, it was still an incredibly challenging task. The Greater Gods Domain was simply massive. Out of the twelve Starfields that existed in the Greater Gods Domain, just one Starfield already contained over a thousand Gods Domains. Trying to find a fragment in these many Gods Domains was no different than finding a needle in a haystack TL Notes: [1]players could refine Magic Crystals into Mana Stones: Uh, I guess the author forgot that he used to categorize refinement() and synthesis(ϳ) separately? The process of turning Magic Crystals into Mana Stones used to be considered synthesis in the past. An example of refinement and synthesis being categorized separately: (Chapter 374) [Philosophers Stone] Active Effect: Due to being damaged, the Philosophers Stone possesses less than a seventh of its original strength. It can only be used for Alchemical Conversion, Elemental Refinement(Ԫؾ), Alchemical Synthesis(ϳ), and Elemental Strengthening. [2] Changes made to Chapter 184: This was because nobody had managed to obtain even the smallest of clues regarding the Seven Luminaries Codex throughout the several hundred years the Greater Gods Domain had existed. to This was because nobody had managed to obtain even the smallest of clues regarding the Seven Luminaries Codex throughout the past several hundred years. Edit reason: Im leaving this part vague since this chapter mentions that even the youngest apex power had risen to its position over 600 years ago. Chapter 3112 - Chapter 186 - Gathering of Hegemons TL Notes: Changed Shimmering Sword to Glimmering Sword for reasons. Slumber City, Abyssal Towers lobby: Everyone from our main force is here now, Commander. The outer teams 600-plus Novice Temple Knights have also finished gathering outside the city. With this, Purple Light will be utterly powerless to protect those people, Night Revenant reported to Solitary Soul. Then, he smiled and added, If Purple Lights members dare to intervene outside the city, well make it so that none of them can return to the city alive! The Purple Light Chamber of Commerce might be one of Slumber Citys peak powers, but it had the fewest Temple Knights and Novice Temple Knights out of all the peak powers in Slumber City. More specifically, Purple Light had fewer than 30 Temple Knights and a little over 300 Novice Temple Knights. The only reason Purple Light was even considered a peak power was because of its wide business connections. Purple Light had trade deals with even the peak powers of several neighboring cities. Because of these connections, Purple Light had the most Combat Puppets out of all powers in Slumber City, its Combat Puppet count exceeding 100. If a Novice Temple Knight was given control of a Basic Combat Puppet, they could exhibit combat power rivaling official Temple Knights. However, Purple Lights Combat Puppets were typically reserved for the protection of important resource nodes, and few of its Combat Puppets were stationed in Slumber City. Meanwhile, the transportation of Combat Puppets was incredibly troublesome since they couldnt be stored in ordinary Spatial Bags. Only Epic Spatial Bags could store Combat Puppets, and the average Epic Spatial Bag could store around ten Combat Puppets. However, Epic Spatial Bags were rarer and more expensive than even Fragmented Legendary items, and Purple Light only had a few of them. Not to mention, Purple Lights Combat Puppets were still needed to defend its resource nodes. All in all, the combat power Purple Light could afford to mobilize in Slumber City was, at most, around a dozen Temple Knights and a hundred Novice Temple Knights. Good. Have everyone get ready. Those people should be coming out soon, Solitary Soul said, nodding. Wolf Emperors side remains a problem, Commander. Seeing as Wolf Emperor is still here, its clear that he plans on watching. If he decides to help the other side in a crucial moment, well most likely have difficulty taking down those people Night Revenant said as he warily glanced at the middle-aged man drinking alcohol at the distant bar. In addition to being one of the top five experts of Slumber City, Wolf Emperor also had around fifty Temple Knight-level experts following him. If he decided to help Purple Lights side, it would put Death Curse at a considerable disadvantage. Ignore him. That battle maniac has already promised not to intervene on the condition that I duel him afterward, Solitary Soul said nonchalantly. Hes growing restless already? Night Revenant couldnt help but take a few extra glances at Wolf Emperor when he heard Solitary Souls words. It was widely known that Wolf Emperor was a battle maniac. It was also obvious that Wolf Emperor had already converted to a higher race, so his strength must have seen significant improvements. Although Night Revenant had guessed that Wolf Emperor would challenge the other top five experts of Slumber City after making these improvements, he didnt think that the other party would make a move so soon. Its fine. Even if he didnt come to find me, I would have gone to find him for a duel sooner or later, Solitary Soul said, a trace of fighting spirit surfacing in his eyes. Slumber Citys three administrators were extremely elusive and hard to meet. Although Solitary Soul had recently become one of Slumber Citys administrators, he still had no idea how strong he was compared to the other top five experts. He also didnt know whether he could become the strongest expert in the city, so he needed to test his strength against a sufficiently strong opponent. However, out of the four other top-five experts, three were Slumber Citys administrators, and all three were extremely elusive and hard to meet. This left only Wolf Emperor as a potential opponent for Solitary Soul. Now that Wolf Emperor had taken the initiative to challenge him, it couldnt be better news for him. While Solitary Soul and Night Revenant were talking, a commotion suddenly erupted in the lobby. Immediately, Solitary Soul, Night Revenant, and the other Death Curse members turned toward the source of the commotion. At this time, the crowd in the lobby suddenly moved aside and opened up a path for a woman with long light-blue hair. The woman wore a silver crown on her head, covered her body in silvery-white light armor, and carried a beautiful longsword that gave off a light-blue sheen around her waist. The woman looked like a goddess of war as she slowly walked down the aisle created by the crowd. The Glimmering Sword! I must be hallucinating! Why is the Glimmering Sword here? Crap! What day is it today? I cant believe three out of Slumber Citys five hegemons have gathered in the Abyssal Tower! Many players in the lobby widened their eyes in shock when they saw the Level 120 woman with light-blue hair appearing in the Abyssal Tower. Lauder Crader! In addition to being the owner of the nickname Glimmering Sword, Laura Crader was also publicly recognized as the most talented individual Slumber City had seen in the past few decades. Unlike Wolf Emperor, who had carved his legacy in Slumber City step by step, Laura Crader had appeared very abruptly. By the time people learned about her existence, she had already defeated the two administrators of Slumber City at the time and became Slumber Citys number one expert. Good! Quicksand made it in time! Echoing Judgment breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw Laura Crader appearing in the lobby. Unlike what most people assumed, the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce wasnt subordinated to Laura Crader. Instead, Lauder Crader owed Purple Light a favor due to the help Purple Light had offered her many years ago. Hence, Laura Crader publicly announced that Purple Light was under her protection. It was also because of Lauder Craders announcement that most powers in Slumber City dared not provoke Purple Light throughout all these years. Death Curse was the only exception since the adventurer team sought to dominate the entire Slumber City. Glimmering Sword! I didnt think you would make an appearance for Purple Light. It seems I have underestimated Purple Lights place in your heart, Solitary Soul said, a hint of astonishment in his eyes when he saw Laura Crader approaching him. I owe Purple Light a huge favor. Now that Purple Light needs my help, I naturally wont stand by and do nothing, Laura Crader said as she looked at Solitary Soul calmly. Ill get to the point. Give up on targeting those people. Otherwise, our two adventurer teams will have no choice but to go to war! After Laura Crader finished speaking, the lobby fell silent as everyone stared at her in surprise. They didnt think that the Glimmering Sword would be willing to go to war with Death Curse for the sake of some outsiders. Laura Craders Glimmer adventurer team might be powerful, but Death Curse was no pushover. If the two adventurer teams went to war, both sides would suffer severe losses. What a wonderful threat! Solitary Soul laughed. Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to stop those people from dying today! Moreover, Im very curious to test whether you really are as strong as the rumors make you out to be! After Solitary Soul finished speaking, the intensity of his aura suddenly spiked. Immediately, most of the players present, including Echoing Judgment and the others, felt their hearts constrict in fear. Tier 4! Echoing Judgment couldnt help but look at Solitary Soul in disbelief. How can his aura be at the Tier 4 standard?! Tier 4 was a tier no player in the Stratified Abyssal Realm could reach. However, Echoing Judgment wasnt a stranger to a Tier 4 existences aura because he had watched a fight between Tier 4 NPCs in the past. Meanwhile, the aura Solitary Soul currently radiated was just as strong as the aura those Tier 4 NPCs exuded. He got himself a piece of Legendary Equipment? Wolf Emperor thought as he looked at Solitary Soul, a hint of fear and excitement appearing in his eyes. This is interesting. I didnt think that old fox had kept so much strength hidden. With this, even the Glimmering Sword will have trouble against him. Wolf Emperor would often wander around picking fights. So, this wasnt the first time he had come across a player with a Tier 4 aura. While silence enveloped the lobby, multiple streaks of light suddenly appeared in the Abyssal Towers teleportation hall, signifying that someone had just completed their test in the tower. Meanwhile, these people were none other than Shi Feng and his team. Chapter 3113 - Chapter 187 - Miserable Fate? Once the flashes of light disappeared, the figures in the Abyssal Towers teleportation hall entered the sights of everyone in the lobby. Are they the players Death Curse is targeting? How pitiful these people are. I doubt even the Glimmering Sword can protect them now. They asked for it. Out of everyone they could have provoked, they just had to choose Death Curse. Things would have never turned out like this had they not chosen to help Purple Light. I heard that Death Curse had prepared a death curse for these people. So long as these people get banished out of the city, Death Curses members will immediately place this curse on them. If they get killed with this curse in effect, not only will they lose three levels, but theyll also have a high chance of dropping the items on their bodies and in their bags. If they get killed a couple of times with this curse and fall below Level 100, they will be forcibly sent back to the starting zone. If that happened, theyd have to compete for those few teleportation slots all over again if they want to enter Level 100-plus maps again. It took me half a year to secure a teleportation slot for myself back then. Now that the starting zones player population has grown larger, getting a teleportation slot has become even more difficult. My nephew is still stuck in the starting zone even after struggling for over a year When the spectating crowd saw Shi Feng and his teammates appearing in the lobby, they couldnt help but look at Shi Fengs team sympathetically. Laura Craders arrival might have surprised everyone, but judging by the current situation, the mighty Glimmering Sword might have trouble keeping her position as Slumber Citys number one expert today. Needless to say, shed be even more powerless to protect Shi Fengs team. In addition, Solitary Soul was now a Vice City Lord in Slumber City. Although Laura was similarly a Vice City Lord, she did not have the right to stop Solitary Soul from banishing other players from the city. Hence, Laura could only threaten Solitary Soul and figure out a way to make him give up on targeting Shi Fengs team. Revenant! Identify their names! Solitary Soul said, smirking as he looked at Shi Fengs team. Roger! Night Revenant also smirked as he said, Everyone, do it! After Night Revenant finished speaking, multiple Death Curse members hiding among the crowd crushed the crystal rune in their hands. Immediately afterward, a magic array appeared in the eyes of these Death Curse members, the magic array giving their eyes a golden glow. Holy Seals Eye? Shi Feng was quite surprised as he looked at the Death Curse members with glowing golden eyes. Holy Seals Eye was an incredibly precious Master-rank Identification Skill. Not only could it see through the Black Cloaks concealment effects, but it could also see through high-ranking disguises. Most importantly, Holy Eyes Seal could be used to analyze Master Magic Arrays and above, assisting players in decoding the various magic barriers in Gods Domain. This ability was especially crucial when players were raiding ancient ruins. Out of the many ancient ruins that existed in Gods Domain, most of them would have some sort of barrier that prevented players from entering. Meanwhile, players could only enter these ruins after cracking these barriers. Hence, a Holy Seals Eye could easily sell for the price of a Level 100 Epic Weapon in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, to obtain their real IDs, Death Curse had used twenty Holy Seals Eye. If the various powers of Gods Domain were to learn of this, they would definitely curse at Death Curses prodigal behavior. Weve verified their IDs already, Commander! Night Revenant said as he sent the IDs of Shi Fengs team members to Solitary Soul. Then, he turned to look at Shi Fengs team with a gleeful look. Dammit! Echoing Judgments complexion turned ashen when he saw Death Curses members using as many as twenty Holy Seals Eye. He didnt think that Death Curse would go to such lengths to get revenge on Shi Fengs team. So long as Solitary Soul managed to find out the IDs of Shi Fengs team members, he could easily get them banished from Slumber City using his privileges as a Vice City Lord. There was also nothing anybody could do about it. Echoing Judgment had also tasked someone to secretly check the situation outside the city, so he knew that Death Curse had mobilized nearly 100 Temple Knights and 600-plus Novice Temple Knights to ensure that Shi Fengs team did not escape. Death Curse had even set up a Master Magic Array at the citys entrance. There was no way Shi Fengs team could survive once they got removed from the city. It was also unlikely that Laura could save Shi Fengs team from Death Curse. Meanwhile, after Solitary Soul typed in the IDs of Shi Fengs team members into Slumber Citys management interface, he couldnt help but frown as he said, They have eight Upper-class Nobles? Eight Upper-class Nobles?! Night Revenant couldnt help but look at Shi Fengs team in disbelief when he heard Solitary Souls words. How is this possible?! Upper-class Nobles were special existences in the Stratified Abyssal Realms various NPC Cities. So long as players acquired the status of an Upper-class Noble in a city, not only would they enjoy an extremely high status in the city, but they would also gain voting rights to determine the direction of the citys development. Meanwhile, even Vice City Lords didnt have the authority to deal with Upper-class Nobles. Aside from those privileges, Upper-class Nobles would also gain a passive aura that weakened the dark-type monsters around them. It was also because of this aura that the various powers and experts were very keen on recruiting and befriending Upper-class Nobles. However, it wasnt an easy task to become an Upper-class Noble. Take Slumber City, for example. Even after several decades of development, less than a hundred players had managed to become an Upper-class Noble in Slumber City. The number of Upper-class Nobles in the city was significantly lower than even the number of official Temple Knights. Yet, now, it was revealed that Shi Fengs small team of twenty had as many as eight Upper-class Nobles. That was already more than the Upper-class Nobles that Death Curse had. In other words, Shi Fengs team of twenty had greater speaking rights than Death Curse in Slumber City. This was simply unbelievable. At this time, even Echoing Judgment was stunned by Solitary Souls words. Unlike Death Curses members, Echoing Judgment knew that this was the first time Shi Fengs team members had come into contact with the Abyssal Tower. Yet, despite this being their first time challenging the Abyssal Tower, eight of them had managed to become Upper-class Nobles. Shi Fengs team was simply a gathering of monsters. Of those present, only Shi Feng found this situation unsurprising. Not only did Gods Domain possess complete Legacies, but it also had an environment that was much more conducive for Mana development. Hence, Gods Domains players were vastly superior to the Stratified Abyssal Realms players when it came to Mana control. Based on Shi Fengs evaluation of the Abyssal Tower, so long as a Gods Domain player reached the World Towers second-floor standard, they could almost certainly clear the Abyssal Towers third floor and become an Upper-class Noble. So thats why Purple Light has gone as far as to call on the Glimmering Sword to help you, Solitary Soul said, his expression growing even colder as he looked at Shi Fengs team. But so what if eight of you are Upper-class Nobles? The rest of you are only ordinary Nobles! I can still banish these twelve from the city for 48 hours! As soon as Solitary Soul finished speaking, a group of fully-armed NPC guards walked in from the Abyssal Towers entrance. Every one of these NPC guards was at Level 130 or above. The two guard captains were even Level 135, Tier 4 NPCs. What a crazy bastard. Hes actually planning on making an enemy out of eight Upper-class Nobles, Wolf Emperor commented. When he saw the NPC guards appearing, he understood that Solitary Soul intended to take care of Shi Fengs team and establish his dominance over Slumber City, even if it meant making an enemy out of eight Upper-class Nobles simultaneously. However, Wolf Emperor also had to admit that Solitary Soul had the qualifications to act arrogantly. After all, with a piece of Legendary Equipment in his possession, Solitary Soul could not only stand at the apex of Slumber City, but he could even extend his reach into Shadow City, the most prosperous and powerful city in the Stratified Abyssal Realms northern region. After the several dozen NPC guards walked up to Blackie and the others, one of the guard captains took out a piece of parchment and recited, According to Slumber Citys rules, as punishment for challenging Vice City Lord Solitary Souls authority, you will be banished from the city for 48 hours. Please follow us out of the city! Black Flame, is it? When Night Revenant saw that the NPC guards were about to take Blackie and the others away, he turned to Shi Feng and laughed, saying, This is what happens when you offend Death Curse! Of course, this is only the beginning. You will soon learn what kind of miserable fate awaits you for going against Death Curse! Miserable fate? Shi Feng couldnt help but chuckle at Night Revenants remarks. Then, he walked straight up to the stern-looking NPC guards. Chapter 3114 - Chapter 188 - This Person Must Be Crazy! When the spectating crowd saw the several dozen NPC guards surrounding Blackie and the others, they couldnt help but look at them sympathetically. Normally, Blackie and the others would have been the envy of many players since they now possessed Slumber Citys Noble status. This was because, in a certain sense, the status of players in the various NPC Cities was much more important than their strength in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps. In Slumber City, players with the Civilian status would only enjoy the privilege of being able to live in the city. Without a higher status, they couldnt take on more than a certain number of City Contribution Quests each month, own private housing, or open their own Shop. They couldnt even enter Slumber Citys Advanced Auction House, only having access to the standard Auction House. However, it was a different story for players with the Noble status. Whether it was challenging more City Contribution Quests or purchasing private housing and Shops, neither of these things were a problem so long as a Noble had enough Demon Coins. Moreover, so long as players had the Noble status, they could earn Demon Coins much more quickly than Civilian players. This was because Noble players could earn a significant sum of Demon Coins each month just by renting properties to Civilians. There wasnt a need to worry about there being a lack of customers, either, since less than 3% of the citys player population had the Noble status. Of course, Nobles couldnt purchase an unlimited number of Lands or Shops. Depending on their City Contribution Points, they could buy two at minimum and five at maximum. Even so, a Noble with five plots of Land or Shops could retire for the rest of their lives without worrying about living expenses in the real world. Many Nobles had even relied on this method to live without working for over a decade already. However, at this moment, this Noble status was turned into a complete joke because of Solitary Soul. Because Solitary Soul had evoked his rights as a Vice City Lord, Blackie and the others were getting banished from Slumber City for 48 hours. Moreover, this banishment duration would not decrease if Blackie and the others went offline. The banishment period would only end after they had spent 48 hours outside of Slumber City. With the Death Curse adventurer teams strength, 48 hours was more than enough for its members to kill Blackie and the others at least a dozen times, causing them to fall under Level 100 and forcibly teleported back to the starting zone. Moreover, even if Death Curse didnt target Blackie and the others, it would be impossible for a team of twelve players to survive for 48 hours out in the fields. After all, it was extremely dangerous to roam out in the fields without a team of one or two hundred players. It was especially true when night arrived. Not only would the number of monsters increase at night, but the combat standards of monsters would also increase significantly. Even an Upper-class Nobles team wouldnt dare to casually operate outside at night. It was so dangerous at night that players wouldnt necessarily be safe even if they stood directly outside the city. This was because a large number of monsters would attack Slumber City at night. Seeking shelter in a different NPC City wasnt an option, either. The various NPC Cities in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps were located incredibly far apart from each other. Even if players traveled nonstop, they would still need around two days(96 in-game hours) to reach move from one city to another. If players traveled at a normal pace, the journey would take up to five or six days. Hence, there was no way Blackie and the others could reach another NPC City within 48 hours. In other words, getting banished from Slumber City for 48 hours was no different than a death sentence. Quick! Look over there! Their leader is walking over to the NPC guards! Could he be trying to reason with those guards? Hes just going to waste his energy if hes thinking of doing that. The NPC guards will kill even players with the Noble status when provoked. Now that they are in the midst of executing an order, they might even kill players who enter their cordon. Not to mention, these NPCs will only stubbornly carry out their orders and wont listen to reason. The spectating players shook their heads when they saw Shi Feng suddenly approaching the NPC guards. NPC guards were essentially gods in the various NPC Cities. They were also the last thing players wanted to approach. This was because NPC guards did not listen to reason. So long as players violated the law, the NPC guards would kill them on the spot. Even Upper-class Nobles were no exception. Even if the NPC guards werent in the mood for bloodshed, it was also pointless to try to reason with them. The only thing on their mind was to carry out their orders. Everything else was not within their consideration. Rather than try to obstruct the NPC guards from carrying out the banishment process, what Shi Feng should be doing was figure out a way to amass some strength and ensure that his banished companions could survive out in the fields. Did he lose his mind to anxiety? Night Revenant couldnt help but laugh when he saw Shi Feng moving closer and closer to the NPC guards. Or does he think that his Upper-class Noble status is enough to make those NPC guards listen to him? Upper-class Nobles might enjoy a high status in Slumber City, but they still lacked the qualifications to challenge the citys laws. Even Vice City Lords like Solitary Soul and Laura Crader didnt have the qualifications to do so. Otherwise, the Glimmering Sword wouldnt have gone through the trouble of using the threat of war to try and stop Death Curses actions. Meanwhile, when Echoing Judgment saw Shi Fengs actions, he swiftly ran after Shi Feng in an attempt to stop him from moving any closer to the NPC guards cordon. Unfortunately, he was still a step too late Not only did Shi Feng cross the NPC guards cordon, but he had even approached the two NPC guard captains directly and stood in their way. If his intentions hadnt been clear enough before, it was now very obvious that he was trying to stop these NPC guards from apprehending his teammates. Is he crazy? Night Revenant nearly gaped in shock when he saw Shi Feng intercepting the NPC guard captains. The difference between intruding on the NPC guards cordon and obstructing the NPC guard captains actions was like night and day. In the former case, the NPC guards would, at most, kill the intruding player once. However, in the latter case, the NPC guards would apprehend the obstructing player and imprison them for half a month to an entire month. This was worse than getting killed three or four times. Meanwhile, when the two NPC guard captains saw Shi Feng appearing before them, their first reaction was to reach for their weapons. However, just when everyone thought that the two guard captains were about to strike at Shi Feng, the two guard captains suddenly froze, a hint of fear appearing in their eyes as they looked at Shi Feng. The two guard captains behaved like two rats standing in front of a mouse, neither daring to move a muscle. Esteemed Lord Legatee! The two guard captains saluted Shi Feng after coming to their senses. Then, they asked respectfully, May we know what orders you have for us? Chapter 3115 - Chapter 189 - Difference in Status The words of the two NPC guard captains surprised and stunned everyone present in the lobby. I must be hallucinating! Since when did NPC guards start treating players so respectfully?! Could those guards be fake? Hes already crossed the cordon. Even the Glimmering Sword with her Vice City Lord status would be killed if she did that. Yet, why arent these guards taking action? Everyone was confused when they saw the NPC guard captains behaving so respectfully in front of Shi Feng. Even Echoing Judgment, who had tried to stop Shi Feng, froze as he looked at this situation in disbelief. NPC guards were incredibly rigid, and they would never show mercy to players. Even players who had received the Vice City Lord status could only get NPC guards to move when ordering them to exercise their authority to banish players. Moreover, these NPC guards would only show these Vice City Lords a cold expression throughout their entire interaction. Yet, now, the two NPC guard captains wore a look of reverence as they faced Shi Feng. Indeed! Reverence! This was an expression that one would typically only see civilian NPCs making when standing in front of players with the Upper-class Noble or Vice City Lord status. Or, more specifically, NPCs would only show such an expression when the player they faced possessed a vastly superior status. Could his status be higher than even Vice City Lords? Echoing Judgment wondered as he looked at Shi Feng in disbelief. Over the past several decades, the Vice City Lord status was known to be the highest status a player could achieve in the Stratified Abyssal Realms NPC Cities. It was also a symbol for the Stratified Abyssal Realms strongest combatants. This fact had remained unchanged throughout the past several decades. Aside from Echoing Judgment, Night Revenant was similarly confused by this situation. Obstructing NPC guards from carrying out their duties was an offense punishable by death. Even Vice City Lords would be killed mercilessly if they tried to do so. There was no room for negotiations whatsoever. While everyone was bewildered by this situation, Shi Feng pointed at Blackies group and said to the two NPC guard captains, These are my friends. I can assure you that they have never done anything to challenge a Vice City Lords authority. This is just the slander of Vice City Lord Solitary Soul! We trust in your words, Lord Legatee. In addition, since these people are your friends, they can naturally keep on living in the city. However, they will still have to abide by Slumber Citys laws. Otherwise, even if they are your friends, they will still have to face Slumber Citys punishment, Lord Legate, one of the guard captains said as he did a knights salute. Then, he said to the NPC guards surrounding Blackies group, Everyone, stand down. These people are innocent. Understood! The NPC guards promptly kept away their weapons and stopped targeting Blackies group. Meanwhile, the NPC guards behavior thoroughly dumbfounded everyone present. Even a Vice City Lords authority is useless against him? I must be dreaming! This is a banishment order from a Vice City Lord! Even another Vice City Lord wouldnt have the authority to dismiss this order! Who is that guy? I heard the guard captain referring to him as Lord Legatee just now. Could there be an obtainable status higher than the Vice City Lord status? How can that be? Vice City Lord has been the highest obtainable status in the various NPC Cities for so many years already. How can an outsider like him have a status higher than the Vice City Lords of Slumber City? Shi Fengs action of getting the NPC guards to withdraw with only a few words greatly shocked the spectating crowd. Even the executives of Slumber Citys various powers, such as Echoing Judgment, gaped in shock at this sight. Before today, the authority of Vice City Lords was unshakable in the various NPC Cities. What Shi Feng just did was unprecedented in Slumber City. Moreover, the NPC guards had withdrawn from the scene so decisively, making it seem like the Vice City Lords position Solitary Soul had gone through great lengths to obtain was nothing but a joke. How did you do it, Guild Leader? Blackie asked through the team chat. Although he was still feeling a little nervous even after seeing the NPC guards withdraw, he couldnt hold back his curiosity any longer. Blackie wasnt the only one curious to know what had happened exactly. Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, and the others were also eager to learn about the situation. Their team of twenty had entered the Stratified Abyssal Realm together. This was also their first time entering the Abyssal Tower and obtaining status in Slumber City. Yet, just when they thought that they were finally on the same starting line as Shi Feng after obtaining an Upper-class Noble status, they came to realize that Shi Feng was still leagues ahead of them. Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue were especially confused by this situation since the two of them were well aware of Zero Wings situation. They were the ones who brought Shi Feng into this Stratified Abyssal Realm, so they knew that this was definitely Shi Fengs first time visiting this Stratified Abyssal Realm. In addition, even if Shi Feng possessed more knowledge about Gods Domain than they did, there were many different Stratified Abyssal Realms in Gods Domain, and not all information on the various Stratified Abyssal Realms was universal. Yet, after entering this Stratified Abyssal Realm, not only did the gap between them and Shi Feng not shorten, but it even felt like it was growing larger and larger. Moreover, it was also because of Shi Feng that Hundred Flower Palaces members managed to survive the ordeal this time. Nothing special. Its just that my authority is slightly higher than his, Shi Feng explained through the team chat. Slightly higher? When Blood Hammer heard Shi Fengs answer, he couldnt help but ask, Could you have cleared the fourth floors trial already, Guild Leader Black Flame? The Abyssal Towers trial space had five floors. So long as one managed to clear the third floors trial, one would gain the status of an Upper-class Noble. Find the original at h*sted novel. Blood Hammer and the others had struggled desperately just to clear the third floors trial. Even then, they had barely managed to complete it before they ran out of time. As for the fourth floors trial, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that it was a despair-inducing challenge. Not only did they have to go up against Mythic monsters on the fourth floor, but they even had to fight nine of them simultaneously. It should be known that the Abyssal Towers trial wasnt merely a test of strength. It was also a test of adaptability. However, adapting to the trial spaces Mana environment was simply too difficult of a task. Just getting their bodies to adapt to the flow of the trial spaces Dark Mana was already their limit. They had no energy to spare to research and construct the magic array outlined by the Dark Mana. Mhm. I passed it by luck, Shi Feng said, nodding. Players would need to successfully construct the magic array composed entirely of Dark Mana if they wanted to have a chance at clearing the fourth floors trial. However, normally, even a Grandmaster Magician like himself shouldnt have been able to construct the magic array within such a short period of time. This was because the arrangement of the Dark Mana was rather unique. If he hadnt become a Primal Human and obtained the Eyes of Reality, which allowed him to see the Dark Manas operating principles clearly, he wouldnt have been able to see the magic arrays entire structure. Naturally, he wouldnt have been able to draw the entire magic array, either. Meanwhile, realization dawned on Blood Hammer, Crimson Heart, and the others when they saw Shi Feng nodding. They also couldnt help but smile bitterly over the gap between them. If Shi Feng had managed to conquer the despair-inducing fourth-floor trial, it was completely understandable for him to obtain a position above Upper-class Nobles. It wouldnt even be strange if he had managed to obtain status surpassing that of Vice City Lords. According to Echoing Judgment, not a single player in the Stratified Abyssal Realms various NPC Cities had ever managed to clear the Abyssal Towers fourth floor. Echoing Judgment had even gone as far as to say that the fourth-floor trial was a prank by the Main God System, and no player could ever complete it. On the other side, Echoing Judgment breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw the NPC guards disbanding their cordon. Now that Shi Fengs team could remain inside Slumber City, there was nothing Death Curse could do against them. At most, Shi Fengs team would have to be a little more careful when leaving the city. However, now that Shi Fengs team had eight Upper-class Nobles, theyd have no trouble gaining many followers and the partnership of Slumber Citys various peak powers. However, as soon as Echoing Judgment sighed in relief, Shi Feng set his sights on the two NPC guard captains once more and asked, Captains, in view of Vice City Lord Solitary Souls slanderous behavior towards my friends, may I know if I have any authority to sanction him? Chapter 3116 - Chapter 190 - Who Isnt a Pseudo-Tier 4 Nowadays? Sanction a Vice City Lord? What is he thinking? A Vice City Lord is already an administrator of the city. Even the City Lord probably doesnt have the authority to sanction a Vice City Lord. Shi Fengs words instantly caused a commotion to erupt in the lobby. Although Shi Feng didnt speak very loudly, everyone present was a Tier 3 expert. With their keen senses, they could hear even the sound of grass rustling over one hundred yards away if they wanted to, let alone a player speaking within one hundred yards. While the spectating crowd was discussing Shi Fengs words, the two NPC guard captains surprisingly remained silent for a moment. Then, they looked at Shi Feng with serious expressions on their faces. Esteemed Lord Legatee, while you are the Abysss successor, according to Slumber Citys laws, unless a Vice City Lord has violated Slumber Citys bottom line, even Lord City Lord and Lord Magistrate do not have the authority to arbitrarily sanction a Vice City Lord, the younger of the two guard captains said. I knew it. How can anyone possibly sanction a Vice City Lord? Vice City Lords have the authority to determine a citys development direction. Even if he has greater authority than a Vice City Lord, theres no way he can sanction one without a valid reason. Its like how Vice City Lords cant target Upper-class Nobles, basically. But this guy really knows how to dream. Is he not afraid of sowing a permanent grudge with Death Curse? The surrounding spectators didnt feel particularly surprised when they heard the guard captains answer. A Vice City Lord was an NPC Citys administrator. Meanwhile, the birth of an administrator was incredibly challenging. In addition to completing the temple trial, a player would also need to establish a power that ranked within the top 10 of the citys Contribution Ranking List. In other words, an NPC City could only have a maximum of ten Vice City Lords at a time. One could easily imagine how high a status a Vice City Lord enjoyed. However, since the Stratified Abyssal Realms launch until now, aside from the mysterious Dark Sanctuary, the only NPC City known to have all ten of its Vice City Lord positions filled was Shadow City, the city located in the Level 120 map Dark Desert. Other NPC Cities only had around two or three Vice City Lords. NPC Cities with four Vice City Lords, such as the current Slumber City, could already rank among the top. Lord Legatee, if Vice City Lord Solitary Soul has offended you, according to the sacred rules set by the God of the Abyss, you can initiate an Abyss Battle under the witness of the God of the Abyss. If you defeat Vice City Lord Solitary Soul, it will prove that Vice City Lord Solitary Soul is guilty. In that event, he will be stripped of his status as a Vice City Lord! the older of the two guard captains suddenly added. However, the Abyss Battle is a sacred duel. You can only initiate it three times in your life, so please use it with caution. I can sanction him in such a way? Shi Feng was a little stunned. Originally, Shi Feng didnt hold much hope of dealing with Solitary Soul via the city. After all, a Vice City Lord held considerable influence over the NPC City they belonged to. He had only asked if he could sanction Solitary Soul since he was curious what his status as the Abyss Legate would allow him to accomplish. Shi Feng wasnt the only one surprised by this situation right now. Everyone else was similarly taken aback by the older guard captains words. How is this possible?! A Vice City Lord can actually be sanctioned arbitrarily? What kind of authority does this Legatee status have? Everyone in the hall stared at Shi Feng in astonishment. Some of the Upper-class Nobles enjoying the show couldnt help but gulp nervously, a hint of fear appearing in their eyes. The position of Upper-class Nobles was only slightly lower than Vice City Lords in the various NPC Cities. So long as a Vice City Lord wasnt crazy or an Upper-class Noble wasnt hellbent on going against a Vice City Lord, Upper-class Nobles were essentially untouchable existences. However, it was now revealed that Shi Fengs status afforded him the authority to sanction even Vice City Lords. If even Vice City Lords werent safe from him, Upper-class Nobles naturally werent, either. Meanwhile, without an NPC City to rely on, Upper-class Nobles would be reduced to nothing but a tool that inflicted a weakening debuff on dark-type monsters. This is going to be interesting. A smile appeared on Wolf Emperors face as he looked at Shi Feng. Solitary Soul already has a pierce of Legendary Equipment now, so I cant even begin to guess his current strength. If this Lord Legatee dares to challenge Solitary Soul, I can use this opportunity to see how strong Solitary Soul has become. Wolf Emperor wasnt interested in the conflict between Shi Feng and Solitary Soul in the slightest. His original goal had always been to challenge Solitary Soul after seeing the other party becoming a Vice City Lord. After all, while Solitary Soul might be the weakest out of the four Vice City Lords, the man was still a Vice City Lord nonetheless. Depending on how easily he managed to defeat Solitary Soul, he might consider whether he was strong enough to challenge Slumber Citys strongest expert, Laura Crader. However, that was before Wolf Emperor had found out that Solitary Soul had obtained a piece of Legendary Equipment. He couldnt begin to estimate how strong Solitary Soul had become. He even suspected that Solitary Soul might have already become the strongest expert in Slumber City. After all, any Legendary Equipment could grant players the strength to transcend tiers. I doubt that kid will dare challenge Solitary Soul, Boss Wolf. After all, even the Glimmering Sword will have to be wary of Solitary Soul right now. Moreover, he only has three chances to initiate an Abyss Battle. Its not worth wasting one of these precious chances on Solitary Soul, the Level 116 Swordsman youth standing next to Wolf Emperor said, shaking his head. He doubted that Shi Feng would foolishly challenge Solitary Soul to a duel. Everyone in the lobby could sense the frightening aura Solitary Soul radiated. Unless Shi Feng was also a Vice City Lord-level expert with a piece of Legendary Equipment, it was unlikely he could defeat Solitary Soul. However, as soon as the Swordsman youth finished speaking, Shi Feng turned to Solitary Soul, who was looking at him contemptuously, and calmly said, Then, on my name as the Abyss Legatee, I will initiate an Abyss Battle with Vice City Lord Solitary Soul! Since Death Curse wanted to use them to set an example, Shi Feng naturally wouldnt mind using Death Curse to make a name for himself, either. After all, fame was something necessary if he wanted to develop his own power in Slumber City. With his current strength, he was confident he could fight against even God-ranked experts who had reached Tier 4 already. Not to mention, Solitary Soul wasnt even a true Tier 4 player. Hahaha! This kid must be crazy! Does he really think he is invincible just because he managed to destroy an Advanced Combat Puppet? Night Revenant couldnt help but laugh when he saw Shi Feng challenging Solitary Soul. Originally, they had been having trouble figuring out a way to get Shi Fengs team kicked out of the city. After all, if they failed to take care of Shi Fengs team, their plan to re-establish Death Curses position in Slumber City would fail miserably. Yet, now, Shi Feng was sending himself to them. You want to challenge me? Good! Very good! Solitary Soul laughed as he looked at Shi Feng. I thought that my first opponent after becoming a Vice City Lord would be the Glimmering Sword. But since you want a fight, Ill fulfill your wish. I can also use this chance to let the Glimmering Sword know who is the true number one in Slumber City! As soon as Solitary Soul finished speaking, glowing runes suddenly started appearing on the black leather top he wore, the runes drawing the surrounding Mana to him. Immediately, everyone in the lobby felt the Mana around them suppressing them. Even the Temple Knight-level experts present found their bodies becoming incredibly heavy, their flexibility dropping by several grades. What a powerful Mana Domain! Has it reached the Tier 4 standard already? Wolf Emperor subconsciously gasped when he experienced the effects of the Mana Domain radiated by Solitary Soul. As an Upper-class Noble, Wolf Emperor naturally possessed a good grasp over Mana. He was even at the level of being able to form a Mana Domain already. Even so, his Mana Domain was only useful for increasing the power of his Skills and Spells. However, Solitary Souls Mana Domain was actually capable of suppressing other players. The power of this suppression was even on par with the Mana Domains of Tier 4 NPCs. While subjected to this Mana Domains effects, Wolf Emperor felt that he could, at most, exhibit 50% of his usual combat power. After Solitary Soul unleashed his Mana Domain, Echoing Judgment, Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, and the others all wore ugly looks on their faces. One of the main reasons Tier 4 existences could stomp on Tier 3 existences was their Tier 4 Mana Domain. In front of a Tier 4 player with a Mana Domain, Tier 3 players would be no different from ants unless they possessed Legendary Weapons and Equipment. However, unlike everyone else, Shi Feng simply shrugged and calmly said to Solitary Soul, Do you honestly think that youre the only pseudo-Tier 4 in Slumber City? Immediately, a ripple of Mana spread from Shi Fengs body. Then, following the spread of this ripple, the suppression everyone experienced vanished without a trace. Chapter 3117 - Chapter 191 - Slumber City Shaken A Tier 4 Mana Domain?! Night Revenant stared at Shi Feng in disbelief when he saw Solitary Souls Mana Domain getting pushed back. How is this possible?! The biggest difference separating Tier 3 and Tier 4 players was the strength of their Mana. With the Mana Body they had just created, Tier 3 players could just barely extend their Mana out of their body, using it to strengthen their Skills and Spells to a certain extent. However, after reaching Tier 4, players would gain the ability to manipulate the Mana around them, using it to strengthen their Skills and Spells by a significant margin. They could even suppress their enemies with their Mana. It was obvious that Shi Fengs Mana Domain had reached the Tier 4 standard. In fact, based on the situation, Shi Fengs Mana Domain was stronger than even Solitary Souls. Otherwise, Solitary Souls Mana Domain wouldnt have lost its effect. What a powerful Mana Domain! Astonishment flashed across Wolf Emperors eyes when he felt the suppressive effects of Solitary Souls Mana Domain disappearing. When a Tier 3 players Mana reached the Tier 4 standard, theyd have an overwhelming advantage over other Tier 3 players. Setting aside the significant amplification effect such Mana could bring, just the ability to prevent ones opponents from utilizing the Mana around them would put ones opponent in a very disadvantageous situation. In a direct clash between Tier 3 Skills and Spells, the side that couldnt make use of their surrounding Mana would most likely be killed instantly. Although Wolf Emperor didnt know how strong Shi Fengs combat standard was, it was obvious that Shi Feng stood at the pinnacle of Slumber City when it came to Mana. Shi Feng definitely had the qualifications to fight against Solitary Soul. At this time, even Laura Crader, who had remained silent and wore a disinterested look this entire time, couldnt help but take a closer look at Shi Feng. Standing next to Laura, Sleeping Quicksand also couldnt help but look toward the unassuming Shi Feng when she noticed the change in Lauras gaze. Is he really that strong? Laura might not have said anything, but Sleeping Quicksand understood that Shi Feng had already gained Lauras recognition. It should be known that Laura was publicly recognized as the strongest expert in Slumber City, and never had anybody in the city manage to gain her recognition. Even when Solitary Soul revealed his possession of a piece of Legendary Equipment, Laura had only grown a little wary of him. How powerful! So, this is Guild Leader Black Flames strength? Lin Yaoyues eyes burned with a passionate flame as she looked at Shi Feng. Lin Yaoyue used to be a Tier 4 expert on the main continent, so she understood just how big of a gap there was between Tier 3 and Tier 4 Mana. Typically, even if a Tier 3 player managed to form a Mana Domain at Tier 3, the most they could do with it was improve their control over Mana. They couldnt increase the inherent strength of their Mana. Normally, if a Tier 3 player wished to improve the standard of their Mana without increasing their tier, theyd have to rely on the help of Legendary Weapons and Equipment. However, Shi Feng obviously didnt possess any Legendary Weapons and Equipment since he had come from the Miniature Ancient World like herself. In the current Miniature Ancient World, obtaining even Fragmented Legendary items was no different than a dream, let alone Legendary items. Without Legendary items, the only other way players could raise the standard of their Mana from Tier 3 to Tier 4 was to rely on themselves. However, this was a mythical feat that only a handful of players could accomplish even on the main continent. It should be known that every one of those players was a peerless monster. They were invincible existences even among Tier 6 God-ranked experts, and every one of them could instill fear into even the Five Great Super Guilds. As for other Super Guilds, they didnt even dare to offend these peerless monsters. Unfortunately, none of those peerless experts were willing to accept followers for some reason. It didnt matter even if the person asking to be a follower was a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. This situation had caused countless experts and powers on the main continent to sigh in disappointment. Currently, though, there was no doubt that Shi Feng had already reached the level of those peerless monsters! Amazing! As expected of someone from the Dark Sanctuary! With this kind of strength, he should have no trouble ranking among the top 10 of Shadow City! Echoing Judgment inwardly exclaimed as he looked at Shi Feng. At the same time, he became even more determined to partner with Shi Feng. There might be incredibly few players from the Dark Sanctuary operating in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps, but it wasnt exactly difficult to meet with them. This was because almost those from the Dark Sanctuary would eventually move their base of operations to Shadow City. Hence, so long as one traveled to Shadow City, one could easily come across powers from the Dark Sanctuary. However, according to his understanding, there were many powers based in the Dark Sanctuary, and not all of these powers were equally strong. Although any power capable of exiting the Dark Sanctuary would almost certainly be a peak power or greater, there were still differences between them. Based on the frightening strength Shi Feng had just displayed, Echoing Judgment was certain that Shi Feng was stronger than most of the Dark Sanctuary experts in Shadow City. After all, experts whose Mana had reached the Tier 4 standard were extremely rare, even in the Dark Sanctuary. There was no way an ordinary peak power would be willing to send such a powerful combatant out of the Dark Sanctuary. In fact, the Dark Sanctuarys powers would usually take the initiative to recruit experts with Tier 4 Mana in Shadow City, and their promises to these experts were enough to cause countless experts in the Stratified Abyssal Realm to drool in envy. Based on this situation, it could be seen just how high of a position experts with Tier 4 Mana held in the Dark Sanctuary. While everyone was marveling at Shi Fengs Mana Domain, the sound of a bell ringing suddenly came from the Abyssal Towers topmost floor, the sound echoing throughout the entire Slumber City. Many players were confused by this ringing sound. However, before they could get to the bottom of this situation, everyone in the city received an announcement from the system. Slumber City Region System Announcement: Legatee Black Flame has initiated an Abyss Battle against Vice City Lord Solitary Soul. Following the ancient agreement, this duel will be conducted under the witness of the God of the Abyss. All players in the city will also have the chance to witness this battle. Players will only have ten seconds to make a decision. Slumber City Region System Announcement: Those who do not decide within the time limit will forfeit their right to witness the Abyss Battle. Whats going on? Whos this Black Flame? He actually has the authority to challenge a Vice City Lord? Solitary Soul is one of Slumber Citys top five experts. He has even completed the Temple Trial recently. Is the person who challenged Solitary Soul insane? Regardless, this is a rare opportunity to see Solitary Soul in action. The last time he fought against someone publicly was when he challenged a few of the top 10 experts previously. Hes been immersed in training ever since, and nobody knows how strong he is exactly now. Following the system announcement, curiosity filled Slumber Citys various powers and independent players. Everyone was curious to learn about the person known as Black Flame and how strong Solitary Soul had become after completing the Temple Trial. Hence, everyone chose to spectate the Abyss Battle without hesitation. Chapter 3118 - 192 - Legendary Equipments Might Slumber City, Abyssal Tower: Following the ringing bell sound, an ancient and sacred aura spread across Slumber City, this aura instilling a sense of awe and submission into everyone in the city. After this aura swept across the entire city, players who had chosen to spectate the Abyss Battle found themselves teleported to a magnificent arena located in the middle of a sea of stars. The arena was massive, occupying an area of over a dozen sports stadiums. It could easily fit several hundred thousand spectators simultaneously. Of course, that definitely wasnt enough to accommodate Slumber Citys several hundred million players. However, players werent teleported directly to the arenas spectator stands. Instead, players were teleported to the countless independent spaces that existed within the arena, and each of these independent spaces had a replica of the main arena. So, even though the main arena itself could only accommodate several hundred spectators, it could, in reality, allow all of Slumber Citys players to spectate the upcoming Abyss Battle simultaneously. The only people on the arenas stage currently were Shi Feng and Solitary Soul, and both of them were at Level 120. Evidently, the Main God System had equalized their levels for the sake of fairness. Meanwhile, after the participants and spectators were teleported to the arena, a timer appeared above the stage, indicating the seconds left until the Abyss Battles start. Ten Nine Eight Seven I am really surprised. I didnt expect you to have not only significantly higher authority than me but also Tier 4 Mana. You can find yourself a place even in Shadow City with your strength and status, Solitary Soul said to Shi Feng, smiling after he scanned the stage. If you hadnt disrupted our plans, we would have never wanted to make an enemy out of you. Unfortunately, youve made the wrong choice from the very beginning, which leaves us with no choice but to eradicate you and your team. This outcome will not change even if your Mana has already reached the Tier 4 standard! When Solitary Soul finished speaking, the timer also finished counting down. Then, Solitary Souls figure thoroughly vanished from the stage. What a skillful Soundless Steps! When Hidden Soul saw Solitary Soul disappearing from her sight, a solemn expression appeared on her face. Not only has he perfectly concealed his presence, but hes also using his killing intent to layer his concealment. Hes even managed to create up to nineteen decoys. How much of a monster is he? Although Hidden Soul was sitting on the spectator stands, everything taking place on the stage was perfectly presented to the spectator stands. So, watching the fight from the spectator stands was no different than watching it directly on stage. Meanwhile, Soundless Steps happened to be a combat technique Hidden Soul was also skilled at. It was also the reason she dared to assassinate Tier 6 God-ranked experts. For a skilled Assassin, it wasnt difficult to perfectly conceal their aura. What was difficult was using ones killing intent to misdirect ones target. Meanwhile, the more decoys one tried to create using killing intent, the more difficult it would be to accomplish the feat. Currently, Hidden Soul could create up to sixteen decoys only. Moreover, that was after she had become a High Demonkin. If she wanted to further increase that number, the complexity of the technique would increase by several times. Meanwhile, as far as she knew, not even one of her many Assassin friends could create nineteen killing intent decoys. In addition to showing how skillful he was, the fact that Solitary Soul could create nineteen decoys with his killing intent meant that he could fake his attacks up to nineteen times. So long as Shi Feng made even one error in his judgment against Solitary Soul, it could become a fatal mistake. No matter how powerful a Tier 3 player was, there was a limit to the number of reactions they could make simultaneously. A player would be considered an expert among experts if they could carry out twelve or thirteen reactions simultaneously. Typically, this was the level that Domain Realm experts were at. In the case of Tier 6 God-ranked experts, while they might be more skilled than the average Domain Realm expert, most God-ranked experts could only carry out around fourteen or fifteen simultaneous reactions. Hence, with her ability to create up to fifteen decoys in the past, she could fell even Tier 6 God-ranked experts if they werent careful. However, against Solitary Souls nineteen decoys, the average Tier 6 God-ranked expert would fall with a 100% certainty At this moment, Hidden Soul wasnt the only person who had realized Solitary Souls prowess. Crimson Heart, Blood Hammer, and the others similarly wore grave expressions on their faces. It was especially true for Blood Hammer and Marion. They never thought they would come across such a terrifying expert in Slumber City, which was only one of many NPC Cities in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. A fourth-floor expert! Blood Hammer couldnt believe his eyes when he saw Solitary Soul disappearing from his perception. Werent Stratified Abyssal Realms supposed to have only a handful of fourth-floor experts? Why are there so many fourth-floor experts in this Stratified Abyssal Realm? According to the information Blood Hammer collected through eavesdropping on the conversation of others, he knew that Solitary Soul only ranked among the top five of Slumber City when it came to strength. More specifically, he ranked fourth or fifth. This meant that there were three or four more players of Solitary Souls caliber in Slumber City. There were hundreds of NPC Cities found in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps. If every NPC City had around five fourth-floor experts While Blood Hammer and Marion were in a daze, Shi Feng briefly scanned the empty stage before him and said, Put away your little tricks! This move is useless against me! After saying so, Shi Feng brandished the Winter of Eternal Night. Swords Orbit! After Shi Feng had continually developed Swords Orbit during his previous life, it had already reached the standard of Bronze Combat Techniques. The instant he executed the combat technique, several dozen sword lights spread out from him like a blooming lotus flower. Not only could each of these sword lights reach up to several dozen yards away, but every one of them also left a dark rift in space as they moved away from Shi Feng. The sword lights left no room to hide on the stage, and Solitary Soul was quickly forced to break his footwork and come out of Stealth. However, before any of the sword lights could hit him, he suddenly switched to a seemingly slower footwork. Then, as if Solitary Soul had become a ghost, Shi Fengs sword lights passed through him harmlessly as he rapidly closed the distance between himself and Shi Feng. When Solitary Soul moved within ten yards of Shi Feng, the two daggers he wielded suddenly snapped forward like whips, leaving behind countless afterimages as they executed over a dozen different feints and attacks in the blink of an eye. What a well-honed Godspeed Reflex! Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised by the rapid shifts Solitary Soul executed in his attack. Even so, he did not stop brandishing the Winter of Eternal Night. Swords Orbit could be regarded as Shi Fengs roots. It was also the defensive technique he was most proficient in. After developing it to the Bronze standard, the combat technique was improved significantly. In the techniques current state, unless he was going up against an overwhelmingly stronger opponent, it was highly unlikely for any attack to break through his defenses. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang out on the stage, each subsequent explosion louder than the one before. The explosion count quickly reached into the hundreds, and it felt as if several hundred missiles were bombarding the stage. Space in the middle of the stage had also shattered completely, several dozen one-hundred-meter spatial tears forming on the stage. At one point, the explosions had gotten so powerful that their shockwaves had even spread through the barrier isolating the stage, reaching the rest of the arena. After the explosions ended, Solitary Souls figure appeared among the mending spatial tears. At this time, Solitary Soul had already lost 30% of his HP, and both of his hands showed faint signs of trembling. This scene dumbfounded the spectating audience. Whats going on? Solitary Soul is actually at a disadvantage? How strong is this Black Flame guy? The spectating crowd widened their eyes in shock when they saw Shi Feng completely intact. Solitary Souls strength was widely known and recognized. Yet, even with a piece of Legendary Equipment, Solitary Soul had still lost to Shi Feng in a direct confrontation. However, Solitary Soul didnt seem to mind this outcome as he looked at Shi Feng with a calm expression. I can see why you dared to challenge me. Your Strength Attribute is simply monstrous, Solitary Soul said as he tried to shake the numbness out of his hands. Then, narrowing his eyes fiercely, he continued, I had thought of saving this move for the Glimmering Sword, but now it seems that Ill have to use it on you first! Immediately after Solitary Soul finished speaking, the glowing runes covering his black leather top shone with a much brighter glow. At the same time, everyone in the arena could feel something change within Solitary Soul. Specifically, everyone experienced a suppressive effect that resulted from a difference in Life Rating. Youve thoroughly entered the Tier 4 standard already? When Shi Feng sensed the change in Solitary Souls Life Rating, he realized that the Assassin was no longer a Tier 3 player. Instead, Solitary Soul was now a bona fide Tier 4 player. Previously, Solitary Souls Physique, Basic Attributes, and Mana might have reached the Tier 4 standard already, but he still wasnt a true Tier 4 player. He was only a pseudo-Tier 4 player. In fact, when it came to the Strength Attribute, Shi Feng wasnt the least bit afraid of Solitary Soul. In addition to being a Primal Human, Shi Feng was also in possession of the Winter of Eternal Night and the Abyssal Eye, two top-tier Fragmented Legendary items. He might not be able to match a player with a Legendary Weapon, but he had no problems matching an Assassin with only one piece of Legendary Equipment. Not to mention, while everyone in the Stratified Abyssal Realm was subjected to the power of darkness, he had the Abyssal Eyes help to halve the effects of this suppression. Hence, when it came to the Strength Attribute, there was no way Solitary Soul could beat Shi Feng. Now, however, Solitary Soul had clearly reached Tier 4 already. His Life Rating was completely different from that of a Tier 3 player. Indeed. I have now transformed into a Tier 4 Shadow Manipulator. All of my Basic Attributes have increased by 40%, and I have also gained access to all Tier 4 Skills and Taboo Skills available to the Shadow Manipulator class, Solitary Soul said, a hint of excitement appearing in his eyes. Now, Ill let you experience the strength of a true Tier 4! Chapter 3119 - 193 – Abyssal Power Chapter 193 C Abyssal Power As soon as Solitary Soul finished speaking, he instantly split into several dozen illusions of himself, each giving off a similar presence as his original body. Then, every one of these doppelgangers appeared around Shi Feng in the blink of an eye and attacked him simultaneously. Spatial Mirage! Hidden Soul frowned when she saw Solitary Souls doppelgangers filling the stage. Spatial Mirage was a Tier 4 Taboo Skill that allowed the user to split into several dozen copies of themselves. However, the user could reduce the number of doppelgangers they summoned if they could not control all of them. Meanwhile, not only were the doppelgangers real entities, but they also had the exact same Basic Attributes as the user. In addition, so long as even one doppelganger remained alive during the Skills one-minute duration, the original body would not die. Because of Spatial Mirages effects, it was labeled as the strongest single-target Skill out of all Tier 4 Skills available to Assassins. After all, not only did the Skill allow its user to rain their opponent with a large number of attacks, but it also allowed the user to stay near-invincible for one minute. Come! Shi Feng stopped holding back when he saw Solitary Souls doppelgangers attacking him from all directions. Immediately, he activated World of Frost, the Winter of Eternal Nights second Active Skill. If he wanted to go against a Tier 4 Taboo Skill in his current state, his only option was to use a Tier 4 Skill or Spell. Hed only be seeking an early death if he used a Tier 3 Skill or Spell. This was because there was a great disparity in the Mana Tier 3 and Tier 4 Skills could access. In Gods Domain, a clash between Skills would often be decided by the Mana each side held. It wouldnt matter even if a Skills effect was superior. It would most likely lose if it went up against a Skill that had carried significantly more Mana. Hence, it was impossible for low-tier Skills to go up against high-tier Skills. The current Winter of Eternal Night might not be at its peak, but its Additional Skills were already at the Tier 4 standard. In a certain sense, its Skills were even stronger than the average Tier 4 Skill and Spell. Immediately, nine frost swords appeared around Shi Feng, each frost sword carrying 120% of his Strength. Then, Shi Feng executed Swords Orbit once more against Solitary Souls doppelgangers. Unlike before, Shi Feng was executing Swords Orbit with nine weapons this time. Hence, the galaxy of stars that formed around him created a much tighter defensive network than before. Moreover, every one of the stars that surrounded him exerted destructive power at the Tier 4 Peak standard. Boom Boom Boom The clash between swords and daggers taking place right now was many times more intense than before. For a time, the stage looked like it was hosting a fight between two 1,000-man teams rather than a duel between two players, the scene flabbergasting the spectating audience. Theyre so strong! So, this is a Vice City Lord-level fight? Even though Im a Temple Knight already, why do I get the feeling that I wont last more than a move against them? When Slumber Citys many experts saw the clash between Shi Feng and Solitary Soul, they felt their worldview shattering. No matter how they looked at it, there was no way they could interfere in such a high-level fight. In fact, if it werent for the barrier isolating the stage from the rest of the arena, they doubted that they could even spectate the fight from such a close distance. Any stray attack that struck them could probably kill them instantly. The might of Legendary Equipment is truly extraordinary! Wolf Emperor inwardly exclaimed, his blood boiling in excitement. At the same time, he also mentally assessed how long he could last against Shi Feng and Solitary Soul in a fight. In the meantime, on the stage, Solitary Soul had clearly gained the upper hand after activating Spatial Mirage. He had an overwhelming advantage in both numbers and raw power. Although Shi Fengs defense was nigh impeccable, his nine frost swords creating a barrier that neutralized the attacks of Solitary Souls doppelgangers, it was inevitable for cracks to appear after defending against such a large number of attacks over such a long period of time. Sure enough, Shi Feng eventually started to let one or two doppelgangers slip past his defensive network from time to time. Although he had promptly rectified these mistakes by deflecting the doppelgangers attacks with his sword, Solitary Souls doppelgangers wielded Strength rivaling Level 120 Superior Mythics. Even after he redirected a portion of their attacks power, he still suffered over 10,000 damage per hit. Currently, Shi Fengs HP was at an extraordinary 1.27 million, thanks to his Tier 4 Basic Attributes. That was more than double what the average Tier 3 MT had. However, a loss of 10,000 HP per attack was not something he could afford to shrug off due to Solitary Souls extremely high attack frequency. After roughly fifty seconds had passed since Solitary Soul activated Spatial Mirage, Shi Feng had already lost two-thirds of his HP. In comparison, Solitary Souls losses were much smaller. Although Solitary Soul had lost a few dozen doppelgangers due to his fearless attack method, he still retained over twenty doppelgangers. Meanwhile, so long as even one of his doppelgangers lived, his main body would not die. You really are a tough bastard to survive for so long, Solitary Soul said, scoffing when he saw that he only had a short time left before Spatial Mirages effect ran out. But everything is over now! Tier 4 Legacy Berserk Skill, Shadow Possession! The strength of Solitary Souls aura skyrocketed once more, reaching a point where many of the spectating Tier 3 players found themselves having difficulty breathing. Is this his true strength? Wolf Emperors expression grew serious when he saw this sudden turn of events. Based on his perception, Solitary Soul gave off the same presence as the Superior Mythic Bosses he had encountered in the past. If Solitary Soul combined the raw power of a Superior Mythic monster with combat techniques, he could unleash devastating destruction. Subsequently, Solitary Souls remaining doppelgangers attacked Shi Feng from multiple directions, their speed so fast that many of the Tier 3 experts present couldnt even keep up with them. Over? Do you honestly think youre the only one with a Berserk Skill? When Shi Feng saw Solitary Souls doppelgangers coming at him again, he promptly activated the Berserk Skill that came with the Abyssal Eye. Abyssal Power! This would also be the first time Shi Feng used this Skill after obtaining the Abyssal Eye. Immediately, the Berserk Skill increased his Defense by 100%, Strength by 150%, Agility by 60%, Physique by 50%, and Endurance by 100%. Boom! At this moment, black fog surrounded Shi Feng, and his eyes turned pitch-black completely, the transformation making him look like the incarnation of darkness. The flow of time around him also started to slow down. As for the nine frost swords, they disintegrated due to their inability to coexist with the power of the Abyss. However, Shi Feng didnt feel surprised by this and held the Winter of Eternal Night horizontally. In Gods Domain, Berserk Skills could not coexist with many Skills. Normally, when players used a Berserk Skill in a duel with another player, it meant that they were ready to end the fight by either killing their opponent or getting killed. In a situation where Solitary Soul had an overwhelming advantage in Basic Attributes, Shi Feng decided it was best if he didnt withhold his Berserk Skill. Disappear! Immediately, Shi Feng executed a horizontal slash against the doppelgangers coming at him from all directions. Second Sword, Holy Devour! Chapter 3120 - Chapter 194 - New Hegemon When Shi Feng swung his sword, crimson flames swept across the stage and incinerated everything into nothingness. The sight of the sea of flames devouring even space itself caused the spectating crowd to gasp. What a terrifying Mana Technique! Who the hell is this guy? Wolf Emperor exclaimed, a grave expression appearing on his face. Mana Techniques might be common in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, but most of the Mana Techniques in the hands of Slumber Citys peak powers could only exhibit power rivaling Tier 3 Skills and Spells. There were also a few Mana Techniques capable of reaching the standard of Tier 4 Skills and Spells, but those were Dark-type Mana Techniques. However, the Mana Technique Shi Feng used was clearly of the fire element. Yet, in addition to being capable of incinerating even space itself, those flames also gave Wolf Emperor the feeling that he would get burnt into nothingness so long as they touched him. The power of this Mana Technique far surpassed the power of the average Tier 4 Skill and Spell. It should be known that Mana Techniques did not have Cooldowns like Skills and Spells. So long as players had enough Stamina and Concentration, they could use Mana Techniques multiple times in a row. Hence, Mana Techniques were worth much more than Skills and Spells on the market. On average, it would take a Tier 3 Dark-type Skill or Spell to match the value of a Mana Technique capable of exhibiting Tier 3 power. In the case of a Mana Technique capable of exhibiting power surpassing Tier 4 Skills and Spells, Wolf Emperor couldnt even begin to imagine its value since he had never heard of such a Mana Technique appearing in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, the powerful flames Shi Feng created did not deter Solitary Soul in the slightest. Immediately, several of his doppelgangers began brandishing the daggers they wielded, the phantom of a dark wolf appearing around each of these doppelgangers as they charged at the oncoming sea of flames. He even has a Dark-type Mana Technique? How much strength has Solitary Soul kept hidden? Echoing Judgments expression turned incredibly gloomy when he saw the wolf phantoms on the stage. The Mana Technique Solitary Soul just used had clearly reached the Tier 4 standard already. Moreover, it was even a Dark-type Mana Technique. Combined with his Legendary Equipment, Solitary Soul could easily rank among the top five of Shadow City, the number one City in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Even Laura Crader was unlikely to be Solitary Souls match now. At this point, Echoing Judgment could already foresee Death Curse becoming the number one power in Slumber City. Once that happened, Purple Lights days in Slumber City would be numbered However, before Echoing Judgment could lament the fate of Purple Light for long, the sea of flames and wolf phantoms clashed. Boom! A deafening explosion echoed throughout the entire arena, and the resulting shockwaves caused the stages defensive barrier to shake violently. Although the barrier eventually calmed down without breaking, everyone still couldnt help but feel insecure when they saw the space above the entire arena turning into an empty void. Once the dust settled, the spectating audience couldnt help but be dumbfounded by what they saw. How is this possible?! The stage got destroyed?! Is this the strength of Vice City Lord-level players? At this time, the stage used to host the fight was nowhere to be seen, and taking its place was a massive crater. Moreover, spatial tears filled the space above the crater, the area rendered completely inhospitable. Meanwhile, hovering above the crater were five figures, of which four belonged to Solitary Souls doppelgangers. At this time, though, these doppelgangers had already lost over 10% of their HP. Evidently, they had suffered some damage from the feedback of the clash just now. Who are you?! How can you overpower even my Heaven Devouring Wolf?! Solitary Soul shouted, a hint of fear flashing past his eyes for the first time as he looked at Shi Feng. Heaven Devouring Wolf was the greatest fortuitous encounter Solitary Soul had come across. It was also his strongest trump card. With this Mana Technique, he was confident he could challenge even the ten Vice City Lords of Shadow City and achieve good results. Yet, even though Solitary Soul had already used Heaven Devouring Soul against Shi Feng, not only did he fail to kill Shi Feng, but he didnt even manage to deal a single point of damage to Shi Feng. The only change he noticed was Shi Fengs slightly paler complexion. In comparison, he had suffered some damage from the clash At this time, Solitary Soul wasnt the only one confused by this situation. Even Wolf Emperor and the other spectators were greatly shocked. Solitary Souls strength was clear for all to see. In addition to having a piece of Legendary Equipment, he even possessed a Dark-type Mana Technique. Yet, Solitary Soul had still lost to Shi Feng even with such favorable conditions. This was simply unbelievable! Who am I? Im the person whos about to send you on your way! Shi Feng didnt bother offering Solitary Soul with any explanations. Instead, he promptly executed a horizontal slash, unleashing another Holy Devour at the other party. Immediately, a sea of flames devoured the space within the defensive barrier once more, the coverage of the attack leaving Solitary Soul with no choice but to resist it with Heaven Devouring Wolf again. Once Twice Thrice Solitary Souls doppelgangers lost a portion of their HP every time they blocked Shi Fengs attacks. At the same time, the doppelgangers complexion also grew increasingly paler, and the trembling of their hands worsened continuously. Seeing this scene, the spectating audience finally understood what it meant to truly overwhelm a person by force. Solitary Soul could neither dodge nor block Shi Fengs attacks perfectly. The only thing he could do was watch as his HP gradually disappeared After Shi Feng executed Holy Devour for the tenth time, Solitary Souls four remaining doppelgangers faded out of existence, and Solitary Souls main body appeared before everyones eyes. At this time, though, Solitary Souls HP had already fallen to zero. Then, his vision darkened, and his body lifelessly fell into the crater. At the same time, the melodious sound of ringing bells echoed throughout the arena, and the victors name was displayed above the stage-turned-crater. Black Flame! The commander actually lost?! When Night Revenant and the other members of Death Curse saw Solitary Souls body disintegrating into countless particles of light, an incomparably ugly expression appeared on their faces. None of them could believe what had just happened. Night Revenant was especially dumbfounded by this outcome. In Night Revenants opinion, Shi Feng was merely an outsider from who knows where. Meanwhile, there were countless such outsiders appearing in Slumber City every day. Even if these outsiders possessed incredible individual strength, there was little they could do in Slumber City. In front of Death Curse, these outsiders were still insignificant existences. Yet, Shi Feng had not only caused Death Curse to lose an Advanced Combat Puppet, but he had also defeated Death Curses commander now. He had even permanently deprived Death Curse of his status as a Vice City Lord. How could Night Revenant possibly bring himself to believe this situation? He won?! Crap! How strong is this guy?! I think the Glimmering Sword is the only person who can match him now. After the spectators fell silent for a moment, they quickly broke into exclamations. It was especially true for the executives of Slumber Citys various powers. The way they looked at Shi Feng and his team had changed completely. After all, Death Curse was thoroughly finished in Slumber City now. Even if Solitary Soul possessed incredible individual prowess and could possibly rank among the top three of Slumber City, without his status as a Vice City Lord, its development in Slumber City would be severely restricted. A players status was incredibly important in the NPC Cities of the Stratified Abyssal Realms Level 100-plus maps. This was because many of the various NPC Cities benefits required players to have a certain status to obtain. Now that Death Curse had offended Shi Feng, someone with authority greater than even Vice City Lords, the adventurer team would have a very difficult time surviving in Slumber City. Not to mention, seven of Shi Fengs teammates were also Upper-class Nobles. In the meantime, inside the crater, Shi Feng suddenly noticed that an item had appeared in place of Solitary Souls body. Moreover, this item radiated an incredibly familiar aura. Chapter 3121 - Chapter 195 - City Promotion! An Ancient Gods possession? When Shi Feng looked at the fragmented tablet on the ground, he could sense a Divine Might unique to Ancient Gods. Although it was very weak, this Divine Might wasnt something Gods could possess. If an ordinary Tier 3 player were subjected to this Divine Might, they couldnt even get close to within ten yards of the item. If they tried to, they would either be rendered immobile or unconscious. Upon seeing the Ancient Gods item, Shi Feng promptly picked it up and put it into his bag without hesitation. In Gods Domain, even the possession of normal Gods could cause superpowers and Tier 6 God-ranked experts to go crazy. So, it was truly a pleasant surprise for Shi Feng to obtain an Ancient Gods item after killing Solitary Soul. It should be known that players wouldnt normally drop items when they died in an official duel overseen by the Main God System. Yet, Solitary Soul had still dropped the dilapidated tablet after dying. This showed just how extraordinary of an item the tablet was. However, before Shi Feng had time to inspect the tablets information, a system announcement suddenly rang in his ears. Slumber City Region System Announcement: Under the God of the Abysss witness, Vice City Lord Solitary Soul has been deemed guilty. In addition to being deprived of his status as Slumber Citys Vice City Lord, he will also lose ten levels and be prohibited from logging into the game for thirty natural days. The system announcement repeated three times, the announcements content causing everyone in the arena to gasp involuntarily. Crap! What kind of penalty is this?! Death Curse will probably have to withdraw from Slumber City completely now! Prohibited from logging into Gods Domain for thirty days and losing ten levels? With the threat of such a penalty in place, who would dare make an enemy out of Black Flame in Slumber City in the future? Even the Upper-class Nobles will have to tread carefully around this Black Flame from now on. Slumber Citys various powers and independent players grew very fearful of Shi Feng after hearing the system announcement. Even the aloof Upper-class Nobles were no exception. A drop of ten levels wasnt a huge problem for players living in the Stratified Abyssal Realm since death was a normal occurrence here. However, the thirty-day prohibition from logging into Gods Domain was a punishment worse than death. Gods Domain had long since become part of everyones lives. Many people even relied on Gods Domain to make a living. It was especially true for the various powers executives. If they couldnt log into Gods Domain for thirty days, it wouldnt even be surprising if they got eliminated from the frontlines. While Slumber Citys players were discussing this matter, everyone in the arena got teleported back to Slumber City. In Shi Fengs case, he found himself teleported straight to Slumber Citys City Hall. There was also an elegant old man standing before Shi Feng with a small wooden box in his hands. Greetings, Lord Legatee. I am Florentine, the Magistrate of Slumber City. Under the God of the Abysss witness, you have exposed the despicable crimes of Vice City Lord Solitary Soul. As a reward for your contribution, you will become Slumber Citys new Vice City Lord from today onward. I hope you can make outstanding contributions to Slumber City, the old man said as he took out a black lion emblem from the wooden box and handed it over to Shi Feng. Slumber City Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Black Flame for gaining Magistrate Florentines recognition and becoming Slumber Citys First Vice City Lord! Slumber City Region System Announcement: A player has become Slumber Citys First Vice City Lord. Slumber Citys system update activated. Slumber City will undergo an update for one natural day. All players in Slumber City will be forcibly logged out in half an hour. Players are advised to make the necessary preparations. The citys getting an update? Whats going on? First Vice City Lord? Was there such a status in NPC Cities? Crap! I must be dreaming! Its a city update! Slumber City actually got a city update! The last time a city update happened was when Shadow City filled all ten of its Vice City Lord spots, and this update instantly propelled Shadow City into the Stratified Abyssal Realms number one city! I never thought our Slumber City would receive a city update as well! Our citys going to soar now! Many players were confused by the abrupt city update announced by the system. However, many of Slumber Citys veteran powers couldnt help but grow ecstatic by this news. A city update might be foreign to most ordinary players since the last time a city update appeared was over a decade ago. However, veteran players would definitely remember it still since it had shaken the entire Stratified Abyssal Realm back then. Meanwhile, a city update was essentially a promotion for an NPC City. Moreover, this promotion would have a huge impact on the city and its players. Solitary Soul will probably wish to die once he learns about this city update, Echoing Judgment thought as he looked at the system announcement. At this time, even he couldnt help but pity Solitary Soul and Death Curse a little. In addition to being one of Slumber Citys peak powers, the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce also had business dealings with many NPC Cities. It even had some connections in Shadow City. Hence, Echoing Judgment knew just how much help a city update could provide to a citys residents. At this time, Echoing Judgment could already foresee powers from the neighboring NPC Cities and cities that were even farther away rushing to Slumber City after learning about the city update and partnering with Slumber Citys local powers. So, it wouldnt be strange for Slumber Citys local powers to see a sudden spike in their strength. However, Solitary Soul would be missing out on this opportunity. He had even lost his status as a Vice City Lord. It should be known that Vice City Lords would receive many more benefits from the promotion of an NPC City than other players. These additional benefits were so valuable that they could elevate the strength of a peak power like Death Curse to the next level. After all, a citys promotion would also mean the introduction of new functions. This city promotion might be a chance for us to go back, Laura, a three-meter-tall, Level 120 middle-aged man said, smiling as he looked at the woman with light-blue hair standing next to him. With your current strength, youll definitely give those people a big surprise. Dont get your hopes up. Youve seen Shadow Citys situation for yourself. Even those ten Vice City Lords from Shadow City dont have any clues to help us get back. We are people who have been ousted, after all. Theres no way we can return to the world above so easily Laura said, shaking her head. The Ancient Abyssal God has sealed this place too tightly. Weve been searching for a way to leave since the first appearance of players in this Stratified Abyssal Realm, yet we still havent found any clues to leave this place the middle-aged man said, sighing. Meanwhile, inside the Abyssal Towers lobby First Vice City Lord? Guild Leader Black Flame is always amazing no matter where he goes, Crimson Heart said, a bitter smile forming on her face as she looked at the system announcement. It seems well need to have a chat with the Guild Leader after we log off. Cleansed Rue, who stood beside Crimson Heart, nodded in agreement. The Stratified Abyssal Realms standards were vastly superior to the standards of their Gods Domain. Now that Shi Feng had become Slumber Citys First Vice City Lord, it meant that Zero Wing had already established a solid foothold in Slumber City. Meanwhile, with Slumber Citys support, they could already imagine how frightening Zero Wings development in the Miniature Ancient World would become. While everyone in Slumber City was carrying out their own considerations and plans, Shi Feng borrowed a VIP lounge in the City Hall to inspect the dilapidated tablet in his bag. Chapter 3122 - Chapter 196 - Legendary Item Inside the City Halls VIP lounge When Shi Feng took out the dilapidated tablet, an Ancient Gods Divine Might instantly envelop the entire lounge. The presence of the Ancient Abyssal Gods phantom in the arena had suppressed the tablet previously. However, now that the tablet was no longer being suppressed, it could unleash its Divine Might in full. Fortunately, the City Hall was protected by an incredibly strong defensive magic array that could resist being bombarded by Tier 4 attacks for a long time. So, the Divine Might did not affect the building in any way. It is extraordinary, as expected. Even Tier 4 experts might suffer a mental collapse against such a powerful Divine Might, Shi Feng thought, feeling a little surprised as he looked at the dilapidated tablet in his hands. The average Ancient Gods possession could, at most, prevent Tier 3 players from getting close to them. In the case of Ancient Gods possessions that could cause Tier 4 players to suffer a mental collapse, they were incredibly rare even in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, their value typically rivaled Legendary Equipment or more. Immediately, Shi Feng used his Eyes of Reality to identify the dilapidated tablet. The Eyes of Reality was an Innate Skill of Primal Humans. When left in a passive state, it would allow Shi Feng to perceive the operating principles of the Mana around him. When used actively, it could serve as a Master-rank Identification Skill that could easily see through various disguises and identify items. Ten seconds Twenty seconds Thirty seconds As the Eyes of Reality continued analyzing the tablet, the tablets Divine Might also grew stronger and stronger. By the one-minute mark, the Divine Might had grown so powerful that Shi Fengs complexion had started to pale. The Divine Might has already reached the Tier 4 Peak standard after only a minute! What is this item?! Shi Feng was greatly confused as he looked at the dilapidated tablet. All possessions of Ancient Gods might carry Divine Might, but most would only carry Divine Might at the Tier 4 standard. Even then, these items were plenty incredible already. However, an item that could radiate Divine Might at the Tier 4 Peak standard was something Shi Feng had never heard of before. It should be known that the effects of an Ancient Gods Tier 4 Peak Divine Might could rival an ordinary Gods Tier 5 Divine Might. It could easily cause even Tier 4 players to suffer a mental collapse, forcing them into a slumbering state. Although Shi Feng had a special technique that could help him resist the effects of Divine Might, he was only a Tier 3 Sword King right now. His bodys various parameters might have reached the Tier 4 standard already, but he still wasnt an actual Tier 4 Sword Emperor. So, there was a limit to what the technique could do for him. Hurry! Hurry up! Shi Feng grew a little anxious as he looked at the loading bar before him. Currently, the loading bar was already at 90% progress. So long as he could complete the identification process, the Divine Might would automatically revert to its original state. If he couldnt hold on until the identification process was completed, he would most likely have to wait until he got promoted to Tier 4 before he could try analyzing the tablet again. After all, he was already at the pseudo-Tier 4 standard right now. There was very little he could do to develop his mental capacity. However, the Ancient Gods possession before him would drop on death in its current unidentified state. Moreover, it could only be kept in his personal bag space and could not be traded to other people. This meant that he would have to carry it around with him all the time, and this would greatly restrict his activities. If this were merely an ordinary item, he wouldnt have minded losing it. However, this was an Ancient Gods possession that could radiate Divine Might at the Tier 4 Peak standard. Hed probably die from heartbreak if he lost it. As the progress bar continued filling up, the Divine Mights strength also continued to grow. Eventually, the Divine Might had grown so strong that Shi Feng started to feel the world around him spin. Evidently, his mind could no longer resist the effects of this Divine Might. When Shi Fengs vision started to turn gray, the pleasant sound of a notification rang in his ears. This sound signified the completion of the identification process. Once the tablet was identified successfully, the Divine Might that flooded the room disappeared into the tablet like a receding tide. Finally Shi Fengs grayed and blurred vision also started to recover. Then, after taking a moment to recover his bearings, he looked at the tablet in his hands and wondered, How did Solitary Soul get his hands on such an extraordinary item? It should be known that Shi Feng used to be a Tier 6 Sword God. Even if his mental capacity was being limited by his Tier 3 body, his willpower still far exceeded the standards of the average Tier 4 player. Yet, the dilapidated tablet before him had very nearly caused him to lose consciousness. This was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, after the identification process ended, the tablets information also appeared before Shi Feng. [Abyss Workshop Certification] (Legendary Rank Item) A certification of glory in the past. Although it is now damaged, it can still be used to teleport to the Abyss Workshop. Cannot be traded. There is a 30% of dropping on death. Automatically disappears if stored in a warehouse for more than 30 natural days. Additional Skill 1- Abyss Teleportation: Teleport to the Abyss Workshop from any location. Each teleportation will cost 500 Dark Crystals. Cooldown: 30 natural days Additional Skill 2- World-Breaking Teleportation: Forcibly opens a World-Breaking Gate at a pre-designated location. Up to three locations can be saved. Each gate can only transfer up to ten people. Each gate activation costs 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Cooldown: 10 natural days. While the Abyss Workshop Certification might be damaged, it can absorb God Crystals to restore its power. Current restoration progress (0/10) What?! Shi Feng exclaimed when he saw the tablets information. There were Three Great Workshops in the Greater Gods Domain, and every one of them was in possession of the strongest technologies available in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the Abyss Workshop was one of these Three Great Workshops. However, the Three Great Workshops were extremely mysterious, and finding them was a huge challenge. Among the Three Great Workshops, the Abyss Workshop was even rumored to sell Epic Combat Puppets. An Epic Combat Puppet possessed the strength of a Tier 6 God. Even when driven by a Tier 1 player, an Epic Combat Puppet could clash against a Tier 6 God. This was a Tier 6 God they were talking about, not a Tier 6 player! Every Tier 6 God had enough strength to go up against a group of Tier 6 players. If players wanted to kill a Tier 6 God, theyd have to pay a heavy price. If he could get his hands on several Epic Combat Puppets, he could flatten even the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers. Aside from the ability to teleport to the Abyss Workshop, the Abyss Workshop Certification also had the World-Breaking Teleportation Skill. This Skill was not the least bit inferior to the Abyss Teleportation Skill. Many worlds in Gods Domain were subjected to strict travel restrictions. Examples of such worlds would be the various Stratified Abyssal Realms. However, with the World-Breaking Teleportation Skill, he could travel back and forth from such restricted worlds with ease in the future. The only problem was the exorbitant cost of 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per use. An ordinary second-rate Guild probably couldnt even afford to use this Skill even if they got their hands on the Abyss Workshop Certification. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals was a rare resource in Gods Domain. Any location that produced Seven Luminaries Crystals would be heavily contested by the various powers. It wouldnt even be surprising to see Super Guilds going to war over such resource nodes. However, if it meant being able to freely travel between the Stratified Abyssal Realm and the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng wouldnt mind paying the Seven Luminaries Crystals. In fact, considering that he could bring the Stratified Abyssal Realms players into the Miniature Ancient World, the cost of 3,00 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was a very low price to pay. While Shi Feng was thinking about how he could maximize the use of the Abyss Workshop Certification and obtain a large amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals, another system notification rang in his ears. System: You still have 15 minutes to go offline. Please make the necessary preparations. Fifteen minutes? I guess Ill log out and get some rest in advance, Shi Feng decided when he saw the system notification. Using Holy Devour ten times consecutively had exhausted his mind significantly. Combined with the Divine Might he had to resist just now, his mind had long since reached its limits. So, now was a good time for him to get some rest. Subsequently, Shi Feng put the Abyss Workshop Certification away and logged out of the game, his body disappearing from the lounge. Chapter 3123 - Chapter 197 - Breaking Through The Limits The midday sun happened to be shining into Shi Fengs bedroom when he climbed out of his virtual gaming cabin. As soon as Shi Feng took his first step out of the cabin, a wave of exhaustion promptly assaulted him, causing him to nearly lose his footing. Sure enough, the mental burden of using Holy Devour consecutively is significant, Shi Feng thought to himself as he held his aching head. The Heavenly Blue Saints Mana Technique was top-notch even in the Greater Gods Domain. Even if he were to reach Tier 4 and fully equip himself in Fragmented Legendary items, he would just barely meet the minimum requirement to use Holy Devour without overtaxing his mind and body. So, using Holy Devour consecutively in his current condition was simply foolish. However, Shi Feng had no choice but to do so to overwhelm and defeat Solitary Soul. Otherwise, his chances of beating Solitary Soul would have been uncertain. After all, Solitary Soul not only possessed a piece of Legendary Equipment, but he had also managed to forcibly elevate himself to the Tier 4 standard through some means. After getting out of the cabin, Shi Feng walked to the nearby fridge, grabbed a bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid from the fridge, and drank it. Immediately, he felt a source of warmth appearing in his stomach and spreading out to the rest of his body. The exhaustion he felt also lessened rapidly. However, this recovery effect disappeared less than five minutes later, and a sense of hunger assaulted his mind. One bottle isnt enough? Shi Feng could clearly sense that his body had yet to recover and that it was still severely deprived of energy. If he didnt replenish his bodys energy, he would most certainly die from hunger. Left with no better choice, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and took out another bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid from the fridge. Only, even after drinking this second bottle, he still felt a strong sense of hunger. Why is the consumption so severe? Shi Feng was shocked when he sensed that he hadnt recovered from even half of his exhaustion even after consuming two bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. Immediately, he took out another bottle and drank it. Previously, Shi Feng had acquired a total of one Life Potion and six bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid from Qi Lianshan and the Gods Domain Association. If not for the Gods Domain Association suddenly deciding to hold the Gods Domain Talent Camp, he could have never gotten his hands on such a haul with his current circumstances. After all, both the Life Potion and the S-rank Nutrient Fluid were incredibly valuable items. In the case of the S-rank Nutrient Fluid, its selling price might be one million Credits per bottle on the black market, but very rarely could one purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluid even if they had the money to do so. This was because S-rank Nutrient Fluid could maintain a persons youth and increase the vitality of a persons body cells. It could even repair hidden injuries in ones body. Although the S-rank Nutrient Fluid couldnt keep a person youthful forever, if consumed periodically, it could still allow one to retain the youthfulness of a 25-year-old up until the age of 45. Hence, S-rank Nutrient Fluid was very popular among wealthy individuals. As for the Life Potion, its value was even greater. An ordinary person would have no trouble living up to 150 years old if they consumed Life Potions periodically. They could even retain their youthfulness up to 60 or 70 years old. Because of this, Life Potions were highly desired by the various major corporations top executives. After Shi Feng consumed his entire stockpile of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and Life Potion, the sense of hunger he experienced finally disappeared. Immediately afterward, he felt as if he had been resurrected as his perception of the world around him sharpened significantly. I achieved a breakthrough in my brain activity? Shi Feng was shocked when he noticed the change in his perceptions clarity. A strong body was necessary to develop a strong mind. Meanwhile, only with a strong mind could he control his body better and liberate more of his bodys strength. Shi Fengs physical fitness was currently at the standard of martial arts masters. Logically, it should have been incredibly difficult for him to achieve any further breakthroughs in his brain activity. However, Shi Feng could feel that his current brain activity was much higher than before. It was obvious that he had achieved a mental breakthrough. I should be only one step away from reaching the standard of mental strength masters with my current mental standard, Shi Feng thought as he exercised his body in his villas gym, excitement filling him when he realized the full extent of the changes his body had experienced. Currently, not only had his physical fitness reached the standard of a Henglian master, but even his mental standard was only one step away from reaching the mental strength master standard! The mental strength master standard was a height that most neutralizing grandmasters would never reach in their lives. Meanwhile, individuals who managed to reach this standard were highly sought after by even the most powerful corporations in the world. This was because the control that mental strength masters could exert over their bodies had already reached an unbelievable level. Mental strength masters could even unleash all of their bodys strength at will. Normally, the average person could only exert 20% of their bodys strength. This was a restriction the brain had imposed on the body to protect it since the body would break if it used too much strength. However, mental strength masters could ignore this restriction at will. They also wouldnt have to worry about injuring their bodies after unleashing their full strength. Moreover, after becoming a mental strength master, an individuals lifespan would greatly increase. Because of this, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to refer to mental strength masters as a new type of human. Originally, Shi Feng thought that he would have to develop his physical fitness to the standard of neutralizing grandmasters before his mind could reach the mental strength master standard. He didnt think that he would reach it now. With the amount of control he currently had over his body, he was confident he could triumph over neutralizing grandmasters already. Hence, he could now be considered to be standing at the top of this worlds strength pyramid. I have to consolidate my gains right away. But thats not going to happen with the training equipment I have at home. It seems Ill have to pay the Gods Domain Association a visit. After exercising his body a little, Shi Feng could sense that his improved control over his body was very unstable. This was most likely due to his bodys physical fitness not matching the standard of his brain activity. Simply put, his body couldnt keep up with his brain. If he were to remain in this situation for too long, his brain would definitely start to limit its activity to protect his body. This absolutely wasnt an outcome Shi Feng wished to see. Hence, to avoid losing all of his gains, hed need to undergo some super-physical training to stabilize his condition. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng quickly changed into casual wear and made his way to the Gods Domain Association in the city center. Gods Domain Association: Throughout the ten years Gods Domain had remained in operation, the Gods Domain Association had not only hosted various competitions in Gods Domain, but had also helped to expand Gods Domains influence over the real world. The Association had also serviced many players of Gods Domain. Every one of the Gods Domain Associations branches, be it the main branch or side branches, possessed a comprehensive array of training facilities significantly better than what one could find in a Gods Domain Academy. These training facilities could allow players to achieve maximum efficiency in their daily physical training. Meanwhile, these training facilities were offered exclusively to members recognized by the Gods Domain Association. If one became an advanced member of the Gods Domain Association, one could even use these training facilities and rest in the Associations accommodations for free. Aside from providing players with excellent training facilities, the Gods Domain Association also offered Gods Domains various powers to rent temporary office spaces in their buildings. Meanwhile, Zero Wing was currently using one of the office spaces in Jin Hai Citys Gods Domain Association as its temporary headquarters. As a Gold Instructor recognized by the Gods Domain Association and the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, a Guild recognized by the Gods Domain Association, Shi Feng enjoyed benefits vastly better than even the Gods Domain Associations advanced members. Hence, he could freely use the Associations training facilities without restrictions. After arriving at the Associations building, Shi Feng made his way to the top-floor VIP lobby to register for the training facilities. While doing so, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from the lobbys entrance. At this time, two figures had appeared in the VIP lobby. Both of these people were beautiful women, one of them giving off a calm and cool impression, while the other gave off a bright and sunny impression. Of these two women, one of them was someone Shi Feng was actually incredibly familiar with. Meanwhile, this person was none other than one of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders during Shi Fengs previous lifeAqua Rose! Chapter 3124 - 198 - Aqua Rose Did I forget to wake up today? Arent those two Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice? Why would two God-ranked experts be in a small city like ours? I cant believe I get to see them in person! I can die without regrets now! I wonder if theyll give me an autograph and a handshake? Both of them are my idols. Are you tired of living? Theyre the signature characters of Twilight Echo. Do you not see the bodyguards behind them? Every one of them is a 3-star bodyguard from Blackwater. Even a martial arts master will have to take the long way around in front of those bodyguards. But why did they suddenly come here? Shouldnt they be busy preparing for the World Passages opening? The last I heard, theyve been on an expedition at the Ruined Mountain Range. It is indeed strange. It was only recently that I heard the news mentioning them visiting the Secret Pavilions main headquarters for some business. Yet, after doing business with the Secret Pavilion, they actually came to our small city. Do they have an appointment with some bigshot here? Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ices appearance quickly caused a commotion in the VIP lobby. Reaching Tier 6 was the goal of countless players in Gods Domain, and players who successfully reached it were existences standing at the apex of Gods Domain. So, everyone in the lobby, regardless of gender, couldnt help but look toward Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice in reverence and longing. The reactions of the young boys and girls in the lobby were especially intense since they had grown up listening to the tales of Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Meeting Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice here was akin to meeting the characters in historical myths in person. It was only natural that they felt excited. Not to mention, Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice werent your average Tier 6 God-ranked expert. They ranked at the top even among other God-ranked experts. In fact, they were the main reason why Twilight Echo had gone from being a first-rate Guild to becoming publicly recognized as a super-first-rate Guild. While everyone was quietly discussing Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice, the scene that took place next shocked them all. After arriving in the VIP lobby, Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice slowly made their way toward an unassuming man. The man wore plain casual clothes, and the first impression he gave off was that of an independent player that was only barely getting by in life. Crap! Who is that bastard? Dont tell me the two goddesses had come here to meet with that guy? Who is he? I dont recall seeing someone like him before. This is the VIP lobby, so non-members arent allowed here. Could he be a hidden expert? No way. Why would a hidden expert come to a small place like ours? I recognize him. I think hes Shadows former Guild Leader and the person behind the creation of Zero Wing, a Guild thats very popular in the Miniature Ancient World right now. But why do I get the feeling that hes different from before? Zero Wing? I think I know which Guild youre talking about. Its the Guild that World Dominators put a kill order on before, right? But World Dominators ended up retracting the kill order because of some organization called the Asura Mercenary Alliance or something. Thats right. Zero Wing is quite the famous Guild in Jin Hai City right now because of that incident. But it still doesnt change the fact that Zero Wing has only been established recently. Moreover, it is only a Guild based in the Miniature Ancient World. Its leagues below even veteran first-rate Guilds, let alone super-first-rate Guilds like Twilight Echo. Could Twilight Echo have taken an interest in Zero Wing? Many superpowers are trying to get a cut of the Miniature Ancient World right now, so Im assuming Twilight Echo is the same. But isnt Twilight Echo thinking too highly of Zero Wing? Is there a need to have the two goddesses make a personal trip? Zero Wing has struck gold now. If it gets into Twilight Echos good graces, it will have no trouble becoming the number one Guild in Jin Hai City. When the surrounding crowd saw Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice walking toward Shi Feng, an indescribable sense of envy filled them. Some of the people present also quickly discerned Shi Fengs identity, and they couldnt help but find this situation astonishing. However, when they thought about Zero Wings current fame in the Miniature Ancient World, they more or less understood why Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice had come to meet with Shi Feng in person. The time of the World Passages opening was drawing close. Once the World Passage opened, a war involving the entirety of Gods Domain would ensue. Based on the Gods Domain Associations recent announcement, everyone was aware that the World Passages opening would lead to their world clashing against those who had migrated from Earth to other planets. This situation led to many people eagerly anticipating the World Passages opening since this was a huge business opportunity. Not only would they gain access to new maps, but they could also level up more quickly after reaching Level 200. In addition, a war between two Gods Domains would create more opportunities for players to make money. This was because the acquisition of resources required a large amount of manpower. In fact, even though the World Passage had yet to open, the Gods Domain Association had already launched a new point system, offering even S-rank Nutrient Fluid for exchange as encouragement for players to explore the Outerworld and plunder the resources of the other Gods Domain. Mr. Shi Feng, I am Aqua Rose, Twilight Echos Honorary Elder. May I know if you have time for a chat? Aqua Rose asked with a charming smile after walking up to Shi Feng. Yes, I have some time to spare, Shi Feng said, nodding. Shi Feng was honestly a little confused by Aqua Roses visit. He had no dealings whatsoever with Aqua Rose in this life. While he had thought of reestablishing Zero Wing, he had never thought of seeking out all of his old companions in Zero Wing. After all, they had their own lives in this timeline. He was only an outsider to them in this life. Of course, he would gladly welcome opportunities to form alliances with his old companions. Subsequently, Aqua Rose looked toward the front desks receptionist and asked, Can you give us a place to talk? Ill arrange it immediately! the receptionist anxiously said as she looked at Aqua Rose. In no time at all, the receptionist freed up one of the VIP lounges on the top floor for Aqua Rose, Unyielding Ice, and Shi Feng, letting them hold their talk uninterrupted. May I know why you have come to meet a small character like myself, Elder Aqua? Shi Feng calmly asked after taking a sip of the tea the receptionist had served him. Small character? Aqua Rose chuckled at Shi Fengs words. You are too modest, Mr. Shi Feng. How can someone who can connect with an Outerworld God-ranked expert be a small character? Also, the current Zero Wing is no longer a nameless Guild like before. It might not be well-known on the main continent, but it is known by all in the Miniature Ancient World. Youve even managed to get Mysterious Moon and Witchs Sin to ally with Zero Wing willingly. This isnt even a feat that most first-rate Guilds can accomplish. Upon hearing Aqua Roses words, Shi Feng understood that the other party had done their homework before coming to meet him. So, he frankly said, Since you know about everything, lets just get straight to the point, Elder Aqua. Straightforward, as expected! Aqua Roses charming smile deepened. Ill say it straight, then. Twilight Echo is willing to invest in Zero Wing. The current Zero Wing might have the Asura Mercenary Alliance backing it, but the Flower of Seven Sins is determined to destroy Asura. Not only has the Flower of Seven Sins increased its bounty, but it has even tasked three of its seven commanders to oversee this matter. With Zero Wings current finances Forgive me for being a little rude, but I doubt you can last more than a week before having to disband. Not to mention, the Flower of Seven Sins is specifically targeting the members of Asuras allied Guilds. Your point? Shi Feng calmly asked. Shi Fengs calmness stunned Aqua Rose a little, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes. She didnt think that Shi Feng would be unfazed to hear the Flower of Seven Sins targeting Zero Wing. She found it very hard to believe that Shi Feng was merely the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. However, Aqua Rose quickly snapped out of her daze as she continued, Twilight Echo will provide Zero Wing with ample funding. On top of helping you resolve your lack of a headquarters, we will also supply you with S-rank Nutrient Fluids to nurture your experts. In addition, we will also send reinforcements to help you resist the Flower of Seven Sins experts. Of course, the reinforcements I am talking about arent limited to just Twilight Echos experts. Other experts will join in as well, so resisting the Flower of Seven Sins wouldnt be a problem. What are the conditions? Shi Feng did not think Twilight Echo would be so kind as to go to such lengths to help Zero Wing for nothing. However, hed also be lying if he said the offer didnt tempt him. After all, S-rank Nutrient Fluids were crucial to his and Zero Wings development. Having a large supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluids was one of the conditions needed for a Guild to develop into a superpower. Chapter 3125 - Chapter 199 - Foundation Exposed You really do not mince your words, Mr. Shi Feng, Aqua Rose said, blinking in surprise when she heard Shi Fengs direct response to her offer. She also couldnt help but carefully examine the unassuming man before her. Ill be blunt and say it directly, then. In exchange for our help in resisting the Flower of Seven Sins We want your physical training method! Specifically, the aerobics that youve taught to your students. Of course, what we want is the complete version! When Aqua Rose finished speaking, Unyielding Ice, who had remained silent this entire time, also turned to look at Shi Feng with a passionate flame in her eyes. Every superpower in Gods Domain had its own physical training method that it used to teach its members how to manipulate their bodies subtle movements, allowing them to become an expert in Gods Domain. The problem was that these training methods needed to be supplemented with S-rank Nutrient Fluids if a player wanted to become a Refinement Realm expert as quickly as possible. However, according to the information Twilight Echo obtained, Zero Wing, or more specifically, Shi Feng, possessed a special training method that could allow one to quickly become a Refinement Realm expert, even without using S-rank Nutrient Fluids. It should be known that the supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluids was incredibly limited. Even corporations partnered with the Green God Company could only purchase a very small amount each year. This limited supply also became a limiting factor for the various superpowers growth. If a superpower could train players into Refinement Realm experts quickly without using S-rank Nutrient Fluids, this superpower would achieve significant improvements. So it still got out in the end? Shi Feng sighed when he heard Aqua Roses words. It seems Wu Linglings performance has caught your notice. Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised by the condition Aqua Rose proposed. After all, the only thing Zero Wing had that could attract the attention of a superpower like Twilight Echo was his aerobic exercise. Yes. Your students performance in the Secret Pavilions competition was very eye-catching. Had Wu Lingling participated in any of the past competitions, nobody would have made a big deal out of her victory. However, it just so happened that the opponent she beat this time was Leili, an incredibly rare genius even by the Secret Pavilions standards, Aqua Rose said, nodding. Ive met Leili before, and I can say for certain that the girl is in no way inferior to Ziqiong. The Secret Pavilion has also been vigorously training Leili, so the resources she has access to are beyond what most people her age have access to. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Yet, such a talented and well-nurtured genius like Leili lost to someone who didnt even come from an Advanced Academy. Can you imagine our shock when we received this news? Leilis name was well known among the various superpowers of Gods Domain. After all, Purple Jade was already cultivating Leili as her successor. If nothing unexpected occurred, Leili should have no trouble ranking among the top 20 of Gods Domains newest generation of geniuses. In the opinions of the various superpowers executives, only the peerless geniuses nurtured by other superpowers could possibly match or beat a peerless genius like Leili. Hence, the actual outcome of the Secret Pavilions competition was very unexpected. In the current era where Gods Domains influence had already spread across the globe, it wasnt difficult to discover geniuses from an early age, let alone peerless geniuses. The various superpowers of Gods Domain investigate everyone who registered for a Gods Domain Academys entrance test and immediately determine whether any of these applicants were geniuses worthy of their investment. Jin Hai Universitys Gods Domain was no exception. However, the strange thing was that there was no news about the student named Wu Lingling. According to the basic threshold set by the various superpowers, they would conduct further investigation on any students who had managed to reach the late stage of the Trial Towers fifth floor during their entrance test. Although the fifth floors late-stage was only the standard of ordinary experts in Gods Domain, it wasnt an easy goal for 16- and 17-year-old students to reach without experiencing any systematic guidance. Hence, a student would be considered talented in the various superpowers eyes if they reached this standard during the entrance test. Yet, Wu Lingling had not entered the scope of investigation of any superpowers. This included Twilight Echo. When Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice first learned of this situation, they had initially suspected that the recruitment personnel had been slacking on their duties and that they had never bothered investigating Jin Hai Academys entrance test. However, when they had their trusted aides investigate the matter, it was discovered that Twilight Echo did have a record of Wu Linglings entrance test. Only, they couldnt help but doubt her eyes when they saw Wu Linglings test results. Wu Lingling had only reached the Trial Towers fifth-floor middle-stage standard! Non-superpowers might regard teenagers with this combat standard as geniuses, but the various superpowers would only treat such teenagers as mediocre individuals who had no talent. Yet, such a mediocre student had defeated Leili, the Secret Pavilions peerless genius. This was simply unbelievable. When they learned about Wu Linglings circumstances, two possibilities came to their minds. Either Wu Lingling had hidden her strength in the entrance test, or she came across a fortuitous opportunity sometime after the entrance test. Eventually, after learning more about Wu Lingling through the Secret Pavilion, they stumbled upon a shocking discovery. Based on their findings, there was a 90% chance that the reason a mediocre talent like Wu Lingling had managed to defeat Leili was because of the physical training method she had learned from Shi Feng. Meanwhile, thanks to this training method, Wu Lingling had managed to achieve lightning growth in her combat standards. To validate their conjecture, they had also investigated the other students that had participated in Shi Fengs training. Meanwhile, what they found matched their expectations. Shi Feng was indeed in possession of an incredibly effective training method. With the help of this training method, even people of mediocre talent could achieve rapid growth in a short period of time. If they could apply this training method to their Guild, they were certain that Twilight Echo would achieve a massive leap in strength within a short time. Initially, Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice had found it strange that Shi Feng had managed to get his hands on such a technique. After all, he was only the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild. However, after they watched the replay of the one-sided clash between Zero Wing and World Dominators, they quickly understood how Shi Feng had managed to get his hands on such an amazing training method. Outerworlders! Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame was already deemed to be someone from another Gods Domain. In that case, everything made sense. Only an Outerworlder could possibly possess such an amazing training method. After all, even the Five Great Super Guilds did not have such a physical training method. Meanwhile, as Zero Wings founder on paper, it was only natural that Shi Feng had deep ties with the Outerworlder known as Black Flame. Otherwise, he would have never been allowed to become Zero Wings founder. So, can I take this as a joint offer from Twilight Echo and the Secret Pavilion? Shi Feng asked. Twilight Echo was certainly a superpower in Gods Domain. However, it wasnt that much stronger than Witchs Sin, and Witchs Sin didnt even dare to go against the Flower of Seven Sins. So, he had difficulty understanding why Twilight Echo dared to go against the Flower of Seven Sins. The only explanation Shi Feng could think of was Twilight Echo had partnered with the Secret Pavilion. After all, the Secret Pavilion was also transcendental power like the Flower of Seven Sins in Gods Domain. It was one of the few powers capable of going against the Flower of Seven Sins. Youve guessed it, Mr. Shi Feng, Aqua Rose said with a smile. She did not bother hiding this information from Shi Feng. We have indeed partnered with the Secret Pavilion for this deal. However, the Secret Pavilion has always maintained a neutral position and never participated in the struggles between the various powers of Gods Domain. So, Twilight Echo will be responsible for overseeing this deal on the surface, while the Secret Pavilion will be assisting in secret. Im sure you can now understand why it wouldnt be difficult for us to fight against the Flower of Seven Sins, right? The Flower of Seven Sins is like a pack of frenzied dogs. Theyre incredibly hard to deal with. However, if you are willing to sell us your training method, we will not only guarantee Zero Wings safety, but we will also help Zero Wing construct a fully-equipped headquarters in Jin Hai City. On top of that, we will also supply 300 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid for Zero Wings future development. The assistance against the Flower of Seven Sins is unnecessary. Zero Wing can resolve this matter by itself, Shi Feng said, his tone as calm as before. If you want the training method, I dont mind selling it. However, in addition to a fully-equipped headquarters in Jin Hai City, it will also cost you 1,000 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid! TL Notes: [1]Ziqiong = Purple Jades name in real life Chapter 3126 - Chapter 200 – Four Months Chapter 200 C Four Months You dont need any assistance, but you want 1,000 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid in return? Aqua Rose was stunned by Shi Fengs response. In her opinion, what Zero Wing needed the most right now was help against the Flower of Seven Sins. After all, should the Flower of Seven Sins go all out, even the Asura Mercenary Alliance wouldnt be able to keep itself afloat, let alone Zero Wing. It wouldnt take more than a week for Zero Wing to crumble under the Flower of Seven Sins pressure. Yet, Shi Feng was saying that Zero Wing did not need any external assistance While the Flower of Seven Sins might not have all of its forces concentrated in the Miniature Ancient World, it shouldnt be underestimated. After all, three of its seven commanders had entered the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, all three were working specifically to topple the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Zero Wing might have a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, but there was only so much one person could accomplish. Unless Zero Wing chose to hole itself up in Abyssal Star City, it would never be safe from the Flower of Seven Sins. However, if Zero Wing chose to do that, even if it had Abyssal Star Citys advantages to rely on, its limited range of operation would cause it to fall behind the other powers in no time. Not to mention, 1,000 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid was a significant sum even to Gods Domains various superpowers. In fact, the average superpower couldnt even take out so many S-rank Nutrient Fluids. After all, the supply of S-rank Nutrient Fluids was limited, and one couldnt necessarily buy it even if one had the money to do so. Meanwhile, the offer of 300 bottles was the best Twilight Echo and the Secret Pavilion could do. After all, their two Guilds needed S-rank Nutrient Fluids to develop their own experts. If they were to concentrate all of their S-rank Nutrient Fluids on the development of their newcomers, the growth of their experts would stagnate. If they did something as foolish as that, theyd essentially be putting the cart before the horse. Your asking price is too much, Mr. Shi Feng, Unyielding Ice said. Your training method might be effective, but it is only effective up to the Refinement Realm. Even without your training method, we can similarly produce a large number of Refinement Realm experts so long as we are willing to invest a little more time. The most sincere offer we can give you is 300 bottles. I doubt anyone else in Gods Domain will make you a better offer. The offer of 300 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid was a joint effort by Twilight Echo and the Secret Pavilion. If it were up to any other superpower, they would, at most, offer 100 bottles for Shi Fengs training method. After all, the training method in question had limited value since it merely shortened the time it took for geniuses to reach the Refinement Realm. It wasnt worth investing too much into such a training method. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Shi Feng wasnt surprised to hear Unyielding Ices rejection. Smiling, he asked, If you find my price not worthwhile, why dont we make a different deal? A different deal? Aqua Rose caressed her cheek as she looked at Shi Feng curiously. May I know what kind of deal you have in mind, Mr. Shi Feng? I will nurture your talents for you and help them become second-floor experts in the shortest amount of time possible. In exchange, all you need to do is pay Zero Wing a fee of five bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid per person. However, I will only accept Refinement Realm experts under the age of 18 and Half-step Refinement Realm experts under 17 for training. Of course, you will be responsible for your own talents S-rank Nutrient Fluid requirements. Even so, Im sure this is a worthwhile price for your two Guilds, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Second-floor experts? It seems you know quite a lot, Mr. Shi Feng, Aqua Rose said as she started to look at Shi Feng more seriously. Then, she shook her head and continued, However, this transaction is too much of a loss for us. Not only will we have to pay you five bottles per person, but we will also have to be responsible for our talents requirements. If thats the case, we might as well nurture our talents ourselves. After all, nurturing a genius into a second-floor expert will only cost around a dozen bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. If we leave our geniuses to you, we might have to spend more than that amount, Mr. Shi Feng. The term second-floor expert might be foreign to most powers in their Gods Domain, but as a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, she had long since become very familiar with this term. The entry standard of a second-floor expert was to have the combat power of a Void Realm expert. Achieving this standard wasnt a difficult task for the various superpowers peak geniuses. With the training systems available in the current era, these peak geniuses could climb from the Refinement Realm to the Void Realm in just two or three years. Moreover, these peak geniuses would only need five or six bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid per year. But what if I say I will need only four months? Shi Feng asked, smiling. It wasnt an easy task for a superpower to produce a peak expert. Firstly, not all geniuses had the potential to reach the Void Realm. Secondly, even if a genius had the necessary potential, it would still take them a long time to reach the Void Realm. Depending on their talent, it might take them two to four years to climb from the Refinement Realm to the Void Realm. Peerless geniuses could shorten this process to under two years, but it would still take more than a year. Four months? Unyielding Ice widened her eyes as she stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. Are you sure? Even a peerless genius receiving the full support of a superpower couldnt go from the Refinement Realm to the Void Realm in just four months, let alone peak geniuses. If Shi Feng really could turn peak geniuses into Void Realm experts in just four months, it would be of massive help to Twilight Echo. After all, second-floor experts were incredibly rare, even among the various superpowers. Not to mention, the World Passage was about to open soon, so the demand for peak experts had never been higher. If Twilight Echo could welcome a new batch of peak experts in four months, it would have a much easier time resisting the effects of the Outerworlds invasion. Naturally. If any of those peak geniuses fail to reach the second-floor standard in four months, I wont charge you anything for their training, Shi Feng said confidently. However, they must listen to my every command throughout the training period. If they do not follow my instructions, I cannot guarantee that they will reach the second-floor standard in four months. If it was before he had visited the Stratified Abyssal Realm, he would never have dared to make such a bold claim. However, now that he was a Vice City Lord in Slumber City, he could get his hands on a large number of Hypersensitivity Potions easily. If he paired these potions with the talented geniuses of Twilight Echo and the Secret Pavilion, those geniuses would have no trouble becoming second-floor experts in four months. Although Hypersensitivity Potions were incredibly valuable, S-rank Nutrient Fluids that could be used to repair and replenish the energy of a persons body were much more important to him right now. He also had no reliable way of obtaining S-rank Nutrient Fluids right now. So, it was definitely worthwhile to trade Hypersensitivity Potions for S-rank Nutrient Fluids. After Aqua Rose pondered in silence for some time, she looked toward Shi Feng and said, Okay, Twilight Echo accepts this offer. However, I cannot represent the Secret Pavilion on this matter. I can only help relay your offer to them. The transaction Shi Feng proposed was very favorable for Twilight Echo. Although she didnt know why Shi Feng was so confident, if he could nurture a batch of peak experts in four months, it would definitely be of significant help to Twilight Echo. That is only natural. Shi Feng nodded. Afterward, Shi Feng and Aqua Rose signed a contract to seal the deal. According to the contract, Twilight Echo would be sending 60 of its peak geniuses to Shi Feng to undergo four months of training. Twilight Echo would first pay a deposit of 100 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids, with the remaining 200 bottles to be paid after Shi Feng had fulfilled his part of the contract. If Shi Feng failed to fulfill his promise, he would hand over the complete version of his training method to Twilight Echo. Of course, the contract also required Twilight Echos peak geniuses to follow all of Shi Fengs instructions. If anyone refused to comply, it would be considered Twilight Echos problem, and the deposit for their training would be forfeited. After Shi Feng concluded his discussion with Aqua Rose, he did not rush to make any arrangements. Instead, he had Blackie compile a report of recent events in Zero Wing and Asura. Then, he read Blackies report while undergoing super-physical training in the Gods Domain Association to solidify his mental standards. What a bunch of lunatics. Shi Feng couldnt help but frown a little when he finished reading Blackies report. Chapter 3127 - Chapter 201 - Dangerous Man? Guild Leader, the Flower of Seven Sins attack came too suddenly. Setting aside Asuras side, nearly all of our members who had gone to the primordial secret land had gotten killed. Currently, we have suffered over a thousand casualties already. Just replenishing their equipment will cost us at least 100,000 Gold. If we have them continue exploring the primordial secret land, Im afraid our losses will be even more severe Blackie said with an ugly expression on his face. Zero Wing had indeed managed to earn a significant amount of Coins through its Candlelight Hotels and Shops in Hundred Flow City and Abyssal Star City. It had even earned some Credits through the Asura Mercenary Alliance. However, because of the Flower of Seven Sins abrupt attack, Zero Wing had lost practically all of the money it had earned in recent days. They even had to dip into the Coins they made through selling Shadows Epic Equipment previously. If they excluded the Coins and Magic Crystals Shi Feng had used, Zero Wing only had a little over 400,000 Coins in its warehouse right now. These were all of the Coins that were left from selling Shadows Epic Equipment. If they were to continue compensating for all of the equipment and progress Zero Wings internal members had lost because of the Flower of Seven Sins, the funds they had could, at most, last them for a week. Not to mention, Zero Wings internal member count was continuously increasing as time passed. Meanwhile, the Credits needed to nurture these internal members mainly came from completing Asuras commissioned quests. Now that it was inevitable for Zero Wings members to engage in combat with the Flower of Seven Sins members whenever they were out doing Asuras commissions, Zero Wing was put into a very awkward position. Although they could now access the Stratified Abyssal Realms rich resources, they had only opened up some business avenues in Slumber City. It would still take a considerable amount of time before they could start generating notable sums of profit. Before that happened, unless Zero Wing abstained from making any progress and thoroughly holed itself up in Abyssal Star City, the Guilds doom was inevitable. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng said, Have someone retrieve all of the Abyssal Heart Fragments from my personal warehouse and sell them at the Auction House. The money from those fragments should help us survive for some time. On top of launching an all-out offensive on the Asura Mercenary Alliance and its allies, the Flower of Seven Sins had also doubled the rewards it offered for the bounties it placed on Asura. While the Flower of Seven Sins had worsened its losses by doing so, it had also forced Asura to similarly raise the rewards for its Mount quests. This, in turn, resulted in severe losses for the mercenary alliance. The Asura Mercenary Alliance was currently paying up to 20 Lineage Crystals per day due to the increased rewards. At this rate, Asuras Lineage Crystal supply wouldnt last more than half a month. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. As for Zero Wing, the Guilds situation was even worse than Asuras. It was no wonder Aqua Rose had come to meet Shi Feng, confident that he would accept her offer. Shi Feng had to admit that with Zero Wings current lack of foundation, the Guild really couldnt compete with the various superpowers. Whether it was in terms of capital or manpower, Zero Wing was no match for the various superpowers at all. Sell the Abyssal Heart Fragments? Blackie frowned when he heard Shi Fengs words. Guild Leader, isnt this too much of a loss? The Abyssal Heart Fragments were incredibly rare and precious items. If used to produce Epic items, there was a chance the fragments could upgrade the Epic items to the Fragmented Legendary rank. On the main continent, one could exchange for a Fragmented Legendary item using just ten Abyssal Heart Fragments. The fragments were worth even more in the Miniature Ancient World. Abyssal Heart Fragments could easily go for 20,000 Gold or more in the current Miniature Ancient World since even the various superpowers didnt have a reliable way to acquire Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, Fragmented Legendary items could provide players with massive improvements in strength. It was especially true for Fragmented Legendary items customized to suit a player. The value of such a Fragmented Legendary item was several times higher than the average Fragmented Legendary item. However, if they were to sell their Abyssal Heart Fragments now, it was unlikely they could buy the fragments back again for just 20,000 Gold. Its fine. Just sell them. Well recover these losses from the Flower of Seven Sins sooner or later! Shi Feng said definitively. Honestly, Shi Feng didnt really mind losing the Abyssal Heart Fragments. Now that he had the Abyss Workshop Certificate, he would have no trouble getting his hands on better items. The only problem was that he needed more time to get his hands on these items. I understand. Ill have someone sell those Abyssal Heart Fragments, Blackie said, letting out a deep sigh before he hung up the call and contacted one of his trusted aides. The current situation did not favor Zero Wing, so they had no choice but to endure. However, once they established proper trade channels in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, clashing with the Flower of Seven Sins would no longer be a problem. While Shi Feng was on his call with Blackie, Aqua Rose and Unyielding Ice were flying back to Twilight Echos main headquarters in their private jet. Aqua, isnt it too risky to leave 60 of our peak geniuses with Zero Wing? Unyielding Ice asked worriedly. Twilight Echo faced fierce competition in the newcomer market this year. Even after paying a significant price, Twilight Echo had only managed to recruit 100 peak geniuses. Leaving over half of these peak geniuses with Zero Wing was a risky gamble. If Zero Wing failed to deliver on its promise, Twilight Echo might end up with a generation gap in peak experts. Even if those 60 peak geniuses eventually developed into peak experts after returning to the Guild, the delay in their growth would still severely affect the Guilds development. After all, many of the Guilds veteran experts could no longer perform as well as when they were in their prime. Newcomers were urgently needed to replace them. I admit that the partnership this time is a little radical, Aqua Rose said, calmly acknowledging her risky behavior. However, if things turn out positive, Twilight Echo will have a better initiative when the World Passage opens. Do you have so much faith in that guy? Unyielding Ice asked in confusion. She was well aware of Aqua Roses personality. Ever since the incident several years ago, Aqua Rose had stopped putting too much faith in other people. Shi Feng might be an intermediary with Outerworlders, but his promise of turning Refinement Realm experts into Void Realm experts in just four months was too far-fetched. None of the Outerworld powers they encountered before had that kind of ability. Its not that I trust him. Its just that he really isnt as simple as he appears, Aqua Rose said, shaking her head. Then, she faintly smiled as she continued, Setting aside how he managed to help Wu Lingling become a Refinement Realm expert in such a short time, just the information we have on him right now makes him a very interesting person. Did you know that he wasnt even at the Refinement Realm a few months ago? Yet, when I sat before him just now, I felt danger coming from him. Danger? Unyielding Ice couldnt help but look at Aqua Rose in shock. On top of being a Tier 6 God-ranked expert, Aqua Roses mental strength standard had already reached the master rank, which granted her an incredibly accurate sixth strength. However, even among Tier 6 God-ranked experts, very few could cause Aqua Rose to feel threatened. Yet, now, Aqua Rose was saying that she had felt danger coming from a second-rate Guilds former Guild Leader? Although it is only a thought in my mind, I dont think I am wrong. Zero Wing is likely much more powerful than we imagine, Aqua Rose said, smiling. Of course, we cant discount the Flower of Seven Sins, either, since Gluttony is the one responsible for targeting Zero Wing. Gluttonys band of lunatics is a menace even to the Five Great Super Guilds. So, theres no saying which side is better. Time passed by quickly. After Shi Feng spent a day training and arranging Zero Wings and Asuras affairs, the one-day system update for Slumber City also ended. Its about time I get back online. After looking at the time, Shi Feng climbed back into the virtual gaming cabin in his villa and logged back into Gods Domain. Chapter 3128 - Chapter 202 - Upgraded Slumber City Stratified Abyssal Realm, Slumber City: When Shi Feng logged back into the game, he found that he had appeared in a different location than when he had logged out of the game. Specifically, he had appeared in Slumber Citys central plaza. Whats going on?! Is this really Slumber Citys central plaza? The players that had appeared in the central plaza at this time were stunned by the scene in front of them. Currently, suspended in the middle of the central plaza that covered a one-kilometer radius was a gigantic sphere of water. The water sphere itself had a radius of 400 meters. So long as one focused ones senses on this water sphere, one would realize that this sphere wasnt made out of ordinary water. Instead, it was made of Mana that had condensed into a liquid state. Meanwhile, the presence of this sphere of Liquid Mana had increased the density of the ambient Mana in the plaza. This, in turn, allowed everyone to experience an indescribably comfortable and refreshing feeling. It felt as if they had just awoken from a deep slumber. Moreover, the closer one stood to the Mana sphere, the denser the Mana one could enjoy, and the better ones state would become. An Elven Holy Spring! Isnt this too much of an upgrade?! Shi Feng was also a little stunned when he saw the large sphere of Liquid Mana in the middle of the plaza. Native players of this Stratified Abyssal Realm might be unfamiliar with this Mana sphere, but Shi Feng was someone who had traveled around the Greater Gods Domain for many years. Hence, he instantly recognized the identity of this Mana sphere. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. The Elven Holy Spring! Constructions in Gods Domain were typically divided into three ranks: Basic, Advanced, and Peak. Peak Constructions were generally considered the upper limit of what players could construct in a settlement. Even if a settlement reached the standard of a Holy City, without the necessary construction designs, players could only construct standardized Peak Constructions in it. However, there existed constructions beyond the Peak rank that wielded unbelievable effects in the Greater Gods Domain. These constructions were labeled as Extraordinary Constructions, and they were created using technology that had been lost since the primordial era. The Elven Holy Spring was one of these Extraordinary Constructions. It was an incredibly rare construction, even in the Greater Gods Domain. Any city that had an Elven Holy Spring could be regarded as a gathering place for Mana since the Holy Spring would elevate the citys Mana density infinitely close to a liquid state. At the heart of the Holy Spring, Mana would even remain in a liquid state. Meanwhile, players standing near the Elven Holy Springs core would have their Mana affinity increased. This, in turn, allowed them an easier time improving their Skill and Spell Completion Rates. This feature was so valuable that even Tier 6 God-ranked experts were willing to pay an exorbitant price to practice their Tier 6 Skills and Spells near an Elven Holy Spring. Moreover, an Elven Holy Spring wasnt just helpful in developing players Skill and Spell Completion Rates. When present in an environment rich in Mana, players would also have a significantly easier time improving their combat standards and combat techniques. For this reason, Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts in the Greater Gods Domain would typically try to buy private housing in cities rich in Mana to use as their home base. However, most of the Elven Holy Springs that existed in the Greater Gods Domain were in the hands of the various hegemonic powers and apex powers. Meanwhile, these powers treated the Holy Spring as a priceless treasure, and they would never allow outsiders to enjoy the benefits of their Holy Spring. At most, they would only allow outsiders to tour the city housing their Holy Spring. Yet, now, an Elven Holy Spring had appeared in an NPC City inside a Stratified Abyssal Realm. This was simply unbelievable. While Shi Feng was feeling shocked by the Elven Holy Springs appearance, a commotion came from the players who tried to approach the Holy Spring. Whats going on? Why do I have to wait until there are fewer than 1,000 people in the area to move closer? I even have to maintain my position for ten minutes before I can advance? But why can some people already get within 300 meters of the sphere? The 300-meter mark just so happens to be where the Mana starts to transition into a liquid state. Why can only those few people get to enjoy it? I know those people. Every one of them is an Upper-class Noble. It seems that if you want to enjoy the environment inside the 300-meter zone, youll either need to have a certain degree of status or ensure that there are no more than 1,000 people in the 300- to 500-meter zone. Did you guys not notice your area status? It shows that the area were currently in isnt a safe zone. We can fight without getting punished by the city in here. Thats not all. I might be inside the 300-meter zone, but if I want to enter the 100-meter zone, Ill need to make sure that there are only 100 people left within the 200-meter zone. Moreover, I can only stay inside this zone for six hours. Afterward, Ill get forcibly sent out of the 300-meter zone. It seems even Upper-class Nobles wont get to enjoy this environment all the time. This is great! I wont have to worry about having too much competition now! Im definitely getting myself a spot in the 100-meter zone! Suddenly, the players in the 300- to 500-meter zone began tearing at each others necks in an attempt to reduce their numbers to 1,000. The intensity of the fighting was much greater than even a fight between the peak powers of Slumber City. Vice Guild Leader, should we join in the fight? Rain Song asked as she eagerly looked to Crimson Heart. It wont hurt to try, Crimson Heart said, nodding. Aside from Hundred Flower Palaces members, Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and the others also got the urge to join in on the action taking place near the Holy Elven Spring. However, unlike Slumber Citys native players, they werent doing so to enjoy the Holy Springs Mana environment. Instead, they wanted to use this opportunity to clash against the many third-floor experts here. If they could fight against all of these powerful experts in such a Mana-rich environment, theyd have a much easier time improving their combat standards. The only worry was the EXP they would lose should they die. Unlike Hidden Soul and the others, Shi Fengs attention quickly shifted away from the Elven Holy Spring to a 400-meter-tall tower situated some distance away from the plaza. Currently, he could see an endless stream of Mana flowing out from the void and gathering around the tower, causing space and time around the tower to become distorted. The Matrix Tower! This was a construction unique to Slumber City. It was also the only construction that produced the Hypersensitivity Potion. After Slumber City had gotten promoted, the Matrix Tower had also undergone a complete makeover. Before the citys promotion, the tower only measured up to 100 meters in height. The range of its Mana absorption also only extended to the citys surroundings. Now, though, the Matrix Tower was attracting Mana straight from the void. The large amount of Mana it attracted had even distorted space and time around it. This was a massive transformation. Lets hope theres a change in the production rate. After instructing Blackie and the others to investigate the latest changes to Slumber City, Shi Feng promptly made his way to the Matrix Tower. According to Echoing Judgment, the Matrix Tower only produced 7,000 bottles of Hypersensitivity Potion each month. Out of these 7,000 bottles, each Vice City Lord could exchange up to 500 bottles using Dark Crystals. Each of the top five contributing powers of Slumber City could also exchange for 500 bottles, while powers ranked between sixth and tenth could exchange up to 100 bottles each, and powers ranked between eleventh and thirtieth could exchange for 50 bottles each. Excluding Solitary Soul, Slumber City had three Vice City Lords previously. As a result, 5,500 out of the 7,000 bottles of Hypersensitivity Potion the Matrix Tower produced each month would be assigned ownership as soon as they were produced. As for the remaining 1,500 bottles, they would be auctioned to Slumber Citys players for Dark Crystals. It went without saying that such a small amount wasnt enough to satisfy the demands of Slumber Citys hundreds of millions of players in Slumber City and thousands of player powers. If someone wished to acquire a large amount of Hypersensitivity Potions, the most reliable and cheapest way to do so was through the Vice City Lords and the top five contributing powers. When Shi Feng arrived at the Matrix Tower, the towers lobby was already crowded with the executives of Slumber Citys various powers. Every one of these executives had gathered in front of the exchange counter, their expressions ranging from joyful to worry. Chapter 3129 - Chapter 203 - First Vice City Lords Privilege Youre here, Guild Leader Black Flame. Echoing Judgment walked over to greet Shi Feng when he saw Shi Feng entering the lobby. Upon noticing Echoing Judgments actions, the executives of the various powers in the lobby also turned to Shi Feng, their eyes filled with wariness and envy. Demand for Slumber Citys Hypersensitivity Potion had always been far above its supply. After Slumber City got promoted and news of it spread across the entire Stratified Abyssal Realm, powers situated in the dozen or so neighboring NPC Cities had promptly dispatched teams to Slumber City. It was obvious that these powers were trying to get a share of the benefits available in the upgraded Slumber City. Once the representatives of these powers arrived in a few days, competition in Slumber City would definitely become even more intense. At that time, Slumber City might even see the birth of more hegemons. However, no matter how many new hegemons appeared in Slumber City, Shi Feng would undoubtedly remain the biggest competitor for Slumber Citys local powers. Shi Fengs forces might not have a large organization supporting him right now. However, he could still obtain a considerable amount of Hypersensitivity Potions with his status as Vice City Lord. If Shi Feng were to establish his own power in Slumber City like the three other Vice City Lords, hed be able to lay claim to even more Hypersensitivity Potions. Out of the various powers present in the lobby, Death Curses members bore the most hostility when they looked at Shi Feng. Savor your time while it lasts! Well see how youll fare once the neighboring cities powers gather! one of Death Curses members said as he looked at Shi Feng with a sneer. Destruction pursued the great. Shi Feng might have proven his strength to everyone in Slumber City and even stolen Solitary Souls Vice City Lord position. Still, Slumber City had already become a pie targeted by the dozen or so neighboring NPC Cities. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. There was no question that Shi Feng was occupying the most resources while having the weakest power in Slumber City currently. Once the neighboring cities peak powers arrived, they would most certainly set their sights on Shi Feng first. This would also be the quickest way for these foreign powers to establish a foothold in Slumber City. It seems youve acquired significant gains from the citys promotion, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw that Echoing Judgment was in a noticeably good mood. Its not bad. Purple Light managed to just barely squeeze into the top five. It just so happens that the citys top five powers are one of the biggest beneficiaries of the citys promotion, Echoing Judgment said in delight. But compared to you, Guild Leader Black Flame, Purple Lights gains are probably insignificant. Did Vice City Lords get a bigger share? Shi Feng asked out of curiosity. Much, much bigger than before, so much so that Im starting to pity Solitary Soul a little. Had he stayed obedient, his adventurer team would have definitely undergone a qualitative transformation. A qualitative transformation? Has the monthly production volume increased by a lot? Shi Feng asked, feeling a little hopeful. If Vice City Lords could exchange up to 1,000 bottles of Hypersensitivity Potions a month, hed have enough to provide for both Zero Wings and Twilight Echos newcomers. After all, Zero Wings members numbered in the tens of thousands only, so there werent many talented newcomers to nurture. Itd be more accurate to say that it has increased to an entirely different dimension, Echoing Judgment said, his voice suddenly taking on a serious tone. Currently, the Matrix Tower can produce 40,000 bottles of Hypersensitivity Potion a month. However, while this might seem like a huge increase, considering the players who might be gathering in Slumber City, Im afraid this increase isnt as significant as it seems. Anyway, the exchange rate is similar to before, being at ten Dark Crystals per bottle. According to my sources, each Vice City Lord can exchange up to 3,000 bottles a month. Three thousand bottles? Shi Feng couldnt help but gasp. Before Slumber Citys promotion, the Matrix Tower only produced 6,000 bottles of Hypersensitivity Potion each month. Now, each Vice City Lord could exchange for half that number. This was a massive increase. With this many Hypersensitivity Potions, he could even afford to supply the Hypersensitivity Potion to every core member in Zero Wing. At that time, Zero Wings core members would definitely see a qualitative improvement in their strength within a short period. I have a suggestion, Guild Leader Black Flame. The peak powers in the dozen or so neighboring NPC Cities will be gathering in Slumber City in a few days. Once they establish a foothold in the city, theyll most definitely band together in secret, and their first target will most likely be you and the three other Vice City Lords. Im afraid the three other Vice City Lords will most likely have difficulty coping against all of these peak powers even if they work together, Echoing Judgment said earnestly. At that time, theyll most likely have to split some of their allotted share with the foreign peak powers. Purple Light will most likely suffer the same fate as well. However, how much we give them will also depend on the gap in overall strength between us. My suggestion is for us to work together. What do you think, Guild Leader Black Flame? Would you be willing to join hands with Purple Light? Since youre offering, I naturally wouldnt refuse, Commander Judgment, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Shi Feng wasnt against Echoing Judgments suggestion. He also understood that Echoing Judgment was actually trying to help him. After all, the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce was one of Slumber Citys peak powers, while he only had a team of twenty. It should be known that their opponents this time were the peak powers of over a dozen NPC Cities. Even if all of Slumber Citys powers banded together, they still wouldnt be a match for all of these peak powers. It went without saying that his team of twenty stood no chance at all. Most importantly, he didnt have the Dark Crystals needed to exchange all 3,000 bottles of his allotted Hypersensitivity Potions. If he could join hands with Purple Light, he could use Purple Lights connections to sell his excess potions for a good price. Afterward, Echoing Judgment parted ways with Shi Feng to prepare for the negotiations that would take place in a few days. As for Shi Feng, he made his way to one of the Matrix Towers third-floor VIP reception rooms. This was also the place where Vice City Lords could come to conduct their exchanges. Greetings, Lord Legatee. I am Senior Administrator Terrad. I am very happy to serve you today, a Level 130, Tier 4 young man greeted Shi Feng respectfully after entering the room. This is the list of items available for you to exchange. I believe you will be satisfied with the things listed here. Shi Feng nodded in response as he accepted the exchange list Terrad offered him. Unfortunately, he wouldnt be exchanging for any items this time since he didnt have a single Dark Crystal on him right now. He was only here to inspect the exchange privileges a Vice City Lord enjoyed. What?! Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he saw the exchange list. According to Echoing Judgment, Vice City Lords should only be able to exchange up to 3,000 bottles of Hypersensitivity Potion per month. Yet, the exchange list in his hands showed that he could exchange up to 6,000 bottles. This was as much as the Matrix Towers entire monthly production volume before Slumber City got promoted! What surprised Shi Feng even more, was that the exchange list actually had an item he had seen only once in the Greater Gods Domain during his previous life. The Magic Tactical Vehicle! Chapter 3130 - Chapter 204 - Magic Tactical Vehicle Chapter 204 C Magic Tactical Vehicle Do you have the Magic Tactical Vehicles statistics, Mr. Terrad? Shi Feng asked as he pointed to the Magic Tactical Vehicles name on the list. The list might have indicated that he could exchange for the rumored Magic Tactical Vehicle, but it didnt show any useful information regarding the vehicle itself. The list only mentioned that the Magic Tactical Vehicle was a transportation tool. Of course, the price was also present, and it was most certainly exorbitant. A Hypersensitivity Potion only cost 10 Dark Crystals to exchange, yet a Magic Tactical Vehicle cost 500 Dark Crystals. Going by the Stratified Abyssal Realms market situation, one Dark Crystal was worth around 200 Magic Crystals. Though, one would be hard-pressed to find someone willing to trade Dark Crystals for Magic Crystals since Dark Crystals were a crucial resource needed to increase ones City Contribution. Dark Crystals were also the only currency used to exchange for city specialties. The average power in Slumber City only earned around 200 or 300 Dark Crystals a month. A sum of 500 Dark Crystals would take even the peak powers of Slumber City at least a week to acquire. In other words, even if a peak power were to work hard for an entire month, it could only exchange three or four Magic Tactical Vehicles. Because of this exorbitant price, Shi Feng felt the need to acquire more information before he decided whether he should plan to purchase it. After all, Magic Tactical Vehicles came in various grades. If what was being offered for exchange was only the most basic Magic Tactical Vehicle, it definitely wouldnt be worth spending 500 Dark Crystals to exchange. A Basic Magic Tactical Vehicle was only slightly more useful than a Mount as a mode of transport. Compared to the average Land Mount, which could only ride two or three people at a time, a Basic Magic Tactical Vehicle could ride a full party of six, and its Movement Speed only rivaled Dark-Gold Mounts. Aside from the larger capacity, the only other advantage a Basic Magic Tactical Vehicle had over a Land Mount was that it protected players from the corrosion of foreign energies. Players riding in the vehicle wouldnt have to worry about their Stamina and Concentration draining. Yes, I do, Terrad nodded as he took out a datasheet and handed it to Shi Feng. There are two types of Magic Tactical Vehicles available for exchange. One type has no exchange restrictions, while the other can only be exchanged in limited quantities. Two types? Shi Feng accepted the datasheet and scrutinized it. Then, a joyful expression appeared on his face less than a minute later. As mentioned by Terrad, there were two types of Magic Tactical Vehicles listed on the datasheet. The first type was the Basic Magic Tactical Vehicle, and the second type was the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. The Basic Magic Tactical Vehicle didnt have an exchange limit. He could exchange for as many as he wanted so long as he was willing to pay the price of 500 Dark Crystals per vehicle. On the other hand, he could only exchange up to ten Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles per month. Moreover, each vehicle cost 3,000 Dark Crystals. If a layman were to see the difference in price and functionality between the two versions, they would most likely think that itd be more worthwhile to get the Basic version than the Bronze version. After all, despite costing six times more than the Basic version, the Bronze version had the same Movement Speed and carrying capacity as the Basic version. However, it was a different story for Shi Feng. He knew exactly how big of a difference existed between the Basic version and the Bronze version of the Magic Tactical Vehicle. One could say that the former was a mode of transportation, while the other was a tactical-grade weapon. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to consider the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle as a miniature Mobile Fortress! Aside from having all of the Basic versions functions, the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle had two more key functions. The first was a wide-range magic barrier that subjected all enemies within range to a powerful suppression. The suppression was so powerful that even a Tier 4 expert with a Mana Domain couldnt resist it. The second was an area-specific Mana specialization. The tactical vehicle could greatly strengthen the Mana of up to six players. The presence of these two abilities on the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle was more than enough to tempt any hegemonic power in the Greater Gods Domain. Hegemonic powers would be willing to trade even one Fragmented Legendary Weapon for each Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle. After all, the tactical vehicle was a godsend for invading other Gods Domains. Players would have their tiers suppressed when they tried to invade other Gods Domains. Or, more specifically, they would have their Mana suppressed by the foreign world, their combat power falling by half a tier on average. When invading a foreign Gods Domain, a Tier 6 God-ranked expert would only be slightly stronger than the native Tier 5 experts. Of course, due to the rarity of Tier 6 God-ranked experts, they would typically be used to defend important territories rather than to invade other Gods Domains. The main force of such invasions was typically made up of Tier 4 and Tier 5 players. Meanwhile, this was where the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle would come into play. The tactical vehicles ability to strengthen players Mana could be used to neutralize the Mana suppression players suffered when invading a foreign world. Unfortunately, the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles usefulness was only limited to invading foreign Gods Domains. The tactical vehicle wouldnt be as useful when used in ones homeworld. After all, any random superpower or first-rate power would have many Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts under its command. There was only so much the tactical vehicle could do with its limited coverage. When used in ones homeworld, the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles usefulness was inferior to a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that it was a pile of junk for Tier 5 players. Of course, this was only true for Gods Domains that had already seen the birth of many Tier 5 experts. In the current Miniature Ancient World, the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle was a very powerful weapon. For powers, the tactical vehicle was even more useful than a piece of Legendary Equipment. While Shi Feng was thinking of asking for a copy of the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles datasheet, the sound of a call notification suddenly rang in his ears. Did something happen, Blackie? Shi Feng asked, finding it strange that Blackie would call him all of a sudden. Shi Feng had previously tasked Blackie and the others with investigating Slumber City, and it had only been an hour since he passed down this instruction. Slumber City in its entirety covered a radius of more than 20 kilometers. An hour wouldnt even be enough for Blackie and the others to learn about all of the buildings on the main street, let alone the entire city. One of Glimmers members came to me saying that Laura Crader wants to have a private chat with you, Guild Leader, Blackie said worriedly. Based on my current understanding, Laura Crader is incredibly mysterious. Aside from Purple Lights and Glimmers members, she rarely interacts with other people. On top of that, she is also a battle maniac. Not only has she fought a name for herself in Slumber City, but she has also defeated many of the strongest players in the neighboring NPC Cities. I suspect she is thinking of challenging you to a fight after seeing you defeat Solitary Soul, Guild Leader. Do you want to meet her? After Shi Fengs fight with Solitary Soul, the name of Black Flame had already been embedded into the minds of everyone in Slumber City. Some players even felt that Black Flame was now the strongest player in Slumber City. This worked very much in Zero Wings favor since Zero Wing would have an easier time recruiting members and establishing a foothold in Slumber City. Conversely, if Zero Wing were to lose this fame, its development in Slumber City would slow down to a crawl. Before Shi Fengs arrival, the Glimmering Sword Laura Crader was recognized by everyone as Slumber Citys number one. Unfortunately, nobody knew exactly how strong Laura was. The only thing everyone knew was that the last time she took action, she had defeated the two other Vice City Lords in one strike. It was true that Death Curses Solitary Soul had obtained a piece of Legendary Equipment and completed the Vice City Lords Temple Trial. However, even then, not many people felt that he was a match for Laura Crader. After all, it had already been quite a few years since anybody had seen Laura in action. Chapter 3131 - Chapter 205 - Glimmering Sword Chapter 205 C Glimmering Sword She wants to meet me? Shi Feng fell into thought when he heard that Laura Crader wanted to meet him. Shi Feng had seen Laura Crader in the Abyssal Towers lobby previously, and the feeling of strength he felt from her was something he had only come across a few times in the Greater Gods Domain during his previous life. However, Shi Feng was certain that he had never heard of Laura Craders name in the Greater Gods Domain, which was very strange for someone with her strength. It was especially true considering Purple Lights Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand had made such a huge name for themselves in the Greater Gods Domain. It should be known that Laura was publicly recognized as Slumber Citys strongest expert. She was also vastly stronger than Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand currently. So, it stood to reason that Lauras name would spread like wildfire once this Stratified Abyssal Realm was thoroughly integrated into the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, that never happened during Shi Fengs previous life, which confused him greatly. Okay. Where do I meet her? Shi Feng asked. Even if the Glimmering Sword didnt come to find him, Shi Feng would probably go to find her. According to Echoing Judgment, the Glimmer adventurer team was Slumber Citys number one power, and the adventurer team owned a mineral vein that produced a large amount of Dark Crystals. This was also the vein that produced the most Dark Crystals near Slumber City and the several neighboring cities. Its production volume was at least three or four times greater than the average vein that produced Dark Crystals. So, one could say that Glimmer was the wealthiest power in Slumber City when it came to Dark Crystals. If anyone in Slumber City was looking to get their hands on a large amount of Dark Crystals, they definitely couldnt avoid Glimmer. There was even a rumor saying that most of the Dark Crystals sold in Slumber City actually came from Glimmer. Glimmers headquarters in the central district, Blackie said. She will be waiting for you there all day today. But are you really going to meet her by yourself, Guild Leader? Wouldnt it be too dangerous? / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Any adventurer teams headquarters was considered private territory. Meanwhile, unless the property owner had designated their property as a safe zone, NPC soldiers would not intervene even if a fight broke out on the property. While most players would normally designate their private property as a safe zone, players could also change this setting whenever they wanted. If they wanted to ambush someone, they could simply designate their property as a combat zone. Because of this setting, players would be at a considerable disadvantage when visiting another players private property. After all, most private properties would have some sort of defensive magic array set in place. While these defensive magic arrays couldnt stop players from leaving, they could subject all enemies in the area to a powerful suppression. If Laura Crader truly intends on dealing with me, she wouldnt have to go to such lengths. Glimmer has also never shown any interest in unifying Slumbering City, and neither has it participated in the power struggles in the city, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Otherwise, with Glimmers influence over Slumber City, it would have long since unified the city years ago. Death Curse would have never gotten the opportunity to rise, much less unify the city. Even so, you still need to be careful. Even if Glimmer doesnt intend on taking action, the same cant be said for the other peak powers in the city, Blackie reminded. Every power in Slumber City was well aware that Zero Wing would soon rise in Slumber City, becoming another one of the citys peak powers and adding to the already intense competition. Meanwhile, the main contributor to Zero Wings rise was undoubtedly Shi Feng. If Shi Feng were to get killed even once, it would have a huge impact on Zero Wing. It was true that Shi Feng possessed astonishing individual strength. However, there were many ways players could use to take down powerful foes. For example, with the help of a Grandmaster Magic Array, a group of Tier 3 players could even take down a Tier 5 expert. This was also a relatively common occurrence in Gods Domain. Grandmaster Magic Arrays might be as rare as Legendary items, but with how unique the Stratified Abyssal Realm was, it wouldnt be strange even if the peak powers here possessed a few. Relax. Those powers shouldnt have the time for that right now. The peak powers from other cities will be arriving soon. Those powers are a much bigger threat to the local powers than I am, Shi Feng said, chuckling. By the way, contact Blood Hammer and tell him that Zero Wing can supply the Tower Alliance with Hypersensitivity Potions. We can supply them with up to 1,000 bottles a month at the price of one Lineage Crystal per bottle. One thousand bottles a month? For one Lineage Crystal per bottle? Blackie was a little stunned when he heard Shi Fengs offer. Although he had long since known that Shi Feng could exchange for a large number of Hypersensitivity Potions after becoming a Vice City Lord, he didnt expect it to be this many. Will they be willing to take this offer, though? I doubt theyll refuse. Hypersensitivity Potions are much more useful than Lineage Crystals to them, Shi Feng said confidently. Lineage Crystals might be precious in their homeworld, but it wasnt as valuable in the Tower Alliances homeworld. Although Shi Feng could also exchange Hypersensitivity Potions to Lineage Crystals with Purple Light, the amount he could get from Purple Light probably wouldnt be as much as he could get from the Tower Alliance. Based on what Shi Feng gathered, the Tower Alliance should be a superpower very close to becoming a hegemonic power. It was vastly superior to a Chamber of Commerce that was based in only one city in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. In addition, Lineage Crystals were quite valuable in this Stratified Abyssal Realm. So, there wouldnt be any power in the Stratified Abyssal Realm willing to accept a one-to-one trade for Lineage Crystals and Hypersensitivity Potions. However, it was a different story for the Tower Alliance. The Tower Alliance had entered the Stratified Abyssal Realm with the specific purpose of recruiting experts. So, it would definitely be interested in the prospect of getting its hands on more Hypersensitivity Potions and nurturing its own experts. Okay. Ill contact Blood Hammer right away. Blackie nodded excitedly and hung up the call. If Zero Wing could get its hands on 1,000 Lineage Crystals a month, he was confident that Zero Wing could quickly become a superpower in the Miniature Ancient World. While Blackie was contacting Blood Hammer, Shi Feng arrived in front of Glimmers headquarters situated in the citys center. Glimmers headquarters was a mansion that occupied an area the size of a stadium. Yet, despite its massive headquarters, Glimmers member count did not exceed 10,000. The adventurer teams size was significantly smaller compared to the citys other peak powers, which had over 100,000 members at the very least. However, the average strength of Glimmers members was also the highest out of all peak powers in Slumber City. Even the weakest member in the adventurer team was a Refinement Realm expert. The adventurer team also had the most Novice Temple Knights, the number exceeding 1,000. As expected of Slumber Citys number one power. The number of experts here far exceeds my expectations, Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed as he looked at the players loitering in the mansions front yard. At a glance, Shi Feng could see over 30 Temple Knight-level experts in the front yard. Moreover, nearly ten radiated an aura rivaling Death Curses Night Revenant. It should be known that Night Revenant was a third-floor expert very close to reaching the fourth-floor standard. He was also a vice commander-level individual in Death Curse. Meanwhile, Death Curse only had four such vice commanders. Glimmers strength definitely wasnt as simple as outsiders assumed. After Shi Feng walked into Glimmers mansion, a three-meter-tall middle-aged man who was at Level 120 and radiated a Tier 4 aura approached him. Then, after scrutinizing Shi Feng for a moment, the middle-aged man pointed at the innermost room of a nearby corridor and coldly said, I really dont understand what the commander sees in you. Go in, then. The commander is waiting for you inside. Chapter 3132 - Chapter 206 - Golden Law When Shi Feng walked into the simple yet elegant office, he quickly noticed the rooms uniqueness. Even though the Mana outside was already plenty dense, the density of the Mana inside this office was actually more than double that of the outside world. The Mana here was infinitely close to reaching the liquid state, and Shi Feng felt like he was standing inside the Elven Holy Spring. A Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array? Shi Feng was rendered speechless when he saw the rooms magic array arrangement. As its name suggested, a Mana Gathering Magic Array could gather Mana to elevate the Mana density within a specified area. Meanwhile, the higher a Mana Gathering Arrays quality, the greater its rarity. One would be hard-pressed to buy Master Mana Gathering Arrays even if one had the money. As for Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays, they were incredibly rare even in the Greater Gods Domain, and one could even trade it for a Fragmented Legendary item for it. Yet, Laura Crader had set up such a valuable magic array in her office. This was simply an extravagance. It should be known that Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays were typically set up together with a Guild Halls core magic array. While doing so would reduce the magic arrays potency since it would need to cover a much larger area, it could still elevate the Guild Halls Mana to a mist-like standard. When Shi Feng shifted his attention away from the Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array and focused on Laura Crader, he couldnt help but be stunned momentarily. Currently, Laura Crader was standing in the room, quietly looking at a stone tablet on the wall. The combination of her long, light-blue hair, silver crown, and radiant light-blue longsword gave her the image of a Valkyrie of legends. However, rather than Lauras appearance, what stunned Shi Feng was the broken tablet covered in divine inscriptions and patterns. Shi Feng had seen a broken tablet of a similar type in the Greater Gods Domain during his previous life. Meanwhile, the broken tablets name was capable of shaking the entire Greater Gods Domain. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Golden Law! According to legends, there were 88 Broken Laws in the Greater Gods Domain, and every one of them recorded a complete Gold Combat Technique. It should be known that Silver Combat Techniques were incredibly rare even in the Greater Gods Domain. The appearance of one could cause even hegemonic powers to go into a frenzy. This was because any player that mastered a Silver Combat Technique would gain the ability to transcend tiers. As for Gold Combat Techniques, any player who managed to master one would become an existence feared by even the various apex powers. Youre here. Please, take a seat! Laura Crader said, smiling when she noticed Shi Feng entering the room. Let me introduce myself. I am Laura Crader, the commander of the Glimmer adventurer team. I have taken the liberty of inviting you here today because I wish to make a deal with you, Mr. Black Flame. A deal? May I know what you have in mind, Miss Laura? Shi Feng asked curiously. Laura was without a doubt the person with the greatest authority and wealth in Slumber City, while he was only an outsider. He found it hard to imagine that he possessed anything that could attract Lauras attention. Ive also offered this deal to Shadow Citys three Vice City Lords, Laura said. Then, she pointed at the broken tablet on the wall and said, Bring my companions and me out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm and into the Greater Gods Domain. I will give you this stone tablet and the Gold Combat Technique recorded on it if you can do that. As someone from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm, I am sure I dont need to explain to you the value of a Gold Combat Technique, right? How are you so certain I am from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Miss Laura? Moreover, how are you certain I can take you out of here and to the Greater Gods Domain? Shi Feng asked, feeling a little surprised by Lauras offer. The value of a Golden Law surpassed even Divine Artifacts. Yet, Laura had boldly revealed her possession of one and even offered to give it away. Unless she was sufficiently confident, there was no way she would take such a risk. After all, many powers originating from the Greater Gods Domain operated in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. If they learned about Lauras possession of a Golden Law, they would use every means they had to snatch it. Its because I, too, come from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, players from outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm have a completely different approach toward Mana manipulation than players native to the Stratified Abyssal Realm. So, it isnt difficult to tell the two groups apart, Laura answered. As for why I have sought you out to make this deal, it is because you have the necessary qualifications, Mr. Black Flame. Qualifications? What qualifications? Shi Feng grew even more confused. Strength. Any outsider who has reached the fourth-floor standard is qualified to do business with me, Laura said. Or, more specifically, only powers capable of sending fourth-floor experts like you into a Stratified Abyssal Realm can help us leave this place. I see. Realization dawned on Shi Feng. The task of getting a Stratified Abyssal Realms native players out to the Greater Gods Domain before complete integration occurred was incredibly challenging and costly. Moreover, the stronger the native player was, and the sooner one was trying to get this native player out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, the greater the cost one would have to pay. Typically, any power willing to let a fourth-floor expert enter a Stratified Abyssal Realm should have extraordinary strength. After all, a player capable of reaching the World Towers third floor would typically be a Tier 6 God-ranked expert already. At worst, a third-floor expert would be a Tier 5 player. It went without saying that a fourth-floor expert would be a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Meanwhile, sending a fourth-floor expert into a Stratified Abyssal Realm would mean having this fourth-floor expert abandon his original level and tier. This was not a risk an ordinary power could afford to take. If you dont have any problems, we can establish a contract now. So long as you bring us out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm and into the Greater Gods Domain, I will hand this Golden Law to you immediately, Laura said with a serious expression. In addition, we will also help you once to the best of our abilities. It doesnt matter whether you want us to clash against the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers or apex powers! Laura spoke in a definitive tone, making it sound like fighting against the Greater Gods Domains apex powers wasnt an impossible task for her. If players from the Greater Gods Domain were to hear Lauras statement, they would most likely laugh at her for her ignorance. However, Shi Feng did not rush to answer Laura, and neither did he ridicule Laura for her suggestion. Instead, he asked, May I know how many people you are trying to bring out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Miss Laura? Four, Laura answered, a flash of confusion appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. When she offered this deal to other people, their first reaction would be to accept it without hesitation. None of them had bothered asking how many people she was trying to bring out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. When one talked about taking native players out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, it was only a question of whether one could or could not do so. The question of whether one was bringing a player or a group of players out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm did not exist. Yet, Shi Fengs first question was to ask how many players she was trying to bring. Thats not too many. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he heard Lauras answer. If Laura planned to bring the entire Glimmer adventurer team out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, he would most likely have to disappoint her. After all, he neither had the manpower nor resources to search for a way to bring such a large group of players out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, if it was only four players, he could simply spend 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to open a World-Breaking Gate. Now that he had access to a large supply of Hypersensitivity Potions, obtaining a large number of Seven Luminaries Crystals would be no trouble. Do you have a way to take us out, Mr. Black Flame? Laura asked, her gaze turning fiery when she heard Shi Fengs words. I do! Shi Feng said definitively. Only, we might have to change the content of our deal. Chapter 3133 - Chapter 207 - Mind-Blowing Wealth Change the content? Laura quickly suppressed the excitement in her heart when she heard Shi Fengs words. Then, she asked, May I know what you have in mind, Mr. Black Flame? Simple. I dont need any Golden Laws. I only need you to become Zero Wings ally, Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. I will also need you to give your full support to Zero Wings development in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. A Golden Law might be an incomparably valuable item that even the Greater Gods Domains various apex powers would fight desperately to obtain. Still, it wasnt something that was of any use to him right now. Or, more specifically, he didnt have anyone who could learn the Gold Combat Technique recorded inside the Golden Law. This was because players needed to reach Tier 5 first before they could learn a Gold Combat Technique. Moreover, that was only the minimum requirement. Whether one could actually learn it was an entirely different story. According to Shi Fengs knowledge, even the Greater Gods Domains various apex powers, existences that commanded a large number of Tier 6 God-ranked experts, only had a handful of players who had successfully learned a Gold Combat Technique. While a Golden Law might seem like a wonderful thing, it was no different from a pie in the sky for the current Zero Wing. Itd be much better if he exchanged for something more practical. Of course, it would be best if he could get Laura to join Zero Wing, but that evidently wouldnt be possible. However, there should be no problem getting Laura to enter an alliance with Zero Wing. After all, there werent many restrictions or hierarchical problems in an alliance. Meanwhile, Lauras adventurer team was Slumber Citys number one power. If Zero Wing could acquire the full support of Glimmer, the Guild would have a much easier time achieving rapid development in Slumber City. Find the original at Hosted Novel. If its only entering an alliance, I dont see any problems with that so long as Zero Wing is fine with such an arrangement. But you should know that only four of us will be leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Were also at Level 120, Tier 3 only. We wont be of much help to you in the Greater Gods Domain, Laura said as she looked at Shi Feng incredulously. As for support in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, so long as it is something Glimmer can accomplish, we will not refuse to help. However, now that the dozen or so neighboring cities have their eyes on Slumber City, Im afraid there is very little Glimmer can do. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Golden Laws should be the most attractive items to the Greater Gods Domains various powers. Yet, Shi Feng had refused a Golden Order and simply sought an alliance with Glimmer. Zero Wing stood to gain nothing from this deal, no matter how she looked at this. As for the Stratified Abyssal Realms material resources, any hegemonic power worth its salt probably wouldnt pay a second glance at these meager things. The only resource the various hegemonic powers wanted was the Stratified Abyssal Realms experts. However, recruiting these experts required the Stratified Abyssal Realm to be fully integrated into the Greater Gods Domain, and this was a very long process that could take many years. There was also very little Glimmer could offer Zero Wing in terms of combat support. Currently, over a dozen NPC cities peak powers have already set their sights on Slumber City. Even if all of Slumber Citys local powers banded together, they still wouldnt be a match for all of these peak powers. So, Laura simply couldnt understand what Shi Feng was thinking. It is fine so long as you agree to my terms, Miss Laura. Zero Wing doesnt need any combat support. All Glimmer needs to do is sell Zero Wing Dark Crystals at market value. It would be even better if Glimmer could help sell some of Zero Wings Hypersensitivity Potions, Shi Feng said, smiling. His conditions might seem insignificant to Laura, but they were incredibly important for Zero Wing. Although he also had the option of getting Laura to give him all of Glimmers resources for free, doing so would impact their partnership in the future. So, a fair deal must be done. After all, with Lauras potential, he believed that she could easily achieve much more than Thousand Sword Saint Wordless Ember and Dawn Saint Sleeping Quicksand. It should be known that Wordless Ember and Dawn Saint had slain over a hundred Tier 6 experts in a single battle during their prime. Back then, Zero Wing, at its peak, didnt even have 100 Tier 6 experts Meanwhile, it didnt matter how many peak powers he had to go up against so long as he had enough Dark Crystals. The peak powers from the neighboring cities could even band together for all he cared. In front of the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle, those peak powers would be nothing but a joke. In a situation where everyone was stuck at Tier 3, the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle was God. Even Bronze Combat Puppets couldnt resist the effects brought about by the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle. No problem, Laura said without hesitation. But I need to remind you that Glimmer doesnt have a lot of Dark Crystals on hand. Currently, we only have around 250,000 Dark Crystals. Moreover, Im afraid the sale of Hypersensitivity Potions wont go very well. With so many peak powers targeting Slumber City, few people will dare to buy them in bulk if we price them too high. Wed be fortunate if we could get ten Dark Crystals per bottle. T-Two hundred and fifty thousand?! Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at Laura. It should be known that Slumber Citys various powers were working tirelessly just to rake in three to five hundred Dark Crystals per month. Even in the case of a peak power like Purple Light, the Chamber of Commerce could only acquire around two to three thousand Dark Crystals per month. Even then, Echoing Judgment already deemed it a considerable amount of wealth. However, compared to Glimmer, Purple Light was no different than a beggar Even if Shi Feng were to use Magic Crystals to trade for Glimmers Dark Crystals at market price, he wouldnt be able to buy all of them with the two million Magic Crystals he brought. After all, the market value for Dark Crystals was two hundred Magic Crystals per Dark Crystal. With the Magic Crystals he had, he could, at most, buy 10,000 Dark Crystals from Glimmer. That wasnt even 10% of the Dark Crystals in Glimmers possession Suddenly, Shi Feng had an urge to trade on credit. However, Shi Feng eventually suppressed this urge. After all, he planned to establish a long-term partnership with the woman known as Laura Crader. It simply wasnt worth abandoning this partnership for just 250,000 Dark Crystals. Ill have to exchange for some Magic Crystals from Hundred Flower Palace, Shi Feng thought. If he wanted to buy more Dark Crystals from Glimmer, his only option was to look for Hundred Flower Palace for help. Hundred Flower Palace had entered the Stratified Abyssal Realm intending to extend its operations to this place, so it must have brought a lot more Magic Crystals than he did. Hundred Flower Palace should also be more than willing to part with some of its Magic Crystals if he offered to sell them some Hypersensitivity Potions. Afterward, Shi Feng signed a Gods Domain Contract with Laura. According to the contracts terms, Laura Crader and her companions would become Zero Wings allies. In exchange, Shi Feng needed to help Laura Crader and three of her companions leave the Stratified Abyssal Realm within a month. As for how Laura and her companions would get from the Miniature Ancient World to the Greater Gods Domain, it was up to them to think of a way. At the same time, Laura Crader would also sell Dark Crystals to Shi Feng at two hundred Magic Crystals per Dark Crystal. This deal would remain effective over the long term. Unless Glimmer was having difficulties maintaining normal operation, the adventurer team would trade a minimum of 10,000 Dark Crystals to Zero Wing each month. Since they signed a Gods Domain Contract, the contracts terms would remain in effect so long as both parties remained in Gods Domain. If any party breached the terms agreed in the contract, the party that had breached the contract would suffer the contracts penalty no matter which Gods Domain they were in. The only real way they could avoid the contracts penalty was if they stopped logging into Gods Domain forever. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng signed the contract with Laura, he promptly exchanged his two million Magic Crystals for ten thousand Dark Crystals. Then, he hurried over to the Matrix Tower. Chapter 3134 - Chapter 208 - Returning to Gods Domain Inside the top-floor combat simulation room of Glimmers mansion Commander, do you really believe that he can take us out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm? a three-meter-tall middle-aged man asked worriedly as he watched Laura Crader fighting against three simulated Tier 4 NPCs. Weve spent many years saving up all those Dark Crystals. They should have also been our capital to achieve rapid growth in the Greater Gods Domain in the future. Yet, youre giving everything to that kid. It will be a huge loss for us if he fails to fulfill his promise. I dont know if he can do it, but he is the most promising partner right now, Laura said after repulsing the three Level 120, Tier 4 NPCs she was fighting against. Then, with a hopeful look on her face, she continued, Ten years. Its been ten years already, yet those three people mingling in Shadow City have yet to find a way to get us out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. The best they can do is move Temple Knight-level experts out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. None of their methods of leaving can be used on us. According to them, people with strength like us will most likely have to wait until the Stratified Abyssal Realm is fully integrated into the Greater Gods Domain before we can leave. But thats a process that might take ten or even twenty years. We cannot afford to wait that long. But Black Flame is different. He seems to have a special means of leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm. If he can get us out, it doesnt matter how many Dark Crystals we have to give away. So long as we can enter the Greater Gods Domain, I will let those people know that I, Laura Crader, am back! After Laura finished speaking, the light-blue longsword in her hand suddenly gave off a brilliant glow. Immediately afterward, all three shield-bearing Tier 4 Sky Knights disintegrated into dust and disappeared from the combat simulation room. At the same time, numerous cracks appeared on the rooms defensive magic array, which was capable of shrugging off even Tier 4 Curses. Slumber City, Matrix Tower: Lord Legatee, youre back so soon? Did you forget something? Senior Administrator Terrad asked as he looked at Shi Feng strangely. It hadnt been more than two hours since Shi Feng left, yet he was already back at the Matrix Tower again. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Yes, I did forget something. I was in such a hurry just now that I left without exchanging anything, Shi Feng said, his voice sounding much more confident this time around. May I know what you plan to exchange, Lord Legatee? Terrad asked, promptly taking out the exchange list for Shi Feng to inspect. I dont need the list. I plan to exchange for three Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles and one hundred Hypersensitivity Potions, Shi Feng said. Very well. Your total comes to 10,000 Dark Crystals. Once you complete the payment, we will prepare the items for you immediately, Terrad said, nodding. Then, he added, But I need to remind you that the Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle can only be stored in special bags. Moreover, each bag can only have one tactical vehicle. Since you are purchasing three tactical vehicles, they will occupy three of your bag equipment slots. If you do not have enough empty bag equipment slots, please have them prepared first. I understand, Shi Feng said, nodding as he handed 10,000 Dark Crystals to Terrad. Every player would only have five bag equipment slots. This meant that they could carry a total of five spatial bags. Meanwhile, Magic Tactical Vehicles were considered non-bag space items in Gods Domain. They could only be stored in special bags or Epic Spatial Bags. However, Epic Spatial Bags were incredibly rare, so most people tended to resort to the alternative when transporting non-bag space items. Fortunately, Shi Feng didnt bring many things with him to the Stratified Abyssal Realm apart from Magic Crystals. So, even though he didnt have an Epic Spatial Bag, he could easily open up three bag equipment slots. Around ten minutes after Shi Feng made the payment, Senior Administrator Terrad returned to the reception room with four spatial bags. Lord Legatee, here are your three Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles and one hundred Hypersensitivity Potions, Terrad said. Then, in a serious tone, he continued, This is our first attempt at manufacturing Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicles, so they arent the best when it comes to defense. Please use them with caution. I will, Shi Feng said, not particularly surprised by Terrads warning. Instead, he promptly clicked on one of the bags holding the tactical vehicles to inspect the vehicles statistics. Magic Tactical Vehicles werent siege weapons but rather support items for players. A player would be crazy to use a tactical vehicle to engage in direct combat. [Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicle] (Bronze Rank) Maximum capacity: 6 people Movement Speed: 270% Durability 300/300 Possesses Tier 3 Basic defensive capabilities. Additional Active Skill 1- Advanced Anti-Mana Barrier: Erects a barrier that inhibits the use of Mana for all hostile units within a 1,000-yard radius. Barrier costs 1,000 Magic Crystals per minute to maintain. Additional Active Skill 2- Hexagram Protection: Erects a magic array that greatly strengthens the Mana of up to six people within a 1,000-yard radius. Enhancement works up to the Tier 4 standard. Magic array costs 1,000 Magic Crystals per minute to maintain. Additional Passive Skill- Energy Shield: Prevents the inflow of energy from outside the vehicle and outflow of energy from inside the vehicle. What a powerful tactical vehicle! Shi Feng was greatly astonished by the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicles parameters. According to his research, the average Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle should only have an Intermediate Anti-Mana Barrier. Meanwhile, such an Anti-Mana Barrier would only have full effect on Tier 3 players and monsters. Against Tier 4 players and monsters, the barriers effects would be reduced. On the other hand, an AdvancedAnti-Mana Barrier could thoroughly inhibit Tier 4 players from accessing the Mana around them. The barrier could even cause Tier 4 players to have trouble manipulating the Mana inside their bodies, which would, in turn, reduce the power of their Skills and Spells by 50% or more. Logically, an Advanced Anti-Mana Barrier was something only an Advanced Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle should have. Yet, it had come with the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicle. Of course, in exchange for this powerful barrier, the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicles defenses were far below average. The average Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle would have armor at the Tier 3 Advanced standard and durability of 500 points or more. Even a Tier 4 Mythic monster would need quite some time to destroy a standard Bronze Magic Tactical Vehicle. However, in the case of the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicle, it could, at most, withstand a few dozen hits from a Mythic monster. Although its defense is weak, it is just fine for the current Zero Wing, Shi Feng thought as he put away the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicles and left the Matrix Tower. Subsequently, time passed by rapidly. In the blink of an eye, ten days had already gone by since Shi Fengs team arrived in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. During these ten days, everyone had increased their levels to Level 112 or above. Shi Feng had even reached Level 114 and was very close to reaching Level 115. Aside from leveling up, Shi Feng had also offered to sell some Hypersensitivity Potions to Hundred Flower Palace at the price of 6,000 Magic Crystals per bottle, equivalent to 30 Dark Crystals per bottle. Meanwhile, Hundred Flower Palace had not only agreed to the deal, but it had even bought a whopping 1,000 bottles, allowing Shi Feng to make a profit of 2,000 Hypersensitivity Potions in the blink of an eye. In addition to Hundred Flower Palace, Blood Hammer had also agreed to the offer Shi Feng proposed, using 1,000 Lineage Crystals to exchange for 1,000 Hypersensitivity Potions. However, the transaction would have to wait until the next time they opened the Gate of Crossing. After all, the Tower Alliance needed time to collect so many Lineage Crystals. For the time being, Blood Hammer had only spent 40,000 Dark Crystals to exchange for 1,000 Hypersensitivity Potions. The deal with Blood Hammer had allowed Shi Feng to not only recoup the cost of the 1,000 Hypersensitivity Potions, but also had enough leftover to purchase seven more Dragonhorn Magic Tactical Vehicles, buying out his monthly limit of ten. Moreover, even after making all of these trades and fulfilling his own needs, he still had 2,000 Hypersensitivity Potions he could exchange this month. As for the neighboring cities peak powers, they had become a joke five days ago. As soon as Shi Feng took out a Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicle and elevated the Mana of Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, and the others to the Tier 4 standard, the various peak powers understood that nobody could shake Zero Wings position in Slumber City. As a result, nobody dared to have any ideas against Zero Wing. The key is fully recharged, Guild Leader Black Flame. If there are no problems on your side, I will be using the key now, Crimson Heart said to Shi Feng as she looked at the glowing ancient key in her hand. Okay, lets go back, Shi Feng said, nodding. Subsequently, Crimson Heart and Blood Hammer activated the magic array on their respective keys. Immediately afterward, Shi Fengs team vanished from Slumber City, transforming into a streak of light that flowed into a space-time fissure and returned to the Miniature Ancient World. Chapter 3135 - Chapter 209 - Foundation Takes Shape Miniature Ancient World, Hundred Flow City: The Candlelight Hotel, which was brimming with Mana, used to be the most popular location in Hundred Flow City. Now, however, hardly any players could be seen in the hotels lobby. Apart from those wearing Zero Wings Guild Emblem, the only other players in the lobby consisted of a group of 60 youngsters. If one paid close attention to these youngsters, one would realize that every one of them was an extraordinary individual. Specifically, every one of them was a Refinement Realm expert. On top of that, every one of them had also reached Level 109 already. In the current Hundred Flow City, where the average level of players was only 107, these youngsters definitely ranked at the top in terms of levels. Not to mention, they were all fully equipped in Level 120 Epic Equipment. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that this group of youngsters would be considered a formidable force in any NPC City. First-rate Guilds that had taken control over an entire city would even be fearful of these youngsters. Currently, though, it didnt seem like these youngsters were here to rent a room in the Candlelight Hotel as most of them wore impatient looks on their faces. At this time, a petite girl carrying a tower shield on her back looked at the callous young man standing at the head of the group and said exasperatedly, Cloud, what is Elder Aqua thinking having peak geniuses like ourselves come to Zero Wing? Special training? Isnt that a joke? The Flower of Seven Sins is currently targeting Zero Wing in all aspects. Even those who have dealings with Zero Wing are put on the Flower of Seven Sins hit list. Moreover, even non-members of the Flower of Seven Sins can get 1,000 Credits for every targeted player they kill. Not to mention, what kind of training can a Guild like Zero Wing possibly give us? Its basically a nice way of telling us to come and help Zero Wing! I know, right? Everyone is avoiding Zero Wing like the plague right now. Nobody dares to have anything to do with Zero Wing. I heard that Zero Wings member count has even fallen below 5,000 already, and the ones remaining are mostly internal members on Zero Wings payroll, a lanky young man said, nodding. Zero Wing has so few members right now that its only limiting its operation to Abyssal Star Citys surroundings. It doesnt even have the manpower to compete for the Team Dungeons near Hundred Flow City or hunt for Mounts in the primordial ruins. I bet that Zero Wing must be trying to get us to help it hunt for Mounts. I also guess that. They might make it sound like we are receiving training from Zero Wing on the surface, but well actually be helping Zero Wing hunt for Mounts in reality. After all, the various powers have already begun exploring the Boundary Mountain Ranges surroundings after amassing a sufficient number of Mounts. I doubt Zero Wing even has even Mounts to form an expedition team right now, a beautiful female Swordsman said, sighing. Well definitely have to fight with the Flower of Seven Sins lunatics a lot from now on. I wonder how Zero Wing is going to compensate us? I spent nearly all of my GCPs to get this set of Epic Equipment. If theres not going to be any compensation, Im going to have to use Fine-Gold Equipment to replace any pieces that I lose. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. The other youths present nodded in agreement with the female Swordsmans words. They couldnt understand why the higher-ups in Twilight Echo had made such an arrangement for them. They even started to wonder if Zero Wing had offered some sort of astonishing deal to Twilight Echo. It made sense when they thought about it. After all, while they might be Twilight Echos peak geniuses, they werent considered full-fledged members of Twilight Echo. Even if they fought for Zero Wing, the Flower of Seven Sins wouldnt consider their participation as a hostile act by Twilight Echo. However, while fighting against the Flower of Seven Sins could indeed be considered a type of training, if Zero Wing couldnt compensate for their losses appropriately, none of them would be willing to fight for Zero Wing. After all, Epic Weapons and Equipment were incredibly rare and valuable in the Miniature Ancient World. It would take them a considerable amount of time to replace any losses. I doubt thats going to happen. I heard that Zero Wing is poor to the point where it doesnt even have any Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment in its Guild Warehouse right now. Zero Wing is completely reliant on the Asura Mercenary Alliance to compensate its members. So, all of you best be mentally prepared, the callous youth named Soaring Cloud said, shaking his head. He, too, found this arrangement to be a headache. Soaring Cloud was one of the top five geniuses of Twilight Echos new recruits this year, and he was only half a step away from reaching the Flowing Water Realm. Originally, he thought that he would receive Twilight Echos priority cultivation and secure himself a top spot among Gods Domains latest generation of players. Yet, now, he had ended up in this situation. If Aqua Rose hadnt promised him that Zero Wings training would only last for four months and that he would be promoted into a trump card legions team leader in Twilight Echo as soon as the training was over, he would have never agreed to come to Zero Wing. While Twilight Echos geniuses were talking among themselves, more and more Zero Wing members started appearing in the lobby. These new arrivals were relatively young, with the oldest among them being 20 years old while the youngest was only 16 years old. When these Zero Wing members appeared, confusion filled Twilight Echos peak geniuses. This was because these Zero Wing members were not only young but they also had considerably high combat standards. Even the weakest among them was at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard, while the stronger ones like Wu Lingling had already reached the Refinement Realm. In the case of Wu Lingling, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to consider her a peerless genius for having such a high combat standard at such a young age. Meanwhile, in less than ten minutes, the number of these young Zero Wing members quickly increased past 400, causing the originally empty lobby to become slightly crowded. How did Zero Wing recruit so many peak geniuses? the Level 109 female Swordsman from Twilight Echo exclaimed as she scanned the Zero Wing members present. Although most of these Zero Wing members werent as well-equipped as Twilight Echos members, it definitely wasnt excessive to consider them peak geniuses with how young and strong they were. However, peak geniuses werent cabbages that were readily available. They were very rare, even among the various superpowers. The various superpowers would also need to offer various lucrative benefits to recruit peak geniuses. Yet, Zero Wing, despite being a recently established Guild, had managed to recruit over 200 peak geniuses. This was simply unbelievable. However, what Twilight Echos peak geniuses didnt know was that most of these youths from Zero Wing had only been ordinary geniuses when they joined the Guild initially. Most of them only had combat standards at the Trial Towers seventh-floor standard. However, after following Shi Fengs harsh training regimen for half a month, every one of them had achieved significant improvements. Even the slower ones had already reached the Half-step Refinement Realm standard, while the faster ones had already reached the Refinement Realm standard a few days ago. While Twilight Echos peak geniuses were shocked by the sight before them, another group of people entered the Candlelight Hotel. These new arrivals were none other than Shi Feng and the other executives of Zero Wing. When Twilight Echos peak geniuses saw the levels of Shi Feng and the others, every one of them couldnt help but gasp. Level 114? Chapter 3136 - Chapter 210 - Superpower Zero Wing? How are their levels so high? Even the various superpowers leveling maniacs have only reached Level 110, yet Zero Wings executives have already reached Level 112 or above. They can already explore the Boundary Mountain Ranges surroundings with such levels! They can do more than just exploring the Boundary Mountain Ranges surroundings. With such high levels, they can already investigate the labyrinth inside the Boundary Mountain Range. So long as they dont go too deep and come across monsters above Level 117, they wont have to worry about level suppression. Twilight Echos peak geniuses were shocked when they saw Shi Fengs group. Leveling in the Miniature Ancient World would slow down to a crawl past Level 105. Once players reach Level 105, theyd be fortunate if they could achieve a level up within three or four days. Because of this slow leveling speed, even the various superpowers main force members had only managed to reach Level 110 at this stage of the game. Moreover, that was with the help of Mounts. Even so, that was already more than enough to make many players envy them. This was because players who have reached Level 110 could explore the Boundary Mountain Ranges surroundings without having to worry about level suppression. Meanwhile, according to the various superpowers initial exploration of the Boundary Mountain Ranges surroundings, it was found that the place was extremely rich in resources. Just the number of mineral veins, which produced Magic Crystals, discovered numbered over a dozen already. There were also several towns occupied by monsters. So long as players managed to occupy these towns, they would become money-printing machines that could help players generate a lucrative income. After all, these towns had a much better geographical advantage than even the Abyssal Star Ancient City. However, neither the mineral veins nor the towns were the focus of the various superpowers. What truly caught the various superpowers attention was the labyrinth inside the Boundary Mountain Range. While investigating the Boundary Mountain Ranges surroundings, the various superpowers had come across plenty of information pertaining to the Tier 4 promotion process in the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, according to this information, the crucial factor for players to reach Tier 4 lies within the labyrinth inside the Boundary Mountain Range. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. On the current main continent, it was no longer special for players to reach Tier 4. However, it was a different story for the Miniature Ancient World. Getting promoted to Tier 4 would be a crucial factor in deciding whether one could break through the Boundary Mountain Range and enter the Miniature Ancient Worlds neutral zone. Meanwhile, the sooner one could reach the neutral zone, the sooner one could meet with the players of the other Gods Domain, and the more advantages one could acquire in the struggle between the two Gods Domains. But why is Zero Wing gathering so many peak geniuses in Hundred Flow City? Is it not afraid of getting targeted by the Flower of Seven Sins? Many of the Sin of Gluttonys lunatics are currently operating around Hundred Flow City. If those lunatics find out Zero Wing has gathered so many peak geniuses here, theyll attack the Candlelight Hotel without hesitation. Its probably to catch the Flower of Seven Sins off guard. If we were to suddenly enter the primordial ruins with so many experts, even the Flower of Seven Sins would need time to gather enough experts to deal with us. We can use this time to hunt for many Mounts. Its a sound idea. Most of the Flower of Seven Sins members are resting in the town located in the primordial ruins center. With how large the inside of the primordial ruins is, the Flower of Seven Sins can only focus its search around the resting towns. So, all we need to do is avoid those towns. Although doing so would reduce the amount of time we can spend in the primordial ruins, itll give the Flower of Seven Sins a hard time to target us. Twilight Echos members started an enthusiastic discussion when they saw the Zero Wing members gathered in the lobby, their previous gloominess vanishing completely. Initially, they thought that Zero Wing would be having them enter the primordial ruins and help the Guild do the bulk of its work. If they were the only Refinement Realm experts in Zero Wings team, theyd have a very limited range of movement in the primordial ruins. This was because the monsters inside the primordial ruins were not only numerous, but even the weakest among them was a Great Lord. Even a team of 100 Refinement Realm experts would have difficulty operating in such an environment. If they couldnt even move about freely in the primordial ruins, itd take no time for the Flower of Seven Sins to find them and kill them. However, if their team was made up of several hundred Refinement Realm experts, moving around inside the primordial ruins would become significantly easier. This would make it much more difficult for the Flower of Seven Sins to locate them. Moreover, even if the Flower of Seven Sins found them, by the time it gathered its forces to attack them, they would have long since moved to another location or left the primordial ruins with their harvest. Overall, the risk of the operation had decreased by at least 80%. All of Zero Wings internal geniuses and Twilight Echos peak geniuses have arrived, Guild Leader, Blackie excitedly reported to Shi Feng after counting the young players present. We have a total of 507 geniuses here. Of them, 331 have reached the Refinement Realm, while the rest are at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard. Even if they excluded Twilight Echos 60 peak geniuses, the number of Refinement Realm experts Zero Wing currently had already rivaled the number of Refinement Realm experts the various first-rate Guilds had in the Miniature Ancient World. Although a force of 271 Refinement Realm experts might seem insignificant in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, it was a very formidable force in the Miniature Ancient World. At the very least, such a force was enough to let Zero Wing establish a stable foothold in Gods Domain. Good! Distribute the Hypersensitivity Potions to them, Shi Feng said, nodding. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to maintain a low profile for some time after returning to the Miniature Ancient World. After all, with his training method, Zero Wings Refinement Realm experts would only continue to increase in number as time passed. However, the Flower of Seven Sins was much more ruthless than he expected, placing a bounty of 1,000 Credits per kill on Zero Wings members. Players could earn an ordinary persons monthly wage simply by killing a few of Zero Wings members. Who wouldnt be tempted by such an offer? Because of this, many players had started to ambush Zero Wings members even near Abyssal Star City. In contrast, the players who targeted the Flower of Seven Sins members were only the various powers members interested in exchanging Asuras items. Although this situation had affected the Flower of Seven Sins operations to a certain extent, it wasnt enough to harm the organizations roots. After all, most of the Flower of Seven Sins members killed were the organizations outer members. The existence of these outer members was negligible to the Flower of Seven Sins. Yet, the Asura Mercenary Alliance had to pay out tons of rare resources in exchange for the lives of these negligible individuals. Hence, Shi Feng had decided that he would teach the Flower of Seven Sins a painful lesson! In no time at all, Blackie distributed a Hypersensitivity Potion to everyone present. Upon receiving the Hypersensitivity Potion and reading its description, both Zero Wings and Twilight Echos members were dumbfounded. According to the description, the Hypersensitivity Potion would promptly put players into a hypersensitive state upon use, greatly increasing their learning capabilities for twelve hours. The potions effect might not sound like much, but it should be known that secret lands capable of improving a players learning capabilities were highly contested by the various superpowers. Moreover, this learning buff was only available within the settlements inside these secret lands. This meant that players could only use this buff to train their combat techniques, Skills, and Spells. It couldnt be used to help them fight against monsters. However, the Hypersensitivity Potion didnt have any zone restrictions. Its effects could even be used to fight against monsters. One could easily imagine the improvements it could provide to players. Yet, Zero Wing had distributed over 500 of these Hypersensitivity Potions in one fell swoop. This was a generosity that even the various superpowers were unlikely to be capable of Alright, bottoms up, Shi Feng said as he scanned the crowd before him. Chapter 3137 - Chapter 211 - Zero Wings Retaliation At Shi Fengs command, everyone hesitated for a moment before drinking the Hypersensitivity Potion in their hands. Immediately, the Mana in the lobby thinned out significantly. At the same time, everyone who drank the Hypersensitivity Potion revealed ecstatic expressions on their faces. So this is the hypersensitive state? Amazing! Amazing! I can perceive everything around me clearly, even with my eyes closed! Its like Ive reached the Void Realm! Im finding it much easier to use the combat techniques I used to have trouble using! Under the hypersensitive state, Zero Wings and Twilight Echos young talents quickly realized their shortcomings. Some even gave in to their urges and started practicing combat techniques on the spot. Seeing the excited youngsters, Blackie, who stood behind Shi Feng, quietly nodded to express his understanding. Blackie had already experienced the Hypersensitivity Potions wondrous effect while in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Not only did the potion enhance the users five senses by a significant margin, but it also improved the users perception of Mana. While under the hypersensitive state, he had managed to hold his ground against even the Stratified Abyssal Realms second-floor experts. Combined with the training he did at the Elven Holy Spring, his combat standard was already close to reaching the second-floor standard. Thanks to the Hypersensitivity Potion, he was improving so rapidly that even he found it unbelievable. Unfortunately, Blackies talent was only subpar, after all was said and done. Compared to Fire Cloud, Happy Snow, Rampant Blade, and Su Qianliu, the improvements Blackie achieved in the Stratified Abyssal Realm could be considered the smallest. This was because the other four had already reached the second-floor standard. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL(d0t)C0M. Su Qianliu, in particular, had already become a bona fide Void Realm expert after sparring with the Stratified Abyssal Realms many second- and third-floor experts. She had also stepped into the Truth Realm, now capable of exhibiting the power of a basic combat technique with her every action. She had even passed the trial for Novice Temple Knights, becoming an official Novice Temple Knight of Slumber City. As for Happy Snow, Fire Cloud, and Rampant Blade, although they still had a little trouble completing the Novice Temple Knights trial, they were already bona fide second-floor experts. Quiet! Shi Feng yelled, causing everyone in the lobby to quiet down. I want all of you to head out and prepare recovery items immediately. We will be entering the primordial ruins for a big fight in ten minutes. This is a chance for all of you to grow, so I hope you can cherish it. I will also be giving the top 20 best performing players an additional Hypersensitivity Potion! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the many youngsters present cheered in excitement. After using the Hypersensitivity Potion, every one of them was eager to engage in battle so that they could maximize their use of the potions effects and refine their combat techniques. So, now that Shi Feng had announced that not only would they be participating in a big fight, but the top 20 best performing players would also receive an additional Hypersensitivity Potion, how could they not get excited? I just hit the jackpot! If I can make good use of these twelve hours, I might even achieve a breakthrough and reach the Flowing Water Realm! Ill instantly become one of Twilight Echos top 10 newcomers! If those who laughed at us for having to take part in Zero Wings special training learn about this, theyll probably regret that they didnt volunteer themselves when Elder Aqua was choosing people. Twilight Echos peak geniuses whispered among themselves in joy and excitement while preparing the recovery items needed for the upcoming battle. They also felt delighted when they recalled how their peers in Twilight Echo, who were not chosen to attend Zero Wings special training, had made fun of them. Im going to make it into the top 20 no matter what! Soaring Cloud, the callous youth from Twilight Echo, muttered to himself as he looked toward Shi Feng, a hint of ambition in his eyes. So long as I can get another Hypersensitivity Potion, I will definitely become the number one genius in Twilight Echo! After getting a feel of the Hypersensitivity Potions effects, Soaring Cloud was certain that he could reach even the Void Realm within a short period of time, let alone the Flowing Water Realm. Right now, he even had the urge to fight against true Void Realm experts to capitalize on the potions effects. Ten minutes later, Shi Feng led everyone to the teleportation point for the primordial ruins. Then, he spent nearly half of the teleportation tokens Zero Wing had accumulated previously to send everyone into the primordial ruins. At the same time as Shi Feng and the others entered the primordial ruins, news of their actions quickly reached the ears of the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers, shocking them. Is Zero Wing insane? Theyre entering the primordial ruins at this time? Dont they know that the Flower of Seven Sins members are lying in wait there? Interesting! Zero Wings members have mainly been operating around Abyssal Star City previously. Now that so many of them have entered the primordial ruins, we can use this opportunity to capitalize on the Flower of Seven Sins bounty! Shortly after Shi Fengs team entered the primordial ruins, the various powers and independent experts operating around Hundred Flow City also began to move. The Flower of Seven Sins had put a public bounty on all of Zero Wings members. It was even offering S-rank Nutrient Fluids in exchange for the heads of Zero Wings core members, with twenty heads being worth one bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. S-rank Nutrient Fluids were a resource highly sought after by the various powers and countless expert players. Now that a team of more than 500 Zero Wing members had entered the primordial ruins, it was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the Flower of Seven Sins bounty. Moreover, according to the information collected, every Zero Wing member in this team possessed extraordinary strength, so they should be the Guilds core members. For a time, over a dozen first-rate powers, several superpowers, and over ten thousand Refinement Realm experts flooded into the primordial ruins. Abyssal Star City, Asuras headquarters, top-floor conference room: Youre finally back, Chief Administrator Soul. Something big has come up on Zero Wings side. For some reason, Zero Wing has suddenly dispatched a large number of experts into the primordial ruins. Currently, over a dozen first-rate powers and several superpowers have already sent their experts after them. We need to hurry over and reinforce Zero Wings experts. Otherwise, if Zero Wing loses all those experts, Asura will have an even harder time resisting the Flower of Seven Sins, Liu Wusheng, who was dressed in a white robe, said anxiously when he saw Hidden Soul entering the conference room. As the levels of the various powers experts increased, the number of superpowers setting their sights on Abyssal Star City also increased. If not for Asura offering Lineage Crystals up for exchange and attracting quite a number of superpowers to stand on the mercenary alliances side, the mercenary alliance would have long since collapsed under the Flower of Seven Sins pressure. Now that players were getting closer and closer to the minimum level required to explore the Boundary Mountain Ranges labyrinth, itd be terrible for Asura if Zero Wing suddenly had a large number of its experts killed. After all, exploring the Boundary Mountain Range was Asuras only chance at stabilizing its situation. If the Flower of Seven Sins were to get ahead and produce Tier 4 experts sooner than Asura, the mercenary alliance would be at great risk of losing Abyssal Star City. We are Hosted Novel, find us on google. We dont have to go. Zero Wing should be able to deal with it on its own, Hidden Soul said, smiling as she shook her head. Rather than Zero Wing, the powers that have gone after Zero Wing are the ones that need to be careful. Provoking Zero Wing at this juncture is a very risky action. Chapter 3138 - Chapter 212 - The Current Zero Wing Is Very Strong! We dont have to go? Risky action? Liu Wusheng was exasperated when he heard Hidden Souls response. Chief Administrator Soul, according to our initial estimates, at least 10,000 Refinement Realm experts have entered the primordial ruins to go after Zero Wing. Even if Zero Wings team has Guild Leader Black Flame in it, the Flower of Seven Sins also has its own Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Moreover, the other side has the advantage in numbers. Zero Wing might have made significant progress recently, but its foundations are still too shallow. Let alone the Flower of Seven Sins, even the various first-rate powers moving this time can deal catastrophic damage to Zero Wing. Tier 6 God-ranked experts might remain powerful after entering the Miniature Ancient World, but they werent invincible. Several Domain Realm experts working together could easily keep Shi Feng busy while everyone else took care of Zero Wings other members. Aside from Shi Feng, the only other noteworthy expert in Zero Wing was Su Qianliu. However, even if Su Qianliu could exhibit the strength of an apex expert by virtue of her Mana Equipment Set, she could, at most, fight one of the various superpowers apex experts to a standstill. Faced against a force of more than 10,000 Refinement Realm experts and above, there was very little Su Qianliu could do. You dont have to worry, Mr. Liu. The current Zero Wing is very strong! Hidden Soul said, chuckling as she looked at the anxious Liu Wusheng. Then, she added, Anyway, lets stop focusing on that matter. Guild Leader Black Flame has asked us to deal with an urgent matter. The current Zero Wing is very strong? Liu Wusheng was greatly confused by Hidden Souls words. No matter how he racked his mind, he simply couldnt figure out how Zero Wing could possibly go up against the experts of so many first-rate powers and superpowers. However, he also didnt think Hidden Soul would lie to him since Hidden Souls fate was tied to the Asura Mercenary Alliance. May I know what Guild Leader Black Flame has asked us to do? Seven Luminaries Crystals! Hidden Soul said, her expression suddenly turning serious. Guild Leader Black Flame urgently needs 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals. He hopes that we can gather this amount as soon as possible. Three thousand units isnt a small amount, Liu Wusheng said with a slight frown. Theres still no stable source of Seven Luminaries Crystals found in the Miniature Ancient World. Its also a crucial resource for reaching Tier 6. Even if we offer to buy them at a high price, I doubt any powers in possession of Seven Luminaries Crystals will sell them to us Hidden Soul nodded in understanding. Then, she said, Guild Leader Black Flame has thought of this point, so he plans to use Lineage Crystals to exchange for them. If we offer to exchange at a rate of 300 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals per Lineage Crystal, Im sure the various powers will be interested. Were using Lineage Crystals to exchange? Liu Wusheng was stunned. Hurriedly, he objected, Our reserve of Lineage Crystals is already dwindling, Chief Administrator Soul. If we are to trade away ten Lineage Crystals at this juncture, itll only accelerate the process of the various superpowers siding with the Flower of Seven Sins. The reason the various superpowers were willing to target the Flower of Seven Sins right now was that they could acquire Lineage Crystals for doing so. If Asura ran out of Lineage Crystals, the various superpowers definitely wouldnt continue targeting the Flower of Seven Sins. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. After all, the Flower of Seven Sins wasnt some pushover. If the various superpowers continued their hostilities, they might really end up on the Flower of Seven Sins hit list. If that happened, there was a high chance they would become history in Gods Domain. Guild Leader Black Flame has also considered this point. If those fence-sitters want to side with the Flower of Seven Sins, they are more than welcome. The Asura Mercenary Alliance doesnt need such members! Hidden Soul said in a determined tone. Anyone who chooses to side with the Flower of Seven Sins will be permanently expelled from Asura! Liu Wusheng was honestly dumbfounded when he heard Hidden Souls statement. He felt that both Shi Feng and Hidden Soul had lost their minds. Presently, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was already on the brink of collapse. If the mercenary alliance were to expel the various superpowers experts, what would it use to resist the Flower of Seven Sins? I still have many matters to take care of, Mr. Liu. If there is nothing else, I will be taking my leave now, Hidden Soul said, not bothering to offer Liu Wusheng any additional explanations. After saying so, she turned around and swiftly left to inform the various powers about the exchange of Seven Luminaries Crystals and Lineage Crystals. Meanwhile, in the central area of the primordial ruins Guild Leader, in front of us is Windy Sand Town, a resting spot for players. The Flower of Seven Sins has turned the town into its base of operations, Wu Lingling said as she pointed at the town roughly one kilometer away. Currently, as the Flower of Seven Sins is focused on exploring the Boundary Mountain Range, it has recruited a large number of independent Refinement Realm experts to help defend Windy Sand Town. There are roughly 5,000 Refinement Realm experts stationed in the town at all times, and they will attack any members of Asura who dare to approach it. While looking at the several dozen independent players standing atop the distant towns walls, Shi Feng was a little astonished when he heard Wu Linglings report. The Flower of Seven Sins pocket is truly deep. Even major corporations wouldnt be willing to hire 5,000 Refinement Realm experts to garrison a town at all times. It might not cost much to hire the services of a Refinement Realm expert for a day or two, but it was a different story if the employment period was long-term. Employing a Refinement Realm expert for an entire month could easily cost one million Credits or more, while a force of 5,000 Refinement Realm experts would cost at least five billion Credits to employ for a month. Not to mention, most independent Refinement Realm experts usually wouldnt accept Credits as payment. Instead, they would only accept Coins or Magic Crystals. This would further increase the cost of hiring these experts. In addition, any losses these hired experts incurred during the employment period would be shouldered by the employer. Unless absolutely necessary, the average superpower definitely wouldnt be willing to hire 5,000 Refinement Realm experts just to safeguard a town. After observing the towns situation, Shi Feng turned around to face the young geniuses behind him. Then, seeing the eager looks on these youngsters faces, he waved his hand and said, Alright! Its time we take action! Chapter 3139 - Chapter 213 - Monsters Strike Primordial ruins, Windy Sand Town: A Level 110 girl carrying two daggers by her waist hurriedly entered the only bar in town. Then, she approached a masked young man drinking by himself inside the establishment and quietly reported, Boss Wolf, we just received news that Zero Wing has dispatched a large group of experts into the primordial ruins. According to our brothers stalking Zero Wings experts, it seems they are making their way over to Windy Sand Town. Zero Wing is sending a large group of experts to our location? the young man named Summer Wolf said, a dubious expression appearing on his face when he heard the masked girls report. Could they have been misled by Zero Wing? Even Asuras members dont dare to get close to Windy Sand Town. Zero Wings experts would have to be crazy to come here. Due to the Flower of Seven Sins investment, Windy Sand Town had already become a gathering place for Red Players. Even if the Flower of Seven Sins chose to stand aside and do nothing, the towns tens of thousands of Red Players would most likely attack Zero Wings members like a pack of hungry wolves. After all, not only could they acquire the weapons and equipment of the Zero Wing members that they killed, but they could also earn an additional sum of Credits through the Flower of Seven Sins public bounty. Hence, unless Zero Wings members were tired of living, there was no way theyd come to Windy Sand Town. However, as soon as Summer Wolf finished speaking, a loud exclamation came from outside the bar. Were under attack! Were under attack! Someones besieging the town! a Level 108 Berserker with a red name yelled as he ran into the bar. Were under siege? Did someone go crazy? Who would dare to pick a fight with the Flower of Seven Sins? Interesting! How many people are on the other side? Which power is so tired of living? / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. The many Red Players inside the bar were quickly excited by the news. Windy Sand Town might not have any defensive facilities or even a defensive magic array protecting it, but it was the biggest gathering place for players in the primordial ruins. It was also the only town with more than 6,000 Refinement Realm experts present within it at all times. In addition, most of the players in Windy Sand Town were Red Players, individuals used to fighting against other players. Because of this, even two superpowers working together wouldnt dare to attack the town. Meanwhile, after the Berserker caught his breath, he shouted, Zero Wing! Its Zero Wings experts! Theyve already broken through the entrance and have begun sweeping through the main street! Many of the towns experts have already gone to stop Zero Wing, but theyre unlikely to last long! We need to send reinforcements quickly! Silence enveloped the bar momentarily when the Berserker finished speaking. Then, laughter filled the establishment. Hahaha! It seems someone forgot to wake up today! Zero Wings besieging the town? Can you be any more exaggerated? Zero Wing is only a small Guild thats been established recently. They wont even dare to approach Windy Sand Town, let alone attack it! Not one person in the bar believed the Berserkers words. Aside from the 6,000-plus Refinement Realm experts, many of the Flower of Seven Sins core members were also based in Windy Sand Town. Theyd consider Zero Wing plenty courageous if it dared to send its members near the town, much less besiege the town. After all, a force of 6,000-plus Refinement Realm experts was enough to kill several Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Could this be true, Boss Wolf? the short woman from the Flower of Seven Sins asked, sweat appearing on her forehead. Only a few minutes ago, she received news of Zero Wings Black Flame entering the primordial ruins with a large group of experts. Yet, now, someone had entered the bar saying that Zero Wing was besieging the town. Although this claim sounded absurd, the coincidental timing led her to suspect it might be true. It matters not whether it is true. Since Zero Wings members dared to approach Windy Sand Town, well make sure none of them leave here alive! Summer Wolf said, a flash of excitement appearing in his eyes. Notify the Wild Wolf Team! Its time to hunt Black Flame! Although Summer Wolf didnt know what gave Zero Wing the courage to come to Windy Sand Town, the Flower of Seven Sins was no pushover. It didnt matter even if Zero Wings team had a Tier 6 God-ranked expert leading it. In a situation where everyone was at Tier 3, even a former God-ranked expert would fall when attacked by more than twenty peak experts and above. Okay! Ill notify the others! the short woman responded excitedly. It was normally incredibly difficult to kill a Tier 6 God-ranked expert. Aside from the seven commanders, there were only a handful or so players capable of killing God-ranked experts in the Flower of Seven Sins. For players like herself, they would never get the opportunity to accomplish such a glorious feat unless they could also get promoted to Tier 6. Now, however, a God-ranked expert had sent himself to their doorsteps. This was a heaven-sent opportunity to kill a God-ranked expert. Just the thought of killing a God-ranked expert excited her greatly! However, as soon as this short girl finished speaking, several other Flower of Seven Sins members rushed into the bar from outside with fear coloring their faces. Boss Wolf! Run! Run away quickly! Monsters! Theyre a group of monsters! Theres no way those monsters are from Zero Wing! They must be experts from the Five Great Super Guilds disguising as Zero Wings members! The Five Great Super Guilds mustve joined hands to attack us! These several Flower of Seven Sins members shouted frantically after entering the bar. When Summer Wolf saw these panic-stricken players, he recognized them instantly. They were none other than the members of the Wild Wolf Team. Every one of them was a bona fide peak expert. When two dozen of them joined hands and got the help of a battle array, they could hold their ground against even the Tier 6 God-ranked experts in the Flower of Seven Sins. Whats going on?! Calm down and speak clearly! Summer Wolf said hurriedly, the words of the Wild Wolf Teams members confusing him. Monsters? Five Great Super Guilds? What were they even talking about? Many, many peak experts! A few minutes ago, a large number of peak experts suddenly appeared outside the town! Many of them wore Zero Wings Guild Emblem, but thats only a disguise! Theres no way Zero Wing has over 500 peak experts! Thats right! I wanted to ask why they were attacking us, but they didnt give us any time to react and simply attacked without saying a word! We lost over 2,000 Refinement Realm experts to them in less than a minute! Those people are simply monsters! Every one of them is ridiculously young, with the oldest looking no more than twenty! Yet, I can barely hold my ground in a one-on-one fight against those monsters! Some of those people are stronger than even the team leader! It didnt take more than five seconds before a group of them killed the team leader! TL Notes: Fyi, Summer Wolf and the short girl have both appeared in Chapter 169 before. However, based on the conversions in this chapter, I dont think Summer Wolf is the team leader of the Wild Wolf Team. Chapter 3140 - Chapter 214 - Terror Descends A group of experts who are less than twenty years old? The people in the bar couldnt help but doubt the sanity of the Wild Wolf Teams members after hearing what they had to say. After all, only an insane person would say such nonsense. Peak experts typically referred to Void Realm experts capable of grasping their surroundings with their senses to a masterful degree. Or, more specifically, peak experts could observe a battlefield they were fighting on from a third persons perspective. However, reaching the Void Realm was by no means an easy feat, especially not for someone under the age of twenty. Experts capable of achieving this standard before twenty years old would typically be a peerless genius who had received the full support of a superpower. Meanwhile, a superpower would be smiling from ear to ear if it could nurture two or three of such geniuses per generation. A force of 500-plus peerless geniuses was something one couldnt find even if one added the peerless geniuses of all superpowers together. Hence, to say that such a force was attacking Windy Sand Town was simply absurd. Lets go out and see who were dealing with, Summar Wolf said as he stood up from his seat. Summer Wolf similarly felt that the Wild Wolf Team members recount sounded absurd. However, he didnt disregard their words completely. Since the attacking force had managed to cause the Wild Wolf Team members to grow so flustered, it should at least mean that the other party had many powerful experts. After saying so, Summer Wolf walked out of the bar with the Flower of Seven Sins several dozen peak experts. At the same time, he also contacted the Flower of Seven Sins members operating near Windy Sand Town, having them hurry over for support. Boss Wolf, arent you being overly cautious to have everyone come back for support? the short girl walking next to Summer Wolf asked. Lord Gluttonys side is in urgent need of a large number of Mounts right now. The invading force consists of 500 or so people only. If we have all of the core members come back from hunting, itll severely affect Lord Gluttonys plans / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. Windy Sand Town had at least 7,000 Refinement Realm experts garrisoning it at all times. On top of that, there were also 100 Flower of Seven Sins core members stationed in the town. Every one of these core members was a peak expert. Not to mention, the town also had a large number of Red Players resting in it. With so many experts on their side, they could withstand even an all-out assault from a superpower, let alone Zero Wing. As for the 500-plus peak experts the Wild Wolf Team members mentioned, she estimated that the invading party would, at most, have 100 or so peak experts. After all, the average superpower in Gods Domain didnt even have such a large number of peak experts. Even if Zero Wing borrowed the Asura Mercenary Alliances strength, it would already be plenty amazing if it could recruit the help of 100-plus peak experts. Its better to be safe than sorry. Not to mention, Black Flame is leading Zero Wings team this time. If we can take him down here, itll be a devastating blow to Zero Wing and Asura! Summer Wolf explained. With Windy Sand Towns strength, defending against a God-ranked expert will be easy. However, killing a God-ranked expert will be a challenge, especially after the Wild Wolf Team has gotten ambushed. If we want to ensure we kill Black Flame, well have to rely on the lunatics under Lord Gluttony. Every commander in the Flower of Seven Sins had their own forces. Among them, the Sin of Gluttony was known for its madness. The Predators under Gluttonys command were also regarded as lunatics within the Flower of Seven Sins. On top of being Void Realm experts or above, these Predators fought without regard for anyone around them. The term cooperation did not exist in their dictionaries. Even when they fought as a team, they would only think of taking advantage of each others existence to kill their targets. They were willing to kill even their teammates so long as they could kill their targets. In addition, the Sin of Gluttony had a special Legacy that granted these Predators the Bloodrage ability. With this ability, the Predators could increase their Basic Attributes and Physique by up to 50% without using battle arrays or magic barriers. All they needed to do was fight on the same battlefield. Meanwhile, the more Predators there were on a battlefield, the greater Bloodrages effects would be. Moreover, Bloodrage could also reduce the damage the Predators took by up to 95%. When a group of twenty Predators fought together, even a Tier 6 God-ranked expert wouldnt dare to clash with them head-on. Moreover, this was when those lunatics were fighting a Tier 6 God-ranked expert while being only at Tier 5 themselves. Now that everyone in the Miniature Ancient World was still stuck at Tier 3, the Predators would be an even greater threat to God-ranked experts. It might only take ten Predators to kill a God-ranked expert of the same tier. Shortly after Summer Wolf finished speaking, he and the other peak experts of the Flower of Seven Sins arrived at Windy Sand Towns main street. Impossible! Summer Wolf was stupefied when he saw the sea of corpses before him. At this moment, the main street that used to be crowded with Red Players had already transformed into a land of death, the corpses of players covering the entire street. Although these players were dead, their Red Name status did not disappear. So, Summer Wolf could instantly determine that the players lying on the ground were all Red Players Whathappened here? The short girl standing next to Summer Wolf was similarly shocked and confused by the scene before her. Only a few minutes had passed from when someone had come into the bar to tell them that the town was under attack until now. Yet, over ten thousand of Windy Sand Towns experts had died in these few short minutes. It should be known that these were all Red Players they were talking about. Moreover, most of them were Refinement Realm experts. Before Summer Wolf and the others could recover from this shocking scene, several excited voices suddenly entered their ears. Hey! There are still some alive here! These people are mine! You guys stay away from them! Scram! I can feel that Im already on the brink of a breakthrough! These people are mine! Alright, stop arguing! If we dont strike now, the others will notice! After a few verbal exchanges, a dozen or so figures jumped down from a nearby roof and began attacking Summer Wolfs group with wild abandon. You little punks are courting death! When Summer Wolf got a clear look at the figures charging at him, he found that every one of these attackers was a youth no more than twenty years old. Yet, these youths were looking at him as if he were prey He, who used to send shivers down the spines of countless experts in Gods Domain, had actually turned into prey in the eyes of these children. This situation enraged Summer Wolf. However, a short moment after both sides started clashing, Summer Wolfs anger turned into astonishment. To his disbelief, every one of these dozen or so youths possessed combat standards rivaling Void Realm experts. In fact, the sharpness of their five senses was superior to even Void Realm experts. They could always avoid fatal blows in the nick of time. After both sides traded blows for several rounds, it became apparent that the Flower of Seven Sins side had the advantage. Yet, no matter how the Flower of Seven Sins members tried, they simply couldnt kill the youths attacking them. No wonder the Wild Wolf Team lost. Even I will need some time to kill these kids in a one-on-one fight, Summer Wolf thought as he looked at the youths before him. At the same time, confusion filled his heart as he failed to understand how Zero Wing had managed to recruit so many peerless geniuses. It was obvious that none of these youths had reached the Void Realm. Their stances were full of holes, and their control over Mana was crude. Yet, every one of them possessed extraordinary combat instincts that allowed them to dodge crucial attacks. It felt as if a third person was telling them how to move. After observing the youths for a moment, Summer Wolf revealed a cold smile as he commanded, Use the Soul Curse Scroll to increase their death penalties! Zero Wing will need a very long time to recover if we can get rid of all these peerless geniuses! The other Flower of Seven Sins members nodded in agreement. Although they didnt know how these youths had managed to kill so many people in Windy Sand Town, they could at least avoid returning empty-handed if they could kill these peerless geniuses from Zero Wing. Subsequently, some of the Flower of Seven Sins core members took out a dark-gray magic scroll from their bags. However, just as they were about to activate the magic scrolls, more players started appearing all around them. In less than ten seconds, more than two hundred players had appeared around the Flower of Seven Sins members Meanwhile, in addition to looking very young, every one of these players gave off a very dangerous feeling. Chapter 3141 - Chapter 215 - This Is Only the Beginning This Impossible! Why are there so many peerless geniuses? Did the Five Great Super Guilds really join hands to target us? The Flower of Seven Sins members were in utter shock and disbelief when they saw the increasing number of youths gathering on the main street. For veteran experts like themselves, this wasnt the first time they had seen a force of several hundred peak experts. However, it was a different story for a force of several hundred peerless geniuses. Anyone with a certain degree of understanding about Gods Domains various superpowers would understand just how heavy and scary the weight of several hundred peerless geniuses was. This was no longer a force any individual superpower was capable of mustering. In fact, even if the Five Great Super Guilds banded together, it was highly unlikely they could form such a large team of peerless geniuses. After all, peerless geniuses were essentially the favored children of heaven. Every one of them had a great chance of reaching Tier 6 in the future. A superpower would be fortunate if it could find even one peerless genius out of ten million youths. Yet, now, several hundred peerless geniuses were gathered on this street. It was as if every superpower in Gods Domain had decided to send their peerless geniuses to Windy Sand Town. Who are you people? Why are you targeting us? Summer Wolf asked as he looked at the youths around him warily. After seeing so many peerless geniuses gathered, he no longer dared to continue attacking. May I know what the Flower of Seven Sins has done to offend you? Could there be some sort of misunderstanding? When the other Flower of Seven Sins members saw Summer Wolf trying to communicate with the other side, they promptly put away the Death Curse Scroll in their hands, afraid their actions might cause unnecessary misunderstandings. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. There was no way such a large number of peerless geniuses had come from a single superpower. There must be numerous superpowers behind them. Anyone who thought otherwise would be a fool. The Flower of Seven Sins might be a transcendental power capable of exterminating even veteran Super Guilds. However, against the joint force of over a dozen superpowers or the Five Great Super Guilds, even the Flower of Seven Sins would have no choice but to lower its head. Shortly after Summer Wolf finished speaking, the youths gathered on the main street suddenly stepped aside to open a path. Then, a cloaked man carrying a longsword by his waist slowly walked down this path and approached the Flower of Seven Sins members. The Flower of Seven Sins members instantly grew alert when they saw this man. This was because this man was none other than Black Flame, Zero Wings Guild Leader. Misunderstanding? Shi Feng smiled as he looked at Summer Wolf. How interesting. Tell me, then. How, exactly, did Zero Wing misunderstand you? Is it because you killed too few of our members? Or did you make a mistake when you placed a bounty on us? Zero Wing?! Summer Wolf stared at Shi Feng in shock. How can all of you be from Zero Wing?! The Flower of Seven Sins had thoroughly investigated Zero Wing before initiating an all-out war with the Guild. While it was true that Zero Wing had some geniuses, these were ordinary geniuses that the various superpowers couldnt even be bothered to recruit. Aside from Black Flame, there was no other noteworthy individual in Zero Wing. Aside from Zero Wing, who do you think we could be? Shi Feng asked with a raised brow. Then, waving his hand dismissively, he continued, Go back and tell your commanders that this is only the beginning. Sooner or later, Zero Wing will claim back whatever the Flower of Seven Sins owes us! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the 200-plus Zero Wing and Twilight Echo members here promptly charged forward like a hungry pack of wolves. Summer Wolf and the others might be the Flower of Seven Sins core members, but even Summer Wolf, the strongest out of the group, was only a Domain Realm expert. He might be able to barely survive and escape if he was only going up against six or seven peak experts. However, against a force of twenty or thirty peak experts, he didnt even have a chance to flee for his life. As for the Flower of Seven Sins Void Realm experts, they lasted no more than a few seconds when ganged up on by three or four peak experts. This scene caused the Zero Wing members who had arrived late to sigh dejectedly. Opportunities to fight against so many peak experts were incredibly rare. Yet, the others had gobbled up this opportunity without leaving even scraps for them Weve cleaned up Windy Sand Town already. Should we head outside and hunt for the remaining Flower of Seven Sins members? Blackie asked Shi Feng when he saw that everyone was still filled with enthusiasm. The Flower of Seven Sins will definitely lose its mind if we wipe out all of its members in the primordial ruins. Now that the various superpowers were frantically exploring the Boundary Mountain Range, the importance of Mounts had increased drastically. After all, a team without Mounts had a very limited range of movement. The exploration efficiency of such a team would be significantly lower than that of a team equipped with Mounts. The Flower of Seven Sins had expended a ton of manpower to secure an advantage in the Miniature Ancient World. If its exploration of the Boundary Mountain Range ended up being slower than the various superpowers, the corporations backing the organization would definitely start to have opinions. Meanwhile, when the newcomers of Zero Wing and Twilight Echo heard Blackies question, they promptly perked up their ears and looked at Shi Feng with expectant gazes. Their battle with Windy Sand Towns numerous Refinement Realm experts had only allowed them to get accustomed to the Hypersensitive Potions effects. It hadnt helped them improve their combat standards by much. If they wanted to improve their combat standards quickly, they needed to engage in more fights with peak experts and above. Unfortunately, there were far too few peak experts in Windy Sand Town. There werent even enough for them to share. No, thats just a waste of time. The primordial ruins is far too big. With so few of us here, searching for the Flower of Seven Sins scattered teams is no different than trying to find a needle in a haystack. They should have also received news of the battle here already, so itll be even more difficult to find them, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Sort out the loot for now. Afterward, take everyone out of the town and hunt for Mounts. Once the Hypersensitivity Potions effects run out, withdraw from the primordial ruins immediately. The primordial ruins was the size of a kingdom. Trying to find the Flower of Seven Sins scattered teams with only a 500-man team was simply impractical. Not to mention, they would be exposing themselves to an encirclement if they did so. If they wanted to maximize the use of the Hypersensitivity Potion, they should be engaging in fights constantly. It didnt matter whether they fought against players or monsters. So long as they kept fighting, they could utilize their enhanced senses to discover their flaws and reduce their weak points. Of course, it would be even better if they could fight against peak experts since doing so would allow them to discover their flaws more easily. However, the Hypersensitivity Potions effects only lasted for twelve hours. Rather than waste that limited time running about, itd be much better if they spent that time fighting easily accessible monsters. Moreover, Shi Feng had already accomplished his goal in the primordial ruins. All that was left to do was wait for the situation to ferment. After all, he wasnt aiming to train just Zero Wings and Twilight Echos geniuses. A more important goal was establishing an unshakable foothold for Zero Wing in the Miniature Ancient World. Only then could Zero Wing enter the upper echelons of Gods Domain. After Shi Feng issued his command, Blackie promptly left with everyone to carry it out. Meanwhile, not long after Zero Wings team withdrew from Windy Sand Town, news of Windy Sand Towns forces getting annihilated quickly spread like wildfire. Chapter 3142 - Chapter 216 - Famous Abyssal Star City, Asura Mercenary Alliances headquarters: Due to the clash between the Asura Mercenary Alliance and Flower of Seven Sins, many independent experts and adventurer teams had chosen to leave the mercenary alliance and flock to the Guild Towns that had sprung up around the Boundary Mountain Range recently. As a result, Asuras once lively headquarters had become a lot quieter. Currently, the only people that could be seen in the football field-sized lobby were players from the various first-rate powers and superpowers. Meanwhile, these players were either turning in the quests they had completed or waiting to exchange the last few remaining Lineage Crystals in Asuras warehouse. Another Guild has withdrawn from Asura after exchanging a Lineage Crystal, Elder Liu. Going by this trend, several other Guilds that are close to accumulating enough Contribution Points will most likely withdraw from the mercenary alliance in the next few days. Should we raise the exchange price? Blue Sheath, clad in dark-gray leather armor, asked Liu Wusheng, a frown appearing on her face when she saw another Guilds team leaving the building after exchanging a Lineage Crystal. She had seen this scene multiple times over the past few days. Although the Asura Mercenary Alliance was holding its ground against the Flower of Seven Sins thanks to the Lineage Crystals, the supply of Lineage Crystals was limited. Moreover, as more and more players started to reach Level 110, the various powers had also shifted their focus to exploring the Boundary Mountain Range. As a result, many teams that saw no hope of exchanging a Lineage Crystal before its supply ran out had swiftly withdrawn from Asura. As for the various powers and teams that remained in Asura, they werent optimistic about the mercenary alliances future, either. Hence, they similarly planned to withdraw from the mercenary alliance after accumulating enough points to exchange Asuras last few Lineage Crystals. In the current juncture where the various powers were competing fiercely in the exploration of the Boundary Mountain Range, if Asura were to lose the support of these powers, it would definitely be put into a passive state when it came to exploring the Boundary Mountain Range and resisting the Flower of Seven Sins This is the rule that was set at the beginning. If we change it now, it will only create more problems for us, Liu Wusheng said, sighing deeply when he saw another power leaving Asura. Its especially true now that the entrance to the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level has been discovered. If we put off any more experts, we might not have enough manpower to even get close to the second underground levels entrance, let alone explore it. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. Blue Sheath clenched her teeth in frustration when she heard Liu Wushengs words. Two days ago, a team had finally found the entrance to the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. Previously, players had already discovered clues pertaining to Tier 4 Legacies in the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level, which had, in turn, sparked a shocking war that involved over a hundred powers. If not for the first underground levels special environment preventing those under the Refinement Realm standard from controlling their bodies properly, the number of players that had participated in that fight would have easily exceeded ten million. Even so, that war had still involved over two hundred thousand players. Meanwhile, after more than a day of fierce battles, the various powers engaged in the war eventually split up and formed coalition forces. Each of the Five Great Super Guilds had formed its own coalition consisting of several other superpowers. Besides them, the Secret Pavilion and the Flower of Seven Sins had also formed their own coalitions. The Asura Mercenary Alliance had naturally formed a coalition as well. Although Asuras coalition wasnt as strong as the aforementioned seven coalitions, with over 20,000 Refinement Realm experts serving as its base, Asura had still managed to secure itself a place in the first underground level. Only, due to the frequent clashes with the Flower of Seven Sins side, Asuras exploration progress was greatly affected. If the remaining powers in the mercenary alliance also chose to withdraw, Asura might not even be able to establish itself in the first underground level. While Blue Sheath was lamenting Asuras fate, the team that was originally making its way out of the lobby suddenly stopped. Several other adventurer teams that were in the midst of completing their withdrawal procedures from Asura were also called to stop their actions. Then, after these players exchanged a few words, they promptly canceled their withdrawal procedures and ran for the quest area instead. Whats going on? Blue Sheath was puzzled by these adventurer teams behavior. It had already become common to see adventurer teams withdraw from Asura these past few days. After all, in the current situation where Asura could offer very little benefit to these adventurer teams, it would be unwise to clash against the Flower of Seven Sins in the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level. These people are merely seeking advantages while avoiding harm, Liu Wusheng said, suddenly smiling after reading a report he had just received. Seeking advantages while avoiding harm? Did something good happen for Asura? Blue Sheath asked strangely. Indeed. Liu Wusheng nodded, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. Around fifteen minutes ago, Guild Leader Black Flame led a force of over 500 peak experts to eradicate the Flower of Seven Sins forces in Windy Sand Town. The Flower of Seven Sins three commanders are enraged by this incident and have raised their bounty on Guild Leader Black Flame. They have also had all Flower of Seven Sins members operating in the primordial ruins to start moving in smaller groups. Guild Leader Black Flame led a force of over 500 peak experts to eradicate Windy Sand Towns forces? Blue Sheath widened her eyes in shock when she heard Liu Wushengs words, her brain having difficulty processing this information. Windy Sand Town was an important stronghold for the Flower of Seven Sins in the primordial ruins. For this reason, the organization had garrisoned the town with at least 6,000 Refinement Realm experts at all times. On top of that, many Refinement Realm Red Players were also using the town as their base of operations. Support us at Hosted Novel. Logically, even a superpower going all out would have no way of exterminating such a powerful force. Yet, Zero Wing had accomplished this feat? Moreover, what was that about a force of over 500 peak experts? After all these years of development, Witchs Sin didnt even have 200 peak experts under its command. Yet, Zero Wing had over 500 peak experts? I see. Liu Wusheng suddenly remembered the words Hidden Soul had said to him previously, realization dawning upon him. Then, he revealed a bitter smile and said, So thats why Chief Administrator Soul wasnt worried about Zero Wing. If Zero Wing has a force of over 500 peak experts, even the Flower of Seven Sins will have to treat it with caution. However, what Liu Wusheng didnt know was that the real reason the Flower of Seven Sins had reacted so cautiously didnt lie in the fact that Zero Wing had over 500 peak experts. Instead, it was because every one of these peak experts was under twenty. This had frightened the Flower of Seven Sins leadership into commanding the organizations members to spread out. Guild Leader Black Flame has called for all powers with a seat in Asura to gather for a meeting in the top-floor conference room, Elder Liu, Blue Sheath said after reading a message she had just received. Then, with a stern expression, she continued, He says he is going to discuss launching an all-out war against the Flower of Seven Sins! Guild Leader Black Flame wants to have Asura start an all-out war at this juncture? Liu Wusheng frowned when he heard this. Is he crazy? Asura might have put a bounty on the Flower of Seven Sins and clashed with the organization many times out on the fields, but both sides had merely treated each other as a hostile force. Neither side had escalated the matter beyond that. However, it would be an entirely different story if Asura were to declare an all-out war. This would mean that any power tied to Asura would have to choose between fighting with the Flower of Seven Sins to the very end or leaving the mercenary alliance. Rather than declaring war on the Flower of Seven Sins, itd be more appropriate to say that Shi Feng was forcing the mercenary alliances various powers to make a decision. To leave! Or to resist! Chapter 3143 - Chapter 217 - Shocked Asura Mercenary Alliances headquarters, top-floor conference room: In the conference room that was the size of two basketball courts, twelve seats were arranged around the central round table that took up a good portion of the rooms space. Not only were every one of these players at Level 110, but the equipment they wore was also enough to cause even peak experts to drool. Of these twelve players, even the weakest among them was geared in a Hall of Fame-level Epic Equipment Set. Three of these players even had equipment that carried the glow effect unique to Fragmented Legendary items. However, rather than the equipment of these three people, what made them feared by the nine other players present was the powers these three people represented. This was because these three people were representatives of Witchs Sin, World Dominators, and Blackwater. Every one of these Guilds was a publicly recognized superpower in Gods Domain. Blackwater, in particular, was not only the ruler of the Iron Empire on the main continent, but it was also publicly recognized as one of the Ten Great Guilds in Gods Domain. It was also because of Blackwater joining the Asura Mercenary Alliance that the Flower of Seven Sins had suffered as much damage as it did. Elder Liu, what do you think Guild Leader Black Flame is trying to do? Is he attempting to tie the entire alliance to Zero Wing? a middle-aged man seated near Liu Wusheng asked coldly. The man wore Blackwaters Guild Emblem on his chest and carried an amethyst staff in his hand. If Guild Leader Black Flame is really bent on acting so willfully, Blackwater will have to consider withdrawing from the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Dont be so hasty, Brother Jing Yang. Didnt Guild Leader Black Flame gather here to discuss this matter? Liu Wusheng said, smiling as he looked at the middle-aged man named Jing Yang. Not to mention, the Flower of Seven Sins has taken things too far this time. Even if we dont wage an all-out war against the Flower of Seven Sins, we should still think of a way to deal with it. Otherwise, well have trouble doing anything in the Boundary Mountain Range. This isnt a difficult problem to solve. So long as we withdraw from the fight between Asura and the Flower of Seven Sins, the Flower of Seven Sins naturally wouldnt continue finding trouble with us, Jing Yang said disdainfully. I heard that this matter all started because of a problem between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins. Rather than try to continue taking advantage of the alliances strength, Guild Leader Black Flame should consider changing the benefits offered by the alliance. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. More and more Guild Towns are appearing near the Boundary Mountain Range now. Although the environment in these towns is vastly inferior to Abyssal Star Citys environment, they will offer all Guilds who join them a temporary Residence. Yet, despite all our contributions to Asura, the only ones who have Residences in Abyssal Star City are Zero Wing and Witchs Sin. Dont you think this is unfair? The several first-rate Guild representatives present nodded their heads in agreement when they heard Jing Yangs words. To those with an administrative seat in the Asura Mercenary Alliance like themselves, it was no longer a secret that Black Flame was the mercenary alliances spokesperson. Or, more specifically, Black Flame was responsible for establishing the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Meanwhile, if they were asked whether a great power was backing the Asura Mercenary Alliance, the answer would be a yes and no. After all, the power behind Black Flame was based in another Gods Domain, not their Miniature Ancient World. The help it could offer to the mercenary alliance was considerably limited. Now that Asura was already running out of Lineage Crystals, the only things the mercenary alliance had to offer were Abyssal Star Citys temporary Guild Residences. If the mercenary alliance couldnt offer them these Residences, itd be pointless for them to continue clashing against the Flower of Seven Sins. Liu Wushengs complexion turned a little ugly when he heard Jing Yangs words. Although he had long since known that these powers with administrative seats in Asura were only trying to obtain more benefits from the mercenary alliance, he didnt think their greed would be so insatiable. The Residences of Abyssal Star City were different from the various Guild Towns temporary teleportation points. The city only had a limited number of Residences available. Not to mention, Witchs Sin had thoroughly tied itself to Zero Wings ship to acquire its Residence in Abyssal Star City. Meanwhile, of the powers with administrative seats in Asura, aside from the Star Alliance, Mysterious Moon, and Hundred Flower Palace, everyone else was here solely for Asuras Lineage Crystals. They had practically exchanged everything good that the mercenary alliance had to offer. As for the matter of clashing against the Flower of Seven Sins, that was nothing but an excuse. Most of the Flower of Seven Sins members that these powers had killed were merely the organizations outer members. The loss of these outer members was of no significance to the Flower of Seven Sins. Meanwhile, the Flower of Seven Sins had also formed a tacit understanding with these powers and likewise targeted only their normal members. Never had the Flower of Seven Sins touched these powers core members. Yet, despite knowing the act these powers were putting on, there was nothing Liu Wusheng could do about it. If Asura didnt have the help of these powers, particularly Blackwater and World Dominators, the mercenary alliance couldnt even set foot into the Boundary Mountain Range. This was also why Liu Wusheng felt that Shi Fengs actions were a little too crazy this time. While making these fence-sitters take a side right now might reduce the number of leeches attached to it, the departure of these powers would also cause Asuras strength to plummet. This, in turn, would make Asura an easier target for the Flower of Seven Sins. You want a Residence in Abyssal Star City? Not a problem! At this time, the doors to the conference room suddenly opened. Then, under everyones gaze, Shi Feng walked into the room and smiled, saying, So long as you become an affiliated Guild of Zero Wing or pay a contribution of 30,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals per month, I can let you have a temporary Residence in Abyssal Star City. Becoming an affiliated Guild or pay a monthly contribution of Seven Luminaries Crystals? Jing Yang laughed when he heard Shi Fengs words. What a big appetite you have there, Guild Leader Black Flame. Or do you think you can go against the Flower of Seven Sins by yourself now that you have the help of five hundred peak experts? Several of the other representatives nodded in agreement with Jing Yangs words. Peak experts and apex experts cost an astronomical amount of resources to maintain and develop. Otherwise, the various superpowers wouldnt have only so few Tier 6 God-ranked experts despite having so many peak and apex experts under their command. Zero Wings 500-plus Tier 3 peak experts might be powerful now, but that wouldnt necessarily be the case in the future. As time went on and players continued leveling up, unless Zero Wing could ensure that its peak experts kept up with other peak experts in terms of weapons, equipment, Skills, and Spells, it wouldnt matter even if these peak experts retained their combat standards. Their combat power would quickly fall behind other peak experts. Take the current situation where the various powers were fiercely competing over Tier 4 promotion resources, for example. If Zero Wing couldnt get its hands on any of these promotion resources, it didnt matter how many Tier 3 peak experts it had under its command. No amount of Tier 3 peak experts could compare to one Tier 4 peak expert. Meanwhile, their various powers were crucial in determining whether Asura and Zero Wing could get their hands on those Tier 4 promotion resources. The Boundary Mountain Ranges underground area had a harsh environment that drastically increased players Stamina and Concentration consumption. Fighting in the underground area was similar to fighting in the real world. Even Tier 6 God-ranked experts could, at most, kill a hundred players before running out of Stamina and Concentration. Once they exhausted themselves, theyd be helpless to the point where even ordinary players could kill them. A force of 500-plus peak experts might seem very strong, but such a force could do very little in the Boundary Mountain Ranges underground area. A force of 500 peak experts might not even be worth as much as a force of 5,000 Refinement Realm experts in the underground area. This was also why Asura could secure a place for itself in the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level despite having very few peak experts. You dont need to concern yourselves with this, Shi Feng said nonchalantly. I have only called you all here today to inform you that the Asura Mercenary Alliance will openly start a full-scale war with the Flower of Seven Sins. If you are willing to stay with Asura, grow with Asura, and fight against the Flower of Seven Sins, we are more than willing to welcome you. If not, we will not force you to stay. After saying so, Shi Feng didnt even bother to look at everyones reactions as he turned around and left the conference room, leaving everyone in the conference room in a daze. Chapter 3144 - Chapter 218 - Gods He left? He left, just like that? Jing Yang and the others in the conference room were taken aback when they saw Shi Feng leaving so abruptly and without showing any care about whether they withdrew from Asura. Even Liu Wusheng was stunned by this development. The current Asura Mercenary Alliance relied mainly on World Dominators and Blackwater to resist the Flower of Seven Sins. If these two Super Guilds withdrew from the mercenary alliance, Asura would most likely lose the ability to maintain its foothold in the Boundary Mountain Ranges underground area. When that happened, Asura could only watch as the Flower of Seven Sins many experts got promoted to Tier 4 and widened the gap between their two powers even further. After a moment of silence, Jing Yang turned to the elderly man from World Dominators and asked respectfully, What do you think of this situation, Elder Sword? Could Black Flame really be planning on entering the underground area with only five hundred peak experts? Jing Yang could ignore the opinions of Witchs Sins Liu Wusheng since the other party was only a Tier 5 expert even at his peak. While Jing Yang had also been a Tier 5 expert during his peak, he was much younger than Liu Wusheng. He still had a chance at getting promoted to Tier 6, but Liu Wushengs chances of reaching Tier 6 were most likely nonexistent with his advanced age. However, it was a different story for World Dominators Thousand Swords. Not only was Thousand Swords the Great Elder of World Dominators, but he was also a bona fide Tier 6 Sword God at his peak. He was an existence who had truly stood at the apex of Gods Domain before coming to the Miniature Ancient World. If that person from the Sin of Gluttony wasnt there, Black Flame might stand a chance, Thousand Swords said. Then, he shook his head and continued, But with that lunatic garrisoning that place, Black Flame stands no chance. Not to mention, aside from that lunatic, several other old friends are there as well. Even if Black Flame and I join hands, we are unlikely to come out of that place alive Sure enough, our investigation results are similar. Jing Yang wasnt particularly surprised when he heard Thousand Swords answer. Black Flame has no idea how deep the waters are in the Boundary Mountain Ranges underground area. He thinks he can act fearlessly with just one God-ranked expert and five hundred peak experts. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. Now that the War of Worlds was coming closer and closer, the various superpowers had also started sending more experts into the Miniature Ancient World. Even Tier 6 God-ranked experts were mobilized. It was just that nobody knew how many God-ranked experts each other had sent. However, according to the Blackwater Corporations sources, at least seven God-ranked experts were operating in the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level at all times! Moreover, there were even faint signs showing that the powers behind these God-ranked experts were planning on joining hands to monopolize the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. If that was true, itd become impossible for other powers to get a slice of the action. Find the original at Hosted Novel. Night arrived in the Miniature Ancient World, and bright lights illuminated Abyssal Star Citys streets. Players could be seen all over the city, either walking and talking merrily on the streets or enjoying a meal and a conversation with friends in restaurants and pubs. Meanwhile, at this time, every player in the city was talking about the same thingthe Asura Mercenary Alliance! After Zero Wing had mobilized a force of 500-plus peak experts to wipe out the Flower of Seven Sins forces in Windy Sand Town, the Asura Mercenary Alliance had subsequently declared an all-out war on the Flower of Seven Sins. For a time, the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers were in an uproar. The Flower of Seven Sins was the number one assassin organization in Gods Domain. The organization was also the only power to have turned the tables on the Five Great Super Guilds after being declared war on by them, causing the Five Great Super Guilds to suffer severe losses. Eventually, the Five Great Super Guilds even had to stop targeting the Flower of Seven Sins to stop their losses. Now that the Asura had publicly declared war on the Flower of Seven Sins, the mercenary alliances good days were undoubtedly coming to an end. Dont you think you are in too much of a rush, Guild Leader Black Flame? Hidden Soul asked worriedly as she looked at Shi Feng, who was sorting out documents behind his desk. Aside from Witchs Sin, Hundred Flower Palace, Mysterious Moon, and the Star Alliance, the other Guilds have all withdrawn from the mercenary alliance. With this, itll become even more difficult for us to enter the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level Hidden Soul wasnt against Shi Fengs decision to get rid of the fence-sitters in Asura as soon as possible. After all, these fence-sitters had only joined Asura because of the Lineage Crystals. They werent actual allies of Asura. On the contrary, these powers had even reduced the living space available for independent experts in Asura. Hence, it was a must to get rid of these fence-sitters. The only problem was that without the support of these powers, Asura wouldnt even have the strength necessary to get close to the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. Not to mention, unlike outsiders, Hidden Soul knew that Zero Wings so-called peak experts were merely a temporary product of the Hypersensitivity Potion. It might be fine if they had access to an unlimited supply of Hypersensitivity Potions, but that wasnt the case at all. Hypersensitivity Potions were incredibly valuable and limited in supply. So, they couldnt constantly be used as tools for combat. Rush? Shi Feng chuckled. Indeed, I am in a rush. After all, if they dont leave, Id have no way of carrying out the next step of my plan against the Flower of Seven Sins. The next step of your plan against the Flower of Seven Sins? Hidden Soul grew confused. Was what you did still not everything? Zero Wing might have gained a batch of Hypersensitivity Potions, but these potions had yet to transform into Zero Wings strength, let alone the Asura Mercenary Alliances strength. If they were to clash against the Flower of Seven Sins now, theyd have no chance of victory. Of course not, Shi Feng said. How are the preparations for the Seven Luminaries Crystals coming along? Ive collected all 3,000 units already, Hidden Soul said as he handed a bag full of Seven Luminaries Crystals to Shi Feng. Then, with a bitter smile, she continued, But we have also spent the last of our Lineage Crystals as a result. So, Im afraid well have a very difficult time resisting the Flower of Seven Sins from now on. Previously, many experts had joined Asura to resist the Flower of Seven Sins due to the allure of the Lineage Crystals. However, now that Asura had no more Lineage Crystals to offer, these experts naturally had no more reason to clash with the Flower of Seven Sins. Relax. We wont need outsiders to help us deal with the Flower of Seven Sins anymore. From now on, we will deal with this problem ourselves! After inspecting the bag of Seven Luminaries Crystals, Shi Feng chuckled as he took out the Abyss Workshop Certification from his bag. Then, he injected all 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals into the certificate, opening a World-Breaking Gate and connecting it to the World-Breaking Teleportation Array he had set up previously. Boom! Immediately, space in the middle of the office shattered, and a dark-gray rift slowly opened. After this spatial rift reached five meters in width, space within the room gradually stabilized. Then, several figures walked out from the dark-gray rift a moment later. Is this the world outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm? Chapter 3145 - Chapter 219 - Eighth Great Power Several figures walked out of the dark-gray rift one after another. Upon seeing these figures, Hidden Souls eyes widened in shock. This was because the people who had walked out of the rift were none other than the members of the Glimmer adventurer team and the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce. Both organizations were powers based in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Slumber City. Although only seven people had stepped through the rift, every one of these seven people had combat standards at the World Towers third-floor standard or higher. They were all existences that even the various superpowers would find tricky to deal with. More specifically, every one of these seven people was an expert who had gained the Temple Knight status. It was incredibly difficult for players to gain the Temple Knight status in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. This was the case even for third-floor experts. Out of all the third-floor experts in Slumber City, only around one-fifth of them had managed to pass the trial to become a Temple Knight. Meanwhile, every official Temple Knight possessed combat standards rivaling Tier 6 God-ranked experts, with some even surpassing God-ranked experts. Not to mention, Slumber Citys number one expert was even among the seven people who had stepped out of the rift. The Glimmering Sword, Laura Crader! Laura Crader was a monster whose strength was shrouded in mystery. She was also the only expert whose strength Hidden Soul had failed to see through. In addition to Laura Crader, the three vice commanders of Glimmer standing behind Laura also possessed extraordinary strength. Hidden Soul could feel an intense pressure coming from the two men and one woman. Out of the three vice commanders, the three-meter-tall middle-aged man that looked like a bear gave off a presence that was just as strong as Solitary Soul, the commander of the Death Curse adventurer team. If these four moved together, Hidden Soul doubted that thered be anyone who could go against them. It was especially true considering all four of these people had already reached Level 120 and were equipped with at least two or three Fragmented Legendary items. In terms of equipment standards, they undoubtedly stood at the top of the current Miniature Ancient World. / please keep reading on MYB0XN0VEL.C0M. Why is the Mana density here so much lower? Wordless Ember, a Level 116 Swordsman from Purple Light, muttered as he looked around in confusion. Wasnt the world outside supposed to be much better? According to the rumors circulating in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, there existed a much more expansive world outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, this outside world was vastly superior to the Stratified Abyssal Realm in many aspects. However, based on his senses, Wordless Ember found that the density of the Mana inside this office was much lower than the Mana in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. He even wondered if he had returned to the starting zone for a moment. This should be outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm. While the Mana density is indeed lower, the elemental composition of the Mana here is much more complex. The dark element only makes up a small percentage, so using Dark Skills and Spells wont bring us any more advantages. Moreover, I can feel that the restriction on Mana has lessened significantly. It has become much easier to release my Mana Domain, Sleeping Quicksand, a Level 117 Oracle, said definitively. You two be quiet, Echoing Judgment, the commander of Purple Light, said as he gave Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand a glare. Then, he turned to Shi Feng and said apologetically, Im sorry for their rude behavior, Mr. Black Flame. This is their first time leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm, so they cant help but get excited. Although many rumors mentioned the possibility of leaving the Stratified Abyssal Realm floating about in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, none had ever been verified. When Shi Feng had told him that he could bring people out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Echoing Judgment had thought that Shi Feng was joking with him. After all, it was the dream of countless players to leave the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Even the Dark Sanctuarys various powers didnt have a way to do so. So, there was no way Echoing Judgment could take Shi Fengs words seriously. However, it also didnt make sense for him to trick the Purple Light Chamber of Commerce. After all, on top of Shi Fengs status in Slumber City, Zero Wing was also currently receiving the full support of the Glimmer adventurer team. When it came to resources, Glimmer was leagues ahead of Purple Light. This was also the case in terms of combat power. Hence, despite his doubts, Echoing Judgment had agreed to Shi Fengs offer to bring some of Purple Lights members out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm periodically. In exchange, Purple Light would join the Asura Mercenary Alliance and fully support Zero Wings endeavors in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Subsequently, following the terms of their agreement, Echoing Judgment brought Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand to Zero Wings Shop, which was established on one of Slumber Citys Golden Lands. Then, after waiting for nearly a day, just when he started to wonder whether Shi Feng had tricked them, a spatial rift suddenly opened inside the Shops secret room. Moreover, this rift had actually brought them out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. This place might be outside the Stratified Abyssal Realm, but it is still only a Miniature Ancient World. So, the Mana density here is indeed inferior to the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, there is no level limit here, Shi Feng explained. You can also break through the limits of Tier 3 and ascend to higher tiers. So long as your tier is sufficiently high, you will also have an easier time once you enter the Greater Gods Domain in the future. At the very least, itll be much better than if you were to simply wait for the Stratified Abyssal Realm to merge with the Greater Gods Domain. There are no level and tier limits? Wordless Embers eyes glowed with excitement. The Stratified Abyssal Realms level and tier limit might have been fine if they werent aware of the existence of higher levels and tiers. However, there existed Tier 4 NPCs in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, any player who had seen the strength of Tier 4 NPCs would be lying if they said they werent interested in getting promoted to Tier 4. Meanwhile, when the four people from Glimmer heard Shi Fengs words, they had similarly shown hints of excitement on their faces. However, unlike Purple Lights members, Glimmers members werent surprised by the Miniature Ancient Worlds inferior Mana density. It was as if they had expected this situation, their faces strangely calm when they sensed their surrounding environment. Here is the information on this Miniature Ancient World. Take a look at it while you rest here for a while. Youll have many things you need to do afterward, Shi Feng said as he handed the seven people a compilation report on the Miniature Ancient World. Then, he left the office before Hidden Soul could even react to this unexpected development. Morning the next day, the sun rose in the Miniature Ancient World and shined its rays onto Abyssal Star City. After losing the various powers support, the number of players frequenting the Asura Mercenary Alliances headquarters had fallen by more than 80%. The number of Refinement Realm experts picking up quests in the quest area had also reduced to an unimaginable level. Meanwhile, inside the top-floor conference room, the round table that originally had twelve seats arranged around it currently had only four remaining. The conference room sure has become a lot quieter now that those Guilds are gone, Galaxy Past said, sighing as he looked at the somewhat empty conference room. Although we now have a lot less competition, it has also become a lot more difficult for us to face the Flower of Seven Sins. Galaxy Past had some matters he needed to deal with previously, so someone else had attended the previous conference in his place. However, he didnt think such an unexpected development would take place during the conference he had missed. The departure of World Dominators and Blackwater instantly caused the Asura Mercenary Alliance to lose its place in the Boundary Mountain Range. As if to rub salt into Asuras wound, after leaving the mercenary alliance, Blackwater, World Dominators, and the various first-rate powers had formed their own alliance and secured themselves a spot in the Boundary Mountain Range. Now, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was truly behind the various powers when it came to progressing toward the Tier 4 promotion. None of those powers have joined with sincere intentions, so its fine even if they leave Asura sooner than later. Although our progress toward Tier 4 might slow down a little, the mercenary alliance would have to deal with fewer leeches at the very least, Crimson Heart, who was representing Hundred Flower Palace, said nonchalantly. Moreover, Asura still retains a significant advantage when it comes to leveling up. It wont be too late for us to go and compete for the Boundary Mountain Ranges resources after we have reached an adequate level. It seems you are quite confident in Asuras future development, Vice Guild Leader Crimson. Do you perhaps have some insider information? Liu Wusheng asked curiously as he looked at Crimson Heart, who had not attended the previous meeting. According to Witchs Sins sources, Hundred Flower Palace shouldnt have a close relationship with Zero Wing. Yet, for some reason, Hundred Flower Palace suddenly appeared and started showing full support for Zero Wings decision. It had even gone as far as to invest all of its experts into resisting the Flower of Seven Sins and completing the Asura Mercenary Alliances quests to secure itself an administrative seat in Asura. It was as if Hundred Flower Palace possessed some kind of unknown confidence toward the Asura Mercenary Alliance. It didnt even show any concern toward Asura launching a full-scale war. This behavior was truly cause for suspicion. Its not really insider information. Im sure it wont be long before Guild Leader Black Flame tells it to you himself, Crimson Heart said with a faint smile. After experiencing the trip to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, Crimson Heart was very confident in the Asura Mercenary Alliances future. So long as Asura could receive a stable supply of Hypersensitivity Potions, given enough time, it absolutely would not have any trouble resisting the Flower of Seven Sins in the future. Asura might even become the Eighth Great Power in the Miniature Ancient World. Guild Leader Black Flame will tell us himself? Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past were confused by Crimson Hearts words. They couldnt understand why Crimson Heart was so confident that Asura could go up against the current Flower of Seven Sins. At this time, the doors to the conference room suddenly opened. Then, Shi Feng entered the room with a man and a woman following him. The man was a robust middle-aged man, while the woman was a rare beauty with long light-blue hair. Upon seeing the woman wearing a silver crown, Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and even Crimson Heart were shocked. Level 120? The Glimmering Sword? TL Notes: [1] Fyi, the Level 120? should be the thoughts of Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past, while the The Glimmering Sword? should be Crimson Hearts thought bubble. Chapter 3146 - Chapter 220 - Earth-Shattering TL Notes: [1]Glimmering Sword: Going by this chapters wording, it would seem that the author has forgotten that he had previously designated Glimmering Sword as Laura Craders nickname and has started to treat it as her actual ID? (Im still not exactly sure about this. This will only be proven when her ID appears in a system announcement or something system-related.) Black Flames level is already more than astonishing! Even someone who has grinded nonstop and without even going offline since the Miniature Ancient Worlds launch would, at best, match his level! But Level 120?! Who is this woman?! Shock and confusion filled Liu Wusheng when he saw Glimmering Swords level. Players would have their leveling speed plummet once they reached Level 100. Even the main force members of the various superpowers grinding in a map with abundant monsters would need two or three days to level up once. Players leveling speed would fall by another notch once they reached Level 110 in the Miniature Ancient World. This was because monsters outside the Boundary Mountain Range would not exceed Level 120. Not to mention, the level suppression in the Miniature Ancient World was much stronger than on the main continent. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM Overall, it should take at least another month of constant grinding for the various superpowers main force members to reach Level 120. Yet, the woman with light-blue hair walking had already reached Level 120, essentially surpassing the various superpowers progress by a month. Moreover, since Glimmering Sword had already reached Level 120, it meant that she could start exploring the core region of the Boundary Mountain Ranges underground area and challenge her Tier 4 promotion! How many secrets is Black Flame hiding? Galaxy Past was similarly shocked when he looked at Glimmering Sword. In the eyes of the average player, reaching Level 120 might not seem like a big deal. After all, it was only a difference of several levels. However, as the former Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild, Galaxy Past understood the significance of reaching Level 120. Glimmering Swords appearance would definitely change the current status quo in the Miniature Ancient World. This was because reaching Level 120 meant that Glimmering Sword could get promoted to Tier 4 before all other players. Meanwhile, so long as Glimmering Sword reached Tier 4, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would have an overwhelming advantage over the other powers. At that time, the mercenary alliance could monopolize the various resources available in the Boundary Mountain Range, and not even the Five Great Super Guilds would dare to have an opinion about it. Aside from Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past, Crimson Heart from Hundred Flower Palace was similarly shocked to see Glimmering Sword. In fact, the degree of shock she experienced was even greater than Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past. Didnt they say that the Stratified Abyssal Realms natives couldnt leave the Stratified Abyssal Realm? Confusion filled Crimson Hearts mind as she looked at Glimmering Sword. After living in the Stratified Abyssal Realm for ten days, Crimson Heart had already gained a good understanding of the situation there. There was no question that the Stratified Abyssal Realms players possessed combat standards far surpassing the players of their Gods Domain. In fact, just the experts in Slumber City were more than enough to trample over the entire Miniature Ancient World. After learning about the strength of the Stratified Abyssal Realms players, Crimson Heart had naturally thought of recruiting some of these experts and bringing them to the Miniature Ancient World. However, after looking through all available information, she came to the conclusion that none of the Stratified Abyssal Realms native players could leave. Although there was a rumor mentioning that there might be a way to do so at the Dark Sanctuary, that was only a rumor that had never been verified. Hence, Crimson Heart couldnt even begin to fathom what means Shi Feng had used to actually be able to bring players out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Meanwhile, after being in shock for a brief moment, Crimson Heart couldnt help but shudder in excitement. This was because she could already foresee the Miniature Ancient Worlds power structure undergoing a thorough change. At the end of these changes, the Five Great Super Guilds and the transcendental powers Secret Pavilion and Flower of Seven Sins would likely become history. These two here are Commander Glimmering Sword and Commander Echoing Judgment, Shi Feng said, briefly introducing Laura Crader and Echoing Judgment to the others in the room. They will be joining Asura from today on. Each of them will also hold an administrative seat in Asura. Glimmering Sword and Echoing Judgment nodded and proceeded to do a brief self-introduction before taking a seat at the table. Despite Shi Feng abruptly announcing that Glimmering Sword and Echoing Judgment would each occupy an administrative seat in Asura, nobody present objected to the decision or found it unfair. This was because the levels of Glimmering Sword and Echoing Judgment had already mentioned a lot of things. There was also a high likelihood that the two had come from the so-called Zero Wing behind Shi Feng. At this point, it was already very obvious that the Asura Mercenary Alliance was an auxiliary power of Zero Wing. So, Zero Wing naturally had the authority to decide which power could join and hold an administrative seat in the mercenary alliance. Not to mention, the stronger the Asura Mercenary Alliance became, the more beneficial it would be for the powers tied to Asura. Lets start discussing our subsequent actions, then, Shi Feng said after seeing that everyone was seated. Now that we have already declared an all-out war against the Flower of Seven Sins, we naturally have to do something to show for it. To ensure that we can make the Flower of Seven Sins truly feel the effects of our declaration of war, I plan to eliminate the Flower of Seven Sins main force in the Boundary Mountain Range. The main force of any power was the product of spending an astronomical amount of resources. A powers main force was usually responsible for raiding challenging monsters and exploring dangerous areas to secure advantages for the power they belonged to. Meanwhile, the death of even one main force member was enough to cause a powers heart to bleed. If a powers entire main force got wiped out, it would significantly impact the powers future development. Eliminate the Flower of Seven Sins main force? Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past were stunned by Shi Fengs words. Guild Leader Black Flame, isnt this too crazy? Hurriedly, Liu Wusheng said, The Flower of Seven Sins main force is currently being led by the Sin of Gluttonys commander. In addition, the several great alliances have already monopolized the second underground level. With Asuras current strength, we probably cant even get past the second levels entrance, let alone enter the second level to target the Flower of Seven Sins main force Due to the Boundary Mountain Ranges unique environment, the quantity of experts had become much more important than quality. Moreover, because the Flower of Seven Sins main force operated in the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level, theyd have to reach the second underground level before they could eliminate the Flower of Seven Sins main force. However, the various great alliances had already monopolized the second underground level. The average alliance couldnt even get close to it, let alone the Asura Mercenary Alliance. I agree. After Blackwater and World Dominators withdrawal, Asura only has a few thousand Refinement Realm experts remaining. Even if we invest all of them into the Boundary Mountain Range, it still wouldnt be enough to go up against the Flower of Seven Sins several tens of thousands of Refinement Realm experts Galaxy Past said. If Blackwater and World Dominators hadnt withdrawn from the Asura Mercenary Alliance, Asura might have had the ability to clash against the alliance formed by the Flower of Seven Sins. However, with the situation as it was, Asura had no hope of contending against the Flower of Seven Sins. Not to mention, the bounty the Flower of Seven Sins had put on Asura was still in effect. It might be a little crazy, but we arent without a chance, Shi Feng said as he looked at Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past. I dont plan on mobilizing a large number of Refinement Realm experts. Instead, well be sneaking into the second underground level with only a 100-man team. So long as we are fast enough, we can enter the second level before the great alliances can react. Sneak in with only a 100-man team? Liu Wusheng frowned when he heard Shi Fengs plan. The several great alliances might not have formed a blockade yet, and we can indeed move quickly in a 100-man team, but well have difficulty breaking through if we come across a 1,000-man team. If we get held down for too long, well only get surrounded and killed Galaxy Past nodded in agreement, thinking that Shi Fengs plan was too crazy. Shi Feng might be a God-ranked expert, but the several great alliances similarly had God-ranked experts guarding the entrance to the second underground level. So, the Asura Mercenary Alliance had no advantages over the great alliances. Since Guild Leader Black Flame has already said so, Hundred Flower Palace is willing to participate in this operation, Crimson Heart suddenly said. Mysterious Moon is also willing to send players for this operation, Zhuo Yalin said, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Similar to Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past, Zhuo Yalin also felt that Shi Fengs plan carried great risk. One unexpected encounter could easily result in the dispatched experts being wiped out. However, Lin Yaoyue, who stood next to her, had urged her to agree to the plan, so she decided to trust her friends judgment. Meanwhile, Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past couldnt help but grow confused when they saw Hundred Flower Palace and Mysterious Moon agreeing to Shi Fengs crazy plan. They couldnt understand why the two Guilds were so confident in Zero Wing. After all, the operation involved them entering a lions den filled with tens of thousands of Refinement Realm experts. This simply wasnt a force the current Asura Mercenary Alliance could go up against. Fine. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. The Star Alliance is also willing to participate, Galaxy Past said, gritting his teeth. Hed be lying if he said he wasnt interested in gaining access to the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. After all, the second underground level held crucial information pertaining to the Tier 4 promotion. Since Zero Wing, Hundred Flower Palace, and Mysterious Moon were willing to take the risk, the Star Alliance naturally couldnt shrink back. It seems Im going to have to work these old bones again. Witchs Sin is also willing to join, Liu Wusheng said, sighing deeply. Chapter 3147 - Chapter 221 - Boundary Mountain Range The Boundary Mountain Range consisted of a series of snow-white mountains that spanned the entire Miniature Ancient World. The mountain range was shrouded in space-time rifts all year round, and even Tier 4 Mythic monsters with the ability to fly did not dare to approach the mountain ranges airspace. If players wished to cross the Boundary Mountain Range, they could only do so via the pathways inside the mountain range. Even so, these seemingly safer pathways were by no means safe as many Void Creatures inhabited them. No single party of players could survive inside the mountain range on its own. Currently, though, these monster-infested pathways had become a popular grinding spot for the teams of the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers. Ranged DPS, quickly get rid of those Void Larvae! Do not let them get close to our frontline! Otherwise, their Mana Explosions will wipe out our MTs! a Level 109 young man wearing World Dominators Guild Emblem shouted. MTs, activate your Damage Reduction Skills! The Void Devourers are coming! At this time, several hundred Level 113 Great Lord ranked Void Larvae and several dozen Level 114 Grand Lord ranked Void Devourers could be seen charging at World Dominators team. Of the two types of monsters, the Void Devourers were translucent beasts that corroded and plundered all life from their surroundings with their presence alone. If a Tier 3 expert without sufficiently high Magic Resistance got within twenty meters of a Void Devourer, it wouldnt take more than five seconds before they died from corrosion. However, after World Dominators 30-plus MTs activated their respective Tier 3 Damage Reduction Skills, they managed to hold their ground against the Void Devourers and prevent the monsters from getting anywhere close to the teams rear line. As for the Void Larvae flying in mid-air, they were warded off by the teams ranged DPS. Any Void Larvae that tried to get close to the teams MTs would be either repelled by attacks or restrained by Skills and Spells. The precision and coordination World Dominators members showed far exceeded what the average expert could achieve. In less than twenty minutes, World Dominators team had managed to eliminate all of the several hundred Void Larvae and several dozen Void Devourers. World Dominators teams performance stunned the other teams that were passing by. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM As expected of a Super Guilds team. Even though we are all Refinement Realm experts, they are much stronger than us. It feels like every one of them is close to reaching the Flowing Water Realm. I know, right? Thank goodness we joined World Dominators alliance. With World Dominators and Blackwaters teams taking the lead, we can level up much more safely. The teams that chose to stick with Asura are probably feeling miserable right about now. Without the two Super Guilds protection, they cant even enter the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level. The various powers teams began a hushed discussion among themselves when they saw World Domaintors team concluding its battle with relative ease. The changes that took place in the Asura Mercenary Alliance were too sudden. Originally, they thought they could continue leeching off Asuras contribution system for a little longer. However, after Asura had abruptly declared an all-out war on the Flower of Seven Sins, they had no choice but to leave the mercenary alliance ahead of time. As players levels increased, the various superpowers advantages would become more and more prominent. This was naturally also the case for the Flower of Seven Sins. So, the Asura Mercenary Alliances decision to go against Gods Domains number one assassin organization was no different than suicide. While the various powers teams were holding their discussions, a young and beautiful girl in World Dominators team approached the young man leading the team at the front. Then, in an excited tone, she said, A message just came in from Teacher, Commander! He wants the two of us to gather at the second underground levels entrance as soon as possible! Teacher has secured two slots for us in the exploration team this time, so we can also fight for the first wave of Tier 4 promotion opportunities! Were getting a chance as well? Gu Yiren, the young man, clenched his fists excitedly when he heard the news. The next moment, though, he gnashed his teeth in frustration and said, If it werent for Zero Wing, we would have never had to get Teacher to help us with this matter! It couldnt be helped, Tao Yuwei said, sighing when she recalled their current situation. Because of their failure to annihilate Mysterious Moon, they were forced to settle in a second-tier team. Now, they even had to rely on their teacher to secure them a chance to get promoted to Tier 4. They would have never needed to resort to such a method if it were in the past. Zero Wing was just too strong back then. Even our entire Guild couldnt do anything against Zero Wing, let alone the two of us. However, now that Zero Wing has chosen to thoroughly make an enemy out of the Flower of Seven Sins, it wont be long before Zero Wing and Asura meet their doom. Yes, youre right. Gu Yiren nodded, his mood becoming much better after hearing Tao Yuweis words. Although Gu Yiren had thought of getting revenge on Zero Wing, he could never think of a way since Zero Wings Black Flame simply wasnt an opponent he could go up against right now. Fortunately, Black Flame had decided to thoroughly offend the Flower of Seven Sins. It should be known that all seven of the Flower of Seven Sins seven commanders were Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Meanwhile, the organization had dispatched three of its commanders to the Miniature Ancient World to ensure its advantage in the struggle for the Boundary Mountain Range. Thus, it was utterly foolish for Zero Wing to make an enemy out of the Flower of Seven Sins while having only one God-ranked expert under its command. Just as Gu Yiren was about to have his team advance to the second underground levels entrance, a 100-man team of mounted players sped past his team. Among these 100 players, the player in the lead rode on a snowy-white three-tailed giant wolf that was seven meters tall. That Mount Is that Black Flame? Gu Yiren wondered when he saw the familiar giant wolf disappearing into the distance. That giant wolf should be the Thunder Wolf. It had caused quite the sensation when it first appeared in hundred Flow City. Only Black Flame is known to have a Thunder Wolf, so that person should be Black Flame, Tao Yuwei said, affirming Gu Yirens guess. But why would Black Flame be heading in that direction? Did he also learn about the news regarding the second underground level, so he has decided to enter the second level as well? Black Flame! I didnt think he would dare to come here! Gu Yiren suddenly smiled. I thought I would never get a chance to have my revenge. Since he has decided to send himself to my doorsteps, Ill gladly take this opportunity! After saying so, Gu Yiren had Tao Yuwei spread the news of Black Flame appearing in the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level. He also made sure to inform the Flower of Seven Sins about this. Subsequently, news of Shi Feng leading a team into the Boundary Mountain Range quickly spread across the entire first underground level. Boundary Mountain Range, second underground levels entrance: Who does Black Flame think he is? Just because he is a God-ranked expert, he thinks he can barge into the Boundary Mountain Range with only so few experts? Jing Yang couldnt help but laugh when he read the report he had just received. Then, he turned to look at the various great alliances army of experts gathered in front of him and continued, I wonder how much hell regret his actions when he reaches here? Not long ago, the several great alliances had thoroughly blocked off the second underground levels entrance. Even after Blackwater and World Dominators had joined forces, they had only managed to secure one hundred slots to enter the second underground level. As for the other superpowers, some didnt even manage to secure ten slots for themselves. Meanwhile, to ensure that nobody could sneak into the second underground level, the several great alliances had dispatched a total of 20,000 Refinement Realm experts to guard the second levels entrance at all times. Moreover, as many as three God-ranked experts were tasked with leading this army. Among them, one of them was even Death Omen, the commander of the Flower of Seven Sins Sin of Pride. Faced against a force of three God-ranked experts and 20,000 Refinement Realm experts and above, even World Dominators almighty Great Elder Thousand Swords dared not act rashly. All he could do was grit his teeth and accept the several great alliances arrangements, leading only a 100-man team into the second underground level. As for Black Flame, he wouldnt have such luck even if he came here! Chapter 3148 - Chapter 222 - One Person is Enough! Boundary Mountain Range, second underground levels entrance: Currently, a super-large magic barrier that covered a 1,000-yard radius and was maintained by 324 players had thoroughly enveloped the cavern that led to the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. A Crimson Demon Barrier! To think you Five Great Super Guilds would be willing to make such a huge investment! Thousand Swords, a white-haired old man who had reached Level 110, exclaimed as he looked at the white-robed old man with a graying beard standing next to him. Even though he was around the same age as the gray-bearded old man, he dared not act rashly around the other party. This was because the old Elementalist was Chiyang Tianhe, the Honorary Elder of one of the Five Great Super Guilds Solar Temple. When Chiyang Tianhe first entered Gods Domain, he was already an old monster only half a step away from the Beyond Domain Realm. Now that ten years had gone by already, combined with the abundant resources provided by Solar Temple, Thousand Swords couldnt even begin to imagine how strong Chiyang Tianhe had become. It was especially so now that Chiyang Tianhe was standing within a Crimson Demon Barrier. The Crimson Demon Barrier was a large-scale Master Magic Array that required 324 Master Magicians to operate. It was one of the best Master Magic Array in Gods Domain, and the materials required to form a Crimson Demon Barrier were enough to leave a huge hole in a first-rate Guilds pockets. In exchange for the exorbitant operational costs, the Crimson Demon Barrier could reduce the Basic Attributes of even Tier 4 Mythic monsters by 30% or more. The barrier was also incredibly sturdy, able to withstand hundreds of attacks from a Mythic monster outside the barrier and double that number from the inside. Moreover, players couldnt teleport while inside the barrier. Unless a Tier 5 player appeared, the Crimson Demon Barrier was essentially a small yet unshakable fortress. The second underground level is worth this price, Chiyang Tianhe, who had reached Level 112 already, said, a faint smile forming on his face as he looked at the Crimson Demon Barrier. Anyway, Im quite surprised you would abandon the main continent. It seems World Dominators is quite invested in the Miniature Ancient World. Or have you reached a bottleneck and are trying to find a breakthrough here? Both, Thousand Swords said, not bothering to hide this information. What about you? Will Solar Temple really be fine letting its Honorary Elder come to the Miniature Ancient World? / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM Im old. The Guilds youngsters are also becoming more and more talented with every subsequent generation, so Im confident in leaving the Guild in their hands, Chiyang Tianhe said, chuckling. Also, it honestly relieves me that World Dominators has withdrawn from Asura. Otherwise, fighting you is going to be a headache. Even if you dont have to fight me, youll probably still be getting a headache in a moment, Thousand Swords said, curling his lips. He did not believe anything that Chiyang Tianhe had said about getting a headache from fighting him. Are you talking about Zero Wings Black Flame? Curiously, Chiyang Tianhe asked, Is he very strong? I dont know, Thousand Swords said, shaking his head. I cannot see through his strength. However, since he managed to get even Hidden Soul to acknowledge him, I doubt he will be weaker than me. That little girl is indeed amazing. Despite never reaching Tier 6, her combat standard and techniques are in no way inferior to actual God-ranked experts. If Black Flame received that little girls acknowledgment, he would be quite the interesting opponent to fight, Chiyang Tianhe said, nodding his head. Then, he looked toward a young woman and a middle-aged man standing nearby and continued, But Im afraid Black Flame has made an unwise decision to come here this time. While I might not hold any personal opinions against Asura, the youngsters from the Flower of Seven Sins and Sacred Temple are unlikely to go easy on him. Hearing this, Thousand Swords also turned to look at the young woman and middle-aged man without objecting to Chiyang Tianhes comment. Of the two people in question, the young woman was the Flower of Seven Sins Death Omen, while the middle-aged man was Sacred Temples Ruthless Sky. In the case of Death Omen, she was the most talented female Assassin that had appeared in the Flower of Seven Sins in recent years. Even with his current strength, Thousand Swords would feel frightened when he imagined Death Omen coming after his life. As for Sacred Temples Ruthless Sky, aside from being the Gale Sword Meister, one of the Eight Sword Meisters in Gods Domain, he was also an expert close to reaching the Domain Realms third step. In the future, there was no doubt he would join the ranks of old monsters. With these two people here, even if Chiyang Tianhe abstained from taking action, Thousand Swords doubted that Shi Feng could beat either of them while inside the Crimson Demon Barrier. If the two of them worked together, Shi Feng would most likely fall. This was why Thousand Swords had previously told Jing Yang that they were unlikely to enter the second underground level even if he worked with Shi Feng. Just the fact that Solar Temples Honorary Elder Chiyang Tianhe was guarding the second levels entrance already made this place an impenetrable fortress. On top of that, the place was even guarded by Death Omen, Ruthless Sky, and a force of 20,000 Refinement Realm experts or above. While Thousand Swords and Chiyang Tianhe were happily conversing, a 100-man team suddenly appeared at the caverns entrance. Along with the teams arrival, the players in the cavern couldnt help but turn their attention to the snowy-white wolf standing at the front of the team. Its Black Flame! Black Flame is here! I thought the report just now was nothing but a joke. I really didnt expect that the Asura Mercenary Alliance would dare to come here. They probably dont know that the several great alliances have already joined forces. Black Flame must be feeling quite shocked right about now. In addition to three God-ranked experts, there are also 20,000 Refinement Realm experts guarding this place. Even if Black Flame says that he is only here to target the Flower of Seven Sins, the other powers in the alliance probably wont sit by and do nothing. The various powers members grinned and snickered when they saw Asuras team appearing at the caverns entrance, finding Asuras ignorance of the situation amusing. The Asura Mercenary Alliance might have thought that it had the strength to go against the Flower of Seven Sins after Zero Wings victory in Windy Sand Town, but the mercenary alliance had no idea just how powerful the Flower of Seven Sins actually was. Not to mention, Asuras opponent this time wasnt limited to just the Flower of Seven Sins. The mercenary alliance would also need to clash against the various superpowers that had joined forces with the Flower of Seven Sins. Theyre here? Death Omen narrowed her eyes as she focused her gaze on a masked woman in Shi Fengs team. This masked woman was none other than Hidden Soul, the Sin of Prides former commander. Then, Death Omen smiled as she said, This time, Ill let you know how laughable your decision is. Meanwhile, over at Shi Fengs team, Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past revealed somber expressions on their faces when they saw the army of experts ahead of them. Why are there so many experts gathered here? A Crimson Demon Barrier! This is probably something only the Five Great Super Guilds can take out. Moreover, why are the Flower of Seven Sins and Five Great Super Guilds members together? Did they join forces? Before making their way here, they had already heard rumors of the several great alliances joining forces to monopolize the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. However, they didnt think that the great alliances would act so quickly. God-ranked experts and a Crimson Demon Barrier With this, nobody can enter the second underground level without permission from the several great alliances Zhuo Yalin said, an ugly expression forming on her face when she saw the army of Refinement Realm experts in front of her. At this moment, she even doubted that their team could leave this place safely. It should be known that their team had passed by many of the several great alliances experts on their way here. So long as the Flower of Seven Sins contacted these experts, they could launch a pincer attack on their team. Do we have to enter that place to search for clues relating to the Tier 4 promotion, Guild Leader Black Flame? Glimmering Sword suddenly asked as she looked at the entrance at the other end of the cavern. It should be right there. Shi Feng nodded. In that case, leave it to me to break through here, Glimmering Sword said as she jumped off her Mount and approached the Crimson Demon Barrier. Are you insane, Commander Glimmer? Liu Wusheng was stunned when he saw Glimmering Sword walking forward by herself. Hurriedly, he said, Thats not a place you can go by yourself! Although Glimmering Sword had reached Level 120 already, the advantages she had in Basic Attributes would be mitigated under the effects of the Crimson Demon Barrier. You dont need to worry, Elder Liu, Kasio, the three-meter-tall middle-aged man from Glimmer, said with a casual smile. The commander can handle a battle of this degree all by herself. Chapter 3149 - Chapter 223 – A Goddess Appears Chapter 223 C A Goddess Appears TL Notes: (23rd-June-2022) Changes: Glimmering Sword -> Shimmering Sword (Laura Craders nickname/ID) Glimmer adventurer team -> Shimmer adventurer team All by herself? Liu Wusheng looked at the three-meter-tall man standing in front of him in confusion. If he couldnt see that Kasio was similarly Level 120 and feel the frightening pressure the other party radiated, he would have absolutely thought that Kasio was joking with him. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM Setting the 20,000 Refinement Realm experts aside, just the presence of the three God-ranked experts and the Crimson Demon Barrier was already enough to elevate the defenses of this place to the level of a fortress. Not to mention, due to the Boundary Mountain Ranges environment, players would expend Stamina and Concentration much quicker. The destructive power of all Skills and Spells would also be severely weakened. While subjected to these penalties, even a God-ranked expert would die from exhaustion if they tried to fight against a force of 1,000 Refinement Realm experts. Lets trust in Commander Shimmer, Elder Liu, Shi Feng said after thinking it over. Shi Feng was honestly curious to see how strong Laura Crader was. After all, he had never heard of this name before. Yet, judging by Lauras achievements in Slumber City, it didnt make sense that he had never heard of her when Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand had spread their names across the entire Greater Gods Domain. Since Laura was willing to take action, Shi Feng naturally welcomed it. Even if Laura ended up not being a match for the enemies, Shi Feng still had the strength to resist the Flower of Seven Sins. Liu Wusheng stopped speaking after hearing Shi Fengs words. It didnt matter whether they attacked as a team or sent only one person, anyway. Nothing would change with how many powerful enemies they faced. Meanwhile, Hidden Soul, Crimson Heart, Gentle Snow, Lin Yaoyue, Su Qianliu, and Rampant Blade couldnt help but focus their minds as they watched Laura walking into the distance. If it was before they had entered the Stratified Abyssal Realm, none of them would believe that a single person could go up against the powerful army before them. However, after experiencing the Stratified Abyssal Realm, they felt that if it was Laura Crader, the person publicly acknowledged as Slumber Citys number one expert many years ago, it might just be possible to accomplish this impossible feat. After all, despite how powerful Solitary Soul, the Death Curse adventurer teams commander, had shown himself to be, he had merely gained the qualifications to challenge Laura. Moreover, that was the Laura Crader of several years ago. Currently, aside from the Shimmer adventurer teams several vice commanders, probably nobody else knew how strong Slumber Citys number one expert was currently. Now that they had the opportunity to witness Laura in action, they could use this opportunity to gauge how powerful she was exactly. The Boundary Mountain Range was battered by snowstorms all year round. Even the tunnels underneath the mountain range constantly had freezing winds billowing in them. As her long, light-blue hair fluttered along with these howling winds, Laura took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on the Crimson Demon Barrier situated a thousand yards away from her. Then, she took a step forward and vanished, leaving behind an afterimage as she charged at the distant barrier like a lightning bolt. What speed! Galaxy Past was stunned when he saw that Laura had already disappeared from her original location. Galaxy Past used to be a Tier 5 expert. Even if he was now only at Tier 3, his five senses were so sensitive that he could perceive the movements of Tier 4 Mythic monsters with perfect clarity. Yet, now, none of his senses could keep up with Lauras movements Meanwhile, inside the Crimson Demon Barrier, the several great alliances members laughed when they saw a lone figure suddenly approaching their direction. Why is that woman walking over by herself? Dont tell me she got scared and is here to surrender? That woman sure is pretty. She can definitely give those publicly acknowledged goddesses a run for their money. Its a pity that shes with the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Even if she comes over to surrender, I doubt the people from the Flower of Seven Sins will spare her. Nobody was surprised to see the Asura Mercenary Alliances team halting their advance. After all, anybody who saw their formation would be scared witless. What they did not expect was for Asuras team to send only one player over. After all, this could only mean one of two things. Either Asura was trying to negotiate or surrender. However, so long as Asuras team wasnt made up of idiots, they would understand that any negotiations would be futile. In that case, it could only mean that Asura was planning to surrender. After all, this was the only way Asuras team could safely leave the Boundary Mountain Range. Otherwise, death would be the only outcome that awaited the team. Foolish! Do they think they can still surrender after all this time? Death Omen revealed a contemptuous expression as she looked at the approaching Laura Crader. Wolf, head over with a team and kill her! Understood! Summer Wolf responded. Then, he quickly organized a team of thirty Flower of Seven Sins core members. In the Boundary Mountain Range, such a team was more than enough to kill a God-ranked expert. However, before Summer Wolf and his chosen teammates could get on their Mounts, Laura Crader suddenly vanished from everyones vision, leaving behind only an afterimage and a streak of flowing light. A God-ranked expert? Death Omens eyes narrowed, a wary expression appearing on her face. The only players who could move so quickly at Tier 3 that they could escape her senses were God-ranked experts adept at footwork and nobody else. It seems I have underestimated Asura, Thousand Swords thought to himself, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes when he saw Laura Crader disappearing. I didnt think there would be another God-ranked expert hidden in Asura. With her level of footwork, few from even the Five Great Super Guilds could match her. During the brief moment everyone was in a daze, Laura Crader had reappeared above the Crimson Demon Barrier, her light-blue longsword giving off a dazzling glow that brightly illuminated the entire cavern. What is she trying to do? Is she trying to attack the Crimson Demon Barrier? Is she trying to make a desperate attempt? The Crimson Demon Barrier can withstand several hundred attacks from even a Mythic monster on the outside. She will only be wasting her Stamina by attacking the barrier. When the several great alliances members saw Laura seemingly launching an attack on the Crimson Demon Barrier, they couldnt help but feel that the woman had a few screws loose in her head. After all, rather than utilize her astonishing speed to flee out of the Boundary Mountain Range, Laura was attacking the Crimson Demon Barrier instead. Such an action was beyond foolish. The next moment, a ray of light, which moved so fast that nobody could react, landed on the Crimson Demon Barrier. Ping! Followed by a crisp sound echoing throughout the cavern, a hole the size of a thumb had appeared on the Crimson Demon Barrier. Meanwhile, following this small holes appearance, cracks began forming all over the barrier. Subsequently, accompanied by the sound of shattering glass, the entire barrier broke apart into countless particles of light that scattered across the ground. Meanwhile, before anyone knew it, Laura Crader had already appeared next to the second underground levels entrance, her longsword back in its sheath. At this time, as if time had stopped moving, the whole world fell silent Chapter 3150 - Chapter 224 - Shimmering Sword TL Notes: Another change (24-June-2022): Shimmer adventurer team -> Glimmer adventurer team It shattered When everyone saw the Crimson Demon Barrier disintegrating into particles of light and the woman with light-blue hair standing amidst these light particles, an indescribable sense of shock filled their minds. The Crimson Demon Barrier had risen to fame on the main continent many years ago. Back then, before anyone had reached Tier 4, the Crimson Demon Barrier was nicknamed The Infallible Fortress. It was also the several great alliances most powerful trump card for monopolizing the Boundary Mountain Ranges second level. Once the Crimson Demon Barrier was deployed, even an army of ten million Tier 3 experts attacking simultaneously couldnt break it. In fact, the barrier would remain unfazed even after taking a hit from a Magic Cannon. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM If one were to talk about the Crimson Demon Barriers flaws, there would only be oneits ridiculous Mana consumption. Not only did the Crimson Demon Barrier require many magical class players to maintain, but it also consumed upwards of 100,000 Magic Crystals per day. Yet, now, some unknown woman had actually shattered the Crimson Demon Barrier in one hit Who is she? Summer Wolf, who had just climbed onto his Mount, couldnt help but look at Laura Crader in fear and disbelief. The Boundary Mountain Ranges special environment weakened the attacks of all players by a significant margin. Even former Tier 6 God-ranked experts would have difficulty killing peak experts in one move. Out of the experts he had chosen to bring with him, he was confident that any one of them would, at most, lose one-third of their HP when facing an offensive combat technique executed by a God-ranked expert. With the abilities of Tier 3 healers, it wouldnt take more than two or three seconds to heal a near-death MT to full health. It would take even less time to heal the players he had chosen since all of them were of a DPS class. This was why he was confident he could whittle even a God-ranked expert to death with his team. However, Summer Wolf changed his mind after seeing Lauras attack. An attack capable of destroying the Crimson Demon Barrier in one hit was something not even a Tier 3 MT with a Damage Reduction Skill activated could survive. Moreover, Summer Wolf didnt even manage to see Lauras attack previously. By the time he realized that Laura had released her attack, a small hole had already appeared in the barrier. The speed of the womans attack was unfathomably fast. At this time, the several great alliances members werent the only ones dumbfounded by this situation, Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and the others were similarly astounded. It was too fast! Lauras attack was so fast that none of them had managed to react. For a moment, they even suspected whether Laura was a high-tiered NPC in disguise and whether she was actually a player. This is the strength of Slumber Citys strongest player? Hidden Soul was deeply shocked as she looked at Lauras distant figure. Although she had long since known that the woman known as Laura Crader would be incredibly powerful, she didnt think it would be to such an extent. Out of all the Tier 6 God-ranked experts she knew, none of them could achieve such speed at Tier 3. An Advanced Silver Footwork and an Advanced Silver Combat Technique! Shi Feng was similarly surprised by Lauras performance. Unlike Hidden Soul and the others, Shi Feng had many years of experience wandering the expansive Greater Gods Domain, and he had encountered numerous God-ranked experts during his travels. Thus, he instantly recognized that Laura had only managed to exhibit such speed and power with her attack because she had used an Advanced Silver Combat Technique. Meanwhile, every individual he knew that had mastered an Advanced Silver Combat Technique was a peerless monster capable of ranking within the Greater Gods Domains Seven Luminaries Ranking List. Of course, Laura hadnt relied on only an Advanced Silver Combat Technique to break the Crimson Demon Barrier in one hit. On top of that, she had also located the barriers mana node. The mana node was the convergence point for all of the barriers Mana. So long as it was destroyed, the barriers mana flow would crumble. However, locating a barriers mana node was incredibly challenging. Even the persons responsible for constructing and maintaining the barrier wouldnt know its location. This was because the mana nodes location was constantly changing based on the players maintaining it. Specifically, the nodes location changed based on the varying flow rate and strength of the Mana supplied. Moreover, even the smallest of changes could affect the nodes location. Meanwhile, with over 300 players operating the Crimson Demon Barrier, trying to locate the mana nodes location was nigh-impossible. This was also why most people deemed that only Tier 4 attacks or above could destroy the Crimson Demon Barrier. Yet, Laura Crader had located the Crimson Demon Barriers mana node in the blink of an eye. Her perception and grasp toward mana were simply unbelievable. After a moment, Shi Feng hurriedly shouted, The barriers down! Advance! When Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and the others heard this, they promptly snapped out of their dazes and followed Shi Feng to the second underground levels entrance on their Mounts. An ordinary Tier 3 player sprinting at full speed would only need around thirty seconds to cover a distance of two thousand yards. With the help of a Bronze Mount, they could cover this distance in under ten seconds. Now that the Crimson Demon Barrier was no longer obstructing the way and the several great alliances members were still in a daze, this was the perfect opportunity for them to charge into the second underground level. Not good! Theyre charging at the entrance! When the several great alliances members recovered from their shock, Shi Fengs team was already within a thousand yards of the second underground levels entrance. Dont even think of getting past us! When Death Omen saw Shi Fengs team charging for the entrance, she hurriedly shouted, Wolf, distract them! Everyone else, guard the entrance with your lives! At this time, Summer Wolf and his team had already gotten on their Mounts, so they were the most suitable candidates to intercept Shi Fengs team. After all, the average Tier 3 Refinement Realm expert could run nowhere near as fast as a Bronze Mount. Meanwhile, so long as Summer Wolfs team could buy enough time for a few thousand players to gather at the entrance, theyd be able to take down Shi Fengs team easily. Meanwhile, Chiyang Tianhe and Ruthless Sky had also promptly made their way to the entrance. Although neither of them had any grievances with the Asura Mercenary Alliance, it was to their benefit to prevent outsiders from entering the second underground level. If they allowed Asura to freely enter the second underground level, the other alliances that were subjected to the several great alliances oppression and arrangement would definitely have an opinion and try to secure more entry slots for themselves. They might even try to mimic Asura and forcibly break through. When Summer Wolf and his team of peak experts had moved within three hundred yards of Shi Fengs team, a figure suddenly appeared before them. This figure was none other than Laura Crader, the person responsible for destroying the Crimson Demon Barrier. At this time, Laura Crader had already unsheathed the shimmering rapier[1] she carried around her waist and was poised to strike. Upon seeing this, the members of Summer Wolfs team couldnt help but grow fearful and hesitate. Noticing his teams anxiety, Summer Wolf shouted, What are you scared of?! We are in the Boundary Mountain Range, and she is alone! Even if she can kill one of us with every hit, how many times do you think she can repeat that attack?! After thinking it over, everyone quickly realized that Summer Wolfs words made sense. The Boundary Mountain Ranges environment not only reduced the standard of players Stamina but also increased the burden of using Skills, Spells, and combat techniques by several times. Even a God-ranked expert using only basic combat techniques couldnt fight in the Boundary Mountain Range for a long time, much less use combat techniques as powerful as the one Laura had used previously. Immediately, everyone stopped hesitating and charged at Laura. However, when Summer Wolfs team resumed its charge, Laura had long since disappeared from her original location, transforming into a streak of flowing light and arriving next to Summer Wolfs in the blink of an eye, Then, she began stabbing and slashing at the mounted players around her, those targeted by her attacks disappearing from their Mounts after getting hit. Dont even think of getting rid of me so easily! Summer Wolf hurriedly activated his Tier 3 Berserk Skill Rampant Shadow, the Skill drastically increasing his Attack Speed and reaction speed. It had also increased his Strength and Defense by 100%. One attack Two attacks Three attacks With each subsequent attack Summer Wolf blocked, the fear in his heart grew deeper and deeper. This was because he found it increasingly difficult to keep up with Lauras attacks. The feedback he received from the attacks he blocked also grew stronger with every subsequent attack. By the eighth attack, Summer Wolf could no longer keep up with Lauras speed. He could only watch as Lauras rapier cut across his neck one time after another, continuously draining his HP until nothing was left. Meanwhile, this entire clash lasted no more than two seconds. From an outsiders perspective, Laura had merely charged into Summer Wolfs team. Then, Summer Wolf and his teammates had suddenly vanished from their Mounts. After taking care of Summer Wolfs team, Laura sheathed her rapier, jumped into the air, and landed on the back of Shi Fengs Mount. Then, together with Shi Fengs team, she disappeared into the second underground levels entrance TL Notes: [1]rapier: The rapier mentioned in this chapter wasnt described in much detail, so I cant tell if it is Lauras second weapon or if the author forgot that the weapon Laura previously used was a light-blue longsword. I have also double-checked Chapter 223 and made sure that she was using a longsword. For now, I am going to assume that the rapier is Lauras second weapon. Chapter 3151 - Chapter 225 - Birth of a Legend Dammit! When Death Omen, who wore crimson leather armor, saw Shi Fengs team disappearing, rage instantly filled her eyes. She could have intercepted Shi Fengs team had she had a few more seconds. Then, she could have bought time for Chiyang Tianhe, Ruthless Sky, and the rest of their army to arrive. At that time, they could definitely keep Shi Fengs team in the first underground level. She is most likely at the Beyond Domain Realm already Chiyang Tianhe was very surprised when he saw Laura Crader in action. To think an expert of such caliber would come to our Miniature Ancient World. Could Zero Wing be insane? Unlike Death Omen, Chiyang Tianhe wasnt blinded by rage, so he could process the situation with a calm mind. Meanwhile, his evaluation of the situation confused him greatly. Beyond Domain Realm experts were extraordinarily rare, even among the Five Great Super Guilds. They were the ceiling of the Five Great Super Guilds combat power. They were also a large part of why the Five Great Super Guilds could have their current positions. Meanwhile, according to his knowledge, Beyond Domain Realm experts were likewise incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Such experts would receive respectful treatment even from the various hegemonic powers. Should a Beyond Domain Realm choose to join a hegemonic power, they would instantly receive a core executive position and enjoy authority rivaling Grand Elders. They would even receive some of the Guilds shares. Normally, not even the various hegemonic powers would be willing to send a Beyond Domain Realm expert to a Miniature Ancient World. After all, these experts represented the Guilds deterrent power and foundation. The presence and absence of even one Beyond Domain Realm expert could impact a hegemonic powers influence greatly. At the same time as Chiyang Tianhe was calmly analyzing the situation, an uproar had occurred among the several great alliances members. Crap! Who is that woman?! After breaking the Crimson Demon Barrier in one hit, she even killed thirty of the Flower of Seven Sins core members in one move! / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM Shes ridiculously strong! Ive never seen a God-ranked expert as strong as her! Shes so cool! Shes like the Valkyrie recorded in libraries, sweeping across an army of millions all by herself! This is definitely the luckiest day of my life! Not only did I get to see the birth of a war goddess, but I even got a recording of it! If any of you want to rewatch the battle just now, Ill sell you a copy for 100 Credits! Everyone was awed by the miraculous feat Laura had just pulled off, and many players had even uploaded screenshots and video recordings of the battle onto the official forums. For a time, players across the entire Miniature Ancient World went into an uproar. Previously, everyone was of the opinion that the Asura Mercenary Alliance was overestimating itself by challenging the Flower of Seven Sins. Everyone also thought that Asura was merely seeking its own demise by entering the Boundary Mountain Range. However, facts had proven them wrong. Not only did Asuras team remain unharmed after entering the Boundary Mountain Range, but the team had even successfully entered the second underground level. What surprised everyone the most was that another God-ranked expert had appeared in the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Meanwhile, not only did this God-ranked expert shatter the Crimson Demon Barrier, but she had also single-handedly helped Asuras team break past the several great alliances army of 20,000 Refinement Realm experts and above. The Valkyrie of Light! In no time at all, this nickname had spread across the entire forums. Some people have even analyzed Laura Craders battle video and felt that the Valkyrie of Light might become another peerless monster in Gods Domain. As a result, the number of players seeking to join the Asura Mercenary Alliance increased again. After all, Gods Domains four peerless monsters were existences feared by even the Five Great Super Guilds. Or, more specifically, the Five Great Super Guilds treated the four peerless monsters like natural disasters and avoided butting heads with them as much as possible. This was because making an enemy out of these peerless monsters was in no way a wise decision. Even if they managed to win, it would be a pyrrhic victory. While the Miniature Ancient Worlds players were excitedly discussing Asura and Laura Crader, the several great alliances quickly prepared to enter the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. The great alliances reorganized their joint army and formed a 1,000-man team of Flowing Water Realm experts and above. The team was also led by Chiyang Tianhe, Death Omen, and Ruthless Sky, and the team would be responsible for hunting down Shi Fengs team in the second level. Teacher, are we really going in with them? World Dominators Tao Yuwei quietly asked as she looked at the elderly Thousand Swords. They have a 1,000-man team. We wont receive any good loot if we follow them World Dominators and Blackwater had only co-formed a 100-man team. Although every member of the team was at the Flowing Water Realm or above, with half being at the Void Realm, it was still an incredibly weak team compared to the several great alliances 1,000-man team. It didnt matter even if their team was led by Thousand Swords, a former Tier 6 Sword God. Yes, well be safer if we enter with them, Thousand Swords said. The second levels situation is completely different from the first level. It might have many more opportunities to offer, but these opportunities come with equal amounts of danger. In addition, I wont be able to take care of everyone because of the special environment there. The death penalty isnt something as simple as losing a level, either. According to our sources, players who die in the second level will enter a forced sleep in the real world. Although it isnt life-threatening, nobody has regained consciousness thus far. Even you wont be able to take care of all of us, Teacher? Is the second level that dangerous? Gu Yiren asked, astonished by Thousand Swords words. Even after reverting to Tier 3, a God-ranked expert geared in only Epic items could easily exhibit combat power at the Tier 4 standard and hold their ground against Mythic monsters of the same level. It should be known that Thousand Swords owned a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Even when subjected to the special environment of the Boundary Mountain Ranges first underground level, he could still effortlessly annihilate the 100-man team co-formed by World Dominators and Blackwater. He could even single-handedly defeat several hundred Great Lords of the same level. Meanwhile, the Void Creatures in the Boundary Mountain Range would, at most, appear in groups of several hundred. Logically, even if the second underground levels environment was harsher, Thousand Swords still shouldnt have any trouble going up against these monsters. Youll find out once you enter. Moreover, even if you dont acquire any loot, just entering the second underground level will benefit you all greatly, Thousand Swords said, not bothering to offer any additional explanations. The Predators have arrived already, Commander Omen. We can set off any time, a Level 109 Assassin from the Flower of Seven Sins said to Death Omen respectfully. Good! Set off immediately! Death Omen nodded, her expression as cold as ice. Asura might think that they have humiliated us by entering the second level, but it has no idea that it is only sending its members to their graves! Chapter 3152 - Chapter 226 - Border Upon entering the second underground levels entrance, the several great alliances 1,000-man team and World Dominators and Blackwaters 100-man team found themselves arriving at a rainforest. The environment here was completely different from the first underground level. There were large floating islands above the expansive rainforest and a gigantic divine statue at the heart of the rainforest. The statue was several dozen kilometers in height, like a giant that overlooked the entire Boundary Mountain Range. Before everyone could get a closer look at the gigantic statue, an indescribably oppressive feeling enveloped them, causing them to suffocate for a moment. What a powerful mental oppression! Gu Yiren held his head in agony as he experienced a restrictive feeling enveloping his entire body. He also felt as if he had gone from being in a superhuman state to becoming no different than an ordinary person. Youll start to feel better once you get used to this feeling, Thousand Swords said when he saw the pale complexions on Gu Yirens and Tao Yuweis faces. Then, he quietly explained, The Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level is completely different from the first underground level. If your Concentration standard isnt high enough, you might even lose consciousness directly. In addition, youll also find your character bodies becoming no different than your real-world bodies. You might retain your Basic Attributes, but your Physique has already fallen to the standard of a Henglian master in the real world. Your Stamina should also be the same as a real-world Henglian master. Because of the Stamina restriction, even God-ranked experts with Tier 4 Basic Attributes would be incapable of defeating Mythic monsters. They might even die to a Grand Lord of the same level if they arent careful. So, you must be extremely cautious when fighting the monsters here. You must eliminate the mindset that you are fighting in Gods Domain. Instead, think you are fighting those monsters in the real world. Understood! Gu Yiren instantly understood the meaning his teacher was trying to convey. He also finally understood the horrors of the second underground level. The reason players could be in combat for more than ten hours consecutively was because Gods Domain was a virtual world, and players were manipulating virtual bodies governed by artificial parameters such as Stamina and Concentration. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM However, if players were given the same limitations that their bodies had in the real world, even if they could kill every monster with just one full-powered attack, they could still die easily when surrounded by hundreds of monsters. After all, people in the real world could not stay at peak performance for long periods. In other words, they needed to abide by a few rules if they were to fight in the second underground level. Firstly, they couldnt use combat techniques, which required the continuous use of their full strength. If they did that, itd be no different than sprinting at full speed in the real world; their bodies would start to tire in only a matter of seconds. Secondly, they would need to ensure they could finish the monsters they challenged within a certain time. If they couldnt do so, they would collapse from exhaustion, becoming powerless to the point where even a Common monster could kill them. Simply put, fighting the monsters in the second underground level was no different than fighting Gods Domains monsters in the real world! In such a situation, even peak experts would face extreme difficulty fighting Great Lords of the same level, let alone Grand Lords and Mythics. This was because every Great Lord past Level 100 would have HP in the tens of millions, while the normal attacks of a peak expert could only do around 100,000 damage per hit. If they couldnt fight using combat techniques, Skills, and Spells consecutively like they used to, theyd need at least several minutes to defeat a Great Lord. If that were the case, theyd probably become thoroughly exhausted after only two or three consecutive battles At this moment, Gu Yiren finally understood why his teacher had said that just entering the second underground level was an opportunity in and of itself. If players were to explore the second underground level without learning to conserve their Stamina, they would unlikely progress very far. Meanwhile, the conservation of Stamina covered many aspects. It wasnt just a matter of reducing the activity of ones body. There was also the usage timing of combat techniques, Skills, and Spells, as well as the usage of the surrounding environment, etc. Learning how to conserve Stamina was a strict test. If he could learn how to control his Stamina in the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level, he would definitely see a qualitative change in his combat capabilities. Everyone here must move in a defensive formation! You are also absolutely forbidden from fighting alone! You must fight in groups of three or more! It doesnt matter even if you are going up against a Level 100 Lord! Chiyang Tianhe commanded as he looked at the players gathered before him. If I find any of you fighting alone, I will kill you myself! Nobody present had any opinions regarding Chiyang Tianhes commands. Everyone here was a combat veteran, so they understood how foolish it would be to fight alone in their current circumstances. Theyd probably have difficulty even walking after two or three fights if they chose to fight without help. Although their Stamina would slowly regenerate over time, it wasnt safe to stay in the same location for too long when out in the fields. It would be even more dangerous to do so here. Hence, rather than let those who had run out of Stamina become a burden to the team, itd be much better to simply dispose of them. I really dont know why Black Flame has decided to bring a team here, Blackwaters Jing Yang thought to himself, a smile appearing on his face as he immersed his senses in the second underground levels environment. Regardless, theyre dead for sure this time! Shi Feng not fearing Blackwaters withdrawal from the Asura Mercenary Alliance was something Jing Yang did not expect. His superiors had even admonished him because of his arbitrary decision to withdraw Blackwater from Asura. Now that Asuras team had successfully broken through to the second underground level, Asuras fame would definitely skyrocket. If his superiors were to learn of this, he would definitely receive more than just a scolding this time. However, after experiencing the second underground levels environment, Jing Yang no longer worried about his future. The Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level might be crucial for players Tier 4 promotion, but there was no way Asura could make any noteworthy progress here with only a 100-man team. Even if Asuras team had two God-ranked experts, death would still be the only outcome awaiting the team in the second underground level. In fact, a God-ranked expert might even have to flee if they came across a force of just ten peak experts. In the second underground level, the advantage of numbers could easily compensate for the gap in quality. Shortly afterward, World Dominators and Blackwater began safely making their way to the divine statue under the several great alliances lead. Although the journey to the statue was arduous, with every battle requiring them to face several hundred Level 115 Great Lord ranked Void Eudemons, the coordination of 1,000-plus Flowing Water Realm experts and above allowed them to progress without any casualties. After an entire day of fighting, they finally reached the divine statue. What the heck? Why havent we caught up to Asuras team yet? How far have they progressed? While Jing Yang was breathing heavily and looking at the collapsed Void Eudemons before him, confusion filled his heart. Their group had spent the past day either fighting or resting. Moreover, they fought every battle with great difficulty. They would have long since been annihilated if they didnt assign at least three or four players to deal with every Great Lord ranked Void Eudemon they faced. Logically, if a 100-man team were to face these Void Eudemons, the team should collapse and suffer annihilation after advancing a few kilometers. Yet, even after they had advanced for one whole day, they had failed to see even the shadow of Asuras members. If not for their Rangers and Assassins using their Tracking Skills and verifying that the players they were trailing after were indeed Asuras members, he would have thought they had chased after the wrong team. In reality, Jing Yang wasnt the only person shocked by this situation. Chiyang Tianhe and the others were also secretly amazed. The divine statue was the heart of the second underground level. It was also where the several great alliances vanguard team had taken great pains to reach. Yet, the Asura Mercenary Alliance had managed to reach this place with only a 100-man team. This was simply incredible. We found Asuras members, Commander Omen! an Assassin on scout duty suddenly reported through the team chat. Good! Get ready to surround them! We absolutely cannot let them escape this time! Death Omen commanded. Along with Death Omens command, 1,000 Flowing Water Realm experts and above quietly made their way toward Asuras teams location. Once near their destination, Chiyang Tianhe, Ruthless Sky, and Death Omen each led a detached team and split into three directions, very much afraid that they would let Asuras team get away again. This game of cat and mouse is finally coming to an end. Thousand Swords sighed when he saw that even Chiyang Tianhe had taken action. He understood that Chiyang Tianhe was finally getting serious. Previously, the Honorary Elder from Solar Temple had only stood aside and watched when the Flower of Seven Sins members moved to intercept Asuras team at the second underground levels entrance. After all, Solar Temple had nothing to do with the feud between the Asura Mercenary Alliance and the Flower of Seven Sins. He also didnt expect Asuras team to actually succeed in getting past the Flower of Seven Sins members. However, it was a different story now that Asuras team had entered the second underground level. The several great alliances had put Chiyang Tianhe in charge of blockading the second underground levels entrance, so it was a great humiliation for him to let Asuras team break past the blockade. So, he needed to redeem himself now. As for the so-called Valkyrie of Light, even if she was a Beyond Domain Realm, Thousand Swords doubted that she would be a match for Chiyang Tianhe, much less the 1,000 experts on Chiyang Tianhes side. Chapter 3153 - Chapter 227 - God-Ranked! God-Ranked Again! Lets follow them quickly, Teacher, Tao Yuwei urged, her eyes glowing with excitement when she saw that the several great alliances team had gone to surround Asuras team. Its not often we get to see battles between God-ranked experts. If we miss this fight, who knows when another opportunity will come. Okay, lets head over as well, then, Thousand Swords said, chuckling when he saw the anxious look on Tao Yuweis face. Tier 6 God-ranked experts rarely revealed themselves to others. Even the various superpowers executives would have difficulty meeting with Tier 6 God-ranked experts. The only reason so many God-ranked experts were gathered in the Boundary Mountain Range was due to the second underground levels importance. Battles between Tier 6 God-ranked experts were likewise incredibly rare. This was because Tier 6 God-ranked experts were the various superpowers trump cards. A superpower would be exposing their trump card if they had their God-ranked experts fight other God-ranked experts. There was no way for players to fumble their way to Tier 6. Even the weakest Tier 6 God-ranked expert was an expert among experts. Even if this so-called weakest God-ranked expert couldnt win against a hostile God-ranked expert, theyd have no trouble withdrawing from the battlefield alive. Hence, unless one side was confident in defeating the other side easily, rarely would any superpower be willing to mobilize their God-ranked experts. However, now that everyone was at Tier 3 in the Miniature Ancient World, God-ranked experts wouldnt have to worry about exposing their respective Guilds trump cards. At most, theyd be exposing their individual combat standards. As for their weapons and equipment, revealing these items was of no significance since they werent Legendary Weapons and Equipment. After Thousand Swords finished speaking, World Dominators and Blackwaters members began following after the several great alliances team in a defensive formation. Although they had already taken care of the nearby Void Eudemons, if a new group were to suddenly respawn on them, their small team of 100 would get annihilated if they were caught unprepared. After advancing steadily for around ten minutes, Thousand Swords and the others came across the encirclement formed by Chiyang Tianhe and the others. Currently, the 1,000-man team had split into four detached teams. Chiyang Tianhe, Ruthless Sky, and Death Omen each led a 200-man team. As for the fourth team, although it didnt have a God-ranked expert leading it, the team was made up of 400 Flowing Water Realm experts and above. This ensured that Asuras team wouldnt have an easy time escaping regardless of the direction it chose to break through from. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM Huh? Why arent they moving? Gu Yiren muttered in confusion when he saw Chiyang Tianhe and the others standing still and doing nothing. Has Asuras team been killed by the Void Eudemons already? No, they seem to be looking at something, Tao Yuwei said, noting that the several great alliances members were all staring at a particular location. Maybe they are waiting for Asuras team to finish fighting before launching a surprise attack? According to the previous report, Asuras team was in the middle of a battle. Seeing as Chiyang Tianhe and the others were simply standing still without doing anything, the only explanation Tao Yuwei could come up with was that they were waiting for Asuras team to finish fighting. However, Tao Yuwei couldnt help but be surprised by her conclusion. After all, Asuras team would be most susceptible to surprise attacks when engaged in battle with monsters. She found it astonishing that Chiyang Tianhe and the others would have such a chivalric spirit. Thousand Swords was also very surprised by this situation. Based on his understanding of Chiyang Tianhes personality, the man was undoubtedly a ruthless person. Chiyang Tianhe would kill his opponents without hesitation even if they surrendered and willingly offered up their weapons and equipment. There was no way such a ruthless person wouldnt attack an opponent engaged in battle. Not to mention, Chiyang Tianhe wasnt the only person here. There was also Death Omen, the commander of the Flower of Seven Sins Sin of Pride. She was a woman who regarded assassination as her life. It was in her nature to launch sneak attacks. To say that she had a chivalric spirit was to say that elephants could fly. Meanwhile, after Thousand Swords and the others moved closer to Chiyang Tianhes group, they were immediately dumbfounded by what they saw. Just like the report stated, Asuras team was indeed engaged in battle. However, Asuras team wasnt fighting a group of Great Lord ranked Void Eudemons but a Level 116 Mythic ranked Realm Lord instead. [Void Serpent (Realm Lord Barron)] (Void Creature, Mythic) Level 116 HP 8,000,000,000 The Void Serpents eight billion HP would be astonishing even in the outside world. In the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level, it was an amount that could induce despair. Tier 4 Mythic monsters had much greater Defense than Tier 3 Great Lords. Even a Tier 3 expert, armed to the teeth with Epic items, could only cause around one million damage to a Mythic monster with the help of a Tier 3 Skill. Moreover, that was under the assumption that the Mythic monster did not block the attack. Meanwhile, Realm Lords were monsters that came with a Mana Domain. They could weaken the effects of hostile Skills and Spells drastically. Even if players had a Mana Domain of their own to counter it with, their Skills and Spells would still be weakened by a significant margin. Even assuming that the entire raid went smoothly, a 100-man team would still need at least an hour to defeat the Void Serpent after considering the Realm Lords frightening battle recovery. Meanwhile, it simply wasnt possible for players to do battle for one hour straight in the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. However, the Void Serpent wasnt the reason Thousand Swords and the others were shocked. No wonder that old fellow isnt moving! Hed be crazy if he dared to make a move! The corners of Thousand Swords eyes twitched as he watched Asuras team fighting. Eight suspected God-ranked experts! This was a number enough to make him doubt life. It was as if the almighty Tier 6 God-ranked experts in Gods Domain suddenly became cabbages that could be seen everywhere Aside from Shi Feng and the woman who had previously shattered the Crimson Demon Barrier, there were six other God-ranked experts in Asuras team. Among them, the three-meter-tall man wielding two sabers was single-handedly holding back the Void Serpent. Even while subjected to the second underground levels suppression, the three-meter-tall man still shook even space itself with every attack, his attacks putting the Void Serpent at an absolute disadvantage. Or, more specifically, the Realm Lord was losing a competition of Strength to the three-meter-tall man Moreover, although the three-meter-tall man looked like he was wildly brandishing his sabers at the Void Serpent on the surface, peak experts and above could tell that the man wasnt just randomly swinging his weapons. Instead, he had perfectly leveraged his opponents strength to his own advantage, using the impact he received from blocking the Void Serpents attacks to propel his counterattacks. This allowed him to conserve his energy and enhance the power of his attacks. On top of that, the man could perfectly integrate the power of the Void Serpents attacks into his own. So, whenever his saber landed on the Void Serpent, the Realm Lord would shudder from the impact, and its HP would fall by over ten million. The three-meter-tall man was more monstrous than even the monster he was going up against Another Beyond Domain Realm expert? This was the only possibility Thousand Swords could think of when he saw the three-meter-tall mans astonishing display of technique. Chapter 3154 - Chapter 228 - Moving Disasters? Two Beyond Domain Realm God-ranked experts?! Jing Yangs eyes widened in shock as he watched Kasio holding back the Void Serpent all by himself. Could I be dreaming? Unlike powers that failed to secure an administrative seat in the Asura Mercenary Alliance, Jing Yang was well aware that the mercenary alliance was nothing more than an independent organization established by Zero Wing. It wouldnt be far-fetched to say that aside from Witchs Sin, every other power in Asura was an insignificant existence. As for Witchs Sins strength and foundation, they werent anything to write home about. Witchs Sin might be seen as a superpower in the publics eye, but any real superpower in Gods Domain would know that Witchs Sin could, at best, be considered a very ordinary superpower with three Tier 6 God-ranked experts under its command. The Guild definitely did not have even one Beyond Domain Realm expert, let alone two. If Witchs Sin had two Beyond Domain Realm God-ranked experts, it would already have the strength to challenge any of the Five Great Super Guilds. Not to mention, the two Beyond Domain Realm experts in question were current in the Miniature Ancient World. Even if Witchs Sin managed to acquire two Beyond Domain Realm experts by some miracle, the Guild would have to be absolutely deranged to send both of them into the Miniature Ancient World. It should be known that a Beyond Domain Realm expert who was a Tier 6 God-ranked expert and a Beyond Domain Realm expert who wasnt at Tier 6 were two entirely different concepts. Any Beyond Domain Realm expert that managed to reach Tier 6 would become a moving disaster. Two moving disasters working together would be more than enough to cause any of the Five Great Super Guilds to grow wary and fearful. Unless absolutely necessary, the Five Great Super Guilds absolutely would not dare to provoke a power with two Beyond Domain Realm God-ranked experts. Indeed! This was the might of Beyond Domain Realm experts! Hence, Jing Yang found it very hard to imagine what kind of power Zero Wing was that it would discard two moving disasters and send them into a measly Miniature Ancient World. At this moment, Jing Yang wasnt the only one dumbfounded by this situation. Gu Yiren, who stood next to him, was similarly stupefied. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM How can this be Gu Yiren felt his worldview crumbling. Never in a million years did he think that the insignificant Guild he had looked down on previously would turn out to be a behemoth that even World Dominators couldnt afford to offend. Two moving disasters. Just how strong would a power need to be to willingly discard two moving disasters? When Gu Yiren recalled how he had directly offended Zero Wing for a measly second-rate Guild like Shadow, he couldnt help but find his decision to be the biggest joke he had made in his life. Gu Yiren felt that if he were to come across Lan Hailong right now, he would probably lose control and murder the other party. At the same time, Gu Yiren couldnt help but feel regret. Had he chosen to sell Shi Feng a favor back then, he might have been able to establish a good relationship with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, with Zero Wings assistance, he could absolutely become the brightest star in World Dominators. He might even become the leader of World Dominators in the future. Not planning on taking action, Brother Chiyang? Theyre raiding a Boss right now. Youre not going to get a better opportunity than this, Thousand Swords jokingly said as he walked up to Chiyang Tianhe. Sure! You go first, then Ill go, Chiyang Tianhe said, rolling his eyes at Thousand Swords. Me? Upon hearing Chiyang Tianhes words, Thousand Swords shook his head without hesitation and said, I dare not. If you dont dare to, why should I? Chiyang Tianhe replied nonchalantly, not the slightest bit ashamed at his cowardice. Two Beyond Domain Realm experts and six God-ranked experts. Unless we gather all of the Five Great Super Guilds God-ranked experts in the Miniature Ancient World, whod dare challenge such a team? If his opponent was only one Beyond Domain Realm expert, Chiyang Tianhe was confident he could kill the other party. After all, he had many peak experts supporting him. However, a force of two Beyond Domain Realm experts and six God-ranked experts was not something Chiyang Tianhe dared to challenge. When God-ranked experts worked together, the combat power they could unleash wouldnt be a measly 1+1=2. Not to mention, a force of two Beyond Domain Realm experts and six God-ranked experts was already enough to form a full party and more. If these eight experts worked together, itd be no trouble for them to annihilate the several great alliances 1,000-man team. It would be akin to eight fully-armed warriors going up against 1,000 unarmed civilians. The fight would be a one-sided massacre. To begin with, this matter has nothing to do with the Solar Temple. Asuras target is only the Flower of Seven Sins. Since this is the Flower of Seven Sins problem, it will naturally be up to the Flower of Seven Sins to resolve this problem, Chiyang Tianhe said. I have already done my best by mobilizing so many experts for this farce. The Flower of Seven Sins probably didnt expect to get into such trouble, Thousand Swords said as he looked at Death Omen, who stood nearby. By the looks of things, Asura should be planning to target the Flower of Seven Sins main force. With the current strength of the Flower of Seven Sins main force, it is unlikely to escape this approaching disaster. At this time, Thousand Swords couldnt help but look at Shi Feng, a hint of realization and regret appearing in his heart. Seeing as Zero Wing could afford to send so many God-ranked experts to the Miniature Ancient World, it was no wonder the Guild dared to challenge the Flower of Seven Sins. With how many God-ranked experts Zero Wing had, it wouldnt be difficult for it to establish itself in the Miniature Ancient World. Zero Wing might even become a power rivaling the Five Great Super Guilds. If World Dominators could establish a stronger partnership with such a power, itd be of significant help to the Guilds development in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, he had personally cast away this wonderful opportunity Zero Wing is still too weak to threaten the Flower of Seven Sins, Death Omen said, sending a contemptuous glance at Thousand Swords. Dont forget why our alliances decided to work together. Our goal isnt simply to monopolize resources in our Gods Domain but also form a united front against the other sides Gods Domain. The other sides Gods Domain is vastly stronger than ours. The other sides two hegemonic powers are even participating in the operation this time. Even if Zero Wing has two Beyond Domain Realm experts and six God-ranked experts, it can do nothing but keep its head down in front of those two hegemonic powers! While Death Omen and the others were talking, the Void Serpents eight billion HP finally fell to zero. Then, its 60-meter-long body collapsed to the ground with a boom before disintegrating into particles of light and disappearing from the rainforest. At the same time, a golden glow enveloped the bodies of Shi Feng and the others. Among them, the golden glow that enveloped Laura and Glimmers three vice commanders carried a hint of purple, proving that they had already gone beyond Level 120 Chapter 3155 - Chapter 229 – Void Serpent’s Loot Chapter 229 C Void Serpents Loot How are they so high-leveled?! Thousand Swords and the others were confused when they saw the levels of Laura Crader and the three vice commanders of Glimmer. Although the purple-gold glow had only appeared on Laura and the others briefly, it was like a bright light in darkness in the eyes of Tier 3 expert players. Hence, everyone present saw the purple-gold glow without fail. Everyone here also recognized and was incredibly familiar with this purple-gold glow since it was the level-up glow they had seen the most while leveling up on the main continent. The first appearance of this purple-gold glow was also a turning point in every players career that determined whether they would become a powerhouse or remain an ordinary expert on the main continent. With such high levels, its no wonder they managed to advance so easily. The strength the Asura Mercenary Alliance has kept hidden in the dark has probably already surpassed the main forces of our several great alliances, Chiyang Tianhe thought to himself, a frown forming on his face. No matter how he racked his mind, he simply couldnt fathom how Laura Crader and the others had managed to reach such a high level. At Level 120, Lauras group of four had already exceeded the average level of the various powers main force members by ten levels. The Free Attribute Points players could gain from ten levels might not be significant, but there would be a significant difference in the stats provided by weapons and equipment. Assuming they were all using equipment of the same rank, Lauras group was ahead of the various powers main force members by two minor grades. Two minor grades! In terms of Basic Attributes alone, Laura Craders group of four would exceed the various powers main force members by 30% or more. Such a huge difference in Basic Attributes was enough to let an ordinary expert defeat a Refinement Realm expert easily. The resulting combat power difference would be even greater when this Basic Attribute advantage was put in the hands of a God-ranked expert. At this moment, Chiyang Tianhe felt fortunate that he didnt personally make a move at the second underground levels entrance previously. Otherwise, even as a God-ranked expert himself, hed likely meet with an unfortunate end. Not to mention, Laura Crader was even a Beyond Domain Realm expert. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM How is this possible?! Death Omen was similarly in disbelief when she saw the purple-gold glow that briefly enveloped Lauras group of four. She could ignore the fact that the Asura Mercenary Alliance had the numbers advantage in God-ranked experts. After all, it wasnt exactly an impossible feat to accomplish. If the Flower of Seven Sins was willing to pay the price, it could send even more God-ranked experts into the Miniature Ancient World. So, the fact that Asura had more God-ranked experts was only enough to show that Zero Wing was more willing to invest in the Miniature Ancient World than the Flower of Seven Sins. But what was up with their levels? It should be known that the various superpowers main force members were nowhere near Level 120. At their current levels, theyd need to work hard and grind for at least another 20 days before they could reach this level. In other words, without the various superpowers knowing, the Asura Mercenary Alliance had already created a 20-day gap between them. At this moment, Death Omen couldnt help but feel as if all the methods the Flower of Seven Sins had employed to stifle Asuras development were nothing but a joke However, compared to Chiyang Tianhe and Death Omen, the surprise and shock that Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past, who were on the same team as Laura Craders group, experienced was much greater. Even without our participation, Zero Wing can probably annihilate the Flower of Seven Sins main force with ease, Liu Wusheng commented ruefully as he watched the Void Serpents corpse gradually disappearing. The strength that eightno, nine God-ranked experts could exhibit when working together far exceeded the strength of a 100-man team of peak experts. Even a Mythic ranked Realm Lord was nothing more than a slightly bigger monster in front of these nine God-ranked experts. It wasnt hard for Liu Wusheng to imagine what would happen if these nine God-ranked experts fought against players who didnt even have one million HP. I know, right? If those powers that withdrew learn about this, theyll absolutely rue their decision, Galaxy Past said as he looked at Shi Feng, who stood a short distance away. At the same time, the awe he felt for the Guild known as Zero Wing had skyrocketed. Initially, Galaxy Past had only chosen to join Zero Wing as an outer member because he thought the Guild could help him further develop his strength. He never really thought that Zero Wing could accomplish anything monumental in the Miniature Ancient World. Although Zero Wings subsequent accomplishments had caused him to change his mind, it wasnt to a significant extent. However, things were completely different now. Eight God-ranked experts. There was also Hidden Soul, an expert who had never reached Tier 6 but had the technical capabilities of Tier 6 God-ranked experts. In other words, the Asura Mercenary Alliance currently had a total of nine God-ranked experts under its command. This was a force that none of the Five Great Super Guilds could take out in the Miniature Ancient World. I finally understand why you asked me to support Zero Wing all this time, Yaoyue. With so many God-ranked experts in Asura, the Five Great Super Guilds wouldnt dare to have any ideas of Abyssal Star City even in the future, Zhuo Yalin said in astonishment as she looked at Laura Crader and the other God-ranked experts. Previously, few people had confidence in the Asura Mercenary Alliance because everyone knew that Asuras advantage over the various superpowers was temporary. With only the experts it had poached from Shadow, Zero Wing and, by extension, Asura, would quickly fall behind the various superpowers once players started reaching Level 120 and got promoted to Tier 4. However, it was a different story now that Asura had so many God-ranked experts under its command. Even after the Miniature Ancient Worlds players entered the Tier 4 era, the various superpowers peak experts would be no threat to the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Meanwhile, when Lin Yaoyue saw the excited look on Zhuo Yalins face, she didnt know whether she should inform her friend that there were many, many more of these God-ranked experts in the Stratified Abyssal Realm. In fact, just the experts in Slumber City were already more than enough to take on the entire Miniature Ancient World While everyone started a discussion of their own, Shi Feng walked up to the Void Serpents vanishing corpse and looked at the items slowly descending from the sky. A short moment later, a small, dazzling pile of loot formed before Shi Feng. As a Level 116 Realm Lord, the Void Serpent rewarded an extremely large amount of EXP to the players that killed it. The awarded EXP allowed Glimmers four members to reach Level 121 and helped Shi Feng go from Level 114 to Level 115. Now, Shi Feng had officially entered the preparation phase for getting promoted to Tier 4. In addition, the Void Serpents loot was also incredibly astonishing. The Void Serpent had dropped 41 items, of which 23 were Inferior Legendary materials and 15 were treasure chests containing Magic Crystals, Mana Stones, and small amounts of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Aside from these materials and treasure chests, the Void Serpent had also dropped two dazzling Epic Weapons. The weapons were a longsword and a spear, and both radiated incredibly powerful mana fluctuations. However, Shi Fengs gaze did not fall on any of these 40 items. Instead, his eyes were glued to the final itema tattered parchment that only gave off small amounts of mana fluctuations. Chapter 3156 - Chapter 230 - Mr. Black Flame? I really didnt think the second underground levels loot would be so astonishing. The Void Serpent is only a Realm Lord near the central area, yet it has dropped a Tier 4 Legacy Search Scroll. No wonder the Five Great Guilds chose to join forces, Shi Feng thought excitedly as he put the tattered parchment into his bag. The Tier 4 Legacy Search Scroll was a precious treasure for players seeking to get promoted to Tier 4. Although it wasnt as useful as a Legacy Scroll that could teleport players directly to a Legacy Land, players could find the entrance to a Legacy Land much more easily with the Legacy Search Scrolls help. This, in turn, would save them significant amounts of time. Laura Crader and Glimmers three vice commanders have reached Level 121 already. They had already met the standard for getting promoted to Tier 4. So long as he passed this Tier 4 Legacy Search Scroll to one of them, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would soon gain a bona fide Tier 4 expert. After keeping the Tier 4 Legacy Search Scroll away, Shi Feng collected the two Epic Weapons as well. Of the two weapons, Shi Feng was very happy to see the longsword that had light-purple electric arcs circulating its blade, choosing to equip it immediately. With this, he resolved his problem of having only one longsword to rely on. [Blasphemer] (One-handed Sword, Epic Rank) Level 100 C Level 150 Equipment Requirement: Strength 3,000 Attack Power (450% of Strength) Attack Speed (4% of Agility) / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Ignore Levels +25; Attacks have a 60% chance of ignoring 50% of the targets Defense; Attacks have a 30% chance of ignoring 80% of the targets Defense; Attacks have a 10% chance of ignoring all of the targets Defense; Every attack will increase all of the users Attributes by 0.5% up to 20% for five seconds; Strength increased by 40%; Agility increased by 50%; Intelligence increased by 40%, Endurance increased by 50%, Attack Speed increased by 40%; Effects of all Weapon-related Skills increased by 15%. Additional Passive Skill- Blasphemers Heart: Recover a small amount of Stamina and Concentration when landing a fatal blow. Although Blasphemers Basic Attributes couldnt compare to a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, its Passive Skill was something that all experts would want. This was because experts were always short on Stamina and Concentration. One could easily imagine how valuable a Passive Skill that could help players recover Stamina and Concentration would be. After Shi Feng finished collecting all of the loot, he promptly resumed his journey to the divine statue at the center of the map with his team. Sure enough, theyre going after the Flower of Seven Sins main force, Chiyang Tianhe commented when he saw where Shi Fengs team was headed. Then, he turned to Death Omen and asked, Arent you going to contact Gluttonys team and have him quickly retreat? If their two teams meet, I highly doubt your organizations main force can retreat safely. That is unnecessary. The powers of our two worlds are gathered at that place right now. The other sides two hegemonic powers are also there. There is nothing Asura can accomplish there! Death Omen said with a confident smile on her face. The Flower of Seven Sins might not be able to do anything about Asura right now, but the same is true for Asura. How lucky of your organization to be able to get in touch with the other side so soon, Chiyang Tianhe said. Surprisingly, he did not voice any objections to Death Omens words. On the contrary, a trace of envy had even appeared in his eyes. With the strength of Asuras team, there were indeed no teams in the Miniature Ancient World capable of threatening it. However, compared to the other Gods Domain, a force of eight God-ranked experts still wasnt enough. It was especially true when the other Gods Domains two hegemonic powers were involved in the joint operation this time. The Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level was different from the first underground level. Entry into the second underground level wasnt limited to just their Gods Domain. The other Gods Domain connected to the Miniature Ancient World could similarly access the second underground level. So, the second underground level could more or less be considered the border of the two Gods Domains. Meanwhile, the two Gods Domains various powers were currently gathered at the second underground levels divine statue. The Flower of Seven Sins had even managed to partner with one of the other Gods Domains hegemonic powers. Because of this, no power at the divine statue dared to make a move against the Flower of Seven Sins. Numerous powers were gathered at the plaza where the divine statue was situated. At a glance, one could see over a hundred experts with combat standards at the level of God-ranked experts. Even the Five Great Super Guilds teams looked ordinary in this place. In fact, the Five Great Super Guilds members were inferior to the other Gods Domains teams when it came to player levels. You look like youre in a bad mood, Gluttony. Did something happen on your side? a middle-aged Level 120 Demidragon Shield Warrior curiously asked as he looked at the young Berserker before him. Its nothing, the young Berserker going by the name of Gluttony said, a contemptuous smile forming on his face when he recalled the message he just received. However, when he looked at the middle-aged man before him, he put on a respectful look as he said, Some people are just trying to find trouble with the Flower of Seven Sins. But if those people dare to come here, I wouldnt mind getting rid of them! Although Gluttony had already heard about the Asura Mercenary Alliances situation from Death Omen, he didnt pay much heed to it. After all, even at Tier 3, there were vast differences among God-ranked experts. It was especially true in terms of Life Rating. Thanks to the Flower of Seven Sins partnership with Bright Dragon, one of the two hegemonic powers of the Desolate Star Gods Domain, he was no longer human. Instead, he had become a Tigerkin, a lifeform with a superior Life Rating to humans. Moreover, he wasnt the only one who had converted to a different race. Over twenty of the Predators he led had also converted to a different race. Because of this, the overall strength of his team was completely different from when they entered the second underground level. It was just that he hadnt informed Death Omen about this matter yet. Shortly after Gluttony finished speaking, a commotion suddenly occurred in front of the plazas entry staircase. Subsequently, a 100-man team led by a man riding on a three-tailed wolf entered the plaza. Of the teams 100 members, nine gave off the presence of a God-ranked expert. This time was significantly stronger than most of the other teams present, which only had two or three God-ranked experts. Who are those people? Ive never seen them before. They shouldnt be people from our Desolate Star Gods Domain. The various God-ranked experts in the plaza couldnt help but grow curious when they saw this 100-man team. Meanwhile, when the middle-aged Demidragon from Bright Dragon saw this time, a surprised look appeared on his face. Is there anything special about them, Brother Menghao? Gluttony asked when he noticed the change in the middle-aged Demidragons expression. This team is quite something, Menghao, the middle-aged Demidragon, said in a low voice. There are actually seven higher lifeforms among them. Thats already close to what Bright Dragons team has. Seven higher lifeforms? Gluttonys expression turned solemn when he heard Menghaos words. Unlike the various superpowers executives, he knew that higher lifeforms were rare even in the Greater Gods Domain. Even a hegemonic power like Bright Dragon could only afford to let a very small number of its members convert to a higher lifeform. Moreover, these members needed to have made great contributions to the Guild before they could exchange this opportunity. Meanwhile, anyone who succeeded in converting to a higher lifeform would have vastly superior combat power compared to other players of the same tier. Yet, now, it was revealed that the Asura Mercenary Alliance actually had seven players who were higher lifeforms Whats wrong? Are they the ones finding trouble with you, Brother Gluttony? Menghao asked when he saw the expression on Gluttonys face. Then, he chuckled and continued, If thats the case, let me help you take care of them, then. They might have quite a few higher lifeforms, but Bright Dragon has the last say on everything in this place. Ill have to trouble you, then, Brother Menghao, Gluttony said gratefully. Bright Dragon was significantly stronger than even the Five Great Super Guilds. The hegemonic power was so strong that even the Five Great Super Guilds working together would be no match for it. A force of eight God-ranked experts might be powerful in the Miniature Ancient World, but it was still nothing but an ant in front of Bright Dragons 20-plus God-ranked experts. At most, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was a slightly stronger ant. In reality, if not for Bright Dragon having a use for the Flower of Seven Sins for the operation this time, the Flower Seven Sins could have never gotten the opportunity to partner with Bright Dragon. Meanwhile, just when Menghao was about to gather his subordinates, another team appeared at the plazas entrance. Along with the arrival of this new team, the various teams present in the plaza, including Bright Dragons team, suddenly grew serious. The various teams even took the initiative to step aside and open a path for this new team. Are those the people you were talking about before, Brother Menghao? Gluttony asked when he noticed that over 50 of the new teams 200-plus members were God-ranked experts. Moreover, out of these 50-plus God-ranked experts, four of them were even Beyond Domain Realm experts. Mhm. Theyre the leaders of the operation this time, Menghao said, nodding. When Gluttony heard this, a hint of yearning appeared in his eyes as he looked at this group of new arrivals. While the 10,000-plus players on the plaza were directing their attention to the new arrivals, a Demidragon woman walking among the team suddenly looked toward Asuras team and said in a surprised tone: Mr. Black Flame? TL Notes: [1]a Tigerkin, a lifeform with a superior Life Rating to humans: Fyi, Tigerkins arent considered higher lifeforms. They only have a higher Life Rating than humans. Chapter 3157 - Chapter 231 - Galaxy Corporation When everyone in the plaza heard the Demidragon woman suddenly calling out to someone, they subconsciously followed the Demidragon womans gaze and turned to look at a 100-man team. This 100-man team also happened to be the foreign team that everyone had discussed previously. This 100-man team clearly had nine God-ranked experts. Moreover, seven of these God-ranked experts were even higher lifeforms. Aside from the two hegemonic powers teams, none of the other teams present were capable of matching this 100-man team. Yet, none of them had managed to recognize this team. Because of this, everyone guessed that this team might come from a power outside the Desolate Star Gods Domain. The Desolate Star Gods Domain was an open Gods Domain, so players from the Greater Gods Domain could visit it in exchange for restrictions placed on their strength. However, there were no such restrictions in the Miniature Ancient World, so it wasnt impossible to see players outside of the Desolate Star Gods Domain appear here. It was just that few players from the Greater Gods Domain would bother entering a Miniature Ancient World. Do you know them, Guild Leader Black Flame? Liu Wusheng asked as he turned to look at Shi Feng in confusion. Liu Wusheng was greatly shocked when he first stepped into this plaza. Although he had already known that the other Gods Domain would be stronger, he didnt think that thered be such a huge gap between them. Tier 6 God-ranked experts were exceedingly rare in their Gods Domain. They were so rare that they didnt even number more than 100. Yet, just the God-ranked experts from the Desolate Star Gods Domain in this plaza already numbered more than 100. It should be known that players would need to start over from Level 100, Tier 3 when they entered the Miniature Ancient World. Because of this, most powers would typically only send a small portion of their forces into the Miniature Ancient World. It was especially true when it came to Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Even the Five Great Super Guilds had only mobilized two or three God-ranked experts each. Yet, every one of Desolate Stars teams here had at least two or three God-ranked experts leading them Among these teams, Bright Dragons team had over 20 God-ranked experts. This was a number that the Five Great Super Guilds couldnt match even if they banded together. So, when Liu Wusheng saw that various teams here behaved so respectfully to the team that had just arrived, hed be a fool if he couldnt tell that these new arrivals occupied a lofty position in the Desolate Star Gods Domain. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.COM Yet, one of these distinguished individuals was seemingly acquainted with Shi Feng. I do know the person who is speaking, Shi Feng said to Liu Wusheng while waving at the Demidragon woman who had called out to him. Shi Feng naturally recognized the Demidragon woman. After all, the other party was none other than the Tower Alliances Maria. So what he said was true! At this time, aside from Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past and Zhuo Yalin also couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise. They had previously been skeptical when Shi Feng told them that Zero Wing was an existence stronger than even the Five Great Super Guilds. Now, though, they believed him. However, compared to Galaxy Past and the others, Hidden Soul, Crimson Heart, Cleansed Rue, and Lin Yaoyue, people who knew Maria, were even more surprised when they saw the Demidragon woman. They didnt think that the Tower Alliance was not only a power originating from the Desolate Star Gods Domain, but the Guild even occupied such a high status there. Meanwhile, over at the Tower Alliances team, a middle-aged man with pure elven blood looked toward Maria and asked, Is he the person you mentioned previously, Maria? Mhm. He is that person, Vice Guild Leader Flanders, Maria said with an astonished look on her face. In addition, I can also see some of the Stratified Abyssal Realms natives beside him The Stratified Abyssal Realms natives? Upon hearing Marias words, the elven man named Flanders couldnt help but take a closer look at Shi Fengs inconspicuous appearance. Then, the corners of his mouth lifted as he said, This is interesting. It seems this Guild Leader Black Flame is far more extraordinary than you described him. It might be worth further deepening the partnership between our two Guilds. There were many experts in a Stratified Abyssal Realm. If all of these experts were gathered, they could become a mighty force to be reckoned with even in the Greater Gods Domain. This was also why the Greater Gods Domains various powers had all set their sights on the various Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, bringing experts out of a Stratified Abyssal Realm was an incredibly challenging task. So, most powers could only wait until the Stratified Abyssal Realm had fully integrated with the Greater Gods Domain before making their move. After Flanders finished speaking, he led his team to Shi Feng and the others. This situation caused the various powers in the plaza to look at Shi Fengs team in a more respectful light. Your Flower of Seven Sins has found itself quite the big trouble this time, Brother Gluttony. When Menghao saw Flanders approaching Shi Fengs team, he smiled bitterly and said, Im afraid that Icannot help you with this problem. Is there really nothing Bright Dragon can do, Brother Menghao? Gluttony asked in confusion. There were only two hegemonic powers based in the Desolate Star Gods Domain. One was Bright Dragon, while the other was the Tower Alliance. These two hegemonic powers could be said to be equal in strength. Although the Tower Alliance led the operation this time, Gluttony refused to believe that Bright Dragon was afraid of the Tower Alliance. If its only the Tower Alliance, Bright Dragon naturally has nothing to fear. When Menghao saw the confusion on Gluttonys face, he explained, But the operation this time is led by the Tower Alliance, and the reason why that is the case is because the Tower Alliance shares a close relationship with that great personage. Offending the Tower Alliance might not be a problem, but if we accidentally offend that great personage That great personage? Gluttony was even more shocked when he heard Menghaos explanation. A hegemonic power held nigh-absolute authority in the Gods Domain they were based in. A hegemonic power was also an existence that stood at the peak in the real world. After all, Gods Domain wasnt a simple virtual reality game. Instead, it was a game that could decide the survival and prosperity of an entire world. It was just that not many people knew about this secret. So, Gluttony found it hard to imagine there could be anyone who could make a hegemonic power like Bright Dragon treat so respectfully and show such great fear. Hearing Gluttonys query, Menghao looked toward a Level 120 female mage standing among the Tower Alliances team and whispered, Youve probably learned about that great personage already. She is the Galaxy Corporations Fourth Princess. It is only a matter of time before your organization comes into contact with the Galaxy Corporation. The Green God Corporation you mentioned might have even gotten in touch with the Galaxy Corporation already. After all, your World Passage is about to open. There is no way nobody from your world hasnt gotten in touch with the Galaxy Corporation yet. The Galaxy Corporations Fourth Princess? Gluttony nearly gaped in shock when he heard Menghaos answer. The Galaxy Corporation might be foreign to most people in his world. However, the Galaxy Corporations name was currently the name that was being mentioned the most by superpowers that knew about Gods Domains secrets. It was especially true for those who were well-acquianted with the Green God Corporations executives. The World Passages opening might be seen as nothing more than a merger of two Gods Domain by the various first-rate powers and below. However, what these powers didnt know was that this merger wasnt limited to just Gods Domain. Instead, it would also take place in the real world Indeed. Earth, the planet they inhabited, would gradually be integrated into a Greater World. Meanwhile, once Earth was integrated into this Greater World, the Galaxy Corporation would become an unavoidable existence for the various superpowers. As for how powerful the Galaxy Corporation was? If the Green God Corporation was described to have the strength to cause all corporations to shake with fear, then the Galaxy Corporation had the strength to casually crush the Green God Corporation like an ant. After all, the Galaxy Corporation was a frightening existence that had already grasped a small portion of a higher-dimension civilizations technology. TL Notes: Uh, the author decided(?) to change Green God Company (˾, Chapter 1131) to Green God Corporation(), so I will be using Green God Corporation from now on. Itll make things easier when the instances of various corporations pop up. Chapter 3158 - Chapter 232 - Divine Artifact Nethersoul Might you be interested in undertaking the commission this time with the Tower Alliance, Guild Leader Black Flame? Elven Knight Flanders offered this suggestion to Shi Feng after Maria had introduced them to each other. So long as we complete Miss Freys commission, you will gain membership in the Galaxy Corporation and be awarded one million Star Coins on top of that. If you do not need the Star Coins, I can give you two hundred bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids or twenty bottles of Life Potion in exchange. I can also ensure that these items are delivered to your hands. Flanders suggestion greatly tempted and shocked Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and Crimson Heart. Although they didnt know what the so-called Star Coins were, nor did they understand the significance of the Galaxy Corporations membership, they did know the value of two hundred bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and twenty bottles of Life Potion. Life Potions, in particular, were a precious resource that the Green God Corporation sold in limited quantities. Meanwhile, aside from healing injuries, the Life Potion could preserve a persons youth and increase their lifespan. An ordinary person could live for an additional ten years and see a significant improvement in their physical fitness just by consuming one Life Potion. Even if master or grandmaster martial artists, individuals with longer life expectancies than the average individual, consumed a Life Potion, they could expect a minimum increase of five years to their life expectancy. Meanwhile, a sum of twenty Life Potions was something even the corporations backing the Five Great Super Guilds could not take out on short notice. Some superpowers couldnt even get their hands on twenty Life Potions in an entire year After hearing Flanders offer, Su Qianliu and Blackie hurriedly turned to Shi Feng, signaling him to quickly accept the offer with their eyes. They could gain such a bountiful reward just by completing one commission. This was an opportunity they would never get under normal circumstances. Even the Green God Corporation would never offer such an astronomical compensation just for completing a single commission. In the meantime, Maria couldnt help but look at Flanders in astonishment. She never thought that her Vice Guild Leader would take the initiative to invite Shi Feng to participate in the commission this time. Not only that, but he had even offered to split some of the commissions reward with Shi Feng. Since the Tower Alliance is being so sincere, there is no reason for me to refuse, Shi Feng said while glancing at the Flower of Seven Sins members standing next to the Bright Dragon Guilds team. He understood that itd be impossible to touch the Flower of Seven Sins members in this place with Bright Dragon protecting them. In fact, his team was at great risk just by being here. Meanwhile, the safest way out of this situation would be to move with the Tower Alliance. However, Ill pass on the Life Potions. Im quite content with the one million Star Coins. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Su Qianlius and Blackies expressions instantly turned ashen. Meanwhile, Flanders was briefly stunned before laughing and saying, You are indeed a straightforward person, Guild Leader Black Flame! No wonder Maria holds you in high esteem! In that case, lets establish a contract right away. Subsequently, Flanders took out a Gods Domain Contract and wrote the necessary terms. Then, both parties signed it after reviewing the listed terms. With that, so long as both parties remained in Gods Domain, nobody would be allowed to go against the listed terms. Guild Leader? Arent the twenty Life Potions better? Su Qianliu asked in a whisper when she saw Shi Feng signing the contract. Twenty bottles of Life Potion could solve many of Zero Wings problems. Not only could older generation experts like Shi Feng recover their youth, but they could also sell some of the Life Potions for money. The money they could get from just one Life Potion could cover the salaries of Zero Wings internal members for several months. Star Coins? This clearly wasnt a currency of their world. They couldnt even eat these so-called Star Coins, let alone exchange them for things. No, the one million Star Coins are much better, Shi Feng quietly answered, shaking his head. Moreover, the value of Star Coins will only go up in the future. Star Coins might be foreign to people who hadnt integrated into the Greater World. However, it should be known that Star Coins were one of the main currencies used in the Greater World. Meanwhile, the value of Star Coins was far greater than the Credits used on Earth. Once the passage leading to the Greater World opened in the real world, Credits would quickly start to lose their value. This was because only the Greater Worlds currencies could be used to purchase items and maintain a living in the Greater World. Hence, before the value of Credits crumbled completely, he needed to get his hands on as many Star Coins as possible. Otherwise, once their world thoroughly merged with the Greater World and people were forced to earn Star Coins to survive, Zero Wing would quickly collapse on itself. Meanwhile, out of the various currencies used in the Greater World, Star Coins were incredibly valuable. The average person working in the Greater World would be fortunate to earn 500 Star Coins a month. A fortune of one million Star Coins was something the average person would never get to see. As for S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, these were items commonly seen in the Greater World. So long as one had enough Star Coins, one could buy an endless supply of these potions. With the Galaxy Corporations membership, one could buy potions of even higher grades without limit. So, exchanging Star Coins for S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions was no different than putting the cart before the horse. Moreover, Flanders offer was also a kind of test. The other party was testing him to see whether he was an ignorant native or someone who truly knew about the Greater World. On the other side, after Flanders returned to the Tower Alliances team, he turned to look at Shi Feng with a look of interest and confusion. Miss Frey is asking for you, Vice Guild Leader Flanders, Maria reported. Okay, Ill head over right away, Flanders said, nodding. Then, he looked toward Maria and asked, Maria, why did you initially assume that Black Flame isnt a player from an isolated world? What is the basis for your assumption? After thinking for a moment, Maria answered, Its because he knows much more about the Stratified Abyssal Realm than the Tower Alliance. This information simply isnt something that you can find in an isolated world. So, Team Leader Blood Hammer and I felt that Mr. Black Flame might not be a player from an isolated world. Moreover, Mr. Black Flame is a fourth-floor expert. It is exceedingly difficult for an isolated world to give birth to an expert of such caliber, much less let this player abandon his progress and enter a Stratified Abyssal Realm. He understands more about the Stratified Abyssal Realm than we do? Flanders fell silent for a moment. Then, he smiled and said, This is truly interesting. Even though he comes from an isolated world, not only does he know about the Stratified Abyssal Realm, but he also knows the value of Star Coins. He can even bring players out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. Guild Leader Black Flame is definitely hiding many more secrets we do not know. It seems its not a loss to help him out this time. After saying so, Flanders made his way toward a beautiful female Elementalist standing in the distance. Meanwhile, after conversing with the woman known as Miss Frey for a moment, Flanders gathered everyone in the plaza. Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for accepting my personal commission. As for compensation, I have already had the Tower Alliance inform everyone present. So long as we complete the operation according to plan, I will pay everyone half of the agreed compensation even if the operation fails. If we succeed, I will offer additional rewards based on your individual performances, Frey, dressed in a silvery-gray mages robe, said as she scanned the crowd gathered before her. However, if I find any of you deliberately messing up, I will let this person regret living in this world! If nobody has any questions, let the Legendary Crusade begin! Freys offer was incredibly hard to refuse. Moreover, there were so many Tier 6 God-ranked experts gathered. Even if they were tackling a Legendary Crusade Quest, completing it wouldnt be too difficult. So, nobody present voiced any objections. Most of the gathered players were even eagerly awaiting the start of the operation. After seeing that everyone was in agreement, Frey nodded and retrieved a bronze-colored wooden staff from her bag. The instant the wooden staff appeared, everyone in the plaza could feel their souls trembling in fear and trepidation. Even Beyond Domain Realm experts like Menghao and Flanders wore somber expressions on their faces. Isnt thisthe Nethersoul? Shi Feng was indescribably shocked when he saw the wooden staff in Freys hands. A Divine Artifact! An item that far surpassed Legendary Weapons and could cause even Tier 6 Gods to fight for. According to rumors, a Tier 6 player wielding a Divine Artifact could go up against even Ancient Gods. Meanwhile, Nethersoul was even one of Gods Domains Nine Great Divine Artifacts, an item capable of shattering an entire Gods Domains soul in one hit! However, Shi Feng quickly snapped out of his daze as he realized that the staff in Freys hands wasnt the real Nethersoul. Specifically, it was only a fragment of Nethersoul. Otherwise, there was no way Tier 3 players could withstand its presence. Even a God-ranked expert who had reverted to Tier 3 would instantly lose consciousness if they stood within the presence of a true Divine Artifact. At the same time as Shi Feng had snapped out of his daze, Frey had also finished chanting the last verse of her incantation. Immediately, a 60-meter-tall Door of the Dead appeared in the middle of the plaza. Then, the doors made of gigantic bones gradually opened and released a terrifying aura. Sensing this aura allowed everyone to understand how scary a scene was behind the doors. Before everyone could recover from the Door of the Deads intimidation, a 20-meter-long skeletal arm reached out from the other side, the aura the skeletal arm released causing everyone to hallucinate the descent of death. When Shi Feng looked at the gigantic skeletal arm, the Eyes of Reality revealed all of its data. A Nether King? TL Notes: The Greater Gods Domain and Greater World are two different things. The Greater Gods Domain is a virtual world, while the Greater World is a real world. Chapter 3159 - Chapter 233 - Nether King Time passed bit by bit in the plaza. Eventually, a 60-meter-tall skeleton wearing a starry cloak and holding a trident appeared before everyone. Upon seeing this skeleton, everyone present gasped. [Diaclo] (Undead, Nether King) Level 120 HP 300,000,000,000 What?! A Nether King?! How are we supposed to beat a Nether King with only Tier 3 players?! Blackie felt his sanity seeping away as he looked at the Nether King Diaclo. For a moment, he even suspected that Frey, who had planned for this challenge, was insane. After all, she was asking them to challenge a Tier 5 Nether King as Tier 3 players. This is a Legendary Crusade Quest? Liu Wusheng was similarly shocked by this situation. Legendary Quests were extremely rare in Gods Domain, and Legendary Crusade Quests were even rarer. Legendary Crusade Quests were so rare that Liu Wusheng had never even seen one before, though he did know of a Guild that had challenged one beforeMythology, one of the Five Great Super Guilds. Mythology was the only Guild known to have challenged a Legendary Crusade Quest in their Gods Domain. However, Mythology had kept a tight lip on the Legendary Crusade Quest. So, besides the members who had participated in the challenge, nobody knew about the quests details. The only thing everyone knew was that Mythology had suffered severe losses. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M As for Wu Lingling, Lin Yaoyue, and the other players who had only ever reached Tier 3 or Tier 4 on the main continent, their bodies shook with fear when they looked at the Nether King before them. A Tier 5 monster! Such monsters were incredibly rare in Gods Domain. The average Tier 3 and Tier 4 player would rarely get to encounter a Tier 5 monster. For those who had the misfortune to come across one, theyd usually have their souls shattered and destroyed. Meanwhile, if one wanted to defeat a Tier 5 monster, the bare minimum one would need was a Tier 4 team that was armed to the teeth or a force of several Tier 5 players. This was because Tier 5 monsters had the strength to alter terrains with their every move. They had the strength to single-handedly destroy an entire kingdom. They were no longer existences that individual players could challenge. Erect the barrier as planned! Other teams, get ready to deal with the other monsters that come out! Flanders calmly commanded as he grabbed the spear on his back and raised it. He did not show any signs of wavering even when facing Diaclo. Immediately, the ten thousand experts in the plaza began to move. At the same time, a gigantic magic array appeared in the sky, covering the entire plaza. Meanwhile, along with the magic arrays appearance, Diaclo started to weaken rapidly. In only seconds, the Nether Kings HP had fallen from 300 billion to just 150 billion. As for the 100 Level 120 Mythic monsters that had come out of the Door of the Dead, their Basic Attributes had similarly fallen by 50%. Because of this, the many teams in the plaza didnt even need to mobilize their God-ranked experts to stop the Mythic monsters and prevent them from supporting Diaclo. What a powerful magic barrier! Galaxy Pasts eyes widened in shock when he saw how much weaker the Nether King and the many Mythic monsters had become. As someone who used to be a Tier 5 expert on the main continent, he had fought against Tier 5 monsters before. However, never had he seen or heard of a magic barrier capable of halving a Tier 5 monsters Basic Attributes. A three-fold Grandmaster Magic Array. This is indeed a very lavish move, Shi Feng said, nodding. Grandmaster Magic Arrays were extremely rare, and even a Grandmaster Magicians would face great difficulty trying to produce an ordinary Grandmaster Magic Array. Firstly, it was because of the limited materials available. Secondly, it was because producing a Grandmaster Magic Array consumed a lot of time. As for a threefold, large-scale Grandmaster Magic Array, its value was no less than two Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Moreover, it was only a one-time-use item. Indeed! One use was equivalent to expending two Fragmented Legendary Weapons! You have very sharp eyes, Guild Leader Black Flame, Flanders said, smiling as he walked over to Shi Feng. This is the Threefold World Sealing Magic Array that only the Tower Alliance can produce. It can reduce even a Tier 5 Dragons Basic Attributes by a minimum of 30%. A Tier 6 player would need at least a hundred attacks to break it. It can even trap Tier 6 players for some time? Hidden Soul was slightly astonished when she heard Flanders explanation. Tier 6 God-ranked experts were the pinnacle of strength for players in Gods Domain. Aside from a Holy City-level Guild Citys defensive magic array, hardly anything could stop a Tier 6 God-ranked experts attack. If Tier 6 God-ranked experts fought each other, the shockwaves of their attacks could destroy even a city that was located over 10,000 yards away and turn a radius of several tens of thousands of yards into a desolate wasteland. So, one could easily imagine how powerful the attacks of Tier 6 God-ranked experts were. Yet, the Threefold World Sealing Magic Array could defend against a Tier 6 God-ranked experts attack for some time. This was simply unbelievable. But I doubt thats enough to defeat a Tier 5 Nether King, right? Shi Feng said with a puzzled expression. If Tier 3 players could defeat a Tier 5 monster by relying only on one magic array, Tier 5 monsters wouldnt be regarded as disasters. Indeed, itll be impossible to do so, Flanders said, nodding. Then, he looked toward Frey, who suddenly lifted the wooden staff in her hand and said reverentially, But with the trump card Miss Frey has prepared, taking down a Tier 5 Nether King wont be impossible. As soon as Flanders finished speaking, magic arrays started appearing around Frey, their numbers quickly going past thirty. Every one of these magic arrays was composed of a different element. Once these magic arrays took shape, they linked with each other to form a threefold magic array covering a 100-yard radius. Subsequently, seven soul spears emerged from the void and stabbed Diaclo, causing the Nether Kings aura to weaken even further. Eventually, Diaclo had become so weak that the fear in everyones hearts vanished. Seven Soul Annihilation Spears! With such a high Concentration standard, she must have already reached the three-star grandmaster realm! Shi Feng exclaimed when he saw the heavily injured Diaclo. The Divine Artifact Nethersoul had three main abilities, and one of them was the Soul Annihilation Spear. Although the Nethersoul Frey wielded was only a fragment, which, in turn, reduced the power and complexity of the Soul Annihilation Spears it summoned, it would still be incredibly challenging to form a Soul Annihilation Spear. This was because the construction of every Soul Annihilation Spear expended a significant amount of Concentration. According to rumors, the average mental strength master couldnt even construct one Soul Annihilation Spear, while a three-star mental strength master could only construct the frame of a Soul Annihilation Spear. At the very least, one would need to grandmaster realm in mental strength development to construct a complete Soul Annihilation Spear. Meanwhile, a complete Soul Annihilation Spear could annihilate the soul of a Tier 4 creature and injure the soul of a Tier 5 creature. As for Freys ability to summon seven Soul Annihilation Spears, Shi Feng doubted anyone beneath a three-star mental strength grandmaster could accomplish such a feat. Thats right. Flanders nodded, feeling very surprised as he looked at Shi Feng. he didnt think Shi Feng could discern Freys attack and strength so accurately. Miss Freys Concentration is incredibly powerful. She is a peerless genius among her generation, even in the Greater World. This is also why Miss Frey dared to challenge a Legendary Crusade Quest. In front of the Soul Annihilation Spears, even a Tier 5 Nether King will suffer serious soul damage and have its combat power reduced to just being close to the Tier 5 standard. At this standard, we can definitely whittle the Nether King to death with so many players. Shi Feng was inwardly awed by this situation. Only a corporation like the Galaxy Corporation could possibly afford to hire over 10,000 peak experts and 200 God-ranked experts. After Frey had heavily injured Diaclo with her seven Soul Annihilation Spears, several Level 120 God-ranked experts equipped with Fragmented Legendary Equipment stepped forward with their shields raised, intending to stop the Nether Kings advance toward Frey. Boom! However, as soon as Diaclo swung the trident it wielded, three Level 120 God-ranked MTs were instantly reduced to ashes Chapter 3160 - Chapter 234 - Repulsing the Nether King They died?! Didnt the Soul Annihilation Spears damage its soul? No! It was acting! Its soul isnt heavily damaged! When the players in the plaza saw the three Level 120 MTs getting eliminated and the grin that had suddenly formed on Diaclos face, they instantly understood what was going on. The various experts from the Desolate Star Gods Domain were no strangers to the three MTs who were just killed. This was because all three MTs were God-ranked experts equipped with at least one Fragmented Legendary item. Combined with their higher races, they could defend against the attacks of even Superior Mythic monsters of the same level if they worked together. Although the Nether Kings attacks would still be stronger than the average Superior Mythic of the same level even if its soul was heavily damaged, it still shouldnt have the ability to eliminate those three MTs in one attack. The only explanation was that Diaclos soul wasnt actually heavily injured. Foolish humans! Did you think that I would cross the Netherworld Gate unprepared? Diaclo said mockingly as it gazed at Frey with its glowing red eyes. I will turn all of you into my puppets and have you assist me in taking over this world![1] As soon as Diaclo finished speaking, a ripple of power spread from the trident it wielded. Immediately afterward, ten Level 120 Superior Mythics emerged from the Netherworld Gate. [Revenant Manipulator] (Undead, Superior Mythic) / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M Level 120 HP 60,000,000,000 Dammit! Why did it have to be Revenant Manipulators?! Its over A Revenant Manipulator is no different than an army of ten thousand. With ten Revenant Manipulators Everyones complexion paled when they saw the ten Revenant Manipulators emerging from the Netherworld Gate. Even Menghao and Flanders revealed grave expressions. Revenant Manipulators might have below-average individual strength among Superior Mythic monsters, but they had unparalleled summoning capabilities. One Revenant Manipulator could effortlessly summon an undead army to destroy an entire city. Ten Revenant Manipulators could summon an army of 100,000 Undead and destroy an entire kingdom. Although all of the players present were peak experts or above and their numbers exceeded 10,000, even the weakest Undead summoned by a Revenant Manipulator was a Great Lord. This meant they had to go up against an army of 100,000 Level 120 Great Lords. To make matters worse, the Boundary Mountain Ranges environment was also restricting them. Even an army of 10,000 peak experts would die from exhaustion if they had to fight against 100,000 Great Lords under such restrictions. Not to mention, the Revenant Manipulators could continue summoning more Undead even after their initial summons were killed The Tower Alliances and Bright Dragons teams will distract the Nether King. Everyone else, defeat the Revenant Manipulators as quickly as possible! Do not let them summon their Revenant Protectors! Flanders quickly commanded after analyzing the situation. As soon as Flanders finished speaking, everyone in the plaza returned to their senses and acted according to Flanders orders. Everyone might be afraid of the Revenant Manipulators, but the real headache in this battle was Diaclo. If nobody could keep Diaclo in check, it was only a matter of time before the Nether King annihilated everyone here. However, so long as someone could keep Diaclo distracted, completing this Legendary Crusade Quest wasnt entirely out of the question. Immediately, the many teams in the plaza split up and targeted the ten Revenant Manipulators under the lead of their respective God-ranked experts. They needed to interrupt the Revenant Manipulators summoning magic before the Superior Mythics managed to summon their Revenant Protectors. The Revenant Protectors were the Revenant Manipulators strongest trump card. It wasnt only because Revenant Protectors were Mythic monsters. So long as the Revenant Protectors remained on the battlefield, the Revenant Manipulators would receive a magic barrier that would protect them from all damage. Unless the Revenant Protectors were eliminated, itd be impossible to damage the Revenant Manipulators. Subsequently, the many teams led by God-ranked experts charged into the tens of thousands of Great Lord ranked Undead and quickly cut open a path to the Undead Manipulators. The sight was so spectacular that it shocked even veteran experts like Su Qianliu, Rampant Blade, Blackie, Lin Yaoyue, and Zhuo Yalin. Great Lord ranked Undead were nothing in the outside world. However, this place was the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. Players Stamina and Concentration were no different than an ordinary persons here. Even a Refinement Realm expert would lose to a Great Lord ranked Undead in a one-on-one fight in this situation. However, the many teams tore through the defensive lines of the tens of thousands of Great Lord ranked Undead as if they did not exist. Reaching the Revenant Manipulators in only five seconds. The 100-plus God-ranked experts, in particular, reached the Revenant Manipulators in only five seconds, their grasp over their surrounding space and Stamina reaching an unbelievable level. On the other side, the performance of Flanders and Menghaos teams allowed Galaxy Past and Liu Wusheng to understand just how big of a gap there existed between hegemonic powers and their homeworlds various superpowers. The two simply couldnt be compared to one another. With the help of a magic array formed by 16 God-ranked experts, Flanders summoned a gigantic phantom of himself to fight Diaclo. Although Flanders phantom was only 20 meters tall, a paltry size compared to the Nether Kings 60-meter-tall frame, the phantom wielded strength greater than even Tier 4 Mythic monsters. As soon as his phantom took shape, Flanders brandished his spear and sent nine gigantic shadow serpents striking at Diaclo, his attack forcing the Nether King to halt its advance and block the nine attacks. While blocking the ninth attack, Diaclos body even froze for a moment. Evidently, the power of Flanders ninth attack had already exceeded the Nether Kings defensive threshold. Meanwhile, on the other side, Menghao worked together with the God-ranked experts of his team to summon purple-gold chains from the void. Not only did these chains restrict Diaclos movements, but they also lowered the Nether Kings reaction speed significantly. This, in turn, caused Diaclo to have an even more difficult time keeping up with the attacks of Flanders phantom, allowing the Elven Knight to land attacks that caused over twenty million damage on the Nether King. As expected of hegemonic powers. The extent of their foundations far exceeded the various superpowers, Gluttony inwardly exclaimed when he saw Diaclo getting pinned down. Even if the Five Great Super Guilds joined forces, theyd still have no way of fighting a Tier 5 monster with only Tier 3 players. Yet, the Tower Alliance and Bright Dragon had accomplished this feat. They had even put the Nether King into a disadvantageous position. Meanwhile, the sight of Diaclo being overwhelmed boosted the confidence of the many teams on the plaza. Only, before everyone could start to celebrate, ten seconds after the Tower Alliance and Bright Dragon engaged Diaclo, the Nether King suddenly raised its trident in annoyance and dyed the sky crimson. Immediately afterward, all Mana within a 1,000-yard radius of Diaclo froze. This, in turn, caused all players within the affected area to lose control over their surrounding Mana. Because of this situation, Flanders phantom, which was created using a magic array, rapidly shrunk in size and strength. As for the mana chains summoned by Bright Dragons teams, they became so fragile that the Nether King tore them apart easily. Subsequently, Diaclos hands suddenly ignited with black flames. The instant these black flames appeared, every player in the plaza could sense their soul growing restless. Before anyone could react, Diaclo launched these black flames at a random group of several hundred players, the flames enveloping these players and killing them instantly. However, it was apparent that these players did not die a normal death as everyone could see the souls of these players being burned and erased by the black flames. Not good! This is Soul Fire! Run! Nobody knew which player said these words. However, the instant these words appeared, many players promptly fled out of the plaza, none daring to stay for even a moment longer. Soul Fire! This was one of the few powers capable of destroying a players soul. So long as a player got killed by Soul Fire, their soul would be eradicated, and theyd have to start over their progress in Gods Domain from scratch. Of course, if a players tier was sufficiently high and their soul was sufficiently strong, they might only lose a few levels or be prohibited from logging into Gods Domain for a certain period of time. However, if a Tier 3 player got killed by Soul Fire, there would definitely be nothing left of them The compensation Frey offered might be excellent, but it wasnt worthwhile if obtaining it came at the cost of all of their progress. Not to mention, the details of the commission never mentioned the operation being so dangerous. In no time at all, more than half of the teams in the plaza had withdrawn from the battlefield. This is completely different from what we agreed, Lady Frey. We cannot gamble our entire team for only some Star Coins, so forgive us for taking our leave, Menghao said to Frey. When he saw the ugly complexion on Freys face, he knew that even Frey did not expect the Nether King to have a Soul Fire. So, after leaving behind an excuse, he promptly withdrew from the plaza with his team. Retreat! As for the Flower of Seven Sins and some of the remaining teams, they, too, started to retreat after seeing Bright Dragons team retreating. Although they would still lose some of their members while retreating, it was much better than getting annihilated. Several seconds after Diaclo started attacking with its Soul Fire, a majority of the teams had already fled out of the plaza. Now, less than 3,000 players remained in the plaza. We should quickly retreat as well, Vice Guild Leader, Maria hurriedly said to Flanders when she saw that Flanders phantom was close to faltering. The Tower Alliance might stand to gain a lot more than the other teams since it was the overseer of the commission this time, but it definitely wasnt worth sacrificing an entire team for some Star Coins. Not to mention, there was no way they could defeat the Nether King in their current state. The Tower Alliance had already fulfilled its duty to Miss Frey and the various powers to the best of its abilities by staying until now. While Flanders was hesitating to make a decision, Diaclo suddenly lashed out at Frey with its trident, the Nether Kings attack so abrupt that it had caught Flanders completely off guard. If Frey hadnt used seven Soul Annihilation Spears simultaneously just now, she would have had more than enough energy to dodge this attack from the Nether King. However, in her current exhausted state, all she could do was watch as the trident descended on her. Just as the humongous trident was about to reach Frey, an equally massive greatsword suddenly appeared in its path and stopped it. Although the collision of the two massive weapons had turned the surrounding space into an empty void, the greatsword had successfully stopped the trident in its path. Guild LeaderBlack Flame? When Flanders followed the origin of the Mana used to form and manipulate the massive greatsword, he found that the person controlling the greatsword was none other than Zero Wings Guild Leader. TL Notes: [1]Netherworld Gate(ڤ֮): This is most definitely referring to the Door of the Dead mentioned in the previous chapter. However, Im not sure if the author simply forgot he used Door of the Dead(֮) in Chapter 233 or if this is another name for the Door of the Dead. Chapter 3161 - Chapter 235 – Asura’s Strongest? … Chapter 235 C Asuras Strongest? TL Notes: Made a correction in Chapter 230 (4th July 2022): Original: Numerous powers were gathered at the plaza where the divine statue was situated. Corrected version: Numerous powers were gathered at the plaza located on top of the divine statues head. Boundary Mountain Range, second underground level, outside the divine statue plaza: A 1,000-man team was currently making its way up the staircase lining the divine statue to reach the plaza on top of the divine statues head. Then, around 2,000 yards away from the plaza, the team erected a magic barrier to stop for a quick break. Why are there so many Void Creatures flying around the divine statue? Why do Asuras members have so much Stamina? We have significantly more players than them, so we should be able to conserve more Stamina than they can logically. Yet, they managed to shake us off easily. Theyve probably already reached the uppermost plaza by now, Tao Yuwei said as she looked up at the distant plaza with an envious gaze. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M According to the information the Flower of Seven Sins just shared, various powers from the two Gods Domain were currently gathered at the uppermost plaza to complete a VIPs commission. Among them included the various powers from the several great alliances. Meanwhile, so long as these powers could complete the VIPs commission, theyd have a much easier time establishing a foothold in the Greater Gods Domain. However, the several great alliances had kept their lips shut on this matter to prevent others from getting a cut in the action. By the time World Dominators and Blackwater learned of this commission, everything was already too late. Although theyve already done their best to hurry to the plaza on top of the divine statue, they still couldnt reach the plaza in time to participate in the commission. Do you honestly think Asuras team will have the qualifications to participate in the commission, little girl? the Flower of Seven Sins Death Omen said contemptuously and rolled her eyes when she overheard Tao Yuweis words. You mustve seen the other Gods Domains players we passed by on our way here. The overall standard of the other sides players is much higher than ours. A force of eight God-ranked experts might be powerful on our side, but it is only one of many teams among the other sides various superpowers. Without a recommendation, Asuras team wont even qualify to participate in the commission. The VIPs commission might be extended to all powers originating from the two Gods Domain, but the authority to verify whether a power was qualified to participate in the commission lay in the hands of the Desolate Star Gods Domains two hegemonic powers. In other words, without the two hegemonic powers agreement, a power couldnt even qualify for the commission. The several great alliances managed to qualify for the commission because they had gotten in touch with the Bright Dragon Guild, one of Desolate Stars two hegemonic powers, very early on. Among them, the Flower of Seven Sins even had something that interested Bright Dragon. When Thousand Swords and Jing Yang overheard Death Omens words, the two kept silent because they understood that what the woman said was most likely true. They also no longer hoped to be able to participate in the commission. The only reason they continued following the several great alliances 1,000-man team even now was so that they could hopefully get acquainted with some of the Desolate Star Gods Domains powers. Unlike ordinary superpowers, World Dominators and Blackwater knew a connection had already formed between their world and the Greater World. They also knew that their world would eventually merge with the Greater World, and everyone on Earth would inevitably have to live in the Greater World. If World Dominators and Blackwater could establish a certain degree of partnership with the Desolate Star Gods Domains superpowers, itd be of immense help to them in Gods Domain and the real world. After all, the Desolate Star Gods Domains real world had become connected to the Greater World long ago. By now, Desolate Stars players had already established a foundation for themselves in the Greater World. This was a stark contrast to the players of their world, who had hardly anything in the Greater World. After their short conversation, Death Omen and the others continued their ascent and quickly reached the plaza on top of the divine statues head. As soon as they arrived, the sight of several thousand players frantically fleeing out of the spacious plaza greeted them. Death Omen even spotted a familiar figure among these fleeing players. Whats going on? Death Omen grew confused when she saw Gluttony fleeing out of the plaza. Gluttony was tasked with leading the Flower of Seven Sins experts to participate in the commission at the divine statues plaza. Yet, Gluttony was now fleeing out of the plaza with his team Moreover, aside from Gluttony, Death Omen also noticed many God-ranked experts among the fleeing crowd, their numbers easily exceeding 100 Aside from Death Omen, Chiyang Tianhe, Thousand Swords, and the others were also flabbergasted by this scene. Although they had long known that the Desolate Star Gods Domain was much more powerful than their Gods Domain, they didnt think the other side would be this powerful. God-ranked experts were no different than cabbages in this place, with every team having at least two or three. The Desolate Star Gods Domains circumstances were completely different from their Gods Domain. Quickly retreat! We can no longer stay in this place! Gluttony shouted when he saw Death Omens group at the staircases entrance. However, Gluttonys reminder didnt get much of a response from Death Omen and the others. This was because their attention was drawn toward the gigantic skeleton in the middle of the plaza. Nether King Diaclo! They could clearly sense the Nether Kings might even from over a thousand yards away. Not to mention, Diaclo was still wielding its Soul Fire even until now. However, compared to the Nether King that could easily extinguish players souls, what astonished Death Omen and the others even more, was the man who had stopped Diaclos attack with a gigantic sword. How did he do it?! Death Omens eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Shi Feng. At Tier 3, even a God-ranked expert would be nothing but an ant that could be crushed instantly in front of a Tier 5 monster. It wouldnt matter even if the Tier 5 monster in question was being suppressed. There was no way a Tier 3 player could single-handedly block and survive the attack of a Tier 5 monster. Yet, Shi Feng had actually accomplished this feat. For a moment, Death Omen even started to wonder if Shi Feng was still a Tier 3 player or if he had secretly completed his Tier 4 promotion already. Meanwhile, Thousand Swords and Jing Yang also gaped in shock at this scene. After seeing Shimmering Swords over-the-top performance previously, they thought that Shimmering Sword was undoubtedly the Asura Mercenary Alliances strongest player. After all, the woman already had the strength to go up against an entire superpower all by herself. Yet, Shi Feng had blocked the attack of a Tier 5 Nether King What was up with this situation? As for Flanders, who stood in the middle of the plaza, he was both surprised and relieved to see Shi Fengs extraordinary strength. After all, if Freys soul were to get erased, the Tower Alliance would be doomed. In fact, everyone participating in the operation would most likely meet a tragic fate. While everyone inside and outside the plaza had fallen silent, Shi Feng suddenly looked toward the exhausted Frey and asked, Would you like to make a deal, Miss Frey? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Flanders couldnt help but have the urge to roll his eyes. He couldnt believe that Shi Feng was trying to make a deal with Frey in this situation rather than think of a way to get out of the plaza alive. A deal? Frey wasnt a pampered princess. Although she was surprised by the strength Shi Feng displayed, she quickly calmed down and asked, What kind of deal? If we can defeat Diaclo, I want half of the Nether Kings loot and the right to have first pick over one item, Shi Feng said without any reservations. What is he thinking?! Maria, who stood next to Frey, widened her eyes in shock as she looked at Shi Feng. She felt that Shi Feng must have lost his mind to try to bargain with Frey. If the Galaxy Corporations Fourth Princess got angry, she could even make the people of their two worlds vanish forever, let alone the Tower Alliance. However, Shi Feng was convinced that Frey wanted to kill Diaclo, and if she missed this opportunity, there would be no second chance. Moreover, Frey should know that the raid was doomed to fail now that most of the teams here were thinking about running for their lives. So, now was the best opportunity for Shi Feng to get his hands on some of the Nether Kings loot. Tier 5 monsters were very rare in Gods Domain. This was the case even in the Greater Gods Domain. However, all Tier 5 monsters found in the Greater Gods Domain or special worlds that connected multiple Gods Domains, such as the Miniature Ancient World, would have a great chance of dropping a Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order. This was an item that could directly promote a Basic Cross-Border Guild into a Bronze Cross-Border Guild, granting the Guild privileges that a Basic Cross-Border Guild could only dream of having. The status of a Bronze Cross-Border Guild was also crucial in allowing Guilds to establish a foothold in the Greater World. Now that the World Passages opening was fast approaching, if he were to miss out on this opportunity, hed have to wait until he entered the Greater Gods Domain before he could obtain a Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order. Chapter 3162 - Chapter 236 - Silver Ranked Swords Orbit After hearing Shi Fengs offer, a look of hesitation appeared on Freys face as she watched Shi Feng holding back the Nether King. You can have half of the Nether Kings loot, but I cannot give you first pick on the loot, Frey said resolutely after taking a deep breath. However, I can give you five million Star Coins as compensation. When the players from the Desolate Star Gods Domain heard Freys counteroffer, a look of envy immediately appeared on their faces. Even Flanders couldnt help but look at Frey in astonishment, not expecting Frey to be willing to offer such a high price. It should be known that the Tower Alliance was only offered three million Star Coins to take on this commission. Of course, Flanders and the others also understood that Shi Feng was most likely the only person capable of going up against Diaclo right now. No other team or player present had the strength to survive the Nether Kings attacks. Not to mention, most of the participating teams had fled the plaza already. So, the offer of five million Star Coins was completely understandable. At this time, even Shi Feng was a little stunned. He didnt think Frey would make him such a lucrative offer. Although he yearned for a Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order, the Promotion Order was nowhere near worth five million Star Coins. Deal, Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Shi Feng was confident he could defeat Diaclo because of the Tower Alliances magic barrier and Freys Soul Annihilation Spears. Without either of these factors, itd be impossible for him to defeat the Nether King. Hence, had Frey refused his offer, his only option would be to escape. Now that Frey had made him an even better offer, hed be a fool to throw this opportunity away. Youre too amazing, Guild Leader! With this, we just earned 100 Life Potions! Su Qianliu said excitedly through the team chat. A sum of 100 Life Potions was something that could make the various international corporations jaws drop. Zero Wing could even become a major corporation by relying on these 100 Life Potions. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M As for Shi Fengs ability to block Diaclos attack, anyone who had seen the fight between Shi Feng and Solitary Soul in the Stratified Abyssal Realm wouldnt be surprised. After all, aside from not having any Tier 4 Skills or Spells, Shi Feng was no different than a Tier 4 player already. In terms of the Strength Attribute, he was even superior to the average Tier 4 expert. Otherwise, he couldnt have defeated Solitary Soul, who had become a bona fide Tier 4 player. The Nether King might be an insurmountable opponent for Tier 3 players. Still, now that its Basic Attributes were weakened by 30% and its soul was injured to a certain extent, even Tier 4 experts had a chance of defeating it, let alone a monster like Shi Feng. Meanwhile, Liu Wusheng and Galaxy Past couldnt help but widen their eyes in shock after seeing this turn of events. They didnt think that Shi Feng could actually hold his ground against a Tier 5 Nether King, his strength in no way inferior to Shimmering Sword. If Shi Feng had such strength, even if the Flower of Seven Sins three commanders attacked him together, the only outcome awaiting them would be death. Alright, everyone, get moving! Shi Feng said to his team with a faint smile. Ill keep the Nether King busy while the rest of you attack its blind spots! Following Shi Fengs command, everyone in Shi Fengs team went into action. Shi Feng took on the Nether King from the front, while Laura Crader, Echoing Judgment, Hidden Soul, and the other God-ranked experts attacked the Nether King from its sides. Everyone else coordinated their attacks with the God-ranked experts from a distance. For a time, the Nether King could be seen stopped in its tracks by Shi Fengs team, unable to target Frey any longer. Its HP was even steadily decreasing with time. What a powerful team! Theyve managed to stop a Tier 5 Nether King with only a 100-man team of Tier 3 players? Could they be from some hegemonic power from the Greater Gods Domain? So thats why the Tower Alliances team took the initiative to greet those people. When the other teams in the plaza saw Shi Fengs team successfully pinning down the Nether King, curiosity immediately filled their minds. The feat of pinning down a Tier 5 Nether King with only a 100-man team of Tier 3 players was something not even the Desolate Star Gods Domains two hegemonic powers could accomplish. Yet, Shi Fengs team had accomplished it. This meant that Shi Fengs team should have extraordinary origins. Good! Now that the Nether King is kept busy, everyone else, focus on eliminating the Revenant Manipulators! When Flanders saw this turn of events, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes, and he promptly commanded the remaining teams in the plaza to relaunch their offensive. Although there were significantly fewer teams in the plaza than before, due to the Tower Alliances teams participation, the process of eliminating the Revenant Manipulators was not the slightest bit slower than before. In less than twenty minutes, all ten Revenant Manipulators were defeated. Diaclos HP bar had also decreased by a lot, the Nether King having only 70% of its HP left. This situation caused the various teams that had long since fled out of the plaza to grow incredibly envious. Dammit! Why didnt we stay a little longer just now?! With this, not only did we lose half of our team, but were not even getting any compensation! A Crusade Quest differed from a normal Boss raid out in the fields. Once the Boss of a Crusade Quest was summoned, the raid would begin, and a combat zone would be designated. If players were to leave this combat zone during the raid, they would be prohibited from entering the combat zone again afterward. Of course, players who werent in the combat zone from the beginning would also be prohibited from taking part in the raid. The combat zone for the Legendary Crusade Quest was limited to the divine statue plaza. Since their teams had fled out of the plaza, they naturally couldnt participate in the Nether King raid anymore. Moreover, since they fled in the middle of the raid, it went without saying that they wouldnt receive any compensation from Frey. After all, they had taken the initiative to give up on the commission before Frey had declared the operation a failure. He did it on purpose! Black Flame must have done it on purpose! Flames of anger burned in Gluttonys eyes as he glared at Shi Fengs figure in the center of the plaza. When Diaclo was incinerating the various teams with its Soul Fire, Shi Feng had chosen not to take action despite having the strength to stop the Nether King. Yet, he had taken action as soon as the Flower of Seven Sins team had left the combat zone. Even a fool could tell that Zero Wing was targeting the Flower of Seven Sins and making sure that the Flower of Seven Sins did not receive any share of the commissions compensation. To make matters worse, the Flower of Seven Sins had lost nearly half its main force members to the Nether King. After such a devastating loss, the Flower of Seven Sins exploration progress of the Boundary Mountain Range would definitely fall behind the various superpowers main forces Dont worry. They wont succeed, Menghao said, chuckling as he looked at the distant Nether King. At the end of the day, Diaclo is still a Tier 5 monster. If those people had the ability to take care of a Tier 5 monster all by themselves, the Tower Alliance would have never invited Bright Dragon. Gluttony instantly calmed down after hearing Menghaos words. Tier 5 monsters were such challenging opponents that it would normally take a team of Tier 5 experts to bring one down. This was because players beneath Tier 5 would have a very difficult time surviving the Tier 5 Skills and Spells of a Tier 5 monster. Look! Isnt this the beginning of the end? Menghao said as he pointed at the Nether King that had suddenly started chanting an incantation. The Tower Alliance didnt invite Bright Dragon to challenge this commission together out of the kindness of its heart. Instead, the Tower Alliance had done so because of a certain Tier 4 Defensive Magic Scroll Bright Dragon possessed. Holy Realm! This was a Tier 4 Defensive Curse that summoned a barrier capable of withstanding even Tier 5 Skills and Spells used by a Tier 5 monster. However, now that Bright Dragon had already withdrawn from the operation, what would Shi Feng use to stop the Nether Kings Tier 5 Spell? This isRain of Stars! A Tier 5 Destruction Spell! When Flanders, who had just hurried back to Diaclos side, saw the gigantic crimson magic array in the sky that essentially covered the entire plaza, his complexion paled instantly. Flanders did not forget that the Nether King could use Tier 5 Skills and Spells. Even so, he hadnt worried too much about this previously since it was still possible to whittle Diaclo to death with their numbers advantage. However, Flanders never imagined Diaclo would use a Tier 5 Destruction Spell of all things. This attack alone was enough to annihilate every player in the plaza. Before Flanders could think of a way to salvage the situation, miniature stars that measured several dozen meters in radius began descending from the crimson magic array. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw the several dozen descending stars, he unsheathed his other longsword, Blasphemer, and charged to the center of these stars without hesitation. Abyssal Power! After letting out a low shout, Shi Feng executed his defensive sword technique, Swords Orbit. Subsequently, a galaxy of stars formed around Shi Feng. Different from the descending miniature stars made of gigantic boulders, the stars formed around Shi Feng were made of four or five sword lights each. When Shi Feng used Swords Orbit in his duel with Solitary Soul in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, he executed the technique with only one sword. Because of that, the stars he created were only composed of two or three sword lights each, and the resulting power he exhibited was only at the level of a Bronze Combat Technique. However, Shi Feng was now executing the technique with two swords, which was the intended way of using Swords Orbit. As a result, Swords Orbit was now a sword technique that had officially stepped into the realm of Silver Combat Techniques! Chapter 3163 - Chapter 237 - Epic Expansion Pack Boom! Boom! Boom! When the stars made of sword lights clashed with Diaclos Rain of Stars, the space above the plaza shattered and transformed into a dark void. The resulting shockwaves of the clash caused even the players standing outside the plaza to stumble backward, and only God-ranked experts managed to keep their bodies steady. After the clash continued for around ten seconds, the illumination in the entire second underground level dimmed as if night had descended on the area. Is that guy really just a Tier 3 player? Many of the players standing outside the plaza couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw the lone figure standing steadily in mid-air. This was especially so when they also noticed that the other players in the plaza had lost a portion of their HPs to the shockwaves alone. This was a Tier 5 Destruction Spell cast by a Tier 5 monster they were talking about. Yet, Shi Feng had stopped it completely. This accomplishment was enough to put him on par with the Greater Gods Domains legendary individuals. It should be known that these legendary individuals were experts that even the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers feared greatly. Every one of these individuals stood at the Greater Gods Domains apex. They also wielded great authority in the Greater World. How is this possible?! At this moment, Death Omen similarly looked at Shi Feng in disbelief. Death Omen might be a God-ranked expert, but as one of the Flower of Seven Sins seven commanders, she was well aware that there were significant differences even between God-ranked experts. The gap could be as big as the difference between a human and a dog or possibly even more. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M This was why she had chosen to go under Supreme Sky, the Sin of Greeds commander. In the eyes of the average person, the various international corporations and the Five Great Super Guilds of their world might be unreachable and insurmountable existences. However, Death Omen knew that be it the various international corporations or the Five Great Super Guilds, they were still nothing but ants in the Greater World. At most, theyd be slightly bigger-sized ants. Meanwhile, it was only a matter of time before their world merged with the Greater World. If she wished to have a better chance at surviving and thriving in the Greater World, her best bet would be to go under the wing of someone strong like Supreme Sky. After all, competition in the Greater World was much more intense than in their world. Only experts like Supreme Sky were sufficiently strong to be treated well in the Greater World. As for weaker God-ranked experts, they could, at most, earn enough to get by if they couldnt find a strong backer to rely on. Hence, when Death Omen initially learned that Hidden Soul had chosen to join the Asura Mercenary Alliance and rely on some unknown Outerworld expert named Black Flame, she couldnt help but find the decision laughable and foolish. But now The unknown Outerworld expert she had previously looked down on was not only single-handedly pinning down a Tier 5 Nether King, but he had also stopped a Tier 5 Destruction Spell completely. Meanwhile, he had accomplished all that while being only at Tier 3. With such strength, so long as Black Flame successfully reached Tier 6, even the Greater Worlds top-tier corporations would treat him as a VIP. He stopped everything? Flanders was greatly surprised when he saw that the various teams had hardly suffered any casualties. At the same time, a hint of awe appeared in his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. Previously, Flanders had been of the opinion that Shi Fengs only partnership value lay in his ability to bring players out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, after seeing Shi Fengs performance against Diaclo, Flanders realized that Shi Fengs value was much higher than he expected. Dont get too excited yet. I can only stop Diaclo for a limited amount of time, so you need to defeat the Boss as quickly as possible, Shi Feng hurriedly said when he swept his gaze across the plaza and saw the excited looks on everyones faces. If you still have any trump cards saved up, youd best use them now. Otherwise, none of us will be leaving this place alive! Everyone might think he had stopped Diaclos attack with relative ease, but he was well aware of how much Stamina he had exhausted just to stop the Nether Kings Rain of Stars. Not to mention, he had used Abyssal Power to stop the Tier 5 Spell. Abyssal Power only had a three-minute duration. Once these three minutes were up, he could no longer block Tier 5 Skills and Spells even if he executed Swords Orbit. It seems we cannot continue saving our strength. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Flanders promptly suppressed his excitement and said to his team, Use all of the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls we prepared! Everyone who has Berserk Skills left unused, use them now! We must kill the Boss before Black Flame reaches his limit! Following Flanders command, the Tower Alliances members activated their Berserk Skills one after another. They also took out the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls in their possession and began bombarding the Nether King with Tier 4 attacks. As for the several dozen teams in the plaza, they similarly used their Berserk Skills and precious tools. For a time, over a thousand Tier 4 Magic Scrolls and several thousand precious tools were being used as if they cost nothing. Then, attacks at the Tier 4 caliber bombarded Diaclo one after another, each attack reaping over ten million of the Nether Kings HP. The Asura Mercenary Alliances members were dumbfounded when they saw this scene. Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were typically treated as strategic items by the various superpowers, and the average superpower would, at most, have around one hundred Tier 4 Magic Scrolls in their reserves. Yet, now, Tier 4 Magic Scrolls were being used like they were Tier 3 Magic Scrolls. Seeing over a thousand Tier 4 Magic Scrolls being used, even the several great alliances outside the plaza couldnt help but wince in pain. Not even the Five Great Super Guilds would dare to waste so many Tier 4 Magic Scrolls for a single raid. This was an act only superpowers from the Desolate Star Gods Domain, which was a Gods Domain superior to theirs, would dare to do. Diaclos HP had fallen to 5% in less than two minutes. Although the Nether King had cast Tier 5 Spells one after another throughout this period, Shi Feng had blocked every one of its attacks with Swords Orbit. However, Shi Fengs complexion would also turn slightly paler with every Tier 5 Spell he blocked. Quick! Only 5% to go! When Flanders saw Shi Fengs pale-white complexion and more and more experts getting killed by the residual power of Diaclos Tier 5 Spells, he knew that they were now in the final length of their race against time. Hence, he began executing Silver Combat Techniques against the Nether King one after another, completely disregarding the massive toll he placed on his Stamina and Concentration. 5% 3% 1% Unfortunately, before the various teams could bring down Diaclo, Shi Feng succumbed to his exhaustion and powerlessly fell out of the air. To make matters worse, the Nether King had seemingly been waiting for this opportunity as it promptly started casting another Rain of Stars Just when everyone had fallen into despair, Frey, who had been passively recovering in the middle of the plaza all this time, suddenly raised the staff in her hands. Wither away! Soul Flower! Immediately, translucent vines appeared from the void and wrapped around Diaclo, the thorns that covered the vines causing the Nether Kings HP to plummet until nothing remained. This situation caught everyone off guard as nobody expected Frey to still have the strength to execute such a powerful attack. Only, after using this move, Frey became so weak that she had to rely on her staff to stay standing. Meanwhile, along with Diaclos death, a series of system notifications suddenly rang in everyones ears. Regional System Announcement: A player has killed Diaclo, the Netherworlds Gatekeeper. Epic Expansion Pack Myriad Worlds Descent activated. The update for the new expansion pack will begin in 15 minutes. The update will take two natural days. Please prepare to log out. Chapter 3164 - Chapter 238 - Greater Eras Arrival? An Epic Expansion Pack? The update is going to last for two days? What kind of expansion pack is this? Hm? There seems to be a general introduction from the system! Before the players in the plaza could celebrate their success in bringing down the Nether King, they were stunned by the abrupt announcement of the Epic Expansion Pack. The information was so shocking that nobody even noticed they had all leveled up from the raid. System: Once the Epic Expansion Pack Myriad Worlds Descent activates, the Miniature Ancient Worlds various NPC Cities will be open to the Realm to which the Miniature Ancient World belongs. All players under Level 120 from the Realm will have one opportunity to enter the Miniature Ancient World. The World Wall in the Miniature Ancient World will no longer prevent teleportation between the cities of the two domains. System: Ten natural days after the activation of the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack, the Top of Two Worlds teleportation will open in the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level. All players at Level 115 or above can teleport to the Top of Two Worlds using this teleportation gate and explore the Level 120-plus maps there. Search Hosted Novel for the original. Although the systems text introduction only consisted of a few sentences, every player present couldnt help but feel surprised and shocked after reading it. Even Shi Feng fell into a daze after reading the introduction. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M The merger got brought forward? A frown formed on Shi Fengs face as he looked at the system notifications. Shi Feng knew that it was only a matter of time before the two Gods Domains connected to this Miniature Ancient World would start interacting with each other. However, what he did not expect was for it to happen so soon and on a much larger scale. This was no longer something as simple as the players of two Gods Domains clashing. Instead, the scale of the conflict would be extended to cover the Gods Domains of an entire Realm. The danger ahead for their Gods Domain would likely be far greater than his initial expectations. There were many Realms in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, each Realm was home to at least a thousand Gods Domains. The Realm Gods Domain belonged to was the Starlight Realm. According to the information he gathered during his previous life, there were 1,654 Gods Domains in the Starlight Realm. Based on their size and average player standard, these Gods Domains could be categorized into three groups: Elementary, Intermediate, and Higher. Meanwhile, the Starlight Realm had 1,549 Elementary Gods Domains, 97 Intermediate Gods Domains, and 8 Higher Gods Domains. In the case of the Desolate Star Gods Domain, it could only be considered an Intermediate Gods Domain if going solely by its player standards. It would even be ranked near the bottom of Intermediate Gods Domains, and there were at least 100 Gods Domains in the Starlight Realm that were stronger than the Desolate Star Gods Domain. After all, many Elementary Gods Domains had average player standards superior to Intermediate Gods Domains. Meanwhile, not only did the Miniature Ancient World possess Legacies left behind by Ancient Gods, but it also contained the possessions of Ancient Gods. The Miniature Ancient World itself was also quite wealthy in resources. So, the Miniature Ancient World was a considerably tempting treasure trove even to the Greater Gods Domains various powers. Originally, the struggle for the Miniature Ancient World only involved two Gods Domains. Even if the Desolate Star Gods Domain was an open Gods Domain, players from other Gods Domains would first need to gain the Desolate Star Gods Domains permission before they could enter the Miniature Ancient World. Otherwise, theyd be annihilated by the Desolate Star Gods Domains native powers before they could event each the Miniature Ancient World. However, once the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack took effect, the Starlight Realms various Gods Domain would no longer have to go through the Desolate Star Gods Domain to enter the Miniature Ancient World. At that time, the number of players and powers flooding into the Miniature Ancient World would be simply unimaginable Right now, Shi Feng even started to doubt whether their Gods Domains mighty superpowers could survive the Myriad Worlds Descent. Crazy! This is crazy! How did things turn out like this? When Thousand Swords and the others saw the system notifications, their expressions turned incredibly somber. While it was great that they would have more opportunities to interact with the powers of other Gods Domain, having the powers of so many Gods Domain flood into the Miniature Ancient World was not good news. Instead, it was a nightmare. The Miniature Ancient World had limited space and NPC Cities. At best, it could only accommodate the players of three or four Gods Domains, not a thousand or more. If players from so many Gods Domains flooded into the Miniature Ancient World? Even a fool could tell that competition would shoot through the roof. At that time, players and powers wouldnt just be competing for monsters and resources. Theyd also have to compete frantically for living space. Weaklings might not even be able to continue surviving in the Miniature Ancient World While everyone was shocked by the news of the Epic Expansion Pack, Frey was the only one who had happily walked up to the Nether Kings loot. She didnt care about the Miniature Ancient Worlds Epic Expansion Pack in the slightest. The only thing in her eyes were the dozen or so items the Nether King dropped. Sure enough, its here. A happy smile appeared on Freys face when she saw a gray, withered seed among the dropped items. Immediately, she walked up to the withered seed, picked it up, and put it into her spatial bag. Throughout this process, she didnt spare any of the items a single glance even though every one of them radiated dense Mana. You all did a good job this time. I will transfer all the promised compensation to your Gods Domain Accounts afterward. For those without a Gods Domain Account, you can contact the Tower Alliance, and they will resolve this problem for you, Frey said as she looked at the several hundred players that remained in the plaza. Then, she turned to Shi Feng, who was barely keeping himself standing, and continued, I will be taking this seed as per our agreement. You can have the rest of the loot. Consider it the Asura Mercenary Alliances bonus compensation. As for the five million Star Coins, if you do not have a way to accept it, Flanders will help you solve it. After saying so, Frey seemingly didnt wish to spend even a moment longer in the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level as she took out a Tier 5 Teleportation Scroll and activated it. A Tier 5 Teleportation Scroll was an item that even superpowers wouldnt dare dream of owning. Yet, Frey had used it without hesitation. Moreover, she didnt even use it to get herself out of a precarious situation. Instead, she used it simply to save herself some travel time. However, none of the Desolate Star Gods Domains players were surprised by Freys extravagant behavior. On the contrary, they even felt it was an action befitting Frey. After all, Frey was the Galaxy Corporations Fourth Princess. With her positions importance, shed use even a Tier 6 Teleportation Scroll without hesitation as long as she could save time. Meanwhile, Shi Feng didnt know what to say when he saw Freys prodigal behavior. He felt that only someone like the Galaxy Corporations heiress could treat something as precious as a Tier 5 Teleportation Scroll so nonchalantly. What should we do next, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu quietly asked as she looked at Shi Feng. She was no longer the ignorant executive of a third-rate power anymore. After her trip to the Stratified Abyssal Realm, she more or less knew what a Realm was. Hence, she knew that the Epic Expansion Packs name of Myriad Worlds Descent truly meant the descent of a myriad of worlds into the Miniature Ancient World Everyones tired. Dont think about anything for now and just go offline and rest, Shi Feng said when he saw the anxiety on the faces of Su Qianliu and the others. Well talk about future matters after we come back online. Everyone nodded and followed Shi Fengs instructions, choosing to log out of the game and rest. As for Shi Feng, he stuffed the Nether Kings loot into his spatial bag before similarly logging out of the game. After having used Swords Orbit so many times in a row, he was having trouble even staying conscious right now. So, he naturally wasnt in the mood to inspect the loot or care about anything else. However, although Shi Feng wasnt in the mood to consider the new expansion pack, it was a different story for the rest of the Miniature Ancient World and the main continent. The Myriad Worlds Descent expansion packs announcement quickly sparked a huge uproar Chapter 3165 - Chapter 239 - Myriad Worlds Era Boundary Mountain Range, second underground level, divine statue plaza: Am I hallucinating, Teacher? Every Gods Domain in our Realm will have access to our Miniature Ancient World? Doesnt that mean we can get in touch with the various Gods Domains players? Tao Yuwei asked excitedly as she turned to look at Thousand Swords. As one of World Dominators peak geniuses, she was privy to much more information than most players. So, she naturally knew that their Gods Domain and the Desolate Star Gods Domain werent the only Gods Domains in existence. Instead, there were many, many more Gods Domains out there. Previously, the various superpowers had invested a considerable amount of manpower and resources into the Miniature Ancient World so that they could have a better time interacting with the Desolate Star Gods Domains various powers. Meanwhile, the reason they were trying to interact with the Desolate Star Gods Domains powers was so that they could learn more about the Greater Gods Domain, which would, in turn, give them an easier time once their Gods Domain got integrated into the Greater Gods Domain. However, according to the system notification, the new expansion pack would allow the players from many other Gods Domains to enter the Miniature Ancient World directly. Not only would this give them a much easier time learning about the Greater Gods Domain, but they would also have access to many more fortuitous opportunities than before. At this moment, even Gu Yiren couldnt help but look forward to the expansion pack. There were two reasons why so many Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts were attracted to the Miniature Ancient World. Firstly, it was because the Miniature Ancient World contained many God Legacies. Secondly, it was because they could spar and interact with the Desolate Star Gods Domains experts. They could climb to higher tiers if they could further improve their technical standards. Now that many more experts from other Gods Domains would be coming to the Miniature Ancient World, they might even have hope to reach Tier 6, let alone Tier 5. We can indeed interact with many more experts. Unlike Tao Yuwei and Gu Yiren, Thousand Swords did not reveal any feelings of joy or excitement. On the contrary, his face looked somewhat gloomy as he said, But this is both good news and bad news for us The new expansion pack had indeed granted them more opportunities to interact with powerful experts and broaden their horizons. / please keep reading on MYB0XNOVEL.C0M However, the arrival of more experts would also mean that competition in the Miniature Ancient World would become more intense. It wasnt hard to imagine that once the expansion pack took effect, the status quo in the Miniature Ancient World would undergo a significant change. Even Super Guilds like World Dominators would not be spared from this change. However, Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei did not feel worried despite what Thousand Swords said. On the contrary, they even hoped the expansion pack would come sooner. That way, they could spar with the experts of other Gods Domains and rapidly improve their strength. At that time, theyd be able to stand out more in the Miniature Ancient World and become legendary individuals among the younger generation. When the rest of the players in the Miniature Ancient World and the players on the main continent learned about the Epic Expansion Pack, the official forums quickly exploded with activity. Whats going on? Wasnt the Miniature Ancient World supposed to only be for players of our Gods Domain and another planets Gods Domain? I thought there were only two Gods Domains in existence. But looking at the systems introduction, there seem to be many more Gods Domains in existence. That is indeed the case. You guys might not know this, but there actually exist many, many Gods Domains. Moreover, the players of these Gods Domains arent from other planets. Instead, they are people from parallel worlds. Its just that Gods Domain can connect all of these parallel worlds. This information has always been known to only the executives of the various superpowers and first-rate powers. These powers have also prohibited the spread of this information. What a bunch of nonsense. Parallel worlds? How can such things exist? Also, if this information is prohibited from being spread, how did you come to know it? Hehe, thats because Im a first-rate Guilds reserve executive. I can share this information now since it wont be a secret once the new expansion pack takes effect. So thats why the various corporations have invested so much into Gods Domain. These sneaky bastards If that really is the case, Gods Domains value is much higher than we imagine. The Miniature Ancient Worlds value might also be far higher than the main continent. Trading currencies and resources in the real world with other parallel worlds might not be possible, but we can buy technologies that are unavailable in our world. If a corporation can get its hands on new and unavailable technology, it can definitely make a fortune. I just checked the exchange rate for Coins. The value of Coins increased tenfold not long after the new expansion pack was announced. The people who have stocked up on Coins previously are probably making a killing right about now. This wont do! Im going to transfer to the Miniature Ancient World as soon as the update finishes! Ive decided as well! Although I went through great pains to reach Tier 4, the opportunities available in the Miniature Ancient World are far superior to the main continent! Going to the Miniature Ancient World now isnt a bad idea. Although players choosing to enter the Miniature Ancient World now cannot bring any Coins or Magic Crystals, can only bring up to 50 slots worth of items, and cannot reconstruct their Mana Bodies, we will only regress to Level 120, Tier 3. Overall, it is still a good tradeoff. Shortly after the new expansion pack launched, many players came to know about the secrets of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, after learning these secrets, these players were filled with expectations towards the Miniature Ancient World. It was especially true for the main continents Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts. Support us at Hosted Novel. Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts might be able to earn a sizable salary by working for the various powers, their earnings in a single year enough for them to buy a house in a first-rate city. However, this salary was nothing compared to the possibility of getting their hands on unknown technology and selling it for a fortune. While the whole world was discussing the Miniature Ancient Worlds new expansion pack, Jin Hai Citys Gods Domain Association Building welcomed a group of people. Along with the arrival of this group, the originally lively lobby instantly turned quiet. Their uniform Are they from the Green God Corporation? Quick, look! Elder Li has come out to greet them! Whats going on? Elder Li is personally greeting them? Isnt Elder Li a director in the Green God Corporation? Look at the woman at the front. She might be young, but shes wearing a Three-Leaf Emblem, proof that she is an executive in the Green God Corporation. Elder Li might be a director in the corporation, but he is only one of the corporations many outer directors. He isnt part of the corporations middle management. Just one word from that woman can probably get Elder Li kicked out of the Green God Corporation. What? Why would an executive from the Green God Corporation come to this place? It isnt just the Green God Corporations executive. See that man wearing sunglasses next to the woman? If Im not mistaken, he should be Breeze Wine, the Midnight Tea Partys former commander. Thats right! That is definitely Breeze Wine! I met him in the early years of Gods Domain. He was one of Gods Domains Three Great Guardian Knights at the time, but he suddenly disappeared a few years ago. Rumor has it that he died, so I really didnt expect him to appear here! Even the Midnight Tea Partys former commander has appeared Did some great personage appear in this place? I recall that under Breeze Wines lead, the Midnight Tea Party dared to challenge even the Five Great Super Guilds. If not for Breeze Wine and the Midnight Tea Partys commander disappearing, the Midnight Tea Party might surpass the Five Great Super Guilds in terms of apex combat power But why would bigshots like them suddenly come to this place? Curiosity and confusion filled the people in the lobby when they saw the Green God Corporations group of ten or so people. For a moment, their attention had even shifted away from the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack. What brings you here, Miss Xia? Elder Li, an Elder of the Gods Domain Association conducting a routine inspection on Jin Hai Citys association branch, asked respectfully as he looked at the young woman before him. Its nothing worrying. Im just here to find Zero Wing. Can you lead the way for me? the young woman asked with a faint smile. Although Elder Li was greatly confused by this request, he still led the young woman and her entourage to Zero Wings temporary office. Meanwhile, when the players in the lobby overheard the womans words, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Zero Wing was nothing more than a small Guild that didnt even have its own headquarters. Zero Wing had even offended the Flower of Seven Sins and was at risk of disbanding at any time. Yet, this small Guild had actually managed to get an executive from the Green God Corporation to visit it in person. This was simply unbelievable. At the same time, a piece of shocking news appeared on the official forums of Gods Domain. One of the parties involved in activating the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack was Zero Wing! Chapter 3166 - Chapter 240 - Greater World Inside a training room filled with all kinds of state-of-the-art training equipment, a group of young men and women around 20 years of age and dressed in dark, tight clothing were frantically fighting multiple six-armed Demons on a stage that measured 50 meters in length and width. If the various superpowers peak geniuses were to see this, they would definitely be shocked. This was because the six-armed demons on the stage were Blade Demons, Tier 4 Great Demons. Moreover, even though the six-meter-tall Blade Demons were only holographic simulations, they fought like real existences, their every attack causing the youths to stumble and retreat. Whenever these youths received a direct blow from the Blade Demons, they would even get knocked back by three meters. It didnt look like the Blade Demons were simulations at all. However, the fact that these youths were getting pushed around didnt mean they were weak. On the contrary, they were extraordinarily strong for youths of their age. On top of having the physical fitness of Henglian masters, every one of these youths possessed incredibly high combat standards, with some having already reached the Void Realm. In addition, every one of them had already reached the Realms of Truths Truth Realm and could apply the Truth Realms principles to real-world combat. After the battle continued for around twenty minutes, the youths eventually defeated all of the Blade Demons and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Todays training is finally over, a young man sweating profusely said after collapsing onto the stage. I thought I was going to fail just now. Ill probably be kicked out if I fail again Consider yourself lucky that we have a lot of talented newcomers this time. Otherwise, we would have definitely lost this battle, a short-haired girl of roughly similar age said to the young man. Then, she looked toward a silver-haired girl kneeling near her and said enviously, Arent you improving a little too quickly, Wu Xiaoxiao? Even though we are all newcomers here, you have already caught up to the earlier batch of trainees that joined three months ago. At this rate, it probably wouldnt be long before you get shortlisted. No, I still have a long way to go compared to you all, Senior Sister. Moreover, there are countless geniuses here, but only ten will get shortlisted. Even those at the Domain Realm wouldnt necessarily get chosen, Wu Xiaoxiao said, shaking her head. However, she couldnt help but feel a sense of yearning at the mention of getting shortlisted. By the way, Xiaoxiao, I heard that the Guild your little sister is in has done something amazing this time, the short-haired girl suddenly said. I cant believe Zero Wing was one of the parties responsible for activating the new expansion pack. Everyone in Gods Domain is talking about it right now. Zero Wing will definitely gain a significant advantage over the various superpowers. It doesnt matter even if Zero Wing gets an advantage over the various superpowers, the young man lying on the ground said disdainfully. Superpowers are as numerous as the stars among the myriad Gods Domains, and most of these superpowers can barely survive in the Greater Gods Domain. Xiaoxiao, seeing as you are so talented, your little sister should be quite talented as well, right? If you make further improvements, youll be able to bring your little sister here. If your little sister wants to make any noteworthy accomplishments in the future, its best if she comes to us.[1] Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M The short-haired girl nodded in agreement. If Wu Xiaoxiaos younger sister wished to have a better life in the future, Bring Lingling over? When Wu Xiaoxiao thought of Wu Lingling, who was more talented than she was, a hint of resolve appeared in her eyes. Zero Wing might have powerful instructors and God-ranked experts, but in this place, reaching Tier 6 was only a beginning.[1] Moreover, so long as Wu Lingling came to this place, shed be able to understand the true extent of Gods Domain. She would realize that their Gods Domain or the Miniature Ancient World were nothing but insignificant existences. Gods Domain Association Building, Zero Wings temporary office: Something big happened, Guild Leader! Blackie said after hurriedly entering the room. People from the G-Green God Corporation are here! Theyre asking to have a chat with you! The Green God Corporation? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he heard Blackies words. The Green God Corporation was the largest corporation in their world, bar none. Be it their worlds Gods Domain or miracle potions like the S-rank Nutrient Fluids and Life Potions, all these things came from the Green God Corporation. Because of this, once powers in Gods Domain grew to a certain extent, it was inevitable for them to make contact with the Green God Corporation. However, no matter how Shi Feng looked at it, the current Zero Wing was nowhere near strong enough to catch the Green God Corporations attention. After all, the standard of technology and manpower the Green God Corporation possessed was far beyond the imagination of any superpower. The corporation was so powerful that not even the Five Great Super Guilds were worthy of its attention. Although Zero Wing currently possessed considerable fame in the Miniature Ancient World and even had fourth-floor experts safeguarding it, these were still insignificant matters to the Green God Corporation. Hence, Shi Feng found it incredibly hard to imagine why the Green God Corporation would take the initiative to seek out Zero Wing. Do you want to meet them? Blackie asked quietly. I dont think we have a choice in this, Shi Feng said with a bitter smile. Go and greet them. Ill see you in the reception room later. Understood. Blackie hurriedly left to make the necessary preparations. The Green God Corporation was an existence far above even the Flower of Seven Sins. If they accidentally provoked the Green God Corporations people, Zero Wing would probably cease to exist before the day ended. Gods Domain Association Building, top-floor reception room: When Shi Feng, Su Qianliu, and Blackie, stepped into the reception room that was roughly the size of a basketball court, they found that around a dozen people were already seated in the room. Out of these dozen or so people, even the weakest among them was a Henglian grandmaster with physical fitness far beyond the average person. Even Su Qianliu, who had already reached the Henglian master standard, found herself feeling suffocated when standing in the presence of these people, her mind warning her to stay as far away from these people as possible. After seeing the arrival of Shi Fengs group, the young woman sitting at the head of the Green God Corporations group took the initiative to stand up and introduce herself, Hello, I am Xia Qingyin, Vice President of the Green God Corporation. Hello, I am Shi Feng, Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader, Shi Feng responded, feeling a little surprised when he saw the young woman before him. However, he did not show his surprise on his face as he calmly asked, May I know what business you have with Zero Wing, Vice President Xia? Xia Qingying! The young woman might look like she was in her early twenties, but Shi Feng knew that the other party was even older than he currently was. Meanwhile, in addition to being one of the Green God Corporations core executives, she also possessed extraordinary individual strength. Most importantly, she was a mental strength grandmaster. If Xia Qingying wanted to, she could single-handedly wipe the floor with every person in this room I see that you are a straightforward person, Guild Leader Shi Feng, Xia Qingying said, a smile forming on her face as she scrutinized Shi Feng. In that case, Ill get straight to the point. I am here today to make a deal with Zero Wing. I heard that Zero Wing had received five million Star Coins from the Galaxy Corporation previously. The Green God Corporation is willing to sell Zero Wing a slot to the Greater World. I am sure Zero Wing should know how valuable the Greater Worlds entry slots are, right? As for the price, itll be five million Star Coins. How about it? TL Notes: [1]bring your little sister here || in this place: I dont know where exactly here or this place is referring to. The author decided to be incredibly vague here for some reason. Following Chapter 54, here/this place should be referring to Crimson Emperor, but the author might not be referring to Crimson Emperor, so Ill leave things vague. Chapter 3167 - Chapter 241 - Going Online Five million Star Coins are enough to cause the Green God Corporation to make such a huge move? Su Qianliu couldnt help but blink her eyes in surprise when she heard Xia Qingyings words. The Green God Corporation was the number one corporation in the world. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Green God Corporations yearly revenue exceeded even the revenue of every other corporation in the world added together. The amount of wealth the Green God Corporation possessed was simply unimaginable. A large part of why the Green God Corporation could generate so much revenue was because it was responsible for constructing and operating the several dozen Upper Zones around the world. The various Upper Zones possessed technological and living standards far superior to the rest of the world. Because of these superior standards, people living in the Upper Zones tended to have an average life expectancy of around 180 years. Moreover, they could even retain their youth up to 60 years old or above. Due to these reasons, countless wealthy people were willing to pay hundreds of millions or more just to live in an Upper Zone. Although the Green God Corporation would only give out qualifications to live in the Upper Zones to several thousand people each year, that was already more than enough to let the corporation generate astronomical amounts of wealth. Logically, with so much wealth in its possession, there shouldnt be anything that could tempt the Green God Corporation to take action. Yet, now, the Green God Corporation had sent one of its Vice Presidents to visit a small Guild like Zero Wing just to purchase the five million Star Coins in Zero Wings possession. This situation both surprised and confused Su Qianliu. According to Flanders, five million Star Coins were only enough to exchange one hundred Life Potions. Meanwhile, a sum of one hundred Life Potions was nothing to the Green God Corporation. After all, every bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid and Life Potion in their world came from the Green God Corporation. There was no way one hundred Life Potions could tempt the Green God Corporation into action. Deal. Zero Wing will buy the Greater Worlds entry slot, Shi Feng answered Xia Qingying without hesitation. Guild Leader? Blackie couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion. According to what he learned from Flanders, he knew that people from many parallel worlds in existence could head to a single world known as the Greater World. More specifically, every parallel world would eventually be integrated into the Greater World. Hence, he knew that if Zero Wing could enter the Greater World ahead of other powers, Zero Wing could secure itself a head start in the Greater World. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M However, although he understood the importance of getting a head start, trading away one hundred Life Potions for just one slot was simply too much for Zero Wing. Zero Wing was very tight on money right now. It was especially so after the new expansion packs announcement. Just the announcement of the new expansion pack had already caused the various powers to increase the benefits they offered to their core members, afraid that other powers would poach their core members. Once the new expansion pack took effect, competition in the Miniature Ancient World would become even more intense. At that time, Zero Wings Credit expenditure would definitely skyrocket. This isnt a loss for Zero Wing, Shi Feng said to Blackie quietly. You can even say that weve profited. If other superpowers receive this opportunity, the corporations behind them will agree to the offer even if they have to sell their assets. We naturally cannot miss this opportunity. The Greater World was a gathering place of the many parallel worlds. Although people from the various parallel worlds would eventually have to live in the Greater World no matter what, the order of ones entry into the Greater World would significantly impact ones life in the Greater World. After all, the sooner one entered and learned about the Greater World, the sooner one could prepare for the eventual integration. Of course, Shi Feng didnt need to learn about the Greater World since he had long since learned about it in his previous life. The only reason he was trying to enter the Greater World sooner was so that he could prepare for Zero Wings future development in the Greater World. As for the price of five million Star Coins for one entry slot into the Greater World, it was definitely an offer that favored Zero Wing massively. Now that their Gods Domain had yet to become fully open, entry slots for the Greater World in the real world would be extremely limited. If not for the Green God Corporation urgently needing Star Coins, there was no way Zero Wing would get the chance to buy an entry slot into the Greater World for just five million Star Coins. You are a very straightforward person indeed, Guild Leader Black Flame, Xia Qingying said as she looked at Shi Feng with a faint smile. The passage to the Greater World will stabilize in seven days. Someone from the Green God Corporation will come to pick you up at that time. If you dont have any other problems, we will be taking our leave. After saying so, Xia Qingying left the reception room with her entourage, her behavior making it seem as if she wasnt interested in Zero Wing in the slightest. Miss Xia, there are only ten entry slots for the Greater World, and the various corporations have spent countless resources to exchange for them. If these corporations learn that Zero Wing only spent five million Star Coins to buy a slot, theyll most likely have opinions about it, Breeze Wine said worriedly. If they refuse to cooperate after entering the Greater World, itll create a lot of problems for my side of the operation. Opinions? Xia Qingyings mouth curled slightly when she heard Breeze Wines concerns. They should be thankful that the Green God Corporation is willing to even sell them a slot. Do they think we are lacking that little bit of resources? If not for the President hoping for other corporations to have some presence in the Greater World, they wouldnt receive a single slot. If any of them dare to refuse to cooperate with you after going over to the other side, I will show them the harshness of the Greater World! Breeze Wine was relieved when he heard Xia Qingyings assurance. If he only had himself to rely on, thered be nothing he could do if the representatives of those several corporations refused to obey his commands. After all, he had just barely managed to establish a foothold for himself in the Greater World. He had no authority to speak of in the Greater World. However, it was a different story for the Green God Corporation. The Green God Corporation had already entered the Greater World and achieved a certain degree of development there many years ago, let alone now. Even after the several corporations representatives had entered the Greater World, so long as the Green God Corporation wanted to, it could end these peoples careers easily. Although Xia Qingyings sudden visit had caused a huge uproar in Jin Hai City, everyones attention gradually shifted away from the matter as the arrival of the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack neared. This was because the new expansions impact on the world was growing bigger and bigger throughout the two-day update. Even players on the main continent were constantly talking about the expansion pack. Among the topics discussed, the topic that came up most frequently involved the actions taken by the various corporations worldwide. To ensure they could secure themselves a place in the Miniature Ancient World, the various corporations were poaching talents left and right with lucrative offers. Some corporations even offered independent Tier 5 experts the chance to live in the Upper Zones. The Upper Zones were places that countless people sought to live in. Just the benefit of retaining ones youth up to 60 years old and living up to 180 years old on average was more than enough to attract anyone. It should be known that the living standards of modern people were already very high. It had also become a norm for people to conduct physical training on a daily basis. However, even after factoring in the advancements made in the fields of nutrition and medicine, the average persons life expectancy was only 100 years, and the life expectancy of wealthy people was 120 years. That was a far cry compared to the Upper Zones average life expectancy of 180 years. Not to mention, people living in the Upper Zones could retain their youth up to 60 years old and only start to grow old after reaching 100 years old. Moreover, the Upper Zones living standards were continuously improving with time. Hence, the sooner one moved into an Upper Zone, the better their life would become in the future. Unfortunately, the Upper Zones only accepted several thousand new residents each year. One couldnt necessarily acquire a slot even if one was willing to pay a billion Credits. Even corporations with many business dealings with the Green God Corporation could only get their hands on very few entry slots each year, so few that they didnt even have enough to use for their own families. Yet, now, corporations were using these slots to recruit players. Through this point, one could imagine just how valuable the Miniature Ancient World was. For a time, many hidden experts and young talents operating on the main continent couldnt help but get the urge to enter the Miniature Ancient World. According to a survey conducted by the Gods Domain Association, at least a million experts with official membership in the Gods Domain Association were prepared to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Among them, many were experts in the Professional Leagues A-League and B-League. Nighttime, Qingzhu Villa District: I can finally go online after two days of waiting. When Shi Feng heard the update completion notification sound coming from his virtual gaming cabin, he took a deep breath and got into the gaming cabin. Then, he chose to log into Gods Domain. Chapter 3168 - Chapter 242 - Myriad Worlds Players Boundary Mountain Range, second underground level, divine statue plaza: Players appeared one after another in the plaza. Apart from Shi Feng and his team members, the members of the Desolate Star Gods Domains various powers similarly did not leave the plaza when the system update started. Instead, they had chosen to log out of the game to rest. Strange. Why does my body feel a lot heavier than before? Su Qianliu immediately noticed the change in her body as soon as she logged into the game, and she couldnt help but be confused by this situation. Me too. My bodys reaction speed has also slowed down significantly, Zhuo Yalin said with a stunned look on her face. Could there be a bug with the update? Gods Domains environment had been fixed from the very beginning. Although the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level had a special environment, it still didnt make sense for the environment to change because of the system update. Not to mention, Zhuo Yalin could feel that her reaction speed had slowed down significantly, and her physical fitness was reduced to that of an ordinary person. In this situation, shed be fortunate if she could exhibit even half of the combat power she could previously exhibit in the second underground level No, this isnt a bug. This is the true Gods Domain, Maria, who stood nearby, said. The true Gods Domain? Liu Wusheng looked toward Maria in confusion. Aside from Liu Wusheng, the others present, such as Crimson Heart, Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and the others, also turned to look at Maria, curious to learn what the other party meant by true Gods Domain. In response, Maria looked to Liu Wusheng and explained, The environment we are in now, or, more specifically, the level of control we have over our bodies currently, is the true standard of control players should have in Gods Domain. This is the standard that the Greater Gods Domain and all Gods Domain that has come out of isolation share. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M When a Gods Domain remains in an isolated state, players of that Gods Domain can move their character bodies with only a single thought. Unlike in the real world, the nervous system is not involved in the entire process of controlling ones body in Gods Domain. As a result, it is significantly easier to control ones character body than ones real body. However, once a Gods Domain comes out of isolation, everyone belonging to that Gods Domain will see this manipulation method changed to match that of the real world. So, you will feel as if your bodies cannot keep up with your brains. Liu Wusheng and the others instantly understood Marias explanation and realized what had gone wrong with their bodies. At the same time, unprecedented pressure fell on them. The way they had to control their bodies had changed! After playing in their isolated Gods Domain for so many years, they had long since gotten used to having their character bodies execute movements with a single thought. In that state, one could say that their bodies could move as quickly as their brains could think. However, in their current state, their bodies reaction speed could no longer keep up with their brains reaction speed. This situation would make fighting monsters incredibly difficult for them in the future. More specifically, whenever they fought against monsters in Gods Domain in the future, itd be no different than if they were to fight these monsters in the real world. The only difference would be that their character bodies would be much stronger than their real bodies. However, there was no doubt that their combat standards in Gods Domain would plummet. From today onward, Refinement Realm experts would probably have difficulty beating even High Lords of the same level Players would most definitely have to change their combat methods to adapt to this new control method. For peak experts and above, though, they wouldnt be affected by this change as much as other players. With their ability to perceive their surroundings clearly, they could compensate for their bodies reduced reaction speed by predicting their opponents moves in advance and taking the appropriate countermeasures. Though, when it came to using combat techniques, Skills, and Spells, peak experts would also be severely affected like ordinary players. Aside from Liu Wusheng and the others, the various superpowers members standing in the distance similarly felt great pressure after experiencing the true Gods Domain. Even the Flower of Seven Sins Death Omen and Gluttony wore ugly looks on their faces. With this change, the gap in strength between our Gods Domain and other Gods Domains has just grown even bigger The corners of Thousand Swords eyes twitched when he finished listening to Menghaos explanation. Originally, Thousand Swords thought that even if the various foreign Gods Domains powers came to the Miniature Ancient World, the native powers of their Gods Domain could rely on their numerical and geographical advantages to maintain a considerable advantage. However, after learning about the changes that had taken place, it wouldnt matter even if they had a numerical advantage. The gap in combat standards between both sides was simply too massive. After the update, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts were not much different than ordinary experts. They were merely better at making use of their five senses. However, due to the limitation of their bodies reaction speed, Refinement Realm and Flowing Water Realm experts wouldnt gain much advantage even if they could use their five senses better than ordinary experts. It would no longer be possible for Flowing Water Realm experts to single-handedly wipe the floor with a 100-man team of ordinary experts. This would be the case even if Stamina restrictions were removed. In the current state of Gods Domain, if ordinary players were said to be able to exhibit 60% of their bodies potential, then Flowing Water Realms could only exhibit 80% of their bodies potential. The difference between the two was considerably small. As for Domain Realm experts, they were probably only at the 90% to 95% standard. Their overall strength advantage over ordinary experts was also considerably limited. A Domain Realm expert might even have difficulty going up against a few Refinement Realm experts with the same Basic Attributes While everyone was feeling stressed by the unexpected changes, Shi Feng was calmly inspecting the loot he got from the Nether King. He wasnt at all surprised that the various superpowers were having a hard time processing this situation. This was the process that all players of isolated Gods Domains had to experience sooner or later. This was also why, in the Greater Gods Domain, players were divided based on their accomplishments in the World Tower rather than their accomplishments in the Realms of Refinement. From now onwards, ones accomplishments in the Realms of Truth would be just as important as ones accomplishments in the Realms of Refinement. Even if players reached the Domain Realm and could exert their five senses to their very limits, they wouldnt be considered third-floor experts if they had no accomplishments in the Realms of Truth. In fact, even if a Domain Realm expert managed to reach the Truth Realm, which was the Realms of Truths entry-level, and achieve combat power at the third-floor standard, they wouldnt be recognized as third-floor experts by the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers. They would still be deemed as second-floor experts. Only after a player had reached the Realms of Truths Ascension Realm on top of reaching the Realms of Refinements Domain Realm would they be considered a true third-floor expert, which was also the so-called God-ranked expert. After reaching the level of a God-ranked expert, players would have the ability to defeat multiple second-floor experts in the Greater Gods Domain, assuming that there were no Stamina restrictions in place. We got quite the good harvest this time, so its about time we leave, Shi Feng said after sorting out the Nether Kings loot. Shi Feng had gained quite the harvest from the Nether King this time. Aside from gaining enough EXP to reach Level 117, he had also obtained two Fragmented Legendary Weaponsa staff and a greatsword. In addition, the Nether King had also dropped a Tier 5 Magic Scroll, a Teleportation Magic Array Design, and a bunch of Legendary materials. Most importantly, the Nether King had dropped a Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order, an item that could instantly promote a Basic Cross-Border Guild into a Bronze Cross-Border Guild. Liu Wusheng and the others nodded when they heard Shi Fengs words. Now that numerous foreign Gods Domains were about to enter the Miniature Ancient World, the last thing they should do would be to waste time grinding in the second underground level. According to the systems introduction, the Miniature Ancient Worlds City System would also undergo a significant change once the myriad worlds descended. If they didnt adapt to this change as soon as possible, the various foreign powers would quickly eliminate them from the Miniature Ancient World. After Shi Feng bid goodbye to Flanders team, he promptly led his team out of the Boundary Mountain Range. Then, after traveling on Mount for around ten hours and exiting the Boundary Mountain Ranges underground area, Shi Feng and the others took out a Return Scroll and teleported back to Hundred Flow City. Hundred Flow City, Teleportation Hall: Followed by the appearance of numerous flashes in the Teleportation Halls teleportation array, Shi Feng and the others finally returned to Hundred Flow City. So many people actually came?! Galaxy Past gasped when he saw the crowded Teleportation Hall. Currently, players standing shoulder to shoulder could be seen crowding the lobby the size of a football field. Moreover, these players were incredibly high-leveled, nearly all of them being at Level 120. These Level 120 players were also equipped with Epic Equipment Sets, their equipment standards not the slightest bit inferior to the various superpowers main force members. However, compared to these players equipment standards, their combat standards were even more shocking. At a glance, Galaxy Past could see Refinement Realm experts everywhere, with many Void Realm experts and above among them. He even felt a sense of danger from quite a few of these experts Chapter 3169 - Chapter 243 - Guild Promoted Hundred Flow City, main street: When Shi Feng and the others walked out of the Teleportation Hall, they found that the main street outside was similarly crowded with players. Players couldnt even run in the spacious main street right now. At best, they could only walk at a quick pace. After Shi Feng and the others took a few steps away from the Teleportation Hall, the players on the street suddenly stepped aside and created an empty path. Then, a 100-man team of players dressed in uniform equipment and clothing walked down this path. Meanwhile, the mere presence of these 100 players caused Liu Wusheng, Crimson Heart, Hidden Soul, and the others to step back subconsciously. Is this the strength of other Gods Domains? A grave expression appeared on Liu Wushengs face when he saw the 100-man team. Although this team only had one hundred members, Liu Wusheng could feel an oppressive feeling coming from every one of them. He felt he wouldnt even be a match for these one hundred players in a one-on-one fight. Moreover, he could also sense a suffocating presence from several of these experts. The auras of these people had clearly reached the Tier 4 standard already. Echoing Judgment, Wordless Ember, and Flowing Quicksand also wore serious expressions on their faces. Unlike Liu Wusheng, they knew exactly how terrifying this 100-man team was. Every member of this 100-man team could rank within the top thirty of Slumber Citys Temple Knights. Among them, the several players walking at the front of the team were even more terrifying than Solitary Soul. Those several players were experts at the Vice City Lord level. Who are these people? Who would send such a powerful team here? Even hegemonic powers of Intermediate Gods Domains cant afford to part with such a team! a Level 120 Tigerkin with tanned skin exclaimed after seeing the 100-man team disappearing into the distance. Upon hearing the Tigerkin Berserkers words, a Level 120 elven man standing next to the Tigerkin rolled his eyes and said, Are you a native of this Miniature Ancient World? How can you not know about the Divine Hunters Guild? Divine Hunters? The Divine Hunters from the Four Saints Higher Gods Domain? The Tigerkin Berserker was stunned. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Thats right. That Divine Hunters. Otherwise, why do you think everyone made way for those people? The elven man nodded. Then, he sighed and continued, It seems Hundred Flow City is going to be the Divine Hunters Guilds territory from now on. Guilds from Intermediate Gods Domains like ours wont stand a chance here. Thats not for certain, right? The Divine Hunters Guild might be powerful, but if hegemonic powers from Intermediate Gods Domains are willing to shoulder the cost, its not impossible for them to compete with the Divine Hunters. After all, there are only a few hundred cities in this Miniature Ancient World. There arent even enough to go around for the Intermediate Gods Domain, let alone the other Higher Gods Domains, the Tigerkin Berserker said. What do you know! With a bitter smile, the elven man said, Now that the City System has been activated, the top ten players of each citys Colosseum will receive a portion of their respective citys management rights. However, Divine Hunters has sent six of its titled commanders here! Its almost certain that Divine Hunters will have absolute control over Hundred Flow City! What?! Is the Divine Hunters Guild crazy?! Is Hundred Flow City so important that it needed to send six titled commanders?! the Tigerkin Berserker shouted in astonishment. Those are Titled experts we are talking about! Upon hearing the Tigerkin Berserkers words, the experts from the various Gods Domains were similarly astonished. Only Liu Wusheng and the players native to the Miniature Ancient World remained puzzled by this situation. How extravagant of Divine Hunters. Shi Feng was also inwardly surprised by this situation. The term titled expert referred to experts who had received a title from the Greater Gods Domains Seven Luminaries Alliance. Players native to the Miniature Ancient World might not know the significance of a titled expert. However, players who had lived in the Greater Gods Domain would know that any expert who had received a title from the Seven Luminaries Alliance was like a war god in Gods Domain. This was because every titled expert was an existence capable of going up against one hundred opponents of a similar level and tier simultaneously. They were top-tier existences even among fourth-floor experts! If we have to go up against so many experts, even maintaining our foothold in Hundred Flow City will be a challenge Su Qianliu experienced a headache when she saw the various Gods Domains experts that crowded the street. Originally, Su Qianliu had been rather confident in Zero Wings future. However, after seeing so many experts appearing in Hundred Flow City, she doubted that Zero Wing could even retain its position in Hundred Flow City. This would be terrible for Zero Wing. Only the various NPC Cities had teleportation arrays in the Miniature Ancient World. This meant that most trades between players would be conducted in NPC Cities. If Zero Wing couldnt maintain its foothold in Hundred Flow City, it couldnt even trade with other powers. Even if powers were willing to go through the hassle of trading with Zero Wing, theyd exploit Zero Wing to an unimaginable level. At this time, Su Qianliu wasnt the only one feeling pressured. Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and Crimson Heart were in a similar situation. The Miniature Ancient World might be rich in resources, but these resources were mainly concentrated in the trade network formed by the various NPC Cities. If they couldnt join this trade network, theyd be isolated by the powers that were a part of it. You dont need to worry about this. Gods Domain isnt a place where you can achieve greatness with only a few experts, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Sometimes, status is much more important than strength in Gods Domain! Status? Su Qianliu suddenly thought of the Stratified Abyssal Realms nobility system. Some of the Stratified Abyssal Realms Upper-class Nobles might not be as strong as Temple Knights, but they still enjoyed much better treatment in the various NPC Cities than Temple Knights. However, another question quickly popped into Su Qianlius head. How were they supposed to acquire status in the Miniature Ancient Worlds NPC Cities? Something like the Abyssal Tower did not exist in the Miniature Ancient World. Although the various cities had a peerage system, obtaining a noble title required a vastly greater sum of Contribution Points than obtaining an ordinary noble status, and it wasnt something that could be accomplished within a short time. However, Shi Feng did not offer any additional explanations. He simply had Su Qianliu and the others return to the Asura Mercenary Alliance to gather a large number of Magicians and collect the materials necessary to construct a teleportation array. Then, he made his way to Hundred Flow Citys Adventurers Association. When Shi Feng arrived at the Adventurers Association, the building was crowded with players from other Gods Domains going through the procedures for Guild creation in the Miniature Ancient World. How may I help you, Sir? a Half-elf female administrator working the front desk on the second floor asked when she saw Shi Feng approaching. In response, Shi Feng took out the Bronze Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order and said, Hello. I want to promote Zero Wing into a Bronze Guild. Chapter 3170 - Chapter 244 - First Bronze Guilds Reward A look of surprise appeared on the Half-elf administrators face when she saw the ancient scroll in Shi Fengs hands. However, she quickly reverted to wearing her cordial smile, an additional hint of respect appearing in her eyes. Please wait a moment, Sir. As you are using a Bronze Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order instead of the standard promotion procedure, I will need to have the Associations elders verify your Promotion Order before I can process the promotion for you, the administrator explained as she took the ancient scroll from Shi Feng. No problem. Shi Feng nodded, unsurprised by this situation. The promotion of a Cross-Border Guild was different from the promotion of standard Guilds. It represented the recognition of all Adventurers Associations in Gods Domain. At the same time, it was also a recognition of status in the Greater Gods Domain. Normally, a Basic Cross-Border Guild seeking promotion would need to fulfill two conditions. Firstly, the Guild would need to accumulate one million Gods Domain Popularity Points. Secondly, the Guild would need at least one hundred members to become certified Advanced Adventurers, which also meant they needed to reach the World Towers second-floor standard. In addition, ordinary cities did not possess the qualifications to test players. Only Adventurers Association branches in the Greater Gods Domain or Holy Cities situated in the junctions between Gods Domains were qualified to conduct the certification test. Meanwhile, the so-called adventurer certification test was essentially a test of a players combat standards. Players were required to challenge the World Tower during the certification test, and there were four levels of certification players could aim for: Basic Adventurer, Advanced Adventurer, Superior Adventurer, and Top Adventurer. These four certification levels corresponded to the World Towers four floors. Only players who had successfully cleared the Basic Adventurer Certification would be recognized as first-floor experts. After reaching this standard, one would also become officially recognized as an expert in the Greater Gods Domain. As for players who managed to pass the Advanced Adventurer Certification, theyd be recognized as second-floor experts in the Greater Gods Domain. Theyd also be treated as mid-level mainstays in the Greater Gods Domains various Guilds, and theyd be qualified to challenge the Large-scale Crisis Quests issued by Adventurers Association. Meanwhile, Crisis Quests could be considered one of the main sources for Cross-Border Guilds to raise their Gods Domain Fame. Among them, Large-scale Crisis Quests required a minimum of 100 players to challenge. This was also why one of the conditions to become a Bronze Cross-Border Guild required 100 second-floor experts. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Shi Feng took a big shortcut by using the Bronze Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order, so it was understandable that the Half-elf administrator would try to verify his Promotion Orders authenticity. After all, NPCs had already started to behave no differently from real people after the Main God System had undergone several upgrades. It was just that NPCs normally wouldnt interfere in the matters of players. Afterward, the Half-elf administrator quickly left with the Promotion Order, leaving Shi Feng by himself at the front desk. Unlike the quiet front desk, the nearby quest area for Guilds was filled with chatting players. Did you guys hear? The various superpowers had to abandon their territories and join forces just to occupy a few small cities. Even the Five Great Super Guilds have only managed to occupy a medium city after banding together, none of them daring to set foot in large cities, a Level 109 Assassin said, sighing. I dont even know what first- and second-rate Guilds like us are supposed to do No surprises there. Have you guys seen the players from those foreign Gods Domains? Theyre absurdly strong. Even though Im a Refinement Realm expert, I feel no different from an ordinary player in front of those people, a Level 110 middle-aged Berserker said. I also heard that most of these players are only the younger members of their respective powers. You can say that our Miniature Ancient World has become a training ground for the various Gods Domains younger generation. I heard about that, too. Our Miniature Ancient World is one of the few places where they can compete from the same starting line after all. I also heard that the youths who perform well might have a chance at getting recruited by the Greater Worlds conglomerate to become reserve executive members. This has stirred the competitiveness of the various Gods Domains youths, and they are now duking it out at the Colosseum, a Level 110 Elementalist said, nodding. Its a pity that our local powers are too weak. In our Gods Domain, youths that are peak experts are incredibly rare even in the Five Great Super Guilds, but even the weakest among the foreign Gods Domains youths are at the level of peak experts. If only our youths were a little stronger. Then, we wouldnt be looked down on by the other Gods Domains so much, and we wouldnt have to be called natives. Dont get your hopes up, the Level 109 Assassin said. Have you seen the battles taking place in the various NPC Cities Colosseums? Do you know about Nature Halls One-eyed Ghost? Hes one of our Gods Domains Eight Sword Meisters, yet he lost to a seventeen-year-old Swordsman in less than a minute in Rock Devil Citys Colosseum. To make matters worse, he didnt even manage to reduce the boys HP by one-third before he got taken out. Ive heard about that Swordsman. Aside from him, a little monster has also appeared in Red Obsidian Citys Colosseum. Shes a seventeen-year-old Berserker, and she took out Warring Tiger, one of the Five Blades, in only nineteen moves. Even when Warring Tiger used his trademark move Seven Tigers, the girl blocked the attack completely and lost less than 20% of her HP, the Level 110 middle-aged Berserker said, sighing deeply. Many more of such little monsters have appeared in other cities. Unless the God-ranked experts on our side make a move, I doubt anybody can go against these little monsters When the various Guild players in the hall talked about the battles taking place in the various NPC Cities Colosseums, they couldnt help but be shocked by the foreign Gods Domains strength. At the same time, they also despaired when they thought about how the outcome of these battles would be deciding a portion of the various NPC Cities management rights. The management rights one could earn through the Colosseum would not only give one the right to manage the citys Auction House, but one could also decide the citys entrance fee. However, the problem of the entrance fee was only secondary. What really worried everyone was whether they could even enter the various NPC Cities. After all, now that so many more players had flooded into the Miniature Ancient World, the various NPC Cities were no longer enough to accommodate all players. Every NPC City could only accommodate a limited number of players. Meanwhile, once an NPC City reached full capacity, subsequent players that sought to enter the city would have to wait in line. However, players with an NPC Citys management rights could give priority to certain people to enter the city. Once the various foreign powers took control of the Miniature Ancient Worlds NPC Cities, it went without saying that they would give this priority to their own members. Then, they would give second priority to their allied powers and players from their Gods Domain, while local players of the Miniature Ancient World would receive the least priority. In this situation, there was almost no way local players with the least priority would get a chance to enter the various NPC Cities. However, NPC Cities were essential for players to rest and conduct trade. Even leveling up would become a problem if players couldnt enter a city to rest. They also couldnt sell the resources they obtained, resupply on daily necessities, or repair their weapons and equipment. Although trades could still be conducted in the fields, doing so came at great risk. After all, areas outside of NPC Cities were considered combat zones. The risks that came with robbing other players were much lower. Moreover, even if players could create a space outside where trades could be conducted safely, any trades that took place there would most likely involve a lot of price gouging. Even the Greater Worlds conglomerates are paying attention? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised by these Guild players discussion. Shi Feng wasnt surprised that the Miniature Ancient Worlds local powers were having difficulty getting by after the myriad worlds descent. After all, their Gods Domain had developed for only ten years. How could it possibly compete with Gods Domains that had developed for multiple decades or centuries? This was also why he was in a hurry to promote Zero Wing into a Bronze Cross-Border Guild. Once Zero Wing became a Bronze Cross-Border Guild, its members would have priority to enter the various NPC Cities. Although a Bronze Cross-Border Guild would only have 30,000 priority slots to enter an NPC City, which was a pitiful amount considering large Guilds tended to have hundreds of thousands or even millions of members, this amount was enough for the current Zero Wing. The only thing Shi Feng did not expect was for the Greater Worlds conglomerates to be paying attention to the Miniature Ancient World. This was a very rare situation in the Greater Gods Domain. It should be known that any corporation in the Greater World capable of being considered a conglomerate held considerable power in the Greater World. A conglomerate was like a gigantic alliance of powers. Meanwhile, any player or power that received even a little bit of support from a conglomerate would have a much easier time getting by in the Greater World. Otherwise, theyd only be taken advantage of by the Greater Worlds various powers and have great difficulty achieving greatness. This was also why people from Elementary and Intermediate Gods Domains all sought to join a conglomerate. While Shi Feng was in a daze, the Half-elf administrator returned to the front desk with his Promotion Order. We have verified the authenticity of your Guild Promotion Order, Mr. Black Flame, the Half-elf administrator said respectfully. Now, all you need to do is pay a 10,000-Gold processing fee, and Zero Wing will be promoted into a Bronze Guild. Alright. Here is the money, Shi Feng said as he took out the 10,000 Gold he had prepared beforehand. I have verified the payment. I will take care of the promotion procedures for you right away, the Half-elf administrator said after verifying the payment amount. Around thirty seconds later, a system announcement was sent to every player in the Miniature Ancient World. System Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for getting promoted into a Bronze Guild and becoming the first Bronze Guild in the Miniature Ancient World. Rewarding 100,000 Gods Domain Fame Points. All Guild members will have their death penalties halved, and EXP acquisition is increased by 100% for the next ten days. System: Congratulations! Your Guild, Zero Wing, has become the first Bronze Guild in the Miniature Ancient World. Rewarding one Legendary Legacy Scroll, one Overtier Spell Book, and three levels. Chapter 3171 - Chapter 245 - Demon Gods Armament Zero Wing got promoted into a Bronze Guild? Amazing! Zero Wing actually got promoted into a Bronze Guild already! As expected of the Guild responsible for starting the Myriad Worlds Descent! With this, our local Guilds have finally surpassed the foreign Gods Domains Guilds in something! I just checked, and it seems that a Bronze Guild has 30,000 special authority slots that can be used to gain priority entry into any NPC City! Crap! Doesnt this mean that Zero Wings members can freely enter even NPC Cities that have already fallen into the hands of other Gods Domains? This means that the foreign Gods Domains powers will have difficulty taking Zero Wings territories even if they want to. Zero Wing can make a fortune by using this advantage to trade with other local powers. Not even the Five Great Super Guilds can be a match for Zero Wing now since they have occupied only one NPC City. At most, the Auction House in their city will be connected with the Auction Houses of several neighboring cities. In comparison, Zero Wing can freely access the Auction Houses of every NPC City. After the system announcement was repeated three times, the Miniature Ancient Worlds local players instantly went into an uproar, many going to the official forums to discuss Zero Wing. Particularly, the topic of how to join Zero Wing became the focus of many peoples attention. For a time, Zero Wing became the most desired Guild for players to join in the Miniature Ancient World. Dammit! How did things turn out like this?! Inside the top-floor VIP room of a high-class restaurant, Jing Yangs rage shot through the roof when he learned about the details regarding Bronze Guilds. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Previously, he had chosen to withdraw Blackwater from the Asura Mercenary Alliance because he wanted Zero Wing to know Blackwaters significance to the mercenary alliance. However, Zero Wing had quickly proved him wrong time and again. First, Zero Wing had revealed astonishing foundations by forcing its way into the Boundary Mountain Range with only a team of 100 players. Moreover, out of these 100 players, there were three fourth-floor experts that even a hegemonic power like Bright Dragon had to be wary of. Now, Zero Wing had even gotten promoted into a Bronze Guild, instantly solidifying its position in the Miniature Ancient World. In contrast, Blackwater had only managed to secure the management rights to a small NPC City after joining forces with other superpowers. Moreover, they werent even certain if they could retain their hold over this NPC City. It hadnt been more than a day since the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack took effect. There would be more and more players from foreign Gods Domains entering the Miniature Ancient World from now on. So, competition in the Miniature Ancient World would only grow even more intense in the future. How was he supposed to explain himself to his superiors? It should be known that it was entirely his decision to withdraw Blackwater from the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Now that Zero Wing had become a Bronze Guild, it instantly became the most sought-after partner for all local powers. After all, players needed the various services the various NPC Cities offered. At this moment, the representatives of the other powers, which had also withdrawn from the Asura Mercenary Alliance, in the room were similarly filled with mixed feelings. As for Thousand Swords, he sighed deeply after reading about the details of Bronze Guilds and said, It seems Ill have to pay Zero Wing a visit. Teacher, can our Guild really not survive in the Miniature Ancient World without Zero Wing? Gu Yiren asked with a confused expression. World Dominators was a veteran Super Guild. In Gu Yirens opinion, World Dominators should have no problem securing its hold over a small NPC City, so he felt it unnecessary to seek partnership with Zero Wing. Its going to be very difficult, Thousand Swords said and shook his head after giving Gu Yirens question some thought. This is only the Myriad Worlds Descents first day. The players we have seen thus far are only the vanguard of the various foreign powers. Once those foreign powers start to dispatch more God-ranked experts, even the Five Great Super Guilds will have difficulty safeguarding their city, let alone other superpowers like us. Also, even if I visit Zero Wing, its uncertain whether Zero Wing will agree to partner with us Thousand Swords couldnt help but reveal a bitter smile when he spoke up to this point. Although he had long since known that the powers of other Gods Domains would be very powerful, he didnt think they would be so powerful that theyd have experts capable of rivaling him among their younger generation. Moreover, this was only the first day of the new expansion pack. The various foreign powers were only testing the waters with their younger members. Hardly any of their veteran experts had made a move yet Red Obsidian City, Flower of Seven Sins Residence: We have finished reallocating our core members and resources, Commander Omen. We have already sold all of our Lands and Shops in the various NPC Cities, and we can set out for Shadow Fog City at any time, a Level 110 masked Ranger said respectfully to the bewitching woman resting in the office. Have everyone move out, then, Death Omen commanded. Then, while looking at the report on her desk, she said, A Bronze Guild, is it? Count yourselves lucky. Once the Level 120 maps open, well see how you can continue retaining your place in the Miniature Ancient World! After saying so, Death Omen left her office and withdrew from Red Obsidian City with the rest of the Flower of Seven Sins members. Then, they moved toward Shadow Fog City, a large NPC City controlled by Bright Dragon. While the Flower of Seven Sins was secretly moving its base of operations, Shi Feng had teleported to Zero Wings Residence in Abyssal Star City, not daring to stay even a moment longer in Hundred Flow Citys Adventurers Association. Arent these rewards a little too much? Even after reading the system notification exclusive to him several times, Shi Feng still couldnt help but feel astonished. During his previous life, Zero Wing had conducted its promotion into a Bronze Guild in the Greater Gods Domain, so it didnt receive any rewards for its promotion. Although he had fortunately acquired a Bronze Cross-Border Guild Promotion Order in this life, he didnt think becoming the first Bronze Guild would come with such abundant rewards. It was incredibly difficult for a Guild to raise its Gods Domain Fame in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, Gods Domain Fame was crucial for Guilds to get promoted beyond the Bronze rank. For example, a Large-scale Crisis Quest would only award a Guild with 1,000 Fame Points. Yet, a Bronze Guild needed 500,000 Gods Domain Fame Points to get promoted to the Silver rank. Aside from needing Fame to get promoted, a Bronze Guild that had accumulated 200,000 Fame Points could apply with the Adventurers Association to construct a World Tower of its own. Although Bronze Guilds could only construct the first two floors of the World Tower, it was still a privilege that many Bronze Guilds dreamed of obtaining. This was because players would need to pay 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal each time they applied to challenge the Advanced Adventurer Certification with the Adventurers Association. Indeed. The application fee was charged in Seven Luminaries Crystals, not Coins or Magic Crystals. However, if a Guild managed to acquire its own World Tower, it could lower the fee by 50%. This would drastically reduce the Seven Luminaries Crystals it needed to spend to let its members take the Advanced Adventurer Certification. Now that Zero Wing had received 100,000 Gods Domain Fame as soon as it had become a Bronze Guild, it would no doubt save Zero Wing a lot of time in the future. However, compared to the Guild rewards, the personal rewards Shi Feng received were what truly surprised him. Not only did he receive three level-ups, which instantly propelled him to Level 120, but he also received a Legendary Legacy Scroll and an Overtier Spell Book. Both of these two items were of extraordinary value, and they normally could not be bought with money. An Overtier Spell Book was a spell capable of exhibiting strength above its tier. For example, a Tier 3 Overtier Spell could exhibit power at the standard of Tier 4 Spells, while a Tier 4 Overtier Spell could exhibit power at the standard of Tier 5 Spells. Typically, a Tier 3 Overtier Spell Book would be worth one piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. As for Tier 4 Overtier Spell Books, their value exceeded even Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Moreover, the Tier 4 Overtier Spell that Shi Feng received was even a Berserk-type Spell. [Demon Gods Armament] Tier 4 Overtier Spell Requires: Tier 4 Upon use, borrow the Demon Gods power to create a set of weapons and equipment with 100% adaptability, increasing the effects of all your weapons and equipment by 100%. Duration: 60 seconds Cooldown: 1 hour The greater a players equipment standard, the more strength they could draw from this Tier 4 Overtier Spell. In Shi Fengs opinion, the effects of Demon Gods Armament were not the least bit inferior to a Tier 5 Overtier Spell. After carefully keeping the Overtier Spell Book away, Shi Feng turned his attention to the ancient dark-purple scroll in his bag. If he were to say that Demon Gods Armament had given him a pleasant surprise, this ancient dark-purple scroll had given him a fright. Chapter 3172 - Chapter 246 - God-ranked Expert Ranking List If the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers were to learn about this thing, Zero Wing will probably cease to exist before tomorrow comes, Shi Feng thought to himself as he looked at the ancient dark-purple scroll in his bag. He had returned to Zero Wings Residence from the Adventurers Association without hesitation because of this Legendary Legacy Scroll. Individual rewards awarded by the system would briefly appear before the recipient when the system handed them out. Although other players could not inspect the information of the awarded items, they could still determine the quality of the items based on the Mana and glow effect given off. Meanwhile, a purple-gold glow typically represented Fragmented Legendary items, while a dark-purple glow represented Legendary items. If the reward he received was only an ordinary Legendary item, the various superpowers might grow envious, but it wasnt enough to make them go crazy. After all, every superpower had Legendary items of its own, with some even having Legendary Weapons. Needless to say, powers from foreign Gods Domains would also have Legendary Weapons. However, it was a different story for the Legendary Legacy Scroll. Its value was above even that of Legendary Weapons. The best Legacy Scrolls Shi Feng had seen during his previous life were Epic Legacy Scrolls. An Epic Legacy Scroll could not only teleport players directly to a Tier 4 Legacy Land, but players could also challenge the same Legacy Land up to three times. This made Epic Legacy Scrolls highly sought-after by Tier 3 players who had difficulty finding a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Meanwhile, above Epic Legacy Scrolls were Legendary Legacy Scrolls. However, the existence of the Legendary Legacy Scroll was akin to a myth in even the Greater Gods Domain, and its existence had only ever been mentioned in library records. There were no records of people actually finding a Legendary Legacy Scroll in reality. As for the value of a Legendary Legacy Scroll, it was something that even the Galaxy Corporation, a titan in the Greater World, would try to obtain, even at the cost of destroying an entire world. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M This was because a Legendary Legacy Scroll did not simply teleport the user to a random Tier 4 Legacy Land. Instead, it would teleport the user to a Legacy Land related to their Legacy. It might not seem like there was a difference since the players would be teleported to a Tier 4 Legacy Land regardless of whether they had used an Epic Legacy Scroll or a Legendary Legacy Scroll. However, the difference between entering an ordinary Legacy Land and a Legacy Land related to ones Legacy was like night and day. It was especially true if one had a unique Legacy. If a player entered a Legacy Land related to their Legacy, they could further improve their Legacy. It was especially true for God Legacy holders. If a God Legacy holder got promoted to Tier 4 via a Legacy Land related to their Legacy, they would become much closer to the God they inherited their Legacy from. It should be known that Gods were known as the strongest existences in Gods Domain. Even an apex race like Dragons was beneath the God race. Dragons might be known to be invincible among opponents of the same tier, but Gods were known to transcend tiers. This was why Tier 6 Gods could kill Tier 6 God-ranked players easily. It would be the same if an Ancient God Legacy holder got promoted via a Tier 4 Legacy Land related to their Legacy. They would become closer to the Ancient God their Legacy was tied to after they got promoted to Tier 4. Although Ancient Gods were also Gods, they had existed for a much longer period of time. They wielded strength of much greater purity, and they were much stronger than Gods under the same tier. In Gods Domain, any Tier 6 player who had managed to master a complete Ancient God Legacy would become a symbol of invincibility. They could control a world at will, and even the Galaxy Corporation would have to bow its head to such existences. Meanwhile, a Legendary Legacy Scroll had the ability to create such an invincible existence. Even if the chance of success wasnt 100%, it was still enough to cause all powers in the Greater Gods Domain to go crazy. After taking a long look at the Legendary Legacy Scroll, Shi Feng set it aside in his bag. He did not hurry to challenge his Tier 4 promotion. The Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack had thoroughly changed the status quo in the Miniature Ancient World. Before Zero Wings situation stabilized, Shi Feng dared not challenge his Tier 4 promotion. The Tier 4 promotion took a long time to complete. The whole process could take anywhere from several days to half a month. Such a long time was enough for significant changes to take place in the everchanging Miniature Ancient World. He wouldnt even be surprised if Zero Wing no longer existed by the time he completed his Tier 4 promotion. Hence, only after making all the necessary preparations could he challenge his Tier 4 promotion with peace of mind. However, despite Shi Fengs thoughts, it was also true that Zero Wing urgently needed high-end combatants. So, he promptly contacted Laura Crader and handed her the Tier 4 Legacy Search Scroll he acquired from killing the Void Serpent. This situation surprised Laura. She didnt think that Shi Feng would give her the Legacy Search Scroll instead of using it himself. It was especially so now that Shi Feng had reached Level 120 already. With Shi Fengs strength, he could easily complete his Tier 4 promotion and allow Zero Wing to progress further in its development. In response to Lauras confusion, Shi Feng simply said he had many matters he needed to tend to and wasnt in a hurry to get promoted to Tier 4. After hearing this, Laura no longer refused the Legacy Search Scroll. After all, the quicker she raised her tier, the sooner she could head to the Greater Gods Domain. Hence, after taking the Legacy Search Scroll, she promptly left for the Boundary Mountain Range in search of a Tier 4 Legacy Land. Shortly after Laura left for the Boundary Mountain Range, Su Qianliu and Blackie excitedly ran into Shi Fengs office and reported Zero Wings latest situation to Shi Feng. Many experts have applied to join Zero Wing after we became a Bronze Guild, Guild Leader. In addition, the students of many academies have also sent us their resumes. We have already received over 200,000 applications in total for the time being. Thats even more than what the Asura Mercenary Alliance has received at its peak. Some well-known A-League experts have also applied to join Zero Wing, Blackie said excitedly. Zero Wing had very high recruitment standards. Aside from youths under the age of twenty, those above twenty needed to be at the Half-step Refinement Realm standard at the very least. Yet, despite these harsh standards, Zero Wing still received many applications to join. Among these applicants, over fifty of them were A-League experts. It should be known that every A-League expert was a peak expert or above. If Zero Wing accepted all of these applicants, its overall strength would be close to matching the Five Great Super Guilds. I have received partnership requests from over ten superpowers on my side, one of them being the Secret Pavilion. All of these superpowers are willing to let us help nurture their peak geniuses like Twilight Echo. Moreover, they are offering to pay six bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid per person, Su Qianliu said with a smile. According to the estimates these superpowers have provided, we should be receiving over 500 peak geniuses in total if we choose to partner with all of them. Thats a minimum of 3,000 bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. We can even afford to nurture a 1,000-man main force with that many S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Moreover, those peak geniuses will also become Zero Wings combat power. Just the thought of having so many peak geniuses fighting for Zero Wing sent shivers down Su Qianlius spine. With such a powerful force, Zero Wing could even clash against the hegemonic powers of other Gods Domains. Six bottles per person is too little. Were already having trouble training our own geniuses, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Tell those superpowers that theyll have to fork out ten bottles per person. Moreover, we will only be accepting 300 people in total. Shi Feng was well aware of what those superpowers were trying to do. They were simply looking to form close ties with Zero Wing. However, his supply of Hypersensitivity Potions was limited. After deducting the portion he needed to nurture Zero Wings experts, he didnt have many left to nurture the experts of other powers. However, it wasnt good to outright refuse those superpowers partnership offers, either. As the saying went, never slap a smiling person. Rather than openly refuse these superpowers and risk offending them, it would be better to ask for a higher price and scare them away. I understand. Ill inform them afterward, Su Qianliu said, agreeing with Shi Fengs sentiments. Have you prepared the materials and magicians I had you prepare? Shi Feng asked. The status of a Bronze Guild might have allowed Zero Wing to stabilize its foothold in the Miniature Ancient World, but it wasnt enough to allow Zero Wing to thrive. For that to happen, Zero Wing would still have to earn a large amount of wealth in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, now that the myriad worlds were descending to the Miniature Ancient World, it was the perfect opportunity to make a fortune. The materials are ready, but we are still missing a few Master Magicians, Su Qianliu said, feeling a little ashamed. Although many experts had come to join Zero Wing, Master Magicians were still incredibly rare. Most Master Magicians remained in the hands of the various superpowers, and there were very few independent Master Magicians. Thats enough. Have all of them gather. I have something I need them to do right away, Shi Feng said. Shi Feng was well aware that the struggle for the various NPC Cities had only just begun. If Zero Wing wished to thoroughly stabilize its foothold in the Miniature Ancient World, it would need its own city. Moreover, itd have to be a Guild City that could connect with the NPC Cities. This was also the basis of survival for the various Guilds in the Greater Gods Domain. Afterward, Su Qianliu had all of the Master Magicians she found gather in Zero Wings Residence. Then, Shi Feng took out the Medium Teleportation Magic Array Design he acquired from the Nether King and had the various Master Magicians begin constructing the magic arrays stated in the design. The design could only be used to construct three medium teleportation arrays that could teleport up to 50 people at a time. Each medium teleportation array cost 100,000 Magic Crystals to construct. The construction of a medium teleportation array was much more tedious than a small teleportation array, the complexity comparable to the construction of an NPC Citys Teleportation Hall. Moreover, the core magic array was even a Grandmaster Magic Array that could only be constructed by a Grandmaster Magician. Fortunately, Shi Feng was a Grandmaster Magician, so constructing the core magic array wouldnt be a problem. While Shi Feng was leading the many Master Magicians to construct a medium teleportation array for Abyssal Star City, competition in the Miniature Ancient World was growing fiercer and fiercer. It wasnt until the fourth day after the expansion packs launch that the various powers management rights over the various NPC Cities were decided. The struggle between the various powers these past few days was incredibly exciting, and many experts and powers had either risen to fame or fallen into obscurity. The struggle was so heated that everyone quickly forgot about Zero Wings promotion into a Bronze Guild. At the same time, the Seven Luminaries Alliance, one of the Greater Gods Domains strongest powers, had released a ranking list in the Miniature Ancient World. The God-ranked Expert Ranking List! The ranking list included the top 100 God-ranked experts that have appeared in all Colosseums across the Miniature Ancient World, and it became an important reference for the Greater Worlds various conglomerates. Chapter 3173 - Chapter 247 - Primordial City Upgraded Abyssal Star Primordial City: As the sky gradually darkened, more and more players began gathering in the restaurants and street stalls that lined the eastern side of the citys main street. Its getting increasingly difficult to get into Abyssal Star City. I had to wait in line for two whole hours today, a Level 112 Shield Warrior clad in pitch-black armor complained as he sat down at a street stall. The entrance fee has also been increased to 20 Silver today. Thats 10% of my earnings today gone Upon hearing the Shield Warriors complaints, the Level 110 Elementalist sitting next to the Shield Warrior clicked her tongue and said, Youre a Bronze member in Asura, so you have to wait for only two hours to get into the city. Do you know how long I had to wait in line as a normal member? I was just saying, the Shield Warrior said, scratching his head as he revealed a silly smile. Ever since the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack took place, Abyssal Star City had become one of the few cities local players could rest in. This drastically increased the number of players seeking to enter the primordial city. However, as the city only had a maximum capacity of six million players, even after the Asura Mercenary Alliance had raised its membership requirements, the mercenary alliances member count had still exceeded ten million. This was far above Abyssal Star Citys maximum capacity. If he hadnt joined Asura earlier on and gotten himself a Bronze membership, he would be stuck as a normal member and have had to wait in line for seven to eight hours just to enter Abyssal Star City. At this time, a Level 112 Ranger wearing chainmail walked over and sat down next to the Shield Warrior and Elementalist, saying, Our adventurer team is already one of the more fortunate ones. We were lucky we chose to set our base of operations in Abyssal Star City. Had we set up base in an NPC City, we wouldnt even be able to get into the city. Right now, over 99% of NPC Cities have already become the territories of the various foreign Gods Domains. Wed have to wait ages to enter an NPC City even if we are willing to pay the exorbitant fee of 30 Silver. Many adventurer teams that entered the Miniature Ancient World at the same time as we did have to hire people to repair their weapons and equipment outside NPC Cities at an exorbitant price. Even then, they still have to wait in line to get their weapons and equipment repaired. Thats right. If our Broken Dream adventurer team hadnt joined the Asura Mercenary Alliance long ago, we would be lining up outside NPC Cities like most other adventurer teams, the Elementalist said, nodding. It would be great if I could find a boyfriend whos a core member of Zero Wing. In that case, I could teleport straight into his private house instead of waiting in line. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Keep on dreaming, the Shield Warrior said, rolling his eyes at the Elementalist. Every male core member of Zero Wing is prime real estate for the various academies young ladies right now. You dont stand a chance against those young ladies. Currently, all core members of Zero Wing enjoyed a special privilege that allowed them to purchase a private house in Abyssal Star City so long as they had enough Guild Contribution Points and Coins to afford it. Meanwhile, on top of being able to accommodate up to four players, every private house also allowed its occupants to teleport directly into the city, skipping the need to wait in line. Because of this, many players were desperately seeking to purchase a private houses teleportation slot, with some people offering up to five million Credits per slot per month. However, even at this price, it wasnt guaranteed that one could buy a teleportation slot. Cant you let me dream? The Elementalist glared at the Shield Warrior. Noticing the awkward atmosphere, the Ranger hurriedly changed the topic, saying, Have you guys seen the God-ranked Expert Ranking List? The list is truly astonishing. Only two people from the Five Great Super Guilds have managed to enter the list, and both of them are old monsters rumored to have reached the Beyond Domain Realm already. Even then, they have only managed to rank 89th and 93rd! Ive seen the list. I heard that those two old monsters only got into the list because the Five Great Super Guilds managed to secure over half of Burning Citys management slots and gained thorough control over the city. Otherwise, they probably wouldnt even get into the top 100, the Shield Warrior said. The various Gods Domains expert standards are vastly greater than ours. Even Beyond Domain Realms experts can just barely squeeze into the top 100. There simply is no place for people like us. Subsequently, the Level 112 Ranger said, But an amazing expert has appeared in our Asura Mercenary Alliance this time. That expert actually got ranked 27th. This has greatly increased our reputation among the various Gods Domains. Thats right. I was very surprised when I learned about it. I originally thought Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame would be the one to enter the Ranking List. I didnt think it would be the Glimmer adventurer teams Vice Commander Kasio instead, the Elementalist said, sparkles appearing in her eyes when she mentioned Kasio. His skills are simply amazing. He defeated a Ranger bearing the title of Blood Eagle in just 35 moves. Its a pity Kasio went silent after securing a slot in Hundred Flow City. Otherwise, he can definitely rank higher in the list. Kasios appearance is indeed expected, but whats even more surprising is Thousand Scars, a little monster from the Flower of Seven Sins. She managed to rank 10th among the Twenty Outstanding Youths at the young age of nineteen, the Shield Warrior said. In terms of combat standards, she is already close to entering the top 100 of the God-ranked Expert List. The second place among the Twenty Outstanding Youths is ranked 98th in the God-ranked Expert List. From what I can tell, there isnt much difference between that guy and Thousand Scars, so she should probably be close to entering the God-ranked Expert Lists top 100. Indeed. Thousand Scars is already recognized as the number one genius in our Gods Domain. A conglomerate from the Greater World has even extended an invitation to her. This has instantly elevated the Flower of Seven Sins position beyond the Five Great Super Guilds. The various foreign Gods Domains powers have even taken the initiative to let the Flower of Seven Sins have Gray Copper City. Now, the Flower of Seven Sins is the only power in our Gods Domain to hold control over two NPC Cities. Moreover, it is also the only power that can enter the Boundary Mountain Ranges second underground level to search for Tier 4 Legacy Lands. Now, even the Five Great Super Guilds are looking to further their partnership with the Flower of Seven Sins, the Elementalist said. Then, she worriedly continued, If the Five Great Super Guilds really do deepen their ties with the Flower of Seven Sins, its going to be tough for our Asura Mercenary Alliance in the future The Shield Warrior and Ranger nodded in agreement. The Asura Mercenary Alliance might have Abyssal Star City to rely on, but it didnt have absolute management rights over any NPC City. It only had two management slots in Hundred Flow City, which allowed it to receive a portion of the citys income. Absolute control over the city lay in the hands of the Divine Hunters Guild, which held six management slots in Hundred Flow City. Although Abyssal Star City sat in a strategic location, its importance would fall when players gained access to Level 120-plus maps and the NPC Cities there. Even if players needed to find a place to rest, they would choose to rest in the NPC Cities situated in maps below Level 120 so that they could use the Teleportation Halls there to teleport to the Level 120-plus NPC Cities. At that time, Abyssal Star City would be put into an awkward situation, and the Asura Mercenary Alliance would lose its ability to compete with the Flower of Seven Sins. While the Broken Dream adventurer teams members were chatting among themselves, three Level 115-plus players sitting on the open-air roof of a nearby restaurant were quietly eavesdropping on their conversation. I didnt think our core members would be so popular. Shi Feng chuckled when he overheard the conversation of Broken Dreams members. Its not bad. You should have seen Blackies situation, Guild Leader. He doesnt even dare to step out of the Gods Domain Associations entrance recently. I can probably form a line that stretches from North Street to South Street with all the people whove asked me for Blackies contact information, Su Qianliu said, chuckling. Can you not just make fun of me, Qianliu? You speak as if nobody has asked for the Guild Leaders contact information, Blackie said, curling his lips. I heard that if you hadnt announced that youve sealed the information, a crowd would have stormed the Gods Domain Association Building. Shi Feng was a little stunned when he heard this. Lets set this matter aside for now, Su Qianliu said, faking a cough. I came here with important business. Hundred Flow Citys teleportation array is completed already. Now, all thats left is to activate the main teleportation array in Abyssal Star City, and teleportation between the two cities will become possible. Its done already? Blackies eyes glowed with excitement when he heard Su Qianlius words. The various local powers have had plenty of interactions with the foreign Gods Domains powers thus far. Some superpowers had even traded with these foreign powers and acquired many combat techniques that allowed players to adapt to the Greater Gods Domains environment much more easily. This, in turn, allowed the members of these superpowers to develop their combat standards rapidly. Unfortunately, Zero Wing didnt have anything special that attracted the attention of the foreign Gods Domains. As a result, the development speed of Zero Wings members had become vastly inferior to the various superpowers members. However, things would change once teleportation between Abyssal Star City and Hundred Flow City became possible. Previously, players from foreign Gods Domains couldnt be bothered to visit Abyssal Star City since they needed to travel all the way to the city on foot and werent even guaranteed to be allowed into the city. After all, the Asura Mercenary Alliances members had priority entry into Abyssal Star City. Now, though, foreign players could treat Abyssal Star City as a teleportation hub. Although they would still be forcibly removed from the city if the citys occupancy was maxed, they could still save up on plenty of travel time. Good! Contact Soul and have her activate the teleportation array right away! Shi Feng said, smiling. He had been eagerly awaiting this moment for a long time already. After all, he didnt have any items suitable to be used for trading with the foreign Gods Domains powers. Shortly after Shi Feng issued his command, a pillar of light rose from a cordoned area in Abyssal Star Citys eastern district. At the same time, a small, two-story Teleportation Hall also rose from the cordoned space. System: Abyssal Star Primordial City has fulfilled the upgrade conditions. Do you wish to upgrade the city now? Chapter 3174 - Chapter 248 - Primordial Citys Qualitative Transformation The upgrade conditions have been fulfilled, just like that? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. The conditions to upgrade a primordial city were vastly greater than that of ordinary Guild Cities. Not only did a primordial city have to meet a vastly greater population requirement, but it also needed to fulfill a much greater building requirement. Originally, Shi Feng thought that Abyssal Star City would need a few more Advanced Constructions built before it could get promoted from an Advanced Town to a Basic City. He didnt think that the primordial city would meet its building requirement after having only a medium teleportation array constructed.[1] Did something happen, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu asked curiously when she saw Shi Feng suddenly falling into a daze. Its nothing. We simply struck gold, Shi Feng said, chuckling. It was a qualitative transformation for a primordial city to become a Basic City. The changes that would take place would be even greater than an ordinary Intermediate Guild City becoming an Advanced Guild City. Struck gold? Su Qianliu tilted her head, her confusion growing even deeper. The teleportation array connecting Abyssal Star City with Hundred Flow City would indeed generate a significant amount of wealth for Zero Wing. The cost of teleporting players between Abyssal Star City and Hundred Flow City was 30 Silver per person. If the city charged each player one Gold, that would be a profit of 70 Silver. However, the medium teleportation array could only teleport up to 50 people at a time, and each teleportation took around one minute. Taking into account that there were 48 hours a day in Gods Domain, Abyssal Star City could, at most, earn around 100,000 Gold of profit through the teleportation array each day. That might be a significant sum of money, but it was nothing compared to the money earned from Abyssal Star Citys entrance fees. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Currently, Abyssal Star City was making 1.2 million Gold per day through entrance fees alone. Even after deducting the maintenance cost of the citys constructions and NPCs, the city would still be left with 600,000 Gold, which was still multiple times more than what the city could make through the teleportation array. Hence, Su Qianliu couldnt understand how Zero Wing had struck gold. In fact, let alone striking gold, the teleportation array couldnt even allow Abyssal Star City to match the income players could make from managing a small NPC City. Even a small NPC City had upwards of ten million in population. Moreover, aside from entrance fees, players that held management rights over an NPC City would also receive a portion of the profits generated by the citys Auction House. Overall, Abyssal Star Citys total net income couldnt even match one-third of what players could earn from managing a small NPC City, let alone medium and large NPC Cities. Moreover, considering that Zero Wings member count was now over 500,000, an additional income of 100,000 Gold was nowhere near enough for Zero Wing to consider it striking gold. At the end of the day, the addition of the teleportation array only allowed Zero Wing to have stronger bargaining power against the foreign Gods Domains powers. How much are Advanced Lineage Crystals selling for in Auction Houses now, Blackie? Shi Feng asked as he turned to Blackie. Advanced Lineage Crystals? After pondering for a moment, Blackie answered, Theyre going for 200,000 Gold each on average. Many superpowers are buying the Advanced Lineage Crystals that the foreign powers have brought in, so prices arent going any lower for the time being. Thats very cheap already, Shi Feng said, a smile appearing on his face. Previously, he had sold ordinary Lineage Crystals for several hundred thousand Contribution Points through the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Meanwhile, each Contribution Point was worth 40 Silver. Yet, now, Advanced Lineage Crystals, which were much better and rarer than ordinary Lineage Crystals, were being sold at only 200,000 Gold. This was definitely a very low price. Do you plan on buying some, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu asked worriedly. Advanced Lineage Crystals might be excellent items, but Zero Wings expansion had drastically increased its expenditure. The change in the Miniature Ancient Worlds environment had only worsened things. Nowadays, it had become normal for players to die at least once when grinding out in the fields. If players were unlucky, their entire team might get wiped out. In that case, resurrection would become impossible, and theyd lose an entire level plus a piece of equipment. Because of this, Zero Wing needed to spend large amounts of Gold Coins each day purchasing weapons and equipment from the Auction House to restock its Guild Warehouse. Although the Guild could also obtain weapons and equipment through Dungeons and grinding out in the fields, the amount obtained was nowhere near enough to meet demands. So, Zero Wing was in no situation to be purchasing Advanced Lineage Crystals that cost 200,000 Gold each. Even purchasing only one Advanced Lineage Crystal a day would immediately put Zero Wing into the red. At that time, Zero Wings many members would have to stop grinding for levels and focus entirely on raiding Team Dungeons just to prevent the Guild from running out of weapons and equipment. Of course. Moreover, were going to buy in bulk, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, he shared the system notification he had just received with Su Qianliu. Due to the influx of Advanced Lineage Crystals in the Miniature Ancient World, it had become normal to see 100-man teams led by higher lifeform players in the Boundary Mountain Range. It wouldnt even be strange to see an entire team made up of players with Tier 4 Mana. However, it was a different story for an entire team made up of higher lifeform players with Tier 4 Mana. The cost of establishing such a team was too much for any individual power to afford. Even if a power had the money to do so, it wouldnt be wise to invest so much money into a single team. Having said that, in the event that such a team came into being, itd be unstoppable in the current Miniature Ancient World! Originally, Su Qianliu was still very opposed to Shi Fengs decision to purchase Advanced Lineage Crystals in bulk. However, she was immediately stunned after seeing the system notification Shi Feng had shared with her. Then, she asked, Guild Leader, is this real? If Abyssal Star City could get promoted into a Basic City, theyd indeed be striking gold. It should be known that a settlements size would increase several times when upgrading from the Advanced Town status to the Basic City status. Not to mention, Abyssal Star City was a special settlement that was vastly superior to the average settlement. Even at the Advanced Town status, Abyssal Star City was much larger than the average Advanced Town and was only slightly smaller than a Basic City. Hence, it was safe to assume that Abyssal Star City would be significantly bigger than the average Basic City once it got upgraded to the Basic City status. If they factored in the teleportation array they just built, Abyssal Star Citys income could probably rival medium NPC Cities. Youll find out in a moment, Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain himself. Instead, he promptly chose to upgrade Abyssal Star City. Immediately, all players within Abyssal Star City received a system announcement. Regional System Announcement: Abyssal Star City will be upgraded into a Basic City. The upgrade will take six hours. All players within Abyssal Star City will be teleported out of the city in ten minutes. Please prepare to get teleported. The system announcement appeared three times. Before the players within the city could react to the Teleportation Hall that had suddenly appeared in Abyssal Star City, they were abruptly struck with the mind-blowing news of Abyssal Star City becoming a Basic City. Whats going on? First, a Teleportation Hall suddenly appeared in Abyssal Star City. Now, Abyssal Star City is getting upgraded into a Basic City? Abyssal Star City has become a Basic City on top of getting a Teleportation Hall. Is Abyssal Star City on its way to becoming the number one city in the Miniature Ancient World? Everyone in the city promptly started a discussion about the abrupt changes that had taken place. The Asura Mercenary Alliances members, in particular, grew ecstatic after learning about these two pieces of good news. Normally, be it Abyssal Star City gaining a teleport function or Abyssal star City becoming a Basic City, neither development could spark an uproar if they had appeared on their own. However, it was an entirely different story when both developments appeared together. After all, this essentially meant that Abyssal Star City had just become the closest NPC City to the Boundary Mountain Range. Not only could players purchase the daily necessities sold in NPC Cities from Abyssal Star City, but they could also access the Auction House from Abyssal Star City. In fact, Abyssal Star Citys Auction House would be even better than the Auction Houses of NPC Cities. This was because a Guild Citys Auction House had the option of setting the handling fee it charged to be much lower than the handling fee charged in the various NPC Cities Auction Houses. Combined with the convenience of teleportation, it wasnt hard to imagine that Abyssal Star City would become the Miniature Ancient Worlds trade center in the future. Meanwhile, as members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance, they had priority to enter Abyssal Star City. So, they would no longer have to worry about not being able to purchase their daily necessities. They also wouldnt have to worry about not being able to sell their harvests for a good price. Subsequently, after everyone was forcibly teleported out of Abyssal Star City, news of Abyssal Star Citys promotion and acquisition of a Teleportation Hall quickly spread across the entire Miniature Ancient World. TL Notes: [1] Uh So, apparently, Abyssal Star City was an Advanced Town all this time I have an excuse as to why I made such a mistranslation. -> primordial city (ų C g chng) -> city ( C chng sh) -> town (С C xio zhn) Up until this chapter, the author hasnt ever clearly stated whether his ų was referring to a primordial city or a primordial town. When people use the term ų, they are usually talking about an ancient city (or a primordial city in this case). It is also the case for . When someone mentions X, its assumed that they are talking about X City, not X town. In the case of towns, people will usually use Z or ZС when referring to Z Town. To prove my point, here are two examples of how the author names his towns and cities: 1) Silverwing Town C С (Chapter 1728 of main story) 2) Hundred Flow City C However, I will not be changing Abyssal Star City to Abyssal Star Town. Since the author has insisted on using Ԩų(Abyssal Star City) since Chapter 95, I am going with the assumption that Abyssal Star City is a settlement named Abyssal Star City but had the status of Advanced Town. This is quite a confusing development, so if you have any questions, feel free to join my discord and ping me your questions. Discord: https://discord.gg/JDMqSAx9pM Chapter 3175 - Chapter 249 - Primordial Towers Second Floor Miniature Ancient World, Tide City, Tower Alliances Residence: The Tower Alliances Residence occupied an area of two sports stadiums. In the large city that housed over a hundred million players, the Residence was a unique existence. As for the Guild members and independent players that walked in and out of the Residence, many of them had reached the standard of peak experts. Even after the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack took effect and powers from the many Gods Domains entered the Miniature Ancient World, many independent experts were still seeking to join the Tower Alliance. The Abyssal Star Primordial City thats under Zero Wings control has been upgraded into a Basic City already, Great Elder Favra. Combined with its ability to facilitate teleportation to NPC Cities, it will definitely become a densely populated large city in the future, the Demidragon woman Maria said excitedly as she looked at Favra, the young-looking lady sitting at the center of the conference table while quietly reading the document in her hands. I suggest we establish a trade center in Abyssal Star City as soon as possible. That way, the Tower Alliance will have an even greater advantage in the Miniature Ancient World! Although we still cant access Level 120-plus maps, I agree that we should deepen our partnership with Zero Wing, Vice Guild Leader Flanders said in agreement. Abyssal Star City was a Guild City that bordered the Boundary Mountain Range. On top of that, it even had a Teleportation Hall that allowed players to teleport to Hundred Flow City, an NPC City. It wasnt hard to imagine that Abyssal Star City would become a transit hub or base of operations for the many Gods Domains players in the future. At that time, the citys popularity would exceed every one of the current NPC Cities. As icing on the cake, Zero Wing was also a Guild with extraordinary potential. Hence, nothing could go wrong with furthering the Tower Alliances partnership with Zero Wing. We can indeed carry out further cooperation with Zero Wing, but establishing a trade center in Abyssal Star City will require more consideration. You two should know that the establishment of a trade center is of utmost importance. Zero Wings Abyssal Star City might be considered the number one Guild City in the current Miniature Ancient World, but that might not necessarily be the case once Level 120-plus maps open up, and the myriad worlds powers begin developing their own settlements, Favra, the young-looking lady, said, shaking her head. Our Desolate Star Corporation only has a limited number of trade center slots. Wasting even one slot will incur us severe losses. Trade centers! This might be a term foreign to players from isolated Gods Domains, but it was one of the main methods for the various Gods Domain powers to generate income in the Greater World. A trade center was a special shop that allowed players to conduct transactions using real-world currency directly. Unlike offline transactions made to trade in-game resources for real-world currencies, transactions made through the trade center were absolutely confidential. Players wouldnt have to worry about exposing their identities when trading through a trade center. Hence, so long as the option was available, players in Gods Domain would always choose to trade through a trade center, even if they had to pay a slightly higher processing fee. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Because of this, almost every prosperous Guild City would have a trade center. Moreover, so long as a Guild City could maintain a stable player population of 100 million, the annual income the city could generate through the trade center alone could rival 15% of a Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers annual income. Of course, increasing a Guild Citys player population to 100 million was easier said than done. Even hegemonic powers in the Greater Gods Domain would only have a few of such Guild Cities under their control. After all, all players sought to grow stronger, and to do so required them to transition to better maps at some point. Unless a Guild City was established in a strategically important location, itd be very difficult for it to thrive for very long. This was also one of the main reasons the many Gods Domains various powers had come to the Miniature Ancient World to develop. The Miniature Ancient World was one of the few unexplored lands in the Greater Gods Domain. After factoring in the Miniature Ancient Worlds massive player population, developing a Guild City with over 100 million player population wouldnt be difficult. In fact, developing one or two Mega Guild Cities with a player population of over 500 million wasnt even out of the question. Meanwhile, aside from Abyssal Star City, the Desolate Star Corporation had many other options to establish its trade center. After all, while the Desolate Star Corporation might only be a subpar conglomerate in the Greater World, it was still the majority shareholder of over a dozen hegemonic powers. The Tower Alliance wasnt the only hegemonic power the conglomerate owned shares in. What if I exercise my right as the sixth successor? Maria asked, reluctant to give up even after hearing Favra objecting to her suggestion. Have you lost your mind, Maria?! Favra yelled as she looked at her niece in astonishment. Every successor only has one trade center slot! It is also your only capital to develop in the Greater World! Youll lose your qualifications as a successor if you mismanage this slot! Life in the Greater World was incredibly harsh. Hence, competition between the successors of a conglomerate was extraordinarily intense. Depending on how a successor handled the competition, they could end up living even worse than the average civilian for the rest of their lives. Favra had high hopes for Maria. Not only did this niece of hers have great talent, but the girl had also managed to become a vice commander in one of the Tower Alliances frontline teams at such a young age. At this rate, it probably wouldnt take more than a year for her to rise to the position of commander of a frontline team. Then, maybe in another two or three years, she might be able to join the Tower Alliances main force and become a vice commander there. At that time, Maria would have considerable authority in the Tower Alliance, and shed be able to cultivate a group of trusted aides to help her in competing for the position of family head in the Desolate Star Corporation. Meanwhile, Marias trade center slot would be her only source of income in the future. It would also become the capital for her to develop her cronies. After all, developing talents required a large amount of resources. Hence, investing this precious slot in a small and developing Guild like Zero Wing was insane. I know, which is why I want to invest it in Abyssal Star City, Maria said resolutely. Unlike her aunt, Maria did not think her decision to invest her only trade center slot in Abyssal Star City was rash or crazy. This was because she knew about Zero Wings foundations. With the support of the Stratified Abyssal Realms players, thered be no worry that Abyssal Star City couldnt prosper. Fine. Ill go and take a look at Abyssal Star City with you, Favra said, sighing. If I see that the city does have a good future ahead of it, I wont stop you. Thank you, Aunty, Maria said with a fawning smile. While the meeting at the Tower Alliance was taking place, the myriad Gods Domains various powers also began sending people to Hundred Flow City in wait for Abyssal Star Citys opening. This was so they could investigate Abyssal Star City and determine whether it was worth investing in. Subsequently, time passed by quickly. After six hours passed, the barrier enveloping Abyssal Star City vanished, revealing a magnificent city that occupied an area several times larger than before. The sight of this city filled the players waiting nearby with awe and shock. Inside Abyssal Star City So, this is the new Abyssal Star City? Su Qianliu and the others couldnt help but be astonished by the sight they saw after entering the upgraded Abyssal Star City. Although they hadnt started exploring the city yet, they could already tell that the city was extraordinary. If speaking purely in terms of size, Abyssal Star City was already comparable to a small NPC City. Now, the revenue Abyssal Star City could generate through entrance fees alone would most likely surpass the total income a power could earn through occupying a small NPC City. Aside from size, the density of Abyssal Star Citys mana had also increased by a significant margin, so much so that the citys mana environment could already rival the Stratified Abyssal Realms mana environment. This also meant that Abyssal Star Citys mana environment far surpassed that of the Miniature Ancient Worlds various NPC Cities. However, what surprised Su Qianliu and the others the most would still have to be the citys improved purification effect. Originally, Abyssal Star Citys ability to purify the corrosive mysterious energies was already very amazing. However, after the upgrade, the citys purification effect had transcended to an entirely different level. Even if a players body was fully saturated with mysterious energies, it would only take them two or three hours of rest in the current Abyssal Star City to clear out everything. The purification rate had more than doubled compared to before. This would give players more time to spend out in the fields. While Su Qianliu and the others were awed by Abyssal Star Citys changes, Shi Feng had set his sights on the heart of the citythe Primordial Tower. The second floor is finally open! A flash of excitement appeared in Shi Fengs eyes when he saw the system notification before him. System: Abyssal Star City has been upgraded into a Basic City successfully. The Primordial Towers second floor is now open. Chapter 3176 - Chapter 250 - Terrifying Abyssal Star City As expected of a primordial settlement. To think it would undergo such a drastic change just by becoming a Basic City. When Hidden Soul sensed the change in Abyssal Star Citys mana environment, flames of excitement ignited in her eyes. With the current Abyssal Star City, its only a matter of time before we can catch up to the foreign superpowers. At present, local players of the Miniature Ancient World were vastly inferior to the foreign Gods Domains players in terms of combat standards. It was especially true when they compared the core members of both sides superpowers. In the case of foreign superpowers, even the weakest of their core members were Void Realm experts rivaling local Domain Realm experts in strength. In comparison, local superpowers would be fortunate if their core members could even reach the Void Realm standard, let alone the Domain Realm standard. Simply put, local superpowers had too few experts they could put to use. Even the Five Great Super Guilds were no exception. However, Abyssal Star Citys mana environment, which rivaled the Stratified Abyssal Realms mana environment, combined with the various Combat Legacies brought in from the Greater Gods Domain, it would be easy for the Asura Mercenary Alliance and its associates to nurture a batch of capable core members within two or three months. Catch up to those superpowers? Shi Feng shook his head and chuckled when he heard Hidden Souls words. Isnt your goal a little too small? The Abyssal Star Primordial City was one of the Nine Primordial Legacy Cities of the Second Sequence. Moreover, going by the Primordial Towers effects, Abyssal Star City was most definitely ranked near the front of the Nine Primordial Legacy Cities. With Abyssal Star City, itd be childs play for the Asura Mercenary Alliance and its associates to surpass the various superpowers from the Greater Gods Domain. Small? Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, and Crimson Heart, who stood nearby, couldnt help but be stunned by Shi Fengs response. They might not have understood how powerful the Greater Gods Domains superpowers were in the past. However, after these superpowers displayed a portion of their strength in the Miniature Ancient World, they realized just how massive of a gap existed between their local superpowers and the Greater Gods Domains superpowers. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Setting aside core members, just the number of God-ranked experts they had was different by orders of magnitude. Even the weakest among the foreign superpowers had dispatched over a dozen God-ranked experts into the Miniature Ancient World, while the stronger ones had mobilized two or three dozen. In comparison, the Asura Mercenary Alliance in its entirety only had nine God-ranked experts under its service I doubt youll believe anything I say now, so its best if you check it out for yourselves, Shi Feng said as he glanced at Liu Wusheng and the others. Then, he led everyone to the Primordial Tower located at the center of the city. The Nine Primordial Legacy Cities would undergo a qualitative transformation whenever they underwent an upgrade. It was especially true for the cities core structures. In Abyssal Star Citys case, this core structure would be the Primordial Tower. Primordial Tower: As soon as everyone entered the Primordial Tower, they promptly noticed that the environment inside the tower had also undergone an earth-shattering change. How is this possible?! Liu Wusheng and the others were dumbfounded when they saw the mana environment inside the tower. The mana inside the Primordial Tower had always been much denser than the mana outside. Even before Abyssal Star City was upgraded into a Basic City, the Primordial Towers mana had already reached a near mist-like state. At the time, the Primordial Towers mana environment was already comparable to the holy lands for mana found on the main continent. Now, though, the Primordial Towers mana had thoroughly taken on a mist-like state already. This was an exceedingly rare mana environment, even on the main continent. Meanwhile, any location with such a mana environment would be one that even God-ranked experts would seek to live in. However, the shock Liu Wusheng and the others experienced reached a whole new level when they arrived on the towers newly-opened second floor. This was because the mana environment inside the 100 miniature worlds on the second floor had already taken on a liquid state. While standing in these miniature worlds, even experts like Hidden Soul had experienced a feeling of omnipotence. Learning Skills, Spells, combat techniques, and Mana Techniques had become as simple as childs play in these miniature worlds. Even the learning difficulty of Silver Combat Techniques had decreased drastically, and it only took them a few tries before they could execute these combat techniques at a rudimentary level. The effect of these miniature worlds was something even Shi Feng did not expect. Silver Combat Techniques! Any player who had managed to learn a Silver Combat Technique, even if their mastery over it was only at a rudimentary level, would become invincible among players of the same tier. If players thoroughly master a Silver Combat Technique, they could even transcend tiers. In reality, the various superpowers of Gods Domain were in possession of many Silver Combat Techniques. However, the number of experts who had managed to actually learn how to use a Silver Combat Technique numbered incredibly few. This was also the case even in the Greater Gods Domain. Simply put, the various superpowers and hegemonic powers did not lack Silver Combat Techniques. What they lacked were people capable of learning Silver Combat Techniques. However, the Primordial Towers second-floor mana environment could reduce the difficulty of learning Silver Mana Techniques by tenfold or more. With such a drastically lowered learning difficulty, even second-floor experts could fully master Silver Combat Techniques, let alone third-floor God-ranked experts! Of course, the effects of the second floors miniature worlds did not come for free. The first-floor miniature worlds only cost 100 Magic Crystals per hour to maintain, yet the cost of operating the second-floor miniature worlds was 100 Mana Stones per hour Even if one could convert Magic Crystals to Mana Stones in the ideal 100:1 ratio, the cost of operating the second-floor miniature worlds would still be 100 times greater than that of the first-floor miniature worlds In addition, the cost of maintaining the Primordial Tower itself had also increased drastically. Originally, the towers maintenance only cost 1,000 Magic Crystals per day. Now, simply keeping the Primordial Tower active cost 1,000 Mana Stones per day It seems Im going to have to start stocking up on Silver Combat Techniques from now on. Shi Feng didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he saw the situation on the Primordial Towers second floor. The consumption of Mana Stones was still acceptable since he could refine Magic Crystals into Mana Stones with the Seven Luminaries Codex. Although the Asura Mercenary Alliance would probably have to expend all of its Magic Crystals to let many members learn Silver Combat Techniques, it was a worthwhile price to pay. Worst case scenario, the mercenary alliance would simply have to earn more Magic Crystals. However, acquiring Silver Combat Techniques was going to be a challenge. Silver Combat Techniques were incredibly valuable, each one as valuable as a Fragmented Legendary item. Moreover, the Legacy items holding Silver Combat Techniques would usually break after a few uses The effects of the second floors miniature worlds are simply too frightening, Guild Leader Black Flame. I suggest we only allow contracted members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance to use them, Liu Wusheng hurriedly said to Shi Feng after snapping out of his daze. We should also raise the price and usage requirements of the first floors miniature worlds. Crimson Heart, Galaxy Past, and Zhuo Yalin also nodded in agreement. The upgraded Primordial Tower was simply terrifying! Just the changes to the first-floor miniature worlds would already be enough to attract the attention of countless powers, let alone the second-floor miniature worlds. After all, the first-floor miniature worlds mist-like mana could allow Refinement Realm experts to quickly master Bronze Combat Techniques and possibly even Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques. It should be known that even peak experts had trouble mastering Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques. Meanwhile, peak experts who had mastered Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques could threaten even Domain Realm experts. If a peak expert managed to master multiple Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques of various types, even defeating Domain Realm experts wouldnt be out of the question. Domain Realm experts! Even in the Greater World, Domain Realm experts were not cabbages that could be found everywhere. They were existences inferior only to God-ranked experts. I do have such plans, Shi Feng said, nodding. Aside from the Primordial Tower, I also plan to tweak the citys entrance fee. The standard entrance fee will be increased to 50 Silver per person, and teleportation fees must be paid in Magic Crystals. Fifty Silver? Blackies mouth widened when he heard Shi Fengs words. Because of the myriad worlds descent, competition in the Miniature Ancient World had become much more intense than before. As a result, even Refinement Realm experts could only earn around three or four Gold a day. If they were unlucky and failed to find any good equipment or rare materials, their daily earnings might even fall to just one Gold. As for players beneath the Refinement Realm standard, theyd be fortunate if they could earn enough to break even with their daily expenditure. Previously, when Abyssal Star City charged 20 Silver for its entrance fee, the average expert could still afford to enter the city. However, if the entrance fee were to be raised to 50 Silver, even Refinement Realm experts might hesitate to enter the city. After all, theyd be left with hardly any money after paying the citys entrance fee, renting a hotel, repairing their equipment, and having a meal. Chapter 3177 - Chapter 251 - Greater Worlds Secrets Outside of Abyssal Star City After the magic barrier enveloping Abyssal Star City disappeared, the millions of players outside looked at the city eagerly. The changes to Abyssal Star City were visible to the naked eye. The citys size and the mana it radiated to the surroundings were enough to let everyone understand that Abyssal Star City had already surpassed small NPC Cities. A huge commotion had even started on the Miniature Ancient Worlds official forums because of Abyssal Star Citys changes. Everyone eagerly discussed what sort of changes might have taken place in Abyssal Star City, what they should do immediately after entering the city, and what they could do to make money via Abyssal Star City. At this time, even the Flower of Seven Sins, the Asura Mercenary Alliances enemy, was filled with curiosity toward Abyssal Star City. Abyssal Star City was already fated to become the Miniature Ancient Worlds number one player-owned city. However, exactly how much attention this number one city could attract from the Miniature Ancient Worlds players and powers was crucial for the Flower of Seven Sins. Now that the Miniature Ancient World had become a training ground for the various Gods Domains rookies, it would more or less attract the attention of some conglomerates. If Abyssal Star City attracted enough players and powers, the Greater Worlds conglomerates might decide to invest in the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Once that happened, the Asura Mercenary Alliances development would skyrocket. Shadow Fog City, Flower of Seven Sins Residence: Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M Big Sis Omen, do you think those conglomerates will really set their sights on Abyssal Star City? Summer Wolf asked worriedly when he saw the ongoing discussions on the official forums. If a conglomerate invests in the Asura Mercenary Alliance, we will most likely be numbered Before learning about the Greater Gods Domain, players wouldnt know exactly how terrifying the Greater Worlds conglomerates were. However, once one came into contact with some information about the Greater Gods Domain, one would realize that even Higher Gods Domains wouldnt dare to offend the Greater Worlds conglomerates. An example would be the Flower of Seven Sins Thousand Scars. Ever since Thousand Scars caught the attention of a conglomerate, the various hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World had promptly begun treating the Flower of Seven Sins courteously. However, if Abyssal Star City managed to attract the attention of a conglomerate, the Flower of Seven Sins would probably cease to exist in the Miniature Ancient World. After all, there was a big difference in significance between an individual and an entire organization receiving a conglomerates attention. It wouldnt be difficult to imagine which of the two would receive greater priority from a conglomerate. What are you worried about? Theres no way those conglomerates would decide to invest in a power so easily, much less a local power of the Miniature Ancient World, Death Omen said contemptuously. The Asura Mercenary Alliance would first have to become a hegemonic power and gain control of at least one-third of the Miniature Ancient World if it wants to attract a conglomerates attention. No conglomerate would care about the small profits generated by Abyssal Star City. Moreover, Abyssal Star Citys Teleportation Hall is only connected to Hundred Flow Citys Teleportation Hall. Players will have to go through Hundred Flow City before they can teleport to other NPC Cities. Abyssal Star City would be fortunate if it could attract even one-tenth of the Miniature Ancient Worlds hegemonic powers. I guess youre right. After thinking it over, Summer Wolf nodded in agreement with Death Omen. The Greater Worlds conglomerates wouldnt even glance at ordinary hegemonic powers. Only upper-ranked hegemonic powers and above could receive partnership offers from the various conglomerates. Meanwhile, every upper-ranked hegemonic power was a frightening existence that had successfully established an empire in the Greater Gods Domain and whose rule spanned over one hundred Gods Domains. So, the likelihood of the Asura Mercenary Alliance attracting a conglomerates attention with the Abyssal Star Primordial City alone was incredibly slim. Whats the status of Thousand Scars? Death Omen asked. Whether the Flower of Seven Sins can secure a stable position in the Miniature Ancient World all depends on her now! Weve delivered all the Life Potions and combat techniques we purchased to her already. I believe she can achieve further improvements within the near future, Summer Wolf reported. Good! So long as she can become a prioritized core talent, its only a matter of time before we can make the Asura Mercenary Alliance disappear! Death Omen nodded, her mood improving significantly. Zero Wings foundations might have exceeded her expectations. However, so long as the Flower of Seven Sins had a conglomerate to rely on, it wouldnt matter even if Zero Wing had multiple fourth-floor experts defending it. As soon as Death Omen finished speaking, both Death Omen and Summer Wolf received a message notification simultaneously. Is Zero Wing crazy? If it sets the entrance fee at 50 Silver, even the various powers will give up on Abyssal Star City, let alone independent players, Summer Wolf exclaimed, a look of disbelief appearing on his face when he finished reading the report on Abyssal Star Citys situation. If a power decided to set up an operating base in Abyssal Star City, it would assign a minimum of several thousand members to the city. If every one of these players had to pay 50 Silver just to enter the city every day, it would become a significant expense even for the various powers. Not to mention, the Level 120-plus maps would soon open. Once that happened, Abyssal Star City would become nothing more than a teleportation hub allowing players to reach the Boundary Mountain Range much more easily. However, if Abyssal Star City charged an entrance fee of 50 Silver per player, nobody would be willing to use the city even as a teleportation hub. After all, players would have to first line up in Hundred Flow City to teleport to Abyssal Star City. Rather than waste all that time just to save a negligible amount of money, itd be much better if they traveled to the Boundary Mountain Range by Mount. It seems this is all Zero Wing amounts to, Death Omen said, sighing in relief. If Zero Wing freely let the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers enter Abyssal Star City, a large number of powers would flood the city. At that time, thered be a real possibility of the city attracting a conglomerates attention. Meanwhile, if the Asura Mercenary Alliance truly managed to gain the support of a conglomerate, Hidden Souls status would skyrocket, and the Flower of Seven Sins would become a joke. However, after the stunt Zero Wing just pulled, Abyssal Star City could, at most, attract the attention of local players and powers. The city would have great difficulty attracting the attention of the various foreign powers, let alone conglomerates. At this time, the Flower of Seven Sins wasnt the only one surprised by Abyssal Star Citys new rules. This change also caught the various local and foreign powers and players off guard. Is the Asura Mercenary Alliance crazy? Rather than secure itself a good future, its choosing to target natives only? I doubt even natives will buy into an entrance fee of 50 Silver. After all, the Level 120-plus maps will be opening soon. All players above Level 115 will definitely move their base of operations to the Level 120-plus NPC Cities. Who would want to settle in Abyssal Star City? Fifty Silver? Is Asura attempting daylight robbery? Moreover, teleportation fees can only be paid in Magic Crystals, and each teleportation costs two Magic Crystals? I only earn three Magic Crystals per Advanced Quest I complete for the Adventurers Association, and I can only pick up one Advanced Quest every two or three days! I know, right? Repairing Epic Weapons and Equipment already costs a lot of Magic Crystals. Magical classes might only need to spend around one Magic Crystal per day for repairs, but plate-armor classes like us need to spend at least two Magic Crystals even on a good day or four Magic Crystals on a bad day. Is Asura telling us to fight naked? Thats not all. Now, even Asuras members are in a miserable state. Although Bronze members will still receive discounts when entering the city, theyll no longer qualify to train in the Primordial Tower. Now, only Silver members and above can train in the tower. Moreover, the hourly usage fee has increased to 300 Magic Crystals. Only peak experts could possibly afford such a price. If I have that many Magic Crystals, Id rather spend it on buying a Basic Combat Technique from the Greater Gods Domains. It only costs 200 Magic Crystals to learn a Basic Combat Technique in our Guild. The Miniature Ancient Worlds official forums were filled with complaints from both local and foreign players. After seeing the changes to Abyssal Star Citys rules, everyone was of the opinion that Abyssal Star Citys development would only go downhill from now on. Hundred Flow City, Teleportation Hall: Im afraid Abyssal Star City is beyond salvation now, Maria. Are you sure you still want to establish your trade center there? Favra, holding a silver scepter in her hand, asked as she looked at her niece. Maria was a little dazed when she learned about Abyssal Star Citys situation. However, after calming down, she earnestly said, I still plan to take a look at it first. Honestly, Maria was greatly confused by the action Zero Wing took. After all, now that Abyssal Star City had just been upgraded into a Basic City, it was the best opportunity to attract the various powers to settle in the city and drive the citys trade. Yet, Zero Wing had chosen to forsake this opportunity Chapter 3178 - Chapter 252 - Geniuses and Monsters Misty Canyon, Abyssal Star City: Guild Leader, less than four million players are gathered in Abyssal Star City right now. Moreover, the majority of them are Asuras members, and few are independent players and members of the various powers. At this rate, the citys population will just barely exceed ten million by the end of today. After deducting the citys daily maintenance cost, we would have made a profit of only four million Gold and 170,000 Magic Crystals, Blackie reported to Shi Feng in a somewhat gloomy tone. If we can lower the entrance fee to 40 Silver, Im sure we can max out the citys population limit of 20 million. Currently, the various NPC Cities were only charging an entrance fee of 30 Silver. With Abyssal Star Citys geographical advantage, many players would be able to accept an entrance fee of 40 Silver. So, if they lowered the citys entrance fee to 40 Silver, theyd have no problem filling the citys population limit of 20 million. After all, many of the Miniature Ancient Worlds local players had no way of entering NPC Cities. No. Its not necessarily bad to keep Abyssal Star Citys player traffic low. If we hit the population limit, Asuras members will likely have to wait in line for a long time, even if we reserve some slots. This will cause their leveling speed to lag behind, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Im just a little sad about the lost income. If we can max out the citys population limit, we can earn an additional several million Gold per day. In that case, we can buy a few more Advanced Lineage Crystals every day. Not to mention, purchasing Silver Combat Techniques from the various powers is also a considerable expense. Although Silver Combat Techniques arent as expensive as Advanced Lineage Crystals, each one still costs 150,000 Gold. Without these things, its going to take our Guilds main force members a lot more time to grow to an adequate standard, Blackie said, shrugging. But we only have a few days before the Level 120-plus maps open The Level 120-plus maps were destined to be the competition grounds for the various powers in the Miniature Ancient World. At the same time, that was also the best time for the various powers to reveal their strength. However, Zero Wing had nothing to show other than its apex combatants. Its main force members were nowhere near as strong as the various superpowers main forces. So, how was Zero Wing supposed to compete for resources in the Level 120-plus maps? Let the various powers fight for the Level 120-plus maps if they want to. For the time being, its best if Zero Wing and Asura accumulate strength quietly, Shi Feng said with a faint smile as he looked at the reluctant look on Blackies face. So long as our main force members grow adequately strong, Zero Wings name will shake the world sooner or later. While Shi Feng was chatting with Blackie, he suddenly received a message from Su Qianliu stating that the Green God Corporations representative had already arrived at the Gods Domain Association Buildings entrance. Theyre here already? Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng quickly passed his remaining work in Zero Wing to Blackie before going offline. The Greater World! This was the place where everyone would eventually go to live in the future. It was the place where people from many worlds converged. It was also the place where people from many worlds competed with each other for the right to live. Whether a Guild could prosper in the Greater Gods Domain depended entirely on whether it could establish a foothold in the Greater World. If a Guild couldnt establish a foothold in the Greater World, it would be as good as finished in the Greater Gods Domain. During Shi Fengs previous life, Zero Wing had entered the Greater World without any prior preparations. As a result, it had gotten targeted by a conglomerate very early on, which led to Zero Wing encountering numerous struggles in the Greater World. At one point, Zero Wing had even nearly been eliminated by the apex power Demons Gate and lost its ownership over its Gods Domain. However, Shi Feng did not intend to repeat his past mistakes. This time, he must lay a solid foundation in the Greater World before their Gods Domain was thoroughly linked with the Greater Gods Domain. Only by doing so could Zero Wing improve its standing in the Greater Gods Domain and reach the apex! Shortly after Shi Feng went offline, two women wearing Black Cloaks to conceal their identities appeared on the Primordial Towers first floor, their beautiful eyes filled with shock the moment they stepped inside the tower. The mana here has thoroughly condensed into a mist-like state. Abyssal Star City has hidden a truly terrifying strength, Favra muttered as she observed her surroundings with her eyes that had now turned completely silver. In addition, the properties of the mana here are similar to Eternal Energy in that it can increase players brain activity by a significant margin. If we factor in the report we received on the towers miniature worlds, even Refinement Realm players can master Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques if given enough time. Mana that resembles Eternal Energy? Maria fell into a daze when she heard her aunts words, her mind having difficulty accepting this information. Of course, that wasnt to say that she doubted her aunts words. On the contrary, she trusted in her aunts judgment. This was because her aunt was in possession of the Soul Eyes Skill, an Identification Skill that allowed the user to see the essence of all things for a short time. Mana that shared similar properties with Eternal Energy was something that could be of considerable help to even Tier 6 God-ranked experts in their training, let alone helping Refinement Realm players master Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques. Meanwhile, the Primordial Towers ability to provide players with such a mana environment was something that could be incredibly useful to any power in the Greater Gods Domain. This was because third-floor experts, also known as Superior Adventurers, were incredibly rare. Most of the experts the various powers had under their command were only Advanced Adventurers who were at the second-floor standard. However, so long as an Advanced Adventurer mastered a sufficiently large number and variety of Advanced Bronze Combat Techniques, it was entirely possible for them to rival ordinary Superior Adventurers in terms of combat power. If news of the Primordial Tower were to get out, it would cause an unimaginable sensation even in the Greater Gods Domain. At that time, the various powers would either try to get their members into the Primordial Tower or acquire the Primordial Tower. However, so long as Zero Wing could successfully defend Abyssal Star City, it would no longer have to worry about prospering. No matter how many new maps appeared in the Miniature Ancient World in the future, Abyssal Star City would forever remain the best place for Superior Adventurers and below to settle in. After Favra turned off her Soul Eyes, a flash of excitement appeared in her eyes as she said, We have to act quickly, Maria. If the other conglomerates learn about this matter, well have much greater difficulty opening a Trade Center here. Maria also understood the significance of the matter, so she logged out of the game without hesitation. The process of opening a Trade Center involved many formalities. The Trade Centers design also had to be delivered from the Greater Gods Domain, and that was a process that required some time. On the other side, after Shi Feng went offline, he took a plane to an isolated island far away from the city under the lead of several Green God Corporation employees. Upon arriving at the island, he found that there was actually an Upper Zone established on the island. However, unlike the Upper Zones found in first-tier cities, the one on this island was much smaller. There were also only several thousand people living here. After passing through a series of inspections, Shi Feng arrived inside a large room that was situated several dozen kilometers underground. There werent many people in the room, only ten, excluding Shi Feng. Out of these ten people, the oldest appeared to be in their forties, while the youngest appeared younger than twenty. In addition, all ten of these people were big names that everyone knew on the main continent of Gods Domain. These people were either known as monsters or peerless geniuses by players. The five commanders of the Five Great Super Guilds main forces were the most famous among these people. Out of these five commanders, the most famous would have to be the Mythologys Silver Ghost Prosciutto. Aside from the five commanders, the five other people in the room were the Secret Pavillions Empress Purple Jade, Divine Tribes Magic-Eye Hunter Fithalia, Miracles Witch of the West Alice, the Flower of Seven Sins number one genius Thousand Scars, and last but not least, the legendary adventurer team Midnight Tea Partys First Commander Breeze Wine. Except for Thousand Scars, the other nine people in the room were all bona fide Tier 6 God-ranked experts. This was a gathering that most players in Gods Domain would probably never imagine happening. When Breeze Wine, who wore a pair of sunglasses, saw Shi Feng entering, he swept his gaze across the others in the room and said, Since the last person has arrived, we can go now. Chapter 3179 - Chapter 253 - Tier 3 Instructor Chapter 253 C Tier 3 Instructor Inside the isolated room the size of a football field, the nine other people in the room began scrutinizing Shi Feng as soon as they heard Breeze Wines words. He is the last person? Everyone grew confused after they were done scrutinizing Shi Feng. Logically, anyone capable of getting into this room shouldnt be a nameless nobody in Gods Domain. However, aside from Purple Jade, nobody else managed to recognize Shi Feng. To further their confusion, Shi Feng had an inconspicuous appearance and did not have any presence whatsoever. Did our Gods Domain have such an expert? Fithalia quietly asked the others around her as she looked at Shi Feng strangely. Shaking her head, Alice said, Ive seen every known Tier 6 God-ranked expert in our Gods Domain. He shouldnt be any of the God-ranked experts we know. Prosciutto and the others werent surprised when they heard Alices statement. Aside from the Tier 6 God-ranked experts that had abruptly disappeared, every God-ranked expert in their Gods Domain had met each other in the real world at least once or twice. In fact, one could easily find the real-life information of all known Tier 6 God-ranked experts on the internet nowadays. However, Shi Feng definitely wasnt any of these known God-ranked experts. Please Keep reading 0n MYB0XN0VEL(.)C0M I know him, Purple Jade said. His name is Shi Feng. He isnt a God-ranked expert but an instructor of a Gods Domain Academy instead. He was a Level 200, Tier 3 Sword King at his peak. He used to be the Guild Leader of the second-rate Guild Shadow, but he was dismissed from Shadow and is currently the Acting Guild Leader of Zero Wing. Purple Jade had paid close attention to Wu Lingling ever since the latter had won against her disciple Lei Li. Hence, she naturally looked into Wu Linglings instructor as well. In Purple Jades opinion, Wu Lingling possessed an extraordinarily sturdy foundation, and watching the girl carry herself felt like watching an old monster who had trained for many years. So, it wasnt hard to imagine that the person responsible for teaching Wu Lingling possessed incredible knowledge and control over the human body. Even a God-ranked expert couldnt necessarily produce a student of Wu Linglings caliber. Only, the result Purple Jade got from investigating Shi Feng was disappointing. Shi Feng was the Acting Guild Leader of Zero Wing, while Zero Wings true Guild Leader was Black Flame, a God-ranked expert from a different Gods Domain. After connecting the dots, it was obvious that Shi Feng must have handed Wu Lingling a special training method that he had received from Black Flame. There was also no way Shi Feng could be responsible for teaching Wu Lingling since Shi Feng was barely a Refinement Realm expert. Hence, when Purple Jade saw Shi Feng appearing in the room and learned that he would be heading to the Greater World with their group, she couldnt help but be surprised. The Greater World was a very dangerous place. Even someone as strong as Breeze Wine had only recently managed to secure himself a foothold in the Greater World. Yet, a Refinement Realm expert like Shi Feng was planning on heading to the Greater World. Zero Wing? When Thousand Scars, who wore a white dress, heard Purple Jades introduction, the gaze she used to look at Shi Feng immediately turned cold. Although she had no personal grudges against Shi Feng, Zero Wing was the Flower of Seven Sins sworn enemy. The Flower of Seven Sins had even suffered severe losses recently because of Zero Wing. Originally, Thousand Scars had planned on challenging Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame after the recent improvements she had made. That way, she could reduce Zero Wings momentum to a certain extent. However, because she needed to enter the Greater World and focus on becoming a core genius of the Paimon Corporation as soon as possible, she had no choice but to give up on challenging Black Flame. Now that she had come across Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader, she wouldnt mind taking care of him if the opportunity arose. Alright, thats enough talking. All of you put on the quantum watch assigned to you and follow me inside, Breeze Wine interrupted and pointed at the translucent glass door standing in the middle of the room. If you dont wish to listen to me now, you dont have to listen to me once we reach the Greater World, either. Breeze Wine was the First Commander of the legendary Midnight Tea Party. Even though most of the people he was currently dealing with were God-ranked experts, he did not bother being courteous with them. Moreover, he had already proven his strength by securing himself a foothold in the Greater World without external help. So, Thousand Scars quickly dismissed her thoughts and followed Breeze Wines command. In no time, everyone in the room had put on the quantum watches they had received from the Green God Corporation. Then, they followed Breeze Wine through the glass door and seemingly arrived in outer space. Upon arriving in this space, everyone immediately took notice of the giant planet before them. The planet was thousands of times larger than the Sun, and countless continents orbited around the planet. These orbiting continents were of varying sizes, with the smaller ones being several times larger than Earth and the larger ones being hundreds of times larger. These continents were like arks that traveled the universe. A moment later, everyone felt themselves being drawn toward a continent that was roughly three times the size of Earth. The density of the continents air was less than 1% that of Earth, and its gravity was three times that of Earth. Many barriers could also be seen scattered across this continent, and many high-rise buildings and human beings could be seen within these barriers. After another ten seconds, everyone arrived inside one of the many barriers, and the sight of a prosperous and sci-fi-like city entered their eyes. All of you are very fortunate. Thanks to the Green God Corporations many years of effort, you get to be assigned to a third-tier city and receive citizenship as soon as you arrive in the Greater World. You also get to enjoy a long lifespan and youth that cannot be achieved even in the Upper Zones of our world. In comparison, people from other Elementary Worlds can only start in third- to first-tier towns and rely on mining and collecting various cosmic resources to make a living, Breeze Wine said as he turned around to look at everyone. Then, a smile appeared on his face as he continued, But I also have bad news to tell you. Do you want to hear it? Chapter 3180 - Chapter 254 - Contention in the Greater World Chapter 254 C Contention in the Greater World Despite Breeze Wine mentioning bad news, everyone present behaved as if they didnt hear him, their expressions remaining calm. Bad news? Alice, who had tied her hair into a ponytail and was wearing a light blue sports top, looked at Breeze Wine curiously. Then, she revealed a faint smile as she asked in a mature tone, Could you perhaps be talking about how we will only be permitted to live in this city for a month, Commander Wine? Purple Jade, Prosciutto, Thousand Scars, and the others showed no reaction to Alices words. This was because they, too, knew about this piece of information. It was something they had learned through the players of the other Gods Domain. According to the foreign players, although the Greater World was a vast world with technology far more advanced than what was available in their homeworld, there was very little space suitable for human life. It was especially true for living spaces like the Greater Worlds cities. The number of cities in the Greater World wasnt even 1% of the number of towns. Yet, as it just so happens, the resources available in the Greater Worlds cities were vastly superior to that of towns. One example of the difference between towns and cities would be the residents average life expectancy. People living in the Greater Worlds towns could expect an average life expectancy of around 200 years. In contrast, the average life expectancy in even the lowest third-tier city was 500 years. Five hundred years were enough for a country to change dynasties multiple times during ancient times. Yet, people living in a third-tier city in the Greater World could easily outlive ancient dynasties. Not to mention, their bodies could also remain in peak condition for up to 300 years. Unfortunately, there were just far too many parallel worlds. As more and more of these parallel worlds merged with the Greater World, it became increasingly difficult for people to live in the Greater Worlds cities. Each city could only accommodate a limited population. Normally, unless one came from a world that had managed to establish a city in the Greater World, one would have to pay a certain amount of Contribution Points each month to stay in a foreign worlds city. Contribution Points had to be earned by completing tasks issued by the city. Either that or one could complete quests in the Greater Gods Domain. These were the two main methods a person could earn Contribution Points through. If a person failed to earn enough Contribution Points after a month, they would be kicked out of the city. Even Tier 6 God-ranked experts were no exception. Of course, if a person didnt have enough Contribution Points to pay their rent, they could also purchase Contribution Points using Star Coins. Only, Contribution Points were not easy to come by, and few people were willing to sell them. Even if one chose to sell Contribution Points, one would typically only sell to close friends and relatives. It seems youve done your homework, Breeze Wine said when he saw the confident look on Alices face. Then, he shook his head and continued, But this isnt what Im talking about. Since you have already researched the Greater World to a certain extent, you should know that the Greater Worlds various cities will hold simulation battles in Gods Domain to compete for the Greater Worlds precious resources. These simulation battles will be held at three levels, and all participants must be under 50. In order to win these simulation battles, the various cities will form their own city legions to recruit and nurture young experts. The training the various cities offered to their respective city legions might not be comparable to that of the various conglomerates, but it is still vastly superior to the average corporation. This is also why the Green God Corporation is willing to pay the hefty price of bringing all of you to the Greater World ahead of time. The corporation hopes you can get selected as a reserve participant during Star Lake Citys selection. So long as you can become a reserve participant of Star Lake Citys city legion, not only will you receive Star Lake Citys training, but you will also receive the Green God Corporations resource support. I believe all of you should have been informed about this. However, Star Lake City wont just be recruiting talents from its territory. The selection is also open to the hundreds of neighboring towns and cities. In previous years, there would only be around 200,000 God-ranked experts applying for Star Lake Citys selection. This year, however, the number has increased by more than fivefold. Yet, the city is still only accepting the top 1,000 applicants as reserve participants like always, with the top 100 applicants being able to become official participants directly. Currently, there is only one month left until the selection deadline. So, the Green God Corporation only has one requirement for you: enter the top 1,000 within this one month. Over a million God-ranked experts are applying for the selection? Purple Jade and the others were greatly shocked. Although they had long known that there were countless God-ranked experts in the vast Greater Gods Domain, they still couldnt help but doubt their ears when they heard Breeze Wines words. It should be known that the various superpowers of their Gods Domain treated every one of their God-ranked experts as their backbone. Yet, God-ranked experts were only the most common experts participating in Star Lake Citys selection At this moment, Purple Jade and the others werent the only ones feeling pressured by the information Breeze Wine had just shared with them. Even Thousand Scars, who had many interactions with the Greater Gods Domains experts due to the Flower of Seven Sins, was experiencing much stress. Thousand Scars might have caught the Paimon Corporations attention. Still, she needed to enter the top 100 of Star Lake Citys selection should she wish to become an internal member of the Paimon Corporation. If she couldnt do that, shed have to get into the top 300 at the very least to become an outer member. Originally, Thousand Scars had scoffed at this requirement. After all, she was strong enough to be close to entering the top 100 of the Miniature Ancient Worlds God-ranked Expert List. However, compared to the God-ranked Expert List, the scale of the competition she needed to face in Star Lake Citys selection was on an entirely different level. The selection is even open to experts from other cities? Shi Feng was a little surprised by this news. It was very rare for a city in the Greater Gods Domain to recruit experts from other cities. He had only ever heard of such situations happening in the Greater World before. Never had he actually seen it happening. He didnt think Star Lake City would be taking such action. After concluding his explanation, Breeze Wine turned to Shi Feng and said, As for you, Guild Leader Shi Feng, Zero Wing has paid for your travel to Star Lake City, so the Green God Corporation does not have any requirements for you. You are free to move independently once you complete your first entrance test. Nobody was surprised to hear Breeze Wines words. This was because everyone knew there was no way a Tier 3 player like Shi Feng could remain in the city. All of you dont have to worry too much about scoring poorly in the selection. The simulation battle between cities is different from the standard combat in Gods Domain. Aside from combat standards, the simulation battle mainly tests participants mental strength standards. Your mental strength standard will directly correlate to the quality of the weapons and equipment you receive in the simulation battle. The greater your mental strength, the better the weapons and equipment you will receive, Breeze Wine explained as he returned his attention to the others. So, the various cities will place more emphasis on mental strength standards and future potential in their selections. The selection isnt strictly a competition of combat standards. Purple Jade and the others relaxed a little when they heard Breeze Wines supplementary explanation. Even so, they still felt a lot of pressure. After all, anyone capable of becoming a God-ranked expert would have extraordinary combat standards and Concentration standards. Sometime later, Breeze Wine and the others arrived at Star Lake Citys Gods Domain Association. The Gods Domain Association was also the largest organization in the Greater World, and it had a branch established in every town and city in the Greater World. Coincidentally, the Gods Domain Association Building was one of the most spectacular buildings in Star Lake City. The building had over 600 floors and was over 3,000 meters tall. Out of these 600-plus floors, floors 100 and above were reserved as residences for the Associations members. The requirements to stay in these residences would increase every 100 floors. Those qualified to live on floors 600 and above were bigshots that even conglomerates had to treat with care. Meanwhile, even the weakest person inside the Gods Domain Association Building had physical fitness at the standard of Henglian masters, while more than 30% of the buildings occupants were at the standard of Henglian grandmasters. There were even replays of duels between Tier 6 God-ranked experts being played in the lobby, the replays free for all to watch and learn from. I recommend that all of you take your first test now. It will give you an idea of your current placings. It will also decide which floors you will stay in the Association for this month. Your first months rent is free. This is the greatest welfare offered by the Gods Domain Association to people entering the city for the first time. This will save you from living out on the streets and starving, Breeze Wine said. Then, he pointed at a long line in the distance and continued, The Green God Corporation has already credited three test attempts into your watches, so your first three tests will be free. If you want more attempts, youll have to spend Star Coins to buy them yourselves. Everyone nodded and felt their shoulders growing a little heavier. It cost 10,000 Star Coins to attempt the Gods Domain Associations test every time. This was nearly the average residents annual salary in the Greater Worlds various cities. It should be known that anyone capable of living in a city is an extraordinary individual. Yet, even then, these individuals would have to go through great pains just to earn 1,000 Star Coins a month. Naturally, earning Star Coins would be even more challenging for people new to the Greater World. Although the powers behind them were incredibly powerful in their homeworld, their respective powers had only managed to prepare several tens of thousands of Star Coins for them. That was only enough for them to make a few extra attempts. Meanwhile, after waiting in line for several hours, it was finally Shi Fengs and the others turn to test their mental strength. Chapter 3181 - Chapter 255 - Mental Strength Standard Chapter 255 C Mental Strength Standard This must be the first time you all are taking the test, right? In that case, I have to remind you of two things, the receptionist at the front desk said after scanning Shi Feng and the others with a device. The receptionist was a woman dressed in black office attire with long hair that cascaded down her back, and her figure and appearance were comparable to Hidden Soul. Firstly, while you are in the mental space, staying longer inside doesnt mean you will get a better score. Instead, you are scored based on how quickly you can conquer the obstacles on each floor. Secondly, be wary not to push yourselves too far past your limits. Otherwise, you will suffer a mental breakdown, and it is unlikely youll be able to make a second attempt within a month. Purple Jade and the others nodded when they heard the receptionist members words, none of them daring to behave disrespectfully to her. Although they didnt know how old the other party was, judging by the dangerous aura they sensed from her, they could tell that the other partys physical fitness was far superior to theirs. A mental strength grandmaster? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he looked at the woman behind the front desk. Mental strength grandmasters were existences that thoroughly transcended mental strength masters. Even in the Greater World, a one-star mental strength grandmaster would be an executive-level individual in the various corporations, while three-star mental strength grandmasters were existences that even conglomerates would try their best to recruit. Although the Gods Domain Association was the largest organization in the Greater World, it still wasnt at the level where it could afford to have mental strength grandmasters work as receptionists. So, Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised and confused by this situation. A moment after the receptionist was done giving her advice, a man who had just completed his test walked out of the test hall. At the same time, his result also appeared on the test scoreboard in the lobby. Mental Grade: Two-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 71; Mental Strength Rating: C; Mental Control Rating: B; Overall Ranking: 13,452, the receptionist read the mans result. Then, when she looked at the mans somewhat sluggish expression, she sighed and said, Another stubborn one who refuses to listen. Next. This scene stunned Purple Jade and the others. The man who had just walked out of the test hall looked no older than 40. An individual capable of becoming a two-star mental strength master before 40 was an incredibly rare talent even in the various Upper Zones. Yet, in this place, such a mental strength master couldnt even rank within the top 10,000 Out of everyone present, only Breeze Wine and Shi Feng werent surprised by this situation. The standard of mental strength development available in their homeworld was vastly inferior to even the Greater Worlds towns, let alone cities. This remained true even for the Upper Zones created by the Green God Corporation. Regardless, Alice was the first in the group to challenge the mental strength test. After entering the mental space for around ten minutes, Alice walked back into the lobby with a somewhat ugly expression. At the same time, her results appeared on the lobbys scoreboard. Mental Grade: Two-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 87; Mental Strength Rating: B; Mental Control Rating: A; Overall Ranking: 856! When the receptionist saw Alices result, she said in praise, Youll have a chance of becoming a three-star mental strength grandmaster in the future if you already have such standards as a newcomer to the Greater World. Good! Beautifully done! Joy appeared in Breeze Wines eyes when he saw Alices result. Although he had long since known that Alice could definitely enter the top 1,000 within the selection period, he didnt think she would accomplish this feat on her first attempt at the selection test. Support us at Hosted Novel. It should be known that newcomers to the Greater World for the first time would typically see great improvements in their first month in the Greater World. This was also why the Gods Domain Association would offer to cover newcomers food and accommodation expenses for the first month. Alice had scored such a high rank on her first attempt, so it wasnt out of the question for her to get within the top 300 within the next month. Meanwhile, individuals who joined the city legion would receive significantly different treatment depending on whether they were ranked within the top 100, top 300, or top 1,000. After the receptionist finished assigning Alice her room, the many experts in the lobby couldnt help but look at her enviously. Alice was assigned a room on the Association Buildings 429th floor. Typically, the residences on such high floors were reserved for Star Lake Citys official participants, and these rooms cost 2,000 Star Coins a day to rent. The average God-ranked expert could only dream of staying in such a room. Yet, Alice could stay in this room free of charge for an entire month However, Alices result was only the beginning of a series of surprises for the people in the lobby. As Purple Jade and the others started attempting their test, the commotion in the lobby grew bigger and bigger. This was because out of the eight subsequent people who took the test, aside from the two people who were already over 40 years old, everyone else managed to rank within the top 1,000. As for the two who were older than 40, they were ranked within the top 2,000, and they had a high chance of entering the top 1,000 within the next month. This is insane! Where are these newcomers from?! I think they all come from the same world. What?! Theyre all from the same world?! Are they the geniuses nurtured by an Intermediate Gods Domain? The many God-ranked experts in the lobby began making all sorts of conjectures as they looked at Alice and the others. Due to the nature of Star Lake Citys selection this time, individuals capable of ranking within the top 3,000 would already be considered geniuses among geniuses, let alone the top 1,000. Yet, seven out of nine newcomers from the same world had managed to enter the top 1,000. Even Intermediate Gods Domains could not produce so many geniuses in the same generation. Not to mention, out of these nine newcomers, three had managed to rank within the top 500, their ranks hovering in the 400s. These three people were Magic-Eye Hunter Fithalia, Silver Ghost Prosciutto, and Thousand Scars Xue Qianhen. All three had received a Potential Rating of around 90 and double-A ratings for their Mental Strength and Mental Control. In addition, there was also Purple Jade, who ranked 514th. These four individuals had a high chance of entering the top 100 within the next month and competing against the peerless geniuses of the various Higher Gods Domains. Breeze Wine grew ecstatic when he saw this outcome. With such results, he could easily complete the task the Green God Corporation assigned to him. After all, the corporations task was for him, an official participant of Star Lake City, to produce three other official participants. When Prosciutto saw Shi Feng entering the mental space, he turned to Breeze Wine and said indifferently, Weve completed our tests already, Commander Wine. Shouldnt we start familiarizing ourselves with the training facilities here? Guild Leader Shi Feng still hasnt completed his test, Prosciutto. Isnt it too early for us to leave now? Purple Jade said, frowning. Is his test result even important? Prosciutto glanced at Purple Jade. Then, in a contemptuous tone, he said, Hes merely a Tier 3 instructor of a Gods Domain Academy. Hes not even an ant in Gods Domain. It is only by luck that he managed to come to the Greater World. We have come to the Greater World with an important task. The last thing we should do is waste our time on an ant. I agree with Commander Prosciutto. Commander Wine has also previously said that we are free to move independently once we finish our tests. Now that that person has entered the mental space, he no longer has anything to do with us, Thousand Scars said, nodding in agreement with Prosciutto. If you wish to wait for him, you can wait by yourself, Commander Jade. Do not waste everyones time. After saying so, Thousand Scars promptly turned around and left. She had no interest in Shi Fengs test result whatsoever. She only had one goal in her mind: to enter the top 100 as soon as possible. After seeing Thousand Scars leaving, Prosciutto and the others also left for their respective residences, leaving only Breeze Wine and Purple Jade in front of the test hall. The crowd in the lobby grew confused at this sight, and they couldnt help but wonder if Shi Feng wasnt actually from the same world as Thousand Scars and the others. You should head upstairs with them, Commander Jade. You all will be comrade-in-arms when you enter the Star Lake Legion in the future. You will meet each other regularly at that time, and you might even have to work together to complete tasks. So, its best not to strain your relationship with them, Breeze Wine advised Purple Jade when he saw Prosciutto and the others leaving. Its enough for me to wait here by myself. Zero Wing might have some interactions with the Secret Pavilion, but Shi Feng and Purple Jade were destined to live in completely different worlds. In Breeze Wines opinion, it would be very unwise for Purple Jade to sour her relationship with Prosciutto and the others for Shi Feng. After all, the Greater World wasnt an easy place to live in. Take himself, for example. It had taken him several years of struggling in the Greater World before he managed to join the Star Lake Legion. Even then, he was only an ordinary official participant. Of course, his slow progress was mainly because he had no companions. If he had reliable companions, he might have reached greater heights. Thank you for your concern, Commander Wine. Shaking her head, Purple Jade said with determination in her eyes, You may be right, but I still want to wait. Since learning about Shi Fengs existence until now, Purple Jade had never managed to see through the man. Even though Shi Feng was clearly only a Refinement Realm expert, he had earned such high praise from Wu Lingling that the girl refused to become her apprentice. Now that the opportunity to see Shi Fengs strength had appeared, Purple Jade naturally had to take a look. Breeze Wine could only sigh in regards to Purple Jades decision. He simply couldnt understand why Purple Jade was willing to sacrifice her future for the sake of a Tier 3 instructor. Sometime after Breeze Wine and Purple Jade concluded their conversation, a new result appeared on the lobbys test scoreboard. Chapter 3182 - Chapter 256 - S-Rank Control Chapter 256 C S-Rank Control Gods Domain Association, mental space: When Shi Feng stepped into the mental space, he was greeted by the size of a spacious hall the size of a football field and a large staircase with over a hundred steps. The staircase was brightly illuminated, and every step had stone pillars of varying sizes erected. Before Shi Feng could approach the staircase, the lights suddenly went out, and the hall was drowned in darkness. Sure enough, its the same as in the past, Shi Feng thought as he closed his eyes and focused his mind on the mental blades that were coming at him from multiple directions. Then, he swiftly evaded these mental blades while gradually making his way to the staircase. The mental space was one of the few places in the Greater World that allowed people to develop their mental strength. However, very few people knew about this secret. Typically, only the various cities administrators and the Gods Domain Associations executives would know about it. As for most other people, they would simply treat the mental space as a place to test their mental strength. Hardly anyone knew about the intricacies and benefits of the mental space. Even Shi Feng had taken quite some time to figure out this secret during his previous life. The mental spaces mental staircase had a total of 103 steps, and one could not reach the top unless one was at the three-star mental strength grandmaster standard. Anyone who managed to ascend to the top could become an Elder in the Gods Domain Association and gain the right to pioneer a new continent. When ascending the mental staircase, one would have to face an increasing number of mental blades the higher one climbed. More specifically, the number would gradually increase from four to one hundred and seven. In addition, the strength and agility of the mental blades would increase with every three steps. During his previous life, Shi Feng had only ever managed to climb to the 101st step before he abruptly reincarnated again. Now that he was no longer at his peak, he naturally couldnt climb back to the 101st step. Even so, he could still use the mental staircase to train his current mental strength. As for how he could accomplish this, it was simple. All he needed to do was concentrate his mental strength into a barrier to continuously defend against the mental blades. Of course, one couldnt develop ones mental strength just by blocking any random mental blade. The mental blade one blocked needed to be strong enough to shatter ones mental barrier. Moreover, the stronger the mental blade, the better. That way, the mental blade could shatter ones mental barrier more thoroughly, giving one an easier time absorbing the residual mental energy left behind by the mental barrier. However, the stronger the mental blade one blocked, the greater the pain one would suffer. Fortunately, challengers were at no risk of dying in the mental space as the test would be automatically stopped when they exceeded their pain tolerance. So, challengers could let the mental blades shatter their mental barrier without worry. As for how long a challenger could last, that would depend on their willpower. Subsequently, Shi Feng continuously evaded the oncoming mental blades and swiftly ascended the mental staircase, having no intention of wasting time on the lower steps. The mental spaces difficulty didnt only increase with the number of steps a challenger had climbed. It would also increase along with time. Simply put, the longer one spent dawdling around, the greater the difficulty one would face in ascending the mental staircase. This prevented people from taking their sweet time training their mental strength in the mental space. If Shi Feng wished to take full advantage of the mental spaces training properties, the best way would be to ascend the mental staircase as quickly as possible until he reached his limit. Fortunately, Shi Feng was already familiar with the attack patterns of the mental spaces mental blades. Even though he only had the physical fitness of a Henglian master right now, he reached the 60th step, a place only Henglian grandmasters and above could reach, in no time. However, after reaching the 67th step, despite his familiarity with the mental blades attack patterns and trajectories, Shi Feng could no longer evade the overwhelming number of mental blades that attacked him. So, he was left with no choice but to conjure mental barriers one after another to block the oncoming mental blades. Bang! Bang! Bang! As a half-step mental strength master, the mental barriers Shi Feng conjured were only as thick as a sheet of paper. As a result, the mental blades instantly shattered his mental barriers into countless fragments and ruthlessly stabbed into his mental sea, causing him to feel as if his body was being torn asunder. The pain was so overwhelming that Shi Feng nearly lost consciousness when the pain first hit him. Hold on! I must hold on until I hit my gravity limit! The consecutive instances of pain Shi Feng suffered caused him to instinctively want to retreat. However, he resisted his instincts and kept pushing himself forward. The mental spaces training effect would be at its best during ones first attempt. Aside from facing the mental blades, one would also be subjected to an increasing gravity as one remained in the mental space. Meanwhile, the rate at which the mental spaces gravity increased would also increase with the number of times one challenged the mental space. This, in turn, would reduce ones mental tolerance and the time one could spend in the mental space. Hence, when a person was challenging the mental space for the first time, they should try to challenge the strongest mental blades they could and stay within the mental space for as long as they could to achieve the best training effect. One minute Two minutes Three minutes Time passed bit by bit as Shi Feng continuously ascended the mental staircase with gritted teeth. However, even though Shi Fengs face was currently as pale as a sheet, the speed at which he conjured mental barriers was getting faster and faster. Evidently, the training offered by the mental space was doing wonders for his mental strength. At this point, his mental strength was already on par with two-star mental strength masters. When Shi Feng climbed to the 79th step, a height only three-star mental strength masters and above could reach, 83 mental blades shattered all of his mental barriers simultaneously and stabbed into his mental sea. Before the pain could take effect, the mental spaces test abruptly came to an end. It seems this is my current limit. Shi Feng clenched his teeth as he gazed at the top of the staircase that was only a short distance away from him. Thanks to the mental spaces training, Shi Fengs mental strength was now at the two-star mental strength master standard. His perception and judgment toward danger could already allow him to fight against bona fide one-star mental strength masters even with his disadvantage in physical fitness. With such a high mental strength standard, he could already become an official member of the Gods Domain Association and rent a room on the 100th to 200th floor of the Association Building. Although he would need to pay 10 Star Coins per day to rent a room on these floors, it was much cheaper than the alternative of renting a room in the city. However, whether he could find an unoccupied room to rent would depend on his luck. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Shi Feng turned around and descended the staircase. Gods Domain Associations first-floor lobby: At the same time as Shi Feng concluded his mental strength test, silence enveloped the entire lobby as everyone stared at the scoreboard. At this moment, even Breeze Wine couldnt help but rub his eyes in doubt as he looked at the scoreboard. Mental Grade: Special Mental Strength Expert; Potential Rating: 86; Mental Strength Rating: A; Mental Control Rating: S; Overall Ranking: 100 TL Notes: [1]special mental strength expert is the rank below mental strength maste Chapter 3183 - Chapter 257 - Tier 4 Promotion Chapter 257 C Tier 4 Promotion After a short silence in the lobby, everyone turned to look at Shi Feng, who had just walked out of the mental space, as if they were looking at a monster. A special mental strength expert?! How did a special mental strength expert get within the top 100?! This mental space is definitely broken! Im a 2-star mental strength master at 35, yet I cant even get within the top 1,000! No matter how you look at it, hes already over 30, so how can he get within the top 100 even though hes only a special mental strength expert?! It should be because of his mental control receiving an S-rank rating. There hasnt been anyone with S-rank mental control appearing in Star Lake City for the past ten years. If I remember correctly, the last person to get an S-rank evaluation for their mental control is the Star Lake Legions current First Vice Commander. Is Star Lake City going to see the birth of another anomaly? I dont think you can consider this person an anomaly yet. When that Vice Commander joined the Star Lake Legion, he came in 43rd in his selection, and its common knowledge that everyone who manages to rank within the top 50 of the Star Lake Legions recruitment selection will always have a Potential Rating of 95 or greater. Moreover, these people all have a high chance of becoming one-star mental strength grandmasters before the age of 35. In addition, aside from having an S-rank Mental Control Rating, that anomaly also concluded his selection with a Potential Rating of 97 and an S-rank Mental Strength Rating. Afterward, he became a one-star mental strength grandmaster at 27. Now that he is 31, he has even become a two-star mental strength grandmaster already. The gap between these two people is utterly massive. Feelings of madness, admiration, and jealousy filled the people in the lobby when they thought about Shi Fengs test result. However, despite everyones feelings, nobody dared to behave disrespectfully toward Shi Feng. The Star Lake Legion was the cumulation of Star Lake Citys apex combatants. It was also backed by the city itself. So, even ordinary official members of the legion would be recruitment targets for the various hegemonic powers of Gods Domain and ordinary corporations in Star Lake City. In addition, official members had the qualifications to purchase a plot of land and own it until they passed away. With this land, they could open up a shop or build a home to live in without having to pay an exorbitant rent to Star Lake City. In addition, they could even invite up to ten people to become permanent residents of Star Lake City, which meant that they could pay their monthly Contribution Point fee in Star Coins instead. It should be known that even the Greater Worlds various corporations couldnt afford to give all their members permanent residence status in a city. The Greater World had existed for a very long time already, and many corporations and powerful families with long histories had gigantic family trees. To make matters worse, people living in the Greater World could easily live up to 500 years old if nothing unexpected occurred. Because of this, many youths belonging to the Greater Worlds various corporations and powerful families sought to join the various cities city legions. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng managed to join the Star Lake Legion, hed have plenty of opportunities to get acquainted with these youths with powerful backgrounds. So, itd be foolish to offend Shi Feng simply because he was only a special mental strength expert right now. He got into the top 100 on his first try? Breeze Wine was at a loss for words when he saw Shi Fengs test result. He had worked hard in the Greater World for several years, participated in multiple selections, and challenged the mental space over 50 times. Even then, if he didnt receive the Green God Corporations financial support, he would have never managed to become an official member of the Star Lake Legion. In contrast, Shi Feng had managed to rank within the top 100 of the selection on his first day of arriving in the Greater World. Moreover, he had done so without the support of any corporation. So long as he managed to ascend to a slightly greater height on the mental staircase within the next month, he was practically certain to become an official member of the Star Lake Legion Moreover, the top 100 rookies of every selection could typically become a team leader in the Star Lake Legion within three years. In addition, so long as Shi Feng managed to become a one-star mental strength grandmaster before the age of 50, even if he chose to leave the Star Lake Legion afterward, he could still receive financial support from Star Lake City and work for any of the institutions directly affiliated with Star Lake City. He could easily live up to six or seven hundred years old at that time. He might even receive marriage proposals from the citys influential families and corporations This was because a genius of Shi Fengs caliber had a very high chance of becoming a three-star mental strength grandmaster within their lifetime. If he managed to accomplish this feat, he would gain the opportunity to pioneer a new city and become the lord of a city in the Greater World. It seems you made the right decision to wait, Commander Jade, Breeze Wine said as he looked at Purple Jade with a smile. The position of team leader in the Star Lake Legion was significantly more valuable than the position of an official member. If Purple Jade went under Shi Fengs wing, she could earn a significantly greater amount of Contribution Points and Star Coins than the average legion member when completing quests for the city legion. Meanwhile, these points and coins would be crucial in purchasing the exorbitantly priced potions and resources that aided in mental strength development. Now that Prosciutto and the others were nowhere to be seen and only Purple Jade remained, so long as Shi Feng wasnt a fool, hed be able to tell what had happened. At this time, Breeze Wine could already imagine the colorful expressions Prosciutto and the others would make when they learned about Shi Fengs ranking. Youre thinking too highly of me, Commander Wine, Purple Jade said with a bitter smile. Contrary to what Breeze Wine thought, she didnt choose to stay behind because she was confident in Shi Fengs strength. Instead, she simply thought about understanding Shi Fengs strength. Only, she never expected Shi Feng to be this powerful. After Shi Feng was assigned a room on the 490th floor, he went upstairs together with Breeze Wine and Purple Jade. Breeze Wine had also gone out of his way to share some details regarding Star Lake City and the Star Lake Legion with Shi Feng and Breeze Wine. Shortly after Shi Fengs group of three left the lobby, the receptionist responsible for manning the test halls front desk pulled up a report containing Shi Fengs personal information. The report was incredibly detailed, and it even had some of Shi Fengs battle videos from his early years in Shadow. Shi Feng, is it? When the receptionist finished looking through Shi Fengs information, a smile appeared on her face. Then, she looked toward the video recording of Shi Fengs performance in the mental space and thought to herself, What an interesting newcomer we have this year. Its as if he has long since known the attack patterns of the mental blades. It seems my visit to the Association today wasnt pointless after all. As soon as the receptionist closed the recording of Shi Fengs test, her quantum watch suddenly lit up, indicating that someone was calling her. When she answered the call, the hologram of a dignified young man wearing the Star Lake Legions Vice Commander Emblem appeared above the quantum watch. Your inauguration ceremony is about to begin, Commander Red Frost. Why havent you come over yet? Do you know how ugly the City Lords face has become already? the young man grumbled. I know, I know. Stop rushing me, the receptionist said as she rolled her eyes at the young man. Ill head over there now. Inside a high-class room on the Gods Domain Associations 490th floor, Shi Feng laid into the virtual gaming cabin that came with the room and prepared to log into Gods Domain. Unlike the virtual gaming cabin he used on Earth, this one was made using significantly more advanced technology. Not only did it allow its user to experience Gods Domain with near-100% fidelity, but it also allowed the user to maintain roughly the same combat training effect as in Gods Domain. Players who used this cabin would essentially be training their physical bodies in the real world when doing combat in Gods Domain. Moreover, the cabin even came with two large canisters of Life Potions. Shi Feng doubted that even a conglomerate like the Green God Corporation would be willing to provide such excellent provisions to its members. Yet, the Gods Domain Association had equipped every room on the 400th floor and above with such a virtual gaming cabin If he combined the effects of this virtual gaming cabin with the Greater Worlds significantly stronger gravity, his brain activity and physical fitness would automatically improve by themselves, even if he didnt want them to. After Shi Feng logged into Gods Domain, he took out the Legendary Legacy Scroll and chanted the incantation to activate it without hesitation. As soon as he was finished chanting, the dark-purple scroll floated into the air and unfurled itself. Then, ancient divine runes quickly flowed out of the scroll and covered the entire office. Originally, Shi Feng had thought of waiting a little longer before challenging his Tier 4 promotion. After all, many of Zero Wings main force members still needed help with leveling up. At the very least, he should wait until Zero Wings main force members had reached Level 115 on average before he left for his Tier 4 promotion. However, if he wanted to maintain his position within the top 100 of the Star Lake Legions selection, he had no choice but to challenge his Tier 4 promotion immediately. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, players who had successfully gotten promoted to Tier 4 would receive a boost in their Concentration, also known as mental strength in the real world. This boost in Concentration was essential for Shi Feng to maintain his position top 100 since the Star Lake City selection this time was a competition between the geniuses of hundreds of towns and cities. Secondly, only Tier 4 players in Gods Domain could become official members of the Greater Worlds city legions. If he remained at Tier 3, even if he joined the Star Lake Legion as one of the top 100 challengers, hed only be given the position of a reserve member, and the benefits offered to official members would be out of his reach. Shortly after Shi Feng activated the Legendary Legacy Scroll, a space-time passage surrounded by black lightning arcs appeared in the middle of his office. The space-time passages size changed constantly. It expanded to a radius of over one meter sometimes and shrunk to a radius of only a few dozen centimeters at other times. The portal was incredibly unstable, and the powerful aura that radiated out of the passage only made it even more difficult for Shi Feng to act. So, this is a Legacy Land related to the Ancient Abyssal God? Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at this space-time passage. Just the aura leaking out of the passage was already enough to intimidate him into inaction. He couldnt even begin to imagine what kind of fearsome opponents awaited him inside the Legacy Land. However, Shi Feng didnt put too much thought into the matter. After the space-time passage stabilized to a certain extent, he charged into it without hesitation. Chapter 3184 - Chapter 258 - Immortal Equipment Set Chapter 258 C Immortal Equipment Set Shi Feng slowly opened his eyes to a gray space shrouded by thick fog. At the same time, his brain was assaulted by a severe sense of dizziness, and he found it difficult to even stand up. Before Shi Feng could stand up from the ground, a series of system notifications entered his ears. System: You have discovered the Ancient God Graveyard. Starting Tier 4 Abyssal Sword Emperor Promotion Quest. Quest Content: Obtain the Ancient God Legacy Power in the Ancient Gods Graveyard. Rewards unknown. System: You cannot make contact with the outside world while in the Ancient God Graveyard. If you die in the Ancient God Graveyard, you will be forcibly teleported out of the Ancient God Graveyard, lose ten levels, and have your soul weakened for fifteen days. So, even with a Legendary Legacy Scroll, I only get one opportunity? What a harsh condition. It seems I cant recklessly take risks now. Shi Feng didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he finished reading the system notifications. An Ancient Gods Legacy Land! He didnt think the Legendary Legacy Scroll could teleport him to a Legacy Land related to the Ancient Abyssal God. However, it would seem that this unbelievable privilege also came at an extraordinary price. Just the penalty for failure was more than enough to ruin him completely. On top of losing ten levels, he would also have his soul weakened for fifteen days. Should he fail his promotion, hed need at least a month to return to his current level. In the current Miniature Ancient World, losing a months worth of progress was no laughing matter. A God-ranked expert wouldnt necessarily be able to catch up to frontline experts if they doubled their efforts after taking such a loss. However, what surprised Shi Feng, even more, was the environment in the Ancient God Graveyard. Mana was the foundation of all life in Gods Domain. Yet, there was not a trace of mana in this place If the average Tier 3 player were to enter this place, theyd die within 30 seconds. Even players with Epic Mana Bodies shouldnt think of using a single Skill or Spell in such an environment. As for Shi Feng, his Legendary Mana Body might be capable of producing its own mana. However, in an environment devoid of mana, he could only use Skills and Spells a very limited number of times. To make matters worse, on top of having no mana whatsoever, the Ancient God Graveyard was also crawling with Level 125, Tier 4 Heroic Spirits [Divine Graveyard Wanderer] (Heroic Spirit, Tier 4 Sword Emperor) Level 125 HP 300,000,000 Heroic Spirits were the spirits of deceased Human Heroes. They might not have very high HP and intelligence, but they possessed incredibly high combat standards. Stronger Heroic Spirits would even retain their combat standards when they were alive. In other words, theyd have combat standards of Hero-level NPCs. Heroes were human NPCs who had received titles and blessings from Gods after accomplishing great deeds that have left even Gods in awe. Even the weakest Hero would have combat power rivaling ordinary Dragons of the same tier. When it came to utilizing Skills and Spells, Heroes were superior to even Domain Realm experts. Its not going to be possible to engage them one-on-one. It seems I have no choice but to take things slowly. Shi Feng sighed deeply after observing the wandering Heroic Spirits for over an hour. Then, he took out a Magic Tactical Vehicle from his Epic Spatial Bag. Based on his observation, he found that there should be at least several hundred Tier 4 Heroic Spirits wandering this vast forest shrouded in fog. Moreover, these Heroic Spirits never moved more than 100 yards apart from each other. This meant that should he attack against any of these Heroic Spirits, he would end up attracting the attention of at least three other Heroic Spirits Normally, a Tier 3 player would get obliterated if they tried to fight against a Tier 4 Heroic Spirit alone. Although Shi Feng had Tier 4 Physique and Mana, in an environment without mana, he could, at best, defeat a Tier 4 Heroic Spirit in a one-on-one situation. If he had to go up against four Heroic Spirits simultaneously, only death would await him. The only solution to this problem would be to fight numbers with numbers. Subsequently, Shi Feng found the closest Divine Graveyard Wanderer and threw a rock at the latter. Under the acceleration of Shi Fengs Tier 4 Strength, the rock flew forward like a shooting star, penetrated through a tree, and exploded on the Wanderers back. However, the Wanderers armor had absorbed most of the impact, so the Wanderer only lost around 9,000 HP, which was an insignificant amount considering he had 300 million HP. Meanwhile, the struck Wanderer promptly unsheathed his greatsword and left behind an afterimage as he charged at Shi Feng. The Berserker-type Wanderers speed was so fast that even Tier 4 Assassin experts would be put to shame. In addition, the Wanderers advance was made without any excess movements. Every movement the Wanderer made thoroughly utilized the forests complex terrain to let him effectively close the distance while making it hard for Shi Feng to predict the exact trajectory of his approach. The struck Wanderer wasnt the only one who was approaching Shi Feng. Three other nearby Divine Graveyard Wanderers had also simultaneously charged toward Shi Feng. Moreover, despite not having communicated in any way, the four Wanderers moved with perfect coordination, some approaching from Shi Fengs blind spots while some distracting Shi Feng with ranged attacks. You have good coordination, but its a pity that Im not alone. Shi Feng smiled when he saw the four Wanderers entering within 50 yards of him. Then, he promptly injected 2,000 Magic Crystals into the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicle to activate the Advanced Anti-Magic Barrier and Hexagram Protection simultaneously. Immediately, the movement of all four Wanderers turned awkward, and none of them could use Tier 4 Skills and Spells any longer. In contrast, Shi Fengs mana was instantly elevated to the Tier 4 standard, even with the restraining effects of the surrounding environment. Subsequently, Shi Feng unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and activated World of Frost, summoning nine frost swords around him. Then, he executed Swords Orbit against the four Wanderers attacking him. The Swords Orbit he executed with the nine frost swords might not reach the standard of Silver Combat Techniques, but it still reached the Bronze standard. Moreover, each frost sword carried 120% of his Strength. So, even though the Divine Graveyard Wanderers had very high combat standards, they could, at most, defend themselves against one frost sword. As each Wanderer had to go up against two or more frost swords, they would receive a direct blow with every exchange. Although every attack he landed could only cause around three million damage, he steadily reduced the four Wanderers HP. In less than a minute, even with their battle recovery, three of the four Wanderers had already lost close to half of their HP. As for the one Wanderer who had to go up against three frost swords, his HP had fallen below the 50% mark. Eventually, before two minutes passed, all four Divine Graveyard Wanderers had lost all of their HP. Then, their bodies transformed into light particles that scattered into the surrounding fog, leaving behind a bunch of weapons and armor pieces. At the same time, Shi Feng also saw his experience bar going up by 26%, showing that the four Heroic Spirits had awarded him an incredibly lucrative amount of EXP. Although progression will be slow, this gives me time to properly investigate this Ancient God Graveyard, Shi Feng thought to himself with a bitter smile. If it werent for the Winter of Eternal Night, he would have definitely died to the four Tier 4 Heroic Spirits. Unfortunately, World of Frost only had a three-minute duration, so he couldnt fight another group of Divine Graveyard Wanderers even if he wanted to. Hed have to wait for the Skills two-hour Cooldown to complete before he could start another fight. In the meantime, he could take his time investigating the Ancient God Graveyard. After sheathing the Winter of Eternal Night, Shi Feng began inspecting the loot the four Divine Graveyard Wanderers dropped. An Immortal Equipment Set? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw that the runic weapons and armor that the Wanderers had dropped all radiated a dark-gray glow. Immediately, he used Eyes of Reality to inspect the rank of these Immortal Weapons and Equipment. The dark-gray glow effect was unique to Immortal Weapons and Equipment, which were also the mainstream equipment in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, any random Secret-Silver Immortal Equipment Set could be sold for an astronomical price. Chapter 3185 - Chapter 259 - Ancient Gods Arm Chapter 259 C Ancient Gods Arm Not only did they drop Level 120 Fine-Gold Immortal Equipment Sets, but theyve even dropped Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment Sets. Shi Feng was at a loss for words when he finished identifying the equipment the Divine Graveyard Wanderers dropped. If the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers could enter this place, theyd probably faint from joy. The four Divine Graveyard Wanderers dropped a total of 14 Fine-Gold Specter Set pieces and three Dark-Gold Blazing Flame Set pieces. This was a considerably high drop rate for Immortal Equipment. Immortal Weapons and Equipment were incredibly precious in the Greater Gods Domain. They were much more durable than ordinary weapons and equipment, which would not only allow players to stay in combat for a much longer time, but also let players save on a hefty sum of repair fees. In the Greater Gods Domain, even Epic Weapons and Equipment could only survive a few fights against Tier 4 Mythic monsters and above. As for weapons and equipment at the Dark-Gold rank or below, itd be a miracle if they could survive a full fight against a Mythic monster. Meanwhile, if the durability of weapons and equipment fell to zero during battle, players would be left to fight barehanded and naked. Moreover, players couldnt even get their items repaired afterward, as weapons and equipment would be reduced to nothing but scrap once their durability fell to zero. Yet, avoiding fights with Mythic monsters and above wasnt an option since monsters of such caliber were everywhere in the Greater Gods Domain. As a result, even though ordinary Epic Weapons and Equipment were very common in the Greater Gods Domain, and the cost of repairing items was also significantly cheaper, repair fees remained a significant expense for most players. Meanwhile, because of the hassle and cost that came with maintaining ordinary weapons and equipment, Immortal Weapons and Equipment became highly sought after in the Greater Gods Domain. This was true even for Secret-Silver Immortal Weapons and Equipment. So long as a Secret-Silver Immortal Weapon or Equipment wasnt more than ten levels below the players level, any player would choose it over ordinary Epic Weapons and Equipment. Unfortunately, few monsters dropped Immortal Weapons and Equipment, and players mainly had to rely on themselves to craft these items. However, the success rate of producing Immortal Weapons and Equipment at the Secret-Silver rank or above was incredibly low. As a result, even the more inferior Mysterious-Iron Immortal Weapons and Equipment could sell for a higher price than ordinary Epic Weapons and Equipment. In fact, Immortal Weapons were so rare that Level 150-plus Secret-Silver Immortal Weapons and Equipment could no longer be bought with the average currencies used for trading. Instead, they would only be traded using the incomparably precious Seven Luminaries Crystals. Although the Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Immortal Weapons and Equipment the Divine Graveyard Wanderers dropped could only be used up to Level 120, their value wasnt inferior to that of Level 150 Secret-Silver Immortal Weapons and Equipment in the slightest. This was because a complete Immortal Equipment Set would generally grant far more Basic Attributes than the average equipment set of the same rank and level. Equipping a complete Immortal Set was akin to wearing an equipment set of a higher level. As for how big the difference was, a Fine-Gold Immortal Set would grant Basic Attributes that were ten levels higher, while a Dark-Gold Immortal Set would grant Basic Attributes that were 15 levels higher. In other words, a Level 120 Dark-Gold Immortal Set would grant its wearer the Basic Attributes of a Level 135 Dark-Gold Set. Even a player geared in Level 120 Epic Equipment would be two thresholds behind a player geared in a Level 120 Dark-Gold Immortal Set in terms of Basic Attributes. If an ordinary expert obtained a Level 120 Dark-Gold Immortal Set, they could use it up to Level 150 without a problem. The combat environment in the current Miniature Ancient World was essentially the same as the Greater Gods Domain already. It was just that monsters in the Miniature Ancient World werent as powerful. So, while ordinary experts could still barely make do with Fine-Gold and Dark-Gold Weapons and Equipment, frontline teams were already starting to face great pressure. The cost of repairing Epic Weapons and Equipment after fighting against several Mythic monsters was a significant expenditure. Currently, a frontline expert would need to spend around 40 Magic Crystals per day on repair fees alone, while a 1,000-man frontline team would have to spend around 40,000 Magic Crystals. This was a frightening expense considering there were very few sources for players to acquire Magic Crystals from in the current Miniature Ancient World. Most of the Magic Crystals in the hands of players still consisted of Magic Crystals brought in by new players. However, if players could switch to using Immortal Weapons and Equipment, theyd only need to do some simple mana maintenance to keep their gear at 100% effectiveness. In that case, they would, at most, have to spend one or two Magic Crystals a day. There was a stark contrast between the two. Not to mention, the Immortal Equipment Sets dropped by the Divine Graveyard Wanderers were far above the average level of current players. If I wasnt trying to get promoted to Tier 4, I could have made a fortune from this place, Shi Feng thought to himself as he looked at the patrolling Divine Graveyard Wanderers. Then, he quickly avoided these Heroic Spirits and advanced toward locations where he could avoid combat. Shi Feng only had one opportunity to challenge the Ancient God Graveyard. Different from the leveling maps found in the outside world, so long as he died here, he would not get another chance to return. Players needed to collect Legacy Power to complete their Tier 4 promotion. The monsters in Legacy Lands were similar to monsters of leveling maps in that they would respawn after a certain period of time. Yet, World of Frost had a long Cooldown of two hours. Itd be unreasonable to try to clear out all of the patrolling Divine Graveyard Wanderers. So, the wisest move to make now would be to prioritize searching for his Legacy Fragments and collecting enough Legacy Power to complete his Tier 4 promotion. Killing monsters and acquiring loot should only remain as his secondary objectives. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng had defeated the four Divine Graveyard Wanderers, an obvious blindspot appeared in the Wanderers patrol route. This allowed Shi Feng to advance without having to worry about getting discovered. However, for precautions sake, Shi Feng would still kill four Divine Graveyard Wanderers every two hours, further enlarging the blindspot of the patrolling Wanderers as he progressed deeper into the foggy forest. After advancing for two days, Shi Feng finally exited the foggy forest and arrived at a graveyard. In these two days, Shi Feng had not only leveled up to Level 120, but he had also obtained over 200 Specter Set pieces and over 40 Blazing Flame Set pieces. In the case of the six-piece Specter Set, he had managed to gather seven complete sets. As for the eight-piece Blazing Flame Set, it was a pity, but he didnt manage to complete a single set. Otherwise, he could have replaced his current Mana Equipment Set and elevated his Basic Attributes to an entirely new standard. The graveyard was set on a vast plain, and the fog here was much denser than in the forest. The Divine Graveyard Wanderers had also stopped moving independently, all of them moving in groups of three to five instead. The difficulty of advancing had increased exponentially. If Shi Feng accidentally attracted the attention of two groups of Wanderers, hed definitely be beaten to a pulp. Fortunately, not all was bad news. When Shi Feng spread his senses, he noticed that the many glowing tombstones that covered the plains all radiated Divine Might. The Divine Might each tombstone radiated varied in strength. The stronger ones could deter even Tier 3 experts from approaching, while the weaker ones allowed even Tier 2 players to approach them easily. Meanwhile, these glowing tombstones were none other than the Legacy Fragments Shi Feng needed to complete his Tier 4 promotion. However, when Shi Feng moved around 1,000 yards into the graveyard, a pillar of dazzling light suddenly appeared in the distance. Following it, a frightening Divine Might swept over Shi Feng and alarmed his instincts, causing him to stumble backward by several steps. After taking a moment to calm himself, Shi Feng returned to his previous position. Then, he cautiously observed the distant light while analyzing the Divine Might enveloping him. What a powerful Divine Might! Even though the dense fog covering the plains prevented Shi Feng from seeing more than 300 yards away, the light pillar was so dazzling that he could see it even though it was much farther away. In addition, the Divine Might coming from that direction was so powerful that it felt like a real God had just descended before him. After scrutinizing the light pillar for a moment longer, Shi Feng suddenly noticed the faint silhouette of a gigantic arm amidst it. The arm easily measured several kilometers in height, and the surrounding fog could be seen lingering and drifting around it. An Ancient Gods Arm?! Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes as he looked at the towering arm enveloped within the pillar of light. It should be known that the Legacies and possessions of Ancient Gods were incredibly hard to come by, even in the Greater Gods Domain. They were so rare that most would only have their existences described in the Book of Origins. Yet, now, an Ancient Gods arm was placed in front of his eyes Chapter 3186 - Chapter 260 - Aiming For The Limit Chapter 260 C Aiming For The Limit Shi Feng froze when he saw the gigantic arm in the distance. Only after quite some time had passed did he snap back to his senses. Ancient Gods! They were the strongest existences in Gods Domain. At the same time, they were also the oldest existences. Any Legacy or possession from an Ancient God could cause countless Tier 6 God-ranked experts to fight for it crazily. Even the Greater Gods Domains apex powers would spare nothing at getting their hands on an Ancient Gods Legacy or possession. As for the remains of Ancient Gods, Shi Feng had never seen or heard of anyone coming across one before in the Greater Gods Domain. In fact, coming across an Ancient Gods remains was something no player would ever dare to dream of. This was because even the remains of ordinary Gods could already offer heaven-defying effects to players. Out of the various uses a Gods remains had, the most widely known usage would be to help players reach Tier 6. This was a feat not even God Legacies could accomplish. Only, using a Gods remains to help players reach Tier 6 was an incredibly extravagant action, so much so that not even the Greater Gods Domains apex powers would be willing to do so. Rather than that, itd be much more worthwhile to use a Tier 6 Gods remains to forge Legendary Weapons and Equipment or higher. Of course, this was also considered a wasteful way of using a Tier 6 Gods remains. Meanwhile, the method that was publicly known and acknowledged to be the best way of using a Gods remains would be to upgrade a Gods Domains rank. Once a Gods Domain received a rank-up, not only would the world become stronger as a whole, but it would also become richer in resources and mana. Take the many Intermediate and Higher Gods Domains that existed in the Greater World, for example. Many Tier 6 Gods were killed to upgrade these Gods Domains to their current states. As for an Ancient Gods remains? Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine what kind of heaven-defying effects it could have. After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng quietly observed the Divine Graveyard Wanderers within his view. A moment later, a bitter smile formed on his face as he thought, Is the system putting the Ancient Gods Arm there just for me to admire? After moving within viewing distance of the Ancient Gods Arm, he noticed that the number of Divine Graveyard Wanderers on the plains had increased significantly. Instead of moving in groups of three to five, every Wanderer was now moving in parties of six or more. In addition, the frightening Divine Might the Ancient Gods Arm radiated constantly interfered with his focus, which forced him to allocate a portion of his attention to blocking the mental interference. If he had to defend against the Ancient Gods Arms mental interference, even if he used World of Frost, the Swords Orbit he executed wouldnt be able to reach the standard of Bronze Combat Techniques. Should he fight against a party of Divine Graveyard Wanderers under such circumstances, hed quickly be worn down and killed. No! Im not completely out of options! After pondering for a moment, Shi Fengs eyes widened in excitement as he suddenly came up with an idea. My current Basic Attributes are inferior to the Divine Graveyard Wanderers. If I can raise my Basic Attributes to a sufficiently high level, I should be able to wear down the Wanderers, even if I cant execute Bronze Combat Techniques! The Blazing Flame Set might only be a Level 120 Dark-Gold Immortal Set. However, so long as he could complete the eight-piece set, hed have a Level 135 Dark-Gold Equipment Set at his disposal. At that time, he should be able to suppress the Divine Graveyard Wanderers even without the help of Bronze Combat Techniques. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng promptly retreated from his current location and began harvesting the lives of the Divine Graveyard Wanderers that moved in groups of three to five. Although opportunities to strike at these grouped Wanderers didnt come by very often, Shi Feng still managed to find four opportunities to strike after laying in wait for half a day. Unfortunately, even after killing 14 Divine Graveyard Wanderers and obtaining over 40 Specter Set pieces and 11 Blazing Flame Set pieces, Shi Feng was still missing the Blazing Flame Sets headpiece As Shi Feng was considerably exhausted, he took a break from Gods Domain after lamenting his bad luck. While Shi Feng had gone offline to rest, access to the Top of Two Worlds, the place where the Miniature Ancient Worlds Level 120-plus maps resided, was made available to players. When this long-awaited moment finally arrived, the frontline teams of the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers flooded into the Top of Two Worlds. For a time, the Two of Two Worlds became the biggest battlefield in the Miniature Ancient World as countless powers fought to get an advantage over each other. The competition was so fierce that some superpowers were forced to withdraw. This was especially true for the various local powers. In only a day, aside from the Flower of Seven Sins, which had suddenly gained an additional 20-plus God-ranked experts, the main force of every other power was forced to withdraw from the Top of Two Worlds. Now, only the various powers God-ranked experts and apex experts could afford to roam the Top of Two Worlds. Even then, they had to move covertly and carefully. This situation caused the Flower of Seven Sins fame to become unrivaled among the various local powers, and the organization was now recognized as the number one local power in the Miniature Ancient World. Countless geniuses also sought to join the Flower of Seven Sins. Guild Leader, I dont know what happened to the Flower of Seven Sins, but it has suddenly started recruiting the younger generations geniuses without any regard for costs. The Flower of Seven Sins is accepting all Refinement Realm experts under 22 as its core members. Moreover, it is offering all core members the privilege of buying three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid every year, Su Qianliu said anxiously as she looked at Shi Feng through their video call. Many of Asuras and Zero Wings geniuses have already shown signs of flocking to the Flower of Seven Sins. If we dont do something about this now, its only a matter of time before they make up their minds and leave. Should we loosen the conditions to use the Primordial Towers second floor? Geniuses of the younger generation might not be able to become useful combatants right away, but they represented the future of a power. If Zero Wing allowed the Flower of Seven Sins to steal all of its young geniuses, Zero Wings aim of expanding a development would vanish like a dream. Three bottles per person? How generous of them. Shi Feng was quite surprised when he heard Su Qianlius report. Typically, the various superpowers would only offer the peak geniuses they recruited the privilege of purchasing two or three bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluids per year. Yet, the Flower of Seven Sins was now offering this privilege to all of its core members. However, a moment later, Shi Feng shook his head and said, We cannot allow more people to use the Primordial Towers second floor. We need to ensure every person who uses the second floors rooms successfully learns their Silver Combat Techniques as soon as possible. As for the Guilds privileges, we can let core members purchase one bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid per year, but that is the most we can afford. He had just arrived at the Greater World, so he didnt have any Star Coins. The stockpile of S-rank Nutrient Fluids he currently had only consisted of the ones he received for nurturing the various superpowers peak geniuses. If Zero Wing wanted to compete with the Flower of Seven Sins in resources, hed first have to become an official member of the Star Lake Legion. Then, hed need to complete quests that awarded a large amount of Star Coins. Before that, there was no way Zero Wing could afford to compete against the Flower of Seven Sins when it came to giving away S-rank Nutrient Fluids. After listening to Shi Fengs command, Su Qianliu promptly left to carry it out. The privilege of exchanging for one bottle of S-rank Nutrient Fluid might not be comparable to what the Flower of Seven Sins was offering its core members. However, it was still much better than what the other superpowers offered to their core members. As for how many of Zero Wings core members would choose to stay, that would be up to luck. I cant afford to waste any more time here. After ending his call with Su Qianliu, Shi Feng quickly finished the premium nutritious meal the Gods Domain Association delivered to him daily and logged back into Gods Domain. If he wanted Zero Wing to compete with the Flower of Seven Sins and the Greater Gods Domains various powers in training resources, he would have to join the Star Lake Legion and receive official participant status as soon as possible. As soon as Shi Feng returned to the Ancient God Graveyard, he promptly resumed slaughtering the Divine Graveyard Wanderers. What followed next was eight consecutive days of fighting and exploring. Shi Feng did not log out even once during this period. Aside from killing Divine Graveyard Wanderers, he would spend the rest of his time collecting Legacy Fragments. On the eighth day of his grind, Shi Feng finally obtained the headpiece for the Blazing Flame Set and completed the eight-piece Dark-Gold Immortal Set. Aside from that, Shi Feng had also risen to Level 125 and collected enough Legacy Fragments to push his accumulated Legacy Power to 90%. Normally, players could complete their Tier 4 promotion after their Legacy Power reached the 70% standard. A Legacy Power of 90% would result in a relatively complete Legacy, and it was enough for even Peak Classes to get promoted to Tier 4. However, Shi Feng did not plan on concluding his Tier 4 promotion so soon. He only had one opportunity to get promoted to Tier 4. A Legacy Power of 90% might be good, but it wasnt the limit. So long as he explored deeper into the Legacy Land, he might be able to gather more Legacy Fragments and raise his Legacy Power even further. This, in turn, would let him receive a more complete Legacy. Hence, Shi Feng planned on exploring the Legacy Land a little longer before deciding whether to accept his Tier 4 Legacy. Ive finally collected the last piece. I wonder how much of a boost it will give me. After taking a look at the complete Blazing Flame Set in his bag, Shi Feng switched it with the Mana Equipment Set he was currently wearing. Chapter 3187 - Chapter 261 - Eight-Winged Valkyrie What a powerful mana barrier! The instant Shi Feng equipped the Blazing Flame Set, an invisible connection formed between the eight pitch-black armor pieces lightly decorated with crimson runes, turning them into a single unit. Immediately afterward, the crimson runes drew some of Shi Fengs mana and used it to form a translucent mana barrier around him. Meanwhile, the moment the mana barrier took shape, Shi Feng immediately felt it isolating him from the surrounding environment. On top of that, the density of the mana within the barrier increased substantially, the mana seemingly unaffected by the manaless environment outside in the slightest. Most importantly, once the mana barrier stabilized, Shi Feng could feel the restrictions that the surrounding environment had put on him, weakening significantly, a sense of liberation spreading across his body. Is this the effect of a Dark-Gold Immortal Set? Shi Feng couldnt help but look at the Blazing Flame Set he wore in bewilderment. He had never equipped a Dark-Gold Immortal Set in his previous life. The best Immortal items he could find on the open market were ordinary Dark-Gold Immortal Weapons and Equipment, and he never saw any point in using such items. After all, even the weakest piece of equipment on him was at the Fragmented Legendary rank. However, after donning the eight-piece Blazing Flame Set, he could feel his bodys flexibility rising to an entirely different level. The set had even weakened the effect Ancient Gods Arms Divine Might had on him. The Blazing Flame Sets effects exceeded Shi Fengs expectations. After taking a moment to digest the Dark-Gold Immortal Sets effects, Shi Feng took a short break before advancing deeper into the area enveloped by the Ancient Gods Arms Divine Might. Amazing! Shi Feng couldnt help but grow a little joyful when he began advancing toward the Ancient Gods Arm. Originally, he had to allocate most of his mental capacity to defend against the Ancient Gods Arms mental attacks. This, in turn, prevented him from using combat techniques at the Advanced Bronze standard. At most, he could just barely execute a Basic Bronze Combat Technique. Yet, thanks to the Blazing Flame Set, he only needed to allocate half of his mental capacity to defend himself. However, before Shi Feng could familiarize himself with the Blazing Flame Sets effects, a party of Divine Graveyard Wanderers noticed his presence and charged at him. These six Wanderers showed much better coordination than the Wanderers outside the Ancient Gods Arms sphere of influence. Not only did they move like a single entity, but they could even use Tier 4 Combination Skills. For their opening move, the Wanderers bombarded Shi Feng with several dozen mana blades, each blade carrying enough power to destabilize the space here. It should be known that the surrounding space was being held down by the Ancient Gods Arms Divine Might. It would take at least a full-powered attack from a Superior Mythic monster to destabilize such a stable space. However, Shi Feng remained unfazed when he saw the mana blades raining down on him. On the contrary, he revealed an excited look as he unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and the Blasphemer. Swords Orbit! Boom! Boom! Boom! A lotus flower made of sword lights bloomed around Shi Feng, and all of the descending mana blades were stopped ten yards away from Shi Feng. The collision between the sword lights and mana blades also created countless sparks and caused the space within a 50-yard radius to tremble violently. The six Divine Graveyard Wanderers froze at this scene. None of them expected a Tier 3 human to stop their combination attack. Shatter! Shi Feng naturally wouldnt let go of this opportunity. Immediately, he executed Lightshadow with the Winter of Eternal Night and swept the illusory greatsword at the six Wanderers. When he was directly enveloped by the Ancient God Graveyards manaless environment previously, Mana Techniques became a luxury he could not afford to use. However, now that he was protected by the Blazing Flame Sets mana barrier, not only was he surrounded by mana again, but this mana was even denser than the mana found in the Miniature Ancient World. As a result, the Lightshadow he now executed exhibited power nearing the Tier 5 standard. At the end of the day, Heroic Spirits were merely the remnants of deceased Heroes. They werent actual Heroes, and they definitely didnt have the strength to match Dragons of the same tier. Hence, when they were struck by Shi Fengs Lightshadow, even with their armor dampening some of the Mana Techniques power, they still lost over ten million HP to the attack. Moreover, Shi Fengs attack had also put the Wanderers in a heavily injured state, which caused them to be at an absolute disadvantage when it came to Strength and speed. Now, even without relying on Mana Techniques, Shi Feng could easily strike the Wanderers vitals and cause significant damage. Furthermore, as he could now exhibit power at the level of Bronze Combat Techniques with his every move, every attack he landed caused over five million damage to the Wanderers. In less than three minutes, the six Level 125 Divine Graveyard Wanderers fell under Shi Fengs blade, loot appearing all around their corpses. Shi Feng did not choose to rest after defeating the six Wanderers. After collecting the loot, he promptly resumed his advance toward the Ancient Gods Arm. The Ancient Gods Arm was constantly unleashing mental attacks at him. Although he had a much easier time defending against these mental attacks now, it still didnt mean he could shrug them off like nothing. It still drained his Concentration to defend against these mental attacks. Even if Shi Feng stood still and did nothing, he would run out of Concentration and lose consciousness after four or five hours within the Ancient Gods Arms sphere of influence. Meanwhile, losing consciousness in such a dangerous place was no different than a death sentence. Thankfully, it isnt as far away as I thought. Four hours should be enough for me to make a round trip. After advancing for another few hundred yards, Shi Feng couldnt help but sigh in relief when he saw the Ancient Gods Arm becoming a little bigger. This showed that he was moving closer to the Ancient Gods Arm and that the distance between them wasnt unimaginably big. If the distance between him and the Ancient Gods Arm showed no signs of shrinking even after he had run several hundred yards, he definitely couldnt reach it within two hours even if he had a Tier 4 players Movement Speed. In that case, hed give up on approaching the Ancient Gods Arm without hesitation. After all, there was no guarantee that he could obtain the Ancient Gods Arm even if he could reach it. For all he knew, he might very well be wasting his time. So, to ensure he could complete his Tier 4 promotion under the best circumstances, he had to leave enough time to make a return trip. This meant keeping the time he spent advancing toward the Ancient Gods Arm under two hours. Meanwhile, just like Shi Feng estimated, after advancing wildly for nearly two hours and killing over twenty Divine Graveyard Wanderer parties, Shi Feng finally arrived before the towering Ancient Gods Arm. Shi Feng was deeply shocked the instant Shi Feng laid eyes on the Ancient Gods Arm. Although the arm was severely damaged, the information he gleaned from the arm using the Eyes of Reality told him that this arm was akin to a broken Gods Domain. He could also see many World Law Chains binding the arm, every one of these chains carrying enough power to severely wound a Tier 6 God. It wasnt hard to imagine how powerful the owner of this arm was. One attack from this person could probably destroy an entire Gods Domain. This person was definitely leagues above Tier 6 Gods. However, the Ancient Gods Arm wasnt the only thing in the area. Hovering next to the Ancient Gods Arm was a slumbering female Angel. The Angel was clad in silver armor and had four pairs of pure white wings tucked behind her back. An eight-winged Valkyrie?! Shi Fengs expression sank when he saw the female Angel. [Tia Pollena] (Valkyrie, Tier 4 Lifeform) Level 125 HP 400,000,000,000 Valkyries were a race born for combat. Meanwhile, the more wings a Valkyrie had, the greater their Life Rating and combat talent would be. Among them, six-winged Valkyries already possessed strength close to rivaling Dragons of the same tier. As for eight-winged Valkyries, they were trickier opponents to deal with than even ordinary Dragons. An eight-winged Valkyrie simply wasnt an opponent that players could deal with at the same tier. System: You have discovered the Ancient Gods Arm. Beginning absorption of the Ancient Gods Legacy Power. Estimated time required C 30 seconds. Before Shi Feng could snap out of his daze, the radiance the Ancient Gods Arm radiated began flowing into his body. This, in turn, caused his accumulated Legacy Power to increase rapidly. 90% 90.5% 91% At the same time, the slumbering eight-winged Valkyrie suddenly opened her eyes. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng felt an aura that could cause even Tier 4 Mythic monsters to tremble, locking onto him. Human! How dare you disturb the Almighty Ancient Gods resting place?! Disappear from this world! Tia Pollena bellowed as she looked down at Shi Feng. Then, she conjured a spear made of silver lightning and threw it at Shi Feng. Chapter 261 C Eight-Winged Valkyrie Chapter 3188 - Chapter 262 - Sword Law Saint Chapter 262 C Sword Law Saint Dammit! Shi Fengs expression turned grim when he saw the oncoming lightning spear. He didnt think the system would be so ruthless as to start the Legacy Power absorption without giving him any options or time to prepare. However, Shi Feng dared not withhold his cards as he activated the Abyssal Eyes Abyssal Power. Immediately, a layer of black fog enveloped him, and his body began radiating an aura close to rivaling Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Yet, even after activating Abyssal Power, Shi Feng could still feel the threat of death descending upon him as the lightning spear neared him. As an eight-winged Tier 4 Valkyrie, Tia Pollena could exhibit Tier 5 power even with a casual attack, let alone with a spear that concentrated the power of lightning. An attack of such caliber could severely injure even a Superior Mythic monster of the same level. Upon realizing that he still couldnt survive the Valkyries attack, Shi Feng promptly unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and activated Radiant Night, forcibly increasing the power of his attack by two ranks. Subsequently, a black streak of light collided with the silver lightning spear. However, no sound or explosion came from the collision. On the contrary, the battlefield darkened and became devoid of sound. Amidst the battlefield of shattered space, Shi Feng remained standing steadily. However, going by his disheveled hair, his trembling arms, and his HP bar that was only half full, it was obvious that he had lost to the Valkyrie in their competition of raw power. As expected of an eight-winged Valkyrie. She really isnt an opponent I can challenge at Tier 3. Shi Feng couldnt help but reveal a bitter smile when he saw that Tia Pollena had already conjured a second lightning spear during the time he was defending against her first lightning spear. It should be known that Shi Feng had used Swords Orbit in conjunction with Radiant Night to defend against Tia Pollenas attack. This was the strongest combination he could currently muster, and it allowed him to exhibit power at the Tier 5 Intermediate standard. Yet, even his strongest attack was only enough to just barely keep him alive. Moreover, he wouldnt be able to use this attack again within a short period of time. In fact, if he hadnt switched out his Mana Equipment Set for the Blazing Flame Set, he might not even be alive right now. Yet, the system wanted him to hold out for 30 seconds. This was just asking him for the impossible. Atone for your sins, human! When Tia Pollena saw that Shi Feng no longer had the strength to replicate his previous attack, she coldly threw the second lightning spear she conjured at him. She did not plan on giving Shi Feng any time to rest. The lightning spear was incredibly fast, and it crossed the 200 yards that separated Tia Pollena from Shi Feng in the blink of an eye. When Shi Feng saw that the lightning spear was only 30 yards away, he gritted his teeth and unfurled the ancient scroll he had secretly taken out after blocking Tia Pollenas first attack. Meanwhile, this ancient scroll was none other than the Tier 5 Defensive Magic Scroll he had obtained from killing Diaclo the Nether King. Tier 5 Magic Scrolls were extremely rare even in the Greater Gods Domain, each worth several Fragmented Legendary items. Tier 5 Defensive Magic Scrolls were especially valuable, and they were labeled as the best lifesaving tools in the Greater Gods Domain. A Tier 5 Defensive Magic Scroll could even withstand the full-powered attack of a Tier 5 Dragon, giving players enough time to use Tier 3 or Tier 4 Teleportation Scrolls to escape to safety. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to use this Tier 5 Defensive Magic Scroll when he embarked on his search for the God Slayers Legacy. However, he had no choice but to use it in this situation. As soon as Shi Feng activated the magic scroll, an invisible barrier stopped the lightning spear in its tracks, preventing the attack from getting anywhere near Shi Feng. This isBroken Space? Tia Pollena frowned when she saw her attack failing to eliminate Shi Feng yet again. What a lucky human you are. Shi Feng shrugged at Tia Pollenas comment. Then, he said, Im sure you know about the Tier 5 Broken Spaces effect. It can keep me protected for one minute, so how about we call a truce? An eight-winged Valkyrie possessed high intelligence, so it was possible to hold a conversation with one. Hmph. Keep your dreams to yourself. You might have a Broken Space protecting you, but you arent in control of it. So long as I keep attacking it and draining its mana, its reserve mana will run out sooner or later. Tia Pollena snorted coldly. Immediately, she began bombarding Shi Feng with lightning spears one after another. In only the blink of an eye, she had already thrown three lightning spears, the rate of her attack significantly greater than before. Seeing this, Shi Feng couldnt help but grow anxious. It was just like Tia Pollena stated. The Tier 5 Broken Space stored in the Tier 5 Defensive Magic Scroll wasnt under his control. Although the scrolls introduction stated that Broken Space had a one-minute duration, that was under the assumption that the magic scrolls mana reserve did not get depleted. Meanwhile, the invisible barrier protecting him might be unfazed even after stopping multiple lightning spears. Still, he could tell that the barriers mana fluctuations were growing weaker with each subsequent attack. In a situation where he couldnt supply more mana to the Defensive Spell, once the magic scrolls mana reserves were depleted, the Spell would lose effect automatically. Shi Feng, in his current state, did not have the strength to block another attack from Tia Pollena. If Broken Space couldnt last for 30 seconds, hed die for certain. However, if it could last for 30 seconds, he would still have hope of completing his Tier 4 promotion and getting out of this Legacy Land alive. As for running away, that wasnt an option at all. Unless he had a Tier 4 Teleportation Scroll or above, there was no way he could get away from an eight-winged Valkyries Spatial Lockdown. While Tia Pollena was frenziedly bombarding the Tier 5 Broken Space with attacks, time passed by quickly. Ten seconds Fifteen seconds Twenty seconds Twenty-five seconds after Shi Feng had started absorbing the Ancient Gods Arms Legacy Power, the invisible barrier protecting Shi Feng started wavering as if it could disappear at any moment. Three more seconds Two One Shi Feng stared at the loading bar before him intently while praying that Broken Space could last for a moment longer. It ends here! When Tia Pollena saw that the mana fluctuations separating her from Shi Feng still did not disappear completely, she resolved herself to use Sword of Judgment, the strongest Skill unique to Valkyries. Immediately, a sword of lightning that measured several hundred meters in length appeared above Tia Pollena. Then, before Shi Feng could react, Tia Pollena swung the lightning sword at Shi Feng. Bang! The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the battlefield as the invisible barrier generated by Broken Space crumbled. With the barrier gone, Shi Feng was now thoroughly exposed to Tia Pollenas wrath. Die! Tia Pollena conjured a lightning spear and threw it at Shi Feng without hesitation. However, Shi Feng did not grow anxious even after seeing this attack. This was because he had already received his long-awaited system notification a second before Broken Space lost effect. System: Your accumulated Legacy Power has reached 110%. Do you wish to activate the Tier 4 Sword Law Saint Legacy and change classes into a Sword Law Saint? Chapter 3189 - Chapter 263 - Lightless Sword Chapter 263 C Lightless Sword Sword Law Saint? When Shi Feng saw the system notification, he chose to activate his Tier 4 Legacy without hesitation. Immediately afterward, a series of notifications rang in his ears. System: You have activated your Tier 4 Legacy. You have unlocked all three learning topics of your Legacy. You have one hour to learn them. So long as you learn just one topic listed below, you will be promoted to Tier 4. [Holy Law] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skill Integrate your weapon with the world and transform every object within a 200-yard radius into your weapon. All weapon bonuses will be increased by 100%. Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute Learning condition: Achieve 85% Skill Completion Rate [Thousand Lights] (Domain-type) Requires: Sword Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skill Transform your mana into a maximum of 1,000 mana swords that can cover a 500-yard radius. Each mana sword will carry 40% of your Strength. Mana swords conjured can be merged, and each mana sword merged will grant the primary mana sword an additional 10% of your Strength. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour Learning condition: Achieve 85% Skill Completion Rate [Godslayer] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 4 Ultimate Legacy Skill Integrate your weapon with your body, greatly increasing your Mana and Concentration. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes Learning condition: Achieve 90% Skill Completion Rate A Tier 4 Ultimate Legacy Skill? Shi Feng was stunned by the system notifications. Tier 4 Legacy Skills could be categorized into four ranks: Basic, Advanced, Peak, and Apex. Among the many players in Gods Domain, the average Tier 6 God-ranked expert would generally receive the option of one or two Peak Legacy Skills when they were challenging their Tier 4 promotion, with the rest of their options being Advanced Legacy Skills. So long as a player completed their Tier 4 promotion with a Peak Legacy Skill, they could hold their ground against a Superior Mythic monster of the same level, even if they were only equipped in Epic Weapons and Equipment. As for Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skills, these were incredibly powerful Skills that, when mastered, could allow players to essentially become invincible among players of the same tier. However, players who could receive the privilege of learning one during their Tier 4 promotion were exceedingly rare even in the Greater Gods Domain, and those who could complete their Tier 4 promotion with one were even rarer. Yet, now, two out of the three options Shi Feng had received were Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skills. As for Tier 4 Ultimate Legacy Skills, Shi Feng had never even heard of Legacy Skills having such a rank. However, before Shi Feng could ponder any further over this anomaly, the sound of Broken Space shattering brought him back to reality. Then, he gritted his teeth and chose to learn Godslayer. The Tier 4 promotion was achieved by making a Tier 4 Legacy Skill into the core of the players Tier 3 Mana Body. Completing this process would cause the Mana Body to undergo a qualitative transformation. This was the main reason Tier 4 players were vastly stronger than Tier 3 players. Now that Shi Feng had the option of choosing a Tier 4 Ultimate Legacy Skill, which was superior to Tier 4 Advanced Legacy Skills, he naturally wouldnt consider the other two options. Moreover, Godslayer was the only Skill that could help him survive his current predicament. Mana was the basis of everything in Gods Domain. If he could elevate the standard of his mana, he would receive a corresponding boost in all aspects. After Shi Feng chose to learn Godslayer, all information and simulations related to the Skill flowed into his mind. This difficulty Shi Fengs expression darkened when he finished processing Godslayers information. The difficulty of learning Tier 4 Skills and Spells was very high. Even peak experts tended to only be able to achieve a Completion Rate of roughly 80% on their first learning attempt, and every subsequent increment of even 1% would require a lot of training. As for Tier 4 Legacy Skills and Spells, their learning difficulty was even greater. Yet, players were only given one hour to learn their chosen Tier 4 Legacy Skill during their Tier 4 promotion. It was why many Tier 3 players failed to reach Tier 4. One shouldnt underestimate the complexity of Tier 4 Legacy Skills, even if many of them only require a few simple physical actions to execute. In reality, executing a Tier 4 Legacy Skill was far more than just a series of physical actions. It also involved the manipulation of ones mana and Mana Body, which wasnt something one could master within a short time. The complexity of Tier 4 Legacy Skills would naturally vary depending on their rank. In the case of Peak Legacy Skills, they typically required the user to construct three to five magic arrays in their Mana Body. As for Apex Legacy Skills, they required the user to construct no more than 15 magic arrays. Yet, Godslayer required the simultaneous operation of 28 magic arrays. Moreover, even the slightest interruption in the flow of the users mana would result in the Ultimate Legacy Skill failing to activate However, before Shi Feng could start to marvel at Godslayers complexity, Tia Pollena had already thrown another lightning spear at him. Lets hope this works! Shi Feng manipulated his Mana Body according to the instructions he received and merged the Winter of Eternal Night with his body, causing the standard of his Mana and Concentration to skyrocket. Immediately afterward, he executed Lightshadow to block the incoming lightning spear. Boom! The collision between greatsword and spear caused the surrounding space to shatter into oblivion once more. This time, however, Shi Feng only lost a few thousand HP from the clash, which was nothing compared to Shi Fengs max HP which exceeded three million. He also felt extraordinarily spirited after the clash. System: Godslayer activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate 70%. Learning conditions not met. You may use Godslayer again in 30 seconds. What a powerful Legacy Skill! It can already provide such significant improvements to my Mana and Concentration at a 70% Completion Rate? When Shi Feng focused on his Mana and Concentration, he found that both had reached extraordinary heights. It should be known that a Tier 4 Skill executed at a 70% Completion Rate could only exhibit 80% of the Skills original effects. Only after a Skills Completion Rate had reached 85% could it exhibit 100% of its original effects. Yet, even though Godslayer had only exhibited 80% of its effects, Shi Feng found that his mana had not only reached a near-solid state in terms of density, but its strength was also nearing the Tier 5 standard. As for his Concentration, it had grown so strong that he could shrug off the Ancient Gods Arms mental attacks entirely. In fact, his current mental state was even better than when he was in the outside world. Now, he could execute Lightshadow without much thought, and executing the Mana Technique hardly depleted his Concentration Your mana might have improved, but it still isnt enough to get you out of this place alive! When Tai Pollena saw her attack failing to eliminate Shi Feng yet again, she thoroughly grew serious as she began throwing lightning spears at Shi Feng like a machine gun. She did not intend to give Shi Feng any breathing room whatsoever. That remains to be seen. Shi Feng smiled and responded to the hail of lightning spears by executing Lightshadow without reserve. Whenever their attacks clashed, Shi Feng was bound to lose some of his HP. However, the amount of HP he lost could be entirely offset by his battle recovery, so this loss was negligible. Moreover, with each subsequent use of Lightshadow, Shi Feng also grew more familiar with manipulating his mana. This, in turn, allowed him to manipulate his mana with much greater ease. When thirty seconds passed, Shi Feng could finally use Godslayer again. Taking advantage of the gradually dissipating bonuses to his Mana and Concentration, Shi Feng quickly reconstructed the 28 magic arrays needed to activate Godslayer. Then, he swung the Winter of Eternal Night he wielded at the three lightning spears that flew at him simultaneously. Second Sword, Holy Devour! Boom! The three dazzling spears vanished instantly, and the sky above the Ancient God Graveyard transformed into a dark void. Then, silence fell onto the battlefield. System: Godslayer activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate 91%. Learning conditions met. Do you wish to be promoted into a Tier 4 Sword Law Saint and utilize Godslayer as the core for your Mana Body? Chapter 3190 - Chapter 264 - Concentration Metamorphosis Chapter 264 C Concentration Metamorphosis Silence, cold, and darkness. As if time had stopped in the Ancient God Graveyard, Tia Pollena quietly hovered in the pitch-black sky with her sacred wings spread out. Several small cracks had appeared in the illusory barrier that protected the Valkyries pristine wings. Although these cracks were gradually mending themselves, it was obvious that they had suffered damage beyond their tolerable threshold. Is this the true power of a Tier 4 Ultimate Legacy Skill? At this moment, Shi Feng could feel that the mana around him had taken on a near-solid state. He could even feel the surrounding space becoming significantly heavier. Shi Feng was no stranger to this phenomenon. On the contrary, he was incredibly familiar with it. However, it was precisely due to his familiarity with this phenomenon that he couldnt help but be surprised. After all, this was a phenomenon that would only appear when players had raised the strength and density of their mana to the Tier 5 standard. With mana of such high caliber, he could immobilize ordinary Tier 3 experts with nothing but the mana he radiated. I applaud you for the tenacity youve shown, Tia Pollena said, a hint of admiration appearing in her eyes when she saw that Shi Feng still refused to die to her attacks. However, nothing will change even if youve gained Tier 5 Mana. You are simply prolonging your suffering. Do not think even for a moment that you can leave this place alive. As soon as Tia Pollena finished speaking, several dozen magic arrays suddenly appeared around her. Every one of these magic arrays was formed using divine runes and radiated an ancient and sacred Divine Might. Then, a moment later, several dozen six-winged Valkyries emerged from these ancient magic arrays. Are you kidding me? Shi Fengs excited mood instantly fell to rock bottom when he saw the six-winged Valkyries that filled the sky. These six-winged Tier 4 Valkyries might not be as strong as Tia Pollena, an eight-winged Tier 4 Valkyrie, but a force of several dozen of them was enough to erase an ancient empire that ruled over several hundred cities. There was no way a Tier 4 player like himself could go up against such a force. Disappear from this land! Tia Pollena shouted as she swung an arm forward. Immediately, the six-winged Valkyries began launching lightning spears at Shi Feng one after another, blotting out the sky with hundreds of lightning spears in the blink of an eye. Every one of these spears carried power at the Tier 5 Basic standard, and even a Tier 5 expert would have to flee in the face of hundreds of such attacks. Needless to say, Shi Feng had chosen to flee as soon as he saw the rain of lightning spears. Now that Ive completed my Tier 4 promotion, all I need to do is get out of the range of the Ancient Gods Arms Divine Might, and I should be able to leave using the Legacy Scroll, Shi Feng thought while dodging the lightning spears flying at him. If he were still a Tier 3 player, he would have died instantly to the several dozen six-winged Valkyries. However, he had completed his promotion already. He was no longer a Tier 3 Sword King but rather a bona fide Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Moreover, he was a Sword Emperor who had formed his Mana Bodys core with an Ultimate Legacy Skill. He was superior to even players with Tier 4 Peak Classes. System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 4 Sword Law Saint(Sword Emperor). You have activated the Ultimate Legacy Core. All Basic Attributes +2,400, all Resistances +200, Mana recovery rate increased by 120%, Mana strength increased by 20%, all physical and magical attacks received that are below Tier 4 will be weakened by 40%, all Basic Attributes increased by 100%, and Physique increased by 180%. Rewarding 150 Legacy Skill Points. If comparing purely in terms of Basic Attributes, he already rivaled Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. After factoring in the bonuses he received from Abyssal Power, his Strength and Agility had already reached the Tier 5 threshold. There was also his mana that had reached the Tier 5 standard. So long as he focused entirely on escaping, even a force of several dozen six-winged Valkyries would need some time to kill him. Subsequently, Shi Feng could be seen dodging the descending lightning spears one after another. As if he were the moons reflection on a lake, no matter how many lightning spears rained down on him, none of them managed to hit him. The only thing they managed to accomplish was to devastate the land around him. None of them are hitting? When Tia Pollena saw Shi Fengs performance, a hint of surprise appeared on her face for the first time. Even a Tier 5 existence would suffer serious damage when subjected to the aerial bombardment of several dozen six-winged Valkyries. Yet, Shi Feng had come out of this bombardment unscathed. The footwork and body technique he executed was so strange that even she had trouble keeping up with his movements. She found it especially bewildering when some of the lightning spears would swerve away from Shi Feng just when they were about to hit him. It was as if these lightning spears were actively trying to avoid him. In reality, even Shi Feng himself was surprised by this strange situation. Though, unlike Tia Pollena, Shi Feng knew exactly what was causing this strange performance. Ascending into a Tier 4 Sword Law Saint provides such a huge improvement to Concentration? If Mana was described to be the foundation of all things in Gods Domain, then Concentration could be regarded as a players entire being. With a powerful Concentration, not only could players control their bodies better, but they could also control mana much more easily. Previously, Shi Fengs Concentration had already reached an exaggerated level after using Godslayer. His Concentration had grown so strong that he could execute Holy Devour with relative ease. Now that he had gotten promoted to Tier 4, his Concentration had undergone another qualitative transformation. Support us at Hosted Novel. Now, not only could he manipulate his body much more easily, but he could also manipulate the mana around him with much greater ease and precision. If his previous control over ambient mana was akin to moving a rock to his desired destination, his current control over ambient mana was akin to moving a piece of cotton; he could freely move it around while exerting little to no effort. Even manipulating his own mana, which had already taken on a solid state, required hardly any effort. This was also why Shi Feng could easily and rapidly disrupt the lightning spears flight trajectory by changing the density of the mana around him. Otherwise, even if he were to reach Tier 5, he still wouldnt be able to dodge several hundred lightning spears without getting hit even once. After seeing the six-winged Valkyries trying and failing to do any damage to Shi Feng for a moment longer, Tia Pollena grew impatient and joined in on the offensive as well, commanding, Assist me! Do not let the trespasser escape! Immediately, with Tia Pollena as the center, the six-winged Valkyries began working together to create a gigantic magic array that covered a 1,000-yard radius. The magic array harnessed the power of lightning from the surroundings and concentrated it to form a dazzling ball of lightning that enveloped Tia Pollena. This sphere of lightning even grew bigger and stronger as time passed. Thunder Annihilation?! Are they trying to erase this entire land?! Shi Fengs expression grew incredibly somber when he saw the growing sphere of lightning in the sky. Thunder Annihilation was a super-large-scale Curse that could erase an entire city. When cast by several dozen Tier 4 Valkyries, the Curse could obliterate even the capital city of a kingdom. If the average Tier 5 MT received this move, theyd turn into dust instantly. Lets see how you dodge this! Tia Pollena said after she finished chanting Thunder Annihilations incantations. Immediately afterward, the lightning sphere that had reached a size of several hundred meters descended toward Shi Feng, the sphere obliterating everything in its path and leaving a trail of broken space. Without even looking back, Shi Feng left behind an afterimage as he flew forward as fast as he could. Faster! I need to be faster! There was no question that he would die should he get hit by the Valkyries Thunder Annihilation. Even his soul would be erased until nothing remained. However, as it wasnt feasible to flee out of Thunder Annihilations massive attack range, his only way of surviving now would be to fly out of the Ancient Gods Arms influence and teleport out of the Ancient God Graveyard using the Legendary Legacy Scroll. As the lightning sphere got closer and closer to hitting the ground, Shi Feng also flew closer and closer to the edge of the Ancient Gods Arms influence. 300 yards 200 yards 100 yards The lightning sphere hit the ground, exploded, and unleashed countless arcs of lightning to the surroundings. Even the patrolling Divine Graveyard Wanderers were instantly reduced to ashes when they came into contact with these lightning arcs. Im out! Let me make it! At the same time, Shi Feng had also finally fled out of the Ancient Gods Arms influence. Immediately, he unfurled the Legendary Legacy Scroll in his hands, causing it to split apart into countless fragments. Then, these fragments formed a silvery-gray space-time fissure in front of him. The instant the space-time fissure formed, Shi Feng immediately jumped into it without waiting for it to stabilize and vanished from the Ancient God Graveyard. Even after Shi Feng had disappeared, the countless arcs of lightning continued devouring everything in their path. By the time the lightning arcs subsided, the land they traversed looked as if it had never existed TL Notes: For reference, this is what Shi Feng got when he became a Tier 4 Blade Saint: (Taken from Chapter 2694) System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 4 Blade Saint(Sword Emperor). You have activated the Apex Legacy Core. All Basic Attributes +2,000, all Resistances +150, Mana recovery rate increased by 100%, all physical and magical attacks received that are below Tier 4 will be weakened by 30%, all Basic Attributes increased by 100%, and Physique increased by 150%. Rewarding 100 Legacy Skill Points. Chapter 3191 - Chapter 265 - God List Rank 21 Chapter 265 C God List Rank 21 Under the blue sky and several meters above a vast and boundless ocean, a space-time fissure that was hundreds of meters in height and width appeared all of a sudden. Then, a black shadow shot out of the fissure and smashed into the ocean below. Just as this shadow was about to hit the calm ocean, an invisible force halted this shadows descent and kept this shadow hovering a few meters above the ocean. Great! It worked! Shi Feng couldnt help but grow excited when he sensed that his surroundings were brimming with mana. He had very nearly lost his life in the Ancient God Graveyard and wasted the Ancient God Legacy he had acquired. Fortunately, the Legendary Legacy Scroll did not disappoint. Even though he had entered the space-time passage before it had stabilized, it still allowed him to safely escape from the Ancient God Graveyard. With this, he had successfully completed his promotion. Now, all that was left to do was to report to the Adventurers Association and get himself certified as a Tier 4 player. What a strange place. It wont even let me use Return Scrolls here. Shi Feng couldnt help but be a little surprised when he saw that he couldnt use any of his Return Scrolls or Guild Transfer Scrolls. Have I not returned to the Miniature Ancient World? There were a few reasons Return Scrolls and Guild Transfer Scrolls would fail to take effect. Meanwhile, one of these reasons was that the user wasnt in the same world as the target destination of these scrolls. After factoring in the situation he had had just experienced, Shi Feng felt that this was a likely possibility. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng bitterly smiled as he thought, It seems an unstable passage still comes with its risks No matter. Although I dont know where this place is, at least I managed to escape from the Ancient God Graveyard. For now, I should find a place to settle down. Immediately, Shi Feng began flying in the direction that had denser mana. In Gods Domain, players could fly by manipulating their mana after reaching Tier 4, and their speed would be faster than even Epic Land Mounts. Moreover, they could remain in flight for a much longer than Tier 3 experts who have grasped a Mana Domain. The only flaw with flying using this method was that it consumed players Concentration. It was similar to how players would expend Stamina when running on land. Hence, players couldnt remain in flight forever. What a special place this is. The mana here is incredibly dense, and the mysterious energy here is astonishingly violent. Even a Tier 3 player with a Gold Mana Body wouldnt last more than five hours in this place. After Shi Feng flew for around an hour, he took notice of the peculiarity of this foreign space. The density of the ambient mana in this foreign space was already close to rivaling Abyssal Star City. Even peak experts would see significant improvements if they lived in such an environment for a long time. However, the problem was that this place was also inundated with a kind of mysterious energy. Meanwhile, the rate at which this mysterious energy corroded players bodies was several times greater than the mysterious energy found in the Boundary Mountain Range. Before reaching Tier 4, any player who tried to explore this space alone would meet a swift death. This was because apart from the violent mysterious energy, this foreign space was also filled with many wandering monsters, be it in the air or in the ocean. The sea monsters in the ocean were especially dangerous, and they were significantly stronger than land-based monsters of the same rank and level. When it came to HP, sea monsters had several times more HP than land monsters. After including their ability to fight freely in the ocean, even a Level 120 Great Lord ranked sea monster would be beyond the strength of a six-man party of Level 120, Tier 3 players. If Tier 3 players wished to fight sea monsters, theyd need the support of ships. Otherwise, theyd only become food for sea monsters. Hm? Players? At this time, Shi Feng suddenly noticed several dozen ships over a thousand yards away from him. These ships were split into two groups and constantly shelled each other with cannon fire. The explosions were so intense that Shi Feng could hear them clearly even from over a thousand yards away. Fire! Quickly get the defensive magic array ready! The other sides Destruction Spell is coming! Standing on an Advanced Ship capable of carrying 20 passengers, a woman dressed in light-blue robes and wielding an Epic Staff quickly issued commands to her teammates in response to the enemys Destruction Spell. Boom! A pillar of flames descended from the sky and struck the two-fold magic barrier that had just formed, shattering it instantly. Although the barrier had blocked most of the flame pillars power, some residue power that got past still caused the Advanced Ships energy shield to tremble and crack a little. The ships energy shield can only withstand two more of such attacks, Vice Commander Rain, a Level 124 Elven Ranger reported when she saw the ships dwindling energy reserve. At this rate, the energy shield will break in under ten minutes. We should just hand that item to them. If we do that, they might stop troubling us. Stop joking, Commander Daybreak, Moon Rain said as she looked at the elven woman. You are Soulfires ally. If we let you surrender that item after accepting your commission, Soulfire will become a laughingstock in the future. Not to mention, our opponents are only one of Divine Hunters leveling teams. Our chances of escaping arent zero. However, despite hearing Moon Rains words, the elven woman named Daybreak Mist shook her head and said, You arent familiar with Divine Hunters behavior, but the attacks they have used so far are only a warning to us. If we continue struggling and anger Divine Hunters, my side wont be the only one to suffer Divine Hunters retaliation. Even Soulfire will most likely have trouble establishing a foothold in Crying Sea City. Such an offensive is only a warning? Moon Rain grew a little speechless when she heard Daybreak Mists words. Even now, there was a constant stream of cannon fire bombarding their energy shields. No matter how she looked at it, the other side clearly intended to obliterate them. Yet, Daybreak Mist was saying that this was only the other sides way of sending them a warning, and the other side wasnt attacking them seriously at all. It should be known that their current fleet was Soulfires main fleet. The fleet had five Advanced Ships and fifteen Common Ships. Although the other side had ten Advanced Ships and ten Common Ships, they werent without a chance of escaping. After all, naval battles differed from land battles. On land, the quality of expert players was very important. However, at sea, the importance of ships far exceeded the importance of expert players. In a naval battle, so long as the ships of both sides retained their energy shields, the only thing the players of both sides could do was fling ranged Skills and Spells at each other. In a situation where both sides were composed of only Tier 3 players, there wouldnt be a significant difference when it came to flinging ranged Skills and Spells. If Soulfires fleet took advantage of the winds and tides, escaping from Divine Hunters fleet shouldnt be a difficult challenge. Of course, Moon Rain did not doubt Daybreak Mists words. After all, Daybreak Mist was the commander of Night Blade, a top adventurer team that originated from one of the Four Saints Higher Gods Domains. At the same time, Daybreak Mist was also a bona fide fourth-floor expert. While Moon Rain and Daybreak Mist were talking, a deep and cold voice suddenly came from afar. It seems youre quite the sensible person, Daybreak Mist. I guess it isnt without reason you managed to develop Night Blade to its current scale. Following this voice, a young man dressed in dark-red robes and wielding a crimson staff suddenly appeared above Moon Rain and Daybreak Mists ship. What?! Why is he here?! Moon Rain was greatly shocked when she saw the male Elementalist hovering in the air. At this moment, Moon Rain and Soulfires members werent the only ones panicking over this unexpected development. Even Daybreak Mists expression sank when she saw the young man. Balrog Heart! Currently ranked 21st on the God-ranked Expert List while also being one of the two little monsters nurtured by Divine Hunters. Moreover, two years ago, at the age of 27, Balrog Heart had already received the title of Balrog from the Seven Luminaries Alliance. After undergoing two years of training as one of Divine Hunters future successors, nobody knew exactly how powerful Balrog Heart had become. The only reference everyone had was the fight in Crying Sea Citys Colosseum a few days ago, where Balrog Heart had defeated a veteran titled expert in only twenty moves and received the 21st rank on the God-ranked Expert List. Hand over the Tier 4 Legacy Guidance Scroll and all of your ships, and I will spare your lives, Balrog Heart said in a commanding tone. Otherwise, all of you will suffer triple the death penalty and be eliminated from Crying Sea City! Youre going too far, Balrog! I can hand over the Legacy Guidance Scroll but not the ships! We cant even survive in Crying Sea City without them! Daybreak Mist shouted angrily. The ocean made up over 90% of the Top of Two Worlds, so ships became crucial for players seeking to develop here. Because of this, ships were in great demand, and replacing even one lost ship would require a lot of Magic Crystals, time, and effort, let alone an entire fleet. Too far? Balrog Heart laughed. Do you think you people can leave this place alive? Nobody on Soulfires side could offer a rebuttal in response to Balrog Hearts question. Even Daybreak Mist could only grit her teeth in silence. Just when Balrog Heart thought of starting another round of mockery, a deep and clear voice suddenly entered everyones ears. What if they can leave this place alive? Chapter 3192 - Chapter 266 - Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame? Chapter 266 C Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame? Everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the voice. Without anyone noticing, a cloaked man had appeared 100 meters above the ocean. The man carried two swords around his waist, but he radiated neither the aura of an expert nor a dangerous aura. At first glance, this cloaked man seemed like an ordinary Swordsman one could find anywhere. Is this guy nuts? He dares to speak like that to Lord Balrog? Seeing as he can fly, he should have grasped a Mana Domain, so I guess he can be considered a powerful expert. However, he probably hasnt seen Lord Balrog in action before, so maybe thats why he dares to utter such bold words. Hes probably an ignorant native, then. This is the end of his life now that he has spoken so rudely to Lord Balrog. Divine Hunters members held a merry discussion among themselves as they looked at the cloaked man in the sky. Some of them had even started worrying about the cloaked mans future. As for the words the cloaked man uttered, none of them treated those words seriously. In the Greater Gods Domain, titled fourth-floor experts were known as walking disasters. Even at Tier 3, such an expert could fight a team of one thousand experts in the Greater Gods Domains environment. Not to mention, Balrog Heart was an existence capable of defeating a veteran titled expert using only twenty moves. Experts capable of grasping a Mana Domain at Tier 3 might seem rare in the eyes of the Miniature Ancient Worlds natives, but experts of such caliber were no different than a Tier 3 ordinary player in front of Balrog Heart. Balrog Heart could defeat such players with a flip of his hand. What a powerful expert! When Daybreak Mist looked at the cloaked man in the sky, a hint of surprise appeared in her silver eyes. She was in possession of the Sacred Eyes. Compared to ordinary experts, she could see the flow of mana much more clearly. Hence, she could see that the cloaked man had seemingly matched the flow of mana in his body with the ambient mana around him. This was a feat that required incredible control over mana. This was also why nobody present could sense the cloaked mans presence even though he was clearly standing under the glaring sun. Experts capable of controlling their mana to such an extent were typically titled experts. However, Daybreak Mist quickly shook her head. Titled experts might be apex existences in the current Miniature Ancient World that even the various hegemonic powers had to be wary of, but Balrog Heart wasnt an ordinary titled expert. He was someone capable of defeating a veteran titled expert in twenty moves. Before Daybreak Mist could give a word of advice to the cloaked man, Balrog Heart glared at the cloaked man and sneered. Immediately afterward, two Tier 3 two-fold magic arrays appeared next to him, each magic array carrying mana nearing the Tier 4 standard. Of these two magic arrays, one was for the Tier 3 Confinement Spell Flame Lock, and one was for the Tier 3 Destruction Spell Lava Explosion. Double silent-casting? Moon Rain shuddered, her mind having trouble accepting this situation. Moon Rain was an Elementalist, so she knew how difficult it was to execute silent casting. It was also the technique she hoped to master. When players were casting Spells in Gods Domain, they typically had to form an impression of the Spells magic array in their minds. Afterward, they would need to chant the necessary incantation to deepen their impression of the magic array. Then, their Spell would take shape. Of course, a more convenient way to cast Spells was to draw the magic array directly in ones mind. This would drastically reduce the chanting needed to strengthen the magic arrays formation. This technique was also known by people as speed casting. Meanwhile, magical class players would only be considered experts if they could execute speed casting. As for players capable of executing double speed-casting, they were typically peak experts. Currently, triple speed-casting was Moon Rains limit. However, there was another type of spellcasting method that was superior to speed casting, and that was silent casting. Silent casting did not require the process of drawing a magic array. Instead, players would form the magic array directly with mana. Meanwhile, double silent-casting was a feat Moon Rain didnt even think was possible. Not to mention, Balrog Heart had created two-fold magic arrays for both of his Spells. This meant that he had created the same magic arrays twice, effectively doubling the power of his Spells. Meanwhile, Daybreak Mist quickly shouted, Quickly dodge! The reason Balrog Heart had received the title of Balrog wasnt because of his player ID. Instead, it was because of his extraordinary mastery over fire-type Spells. Not only could he manipulate fire-type Spells effortlessly, but he also had the ability to resolve the slow mana gathering problem that plagued all fire-type Spells. By the time Daybreak Mist had shouted her warning, Balrog Hearts two two-fold magic arrays were already done gathering the mana they needed. Suddenly, a flame barrier appeared in the air, enveloping the cloaked man entirely. This flame barrier was incredibly sturdy, and even a Tier 4 Mythic monster would need several attacks to break this flame barrier from the inside. Immediately afterward, a sphere of lava with a radius of several dozen meters emerged from one of the magic arrays next to Balrog Heart and flew toward the flame barrier. Its over Daybreak Mist closed her eyes. Flame Lock would not block attacks coming from the outside. In other words, Balrog Hearts Lava Explosion could bypass the Flame Lock and attack the cloaked man directly. Meanwhile, Lava Explosion was a Destruction Spell, so it couldnt be dodged or blocked. Just when the lava sphere was passing through the Flame Lock, the cloaked mans voice appeared once again. This is quite the powerful move. Its a pity its useless against me. As soon as the cloaked man finished speaking, an explosion rang out in mid-air. Subsequently, a blooming flower made of sword lights instantly ripped the flame barrier to shreds and fragmented the lava sphere into countless pieces. As for the cloaked man, he remained unscathed as he hovered in mid-air and quietly looked down at Balrog Heart. He blocked it?! Impossible! That was Lord Balrogs trademark move! Divine Hunters members were stupefied by this scene, their jaws dropping. Even a Superior Mythic monster would get injured when going up against such a rapid double silent-casting. Yet, the uncloaked man didnt lose a single HP from the exchange. Balrog Heart was similarly stunned by this situation. Immediately, his expression turned serious, and he looked at the cloaked man in the air and asked, Who are you? Anyone capable of blocking his two-fold Lava Explosion couldnt be a nameless nobody in the Miniature Ancient World. As for those capable of receiving his combination attack without taking a single point of damage, they numbered no more than a handful. However, Balrog Heart did not receive an answer from the cloaked man. Though, he did get a response from Moon Rain, who had muttered something in surprise. Guild Leader Black Flame?! The spread of sword lights was a very familiar sight to Moon Rain. As far as she could recall, Shi Feng was the only person to have ever used such a sword technique. Guild Leader Black Flame? Daybreak Mist fell into a daze when she overheard Moon Rains mumbling. He is Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame? Chapter 3193 - Chapter 267 - Splitting The World Chapter 267 C Splitting The World Black Flames name was quite famous in the Miniature Ancient World. After all, not only was he a fourth-floor expert, an existence that was rare even in the Greater World, but he was also the de facto owner of the popular Abyssal Star City. In addition, he was also the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, the ruling power of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Are you sure youre not mistaken, Rain? Daybreak Mist couldnt help but ask Moon Rain. Daybreak Mist had received an invitation to join the Asura Mercenary Alliance from Moon Rain multiple times before. However, she had turned down the offer every time. While the Asura Mercenary Alliance might offer its members a high degree of freedom and priority entry into Abyssal Star City, the mercenary alliance was far too weak when it came to combat capabilities. It should be known that competition in the current Miniature Ancient World was no less intense than the competition in the Greater Gods Domain. Weak powers might be able to survive and even gain an advantage over other powers during the early periods of the Miniature Ancient World, but this would no longer be true in the long run. In fact, unless these weak powers could gather a sufficient number of experts, they would quickly lose their place and be eliminated from the Miniature Ancient World. In Daybreak Mists opinion, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would be categorized as one of these weak powers. After all, the Asura Mercenary Alliance only had a handful of fourth-floor experts and not even one titled expert. With so few capable experts under its command, how was it supposed to contest against the various hegemonic powers over resources in the future? Yet, now, Moon Rain was saying that the cloaked man, who had come out unscathed after receiving Balrog Hearts combination attack, was actually Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame. This was a very astonishing revelation, so Daybreak Mist couldnt help but doubt it. It should be. Ive only ever seen Guild Leader Black Flame using that sword technique, Moon Rain said, her eyes glowing with excitement. The achievement of fighting Balrog Heart, the 21st-ranked player on the God-ranked Expert List, would definitely become an inspiration for all players of their Gods Domain. It should be known that ever since the myriad worlds descent, apart from Kasio, nobody else from their Gods Domain had managed to get onto the God-ranked Expert List. Moreover, because more and more God-ranked experts began to appear afterward, Kasio was quickly squeezed out of the ranking list. This situation caused the various foreign Gods Domains players to look down on their Gods Domains experts, and they were now regarded as wild monkeys by these foreign players. However, it was a different story now that Shi Feng had shown himself capable of fighting Balrog Heart to a standstill. Setting aside whether Shi Feng could steal Balrog Hearts position on the God-ranked Expert List, he should have no problem getting into the top 30. Once this matter became official, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would definitely see a rise in its position in the Miniature Ancient World. Black Flame? So, hes that Zero Wings Guild Leader? Is he really that Black Flame? Didnt the rumors say that he had refrained from appearing in Hundred Flow Citys Colosseum because he was too weak? How could he receive no damage from Lord Balrogs attack? The Divine Hunters members were all experts among experts. They possessed incredibly powerful senses, so even though Moon Rain was several dozen yards away from them, they still managed to hear her mutterings. Only, Divine Hunters members couldnt help but doubt their ears when they heard the name Moon Rain uttered. Balrog Hearts trademark move was an attack that even ordinary titled experts could not block without taking damage. Experts capable of accomplishing such a feat were all existences standing at the apex of the Miniature Ancient World. Even if Shi Feng managed to get his hands on a portion of the Greater Gods Domains Legacies, there was no way he should be able to accomplish such a feat. Interesting. So youre Zero Wings Guild Leader? A hint of fighting spirit appeared in Balrog Hearts eyes as he looked at Shi Feng. No wonder you dare to spout such nonsense in front of me. However, if you think that you can protect them just because you can block my Lava Explosion, Ill have you know that you are sorely mistaken! After saying so, Balrog Heart raised his crimson staff and began rapidly chanting a series of incantations. Immediately, the mana within a 1,000-yard radius began swarming toward Balrog Heart, the gathered mana creating a storm that covered a 1,000-yard radius. The degree of control Balrog Heart had exerted over the surrounding mana was so great that seeing it made even a fourth-floor expert like Daybreak Mist feel ashamed of herself. Monstrous! This was the only description Daybreak Mist could come up with to describe what was taking place before her. The influx of mana had not only increased Balrog Hearts mana to the Tier 4 standard, but it had also allowed Balrog Heart to create four two-fold magic arrays simultaneously. Two-fold Tier 3 Curse, Breath of Madness! Two-fold Tier 3 Curse, Flame Domain! Two-fold Tier 3 Curse, Scorched Blessing! Two-fold Tier 3 Curse, Flame Gods Spear! Every one of these Tier 3 Curses originally possessed power and effects rivaling Tier 4 Spells already. Their complexity was also incredibly high. Although the two-fold version of these Tier 3 Curses could exhibit power beyond ordinary Tier 4 Spells, their complexity also went beyond ordinary Tier 4 Spells. Yet, Balrog Heart had successfully cast the two-fold versions of all four of these Tier 3 Curses simultaneously via quadruple speed-casting. The strength he currently displayed was significantly stronger than what he had shown during his Colosseum fight in Crying Sea City. In fact, Daybreak Mist couldnt help but suspect that if Balrog Heart had executed this high-level quadruple speed-casting during his Colosseum fight, he wouldnt have even needed twenty moves to finish the fight. Of the four Curses Balrog Heart cast, Breath of Madness was a Confinement Spell that could be used to lock down a space. Meanwhile, enemies trapped within this space would have their mobility and reaction speed reduced. Their control over mana would also be reduced by over 50%. While trapped within Breath of Madness, players would find it extremely difficult to use Skills, Spells, combat techniques, and Mana Techniques. As for the three other Curses, Flame Domain increased the power of the users fire-type Spells by 100% and weakened the effects of other attributed Spells by 50%, Scorched Blessing increased the users Basic Attributes by 80% and control over the fire element by 30%, and Flame Gods Spear was a large-scale Destruction Spell capable of breaking a towns defensive magic array in one hit. These four Tier 3 Curses synergized with each other incredibly well. With this move, Balrog Heart could annihilate even fourth-floor experts with the flip of a hand. Subsequently, a flame spear measuring a thousand meters in length suddenly descended from the sky, the aura of power the spear radiated instilling a sense of despair into everyone present. After being enhanced by three Tier 3 Curses, Balrog Hearts Flame Gods Spear could destroy not only a towns magic array but also the town itself Try blocking this move! Balrog Heart said, laughing. However, before Balrog Heart could say anything more, Shi Feng suddenly swung the Winter of Eternal Night. First Sword, Lightshadow! Suddenly, time on the battlefield seemingly froze as everything and everyone stopped moving. Even the descending Flame Gods Spear was no exception. Then, under everyones gaze, the sky, the ocean, and the thousand-meter spear all split in half. However, before everyone could even start to feel surprised, the bisected flame spear fell into the ocean and created two huge holes that were several kilometers deep. At the same time, the Advanced Ships that were in the flame spear halves way, the players on board these Advanced Ships, and Balrog Heart vanished without a trace Chapter 3194 - Chapter 268 – Sword Emperor? Chapter 268 C Sword Emperor? What happened? Theyre gone? Be it Soulfires members or Night Blades members, everyone was dumbfounded by what just happened. Even Daybreak Mist couldnt help but rub her eyes and take another look. When Balrog Hearts Flame Gods Spear appeared, Daybreak Mist had felt the presence of death enveloping her. The power of the attack had already gone beyond her ability to survive. In front of this attack, the average titled expert was nothing but a joke. This was because Balrog Hearts attack had already reached a level where it could destroy an entire town. Upon realizing Balrog Hearts strength, Daybreak Mist couldnt help but feel suffocated. Yet, Shi Fengs attack had not only erased Balrog Hearts full-powered attack, but it had also left a gash in the ocean that extended for several kilometers Rain, are you really, really sure this person is the Guild Leader Black Flame you mentioned? Daybreak Mist whispered to Moon Rain, trying to seek further confirmation. This was Balrog Heart they were talking about! The 21st-ranked player on the God-ranked Expert List! Yet, not only did Black Flame defeat Balrog Heart, but he had even accomplished it in one move This was a feat that probably only the monsters ranked within the God-ranked Expert Lists top 10 could accomplish. It should be known that every one of these top 10 monsters was an existence capable of monopolizing an entire Medium Shipyard. Meanwhile, not only could a Medium Shipyard generate tremendous amounts of wealth for a power, but it could also increase the chances of a power being recruited by a conglomerate in the future. It was the dream of countless powers to join a conglomerate in the Greater Gods Domain. Unfortunately, generally speaking, only upper-ranking hegemonic powers could catch the attention of conglomerates and become a part of a conglomerate. However, now that the Miniature Ancient World had become a gathering place for the myriad worlds, an immense amount of wealth was gathered here. Moreover, many ore veins capable of producing Seven Luminaries Crystals have been discovered across the Top of Two Worlds. If a power could dominate a sizable portion of the Miniature Ancient World, even if said power wasnt an upper-ranking hegemonic power, it might still have a chance of catching the various conglomerates attention. After all, Seven Luminaries Crystals were a rare commodity that was in high demand no matter where one went. Even if a power was weak, so long as it could generate enough Seven Luminaries Crystals, the various conglomerates wouldnt mind extending an olive branch to it. It should be Moon Rain answered hesitantly. At this moment, even Moon Rain couldnt help but grow uncertain. Although she knew that Black Flame was powerful, she never thought he would be so powerful as to kill Balrog Heart in one move. While Moon Rain and Daybreak Mist were talking, Shi Feng waved his hand at the items Balrog Heart and Divine Hunters other members dropped. Immediately, the items dropped by these hundred-plus players flew toward him. Then, he began stuffing the items into his bag one after another. This isa large sea map? Shi Feng was pleasantly surprised as he looked at the tattered map in his hands. Generally, when players entered a region they had never visited, their system map would only display their nearby surroundings. If players wished to have a more informative map of the region, they would have to explore the region in person. Either that or they could purchase a region map from a nearby NPC City. If players wanted to operate out at sea, a sea map was an indispensable item. This was because a sea map would not only display islands that wouldnt be displayed on the system map, but it also covered a large area. Moreover, the sea map would also mark the players specific location, preventing players from getting lost while navigating at sea. Typically, sea maps could be divided into small, medium, and large sizes. Each size category of sea map would also cover an increasingly larger area. Small sea maps would cover an area roughly the size of two or three land-based leveling maps, medium sea maps would cover seven or eight leveling maps, and large sea maps would cover at least twenty leveling maps. During the exploration phase of a region, a large sea map could easily be worth two or three Fragmented Legendary items. So, it was a truly pleasant surprise to Shi Feng that Balrog Heart would gift a large sea map to him. It should be known that he had only helped Soulfire get rid of Balrog Heart in passing. He never really thought of gaining anything from this action. After all, Soulfire had already joined the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Moreover, Moon Rain had given Wu Lingling a lot of help thus far. So, he naturally had to help Moon Rain now that the other party was in trouble. As for how Shi Feng managed to eliminate Balrog Heart so easily, it was because Balrog Heart was only a Tier 3 player. There was a significant gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 players. Not to mention, Shi Feng was even equipped with the Blazing Flame Set, a Level 120 Dark-Gold Immortal Set. It might be a different story if Balrog Heart had reached Tier 4 already, but before that happened, Shi Feng would only need one move to take care of him. So this place is the Top of Two Worlds? Shi Feng was a little surprised after he was done inspecting the sea map. He didnt think that the Top of Two Worlds would be a world within a world. Moreover, it was quite a huge world. At the very least, judging by the information he gleaned from the map, the Top of Two Worlds should be significantly larger than the Miniature Ancient World. The nearest NPC City from here is Crying Sea City. I should head there and get some rest. Afterward, Shi Feng stored the sea map and flew toward Crying Sea City. Hes flying away? It will take him over ten hours to reach Crying Sea City even if he can fly with his Mana Domain. Even if he exhausts his Concentration, theres no way he can reach the city, right? Could he have reached Tier 4 already? Everyone was stunned when they saw Shi Feng flying into the distance. A Tier 3 player could fly so long as they had a Mana Domain. However, flying via this method consumed a lot of Concentration, so flying for long periods of time wouldnt be possible. Seeing as Shi Feng was flying in Crying Sea Citys direction, he should be aware of the citys existence. In that case, he should also know that the city was over ten hours away from their current location. Yet, he had still chosen to fly there. This could only mean that he had already reached Tier 4 and gained the ability to fly for long periods of time. Only, Tier 4 should still be a goal far out of the reach of the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers. Although many hegemonic powers had already found Tier 4 Legacy Lands, a few days had only passed since the first batch of challengers had left to challenge their Tier 4 promotion. Going by the average time it took for players to complete their Tier 4 promotion, this first batch of challengers would still need at least ten days before they could complete their promotion There was an incredible gap between Tier 3 and Tier 4 classes. If Shi Feng had indeed reached Tier 4 already, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that he was invincible in the current Miniature Ancient World. A Tier 4 Sword Emperor? Moon Rains eyes lit up in excitement as she looked at Shi Fengs departing back. Crying Sea City is probably going to see a change of hands soon! Crying Sea City was a gathering place for over one hundred million players, and it was currently under the rule of two tyrants: Divine Hunters and Morning Light. Both were hegemonic powers originating from a Higher Gods Domain, and they had ruled over the city ever since players gained access to the Top of Two Worlds. Now, though, Crying Sea City might be seeing a change of hands. So, this is the strength Asura has kept hidden? Daybreak Mist also fell into a daze after coming across this revelation. It was already astonishing that Shi Feng had managed to kill Balrog Heart. The fact that Shi Feng had reached Tier 4 was even more surprising. Daybreak Mist couldnt help but reevaluate her opinion of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. At the same time, she also decided that she would have her adventurer team join Asura as soon as she returned. Meanwhile, shortly after Shi Feng left, news of Balrog Hearts death also reached Crying Sea City, the news making waves in the city. Chapter 3195 - Chapter 269 - Tier 4 Powerhouse Chapter 269 C Tier 4 Powerhouse Two Worlds Sea, Crying Sea City: Crying Sea City was one of the few super-large NPC Cities present in the Two Worlds Sea, and it had become the gathering place of countless powers from the myriad Gods Domains. However, out of all these powers, only two Guilds had successfully garrisoned Crying Sea City: Divine Hunters and Morning Light. Both Guilds possessed a Guild Residence in the citys central area. Because of this, the two Guilds members could freely teleport into the city via Guild transfer Scrolls. This situation not only caused the various powers and players to grow envious, but it also established the two Guilds authority in Crying Sea City. As for powers that failed to garrison Crying Sea City, they could only compete for the limited number of temporary Guild Halls available at the citys Adventurers Association. The Guild Leader killed Balrog Heart? Su Qianliu, who was resting in her office, was shocked when she heard the report Wu Lingling had just made to her. Are you sure about this? This matter has already reached the ears of Crying Sea Citys various hegemonic powers, so it shouldnt be wrong. Soulfire has also messaged us offline saying that the Guild Leader is on his way to Crying Sea City, Wu Lingling said excitedly. Because of this, the number of adventurer teams looking to join Asura has increased substantially. Everyone thinks that Asura can secure an administrative seat during the upcoming Medium Shipyard competition. Ships were the basis of survival in the Two Worlds Sea. Players couldnt do without ships if they wished to make progress here. However, obtaining ships from NPCs was incredibly difficult and costly. If players wished to acquire a large number of ships at an affordable price, their only option was to construct them at a shipyard. The only problem was that players needed to compete for the administrative rights of the various NPC Cities shipyards. Every shipyard had a fixed number of administrative seats, and this number would typically range from two to three. So long as a power managed to secure a seat, it could spend materials to mass-produce ships. The advantages and wealth a power could generate through this were self-evident. Meanwhile, powers looking to compete for a shipyards administrative seats could only send six experts to represent them. So, one could imagine how much of an advantage the Asura Mercenary Alliance would have if one of its representatives was a powerhouse capable of defeating the 21st-ranked Balrog Heart. Not to mention, the Asura Mercenary Alliances experts had grown significantly because of all the clashes theyve had with the myriad worlds experts and the Primordial Towers effect. Theyve grown so much that Shi Feng would probably be surprised when he saw them. With the help of a top-20 God List expert, it was entirely possible for the Asura Mercenary Alliance to secure an administrative seat in the upcoming competition. The Guild Leader is on his way here? Su Qianlius expression suddenly changed when she heard Wu Linglings words. Lingling, notify Hidden Soul and have her bring a team outside the city to meet up with the Guild Leader immediately! Ill head over with a team as well! Whats wrong, Vice Guild Leader? Wu Lingling asked in confusion. The nail that sticks out gets hammered. While contacting some trustworthy core members of Zero Wing in the city, Su Qianliu explained, The various powers in Crying Sea City have only ignored Zero Wing and Asura previously because we were only inconspicuous powers. Even establishing a foothold in the city had taken us a lot of effort. However, now that weve suddenly become a strong contender for Crying Sea Citys Medium Shipyard and there are only a few days left before the Medium Shipyard competition, how do you think Crying Sea Citys various hegemonic powers will react? How will Divine Hunters and Morning Light react? Theyll destroy the Guild Leader? Wu Lingling suddenly felt a chill crawling down her spine, her expression turning somber. Whoever gained control over Crying Sea Citys shipyards would gain dominance over the city. Currently, Divine Hunters and Morning Light only held control over Crying Sea Citys Small Shipyard. Even then, they had already become nigh-invincible out at sea. They had also gained control over an important ore vein out at sea. A Medium Shipyard was capable of manufacturing ships of higher ranking than what a Small Shipyard could manufacture. If a power managed to secure it, its naval power would definitely skyrocket. Shi Feng was the Asura Mercenary Alliances only hope for winning an administrative seat. So long as the various hegemonic powers could kill Shi Feng once, they would have one less competitor in the upcoming Medium Shipyard competition. Thats right! Su Qianliu nodded. The Guild Leader might have the strength to kill someone as strong as Balrog Heart, but the mysterious energy at sea is incredibly violent. If the various hegemonic powers surround him, it wont be difficult for them to kill him. So, we must meet with the Guild Leader before the other powers find him. The Top of Two Worlds was different from the rest of the Miniature Ancient World. Players could only communicate via the system if they were within a certain range of each other. At most, this range was enough to cover an entire city. Hence, it was incredibly difficult for players to communicate over long distances. If players wished to do so, offline communication would be the quickest method. However, they evidently couldnt contact Shi Feng via offline means now that he had already left for the Greater World. So, their only option was to send people to find Shi Feng. Search Hosted Novel for the original. I understand. Ill go and inform Big Sis Soul right away, Wu Lingling said before quickly logging out of the game. Zero Wing might be the heart of the Asura Mercenary Alliance, but the mercenary alliances various teams did not operate in the same area. The quickest way to gather these teams would be to contact them offline. Not long after Su Qianliu and the others began making their move, a figure suddenly got enveloped by a magic barrier in the sky a short distance from Crying Sea City. Subsequently, a fleet of more than 500 Advanced Ships quickly gathered underneath the barrier. This was a rare sight even in Crying Sea City, and the ships passing by couldnt help but avoid this massive fleet. Dammit! We were too late! When Hidden Soul saw the figure enveloped in the magic barrier, her complexion turned incredibly gloomy. Hidden Soul had rushed back to Crying Sea City as soon as she heard the news from Wu Lingling. She originally thought that she could get in touch with Shi Feng first since friend communication had a much bigger range. Yet, Crying Sea Citys various hegemonic powers still managed to get ahead of her What is the meaning of this? Shi Feng asked, a slight frown forming on his face as he looked at the four people before him. Shi Feng was rather familiar with these four people. They were Titan Sword One Step, Hundred Beast Florence, Dark Banner Melissa, and Shadow Emperor Convicted. All four were famous individuals in the Greater Gods Domain. At the same time, they were also veteran titled monsters. During their younger days, they were not the slightest bit weaker than the current Balrog Heart. Take Divine Hunters One Step, for example. Although he was in his fifties now, he was more talented than even Balrog Heart, having received a title from the Seven Luminaries Alliance at the young age of 25. As for why he had received the title of Titan Sword, it was because he possessed the Titan Bloodline, an extremely rare Bloodline even in the Greater Gods Domain. It was the Bloodline of Titans, an apex race that rivaled Dragons. The Bloodline granted One Step with Strength and Physique that was beyond his tier. As for Divine Hunters Florence, he received his title because of his Unique Class Beast Illusionist. He could absorb the strength of Gods Domains monsters and turn it into his own. The more powerful monsters he defeated, the greater his strength would become. As for Dark Banner Melissa and Shadow Emperor Convicted, both were peerless monsters belonging to Morning Light. When they fought, they were just as strong as One Step and Florence. Among them, Melissa possessed a special Legacy that granted her incredible affinity with the water attribute. She would essentially become invincible among opponents of the same tier when fighting out at sea. Although these four people didnt have very high levels, all four being at Level 122 only, the life aura they radiated indicated that they were all bona fide Tier 4 players. You must be Zero Wings Black Flame, right? It seems you have indeed reached Tier 4 already, One Step, clad in dark-gray plate armor and carrying a greatsword that was as tall as he was, said as he looked at Shi Feng arrogantly. I am Divine Hunters One Step. Divine Hunters will only give you two options: submit or die! It seems you are quite lucky to be able to reach Tier 4 so quickly, Melissa, dressed in a black dress, said as she looked at Shi Feng indifferently. If you submit to Morning Light, Morning Light can ensure your safety. Of the two people that spoke, one was arrogant while the other was indifferent. However, the meaning their words conveyed was obvious. Submit or die. There was no third option. Chapter 3196 - Chapter 270 - One Slash Outside The City Chapter 270 C One Slash Outside The City TL Notes: Changes made to Chapter 257: anomaly -> paragon Changes made to Chapter 265: one of two little monsters -> one of two paragons Changes made to Chapter 269: veteran titled monsters -> veteran titled paragons peerless monsters -> peerless paragons Shortly after Divine Hunters and Morning Lights Tier 4 experts appeared, chaos ensued among the massive fleet of Advanced Ships gathered beneath them. Dammit! Dammit! Now that Divine Hunters and Morning Light have taken action simultaneously, our chances of recruiting him are gone! Judging by the auras those four are radiating, theyve definitely reached Tier 4 already. I really did not think Divine Hunters and Morning Light had hidden so much of their strength. It seems we have truly underestimated them. I heard that the citys Medium Shipyard only has two administrative slots. How are we supposed to compete with those two Guilds now? The various powers making up the massive fleet of Advanced Ships were greatly shocked when they saw Divine Hunters and Morning Light dispatching a total of four Tier 4 experts. None of them thought that Divine Hunters and Morning Light had hidden so much of their strength. While the various powers were making a fuss over Divine Hunters and Morning Lights show of power, a noble-looking lady with long cyan hair and a pair of silver eyes was sipping tea as she observed this situation. Then, she looked toward the Demidragon woman next to her and smiled, saying, It seems our trip this time wasnt a waste, after all, Maria. Divine Hunters and Morning Light have hidden a lot more strength than what was mentioned in the reports. But it seems theyve decided to go big to deal with Black Flame. Moreover, theyve even sent One Step and Melissa out of all people. Its not every day you get to see such a grand occasion. Youre still in the mood for jokes, Aunty? Your niece has already wagered all of her resources into Abyssal Star City! If Zero Wing suffers a massive setback here, itll definitely affect Abyssal Star City! Maria, who was clad in silver armor, complained. Are you just going to watch as your cute and obedient little niece suffers? When an ordinary expert killed a player, the player in question would typically only lose one level. However, experts of One Step and Melissas caliber could inflict heavy damage to the souls of the players they killed. They could accomplish this even if they were only at Tier 4 right now. Meanwhile, not only would the players they kill lose several levels, but these players would also have their souls remain weakened for around half a month. During this period, theyd be utterly useless in combat. They were currently at the crucial exploration phase of the Two Worlds Sea. Being rendered useless for half a month was a fate worse than death. It was especially true for a Tier 4 player. Its his fault for not keeping a low profile. He shouldnt have killed Balrog Heart in just one move. Balrog Hearts strength is already the ceiling for Tier 3 players. There are only two types of people who can possibly kill him with one move. The first type would be the God Lists top 10 monsters or someone of their standards, while the second type would be Tier 4 experts. Experts of those top 10 monsters caliber are exceedingly rare, and youd be hard-pressed to find even one such expert in an Elementary Gods Domain. So, the only logical explanation would be that Black Flame has reached Tier 4, Favra said before pausing to take a sip of tea. Then, she continued: Currently, even one Tier 4 player is enough to affect a naval citys status quo. Divine Hunters and Morning Light naturally wont sit by and watch another power rising up to match them. Had Black Flame spent some time killing Balrog Heart, Divine Hunters and Morning Light might have made a response, but they would have never mobilized One Step and Melissa. Even the God Lists top 10 monsters will have trouble escaping from such a line-up. Cant you help him, Aunty? Maria asked as she looked at Favra hopefully and anxiously. Not now, Favra said, shaking her head. Then, she looked up at the sky and continued, As a fourth-floor expert, Black Flame can definitely hold his ground for some time. Hell have a greater chance of escaping if I act when they are busy fighting. Maria felt relieved when she heard Favras answer. Titan Sword One Step and Dark Banner Melissa were paragons of an older generation. However, her Aunt Favra was also a paragon of the same generation. Moreover, her Aunt Favra had achieved massive improvements in recent years. It was just that her Aunt Favra mainly operated solo, so few people actually knew about her true strength. At this point, her Aunt Favra should be just as strong as the God-ranked Expert Lists top 10 monsters. Although her Aunt Favra would not be able to defeat the joint force of One Step, Melissa, and two other Tier 4 experts, she should have no trouble helping Black Flame escape. While Maria and Favra were talking, the atmosphere in the sky suddenly changed, and many people on the sea subconsciously shuddered. You refuse? One Steps arrogant expression instantly turned cold, the runes on his Epic Armor suddenly glowing and causing the surrounding space to tremble. You impertinent brat. It seems you are tired of living![1] As soon as One Step finished speaking, the pitch-black greatsword on his back disappeared and reappeared above Shi Fengs head. One Step had drawn his weapon and executed his attack so swiftly that the spectators below could only see a black flash appearing briefly in the sky. Moreover, One Steps attack was incredibly discrete, not creating any sound or spatial fluctuations throughout the entire process. Yet, his attack carried enough power to compress the space around Shi Feng, making it difficult for Shi Feng to move his body. Meanwhile, in response to this sudden attack, Shi Feng drew his sword to block it. What an interesting kid. Its a pity his career is over after this, Melissa thought. When she saw the attack One Step executed, she got ready to turn around and leave, not planning to waste any more time here. It might seem like One Flash had only executed one slash, but he had, in fact, executed multiple slashes. It was just that these slashes had combined to create the illusion of an arc of light that descended toward Shi Feng. Black Moon! It was an Advanced Silver Combat Technique, and it was also One Steps trademark move. When combined with his Fragmented Legendary Greatsword, he could heavily injure even a Superior Mythic monster of the same level. Even a Tier 4 MT would die on the spot if they tried to receive this attack without activating any Lifesaving Skills, much less a Tier 4 Swordsman. So, when Melissa saw Shi Feng trying to block One Steps attack, she could already foresee what would happen. Boom! A loud explosion shook the battlefield, the intense shockwaves causing the sky to shatter. However, contrary to everyones expectations, two figures appeared in their sight as the world rapidly worked to mend the shattered sky. Both figures remained standing proudly amidst the sky of spatial fissures. He didnt die? Melissa and the other spectators were greatly confused when they saw Shi Feng alive and healthy. Unlike what they expected, not only did Shi Feng not die, but he didnt even receive any damage from blocking One Steps attack. However, compared to Melissa and the others, One Step felt an even greater shock. This was because when his greatsword clashed with Shi Fengs longsword, he felt as if he had struck an impenetrable wall. His arms had even gone numb from the reactionary force. Did he use an Invulnerability Skill? This was the first thought that came to One Steps mind. However, he quickly denied this thought. Invulnerability Skills only prevented players from taking damage. It wouldnt mitigate the force of an impact, much less turn players into an impenetrable wall. If Shi Feng didnt have enough strength to block his attack, he would still be sent flying, even if he used an Invulnerability Skill. However, before One Step could figure out what had happened, Shi Feng leisurely said, Since youve made your move, its my turn now! TL Notes: [1]You refuse?: Fyi, there is no missing translation before this part. The raws never described Shi Feng refusing, so the refusal must have happened while the storys perspective was changed to Maria and Favra. Chapter 3197 - Chapter 271 – Twilight of the Gods Chapter 271 C Twilight of the Gods TL Notes: Changed Convicted to Convict Youre strong, kid, Ill give you that. But do you think this is over? One Step might have felt surprised when he saw Shi Feng blocking his attack without using an Invulnerability Skill, but his calm expression remained unfazed. Before One Step had even finished his words, a figure suddenly appeared behind Shi Feng. This figure belonged to none other than Hundred Beast Florence, a hulking man over two meters tall and clad in beast leather. At this time, Florences eyes had turned blood red, and the phantom of a 50-meter-tall golden lion had formed around him. The aura the golden lion radiated was stronger than the aura of Level 122 Superior Mythic monsters. Immediately afterward, the golden lion swung its claws at Shi Feng, the razor-sharp appendages the size of houses. The claws were so large that they covered even One Step in their attack range. Indeed! The instant One Step had made his move against Shi Feng, Florence had also gone into action. So, even if One Steps attack failed to kill Shi Feng, Florence would finish the job. However, before Florences attack could connect, a black-clad figure suddenly appeared on Shi Fengs other side. Then, the crimson short sword this black-clad figure wielded transformed into several dozen streaks of crimson light that struck Shi Feng from his blind spots. Convict! Mind your own damn business! Florence cursed when he saw the black-clad figure. The timing and angle of Shadow Emperor Convicts attacks were perfectly on point. He chose to attack the moment Shi Feng had lifted his head to look at Florences golden lion. A sneak attack of such caliber was something even One Step would fail to react to should he be the target. However, before Florences cursing could even reach Convicts ears, the Shadow Emperor coldly said, Nobody is allowed to live after refusing Morning Light. Repentance! This was Convicts ultimate move. The 41 strikes Convict executed with this combat technique were like laser beams, their speed exceeding the speed of sound and the limit of a Tier 4 players reaction speed. Only someone like Convict, gifted with extraordinary nervous reactions, could execute such a move. Just when the 41 sword lights and the golden lions gigantic claws were about to land on Shi Feng, a second sword suddenly appeared in Shi Fengs left hand. Break! After letting out a low shout, Shi Feng brandished his two swords and shrouded himself in a galaxy of stars. Whether it was the golden lions claws or the crimson sword lights, both had their advance halted when they came into contact with these stars. Unlike the previous clash between One Step and Shi Feng, the clash of attacks this time generated hardly any shockwaves. Instead, only the sound of metal ringing could be heard echoing continuously across the sky. When Florence and Convict eventually concluded their attacks, their expressions turned solemn. An uproar also occurred among the various powers underneath when they saw the outcome of this exchange. After all, Shi Feng had successfully held his ground against Hundred Beast Florence and Shadow Emperor Convict simultaneously. Such an accomplishment was enough to put him into the top 10 ranks of the God-ranked Expert List. Who is this kid?! How did he manage to deflect all of my attacks?! Convicts eyes no longer contained his previous coldness when he looked at Shi Feng. Instead, taking its place was a trace of fear. Ever since he had risen to fame, Convict rarely met anyone who could match him in Attack Speed at the same tier. This was the case even among titled experts. Yet, Shi Feng had not only matched his Attack Speed but also deflected all of his attacks. This was a situation he had never encountered before. Im afraid the four of us will have to work together to take down this kid, Florence said, a grim look on his face. From an outsiders perspective, it might seem like Shi Feng had fought the two of them to a standstill. However, as someone who had clashed with Shi Feng, Florence could tell that none of his attacks had managed to threaten Shi Feng. This situation was completely different from what they imagined. They had severely underestimated Shi Feng, thinking he had only relied on his advantage in tiers to overwhelm Balrog Heart. Melissa, who had originally planned to leave, sighed as she looked at Shi Feng. Then, she said, Although I dont want to, I guess we have no better choice. If Divine Hunters and Morning Light failed to kill Shi Feng even after mobilizing four Tier 4 experts, their two Guilds would definitely become a laughingstock in Crying Sea City. However, the strength Shi Feng had just displayed showed that he was in no way inferior to the God-ranked Expert Lists top 10 monsters. If they wanted to kill Shi Feng, their only option was for all four of them to work together. Otherwise, neither Divine Hunters nor Morning Light should consider killing Shi Feng. As soon as Melissa nodded in agreement, One Step, Florence, and Shadow Emperor promptly got ready to use their respective specialties. Meanwhile, when Favra noticed this scene from down below, her expression turned serious as she promptly picked up the silver staff resting against her chair. Are those four planning to attack together? How can this be Hidden Soul and the others also despaired when they saw this situation. Four Tier 4 titled experts. The combat power of such a line-up was definitely at the Miniature Ancient Worlds very apex. Even a monster as strong as Shi Feng would have no chance of surviving against such a line-up. However, before Hidden Soul and the others could recover from their despair and make a response, the four titled experts in the sky made their move. One Step brandished his greatsword after activating his Tier 4 Legacy Skill Titans Wrath, the Skill increasing his Strength Attribute to the Tier 5 standard. Now, whenever he swung his greatsword, even the Tier 3 players down below found themselves immobilized by the compressed space around them. Meanwhile, the golden lion Florence had transformed into released an angry roar, its size doubling. Then, the golden lion used the Tier 4 Legacy Skill Golden Roar at Shi Feng, the Skills activation dyeing the sky in a golden hue. As for Convict, he used his Tier 4 Legacy Skill Shadow Extermination, instantly splitting into over a hundred doppelgangers that flickered around and attacked Shi Feng from all directions. Lastly, Melissa raised the sky-blue flag she wielded, causing the seas surface within a 1,000-yard radius to rise like an awakened beast and directing this beast to devour Shi Feng. When these four people took action, the scene they created looked nothing like a battle between players but rather an epic war in ancient mythology instead. The sheer power these four peoples attacks radiated caused the various powers young talents to feel as if death had come to greet them. The power of these attacks was so overwhelming that it made even Favra, who had thought of moving to save Shi Feng, feel powerless. Yet, when faced with these seemingly apocalyptic attacks, Shi Feng did not choose to dodge them. Instead, he simply sheathed Blasphemer and raised the Winter of Eternal Night with both hands. Then, he swung the sword at the space in front of him. Second Sword, Holy Devour! This would be the first time Shi Feng had executed Holy Devour with all of his strength after becoming a Tier 4 Sword Law Saint. The Holy Annihilation Mana Technique was the Heavenly Blue Saints greatest achievement. The Mana Technique could unleash power capable of overwhelming even Tier 6 Gods. The technique was divided into three parts, each with a greater usage requirement than the other. Out of the three parts, First Sword, Lightshadow could only barely be used at Tier 3. As for Second Sword, Holy Devour, it wasnt something a Tier 3 player could use. As for why Shi Feng could use Holy Devour when he was at Tier 3, it was because he had thoroughly mastered the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Even so, he could never unleash Holy Devours true strength. Even when he was going up against Tia Pollena, the eight-winged Valkyrie, the Holy Devours he executed were incomplete. However, now that he had reached Tier 4, he had barely met the requirement to execute the complete Holy Devour. Subsequently, as soon as Shi Feng swung his sword, mana within a 1,000-yard radius of him exploded and ignited into flames, transforming the sky into a sea of flames. At the same time, the attacks of One Step, Florence, Convict, and Melissa were reduced to nothing by this sea of flames. As for the attackers themselves, all four of them were sent flying over a hundred yards away, their HP falling by over one-third Chapter 3198 - Chapter 272 - The True Way of Using Holy Devour Chapter 272 C The True Way of Using Holy Devour Im no match for him in a frontal clash? One Step couldnt help but be shocked and confused as he looked at his trembling hands. The Titans were a race known for having incomparable Strength. Even Dragons were inferior to Titans when it came to Strength. Logically, the combination of his Titan Bloodline, Dragon Blade, and Tier 4 Legacy Skill Titans Wrath should allow him to damage even a Tier 5 monster in a frontal clash. Yet, the Strength One Step prided himself in had actually lost to Shi Feng. At this moment, One Step wasnt the only one confused by this outcome. Everyone else present was in a similar situation. The combat power One Step, Florence, Convict, and Melissa had displayed was sufficient to destroy even an entire city. Their combat power definitely ranked at the apex of the current Miniature Ancient World. Yet, the four were no match for Shi Feng even after joining forces. They had even lost over one-third of their HP. The Strength Shi Feng displayed was no longer just terrifying. It was simply incomprehensible. The only person unsurprised by this situation was Shi Feng himself. It was true that One Step and the others possessed combat power at the apex of Tier 4. However, it should be known that Shi Feng was equipped with the Blazing Flame Set, which granted Basic Attributes equivalent to a Level 135 Dark-Gold Equipment Set. In comparison, while One Step and the others might be equipped with Epic Equipment Sets, their sets only granted a Level 122 Epic Equipment Sets Basic Attributes. A gap of 13 levels wasnt something that could be overcome by just a difference of one rank. Not to mention, when Shi Feng completed his promotion and became a Tier 4 Sword Law Saint, the Basic Attributes he received as a reward was significantly greater than other classes. So, even if One Step and the others worked together, there was no way they could gain an advantage over Shi Fengs Holy Devour. A Mana Technique! Its a Saint-ranked Mana Technique! Melissa said as she wiped the blood that had flowed down the corner of her mouth, a trace of fear appearing in her eyes when she looked at Shi Feng. Moreover, its a perfectly mastered Saint-ranked Mana Technique. This is really bad. Saint-ranked Mana Techniques were extremely rare even in the Greater Gods Domain, their rarity not the slightest bit lower than Gold Combat Techniques. Meanwhile, every expert she knew who had managed to perfectly master a Saint-ranked Mana Technique held the position of Honorary Elder in the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Unlike Gold Combat Techniques, while Saint-ranked Mana Techniques did not grant players an instant boost in combat power, it had the advantage of being able to grow stronger as players reached higher tiers. By the time players reached Tier 6, they could defeat even Tier 6 Gods with a perfectly mastered Saint-ranked Mana Technique. Although Shi Feng was only at Tier 4 right now, he was still a tricky opponent nonetheless. So what if its a Saint-ranked Mana Technique?! Florence glared at Shi Feng. Then, he spoke to the other three through a private channel, We might not be a match for him in a frontal clash, but we can whittle him down. Using a Saint-ranked Mana Technique is incredibly taxing. How many times do you think he can use it? Shi Feng indeed deserved to be called a monster if he could perfectly master a Saint-ranked Mana Technique. However, Shi Feng was currently only a Tier 4 player. In a situation where Stamina and Concentration were limited, Shi Feng could only use his Saint-ranked Mana Technique a few times. If he couldnt kill all four of them in one move, they could easily whittle him down and kill him. It seems thats our only option. Ill block his attacks while you guys find opportunities to strike, Melissa said before starting to chant an incantation. Immediately, gigantic serpents measuring over a thousand meters in length emerged from the surrounding sea, their appearance instantly dwarfing Florences golden lion. The other three nodded. Then, they each took out a Master Regeneration Potion from their bags, drank it, and went into action. Dark Banner Melissa was known to be invincible at sea because of her nigh-impeccable defensive capabilities. Moreover, so long as she was at a place with dense water-type mana, she could recover her HP, Mana, Stamina, and Concentration rapidly. So long as she didnt get killed instantly, she could quickly make a full recovery and whittle down any player of the same tier. Do you really think you can outlast me? Shi Feng remained calm even after seeing that his opponents did not intend to duke it out with him. He could tell what was going through the minds of these four players. There was a basic guideline for players on what to do should they come across an expert who had perfectly mastered a Saint-ranked Mana Technique as an opponentflee or drag out the battle. Shi Feng had come across many opponents who had tried the latter option against him during his previous life. Their strategy was always the same: to kite him with ranged attacks. They would never try to fight him at close range. After saying so, Shi Feng held the Winter of Eternal Night horizontally before him. Subsequently, nine frost swords appeared next to One Step and the others and promptly lashed out at them. Swords Orbit! Each frost sword carried 120% of Shi Fengs Strength. Shi Feng originally had greater Strength than One Step and the others already. So, the four had to go all out just to block even one frost sword. When faced with the attacks of two frost swords simultaneously, One Step and the others didnt even have the time to breathe. Even Melissa, who possessed nigh-impeccable defensive capabilities, could only focus all her attention on blocking the three frost swords attacking her. She did not have any spare energy to focus on Shi Feng. For a time, apart from Melissa, One Step and the others started to get pushed back one time after another, their HP rapidly decreasing. Dammit! How is his Strength so high?! Florence cursed. Whenever he clashed with Shi Fengs frost swords, the phantom of the golden lion he summoned would darken slightly. Not only did the golden lions massive body not bring him any advantages, but it was even holding him back now as it gave Shi Feng a bigger target to strike. While Florence was in the midst of blocking a frost sword, Shi Feng suddenly appeared within 50 yards of him and swung his longsword. Holy Devour! Crimson flames covered the sky once more. Even though Florence had responded to Shi Fengs attack immediately by doubling his Defense and HP with a Lifesaving Skill, he still lost one-fifth of his HP to the attack. Thank goodness I blocked it. Florence sighed in relief when he saw that he was still alive. However, before Florence could distance himself from Shi Feng, another tide of flames assaulted him. Upon seeing this, he instinctively raised the golden lions paws to defend himself. Boom! Florence was sent flying over a dozen yards backward this time. However, before he could even stabilize his posture, a third flame pillar came at him again. Fuck! What is going on here?! Florence was stupefied when he saw the third fiery tidal wave approaching him. Unfortunately, even though Florence had executed a defensive combat technique to block this third attack, he failed to execute the technique perfectly due to his unstable posture. As a result, when the tide of flames devoured him, he instantly lost all of his remaining HP. Three times. Shi Feng had used Holy Devour three times consecutively. He did not rest for even a moment in between these three executions. It was as if the Mana Technique did not cost him anything to execute, and he used it as casually as if he were using an ordinary combat technique Chapter 3199 - Chapter 273 - Horror Chapter 273 C Horror Three! He used three Saint Mana Techniques in a row! Is he a monster?! Melissa, desperately defending herself against the three frost swords attacking her, couldnt believe what she had just seen. She was a magical class player who had perfectly mastered ten Mana Techniques, so she had a great understanding of Mana Techniques. Even an Advanced Mana Technique would put a significant toll on a Tier 4 players Concentration, let alone a Saint Mana Technique. If a Tier 4 player were to use a Saint Mana Technique, not only would they deplete a significant portion of their Concentration, but they would also fall into a fatigued state for a short time. In this fatigued state, even focusing their mind would be a difficult task, let alone executing two more Saint-ranked Mana Techniques consecutively The information we got is completely wrong! One Steps eyes twitched when he saw Florences vanishing corpse. According to their intelligence report, Black Flame should only be an ordinary fourth-floor expert. The only reason he managed to kill Balrog Heart was that he had gotten promoted to Tier 4. However, the strength Shi Feng had just displayed was not something an ordinary fourth-floor expert could have. Shi Feng was practically a monster! Even One Step doubted he could survive the three consecutive attacks Shi Feng had used against Florence. It should be known that Florence would gain HP and Defense, surpassing even MTs of the same tier when he went into his golden lion form. After activating his Tier 4 Lifesaving Skill, his HP would instantly exceed ten million. Even if he simply stood still and did nothing, a Berserker of the same tier would need some time to kill him. Although One Step was a Berserker, he was only superior to Florence when it came to Strength and speed. When it came to taking damage, he was nowhere near as durable as Florence. Thats one down. After collecting the loot Florence dropped, Shi Feng turned his gaze to One Step and Convict, saying, You two are next. As a Saint Mana Technique, Holy Devour indeed cost a lot of Concentration to use. However, after Shi Feng became a Tier 4 Sword Law Saint, his Concentration underwent a qualitative transformation. Now, his Concentration neared the Tier 5 standard already. Hence, he could use Holy Devour multiple times in a row. Moreover, three times wasnt his limit yet. According to his estimates, he should only reach his limit after executing five Holy Devours consecutively. Do you think you still have a chance to kill us? One Step said after taking a deep breath, his voice still as confident as before. Weve seen your trump card already, but you still dont know what our trump cards are. However, we do not wish to use our trump cards for no reason. Since youve killed Florence already, how about we leave it at that? I agree, Convict said in conjunction. Weve already seen your strength, Guild Leader Black Flame. You wont be able to kill us even if you try, so we should just stop for today. If we fight, we will only be giving the other powers an advantage. Shi Fengs ability to execute three Saint Mana Techniques consecutively was indeed astonishing. However, Shi Feng could only kill them under the precondition that they didnt know about this ability. Now that they knew what to expect of Shi Feng, it would become extremely difficult for Shi Feng to kill them. After all, they had their own trump cards. It was just that they didnt wish to use these trump cards. However, so long as they used their trump cards, Shi Feng could do nothing against them. On the contrary, they might even have a chance of killing Shi Feng. However, they prepared to use these trump cards for the Medium Shipyard competition later. If they used them now, the other hegemonic powers would definitely come up with a counter. How funny. You were the ones who attacked me first, yet you are saying that we should stop fighting now? Shi Feng laughed. Do you think Im some kind of pushover? Dont go too far, Black Flame! You might be strong, but youre not invincible! One Step coldly said. If we disregard all costs and attack you, you wont be getting away easily! Itll also be impossible for you to kill us! Let me see what kind of ability you people have, then! Shi Feng said, chuckling before manipulating his frost swords to attack once more. With Florence out of the way, One Step and Convict had to face three frost swords simultaneously. A Swords Orbit executed by three frost swords simply wasnt something the two could defend against, so their HP quickly fell. One Steps and Convicts HP fell below the 30% mark in less than five seconds. Even a Master Regeneration Potion wasnt enough to help them mitigate the incoming damage. Eventually, One Step took a deep breath and signaled Convict with his eyes. Then, he glared at Shi Feng and bellowed, Black Flame! You forced our hand! As soon as One Step finished speaking, his body suddenly expanded into a 10-meter-tall giant, and a demonic glow enveloped his body. In addition, the aura he exuded was so powerful that it had started to destabilize the space around him. Tier 4 Legacy Skill, Titan Awakening! All Basic Attributes increased by 200%! Since youve made me use this move, dont even think of leaving this place alive today! Immediately, One Step brandished his greatsword, which had similarly been enlarged to have a 10-meter-long blade, knocking away all six frost swords over a hundred yards away with just two sword lights. Then, he appeared within 100 yards of Shi Feng and sent over a dozen sword lights flying at Shi Feng, thoroughly sealing all of Shi Fengs escape routes. As for Convict, he quietly observed the exchange. His plan was to fight a battle of attrition with Shi Feng, so he decided to let One Step attack Shi Feng without him for now. If One Step could finish Shi Feng off, great. If not, he would strike when Shi Feng was exhausted. Is this all you have? Shi Feng couldnt help but chuckle when he saw the sword lights attacking him and sealing his escape routes. Then, the Winter of Eternal Night he wielded suddenly transformed into a stream of energy that flowed into his body. Godslayer! Immediately, Shi Fengs Mana and Concentration increased to an unprecedented height. At the same time, his naturally-formed Mana Domain also transformed, and a miniature world began to expand with him at the center. Halt! As soon as Shi Feng spoke, the sword lights approaching him abruptly stopped, and the energy used to compose them vanished without a trace. In addition, before anyone realized it, Shi Feng had already appeared in front of One Step and grabbed the blade of One Steps greatsword with his right hand. Not only did the greatsword lose all of its ability to move, but it didnt even manage to reduce Shi Fengs HP by one point. For a time, both One Step and Convict were stupefied. At the same time, a look of horror also gradually appeared on their faces. W-World Creation! I-Impossible! Melissa, still busy defending herself against Shi Fengs frost swords, uttered these words under her breath in shock and disbelief. Chapter 3200 - Chapter 274 - Consecutive Falls Chapter 274 C Consecutive Falls This is Spatial Imprisonment! When Convict noticed the space surrounding him had become frozen solid and saw Shi Feng grabbing One Steps enlarged greatsword with one hand, his expression turned incredibly grave. WorldCreation? One Step was one of Divine Hunters veteran paragons. Although he no longer had the Legendary Weapon and Equipment he used in the Greater Gods Domain, he could still unleash tremendous strength when he went all out. Even at Tier 4, with the help of his Titan Bloodline and swordsmanship, he could hold his ground against Tier 5 monsters of the same level. Tier 5 monsters! These existences were leagues above Tier 4 Mythic monsters. They were moving disasters capable of single-handedly destroying an entire kingdom, and not even a force of several Tier 5 players would be enough to kill a Tier 5 monster. So, one could easily imagine how powerful One Step was after going all out to be able to hold his ground against a Tier 5 monster. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that he was unrivaled among Tier 4 players when it came to frontal confrontations. This was also why Divine Hunters had chosen to let One Step get promoted to Tier 4 first instead of Balrog Heart. Previously, if anyone were to tell Convict that someone could receive One Steps all-out attack with their bare hands, he would definitely think that this person was high. But now, such a scene had taken place before his very eyes In Convicts mind, the only thing that could allow a player to accomplish such an absurd feat was World Creations Spatial Imprisonment ability. However, World Creation logically shouldnt be something Tier 4 players could achieve. Even among Tier 5 players, World Creation was something that could only be achieved by paragons who had mastered mana to an incredibly high standard. This was because World Creation was the act of subliming ones Mana Domain into a miniature world, transforming the space that ones mana covered into ones own world. Meanwhile, within this world, be it space or mana, everything would be subjected to the casters will. An example would be the current situation. Even though Convict was surrounded by air, he felt as if he was trapped within a block of metal. The ambient mana that he could previously use to his favor had also become a poison that constantly tried to invade and erode his body. In this situation, he had no choice but to focus a significant portion of his own mana on defending against the invading mana. Otherwise, his body would get eroded and ruined in no time. Meanwhile, when One Step saw Shi Feng looking at him with a smile, he subconsciously shuddered and hurriedly shouted to his two allies in the distance, Convict, Melissa! Attack! Otherwise, none of us will leave here alive! Shi Fengs strength had completely exceeded their imaginations. Any Tier 5 player capable of grasping World Creation would be invincible under Tier 6. Although Shi Feng was only at Tier 4 right now, One Step did not think, even for a moment, that he could face Shi Feng in a frontal confrontation. It was just like the current situation. So long as Shi Feng wanted to, he could suppress him with just a thought. Even his Berserk Skill would be rendered useless. Currently, their only hope of escaping with their lives was to split Shi Fengs attention. World Creations Spatial Imprisonment was incredibly taxing to maintain. It might be fine if it was used against only one opponent, but against multiple players, a World Creation expert would have no choice but to weaken the Spatial Imprisonment they placed on each target. Otherwise, their mind would have trouble keeping up, and they would leave themself open to attacks. Meanwhile, the average World Creation expert could only exhibit a thorough Spatial Imprisonment when going up against one opponent. If they wanted to suppress two or more targets, the power of their Spatial Imprisonment would grow weaker and weaker. We are Hosted Novel, find us on google. Of course, even the natural suppression effect of World Creation wasnt something the average Tier 4 experts could resist. A Tier 4 expert would need to have Tier 5 combat power, at the very least, to fight normally. Meanwhile, the scene of One Step calling for help stunned not only the various powers on the sea but also Melissa, who had already planned to conduct a rescue even before One Steps call for help. Nobody thought that One Step, a representative of Divine Hunters, would ask Shadow Emperor Convict and Dark Banner Melissa for help. It should be known that Divine Hunters and Morning Light were rivals. Previously, it was precisely because One Step worried that he would get backstabbed by Morning Lights duo that he had kept his guard up around the two and chose to clash with Shi Feng without their help. Yet, now, One Step had seemingly stopped caring about this concern. He had even planned to execute a pincer attack with Convict and Melissa. Not even the top 10 experts on the God-ranked Expert List had received such treatment from One Step before. It seems we cannot hold back anymore. Convict took a deep breath when he saw that Shi Feng remained unscathed even until this moment. Melissa, well attack together! It seems thats our only option, Melissa said, sighing as she put away her flag with a pained expression. I originally planned to save this for the God Lists top 10 monsters. I never thought I would use it on an unknown expert. What a loss this is. When Melissa finished speaking, a golden bone spear appeared in her hands. Immediately afterward, mana began congregating around Melissa, Shi Fengs Spatial Imprisonment having no effect on her whatsoever. Then, in the blink of an eye, an army of fully-armed NPCs appeared around Melissa. Every one of these NPCs was at Level 125, Tier 4. These NPCs numbered a hundred, and they wore standardized equipment sets that joined together to form a complex battle array. Under the effects of this battle array, these Tier 4 NPCs became immune to the suppression of Shi Fengs World Creation. While the army of Tier 4 NPCs was flying toward Shi Feng, Convict, wielding his two short swords, transformed into an untouchable shadow that appeared behind Shi Feng in the blink of an eye. As for One Step, not willing to be overshadowed, put greater strength into his arms and shook away Shi Fengs hand that was holding onto his greatsword. Then, he promptly brandished his weapon and swung three black moons at Shi Feng. The power of the black moons was so great that not even Shi Fengs World Creation could influence them. This scene caused the various powers members watching from the seas surface to gasp. So, these are Divine Hunters and Morning Lights apex combatants? The strength One Step, Convict, and Melissa were currently displaying greatly shocked even the various hegemonic powers titled experts. Even an NPC City would crumble in the face of such might, let alone a single Tier 4 player. Interesting! I didnt think you three still had more cards to use! Shi Feng chuckled when he saw the trio before him increasing their strength even further. Then, without any foreshadowing, he abruptly executed a horizontal slash at his surroundings with the Winter of Eternal Night. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! This was the final move of the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Usually, it wasnt a technique that could be used at Tier 4. However, under the strengthening effect of Godslayer, Shi Feng could use this move normally now. At this moment, be it One Step, Convict, Melissa, or the spectating players down below, everyone felt as if time had stopped, none capable of moving their bodies. The only thing that remained in motion was Shi Fengs Winter of Eternal Night. Subsequently, when Shi Fengs Winter of Eternal Night came into contact with One Steps three black moons, the black moons split apart as if they were made of paper. Then, Shi Fengs sword passed through One Steps gigantic body and Convicts incorporeal body. Meanwhile, all One Step and Convict could do was watch all this happen. When Shi Feng completed his slash, time began moving normally again. At the same time, Titan Sword One Steps and Shadow Emperor Convicts bodies split into two halves that fell into the sea down below Chapter 3201 - Chapter 275 - Crying Sea City Shocked Chapter 275 C Crying Sea City Shocked Theyre dead? When One Steps and Convicts corpses fell into the sea, Melissa momentarily forgot to command her NPC army, the corners of her eyes trembling slightly as she looked at Shi Feng in horror. Indeed! Melissa, a veteran paragon of Morning Light and an existence standing at the top of the Greater Gods Domain, was currently experiencing fear! After all, how could she not be afraid? Strong as One Step and Convict were, the two of them together had fallen to just one slash from Shi Feng. For a moment, Melissa couldnt help but wonder if Shi Feng truly was just a Tier 4 player. Before Melissa could recover from her shock, she saw Shi Feng collecting the items One Step and Convict dropped and appearing within 100 yards of her. Despite a hundred Tier 4 NPCs guarding Melissa, Shi Feng behaved as if these NPCs did not exist as he calmly said to Melissa, Youre the only one left. You should reveal whatever cards you have left. I know this isnt all you have. Melissa was different from the three experts he had just defeated. During his previous life, the other three experts highest achievement was becoming titled experts. Melissa, on the other hand, had been conferred the position of Grand Elder in the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Even her title at that time was different from her current title. Immortal Queen! This was Melissas true title. And the reason for this title was because not once had Melissa died an actual death in Gods Domain. When she heard Shi Fengs words, Melissas fear instantly turned into surprise. Then, after taking a deep breath, she looked at Shi Feng and said, Youre a really terrifying person. Youve never let your guard down in the slightest. You still have your full attention on me even until this very moment. Why? Do you not think you are worthy of this attention? Shi Feng The number of people conferred with the position of Grand Elder in the Seven Luminaries Alliance did not even reach double digits. Every one of these existences was a monster among monsters, and not even apex powers would dare to offend them. Although Melissa was only a titled expert currently and had even entered the Miniature Ancient World, her true strength definitely wasnt limited to what she had shown thus far. Otherwise, she couldnt have become Morning Lights Third Vice Guild Leader at such a young age. If one were to compare the performances of Shadow Emperor Convict and Melissa during this battle, Convict would be in no way inferior to Melissa. Yet, Convict was only the commander of a trump card legion in Morning Light. It was also the case with Titan Sword One Step, his position in Divine Hunters being only that of a trump card legions commander. Hence, Melissa absolutely wasnt as simple as she portrayed herself. Although I dont know how you noticed it, I will be withdrawing for today, Melissa said after taking a deep breath. Before anyone realized it, a stone covered in divine runes had appeared in her hand. Then, she crushed the stone, which, in turn, caused her body to begin fading out of existence in front of everyones eyes. But do not think you can establish a foothold in Crying Sea City just because youve defeated the four of us! What youve done today is simply incite us even further! You have no idea what kind of existences you have offended! Shi Feng looked at Melissas fading figure. Then, he faintly smiled and said, Well see about that. He dared to challenge even apex powers during his previous life, let alone the current Divine Hunters and Morning Light. After Melissa disappeared, it took a while for the various powers experts down below to react. She fled? She withdrew, just like that? When everyone looked at the vanishing NPC army, they felt like they were in a dream. They simply couldnt understand why Melissa had chosen to run away. After all, if Melissa chose to fight, she wasnt without a chance of killing Shi Feng. It should be known that Melissa had an army of 100 Tier 4 NPCs at her command. Moreover, these NPCs were empowered by a battle array. Even if Shi Feng had the ability to kill One Step and Convict in a single move, his chances of winning against 100 Tier 4 NPCs wouldnt be very high. After all, NPCs werent players. They had much more HP than players. They also possessed many more Tier 4 Skills and Spells than players. A force of 100 Tier 4 NPCs was enough to slay even Tier 5 monsters. Facing the encirclement of 100 Tier 4 NPCs, even Shi Feng would need to kill Melissa as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would be whittled down and killed by the NPCs. In addition, Melissa was known to be invincible at sea. She would be a troublesome foe for anyone incapable of killing her instantly. So, the odds of winning should be evenly split between the two. It simply didnt make sense for Melissa to withdraw so soon. Melissa is still as mysterious as always, Favra thought when she saw Melissa disappearing. Then, she looked at Shi Feng, a hint of curiosity appearing in her eyes as she wondered, Could Black Flame still have more strength hidden? Favra would be lying if she said she wasnt shocked by Shi Fengs accomplishment. Shi Feng had faced four Tier 4 titled experts simultaneously. Yet, he had emerged victorious, killing three of his four opponents and scaring the last one into fleeing. Moreover, he had even killed two veteran paragons in a single move. However, Favra understood Melissa very well. Melissa had always been an incredibly mysterious person. Nobody had ever seen Melissa dying before. She had survived even when she went against a Tier 6 God as a Tier 5 player in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, even though her current opponent was only a Tier 4 player, Melissa had chosen to flee without putting up a fight. This was very uncharacteristic of Melissa. The only explanation Favra could think of was that Melissa had noticed something that left her with no choice but to escape While the various powers were left puzzled by this outcome, Hidden Soul, Liu Wusheng, and the other members of Asura grew ecstatic over this situation. He won! Guild Leader Black Flame is amazing! He killed three out of four of Divine Hunters and Morning Lights Tier 4 experts! This is going to be a huge loss for the two Guilds! With this, our mercenary alliance will have a real chance at securing Crying Sea Citys Medium Shipyard! Previously, the Asura Mercenary Alliance could only barely survive in Crying Sea City. The mercenary alliance simply could not compete with the myriad worlds superpowers, let alone the hegemonic powers. However, now that Shi Feng had shown himself strong enough to win against four of Divine Hunters and Morning Lights Tier 4 experts, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would likely secure an administrative spot in Crying Sea Citys Medium Shipyard. Then, with the Advanced Ships that could be created through the Medium Shipyard, Asura could quickly make up for its lack of capable experts out at sea. Moreover, with the Primordial Towers training effect, the Asura Mercenary Alliance would definitely grow stronger as a whole as time passed. Combined with the Medium Shipyard, it would only be a matter of time before Asura became a hegemonic power in the Miniature Ancient World. This was something not even the Five Great Super Guilds would dare to dream of accomplishing. News of Divine Hunters and Morning Lights encirclement failing quickly spread throughout Crying Sea City and caused an uproar. Nobody thought the citys top two Guilds would be hiding Tier 4 experts. Even more surprising was that these four Tier 4 titled experts had suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of an expert hardly anybody knew about. In no time, the name of Black Flame became known by everyone in Crying Sea City. The myriad worlds various powers began frantically looking into Black Flames identity to try and understand his past. Not even Zero Wing was spared from their investigations. While the myriad worlds powers were investigating Black Flame and Zero Wing On a large floating island in the real world, an impromptu meeting was being held in the top-floor conference room of the Green God Corporations main headquarters. At this time, a young beauty looking to be in her early twenties cautiously looked toward the young woman sitting at the head of the conference table and said, Vice President, according to our latest information, Zero Wings Black Flame has killed three of Divine Hunters and Morning Lights Tier 4 titled experts, and it is very likely that the Asura Mercenary Alliance will secure a spot in Crying Sea Citys Medium Shipyard in the future. Chapter 3202 - Chapter 276 - God List Rankings Chapter 276 C God List Rankings Zero Wing? Something came to Xia Qingyings mind when she heard this name. Then, she looked at the young beauty reporting to her and asked, Lu Wen, are you talking about the Zero Wing that received five million Star Coins from the Galaxy Corporation? Thats right. The young beauty named Lu Wen nodded. Shi Feng, Zero Wings member who we sent to Star Lake City previously, has performed excellently in the Star Lake Legions selection, coming in 100th place on his first attempt at the test. If Zero Wing can secure Crying Sea Citys Medium Shipyard, it is likely to grow into a hegemonic power in the future. If Zero Wing has the Green God Corporations resource assistance on top of that, it is 100% certain to become a hegemonic power. Zero Wing indeed has a lot of potential, Xia Qingying said, nodding as she read Zero Wings information. Although it has only been established recently, its development in the Miniature Ancient World is rapid. Zero Wing also has an expert like Black Flame. With Black Flames recent achievement, he should get into the God Lists top 10 in the next update if nothing unexpected crops up. Moreover, Zero Wing can more or less be considered a local power of our world, so it indeed qualifies to be nurtured by the Green God Corporation. Isnt it too early to make a decision, Vice President Xia? a young, handsome man suddenly spoke up. Zero Wing might have good potential, but the Green God Corporations resources dont fall from the sky. We cannot afford to waste the resources weve had to go to great lengths to earn in the Greater World. Otherwise, we wont have enough to give to powers with true potential. The dozen or so Green God Corporation executives present nodded in agreement with the young mans words. Thats right. The corporations resources are earned from many years of effort and accumulation in the Greater World. Now that our worlds survival relies on these resources, we must maximize the use of every bit. Indeed, we should choose our partners well. We have only been nurturing individual experts previously. Although some of these individuals have made some achievements in the Greater World, most of them have merely been a waste of our resources. None of them have managed to climb into the upper echelons of the various cities and gain true authority. Now that we are trying to nurture entire powers to give our world some authority in the Gods Domain Association, we must be even more careful with our resources. We will not have a second chance if we invest in the wrong power. The executives voiced their opinions one after another, all of them agreeing with the young mans words. They didnt think the young man was overstepping his boundaries by speaking against Xia Yingqing. After all, the young man was Jiang Yao, the new Vice President appointed by the President. Moreover, Jiang Yao earned this position by making a considerable contribution. Specifically, he had helped the Green God Corporation form a partnership with a corporation in the Greater World, saving the Green God Corporation a lot of trouble in its upcoming plans. Even if Zero Wing receives the Green God Corporations support, it will only become an ordinary hegemonic power in the future. However, an ordinary hegemonic power is useless to our world, Jiang Yao continued when he saw that the other executives agreed with him. What we need is an upper-ranking hegemonic power. Weve previously already agreed that the Flower of Seven Sins is the most likely power in our world to become an upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Greater Gods Domain. We currently only have one Grade 1 resource and four Grade 2 resource recommendation slots. But if you find that Zero Wing is a qualified candidate, we can give Zero Wing a Grade 2 resource slot, Vice President Xia. None of the executives present voiced an opinion against Jiang Yaos suggestion. The Flower of Seven Sins recent performance was clear for all to see. Currently, Thousand Scars had already climbed to the 41st rank in the Star Lake Legion selection and completed the Paimon Corporations test. Now that she had become an internal member of the Paimon Corporation, she had a very high chance of joining the corporations middle management in the future. As for the Miniature Ancient Worlds side, the Flower of Seven Sins had achieved meteoric growth when it came to its experts. Currently, the Flower of Seven Sins already had more than fifty God-ranked experts and several fourth-floor experts. It even had two monsters on the main continent who were nearly as strong as the top 10 monsters on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God-ranked Expert List. The Flower of Seven Sins comprehensive strength was vastly superior to Zero Wing. If the Flower of Seven Sins could receive the Green God Corporations resource assistance, it probably wouldnt take long to become a hegemonic power. Of course, that wasnt to say Zero Wing was weak. While it might not match the Flower of Seven Sins potential, it had Black Flame, an expert capable of entering the God-ranked Expert Lists top 10. Black Flames presence would increase Zero Wings fame in the myriad worlds significantly, so the Guild similarly had great growth potential. As you wish. Xia Qingying frowned at the executives reaction. However, she did not speak any further. Others might not know how the Flower of Seven Sins had suddenly achieved such explosive growth in its God-ranked expert count, but Xia Qingying knew it very well. It was only because Jiang Yao had given the Flower of Seven Sins the resources in his possession that the Flower of Seven Sins managed to gain such a large batch of God-ranked experts. Meanwhile, there was a significant difference between the Green God Corporations Grade 1 resource slot and Grade 2 resource slot. Grade 2 resource slots only included resources available in the Upper Zone, whereas Grade 1 resource slots included resources in the Greater World. There was at least a tenfold gap simply in the basic resources offered, let alone the resources provided for nurturing core experts. However, Jiang Yao was also right in saying that the Green God Corporation did not need to nurture an ordinary hegemonic power. Instead, it needed an upper-ranking hegemonic power that could gain real authority in the Gods Domain Association. Zero Wing certainly had great potential, but there was no hope for it to become an upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Greater Gods Domain. The difference in resources and expert count between the Flower of Seven Sins and Zero Wing was simply too massive. Had Zero Wing started its development ten years earlier, it might have had a chance at acquiring the Grade 1 resource slot. Unfortunately, reality was a cruel mistress. Miniature Ancient World, Crying Sea City: Because of Shi Fengs battle outside the city, a swarm of local experts had flooded Zero Wings temporary Residence in the Adventurers Association to apply for the Guild. Meanwhile, in the Associations lobby, the various foreign powers members also discussed Zero Wing, the scene causing local players to feel a sense of pride. It was especially true for Zero Wings members. In the past, whenever the various foreign players came to the Adventurers Association to pick up quests, they would always be discussing the experts of other Gods Domain and wondering which expert could get into the God-ranked Expert List and how high these experts could rank. Now, the situation had changed as everyone was discussing and wondering how highly Black Flame would rank on the God-ranked Expert List. For the time being, everyone was certain Black Flame could get into the top 10, though how highly he could place within the top 10 was still up for debate. However, even if Black Flame only came in 10th place, it would still be of significant help to Zero Wing. After all, before today, everyone who managed to get within the God-ranked Expert Lists top 10 came from a Higher Gods Domain and sat in high positions in the Greater Worlds Gods Domain Association. Meanwhile, the benefits of having such a position in the Gods Domain Association would help a power greatly in the Greater Gods Domain. Zero Wings temporary Residence, Guild Leaders Office: I have already relayed all the information the Green God Corporation wishes to convey to you, Guild Leader Black Flame. So long as you sign the contract, Zero Wing will receive the Green God Corporations Grade 2 resource slot and the corporations full support in the Greater Gods Domain. In exchange, the corporation only asks for 20% of Zero Wings shares, Lu Wen, a Level 124 Oracle dressed in a red sacred robe and going by the name of Colorful Lunarite in-game, said. The Green God Corporation might not be as powerful as the Greater Worlds conglomerates, but it is still a mid-to-upper level corporation in the Greater World. It can offer significant development assistance to a power in the Greater Gods Domain. Im sure you should know about this, Guild Leader Black Flame. This is indeed a tempting offer, Shi Feng said, nodding. However, he then shook his head and continued, But I cannot agree to it. This is a condition no other corporation in the Greater World will offer to Zero Wing, Guild Leader Black Flame. The reason the Green God Corporation is willing to do so is to support local forces, Colorful Lunarite said. She was greatly confused by Shi Fengs answer. She couldnt understand why Shi Feng would reject such an excellent offer. So long as Zero Wing has the Green God Corporations assistance, it can quickly grow into a hegemonic power and gain control over many towns, cities, and resource nodes. Zero Wing will not have to worry about not having a living place in the Greater World for its members. You are right. Shi Feng nodded. Although Colorful Lunarite was a support-focused Oracle, the aura she radiated was comparable to Tier 3 titled experts. Moreover, she was ridiculously young, looking no more than 25. Colorful Lunarites existence was a testament to the Green God Corporations strength. But the Green God Corporation should be aware that Zero Wing, or more specifically, the Asura Mercenary Alliance, is in conflict with the Flower of Seven Sins. If the Green God Corporation is sincere about this partnership, then dismiss the partnership with the Flower of Seven Sins. Otherwise, Zero Wing will not partner with the Green God Corporation. This is simply not possible When Colorful Lunarite looked at Shi Fengs firm gaze, she couldnt help but feel that the man was crazy. There was no way the Green God Corporation would agree to abandon the Flower of Seven Sins for Zero Wings sake. It should be known that Zero Wing could only receive this slot because of Xia Qingyings recommendation. Otherwise, the Guild wouldnt even be considered for a Grade 2 resource slot. A partnership cannot be formed, then, Shi Feng said definitively. Seeing that Shi Feng had no intentions of changing his mind, Colorful Lunarite had no choice but to leave and report this matter to Xia Qingying. In Colorful Lunarites opinion, Shi Feng was behaving too arrogantly. He had no idea how large of a gap there existed between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins. The two couldnt be put on the same scale at all. Shi Feng would sooner or later come to regret his decision today. Shortly after Colorful Lunarite left Zero Wing, night fell in Crying Sea City. At this time, the Seven Luminaries Alliance suddenly published a new version of the God-ranked Expert List. As soon as the list came out, an uproar occurred in the entire Miniature Ancient World. This was because the God-ranked Expert Lists top five positions that had never changed since the lists introduction in the Miniature Ancient World had finally seen a change. There was even a new name among these top five positions. Black Flame! Fourth place! TL Notes: Fixed a mistake I made in Chapter 257 (15th-August-2022): even a conglomerate like the Green God Corporation -> even the Green God Corporation (No idea what I was smoking that day.) Chapter 3203 - Chapter 277 - Asura Sword Emperor Chapter 277 C Asura Sword Emperor As night fell in the Dead Soul Sea, a fleet of 30-plus Advanced Ships docked by a small island. The Dead Soul Sea was a Level 125-plus map, and the sea monsters found here were mostly at Level 127 or above. Moreover, unlike sea monsters in other places, the Dead Soul Seas sea monsters were incredibly nimble and hard to kill. Even the various hegemonic powers main fleets would be reluctant to spend time in this place, let alone spend a night on an island in the Dead Soul Sea. Once night fell in the Top of Two Worlds, many sea monsters would leave the sea to rest on islands. Because of this, the density of sea monsters one would come across on islands at night would be at least ten times greater than during the day. So, very few players would be willing to spend the night on an island. Yet, the players of this fleet of Advanced Ships behaved oppositely. They showed great enthusiasm when they saw the sea monsters emerging from the sea, their behavior making it seem as if the sea monsters were talking treasure troves. Weve collected 97 Legacy Stones so far, Big Sis Omen. Three more, and we can synthesize a Legacy Crystal, Summer Wolf, who had already reached Level 121, excitedly reported to Death Omen, who had just single-handedly defeated over a dozen Level 127 Grand Lord ranked sea monsters. Once we have the Legacy Crystal, you can use it to get promoted to Tier 4, and the Flower of Seven Sins will have its second Tier 4 expert! At that time, we can secure Black Gold Citys Medium Shipyard! The Medium Shipyard is not going to happen. I might have grown a lot stronger and acquired a special Legacy, but even if I reach Tier 4 and work together with Gluttony, we have zero chances at securing a slot in the Medium Shipyard, Death Omen said, shaking her head. The best we can do is secure a Small Shipyard. Even reaching Tier 4 is not enough? Summer Wolf exclaimed. If he is only Tier 3, I am confident I can beat him after I reach Tier 4. However, this is Sky Flash we are talking about. He is ranked 5th on the God List. There is no way he is still stuck at Tier 3, Death Omen explained. Only the Great Commander will have a chance at defeating that person under the same tier. Summer Wolf did not doubt Death Omens judgment. When the God-ranked Expert List was first introduced into the Miniature Ancient World, the top 20 positions would see frequent changes in owners. However, it was a different story for the top 5 positions. The owners of those five ranks had never changed since the God-ranked Expert List appeared, and the five players occupying these five positions were now labeled as the Five Disasters by the myriad worlds powers. The reason these five players were labeled as disasters was simple. Should one provoke any of these players, the consequences one suffered would be akin to facing a disaster. Big Sis Omen, what rank do you think Black Flame will receive now that he has single-handedly beaten four of Divine Hunters and Morning Lights Tier 4 titled experts? Top 10? Or top 5? Summer Wolf asked curiously. Summer Wolf was personally very curious to learn exactly how powerful the God-ranked Expert Lists top 20 experts were. Even as a Domain Realm expert, he couldnt even begin to guess how strong those experts were. This was because every one of those experts was a Beyond Domain Realm expert. Only Death Omen, who had fought against Beyond Domain Realm experts before and could now be considered a titled expert, could answer such a question. Although the Seven Luminaries Alliance would update the God-ranked Expert Lists rankings once every three days, Summer Wolf still couldnt help but wonder what rank Black Flame would receive. Top 5 is out of the question, but he will definitely get into the top 10. If I were to harbor a guess, he should be ranked 7th or 8th, Death Omen said definitively. Unlike Summer Wolf, she had seen Sky Flash, the 5th ranked player on the God List, in person. When standing in that monsters presence, she only felt despair, and her mind instinctively warned her to stay as far away as possible from him. This was the second player she had felt such a feeling after the Flower of Seven Sins Great Commander. This was also why she felt that only the Great Commander had a chance at defeating Sky Flash. Of course, she also had to admit that Black Flames performance outside Crying Sea City was astonishing. It was incredible that he managed to kill three veteran paragons and repel one all by himself. If not for the God Lists top 5 players being overly strong, Black Flame could definitely achieve a much higher rank. Shortly after Death Omen finished speaking, a liaison officer of the Flower of Seven Sins suddenly approached her, an excited expression on his face as he held a list he had just finished writing. Commander! The Seven Luminaries Alliance just published a new version of the God-ranked Expert List! Here are the latest rankings! Wasnt the God List updated only yesterday? Why did it get updated again now? Summer Wolf grew confused as he received the list. It was common knowledge that the God-ranked Expert List would only get updated once every three days. This had never changed since the list was introduced in the Miniature Ancient World. This impromptu update was definitely a first. Not much has changed to the list, Death Omen said as she scanned the list from top to bottom. Then, she saw something that piqued her curiosity as she muttered, Prayer is in 8th, and Blood Perforation is in 7th? Why have their ranks dropped? Could Black Flame be ranked 6th? As Death Omen continued down the list, her gaze abruptly stopped at the fourth place, her eyes widening in utter disbelief. 4th C Black Flame! As for Sky Flash, the person she felt intimidated by, he had fallen to sixth place There was also a small introduction attached to Black Flames name. Defeated four Titled Experts outside Crying Sea City, mastered World Creation, and slayed two Titled Experts in one move. The Seven Luminaries Alliance awards Black Flame the title of Asura Sword Emperor. Fourth place? Another Disaster? Summer Wolf was similarly dumbfounded by the Seven Luminaries Alliances latest version of the God-ranked Expert List. It should be known that the God Lists top 5 experts were individuals greatly feared by even the various hegemonic powers. Moreover, every one of them had monopolized an entire Medium Shipyard for themselves. Yet, now, another expert of such caliber had appeared. Moreover, this expert was even the Flower of Seven Sins enemy. In a certain Upper Zone, inside the top-floor office of a Green God Corporation Building Ive tried my best, Vice President Xia, Lu Wen said, sighing after she finished reporting to Xia Qingying regarding Zero Wings answer to the Green God Corporations partnership offer. When she recalled Shi Fengs response to the offer, she couldnt help but feel infuriated. Zero Wings Black Flame is simply a lunatic. He simply refuses to listen to any advice. He even tried to get us to choose between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins Shi Fengs achievement of defeating four titled experts was indeed amazing. However, such an achievement was nowhere near enough to bridge the gap between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins. After all, according to the Green God Corporations evaluation, Zero Wing only had the potential to become an ordinary hegemonic power, whereas the Flower of Seven Sins had the potential to become an upper-ranking hegemonic power. Lunatic? Xia Qingying, sitting behind her desk, smiled when she heard Lu Wens words. Then, she handed a list to Lu Wen and said, But I think Black Flame is very sane. Here, take a look at the latest God-ranked Expert List. Lu Wen was initially confused by Xia Qingyings words. However, she quickly became stunned when she looked at the list on the desk. God Lists 4th place, Asura Sword Emperor! Chapter 3204 - Chapter 278 - Metamorphosis Chapter 278 C Metamorphosis Fourth on the God List?! How is this possible?! The anger and dissatisfaction on Lu Wens face vanished when she saw the updated God-ranked Expert List, and replacing those emotions was shock and confusion. Shi Feng had merely defeated four titled experts. While such a feat was indeed amazing, it still shouldnt be anywhere near enough to put him on par with those five people. This was because every one of those five monsters had single-handedly defeated six or more titled experts simultaneously ever since they arrived in the Miniature Ancient World. Every one of them possessed unimaginable strength, and just one of them could serve as the foundation for an ordinary hegemonic power to fight to become an upper-ranking hegemonic power. However, when she stood before Shi Feng previously, she didnt get the feeling that he was a powerhouse at all. She also didnt think that he was concealing his aura from her. While it was true that most experts in Gods Domain could hide their aura, maintaining this action was exhausting. It was akin to a person blinking. A person might be able to keep themself from blinking, but itd be impossible to do so across a long period since it would be extremely uncomfortable. Moreover, even a Beyond Domain Realm expert would have difficulty behaving naturally while maintaining such a state. It was especially true when dealing with experts of her caliber. With her vastly strengthened senses, she would notice even the slightest hint of unnaturalness. The time she spent with Shi Feng was by no means short. If Shi Feng really was suppressing his aura, he definitely couldnt have fooled her. An army of a thousand is easy to raise, but a capable general is hard to find. An expert of such caliber is indispensable for all powers. Xia Qingying did not try to resolve Lu Wens confusion. Instead, she looked at the God List with an excited expression as she said, Even the Green God Corporation is no exception. Vice President Xia, are you saying that we should Unable to help herself, Lu Wen asked, Agree to Black Flames condition? As a talent nurtured by the Green God Corporation, Lu Wen naturally understood the importance of experts of Shi Fengs caliber. In the eyes of the various hegemonic powers and the Green God Corporation, titled experts might be important, but they were by no means indispensable. However, it was a different story for experts capable of going against common sense. But the Flower of Seven Sins was no pushover, either. It was especially true for the organizations mysterious Great Commander. The Great Commander might not be any weaker than Shi Feng when it came to individual prowess. Visit Zero Wing tomorrow and tell Black Flame that we can negotiate on that matter, Xia Qingying said without hesitation. What if Black Flame still refuses? Lu Wen asked worriedly. Smiling, Xia Qingying looked Lu Wen in the eye and said, Then, do whatever it takes to get him to agree. Meanwhile, inside Zero Wings temporary Residence Guild Leader, things have gotten crazy in Zero Wing and Asura ever since the latest God-ranked Expert List came out, Su Qianliu said as she entered Shi Fengs office, a bitter smile on her face. I was worried about the Guild not having enough fresh talent a few days ago, but now Im afraid the S-rank Nutrient Fluids we have on hand are nowhere near enough to meet the demand of all the geniuses we just recruited The current Zero Wing was in the spotlight of the Miniature Ancient World, so it was the best opportunity for the Guild to develop. Unfortunately, Zero Wing lacked resources, so it couldnt nurture a large number of its own geniuses even if it wanted. Currently, Zero Wings resources were already stretched thin just after recruiting a little over ten thousand geniuses. Shi Feng wasnt surprised by this situation. Instead, he smiled and asked, How are the main force members training and Bloodline allocation coming along? Any power that wished to grow stronger in Gods Domain didnt require only in-game resources. It would also need real-world potions such as S-rank Nutrient Fluids. Otherwise, the development of the brain would be dragged down due to insufficient nutrition. The various superpowers in Gods Domain each had their own stable sources to purchase S-rank Nutrient Fluids. As for first-, second-, and third-rate Guilds, they didnt have a stable source. This was also why there was such a huge gap between superpowers and non-superpowers. Currently, Zero Wing was in the same predicament as the various non-superpowers. Apart from the S-rank Nutrient Fluids it earned through nurturing the geniuses of other powers, it didnt have any other sources to acquire S-rank Nutrient Fluids from. In reality, Su Qianliu had already done very well by keeping Zero Wings requirements met by relying solely on an unstable source of several hundred bottles of S-rank Nutrient Fluid. After roughly two weeks of effort, the main force members have already grasped the Silver Combat Techniques that are compatible with them. We have also finished allocating the Advanced Lineage Crystals already. We have paid a significant cost to do so, and its hard to even find Advanced Lineage Crystals sold on the market now, Su Qianliu said, feeling a little proud of herself. Currently, our main force is only inferior to the various hegemonic powers main force. Even Witchs Sins main force members are envious of ours. Youve worked hard. When Shi Feng heard Su Qianlius report, he could already imagine the envious expressions the various powers would have once they saw Zero Wings main force. After all, even the various hegemonic powers would have difficulty coming up with a main force of such caliber in the current Miniature Ancient World. Shi Feng also understood that Su Qianliu must have gone through a lot of trouble to accomplish these matters. Be it purchasing Silver Combat Techniques or Advanced Lineage Crystals, both matters required a lot of negotiations with many powers. Moreover, Su Qianliu had to be incredibly careful while conducting these negotiations. Otherwise, if other powers learned of Zero Wings goal, it would become incredibly difficult for Zero Wing to produce such a main force. Can you tell me why you need such a main force now, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu asked, unable to hold back her curiosity. She had practically burnt all of Abyssal Star Citys earnings to develop Zero Wings main force. No other power would dare to make such a reckless investment. It should be known that this was an investment of tens of millions of Gold Coins. Such a sum of money was enough to fully arm an army of 10,000 in Epic Equipment. Yet, Zero Wing had invested such a large sum of money into a mere team of 100 players. To earn money! Shi Feng said, chuckling. We are going to earn the power necessary for Zero Wing and Asura to take over the entire Miniature Ancient World! Is such a thing even possible? Su Qianliu couldnt help but feel that Shi Feng was joking with her. Currently, Zero Wings main force wasnt even strong enough to win against the various hegemonic powers main force. In such a situation, saying that they were going to earn enough money and power to take over the entire Miniature Ancient World was no different than talking about fantasy. Its a little late today. Have everyone gather up tomorrow morning, Shi Feng said, smiling. He did not bother giving any additional explanations. If they only had Zero Wings current main force to rely on, they naturally couldnt take over the Miniature Ancient World. However, he had the Seven Luminaries Codex. So long as he had a sufficiently strong team, he could easily earn a large amount of resources. Now that the various powers barely had any Tier 4 players, their range of activity in the Top of Two Worlds was considerably limited. They couldnt venture to dangerous areas that were rich in resource nodes. They also couldnt reach the World Bosses located in these maps. It should be known that World Bosses played a crucial role in the struggle between the various powers. This was because World Bosses were tied to something that was of utmost importance to the various powers. Flying Mounts! This was an item capable of overturning the status quo in the Top of Two Worlds. With Flying Mounts, a power could achieve rapid travel between the various cities. This meant that it would no longer have to restrict its base of operations to one particular city. It could also conduct trade with a much larger market. Ill inform the others, then. Although Su Qianliu was curious as to what Shi Feng had planned, it was already late at night now. It would be dangerous to carry out an operation outside the city at night. Since Shi Feng didnt wish to explain his plan to her, she had no choice but to wait until tomorrow to learn about it. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng had finished taking care of matters in Gods Domain, he went offline to rest. He had remained online for the past several days because of his Tier 4 promotion. Even if the Gods Domain Associations virtual gaming cabins allowed players to stay online for long periods, it was still necessary to exercise their real bodies from time to time. When Shi Feng climbed out of his virtual gaming cabin, he immediately felt a refreshing feeling as his body bathed in the morning suns rays. It was as if his body cells were breathing for the first time and brimming with life, and this feeling made him feel like he had grown a lot younger. As expected of the Greater Worlds virtual gaming cabin. The improvements it provides to the body are simply amazing. Shi Feng couldnt help but sigh ruefully when he saw that one of the virtual gaming cabins canisters of Life Potion was now empty. The Gods Domain Association had thoroughly displayed its wealth by offering its members such generous service. Shortly after Shi Feng got out of his cabin, the rooms AI suddenly reminded him, Contestant Shi Feng, there are 16 days left before the City Legions selection ends. Your placing has fallen to 312th place. If you wish to become an official participant in the Star Lake Legion, you will have to strive to enter the top 100. Currently, you have two more free test attempts remaining. 312th? Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear the AIs reminder. Its only been two weeks. Are these people improving so quickly? It was rare to see someones position in a City Legion selection fall from 100th to beyond 300th in only two weeks. After all, two weeks time wasnt usually enough for someone to achieve significant growth. It was especially true for people capable of entering the top 100 of a City Legions selection. So be it. I can use this opportunity to test my current standards. After saying so, Shi Feng walked out of his room and took the elevator to the first floor. TL Notes: Regarding the previously assumed differences between Bloodline and races(Lineage Crystals): I have no idea what exactly are the differences between these two things anymore. I previously thought Bloodlines were different from races due to the Bloodlines mentioned in the main story, e.g., Frost Bloodline (Chapter 1580), ʯѪ C Boulder Bloodline (Chapter 1580), 쫷Ѫ C Hurricane Bloodline (Chapter 1580), Ѫ C Scorching Flame Bloodline (Chapter 1580), ͨѪ C Dark Iron Basic Bloodline/ Dark Iron Bloodline (Chapter 1580), ʱѪ C Space-time Bloodline (Chapter 1951). These Bloodlines were even assigned ranks such as Basic, Advanced, etc. However, it would seem that the author intends to add a different category/meaning for Bloodlines? Now, it seems the term Bloodline is going to refer to race as well? Im not sure what the author intends for this term for now. We will only know more should the author decide to clarify things in a future chapter. Chapter 3205 - Chapter 279 - Empress Purple Jade Chapter 279 C Empress Purple Jade Gods Domain Associations first-floor lobby: Although it was still early in the morning, when Shi Feng arrived at the test hall, there were already well over a hundred people waiting in line. Most of these people looked quite young, their ages under 25 on average. These youths stood in groups of several people, and each group wore a different type of uniform that indicated their respective origins. While waiting for their turn, these youths wore anxious and excited expressions. At the same time, a hint of contempt also appeared in their eyes when they looked at the participants waiting in line by themselves. No wonder my ranking fell by so much. So its because the various corporations have begun to make their move. Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he saw the youths waiting in line. A city legions slots were incredibly precious. It was one of the few opportunities for most players to climb their way into the upper echelons of a city. Meanwhile, to the Greater Worlds various corporations, this was also the quickest method to gain authority in a city. Hence, the Greater Worlds various corporations wouldnt just try to recruit people who had successfully entered a city legion. At the same time, they would also nurture their own experts to join the various city legions. This would further increase their authority and influence in the various cities. Meanwhile, the experts the various corporations nurtured were all geniuses carefully selected out of tens of thousands of youths. After receiving the various corporations training and resources, these youths all came to possess frightening strength. As a result, whenever a city legion selection took place, the various corporations would usually occupy more than half of the available slots. It was especially true for the top 100 ranks, also known as the official participant slots. Over 70% of the official participant slots in a city legion selection would typically go to the various corporations experts. While Shi Feng was about to join the waiting line, a clear voice suddenly came from behind him. What a coincidence, Guild Leader Shi Feng. Are you also here to take the test? The person who spoke was Purple Jade. She just so happened to have walked out of the mental space at this time and saw Shi Feng, so she took the initiative to walk over and greet him. She was dressed in a light blue shirt and shorts, and she had her hair tied into a ponytail, her appearance giving her a vibrant feeling. Youve never left your room throughout the past two weeks. I nearly thought you had lost interest in the selection. Purple Jades initiative to greet Shi Feng quickly attracted many peoples attention to Shi Feng, everyone looking at Shi Feng in surprise and envy. Be it her face or body, Purple Jade could be considered a top-tier beauty even in the Greater World. As a result, she could attract a lot of attention simply by relying on her beauty alone. As icing on the cake, her test result that had just appeared on the lobbys scoreboard was one that the people in the lobby could only look up to in admiration. Mental Grade: Three-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 94; Mental Strength Rating: A; Mental Control Rating: A; Overall Ranking: 47. Anyone capable of entering the selections top 100 would already be a genius among geniuses. As for those capable of entering the top 50, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say they were heavens favored child. Not to mention, Purple Jade clearly wasnt a genius nurtured by the various corporations. Her growth potential was much greater than experts the various corporations nurtured. If nothing unexpected happened, Purple Jade would have a high possibility of becoming a vice commander in the Star Lake Legion. At that time, she would become a VIP among Star Lake Citys upper echelon, and even Star Lake Citys various corporations would have to treat her respectfully. Meanwhile, the privilege of having such a talented and beautiful woman take the initiative to greet them was something youths like themselves didnt even dare to dream about happening. Ive been somewhat busy recently, Shi Feng said. He wasnt particularly surprised by Purple Jades result. After all, the name of Empress Purple Jade was considerably famous in the Greater World during his previous life. So, it was completely normal for her to show such great potential after arriving in the Greater World. Then, Shi Feng smiled and continued, It seems you have made significant improvements in the time we havent met, Commander Jade. With this, you are guaranteed to become an official participant in the Star Lake Legion. Im not so sure about that. When Purple Jade looked at her ranking, she shook her head and said, There might only be two weeks left before the selection ends, but the various corporations still arent done trying. So, Im still not certain I can stay within the top 100 by the time the selection ends. After staying in the Greater World for the past two weeks, she realized just how frightening of a place this was. The so-called Tier 6 God-ranked experts that their homeworld held in high regard were nothing in the Greater World. The resources the Greater Worlds geniuses had access to were also beyond their homeworlds imagination. Life Potions that were treated as priceless treasures in their homeworlds Upper Zones were practically no different from drinking water in the Greater World. Not to mention, the Greater World had even higher ranking potions than the Life Potion. Shortly after Shi Feng and Purple Jade began conversing, a commotion suddenly occurred in the lobby. At this time, an elegant young man with long hair could be seen walking out of an elevator, and behind the young man followed four men and women wearing suits and sunglasses. These four men and women exuded a powerful aura. The moment they stepped out of the elevator, the people standing in their way subconsciously stepped aside. It was obvious that their mental strength had reached the grandmaster standard already. The young man had four one-star mental strength grandmasters serving as his bodyguard. This was a rare sight, even in Star Lake City. Any mental strength grandmaster could take on temporary positions in the various cities administration. For one-star mental strength grandmasters under the age of 50, they could even receive the various cities priority training. Yet, all four of the young mans bodyguards were clearly under 50 Who is that guy? He actually has four one-star mental strength grandmasters working as his bodyguards. How can you not know about him? Hes the Dawn Light Corporations second young master, Chen Qitian! Chen Qitian? The one whos ranked 25th on the scoreboard? Thats right. Also, you must have heard about Chen Qitians elder brother, right? Chen Qilin, the Star Lake Legions paragon-level vice commander. The crowd in the lobby quickly began a discussion among themselves when they saw Chen Qitian, shock coloring their faces when they spoke about the young man and his background. The Dawn Light Corporation might not be a conglomerate, but its influence in Star Lake City still ranked within the top five among the various corporations. Meanwhile, a large part of the reason for that was because of Chen Qilin. However, after seeing Chen Qitian, everyone felt that the Dawn Light Corporations influence in Star Lake City would become even greater in the future. This was because Chen Qitians talent was not the slightest bit inferior to Chen Qilin. On the contrary, Chen Qitian looked superior to his elder brother. After all, when Chen Qilin joined the Star Lake Legion, he had done so with a result of 43rd place in his selection. Meanwhile, Chen Qitian was currently ranked 25th in the selection. It was just that Chen Qitian was challenging his test at an older age than when Chen Qilin challenged his selection. Wait. Chen Qitian looks like hes coming over to the test hall. Didnt he just test himself three days ago? Dont tell me he improved again in such a short time? I doubt that. How much progress can a person possibly make in just three days? When the crowd in the lobby saw Chen Qitian making his way to the test hall, they couldnt help but grow confused and curious. After all, Chen Qitian was one of the heirs of the Dawn Light Corporation. He should have received the best training and resources money could buy from a young age, so he should have fully tapped into his potential already. It was highly unlikely that he would achieve significant growth in only three days. While everyone was wondering about Chen Qitians purpose in visiting the test hall, Chen Qitian walked up to an inconspicuous person standing amidst the crowd. When Chen Qitian saw the ordinary sweatsuit Shi Feng wore, a flash of disdain appeared in his eyes as he asked, Are you Zero Wings Shi Feng? Thats right. Do you have business with me? Shi Feng asked, confused as to why Chen Qitian would suddenly approach him. Good! After taking another look at Shi Feng, Chen Qitian coldly said, I see that you have good potential. So long as you leave Zero Wing and receive Miss Thousand Scars forgiveness, I will ensure that your needs will be met for the rest of your life in Star Lake City. Chapter 3206 - Chapter 280 – Second Test Chapter 280 C Second Test As soon as Chen Qitian finished speaking, an uproar occurred in the lobby. Nobody thought Chen Qitian would come here for the sake of Thousand Scars. Thousand Scars was currently ranked 41st in the selection. However, this result was one that she had gotten a few days ago. For a genius who had only entered the Greater World recently, a few days was enough to achieve significant growth. When Thousand Scars had risen to the 41st rank, it had sparked a lot of discussion from the various participants of the selection. Many powers had also investigated Thousand Scars background, and what they found had given them a shock. Thousand Scars was a genius nurtured internally by the Paimon Corporation. Not only that, but she was also young and beautiful like a goddess. Upon learning of Thousands Scars situation, many talented young men in Star Lake City suddenly became her admirers. Meanwhile, by the looks of the current situation, Chen Qitian was also trying to woo Thousand Scars. I wonder if that guy will agree? Do you think he has a choice? Haha, I guess youre right. But hell also receive Second Young Master Chens good graces in the future. Nobody in the lobby looked at Shi Feng enviously anymore when they heard Chen Qitians words. Instead, they only looked at him in mockery. So what if Shi Feng got to talk with Purple Jade? So what if Shi Feng got to become an official participant in the Star Lake Legion? In the end, wasnt he still going to end up as someones dog? While everyone was having hushed discussions among themselves, Shi Feng suddenly laughed. Chen Qitian grew dissatisfied when he heard Shi Feng laughing. What are you laughing for? Did you not hear what I said? As a genius who had only entered the Greater World recently, Shi Feng might have great potential and talent. However, in Chen Qitians opinion, Shi Feng was still nothing but an ant. He felt he was already generous with the conditions he had offered Shi Feng. Why am I laughing? Shi Feng chuckled as he looked at Chen Qitian. You want me to leave Zero Wing and ask for Thousand Scars forgiveness? Arent you thinking too highly of yourself? Chen Qitian immediately grew furious upon hearing Shi Fengs words. So, are you going to reject my goodwill? Im rejecting it now, Shi Feng said as he looked at Chen Qitian nonchalantly. What can you do about it? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the entire lobby fell silent as the surrounding spectators looked at Shi Feng in disbelief. Is he crazy? Shi Fengs response was completely outside everyones expectations. Nobody ever thought that a newbie to the Greater World with no background whatsoever would dare to provoke Chen Qitian. The next moment, Chen Qitians complexion could be seen turning livid. If not for the Gods Domain Association prohibiting fights, everyone did not doubt that Chen Qitian would have his four bodyguards cripple Shi Feng. Good! Very good! Ill remember your words! Chen Qitian said furiously. I hope you wont regret your words today! After saying so, Chen Qitian left the lobby with his four bodyguards. The instant he turned around, those who met his gaze felt a freezing chill crawling down their spines. This guy must be insane! Thats the Dawn Light Corporations Chen Qitian we are talking about! This guy shouldnt be thinking of leaving the Gods Domain Association ever again! With this, it wouldnt matter even if he becomes an official participant in the Star Lake Legion in the future Everyone could tell that Chen Qitian was serious about his threat. Meanwhile, the fearsomeness of Chen Qitian wasnt something a newbie to the Greater World like Shi Feng would understand. One word from Chen Qitian was enough to turn Shi Feng into a cripple. Shi Feng might even disappear from Star Lake City entirely. Guild Leader Shi Feng, Im afraid Chen Qitian wont let this matter rest Purple Jade said, an ugly expression appearing on her face. She never thought that someone like Chen Qitian would become one of Thousand Scars admirers. She also didnt think that Shi Feng would provoke Chen Qitian to such an extent. The Dawn Light Corporation might not be a conglomerate, but it was still a corporation that had existed for well over a century. It was also one of the top five most influential corporations in Star Lake City, and it wasnt an existence that any individual person or hegemonic power could go up against. Even if Shi Feng managed to become an official participant in the Star Lake Legion, Chen Qitian could abuse Chen Qilins position in the legion to forcibly strip away Shi Fengs status. Meanwhile, so long as Shi Feng lost his status as an official participant, it would become a childs play for Chen Qitian to banish him from Star Lake City and deal with him. I know. Shi Feng nodded. Then, he nonchalantly said, But it wont be so easy for him to deal with me. Not even the almighty apex powers and conglomerates could do anything against him in his previous life, let alone Chen Qitian and the Dawn Light Corporation behind him. Purple Jade was at a loss for words when she heard Shi Fengs response. This was one of Star Lake Citys top five corporations they were talking. They were more than capable of making even official participants of the Star Lake Legion disappear. There were even precedents of such situations happening. You certainly are Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader, Guild Leader Shi Feng. You wont give in even when dealing with the Dawn Light Corporation. A clear and gentle voice suddenly came from nearby. When Purple Jade turned to this voice, she saw two women dressed in office wear approaching them. Upon seeing the woman walking in the lead, Purple Jade subconsciously gaped in shock. What brings you here, Vice President Xia? Purple Jade asked as she looked at the alluring and elegant woman before her in disbelief. In the past, Purple Jade never truly understood how powerful the mysterious Green God Corporation was. However, after entering the Greater World, she came to understand just how powerful and high of a position the Green God Corporation held here. The Greater World was a place that connected countless worlds. However, only an incredibly small number of worlds could give birth to a company that could be regarded as a corporation in the Greater World. Meanwhile, every corporation in the Greater World was an existence that even the various hegemonic powers of Gods Domain had to try and curry favor from. As for the vice president of a corporation, that was an existence that stood above even the Guild Leaders of the various hegemonic powers. I originally came here to discuss a partnership with Guild Leader Shi Feng, Xia Qingying said in response to Purple Jades question. Then, she turned to Shi Feng and smiled, But I didnt think I would get to see such a scene. You have given me a real surprise. Are you disappointed, Vice President Xia? Shi Feng asked, smiling. No, no, no! Xia Qingying shook her head. This situation has only furthered my resolve to partner with Zero Wing. The Green God Corporation wants to partner with Zero Wing? Purple Jades eyes widened in shock, her mind thinking that Xia Qingying must be joking. After all, a corporation in the Greater World was seeking to partner with a Guild that wasnt even a hegemonic power in Gods Domain. This was unprecedented in the Greater World. Im sure Zero Wing has already given you a reply, Vice President Xia. Between Zero Wing and the Flower of Seven Sins, you can only choose one of us, Shi Feng said as she looked at Xia Qingying strangely. He had already made himself very clear to Lu Wen previously. I understand. Xia Qingying nodded. Which is why I am not here on behalf of the Green God Corporation but in my individual capacity instead. I wish to invest in Zero Wing and become a shareholder of Zero Wing. Although I cannot match the resources offered by the Green God Corporations Grade 1 resource slot, I can offer Zero Wing resources greater than what is offered by the corporations Grade 2 resource slot. For example, I can provide Zero Wing with some entry slots into the Greater World and assistance in the Miniature Ancient World in the form of combat power and resources. What does Zero Wing have to do in exchange? Shi Feng asked. Xia Qingyings offer was considerably tempting. It was especially true for the Greater Worlds entry slots. Every additional person he could bring into the Greater World would boost Zero Wings combat power in the Greater World significantly. I dont want much, just 10% of Zero Wings shares. I also need you to take care of some matters in the Miniature Ancient World for me, Xia Qingying said with a light smile. Thats not too much to ask, right? After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng asked, Can you get me some entry slots into the Greater World in the next few days? It will be difficult, but I can do it, Xia Qingying said after thinking over Shi Fengs request. However, Im afraid it will only be a few slots. Even a few are fine. Shi Feng nodded. In that case, I officially accept this partnership offer on behalf of Zero Wing. As for the contract, it should be fine if we sign it in Gods Domain, right? No problem, Xia Qingying answered without hesitation, seemingly having expected this arrangement already. This scene dumbfounded Purple Jade. She never thought that a bigshot like Xia Qingying would hold Zero Wing in such high regard. For a moment, Purple Jade even had the urge to contact the Secret Pavilion and have the Secret Pavilion deepen its partnership with Zero Wing. Afterward, Shi Feng and Xia Qingying discussed the finer details of the partnership. In addition to the Greater Worlds entry slots, Shi Feng had also requested Xia Qingying to provide Zero Wing with a Warship in Crying Sea City capable of carrying at least 100 players. In response, Xia Qingying agreed to lend Zero Wing a Bronze Warship that could accommodate up to 120 people without hesitation. From this generous gesture, one could see that the Green God Corporations foundation was vastly superior to ordinary hegemonic powers. After their discussion ended, Shi Feng entered the mental space and began his second test attempt. Dont you think we are losing out too much in this partnership, Vice President Xia? Lu Wen quietly asked Xia Qingying after seeing that Shi Feng had already left. Zero Wing might have Black Flame, but Shi Feng has offended Chen Qitian. Well have to pay a huge price if we want to protect Shi Feng We dont have to worry about that. So long as Shi Feng enters the top 50, the Dawn Light Corporation will have difficulty removing him from the Star Lake Legion, Xia Qingying calmly said. Shi Feng got into the top 100 on his first attempt, so it is highly likely that he can get into the top 50 on his second attempt. So long as he enters the top 50, hell catch the attention of the Star Lake Legions commander. At that time, unless Chen Qilin can find a suitable reason, he will have no way of touching Shi Feng. After thinking over Xia Qingyings words, Lu Wen nodded in agreement. The Star Lake Legions newly promoted commander was no ordinary individual. The woman wasnt on the same side as Chen Qilin and the Dawn Light Corporation, either. If Shi Feng could catch the new commanders attention, even Chen Qilin would be powerless to do anything against him. After Xia Qingying and Lu Wen waited in the test hall for some time, Shi Fengs test result suddenly appeared on the scoreboard. Mental Grade: Two-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 97; Mental Strength Rating: S; Mental Control Rating: S Overall Ranking: 1! Chapter 3207 - Chapter 281 - Unparalleled Potential Chapter 281 C Unparalleled Potential Inside a certain training room in Star Lake Citys Gods Domain Association The training room was the size of four basketball courts. Currently, a cold beauty wielding two daggers and wearing leather armor was dodging virtual arrows coming at her from all directions. While doing so, the woman also fought against three virtual monsters. However, whether it was the arrows or monsters, neither could land a hit on the woman. The woman also consistently landed attacks on the monsters, eventually shattering all three of them. Your recent improvements are simply insane, Qianhen! Its only been three days, yet youve already passed the Associations advanced test. Even official participants of the Star Lake Legion would need close to a year of adaptation after joining the legion to clear the advanced test. If those veteran official participants learn about your achievement, theyll definitely lose their minds! a young woman in her early twenties said in excitement and admiration as she looked at Xue Qianhen, also known as Thousand Scars. The Gods Domain Association had prepared four different levels of tests targeted toward virtual combat in Gods Domain: basic, intermediate, advanced, and special. However, unlike actual combat in Gods Domain, the Gods Domain Associations test required players to preserve their weapons and equipment using their mental strength. Essentially, this test tested players mental strength and combat standards. Meanwhile, official participants of the Star Lake Legion would only gain the qualifications to participate in virtual competitions after they had conquered the Associations advanced test. If an official participant managed to conquer the special test, they would become qualified to compete for a team leader position in the legion. Qianhen is the pride of our generation. Its normal for her to achieve such a result. Otherwise, the Dawn Light Corporations Second Young Master wouldnt be trying to woo her so desperately, a slightly older woman said enviously. I heard Young Master Chen is planning to get Shi Feng to seek Qianhens apology. Although Shi Feng is a genius capable of entering the top 100, hell probably have no choice but to capitulate in front of Young Master Chen. The several other women training nearby nodded in agreement, their hearts similarly filled with envy. Only an existence like Chen Qitian would have the ability to get a genius of Shi Fengs caliber to lower his head. Yet, such an existence had fallen head over heels for Thousand Scars. Whatever Chen Qitian does is his problem, Thousand Scars said indifferently as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. What Shi Feng decides to do is also none of my business. In Thousand Scars opinion, both Shi Feng and Chen Qitian were nothing but minor characters. Ever since she came into contact with the Paimon Corporation, she understood that her stage was on a higher plane. As for Shi Feng, someone who she used to think of as a threat, he was nothing more than an ordinary genius in her eyes now. Currently, she only had one goalto get into the top 10 of the city legions selection! Shortly after Thousand Scars finished speaking, a young woman suddenly rushed into the room with an excited look. Something happened! Something big happened! the young woman shouted excitedly. Whats gotten into you? What happened? the slightly older woman asked curiously. Did Young Master Chen start to take action against Shi Feng? N-No The young woman fervently shook her head. Then, she hurriedly said, Shi Feng Shi Feng is simply amazing! Not only did he come in first place on his second test attempt, but he even received an S-rank for both evaluations! Everyone in the Association is talking about him right now! The entire training room fell silent as soon as the young woman finished speaking, everyone looking at the young woman in disbelief. Impossible! Thousand Scars instinctively denied the young womans words. Although Thousand Scars admitted that Shi Feng had astonishing potential, it shouldnt be possible for him to go from 100th to 1st in the selection in only two weeks, much less receive a double S-rank in his evaluations. This news sounded like a joke no matter how she wrapped her mind around it. It should be known that it had been well over a century since Star Lake City had seen someone receiving an S-rank result for both the mental strength and mental control evaluations. How could a Tier 3 instructor from Zero Wing possibly accomplish this feat? At the same time, inside a high-class courtyard in Star Lake City A middle-aged man nearing his fifties wearing knight armor and a two-star mental strength grandmasters emblem on his chest stood quietly by a pool as he looked at a woman swimming in the pool. The woman in question not only had a stunningly beautiful appearance, but she also had a superb figure that could make countless young men lose their minds for her. However, when the middle-aged man looked at this peerless beauty, there was not the slightest hint of disrespect in his eyes. On the contrary, his eyes carried hints of fear. If Shi Feng were here to see this, he would definitely be surprised. This was because this peerless beauty was none other than the female receptionist responsible for overseeing his test when he first entered Crying Lake Citys Gods Domain Association. What brings you here, War Bear? the woman said after swimming to the pools edge and glancing at the bulky middle-aged man. If its not something interesting, youd better be prepared. Commander Red Frost! This is definitely big news! the bulky man said somewhat fearfully. Just a short while ago, a newcomer named Shi Feng took first place in the selection. Moreover, he received an S-rank for both evaluations. However, I also heard that Chen Qitian, Chen Qilins younger brother, seems to be in conflict with Shi Feng. What is your opinion on this matter? Shi Feng? Double S-rank? The woman called Red Frost smiled. It seems things are finally going to become interesting in our legion. I heard that Chen Qilin loves his younger brother dearly. Once that newcomer officially joins the legion, I wonder what surprises he and Chen Qilin will bring me? Miniature Ancient World, Crying Sea Citys harbor: As the morning sun shined its rays on the harbor, the various powers teams gathered at the harbor and summoned their ships one after another, instantly causing the spacious harbor to become crowded. Among the many ships floating at the harbor, a 60-meter-long warship stood out like a sore thumb, the ships majestic frame causing the surrounding players to drool. A warship was significantly bigger than the average ship. It was a tool specialized for combat out at sea. Even a Common Warship possessed firepower rivaling multiple Advanced Ships. In addition, it also had a defensive barrier that was far superior to that of Advanced Ships. It was a war machine capable of going up against Mythic sea monsters. However, the warship parked at the harbor clearly wasnt just a Common Warship. After all, the warships twofold mana barrier was not something one could find on any Common Warship. What is Vice President Xia thinking? Why did she have our Gray Goose Team bring the corporations sole Bronze Warship to assist Zero Wing? a Level 124, Tier 3 male Guardian Knight complained as he looked at the surrounding players looking in his direction. However, he had long since gotten used to receiving such attention, so he turned to a Level 124 female Cleric with short hair and grinned, saying, Feather, I heard from Xiaoxiao that Zero Wings main force has not only her younger sister in it but also her junior sisters and brothers. I wonder if theyll be surprised if they see Xiaoxiao now? In response, the Cleric named Crow Feather chuckled and said, Surprise will be an understatement. I bet theyll be utterly dumbfounded if they see how strong Xiaoxiao has become. Aside from Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame, nobody else in Zero Wing will be a match for her. Before Wu Xiaoxiao joined the Green God Corporation, her combat standard was only at the Flowing Water Realm. Now, though, not only was Wu Xiaoxiao only one step away from reaching the Domain Realm, but she also had combat power rivaling Tier 4 players of the same level. This was thanks to the Fragmented Legendary Staff and special class she acquired. Meanwhile, according to Wu Xiaoxiao, whether it was her juniors or her younger sister, all of them were only at the Refinement Realm standard. There was simply no competition between them and Wu Xiaoxiao. While the Guardian Knight and Cleric from the Gray Goose Team were talking, a commotion suddenly occurred at the harbor. At the same time, an indescribable sense of oppression spread across the entire harbor. When everyone turned to look at the origin of this oppressive feeling, they saw a team of 100 players clad in matching equipment. Even though all these 100 players did was walk on the street, everyone in the harbor could feel the air around them trembling. It felt as if 100 Mythic monsters were currently walking in the harbor. When everyone saw the six-winged emblem these 100 players wore on their chests, the shock they experienced rose to a whole new level. Zero Wing? Chapter 3208 - Chapter 282 - Tier 4 Team? Chapter 282 C Tier 4 Team? Am I dreaming? Crow Feather, the Cleric of the Gray Goose Team, gaped in shock when she saw Zero Wings team walking down the harbor and the surrounding players subconsciously stepping aside to make way for the team. Players on a busy street wouldnt make way for others out of politeness. There was only one reason these players would behave in such a way. Fear! This was because every player in Zero Wings 100-man team was not only of a higher race, but every one of them also radiated an aura comparable to Mythic monsters of the same level. When the Guardian Knight from the Gray Goose Team saw Zero Wings team walking in their teams direction, he exclaimed, Isnt Zero Wings main force a little too strong? Its practically comparable to the various hegemonic powers main force! No. Colorful Lunarite, the Gray Goose Teams leader, shook her head in response to the Guardian Knights comment. Then, looking at Zero Wings team solemnly, she said, If we are talking purely in terms of equipment standards, even the various hegemonic powers main forces are inferior to Zero Wings main force How is that possible, Team Leader?! The various hegemonic powers have fully equipped their main forces in eight-piece Epic Equipment Sets. Zero Wing couldnt possibly have geared its main force members in Fragmented Legendary items, right? Crow Feather said in disbelief. Access to the Miniature Ancient World had only been opened not long ago, so eight-piece Epic Equipment Sets were already considered the best equipment players could get their hands on. Even the various hegemonic powers had only managed to get their hands on a few Fragmented Legendary items so far. As for equipping an entire main force with Fragmented Legendary items, that was simply fantasy. Crow Feather had learned about Zero Wings situation from Wu Xiaoxiao. Although Zero Wing had some powerful experts under its command, the Guild was terribly undersupplied when it came to weapons and equipment. It probably couldnt even supply its main force members with six-piece Epic Equipment Sets like the various superpowers, let alone eight-piece Epic Equipment Sets. They arent equipped with Fragmented Legendary items. Looking at Crow Feather with a bitter smile, Colorful Lunarite said, But they are equipped with Immortal Sets. Six-piece Level 120 Fine-Gold Immortal Sets at that Fine-Gold Immortal Sets? Crow Feathers skepticism increased when she heard Colorful Lunarites words. Are you trying to fool me, Team Leader? We are talking about Immortal Sets here. Even if its only a six-piece set at the Fine-Gold rank, it is still an Immortal Set. Not even the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers will dare to do something as extravagant as fully equipping an entire main force in Immortal Sets! A Fine-Gold Immortal Set might not be as valuable as a Fragmented Legendary item, but it was definitely rarer than Fragmented Legendary items. As for a Level 120 Fine-Gold Immortal Set, it was superior to even Level 120 Epic Equipment Sets when it came to Basic Attributes. In the current Miniature Ancient World, Crow Feather doubted that any of the various hegemonic powers had even one of such Immortal Sets. Only a fool would believe that Zero Wing could take out 100 Fine-Gold Immortal Sets! You know I have the Judgment Eyes. There is no way I can be wrong in this, Colorful Lunarite said definitively to Crow Feather. In reality, Colorful Lunarite herself didnt wish to believe this outcome. However, the information obtained by Judgment Eyes could not be wrong. Of course, Colorful Lunarite could also understand Crow Feathers inability to believe her words. Hearing that an entire main force was fully equipped with Fine-Gold Immortal Sets was equally as shocking as hearing that every member of a main force was equipped with a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. After all, these were Immortal Sets they were talking about! Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would cry tears of agony if they saw someone doing something as wasteful as equipping an entire 100-man team in Immortal Sets. Immortal Equipment was different from Epic Equipment. A player geared in Immortal Equipment would not have to worry about engaging Mythic monsters in a melee. It was especially true for MTs. They could keep fighting for long periods without having to return to a city to get their equipment repaired. Hence, whether a team possessed Immortal Equipment or not would affect its ability to grind and explore significantly. Guild Leader Black Flame, as per our agreement, we will lend this Bronze Warship to you for the next three days. The Gray Goose Team will also be assisting you throughout this period, Colorful Lunarite said after seeing Shi Feng signing the Gods Domain Contract she had prepared. Once these three days are up, we will collect the warship immediately, so I hope you can understand. As for the Greater Worlds entry slots, Vice President Xia will have them ready in three days. However, exactly how many slots she can secure remains uncertain for now. Three days? Shi Feng nodded. Xia Qingyings capabilities were much greater than he expected. The World Passage had yet to activate, so traveling between their homeworld and the Greater World was incredibly troublesome. Even a Vice President of the Green God Corporation would have trouble acquiring entry slots into the Greater World. Originally, Shi Feng thought Xia Qingying would need around a week to secure the entry slots. So, it was certainly a pleasant surprise to hear that she only needed three days. With this, the people he chose to bring to the Greater World would have more time to prepare for the Star Lake Legions selection, which would, in turn, increase their chances of getting into the city legion. If they could get into the city legion, they would become a real help to him in the Greater World, and he would have a much easier time carrying out his plans. After Colorful Lunarite granted Shi Feng temporary authority to control the Bronze Warship, Shi Feng promptly set sail toward the destination he had decided on beforehandthe Bipolar Sea. The Bipolar Sea was a Level 130 sea zone, and it contained the only Grade 1 ore vein Shi Feng had found using the Seven Luminaries Codexs Elemental Search. Grade 1 ore veins produced large amounts of Seven Luminaries Crystals, a highly demanded currency in the Greater World. One unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal could go for 100 hundred Star Coins in private transactions. One could say that Seven Luminaries Crystals were the primary method for powers in Gods Domain to strengthen themselves in the Greater World. Even if Shi Feng managed to join the Star Lake Legion as an official participant, he would only receive a monthly salary of 10,000 Star Coins. Aside from the monthly salary, the only other way he could earn Star Coins reliably as an official participant was to lease out land. Moreover, the precondition for that was to not get targeted by a corporation. Otherwise, nobody would want to rent his land, and he would have no choice but to get by with only his standard salary. Yet, if he relied only on his monthly salary, even staying in the Gods Domain Association would become a problem. This was because the Gods Domain Associations lower floors were in high demand but with low supply. Meanwhile, higher floors such as the 400th floor and above cost at least 2,000 Star Coins per day. If he were to rely only on his monthly salary, hed be homeless before the week was even over, let alone purchase various potions to strengthen himself. Not to mention, his goal wasnt only to survive by himself in the Greater World. He also needed to nurture other people in the Greater World, which would cost a significant amount of Star Coins Meanwhile, a Grade 1 ore vein was something that could spark a fight between several dozen hegemonic powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would join in the fight if the vein wasnt located too far from their base of power. One could easily imagine how much wealth a Grade 1 ore vein contained if it could tempt so many hegemonic powers into action. Hence, Shi Feng naturally couldnt let the Grade 1 ore vein he discovered go to waste. A warship was much faster compared to an ordinary ship. A Bronze Warships speed was even comparable to a Bronze Mounts speed. Because of this, the journey that originally required twenty hours of sailing took less than ten hours in the Bronze Warship. Moreover, traveling in a Bronze Warship was also much safer. Several times, they encountered some Red Players who tried to rob them. However, these Red Players would quickly steer clear out of their path when they saw the opponent they were going up against. As for the sea monsters they encountered, the Bronze Warship could shake off even Mythic sea monsters with no trouble at all. The Bipolar Sea? When Colorful Lunarite saw the tornadoes that covered the sea ahead of her, she couldnt help but turn toward Shi Feng, who was steering the warship, and asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, this is a Level 130 sea zone. Isnt it rash to enter this place with the teams current level? In the Miniature Ancient World, the difficulty of sea monsters would increase by one rank for every five levels they were higher than players. For a team with an average level of under 125, fighting against Level 130-plus sea monsters would be a great challenge. Not to mention, the Bipolar Sea was also regarded as a land of death in the current Miniature Ancient World. This was because the Bipolar Sea was not only covered in tornadoes and storms, but it was also filled with powerful sea monsters. Even the weakest sea monster here was a Level 130 Grand Lord. Although Colorful Lunarite didnt care about the survival of Zero Wings members, she would be in hot water if the Bronze Warship sank in the Bipolar Sea. Shi Feng naturally understood Colorful Lunarites concerns. He also understood that Colorful Lunarite retained central authority over the Bronze Warship, and she could retake control over the warship if necessary. So, he smiled and said, This place might be a forbidden land for Tier 3 players, but what about Tier 4 players? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Su Qianliu, who stood on the deck, pulled out a Magic Tactical Vehicle from her Epic Spatial Bag. Subsequently, a magic array covering a 500-yard radius slowly rose from the tactical vehicle and elevated the mana of everyone within its range by one rank. Tier 4 Mana! Colorful Lunarite gasped when she felt the mana around her. TL Notes: [1]Colorful Lunarite = Lu Wen || Xia Qingyings assistant [2]The author forgot about the Dragonhorn Tactical Vehicles parameters? Taken from Chapter 208: Hexagram Protection: Erects a magic array that greatly strengthens the Mana of up to six people within a 1,000-yard radius. Enhancement works up to the Tier 4 standard. Magic array costs 1,000 Magic Crystals per minute to maintain. Chapter 3209 - Chapter 283 - God Mode Regional Dungeon Chapter 283 C God Mode Regional Dungeon You can rest assured now, right, Team Leader Lunarite? Shi Feng smiled when he saw Colorful Lunarites gaze fixed on the Magic Tactical Vehicle. I see why you arent afraid of Divine Hunters and Morning Light now Colorful Lunarite said, realization dawning upon her as she swept her gaze across the Zero Wing members aboard the warship. Mana was the foundation of everything in Gods Domain. For players, the stronger their mana, the stronger their Skills and Spells would become. Apart from not having any Tier 4 Skills and Spells, the Zero Wing members present were no longer any different from actual Tier 4 players. Meanwhile, a force of 100 Tier 4 experts was not something any power in the current Miniature Ancient World could go up against. Yet, funnily enough, the various powers thought that Black Flame was Zero Wings only Tier 4 expert. Should Crying Sea Citys various powers try to take action against Zero Wing out in the fields, the outcome would definitely shake the entire Miniature Ancient World. Subsequently, Zero Wings members could be seen effortlessly slaughtering the Level 130 Grand Lord ranked sea monsters in the Bipolar Sea. Because of the difference in tiers, the level suppression effect was practically negligible. Moreover, Zero Wings members didnt even require the assistance of the Bronze Warships artillery. Just the Silver Combat Techniques they used were enough to turn a Grand Lord into an abundant amount of EXP in only a few minutes. Wu Xiaoxiao tricked me! She said her little sister was only at the Refinement Realm, while her juniors hadnt even reached the Refinement Realm. So, what is up with all these Silver Combat Techniques?! Crow Feathers eyes twitched when she saw Wu Lingling and the others executing one Silver Combat Technique after another, their skillfulness in using these combat techniques superior to even her. At a glance, their combat standards were not the slightest bit inferior to hers. Silver Combat Techniques! These werent combat techniques that Refinement Realm experts could learn. Even most Void Realm experts would have difficulty learning one. Yet, Wu Lingling and the others had learned at least three Silver Combat Techniques each, covering the three main categories of defensive combat techniques, offensive combat techniques, and footwork. Speaking purely in terms of combat power, Crow Feather doubted she could even match Wu Lingling and the others. These so-called juniors of Wu Xiaoxiao were already close to matching Colorful Lunarite, the Gray Goose Teams team leader. Subsequently, the further Shi Feng and the others progressed into the Bipolar Sea, the more Colorful Lunarite became tempted by the Magic Tactical Vehicle. Guild Leader Black Flame, may I know if Zero Wing has any intentions of selling this Magic Tactical Vehicle? Colorful Lunarite asked. Zero Wings main force members might have extraordinary strength, but the real reason they could have such strength was entirely because of the Magic Tactical Vehicle. Otherwise, Zero Wings main force could, at most, contend against the various hegemonic powers main force. It absolutely couldnt achieve overwhelming victory, let alone fight against groups of Grand Lord-ranked sea monsters. Of course, we intend to sell it, Shi Feng said as he turned to Colorful Lunarite with a smile. This will be one the main products Zero Wing offers in the future. Zero Wing was incredibly poor right now. If there was an opportunity to make money, Shi Feng naturally wouldnt let it get away. Not to mention, he had deliberately displayed the Magic Tactical Vehicle to Colorful Lunartie this time. May I know the price? Colorful Lunarite asked, an excited look appearing on her face. Originally, she had only thought of trying her luck when she asked Shi Feng about the sale of the Magic Tactical Vehicle. Although she didnt think Zero Wing would sell such a powerful war weapon, it wouldnt hurt to ask. One Bronze Warship or two million Star Coins, Shi Feng stated. This Colorful Lunarite was rendered speechless by Shi Fengs answer. Im afraid Ill have to discuss this with Vice President Xia first Trading a Bronze Warship for a Magic Tactical Vehicle was out of the question. Two million Star Coins wasnt a small sum, either. It was an amount of money that the average person in the Greater World would never see in their lifetime. Even for Xia Qingying, this was a significant expenditure. So, Colorful Lunarite couldnt give Shi Feng an answer on the spot. Shi Feng wasnt surprised by this response. He, too, was aware that his asking price was very high. Afterward, he took a look at the coordinates shown by Elemental Search. Were finally here. Excitement appeared on Shi Fengs face as he looked at the island ahead of him and verified that the Grade 1 ore vein was located on the island. However, when the Bronze Warship moved within 1,000 yards of the island, a gigantic magic array that covered a radius of several thousand yards suddenly appeared in the sky above them. The magic array was so massive that the people on board the Bronze Warship couldnt even see the entire magic array at a glance. After this magic array appeared in the sky, space underneath it began to grow chaotic. Spatial tears appeared all over the place, and there was no place safe for the Bronze Warship. This isa regional event? Shi Feng was incredibly familiar with this scene. Events would randomly appear across the entire Gods Domain. However, these events were normally caused by players. Meanwhile, whenever an event occurred, a special space would be created in the area where the event was triggered. An example of this special space would be Regional Dungeons. Regional System Announcement: This area will be promoted into a God Mode Regional Dungeon. All players are advised to be careful of the ensuing spatial turmoil. A God Mode Regional Dungeon? Shi Feng was stunned by the system announcement. Most Regional Dungeons could be categorized into three difficulties: Normal Mode, Hard Mode, and Hell Mode. However, there were two more levels of difficulty above this: Asura Mode and God Mode. Of the two, God Mode Regional Dungeons were known as lands of no return. They were forbidden lands for players under Tier 6. Even Tier 6 players would face a high risk of death in a God Mode Regional Dungeon. Moreover, the death penalty inside a God Mod Regional Dungeon was incredibly severe, so much so that one would have to start a new account if one wasnt careful. Shi Feng wasnt the only person stunned by this unexpected development. Everyone on the Bronze Warship was similarly dumbfounded. A God Mode Regional Dungeon! Regional Dungeons of such difficulty were extremely rare, even on the main continent. Meanwhile, every one of these God Mode Regional Dungeons was the nightmare of the various powers. Aside from a select few Super Guilds, nobody else dared to enter God Mode Regional Dungeons. Yet, now, a God Mode Regional Dungeon had appeared right before their very eyes Everyone, stick together in groups of three to five! Nobody is allowed to move alone! Shi Feng shouted when he saw the number of spatial tears in the surrounding area increasing. Once the spatial turmoil ends, gather at the islands shore! Do not try to explore the island! Do nottry to explore The gigantic magic array had spread out with the island at its center. So, it was obvious that the events starting point was at the heart of the island. This would also be the most dangerous location of the God Mode Regional Dungeon. Even if this was only a level 130 Regional Dungeon, a Tier 6 God-ranked expert would still fall if they werent careful at the Regional Dungeons heart. However, before Shi Feng could finish speaking, space around the warship shattered and transformed into numerous spatial tears. Then, everyone on the warship was quickly sucked into these spatial tears and disappeared from the sea. When the gigantic magic array in the sky disappeared sometime later, it was as if Shi Feng and the others had never appeared in the area. Chapter 3210 - Chapter 284 – Land of Ancient Dragons Chapter 284 C Land of Ancient Dragons The sun was shining brightly on an island enveloped by a magic array. Shi Feng stood up next to a creek, a sigh of relief coming out of his mouth when he saw his surroundings. Although the mana around him was incredibly chaotic and the gravity he experienced was several times greater than the outside world, he wasnt completely out of luck as he wasnt transported to the core area of the newly appeared God Mode Regional Dungeon. Different from Shi Feng, Colorful Lunarites complexion paled when she recovered from her daze and looked at her surroundings. How is this possible? Colorful Lunarites expression quickly turned solemn as she looked at the 30-meter-tall Death Dragons that roamed the area around her. [Death Dragon] (Spirit Devourer, Mythic) Level 132 HP 60,000,000,000 Spirit Devourers might not be an apex race like Dragons, but they were regarded as a Class 1 dangerous race in Gods Domain. Spirit Devourers did not have a fixed form. Their strength depended entirely on the creatures theyve devoured. Spirit Devourers were also the enemy of all races in Gods Domain. So long as Spirit Devourers were discovered, every other race in Gods Domain would try to eradicate them at all costs. Even players were no exception. This situation was because of the Spirit Devourers nature. Spirit Devourers could not only devour all life, but they could even devour the souls of players to grow and evolve. Meanwhile, the more souls they devoured, the greater their numbers would become. In the history of the Greater World, many ancient kingdoms, ancient empires, and even apex races had suffered annihilation at the hands of Spirit Devourers. At one point, Spirit Devourers as a race had become so powerful that they had devoured all life and civilizations on numerous Gods Domains Back then, if it werent for the Greater Gods Domains apex powers joining hands and sacrificing over half of their forces to combat the fully-grown Spirit Devourers, the situation in the Greater Gods Domain of today would definitely be different. As for the Spirit Devourers here, it went without saying that they had devoured Dragons. Hence, they had transformed into Death Dragons. Although the Spirit Devourers here hadnt grown to maturity yet, their population had already reached a frightening number. If all of these Spirit Devourers managed to evolve into their matured state, the Miniature Ancient World and the surrounding Gods Domains would most likely transform into lands of death. Aside from Colorful Lunarite, Su Qianliu and the others, who were also teleported to this place, were similarly shocked by the scene in front of them. Although they didnt know what a Spirit Devourer was, the Death Dragons 60 billion HP was more than enough to instill despair into them. Not to mention, there were well over a hundred such Death Dragons roaming the area. There was no way current players of the Miniature Ancient World could survive in such a place. Is this what a God Mode Regional Dungeon is like? When Su Qianliu looked at the Death Dragons around her, she finally understood why even Tier 6 God-ranked experts could potentially die inside the God Mode Regional Dungeons on the main continent. The Land of Ancient Dragons? After looking at the name of the land displayed on the system map, Shi Feng said in the team chat, We are moving locations. This isnt a place to rest. Normally, players should only consider entering a God Mode Regional Dungeon after reaching Tier 5. It was especially so when said dungeon housed a dangerous species such as Spirit Devourers. Although the Death Dragons here werent actual Tier 4 Dragons, they were still invincible among Tier 4 opponents. A minimum of several tens of thousands of Tier 4 players would be required to fight against so many Death Dragons Everyone nodded without hesitation. Then, they quietly followed Shi Feng to the outer zone of the island. Fortunately, the Death Dragons werent positioned close to each other. So long as they timed their advances right, they could pass these Death Dragons unnoticed. However, such a measured approach cost them a lot of time. Just getting to the Land of Ancient Dragons outer zone took them a day. Meanwhile, during this past day, Shi Feng and the others learned how wealthy the Land of Dragons was. The incomparably precious Seven Luminaries Crystals could be seen covering the islands surface. The islands wealth exceeded the wealth of a Grade 1 ore vein by leaps and bounds. Although Seven Luminaries Crystals could be found in Grade 1 ore veins, they were only present underground in very small quantities. Even for Shi Feng, this was the first time he had seen Seven Luminaries Crystals growing on the surface. After making a rough estimate, he concluded that the Land of Ancient Dragons ore vein could yield at least 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per day. It should be known that all of the ore veins combined in an average Elementary Gods Domain only produced around 6,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per day. Yet, the Land of Ancient Dragons vein could produce half of that amount daily. This was simply unheard of. If the Miniature Ancient Worlds various foreign powers were to learn about this, they would definitely send even more experts into the Miniature Ancient World. Even those upper-ranking hegemonic powers will lose their calm if they learn about such wealth Colorful Lunarite inwardly sighed as she recalled all the Seven Luminaries Crystals she had come across thus far. Currently, the various hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World were only playing around. None of them had seriously committed their strength to the Miniature Ancient World. However, it would be an entirely different story if half of an Elementary Gods Domains Seven Luminaries Crystal production capacity was involved. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would be tempted into action. Seven Luminaries Crystals were the capital for Gods Domains powers to develop in the Greater World. Unfortunately, it was incredibly difficult to monopolize an entire Gods Domains resources. Even an Elementary Gods Domain wasnt something an upper-ranking hegemonic power could occupy and monopolize. However, in the case of the Miniature Ancient World, a world that anyone could enter, occupying it would be a piece of cake. While Colorful Lunarite was worrying about upper-ranking hegemonic powers entering the Miniature Ancient World in full force, the sound of an explosion suddenly came from a distance. Subsequently, the area 1,000 yards around the epicenter of the explosion sank by several dozen meters. Then, a majestic temple rose from the middle of this sunken ground. When Shi Feng and the others turned to look at this temple, they saw several dozen figures charging toward this 1,000-meter-tall temple. The speed of these figures was beyond the speed of the average Tier 3 expert, so it was obvious that they werent ordinary players. These figures also looked relatively young. Among them, ten were even Tier 4 players. Even Crying Sea Citys Divine Hunters Guild and Morning Light Guild combined couldnt come up with such a force. Are they the ones who triggered the event? Shi Feng wondered. No God Mode Regional Dungeon would appear without a cause. Typically, these causes were major events triggered by players. Moreover, to Shi Fengs surprise, he found a familiar face when he looked at the figures approaching the temples entrancethe Flower of Seven Sins Death Omen. At this time, Death Omen had not only reached Tier 4, but her combat standard had also improved significantly. Why are the Paimon Conglomerates people here? Colorful Lunarite exclaimed when she looked at the several dozen people standing before the temples entrance. Theyre from the Paimon Conglomerate? Upon hearing Colorful Lunarites words, Su Qianliu immediately began scrutinizing the youths in the distance. The Paimon Conglomerate! So long as one bothered to learn from the various foreign Gods Domains players, one would know just how high of a position the Greater Worlds corporations held in both the Greater World and the Greater Gods Domain. It was even more so for corporations that managed to get recognized as conglomerates. The influence and strength a conglomerate wielded was not something ordinary hegemonic powers could even begin to fathom. Conglomerates were so powerful that the Miniature Ancient Worlds various hegemonic powers had deemed it necessary to treat the Flower of Seven Sins respectfully simply because Thousand Scars had joined the Paimon Conglomerate. At the same time as Shi Fengs group had noticed the Paimon Conglomerates youths, the Paimon Conglomerates youths also noticed Shi Fengs group. How is he here? When Death Omen saw the cloaked and inconspicuous Swordsman standing in the distance, an intense fighting spirit appeared in her eyes. He? Whos he? The crimson-haired young man carrying a broken sword and standing in the lead of the Paimon Conglomerates team asked as he looked at Death Omen in confusion. Death Omen was nothing special among their team in terms of individual strength. If not for her connection with Thousand Scars, she wouldnt have even qualified for the mission this time. However, from his interactions with Death Omen, he knew that Death Omen was an incredibly prideful. So, he found it surprising that Death Omen would show such a reaction to someone. He is Zero Wings Black Flame! Death Omen answered. Upon hearing this, the crimson-haired youth couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng. Black Flame? The God Lists Asura Sword Emperor? Chapter 3211 - Chapter 285 - This Is Zero Wing? Chapter 285 C This Is Zero Wing? The God Lists Asura Sword Emperor? A Level 125 girl with short hair and golden pupils wearing silver holy armor muttered with a look of interest. Thats quite a grand name. I wonder if we can achieve any improvements if we fight against him? It should be possible, the crimson-haired young man said in an uncertain tone. I gained a lot of inspiration from the last time I fought the third-ranked Holy Nine. Seeing as Black Flame is ranked fourth, he shouldnt be much worse than Holy Nine. Should we take action now? the short-haired girl with golden pupils asked excitedly as she grabbed the round shield and sharp axe she carried on her back. No, not today. The mission comes first, the crimson-haired young man said as he moved his gaze away from Shi Feng and back to the temple before him. Moreover, hell have to cross this hurdle first before he is qualified to fight me! I guess youre right. The short-haired girl nodded and returned her shield and weapon to their original position. This goes the same for you, Omen. Before the mission is completed, I will not permit any member of the team to do anything else! the crimson-haired young man said to Death Omen. Then, he smiled and continued, But dont worry. Once the mission is over, Ill have Zero Wing cease its actions against the Flower of Seven Sins. Death Omen did not say anything and simply watched in silence as the temples stone doors slowly opened. However, she did not doubt the crimson-haired young mans words in the slightest. Whether it was the crimson-haired young man or the short-haired girl with golden pupils, both were bona fide monsters. Like Thousand Scars, the two were geniuses nurtured internally by the Paimon Conglomerate. Only, they had joined the Paimon Conglomerate a few years earlier than Thousand Scars. Because of this, they were strong enough to hold their ground against even Holy Nine, the third-ranked player on the Gods Domain Expert List. So long as the two youths wished for it, Zero Wing would have no choice but to comply with their demands. Moreover, it was just like the crimson-haired young man said. It was still uncertain whether Black Flame and his team could survive the upcoming battle. Lets quickly withdraw while theyre not paying attention to us, Guild Leader Black Flame, Colorful Lunarite said, cold sweat rolling down her forehead as she looked at the crimson-haired young man and short-haired girl with golden pupils. The Paimon Conglomerate will always nurture some geniuses internally every year, and even the weakest of these experts would be a titled expert. Three years ago, two little monsters even appeared among these geniuses. They are the Crimson Sword Emperor Meteor and Divine Shield Star Snail. Both of them had fought the God Lists third-ranked Holy Nine previously. Although Holy Nine did not lose, he didnt win, either. If not for the Paimon Conglomerate, the two of them would have most likely entered the God Lists top five already. Moreover, both of them are battle maniacs. If we end up fighting them, we will most likely be the ones to suffer Colorful Lunarite didnt think Shi Feng would lose to Meteor and Star Snail since Shi Feng was similarly one of the top five experts on the God-ranked Expert List. However, Shi Feng could, at most, stop one of those two if it came down to a fight. Im afraid thats not up to us to decide, Shi Feng said as he looked at the threefold magic barrier that had suddenly formed around them. The magic barrier covered a radius of several hundred yards with the temple at the center, and it simply wasnt something Tier 4 players could break. Along with the threefold barriers formation, the temples doors also opened completely. Immediately afterward, an aura that caused everyone to tremble gushed out of the temple. A moment later, a one-horned humanoid with a pair of pitch-black wings slowly walked out of the temple. This winged humanoid was five meters tall and wielded a scepter in his right hand. When subjected to the humanoids gaze, everyone present felt a chill crawling down their backs. A Demon King?! Colorful Lunarite gasped when he saw the winged humanoid. A Demon King! Demon King was the Tier 5 class for Demons. A Demon King was a bona fide Tier 5 lifeform, and it simply wasnt an existence current players in the Miniature Ancient World could provoke. It was especially so when this Demon King was in a God Mode Regional Dungeon. In God Mode Regional Dungeons, monsters would not be subjected to the systems restrictions. Hence, they could exhibit 100% of their strength. Moreover, the Demon King that had just walked out of the temple wasnt an ordinary Demon King but a Demon Monarch who stood at the top of the Demon race instead. He was an existence capable of rivaling six-winged Valkyries of the same level. The next moment, a system notification entered everyones ears. System: Congratulations! You have triggered the Legendary Event Dragon Princess. Rewards unknown. Dragon Princess? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the system notification. At this point in time, the name of Dragon Princess was most likely foreign to most players in Gods Domain. However, during his previous life, the Dragon Princess was an existence known by all in the Greater Gods Domain. In a time when Ancient Gods had disappeared from the Greater Gods Domain, the Dragon Princess was known to be comparable to Ancient Gods. At the same time, she was also the ruler of the Ancient Dragon Sanctuary, one of the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries. It should be known that the Greater Gods Domain was a vast place that connected countless Gods Domains. However, there were only twelve regions at the heart of the Greater Gods Domain, known as the Twelve Sanctuaries. The Twelve Sanctuaries were also the origin of the Greater Gods Domain. If a power wished to develop into an apex power in Gods Domain, the easiest, yet also the most difficult, way to do so would be to seize one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. In the Greater Gods Domains long history, although three powers had only ever reached the apex by monopolizing one of the Twelve Sanctuaries, these three were also the strongest apex powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, now, Shi Feng was being told that the ruler of the Ancient Dragon Sanctuary during his previous life was being sealed in the Miniature Ancient World. This was simply unbelievable. Before Shi Feng could recover from his surprise, Meteor suddenly shouted: Everyone, prepare for battle! As soon as Meteor finished speaking, the Demon Monarch Firenze could be seen lifting the scepter in his hand and creating several hundred summoning arrays in the sky. Then, Level 130, Tier 4 Great Demons began emerging from these summoning arrays one after another, their numbers quickly reaching the four digits. After completing his summoning, Firenze sneered at Shi Feng and the others as he commanded, Go forth, my servants! Devour the souls of these heavens blessed! Immediately, the army of Great Demons swooped down from the sky, leaving Shi Feng and the others no time to prepare at all. Tier 4s open a path! Everyone else, focus on support and defense! Meteor did not panic even when facing the army of Great Demons. Instead, he calmly gave out commands to his team. An army of over a thousand Level 130 Great Demons might be terrifying opponents to face for a Tier 3 team, but their team had ten Tier 4 players. They were more than strong enough to cope against the Great Demons. The only problem they needed to worry about was their Stamina consumption. It seems theres no hope for Zero Wing this time Star Snail said, sighing in disappointment when she saw the army of Great Demons swooping down from the sky. As for Death Omen, she simply let out a cold laugh in her heart. Even several Tier 4 experts working together would have a hard time going up against so many Tier 4 Great Demons simultaneously, let alone Zero Wings team, which only had one Tier 4 player. Hexagram Protection! Accompanied by a calm voice, four powerful mana fluctuations suddenly spread across the battlefield, covering a 500-yard radius. These powerful mana fluctuations drastically improved the mana of the 22 Tier 3 players in Shi Fengs team. Now, when it came to mana, Su Qianliu and the others were no different from Tier 4 players. Including Shi Feng, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Shi Fengs team was now composed of 23 Tier 4 players! TL Notes: I guess the author hasnt completely forgotten about Hexagram Protections parameters? Again, for reference: Hexagram Protection: Erects a magic array that greatly strengthens the Mana of up to six people within a 1,000-yard radius. Enhancement works up to the Tier 4 standard. Magic array costs 1,000 Magic Crystals per minute to maintain. Yet, now, Shi Feng was being told that the ruler of the Ancient Dragon Sanctuary during his previous life was being sealed in the Miniature Ancient World. This was simply unbelievable. Before Shi Feng could recover from his surprise, Meteor suddenly shouted: Everyone, prepare for battle! As soon as Meteor finished speaking, the Demon Monarch Firenze could be seen lifting the scepter in his hand and creating several hundred summoning arrays in the sky. Then, Level 130, Tier 4 Great Demons began emerging from these summoning arrays one after another, their numbers quickly reaching the four digits. After completing his summoning, Firenze sneered at Shi Feng and the others as he commanded, Go forth, my servants! Devour the souls of these heavens blessed! Immediately, the army of Great Demons swooped down from the sky, leaving Shi Feng and the others no time to prepare at all. Tier 4s open a path! Everyone else, focus on support and defense! Meteor did not panic even when facing the army of Great Demons. Instead, he calmly gave out commands to his team. An army of over a thousand Level 130 Great Demons might be terrifying opponents to face for a Tier 3 team, but their team had ten Tier 4 players. They were more than strong enough to cope against the Great Demons. The only problem they needed to worry about was their Stamina consumption. It seems theres no hope for Zero Wing this time Star Snail said, sighing in disappointment when she saw the army of Great Demons swooping down from the sky. As for Death Omen, she simply let out a cold laugh in her heart. Even several Tier 4 experts working together would have a hard time going up against so many Tier 4 Great Demons simultaneously, let alone Zero Wings team, which only had one Tier 4 player. Chapter 3212 - Chapter 286 – Sword Emperor and Sword Emperor Chapter 286 C Sword Emperor and Sword Emperor This How is this possible?! Death Omens mouth nearly fell wide open when she saw the 22 Tier 3 players from Zero Wings team giving off an aura no different than that of Tier 4 players. It was incredibly challenging to increase the strength of ones mana in Gods Domain. Although some tools could accomplish this feat, the effects of these tools were limited. Moreover, most of them could only take effect on one player. Even so, these tools were still considered rare and precious treasures in Gods Domain, so much so that not even the Paimon Conglomerate would be willing to provide such tools to its internal geniuses. As for tools capable of improving the mana of multiple players? It went without saying that the value of such tools would be exponentially greater. Yet, now, Zero Wing had taken out four of such tools. How could Death Omen not be in disbelief? At this moment, even the Paimon Conglomerates geniuses were stunned by this situation. Such wealth was something not even the Paimon Conglomerate could take out in the Miniature Ancient World. Moreover, even if the Paimon Conglomerate had such tools in the Miniature Ancient World, it wouldnt hand these tools over to developing geniuses like themselves. After all, such behavior was already beyond prodigal. It should be known that Zero Wings Magic Tactical Vehicles were not Immortal items. The tactical vehicles would get damaged when attacked and become useless after their durability fell to zero. Meanwhile, monsters would typically prioritize attacking items capable of improving players mana, such as the Magic Tactical Vehicle. They wouldnt simply stand still and do nothing as the Magic Tactical Vehicle was strengthening the players trying to kill them. Hence, taking out something as precious and fragile as the Magic Tactical Vehicle in front of so many Tier 4 Great Demons was an incredibly crazy move. Guild Leader Black Flame, isnt it a little too much to take out four Magic Tactical Vehicles? Colorful Lunarite asked anxiously when she saw the nearby Tier 4 Great Demons turning their attention to the Magic Tactical Vehicles. The Great Demons were not only numerous, but every one of them could also use Tier 4 Spells. Even though their team had switched to focusing solely on defense, the Magic Tactical Vehicles durability was still decreasing steadily. Rather than risk losing four Magic Tactical Vehicles, itd be wiser to risk only two instead. After all, they should be able to keep themselves alive with just 12 players with Tier 4 mana. No, this number is just right, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, he turned to look at the Paimon Conglomerates team, which was rapidly advancing toward the temple, and continued, Any less, and well have trouble competing with the other side. If they were simply looking to stay alive, he naturally wouldnt take out four Magic Tactical Vehicles and risk losing all of them. After all, he didnt have an unlimited supply of these powerful war weapons. He could only exchange a limited number of Magic Tactical Vehicles each month. However, his current goal was to rescue the Dragon Princess. This meant that a clash with the Paimon Conglomerates team would be inevitable. While it was true that their team had many players with Tier 4 mana, the combat standards of Su Qianliu and the others were significantly inferior to the Paimon Conglomerates geniuses. The gap was so significant that Meteor and Star Snail could kill Su Qianliu and the others all by themselves. After all, fights between players differed from fights between players and monsters. Monsters possessed a significant HP advantage. Because of this, even the God-ranked Expert Lists top five experts would have great difficulty soloing a Tier 4 Mythic monster of the same level. However, if these top five experts were to fight players of the same level and tier, they would only need a few moves to finish the fight. Not to mention, even with 23 Tier 4 combatants on their team, their speed of advance was only slightly faster than the Paimon Conglomerates team, which had only ten Tier 4 experts. Moreover, this was under the situation where the Paimon Conglomerates team was still conserving its strength. Hence, the use of four Magic Tactical Vehicles was absolutely necessary if they wanted to surpass the Paimon Conglomerates team. Competing with the other side? Colorful Lunarite turned to look at the Demon King guarding the temples entrance when she heard Shi Fengs words, and she couldnt help but feel that Shi Feng was joking with her. Unlike Nether King Diaclo, Demon King Firenze wasnt a severely weakened Tier 5 monster. Instead, he was a Tier 5 Demon King capable of effortlessly annihilating Tier 4 teams! The reason the Paimon Conglomerates team dared to come here must mean that they had come prepared. However, that was not the case at all for their team. They were dragged into this mess, so they didnt come prepared in the slightest When Shi Feng, Colorful Lunarite, and the others reached within 100 yards of the temples entrance, the Paimon Conglomerates Meteor and Star Snail suddenly activated their Tier 4 Berserk Skills and charged for the temples entrance at full speed. When Firenze saw this, he swung his scepter left and right, instantly creating two Tier 5 magic arrays beneath his feet. Tier 5 Spell, Spatial Smash! Tier 5 Spell, Dark Paradise! Immediately, with Firenze as the center, space within a 100-yard radius ruptured, and spatial tears formed rapidly. At the same time, dark orbs capable of pulverizing space covered the ruptured space, the combination making it nigh-impossible for anyone to reach the temples entrance unharmed. Su Qianliu and the others were rendered speechless by this scene. The average Tier 5 monster was plenty terrifying already. Yet, on top of having Tier 5 Basic Attributes and Tier 5 Spells, Firenze also possessed control and mastery over Spells that could put Domain Realm experts to shame. Tier 5 Spells were incredibly complex, and even peak magical class experts could, at best, employ speed-casting on Tier 5 Spells. Silent casting was simply out of the question for peak experts, let alone double silent casting. Moreover, Firenze perfectly combined the two Spells into a Tier 5 Combination Spell. In terms of raw power, a Tier 5 Combination Spell was several times stronger than an ordinary Tier 5 Spell. Even Tier 5 players wouldnt dare to try to receive such a Spell. However, the Demon Monarchs Tier 5 Combination Spell did not faze Meteor and Star Snail in the slightest. Immediately, Star Snail transformed her shield into multiple magic barriers, drastically increasing her defensive capabilities. Then, with the help of these magic barriers, she briefly stopped the spatial tears spreading in her direction, opening a path for Meteor to advance through safely. As for Meteor, he transformed his broken sword into hundreds of threads. Then, he used these threads to guide the dark orbs floating in the air and have them float toward Firenze, his control over the flow of strength simply extraordinary. Under Meteors manipulation, it looked as if he were the one who had cast Dark Paradise instead of Firenze. When Firenze saw this, he suddenly waved his scepter and transformed it into numerous lightning bolts that erratically spread to the surroundings. Not only did these lightning bolts break apart the approaching dark orbs, they also created a lightning field that prevented Meteor from moving within 50 yards of the temples entrance. Absolute Control?! After trying and failing to deflect the oncoming lightning bolts a few times, Meteors expression quickly turned grave. Absolute Control could be regarded as an incredibly tricky mana manipulation technique to deal with. If a spellcaster knew Absolute Control, they could continue exerting control over their one-time-use Spells after launching them. They could even correct the trajectory of an Offensive Spell that had been deflected. While Meteor was trying to figure out how he could get past the several hundred lightning bolts and reach the temples entrance without getting hit, a figure suddenly dashed past him and entered the lightning field. Is he crazy? Meteor grew confused when he saw Shi Feng charging into the lightning field. Every one of the lightning bolts Firenze summoned carried power at the Tier 5 Advanced standard. Even with a Berserk Skill activated, a Tier 4 player could, at most, survive a few hits. In a situation where it was impossible to evade or deflect these lightning bolts, there was no way a Tier 4 player could get past this lightning field alive. Are you that eager to die? When Firenze saw Shi Feng charging into his lightning field, he promptly had them attack him in an irregular pattern. Demon Gods Armament! Godslayer! Shi Feng executed Swords Orbit without hesitation when he saw the several hundred oncoming lightning bolts. Chapter 3213 - Chapter 287 - Dragon Princess Chapter 287 C Dragon Princess Boom! Boom! Boom! Several hundred light-blue lightning bolts bombarded Shi Feng continuously, the clash between stars and lightning bolts sending echoes of explosions spreading across the entire island. 98% 96% 94% Because Firenze held absolute control over his Spell, there was no use in trying to deflect or make use of his attacks. Shi Feng could only block the attacks, and there were no opportunities to be seized. In the blink of an eye, Shi Fengs HP had already fallen close to 50%. Yet, when all of the several hundred lightning bolts disappeared from the battlefield, Shi Feng remained standing in mid-air. Although he had less than 5% of his HP remaining, there was no doubt he was still alive. He didnt die? Meteor subconsciously gaped in shock when he saw that Shi Feng hadnt been reduced to ashes. Is he a monster? Firenze was not only a Tier 5 Demon King, but he was also a Demon Monarch among the Demon race. He was as strong as a six-winged Valkyrie of the same level and tier. In a situation where he had free rein over his Tier 5 Spells, he could obliterate a medium-sized NPC City all by himself. Yet, Shi Feng had survived one of Firenzes Tier 5 Spells without dodging, deflecting, or manipulating. He had blocked and survived a Tier 5 Demon Kings Tier 5 Spell despite being only a Tier 4 player. If Meteor were to tell this matter to others, they would definitely call him a liar. After all, a Tier 5 Demon Kings Tier 5 Spell was not only powerful, but it also had a very high attack frequency and attack count. It wasnt something a Tier 4 player could resist simply by activating a Berserk Skill. He survived even an attack like that? Could he be wielding a Legendary Weapon? Star Snail, who had caught up to Meteor, couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion. It wasnt impossible for Tier 4 players to hold their ground against Tier 5 monsters. However, players typically did so by deflecting monsters attacks. If players were to go up against a Tier 5 monster with Absolute Control, they would need a Legendary Weapon to stand a chance. However, Legendary Weapons required a lot of time to obtain. It was why Legendary Weapons were considerably rare even in the Greater Gods Domain. Seeing as the Miniature Ancient World had only opened up not long ago, there was no way anyone could have gotten their hands on a Legendary Weapon already. If Shi Feng truly was in possession of a Legendary Weapon, neither she nor Meteor would be a match for him. Any fourth-floor expert wielding a Legendary Weapon could wipe the floor with them in their current state. Even as an MT, Star Snail doubted she could last more than 30 seconds against such an opponent. Not to mention, Shi Feng was even an expert who had mastered a Saint-rank Mana Technique. However, what Star Snail did not know was that Shi Feng was in possession of the Tier 4 Overtier Spell Demon Gods Armament, the Spell increasing the effects of all of his weapons and equipment by 100%. Not only did this Spell boost his Basic Attributes drastically, but it also allowed his Physique and reaction speed to undergo a qualitative transformation. Hence, he barely managed to keep up with Demon King Firenzes attacks. Of course, out of the several hundred lightning bolts, only about a hundred had managed to hit him. Otherwise, even with Demon Gods Armaments buffs, he would still be blown into smithereens. Meanwhile, Death Omen fell silent when she saw this outcome from a distance. Originally, Death Omen thought that Shi Feng would, at most, be a little stronger than Meteor. She thought that even if Shi Feng could win against Meteor, it would be a close victory. Hence, she felt that if Meteor and Star Snail were to work together, there would be no way Zero Wings team could leave this island alive. But now Even if the rest of the Paimon Conglomerates Tier 4 experts worked together with Meteor and Star Snail, it was unlikely theyd have any hopes of winning against Shi Feng Is this Guild Leader Black Flames true strength? Colorful Lunarites eyes widened in disbelief at what she had just seen. At the same time, she also understood why Shi Feng had reacted so calmly to seeing the Paimon Conglomerates Meteor and Star Snail. With Shi Fengs presence, Zero Wing was practically guaranteed to secure Crying Sea Citys Medium Shipyard now. While everyone was feeling shocked and surprised, Shi Feng promptly charged into the temple as soon as he finished blocking Firenzes lightning bolts. Although Firenze tried to stop Shi Feng, Shi Feng was too fast, so Firenze could only watch as Shi Feng entered the temple. It really is the Dragon Princess! After entering the temple, Shi Feng drank a Master Regeneration Potion he took out from his bag while observing a woman suspended in the middle of the temples hall. The woman wore a holy dress and a silver crown. Her face was as delicate as snow, and she was seemingly asleep as her eyes were tightly shut. Meanwhile, this holy woman was none other than the Dragon Princess Kelisha in Shi Fengs memories! However, before Shi Feng could further scrutinize the holy woman, the threefold barrier outside the temple suddenly shattered. At the same time, another threefold barrier formed at the temples entrance, sealing the temple shut. At this time, Firenze had also appeared inside the temples hall. Calmly, he looked at Shi Feng and said, I have to say that you are very lucky to be able to reach this place, heavens blessed. I even had to retract all my strength just to deal with you. However, you are all out of luck now! As soon as Firenze finished speaking, the density of the mana around him rapidly increased in density, doubling in the blink of an eye. The intensity of the aura he radiated was also vastly stronger than before. Guild Leader! Su Qianliu immediately grew worried when he saw Demon King Firenze becoming even stronger than before. If the previous Firenze was equated to a puppy, the current Firenze was akin to an adult tiger in his prime. There was simply no comparison between the two The barrier is gone! All of you retreat immediately! Shi Feng shouted through the team chat when he saw that Su Qianliu and the others intended to charge into the temple. None of us will be leaving alive if you come in! . Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Su Qianliu and the others gritted their teeth and reluctantly retreated from the temple. Despite their reluctance, Su Qianliu and the others understood that not even Tier 4 players could resist the current Firenze, let alone Tier 3 players like themselves. If they stood before Firenze, even moving their bodies would become a challenge, let alone fighting the Demon King. They would only drag down Shi Feng if they chose to stay. Meteor was similarly surprised when he saw the change in Firenzes strength. Without hesitation, he commanded, Change of plans! Everyone, retreat immediately! After saying so, Meteor fled the area immediately, not daring to stay here even a moment longer. The violent mana Firenze currently radiated could already affect his movements. He had never experienced this situation when facing other Tier 5 monsters. Firenze paid no heed to the withdrawal of the teams of Zero Wing and the Paimon Conglomerate. Instead, he looked at Shi Feng with a friendly smile and said, Now that your friends have left, I hope you do not disappoint me. Otherwise, Ill have no choice but to use them to compensate for my disappointment! Its all or nothing! When Shi Feng saw that Firenze was about to make a move, he dashed up to Kalisha and cut apart the chains binding her hands. He prayed that this would awaken Kalisha. Otherwise, he really would be dying here today. Chapter 3214 - Chapter 288 - End of the Line Chapter 288 C End of the Line Land of Ancient Dragons, outer zones shore: With this much distance between us, that Demon King will need some time to catch up to us. If we split up now, many of us should get out of here alive, Meteor said, sighing in relief as he looked back at the distant temple. Demon King Firenzes sudden transformation was never mentioned in the information they collected, so they didnt have any countermeasures prepared. An increase to the density of ones mana could provide significant improvements even to ordinary players, let alone a monster capable of casting Spells. If Firenze were to use the Spatial Smash and Dark Paradise combination again, none of them would be able to move a muscle. We might be safe now, but we have also failed our mission Star Snail said worriedly. After this failure, the conglomerate is unlikely to let us take on such an important mission again for the foreseeable future. The important mission she spoke of was crucial for the Paimon Conglomerates internal geniuses to improve their standings in the conglomerate. Meanwhile, they only had one opportunity to challenge these missions each month. Moreover, should they fail to complete an important mission, they would be prohibited from challenging another for several months. It is indeed a huge loss for us. Meeting Zero Wing here is also outside of our expectations, Meteor said as he turned to look at Su Qianliu and the others, who were currently recuperating some distance away. Then, in a cold tone, he continued, Zero Wing is much more dangerous than we initially thought. If we dont take care of Zero Wing now, it will become a hindrance for the conglomerate in the Miniature Ancient World. I agree. Star Snail nodded. Moreover, they should have discovered the Land of Ancient Dragons Seven Luminaries Crystals. If they publicize this matter, it will increase the number of competitors we have to face. Seven Luminaries Crystals were incredibly precious even to the Paimon Conglomerate. Meanwhile, an ore vein capable of producing up to 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per day was incredibly rare and precious. Every Gods Domain was the basis of development for a civilization. Because of this, every Gods Domain would have a local system favoring native players heavily. If players were to enter a foreign Gods Domain, they would typically be subjected to the worlds suppression and have their tiers reduced by one. For example, should a Tier 6 player enter a foreign Gods Domain, they would be forcibly suppressed to Tier 5. In such a situation, there was no way these foreign Tier 6 players could go up against the native Tier 6 players. After all, the gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6 players was no longer one that could be overcome with numbers. Unless a power had overwhelming strength, it would have an incredibly difficult time occupying a foreign Gods Domain. Because of this, one could easily imagine how valuable the Land of Ancient Dragons ore vein was. So, to reduce the competition the Paimon Conglomerate had to face later on, it was best if they got rid of Zero Wings team right here and now. Coincidentally, there was an easy way to accomplish this in the Land of Ancient Dragonsthe Spirit Devourers. With the Spirit Devourers help, they could permanently erase players from Gods Domain. Should we attack them now? Death Omen asked, a look of interest on her face. If they could deal a heavy blow to Zero Wings main force now, Zero Wing would have its activities in the Miniature Ancient World severely restricted. On the other side, Su Qianliu and the others also quickly noticed what the Paimon Conglomerates team was planning. Theyre coming closer. It seems they plan to attack us Su Qianliu grew a little anxious when she saw Meteor and the others moving closer and closer to their team. After witnessing the strength Meteor and Star Snail displayed, Su Qianliu did not think even for a moment that Zero Wings main force could win against the Paimon Conglomerates team. In fact, Meteor alone was probably enough to wipe the floor with Zero Wings main force. We are not far from the warship, Colorful Lunarite suddenly said. So long as we can board the warship, well have a chance to shake them off our tails. In that case, Ill stay behind and buy us time, Su Qianliu said. Despite what Colorful Lunarite said, Su Qianliu did not think their team was near the warship. Even though they had reached the shore already, they would still need to run for at least half an hour before they could reach and board the warship. This much time was more than enough for the Paimon Conglomerates experts to annihilate Zero Wings main force. You dont need to do that. We only need to fight as we retreat, Colorful Lunarite said, shaking her head. Also, Im afraid I am currently the only one in our team who can keep Meteor distracted. Only fourth-floor experts could keep someone like Meteor distracted. Anyone weaker would be dead in one move. Su Qianliu and the others might have learned many Silver Combat Techniques, but their combat standards were significantly inferior to even the Green God Corporations internal experts. They would only be throwing their lives away pointlessly if they tried to fight Meteor. Subsequently, Colorful Lunarite, Su Qianliu, and the others began frantically withdrawing in the Bronze Warships direction. When Meteor saw Colorful Lunarite and the others running away, he laughed and said, Do you honestly think you can help Zero Wings members escape, Lunarite? Meteor had interacted with Colorful Lunarite some years ago, so he knew she was an internal genius nurtured by the Green God Corporation. With her strength, Colorful Lunarite could indeed be regarded as a powerful expert among the various hegemonic powers. However, against him, she didnt even have a chance of running away with her life. Immediately, Meteor dashed forward, his body transforming into a streak of light that rapidly approached Zero Wings main force. Although Su Qianliu and the others possessed Basic Attributes rivaling Tier 4 players, there was inherently a huge difference in Movement Speed between Tier 3 and Tier 4 players. This was because actual Tier 4 players could fly even without the help of a Mana Domain. Subsequently, the distance between Meteor and Zero Wings main force rapidly shrunk. 1,500 yards 1,000 yards 500 yards This is the end of the line! When Meteor saw that there were less than 200 yards between him and Zero Wings main force, he promptly reached for his sword. At this distance, Zero Wings main force was already within his attack range. Whoosh! However, just as Meteor was about to draw his sword, a sword light suddenly tore through space and flew at him from a distance. Fortunately, his instincts kicked in, and he dodged the unexpected attack in the nick of time. Who is it?! Who dares to interfere with the Paimon Conglomerates actions?! Meteor bellowed as he turned to look at where the sword light came from, his expression turning indescribably ugly. Previously, Meteor had only dodged the attack out of instinct, so he didnt find the attack to be anything remarkable. However, he quickly changed his mind when he saw the spatial tear that measured over 500 yards in length. No matter how he looked at it, this attack range was inhuman. I have no idea what is going on since I was only passing by, but I cannot turn a blind eye to you chasing after Zero Wings retreating members, said a peerless beauty with long light-blue hair and a silver crown on her head as she stepped out of the spatial fissure. Then, looking at Meteor, the woman continued, Since you intend to harm Zero Wings members, how about I, Laura Crader, be your opponent? Chapter 3215 - Chapter 289 - Another Monster? Chapter 289 C Another Monster? Commander Laura? Su Qianliu stopped running as she turned to look at the figure that had emerged from the dense forest and stood in Meteors way, her eyes widening in shock. It had already been some time since Laura Crader had disappeared from the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Outsiders might not know what Laura Crader had left to do, but Su Qianliu knew that Laura had left to challenge her Tier 4 promotion. So, logically, Laura wouldnt appear in the Land of Ancient Dragons. Is she the woman mentioned in the reports? When Colorful Lunarite saw Laura, she couldnt help but scrutinize the other party out of curiosity. According to the information the Green God Corporation gathered, Laura Crader was one of the few fourth-floor experts belonging to the Asura Mercenary Alliance. The corporation had even suspected that Laura might be a titled expert. However, because Laura had suddenly disappeared after the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack took effect, the various powers gradually stopped paying attention to her. At this point, the name of Laura Crader was all but forgotten in the Miniature Ancient World. So, Colorful Lunarite didnt think that Laura Crader would appear in the Land of Ancient Dragons of all places. Moreover, it was obvious that Laura was no longer the same as when she last fought in the Boundary Mountain Range. The aura she exuded clearly indicated that she had already reached Tier 4 and become a bona fide Sword Emperor. However, after their brief surprise, a wave of unease also spread in the hearts of Su Qianliu and Colorful Lunarite. Tier 4 players might stand at the top of the current Miniature Ancient World, but one Tier 4 player was unlikely to be enough to stop the Paimon Conglomerates team. It was especially true for the likes of Meteor and Star Snail. The two were far stronger than the average titled expert. You want to be our opponent? Do you think you are worthy of that?! Death Omen sneered contemptuously as she looked at Laura Crader. Then, she immediately poised herself to resume chasing Su Qianliu and the others. It was true that Laura Crader had shown incredible strength at the Boundary Mountain Range. It was also true that she had reached Tier 4 already. With her achievements, even the various hegemonic powers would have to be wary of her. However, it was a different story for the Paimon Conglomerate. The conglomerates team of geniuses was vastly superior to the teams the various hegemonic powers could come up with. Not even the God Lists top five experts would dare to act arrogantly in front of the conglomerates genius team, let alone ordinary titled experts. Yet, the moment Death Omen took her first step, an arm suddenly appeared in her path, blocking her advance. Commander Meteor? Death Omen looked at the person blocking her path, her mind failing to understand what Meteor was trying to do. However, at the same time as Death Omen posed her question, she also noticed a strange situation. Whether it was the Crimson Sword Emperor Meteor or the Divine Shield Star Snail, neither wore their previous look of nonchalance. Instead, replacing their calm expression was a solemn one. Even their eyes carried strong hints of alertness. This was a reaction they would normally only make when they were going up against experts capable of threatening them. While watching Laura Crader slowly making her way over, Meteor said in a low tone, Dont act rashly. This person isnt simple. Not simple? Death Omen was surprised. Could it be that even you are not confident in dealing with her, Commander Meteor? I cant be sure without fighting her, Meteor said. But I am certain she is not weaker than Black Flame. Not weaker than Black Flame? When Death Omen heard Meteors evaluation, she couldnt help but take another look at Laura Crader, her mind in disbelief. Death Omen had already witnessed Black Flames strength. He was a monster capable of surviving the full-powered attack of a Tier 5 Demon King despite being only a Tier 4 player. This was a feat not even Meteor and Star Snail could accomplish. Honestly, Death Omen already had a hard time accepting the fact that Zero Wing had such a monster in its midst. Yet, now, she was being told that the Asura Mercenary Alliances Laura Crader was also a monster on Black Flames standard? How could she possibly believe this? It should be known that the Asura Mercenary Alliance was only a group of nobodies gathered by Zero Wing. Its strength couldnt even compare to the local Super Guilds, let alone the Flower of Seven Sins. So, how could a monster of Black Flames caliber possibly appear in the mercenary alliance? Amidst Death Omens daze, Meteor began walking toward Laura Crader. Commander Laura, since you wish to intervene in Zero Wings affairs, would you be willing to block three of my attacks? If you block all three, my team will give up on targeting Zero Wings team. However, if you cant, I hope you will stop interfering in this matter. What do you think? Meteor asked as he unsheathed the broken sword he carried on his back. Death Omen sighed in relief when she heard Meteors words. The Flower of Seven Sins had no control over the Paimon Conglomerates actions. If Meteor did not wish to fight Laura Crader for the Flower of Seven Sins, there was nothing Death Omen could do about it. However, by the looks of things, it would seem that Meteor planned to try and fight Laura Crader. Meanwhile, should Laura Crader refuse Meteors suggestion or fail to block Meteors attacks, Zero Wings main force would be doomed. Laura Crader was a little surprised by Meteors suggestion. Then, she calmly responded, Alright, I agree with your conditions. If I can block three of your attacks, I will have to ask you to cease your actions against Zero Wing. Of course. I always keep my word. Meteor nodded and raised his broken sword with both hands. Immediately, the aura he radiated skyrocketed in intensity, his aura not at all inferior to when he had his Berserk Skill activated during his fight with Demon King Firenze. It was obvious that he treated Laura Crader as a formidable enemy. Theyre having a one-on-one fight? Colorful Lunarite gaped in shock when she saw this development from a distance. She never thought Meteor would choose to fight Laura Crader in a one-on-one duel. The Paimon Conglomerates team held a significant numbers advantage. Logically, even if Laura Crader was now a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, she could, at most, hold Meteor back by herself, while the Paimon Conglomerates teams remaining nine Tier 4 experts would have free rein. Meanwhile, these nine Tier 4 experts would be more than enough to annihilate Zero Wings team. So, there was no need for Meteor to go through the hassle of challenging Laura to a duel. The only reason Meteor would take such a course of action was that he felt that Laura Crader alone was strong enough to pose a significant threat to his team, and Colorful Lunarite found this situation to be absolutely astonishing. Before Colorful Lunarite could recover from her shock, Meteors broken sword had transformed into hundreds of threads that attacked Laura Crader from various directions. Each of these threads carried enough power to tear apart space and heavily injure Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. Moreover, they could even increase their power by forming weaves of ten threads or more. Tier 4 Advanced Silver Combination Combat Technique, Thousand Threads! How foolish of her to give Meteor time to execute Thousand Threads! When Death Omen saw Laura Crader patiently waiting for Meteor to attack her, she couldnt help but laugh in her mind. Anyone familiar with Meteor would know about his trademark move, Thousand Threads. It was an attack that combined the Tier 4 Legacy Skill Spatial Dicing and the Advanced Silver Combat Technique Tornado. It was with this move that Meteor had injured Saint Nine, the third-ranked player on the God-ranked Expert List. Had Saint Nine not activated an Invulnerability Skill in time, he would have definitely died to this move. The only flaw in this combination attack was its somewhat long execution time. However, so long as Meteor successfully executed the combination attack, his opponents would die without fail unless they possessed an Invulnerability Skill. Subsequently, the several hundred threads could be seen attacking Laura Crader from all directions. Yet, even as the threads closed on her, Laura did not make any movements. She didnt even draw the longsword hanging by her waist. Boom! The sound of a loud explosion shook the area, followed by a blinding light that brightly illuminated the entire coastline. The light was so dazzling that everyone found it difficult to look at the source directly. When the blinding light faded, Laura could be seen standing in her original position, her right hand sheathing the longsword she had drawn without anyones notice. As for the threads that previously covered the sky, they had vanished as if they never existed Chapter 3216 - Chapter 290 - Legend Chapter 290 C Legend How is this possible?! When Death Omen saw Laura Crader remaining intact, she couldnt help but rub her eyes and take a second glance. Meteors Thousand Threads was an attack that forced the third-ranked player on the God-ranked Expert List to use an Invulnerability Skill. Yet, Laura had blocked it perfectly without using an Invulnerability Skill. On top of that, she didnt even manage to see when Laura had unsheathed her sword and brandished it Standing in the distance, Colorful Lunarite also gaped in shock when she saw this outcome, her mind having difficulty accepting this situation. The average expert might not be aware of Meteors trademark move, but as a genius nurtured internally by the Green God Corporation, Colorful Lunarite knew a little about it. Meanwhile, according to the corporations report, so long as Meteor successfully executed Thousand Threads, even paragons like the third-ranked Saint Nine would have to do their best to avoid it. So, it was incredibly shocking to Colorful Lunarite to see Laura unscathed. Most importantly, she didnt even see what Laura had done just now! This situation caused Colorful Lunarite to turn to Su Qianliu, hoping that she could get an explanation from the other party. However, Su Qianliu was equally bewildered by this situation, so she could only respond to Colorful Lunarites curious gaze with a bitter smile. Su Qianliu was aware that Laura Crader was very powerful. After all, the other party was the strongest expert in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Slumber City. Only, Su Qianliu never thought that Laura Crader would be this strong. After silence enveloped the battlefield for a short moment, Meteor suddenly revealed a look of realization. Then, he asked, I truly did not think the Miniature Ancient World would have an expert like you. Players have only begun to reach Tier 4 recently. At this point in time, even titled experts have, at best, developed their Mana Bodies to a Completion Rate of around 110%, yet you have already reached the maximum of 120%. Who are you? Her Mana Body is at 120% Completion Rate? When Death Omen heard Meteors words, she turned to look at Laura Crader as if she were looking at a monster. The Mana Body was a players foundation. The greater the control a player had over their Mana Body, the greater the strength they could exhibit. Normally, a peak expert would be fortunate if they could unlock their Mana Body to 100% Completion Rate shortly after getting promoted to Tier 4. As for going beyond the 100% limit, to do so would require players to modify and improve the method they used to control their Mana Body, making their method better suit themselves. However, breaking the Mana Bodys 100% limit was not an easy feat. Achieving further improvements after breaking the 100% limit was an even more challenging task. Typically, peak experts could, at most, develop the Completion Rate of their Mana Bodies to 105%. Moreover, reaching this Completion Rate required a lot of time and effort. As for fourth-floor experts, their progress would generally hit a wall after they reached 110%. Moreover, the higher the rank of a players Mana Body, the more difficult it would be to improve. Even a peerless genius like Meteor had only reached 109% Completion Rate with his Epic Mana Body. Although Meteor couldnt tell what rank Lauras Mana Body was at, it didnt matter, even if it was only a Gold Mana Body. Reaching 120% Completion Rate in a Gold Mana Body was still an incredible feat even in the Greater Gods Domain. If Laura had an Epic Mana Body, she would be a legend in the Greater Gods Domain. After sheathing her longsword, Laura calmly replied, I am only an ordinary member of Asura passing by. An ordinary member of Asura? Death Omen couldnt help but cast a look of contempt at Laura. Only a fool would believe such words! Were leaving. After taking one last look at the so-called ordinary member of Asura, Meteor put away his broken sword, turned around, and left. Commander Meteor! Are we going to retreat, just like that? Death Omen was stunned by Meteors decision to retreat. This is the perfect opportunity to inflict heavy damage to Zero Wings main force. If we miss this opportunity, Zero Wing will create many problems for us in the future. Death Omen admitted that Laura Crader was much stronger than she imagined. However, Meteor still had cards he hadnt used. So long as he used those hidden cards, defeating Laura Crader might not be out of the question. I cannot stop her in my current state, Meteor said as he glanced at Death Omen. If you wish to continue pursuing Zero Wings main force, I wont stop you. However, Im afraid you dont have much time left. After saying so, Meteor promptly left the area with the Paimon Conglomerates members. Dammit! When Death Omen saw Meteor and the others leaving, she gritted her teeth and retreated as well. Now that the Land of Ancient Dragons had transformed into a God Mode Regional Dungeon, not only did it house the incredibly dangerous Spirit Devourers, but it also housed an abundance of Seven Luminaries Crystals in its inner zone. Information on these Seven Luminaries Crystals would spread across the Miniature Ancient World sooner or later. At that time, thousands of powers would flock to this place. After all, nobody could resist the temptation of half an Elementary Gods Domains daily production volume of Seven Luminaries Crystals. So, they needed to start making preparations as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Colorful Lunarite, Su Qianliu, and the others experienced another round of surprise when they saw Meteors team retreating. Colorful Lunarite, in particular, had her evaluation of Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance thoroughly renewed. After witnessing Shi Fengs and Laura Craders strength, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Asura Mercenary Alliance had two experts capable of rivaling the God-ranked Expert Lists top three players. Not even the Higher Gods Domains hegemonic powers possessed such strength in the Miniature Ancient World. This wont do. I have to inform Vice President Xia about this as soon as possible. Thinking up to this point, Colorful Lunarite quickly had one of her subordinates on board the warship go offline to inform Xia Qingying about todays matter. Meanwhile, inside the Land of Ancient Dragons temple There is no escape for you, heavens blessed! Demon King Firenze said gloatingly as he launched one Tier 5 Spell after another at Shi Feng. Even though Shi Feng was fully focused on evasion and did not make any excess movements, his HP had still fallen to 10% in no time. He also didnt have any time to consume a Regeneration Potion, so it was only a matter of time before he got killed. This is my limit. Shi Feng revealed a bitter smile when he saw that Godslayers duration was about to end. Originally, Shi Feng thought that he would have a chance of surviving if he broke the chains binding Dragon Princess Kalisha. Unfortunately, Kalisha remained asleep even after her restraints were broken. The only changes that took place after the chains broke were the temples space becoming increasingly stable and the temples mana becoming increasingly denser. Dense Eternal Energy had even started to flood the temple, allowing Shi Fengs mind to achieve unprecedented clarity. With his clear state of mind, Shi Feng was able to quickly break through the 100% threshold of his Legendary Mana Body. Then, once he integrated Holy Annihilations mana control technique with his Legendary Mana Bodys mana control technique, he instantly elevated his Mana Body to 110% Completion Rate. Because of this, his Physique, the density of his Mana, and the strength of his Mana also experienced a qualitative transformation. Combined with Godslayers effect, Shi Feng was already close to rivaling a Tier 5 Sword Saint in strength. It was only with this enhanced strength that he had managed to dodge and survive the bombardment of Tier 5 Spells from Firenze. However, once Godslayers duration ended, Shi Feng would lose his only means of surviving Demon King Firenzes attacks. Die! When Firenze noticed that Shi Feng had already lost his Tier 5 Mana and Tier 5 Concentration, he promptly raised his scepter and sent three Tier 5 Destruction Spells blasting at Shi Feng from three different directions. Thump! However, before Firenzes Spells could hit Shi Feng, a loud heartbeat suddenly echoed throughout the temple. Then, the entire temple fell silent, and the mana powering Firenzes three Destruction Spells stagnated. At the same time, sweat began appearing on Firenzes ferocious face as he anxiously turned his crimson eyes toward the origin of the heartbeat. Firenze had gotten so anxious that he had even forgotten to maintain his Spells, which, in turn, caused the three Destruction Spells to disintegrate. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng also turned to the source of the heartbeat. At this time, Kalisha, the Dragon Princess who remained suspended in midair motionlessly this entire time, suddenly opened her eyes. When those indescribable silver eyes opened, both Shi Feng and Firenze subconsciously took a step back. They felt as if their lives were firmly held by this pair of eyes at this moment, and their life and death were no longer in their control. Meanwhile, the instant Kalisha awakened, a system notification also entered Shi Fengs ears. Chapter 3217 - Chapter 291 - Eternal Night Upgraded Chapter 291 C Eternal Night Upgraded System: Congratulations! You have awakened Dragon Princess Kalisha and triggered the Legendary World Quest Sanctuarys Rise. Quest Content: Collect 100 God Crystals within 100 days to restore Dragon Princess Kalishas strength. Rewards unknown. The system notification repeated three times, putting Shi Feng into a daze. One hundred God Crystals in one hundred days? Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he read the system notification before him. A God Crystal was the crystallization of a Gods power. While it might not be as rare as a Legendary item, its preciousness was not the least beast lower than Fragmented Legendary items. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that 100 God Crystals could be used to exchange 100 Fragmented Legendary items. Moreover, this was only true when one was offering to use God Crystals to trade for Fragmented Legendary items. If one was trying to trade Fragmented Legendary items for God Crystals, the ratio wouldnt necessarily be 1:1. Even if all of the hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World worked together, they wouldnt necessarily be able to come up with 50 God Crystals in 100 days, let alone 100 God Crystals. This was essentially an impossible quest! While Shi Feng was in a daze, Firenze suddenly regained his calm, his previous frightened expression nowhere to be seen. There was even a hint of joy in his eyes now. It seems the passage of time has weakened you quite a bit, Kalisha. Youre not even at Tier 5 right now, Firenze said as he looked at Kalisha with a cordial smile. In that case, you might as well let me see you off one last time. It wont be a disgrace for you to die by my hands. After saying so, Firenze promptly began chanting a Spell. Subsequently, with each syllable Firenze spat out, the lighting in the temple gradually darkened. At the same time, dark mana began flooding the temple and expelling all other elements of mana from the temple. Shi Fengs expression turned grave when he saw this scene. Shi Feng was well aware that Firenze had not gotten serious in the slightest when fighting him previously. The Demon King was only messing around and using a bunch of ordinary Tier 5 Spells against him. Now, though, Firenze was serious. Dark Tide. This was a Tier 5 Curse capable of rivaling Tier 6 Spells. This one Spell could eradicate all life within a royal capital with a population of tens of millions. It was a Spell that could neither be blocked nor dodged. If Firenze was allowed to complete this Spell, Shi Feng would no longer have to worry about completing his Legendary World Quest. After all, nothing would be left of his characters Tier 4 Immortal Soul if he got hit by this move. His character would cease to exist in Gods Domain, and he would have no choice but to start over from scratch As the density of the dark mana in the temple continuously increased, Kalisha suddenly appeared in front of Shi Feng. Is she really only at Tier 4? Shi Feng was startled when he saw Kalisha appearing before him all of a sudden. Even though Kalishas statistics showed that she was only at Level 130, Tier 4 currently, she was so fast that he didnt even react to her movements. Normally, not even a Tier 5 existences Movement Speed was fast enough to escape Shi Fengs perception. The only explanation he could think of was that Kalisha had executed Spatial Leap. This was a movement method that was superior to even Spatial Movement. Normally, only Tier 6 Gods could use this movement method. Do you wish to live, heavens blessed? Kalisha asked as she looked at Shi Feng. Naturally. Shi Feng nodded. Good. Sigh a Soul Contract with me, then, Kalisha said. I will lend you my power. Afterward, you will have to figure out a way to distract Firenze for one minute. A Soul Contract? Shi Feng frowned. A Soul Contract was not a normal contract. It was the main method Evil Gods and Demon Gods used to recruit followers. Players who signed a Soul Contract would have to permanently contribute a portion of their soul to the contractor to gain a portion of the contractors power. In the Greater Gods Domain, many players lacking strength would often go down this path to achieve further growth. However, this external power could only provide players with a considerably limited boost in strength. Normally, it would be no different than receiving a Gods blessing. At most, the recipient would see an increase in their Physique and Basic Attributes. Moreover, these bonuses would become negligible once players reached Tier 6. While receiving a small boost in strength was better than nothing, the price of obtaining this strength was massive. Firstly, players would permanently lose a portion of their souls. Not only would this increase the death penalty they suffered by several times, but it would also increase the amount of EXP they needed to level up by two or more times. Secondly and most importantly, when the contractor of a Soul Contract died, the contractee would also follow them to the grave. Of course, a Soul Contract wasnt completely without its benefits. The stronger a contractor was, the greater the power players would gain when they were at a low tier. This was also why many players would willingly strive for the various Evil Gods and Demon Gods. Of course, you can also choose not to enter a contract with me, Kalisha added as she looked at Shi Feng, her bright lips curving into a playful smile. But in that case, youll be dying here with me. I can see that you carry a not-so-small secret on you. Are you really willing to start over? Fine. You win, Shi Feng said begrudgingly. He couldnt help but feel that the Main God System was messing with him. However, the Ancient Abyssal Gods Legacy was not some bargain-bin Legacy. If he were to lose it, no amount of regret could make up for it. Thats more like it. Lets begin immediately, then. Kalisha smiled and nodded. Then, seeing as Firenze was about to complete his Spell, she quickly drew an ancient divine pattern on the back of Shi Fengs right hand. My power is a little special. It cannot enhance your body directly, only your weapon. Fortunately, it seems that you are carrying a good weapon with you. As soon as Kalisha finished speaking, a new notification appeared before Shi Feng. System: You have signed a Soul Contract with Dragon Princess Kalisha. You have obtained the Ancient Dragons Power. When Ancient Dragons Power is activated, you may choose to upgrade the rank of one weapon temporarily. As Dragon Princess Kalisha is currently at Tier 4, the chosen weapon can only be upgraded up to the Legendary rank for 10 minutes. (The first use of Ancient Dragons Power will not cost anything. Each subsequent use will cost one God Crystal.) What an unbelievable power! Shi Feng was stunned by the information the system notification conveyed. Although he had long since expected Dragon Princess Kalishas power to be extraordinary, he didnt think it would be this amazing. However, after seeing what the Dragon Princesss power could offer, Shi Feng understood why Kalisha could become the Ancient Dragon Sanctuarys sole ruler and elevate an upper-ranking hegemonic power into an apex power during his previous life. Even though Kalisha was only at Tier 4 right now, the power she granted him could already upgrade a weapon up to the Legendary rank. If Kalisha were to ascend to Tier 5 or Tier 6, the Ancient Dragons Power she granted him would naturally receive an improvement as well. At that time, he might even be able to elevate a weapon into a Divine Artifact. A Divine Artifact! This was a weapon countless experts dreamed of obtaining. Just one piece of Divine Equipment was enough to let a Tier 6 God-ranked expert rival Ancient Gods. If a Tier 6 God-ranked expert were to wield a Divine Weapon, they would see an even greater increase in their strength. However, the cost of using Ancient Dragons Power was also astonishingly high. Even in its current state, Ancient Dragons Power already cost one God Crystal per use. That was equivalent to expending one Fragmented Legendary item for ten minutes of glory. Even hegemonic powers would wince at this price. However, before Shi Feng could recover from his surprise, Firenze finally finished chanting the last syllable of his incantation. Die! Firenze bellowed as he released his Dark Tide at Shi Feng and Kalisha. Immediately, light within the temple seemingly vanished as a tidal wave of darkness appeared and threatened to devour everything within the temple. Ancient Dragons Power! Shi Feng dared not hold back in this critical moment. Immediately, he used Ancient Dragons Power on the Winter of Eternal Night and swung the longsword at the oncoming tidal wave. Radiant Night! TL Notes: I will be using Divine Weapons and Divine Equipment to refer to Divine Artifact-ranked weapons and equipment. (I will still use Divine Artifact-ranked weapons and equipment when the context isnt clear enough.) Chapter 3218 - Chapter 292 - Peak State Chapter 292 C Peak State When Shi Feng swung the Winter of Eternal Night, the surging tide of darkness instantly froze. Even space itself had become frozen, and not a single particle of mana could move in the slightest, all of them suspended in place. Amazing! After looking at the frozen space around him and the Winter of Eternal Night in his hand, Shi Feng couldnt help but be shocked. Although Legendary Weapons had the power to allow players to transcend tiers, he didnt think he could achieve such an effect with the Winter of Eternal Night. Even mana was prevented from carrying out their most basic operations! This frightening passive ability was definitely enough to put the Winter of Eternal Night into the ranks of the Ten Great Legendary Weapons. It could be said that Spells would become nothing but a joke in front of the Winter of Eternal Night. Spells relied on the movement of mana to exist. If even mana was prohibited from moving, it would naturally become impossible for a spellcaster to maintain the integrity of their Spells. Meanwhile, Demon King Firenze was also stunned by Shi Fengs Radiant Night. Dark Tide was Firenzes strongest Spell. This one Spell was more than enough for him to heavily damage opponents of the same tier. Yet, Shi Feng had neutralized it so easily However, Firenze was a Tier 5 Demon King. Moreover, he was even a Demon Monarch among Demons. Even though this unexpected development had shocked him, he quickly recovered his calm and transformed his scepter into an axe. Then, he appeared before Shi Feng via Spatial Movement and swung his five-meter-long axe down at Shi Feng. Firenze did not complement his attack with any techniques. Even so, his attack carried overwhelming speed and power, enough for him to obliterate an entire city. Bang! Countless sparks appeared when Shi Fengs longsword collided with Firenzes axe. At the same time, Firenzes axe was knocked away, indicating that the longsword carried more power than the axe. This one exchange instantly showed who was superior when it came to Strength. However, Firenze remained unfazed even after seeing the disparity in Strength. A cold smile had even appeared on his face. So what if you can block my attack? A calm and contemptuous voice flowed out of Firenzes mouth. At the same time, another Firenze had suddenly appeared behind Kalisha, the axe in his hands already descending toward the Dragon Princess, who appeared to be chanting something with her eyes closed. Tier 5 Spell, Worldly Doppelganger! It was a Spell that allowed the user to create a carbon copy of themselves. The doppelganger created would have 100% of the users Basic Attributes and all of the users Skills and Spells. However, Shi Feng did not panic in this situation. Instead, he simply smiled as he swung the Winter of Eternal Night. Swords Orbit! Suddenly, a river of stars that covered a 500-yard radius suddenly formed with Shi Feng as the center. At a glance, it looked as if a miniature galaxy had formed within the temple. Meanwhile, before Firenzes doppelganger could hit Kalisha with its axe, it was sent flying and crashing into a wall by one of the many stars flowing around Shi Feng. Firenzes doppelganger wasnt the only one sent flying. Even the real Firenze standing before Shi Feng had similarly been sent flying into a wall, his HP instantly falling by over 100 million. For a time, both Demon Kings couldnt help but look at Shi Feng with a bewildered look, their minds failing to understand what Shi Feng had just done. Its been a while since Ive felt so liberated! As expected of the Ancient God of Thunders final creation! I didnt think it could let me use Swords Orbit in its peak state. Satisfaction filled Shi Feng as he looked at the Winter of Eternal Night. At the same time, he couldnt help but start to pity Firenze. Swords Orbit was the technique he had relied on to rise to prominence. Initially, Swords Orbit was nothing more than an ordinary combat technique. However, as time passed and he continued perfecting the technique, Swords Orbit had also continuously grown stronger with him. Because of this, if he wanted to unleash Swords Orbits full potential, he would have to reach the Tier 5 standard at the very least. Just having Tier 5 Mana and Concentration wouldnt be enough. His Physique would also have to reach Tier 5. Only after meeting these three conditions could he perfectly integrate World Creation with Swords Orbit and unleash power rivaling the Second Sword, Holy Devour. In addition, everything within a 500-yard radius would be within his attack range, and he would no longer have to worry about Concentration expenditure. Subsequently, Firenze and his doppelganger could be seen attacking Kalisha one time after another. However, no matter what attack they used, they couldnt even get close to Kalisha, let alone injure her. Shi Feng had stopped all of their attacks without fail. Unfortunately, even though Shi Feng was suppressing Firenze, there was nothing he could do to really threaten the Demon King. Search Hosted Novel for the original. As a Level 130, Tier 5 Demon King, Firenzes base HP was over 300 billion. His battle recovery as a Demon Monarch even allowed him to recover 4% of his HP every five seconds. He simply wasnt an existence that could be killed by a Tier 4 player wielding a Legendary Weapon. Fortunately, Shi Fengs job wasnt to kill Firenze. All he needed to do was keep the Demon King busy for one minute. Ten seconds Twenty seconds Forty seconds Time quickly passed by in the temple. After Shi Feng held on for one full minute, Kalisha suddenly opened her eyes. Immediately afterward, the expressions of both Firenzes twisted, and the life in their eyes rapidly disappeared. When Firenze finally died, Kalishas expression had also become deathly pale, sweat rolling down her forehead. It was obvious that killing Firenze had put a huge toll on her body. Meanwhile, along with Firenzes death, the sound of another system notification entered Shi Fengs ears. System: Congratulations! You have liberated Kalisha from the curse plaguing her. Rewarding five levels and 20 Free Legacy Skill Points. Immediately, Shi Fengs level went from 125 to 130. After reaching Tier 4, he would receive two Legacy Skill Points for every three levels he gained. After including the leftover Legacy Skill Points he had when he was at Tier 3, he now had a total of 221 Legacy Skill Points. If he wanted to, he could spend 200 Legacy Skill Points to learn a Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skill. However, before Shi Feng could decide which Apex Legacy Skill he would learn, Kalisha suddenly turned her gaze toward him. Heavens blessed, thanks to your help, I was able to get rid of the curse cast on me by the Evil Gods and Demon Gods. I will now be leaving this small world and heading to a different place to reclaim my lost power, Kalisha said with a tired expression. However, despite her fatigued look, her eyes were full of life. I have seen your fate. So, as gratitude for your help, I can offer you two choices. The first choice is to remain in this small world. This temple holds my Ancient Dragon Legacy. Even if you cannot use it, you can give it to someone else, and whoever you give it to will achieve greatness rivaling the Ancient Gods. The second choice is to leave this small world and head to the greater world to help me collect 300 God Crystals within three months. As compensation, I will give you the primal ore vein that this island has birthed. I will also send you to a place where one of the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments reside. This temple does not have much power left, so you will only have five minutes to consider. Chapter 3219 - Chapter 293 - Greater Gods Domain Chapter 293 C Greater Gods Domain Shi Feng fell into deep thought when Kalisha finished speaking, unable to make up his mind. Ancient Dragons were the most ancient existences among Dragons. At the same time, they were Dragons that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain. So, their Legacies would not be inferior to the average Ancient God. Even if he couldnt use Kalishas Ancient Dragon Legacy, he could use it to nurture an expert that could rival Ancient Gods in the future. However, the Primal Ore Vein and one of the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments were equally tempting. The Primal Ore Vein was an independent miniature world. Not only could it be carried around like an item, but the Primal Ore Veins owner could also harvest the ores within it without worrying about competition from other powers. Owning a Primal Ore Vein would be no different than owning a private ore vein. Players who owned a Primal Ore Vein wouldnt even need to mine the vein themselves. They could simply hire some NPCs to enter the miniature world and harvest the ores for them. Meanwhile, a Primal Ore Vein typically had at least half of an Elementary Gods Domains Seven Luminaries Crystal daily production volume. After adding in the fact that a Primal Ore Vein was absolutely safe, the amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals one could harvest from it would not be any lower than the actual amount one could harvest from an Elementary Gods Domain. As for the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragment, it was an item essential for Shi Feng to acquire the complete Ancient Abyssal God Legacy. After pondering for a minute, Shi Feng said, I choose to head to the Greater Gods Domain! Are you sure? Kalisha couldnt help but ask again when she heard Shi Fengs answer. The Greater Gods Domain was many times more dangerous than the Miniature Ancient World they were in. Even Tier 6 Gods could fall if they werent careful. As for Tier 4 existences, they were nothing in the Greater Gods Domain. I am very sure! Shi Feng answered without hesitation. The Miniature Ancient World might be filled with many opportunities and was incredibly well-suited for budding powers and players, but there was a huge precondition for these new powers and players to growthe Gods Domain it was connected to must not be fully opened. So long as a Gods Domain became fully opened, the Miniature Ancient World connected to it would also become open to outsiders. The only difference was that the Miniature Ancient World would impose more restrictions on outsiders than the Gods Domain it was connected to.[1] Going by his experiences in his previous life, it should only be around one to three more months before his home Gods Domains World Passage became fully opened. So, he would only be entering the Greater Gods Domain a little earlier than others. Moreover, it wasnt as if he couldnt return to the Miniature Ancient World after heading to the Greater Gods Domain. He had the Abyss Workshop Certification. So long as he spent 3,000 Seven Luminaries Crystals, he could instantly teleport back to the Miniature Ancient World via World-Breaking Teleportation. Not to mention, he was in urgent need of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Although he had the strength necessary to compete with the various powers over the Land of Ancient Dragons Seven Luminaries Crystal vein, how many crystals he could actually get his hands on was a big question. Rather than gamble on an unknown factor, he might as well take the safer option and acquire the entire primal ore vein. Not to mention, the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments were scattered randomly across Gods Domain. Finding them would not be easy. Even if he had one whole year to conduct his search, he wasnt confident he could find even one fragment. Now that Kalisha was offering to send him directly to a place with one of the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments, he could save himself a lot of trouble if he took this offer. The Seven Luminaries Codex was one of the Godly Relics that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain. It possessed heaven-defying abilities that one could never find on even Divine Artifacts. Although he had encountered plenty of fortuitous opportunities during his previous life, never had he come across an actual Godly Relic. If he could get his hands on a real Godly Relic, he would have a much easier path to traverse in Gods Domain. Even apex powers might have to take the long way around when they came across him. So, now that there was an opportunity to complete the Seven Luminaries Codex, Shi Feng naturally couldnt let it get away. Since youve already decided, I will take you away with me, then. Unfortunately, I wont be able to offer you any help before I recover my strength, so you will have to depend on yourself to progress in the greater world. In addition, one Evil God and one Demon God have already set their sights on you. So long as their followers discover the Ancient Dragons Power on you, Im afraid youll have a hard time surviving Kalisha said as she waved her hand and faked a worried expression. System: Congratulations! You have received the Dragon Princesss favor. Kalishas Favorability of you has increased by 20 points. Inferior Mythical Quest Sanctuarys Rise activated. Quest Content: Collect 300 God Crystals within three months to restore Dragon Princess Kalishas strength. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. System: Warning! Warning! System: You have received the Dragon Princesss favor and obtained the Ancient Dragons Power. So long as your Ancient Dragons Power is discovered by a certain Evil Gods followers or a certain Demon Gods followers, you will be marked by this Evil God or Demon God and be hunted down endlessly. System: Congratulations! You have obtained a Damaged Primal Ore Vein. Shi Feng couldnt help but feel as if he had been tricked when he heard Kalishas words and saw the series of system notifications. However, before Shi Feng could say anything, Kalisha suddenly smiled and snapped her fingers. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng saw the world around him spinning and transforming into a dark-gray spatial passage. Then, he was dragged into the spatial passage regardless of his will. Unlike other spatial passages, Shi Feng could see translucent chains blocking the entire dark-gray passage. However, this passage wasnt the only one bound by these translucent chains. Shi Feng could also see himself bound by similar chains. These translucent chains were connected to the depths of his soul. Meanwhile, the deeper he traveled into the dark-gray passage, the more numerous and stronger these translucent chains became. After spending an unknown amount of time in the spatial passage, Shi Feng finally reached the passages end and found himself appearing on a barren prairie. At the same time, he found that the gravity he experienced, the mana around him, and even his physical fitness had undergone extreme changes. The mana that covered the prairie was much denser and more violent than the mana found in the Miniature Ancient World. The suppression of physical fitness also increased drastically. Even though Shi Feng was currently at Tier 4, he felt as if he was no different from a Henglian master in the real world. He couldnt even fly in this place, which resulted in him falling to the ground and losing over 10% of his HP System: You have discovered the Ancient River Kingdoms Hundred Leaves Wilderness. The Ancient River Kingdom? Shi Feng felt a little nostalgic when he saw the system notification. The Greater Gods Domain was boundless. Apart from being divided into the various Realms and the central Twelve Sanctuaries, every Realm housed thousands of kingdoms and empires. For the sake of their respective civilizations development, the various Gods Domains powers constantly fought over territories to secure the limited available resources. Either the various powers would be fighting in territorial disputes within cities, between cities, between kingdoms, or between kingdoms and empires. Sometimes, they would even participate in Realm Wars to upgrade their Realm to the next level. The madness and desperation of players and powers in the Greater Gods Domain were on a completely different level compared to his homeworld. Meanwhile, out of the various kingdoms in the Greater Gods Domain, the Ancient River Kingdom was the ancient kingdom his homeworld was connected to. The Ancient River Kingdom had existed for more than a thousand years, and six hegemonic powers jointly controlled it. It was also a place he was incredibly familiar with in the Greater Gods Domain. While Shi Feng was taking a stroll down memory lane, his stomach suddenly started grumbling, and a sense of hunger spread across his body. I have to head to a city to grab something to eat quickly, Shi Feng thought as he rubbed his stomach. He wasnt a stranger to this sensation. The Greater Gods Domain differed from the various Gods Domains and other places. It could be regarded as a real world, and players needed to sate their hunger here to stay alive. Moreover, the food here was considered non-bag space items. Unless players used tools such as Epic Spatial Bags, they would have no choice but to carry their food around on their persons. In addition, players would have to cook food as they would in the real world. They even had to rely on growing crops to source grain-type ingredients. This led to a dramatic increase in the importance of Lifestyle Players. However, it was also because of this situation that earning Ancient Coins and Star Coins in the Greater Gods Domain was significantly easier.[1] Subsequently, Shi Feng took a look at his surroundings. Despite this place being a barren prairie, the monsters here were above Level 120 on average. The majority of them were also Grand Lords, and they moved in groups led by Mythic monsters. These were not monsters the average player could go up against alone, especially not when there was such a powerful suppression to players Physique. Even a Henglian grandmaster wielding a weapon would have great difficulty holding his ground against several beasts of a significantly larger size. Just when Shi Feng was considering learning a Tier 4 Legacy Skill to enhance his combat power, a dark silhouette suddenly emerged from a distant horizon and rapidly closed in on his location. Shortly after this dark figure appeared, several five-meter-tall figures followed. These five-meter-tall figures were Level 124 Grand Lord ranked Three-tailed Blaze Wolves, and it was obvious that they were chasing after the dark figure. As this dark figure moved closer and closer, Shi Feng could finally see the other partys appearance. Wu Xiaoxiao? TL Notes: [1]I removed a sentence after this part. Removed sentence: Translated: If reselling was done right, it was entirely possible to earn enough wealth to make even hegemonic powers grow envious. Google: If the reselling of the two worlds is done, it is not impossible to earn wealth that will make the giants jealous. Reason for removal: The sentence is vague. It doesnt mention who is doing the reselling. Is it the individual Lifestyle Player? Or a small group of Lifestyle Players? Or an organization? Considering that players will have to cook food as they do in the real world, it should be a time-consuming process, so I doubt one Lifestyle Player can cook enough food to earn a massive fortune. I dont want to jump to conclusions and assume it is done by a group/organization, either, since Im not sure if the author hasnt clarified exactly how time-consuming the cooking process is. For all I know, Lifestyle Players who have become Master/Grandmaster Chefs might have the ability to cook up dishes in a buffet in minutes, even in the Greater Gods Domain. So, I decided to only mention that earning Ancient Coins and Star Coins in the Greater Gods Domain is easier because of this food gimmick. As this dark figure moved closer and closer, Shi Feng could finally see the other partys appearance. Wu Xiaoxiao? TL Notes: [1]I removed a sentence after this part. Search Hosted Novel for the original. Removed sentence: Translated: If reselling was done right, it was entirely possible to earn enough wealth to make even hegemonic powers grow envious. Google: If the reselling of the two worlds is done, it is not impossible to earn wealth that will make the giants jealous. Reason for removal: The sentence is vague. It doesnt mention who is doing the reselling. Is it the individual Lifestyle Player? Or a small group of Lifestyle Players? Or an organization? Considering that players will have to cook food as they do in the real world, it should be a time-consuming process, so I doubt one Lifestyle Player can cook enough food to earn a massive fortune. I dont want to jump to conclusions and assume it is done by a group/organization, either, since Im not sure if the author hasnt clarified exactly how time-consuming the cooking process is. For all I know, Lifestyle Players who have become Master/Grandmaster Chefs might have the ability to cook up dishes in a buffet in minutes, even in the Greater Gods Domain. So, I decided to only mention that earning Ancient Coins and Star Coins in the Greater Gods Domain is easier because of this food gimmick. As this dark figure moved closer and closer, Shi Feng could finally see the other partys appearance. Wu Xiaoxiao? TL Notes: [1]I removed a sentence after this part. Search Hosted Novel for the original. Removed sentence: Translated: If reselling was done right, it was entirely possible to earn enough wealth to make even hegemonic powers grow envious. Google: If the reselling of the two worlds is done, it is not impossible to earn wealth that will make the giants jealous. Reason for removal: The sentence is vague. It doesnt mention who is doing the reselling. Is it the individual Lifestyle Player? Or a small group of Lifestyle Players? Or an organization? Considering that players will have to cook food as they do in the real world, it should be a time-consuming process, so I doubt one Lifestyle Player can cook enough food to earn a massive fortune. I dont want to jump to conclusions and assume it is done by a group/organization, either, since Im not sure if the author hasnt clarified exactly how time-consuming the cooking process is. For all I know, Lifestyle Players who have become Master/Grandmaster Chefs might have the ability to cook up dishes in a buffet in minutes, even in the Greater Gods Domain. So, I decided to only mention that earning Ancient Coins and Star Coins in the Greater Gods Domain is easier because of this food gimmick. Chapter 3220 - Chapter 294 - Top Adventurer Chapter 294 C Top Adventurer Guild Leader Black Flame? When Shi Feng discovered Wu Xiaoxiao, Wu Xiaoxiao also noticed Shi Feng, shock and confusion appearing in her eyes. However, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly recovered from her surprise and resumed running at full speed. Despite being an Elementalist, Wu Xiaoxiao managed to not only evade one of the Three-tailed Blaze Wolves that had lunged at her, but she also managed to widen the gap between them to over 30 yards in only an instant. Her movements were incredibly swift and natural, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that she was already close to rivaling Domain Realm experts. Moreover, if one were to inspect Wu Xiaoxiao with an Identification Skill, one would realize that Wu Xiaoxiao was no longer a Tier 3 Great Mage but a genuine level 127, Tier 4 Great Wizard instead. She also wore quite a few pieces of Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment, and the staff she wielded was even a Fragmented Legendary Staff. At the same time as Wu Xiaoxiao was pulling away from the Three-tailed Blaze Wolves chasing after her, another Blaze Wolf emerged from the distant grassland. However, unlike the previous ones, this one was seven meters tall and had six tails. When it emerged from the tall grass, it glared at Wu Xiaoxiao with its crimson eyes, the flames coming out of its mouth causing the surrounding area to become scorching hot. [Six-tailed Blaze Wolf Chief (Realm Lord)] (Demonic Beast, Mythic) Level 130 HP 7,000,000,000 The Blaze Wolf Chief was a Mythic ranked Realm Lord. While it might not be comparable to Superior Mythic monsters of the same level, it wasnt an opponent that Tier 4 players could go up against alone in the Greater Gods Domain. Typically, a party of six Tier 4 players would be needed to raid such a monster. However, before the Blaze Wolf Chief could take further action, two twofold magic arrays suddenly appeared under its feet. Subsequently, ice vines emerged from the ground and restrained the Blaze Wolf Chief while lightning bolts descended from the sky. Tier 4 Barrier Spell, Ice Prison! Tier 4 Curse, Lightning Waterfall! Nicely done, Xiaoxiao! This Blaze Wolf Chief is done for now! After the two Spells took effect, a Level 129, Tier 4 female Great Wizard emerged from a patch of grass near the Blaze Wolf Chief. The Great Wizard was currently surrounded by dense ice-type mana and lightning-type mana. She was none other than the caster of Ice Prison and Lightning Waterfall. This other female Great Wizard wore an icy-green robe paired with an icy-green mages hat, and under the hat was a delicate face. At a glance, she looked roughly the same age as Wu Xiaoxiao. Yet, unlike Wu Xiaoxiao, the girl wore a golden four-leaf emblem on her robe, symbolizing that she had already conquered the World Towers fourth floor. It was also the symbol of a Top Adventurer in the Greater Gods Domain. When this Level 129 Great Wizard finished speaking, the Blaze Wolf Chief had already lost over 50 million HP and fallen into a heavily injured state, which reduced his Basic Attributes by 30%. As for the Three-tailed Blaze Wolves chasing after Wu Xiaoxiao, they had lost over 100 million HP each, a huge chunk of their HP bars vanishing in the blink of an eye. Their bodies were also riddled with heavy injuries, and their current Basic Attributes were inferior to even Great Lords of the same level. Seeing this, Wu Xiaoxiao promptly swung her staff, executing silent casting as she bombarded the Blaze Wolf Chief with Tier 4 Spells. Immediately afterward, damage values exceeding 20 million appeared above the Realm Lords head in rapid succession. The Blaze Wolf Chief could no longer rely on its battle recovery due to its heavily injured state. So, its HP bar rapidly depleted under the attack of the two Great Wizards. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the Blaze Wolf Chief fell. However, just when everything was progressing smoothly for the two girls, a threefold magic barrier suddenly appeared in the sky, instantly isolating an area of a 500-yard radius. A Threefold Heavens Lock?! When the girl in the icy-green robe saw the barrier in the sky, her expression instantly darkened. The Threefold Heavens Lock was a Grandmaster Magic Array. The value of just one set of scrolls for the Threefold Heavens Lock was equivalent to one Fragmented Legendary item. However, in exchange for its costly price, the Threefold Heavens Lock could trap even Tier 5 players for a considerable amount of time. It was one of the more precious means for players to trap their enemies in the Greater Gods Domain. Theres no running away, Midsummer! Hand over the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal, and I will let you two go! Subsequently, a team of over twenty Tier 4 players scurried out of the distant grassland. The person standing in the lead of this team was a Level 130, Tier 4 male Summoner who also wore a golden four-leaf emblem on his chest. Dont even think about it, Arrogance! Weve long agreed that the highest bidder will get the ruins loot! Also, didnt your team receive a share of the money already?! What youre doing now is just robbery! Arent you afraid of the Purple Melody Alliances retaliation?! the delicate girl named Midsummer said angrily as she glared at the male Summoner. So what? Do you think the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal is something you can buy for a measly 300,000 Star Coins? the Summoner named Uncaring Arrogance said with a contemptuous smile. I admit that Purple Melody has many experts, but how many of these experts can you get to help you? Do you truly think the Twin Saints Alliance is afraid of you? You! Wu Xiaoxiao frowned when she heard Uncaring Arrogances words. However, she couldnt think of anything to rebuke the Summoners words. The Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal was indeed an incredibly valuable treasure. The countries in the Greater Gods Domain were situated far apart from each other, so teleportation between countries was incredibly expensive. Moreover, teleportation fees had to be paid in Seven Luminaries Crystals, and teleporting even to the nearest country would cost 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Meanwhile, with the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal, one could get one free teleportation every three days so long as the teleportation fee did not exceed 200 units. However, the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal was a rare item, so much so that most Tier 6 experts didnt even have one. In addition, under the rules set by the Ancient River Kingdoms six hegemonic powers, players of a higher tier were prohibited from taking action against players of a lower tier within the kingdoms territory unless it was because of a Guild War or City War. This was to ensure the Ancient River Kingdoms order and stability. Anyone found breaking this rule would be jointly attacked by the six ruling hegemonic powers. Hence, conflicts between players that took place within the kingdoms borders would usually be limited to players of the same tier. Many geniuses and experts would even choose to remain at Tier 4 so that they could find better Legacies or further develop their Mana Bodies so that they could have an easier time at higher tiers. It was true that the Purple Melody Alliance had over 30 Tier 6 experts under its command, which was far more than what the Twin Saints Alliance had. One of the Ancient River Kingdoms top 50 Tier 6 experts even belonged to Purple Melody. However, when it came to Tier 4 experts, the Purple Melody Alliance was inferior to the Twin Saints Alliance. Since you refuse to hand it over, we will have no choice but to take it ourselves! Uncaring Arrogance said before gesturing with his hand. Theres a person weve never seen before over there, Commander Arrogance, a Tier 4 Assassin who was similarly wearing a Top Adventurers Emblem suddenly said to Uncaring Arrogance. Should we attack him as well? Uncaring Arrogance glanced at Shi Feng when he heard the Assassins words. After failing to see a familiar Guild Emblem or even an Adventurers Emblem on Shi Feng, he indifferently said, Get rid of them together! We cannot afford any mishaps with the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal! Upon receiving Uncaring Arrogances command, 15 players from the Twin Saints Alliances team charged toward Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, while the remaining eight charged at Shi Feng. Of these 23 players, even the weakest was a Superior Adventurer. One of them, the Assassin who spoke to Uncaring Arrogance, was even a Top Adventurer. Xiaoxiao. When Midsummer saw some of Twin Saints members targeting Shi Feng, she curiously looked to Wu Xiaoxiao and asked, Do you know that guy? I noticed that you were quite surprised to see him just now. Mhm. Hes from the same Gods Domain as me, Wu Xiaoxiao said, nodding. Hes also quite a well-known figure in our Gods Domain. Hes a famous figure from your Gods Domain? Midsummers eyes brightened when she heard Wu Xiaoxiaos answer. Is he strong? Midsummer was aware that Wu Xiaoxiao came from an isolated Gods Domain. From what she heard from Wu Xiaoxiao, the Gods Domain she came from was incredibly weak. However, from what Midsummer could tell, Wu Xiaoxiao possessed incredible talent. Two days ago, Wu Xiaoxiao had even conquered the World Towers third floor, becoming one of the few Superior Adventurers in the Ancient River Kingdom. Wu Xiaoxiaos current combat standards might be inferior to hers, but it should be noted that Wu Xiaoxiao was only at the World Towers second-floor standard roughly two weeks ago. The ability to improve so rapidly definitely put Wu Xiaoxiao at the top among the Ancient River Kingdoms latest generation of geniuses. If even Wu Xiaoxiao already possessed such strength and talent, someone famous from Wu Xiaoxiaos Gods Domain shouldnt be weak. After thinking for a moment, Wu Xiaoxiao hesitantly said, He should be at the standard of ordinary Top Adventurers. Black Flame was one of Zero Wings known Tier 6 God-ranked experts. Logically, he should only be at the standard of Superior Adventurers. However, Wu Xiaoxiao felt he should have made some improvements along with the myriad worlds descent. An ordinary Top Adventurer? Midsummer sighed a little when she heard Wu Xiaoxiaos answer. I guess theres no hope for us this time. Top Adventurers might be considered experts among experts in the Ancient River Kingdom, but an ordinary Top Adventurer would most likely have difficulty surviving the team led by Uncaring Arrogance. While Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were readying themselves for a harsh battle, the fourth-floor Assassin from Twin Saints suddenly split into three copies of himself and attacked Shi Feng simultaneously. Each doppelganger executed six attacks with the daggers they wielded, launching a total of eighteen attacks from different directions. The attacks were also executed at a speed beyond the reaction speed of the average Tier 4 player. Scram! However, when Shi Feng saw the Level 130 Assassin attacking him, he simply flung a punch at the empty space before him. Boom! Suddenly, cracks appeared in the space before Shi Feng. Spatial Destruction! Chapter 3221 - Chapter 295 - Ten Great Paragons Chapter 295 C Ten Great Paragons Spatial Destruction?! When the other members of the Two Saints Alliances team saw the cracked space before Shi Feng, they couldnt help but be stunned and stopped what they were doing. Space in the Greater Gods Domain was incredibly stable, so it was impossible to destabilize it without having power at the Tier 5 standard. As for shattering it, one would require power at the Tier 5 Intermediate standard to achieve that. However, Shi Fengs punch didnt only shatter the space directly in front of him. Subsequently, the cracks in space could be seen rapidly spreading forward like tendrils and covering the area 20 yards ahead of Shi Feng, each of these spatial tendrils carried power at the Tier 5 Basic standard. In the blink of an eye, the several dozen spatial tendrils had enveloped the Level 130 Assassins three doppelgangers, and following this scene was a loud explosion. Not only did the three Assassin doppelgangers fail to land any of their attacks on Shi Feng, but two of them even disappeared on the spot. Immediately afterward, a black silhouette flew over 50 yards away from Shi Feng, crashing heavily into a large tree. When the large tree shattered and fell, silence enveloped the battlefield as everyone stared at Shi Feng in shock. She calls this an ordinary Top Adventurer? Midsummer felt tricked when she looked at the Tier 4 Assassin that Shi Feng had sent flying. Despite similarly being a Tier 4 player, Shi Feng had sent a Tier 4 Assassin, who happened to be a Top Adventurer, flying with just a punch from his bare fist. If Shi Feng was considered an ordinary Top Adventurer, thered be very few ordinary Top Adventurers in the Ancient River Kingdom. How is this possible At this moment, Wu Xiaoxiao was equally dumbfounded by this scene. She never thought Shi Feng would be this strong. It should be known that the Level 130 Assassin from the Twin Saints Alliance wasnt just a fourth-floor expert. He was also equipped with three pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Yet, Shi Feng had sent him flying with just a punch Without the help of a Legendary Weapon or Equipment, only the titled experts standing at the Ancient River Kingdoms apex could possibly accomplish such a feat Do you still want to fight? Shi Feng asked as he looked toward Uncaring Arrogance indifferently. Instances of players killing other players for treasure constantly happened in the Greater Gods Domain, so he wasnt particularly surprised to see Wu Xiaoxiao being hunted down for a Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. What he didnt expect was to get dragged into one such robbery as soon as he arrived at the Greater Gods Domain. This is all a misunderstanding, Sir, Uncaring Arrogance promptly answered. We do not wish for any hostilities with you. To apologize for our actions, we are willing to give you 200 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal as compensation. Thats quite sincere of you. Shi Feng was a little surprised when he heard Uncaring Arrogances offer. Seven Luminaries Crystals remained an important resource even in the Greater Gods Domain since it was necessary for players to get promoted to Tier 6. Meanwhile, 200 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was already enough to exchange a set of Level 130 Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment.[1] Im glad this satisfies you. Uncaring Arrogance sighed in relief. Titled experts were essentially hegemons in the kingdom, and offending a titled expert should be left only as a last resort. This was because getting promoted to Tier 6 wasnt a question for titled experts. The only reason a titled expert would remain at a lower tier was simply because they were looking to establish a better foundation for themselves so that they could make better progress after ascending to Tier 6. May I ask that you take a short rest for now? We will promptly undo the barrier for you once we are done with our business here. As soon as Uncaring Arrogance finished speaking, Midsummer panicked. Xiaoxiao, youre natives of the same world as that guy, right? Can you get him to help us? Midsummer hurriedly asked Wu Xiaoxiao. However, Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt help but reveal a bitter smile when she heard Midsummers question. It was true that she was familiar with the name of Black Flame. After all, he was one of the few God-ranked experts native to the Miniature Ancient World. However, the same could not be said for the other way around Just when Wu Xiaoxiao was thinking of trying to ask for help anyway, Shi Feng suddenly shook his head a little. One of them is my acquaintance, Shi Feng said as he looked at Uncaring Arrogance. If you leave now, I will pretend that nothing happened here today. Although he had nothing to do with this matter, he couldnt just sit by and watch Wu Xiaoxiao get robbed. After all, she was Wu Linglings elder sister. Sir Im afraidI cannot do that Uncaring Arrogance said, shaking his head. We arent the ones looking to acquire the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. Rather, the one seeking to obtain it is Saint Three, the Twin Saints Alliances Spear Zealot. Saint Three? The one who fought Saint Nine to a standstill? Midsummer couldnt help but ask when she heard Uncaring Arrogances words. The Twin Saints Alliance had many experts, but only those with extraordinary talent were qualified to refer to themselves as Saint in the alliance. Meanwhile, Saint Nine was a veteran paragon nurtured by the Twin Saints Alliance. Originally, he was one of the peerless individuals with the highest possibility of becoming one of the Twin Saints Alliances Twin Saints. However, after fighting the younger Saint Three and concluding the match in a draw, he had no choice but to enter the newly-opened Miniature Ancient World. What? He fought the God Lists third-ranked player to a standstill? Wu Xiaoxiao was greatly shocked by this news. Wu Xiaoxiao was not foreign to the name of Saint Nine. Before she came to the Greater Gods Domain, Saint Nines name had already spread across the entire Miniature Ancient World. After all, anyone who saw the God-ranked Expert List would know him. Hence, she knew that Saint Nine wasnt just your average titled expert. In fact, even ordinary titled experts would last no more than a few moves against Saint Nine. Thats right. Uncaring Arrogance nodded to Midsummers question. If you dont want to get into trouble, hand over the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. This will be beneficial to both you and me. Midsummer fell into indecision when she heard Uncaring Arrogances words. The Spear Zealot Saint Three was currently one of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. Although he was only at Tier 4, even some Tier 6 God-ranked experts needed to behave respectfully in front of him. To clash against such an individual, only one of the other Ten Great Paragons had the necessary qualifications. However, the Purple Melody Alliance did not have any Tier 4 experts ranked within the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. Meanwhile, so long as one of these Ten Great Paragons decided to act against a person, there would be no escaping for this person within the Ancient River Kingdom. Even cities could not protect this person from these paragons assassination. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao fell silent, Uncaring Arrogance smiled and said to Shi Feng, Sir, while you might have the strength of a titled expert, there are still quite a few Tier 4 titled experts in the Ancient River Kingdom. However, individuals capable of going up against Lord Saint Three are few and far between. You do not need to offend Lord Saint Three just because of a Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal your friend came across. Uncaring Arrogance admitted that titled experts were incredibly powerful compared to experts like him and his teammates. However, in front of paragons, titled experts were nothing but a joke. If not for the World Towers fifth floor being impossible to clear[2] and the Seven Luminaries Alliance and the Gods Domain Association being a stickler for rules, paragons would have long since received a new categorization rather than let themselves be considered on the same level as ordinary titled experts. Saint Three? Shi Feng chuckled as he looked at Uncaring Arrogance. So what if I offend him? He had dared to offend even the peerless individuals of apex powers canonized by the Seven Luminaries Alliance during his previous life. He had also clashed against several of them before. Why would he care about the feelings of a young paragon of a measly kingdom? TL Notes: [1]a set of Level 130 Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment: This isnt referring to a Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment Set. It is only referring to a mish-mash of Level 130 Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment pieces. [2]the World Towers fifth floor being impossible to clear(Ϊ֮ͨDzܵ): Uh, Im not sure if this is referring to the so-called paragons being too weak to conquer the World Towers fifth floor or if nobody in the Greater Gods Domain has managed to conquer the fifth floor thus far. The raws for this part are unclear, and none of the later chapters have clarified this point. Chapter 3222 - Chapter 296 - Splitting the Sky With One Slash Chapter 296 C Splitting the Sky With One Slash Do you know what you are saying, Sir? Uncaring Arrogance couldnt help but doubt his ears when he heard the arrogant words coming out of Shi Fengs mouth. Everybody in the Ancient River Kingdom knew about the Spear Zealot Saint Three. He was an existence that even the various hegemonic powers had to treat respectfully. Normally, so long as Saint Threes name was brought to the table, nobody in the Ancient River Kingdom would dare to voice any objections. Saint Three was so influential that many hegemonic powers were willing to go as far as to erase a titled experts existence from Gods Domain so long as he wished for it. As for why the various hegemonic powers were willing to do Saint Three such a huge favor, it was because of his future potential. So long as Saint Three reached Tier 6, he would have limitless potential. Although the Greater Gods Domain was vast, there was still a limit to the amount of available land. The various powers had never stopped competing over territories in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, it was common for the various powers to hire outside help when competing over territories. Not to mention, there were many instances of powers taking control over an entire kingdom or even an entire empire in the Greater Gods Domain by relying on only one paragon-level expert. Hence, the various powers were very much willing to befriend paragons like Saint Three. If they could get someone like Saint Three to owe them a favor, erasing a titled expert from Gods Domain would be a small price to pay. So, Uncaring Arrogance couldnt help but find Shi Fengs behavior of dismissing Saint Three incomprehensible and insane. Xiaoxiao, is that guy really from the same world as you? Midsummer asked when she heard Shi Feng turning down Uncaring Arrogances offer, her eyes filled with envy as she looked at Wu Xiaoxiao. Not even hegemonic powers would dare to outright disrespect Saint Three. Yet, Shi Feng had done so without hesitation. Not even the Purple Melody Alliance would dare to do such a thing. The alliances higher-ups would definitely have her hand over the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal to curry favor with Saint Three. So, this is Zero Wings Guild Leader? Wu Xiaoxiao also found this situation incredulous. She never thought that Shi Feng would not only know about a small character unrelated to Zero Wing like herself, but would also be willing to help her regardless of the cost. At this moment, Wu Xiaoxiao suddenly understood why her younger sister was willing to remain in Zero Wing. It was truly a fortunate matter for a Guild to have such a Guild Leader. In a world where profits mattered above all else, many powers would not mind sacrificing the personal interests of some of their members in exchange for the entire organizations interests. Even hegemonic powers were not above such practices. People like Shi Feng, who was willing to offend powerful existences for the sake of an individual, were exceedingly rare among the various powers. Meanwhile, after mentally labeling Shi Feng as an unreasonable lunatic. Uncaring Arrogance turned to Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, coldly saying, Even if Sir here doesnt mind, do you two intend on going against Saint Three? Uncaring Arrogance knew there was no way to talk sense into a lunatic. Hence, he decided to focus his sights on Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao instead. He refused to believe that even Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao would be willing to oppose Saint Three. So long as Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were willing to hand over the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal, Shi Feng would no longer have a reason to help them. At that time, he would be able to complete his mission successfully. Do we give it to him? Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao grew hesitant and worried when they heard Uncaring Arrogances words. They had intended for the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal to be the capital for their rise in the future. After all, they could teleport between countries once every three days for free. If they could take proper advantage of arbitrage opportunities, the profits they stood to earn would be far greater than what they could earn from working themselves to death out in the fields. Yet, if they refused to hand over the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal, they would have no future in the Ancient River Kingdom. With Saint Threes influence in the kingdom, one word for him was enough to get them hunted by the kingdoms various powers. If they were to leave the Ancient River Kingdom, even Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts would take action Subsequently, Midsummer moved her gaze to Wu Xiaoxiao and then to Shi Feng. Then, she reluctantly took out a seven-colored crystal the size of a fist from her bag. Wise decision. Uncaring Arrogance smiled when he saw the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. However, as soon as Uncaring Arrogance finished speaking, Shi Feng turned to Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. Then, in a determined tone, he said, If you are worried about implicating me, dont be. I said I would protect you, so I definitely can protect you, and nobody should think of stealing anything from you. However, I will not interfere with your decision. All I can do is give you the freedom to choose. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, both Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao paused. If even Shi Feng, the person offering them help, was unconcerned, what more did they have to worry about? Have you two lost your minds as well? When Uncaring Arrogance saw the two girls pausing, his voice gradually grew colder. Or do you think you can go up against Lord Saint Three? Subsequently, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao looked at each other for a moment. Then, they turned to Uncaring Arrogance and firmly said, Tell your Lord Saint Three to go to hell! Uncaring Arrogance was momentarily stunned when he heard the two girls response. He never thought that they would dare to make an enemy out of Saint Three. Well said! Shi Feng smiled when he saw the stunned look on Uncaring Arrogances face. Then, he looked at Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer, saying, you two should follow me back to the city. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to make it back alive. There were no Return Scrolls in the Greater Gods Domain. Players had to rely on their feet or Mounts to travel between places, and only those incredibly wealthy could afford to travel using Teleportation Scrolls. Because of this, players could be targeted easily out in the fields. Now that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had made an enemy out of Saint Three, they might get surrounded and attacked by other players on their way back. And with the two girls abilities, they would have a very hard time defending themselves. Thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame, Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer thanked Shi Feng. You want to leave? Uncaring Arrogance sneered when he saw that Shi Feng intended to leave with Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. Do you think you can leave this place alive? The Threefold Heavens Lock could trap even Tier 5 players for a considerable amount of time. Tier 4 players could only wait until the magic array ran out of mana, which would take several hours. Such a long time was enough for him to gather a few dozen teams. Lets go. When Shi Feng saw that Midsummer had put away the Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal, he tapped on his system interface and spent 200 Legacy Skill Points to learn the Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skill Holy Law. Then, he swung his hand at the nearby magic barrier. Holy Law! Suddenly, the land within a 200-yard radius around Shi Feng transformed into a gigantic sword that measured several hundred meters in length. Then, following the movement of Shi Fengs hand, the gigantic sword slashed down at the barrier. Boom! The barrier was instantly bisected, and the blue sky again appeared before everyones eyes Uncaring Arrogance slumped to the ground, a look of utter disbelief on his face as he looked at the vanishing threefold magic barrier. He did not react in the slightest, even as Shi Feng had slowly left with Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao on his Mount. Itbroke? TL Notes: [Holy Law] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 4 Apex Legacy Skill Integrate your weapon with the world and transform every object within a 200-yard radius into your weapon. All weapon bonuses will be increased by 100%. Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 1 minute (I removed the Skills description from the chapter and moved it here since it was just a copy-paste from Chapter 263 and kinda breaks immersion.) Chapter 3223 - Chapter 297 - Kingdoms Rookies Chapter 297 C Kingdoms Rookies Ancient River Kingdom, Gazing Moon City: After traveling continuously for over 14 hours, Shi Fengs party of three successfully arrived at Gazing Moon City, an ancient city with over six centuries of history, before the sky darkened. Sure enough, its the same as before. When Shi Feng looked at the large city gate that easily allowed a large crowd to pass through, memories from the past gushed into his mind. Gazing Moon City was one of the Ancient River Kingdoms top ten cities. It had a stable player population of over 200 million, and it was situated in the kingdoms northwestern region. It was also the first-ranked city in the kingdoms northwestern region. The entire city was built atop a towering mountain range with an altitude of more than 100,000 meters. It served as a link between the Ancient River Kingdoms northwestern and central regions. Because of this, it ranked in the kingdoms top five cities when it came to trade. During Shi Fengs previous life, Zero Wing had made Gazing Moon City one of its crucial bases of operations when the Guild began its development in the Ancient River Kingdom. The reason for this decision was that despite being one of the kingdoms top ten cities, Gazing Moon City was not under the control of any Guild. Instead, the city was ruled by several alliances formed by independent players. Among these alliances were the Twin Saints Alliance and the Purple Melody Alliance. Hence, Gazing Moon City could be regarded as a free city that was incredibly suitable for trade. Any power could develop in Gazing Moon City should they wish to do so. However, because of the presence of these player alliances, no single power should think of occupying the city for themselves. Not even the kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers should consider doing so. Currently, even though it was already getting dark, the number of players lining up to enter the city still exceeded a thousand. Moreover, more and more players were joining the queue as time passed. This situation left Shi Fengs party with no choice but to wait in line. Because of the long queue, many players waiting in line started engaging in small talk with each other. Among them, there were Tier 3, Tier 4, and even Tier 5 players discussing something with excitement on their faces. Did you hear? It seems three people have managed to offend the Twin Saints Alliances Spear Zealot Saint Three. I did. I heard that those three people snatched Lord Saint Threes Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. The Tier 4 Swordsman, the leader of the group, even insulted Lord Saint Three. Everyone in the Twin Saints Alliance is talking about this matter. What a bunch of lunatics. Not even the Tier 6 experts of hegemonic powers would dare to casually offend Saint Three. Yet, those three people have the gall to steal Saint Threes Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. Nowhere in the Ancient River Kingdom will be safe for them now. I heard that the Tier 4 Swordsman is a titled expert who just migrated into the kingdom. A titled expert? No wonder hes so arrogant and ignorant. Unfortunately, while he might be considered a big shot in a city, hes nothing in front of the Ten Great Paragons. Its a pity we dont have any specific information on those three people. This is such a great opportunity to get into Saint Threes good graces. It is indeed a pity. I heard that the Twin Saints Alliance plans to handle this matter on its own, so it isnt going to announce those three peoples information. It wasnt very often a major news piece relating to the kingdoms Ten Great Paragons would come up. Hence, many Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts jumped at the opportunity and began secretly inquiring about the three people who had offended the Two Saints Alliances Saint Three. At this time, a cloaked beauty with a delicate face quietly observed the people around her, an anxious expression on her face. Is it really alright for us to come to Gazing Moon City, Brother Black Flame? Midsummer quietly asked Shi Feng after overhearing the discussions taking place around her. Wu Xiaoxiao, who stood next to Midsummer, also held deep doubts about Shi Fengs decision to come to Gazing Moon City. At this point, news of their actions had already spread across the entire Ancient River Kingdom. Meanwhile, upon learning of their deeds, Tier 4 experts werent the only ones tempted to take action. Even Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts eagerly thought of joining in on the action. It should be known that these Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts were not joking. They might be prohibited from openly taking action, but there were still ways for them to covertly take action. In response to Midsummers concerns, Shi Feng chuckled and said, If you two wish to develop peacefully in the Ancient River Kingdom in the future, the best way to achieve this would be to participate in the kingdoms annual Rookie Competition thats taking place in six days and join the ranks of the kingdoms latest generation of Ten Great Paragons. If you can do that, the kingdoms various powers and experts will no longer side with Saint Three. There will also be nothing Saint Three can do against you. This Midsummer was rendered speechless by Shi Fengs answer. The Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition was held specifically for the Tier 4 players among the kingdoms younger generation. Any Tier 4 player under Level 140 could apply for the competition. However, only if one managed to get into the preliminaries top 100 could one remain in the Ancient River Secret Land and have a chance at competing for a spot among the Ten Great Paragons. Rumor had it that the Ancient River Secret Land not only housed an Ancient God Legacy, but it also housed a Divine Artifact. Hence, the Ancient River Kingdoms annual Rookie Competition would always attract countless Tier 4 players under Level 140. Many titled experts would even lower their levels and tier to Level 140, Tier 4 just to participate in the competition. The Ancient River Secret Land was also why the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons refused to ascend to higher tiers even after many years had passed. Because of the fierce competition, not even ordinary fourth-floor experts could get into the preliminaries top 100. In past competitions, even the weakest player in the top 100 would be a titled expert. You dont have to worry about this. I have a way to get you two into the top 100. I can even give you a fighting chance against those paragons, Shi Feng said, smiling. Others might not know what secrets the Ancient River Secret Land housed, but he knew some of them. The trials awaiting players in the Ancient River Secret Land werent a test of strength. Instead, it was more so a test of the Completion Rate of players Mana Bodies. Moreover, the reason the Dragon Princess had teleported him to the Ancient River Kingdom should be because of the Ancient River Secret Land. After he had arrived in the Ancient River Kingdom, the Seven Luminaries Codex still did not show any reactions. So, the only explanation he could come up with for this situation was that the Codexs fragment was hidden in the Ancient River Secret Land, the most mysterious place in the Ancient River Kingdom. After waiting in line for over an hour, Shi Fengs party finally welcomed their turn. After the Level 180, Tier 4 NPC soldier inspected Shi Fengs party with an Identification Skill, he said, I have verified your identities. It will be nine Silver Mana Coins for all three of you to enter the city. Once you enter the city, you will have to leave within three days, and you may not enter the city again for two days. Here. Midsummer handed nine Silver Mana Coins to the soldier. Meanwhile, Shi Feng couldnt help but grow a little envious when he saw how much money Gazing Moon City made from each player through entrance fees alone. Many types of currency were used in the Greater Gods Domain. Out of all these currencies, the three most valuable currencies were Bronze Mana Coins, Silver Mana Coins, and Gold Mana Coins, with one Gold Mana Coin being worth 100 Silver Mana Coins or 10,000 Bronze Mana Coins. Normally, the materials one could obtain from killing a Level 100 Great Lord would only be worth several Bronze Mana Coins. Meanwhile, one Silver Mana Coin could be used to exchange for one Mana Stone. However, one Mana Stone could not be used to exchange for one Silver Mana Coin. As for Gold Mana Coins, rumors mentioned that the value of one Gold Mana Coin was comparable to one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Of course, nobody would be so foolish as to trade Seven Luminaries Crystals for Gold Mana Coins. At the heart of Gazing Moon City, inside the Twin Saints Alliances Guild Hall Roughly half an hour after Shi Fengs party entered Gazing Moon City, a Level 150, Tier 5 Ranger hurriedly entered a private room inside the Twin Saints Alliances Guild Hall. The mana in the room was in a liquid state. Currently, there was a Tier 4 young man with messy hair sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room. If one observed this young man carefully, one would notice that the mana his body radiated was already close to achieving a solid state. This scene was astonishing as the density and strength of this mana shouldnt belong to a Tier 4 player. What is it? the savage-looking young man asked in a dissatisfied tone as he looked at the Tier 5 Ranger. Those three people have entered Gazing Moon City, Lord Saint Three, the Level 150 Ranger hurriedly reported. Should we take action now? Chapter 3224 - Chapter 298 - One Construction to Beat a Country Chapter 298 C One Construction to Beat a Country Black Flame? The God Lists fourth-ranked Asura Sword Emperor? Saint Threes lips curled into a sinister smile when he heard the Tier 5 Rangers report. How interesting. I thought that useless Uncaring Arrogance was joking with me when he told me this name. I didnt think it would be true. He is merely a titled expert from a small world, Lord Saint Three. Setting aside the fact that he is inferior to the third-ranked Lord Saint Nine, so long as you give me the word, I will bring him to immediately, the Tier 5 Ranger said confidently. In addition to being a titled expert, he also had an overwhelming advantage of twenty levels and one tier over the expert named Black Flame. Inferior to Saint Nine? Saint Three laughed when he heard the Rangers words. Do you know that Saint Nine lost to someone in that small world you speak of? Someone defeated Lord Saint Nine? Could it be the God Lists first-ranked player? the Tier 5 Ranger exclaimed. The experts on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God-ranked Expert List would rarely clash with each other. They were only given their ranks because of the strength they displayed. Even so, if he were to name someone who could defeat Saint Nine, the only person he could think of would be the God Lists first-ranked player. No, its not that person, Saint Three said, shaking his head. Then, he snickered and continued, He got defeated by a peerless genius nurtured by the Paimon Conglomerate. From the reports, the other party is called Meteor. There is also a person named Star Snail who should be roughly as strong as Saint Nine. The Tier 5 Ranger was surprised by this news, and he couldnt help but be awed by the Paimon Conglomerates strength. It should be known that Saint Nine was a rare genius that the Twin Saints Alliance would only see once every several decades. If not for Saint Three, a genius that would appear only once every century, appearing out of the blue, Saint Nine would most likely be preparing to take over the Twin Saints Alliance already. Yet, out of the internal geniuses the Paimon Conglomerate had dispatched to the Miniature Ancient World, there was actually one who could beat Saint Nine and another who could match Saint Nine. However, from a piece of insider news I got from the Paimon Conglomerate, Meteor has lost to Black Flame and a female Swordsman. Although the Seven Luminaries Alliance has yet to update its ranking list, the God Lists top three should see Black Flame and that mysterious female Swordsman in it, Saint Three said with a fervent look. So, do you understand what I want to do? A public execution! the Tier 5 Ranger answered almost instinctively. Thats right! Saint Three said in delight. I will publicly execute that Black Flame in the Ancient River Secret Land and let the various conglomerates internal geniuses know who is the real genius! As for those two women, so long as they leave Gazing Moon City, find an opportunity to kill them and retrieve my Seven Luminaries Teleportation Crystal. Understood! The Tier 5 Ranger bowed before leaving the room. Nighttime, Gazing Moon Hotel: The Gazing Moon Hotel was the most luxurious hotel in the heart of Gazing Moon City. Meanwhile, the hotels top-floor VIP room was also the most expensive hotel room in the city. It cost ten Gold Mana Coins just to stay in the room for one night, yet the average Tier 5 expert didnt even earn five Gold Mana Coins per day. I had to bankrupt myself to rent this room for three days, Brother Black Flame Midsummer said as she placed her hand on her money pouch with an agonized look on her face. She had never dared to dream about staying in one of the Gazing Moon Hotels top-floor VIP rooms before. Out of the many years she had spent in the Greater Gods Domain, never had she spent more than five Silver Mana Coins a night renting a hotel room. Yet, Shi Feng had not only helped her break this record, but he had even gotten her to rent this extravagant room for three whole days. If they couldnt earn any money during these three days, they would be so broke that they wouldnt be able to afford any food or accommodation. When Shi Feng, who had changed into a gray boilersuit, saw the anxious expressions on Midsummers and Wu Xiaoxiaos faces, he chuckled and said, Dont look at me like that. I called you two here for something good. Something good? Midsummer looked at Shi Feng skeptically. What is it? Chuckling, Shi Feng answered, Im taking you two to go mining! Upon hearing this, both Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao immediately rolled their eyes at Shi Feng. They were staying in the most expensive hotel room in Gazing Moon City, yet Shi Feng was now telling them to do the least profitable job in the Greater Gods Domain. This was already beyond extravagance. Gazing Moon City might be situated on top of a mountain range, but the ore veins surrounding it werent particularly valuable. They were mostly Copper and Iron veins. There wasnt even a single Grade 3 ore vein nearby. Players would be fortunate if they could earn even a single Silver Mana Coin after toiling for an entire day. Because of this, only NPCs would be willing to work as a Miner in Gazing Moon City. Youll understand once you see it for yourself, Shi Feng said, shaking his head and chuckling when Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao glared at him. After saying so, Shi Feng took out an ancient bronze key from his bag. The key radiated a nine-colored glow, and Shi Feng turned it in mid-air after taking it out. Immediately, a space-time passage the size of a person appeared in the middle of the room. This was none other than the entrance to the miniature world formed by the Primal Ore Vein. A Primal Ore Vein!? Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were dumbfounded when they saw the space-time passage. They werent ignorant little girls. So long as one spent some time researching in Gods Domains various libraries, one would find information on all sorts of ore veins. Meanwhile, out of the various ore veins in Gods Domain, the best and safest one would have to be the Primal Ore Vein. According to rumors, a Primal Ore Vein was a world of its own. Meanwhile, the amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals a Primal Ore Vein produced each day could rival half the daily production volume of an Elementary Gods Domain. So, gaining control over a Primal Ore Vein would be akin to gaining control over half an Elementary Gods Domains wealth. So, it was only natural they would be surprised to learn that Shi Feng possessed a Primal Ore Vein. Dont be so surprised. This Primal Ore Vein is damaged, so Im not sure exactly how many Seven Luminaries Crystals it can produce, Shi Feng said with a bitter smile when he saw the two girls sparkling eyes. Currently, whether Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao could reach the Ancient River Secret Lands depths depended entirely on the Primal Ore Vein before them. There were 99 Hidden Constructions in the Starlight Realm, and the value of each of these Hidden Constructions surpassed even the total value of an entire country in the Greater Gods Domain. Because of this, the existence of Hidden Constructions was widely known in the Greater Gods Domain. Only 40 out of the Starlight Realms 99 Hidden Constructions were found during Shi Fengs previous life. Out of these 40 Hidden Constructions found, one of them was situated in Gazing Moon City. Meanwhile, its name was the Hundred Refinement Building! However, even though Zero Wings base of development was in Gazing Moon City during Shi Fengs previous life, Zero Wing wasnt the one that obtained the Hundred Refinement Building. Instead, it was found by the Midnight Tea Party, an adventure team that eventually became known throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain! Meanwhile, as its name suggested, the Hundred Refinement Building allowed players to conduct 100 assisted training simulations. Of the 99 Hidden Constructions in the Starlight Realm, the Hundred Refinement Building ranked 39th. As for the simulations the Hundred Refinement Building offered to players, they werent ordinary combat simulations. Instead, the establishment helped players simulate the perfect state of their Mana Bodies 100 times. It was akin to players receiving heavenly assistance in the development of their Mana Bodies. However, players could only enter the Hundred Refinement Building once in their lifetime. Even if they deleted their accounts and created new ones, they couldnt enter the establishment for a second time. Meanwhile, the cost of purchasing the Hundred Refinement Building was 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Moreover, the player seeking to purchase the Hidden Construction needed to have an Epic Mana Body at a 90% Completion Rate or above. Currently, Shi Feng had already met the Mana Body criteria. All he was missing were 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. If he were to mine for Seven Luminaries Crystals by himself, he definitely couldnt harvest enough to purchase the Hundred Refinement Building before the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition started in six days. However, as he didnt dare to casually reveal the Primal Ore Veins existence to just anyone, he had no choice but to get Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao to help him. As for whether the Primal Ore Vein could generate 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in six days, that was entirely dependent on luck. Lets head inside if youre ready. When Shi Feng saw that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had already changed into boilersuits, he stepped into the space-time passage. Chapter 3225 - Chapter 299 - Astonishing Primal Ore Vein Chapter 299 C Astonishing Primal Ore Vein Primal Ore Veins miniature world: Incredible! As soon as Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao stepped out of the space-time passage, they were immediately shocked and awed by the sight before them. The Primal Ore Veins miniature world was a magnificent mountain range sitting under the starry sky. Meanwhile, sparkling Seven Luminaries Crystals could be seen all over the mountain range. At first glance, it was as if the mountain range was made up of Seven Luminaries Crystals. So, this is the world formed by a Primal Ore Vein? When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao looked at the scene before them, they more or less understood why even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would do everything they could to seize any Primal Ore Vein they came across. However, seizing a Primal Ore Vein was incredibly difficult. Unlike other ore veins found in the fields, Primal Ore Veins were located inside isolated miniature worlds, and only those with the key could enter these miniature worlds. Although the key wasnt a bound item, it wouldnt necessarily drop just because its owner was killed, either. Not to mention, the key didnt need to be kept in a players bag space. Players were free to store it wherever they wanted. So, it was nigh-impossible for even upper-ranking hegemonic powers to seize a Primal Ore Vein by force. This was also why the various powers highly desired Primal Ore Veins. Owning a Primal Ore Vein would be equivalent to owning a stable supply of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Powers wouldnt have to worry about this supply getting snatched, and they wouldnt have to send large amounts of manpower to protect it. All they needed to do was to store the key in a safe and hidden location. In the Greater Gods Domain, some powers would even be willing to trade a fully occupied Elementary Gods Domain for a Primal Ore Vein. An entire Elementary Gods Domain! It should be known that the average hegemonic power would only have one fully occupied Elementary Gods Domain. In other words, one Primal Ore Vein was essentially equivalent to all of an ordinary hegemonic powers assets. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the state of the Primal Ore Vein. Although nearly half the entire mountain range was damaged, looking like something had pierced it, the mountain ranges ambient mana was incredibly dense. Meanwhile, the density of a Primal Ore Veins ambient mana directly correlated to the amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals it could produce each day. The denser the mana a Primal Ore Vein could generate, the greater the volume of Seven Luminaries Crystals it could produce. Fortunately, despite being damaged, the density of the mountain ranges ambient mana was only slightly lower than an intact Primal Ore Veins ambient mana. So, harvesting 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals within six days shouldnt be out of the question. Were limited on time, so lets begin right away. If you get tired, return to the room to rest immediately; dont push yourselves. Otherwise, its going to affect your mining efficiency, Shi Feng said to the two girls before promptly approaching a nearby Seven Luminaries Crystal. The process of mining ores in Gods Domain was simple. No particular Skills were required. Players only needed to have the appropriate mining tools. Although mining tools would lose durability with use, players would receive Mining Proficiency in return. Meanwhile, the higher a players Mining Proficiency, the more efficient they could mine ores. Compared to mining ores, locating the ores themselves was the biggest problem. It was especially true for players looking to mine Seven Luminaries Crystals. Because of their rarity and preciousness, searching for naturally-occurring Seven Luminaries Crystals in a vast mountain range was an incredibly troublesome process. The good thing was that most of the Primal Ore Veins Seven Luminaries Crystals were located on the surface. This significantly reduced the mining difficulty, and they should be able to mine at high efficiency even with only three people. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao saw Shi Feng going into action, they grew excited and went to work as well. Seven Luminaries Crystals were a hard currency in Gods Domain. They were much more valuable than even Gold Mana Coins. Although rumors stated that one Gold Mana Coin was just as valuable as one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal, players would usually have to spend ten Gold Mana Coins just to buy one unit of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even then, rarely would anybody be willing to sell their Seven Luminaries Crystals at such a price. After all, rather than sell Seven Luminaries Crystals for a bunch of coins, itd be much better to use the crystals to hire Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts. With just 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals, one could hire the services of a Tier 6 expert for one month. So long as they had several Tier 6 experts guarding them, not even the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers would risk attacking them unless absolutely necessary. In a sense, Seven Luminaries Crystals were power in the Greater Gods Domain. Some international merchant alliances in the Greater Gods Domain could even destroy entire kingdoms or stand toe-to-toe with upper-ranking hegemonic powers by relying only on the Seven Luminaries Crystals they earned. A moment later, Shi Feng arrived before a Seven Luminaries Crystal and began mining it carefully. Then, thirty seconds later, the large crystal transformed into a finger-sized crystal that held two units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. At the same time, the sound of a system notification also entered his ears. System: Mining Proficiency +10, Apprentice Miner (10/2,000). Obtained 0.5% EXP. How lucrative. Each crystal mined grants 0.5% EXP. Leveling up here will be at least ten times faster than leveling up outside. No wonder the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and apex powers geniuses can level up so quickly. Shi Feng was surprised when he read the system notification. Upon reaching Level 120, even Tier 4 experts would need two or three days to level up once. Moreover, this time would only increase as players reached even higher levels. Yet, now, he obtained 0.5% EXP just from mining Seven Luminaries Crystals once in the Primal Ore Vein. This place was paradise for players seeking to level up. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao finished mining their first Seven Luminaries Crystal, they, too, were dumbfounded by the rewards they got. If they were given 0.5% EXP for each Seven Luminaries Crystal they mined, they would only need to mine 200 crystals to level up. This was simply unbelievable. It should be known that leveling up in the fields was an incredibly tedious process. However, even peerless geniuses couldnt avoid this process. After all, geniuses might possess great talent, but they could only become a powerhouse if they had the necessary level. Without reaching a certain level, players couldnt even get promoted to higher tiers. If geniuses could spend less time grinding for levels, they could spend more time developing their techniques or searching for better weapons, equipment, and Legacies. They also wouldnt have to worry about dying. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the value of the Primal Ore Veins leveling benefit was comparable to the Seven Luminaries Crystals it produced. After discovering this unexpected benefit, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao began mining with even greater enthusiasm. Although neither of them was in a hurry to get promoted to Tier 5, the sooner they reached Level 140, the more time they would have to spend on creating a strong Mana Body. This, in turn, would give them a greater advantage after they reached Tier 5. After all, an integral part of a Tier 5 players strength was the Mana Body they created. The strength of a Mana Body Tier 5 players created for themselves would affect their combat power significantly. Depending on the quality of the Mana Body created, the difference between two Tier 5 players could be as large as the difference between a Tier 3 player and a Tier 4 player. Subsequently, time passed by rapidly. Half a day had already gone by in the blink of an eye, and Shi Fengs group of three had harvested all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals they could find in the mountain ranges inner and outer zones. The trio harvested 2,100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals in total. This far exceeded the total daily income of the Ancient River Kingdoms superpowers. At the same time, the trio also saw their levels increasing by two. More specifically, Shi Feng and Midsummer had reached Level 131, while Wu Xiaoxiao had reached Level 129. However, mining was very Stamina-demanding. Even Shi Feng, with his Basic Attributes that rivaled Superior Mythic monsters, had to stop and rest after mining for half a day. Unlike Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, Shi Feng did not choose to enjoy the free meals that came with the VIP room while waiting for his Stamina to recover. Instead, he chose to log out of the game to rest his mind. Gods Domain Association: When Shi Feng returned to the real world, he was greeted by a series of message alerts before he could even get out of his virtual gaming cabin. He received well over a hundred messages, and they were sent to him from more than a dozen people. Did something happen? When Shi Feng looked at his unread messages, he saw that the majority of them came from Su Qianliu and Hidden Soul. Each of them had sent him more than 30 messages consecutively, so something urgent must have happened. Chapter 3226 - Chapter 300 - Miniature Ancient Worlds Changes Chapter 300 C Miniature Ancient Worlds Changes The afternoon suns glaring rays shone brightly into Shi Fengs room. While eating the Gods Domain Associations complimentary lunch, which would typically cost 200 Star Coins, by the window walls, Shi Feng read through the many messages he received. How surprising. Its been only a day, yet so many changes have happened in the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng thought, astonished by the messages Su Qianliu and Hidden Soul had sent him. The majority of Su Qianlius messages were inquiries about his safety. After all, he had gone up against a Tier 5 Demon King in the temple. Tier 5 Legendary monsters were incredibly rare in Gods Domain. Every one of them was a walking disaster, and raiding a Legendary monster typically required a team of 20 Tier 5 players or a 1,000-man legion of high-level Tier 4 players. Moreover, this was after factoring in the use of various tools. So, for a Tier 4 player to fight a Tier 5 Demon King without any support was no different than suicide. Aside from expressing her concerns, Su Qianliu also mentioned Laura Craders unexpected appearance and how the Glimmering Sword had single-handedly repelled Meteor and the other geniuses from the Paimon Conglomerate. Afterward, Laura had even escorted Zero Wings team safely out of the Land of Ancient Dragons. As for Hidden Soul, her messages had arrived only a few hours ago. Whether it was Shi Fengs performance against the Demon King Firenze or Lauras fight with Meteor, news of both had already spread across the entire Miniature Ancient World and caused a huge sensation. Even the Seven Luminaries Alliance had hastily updated its God-ranked Expert List. However, the God-ranked Expert List wasnt changed simply because of Shi Feng and Laura. Aside from the first-ranked player, everyone else on the list saw a drastic change in their ranks. This was because the Seven Luminaries Alliance had begun to record the various conglomerates internal geniuses on the God-ranked Expert List, which the alliance did not do previously. Meanwhile, as soon as the new God List appeared, everyone in the Miniature Ancient World was shocked. Out of the original top 10 players on the God List, the only ones that remained in the top 10 were the first-ranked player and the fourth-ranked Asura Sword Emperor. Everyone else was removed from the top 10. Moreover, not only did Shi Fengs position on the list not increase, but he had even fallen to seventh place. The Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers felt great pressure from this sudden change. The fact that the various conglomerates internal geniuses were revealing themselves to the public now meant that these conglomerates intended to invest in the Miniature Ancient World. This was not good news for the various powers. Aside from the various conglomerates behavior, another thing that surprised the various powers was the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Out of the top ten positions on the God List, the Asura Mercenary Alliance occupied two of them. Aside from the seventh-ranked Asura Sword Emperor, there was also the eighth-ranked Glimmering Sword. This situation instantly caused the Asura Mercenary Alliance to become a hot topic. Some hegemonic powers have even started to consider strengthening their partnership with the mercenary alliance. However, the most astonishing piece of news Hidden Soul brought to Shi Feng would still have to be the Desolate Star Corporations willingness to establish a Trade Center in the Abyssal Star Primordial City. Players unfamiliar with the Greater Gods Domain might be foreign to the concept of Trade Centers in Gods Domain, but anyone who had interacted with the various foreign powers would understand the value of a Trade Center. Even the various hegemonic powers would desperately seek to obtain a Trade Center. The Trade Center was a special type of construction in Gods Domain. Normally, only corporations in the Greater World would have the qualifications to establish Trade Centers. Meanwhile, a Trade Center functioned to help players trade in-game items for real-world currency directly and anonymously. It should be known that trades involving in-game items and real-world money could usually only be conducted privately. This transaction method carried great risks. If mishandled, players could lose both their wealth and their lives. However, players wouldnt have to worry about such problems at a Trade Center. They could complete the entire transaction using only their in-game identities. The real-world money they received would be debited into their accounts by the Main God System, so nobody could trace where the money was sent. In exchange for this convenience service, all players needed to do was pay a small processing fee. If Abyssal Star City were to gain a Trade Center, it would absolutely become the heart of the Miniature Ancient World as countless independent players wishing to keep their identities safe would come to do business in Abyssal Star City. In addition, the Desolate Star Corporation also offered an incredibly tempting price to Abyssal Star City10% of the processing fees. This was an offer only the Holy Cities of hegemonic powers could usually receive. It should be known that a Guild City with a player population of 20 million could generate a frightening amount of Star Coins a day through a Trade Center. Even if Abyssal Star City could only receive 10% of the profits, the city should still see a daily income of 50,000 Star Coins. If the citys population grew to 100 million, its income would also undergo a qualitative transformation. Now that the Land of Ancient Dragons had appeared, many independent experts would definitely try to explore the God Mode Regional Dungeon. Meanwhile, should they look to sell the items they found during their exploration, Abyssal Star City would definitely be their best choice. At that time, even if Abyssal Star Citys player population couldnt reach 100 million, it definitely wouldnt have any trouble reaching 50 million. So long as Abyssal Star City could maintain this state over a long period, both Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance would have no problems establishing a foothold in the Greater World. Hence, Shi Feng promptly replied to Hidden Soul, telling her to accept the Desolate Star Corporations conditions. Aside from Su Qianlius and Hidden Souls messages, another message surprised Shi Feng. Apparently, Xia Qingying had already secured two slots to enter the Greater World. So long as Shi Feng decided on who he wanted to allocate the slots to, the people he chose would be able to come to the Greater World in a weeks time. These two people would still have time to participate in the Star Lake Legions selection. Without much hesitation, Shi Feng chose to bring Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul to the Greater World. Whether it was Gentle Snow or Hidden Soul, both of them possessed superb talent. They were only missing an opportunity to shine. So long as they could enter the Greater World, they would definitely be of great assistance to him. Meanwhile, the more people he could get into the Star Lake Legion, the greater his authority in the legion would become. Time passed by quickly. In the blink of an eye, nearly three days had gone by already. After learning about the Desolate Star Corporations Trade Center and the two entry slots for the Greater World, Shi Feng began mining for Seven Luminaries Crystals with even greater enthusiasm. Aside from resting in the Gazing Moon Hotel, he spent the rest of his time mining in the Primal Ore Vein with Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, not logging off to rest for even a moment. Ive collected another 100 units, Brother Black Flame, Midsummer excitedly reported to Shi Feng after she finished mining her last Seven Luminaries Crystal for today. We should have exceeded our quota of 10,000 units already, right? They had collected 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in under three days. This was the first time she had earned wealth so quickly. At the same time, this was also the quickest she had ever leveled up, her level going from 129 to 139 in under three days. Mhm. Weve exceeded it already, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at the 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals in his spatial bag and his level of 139. Lets go and take care of real business now. Chapter 3227 - Chapter 301 - Hundred Refinement Building Chapter 301 C Hundred Refinement Building Gazing Moon City, western district, outer zone: Unlike the shops in the city center, the ones in the western districts outer zone were dilapidated. Even so, many independent players chose to sell their items here because of the cheap rental fee. This situation made it so that the shops here stocked more items than the high-class shops in the city center. On the overcrowded streets here, one could find even Tier 5 players hawking their items, the sight attracting many Tier 3 and Tier 4 players attention. Freshly made Tier 4 Defensive Magic Scroll Flame Barrier for 100 Gold Mana Coins! With it, you can block at least three attacks from a Tier 5 Legendary monster! Two more if its a fire-type attack! Only one left in stock! First come, first served! a Level 165, Tier 5 Berserker yelled loudly while waving around a light-red ancient scroll. Arent you asking for too much? The shop ahead is selling Tier 4 Defensive Magic Scrolls for only 90 Gold Mana Coins. Both can stop the attacks of Legendary monsters, so why shouldnt I buy that shops scroll instead? a Level 153, Tier 4 middle-aged Guardian Knight said, shaking his head. Indeed. Thats a huge difference of 10 Gold Mana Coins. Thats about as much as I make in a month, a Level 158, Tier 3 young Elementalist said, nodding in agreement. Dont be so quick to decide! the Level 165, Tier 5 Berserker calmly responded. Then, wearing a smile, he explained, My Flame Barrier is a Tier 4 Peak Spell. Even if you dont end up using the scroll, you can use it to research how fire-type mana operates. It can be of great help to you when you are looking to get promoted to Tier 4 or develop your Mana Body. Its much better than Tier 4 Basic and Advanced Spells. If you get promoted to Tier 4 or progress in your Mana Body development thanks to it, wouldnt you be able to earn back those ten coins easily? As soon as the Tier 5 Berserker finished speaking, many Level 150-plus, Tier 4 players began competing over the Defensive Magic Scroll. In the blink of an eye, a small auction had begun. When Wu Xiaoxiao saw this scene from a distance, mixed feelings filled her heart. She had already gotten used to seeing such scenes shortly after arriving in the Greater Gods Domain. Even so, she would always experience a moment of melancholy whenever she saw such scenes. Reaching Tier 5 used to be her dream. Back on the main continent in her homeworld, it was unthinkable for a Tier 5 expert to hawk wares out on the street. Any player who could reach Tier 5 would be a big shot in Gods Domain. Tier 5 players couldnt even be bothered to hold conversations with Tier 4 players normally, let alone hawk wares to them. However, unlike her homeworld, Tier 5 players were far too common in the Greater Gods Domain. Only Tier 5 experts who had created a powerful Mana Body could be considered a person of significance. If a player reached Tier 5 by creating a Mana Body that only met the minimum requirements, their standing in society wouldnt be any better than Tier 4 players. In fact, in the various powers eyes, such a Tier 5 player would be inferior to a Tier 4 player who had completed their Tier 4 promotion using a Tier 4 Peak Legacy Skill as their Mana Bodys core. What are we here for, Brother Black Flame? Dont tell me you plan on settling here? Midsummer curiously asked as she looked at Shi Feng, who was leisurely leading the way. It was true that the western districts outer zone possessed the cheapest shops and houses for sale in Gazing Moon City. However, there wasnt much hope for development in this place. Firstly, players from other cities would typically choose to do their shopping in the city center. Secondly, the security in the city center was much better than in the citys outer zone. The outer zones patrol squads were generally made up of Level 180, Tier 4 NPC soldiers only. However, the city centers patrol squads were led by Level 180, Tier 5 NPCs. Even Tier 5 players would have to think twice when trying to make a move in the city center. Now that Shi Feng had well over 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, he was more than capable of affording a shop or house in the city center. We are indeed going to settle here, Shi Feng said, not bothering to withhold this information. He could also guess what was going through Midsummers mind, so he chuckled and continued, This place is going to have incredibly great potential in the future. During his previous life, two major events occurred in the Ancient River Kingdom. The first event was naturally the discovery of the Hundred Refinement Building, a Hidden Construction that sent tremors across the entire Starlight Realm. The second event was the invasion of the Magus Kingdom. The entirety of the Ancient River Kingdoms northern region eventually fell to the Magus Kingdom. As a result, many players from the northern region flocked to the other parts of the Ancient River Kingdom. Among them, Gazing Moon City became the first choice for many independent players and powers. Because of this event, Gazing Moon Citys player population skyrocketed to 500 million, becoming the second largest city in the Ancient River Kingdom. Now that the various powers had already monopolized the shops in Gazing Moon Citys city center, the most Shi Feng could do was rent the shops and lands there. He could never truly own them. However, it was a different story for the shops and lands in Gazing Moon Citys outer zone. Even though the citys player population had already exceeded 200 million, there were still plenty of unoccupied shops and lands in the outer zone. Once the magus Kingdom invaded and players flocked to Gazing Moon City, the value of the outer zones shops and lands would also rise. At that time, their value would more than double. Moreover, that was before the Hundred Refinement Building was discovered. After the Hidden Construction was discovered, the value of the outer zones shops and lands wouldnt be inferior to the city centers shops and lands in the slightest. Only, Shi Feng wouldnt mention these things to Midsummer. After the trio continued walking for a short moment, they arrived in front of a dilapidated, two-story building. This two-story building was situated in the mid-mountainside. Most of the buildings in the mid-mountainside were two or three floors high, so this two-story house was relatively inconspicuous. Moreover, the area it occupied was smaller than a basketball court. So, even though this building operated as a Battle Arena, nobody was willing to visit it. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao saw this two-story Battle Arena, their first thought was to turn around and leave. However, when they saw Shi Feng walking into the building with a somewhat excited look on his face, they had no choice but to follow him. Meanwhile, this two-story Battle Arena was none other than the Hundred Refinement Building. When Shi Feng entered the small Battle Arena, his eyes quickly shifted toward the old man sitting behind the front desk. Are you perhaps looking to rent a combat room, dear customer? the old man, who was a Level 180, Tier 4 Great Wizard, asked with an expectant gaze. Our combat rooms are very cheap. It will only cost you three Silver Mana Coins per hour. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao heard the price mentioned by the old Great Wizard, a frown immediately formed on their faces. Although three Silver Mana Coins werent enough to rent an advanced combat room in the city centers Battle Arenas, it was enough to rent ordinary combat rooms. Compared to the large Battle Arenas in the city center, this shabby Battle Arena only had a total of four combat rooms on the first floor. Moreover, by the looks of things, each combat room should only be one-fifth the size of a standard combat room. The old mans asking price of three Silver Mana Coins was no different than daylight robbery. It was no wonder nobody was willing to visit this establishment. No, I dont plan on renting any combat rooms, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, he smiled and continued, May I know if this Battle Arena is for sale? For sale? Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise. With how small and shabby this Battle Arena looked, nobody would be willing to visit it, even if it offered to rent its combat rooms for free. It should be known that dozens of Battle Arenas were located at the foot of the mountain. Moreover, even the smallest was a medium-sized Battle Arena with advanced combat rooms that could allow even Tier 5 players to fight to their hearts desire. Meanwhile, after the old Great Wizard scrutinized Shi Feng for a moment, he hesitantly said, It is for sale, but this Battle Arena is an old shop with a history of several centuries. I wont sell it for anything less than 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Eleven thousand units?! Midsummer instantly grew furious. You might as well be robbing us! With 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, they could already buy two or three shops in the city center so long as they could find a willing seller. The money they could earn from renting these three shops would be enough for an ordinary Tier 5 expert to live leisurely for the rest of their life. Moreover, 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal were all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals they had in their possession. The old man before them was obviously pricing his shop based on their pockets! Wasnt it supposed to be 10,000 units? A hint of surprise and confusion flashed in Shi Fengs eyes as he looked at the old man before him. Chapter 3228 - Chapter 302 - Legendary Hundred Refinement Mana Body Chapter 302 C Legendary Hundred Refinement Mana Body My price stands at 11,000 units! Take it or leave it! the old man said as he looked at Midsummer. Then, he snickered and continued, If you dont decide now, I might choose not to sell it afterward. At that time, you wont be able to buy it even if you want to. Lets go, Brother Black Flame. Midsummer turned to Shi Feng when she heard the old mans words. This old bastards clearly playing us for fools. NPCs in the Greater Gods Domain were no different than real people. Moreover, the higher an NPCs tier, the more intelligent they would become. There were many instances of players getting scammed by high-tiered NPCs in the Greater Gods Domain. There were even some NPCs that had a bounty put on their heads by upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Meanwhile, the old Great Wizard before them clearly had some kind of Skill or Spell that allowed him to see how many Seven Luminaries Crystals players carried, and he was trying to take nearly all of their Seven Luminaries Crystals. You have a deal. If you want 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, you can have them. Despite Midsummers words, Shi Feng had agreed to the old mans price without hesitation. Midsummer naturally wasnt wrong to cast suspicion over the old mans intentions, more so after the old man before them had already shown himself capable of seeing the amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals they carried. Any normal player would have definitely turned around and left in such a situation, even if they were initially interested in purchasing the Battle Arena. However, Shi Feng had personally seen and visited the Hundred Refinement Building during his previous life, so he was certain this shabby Battle Arena was a Hidden Construction in reality. Although the price was different from what he heard, so long as he could purchase the Hundred Refinement Building, he didnt care even if he had to pay an extra 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Brother Black Flame? Shi Fengs decision dumbfounded Midsummer. Wu Xiaoxiao was similarly at a loss for words. With 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, Shi Feng could buy even a large-sized Battle Arena in the city center of the Ancient River Kingdoms royal capital, let alone a shabby Battle Arena on the outskirts of Gazing Moon City. Even if Shi Feng owned a Primal Ore Vein, such behavior was simply too extravagant Good! I like your courage and decisiveness, young man! The old Great Wizard was similarly surprised by Shi Fengs answer. However, he quickly smiled and nodded approvingly. But Ill be taking too big of a loss if I give this Battle Arena to you for only 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. If you truly wish to buy it, these 11,000 units will only be enough to serve as a deposit. On top of these 11,000 units, youll have to pay me another 89,000 units within a month. Then, I will give you the core key. I will not be returning your deposit if you cannot pay the remaining 89,000 units. Do you dare to accept this offer? As soon as the old Great Wizard finished speaking, the sound of a system notification entered the trios ears. System: Congratulations! You have triggered the Legendary Quest Hundred Refinement Mana Body. Quest Content: Gather an additional 89,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal within one month. Rewards: The complete Hundred Refinement Building. Penalties unknown. System: Do you accept the Hundred Refinement Mana Body Quest? A Legendary Quest? When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao saw the system notifications, their mouths gaped in shock, and they couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng. Legendary Quests were incredibly rare and elusive even in the Greater Gods Domain. Although Legendary Quests came with great risks, the rewards they offered were also incredibly lucrative, so much so that they could be of great help to even Tier 6 titled experts. Yet, now, Shi Feng had triggered a Legendary Quest just by purchasing a dilapidated Battle Arena. This was simply unbelievable. Was the Hundred Refinement Building back then incomplete? At this moment, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao werent the only ones shocked by this situation. Even Shi Feng himself was greatly surprised. He had never heard about the need to complete a Legendary Quest to purchase the Hundred Refinement Building during his previous life. The Midnight Tea Party had purchased it directly after spending only 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. There was also no need to doubt the validity of this statement. During his previous life, he shared a good relationship with the Midnight Tea Party. Hence, there was no need for the adventurer team to lie to him, especially not after they had already purchased the Hundred Refinement Building. Not to mention, Zero Wing owned one of the top 10 Hidden Constructions back then. It was vastly superior to the Hundred Refinement Building, which only ranked 39th out of the Starlight Realms 99 Hidden Constructions. Have you made your decision, young man? the old man calmly asked as he looked at Shi Feng. I will only make this offer to you once. If you give up on it, I will not offer it to you a second time. Okay, I accept. Shi Feng nodded and handed the old man 11,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Although he wasnt sure what kind of abilities the complete Hundred Refinement Building possessed, he was in urgent need of the Hidden Constructions services right now. Otherwise, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt even get through the upcoming Rookie Competitions preliminaries. Excellent. After counting the Seven Luminaries Crystals in his bag, the old man smiled and nodded, saying, Now that Ive accepted your deposit, I wont keep you in the dark anymore. The Hundred Refinement Building, that is the real name of this building. It is one of the 99 constructions that have existed since the Starlight Realms birth. The Hundred Refinement Building has two floors, and you can only enter each floor twice in your life. Twice per lifetime? Two floors? Shi Feng was stunned when he heard the old mans explanation. During his previous life, the Hundred Refinement Building that everyone knew about only allowed players one entry in their lifetimes. Moreover, the Hundred Refinement Building only had one floor. There did not exist a second floor. Setting aside the second floor, just the opportunity to enter the first floor two times was already beyond incredible. After all, even titled experts could benefit significantly from using the first floors services once. If they could use the first floor for a second time, they could absolutely achieve a qualitative improvement. It should be known that the difficulty of developing a Mana Body would increase exponentially the further one progressed. Because of this, 100 simulations werent enough to push their Mana Bodies to the next level. In general, 100 simulations were only enough to help players elevate their Mana Bodies by only half a level. However, if players could receive 200 simulations, raising their Mana Bodies to the next level wouldnt be out of the question. The Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor is the basic layer. It can only help you simulate your Mana Bodys development 100 times, the old Great Wizard said. The second floor is the core layer. It can help you simulate the creation of a Mana Body 100 times. If you cannot pay up the remaining 89,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal within a month, I will take back the Hundred Refinement Building. I hope you can keep this in mind. After saying so, the old Great Wizard suddenly took out a bronze key out of nowhere and handed it to Shi Feng. This is the basic layers key. You will have complete access to the base layer with this key. As for the core layers key, that will have to wait until you gather enough Seven Luminaries Crystals for me. System: You have accepted the Legendary Quest Hundred Refinement Mana Body. System: Congratulations! You have acquired a shop in Gazing Moon City. You are now officially in possession of noble status in Gazing Moon City. You will not have to pay the entrance fee when entering Gazing Moon City. You may live permanently in Gazing Moon City. You may grant up to ten players the right to live in Gazing Moon City for free permanently. System: You will have to pay a monthly management fee of 3,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for the Hundred Refinement Building. Gazing Moon City will take back the rights to the Hundred Refinement Building if you fail to make payments for three consecutive months. Despite hearing the system notifications, Shi Feng did not move his eyes to them. Instead, he focused his gaze on the bronze key in his hand. Chapter 3229 - Chapter 303 - Complete Effect Chapter 303 C Complete Effect Gazing Moon City, Hundred Refinement Building: When Shi Feng accepted the Legendary Quest, the old Great Wizard immediately vanished into thin air, leaving behind only the shabby Battle Arena and an old key. Could we have been scammed by that old man, Guild Leader Black Flame? Wu Xiaoxiao asked worriedly when she saw the old Great Wizard disappearing. Midsummer also nodded in agreement with Wu Xiaoxiaos concerns. Although the system quest was unlikely to be fake, the Hundred Refinement Builds effects the old man had mentioned were simply too far-fetched to believe. It should be known that opportunities to simulate a Mana Bodys development were extraordinarily precious in the Greater Gods Domain. Normally, players could only receive such simulation opportunities using Tier 4 Mana Body Training Scrolls. However, not only did these training scrolls only provide one simulation opportunity, but they also cost 200 Gold Mana Coins at a minimum. They were significantly more expensive than the average Tier 4 Magic Scroll. More importantly, Tier 4 Mana Body Training Scrolls were incredibly rare and hard to come by. Typically, one could only find these scrolls sold in the capital cities of kingdoms and empires. Moreover, they would only occasionally appear in the monthly auctions of Advanced Auction Houses. Meanwhile, whenever a Mana Body Training Scroll appeared on auction, it would start a fierce competition among the various powers. After all, unlike geniuses that could be recruited every year, Mana Body Training Scrolls were a commodity that appeared randomly. Not to mention, Mana Body Training Scrolls were irreplaceable when it came to helping players establish a solid foundation. The benefits of using a Mana Body Training Scroll would carry on throughout the rest of a players career in Gods Domain. Trying to buy one such scroll for only 200 Gold Mana Coins was practically a dream. Yet, according to the old Great Wizards words, players could experience simulating the development of their Mana Bodies 100 times with the help of the Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor. Entering the Hundred Refinement Building once was equivalent to saving a minimum of 200 Gold Mana Coins. If converted to Seven Luminaries Crystals, thatd be 2,000 units. Yet, it only cost 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to activate the Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor for each player. That was a discount of 1,950 units. In other words, so long as 50 players used the Hundred Refinement Building once, Shi Feng could potentially earn back all 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal he had spent on the Hundred Refinement Building. No matter how Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao looked at it, this seemed too good to be true. Not to mention, there was still the second floor the old Great Wizard had mentioned. Simulations that assisted players in creating a Mana Body were unheard of in the Greater Gods Domain. Even with the base layers effects as a reference, the core layers effects were heaven-defying. It should be known that Mana Body Creation was a necessary condition for players to reach Tier 5. It was also a crucial factor that would determine a players strength at Tier 5 and Tier 6. Depending on the quality of the Mana Body created when getting promoted to Tier 5, the difference between two Tier 6 players could be even bigger than the difference between a human and a dog. It was for this reason many peerless geniuses had chosen to remain at Tier 4 instead of ascending to higher tiers. If the Hundred Refinement Building could truly let players simulate the creation of their Mana Body 100 times, even the various apex powers would lose their minds over it It shouldnt be a scam. Looking at the bronze key in his hand, Shi Feng smiled bitterly and said, Moreover, what we should be worried about isnt whether the old man has scammed us. Originally, Shi Feng already had a huge need for Seven Luminaries Crystals because of his quest to collect 300 God Crystals in three months. Now, he had to collect another 89,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on top of that. It should be known that the Primal Ore Veins production volume was about 4,000 units per day. Even if they worked without rest, they would still need 23 days to collect 89,000 units. It seems Ill have to hire some NPCs. Shi Feng sighed. Although players could hire NPCs to mine ores on their behalf, the cost would increase depending on the value of the ore vein. Simply put, the NPCs would take a cut of the ores they mined. In the case of a Primal Ore Vein, the NPCs would take 30% of the ores they mined. This price was no different than highway robbery. This was why powers that owned a Primal Ore Vein would usually have their own members do the mining rather than wasting over 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal each day to hire a bunch of NPCs. Their members could even get the benefit of leveling up quickly while mining in the Primal Ore Vein. However, Shi Feng evidently didnt have anyone he could rely on to mine the Primal Ore Vein for him right now. So, he had no choice but to hire NPCs. Otherwise, hed either have to do it himself or let the Seven Luminaries Crystals go to waste. Fortunately, there were also benefits to hiring NPCs. Firstly, he wouldnt have to worry about the Primal Ore Veins safety and secrecy. Secondly, he wouldnt have to worry about the NPCs slacking off or stealing some of the harvests. Subsequently, Shi Feng, Midsummer, and Wu Xiaoxiao left the Hundred Refinement Building to hire 30 NPC Miners for the Primal Ore Vein. With 30 Tier 3 NPC Miners working in two shifts, it was possible to fully harvest all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals the vein produced each day. Only, after hearing the NPC Miners asking price, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao would rather mine the Primal Ore Vein themselves. However, there were only three days left before the Rookie Competition began. Every second counted, so Shi Feng naturally couldnt let Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao waste their time mining. After taking care of the matter regarding the NPC Miners, Shi Feng had Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao quickly start their training simulations in the Hundred Refinement Building. Then, after seeing the two girls each enter a combat room, Shi Feng also found himself an empty combat room and entered it. System: Do you wish to start the Hundred Refinement mode? Start! Shi Feng said without hesitation. System: The base layers complete state is currently active. Do you wish to spend 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to undergo a perfect simulation? Complete state? Shi Feng grew a little curious when he saw the system notification. Immediately, he agreed to start a perfect simulation. The Hundred Refinement Building he entered during his previous life wasnt in a complete state, so it only cost 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to enter the Hundred Refinement mode. Even then, the Hundred Refinement mode still allowed him to raise the standard of his Mana Body by half a level, which was a significant improvement. So, he couldnt help but wonder what would await him in a complete Hundred Refinement mode. As soon as Shi Feng chose to start a perfect simulation, the majority of the 100-plus units of Seven Luminaries Crystal that remained in his bag disappeared. Immediately afterward, the old and dilapidated combat room that had barely any mana suddenly transformed into a miniature world that isolated him from the outside world. At the same time, the density of the mana in the room began skyrocketing. Gas Liquid Solid The Hundred Refinement Buildings miniature worlds in his previous life only maintained their mana at a solid state. Yet, the density of the mana in the miniature world he was currently in continued to increase even after reaching a solid state After the mana density continued to increase for nearly a minute, a presence Shi Feng was incredibly familiar with began to fill the miniature world. Meanwhile, the appearance of this presence allowed his mind to achieve an unprecedented state of flexibility and clarity. This isEternal Energy! Chapter 3230 - Chapter 304 - Legendary Control Chapter 304 C Legendary Control Initially, only a trace of Eternal Energy was present in the isolated combat room. However, as time continued to pass, the Eternal Energy in the room grew denser and denser. In less than a minute, the entire combat room was shrouded in a thin layer of light-purple mist. What dense Eternal Energy! My brain activity has doubled at the very minimum! Even my affinity with mana has improved by two whole levels! This effect is unbelievable! Shi Feng mentally exclaimed time and again when he sensed the Eternal Energy enveloping his body. Typically, one could only find Eternal Energy in the many Legacy Lands of Gods found across the Greater Gods Domain. Even so, the Eternal Energy found in these Legacy Lands usually only existed in trace amounts. At most, it could give players an easier time learning their Legacies. However, the amount of Eternal Energy present in this room was roughly triple the amount found in the various Gods Legacy Lands. It should be known that Eternal Energy could be used to forcibly increase a players brain activity. Meanwhile, an increase in brain activity could bring various improvements to players. Not only would this change enhance their thinking speed, but they could also multitask at much greater efficiency. Players would also see a significant improvement in their control in various aspects. If a players brain activity was doubled, itd be akin to a person having an eureka moment. In such a state, itd be difficult for a player not to improve. Not to mention, the dense Eternal Energy in the room also helped to increase players affinity with mana by two whole levels. To put this into perspective, if an ordinary player could initially only vaguely perceive the existence and manipulate this mana as if they were wielding a greatsword with one hand, then after having their mana affinity enhanced by this rooms Eternal Energy, theyd become a genius who could clearly perceive mana and manipulate it as if they were a master calligrapher wielding a feather pen. They could manipulate mana to their hearts desire with little to no effort. Eternal Energy was also the biggest difference separating ordinary hegemonic powers from upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Any hegemonic power seeking to climb into the upper reaches of hegemonic powers would need an Eternal Sanctuary of their own. This was because an Eternal Sanctuary could help a hegemonic power produce batch after batch of Tier 6 powerhouses continuously. As a result, upper-ranking hegemonic powers possessed far more Tier 6 experts than ordinary hegemonic powers. System: You have 100 assisted simulation opportunities remaining. Each assisted simulation will show you the perfect way to control your Mana Body. You may only stay in the simulation space for a maximum of five natural days. If you do not use up your simulation opportunities in five natural days, your remaining opportunities will be automatically forfeited. System: Do you wish to start the first assisted simulation? After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Shi Feng said, Start! Shi Feng only possessed an Epic Mana Body during his previous life. Although he had developed his Mana Body to the legendary 120% Completion Rate, it couldnt serve as a good reference for him to develop his current Legendary Mana Body. In terms of complexity, a Legendary Mana Body was vastly superior to an Epic Mana Body. If he were to equate magic arrays to gears, an Epic Mana Body would be made up of a few hundred gears, while a Legendary Mana Body would be made up of upwards of 1,000 gears. Even with his previous lifes experience, he had only managed to develop his Legendary Mana Body to 110% Completion Rate before reaching a roadblock. If he wished to progress his Legendary Mana Body by even 1%, he would have to invest a lot of time and effort into researching the proper way to control it. Fortunately, he now had the Hundred Refinement Building to show him the way, so all he needed to do was follow and learn the example set for him. It was significantly easier than if he were to develop his Legendary Mana Body by himself. While Shi Feng was undergoing his first assisted simulation, the occupants of the two rooms next to him were having their minds blown. Whether it was Wu Xiaoxiao or Midsummer, both were dumbfounded by the Hundred Refinement Buildings environment. Incredible! This is simply incredible! Midsummer grew ecstatic as she looked at her surrounding environment. Not even the Purple Melody Alliances peerless geniuses can get to enjoy such an environment! No wonder Brother Black Flame said that Xiaoxiao and I will have a chance to pass the preliminaries! The Mana Body was of utmost importance to every player. Personally, Midsummer felt that she was quite talented. Not only did she get accepted into the Purple Melody Alliance at a young age, but she also quickly became a core member of the alliance and received plenty of resources as a result. Afterward, she also cleared the World Towers fourth floor, becoming a fourth-floor expert. As an icing on the cake, she even possessed an Epic Mana Body. Unfortunately, despite her talent and efforts, she hit a dead end after developing her Epic Mana Body to 110% Completion Rate, and increasing it by even one more percent felt like an impossible task for her. It should be known that even a 1% difference in a Mana Bodys Completion Rate could lead to a significant difference. Not to mention, the Mana Body would undergo a qualitative transformation every 5%. If she couldnt develop her Mana Body any further, a huge gap would form between her and geniuses with 115%, or even 120%, Mana Bodies. However, with the Hundred Refinement Buildings help, Midsummer was confident she could reach 115% Completion Rate. She might even be able to reach 120%, entering the ranks of peerless geniuses. In another combat room, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly started her assisted training as well, not daring to waste even a single moment. Wu Xiaoxiao understood very well that this was a massive fortuitous opportunity. Ever since she entered the Greater Gods Domain, she came to understand just how weak her isolated homeworld and its civilization was. To make matters worse, the Greater World in reality was a cruel place that operated according to the rule of the jungle. Meanwhile, the only way to succeed in the Greater World was to make significant achievements. Currently, the connection between her homeworld and the Greater World had yet to fully form. So, she still had some time to prepare, and she needed to take advantage of every opportunity she could get her hands on. Otherwise, it would be too late to do anything if she waited until the passage to the Greater World fully formed in reality, her homeworld to disintegrate, and everyone was forced to live in the Greater World. It was true that people in the Greater World could live for hundreds of years. Even ordinary civilians could expect an average lifespan of more than 200 years. However, there was a very limited number of towns and cities in the Greater World, and these towns and cities could only accommodate a limited population. If people wished to live in these towns and cities, they would need to make a huge contribution of Star Coins every year. If a person couldnt earn enough Star Coins to live in a town or city, they would have no choice but to work as a scavenger, collecting various resources for food out in the wilderness every day. Not only did scavengers have to live shrouded in darkness, but few could live past 100 years old. Not to mention, she had many friends and relatives she couldnt abandon. These friends and relatives were all ignorant of the Greater Worlds cruelty. Once their homeworld integrated with the Greater World, it wouldnt matter how much money or influence they previously possessed in their homeworld. None of it would matter, and they would have to start from scratch in the Greater World. Time flowed rapidly, and three days went by in the Hundred Refinement Building in the blink of an eye. Inside one of the Hundred Refinement Buildings combat room, Shi Feng sat cross-legged as he started his final assisted simulation. Subsequently, a translucent version of himself appeared before him. Then, his translucent doppelganger manipulated the magic arrays within its body one after another until all every one of them were operating in sync. As soon as the doppelganger accomplished this, it seemingly became the ruler of this space, its every movement influencing the mana in the room. This method of control is incredible no matter how many times I look at it, Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed when he saw his doppelganger displaying the method to manipulate a Legendary Mana Body with a 120% Completion Rate. Advanced mana manipulation in Gods Domain could be achieved by constructing some simple magic arrays to manipulate a greater number of magic arrays. When players applied this mana manipulation method to their Mana Bodies, they could exhibit greater strength since their Mana Body could operate more magic arrays. However, the control method simulated by the Hundred Refinement Building for a 120% Legendary Mana Body was completely different. Instead of creating multiple simple magic arrays to control other magic arrays, the Hundred Refinement Buildings solution was to create a natural magic array based entirely on the operating principles of mana. Meanwhile, this magic array functioned to resonate the various types of mana that existed, which would, in turn, automatically activate all of the magic arrays in the Legendary Mana Body. The process was akin to granting life to the Mana Body. So long as this natural magic array was formed, there would be no need to deliberately manipulate the Legendary Mana Body to keep it functioning. This was a method Shi Feng had never thought of before. Ive tried 354 times already. Regardless of whether I succeed or fail this time, I will have to leave for the Ancient River Secret Land. After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng began his 355th attempt at achieving a perfect Mana Body. Chapter 3231 - Chapter 305 - Special Lifeform Chapter 305 C Special Lifeform While letting the dense Eternal Energy in the room wrap around him, Shi Feng began carefully recreating the natural magic array composed entirely of the various elements operating principles. Although Shi Feng had previously created a magic array based on the operating principles of dark mana in the Stratified Abyssal Realm, the magic array was limited to only one type of mana. The natural magic arrays complexity was at least ten times greater in comparison. Even after referencing the Hundred Refinement Buildings simulation 99 times and correcting his mistakes hundreds of times, Shi Feng still couldnt get it right. Although I understand how I should arrange the various elements, getting them to where I want is a completely different story. If it werent for this environment, I wouldnt even be able to finish arranging one-tenth of the various elements. Sweat rolled down Shi Fengs forehead one drop after another as he arranged the various mana elements and watched the magic array in his Mana Body gradually forming. His current task felt a hundred times more difficult than walking a tightrope on a 10,000-meter cliff. Every type of mana had its own characteristics and operating principles. So, every one of them had to be manipulated using a different method. In order to draw the complete magic array, he had to constantly switch between different manipulation methods. He couldnt just manipulate the various elements simultaneously using the same method. This meant he had to switch manipulation methods over twenty times every second. Even Grandmaster Magicians would despair at such a challenge. Meanwhile, he had to keep up this constant switching throughout the entire process of drawing the magic array. If he made even the slightest mistake during this process, the magic array would crumble, and he would have to start all over again 71% 83% 95% When Shi Feng was only 5% away from completing the magic array, he became even more careful with his control. The best result he achieved previously was 94%. Never did he manage to breach the 95% threshold. Because of this, he was left with no choice but to use his 100th and final simulation opportunity to further deepen his impression over the magic array. 96% 97% 98% Shi Feng forgot to even breathe when he sensed the magic array nearing completion. If he left the Hundred Refinement Buildings environment, the difficulty of drawing the natural magic array would double. So, should he fail this attempt, he could, at most, push his Legendary Mana Bodys Completion Rate to 118%. Although 118% Completion Rate was already an incredible result and should be superior to even a 120% Epic Mana Body, if he wanted a better future after reaching Tier 6, it was best if he perfected his Legendary Mana Body. This meant having to remain at Tier 4 for a considerable amount of time. When Shi Feng started working on the magic arrays core, a change suddenly occurred to the various elements of manas operating principles. As a result, he had to increase the number of manipulation methods he used each second from 24 to 30 to keep up with these changes. Although he had long since known about these changes, their arrival still put him in a bind. I mustsucceed! Sensing that the magic array was already 99% complete, Shi Feng ramped up his focus even further to keep up with the changes. Boom! Shi Fengs complexion had turned deathly white, and his exhausted expression made him look several years older. System: Congratulations! Your Legendary Mana Body has reached the 120% Completion Rate. You have become a Special Lifeform. System: You have become a Special Lifeform. Your maximum reaction speed is increased by 50%, Physique is increased by 100%, Concentration standard is increased by one level, Stamina and Concentration recovery rates are increased by 200%, and all Basic Attributes are increased by 50%. Special Lifeform?! Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the system notification. Previously, his Life Rating was only equivalent to the Archaic Species standard of monsters, also known as a Higher Lifeform. This was also the limit for most players. As for Special Lifeforms, that was already the level of Heroes and six-winged Valkyries. After a brief surprise, Shi Feng sensed the mana around him gradually condensing into a solid state. His mental state also improved significantly. In my current state, I can probably hold my ground even against bona fide Tier 5 Legendary monsters. Shi Feng smiled as he clenched his fists and executed a few simple punches, his fists leaving behind several overlapping afterimages and spatial cracks in their wake. Out of the various bonuses he received from becoming a Special Lifeform, the increase to his Basic Attributes was probably the most lackluster. A 50% increase in Basic Attributes might seem like a lot, but it was basically the equivalent of putting on an extra piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment that offered nothing but Basic Attributes. By itself, this bonus wasnt enough to let him achieve a qualitative improvement. His Basic Attributes would still be at the standard of Superior Mythic monsters of the same level. However, it was a different story for the increase in his Concentration standard and his mana achieving a solid state. These two improvements had pushed him into the Tier 5 threshold. Now, even without upgrading Winter of Eternal Night to the Legendary rank using Ancient Dragons Power, he could still exhibit a portion of a Tier 5 players abilities. In short, Shi Feng had already recovered 80% of the strength he had during his previous life. Although he still wasnt at his peak, he was already at a pseudo-peak state. This was far more important than a simple increase in Basic Attributes. At this time, he could even execute the Third Sword, Holy Annihilation, without putting significant stress on his mind. After resting for about an hour in the combat room, Shi Feng looked at the time and thought, Application for the Rookie Competitions preliminaries should have started already. Its about time to leave. When Shi Feng stepped out of the combat room, the doors to Wu Xiaoxiaos and Midsummers combat rooms remained shut. Evidently, the two were still in the middle of developing their Mana Bodies. After Shi Feng waited for around half an hour, the gathering time he had agreed upon with Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer arrived. Right on time, the two girls exited their respective combat rooms, their faces showing great reluctance to part with their combat rooms. Shi Feng wasnt surprised by the twos behavior. Instead, he smiled and asked, How did it go? The Hundred Refinement Building in his previous life was a place countless experts sought to visit. Meanwhile, anyone who got the opportunity to enter the Hundred Refinement Building would choose to stay the full five days even if they had long used up all 100 of their simulation opportunities. Unfortunately, as they were pressed for time, they had no choice but to limit their stay to just three days. Fortunately, three days was already enough for players to push their Mana Body development to its current limit. Although players could use their excess time in the Hundred Refinement Building to train in their combat techniques, Skills, and Spells, the amount of improvement they could make in only two days was very limited. So, losing two days of training time wouldnt be a huge loss. Meanwhile, it was also evident that Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer had achieved significant growth during their three days in the Hundred Refinement Building. Currently, the mana they radiated had already reached a fully liquid state, a vast improvement from their previous selves. The strength of their mana had also increased by a notable margin. Based on his experience, Shi Feng was certain that Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer had already broken through the 115% threshold, reaching the standard of peerless geniuses in the Ancient River Kingdom. However, after hearing Shi Fengs question, Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer smiled at each other before answering: Secret! TL Notes: [1]Uh, theres a reason why Shi Feng is described to have a Life Rating at the standard of Higher Lifeforms: Recap from Chapter 161: In terms of Life Rating, primal lifeforms did not exceed higher lifeforms such as Demidragons by much. Some primal lifeforms were even inferior to Demidragons when it came to Life Rating. However, there was one aspect in which primal lifeforms had an insurmountable advantage over the higher lifeformsWorld Affinity! Chapter 3232 - Chapter 306 - Divine Shield Bearer Chapter 306 C Divine Shield Bearer The Ancient River Secret Land was a majestic island floating in the void, and ten temples measuring over a thousand meters in height lined the islands edges. Currently, streaks of light were constantly descending onto the plazas outside these massive temples as players across the Ancient River Kingdom entered the secret land one after another. The majority of the players in the crowded plazas were youths under the age of 25. Among these youths, handsome men and beautiful women could be seen everywhere. At this time, many of the youths in one particular plaza had their attention focused on three peopleone man and two womenstanding in the corner of the plaza. The man had a plain appearance. In the Greater Gods Domain, where handsome men could be found everywhere, the mans looks were rather ordinary. However, the two women standing next to the man were as eye-catching as the sun. Of the two women, one was a great beauty with silver hair and a sultry figure, while the other was a lovely beauty with a face as delicate as jade. Both women exuded a unique temperament, and those who saw them couldnt help but want to look at them more. What beautiful women. Could they be the heiresses of some corporation? I dont think so. Look at the man standing next to them. Would the heiresses of a corporation stand with someone like that? My guess is that theyre the rookie geniuses of some hegemonic power. This novel is available on Hosted Novel. Rookie geniuses of a hegemonic power? Itd be great if I could get acquainted with them. Many young men started a hushed discussion among themselves as they looked at Shi Fengs group of three, their minds filled with curiosity toward the trio. The mana here is surprisingly thin. Its density doesnt even reach one-tenth of the outside worlds. The gravity here is also several times that of the outside world. Even walking in this place will be a problem for the average Tier 4 player, Wu Xiaoxiao commented. She had long since grown used to being gawked at by other people, so she simply ignored the stares she received and calmly analyzed her surroundings. Even though there are so many people here, none of them seem affected by this environment. Sure enough, nobody participating in the Rookie Competition is simple. With the state of the mana and gravity in the Ancient River Secret Land, players would need at least one Fragmented Legendary item or one full set of Epic Equipment equipped if they wanted to move unhindered here. They would also need to pair that equipment with control at the third-floor standard. However, Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Equipment remained precious even in the Greater Gods Domain. The various powers would typically only give their core geniuses one or two Fragmented Legendary items. As for Epic Immortal Equipment, they might not be as precious as Fragmented Legendary items, but they were still highly valuable. Yet, there were well over 100,000 players currently gathered in the plaza. Even if all of her homeworlds various powers joined forces, they couldnt even come close to mustering such a force. Moreover, these were only the players teleported to one of the Ancient River Secret Lands temples. There were ten such temples in the entire secret land. This is normal. It might only cost ten units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to participate in the kingdoms Rookie Competition, but nobody will join the competition unless they are confident in their strength, Midsummer explained. This annual Rookie Competition is also the perfect place for rookie geniuses to market themselves to the various hegemonic powers and corporations. So long as they can get into the top 100, they can instantly become a reserve executive of one of the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers and gain authority over a Main Guild City. Even if these rookie geniuses cant get into the top 100, so long as they perform excellently in the competition, they will still have a high chance of getting recruited by a hegemonic power or corporation. If they get lucky and become a corporations core member, they will receive a big monthly salary and enter the upper echelon of the Greater Worlds various cities. Realization dawned on Wu Xiaoxiao when she heard Midsummers explanation. Had she not been fortunate enough to join the Green God Corporation, she would most likely be similar to these rookie geniuses in trying to market herself to attract the various hegemonic powers attention. While Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were talking, Shi Feng turned his gaze to the center of the floating island. The fragment should be there, Shi Feng thought, a hint of anticipation burning in his eyes when he sensed the fluctuations coming from the Seven Luminaries Codex inside his bag. The Seven Luminaries Codex had remained silent all this time. Yet, as soon as he entered the Ancient River Secret Land, it immediately started to show a reaction. Although the Codex only gave him a vague hint of the fragments location, he was certain the Codexs fragment was located in the heart of the island. Now, all he needed to do was advance to the Rookie Competitions top 100 and entered the islands central zone to search for the fragment. Just when Shi Feng thought of analyzing the Codexs fluctuations to narrow his search radius, a deep and powerful voice suddenly came from nearby. Midsummer, Xiaoxiao! Why are you two here? Subsequently, a group of four youthsthree male and one femaleapproached Shi Fengs group. All four of these youths were at Level 139. On top of that, all four wore a Gold Leaf Emblem on their chest, indicating that they were all fourth-floor experts. Every one of them was also equipped with upwards of two Fragmented Legendary items, with the scholarly young man standing in the lead having four Fragmented Legendary items. The white jade square shield the scholarly young man carried was even of indiscernible rank. Commander Fury! Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were greatly surprised when they saw this group of four, especially when they saw the scholarly young man. Desolate Fury! He was the number one genius nurtured by the Purple Melody Alliance. Only, Desolate Fury and his group typically operated in the Myriad Forest Empire, which neighbored the Ancient River Kingdom. Rarely would they return to the Ancient River Kingdom. Desolate Fury was currently ranked 35th out of the Myriad Forest Empires top 100 geniuses. Several upper-ranking hegemonic powers had already extended an olive branch to him because of his strength. Only, he had rejected every invitation he had received so far. At this time, though, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao werent the only ones to recognize Desolate Fury. Shi Feng had also recognized the scholarly young man. The Myriad Forest Empires Divine Shield Bearer. During Shi Fengs previous life, Desolate Fury had single-handedly defended a city from more than twenty Tier 6 experts. Although he didnt manage to kill these Tier 6 experts, he had held them back for several hours until the Myriad Forest Empires army arrived. Desolate Furys fame also skyrocketed after that battle. As for the shield Desolate Fury wielded at the time, although it wasnt a real Divine Artifact, it was a highly accurate replica of a Divine Artifact. However, because news of the replica got out, Desolate Fury got targeted by Demons Gate, an apex power. Not even the Myriad Forest Empire dared to go against Demons Gate. Adding to the fact that Desolate Fury had limited strength as an individual, he eventually disappeared from the Greater Gods Domain, leaving many experts lamenting this situation. Midsummer, Xiaoxiao, you two have worried us sick. At this time, a bright young Swordsman standing behind Desolate Fury hurriedly stepped forward and spoke up. We heard that you two offended Saint Three, and the Twin Saints Alliance is even hunting you now. How have you two been these past few days? Were fine, Vice Commander Chaser, Midsummer said, smiling. On the contrary, weve been having a great time these past few days. Since its such a good coincidence that we met here, why dont you join our party? the bright youth named Lightning Chaser suggested, acting as if he didnt notice Shi Fengs existence. That way, we can watch each others backs during the competition and have an easier time entering the top 100. As soon as Lightning Chaser finished speaking, a slight frown formed on Desolate Furys face. Their party of four had long since noticed Shi Feng standing with Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, so they knew that the three should be in the same party. Meanwhile, the kingdoms Rookie Competition only allowed players to form up to parties of six to help each other during the competition. The Rookie Competitions preliminaries consisted of numerous rounds. For each round, players would be randomly teleported into the islands inner zone in batches of 100, and they would have to fight each other until only ten remained. This process would be repeated until only 100 players remained. Then, the competitions primaries would begin. Because of this system, the preliminaries would be a considerably long and arduous process. If players partied up before the competition, they would be put into the same batches during the preliminaries. This allowed them to cover each others backs and increase their chances of survival. However, their party already had four members. If Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao joined, it would mean that Shi Feng would be excluded. Although Desolate Fury had long known that Lightning Chaser was trying to woo Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, he didnt expect Lightning Chaser to show so much hostility to Shi Feng simply because Shi Feng was standing with Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. Chapter 3233 - Chapter 307 - Peerless Duo Chapter 307 C Peerless Duo As soon as Lightning Chaser finished speaking, the surrounding atmosphere instantly tensed up. Midsummers and Wu Xiaoxiaos expressions turned a little ugly when they heard Lightning Chasers words, chilly even. When the female Cleric and male Ranger on the same party as Lightning Chaser thought of dissuading the young Swordsman and neutralizing this awkward situation, they suddenly noticed the lack of an Adventurers Emblem on Shi Feng, and they immediately kept their mouths shut. The Greater Gods Domain was a world where the strong preyed upon the weak. Even if they helped resolve this awkward situation for Shi Feng, so long as he remained with Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, he would continue coming across similar situations afterward. After all, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao possessed beauty and temperaments that could make even beautiful women grow envious. On top of that, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao also possessed great talent. Even the heirs of the Greater Worlds corporations would deem them worthy partners. Had Shi Feng worn a Golden Leaf Emblem, he could more or less stand on the same playing field as them. In that case, they could have considered doing him a favor and helping him out of this awkward situation. However, it simply wasnt worthwhile for them to offend Lightning Chaser, a titled expert, for someone who wasnt even at the fourth-floor standard. Moreover, it was evident that Lightning Chaser was only behaving so arrogantly because he had noticed the lack of a Golden Leaf Emblem on Shi Feng. That wont be necessary, Vice Commander Chaser, Midsummer said, her voice taking on a chilly tone. She could naturally tell that Lightning Chaser intended to exclude Shi Feng. We have already formed a party with Brother Black Flame. We dont need to join any other parties. As for Wu Xiaoxiao, she couldnt even be bothered to respond to Lightning Chaser. Midsummer had spent a considerable amount of time in the Purple Melody Alliance already. She also more or less belonged to the same generation as Lightning Chaser and Desolate Fury. So, she was obliged to humor them a little. However, it was a different story for Wu Xiaoxiao. She had only joined the Purple Melody Alliance recently. She wasnt familiar with Lightning Chaser, either. Black Flame? When Desolate Fury heard Midsummer mentioning Shi Feng, he couldnt help but feel as if he had heard about it before. However, he failed to recall who exactly Shi Feng was. Dont be so quick to refuse, Midsummer. Im inviting you two into our party for your sakes, Lightning Chaser nonchalantly said. Then, he briefly glanced at Shi Feng before turning back to Midsummer, smiling as he continued, The Twin Saints Alliances Saint Three is indignant over your actions, and the kingdoms various powers are all keeping their eyes out for you to get into Saint Threes good graces. The various powers experts will definitely target you two during the competition, so its going to be very difficult for you two to get into the top 100 and attract the various corporations attention. However, so long as you join our party, the various powers experts will more or less hold back out of respect for Commander Fury and me. This will greatly increase your chances of entering the top 100. Lightning Chaser was very confident in his party. Aside from Desolate Fury, Lightning Chaser was also one of the Myriad Forest Empires top 100 geniuses. Specifically, he was ranked 98th. Saint Three might not show them any respect, but the Ancient River Kingdoms other powers would more or less have to respect them. Respect? Midsummer couldnt help but chuckle at Lightning Chasers words. Xiaoxiao and I dont need your help. Moreover, Xiaoxiao and I arent aiming for the top 100. Youre not aiming for the top 100? Lightning Chaser was a little surprised. Now that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had angered Saint Three, their only hope of surviving his wrath was to get within the Rookie Competitions top 100. If they could get within the top 100, it would more or less deter the Ancient River Kingdoms various powers from interfering in their feud with Saint Three. Dealing with the Twin Saints Alliance wouldnt be a problem, either. After all, the Purple Melody Alliance wasnt a pushover. So long as Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao could enter the Rookie Competitions top 100, the alliance would definitely view them with much greater importance. The alliance might even mobilize a Tier 6 Elder to protect them long-term. Thats right. Our goal isnt to be in the top 100, Wu Xiaoxiao suddenly said. Instead, it is to get into the overall rankings top 10! Top 10? Lightning Chaser couldnt help but chuckle when he heard Wu Xiaoxiaos statement. Do you know what kind of people is competing for the top 10 spots, Xiaoxiao? Not even the commander can confidently say he can get into the top 10. Aside from Lightning Chaser, even the female Cleric and male Ranger on his party couldnt help but shake their heads and chuckle at Wu Xiaoxiaos declaration. Although the Rookie Competition wasnt a direct competition of combat power but a competition to see who could survive the longest in the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone instead, those seeking to get into the competitions top 10 would still need to have a certain degree of combat power. Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer could indeed be considered powerful experts in the Ancient River Kingdom. However, the Rookie Competition was a gathering of geniuses. In this competition, Wu Xiaoxiao could only be considered average. As for Midsummer, although she had already reached the fourth-floor standard, it remained unknown whether she could even get into the preliminaries top 100. As for the top 10? When the female Cleric and male Ranger initially received the Purple Melody Alliances priority training, they had indeed thought of themselves as the strongest geniuses in the Ancient River Kingdom. However, after participating in the kingdoms Rookie Competition time and again as well as fighting against the Myriad Forest Empires geniuses, they realized they were merely in a fools dream. The truly peerless geniuses had never been fighting on the same level as they were since the very beginning. Evidently, the current Wu Xiaoxiao had yet to wake up from her fantasy. Setting all other factors aside, do you know whats the minimum your Mana Bodys Completion Rate must be at if you wish to get into the top 10, Xiaoxiao? Lightning Chaser asked rhetorically. 115%! Moreover, this is only the bare minimum! In past competitions, the average Completion Rate of the top 10 rankers Mana Bodies is 117%. 105% And what about your Mana Bodys Completion Rate? Is it at 105%? Or has it reached 110%? In Lightning Chasers opinion, Wu Xiaoxiao was certainly talented. However, in her current state, she should hit her limit after reaching 110%. After all, it wasnt easy to develop an Epic Mana Body. Take Midsummer, for example. Even after receiving plenty of resources from the Purple Melody Alliance, her Epic Mana Bodys Completion Rate remained at 110%. Shed have to thank the heavens if she could reach 112% in the future. It should be known that even Desolate Fury, the Purple Melody Alliances number one genius, had only developed his Epic Mana Body to a Completion Rate of 116%. This was why Lightning Chaser had said that even Desolate Fury couldnt confidently say that he could get into the Rookie Competitions top 10. 105%? 110%? Wu Xiaoxiao smiled when she heard Lightning Chasers guesses. Immediately afterward, the intensity of her aura increased by several times. The surrounding mana also swarmed her as if they had just found their home, causing the density of her surrounding mana to increase rapidly. Gas Liquid Even after the mana around Wu Xiaoxiao had thoroughly condensed into a liquid state, its density still did not stop increasing. Boom! Suddenly, the mana surrounding Wu Xiaoxiao seemingly exploded like a geyser as it shot into the sky, attracting everyones attention. While this phenomenon was occurring, Wu Xiaoxiao calmly looked at Lightning Chaser and asked, Take a guess and see what my Mana Bodys Completion Rate is. Chapter 3234 - Chapter 308 - Gap Chapter 308 C Gap 115%? Lightning Chaser couldnt help but be dumbfounded as he looked at the pillar of mana rising from Wu Xiaoxiao. In the Greater Gods Domain, forming a pillar with ones mana was not a feat players could achieve with only a 110% Epic Mana Body. Typically, players would need an Epic Mana Body that had reached a 115% Completion Rate to accomplish such a feat. 115%! This was the goal countless geniuses in the Greater Gods Domain sought to achieve. Even Lightning Chaser, a top 100 genius in the Myriad Forest Empire, had only managed to develop his Epic Mana Body to a Completion Rate of 114% thus far. Moreover, he was already stuck at this threshold for many months and wasnt even certain if he could ever break into the 115% threshold in the future. Every 5% of a Mana Bodys Completion Rate was a major threshold. The 115% threshold was even a monumental threshold that separated geniuses from peerless geniuses. So long as a genius could develop an Epic Mana Body to a Completion Rate of 115%, they would become a hot commodity for the various hegemonic powers. Some corporations might even extend an olive branch to them. This was because only peerless geniuses could create a powerful Mana Body and gain strength rivaling NPC Demigods when they got promoted to Tier 5 in the future. Some of the more powerful peerless geniuses could even fight against Tier 6 Divine Monsters without the help of any Legendary Weapons or Equipment. So long as these peerless geniuses reached Tier 6, every one of them would become a highly influential figure in the Greater Gods Domain. They would also stand far above ordinary Tier 6 experts. No, its not 115%! Desolate Fury suddenly said. Even he had needed a moment to react to this unexpected development. Her Mana Bodys Completion Rate should have already reachedthe legendary 120%! 120%? Lightning Chaser couldnt help but doubt his ears when he heard Desolate Furys words. Are you joking with me, Commander? How long had it been since Wu Xiaoxiao joined the Purple Melody Alliance? It should be known that Wu Xiaoxiao hadnt even reached Tier 4 when she joined the alliance. Her combat standard also wasnt at the third-floor standard at the time. Yet, now, he was being told that Wu Xiaoxiao had already developed her Epic Mana Body to the legendary 120%? The female Cleric and male Ranger were similarly shocked by this revelation. An Epic Mana Body with a 120% Completion Rate was akin to a legend in the Greater Gods Domain. Even Saint Three, a genius highly regarded by the Ancient River Kingdoms various powers, had only managed to develop his Epic Mana Body to a 119% Completion Rate thus far. There might only be a 1% difference between 119% and 120%, but the actual gap was like heaven and earth. One could only remain a peerless genius in a kingdom, while the other would be regarded as a legend in the Greater Gods Domain. There should be no mistake, Desolate Fury said definitively as he looked at the mana pillar roughly 100 meters tall. The last time I met Saint Three, the mana pillar he revealed only reached a height of roughly 60 meters, and he wasnt holding back at the time. Aside from her Mana Bodys Completion Rate reaching 120%, I cant think of any other explanation for why her mana pillar can reach such a height. Mana was greatly restricted in the Greater Gods Domain, so extending a Mana Domain was extremely challenging for players. Getting mana to expand naturally and explosively was also an incredibly difficult task. Normally, even with a 115% Epic Mana Body, a player could, at best, produce a mana pillar of roughly 20 meters in height. Afterward, each subsequent increase of 1% in Completion Rate would result in a height increase of around 10 meters. So, even if Wu Xiaoxiaos Epic Mana Body was at a 119% Completion Rate, it shouldnt be possible for her to produce a mana pillar that reached 100% meters in height. However, it was a different story if her Mana Body was at the legendary 120% Completion Rate. The Mana Body would undergo a qualitative transformation every 5%, so if Wu Xiaoxiaos Mana Body had reached the 120% Completion Rate, it would make sense that she could produce such a tall mana pillar. Meanwhile, the appearance of Wu Xiaoxiaos mana pillar also startled the other players in the plaza. A mana pillar! Her Mana Bodys Completion Rate has reached 115%?! You country-bumpkin! Can you not see how tall that mana pillar is?! Do you think thats something a 115% Mana Body can produce?! Heavens! That mana pillars nearly 100 meters tall! A legend! Shes a legend! I cant believe I get to see a legend in person! Holy crap! A 120% Mana Body! Who is this beauty?! Many of the players present failed to comprehend the situation even after seeing the spectacular mana pillar that rose nearly 100 meters into the sky. However, when some of the more well-informed players saw the mana pillar, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. At the same time, they also wondered if Wu Xiaoxiao was the paragon of some upper-ranking hegemonic power or a paragon nurtured internally by a conglomerate. Wu Xiaoxiao? Isnt she one of the people who had offended Saint Three? An expert with a Master-ranked Identification Skill quickly uncovered Wu Xiaoxiaos information, and he couldnt help but be shocked by what he saw. Wasnt she supposed to be a newcomer in the Purple Melody Alliance? A 120% Epic Mana Body! Madness! This is madness! Why is the Purple Melody Alliance staying silent toward Saint Threes behavior?! How can Purple Melody treat such a peerless paragon like this?! A corporations observer wore an incredulous look on his face as he looked at the mana rising from Wu Xiaoxiao. This wont do! I have to meet with the president right away! We must pull this talent into the corporation before the upper-ranking hegemonic powers learn about her! At the same time, the hidden observers of several other corporations and hegemonic powers also promptly contacted their superiors, afraid they would miss this perfect opportunity to recruit Wu Xiaoxiao. A legend! So long as Wu Xiaoxiao was nurtured properly, she would definitely become a big shot capable of standing at the very top of the Greater Gods Domain. The amount of assistance she could provide to a power would surpass even an entire Elementary Gods Domain. After all, only Tier 6 experts of such caliber could have any speaking rights near the heart of the Greater Gods Domain. While all of this was taking place, Midsummer looked at Lightning Chasers dazed expression and smiled, asking, Do we have the qualifications to compete for the top 10 spots now, Vice Commander Chaser? We? Lightning Chaser snapped out of his daze and looked at Midsummer. Then, realization seemingly dawned upon he asked with a stunned expression, Dont tell me you are also Lightning Chaser knew that Midsummer would always speak concisely. She would never use words indiscriminately. If Wu Xiaoxiao was the only person to have developed her Epic Mana Body to a 120% Completion Rate, Midsummer would, at most, say that Wu Xiaoxiao could compete for the top 10 spots. Yet, Midsummer had used the word we. In other words, aside from Wu Xiaoxiao, Midsummer had also developed her Mana Body to 120%? Two 120% Epic Mana Bodies? Was this possible? Looking at Lightning Chasers stunned expression, Midsummer revealed a wicked smile and slowly said: What do you think? Chapter 3235 - Chapter 309 - Rookie Competition Begins Chapter 309 C Rookie Competition Begins Impossible! This is impossible! When Lightning Chaser saw Midsummers smile, his mind instantly went into denial, thinking that Midsummer must be fooling him. Midsummer was not Wu Xiaoxiao. Wu Xiaoxiao was a newcomer who had only recently joined the Purple Melody Alliance. He didnt have a particularly good understanding of Wu Xiaoxiao, so even though he found it shocking that she was talented enough to develop a 120% Epic Mana Body, it wasnt outside the realm of possibilities. However, Midsummer had joined the Purple Melody Alliance in roughly the same generation as he did. They were former rivals, so he understood her talent and standards well. Even developing an Epic Mana Body with a 115% Completion Rate was impossible for her, let alone one with the legendary 120% Completion Rate. It had only been some days since they had last met. There was no way he would believe that Midsummer had managed to refine her Epic Mana Body to a 120% Completion Rate in such a short time. Not even in her dreams would this be possible. While Lightning Chaser was stuck in a cycle of confusion and denial, a threefold magic array suddenly appeared above the temple. The magic array was massive, covering not only the temple but also the entire plaza outside the temple. Immediately afterward, some players in the plaza received a system notification. System: Participant 1,642,762, the preliminaries will begin soon. Please enter the designated teleportation magic array in the order of your number. The preliminaries have started, Midsummer. Lets head over, Shi Feng said to Midsummer after looking at the system notification before him. Then, he walked to one of the several dozen magic arrays that had appeared in the middle of the plaza, showing no interest whatsoever in Lightning Chasers thoughts. Midsummer nodded in response. Then, ignoring Lightning Chaser, she bid Desolate Fury, the female Cleric, and the male Ranger goodbye before running after Shi Feng. She dares to ignore me? Lightning Chaser immediately felt anger rising within him when he saw Midsummer leaving. As one of the peerless geniuses nurtured by the Purple Melody Alliance, he had a limitless future ahead of him. Normally, countless female players would flock to him. Although Midsummer was talented, she wasnt unique. Several of his female admirers could easily match her. Yet, now, Midsummer had chosen to ignore him! You ignored her friend, so its only natural she will take such an attitude with you, Desolate Fury said, rolling his eyes. Youve gone too far this time. You might have finally gained the Extreme Eagle Corporations recognition and become an official successor, but Midsummers future achievements and status definitely wouldnt be beneath yours. The female Cleric and male Ranger nodded, agreeing with Desolate Furys words. Lightning Chaser indeed possessed very high status in the real world. Previously, his status as one of the Extreme Eagle Corporations young masters was already enough to cause many hegemonic powers to fawn over him. Now that he had become one of the Extreme Eagle Corporations official successors, his status in the real world had risen even further. However, the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition this year differed from past Rookie Competitions. It was one of the grandest Rookie Competitions the kingdom had ever held in its long history. Meanwhile, this was all because of the Galaxy Conglomerate, one of the Starlight Realms top conglomerates! The Galaxy Conglomerate had recently announced an assembly to all kingdoms and empires in the Starlight Realm. This assembly was targeted at young Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts under the age of 35, and the conglomerate intended to extend its invitation to 300 players of each tier of the two tiers. For those fortunate enough to receive an invitation, not only would they gain the Galaxy Conglomerates precious silver membership, but they could also gain permanent access to Galaxy City, which was the Starlight Realms holy land for business and the Galaxy Corporations main headquarters. Setting aside Galaxy City, a place where countless players sought to enter, just the opportunity to acquire the Galaxy Conglomerates silver membership was already enough to tempt countless players into action. In the real world, anyone who possessed the Galaxy Conglomerates silver membership could essentially waltz around in the Greater Worlds various cities as if they owned the place. Even then, the various corporations based in these cities would still have to show them a certain degree of respect. Under normal circumstances, even the helmsman of corporations would have to go through great difficulties to acquire the Galaxy Conglomerates silver membership. Yet, the Galaxy Conglomerate was giving away 600 silver membership slots for its assembly this time. One could easily imagine how intense the competition to join the assembly would be. However, according to insider information their party received, anyone who managed to get into the top 20 of the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition this time could skip the preliminaries to join the assembly and get promoted straight into the official competition. This was a huge boon to Tier 4 players seeking to obtain the Galaxy Conglomerates silver membership. It should be known that the Starlight Realm was massive. Setting aside the many Gods Domains that existed in the Starlight Realm, just the kingdoms and empires in the Realm numbered over a thousand. So, nobody knew how many under-35 Tier 4 experts there were in the Starlight Realm. The Tier 4 players participating in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition this time consisted of only a small portion of the kingdoms Tier 4 youths. Even so, the number of participants had still exceeded one million. As for the other Tier 4 youths, they had already participated in past Rookie Competitions and joined the various powers, so they no longer needed to participate in the Rookie Competition. However, once the Galaxy Conglomerates official selection began, it wouldnt even be strange to see over ten million participants coming from the Ancient River Kingdom. A thousand kingdoms would mean ten million participants. Not to mention, there were still the bigger and stronger empires. Yet, the Tier 4 category of the Galaxy Conglomerates official competition would only be open to 100,000 participants. After deducting the slots reserved for the various kingdoms and empires, there wouldnt be many left for those participating in the preliminaries. If players couldnt get their hands on any of the various kingdoms and empires reserve slots, the difficulty of getting into the official competition would increase exponentially. Meanwhile, it was precisely because they had received insider information about the Galaxy Conglomerates plans for the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition that their party had come to participate in a competition that normally wouldnt benefit them. Now that the Completion Rate of Midsummers Mana Body had already reached 120%, she could absolutely achieve excellent results in the Galaxy Corporations official selection. And if she were lucky and got into the top 300, her status would instantly skyrocket. At that time, even the Extreme Eagle Conglomerate would have to show her respect. Hmph! So what if her Mana Bodys Completion Rate has reached 120%? Lightning Chaser curled his lips in disdain. She might receive significant improvements from it, but whether she can even get into the top 20 remains uncertain. Surprisingly, Desolate Fury did not rebuke Lightning Chasers words this time. As Lightning Chaser said, it remained uncertain whether Midsummer could even get into the Rookie Competitions top 20, let alone the top 10. This was because even a Mana Body that had reached a 120% Completion Rate could only provide players with a limited increase in strength. Rather than a representation of strength, a 120% Mana Body was more of a representation of a players future potential. If it was before the Galaxy Conglomerate had announced its assembly a month ago, Midsummer would have had a very good chance at entering the Rookie Competitions top 10. However, because of the Galaxy Conglomerates announcement and its subsequent arrangement for the Rookie Competition, many geniuses from the neighboring kingdoms and empires had also come to compete for the Rookie Competitions top 20 positions. This situation drastically increased the Rookie Competitions intensity. The competition was so fierce that even Desolate Fury wasnt confident he could get into the top 20. While Desolate Fury and Lightning Chaser were talking, the female Cleric standing beside them looked up at translucent magic mirrors that had appeared above the plaza. Then, she suddenly pointed at one of the mirrors and said: Commander! Midsummer seems to have gotten into a precarious situation! Shown in the magic mirror the Cleric pointed at was Midsummer in her icy-blue robe. Aside from Midsummer, another player was shown in the same mirror, and this player was a titled expert from the Myriad Forest Empire. TL Notes: Made some changes in Chapter 294: Original: icy-green robe and icy-green hat Changed: icy-blue robe and icy-blue hat Chapter 3236 - Chapter 310 - One Finger To Bring Down The Heavens Chapter 310 C One Finger To Bring Down The Heavens This is indeed a tricky situation. I didnt think she would meet Ocean Breeze of all people. Desolate Fury was greatly surprised when he saw the young knight displayed in the same magic mirror as Midsummer. Ocean Breeze, the Knight of Thousand Winds, ranked 50th in combat power among the Myriad Forest Empires young experts. Although his rank wasnt as high as Desolate Furys, he was an Anti-Magic Knight, the bane of all magical classes. The Anti-Magic Knight was a Peak Class that could unleash an Anti-Magic Domain. Within his Anti-Magic Domain, all magic arrays would lose effect. It was a powerful counter against magical classes that relied mainly on Spells to attack. The Anti-Magic Domain would have been considered a perfect ability if not for its limited range. When used in the Greater Gods Domain, a Tier 4 Anti-Magic Knight could only extend their Anti-Magic Domain up to a 50-yard radius. So long as magical class players stayed outside the Anti-Magic Domains range, they could freely cast their Spells, and thered be nothing the Anti-Magic Knight could do about it. However, to make up for his Anti-Magic Domains lack of range, Ocean Breeze had learned an Advanced Silver Footwork. With the help of this footwork, it was practically impossible for any Tier 4 magical class player within his sight to keep their distance from him Hahaha! I already said she wont get into the top 20! Lightning Chaser couldnt help but laugh when he looked at the magic mirror hovering in the air. Although he knew that Midsummer had incredible potential and could perhaps achieve a higher status than he could in the future, his mood brightened significantly when he saw that Midsummer was going to get disqualified in the first round of the preliminaries. Moreover, so long as Midsummer failed to get into the Rookie Competitions top 20, her chances of getting into the Galaxy Conglomerates official competition would become very slim. If Midsummer failed to become a silver member of the Galaxy Conglomerate, he would have plenty of opportunities to get his hands on her. After all, he knew Midsummers real identity. With the Extreme Eagle Corporations strength, thered be nothing Midsummer and her family could do to resist him. While Desolate Furys party members were talking among themselves, the other experts in the plaza also turned their attention to Midsummers fight. Isnt that beauty the companion of that legend just now? She has quite the rotten luck to meet the Knight of Thousand Winds right off the bat. It seems shes going to get disqualified on the very first round. You cant really say she has bad luck. Many experts in the Ancient River Kingdom are currently targeting her because of Saint Three. Even if she didnt come across Ocean Breeze this round, everyone she comes across would most likely make her a priority target. You might be right, but getting disqualified in the first round is still a little miserable. I wonder if Ocean Breeze will show mercy? I heard that players he kills would typically have their souls put into a weakened state for half a month. If that beauty gets put out of commission for such a long period, shell most likely miss the Galaxy Conglomerates assembly. You expect the Knight of Thousand Winds to show mercy? Are you dreaming? Ocean Breeze and Saint Three are good friends. He might show mercy to others, but he definitely wont do so for that beauty. Hes good friends with Saint Three? But Wu Xiaoxiao is a legend with an immeasurable future, while that beauty looks like she is close to Wu Xiaoxiao. Will Ocean Breeze really be dumb enough to offend a legend for Saint Three? The various hegemonic powers experts in the plaza engaged in an enthusiastic discussion as they looked at the magic mirror displaying Midsummers battle. After Wu Xiaoxiao had revealed her 120% Epic Mana Body, the various hegemonic powers experts present conducted a thorough investigation of her background. So, they knew about the conflict Wu Xiaoxiaos group had with Saint Three. Originally, everyone had planned on doing Wu Xiaoxiao a favor during the preliminaries by ignoring Midsummer and Shi Feng should they come across these two people. However, it would seem that their hopes of doing the legend a favor might be dashed soon. Out of all the people Midsummer could have encountered, she just had to meet Ocean Breeze, Saint Threes close friend. Now, whether Midsummer could pass the preliminaries first round depended entirely on Ocean Breezes attitude. While the spectating participants in the plaza were engaged in their discussion over Midsummer, Ocean Breeze equipped the axe and square shield he carried on his back and slowly walked toward Midsummer, continuously closing the distance between them. 100 yards 80 yards 70 yards You are terribly unlucky to meet me in the first round, little beauty, Ocean Breeze said, chuckling as he looked at Midsummer, who quietly stood ahead of him. Originally, I was planning on getting rid of that Wu Xiaoxiao permanently to get Saint Three to owe me a huge favor. I didnt think I would meet you first. Moreover, it seems your Mana Bodys Completion Rate is also quite high. It should be above 115% already, right? In that case, Ill give you two options. The first option is to tell me Wu Xiaoxiaos real identity. Do that, and I will only heavily injure you. I wont annihilate your soul, and you wont have to waste all the effort youve put into developing your Mana Body. The second option is to restart a new account. Take your pick! Soul Annihilation? Midsummer was a little surprised when she heard Ocean Breezes words. Soul Annihilation abilities were normally available to only Tier 5 existences or above. She didnt think Ocean Breeze would possess such a frightening ability at Tier 4. You can only blame yourself for having poor luck. It was only a few days ago that I fully grasped my Soul Annihilation ability. Although this ability is useless against Tier 5 and Tier 6 players, it is enough against Tier 4 players, Ocean Breeze said, nodding in delight. Soul Annihilation abilities were powerful abilities that Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts used against lower-tiered players. However, because many kingdoms and empires prohibited high-tiered players from taking action against low-tiered players, The significance of Soul Annihilation abilities fell significantly in the Greater Gods Domain. However, it was a different story for him. Thanks to his Anti-Magic Knight class, he had grasped a Soul Annihilation ability at Tier 4, and it was even effective against players of the same tier. This was why the paragons of many kingdoms and empires would try to befriend him. Ocean Breeze admitted that an Epic Mana Body with a 120% Completion Rate might be frightening. However, he could also tell that Wu Xiaoxiao didnt have very high combat standards. So, he guessed that Wu Xiaoxiao simply got lucky and developed her Mana Body to the legendary Completion Rate. As long as he could destroy Wu Xiaoxiao once, she would no longer be a threat to anyone. I have poor luck? When Midsummer saw that Ocean Breeze was close to moving within 50 yards of her, she suddenly smiled. Do you think you are very lucky? As soon as Midsummer finished speaking, the intensity of her aura and the density of the mana surrounding her suddenly skyrocketed. In the blink of an eye, a towering mana pillar rose from her. A 100-meter mana pillar?! Ocean Breeze was stunned when he saw the mana pillar rising from Midsummer. Then, he looked at Midsummer in disbelief and asked, You are also a legend? He had already found it shocking when he saw Wu Xiaoxiao revealing herself as a legend. He didnt think that Midsummer, an ordinary member of the Purple Melody Alliance, would also be a legend. With this, he had seen two legends on the same day. Others would probably think he was crazy if he told them about this. However, Ocean Breeze quickly recovered from his surprise and contemptuously, saying, You have indeed surprised me, but death remains the only outcome awaiting you. He would definitely be experiencing a huge headache right now if Midsummer wasnt a magical class player. Unfortunately for Midsummer, there was no changing reality. Not only was Midsummer a Tier 4 Great Wizard, but there were also only 55 yards separating them right now. So long as he took one step forward, Midsummer would be within his Anti-Magic Domain, and he could do whatever he wanted with her. After saying so, Ocean Breeze took a step forward, intending to put Midsummer within his Anti-Magic Domain. Is that so? As if to mock Ocean Breeze, Midsummer allowed the Knight of Thousand Winds to move within 50 yards of her while she pointed at the sky. Subsequently, a huge tear in space appeared in the sky and spewed gigantic fireballs out one after another, the fireballs covering a radius of over 500 yards. Silent-cast twofold Tier 4 Curse, Starfire Shower! Boom! When the fireballs made contact with the ground, they instantly turned the battlefield into a sea of fire, the flames so bright their glow could be seen from across the entire island Chapter 3237 - Chapter 311 - Sword Drawn, Souls Gone Chapter 311 C Sword Drawn, Souls Gone When Midsummers Starfire Shower descended, all magic mirrors above the plaza radiated a blinding glow, preventing anyone from looking at them directly. However, when the blinding light faded, what everyone saw shocked them to the core. The Knight of Thousand Winds The Knight of Thousand Winds got killed in one move? Crazy! This is crazy! I must be dreaming! Not only does she have a 120% Mana Body, but she also silent-cast a twofold Tier 4 Curse? Who is she? Everyone in the plaza couldnt keep their mouths closed when they saw the outcome displayed in the magic mirror keeping track of Midsummers battle. Not just Wu Xiaoxiao, but even Midsummer had a Mana Body that had reached the legendary 120% Completion Rate. Moreover, the combat prowess Midsummer displayed was utterly astounding. It should be known that Ocean Breeze, the Knight of Thousand Winds, was not only a genius who ranked 50th in the Myriad Forest Kingdoms First Generation Rankings, but due to his class, he was also the bane of all magical classes. Yet, he had died to a magical class player in one move With such strength, Midsummer could already be put on the same level as the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. She silent-cast a twofold Tier 4 Curse? Desolate Fury was similarly shocked when he saw Midsummers performance. Currently, the area five yards ahead of Midsummer had already transformed into a lava hell. The high temperatures of this field of lava were so high that even Tier 5 players would rapidly lose HP while standing in it and transform into a charred corpse in just a little more than ten seconds. However, the power of Midsummers attack wasnt what shocked Desolate Fury since Tier 4 Curses originally possessed the power of Tier 5 Spells already. Not to mention, the Tier 4 Curse Midsummer used was even under the large-scale Destruction Spell category, and Spells under this category were strategic-level Spells in Gods Domain. Rather than the Curses power, what shocked Desolate Fury was the way Midsummer had cast her Starfire Shower. Tier 4 Curse-ranked Destruction Spells were rarely used in one-versus-one PvP situations due to their overly long casting times. If a player wasnt capable of silent casting, itd be incredibly foolish to even try to use such a Curse. However, so long as a player could silent-cast such a Curse, even titled experts of the same tier would fall if they werent careful. As for two-fold Tier 4 Curses, if a player could silent-cast one, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call them a moving disaster. A silent-cast Tier 4 Curse would be weaker than a Tier 4 Curse that was cast normally, so it wasnt impossible for a Tier 4 titled expert to try and defend against it. However, a silent-cast twofold Tier 4 Curse was something not even titled experts could defend against. This was because the moment they blocked the first Tier 4 Curse, the second Tier 4 Curse would immediately follow. With the limitations of a Tier 4 players strength, there was no way a Tier 4 player could react in time before they got hit by the second Tier 4 Curse. Typically, when Tier 4 players were going up against an expert capable of silent-casting twofold Tier 4 Curses, their only option was to put as much distance between themselves and the caster as possible. It was simply impossible for a Tier 4 player to react to such an attack at close range. Hence, Tier 4 experts capable of silent-casting twofold Tier 4 Curses were regarded as nigh-invincible among Tier 4 players. Of course, silent-casting a twofold Tier 4 Curse was incredibly difficult. Even among titled experts, only a small minority of magical-class paragons could accomplish it. Not only did accomplishing such a feat require the caster to have an extremely high affinity with mana, but the caster would also need a considerably high mastery over the various elements of mana. These were harsh requirements that most Tier 4 players would find impossible to meet. Dammit! Dammit! When Lightning Chaser saw Midsummers goddess-like appearance displayed in the magic mirror, a hint of madness appeared in his eyes. Why is she in the same party with that guy?! If it werent for that insignificant bastard, Midsummer wouldve never behaved so indifferently to me! Its all that bastards fault! The combination of a 120% Epic Mana Body and the ability to silent-cast a twofold Tier 4 Curse was enough to place Midsummer at the top of even the Myriad Forest Empire. She would be put on the same level as the empires paragons, and even the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would fight to recruit her. The status she could gain would surpass his status as a corporations potential successor. Originally, this beautiful and talented goddess could have been his. Yet, now, he had missed the opportunity to obtain her When Lightning Chaser thought up to this point, his gaze turned toward the magic mirror displaying Shi Fengs figure, his eyes filled with envy and killing intent as he watched Shi Feng walking in a forest. He, an official successor of the Extreme Eagle Corporation, had lost to some nobody? Moreover, this nobody didnt even have a Golden Leaf Emblem. If this nobody were to talk out on the streets, an ordinary beauty wouldnt even glance at him. Shortly after Lightning Chaser started watching Shi Feng, his blood pressure spiked again. Currently, displayed in the magic mirror were Shi Feng and Wu Xiaoxiao walking together. However, every expert the two came across was dealt with by Wu Xiaoxiao. Although Wu Xiaoxiao wasnt as strong as Midsummer, she could still silent-casting Tier 4 Curses, so her combat power was comparable to titled experts. Meanwhile, throughout this entire time, Shi Feng only watched from the side and quietly waited to get promoted through the round. However, what Lightning Chaser couldnt stomach the most was that Shi Feng was chatting merrily with Wu Xiaoxiao. The bastard was utterly shameless At this time, Lightning Chaser wasnt the only person directing feelings of anger and jealousy at Shi Feng. Many young men in the plaza also started to behave this way toward Shi Feng. Not only was Shi Feng acquainted with two goddess-like individuals, but they even shared a close relationship, evidenced by how they interacted with one another. Subsequently, as time passed, fewer players remained in the various regions of the preliminaries first round. At some point, the various youths watching Shi Fengs and Wu Xiaoxiaos actions suddenly laughed. Hahaha! Now that the goddess is pinned down by a titled expert, lets see what that bastard will do! He has to go up against three fourth-floor experts simultaneously. That bastard is definitely going to embarrass himself in front of the goddess! Bets are open! Guess how many seconds that kid can last! How many seconds? Arent you overestimating that guy? He only survived until now because he was lucky enough to get acquainted with the two goddesses. However, his luck ends here. With three fourth-floor experts as his opponents, the fight will end in one second. When the spectating participants saw three young men wearing Golden Leaf Emblems slowly closing in on Shi Feng, they couldnt help but grow excited. It was especially so for Lightning Chaser. Quick! Quickly get rid of him! Let Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao see just how weak he is! Lightning Chaser muttered excitedly as he looked at the magic mirror. So what if Shi Feng got to be in the same party as Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao? He was merely an ant who hadnt even reached the World Towers fourth floor. In the end, he was still going to get disqualified. Black Flame Black Flame When Desolate Fury looked at Shi Fengs figure displayed in the magic mirror, he muttered to himself, Why do I keep feeling as if Ive seen him before How could you possibly have met that kid before, Commander? Hes merely an ant who doesnt even have a Golden Leaf. You normally only interact with the Myriad Forest Empires peerless geniuses. That kid cant possibly be one of those peerless geniuses, right? Lightning Chaser said, scoffing. While Lightning Chaser was speaking, the three fourth-floor experts displayed in the magic mirror sneered and began their offensive on Shi Feng. However, as if they wanted to toy with Shi Feng in front of Wu Xiaoxiao, they deliberately slowed down their movements. Then, when they were within 10 yards of Shi Feng, all three attacked Shi Feng simultaneously, one slashing with a longsword, another smashing with a war hammer, and another stabbing with a pair of daggers. Even though the three youths were already holding back, which was evidenced by their lack of Skill usage, the speed and frequency of their attacks were still too much for ordinary Tier 4 players to keep up with. Moreover, all three of them attacked from Shi Fengs blind spots. When the three youths attacks were within one yard of reaching their target, Shi Feng, who had remained motionless all this time, suddenly moved. Draw! Swing! Sheath! Shi Feng executed three simple movements, nearly in slow motion, in the eyes of the spectating participants. However, even though Shi Fengs movements were slow and gentle, the three fourth-floor experts failed to react to his movements. Or, more specifically, as if their bodies became frozen in time, the three youths stopped moving altogether and simply allowed Shi Fengs sword to cut across their necks. Even until their HP had fallen to zero, the three did not show the slightest bit of resistance The spectators were dumbfounded when they saw this, and silence enveloped the entire plaza. This What justhappened? Chapter 3238 - Chapter 312 - Asura Sword Emperor? Chapter 312 C Asura Sword Emperor? No! Impossible! Lightning Chaser couldnt believe his eyes when he saw the three fourth-floor experts in the magic mirror collapsing to the ground. Shi Feng had not only killed three fourth-floor experts in one move, but he had also done so without using any Skills or combat techniques. All he did was swing his sword. Fourth-floor experts were not cabbages that could be found everywhere. They would be regarded as powerful experts in any city. Unless there was an overwhelming gap in Basic Attributes, even titled experts would need to put in some effort to kill an ordinary fourth-floor expert. After all, experts of this caliber would have all factors within their immediate vicinity under their control. They could also make perfect predictions of their opponents attacks and take the necessary countermeasures. Unless they were targeted by a powerful AOE attack that couldnt be dodged, there was no way they could be killed instantly. Yet, three fourth-floor experts were killed by Shi Feng, an ant who didnt have a Golden Leaf Emblem, with only one slash. Even dreams would be more believable than this situation. This situation was so unbelievable that Lightning Chaser couldnt help but suspect if the three fourth-floor youths were paid actors. Otherwise, why would they stand still and do nothing as Shi Feng killed them? Lightning Chaser wasnt the only person to have such thoughts. Many of the spectating participants in the plaza also thought as such. Aside from the three youths being actors hired by Shi Feng, they couldnt think of any other reason to explain this bewildering situation. While the spectators were speculating whether the three youths were paid actors hired by Shi Feng, the expression of the young male Assassin fighting Wu Xiaoxiao turned ashen as he looked at Shi Feng. He has a Tier 5 Physique? Although this Assassin youth spoke under his breath, his voice was conveyed clearly through the magic mirror, and his speculation shocked the spectating crowd. Tier 5 Physique? Could he have a piece of Legendary Equipment equipped? No wonder! No wonder those three failed to even react! Theres no way Tier 4 players can keep up with a Tier 5 Physiques reaction speed! Legendary Equipment?! Could he be from an upper-ranking hegemonic power? Everyone participating in the Rookie Competition was a genius among the Ancient River Kingdoms younger generation. Although they had yet to get promoted to Tier 5, they understood the significance of having a Tier 5 Physique. Invincibility among Tier 4! Indeed! This was true invincibility among Tier 4! Players would see a huge improvement in various parameters for every tier they climbed in Gods Domain. It was especially true for their Physique. The stronger a players Physique, the higher their reaction speeds limit would be. If one compared the reaction speed limits of an ordinary Tier 4 expert and a Tier 4 titled expert, the difference would only be about the same as the gap between the Tier 3 and Tier 4 standard, which was a relatively small gap. It was just that titled experts were much better at pushing their reaction speeds to their limit, with some even capable of keeping their reaction speed at maximum at all times. In contrast, ordinary Tier 4 experts couldnt even push their reaction speeds to their limit. Hence, even after setting aside factors such as equipment and Basic Attributes, there was still a massive gap in combat performance between ordinary experts and titled experts. However, the difference between having a Tier 4 Physique and a Tier 5 Physique would create a much bigger gap in reaction speeds. It was basically a difference between one and two. In the time it took a Tier 4 titled expert to execute one attack, a Tier 5 expert could execute two attacks. In other words, should the two clash, the Tier 4 titled expert would only be halfway to completing their defensive maneuver when the Tier 5 expert had already completed their attack. The Tier 4 titled experts body simply couldnt keep up with the speed of the Tier 5 players attack. Just this point alone made it impossible for most Tier 4 players to go up against Tier 5 players. This was also why transcending tiers was such a difficult feat in Gods Domain. If players wished to fight opponents of a higher tier in Gods Domain, especially at the higher tiers, theyd need to have a Legendary Weapon or Equipment. Either that or Hall of Fame-level Fragmented Legendary Equipment, at the very least. Otherwise, attempting such a challenge would be no different than committing suicide. Dammit! Hes nothing but an ant who doesnt even have a Golden Leaf Emblem! How can he have a piece of Legendary Equipment?! Lightning Chaser went mad with jealousy as he looked at Shi Feng in the magic mirror. Legendary Weapons and Equipment served as foundations for the Greater Gods Domains various powers. They were so rare and precious that even the Tier 6 experts of hegemonic powers wouldnt necessarily have one. So, how could an ant who couldnt even conquer the World Towers fourth floor own one? Even though Lightning Chaser had already become an official successor of the Extreme Eagle Corporation, the corporation would only assign a Legendary Weapon or Equipment to him after he had gotten promoted to Tier 5. He couldnt get his hands on one at Tier 4 even if he wanted to. After all, Legendary Weapons and Equipment were extremely precious. Any one of them could be used to create a powerhouse capable of transcending tiers. Only after players had reached Tier 5 could they adequately protect the Legendary Weapon and Equipment they owned. Apart from upper-ranking hegemonic powers, apex powers, and conglomerates, no other power would dare to put their Legendary Weapons and Equipment in the hands of a Tier 4 player. While the spectating crowd was looking at Shi Feng enviously, Desolate Era, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly gasped. I remember now! Desolate Era exclaimed in realization. I remember where I heard Black Flames name from! Commander? Lightning Chaser looked at Desolate Fury in confusion, failing to understand what was going through the other partys mind. So what if Desolate Era had heard Black Flames name before? Black Flame was now the number one target Lightning Chaser had to deal with. Not only because of Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, but also because Legendary items were incredibly important to the Extreme Eagle Corporation. If he could get his hands on an additional piece, he would have two Legendary items in his possession once he got promoted to Tier 5. At that time, he would have a greater chance of becoming first in the corporations line of succession. I was wondering why I had such a deep impression of Black Flames name before, but now I know why, Desolate Era said, a flash of awe appearing in his eyes as he looked at Shi Fengs figure. Its because I happened to watch a recording of Black Flame fighting, and that recording was shown to me by none other than the empires number two paragon! He even showed great interest in Black Flame! Are you joking with me, Commander? That paragon from the Paimon Conglomerate is interested in him? Lightning Chaser was dumbfounded. The paragon in question was a genius from the Paimon Conglomerate who had shocked the entire Myriad Forest Empire. Not only did he triumph over the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers young paragons, but he had also fought the Myriad Forest Empires publicly acknowledged number one monster to a standstill. If it werent for the battlefields constantly shrinking size putting the Paimon Conglomerates paragon at a disadvantage, he wouldnt necessarily be in second place right now. Im not joking, Desolate Fury said, shaking his head. Then, with admiration, he continued, Brother Black Flame had outperformed the Paimon Conglomerates Meteor in the video. Moreover, in the Miniature Ancient World that the Starlight Realms various hegemonic powers and even conglomerates have chosen to invest in, Brother Black Flame is known as the Asura Sword Emperor and currently ranks seventh on the Seven Luminaries Alliances God List. He is much stronger than even the Twin Saints Alliances Saint Nine. Chapter 3239 - Chapter 313 - Astonishing Identity Chapter 313 C Astonishing Identity TL Notes: Made some changes to Chapter 306 and Chapter 311: Chapter 306: Original: If players partied up before the competition, they would be put into the same batches during the preliminaries. This allowed them to cover each others backs and increase their chances of survival. Edited: If players partied up before the competition, they could cover each others backs and increase their chances of survival if they got assigned to the same batch. (I misinterpreted the raws.) Chapter 311: Original: It should be known that Ocean Breeze, the Knight of Thousand Winds, was not only a genius who ranked 50th in the Myriad Forest Kingdoms First Generation Rankings, but due to his class, he was also the bane of all magical classes. Edited: It should be known that Ocean Breeze, the Knight of Thousand Winds, was not only a genius who ranked 50th among the Myriad Forest Kingdoms younger generation, but due to his class, he was also the bane of all magical classes. (I suspect it is a typo.) Seventh on the God List? Recognized by the Seven Luminaries Alliance as the Asura Sword Emperor? Stronger than even Saint Nine? The information Desolate Fury revealed caused Lightning Chasers mind to doubt his worldview. Although Lightning Chaser understood every individual word said by Desolate Fury, these words pieced together made zero sense to him. Setting the God List aside, just the fact that the Seven Luminaries Alliance was using a title to address a player meant that this player had already gained the Alliances recognition. In other words, this player would be a titled expert recognized by the entire Greater Gods Domain. But how could Black Flame, a person who didnt even have a Golden Leaf Emblem, be a titled expert recognized by the Seven Luminaries Alliance? Moreover, he was stronger than even Saint Nine? No matter how Lightning Chaser looked at it, this was simply a joke. It should be known that Saint Nine used to be one of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. He had only withdrawn from the position after getting defeated by Saint Three. However, that didnt mean Saint Nine was no longer worthy of being one of the Ten Great Paragons. On the contrary, he could occupy a different position among the Ten Great Paragons whenever he wanted. Moreover, he would rank within the top five. Asura Sword Emperor? So, hes that Miniature Ancient Worlds rumored Asura Sword Emperor? Hes the seventh paragon in that Miniature Ancient Worlds God List? No wonder he can kill fourth-floor experts like he is killing ants! I see! I see! So thats why the two goddesses are showing him so much favor! If hes someone superior to Saint Nine, even the young heiresses of the Starlight Realms top 100 corporations will look at him favorably! When the others in the plaza heard Desolate Furys exclamation, some of the more well-informed geniuses of hegemonic powers quickly came to a realization. At the same time, the envy in their eyes disappeared when they looked at Shi Feng in the magic mirror. Instead, replacing it was feelings of reverence. The Greater Gods Domain was an incomparable harsh place. It was a world where might was right and where the strong preyed upon the weak. This was because only those who were strong in the Greater Gods Domain could live a better and longer life in the Greater World. Many corporations in the Greater World even depended on the Greater Gods Domains powerhouses for their prosperity. Meanwhile, Shi Feng evidently possessed the qualifications to join the ranks of the Greater Gods Domains powerhouses in the future. Let alone talented beauties, even young men would be tempted to make a move on him Brother Black Flame is that powerful? When Midsummer, who had just concluded her first round, overheard the discussions of the surrounding players, she couldnt help but look at Shi Fengs figure in the mirror with widened eyes. Although Shi Feng had already shown astonishing strength when he fought against Uncaring Arrogances team, his achievements mentioned by the spectating crowd were on a completely different level. The fact that Shi Feng was stronger than Saint Nine meant that he was at least equal to Saint Three. With such strength, he could already compete for the position of the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon. While the spectators in the plaza were having their impression of Shi Feng refreshed, Shi Feng gradually walked over to Wu Xiaoxiao and the titled Assassin she fought. When the titled Assassin saw this, he hurriedly distanced himself from Wu Xiaoxiao and eyed Shi Feng warily. Lets talk things out, Brother Black Flame. I am Unforgettable Leaf, and I am from the Myriad Forest Empires Heavenly Boa Guild. What happened just now was just a misunderstanding. I dont have any intentions of being your enemy. I was only buying time and waiting until the round was over. I meant to do nothing more than that, Unforgettable Leaf hurriedly explained after taking his mask off. A player with a Tier 5 Physique was not an opponent a Tier 4 titled expert could go up against. His current goal was only to get into the Rookie Competitions top 20 and advance to the Galaxy Conglomerates official competition. If he couldnt get into the Rookie Competitions top 20, the challenges hed have to face to get into the official competition would increase drastically. The Heavenly Boa Guilds Unforgettable Leaf? When Wu Xiaoxiao heard Unforgettable Leaf reporting his identity, she subconsciously stopped chanting her incantation, and a hint of hesitation appeared in her eyes. Any player who had lived in the Ancient River Kingdom for some time would have most likely heard of the Heavenly Boa Guilds name. Where six hegemonic powers ruled the Ancient River Kingdom, three Guilds managed the Myriad Forest Empire. Meanwhile, Heavenly Boa was one of these three Guilds. The Guild was not only funded by two of the Starlight Realms top 100 corporations, but it also possessed a paragon that the entire Myriad Forest Empire could only see once every century. Thanks to these factors, Heavenly Boa was currently the closest existence to becoming an upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Myriad Forest Empire. As for Unforgettable Leaf, he was quite the famous individual in the Myriad Forest Empire. He ranked 32nd during the Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses. Not only was he one of the reserve executives being nurtured by Heavenly Boa, but he had also taken on the position of vice commander of Heavenly Boas third trump card legion already. One could see how much Heavenly Boa valued him through this arrangement. So you know me, Miss Xiaoxiao. Unforgettable Leaf smiled when he saw that Wu Xiaoxiao recognized him. He had previously worried that Shi Feng might not know him. However, things were fine now that Wu Xiaoxiao knew his identity. After all, no power in the Ancient River Kingdom dared to offend Heavenly Boa. Shi Feng might be able to do as he pleased in the Ancient River Secret Land, but once he left the secret land, the Heavenly Boa Guild would have plenty of ways to kill him. However, even after hearing Unforgettable Leafs introduction, Shi Feng calmly asked, Are you done yapping? Brother Black Flame! I am here with an important mission from the Guild this time! Unforgettable Leafs voice grew cold when he saw that Shi Feng did not stop approaching him. If we continue fighting, it wouldnt do either of us any good! So, youre saying you can kill us, but we cant kill you. Is that right? Shi Feng chuckled. If Unforgettable Leaf truly intended to wait out the round, he could have simply hidden in the woods, and nobody would be able to find him. Yet, he did not do so. Instead, he had attacked them without hesitation, all because he thought he could bully them. I already said this is a misunderstanding, Brother Black Flame! Unforgettable Leaf did not refute Shi Fengs words. Instead, he lowered his voice even further as he said, Why must you be so aggressive, Brother Black Flame? Do you think I cant beat you or escape safely from here? The Assassin class possessed the greatest survivability out in the fields. If an Assassins initial strike failed, they could simply run away, and nobody could catch up to them. Although Unforgettable Leaf was confident he could escape from Shi Feng, doing so would require him to use some of his trump cards. Hence, he had chosen to bear with Shi Feng. If he really made use of his trump cards, the only thing Shi Feng could do was watch him get away. Try and see if you can escape from me, then! Shi Feng said in response to Unforgettable Leafs confidence. Immediately afterward, a ripple of mana spread from under his feet, instantly covering a radius of 500 yards. Then, the shadow of a miniature world descended upon the covered area, isolating it from the outside world. Even the magic mirror in the plaza could no longer capture what was happening inside the affected area. World Creation! Chapter 3240 - Chapter 314 - True Swordsman Chapter 314 C True Swordsman World Creation?! Wu Xiaoxiaos eyes widened in disbelief when she saw the miniature worlds shadow descending upon the forest. World Creation was an ultimate technique that only an incredibly small number of Tier 5 magical class NPCs could perform. Meanwhile, any Tier 5 player capable of executing World Creation would be invincible among players of the same tier. Although there were some peerless geniuses in the Greater Gods Domain capable of using World Creation at Tier 4, their World Creation was incomplete. They could only exert a limited suppression on their opponents using the power of the world they created. They couldnt prevent their opponents from using the mana in the affected area. In comparison, a player who could perform a complete World Creation could not only influence their opponents ability to use ambient mana, but could also suppress their opponents Life Rating. This was why Tier 5 players who had mastered World Creation were known to be invincible at Tier 5. Life Rating was the foundation of all creatures in Gods Domain, and players were no exception. So long as a players Life Rating was weakened, not only would they face a serious reduction in Basic Attributes, but even their Physique would plummet. It was essentially an overall reduction in combat power. In a fight between two Tier 5 players, adding World Creation to one side was enough to separate the two players into two different levels. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Fengs World Creation took effect, Unforgettable Leafs overall parameters instantly fell to the Tier 3 standard. At this time, Unforgettable Leaf most likely couldnt even beat an ordinary Tier 4 expert, let alone escape from the miniature world Shi Feng created. World Creation was more like a super-large magic barrier than a normal Mana Domain. Meanwhile, the walls of a complete World Creation were something even Tier 5 players would have to expend significant effort to break through. With his Life Rating reduced to the Tier 3 standard, there was no way Unforgettable Leaf could do anything against it. While Wu Xiaoxiao was looking at Shi Fengs World Creation in disbelief, the spectators in the plaza were also experiencing a moment of shock. What happened? Why did the magic mirror stop working? What happened over there? I remember that the magic mirror can only observe areas up to a certain distance. If the selected area is too far, the magic mirror cannot observe it. But we are all on this floating island in the Ancient River Secret Land right now, so it shouldnt be possible for them to be outside the magic mirrors viewing range. No! There is another possibility! The magic mirror can only observe scenes in the same world. Since the magic mirror cant locate them, they should be in a different world from us. That shouldnt be possible, right? Theyre currently in the competition area, so how can they be teleported out of the competition area? Moreover, the magic mirror shouldnt show a blank image even if they get teleported out of the competition area. It should continue showing the battlefield. No, no, no! There is one other possibility that can block the magic mirrors viewing without leaving the competition area. Could it be Do you meanWorld Creation? The many players in the plaza started voicing all sorts of speculations when they saw the magic mirror suddenly failing to display the battle between Shi Feng and Unforgettable Leaf. Unforgettable Leaf was ranked 32nd among the Myriad Forest Empires younger generation geniuses. He might not be as strong as the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons, but nobody could stop him out in the fields if he focused on escaping. Meanwhile, should Unforgettable Leaf successfully get away, Shi Fengs group of three would have to be very concerned in subsequent rounds of the Rookie Competition. The Assassin classs strong suit was not direct combat. Instead, the class shined in assassination techniques. Relying on these assassination techniques, an Assassin could even kill players of a higher tier. After all, if a Tier 5 player received a vital hit from a Tier 4 player and got heavily injured, unless there was a massive difference in levels and Basic Attributes, it was entirely possible for the Tier 4 player to deal enough damage to kill the Tier 5 player before the latter could recover. Previously, Unforgettable Leaf had fought Wu Xiaoxiao head-on from beginning to end. He never showed the Assassin classs true capabilities and simply thought of having Wu Xiaoxiao watch how Shi Feng got killed. Otherwise, with Wu Xiaoxiaos vastly inferior combat standards, Unforgettable Leaf could have long since killed Wu Xiaoxiao. Commander, do you think Black Flame has really mastered World Creation? the female Cleric from the Purple Melody Alliance asked Desolate Fury when she saw the magic mirrors black screen, her eyes full of yearning. World Creation was a goal all magical class players in Gods Domain dreamed of achieving. Anyone who could master World Creation would be highly valued by the various hegemonic powers. They would also be given an Elders seat immediately if they joined a hegemonic power, even if they were only at Tier 5. It should be a complete World Creation, Desolate Fury said, a hint of envy in his eyes. Although the magic mirror isnt a powerful observation tool, it is made using magic that has been passed down from primordial times. An imperfect World Creation isnt enough to stop it. So what if he knows World Creation? Lightning Chaser suddenly smiled. Do you really think he can kill that Unforgettable Leaf with only this much? Have you two forgotten what Unforgettable Leafs title is? Even the Sixth Paragon had to expend quite a lot of effort to kill him during the Battle of Geniuses. If not for the dueling arena being overly small, Unforgettable Leaf might have even survived until the end of the round. Lightning Chaser admitted that he could no longer afford to clash against Shi Feng. Shi Feng having strength that surpassed Saint Nine meant the various hegemonic powers would definitely extend an olive branch to him. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would most likely try to recruit him. Although the Extreme Eagle Corporations influence and strength in the Greater Gods Domain were above ordinary hegemonic powers, it was still significantly inferior to upper-ranking hegemonic powers. If Shi Feng were to join an upper-ranking hegemonic power, he would most likely be put in a high position. In that case, Lightning Chaser could no longer afford to offend Shi Feng. However, it was a different story for Unforgettable Leaf. Unforgettable Leaf was a future executive of the Heavenly Boa Guild. Meanwhile, Heavenly Boa was an existence with great prospects of becoming an upper-ranking hegemonic power in the future. So, Unforgettable Leaf did not have any reasons to fear Shi Feng. Meanwhile, now that Shi Feng had offended Unforgettable Leaf, with Unforgettable Leafs vengeful personality, the Assassin would definitely make it impossible for Shi Fengs group to advance to the preliminaries top 100 if Shi Feng failed to kill him here. Inside the combat zone After Shi Fengs World Creation took effect, Unforgettable Leaf gradually disappeared from Shi Fengs and Wu Xiaoxiaos vision and perception. A moment later, his presence in the miniature world disappeared completely. Black Flame! Do you really think Ill be afraid of you out in the fields?! Ill let you know why the Seven Luminaries Alliance gave me the title of Undying Shadow! Unforgettable Leafs voice came from all directions and constantly echoed throughout the woods surrounding Shi Feng and Wu Xiaoxiao, making it impossible to track his whereabouts. Void Walk and Shadowless Killing Intent? Shi Feng glanced at the swaying trees around him, sensing that Unforgettable Leafs presence was everywhere in the surrounding woods. Yet, at the same time, the Assassin was like a ghost that did not exist. Moreover, Shi Feng could feel the killing intent that filled the air around him. It felt as if a dagger could pop out from anywhere to stab him at any time. If the average person were subjected to this situation, they would have to constantly keep their minds focused on their surroundings. Under such pressure, they would expend Concentration rapidly, and they wouldnt be able to stay in battle for very long. Take Wu Xiaoxiao, for example. Even though she wasnt moving her body, her complexion had turned pale, an indicator that she was exhausting her Concentration rapidly. Thats right! I was originally saving this move for when I am competing for the top ten since using it places a huge burden on my mind! But now, Ill test it on you two! When Unforgettable Leaf looked at Shi Feng standing still from the void, he couldnt help but laugh maniacally. World Creation was indeed a powerful technique. However, it had little effect on experts who had mastered Void Walk. This was because Void Walk allowed its user to travel out of their original world and traverse in the void, making it impossible for the players in the original world to perceive the users location. Players going against a Void Walk user couldnt even attack the latter. They could only wait for the Void Walk user to leave the void and attack them first. However, Unforgettable Leaf did not need to leave the void to attack Shi Feng. He simply needed to launch mental attacks from absolute safety. Void Walk? When Wu Xiaoxiao heard Unforgettable Leafs unabashed admission, her expression became even more gloomy. Void Walk was a technique comparable to World Creation. Once mastered, a player could freely come and go from a battlefield. While Wu Xiaoxiao was falling into despair, Shi Feng suddenly turned to look at a nearby treetop. Do you really think a measly Void Walk is enough to keep you safe from me? After saying so, Shi Feng suddenly disappeared and reappeared before the treetop he had eyed previously. Then, he unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and brandished it against the treetop. Immediately, over a dozen sword lights formed and converged into a single point, the convergence of sword lights shattering space. Swords Transmigration! Suddenly, space interlaced, and Unforgettable Leaf in the void had his heart pierced. Unforgettable Leaf wore a look of shock and confusion on his face, but as his HP bar had already depleted completely, he could do nothing but watch as his vision darkened and his body dispersed into countless particles of light Chapter 3241 - Chapter 315 - Kingdom Treasure Chest Chapter 315 C Kingdom Treasure Chest TL Notes: Fixed a mistake in Chapters 297, 306: annual Rookie Competition -> monthly Rookie Competition Unforgettable Leaf. A peerless genius of the Myriad Forest Empires Heavenly Boa Guild. He was also a titled expert recognized by the Seven Luminaries Alliance from a young age. The Undying Shadow! Unforgettable Leafs title was known throughout the entire Myriad Forest Empire. This was because during his battle against Impact Giant, the empires Sixth Paragon, during the Battle of Geniuses, Impact Giant had only managed to kill him after putting in a lot of effort and taking advantage of the arenas limited space. If not for the battlefields restriction, Unforgettable Leaf could have simply used Void Walk, ending the fight in a stalemate. After the Battle of Geniuses, Unforgettable Leaf had even grasped the secret mental technique Shadowless Killing Intent. With the help of this secret technique, he didnt even need to find opportunities to re-enter the world and strike at his opponent. He could simply rely on Shadowless Killing Intent to exhaust his opponents Concentration. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Unforgettable Leaf was invincible in the fields. Yet, now, Shi Feng had killed Unforgettable Leaf out in the fields. Moreover, he had executed his attack so quickly that Unforgettable Leaf had died in the void without being able to react in time. He killed him? Just like that? Wu Xiaoxiaos eyes widened in disbelief when she saw Unforgettable Leafs body disappearing into the void. The void Unforgettable Leaf had dived into wasnt something that could be reached simply by shattering space. Instead, it was akin to an alternate world connected to the original world. Although the two worlds were connected, a world barrier separated them. The world barrier in question was much stronger than even the world barrier of the miniature world created using World Creation. Even Tier 5 existences would have great difficulty breaking it, let alone landing an attack on Unforgettable Leaf after breaking the world barrier. The reason Void Walk was powerful wasnt just because it was difficult to break the world barrier with normal attacks. Instead, it was also because there existed a considerable distance between the Void Walk user and the world barrier, even if the world barrier looked like it was only centimeters away from the Void Walk user. Meanwhile, this distance would create enough time for the Void Walk user to dodge any oncoming attacks. So, Wu Xiaoxiao found it inconceivable that Unforgettable Leaf had gotten killed without reacting to Shi Fengs attack. When Shi Feng saw the surprised look on Wu Xiaoxiaos face, he chuckled and explained, He might have learned Void Walk, but his mastery is low. The most he can do is walk around in the void. He still cannot integrate into the void. So, any attack that can achieve Spatial Destruction will reach him without any buffer time. If he cannot react to the attack when it is executed in the outside world, he wont be able to dodge it even if he enters the void. Void Walk was indeed a profound technique capable of rivaling World Creation. However, Void Walk was divided into multiple levels. Meanwhile, players would only need to reach an entry-level in the technique to freely travel in and out of the void. This was something even Shi Feng could do. True Void Walk experts could integrate their bodies with the void, making it impossible for players in the outside world to locate their presence in the void. Moreover, they could traverse the void as naturally as breathing. They could even selectively hide parts of their body in the void. Simply put, they could accomplish attacks far beyond the imagination of ordinary experts. They had no need to hide in the void and rely on mental attacks to defeat their opponents. He can only walk around in the void? Wu Xiaoxiao grew a little speechless when she heard Shi Feng talking about Void Walk so nonchalantly. If World Creation was the technique that all magical class players in Gods Domain dreamed of mastering, then Void Walk was the technique that all melee class players dreamed of learning. Not only could Void Walk be used to dodge the suppression of World Creation, but it could also be used to diversify ones attacks. Meanwhile, just the ability to traverse the void was already enough to put many melee class experts in awe. Players could also use this ability to avoid defeat in most, if not all, scenarios. Yet, Shi Feng spoke about Void Walk as if it were an insignificant technique While Shi Feng and Wu Xiaoxiao were talking, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered their ears. System: Congratulations! You have passed the first round of the Ancient River Secret Lands preliminaries. Rewarding one Kingdom Treasure Chest. System: The Kingdom Treasure Chest will last for ten days. It will become invalid if it expires or is brought out of the Ancient River Secret Land. Incredible! I cant believe they would give such an amazing reward on the preliminaries first round! Wu Xiaoxiaos eyes widened in surprise when she looked at the crystalline treasure chest that had appeared before her. A Kingdom Treasure Chest contained astonishing rewards. It could contain anywhere from Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment to Fragmented Legendary items. It could even contain points for the Gods Domain Alliance. Moreover, the awarded amount was extremely generous, ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 points. The Gods Domain Alliances points were incredibly precious. They were even more well-received than Star Coins. If people in the Greater World wished to become mental strength grandmasters, gain higher status, and remain youthful for a longer time, the use of various potions was indispensable. Only, these potions were very expensive. Take the Life Potion, a potion for improving physical fitness, for example. Under the condition that one had the necessary connections to buy it, one would still have to fork out 50,000 Star Coins per bottle. In addition to the Life Potion, there was also the Soul Potion which was used for improving mental strength. Each Soul Potion cost 100,000 Star Coins. The average person in a city only earned around 500 to 1,000 Star Coins per month. They couldnt afford to buy one bottle of Life Potion even with an entire years worth of salary. However, to achieve any of the goals as mentioned earlier, a person needed to consume at least one Life Potion and one Soul Potion per year. This meant a yearly expenditure of 150,000 Star Coins. There was no way the average person could afford such an expenditure. Even after going under the Green God Corporations wing, Wu Xiaoxiao guaranteed this yearly minimum requirement. If she wanted to increase her development speed, she could only rely on herself to purchase more potions. However, earning such a significant sum of Star Coins was easier said than done. Meanwhile, the Gods Domain Alliances points were of equal value as Star Coins. In other words, if she had 50,000 points, she could exchange one bottle of Life Potion or other precious resources. Moreover, she could do so directly through the Gods Domain Association. She wouldnt need to look for interested sellers or worry about getting fleeced. So, the fact that she could potentially get 5,000 to 50,000 points in the preliminaries first round was simply amazing. Even if she was unlucky and only received 5,000 points, that would still be several years worth of the average persons salary in the Greater Worlds various cities. This kind of reward is normal. When Shi Feng saw Wu Xiaoxiaos sparkling eyes, he smiled and explained, Dont forget that our registration fee is ten units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. All the collected fees go to the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers, so giving out such rewards is nothing to them. Moreover, this is only the first round. There are still several rounds for the preliminaries, and the rewards will only get better from this point forward. The Ancient River Kingdoms monthly Rookie Competition was a day for the six ruling hegemonic powers to harvest Seven Luminaries Crystals. At the same time, it was also a day for Tier 4 experts to earn money. Many Tier 4 experts were aware that they couldnt enter the Rookie Competitions top 100 and enter the Ancient River Secret Lands core. Even so, they were still willing to join the Rookie Competition because of these rewards. So long as they managed to survive one round in the preliminaries, they would have their yearly minimum requirements taken care of. They would have struck gold if they got lucky and survived the second or even third round. After saying so, Shi Feng promptly opened the Kingdom Treasure Chest before him. At the same time as Shi Feng concluded his first round in the preliminaries, the plaza outside was in an uproar. Chapter 3242 - Chapter 316 - Ancient River Shocked Chapter 316 C Ancient River Shocked Shrine No. 5s plaza: Silence descended upon the entire plaza when the top 10 players of Shi Fengs batch were announced on the translucent display in the center of the plaza. This list cant be right! I dont see Unforgettable Leafs name anywhere. Did Black Flame really kill him? How can this be? This isnt an arena. If Unforgettable Leaf focuses on running away, how can any Tier 4 player kill him? Not to mention, Unforgettable Leaf is highly valued by Heavenly Boa. He had come here this time to compete for the top 20. Who would dare to eliminate him so early into the competition? The various powers experts couldnt believe their eyes when they looked at the qualification list. With Unforgettable Leafs strength, he would have no problems getting into the Rookie Competitions top 20. With the help of Void Walk, not even the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons could kill him. Not to mention, everyone in the Ancient River Kingdom knew that Unforgettable Leaf was participating in the Rookie Competition on the Heavenly Boa Guilds behalf. The current Heavenly Boa Guild was only one opportunity away from becoming an upper-ranking hegemonic power. Meanwhile, the Galaxy Conglomerates assembly could very well be this opportunity. If Heavenly Boa could get into the Galaxy Conglomerates good graces, it had a very high chance of crossing the final threshold and becoming an upper-ranking hegemonic power. So, anybody who dared to hinder Unforgettable Leaf and the other geniuses from Heavenly Boa would essentially be making an enemy out of the entire Guild. To think Unforgettable Leaf would get eliminated in the first round Brother Black Flame has made a really huge mess Desolate Fury was a little flabbergasted as he looked at Shi Feng, who had just returned to the plaza. Desolate Fury wasnt surprised that Shi Feng had defeated Unforgettable Leaf. After all, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had recognized Shi Fengs strength and evaluated him to be stronger than even the Twin Saints Alliances Saint Nine. On the other hand, Unforgettable Leaf only ranked 32nd in the Myriad Forest Empires most recent Battle of Geniuses. What Desolate Fury did not expect was for Unforgettable Leaf to get killedCon the first round of the preliminaries, no less. If news of this reached Heavenly Boa, the Guilds anger could definitely cause the entire Ancient River Kingdom to tremble. While Temple No. 5s plaza had fallen into silence, about a dozen players in Temple No. 2s plaza gathered together. Every one of these players had reached already, and they all wore the Heavenly Boa Guilds emblem. Even the weakest among them was a fourth-floor expert, and nearly half of them were titled experts. After these Heavenly Boa members grouped up, a female Ranger approached them a moment later. The Ranger had pink hair that reached down to her waist. She wore a red and black leather jacket of exquisite quality, the jacket highlighting her perfect proportions. When she walked across the plaza, many of the surrounding players couldnt help but turn their heads and look at her, captivated by her beauty. However, when these players used their Identification Skills on the female Ranger and saw her name, a chill instantly spread across their bodies. Empress Blood Arrow, Leroja! Leroja was one of Heavenly Boas Seven Great Paragons. Two years ago, she was also one of the Myriad Forest Empires Ten Great Geniuses. However, after winning third place in last years Battle of Geniuses, she stopped participating in the empires Battle of Geniuses. She was a legendary figure among the Myriad Forest Empires younger generation. Many experts even speculated that if Empress Blood Arrow had participated in the most recent Battle of Geniuses, she might be able to compete with the first- and second-place winners. It should be known that the Battle of Geniuses first and second place winners this time were both incredible individuals. The former was a paragon the Myriad Forest Empire would only see once every century, while the latter was a paragon nurtured by the Paimon Conglomerate. Both of these individuals had the potential to become bigshots standing at the apex of Gods Domain in the future. After approaching the group of Heavenly Boa members, Leroja scanned the group before asking with a dissatisfied expression, What did you call me here all of a sudden? Lady Leroja, we just received news that Unforgettable Leaf got eliminated in the first round a male Guardian Knight said tentatively. Eliminated? In the first round? Leroja was evidently surprised by this news. Is it one of the Ancient River Kingdoms paragons? Or did the paragons of other kingdoms make a move? Unforgettable Leaf was one of the geniuses receiving priority training from Heavenly Boa. He might not be exceptionally strong, but he had learned the Void Walk technique. With the help of this technique, only a handful of young experts from the Ancient River Kingdom and the surrounding kingdoms had the ability to kill him. No. According to the information we got, it was a man named Black Flame who killed Unforgettable Leaf, the Guardian Knight said, shaking his head. This news has already spread across the entire Ancient River Kingdom, and the various powers are all talking about it in private. Black Flame? When Leroja heard the name of Black Flame, she asked in surprise, Do you mean the person who came in seventh in that Miniature Ancient Worlds God List? Thats right, its him. The Guardian Knight nodded. Black Flame has severely disrupted our plans. He has also cast a layer of doubt on our influence in the Ancient River Kingdom. So, the Grand Elders want us to rectify this problem and show the Ancient River Kingdoms people that the Heavenly Boa Guild isnt some pushover. Those old bastards sure know how to order people around. Lerojas dissatisfaction soared when she heard about the Grand Elders command. Hes only a kid whos slightly stronger than Saint Nine, yet they want me to make a move? Are those old bastards going senile? Although Lerojas voice sounded soft and moving, the words she uttered caused the Heavenly Boa members present to shudder. Youve misunderstood, Lady Leroja. The Grand Elders dont intend to let you take action. It isnt necessary for you to take care of such a trivial matter, either, the Guardian Knight hurriedly said. The Grand Elders have asked Lord Markless Blade to handle this matter. Markless? Leroja couldnt help but laugh. Indeed, he is quite suitable for this task. Lord Markless Blade has always refused to see the Grand Elders or us, so the Grand Elders hope that you can talk to him, Lady Leroja, the Guardian Knight said anxiously. If you are unwilling to speak, we can also go with you and explain the situation to him for you. The Heavenly Boa Guilds Seven Great Paragons all had different personalities. Among them, Markless Blade was the craziest. Besides Leroja and a few others in the Guild, Markless Blade refused to listen to anybody else. This situation gave the Guilds Grand Elders a huge headache. However, the Guilds Grand Elders couldnt do anything about it. Markless Blade was not only one of Heavenly Boas Seven Great Paragons but also the newly appointed vice commander of the Star Lake Legions madwoman Red Frost. So, he had the qualifications to act so arrogantly. Okay, come with me, then. However, it is up to you whether you can persuade him to act. Leroja had her interest piqued. Immediately, she spent some Seven Luminaries Crystals and teleported to another temples plaza with the other Heavenly Boa members. Chapter 3243 - Chapter 317 - Tier 5 Magic Equipment Chapter 317 C Tier 5 Magic Equipment Over a dozen streaks of light descended upon Temple No. 8s plaza as Leroja and the other Heavenly Boa members arrived. Many players had come to participate in the Rookie Competition this time, so there was a huge crowd outside every temple in the Ancient River Secret Lands outer perimeter, and Temple No. 8 was no exception. When Lerojas group arrived via teleportation, the many players in the plaza couldnt help but turn to look at them out of curiosity. Crap! Why is Empress Blood Arrow here?! Didnt the rumors say that she has stopped competing among the younger generation?! Why would she? She looks no more than 25 to me. You talk as if shes very old. Do you not know? It is true that Empress Blood Arrow is still young, but Heavenly Boa has arranged for her to withdraw from the younger generations competition so that it can better highlight its new once-in-a-century paragon. If not for this arrangement, her name would most likely be among the Battle of Geniuses top three. Could Empress Blood Arrow be here to kill the guy who killed Unforgettable Leaf? I dont think so. Were not even in the same plaza as Black Flame. If Empress Blood Arrow really intends on going after Black Flame, she would have gone to Black Flames plaza instead. That way, she would at least have a chance of getting paired into the same batch as Black Flame during the preliminaries. If she stays in our plaza, she can only meet Black Flame once the top 100 participants have been decided. Many of the various hegemonic powers experts present were surprised to see Leroja appearing in their plaza. At the same time, they couldnt help but wonder why she had come here. It should be known that Leroja was a legendary individual among the Myriad Forest Empires younger generation. There was no way she would appear in this place without any reason. Subsequently, Leroja and her entourage could be seen approaching a sloppy man lying under the shade of a tree in the plaza. When the dozen or so Heavenly Boa members following Leroja saw this sloppy man, feelings of reverence and joy appeared on their faces. Whos that sloppy Berserker? Why are Heavenly Boas members treating him with such reverence? Maybe they got the wrong person? I saw that guys performance just now, and he only got through the preliminaries first round because he got lucky and didnt come across anyone throughout the entire round. Otherwise, with the tattered equipment he is wearing, any player he came across could have easily eliminated him. The surrounding crowd grew puzzled when they saw Heavenly Boas young experts behaving respectfully to the sloppy man. The sloppy man was not only old, looking like he was already nearing his mid-thirties, but he also didnt exude the slightest bit of aura. He didnt have any decent weapons and equipment on him, either. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that he was inferior to ordinary Tier 4 players, let alone Heavenly Boas members. Logically, it should be impossible for the sloppy man to have any connection with Heavenly Boas young geniuses. Wait, Ive seen him before! I think hes Markless Blade, one of Heavenly Boas Seven Great Paragons! Markless Blade? You mean the expert who caused a huge uproar in the Myriad Forest Empire over a decade ago? No way! No matter how I look at him, hes just an ordinary person. How could he be the same person as the madman who defeated several of the empires top paragons back then? When the surrounding crowd looked at the sloppy and lazy-looking man sitting before Heavenly Boas members, they found it hard to believe that this was the same person as the man who had defeated several of the Myriad Forest Empires top paragons over a decade ago. Moreover, in addition to that achievement, the man known as Markless Blade used to offer guidance to the current Twin Saints Alliances Saint Three. After Saint Three rose to fame in the Ancient River Kingdom, the two of them had even fought each other in a duel in the Myriad Forest Empire. Unfortunately, the duel wasnt broadcasted to the public, so outsiders only knew the duel had ended in a draw and nothing more. Originally, everyone thought Markless Blade would be a strong contender for the Myriad Forest Empires top three geniuses back then. However, to many players disappointment, Markless Blade never participated in the Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses. Meanwhile, the current Markless Blade was like a completely different person compared to his past self. Not only did he have no vigor whatsoever, but even his Life Rating felt incredibly low. It was as if his soul had been severely damaged, and he was nowhere near as strong as before. Lord Markless Blade? When the young Guardian Knight from Heavenly Boa looked at the dull and sloppy man before him, he couldnt help but grow puzzled and worried. The current Markless Blade had no aura whatsoever, and even a youngster like him could see that Markless Blades posture was full of holes. He found it very hard to believe that such a person had managed to fight the Twin Saints Alliances Saint Three to a standstill. Even you are here, Leroja? Markless Blade said as he glanced at Leroja and the young Guardian Knight who had walked up to him. It seems those Grand Elders have a job for me, huh? Lord Markless, someone has eliminated Unforgettable Leaf in the first round of the preliminaries, and this has severely affected the Guilds plans. Moreover, many of the Ancient River Kingdoms powers have started to doubt Heavenly Boas strength because of this incident. This is going to negatively affect the Guilds development plans in the kingdom, the young Guardian Knight said, nodding. So, the Grand Elders hope you can teach the offender a lesson. Someone eliminated Unforgettable Leaf in the first round? Markless Blades eyes widened a little, a hint of surprise appearing in his turbid eyes. Is it the Ancient River Kingdoms paragons? No, it shouldnt be them. They would have more or less spared him out of respect for Heavenly Boa. Indeed, it isnt them. Instead, the offender is a newcomer to the Ancient River Kingdom going by the name of Black Flame, the Guardian Knight explained. According to the Seven luminaries Alliances evaluation, Black Flames strength is superior to Saint Nine and can possibly rival the current Saint Three. Thats interesting. If that guy can rival Saint Three, he can indeed kill Unforgettable Leaf, Markless Blade said, laughing as he got up from the ground. When I taught Void Talk to that kid, I told him he couldnt rely on it too much since the technique isnt meant to be used defensively but to diversify his attacks instead. It seems he didnt listen to my warning. Markless Blades words greatly shocked the young Guardian Knight. The young Guardian Knight never thought that Markless Blade was responsible for teaching Unforgettable Leaf the Void Walk he now knew. It should be known that Unforgettable Leaf had relied on Void Walk to rise to prominence in the Myriad Forest Empire. Even the Sixth Paragon Impact Giant had to expend much effort to kill Unforgettable Leaf because of this technique. However, the young Guardian Knight couldnt help but inwardly sigh in lamentation a moment later. After all, Markless Blades former glory was all but gone now. The man even gave off a spiritless and weak feeling. How could he possibly fight against Black Flame in such a state? Meanwhile, Markless Blade smiled when he saw the change in the young Guardian Knights expression. He could naturally tell what was going through the other partys mind. Suddenly, an overbearing aura erupted from Markless Blades body, and a mana pillar rose around him, reaching one hundred meters into the sky. Then, a powerful mental oppression spread from Markless Blade, causing the young Guardian Knight to stumble two steps back, his face pale. At the same time, Markless Blades tattered chest plate began repairing itself rapidly. In less than five seconds, the tattered armor had transformed into a piece of divine armor that exuded endless power. The recovery of this armor also caused Markless Blades Life Rating to increase substantially. This is Tier 5 Magic Equipment?! The young Guardian Knight was astonished as he looked at the divine armor Markless Blade wore. Chapter 3244 - Chapter 318 - Uproar in Star Lake Chapter 318 C Uproar in Star Lake Tier 5 Magic Equipment! Typically, it was a super-special equipment that players could only manage after reaching Tier 5. This was because simply meeting the magic equipments basic requirements wasnt enough to unleash all of its effects. On top of that, players also needed to fulfill special conditions if they wanted to unleash all of the magic equipments strength. However, so long as a player could operate a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment normally, itd be akin to wearing a full set of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. If used by players under Tier 5, it could instantly raise their combat power by one whole tier. Only, using Tier 5 Magic Equipment placed a huge burden on the wearers Concentration. In addition, players also needed to be incredibly skilled at mana manipulation to activate the magic equipments magic array. These harsh conditions made it so that even among Tier 5 players, few could actually use Tier 5 Magic Equipment. So, it was even less likely for players beneath Tier 5 to use Tier 5 Magic Equipment. Yet, now, not only did the Tier 5 Magic Equipment that had been sitting in Heavenly Boas treasury finally get to see the light of day again, but it was even being used by Markless Blade, a Tier 4 player. A legend! The young Guardian Knight felt that he had just seen the beginnings of a new legend! With Markless Blades current strength, he could even try to compete for the top three positions of Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses, let alone defeat the Ancient River Kingdoms Saint Three. He also wouldnt have any trouble getting into the top 20 of the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition this time. Moreover, this was after taking into account the paragons of other kingdoms and empires secretly participating in the competition. Meanwhile, after revealing his Tier 5 Magic Equipment, Markless Blade glanced at the young Guardian Knight and proudly said, Go back and tell those Grand Elders that I will take care of Black Flame during the official competition. I will let everyone in the Ancient River Kingdom know the terror of the Heavenly Boa Guild! Markless Blades words were very domineering, and his voice echoed throughout the entire plaza. Everyone in the plaza heard him loud and clear, and they couldnt help but be shocked by his proclamation. Crap! Whats going on? Are we going to see a 1v1 at the apex level? Tier 5 Magic Equipment! I cant believe someone can use Tier 5 Magic Equipment at Tier 4! Amazing! This is simply amazing! As expected of the Heavenly Boa Guild! I really didnt think Markless Blade would reappear with such strength after going silent for so many years. You youngsters might not know it, but although Markless Blade has grown a little old in age, he had shocked the entire Myriad Forest Empire during his youth. The number of paragons he had defeated in the Myriad Forest Empire is well over ten. If he hadnt attracted too much attention back then, causing Heavenly Boa to hide him, he could have easily entered the top five of the empires most recent Battle of Geniuses. Many youths in their early twenties were shocked by the terrifying aura Markless Blade revealed shocked, and they couldnt help but wonder about his background. Meanwhile, geniuses who belonged to the same generation as Markless Blade began proudly explaining Markless Blades history to these young geniuses. Before even reaching 20 years of age, Markless Blade had already become famous throughout the Myriad Forest Empire. At 24, he had secured second place in the Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses, shocking the entire empire. At 27, he had participated in the Hundred Nations Paragon Battle. Unfortunately, he had offended the paragon of an upper-ranking hegemonic power at the time, so the Heavenly Boa Guild had no choice but to hide him and keep him out of the publics eyes. At 30, he joined Star Lake Citys Star Lake Legion. Although he was nothing more than an ordinary participant when he joined, he had recently gotten promoted to vice commander by Star Lake Citys infamous madwoman Red Frost. Moreover, according to rumors, a significant part of why the Twin Saints Alliances current Saint Three had managed to gain his current achievements was because of Markless Blades teachings. Now, after maintaining a low profile for so many years, Markless Blade had finally decided to stop hiding. Meanwhile, not only did he reveal himself to be capable of using a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment, but his Epic Mana Body had also reached the legendary 120% Completion Rate. His achievements were already close to rivaling the Myriad Forest Empires current First Paragon. Star Lake City, Gods Domain Association: Inside an advanced training room on the 500th floor, over a hundred talented young men and women were frenziedly training in their attempt to improve their rankings in the city legions selection. They all hoped they could get a sufficiently high ranking and join the Star Lake Legion as official participants directly. At this time, though, some of these young men and women suddenly stopped their training one after another as they gathered around a beautiful young woman to discuss something. Qianhen, have you heard about the news from the Star Lake Legion? a cute girl who currently ranked in the top 100 of the selection asked as she looked at Thousand Scars. The legions Vice Commander Markless Blade appears to have challenged the Black Flame from your Miniature Ancient World. It seems they will have a one-on-one duel during the official competition of the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition. News about this fight has spread all over Star Lake City already. I just heard about it as well, a beautiful girl said, nodding. Then, she looked at Thousand Scars and continued, Qianhen, I previously heard you mentioning that Black Flame is Zero Wings Guild Leader. Is he strong? Almost nobody living in Star Lake City knew about Black Flame. However, so long as one had lived in Star Lake City for some time, they would definitely know about Markless Blade. In the past, Markless Blade was merely an unassuming team leader in the Star Lake Legion. The strength he displayed was also average at best. Yet, as soon as that madwoman became the Star Lake Legions new commander, she promoted Markless Blade into one of her vice commanders without hesitation. Meanwhile, Markless Blade did not disappoint Red Frosts appointment, either, displaying astonishing combat standards as soon as he got promoted. He could easily rank within the top five out of the Star Lake Legions dozen or so vice commanders. Many powerful corporations had even extended an olive branch to him as a result. At the same time, Markless Blade also became a target for many wealthy young ladies. He also became the prime real estate for the Star Lake Legions female participants, many women wishing to marry him. Vice Commander Markless Blade is challenging Black Flame? Thousand Scars was dumbfounded by this news. Markless Blade was an individual standing at the top of Star Lake Citys social hierarchy. Even though she had already become an internal member of the Paimon Conglomerate, before she developed her untapped potential, her status in the Greater World would still be vastly inferior to Markless Blade. Not to mention, the Paimon Conglomerate had tasked her to join the Star Lake Legion and carry out all of the legions activities normally. Meanwhile, she would be nothing more than an ordinary participant when she passed the selection and joined the legion. As for Black Flame, he was nothing more than a slightly stronger and in her eyes. Although he had earned some fame in the Miniature Ancient World and even became a titled expert, he should still be vastly inferior to a paragon of the Greater Gods Domain like Markless Blade. No matter how Thousand Scars looked at it, it should be impossible for Black Flame and Markless Blade to have anything to do with each other. Yet, now, she was being told that Markless Blade was challenging Black Flame? These people must be joking with her! Chapter 3245 - Chapter 319 - Ancient Rivers Top 100 Chapter 319 C Ancient Rivers Top 100 Impossible! Thousand Scars instinctively denied the words of the people around her. You must be mistaken. Black Flame should still be in the Miniature Ancient World. How could he appear in the Greater Gods Domains Ancient River Kingdom? Her homeworlds passage had yet to fully open, so her homeworld and the Miniature Ancient World remained isolated from the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, before the World Passage opened, nobody in the Miniature Ancient World could leave it. Moreover, it should be known that Black Flame had only appeared in the Top of Two Worlds new God Mode Regional Dungeon a few days ago and fought against the Paimon Conglomerates Meteor. It was because of this fight that he had managed to remain within the top 10 of the Miniature Ancient Worlds God-ranked Expert List and gained some fame among the Greater Gods Domains various hegemonic powers. It had only been a few days since then, yet she was supposed to believe that Black Flame had not only traveled to the Greater Gods Domain somehow, but he had even entered the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition and received a challenge from the Markless Blade? Even fantasies wouldnt sound so far-fetched. It shouldnt be a mistake, the cute girl said, shaking her head. The Seven Luminaries Alliance is currently broadcasting the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition. The broadcast of Black Flames battles has also received the Alliances confirmation, and over 100,000 people have already paid to watch the broadcast. Everyone is paying close attention to see whether Black Flame can pass the preliminaries four rounds and get promoted into the official competition to fight against Vice Commander Markless. Although she did not know how strong Black Flame was exactly, Markless Blade was a big shot in Star Lake City. He was also the target of worship for many young men and women in the city. It was especially so for those seeking to join the Star Lake Legion. Markless Blade was obsessed with training. Apart from participating in resource battles between cities, he would rarely show himself in public. Even his participation in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition had gone unknown initially. If Markless Blade hadnt taken the initiative to publicly announce his challenge to Black Flame, nobody would have thought that Markless Blade was actually taking part in the Rookie Competition. Hence, the people seeking to join the Star Lake Legion curiously wondered whether Black Flame was strong or not. If Black Flame was sufficiently strong, theyd be able to observe Markless Blades strength during the official competition. They could also get to know more about him. That way, theyd have a better chance at joining Markless Blades battle group after they joined the Star Lake Legion. The Star Lake Legion would recuit 1,000 people through its selection every year. After factoring in some special recruits, a little over 1,000 people would join the legion each year. After having existed for so many years, the Star Lake Legion possessed a very large number of official participants. Meanwhile, to manage all these participants effectively, the legion had split its official participants into teams and battle groups. Firstly, players would be split into three teams according to their tiers. One team would be for Tier 4, one for Tier 5, and one for Tier 6. Then, each team would be split into multiple battle groups, and these battle groups would be further divided into ordinary battle groups and ace battle groups. Normally, ordinary battle groups would be led by team leader-level participants, while the legions vice commanders would lead the ace battle groups. Among these two types of battle groups, members of ace battle groups would get to enjoy special privileges in the legion. Their chances of promotion in the legion were also much higher than members of ordinary battle groups. There are over 100,000 spectators already? a short-haired beauty exclaimed. I recall the Seven Luminaries Alliance charges an exorbitant viewing fee. The price to spectate individuals starts at 10 Star Coins and increases depending on their popularity, and the person being spectated can get 10% of the earnings. If there are 100,000 spectators already, the number of spectators might increase to over a million by the time Black Flame makes it into the official competition! In addition to being one of the most ancient powers in the Greater Gods Domain, the Seven Luminaries Alliance was also an information broker for all sorts of information. It had branches in the Greater Gods Domains various cities. So long as players paid the Alliance a fee, they could spectate the competitions organized by the Greater Gods Domains various kingdoms and empires. Meanwhile, the players being spectated would receive 10% of the generated profits. Depending on the popularity of the player being spectated, the viewing fee the Seven Luminaries Alliance charged would also differ. For someone as famous as Markless Blade, it wouldnt even be strange for the Alliance to charge double their minimum. Because of this service, many top-tier experts who were famous in the Greater Gods Domain didnt even need to join any corporation or power. By simply participating in battles and competitions taking place in the various kingdoms and empires, they could generate enough income to cause even corporations to grow envious. Currently, even though news of Markless Blades challenge had just spread, over 100,000 people had already bought the viewing rights to watch the upcoming duel. It should be known that this was before Black Flame had even gotten promoted into the official competition. Once Black Flame successfully entered the official competition, the number of spectators could easily exceed one million. In that case, Black Flame could earn a minimum of one million Star Coins. For ordinary participants in the Star Lake Legion, it would take them at least two or three years to earn one million Star Coins. Yet, Black Flame could earn this sum in only one competition A million Star Coins a competition? Thousand Scars couldnt help but grow a little envious when she heard the short-haired girls words. She might receive a lot of resources as an internal member of the Paimon Conglomerate, but competition between the conglomerates internal members was incredibly fierce. Shed have difficulty competing with her peers if she relied solely on those provided resources. If she wanted to stay competitive, she would need to acquire additional resources. However, if she wanted additional resources, she would have to acquire them herself. She was still in her newcomer period in the Greater World, so she could use this advanced training room, which helped her improve her physical fitness and combat reactions rapidly, for free. However, once her one-month newcomer period ended, she would have to pay Star Coins to use this training room. Not to mention, the advanced training room wasnt even the best training room available in the Gods Domain Association. It was only the best training room that she could use for free during her newcomer period. Above advanced training rooms, there were special training rooms, which cost 10,000 Star Coins per day. There were also meditation rooms that could help improve mental strength, and those similarly cost 10,000 Star Coins per day to rent. These were places that many of the Paimon Conglomerates top-tier internal geniuses frequented. Some of these geniuses had even built an exclusive meditation room in their homes to have a greater chance of becoming a three-star mental strength grandmaster and getting promoted into an executive in the Paimon Conglomerate. Although the Flower of Seven Sins had invested heavily into her, the organization could only earn a very limited amount of Star Coins before their homeworlds World Passage fully opened. Moreover, the Flower of Seven Sins couldnt afford to invest all of its Star Coins into her since it still needed to develop its other geniuses. As a result, the amount of Star Coins she received was nowhere near enough to put her on par with the Paimon Conglomerates top-tier internal geniuses. Although the young masters of many companies and corporations in Star Lake City had sent her gifts One million Star Coins! This sum was far more than what she had earned throughout her time in Star Lake City Black Flame simply got lucky, Qianhen, the cute girl said when she noticed the envious look on Thousand Scars. Then, she smiled and continued, This will be the only time he can earn such a large sum. Another opportunity like this wont come again for him in the future. Once Vice Commander Markless defeats him, nobody will pay attention to him anymore. Moreover, with your talent and beauty, you can easily get the various corporations young masters to line up before you. Any one of those people is easily a hundred times richer than Black Flame. Thousand Scars nodded to the cute girl and stopped paying attention to Black Flames matter. Instead, she walked into the reaction training room and started another training session. There were countless geniuses and powerhouses in the Greater Gods Domain. There were also many geniuses and powerhouses who would appear and vanish like shooting stars. Black Flame might have attracted Markless Blades interest, but his fame would be short-lived. It was simply impossible for a wild expert with no background like Black Flame to make any waves in the Ancient River Kingdom and Myriad Forest Empire, places where countless geniuses resided. Only the geniuses and paragons nurtured by the various hegemonic powers could survive long enough to spread their fame across the entire Greater Gods Domain. While Star Lake City was in an uproar over Markless Blades challenge, Shi Fengs group of three was conquering the Rookie Competitions preliminaries one round after another in the Ancient River Secret Land. Early morning the next day, the brutal preliminaries involving the participation of over a million geniuses finally ended. Unsurprisingly, Shi Feng, Midsummer, and Wu Xiaoxiao passed all four rounds of their preliminaries and were successfully promoted into the official competition. As soon as the official competitions 100 participants were decided, they were forcibly teleported to the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone. Chapter 3246 - Chapter 320 - Kingdoms Apex Chapter 320 C Kingdoms Apex Ancient River Kingdom, Ancient River Secret Lands central zone: Located at the center of the island was a tall mountain. The top of this mountain was completely shrouded in fog, the fog preventing anyone from seeing what was going on at the mountaintop. There were also tens of thousands of magic arrays flickering in and out of existence on the outer perimeter of this fog. These were not ordinary magic arrays, but rather ancient magic arrays composed of divine runes. Even if a million years passed, these magic arrays would remain unchanged without external intervention. At this time, a hundred streaks of light converged toward the top of the mountain, disappearing into the fog in the blink of an eye. When these streaks of light landed on the mountaintop, they transformed into the silhouettes of the Rookie Competitions top 100 participants. Compared to past instances of the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition, many of the top 100 participants this time were new faces. When they arrived at the mountaintop, they looked at their surroundings curiously, and they couldnt help but be shocked by what they saw. The Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition isnt all that worse compared to the Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses! Not only did the preliminaries give a bunch of Star Coins and Immortal Equipment, but there is even such an amazing place in this secret lands central zone! These technique stelae are so ancient and incredible! Are these the rumored ancient stelae? The Ancient River Kingdom had a long history, and it was one of the few ancient kingdoms in the Starlight Realm. Yet, the Ancient River Secret Land predated the Ancient River Kingdom, existing long before the kingdom did. It was also shrouded in a layer of mystery, and nobody could uncover its secrets even to this day. However, no matter what secrets the Ancient River Secret Land held, they were bound to be extraordinary. This point could be seen through the fact that the Ancient River Kingdom was named after the Ancient River Secret Land. Although everyone participating in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition had known beforehand that the Ancient River Secret Land was an extraordinary location, they didnt think it would be to such an extent. For those entering the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone for the first time, apart from those originating from the Ancient River Kingdoms and Myriad Forest Empires hegemonic powers, everyone else was greatly shocked when they saw the ancient stone tablets covering their surroundings. It was especially so when they saw the divine runes and images engraved on these stone tablets. Ancient stelae! These were stelae passed down from ancient times, and they recorded the combat techniques and Mana Techniques of Gods. All of these recorded techniques were extraordinary, and many of the techniques currently in circulation were simplified versions developed based on these ancient techniques. The reason these techniques were simplified was that the Mana Techniques and combat techniques developed by Gods were far too complex for most people to learn. Even among Tier 5 NPCs with remarkable intelligence, very few could learn these techniques. Moreover, the complexity of these techniques was not exaggerated in the slightest. Even the most inferior techniques recorded on these ancient stelae were at the level of God-ranked Mana Techniques and Advanced Silver Combat Techniques, while the majority were Saint-ranked Mana Techniques and combat techniques rivaling Gold Combat Techniques. Any player who could successfully learn a Gold Combat Technique would be an existence standing at the apex of Gods Domain. Even the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and apex powers would be willing to extend an olive branch to such individuals. Only, in the expansive Greater Gods Domain, experts capable of learning Gold Combat Techniques were incredibly few. Their rarity could basically match that of Divine Artifacts Of course, while Gold Combat Techniques were incredibly difficult to learn, a bigger reason there were incredibly few experts who had managed to learn Gold Combat Techniques was that not many powers owned a Gold Combat Technique. Apart from apex powers and a minority of upper-ranking hegemonic powers, other powers did not have any way of letting their members learn Gold Combat Techniques. So, upon seeing the ancient stelae that covered the mountaintop, many of the first-time visitors here couldnt help but grow excited. It was especially so for the various independent experts. This was a learning environment that even the Greater Gods Domains apex powers would have difficulty providing, let alone the various hegemonic powers. What a bunch of country bumpkins! Do they honestly think they can learn the techniques on these stelae so easily? And without restrictions? Only independent players like them will be so naive. If the techniques here were so easy to acquire, the powers based in the neighboring kingdoms and empires would have long since taken action. Theres no way theyd let the Ancient River Kingdoms powers monopolize everything. Many of the experts originating from hegemonic powers looked at the excited independent experts around them in contempt. The fact that the Ancient Secret Lands central zone housed a large number of ancient stelae was no secret to the surrounding kingdoms and empires hegemonic powers. Or, more specifically, this was common knowledge among all hegemonic powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Saint-ranked Mana Techniques and Gold Combat Techniques were highly sought after in the Greater Gods Domain, valued above even Legendary Weapons. If there existed a place with many pseudo-Gold Combat Techniques and Saint Mana Techniques available for players to learn, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and apex powers would have fought to occupy it without hesitation. There was no way the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers could retain control over the Ancient River Secret Land. While the various independent players were in awe over the ancient stelae, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had their attention focused on something else. Rather than look at the ancient stelae, they looked at the various parties protected by magic barriers around them with ugly complexions. Why are there so many experts from other kingdoms and empires in the Rookie Competition this time? Wu Xiaoxiaos expression grew solemn as she looked at the several parties around her. Although she knew that the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition was a gathering of experts, most of the participating experts typically originated from the kingdom. Yet, the three parties around them were all made up of experts originating from hegemonic powers of other kingdoms and empires. None of them were players from the Ancient River Kingdom. Moreover, every one of these players possessed great fame, so much so that even she, someone who had only arrived in the Ancient River Kingdom recently, knew about them. The Red Star Kingdoms Glorious Mantra The Iron Lion Kingdoms Martial Quadbeast The Myriad Forest Empires Silent Saintess Midsummer felt her mind exploding when she saw the leaders of the three surrounding parties. Are we really taking part in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition? Glorious Mantra was a young male Cursemancer, Martial Quadbeast was a muscular male Summoner, and Silent Saintess was a masked young woman. These three people were all titled experts recognized by the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Every one of them possessed fame rivaling the current Saint Three. It was just that these people were no longer part of the younger generation. Instead, they were older-generation paragons who had retired from the younger generation three or four years ago. It was normally impossible to see all these veteran paragons gather in the same place. Yet, this impossible situation had happened right before her very eyes At this time, Midsummer wasnt the only one surprised by this situation. Even the players who had paid Star Coins to spectate the broadcast of Shi Fengs battle were dumbfounded. How was this supposed to be the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition? This participant line-up could already compete with the annual Hundred Nations Paragon Battles participant line-up. While Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were scrutinizing the players around them, these players had similarly focused their attention on Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiaos party of three. Only, their eyes werent focused on Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. Instead, they were focused on Shi Feng. Before Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao could snap out of their daze, a system notification entered their ears, signaling the start of the competition. Immediately afterward, the barriers protecting the various parties disintegrated simultaneously, and a suffocating silence descended on the mountaintop Chapter 3247 - Chapter 321 - Six Great Divine Sets Chapter 321 C Six Great Divine Sets Regional System Announcement: The Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition has officially begun. All participants are encouraged to collect as many Heroic Spirit Remnants as possible. The first ten participants to collect 100 Heroic Spirit Remnants will be able to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. The top 20 participants will receive the qualifications to participate in the official phase of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. Regional System Announcement: Participants will be resurrected in their respective temple plazas in the event of death in the Ancient River Secret Land. Participants who died will not lose any experience points but will drop half of their collected Heroic Spirit Remnants. Regional System Announcement: If there are fewer than ten contestants who have collected 100 Heroic Spirit Remnants after three natural days, the top 10 participants will be forcibly teleported to the Ancient Rivers Heart, and the top 20 participants will be automatically awarded the qualifications to participate in the official phase of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. The Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition? Realization dawned on Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao when they saw the system announcements. At the same time, they experienced unprecedented pressure. Some corporations and conglomerates would occasionally host invitational competitions in Gods Domain to recruit geniuses and powerhouses or to help them with some matters. Meanwhile, an invitational competition hosted by the Galaxy Conglomerate was one that any player operating in the Starlight Realm would find too tempting to refuse. So, the fact that the Rookie Competitions top 20 rewards included the qualifications to participate in the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition would undoubtedly increase the competitiveness of the top 100 participants, thereby increasing the difficulty of getting into the Rookie Competitions top 20. Not to mention, their goal was to get into the top 10. To make matters worse, their partys starting location was right next to three paragon-led parties. This was horrendous luck. Currently, Shi Fengs name had already spread across the entire Ancient River Secret Land because of his victory against Unforgettable Leaf. Everyone also knew Markless Blade was looking to challenge Shi Feng to a duel. These were more than enough to prove Shi Fengs strength. So, if other parties were to come across their party of three in the official phase of the Rookie Competition, they would definitely prioritize killing Shi Feng, reducing the competition they needed to face in trying to get into the top 20. After all, not only was Shi Feng a powerful expert, but he was also an expert without any background in the Greater Gods Domain. They could kill him without worrying about any potential repercussions. However, despite receiving the scrutiny of the three surrounding parties, Shi Feng behaved as if he did not notice their gazes, a smile forming on his face as he looked at the system announcements. This is interesting. The Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition was a major opportunity in the Starlight Realm. If he remembered correctly, the Galaxy Conglomerate was inviting so many Tier 4 experts because Eternity, one of the Six Great Divine Sets of legends, had appeared in the Greater Gods Domain! A Divine Set referred to a Divine Artifact ranked set equipment in Gods Domain. Naturally, a Divine Sets value was much greater than individual Divine Artifacts. Meanwhile, among the Divine Sets that existed in the Greater Gods Domain were the Six Great Divine Sets. Every one of these six sets came with countless legends. According to rumors, should a player manage to gather a complete set, they would become invincible in the Greater Gods Domain. To Shi Feng, though, this wasnt a rumor since he had personally seen a Divine Set in action. Of course, the Divine Set he saw back then wasnt one of the Six Great Divine Sets, but a normal Divine Set instead. It was also the only Divine Set owned by the apex power Demons Gate. Even though it was only a normal Divine Set, it was enough to deter other apex powers from casually provoking Demons Gate. This Divine Set was also the main reason Shi Feng had a headache dealing with Demons Gate. Anyway, the Galaxy Conglomerate had happened across a clue leading to the Eternity Set, one of the Six Great Divine Sets, during his previous life. Back then, the conglomerate had invited many Tier 4 paragons from all over the Starlight Realm. It had even gone as far as to invite the Tier 4 monsters of other Realms to ensure the success of its operation. However, for some reason outside of Shi Fengs knowledge, the Galaxy Conglomerates operation failed. Moreover, it was a catastrophic failure that resulted in severe losses for all participants. Out of the various consequences the participants suffered, the loss of their accounts was the mildest of penalties. Some participants even suffered severe damage to their minds, resulting in their mental strength plummeting. These participants had also never managed to recover fully, resulting in their permanent separation from Gods Domains apex. This incident had shaken the entire Greater Gods Domain, and everybody knew about it back then. Shi Feng never thought that he would actually make it in time for this event in this life. During his previous life, he had only heard about the event from others. Moreover, he had only heard about it after the Galaxy Conglomerates operation had failed spectacularly. As for the Eternity Set itself, the original owner of the set had used it to heavily damage the Ancient Abyssal God. It was something Shi Feng didnt even dare to dream of owning during his previous life. So, he never thought he would get such an opportunity in this life. However, Shi Feng quickly calmed his agitated heart and turned his gaze to the peak of the mountain, which was also the location of the Ancient Rivers Heart. He could feel one of the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments there. Although he didnt know which fragment resided there, it didnt matter. So long as he could get his hands on one and recover a portion of the Seven Luminaries Codexs power, he would have enough power to stand at the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. The Codex could even offer him significant help in acquiring the Eternity Set. Brother Black Flame, I get the feeling that these three parties hold significant hostility toward us. Moreover, it feels like they are looking to attack us together. Should we retreat for now? Midsummer whispered to Shi Feng. While it was logical for participants in the official competition to prioritize killing the strongest competitors, the three parties around them behaved as if they had discussed targeting their party of three beforehand. As soon as the magic barriers had disappeared, the three parties swiftly moved to block three of the safest paths leading out of the starting point. Although there were several other paths that could be taken, these paths had at least ten Level 140, Tier 4 Heroic Spirits patrolling them, so they were essentially impassable. If these three parties hadnt discussed working together beforehand, there was no way they could have moved so neatly and perfectly. Your hunch isnt wrong. They are indeed planning to target us together, Shi Feng said as he looked at the three parties with a faint smile. Or, more specifically, theyre trying to keep us from leaving. Keep us from leaving? Midsummer couldnt help but look at the three parties in surprise and confusion. What exactly did their party do to warrant three paragon-led parties of other nations to target them together? Not even the Myriad Forest Empires First Paragon would receive such a treatment. While Midsummer was feeling confused over this situation, Martial Quadbeast looked at Shi Fengs party and said, By the request of Heavenly Boas Markless Blade, I will have to ask you three to wait here for some time. This Markless Blade fellow must hold a lot of influence if he can get your three parties to sell him a favor, Shi Feng exclaimed, feeling a little surprised as he looked at the leaders of the three parties. The Red Star Kingdoms Glorious Mantra! The Iron Lion Kingdoms Martial Quadbeast! The Myriad Forest Empires Silent Saintess! These were all famous individuals in the surrounding kingdoms and empires. Even when the Guild Leaders of hegemonic powers tried to hire them as helpers, these three turned down the offers they received without hesitation. Yet, now, they had agreed to take on Markless Blades commission. This was truly surprising. Young man, you have only arrived in the Greater Gods Domain recently, so there are still many things you do not understand, Martial Quadbeast, the oldest out of the three parties leaders, said. You might be confident in your strength, but you have offended someone you should not offend. So, you will have to pay the price now! What if I insist on leaving? Shi Feng asked as he calmly looked at Martial Quadbeast. However, as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a sloppy-looking man with an astonishingly powerful aura suddenly jumped down from a nearby cliff and landed directly in front of Shi Fengs party of three. Im afraid thats not up to you to decide! Chapter 3248 - Chapter 322 - Sacred Armament? Chapter 322 C Sacred Armament? As soon as the sloppy man jumped down from the cliff, everyone present couldnt help but turn to look at him. The sloppy man in question looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He wore a dark-gray chestplate that had magic runes engraved on it. His long hair was left scattered, making him look like a savage. Yet, despite his messy appearance, nobody present could ignore him because of his domineering words and, more importantly, aura that rivaled that of Tier 5 Legendary monsters. Meanwhile, this sloppy man was none other than Markless Blade, one of the Heavenly Boa Guilds Seven Great Paragons! How did he arrive so quickly? Midsummer and Wuxiaoxiao grew shocked and worried when they saw Markless Blade. The Ancient River Secret Lands central zone might only be limited to the peak of the central mountain, but the zone was by no means small. It could easily allow a thousand players to roam freely without meeting one another. Normally, 100 players split into several dozen parties would have a very low chance of coming across one another in such a vast area. Yet, even though only a few dozen seconds had passed since the official competition began, Markless Blade had already reached them. While it was obvious he had learned of their party of threes starting location through his connections, the fact that he managed to reach them from his starting location so quickly was simply astonishing. Now, because of this situation, their party would have to fight against Markless Blade before they could even kill any Tier 4 Heroic Spirits. If they ended up getting killed by Markless Blade, they would have to say goodbye to getting into the top 20, let alone getting into the top 10 and entering the Ancient Rivers Heart. I cant believe Markless Blade managed to improve so much in the time we havent met. A Tier 5 Magic Equipment truly is incredible, the Red Star Kingdoms Glorious Mantra said, a hint of dread appearing in his eyes after he scrutinized Markless Blade. I doubt my odds of winning against him reaches even 20% now Rumors say that the Asura Sword Emperor is stronger than even Saint Nine and rivals the current Saint Three. I wonder how much strength he can get Markless Blade to use? the Iron Lion Kingdoms Martial Quadbeast wondered, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit. Itd be great if he can get Markless Blade to use all of his strength. Although I feel a little sorry for the Asura Sword Emperor, for the sake of ranking in the top 20 and having a better chance against Markless Blade in the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition afterward, I can only have him test Markless Blades current standards, the Myriad Forest Empires Silent Saintess said, her lips curling into a faint smile. At the same time, her eyes scrutinized Markless Blades every move, eager to see how strong the Berserker had become already. Meanwhile, this sudden development had also caused the number of players spectating Shi Fengs broadcast to skyrocket, going from 300,000 to 600,000 in the blink of an eye. Moreover, the number of spectators was still rapidly increasing as time passed, showing no signs of slowing down. Crap! Whats going on? The official competitions first clash is going to be an apex battle? Markless Blade is incredible! He actually got Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess to help him! With this, even getting into the top 5 wont be a problem for him! The players watching Shi Fengs broadcast grew ecstatic at the sudden development. It was especially so for the players currently in the top 1,000 of the Star Lake Legions selection. They didnt think Markless Blades influence would be so great that he could get three paragons to help him. Thus far, none of the Myriad Forest Empires paragons have shown such influence. While everyone had their attention focused on Markless Blade, Markless Blades gaze stayed on Shi Feng from start to end, never deviating in the slightest. Asura Sword Emperor Black Flame? It seems I have underestimated you before, Markless Blade said, a flash of admiration appearing in his eyes after he was done scrutinizing Shi Feng. He could tell that Shi Fengs Basic Attributes were not at all inferior to his current Basic Attributes. No wonder you managed to defeat Unforgettable Leaf so easily. Both your Physique and Mana are at the Tier 5 standard. You can already be considered a pseudo-Tier 5 with such strength, and getting into the top 10 shouldnt be out of the question. You indeed have some qualifications to be arrogant. Qualifications to be arrogant? Shi Feng chuckled when he heard Markless Blades evaluation of him. Im afraid I am still no match for you in this regard. Few people can put on a Tier 5 Magic Equipment even at Tier 5, yet youve already fused with one. Aside from the lack of Tier 5 Skills, you are already no different from a Tier 5 player. Moreover, I doubt that a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment is all that Heavenly Boa has given you, right? There were countless geniuses in the Greater Gods Domain, but geniuses who could grow to great heights were monopolized by the various hegemonic powers. As for independent experts, their chances of achieving true greatness in Gods Domain did not reach 1%. As for why that was the case, it was because of the difference in weapons and equipment. Independent experts needed to rely on themselves to get weapons and equipment. However, experts belonging to the various hegemonic powers could rely on weapons and equipment accumulated by their predecessors. They could easily get their hands on Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items without having to invest much time and effort or rely on luck. Because of this, the gap between the various hegemonic powers experts and independent experts would only grow bigger and bigger as time passed. Or, more specifically, how were independent experts supposed to even catch up to the various hegemonic powers experts if they couldnt even get weapons and equipment of passing quality? You are correct! This piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment isnt my only trump card! Markless Blade said, a long saber appearing in his hand before anyone realized it. The saber in Markless Blades hand was as long as he was tall. The blade of the weapon was made of unknown crimson metal. As soon as Markless Blade equipped it, the intensity of his aura increased significantly, and it felt as if he had become a completely different person. At this moment, every one of his movements could cause the space around him to tremble and destabilize. That isthe God Annihilator? The Myriad Forest Empires 53rd Sacred Armament?! Are you kidding me?! Heavenly Boa actually gave him the God Annihilator?! It seems competing with him is going to be impossible Glorious Mantras, Martial Quadbeasts, and Silent Saintesss eyes widened when they saw the long saber in Markless Blades hand. All kingdoms and empires in the Greater Gods Domain had their own Sacred Armament List. These lists were used to record the strongest weapons within their respective borders. Meanwhile, the God Annihilator was a terrifying saber recorded in the Myriad Forest Empires Sacred Armament List. It should be known that the various kingdoms and empires in the Greater Gods Domain possessed many Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Legendary Weapons. These were all accumulated over many years. So, for a Fragmented Legendary Weapon to be capable of ranking 53rd in the Myriad Forest Empires Sacred Armament List, it was bound to have some aspects that allowed it to surpass Legendary Weapons. Meanwhile, the God Annihilator was indeed superior to Legendary Weapons in certain aspects. Even though it was only a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, it could exhibit power rivaling Legendary Weapons; one slash from it was enough to reap the life out of a players soul. More importantly, the God Annihilator had a Passive Skill that prevented players from blocking its attacks with a shield. This made it an excellent weapon to harvest players. With the combination of Tier 5 Magic Equipment and the Myriad Forest Empires 53rd Sacred Armament, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Markless Blade was invincible among Tier 4 players. Unforgettable Leaf had previously used the Void Walk I taught him against you. I wonder if you can defend against my Void Walk? After saying so, Markless Blade vanished from where he stood. Immediately afterward, an imperceptibly thin tear in space rapidly extended from his original location to Shi Feng. Although the spatial tear was incredibly thin, it had an incredible height that extended from the ground all the way into the sky, and it shattered everything in its path. Chapter 3249 - Chapter 323 - Sword and Saber Chapter 323 C Sword and Saber When the world-dividing spatial tear rapidly extended toward Shi Feng, whether it was the three other parties nearby or the spectating players outside, everyone couldnt help but be dumbfounded. The space within the Ancient River Secret Land was incredibly stable. It was especially so for the central zones space. The space was so stable here that Tier 3 players would find themselves immobilized completely. Because of the spaces stability, destructive attacks that could normally create spatial tears measuring several hundred meters in length couldnt even create a spatial tear over a dozen meters in the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone. Yet, now, not only did Markless Blade exhibit phenomenal destructive power with his one attack, but he had also exhibited incredible mastery over the Void Walk technique. At this moment, let alone the three spectating paragons, even Shi Feng, the target of Markless Blades attack, could not detect Markless Blades presence in the slightest. It was as if the Berserker had vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace. As expected of the God Annihilator. Its speed and power are already close to matching Legendary Weapons, Shi Feng thought, a smile forming on his face as he looked at the numerous spatial tears extending toward him. These spatial tears carried incredible power, and even one of them was enough to instantly kill the average Tier 4 player. But between my sword and your saber, I wonder which is stronger? Immediately, Shi Feng unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and brandished it against the oncoming spatial tears. Swords Transmigration! Boom! Boom! Boom! Sparks and explosions filled the battlefield as the Winter of Eternal Night collided with the spatial tears attacking Shi Feng from multiple directions. Over a hundred exchanges had taken place in the blink of an eye, the shockwaves from the clashes causing the surrounding space to crack like tempered glass. The surrounding terrain was also deformed beyond recognition. From an outsiders perspective, the clash between the inconspicuous Swordsman and sloppy Berserker didnt look like a clash between players at all. Instead, it looked more like a brawl between two natural disasters. A moment later, Markless Blade suddenly reappeared in everyones view. However, before anyone realized it, nearly half of his HP bar was missing. As for Shi Feng, he had also lost a little over 20% of his HP. At a glance, it was obvious who had the advantage in raw power. You blocked all of my Void Walk attacks? What about this move, then?! After saying so, Markless Blade abruptly slammed the God Annihilator into the ground, causing the ground to sink and creating a brilliant mana pillar that rapidly expanded out from him. Universal Destruction! This was an Additional Skill that came with the God Annihilator. It allowed the God Annihilators wielder to exhibit their Strength to the extreme, instantly increasing the effect of the wielders Strength by five times for one attack that could reduce a 100-yard radius into nothingness. You want to fight using brute force? Shi Feng took a deep breath as he looked at the rapidly expanding mana pillar. Then, he gripped the Winter of Eternal Night with both hands and executed a downward slash. Demon Gods Armament! Radiant Night! Subsequently, Shi Fengs mana experienced a qualitative improvement, and matching divine runes appeared on his weapon and equipment one after another, the runes increasing the effects of his weapon and equipment by 100%. Immediately afterward, darkness bloomed from the Winter of Eternal Night, devouring everything in its path. Boom! When light and darkness collided, the thick fog covering the sky thinned slightly, and a continuous explosion echoed throughout the mountaintop. Every player in the central zone felt the powerful explosion, and many couldnt help but look toward the source of this explosion. He didnt die? Markless Blade revealed a look of surprise when he saw that Shi Feng had over 60% of his HP remaining. Universal Destruction was the strongest move that came with the God Annihilator. When paired with his Tier 5 Magic Equipment, he could send even Tier 5 Legendary monsters of the same level flying. If a Tier 5 MT tried to receive this move without any Lifesaving Skills active, there was a real chance they could get killed from full HP. Yet, Shi Feng, a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, had received this move without dying. His Strength Attribute could practically rival Tier 5 Berserkers. Markless Blade wasnt the only one surprised by this outcome. When Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess saw that Shi Feng remained alive and healthy, they couldnt help but gasp, their minds failing to understand how Shi Feng had survived Markless Blades attack. Isnt he only wearing Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment? How can he match Markless Blades Tier 5 Magic Equipment and God Annihilator? Martial Quadbeast had trouble keeping his jaw from hanging when he saw that Shi Feng had over half his HP remaining. Martial Quadbeast had fought Markless Blade when the latter had his Tier 5 Magic Equipment equipped in the past, so he knew that Markless Blades Strength had already reached an unbelievable level for a Tier 4 player. Even the Superior Mythic ranked Ancient Bone Dragon he had summoned using a Tier 4 Curse was sent flying over a dozen yards when it ate a direct attack from Markless Blade. It should be known that the Ancient Bone Dragon had Strength rivaling Tier 5 Legendary monsters. A normal attack from it could shatter a Basic Citys defensive magic array in one hit. If a Tier 4 MT tried to block its attack without a Lifesaving Skill, they would get killed in one hit. Yet, the Ancient Bone Dragon was sent flying when it tried to block Markless Blades attack. Now that Markless Blade had received the God Annihilator, a weapon known for its Strength, from Heavenly Boa, his Strength had undoubtedly reached an even more frightening level. Against Markless Blades Universal Destruction, Martial Quadbeast doubted he could survive the attack even if he activated a Lifesaving Skill. Yet, Shi Feng had blocked the attack without any Lifesaving Skills and survived It should be because of his sword. He only has a set of Dark-Gold Immortal Equipment. It is logically impossible for him to match Markless Blades Basic Attributes. The only explanation is that his sword offers a lot more Strength than the God Annihilator, Glorious Mantra said as he looked at the black longsword Shi Feng wielded. But God Annihilators Strength bonus is already extraordinary. Could his longsword be on par with the Myriad Forest Empires top 20 Sacred Armaments? The players spectating the battle from outside the competition venue also looked at Shi Fengs Winter of Eternal Night with eyes full of curiosity and greed. Any weapon capable of entering the Sacred Armament List of any country in the Greater Gods Domain would either be a Legendary Weapon or a Fragmented Legendary Weapon that rivaled Legendary Weapons in certain aspects. Meanwhile, every one of these weapons was treated like a precious baby by the various hegemonic powers. Even the various hegemonic powers executives would need permission from their respective Grand Elders before using these weapons. After all, weapons that had reached the level of Sacred Armaments could be of great help to even Tier 6 players. Rather than let Tier 4 and Tier 5 players use them, itd be much more effective to let a Tier 6 powerhouse equip it. Only a pseudo-upper-ranking hegemonic power like Heavenly Boa would be willing to let a Tier 4 paragon equip such a weapon. The average hegemonic power absolutely wouldnt dare to do such a thing. After all, not only was this a waste of opportunity, but there was also a great risk of the weapon being snatched. Weapons at the Sacred Armament caliber could be sold for astronomical prices. They were so valuable that even Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts would be willing to disregard the rules set by the various powers. While everyone was talking about Shi Fengs Winter of Eternal Night, Shi Feng looked at his remaining HP before glancing at Markless Blade, who was getting ready to attack him again. Then, Shi Feng released the Winter of Eternal Night, letting it merge with the void. Immediately afterward, nine frost blades materialized around Markless Blade, gradually lingering around him like satellites. Ive seen your saber already. Now, its time for you to see my sword! World of Frost! Ninefold Swords Orbit! Chapter 3250 - Chapter 324 - Tier 5? Chapter 324 C Tier 5? Each of the nine frost swords possessed 120% of Shi Fengs Strength. Under the enhancement of Demon Gods Armament and World Creation, each frost sword could execute Swords Orbit flawlessly and create dozens of stars that carried power at the Tier 5 standard. When these stars intersected, they caused the space around them to tremble. The nine frost swords attacked Markless Blade from multiple directions simultaneously, forming a tight network of hundreds of stars. There was no room whatsoever for Markless Blade to carry out evasive maneuvers. When high-tiered players in Gods Domain wished to quickly decide on the outcome of a duel, there were generally only two methods they could employ. The first method was to defeat the opponent with overwhelming power. So long as one had an absolute advantage in strength, ones opponent would be incapable of defending against ones attacks. It was a crude yet effective method. It was also the method high-tiered players used most often when dealing with lower-tiered players. The second method was to launch attacks at extraordinary speeds. If one could overwhelm the reaction speed of ones opponent with enough attacks, even if each attack wasnt exceptionally strong, so long as the attacks could do some damage, one could quickly end the duel. The Winter of Eternal Night was never a longsword focused on raw power. Instead, its strong suit was attacking at high frequencies. In his current state, Shi Feng could execute several hundred attacks simultaneously. This was already well beyond the number of attacks a Tier 4 player could react to simultaneously. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng executed his ninefold Swords Orbit, Markless Blade immediately felt the threat of death looming over him. He could sense that if he allowed around a dozen of these stars to hit him, even with the Tier 5 Magic Equipment protecting him, he would die nonetheless. Markless Blade was honestly shocked by this development. He never thought Shi Feng could control nine individual weapons to such a masterful degree. It was common for players to control multiple weapons summoned via Skills or Spells in Gods Domain. However, doing so would usually reduce the amount of control they could exert over each weapon. To manipulate multiple weapons normally was an incredibly challenging feat, and the difficulty would increase exponentially with each additional weapon. Normally, a Tier 4 magical class player could easily launch over a hundred magic projectiles. However, while launching so many attacks might make for a spectacular sight, the player would only have full control over three or four of these projectiles. As for the other projectiles, the player could only have them move in a simple trajectory. As a result, these other projectiles were very predictable and could be easily dodged. However, it was a different story for Shi Fengs frost swords. All nine frost swords moved as if Shi Feng was wielding them in person. When targeted by the nine frost swords, Markless Blade felt as if he was being attacked by nine Shi Fengs simultaneously. Rampaging Blade! At this moment, Markless Blade finally stopped holding back. After letting out a loud roar, he instantly split into four copies of himself and executed a peerless slash, shattering the space before him and sending countless spatial fragments flying in multiple specific directions. Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess were deeply shocked when they saw this scene. For Tier 4 titled experts like themselves, shattering space wasnt a difficult feat. However, shattering space and having the resulting spatial fragments group up and move in groups like several dozen weapons was something they couldnt do. This feat required an unbelievable amount of control over ones strength and the void. Subsequently, the weapons made of spatial fragments collided with the stars in the air, every collision stirring up a powerful spatial storm. Over a hundred collisions took place in the blink of an eye, the resulting explosions and shockwaves making it feel as if over a dozen Great Wizards were bombarding each other with Spells in mid-air. At this moment, if any Tier 4 player were to jump into the air without taking any defensive measures, they would instantly be bombarded into smithereens. Even Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess had trouble keeping up with the flurry of exchanges taking place in mid-air. They would die without question if they were to abruptly join this fight without any Lifesaving Skills active. After several hundred explosions erupted in mid-air, the sky had already transformed into a pitch-black void. However, at this time, Markless Blade could no longer keep up with the nine frost swords attacks. Immediately, the several hundred stars created by the nine frost swords bypassed Markless Blades spatial fragments and threatened to attack Markless Blade directly. Ha! Markless Blade remained unfazed even in the face of the approaching stars. After letting out a shout, he willed his three doppelgangers to gather around him with their sabers held in a defensive stance. Immediately afterward, magic runes appeared on the doppelgangers bodies, the runes forming a translucent mana barrier around them. When Shi Feng saw a defensive barrier suddenly forming around Markless Blades three doppelgangers, he reacted instantly and switched his manipulation method on the spot. Suddenly, the dozen stars closest to reaching Markless Blade grouped up into pairs and merged, forming six stars of greater radiance. Then, these six stars bombarded Markless Blades defensive barrier one after another. Boom! The defensive barrier mitigated the first four stars without fail. However, when the fifth star landed, the barrier shattered. Then, the sixth star landed on the doppelganger directly in front of Markless Blade, the impact sending the doppelganger and Markless Blade himself flying several dozen yards back Eventually, Markless Blade and his doppelganger crash-landed on the ground, their impact shattering the ground and forming a large crater. Subsequently, the doppelganger disappeared, revealing Markless Blades body. After receiving Shi Fengs attack, Markless Blade had lost another one-third of his HP, and there was a visible sword mark in his Tier 5 Magic Equipment. Crap! How is that even possible?! Are those two really just Tier 4 players? The players spectating the broadcast of the fight were dumbfounded. Even though the two fighters were a Swordsman and a Berserker, the exchange between the two felt like an exchange between a dozen Great Wizards. Moreover, even though Shi Fengs and Markless Blades attack rates were already beyond the reaction speed of Tier 4 players, the two of them could not only keep up with each others attacks, but they could also alter their attack methods halfway through their attacks. Markless Blade failed to keep up? When Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess saw that Markless Blade had lost a lot of HP, their expressions changed, and they could no longer remain calm like before. If the three of them were standing in Shi Fengs shoes, they definitely wouldnt be able to react to Markless Blades sudden transition into a defensive stance. Yet, Shi Feng had not only reacted to the sudden transition, but he had even merged his attacks on the spot to further strengthen them. His reaction speed was simply monstrous. This Black Flame guy is amazing! He took away one-third of Vice Commander Marklesss HP in one move! How absurd is his reaction speed? Dont tell me Vice Commander Markless is going to lose? Star Lake Citys spectating players never thought that the mighty Markless Blade would be put at a disadvantage in a fight against a player with little to no fame in the Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, Markless Blade lost one-third of his HP to Shi Feng in one move. No matter how they looked at it, Markless Blades defeat was inevitable. However, just when everyone thought Markless Blade was slated for defeat, Markless Blade suddenly patted the sword mark on his chest plate and revealed an excited smile. Immediately afterward, his aura skyrocketed in intensity yet again, causing Martial Quadbeast and the other spectating players nearby to take a step back in shock and fear. Wonderful! This is truly wonderful! Markless Blade suddenly laughed, the combination of his ruffled hair and cackling making him look even more like a savage. Then, he looked at Shi Feng ecstatically and said, I really want to thank you! If you didnt make me feel the threat of death, my Concentration would have remained stuck at the limit of Tier 4 until I got promoted! I also wouldnt be able to fully exhibit my Tier 5 Magic Equipments strength at Tier 4 as I can now! When the players rooting for Markless Blade heard the mans words, they couldnt help but grow excited. Tier 5 Magic Equipment! If a Tier 4 player could fully exhibit a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipments strength, this player would be able to reach the Tier 5 standard directly. At that point, not only would they have Tier 5 Basic Attributes and Physique, but they would also have access to the Tier 5 Magic Equipments Tier 5 Additional Skills. With this sudden development, there was a very real possibility that Markless Blade could compete for first place in the Rookie Competition. Black Flame! I admit your attack frequency is incredible. If I am only at the Tier 4 standard, I definitely wouldnt be your match, Markless Blade said, smiling as he looked at Shi Feng. But its over now. Ill let you know what a true difference in Strength is! After saying so, Markless Blade brandished his saber, sending several hundred spatial blades flying at Shi Feng. Markless Blades spatial blades outnumbered even the stars formed by Shi Fengs ninefold Swords Orbit by over one hundred. Moreover, the Strength these spatial blades carried was superior to that of Shi Fengs stars. However, Shi Feng did not look surprised even when he went up against these several hundred spatial blades. Instead, he calmly said, Do you really think you can beat me just because youve reached Tier 5? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a dazzling brilliance suddenly burst from the Winter of Eternal Night, and an indescribable power flowed into Shi Fengs body. Godslayer! Chapter 3251 - Chapter 325 - You Too? Chapter 325 C You Too? TL Notes: Changing ninefold Swords Orbit to Ninefold Swords Orbit. When Shi Feng activated Godslayer, the mana around him underwent a dramatic transformation and formed a mana pillar exceeding 500 meters. At the same time as the mana pillar appeared, the projection of the illusory world centered around Shi Feng became clearer. Originally, the illusory world was at 95% transparency. Now, its transparency had gone down to 80%. The area covered also increased from a 100-yard radius to a 300-yard radius, and the influence it had on the Greater Gods Domain strengthened significantly. These abrupt changes shocked the players watching the broadcast. A mana pillar thats 500 meters tall? Even if he has a 120% Epic Mana Body, shouldnt the maximum height only be 100 meters? Dont tell me he has also reached Tier 5? Thats not right. There are no changes to his aura, meaning his Basic Attributes and Physique have not improved. If he reached the Tier 5 standard, theres no way his aura will remain the same. But if hes not at Tier 5, how is his mana pillar so tall? Shi Fengs mana pillar was like the midday sun, its appearance instantly increasing the brightness of the entire mountaintop. Everyone couldnt help but be shocked when they saw this phenomenon. It was common knowledge that when a Tier 4 player developed their Epic Mana Body to the legendary 120% Completion Rate, the mana pillar they could produce would reach up to 100 meters. A Tier 4 players mana pillar reaching 500 meters was simply unheard of in Gods Domain. While the spectating crowd had fallen into shock and confusion, Shi Fengs nine frost swords suddenly appeared next to him and moved to meet the several hundred oncoming spatial blades. Then, the nine frost swords created a galaxy of stars. Ninefold Swords Orbit! The galaxy of stars stopped the several hundred blades dead in their tracks, preventing them from getting within thirty yards of Shi Feng. Compared to before, the defensive network Shi Feng formed with his Ninefold Swords Orbit had become significantly stronger. He blocked everything? What did he do? Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess gaped in shock when they saw Shi Feng standing in mid-air intact. Markless Blade had already gained complete control over his Tier 5 Magic Equipment. Whether it was Basic Attributes, Physique, or Skills, he already had everything a Tier 5 player would have. Logically, Shi Feng should be utterly incapable of defending against Markless Blades Rampaging Blade. After all, whether it was in terms of attack count or Strength, Markless Blades Rampaging Blade had already surpassed Shi Fengs Ninefold Swords Orbit. Yet, now, Markless Blade had failed to even damage Shi Feng, let alone heavily injure or kill him. As for Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, they were similarly shocked when they saw this outcome. Brother Black Flame is amazing! He can even hold his ground against one of Heavenly Boas Seven Great Paragons! With this, even Saint Three wont have any leverage over Brother Black Flame! Midsummer exclaimed. Markless Bade was Heavenly Boas Seven Great Paragons. Although he ranked near the bottom of the seven, he was still a paragon rivaling Saint Three. Not to mention, now that Markless Blade could exhibit 100% of his Tier 5 Magic Equipments strength, he could even compete for the Rookie Competitions number one position. As for Markless Blade, who had just gained full control over his Tier 5 Magic Equipment, he, too, was shocked by this outcome. Have youalso reached Tier 5? Markless Blade asked, his mind full of doubts and confusion about the Strength and reaction speed Shi Feng had just displayed. Setting aside Shi Fengs Strength, just the fact that Shi Feng could keep up with his Tier 5 attack frequency was already plenty unbelievable. The biggest factor that separated Tier 4 and Tier 5 players in Gods Domain was reaction speed. This difference led to a situation where even if a Tier 4 player had similar Basic Attributes as a Tier 5 player, the former still wouldnt be a match for the latter. Meanwhile, after Markless Blade gained full control of his Tier 5 Magic Equipment, his reaction speed had already entered the Tier 5 threshold. So, a Tier 4 expert should be helpless against his maximum attack frequency. Yet, Shi Feng had blocked all of his attacks. Aside from Shi Feng having a Legendary Weapon, the only other explanation Markless Blade could think of for this situation was that Shi Feng had similarly crossed into the Tier 5 threshold as he did. Legendary Weapons were incredibly precious even to the various hegemonic powers. Not even the Tier 6 powerhouses of hegemonic powers would necessarily be assigned one, let alone someone with no background like Shi Feng. Do you think I have to be Tier 5 to block your attacks? Shi Feng responded nonchalantly. The superiority of Tier 5 players over Tier 4 players lies in reaction speed. Although Godslayer did not provide any bonuses to his Basic Attributes and Physique, it drastically improved the strength of his Mana and Concentration standard. Before becoming a Special Lifeform, Shi Feng could already gain Tier 5 Mana and Tier 5 Concentration, qualifying to fight a Tier 5 Demon King. Now that Shi Feng had become a Special Lifeform, under the effects of Godslayer, his Mana and Concentration had reached a completely new level. He was far superior to Markless Blade, who had only reached the entry-level of Tier 5 in these two aspects. Not to mention, Shi Fengs strengthened mana also improved his World Creation, which further weakened all enemy attacks within its range and boosted the power of his attacks. As for his Concentration, which now reached the Intermediate-rank Tier 4 standard, it allowed him to manipulate his nine frost swords with greater ease. This meant he could increase his performance with the frost swords. Moreover, Swords Orbit was inherently a defensive combat technique. Offense was never its strong suit, so it would naturally show better performance when he switched from using it offensively to defensively. Meanwhile, all these factors added together made it so that Markless Blades spatial blades were not a threat to Shi Feng. However, Godslayer only had a 30-second duration. Shi Feng couldnt afford to let the battle drag on for too long. So, as soon as he finished speaking, he raised the Winter of Eternal Night in his hand and willed for two frost swords to follow suit. Immediately afterward, the three weapons devoured all mana within a 300-yard radius, causing the space of the affected area to freeze. Even though Markless Blade was equipped with a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment, the lack of mana in the area still caused him to feel a little uncomfortable and his movements to become sluggish. Before Markless Blade could adapt to this sudden change, the Winter of Eternal Night in Shi Fengs hands and the two frost swords hovering next to him executed a downward slash that carried a hair-raising amount of power. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Three slashes fell toward Markless Blade simultaneously. From Markless Blades perspective, it looked as if darkness was descending toward him, the descent of the darkness so quick that he couldnt evade it in time with his heavy body. All three of Shi Fengs slashes carried power far greater than any of Shi Fengs previous attacks. When Markless Blade saw the three slashes, he immediately understood that not even Tier 5 players should try to block them. He wouldnt even be surprised if just one of these slashes was enough to heavily injure a Tier 5 Legendary monster. Tier 5 Additional Active Skill, Mana Overflow! Tier 5 Additional Active Skill, Eradicating Light! Markless Blade decided to use everything he had to defend against the three slashes. Immediately, he used his Tier 5 Magic Equipments Additional Skills Mana Overflow and Eradicating Light. Mana Overflow doubled his mana volume and increased the effects of his Skills and Spells by 100%, whereas Eradicating Light enhanced one of his attacks with the Mana Destruction effect and increased the attacks Strength by 200% and Agility by 100%. Subsequently, Markless Blades God Annihilator received the oncoming slashes one after another, each collision creating explosions that shook a radius of 1,000 yards. The land within the affected radius cracked and exploded, sending dust and dirt flying everywhere. After the first collision, Markless Blades hands trembled. After the second collision, Markless Blades posture broke, and he was forced to take two steps backward. His HP also fell by over one-third of its maximum. After the third collision, Markless Blade was sent flying one hundred yards away, his body heavily injured and blood flowing out of the corner of his eyes. His HP also plummeted and hit zero in the blink of an eye. Then, his large body fell powerlessly to the ground Chapter 3252 - Chapter 326 - Invincible Among Tier 4 Chapter 326 C Invincible Among Tier 4 Silence! Whether it was the participants present or spectating players watching the live broadcast, everyone went silent when they saw Markless Blades corpse gradually disintegrating and disappearing. After a short silence, though, the players watching the live broadcast exploded into activity. Markless Blade got defeated? Just like that? Markless Blade can already exhibit 100% of his Tier 5 Magic Equipments effects, yet he still couldnt endure those three slashes? This Black Flame is a monster! If even Markless Blade lost to him, I think Black Flame has a good chance at competing for the top three spots. No wonder he dared to kill Unforgettable Leaf. I didnt think Markless Blade would be the first of the top ten seeded players to get eliminated. This is truly a surprise. The Myriad Forest Empires players were even touting how at least half of the top ten spots would belong to people from their empire. They must be looking dying from embarrassment right now. Hahaha! Three slashes to fell Markless Blade! With this, our kingdom is going to see the rise of another paragon! The Asura Sword Emperor, is it? Although it had been a long time since Markless Blade last made a public appearance, he was undoubtedly a paragon-level individual in the hearts of the Ancient River Kingdoms and Myriad Forest Empires players. Moreover, he was a paragon capable of ranking within the top ten of the Myriad Forest Empires younger generation paragons. Yet, now, Markless Blade had lost to Shi Feng. This was a shocking outcome, especially for the Ancient River Kingdoms players. They were all excited by this outcome. Subsequently, the name of the Asura Sword Emperor quickly spread, causing even more players to spectate Shi Fengs fight through the Seven Luminaries Alliances broadcast. The various kingdoms and empires often butt heads in the Greater Gods Domain. It was especially so when a neutral resource node was involved. These fights usually required the paragons of the involved nation to take to the battlefield. Meanwhile, the more experts a country had, the greater the advantage it would have in battle. This was why the ruling powers of the various kingdoms and empires tended to curry favor with the various Tier 4 and Tier 5 paragons. These Tier 4 and Tier 5 paragons might not be a match for Tier 6 players in terms of actual combat power, but the value they could exhibit wouldnt be inferior to Tier 6 players in the slightest. The Ancient River Kingdom had already been in a weak state for a long time. So, it was definitely a great joy for the kingdom for a new paragon to appear in its territory. Because of this unexpected development, the number of people spectating the broadcast of Shi Fengs battle had also gone up from four hundred thousand to over a million. Moreover, this number was still rapidly increasing as time passed, the broadcasts viewership quickly catching up to the broadcast of famous Tier 6 experts. While the spectating players were holding their respective discussions, the members of Glorious Mantras, Martial Quadbeasts, and Silent Saintesss parties revealed very ugly expressions. In addition to fear, their faces also expressed a hint of anger. They had a joint deal with Markless Blade. It was why they had helped Markless Bade in the first place. Now that Markless Blade had died, their deal with Markless Blade to enter the top 20 together naturally became worthless. This meant that getting into the top 20 would become a big problem now. The Galaxy Conglomerate would rarely hold invitational competitions, the last one being several decades ago. If they wished to avoid the challenge of getting into the official phase of the invitational competition, the best way would be to get into the top 20 of the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition. If they couldnt enter the Rookie Competitions top 20, theyd have to face intense competition between countless experts originating from the various kingdoms and empires. Moreover, at that time, the experts they needed to face wouldnt be limited to those from the younger generation. Many older generation experts would also be competing. After all, the Galaxy Conglomerate had set the age limit for its invitational competition this time at 35. This meant paragons like Markless Blade, who were close to reaching the age limit, would join as well. For the sake of giving the younger generation a chance, most hegemonic powers had refrained from sending their veteran paragons to participate in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition this time. According to the information they received, there were still over 50 older generation paragons in the Rookie Competition. Indeed! Over 50 veteran paragons were in the Rookie Competition! These veteran paragons had already lingered at Tier 4 for a long time. They were vastly superior to the younger generation paragons when it came to the development of their Mana Bodies, the weapons and equipment they possessed, and the Skills, Spells, Mana Techniques, and combat techniques they had mastered. Because of the presence of these veteran paragons, it was no exaggeration to say that the difficulty of getting into the Rookie Competitions top 20 this time was much greater than getting into the top 10 of the Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses. However, before the three parties could think about how they should compete for the top 20, Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess suddenly felt Shi Fengs gaze on them. This instantly put a lot of pressure on them. Black Flame, we wont stop you anymore now that youve defeated Markless Blade. Why dont we each go on our separate ways? Martial Quadbeast, the oldest of the three paragons, took the initiative to suggest. This will be good for all of us. Im sure you dont want to miss out on the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition, right? The Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competitions come only once every several decades. You might have defeated Markless Blade, but I doubt you are currently in good shape. If we fight, we will only be benefiting the other parties. So, why bother? Glorious Mantra chimed in. Shi Feng might have killed Markless Blade, but anyone could tell that his complexion looked a lot paler than before. It was obvious that Shi Fengs victory over Markless Blade wasnt as easy as it seemed. So, it definitely wouldnt be wise for Shi Feng to fight the three of them now. The three of them definitely werent a match for Markless Blade in a one-versus-one situation. However, if the three of them worked together, even Markless Blade would have to flee. Although Shi Feng was stronger than Markless Blade, they were confident they could win against Shi Feng in his currently exhausted state. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao heard Martial Quadbeasts and Glorious Mantras words, they couldnt help but sigh in relief. If the three parties were to work together to attack Shi Feng, it would definitely be disastrous for Shi Feng now that he had already revealed all of his cards. Fortunately, the three slashes Shi Feng had used to kill Markless Blade were enough to deter the three parties from escalating the situation. Go on our separate ways? Shi Feng looked at the three paragons for a moment. Then, he swung his sword and sent three slashes flying at them, saying, Who do you think you are? When the three paragons saw the three Holy Annihilations rapidly approaching them, they mentally cursed at Shi Feng before using their respective trump cards, none of them daring to hold back. Immediately, Martial Quadbeast summoned a Tier 4 Mythic ranked Titan Behemoth to defend him, Glorious Mantra waved his staff and transformed into a cloud of dark fog, and Silent Saintess formed over twenty magic barriers before her. Boom! After the three pitch-black sword lights hit their mark, apart from Martial Quadbeast, who had nearly half of his HP remaining, Glorious Mantra and Silent Saintess had hardly any HP remaining. On top of that, the three paragons were alone now as all of their party members were devoured by the pitch-black sword lights. This scene dumbfounded the players spectating the battles broadcast. This How is this possible? Chapter 3253 - Chapter 327 - Kingdom Shocked Chapter 3253 C Chapter 327 C Kingdom Shocked The Red Star Kingdoms Glorious Mantra! The Iron Lion Kingdoms Martial Quadbeast! The Myriad Forest Empires Silent Saintess! Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess were all paragons of the older generation. However, before they withdrew from the younger generation, they ranked among the top 10 of their respective countrys young paragons. Even back then, the three of them possessed strength rivaling the Ten Great Paragons of the current Ancient River Kingdom. It also went without saying that they were currently a lot stronger than they were before. While they might not be a match for Markless Blade, they were all potential contenders for the current Rookie Competitions top 20. Yet, now, Shi Feng had essentially put all three of these veteran paragons on deaths door using only three attacks. Moreover, he had even eradicated the three paragons party members using the same three attacks This development raised everyones shock to a whole new level. In fact, this outcome was multiple times more shocking than when Shi Feng killed Markless Blade in three attacks. Madness! This is madness! Black Flame is suppressing three veteran paragons all by himself! Could those three have regressed in strength? Impossible! The Titan Behemoth Martial Quadbeast summoned has Defensive rivaling Tier 5 Legendary monsters! A Legendary monsters full-powered attack isnt even enough to kill the Titan Behemoth in one hit, let alone reach Martial Quadbeast and take half of his HP away! Its not just Martial Quadbeast. Some time ago, Silent Saintesss 24-layer defensive barrier kept her safe from a Tier 5 expert trying to assassinate her for over a dozen seconds. Theres no way any of them has regressed in strength. The Darkness Transformation Glorious Mantra used just now is a Tier 4 Super Spell. When that Spell is active, even Legendary monsters will have difficulty damaging him. If that really is the case, isnt Black Flame a little too strong? We are talking about three paragons capable of ranking among the kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. Even Markless Blade will probably fall if he has to go up against all three of them simultaneously. The players spectating the broadcast engaged in a heated discussion when they saw the three veteran paragons getting heavily damaged. Some people have even analyzed exactly how powerful the Skills and Spells the three veteran paragons had used, and everyone realized just how frightening Shi Fengs strength was. Back on the battlefield, Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess looked at Shi Feng with shock and fear in their eyes. A Saint-ranked Mana Technique! Hes actually able to perfectly execute a Saint-level Mana Technique? After experiencing Shi Fengs attack, the trio instinctively thought of Saint-ranked Mana Techniques. Previously, the three of them had been standing quite far away when Shi Feng had killed Markless Blade with his three slashes, so they didnt realize exactly what kind of attack Shi Feng had used to kill Markless Blade. However, after experiencing the same attack, they understood why Markless Blade was killed by those three slashes. Saint-ranked Mana Techniques were incredibly rare, even in the Greater Gods Domain. Many ordinary hegemonic powers didnt even have one in their possession. The difficulty of learning Saint-ranked Mana Techniques was also incredibly high. However, so long as a player could achieve perfect mastery over a Saint-ranked Mana Technique, they could exhibit strength rivaling Gold Combat Techniques when used at Tier 6. Currently, although Shi Feng wasnt a Tier 6 player, he already had the standards of a Tier 5 player. The power he could exhibit with a perfected Saint-ranked Mana Technique would be very close to a Gold Combat Technique. So, even if Markless Blade was equipped with a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment, it wasnt a shame for him to lose to Shi Feng. In fact, his defeat was inevitable. This was because any player who had mastered a Gold Combat Technique could transcend tiers even without the help of a Legendary Weapon. They were existences who could stand at the Greater Gods Domains apex. Without a Legendary Weapon or Equipment of his own, how was Markless Blade supposed to stand up against Shi Feng? Retreat! Its impossible for the three of us to beat him! Martial Quadbeast said as he looked at Glorious Mantra and Silent Saintess. Immediately afterward, he took out a Tier 4 Instantaneous Movement Scroll, used it, and reappeared at a location several thousand yards away. He dared not stay near Shi Feng for even a moment longer. As for Glorious Mantra and Silent Saintess, they had similarly used their precious tools and vanished from Shi Fengs sight. Theyre gone, just like that? Midsummer was momentarily stunned when she saw the three veteran paragons disappearing. She couldnt believe that these usually lofty individuals would run away without even trying to put up a fight. As for the players spectating the broadcast, they gaped in shock at this scene. These were three Ten Great Paragon-level individuals they were talking about. Yet, these three veteran paragons had fled without trying to resist even in the slightest. This situation had never happened in the Ancient River Kingdom or the neighboring kingdoms. It should be known that Martial Quadbeast and the others had only passively defended themselves before. They had never truly worked together to attack Shi Feng. If they joined forces, they could absolutely exhibit incredible combat power. Yet, the three veteran paragons had fled in a panic after receiving only one slash each from Shi Feng Shi Feng, though, wasnt surprised by this outcome. On the contrary, he felt that the three veteran paragons reaction was only a matter of course. One would have difficulty perceiving Holy Annihilations power without experiencing it directly. Meanwhile, Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess were all paragons with a fountain of combat experience. So, after experiencing Holy Annihilation, it wouldnt be difficult for them to recognize it as a Saint-ranked Mana Technique. It was true that, unlike Gold Combat Techniques, Saint-ranked Mana Techniques couldnt show their full potential at lower tiers. Even so, any Tier 4 or Tier 5 player who had managed to fully master a Saint-ranked Mana Technique would still be invincible among players of the same tier. Combining this with the fact that the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition provided a significantly easier way to participate in the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition, it was only natural that Martial Quadbeast and the others refused to die so early into the Rookie Competitions official phase. Subsequently, news of Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess getting scared away quickly spread like wildfire. When the Ancient River Kingdoms various powers learned about this outcome, they promptly recorded him in the list of paragons who were based in the kingdom. At the same time, they began frantically looking into Shi Fengs identity and all other information related to him. Not only did Shi Feng defeat Markless Blade, but he also frightened three top-tier paragons into running away. It had already been several decades since any paragon in the Ancient River Kingdom had accomplished such a feat. Even Saint Three, a paragon the Twin Saints Alliance touted to be a once-in-a-century genius, did not have such a dazzling achievement. If they could win over such a paragon, it would be of great help to their development in the future. At the same time, in the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone, a two-man party finally defeated a wandering Tier 4 Heroic Spirit after fighting continuously for nearly half an hour. Then, this two-man party began to move as covertly as possible around the central zone, afraid of getting ambushed by other parties. Dammit! Why are there so many veteran paragons in the Rookie Competition this time? Lightning Chaser cursed under his breath, his face colored with anger as he looked at a three-man party walking away from his hiding spot. Every party weve met thus far has at least two or three paragons! How are we supposed to even kill any Heroic Spirits with those people wandering around?! It cant be helped. The Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition is a rare event that only occurs once every several decades. Nobody will want to miss such a big opportunity, Desolate Fury said, sighing. Among the remaining parties, Im afraid we are the weakest. Now, all we can do is move around covertly and figure out a way to kill as many Heroic Spirits as possible. Well only be asking to get eliminated if we make any bold moves. The weakest? When Lightning Chaser recalled how Shi Feng had become famous throughout the Ancient River Kingdom, he couldnt help but envy Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. Now that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had Shi Feng protecting them, the central zone was no different from their backyard. Even parties with three or four paragons would have to make way when they come across Shi Fengs party. Its pointless to start regretting now, Desolate Fury said. When he saw the flash of envy appearing in Lightning Chasers eyes, he could more or less guess what was going through the other partys mind. If you hadnt deliberately antagonized Black Flame, we might have been able to partner with him in the central zone. But nowdont even think about it. So what if hes strong? With Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao holding him back, he wont necessarily make it into the top 20, Lightning Chaser said, curling his lips. Moreover, now that hes offended Heavenly Boa, theres no way Heavenly Boa will let him off easily. Perhaps. Desolate Fury did not refute Lightning Chasers words. Instead, he bitterly smiled and said, But according to the latest information the Alliance sent me, the names of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons have already been changed, and coming in first is Black Flame Chapter 3254 - Chapter 328 - First Paragon? Chapter 328 C First Paragon? First? Lightning Chaser forgot to breathe when he heard Desolate Furys words. Impossible! The Ancient River Kingdom might have been in a weak state for many years already, but those capable of ranking among the top 10 of the kingdoms younger generation paragons were all extraordinary individuals. Even a peerless genius like Desolate Fury would be swiftly killed if he tried to fight any of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons in a one-on-one duel. More importantly, it had already been a long time since the Ancient River Kingdom had officially crowned the title of First Paragon to anyone. Even a paragon as powerful as Saint Three was only known as one of the Ancient River Kingdoms top three paragons. A specific ranking for the top three paragons did not exist in the Ancient River Kingdom. Yet, now, Shi Feng was given the title of First Paragon after only one battle. No matter how Lightning Chaser looked at it, this news must be a joke. It should be known that when a kingdom decided to crown a player as its First Paragon, it meant that this player possessed the highest combat power out of all Tier 4 players operating within the kingdom. This player would become an expert that even the kingdoms various hegemonic powers would have to treat respectfully. During kingdom wars, this player would also wield considerable authority and the right to select participants for the war. It was no exaggeration to say that a kingdoms First Paragon was an important individual who could decide the direction of the kingdoms development. Although Shi Feng had indeed slain Markless Blade and repelled three veteran paragons, his achievements should only be enough to get him recognized as one of the Ancient River Kingdoms top three paragons. It didnt make sense that he would be designated the position of First Paragon. Its a logical decision for the Ancient River Kingdom to regard him as its First Paragon. When Desolate Fury saw that Lightning Chaser refused to believe his words, he explained, According to the Alliances investigative report, Black Flame has perfect mastery over a Saint-ranked Mana Technique. This factor alone is more than enough to qualify him for the position of the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon. Lightning Chaser thoroughly fell silent when he heard the mention of a Saint-ranked Mana Technique. At this time, he even started to feel a little fearful. The achievement of perfectly mastering a Saint-ranked Mana Technique was far more frightening than becoming the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon. Even the various conglomerates would extend an olive branch to Shi Feng once they learned about this achievement. If the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon represented the peak of a kingdoms genius, the perfect mastery of a Saint-ranked Mana Technique represented the future birth of an apex powerhouse in Gods Domain. With such an achievement under Shi Fengs belt, even the Heavenly Boa Guild would come to fear him, let alone Saint Three. Suddenly, Lightning Chasers face twisted with expressions of regret and madness. Why? Why did things turn out like this? Even though Lightning Chaser had already become an official successor of the Extreme Eagle Corporation, he still wasnt certain whether he could become first in the line of succession in the future. So, it was crucial for him to form as many connections with powerful experts as possible. Yet, now, he had actually cast aside the opportunity to get acquainted with a future apex powerhouse While Lightning Chaser was mired in regret, Shi Feng, Midsummer, and Wu Xiaoxiao finished killing off two Tier 4 Heroic Spirits in a small forest and stopped in front of a six-meter-tall stele. The two of you are Elementalists, so the Mana Technique recorded on this stele suits you perfectly. WIth our current damage output, itll be tough for us to collect enough Heroic Spirit Remnants in three days. It just so happens that weve collected six Heroic Spirit Remnants, so you two can use them to learn the Mana Technique on this stele. So long as you can learn the Mana Technique, our party will have a much easier time moving forward, Shi Feng said as he pointed at the dilapidated stele in front of him. A Mana Technique that suits us? Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt help but look at the dilapidated stele before them strangely and worriedly. If it was a Mana Technique suitable for magical class experts, it was most likely one that could provide a huge boost in combat power. However, the ancient stele before them was clearly much more damaged than any other stele they had come across. In the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone, the more dilapidated a stele was, the more difficult it would be to learn the Mana Technique recorded on it. Meanwhile, as long as they failed to learn the Mana Technique within a specified time, they would automatically forget what theyve learned, wasting precious time they could have spent collecting Heroic Spirit Remnants. Dont worry. The Mana Technique recorded on this stele isnt particularly complex. Its only a God-ranked Mana Technique. With your mastery over mana, you two should have no trouble learning it within the alotted time, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the worry on Midsummers and Wu Xiaoxiaos faces. Moreover, I have some matters I need to deal with offline. Since you two arent going to log out, you might as well use this time to learn the Mana Technique here. Its only a God-ranked Mana Technique? Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao felt relieved when they heard Shi Fengs words. Immediately, they took out the Heroic Spirit Remnants they had collected and contributed them to the dilapidated stele. Many of the Mana Techniques recorded in the central zones ancient steles were Saint-ranked Mana Techniques, and it was nigh-impossible for players to learn them within the allotted time. However, it was a different story for God-ranked Mana Techniques. It was entirely possible for players to learn a God-ranked Mana Technique within the allotted time. In fact, one of the main reasons many geniuses sought to enter the Rookie Competitions top 100 was so that they could learn a God-ranked Mana Technique. When Shi Feng saw the two girls starting their learning process, he called up his system interface and chose to log out of the game. There were no Heroic Spirits in the area. By now, everyone also knew that he and his party were active around these parts. So, hardly any parties were willing to come close to this area, and the two could study with ease. As for the Mana Technique the two were learning, there was something he had neglected to tell them. It was true that the Mana Technique recorded on dilapidated stele was only at the God rank. However, it wasnt just any ordinary God-ranked Mana Technique. Instead, it was the Mana Cohesion Method created by the God of Four Elements, one of the Twelve Great Gods in Gods Domain. So long as Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao could learn the Mana Cohesion Method, they could elevate the density of their mana to a whole new level. They could condense gaseous mana into liquid mana and liquid mana into solid mana. They could even use Seven Luminaries Crystals to amplify their Spells, strengthening the power of an ordinary Spell to the level of a Super Spell of the same tier. Because of the Mana Cohesion Methods incredible effects, it was also one of the most complicated God-ranked Mana Techniques to learn. During Shi Fengs previous life, a Tier 4 expert over 100 years of age had learned the Mana Cohesion Method. With the Mana Techniques assistance, he had become a dangerous individual known throughout the Starlight Realm. Sometime later, he had even joined the apex power Demons Gate. Honestly, Shi Feng was mostly trying his luck by getting Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao to learn the Mana Cohesion Method. He didnt have high hopes for them to succeed. As for why he chose to take such a gamble, it was because he truly had matters he needed to tend to in the real world. Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul would be arriving in the Greater World today, so he needed to get their living arrangements sorted out. Hence, he decided he might as well have Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao try to improve their strength as much as possible. If they succeeded in learning the Mana Cohesion Method, they would have a much easier time killing Heroic Spirits and collecting Heroic Spirit Remnants afterward. Greater World, Star Lake City, Gods Domain Association: Inside a crowded advanced training room, Thousand Scars walked out of a test room after conducting numerous rounds of reaction training, an exhausted look on her face. However, when she saw the results of her final training round, the corners of her lips curled upward. Mental Grade: Three-star Mental Strength Master; Age: 19; Overall Evaluation: S. Chapter 3255 - Chapter 329 - Star Lake Shaken Chapter 3255 Chapter 329 C Star Lake Shaken Great! I should get into the selections top 10 now! When Thousand Scars looked at the result displayed outside the test room, she balled up her hands in excitement. She was so excited that even the other youths training in the same advanced training room could feel her excitement. Incredible! A three-star mental strength master at less than 20 years old! Only two other people had such a result in the selection this time, right? Mhm. They are in third and sixth place, respectively. However, even though those two are the same age as Xue Qianhen, they are both successors of powerful families in Star Lake City. Theyve been cultivated using tons of resources from childhood and have already become two-star mental strength masters by 17. It then took them another two years to become three-star mental strength masters. Their starting lines are completely different from Xue Qianhen. Strictly speaking, they are far less talented than Xue Qianhen. The youths in the training room were surprised when they saw Thousand Scars training results. Thousand Scars achievement of becoming a three-star mental strength master before 20 was enough to put her in the top 10 of the Star Lake Legions selection. Unlike those who only managed to get into the top 100, she was a genius who could attract the attention of the Star Lake Legions commander and vice commanders. Under normal circumstances, rookie participants assigned to the Star Lake Legions ace battle groups would have completely different career paths than participants assigned to other top 100 rookie participants. Joining an ace battle group meant having more opportunities to participate in city competitions. Not only could members of ace battle groups receive sponsorship from the various corporations, but they could also acquire City Contribution Points that could be used to exchange for all sorts of tools and resources in the Greater Gods Domain. So long as one had enough City Contribution Points, one could even exchange for Legendary Weapons and Equipment in the Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, Thousand Scars differed from the other geniuses in the Greater Gods Domain. Despite growing up without the help of the Greater Worlds precious resources, she became a three-star mental strength master at the age of 19. It had already been over a decade since Star Lake City had seen the appearance of such a talented genius. Meanwhile, the last person to have shown such talent was the Star Lake Legions current commander. Red Frost! A madwoman known by all powers on the Starlight Continent! The next step will be to challenge Shi Feng! Thousand Scars thought to herself before taking a deep breath. Then, just as she was about to proceed with another training session, a message notification suddenly popped up on her watch. Upon reading the message, Thousand Scars smiled and said, Big Sis Omen and the others are finally here. After saying so, Thousand Scars grabbed the jacket she had set aside and walked out of the training room, causing many horny young men in the room to sigh in disappointment. Gods Domain Association, first-floor lobby: Although it was still early morning in Star Lake City, the lobby was already crowded with people waiting to take the Star Lake Legions selection test. Aside from those who had already taken the test multiple times, there were also many people who were taking the test for the first time. Among the latter group, they consisted of residents originating from the Greater Worlds various towns and cities and newcomers to the Greater World. Amazing! So, this is a city in the Greater World? Mental strength masters are incredibly rare in our world. Yet, they can be seen everywhere here. I dont think these people are anything special. Our world is dreadfully lacking in cultivation resources for mental strength, a stark contrast to this world. Here, you can get items brimming with mysterious energy like Soul Drops everywhere. I wont say I can get into this so-called selection tests top 10, but if I can get my hands on such resources, I bet you I can get into the top 100 easily. Currently, a group of young men and women around the age of 22 and 23 stood at the end of the long line of people waiting to take the selection test. Some of these youths wore looks of amazement, while some wore looks of contempt. However, without exception, every one of these youths was filled with feelings of excitement and anticipation. In ordinary worlds, a person could already be regarded as a genius favored by heaven if they could become a mental strength master within their lifetime. As for becoming a mental strength grandmaster, that was an achievement not even geniuses favored by heaven dared to dream of accomplishing. However, in the Greater World, accomplishing such an achievement wasnt out of the question. Although these youths didnt speak very loudly, almost everyone in the lobby was a mental strength master, so they had no trouble hearing what these youths were saying. Yet, none of these mental strength masters laughed at these youths. On the contrary, when these mental strength masters saw the blue lightning emblem these youths wore, they promptly kept their mouths shut and minded their own business. Inhabitants of the Blue Flash World, is it? Breeze Wine, who wore the employee uniform of the Green God Corporation, muttered, a flash of envy appeared in his eyes as he looked at the youths. Are those people incredible, Commander Breeze? a woman with ethereal beauty standing next to Breeze Wine asked as she looked ahead at the group of youths standing at the back of the line. They do look extraordinary. Every one of them is a two-star mental strength master even though they are still in their early twenties, a cold and elegant woman standing next to the ethereal beauty said in a rueful tone. Even I am only at this standard right now. Comparisons truly are odious. These two women spoke in whispers, so the people around them did not hear what they said. Even so, many of the young men present couldnt help but turn to look at the two, their faces looking as if they had just had their souls lured out of their bodies. Although almost every woman in the Greater World was a beauty due to the high fitness standards here, these two women still stood out a lot. Whether it was their appearance, body, or temperament, they were vastly superior to the average woman in the Greater World. They could absolutely rank among Star Lake Citys top beauties. Meanwhile, these two beauties were none other than Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul. The Blue Flash isnt an ordinary world, Breeze Wine said as he turned to Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul. Then, with a wry smile, he continued, Instead, it is one of the few powerful worlds that have managed to elevate their Gods Domain into a Higher Gods Domain. As a result, even though the Blue Flash Worlds collapse is already nearing, the worlds residents have the privilege of gaining citizenship in any third-tier city on this continent. They can also challenge the selection tests of any third-rate city for free. Moreover, many of the Blue Flash Worlds geniuses can be found in the city legions of third-, second-, and even first-tier cities. Some of these geniuses are even bigshots who occupy high positions in their respective legions. Most importantly, the Blue Flash World has produced several peerless individuals who have gone beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters. Simply put, the Blue Flash World is one of the top-ranking civilizations on the Starlight Continent, and it is far superior to our civilization. Hmph. Theyre only a bunch of people who got to enter the Greater World earlier than us, a woman who closely rivaled Hidden Soul in appearances said, a hint of disdain appearing in her eyes as she looked at the youths from the Blue Flash World. Upon hearing the third womans words, Breeze Wine simply chuckled and kept quiet. Death Omen was one of the few Tier 6 experts in their homeworld, so she had incredible potential. Now, because of Thousand Scars recommendation, Death Omen had already gotten into the Paimon Conglomerates observation list. So long as Death Omen could become a titled expert within a specified time, she could become an outer member of the conglomerate. In terms of future potential, Death Omen was vastly superior to Zero Wings Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul. Shortly after Death Omen finished speaking, a lithe figure suddenly stepped out of an elevator and entered the lobby. As soon as this person appeared, she immediately attracted the attention and discussion of many people in the lobby. Xue Qianhen! Xue Qianhen is actually here! Is she here to take the test again? So soon? I wonder how many places she can rise this time? Wait, no. It looks like shes here to welcome a newcomer. When the surrounding crowd saw Thousand Scars approaching and talking to Death Omen with an intimate smile on her face, everyone couldnt help but wonder about Death Omens identity. The young masters of some corporations even took the initiative to give their spots in line for the two. While Death Omen and Thousand Scars were making their way to the front of the line, Death Omen suddenly turned back to look at Hidden Soul with a smirk on her face. You two should join the line as well, Breeze Wine said to Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul with a wry smile when he saw Thousand Scars and Death Omen walking away. Although it will take some time, you two should be able to get your test done and your accommodations arranged by sunset today. Despite Breeze Wines words, everyone brought here by the Green God Corporation knew there were limited rooms in the Gods Domain Association. So, the sooner they could take the test, the easier they could find a good room to rest in. If they took the test too late, even if they qualified for a good room, they could only settle for a lower-quality room if the better ones were at full occupancy. However, Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and the others had no choice but to wait in line. After all, the only reason the people waiting in line had let Hidden Soul skip ahead of them was because of Thousand Scars. While Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and the others were waiting to take their test, another commotion occurred in the lobby. This time, whether it was the people waiting to take their test or the people resting in the lobby, everyone turned to look at the same location. TL Notes: Fyi, I have no idea if the Soul Drop mentioned in this chapter is the same thing as the Soul Potion mentioned in Chapter 315. Chapter 3256 - Chapter 330 - Black Flame! Chapter 3256 Chapter 330 C Black Flame! TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 329: Original: Currently, a group of young men and women around the age of 22 and 23 stood at the end of the long line of people waiting to take the selection test. Changed to: Currently, a group of young men and women around the age of 22 and 23 stood at the front of the long line of people waiting to take the selection test. Gods Domain Association, first-floor elevator lobby: A man in his early thirties walked out of the elevator lobby and into the main lobby. The man wore a simple tracksuit that gave him an unremarkable appearance. Yet, despite the mans inconspicuous appearance, whether it was young corporation successors or the Gods Domain Association staff members present, they all couldnt help but look at the man with a hint of envy. Some powerful individuals had even taken the initiative to make way for this inconspicuous man. Who is that guy? Isnt he only a two-star mental strength master? So, why are those one-star mental strength grandmasters making way for him? Could he be a conglomerates young master? That cant be, right? Why would a conglomerates successor come to a shabby place like Star Lake City? Indeed. I heard that some of those young masters find the environment of even second-tier cities unbearable. Theres no way any of them would come to a third-tier city. The young men and women from the Blue Flash World couldnt help but grow confused as they looked at the inconspicuous tracksuit-wearing man. The Greater World was a place that took the expression dog-eat-dog world to a much greater extent. Meanwhile, the disparity in status between mental strength masters and grandmasters was massive in the Greater World. If a mental strength master dared to provoke a mental strength grandmaster without a sufficiently good reason, the citys authorities would banish the former without hesitation. This difference in status was even more noticeable in the Gods Domain Association. For starters, some sections in the Gods Domain Association Building were only open to mental strength grandmasters. Then, mental strength grandmasters also had priority access to the Associations lodgings, training rooms, and exchangeable resources. The priority access to lodgings was an especially noticeable difference. Normally, people who had concluded their newcomer period in the Gods Domain Association would look to rent the rooms on the Association Buildings lower floors since they were the cheapest rooms available. However, because of the privilege afforded to mental strength grandmasters, all of the rooms on the lower floors were snatched up by various mental strength grandmasters. As a result, anyone looking to rent these cheap rooms would have to do so through the various mental strength grandmasters. Otherwise, theyd have to find a place to rent outside the Gods Domain Association. However, even though the rent the various mental strength grandmasters charged was three times more expensive than what the Association charged, exceeding even the average cost of renting a house in the city, there was no shortage of mental strength masters trying to rent these rooms. This was because of the city contribution quests the Gods Domain Association published every day. In the Greater Worlds various cities, anyone who hadnt reached the standard of mental strength grandmasters would have difficulty earning city contribution points. Meanwhile, should a person fail to collect a sufficient amount of contribution points at the end of each month, theyd be kicked out of the city they were in, regardless of whether this person was a mental strength master or a mental strength grandmaster. To help those who werent mental strength grandmasters, the Gods Domain Association would publish quests to its non-mental strength grandmaster members, allowing them to quickly accumulate contribution points. However, as there were only a limited number of quests published each day, those living in the Gods Domain Association would have an advantage over those living outside the Association. As such, apart from mental strength masters with powerful backgrounds, every other mental strength master living in the various cities would instinctively behave respectfully around mental strength grandmasters. While Blue Flashs youths were feeling confused, the old man, who wore the emblem of a one-star grandmaster and was responsible for leading the youths, turned to look at them. Then, in a low voice, he warned them, You youngsters, listen carefully. In addition to the citys corporations and powerful families, that man is one of the people you absolutely cannot provoke. Cannot provoke? Does he have a powerful background? a beautiful girl with a lively appearance curiously asked. Yes and no, the old man answered. Then, he returned his gaze to the inconspicuous man and continued, He is currently in first place of the city legions selection, but that achievement alone isnt enough to get grandmasters to show him respect. Those grandmasters fear him because of the person backing him. The person backing him? Is that person amazing? the lively girl asked, looking even more confused. That person is currently the Ancient River Kingdoms publicly acknowledged First Paragon, Black Flame, the Asura Sword Emperor! When the old man spoke up to this point, a hint of yearning appeared in his eyes. He is also a frightening expert who has defeated Markless Blade, one of the Star Lake Legions vice commanders! The Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon?! When the lively girl heard this, a hint of fascination appeared in the gaze she used to look at the inconspicuous man. If a player could get recognized as a kingdoms First Paragon, it meant that this player was the strongest out of all Tier 4 experts in the kingdom. Normally, such Tier 4 paragons were the target of recruitment for the Greater Worlds various city legions. This was because experts of such caliber could play a vital role in Tier 4 City Competitions. Some city legions would even go as far as to offer a vice commander position to recruit these paragons. Not only would these paragons be given an ace battle group to lead, but they would also get to command all Tier 4 battle groups in the legion. They would essentially become the First Vice Commander for Tier 4 battle groups. If the inconspicuous man possessed the backing of such an expert, it made sense for members of Star Lake Citys upper echelon to show him some respect. A moment later, the inconspicuous man could be seen stopping in front of Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow. Guild Leader? At this time, Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow couldnt help but feel stunned as they looked at the inconspicuous man before them. Although they knew that Shi Feng could make incredible achievements in the Greater World with how strong he was, they didnt think his achievements would be this amazing. Not just mental strength grandmasters, but even the various corporations young masters and Blue Flashs inhabitants feared him. This was simply unbelievable. This scene dumbfounded even Thousand Scars and Death Omen. Black Flame? Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon? Thousand Scars and Death Omen werent ignorant about the meaning behind the title of a kingdoms First Paragon. On the contrary, they were well aware of what the title represented. If Black Flame had truly become the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon, the Star Lake Legion would definitely try to recruit him. In that case, nobody in Star Lake City would dare to casually offend Shi Feng and Zero Wings other members. Sorry for the long wait, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow. Ill take you to look around once you two are done with your test. I believe you two should be able to quickly become official participants of the Star Lake Legion. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the surrounding crowd was immediately shocked. Those two beauties are also Zero Wings members? Crap! Is Zero Wing planning to develop in Star Lake City? This is big news! Seeing how amicably Shi Feng is behaving around them, those two must occupy high positions in Zero Wing. No, no, no. Dont you see how respectful Shi Feng is behaving? My guess is that those two beauties share a close connection with Black Flame, possibly closer than even Shi Feng. Otherwise, why would Shi Feng, the Acting Guild Leader of Zero Wing, personally come to welcome them? The people in the lobby started making all sorts of wild guesses when they saw the friendly interaction between Shi Feng, Hidden Soul, and Gentle Snow. They all felt that Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow possessed extraordinary identities, and they started thinking about befriending the two women. While everyone was discussing Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow, a lively girl and an indifferent young man from the group of youths from Blue Flash approached Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow, taking the initiative to offer the two women their places in line. Upon seeing this scene, many youths couldnt help but reprimand themselves for reacting so slowly and throwing away such a good opportunity to befriend Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow. In the meantime, Death Omen, waiting in line some distance behind the Blue Flash Worlds group, wore an ashen look on her face as she watched Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow walk past her position Chapter 3257 - Chapter 331 – Even if You Think You Are the Best, There Is Always Someone Better Chapter 3257 Chapter 331 C Even if You Think You Are the Best, There Is Always Someone Better Gods Domain Association, first-floor lobby: Hidden Soul was the first to enter the test hall. As soon as she disappeared into the mental space, everyone in the lobby turned to look at the scoreboard, curious to learn what the two beauties, who supposedly shared a close relationship with Black Flame, were capable of. Dont you think its a little rash to give up our spots, Pace Angel? What if those two big sisters fail to even get into the top 1,000? If thats the case, wed have given up our spots for nothing, the indifferent young man from the Blue Flash World said, a hint of worry appearing in his eyes as he watched Hidden Soul disappearing into the test hall. Several hundred inhabitants from Blue Flash had entered Star Lake City this time. Although he and the lively girl going by the name of Pace Angel ranked among the top five and were confident they could get into the top 1,000 of the Star Lake Legions selection, they were not at all confident they could get into the top 100. Unlike the children of powerful individuals and families from Blue Flash, the two of them didnt have any powers to rely on in the Greater World. They also didnt have a treasure trove of resources waiting for them in the Greater World. The only opportunity they had right now was the Gods Domain Associations newcomer benefits. If they made proper use of these newcomer benefits, they could achieve rapid growth within a short time. Meanwhile, the first step for them to achieve rapid growth was to secure a good room in the Gods Domain Association Building. The lodgings available on the Association Buildings 400th floor and above could be deemed mainstream lodgings for mental strength masters, so their priority was undoubtedly to secure a room on the 400th floor or higher. Otherwise, theyd have to settle for the vastly inferior lodgings found below the 400th floor. However, lodgings on the Gods Domain Association Buildings 400th floor and above were very limited and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. This meant that the sooner they took their selection test, the better. Yet, now, they had given up their places to Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow to curry favor with them. It should be known that Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow were only two-star mental strength masters. Many youths participating in the selection were two-star mental strength masters, so Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow were nothing special. Not to mention, neither of the two women looked like they were teenagers. At their age, even a three-star mental strength master wouldnt necessarily be able to rank within the top 1,000. After all, the selection was already nearing its end, so competition was incredibly intense. Anyone who could remain within the top 1,000 at this time was an extraordinary individual. You should know that you and I have nobody to rely on in Star Lake City, Clay Blade. We might have talent, but unless we can get our hands on the same resources as the Greater Worlds geniuses enjoy, I highly doubt we can accomplish anything even if we do get into the Star Lake Legion the lively girl named Pace Angel said, sighing. Getting acquainted with those two big sisters is the only solution I can think of for now. So long as those two big sisters join the Star Lake Legion, theyll definitely receive priority from the legion. Im sure you dont need me to tell you how small the chances are for an official participant to get selected for a City Competition, right? There are only a few City Competitions each year, and wed be fortunate if we could get selected for one once every few years. Rather than settle for such a mediocre fate, we might as well take a risk. Lets hope youre right the indifferent youth named Clay Blade said, inwardly praying as he looked at the test halls door. While Pace Angel and Clay Blade were talking quietly, an elegant young man with long hair quietly observed the ongoings in the lobby from a VIP dining area on the second floor. Meanwhile, this elegant young man was none other than Chen Qitian, one of the Dawn Light Corporations heirs. He was also currently ranked 19th in the selection. Old Tan has refused our offer now that Shi Feng has Black Flame as his backing, Young Master, a middle-aged man wearing a butlers uniform said respectfully after approaching Chen Qitian. In addition to being a butler, the middle-aged man was also a one-star mental strength grandmaster. Hes afraid of Black Flame? Chen Qitian smirked as he swirled the glass of red wine in his hand. Old Tan has really grown old. If hes so shortsighted, no wonder he cant ever break into the three-star grandmaster standard. So what if Shi Feng has Black Flame backing him? Now that my elder brother has already obtained that item, he is almost certain to pass the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition and become one of the conglomerates silver members. At that time, Black Flame will be nothing more than a joke! Upon hearing Chen Qitians words, the four one-star mental strength grandmasters working as Chen Qitians bodyguards immediately started taking their jobs more seriously. The position of the Star Lake Legions vice commander might hold significant importance in Star Lake City, but it was insignificant compared to the Galaxy Conglomerates silver membership. If Chen Qilin became a silver member of the Galaxy Conglomerate, even the Star Lake Legions commander would have to treat him courteously. While Chen Qitian was talking to his butler, the scoreboard in the lobby suddenly showed a new result. Immediately, the lobby fell silent as everyone looked at this result in shock and confusion. Death Omen, in particular, gaped in shock when she saw this result, her mind falling into disarray. How is this possible?! Death Omen dared not believe her eyes. Mental Grade: Three-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 96; Mental Strength Rating: S; Mental Control Rating: A Overall Ranking: 35 In addition to Death Omen, Thousand Scars was similarly stunned by this outcome. Thousand Scars knew about the relationship and feud between Death Omen and Hidden Soul. She also knew that when it came to combat talent, Death Omen was above Hidden Soul. However, in Thousand Scars opinion, even though Death Omen possessed extraordinary talent, it should still be difficult for her to get into the selections top 100. It was especially so when there was so little time left until the selection ended. So, what was up with Hidden Souls results? Setting aside how Hidden Souls mental strength standard had suddenly gone from that of a two-star master to a three-star master, how in the world did she receive a Potential Rating of 96 and a Mental Strength Rating of S? Could there be an error in the system? Thousand Scars instinctively thought. It should be known that apart from Shi Feng, no other newcomer had managed to get into the selections top 100 on their first test. Moreover, the rank Hidden Soul received on her first test was significantly higher than Shi Fengs. No matter how Thousand Scars looked at this, something must have gone wrong with the test halls system. After all, Hidden Soul was someone who couldnt even get promoted to Tier 6. How could she possibly get into the selections top 100 on her first test, much less the top 50? However, contrary to Thousand Scars expectations, the examiner did not deny the validity of Hidden Souls test results. The only thing the examiner did was to announce that Hidden Soul had gained the privilege of staying in a room on the 498th floor. Out of everyone in the lobby, the only person unfazed by Hidden Souls results was Shi Feng. Shi Feng knew that it was only natural for Hidden Soul to achieve such results. The current Hidden Soul was no longer the same person she was before. Not only had she learned the Saint-rank Mana Technique Holy Annihilation, but she had also spent considerable time training on the Primordial Towers second floor throughout this period. Ones ability to manipulate mana was directly related to ones Concentration standard, also known as mental strength. So, thanks to all the mana manipulation training she did, her mental strength also received significant improvements. Not to mention, Shi Feng had also secretly given Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow hints regarding the Gods Domain Associations mental space. Combining all these factors with the fact that Hidden Soul had taken her first test with a much stronger mental strength standard than Shi Feng did for his first test, it was completely understandable for Hidden Soul to achieve such test results. Time quickly passed while everyone was busy discussing Hidden Souls astonishing performance. By the time everyone had recovered from their shock, Gentle Snow, who had gone into the test hall after Hidden Soul left it, slowly walked out of the test hall. Mental Grade: Two-Star Mental Strength Master; Potential Rating: 98; Mental Strength Rating: A; Mental Control Rating: S Overall Ranking: 10! TL Notes: [1]Pace Angel() and Clay Blade(): Im not sure if these are their real names or character names, so I decided to translate them under the assumption that they are character names. Theyre also easier to memorize. Personally, Ive never heard of anyone using and for real Chinese names. Chapter 3258 - Chapter 332 - Going Beyond the Apex Chapter 332 C Going Beyond the Apex TL Notes: Made a change to the end of Chapter 331: Original: Time quickly passed while everyone was busy discussing Hidden Souls astonishing performance. By the time everyone had recovered from their shock, Gentle Snow, who had gone into the test hall after Hidden Soul left it, slowly walked out of the test hall. Changed: While everyone was busy discussing Hidden Souls astonishing performance, Gentle Snow, who had gone into the test hall after Hidden Soul, slowly walked out of the test hall. Tenth? She came in 10th place on her first test? Heavens! What did I just see?! A paragon! No, a monster! Shes an absolute monster! When everyone in the lobby saw Gentle Snows results on the scoreboard, they reacted as if they had just seen Armageddon. Everyone was absolutely horrified by Gentle Snows results. When Hidden Soul achieved a rank of 35 on her first test previously, everyone could still more or less accept it. After all, the precedent with Shi Feng had already raised everyones tolerance by a significant margin. However, Gentle Snows test results were a completely different story. If anyone who had spent some time living in the Greater World wasnt horrified by these results, there must be something wrong with their mind. That big sister got into the top 10 on her first test? Pace Angels eyes sparkled when she saw Gentle Snows results. Then, she looked to the dazed youth next to her and asked, Clay, do you know when was the last time a newcomer came in 10th place on their first test in Star Lake City? This I dont know Clay Blade shook his head in a daze. As one of the few powerful worlds that had managed to develop its Gods Domain into a Higher Gods Domain, the Blue Flash World possessed a rather comprehensive database of information regarding the Starlight Continents various cities. Before their group of geniuses was dispatched to Star Lake City, they were already given detailed information Blue Flash had collected on Star Lake City. Included among this information was a list of geniuses who had managed to get into the top 100 of the Star Lake Legions selections held in the past 100 years. However, if Clay Blade recalled correctly, no newcomer had managed to get within the Star Lake Legions selections top 10 on their first test in the past 100 years. In fact, nobody had even managed to get into the top 20 on their first test Its normal for you youngsters not to know about this, the old man responsible for leading the Blue Flash Worlds young geniuses said after approaching Pace Angel and Clay Blade. In the 200 years I have spent working as a guide in Star Lake City, I have never seen the appearance of such a monster before Even after the old man finished speaking, none of the members of Star Lake Citys local powers spoke up to refute him. It was evident that these people agreed with what the old man said. Elder Kong, has such a monster ever appeared in our Star Lake City? Chen Qitian asked as he stood up from his seat and looked downstairs at Gentle Snow. According to the Dawn Light Corporations database, no such monster has ever appeared in Star Lake Citys history, the butler, referred to by Chen Qitian as Elder Kong, said with a serious expression. Not even the several neighboring cities have recorded the appearance of such a monster before So, there arent any precedents? Chen Qitian got goosebumps when he heard Elder Kongs answer. Her! I must have her! The Dawn Light Corporation was a local corporation in Star Lake City. The corporation had a very long history, and the information it had collected on Star Lake City was far more comprehensive than what the Blue Flash World possessed. So, it was unimaginable for the Dawn Light Corporation to come across an expert of unprecedented caliber. If Gentle Snow truly was such a monster, the so-called challenge of becoming a three-star mental strength grandmaster would be nothing but a joke for her. Gentle Snow could absolutely go beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters. Moreover, she wouldnt just be a run-of-the-mill existence in that realm. She was talented enough to stand out, even beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters. It should be known that three-star mental strength grandmasters were existences qualified to create a corporation and pioneer a city in the Greater World. Because of this, every corporation would treat three-star mental strength grandmasters respectfully. They would also do their best to pander to individuals who had either become or had the potential of becoming a three-star mental strength grandmaster. However, when dealing with monsters who could go beyond the realm of grandmasters, the reaction the various corporations would have wouldnt be limited to just awe and respect. Instead, they would go crazy! While three-star mental strength grandmasters had the qualifications to start a corporation, they werent at a level where they could single-handedly change a corporations fate, especially not a corporation with an established history. However, it was a different story for individuals who had gone beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters. These were existences qualified to rule a significant portion of the Starlight Continent. At the same time, they were also a necessary foundation for corporations to get elevated into conglomerates. Conglomerates! These were existences standing at the apex of the Greater Worlds various continents. The authority of conglomerates was so great that corporations wouldnt even dare to offend the ordinary members of conglomerates. They would even try to pander to these ordinary members. Conglomerates were akin to emperors in the Greater World, and the only existences that could contend against a conglomerate were other conglomerates. How many powers in the Greater World could possibly refuse the temptation of such great power? At this time, Chen Qitian wasnt the only person to have thoughts about obtaining Gentle Snow. Almost every young master originating from Star Lake Citys local corporations and powerful families shared similar thoughts. Gentle Snow? Who on earth is she? When Thousand Scars looked at Gentle Snow now, her confidence diminished drastically. She felt like a chicken who had just met a phoenix. She dared not look at the other party directly. A three-star mental strength master at 19 years old? An internal member of the Paimon Conglomerate at 19 years old? These achievements were worthless compared to the results Gentle Snow had just displayed. With her test results, Gentle Snow could make even the Galaxy Conglomerate extend an olive branch to her without hesitation. The conglomerate would even designate her as a core member and nurture her with the intent of developing her into a core executive in the future. While everyone was staring at Gentle Snow, Shi Feng couldnt help but reveal a bitter smile. You two really know how to find trouble for me, Shi Feng said, holding his head as he looked at Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow. Shi Feng had long since known that Gentle Snow possessed extraordinary talent. After all, she was one of Zero Wings Five Great Experts during his previous life. She was also an existence capable of fighting against Demons Gates Nine Great Experts. In fact, when they competed purely in combat techniques in the past, Shi Feng wasnt even a match for Gentle Snow However, what Shi Feng did not expect was for Gentle Snow to reach such a level in this life after only receiving the assistance of the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique and the Primordial Towers second floor. This outcome was completely outside of his expectations. Isnt that because we wanted to make you proud, Guild Leader? Hidden Soul said, a faint smile forming on her face when she saw Shi Fengs troubled expression. As for Gentle Snow, she revealed an apologetic smile, understanding that she had gone a little overboard in her test. Whatever. You two arent my only problems, Shi Feng said, sighing. Then, he scanned the crowd in the lobby with his eyes before nonchalantly saying, Let them come if they want. Ill just take care of all of them together! After saying so, Shi Feng guided Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow to their assigned lodgings. He also gave them a detailed introduction to the Greater World and the Gods Domain Associations many benefits. As for the various powers, they could only watch as Shi Fengs group of three disappeared into an elevator, nobody daring to make any reckless moves. The Gods Domain Association prohibited people from fighting on its premises. This was an ironclad rule that the Association strictly enforced, and not even conglomerates dared to break this rule. Otherwise, theyd be making an enemy out of the entire Gods Domain Association. However, at the same time as Shi Fengs group left the lobby, news of Gentle Snow getting into the top 10 of the Star Lake Legions selection on her first test quickly spread across Star Lake City, the news sending shockwaves throughout the city. Chapter 3259 - Chapter 333 - Divine Twilight Set Chapter 3259 Chapter 333 C Divine Twilight Set Star Lake City, Star Lake Training Center: As the only training grounds for the Star Lake Legion, the Star Lake Training Center occupied a radius of one kilometer and was hundreds of meters tall. It could easily be regarded as one of the most majestic buildings in Star Lake City. On a normal day, thered be well over 50,000 people present in the training center. Apart from the Star Lake Legions participants, many powers from Star Lake City and nearby towns would send their youths here to receive training. Although non-participants would have to pay a hefty price to train here, youths who came here would benefit from receiving the Star Lake Legions basic training from a young age. That way, theyd have a much greater chance of entering the Star Lake Legion once they reached a suitable age. Currently, inside one of the simulation training rooms located on the training centers top floor, the Star Lake Legions Vice Commander Markless Blade was sparring with a woman. The woman in question wielded a spear, and her presence could be felt from every corner of the room as if she was the absolute ruler of this room. Shortly after the spar began, the woman executed a flurry of strikes against Markless Blade, every one of her movements carrying frightening power. Markless Blade was utterly powerless to resist this flurry of attacks, getting knocked out of the fighting ring in the blink of an eye. How is it? How do I compare with Black Flame? the woman eagerly asked as she looked at Markless Blade. Markless Blade did not offer a response right away. Instead, he struggled for a moment to stand up and catch his breath. Then, looking at the woman in the fighting ring with a hint of fear in his eyes, Markless Blade said, Can you stop getting me to be your sparring partner, Commander? If Black Flame has your standards, theres no way I could have lasted so long against him. How unfortunate. I thought he could have entertained me a little, but I guess he is still a little ways off, Red Frost said as she turned off the rooms simulation function. Immediately, her weapon and equipment disappeared, leaving only a pair of pajamas. But according to the information you provided, Black Flame should be nearing the fifth-floor standard already. With such strength, Leroja and that First Paragon are the only ones among your Heavenly Boas Seven Great Paragons who can fight him. Is he that strong? Markless Blade asked in a dubious tone. Although he had lost to Black Flame, that was only because of Black Flames sudden burst of power catching him off guard. Had he been prepared for the three slashes Black Flame had used to kill him, he was confident he could survive those attacks. You are underestimating that sudden burst of power too much, Red Frost said, looking at Markless Blade as if she was looking at an idiot. Without a sufficiently high Concentration standard and absolute control toward mana, there is no way he could have executed three Saint-ranked Mana Techniques simultaneously. You would have long since lost if the two of you had the same Basic Attributes. After thinking it over, Markless Blade had to agree with Red Frost. The bonuses provided by Tier 5 Magic Equipment were far superior to any bonuses a Dark-Gold Immortal Set could offer. Had Black Flame been equipped with a piece of Tier 5 Magic Equipment as well, the outcome of their fight would have certainly been much more decisive. Its a pity that this is the end of the line for him, Markless Blade suddenly said in a lamenting tone. The Guild has already decided to get rid of him for good. Big Sis Blood Arrow will definitely be making a move. Black Flame stands no chance against Big Sis Blood Arrow and her Divine Twilight Set. Divine Twilight? Red Frost was a little surprised when she heard Markless Blades words. How generous of Heavenly Boa. Are you not afraid some Tier 6 expert might fall for the temptation and try to snatch it? The Divine Twilight Set was a four-piece Fragmented Legendary Set that was a replica of the Legendary-ranked Divine Sun Set. This replica was the Heavenly Boa Guilds greatest achievement. However, even after expending numerous Legendary-ranked materials and Inferior Divine Artifact-ranked materials, Heavenly Boa had only produced three Divine Twilight Sets. Of these three sets, two were currently equipped by two Tier 6 powerhouses known by all in the Starlight Realm, namely the Second Vice Guild Leader of Heavenly Boa and the commander of Heavenly Boas fifth trump card legion. So, for Heavenly Boa to let a Tier 4 player use one of its three Divine Twilight Sets was a huge extravagance. It cant be helped. This is Big Sis Blood Arrows condition for participating in the Rookie Competition. Otherwise, she was going to join the preliminaries held in the empire and fight for a slot through there, Markless Blade said with a bitter smile. To ensure enough members can enter the official competition, the Guild has no choice but to lend the Divine Twilight Set to her. There were countless Tier 4 experts in the Myriad Foret Empire. Not to mention, due to the value of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition, many paragons from long ago would also be making a reappearance, and nobody knew how many of these paragons existed. Even the mighty Empress Blood Arrow might get disqualified from the invitational competitions preliminaries. Heavenly Boa naturally wouldnt let Leroja take such a risk. After all, this was the best opportunity to join the Galaxy Conglomerate. Every additional slot the Guild secured in the invitational competitions official phase would increase the Guilds chances of success. Moreover, if Leroja had the Divine Twilight Set assisting her, she was practically guaranteed to get into the Rookie Competitions top 20. If luck was on Heavenly Boas side, Leroja could even lead an entire party into the top 20. Hence, Heavenly Boa eventually agreed to Lerojas demands. It seems the Rookie Competition is going to be boring, Red Frost said, sighing. Before Red Frost and Markless Blade could continue with their conversation, a knock suddenly came from the door. Immediately afterward, a silver-haired young man whose mental strength had reached the two-star grandmaster standard entered the room and quickly approached Red Frost. However, instead of speaking right away, the young man glanced at Markless Blade and revealed a hesitant look. Just say it. That kid wont dare to spread anything he hears here, Red Frost said, chuckling as he looked at the silver-haired youth. Ill break his legs if he dares. Markless Blade shuddered when he heard Red Frosts threat. Meanwhile, after getting Red Frosts approval, the silver-haired youth said, Commander, this just came in, but it seems something big has happened in the Gods Domain Association Building. Something big? What could possibly happen in the Association? Red Frost responded nonchalantly. The Gods Domain Association was a training ground for newcomers. No matter how big of a fuss these newcomers made, itd be nothing more than a commotion caused by children. Shed only be wasting her time paying attention to matters involving children. A monster! the silver-haired youth said with a look of awe. A monster that has never been seen in Star Lake Citys history has appeared in the Gods Domain Association! A monster? How monstrous are we talking about? Red Frost asked, her curiosity slightly piqued. Could they be comparable to Shi Feng? No, shes even more monstrous than him, coming in 10th place on her first test! the silver-haired youth said, a chill spreading across his body when he spoke about this achievement. Every power in Star Lake City has probably set their sights on her already. I think even the City Lord got startled by this matter As soon as the silver-haired youth finished speaking, silence suddenly descended upon the training room. After the silence lasted for a moment, Red Frost stared at the silver-haired youth with widened eyes and asked, What did you say? Say it again! That monster came in 10th place in the selection on her first test. By now, every power in Star Lake City has probably set their sights on her already, the silver-haired youth repeated. Commander, what should we do? Chapter 3260 - Chapter 334 - Monster-Level Treatment Chapter 3260 Chapter 334 C Monster-Level Treatment Coming in 10th on the first test? Markless Blade, who had taken a seat next to the fighting right, was similarly shocked when he heard the silver-haired youths report. As one of the Star Lake Legions vice commanders, Markless Blade had a much more thorough understanding of Star Lake Citys situation than outsiders. Going by Star Lake Citys database, the last time someone had ranked within the top 30 of the city legions selection on their first try was several hundred years ago. That person was also the only person to have accomplished such a feat in Star Lake City. Meanwhile, that person eventually rose beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters. Three-star mental strength grandmasters were individuals qualified to pioneer a third-tier city in the Greater World and become the lord of a city. Should three-star mental strength grandmasters join a corporation, they would be given the position of Grand Elder without question. As for individuals who had gone beyond mental strength grandmasters, they were all big shots in the Greater World, and even conglomerates would strongly try to recruit them. At the same time, they were also the foundation for corporations to become a conglomerate. If a newcomer really did manage to come in 10th place in Star Lake Citys selection on their first test, Markless Blade couldnt even begin to imagine what such a monster could accomplish in the future. Once news of such a monster spread, the Star Lake Legions competition wouldnt just be limited to Star Lake Citys various powers. The powers of the various mobile cities would also try to get in on the action. Even the various conglomerates might go out of their way to recruit this monster. But its going to be a challenge to snatch up such a monster, Red Frost said after pondering for some time. Do you have any details of that person? We only know that her name is Bai Qingxue, also known as Gentle Snow in Gods Domain, it is her first time entering the Greater World, and she is currently tied to the Zero Wing Guild, the silver-haired youth answered. Zero Wing also happens to be the Guild that Shi Feng, the person you asked me to keep an eye on, belongs to. Zero Wing? Red Frost was a little surprised, and she couldnt help but chuckle. What an interesting Guild we have on our hands. Markless Blade was similarly surprised. If it was a few days ago, he wouldnt have even known about the Zero Wing Guild. Now, however, he couldnt stay ignorant about Zero Wings existence even if he wanted to. After all, the person who had defeated him in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition was none other than Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame. Now, not only was it revealed that Zero Wing possessed an expert of Black Flames caliber, but the Guild also possessed a monstrous genius like Gentle Snow. If the news about Gentle Snow was real, Zero Wing was no longer a Guild that could be underestimated. We should act quickly, Commander. Otherwise, that monster might get snatched away by another city, the silver-haired youth urgently suggested to Red Frost. News of such a frightening monster would definitely reach the neighboring cities. After all, every city needed powerful experts to defend and lead it to acquire more resources and achieve stable growth. Meanwhile, if a third-tier city could grow into a second-tier city, the citys environment would undergo a qualitative transformation, and all residents of the city would see an increase in their life expectancy. Because of how much value monsters like Gentle Snow could bring, every one of them was a hot commodity among the various third-tier cities. However, it wasnt necessary for Gentle Snow to stay in Star Lake City. So long as other cities were willing to accept her, she could move to that city and become a resident there at any time Relax. Red Frost smiled. Even if the other cities want to compete for her, they will have to wait until the selection is over, just like us. Not to mention, we have the home-ground advantage. Rather than focus on what the other cities will do, we should pay closer attention to the corporate powers acting in secret. Bring some people over and make sure no accidents happen. Understood! The silver-haired youth quickly understood Red Frosts point and promptly left the room, not daring to waste even a moment. There were many corporations in the Greater World, and there were bound to be some that wouldnt mind using unscrupulous means to achieve their goals. It was especially true when a monster-level genius was involved. The best time to strike at these geniuses would be when they were weak and without any powerful support. If a genius such as Gentle Snow met with an accident in Star Lake City, Star Lake City would definitely become a laughing stock for the neighboring cities. Less than half an hour after Gentle Snows test results came out, a group of one-star mental strength grandmasters gathered outside the Gods Domain Association Building entrance. Every one of these mental strength grandmasters wore the uniform of the Star Lake Legions official participants, and their arrival surprised many of the people in the building. These one-star mental strength grandmasters were different from the bodyguards hired by the various corporations. Every one of them was relatively young, and most of them were under the age of 35. Moreover, all of them were combat experts equipped with Mind Assistant Devices. These one-star mental strength grandmasters could even take down a two-star mental strength grandmaster if a few of them worked together. Normally, these elites of the Star Lake Legion wouldnt show themselves in the Gods Domain Association. Yet, now, a group had gathered outside the Association Buildings entrance. Whats going on? Why did the Star Lake Legions elites come here to stand guard? Is some big shot visiting the Association? Did you not hear? A monster who managed to come in 10th place on her first test has appeared in Star Lake City. What? The Star Lake Legion dispatched one of its ace battle groups for her? Isnt the legion worried the battle groups training might get affected? I recall that there is going to be a city battle next month. If this affects the outcome of the city battle, it will be a huge loss for Star Lake City. A huge loss? Not at all. Ill have you know that we are talking about the most talented genius Star Lake City has ever seen here. Once that monster grows up, she will become an existence that can help Star Lake City get elevated into a second-tier city. If that monster joins the Star Lake Legion, the city wouldnt care even if it loses several city battles, let alone one. Everyone started an enthusiastic discussion over the Star Lake Legions actions. At the same time, they also couldnt help but be surprised by the lengths the Star Lake Legion was willing to go to recruit a monster-level genius. Normally, even geniuses who had already joined a conglomerate wouldnt dare to receive such treatment. After all, it should be known that members of the Star Lake Legions ace battle groups were geniuses among geniuses. Among them, there were even paragons nurtured by the various hegemonic powers. In terms of strength, they were vastly superior to newcomer geniuses. Some of these paragons could even reach similar heights as the internal geniuses nurtured by the various conglomerates. Gods Domain Association, first-floor lobby. Gentle Snow, is it? Fighting spirit burned in Thousand Scars heart when she saw the Star Lake Legion members standing guard outside the lobby. Meanwhile, when Death Omen, waiting in line next to Thousand Scars, saw the look on the other partys face, she suddenly smiled and said, You dont have to worry, Qianheng. Gentle Snow might have extraordinary talent, but she still wont be a match for you in the future. Lord Supreme Sky has already prepared a big present for you. Once you enter the Greater World, even once-in-several-century monsters will be nothing but a joke to you. At that time, youll even have hopes of becoming a core member of the Paimon Conglomerate. Thousand Scars nodded to Death Omens words. Talent might be important, but ones achievements in the Greater World and the Greater Gods Domain were also highly dependent on the resources and opportunities one had access to. When it came to these two factors, she was vastly superior to Shi Feng and Gentle Snow. While Star Lake Citys various powers and participants were talking about Gentle Snow, Shi Feng had already conveyed all of the general information he knew about the Greater World and the Gods Domain Association to Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow, the information leaving the two women in awe. At the same time, Shi Feng also told the two to fully utilize the Associations resources during this period, even if it meant dropping some of their responsibilities in the Miniature Ancient World. After all, personal strength was the number one priority in the Greater World. Everything else was secondary. Only with great strength could they get the various powers and cities to make them better offers. Afterward, Shi Feng returned to his room and logged back into Gods Domain. When Shi Feng reappeared in the Ancient River Secret Land, he saw that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had already withdrawn from the ancient steles learning state. When the two girls saw Shi Feng returning, they turned to look at him with undisguised excitement in their eyes. Did you two succeed? Shi Feng asked, feeling a little surprised when he saw the two girls expressions. Chapter 3261 - Chapter 335 - Six Great Secret Art Chapter 3261 Chapter 335 C Six Great Secret Art Although Shi Feng already knew the answer to his question when he saw the looks on the two girls faces, he still found it a little unbelievable that they had succeeded. The mana techniques and combat techniques recorded in Ancient River Secret Lands ancient steles differed from those recorded in Legacy Crystals. Due to the dilapidated state of the ancient steles, the mana techniques and combat techniques recorded on them were also fragmented to varying degrees. Combined with the limitation of time, learning the techniques recorded on these ancient steles was much more challenging than learning techniques recorded in Legacy Crystals. He had only gone offline for several hours. Even if he considered the time difference between the real and virtual worlds, no more than ten hours should have gone by in Gods Domain. Normally, it would be a stretch for most people to learn a Mana Technique from a Legacy Crystal in ten hours, let alone learn a God-ranked Mana Technique from an ancient stele. It should be known that many new geniuses would enter the Ancient River Secret Land to learn Mana Techniques and combat techniques every month. Every one of these geniuses was an extraordinary individual. Yet, there would only be about a handful of players who could successfully learn a God-ranked Mana Technique or an Advanced Silver Combat Technique from the Ancient River Secret Land each year. While Shi Feng knew that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were very talented at manipulating mana, he still found it incredulous that both of them had successfully learned the Mana Technique that only the old demon during his previous life had managed to learn. Mhm, weve learned it, Midsummer said, nodding. However, aside from feeling excited, she also revealed a look of confusion as she added, But whats recorded on this stele doesnt seem to be a Mana Technique Not a Mana Technique? Shi Feng was even more surprised now. The old demon who joined Demons Gate was famous throughout the entire Starlight Realm during Shi Fengs previous life. Meanwhile, either the old demon thought that nobody else could learn the Mana Cohesion Method or because the old demon thought the Mana Technique was no longer worth anything to him, but he had willingly revealed the Mana Cohesion Methods existence during an interview with the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Meanwhile, ever since the old demon broke the news, the Ancient River Kingdoms Ancient River Secret Land had become a tourist attraction for many young geniuses in the Star Light Realm. Countless geniuses sought to learn the Mana Cohesion Method that had allowed the old demon to become famous throughout the Starlight Realm. Unfortunately, apart from the old demon, nobody else had ever managed to learn the Mana Cohesion Method. As a result, the Mana Technique eventually became irrelevant in the Starlight Realm. Knowing this, Shi Feng never expected any good news when he told Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao to try and learn the Mana Cohesion Method. Yet, now, not only did the two girls successfully learn the Mana Technique, but they were also telling him that whatever was recorded on the ancient stele wasnt actually a Mana Technique? Unless his memories were playing tricks on him, he was certain that the ancient stele before him was the same one mentioned by the old demon during his previous life. It seems to be a set of secret arts called the Four Gods Secret Art. Moreover, after we learned the secret art, the stele spat out these two things for us, Midsummer said before taking out two finger-sized gold pieces. Not only did the two gold pieces radiate a dazzling glow, but they also exuded a frightening Divine Might. The Four Gods Secret Art?! And these areDivine Eternal Gold?! Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the gold pieces Midsummer took out. Are these things amazing, Guild Leader Black Flame? Midsummer curiously asked when she saw the surprised look on Shi Fengs face. From what she and Wu Xiaoxiao had learned about the Four Gods Secret Art, this secret art set wasnt all that powerful. Rather than Mana Techniques that improved players combat power, the Four Gods Secret Art was closer to special items that improved players combat power. This was great and all, but there was a problem in that the Four Gods Secret Art was split into four parts that corresponded to the Four Major Elements, and each part enhanced only one specific element. Moreover, only up to four players could learn the Four Gods Secret Art. Currently, Midsummer had only grasped the earth elements part, while Wu Xiaoxiao had only grasped the water elements part. To further complicate matters, they needed to expend a large amount of mana of corresponding elements to receive this improvement. If they tried to use items that contained an aggregate of mana, such as Magic Crystals and Mana Stones, as fuel, the improvements they would receive would be very small. If they wished to receive significant improvements, they would have to use Attributed Magic Crystals or highly valuable Seven Luminaries Crystals. Moreover, even if they used Seven Luminaries Crystals to fuel the Four Gods Secret Art, they would only receive a 100% boost to Skills and Spells. While it might be a significant increase, it was by no means a worthwhile tradeoff. Rather than learn the Four Gods Secret Art, theyd rather learn a God-ranked Mana Technique. As for the gold pieces the stele spat out, they might exude Divine Might, but they could only be regarded as ordinary Legendary materials. According to their item introduction, they could only be used to increase the forging success rate of weapons and equipment. Even then, the most they could do was increase the forging success rate of Fragmented Legendary items by 10%. Amazing? Theyre far more than just amazing! Shi Feng said, feeling a little exasperated when he saw the indifferent look on Midsummers face. Setting aside how useful the Divine Eternal Gold is in weapon and equipment production, just the Four Gods Secret Art youve learned is of immense value. The Four Gods Secret Art is one of the Starlight Realms Six Great Secret Arts, and users of the secret art can rely on it to transcend tiers. Secret arts were different from combat techniques and mana techniques. They were special methods of using items in Gods Domain. Among the Starlight Realms secret arts, six were recorded in the Starlight Realms Great Library as Great Secret Arts. According to legends, these Six Great Secret Arts could rival Gold Combat Techniques. So long as a player could fully grasp one of these Six Great Secret Arts, they would have the ability to transcend tiers. Moreover, unlike mana techniques and combat techniques, secret arts placed very little burden on their users Concentration. They relied mainly on external items for fuel. The Four Gods Secret Art was the greatest achievement of the God of Four Elements. If players were to use only one out of four elements to execute the secret art, the effect they could exhibit would be weak. However, as the number of elements used to execute the Four Gods Secret Art increased, the greater the secret arts effect would become. Many powers in the Starlight Realm had expended countless manpower and resources to search for the Six Great Secret Arts. However, none of them had ever managed to come up with any powers. Yet, now, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had learned one of these Six Great Secret Arts. Even if it was only a portion, it would still give the Starlight Realms various powers high blood pressure if they learned about it By the way, in the time you were gone, many things happened in the secret land, Guild Leader Black Flame, Wu Xiaoxiao suddenly said in an urgent tone. Just an hour ago, the seventh qualifier had already appeared The seventh qualifier? Shi Feng was stunned to hear this. The official phase of the Rookie Competition had a three-day duration. It hadnt even been half a day since the official phase began, yet seven players had already qualified to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. Although there were many Heroic Spirits in the secret land, they werent everywhere. Originally, Shi Feng thought that with several dozen teams competing over these Heroic Spirits, it should take at least two days for the first qualifier to appear. Yet, now, seven qualifiers had already appeared in just a little more than ten hours. This speed was simply astonishing. Moreover, the fact that seven people had already qualified meant only three slots left to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. While Shi Feng was in a daze, the sound of a system notification suddenly entered his ears. Regional System Announcement: Congratulations to Player Saint Three for collecting 100 Heroic Spirits and becoming the eighth person qualified to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. Chapter 3262 - Chapter 336 - Mutated Heroic Spirit Chapter 336 C Mutated Heroic Spirit Following the system announcement, the atmosphere across the Ancient River Secret Land tensed up significantly. The audiences spectating the broadcast of the Rookie Competition also went into an uproar. Are these people really human? The first qualifier usually only appears on the second day or later in past Rookie Competitions. Yet, eight qualifiers have already appeared, even though only ten hours have gone by in the competition this time. How are other people supposed to compete against them? Most of the parties led by the kingdoms Ten Great Paragons have only collected around 30 to 40 Heroic Spirit Remnants thus far, yet those eight qualifiers have collected 100 already. Just how fast are their parties in killing Heroic Spirits? Its not surprising. After all, monsters like the Myriad Forest Empires Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and the Red Star Kingdoms Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross are participating in this competition. The eight qualifiers are basically a group of monsters. The fight for number one is definitely going to be worth seeing later on. Indeed. Any one of these eight qualifiers could have easily secured first place in past competitions. Now, all eight of them have appeared at the same time. Who among them will emerge victorious is anyones guess. How strange. What happened to the Asura Sword Emperor? Didnt he defeat Markless Blade? Black Flame might have defeated Markless Blade, but Markless Blade is still slightly inferior to the eight qualifiers. In my opinion, Black Flame could, at best, get into the top 20. The spectators started a heated discussion when they saw the birth of the eighth qualifier. The quality of the Rookie Competitions participants this time was vastly superior to those of past competitions. It was especially so for the veteran paragons. Although the various kingdoms young paragons were by no means weak, those veteran paragons showed everyone with their performances that even with the passing of time, they wouldnt allow younger paragons and geniuses to overtake them easily. Meanwhile, out of the eight players who qualified to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart, the ones who had attracted the most attention from the spectating audience were the Myriad Forest Empires Empress Blood Arrow and the Red Star Kingdoms Undefeated Battle Maniac. During their generation, both of them were known to be invincible among Tier 4 players. However, as the two had never fought each other, nobody knew which one of them was stronger. Now, though, an opportunity had come for them to fight. Hence, everyone was eager to see who was stronger. Would it be Empress Blood Arrow? Or would it be the Undefeated Battle Maniac? While the spectators were discussing the eight qualifiers, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao revealed gloomy expressions. Search bit.ly/3Tfs4P4 for the original. Shi Fengs goal in participating in the Rookie Competition this time was to get into the top 10 and enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. Now, however, eight out of the ten entry slots had already been occupied. Moreover, judging by how quickly the eight slots were taken up, it shouldnt be long before the ninth and tenth qualifiers appeared as well. How quick of them, Shi Feng said, taking a deep breath. It seems well have to act ahead of time. Act ahead of time? Midsummer looked at Shi Feng in confusion. Do you mean killing Heroic Spirits? No matter how Midsummer racked her brain, she simply couldnt figure out how they could secure a spot among the top 10 before the two remaining slots were taken. Although she and Wu Xiaoxiao could now enhance their combat power if they spent Seven Luminaries Crystals to use the Four Gods Secret Art, the boost wasnt enough to let them catch up to the other participants. No. Shi Feng shook his head. Then, he smiled and said, Our targets are the other parties! Other parties? Midsummer was stunned. Robbing players was indeed the quickest way to collect Heroic Spirit Remnants. However, doing so came with great risks. It was especially so now that the competition had already reached the halfway point. If they tried to rob a party, there was a high chance a third party would take advantage of the situation to eliminate them. At the start of the competition, all parties had killed hardly any Heroic Spirits, so they wouldnt have many Heroic Spirit Remnants in their possession. Unless there existed a grudge between two parties, it wouldnt be worthwhile for parties to fight each other. However, at this point, every party had already killed quite a few Heroic Spirits, so they should have many Heroic Spirit Remnants in their possession. If two parties were to start clashing in this situation, the commotion caused would definitely tempt nearby parties to take advantage of the situation. So, if their party of three were to attack other parties now, not only would they risk getting no Heroic Spirit Remnants for their efforts, but they might even risk the elimination of their party. Dont worry, Shi Feng said, smiling when he saw the worry on Midsummers and Wu Xiaoxiaos faces. Then, he took out 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal from his bag and handed each girl 1,000, saying, With our partys strength, nobody should think of taking advantage of us! If it was before Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had learned the Four Gods Secret Art, Shi Feng wouldnt have chosen to attack other parties since they would risk getting attacked by numerous parties. If the number of enemies became too overwhelming, even he would be powerless to resist. After all, most of the parties that had gotten into the official phase were extraordinary. They had a bunch of lifesaving methods. If they used these lifesaving methods to drag out the fight, thered be nothing he could do against them once he expended all his trump cards. However, it was a different story now that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao had learned the Four Gods Secret Art. Time is running out, so lets move quickly, Shi Feng said as he turned to a direction with obvious mana fluctuations. Then, he swiftly ran in that direction. Seeing this, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao exchanged looks before gritting their teeth and chasing after Shi Feng. Currently, apart from robbing other players, there wasnt any other way they could collect 100 Heroic Spirit Remnants within a short time. So, they had no choice but to take some risks. A few minutes later, Shi Fengs party of three arrived under a cliff, and the mana fluctuations they sensed came from the top of the cliff. Currently, over thirty players could be seen on top of the cliff. Although these players clearly came from different parties, they were not fighting each other. Instead, they were working together to take on several Heroic Spirits with little HP remaining. Moreover, these players all wore joyful and excited looks on their faces. That isa Mutated Hero?! Shi Feng was shocked and confused when he saw the leader of the group of Heroic Spirits. [Ancient Heroic Spirit] (Mutant, Tier 4 Great Wizard) Level 145 HP 5,000,000,000 Mutants were special monsters in Gods Domain. Unlike normal monsters, mutated monsters didnt have their movements restricted to specific areas. In addition, they could also continuously grow stronger, meaning the more monsters and players they killed, the stronger they would become. There were 22 monsters that should never be provoked in the Greater Gods Domain. Or, more specifically, there were 22 monsters that even Ancient Gods were helpless against, let alone players. When faced with these 22 monsters, even the various apex powers would have to run away. In their current state, any one of these 22 monsters was capable of single-handedly destroying an entire Realm. Many Gods Domains had also faced destruction at the hands of these 22 monsters. Meanwhile, among these 22 monsters, more than half were Mutants. Initially, these Mutants were incredibly weak, with some even starting at only Tier 3. However, as they continuously grew stronger, they eventually became invincible existences in Gods Domain. However, in exchange for their unrestricted growth, Mutants would drop incredibly lucrative rewards when killed. Normally, a Mutant would drop items one tier above their current tier. Mutants found in the Greater Gods Domain would even drop unique items. These unique items would differ depending on the Mutants tier. The quality of a Mutants loot would also differ significantly according to its tiers. Normally, a Tier 4 Mutant would drop items between the Epic and Legendary rank, while Tier 5 Mutants would drop Fragmented Divine Artifacts, and Tier 6 Mutants would drop Divine Artifacts. Quick! The Mutant is about to die! Chapter 3263 - Chapter 337 - Twin Goddesses Debut! Chapter 337 C Twin Goddesses Debut! At the reminder of one of the players on the cliff, the other 30-plus experts raised their attentiveness. The Mutants HP has already fallen below 10%, Commander! Should we get ready to use our trump card now? Lightning Chaser, who was attacking an ordinary Heroic Spirit on the side, anxiously whispered to Desolate Fury, who was blocking the attacks of the same Heroic Spirit with his shield. Lets wait a little longer, Desolate Fury said. When he saw that over 20 people were attacking the Mutated Heroic Spirit, a hint of anxiety also appeared in his eyes. Well use it when the Mutants HP falls under 2%. We only have one chance. If we fail, well really be leaving this Rookie Competition with nothing to show for our efforts. Butthe other parties Lightning Chaser said worriedly as he looked at the other parties nearby. The Mutated Heroic Spirit was incredibly powerful, and no individual party could defeat it. As a result, the various parties here had formed a tacit agreement to work together and not attack each other before the Mutated Heroic Spirit was taken down. Should any party violate this implicit agreement, the other parties would work together to eliminate the offending party. However, this also meant that the Mutated Heroic Spirits death would signal the various parties to start attacking each other. Currently, their party of two no longer had any hopes of competing for the top 20 spots. In fact, this was the case for 80% of the parties here. This meant that these parties would most likely leave the Rookie Competition empty-handed. Now that a Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirit had appeared before these parties, they would definitely use everything they could to secure its loot, just like how their party of two was prepared to use their strongest trump card. However, if another party used its trump card first and secured the loot, thered be nothing anyone could do about it. When players died in the Ancient River Secret Lands central zone, only half of the Heroic Spirit Remnants they collected were guaranteed to drop. As for the other items they looted, there was only a chance that these items would drop on their death; it wasnt a guaranteed drop. Hence, the Mutated Heroic Spirits death became the key moment to snatch its loot. The more precise they could time the Mutated Heroic Spirits death, the greater their chances of snatching its loot. If they took action too soon or too late, there was a high chance the other parties would hinder them. Their party of twos trump card was a Tier 5 Magic Scroll. It was even a magic scroll for Meltdown, the strongest single-target fire-attributed Tier 5 Spell. One hit from this Spell could heavily injure even a Legendary monster. However, nobody knew how much damage the Spell could do to a Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirit. After all, Mutants were extremely rare, and there was no data they could reference. While Lightning Chaser and Desolate Fury were whispering, the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP fell steadily. 9% 8% 7% As the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP decreased, the tension among the various parties grew. Some parties holding back the ordinary Heroic Spirits had also started to move closer to the Mutated Heroic Spirit. Commander Mantra, Commander Silent, more than 50 people have gathered nearby already. Should we take action in advance? Martial Quadbeast of the Iron Lion Kingdom whispered to Glorious Mantra and Silent Saintess after taking a look at the situation on the cliff. The Mutants HP is still too high. We can afford to wait until its HP is at 4%, Glorious Mantra said. He had similarly noticed the increased number of experts on the cliff. However, he simply smiled and continued, The other parties wont expect us to work together. If the three of us act simultaneously, we can take away 4% of the Mutants HP instantly. Even if the other parties use their trump cards, they can, at most, take two or three percent of the Mutants HP. That might be the case, but with so many people gathered here, can we really get away safely afterward? Martial Quadbeast said as he glanced at some of the experts hiding in the surroundings. If those people lose their minds and dump all their trump cards on us, theres no way the three of us can survive. It was true that the three of them had combat power at the Tier 5 standard. Even the Titan Behemoth responsible for tanking the Mutated Heroic Spirit was his summoned beast. However, they would still be reduced to ashes in an instant if they were subjected to the various parties rampant bombardment. It should be known that their goal wasnt just to acquire the Mutated Heroic Spirits loot. They were also aiming to get into the Rookie Competitions top 20. Hence, unlike the other parties, they couldnt afford to die. Do not worry. My Silent Death will ensure nobody can stop us from escaping, Silent Saintess said confidently. Silent Death? Martial Quadbeast relaxed significantly when he heard Silent Saintesss words. Silent Death was a Tier 4 Super Spell that could put all enemies within a 500-yard radius into a Silenced state. In this state, not only would players be prohibited from using Skills and Spells, but they would also be prohibited from using any tools. In addition, targets affected by Silent Death would also have their reaction speed sharply reduced. Moreover, unlike other Silencing Skills and Spells, Silent Death would not put the same restriction on the user or the users teammates. It would only restrict the users opponents. So, it was an incredibly rare and powerful Super Spell, and the Spell Book for it was far more valuable than even Fragmented Legendary items. Although Silent Death came with a severe flaw in that it only had a short duration of six seconds, it was still a Super Spell that countless magical class players sought to learn. This was because six seconds was enough for an expert to do many things. It was even enough for an expert to kill a player multiple times. In addition, Silent Death did not require any chanting; it could be extended just like a Mana Domain. When the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP fell to 5%, three figures suddenly broke out of the rank of players attacking the Mutant from range and approached the Mutant at flying speeds. Who are those people? How dare they take action at this time? Are they tired of living? When everyone saw the three figures approaching the Mutated Heroic Spirit, nobody bothered to stop them. Instead, everyone simply laughed as they looked at the three figures. There were nearly 20 parties gathered here currently, but none of them were confident in instant-killing the Mutated Heroic Spirit when it had 5% of its HP remaining. So, if someone could step forward to shave off some of the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP for them, theyd be able to use their trump card to instantly kill the Mutant and get the best timing to snatch the Mutants loot. As to what would happen to the three impatient players, they would definitely be bombarded into smithereens by the various parties trump cards. Attack! shouted the male Swordsman standing in the lead suddenly shouted as the three figures arrived before the Mutated Heroic Spirit. HesBlack Flame! Why did they decide to act at this time? Many people recognized Black Flames appearance and couldnt help but be confused as to why Black Flame would make a move so soon. Not good! Kill them! Martial Quadbeast instinctively shouted when he saw Black Flame. Other people might not know exactly how powerful the Asura Sword Emperor was, but Martial Quadbeast did. If it was Black Flame, the man might very well have a method to instantly shave off 5% of the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP. Too late! When Shi Feng saw the Mythic-ranked Titan Behemoth turning away from the Mutated Heroic Spirit to attack him, he simply ignored it and let its claw descend upon him. When the Titan Behemoths claw was five yards from reaching Shi Feng, the two girls, who had been chanting and drawing divine runes beside Shi Feng all this time, suddenly raised the staves they wielded. Immediately, 200 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in Midsummers and Wu Xiaoxiaos bags transformed into a stream of mana that flowed into the divine runes they drew. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from shorturl.at/mCEOX. Tier 4 Spell, Crumbling Earth! Tier 4 Spell, Waterspout! Chapter 3264 - Chapter 338 - Mutants Rewards Chapter 338 C Mutants Rewards TL Notes: [1] Changed Crumbling Earth to Rumbling Earth [2]***Important*** I wrongly misinterpreted the raws in Chapter 335. Fixed it now, and below are the changes Ive made: Incorrect version: This was great and all, but there was a problem in that the Four Gods Secret Art was split into four parts that corresponded to the Four Major Elements, and each part enhanced only one specific element. Moreover, only up to four players could learn the Four Gods Secret Art. Corrected version: This was great and all, but there was a problem in that the Four Gods Secret Art was split into four parts that corresponded to the Four Major Elements, and each part enhanced only one specific element. Moreover, each part could only be learned by one player, and up to a maximum of four players could learn the Four Gods Secret Art. Are they crazy? Lightning Chaser was stunned by the Spells Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao used. Do they think they can instantly kill the Mutated Heroic Spirit and block the Titan Behemoths attack with only Tier 4 Spells? The Mutated Heroic Spirit might be a Tier 4 Great Wizard, but it was still a Mutant. In terms of overall strength, the Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirit was comparable to Legendary monsters. Although the Mutated Heroic Spirit was far less durable than Legendary monsters, it could attack using various combinations of Spells, achieving attacks far stronger than the average Legendary monster. Moreover, as a Great Wizard, the Mutated Heroic Spirit possessed incredibly high Magic Resistance. The Mutants Magic Resistance was so high that ordinary Tier 4 Spells could hardly damage it, let alone take away 5% of its HP in one fell swoop. Stopping the Titan Behemoths attack with only Tier 4 Spells was also a joke. The Titan Behemoth might only be at the Mythic rank, but its Bloodline allowed it to have Strength at the Tier 5 standard. This was also why the Titan Behemoth could hold its ground against the Mutated Heroic Spirit. If any Tier 4 MT tried to tank the Mutated Heroic Spirit, they would have long since been reduced to ashes. When Lightning Chaser thought Shi Fengs party of three was going to get killed by the Titan Behemoths attack, the ground suddenly shook as if a magnitude-8 earthquake was taking place. Then, the ground several hundred yards around the Titan Behemoth cracked and burst apart, sending everyone but Shi Fengs party flying into the air. Even the Titan Behemoths massive frame was sent airborne After the earth exploded, a stream of energy shot out of the shattered ground and struck the Defensive Spell the Mutated Heroic Spirit had cast to protect itself. Meanwhile, not only did this stream of energy instantly shatter the Defensive Spell, but it also rapidly reduced the Mutants HP. How is this possible?! It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from shorturl.at/mCEOX. Is this really the Rumbling Earth I know? Everyone was stunned by what they saw, whether it be the experts on the battlefield or the players spectating from the outside world. Rumbling Earth was a widely available Tier 4 Spell in the Greater Gods Domain. Because of this, even newcomers who had only come into contact with Gods Domain recently knew about the Spell and its details. However, compared to the Rumbling Earth everyone knew, the one they had just seen Midsummer cast felt like an entirely different Spell. For a moment, everyone even suspected that what Midsummer had cast wasnt actually the Tier 4 Rumbling Earth but some Tier 5 Spell they didnt know about. Otherwise, how could they explain the scale and power of Midsummers Rumbling Earth? While the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP was continuously decreasing, the sky suddenly darkened, and the sound of thunder echoed throughout the entire Ancient River Secret Land. At the same time, countless water droplets formed in a 500-yard radius around the Mutated Heroic Spirit. Then, before anyone could react, these water droplets congregated around the Mutated Heroic Spirit. In the blink of an eye, a waterspout with a height of nearly 1,000 meters appeared before everyones eyes. The water droplets forming the waterspout were akin to sharp blades capable of cutting apart even space. Surrounded by these water droplets, the Mutated Heroic Spirit was utterly incapable of defending itself. As a result, damage values in the thousands rapidly appeared above the Mutants head, one after another. Combined with the constant stream of energy rising from the ground, it took only a second before the Mutated Heroic Spirit lost all of its HP. The Mutants death happened so quickly that nobody present had any time to react This Impossible! Since when did the Tier 4 Waterspout become so strong? Everyone gaped in shock when they saw the dead Mutated Heroic Spirit and the deformed cliff. Not only did Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao deform the entire cliff with only two Tier 4 Spells, but they also used these same Spells to instantly remove 5% of the Mutated Heroic Spirits HP. Moreover, this was only because the Mutated Heroic Spirit only had 5% of its HP remaining. Otherwise, Midsummers Rumbling Earth and Wu Xiaoxiaos Waterspout could have caused even more damage. At this time, the various experts present werent the only ones dumbfounded by this scene. Even Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were shocked by the effects of their own Spells. Is this the power of the Four Gods Secret Art? Midsummer thought, feeling flabbergasted as she looked at the results her Rumbling Earth produced. After being enhanced by the Four Gods Secret Art, Rumbling Earth, an ordinary Tier 4 Spell, had managed to exhibit power close to rivaling that of Tier 5 Curses. This result was completely different from the secret arts description. Right now, Midsummer suspected she could even fight against an actual Tier 5 player so long as she had the Four Gods Secret Art. Of course, that was under the precondition that she had enough Seven Luminaries Crystals. It cost 200 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal just to enhance one attack. Not even hegemonic powers would dare to fool around with the Four Gods Secret Art. After all, it was very normal for a battle between two Tier 5 players to involve dozens or hundreds of exchanges unless there was a significant gap. As expected of one of the Six Great Secret Arts. It can already achieve such power with only two people using it together. If four people use it together, even an expert with a Gold Combat Technique mastered would have to run away, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the ruined cliff. Every one of the Starlight Realms Six Great Secret Arts was only mentioned in legends. Nobody had ever seen the Six Great Secret Arts true effects and power. Everyone only knew that they rivaled Gold Combat Techniques. However, after seeing Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao using the Four Gods Secret Art, Shi Feng felt that the Six Great Secret Arts might be even more powerful than the legends described. At this moment, Shi Feng even suspected that the old demon back then had already secretly gathered four people to learn the Four Gods Secret Art. Hence, he dared to reveal the so-called Mana Cohesion Method to the public. Either that or he had intended to spread the information so that he could get enough people to learn the Four Gods Secret Art. After all, if the Four Gods Secret Art was already so powerful with only two people using it, if four people used the secret art together, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call them invincible among Tier 6 players. While everyone was shocked, a purple glow enveloped Shi Feng, Midsummer, and Wu Xiaoxiao as all three of them leveled up to Level 140. The Mutant is dead! Snatch the loot! Quick! Dont let the three of them get the loot! Upon seeing Shi Fengs group of three level up, everyone promptly snapped out of their daze and focused their attention on the items falling out of the sky. The Mutated Heroic Spirit dropped over a hundred items on its death, and every one of these items radiated powerful mana and aura, an indicator that these items were extraordinary. Currently, however, Shi Fengs party was not only the closest to the loot, but the trio had also grasped the timing of the loots appearance the most accurately out of everyone. The trio had charged at the dropped items as soon as they appeared and started frenziedly grabbing items out of the air. Dammit! Were a step too late! Lets join forces to kill them! Otherwise, none of us will be leaving with any loot! Okay! Lets kill them together! Immediately, everyone steeled their resolves and tacitly used their trump cards at Shi Fengs party of three simultaneously. TL Notes: Chapter 3265 - Chapter 339 - Replica Fragmented Divine Artifact Chapter 339 C Replica Fragmented Divine Artifact Upon seeing Shi Fengs party of three move for the items that were slowly falling out of the sky, the 50-plus players on the cliff promptly took action, using either Tier 5 Magic Scrolls or Consumables that could exhibit power at the Tier 5 standard. In the blink of an eye, seven Tier 5 Spells and five Tier 5 tools were used. Among the consumables used, there was even the Tier 5 Annihilation Thunderbolt, the Tier 5 Sanctioning Flames, and the Tier 5 Aurora Spear. When Shi Feng saw all these Tier 5 attacks, even he couldnt help but be a little astonished. Tier 5 Magic Scrolls were extremely precious even in the Greater Gods Domain. Even the cheapest Tier 5 Magic Scroll was close to rivaling Fragmented Legendary items in value. As for the Tier 5 Consumables, they were priced exactly the same as Fragmented Legendary items, and even the various hegemonic powers had very few of these items. Yet, this time, seven Tier 5 Magic Scrolls and five Tier 5 consumables were used. Not even the various hegemonic powers would dare to be so wasteful. Put up your defenses! A quick look at shorturl.at/mCEOX will leave you more fulfilled. When the twelve Tier 5 attacks were within 20 yards of Shi Fengs party, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao simultaneously finished chanting their respective incantations. Tier 4 Defensive Spell, Omniguard! Tier 4 Defensive Spell, Oceans Wall! As soon as the two cast their Defensive Spells, another 200 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal disappeared from each of their bags. At the same time, two barriers formed around Shi Fengs party. One was made of rocks, while the other was made of seawater. Boom! Boom! Boom! Subsequently, the Tier 5 Spells and Tier 5 Consumables collided with the two barriers, the impact resulting in an explosion that instantly turned the sky into a dark void and sent all players within a 100-yard radius flying. The sound of the explosion also echoed throughout the entire Ancient River Secret Lands central zone. Amazing! I didnt think a bunch of Tier 5 Magic Scrolls being used together could achieve such an effect. The destructive power of this attack is already on par with the bombardment of a party of Tier 5 Grand Wizards. What a pity. I thought Black Flame could get into the top 10 and compete against those paragons. Now, it seems that wont be possible. Whether it was the various powers geniuses responsible for using the Tier 5 Magic Scrolls and Consumables or the players spectating the battles broadcast, everyone couldnt help but gasp at the sight before them. There was no doubt that this Rookie Competition was the most exciting instance out of all Rookie Competitions held in the Ancient River Kingdom. Even the Myriad Forest Empires Battle of Geniuses paled compared to the gathering of paragons in this Rookie Competition. Sure enough, none of the parties here should be underestimated Glorious Mantras, Martial Quadbeasts, and Silent Saintesss hearts pounded as they looked at the huge cloud of dust before them. Even if the three of them worked together, they would probably be obliterated if they had to go up against so many Tier 5 attacks simultaneously. After all, even the average Tier 5 player would have difficulty reacting to so many Tier 5 attacks, let alone Tier 4 players. However, just when everyone was getting ready to charge forward and compete for the Mutated Heroic Spirits loot, the dust cloud settled, and the scene that entered everyones eyes stunned them. They didnt die?! At this time, the two barriers made of rocks and seawater could be seen crumbling apart in the air. However, the three figures hovering behind the destroyed barriers remained perfectly intact. When Lightning Chaser and Desolate Fury saw this, their eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. For a moment, they even suspected they werent looking at Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao but two people disguised as Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao instead. They simply couldnt believe that the two girls had managed to defend against twelve Tier 5 attacks. How close! Sweat rolled down Wu Xiaoxiaos forehead as she looked at the disintegrating barriers in front of her. Had we failed to perfectly merge Omniguard and Oceans Wall this time, we would have definitely been killed. Its fortunate that we would normally practice combining Defensive Spells Although the Four Gods Secret Art allowed them to exhibit Tier 5 effects with their Tier 4 Spells, there was a limit to what a Tier 5 Defensive Spell could do against Tier 5 attacks. Not to mention, every one of the five Tier 5 Consumables was on par with Tier 5 Destruction Spells in terms of power. Just one of these Tier 5 Consumables was enough to overwhelm the average Tier 5 Defensive Spell. Fortunately, after arriving in the Greater Gods Domain, Wu Xiaoxiao would often fight alongside Midsummer and occasionally combine their Spells to achieve stronger effects. This allowed them to combine their two Tier 4 Defensive Spells perfectly and enhance their Spells power significantly, which, in turn, allowed them to just barely defend against the bombardment of Tier 5 attacks. Had their coordination been weaker or had their opponents launched more Tier 5 attacks, their defenses would have most certainly failed to protect them. This cant continue. I highly doubt our Combination Spell will be enough to stop their next attack, Midsummer said, her complexion turning slightly pale when she saw that the various parties down below were getting ready to launch another round of attacks. At this time, the many experts present had clearly realized that their attack just now was slightly off the mark. Hence, more than ten parties have taken out Tier 5 Magic Scrolls now. Glorious Mantra had even brought out a Silver Combat Puppet. A Silver Combat Puppet. So long as players entered a Silver Combat Puppet, they would immediately gain Tier 5 combat power. A Silver Combat Puppet was superior to even Legendary monsters when it came to Strength and Defense. Not even a real Tier 5 player would dare to trade blows with a Silver Combat Puppet. When Martial Quadbeast and Silent Saintess saw Glorious Mantras Silver Combat Puppet, they were greatly surprised. Neither of them had expected Glorious Mantra to have such a frightening trump card hidden. A Silver Combat Puppet, is it? When Shi Feng saw Glorious Mantras trump card, he quietly took out one of the pieces of Divine Eternal Gold Midsummer had given to him. Then, he said to Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, Ill stop them while you two collect the loot. This Midsummer was at a loss for words when she heard Shi Fengs command. It should be known that they were going up against a Silver Combat Puppet and over ten Tier 5 Magic Scrolls. No matter how she looked at it, this wasnt an attack any Tier 4 player could defend against alone. However, since this was Shi Fengs command, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao promptly did as they were told. Dont even think about getting the loot so easily! Before Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao could reach for the loot around them, Glorious Mantra charged at them in his Silver Combat Puppet. The Cursemancer was not at all worried about the various parties that were about to activate their Tier 5 Magic Scrolls. Devour! After Shi Feng took a look at the fast-approaching Silver Combat Puppet, he unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night. Immediately afterward, the Divine Eternal Gold in his hand melted and transformed into a shining golden longsword. Formless Sword. It was one of the two Additional Profound Inheritances attached to the Winter of Eternal Night. It allowed him to convert any object in the world into a sword. Combined with what he had learned during his previous life from studying forging design for the Eternal Ashes, a Fragmented Divine Artifact, he had created a replica of the Eternal Ashes during his previous life. Chapter 3266 - Chapter 340 - One Sword to Silence Them All! Chapter 340 C One Sword to Silence Them All! Does Black Flame really think he can stop a Silver Combat Puppet all by himself? Hes probably trying to buy time. After all, there are so many people targeting his party right now. Its only natural he would try to secure as much of the loot as possible. I would do the same in his shoes. The opportunity to join the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition might be great, but getting into the competition and actually winning an invitation are two entirely different stories. Rather than gamble for the small chance of winning an invitation, itd be much better to just secure a few of the items dropped by the Mutated Heroic Spirit. A Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirits loot is better than even that of Tier 5 Legendary World Bosses. If hes lucky, he might even get a few Fragmented Legendary items! When everyone saw Shi Feng trying to stop the Silver Combat Puppet by himself, they shook their heads at the futility of his struggle. At the same time, though, they couldnt help but look at him enviously. The Silver Combat Puppet possessed Strength superior to even Tier 5 Berserkers. No matter how powerful Shi Feng was, he was still only a Tier 4 player. If he tried to clash with the Silver Combat Puppet head-on, he would definitely be sent flying and open to attacks. However, Shi Feng didnt really have a choice. The Silver Combat Puppets target was Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. If Shi Feng didnt intercept the Silver Combat Puppet, the two girls would be instantly killed should they let it reach them. This, in turn, meant that Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao wouldnt be available to stop the next wave of Tier 5 Spells. As for Glorious Mantra, because he had the Silver Combat Puppets protection, he wasnt worried about the bombardment of Tier 5 Spells at all. At worst, his Silver Combat Puppet would lose some of its durability. Search bit.ly/3Tfs4P4 for the original. So, for the sake of acquiring more loot, Shi Feng had no choice but to take the initiative to stop the Silver Combat Puppet. Otherwise, hed be killed for nothing. Of course, if Shi Fengs action allowed Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao to grab a few Fragmented Legendary items, any sacrifices he made here would be worthwhile. It should be known that Fragmented Legendary items were precious to the various powers. Even hegemonic powers could only afford to give their peerless geniuses two or three Fragmented Legendary items when they were at Tier 4. Meanwhile, the more Fragmented Legendary items a Tier 4 player possessed, the more easily the player could get promoted to Tier 5. The Tier 5 promotion required players to collect all sorts of Legacy Guidances. Apart from the peerless geniuses of upper-ranking hegemonic powers and apex powers, the peerless geniuses and paragons of all other powers had to search for their Legacy Guidances on their own if they wanted to get promoted to Tier 5. Because of this, individual strength was very important for Tier 4 players. Meanwhile, the strength of a Tier 4 player was largely dependent on their weapons and equipment. At Tier 4 and Tier 5, even the difference of one Fragmented Legendary item could result in a significant difference in Basic Attributes. While everyone was discussing Shi Fengs actions and decisions, the Silver Combat Puppet suddenly swung several dozen punches at Shi Feng. The Silver Combat Puppet was ten meters tall, and its fists were the size of houses. Adding on its Strength that was at the Tier 5 Peak standard, the Silver Combat Puppet quickly transformed the space around it into a dark void with its several dozen punches. The power of its flurry of punches was vastly stronger than an attack from a Tier 5 Magic Scroll. Do you think youre invincible just because you defeated Markless Blade? Glorious Mantra sneered as he watched the Silver Combat Puppets fists rapidly overlapping with Shi Fengs figure. In terms of combat standards and Basic Attributes, Glorious Mantra admitted that he was inferior to Markless Blade. However, the outcome of fights between players out in the fields wasnt decided based solely on these two factors. The various tools players wielded also played an important role. Combat Puppets were strategic weapons designed for war. In the case of Silver Combat Puppets, they were slaughter machines often used by the various hegemonic powers when they waged war against each other. A Silver Combat Puppet could even go up against a group of Tier 5 players, let alone one Tier 4 player. Boom! Boom! Boom! When the Silver Combat Puppets large fists fell on Shi Fengs body, the sound of metal ringing appeared in a series and echoed throughout the entire mountaintop. Sparks also flew everywhere, brightening the dim sky a little. This Impossible Glorious Mantra gaped in shock when he saw Shi Feng blocking the Silver Combat Puppets attacks and coming out unscathed. He had used a combination of the Silver Combat Puppets Strength and his Storm Strike, a Silver Combat Technique, to attack Shi Feng. Not only did this combination allow him to exhibit power at the Tier 5 Apex standard with every punch, but it also enabled him to attack at the rate of a Tier 5 player. Even a paragon like Markless Blade would be instantly killed by such an attack. Yet, Shi Feng had resisted the attacks without taking any damage However, before Glorious Mantra could recover from his shock, the surrounding parties had already used their Tier 5 Magic Scrolls and Tier 5 Consumables. Immediately, more than twenty Tier 5 Spells flew at Shi Fengs party, the combined might of the attacks vastly greater than the first round of attacks. Even the Storm Strike executed by the Silver Combat Puppet paled in comparison. When Shi Feng saw the oncoming Tier 5 Spells, he began brandishing the golden longsword he wielded at the attacks. Immediately, over twenty dazzling sword lights cut through the Tier 5 Spells one after another, causing them to disintegrate. Even the magic arrays maintaining these Spells had crumbled and disappeared. Everythings gone? How is this possible? How did he break apart over 20 Tier 5 Spells in an instant? Does his sword have some kind of Mana Destabilization effect? No, not even a Mana Destabilization effect can destabilize Tier 5 Spells completely. It can, at most, destabilize Tier 4 Spells and weaken Tier 5 Spells. Everyone present was shocked when they saw the Tier 5 Spells disintegrating. It wasnt uncommon to see Tier 4 Spells getting destabilized, especially among players of their caliber. However, none of them had ever seen Tier 5 Spells getting destabilized before. It should be known that the difference between Tier 4 and Tier 5 Spells wasnt limited to just their power output. The mana composition and density of Tier 5 Spells were also on a completely different level. The so-called Mana Destabilization effect was achieved by using stronger and denser mana to clash with mana of lower strength and density, causing the latter to destabilize and disintegrate. However, Tier 5 Spells were made up of near-solid mana. Because of this, it was nigh impossible to destabilize a Tier 5 Spell completely. It couldnt be achieved even with mana that had thoroughly achieved a solid state. At most, Mana Destabilization could destabilize a portion of a Tier 5 Spells mana, thereby weakening it. Yet, the Tier 5 Spells before them had disappeared Since you people have had your turn, its my turn now! Seeing the confused looks on everyones faces, Shi Feng swung his Replica Eternal Ashes and merged it with the world around him. Holy Law! Immediately, stone swords shot out from the ground in a 200-yard radius one after another, every sword carrying power rivaling the punches of the Silver Combat Puppet. Not even Tier 5 players could afford to defend against these stone swords without adequate countermeasures. In the blink of an eye, over half of the 50-plus experts on the battlefield were killed. Some of these experts didnt even manage to react to the sudden attack before they got killed. As for the stronger experts, they only managed to block one or two stone swords before they got pierced by other stone swords and killed on the spot. Whether it was experts still alive on the battlefield or the players spectating from the outside world, they all fell silent at this moment. It should be known that every player on the battlefield was an extraordinary expert. Every one of them was either a peerless genius or a paragon who had gotten through the Rookie Competitions preliminaries, and even the weakest among them was a fourth-floor expert. Moreover, they also had many lifesaving measures, and even Tier 5 experts would have difficulty killing them. Yet, now, Shi Feng had killed nearly 30 of such experts in one move Chapter 3267 - Chapter 341 - Top 10 Determined Chapter 341 C Top 10 Determined TL Notes: Changed the description for Formless Sword: Original: Additional Profound Inheritance 1: Formless Sword. Converts heaven and earth into a temporary sword. The quality of the sword created depends on the surrounding environment and the magic array constructed by the user. Changed: Additional Profound Inheritance 1: Formless Sword. Converts any object into a temporary sword. The quality of the sword created depends on the object used and the magic array constructed by the user. Sure enough, the Eternal Ashes is an extraordinary weapon! Shi Feng mentally exclaimed when he saw that his attack had killed nearly thirty experts. One of the greatest harvests he had acquired in his previous life was the forging design for the Eternal Ashes. The Eternal Ashes was a Fragmented Divine Artifact whose value rivaled complete Divine Artifacts. However, it had an absurdly high forging difficulty, and even Divine Forgers had a frighteningly low success rate at forging it. On top of that, the weapon required many Divine Artifact-ranked materials to produce. As a result, it was a weapon that had only ever existed in the form of a forging design. Originally, Shi Feng hadnt been expecting much when he used the pairing of the Eternal Divine Gold and the Eternal Ashes magic array to activate Formless Sword. So, it greatly surprised him when the Replica Eternal Ashes turned out to be at the Legendary rank. Only, as this Replica was created using a Profound Inheritance and not through a normal weapon production procedure, it didnt come with any Skills. Apart from some Basic Attributes, the only other thing that came with the Replica Eternal Ashes was the Mana Immolation effect. Mana Immolation was an ability unique to the Eternal Ashes. It was different from the widely-known Anti-Magic and Mana Destabilization effects. The Mana Immolation effect allowed the Eternal Ashes to instantly incinerate all mana, even solidified mana. Without the support of mana, it went without saying that a Spell could no longer sustain itself. So, just the Mana Immolation effect alone was already enough to make the Eternal Ashes a godly weapon against all magic. Shi Feng had never gotten an opportunity to use the Eternal Ashes or a Replica of it in the past, so he never knew how powerful the Fragmented Divine Weapon actually was. After using the Replica Divine Ashes here, though, he realized just how terrifying of a weapon it was. Just the Legendary-ranked Eternal Ashes was already powerful enough to immolate even Tier 5 Spells. Moreover, it wasnt even a complete Legendary-ranked Replica. He couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful the Fragmented Divine Artifact-ranked Eternal Ashes could be. While Shi Feng was lost in his thoughts, the battlefield remained silent. Nobody tried to take advantage of his lapse in attention to attack him. Instead, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him, horrified. Everyone even forgot to compete for the Mutated Heroic Spirits loot. Only after a series of system notifications had appeared did everyone snap out of their dazes. Regional System Announcement: Congratulations to Player Black Flame for collecting 100 Heroic Spirits and becoming the ninth person qualified to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. Regional System Announcement: Congratulations to Player Midsummer for collecting 100 Heroic Spirits and becoming the tenth person qualified to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart. Dammit! How can this be?! Lightning Chasers eyes turned bloodshot when he saw the system notifications, his hands subconsciously pulling at his hair out of frustration. Lightning Chaser wasnt surprised that Black Flame had gotten into the top 10. After all, the man had previously defeated Markless Blade. Now, he had even defeated so many experts. Going by the Rookie Competitions rules, when a player killed other players, they would receive half of the Heroic Spirit Remnants collected by the players they killed. Shi Feng had killed nearly 30 experts with his one attack. Even if he could only obtain 20 Heroic Spirit Remnants from each player, he would still receive a total of nearly 600 Heroic Spirit Remnants. However, Midsummer had done nothing but loot items this entire time. Yet, she had gotten into the top 10, fulfilling her previous claim of getting into the top 10 In addition, according to the competitions rules, players of the same party could share the Heroic Spirit Remnants they had collected among themselves. So, the Rookie Competitions 11th place had most certainly gone to Wu Xiaoxiao. Only, as the 11th-ranked player didnt qualify to enter the Ancient Rivers Heart, the system did not announce Wu Xiaoxiaos name. Even so, she had already qualified for the official phase of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. This privilege alone was already enough to make her the envy of all players in the Ancient River Kingdom. It should be known that many paragons werent even certain they could get past the preliminaries of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. Yet, now, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao got past it without having to do anything. Had Lightning Chaser agreed to form a party with Black Flame initially, he, too, could have joined the Galaxy Conglomerates official invitational competition as well. He wouldnt need to participate in the even more challenging preliminaries and fight against countless experts. At this moment, Lightning Chaser wasnt the only one envious of Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. The other experts present, particularly Glorious Mantra, Martial Quadbeast, and Silent Saintess, looked at the two girls with a mix of envy and anger coloring their faces. In a one-on-one fight, the three of them were confident they could beat Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao hands down, even if the two girls knew how to use Overtier Spells. After all, Overtier Spells were the only things the two girls knew how to use. Given enough time, they could slowly but surely defeat the two girls. Yet, now, the two girls had qualified before them Xiaoxiao! We passed! We can join the Galaxy Conglomerates competition! Midsummer exclaimed when she saw the system notification. The Galaxy Conglomerate generally only hosted an invitational competition once every several decades. Setting aside whether they could win the Galaxy Conglomerates prestigious membership, just the opportunity to participate in the official competition alone was already incredibly valuable. After all, this was the perfect stage for them to display themselves to the Starlight Realms various conglomerates. If they got noticed by a conglomerate, even if it wasnt the Galaxy Conglomerate, it would still be enough to change their lives forever. Support us at bit.ly/3Tfs4P4. Moreover, the official competition was different from the cruel preliminaries, where one would be eliminated after just one defeat. To ensure the quality of the participants, the official competition adopted a point-based system. That was to say, participants in the official competition could fight against many experts, which could greatly help those looking to improve themselves. There had even been instances of experts failing to get an invitationeven after getting into one of the Galaxy Conglomerates official invitational competitionsbut eventually growing into Tier 6 powerhouses, sought after by the various conglomerates, because of the growth they managed to achieve from fighting against the many experts during the competition. I get to participate in the competition as well? Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt help but rub her eyes when she saw the system notifications, her mind finding it hard to believe this situation was real. Although Wu Xiaoxiao had never participated in a conglomerates invitational competition before, she knew that almost every player who had managed to get into the official phase of a conglomerates invitational competition was either a peerless genius or a paragon internally nurtured by a hegemonic power. Just the opportunity to participate in an official invitational competition was an honor in and of itself. At the same time, it was also an opportunity to step onto a bigger stage in the Greater Gods Domain. Even if she failed to win anything in the official competition, just the geniuses and paragons she could get to know would significantly help her future development. The Starlight Realm was a very big place, far bigger than any individual Gods Domain. There were also well over a thousand kingdoms and empires in the Starlight Realm, and every country had different Legacies. Normally, it was impossible for a player to get acquainted with the various peerless geniuses and paragons scattered across the Starlight Realm. However, the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competitions made this a possibility. If she could get acquainted with some of the participating geniuses and paragons, these people might extend an invitation to her when they come across a fortuitous opportunity in the future. If she could get the help of these geniuses and paragons, she would have a much smoother time developing than if she were to do everything by herself. Only, Wu Xiaoxiao had never thought she could get into the Rookie Competitions top 20. With how many paragons were participating in the Rookie Competition this time, she would have been satisfied so long as she could see Shi Feng enter the top 10. She never thought that she, too, would qualify for the Galaxy Conglomerates official invitational competition. Weve collected all the loot, Brother Black Flame. Should we retreat now? Midsummer quietly asked Shi Feng as she swept her gaze across the motionless experts on the battlefield. After Shi Feng had slain nearly 30 experts, the remaining experts, including Glorious Mantra in his Silver Combat Puppet, no longer showed any intentions of attacking their party. These experts only stood still and looked at their party of three. The scene was incredibly strange. No need to retreat, Shi Feng said as he scanned his surroundings with a faint smile. They wont dare to attack us anymore. But, Xiaoxiao, youll have to log off to rest until the end of the Rookie Competition. Currently, he not only possessed the strength to hold back the Silver Combat Puppet, but he also had the ability to instantly kill nearly 30 experts. Everyone present was looking to join the Galaxy Conglomerates official invitational competition, so, naturally, nobody was willing to stick out their own neck. As to why he told Wu Xiaoxiao to go offline, it was because he and Midsummer would be teleported to the Ancient Rivers Heart a minute later. Because Wu Xiaoxiao was currently in 11th place in the Rookie Competition, unless she died or went offline, she would be in danger until the end of the competition. So, the safest option for her to retain her ranking and the items she just looted would be to go offline. The normal log-out procedure had a 30-second waiting time. Moreover, once a player entered a combat state, they would no longer be able to log out normally. Originally, the surrounding experts would never have allowed Wu Xiaoxiao to log out normally. Now, though, that was no longer a concern. Understood. When Wu Xiaoxiao saw that none of the surrounding experts intended to make a move, she swiftly chose to log out of the game. Shortly after Wu Xiaoxiao logged out normally, Shi Feng and Midsummer were teleported to the Ancient Rivers Heart. When the several parties approaching the battlefield from a distance saw Glorious Mantra and the other experts doing nothing to stop Wu Xiaoxiao from logging off, they couldnt help but grow confused. Have they lost their minds? Why did they let such a good opportunity get away?! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3268 - Chapter 342 - Opponent? Chapter 342 C Opponent? Star Lake City, Star Lake Training Center: Not bad! Not bad! Markless Blade sighed in relief when he saw the scene shown in the combat halls holographic broadcast. My reputation would be ruined if Black Flame couldnt even get into the top 10. Youd be dead if you let Big Sis Blood Arrow hear this, Markless. The Guild has already issued an ultimatum to show Black Flame the might of Heavenly Boa so that we can convince Gentle Snow to join Heavenly Boa, the handsome young man watching the broadcast next to Markless Blade said. Now that Black Flame has squeezed into the top 10, his fame is bound to rise even further. Itd be terrible for us if a conglomerate ends up extending an invitation to him. Dont worry. Black Flame wont get away, Markless Blade said with a confident smile. I know what Big Sis Blood Arrow is capable of. It might be a different story if Black Flame failed to get into the top 10, but now that he has gotten in, hed have to fight against Big Sis Blood Arrow. At that time, hell come to learn the limit of his abilities. Itll also become easier for me to persuade Gentle Snow. While I agree with you on Big Sis Blood Arrows strength, I cant say the same for the matter with Gentle Snow. According to our investigations, Gentle Snow seems to share close ties with Black Flame, the handsome youth worriedly said. I dont think teaching Black Flame a lesson will be enough to convince Gentle Snow to join Heavenly Boa. It might even work against us Neither the handsome young man nor Markless Blade was concerned that Empress Blood Arrow Leroja would have trouble teaching Black Flame a lesson. Black Flames achievement of holding his ground against a Silver Combat Puppet and instantly killing nearly 30 experts might be incredible, but Leroja could easily replicate these feats and improve on them with the help of her Divine Twilight Set. The problem was what would happen after Leroja defeated Black Flame. While they hoped this outcome would make it easier to persuade Gentle Snow to join Heavenly Boa, there was also a high likelihood of it working against them. You dont have to worry about that, Markless Blade said, chuckling. Big Sis Blood Arrow wont make Black Flame lose too badly. Not to mention, Zero Wings Shi Feng has already offended Chen Qitian. Once the city legions selection ends, and the trial battles for official participants begin, Chen Qilin will definitely help Chen Qitian take revenge on Shi Feng. Even if Shi Feng has received the commanders attention, do you think a vice commander like Chen Qilin cant take care of a newcomer? With Chen Qilins decisive personality, he might even make it impossible for Shi Feng to join any ace battle group. When that happens, so long as you and I offer to help him, our actions will definitely leave a good impression in Gentle Snow. Thats a good idea, the handsome youth said, nodding. Shi Feng had humiliated the Dawn Light Corporation in Star Lake City, so there was no way Chen Qilin would let him off the hook, even if he shared some ties with Gentle Snow. After all, an undeveloped genius was nothing more than just a genius. Even if Gentle Snow was monstrously talented, it would take her a long time before she could grow into an actual powerhouse. Moreover, while Gentle Snow had a very high chance of becoming a big shot who could go beyond the realm of mental strength grandmasters in the future, it wasnt a guaranteed matter. Hence, Chen Qilin had no reason to fear Gentle Snow at all. Chen Qilin also didnt need to worry about offending Gentle Snow and being unable to recruit her into the Dawn Light Corporation. Chen Qilin should know that ordinary corporations couldnt afford to recruit a monster-level genius like Gentle Snow. Only pseudo-upper-ranking hegemonic powers like Heavenly Boa and stronger powers could offer sufficiently tempting resources and status to Gentle Snow. So, even if Chen Qilin offended Gentle Snow due to his actions against Shi Feng, it wouldnt bring any losses to the Dawn Light Corporation. Not to mention, Chen Qilin was a late bloomer. He might not have performed as well as Gentle Snow when he first joined the Star Lake Legion, but he had shown rapid growth after joining the city legion and had already become a two-star mental strength grandmaster. So long as he became a three-star mental strength grandmaster, with his young age, the status he enjoyed among the various powers could even rival Gentle Snows status. This gave him even less reason to fear offending Gentle Snow. Most importantly, Star Lake City was the Dawn Light Corporations roots. If the corporation dared not take action against Shi Feng simply because it feared Gentle Snow, the corporations future in Star Lake City would be bleak. All of these factors combined made it so that Chen Qilin had to teach Shi Feng a lesson. Moreover, there would be nothing Gentle Snow could do about it. But it truly is a pity Even though the top 10 this time are all paragons, the battle inside the Ancient Rivers Heart cant be broadcast, Markless Blade said, sighing when he saw the image in the holographic broadcast disappearing. It is indeed a pity, the handsome youth agreed. Rarely would paragons clash with one another. Not to mention, apart from Blood Empress Leroja, the Rookie Competition this time also saw the participation of the Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross. With these two individuals in the top 10, the finals in the Ancient Rivers Heart could be considered the battle of the century. Yet, they couldnt see this battle of the century. It didnt matter even if they were willing to pay a large sum of Star Coins. The top 10 participants in the Ancient Rivers Heart were the only people who could spectate the finals. As for people in the outside world, they would only get to see the final rankings announced in the Ancient River Secret Land. Argh! Goddammit! Its the middle of the day, yet we can do nothing but wait until Big Sis Blood Arrow is done with the competition and share with us her battle video! Markless Blade said, feeling even more frustrated than the handsome youth as he looked at the midday sun outside the window. Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross were both regarded as invincible individuals at Tier 4. They were also mostly done with their preparations at Tier 4 and would soon take on the challenge of creating their own Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. Hence, this was most likely the first and last time the two fought each other at Tier 4. If Markless Blade couldnt see the two clashing this time, it was highly unlikely he could get another opportunity to do so. Ancient River Secret Land, Ancient Rivers Heart: Two beams of light descended outside a majestic temple situated in the middle of the Ancient Rivers Heart. Immediately, the eight figures waiting outside the temple turned to look at the two new arrivals. The competition can finally begin! After seeing the arrival of the last two participants, a simple-looking man with a lean but powerful body reached for the two sharp axes he carried on his back. Then, he turned to look at a female Ranger with long pink hair, his eyes burning with the desire to fight. The female Ranger also glanced at the simple-looking man clad in dark-blue armor, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. Immediately afterward, an aura rivaling Tier 5 Legendary monsters erupted from her body. As for the other people present, they quietly stepped out of the simple-looking Berserker and pink-haired Rangers line of sight. Compared to these two people, most of the other people present had an obviously weaker presence. The only person here who could hold a candle to these two individuals was a savage-looking young man sitting in the corner. However, this young man only glanced at Shi Feng briefly before closing his eyes to rest again. Meanwhile, when Midsummer felt the auras of the simple-looking Berserker and pink-haired Ranger, her complexion paled significantly. So, they are the two Tier 4 invincibles of the past? Midsummer was greatly shocked by the presence of the Berserker and Ranger. How am I supposed to fight against these people? Truth be told, Midsummer was rather proud of her current strength. After all, she was more or less a fourth-floor expert in the Greater Gods Domain. Combined with her 120% Epic Mana Body and Four Gods Secret Art, she was confident she could hold her ground against even Desolate Fury. However, when she looked at the simple-looking Berserker and pink-haired Ranger, feelings of fear and powerlessness overwhelmed her mind and body. She couldnt even begin to fathom the twos current strength and Concentration standards. Its natural that you cant beat them in your current state, Shi Feng said in response to Midsummers rhetorical question. Both of them are most likely equipped with items close to rivaling Legendary Equipment. Both of them have also developed their Concentration to the Tier 5 standard already. Items close to rivaling Legendary Equipment? Tier 5 Concentration? Midsummer gaped in shock. With such equipment and Concentration standards, Cross and Leroja could already be put on the same level as veteran Tier 5 powerhouses. While Midsummer was in shock, the sound of a system notification entered everyones ears. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3269 - Chapter 343 - Terror Descends! Chapter 343 C Terror Descends! Regional System Announcement: Ten players have gathered in the Ancient Rivers Heart. All ten players are required to enter the temples ten side doors. Once all players enter a door, the Ancient River Trial will officially begin. Regional System Announcement: The temple has a total of two floors. Players will pass the trial once they conquer both floors. Players who die in the temple will be automatically teleported out of the Ancient Rivers Heart. If no player can pass the trial, the last remaining player will be the Rookie Competitions champion. Regional System Announcement: There is no time limit set for the trial this time. The regional announcements echoed in everyones minds three times, the announcements content surprising and confusing many of the people present. Whats going on? Werent the finals supposed to be a series of duels? Why did it suddenly change into a trial? Two floors? Hasnt this temple always had one floor only? Did we trigger some kind of hidden event or quest? The players present were both surprised and excited by this unexpected turn of events. Even Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac were not an exception. The Ancient River Secret Land was incredibly mysterious, and it had existed long before even the Ancient River Kingdom did. According to rumors, a peerless treasure was hidden inside the Ancient River Secret Land. Only, even after so many years had passed, nobody had actually found this supposedly peerless treasure. The greatest finding made was only the ancient stele scattered across the secret lands central zone. The only benefits players stood to gain from entering the Ancient Rivers Heart were the opportunity to fight against other experts, the incredibly dense mana in the temple, and the drawings on the temple walls. The temples wall drawings were incredibly magical. If players observed these wall drawings for a long time, not only could they improve their Concentration standards, but they could also receive help in improving the Completion Rate of their Mana Bodies. Although the wall drawings effects were negligible to high-tiered players, their effects were precious to Tier 4 players. Because of this, the various powers assumed that the wall drawings were the Ancient River Secret Lands so-called peerless treasure. Now that the temples rules had suddenly changed, this could be considered a good thing in a certain sense. Pass the temples second floor? Shi Feng, on the other hand, got a mild headache when he saw the system notifications. He was 99% certain that the sudden change of the secret lands rules had something to do with the Seven Luminaries Codex in his possession. This was because the moment he got teleported to the Ancient Rivers Heart, he immediately sensed the dense aura of one of the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments. He could even pinpoint the fragments location to the inside of the temple. However, the problem now was that the system had clearly stated that the newly-introduced Ancient River Trial would only begin after all ten players here had entered the temple. In other words, the trial wasnt targeted at him alone. If someone managed to clear the temples second floor before him, the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragment would go to them. If he didnt want that to happen, he would have to compete and beat everyone else. What a lucky kid. It seems I can only take care of him afterward, Leroja thought as she glanced at Shi Feng. Then, she made her way into one of the temples side doors. After Leroja disappeared into the temple, Cross suddenly walked up to Shi Feng and patted him on the shoulders before heartily saying, Little Brother Black Flame, while I find it unfortunate that I cannot exchange moves with you this time, I will be waiting for you at the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. After saying so, the Undefeated Battle Maniac walked into a side door with a big smile. Seeing this, the other people outside the temple also quickly entered the temple one after another. In no time, the only ones left outside were Shi Feng, Midsummer, and a savage-looking young man. When Midsummer saw this savage-looking young man, a flash of fear appeared in her eyes. Players from other countries might not be familiar with the savage-looking young man, but there was nobody living in the Ancient River Kingdom who did not know about him. Saint Three! A once-in-a-century paragon from the Twin Saints Alliance! He was an existence even the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers had to show respect to. Black Flame! Youve lucked out this time! Originally, even if Empress Blood Arrow did not make a move, I would have let you know who the true First Paragon of Ancient River is. But now it seems that I can only wait until Galaxys invitational competition, Saint Three said in an arrogant tone to Shi Feng. Use this extra time to find a way to improve. I dont wish to see you getting disqualified in the group stages first round. Otherwise, the entire Starlight Realm will think the Ancient River Kingdom has no talent! After saying so, Saint Three also entered one of the side doors, disappearing out of Shi Fengs and Midsummers sight. When Midsummer saw Saint Three was gone, she clicked her tongue and said, Isnt this guy a little too arrogant? I doubt he even knows about your achievements, Brother Black Flame. If he learned about your achievements, hed definitely be frightened. Shi Fengs achievement of holding back a Silver Combat Puppet and instantly killing nearly thirty experts was something Saint Three couldnt even hope to replicate. Out of the players who had gotten into the Ancient Rivers Heart, the only ones who could possibly surpass Shi Feng were Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac. No, he indeed has the qualifications to be arrogant, Shi Feng said, shaking his head in response to Midsummers comment. Then, with a serious look, he continued, If my guess is correct, the stone spear he carried on his back is most likely a Legendary Weapon. What?! A Legendary Weapon?! How is this possible?! Midsummer was shocked by this revelation. Legendary Weapons and Equipment were regarded as guild treasures by the various hegemonic powers. Many Tier 6 experts couldnt even get their hands on a piece of Legendary Equipment, let alone a Legendary Weapon. The average hegemonic power would have no more than a handful of people wielding Legendary Weapons. So, to say that Saint Three had a Legendary Weapon was simply absurd. That stone spear might be his personal fortuitous opportunity, Shi Feng said. Then, after taking a look at the time, he continued, Time is almost up, so we should get going as well. There was a five-minute time limit for them to enter the temple. Anyone who failed to do so would be automatically seen as forfeiting their right to compete, and this definitely wasnt something he wished to do. Midsummer nodded in response and quickly entered one of the two remaining side doors. Temples first-floor hall: After entering through the temples side doors, everyone seemed to have entered a different space. Although they were in the same temple, they did not appear in the same same. Before the ten challengers could inspect the stadium-sized hall they entered, nine familiar figures appeared at the center of their respective halls. These figures belonged to the nine other people who had entered the Ancient Rivers Heart this time. The nine doppelgangers were a perfect copy of their original. On top of having the same items, the doppelgangers even moved the same way as their originals. The only way everyone could tell that they were going up against fakes rather than the real deal was the diamond-shaped icons hovering above the doppelgangers heads, an indicator that they were NPCs. I had wanted to teach that Black Flame a lesson, but I guess I can use his doppelganger to test the waters first. After taking a look at an inconspicuous man standing among the nine doppelgangers, Leroja immediately drew her bow and sent over twenty arrows flying at the other party. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3270 - Chapter 344 - An Even More Troublesome Existence Chapter 344 C An Even More Troublesome Existence Along with the appearance of the nine figures, a system notification quickly followed. System: Break the barrier sealing off the pathway to the second floor and enter the temples second floor while surviving against the nine doppelgangers. There is no time limit for the trial. You will be automatically teleported out of the Ancient Rivers Heart on death. The system notification repeated three times for all ten players in the Ancient Rivers Heart. Upon seeing the notification, all ten participants showed varying reactions. Some carefully observed the nine doppelgangers before them, while some attacked the doppelgangers into action without hesitation. A minute later In a certain temple plaza in the Ancient River Secret Land Currently, a holographic screen was displayed above the plaza, and the screen showed a list of names that everyone was familiar with. However, whether it was the players who remained in the secret land or the people spectating the Rookie Competition through a live broadcast, they all wore confused expressions on their faces as they looked at the list. Whats going on? It hasnt been more than three minutes since they entered the Ancient Rivers Heart, so why are there six people disqualified already? If I remember correctly, the Rookie Competitions finals were supposed to be a point-based tournament, and every participant had to fight nine matches before the rankings were decided. So, why are the results out already? When the participants competing for the Rookie Competitions top 20 positions saw the ranking list suddenly appearing, they couldnt help but grow confused. It was especially so when they saw the paragons, who had gotten into the finals, get teleported into the plaza with frustrated looks on their faces. The Rookie Competitions finals this time wasnt just a rare event for ordinary players. It was also a highly anticipated competition for the new generation of geniuses. Many geniuses believed that the finals would be a battle between dragons and tigers, so they were all prepared to spend big money to buy battle videos from participants who had gotten into the finals. Yet, now, before the Rookie Competitions top 20 participants have been decided, six people have already been disqualified from the finals. This situation was completely outside of everyones expectations. What happened over there, Grave? Why did you get disqualified so quickly? Desolate Fury asked, his face colored in surprise and confusion as he looked at a white-robed male Oracle who had just been teleported into the plaza. The Oracles name was Slumbering Grave, and he was one of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. If compared purely in terms of combat standards, he was superior to even Saint Three. He was also an independent player. Although he wasnt as popular as Saint Three, he was very well-received by the Ancient River Kingdoms independent players. During the earlier years of his career in Gods Domain, Desolate Fury had been part of the same adventurer team as Slumbering Grave. Even after he had joined the Purple Melody Alliance, he would often hire Slumbering Grave to help him with special dungeons or quests. So, Desolate Fury had a good understanding of Slumbering Graves strength. In fact, in Desolate Furys opinion, Slumbering Grave even had a chance of competing for the top three positions. Yet, now, Slumbering Grave was among the first six players to get disqualified. Moreover, the Oracle was disqualified from the finals in under a minute The difficulty of the competition this time is simply absurd, Slumbering Grave answered Desolate Fury with a bitter smile. Not only did I have to fight against the doppelgangers of the nine other participants simultaneously, but those doppelgangers were also perfect copies of their originals. They even have the same combat standards as their originals. Theres no way to win against them with those few monsters mixed in. Even Gods will probably fall to their joint attack Fighting against the nine other participants simultaneously? Lightning Chaser was surprised and shocked when he overheard Slumbering Graves response to Desolate Fury. Then, he continued with a shudder, Doesnt that meanyou had to go up against Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac together? Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and the Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross were apex individuals of their era. Even if one searched the Myriad Forest Empire and the dozen or so neighboring kingdoms, one wouldnt find more than ten people who could match them in a one-on-one duel. Lightning Chaser couldnt even begin to imagine how anyone was supposed to win against the combination of Leroja and Cross. Lightning Chaser wasnt the only one shocked by this revelation. Desolate Fury also got goosebumps when he imagined himself facing Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac simultaneously. While there existed people stronger than those two individuals in the Myriad Forest Empire and its surrounding kingdoms, as far as Desolate Fury knew, not one of these people could win against the two should they work together. In fact, it was unlikely that anybody had ever considered the possibility of those two people fighting as a group. No, those two arent the problem, Slumbering Grave said, feeling a little exasperated when he saw the responses of Desolate Fury and Lightning Chaser. The real problem is Black Flame. Leroja and Cross might be incredibly precise in their attacks and timings, but I can still fend off their attacks. But against Black Flames attacksI cannot block them at all. My only option is to evade. Yet, as it just so happens, Black Flame can cast a perfect World Creation. Under its suppression, I cant even dodge Black Flames attacks Black Flame is even more difficult to deal with than Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac? Lightning Chaser gaped in shock. Although he found it astonishing that Black Flame had instantly killed nearly 30 experts in one move previously, such an achievement wasnt anything special when compared to Lerojas and Crosss past achievements. Yet, now, Slumbering Grave, one of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons, was saying that the combination of those two people was easier to deal with than Black Flame. Lightning Chaser couldnt help but feel as if the heavens were playing a joke on him. Ancient Rivers Heart, first-floor hall: Dammit! How is his Strength above mine?! Saint Three cursed under his breath as he held his spear defensively against the inconspicuous Swordsman standing in front of the barrier, a look of confusion on his face. Ever since he acquired the Legendary Equipment Dark Realm Gauntlets, he thought he would be unrivaled in the Strength Attribute among Tier 4 players. The Dark Realm Gauntlets provided him with an incredible boost in Strength. Moreover, this boost would further improve as his Stamina, Concentration, and HP decreased. Currently, he had already lost over two-thirds of his HP. He had also depleted a significant portion of his Stamina and Concentration through the use of various Advanced Silver Combat Techniques. When all three of these parameters were at 100%, he could block Lerojas and Crosss attacks with relative ease. Now that his Strength was boosted even further, he could already send Leroja and Cross flying. Yet, when he went up against Shi Feng in this boosted state, he remained thoroughly suppressed. This was simply unbelievable. However, before Saint Three could catch his breath, Shi Feng raised the Eternal Ashes he wielded before abruptly swinging it down. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Immediately, Saint Three felt the space around him becoming a prison that trapped his body. Even with a piece of Legendary Equipment equipped, his Movement Speed still fell significantly, and he could barely hold his spear up to defend against Shi Fengs attack. He couldnt execute any proper defensive or evasive maneuvers at all. After blocking Shi Fengs attack, Saint Three couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he saw his empty HP bar. Despite being a Tier 4 Berserker with a piece of Legendary Equipment, he had lost over one-quarter of his maximum HP after blocking Shi Fengs attack with his weapon. Moreover, that was only because that was all the HP he had left Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3271 - Chapter 345 - First? Chapter 345 C First? A streak of light descended on the plaza where the top 100 participants were gathered. When the light faded and revealed a savage figure, the other players promptly turned to look at this figure, looks of surprise appearing on everyones faces. The new arrival in the plaza was none other than Saint Three, a person known by all in the Ancient River Kingdom. He was also one of the favorites to get into the Rookie Competitions top three. Yet, even an expert of Saint Threes caliber had lasted no more than four minutes in the Ancient Rivers Heart I lost? I couldnt even beat a doppelganger of Black Flame? Saint Threes heart remained unsettled even after he got teleported out of the Ancient Rivers Heart, his mind constantly recalling the doppelganger he had fought in the temple. In Saint Threes opinion, the player known as Black Flame was nothing more than a stepping stone for him to attract the Paimon Conglomerates attention. Yet, now, not only did he lose to Black Flames doppelganger, but he had even lost while having a piece of Legendary Equipment in his possession. If the outside world were to learn about this, he would absolutely become a joke Isnt the Rookie Competitions difficulty this time a little too much? Even Saint Three got disqualified so quickly. Its not surprising. After all, he has to go up against Empress Blood Arrows and the Undefeated Battle Maniacs doppelgangers. Its already amazing that he managed to last so long. Most paragons wouldnt even last more than three minutes against those two people. Sure enough! It seems first place will either go to Empress Blood Arrow or the Undefeated Battle Maniac this time! When youre just trying to make great content at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. Everyone in the plaza started a hushed discussion when they saw Saint Three getting disqualified. Everyone was of the opinion that the Rookie Competitions champion this time would either be Empress Blood Arrow or the Undefeated Battle Maniac. According to the Ancient Rivers Hearts rules, every finalist was required to go up against the doppelgangers of all other finalists. This meant that Leroja and Cross wouldnt have to go up against themselves, and theyd only have to go up against one expert of their caliber instead of two like everyone else. So, the difficulty of Lerojas and Crosss trial would be significantly lower than everyone elses. Meanwhile, when Midsummer, who got disqualified long ago, revealed an ecstatic look as she looked at the ranking list above the plaza. This is great! With this, nobody can question Brother Black Flames position as the kingdoms First Paragon any longer! Saint Three was considered one of the Ancient River Kingdoms top three paragons. Before Shi Feng and Saint Three fought, nobody could tell who among them was stronger. Previously, even though Shi Feng was declared the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon, many players and powers in the kingdom refused to acknowledge him. However, now that Saint Three had gotten disqualified before Shi Feng, those players and powers would have no choice but to acknowledge him as the kingdoms First Paragon. It wouldnt matter even if Shi Feng ended up losing to Leroja and Cross. Neither of them belonged to the Ancient River Kingdom, so they couldnt be considered the kingdoms First Paragon. Now, so long as the Twin Saints Alliance or the kingdoms Tier 5 and Tier 6 experts didnt go crazy, nobody would dare to offend Shi Feng. This also meant that their party of three would no longer face any significant problems surviving and developing in the Ancient River Kingdom. While the players in the plaza were arguing over who would become the Rookie Competitions champion, a man arrived on the Ancient Rivers Hearts second floor. Sure enough, Im the first to get here. When Shi Feng saw the ranking list displayed in the second-floor hall, he didnt know whether he should laugh or cry. Although the competition had yet to end, the Ancient River Trial had created a ranking list based on the order in which finalists entered the second floor. So, those who arrived on the second floor could know how many people had entered the second floor. Meanwhile, according to the list, he was the first person to have entered the second floor. Honestly, Shi Feng wasnt surprised by this outcome. On the contrary, he felt it was only a matter of course. After he got teleported to the Ancient Rivers Heart, the Eternal Ashes he wielded did not disappear. So, it went without saying that his doppelgangers would also wield the Eternal Ashes. Although the Eternal Ashes only had the Basic Attributes and passive attack effect of a Legendary Weapon, it was still a Legendary Weapon. The Basic Attributes it provided were more than enough to let him surpass the other finalists. Leroja and Cross quickly figured this out when they fought against Shi Fengs doppelganger. Meanwhile, the reason Shi Feng could break through the first floor so quickly was that he had done so using brute force. Under normal circumstances, if Shi Feng were to try and compete against Leroja and Cross simultaneously, the fight would get dragged out, and hed eventually lose after running out of Stamina and Concentration. Fortunately, he had the Eternal Ashes. Combined with Holy Annihilation, he had easily sent the doppelgangers of Leroja, Cross, and the others flying and destroyed the barrier. As for the other finalists, though, their situation was the exact opposite of his. Itd be an absolute nightmare for them to fight against his doppelganger while trying to break the barrier. Meanwhile, after arriving on the second floor, Shi Feng got to experience the deep hostility the Ancient River Trial had toward players once again. The number of doppelgangers players had to face on the second floor was double that of the first floor. Not only that, but players were also required to break a threefold barrier while doing so. Thank goodness my doppelganger isnt among them. Otherwise, thered be no way to win. After taking a look at the 18 doppelgangers that had materialized before him, Shi Feng couldnt help but sigh in relief. With the Eternal Ashes in his hand, he could unleash power at the Tier 6 Basic standard if he executed Holy Annihilation. If he had to go up against his own doppelganger, the trials difficulty would instantly jump from easy to hell. However, so long as his doppelganger wasnt among the doppelgangers he had to face, even if he had to face twice as many doppelgangers, the increase in difficulty was manageable. Even so, Shi Feng dared not get careless when going up against the 18 doppelgangers. Godslayer! Shi Feng activated Godslayer without hesitation, instantly increasing his Mana and Concentration standards by a large margin. Then, he raised the Eternal Ashes and swung it at the doppelgangers. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Leroja was a Ranger proficient at ranged attacks, while Cross was a Berserker proficient at melee attacks. The two synergized with each other perfectly. If Shi Feng focused on only one of them, the other would use the opportunity to land deadly attacks on him. Now that the number of doppelgangers had doubled, one mistake was more than enough for the doppelgangers to kill him. So, if Shi Feng wished to achieve victory, the only way he could do so would be to end the fight as quickly as possible. Before the 18 doppelgangers got into formation, he needed to swiftly break the barrier. Otherwise, without any healers on his side, hed be worn down and killed if he chose to clash with the doppelgangers as he did on the first floor. However, as soon as Shi Feng launched his attack against the barrier, the 18 doppelgangers had also gone into action. Firstly, the two Undefeated Battle Maniacs joined hands to use a Tier 4 Combination Skill to deflect Shi Fengs Holy Annihilation. Although the two Berserkers were sent flying, their actions prevented the barrier from receiving any damage. Immediately afterward, the two Empress Blood Arrows launched two accurate barrages of arrows at Shi Feng. The two Rangers had launched so many arrows that they had saturated the space in the hall. If Shi Feng did not defend against the arrows, he would get hit with 100% certainty. Yet, if he defended against these arrows, it would mean that he couldnt do any damage to the barrier. Subsequently, after making a minor adjustment to his movements, Shi Feng executed another Holy Annihilation against the barrier. The first Holy Annihilation had already sent the two Undefeated Battle Maniacs flying. So, the two Berserkers could no longer stop this second Holy Annihilation. As for the arrows in the air, since defending against them would only lead to his failure, Shi Feng chose to receive them with his body. Of course, he also made sure to receive the least number of attacks possible. Boom! At the same time as cracks formed on the barrier, two arrows struck Shi Feng, reducing his HP by 20%. However, the loss of HP did not stop Shi Fengs actions. Relying on his buffed Concentration, Shi Feng promptly executed a chain of Holy Annihilations. One time Two times Three times When the fifth volley of arrows was about to hit Shi Feng and claim the last of his HP, the fifth Holy Annihilation landed on the threefold barrier and shattered it. Immediately afterward, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have become the first player to clear the Ancient River Trial! At the same time, the ranking list above the plaza where the top 100 players were gathered received an update. This time, all three of the top three positions were updated simultaneously. However, when everyone saw the champions name, they couldnt help but be stunned. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3272 - Chapter 346 - Chapter of Time Chapter 346 C Chapter of Time Ancient Rivers Heart, first-floor hall: Why did they disappear? Leroja was surprised when the nine doppelgangers before her suddenly disappeared. Then, when she saw the system notification she had just received, she was taken aback even further. Did someone clear the trial already? Leroja grew unsettled as she looked at the system notification. Black Flame? However, after giving the matter some thought, Leroja didnt find it all too surprising that Black Flame was the first to clear the Ancient Rivers Trial. The difficulty of having to go up against the doppelgangers of the nine other participants while simultaneously trying to break the barrier blocking off the pathway to the second floor was absurdly high. Even now, she had only managed to exhaust one-third of the barriers energy. Moreover, this was after she had used multiple Grandmaster Regeneration Potions to trade damage for damage. If not for the Grandmaster Regeneration Potions letting her instantly heal herself back to full HP, she would have long since gotten killed. However, it was a different story for Black Flame. Black Flames Basic Attributes were so overwhelming that none of the other nine participants could hope to match him. Even with her Divine Twilight Set, Leroja was not a match for him. Not to mention, Black Flame was also capable of using that nigh-unstoppable Holy Annihilation of his. Contrasting Lerojas reaction to the trials abrupt end, Cross laughed when he saw the system notification. Leroja must be losing her mind right about now. Cross chuckled as he looked at the system notification before him. At the same time, though, a wry smile appeared on his face. Shortly after the trial began, Cross quickly understood that out of the nine other participants, Black Flame would be the most troublesome opponent to deal with, even more troublesome than Leroja, who could attack from range. However, he still couldnt help but feel a little vexed to see Black Flame securing first place. After all, his original plan to compete with Leroja for first place had become a complete joke now. While Leroja and Cross were quietly looking at the system notification, an uproar had erupted in the plaza where the top 100 participants had gathered. First? Black Flame actually came in first? Black Flame is the Rookie Competitions champion!? Whats going on?! Everyone in the plaza was dumbfounded when they saw Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and the Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross coming in second and third place, respectively, while Black Flame occupied first place. Black Flame should have been nothing more than a nobody whose best achievement was coming in seventh of a miniature worlds God List. Nobody thought he would become the biggest dark horse in this Rookie Competition. After this competition, Black Flames name would most likely become known throughout the Ancient River Kingdom and the neighboring kingdoms. The various hegemonic powers might even come to fear and respect him. Brother Black Flame came in first? Midsummer was similarly rendered speechless as she looked at the ranking list above the plaza. Shi Feng could have already been considered a powerhouse in the Ancient River Kingdom after his previous achievement of winning against Saint Three and becoming the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon. Those achievements were also enough to make the kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers fear him. Now, Shi Feng had taken things a step further by beating Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac and becoming the Rookie Competitions champion. Although Shi Feng didnt defeat those two in a direct confrontation, this victory was more than enough to put him among the top of all Tier 4 experts in the Myriad Forest Empire and the dozen or so surrounding kingdoms. Even the city legions of second-tier cities would most likely try to recruit him. After all, Leroja and Cross had never lost to anyone they challenged or competed against. Now that Shi Feng had won against those two people, no Tier 4 player would dare to stand in his way in the Ancient River Kingdom. Even if he moved to develop in the Myriad Forest Empire, he wouldnt encounter any problems. While Midsummer was getting excited over the fact that their party of three could head to the Myriad Forest Empire to develop in the future, Shi Feng, who sat lying on the floor of the Ancient Rivers Hearts second floor in exhaustion, suddenly revealed an excited expression. After conquering the Ancient Rivers Trial, the divine drawings on the walls and stone pillars around him suddenly exuded a bright glow. Then, thirty seconds later, a semi-translucent piece of paper appeared in the center of the hall. The instant this piece of paper appeared, Shi Feng could feel a Divine Might enveloping him. Moreover, this wasnt just any ordinary Divine Might since his senses told him it was stronger than even the Divine Might of Tier 6 Gods. Theft is never good, try looking at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. Although this Divine Might only appeared briefly before disappearing, Shi Feng understood that the piece of paper was definitely something extraordinary. Moreover, the Seven Luminaries Codex in his bag had also grown incredibly restless, as if it could jump out of his bag space at any moment. The Seven Luminaries Codexs fragment! Apart from a fragment of a Godly Relic that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain, Shi Feng could think of no other item that could exude such an extraordinary Divine Might and get such a reaction from the Seven Luminaries Codex. So, this is the fragments power? When Shi Feng got within ten yards of the piece of paper, he felt like he had just entered an invisible barrier. The closer he got to the paper, the stronger the suppression acting on his Concentration became and the heavier his body felt. By the time Shi Feng got within one yard of the paper, his thoughts had become incredibly sluggish, and his body felt like it was filled with lead. At this moment, he couldnt even beat a Great Lord of the same level, let alone a Mythic monster. System: Do you wish to collect the Chapter of Time? System: Once you collect the Chapter of Time, you will be cursed by the God of Time. The curse will reduce your experience gain by 90% and triple the gravity you experience. The Chapter of Time will also have a 100% drop rate on death. The God of Times curse? Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the system notification. Isnt this penalty a little too brutal? The God of Time was one of Gods Domains Twelve Great Gods. While not an Ancient God, the God of Time was an existence superior to Ancient Gods. So, being cursed by such a God was no laughing matter. Moreover, this curse was permanent. Shi Feng couldnt get rid of it even if he got promoted to Tier 6. He could never get rid of this curse unless he had the strength to go against the God of Time. It would follow him forever, even if he deleted his account and started a new one. However, after hesitating for a moment, Shi Feng still chose to collect the Chapter of Time. The Seven Luminaries Codex was a Godly Relic that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the Chapter of Time was one of the Codexs power sources. It even governed over the element of time, one of the Three Supreme Elements. If he missed this opportunity to acquire the Chapter of Time, who knew when hed be able to find the next chapter? It should be known that he had limited time to repair the Seven Luminaries Codex. Even if he wasnt cursed by the God of Time, hed still lose everything if he failed to complete his quest. Since he would be doomed either way, he might as well take the Chapter of Time and give the Seven Luminaries Codex more Eternal Energy. That way, hed have more time to search for the other chapters. As for the reduction in experience gain, so long as his tier was sufficiently high, acquiring experience points wouldnt be a problem. The only problem was the increase in the gravity he experienced. A three-times increase in gravity would not only reduce his mobility and reaction speed but also increase his Stamina consumption significantly. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng chose to collect the Chapter of Time, a debuff named God of Times Curse appeared in his status bar. At the same time, his body grew heavier, and his mobility fell by roughly 30 to 40 percent. The effect of the gravity increase really is significant. Shi Feng revealed a wry smile when he sensed the changes in his body. However, before Shi Feng could inspect the Chapter of Time he had just acquired, the entire Ancient River Secret Land suddenly started to tremble. Regional System Announcement: The Ancient River Secret Lands power source has been exhausted. The secret land will collapse in five minutes. All players are recommended to leave the secret land as soon as possible. As soon as the system announcement appeared, the players in the Ancient River Secret Land immediately went into an uproar. The Ancient River Secret Land was an existence older than the Ancient River Kingdom. It was also an important resource for cultivating the kingdoms newcomers. Yet, now, the secret land was suddenly collapsing. There was absolutely something strange with this situation. This situation also most definitely had something to do with the abrupt change in the finals rules. However, nobody chose to delve deeper into the matter for now. Instead, they promptly took out the Secret Land Teleportation Scrolls they received when they entered the secret land and teleported out of the secret land, none daring to spend even a moment longer here. Retreat! Everyone retreat! Players from isolated Gods Domains might be unfamiliar with the collapse of secret lands, but this wasnt anything new for players in the Greater Gods Domain. The collapse of a secret land was similar to the collapse of a Gods Domain. Once a secret land collapsed, it would transform into an empty void. If players in the secret land did not withdraw in time, even their souls would get erased, and theyd have no choice but to start a new account. Shortly after the remaining players in the Ancient River Secret Land withdrew, the secret lands collapse caused the entire Ancient River Kingdom to tremble. Cracks had even appeared all over the kingdoms sky, making it seem like Armageddon had arrived for the kingdom. At the same time, independent players and powers all over the Ancient River Kingdom began frantically looking into the cause of the Ancient River Secret Lands collapse. In Gods Domain, major events often come with huge opportunities. A monumental event such as the Ancient River Secret Lands collapse would most certainly come with an unimaginable opportunity. Meanwhile, the ten players who had entered the Ancient Rivers Heart naturally became the key suspects behind the secret lands collapse. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3273 - Chapter 347 - Legendary Flying Mount Chapter 347 C Legendary Flying Mount TL Notes: Fyi, Red Players = players who have killed other players or committed minor crimes(in the eyes of NPCs?). Black Players = players who have killed many players(according to the main story) or committed severe crimes. Dark Players = players operating in the dark side of Gods Domain. Ancient River Kingdom, Gazing Moon City, Gazing Moon Hotel: Brother Black Flame, based on my Advanced Detection Magic, more than ten parties are spying on us, and these parties have over thirty Tier 5 experts in total. These parties are formed by either experts from Dark Guilds or independent experts. By the looks of things, they seem intent on taking action in the city, Midsummer said while marking the locations of the Tier 5 experts she detected nearby on the map on the table. If they attack us together, Im afraid not even the citys main street will be safe Have these people lost their minds? They cant even determine if we are behind the Ancient River Secret Lands collapse, yet theyre planning on attacking us in the city? Are they not worried well take revenge on them in the future? Wu Xiaoxiao said as she looked at the map. It hadnt been more than 20 minutes since the Ancient River Secret Lands collapse. Yet, when their party of three used to return to the Gazing Moon Hotel, a total of 14 parties and 33 Tier 5 experts had already gathered to hunt them. These Tier 5 experts ranged between Level 160 and Level 180, many of whom were well-known Black Players even she knew about. Black Players were players who had committed great sins in the Greater Gods Domain, and their names would be colored black. Most Black Players in the Greater Gods Domain tended to be titled experts. Meanwhile, players killed by these Black Players would have their death drop doubled or tripled. However, being a Black Player came with huge risks. So long as a Black Player got caught by NPCs or captured by players and handed over to NPCs, theyd either have to start a new account or wait for someone to rescue them. Hence, Black Players normally wouldnt take action inside a city without a good reason. Yet, now, there were three Tier 5 Black Players and thirty Tier 5 experts surrounding the Gazing Moon Hotel. Such a line-up was already enough to kill even the executives of hegemonic powers. While the Greater Gods Domains hegemonic powers might have quite a few Tier 6 experts under their command, these Tier 6 experts typically wouldnt operate within the borders of kingdoms and empires. Instead, theyd be exploring uncharted locations. Moreover, because of the unspoken rules of the various kingdoms and empires, Tier 6 players were prohibited from casually taking action. Because of this, Tier 5 players were regarded as apex combatants in the various kingdoms and empires. Youre overly underestimating these people, Xiaoxiao. If we are talking about the Ancient River Kingdoms normal powers and players, they naturally wont dare to provoke us. Rather than provoking us, they are eagerly looking for opportunities to curry favor with Brother Black Flame. After all, their roots are in the kingdom. Itd be tough for them to move to other places to develop, Midsummer said. But the people outside the hotel arent normal players. Theyre people who have taken the lives of many. It is especially true for those three Dark Players. If they cant survive in the Ancient River Kingdom, they can simply head over to another kingdom or empire. They can even head to other Realms. So, they arent worried about us taking revenge on them. Also, its not exactly a mistake for them to target us, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked out the window. You can even say that theyve made a very good decision. After all, setting aside the secret lands collapse, our party has collected all of the Mutated Heroic Spirits loot in full view of everyone. How are you still in the mood to laugh, Brother Black Flame? We cant even step out into the citys main street right now, Midsummer said, feeling a little exasperated over Shi Fengs behavior. Their party might have the strength to fight against Tier 5 players right now, but it didnt change the fact that all three of them were still at Tier 4. It wouldnt be easy for them to get an edge over Red and Black Players who would often engage in PvP. Not to mention, they were also heavily outnumbered right now. We dont have to worry about those people for now. Our priority should be to sort through our harvest, Shi Feng said with a smile. The harvest he gained through the Chapter of Time far exceeded his imagination, so much so that he even thought that the God of Times curse was insignificant in comparison. After the Chapter of Time merged with the Seven Luminaries Codex, not only did it let the Codex recover a significant amount of Eternal Energy, but it also granted it a heaven-defying Skill. [Seven Luminaries Codex] (Legendary Rank [Current]) One of the Godly Relics birthed along with Gods Domain. The Seven Luminaries Codex carries seven powers of creation. Currently, the Codex has been deprived of all seven of these powers and only retains a small trace of Eternal Energy. Only by collecting all seven powers can the Codexs power be restored. Cannot be destroyed. Cannot be traded. Cannot be dropped. The Eternal Energy in the Codex will dissipate over time. (Currently, there are 744 days remaining until the Codexs energy dissipates completely.) Additional Active Skill 1- Omni-Refinement: Refine all elements and substances unconditionally. No Cooldown. Additional Active Skill 2- Elemental Search: Reveal all mineral veins within a 300,000-yard radius. Cooldown: 12 hours Additional Active Skill 3- Time Crystal: Absorb one level from the user to create one Time Crystal. Time Crystals can be used to upgrade weapons, equipment, and tools. The higher the target items quality, the more Time Crystals will be needed to upgrade it. Cooldown: 1 hour (There are currently 11 Time Crystals stored. A maximum of 30 Time Crystals can be stored. Time Crystals will automatically dissipate if they are left outside their storage space for more than five minutes.) Additional Passive Skill- Seven Luminaries Guidance: Automatically detects fragments of the Seven Luminaries Codex within a 5,000,000-yard radius. Shi Feng had never heard of anything similar to the Time Crystal Skill. Although he had to sacrifice his levels on top of suffering from a 90% experience gain reduction to use this Skill, no player could resist the Skills heaven-defying effect. After all, the acquisition of powerful items was significantly more challenging than acquiring EXP. However, Shi Feng had no plans of sharing the Time Crystal Skills secrets with anybody. After all, the Seven Luminaries Codex was a priceless treasure. If news of it got out, even the Greater Gods Domains apex powers would do everything they could to acquire it, let alone the Greater Worlds conglomerates. Meanwhile, after hearing Shi Fengs words, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao excitedly took out the items they looted from the Mutated Heroic Spirit from their bags and began inspecting their harvest. A Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirits loot was equivalent to a Tier 5 Legendary World Bosss loot in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, Legendary World Bosses were incredibly rare, even in the Greater Gods Domain. Every one of these World Bosses was a target of contention for the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. To ensure their monopoly, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would even station numerous Tier 6 powerhouses to keep watch over the World Bosses spawn locations. So, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirits loot was outside the reach of even ordinary hegemonic powers, let alone fourth-floor experts like them. Around ten minutes after Shi Feng and the others started sorting through their haul, Shi Feng held up a dark-purple pendant with a dazed expression on his face. A Legendary Flying Mount! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3274 - Chapter 348 - Frostflame Phantom Dragon Chapter 348 C Frostflame Phantom Dragon Upon hearing Shi Fengs surprised exclamation, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao turned away from the loot they were sorting to look at Shi Feng simultaneously, the expressions on their faces looking like they had just heard the most unbelievable thing in this world. A Legendary Flying Mount? Are you trying to trick us, Brother Black Flame? Midsummer asked as she dubiously looked at the dark-purple pendant in Shi Fengs hand. There are less than 100 Legendary Flying Mounts recorded in the entire Starlight Realm. How can a Mythic ranked Mutated Heroic Spirit possibly drop such a Flying Mount? Wu Xiaoxiao also silently nodded in agreement, thinking that Shi Feng was joking with them. While Flying Mounts could be categorized into four ranks, namely Common, Extraordinary, Legendary, and Mythic, it was widely known that the highest-ranking Mounts most players could ever see were Extraordinary Flying Mounts. Indeed! Extraordinary Flying Mounts! The reason for this was because of the ridiculous rarity of Legendary Flying Mounts. They were rarer than even Legendary Weapons. They were so rare that there did not exist a single Legendary Flying Mount in the entire Ancient River Kingdom. Even the Guild Leaders of the kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers were only using Extraordinary Flying Mounts. Of course, it should be noted that apart from the four major ranks, each of the four major ranks of Flying Mounts could be further categorized into three minor ranks: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. Meanwhile, the Guild Leaders of the six ruling hegemonic powers Flying Mounts were at the Advanced Extraordinary rank, and most Tier 6 experts could only dream of owning such a Flying Mount. Although Flying Mounts werent as rare in the Greater Gods Domain as in the average Gods Domain, they were still luxury items. Even the most inferior Common Flying Mount was out of reach for many Tier 5 players, let alone Tier 4 players. Rarely would one see a Tier 4 player with a Flying Mount, even if said Tier 4 player was a genius nurtured by a hegemonic power. There were a few reasons for this situation. Firstly, Flying Mounts were in short supply. Secondly, Flying Mounts were extremely expensive to cultivate, and players who werent core executives of a power couldnt afford to cultivate even a Common Flying Mount. Flying Mounts differed from Land Mounts in that their tiers could be raised. Only, the chances of successfully upgrading a Flying Mounts tier would change depending on its rank. If players wished to cultivate Flying Mounts, the first hurdle they needed to face would be the food they fed to their Flying Mounts. Common food would not be enough to let a Flying Mount grow properly. Normally, Rare-grade fruits would be needed to properly cultivate a Common Flying Mount. Meanwhile, Rare-grade fruits were priced in Magic Crystals, and it was normal for a Flying Mount to consume several dozen kilos of fruit every day. As for the cultivation of Extraordinary Mounts, Epic-grade fruits would be needed. The cost of feeding an Extraordinary Mount alone was enough to bankrupt even Tier 5 experts belonging to a power. Of course, while cultivating Extraordinary Flying Mounts might be expensive, it was also worth the money. This was because Extraordinary Flying Mounts had the potential of getting promoted to the Tier 5 Legendary rank. Moreover, they would be much stronger than the average Tier 5 Legendary monster, rivaling Tier 5 Archaic Species of the same level. They could also traverse between Realms, allowing players to save on the exorbitant cost of traveling between Realms. As for Legendary Flying Mounts, even the most inferior Basic Legendary Flying Mount had the possibility of getting promoted to Tier 6. Meanwhile, so long as players could cultivate a Legendary Flying Mount to Tier 6, itd be equivalent to gaining a Tier 6 powerhouse as a helper. Tier 6 players without Legendary Weapons would have to either run away or fight as a group if they were to go up against a Tier 6 Legendary Flying Mount. Of course, cultivating a Legendary Flying Mount to Tier 6 was an incredibly challenging task. Even ordinary hegemonic powers couldnt necessarily accomplish such a feat. Dont believe me? Seeing that the two girls thought he was joking, Shi Feng smiled and shared the dark-purple pendants stats with them. If you dont believe me, you can see it yourself. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao saw the pendants data, their eyes widened as if they had just seen a ghost. [Ancient Oath] Can be used to summon a Legendary-rank Frostflame Phantom Dragon as a partner to fly and fight freely in the sky. If the Frostflame Phantom Dragon dies, it will need 25 natural days to return to life. How can this be?! Is that Mutated Heroic Spirit really just a Tier 4 Mutant? After seeing the pendants stats, Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao couldnt help but feel that Shi Feng had heaven-defying luck. According to records made in the Starlight Realm, out of all the known Legendary Flying Mounts, over 80% of them were acquired through killing Tier 6 Gods, while the rest were acquired as a reward for completing Legendary World Quests. If it was made known that a Tier 4 Mutated Heroic Spirit had dropped a Legendary Flying Mountno, even if the Mutated Heroic Spirit only dropped an Extraordinary Flying Mount, the news would probably cause the Greater Gods Domains various powers to go on a hunt for Mutated Heroic Spirits. They might even go for ordinary Heroic Spirits to try their luck. But its a pity that the Frostflame Phantom Dragon is only a Basic Legendary Flying Mount. Its chances of getting promoted to Tier 6 are less than 5%, Shi Feng said, feeling a little disappointed as he looked at the Ancient Oath. The Frostflame Phantom Dragon might be called a dragon, but it wasnt a real dragon. Instead, it was a dragon-shaped ancient beast. It only had the appearance of a dragon. In terms of Life ratings, it was only slightly stronger than the average Archaic Species. It couldnt even compete against four-winged valkyries, let alone true dragons. As a Basic Legendary Flying Mount, the Frostflame Phantom Dragon started at the Tier 4 Peak standard. Although it was much better off than Extraordinary Flying Mounts, which started at Tier 3, it only had a 25% success rate of getting promoted to Tier 5 and a 5% success rate of getting promoted to Tier 6. While there wasnt a limit to how many times he could try to promote the Phantom Dragon, the cost of each promotion attempt was incredibly expensive, even if it was only the Tier 5 promotion. He was someone fated to reach Tier 6 in the future. So, the Frostflame Phantom Dragon was still a little too weak for him. When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao saw the disappointed look on Shi Fengs face, they suddenly had the urge to snatch the Frostflame Phantom Dragon from him. Although they eventually suppressed their urges, they still couldnt help but cast a contemptuous look at Shi Feng to express their thoughts. Wait a minute After staring at the dark-purple pendant in his hand for a moment, Shi Feng suddenly thought of a possibility. This thing is considered a tool in Gods Domain. The Time Crystals should work on it if its a tool, right? Although the Ancient Oaths item description didnt clearly state that it was a tool, Gods Domain was very loose in identifying tools. Apart from food and beverages, most man-made items that werent weapons or equipment would be recognized as tools. The Ancient Oath might not be labeled as a summoning flute, but it was, without a doubt, a man-made item. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng took out a Time Crystal from the Seven Luminaries Codex and chose to merge it with the Ancient Oath. The instant the Time Crystal touched the Ancient Oath, the sound of a system notification immediately entered Shi Fengs ears. System: Upgrading the Ancient Oath will require 10 Time Crystals. Current number of Time Crystals used C 1. Please provide more Time Crystals if you wish to upgrade the Ancient Oath. It actually works! Shi Feng became a lot more spirited when he saw the system notification. Ten Time Crystals, is it? Thats not a lot. I have 11 accumulated right now, just enough to upgrade it once. Immediately, Shi Feng took out nine more Time Crystals from the Seven Luminaries Codex and chose to upgrade the Ancient Oath. As soon as he did so, the dark-purple pendant suddenly released a scorching red glow that caused the surrounding temperature to skyrocket, giving Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao a scare. System: Ancient Oath successfully upgraded. The next upgrade will cost 50 Time Crystals. When the system notification appeared, white flames appeared around the dark-purple pendant, shrouding it. Now, it looked as if the pendant had a life of its own, and it was completely different from before. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3275 - Chapter 349 - Astonishing Growth Chapter 349 C Astonishing Growth What an incredible effect! Shi Feng was amazed by the dark-purple pendant surrounded by white flames. Typically, items in Gods Domain would only see a change in their appearance when they had received a significant improvement to their existing parameters. Either that or they had undergone a change in their existing effects. In the dark-purple pendants case, if he ignored the addition of the white flames, there werent any significant changes to the pendants external appearance. However, it was a different story for the feeling it gave off. Currently, it felt as if the pendant had transformed from a dead object into an object that was seemingly alive. This was a much more incredible transformation than a simple change of appearance. This change surprised not only Shi Feng, but Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao as well. The twos mouths fell wide open when they sensed the change in the dark-purple pendants presence. Although they didnt know what Shi Feng had done, they knew that whatever he did had allowed the Ancient Oath to undergo a qualitative improvement. Otherwise, there was no way an item could undergo such a huge change. But, how exactly did Shi Feng let a Legendary Flying Mount undergo a qualitative transformation? A Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon? Shi Feng immediately grew ecstatic when he read the Ancient Oaths updated description. [Ancient Oath] Can be used to summon a Legendary-rank Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon as a partner to fly and fight freely in the sky. If the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon dies, it will need 30 natural days to return to life. Mutation Effect: Grants the Ancient Oaths wielder 10% of the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragons Basic Attributes. In Gods Domain, mutated monsters were generally two ranks stronger than their normal counterparts. Since the Frostflame Phantom Dragon was a Basic Legendary Flying Mount, its mutated version would be an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount. In terms of Life Rating, the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon was already comparable to six-winged Valkyries. It also had a 60% chance of getting promoted to Tier 5 and a 15% chance to Tier 6. It was vastly superior to Basic Legendary Flying Mounts in this regard. A Basic Legendary Flying Mount might have a 5% chance of getting promoted to Tier 6, but according to records made in the Greater Gods Domain, nobody had ever managed to promote one to Tier 6. Out of all the Legendary Flying Mounts known to have reached Tier 6, even the weakest one was at the Intermediate rank. As for Advanced Legendary Flying Mounts, they could reach Tier 6 with 100% certainty so long as players were willing to invest the necessary resources. Moreover, even if Shi Feng couldnt afford to promote the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon to Tier 6, it would still be of great help to him if it reached Tier 5. This would hold true even if he reached Tier 6 in the future. This was because the Tier 5 Mutant was strong enough to hold its ground against even Tier 6 players. In other words, so long as he could promote the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon to Tier 5, hed immediately have a Tier 6 combatant at his command. Although this still wouldnt be enough to keep him completely safe in the Ancient River Kingdom, he wouldnt be completely helpless if ordinary Tier 6 experts decided to target him. The Frostflame Phantom Dragon mutated? When Midsummer overheard Shi Fengs mutterings, she couldnt help but ask, Doesnt that mean you have an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount now, Brother Black Flame? An Advanced Legendary Flying Mount! This was a Flying Mount that was destined to advance to Tier 6! In the Greater Gods Domain, just owning a Tier 6 Flying Mount was enough to keep a player safe from most hegemonic powers. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers wouldnt dare to offend a player with a Tier 6 Flying Mount casually. This was because players with Tier 6 Flying Mounts could establish Cross-Realm Chambers of Commerce. Traveling between Realms in the Greater Gods Domain was incredibly challenging. However, whether it was players or powers, anyone seeking to improve and grow stronger in the Greater Gods Domain would eventually have to travel to other Realms to do quests. This was because every Realm had its own unique technology that could be of significant help to players and powers. However, although Tier 5 Flying Mounts could already travel between Realms, traversing between Realms on a Tier 5 Flying Mount was a much more dangerous and time-consuming process than if one were to travel on a Tier 6 Flying Mount. The carrying capacity of a Tier 5 Flying Mount was also much smaller than a Tier 6 Flying Mount. While it was also possible for Tier 6 players to travel between Realms without the aid of a Flying Mount since their bodies were stronger than Tier 5 Flying Mounts, when it came to traveling between Realms, Tier 5 Flying Mounts were vastly superior to Tier 6 players in terms of efficiency. As for Tier 6 Flying Mounts, their transportation efficiency was at least 20 times greater than Tier 5 Flying Mounts. Hence, unless a player was swimming in Seven Luminaries Crystals, they would inevitably have to seek the help of Cross-Realm Chambers of Commerce if they wanted to travel to other Realms. Some upper-ranking hegemonic powers even relied on the business of providing cross-realm transportation as their main source of income. However, compared to Chambers of Commerce that were capable of cross-realm travel, the number of players and powers looking to travel between Realms was much, much greater. Supply was nowhere near keeping up with demand. Because of this, any Chamber of Commerce capable of cross-realm travel would have many hegemonic powers and Tier 6 experts looking to partner with them, let alone a Chamber of Commerce capable of moving large amounts of cargo. It is indeed an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount. Make sure to keep this secret for me, Shi Feng said, nodding. He did not bother hiding the change to the Frostflame Phantom Dragon. Anyone could tell that the Frostflame Phantom Dragon was a Basic Legendary Flying Mount so long as they saw it. However, mutated variants of Flying Mounts wouldnt look any different from their ordinary counterparts on the surface. They only differed in Life Rating, Skills, and Spells. So long as nobody mentioned that the Frostflame Phantom Dragon in his possession had mutated, nobody would know it was a Mutant. While Basic Legendary Flying Mounts were tempting to most hegemonic powers, the various hegemonic powers were well aware that a Basic Legendary Flying Mounts limit was only Tier 5. So, it still wasnt enough of a temptation for the various hegemonic powers to throw all caution to the wind and target him. However, it was a different story for an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would take action against him if they found out he owned an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount. Dont worry, Brother Black Flame! We wont tell anyone about it! Midsummer said with a smile. Also, weve finished sorting through the Mutated Heroic Spirits loot. Out of the 100-plus items it dropped, the least valuable items were Inferior Legendary materials. As for the more valuable ones, we got over forty Legendary materials, three Tier 5 Magic Scrolls, five God Crystals, and one item thats on par with the Legendary Flying Mount! On par with the Legendary Flying Mount? Shi Feng was surprised to hear Midsummers report. Just the fact that the Mutated Heroic Spirit had dropped the Ancient Oath was already plenty incredible. After all, the unupgraded Ancient Oath could already rival Legendary Equipment in value. So, he found it truly hard to believe that the Mutated Heroic Spirit could drop another item that was as valuable as a Legendary Flying Mount. Mhm. Honestly, I think this items value is greater than even the Frostflame Phantom Dragon, Wu Xiaoxiao excitedly said as she took out a tattered book and handed it to Shi Feng. A summoning array! Shi Feng was flabbergasted when he clicked on the tattered book. [Primordial Divine Dragon Summoning] (Grandmaster Magic Array) Gather the power of 108 Divine Dragon Scrolls to form a Tier 5 Primordial Divine Dragons phantom for one hour. Summoning arrays werent exactly rare in Gods Domain. However, most summoning arrays were only at Tier 4, and very few were at Tier 5. Meanwhile, Divine Dragons were akin to kings among Dragons. Their Life Ratings were also at the top among Dragons. Even if the Primordial Divine Dragon Summoning could only summon the phantom of a Tier 5 Divine Dragon, the phantom would still be much stronger than the average Legendary monster. If he could mass-produce this Summoning Array, he could even destroy the Ancient River Kingdom. Of course, mass production wouldnt be possible. After all, just the Seven Luminaries Crystals needed to mass-produce the Divine Dragon Scrolls was already beyond the means of ordinary powers. The production of each Divine Dragon Scroll cost 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. The Primordial Divine Dragon Summoning required 108 Divine Dragon Scrolls, which meant each use of the summoning array would cost 10,800 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. In addition to Seven Luminaries Crystal, the Divine Dragon Scrolls also needed many Epic materials to produce. These Epic materials generally could not be bought using Coins. Instead, people would normally only exchange them for Magic Crystals and Mana Stones. After a rough calculation, the production of 108 Divine Dragon Scrolls would cost around 300,000 Magic Crystals. Not to mention, Epic materials werent available in unlimited quantities. Even if he scoured the entire Ancient River Kingdom, hed be fortunate if he could get enough materials for a few dozen sets. Just as Shi Feng was about to conduct further research on the Primordial Divine Dragon Summoning, he suddenly received a system notification. Regional System Announcement: A Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage will be opening in three days. All kingdoms and empires situated near the Sea of Giants are advised to prepare to resist the incoming beast tide. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3276 - Chapter 350 - World Passages Opening Chapter 350 C World Passages Opening The system announcement echoed across the dozen or so kingdoms and empires situated near the Sea of Giants, the news brought by the announcement sending the players in these countries into a frenzy. Even the Ancient River Kingdoms players, who were feeling overwhelmed because of the Ancient River Secret Lands collapse, showed abnormal levels of excitement in response to this announcement. In a dark alleyway of Gazing Moon Citys main street, six players wearing cloaks and masks to hide their information and appearances were staring intently at the nearby Gazing Moon Hotel. They behaved as if the Gazing Moon Hotel was the only building that existed in this world. They were so focused on the hotel that even the swaying of the hotels potted plants was within their perception. However, shortly after the system announcement appeared, a stalwart man dressed in a gray robe suddenly appeared before the six. When these six cloaked individuals saw the gray-robed man, a flash of awe and admiration appeared in their eyes. Youre here, Boss Firefly, a snake-like young man with long hair, the leader of the six, greeted the gray-robed man. Then, with an excited look, he asked, Since youve shown up, does that mean there is a change in our plans? Are we heading straight to the Sea of Giants? The name Firefly was known by almost everyone in the Ancient River Kingdom. Although Firefly was only a Tier 5 Sword Saint, he was a Dark Player who even the kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers had a headache dealing with. There was also nobody who could escape from Fireflys hands once he set them as his target. In the past, the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers had tried to eliminate Firefly once and for all. For the sake of accomplishing this goal, each of the six ruling hegemonic powers had dispatched one legion consisting of 1,000 Tier 5 players led by one Tier 6 player. However, the result of the operation dumbfounded everyone. Not only did Firefly escape the six legions pursuit with his life, but he had even caused the six legions to lose one-tenth of their members. Although none of the Tier 6 legion commanders were killed, they were powerless to do anything to prevent Firefly from escaping. Even now, the Ancient River Kingdoms six ruling hegemonic powers were still hunting for Firefly. Yet, despite this, Firefly was still thriving in the Ancient River Kingdom, entering and leaving the various NPC Cities whenever he wanted. No, the stalwart man named Firefly calmly said. The World Passages opening might be tempting, but Black Flames importance isnt any lower. The Ancient River Secret Lands disappearance must have something to do with the ten people who had entered the Ancient Rivers Heart, particularly Black Flame. He has managed to win against Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac, so he must have some big secret on him. Now that a World Passage connected to him is opening, he is bound to make a move, so do not let your guard down during this period. Understood! the snake-like youth nodded. So long as he dares to leave the main street, well make sure to capture him before anyone else! Firefly did not say anything more. Then, he disappeared just as abruptly as he appeared. Gazing Moon Hotel, VIP room: How could this be? Wu Xiaoxiao grew incredibly nervous when she saw the system announcement. Once a worlds World Barrier broke, players in that world would no longer be protected, and players from other worlds could freely enter it. Along with this announcement, their Gods Domains struggle over the Miniature Ancient World with other worlds had officially begun. It was just that she didnt expect the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage would open so much sooner than she expected. It had even opened ahead of their Gods Domains World Passage. This was undoubtedly a disaster for their Gods Domains players in the Miniature Ancient World. However, when Shi Feng saw the anxiety on Wu Xiaoxiaos face, he smiled and said, This isnt bad news, you know? On the contrary, it is good news for you and Midsummer. Good news? Wu Xiaoxiao grew confused. She couldnt understand how she could benefit from this situation in any way. Once the Miniature Ancient World became fully open to the Greater Gods Domain, most, if not all, of the Miniature Ancient Worlds resources would be snatched up by the Greater Gods Domains various powers. One could easily imagine how this would impact the development of the Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers. Meanwhile, as a genius nurtured by the Green God Corporation, it went without saying she would be negatively affected by this situation as well. Shi Feng did not hurry to provide Wu Xiaoxiao with an explanation. Instead, he smiled and asked, Do you know why, even though the Miniature Ancient World only allows players to enter it if they restart their progress, the various foreign powers still sent their geniuses into the Miniature Ancient World in droves? Isnt it to train those geniuses? Wu Xiaoxiao answered almost instinctively. Training is only one part of the reason, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The various powers true aim is the moment the World Passage opens. Specifically, they are aiming to compete for the World Passages opening rewards! There are rewards for the World Passages opening? Wu Xiaoxiao was surprised. This was the first time she had heard about such a thing. Naturally. Any World Passages opening will cause chaos and fluctuations in space and time, allowing dangerous creatures in the void to surge into the worlds connected to the World Passage. Meanwhile, players who kill these dangerous creatures will gain Contribution Points from the Greater Gods Domains Adventurers Association, and these points can be spent to exchange for items in the Associations treasury, Shi Feng explained. The Adventurers Associations treasury is incredible. Not only does it have Legendary Weapons and Equipment, but it even has Legendary Equipment Sets. However, these items still arent the most important. These still arent the most important items? Wu Xiaoxiao was stunned. These were Legendary Equipment Sets they were talking about! Yet, they werent considered the most important? If a Tier 6 player were to equip such a set, they could basically roam the Starlight Realm unhindered. After all, only a few players in the Starlight Realm owned a Legendary Equipment Set, and they were all peerless individuals known by everyone in the Starlight Realm. Of course not, Shi Feng said, rolling his eyes at Wu Xiaoxiao. The Adventurers Associations treasury is unique in the Greater Gods Domain. No other organizations treasury can match the Adventurers Associations treasury. Meanwhile, out of all the items in the Associations treasury, the most precious ones would undoubtedly have to be the Legacy Guidance Crystals, items that can let players experience the promotion process of Gods during ancient and primordial times. There are also the Legacy Crystals that can let players experience the perfect use of Gold Combat Techniques. These are vastly superior to the Legacy Crystals players typically come across in the outside world, which usually only provides an incomplete experience. Currently, although you and Midsummer have qualified for the Galaxy Conglomerates official invitational competition, it is nothing but a dream for you two to win an invitation from the competition. However, if you can get your hands on the Adventurers Associations Legacies, your chances of winning an invitation will increase dramatically. Weapons and equipment might be important, but they could be easily lost. On the other hand, promotion methods and combat techniques would stay with the player forever once learned. These Legacies were also the only advantage the Adventurers Association provided to isolated worlds once their World Passage opened. When Wu Xiaoxiao heard Shi Fengs explanation, she immediately understood why even hegemonic powers originating from Higher Gods Domains would send their geniuses to the Miniature Ancient World. Such an opportunity was indeed hard to come by. But Ive already left the Miniature Ancient World, and I dont have any ways to go back, Wu Xiaoxiao said somewhat helplessly. It was a fluke that she managed to enter the Greater Gods Domain before the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage opened. She would need a miracle to return to the Miniature Ancient World. After all, if it was so easy to travel in and out of an isolated world, the various hegemonic powers wouldnt have bothered having their geniuses restart their accounts progress. Who says you cant go back? Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3277 - Dual Absolute Chapter 351 C Dual Absolute Miniature Ancient World, Dark Thunder Sea: In the sky above a dark and endless ocean, a luxurious flying ship measuring over a hundred meters in length traveled steadily beneath the thundering sea of clouds. Lightning capable of tearing apart space continuously struck the surroundings of the flying ship. However, none of these lightning arcs could get within 20 yards of the flying ship. Any that tried would get stopped by an invisible barrier that protected the ship. This flying ship is incredible. Is this the might of lost technology? a girl with a pristine face and delicate body exclaimed as she looked at the dim sky outside the flying ship. This is indeed an incredible flying ship. But the fare of 100,000 Magic Crystals per person is equally incredible. Operating this flying ship is even more lucrative than just outright robbing people, a silver-haired girl sipping on black tea at the open-air bar said, sighing. These two girls were incredible beauties, and every one of their actions attracted the attention of many players on the ship. Arent those two a little too beautiful? Even my Guilds number-one beauty pales in comparison. Moreover, both of them have reached Level 140 already. Thats five levels higher than the average level of current mainstream players. Yet, Ive never heard of either of their names before. Ive never heard about that beauty named Midsummer, but I know that silver-haired beauty. Shes the Silver Witch Wu Xiaoxiao. She used to be regarded as a peak genius among our worlds younger generation, but she disappeared from the public eye some time ago. I didnt think she would make a reappearance here and in such a shocking manner, no less. Shes probably one of the geniuses invited by the Seven Great Powers this time. The seven powers have invited all native geniuses to the Thunder Fortress to wait for the World Passages opening, promising to protect all qualified geniuses and ensuring these geniuses can safely enter the Greater Gods Domain to receive the best development opportunities. Thats most likely the case. I heard that Jun Luosha, the Green God Corporations number one genius, is also aboard this flying ship. Jun Luosha? The Dual Absolute is also here? Itd be great if I could meet her in person! Many Level 135-plus, Tier 4 players rode on the flying ship. These players excitedly started a discussion when they saw Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao, their discussion hitting a peak when they mentioned the player named Jun Luosha. Jun Luosha? Shi Feng grew confused when he overheard the conversation of the players around him. Based on the crowds discussion, Jun Luosha was apparently the number one genius of the Green God Corporation. Although the Green God Corporation wasnt comparable to the Greater Worlds conglomerates, it was still first-rate among the Greater Worlds various corporations. So, it went without saying that the number one genius nurtured by the Green God Corporation would be someone with extraordinary strength. Yet, whether it was during his previous life or present life, Shi Feng had never heard of Jun Luoshas name or title until he boarded this flying ship. While Shi Feng was wondering what kind of person Jun Luosha was, a burst of exclamations came from one part of the ship. Subsequently, a group of a dozen or so players walked out onto the deck from the ships inner section. Out of this group of players, the person who stood out the most was a woman with light cyan hair and clad in pure white holy armor. The woman exuded an intellectual and mature charm, and every one of her movements drew the heartstrings of those looking at her. Even Midsummers and Wu Xiaoxiaos charm paled in comparison to this womans. Only women like Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul could possibly match this woman. Jun Luosha! Its the real Jun Luosha! Shes simply too beautiful. Whos that person walking next to Jun Luosha? Is he some corporations young master? Good guess. The young knight next to Jun Luosha is Dark Dragon Knight Franz, the Desolate Star Corporations Second Successor. He is also the commander of the Tower Alliances sixth trump card legion. When the many young geniuses present saw Jun Luosha and Franz appearing together, they couldnt help but look at the two in envy and admiration. Jun Luosha had many admirers, some of them being the young masters of corporations. However, out of all these admirers, the one most worthy of Jun Luosha would have to be Franz. The Desolate Star Corporation was a very powerful and wealthy existence. It owned many hegemonic powers, and its influence extended even to other Realms. The fact that Franz was second-in-line to inherit this powerful corporation already put him well ahead of the competition. On top of that, even though Franz hadnt reached 30 years old yet, he had already become a titled expert and the commander of the Tower Alliances sixth trump card legion. The average genius simply couldnt hope to compare to him. If these achievements werent enough to prove his superiority, the dozen or so people standing guard around him should be more than enough. These people were Franzs bodyguards, and they were all fourth-floor experts. Normally, if a fourth-floor expert chose to join a hegemonic power, they would be given an executive members treatment and granted the position of a legions vice commander. Yet, now, these people had chosen to work as Franzs bodyguards. Some hegemonic powers Guild Leaders didnt even enjoy such treatment. While everyone was curiously discussing why Jun Luosha and Franz would be together, Jun Luosha suddenly walked up to Wu Xiaoxiao, a twinkle of joy in her eyes. I finally get to see you again, Xiaoxiao. I thought you met with some big trouble and had to go into hiding, Jun Luosha said, feelings of concern and relief on her face as she looked at Wu Xiaoxiao. Since youre here now, come with me to the third floors restaurant. They serve many delicacies that can permanently increase Basic Attributes there. As soon as Jun Luosha finished speaking, Franz, in a somewhat prideful tone, said, Hello, Miss Wu. I am a good friend of Miss Jun. Since you are Miss Juns junior, why dont you come with us? Many important figures from the various hegemonic powers are gathered in the third floors restaurant. Im sure you will have significant gains in the Thunder Fortress if you get acquainted with them. Itll also be safer in the restaurant. Upon hearing Franzs invitation, many of the geniuses on the deck couldnt help but look at Wu Xiaoxiao enviously. Because this flying ship was the safest and quickest way to reach the Thunder Fortress, the cost of boarding this ship was exorbitant. Each person had to pay a non-negotiable fee of 100,000 Magic Crystals. To get into the flying ships third-floor restaurant, players would even need a VIP membership. Meanwhile, not only did players have to pay 300,000 Magic Crystals for this membership, but they also needed to show proof of having ruled over a city. However, so long as players got into the third floors restaurant, not only would they receive greater security, but they would also get the opportunity to interact with various big shots. Senior Sister, Captain Franz, thank you for your kind gesture, but my friends and I like the scenery here, so I wont be going with you, Wu Xiaoxiao said, rejecting the invitation without hesitation. Moreover, I think that this place is also quite safe. TL Notes: [1]Dual Absolute: If I were to translate the raws of Jun Luoshas title in full, it would be something like Sword and Medicine Dual Absolute(ҩ˫). Its too long for my liking, so I shortened it to Dual Absolute. Im bringing this up since the Sword and Medicine part gives a lot of information about Jun Luosha. Shes probably a Swordsman/Berserker + Alchemist, or she has a Hidden Class that lets her become a healer+swordsman. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3278 - Chapter 352 - Half-Step Sword Saint Chapter 352 C Half-Step Sword Saint Quite safe? When Franz heard Wu Xiaoxiaos statement, he looked behind Wu Xiaoxiao, a trace of disdain briefly appearing in his eyes when he saw Midsummer and Shi Feng, who wore a cloak with Zero Wings Guild Emblem pinned on it. Then, he chuckled and said, In that case, I will respect your decision, Miss Wu. But if you encounter any problems afterward, feel free to find me. I cant say I can solve all problems, but I still hold enough influence to solve most problems youll face in this Miniature Ancient World. None of the young geniuses on the deck refuted Franzs words. On the contrary, all of them agreed with his claim. There might be many hegemonic powers and corporations in the Miniature Ancient World, but Franz could still be regarded as a powerhouse. Unless necessary, most powers and corporations would choose to take a step back out of respect for Franz. In the meantime, Jun Luosha carefully scrutinized Shi Feng as if she was looking at some kind of rare animal. Then, unable to help herself, she whispered to Wu Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao, is this friend of yours that strong? The Miniature Ancient World was currently in an incredibly chaotic state. The Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers were even facing increasingly greater pressure from the various foreign powers. It was especially true when it came to the Thunder Fortress since that would be the only entrance to the Greater Gods Domain. It was no exaggeration to say that whoever controlled the Thunder Fortress would be securing themselves a huge fortune. For this reason, the various native powers began to join forces. In response, the various foreign powers were also looking to weaken the various native powers. If an opportunity appeared, the various foreign powers wouldnt refuse a chance to eliminate native experts and geniuses. This was also why Jun Luosha wanted to bring Wu Xiaoxiao with her. Meanwhile, as a newcomer to the Green God Corporations genius training program, Wu Xiaoxiao was very talented and alert, so there was no way the girl wouldnt understand what she was trying to do. Yet, Wu Xiaoxiao still refused her invitation. This meant that Wu Xiaoxiao was either confident in her companions strength. He is very strong, Wu Xiaoxiao said with a faint smile. How strong are we talking about? Jun Luosha scrutinized Shi Fengs inconspicuous appearance again after hearing Wu Xiaoxiaos answer. Then, she chuckled and asked, How does he compare to the God Lists current rank 1 player? After thinking for a moment, Wu Xiaoxiao firmly said, He should be stronger than the God Lists current rank 1. Keep on boasting. Do you even know who the God Lists rank 1 player is? Jun Luosha rolled her eyes at Wu Xiaoxiao. She felt that her junior must have been brainwashed to believe that the inconspicuous-looking Shi Feng could be stronger than the No.1 player on the God-ranked Expert Ranking List. Trecht. The current number one player on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God List. Most of the Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers might not know much about him, but he was a name known by all in the Greater Gods Domains Magus Kingdom. His fame and strength were on par with the Myriad Forest Empires Empress Blood Arrow and the Red Star Kingdoms Undefeated Battle Maniac. Together, the three were known as the Three Invincibles in the Myriad Forest Empire and its neighboring kingdoms. At Tier 4, nobody could hope to compare against them. Im not boasting, Senior Sister, Wu Xiaoxiao said, hurriedly shaking her head. Wu Xiaoxiao had done a lot of research on the God Lists current rank one player. So, she knew that since Trecht first debuted until now, he had not lost against anybody he had fought against. He was essentially invincible among his peers, and his achievements were not at all inferior to Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac. However, Shi Feng had beaten both Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac to secure first place in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition. So, it was by no means an exaggeration to say that Shi Feng was stronger than Trecht. Just when Jun Luosha was about to ask Wu Xiaoxiao for more details, a loud commotion came from the third-floor restaurants entrance. When everyone on the deck turned to look at the third-floor restaurant, they saw Franz and his bodyguards getting stopped outside the restaurants entrance. What is the meaning of this, Calgaron? Franz demanded as he looked at the middle-aged male Elementalist blocking his way. Do you want to start a war between our two corporations? Nothing of the sort. Its just that there is a distinguished guest inside who doesnt wish to be disturbed, so I will have to ask you and your group to wait outside, Calgaron, the middle-aged Elementalist, said unhurriedly. Dont worry; it wont take long. You just have to wait until tomorrow when the flying ship reaches the Thunder Fortress. Calgaron did not seem to care when he heard Franzs threat of starting a war between corporations. On the contrary, he looked at Franz with eyes full of mockery. Meanwhile, when the players on the deck saw this situation, none felt surprised. The Desolate Star Corporation might be powerful, but the Divine Will Corporation that Calgaron was from was not in any way inferior. On the contrary, the Divine Will Corporation was slightly superior since, unlike the Desolate Star Corporation, it held shares in a pseudo-hegemonic power. Moreover, Calgaron was the Divine Will Corporations First Successor. So, in terms of status, he was above Franz. A distinguished guest? Franzs expression darkened a little. Then, he gestured for his bodyguards to force their way through, saying, I want to see who this distinguished guest is to dare to disrespect me! He had just assured Wu Xiaoxiao and Jun Luosha that he could solve most problems in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, immediately afterward, he was getting stopped outside the flying ships third-floor restaurant. If he took this slight lying down, hed become a laughingstock. However, before Franzs bodyguards could make a move, the restaurants front door suddenly opened. Then, a stalwart man, clad carrying a greatsword on his back and clad in broken armor, walked out of the restaurant. As soon as this stalwart man appeared, Calgarons dozen or so bodyguards and Calgaron himself respectfully bowed their heads to the man. Lord Saint Nine! Calgaron greeted the stalwart man, his words instantly shocking everyone present. Franz, in particular, revealed a look of despair when he heard the stalwart mans name. Saint Nine! The current rank 10 player on the God-ranked Expert List. Despite being a titled expert, Franz felt suffocated just by standing in Saint Nines presence. As for his bodyguards, even though they were fourth-floor experts, their faces turned pale, and they couldnt help but kneel on the ground to keep themselves from collapsing, evidence that they were under immense pressure. Some of their faces had even started to contort. A Half-step Sword Saint! Whether it was Franz or the other Tier 4 experts present, every one of them instinctively thought of this term. Although Saint Nine was still a Tier 4 Sword Emperor right now, his Basic Attributes and Concentration had already reached the Tier 5 standard. The average Tier 4 expert simply couldnt hope to stand up to him. It wouldnt be surprising if Saint Nine could fight against actual Tier 5 players. Subsequently, Saint Nine took a step forward and instantly appeared in front of Franz. Then, after taking a moment to look at Franz in silence, Saint Nine indifferently asked, So, Franz, do you think I need to show you any respect? Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3279 - Chapter 353 - Do You Dare to Come Forward? Chapter 353 C Do You Dare to Come Forward? Although Saint Nine spoke calmly and only several people nearby could hear him, Franzs complexion paled when he heard Saint Nines words. In reality, Saint Nine didnt have a powerful personal background. He had relied entirely on the Twin Saints Alliances resources to grow to his current strength. When it came to status and background, there was no question that Franz was overwhelmingly superior to Saint Nine. However, the problem was that they were currently in the Miniature Ancient World, a place where even the strongest players were only at Tier 4. In this place, Saint Nine was akin to a walking disaster for the various powers. Under normal circumstances, Franz wouldnt have feared Saint Nine at all. At worst, he would die once. However, the World Passage was opening soon. If Franz got killed on the flying ship, hed essentially have to say goodbye to the World Passages opening rewards. It should be known that the main reason players and powers from outside the Miniature Ancient World came to this world was so that they could acquire the World Passages opening rewards, and Franz was no exception. Do you take the Desolate Star Corporation for a pushover, Saint Nine? While Franz was in a state of panic, the masked lady standing behind Franz suddenly spoke up. After saying so, the lady with a pair of enchanting silver eyes waved the silver staff she wielded and merged three Tier 4 Spells into one. Immediately afterward, over 200 blades made of bone-chilling flames appeared around Saint Nine and struck at him, each of these soul blades leaving behind a fiery silver chain in their wake. Every soul blade carried power at the Tier 5 standard, and the number of soul blades the lady summoned had already gone far beyond the maximum number of attacks Tier 4 players could react to simultaneously. Moreover, the silver chains the soul blades created continuously reduced the space available for Saint Nine to maneuver around. Auntie! You succeeded?! Franz grew ecstatic when he saw the soul blades and silver chains surrounding Saint Nine. The masked lady was none other than Favra, the Tower Alliances Great Elder. At the same time, she was Maria and Franzs aunt. Originally, Favra was a paragon widely known during her era. However, she had long retired from the public eye, so not much information was known about her nowadays. People only remembered her title of Silver-eyed Witch. Hardly anybody knew that Favra was researching how to combine three Spells, in other words, triple fusion magic, to unleash strength above her tier. Now, though, his Aunt Favra had succeeded! Meanwhile, the fusion of three Tier 4 Spells would result in power that could overshadow even Tier 5 Spells! However, before Franz could relax, he suddenly heard Saint Nine speaking: You are still not qualified to be my opponent! Before Franz realized it, Saint Nine had vanished from before him and reappeared in front of Favra, his greatsword held in his hands. Then, Saint Nine swung his greatsword at Favra. Boom! Bright silver light enveloped the flying ships third floor, and everyone idly stared at the light as if time had stopped moving. When the light faded, only a broken magic barrier remained in Favras original location. As for Favra herself, she had crashed into one of the flying ships sails, her silver mask shattering and her HP bar having little to nothing left. How is this possible?! This scene dumbfounded Franz and his bodyguards, none of them daring to believe this to be true. One strike! Saint Nine had executed only one attack, yet this one attack had instantly killed Favra, the Tower Alliances Great Elder and the Silver-eyed Witch whose name once shook the Starlight Realm. If not for the silver mask Favra wore, allowing her to evade death once, she wouldnt even be alive right now. The God Lists rank 10 is this powerful? Following this situation was a question that appeared in not just Franzs and his bodyguards minds but also the minds of many young geniuses on the ship. In everyones minds, Saint Nine might be ranked 10th on the God-ranked Expert List, but he was still only a titled expert. Meanwhile, Favra was similarly a titled expert. Even though she was a little older, she remained in her peak condition. So, everyone assumed there wouldnt be too huge of a gap between them. Yet, reality couldnt be any further from that. If Saint Nine could instantly kill even a titled expert, wouldnt it be childs play for him to kill ordinary fourth-floor experts? Moreover, if Saint Nine could only rank at 10th place on the God List despite being so strong already, how frightening were the God Lists other top 10 experts? Now that shes dealt with, its your turn next! Saint Nine said as he raised his greatsword and turned to look at Franz and his bodyguards. Suddenly, Franz and his bodyguards felt as if they could hear deaths footsteps. It felt as if death was already waving at them. The Desolate Star Corporations Second Successor? Titled expert? At this moment, all of these things had become nothing but a joke, and it was all because they werent aware of how monstrous Saint Nine was. In the meantime, Calgaron gleefully watched all this happening from one side. His rivalry with Franz had been going on for some time now, so he couldnt be happier to see Franzs demise. At the same time, Calgaron finally understood why the various hegemonic powers were reluctant to offend paragons, even when these paragons were at a low tier. Paragons, particularly top-ranking paragons of the Greater Gods Domains various countries like Saint Nine, were simply inhuman. It might be a little far-fetched to say that Saint Nine could go up against 1,000 fourth-floor experts of the same tier, but it was definitely possible for him to go up against 100 fourth-floor experts and win. Meanwhile, just the thought of a paragon like Saint Nine reaching Tier 6 gave Calgaron goosebumps. Anyway, with the current situation, the Desolate Star Corporation had essentially lost its chance of acquiring the World Passages opening rewards. Xiaoxiao, get ready to run with your party! Its no longer safe here! Jun Luosha said when she saw Saint Nine raising his greatsword against Franz, a bitter smile forming on her face. Saint Nine can probably rival the God Lists top three with his current strength. If he decides to get ruthless, nobody on this ship can live to see the Thunder Fortress. However, in response to Jun Luoshas anxiety, Wu Xiaoxiao shook her head and calmly said, Saint Nine is indeed strong, but you dont need to be so anxious, Senior Sister. We are very safe here. So long as the Guild Leader is around, Saint Nine cant harm us in the slightest. Although Wu Xiaoxiao didnt speak loudly, everyone on the flying ship was a Tier 4 player. In a quiet environment, a Tier 4 player could hear a persons normal speaking voice even from several hundred yards away. So, even though Wu Xiaoxiao was only speaking normally, everyone aboard the ship could hear her words. Meanwhile, upon hearing Wu Xiaoxiaos words, Saint Nine suddenly stopped his attack against Franz. Then, he turned to look at Wu Xiaoxiao, a cold glint in his eyes. What a big mouth you have there, little girl! Calgaron said, laughing. But will that so-called Guild Leader of yours dare to come forward and show himself to Lord Saint Nine? As soon as Calgaron finished speaking, Jun Luosha couldnt help but hold her head. Her junior might be good at many things, but it would seem that she was terrible at reading the room. With this, not only were Franz and his bodyguards finished, but even they were doomed as well. It was especially true for the Guild Leader whom Wu Xiaoxiao mentioned. That person most likely wished to choke Wu Xiaoxiao right about now. However, behaving as if she wasnt aware of the mess she had just created, Wu Xiaoxiao turned to look at the cloaked Swordsman sitting nearby and fawningly said, Guild Leader! Ive joined Zero Wing already, so you cant just watch me make a fool of myself! This will be the only exception! After letting out a sigh, the cloaked man stood up and began making his way up to Saint Nine. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3280 - Chapter 354 - Who Is He? Chapter 354 C Who Is He? Is he crazy? When Jun Luosha saw Shi Feng taking the initiative to approach Saint Nine, she couldnt help but try to stop him. Jun Luosha might not have bothered if it were in the past since, back then, she still wasnt aware of how strong Saint Nine was exactly. However, after seeing Saint Nine defeating Favra, a veteran titled expert[1], in one hit, shed have to be a fool not to know how frighteningly strong Saint Nine was. At this point, getting killed by Saint Nine could only be considered a small issue. If they ended up earning Saint Nines ire, they might not even be able to continue surviving in the Miniature Ancient World. The strength Saint Nine just displayed was already enough to upset the balance between the Miniature Ancient Worlds various hegemonic powers. It was especially so now that the World Passage was opening soon. The various hegemonic powers would definitely try to befriend Saint Nine as much as possible. So, if they were to offend Saint Nine now, one word from Saint Nine would be more than enough to erase Shi Feng and Wu Xiaoxiao from the Miniature Ancient World. Even the powers backing them might not be able to continue existing in the Miniature Ancient World. However, before Jun Luosha could stop Shi Feng, Wu Xiaoxiao suddenly pulled her back and smiled, saying, Dont worry, Senior Sister. The Guild Leader is very strong. When Jun Luosha saw Shi Feng moving closer and closer to Saint Nine, she started to grow even more anxious. Even if Shi Feng was strong, he shouldnt be confronting Saint Nine to prove his strength! Just when Jun Luosha thought of shaking off Wu Xiaoxiaos hand, she suddenly discovered that she, a Swordsman, couldnt shake off Wu Xiaoxiao, an Elementalist. Moreover, the flow of mana in her body had stagnated, and her body felt incredibly heavy. Xiaoxiao, you After taking another look at Wu Xiaoxiao, Jun Luosha couldnt help but feel as if she was looking at a completely different person. How was this supposed to be her cute junior sister? The other party felt more like a Legendary monster than a player right now. While Wu Xiaoxiao was holding Jun Luosha back, Shi Feng continued making his way over to Saint Nine. He was aware that Wu Xiaoxiao wasnt misbehaving just because she wanted to protect Jun Luosha. He knew that she was also trying to recruit Jun Luosha. Geniuses nurtured by the Green God Corporation might be affiliated with the corporation, but the corporation did not restrict its talents from joining Gods Domains various powers. On the contrary, the corporation strongly encouraged such behavior. This was also why Jun Lusoha was not against Franzs attempt at recruiting her. As for Wu Xiaoxiaos unilateral decision to recruit Jun Luosha, Shi Feng wasnt against it. Honestly, even if Wu Xiaoxiao didnt take the initiative to provoke Saint Nine, Shi Feng had planned to intervene in this affair. After all, the Desolate Star Corporation and Zero Wing were partners. Zero Wing had already earned a significant sum of Star Coins thanks to the Desolate Star Corporations Trade Center. So, even if Shi Feng didnt have goodwill toward Franz, he still felt obligated to save Marias Aunt Favra. On the other side, Franz hurriedly ran over to Favras side, took out a Healing Crystal, and shattered it above Favra. Then, streams of light-green mist flowed into Favra and quickly healed her back to peak condition. Do we have any chance of escaping, Auntie? Franz quietly asked Favra, fear evident in his eyes when he looked at Saint Nine. Saint Nines strength had completely exceeded Franzs imagination. Although he had long since known that geniuses capable of being regarded as paragons were much stronger than the average titled expert, he didnt think Saint Nine would be strong enough to defeat a veteran titled expert in one move. Even a dozen titled experts working together might not be enough to take down an expert like Saint NIne. However, titled experts were not cabbages that could be found everywhere. They were considered peak combatants even among the various hegemonic powers. In the Desolate Star Corporations case, despite how much importance the corporation had placed on the Miniature Ancient World, the corporation could only afford to dispatch six titled experts here to get a share of the World Passages opening rewards. If he and his Aunt Favra were to get killed here, it would be even more difficult for the Desolate Star Corporation to get a share of the opening rewards. After all, based on the strength Saint Nine had just shown, he was most likely capable of heavily damaging the souls of those he killed. If that were the case, anyone he killed would be unable to log into Gods Domain for several days. Its going to be difficult Favra said, shaking her head as she eyed Saint Nine warily. He is already strong enough to fight against the God Lists top 3. Even if he is fighting someone else, he only needs to spare two attacks to eliminate us. That damned Calgaron! He must have made me provoke Saint Nine on purpose just now! Franz mentally cursed as he glared at the middle-aged Elementalist a short distance away. The Desolate Star Corporation and the Divine Will Corporation had fiercely competed with each other over the years, so it wasnt out of the question for Calgaron to have planned such a trap. Franz! Dont even think of getting away today! Calgaron said, smiling when he saw the strong resentment in Franzs eyes. But dont you worry. Once Lord Saint Nine takes care of that arrogant kid, itll be your turn next! When Calgaron finished speaking, the spectating crowd on the flying ship couldnt help but sigh. It seems Desolate Stars group is doomed this time. Franz only has himself to blame for underestimating the experts on the God List. Not to mention, Saint Nine used to be one of the God Lists top 5 experts. Even after the various conglomerates geniuses officially stepped onto the Miniature Ancient Worlds stage, he still managed to stay within the top 10. Every expert on the current God List is a titled expert. If Saint Nine can rank among the top 10 out of all these titled experts, theres no way the average titled expert can be a match for him. Indeed. Saint Nine used to be among the top 10 paragons of a kingdom in the Greater Gods Domain. The various corporations are willing to pay big money just to befriend such existences. Some corporations will even offer a directors seat to recruit these paragons. Thats a privilege no ordinary titled expert can hope to receive. When the various hegemonic powers experts saw how powerless Franz was against Saint Nine, they came to learn just how frightening a paragon could be. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that one paragon was enough to go against an entire hegemonic power. Just as everyone thought Saint Nine would put on another overwhelming performance, Saint Nine, who had been scrutinizing Shi Feng all this time, suddenly put his greatsword away. At the same time, his indifferent expression instantly changed into one of respect. Before anyone could react to what was going on, Saint Nine quickly jumped down to the deck and walked up to Shi Feng. Then, putting on a friendly smile, he said, It is a great honor to be able to meet you here, Sir. Would you grant me the privilege of buying you a drink upstairs, Sir? Saint Nines words instantly dumbfounded everyone present. Nobody understood why Saint Nine would suddenly have such a huge change in his attitude and behave so respectfully to the cloaked Swordsman approaching him. If they didnt know any better, it looked as if Saint Nine had just met an existence he couldnt afford to provoke. Jun Luosha was similarly shocked to see Saint Nine behaving respectfully to Shi Feng. After combining this behavior with Wu Xiaoxiaos previous words, she couldnt help but turn to Wu Xiaoxiao and ask, Xiaoxiao! Who is he? TL Notes: [1] Made a change to Chapter 353: Original: Originally, Favra was a widely known paragon during her era. Edited: Originally, Favra was widely known during her era. It was mentioned in Chapter 270 that Favra was a veteran paragon, but I think the author has forgotten about that, and Favra is now only regarded as a veteran titled expert according to this chapter. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3281 - Chapter 355 - Asura Returns Chapter 355 C Asura Returns Jun Luosha wasnt the only one wondering about Shi Fengs identity after seeing Saint Nines respectful attitude toward Shi Feng. Everyone present was in the same situation. After all, they were talking about the tenth-ranked player on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God List here! Saint Nine was a powerhouse whom the Miniature Ancient Worlds various hegemonic powers had to think twice about offending. This was true even for the various corporations successors. One could see this point clearly through Calgarons attitude. Calgaron was the First Successor of the Divine Will Corporation. In addition, he was a titled expert and the commander of the hegemonic power Drifters third trump card legion. Before coming to the Miniature Ancient World, he was even an expert who had already gotten promoted to Tier 6. He only restarted his progress because of the World Passages opening rewards. Yet, even a high-status person like Calgaron had chosen to humble himself in front of Saint Nine. Although Saint Nine had never gone beyond Tier 4 in either the Miniature Ancient World or the Greater Gods Domain, should he join a hegemonic power, he would be given the treatment of a Vice Guild Leader, no questions asked. He would even be given a seat among the hegemonic powers Board of Directors and made a potential candidate for the Guild Leader or Grand Elder position. With Saint Nines current strength, the only people who could possibly get Saint Nine to behave respectfully to them would be the Guild Leader of a hegemonic power or the helmsman of a corporation. Everyone else was unworthy of his respect. However, even the various hegemonic powers Vice Guild Leaders would rarely be willing to enter the Miniature Ancient World, let alone Guild Leaders. As for the various corporations helmsmen, there was no way such big shots would sacrifice their progress and enter the Miniature Ancient World. So, everyone found it hard to imagine how anyone could get a paragon like Saint Nine to behave so respectfully. Does this person have an incredible origin? Franzs jaw dropped when he saw Saint Nine suddenly taking such a respectful attitude toward Shi Feng. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that Saint Nine was strong enough to defy the successor of any corporation in the Miniature Ancient World. Most of the hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World wouldnt even dare to make an enemy out of him. Franz had taken a moment to observe Shi Feng previously, and the other party could be said to be very normal. He couldnt feel the presence of a powerhouse from Shi Feng at all. Not to mention, Shi Feng was mingling with Jun Luoshas junior sister. Wu Xiaoxiao might be Jun Luoshas junior sister, but she was nothing more than an internal genius nurtured by the Green God Corporation. She was vastly inferior to Jun Luosha, who had already entered Green God Corporations core circle. The two couldnt even be compared on the same level. In Franzs opinion, someone considered very strong in Wu Xiaoxiaos mind would, at most, be at the standard of the average fourth-floor expert. This was also usually the limit of experts originating from isolated Gods Domains. However, after seeing Saint Nines respectful attitude, Franz felt that Shi Feng might be the son of an upper-ranking hegemonic powers Guild Leader. Either that or the son of a conglomerates executive. There might only be a one-rank difference between ordinary hegemonic powers and upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Greater Gods Domain, but the two were worlds apart from each other in reality. If Shi Feng was the son of an upper-ranking hegemonic powers Guild Leader, even the Guild Leaders of ordinary hegemonic powers would try to fawn over him, let alone Saint Nine. A World Passages opening was a huge opportunity for most players. So, it wasnt out of the question for the children of an upper-ranking hegemonic powers Guild Leader or the children of a conglomerates executive to enter the miniature Ancient World. While everyone was secretly speculating on Shi Fengs identity, Wu Xiaoxiao smiled at Jun Luosha and said, Black Flame! He is Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame! The few simple words that came out of Wu Xiaoxiaos mouth instantly shocked and confused Jun Luosha. Black Flame? The God Lists seventh-ranked Asura Sword Emperor? How is this possible? Jun Luosha wasnt foreign to the name of Black Flame. After all, Black Flames name was already known by all in the Miniature Ancient World at this point. But even if they were talking about Black Flame, Jun Luosha found it hard to believe Saint Nine would take on such a respectful attitude toward the Asura Sword Emperor. It should be known that the God-ranked Expert Ranking List was the Seven Luminaries Alliances subjective ranking. It wasnt an actual ranking of combat power. Moreover, even if Black Flame was stronger than Saint Nine, the difference in strength should be very limited. Jun Lusoha wasnt the only one confused at this time. Many of the people who had overheard Wu Xiaoxiaos words similarly found this revelation to be puzzling. What a surprise this is! I didnt think that cloaked Swordsman would be that rumored Asura Sword Emperor! But this is strange. Even if Saint Nine knows that guy is the Asura Sword Emperor, does Saint Nine need to behave so respectfully? After all, they are paragons of the same caliber. Saint Nine is probably thinking of befriending the Asura Sword Emperor. After all, the World Passage will be opening soon. Theres no harm in having an extra ally. At this point, the only explanation everyone could think of for Saint Nine to behave so respectfully to Black Flame was because Saint Nine was thinking of joining forces with the Asura Sword Emperor to tackle the World Passages opening. After all, countless experts and powers would gather for the World Passages opening. At that time, even a paragon of Saint Nines caliber would be limited in what he could accomplish if he were by himself. However, it was a different story if Saint Nine could join forces with Black Flame. Not only was the Asura Sword Emperor one of the God Lists top 10 experts, but he was also closely affiliated with the Glimmering Sword, another of the top 10 experts on the God List. If three of the God Lists top 10 experts worked together, they would become a formidable force even in the World Passage. While everyone was busy speculating Saint Nines motives, Shi Feng looked at Saint Nine and nonchalantly said, Ill pass on the drink, but it seems you have learned quite the incredible Identification Skill if you can see through my Black Cloaks effects. Basic Identification Skills were useless against the Black Cloaks concealment effect. In fact, some Advanced Identification Skills couldnt see through the Black Cloaks effects. It was no exaggeration to say that Identification Skills capable of seeing through the Black Cloaks effects were incredibly rare. It was for this reason the Black Cloak had become the first choice for experts and Dark Players wanting to hide their information. You overpraise me, Mr. Black Flame, Saint Nine said respectfully. It is only an insignificant Skill. I wouldnt call it an insignificant Skill, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at the divine runes marking Saint Nines eyes. The Magic Eyes of Time have the effect of Master Identification Skills. Very few people have them, even among the various hegemonic powers. Saint Nine wasnt surprised that Shi Feng had seen through his Magic Eyes of Time. Instead, he started to respect Shi Feng even more. Done with the pleasantries, Shi Feng got straight to the point and calmly said, The Tower Alliance is partnered with Zero Wing, so lets end this matter here. If that is what you want, I naturally dont have any problems with it, Mr. Black Flame, Saint Nine said, nodding. He showed no intention of going against Shi Fengs decision at all. Meanwhile, Saint Nines respectful and accommodating behavior caused everyones jaws to drop. No matter how they looked at it, this wasnt a conversation between equals. The tone Shi Feng took didnt sound like he was making a suggestion at all. Instead, it sounded like he was giving a command. Yet, Saint Nine had chosen to follow Shi Fengs command without question for some inexplicable reason. For a time, everyone wondered if the Saint Nine they were looking at was even the same person who had just heavily injured the Silver-eyed Witch Favra in one hit. Lord Saint Nine? This is different from what we disc When Calgaron heard Saint Nines words, he couldnt help but want to say something about Saint Nines decision. However, he promptly shut up when he received a glare from Saint Nine. This was because Saint Nines glare gave him the feeling that should he speak another word, Saint Nine would kill him on the spot. It wasnt until Shi Feng left into the distance that Calgaron finally found the courage to speak again. Even so, he still chose to speak in a whisper: Are we really going to let the Desolate Star Corporation go so easily, Lord Saint Nine? Calgaron was very confused by Saint Nines behavior. This was the perfect opportunity to deal a heavy blow to the Desolate Star Corporation. If they let this opportunity get away, itd be difficult to find another opportunity like this in the future. Since Mr. Black Flame has already said so, then this matter will end here, Saint Nine sternly said as he glanced at Calgaron. If you dont plan on giving up, dont say I didnt warn you if you and your men get annihilated. I dont understand, Lord Saint Nine. Black Flame might be ranked seventh on the God List, but with your current strength, is there a need for you to humble yourself so much in front of him? Calgaron asked in confusion. Calgaron had a good understanding of Saint Nines personality. If given the opportunity, hed fight the God Lists top 3 experts on the spot without hesitation. Respect? That was nothing but a joke! I wouldnt even spare him a second glance if he truly was only seventh on the God List, Saint Nine said as he looked at Calgaron. Then, he turned to look at Shi Fengs departing figure and continued respectfully, But he isnt just the God Lists seventh-ranked player! He is also the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon, someone who has won against both Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac! What? He won against the Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac? Calgaron gasped when he heard Saint Nines words, his mind subconsciously thinking that Saint Nine was playing a joke on him. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3282 - Chapter 356 - The Zero Wing of Today Chapter 356 C The Zero Wing of Today Empress Blood Arrow! Undefeated Battle Maniac! Both were titles known by many in the Greater Gods Domains Starlight Realm, as the owners of these titles had shaken dozens of kingdoms and multiple empires in the past. Meanwhile, as someone much older than Leroja and Cross, Calgaron had the opportunity to bear witness to the history these two people created. When Leroja and Cross were still actively competing among the Starlight Realms younger generation, they were known to be invincible among Tier 4 players. They had challenged many paragons across several dozen kingdoms to an official duel, yet not once did they suffer defeat. If they hadnt offended a conglomerate, they would have become even more famous in the Starlight Realm. According to rumors, a conglomerate had extended an olive branch to Leroja and Cross. However, because the conglomerate required them to withdraw from the corporations they were affiliated with, the two eventually chose to give up on joining the conglomerate. Their decision ended up displeasing the conglomerate. As a result, the corporations they belonged to had no choice but to drastically restrict their appearances in public. Otherwise, they would have long since become top celebrities in the Starlight Realm. Although Saint Nine was powerful, he was far from standing on the same level as Leroja and Cross. It was also why Saint Nine dared to challenge the God Lists current top 3 players but did not have confidence in securing first place. It was because the player currently occupying the number one position on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God List was Trecht, an existence known as one of the Three Invincibles alongside Leroja and Cross. So, when Calgaron heard that Black Flame had triumphed over Leroja and Cross, he couldnt help but be dumbfounded. While Calgaron was in shock, Franz similarly revealed a dazed expression on his face. Is what you just said true, Auntie? Franz couldnt help but doubt his ears when he heard what his Aunt Favra had just said. Thats Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac we are talking about! How can Black Flame possibly win against those two legendary individuals? Its not strange for you to be unaware of this matter since youve been focused on the Miniature Ancient World. The Desolate Star Corporation doesnt have any dealings in the Ancient River Kingdom, either, Favra said, nodding in response to her nephews doubts. Then, she revealed a wry smile as she explained: According to my sources, Black Flame won the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition yesterday and became the kingdoms First Paragon. Although Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac had participated in the Rookie Competition, they concluded the competition in second and third place. At this point, everyone in and around the Ancient River Kingdom already knows about this matter. But what really surprises me is that Black Flame can actually return to the Miniature Ancient World. Honestly, Favra would have never paid attention to the man named Black Flame if it werent for her niece Maria. She also wouldnt have bothered to keep an eye on the Ancient River Kingdoms situation. After all, the Starlight Realm was a massive place with over a thousand kingdoms and thousands of freely accessible Gods Domains. Even if she was a three-star mental strength grandmaster, she couldnt possibly pay attention to all these different worlds 24/7. Meanwhile, Black Flames return to the Miniature Ancient World truly surprised her. Even if she ignored Black Flames achievement of winning against Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac, his ability to freely travel between the Greater Gods Domain and Miniature Ancient World was more than enough for her to label him as incredible. Dammit! Franz couldnt help but have the urge to slap himself when he finished listening to his aunts explanation. He might not know what had happened in the Ancient River Kingdom, but he did know about the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. To avoid taking up their respective countries slots, it wouldnt be strange for Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac to participate in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition. Meanwhile, paragons such as Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac were highly sought after by even the various corporations helmsmen. Yet, he had expressed disdain to Black Flame just now. This situation couldnt be any worse for him. Different from Franz, Favra felt relieved by Black Flames achievements. At the same time, she had to admit that her niece had a good eye for people, betting a Trade Center on Zero Wing early on, instantly allowing her to draw close the distance between her and Black Flame. So long as Maria could receive Black Flames support, she would have a much greater chance of becoming the Desolate Star Corporations helmsman. However, the commotion on the flying ship was only a small interlude for everyones discussions. Shortly after the commotion ended, everyone went back to discussing the Thunder Fortress. Now that the World Passage was about to open, the Sea of Dark Thunders Thunder Fortress had become the gathering place for many geniuses and powers. Once all of these geniuses and powers arrived, the fortress would definitely become the most spectacular location in the Miniature Ancient World. At the same time, it would become the place where the various powers decided how they would divide the Miniature Ancient Worlds interests in the future. Sea of Dark Thunder, Thunder Fortress: The Thunder Fortress was a steel behemoth situated in the middle of a pitch-black sea. At this time, ships of incredible value could be seen docking inside the spacious fortress one after another, their numbers easily exceeding 5,000. This number normally couldnt be seen in any naval city. However, despite how many ships were docking inside the fortress, the fortresss inner port did not seem crowded. While watching these ships dock inside the Thunder Fortress, the many native geniuses resting at the port engaged in discussion with each other. Why have the Seven Great Powers gathered us native geniuses and experts here? a young man who was a Level 132, Tier 4 Ranger asked, the youth sipping on a glass of cheap fruit wine as he curiously looked at the Seven Great Native Powers ships docked nearby. Isnt it obvious that theyre trying to recruit us? I heard that players would need to be at Tier 4 at the very least to enter the World Passage. Meanwhile, the seven powers will not only need ships to trade with the Greater Gods Domain, but also a large number of experts to escort their ships, a Level 132, Tier 4 Elementalist said. The trading of resources between the Miniature Ancient World and the Greater Gods Domain is a big business. The seven powers can earn a ton of the Greater Worlds Star Coins if handled properly. However, compared to foreign players who are familiar with the Greater Gods Domain, itll be much easier for the seven powers to control us native players. The saddest part is that we dont have a choice, a Level 133, Tier 4 Berserker said, sighing. Unless youre one of those so-called paragons, none of the various foreign powers will bat a second eye at you. The only thing native experts like us can do is join a relatively strong native power if we want to have an easier time surviving in the Greater Gods Domain. Indeed. The Level 132 Elementalist nodded in agreement. But out of the seven powers, which one should we join? Maybe Zero Wing? Aside from the Five Great Super Guilds, the remaining two options are the Flower of Seven Sins and Zero Wing. Among them, Zero Wings rise is the quickest. Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame is even seventh on the God List. Zero Wing? The Level 133 Berserker shook his head when he heard the Elementalists suggestion. Zero Wings rise might be the quickest, but its foundation is far too lacking compared to the other six powers. You can see this just by looking at each powers fleet. The fleets of the Five Great Super Guilds and the Flower of Seven Sins are led by two or more Warships. Each fleet also has more than ten Bronze Speedboats. In comparison, Zero Wings fleet only has three Bronze Speedboats and a bunch of Advanced Speedboats. It doesnt even have one Warship. In addition, that person from the Thunder Fortress has already informed the various powers to pay 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to stay in the fortress. Out of the seven powers, Zero Wing is the only one that has yet to hand over the Seven Luminaries Crystals. The due date is even tomorrow. If Zero Wing still doesnt pay up, it cant even stay in the Thunder Fortress past tomorrow. As soon as the Berserker finished speaking, a passing Swordsman suddenly stopped walking. Then, looking at the Berserker, the cloaked Swordsman curiously asked, Excuse me, friend, what is this about paying 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal? Does the Thunder Fortress have such a rule? Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3283 - Chapter 357 - Three Overlords Chapter 357 C Three Overlords Rule? Of course theres no such rule! The Level 133 Berserker laughed when he heard the passing Swordsmans words. You must have just arrived at the Thunder Fortress, right? Right now, that person is in charge of the Thunder Fortress, and his word is the law here. That person has stated that all powers looking to stay in the Thunder Fortress must hand over 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, and even hegemonic powers wont be exempted. Even hegemonic powers arent exempted? Upon hearing the Berserkers words, one of the cloaked girls standing behind the cloaked Swordsman exclaimed, Isnt that too much of an exaggeration? Not to mention, the Thunder Fortress is protected by Tier 5 NPCs. Who could possibly threaten a hegemonic power here? Meanwhile, this cloaked girl was none other than Midsummer, who had entered the Miniature Ancient World with Shi Feng. You can only say that because you dont know who that person is, the Berserker said, shaking his head. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, the person Im talking about is an existence akin to god! An existence akin to god? Keep on boasting, why dont you? Midsummer said, rolling her eyes. If it were in the past, I wouldnt have believed my own words, either. However, after arriving at the Thunder Fortress, I had no choice but to believe it, the Berserker said, remaining patient even after seeing Midsummers response. Have you heard of the Paimon Conglomerate before? Of course. Thats one of the few conglomerates in the Greater World, Midsummer said, nodding. Upon getting a positive response, the Berserker continued, The person Im talking about comes from the Gray Seal family, one of the Paimon Conglomerates Three Great Families. More specifically, he is Young Master Dira, the youngest son of the Gray Seal familys patriarch. He is the one who set the rule I mentioned. There arent many powers that would dare to go against that young master even in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone our Miniature Ancient World. Dira? The youngest son of one of Paimons Three Overlords? Midsummer quickly thought of something after hearing the Berserkers words. Immediately, she turned to Shi Feng and anxiously said through the team chat, Brother Black Flame, Im afraid were going to meet with some trouble during the World Passages opening this time A sum of 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal is indeed quite a lot, Wu Xiaoxiao, who had similarly concealed her identity, said. At the same time, she also understood why so many powers would willingly hand over 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. The youngest son of one of the Paimon Conglomerates Three Overlords could indeed be regarded as an existence akin to god in the Greater Gods Domain. Even the Guild leaders of upper-ranking hegemonic powers wouldnt dare to offend Dira. After all, one word from Dira was most likely enough to have them removed from their positions. As for powers weaker than upper-ranking hegemonic powers, offending Dira was no different than asking to stop existing in the Greater Gods Domain. However, Wu Xiaoxiao also had to admit that Dira was quite ruthless to be collecting 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal from every power looking to enter the Thunder Fortress. The problem Im talking about isnt related to Seven Luminaries Crystals, Midsummer said, shaking her head. What Im concerned about is Diras hobby! His hobby? Jun Luosha, who had remained silent this entire time, suddenly spoke up. Is there a problem with his hobby? Theres a big problem with it! Midsummer said with a wry smile. His hobby is collecting paragons, and he will recruit any paragon that catches his eye. This might seem great on the surface since getting recruited by Dira would mean hopping aboard the Paimon Conglomerates ship, but that cant be any further from the truth. The paragons recruited by Dira will not only have to sign their freedom away with a Gods Domain Contract, but the benefits they will receive in exchange might not even be comparable to the internal geniuses of a corporation. Dira was incredibly well-known in the Starlight Realm. Firstly, it was because he was the most beloved son of the Divine Seal Saint, one of the Paimon Conglomerates Three Overlords. Secondly, it was because he had recruited many non-conglomerate paragons and would have them collect various Legendary Weapons and Equipment for him. Or, more specifically, Dira was snatching the opportunities of these paragons to strengthen himself. At this point, the name of Black Flame had already become incredibly famous in the Ancient River Kingdom and its surrounding countries. It was also publicly known that Shi Feng wasnt affiliated with any conglomerate. So, the likelihood of Dira recruiting him was high. Meanwhile, so long as Shi Feng signed a Gods Domain Contract with Dira, hed have to spend the rest of his life tied to Dira. As for putting up a resistance? If even upper-ranking hegemonic powers dared not offend Dira, what could a paragon with no background possibly do? If thats the case, maybe we should delay meeting up with Big Sis Hidden Soul and the others, Guild Leader. It wont be too late to group up after the World Passage is open, Wu Xiaoxiao hurriedly said. Diras identity was extraordinary. However, whether it was joining Dira or rejecting Diras invitation, neither was a good option. The best action to take in this situation would be to avoid Dira as much as possible. Shi Feng did not respond immediately. Instead, he scanned his surroundings for a moment before saying, Your idea is good, but it seems the other party is one step ahead of you. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Midsummer, Wu Xiaoxiao, and Jun Luosha immediately sensed a person appearing next to their party. The other party was a Level 136, Tier 4 Assassin, and he looked like he was, at most, seventeen or eighteen years old. Yet, despite how young he looked, he gave off an incredibly dangerous feeling comparable to what they felt from Saint Nine. A paragon comparable to Saint Nine? Surprise flashed in Jun Luoshas eyes as she looked at the Assassin youth. Despite being the Green God Corporations number one genius, she felt she couldnt even hold a candle to the Assassin youth before her. Currently, she was still at the standard of ordinary fourth-floor experts, and she would need to make significant improvements before she could reach the standard of titled expert. Yet, the Assassin youth already had strength close to rivaling Saint Nine. After making a sudden appearance next to Shi Fengs party, the Assassin youth, with a wooden expression, quietly looked at Shi Feng, showing no intentions of launching a sneak attack. Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame, the Assassin youth said emotionlessly like a robot. Young Master Dira has heard about your arrival at the Thunder Fortress, so he has gone out of his way to invite you to the Thunder Restaurant for a meeting. How did you find us so quickly? Wu Xiaoxiao was a little astonished by the Assassin youths words. It hadnt been more than half an hour since they got off the flying ship. They had even worn Black Cloaks to hide their identities. Yet, Diras henchmen still managed to find them. Their reconnaissance capabilities were truly terrifying. Its simply because they have total control over the fortress, Shi Feng calmly said as he surveyed his surroundings. I was wondering why there are so many people fond of staying invisible in the fortress, but by the looks of things, it seems these people are members of Diras Shadow Guard Legion. That is correct, the Assassin youth said, not bothering to hide the fact about the Shadow Guard Legion after realizing that Shi Feng had seen through the Shadow Guards concealment. We are the young masters Shadow Guards, and we currently have the entire Thunder Fortress under our surveillance. So, I suggest you abandon any thoughts of leaving the Thunder Fortress. Even Trecht, the current rank-one player on the God List, shouldnt think of leaving the Thunder Fortress once he sets foot into this place. You Midsummer was incensed by the Assassin youths words. However, she also realized that the moment the Assassin youth announced that he was Diras envoy, their party no longer had a choice. Theyd be publicly offending him if they refused to meet with Dira. Hed have a justifiable reason to take action against them at that time. Yet, if they chose to meet with Dira, there would likely be only one outcome. Since Young Master Dira is inviting me with such sincerity, lead the way, then, Shi Feng calmly said. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3284 - Chapter 358 - Astonishing Strike Chapter 358 C Astonishing Strike Thunder Fortress, Thunder Restaurant: The Thunder Restaurant was situated in the sky above the Thunder Fortress, overlooking the entire fortress. However, because the restaurant was situated a thousand meters in the air, thunderclouds and lightning arcs constantly surrounded it. One touch from these lightning arcs was enough to vaporize a Tier 4 player. So, if players wished to reach the Thunder Restaurant, theyd have to do so using a small flying ship. When Midsummer, Wu Xiaoxiao, and Jun Luosha arrived at the Thunder Restaurant, they couldnt help but be awed by the restaurants extravagance and the view they got to see from the restaurant. Looking down from the restaurants entrance, they could see thousands of ships docked in the fortress down below. There was also a constant stream of ships sailing in and out of the fortress. This was an incredible sight that one could rarely see in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, after Shi Fengs party of four entered the nine-story-tall restaurant, Midsummer and the others were given another shock. Currently, all of the guests dining in the restaurant were executive members of the various hegemonic powers. Ordinary players were not qualified to set foot into this place at all. Moreover, the prices the restaurant charged for its food were utterly criminal. Rather than Coins, players had to pay in Seven Luminaries Crystals for the meals here. Meanwhile, any random meal here cost over 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Yet, despite the exorbitant prices, the restaurant was packed with players enthusiastically stuffing themselves with food. How smart of these people, Shi Feng commented as he watched the various hegemonic powers executives gorging themselves with food and beverages. However, he wasnt particularly surprised by their behavior. Smart? Jun Luosha was puzzled by Shi Fengs comment. She failed to see how any of these people here were smart. In her opinion, these people were utterly prodigious. After all, paying over 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for a single meal was unthinkable even in the Greater Gods Domain. The food theyre eating isnt your normal fare, Shi Feng said, chuckling. All of these meals are a Craftsman Chefs cooking. Players who consume them will see an improvement in their physique and the strength of their mana. You will rarely find such meals, even in the Greater Gods Domain. You wont lose out even if you pay 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for a meal, let alone 100 units. Although these meals will only provide improvements on the first consumption, subsequent consumptions will allow players to enter an ethereal state that can drastically improve their learning capabilities temporarily. A Craftsman Chefs cooking? Midsummer nearly drooled when she heard Shi Fengs explanation. The chef class was a Lifestyle class similar to the forger and alchemist classes, and chefs could be categorized into Basic Chefs, Advanced Chefs, Master Chefs, Grandmaster Chefs, and Craftsman Chefs. Normally, only one in ten thousand Lifestyle players could become a Grandmaster, while only one in 100,000 Grandmasters could become a Craftsman. In other words, the chances of a Lifestyle player becoming a Craftsman was one in one billion. Because of their rarity, every Craftsman would be highly respected by even upper-ranking hegemonic powers. The status of Craftsmen was vastly superior to even paragons such as Saint Nine. Meanwhile, in the case of Craftsman Chefs, Midsummer had never even heard of one existing in the Ancient River Kingdom or the several dozen neighboring kingdoms and empires. While Midsummer was thinking of the Thunder Restaurants food, their party arrived before the top-floor VIP room under the Assassin youths lead. Currently, there were six Tier 4 experts standing guard outside the room, every one of them radiating an aura superior to Saint Nine. Only, unlike Saint Nine, these six experts looked like they were well above 50 years of age. Every one of them also wore the Paimon Conglomerates Paimon Fang Guard Emblem, an indicator that they were experts capable of transcending tiers. After the Assassin youth informed the six guards of the purpose of their visit, the six guards opened the doors to the VIP room for Shi Fengs party of four. When Midsummer, Wu Xiaoxiao, and Jun Luosha entered the VIP room, they couldnt help but gasp. Currently, about a dozen or so people were sitting in the room half the size of a football field. The majority of these people were either the Vice Guild Leaders of hegemonic powers or experts on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God List. Even Trecht, the God Lists rank-one player, was present among the people dining in the room. Out of these dozen or so people, the most inconspicuous person would have to be Thousand Scars, who was regarded as the number one genius among the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players. When Thousand Scars saw Shi Feng appearing in the room, she was given quite a surprise. As for the most dazzling person in this room, that honor would have to go to the delicate young man sitting in the center. Although the young man looked like he was only thirteen or fourteen, the equipment he wore was so dazzling it bordered on blinding. A Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set! Search bit.ly/3Tfs4P4 for the original. Indeed! The young man was clad in a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. It was even a six-piece set. Moreover, he also carried a longsword of indiscernible quality by his waist. Even though the youth was only a Tier 4 Swordsman, his Basic Attributes could probably rival a bona fide Tier 5 Sword Saint already Meanwhile, standing behind this youth were four middle-aged men and women. Even without doing anything, these four people radiated an aura rivaling Legendary-ranked Archaic Species. Every one of them was leagues above Saint Nine. Black Flame! I heard your name as soon as I arrived in this Miniature Ancient World! the delicate young man said indifferently as he gnawed on a piece of meat. Although your rank on the God List is far lower than Trechts, you still meet my minimum requirements. How about joining my Shadow Guard Legion? I can let you start as a party leader. Once your strength improves, I might even introduce you to my father. As soon as the delicate youth finished speaking, the oldest man, a Berserker with graying hair, standing behind the youth, suddenly shouted, Black Flame! Hurry up and thank the young master! This is the biggest opportunity you will get in your life! Countless paragons in the Starlight Realm cant even meet the young master even if they want to! Not only do you get to meet the young master now, but you can even become a party leader in the young masters Shadow Guard Legion! You might even get a chance to meet the patriarch in the future! Not even the Paimon Conglomerates paragons can get such an opportunity! Upon hearing the delicate youths and the middle-aged Berserkers words, many of the Vice Guild Leaders of hegemonic powers present couldnt help but snicker. As for Flanders, who was also here on behalf of the Tower Alliance, he revealed an ugly expression when he heard the twos words. Everyone present understood that the opportunity the middle-aged Berserker spoke of was nonsense. It was nothing but an empty promise from Dira. Itd be more appropriate to say that Dira was asking Shi Feng to sign a slave contract. Meanwhile, in response to Diras offer, Shi Feng shook his head and calmly said, Forgive me for turning down your offer, Young Master Dira. It is best if you leave that party leader position for someone who needs it more. I still have matters to tend to, so if there is nothing else you need me for, I will be taking my leave first. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence filled the room. Even Dira had stopped chewing his food, his expression turning extraordinarily grim. Immediately afterward, a cold aura spread across the entire room. Black Flame! How dare you refuse the young masters kindness?! the middle-aged Berserker bellowed at Shi Feng. Ill teach you a lesson in humility on behalf of the young master! After saying so, the middle-aged Berserker reached for the battle axe on his back and swung the weapon at Shi Feng, the terrifying aura he emitted causing not just the VIP room but also the entire Thunder Restaurant to tremble. Humility? Is he even worthy of that? After glancing at the oncoming axe, Shi Feng unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and swung it. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3285 - Chapter 359 - Becoming Enemies With an Overlord? Chapter 359 C Becoming Enemies With an Overlord? TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 358: Original: Currently, about a dozen or so people were sitting in the room Changed to: Currently, several dozen people were sitting in the room Thunder Restaurant, top-floor VIP room: As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence enveloped the entire room. At the same time, the several dozen guests dining in the room couldnt help but shudder. How dare he? Thousand Scars, clad in silver-gray leather armor, was also greatly surprised by Shi Fengs response. For a moment, she even suspected that Shi Feng might not know Diras identity. Otherwise, there was no way hed dare to turn down Diras offer without hesitation and in such a blatant manner. The Paimon Conglomerate might not be as powerful as the Galaxy Conglomerate, but it was still a bona fide conglomerate in the Greater World. Meanwhile, Dira was the youngest and most favored son of the Divine Seal Saint, one of the Paimon Conglomerates Three Overlords. Because of Diras identity, many of the Paimon Conglomerates successors sought to befriend Dira to gain the Divine Seal Saints support. After all, not only was the Divine Seal Saint one of Paimons Three Overlords, but he was also in control of many of the conglomerates cities and a strong contender for the position of the conglomerates number one expert. In addition, the Divine Seal Saint also had the Divine Seal Legion under his command. The Divine Seal Legion was made up solely of Tier 6 experts, and there were a whopping 500 of them. Just the number of Tier 6 experts the legion had already surpassed what hegemonic powers had by a large margin. Moreover, every one of these Tier 6 experts was in possession of two or three pieces of Legendary Equipment, with some even having Legendary Weapons. Outside of the Paimon Conglomerate, though, Dira was an existence feared by everyone. This was because the Divine Seal Saint had proven that he was willing to destroy an upper-ranking hegemonic power simply because his youngest son received poor treatment from the power. The war the Divine Seal Saint waged back then had shaken the entire Starlight Realm and struck fear into the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. After the incident, everyone came to understand just how much the Divine Seal Saint favored his youngest son. It was so much that even the Paimon Conglomerates successors couldnt help but grow envious of Dira. It was also for this reason that the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers Guild Leaders would have a huge headache whenever they encountered Dira. Although the power the Divine Seal Saint destroyed was only a budding upper-ranking hegemonic power that didnt have the backing of a conglomerate, it should still be a very difficult task to destroy it completely. Yet, the Divine Seal Saint and his Divine Seal Legion had accomplished this feat, which was enough to showcase the legions tremendous strength. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had essentially humiliated Dira in public by unceremoniously refusing Diras invitation in front of everyone. Not even the Green God Corporations helmsman wouldnt dare to do such a thing It seems he might not even be leaving this room alive, a young male Assassin with pure elven blood said, a look of interest appearing on his face as he looked at Shi Feng. I wonder how long hell last against the Four Beast Warriors? Meteor was seated next to the elven Assassin. When the Crimson Sword Emperor heard the elven Assassins words, he turned to look at the four middle-aged men and women standing behind Dira. Then, he said, What nonsense are you talking about, Trecht? The Four Beast Warriors are guards sent by the Divine Seal Saint to protect Dira. Even though they dont currently have the Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets they normally use, I doubt you and I can take them on even if we get promoted to Tier 5. Not to mention, Black Flame is still at Tier 4. Black Flame is still too young, Trecht, the pure-blooded elf, said as he shook his head. He might have surpassed Leroja and Cross, but a genius is nothing more than a genius at the end of the day. In front of individuals like Dira, even the Hundred Nations Paragon Battles First Paragon wont amount to anything, let alone a measly kingdoms First Paragon. The Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon? Invincible among Tier 4? These statuses might be enough to deter the various hegemonic powers, but they were nothing to Dira. Dira stood at the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. For him, geniuses and paragons like Shi Feng were but a common sight. Thus, if Shi Feng refused to comply, Dira could simply crush him. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that a genius like Shi Feng had no qualifications to be arrogant in front of Dira. It was only because of Diras fondness for collecting geniuses that he had gone out of his way to recruit Shi Feng. Since Shi Feng had outright refused Diras invitation, he had essentially made an enemy out of Dira. Now, not even the Green God Corporation could save him from this situation. As soon as Trecht finished speaking, Platinum Behemoth, the leader of the Four Beast Warriors, lunged at Shi Feng with his battle axe. In response, Shi Feng executed a backhanded slash to meet the Berserkers axe. Boom! Smoke instantly spread across the room as the two weapons collided. Fortunately, the power of the rooms defensive magic arrays was already raised to its limit. So, even though the power of the shockwaves generated by the collision reached the Tier 5 standard already, they failed to affect the room in the slightest. Nobody present was surprised by the rooms robustness. Every structure within the Thunder Fortress was extraordinary. Not even Tier 5 players should think of causing any damage to the Thunder Fortress, let alone Tier 4 players. However, when the dust settled, the spectating crowd couldnt help but be surprised by what they saw. Contrary to everyones expectations, Shi Feng did not get killed or injured by Platinum Behemoths axe. Instead, he had come out of the Berserkers attack completely unscathed. Moreover, he had even stopped Platinum Behemoths axe, the massive weapon stopped half a meter away from him and could not advance even an inch further. At a glance, it was obvious that Shi Fengs Strength Attribute was above Platinum Behemoths. It seems his Strength has increased yet again When Meteor, who was also a Swordsman like Shi Feng, saw Shi Feng holding his ground against Platinum Behemoth, he couldnt help but be astonished. Compared to when he met Shi Feng at the Land of Ancient Dragons, the current Shi Fengs Strength was clearly much higher. In fact, Shi Fengs Strength had already reached the standard of Tier 5 Berserkers. Otherwise, there was no way Platinum Behemoth could have lost to Shi Feng in a contest of Strength. So he does have some strength. No wonder he dares to be so arrogant, Trecht said, a hint of fighting spirit appearing in his eyes. The Swordsman class wasnt known for its Strength. Instead, it was a class with a good balance between Agility and Strength. If a Swordsman could match a Berserker of the same tier in Strength, the combat power the Swordsman could exhibit would be far more frightening than the Berserker. While everyone was feeling surprised, Dira suddenly started clapping his hands. Not bad! Not bad! Dira said as he resumed eating. I dont often see Swordsmen of the same tier matching Platinums Strength. I can give you another chance. Join my Shadow Guard Legion, and I will give you a vice team leader position. I will even forgive you for your previous rude behavior! However, Shi Feng remained indifferent even after hearing Diras words. Just when Platinum Behemoth was about to rebuke Shi Feng again, Shi Feng suddenly thrust the Winter of Eternal Night at the Berserker. After Shi Feng obtained the Ancient Oath and gained 10% of the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragons Basic Attributes, his Strength and Agility had already gone beyond the standard of ordinary Tier 5 Berserkers and Assassins. Platinum Behemoth felt like a truck had just hit him when he blocked Shi Fengs thrust with his axe, his body getting pushed back against his will. Then, before Platinum Behemoth could take proper defensive measures, the Winter of Eternal Night suddenly separated from his axe and cut across him horizontally. Radiant Night! Platinum Behemoths HP instantly fell to zero, his HP disappearing so quickly that not even the female Cleric standing behind him could heal him before his vision darkened and his body collapsed to the floor Immediately, shock and silence filled the room. I, Black Flame, do not need your forgiveness for my actions! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Platinum Behemoth felt like a truck had just hit him when he blocked Shi Fengs thrust with his axe, his body getting pushed back against his will. Then, before Platinum Behemoth could take proper defensive measures, the Winter of Eternal Night suddenly separated from his axe and cut across him horizontally. Radiant Night! Platinum Behemoths HP instantly fell to zero, his HP disappearing so quickly that not even the female Cleric standing behind him could heal him before his vision darkened and his body collapsed to the floor Immediately, shock and silence filled the room. I, Black Flame, do not need your forgiveness for my actions! Chapter 3286 - Chapter 360 - Miniature Ancient Worlds Number One! Chapter 360 C Miniature Ancient Worlds Number One! Along with Platinum Behemoths death, the room became deathly silent yet again. Platinum Behemoth got killed? I must be dreaming. Thats Platinum Behemoth, for crying out loud. How can he get killed in one hit? How did he kill Platinum Behemoth in one hit? Does he have Legendary Equipment? The people in the room couldnt believe their eyes when they saw Platinum Behemoth getting killed. Platinum Behemoth might not have any fame in the Miniature Ancient World and wasnt even listed on the Seven Luminaries Alliances God List, but he was incredibly well-known in the Starlight Realm. It all started when Platinum Behemoth participated in the Paimon Conglomerates invitational competition 40 years ago. During the competition, Platinum Behemoth defeated many geniuses and paragons to win an invitation from the Paimon Conglomerate. Afterward, he got recruited by the Paimon Conglomerate and joined the Divine Seal Legion after getting promoted to Tier 6. Currently, although Platinum Behemoth was no longer part of the Divine Seal Legion due to his growing age, the fact that the Divine Seal Saint had entrusted Diras safety to him showed just how much faith the Divine Seal Saint had put in his strength. It was true that players could get resurrected from death in Gods Domain. However, if a players Immortal Soul got extinguished completely, it would be the end of their career in Gods Domain. It would be extraordinarily difficult for them to set foot into Gods Domain again in their lifetime. Gods Domain was a place with countless opportunities. Whether a person was looking to improve their mental strength, extend their lifespan, or seek status and wealth, the best way to do so would be to enter and grow in Gods Domain. While players might not have the ability to completely extinguish Immortal Souls at Tier 3 and Tier 4, they would gain the ability to do so at Tier 5 and Tier 6. Although the various kingdoms and countries had created rules forbidding higher-tier players from attacking lower-tier players, the Divine Seal Saint naturally wouldnt trust such rules to ensure his sons safety. Hence, he had tasked Tier 6 experts to become Diras bodyguards. Only, due to Dira entering the Miniature Ancient Worlds restrictions, Tier 6 experts such as Platinum Beast had no choice but to lower their tiers to follow him. Legendary Equipment? When Trecht looked at Shi Feng again, he suddenly felt immense pressure coming from the other party. It should be known that Platinum Behemoth was currently equipped with two or three pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment and one Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Logically, it should be impossible for another Tier 4 player to kill him in one hit. The only explanation for this unbelievable situation was that Shi Feng was in possession of a piece of Legendary Equipment, which gave him a massive advantage in Basic Attributes over Platinum Behemoth. How does he have Legendary Equipment? In Meteors case, he couldnt help but grow envious and confused as he looked at Shi Feng. After all, this was the Miniature Ancient World they were talking about. Thus far, even the Paimon Conglomerate had only managed to secure a few clues pertaining to Legendary Equipment right now, and it would take at least another two or three months before the conglomerate could actually get its hands on any Legendary Equipment. So, how did Shi Feng get his hands on one so soon? It should be known that for experts of their caliber, obtaining a piece of Legendary Equipment at this point in time would instantly make them the strongest expert in the Miniature Ancient World. Once they entered the Greater Gods Domain, the Legendary Equipment would also be of great help to their growth. While everyone was feeling envious over Shi Fengs ownership of a piece of Legendary Equipment, Flanders looked at the situation with a grim expression. Its truly over now Flanders thought, his heart growing cold when he saw Shi Feng killing Platinum Behemoth. Flanders was more or less acquainted with Shi Feng, so he was very optimistic about the other partys future. However, as the Vice Guild Leader of the Tower Alliance, Flanders knew just how frightening the Greater Worlds conglomerates could be when provoked. Even if they were currently in the Miniature Ancient World, having a piece of Legendary Equipment wouldnt be enough for Shi Feng to go up against Diras guards. Shi Fengs act of killing Platinum Behemoth wouldnt deter Dira, either. On the contrary, all Shi Feng had done was further anger Dira. Legendary Equipment? When Dira saw Platinum Behemoth getting killed, not only did he not react in panic, but he even revealed a smile. So this is why you have refused my offer so confidently. It just so happens that Im in need of Legendary Equipment, so Ill be borrowing yours for the time being! After saying so, Dira turned to the three remaining Beast Warriors behind him and said, I want him alive. I will take my time playing with him once we return to the Greater Gods Domain. Understood! Upon receiving Diras command, the three remaining Beast Warriors each took out a purple-gold potion and drank it. Immediately afterward, their auras exploded, and their Life Ratings underwent a qualitative transformation. If someone were to use an Advanced Identification Skill on the three right now, they would find that the three Beast Warriors were no longer Tier 4 players but bona fide Tier 5 players instead. A Level 137, Tier 5 Grand Wizard! A Level 136, Tier 5 Sacred Sky Knight! A Level 136, Tier 5 Brilliant Cleric Saint! This is! Life Transition! A Lost Potion! Moreover, three of them?! The legendary potion thats rumored to be able to promote its user by one tier! The peanut gallery gasped when they saw the display of wealth before them. None of them had expected to see the rumored Life Transition Potion in the Miniature Ancient World. They also didnt expect the Paimon Conglomerate to give each of the Four Beast Warriors a bottle. Thousand Scars, in particular, gaped in shock at this scene. The Life Transition Potion! Thousand Scars had only ever seen the Life Transition Potion in ancient texts. Meanwhile, from what she read, the potion could forcibly increase a players tier by one, up to a maximum of Tier 5. However, unlike other potions, the Life Transition Potions effects were permanent. The Life Transition Potion was basically a free pass for players to get promoted. They wouldnt need to try to improve their Mana Body or create their own Mana Body. If players consumed the potion to reach Tier 3, they would automatically receive a Gold Mana Body based on the available templates. If consumed to reach Tier 5, players would be given a tailor-made Tier 5 Mana Body that reached the Gold standard. For players incapable of securing a high-ranking Mana Body, the Life Transition Potion was something they dreamed of obtaining. Because of the Life Transition Potions benefits, the value of one bottle was equivalent to one piece of Legendary Equipment. Yet, now, three Life Transition Potions were used in the blink of an eye Meanwhile, when Midsummer, Wu Xiaoxiao, and Jun Luosha saw this unexpected development, they couldnt help but grow a little flustered. They never thought the Paimon Conglomerate would have such a trump card prepared. Compared to Tier 4 players with Tier 5 strength, real Tier 5 players not only possessed Tier 5 Basic Attributes and Physique but also Tier 5 Skills and Spells. At the same time, Tier 5 players would also gain greater effects from their weapons and equipment than Tier 4 players due to them having higher base values for their Basic Attributes. Usually, the base values of a Tier 5 player would be twice as high as a Tier 4 player. In other words, if the base values of a Tier 4 players Basic Attributes were uniformly at 1,000, the base values of a Tier 5 players Basic Attributes would be at 2,000. In this situation, if these two players were to put on a piece of equipment that offered a 100% bonus to Basic Attributes, the Tier 4 players Basic Attributes would go from 1,000 to 2,000, while the Tier 5 players Basic Attributes would go from 2,000 to 4,000. In the blink of an eye, the initial difference of 1,000 points had turned into a difference of 2,000 points. Needless to say, the difference in Basic Attributes between Tier 4 and Tier 5 players would only increase even further as more percentage-based bonuses were added into the calculation. This was why it was incredibly difficult for players to transcend tiers. It might be commonly known that Tier 4 players could transcend tiers if they had a piece of Legendary Equipment equipped, but that was only enough for them to hold their ground against a Tier 5 player. It wasnt enough for them to defeat a Tier 5 player. Shi Feng might possess powerful Basic Attributes, but even he would be powerless against three Tier 5 players on the Four Beast Warriors standard. Youve been quite arrogant just now, kid, the Tier 5 Sacred Sky Knight said, sneering as he walked up to Shi Feng. How about showing that arrogance to us again? Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3287 - Chapter 361 - Tier 5 Chapter 361 C Tier 5 The Tier 5 Sacred Sky Knights mockery of Shi Feng caused the silent crowd to laugh. A Tier 4 player would have to be ignorant of the word death to act arrogantly in front of a Tier 5 player. Shi Feng might have a piece of Legendary Equipment, but that would only put him on the same level as ordinary Tier 5 players who didnt have decent equipment and couldnt even conquer the World Towers fourth floor. If Shi Feng were to go up against a Tier 5 fourth-floor expert, hed have an incredibly tough time. This was because players of this standard no longer had any shortcomings. The degree of control they had over their bodies and their surroundings would also be at the Domain Realm standard at the very least, with some having even reached the Beyond Domain Realm. They could even exhibit the power of Silver Combat Techniques with their every action. Unless Shi Feng was extremely outstanding in one aspect, hed have no chance of turning the tides against a Tier 5 fourth-floor expert. For example, if Shi Feng had grasped a Gold Combat Technique, it wouldnt matter even if he went up against an opponent with superior Basic Attributes and could exhibit the power of Silver Combat Techniques through their every action. The effects of a Gold Combat Technique would give him enough of an advantage that he could have a chance at victory. But grasping a Gold Combat Technique was easier said than done. Experts who had successfully grasped a Gold Combat Technique were exceedingly rare, even in the Greater Gods Domain. For this reason, once an expert reached the fourth-floor standard, it was nigh impossible for them to lose to players of a lower tier. Not to mention, Shi Fengs current opponent wasnt just a fourth-floor expert but a paragon. Dont get ahead of yourself, Croc, the female Brilliant Cleric Saint standing nearby said, chuckling. The young master has already said to capture him alive. If you kill him now, well have to go through the trouble of finding him again to capture him. The Sky Knight named Iron Crocodile briefly looked at the Cleric Saint when he heard the other partys words. Then, he returned his focus to Shi Feng while nonchalantly saying, Dont worry. I know what Im supposed to do. You two, on the other hand, should make sure you dont let him get away. Before Iron Crocodile even finished speaking, he brandished the longsword he wielded, executing a Holy Cross at Shi Feng. Not only did the attack have a large AOE, but its power also far exceeded the attack Platinum Behemoth had previously used against Shi Feng. Guild Leader, be careful! Wu Xiaoxiao subconsciously shouted, shocked by Iron Crocodiles attack. Iron Crocodiles attack was incredibly fast and sudden. He had abruptly attacked Shi Feng while talking to the Cleric Saint nearby, and he had completed his attack by the time he finished speaking. He did not reveal any killing intent throughout the entire process. He also didnt show any indications that he was going to attack. He had completed his entire attack against Shi Feng as naturally as if he were breathing. However, unlike Wu Xiaoxiao, Shi Feng was ready for Iron Crocodiles sudden attack. Or, more specifically, any expert who had reached the Domain Realms third step could have adequately utilized their sixth sense to predict Iron Crocodiles sneak attack and taken preemptive defensive measures. Of course, that was under the precondition that they could keep up with Iron Crocodiles Tier 5 reaction speed. Otherwise, even if they managed to predict Iron Crocodiles actions through their sixth sense, it wouldnt matter if their bodies couldnt keep up. Without hesitation, Shi Feng raised the Winter of Eternal Night horizontally before him to defend himself. Boom! When youre just trying to make great content at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. Following a loud explosion, Shi Feng stumbled two steps backward, the Winter of Eternal Night in his hand humming as it violently vibrated. Shi Fengs HP had also fallen by roughly 3%. Your Strength Attribute really is something. No wonder you managed to kill our leader in one hit, Iron Crocodile said, feeling a little surprised to see that Shi Feng had only stumbled two steps backward after blocking his attack. However, despite his surprise, Iron Crocodile did not stop moving. But how will you fare against this next move? Immediately, Iron Crocodile split into nine copies of himself. Then, the nine doppelgangers began flashing in and out of existence around Shi Feng, the speed and dexterity they displayed stunning the Tier 4 experts present. Is this Nine Absolute Shadows, one of the rumored 99 Absolute Techniques? When Trecht looked at the nine untraceable doppelgangers, a flame of passion burning in his eyes. As for Thousand Scars, she hurriedly started making a recording of Iron Crocodiles Nine Absolute Shadows, afraid the fight would end too quickly. There were 99 Absolute Techniques in the Greater Gods Domain. These 99 Absolute Techniques were Advanced Silver Combat Techniques recorded and ranked by the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Meanwhile, it was publicly recognized that any player who grasped one of these Absolute Techniques could achieve absolute strength. Among the 99 Absolute Techniques, Nine Absolute Shadows was sought after by all Assassins in Gods Domain. Yet, it was now being used by Iron Crocodile, a Guardian Knight. Although Nine Absolute Shadows ranked 55 out of the 99 Absolute Techniques, it ranked third out of all the footwork-type Absolute Techniques. It was also the highest-ranked footwork-type Absolute Technique accessible to the public. As for the first- and second-ranked techniques, they were monopolized by two apex powers, and only the executives of these apex powers could qualify to learn the techniques. However, even though the Seven Luminaries Alliance offered all players a chance to learn Nine Absolute Shadows, the cost of doing so wasnt something ordinary experts could afford. Or, more specifically, only Tier 6 titled experts could afford to learn it. Meanwhile, in response to Iron Crocodiles Nine Absolute Shadows, Shi Feng used World of Frost and executed Swords Orbit without hesitation. Immediately, within the domain of his World Creation, the nine frost swords he summoned transformed into countless stars that orbited around him. Ninefold Swords Orbit! Boom Boom Boom The sound of metal colliding reverberated continuously in the spacious dining hall. In only a few seconds, nearly a hundred exchanges had taken place already. Meanwhile, every collision would not only see several frost swords get sent flying, but a visible chunk of Shi Fengs HP bar would also disappear. In no time, Shi Fengs HP had already fallen to just one-third of its maximum. This sight caused Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao to panic. Yet, even though they wished to help Shi Feng, they couldnt. This was because neither of them could keep up with Shi Fengs and Iron Crocodiles speed. When Shi Fengs HP was about to drop below 10%, Shi Feng finally found an opportunity to take out a Grandmaster Regeneration Potion and consume it, instantly recovering all of the HP he lost. As expected of the Nine Absolute Shadows. Even Tier 5 Assassins will have trouble keeping up with this speed, Shi Feng thought. He had a headache going up against Iron Crocodile. He had only been on the defensive throughout the entire exchange. If it werent for the frost swords giving him a numerical advantage and letting him pinpoint Iron Crocodiles position, he could have never defended against the Sacred Sky Nights offensive. You are merely prolonging your suffering by drinking a potion! Immediately, Iron Crocodile accelerated once again. He did not plan to give Shi Feng more chances to recover. Although Regeneration Potions in Gods Domain typically had a Cooldown of two minutes or more, he couldnt help but feel a little upset when he saw Shi Fengs HP recovering to full. When Shi Feng saw Iron Crocodiles speed increasing even further, he stopped staying on the defensive. Immediately, he raised the Winter of Eternal Night and swung it down hard. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3288 - Chapter 362 - Asuras Sword Chapter 362 C Asuras Sword Boom! A dazzling light flooded the room. At the same time, everyone in the room felt as if space within the room was being compressed. Even experts like Meteor and Trecht felt their bodies becoming cumbersome, so much so that an ordinary Tier 4 player could kill them. As for Thousand Scars, she couldnt even move her body, feeling as if she was frozen solid. A quick look at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t will leave you more fulfilled. Is this Guild Leader Black Flames true strength? Jun Luosha, standing by the rooms entrance, couldnt help but be fascinated by the small glimpse of the attack her eyes had just caught. Although the incident on the flying ship already gave her an indicator of Shi Fengs strength, what she saw in this room made her strongly reevaluate her opinion of Shi Feng. First, Shi Feng killed Platinum Beast, an expert superior to Saint Nine, in one hit. Now, he had even executed an attack of unimaginable power. Sensing the effects Shi Fengs attack had on the surrounding environment, Jun Luosha did not doubt, even for a moment, that this attack could heavily injure a Tier 5 Legendary monster of the same level. And if a Tier 5 player were struck by this attack, it was unlikely they would survive. Shi Fengs attack was a combination of the Spatial Imprisonment effect and unbelievable speed. Even if she got promoted into a Tier 5 Sword Saint, she doubted she could survive such an attack. When the smoke in the room dissipated, Iron Crocodile remained standing in his original position, his sword and shield raised. His HP, though, had fallen for the first time. Although it was only a meager 2%, it was a fact that Shi Feng had successfully damaged the Tier 5 Sacred Sky Knight. Incredible! No wonder you can beat Leroja and Cross! With that strike just now, you can even get into the top 500 of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition! Iron Crocodile said as he used his longsword to tape the white mark left by Shi Fengs attack on his shield. Then, he sneered and continued, Its a pity you wont get the chance to participate in the invitational competition and receive the Galaxy Conglomerates attention. Immediately, an invisible pressure descended upon the hall. The feeling Iron Crocodile gave off also underwent a tremendous change, his current aura causing even the likes of Thousand Scars and Midsummer to feel suffocated. Hes finally getting serious. When Trecht sensed the change in Iron Crocodiles aura, he didnt react in surprise. Instead, he simply revealed a wry smile. He hasnt been serious all this time? Thousand Scars turned to look at Trecht, shocked by the latters words. She had met with many Tier 5 players before. Although they were admittedly much weaker than Iron Crocodile, she found it hard to imagine that Iron Crocodiles performance thus far was him taking it easy. Of course he hasnt, Trecht said, rolling his eyes at Thousand Scars. Did you not notice that apart from Nine Absolute Shadows, he hasnt used any other combat techniques or Skills? Hes been relying mainly on his Basic Attributes this entire time. Realization dawned on Thousand Scars when she heard Trechts words, and she couldnt help but gasp. Indeed, Iron Crocodile hadnt used any other combat techniques apart from Nine Absolute Shadows this entire time. He hadnt even been using any Skills or Spells. Yet, even though he was mostly relying on his Basic Attributes, he still perfectly suppressed Shi Feng. If Iron Crocodile was already capable of this much simply by relying on his Basic Attributes and one footwork-type combat technique, she couldnt even begin to imagine how strong he would be if he combined offensive Silver Combat Techniques into his every attack While Thousand Scars was letting her imagination run wild, the previously spectating Tier 5 Grand Wizard and Brilliant Cleric Saint suddenly appeared next to Shi Feng. What are you two doing? Iron Crocodile looked at his two companions in confusion. The three of them had previously agreed that he would be the main attacker while the other two would keep watch from beside to prevent Shi Feng from escaping. After all, Shi Feng was a Tier 4 player who had already reached the Tier 4 standard. While it might be easy for them to kill him, it was a different story if they wanted to capture him. Theyd have great difficulty capturing him if he focused solely on escaping. The young master doesnt want to wait any longer and wants us to finish things up quickly! the Cleric Saint calmly answered. Fine, then. If thats what the young master wants Turning to Shi Feng, Iron Crocodile said, You should feel fortunate, Black Flame. Weve never gone to such great lengths, even when we captured a Tier 6 expert. To have the three of us come after you together is a great honor. However, you only have your own arrogance to blame for this outcome! When Iron Crocodile finished speaking, the Grand Wizard and Brilliant Cleric Saint had also finished chanting their respective incantations. Immediately, over a dozen magic arrays appeared in the air. With this, Black Flame will finally be gone. Thousand Scars inwardly sighed in relief when she saw the three remaining Beast Warriors taking action together. She had made it her goal to catch up to Black Flame ever since the man became the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon. However, after seeing Black Flame defeat not only Markless Blade but also living legends like Leroja and Cross, she couldnt help but feel a sense of hopelessness. After all, with such achievements under his belt, Black Flames fame was bound to spread across the entire Starlight Realm sooner or later. This realization made her think that she would never be able to catch up to Black Flames footsteps. But now, so what if Black Flame was an incredible genius? So what if Black Flame was the strongest player in the Miniature Ancient World? In front of Dira, Black Flame was no different than an ant. Just a few words from Dira were enough to end Black Flames career in Gods Domain, and there was nothing Black Flame could do about it. However, despite seeing Iron Crocodiles group of three attacking him seriously, Shi Feng reacted surprisingly calmly. Arrogance? Im afraid youre still not worthy enough for me to get arrogant! After glancing at the three Tier 5 players around him, Shi Feng took out a God Crystal he had obtained from the Mutated Heroic Spirit. Then, he used it to activate the Ancient Dragons Power he had received from Dragon Princess Kalisha, selecting the Winter of Eternal Night as the abilitys target. This would also be the first time he had used Ancient Dragons Power after achieving a 120% Legendary Mana Body and becoming a Special Lifeform. Shi Feng had heard of Diras name many times during his previous life, as the other party was considerably famous in the Starlight Realm. And although he had never clashed with the Paimon Conglomerate before, he had a good understanding of the conglomerates strength. If they were in the Greater Gods Domain right now, he would have fled without hesitation. However, in the current Miniature Ancient World, there existed no person or power that could make him feel fear. This was also why he dared to come to this banquet, even though he knew it was a trap. After Shi Feng finished speaking, silver flames suddenly rose around the Winter of Eternal Night. Although these flames were small, they radiated a bone-piercing chill that froze the entire room. As for Shi Feng himself, he had seemingly undergone a complete transformation. Not only did his body exude soul-shuddering power, but he also radiated mana so powerful that it distorted the surrounding space. Subsequently, Shi Feng raised the Winter of Eternal Night and pointed it at Iron Crocodile. Lets begin the second round, then! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3289 - Chapter 363 - Legendary Weapons Hidden Effect Chapter 363 C Legendary Weapons Hidden Effect Tier 5! He became Tier 5 as well! Shi Fengs astonishing transformation caused everyone present to mistakenly assume that he had similarly used some special means to promote himself into a Tier 5 Sword Saint. Or more specifically, aside from Shi Feng becoming Tier 5, they couldnt think of any other reason that could allow Shi Feng to undergo such a massive transformation. Guild Leader! Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer grew ecstatic when they saw Shi Fengs mana seething. Shi Feng might have had a hard time going up against three Tier 5 players as a Tier 4 player with Tier 5 standards, but it was a different story now if he had similarly become Tier 5. Now, he would have a fighting chance. So what if you got promoted to Tier 5? Iron Crocodile said. Although he didnt expect Shi Fengs sudden transformation, he remained calm even when he realized Shi Feng might have gotten promoted to Tier 5. Do you think you can defend against all three of us together? The Grand Wizard and Brilliant Cleric Saint nodded in agreement. Shi Fengs strength might have exceeded their expectations, but they still outnumbered him by three to one. Moreover, they had an MT, a healer, and a DPS on their side; they could tank, heal, and do damage. They could even take down a Tier 5 Legendary Boss if they wanted to, let alone a Tier 5 player. While Iron Crocodile was buying time for the magic arrays in the air to finish forming, Shi Feng suddenly swung the Winter of Eternal Night at the magic arrays. Bang Bang Bang Immediately, the mana in the several dozen magic arrays froze, leading to the magic arrays crumbling apart one after another. A silencing effect? When Iron Crocodile saw the magic arrays breaking apart, he started eyeing Shi Feng with more wariness. The silencing effect was a powerful weapon in Gods Domain. Not only could it put magical classes into despair but also physical classes. This was because players subjected to a silencing effect would be prohibited from using Skills and Spells, putting them at a considerable disadvantage in battle. No, this isnt a silencing effect! the Grand Wizard denied, shaking her head. Then, with a fearful look, she said, This is Mana Freezing! Mana Freezing? When Iron Crocodile heard the Grand Wizards statement, he couldnt help but ask, Are you sure youre not mistaken? In Gods Domain, the Silence and Mana Freezing effects might look similar on the surface, but the twos power was worlds apart. Silence only prevented players from using Skills and Spells, but Mana Freezing not only prevented players from using Skills and Spells normally but also combat techniques and Mana Techniques. I wont be mistaken, the Grand Wizard said definitively. Mana will stop flowing under the Mana Freezing effect. If you dont believe me, you can try to manipulate the mana around you. However, before Iron Crocodile could try what the Grand Wizard suggested, Shi Feng suddenly appeared before Iron Crocodile and swung the Winter of Eternal Night at him, the slash creating a huge tear in space. Iron Crocodile reacted to the attack extremely quickly, his hand spontaneously lifting his shield to defend himself. Boom! A loud explosion shook the entire Thunder Restaurant, followed by Iron Crocodile getting sent flying into a wall. Then, before anyone could react to the situation, Iron Crocodile suddenly shouted: Retreat! It was a word that shouldnt have emerged from Iron Crocodiles mouth. Yet, not only did it come out of the Sacred Sky Knights mouth, but it had also echoed loudly throughout the room and in everyones ears. Meanwhile, upon hearing these words, the eyes of the spectators in the room nearly bulged. This must be a lie! Thousand Scars couldnt believe her eyes as she stared at Iron Crocodile, who was embedded in the distant wall. Or, more specifically, the bisected shield in Iron Crocodiles left hand. One strike! With just one simple strike that didnt employ any techniques, Shi Feng had cut apart Iron Crocodiles Epic Shield. Not even Legendary World Bosses of the same level could accomplish such a feat, especially not when the person wielding the Epic Shield was a Tier 5 Sacred Sky Knight! Even though Shi Fengs attack had taken less than 10% of Iron Crocodiles HP, an indescribable sense of fear still assaulted the hearts of everyone present. At this moment, even Dira, who had remained calm and composed all this time, started to waver a little. So this is the case! No wonder Leroja and Cross lost to him! When Trecht saw the clean cut through Iron Crocodiles bisected shield, bitterness and jealousy instantly colored his face. Only one thing could cut apart an Epic Shield so cleanly and effortlessly. It was also why Iron Crocodile and the others reacted so fearfully. A Legendary Weapon! Only weapons at the Legendary rank or above could destroy an Epic Shield in one hit. Every Legendary Weapon possessed devastating might. With the help of a Legendary Weapon, even challenging Tier 6 players as a Tier 5 player would be possible, let alone challenging Tier 5 players as a Tier 4 player. It should be known that the gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6 was vastly bigger than between Tier 4 and Tier 5. It was so big that even a piece of Legendary Equipment couldnt mitigate the difference. Yet, Legendary Weapons could do so, which was also what made Legendary Weapons so frightening and precious. Because of how powerful Legendary Weapons were, it was publicly acknowledged in the Greater Gods Domain that so long as a Tier 4 player wielded a Legendary Weapon, this player would be nigh-invincible even among Tier 5 players. Unless a Tier 5 player was clad in a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set and wielded a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, they couldnt even hold their ground against such a Tier 4 player. So, even though the three Beast Warriors still outnumbered Shi Feng, it probably wouldnt take Shi Feng more than a few attacks to thoroughly destroy all of their weapons and equipment. Croc, well leave him to you! After exchanging looks with each other, the Grand Wizard and Brilliant Cleric Saint turned around and ran to Dira in a panic. Different from an amateur like Trecht, they were Tier 6 experts who had worked under the Paimon Conglomerate for many years already. So, the information they knew about Gods Domain far exceeded Trechts knowledge of the game. If Shi Feng merely had the ability to destroy Epic Weapons and Equipment, they wouldnt have feared him at all. At worst, theyd die. As Diras guards, they had long since grown accustomed to dying. What made them truly afraid werent the Basic Attribute bonuses Shi Feng received from his Legendary Weapon. Instead, it was the hidden effect commonly shared by Legendary Weapons. Soul Annihilation! There werent many things in Gods Domain that could completely destroy a players Immortal Soul. Unfortunately, Legendary Weapons just so happened to be one of those things. Dont you think its a little too late to be leaving now? After glancing at the two people running to Dira, Shi Feng indifferently raised the Legendary-ranked Winter of Eternal Night and lightly swung it in Diras direction. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Suddenly, space in the room stagnated, and everyone found themselves incapable of moving. The only thing they could do was watch as a dark sword light cut across the room, erasing everything in its path. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3290 - Chapter 364 - Poking a Hole Through the Heavens Chapter 364 C Poking a Hole Through the Heavens Thunder Restaurant, top-floor VIP room: Following the black sword light, a deathly silence enveloped the entire room as everyone stared at the same spot. Lord Dira? Thousand Scars fell into a daze as she looked at the shattered space and two scattered items in the middle of the room, her mind unable to believe what she was seeing was true. Dira! The most favored son of the Divine Seal Saint, one of the Paimon Conglomerates Three Overlords, was killed! Crazy! He is absolutely crazy! Meteor shot up from his seat when he saw Dira getting erased from the room. Then, he turned to look at the culprit behind Diras death, his eyes full of fear. However, Meteors fear didnt result from seeing Shi Fengs space-shattering slash but Diras death instead! In Meteors opinion, Shi Feng was already plenty crazy for refusing Diras invitation and attacking Diras bodyguards. After all, Dira was an existence whom even the Guild Leaders of the Starlight Realms upper-ranking hegemonic powers had a headache dealing with. Dira simply wasnt an existence geniuses like them could afford to provoke. Yet, now, Shi Feng had made things infinitely worse by killing Dira. The degree of insanity needed to do such a thing was through the heavens. For a time, Meteor couldnt help but wonder if Shi Feng even knew fear At this moment, Meteor, an internal genius of the Paimon Conglomerate, wasnt the only one horrified by this situation. Everyone who had come to attend Diras banquet was equally petrified. Its over! Things are truly over now! Flanders, the Tower Alliances Vice Guild Leader, revealed a wry smile when he saw that Dira was no more. If Shi Fengs previous act of defying Dira was considered only a minor transgression that could be remedied so long as Shi Feng paid the appropriate price, then what Shi Feng just did was no different than poking a hole through the heavens. Now, not just Shi Feng but even Zero Wing and all powers affiliated with Zero Wing were going to suffer. Everybody knew how much the Divine Seal Saint loved his youngest son. Simply because an upper-ranking hegemonic power had treated Dira poorly, the Divine Seal Saint had led his Divine Seal Legion to erase the upper-ranking hegemonic powers existence, shocking the entire Starlight Realm. What Shi Feng just did was infinitely worse than what the upper-ranking hegemonic power did, so it didnt take a genius to figure out how the Divine Seal Saint would react. Kid! Do you know what you just did?! Iron Crocodile bellowed at Shi Feng, his expression looking a little crazed when he saw Dira getting killed. Young Master Dira is the Divine Seal Saints favorite son! Yet, not only did you dare to kill him, but you even did so with a Legendary Weapon! Do you have any idea what consequences your actions will bring?! As Diras bodyguard, Iron Crocodile knew better than anyone else present just what kind of personality the Divine Seal Saint possessed. It was also why he was the most horrified by Shi Fengs actions out of everyone present. It should be known that Shi Feng didnt just kill Dira. Instead, he had killed Dira using a Legendary Weapon. All Legendary Weapons came with the Soul Annihilation effect, which Tier 4 Immortal Souls had little resistance to. Even in the best-case scenario, Dira would sustain heavy damage to his soul after getting killed by Shi Feng. However, it was also entirely possible his soul would get destroyed completely. If a player had their soul annihilated, it would be incredibly difficult for them to enter Gods Domain again. In the Greater World, being unable to enter Gods Domain was no different than being a cripple. A person unable to enter Gods Domain would be incapable of achieving a higher order of life and gaining a longer lifespan. This would not change even if this person had full access to the massive resources of a conglomerate. Meanwhile, Iron Crocodiles words caused everyone present to shudder involuntarily. Everyone could clearly feel Iron Crocodiles fear and madness, so they understood that Shi Feng had truly gotten himself into big trouble this time. After this incident, nobody could save Shi Feng anymore. In fact, many people might have gotten implicated because of him Trecht, how about we take action together? After taking a deep breath, Meteor drew his longsword and turned to look at Trecht. Iron Crocodiles fear isnt an act. We have most likely been dragged into a huge problem, and our only hope of surviving this ordeal is to capture Black Flame. They had watched Dira getting killed before their very eyes. With the Divine Seal Saints temper, he was almost certain to deal with them together with Black Flame. If they wanted to avoid the Divine Seal Saints wrath, their only option was to capture Black Flame and hand him over to the Divine Seal Saint. I want to, but Looking at the Winter of Eternal Night in Shi Fengs hand, Trecht shrugged and said, Even if all of us here work together, we still wont be his match. Im sure Iron Crocodile is also aware of this. Trecht naturally understood Meteors concerns. However, compared to Meteor, Utrecht had a better understanding of what it meant to own a Legendary Weapon in the Miniature Ancient World. Even Tier 5 players like Iron Crocodile would have difficulty holding Shi Feng back, let alone Tier 4 players like themselves. Upon hearing Trechts words, the various hegemonic powers executives, who had been thinking of attacking Shi Feng together, promptly snapped out of their dazes and looked at Shi Fengs Winter of Eternal Night fearfully. They had been so horrified by Shi Fengs act of killing Dira that they had nearly forgotten Shi Feng wielded a Legendary Weapon. With a Legendary Weapon in hand, even if Shi Feng wasnt a Tier 5 player, he was still superior to Tier 5 players. Apart from the three Beast Warriors, everyone else in this room was unlikely to last more than one hit against Shi Feng. It was also because of this that Iron Crocodile and the other Beast Warriors did not take action against Shi Feng, choosing to only glare at him angrily. Otherwise, with how crazed the three of them were right now, they would have long since ripped Shi Feng into shreds. In the meantime, Shi Feng behaved as if he didnt hear Iron Crocodiles angry bellowing as he slowly walked up to the shattered space. Then, under everyones gaze, he collected the two items Dira dropped and put them into his bag. How dare he?! Thousand Scars gaped in shock at this scene. To not only kill Dira but also take the items he dropped Thousand Scars couldnt even imagine how much courage Shi Feng possessed to do such a thing. Was Shi Feng trying to see how much he could provoke the Paimon Conglomerate? This scene similarly stupefied everyone else in the room. Yet, there was nothing they could do but watch as Shi Feng did this. Or, more specifically, they wouldnt accomplish anything even if they tried to stop him. If they took action against Shi Feng, they would simply be met with the same fate as Dira. At this point, even if most of the people present didnt know about the hidden effects of Legendary Weapons, they still knew that Shi Fengs previous attack was already capable of heavily damaging Tier 4 Immortal Souls. Meanwhile, if a players soul was heavily damaged, they would be prohibited from logging into the game anywhere from a few days to half a month. Moreover, they would be put in a weakened state even after they could log back into the game again. The World Passage was set to open soon. If they suddenly lost the ability to log into Gods Domain for half a month, they might as well kiss the World Passages opening benefits goodbye. Meanwhile, after collecting the two dropped items, Shi Feng turned around to look at Midsummer, Wu Xiaoxiao, and Jun Luosha, saying, Lets go. The three girls remained in a daze even until now, so they only instinctively nodded to Shi Fengs words before following Shi Feng out of the room. When Shi Fengs group of four walked out of the room, whether it was the people in the room or the Shadow Guard Legion members outside the room, they all did nothing but watch as the four left the Thunder Restaurant. From beginning to end, nobody dared to attack Shi Fengs group. What should we do now, Croc? the Tier 5 Grand Wizard asked Iron Crocodile after seeing Shi Feng leaving. What else can we do? With a gloomy expression, Iron Crocodile said, All we can do now is check on the young masters situation and wait for Lord Divine Seals arrangement. The Grand Wizard and Brilliant Cleric Saint involuntarily shuddered when they heard the mention of the Divine Seal Saint. Meanwhile, shortly after Shi Fengs group left the Thunder Restaurant, news of Shi Feng killing Dira quickly spread across the entire Miniature Ancient World, greatly shocking the various powers. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3291 - Chapter 365 - Miniature Ancient World Shaken Chapter 365 C Miniature Ancient World Shaken Thunder Fortress, Wind Bell Hotel: The Wind Bell Hotel was one of the few Advanced Hotels in the Thunder Fortress. Even though the hotel charged an exorbitant accommodation fee of ten units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per day for its cheapest room, its rooms were still highly coveted by the various hegemonic powers. This was because it could not only allow players to recover from the corrosion of hostile energies, but it could also temporarily improve players Physique. More specifically, players could gain a 5% increase in their Physique for up to 48 hours if they rested in the hotel for eight hours. Currently, though, the Wind Bell Hotel was surrounded by over a hundred Tier 4 experts. Moreover, when the various hegemonic powers Tier 4 titled experts saw these players Guild Emblem, none dared to force their way into the hotel. Instead, they chose to look for other hotels to stay at. Lord Saint Nine, I really have to thank you for your reminder on the flying ship. Otherwise, I would have most certainly died a tragic death, Calgaron said, shuddering a little when he recalled the news his subordinates had just sent him. I cant believe Black Flame would dare to kill even that Dira! He truly is insane! Any executive member of the Starlight Realms various hegemonic powers and corporations would know about Dira. He was an existence even the helmsmen of corporations greatly feared. Yet, now, Black Flame had slain Dira. Once this news spread across the Starlight Realm, it would definitely shake the entire Realm. Saint Nine, who currently sat cross-legged in the middle of the lounge, also couldnt help but be taken aback when he finished reading the message Calgaron shared with him. Although Ive long guessed that Black Flame isnt some small-time character, I didnt think he had kept so much hidden. A Legendary Weapon With this thing in hand, I doubt anybody in the Miniature Ancient World can survive more than one attack from him. Meanwhile, in another Advanced Hotel in the Thunder Fortress Dira died? Franz fell into a daze when he read the message he had just received. Is Black Flame insane? Even the Starlight Realms various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would have to treat Dira like he was their ancestor. After all, even disrespecting Dira was enough to lead to the elimination of their entire organization from Gods Domain, let alone harming Dira. As for the act of killing Dira, this was something nobody in the Starlight Realm dared to think about. It seems an unprecedented storm is going to sweep across this miniature world soon, Favra said, sighing when she finished reading the report. All of a sudden, she wasnt sure whether her niece Maria had a good eye for people or not anymore. Not only did Black Flame become the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon, but he even possessed a Legendary Weapon. With such strength, Black Flame would be invincible in the Miniature Ancient World. Originally, Black Flame could have accomplished great things in the Miniature Ancient World. Under his lead, Zero Wing could also develop its Abyssal Star Primordial City into the Miniature Ancient Worlds number one city. Zero Wing might even be able to secure itself a position in the Thunder Fortress, gaining hold of a portion of the wealth that would eventually come through the World Passage. Now, though, all that had become nothing more than a dream. Even the Miniature Ancient World in its entirety was incapable of withstanding the Divine Seal Saints wrath, let alone an individual like Black Flame. Meanwhile, after the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers received news of Diras death, apart from feeling shocked, they also felt delighted. I have to admit that Black Flame is indeed strong. If he can kill even Dira, he is undoubtedly the strongest player in the current Miniature Ancient World. Originally, I thought Zero Wing would make a comeback in the World Passages opening this time. Now, though, Zero Wing is finished. The moment the World Passage opens will also be the moment of Black Flames and Zero Wings elimination. There was only a limited amount of reward points to go around during the World Passages opening. Originally, Zero Wing could have relied on Black Flames fame and strength to secure a share of the World Passages opening benefits. So, Black Flames and Zero Wings elimination would naturally be good news for the various powers. Brother Black Flame, now that youve killed Dira, the Divine Seal Saint definitely wont rest until youre gone, Midsummer worriedly said as she looked at Shi Feng. The Paimon Conglomerate might not have much strength in the current Miniature Ancient World, but once the World Passage opens, this world will no longer be safe Before access to a Gods Domain or miniature world became open, it would be subjected to the Main God Systems protection. Under the systems protection, even apex powers would have difficulty laying their hands on it. However, it was a different story once a Gods Domains or miniature worlds World Passage opened. While foreign players entering through the World Passage would be subjected to the suppression of the worlds power, it still wasnt a difficult task for a conglomerate to destroy an entire Gods Domain, let alone a miniature world. Jun Luosha also nodded in agreement with Midsummers words. She felt that Shi Feng was truly crazy. She had even started to regret accepting Wu Xiaoxiaos invitation This is indeed going to be a problem. Shi Feng did not refute Midsummers concerns. Instead, he calmly said, But so long as we are talking about this miniature world, even after the World Passage opens, the Paimon Conglomerate wont have an easy time targeting me or Zero Wing. The World Passage wouldnt become fully opened all at once. Instead, it was a gradual process. In a certain sense, it could be considered a protection mechanism for the affected worlds players, giving them time to adapt to the Greater Gods Domain. Although the opening of the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage would immediately allow players from other worlds to enter, only Tier 4 players could enter the Miniature Ancient World at the beginning. Only after some time had passed would Tier 5 and Tier 6 players be allowed to enter directly. Hence, so long as Shi Feng had enough God Crystals to temporarily upgrade the Winter of Eternal Night to the Legendary rank, he had no reason to fear Tier 4 players. Any number of Tier 4 players the Paimon Conglomerate sent at him would merely be cannon fodder. This was also why he dared to kill Dira. However, a larger part of why Shi Feng had chosen to kill Dira was because of his contract with the Dragon Princess. So long as he could collect 300 God Crystals to help the Dragon Princess recover her strength, he would not have to fear any power in the Miniature Ancient World. After all, the Dragon Princesss strength was no joke. After Shi Feng finished speaking, the group of four also arrived at Zero Wings gathering point in the Thunder Fortress. The Blood Rabbit Hotel! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3292 - Chapter 366 - Astonishing Zero Wing Chapter 366 C Astonishing Zero Wing Thunder Fortress, Blood Rabbit Hotel: The Blood Rabbit Hotel was a Basic Hotel located on the edge of the Thunder Fortress. Its location in the Thunder Fortress was far from ideal. Not only was it far from the port, but it was also a considerable distance from the Adventurers Association. As a result, not even independent players would choose to rest here. The Blood Rabbit Hotels only advantages over other hotels were its price and size. It only cost five Magic Crystals a day to rent a room in the hotel. The hotel was also on the larger side of Basic Hotels, with well over a thousand rooms. Currently, many players were crowded outside the six-story-tall Blood Rabbit Hotel. Every one of these players wore six-winged emblems on their chests. Although over 90% of these players were Tier 3 players, the number of Tier 4 players among them was no fewer than the Tier 4 players the various hegemonic powers possessed. When Shi Fengs group of four stepped into the Blood Rabbit Hotels lobby, even Shi Feng, who had not returned to the Miniature Ancient World for some time, couldnt help but be surprised by what he saw. At this time, Su Qianliu and the other executives of Zero Wing were already gathered in the lobby. However, compared to before Shi Feng left the Miniature Ancient World, Zero Wing now had many more executive members. Moreover, apart from Su Qianliu, Firecloud, Happy Snow, and Rampant Blade, everyone else had also reached Tier 4. Among the new executives were Mysterious Moons Zhuo Yalin, Lin Yao Yue, and Crimson Seal. There were also the Star Alliances Galaxy Past and the Purple Light Trading Firms Echoing Judgment, Wordless Ember, and Slumbering Quicksand. When Shi Feng was away from the Miniature Ancient World, Mysterious Moon, the Star Alliance, and the Purple Light Trading Firm had all chosen to merge into Zero Wing. Meanwhile, because of the two first-rate Guilds and the Purple Light Trading Firms mix, Zero Wing became the seventh great power among the Miniature Ancient Worlds various native powers. Incredible! So, this is Zero Wing? Midsummer was taken aback when she saw Zero Wings executives. Particularly, Echoing Judgment, Wordless Ember, Slumbering Quicksand, Galaxy Past, Crimson Seal, and Su Qianliu. She could feel significant pressure coming from these six people. Although she had more or less learned about Zero Wing through Shi Feng and Wu Xiaoxiao, she didnt think Zero Wing would be strong to such an extent. The control these six people had over mana was simply unbelievable. Even though none of these six people had entered the Hundred Refinement Building, they had already developed their Mana Bodies to a 120% Completion Rate. Moreover, she could feel the presence of titled experts coming from Wordless Ember and Slumbering Quicksand. It should be known that they were currently in an isolated miniature world. Without the assistance of the Greater Gods Domains resources and environment, even paragons like Saint Nine would be fortunate to reach the fourth-floor standard. Normally, even third-floor experts were incredibly rare in isolated Gods Domains and miniature worlds. Moreover, most of these third-floor experts would be Tier 6 players in their respective worlds. Meanwhile, after entering the Greater Gods Domain, these third-floor experts would quickly grow to the fourth-floor standard, with some even becoming titled experts. Although many of the Starlight Realms hegemonic powers had invested in the Miniature Ancient World, the assistance these powers could provide to the Miniature Ancient Worlds natives was extremely limited. It was nowhere near the assistance players could obtain in the Greater Gods Domain. If Su Qianliu and the others were to enter the Greater Gods Domain, their future would be limitless. As expected of the Guild chosen by Vice President Xia. With Zero Wings current strength, it can already compete with the various hegemonic powers. Jun Luosha and Wu Xiaoxiao were similarly surprised when they saw Su Qianliu and the others. Unlike Midsummer, Jun Luosha and Wu Xiaoxiao were native to the Miniature Ancient World. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that they had watched Zero Wing grow from nothing to its current state in the Miniature Ancient World. However, compared to the information they learned through the Green God Corporations reports, the current strength of Zero Wings executives was like night and day. The rumors about Zero Wing having only Black Flame to support it couldnt be any further from the truth. At the very least, when it came to fourth-floor experts, the number Zero Wing had was hardly any inferior to the number the various hegemonic powers had committed to the Miniature Ancient World. Out of Shi Fengs group of four, only Shi Feng knew that it was normal for Su Qianliu and the others to have their current strength. After all, mana was the foundation of everything in Gods Domain, and the Tower of Transcendence[1] improved all aspects of mana. Hence, training in the Tower of Transcendence yielded extraordinary results. On top of that, Su Qianliu and the others also had the assistance of the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique and the Hypersensitivity Potion. These were all resources that even the Greater Gods Domains various hegemonic powers did not possess. What do you think, Guild Leader? Su Qianliu asked when she saw Shi Feng walking over, a hint of pride in her voice. Zero Wing is very strong now, right? Even without including the Asura Mercenary Alliances Tier 4 experts, Zero Wing already had 155 Tier 4 experts. This was more than what most hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World possessed. If they factored in the use of Magic Tactical Vehicles, Zero Wing could have even more Tier 4 combatants. In a frontal confrontation, Su Qianliu could confidently say that Zero Wing would not lose to any hegemonic power in the Miniature Ancient World. Though, after boasting Zero Wings achievements to Shi Feng, Su Qianliu couldnt help but look at Wu Xiaoxiao and Jun Luosha in surprise. Or, more specifically, she was taken aback by the Zero Wing Emblem they wore. She didnt think that Jin Hai Citys famous genius Wu Xiaoxiao would actually join Zero Wing, much less Jun Luosha, the Green God Corporations number one genius. This was definitely big news. After all, Jun Luosha was highly coveted by even the various hegemonic powers. The Guild has indeed grown a lot stronger while I was away, Shi Feng said, nodding. The current Zero Wing might not be a match for the Greater Gods Domains various hegemonic powers, but it was undoubtedly stronger than the detached forces the various hegemonic powers had sent to the Miniature Ancient World. Weve already heard about the matter regarding Dira, Guild Leader, Su Qianliu said. Well definitely have to teach the Paimon Conglomerate a good lesson once the World Passage opens. Commander Laura has also said that her party will come to our aid as soon as possible. Well make sure the Paimon Conglomerates entry into the World Passage will be a one-way trip! Other powers might be able to tolerate their Guild Leaders signing a slave contract, but that was not something Zero Wing could tolerate. Had she been at the banquet, she would have definitely taught Dira a lesson without hesitation. If Commander Lauras party can come, that is indeed good news. Shi Feng was surprised. Laura Crader and her companions were very mysterious in their actions. Ever since they arrived in the Miniature Ancient World, they would hardly ever show themselves. Yet, every member of their party was incredibly strong, much stronger than even the likes of Wordless Ember and Slumbering Quicksand. But even with their help, we still need a little something else to go up against the Paimon Conglomerate. Have you prepared the materials I asked you to gather? After returning to the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng immediately contacted Su Qianliu and asked her to prepare the materials needed for the Primordial Divine Dragon Summoning. Although these materials were scarce in the Miniature Ancient World, preparing one or two sets should still be possible. And because the Primordial Divine Dragon Summonings Magic Array Scrolls had a 100% production success rate, every set of material collected would equal one complete set of Magic Array Scrolls. Meanwhile, a Tier 5 Primordial Divine Dragons phantom was a weapon of mass destruction. It could be used to great effect even in a war between kingdoms in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone the Miniature Ancient World. I didnt have much preparation time, and you asked for a large variety of Epic materials, so I only managed to collect four sets thus far. Im going to need more time if you want more sets, Su Qianliu said in embarrassment as she took out a bag full of materials. Four sets? Shi Feng couldnt help but laugh. With this many, we can definitely make the Paimon Conglomerate suffer. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng was done allocating responsibilities in Zero Wing, he left for a room in the Blood Rabbit Hotel to start producing the scrolls for the Primordial Divine Dragon Summoning. Are these the items Dira dropped? Just as Shi Feng was about to retrieve the material bag, he paused when he noticed two foreign items in his spatial bag. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3293 - Chapter 367 - Unbelievable Fortune Chapter 367 C Unbelievable Fortune Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at the two items in his hands. As expected of the Divine Seal Saints favorite son. This degree of wealth is enough to put even upper-ranking hegemonic powers to shame Out of the two items Dira dropped, one of them was a pouch with ancient runes covering it. When Shi Feng saw this pouch, mixed feelings filled his heart. An Inferior Legendary Spatial Bag! Indeed! One of the two dropped items was an Inferior Legendary Spatial Bag, something Shi Feng had never owned, even in his previous life. In the Greater Gods Domain, Epic Spatial Bags were more or less regarded as the highest-ranked spatial bag players could get their hands on. Meanwhile, the value of Epic Spatial Bags could rival Fragmented Legendary items. Epic Spatial Bags were highly valuable because they could store non-bag space items like Seven Luminaries Crystals. So long as players had an Epic Spatial Bag, they could carry these non-bag space items through teleportation arrays, drastically improving the efficiency of transporting these items. Even so, Epic Spatial Bags had limited storage space. Generally, an Epic Spatial Bag could only hold up to 100 non-bag space items. If all this space was used to store Seven Luminaries Crystals, an Epic Spatial Bag could carry one million units. Because of this, players couldnt transport a large amount of non-bag space items like merchant caravans simply by relying on one, or even several, Epic Spatial Bags. However, it was a different story for Inferior Legendary Spatial Bags. The capacity of one was on par with a medium-sized Guild Warehouse. In other words, it could store up to 1,000 non-bag space items or 10,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. One Inferior Legendary Spatial Bag could already rival the cargo load of a small merchant caravan in the Greater Gods Domain. Because of this, Inferior Legendary Spatial Bags were astronomical in value. It was even more valuable than Legendary Weapons. At the same time, Inferior Legendary Spatial Bags were incredibly rare, and there did not exist more than 20 of them in the entire Starlight Realm. Moreover, this was after many years of accumulation in the Starlight Realm. So, for Dira to have one showed just how much the Divine Seal Saint loved his youngest son. However, compared to the Inferior Legendary Spatial Bag, the bags contents were even more shocking. Seven Luminaries Crystals! A huge amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals! More specifically, 1.31 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would drool over such an amount. This amount was probably already enough to match an ordinary hegemonic powers entire stockpile. After all, many situations in the Greater Gods Domain required the use of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Aside from letting Tier 5 players get promoted to Tier 6, Seven Luminaries Crystals were also needed to help Tier 6 players recover after death. So, it wasnt easy to accumulate Seven Luminaries Crystals. Meanwhile, aside from Seven Luminaries Crystals, the spatial bag also contained twenty-nine God Crystals and five Bronze Warships. This was wealth that the Miniature Ancient Worlds hegemonic powers could only dream of owning. It seems Dira has exploited the various hegemonic powers quite a lot, Shi Feng thought as he looked at all the Seven Luminaries Crystals and God Crystals in the Inferior Legendary Spatial Bag. There was no way this astonishing wealth came from the Divine Seal Saint. After all, even the Divine Seal Saint would have difficulty taking out such wealth. So, Dira must have acquired this wealth by exploiting the Miniature Ancient Worlds various hegemonic powers. Now, though, Diras exploitation was going to benefit Shi Feng. Afterward, Shi Feng turned his gaze to the other item Dira dropped. It was a ring. A very extraordinary ring. [Sacred Phantom Ring] (Ring, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Tier 4 All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Increases all Attributes by 40%; Increases reaction speed and Attack Speed by 100%; Weakens all attacks at Tier 5 and below by 70%; Ignore Levels +20; Increases Movement Speed by 50%. Additional Passive Skill- Phantom Obstruction: Hides the wearers information, preventing others from inspecting it. Additional Active Skill 1- True Phantom: Disguises all of the wearers information. Duration: Unlimited Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Active Skill 2- Phantom Substitute: Take on a true death on the wearers behalf. Cooldown: 1 natural day (The Sacred Phantom Ring will be dropped after taking on a true death on the wearers behalf.) When youre just trying to make great content at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. The Sacred Phantom Ring is the cumulation of the entire Ancient Elven races strength. It is rumored that the ring can help its wearer escape all forms of death and acquire Eternal Energy. The Sacred Phantom Ring was broken during the Ancient Holy War, but it can automatically repair itself with four Ancient Magic Elven Stones. The Divine Seal Saint really does love his youngest son. If this thing is fully repaired, it might even become a Divine Artifact Shi Feng was greatly astonished by the Sacred Phantom Rings abilities, particularly the Phantom Substitute Skill. The ability to avoid true death was something countless players in the Greater Gods Domain dreamed of obtaining. Even Tier 6 players were not an exception. Items that let players avoid true death were so rare that not even the executives of apex powers would necessarily have one. In Gods Domain, true death for players meant having their Immortal Souls destroyed completely. Meanwhile, the consequence of such a situation wouldnt be limited to account deletion. Instead, players who had their Immortal Souls destroyed would lose the right to enter Gods Domain for the rest of their lives. Many Tier 6 powerhouses wouldnt hesitate to trade a Legendary Weapon for the ability to escape true death even once. Not to mention, so long as players had a way of recovering the Sacred Phantom Ring, it was technically possible to avoid true death once every day. Looking at the Sacred Phantom Rings effects, Shi Feng found it hard to believe that it was only rated as a Fragmented Legendary item rather than a Legendary item. After all, apart from letting its wearer avoid true death, the ring could also hide and disguise its wearers information. While these two abilities might not be useful to Dira since nobody would dare to harm him under normal circumstances, these abilities were incredibly useful for people trying to evade detection or escape from pursuers. If the Sacred Phantom Ring got repaired, Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful its lifesaving capabilities would become. If the ring turned out to be a Divine Artifact, it might truly be able to let its wearer escape all forms of death and become an unkillable existence. If that were the case, even the various apex powers would have to fear such an existence. It seems killing Dira wasnt entirely a bad choice, Shi Feng thought as he put on the Sacred Phantom Ring, causing his Basic Attributes to increase significantly. At this point, he could even rival Iron Crocodile, a Level 136, Tier 5 Sacred Sky Knight. Subsequently, Shi Feng turned his gaze to a tattered tablet in his spatial bag, a flash of excitement appearing in his eyes. Now that I have 34 God Crystals, I can use some to repair the Abyss Workshop Certification. The Abyss Workshop Certification! Even while damaged, the Abyss Workshop Certification was already of great help to him, allowing him to recruit geniuses from the Stratified Abyssal Realm and travel between worlds easily. If the Abyss Workshop Certifications effects could be further improved, it would undoubtedly be of even greater help to him. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3294 - Chapter 368 - Repaired Abyss Workshop Certification Chapter 368 C Repaired Abyss Workshop Certification After deciding to repair the Abyss Workshop Certification, Shi Feng began taking out sparkling fist-sized crystals from his bag one after another. The power of Tier 6 Gods was condensed in these crystals, and Shi Feng merged ten of these God Crystals into the damaged stone slab on the floor. As soon as Shi Feng merged the tenth God Crystal with the stone slab, the latter seemingly came to life. Thump Thump Thump The sound of a beating heart continuously echoed throughout the room. At the same time, divine runes started to appear on the damaged stone slab and drain the room of all its mana. At some point, the room even began to shake and tremble, looking like it could crumble apart at any moment. Thankfully, the barrier in this room can stop up to Tier 5 attacks. Otherwise, these fluctuations will most certainly attract a lot of attention. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the room and its defensive barrier staying in one piece. Every Legendary item had heaven-defying effects, so the recovery of any Legendary item would cause a huge commotion. Oftentimes, the commotion caused would alert others nearby of a Legendary items presence. Meanwhile, if players with special Identification Skills took notice of the commotion, they could inspect the Legendary item even without the owners consent. Shi Feng wouldnt have minded others finding out if he was only repairing an ordinary Legendary item. However, it was a different story for the Abyss Workshop Certification. The Abyss Workshop Certification was an Ancient Gods possession! Ancient Gods were the strongest known existences in the Greater Gods Domain. They were the goals of many Gods and Tier 6 players. However, Ancient Gods had long since secluded themselves from the Greater Gods Domain, so even finding a clue pertaining to Ancient Gods was exceedingly difficult, let alone a possession directly related to an Ancient God. Moreover, the Abyss Workshop Certification had a very special function. It could be used to teleport players directly to the Abyss Workshop, one of the Greater Gods Domains Three Great Workshops. This was a place all players and powers sought to visit. It was rumored that the Three Great Workshops held the most advanced technologies available in the Greater Gods Domain, and even the likes of Epic Combat Puppets could be purchased from the Three Great Workshops. Epic Combat Puppets! It should be known that every Epic Combat Puppet had the strength to rival Tier 6 Gods! In other words, even if a player was only at Tier 1, so long as they could control an Epic Combat Puppet, they would be stronger than a large majority of the Tier 6 players that existed in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, Epic Combat Puppets were but the most basic technology available in the Three Great Workshops. According to a legend, a player had managed to create an empire that spanned multiple Gods Domains because of an item they bought from a Great Workshop. At the time, said player dared challenge even the Greater Gods Domains apex powers. It was just that the player had failed miserably in their attempt at invading the Twelve Sanctuaries and thus vanished from the Greater Gods Domains history. Because of this legend, all players and powers in the Greater Gods Domain sought to enter the Three Great Workshops. Unfortunately, the Three Great Workshops were incredibly mysterious. Their entrances would also randomly appear, and finding them was a task so challenging that even apex powers could do nothing but scratch their heads in frustration. So, if news spread that there was an item capable of letting players teleport to the Abyss Workshop, all players and powers in the Greater Gods Domain would definitely try to obtain it, even if it meant destroying the entire Miniature Ancient World. Of course, even if the average player managed to enter one of the Three Great Workshops, they couldnt do anything unless they had the necessary currencies to do business there. Currently, although Shi Feng could already travel to the Abyss Workshop, without the Abyss Workshops currency, he would only be wasting his time and the Abyss Workshop Certifications Skill Cooldown. However, this naturally wasnt a problem for the Greater Gods Domains various apex powers and conglomerates. They had long accumulated a significant sum of the Three Great Workshops currencies over the many years they had existed. They were only missing a method to enter the Three Great Workshops. While Shi Feng was lost in his thoughts, the Abyss Workshop Certification was completely repaired, and a stone slab covered in divine runes presented itself to Shi Feng. The Divine Might the stone slab radiated was so powerful that even Tier 4 players would have great difficulty getting close to it, let alone handling it. [Abyss Workshop Certification] (Legendary Rank Item) A certification of glory in the past. It can be used to teleport to the Abyss Workshop. Cannot be traded. There is a 1% drop rate on death. Automatically disappears if stored in a warehouse for more than 90 natural days. Additional Skill 1- Abyss Teleportation: Teleport to the Abyss Workshop from any location. Each teleportation will cost 100 Dark Crystals. Cooldown: 10 natural days Additional Skill 2- World-Breaking Teleportation: Forcibly opens a World-Breaking Gate at a pre-designated location. Up to nine locations can be saved. Each gate can only transfer up to twenty people. Each gate activation costs 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystals. Cooldown: 12 hours As expected of an Ancient Gods possession. These effects are even more absurd than that Sacred Phantom Ring, Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed when he finished reading the Abyss Workshop Certifications updated information. The Abyss Workshop Certification was already plenty incredible previously. After all, the World-Breaking Teleportation Skill alone was enough to stir the desires of the Greater Gods Domains various powers, let alone the ability to teleport directly to the Abyss Workshop. Now, the Abyss Workshop Certification had become even more astonishing, allowing him to save up to nine locations with the World-Breaking Teleportation Skill instead of just three locations. This meant that he could teleport between nine worlds. This was an unbelievable ability for players and powers seeking to develop across multiple worlds. Moreover, the nine locations didnt necessarily have to be in the same Realm. In other words, it was possible to achieve cross-realm teleportation with the Abyss Workshop Certification. It should be known that teleportation between Realms was an exorbitant expense even to Tier 6 players. The average Tier 5 player couldnt even afford such an expense and could only choose the more time-consuming option of traveling with cross-realm merchant caravans. Yet, now, he only needed to spend 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to teleport up to 20 players between worlds or Realms. If all 20 slots were filled, the teleportation fee for each person would only be 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. That was a ridiculously low price to pay. Most importantly, the Cooldown for World-Breaking Teleportation had been reduced from 10 days to just 12 hours. This reduction made it possible to normalize teleportation between worlds or Realms. He would no longer have to carefully weigh the use of each teleportation. It seems I wont have to miss the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition now, Shi Feng thought. The Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition was related to one of the Six Great Divine Sets. Unless absolutely necessary, Shi Feng did not wish to give up on the invitational competition. Previously, if Shi Feng wanted to leave the Miniature Ancient World and make it in time for the competition, his only option was to wait for the World Passage to open and leave through there. However, trying to leave through the World Passage would be no different than suicide since the Paimon Conglomerate would definitely be waiting for him on the other side. Meanwhile, when he returned to the Miniature Ancient World, the preliminaries for the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition had already begun. So, it shouldnt be more than a week before the preliminaries were over and the main event began. Yet, the previous World-Breaking Teleportation had a 10-day Cooldown. By the time the Skills Cooldown was done, it would already be too late for him to participate in the competition. Now, though, he no longer had to worry about missing the competition. Greater Gods Domain, Starlight Realm: On a flying ship traveling across a vast galaxy, a Level 205, Tier 6 Assassin clad in an eight-piece Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set approached a blue-robed young man. Lord Divine Seal, a report just came in stating that Young Master Dira nearly died a true death in a miniature world, the Tier 6 Assassin anxiously said. Upon hearing the Assassins words, the blue-robed youth asked in a cold voice, Who did it? Black Flame! The culprit is a Swordsman named Black Flame! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3295 - Chapter 369 - Laura Crader Arrives Chapter 369 C Laura Crader Arrives Thunder Fortress, Red Moon Harbor: One after another, ships continued to pour into the Thunder Fortress from the Sea of Dark Thunder. Apart from Advanced Ships, there were many Bronze Speedboats and even Warships among these ships, their numbers far greater than the ships that had entered the Thunder Fortress the past few days. This scene shocked the players who had only recently arrived at the Thunder Fortress. However, their shock wasnt solely due to the great number of ships. Instead, it was also because of the strength of the players alighting from these ships. The majority of these new arrivals were independent players. These independent players arrived in teams, and there would be at least two or three Tier 4 players in every 20-man team. In addition, every one of these independent players was at Level 134 and above and was fully clad in Epic Weapons and Equipment. The equipment standard of these independent teams was already comparable to the various powers main forces. Sure enough, those guys came running here as well, a tall, middle-aged man who had just alighted from a Bronze Speedboat said, a wry smile appearing on his face when he saw the several dozen attention-grabbing teams at the harbor. At the same time as this middle-aged man stepped onto the harbor, the other independent teams at the harbor also turned their attention to him. The reason all these independent teams paid attention to the middle-aged man wasnt just because he was a Level 135, Tier 4 Shield Warrior or the 20-man team he led was fully composed of Tier 4 players. More than that, it was because of the adventurer team the middle-aged man represented. Five Dragons Fang! Apart from Guilds, adventurer teams were also a formidable force in the Greater Gods Domain. In fact, over 60% of the Greater Gods Domains the trade and transportation industries were under the various adventurer teams control. Meanwhile, out of the many adventurer teams in the Greater Gods Domain, Five Dragons Fang was a considerably famous top adventurer team in the Starlight Realm, ranking among the top 100 of the Starlight Realms adventurer teams. Although Five Dragons Fang had fewer than 100,000 members, which was nothing compared to hegemonic powers with tens or hundreds of millions of members, its overall strength and influence were enough to deter the various hegemonic powers from provoking it. It cant be helped, Commander. Any adventurer team worth their salt will know that its impossible to continue staying in the Miniature Ancient World. Now, all we can do is earn some contribution points from the Adventurers Association before packing up and leaving, a Level 136, Tier 4 female Oracle said, sighing. Originally, the various adventurer teams were supposed to enter the World Passage on the second day after its opening to sweep the leftover Void monsters that various hegemonic powers couldnt be bothered to take care of. After all, although the World Passages opening rewards were tempting, most of the adventurer teams currently operating in the Miniature Ancient World had come here to do trade and sell transportation services. Firstly, plenty of precious resources were available in the Miniature Ancient World. While the various hegemonic powers would take control of most of these resources, a significant sum would still be available on the open market. If the various adventurer teams resold these leftover resources in the Greater Gods Domain, a significant profit could still be made. Not to mention, they could also resell resources exclusive to the Greater Gods Domain in the Miniature Ancient World, making an equally large profit. Secondly, even after an isolated worlds World Passage opened, traveling between said world and the Greater Gods Domain wouldnt be easy. Even the various hegemonic powers elite teams could face annihilation if they werent careful. Moreover, the danger in a World Passage wasnt constant. Instead, it would change depending on the World Passages activation degree and the standard of the world it was connected to. Because of this, many players lacking strength might never be able to travel between worlds unless they received outside help, and this was where the various adventurer teams came in. Unfortunately, now that Shi Feng had gone and killed Dira, the Miniature Ancient World had become an incredibly dangerous place, and any adventurer team worth its salt would know not to stay in this world for even a second longer. Indeed, the middle-aged man nodded. The Divine Seal Saint has gone crazy after learning about Diras death, so much so that he has mobilized the Commander Wind Seal to block off the entire World Passage. From what I heard, the Divine Seal Saint is planning to eliminate Black Flame and everyone related to him The Divine Seal Saint had four mighty experts working under him, also known as the Four Seals. Not only did the Four Seals receive the Divine Seal Legacy, but each of them also led a team of 100 Tier 6 experts, and just one of these teams was enough to obliterate an ordinary hegemonic power. Although the Divine Seal Saint was only targeting Black Flame and those related to him, who could say for certain others wouldnt be implicated? If any unlucky team or player got falsely accused of having ties to Black Flame, that would be the end of their careers in Gods Domain and their lives in the real world. Because of this, neither adventurer teams nor powers that had entered the Miniature Ancient World dared to continue staying in this world. While the people in the Thunder Fortress were in an uproar, the Blood Rabbit Hotel welcomed a group of guests. Although this group consisted of only six players, the sight of these six caused everyone in the hotels lobby to gasp. Not only were all six of these players at Level 140, but every one of them had upwards of three Fragmented Legendary items. With such equipment and level, these six players definitely ranked at the very top of the Miniature Ancient World in terms of strength. Yet, these six players did not belong to a Guild. Instead, they only came from an adventurer team. The Glimmer adventurer team! Even Shi Feng was surprised when he saw Glimmers party of six. Apart from Laura Crader and Casio, this was the first time Shi Feng was meeting with the four other players in Lauras party, but every one of these four new faces possessed strength at the standard of titled experts. This was a line-up not even the various hegemonic powers could put together in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, the Glimmer adventurer team managed to do so Blood Rabbit Hotel, VIP lounge: Guild Leader Black Flame, according to the information I received, Im afraid Zero Wing cannot continue to stay in the Miniature Ancient World, Laura Crader frankly said. Then in an earnest tone, she continued, My suggestion is to temporarily disband Zero Wing and get ready to retreat from the Miniature Ancient World with a group of core members. Although the Divine Seal Saint will have a tight blockade on the other side, so long as I can get promoted to Tier 5, I am confident I can break through that blockade with a few dozen people. Once in the Greater Gods Domain, so long as you leave the Starlight Realm, even the Divine Seal Saint will have difficulty getting his hands on you. Shes confident in breaking through? Shi Feng was shocked when he heard Lauras claims. He didnt think that Laura would be hiding such strength. Shi Feng knew that the Divine Seal Saint had stationed Wind Seal, one of the Four Seals, on the other end of the World Passage. According to rumors, not only did Wind Seal possess a Legendary Weapon, but he was even strong enough to rival Tier 6 Gods of the same level. On top of that, Wind Seal also had a 100-man team of Tier 6 players supporting him. After learning about this line-up, even Shi Feng wasnt confident in breaking through the Paimon Conglomerates blockade. Yet, Laura was confident in doing so. Your suggestion is excellent, Commander Laura, but Zero Wing will not disband. Neither will Zero Wing leave the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The Divine Seal Saints forces might be strong, but that doesnt make Zero Wing a pushover. If he dares to bare his fangs in the Miniature Ancient World, hell have to be prepared to lose them! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3296 - Chapter 370 - Tier 5 Advanced Epic! Chapter 370 C Tier 5 Advanced Epic! Shi Fengs firm words rendered Laura and her party members speechless. Guild Leader Black Flame, the current Zero Wing is indeed close to catching up to the various hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World, but the forces the Divine Seal Saint can send here go far beyond the various hegemonic powers, Laura patiently explained. Tier 4 players might be rare in the Miniature Ancient World, but they are everywhere in the Greater Gods Domain. Once the World Passage opens, it wont take the Paimon Conglomerate more than two or three days to clear out the entire passage and flood the Miniature Ancient World with Tier 4 experts. At that time, we arent talking about facing just a few hundred or a few thousand Tier 4 experts, but hundreds of thousands instead. Moreover, these Tier 4 experts will have much better weapons and equipment. Travel across a World Passage might be challenging, but with the Paimon Conglomerates strength and influence, it would have no trouble transporting a few hundred thousand Tier 4 experts into the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, such a force was enough to destroy the entire Miniature Ancient World many times over, let alone destroy Zero Wing. It didnt matter even if Shi Feng possessed a Legendary Weapon. Once the World Passage opened, players entering the Miniature Ancient World might have to deal with level and tier restrictions, but there wouldnt be any restrictions on weapons, equipment, and tools. It might be hard to come by Legendary Weapons and Equipment in the current Miniature Ancient World, but there were plenty in the Greater Gods Domain. For a long-standing existence like the Paimon Conglomerate, the number of Legendary Weapons and Equipment under its possession vastly outstripped even the various hegemonic powers. So long as the Paimon Conglomerate sent over a few of its Legendary Weapons and Equipment, Shi Feng would be doomed. Shi Feng was admittedly very strong, but how many players equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment could he go up against simultaneously? However, Shi Feng did not bother explaining his decision to Laura. Instead, he asked, Commander Laura, are you planning to take on the Greater Gods Domain once you get promoted to Tier 5? Lauras identity and strength were a big mystery to Shi Feng. When Shi Feng met Laura, the other partys primary goal was to enter the Greater Gods Domain. They had even signed a contract around this condition. However, it also seemed like Laura was considerably knowledgeable about the Greater Gods Domain and knew that itd be incredibly dangerous to roam the Greater Gods Domain as a Tier 4 player. Hence, she had yet to leave the Miniature Ancient World until now. That is indeed my intention. Laura was initially stunned, failing to understand why Shi Feng would ask such a question. However, she still chose to give Shi Feng a proper answer. Although the Miniature Ancient World still holds many secrets, many more opportunities are available in the Greater Gods Domain. The Miniature Ancient World would no longer hold much value to her once she reached Tier 5. A big part of why she came to find Shi Feng this time was to return the favor she owed him. Meanwhile, she would return this favor by bringing Zero Wings members into the Greater Gods Domain with her. How about making another deal with me, Commander Laura? Shi Feng asked. A deal? What kind of deal? Laura grew even more confused. Rather than try to get out of his current predicament, Shi Feng was instead looking to make a deal with her? What was he even thinking? Once you are promoted to Tier 5, stay in the Miniature Ancient World and protect Zero Wing for a month, Shi Feng said, smiling. In exchange, I can help you go further in your Tier 5 promotion! The woman known as Laura Crader undoubtedly possessed extraordinary strength. Even though she had only revealed a portion of her strength thus far, it was already enough to put her in the top 10 of the Miniature Ancient Worlds God List. Moreover, Laura was confident in breaking through the Paimon Conglomerates blockade once she became a Tier 5 Sword Saint. If that were the case, shed be of even greater help to Zero Wing if she remained in the Miniature Ancient World. Shi Feng needed to participate in the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition, so he wouldnt be able to stay in the Miniature Ancient World to protect Zero Wing during that period. If Zero Wing could have Laura protecting it, he could participate in the competition without any worries. Go further in the Tier 5 promotion? An elderly male Elementalist from the Glimmer adventurer team laughed when he heard Shi Fengs words. Young man, do you know what rank Commander Laura can achieve when creating her Tier 5 Mana Body? Aside from the elderly Elementalist, the three other unfamiliar faces in Lauras party also laughed. Epic rank, right? Shi Feng said blandly. Apart from reaching level 140, Tier 4 players seeking to get promoted to Tier 5 in Gods Domain also needed to create a Tier 5 Mana Body that suited them. Meanwhile, the Tier 5 Mana Bodies players created would vary in strength, the ranks going from Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Epic. For most paragons in the Greater Gods Domain, their lifelong goal was to create a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. That way, they could become a powerhouse in the Greater Gods Domain once they reached Tier 6. Meanwhile, the Divine Seal Saint was one such powerhouse. It was also why many paragons refused to get promoted to Tier 5. Only, out of the many paragons in the Greater Gods Domain, less than 1% of them would succeed in creating a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. You are indeed insightful, Guild Leader Black Flame, the elderly Elementalist said, nodding. Then, with a proud smile on his face, he continued, You are correct. Commander Laura can already create a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. So, do you still think you can be of any help to her? In the Greater Gods Domain, even conglomerates would celebrate for three days and three nights if one of their paragons managed to create a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body, while hegemonic powers would celebrate ten days and ten nights if they gained such a paragon. In response, Shi Feng looked at the elderly Elementalist before saying, What if I say I can help Commander Laura push her Mana Body to the Advanced Epic rank? The Advanced Epic rank? The elderly Elementalist didnt believe Shi Fengs words for even a moment. Are you playing a joke on this old man, Guild Leader Black Flame? It was true that the Epic rank wasnt the limit for Tier 5 Mana Bodies. Above Epic Mana Bodies were Advanced Epic Mana Bodies. However, even acquiring a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body was already an astounding achievement in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone a Tier 5 Advanced Epic Mana Body. According to his knowledge, individuals capable of reaching this standard were all mythical figures in the Greater Gods Domain. What did it mean to be a mythical figure in the Greater Gods Domain? It meant that every one of these individuals was qualified to antagonize apex powers! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3297 - Chapter 371 - Legendary Reward Chapter 371 C Legendary Reward Blood Rabbit Hotel, VIP lounge: This time, the elderly Elementalist wasnt the only one who doubted Shi Fengs words. Even Laura couldnt believe what Shi Feng had just said. Guild Leader Black Flame, it is nigh impossible for me to create an Advanced Epic Mana Body, Laura said, shaking her head. Just creating an Epic Mana Body is already my limit. The difficulty of creating an Advanced version is several times greater. If there really exists a way that can help me create an Advanced Epic Mana Body, I wouldnt have chosen to get promoted to Tier 5 now. Which is why I said it is a transaction, Shi Feng calmly said to Laura. I will help you create an Advanced Epic Mana Body. In return, you will help me protect Zero Wing for a month. Im sure this is a worthwhile transaction for you, right, Commander Laura? After all, you know how hard it is to create an Advanced Epic Mana Body. Are you really sure about that, Guild Leader Black Flame? Laura asked, a confused look appearing on her face as she looked at Shi Feng. Ever since arriving at the Miniature Ancient World, Laura thought that she had already learned everything there was to know about Zero Wing and Shi Feng. So, she couldnt help but be puzzled by the conditions Shi Feng was presenting her with. The Advanced Epic Mana Body was akin to a myth in the Greater Gods Domain. It was something even conglomerates and apex powers could only hope and pray to obtain. Yet, Shi Feng spoke as if attaining it wasnt a challenge. Instead, it was only a matter of whether he wanted to or not. If Shi Feng truly did have a way to help others achieve an Advanced Epic Mana Body, any paragon in the Greater Gods Domain wouldnt hesitate to work for Shi Feng for even a decade, let alone a month. Of course. Shi Feng smiled and nodded. We can even sign a Gods Domain Contract on it. If you fail to create an Advanced Epic Mana Body, you wont have to protect Zero Wing in the Miniature Ancient World. The creation of an Advanced Epic Mana Body was indeed a massive challenge. Even during his previous life, Shi Feng had only ever managed to create a standard Epic Mana Body. However, he now had the complete Hundred Refinement Building in his possession, and the Hundred Refinement Buildings second floor was specialized in helping players create Mana Bodies. After experiencing the effects of the complete Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor himself, Shi Feng was confident that Laura, with her talent to create an Epic Mana Body without any help, could easily create an Advanced Epic Mana Body with the Hidden Constructions help. Honestly, with how massive of an opportunity he was offering to Laura, he would have been well within his rights even if he had asked Laura to protect Zero Wing for a much longer time. The reason he only asked Laura to help Zero Wing for a month was so that he could have an easier time pulling Laura to his side. He had never heard of Lauras name or her nickname of Shimmering Sword during his previous life. Yet, there was no doubt that Lauras strength and talent far surpassed Wordless Ember and Slumbering Quicksand. If Laura could safely develop herself, her future achievements would undoubtedly surpass Wordless Ember and Slumbering Quicksand. Okay, you have a deal, Laura said. I promise you that so long as you can help me create an Advanced Epic Mana Body, I will ensure nobodynot even the Paimon Conglomeratecan harm Zero Wing in the Miniature Ancient World for a month. I will also owe you a huge favor on top of that, and you can use this favor to ask me of anything. I will even go against an apex power if you want me to! Commander?! The elderly Elementalist was shocked by Lauras words. He didnt think Laura would offer such a condition to Shi Feng. Others might think Laura was joking when she said she would go against even an apex power, but those who knew her would know that she wasnt joking. Lets sign a contract, then. However, Ill put it out first, but you must keep my methods a secret. Unless I allow it, you must never tell a third party about my methods, Shi Feng said as he took out the Gods Domain Contract he had prepared in advance. That wont be a problem, Laura agreed without hesitation. Then, signed Shi Fengs contract after seeing no problems with it. After both parties signed the contract, Shi Feng brought Laura away from the lounge, leaving behind Kasio and the others. Blood Rabbit Hotel, VIP guest room: While Laura was wondering how Shi Feng would help her to create an Advanced Epic Mana Body, Shi Feng took out a stone tablet and opened a space-time passage. When Laura stepped through the space-time passage, she couldnt help but be shocked. Isnt this the Greater Gods Domain? When Laura sensed the world suppression unique to the Greater Gods Domain, she couldnt help but turn back and look at the vanishing space-time passage in disbelief. Traveling between the various worlds of Gods Domain was a very troublesome affair and could normally only be achieved through World Passages. So, in a situation where a worlds World Passage remained closed, it was nigh impossible for players to travel into and out of said world. Yet, Shi Feng had shattered this rule, accomplishing interworld travel without the use of a World Passage. Thats right. We are currently in the Ancient River Kingdoms Gazing Moon City, Shi Feng said, nodding. But we dont have a lot of time. I also have quite a few problems here, so well need to travel incognito. After saying so, Shi Feng used the Sacred Phantom Ring to alter his appearance into that of a young Swordsman. He also changed his ID to Ye Feng, the one he had been using throughout his previous life. Then, after doing all that, he put on a Black Cloak. With this, even if others used Advanced Identification Skills on him, they would only see the information hidden by the Black Cloak. They wouldnt be able to tell that this information was falsified. Laura was not surprised by Shi Fengs transformation. After putting on a Black Cloak, she followed Shi Feng out of the Gazing Moon Hotel. Fortunately, they did not attract any Red Players attention and safely arrived at the Hundred Refinement Building situated in the western parts of the city. Hundred Refinement Building, first-floor lobby: When Shi Feng and Laura entered the building, the elderly Great Wizard manning the front desk instantly recognized Shi Feng despite Shi Fengs disguise. You really know how to surprise me, young man. Its only been a few days, yet youve already collected so many Seven Luminaries Crystals, the old man said with a surprised look. Then, he sighed and continued, Had I known you were so capable, I should have asked for a million units instead. Youve really gotten yourself a bargain, young man. Here are the promised Seven Luminaries Crystals, Shi Feng said, rolling his eyes at the old man as he took out 89,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Ive completed the quest, right? It should be known that 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal were not a small amount. If he didnt get lucky and acquired Diras wealth, he would have needed to expend a lot of effort to gather the required crystals. Fine. After accepting the Seven Luminaries Crystals, the Great Wizard sighed again and said, Your quest is complete. All of this Hundred Refinement Building now belongs to you. After saying so, the elderly Great Wizard passed a crystalline key to Shi Feng before vanishing without a trace. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng received a series of system notifications. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Legendary Quest Hundred Refinement Mana Body. Rewarding Demon Gods Key, ten levels, and 30 Free Legacy Skill Points. System: You will have to pay a monthly management fee of 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for the Hundred Refinement Building. If you fail to make payment for three consecutive months, Gazing Moon City will repossess all authority over the Hundred Refinement Building. System: You have activated the second phase of the Legendary Quest Hundred Refinement Mana Body. Quest Content: Create a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body within 50 days. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3298 - Chapter 372 - Astonishing Second Floor Chapter 372 C Astonishing Second Floor Theres a second phase to this quest? The system notification dumbfounded Shi Feng. A Legendary Quest was originally more than enough of a headache already. Previously, Shi Feng had no choice but to accept one because of the Hundred Refinement Building. Yet, after going through so much effort to complete it, he was now told that there was a second phase to this quest. Moreover, of all the things he could have been asked to do, it just had to be the creation of a Legendary Mana Body. A Legendary Mana Body! This was something he had never even heard of! Shi Fengs original goal in acquiring the key to the Hundred Refinement Buildings second floor was to go beyond the Epic threshold and create the mythical Advanced Epic Mana Body. Yet, now, he was required to create a Legendary Mana Body, and he had to do so within 50 days. At this point, he couldnt help but suspect if this quest could even be completed. Guild Leader Black Flame? A look of confusion appeared on Lauras face as she looked at Shi Feng. She noticed Shi Fengs level instantly increasing from 140 to 150, so it was obvious he had just completed a considerably challenging quest. Normally, this should be a cause for celebration. Yet, Shi Feng did not look happy at all. On the contrary, he looked gloomy and frustrated. Im fine. Its just a minor problem, Shi Feng explained. Then, he made his way to the second floor while saying, Lets begin. The quest was forced onto him, and he couldnt abandon it even if he wanted to. So, his only option now was to create a Legendary Mana Body. The layout of the Hundred Refinement Buildings second floor was the same as the first floor, having only four training rooms. So, only up to four people could train at the same time. However, compared to the first floors training rooms, the second floors training rooms cost a lot more. It only cost 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to use the first floors training rooms, but the second floors training rooms cost a whopping 10,000 units. Even Guilds would have difficulty affording such a price, let alone individual players. It should be known that there were many expert players at the third-floor standard in the Greater Gods Domain. At this standard, players were already strong enough to ascend to Tier 6. Yet, in reality, not even a fraction of these third-floor experts were Tier 6 players, and the reason causing this was that most of these third-floor experts lacked the Seven Luminaries Crystals needed to challenge their Tier 6 promotion. In a situation where a player couldnt even afford the Seven Luminaries Crystals to get promoted to Tier 6, it was highly unlikely this player would be willing to spend 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to receive help on creating their Tier 5 Mana Body. Not to mention, Shi Feng needed to spend Seven Luminaries Crystals for the Hundred Refinement Buildings monthly upkeep. He also didnt have any intentions of running a charity. So, he definitely wouldnt be charging players the cost price of 10,000 units. For outsiders, hed have to charge them a minimum of 15,000 or 20,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. This was a price even the various hegemonic powers would find expensive. After Shi Feng was done inspecting the second floor, he handed 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to Laura and had her enter one of the training rooms to start creating her Mana Body. Then, he entered a different training room to experience the second-floor training rooms effects himself. Inside the training room, Shi Feng couldnt help but be stunned after he paid the 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to use the training room. Eternal Energy! Unimaginably dense Eternal Energy! No wonder 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal are needed to activate this room. Just being able to stand in this Eternal Energy is already worth the price. The concentration of Eternal Energy in this room was at least five or six times greater than what was available in the first-floor training rooms. Just standing in the room allowed him to experience a qualitative transformation in his brain activity. Moreover, he felt as if he was put into a constant state of enlightenment or, more specifically, all-knowing. System: Creation Assistance Mode activated. You can only activate this mode once in your lifetime. System: You have 100 assisted creation opportunities remaining. Each assisted creation will provide an ideal improvement to the Mana Body you create. You may only stay in the assisted creation space for a maximum of one natural day. If you do not use up your assisted creation opportunities in one natural day, your remaining opportunities will be automatically forfeited. What a pity. If more time is given, it might even be possible to learn a Gold Combat Technique in this space. Shi Feng felt a little disappointed when he saw the time limit given. The first floors training rooms allowed players to spend up to five natural days in them. That was more than enough time for players to use up all 100 simulation opportunities, and players could even use their excess time to train in other things, such as combat techniques and Mana Techniques. With the second-floor training rooms superior environment, players could learn even Gold Combat Techniques and Saint-rank Mana Techniques if given enough time. However, Gods Domains Main God System obviously knew this was too good of an opportunity. Hence, the Main God System gave players a choiceeither use the given time to create a better Mana Body or improve on other things. In a situation where the Creation Assistance Mode was present, unless a player was completely uninterested in having a better Mana Body, they would definitely choose the first option rather than the second one. Begin the first assisted creation! Realizing the importance of time, Shi Feng promptly began his first assisted creation. In Gods Domain, players needed to create a Mana Body that suited themselves if they wanted to step into the Tier 5 threshold. Meanwhile, the process of creating was basically using ones existing Mana Body as a template and coming up with methods to strengthen it. However, depending on the rank of the template used, the strengthening requirements would also differ. The higher a template Mana Bodys rank, the lower the strengthening requirements would be. If players were to use a Bronze Mana Body as their template, they would need to strengthen it by 500% for it to get promoted to Tier 5. However, if a Gold Mana Body was used as a template, players would only need to strengthen it by 300% for it to reach the Tier 5 standard. This was also why it was crucial for players to obtain a high-ranking Mana Body at Tier 3. Of course, strengthening a Tier 3 Gold Mana Body by 300% was only the minimum requirement to create a Tier 5 Mana Body. Or, more specifically, a Tier 5 Bronze Mana Body. If players wished to create a higher-ranked Tier 5 Mana Body, they would need to strengthen their Tier 3 Mana Bodies even further. In the case of a Tier 3 Epic Mana Body, it would have to be strengthened by 200% to qualify as a Tier 5 Bronze Mana Body and 320% to qualify as a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. Although the percentage requirements were lower, the difficulty of strengthening an Epic Mana Body was significantly greater than that of a Gold Mana Body. So, even getting it to 320% was nigh impossible, let alone 350%, which was the minimum requirement for a Tier 5 Advanced Epic Mana Body.Needless to say, the difficulty of strengthening a Tier 3 Legendary Mana Body was even more of a nightmare. Although it only needed to be strengthened by 150% to qualify as a Tier 5 Mana Body, it had to be strengthened by 200% to reach the Epic rank, 240% to reach the Advanced Epic rank, and 270% to reach the Legendary rank Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3299 - Chapter 373 - Great Grandmaster! Chapter 373 C Great Grandmaster! Hundred Refinement Building, second-floor training room: After Shi Feng integrated the Twelve-array Magic World he had used to create his Tier 5 Mana Body during his previous life into his current Mana Body, the Creation Assistance Mode quickly started doing its job. In less than a minute, a Mana Body that had perfectly integrated with the magic array he provided appeared before his eyes. System: Congratulations! You have successfully constructed a new Mana Body. The constructed Mana Bodys strength is at 182% of your current Mana Body and has reached the Tier 5 standard. The created Mana Body is evaluated to be at the Gold rank. Do you wish to replace your current Mana Body with it and get promoted to Tier 5? It managed to improve the mana flow to such an extent? Shi Feng had difficulty keeping his mouth closed when he saw the system-improved Mana Body. To reach Tier 5, players needed to create a Mana Body that was strong enough to alter their Life Rating to the Tier 5 standard, which was why Tier 5 players were typically much stronger than Tier 4 players. There was a qualitative difference in the Mana Bodies of the two tiers, and the difference was especially stark in the mana condensation aspect. Meanwhile, out of all the steps players needed to go through to create a Tier 5 Mana Body, the most troublesome step would have to be determining the flow of mana. Because players would be creating a Mana Body of their own, they would need to construct and integrate a significant number of magic arrays into their existing Mana Body. And as these magic arrays would have varying effects, they would also need varying amounts of mana supplied to them. If players wanted to ensure all of these magic arrays could function properly and efficiently, they would usually have to invest a lot of time and effort into the endeavor, much more than what they had invested when they were integrating these magic arrays with their existing Mana Body. Players also couldnt haphazardly decide their Tier 5 Mana Bodys mana flow as there would be a significant difference in the Mana Bodys performance between partial activation and complete activation of the Mana Bodys magic arrays. So, exactly how one could achieve complete activation was the biggest headache players faced when creating their Tier 5 Mana Body. However, the Creation Assistance Mode took care of this problem for players. One assisted creation was essentially equivalent to or better than one hundred creation attempts made by players themselves. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Creation Assistance Mode was divine assistance. A Legendary Mana Body truly is something. The Twelve-array Magic World is enough to strengthen a Tier 3 Epic Mana Body to the Tier 5 Epic standard, yet it only managed to strengthen my Tier 3 Legendary Mana Body to the Tier 5 Gold standard. It seems I wont be able to use these magic arrays. Shi Feng couldnt help but reveal a wry smile after he was done inspecting the Mana Body presented before him. The Twelve-array Magic World he had used during his previous life was a Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array created by a Saint, and it was the key factor that allowed him to create a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. However, the Twelve-array Magic World was evidently lacking for his current needs. Or, more specifically, the Twelve-array Magic World was incapable of condensing mana that was sufficiently dense to effectively strengthen his Tier 3 Legendary Mana Body. Although it should be possible to improve the Twelve-array Magic Worlds effectiveness by restructuring it, even then, it could, at best, leave him with a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. It was highly unlikely he could achieve a Tier 5 Advanced Epic Mana Body with the Twelve-array Magic World, let alone a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body. Going by my current Mana Bodys standard, Im going to have to strengthen its mana to a solid state at the very least to achieve an Epic rank Under the effects of Eternal Energy, Shi Feng quickly understood where the Mana Body was lacking. Meanwhile, upon making this realization, he didnt know whether he should laugh or cry. Although he had quickly learned about his Mana Bodys deficiencies, increasing the density of its mana was easier said than done. It was especially so if he wanted to condense it to a solid state. This was no longer something that could be accomplished by a Grandmaster Magic Array. Even Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays might not necessarily be able to accomplish it Currently, Shi Feng did not have any Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays in his possession. In fact, only a handful of such magic arrays existed in the entire Greater Gods Domain, and they were either in the hands of apex powers or upper-ranking hegemonic powers that were capable of contending against apex powers. This was because only powers of such caliber had the strength to get their hands on such magic arrays. Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays were incomparably precious, and their rarity rivaled Divine Artifacts. Meanwhile, there were only two methods to obtain these magic arrays. The first method was to have a Great Grandmaster Magician create one, while the second method was to destroy a kingdom based in one of the Twelve Sanctuaries and obtain it from the kingdoms treasury. Of the two methods, the first was nothing but a joke. Firstly, Great Grandmaster Magicians were exceedingly rare in the Greater Gods Domain, and there usually wouldnt be more than 100 in any era. Secondly, a Great Grandmaster Magician would need many months to develop even the simplest Great Grandmaster Magic Array. Meanwhile, the complexity of Mana Gathering Arrays was usually significantly higher than that of other magic arrays of the same rank. So, not only would a Great Grandmaster Magician require a significant amount of time to create a Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array, but their efforts werent even guaranteed to pay off. In fact, their chances of success were unlikely to exceed 30%. Hence, rather than wait and hope for a Great Grandmaster Magician to succeed, itd be much quicker to destroy a kingdom in the Twelve Sanctuaries and search for a Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array in the kingdoms treasury. No, Im not out of solutions yet! Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng suddenly came up with an idea to obtain a Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array. The Ancient Abyssal Gods Legacy! The Ancient Abyssal Gods mana usage method that was recorded in the Stratified Abyssal Realms Abyssal Tower was more profound than even that of Saints. So, it might just be possible to create a Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array by referencing the Ancient Abyssal Gods Legacy. Not to mention, Shi Feng had already reached the limits of a Grandmaster Magician. So long as he could create a Great Grandmaster Magic Array, he could become a Great Grandmaster Magician. Immediately, Shi Feng started testing his theory by restructuring the magic array in the Ancient Abyssal Gods Legacy, continuously expanding it, and filling in the gaps. The act of upgrading a magic array that was inherently at the Grandmaster rank to the Great Grandmaster rank was a feat ordinary Great Grandmaster Magicians wouldnt even dare to think of trying. Under normal circumstances, Shi Feng wouldnt have thought of doing so, either. However, Shi Feng currently had the assistance of incredibly dense Eternal Energy. Thanks to this assistance, he had long surpassed the average Great Grandmaster Magician in mana control, mana affinity, and brain activity. One hour Three hours Six hours Shi Feng was met with one failure after another as time passed. However, as he continuously summarized and learned from his mistakes, the quality and effectiveness of the Mana Gathering Array he created also grew more and more astonishing. Originally, the Mana Gathering Array he modified could only barely condense mana into a solid state. It was also only strong enough to be integrated with roughly 1,000 magic arrays. At this standard, it could, at most, be considered a Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array. However, the magic array quickly reached the Advanced Grandmaster standard, being able to easily condense solid mana. It could also be integrated with over 2,000 other magic arrays. As expected of an Ancient Gods Legacy. Its mana usage method is a world unto itself. Though, the requirement it has for mana control is also absurdly high. If not for my current environment, I doubt I can even move 2,000 magic arrays with it. As Shi Feng kept adding more magic arrays to the Mana Gathering Array, the difficulty of maintaining control over all these magic arrays also continuously increased. Even so, he couldnt help but grow excited since his proficiency at manipulating mana also continuously improved. Meanwhile, the better he got at controlling mana, the more magic arrays he could control simultaneously. 2,600 2,800 3,000 After Shi Feng spent his twentieth hour in the training room, he successfully increased the number of magic arrays he could control to 3,333. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have successfully created a Great Grandmaster Magic Array. You have been promoted to a Great Grandmaster Magician. Rewarding Great Grandmaster Emblem, five levels, and 20 Free Legacy Skill Points. System: Do you wish to make a universal announcement? TL Notes: Basically, the following is what I gathered from this chapter- i) T3 Mana Body (Template) + many magic arrays of varying functions + Mana Gathering Array (mana flow/power supply) = T5 Mana Body ii) Better Mana Gathering Array = more magic arrays = better T5 Mana Body Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3300 - Chapter 374 - Great Grandmaster Ye Feng? Chapter 374 C Great Grandmaster Ye Feng? TL Notes: Changed universal announcement to realm-wide announcement. A realm-wide announcement? The system notification stunned Shi Feng. A Great Grandmaster Magician! Out of the many subclasses in the game, the Magician subclass was the most favored by combat players. On top of being able to create magic scrolls, the Magician subclass also allowed players to gain a better grasp over mana. The subclass was especially useful for magical class players. In fact, the subclass was a must-have for magical class players since it let them have a better understanding of magic arrays and gave them an easier time casting Spells. Only, unlike other subclasses, most players would hit an unbreachable wall once they reached the Grandmaster rank for the Magician subclass. If players wished to become a Great Grandmaster Magician, they would need to create a Great Grandmaster Magician. Meanwhile, to accomplish this feat, players would first have to do a lot of research on Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays. However, Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays had already become a lost technology ever since the Great Ancient War. Outside of the Twelve Sanctuaries, finding Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays was nigh impossible. Their rarity rivaled Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Hence, it was almost impossible for players to get their hands on a large number of Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays to research. It was also why there were so few Great Grandmaster Magicians in the Greater Gods Domain. Originally, Shi Feng had only thought of attempting to create a Great Grandmaster Magic Array. After all, this was the only solution he could think of to create a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body. However, he never thought he would actually succeed! He couldnt believe he had just become a Great Grandmaster Magician, an existence that wouldnt number more than 100 in any era in the Greater Gods Domain! While Shi Feng was in a daze, he received another system notification. System: Do you wish to make a realm-wide announcement? Smiling, Shi Feng said, Make the announcement! Realm-wide announcements were extremely rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Normally, players could only trigger a realm-wide announcement after completing a Main Storyline Quest in the Greater Gods Domain or making great achievements such as slaying one of the Greater Gods Domains Calamities. Meanwhile, realm-wide announcements were a great way to increase ones fame. Now that Shi Feng was given the opportunity to spread his fame across the Starlight Realm, he naturally wouldnt refuse it. After all, this would make it a lot more convenient for him to do various things. System: Do you wish to make the announcement using your current false identity of Ye Feng? Yes. Shi Feng agreed to the prompt without hesitation. Although he could use his true identity to announce his Great Grandmaster status, doing so would expose his ability to travel freely between worlds. Rather than invite unnecessary trouble for himself, he would be better off announcing his achievement under a false identity. Very few people could see through the Sacred Phantom Rings disguise effect, anyway. Immediately, a system announcement echoed throughout the entire Starlight Realm. System Announcement: Congratulations to Ye Feng on becoming the first person to reach the rank of Great Grandmaster Magician in a hundred years! Rewarding 20 Starlight Realm Reputation Points. The announcement repeated three times, stupefying many players across the Starlight Realm. Someone got promoted into a Great Grandmaster Magician? Amazing! Incredible! I always thought players couldnt become Great Grandmaster Magicians! I didnt think someone would actually succeed! This is beyond incredible! This is a Great Grandmaster Magician we are talking about! There arent even 100 of such existences in our current era, and every one of these existences is a big shot that even apex powers will try to recruit as Honorary Elders! Isnt that just nonsense? We are only talking about a Magician here. Even if the various apex powers place great importance on Great Grandmaster Magicians, theres no way these powers would use an Honorary Elder position as an enticement. That position holds as much authority as the Vice Guild Leader position. Even the helmsmen of conglomerates will have to show respect to the Honorary Elders of apex powers. How ignorant of you! Dont you know that Great Grandmaster Magicians can already draw Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays? Those are magic arrays used to safeguard outer-realm fortresses and cities! Do you have any idea how big of a difference there is between a stronghold thats protected by a Great Grandmaster Magic Array and a stronghold that isnt protected by one? Ten times! There will be a tenfold difference at the very minimum! Ten? Isnt that too much of an exaggeration? Not at all. Grandmaster Magic Arrays can, at best, reach the Tier 5 standard, but Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays can reach the Tier 6 standard. Any city protected by a Great Grandmaster Defensive Magic Array can easily withstand a bombardment of Tier 6 Spells. With the support of such a defensive magic array, the various powers can drastically reduce the number of Tier 6 experts they dispatch to protect these foreign installations. They can then use the additional manpower to do other things or establish new outer-realm fortresses and cities. So, do you still think Great Grandmaster Magicians arent incredible? Many players expressed their confusion toward the latest system announcement, failing to comprehend the significance of a Great Grandmaster Magician. However, when the Starlight Realms various powers saw the system announcement, they instantly went into an uproar. Ordinary players might not know the value of Great Grandmaster Magicians, but the Starlight Realms various powers knew that the appearance of a Great Grandmaster Magician was a major event that could rewrite the status quo in the Starlight Realm. Starlight Realm, Starlight Empire, Starlight Holy City: The Starlight Holy City was the most prosperous city in the Starlight Realm, with a player population of one billion. Practically all powers in the Starlight Realm wished to secure themselves a place in this city. However, due to the Holy Citys limited space, even upper-ranking hegemonic powers had difficulty securing themselves a spot in the city. Currently, on the top floor of a humongous Battle Arena in the Holy City, two Level 220, Tier 6 players clad in Legendary Equipment Sets and wielding Legendary Weapons were duking it out with one another. The strength both parties exhibited closely rivaled Tier 6 Gods of the same level. While these two players were dueling each other, many players cheered and applauded as they spectated the match. Among these spectators, many were titled experts who had already reached Tier 6. As expected of the Seven Luminaries Alliances Seven Luminaries League. Even the matches in the A-League are already such a spectacle to behold. I really cannot imagine what kind of monsters would be in the S-League. Its a pity the Starlight Realm isnt a Higher Realm. At best, we can only receive the broadcast of A-Leagues here. It cant be helped. Our Realm has never managed to get into the top 100 in the Realm Wars. After losing to the Sky River Realm last time, it became even more difficult for us to get into the top 100. While the people on the spectator stands were discussing the ongoing match, a woman with ethereal beauty quietly observed the match from a VIP room on the second floor. However, the woman shifted her attention away from the stage when a Level 220, Tier 6 Guardian Knight entered the room. Did you find anything about Ye Feng? the woman asked. Young Miss, I have already mobilized all available manpower to investigate this person, but we have yet to acquire any reliable information thus far, the Guardian Knight answered. If other people could see how respectfully this Tier 6 Guardian Knight behaved to the woman, they would definitely be given a fright. After all, the Guardian Knight was fully clad in Legendary Equipment and radiated strength rivaling Tier 6 Gods. However, the two female bodyguards standing next to the woman were unfazed by this situation. Frey, the Galaxy Conglomerates Fourth Princess. This name could make any upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Starlight Realm tremble with fear. Even Tier 6 Saints would have to behave deferentially to her, let alone experts that only rivaled Tier 6 Gods. Still nothing? Frey frowned, her tone growing a little cold. Its not that we didnt find any information at all. Its just that the information we found is a little too unreliable, the Guardian Knight hurriedly corrected himself. According to the insider information we collected from the Seven Luminaries Alliance, the name Ye Feng has appeared in the Miniature Ancient World that you have previously visited, Young Miss. Only, I dont think that person is likely to be The same name has appeared in that Miniature Ancient World before? Growing curious, Frey asked, Who is he? Anxiously, the Guardian Knight answered, He is the former Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild named Shadow. At the same time, he is also Zero Wings current Acting Guild Leader! Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3301 - Chapter 375 - Level 5 Affinity Chapter 375 C Level 5 Affinity Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader? Frey was a little surprised by the Guardian Knights answer. Are you talking about the Zero Wing that killed Dira? Yes, that Zero Wing. The Guardian Knight nodded. The news of Dira getting killed had long since spread across the entire Starlight Realm, and any power operating in the Starlight Realm would know about it. It was especially so for the powers based near the Sea of Giants now that the Divine Seal Saint had sent the Wind Seal Commander, one of the Four Seals, there to await the opening of the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage. Have that person in the Seven Luminaries Alliance carefully look into this matter. If it turns out to be true, this matter is going to be interesting, Frey said, her lips curling up a little. But be sure to do things secretly. We must not let a third party know about this matter. Rest assured, Young Miss. That person is a confidant trained by the Galaxy Conglomerate. He will never leak this information to other powers, the Guardian Knight assured. Good. You should know how important a Great Grandmaster Magician is to the Galaxy Conglomerate. If any mistakes occur, you wont be able to afford the consequences, Frey calmly said. Understood! The Guardian Knight hurriedly nodded, cold sweat rolling down his forehead. I wont disappoint you on this matter, Young Miss! While Frey was looking into the latest Great Grandmaster Magician going by the name of Ye Feng, the Starlight Realms various hegemonic powers and conglomerate were also frantically looking into this person. They even offered to give anyone who could provide useful information related to Ye Feng a permanent resident status in a first-tier city. When this news spread, the entire Starlight Realm instantly went into an uproar. For ordinary players, just the opportunity to gain permanent residence in a third-tier city was already an unattainable dream. As for permanent residence in a first-tier city, that was something not even mental strength grandmasters would dare to think of obtaining. At most, they could afford to visit a first-tier city for a few days every now and then. Yet, now, there was an opportunity to gain permanent residency in a first-tier city simply by providing information on Ye Feng. How could everyone not be shocked? While the Starlight Realms players and powers were busy looking into the player named Ye Feng, Shi Feng was focused on creating his Tier 5 Mana Body. After becoming a Great Grandmaster Magician, Shi Feng not only noticed his Concentration undergoing an evolutionary change, but he also felt his elemental ascending to a new level. Or, more specifically, the Great Grandmaster Emblem he wore had increased his elemental affinity by one level. [Great Grandmaster Emblem] A Magician Emblem exclusive to Black Flame. When worn, it increases the wearers elemental affinity by one level, up to a maximum of Level 6. The Magician classs Great Grandmaster Emblem is truly incredible. Now that my elemental affinity has reached Level 5, I only need to expend half as much Concentration to manipulate solid mana. Shi Feng grew ecstatic as he integrated the Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays he created with his Mana Body one after another. Elemental affinity was crucial for players in controlling mana. Normally, players elemental affinity would only be at Level 1, while gifted individuals could reach Level 2. Compared to players with only Level 1 affinity, players with Level 2 affinity would have an easier time perceiving and manipulating the various elements. Although elemental affinity could be artificially increased using various methods, such as using tools and improving ones Mana Body, there was a limit to the effectiveness of such methods. Even with a Legendary Mana Body, Shi Feng only managed to raise his elemental affinity to the Level 4 standard. Level 4 also happened to be the highest standard Shi Feng achieved during his previous life, and he had achieved that standard after relying on various tools. This was also the limit for most Tier 6 experts. So, the fact that the Great Grandmaster Emblem for Magicians could elevate his elemental affinity to Level 5 was incredible. This effect alone made it as valuable as a Fragmented Divine Artifact. In less than half an hour, Shi Feng finished constructing a Mana Body that was fully made up of Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays. Start the assisted creation! After looking at the Mana Body he constructed, Shi Feng chose to activate the Hundred Refinement Buildings Creation Assistance Mode. This time, the Hundred Refinement Building seemingly got stimulated as divine runes appeared all over the training room Shi Feng was in. At the same time, the density of Eternal Energy in the room plummeted as if to fuel the assisted creation this time. One minute Two minutes Three minutes Ten minutes later, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Fengs ears. System: Congratulations! You have successfully constructed a new Mana Body. The constructed Mana Bodys strength is at 224% of your current Mana Body and has reached the Tier 5 standard. The created Mana Body is evaluated to be at the Epic rank. Do you wish to replace your current Mana Body with it and get promoted to Tier 5? Sure enough, I was right! Shi Fengs eyes brightened when he saw the system notification. The fact that he managed to achieve the Epic rank on his first attempt at using the Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array to create his Tier 5 Mana Body meant that he had made the right judgment. Now, all he needed to do was continuously optimize his Mana Bodys structure, and he should have no problems elevating his Tier 5 Mana Body to the Legendary rank. Immediately, Shi Feng began varying the number of Mana Gathering Arrays he used across his Mana Body, trying to improve his Mana Bodys mana transmission efficiency and mana density as much as possible. Meanwhile, the more he optimized his Mana Body, the stronger it became. 230% 235% 240% After numerous experiments, Shi Feng hit a bottleneck after reaching 255%. It seems this is my current limit. Shi Feng revealed a wry smile as he looked at the Mana Body he had created. The difficulty of achieving a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body was much greater than he imagined. The reason he could no longer improve his Mana Body any further wasnt that the Mana Gathering Array had become a limiting factor. Instead, it was because of his control over mana. Currently, he could only manipulate up to 64 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays simultaneously. Meanwhile, after integrating 64 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays into his existing Mana Body and optimizing its structure as much as possible, he only ended up with a Mana Body that was 255% stronger than his current Mana Body. In other words, it was only at the Tier 5 Advanced Epic standard. If he wanted to create a stronger Tier 5 Mana Body, he would have to increase the number of Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays in his Mana Body. While Shi Feng was looking for ways to further optimize his Mana Bodys structure, he suddenly received a system notification. Regional System Announcement: A Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage will soon open. All kingdoms and empires situated near the Sea of Giants are advised to prepare to resist the incoming beast tide. Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3302 - Chapter 376 - World Passage Opens Chapter 376 C World Passage Opens Miniature Ancient World, Thunder Fortress: When the gigantic door 10,000 yards away from the Thunder Fortress opened, all the players gathered in the Thunder Fortress boarded their respective ships and swarmed toward the gate. In no time, a gigantic fleet of over 100,000 ships could be seen sailing toward the distant gate. A fleet of such size could fight against even an army of several million sea monsters. It could also easily annihilate any maritime empire. However, the fleet of 100,000-plus ships looked comically small when gathered before the gigantic door. The bottom half of the door in question was submerged in the ocean, while the upper half rose well beyond the clouds. Its width was also beyond absurd, easily surpassing the width of the entire Thunder Fortress by many times. When the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players saw this door, they couldnt help but be deeply shocked. They didnt think the World Gate, which served as a connection point for the World Passage, would be such a spectacular sight. Amidst the 100,000-plus ships, a fleet led by one Common Warship and supported by several Bronze Speedboats and several dozen Advanced Speedboats could be seen carefully making its way to the World Gate. Meanwhile, standing at the helm of the Common Warship was a Level 137, Tier 4 elderly man carrying a greatsword on his back. In the current Miniature Ancient World, there was no native expert player who wouldnt recognize this old man. Thousand Swords! He was the Great Elder of the Super Guild World Dominators and one of their Gods Domains few Tier 6 experts. Although Tier 6 experts became insignificant along with the myriad worlds descent, the strength Thousand Swords could exhibit in the Miniature Ancient World was still impressive. In one instance, the fleet Thousand Swords led had defeated two foreign fleets out in open water. At the time, Thousand Swords himself had also single-handedly held back four fourth-floor experts. According to rumors, Thousand Swords was now only one step away from reaching the standard of titled experts. It should be known that in the current Miniature Ancient World, even the various hegemonic powers would only have one or two titled experts under their command, while most superpowers didnt even have titled experts under their command. So, Thousand Swords presence had allowed World Dominators to become a superpower that was only second to the various hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World. All of you, be extremely careful once we are inside the World Passage! Do not get washed away by the beast tide! Any ship caught by itself will be quickly devoured by the Void Creatures! Thousand Swords said, issuing a command to all ships in the fleet through the team chat. Finally! We are finally going to enter the Greater Gods Domain! Gu Yiren, who had similarly reached Tier 4, revealed an excited expression as he looked at the nearing World Gate. Dont get too excited, Yiren, Thousand Swords said as he glanced at his student. The World Passage is a very dangerous place. Based on the information weve collected, even the weakest Void Creature in a World Passage will be at the Grand Lord rank. There will even be plenty of Mythic and Superior Mythic Void Creatures mixed among them. Also, our ultimate goal might be to enter the Greater Gods Domain, but we also have to try to earn as many Association Contribution Points as possible. Dont worry, Teacher. Ive prepared over a dozen Tier 4 Magic Scrolls for those Void Creatures. We can definitely earn a ton of contribution points, Gu Yiren confidently said as he patted the spatial bag on his waist. So long as one bothered to do a little research, anyone would know about the welfare provided by the Greater Gods Domains Adventurers Association to players of isolated Gods Domain. For two days after a World Passage opened, players who entered the World Passage could earn Association Contribution Points by killing Void Creatures in the World Passage. Then, players could use the points they earned to exchange Immortal Weapons and Equipment from the Adventurers Association. If players collected enough points, they could even exchange for the incomparably Legacy Guidances. These were all things that would let isolated players have an easier time settling in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, Gu Yiren had done a lot of preparation in anticipation of the World Passages opening. Of the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls he prepared, every one of them held a large-scale Destruction Spell. Although these Spells were incapable of one-shotting Tier 4 Mythic monsters, they were strong enough to heavily injure Mythic monsters. So long as these monsters were killed later on, the system would judge him as having made a big contribution to the kill and award him at least 10% of the monsters points. This was an incredibly effective and efficient way of earning contribution points. It was significantly better than trying to kill one Void Creature with a large group of players. With over a dozen Tier 4 large-scale destruction Spells, he would have no problem heavily injuring over a thousand monsters. Even if he only earned a few points from each monster, that would still be several thousand contribution points. If he was lucky, he might even earn over 10,000 contribution points. Based on the information World Dominators had collected, 1,000 points could be exchanged for an Epic Immortal Weapon, 3,000 points could be exchanged for a Tier 5 Demigods Legacy Guidance, 5,000 points could be exchanged for a Tier 6 NPCs Legacy Guidance, 10,000 points could be exchanged for a Tier 6 Gods Legacy Guidance, and 20,000 points could be exchanged for a Legacy that provided a perfect experience of a Gold Combat Techniques use. Setting aside the perfect experience of a Gold Combat Technique, just receiving a Tier 6 Gods Legacy Guidance would be of significant help to him when he challenged his Tier 5 and Tier 6 promotions in the future. After all, all Tier 6 Gods possessed extraordinary Mana Bodies with extremely high reference value for players. If he could create a Tier 5 Mana Body that reached the Epic rank, he could instantly reach the peak of his life. While Gu Yiren was fantasizing about earning 10,000 Association Contribution Points and exchanging them for a Tier 6 Gods Legacy Guidance, Thousand Swords suddenly tensed up as he looked at a fleet of ships coming from behind. Then, he hurriedly shouted, All ships, turn to the left and open up a path! World Dominators members couldnt help but grow confused when they heard Thousand Swords command. Then, while carrying out the command, they curiously turned around and looked at the ships sailing up from behind them. At this time, a fleet of fewer than twenty ships was sailing up to World Dominators fleet. However, despite its small size, the fleet was by no means weak. This was because the fleet was led by one Advanced Warship and six Common Warships and supported by a dozen Bronze Speedboats. Some hegemonic powers didnt even have such a high-quality fleet. Meanwhile, as this small fleet swiftly made its way to the World Gate, all of the other fleets in its path promptly sailed aside and opened a path for it, none daring to sail in this small fleets way. This was because the ships of this fleet carried the Guild Emblem of the Flower of Seven Sins. Is this the treatment for the number one genius? As the Flower of Seven Sins fleet got closer, Gu Yiren could see two female Assassins standing at the helm of the Advanced Warship sailing at the front of the fleet. Of these two Assassins, one was Death Omen, a former Tier 6 player who had shaken their Gods Domain with her name in the past, while the other was Thousand Scars, the current number one genius among the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players. When Gu Yiren watched as Thousand Scars sailed past World Dominators fleet, he couldnt help but feel a little envious of her. Ever since Thousand Scars got chosen by the Paimon Conglomerate, even the various hegemonic powers had to behave respectfully around her and the Flower of Seven Sins. This allowed the Flower of Seven Sins to develop smoothly and rapidly in the Miniature Ancient World. A good example of the Flower of Seven Sins rapid development would be the one Advanced Warship and six Common Warships in its fleet. With such naval prowess, the Flower of Seven Sins wouldnt need more than a few minutes to annihilate World Dominators entire fleet. Meanwhile, with such a fleet under its command, it goes without saying the Flower of Seven Sins could kill Void Creatures in the World Passage very effectively. Even if he had 100 Tier 4 Magic Scrolls in his possession, he still wouldnt be a match for the Flower of Seven Sins fleet. After all, the Advanced Warships main cannons were just as strong as Tier 4 large-scale Destruction Spells. Moreover, so long as these cannons were supplied with enough Magic Crystals, they could fire an infinite number of times. Shortly after the Flower of Seven Sins fleet entered the World Passage, a fleet made of five ships also made its way up to the World Gate. When this fleet of five ships appeared, it instantly attracted the attention of all other fleets present. This was because all five of this fleets ships were Bronze Warships. Then, upon seeing the Guild Emblem on these five Bronze Warships, everyone couldnt help but gape in shock. Crap! Isnt this Zero Wing? Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3303 - Chapter 377 - Void Gods Chapter 377 C Void Gods The sight of the six-winged emblem on the five Bronze Warships dumbfounded the various powers gathered before the World Gate. Bronze Warships were very recognizable. This was because Bronze Warships were a cut above Common and Advanced Warships. Moreover, they came with twofold Tier 4 defensive magic arrays that could stop the attacks of even Superior Mythic monsters. It was no exaggeration to say that one Bronze Warship was enough to make up an entire fleet by itself. A force of five Bronze Warships was something none of the various hegemonic powers dared to think of having in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, now, it was revealed that this unbelievable fleet originated from Zero Wing, a Guild that hadnt even come into contact with the Greater Gods Domain yet. How is this possible? Gu Yiren wore a complicated look on his face when he saw several familiar figures standing on Zero Wings five Bronze Warships. Apart from Black Flame, the man who had killed him once before, he also spotted Rampant Blade, a former member of the now-defunct Shadow Guild. He even saw Wu Lingling, a newcomer who had made a splash during the newcomer competition of Jin Hai Citys Gods Domain Academy, and Lin Yaoyue, the director of Jin Hai Citys Gods Domain Academy. Currently, not only did all of these people reach Tier 4 already but the way they carried themselves was completely different. It was obvious that their current combat standards were drastically greater than before. If these people combined their current strength with the contribution points they could accumulate with the help of five Bronze Warships, it wasnt hard to imagine how big of an improvement they would have once they entered the Greater Gods Domain. So what if Zero Wing has five Bronze Warships? Tao Yuwei on the side said, curling her lips. All theyre doing is putting up pointless resistance. Once the World Passage is open, the Paimon Conglomerate will definitely send its army from the Greater Gods Domain. At that time, Zero Wing wont even dare to enter the World Passage, let alone the Greater Gods Domain. Youre right. They can only enter the World Passage during its initial opening before theyll have to quickly withdraw from it. Gu Yiren nodded in agreement, his mood lightening significantly. The matter of Zero Wing offending the Paimon Conglomerate was no secret in the Miniature Ancient World. The various powers even knew that the Paimon Conglomerate had already mobilized its forces to barricade the other side of the World Passage. With Paimons army blocking the World Passages exit, Zero Wing wouldnt dare to enter the Greater Gods Domain at all. If it did, it would instantly suffer annihilation at the hands of the Paimon Conglomerates Tier 6 army. All of Zero Wings members would also suffer Soul Annihilation and be prohibited from logging into Gods Domain for the rest of their lives. Moreover, even if Zero Wing chose not to enter the Greater Gods Domain, the Paimon Conglomerate would still be sending many well-equipped Tier 4 experts into the Miniature Ancient World. At that time, Zero Wing would still meet its end. This was also why most of the Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers had chosen to cease any and all dealings they had with Zero Wing. At this time, Gu Yiren and Tao Yuwei werent the only ones to have such thoughts about Zero Wing. The members of the various other powers also deemed Zero Wings actions as putting up a pointless struggle. The World Passages opening didnt only allow the Miniature Ancient Worlds players to travel to the Greater Gods Domain. It also allowed the Greater Gods Domains players to enter the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, with the help of a Bronze Speedboat, it wouldnt take more than a days travel to cross the entire World Passage. The travel time would be even shorter if speedboats above the Bronze rank were used. The only problem was the Void Creatures in the World Passage. Without a sufficiently strong fleet, traveling across the World Passage would be no different than suicide. However, with the Paimon Conglomerates strength, it probably wouldnt take more than a day before its Tier 4 army could cross the World Passage to reach the Miniature Ancient World. In other words, Zero Wing had less than a day left to strut around in the Miniature Ancient World. However, after the various powers entered the World Passage, they quickly forgot about Zero Wing. This was because greeting them in the calm sea beyond the World Gate was a swarm of Void Creatures of illogical proportions. What awaited the various powers beyond the World Gate wasnt a swarm of a million monsters. Even describing the swarm in the millions would be an understatement. At a glance, the number of Void Creatures in the calm sea was easily in the tens of millions. Moreover, even the weakest among them was at the Tier 4 Mythic rank, while many of them were at the Superior Mythic rank Whats going on? Shouldnt the weakest monsters here be Grand Lords? The fleets that had just entered the World Passage panicked when they saw the fleets getting destroyed in the distance. Even the top adventurer teams originating from the Greater Gods Domain were distressed by this situation. [Void Sea Serpent] (Void Creature, Mythic) Level 142 HP 20,000,000,000 [Void Sea Dragon] (Void Creature, Superior Mythic) Level 145 HP 50,000,000,000 The average Void Creature had significantly greater HP and Defense than the average sea monster. Normally, killing even one Mythic-ranked Void Creature would require the joint effort of one Common Warship and several dozen Advanced Speedboats. Yet, now, even the weakest monster in this sea was a Tier 4 Mythic Void Sea Serpent. If a few dozen of these Void Sea Serpents attacked together, even a Common Warship wouldnt last more than a few exchanges. Meanwhile, if players were to lose the support of their ships in this environment devoid of mana, their combat power would plummet. At that time, even flying would become a problem, let alone fighting. This was also why transportation tools were far more important than individual strength when it came to traveling between worlds. While the various powers were panicking, some players with excellent eyesight suddenly noticed the silhouette of an island floating in the distance. An island? Why is there an island here? Many players couldnt help but grow confused when they saw the floating island in the distance. The inside of the World Passage was supposed to be an empty void, so a floating island shouldnt exist here. Moreover, the island even looked like it was inhabited by people, making its presence here even stranger. After all, apart from Void Creatures, other creatures were incapable of staying in the void for long periods of time. Meanwhile, when Thousand Scars saw the island, she suddenly thought of something as she exclaimed, Void Gods! Void Gods? What do you mean? Death Omen looked at Thousand Scars in confusion. Void Gods are a race of Gods who live in the void, Thousand Scars excitedly explained. Ive read about them in the Paimon Conglomerates database. Rumor has it that Void Gods are constantly wandering about in the void, and people can occasionally see the islands they live on in the void. Meanwhile, it is rumored that Void Gods possess Legacies passed down by Ancient Gods. More importantly, the settlements of Void Gods are also the only places in the Greater Gods Domain where players can change classes into a Void Saint. In the Greater Gods Domain, Void Saints are labeled invincible when fighting in the void, and even dragons of the same tier are no match for them! Even dragons of the same tier are not a match? Death Omen was surprised to hear Thousand Scars explanation. There were many hidden classes in Gods Domain, but none were known to be able to rival Dragons, let alone surpass them. It should be known that dragons were an apex race and the symbol of destruction in Gods Domain. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, Adult Dragons were akin to natural disasters. If she could class-change into a Void Saint While Thousand Scars was explaining to Death Omen about Void Gods and Void Saints, five figures emerged from the leading ship of the Paimon Conglomerates fleet and rapidly made their way toward the distant island. Of these five figures, one of them was Dira, while the remaining four were the Four Beast Warriors. Currently, all four of the Beast Warriors have already become bona fide Tier 5 players. Meanwhile, thanks to the Four Beast Warriors opening a path, Dira could effortlessly approach the distant floating island, the sight causing the various powers stuck on their ships to grow envious. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about their envy. Currently, the Paimon Conglomerate was the only power that could afford to produce Tier 5 players. For everyone else, all they could do was slowly sail to the floating island in their ships. When Kasio of the Glimmer adventurer team saw Diras group fast approaching the floating island, he anxiously looked at Shi Feng and said, This cant continue, Guild Leader Black Flame. You and the commander should go ahead without us. Otherwise, Dira will be the first to enter the island at this rate. The other members of Glimmer nodded in agreement. The Void Saint Legacy was extraordinary even in the Greater Gods Domain. Others might not know what the Void Saint class represented, but they did. In a situation where they didnt know whether the Void Saint Legacy would be limited in number, they absolutely could not let Dira reach the floating island before them. That wont be necessary. Shi Feng faintly smiled in response to Kasios anxiety. All of us will go there together. All of us? Kasio and the others were on the verge of being rendered speechless by Shi Feng. With the strength of five Bronze Warships, how were they supposed to overtake four Tier 5 experts? Just as Kasio was about to say something else, Shi Feng took out a pendant from his bag and chanted the incantation engraved on it. Immediately, a magic array with a radius of more than a hundred meters appeared in the void. Then, a dark dragon measuring over a hundred meters in length emerged from this magic array, the dragon having a life aura so terrifying that it caused even the nearby Void Creatures to back away. A dragon? Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3304 - Chapter 378 - Legendary Mount? Chapter 378 C Legendary Mount? As Diras group of five flew increasingly closer to the island above the void sea, the various hegemonic powers also started advancing toward the island at all costs. Faster! Move faster! Even if we cant reach the island before Dira, we should still reach it before the other powers! Although the various hegemonic powers didnt have detailed information on Void Gods, they knew plenty about the Void Saint class. Or, more specifically, anyone who had reached their standards would know about the hidden class whether they wanted to or not. This was because every hegemonic power would at least have one or two Tier 6 experts becoming an official participant in the Seven Luminaries League, and anyone who became an official participant in the League would also become a core member of the Seven Luminaries Alliance. This, in turn, would let them learn about the person known as Divine Eye, the current youngest Grand Elder of the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Meanwhile, Divine Eyes class was none other than the Void Saint! It should be known that the Seven Luminaries Alliance was one of the strongest powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Even mighty conglomerates would have to bow their heads in front of the Alliance. The Seven Luminaries Alliance was controlled by the Senate, which consisted of only twelve people. These twelve individuals stood at the very apex of the Greater Gods Domain. At the same time, they also represented the Greater Gods Domains apex combat power. Divine Eye was someone who managed to become one of these twelve individuals before even reaching the age of 50. Meanwhile, the main reason Divine Eye managed to accomplish this feat was due to his Void Saint class. Otherwise, he would still have to strive for several more decades before he could become a member of the Senate. Indeed! This was the power of the Void Saint class! However, what made the Void Saint class truly fearsome wasnt the fact that it could exhibit tremendous combat power in the void. Instead, it was the fact that the class wasnt unique. Because the Void Saint class wasnt unique, the number of people who could acquire it wasnt limited to just one. Of course, obtaining the Void Saint class was an incredible challenge. This was because the settlement of Void Gods did not stay in one place. Instead, their settlements would randomly drift about in the void, and even a titanic existence like the Seven Luminaries Alliance could only rely on luck to find the Void Gods settlement. However, so long as players managed to come across the settlement of Void Gods, their chances of becoming a Void Saint would instantly increase to a minimum of 50%. I truly didnt think the farce of getting me to earn contribution points would actually lead me to encounter the settlement of Void Gods! Saint Nine thought as he and Calgarons Tier 4 team were frantically making their way to the distant floating island on their Flying Mounts. Void Saint! So long as he could become a Void Saint, he would instantly be strong enough to defeat all of the Ancient River Kingdoms paragons. Even becoming the Starlight Realms strongest paragon wouldnt be out of the question. It seems my chances are going to be bleak Thousand Scars thought as she enviously looked at the several 100-man teams of Tier 4 players flying toward the Void Gods settlement. There were far too many Void Sea Serpents and Void Sea Dragons in the way of the floating island. Without Tier 5 combatants, it was nigh impossible to safely reach the island in a short amount of time. Although the Flower of Seven Sins had over a hundred Tier 4 experts in its fleet, none possessed strength at the Tier 5 standard. This remained true even after they factored in the use of magic arrays. So, the Flower of Seven Sins members could only rely on their Advanced Warship to advance bit by bit. However, while Thousand Scars was busy envying paragons like Saint Nine and Trecht, a dragons roar suddenly sounded from a distance, the roar instantly petrifying the Void Sea Serpents and Void Sea Dragons. A dragon? Before Thousand Scars could determine where the dragons roar came from, a gigantic figure suddenly flew across the Advanced Warship she was on, the speed of the figure rivaling Tier 6 players. Although it was only an instant, Thousand Scars, as a Tier 4 expert, still managed to catch a glimpse of this gigantic figures appearance. It was a dark dragon with a body measuring over a hundred meters in length. While Thousand Scars was wondering why a dragon would appear in this place, she got a better look at the dragon, and she couldnt help but be dumbfounded by what she saw. It turned out that the dragon wasnt by itself. Instead, a group of people was riding on the dragons back, and Thousand Scars was incredibly familiar with this group. I must be dreaming! Yes! I must be dreaming! Thousand Scars muttered in denial as she rubbed her eyes before taking another look at the dragon flying into the distance. Dragons were apex existences in Gods Domain, and the appearance of one could cause a huge commotion in any location. So, how could Zero Wings members possibly be riding atop a dragons back? If what she just saw wasnt a hallucination, then there could only be one explanation for itshe was still fast asleep! No, you didnt see wrongly, Scars. Those are indeed Zero Wings members, Death Omen said, similarly shocked by what she just saw. While the various hegemonic powers were feeling proud of themselves for owning a Bronze Warship in the Miniature Ancient World, Zero Wing had already found itself a dragon to ride on. That cant possibly be a real dragon, right, Big Sis Omen? Thousand Scars asked Death Omen in a whisper. Dragons were extremely rare in Gods Domain, and very few players had actually seen one in person. However, Death Omen was one of the Flower of Seven Sins commanders. Not only had she seen real dragons, but she had even slain them before. So, if Thousand Scars had to name someone knowledgeable about dragons, it would definitely have to be Death Omen. Meanwhile, after pondering for a moment, Death Omen firmly said, That isnt a real dragon. A real dragon is much more terrifying than that. Merely standing in the presence of a Tier 4 Dragon is enough to suffocate and petrify ordinary Tier 4 experts. Thousand Scars immediately felt relieved when she heard Death Omens answer. Dragons were akin to natural disasters in Gods Domain. They were also known to be invincible among opponents of the same tier. If Zero Wing truly did manage to tame a Tier 4 Dragon, the situation in the Miniature Ancient World would become very different in the future. It should be known that contracted monsters could be promoted to higher tiers. If Zero Wing truly did own a Tier 4 Dragon and managed to promote it to Tier 5, not even the Paimon Conglomerate could do anything against Zero Wing in the Miniature Ancient World. After all, Tier 6 players entering the Miniature Ancient World would be subjected to the Miniature Ancient Worlds suppression. They could, at most, exhibit power at the standard of Tier 5 players. In that case, how were they supposed to fight against a Tier 5 Dragon?While I can confirm that thing isnt a dragon Before Thousand Scars could feel relieved for too long, Death Omen suddenly revealed a wry smile as she said, If my guess is correct, that thing is likely to be a Legendary Mount Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3305 - Chapter 379 - Lauras Sword Chapter 379 C Lauras Sword A Legendary Mount? Thousand Scars fell into a daze when she heard Death Omens words. Is this the reason for his confidence? Flying Mounts were incredibly rare. They were so rare that even Tier 6 experts would have difficulty getting their hands on an Extraordinary Flying Mount in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone Legendary Flying Mounts. Throughout the entire Starlight Realms history, no more than 100 Legendary Flying Mounts have been recorded. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that Legendary Flying Mounts were rarer than dragons. The value of a Legendary Flying Mount also wasnt the least bit inferior to a contracted Tier 4 or Tier 5 Dragon. Compared to a contracted Tier 4 or Tier 5 Dragon, a Legendary Flying Mount had a much greater chance of getting promoted to Tier 6. It should be that a single Tier 6 Flying Mount had enough HP and destructive power to rival several dozen Tier 6 players. Even a Tier 6 expert clad in a Legendary Equipment Set and wielding a Legendary Equipment could only hope to match a Tier 6 Flying Mount. Moreover, this was only under the assumption that the Tier 6 expert was fighting in the Greater Gods Domain or their native world. If players tried to fight in a foreign world, they would be subjected to the worlds suppression. Under this suppression, a Tier 6 expert clad in a complete Legendary Equipment Set and wielding a Legendary Weapon could, at best, match a native Tier 6 expert wielding a Legendary Weapon. Needless to say, theyd be of no threat to a Tier 6 Flying Mount in such a weakened state. Normally, so long as a power owned a Tier 6 Flying Mount, even conglomerates would have difficulty dealing with said power unless they had the strength to destroy an entire Gods Domain. However, in the Greater Gods Domain, few powers possessed such strength. While Thousand Scars was in a daze, Zero Wings members couldnt help but grow ecstatic as they rode on the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon. Youre amazing, Guild Leader! Su Qianliu said excitedly as she admired the shocked expressions of the players stuck in the void sea. The various powers are probably feeling dumbfounded right now. There were tens of millions of Mythic-ranked Void Sea Serpents on the void sea. This was a very frightening beast tide. With just the players and ships currently gathered here, there was no way to clear out these monsters in a short time. As a result, even the various hegemonic powers could only advance through the void sea at a snails pace. At this rate, even getting close to the Void Gods settlement would be a problem for the various hegemonic powers, let alone reaching it. However, it was a different story for Zero Wing. Although there were also monsters blocking the sky, the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon could break through these monsters blockade easily. And once overtaken, none of these monsters could catch up to the Frostflame Dragon since their Movement Speeds were inferior to Flying Mounts. Because of this, the various hegemonic powers could only watch as Zero Wings team rapidly closed in on the floating island. Meanwhile, after seeing the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon leaving behind the various powers fleets, Wu Xiaoxiao looked to Jun Luosha and smiled, asking, Well? I didnt lie to you, right, Big Sis Luosha? Its not a loss for you to join Zero Wing. None of the various hegemonic powers can hope to compare with Zero Wing. I truly did not think Guild Leader Black Flame would own a Legendary Flying Mount, Jun Luosha exclaimed. So long as this Mount reaches Tier 5, Zero Wing can indeed hold its ground against the Divine Seal Saint. Currently, the Miniature Ancient World only allowed foreign Tier 4 players to enter it. No matter how much power the Divine Seal Saint wielded, he could, at most, send Tier 4 players on the verge of reaching Tier 5 into the Miniature Ancient World and have these players quickly get promoted to Tier 5 once they entered the World Passage. However, if the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon successfully got promoted to Tier 5, itd be invincible among Tier 5 players. At that time, Zero Wing could put up a good fight even if it had to go up against an army of Tier 5 players. And if the Flying Mount could get promoted to Tier 6, itd be invincible in the Miniature Ancient World. At that time, even a force of 100 Tier 6 players would be nothing to it. Of course, the Paimon Conglomerate would never mobilize 100 Tier 6 players into the Miniature Ancient World. After all, a force of 100 Tier 6 players was significant even to the Paimon Conglomerate. There was no way the conglomerate would commit so much combat power to a measly Miniature Ancient World. As the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon shook off the various powers fleets, Diras party of five also took notice of it. Dammit! Damn these natives! How did a bunch of natives get their hands on a Legendary Flying Mount?! Dira cursed, his eyes burning with jealousy as he looked at the rapidly approaching Frostflame Dragon. As mighty as the Paimon Conglomerate was, even it only had four Legendary Flying Mounts in its possession. Moreover, they were acquired through many years of effort and accumulation. Meanwhile, apart from the conglomerates current helmsman getting to use one, the remaining three were in the hands of the conglomerates old monsters. So, let alone Dira, not even his father, the Divine Seal Saint, got to use a Legendary Flying Mount. If his father wanted to obtain a Legendary Flying Mount, hed either have to wait until the conglomerate found a new one or one of the conglomerates old monsters thoroughly retired from Gods Domain. Yet, now, a measly native of the Miniature Ancient World actually owned a Legendary Flying Mount. This situation was utterly absurd. Rest assured, Young Master. Even if Black Flame has a Legendary Flying Mount, he still wont beat us to the Void Gods settlement! Platinum Behemoth, the leader of the Four Beast Warriors, said in a reassuring tone. The other three Beast Warriors also nodded in agreement. The closer they got to the Void Gods settlement, the more Void Creatures they had to face. When they got within 10,000 yards of the floating island, they already had to go up against over a hundred Void Sea Serpents and over a dozen Void Sea Dragons simultaneously. The only reason their party of five could still advance toward the floating island at a rapid pace was because they had four Tier 5 players in a battle array. A Legendary Flying Mount might be powerful, but its massive body would also attract the attention of many Void Creatures. Take the current situation, for example. Even though the Frostflame Dragon had yet to move within 10,000 yards of the floating island, it already had to go up against over 400 Void Sea Serpents and over a dozen Void Sea Dragons at a time. With only a Tier 4 Legendary Flying Mount, Zero Wings team shouldnt think of advancing any further once they reached the 10,000-yard mark. I know that, Dira said before retracting his gaze and refocusing his attention on the floating island. A Legendary Flying Mount might be tempting, but it was nothing compared to the Void Saint hidden class. So long as he could become a Void Saint, he might very well have a chance of joining the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate. Even the Paimon Conglomerates helmsman would have to behave humbly in front of him if he succeeded. Obtaining a Legendary Flying Mount would also become a piece of cake. A short moment later, the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon could be seen catching up to the Flying Mounts belonging to paragons such as Trecht and Saint Nine. At the same time, all these Flying Mounts entered within 10,000 yards of the floating island. Meanwhile, as soon as these Flying Mounts crossed the 10,000-yard mark, each Flying Mount came face to face with over a thousand Void Sea Serpents and several dozen Void Sea Dragons. Trecht and the other paragons could feel their scalps tingling when they saw how many enemies they had to go up against. It was especially so when they saw how many Void Sea Dragons stood in their way. The Void Sea Dragons were not only Superior Mythic monsters but also Void Sea Creatures. Even players with Tier 5 combat power could, at most, resist the attacks of two or three Void Sea Dragons simultaneously. They would instantly fall if they had to go up against several dozen simultaneously. At this time, Trecht and the other paragons werent the only ones feeling the pressure. Midsummer and the others riding atop the Frostflame Dragon also felt their confidence wavering. Everyone, get ready to defend! Su Qianliu anxiously commanded as she readied the staff in her hand. The Frostflame Dragon might be faster than the Void Creatures, but it still needed considerable time to maneuver its way across the monsters blockade. This meant that those riding on the Frostflame Dragon would have to survive the onslaught of several dozen Void Sea Dragons for a considerable amount of time. That wont be necessary. While everyone was getting ready to defend themselves, Laura suddenly stepped to the front of the crowd. Then, she calmly said, All you need to do is stand still. Stand still? Midsummer and the others couldnt help but be confused as they looked at Laura, failing to comprehend what the other party was trying to convey. However, before the crowd on the Frostflame Dragons back could process Lauras words, Laura suddenly unsheathed the longsword by her waist. Subsequently, all everyone managed to see was a blinding light appearing in front of them, followed by Laura returning her longsword to its sheath. Boom! Boom! Boom! When Lauras longsword clicked into its sheath, blood suddenly burst from the bodies of the several dozen Void Sea Dragons in the distance. Then, these Superior Mythic monsters fell to the void sea down below one after another Thank you for reading on novelhall.com Chapter 3306 - Chapter 380 - Demigod Chapter 380 C Demigod ====== TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 380: Original: Meanwhile, as soon as these Flying Mounts crossed the 10,000-yard mark, each Flying Mount came face to face with over a thousand Void Sea Serpents and several dozen Void Sea Dragons. Trecht and the other paragons could feel their scalps tingling when they saw how many enemies they had to go up against. It was especially so when they saw how many Void Sea Dragons stood in their way. Changed to: Meanwhile, as soon as these Flying Mounts crossed the 10,000-yard mark, a significantly greater number of monsters moved to hinder their advance. Among them, the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon had to deal with over a thousand Void Sea Serpents and several dozen Void Sea Dragons simultaneously. Trecht and the other paragons felt their scalps tingling when they saw this scene. It was especially so when they saw the grouping of Void Sea Dragons. ====== Impossible! Who is she?! Whether it was Trecht and the other Tier 4 paragons or the Four Beast Warriors, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded when they saw the several dozen Void Sea Dragons blocking Zero Wings team falling into the void sea. They were so shocked by this scene that they had nearly forgotten to defend themselves against the Void Sea Dragons they faced. Meanwhile, standing atop the Frostflame Dragons back, Midsummer couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng and ask, Who is this person, Guild Leader? Even Trecht, an existence on par with Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac, had great difficulty going up against three Void Sea Dragons by himself. If he tried to take on several dozen Void Sea Dragons by himself, he would instantly be reduced to ashes. After all, all of the Void Sea Dragons could attack from range. If several dozen of them attacked, thered be no room for him to make evasive maneuvers. Yet, the woman named Laura Crader had heavily damaged several dozen Void Sea Dragons in one move. Her strength was utterly horrifying. Xiaoxiao, has Zero Wing always had such an expert? Jun Luosha asked, the corner of her eyes twitching as she looked at Wu Xiaoxiao. The degree of shock she experienced from seeing what just happened was beyond the shock she experienced from learning about Shi Fengs ownership of a Legendary Flying Mount. At this time, Jun Luosha could only think of one word to describe the woman known as Laura Crader. Invincible! True invincibility! Diras four bodyguards had to work together just to hold back a dozen or so Void Sea Dragons from attacking Dira. Moreover, that was under the condition that all four of them had reached Tier 5. It should be known that the Four Beast Warriors were not some random nobodies. They were paragons nurtured by the Paimon Conglomerate for many years. During their early years, their names were known throughout the Starlight Realm, and the fame they enjoyed back then went far beyond what paragons like Trecht currently enjoyed. But now, comparing the Four Beast Warriors to Laura Crader felt like comparing the glow of four fireflies with the glow of a full moon. With an expert like Laura Crader defending Zero Wing, the Guilds position in the Miniature Ancient World would be unshakable. Did Zero Wing have such an expert? Wu Xiaoxiao did not have an answer to Jun Luoshas question. This was because she was equally shocked and confused by this situation. She never knew Zero Wing had an expert of Lauras caliber under its command. The reason behind Wu Xiaoxiaos confidence in inviting Jun Luosha to join Zero Wing was because of Shi Feng and the Hundred Refinement Building in Gazing Moon City. Meanwhile, like Jun Luosha, this was the first time Wu Xiaoxiao was meeting with the person known as Laura Crader. While everyone was immersed in shock and confusion, Shi Feng steered the Frostflame Dragon to the floating island. In only a few seconds, the Frostflame Dragon overtook Diras party of five. Meanwhile, every Void Sea Dragon that tried to hinder the Frostflame Dragons advance was struck down without fail by Lauras sword. Dammit! Dira cursed when he saw that Zero Wings team had moved within 1,000 yards of the floating island. Then, he turned to Platinum Behemoth and asked, Platinum, what is that persons standard? Tier 6! Platinum Behemoth said, a hint of fear surfacing in his eyes as he looked at the distant Laura Crader. Her strike just now has already reached the entry level of the Tier 6 standard! The entry-level of Tier 6? Surprised, Dira exclaimed, Doesnt that mean shes already on par with White Owl? Most likely. Platinum Behemoth nodded. If we have to compete against her for the Legacy, we have zero chances of winning White Owl was one of the Paimon Conglomerates current Ten Core Paragons. Not only did she receive a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set from the conglomerate, but she was even assigned a Legendary Weapon of high compatibility. Recently, she had even successfully constructed a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body, becoming a candidate for the conglomerates Three Overlords position in the future. At the same time, White Owl was also responsible for commanding the Tier 4 army that would be invading the Miniature Ancient World to deal with Zero Wing. Moreover, because of a favor she owed to the Divine Seal Saint several years ago, she had agreed to complete her promotion to Tier 5 as soon as she entered the World Passage. Dammit! Contact White Owl and have her hurry over here! Dira said in dissatisfaction. Its all that damned Zero Wings fault! Once White Owls group arrives, Ill make sure Zero Wing suffers! The appearance of the Void Gods settlement in the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage was a huge surprise even for him. Originally, he had thought of monopolizing the Void Saint Legacy, but that evidently wouldnt be possible now. When Platinum Behemoth had gone offline to contact White Owl, Zero Wings team also arrived on the Void Gods floating island. When Hidden Soul, who had only gotten promoted to Tier 4 recently, felt the Eternal Energy present on the island, she couldnt help but exclaim, What an incredible place this is! Not only does it have such dense mana, but it even has Eternal Energy diffused across the air! This place will be wonderful for training! Gentle Snow, who had similarly reached Tier 4, excitedly nodded in agreement. Setting aside the solidified mana environment, just the Eternal Energy diffused in the air was enough to make it the dream training ground of countless players. Players seeking to train their Skills, Spells, and combat techniques could achieve incredible results here. Even players looking to create their Tier 5 Mana Body could receive great help from the environment here. This isnt a place for training, Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he looked at the numerous void chains that covered the island. Not for training? Looking at Shi Feng in confusion, Midsummer asked, Wasnt it mentioned that the Void Saint Legacy could be found here? The Void Saint Legacy indeed exists here, Shi Feng said. Then, he turned to look at a nearby town and explained, But this island itself is a Space-Time Prison built specifically to imprison the Greater Gods Domains Demigods. Void Gods constantly wandered the void, so most people knew very little about them. However, Shi Feng happened to come across a piece of important information related to the Void Gods during his previous life. This information was also one of the Greater Gods Domains great secrets. Imprison Demigods? Do Demigods need to be imprisoned? Existence capable of being regarded as a Demigod in Gods Domain were NPCs who were only one step away from reaching Tier 6. However, there were plenty of such Demigod-rank NPCs in the Greater Gods Domain. There was also very little these Demigod NPCs could accomplish in the Greater Gods Domain, since even a country like the Ancient River Kingdom had Tier 6 NPCs guarding it. It is naturally unnecessary to imprison ordinary Demigods, Shi Feng said before pausing for a short moment. Then, he continued, But what if its a Demigod who has destroyed a kingdom or an empire in the Greater Gods Domain? What? A Demigod who has destroyed a country in the Greater Gods Domain? How is that even possible? Wu Xiaoxiao did not believe Shi Fengs words for even a second. No matter how powerful a Demigod was, they would still be nothing more than Tier 5 NPCs. Meanwhile, the Greater Gods Domain was a place where many Tier 6 NPCs existed. There was no way a Demigod could destroy an entire kingdom in the Greater Gods Domain, much less an empire. However, in response to Wu Xiaoxiaos doubt, Shi Feng simply chuckled and did not bother offering additional explanations. In Gods Domain, there were significant differences even between Demigods. In fact, the difference could be even bigger than the gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6. If memory serves him correctly, it wouldnt be long before a piece of major news would shake the entire Greater Gods Domainthe destruction of a Realm caused by a Demigod! While Shi Feng and the others were making their way closer to the nearby village, a powerful voice suddenly echoed in everyones minds, the voice instilling fear into everyones souls. Humans! This is not a place for you to approach! System: You have discovered the settlement of Void Gods. You have triggered a Legendary Main Storyline Quest for the Greater Gods Domain. Do you wish to accept the quest? Chapter 3307 - Chapter 381 - Pseudo-Fifth-Floor Expert Chapter 381 C Pseudo-Fifth-Floor Expert TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 381: Ten Core Paragons -> Ten Great Paragons A Legendary Main Storyline Quest for the Greater Gods Domain? Everyone from Zero Wing subconsciously gulped when they saw the system notification they had just received. They did not know whether they should be smiling or crying over this situation. According to the information they gathered, Legendary Quests remained incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Most Tier 6 experts would only come across one or two Legendary Quests throughout their careers in Gods Domain. As for Legendary Main Storyline Quests related to the Greater Gods Domain, their rarity was even higher, and most players in the Greater Gods Domain would spend their entire careers in Gods Domain without ever seeing one. Meanwhile, so long as players could complete such a Legendary Main Storyline Quest, the resulting effects could affect the entire Greater Gods Domain. The rewards players could receive from completing such a quest would also be beyond their wildest imaginations. Though conversely, the penalty would be unbelievably harsh if they fail such a quest. Out of everyone present, Shi Feng was the only person unfazed by the quest notification. After looking at the notification, he said through the team chat, Anyone who wishes to attempt becoming a Void Saint can accept the quest. The system wont assign the actual quest to you until you become a Void Saint. So, if you fail the class-change, the only penalty youll receive is a prohibition from attempting the Void Saint class-change in the future. The Void Saint class was different from his Sword Law Saint class in that it wasnt unique. There was no limit to the number of players who could become a Void Saint. However, every player would only ever have one opportunity to attempt to class-change into a Void Saint. So long as they failed, they couldnt attempt the class-change again, even if they started a new account. When Zero Wings members heard Shi Fengs explanation, they breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, though, everyone couldnt help but be surprised by Shi Fengs explanation. It was especially true for Laura Crader and the other members of the Glimmer adventurer team. The details of becoming a Void Saint were a secret known by only those standing at the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. So, Laura and the others couldnt help but wonder how Shi Feng, someone who supposedly lacked a powerful background, would know about this secret. Subsequently, everyone apart from Shi Feng and Laura chose to accept the quest. Then, after everyone had made their decisions, a large phantom suddenly appeared in front of the town. The phantom was a 100-meter-tall giant that looked like someone had cut out a portion of a starry sky and shaped it into a person. The instant the phantom appeared, everyone present could feel a powerful Divine Might washing over them. The Divine Might was so powerful that even Shi Feng and Laura found themselves completely immobilized. [Void Phantom (? ? ?)] (God, Void Saint) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ? What a powerful doppelganger! It should be known that Laura was already a bona fide Tier 5 Sword Saint, whereas Shi Feng might not have reached Tier 5 yet, but he was already strong enough to match Tier 5 players. In their current states, not even Tier 6 Gods could immobilize them using only Divine Might. Yet, now, the two of them were rendered immobile by the Divine Might of a mere doppelganger. Humans! Ive warned you! the Void Phantom coldly said. Since you insist on entering, be prepared to accept the consequences! As soon as the Void Phantom finished speaking, it made a grabbing gesture with its hand, instantly causing everyone except Shi Feng and Laura to vanish into thin air. Then, the Void Phantom gradually dissipated and disappeared. Upon seeing this, Shi Feng and Laura did not panic. They also didnt choose to leave their current location, opting to wait outside the town for the others to return. After all, there were dangers all over the island, and it would be difficult for most Tier 4 players to survive against the Level 150-plus, Tier 5 Legendary monsters that occupied the island. Hopefully, someone can succeed, Shi Feng inwardly prayed as he looked at the town that was wrapped in void chains. It would be a huge jackpot for Zero Wing if anyone manages to become a Void Saint. Void Saints were known to be invincible among those of the same tier when fighting in the void. They could even transcend tiers. So, even at Tier 5, a Void Saint could be a formidable force. If Zero Wing could have a Void Saint on its side, it would have the qualifications to fight for a foothold in the Void Zones between Realms. Those were places where upper-ranking hegemonic powers mainly operated. Time quickly passed, and two hours went by in the blink of an eye. At this time, a large group of players arrived a short distance away from the island. Among this group of players were Diras party of five and paragons such as Trecht and Saint Nine. However, out of this group of several dozen, Dira, surprisingly, wasnt the one standing in the lead. Instead, it was a short-haired woman wearing a suit of silver armor and a crown that had a sacred appearance. Upon closer observation, one would notice two other Tier 5 experts were standing next to this short-haired woman. Of these two Tier 5 experts, one was a middle-aged elven woman wielding a staff that looked like it was wrapped by lightning bolts, while the other was a six-meter-tall middle-aged man with a muscular body and tanned skin. Both these two Tier 5 experts and the short-haired woman were at Level 140, and all three of them were clad in equipment that could absolutely blind the eyes of all players in the Miniature Ancient World. All three of these players were clad in Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets, with the short-haired womans set being an eight-piece set and the other twos sets being six-piece sets. However, for the two with six-piece sets, each of them was equipped with a piece of Legendary Equipment. Meanwhile, the auras these three players radiated were so powerful that ordinary Tier 4 players would have difficulty breathing in their presence. This place can make for an excellent training ground. Its a pity that Saint Arm and I have already ascended to Tier 5, the middle-aged elven woman said after briefly scanning the island with her eyes. Then, she turned to Meteor and Star Snail and continued, But you two have lucked out. Dont tease us, Big Sis Storm, the red-haired youth named Meteor tamely said. Star Snail and I admire you and Big Brother Saint Arm a lot. You two are only half a step away from reaching the fifth-floor standard, whereas Star Snail and I are still far from even reaching the pseudo-fifth-floor standard When Trecht and the other paragons saw how the middle-aged elven woman treated Meteor and Star Snail like they were her juniors and how Meteors and Star Snails obedient responses, they couldnt help but gape in shock. Meteor and Star Snail were both ranked among the top 10 of the Miniature Ancient Worlds God List. They had also become internal paragons of the Paimon Conglomerate at a young age. With their current achievements, it was only a matter of time before they became core members of the Paimon Conglomerate. Because of their statuses, Meteor and Star Snail didnt even have to behave respectfully when dealing with the Four Beast Warriors. Yet, in front of the elven woman and tanned man, they behaved no differently than obedient kittens However, when Meteor and Star Snail saw the reactions of Trecht and the other paragons, they simply rolled their eyes in response. Ignorant fools! Meteor inwardly sneered as he looked at Trecht and the others. Whether it was the middle-aged elven woman or the middle-aged giant man, both were core paragons nurtured by the Paimon Conglomerate. In terms of combat standards, both of them have already reached the pseudo-fifth-floor standard. Although they were met with failure when competing with the position of Paimons Ten Great Paragons and forced to ascend to Tier 5, so long as they reached Tier 6, they would be instantly promoted to Elders in the Paimon Conglomerate. At that time, they would only be one rank beneath the Three Overlords in the conglomerates chain of command, and their statuses would be vastly superior to existences like the Four Beast Warriors. Meanwhile, when the middle-aged elven woman saw the two cloaked figures standing outside the distant town, she looked to Platinum Behemoth and asked, Are those two Zero Wings members? Yes! Platinum Behemoth hurriedly nodded. Apart from their group, the only players that could possibly be on this floating island right now were Zero Wings members. After hearing Platinum Behemoths answer, the elven woman promptly swung the staff she wielded. Disappear, you nuisances! Chapter 3308 - Chapter 382 - Another Lunatic? Chapter 382 C Another Lunatic? A thousand yards away outside the town on the floating island When the middle-aged elven woman swung the staff she wielded, three magic arrays with a 500-yard radius instantly formed in the sky, every one of them being a magic array for a Tier 5 Spell. Tier 5 Spell, Forbidden Realm! Tier 5 Spell, Life Bondage! Tier 5 Spell, Thunders Fury! All three of these Spells were top-tier among Tier 5 Spells. A Tier 5 Grand Wizard at the fourth-floor standard would be fortunate if they could silent-cast one of them, while a titled expert could only barely silent-cast two simultaneously. After all, the complexity of Spells increased exponentially along with the increase of their tiers. Yet, the elven woman had easily silent-cast three Tier 5 Spells simultaneously. The level of control she just displayed was simply ungodly, and even the Four Beast Warriors and paragons such as Trecht couldnt help but widen their eyes in shock. Is this the strength of a pseudo-fifth-floor expert? Meteor couldnt help but sigh ruefully as he watched the three Tier 5 Spells taking shape. Although he was regarded as a titled expert, which essentially meant he had reached the peak of the fourth-floor standard, it was evident that there was still a huge gap between him and someone who had already taken half a step into the fifth-floor standard. When can I also reach this standard? Star Snail wondered enviously. It might seem like titled experts were only one step away from matching pseudo-fifth-floor experts, but there was an insurmountable gap between the two. After all, a titled expert was still only at the Domain Realm, whereas a pseudo-fifth-floor expert was already in the Beyond Domain Realm. A pseudo-fifth-floor expert could maintain peak focus at all times. They could even grasp their sixth sense, becoming able to predict all of their opponents movements ahead of time and move in response to those predictions. On top of that, they could instinctively exhibit the power of Silver Combat Techniques with their every move. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that a pseudo-fifth-floor expert could beat titled experts to a point where the latter couldnt even resist. Meanwhile, when Saint Arm, the six-meter-tall man, saw the magic arrays in the sky, he said in dissatisfaction, Arent you a little too quick to act, Storm? How am I supposed to get any action like this? First come, first served. Its your fault for being slow, the elven woman named Storm nonchalantly responded. While Storm was speaking, the three Tier 5 Spells she cast also began their performance. However, just when everyone thought the three Tier 5 Spells would devastate the land outside the town, one of the cloaked figuresa womantargeted by Storms Spells suddenly stood up from the ground and drew her sword. Then, following her actions was a bright flash. When the bright flash disappeared, all mana in the sky vanished along with it. As a result, the three Tier 5 Spells crumbled apart, failing to activate properly. Naturally, none of the lands outside the town was subjected to any devastation. Void Annihilation! The 26th-ranked Absolute Technique! Platinum Behemoth exclaimed when he saw the empty space in the sky distorting. If the average player in the Greater Gods Domain were to see someone distorting space in the void, they would most likely think nothing of it. However, for any expert yearning to learn the Greater Gods Domains 99 Absolute Techniques, they would instantly recognize it as the product of Void Annihilation, the 26th-ranked Absolute Technique. This was because a certain Tier 6 powerhouse had relied on this technique to secure the championship of the Seven Luminaries Leagues A-League! In terms of raw power, Void Annihilation was already comparable to Gold Combat Techniques. The only reason it was evaluated as an Advanced Silver Combat Technique was due to a limitation that prevented users from using the combat technique consecutively. Otherwise, itd be no different than Gold Combat Techniques. Before everyone could get over their shock from seeing Void Annihilation, the cloaked woman drew her sword once more. Boom! A thunderous explosion immediately echoed across the floating island. Then, before anyone could process what just happened, the space next to Storm suddenly distorted, forming a distorted barrier of sorts. This will be your only warning! Turn back now! Laura declared as she looked in Storms direction. Then, she sheathed her longsword and sat back down under the shade of the tree next to her, closing her eyes to rest. Is she crazy? Meteor and the others couldnt help but look at Laura with stupefied looks on their faces. It should be known that even Dira had to curb his arrogance in front of White Owls party. Yet, Laura had threatened White Owls party What are these people from Zero Wing made of? Trecht was at a loss for words when he saw Laura threatening White Owls party. Previously, he thought he had already seen the limits of insanity when he saw Black Flame killing Dira. He never thought he would see the day when someone would threaten a party of core paragons from the Paimon Conglomerate to withdraw. For a moment, Trecht even had the urge to ask what Zero Wings members actually thought of the Paimon Conglomerate. Do you think youre invincible just because youve grasped Void Annihilation? Storm was incensed by Lauras threat. Immediately, Storm executed Elven Heart, a God-ranked Mana Technique that elevated her Concentration and Mana standards. Then, two Tier 5 Curses could be seen forming above and under Laura, both Curses capable of exhibiting power comparable to Lauras Void Annihilation. Sensing the change in mana flow around her, Laura leisurely stood up and placed her hand around the hilt of her sword. Second Form, Soul Break! There was no bright flash this time. Apart from seeing Laura mutter a few words, Meteor and the others saw nothing else happening. Instead, only silence followed after Laura stopped speaking. Then, before anyone realized it, Storms HP fell to zero Chapter 3309 - Chapter 383 - Apex Clash Chapter 383 C Apex Clash She died? Storm got killed in one hit? Meteor and the other Tier 4 experts present were at a loss for words when they saw Storms HP suddenly falling to zero, none of them knowing what had just happened. Since when did Void Annihilation have a second form? What a quick strike! Platinum Behemoth broke out in cold sweat as he looked at Lauras distant figure. Platinum Behemoth was currently a Tier 5 player, so unlike Meteor and the other Tier 4 experts, he had caught a glimpse of Lauras attack just now. Or, more specifically, only those with Tier 5 physiques and reaction speeds could possibly hope to perceive Lauras attack. Meanwhile, from what Platinum Behemoth managed to see, Laura had executed five slashes after she finished speaking, each one faster than the last. By the fifth slash, he couldnt even see her attack. At the same time, Platinum Behemoth also saw Storm reacting to Lauras attacks, the elven woman instinctively creating a magic barrier and raising her staff to defend herself. However, Storm only managed to defend against the first three strikes, whereas the fourth and fifth slashes struck her squarely on the body. With the cloth armor Storm wore, there was no way she could survive two full Tier 6 attacks. Different from the Four Beast Warriors and the various Tier 4 experts, White Owl, Saint Arm, and Dira reacted calmly to Storms death. Before Meteor and the others could make sense of the threes reactions, they suddenly saw Storms body vanishing in the blink of an eye and reappearing at a location roughly 20 yards away. The elven woman was also alive and healthy at this time. Youve even used Illusory World? Did you need to get so serious, Storm? Saint Arm jokingly said as he watched Storm flying back. When it came to pseudo-fifth-floor experts like them, it was incredibly difficult for opponents of the same tier to kill them. After all, by relying on the sixth sense they grasped after reaching the Beyond Domain Realm, they could predict most, if not all, dangers and take appropriate countermeasures. Of course, itd be a different story if the opponent had strength so overwhelming that it could render all of their countermeasures useless. However, it should be known that Storm possessed many lifesaving capabilities. Not only did she possess numerous Tier 4 and Tier 5 Lifesaving Spells, but she also had the True Amulet, a Legendary Equipment that could let her avoid death once a day. Unless the opponent was someone on the level of White Owl, it would take a significant amount of time to kill Storm. Moreover, that was under the precondition that Storm did not try to run away. If Storm focused on escaping, even White Owl could not kill her. Why dont you try fighting her, then? Storm said as she rolled her eyes at Saint Arm. Illusory World was a Lifesaving Spell she learned after getting promoted to Tier 5. The Spell allowed her to enter an illusory space while leaving behind a phantom of herself in the real world. The phantom possessed all of her abilities, and it could attack her opponents while she waited for an opportunity to launch an ambush from the illusory space. Originally, Storm had planned to launch a two-pronged attack with her phantom. However, the instant she harbored thoughts of attacking Laura, her sixth sense warned her of great danger, so she promptly dismissed her plan of attacking Laura with her main body as well. Instead, she decided to let her phantom do all the fighting while she stood by and observed what kind of cards Laura had up her sleeves. Only, Storm didnt think her phantom would get killed after only one exchange Me? Saint Arm shook his head. Im no fool. She has a Legendary Weapon. Im no match for her in a one-on-one. You! Storm grew even more incensed upon hearing Saint Arms reply. She didnt think Saint Arm would be such a coward, admitting defeat without even trying to fight Laura. Neither of you needs to take her on. Leave her to me, White Owl, the short-haired woman, suddenly said before leaping into the air. Then, while making her way to Laura, she added, You two take care of the kid over there. Understood! Storm and Saint Arm responded respectfully, neither of them questioning White Owls decision as they were fully confident in their commanders capabilities. In addition to being one of the Paimon Conglomerates Ten Great Paragons, White Owl had also created an Epic Mana Body for her Tier 5 promotion. In her current state, she could even hold her ground against actual Tier 6 players. Not to mention, Laura was only a Tier 5 Sword Saint. As a Tier 5 Divine Rune Warrior, White Owl could easily overpower Laura in terms of Strength. As soon as Storm and Saint Arm voiced their responses, a greatsword wrapped in starlight appeared in White Owls right hand. Immediately afterward, White Owl swung the dazzling weapon with both hands, sending a blade of light flying in Lauras direction. At the same time, the mana around White Owl transformed into a miniature star that covered a 300-yard radius and disintegrated everything caught within its range. Starfall, the 49th-ranked Absolute Technique! Is this the strength of one of Paimons Ten Great Paragons? Trecht couldnt help but gasp when he saw the miniature star that had formed before him. Devastation! True devastation! Sensing the power contained within this miniature star, Trecht had no doubt that it could destroy an entire island in the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, Laura finally got serious when going up against this devastating attack, choosing to unsheath the longsword by her waist as she got ready to welcome White Owls attack. What an amazing sword! Shi Feng mentally exclaimed as he looked at the dark longsword in Lauras hand. The entire weapon was pitch-black like the night sky, and the blade was as thin as a cicadas wing. Yet, despite its dark appearance, the weapon radiated a faint silver glow. In the past, Laura would sheath her longsword as soon as she was done executing her attacks. So, this was the first time Shi Feng could inspect it in detail. When it came to knowledge about one-handed swords, Shi Feng wouldnt say that he was the most knowledgeable in the Greater Gods Domain, but he dared to say that he ranked among the top 3. Yet, the longsword Laura wielded did not match the appearance of any Legendary Sword in his knowledge. In fact, it didnt even have the basic mana-gathering properties of a Legendary Weapon. However, there was no way Lauras longsword was beneath the Legendary rank. Not on his life would Shi Feng believe the weapon was inferior to Legendary Weapons. In that case, Shi Feng could only think of one possibility to explain why he had no knowledge of Lauras weapon and why the longsword could exhibit the power of Legendary Weapons without having the basic properties of a Legendary Weapon. A Fragmented Divine Artifact! What Laura wielded in her hand was a weapon Shi Feng had constantly dreamed of obtaining during his previous life. For the sake of obtaining a Fragmented Divine Weapon, he had even paid numerous powers exorbitant prices to help him in searching for clues. At this moment, Shi Feng finally understood why Laura was confident she could break through the Paimon Conglomerates blockade once she got promoted to Tier 5. After all, a Fragmented Divine Weapon could instantly elevate the average fourth-floor expert to the apex of the Greater Gods Domain once this expert reached Tier 6. If such a weapon was put into the hands of Lauras caliber, anything could become possible. Subsequently, Laura could be seen charging forward and stabbing her longsword into the miniature star that White Owl had transformed into. When both sides made contact, dazzling lights emerged from the point of contact. Then, the miniature star could be seen rapidly dimming before eventually bursting apart and revealing White Owl using both hands to swing her starlight greatsword into Lauras dark longsword. Boom! A powerful explosion resulted from the collision of weapons. However, it wasnt the last explosion, but rather the first of many as White Owl began brandishing her starlight greatsword and sending a barrage of attacks at Laura as if she were firing a machine gun. Tier 5 Taboo Skill, Self-Acceleration! Heavens Collapse, the 30th Absolute Technique! The Taboo Skill and Absolute Technique combined allowed White Owl to become a machine of mass destruction. She executed over a hundred attacks in the blink of an eye, and not even Tier 5 players like the Four Beast Warriors could keep up with the attacks. However, Laura was not at all inferior to White Owl. With a simple thrust of her longsword, over a hundred streamers formed before her, each streamer carrying power at the Tier 6 standard. Boom Boom Boom After hundreds of exchanges between Laura and White Owl, the sky above the floating island began to distort, and even the Legendary monsters on the island started to distance themselves from the town. However, as the number of exchanges increased, those spectating the fight quickly noticed a problemWhite Owls HP was decreasing bit by bit. Although White Owl would only lose small amounts of HP in every exchange, her HP had already fallen to 70% after several hundred exchanges. At this rate, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before White Owl got killed. Partway through the fight, White Owl suddenly distanced herself from Laura. Then, she glared at Storm and Saint Arm, shouting, Why arent you two getting rid of that kid yet?! Storm and Saint Arm instantly snapped out of their dazes when they heard White Owls words. Their commanders intentions were clearthey were to work with her to deal with Laura after taking care of Black Flame. Understanding this, Storm and Saint Arm promptly charged at Shi Feng, who had similarly been watching the show this entire time. Dont blame big sister for this, kid! Itll only hurt for a moment! Storm said, licking her lips as she looked at Shi Feng. Then, she transformed her staff into a large thunderbolt and threw it at Shi Feng. The move Storm just used was Thunder Gods Spear, an Additional Active Profound Inheritance that came with her staff. Meanwhile, the speed and power of this move were not at all inferior to Lauras Void Annihilation. Chapter 3310 - Chapter 384 - One-Versus-Two Chapter 384 C One-Versus-Two Accompanied by thunder, the Thunder Gods Spear in Storms hand instantly flew through the sky and reached Shi Feng, its speed so fast that even Meteor and the other spectating Tier 4 experts had failed to catch it. However, at the same time as the Thunder Gods Spear arrived before Shi Feng, the flow of time seemingly slowed down. Moreover, this phenomenon wasnt limited to just Shi Fengs vicinity. Everything within a 500-yard radius had seemingly entered a state of stagnation. The descent of the falling leaves had slowed to a halt, and the dirt raised from the ground stayed suspended in the air. At this moment, Shi Feng, the epicenter of this strange phenomenon, appeared to be the only existence unaffected. Subsequently, Shi Feng could be seen unsheathing the Winter of Eternal Night and executing a simple strike against the Thunder Gods Spear, forcibly altering its trajectory. Ultimately, the Thunder Gods Spear failed to hit Shi Feng, only brushing past Shi Fengs shoulder and flattening a distant mountain. How can a Tier 4 player possibly deflect that kind of attack? Meteor was greatly shocked as he looked at the flattened mountain. After all, going by the destruction caused, Storms Thunder Gods Spear was already close to rivaling a Tier 6 players attack. What did he do? Saint Arm was similarly surprised by this turn of events. He knew very clearly how powerful the attack was. Now that Storm had reached Tier 5 already, few existences below Tier 6 should be able to stop her Thunder Gods Spear. Even if pseudo-fifth-floor experts could predict the attacks trajectory, they wouldnt be able to evade it, let alone deflect it. Yet, Shi Feng had accomplished this feat. Through some unknown means, Shi Feng drastically slowed down the flow of time around him, causing the Thunder Gods Spear to lose much of its speed, which, in turn, allowed him to deflect the attack. This was the first time Saint Arm had seen such a phenomenon, and he couldnt help but find it unbelievable. As expected of Thunderstorm. I might have gotten killed if I hadnt promptly upgraded the Winter of Eternal Night to the Legendary rank, Shi Feng thought, feeling a little surprised as he looked at the vibrating Winter of Eternal Night. It might seem like he had deflected the Thunder Gods Spear with little effort to everyone, but Shi Feng knew just how close to death he was just now. The elven woman named Thunderstorm was one of the Paimon Conglomerates iconic figures. She might not be on the level of the Three Overlords, but she was still a top-tier presence in the Seven Luminaries A-League. Thunderstorm was especially known for her mastery over the lightning element. Rather than an Elementalist, itd be more appropriate to describe her as a War Goddess of Thunder. Her attacks were often so fast that her opponents would get killed before they could even react. Although Thunderstorm had yet to reach Tier 6, her current strength was already plenty terrifying. If not for the Winter of Eternal Night having the hidden ability to freeze all things, Shi Feng would have definitely failed to react to Thunderstorms attack just now. After all, Shi Feng was still only a Tier 4 player, while his opponent was a Tier 5 player equipped with a six-piece Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set and one piece of Legendary Equipment. Even if he had a Legendary Weapon and Tier 5 Physique, winning against an expert like Thunderstorm would still be impossible. Die! Not giving Shi Feng any time to rest, Saint Arm suddenly appeared in front of Shi Feng, wielding two massive shields. Then, he smashed both shields down at Shi Feng, his hulking frame making it look like a house was crashing down on Shi Feng. However, Saint Arm wasnt just attacking Shi Feng with a straightforward shield bash. During his attack, Saint Arm also executed a rapid footwork, instantly creating over 20 realistic afterimages around Shi Feng, his speed so fast he could put Tier 5 Assassins to shame. Earthen Dance? Shi Feng remained unfazed when he saw Saint Arms realistic afterimages. Instead, he calmly activated World of Frost, causing the flow of time around him to stagnate even more and creating nine frost swords around him. Ninefold Swords Orbit! Immediately, Shi Feng brandished the nine frost swords, creating a field of stars that rapidly orbited him in a 50-yard radius. He did not dare to underestimate Saint Arm in the slightest. Saint Arm was of the Giant race, one of the few races with the Titan Bloodline. At the same time, he also had the Time Guardian class, which was considered a Lost Class in Gods Domain. Unlike the Winter of Eternal Night, which manipulated time by freezing it, Saint Arm could manipulate time itself. Using this ability, he could accelerate his movements to a significant degree and maintain that accelerated speed throughout entire fights. Meanwhile, as a Tier 5 Time Guardian, Saint Arm could increase his speed by a maximum of 300%.(100% + 300%) Of course, this powerful ability wasnt without its flaws. Although Time Guardians could increase their Movement Speed and Attack Speed to extraordinary extents, their reaction speeds would remain unchanged. So, if a Time Guardians neural reactions couldnt keep up with their movements, they would only worsen their combat performance if they accelerated themselves too much. In Saint Arms case, he could only afford to increase his speed by 200%. Subsequently, the countless stars formed around Shi Feng started striking Saint Arms twin shields one after another, each collision pushing Saint Arm back a little. In no time at all, Saint Arm was pushed out of the field of stars, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldnt get within 50 yards of Shi Feng. Dammit! Is he really just a Tier 4 Sword Emperor?! Saint Arm gnashed his teeth as he looked at the countless stars that orbited Shi Feng. Normally, Swordsmen and Assassins were Saint Arms favorite classes to go against. This was because both of these classes relied on speed to achieve combat superiority. However, ever since Saint Arm class-changed from a Shield Warrior into a Time Guardian, he was able to overwhelm both classes in terms of speed, negating the advantage of both classes. On top of that, Shield Warriors were inherently superior to Swordsmen and Assassins in terms of Strength. So, he had essentially become the perfect counter to Swordsmen and Assassins. But now, not only were Shi Fengs frost swords overpowering him, but they were also overwhelming his reaction speed. So long as he got within 50 yards of Shi Feng, he would have to face the attacks of at least five frost swords simultaneously. In such a situation, he didnt have any room for evasive maneuvers and could only receive the attacks with his shield Keep him pinned for me, Saint Arm! Storm suddenly said to Saint Arm through the team chat. I refuse to believe he can withstand Thunder Realms Avatar! Thunder Realms Descent? You got it! Saint Arm promptly nodded when he heard Storms words. Thunder Realms Descent was a combination attack Storm had developed, and it was her ultimate trump card. The attack combined Thunder Realm with a magic barrier that enhanced the Curses power. In the case of Thunder Realm, it was a powerful Curse that launched many thunderbolts. Now that Storm was at Tier 5, the Curse could easily overwhelm even the reaction speeds of Tier 5 players. As for the magic barrier, it functioned to enhance the power of the individual thunderbolts launched. Subsequently, Saint Arm began attacking Shi Feng in a frenzied manner, forcing Shi Feng to defend himself with all of his strength to prevent the Time Guardian from getting close to him. In the meantime, Storm began chanting a series of incantations and drawing magic arrays with her staff. From time to time, she would also throw a bunch of Mana Stones at certain locations. In less than ten seconds, over 30 Grandmaster Magic Arrays had appeared in Shi Fengs vicinity, these magic arrays linking together to form one big magic array that covered a 1,000-yard radius. Amazing! She used less than ten seconds to create a Grandmaster Barrier! Trecht exclaimed as he looked at the barrier before him. The construction of magic barriers was complicated and time-consuming. Normally, Magicians would prepare magic barriers in advance using magic scrolls. That way, they simply needed to use the scrolls whenever they needed to use a magic barrier. Of course, there was also a problem in doing sobarriers formed using magic scrolls would have weaker-than-average power. This was because mana needed to be supplied to the magic scrolls beforehand, and this stored mana would wear away with time. Moreover, due to the limitations of the materials used to create magic scrolls, only a limited amount of mana could be stored in them. Normally, a magic barrier constructed using magic scrolls would be fortunate to exhibit half of the power of the real deal. But because it didnt take much time to construct a magic barrier using magic scrolls, such barriers were much more practical in actual battles. Hence, hardly anyone in the Greater Gods Domain would attempt to construct a magic barrier from scratch in the middle of a battle. Yet, Storm had used less than ten seconds to construct a Grandmaster Barrier. The level of skill she possessed was simply astounding. When Storm saw that her magic barrier was active, she promptly waved her staff and shouted, Thunder Realm! Chapter 3311 - Chapter 385 - Magic Suppression? Chapter 385 C Magic Suppression? TL Notes: Fixed an error in Chapter 384; When Storm saw that her magic barrier was active, she promptly waved her staff and shouted, Thunder Realm! Fixed to: When Storm saw that her magic barrier was active, she promptly waved her staff and shouted, Thunder Realms Descent! On the floating island As soon as Storm finished speaking, a magic barrier that covered a 1,000-yard radius appeared around Shi Feng, thunderbolts constantly striking the inside of the barrier. Every thunderbolt carried as much power as the Thunder Gods Spear previously used by Storm, and these thunderbolts easily numbered more than 300. Upon sensing the devastating power the thunderbolts carried, even the Four Beast Warriors spectating from a distance, couldnt help but shudder. Although the four of them had already become Tier 5 players, they knew they couldnt survive this move, even if all four of them worked together. Tier 5 players might have a much stronger physique than Tier 4 players, but even a Tier 5 player would be fortunate if they could defend against 100 of these thunderbolts simultaneously. The fact that Thunder Realm could let its user launch over 300 attacks simultaneously was also why, despite having weaker-than-average raw power compared to other Tier 5 Curses, it was still labeled as a Curse. However, thanks to the Grandmaster Barrier created by Storm, every one of her Thunder Realms 300-plus lightning bolts now carried power at the Tier 6 standard. Even Tier 6 experts would feel their scalps going numb when going up against such an attack, let alone Tier 5 players. Is this the strength of the conglomerates core paragons? Meteor was in awe as he watched Storm controlling over 300 lightning arcs. Until this point, Meteor had always been confident he could enter the ranks of the Paimon Conglomerates core paragons in the future. After all, he was currently already considered a paragon among the conglomerates internal members. However, after seeing Storms performance, his confidence started to waver because he realized that the gap between him and an actual core paragon was unbelievably huge. At this time, Meteor even had a feeling that Storm could already go up against the Tier 6 experts of corporations in her current state. With her ability to manipulate over 300 lightning bolts carrying power at the Tier 6 standard, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that Storm was a Goddess of Thunder! Meanwhile, after seeing the barrier taking shape, Saint Arm promptly fled out of it, not daring to stay within it for even a moment longer. Although Storm could manipulate the thunderbolts in the magic barrier, she had to manage over 300 thunderbolts at all times. If she mismanaged them and he got hit by a few, he would still be vaporized, even if he was a Shield Warrior. When Storm saw that Saint Arm had exited the barrier, she looked at Shi Feng and smiled, saying, You can take pride in the fact that you got me to use Thunder Realms Descent. After saying so, Storm pointed at Shi Feng, and all 300-plus lightning bolts in the barrier transformed into agile serpents that attacked Shi Feng from all directions. At this time, even White Owl and Laura, who were fighting in the distant sky, couldnt help but glance at Storms Thunder Realms Descent. If youre thinking of saving him, you best go now before its too late, White Owl said, grinning as she looked at Laura. Otherwise, he might very well suffer Soul Annihilation at Storms hands. Tier 6 attacks already had the power to heavily damage Tier 5 Immortal Souls. If Storm could land all 300-plus of her thunderbolts, she could even annihilate a Tier 5 Immortal Soul, let alone a Tier 4 Immortal Soul. This was also why White Owl had chosen to bring Storm into the Miniature Ancient World with her. Do I help him? Laura couldnt help but grow a little worried when she saw Storms attacks. Honestly, even she would have difficulty dodging all 300-plus thunderbolt attacks, let alone Shi Feng, who wasnt even a Tier 5 player. Yet, if she tried to save Shi Feng, White Owl definitely wouldnt let such a good opportunity slip. Currently, although Laura could suppress White Owl, that was because of her slight advantage in Strength. When it came to Movement Speed, Attack Speed, and reaction speed, they were about evenly matched. So, if she let herself get distracted by Storms thunderbolts, White Owl would have a great chance of killing her. Yet, if Laura didnt save Shi Feng, Storms attack might really extinguish Shi Fengs soul. While Laura was hesitating about what to do, Shi Feng, who was inside the magic barrier, suddenly smiled. You call this Thunder Realms Descent? Ill show you what a true Thunder Realms Descent looks like! After saying so, Shi Feng had the nine frost swords insert themselves into the ground and form a magic barrier around him. Meanwhile, he drew a series of divine runes with his left hand and had these runes merge themselves with the space around him. Once the divine runes merged with the surrounding space, the 300-plus lightning serpents started to actively avoid Shi Feng as if afraid of him. Although the lightning serpents continued to linger around Shi Feng, none dared to touch him Impossible! Storm was dumbfounded when she saw her attacks failing to harm Shi Feng in the slightest. She had launched over 300 attacks at the Tier 6 standard, but none managed to damage Shi Feng. Moreover, it looked like Shi Feng had used less effort to neutralize these attacks than when he neutralized her Thunder Gods Spear. Is he really just a Tier 4 Sword Emperor? Trechts mouth turned into a big O shape as he looked at Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng was currently wearing a Black Cloak to hide his personal information, the life aura he exuded clearly indicated that he was only a Tier 4 player. But could a Tier 4 Sword Emperor really resist 300-plus Tier 6 attacks? Was he hiding his strength the last time we fought? Platinum Behemoth, who had previously fought Shi Feng in the Thunder Restaurant, also gaped in shock at this sight. While everyone outside the magic barrier was looking at Shi Feng in shock, Shi Feng raised his hand and created one magic array after another before him. With each magic array Shi Feng created, the mana in the magic barrier also grew denser. Ive seen your moves already, so its your turn to see mine now! Suddenly, everyone outside the barrier felt a change in Storms magic barrier. Before anyone could determine what had happened, the lightning serpents lingering around Shi Feng suddenly merged into one big ball. Had Storm and Saint Arm opted to attack him together without using any fancy moves, Shi Feng would have indeed had difficulty tackling them. He might not even last long against them. After all, the Winter of Eternal Night could only remain at the Legendary rank for a limited time. However, it was a different story now that Storm had set up a magic barrier. In the entire Greater Gods Domain, no expert would dare to use magic barriers against a Great Grandmaster Magician. This was because doing so was akin to suicide. Subsequently, once the numerous lightning serpents finished merging into one big ball of lightning, the lightning sphere gradually transformed into a lightning dragon that measured several hundred meters in length. The lightning dragon was also vastly stronger than the lightning serpents from before. Go! Shi Feng said as he pointed at the elven woman standing over a thousand yards away. As if understanding Shi Fengs words, the lightning dragon bellowed at Storm and flapped its wings. Despite being Thunder Realms caster, Storm could not exert any control over the lightning dragon created from her Thunder Realm. Before anyone could react, the massive lightning dragon shot through the magic barrier and devoured Storm in the blink of an eye. Then, the lightning dragon disappeared along with its creator, leaving behind only a piece of equipment Chapter 3312 Chapter 386 C Shi Fengs Secret Storm? Saint Arm fell into a daze when he saw Storm getting vaporized. In terms of combat standards, Storm was not at all inferior to him. When it came to lifesaving measures, Storm even had the upper hand. After all, as an Elementalist, it would be fatal for her if her opponents managed to get within melee range, so it was only natural she placed more focus on gathering lifesaving measures. Meanwhile, combined with her sixth sense, so long as Storm focused on fleeing, not even White Owl could kill her. Yet, now, Storm had died. Moreover, she had died at the hands of her own Thunder Realms Descent What did he do? Meteor and the other Tier 4 spectators were confused and horrified as they looked at Shi Fengs figure inside the barrier, none of them able to understand what had just happened. The Tier 5 Curse clearly originated from Storm. Yet, the Curse not only refused to obey Storm, but it even turned around to kill Storm. This situation completely exceeded their understanding of Gods Domain. Everyone, retreat! While everyone was in a panic, White Owl suddenly issued a retreat order through the team chat. Commander Owl, this is the Void Saint Legacy we are talking about! Dira hurriedly said when he heard White Owls call for retreat. We might never come across another opportunity like this if we miss it! The Void Saint class was a stepping stone into the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate. Not even apex powers would be willing to abandon such an opportunity, let alone the Paimon Conglomerate. If you wish to suffer Soul Annihilation, be my guest, White Owl curtly said before taking out a Group Teleportation Crystal and enveloping everyone on her team in a teleportation array. At the same time, everyone in the teleportation array received a prompt asking them whether they agreed to get teleported. Dammit! Dira reluctantly looked at the nearby town before gnashing his teeth and agreeing to the teleportation. Immediately, White Owl and the others vanished into thin air, leaving only Shi Feng and Laura on the floating island. They sure didnt take their time leaving, Laura remarked as she watched White Owls team teleporting away. However, she did not bother chasing after them, opting to sheath her sword instead. A Group Teleportation Crystal could teleport everyone on the same team together. It was a rare and precious tool that was valued at 5,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in the Greater Gods Domain, and they were usually treated as strategic items by the various powers. Although the floating islands barrier prevented players from directly teleporting out of the island, it was still possible to teleport to the barriers edge. There was quite some distance between her current location and the barriers edge, so unless she employed the help of teleportation magic as well, there was no way she could catch up to them. Its a good thing that theyve left, Shi Feng said, wryly smiling when he saw that Laura still wanted to fight. I can only fight them for a short time. Had the battle dragged on for a little longer, I would have most likely had to flee. Shi Feng could only make use of Thunder Realms Descent once. After all, he had already eliminated Storm, the source of the combination attack. Meanwhile, without Thunder Realms Descent or an attack of a similar caliber, there was no way Shi Feng could kill Saint Arm. At best, he could hold his ground against the Time Guardian. After all, a Legendary Weapon might grant its wielder the strength to transcend tiers, but the precondition was that the opponent wasnt equipped with a Legendary Weapon or Equipment. Meanwhile, Saint Arm obviously wasnt part of this category of opponents. Moreover, apart from the Legendary-rank Winter of Eternal Night, another reason Shi Feng could match Saint Arm was because of his level of 155. That put him 15 levels above Saint Arm. If Shi Feng was only at Level 140, he would have definitely been put at a disadvantage against Saint Arm. Hence, had the battle dragged on until Ancient Dragons Powers duration ran out, Shi Feng would have to either flee or get killed by Saint Arm. But I have to say, what you did just now was truly incredible. Could you perhaps be that Ye Feng who recently became a Great Grandmaster Magician? Laura asked as she looked at Shi Feng suspiciously. It is almost impossible to take over someone elses magic in Gods Domain. Unless, of course, you managed to grasp all of the magic arrays in that womans Mana Body. But that evidently isnt feasible. Besides that, the only other method I can think of is if you manipulated that womans mana through her magic barrier. Previously, Storm had cast her Curse via her magic barrier so as to strengthen its output. Hence, so long as Shi Feng could take control of Storms magic barrier, he would gain control over her Curse. However, that was easier said than done. Taking over another persons magic barrier was an incredibly challenging and time-consuming feat, as one would have to discern the mana nodes in the other persons magic barrier. On top of that, one would need to have control over mana that was superior to the barriers creator so that one could win control over these mana nodes. It should be known that Storm was a Grandmaster Magician. So, the fact that Shi Feng had not only managed to take control of Storms magic barrier but also accomplished it in such a short time was simply unbelievable. Apart from Shi Feng being a Great Grandmaster Magician, Laura truly couldnt think of any other explanations for this situation. Meanwhile, although Great Grandmaster Magicians were exceedingly rare in the Greater Gods Domain, it just so happened that a new one had appeared not long ago. Linking these two events together, Laura couldnt help but overthink matters. Youve guessed correctly, Commander Laura, Shi Feng said, openly admitting to Lauras suspicion. Then, he chuckled and added, But please keep this a secret. Others might not be able to link him with Ye Feng, but it wasnt a difficult thing for Laura to guess the connection. After all, Laura was aware of his ability to freely travel between worlds. Moreover, the timing of his recent trip to the Greater Gods Domain coincided with his becoming a Great Grandmaster Magician. Dont worry. I wont tell anyone about it, Laura said. Then, she grinned and continued, But if the Divine Seal Saint were to find out that youre that Ye Feng, hell probably lose his mind. The ultimate goal of the Greater Gods Domains various powers was to explore the Void Zones situated in the gaps between Realms. Meanwhile, exploring these Void Zones necessitated the construction of bases. However, unless a stronghold was protected by a Great Grandmaster Defensive Magic Array, it would need a large amount of manpower to keep it standing in the Void Zone. This led to a situation where Great Grandmaster Defensive Magic Arrays were in high demand. However, there were far too few Great Grandmaster Magicians in existence. In the current era, there didnt even exist 100 Great Grandmaster Magicians across the entire Greater Gods Domain. In other words, there were more Realms than there were Great Grandmaster Magicians. Moreover, most of these Great Grandmaster Magicians were gathered in the Twelve Sanctuaries, leaving even fewer Greater Grandmaster Magicians for the other Realms. To make matters worse, these Great Grandmaster Magicians needed a lot of time to produce even one Great Grandmaster Defensive Magic Array. Because of this, even if a power was willing to pay an exorbitant price to hire the services of a Great Grandmaster Magician, it would need to make a reservation for several decades later. Anyway, we cant defend this place for much longer. The forces the Divine Seal Saint dispatched shouldnt be limited to just White Owls group of three. Those three must have used some special means to reach this place ahead of the main army. Once the Divine Seal Saints army of experts arrives, even escaping will be a challenging task for us, Laura said, feeling a little worried. The strength of the experts the Divine Seal Saint dispatched had exceeded Lauras expectations. If she had to fight against White Owl, she could only afford to take on a few more Tier 5 experts. However, the Divine Seal Saint had dispatched thousands of Tier 4 experts, and many among them would complete their Tier 5 promotion as soon as they entered the World Passage. If this army of Tier 5 experts arrived, she could, at best, flee with several people. Itd be impossible for her to escape with all of Zero Wings members. You dont have to worry about this, Commander Laura. So long as we can defend this place until the others return from their trials, I am confident in bringing everyone away safely, Shi Feng confidently said. From what Shi Feng learned during his previous life, the Void Gods settlements relied on divine seals created by Ancient Gods to imprison dangerous Demigods. So long as he could release these imprisoned Demigods and create some chaos, it should be easy for him and his team to escape the Divine Seal Saints army. If Shi Feng was still only a Grandmaster Magician, he would have had a hard time undoing these divine seals. However, now that he had become a Great Grandmaster Magician, these divine seals were not a problem for him. It was only a question of whether he was willing to invest the time to undo these seals. Before Shi Feng set off in search of the sealing grounds, he waved his hand at the item Storm dropped when she died, causing the item to fly into his hand. If this was an item dropped by any other player, Shi Feng might not have been particularly interested in it. However, Storm was a core paragon of the Paimon Conglomerate. Every item she carried with her would be incredibly valuable, so he naturally couldnt ignore it. Meanwhile, after taking a look at the light-purple metal piece in his hand, Shi Feng couldnt help but be rendered speechless. Is Paimon so rich that it can afford to give away even things like this? Chapter 3313 - Chapter 387 - Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor Chapter 387 C Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor Is Paimon crazy? Its letting a mere core paragon use a suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor? Apart from Shi Feng, Laura similarly revealed a surprised look when she saw the light-purple metal piece. Even apex powers would only be willing to let core paragons with great contributions use their Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor. Could Paimon be overflowing with Sacred Armor of this caliber? Sacred Armor was different from the average equipment. They usually came in complete sets and did not have any Attribute or Tier requirements. Players could equip Sacred Armor so long as their control over mana was sufficiently high. Meanwhile, so long as players could don a suit of Sacred Armor, they would see a significant improvement in their control over mana. In the Greater Gods Domain, a suit of Epic-ranked Sacred Armor could sell for a whopping 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, whereas a suit of Fragmented Legendary-ranked Sacred Armor couldnt even be found on the market. Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor was so rare and precious that players and powers who owned a suit wouldnt even be willing to trade it for several pieces of Legendary Equipment. After all, Sacred Armor were items passed down from the Greater Gods Domains ancient era, and there was no way to reproduce them in the modern era. Hence, every suit used was one less suit available in the Greater Gods Domain. It was also highly unlikely a used suit of Sacred Armor would be handed over to another player, especially not a Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor. This was because Sacred Armor could grow with their wearers. Apart from providing more Basic Attributes, a suit of Sacred Armor would also provide an increasingly greater improvement to mana control as their wearer leveled up. On top of that, not only would the suit of Sacred Armor eventually become fully compatible with its wearer, but it could also grow in rank. In the case of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor, it could ultimately grow into a Legendary Equipment Set, which was why nobody would be willing to exchange a suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor for even several pieces of Legendary Equipment. However, before a suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor became a players personalized equipment set, it would have an extremely high chance of dropping on death. Hence, any power that owned such Sacred Armor would be incredibly careful when handing them out to their paragons. After all, this was a potential Legendary Equipment Set they were talking about. Not even apex powers would dare to fool around with such a precious treasure. Yet, now, the Paimon Conglomerate had given a suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor to Storm, someone who wasnt even among the conglomerates Ten Great Paragons. If the Paimon Conglomerate could afford to be so generous with its Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to call it the Starlight Realms number one conglomerate. No, this thing looks like its broken, Shi Feng said, wryly smiling after he finished inspecting the worn-out divine runes engraved on the light-purple metal piece. This thing might be a suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor, but with its runes damaged, not only will it have a significantly higher equipment requirement, but its strength will also only be slightly stronger than Epic Sacred Armor when equipped. Moreover, it cant grow along with its wearer. At best, this thing is worth 60 to 70 thousand units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor might be priceless, but it was a different story for a damaged suit. In the case of a damaged suit, it wouldnt even be worth as much as Epic Sacred Armor. After all, an intact suit of Epic Sacred Armor could still grow into a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. At that time, it would be vastly stronger than a half-baked Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor. What a pity, Laura said as she looked at the metal piece in Shi Fengs hand. There are no known methods of repairing Sacred Armor in the current Greater Gods Domain. Otherwise, even while damaged, this thing would be worth more than a six-piece Legendary Equipment Set. An intact suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor could ultimately transform into a six-piece Legendary Equipment Set that was perfectly compatible with its wearer. Unlike other six-piece Legendary Equipment Sets, it could let players unleash their potential to the greatest extent. Indeed Shi Feng nodded but chose not to say anything more. There might not be any known methods to repair Sacred Armor in the current Greater Gods Domain, but Shi Feng knew of a place that might have a way to do sothe Greater Gods Domains Three Great Workshops. The Three Great Workshops predated even the Greater Gods Domains recorded history. So, it wasnt out of the question for them to hold a means to repair Sacred Armor. After all, if these Workshops could manufacture even Epic Combat Puppets, it shouldnt be too difficult for them to repair Sacred Armor. Subsequently, Shi Feng put away the damaged Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor and began searching for the Void Gods sealing grounds. After following the flow of mana in the floating islands magic barrier for half a day, Shi Feng finally discovered a cave that was sealed by a separate magic barrier. Moreover, apart from the barrier, the cave was also guarded by several Level 150, Tier 5 Legendary monsters. Is it here? Shi Feng couldnt help but be flabbergasted when he looked at the five Soul Devourers resting in front of the cave entrance. [Soul Devourer] (Ancient Magic Creature, Legendary) Level 150 HP 600,000,000,000 Soul Devourers were incredibly troublesome monsters that could devour the Immortal Souls of players. If a Tier 4 player had their souls devoured by a Soul Devourer, they could basically say goodbye to Gods Domain forever. As for Tier 5 players, if they got killed by a Soul Devourer, theyd have to be separated from Gods Domain for at least 10 to 15 days. Hence, the existence of Soul Devourers was considered taboo in Gods Domain. Meanwhile, if players wished to raid a Tier 5 Soul Devourer, they would need a team of 100 Tier 5 players of the same level at the very least. Moreover, that was if they were going up against only one Tier 5 Soul Devourer. Currently, however, there were five Tier 5 Soul Devourers resting outside the cave. Moreover, the magic barrier protecting the cave was bound to these five Soul Devourers. In other words, unless these five Soul Devourers were eliminated, the magic barrier would remain standing Fortunately, the situation wasnt completely hopeless, not for Shi Feng, at least. After analyzing the structure of the caves magic barrier with his expertise as a Great Grandmaster Magician, Shi Feng easily snuck through the magic barrier without giving the five Soul Devourers any chance to attack him. Then, he quickly made his way into the cave. Once inside the cave, Shi Feng found that the deeper he traveled into the cave, the denser the Eternal Energy around him became. After walking for some time, Shi Feng eventually arrived at an altar the size of several football fields. Meanwhile, the Eternal Energy around this altar was as dense as the Eternal Energy found on the Hundred Refinement Buildings second floor. Before Shi Feng could get close to the altar, he was frozen in place by a Divine Might originating from the altar. More specifically, the Divine Might came from a carbonized black sword suspended above the altar. With great struggle, Shi Feng raised his head to look at the carbonized sword suspended in the air. Then, when he got a clear look at the sword, goosebumps rose all over his body. Why is the Shadow Incinerator here? Chapter 3314 - Chapter 388 - Strongest Demigod Chapter 388 C Strongest Demigod Shadow Incinerator! This was a name known by all throughout the Greater Gods Domain during Shi Fengs previous life. Just hearing this name would give the various Realms a huge headache. This was because the Shadow Incinerator had destroyed dozens of Realms in the Greater Gods Domain! Meanwhile, the Demigod who wielded the Shadow Incinerator to commit these atrocities was even labeled as the strongest Demigod in the Greater Gods Domain. Shouldnt the Shadow Incinerator be in the hands of the Crimson Wing? Shi Feng was greatly confused as he looked at the carbonized sword hovering above the altar. From what Shi Feng could remember, the Shadow Incinerators wielder, Crimson Wing Ife, was never imprisoned by the Ancient Gods. There was no way the Ancient Gods could have imprisoned her, either. One of the reasons Ife was labeled as the strongest Demigod was because she had slain a total of eight Ancient Gods with the help of the Shadow Incinerator. Out of these eight Ancient Gods, she had even slain two simultaneously. Not to mention, in the current timeline, the Ancient Gods still did not have any reason to imprison Ife. At this point in time, Ife should be nothing more than a newly-born Demigod in the Angel Sanctuary. She should have yet to become one of the Angel Sanctuarys Twelve Wings, a position awarded to the twelve strongest Demigods in the Angel Sanctuary. It would only be sometime later before Ife would win the title of Crimson Wing and become one of the Twelve Wings. As for the Shadow Incinerator, Ife had always been its wielder as far as Shi Feng could remember. The weapon had never existed anywhere else before. He had even watched battle videos of Ife wielding it when competing for a spot among the Twelve Wings. Could this be a fake? Shi Feng carefully scrutinized the carbonized sword in the air. However, even after plenty of observation, he couldnt find any signs of the carbonized sword being a fake Shadow Incinerator. Whether it was the carbonized swords appearance or terrifying Divine Might, both were similar to what he saw and experienced in Ifes battle video. In fact, the carbonized sword before him felt stronger than the one in the battle video. After Ife became the Strongest Demigod, the Shadow Incinerator instantly rose to fifth place in the Seven Luminaries Alliances Divine Weapon List. As for the top four Divine Weapons, they were only recorded in the Greater Gods Domains history and had never appeared in the modern era. Meanwhile, according to the Seven Luminaries Alliances description of the Shadow Incinerator, Ife could limit the mobility of Tier 6 players simply by unsheathing the weapon and releasing its Divine Might. The Shadow Incinerators Divine Might was so powerful that even ordinary Tier 6 Gods would more or less be affected, and only existences at the caliber of Ancient Gods could ignore it. However, even though the Shadow Incinerator before him was without a wielder, the Divine Might it naturally radiated was enough to immobilize him, someone who possessed Physique and Basic Attributes at the Tier 5 standard. It wouldnt be inaccurate to say that the carbonized sword hovering above the altar was stronger than the Shadow Incinerator described in records. While Shi Feng was wondering how he could free himself from the effects of the Shadow Incinerators Divine Might, the sound of several system notifications suddenly entered his ears. System: You have started the Greater Gods Domains Mythic Main Storyline Quest Incinerators Shadow. Quest Content: Undo the myriad Ancient Gods seal. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. System Warning: The Shadow Incinerator has bound your Immortal Soul. You are required to undo the Shadow Incinerators Divine Might Seal within 24 hours. Otherwise, the Shadow Incinerator will devour your Immortal Soul, and you will never be able to log into Gods Domain again. A Mythic Main Storyline Quest? Divine Might Seal? What the heck is this?! Shi Feng felt as if an explosion had just gone off in his mind when he saw the system notifications. Main Storyline Quests in the Greater Gods Domain were extremely dangerous. Because of this, once a Main Storyline Quest reached the Legendary rank, the system would give players the option to accept or refuse it. Yet, he did not receive such an option for the Mythic Main Storyline Quest he triggered. He was forced to accept the quest, regardless of his will. To make matters worse, he had to complete the quest within 24 hours or face Soul Annihilation Rather than a quest, itd be more appropriate to consider this a trap set for players who had accidentally stumbled upon the Shadow Incinerator. Unfortunately, the systems timer did not stop counting down, irregardless of what Shi Feng thought of the situation. I need to quickly remove the seal! After seeing the countdown timer, Shi Feng no longer cared whether the Shadow Incinerator before him was real or fake. His number one priority was to undo the Divine Might Seal on him. Different from undoing a magic barrier seal, the process of undoing a Divine Might Seal did not involve the players mastery over mana. It only involved the players Concentration, and it could be said to be the most troublesome type of seal in Gods Domain. Fortunately, I dabbled a little in Divine Might Seals in the past. Otherwise, Id need at least several months to break this seal. Shi Feng could feel several searing chains in the depths of his mind, and just spreading his senses over them caused him to experience excruciating pain. Divine Might Seals were a kind of mental attack in Gods Domain. It was also a method of attack players would gain after reaching Tier 6. Only, compared to Tier 6 Gods, the mental attacks of Tier 6 players were nothing but a joke. At best, it could be used as a deterrence against players of the same tiers. Hence, few players would bother researching mental attacks. In the case of Tier 6 NPCs and Tier 6 monsters, though, they could often be seen using mental attacks. Hence, to have an easier time dealing with certain Tier 6 NPCs, Shi Feng went out of his way to research mental attack methods, and among the attack methods he researched were Divine Might Seals. The process of unraveling a Divine Might Seal was simple. All he needed to do was find the seals mental nodes and transform his Concentration into a weapon to attack these nodes. So long as he could destroy these nodes, the Divine Might Seal would be finished. After several hours passed, Shi Feng finally finished inspecting the seal in the depths of his mind. Although the process was excruciatingly painful, it was a necessary step to unravel the seal. There are eight mental nodes. Thats more than I expected. When Shi Feng saw that he only had 16 hours remaining, he couldnt help but grow a little anxious. I need to work faster. Normally, breaking a mental node required two or three hours of continuous effort. Now that he had eight mental nodes to deal with and only had 16 hours remaining, he could only afford to spend, at most, two hours on each node. However, after Shi Feng shaped his Concentration into a blade and smashed it into one of the searing chains in his mind, he couldnt help but be dumbfounded by the results. No damage? Chapter 3315 - Chapter 389 - Tier 6 Concentration Chapter 389 C Tier 6 Concentration When Shi Feng saw no damage done to the illusory chain, surprise and consternation filled him. In Gods Domain, items constructed by the mind would more or less wear each other out when struck together. After all, mental objects were merely bodies of energy, and collision between two mental objects would result in both sides expending parts of their energy to mitigate the impact. It was just that most players in Gods Domain did not know how to mold their Concentration into weapons. Hence, most players were unable to do anything about Divine Might Seals. However, so long as players could mold their Concentration into an object, it was only a matter of time before they could break a Divine Might Seal. They wouldnt even need to find the seals mental nodes to break it. Of course, the process would naturally be faster if they could target the mental nodes. Hence, the current situation confounded Shi Feng a little. A collision between mental objects would have definitely resulted in a loss of mental energy to a certain extent. Could these chains not be made up of mental energy? Shi Feng wondered as he scrutinized the illusory metal spheres responsible for linking the illusory chains with one another. Currently, there were over a thousand such metal spheres in his mental sea. Although all of these metal spheres looked to be mental nodes at first glance, only eight of them were actually responsible for holding up the foundation of the Divine Might Seal. However, no matter how Shi Feng looked at these eight metal spheres, they were undoubtedly mental objects. In other words, so long as they were struck by a foreign mass of mental energy, they should lose some of their own mental energy. Yet, that did not seem to have happened Is it because my Concentration standard is lacking? Is that why these metal spheres can ignore my attack? This was the only explanation Shi Feng could come up with after racking his mind. However, upon coming to this conclusion, he couldnt help but have a headache. Currently, there was no doubt that he had already pushed the boundaries of a Tier 4 player, his Concentration reaching the Tier 5 Peak standard. Moreover, he had only reached this standard after becoming a Great Grandmaster Magician. Otherwise, he would only be at the Tier 5 Advanced standard. It should be known that most Tier 5 players didnt even have Tier 5 Advanced Concentration. Instead, they would be stuck at the Tier 5 Basic standard. This was because, unlike levels, players could not develop their Concentration by simply killing monsters or completing quests. Normally, if players wished to improve their Concentration standard, they would have to continuously sharpen their mental will and learn how to control it. Apart from that, players could also improve their Concentration standard by raising their tiers. After players reached a higher tier and gained a stronger Physique, the stronger Physique would subtly influence the improvement of their Concentration. For players who got promoted to Tier 5, their Physique could help to develop their Concentration until the Tier 5 Basic standard. However, this method of raising ones tier to develop ones Concentration could only be used up till Tier 5, which was why most Tier 5 players Concentration would only be at the Tier 5 Basic standard. As for why this method couldnt be used up to Tier 6, it was because of the requirements to get promoted to Tier 6. In Gods Domain, players seeking to reach Tier 6 would face three major problems. The first and second problems were related to the Divine Body. Firstly, players needed to gather the 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal[1] required to construct a Divine Body. Secondly, players needed to know how to construct a Divine Body. As for the third problem, it was the requirement of having Tier 6 Concentration! If players couldnt raise their Concentration standard to Tier 6, they would be incapable of getting promoted to Tier 6. This was why many Tier 5 experts would get stuck at the cusp of Tier 6. As for individuals like Shi Feng, who possessed Tier 5 Peak Concentration as a Tier 4 player, they were exceedingly rare in Gods Domain. The only reason Shi Feng could achieve such a standard was that he had already sharpened his mental will to its limits and could not only materialize it but also materialize it into a metal object. It was also because he had such control over his mental will that he could remain undeterred by Tier 6 Divine Might. Currently, though, if Shi Feng wished to further develop his Concentration and push it to the Tier 6 standard, he would need to receive a qualitative improvement to the essence of his life, which would, in turn, allow his mental energy to achieve a qualitative leap. Otherwise, there was no way he could push his Concentration to the Tier 6 standard as a Tier 4 player. After all, reaching Tier 6 in Concentration meant going beyond the realm of mortals and entering the rank of Gods. If he had Tier 6 Concentration, he could make mortals kneel with nothing but a thought, which was also the so-called Divine Might. Although Shi Feng could upgrade the Winter of Eternal Night to the Legendary rank to elevate his Physique to the Tier 5 standard, that would not change his Life Rating. He would still be incapable of pushing his Concentration to Tier 6. No, there is a way! Shi Feng smiled as a sudden flash of inspiration hit him. Then, he took out the damaged Sacred Armor from his bag space. I didnt think that Thunderstorm would come to my aid one day. System: You are attempting to equip a suit of Sacred Armor. To wield its effects, you will need to fully grasp the Sacred Armors foundational mana. Do you still wish to equip it? Equip it! Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Although the current Mana Equipment Set he used was excellent, it was still vastly inferior to a damaged suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor. Not to mention, the Sacred Armor possessed a hidden ability that his Mana Equipment Set did not! There was a fundamental difference between Mana Equipment and Sacred Armor in Gods Domain. Mana Equipment was made of magic arrays and magic patterns that drew on mana from the surrounding environment to enable players to exhibit strength far beyond what they possessed. On the other hand, Sacred Mana was the exact opposite. Sacred Armor on its own was a mana source, and players could gain greater strength by manipulating this mana source. Simply put, Sacred Armor offered players access to a second mana source. So, the more skilled players were at manipulating mana, the more benefits they could get from a suit of Sacred Armor. Eventually, players could even evolve a suit of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor into a Legendary Equipment Set that was fully compatible with them. However, apart from having the basic properties of a mana source, Sacred Armor also came with a hidden abilitythe ability to substitute the Mana Body of its wearer! In short, Sacred Armor could be modified to become a new Mana Body for players. Only, nobody would do such a thing under normal circumstances. Firstly, it was unnecessary. If players wanted a strong Mana Body, they could create one when getting promoted to Tier 5. If they failed to create a Mana Body with satisfactory standards, there was always the option of starting a new account. After all, Saint Armor could only ever be a substitute. Unless players had no desire to ascend to Tier 6, they would still need to use their own Tier 5 Mana Body when constructing their Divine Body. Secondly, the process of using Sacred Armor as a replacement for ones primary mana source was completely different from manipulating Sacred Armor as a secondary mana source. This was because the mana source of Sacred Armor had different operating principles than the Mana Body of players. Trying to use Sacred Armor as a replacement for the Mana Body was akin to manipulating a puppet to manipulate another puppet. However, Shi Feng did not need to concern himself with these problems. This was because he only aimed to have the Sacred Armor replace his Mana Body so that it could change his Life Rating. I must succeed! After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng promptly started to merge the Tier 5 Mana Body he created in the Hundred Refinement Building into the Sacred Armor. TL Notes: [1]100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal: In the main story, an ordinary Divine Body only costs 50,000 units for each construction attempt, whereas a Superior Divine Body costs 100,000 units for each attempt. However, Im not sure if the author still remembers the ordinary version. Chapter 3316 - Chapter 390 - Shadow Incinerator Chapter 390 C Shadow Incinerator So this is why nobody has managed to repair damaged Sacred Armor. This level of craftsmanship is far beyond modern players. When Shi Feng saw the magic arrays and divine patterns engraved within the Sacred Armor, he had his knowledge of Sacred Armor renewed. Although he had known about the existence of Sacred Armor during his previous life, he had never used one. Firstly, Epic Sacred Armor was of no use to him. Secondly, Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor was incredibly rare, their rarity surpassed only by Divine Equipment. Even apex powers wouldnt have more than a few suits of Fragmented Legendary Sacred Armor in their possession, so non-apex powers would naturally have an even more difficult time getting their hands on a suit. Meanwhile, after getting a close look at the magic arrays in the Sacred Armor, he finally understood what made Sacred Armor amazing. There was a mana source hidden inside the Sacred Armor, and this mana source was incredibly volatile. The volatility of the mana was comparable to that of Ancient Gods. It definitely wasnt a mana source players could use under normal circumstances. However, the magic arrays and divine patterns in the Sacred Armor acted to restrain this mana source, effectively weakening it. Moreover, the Sacred Armor itself was akin to a players body, and it allowed players to integrate their consciousness with it. Meanwhile, what players needed to do after donning a suit of Sacred Armor was to synchronize their mana with the Sacred Armors mana. Then, they could manipulate the volatile mana source within the Sacred Armor using the Sacred Armors mana. There were three layers of seals inside the Sacred Armor, and they functioned specifically to restrain the volatile mana source. The better players were at controlling the Sacred Armors mana, the more seals they could lift, and the more volatile mana they could use. By the time players had fully acclimatized themselves with the volatile mana and could remove all three seals, they could wield mana much stronger than the average Tier 6 Divine Body could produce. One could say that the Sacred Mana was a Legacy. It was a Legacy that allowed players to wield mana rivaling that of Ancient Gods. Currently, the Saint Armor in Shi Fengs possession had its sealing magic arrays damaged, making it impossible to unravel them. Hence, it could not be upgraded into a Legendary Equipment Set. While fixing these magic arrays would fix this problem, these magic arrays were so complex that not even a Great Grandmaster Magician could hope to repair them. A Craftsman Magician would be needed for this task, at the very least. A Craftsman Magician! Even looking back throughout the Greater Gods Domains long history, very few Craftsman Magicians had ever existed. During his previous life, Shi Feng had never even heard of a Craftsman Magician appearing in the modern era. He only knew that there were several Great Grandmaster Magicians who were close to reaching the Craftsman rank. However, unless these people came across a heaven-defying opportunity, they would never be able to cross the final threshold in their lifetimes. Fortunately, Shi Fengs goal wasnt to repair the damaged magic arrays. He only needed to construct new magic arrays on top of them. Subsequently, time passed by quickly, and twelve hours had gone by in the blink of an eye. After Shi Feng constructed multiple Great Grandmaster Magic Arrays inside the Sacred Armor, the Sacred Armor gradually transformed into a new Mana Body for him. When Shi Feng completed the final magic array, the divine patterns engraved on the Sacred Armor suddenly glowed. What an incredible mana source! Looking at the mana source inside the Sacred Armor, Shi Feng saw it seemingly coming back to life as it began devouring all mana in its surroundings with the help of the Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Array he had constructed. Subsequently, the mana inside the altars cavern began gathering around Shi Feng, causing the density of the mana around him to skyrocket. In only a moment, the mana around Shi Feng had achieved a solid state. In addition, even the surrounding Eternal Energy had begun to flood the inside of the Sacred Armor before getting devoured by the mana source there. Meanwhile, as the mana source started to devour mana and Eternal Energy, Shi Feng could also feel his Concentration standard gradually increasing. Or, more specifically, he could feel his Life Rating increasing. In only a few minutes, an indescribable Divine Might began spreading from Shi Fengs body. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng regained the ability to move his body, albeit with difficulty. Great! Its a success! When Shi Feng sensed his brimming mental energy and volatile mana, he couldnt help but be surprised. Is this the strength of a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body? Currently, the Tier 5 Mana Body he constructed using the Sacred Armor not only allowed his Concentration to reach the Tier 6 Basic standard, but it even generated mana much stronger than what the Legendary-ranked Winter of Eternal Night possessed. At this time, Shi Feng even suspected the Tier 4 Skills and Spells he used could already match the power of Tier 5 Skills and Spells used by Tier 5 players. However, Shi Feng did not continue inspecting his new Mana Body. Instead, he promptly began forming mental blades to attack the illusory metal spheres in his mental sea. With the assistance of his Tier 6 Concentration, Shi Feng could not only form the mental blades a lot quicker, but the strength of these mental blades was also vastly superior to the ones he had previously created. In no time, five realistic blades flew at a metal sphere. Boom Boom Boom Five explosions rang out one after another. The five mental blades Shi Feng formed instantly burst apart upon coming into contact with the metal sphere. However, they also left behind five deep grooves on the metal sphere. Were Tier 6 mental blades this powerful? Shi Feng was a little stunned when he saw the damage he had caused to the metal sphere. While it was true anyone capable of creating mental objects could break the mental nodes of a Divine Might Seal, the process was by no means a quick one. Normally, even with Tier 6 Concentration, five attacks were nowhere near enough to cause significant damage to a mental node. It was why most Tier 6 experts would get headaches when dealing with Divine Might Seals. However, Shi Feng didnt dwell on the matter for long. He didnt have much time left to undo the Divine Might Seal, so he promptly resumed attacking the metal sphere. One mental node Two mental nodes Three mental nodes Contrary to Shi Fengs initial expectations, he did not need 16 hours to destroy all eight mental nodes. Only an hour after he had started his offensive, the eighth mental node shattered under the attacks of his mental blades. At the same time, the many illusory chains that covered his mental sea gradually faded out of existence. When Shi Feng sighed in relief and opened his eyes, he promptly noticed a change in the Shadow Incinerator hovering above the altar. The chains that originally encircled the Shadow Incinerator had started to crumble. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng could hear the sound of a beating heart. It sounded like something was coming back to life. Before Shi Feng could figure out what was happening, the Shadow Incinerator suddenly appeared before him. At this time, the terrifying Divine Might it originally radiated was completely gone, and the weapon looked like it was waiting for Shi Feng to wield it. System: You have passed the Shadow Incinerators trial. Do you wish to become the Shadow Incinerators wielder? System: You have 10 seconds to decide. System Warning: The Shadow Incinerator was sealed by the myriad Ancient Gods. So long as you become its wielder, you will become the myriad Ancient Gods enemy. Favorability of all Ancient Gods will be reduced to Hostile. Chapter 3317 - Chapter 391 - Great Sinner Black Flame Chapter 391 C Great Sinner Black Flame All Ancient Gods will become hostile to me? Shi Feng gasped when he saw the system notification. Ancient Gods were the pinnacle of power in the Greater Gods Domain. They were also the current rulers of the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries. After reaching Tier 6, if players wished to develop themselves further, they were bound to have dealings with these Ancient Gods sooner or later. Normally, Tier 6 experts would have to go to great lengths just to gain a few Favorability points from an Ancient God. Yet, wielding the Shadow Incinerator would instantly cause the Ancient Gods Favorability of him to plummet to negative 3,000 points, which was also the requirement for the Hostile status threshold. At this abysmal Favorability, any Ancient God he encountered would almost certainly attack him without question. In other words, wielding the Shadow Incinerator would mean severing his path as a Tier 6 player. Do I become its wielder? Shi Feng hesitated as he looked at the carbonized sword before him. Honestly, it no longer mattered whether the Shadow Incinerator before him was the real deal or an imitation. From the powerful Divine Might it previously radiated, there was no doubt it was a Divine Artifact-ranked weapon. There werent many chances to obtain a Divine Weapon in the Greater Gods Domain. If he missed this chance, he might never come across another for the rest of his life. Yet, becoming the Shadow Incinerators wielder would also mean becoming enemies with the entire Greater Gods Domain. Although the myriad Ancient Gods would almost never show themselves in the Greater Gods Domain, players who have reached the apex of the Greater Gods Domain would know that the myriad Ancient Gods had never disappeared. On the contrary, they were the de facto owners of many historical ruins and NPC forces. They even controlled the resources necessary for players to become three-star mental strength grandmasters. Without the Ancient Gods resources, the difficulty for players to become three-star mental strength grandmasters in the real world would increase tenfold. System: You have three seconds left to decide. System: You have two seconds left to decide. System: You have one second left to decide. To hell with it! When the timer was about to reach zero, Shi Feng reached out and held onto the Shadow Incinerators hilt. Despite having many dealings with the Ancient Gods during his previous life, he had still failed to get his hands on a Divine Weapon. All he got in return was a bunch of apex powers coming after his head. If he had a Divine Weapon in hand back then, those apex powers wouldnt have dared to hunt him so openly. Now that he had a chance to get his hands on a Divine Weapon, so what if he had to become enemies with the myriad Ancient Gods? It should be known that Ife, the Crimson Wing, had slain eight Ancient Gods with the Shadow Incinerator. If not for Ife suddenly going missing, her name would have definitely been among the Greater Gods Domains Sixteen Great Tier 6 NPCs. After Shi Feng became the Shadow Incinerators wielder, the weapons full Attribute Panel appeared before him. [Shadow Incinerator (Dark Soul)] (One-handed Sword, Sealed Godly Relic) Equipment Requirement: Soul-Bound Attack Power (400% of Strength) Attack Speed (2% of Strength and Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks ignore 100% of all defensive effects; Attacks have a 10% chance of triggering the Soul Devour effect; Attacks have a 50% chance of dealing 500% damage; Attacks cause an additional 100% damage to all creatures below Tier 6; Ignore Levels +60; All Attributes increased by 100%; Physique increased by 50%; Reaction speed increased by 40%; Effects of all attacks increased by two ranks (up to Tier 6 Peak); The strength of Mana increased by one rank; Concentration increased by one rank. Additional Passive Skill- Incinerators Body: Weakens all damage received by 40% and increases World Perception by one rank. Additional Active Skill 1- Incinerators Phantasm: Sacrifice 20 Levels to summon the Phantasm of a player. The Phantasm can only be two tiers higher than the Shadow Incinerators wielder. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 10 natural days Additional Active Skill 2- The End: With death as the price, incite all of the Shadow Incinerators power to deal a devastating blow to a 5,000-yard radius. The stronger the soul sacrificed, the stronger the attack will be (up to Tier 6 Peak). The myriad Ancient Gods have placed four seals on the Shadow Incinerator. Wielding the Shadow Incinerator will cause continuous mental scorching. Deaths while wielding the Shadow Incinerator will result in a loss of 50 points in all Attributes. A Godly Relic? Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he saw the Shadow Incinerators stats. Godly Relics were different from other items. They were items that had existed since the birth of Gods Domain and were not specifically categorized. As a result, Godly Relics could vary drastically in strength, with stronger ones being superior to even Divine Artifacts and weaker ones being inferior to even Legendary items. However, the Shadow Incinerator was clearly among the top end of Godly Relics in terms of strength. Despite having four seals placed on it, the Shadow Incinerator was still stronger than Fragmented Legendary Weapons. In terms of Basic Attributes, it was already close to matching Legendary Equipment. If all of the Shadow Incinerators seals were removed, he couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful it could become. If Shi Feng had to point out a flaw with the Shadow Incinerator, it would have to be the weapon being overly extreme. The Active Skills that came with the weapon were double-edged weapons that should never be used unless absolutely necessary. Honestly, even using it normally was a huge problem. Currently, Shi Feng was experiencing searing pain in his mind just by holding onto the Shadow Incinerator. If he had to fight while suffering through this pain, there was no way he could give the fight his all. However, Shi Feng also had to admit that the Shadow Incinerator was truly powerful. In his current state, he could exhibit strength near the Tier 6 standard even through his normal attacks. If he executed a combat technique, he could most certainly exhibit Tier 6 power. While Shi Feng was inspecting the carbonized sword in his hand, he suddenly received a series of system notifications. System: You have accepted the Greater Gods Domains Mythical Main Storyline Quest Incinerators Shadow. Quest Content: Undo all of the Shadow Incinerators seals. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. System: All Ancient Gods have become hostile to you. System: You have received the Great Sinner title. As soon as the system notifications ended, the color of Shi Fengs ID instantly went from white to black. On top of that, his ID was now surrounded by dark fog, an indicator of his identity as a Great Sinner. Crap! Isnt this too much?! Shi Feng couldnt help but curse as he looked at his ID. Dark Players who murdered other players all day long could, at most, become a Sinner. Even the sin of murdering an ancient empires emperor would only turn one into a Sinner and cause one to be hunted by the NPCs of said empire. In comparison, players who became Great Sinners would not only be hunted by all NPCs, but even players would be tempted to join in on the hunt. This was because anyone who managed to capture a Great Sinner could turn the latter in to the Adventurers Association for a piece of Legendary Equipment that had high compatibility with them. To make matters worse, once players became a Great Sinner, they could never get rid of the title. It was a soul-bound title, and it would follow them even if they started a new account. Before Shi Feng could swear a few more times, the space above the altar suddenly shattered, revealing a space-time passage. Then, a 20-meter-tall giant emerged from the passage, the giant wearing a white robe that fully hid their appearance. When this giant appeared, Shi Feng felt as if a bomb had gone off in his head. Immediately afterward, a tsunami-like Divine Might, far stronger than even the Shadow Incinerators, spread from the giant. [? ? ?] (Ancient God) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Great Sinner Black Flame! Receive the judgment of the Gods! Before the giants furious shout could reverberate across the cavern, the giant summoned an axe of light in their hand and swung it at Shi Feng. TL Notes: For the Shadow Incinerators description, note that I have changed Additional Profound Inheritance 1/2 -> Additional Active Skill 1/2. The raws translate to Additional Profound Skill, which leads me to believe that the author made a typo. Chapter 3318 - Chapter 392 - Ancient Gods Might Chapter 392 C Ancient Gods Might Outside the floating island atop the void sea Numerous fleets braved the attacks of countless Void Sea Serpents and Void Sea Dragons as they tried to cross the void sea. There would be ships sinking and Void Creatures falling at every moment. The grandeur of the battle was unprecedented in the Miniature Ancient World. However, rather than the ongoing battle on the sea, the various players fighting on the sea paid more attention to the player army gathered around the floating island. Compared to the player army floating in mid-air around the island, the player army on the sea was nothing but a joke. Is this the Paimon Conglomerates strength? Franz, commander of the Tower Alliances sixth trump card legion and the Desolate Star Corporations Second Successor, was in awe and shock as he looked at the hundreds of thousands of figures hovering next to the floating island. Although the Desolate Star Corporation was considered first-rate among the many corporations in the Greater World, its strength in Gods Domain was nowhere close to matching the Paimon Conglomerate. Comparing the Desolate Star Corporation with the Paimon Conglomerate would be akin to comparing a candle flame to a forest fire. Despite being second in the Desolate Star Corporations line of succession, Franz had to go to great lengths to organize a 100-man team of Tier 4 experts. Although many of his teams Tier 4 experts were fourth-floor experts, which made it significantly stronger than the average 100-man Tier 4 team, it was still nothing compared to the forces Dira managed to summon. An army of several hundred thousand Tier 4 experts. Although most of these experts were only at the third-floor standard, even if only one-tenth of them were fourth-floor experts, that would still be several tens of thousands of fourth-floor experts. Not to mention, apart from Tier 4 experts, there were also over a thousand Tier 5 experts in Diras army. It should be known that these Tier 5 experts werent instant Tier 5 players. Instead, they were all veteran experts who had previously chosen to stay at Tier 4 because they couldnt create a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. After closely examining these Tier 5 experts, Franz found over 100 titled experts he recognized. Over 100 Tier 5 titled experts! Although the Desolate Star Corporation had the strength to mobilize such a force, it had to be extremely cautious when doing so. After all, the corporation only had several hundred Tier 5 titled experts under its command. Moreover, these titled experts came from several different hegemonic powers. The corporation couldnt simply mobilize them whenever it wanted. However, it took only Dira, or, more specifically, the Divine Seal Saint, only one word to mobilize all these Tier 5 titled experts. At this time, Favra, standing next to Franz, sighed and said, We should hurry up and break through these monsters. If we spend too much time here, we might end up getting implicated. Favra wasnt surprised by the sight of the Paimon Conglomerates Tier 4 army since she had seen much grander sights. However, the Divine Seal Saint getting over 1,000 Tier 5 experts into the World Passage was beyond her expectations. The Divine Seal Saint could already launch an invasion into a Gods Domain with so many Tier 5 experts, let alone the Miniature Ancient World. It seems Zero Wing is doomed this time, Death Omen said, sighing ruefully as she looked at the army of Tier 4 and Tier 5 experts in the sky. Its a pity we wont get to enter the island to look around since Dira doesnt think anything of us. Death Omen couldnt help but grow melancholic when she thought of her current situation. She used to be a Tier 6 expert standing at the pinnacle on the main continent. Yet, after entering the Miniature Ancient World, she wasnt even qualified to be a part of Diras army, let alone stand at the Miniature Ancient Worlds apex. Dont worry, Big Sis Omen! It wont be long before I become a core member of Paimon! At that time, we wont even need to care about Diras opinion! Thousand Scars said, fighting spirit burning in her eyes as she looked at White Owl, who was currently commanding Diras army. In the past, Thousand Scars thought that becoming an internal member of the Paimon Conglomerate was already high enough of a goal. After all, if she became an internal member, even hegemonic powers would take the initiative to curry favor with her. However, after seeing White Owl, Thousand Scars learned that becoming an internal member was far from enough. Only by becoming a core paragon such as White Owl could she truly be considered to have reached the apex of Gods Domain. Even a young master like Dira would have to keep his arrogance in check when asking White Owl for help. Outside the floating island, over a thousand Level 140, Tier 5 experts orderly gathered in front of White Owl, none daring to step out of line. At this time, a middle-aged male Oracle approached White Owl and confidently said, Weve finished sealing the entire island, Commander Owl. Not even a Tier 6 expert should think of escaping easily. Even after hearing the middle-aged Oracles bold claim, none of the Tier 5 experts opened their mouths to refute him. On the contrary, all of them had full faith in his words. Besides being a titled expert, the middle-aged Oracle was also a top-tier Grandmaster Magician. A magic barrier he personally created could easily keep the average Tier 6 expert trapped for half an hour. Moreover, that was only when 500 Tier 4 magical-class experts operated the magic barrier. Currently, several dozen Tier 5 experts were responsible for operating the magic barrier the middle-aged Oracle had erected around the island. On top of that, they also had the support of over a thousand Tier 4 magical-class experts. In its current state, the magic barrier could easily trap a Tier 6 expert for two or three hours. Good. White Owl nodded. Once we are inside, all you Tier 5s follow me to kill the two experts I mentioned as quickly as possible. As for everyone else, cordon off the town and do not let any of the trial challengers escape. Understood! Upon hearing White Owls command, everyone drew their weapons and got ready to charge into the floating island with White Owl. Just as White Owl was about to inform Dira about the start of their attack, a white beam suddenly came from the islands depths. Boom! Following the beam, the barrier surrounding the island shattered like glass and vanished. As a result, all the magical-class players maintaining it suffered a backlash and died on the spot, their bodies falling into the void sea below An ambush? Did we get attacked? The experts gathered outside the floating island were stunned by this unexpected development. However, before anyone could make sense of what had happened, a mighty aura spread from the island and exerted overpowering pressure on the players caught within its range. Immediately, the hundreds of thousands of Tier 4 experts hovering next to the island lost their lives and fell into the void sea. As for the Tier 5 experts, although they managed to cling onto their lives, that was all they could do. The pressure exerted by the mighty aura thoroughly paralyzed them. Subsequently, a cloaked Swordsman could be seen suddenly flying out of the island. Meanwhile, whether it was White Owl and Dira or Death Omen and Thousand Scars, they instantly recognized the cloaked Swordsman when they saw his face. Black Flame? Chapter 3319 - Chapter 393 - Black Flames Strength? Chapter 393 C Black Flames Strength? What happened? All those Tier 4 experts are gone, just like that? When the players fighting against the innumerable Void Creatures on the void sea saw the army of several hundred thousand Tier 4 experts plunging into the sea, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Tell me Im dreaming, Aunt Franz mumbled to Favra when he saw the Paimon Conglomerates Tier 4 experts dropping like flies. Even with his status, this was the first time he had seen several hundred thousand Tier 4 experts getting killed in the blink of an eye. The shock Franz experienced was further intensified when he saw Shi Feng suddenly emerging from the floating island and quietly watching the army of Tier 4 experts plunging into the ocean like a heavenly god. Normally, a Tier 4 army of such size could take on even Tier 6 experts with the help of a magic barrier. Yet, now, the entire army had gotten obliterated. Everything had happened so quickly that Franz didnt even know what had happened. Fear! Unprecedented fear sprouted in the depths of Franzs heart. It should be known that the Tier 4 experts in the Paimon Conglomerates army werent a bunch of random nobodies. They would be regarded as mid-level mainstays if put in an ordinary hegemonic power. Many among them were even experts superior to him. If even these experts were erased in the blink of an eye, it went without saying he would do no better than them if put in their shoes. Divine Might! With her wealth of experience, Favra quickly understood the cause of the Tier 4 experts fall, and this realization caused her expression to grow serious. Thatsa Divine Might surpassing Tier 6 Gods! A Divine Might that has surpassed Tier 6 Gods? The fear in Franzs eyes intensified when he heard his aunts words. Doesnt that mean Yes! Thats an Ancient Gods Divine Might! Favra said in a grave tone. Although I dont know what Black Flame has done, he has indeed managed to borrow the strength of an Ancient God! Ancient Gods were existences beyond Tier 6 Gods. In the minds of the average player, Ancient Gods had long vanished from the Greater Gods Domain, and their existences were akin to myths that only existed in books. However, the various hegemonic powers knew that wasnt the case at all. Not only were Ancient Gods still present in the Greater Gods Domain, but they were also unavoidable existences for those seeking to ascend to the Greater Gods Domains apex. Meanwhile, the various hegemonic powers and conglomerates had one simple instruction for their members to do should they come across an Ancient God. Run! In the eyes of Ancient Gods, all existences beneath Tier 6 were no different than ants they could effortlessly crush if they were in a bad mood. Moreover, it wouldnt be a simple death. Players beneath Tier 5 would be at an incredibly high risk of suffering Soul Annihilation, while even Tier 5 players would have a real chance of suffering Soul Annihilation. Hence, Ancient Gods were existences even more terrifying than natural disasters. Is this an Ancient Gods strength? Outside the floating island, Saint Arms face turned pale as he looked at the hundreds of thousands of corpses floating on the void sea beneath him. Ancient Gods were rarely seen in the Greater Gods Domain, and there was very little information about them, even in the Paimon Conglomerates database. The only thing the Paimon Conglomerate was certain of was that Ancient Gods were existences to be feared. However, after witnessing the instant annihilation of several hundred thousand Tier 4 experts and the petrification of over a thousand Tier 5 experts, Saint Arm felt that Ancient Gods were even more terrifying than rumored. Lunatic! That Black Flame must be a lunatic! Hes trying to drag all of us down with him! Dira cursed and gnashed his teeth when he saw Shi Feng emerging from the floating island. He didnt think Shi Feng would be so crazy as to deliberately provoke an Ancient God to have them accompany him in death. Quick! Everyone, get rid of him! Only if he dies can we appease the Ancient Gods wrath! An Ancient Gods wrath was devastating, and all non-Tier 6 players would have a chance of suffering Soul Annihilation. At this time, Dira wasnt the only person to have figured out the situation. White Owl and the others also realized Shi Fengs plan. Immediately, they activated their respective Berserk Skills without hesitation, increasing their Basic Attributes to resist the powerful Divine Might. However, even White Owl, one of the Paimon Conglomerates Ten Great Paragons, could only exhibit one-third of her usual mobility under the effects of the Ancient Gods Divine Might. She couldnt use any powerful combat techniques in this state, so she could only rely on Tier 5 Skills to kill Shi Feng. Only, before White Owl could use a Tier 5 Skill, a 20-meter-tall giant clad in a white robe suddenly appeared before Shi Feng. Then, the axe of light the giant wielded transformed into thousands of blinding beams that attacked Shi Feng from all directions. The beams vaporized everything in their path. Even the Superior Mythic-ranked Void Sea Dragons that got struck were instantly reduced to ashes. By the time White Owl had reacted to the situation, over a hundred Tier 5 experts caught within the Ancient Gods attack radius had already gotten killed, their existences getting erased so thoroughly that they didnt even drop any of their equipment on death. At the end of the Ancient Gods attack, Shi Feng was the only person still alive within the giants attack radius. He blocked it? White Owls eyes widened in shock. Not even she had managed to react to the Ancient Gods attack. Yet, Shi Feng had not only reacted to it, but he had even blocked it in time. Although Shi Feng had lost over half of his HP from blocking the attack and the two swords he wielded were trembling violently, he could practically be considered unharmed compared to the Tier 5 experts who were instantly killed. White Owl wasnt the only person feeling dazed at this moment. Spectating from a distance, Death Omen and Thousand Scars were also stunned when they saw Shi Feng successfully blocking the Ancient Gods attack. However, before everyone could come back to their senses, the white-robed Ancient God reformed their axe of light and swung it, executing an attack that exuded power several times greater than before. Its over All of us are doomed Death Omen fell into despair when she sensed the mana gathering around the axe of light. By her estimates, the Ancient Gods following attack could most likely annihilate everything within a 10,000-yard radius at the very least. And if Tier 4 players like them were to die from this attack, they would most definitely suffer Soul Annihilation It seems this is my current limit, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the trembling Winter of Eternal Night. Then, after taking a deep breath, he looked to the white-robed Ancient God and said, But dont go thinking you can get rid of me so easily. After saying so, Shi Feng raised the Shadow Incinerator he wielded in his left hand at the Ancient God. Incinerators Phantasm! Chapter 3320 - Chapter 394 - God Versus God Chapter 394 C God Versus God Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Dammit! How did things turn out like this?! When Saint Arm sensed the terrifying amount of mana gathered in the Ancient Gods axe of light, a bitter look appeared on his face. At this point, even a fool could tell that the Ancient Gods attack was strong enough to erase all existences caught within its radius. If players were struck by the attack, losing a few levels and items would be the least of their worries. They might never be able to log back into Gods Domain. When White Owl saw the white-robed Ancient Gods axe of light, she let out a resigned sigh and said, It seems its over. If she was going up against a Tier 6 Gods attack, she was confident she could keep herself from suffering Soul Annihilation at the very least. However, Ancient Gods were unlike the average Tier 6 God. Every Ancient God had reached the extremes of a certain field. Even among Tier 6 players, few could even survive against an Ancient Gods all-out attack. So, it was even more impossible for a Tier 5 player like herself to survive it. However, when the Ancient Gods axe of light began its descent, and everyone could feel death approaching them, a 20-meter-tall man suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of Shi Feng. The man carried two exquisite longswords around his waist, and he wore a silver cloak with a hood that covered his head. Although the cloak made the mans face indistinct, it was still vaguely possible to see the mans sharp and seasoned eyes. As soon as this mysterious man appeared, everyones hearts inexplicably shuddered. NPC An NPC? Is it another God? No, hes not a God! Hes a player! When everyone saw the giant Swordsman, particularly the player symbol displayed above the Swordsmans head, they couldnt help but be confused. Firstly, they were confused as to how a player could have such a huge body. Secondly, they were confused by the frightening Divine Might the mysterious Swordsman radiated. The Swordsmans Divine Might not only felt as powerful as the Ancient Gods Divine Might, but it even felt vaguely superior. Why would such a Tier 6 player appear in this place? White Owl was similarly surprised to see the mysterious Swordsman. Could he be related to Zero Wing? Others might not know how a player managed to gain such a gigantic body, but White Owl did. In reality, it wasnt anything strange for a Tier 6 player to have a 20-meter-tall body. After all, players were responsible for constructing their own Tier 6 Divine Body. Most Tier 6 players might still have a standard human body when they initially got promoted to Tier 6, but so long as they managed to come into contact with the core secrets surrounding Tier 6, they could even create a 200-meter-tall body, let alone a 20-meter-tall body. Only, such Tier 6 players would normally only appear in the Twelve Sanctuaries. It wasnt often one would come across such a Tier 6 player in Realms outside the Twelve Sanctuaries. So, rather than the mysterious Swordsmans size, White Owl was more surprised by how the mysterious Swordsman would appear in a Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage. Before White Owl could make sense of the situation, the mysterious Swordsman could be seen unsheathing one of his longswords. The longsword had a crimson body covered in black patterns, and black electric arcs constantly circulated the weapons blade. As soon as the crimson longsword was unsheathed, the surrounding void started to repeatedly self-destruct and self-repair. It was evident that even the void was incapable of withstanding the longswords power. Vanish! After unsheathing the crimson sword, the mysterious Swordsman indifferently said only one word before swinging his longsword at the white-robed Ancient Gods terrifying axe of light. Immediately, a dark tide made up of black lightning arcs swarmed the descending brilliance. Boom! Suddenly, a blinding light filled the sky above the void sea, followed by a powerful shockwave that sent all players within vision range of the battlefield flying thousands of yards backward. At the same time, space-time cracks also formed across the void sea, annihilating any Void Sea Serpents and Void Sea Dragons next to them. After the explosion, the players present on the void sea couldnt help but gape in shock as they looked in the direction of the floating island. Its gone? That terrifying attack got erased? It should be known that the white-robed Ancient Gods attack had roused all mana within a 10,000-yard radius. Yet, the mysterious Swordsman had erased all of this mana. He actually blocked an Ancient Gods all-out attack? Is he really just a player? Saint Arm, who was struggling to keep himself from falling out of the sky, was greatly shocked as he watched the white-robed Ancient God trading blows with the mysterious Swordsman in the distance. He doubted that even the Paimon Conglomerates Three Overlords could defend against the white-robed Ancient Gods all-out attack. Yet, the mysterious Tier 6 Swordsman had accomplished it with seemingly little effort. In addition, what was even more unbelievable was that the mysterious Swordsman was currently trading blows with the white-robed Ancient God without losing any ground. It was also evident that the Ancient God wasnt holding back against the mysterious Swordsman as every collision between the axe of light and crimson longsword would generate a shockwave that could be clearly felt from thousands of yards away. As for the other players, their jaws dropped when they saw the exchange between the mysterious Swordsman and the white-robed Ancient God. It was especially so for newcomer players who had only recently come into contact with Gods Domain. Is this what battles between Tier 6 God-ranked players and Tier 6 Gods look like? This was the first time they had witnessed such a devastating confrontation since they entered Gods Domain until now. The area within a 3,000-yard radius of the mysterious Swordsman and white-robed Ancient God had become off-limits to all life as space-time rifts could be seen forming everywhere. Moreover, a beam of light or a dark thunderbolt would also emerge from this forbidden zone and strike a random location within a 10,000-yard radius from time to time, the impact of these attacks instantly vaporizing numerous Void Creatures and players. Even Bronze Warships, which should be capable of withstanding one Tier 6 attack, were instantly reduced to ashes when struck If these two mighty beings were to continue fighting, their battle could even devastate an entire continent. Compared to the newcomer players, though, the various hegemonic powers experts and the Paimon Conglomerates experts were in greater shock. He can hold his ground against an Ancient God? Who is this person? White Owl was greatly confused as she watched the mysterious Tier 6 Swordsman fight. Very few Tier 6 players could fight an Ancient God to a standstill in the Greater Gods Domain, and every one of these players was an apex existence in the Twelve Sanctuaries. However, as far as White Owl could tell, the mysterious Swordsman wasnt one of these apex existences. While White Owl was wondering about the mysterious Swordsmans identity, the person in question and the white-robed Ancient God used their respective ultimate moves. On the Ancient Gods side, the white-robed Ancient God summoned a star of light that illuminated the entire void sea, the star dozens of times larger than the floating island. If it struck the void sea, the resulting impact would obliterate all existences within a radius of several hundred thousand yards. On the other side, the mysterious Swordsman raised his longsword and released a world-ending thunderbolt that pierced the descending star. Boom! Following an explosion that echoed throughout the entire World Passage, everyones vision went dark. Immediately afterward, the sound of a system notification entered everyones ears. System Announcement: A regional system update has begun. All players within the affected region will be forcibly logged off. The update will last approximately two natural days. Chapter 394 C God Versus God Chapter 3321 - Chapter 395 - Ripple Chapter 395 C Ripple Greater Gods Domain, Starlight Realm, Sea of Giants: The Sea of Giants was one of the few seas in the Starlight Realm. Not only did it connect over a dozen kingdoms and empires, but it was also linked to the Endless Void. For ordinary and upper-ranking hegemonic powers looking to conduct cross-realm trade, they would typically send their flying ships to the Sea of Giants. But during the past few days, the various hegemonic powers were forced to abide by many restrictions in the Sea of Giants. As an example, one flying ship was currently stopped in front of a gigantic door and put under inspection by multiple Tier 4 players. Meanwhile, aboard this flying ship, a Level 195, Tier 6 Berserker who looked like a middle-aged man in his fifties wore a disgruntled expression as he looked at the Level 140, Tier 4 players inspecting the ship. Damn the Paimon Conglomerate! If it wants to cordon off the World Gate, just do it! Why does it have to involve us players looking to enter the Endless Void?! Keep your voice down! The Divine Seal Legions people are going to hear you! a Level 192, Tier 6 male Cleric said in a hushed voice. If they decide to attack us, none of us will be leaving this place alive. Tsk, Im just venting my frustrations a little, the Tier 6 Berserker said. When he heard the mention of the Divine Seal Legion, though, he promptly chose to speak softly. Were only passing by. Is there a need to put us through such a strict inspection? There are so many ships trying to cross this place, yet theyre taking their sweet time with the inspections. Were going to lose a lot of money if were late for our delivery. What can we do? the Tier 6 Cleric said, similarly displeased by the Tier 4 players inspecting their ship. Under normal circumstances, he could have annihilated these Tier 4 players with a wave of his hand. Now, though, he dared not do so. The Divine Seal Legion has already issued a statement that all players moving within 100,000 yards of the World Gate must undergo a strict inspection by Paimons members or get treated as a hostile force. There were several routes in the Sea of Giants that led to the Endless Void, but the safest route required them to pass by the newly-appeared World Gate. As for the other routes, they would be at risk of either becoming lost in the fog of the Sea of Giants depths or getting annihilated by a swarm of sea monsters. But that person called Black Flame sure is courageous. I cant believe thered be someone who would dare to kill Dira, the Tier 6 Berserker said as he looked at the gigantic door in the distance. Then, with a sympathetic look, he continued, But with the Divine Seal Legions Vice Commander Wind Seal guarding this place, neither Black Flame nor the members of the power behind him will be able to get past this place alive. Theyll probably be trapped in that miniature world for the rest of their lives. Wind Seal was a vice commander of the Divine Seal Legion, and few among Tier 6 could match him. Even though the Berserker and Cleric were similarly Tier 6 players, they wouldnt last more than a few moves against Wind Seal. Needless to say, a bunch of Tier 4 and Tier 5 players would have an even lower chance of surviving. The World Passage was the only reliable method to travel between worlds. In a situation where the World Passage was blocked, it would be utterly impossible for players to escape from the Miniature Ancient World. Meanwhile, once the Paimon Conglomerates army entered the Miniature Ancient World, it was only a matter of time before the conglomerate eliminated Black Flame and Zero Wing. While the Tier 6 Berserker and Tier 6 Cleric were chatting, a loud explosion suddenly came from the distant door. Immediately afterward, the area within a 500-kilometer radius of the World Gate transformed into a space-time rift, and all creatures caught within the rift were annihilated. An ambush? The Berserker and Cleric fell into a daze as they looked at the space-time rift in the distance. Space-time rifts were incredibly dangerous in Gods Domain. Even Tier 6 players would suffer heavy damage if they accidentally came into contact with one. Meanwhile, a massive space-time rift 1,000 kilometers wide had just opened up in front of them. Fortunately, the space-time rift did not exist for long as the Greater Gods Domain quickly mended it. When the rift disappeared, though, the players who were undergoing the Paimon Conglomerates inspection couldnt help but gasp. Gone! All 100 Tier 6 experts guarding the World Gate had disappeared! Even the Divine Seal Legions Vice Commander Wind Seal had vanished! Whats going on?! Everyone was shocked as they looked at the empty region the space-time rift had left behind. At this moment, even the World Gate had disappeared, let alone the Divine Seal Legion. The area was so empty that it didnt look like a World Gate had ever existed in this place. Meanwhile, after a short silence, the various players present promptly relayed this situation to their respective powers. The disappearance of a World Gate was no big deal. At most, everyone would feel a little surprised. However, the death of the Divine Seal Legions 100 Tier 6 experts and Vice Commander Wind Seal was an unbelievably shocking piece of news. The Divine Seal Legion might not have many members, but every one of them was a Tier 6 expert. Moreover, they were all equipped with weapons and equipment that could make even executives of hegemonic powers envious. At the same time, they were also an important force for the Paimon Conglomerate to maintain stability within its territory. Now that the Divine Seal Legion had lost not only 100 of such Tier 6 experts but also Vice Commander Wind Seal, it would definitely have a huge impact on the Paimon Conglomerates capabilities. In no time, news of the Paimon Conglomerates loss spread across the entire Starlight Realm, shocking both players and powers. Even the Starlight Realms several conglomerates were taken aback by the news, and they promptly dispatched people to find out what had happened at the Sea of Giants. At the same time, they also wanted to know if this incident was related to Black Flame. Of course, even though the various powers were investigating whether this incident was related to Black Flame, everyone in the Starlight Realm more or less knew the answer. The news of the Divine Seal Saint sending his subordinates to annihilate a miniature world had long spread across the entire Starlight Realm. Now that the army he dispatched to kill Black Flame was suddenly annihilated, anybody who said Black Flame was unrelated to this matter would be lying. However, once the various powers started their investigations, they quickly learned of shocking news. Of the players the Paimon Conglomerate had sent into the Miniature Ancient World, over 99% of them had their qualifications to log into Gods Domain permanently deprived. As for the rest, although they still had the qualifications to log into Gods Domain, the system forced them to stay offline for two days. Although the various powers had tried to get more information out of these players, they failed to come up with much information since the Paimon Conglomerate had issued a gag order. They only managed to find out two pieces of information. Firstly, Zero Wing, the Guild behind Black Flame, possessed an extraordinary background as it was revealed that the Guild possessed an expert capable of suppressing White Owl, one of the Paimon Conglomerates Ten Great Paragons. The expert in question had even fended off the first wave of attack launched by the Paimon Conglomerates army. Secondly, an Ancient God had appeared in the World Passage! For a time, the various powers theorized that Zero Wing should have something to do with the Ancient Gods appearance. It was also through this method that Zero Wing managed to cause the Paimon Conglomerate to suffer heavy losses. Meanwhile, the Paimon Conglomerates silence on the matter only served to cause everyone to suspect that Zero Wing shared close ties with the Ancient God in question. While the Starlight Realms players and powers were in an uproar, a short-haired girl wearing a white shirt anxiously entered the top-floor conference room of a 3,000-tall skyscraper, the magnificent structure sitting in the middle of a floating steel city in the Greater World. If Shi Feng was in this conference room, he would find that this valiant- and extraordinary-looking girl looked somewhat similar to White Owl. Only, compared to the White Owl in Gods Domain, the girl in the white shirt looked more mature and graceful. She was also close to reaching the three-star mental strength grandmaster standard already. Currently, there were around a dozen people seated in the conference room. After the girl in the white shirt entered the room, cold sweat rolled down her forehead as she was subjected to the mental pressure exerted by these people. White Owl, you should know why we called you here, right? Are you certain that man was evenly matched with an Ancient God? Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3322 - Chapter 396 - Zero Wings Members? Chapter 396 C Zero Wings Members? Star Lake City, Gods Domain Association: Inside a room on the 490th floor, following the sound of a mechanical airlock opening, the door of the virtual gaming cabin in the room slowly opened. Immediately afterward, the cabins alarms sounded, reminding the user that the cabins supply of Life Potion had already reached critically low levels and was in need of replenishment. When Shi Feng stepped out of the gaming cabin, a feeling of overwhelming exhaustion promptly enveloped him, and he wanted nothing more than to crash into his bed and fall asleep. How close. That Ancient God nearly got me, Shi Feng thought, inwardly celebrating as he grabbed a bottle of Life Potion from the fridge and drank it. If not for the Shadow Incinerator letting me perfectly recreate my past self. Otherwise, even escaping wouldnt have been possible. Shi Feng was honestly surprised that his fight with the white-robed Ancient God had triggered a space-time tide in the World Passage, which, in turn, led to everyone being forcibly logged out of the game by the system. Personally, though, Shi Feng welcomed this forced logout as this meant that his character would disappear from Gods Domain, and the Ancient God would have left after realizing that he was nowhere to be found. He also wouldnt have to fight for his life again once he logged back into the game. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng felt much better about his situation. Although the event this time was perilous, the Shadow Incinerators performance far exceeded his expectations. The Incinerators Phantasm Skill was especially incredible. Not only did it allow him to create an existence that was two tiers above him, but it also allowed him to perfectly recreate the weapons and equipment. If he hadnt been able to recreate the weapons and equipment he used during his previous life, even if he had managed to recreate his Tier 6 character, the Ancient God could have still beaten him black and blue. Of course, the incredible Skill also came with an incredible price, its activation causing his level to fall from 155 to 135. With the God of Times curse plaguing him, it would take him a considerable amount of time to recover these twenty levels. No wonder the Crimson Wing could slaughter Ancient Gods left and right. If the Shadow Incinerator can already exhibit such strength with four seals placed on it, it wouldnt be completely impossible for a Tier 6 player wielding the unsealed version to slay Ancient Gods. When Shi Feng thought about the four seals placed on the Shadow Incinerator, he couldnt help but grow a little excited. Undoing the seals did not require him to collect precious materials. The four seals were merely Divine Might Seals, so all he needed to do was attack these seals with mental objects. The only problem was that these four Divine Might Seals were much stronger than the one the Shadow Incinerator had placed on him previously. Not only did these four Divine Might Seals place incredibly complex barriers on the Shadow Incinerator, but they also had significantly tougher mental nodes. In his current state, he would have no hope of breaking these four Divine Might Seals. However, if he made use of the Ancient Dragons Power, he could try to break the first complicated Divine Might Seal after he officially reached Tier 5. The first seal wasnt particularly hard to analyze. With his abilities as a Great Grandmaster Magician, he could locate the mental nodes given enough time. So long as he could lift the first seal, the Shadow Incinerator should become strong enough to let him stand his ground even against Tier 6 players. Subsequently, several hours passed in the blink of an eye. While Shi Feng was still recuperating from his mentally weakened state, he received a message through his quantum watch, the message stating that the Star Lake Legions selection had officially concluded. At the same time, the names of the top 1,000 participants were also announced. When the selection list was announced, many people in Star Lake City couldnt help but grow confused. Contrary to everyones expectations, Shi Feng remained in first place. On the other hand, Gentle Snow, who was previously ranked 10th in the selection, had fallen to 17th. However, Shi Feng wasnt surprised by this outcome. Shi Feng had long told Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul that so long as they could get into the selections top 100, they could become official participants in the Star Lake Legion. Scoring any higher in the selection would only let him attract more attention from the Star Lake Legions higher-ups. The benefits they received from the legion wouldnt see any changes. Evidently, Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul no longer bothered to test themselves after their first test. Instead, they had chosen to focus all their attention on improving themselves. Not to mention, Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul were currently undertaking the Void Saint trial, so that was even more reason for them not to let themselves get distracted. The Void Saint class was special. Even at his peak during his previous life, Shi Feng would have no choice but to flee if he came across a hostile Void Saint in the void. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before he got worn out and killed. Without a Divine Weapon, it was simply impossible for non-Void Saints to kill a Void Saint of the same tier in the void. But isnt the Star Lake Legion a little too hasty? The selection has just ended, yet it is already looking to test all qualified participants without giving anyone time to rest. Shi Feng didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he saw the Star Lake Legions invitation notice. Being able to join the Star Lake Legion so soon was naturally good news for him. After all, he would only be provided free accommodation in the Gods Domain Association for one month, and he doubted he could secure himself a room in the Association after this one month passed. He also needed to pay contribution points if he wanted to continue living in the city. Aside from the first month after he entered the Greater World, he would be banished from the city if he failed to pay enough contribution points to Star Lake City in subsequent months. This was a rule that even the Star Lake Legions commander would have to follow. However, for people who werent mental strength grandmasters, earning contribution points in a city was incredibly challenging. Many people would fail to meet their monthly quota even if they worked 24 hours a day every day. This was because every city could only accommodate a limited population. Yet, countless people were arriving at the Greater World from various parallel worlds every day. As a result, every city could only supply a limited number of contribution points every day, and those seeking to stay in a city would have to fight for these points. To make matters worse, most of a citys contribution points would be in the hands of the citys powerful families and corporations. If a person did not join one of these powerful families or corporations, they would have much greater difficulty earning contribution points. However, it was a different story once a person became an official member of the Star Lake Legion. Official participants of the legion would have plenty of ways to earn contribution points. The legion would even award its official participants a fixed amount of contribution points every month, and participants only needed to earn a small amount of contribution points to pay their monthly residence contribution. After Shi Feng finished reading the Star Lake Legions message, he washed up himself and dragged his tired body to the Star Lake Training Center. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3323 - Chapter 397 - Newcomers and Veterans Chapter 397 C Newcomers and Veterans Star Lake City, Star Lake Training Center: When Shi Feng arrived outside the training center by car, the entrance was already crowded with people. Among these people, some were friends and families of those who had passed the selection, while some were the Star Lake Legions reserve participants and members of the Star Lake Citys various powerful families. Shi Feng didnt think much of this scene and simply squeezed through the crowd. Every city legion would only recruit members once a year, and the day of the recruitment would be the liveliest day of the year for a city. It would also be a day when many peoples fates would change. Apart from people who had passed a city legions selection, the city legions reserve participants and members of the citys various powerful families would also be paying close attention to this annual recruitment. One could even say that the latter group was much more concerned over the city legions annual recruitment. It was true that those who managed to get into a city legion selections top 1,000 would be guaranteed a place in the city legion. However, not all members in the city legion would be of equal position. Upon joining a city legion, a person would, first and foremost, be put into one of two main groups: official participants and reserve participants. Of the 1,000 people who passed the selection, the top 100 would be made into official participants, while the remaining 900 would be made into reserve participants. Subsequently, the city legion was split into three tiers of official participants, and each tier would have numerous battle groups. Every battle group would receive different treatment from the city legion based on their importance. Ace battle groups received the best treatment in the legion, which showed in the contribution points they received each month. Even without doing anything, an ace battle group member could pay their monthly residence contribution and have excess points that they could use to exchange for the citys limited resources. The citys limited resources were items highly coveted by the various corporations. An example of these limited resources would be the Stardew. Just one drop of Stardew could drastically improve the users nervous response system and let the user recover up to 50 years of their youth. If a person consumed one drop of Stardew every year, their mental strength would naturally rise from the one-star mental strength master standard to the one-star mental strength grandmaster standard within three to five years. Even after a person became a mental strength grandmaster, consuming Stardew could still speed up the improvement of their mental strength, letting them reach the three-star mental strength grandmaster standard much more quickly. This would, in turn, give them a better chance at going beyond the grandmaster realm. In addition, Stardew could let mental strength grandmasters better preserve their youthfulness. Typically, a mental strength grandmaster would have little to no chance of going beyond the grandmaster realm past the age of 100. However, if a mental strength grandmaster regularly consumed Stardew, they could extend this time limit to 150 years old. Unfortunately, because the various conglomerates monopolized the technology to manufacture Stardew, the various cities needed to go to great lengths just to exchange for a small amount. So, most cities could only afford to allocate their supply of Stardew to the members of their city legion. Moreover, it would be at the price of one million contribution points per drop of Stardew. It should be known that the average civilian living in Star Lake Citys suburbs only needed to pay a monthly residence contribution of 1,000 points. Even those living in the city center only needed to pay 3,000 points a month. Meanwhile, the average official participant in the Star Lake Legion would only receive 2,000 contribution points a month if they didnt participate in any city battles. If they completed commissions for the city legion, they would receive about 100 contribution points per commission. So, it was nigh impossible for the average official participant to exchange a drop of Stardew. Only by joining an ace battle group and participating in every city battle available could a person have any hopes of exchanging a drop of Stardew when they reached the retirement age of 50. Therefore, it was of great importance that one joined an ace battle group when joining the Star Lake Legion. In the Star Lake Legion, each battle group could only have up to 50 members. Specifically, each battle group could have up to 20 regulars and 30 replacements. The regulars of each battle group would usually be the ones participating in city battles, and the replacements would take the place of the regulars if the regulars happened to be out of commission. As only those under the age of 50 could be in a city legion, there would be people retiring from the Star Lake Legion every year. This meant empty slots would be available in the various battle groups every year. While the minimum requirement to join a battle group was to be an official participant, reserve participants could try for one of these vacant slots. After all, the Star Lake Legions selection would only bring in 100 new official participants each year. Yet, the Star Lake Legion had nearly 200 battle groups spread across the three tiers. Thus, so long as a reserve participant could pass the basic test for official participants, they would be promoted into an official participant and qualify to join a battle group. However, things were a little different for ace battle groups. Unlike normal battle groups led by two-star mental strength grandmasters, the Star Lake Legions ace battle groups were led by the legions vice commanders. In addition, ace battle groups only accepted 30 members instead of 50 to consolidate their resources. Meanwhile, the way newcomers could join an ace battle group was by defeating one of the three worst-performing replacement members of an ace battle group. Of course, the veterans of an ace battle group would be required to limit their strength so newcomers would more or less have a chance at winning. However, this chance would still have to depend on the strength of the three worst-performing participants. If a certain ace battle groups three worst-performing members were too strong, newcomers would have to choose another ace battle group or a normal battle group. After all, every participant only had three challenge attempts each year. If they failed all three of their attempts, they could no longer join a battle group for the rest of the year, and they would lose out on the opportunity to earn a large amount of contribution points from city battles. When Shi Feng arrived at the training centers top floor, he came upon a spacious arena that could easily accommodate 100,000 people. Currently, there were a little over 20,000 people crowded in the middle of the arena, and every one of them was a member of the Star Lake Legion. Aside from the 1,000 people who had passed the selection this year, the rest of these Star Lake Legion members were either reserve participants from previous years or former official participants who had been eliminated from their old battle group. Unlike the newcomer participants, these veteran participants carried a hostile gaze that instilled fear into the various newcomers. Moreover, many of these veterans had already reached the one-star mental strength grandmaster standard, and their mere presence caused the newcomers around them to feel uncomfortable. Shortly after arriving in the arena, Shi Feng successfully grouped up with Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul. At this time, Gentle Snow was dressed in white, while Hidden Soul was dressed in black. However, while Gentle Snow wore a sports outfit that revealed very little skin, Hidden Souls outfit consisted of a short-sleeved shirt and a pair of short pants. When the two of them stood together, they were like the sun in the darkness. Many participants in the arena couldnt help but be drawn by their beauty and temperament. Are you alright, Guild Leader? Gentle Snow worriedly asked when she saw Shi Fengs haggard face. I heard that you and Commander Laura have caused a huge commotion while we were in the trial. Not only did an Ancient God appear, but the system has even forced those of us inside the trial space to go offline. Hidden Soul also looked at Shi Feng with eyes full of curiosity. Just what kind of battle had taken place on the floating island for the system to forcibly log players out of the game? It should be known that even those challenging the Void Saint Legacys trial were not spared. Dont worry; Im just a little overspent mentally. Ill be fine after a few days of rest, Shi Feng waved his hand. The situation outside has already been dealt with, so just focus on the trial and come out when youre done. While Shi Feng and Gentle Snow were talking, several veteran participants nearby could be seen laughing and talking to each other. This years number one doesnt look like much. Not only is he nearly the same age as me, but hes also only a two-star mental strength master, a muscular man in his early thirties said as he looked at Shi Feng, his voice full of contempt. Despite his age, the muscular man was already a one-star mental strength grandmaster. How lucky of him to become an official participant with such low standards. If I had known this years selection would be so easy, I would have waited two more years before trying for the city legion. Standing next to the muscular man, a young man, who was similarly a one-star mental strength grandmaster, nodded and laughed, saying, I know, right? The standard of this years newcomers is terrible. They get to become official participants without facing any competition. But this is where their luck comes to an end. Theyll get to learn how cruel reality is in a moment. The two veteran participants banter irritated many of the newcomer participants nearby. However, there was nothing these newcomers could say to refute these veterans. The gap between mental strength grandmasters and mental strength masters was far too wide. The mental oppression of a one-star mental strength grandmaster alone was enough to interfere with a three-star mental strength masters ability to control their body. Fortunately, they would only be competing with each other through virtual battles. The difference in their mental strength would also only reflect in their weapons and equipment. While a one-star mental strength grandmaster could manifest up to six Fragmented Legendary items and one Legendary item, which was a lot more than the four Fragmented Legendary items that a three-star mental strength master could manifest, the difference in equipment standard wasnt overwhelming. It was still possible to make up for this difference using combat standards. Not to mention, not all one-star mental strength grandmasters could necessarily manifest six Fragmented Legendary items, let alone a Legendary item. While the participants in the arena were talking among themselves, a group of people arrived on the arenas second floor. The group was led by a woman with a wild but stunning appearance, and following this woman were about a dozen or so other people. Of the people following the woman, every one of them was a vice commander of the Star Lake Legion and an existence known by all in Star Lake City. I dont like to spout nonsense. Since everyone is here, lets begin the enrollment test! the woman in the lead nonchalantly said after stepping onto the podium on the second floor. Whoever scored first place in the selection, step forward! Well start with you! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3324 - Chapter 398 - Starlights Ten Greats Chapter 398 C Starlights Ten Greats Who is this person? Why is she letting a newcomer from the selection start first? Shh! Keep your voice down! Shes Red Frost, the Star Lake Legions new commander! What? Shes that Madwoman? Didnt they say that the Madwoman has the body of a bear and a voice that can cause people to go deaf? Initially, many of the participants in the arena were dissatisfied with the words of the woman standing on the second-floor podium. After all, the woman looked roughly the same age as they were, possibly even younger. So, it was only natural they would get upset when the woman talked down to them in such a nonchalant manner. However, after learning from others that the woman was the rumored new commander of the Star Lake Legion, they were promptly stunned. Red Frost was a legend who had emerged from Star Lake City. In the past, even mighty conglomerates had extended invitations to her, offering her the position of Elder should she agree to join them. This was because Red Frost used to be one of the Starlight Realms Ten Greats. Although Red Frost had inexplicably fallen from grace while visiting a Sanctuary in Gods Domain and lost a significant portion of her strength even after getting resurrected, she remained a three-star mental strength grandmaster in the real world. Or, more specifically, she was someone who had already stepped out of the realm of three-star mental strength grandmasters. She was still an existence that ordinary corporations feared. What? Do you people have an opinion? Red Frost asked as she swept her gaze across the people who had spoken up. Come up here if you have an opinion. Ill find you a nice, quiet place to chat. N-No We dont have an opinion The people who had previously spoken up hurriedly shut their mouths. Red Frosts vengeful personality was known throughout the Starlight Realm. Anyone who dared to offend Red Frost would not have good days ahead of them. Even the Guild Leaders of upper-ranking hegemonic powers wouldnt dare to offend Red Frost for fear of the trouble she could cause them. Red Frost? Shi Feng grew confused as he looked at the woman on the podium. Although he instantly recognized Red Frost as the staff member responsible for conducting his first selection test in the Gods Domain Association, he had never heard of the name Red Frost during his previous life. Yet, going by everyones expressions and private discussions, it was evident that Red Frost was famous in the Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, she was someone whose mental strength was already very close to reaching the great grandmaster standard. Cowards! Red Frost said as she rolled her eyes at the several people. Then, she returned her focus to the crowd and continued, I also have one more thing to announce. I will be modifying the enrollment rules for this year. Im thinking of taking your concern off of the limited number of official participant slots, so for this year, all of you can become official participants so long as you pass the basic test Ive set. The crowd in the arena grew restless again when they heard Red Frosts announcement. The biggest hurdle for reserve participants to become official participants was the limited number of available official participant slots. So, having this limitation taken care of was naturally good news for them. Commander Frost! May we know what your test is? Once the crowd in the arena was finished processing Red Frosts words, many reserve participants eagerly asked Red Frost for the content of her so-called basic test. Dont be in such a hurry, Red Frost said, smirking when she saw everyones eager looks. Then, she pointed at the vice commanders lined up next to her and continued, So long as you can survive ten moves from one of them, you will have passed the basic test. If you can survive twenty moves, youll get to join an ace battle group. However, if you cant survive even three moves from one of my vice commanders, come back and try again next year. As soon as Red Frost finished speaking, whether it was the participants gathered in the middle of the arena or the vice commanders standing next to Red Frost, all of them were dumbfounded. Isnt this too high of a requirement, Commander? Markless Blade anxiously asked. Some people here are newcomers whove never even participated in simulation warfare. Moreover, anyone capable of surviving ten moves against us would already be at the captain level in the legion. These newcomers cant even survive three moves against us, let alone ten. Simulation warfare might be similar to duels occurring in Gods Domain, but players needed to materialize their own weapons and equipment in simulation warfare, and doing so put a huge strain on ones mind. Even a fourth-floor expert experienced in simulation warfare would have difficulty executing basic combat techniques after materializing their weapons and equipment, let alone a bunch of newcomers. No, I think Commander Frosts idea is good, Brother Markless, a young man with an imposing presence interjected. The previous commander was too lenient on newcomers. If Star Lake City wishes to grow stronger, it will need stronger fighters to represent it in city battles! If thats the case, the number of people who will pass wont even be enough to form a full battle group, Vice Commander Qilin, Markless Blade said as he rolled his eyes at Chen Qilin. He was fully aware that Chen Qilin was looking to target Shi Feng, and he did not doubt Chen Qilin would let this perfect opportunity get away. If Shi Feng was prevented from passing even the basic test, Chen Qilin would then have a good excuse to sideline Shi Feng in the legion. Alright, lets just begin! Red Frost said, annoyed by Markless Blades and Chen Qilins bickering. Then, she swept her gaze across her vice commanders and asked, Which one of you will go first? Since I support the commanders decision, let me be the first examiner, Chen Qilin said, volunteering himself. Commander? Markless Blade couldnt help but turn to Red Frost. He refused to believe that Red Frost was unaware of Chen Qilins aim. However, Red Frost did not respond to Markless Blades gaze. Instead, she narrowed her eyes on Chen Qilin and faintly smiled, saying, Good! Youll be the first examiner, then! Many thanks, Commander! I wont disappoint you! Ill be sure to let these newcomers know your good intentions, Chen Qilin said, grinning.After saying so, Chen Qilin jumped down from the arenas second floor. Even though it was a seven-meter jump, not only did he land steadily on his feet, but he also didnt make any sound when landing. In addition, he started walking as soon as he landed, not needing to stop to stabilize himself at all. The control he had over his physical body had already reached inhuman levels. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3325 - Chapter 399 - Soul-Stirring Slash Chapter 399 C Soul-Stirring Slash TL Notes: [1] Changing newcomer -> rookie for Chapters 397 and 398 The reserve participants in the arena were startled when they saw Chen Qilin jumping down from the second floor. What?! Were starting with Vice Commander Qilin?! If Vice Commander Qilin is going to be the first examiner, who would dare to take the test? I heard that the City Lord had granted Vice Commander Qilin the Legendary-ranked Demon Gods Armor for the upcoming city battle. If he has this Demon Gods Armor equipped, surviving even one move from him would be impossible, let alone ten The rookies top-ranker sure is unlucky. With this, he will be a benchwarmer for an entire year. When everyone saw Chen Qilin stepping onto the simulation ring and putting on the simulation device, they couldnt help but sympathize with Shi Feng. Chen Qilin was a well-known genius in Star Lake City. In terms of combat standards, he was a strong contender for the number one spot among the Star Lake Legions many vice commanders. After combining the piece of Legendary Equipment Chen Qilin had received from the City Lord, even the legions former commander might not be a match for him in simulation warfare. In reality, if not for Red Frosts sudden appearance, Chen Qilin would have been the most likely candidate to succeed the Star Lake Legions former commander. So, to have someone like Chen Qilin play the examiner role was absurd. Compared to challenging the other vice commanders, anyone who took their basic test from Chen Qilin would have to face significantly greater difficulty. Hahaha! The heavens are on my side! Lets see how my big brother will take care of you! Chen Qitians mood brightened significantly when he saw Shi Feng walking into the same simulation ring as his elder brother. Although his elder brother had previously promised him that he would take care of Shi Feng, he had more or less given up on this idea after Shi Feng secured first place in the selection. While his elder brother might be a vice commander of the Star Lake Legion, he still could not afford to create too much trouble for such a talented rookie, especially not when Commander Red Frost and the City Lord were paying attention to Shi Feng. At most, his elder brother could create some trouble for Shi Feng during city battles or put Shi Feng in the position of a replacement member in an ace battle group. However, all that changed with Red Frosts arrangement. Now, Shi Feng shouldnt even consider joining an ordinary battle group, let alone an ace battle group. What a pity. Thousand Scars sighed as she looked into the simulation ring. My plan to surpass him during city battles wont be feasible anymore. Thousand Scars was aware of the conflict surrounding Chen Qilin and Shi Feng. There was no way Chen Qilin would let go of this opportunity to take revenge for his younger brother. So, he was most definitely going to use 100% of his strength to deal with Shi Feng. Players might be limited to the same tier and level in simulation warfare, but they had to use their mental strength to materialize their own weapons and equipment. In other words, the stronger a players mental strength, the more advantageous of a position they would be in. Not to mention, Chen Qilin was already at the Beyond Domain Realm in terms of combat standards. He was very close to matching pseudo-fifth-floor experts. In a situation where he had an advantage in equipment standards, there were zero chances of a titled expert surviving against him. Theres nothing to feel pity about, Death Omen disdainfully said. He wouldnt be in this situation if he hadnt provoked Chen Qitian that day. He is foolish to think he can go against a long-standing corporation simply because he has Black Flame backing him. The various corporations have countless geniuses under them. Even if Chen Qilin doesnt deal with him today, there will be other geniuses from other corporations who will make him suffer. Thousand Scars nodded in agreement. At the same time, she celebrated the fact that she had joined the Paimon Conglomerate. Otherwise, she wouldve never been able to turn down the advances of young masters like Chen Qitian lest she wished to offend them. At this time, Chen Qitian and Thousand Scars werent the only ones paying close attention to Shi Feng. The several experts who had entered the Greater World with Shi Feng similarly scrutinized Chen Qilin and Shi Feng. On one side of the simulation ring was Chen Qilin wearing heavy armor and carrying a silver-gray greatsword on his back. Chen Qilin even had a five-meter-tall body, a clear indicator that he possessed an extraordinary race in Gods Domain. On the other side was Shi Feng wearing jet-black light armor and wielding a charcoal-like longsword. At first glance, Shi Feng looked like an impoverished traveler. Although he had a body that was nearly two meters tall, he looked no different than an infant compared to Chen Qilins five-meter-tall frame. Purple Jade, I heard that youve talked to Vice Commander Fused Blood about inviting Guild Leader Shi to do city missions together, but I dont think hes going to qualify for those missions now, Alice, the Witch of the West, said as she looked at the woman in sportswear standing next to her. Tier 6 players were rare, even in the Greater Gods Domain. Thus, different from Tier 4 and Tier 5 participants, Tier 6 participants were much more valued by the various city legions. As evidence, shortly after they arrived in Star Lake City, the Star Lake Legions Tier 6 vice commanders had already tried to recruit them into their respective ace battle groups. It was why they never cared about Shi Feng securing first place in the selection. Looking at the blonde, doll-like girl standing next to her, Purple Jade anxiously said, Vice Commander Qilin might have extraordinary strength, but Shi Feng is no pushover, either. He should have no trouble surviving ten moves. Ten moves? After looking at Chen Qilins five-meter-tall body, Alice shook her head and said, Look at Chen Qilin. Hes not even bothering to hide his Legendary Equipment. A Tier 3 instructor like Shi Feng would be fortunate if he could survive even one move. While Chen Qilin might have had his tier suppressed to Tier 4 to match Shi Feng, his equipment standard was vastly superior to Shi Fengs. Not only was Chen Qilin fully clad in Fragmented Legendary Equipment, but he even had the Legendary-ranked Demon Gods Armor. With such equipment standards, he could even fight against Tier 5 experts, let alone a Tier 4 rookie. In the simulation ring Shi Feng, you might have won first place in the selection, but Im going to show everyone here today that a genius is nothing more than a genius. Dont get too conceited before you become a true powerhouse! Chen Qilin said as he looked at the inconspicuous Swordsman before him. Dont worry. I wont make things difficult for you. Ill knock you out in one move! After saying so, Chen Qilin grabbed the greatsword on his back and charged at Shi Feng. Then, once he was within striking distance, he executed the Hurricane Slash combat technique, sending over 50 sword lights flying at Shi Feng. Chen Qilins Attack Speed was so overwhelming that it was impossible for the average Tier 4 player to even react to his attacks. One move? After looking at the incoming sword lights, Shi Feng casually swung the carbonized longsword in his hand. The next moment, a black light flickered in the ring, which was followed by the sound of metal ringing. Then, a figure could be seen stumbling to the edge of the ring and stopping just in time to avoid instant disqualification. Meanwhile, this figure belonged to none other than the five-meter-tall Chen Qilin. At this time, though, Chen Qilins confident expression was nowhere to be seen. Instead, replacing it was a look of confusion. My dear vice commander, dont you think you are thinking too highly of yourself? Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3326 - Chapter 400 - All Are Ants Beneath Tier 6 Chapter 400 C All Are Ants Beneath Tier 6 The arena fell silent when everyone saw Chen Qilin stumbling to the edge of the ring. Vice Commander Qilin lost the exchange? What did that Shi Feng guy do? Everyones eyes bulged as they looked at Shi Feng quietly standing in the middle of the ring. Everyone had gotten a clear look at the exchange that had taken place in the ring. One slash! Although they didnt know how many strikes Chen Qilin launched, they were certain that Shi Feng had executed only one slash. Moreover, it was a simple slash that did not have any techniques applied to it. It was a common attack that ordinary players would use most often. Is Big Brother deliberately making it easy for him? Chen Qitian wondered to himself as he looked at Chen Qilin in the ring. The only reason he could use to explain what just happened was that Chen Qilin had been holding back his strength. Otherwise, there was no way Shi Feng, who wasnt even a mental strength grandmaster, could repulse Chen Qilin, who was equipped with the Demon Gods Armor and a bunch of Fragmented Legendary items. Not to mention, Shi Feng had accomplished this feat using nothing but a normal attack. It should be known that Chen Qilins equipment allowed his Basic Attributes to match a well-equipped Tier 5 Berserker in Basic Attributes. It might have been possible for Shi Feng to repulse Chen Qilin if he had used an astounding combat technique or heaven-defying Skill, but a normal attack? Under normal circumstances, Shi Feng would have been sent flying out of the ring the instant their weapons touched. In the simulation ring After taking a deep breath, Chen Qilin put on a serious expression as he looked at Shi Feng and raised his greatsword. Unlike the spectators outside the simulation ring, Chen Qilin was aware of what Shi Feng had done. Shi Feng had accurately read the movement of his arms and took advantage of this knowledge by striking him during one of the brief instances where his arms were relaxed after they had just finished executing a swinging motion. It seems Ive underestimated you, Shi Feng. I didnt think you could catch such a small detail. However, I wont let you replicate this miracle a second time! After saying so, Chen Qilin suddenly transformed the greatsword in his hands into a pillar of light and sent it smashing into Shi Feng. Mana Technique, Dawn Sword! This was an attack without any fancy movements. The only thing this attack had was absolute destructive power. It was an attack that could turn the entire simulation ring into a desolate wasteland. As expected of Vice Commander Qilin. It seems he was indeed trying to let the rookie preserve some of his dignity. I see! I get it now! I was nearly fooled by Vice Commander Qilins acting skills for a second there! It seems even Vice Commander Qilin doesnt dare to go overboard in his actions. But I guess that makes sense. We are talking about the top ranker of this years rookies, after all. The commander even appointed him to be the first to take the test. Vice Commander Qilin would make the commander look bad if he eliminated the rookie on the first move. When the peanut gallery saw Chen Qilin using his trademark move, aside from being stunned by Chen Qilins prowess, they also quickly concluded that Chen Qilin was merely acting when he got sent stumbling to the edge of the ring. After all, Red Frost had taken the initiative to appoint Shi Feng as the first examinee for her test. Had Chen Qilin eliminated Shi Feng on the first move, it would be no different than slapping Red Frost across the face. However, itd be a different story if Chen Qilin deliberately lost the first move to Shi Feng, offered Shi Feng some words of praise, and then eliminated Shi Feng on the second move. If that were the case, Shi Fengs defeat could be announced to the public as This years top rookie remains standing even after receiving one move from the Star Lake Legions Vice Commander Chen Qilin. Such an achievement could allow Shi Fengs fame in Star Lake City to skyrocket. At this time, Thousand Scars and Death Omen also bought into the peanut gallerys reasoning, looks of realization appearing on them. It was clear to them that Chen Qilin possessed astonishing strength. He even used to be a strong contender for the position of the Star Lake Legions commander. So, Thousand Scars and Death Omen were greatly shocked when they saw Shi Feng repulsing Chen Qilin. However, after hearing that Chen Qilin was most likely acting, Thousand Scars and Death Omen couldnt help but sigh in relief. The fact that Zero Wing had an expert like Black Flame was already plenty astonishing. If, on top of that, Zero Wing had an Acting Guild Leader who could win against someone of Chen Qilins caliber, Zero Wing would have no trouble rising in the Greater World. When everyone thought the simulation warfare was about to end, Shi Feng suddenly split into two copies of himself: one stood in the middle of the ring, while the other stood behind Chen Qilin. If the first time is a miracle, what about the second time? the Shi Feng standing behind Chen Qilin asked, revealing a faint smile as he pierced Chen Qilins heart with his carbonized longsword. An afterimage?! Chen Qilins eyes widened in shock when he saw the Shi Feng in the middle of the stage gradually fading away. Formless Steps! It was one of the most basic footwork in Gods Domain. Normally, expert players would use this footwork to toy with beginners, and anyone who had reached the Domain Realm could easily see through it. Yet, he had failed to realize that the person standing in front of him all this time was actually nothing more than an afterimage? Your reaction speed surpasses mine? Are you a monster? Whilst his body was collapsing onto the ring, Chen Qilin turned around to look at Shi Feng in confusion. As a Beyond Domain Realm expert, the only way Shi Feng could fool him using Formless Steps was if Shi Fengs reaction speed surpassed his. But how could a Tier 4 player possibly have such reaction speed? It seems youre not entirely ignorant, Shi Feng said as he sheathed the Shadow Incinerator. Chen Qilin was indeed strong. Not just in equipment standards but also in combat standards. Shi Feng would have been in for a tough fight if it was before obtaining the Shadow Incinerator. Unfortunately for Chen Qilin, after obtaining the Shadow Incinerator, Shi Feng could push his Concentration standard to Tier 6, even without upgrading the Winter of Eternal Night to the Legendary rank. Hence, even though his Basic Attributes in the simulation warfare remained at the Tier 4 standard, his reaction speed had already reached the Tier 5 standard. In addition, Shi Fengs powerful Concentration allowed him to perceive everything around him perfectly, which naturally included Chen Qilins movements. So, he took advantage of the instant Chen Qilin had relaxed his mind to quietly appear behind the other party. Of course, while all this seemed miraculous to Chen Qilin, it was a different story for the spectators outside the ring. From the spectators perspective, they only saw Shi Feng executing Formless Steps to quickly arrive behind Chen Qilin and land a strike. Meanwhile, Chen Qilin stood still like a wooden block throughout this time. This was the might of Tier 6 existences! Unless players reached Tier 6 in their Concentration, they couldnt keep anything,, not even their mental states, a secret from a Tier 6 existence. Depending on the Tier 6 existences strength, they might not even need to execute any physical or magical attacks to kill existences beneath Tier 6. Instead, they could simply launch mental attacks, such as Divine Might, to give players below Tier 6 a mental death. Meanwhile, after Chen Qilin collapsed under Shi Fengs sword, the whole arena suddenly fell deathly silent as everyone stared at Chen Qilins corpse in disbelief. Particularly, Chen Qitian, who was about to celebrate his elder brothers victory, had his jaw fall wide open. Chen Qilin lost! The Star Lake Legions unofficial First Vice Commander lost! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3327 - Chapter 401 - Asura Chapter 401 C Asura Can someone tell me what just happened? Why did Vice Commander Qilin let Shi Feng get behind him? Did Vice Commander Qilin just lose on purpose? When the surrounding crowd saw Chen Qilins five-meter-tall body collapse, confusion filled them after a brief silence. Chen Qilin was not just any vice commander in the Star Lake Legion. In the current Star Lake Legion, his strength was second to only Red Frost. Yet, such an expert had lost to a rookie? No matter how everyone thought about it, they felt Chen Qilin must have lost on purpose. Otherwise, why would Chen Qilin stand still like a wooden block? Did Chen Qilin lose his mind? Thousand Scars was flabbergasted when she saw how the battle had ended. He is a vice commander of the Star Lake Legion. He is the face of the entire legion. Does he even understand what it means for him to lose to a rookie? The Star Lake Legions vice commanders were right below the commander in strength. If one of these vice commanders were to lose to a rookie, they wouldnt just be ruining their own reputation but the entire legions reputation instead. His losswas inevitable, Death Omen said with a grim look, her reaction to Chen Qilins loss completely different from Thousand Scarss reaction. That guy Shi Feng can no longer be considered human. Chen Qilins loss was inevitable? Shi Fengs not human? Thousand Scars turned to look at Death Omen in surprise and confusion, her mind failing to comprehend the meaning behind Death Omens words. Thousand Scars admitted that Shi Feng was powerful. From his first exchange with Chen Qilin, she could tell that he had most definitely reached the standard of titled experts. However, there were plenty of titled experts in the Star Lake Legion. Or, more specifically, which member of the various ace battle groups wasnt a titled expert? However, to say that a titled expert could overwhelm Chen Qilin to a point where the latter couldnt even react was beyond exaggeration. If we are comparing combat standards, those two are indeed evenly matched, Death Omen said before pausing to take a deep breath. Then, with hints of fear in her eyes, she looked at Shi Fengs figure and continued, But Shi Fengs Concentrationhas already reached the Tier 6 standard. Players who had never reached Tier 6 would not have noticed why Chen Qilin had lost to Shi Feng. However, it was a different story for Death Omen, someone who was formerly a Tier 6 expert and knew the capabilities of a Tier 6 player. His Concentration has reached Tier 6? Thousand Scars gasped when she heard Death Omens words, an expression of disbelief appearing on her face as she turned to look at Shi Feng. Although she had never reached Tier 6, she had fought against many of the Flower of Seven Sins Tier 6 experts, so she knew how scary a player could be when their Concentration reached the Tier 6 standard. Any player without Tier 6 Concentration would be highly susceptible to the mental influence of a player with Tier 6 Concentration. With Tier 6 Concentration, one could perceive even the subtle details of another persons mental state that the person in question wasnt even aware of. In a one-on-one situation, so long as there wasnt too significant of a gap in Basic Attributes or combat standards, a player with Tier 6 Concentration could trample over a player without Tier 6 Concentration. But how could a Tier 4 player have Tier 6 Concentration? At this time, Death Omen wasnt the only person who had noticed Shi Fengs Concentration standard. Every expert who was either at Tier 6 or had reached Tier 6 before was currently staring at Shi Feng with widened eyes. Some were puzzled, some were intimidated, and some were pleasantly surprised. Meanwhile, after Markless Blade learned about the situation from his fellow vice commanders, he tentatively looked to the woman leisurely sitting behind him and asked, Did you find out his Concentration has reached Tier 6 beforehand, Commander? Is that why you were confident in letting him fight Chen Qilin? Markless Blade was aware that Red Frost held a high opinion of Shi Feng. Otherwise, she wouldnt have bothered to remember Shi Fengs name. However, no matter how high of an opinion Red Frost had of Shi Feng, it was still insane to let a rookie fight against Chen Qilin. Unless, of course, Red Frost didnt want Shi Feng in the legion, which definitely wasnt the case. In that case, it could only mean that Red Frost knew for certain Shi Feng would do fine even if he went up against Chen Qilin. No, I didnt know that, Red Frost said, shaking her head. Then, looking at Shi Feng with a hint of joy, she licked her lips and continued, My initial thought was that he would suffer a major setback in Chen Qilins hands. I wouldnt even be surprised if he failed to last ten moves. However, I didnt expect him to give me such a huge surprise. Tier 6 Concentration! With this, I can give those old bastards over at Jade Light City a piece of my mind! You didnt know? Red Frosts words rendered Markless Blade speechless. Yet, you still let Chen Qilin fight him? What if Shi Feng gets eliminated? Eliminated? Red Frost nonchalantly chuckled. I wont let him get eliminated. If he fails the test, Ill use my commanders privilege to let him join an ace battle group. Your privilege? When Markless Blade heard Red Frosts statement, he couldnt help but ask, You only get one slot every decade. Wouldnt it be a waste to use it on Shi Feng? Being the Star Lake Legions commander came with many privileges, and key among them was the privilege to unconditionally let one person under the age of 50 join an ace battle group. Normally, this privilege would be used as a bargaining chip to poach peerless paragons from other cities. And as this privilege was incredibly unfair to the citys countless geniuses and paragons, the Star Lake Legions commander was limited to only one such slot every decade. No, he is worth this slot! Red Frost said definitively. Hes worth it? Markless Blade turned to look at Shi Feng in confusion when he heard Red Frosts answer. Red Frosts decision might have made sense if she had made it after learning that Shi Feng possessed Tier 6 Concentration, but before? No matter how Markless Blade thought about it, such a decision would be illogical. After all, their previous impression of Shi Feng was that he was only a titled expert, and there were plenty of titled experts in the Star Lake Legion. When Red Frost saw Markless Blades confusion, she chuckled and asked, Do you know about the Seven Luminaries Alliances Seven Luminaries Lists? Who doesnt know about the Seven Luminaries Lists? Markless Blade responded in a strange tone. All players in the Greater Gods Domain pay attention to them. But what do they have to do with Shi Feng? The Seven Luminaries Alliances Seven Luminaries Lists were known throughout the Greater Gods Domain. There were three of these lists: the Luminous Glory List, the Sacred Glory List, and the Divine Glory List. The three lists catered to Tier 4, Tier 5, and Tier 6 players respectively, and each recorded 1,000 experts from Greater Gods Domain. Any player who could get on one of the three lists, whether it was the Luminous Glory List for Tier 4s or the Divine Glory List for Tier 6s, would be an individual standing at the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. The reason why even conglomerates respected Red Frost was that she used to be on the Divine Glory List in the past. During her prime, her fame in the Starlight Realm was second to none. After all, throughout the Starlight Realms history, fewer than ten players from the Starlight Realm had managed to get into the Seven Luminaries Lists. Indeed. They wouldnt have ten players even if they counted all three lists. Of course he has something to do with it! Red Frost said, grinning. A change has occurred to the latest Luminous Glory List the Seven Luminaries Alliance has published internally. The 963rd ranker has fallen to 964th place, and the current 963rd ranker is Zero Wings Guild Leader, the Asura Sword Emperor Black Flame! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3328 - Chapter 402 - Seven Luminaries Lists Chapter 402 C Seven Luminaries Lists TL Notes: Fixed an error in Chapter 400- Formless Steps -> Mirage Steps Black Flame? 963rd on the Luminous Glory List? Markless Blade gasped when he heard Red Frosts words. Are you serious, Commander? The Seven Luminaries Lists held incredible prestige in the Greater Gods Domain. Even if Black Flame was only at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List, getting onto the list in and of itself was already a remarkable feat. The Ten Great Paragons of a kingdom? The Ten Great Geniuses of an empire? These people were nothing compared to the people on the Seven Luminaries Alliances Luminous Glory List. According to rough statistics, there were easily over a thousand Realms in the Greater Gods Domain. On the other hand, the Luminous Glory List only recorded 1,000 players. In other words, an entire Realm might not even see one of its players being entered into the Luminous Glory List. However, so long as a player managed to get into the Luminous Glory List, it would mean that they already stood at the apex of Tier 4 players in their Realm. Of course. This is insider information that I received, Red Frost said definitively. It shouldnt take more than a week before the Seven Luminaries Alliance announces the change to the Luminous Glory List. Hahaha! Markless Blade couldnt help but laugh out loud when he heard Red Frosts affirmation. 963rd on the Luminous Glory List! With this, I can tell others that I once engaged an expert on the Luminous Glory List in an intense battle! It wasnt an exaggeration to say that none of the Starlight Realms Tier 4 players had ever considered entering the Luminous Glory List one day. Even the various conglomerates core paragons would, at most, set the top 10 of the Starlight Realms Hundred Nations Paragon Battle as their ultimate goal at Tier 4. Originally, Markless Blade still bore some hatred for Black Flame. Now, though, he only felt joy from being defeated by Black Flame. It should be known even the opportunity to spectate an expert on the Luminous Glory List fight was incredibly rare and valuable. The opportunity was so precious that not even the executives of ordinary corporations could get their hands on a ticket. Only conglomerates could get their hands on a few tickets. Yet, now, it was revealed that he had fought an expert on the Luminous Glory List. This was an opportunity even conglomerates would have great difficulty acquiring. Can you show some dignity? Red Frost couldnt help but roll her eyes at Markless Blade. Contrasting Red Frosts reaction, the other vice commanders present couldnt help but look at Markless Blade enviously. How lucky can you get, Brother Markless? You actually got to fight such an expert in his early days. Damn! Why didnt I take part in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition? Brother Markless, tell us about Black Flame! How are his combat standards? For a time, the various vice commanders eagerly asked Markless Blade questions, none caring about their dignity or the look of contempt Red Frost was giving them. From their perspectives, experts on the Luminous Glory List were akin to characters from fairy tales. If they could learn even a little bit of information about these characters, they might receive some inspiration for their own development. While the various vice commanders were busy asking for Black Flames information, Red Frost walked up to the podium, her reappearance instantly silencing the noisy crowd in the arena. As youve seen, Vice Commander Qilin has been defeated, Red Frost said as she glanced at Chen Qilin, who was in the middle of removing his simulation device. Then, she continued, As Ive previously stated, whoever can last ten moves will pass. But now that Shi Feng has defeated Vice Commander Qilin, Shi Feng will take Chen Qilins place as a vice commander in the Star Lake Legion from now on. Of course, if any of you can similarly defeat a vice commander, you will enjoy the same treatment! As soon as Red Frost finished speaking, the entire arena went into an uproar. What?! Is Commander Red Frost for real?! Does this mean Vice Commander Qilin didnt get defeated on purpose? This is wonderful! Hurry up and continue with the test! Im going to challenge those other vice commanders! For a time, the people in the arena were filled with surprise and worry. Though, the majority of them couldnt help but be excited by Red Frosts announcement. If it were in the past, theyd have to meet incredibly stringent requirements if they wanted to become a vice commander in the Star Lake Legion. Firstly, they needed to reach the two-star mental strength grandmaster standard. Secondly, they needed to make sufficient contributions to the legion. Now, though, all they needed to do was defeat a vice commander. The difficulty of becoming a vice commander had undoubtedly been reduced significantly, and this gave everyone hope that they, too, could become a vice commander. Only After nearly a day of continuous simulation warfare, those who aspired to become vice commanders had fallen into despair. Out of the 10,000-plus people in the arena, nobody other than Shi Feng managed to defeat a vice commander. In fact, no more than 100 people managed to last ten moves against the legions vice commanders. This situation taught everyone that Shi Fengs victory wasnt due to luck. It also wasnt because Chen Qilin was weak. Instead, it was because Shi Feng was too strong. Aside from Shi Feng, the women going by the names of Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul were also ridiculously strong. Both women had lasted over 30 moves against a vice commander, their achievements instantly granting them the qualifications to join an ace battle group. Upon seeing the achievements of Shi Feng, Gentle Snow, and Hidden Soul, everyone couldnt help but wonder what kind of Guild Zero Wing was exactly. Zero Wing only had three people partaking in the enrollment test. Yet, out of these three people, two had become ace battle group members and one had become a vice commander. The achievements of Zero Wings members had shattered everyones understanding of the enrollment test. In addition, one other shocking matter occurred after the enrollment test. More specifically, this matter was related to the various foreign powers which had come to Star Lake City to poach Gentle Snow. Once the enrollment test ended, these powers had seemingly forgotten their original intentions of recruiting Gentle Snow as none of them attempted to approach her. Instead, the representatives of these powers all approached Shi Feng to congratulate him. They also openly expressed that so long as Shi Feng was willing to become a vice commander in their respective citys legion, they could ensure him the position of commander within three to five years. Since the founding of Star Lake City, this was definitely the first time a rookie from Star Lake City was made such a lucrative offer. However, when these recruiters met with Red Frosts smiling expression, they promptly dispersed and stopped pestering Shi Feng. Nighttime, Gods Domain Association: Thousand Scars and Death Omen carefully entered a conference room on the 600th floor. When they entered, two people were already seated in the room that was the size of a basketball court. Of these two people, one was a man, while the other was a woman. Both these people looked young, so young that even Thousand Scars could not help but envy their youth. In reality, these two people were already around the age of 26. They were much older than Thousand Scars, who was only 19 this year. However, both of them were two-star mental strength grandmasters. Moreover, they were already at the limits of the two-star grandmaster standard and were only half a step away from becoming three-star mental strength grandmasters! Despite being incredibly talented, even Thousand Scars couldnt help but envy these two people. In the Greater World, one would be publicly acknowledged as a genius if they became a one-star mental strength grandmaster before 30. If they could reach this standard before 25, their names could be entered into the history books of Star Lake City, as only a few such people had ever emerged from the city. As for reaching the limits of the two-star mental strength grandmaster standard around the age of 26, no such existence had ever emerged from Star Lake City. Even if the scope was expanded to cover the several dozen third-tier cities neighboring Star Lake City and the second-tier city governing these third-tier cities, such geniuses were few and far between. An ordinary two-star grandmaster might look to be on the same level as someone who was at the limits of the two-star grandmaster standard, but the two were no longer existences on the same level. Most people were under the impression that there was only a simple one-level gap between two-star and three-star mental strength grandmasters. However, for conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers, they knew that the two were two entirely different creatures. Hence, it was incredibly difficult to cross the threshold of three-star mental strength grandmasters, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the chances of a two-star grandmaster succeeding were less than one in ten thousand. Meanwhile, a person who had reached the limits of the two-star mental strength grandmaster had already taken half a step into the realm of three-star mental strength grandmasters, and it was only a matter of time before they crossed the threshold completely. Moreover, out of these two people, Thousand Scars was incredibly familiar with the woman. This was because she had met this woman in the World Passage, and the womans name was none other than White Owl! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3329 - Chapter 403 - A Swordsman Nearing Ancient Gods Chapter 403 C A Swordsman Nearing Ancient Gods Have a seat. When the young man in the suit and tie saw Thousand Scars and Death Omen entering the conference room, he pointed at the sofa before him and signaled for the two to be at ease. However, be that as it may, neither Thousand Scars nor Death Omen dared to act casually. It was especially so for Thousand Scars. Even as a three-star mental strength master, she failed to keep her emotions in check and revealed an anxious expression. It had already been over a month since Thousand Scars joined the Paimon Conglomerate. She had also joined the conglomerate much sooner than Death Omen, so she knew much more about the conglomerate than Death Omen did. As an outer member who was in the middle of striving to become an internal member in the Paimon Conglomerate, the chances of Thousand Scars coming across White Owl, one of the conglomerates Ten Great Paragons, were close to zero under normal circumstances. This was because their paths in life existed in parallel to each other. Take the battle in the World Passage, for example. Despite being an internal reserve member, Thousand Scars didnt even qualify to be part of the army White Owl led. Only internal paragons such as Meteor could qualify. Apart from her status, White Owls strength was also something Thousand Scars greatly feared. In Thousand Scarss opinion, Meteor was already an incredible expert, and it would take her quite some time before she could hope to match him. However, in front of White Owl, the so-called incredible expert Meteor would probably last no more than one move. After all, White Owl was an expert who was only half a step from crossing the threshold of the World Towers fifth floor, reaching the legendary fifth-floor standard. However, compared to White Owl, the smartly dressed young man was even more terrifying of an existence! The Paimon Conglomerates Third Paragon! Nameless Blade! Moreover, the Nameless Blade wasnt just the Paimon Conglomerates Third Paragon. At the same time, he was also the conglomerates Second Successor. Indeed! Nameless Blade was one of the Paimon Conglomerates successors! The likes of Dira werent even worthy of carrying Nameless Blades shoes, and even the Paimon Conglomerates Three Overlords needed to treat Nameless Blade with respect. Even if Nameless Blade failed to become the Paimon Conglomerates helmsman in the future, he could still become a senior vice president of the Paimon Conglomerate and govern the many upper-ranking hegemonic powers subordinated to the conglomerate. Compared to the Three Overlords, who only got to manage one Tier 6 trump card legion each, his status would be much higher in the conglomerate at that time. So, it was only natural for Thousand Scars to grow anxious after suddenly coming face-to-face with such a big shot. If she accidentally offended Nameless Blade, she could very well be banished from the various moving cities and forced to live in hardship for the rest of her life. No need to be nervous. Just think of me as your colleague, Nameless Blade said with a helpless smile when he saw neither Thousand Scars nor Death Omen daring to sit down. If you two dont take a seat, our conversation cant go anywhere. Just sit. Mr. Blade is different from Dira, White Owl said. In fact, youll only make Mr. Blade uncomfortable if you think of him the same as Dira. Hearing this, Thousand Scars and Death Omen nodded and stopped being polite. I heard that both of you are acquainted with Black Flame. While pouring the two tea, Nameless Blade smiled and curiously asked, May I know if you have any detailed information on him? Thousand Scars and Death Omen exchanged looks with each other. I know more about Black Flame, so Ill speak, Death Omen said. Although she was curious as to why Nameless Blade would be interested in Black Flame, she chose to say everything she knew, starting from how she learned of Black Flame to how he subsequently stirred up a storm in the Miniature Ancient World I see. Nameless Blade fell into a long silence once he finished hearing Death Omens story. It seems our conjecture was correct. You dont know about Black Flames true identity, either. We are not Zero Wings members, after all. We cant probe deeper into his identity even if we wanted to, Death Omen explained. If anyone would know about Black Flames true identity, it would most likely have to be my cousin and Zero Wings core executives. Your cousin? Curiously, Nameless Blade asked, May I know who your cousin is? Hidden Soul! Death Omen said venomously. She used to be the one who took away my position as a commander in the Flower of Seven Sins, but now she is very close to Zero Wing. She also has a close relationship with Black Flame as Black Flame did not hesitate to start a war with the Flower of Seven Sins for her sake. This is good news. Nameless Blade suddenly smiled. Good news? Death Omen looked at Nameless Blade in puzzlement, her mind failing to understand how this was supposed to be good news. I hope you two can join Zero Wing! Nameless Blade said, getting straight to the point. With your blood relationship with your cousin, it should be relatively easy for you to join the ranks of Zero Wings core executives. This Death Omen couldnt help but doubt her hearing when she heard Nameless Blades request. It should be known that Black Flame was the villain who had not only annihilated an army of several hundred thousand strong belonging to the Paimon Conglomerate, but had also caused Dira to nearly suffer Soul Annihilation. At this point, the Paimon Conglomerate should want nothing more than to erase Black Flames existence. Yet, now, Nameless Blade wanted her to let go of her past grievances to join Zero Wing, the Guild led by Black Flame? This was utterly insane! This is an order! Nameless Blade strictly said, instantly changing his request into an order when he saw Death Omens reaction. Also, you two wont be the only ones joining Zero Wing. Once youre in, Ill also need you to introduce us to Zero Wing! You are also joining Zero Wing, Mr. Blade? Thousand Scars felt that she had experienced an auditory hallucination. She could understand Nameless Blade having them join Zero Wing. After all, it was common for the various powers to use their base-level members to conduct espionage on other powers. However, it was a different story for Nameless Blade. The Paimon Conglomerates Second Successor enjoyed status few people could match or overtake in the Starlight Realm. Yet, now, this Second Successor was humbling himself to join Zero Wing for the sake of a player named Black Flame. If these words didnt come directly from Nameless Blades mouth, Thousand Scars would have never believed them. It should be known that the current Zero Wing wasnt even a hegemonic power in the Starlight Realm. What qualifications did Zero Wing have to get a peerless paragon from the Paimon Conglomerate to join it? Definitely. This is also my goal in coming to Star Lake City, Nameless Blade said. Then, revealing a wry smile, he continued, You have no idea how big of a price I had to pay to snatch this opportunity. You had to pay a price to come here? Death Omen was astonished. Logically, there should be nothing outside the reach of a successor of the Paimon Conglomerate. Yet, Nameless Blade was saying that he had to make significant sacrifices to come to a backwater city like Star Lake City? For a moment, Death Omen couldnt help but doubt her worldview. White Owl remained quiet when she saw Death Omens response. The matter regarding Black Flame currently remained top secret even within the Paimon Conglomerate, so she didnt have the authority to reveal information on the matter. That was something up to Nameless Blade to decide. I guess itll be alright to tell you two now since this matter wont be a secret in the future, Nameless Blade said, sighing. Then, he retrieved a document from his briefcase and put it on the table, saying, Take a look at it yourselves. However, remember never to share what you see with anyone else. Otherwise, the consequences will be beyond your ability to bear! Hearing Nameless Blades words, Death Omen and Thousand Scars couldnt help but hesitate as they looked at the document on the table. If they looked at the document, they would most definitely be burdened with a heavy responsibility that came with severe consequences. Yet, they would be plagued by curiosity if they chose not to read the document. They also felt they would be letting something important pass by them. Lets take a risk! Ultimately, Death Omen and Thousand Scars decided to see what secrets Zero Wing held that would necessitate a big shot like Nameless Blade to make a personal visit to Star Lake City. Around a dozen minutes later, Death Omen and Thousand Scars became completely silent. That person is actually a Swordsman nearing Ancient Gods? Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3330 - Chapter 404 - New List Chapter 404 C New List Silver Frost City, Green God Corporations branch headquarters: Next to the bustling street, a group of young male and female teenagers were gathered outside the Green God Corporations entrance. Amazing! So, this is the Greater World? Isnt this a little too insane? Mental strength masters that are incredibly rare in our world are everywhere here! I know, right? Even in the Upper Zone I stayed in, mental strength masters were regarded as extraordinary individuals. But here, any random 16-year-old could be a mental strength master. This is simply absurd. The group of teenagers looked at their surroundings in curiosity. Their gazes were filled with awe even when they looked at the pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. These teenagers were geniuses selected by the Green God Corporation from their homeworld to enter the Greater World. They were brimming with confidence when they were initially chosen. However, after arriving in the Greater World, their confidence instantly plummeted as they realized that their talent in mental strength was nothing compared to the Greater Worlds inhabitants. Meanwhile, in response to the teenagers awe-struck behavior, the pedestrians only glanced at them before going on their way. The teenagers behavior had long become a common sight to them. It was common for corporations in the Greater World to select a group of talented young people from their respective homeworlds and bring these talents to the Greater World for training. It was so that these corporations could get more people into city legions. Now that the selection for Silver Frost Citys city legion this year had already ended, the various corporations and powerful families would naturally start preparing for next years selection. While the teenagers outside the Green God Corporation were waiting to enter the building, a woman in office wear walked past them and into the building. Upon seeing the beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, whether the security guards by the entrance or the middle-aged man leading the group of talented teenagers, all of them wore respectful looks as they watched her walk by. Who is this person, Instructor? She doesnt look much older than us, a young man whose mental strength had reached the one-star master standard asked the middle-aged man leading their group, unable to contain his surprise when he saw the middle-aged mans reaction. It should be known that the Chief Instructor leading them was a big shot in the Upper Zones. At the same time, he was a bona fide one-star mental strength grandmaster. So, the young man found it unbelievable that the Chief Instructor was behaving respectfully to someone who was not only younger but also wasnt even a mental strength grandmaster. Shh! Keep your voice down! She is Lu Wen, Vice President Xias secretary! She is also your senior, the middle-aged man said as he glared at the youth. Two years ago, she was similarly selected by the corporation to enter the Greater World like you all. Currently, she is already a group leader in the Silver Frost Legion. If any of you can get into the Silver Frost Legion next year, you might even be able to join her battle group. The youths mouths widened when they heard their Chief Instructors words, their eyes filled with yearning and anticipation as they watched Lu Wen disappear into the building. A group leader in the Silver Frost Legion, is it? Im definitely getting into the Silver Frost Legion next year! The Greater Worlds wonders had already let them realize how small and frail their homeworld was. Whether it was the average lifespan or technological standards in the Greater World, both were vastly superior to what was available in their homeworld. Moreover, it was only a matter of time before everyone from their homeworld would need to migrate to the Greater World. At that time, the vast majority of people could only live in the Greater Worlds towns, and only a very small minority would get to live in the Greater Worlds cities to enjoy a long life and youth. If they wanted to be able to remain in the Greater Worlds cities, their only options were to either become a mental strength grandmaster or a participant of a city legion. At that time, not only could they continue staying in a city, but they could also receive the Green God Corporations focus, becoming an existence even superpowers feared and respected. Green God Corporations top-floor office When Lu Wen entered the office, she saw Xia Qingying in the middle of processing various documents and a woman quietly seated next to Xia Qingying. The woman seated next to Xia Qingying had her face hidden by an electronic barrier. Even though Lu Wen couldnt see the womans face, she felt an instinctive fear when she stood in the other partys presence, even more so than when she stood facing a three-star mental strength grandmaster. However, Lu Wen didnt place too much attention to the woman. Instead, she walked up to Xia Qingyings desk and dejectedly reported, Vice President Xia, the selection in Silver Frost City went just as we expected. Only Jun Luosha was successful, while the others were eliminated After a slight pause, Lu Wen indignantly continued, The Board of Directors is simply abominable. Even though Silver Frost City is also a second-tier city, the resources they allocated to us for this year are only half of what they allocated to Wu Yaos side. With this, were going to have an even more difficult time nurturing our newcomers. Hearing her trusted aides complaint, Xia Qingying put down the document in her hand and chuckled, saying, It cant be helped. Now that the Zero Wing Ive supported has offended the Paimon Conglomerate, those old fellows will naturally support Wu Yaos side. How are you still in the mood to joke around, Vice President Xia?! If we cant earn enough contributions for the corporation in Silver Frost City this year, our branch will be disqualified from the city! Lu Wen anxiously said. It wasnt easy for a corporation to establish itself in the Greater Worlds cities. It was especially so for cities in the second tier and above. A corporation would have to outcompete many other corporations before being qualified to establish a branch headquarters in a second-tier city and be given the right to send newcomers into the city for training over the long term. Moreover, even after securing a slot in a second-tier city, a corporation still had to fight to retain this slot every year. If a corporation were to lose its slot, it would face significantly greater difficulty in recovering this slot in the future. Although the number of third-tier cities in the Greater World was dozens of times greater than that of second-tier cities, the resources available in second-tier cities were vastly superior. Take the precious Stardew, for example. While it was an incomparably precious commodity that was only made available to city legion members in third-tier cities, it could occasionally be seen appearing in auctions hosted in second-tier cities. Not to mention, second-tier cities had a far bigger and superior talent pool than third-tier cities, and having access to such a talent pool was incredibly beneficial to corporations. If the branch headed by Xia Qingying were to lose its place in Silver Frost City this year, the difficulty of acquiring city contribution points for the branch would double in the coming year. I know that, Xia Qingying said, chuckling. Then, she handed an electronic document to Lu Wen and continued, Those old fellows might think I have lost big this time, but whether I will actually lose to Wu Yao remains to be seen. This isthe Seven Luminaries Lists? Lu Wen was a little puzzled by the electronic document. The Seven Luminaries Lists were known throughout the Greater World, and they were a topic that people loved to talk about every day. However, the Seven Luminaries Lists had nothing to do with the various corporations. After all, the existences on those lists were akin to myths, and they stood far out of the reach of measly corporations. This is the latest edition published this morning, Xia Qingying explained with a smile. Youll know what Im talking about once you look through the Luminous Glory List. After Xia Qingying finished speaking, Lu Wen quickly browsed through the Luminous Glory List. The Luminous Glory List recorded 1,000 players. It was by no means many, but if one carefully read through every bit of information provided by the list, it would take over a day of reading to look through everything. After all, the list contained detailed records of the 1,000 recorded players. Some entries even had battle videos attached. So, to avoid wasting time, Lu Wen only looked at the names on the list. This isAsura Sword Emperor, Black Flame? When Lu Wen saw the new name that had taken the 963rd rank on the Luminous GLory List, she couldnt help but rub her eyes, thinking she was hallucinating. TL Notes: [1]Changing Jiang Yao(ҫ) in Chapter 276 to Wu Yao(ҫ): I think the author misremembered Jiang Yaos name and started to assume it as Wu Yao, so Im just going to switch to Wu Yao. Fyi, Jiang Yao/Wu Yao is another vice president of the Green God Corporation. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3331 - Chapter 405 - Eternal Chamber of Commerce Chapter 405 C Eternal Chamber of Commerce This cant be real, right, Vice President Xia? Lu Wen asked as she looked at Xia Qingying in disbelief. This is the Luminous Glory List we are talking about. Black Flame has only repelled two of the Paimon Conglomerates core paragons. How can he qualify for the list? The Luminous Glory List might be the least significant list out of the Seven Luminaries Lists, but it remained an unreachable goal for most, if not all, paragons in the Starlight Realm. This was because those capable of entering the Luminous Glory List were all experts who had reached the fifth-floor standard at a young age. After all, the Luminous Glory List only recorded geniuses under the age of 35. It was true that the Paimon Conglomerates Storm and Saint Arm were rare paragons in the Starlight Realm. However, defeating the two of them was not enough to prove that Black Flame had reached the fifth-floor standard already. I dont know how the Seven Luminaries Alliance came to this conclusion, either, but since the Alliance has decided on this placing, it should have some information that we arent privy to. After all, the Seven Luminaries Alliance has never been wrong. The Alliance will never add someone to the Luminous Glory List without verified information, Xia Qingying said. Then, wearing a faint smile, she continued, Although Ive long since known that Black Flame could make significant achievements in the Greater Gods Domain, I didnt think he would bring me such a huge surprise so soon. Those old fellows are probably panicking right about now. Panic? Theyre probably dying from regret right about now! This is a Luminous Glory expert we are talking about! Lu Wen said ecstatically. So long as a Luminous Glory expert reaches Tier 6, theyll instantly rise to become one of the top 10 experts of their Realm! Tier 4 experts might be insignificant in the Greater Gods Domain, but it was a completely different story for Tier 4 experts on the Luminous Glory List. Such experts could no longer be regarded as budding geniuses. Instead, they were already bona fide powerhouses. So long as a Luminous Glory expert reached Tier 6, even conglomerates would fear them. At this time, the masked woman sitting next to Xia Qingying suddenly asked, Are you certain about this, Qingying? The masked womans voice was void of emotions. Even hearing about the Luminous Glory List, something that would normally excite everyone in the Starlight Realm, the womans voice did not show the slightest bit of emotional fluctuations. Ive made up my mind. In a firm tone, Xia Qingying said, I am going to use my reinforcement privilege! Alright, but dont regret it, the masked woman said. He is but an existence at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List. I hate to break it to you, but it is unlikely you can become one of our members by relying on him. If you fail, we will take back the token she gave you, and you will lose your eligibility to join us. After saying so, the masked woman left the office without another word. Vice President Xia, this is the only opportunity she has left us with. After seeing the masked woman leave, Lu Wen quietly asked, Are you really going to gamble it on Black Flame? The masked woman was a representative of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, an apex power standing at the pinnacle of the Greater Gods Domain. Out of all the powers in the Starlight Realm, only the Galaxy Conglomerate had some dealings with the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. The other powers in the Starlight Realm werent even qualified to get acquainted with the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. I dont have a better choice. Revealing a wry smile, Xia Qingying said, The token she gave us has a time limit. Moreover, she isnt a core executive of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, so I am already fortunate I can have a reserve membership slot. The Eternal Chamber of Commerce only released 100 reserve membership slots across the Greater World each year, and many conglomerates couldnt even get their hands on one. So, she was already incredibly fortunate to have received one of these slots, which gave her the qualifications to fight for official membership. Inside a luxurious suite on the Gods Domain Associations 600th floor Stepping out of the meditation room, Shi Feng couldnt help but let out a rueful sigh as he looked out the window at the unobstructed night view of Star Lake City. The Gods Domain Associations 600th floor was a place off-limits to non-VIP guests. Meanwhile, even conglomerates would have to go to great lengths to obtain VIP status in the Gods Domain Association. However, in Star Lake City, so long as one became a vice commander of the Star Lake Legion, one could stay on the 600th floor for up to seven days for free every month. Seven days might not seem like a long time, but it was enough to provide extraordinary benefits to those below the three-star mental strength grandmaster standard. Not only could the Gods Domain Associations meditation rooms help users recover from mental fatigue rapidly, but they could also accelerate the development of users mental strength by a large margin. These meditation rooms were also why most of the Star Lake Legions vice commanders could reach the two-star mental strength grandmaster standard. Its a pity I can only stay here for seven days a month. If I could stay here for a full month, even reaching the mental strength grandmaster realm wouldnt be out of the question, Shi Feng thought as he felt his bodys energized state. Going by the Star Lake Legions rules, once I use up my allotted seven days, I will have to pay 10,000 Star Coins and 10,000 City Contributions every day if I want to continue staying here. If I want to stay the full month, I will need 230,000 Star Coins and 230,000 City Contributions The threshold to becoming a mental strength grandmaster was incredibly difficult to reach. Even inhabitants born in the Greater World would have difficulty reaching it, with the chances of a person becoming a mental strength grandmaster being less than 1%. However, so long as a person became a mental strength grandmaster, not only would their status and identity undergo significant changes in the Greater World, but their control over their mind would also undergo a qualitative transformation. For Shi Feng, this qualitative transformation would be of significant help to him in lifting the seals on the Shadow Incinerator. If he could remove even one seal from the Shadow Incinerator, further increasing the weapons strength, he would be confident in escaping with his life even if he came across the Paimon Conglomerates Tier 6 army without having to resort to using the Shadow Incinerators double-edged Skills. Unfortunately, earning City Contributions wasnt an easy task, even for a vice commander of the Star Lake Legion. If he wanted to earn tens of thousands of City Contribution quickly, hed have to do so through city battles. Meanwhile, the prerequisite for participating in city battles was to have a battle group. Commander Red Frost has really given me a difficult problem, Shi Feng thought. Originally, Shi Fengs plan was to join a random battle group to earn City Contributions while slowly solidifying Zero Wings foothold in Star Lake City. However, because of Red Frosts arrangement, he became a vice commander all of a sudden. While this position afforded him much more freedom and benefits than the average official participant, it also came with many problems. Firstly, Shi Feng needed to form his own battle group. As a newcomer in the Greater World, this was not an easy task for him. After all, the various battle groups in the Star Lake Legion were backed by either a corporation or an in-game power. This allowed these battle groups to have a reliable supply of weapons, equipment, and even resources for developing mental strength. In contrast, Shi Feng had nothing to offer to those in his battle group. And if he couldnt offer anything, there was no way any expert would be willing to join his battle group. Whatever. Theres no use thinking about these things. Ill just post a recruitment notice at the training center tomorrow and try to recruit as many people as I can, Shi Feng thought with a wry smile. After verifying that Gods Domains system update was completed, Shi Feng laid into his new virtual gaming cabin and logged back into Gods Domain. Shortly after Shi Feng logged into Gods Domain, the latest issue of the Seven Luminaries Lists also started being sold across Star Lake City. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3332 - Chapter 406 - Failed Sanctuary Chapter 406 C Failed Sanctuary World Passage, Void Sea: This isa Space-Time Storm? When Shi Feng opened his eyes, he was shocked to find that the World Passage had disappeared, and taking its place was a dark void with a silver vortex the size of a star. Although he had long guessed that a problem had occurred inside the World Passage when he heard that the World Gate on the Greater Gods Domains side had disappeared, he still couldnt believe his eyes when he saw that the World Passage was no more, and a Space-Time Storm had taken its place. Space-Time Storms were incredibly dangerous in Gods Domain, and they were labeled as forbidden lands by players. Space-Time Storms were not products of nature. Instead, they were artificially created, and they were typically used as a last resort to seal dangerous Ancient Gods. Shi Feng did not doubt even for a second that the white-robed Ancient God was responsible for creating the Space-Time Storm before him. How ruthless! Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at the growing silver vortex. The formation of a Space-Time Storm required an unimaginable amount of mana. Even an Ancient God would have to risk their lives to create one. After all, it was one of the few methods that could be used against Ancient Gods. In other words, the white-robed Ancient God was willing to risk their life to deal with Shi Feng. Unfortunately, despite knowing what he was dealing with, there was nothing Shi Feng could do about it. The gravitational pull of a Space-Time Storm was so powerful that not even Tier 6 Gods could resist it, let alone a measly Tier 4 Sword Emperor like himself. Subsequently, amidst Shi Fengs exasperation, his body transformed into a streak of light as he got sucked into the Space-Time Storm. Upon entering the Space-Time Storm, Shi Feng fell into a trance. While in this trance, he couldnt tell from left and right or up and down. He couldnt even tell the passage of time. He only knew that he was continuously advancing through space, passing through one Gods Domain after another. At a certain point, he even started to travel across Realms. After an unknown amount of time, Shi Feng felt as if he had collided with something, which caused him to tumble off course. When Shi Feng snapped out of his trance and opened his eyes, he found himself lying amidst an abandoned city situated in the void. What a powerful mana suppression! When Shi Feng tried to get up, he suddenly found that he couldnt release his mana out of his body. On the contrary, the surrounding mana was continuously trying to squeeze into his body. Before Shi Feng could figure out what was going on, a series of system notifications entered his ears. System Warning: You have discovered the Fallen Holy Realm. System Warning: You cannot go offline while in the Holy Realm. Should you forcibly go offline, you will be at high risk of falling into a permanent comatose state. System Warning: You cannot communicate with the outside world while inside the Holy Realm. The content of the system warnings stunned Shi Feng. The Holy Realm? Shi Feng had only ever seen the Holy Realm being mentioned in the records kept in the Greater Gods Domains Great Titan Library. Back then, most Tier 6 powerhouses felt that the Holy Realms existence was nothing but a fairy tale and it didnt actually exist. According to the Great Titan Librarys records, the Holy Realm was the failed product of a certain kingdom. The kingdom in question had ruled over an entire Realm, and it had aspired to transform its Realm into a Sanctuary so that it could reside in the central area of the Greater Gods Domain and gain power beyond the Ancient Gods. Although the kingdom ultimately failed to achieve its goal for reasons unknown to others, it managed to detach its Realm from other Realms. Or, more specifically, the kingdoms Realm had become completely independent of the other Realms, and the Realm came to possess mana far greater than what was available in other Realms. From the information described in the Great Titan Librarys records, once a person entered the Holy Realm, exiting it was an incredibly challenging task. In exchange, though, one would get to explore the remnants of the kingdom that once ruled over the Holy Realm. It should be known that they were talking about a kingdom that had come very close to creating an artificial Sanctuary. The technology left behind by such a kingdom was undoubtedly superior to what was available in the modern era. Even the technological standards of the current Sanctuaries might not be a match for that kingdom. Before Shi Feng could investigate his situation further, he made a surprising discovery. People! Many people! While wandering the streets of the abandoned city, he came across numerous players combing through the streets of the city. These players moved in parties of six, and they carefully searched the streets and buildings around them. After spending some time observing these players in secret, Shi Feng found that every one of these players were only at Level 140, Tier 4. However, their equipment standards were through the roof, each of them was equipped with a minimum of four Fragmented Legendary items. Some were even equipped in Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets. Apart from having excellent weapons and equipment, these players also displayed astonishing combat standards. The weakest among these players was a titled expert, with many of them being experts capable of matching experts the likes of Saint Nine. Normally, even the various hegemonic powers would have difficulty coming up with a party of such experts. Yet, parties of such caliber could be seen everywhere in this place. Have you found them yet? a Tier 4 Ranger, the leader of a party, asked as he looked at Tier 4 Assassin who had just come out of a house. Theres nobody here, the Tier 4 Assassin said, shaking his head. Still nothing? The Tier 4 Ranger frowned. Then, he pointed in a certain direction and said, Check that side next. We have to find those punks today. Otherwise, Boss is going to let us have it! I know that. Revealing a bitter expression, the Tier 4 Assassin said, Im really starting to regret entering this place. Instead of toiling here, I could be living a leisurely life outside. Oh, dont say that. The opportunities available outside cannot compare to this place. Any random Party Dungeon here has a chance of dropping Fragmented Legendary items and treasures such as God Crystals. You cant get these things outside even if you have the money to afford them, the Tier 4 Ranger said with a yearning look. Also, dont get me started on the Eternal Stones you can get from 20-man Team Dungeons. Those things can go for ridiculous prices. Just one Eternal Stone is enough to exchange for permanent residence in a second-tier city, while ten can be exchanged for permanent residence in a first-tier city. These are normally opportunities that we cant even dream of getting in the outside world. I guess youre right. After hearing the Rangers words, the Assassin also revealed a yearning look. Even though they were two-star mental strength grandmasters in the Greater World, they could only afford to stay in a second-tier city occasionally. Only big shots such as three-star mental strength grandmasters had the qualifications to stay in a second-tier city long-term. As for the Greater Worlds first-tier cities, those were not places that two-star mental strength grandmasters like themselves could hope to live in under normal circumstances. Now, though, they had the opportunity to gain permanent residence in a first-tier city so long as they could get their hands on the Eternal Stones unique to the Holy Realm. Although they had no idea what use Eternal Stones had, they knew that the various conglomerates were looking to collect them. Moreover, the prices the conglomerates offered were absurdly generous, so they naturally couldnt miss out on such an opportunity. Shortly after the party resumed its search, the Tier 4 Assassin responsible for scouting suddenly smiled and shouted, Quick! Theyre here! After saying so, the Tier 4 Assassin swiped the dagger he wielded at the empty space before him, shattering it and revealing the figures of six players. Why are they here? When Shi Feng saw the six revealed figures from his distant hiding spot, he couldnt help but be stunned. This was because out of these six people, he recognized three of them. Of these three people, two were men and one was a woman. Of the two men, one of them was the Purple Melody Alliances Desolate Fury, while the other was Cross, the Red Star Kingdoms Undefeated Battle Maniac. As for the woman, she was Leroja, the Myriad Forest Empires Empress Blood Arrow. Meanwhile, after having their locations exposed, these three people reacted like frightened rabbits, their expressions turning indescribably ugly. Split up! Cross shouted almost at the same time as his partys location was exposed. Immediately afterward, the six exposed players fled in six different directions, none of them having any desire to fight the players before them. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3333 - Chapter 407 - Ninth Absolute Technique Chapter 407 C Ninth Absolute Technique Was I mistaken? When Shi Feng saw Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja fleeing without hesitation, he couldnt help but wonder if he had recognized the wrong people. Setting Desolate Fury aside, who were Cross and Leroja? They were living legends! While Cross and Leroja werent at the level where they were known by all in the Starlight Realm, their names were still more or less known by the Starlight Realms various powers. Under normal circumstances, Cross and Leroja would dare to fight against even Tier 5 players, let alone Tier 4 players. After all, the two could already rival Tier 5 players in terms of Basic Attributes. And while they might not have as many Absolute Techniques as paragons the likes of Storm and Saint Arm, they were likely evenly matched with the Paimon Conglomerates core paragons when it came to combat standards. Yet, now, the two battle maniacs had chosen to flee without putting up a fight. If it werent for their familiar faces, Shi Feng would have assumed he was looking at two completely different people. However, Shi Feng quickly denied this possibility. Even if there existed people who shared similar appearances with Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja, it was too much of a coincidence for these people to be gathered together. However, before Shi Feng could ponder over his three acquaintances presence in the Holy Realm, Desolate Furys party of six was stopped by the surrounding search parties. When Shi Feng saw Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja engaging their opponents in battle, he was further reaffirmed that these three people were the same people he was acquainted with. Desolate Fury was known as the Divine Shield Bearer during Shi Fengs previous life. Although Desolate Fury wasnt currently wielding a Divine Shield, his way around the shield was top-notch. When he focused solely on defending himself, he perfectly neutralized the attacks of the three Berserkers besieging him. Cross and Leroja performed even more outstandingly than Desolate Fury. Each of them took on an entire party of six by themselves. If not for their opponents employing a Battle Array, which boosted their Basic Attributes and linked their five senses, it would have been only a matter of time before Cross and Leroja had defeated their opponents. As for the three remaining members of Desolate Furys party, they were also powerful experts. Unfortunately, as they werent as strong as Cross and Leroja, and neither were they MTs, they got killed by the parties they fought after only a few exchanges. Dammit! Nothing! Fuck! These bastards are wasting our time! The three parties responsible for killing the three members of Desolate Furys party cursed when they saw that their kills had only dropped three pieces of equipment. Then, they charged at Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury with angry looks. When the three other parties saw this, they began attacking Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury with even greater ferocity. Hand that thing over, and we will spare you! Yes! Hand over what you got from the Dungeon, and we will guarantee your safety! Thats right! You dont want your Basic Attributes to be permanently reduced, do you? So be good and hand us that thing! While looking at the three players struggling desperately to survive, the leaders of the three parties started to persuade them with words. It was obvious that they did not wish to share whatever they were looking for with the other parties. Do you take us for fools? Leroja rolled her eyes in disgust at the party leaders trying to persuade them. The day your words can be trusted will be when pigs fly! Their party had long discerned the personalities of the people targeting them. Every one of these bastards was a ruthless person. Previously, several other parties had handed over their harvest to these ruthless bastards after being promised safety. In the end, all of these parties were slaughtered without exception. Your mouth really doesnt match that pretty face of yours, the Tier 4 Ranger leading the party attacking Leroja said. Unfortunately, even though youve guessed correctly, you dont get a prize for it. If you want to blame someone, blame whoever sent you from the Starlight Realm! Since they only sent a bunch of weaklings here, we naturally have to eliminate you first! Do you think you can kill us? Arent you getting a little too confident? Cross said, laughing. Immediately afterward, he activated a Berserk Skill and sent two of his opponents flying, breaking out of the encirclement in the blink of an eye. In no time, Cross had put over 200 yards between himself at the party of six targeting him. However, just when he thought he had left the party of sixs attack range, a rain of swords suddenly fell on him. Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of explosions rang across the street as the swords rained down on Cross. When the rain of swords ended and the dust settled, Crosss originally unscathed body became covered in cuts and blood. His HP also plummeted to a critical level. You useless pieces of trash. I only had you chase after a bunch of weaklings, yet you nearly let one of them get away? A cold, berating voice suddenly came from over a thousand yards away, causing the players besieging Desolate Furys party to shrink their necks and break out in cold sweat. This is Cross turned to look at the skinny figure approaching him from a distance, his eyes full of disbelief. The Ninth Absolute Technique, Star Rain? It seems youre quite knowledgeable, the skinny figure said, feeling a little surprised as he looked at Cross. Unfortunately, as you and your friends are trash from the Starlight Realm, none of you will leave this place alive. The same goes for you, you eavesdropping punk over there! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3334 - Chapter 408 - Zero Wings Black Flame? Chapter 408 C Zero Wings Black Flame? As soon as the skinny Swordsman finished speaking, he suddenly flicked his thorn-like longsword. Before Cross could react, countless streaks of light struck a three-story building over a thousand yards away, reducing it into rubble in the blink of an eye. So fast! Desolate Fury, who was desperately defending himself from his attackers, gasped when he saw the attack the skinny Swordsman had just executed. The skinny Swordsmans attack was fast in not only projectile speed but also attack frequency. The skinny Swordsman had launched so many attacks at a time that it was simply impossible for Tier 4 players to react to all of them. Even with two shields in hand, Desolate Fury did not think he could perfectly defend himself against all those attacks. Its your turn next! the skinny Swordsman said as he looked at Crosss bloodied figure, his voice filled with contempt. However, before the skinny Swordsman could brandish his thorn-like longsword, a crimson streak of light suddenly appeared behind him. Boss! The players attacking Desolate Furys group panicked. The attack had appeared silently and suddenly, and it did not cause any fluctuations in space. They wouldnt have even sensed its existence if they hadnt seen the crimson streak of light! Amazing! When Cross saw the crimson streak of light, even he couldnt help but be awed by it. The crimson streak of light was a crimson arrow launched by Leroja. The attacks name was Blood Arrow, and it was what had earned Leroja the title of Empress Blood Arrow. None of the opponents she had used this attack against thus far had managed to defend against it. Seeing the attack now, Cross had to tip his hat to Leroja. If he were on the receiving end of Lerojas Blood Arrow, he highly doubted he could block it, even if he was mentally prepared for it. You dare to launch a sneak attack with such low standards? While everyones attention was concentrated on Lerojas attack, a cold voice entered their ears. Upon hearing this voice, both Leroja and Cross felt their hearts shuddering. The skinny Swordsman was unscathed! Contrary to what everyone thought, Lerojas Blood Arrow did not hit the skinny Swordsman. Instead, it had harmlessly passed through the Swordsman, utterly failing to hit the Swordsmans actual body. Yourea fifth-floor expert! Leroja looked at the sneering Swordsman in disbelief. A fifth-floor expert! This was the only possibility Leroja could think of to explain how the skinny Swordsman had managed to evade her attack with no warning whatsoever. Why would an expert like you appear here? Cross similarly realized what had just happened, despair filling his eyes as he looked at the skinny Swordsman. After reaching the fifth-floor standard, experts could already consistently predict threats toward them. Unless there was a significant gap in Basic Attributes, any attacks launched by a non-fifth-floor expert against a fifth-floor expert would be useless. Under the same tier, a fifth-floor expert could defeat non-fifth-floor experts in a one-on-one situation without taking a single point of damage. However, this was a fifth-floor expert they were talking about. There were hardly any Tier 6 experts at this standard in the Starlight Realm, let alone Tier 4 experts. So, Cross found it flabbergasting that he would meet a fifth-floor expert in this place. What? Falling into despair already? The contempt in the skinny Swordsmans eyes grew when he saw that Crosss will to fight had disappeared. Serves you right for not letting us kill you sooner! Now, you people will get a taste of despair! Thats why I say that people from the Starlight Realm are trash. Even though you know you arent a match for us, you still insist on resisting. In the end, all you managed to do was make a fool of yourselves. Im really starting to wonder what has gotten into the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Why would the Alliance put someone who had merely defeated two pieces of trash onto the Luminous Glory List? Some shady dealings must be going on behind the scenes. Im guessing that the Seven Luminaries Alliance must have lowered its standards out of consideration for the Starlight Realms players growing weaker and weaker with every passing generation. Otherwise, nobody from the Starlight Realms current generation can get onto any of the Seven Luminaries Lists. That might very well be the case. Ever since the Madwomans generation, the Starlight Realm has not produced even one capable fighter until now. When the surrounding players saw the despair on Crosss and Lerojas faces, they started snickering and talking among themselves. According to insider information, their leader, Ghost Hand the Star Sword, was originally slated to debut on the Luminous Glory List in the ranking lists latest revision. However, because of the sudden appearance of a player named Black Flame, Ghost Hand was pushed to the 1,001st rank and deprived of his debut on the Luminous Glory List This turn of events had infuriated Ghost Hand, and he vowed to kill any Starlight Realm player he came across. Die, you pieces of trash from the Starlight Realm! Ghost Hand shouted as he raised his longsword to execute another Star Rain. Its over Leroja sighed when she saw that Ghost Hand was about to launch another attack. The gap between fourth- and fifth-floor experts was simply too massive. Out of all the Starlight Realm players who had entered the Holy Realm, only the top few players could hope to match Ghost Hand. Everyone else could, at most, survive two moves against him. However, just as Ghost Hand was about to attack with his thorn-like longsword, a deep voice suddenly came from afar. Although the voice was soft, the words spoken by this voice loudly echoed in everyones minds. You dare to launch a sneak attack with such low standards? Every word spoken by this voice was the same as what Ghost Hand had previously said. Even the tone used by this voice was the same contemptuous tone Ghost Hand had previously used. Whos there?! Ghost Hand snapped his head toward the source of the voice and executed Star Rain in that direction without hesitation. Immediately, countless swords rained down on the remnants of the three-story building that Ghost Hand had previously demolished. This time, the sword rain had lasted for a full three seconds before stopping. It was obvious that Ghost Hand was incensed by the provocation and had no intentions of holding back. However, just when everyone thought it was over, they saw a person walking out of the dust and debris. Moreover, to their surprise, this person had seemingly come out of Ghost Hands attack unscathed as he walked steadily and leisurely. Who are you? Ghost Hand couldnt help himself from asking as he looked at the person walking out of the settling dust. Star Rain was Ghost Hands trademark move. It was also the combat technique he was most proud of. With the aid of this combat technique, rarely would he come across a worthy opponent among those of the same generation. Although some experts could block his Star Rain, theyd usually end up battered and nearly dead like Cross after doing so. Out of all the opponents Ghost Hand had fought thus far, the only ones who had managed to come out of his Star Rain unscathed were old monsters. However, based on the appearance and voice of the person in front of him, it was obvious the other party was a young man. Who am I? The figure amidst the dust chuckled. Someone whos stronger than you! You! Ghost Hand flew into a rage when he heard the other partys words. Just when Ghost Hand was about to execute another attack, the dust finally settled, revealing the figure it previously shrouded. Meanwhile, upon seeing this figure, whether it was Ghost Hand, Cross, Leroja, or Desolate Fury, all of them couldnt help but widen their eyes in shock. Black Flame? Youre Black Flame? The Asura Sword Emperor? How are you here, Brother Black Flame? Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3335 - Chapter 409 - Exclusive Absolute Technique Chapter 409 C Exclusive Absolute Technique Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury were very familiar with the appearance of the player named Black Flame. It was especially so for Desolate Fury. When Desolate Fury again saw the inconspicuous yet familiar person, feelings of surprise and melancholy filled his heart. When they first met in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition, Desolate Furys first impression of the player named Black Flame was that the other party was insane. After all, only a lunatic would dare to provoke Saint Three, who happened to be the pinnacle of Tier 4 players in the Ancient River Kingdom at the time. However, contrary to Desolate Furys expectations, Black Flame had not only made it into the Rookie Competitions finals, but he had even proceeded to become the Rookie Competitions champion. As a result, not only did Black Flames fame instantly overshadow Saint Three but he was even granted the title of the Ancient River Kingdoms First Paragon, a title that hadnt been granted to anyone for the past several decades. Later on, Desolate Fury heard that Black Flame had ended up offending the Paimon Conglomerates Young Master Dira and incensed the Divine Seal Saint into sending an army after him. Yet, just when Desolate Fury and everyone else in the Ancient River Kingdom thought that Black Flame was doomed, Black Flame became an expert on the Luminous Glory List after a stunning battle in the World Passage. A Luminous Glory List expert! This was a dazzling glory that even Saint Three could only look up at in awe. Meanwhile, when Cross and Leroja saw Black Flame appearing before them, mixed feelings filled their hearts. Initially, even after Black Flame became the champion of the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition, neither Cross nor Leroja felt they were inferior to him. At most, they thought of him as a strong competitor. After all, the Rookie Competitions finals at the time didnt involve a direct duel between the top 10 finalists. It was more so a test to see who had the better equipment standard. Hence, nobody could say for certain who would win in an actual duel. Not to mention, their goal was never to become the Rookie Competitions champion. Instead, their goal was to qualify for the official phase of the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. Only, neither Cross nor Leroja had expected Black Flame to become an expert on the Luminous Glory List in the short time they hadnt seen him. Hes Black Flame, the Asura Sword Emperor! So, hes that Asura Sword Emperor? When the other players present saw Shi Feng walking closer and closer to them, they promptly ceased their offensive on Desolate Furys group and looked at Shi Feng warily. The Luminous Glory List was a compilation of the Greater Gods Domains top 1,000 Tier 4 experts under the age of 35. Every individual on the list stood at the pinnacle of Tier 4 in the Greater Gods Domain. Even someone at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List was overwhelmingly stronger than titled experts. So, youre Black Flame? Ghost Hand wasnt all too surprised when he saw Shi Feng coming out of his attack unscathed. On the contrary, he smiled at this sight. I thought I would never get my revenge on you. I never thought I would actually meet you here. Now, Im going to let those fools over at the Seven Luminaries Alliance know how unreliable their ranking lists are! The latest edition of the Luminous Glory List was originally supposed to be the stepping stone for Ghost Hand to propel himself to the apex of his Realm. However, he had lost this opportunity because the Seven Luminaries Alliance made the laughable decision to put Shi Feng on the 963rd rank of the Luminous Glory List after Shi Feng defeated two paragons from the Paimon Conglomerate. From Ghost Hands perspective, whether it was the Paimon Conglomerates Storm or Saint Arm, both were trash. This was because neither of them was even at the pseudo-fifth-floor standard. If it were up to him, he could have handily defeated six of such experts simultaneously, let alone two. So, on what basis did Shi Feng deserve to get ranked 963rd on the Luminous Glory List? After Ghost Hand finished speaking, he suddenly vanished from everyones vision. Be careful! Hes not a Swordsman! Leroja shouted when she saw Ghost Hand disappearing. This was a discovery she had made only recently. More specifically, it was after Ghost Hand had evaded her ultimate move, Blood Arrow. Unlike Cross, she could tell that Ghost Hand didnt rely on only his sixth sense to evade her attack. Instead, he had paired his sixth sense with a Skill. Hes not a Swordsman? Cross was stunned by Lerojas revelation. Out of the 99 Absolute Techniques in the Greater Gods Domain, the 9th-ranked Star Rain was a type of swordsmanship. So, to say that Ghost Hand wasnt a Swordsman was absurd. Not bad, pretty lady. You actually guessed that Boss Ghost isnt a Swordsman. Its a pity that your warning is too late. Now that Black Flame has let Boss Ghost get within 100 yards of him, hes as good as dead. Ghost Hands subordinates were quite surprised by Lerojas statement. At the same time, though, they couldnt help but laugh. Indeed, Ghost Hand wasnt a Swordsman but an Assassin instead! It was just that normally when fighting, Ghost Hand didnt even need to go into Stealth. Star Rain was enough for him to take care of most of his opponents. Moreover, Ghost Hand preferred to use a one-handed longsword, which gave others the false impression that he was a Swordsman. After all, many Skills for Assassins required the use of a dagger or a short sword. Not to mention, similar to how most high-ranking longswords would provide bonuses to Swordsman Skills, many high-ranking daggers and short swords would provide bonuses for Assassin Skills. So, it didnt make sense for an Assassin to be using a longsword. However, the longsword Ghost Hand used was different. Magic Weapon, Thorn of Sins! This was a longsword that provided bonuses for the Assassin class. Moreover, rather than a longsword, itd be more accurate to consider it a weapon made up of numerous sharp blades. It could be used to launch numerous sharp projectiles or wielded like a whip or a normal longsword. This allowed Ghost Hand to attack his opponents using various combat styles, making him incredibly unpredictable. Of course, compared to his weapon, Ghost Hand himself was a much greater threat. Once Ghost Hand entered Stealth, even experts who had mastered their sixth sense could not perceive his presence. Paired with the Thorn of Sins, Ghost Hand could kill any opponent within 100 yards of him with almost 100% certainty. While Ghost Hands subordinates were talking among themselves, Shi Feng unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night, not daring to be careless. Experts who had reached the fifth-floor standard were existences standing at the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. Every one of these experts had their own specialty that they could use to integrate their sixth sense with Skills, Spells, or combat techniques, and by doing so, they could create Absolute Techniques exclusive to themselves. Meanwhile, even fifth-floor experts would be at risk of instant death if they werent careful when going up against another fifth-floor experts Exclusive Absolute Technique. To make matters worse, Shi Feng had never heard of Ghost Hands name during his previous life. Among fifth-floor experts, the ones whose names had never been heard were usually regarded as the most dangerous. This was because, unlike well-known fifth-floor experts who had been thoroughly analyzed by others, nobody knew what kind of Exclusive Absolute Techniques these unknown fifth-floor experts could have up their sleeves. Hence, Shi Feng needed to be very cautious when fighting against the Assassin. You should feel honored! You will be the first person I use this next move on! While Ghost Hand looked at Shi Feng from Stealth, the Thorn of Sins in his hand transformed into countless invisible petals that silently danced around Shi Feng. Exclusive Absolute Technique, Omni Rain! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3336 - Chapter 410 - Divine Might! Chapter 410 C Divine Might! The scene that took place following Ghost Hands disappearance left everyone shocked. In the blink of an eye, the buildings lining the dilapidated street had become riddled with holes. Then, a moment later, these buildings were reduced to dust and scattered in the wind. However, rather than the level of destruction Ghost Hand caused, what terrified everyone, even more, was the fact that they couldnt perceive any of his attacks. It was to a point where their minds failed to sense any danger despite witnessing the destruction that had just taken place. Is this the true strength of a fifth-floor expert? Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury were stupefied when they saw the weathering phenomenon before them. All three of them were experts who had experienced many great battles in the Greater Gods Domain. However, whether they were going up against ferocious monsters or experts with long-standing fame, they could always more or less perceive danger when clashing with their opponents. Some of these opponents could even instill fear into them. Meanwhile, any experienced expert would know that the sense of danger and fear one felt was the minds self-protection mechanism doing its job to make one aware that someone or something was a threat to their life. However, even though the weathering phenomenon before them was clearly a grave threat to them, their minds failed to show any reactions to it. It was as if they were currently witnessing a normal event, such as the sun rising from the east, and their minds didnt think it was necessary to give them any warnings. Realizing this, Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury felt their scalps going numb. In the Greater Gods Domain, battles between Tier 4 experts and above usually occur at speeds that the naked eye could not keep up with. As a result, experts at Tier 4 and above would need to rely on their bodys other senses to form an instinctive coping mechanism against them. Only by doing so could they keep up with high-speed battles that were too fast for the naked eye to follow. However, if none of their senses could perceive anything Just thinking about the consequences terrified them. This would be no different from an opponent having already run a sword through their hearts while they were still under the assumption that the opponent had yet to make a move. How were they supposed to fight against such an opponent? Subsequently, the weathering phenomenon could be seen converging on Shi Fengs location. However, even though they could see the dilapidated street disintegrating, they still couldnt perceive what was causing it. What a powerful Exclusive Absolute Technique! He is indeed brilliant to be able to modify Star Rain to such an extent. Shi Feng couldnt help but admire Ghost Hand as he looked at the disintegrating street and buildings around him. The Ninth Absolute Technique, Star Rain, was a combat technique that utilized an extraordinarily high attack frequency to overwhelm the opponents nervous response system. Meanwhile, Ghost Hand improved this technique by making all of his attacks invisible. Or, more accurately, impossible for others to perceive. Ghost Hands attacks were not only visually undetectable, they also could not be detected by any of the bodys other senses. Without having mastered Star Rain to an incredible degree, it would be impossible to manipulate Star Rain to such an extent. Meanwhile, when going against such an Exclusive Absolute Technique, even experts ranked at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List would be killed instantly without adequate countermeasures. Its a pity this move is useless against me. Shi Feng grinned as he raised the Winter of Eternal Night. World of Frost! Nine frost swords could be seen flying to a distant building that was over ten stories tall. Immediately afterward, the sound of metal clashing came from the building. Then, Ghost Hand could be seen flying out of the building with the Thorn of Sins returning to its original longsword appearance in his hand. The spectators present fell into silence upon seeing this. This development especially dumbfounded Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury. You saw through my technique?! Ghost Hand was in disbelief as he looked at Shi Fengs distant figure. Ghost Hand was confident nobody could perceive him while he was under Stealth, much less see through his Exclusive Absolute Technique. After all, he had previously relied on the combination of these two things to kill a fifth-floor expert and qualify for the Luminous Glory List. Yet, even though Shi Feng clearly wasnt a fifth-floor expert, Shi Feng had not only seen through his technique but also pinpointed his location. Its nothing to be surprised about, Shi Feng said as he looked at Ghost Hand. Your technique might be powerful, but it also has obvious flaws. Star Rain prides itself in having a high attack frequency. If you want to erase the presence of all those attacks, you will have to invest a lot of time and energy into the endeavor. That means you will likely be stationary and susceptible to attacks while executing your technique. In that case, so long as I can find your location and attack you, youll have no choice but to stop your technique. Ghost Hand did not refute Shi Fengs words. This was because he had a very clear understanding of his Exclusive Absolute Technique, Omnirain, and that included its weaknesses. However, while Shi Fengs explanation of how he disrupted his technique might sound simple, finding him while he was under Stealth was not a simple task. In fact, it should be impossible for a fourth-floor expert like Shi Feng. For fourth-floor experts, the only reliable way to disrupt him while he was executing Omni Rain was by bombarding the area with large-scale destruction Spells. Yet, Shi Feng spoke as if he knew his whereabouts. Actually, that had to be the case since Shi Feng had accurately launched attacks at him. This was simply unbelievable. Although I dont know how you managed to locate my presence, it doesnt change the fact that you still arent a fifth-floor expert. After taking a deep breath, Ghost Hand looked at Shi Feng with a sneer. If Omni Rain doesnt work against you, what about the actual Star Rain? How many times will you be able to block it? After saying so, Ghost Hand began brandishing the Thorn of Sins and sending numerous sword lights raining down on Shi Feng from all directions. One second Ten seconds Thirty seconds Unlike when Ghost Hand executed Star Rain against Cross, he did not stop executing the technique against Shi Feng after only a brief moment. Instead, he executed it continuously and bombarded Shi Fengs location with a constant stream of sword lights. If players had yet to reach the fifth-floor standard, they would be incapable of maximizing the potential of their sixth sense to predict danger. Without this ability, players would be incapable of coping against an overwhelming number of attacks. Even if players relied on Skills and Spells to defend themselves, these would only be temporary measures that would run out sooner or later. After Ghost Hand continued his assault for two whole minutes, the area Shi Feng stood in had transformed into a huge crater littered with countless small holes. From the devastation Ghost Hand caused, one could see just how frighteningly high his attack frequency was. However, executing Star Rain continuously for two whole minutes did not come without a price. At this time, Ghost Hands complexion had become extremely pale, and his hand that wielded the Thorn of Sins was trembling. Evidently, Ghost Hand had pushed himself to the limits in his attack on Shi Feng. Its over, Ghost Hand said indifferently as he looked into the empty crater, unsurprised that it was empty. Then, he turned his gaze to Desolate Furys group of three and continued, Its your turn next! However, as soon as Ghost Hand finished speaking, he immediately sensed something was amiss. This was because he could not see the fearful expressions he had expected to find on Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury. Instead, all he saw were expressions of confusion. Boss! Be careful! Hes behind you! Ghost Hands subordinates shouted in a panic. Behind? Before he realized it, a longsword had pierced through his heart. His HP had even instantly plummeted to zero. Ghost Hand instinctively tried to activate a Lifesaving Skill when he heard his subordinates warnings. However, before he could do so, he felt a pain in his chest. Then, when he looked down, he found that a longsword had pierced his heart and deprived him of all of his HP. You When Ghost Hand turned around to look behind him, he couldnt help but reveal a bewildered expression. This was because he found Shi Feng standing behind him completely unscathed. Not even a single point was missing from Shi Fengs HP bar. However, what Ghost Hand found even more astonishing was that Shi Feng had gotten behind him without alerting his danger senses. Then, just as he was wondering why his danger senses had failed him, he suddenly noticed that the feeling of insecurity he had experienced and was still experiencing after stepping into this region had suddenly disappeared. This isDivine Might? Ghost Hand immediately understood why he had failed to perceive any danger from Shi Fengs attack. Divine Might! The moment he had stepped into this region, he was already under the influence of Shi Fengs Divine Might. Everywhere within a persons Divine Might was a danger zone for hostile targets. So, how was his mind supposed to convey that danger was approaching if it had already been continuously doing so since long ago? Unfortunately, Ghost Hand realized this point too late, as his HP had already fallen to zero, and his vision had started to go dark. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3337 - Chapter 411 - Eternal Stone Chapter 411 C Eternal Stone Boss? Ghost Hands subordinates fell into a daze when they saw him collapse. In addition to being one of the few fifth-floor experts among the Dragon Mountain Realms younger generation, Ghost Hand was one of the few budding experts who could hold his ground against older generation fifth-floor experts. Yet, now, Ghost Hand was killed by Shi Feng in one move? At this time, even Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury were dumbfounded by this situation. Although the three of them had long expected Shi Feng to have extraordinary strength after he got into the Luminous Glory List, they didnt think he would be this strong. Just a second ago, they thought that Shi Feng had died under Ghost Hands Star Rain. Yet, in the next second, Ghost Hand was killed by Shi Feng. They also clearly saw that Ghost Hand had failed to sense Shi Fengs presence behind him right until Shi Feng stabbed him. Is there really such a massive gap between a Luminous Glory expert and a non-Luminous Glory expert? Leroja dared not believe her eyes when she saw Ghost Hands corpse falling to the ground. Although it had been many years since the Starlight Realm had produced a Luminous Glory expert, that did not stop her from researching the experts on the Luminous Glory List. Meanwhile, from the information she studied, while she acknowledged that the Luminous Glory Lists experts were inhuman, were they strong to such an exaggerated extent? It should be known that Ghost Hand was already a fifth-floor expert. Killing fourth-floor experts like them should be childs play for him. It also wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that he was already equal to the experts on the Luminous Glory List. Yet, Ghost Hand couldnt even last more than one move against Shi Feng? Different from Leroja, Cross broke out into cold sweat when he saw Shi Feng handily defeating Ghost Hand. After all, before the Rookie Competitions finals started, he had boldly stated that Shi Feng might be able to become a worthy opponent for him in the future. He was basically treating Shi Feng like a junior at the time Thank goodness the Rookie Competitions finals didnt adopt a duel format. Otherwise, Id have made a huge fool out of myself, Cross thought as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. If he were to stand in Ghost Hands shoes, he probably wouldnt even know how he had died to Shi Feng. As for Desolate Fury, he couldnt help but let out a rueful sigh when he saw Shi Feng defeating Ghost Hand. When they first met, Shi Feng was a nobody whom even Lightning Chaser looked at in contempt. Now, Shi Feng had already reached a height where he couldnt even see. With the strength to slay a fifth-floor expert in one move, there was no doubt that Shi Feng had already reached the apex of the Starlight Realms younger generation of Tier 4 experts. At this point, only older generation Tier 4 experts would have any hope of one-upping him. While Desolate Fury was immersed in melancholy, the Dragon Mountain Realms players briefly looked at each other before scattering without hesitation, none of them daring to continue their assault on Desolate Furys group. If all of them were to fight against Ghost Hand together, it would only be a matter of time before Ghost Hand killed them all. Now that it was proven that even Ghost Hand wasnt a match for Shi Feng, even if Shi Feng wasnt an Assassin, so long as he could kill one of them with every swing of his sword, it wouldnt take him more than a hundred swings to end the fight. The penalty for death in the Holy Realm was incredibly severe. Should players die, they would permanently lose 10% of their Basic Attributes. If they died too many times, their accounts would be essentially crippled. In no time, the Dragon Mountain Realms players vanished from the area. Theyre finally gone. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the Dragon Mountain Realms players retreating. The mana suppression in the Holy Realm was so powerful that it had thoroughly negated any advantages his Mana Body had previously provided him. In addition, it became extremely taxing on his Concentration and Stamina to use combat techniques. Meanwhile, although Divine Might was powerful, it wasnt omnipotent. It only allowed him to perceive his opponents every movement and mental state as well as suppress his opponents mental state and five senses. For these reasons, Ghost Hand was no different than a titled expert before him. At most, Ghost Hand would possess stronger combat techniques than the average titled expert. However, when going up against several dozen players who were in a battle array that increased their Basic Attributes and shared linked five senses, the advantages provided by Divine Might would diminish. If the Dragon Mountain Realms players were intent on killing him at all costs, it would only be a matter of time before they succeeded. Subsequently, Shi Feng picked up a tattered sack that Ghost Hand dropped. Sure enough, he had a substitution tool, Shi Feng thought, not feeling too surprised as he looked at the tattered sack. Every peerless paragon belonging to a major power would typically have a substitution tool that could let them negate the penalties of death. This was so that these peerless paragons could avoid accidentally falling into ruin. For a fifth-floor expert like Ghost Hand, it wouldnt even be strange if he had two or three substitution tools. Meanwhile, if a player with a substitution tool was killed, they wouldnt drop any weapons or equipment. At most, they would lose items guaranteed to drop on death. After collecting Ghost Hands loot, Shi Feng made his way to Desolate Furys group of three. Are you three alright? Shi Feng asked when he saw that the three people before him were covered in injuries. Then, he continued, How did you three get here? Are you not going to participate in the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition? Previously, Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury had participated in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition to enter the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. Now that the competition in question was about to begin, Shi Feng found it strange that these three people would appear in the Holy Realm. The Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition? Looking at Shi Feng strangely, Desolate Fury asked, Dont you know that the competition is already over, Brother Black Flame? Over? Shi Feng was confused. Shouldnt it just be starting soon? When he returned to the Miniature Ancient World from the Greater Gods Domain, the Galaxy Conglomerates preliminaries had just begun. Going by how much time had passed, the official phase of the invitational competition shouldnt have started yet, much less ended. Its already been two days since the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition has ended, Brother Black Flame, Cross said, affirming Desolate Furys words. Moreover, we are only here in the Holy Realm because the Galaxy Conglomerate sent us here after the competition. When the competition started, we wondered why you didnt show up. The Galaxy Conglomerate even sent people to try and contact you. The competition ended two days ago? When Shi Feng heard Crosss words, he suddenly thought of the Space-Time Storm. He had no idea how much time he had spent in the Space-Time Storm. The passage of time inside the Space-Time Storm was also warped, so it wouldnt be strange if a moment in the Space-Time Storm was several days in the real world. Meanwhile, when Desolate Fury and the others saw Shi Fengs reaction, they quickly understood what had happened and started explaining the situation to Shi Feng. There were countless mysteries in Gods Domain. Situations such as players entering an area with a different flow rate of time werent unheard of. There were even instances of players experiencing one year in just one day, so Shi Fengs case of experiencing one moment in several days wasnt all too surprising. Meanwhile, after listening to the trios explanation, Shi Feng learned that he had spent real-world days in the Space-Time Storm. He also learned that two days ago, the Galaxy Conglomerate had made an astronomical offer to the Tier 4 players of its invitational competition for them to enter the Holy Realm. Originally, everyone who had received the Galaxy Conglomerates offer was very excited. However, shortly after arriving in the Holy Realm, everyone realized that the Holy Realm wasnt as simple as they thought it to be and that they werent alone in the Holy Realm. The geniuses and paragons of many other Realms had also entered the Holy Realm. Meanwhile, everyone only had one goal in the Holy Realm. The Eternal Stones! Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3338 - Chapter 412 - Saint Camp Chapter 412 C Saint Camp Eternal Stones? After listening to what the three said, Shi Feng recalled the Eternity Set he had heard about during his previous life. Divine Sets might not be overflowing in Gods Domain, but quite a few still existed throughout Gods Domains history. All Divine Sets possessed incomparable power, and even most of the naturally occurring Godly Relics could not hold a candle to them. Upon donning a Divine Set, players could instantly become one of the overlords of Gods Domain. Out of all the Divine Sets in existence, six of them stood out from the rest, and these six sets were labeled as the Six Great Divine Sets. Meanwhile, the Eternity Set was one of these six special sets. Few records were available on Eternity, even in the Greater Gods Domains Great Titan Library. According to legends, the last owner of Eternity had relied on the Divine Set to fight against the myriad Ancient Gods as a mortal and create an immortal empire during the era of Ancient Gods. Eventually, the Ancient Gods acknowledged Eternitys wearer and labeled him the Slayer of Ancient Gods. Later on, though, Eternitys wearer died for some inexplicable reason, and the Eternity Set disappeared along with his death. It was also rumored that the Eternity Set was destroyed, and its fragments scattered across the various Realms. During his previous life, Shi Feng heard that the Galaxy Conglomerate had gotten its hands on clues pertaining to the Eternity Set. When he combined the fact that the Galaxy Conglomerate was currently making an astronomical offer for the Starlight Realms players to collect Eternal Stones for it, he couldnt help but suspect that the Eternal Stones had something to do with the Eternity Set. Or, more specifically, the Eternal Stones were the Eternity Sets fragments. Ive already given up on getting Eternal Stones, Cross said with a wry smile. Setting aside the fact that they are only dropped in 20-man God Mode Team Dungeons, just surviving in the Holy Realm is tough enough. Is it difficult to survive here? Shi Feng curiously asked. While he had yet to explore the Holy Realm, the monsters he had come across thus far werent insurmountably powerful. The only problem he could see making it difficult for players like Cross to survive here would be the experts of other Realms. However, for experts like Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury, so long as they didnt come across fifth-floor experts like Ghost Hand, it shouldnt be difficult to escape with their lives. You should know that we cant log out of the game if we are in the Holy Realm, Brother Black Flame. If we forcibly log out, we will be at risk of falling into a coma, Desolate Fury explained. The Galaxy Conglomerate told us that if we wish to leave the Holy Realm, the only way to do so is to get our hands on an Eternal Stone. We can only leave after obtaining an Eternal Stone? Shi Feng started to have a mild headache when he heard Desolate Furys explanation. It was a huge problem for him if he couldnt log out of the game while inside the Holy Realm. After all, he still had many things to take care of in the real world. However, acquiring Holy Stones evidently wasnt a simple task since a powerful team was needed to raid God Mode Team Dungeons. Weve given up hope on leaving the Holy Realm, Desolate Fury dejectedly said. Thankfully, there is a way for us to safely log out of the game, and that is to purchase a Return Talisman. Each Return Talisman will give players one chance to go offline. The only problem is the exorbitant pricing of these Return Talismans. Each talisman costs 100 God Crystal Fragments. God Crystal Fragments are only dropped in Dungeons, and the drop rate in Party Dungeons is terrible. Even after raiding Party Dungeons for two whole days, our party only managed to collect about two dozen fragments. After dividing them, each of us received less than a handful. At this rate, who knows how long itll take us to get 100 fragments The Holy Realm was indeed a land of opportunities. However, for experts of their caliber, even logging out of the game had become a luxury, let alone getting their hands on any fortuitous opportunities. They also couldnt just give up on obtaining God Crystal Fragments, either. After all, they had responsibilities and families in the real world. To their dismay, they had even come across some people who had been trapped in the Holy Realm for decades. All of these people had thought of starting new accounts. Unfortunately, the Main God System did not even give them this opportunity. Instead, the Main God System only gave them two options: They could continue logging back into their accounts and strive to get their hands on an Eternal Stone, or they could stop playing Gods Domain entirely. Gods Domain was the only way for people to develop their mental strength effectively in the real world, so quitting Gods Domain was not an option. After all, who wouldnt want to live a longer life? When Shi Feng finished listening to Desolate Furys explanation, he couldnt help but be a little astonished. The importance of God Crystals need not be said. Many Fragmented Legendary items could be repaired and upgraded into Legendary items using God Crystals. Meanwhile, in the Greater Gods Domain, 100 God Crystal Fragments could be used to synthesize one God Crystal, so one could easily imagine the value of God Crystal Fragments. Yet, the Holy Realm required players to spend 100 God Crystal Fragments just to gain one opportunity to go offline. Even a wealthy princeling like Dira would find this price costly. Save the talking for later. We should hurry back to camp first. If the Dragon Mountain Realms players return, none of us should think of escaping, Leroja said. Cross and Desolate Fury nodded in agreement. Ghost Hand was indeed one of the few fifth-floor experts among the Dragon Mountain Realms younger generation. However, the Dragon Mountain Realm didnt just have younger generation experts in the Holy Realm. Older generation experts from the Dragon Mountain Realm were also here. Every one of those older generation experts had already spent many years in the Holy Realm. The strength and foundation theyve built for themselves were far superior to what Ghost Hand possessed. If those older generation experts took action, not even the top 300 experts on the Luminous Glory List could match them, let alone someone ranked at the bottom of the list. Hence, their priority now should be to return to a town. Only after they were inside a town would they be safe. Shi Feng naturally didnt have any opinions. He was new to the Holy Realm, so the best course of action to take now would be to find a safe haven and gather information. Afterward, Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury led Shi Feng on a five-hour dash before arriving outside a town enveloped by a magic barrier. The town was small, smaller than even a Guild Town. The buildings in the town also looked simple and crude, with the tallest building not exceeding six stories tall. However, despite the towns shabby look, it was one of the safest locations in the entire Holy Realm. According to the trio, the towns found in the Holy Realm were known as Saint Camps. As for why they were called as such, it was because every town was managed by one Saint. Indeed! A bona fide Saint! Although the Saints overseeing these towns were only at Tier 4, because they were existences who had reached the pinnacle in a particular World Law, their strength far exceeded the paragons on the Luminous Glory List. It wasnt far-fetched to say that so long as these Saints left the Holy Realm, they would instantly become the center of attention of the Greater Gods Domain. The only reason these Saints chose to remain in the Holy Realm was so that they could get their hands on the Holy Realms fortuitous opportunities. Moreover, standing behind every one of these Saints was a cross-realm conglomerate. So, whether in terms of individual or group strength, these Saints were not opponents that the individual player or conglomerate could hope to contend against. The moment Shi Feng set foot into the sparsely populated Saint Camp, he immediately understood what made the Holy Realm extraordinary. Even the weakest player walking on the Saint Camps streets was a titled expert, and many experts were on Crosss and Lerojas standards. In addition, quite a few of these experts were equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. While walking among these players, Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury were far from being conspicuous. The primary currency used in the camp was God Crystal Fragments. Meanwhile, not only could one find Fragmented Legendary items sold in every shop in the camp, but one could also find the incredibly 99 Absolute Techniques being sold. Only, the price of these Absolute Techniques could range anywhere from 1,000 God Crystal Fragments to 10,000 God Crystal Fragments. Of all the techniques Shi Feng saw being sold, the most expensive one would have to be Dark Star, the fifth-ranking Absolute Technique. Outside the Holy Realm, players couldnt learn this Absolute Technique unless they belonged to an apex power. However, in the Holy Realm, players could get one complete learning opportunity so long as they paid 10,000 God Crystal Fragments. Aside from items in Gods Domain, the camps shops also sold precious potions in the Greater World, such as the precious Stardew highly coveted by the various cities. One drop of Stardew only cost 5,000 God Crystal Fragments. Once players paid up, the seller would immediately have the Stardew delivered to their doorsteps via the Gods Domain Association. The entire Saint Camp had essentially become a trading hub for the various Realms. The opportunities available here were far beyond what was available outside the Holy Realm. So long as one had God Crystal Fragments, the Holy Realm would be no different than paradise. With all the opportunities available here, even if players could leave the Holy Realm, they wouldnt necessarily choose to leave. In fact, that was indeed the case for some experts. Despite having the ability to leave the Holy Realm at any time, some experts would voluntarily choose to remain. Some of these experts had even developed their own forces in the Holy Realm to make a fortune in the real world. In the evening After touring the entire Saint Camp, Shi Feng made an appointment to explore the depths of the dilapidated city with the trio tomorrow. Then, with the trios help, he rented a room in an inconspicuous hotel for the exorbitant price of one God Crystal Fragment per night. With the prices the Saint Camps hotels charged, operating a hotel was even more lucrative than robbing players. After entering his room, Shi Feng didnt have anything better to do, so he decided to take a closer look at the tattered leather pouch Ghost Hand dropped. TL Notes: Just to recap- The Luminous Glory List only records players under 35 years old. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3339 - Chapter 413 - Book of Eternity Chapter 413 C Book of Eternity When Shi Feng used an Identification Skill on the tattered pouch, to his surprise, he found that not only did his Identification Skill fail, but Eternal Energy even started to slowly spread from the pouch. What dense Eternal Energy! Shi Feng was shocked by the Eternal Energy overflowing from the pouch. The density of the Eternal Energy coming out of the pouch was even more exaggerated than the Eternal Energy found on the Hundred Refinement Buildings second floor, which was already incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. So, Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine what was stored inside the pouch. However, when Shi Feng tried to open the pouch to inspect its contents, several magic barriers suddenly appeared and sealed the pouch, preventing him from opening it. An Eternal Object! These were the words that Shi Feng instinctively thought of after seeing all that had happened with the pouch. Eternal Objects in Gods Domain were indestructible. At the same time, they could not be appraised. Even if something or someone managed to appraise an Eternal Object, all they would see was the word Unknown in the items description. When Shi Feng combined the fact that the pouch was leaking unbelievably rich Eternal Energy and could not be appraised, the only thing he could think of was that the pouch was an Eternal Object. Where did that guy get this thing from? Shi Fengs heart remained in an excited state as he looked at the tattered pouch enveloped by magic barriers. Almost all Eternal Objects were products of the Era of Ancient Gods, and every one of them was incomparably precious. Their rarity also far exceeded Legendary Weapons. If Ghost Hand knew what he had dropped, he would probably have the urge to die right about now. However, Shi Feng didnt think too much about how Ghost Hand had gotten his hands on an Eternal Object. Immediately, he began inspecting the barriers protecting the pouch. Eternal Objects in Gods Domain could be put into two general categories: dead Eternal Objects that were damaged to an unusable extent and partially damaged Eternal Objects that retained a certain degree of their original abilities. If it was a dead Eternal Object, repairing it would be beyond difficult. Unless players could come across a special encounter, owning a dead Eternal Object would be no different than owning a piece of junk. If it was a partially damaged Eternal Object, then it would be worth a fortune. Currently, it was obvious that the tattered pouch belonged to the latter group, making it an Eternal Object that still retained a portion of its abilities. These barriers dont look like a problem. Any Great Grandmaster Magician could crack them, Shi Feng concluded in pleasant surprise after inspecting the barriers for half an hour. Products of the Ancient Gods era typically remained in the blind spots of players. Only players who had an Ancient God Legacy could have a chance of obtaining these items. Yet, now, the barriers protecting the tattered pouch only required a Great Grandmaster Magician to undo. Such a requirement might seem impossibly high by modern-day standards, but it should be known that the status of Great Grandmaster Magicians during the Era of Ancient Gods was lower than even that of Master Magicians in modern-day Gods Domain. After all, while Craftsman Magicians werent everywhere back then, they still existed, which was infinitely more than the Craftsman Magicians that existed in the modern era. At least, as far as Shi Feng knew, there were no living Craftsman Magicians in the current Greater Gods Domain, their existence having become a myth at this point. Immediately, Shi Feng started to work on breaking the barriers protecting the tattered pouch. One hour Two hours Three hours Roughly six hours after Shi Feng had started, the barriers protecting the pouch shattered simultaneously. Once the barriers were gone, the tattered pouch started to disintegrate, and dense Eternal Energy started to spread across the entire room. Shi Feng was a little confused when he saw the pouch disintegrating. After all, this was an Eternal Object they were talking about. An Eternal Object! This was an item that not even Ancient Gods could destroy. Yet, now, an Eternal Object had disintegrated right before his very eyes Before Shi Feng could start cursing his luck, the ashes of the tattered pouch suddenly transformed into a tablet half the size of his palm. This isa Book of Eternity! When Shi Feng saw the tablet made entirely out of red obsidian before him, his mind fell into a daze. For the average player, they might not have even heard of the Books of Eternity before. However, the Books of Eternity were something known by every conglomerate and apex power in the Greater Gods Domain, and they were items that could make even apex powers go crazy for it. This was because the Books of Eternity contained a record of knowledge passed down from the Era of Ancient Gods. To the confusion of players, there were several missing eras in Gods Domains history. Or more specifically, there were no historical records of these eras, and people could only infer and research their existences based on the items left over from these eras. It was also because of these missing eras that despite modern-day technology making continuous progress, it still couldnt beat the Era of Myriad Gods, let alone the Era of Ancient Gods. An example of the inferiority of modern-day technology would be the inability of modern people of Gods Domain to repair Sacred Armor. However, the Books of Eternity contained knowledge from the Era of Ancient Gods. To Shi Fengs knowledge, a total of four Books of Eternity had appeared in the Greater Gods Domain thus far. Meanwhile, these four Books of Eternity had created four transcendental powers in the Greater Gods Domain, and one of these four powers was the Seven Luminaries Alliance. According to rumors, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had gone from being an insignificant power to becoming an apex power in only several decades thanks to the Book of Eternity it found. Then, over time, it eventually became one of the oldest powers in the current Greater Gods Domain. Although nobody knew what knowledge the Seven Luminaries Alliance acquired from its Book of Eternity, nobody ever doubted the Alliances strength. Even Demon Gate, an apex power with a Divine Set under its ownership, dared not make enemies with the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Meanwhile, out of all the powers that dared to make enemies with the Seven Luminaries Alliance, every one of them was annihilated. Even apex powers were not an exception. In fact, the Seven Luminaries Alliance was so powerful that many powers wondered why the Alliance had not used its strength to dominate the entire Greater Gods Domain. Instead, the Alliance settled with only collecting various geniuses and doing business across the various Realms. As for the three other transcendental powers that had acquired a Book of Eternity, they were no longer heard of in the current Greater Gods Domain. Even so, it was rumored that all three of these powers still existed. It was just that they were no longer present in the various Realms. Meanwhile, Shi Feng had now gotten his hands on the fifth Book of Eternity! The fifth transcendental power, huh? Shi Feng couldnt help but grow excited as he looked at the red obsidian tablet in the palm of his hand. Immediately, he clicked on it to inspect it. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3340 - Chapter 414 - Mythological Class Chapter 414 C Mythological Class The room was quiet as Shi Feng carefully tapped his finger on the tablet. Immediately afterward, lines of information appeared before Shi Feng one after another. [Book of Eternity] (Eternal Object) This Book of Eternity records forbidden knowledge written by the Last Great Sage Ansel. You must first become a Divine Engraver to access this forbidden knowledge. You may spend one God Crystal to activate the Divine Engraver Legacy once. Indestructible. The Divine Engraver Legacy? Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the Book of Eternitys item description. Although he had long known that Books of Eternity were extraordinary, he didnt think they could be this incredible. The Divine Engraver subclass was one of the long-lost hidden subclasses in Gods Domain, and it vanished from Gods Domain at the end of the Era of Mythology. It was also known as a Mythological Class by players in the current Gods Domain. It should be known that various items in Gods Domain were composed of divine patterns. Meanwhile, these items possessed far superior capabilities to their modern counterparts. In fact, many weapons and equipment left over from the Era of Mythology were engraved with divine patterns, and these weapons and equipment could display incredible power. Unfortunately, no Legacies for the Divine Engraver subclass had ever been found. Despite all the effort the Greater Gods Domains various powers had put into researching the subclass, the most players could do thus far was engrave some fragmented and rudimentary divine patterns. However, even if a player only knew how to engrave half-baked divine patterns, they would still be highly valued and respected by the various conglomerates and apex powers. The influence they could enjoy would also be dozens of times greater than forgers and alchemists. In fact, these Divine Engravers were so highly sought after that there was a past instance where two apex powers had devastated an entire Realm for the sake of one. In the end, only after the Seven Luminaries Alliance had stepped forward to mediate the situation did the two apex powers cease their actions. It should be known that these so-called Divine Engravers hadnt truly learned the art of engraving divine patterns. They only learned how to draw fragmented and rudimentary divine patterns via bits and pieces of knowledge from Ancient God Legacies. Even so, they already enjoyed such incredible influence in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, now, the Book of Eternity before Shi Feng recorded a complete Divine Engraver Legacy! If news of this got out, it would absolutely shake the entire Greater Gods Domain. It might even cause all apex powers to act. After all, Divine Engravers had the technique to strengthen all objects. So long as they could possess such a technique, becoming the second Seven Luminaries Alliance wouldnt be a dream. No wonder the Books of Eternity can create transcendental powers in the Greater Gods Domain, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the tablet in his palm. But the cost of one God Crystal per learning opportunity The rarity of God Crystals was no less than that of Fragmented Legendary items. In addition, many Fragmented Legendary items required God Crystals to repair. Yet, there was no stable source of God Crystals in Gods Domain. If Shi Feng had to name a place that players could get God Crystals from somewhat reliably in the Greater Gods Domain, it would have to be the various divine ruins found in the Endless Void. However, these divine ruins were occupied by the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and apex powers. Ordinary players couldnt even get near them, let alone hunt for God Crystals in them. Meanwhile, players werent guaranteed to become a Divine Engraver on their first attempt at inheriting the Legacy. There were two reasons the Divine Engraver subclass was regarded as a Mythological Class. Firstly, it was because there were no known Legacies available for the subclass. Players couldnt learn how to become a Divine Engraver even if they wanted to become one. Secondly, it was because of the Divine Engraver subclasss uniqueness. It wasnt like other subclasses that could be gained simply by paying money to an NPC instructor and learning some basic knowledge. Instead, the Divine Engraver subclass was similar to the Magician subclass, where players could only become a Magician after drawing a complete magic array. In the Divine Engraver subclasss case, players could only become one after successfully engraving a complete divine pattern. Meanwhile, the difficulty of engraving divine patterns was much greater than drawing magic arrays. From an outsiders perspective, when a Divine Engraver was engraving a divine pattern onto an object, it would only seem like the Divine Engraver was engraving a bunch of incomprehensible patterns on the object. However, in reality, the Divine Engraver was restructuring the object itself to achieve the desired effects. The difficulty of such a feat went without saying, and it wasnt a process players could learn how to do after watching only one or two demonstrations. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and took a God Crystal out of his bag. Then, he chose to start inheriting the Divine Engraver Legacy. While the cost of learning to become a Divine Engraver was high, so long as he succeeded, he could easily recoup his investment and more. Once the God Crystal in Shi Fengs hand disappeared, the red obsidian tablet in his other hand glowed. Then, images and information began flooding Shi Fengs mind. In less than ten minutes, all basic information on the Divine Engraver subclass was crammed into Shi Fengs mind, and Shi Feng couldnt help but be amazed by what he had just learned. As expected of a proper Legacy. It actually goes into such detail on divine patterns. Its definitely worth the God Crystal I paid. Shi Feng was in awe as he looked at the Book of Eternity. Although he had only learned one set of basic divine patterns, which was the Basic Strengthening Pattern, it was still drastically superior to the various divine patterns he had collected during his previous life. During his previous life, the divine patterns he collected were all fragments. Even when he engraved them onto items, the divine patterns only strengthened the items Basic Attributes by no more than 5%. However, the Basic Strengthening Pattern could increase the Basic Attributes of Fragmented Legendary items and below by 10%. A 10% increase in Basic Attributes might not seem like much, but it would be no different than increasing the quality of ones weapons and equipment by half a rank. The Basic Strengthening Pattern could let Dark-Gold items have Basic Attributes close to rivaling Epic items, and Epic items have Basic Attributes close to rivaling Fragmented Legendary items. This was a significant improvement. Fragmented Legendary items were hard to come by, even for apex powers, not only because monsters rarely dropped them but also because there were very few players who could manufacture them. This situation led to Epic items dominating the market. Yet, now, the Basic Strengthening Pattern could let Epic items have Basic Attributes close to rivaling Fragmented Legendary items and increase the Basic Attributes of players by half a rank. If this improvement was extended to all players in a power, the increase in said powers overall strength would be noteworthy. Immediately, Shi Feng took out Blasphemer, which had fallen into disuse, from his bag along with a piece of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Then, he began engraving the Basic Strengthening Pattern on Blasphemer using the crystal. Thank you for reading on https://www.novelhall.com Chapter 3341 - Chapter 415 - Extrasensory Chapter 415 C Extrasensory TL Notes: Era of Mythology -> Mythical Era Mythological Class -> Mythical Class The Basic Strengthening Pattern was composed of three different divine patterns: the Basic Structural Analysis Pattern, the Basic Structural Remodeling Pattern, and the Basic Structural Solidification Pattern. These three patterns were the basics of basics among divine patterns, and only after grasping these three basic patterns could one be considered a Basic Apprentice Divine Engraver. Shi Feng had done plenty of research into divine patterns during his previous life and even experienced engraving divine patterns. So, he wasnt a stranger to engraving divine patterns. In only a moment, Shi Feng smelted the Seven Luminaries Crystal needed to engrave the divine pattern into incomparably rich mana. Then, he poured this mana directly onto Blasphemer. The reason divine patterns were given the divine label was that Gods were the first existences to use them. Gods possessed mana far beyond the reach of the human race. No matter how powerful a Mana Body a human managed to create, they still couldnt gain mana rivaling Gods. This remained true even after humans reached Tier 6. The main reason was that the mana of Gods was of a higher purity than even the mana contained in Seven Luminaries Crystals. And since one needed mana rivaling the Gods to engrave divine patterns, humans couldnt use their own mana to engrave divine patterns. Instead, they needed to find alternative sources of mana. Meanwhile, Seven Luminaries Crystals were one of the main alternative sources humans used to engrave divine patterns. The only problem with this solution was that engraving divine patterns consumed a lot of mana. By the time Shi Feng finished engraving the three divine patterns, he had expended a total of 70 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, with the Basic Structural Analysis Pattern costing 10 units, the Basic Structural Remodeling Pattern costing 20 units, and the Basic Structural Solidification Pattern costing 40 units. The mana cost doubled with every divine pattern he tried to add to Blasphemer. This was an exorbitant mana cost, and it was only made worse by the fact that he wasnt guaranteed success when engraving divine patterns, as evidenced by how he had met with failure when he tried to engrave the Basic Structural Solidification Pattern. According to historical records, this ridiculous cost was also why, even during the Era of Mythology, few people had become Divine Engravers. Without sufficient financial strength and resources, it was simply impossible for one to become a Divine Engraver. After his failed attempt, Shi Feng continued trying to engrave the Basic Strengthening Pattern. Before an hour passed, Shi Feng had already failed twenty attempts. And as he would always fail on the final step, which was the Basic Structural Solidification Pattern, he had lost a total of 1,400 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal thus far. Even hegemonic powers would flinch at this price. After all, this was only the cost of enhancing one weapon by 10% of its Basic Attributes. Moreover, he hadnt even succeeded in enhancing Blasphemer yet. Thankfully, I have the Seven Luminaries Crystals I got from Dira. Otherwise, theres no way I can afford to become a Divine Engraver with only one Primal Ore Vein, Shi Feng wryly smiled as he looked at the remains of the Seven Luminaries Crystals he had expended on the ground. The average hegemonic power in the Greater Gods Domain only earned several thousand units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per day. It wouldnt take Shi Feng more than a few hours to spend them all. Meanwhile, this was before Shi Feng had even become an Apprentice Divine Engraver. Once he officially became an Apprentice Divine Engraver or even a Divine Engraver, the rate at which he expended Seven Luminaries Crystal would most likely go beyond the ability of hegemonic powers to support. But why am I still failing at Structural Solidification? Ive even rewatched the demonstration and made sure every step I take is correct. Shi Feng was confused as he looked at the longsword in his hand. Could there be something wrong with my Structural Analysis and Remodeling? Shi Feng was not new to drawing and engraving divine patterns. On the contrary, he was quite confident in engraving basic divine patterns. Otherwise, he wouldnt have decided to become a Divine Engraver, even if he did have a complete Legacy for the subclass. After all, the cost of becoming a Divine Engraver wasnt something he could just shrug off. Yet, he had failed twenty times in a row. The success rate he faced now was even lower than what he had to deal with during his previous life. Should I use another one? Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng couldnt help but wonder if he should watch the Divine Engraver Legacys foundational demonstrations again. God Crystals were currently one of his trump cards. Previously, he had already expended several God Crystals to fight against the Paimon Conglomerates army. Later on, he expended some more God Crystals to repair the Abyss Workshop Certification. After deducting the two God Crystals he had spent on inheriting the Divine Engraver Legacy, he only had twenty God Crystals remaining. God Crystals were not easy to come by, so every time he inherited the Divine Engraver Legacy would be one less trump card available for him. Rather than having more trump cards, becoming a Divine Engraver is a greater priority right now. After considering the matter, Shi Feng ultimately decided to expend one more God Crystal. Having the strength to combat Tier 6 players might be important, but its significance paled compared to becoming a Divine Engraver. After all, even if he could fight against Tier 6 players, he was still only one person. However, if he became a bona fide Divine Engraver, he would have the ability to create a group of Tier 6 combatants. Subsequently, the Book of Eternity glowed, and the Divine Engraver Legacys foundational information flooded Shi Fengs mind once more. This time, Shi Feng did not try to process all of the demonstrations shown to him. Instead, he focused solely on the demonstration of Structural Analysis. He carefully watched how the demonstrator conducted structural analysis, taking note of even the mana fluctuations. Shi Feng had engraved many divine patterns during his previous life. Although he had encountered many failures, he also had some successes, which meant that there shouldnt be any major problems with his Structural Solidification. In that case, something must have gone wrong in his Structural Analysis or Remodeling. He had only been making exact copies of divine patterns he had found during his previous life. He had succeeded without ever doing any Structural Analysis. So, it didnt make sense he would fail to succeed after executing a complete Structural Analysis. The demonstration was brief, but when Shi Feng focused, no secrets could hide from his Tier 6 Concentrations detection. Sure enough! Something is wrong with my Structural Analysis! The analysis method shown in the demonstration was ingenious. The demonstrator did not use mana to conduct the analysis. Instead, the demonstrator used their mental perception, which allowed the demonstrator to avoid influencing the structural operation with mana. Previously, Shi Feng had subjectively used the Seven Luminaries Crystals mana to conduct Structural Analysis. However, the demonstrator used the Seven Luminaries Crystals mana only to engrave the Basic Structural Analysis Pattern. Then, the demonstrator relied on the divine pattern to strengthen their mental perceptions analysis of the target items mana structure. After verifying that his previous failures were his own fault, Shi Feng started using his mental perception to analyze Blasphemers mana structure. First attempt Second attempt Third attempt Shi Feng made numerous attempts to accomplish mental perception through the divine pattern he drew. Although he was met with consecutive failures, each failed attempt increased his proficiency. After spending eight hours and several tens of thousands of units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, Shi Feng could conduct Structural Analysis almost instinctively. He could almost instantly understand the mana structure and operation of items. Meanwhile, after analyzing Blasphemers mana structure, Shi Feng remodeled it before solidifying it. Then, as soon as he finished doing so, a complete set of divine patterns appeared on Blasphemer. Did I achieve extrasensory? Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt himself as he looked at the longsword in his hand. Chapter 3342 - Chapter 416 - The Last Sword Saint Chapter 416 C The Last Sword Saint TL Notes: Fixed an error in Chapter 414- Original: However, the Basic Strengthening Pattern could increase the Basic Attributes of Fragmented Legendary items and below by 10%. Edited: However, the Basic Strengthening Pattern could increase the Basic Attributes of items beneath the Fragmented Legendary rank by 10%. The Extrasensory Realm! This was a hurdle that countless geniuses and paragons in the Greater Gods Domain could never cross. It was also typically known as the Beyond Domain Realm by most people. Upon reaching the Extrasensory Realm, players would no longer be limited to simply perceiving everything around them. Instead, they could also use everything around them to their own benefit. They could even foresee the future to some extent! I did it? Just like that? At this time, Shi Feng was in disbelief as he looked at everything around him. It felt as if he had just opened the door to a new world. During his previous life, Shi Feng was always stuck at the third step of the Domain Realm, and it was only by virtue of his fortuitous encounters and special tools that he could traverse the Greater Gods Domain without worry. He was a lot worse than experts who relied solely on their combat standards to reach the Greater Gods Domains apex. However, because of the Divine Engraver subclass, he had finally crossed that threshold and entered a whole new realm. Now that he had reached the Extrasensory Realm, he had a firm grasp of all the movements around him and could also picture the flow of mana in the room with perfect clarity. Thanks to this detailed knowledge, he could predict even the trajectories of the bugs flying in the room. With a flick of his finger, Shi Feng struck down a flying bug with an air bullet. From a third persons perspective, it looked like the bug had taken the initiative to fly toward the air bullet. Moreover, after the air bullet struck the bug, said bug struck another flying bug trying to avoid it, and this situation repeated one time after another. In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so bugs flying in the room collided and fell to the floor So, this is the Extrasensory Realm? No wonder I could never reach it in the past, Shi Feng couldnt help but smile as he looked at the dazed bugs on the floor. If, before he reached the Extrasensory Realm, his perception of the world was described to be limited to two dimensions, his perception had now expanded to include a third dimension. This allowed him to do combat using three dimensions instead of just two, which drastically increased the possibilities he could accomplish in battle. Before Shi Feng could conduct further research on the Extrasensory Realm, he suddenly received a call. Good news, Brother Black Flame! Desolate Fury excitedly said through the video call. Leroja found us a great deal! So long as we can complete this next commission, well have enough fragments to exchange a Return Talisman! That generous? Shi Feng was a little surprised by the news. After learning a bit about the Holy Realms situation, Shi Feng already knew that God Crystal Fragments were very hard to come by. Even players as strong as Cross and Leroja couldnt earn more than ten fragments a day through raiding Party Dungeons. Meanwhile, although commissions were a much more lucrative source of God Crystal Fragments, players would already be very lucky if they could earn ten fragments per commission. It should be known that Saint Camps were established by players. So, all commissions found in a Saint Camp came from players rather than NPCs, and there was no way players would be as generous as NPCs. Yet, according to Desolate Fury, the commission Leroja found could let each of them earn enough fragments to purchase a Return Talisman. In other words, each of them stood to earn at least 100 God Crystal Fragments. Very few people in the Saint Camp could afford to pay such a lucrative reward for a single commission. Anyway, just come. If were late, someone else might snatch it away, Desolate Fury said before hurriedly disconnecting the call and sending Shi Feng the meeting points coordinates. When Shi Feng looked out the window, he saw that the sky outside had already started to brighten. Before he realized it, a night had gone by. Immediately, Shi Feng put the Book of Eternity into his bag and left for the meeting point. Although Shi Feng had already become a Basic Apprentice Divine Engraver, it still wasnt enough for him to make a living in the Holy Realm. A Basic Apprentice Divine Engraver could only learn Basic Divine Patterns whose effects were limited to Epic items and below. When Shi Feng walked down the Saint Camps streets in the early morning, he saw that even the players sleeping on the street were equipped with several Fragmented Legendary items. So, it was no exaggeration to say that Epic items were useless to the Holy Realms players. Meanwhile, if Shi Feng wished to strengthen Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Equipment, he would have to become an official Divine Engraver, according to the Book of Eternity. However, to become a Divine Engraver, he would need to learn how to engrave a set of Intermediate Divine Patterns, and exchanging for a set of Intermediate Divine Patterns from the Book of Eternity would cost him at least 50 God Crystals God Crystals were incredibly rare, even in the Holy Realm. Typically, God Crystals would only drop as loot in 20-man Team Dungeons or above. So, players operating solo or in parties shouldnt think of getting their hands on God Crystals. Moreover, even when player teams got their hands on a God Crystal, they would never choose to sell it. God Crystals could be used to repair Fragmented Legendary items. Even if some Fragmented Legendary items would not reach the Legendary rank after getting repaired, a complete Fragmented Legendary item would still be much stronger than an incomplete one. Hence, most people who got their hands on God Crystals would usually use their God Crystals to strengthen themselves instead of selling them for a profit. Fortunately, Shi Feng had the Seven Luminaries Codex. Even if he wasnt a Great Grandmaster Alchemist, he could still convert 100 God Crystal Fragments into one God Crystal using Omni-Refinement. Hence, if Shi Feng wanted to learn a set of Intermediate Divine Patterns from the Book of Eternity, all he needed to do was collect enough God Crystal Fragments. After walking along the Saint Camps main street for roughly twenty minutes, Shi Feng arrived at the coordinates Desolate Fury sent him, and it would seem that the meeting took place in an underground ruin. The entire Saint Camp was built atop the ruins of a city. Although players had continuously modified the camp, the underground ruins remained mostly untouched. Many of these underground ruins had even become private gathering spots for the various powers. The underground ruin Shi Feng arrived in was the size of roughly three basketball courts. The ruin was enveloped by a magic barrier that prevented those on the outside from seeing and hearing whatever was taking place inside while providing those on the inside an unobstructed view of the outside. At this time, several dozen players were already gathered in this underground ruin. All of these players were at Level 139 or above, and many were experts fully clad in Fragmented Legendary items. Many of these experts were comparable to the likes of Cross and Leroja in terms of combat standards, and over a dozen experts were clearly superior to Cross and Leroja. Theft is never good, try looking at tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. Youre finally here, Brother Black Flame. When Desolate Fury saw Shi Feng stepping into the barrier, he pointed at one of the two people talking to Leroja and said, Let me introduce you. This man here is Amber Soul, an acquaintance of Leroja. It is all thanks to Brother Amber that we are even qualified to take on the commission this time. Hearing Desolate Fury introducing him, the young man speaking to Leroja shyly nodded at Shi Feng. Amber Soul? When Shi Feng saw the young mans face, memories from his previous life promptly surfaced in his mind. Amber Soul! The last Sword Saint acknowledged by the Seven Luminaries Alliance! Typically, the Seven Luminaries Alliance would add a prefix when awarding Sword Saint titles to players. A few examples would be the Silver Sword Saint, the Heavenly Sword Saint, etc. However, the title Amber Soul received was just a plain and simple Sword Saint. Before Amber Soul came around, the Sword Saint title was also one that the Seven Luminaries Alliance had not granted to anybody for several eras. Meanwhile, it was extraordinarily difficult for a Swordsman to receive the Sword Saint title from the Alliance. This was because the condition to obtain it was for a Tier 5 Swordsman to slay a Tier 6 God. Before Amber Soul came about, it had already been several centuries since anybody had accomplished this feat. Unfortunately, just when everyone thought Amber Soul would reach Tier 6 and stir up an entire era, he suddenly vanished. Then, following his disappearance, Amber Soul became revered as the last Sword Saint of the era. While Shi Feng was recalling Amber Souls legacy, the young female Swordsman standing next to Amber Soul suddenly looked at Shi Feng and said: Black Flame, is it? So, youre the guy who Big Sis Leroja mentioned? Chapter 3343 - Chapter 417 - Contention Between Swordsmen Chapter 417 C Contention Between Swordsmen The young female Swordsman was clad in an eight-piece Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. By the looks of the set, it also seemed customized to fit the wearer. Aside from the Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set, there was a crystalline longsword with a blade as thin as a cicadas wing hanging by the girls waist, the weapon emitting a glow unique to Legendary Weapons. Combined with her delicate figure and stunning appearance that overshadowed even Leroja, the girl instantly became the center of attention in the room as soon as she spoke. Although the words that came out of the female Swordsmans mouth were words of inquiry, her tone carried hints of arrogance that displeased Leroja a little. However, despite her displeasure, Leroja dared not say anything about it. This was because the female Swordsman was not only extraordinary in strength but also in origins. Find the original at bit.ly/3Tfs4P4. The little princess of the Platinum Realms Dragon Tongue Conglomerate, Cheng Xin! The Platinum Realm was comparable to the Dragon Mountain Realm, and the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate was existence on par with the Galaxy Conglomerate. Hence, even in the Holy Realm, few people dared to offend Cheng Xin. Cheng Xin. When Amber Soul heard the little princesss rude tone, he said, You are behaving rudely to Big Sis Lerojas friend. Upon getting reprimanded by Amber Soul, Cheng Xin stuck out her tongue and said, Its just that I find him strange. Pausing, Cheng Xin took a moment to scrutinize Shi Fengs inconspicuous appearance before continuing, Ive met many geniuses on the Luminous Glory List, but none look like him. I cant feel any aura from him, and his movements show that he hasnt reached the fifth-floor standard yet. Even his equipment is merely a damaged Fragmented Legendary-ranked Sacred Armor. Can you blame me for doubting him if he looks like this? No matter how I look at him, he doesnt look like he can defeat Ghost Hand. The commission this time is of utmost importance. What if we fail because of his lack of strength? Upon hearing Cheng Xins evaluation, the many experts present also looked at Shi Feng with curiosity and confusion. Everyone present had heard of the name of Black Flame. After all, that was a Luminous Glory expert they were talking about. Not to mention, it was rumored that Black Flame was responsible for killing the Dragon Mountain Realms Ghost Hand previously. However, it was just as Cheng Xin said. Even though they had met with quite a few Luminous Glory experts before, none looked as inconspicuous as Shi Feng. In addition, Shi Feng wasnt even at the fifth-floor standard. So, they found it hard to imagine someone like Shi Feng could enter the Luminous Glory List and defeat a fifth-floor expert like Ghost Hand. I can assure you that Guild Leader Black Flame has defeated Ghost Hand, Miss Cheng Xin. I was there at the time, Leroja said with some apprehension. Leroja wasnt familiar with Cheng Xin. She was only acquaintances with Amber Soul. It was also thanks to her connection with Amber Soul that she and her party could be invited to this commission. However, the final decision on whether her party could actually join the commission still depended on Cheng Xin, who was related to the commissions client. I trust Big Sis Lerojas words, Cheng Xin, Amber Soul said. Brother Black Flame is a Luminous Glory expert who has gained the Seven Luminaries Alliances acknowledgment. He is definitely qualified for the commission. Even if everything about him is true, he is only ranked 963rd on the Luminous Glory List. He is a far cry compared to you, Big Brother Amber, Cheng Xin said as she looked at Amber Soul in worship. But out of respect for you, I will talk to the client about him, Big Brother Amber. Dont get angry, Brother Black Flame, Desolate Fury quietly whispered to Shi Feng. That girl is the young lady of the Platinum Realms Dragon Tongue Conglomerate. Well most likely have to suffer if we upset her Shi Feng didnt say anything regarding Cheng Xins comments. He was also aware of Cheng Xins identity as she was considerably famous in the Greater Gods Domain. In addition to being the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates little princess, Cheng Xin was also a peerless paragon, having become a three-star mental strength grandmaster at a young age. During Shi Fengs previous life, Cheng Xin had even killed a Tier 6 God as a Tier 6 player. Although the current Cheng Xin was at Tier 4, she was already a fifth-floor expert. More importantly, she ranked 326th on the Luminous Glory List. In front of her, a fifth-floor expert like Ghost Hand wouldnt last more than a few moves. So, Shi Feng found it understandable that Cheng Xin would look down on someone ranked in the 900s. It didnt help that Amber Soul, someone ranked in the Luminous Glory Lists top 300, was present to serve as a comparison. Shortly after Shi Feng arrived, a group of three people entered the underground ruin. Of these three people, one was an elegant, middle-aged man, one was a burly young man, and one was an old man carrying a bow and arrows. As soon as these three people appeared, everyone felt a strong pressure bearing down on them. You stubborn little girl I already told you not to come, so why wouldnt you listen? the elegant, middle-aged man asked as he glared at Cheng Xin. The operation this time is of utmost importance. This isnt a place where you youngsters should come to play! Disgruntled by the middle-aged mans words, Cheng Xin said, Who said I came here to play? I brought Big Brother Amber with me. We wont have any trouble stopping the Dragon Mountain Realms younger generation. Cheng Xin dared not behave arrogantly in front of the elegant, middle-aged man. This was because the other party was Flint, an expert who used to rank among the Luminous Glory Lists top 100 roughly three decades ago. At the same time, he was also one of the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates directors. As for the burly young man and bow-carrying old man, they were Elders of the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate. Both used to rank among the Luminous Glory Lists top 500 during their younger days. With their current strength, they could easily beat up youngsters like her. Suit yourself, but be sure to run if you cant beat them! Flint said as he looked at Cheng Xin helplessly. I know. Cheng Xin smiled and nodded. Afterward, Flint walked up to the elevated platform in the underground ruin and swept his gaze across everyone in the room. Then, he said, I am Flint, the client of the commission. All of you here are our camps top-ranking experts. I dont need you all to do much; you just need to stop the mercenaries hired by the Dragon Mountain Realms Heavenly God Corporation. Those mercenaries wont number more than 50. You can keep the loot of your kills, but I need you to stall them for ten minutes. So long as you can do that, everyone will receive 100 God Crystal Fragments. There will also be a bonus for those who have made significant contributions. However, I also have to clarify that should you fail to stall them for ten minutes, you wont receive any payment! Nobody present said anything about Flints warning. This was usually how sketchy private commissions worked. Although such commissions didnt have any minimum payout, the returns for success were extremely high. The payout for one such commission could make up for several days worth of normal commissions. After Flint made sure that nobody present had a problem, he used an Advanced Teleportation Crystal to teleport everyone to the middle of a ruined city. Then, he activated a Tier 5 Isolation Scroll to put everyone under Stealth. After doing all of that, he had everyone hide in the surrounding buildings as they waited for their target to arrive. Roughly twenty minutes later, a caravan guarded by a 50-man team slowly made its way down the street flanked by Flints team. Target has appeared! Get ready! Chapter 3344 - Chapter 418 - Still Not the Strongest? Chapter 418 C Still Not the Strongest? When Shi Feng saw that the Dragon Mountain Realms players were indeed escorting the approaching caravan, a smile appeared on his face. There were 50 players in the caravan, and every one was equipped with a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. Some of these players were even equipped with Legendary Equipment, and one such player was Ghost Hand. At this time, Ghost Hand was still at Level 140. It hadnt been more than a day since Shi Feng killed him, so it was obvious that Ghost Hand had indeed negated the death penalty with a substitution tool. Can you four take care of Ghost Hand and the three people next to him? Cheng Xin quietly asked Shi Feng after looking at the approaching caravan. If not for Amber Soul, Cheng Xin would have never agreed to let Shi Fengs group of four participate in the commission this time. It wouldnt have mattered that Shi Feng ranked 963rd on the Luminous Glory List. Experts on the Luminous Glory List could indeed be considered apex existences of their respective Realms. However, it was a different story in the Holy Realm. While fifth-floor experts werent everywhere, there was still a significant number in the various Saint Camps. It was especially so for older-generation fifth-floor experts. If not for their age, these veteran fifth-floor experts would have long occupied the entire Luminous Glory List, and most, if not all, of the rookie fifth-floor experts would be pushed out of the list. No problem, Shi Feng nonchalantly responded. Just keep them busy for ten minutes. Me and Big Brother Amber will take care of the older generation experts, so make sure Ghost Hand doesnt interrupt us, Cheng Xin said, displeased by Shi Fengs behavior. If they interrupt us, none of you should think of getting paid. Dont worry. Ghost Hands group wont get anywhere near you, Shi Feng affirmed. Keep on boasting! Lets see how youll beg for my help later! Cheng Xin smirked when she heard Shi Fengs confident reply. The three players walking next to Ghost Hand were at the pseudo-fifth-floor standard. While Leroja, Cross, and Desolate Fury might be powerful experts, they were still a ways off from matching pseudo-fifth-floor experts. So, Shi Feng would essentially have to go against one fifth-floor expert and three pseudo-fifth-floor experts by himself. Shortly after Cheng Xin finished speaking, the caravan moved within 300 yards of the team. Attack! Flint shouted through the team chat. Although the Tier 5 Isolation Scroll could put up to 50 people under Stealth, the effects of Stealth would only work against fifth-floor experts up to a certain distance. Within 300 yards, Stealth would become useless against a fifth-floor expert. So, if they wanted to launch a sneak attack, the best time would be immediately after the caravan entered within 300 yards of them. Immediately, everyone on Flints team left their hiding spots and charged at the caravan, their speed catching the caravans titled experts off guard. Only the caravans fifth-floor experts and pseudo-fifth-floor experts managed to react to the ambush right away. These suicidal bastards! Kill them! Of the 50 players on the Heavenly God Corporations team, over 30 reacted to the ambush, promptly charging at the ambushing teams fifth-floor experts and pseudo-fifth-floor experts and ignoring the titled experts. As both sides were even on numbers, the fifth-floor experts and pseudo-fifth-floor experts of both teams chose to fight on their own, and those who were extras targeted the titled experts. In the blink of an eye, numerous independent battles took place all over the street. There were two reasons these experts had chosen to fight independently. Firstly, experts of their caliber would rarely fight coordinated battles. Secondly, even if they fought in coordination, they would still have difficulty achieving a swift victory against opponents of the same combat standards. All theyd be doing was wasting time. So, rather than working together, itd be more efficient if they targeted the opponents weaker links before tackling the fifth-floor experts together afterward. The Dragon Tongue Conglomerates ambush team clearly outnumbered the Heavenly God Corporations team when it came to fifth-floor experts and pseudo-fifth-floor experts, with the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates team having as many as 15 fifth-floor experts and 22 pseudo-fifth-floor experts. In comparison, although the Heavenly God Corporations team had 24 pseudo-fifth-floor experts, it only had 12 fifth-floor experts. At the end of the day, fifth-floor experts were stronger than pseudo-fifth-floor experts. One fifth-floor expert could easily keep three pseudo-fifth-floor experts busy. Moreover, the pseudo-fifth-floor experts would be at high risk of getting killed if they werent careful. Because of this difference, it didnt take long before the Heavenly God Corporations team fell into a rough spot. Its not too late to retreat now, Old Kong! Flint excitedly said while waving his staff and bombarding a white-haired old man with countless fire blades. Otherwise, once we have more hands on our side, none of you should think of escaping with your lives! The Heavenly God Corporations team was far less prepared than they expected. The two extra fifth-floor experts on their side were more than enough to give them an insurmountable advantage. In fact, the two extra fifth-floor experts were already in the process of slaughtering the titled experts on the Heavenly God Corporations team. Do you think Ive lived all these years in vain, Flint? Did you think I didnt expect you to ambush us? the white-haired old man said, his expression remaining unfazed even when he saw the mercenaries he hired falling one after another. Youre the ones who are going to die here today! You and what army? Flint looked at the white-haired old man with disdain in his eyes. He and the white-haired old man were evenly matched in combat standards, and neither had ever won a fight against the other. They were also the highest authority of their respective organizations in the Holy Realm, so they were fully aware of the cards each other possessed. Now that the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates had two fifth-floor experts in excess, taking down the Heavenly God Corporations team would be a piece of cake. In response to Flints taunt, the white-haired old man suddenly smiled and said, The Illusory Sea Realms Hidden Wind. Flints expression instantly changed when he heard the white-haired old mans words. Then, with a look of horror, he shouted: Retreat! Everyone retreat! The Dragon Tongue Conglomerates team members were confused by Flints sudden call for retreat. It was especially so for Cheng Xin, who was busy fighting against a veteran fifth-floor expert. After all, their team had an absolute advantage over the Heavenly God Corporations team. It simply didnt make sense to retreat in this situation. However, before Cheng Xin and everyone else could make sense of Flints command, a white-clad young man suddenly appeared above the street and quietly looked down on the battle beneath him. HiddenWind Cheng Xins complexion instantly paled when she saw the young man in the sky. Hidden Wind! The strongest player out of the Illusory Sea Realms younger generation! From a broad perspective, the Illusory Sea Realm was evenly matched with the Dragon Mountain Realm and the Platinum Realm. However, Hidden Wind stood at a height that none of the younger paragons of the three Realms could ever hope to reach. This was because Hidden Wind ranked 42nd on the Luminous Glory List! At the same time, he ranked among the top 10 of the Greater Gods Domains younger generation Swordsmen! Before Cheng Xin could react any further, Hidden Wind unsheathed a bladeless sword and swung it. Then, an extraordinary amount of mana fell on Cheng Xin, making her feel as if the sky was falling on her. At the same time, every fifth-floor expert on the battlefield felt a chill crawling down their back, their mind shouting that death was approaching. Crashing Moon! This was an Exclusive Absolute Technique created by Hidden Wind via fusing two Absolute Techniques, and it was a Gold Combat Technique that wasnt a Gold Combat Technique! Chapter 3345 - Chapter 419 - Sword Saints Might Chapter 419 C Sword Saints Might When Hidden Wind executed his trademark Crashing Moon, Flint and the other experts from the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate couldnt help but gasp. Incredible! As expected of an Exclusive Absolute Technique thats close to matching Gold Combat Techniques! Unlike the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates players, the white-haired old man from the Heavenly God Corporation was in awe when he saw the dense mana merging in the sky. The Holy Realms mana was incredibly dense. It was so dense that not even the average fifth-floor expert with an Epic Mana Body could influence it. On the contrary, they would be suppressed by the Holy Realms mana, which prevented them from exhibiting the true strength of their Skills and Spells. Even combat techniques would be negatively affected. Yet, now, Hidden Wind was able to gather a tremendous amount of ambient mana to fuel his combat technique. This was simply unbelievable. I wont go down so easily! When Cheng Xin saw the torrent of mana crashing toward her, she promptly activated Infinite Space, the Profound Inheritance of her Legendary Sword Crying Space. Suddenly, the space in Cheng Xins immediate surroundings started to turn blurry. It looked as if layers upon layers of barriers had just been erected around Cheng Xin, and these barriers weakened and deflected all of the attacks that collided with them. Boom! Following an explosion, Cheng Xins HP decreased for the first time since the start of the ambush. Although Cheng Xin lost less than one-tenth of her HP to Hidden Winds attack, those familiar with Cheng Xin were shocked by this outcome. Crying Spaces Infinite Space could weaken and deflect all attacks. While Infinite Space was active, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Cheng Xin was invincible among opponents of the same tier. Even Tier 5 experts would have difficulty harming her. Yet, now, Hidden Wind managed to damage her. The difference in strength between both sides was clear as day At this time, even Cheng Xin herself was shocked. How is he so strong? Although Cheng Xin had long known that the Luminous Glory Lists top 100 was a major turning point, she didnt think that she, someone ranked 326th on the list, would be at a disadvantage even after using a Legendary Weapons Profound Inheritance. While Cheng Xin was in a daze, Hidden Wind moved within 20 yards of her and scrutinized her with a look of delight. You have a good sword there. Its a pity you dont know how to use it. After saying so, Hidden Wind stabbed his bladeless sword in Cheng Xins direction. Subsequently, Cheng Xin could be seen frantically defending against Hidden Winds stabbing attacks with the help of Infinite Space. However, Cheng Xins Infinite Space was seemingly rendered useless as it could barely weaken Hidden Souls attacks, let alone deflect them. Because of this, Cheng Xin had no choice but to block the attack with her weapon, which resulted in her rapidly losing HP. When Cheng Xins HP fell below 50%, Amber Soul suddenly repulsed the fifth-floor expert he was fighting and transformed into three copies of himself that appeared next to Hidden Wind. Then, all three copies attacked Hidden Wind using three different Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Out of these three Exclusive Absolute Techniques, one had incredible raw power, one had astonishing attack frequency, and one had a constantly changing and unpredictable attack trajectory. Every one of these three techniques also had effects close to rivaling Gold Combat Techniques. Upon seeing Amber Souls actions, many of the surrounding fifth-floor experts were dumbfounded. The feat of creating an Exclusive Absolute Technique close to rivaling Gold Combat Techniques was very challenging. Even in the case of older-generation fifth-floor experts, they could, at most, create two or three of such Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Yet, even though Amber Soul looked quite young, he had already come up with three Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Meanwhile, as soon as Amber Soul executed his attacks, Hidden Soul promptly distanced himself from Cheng Xin and Amber Soul, judging that he didnt have much of an advantage when going up against the two players simultaneously. No wonder the Seven Luminaries Alliance crowned him as a Sword Saint. I didnt think he would have already mastered three Exclusive Absolute Techniques at such a young age, Shi Feng, who was busy keeping Ghost Hands group of four at bay, was surprised when he saw Amber Soul pushing back Hidden Wind. Having more Exclusive Absolute Techniques might not necessarily mean a player would have more combat power, but it did indicate how close they were to grasp a Gold Combat Technique. Usually, players would be qualified to learn a Gold Combat Technique once they had created five different Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Moreover, they could have a considerable chance of succeeding. Seeing as Amber Soul had already created three Exclusive Absolute Techniques, it shouldnt be long before he could start to learn a Gold Combat Technique. Meanwhile, so long as he could learn a Gold Combat Technique, most, if not all, of the experts on the Luminous Glory List would be nothing but a joke. At that time, even the various apex powers would have to respect him. While Shi Feng was awed by Amber Souls astonishing talent, Ghost Hand finally entered a Battle Array with his three Assassin buddies. Not only did the Battle Array increase their Basic Attributes, but it also linked their five senses together. Youre dead, Black Flame! You might have made a fool of me with your Divine Might last time, but its my turn now! Lets see how you block my Absolute Technique this time! Ghost Hand said to Shi Feng as soon as he saw the battle array taking shape. The last time they fought, Ghost Hand failed to perceive Shi Fengs existence because of Shi Fengs Divine Might. Even his mental perception was fooled at the time. And as a result of his defeat, he became a laughingstock among his peers, and his status among the Dragon Mountain Realms younger generation plummeted. However, now that Ghost Hand had access to the five senses of three other people, even if his mental perception failed him, he could still accurately determine Shi Fengs location and actions via their shared senses. Most importantly, with the battle array active, even if he suffered an attack from Shi Feng, his three allies could help to block Shi Fengs attack. This, in turn, would make his Omnirain flawless. Immediately, the area around Shi Feng started to weather, the phenomenon rapidly extending toward Shi Fengs location and threatening to erase him. A battle array is indeed a good counter to Divine Mights interference, Shi Feng said as he looked at the weathering phenomenon around him. Then, his lips curled up slightly as he continued, Unfortunately, it is no longer useful against me. After saying so, Shi Feng unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and executed Lightshadow at the four Assassins. Chapter 3346 - Chapter 420 - You Call This a Bottom-Ranked Swordsman? Chapter 420 C You Call This a Bottom-Ranked Swordsman? TL Notes: Correcting Holy Realm to Holy World. When Shi Feng swung the Winter of Eternal Night, all mana within a 1,000-yard radius began swarming toward Shi Feng. The shift in the ambient mana was so significant that it could even be felt from several blocks away. What a powerful mana surge. What is going on over there? A mana surge of such scale Could a World Boss have respawned? When the exploration parties operating in the several neighboring streets sensed the restless mana around them, fear and curiosity filled their hearts. The Holy Worlds mana was extraordinarily dense. It was so dense that even Tier 4 Great Wizards were incapable of influencing the Holy Worlds ambient mana in the slightest. Typically, only Tier 5 World Bosses could influence the Holy Worlds ambient mana. But even then, their influence could only extend up to several hundred yards away from themselves. Right now, though, they could clearly tell that the mana surge they were sensing originated from several blocks away. Whatever was causing this mana surge must be significantly stronger than any of the Tier 5 World Bosses they knew. It should be known that the Holy Worlds Tier 5 World Bosses were natural disasters. Even when the various conglomerates banded together, they would still have great difficulty taking down a Tier 5 World Boss. Typically, it would take an entire Saint Camps strength to raid a Tier 5 World Boss. Unlike the exploration teams in the neighboring streets, the Heavenly God Corporations and the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates team members were currently standing in the middle of the mana surge, and they couldnt help but be dumbfounded by what they saw. Whats happening? This Who is that person? When Flint and the white-haired old man looked to the center of the mana surge, they were shocked to find a person standing there. At this time, even though the person in question was doing nothing but holding up the longsword he wielded, all mana within a 1,000-yard radius gathered around the weapon to form a gigantic sword of mana. The gigantic sword was roughly one hundred meters in length. Not only did it look like it had substance, but it also radiated an aura that caused the Holy Worlds stable space to shake wildly. Meanwhile, whether it was Flint or the white-haired old man, both had seen a similar phenomenon before. A Saint! Hes a Saint?! Ghost Hand and his subordinates were utterly dumbfounded as they looked at Shi Feng. A Saint! If there was anyone who could influence the Holy Worlds mana on such a large scale, they would have to be Saints. Saints were individuals who had reached the extreme in one aspect of the World Laws. As a result, they possessed extraordinary control over mana, and even the Holy Worlds unbelievably dense mana could not resist their control. Previously, the reason everyone was shocked by Hidden Winds ability to influence the Holy Worlds ambient mana wasnt just because it was a rare sight to see someone accomplishing such a feat in the Holy World. A bigger part of the reason was that they felt Hidden Wind was already close to reaching the realm of Saints. Before Ghost Hand and his subordinates could recover from their shock, the gigantic sword started to cut apart space as it descended toward them. Although the gigantic sword looked clumsy, the speed of its descent was as if Shi Feng was swinging a normal-sized longsword. As a result, it was nigh impossible for Ghost Hand and his subordinates to move out of the gigantic swords range in time, and all they could do was try to block the attack. Boom! Following an explosion, a fissure several dozen meters deep and over a thousand meters long formed on the street. Meanwhile, Ghost Hand and his subordinates were nowhere to be seen. Not even their ashes remained after the attack, let alone their corpses. Theyre gone, just like that? Cheng Xin couldnt believe her eyes as she looked at the gigantic fissure that had just formed. Although Ghost Hand had never entered the Luminous Glory List, he was still one of the few fifth-floor experts in Gods Domain. In addition, he was already on par with Tier 5 experts regarding Basic Attributes. As a result, even Cheng Xin, someone ranked 326th on the Luminous Glory List, would need time to kill Ghost Hand. Previously, when Cheng Xin heard rumors mentioning that Shi Feng had slain Ghost Hand in one move, she felt that those rumors were overly exaggerated. Now, though, she no longer thought as such. On the contrary, she felt that Shi Fengs strength was much more ridiculous than how the rumors described him. Not only did Shi Feng just kill Ghost Hand in one move, but he also killed three pseudo-fifth-floor experts using the same attack. The might of Shi Fengs attack was stronger than even Hidden Winds Crashing Moon, and it vaguely touched on the Tier 6 standard already. How was this supposed to be someone ranked 963rd on the Luminous Glory List? Incredible! A moment after Shi Feng killed Ghost Hand and his subordinates, Hidden Wind suddenly appeared before him with an excited look on his face. I didnt think the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate could recruit the help of a Saint! Now, let me see just how powerful you Saints actually are! As soon as Hidden Wind finished speaking, he promptly thrust his bladeless sword at Shi Feng, executing one of his Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Different from Crashing Moon, the technique Hidden Wind used this time was like the wind; swift and erratic. It was a stark contrast to Crashing Moon, which relied on brute force to overwhelm his opponent. In the blink of an eye, Hidden Wind had executed over a hundred thrusts, giving Shi Feng no opportunities to execute the attack he used against Ghost Hand. It looks like Hidden Wind is being very cautious. Can you blame him? Hes going up against a Saint. Any Saint can easily rank within the Luminous Glory Lists top 30, while Hidden Wind only came in 42nd a few months ago. Although he has made some significant improvements after entering the Holy World, whether he can defeat a Saint remains to be seen. When everyone saw Hidden Wind using a different Exclusive Absolute Technique, some felt that Hidden Wind was being overly cautious, while some eagerly looked forward to the outcome of the twos battle. The attack Shi Feng previously used against Ghost Hand had a relatively long preparation time but mind-blowing power. It also had a large range, making it impossible to dodge. However, the technique Hidden Wind was currently executing was a perfect counter to Shi Fengs attack. So long as Shi Feng dared to use the same attack, Hidden Wind would instantly turn him into a beehive with his rapid and unpredictable attacks. When Shi Feng saw the numerous rapid attacks with constantly changing trajectories, he did not choose to use Lightshadow as he did against Ghost Hand. Instead, he leaped into the air and executed a horizontal sweep in Hidden Winds direction with the Winter of Eternal Night. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! When Shi Feng first arrived in the Holy World, he was incapable of manipulating the Holy Worlds ambient mana in the slightest. However, after becoming a Divine Engraver and reaching the Extrasensory Realm, he understood how he could manipulate the Holy Worlds rich mana, which let him evolve the way he manipulated mana from two to three dimensions. This, in turn, allowed him to improve his Mana Technique qualitatively. Originally, the effects of his Mana Techniques were only at the Tier 4 standard. Now, he could exhibit effects at the Tier 5 standard. Hence, although he had yet to reach the realm of Saints in general, the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique he executed had already reached it. Chapter 3347 - Chapter 421 - Half-Step Divine Artifact Chapter 421 C Half-Step Divine Artifact When Shi Feng swung the Winter of Eternal Night, it was as if time had become frozen. All mana fluctuations occurring in the area ceased to exist, and even the wind had stopped blowing. Originally, well over a hundred attacks could be seen targeting Shi Feng. Now, though, only one bladeless sword could be seen clashing with the Winter of Eternal Night. The collision of weapons did not result in an intense reaction as everyone expected. There was no loud explosion or powerful shockwave following the collision. Instead, all that followed was a crisp sound of metal colliding. Immediately afterward, everyone saw Hidden Wind getting sent flying backward like a cannonball. Even when his feet made contact with the ground, he stumbled dozens of steps before he could steady his figure. In addition, the hand that wielded the bladeless sword trembled uncontrollably, and over one-third of his previously full HP bar was missing. How is this possible? The white-haired old man from the Heavenly God Corporation was greatly shocked when he saw Hidden Wind losing over one-third of his HP. The old man was well aware of Hidden Winds strength and acknowledged it from the bottom of his heart. He also knew Hidden Winds ultimate goal was to get into the Luminous Glory Lists top 20. It was why Hidden Wind had constantly been training and seeking to challenge a bona fide Saint. After all, anyone who managed to enter the Luminous Glory Lists top 30 would already have the strength of a Saint of the same level and tier. So, if Hidden Wind didnt have the strength to fight against a Saint, he couldnt even get into the Luminous Glory Lists top 30, let alone the top 20. However, the old man never thought there would still be such a huge gap between Hidden Wind and an actual Saint. Not only did Shi Feng repulse Hidden Wind, but he had even taken more than one-third of Hidden Winds HP with just one attack. In other words, Shi Feng would only need three attacks to kill Hidden Wind. Moreover, they didnt even need to be direct hits. It should be known that Hidden Wind already ranked 42nd on the Luminous Glory List several months ago. After entering the Holy World, Hidden Wind fought numerous battles, large and small. He also clashed with many older generation monsters, and not once had he suffered defeat. Because of his constant fighting, Hidden Wind had been continuously growing stronger. At this point, many people even speculated that Hidden Wind was already strong enough to rank within the top 30. Yet, now Before the white-haired old man could recover from his shock, Shi Feng executed two more Holy Annihilations in quick succession, each one faster than the one before. However, although Shi Fengs attacks had sped up, Hidden Winds defense also grew stronger and stronger. Even after blocking Shi Fengs third Holy Annihilation, Hidden Wind remained alive, contrary to everyones expectations. Meanwhile, seeing that he only had one-fifth of his HP left, Hidden Wind took out a Grandmaster Regeneration Potion and consumed it, instantly recovering all of his lost HP. Then Without hesitation, Hidden Wind activated a Tier 5 Instantaneous Movement Scroll and vanished from everyones sight This turn of events dumbfounded everyone. This was the 42nd Luminous Glory expert they were talking about! Yet, Hidden Wind had fled after receiving three blows from Shi Feng What should we do, Elder Kong? a Level 140 Shield Warrior from the Heavenly God Corporation asked the white-haired old man. The Heavenly God Corporations team was originally at a numerical disadvantage already when it came to fifth-floor experts. Now that Shi Feng had scared Hidden Wind, their trump card, away, how were they supposed to win this battle? Everyone, retreat! Elder Kong shouted as he reluctantly glanced at the treasure chest on the caravans carriage. However, after saying so, Elder Kong did not hesitate as he took out a Tier 5 Instantaneous Movement Scroll and activated it, instantly reappearing several thousand yards away. Theyre gone, just like that? The bow-wielding old man from the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he saw the Heavenly God Corporations team members fleeing. What else can they do but retreat? the muscular man standing next to the bow-wielding old man said jokingly. We have a Saint on our side. Theyd have to be delusional if they think they beat us. Youre right. The bow-wielding old man chuckled. But the young miss has really given us a big surprise this time. I didnt think she could get a Saint of all people to help us. With such an expert on our side, Old Kongs defeat was inevitable. It seems Im going to have to interrogate that little girl, Flint said, nodding in agreement with the bow-wielding old mans words. He was truly frightened by Cheng Xins capability. It might not be difficult to hire the help of a Saint-ranked expert in the outside world, but it was a different story in the Holy World. Even getting to know a Saint here was incredibly difficult, let alone hiring the services of one. Unfortunately, Cheng Xin was equally stunned by this situation. Particularly, when she heard Flint asking her about Shi Fengs origins and how she became acquainted with him, she couldnt help but want to dig a hole to hide in. As for Amber Soul, he wore a look of reverence as he sought guidance from Shi Feng. Meanwhile, when Flint and the others learned about the whole situation from Cheng Xin, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. They had hired a Saint with only a meager sum of 100 God Crystal Fragments If the Heavenly God Corporations people were to learn of this, theyd probably get a heart attack. After learning about the situation from Cheng Xin, Flint hurriedly approached Shi Feng and respectfully said, Thank you for your help, Guild Leader Black Flame. If not for you, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate would have suffered a huge loss this time. At this time, Flints previous domineering and arrogant attitude was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he behaved as if he was conversing with a senior when talking to Shi Feng. However, none of the surrounding experts found Flints sudden change in behavior surprising. Saints were big shots no matter the place, and it was even more so inside the Holy World. You exaggerate, Commander Flint, Shi Feng said, remaining calm even in the face of Flints respectful attitude. It was a fair trade. Not to mention, even if I didnt repel Hidden Wind, you could have still retreated with zero casualties easily. No, no, no. Flint shook his head and explained, You might not know this, but the cargo the Heavenly God Corporation is transporting this time actually belongs to the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate. It is just that they stole it from us some time ago. So, it would have still been a loss for us, even if we did safely retreat. Its your cargo? Shi Feng couldnt help but turn to look at the large treasure chest on the carriage when he heard Flints words. Items that required carriages to transport were typically non-bag space items. However, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that any non-bag space item could get two powerful organizations to go all-out. The Heavenly God Corporation had even recruited the assistance of an expert like Hidden Wind. Yes. Flint nodded. This isnt much of a secret, but a Replica Divine Artifact is inside that treasure chest. Or, more specifically, it is an item that is half a step from becoming a Divine Artifact. A Half-step Divine Artifact? Shi Feng was surprised. Are you sure its fine to share this information? Divine Artifacts were priceless treasures in the Greater Gods Domain. Any Tier 6 player wielding a Divine Artifact would be strong enough to fight Ancient Gods. Meanwhile, many conglomerates and apex powers had ceased to exist on their journey to obtain a Divine Artifact. A Half-step Divine Artifact might not be comparable to an actual Divine Artifact, but it was still the closest thing to a real one. It was enough to get the various apex powers to bet their continued existence over it. Yet, Flint had shared this information without hesitation. This isnt a secret among the Holy Worlds conglomerates. Youll understand once you see it, Flint said, chuckling as he led Shi Feng over to the treasure chest. Uncle Flint? Cheng Xin couldnt help but be surprised when she saw what Flint was trying to do. Isnt this inappropriate The item inside the treasure chest might not be a secret to the Holy Worlds conglomerates, but it was a massive secret to the average player. Normally, Flint wouldnt even let her touch that item. Yet, now, he was eagerly inviting Shi Feng to research it What are you getting anxious for? Im just letting Brother Black Flame take a look. Were not going to lose anything from it, Flint said as he rolled his eyes at Cheng Xin. Chapter 3348 - Chapter 422 - Zero Wings End? Chapter 422 C Zero Wings End? Upon seeing Flint take out a pair of purple-gold gauntlets from the treasure chest, Shi Feng was immediately stunned. These arethe Eternity Gauntlets? The Six Great Divine Sets were famous throughout the Greater Gods Domain, and almost everyone knew about them. During Shi Fengs previous life, the Eternity Set that the Galaxy Conglomerate sought to find was one of these Six Great Divine Sets. Unfortunately, the Galaxy Conglomerate eventually concluded its search in failure, and Shi Feng had never heard of any power ever successfully obtaining the Eternity Set. Yet, now, the gauntlets of the Eternity Set were right before his eyes However, after Shi Feng inspected the Eternity Gauntlets information, his initial excitement quickly died down. The Eternity Gauntlets before him were indeed the real deal. However, they could also be considered fake in a sense. [Eternity Gauntlets (Replica)] (Damaged Item, Fragmented Divine Artifact) Equipment requirement unknown. Attributes unknown. Non-bag space item. (Collect 100 Eternal Stones to transform the Eternity Gauntlets into a Divine Artifact. The Eternity Set will become unique when all six set pieces are collected. All six set pieces must be at the Divine Artifact rank.) From what Shi Feng gathered, the so-called Eternity Set was, in reality, a collection of replicas. However, so long as one could gather the replicas of all six set pieces and upgrade them to the Divine Artifact rank, the replicas would become the real Eternity Set. However, the conditions to accomplish all of this were incredibly harsh. Firstly, Eternal Stones were extraordinarily rare and precious in the Holy World. Just collecting 600 Eternal Stones was already a massive undertaking. Secondly, one would need to collect the six set pieces and transform them ahead of everyone else. Otherwise, if someone else had managed to do so first, all of ones efforts would have been for naught. This was because so long as someone managed to complete a Divine Artifact-ranked Replica Eternity Set, the set would become unique. At that time, all other replicas would become useless. To make matters worse, the Eternity set pieces were non-bag space items, and there were no NPC warehouses in the Holy World. This meant that players did not have a place that was truly safe to store the Eternity set pieces they had collected, and it was entirely possible for any resolved player or power to steal them. It was no wonder the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate had lost its Eternity Gauntlets to the Heavenly God Corporation previously. As you can see, Brother Black Flame, while the Eternity Gauntlets are precious, they can also be considered worthless, Flint said as he put the Eternity Gauntlets back into the treasure chest. What do you suggest, Commander Flint? Shi Feng asked, failing to understand why Flint would tell him all of this. He also doubted that Flint would show him the Eternity Gauntlets for no reason. The Dragon Tongue Conglomerate plans to open a large warehouse to store these things. However, player-operated warehouses arent exactly safe, even if it is opened inside a Saint Camp. So, we hope to have enough strength to protect our warehouse, Flint said. I have nothing to say about your strength, Brother Black Flame. On behalf of the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate, I invite you to participate in this venture, Brother Black Flame. In exchange for 10% of the warehouses shares, all we need you to do is periodically protect the warehouse. You wont need to constantly guard the warehouse or bother yourself with its management. And in the eventuality that something gets stolen, we will pay you an additional fee to help us recover the stolen items. What do you think, Brother Black Flame? As soon as Flint finished speaking, Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury, who stood behind Shi Feng, gaped in shock. The Platinum Realms Dragon Tongue Conglomerate! They were talking about an existence comparable to the Starlight Realms Galaxy Conglomerate here. Yet, now, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate was taking the initiative to invite Shi Feng to a joint venture. Moreover, the conglomerate was offering 10% of its warehouses shares to Shi Feng. This situation was both unbelievable and incredibly enviable. The real estate of Saint Camps was highly valuable and outside the reach of ordinary powers. Typically, only the various conglomerates could purchase land in a Saint Camp. Meanwhile, in the Holy World, players could die at any time, so there was no protection for the items in their bags. Because of this, players would usually store their valuable belongings in the warehouses established by the various powers. That way, they wouldnt have to worry about losing something important should they die. However, the various powers charged an exorbitant fee to use their warehouses services. At a minimum, players would have to pay 10 God Crystal Fragments for 100 bag space slots and 10 non-bag space slots for 10 days. That was equivalent to spending one God Crystal Fragment per day for storage. Meanwhile, the stronger a power was, the higher the fee it would charge since it could offer more secure storage services. With the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates strength, so long as it established a warehouse, players would flood to store their items there. It wouldnt even be strange to see thousands of players going to store their items in the conglomerates warehouse. That was equivalent to a daily income of several thousand God Crystal Fragments. With 10% of the warehouses shares, Shi Feng could receive several hundred God Crystal Fragments per day! Moreover, this would only be the warehouses initial income. So long as the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate could prove the safety of its warehouse, many more people would look to store their items there. At that time, it wouldnt even be strange if Shi Feng could make several thousand God Crystal Fragments per day. Aside from the various conglomerates, not even the Holy Worlds upper-ranking hegemonic powers could make several thousand God Crystal Fragments per day Yet, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate was offering up such a potential income to Shi Feng for conditions that were incredibly lax and very much in Shi Fengs favor. It was obvious that the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate was adamant about roping Shi Feng to their side. Shi Feng naturally wouldnt turn down Flints offer. After all, it was a fact that he needed a large amount of God Crystal Fragments. Moreover, he didnt have to invest much time and effort in this endeavor. As the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate could take care of most problems with its deterrence, he would only be needed to help out with fights occasionally. The rest of the time, he could spend doing his own things. After Shi Feng signed a contract with Flint and returned to the Saint Camp, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate promptly started constructing a large warehouse on the Saint Camps main street. Meanwhile, a few hours after the warehouses construction was completed, more than 2,000 players had already used the warehouses services. At this rate, the warehouse could probably see over 5,000 players using its services by the end of the day. In other words, Shi Feng could stand to make over 5,000 God Crystal Fragments on the warehouses opening day. If converted to God Crystals, he would already have enough to exchange a set of Intermediate Divine Patterns. However, Shi Feng did not plan to wait for the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate to tally up todays earnings. Instead, he, Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury chose to use a Return Talisman to go offline. After all, he had already stayed online for many days, and he had many things he needed to take care of in the real world. Inside a room on the Gods Domain Associations 600th floor The hatch of the gaming cabin in the room slowly opened. When Shi Feng pulled his tired body out of the cabin, the cabins life support system promptly started giving him warning sounds, indicating that the life support system had already reached a critical value and needed to be replenished urgently. Indeed, quite a lot of time has passed. After glancing at his missed calls and unread messages, Shi Feng found that many were from several days ago. However, as he was trapped in the Space-Time Storm at the time, he was thoroughly isolated from the outside world, and even the time flow he experienced was affected. Immediately, Shi Feng started reading through the messages Hidden Soul sent him, his expression quickly darkening. The first few messages Hidden Soul sent arrived shortly after Shi Feng logged back into Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the messages were to inform him that the Paimon Conglomerates Dira had his Immortal Soul annihilated, and he could no longer log into Gods Domain for the rest of his life. The Divine Seal Saint exploded into a fury over this matter, and it was rumored that even the Paimon Conglomerates helmsman was scared into submission. Following the news of Diras permanent departure from Gods Domain, a piece of shocking news came from the Gods Domain Association. A bounty for all of Zero Wings members had appeared on the Gods Domain Associations public bounty list, and the rewards offered were unbelievably lucrative. Chapter 3349 - Chapter 423 - Extravagant Reinforcements Chapter 423 C Extravagant Reinforcements How generous of the Divine Seal Saint. Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw the Gods Domain Associations public bounty list. One hundred thousand Star Coins per head! Moreover, this was only the bounty on normal Zero Wing members. The bounties on Zero Wings executive members were worth upwards of three million, and Zero Wings core executives were worth upwards of ten million. The bounty for Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame was even worth one hundred million Star Coins. The total value of the Divine Seal Saints bounties was already comparable to the average corporations liquid capital. Meanwhile, the only condition to claim these bounties was to ensure that the targets could not log into Gods Domain for the rest of their lives. This was a fatal condition. Setting aside how easy it was to erase the Immortal Souls of a bunch of Tier 3 and Tier 4 players in Gods Domain, even if that wasnt an option, there were still plenty of other methods that one could use in the real world to permanently prevent a person from logging into Gods Domain. With such a loose clear condition and lucrative rewards, even two- and three-star mental strength grandmasters might be tempted to take action. Fortunately, none of the Greater Worlds two- and three-star mental strength grandmasters could enter Zero Wings homeworld. In addition, the Miniature Ancient World had returned to being in a sealed state, and it would be a long time before World Passage would open again. So, it was incredibly challenging for players to destroy another players Immortal Soul in the current Miniature Ancient World. Shortly after Shi Feng started browsing the bounty list, he suddenly received a call from Hidden Soul. Youre finally offline, Guild Leader. Thank goodness you are okay. Otherwise, were going to be in big trouble over here, Hidden Soul said, sighing in relief when she saw Shi Feng through the holographic projection. Did something happen while I was away? Shi Feng curiously asked. Currently, he, Hidden Soul, and Gentle Snow were staying at the Gods Domain Association, so their safety was essentially guaranteed. After all, no power in the Greater World would dare to poke at the Associations bottom line. In addition, now that they were members of the Star Lake Legion, they wouldnt have to worry about not earning enough contribution points and getting kicked out of the city. A city battle is starting in six hours. Including you, me, and Snow, our battle group only has five people in total, and the two rookies we managed to recruit have taken a huge risk by joining us. If you are absent, our battle group wont be able to avoid demotion, and we will even lose our qualifications to participate in the next city battle Hidden Soul said with a wry smile. There existed intense competition between the Star Lake Legions various battle groups. If a battle group failed to achieve a sufficiently good result in a city battle, not only would it be demoted, but it might even lose its qualifications to participate in the next city battle, and it would have no choice but to start from scratch and compete with other unqualified battle groups for qualifications. Not even ace battle groups were an exception to this arrangement. Fortunately, Shi Fengs battle group started out as an ace battle group. So long as Shi Feng was in attendance, they would have one opportunity to avoid demotion. So, even if they did poorly because of the Divine Seal Saints bounty preventing them from recruiting sufficient members, they could still participate in the next city battle. Five in total? Thats quite a few. Shi Feng nodded, feeling very pleased by this piece of news. Although Star Lake City wasnt under the Paimon Conglomerates jurisdiction, the conglomerate possessed extraordinary influence in the Greater World. Moreover, the fact that the Divine Seal Saint had placed a bounty on Zero Wing meant that anyone who cooperated with Zero Wing would be making an enemy out of him. In the entire Starlight Realm, even upper-ranking hegemonic powers dared not offend the Divine Seal Saint unless absolutely necessary. So, it was incredibly courageous of the two rookies to join Shi Fengs battle group in this situation. How are you still in the mood for jokes, Guild Leader?! Hidden Soul rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. If our battle group still cant recruit enough members for the next city battle, it might not just end with us getting disqualified from subsequent city battles. We might even be forced to disband! It might seem like ones future would become smooth sailing after joining a city legion, but that couldnt be farther from the case. Unless one continuously made advancements, one would quickly get relegated to a position of insignificance. At that time, the amount of contribution points one could earn would plummet. Meanwhile, if one couldnt earn sufficient contribution points, even if one remained in the city legion, ones situation would be no different than players outside the city legion. This was because contribution points were an absolute necessity for people seeking to settle in any city in the Greater World. Even conglomerates could not avoid this situation. The Greater Worlds real estate, particularly prime real estate, was leased to individuals and organizations. Apart from having to pay the basic rental fee, individuals and powers seeking to lease a plot of prime real estate would also have to participate in an auction to win the leasing rights. Meanwhile, so long as an individual or power had sufficient city contribution points, it could even occupy an entire city. Meanwhile, the quickest way to earn a large amount of Contribution Points was by participating in urban warfare. This was also why the various powers were eagerly looking to send their members into city legions. You speak as if weve already given up on the city battle this time, Shi Feng said, chuckling. We cannot give up on it. City battles occur randomly. If we miss this one, who knows when the next city battle will take place. Butthere are only five of us Hidden Soul said in exasperation. Battle groups participating in a city battle would typically have 20 members. With only five of us, even protecting an occupied territory will be a challenge, let alone occupying the enemys territories. Meanwhile, all battle groups participating in the city battle this time must secure two territories for a passing grade. Theres no way we can complete this test with just two people. If we dont have enough members, we can call for reinforcements, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Quickly go and get ready. Itd be bad if we arrived late. Reinforcements? Hidden Soul was rendered a little speechless when she heard Shi Fengs suggestion. Although it was indeed possible to invite foreign aid in city battles, all reinforcing parties would have a time delay imposed on them. This, in turn, would weaken their control over their bodies by a significant margin. So, even if they did manage to hire the assistance of other experts, these experts were unlikely to be useful. At best, they would serve as scarecrows for target practice. Dont worry! The helpers Im calling are strong, Shi Feng very confidently said. Hurry up, then, Guild Leader. There are only three hours left until registration ends, Hidden Soul said, deciding to take the risk and participate in the city battle this time. After all, with Shi Fengs strength, they shouldnt have difficulty securing a checkpoint. Subsequently, Shi Feng ended his call with Hidden Soul and contacted Cross, Leroja, Desolate Fury, Amber Soul, and Cheng Xin who had gone offline not long ago. Are you guys free? I need your help with something! Chapter 3350 - Chapter 424 - City Battle Begins Chapter 424 C City Battle Begins On a desolate and silent plain, two metal giants gradually neared each other. The residents of both mobile cities looked up at the holographic screens spread across their respective cities in excitement and tension. City battles were a solemn and important event for all cities in the Greater World. The outcome of a city battle would affect not only the contribution points earned by the two participating cities city legions but also the living standards of the two cities residents. The Greater Worlds mobile cities relied on power furnaces to sustain their daily operations. Meanwhile, the more fuel available in a power furnace, the higher a citys Singular Energy levels would become. Meanwhile, city battles were essentially fights over fuel for power furnaces. The winner of a city battle would receive one power furnaces worth of fuel from the loser, and once a third-tier city gathered twenty power furnaces worth of fuel, it would get upgraded into a second-tier city. Whether it was Star Lake City or the approaching Riverlight City, neither side possessed much fuel. Star Lake City only had four power furnaces worth of fuel, while Riverlight City possessed five. Hence, no matter the outcome of the upcoming city battle, the winner would see a significant improvement in its daily operations, while the loser would see a significant decline. At this time, the members of both cities city legions were gathered on the walls of their respective cities, observing each other. Sure enough, its as the information we got stated, Commander. Riverlight City has received the Divine Seal Saints support. Moreover, he has sent two of his vice commanders to join Riverlight City temporarily Markless Blade said, frowning as he looked at the opposing citys Tier 6 battle groups. Clad in tight-fitting crimson sportswear, Red Frost remained unfazed as she looked at the two Divine Seal Legion vice commanders standing in the distance. Then, she said, Who told us to refuse his suggestion of banishing Zero Wings members? With his temper, itd be strange if he didnt try to teach us a lesson. Power furnace fuel was of utmost importance to the various mobile cities. Knowing this, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates would usually meddle in the city battles of other cities when they wished to target a particular city. Are you confident in winning, Commander? Markless Blade nervously asked. Now that Riverlight City had gained two of the Divine Seal Legions vice commanders as support for its Tier 6 battle groups, Starlight City would be at an overwhelming disadvantage if it couldnt find anyone to keep those two in check. A city battle was divided into three rounds; one for Tier 6 battle groups, one for Tier 5 battle groups, and one for Tier 4 battle groups. Participating cities were only allowed to dispatch up to ten battle groups for each round, and the goal of the city battles participants was to occupy as many capture points as possible. The battlefield would have twenty capture points spread across them; ten on each citys side. Every capture point was worth varying amounts of points. The capture points on the Tier 6 battlefield were worth ten points each, the capture points on the Tier 5 battlefield were worth eight points each, and the capture points on the Tier 4 battlefield were worth five points each. The city with the most points accumulated at the end of the three rounds would be the winner. Due to the distribution of points, the performance of the Tier 6 battle groups played a significant role in determining a city battles outcome. If a citys Tier 6 battle groups were overwhelmed and occupied barely any capture points, the citys Tier 4 and Tier 5 battle groups would need to pull a miracle for it to win. This was why Star Lake Citys City Lord had gone out of his way to recruit Red Frost into the Star Lake Legion. Holding those two back wont be a problem, Red Frost said, chuckling. Then, her expression turned a little gloomy as she looked at Riverlight Citys Tier 4 battle groups and said, What worries me are the Riverlight Legions Tier 4 battle groups. Worried? Markless Blade also looked at the Riverlight Legions Tier 4 battle groups when he heard Red Frosts words. However, he failed to find anything unusual about them. I recognize most of the Riverlight Legions Tier 4 members. Aside from that smart-looking kid I dont recognize, everyone else is a veteran of the Riverlight Legion. Could that kid be someone strong? Hes Paimons Second Paragon, Reckless Knight, Red Frost said. I didnt think the Divine Seal Saint could get his help. Our Tier 4 battle groups are most likely in danger with him around. Reckless Knight? Markless Blades mouth widened in shock. Hes that Reckless Knight? Aside from being the Paimon Conglomerates Second Paragon, Reckless Knight was also the only genius from the Starlight Realm to have entered the Sacred Glory List, a list for the Greater Gods Domains top 1,000 budding Tier 5 players. In other words, he shouldnt have any business being in a Tier 4 battle group. Although I dont know what the Divine Seal Saint used to persuade him to drop from Tier 5 to Tier 4, I cant see any hope for our Tier 4 battle groups to win now, Red Frost said. Then, she turned to Markless Blade and continued, Make sure not to fight Reckless Knight afterward. The capture points are far apart from one another, so if you see him at a capture point, immediately give up on it and look for another one. I understand. Markless Blade nervously nodded. With Reckless Knight leading the Riverlight Legions Tier 4 battle groups, all the Star Lake Legions Tier 4 battle groups could do was try not to lose too terribly. Otherwise, even if the Tier 6 battle groups led by Red Frost won, the Star Lake Legion would still be at risk of losing. Meanwhile, over at the VIP spectator stands on Star Lake Citys wall It seems I have severely underestimated the Divine Seal Saints insanity. To think that he would invite Reckless Knight Bloodless Blade, in his suit and tie, said, a frown forming on his face as he looked at the Riverlight Legions Tier 4 battle groups. Thousand Scars and Death Omen, who were getting their simulation equipment ready, also frowned. Mr. Blade, now that the other side has Reckless Knight helping them, I dont think our plan to get close to Zero Wing will work, Thousand Scars said. Now that Thousand Scars and Death Omen had already joined the Paimon Conglomerate, they knew just how scarily powerful Reckless Knight was. Even someone as strong as Bloodless Blade was a match for Reckless Knight, let alone the two of them. According to their original plan, Bloodless Blade would lend each of them a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set and a Legendary Weapon. In addition, thanks to the resource assistance they had received from Bloodless Blade during this period, they had already become one-star mental strength grandmasters. So, they could now perfectly wield a Legendary Weapon in simulation warfare. In their current state, not even Shi Feng would be a match for them in simulation warfare. Meanwhile, with this newfound strength, the two of them would assist Zero Wing from the side in occupying capture points, making Zero Wing owe them a favor in doing so. However, that was before they knew Reckless Knight would participate in the city battle. If they had to go up against Reckless Knight, thered be nothing they could do against him. Dont worry. After pondering for a moment, Bloodless Blade reluctantly said, If you meet him, tell him to ignore you in exchange for the favor he owes me. That should let you get close to Zero Wing more easily. Thousand Scars and Death Omen couldnt help but grow excited when they heard Bloodless Blades words. Previously, Shi Fengs performance had given them an unreachable feeling. Now, though, they would have an opportunity to taste that same feeling. As more battle groups from the Star Lake Legion arrived at the competition venue, the arrival of a five-man battle group instantly attracted everyones attention. Chapter 3351 - Chapter 425 - Zero Wing is a Little Strong Chapter 425 C Zero Wing is a Little Strong Whats going on? Is there something fishy going on with this battle team? Otherwise, why would it only send five people for a city battle? The group leader looks to be the champion of this years selection. I heard that Commander Red Frost promoted him to vice commander as soon as he completed his enrollment test. Isnt Commander Red Frost too reckless?! No matter how highly she thinks of him, its not a reason to mess around in a city battle! If we lose, our city will have only three power furnaces worth of fuel left! At that time, even keeping the citys electricity supply running will become a problem! Star Lake Citys residents were greatly dissatisfied when they saw Shi Fengs battle group only had five members in it. A city battle wasnt just a good opportunity for the Star Lake Legions members to earn contribution points. It was also an opportunity to change the fates of Star Lake Citys inhabitants. Fuel for the power furnace was key to sustaining the citys operations. Whether it be food, clothing, or housing sectors, all of them required energy to maintain. If the city had less access to fuel, it would have to reduce the coverage of the services it provided. Meanwhile, out of all the negative effects this would have, the most obvious would be the lowering of the citys population. Star Lake City had already suffered two consecutive losses. If it were to lose another city battle, it would be put into an energy crisis and incapable of sustaining its current population. At that time, the city would have to expel one-fourth of its population, and those expelled would have to live in the surrounding towns with significantly worse living standards and resources. And for those unfortunate enough to be expelled, they would have a much more difficult time improving their mental strength. They might never be able to become one-star mental strength grandmasters within their lifetimes and set foot back into Star Lake City. Shi Fengs battle group is doomed, Boss Kirin. I cant believe they dare to join the city battle with only five people, a beautiful woman standing among a Tier 5 ace battle group said to Chen Qilin, smirking as she looked at Shi Fengs group of five. If the Tier 4 battle groups lose miserably, not even the commander can protect him. Standing next to the woman, Chen Qilin looked at Shi Fengs group and coldly said, I thought he wouldnt be participating in the city battle this time, yet he dares to come here with just five people. How are the arrangements on your side coming along, Slowfire? I already contacted the Tier 4 battle groups. Apart from Markless Blade, every other battle group has agreed not to help Zero Wings battle group, the woman going by the name of Slowfire said, smiling. Once the simulation warfare begins, Zero Wings group will learn what it means to be isolated and helpless. The key to winning a city battle was having good coordination between battle groups. Participating battle groups needed to figure out how they could occupy the enemys capture points while protecting their own. As capture points would normally only be defended by one battle group, two or three battle groups would usually work together to attack an enemy capture point. This was so that they could achieve a swift victory without worrying about enemy reinforcements. Otherwise, once enemy reinforcements arrived, occupying the capture point would not only become significantly more challenging, but it might even become impossible to accomplish. If a battle group didnt have any other battle groups to partner with, it would be nigh impossible to occupy any capture points. Likewise, defending a capture point without reinforcements would also be nigh impossible. So, if Zero Wings battle group couldnt get any help from other battle groups, its time in the city battle would end as soon as it began. Good! Chen Qilin joyfully wrapped his arm around Slowfires waist when he heard the other partys reply. Once this city battle is over, Ill be sure to credit you when I report back to the Paimon Conglomerate, and well head to a second-tier city together! Originally, Slowfire was only a party leader in the Tier 5 ace battle group he led. However, in terms of combat standards, Slowfire was above him. It was just that Slowfire lacked the support of a corporation, which led to her not having any good weapons or equipment. This, in turn, allowed him to be superior to her in actual combat. However, now that Red Frost had stripped him of his vice commander position, Slowfire had naturally taken over his position. Upon hearing Chen Qilins words, the other members of the battle group couldnt help but grow envious of Slowfire. After all, even one-star mental strength grandmasters were rarely able to live in a second-tier city. Not to mention, she would also be entering the sights of the Paimon Conglomerate. Meanwhile, shortly after the arrival of Shi Fengs group, the start of the city battles first round was announced. Going in order, the first round would see the Tier 4 battle groups fight, the second round would see the Tier 5 battle groups fight, and the third round would see the Tier 6 battle groups fight. As soon as the first round began, ten Tier 4 battle groups from each city appeared in a simulated version of their respective cities. These battle groups were placed at random locations, and their situations were displayed on holographic screens projected above the two cities, allowing the residents of both cities to see what every battle group was doing. In addition to the screens above the two cities, all battles would be holographically simulated in the city, allowing fortunate individuals to get a firsthand feel of the tense and exciting fights. Meanwhile, after the various battle groups were randomly placed across their respective cities, Shi Fengs group of five suddenly expanded into a group of ten. Apart from Shi Feng, Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, and the Blue Flash Worlds Pace Angel and Clay Blade, five new faces had joined Shi Fengs battle group. All five of these new faces looked relatively young. Three of them were men, and two were women. Of the three men, one was a shy-looking young man with a lean build, while the other two were so muscular that they looked no different than bears. The older of the two muscular men, in particular, had a height that reached 240 centimeters. Even though Shi Feng was already close to two meters tall, he looked no different than a child in front of the older muscular man. Unless players were of a special race in Gods Domain, they could only simulate their real bodies in simulation warfare. So, seeing as the older muscular man was of any special race, it must mean that he was truly 240 centimeters tall in the real world. As for the two women, one had a cold and mature appearance, while the other had an innocent and lovely appearance. In terms of their beauty, figure, and temperament, both women were comparable to Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul. When these four beauties stood together, they brought satisfaction to the eyes of many of the people spectating the city battle. These people dont look like theyre random nobodies. Every one of them is only equipped with a Fragmented Legendary Set and a Legendary Weapon. Riverlights participants are probably going to have a tough time against them, Slowfire said, frowning. As soon as Zero Wings battle group appeared on the holographic screen, she quickly took notice of the five new arrivals weapons and equipment. It seems Shi Feng does have some tricks up his sleeve, Chen Qilin said, chuckling. Its a pity that these people are only outside reinforcements. Even if these people have excellent weapons and equipment, the sense of delayed control will make it impossible for them to bring out their full strength. Although seeking external reinforcements was permitted in city battles, it wasnt a method the various cities would normally use. This was because such reinforcements would be subjected to a delay when manipulating their simulated bodies. This, in turn, would cause their combat standards to plummet, and even mighty fifth-floor experts would be severely affected. So, while it might seem like Zero Wings battle group had recruited five powerful reinforcements, these five additions were no different than five living targets in reality. Meanwhile, over at the VIP spectator stands, Bloodless Blade spat out the tea in his mouth when he saw the innocent and lovely woman among Zero Wings battle group, his face looking like he had just seen some kind of monster. This How is this possible?! TL Notes: Fyi, Reckless Knight and the other reinforcements from Paimon dont count as external reinforcements as they are participating directly from Riverlight City. Chapter 3352 - Chapter 426 - Powerful Background? Chapter 426 C Powerful Background? Sir? White Owl looked at Nameless Blades stunned expression in surprise. Nameless Blade could be regarded as the most suitable successor for the Paimon Conglomerate. It wasnt only because he possessed extraordinary talent. Aside from talent, he also had a calm temperament that allowed him to work without being swayed by his emotions. Even when faced with major events, he rarely showed any emotional fluctuations. Yet, now, Nameless Blade was clearly expressing his shock through his voice and his face. This was the first time White Owl had seen Nameless Blade reacting in such a manner. How is this possible? Why would someone of her stature appear here? Nameless Blade muttered in disbelief as he looked at the projection in the sky. Her? Out of curiosity, White Owl followed Nameless Blades line of sight and found that he was looking at an innocent and lovely woman. However, even after searching her memories, she failed to recognize the woman. Do you know her, Sir? Im not sure if shes the same person I know, but After catching his breath, Nameless Blade said, If she really is that person, Zero Wings background is far more powerful than I initially thought. Does that woman have a powerful background? White Owl curiously asked. Nameless Blade was the Paimon Conglomerates Second Successor, so she found it hard to imagine anyone could awe him to such a degree. It should be known that even when dealing with that woman favored by the heavens from the Galaxy Conglomerate, Nameless Blood would only show an appropriate amount of respect. He would never react in awe like he was now. It was roughly a year ago that I met her in Horizon City, Nameless Blade said. Back then, she was already ranked in the 600s of the Luminous Glory List. And after only one year, she improved her rank to 326th 326th? When White Owl heard Nameless Blade mentioning the Luminous Glory List, she quickly recalled the latest edition of the list she had memorized. Then, looking at the woman on the screen in disbelief, she exclaimed, The Little Princess of the Platinum Realms Dragon Tongue Conglomerate! Yes, thats her, Nameless Blade said, nodding. But why would a big shot like her help Zero Wing? White Owl was puzzled. Moreover, she is even helping Zero Wing in person. Could you be mistaken? The Platinum Realm was much stronger than the Starlight Realm. Meanwhile, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates status in the Platinum Realm was similar to the Galaxy Conglomerates status in the Starlight Realm. As for Cheng Xin, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates Little Princess, she was one of the strongest and most talented individuals among the Platinum Realms younger generation. With her identity and strength, even the Paimon Conglomerates helmsman would have to treat her like an equal when dealing with her. White Owl found it very hard to imagine why a big shot like Cheng Xin would be willing to help Zero Wing in a city battle. It should be known that Cheng Xin would be humbling herself even if she participated in a first-tier city battle, let alone a third-tier city battle. For someone of her stature to participate in a third-tier would be humiliating. Lets hope I am wrong, Nameless Blade said as he sat back down in his seat and took a sip of tea. If the lovely woman in Zero Wings battle group truly was Cheng Xin, itd be very difficult for Thousand Scars and Death Omen to get Shi Feng to owe them a favor. After all, Cheng Xin was 326th on the Luminous Glory List. Even if she had a delay imposed on her actions, she could still exhibit extraordinary strength. While Cheng Xin might not be able to defeat the current Reckless Knight, she would have no trouble distracting him and giving the other members of Zero Wings battle group time to escape. While Nameless Blade and White Owl were chatting at the VIP stands, the first round of the city battle between Star Lake City and Riverlight City officially began. Shortly after the round began, five of Riverlight Citys battle groups assembled, each with twenty members. All five battle groups were Riverlight Citys ace battle groups, and even the weakest player among them was a titled expert. In addition, every one of them was fully clad in Fragmented Legendary items. All of our ace battle groups have assembled, Sir. We can march into Star Lake Citys territory at any time, a Guardian Knight in his fifties said respectfully to the smart-looking young man in front of him. Okay. Move out according to plan, the smart-looking young man said, nodding. After saying so, he immediately vanished from everyones sight, nobody managing to see how or where he had left. Is he even human? a youth who had only recently joined one of Riverlight Citys ace battle groups exclaimed with widened eyes. Players Physique in simulation warfare was significantly weaker than their Physique in Gods Domain. Even at Tier 4, players would, at most, have a Tier 1 Physique in simulation warfare. And although some weapons and equipment provided bonuses to Physique, these bonuses would be weakened considerably, and even Legendary Weapons could only provide a small improvement. Yet, despite having a drastically weaker Physique, the smart-looking young man still managed to disappear under their noses. His speed was simply inhuman. Enough talking! The Guardian Knight in charge of coordinating the five battle groups shouted when he saw that everyone started to chatter. Then, he commanded, As planned, spread out and search for Zero Wings battle group once we are on Star Lake Citys side! Once you find them, inform Mr. Reckless Knight immediately! Understood! Everyone responded in unison before dashing toward Star Lake City. With five battle groups worth of members spreading out and searching for Zero Wings battle group, it took no more than ten minutes before one of them found a capture point occupied by Zero Wings battle group. To occupy a capture point, participants only needed to insert their citys flag into the designated location and keep it inserted for five minutes. Once the five minutes were up, the capture point would be assigned to their city. If the other side wished to take over the capture point, they would have to cut away the flag, insert their own flag, and wait for another five minutes. Each round of a city battle would last for two hours or until one side was annihilated. Meanwhile, each citys points would be tallied up at the end of each round. Originally, whenever participants came across the enemy trying to occupy a capture point, they should try to disrupt the process right away. Otherwise, once a capture point was occupied, all friendlies within a fixed range of the capture point would receive a small buff to their Basic Attributes. Although it was only a 3% buff, it could still potentially have game-changing effects. However, the Ranger who found Zero Wings battle group did not try to disrupt the occupation process. Instead, he contacted Reckless Knight and messaged him about the location of Zero Wings battle group. Good! Everyone assemble at that location! Do not let Zero Wings members get away! Reckless Knight said through the team chat before making his way to Zero Wings battle groups location. Star Lake City, atop a building housing a capture point Boss Markless, I dont know why, but those people from Riverlight are gathering toward a single location and ignoring everything else. They dont bother fighting any of us they come across, and theyre even willing to take damage for free just to get to that location, a Level 140 Assassin hurriedly reported to Markless Blade. Should we follow them to see whats going on? It seems these people are adamant about targeting Zero Wing, Markless Blade said, exasperated by the report. Contact the other battle groups and have everyone gather at Zero Wings location. Well rely on our numerical advantage to eliminate these suicidal battle groups. Understood! Immediately, the Assassin began contacting the other battle groups, telling them to go and reinforce Zero Wings battle group. Should we go, Boss? Of course not. If Markless Blade wants to go, he can go by himself. We dont have the time to play with them. Now that Riverlight Citys ace battle groups are preoccupied, this is the perfect chance for us to steal their capture points. None of Star Lake Citys battle groups paid any heed to Markless Blades notice, as none of them were willing to let such a good opportunity to occupy more capture points get away. Not to mention, they had already made an agreement with Chen Qilin not to help Zero Wing, so it was all the more reason for them not to help Zero Wing. Chapter 3353 - Chapter 427 - More Than One! Chapter 427 C More Than One! Star Lake City: Along with the start of the city battles first round, the actions of the two cities battle groups were put on display for the inhabitants of both cities. Did Riverlights participants go crazy? Theyre sending five ace battle groups to occupy one capture point? Arent they thinking too highly of Zero Wing? I knew it! I knew that five-man battle group wouldnt be reliable! Now, all that group has done is become easy pickings for Riverlight City! I know, right? Even though the group called in five more people as reinforcements, theyll only add up to ten people. They wont even last a minute against Riverlights five ace battle groups. Just what the heck was Commander Red Frost thinking to make such an irresponsible person a vice commander? Shes doomed us all now. When Star Lake Citys inhabitants saw Riverlight Citys five ace battle groups encroaching on the capture point occupied by Zero Wings battle group, their hearts burned with anxiety. What should we do now, Vice Commander? None of the other battle groups are sending people over. With our battle group alone, theres no way we can save Zero Wings members, an Assassin anxiously asked Markless Blade as he watched 100 experts from Riverlight City close in on the capture point occupied by Zero Wings battle group. My suggestion is that we run away while we still can. Hearing his subordinates suggestion, Markless Blade hesitated as he looked at Riverlight Citys five ace battle groups. In reality, there wasnt much of a difference in strength between Riverlight Citys and Star Lake Citys ace battle groups. So, even if a supposedly stronger ace battle group fought against a weaker ace battle group, the fight would usually drag out until reinforcements arrived. However, it was a different story if two ace battle groups ganged up on one ace battle group. In that situation, the side with the numerical disadvantage would be fortunate if a few of its members could get away safely. And if five ace battle groups ganged up on one ace battle group, it would truly be a situation where even escaping would be impossible. Yet, if Markless Blade chose not to help Zero Wings battle group, it would mean that Star Lake City would lose one battle group right off the bat. This would make things much more difficult for Star Lake City to go up against Riverlight City afterward. After all, even if Shi Fengs battle group only had ten members, it was still better than nothing. Not to mention, Shi Feng performed outstandingly during the enrollment test. Quickly make a decision, Vice Commander! the Assassin urged when he saw Riverlight Citys battle groups moving closer and closer to Zero Wings capture point. While Markless Blade was in a dilemma, two women were quietly observing the actions of Riverlight Citys five ace battle groups from a nearby building. Should we act now, Big Sis Omen? Thousand Scars asked, eager to flex her muscles when she saw Riverlight Citys battle groups. Okay, get ready to move, Death Omen said, nodding. If they kept on dragging their feet, Zero Wings battle group would get annihilated before they could do anything. Subsequently, Death Omen and Thousand Scars entered Stealth and made their way to Zero Wings capture point. On their way there, they would work together to kill any Riverlight City experts they came across. As Riverlight Citys experts fell one after another, Chen Qilins complexion also turned gloomier and gloomier. Have those two lost their minds? Dont they belong to Paimon? Why are they helping Zero Wing? Slowfire said, puzzled by Death Omens and Thousand Scars actions. Logically, Death Omen and Thousand Scars, as members of the Paimon Conglomerate, should know about the enmity between their organization and Zero Wing. Yet, the two Assassins were helping Zero Wing for some inexplicable reason. Moreover, Death Omen and Thousand Scars were both unbelievably well-equipped. Both wielded a Legendary Weapon and wore a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. If those two worked together, Slowfire suspected that even she would get killed if she werent careful. They are nothing more than outer members of Paimon, Chen Qilin contemptuously said. They probably dont even know that Lord Reckless Knight is personally taking action this time. Well see how they fare once they meet him. Reckless Knight was the Paimon Conglomerates Second Paragon and one of the likely successors to the Three Overlords. His name was known by all in the Starlight Realm. Although few people knew Reckless Knights appearance, they would immediately realize that they were going up against Reckless Knight once they started fighting him. While Chen Qilin and Slowfire were talking, a person suddenly appeared within Zero Wings capture point. Along with this persons arrival, the spectators of both cities became incredibly silent. Some even started to have difficulty breathing. Mental deterrence! This is mental deterrence! What a powerful mental deterrence! Hesa pseudo-great grandmaster! Why would a pseudo-great grandmaster appear in a third-tier city battle? The spectators of both cities were shaken as they looked at the holographic projection in the sky. Pseudo-great grandmasters were existences above three-star mental strength grandmasters, and the chances of a three-star grandmaster becoming a pseudo-great grandmaster were less than 1 in 100. Pseudo-great grandmasters were already qualified to compete for a second-tier citys City Lord position, and they would usually only participate in first-tier city battles. Almost never would such existences participate in a second-tier city battle, so for one to appear in a third-tier city battle between Star Lake City and Riverlight City was simply unbelievable. A pseudo-great grandmaster? How are we supposed to fight against that? At this time, the Assassin standing next to Markless Blade was horrified as he looked at Reckless Knight, the person who had appeared at Zero Wings capture point. A pseudo-great grandmaster could not only manifest a complete set of Legendary Weapons and Equipment, but they could also unleash a mental deterrence on their opponents. While this mental deterrence might not be as powerful as a Tier 6 players mental deterrence in Gods Domain, it could achieve extraordinary effects in simulation warfare since players in simulation warfare lacked powerful Physiques. On top of that, a pseudo-great grandmaster could also execute Absolute Techniques that the average grandmaster couldnt in simulation warfare. With these three points, a pseudo-great grandmaster was nigh invincible when going up against mental strength grandmasters or below in simulation warfare. Before everyone could recover from their astonishment, Reckless Knight cast his gaze on Shi Feng and asked, Are you Shi Feng? I am. Shi Feng nodded. Good! Reckless Knight smiled. Your life is mine! After saying so, Reckless Knight vanished into thin air, stunning all spectators. After all, Reckless Knight was supposed to be a Guardian Knight that didnt have any stealth-related Skills. Yet, he had disappeared from everyones sight like an Assassin entering Stealth. Less than half a second later, an explosion occurred twenty yards in front of Shi Feng. When the dust clouds created by the explosion dissipated, two peopleCa man and a womanCcould be seen standing at the explosions epicenter. Of the two, the man was Reckless Knight, while the woman was the innocent and lovely woman from Zero Wings battle group. After looking at the woman again, everyone couldnt help but gasp. A pse-pseudo great grandmaster! Shes a pseudo-great grandmaster as well?! Chapter 3354 - Chapter 428 - Star Lake Shocked Chapter 428 C Star Lake Shocked When the dust settled and revealed the two people it shrouded, the spectators from both cities involuntarily shuddered and got goosebumps. It was already plenty shocking for a pseudo-great grandmaster to appear in a third-tier city battle, let alone two. Nobody would believe them if they were to tell others about this situation. What kind of origins does Zero Wing have? How did it manage to recruit the help of such a young pseudo-great grandmaster? Damn! Things are getting interesting! Its not every day you get to watch two pseudo-great grandmasters clashing, even in second-tier city battles! I truly didnt think I would be fortunate enough to witness such a fight in person! But who is this woman? If she can become a pseudo-great grandmaster at such a young age, theres no way she is someone unknown. But why havent I heard of her in the Starlight Realm before? At this time, the two cities spectators who were initially concerned about the city battles outcome switched to focusing all their attention on the fight between Reckless Knight and Cheng Xin. For a time, they even forgot about the fate of their respective cities as they watched the fight with joy and excitement. A confrontation between pseudo-great grandmasters was a rare event. It was especially so in simulation warfare. Normally, it wasnt something inhabitants of third- and second-tier cities would get to see. Meanwhile, pseudo-great grandmasters were individuals who had already developed their control over their bodies to the extremes. For those seeking to develop their mental strength, they stood to learn a ton from a battle between pseudo-great grandmasters. Where did such a monster come from?! When Chen Qilin saw Cheng Xin evenly trading blows with Reckless Knight, confusion and envy filled his heart. Chen Qilins ultimate goal was to become a three-star mental strength grandmaster. Although he had dreamed of climbing to greater heights, he never thought he could do so, as the realm of pseudo-great grandmasters was simply not within his reach. He also didnt think he could get acquainted with a pseudo-great grandmaster, at least not with his current strength and status. So, on what basis could a person with no background like Shi Feng recruit the help of a pseudo-great grandmaster? While the spectators outside the battlefield were shocked by the fight between Reckless Knight and Cheng Xin, Death Omen and Thousand Scars were also watching the battle in amazement. Since when did Zero Wing get acquainted with such an expert? Whether it was Death Omen or Thousand Scars, the two had dealt with Zero Wing quite a lot in the Miniature Ancient World. However, never had they seen Cheng Xin among the members of Zero Wing and its allies. Should we still go and help, Big Sis Omen? Thousand Scars quietly asked, her eyes remaining fixated on the fight between Reckless Knight and Cheng Xin. Of course, Death Omen answered definitively. By the looks of things, that woman can only keep Reckless Knight at bay for a limited time. If we help her, we can keep him perfectly pinned. Although this is different from our original plan, we can still sell a favor to Zero Wing by doing so. Thousand Scars nodded before promptly resuming her advance toward Zero Wings capture point and slaughter of Riverlight Citys participants. While Death Omen and Thousand Scars were revising their plans, Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, Pace Angel, and Clay Blade were quietly watching the fight between Reckless Knight and Cheng Xin, greatly shocked by the twos performance. Eventually, Hidden Souls curiosity got the better of her as she turned to Shi Feng and asked, Where did you find such an expert, Guild Leader? Isnt she a little too strong? Although Hidden Soul had long known that Zero Wing was not as simple as it appeared, the current situation greatly exceeded her expectations. It should be known that Cheng Xin, Desolate Fury, and the others were external reinforcements in this city battle. Because of this, they would experience a delay when manipulating their bodies, and not even fifth-floor experts could mitigate this delay completely. Yet, even while subjected to this delay, Cheng Xin could still keep Reckless Knight pinned. If this delay did not exist, Hidden Soul couldnt help but suspect that Cheng Xin could kill Reckless Knight in no time. Meanwhile, when Cross, Leroja, and Desolate Fury heard Hidden Souls words, they couldnt help but reveal a helpless smile. After all, they were talking about the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates Little Princess here. She was the strongest player among the Platinum Realms younger generation. Even if she had a delay imposed on her movements, she still wasnt an opponent that could be defeated by the likes of Reckless Knight, someone ranked at the bottom of the Sacred Glory List. Before Hidden Soul could get an answer from Shi Feng, Reckless Knight suddenly executed a strange footwork to throw Cheng Xin off his tail and arrive in front of Shi Feng. She alone isnt enough to stop me! Now, what other tricks do you have up your sleeves? Reckless Knight contemptuously said as he looked at Shi Feng. If he couldnt even get past someone subjected to a movement delay and news of it got out, he could kiss his future in the Paimon Conglomerate goodbye. After saying so, Reckless Knight swung the one-handed axe in his right hand down at Shi Feng. 53rd Absolute Technique, Shadow Break! Reckless Knights axe transformed into a dark vortex in the blink of an eye, the vortex actively drawing all objects within its vicinity toward itself. However, just as the dark vortex was about to hit Shi Feng, a sword suddenly came striking at Reckless Knight from an odd angle. Sensing the power behind the unexpected attack, Reckless Knight promptly halted his technique and turned around to defend against the attack. Boom! Metal collided, and sparks flew. Although it sounded like a simple collision between weapons, the resulting shockwave was so intense that Death Omen and Thousand Scars could feel it from over a thousand yards away. Immediately afterward, a scene that dumbfounded nearly everyone present occurred. Reckless Knight, who had shown himself to be nigh unstoppable thus far, was sent flying over a dozen yards away Who are you?! As soon as Reckless Knight stabilized his footing, he immediately began scrutinizing the shy-looking young man before him. Just a nameless Swordsman, the young man indifferently responded. Then, without giving Reckless Knight any chance to catch his breath, the young man promptly launched a series of follow-up attacks. The young man used three Absolute Techniques in a row; one technique exhibiting extraordinary strength, one exhibiting astoundingly high attack frequency, and one exhibiting unpredictable attack trajectories. The three Absolute Techniques working in conjunction shaved off Reckless Knights HP rapidly. Yet, the only thing Reckless Knight could do was passively defend himself and nothing else. On the twelfth time the Swordsman executed his three-technique combination, Reckless Knight finally succumbed to the other partys attacks and collapsed to the ground. Subsequently, both the spectators in Star Lake City and Riverlight City fell deathly silent. Even the Riverlight City participants who were in the middle of forming an encirclement around Zero Wings battle group had frozen in place Chapter 3355 - Chapter 429 - Unfathomable Chapter 429 C Unfathomable Reckless Knight! He was not only the Paimon Conglomerates Second Paragon but also the only expert in the Starlight Realm to have entered the Sacred Glory List. Yet, now, he was defeated by a young man of unknown origins. At this time, even the spectators outside the battlefield had a hard time accepting this outcome, let alone the Riverlight Citys participants who were at the scene of the battle. Who is this person? Thousand Scars was in shock as she watched the shy-looking young man sheath his longsword after killing Reckless Knight. Anyone with eyes could see that Reckless Knight was incredibly strong. It would be almost impossible to find another youth of his strength throughout the Starlight Realm. Reckless Knights strength was also why the Divine Seal Saint had left the matter of dealing with Zero Wing to him. Previously, the fact that Cheng Xin could fight Reckless Knight to a standstill despite having a delay imposed on her movements was already plenty unbelievable in Thousand Scars opinion. Yet, now, even while subjected to the same delay, the shy-looking young man had defeated Reckless Knight in only twelve moves. If Thousand Scars hadnt seen this fight with her own eyes, she would have never believed such a thing could be possible. Meanwhile, after a short silence, an uproar occurred among Star Lake Citys inhabitants. This young man is so strong! Amazing! This is simply amazing! I initially thought this ten-man battle group was there just to make up for numbers, but nowour citys victory is all but guaranteed! I cant believe a single battle group would have so many incredible experts. No wonder Commander Red Frost chose to let a rookie establish an ace battle group all by himself. At this time, the eyes of Star Lake Citys spectators were practically glowing as they looked at the shy-looking young man displayed on the holographic screen, their excited hearts refusing to calm down. Previously, everyone had been feeling rather gloomy because of Reckless Knights performance. After all, it was considered overkill for a pseudo-great grandmaster to participate in even second-tier city battles, let alone a third-tier city battle. With a mental strength expert of such caliber on Riverlight Citys side, the chances of Star Lake Citys Tier 4 battle groups achieving a good result were very slim. However, now that someone on Star Lake Citys side had defeated Reckless Knight, the situations of Star Lake City and Riverlight City were instantly reversed. How can a Guild with no background have so many monsters fighting for it? Resting in the participants corner, Chen Qilin abruptly shot up from his seat, his face looking like he had just seen a ghost as he stared at the shy-looking young mans figure through the holographic screen above the city. It was already astonishing that a pseudo-great grandmaster had appeared in Zero Wings battle group. Yet, now, it was revealed that in addition to Cheng Xin, Zero Wings battle group had another Swordsman who was even stronger than Cheng Xin. How were Riverlight Citys battle groups supposed to win like this? At this time, even if the other battle groups of Star Lake City chose to do nothing, Zero Wings battle group could take on all of Riverlight Citys Tier 4 battle groups by itself, leaving Riverlight City with no chances of victory. Not to mention, the other battle groups of Star Lake City had only promised him that they wouldnt help Zero Wing. They never promised that they wouldnt contest for capture points. Star Lake Citys VIP spectator stands: Using twelve moves to defeat Reckless Knight Who is this young man? White Owl muttered, greatly shocked and confused by the fact that Reckless Knight was so handily defeated. White Owl was one of the Paimon Conglomerates Ten Great Paragons, and she had sparred against Reckless Knight on multiple occasions in the past. So, compared to other people, she had a much better understanding of just how powerful Reckless Knight was. In addition to being a pseudo-great grandmaster with a Legendary Weapon, Reckless Knight also possessed two Exclusive Absolute Techniques; one to enhance his offensive capabilities and the other to enhance his maneuverability. On top of that, Reckless Knight had also reached the fifth-floor standard when it came to combat standards. With all of these factors combined, he could keep himself alive for a long time, even if he went up against three fifth-floor experts simultaneously, let alone one. Yet, even while subjected to a movement delay, the shy-looking youth had managed to defeat Reckless Knight in twelve moves. This was simply unbelievable. I really didnt expect to see not just the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates Little Princess but also the Luminous Glory Lists 216th-ranked Amber Soul Suddenly, Nameless Blade laughed and said, Things are going to be interesting. The outside world has always assumed that Zero Wing doesnt have any background, so how exactly did Zero Wing manage to recruit the help of two such big shots? White Owls pupils froze when she heard Nameless Blades words. Amber Soul?! White Owl exclaimed while staring intently at the shy-looking young man. Hes the Sword Emperor Amber Soul?! Amber Soul was labeled a once-in-a-century genius by the Seven Luminaries Alliance, and he had entered the Luminous Glory Lists top 300 at a very young age. His achievement was one that hadnt been seen for the past century, and he became known by all in the Greater Gods Domain for this reason. Some apex powers had even extended an olive branch to Amber Soul because of his achievement. Only, for some reason, Amber Soul never agreed to join any of these apex powers. Hence, White Owl found it incredibly unbelievable that a Guild with supposedly no background like Zero Wing could manage to recruit the help of Amber Soul. After all, many conglomerates had tried to hire Amber Souls services but to no avail. It seems we have underestimated Zero Wing, Nameless Blade said after taking a deep breath. Not only is it related to a Swordsman nearing Primordial Gods, but it even has close ties to Cheng Xin and Amber Soul On the battlefield Are we still going to help them, Boss Markless? the Assassin youth standing next to Markless Blade asked as he looked at Riverlight Citys dazed participants. At this time, the situation had clearly turned against Riverlight Citys ace battle groups following Reckless Knights death. After all, even a layman could tell right now that Riverlight Citys participants had already lost the will to fight. Of course we are! Markless Blade hurriedly said after coming back to his senses. If not now, when are we supposed to go and help? Now that Riverlight Citys participants had suffered a huge blow to their morale, it was the perfect time to kill them. Although killing Riverlight Citys participants wouldnt earn them any contribution points, it would make occupying capture points much easier later. Immediately, Markless Blade led his battle group to swiftly dispatch Riverlight Citys participants. At the same time, Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, and the others on Shi Fengs side also snapped out of their dazes and began attacking the enemies around them. For a time, Riverlight Citys participants, despite having a numerical advantage, could be seen fleeing in all directions, none daring to stand their ground. Unfortunately, their efforts to escape were futile in front of the two pseudo-great grandmasters of Zero Wings battle group. Not to mention, Leroja, Cross, and Desolate Fury had also started to take action at this time. When the trio started taking action, many people quickly recognized them. Leroja and Cross were especially recognizable. Empress Blood Arrow and the Undefeated Battle Maniac were individuals known by all in the Myriad Forest Empire and its neighboring countries. Their fame ascended to even greater heights after successfully winning an invitation for the Galaxy Conglomerates invitational competition. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the two ranked among the top of the Starlight Realms younger generation. Hence, when everyone saw Leroja and Cross fighting for Zero Wings battle group, they couldnt help but be astonished. Markless Blade, in particular, was dumbfounded by this situation. Normally, Leroja couldnt even be bothered to participate in second-tier city battles. Yet, now, she was helping Zero Wing fight in Star Lake Citys city battle Meanwhile, once the other members of Zero Wings battle group started taking action, it didnt take more than five minutes before Riverlight Citys five ace battle groups were annihilated. Of the 100 titled experts who had invaded Star Lake Citys territory, none survived. Chapter 3356 - Chapter 430 - Astonishing Results Chapter 430 C Astonishing Results Where did you find all these experts, Guild Leader? Hidden Soul couldnt help but ask Shi Feng when she saw Amber Soul finishing off the last participant among Riverlight Citys five ace battle groups. Every one of them is incredible. The Riverlight City participants they faced here werent no-name experts. Instead, every one of them was a titled expert in Gods Domain. Normally, ordinary hegemonic powers would only have a small number of such experts under their command. If it was before acquiring the Void Saints Legacy, Hidden Soul would have difficulty beating these experts even in a one-versus-one situation, let alone in a one-versus-many situation. Yet, of the five players Shi Feng invited, every one of them could simultaneously take on several of these titled experts by themselves. It was especially so for Cheng Xin and Amber Soul. In front of these two individuals, the members of Riverlight Citys ace battle groups were no different than ants. Even when several of Riverlight Citys participants worked together, they couldnt last more than a move against Cheng Xin and Amber Soul. The two were even responsible for eliminating over 70% of the five ace battle groups. If not for everyone else acting quickly, 90% of the kills might have gone to the two. Standing next to Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow nodded in agreement with Hidden Souls sentiment, her eyes full of curiosity. Ignoring monsters like Cheng Xin and Amber Soul, Leroja, Cross, and Desolate Fury were also incredibly strong. With their strength, the three could easily rank among the top five strongest players in the current Miniature Ancient World. It should be known that the Miniature Ancient World was currently a gathering place for the younger generation experts of the Starlight Realms various hegemonic powers. Hence, getting into the top five was an incredibly challenging feat. Even Saint Nine, the current 10th-ranked player in the Miniature Ancient World, was already strong enough to rival Tier 5 players. As for the current top five players, every one of them was strong enough to go up against an entire hegemonic power by themselves. Yet, Leroja, Cross, and Desolate Fury all had the strength to enter the top five. If these three people were to enter the Miniature Ancient World and operate as a group, the things they could achieve would be beyond imagination. Secret, Shi Feng said, smiling as he looked at Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow. The Holy World was related to one of the Six Great Divine Sets. It was also a gathering place for the various Realms strongest experts. Naturally, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. Not to mention, it wouldnt necessarily be a good thing for Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow to learn about the Holy World. The Holy World was regarded as top secret even by the Galaxy Conglomerate. Every player the Galaxy Conglomerate sent into the Holy World was required to sign a strict contract beforehand. It was why no other power in the Starlight Realm knew about the Holy World, even until now. In fact, even Shi Feng didnt know about the Holy Worlds existence during his previous life. He only knew that the Galaxy Conglomerate had suffered heavy losses during its search for the Eternity Set. The conglomerate had kept a very tight lid on the situations specifics. As for why the Galaxy Conglomerate would go to such great lengths to ensure the Holy World stayed a secret, it was because the astronomical benefits the Holy World could bring would most certainly arouse the interest of the various powers. If Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow accidentally leaked information on the Holy World, they would be in grave danger in both Gods Domain and the real world. Even their current status as Star Lake Citys official participants would not keep them safe, and they could only spend the rest of their lives hiding in the Gods Domain Association. When Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow saw that Shi Feng did not intend to share his secret with them, they did not choose to pursue the topic. They knew that Shi Feng must have his reasons for not telling them, and they were unlikely to get an answer even if they continued asking him about it. Meanwhile, after Zero Wings battle group took care of Riverlight Citys five ace battle groups, Shi Feng had Pace Angel, a rookie from the Blue Flash World, stay behind at the capture point while he led everyone else to invade Riverlight Citys territory. The five remaining battle groups on Riverlight Citys side were only ordinary battle groups. As they were utterly powerless against Zero Wings battle group, all of them chose to abandon the capture points they occupied as soon as they saw Zero Wings battle group appearing before them, opting to compete for other capture points instead. For a time, a strange scene appeared in the city battles Tier 4 match. Whichever capture point Zero Wings battle group visited would see Riverlight Citys participants abandoning it. This led to Zero Wing occupying eight out of the ten capture points in Riverlight Citys territory with zero resistance. If not for Riverlight Citys participants ambushing other capture points and forcing Zero Wing to have one person going around providing support, Zero Wing could have occupied nine of the capture points on Riverlight Citys side. In contrast to Zero Wings battle groups experience, Star Lake Citys nine other battle groups experienced a huge headache throughout the match. Originally, they thought they would have an easy time occupying Riverlight Citys capture points since Riverlight City only had five ordinary battle groups remaining. However, because of Zero Wings battle group, Riverlight Citys five remaining battle groups had opted to focus all their efforts on protecting their two remaining capture points. Hence, although Star Lake Citys nine other battle groups still had a numerical advantage, it wasnt a particularly overwhelming one. In addition, the defenders of a capture point would receive bonus Basic Attributes. So, even though Star Lake Citys battle groups had the advantage in terms of both quality and quantity of participants, it still took them over an hour before they managed to occupy one of Riverlight Citys two remaining capture points. As for the last capture point, even after the matchs two-hour duration was over, Star Lake Citys nine other battle groups never managed to secure it. Ultimately, the city battles Tier 4 match ended with Zero Wings battle group occupying nine capture points while Star Lake Citys nine other battle groups occupied ten capture points. With a score of 19-to-1 in Star Lake Citys advantage, Star Lake City ended up gaining a 90-point lead over Riverlight City in the very first match. This was a landslide victory that had never been seen throughout Star Lake Citys history. Seeing the difference in points, everyone in Star Lake City cheered in celebration. With such a huge lead, even if they ended up losing the next two matches, so long as they didnt lose too catastrophically, the city battle would still end with Star Lake City winning. Star Lake Citys participant bench: I thought we were going to lose because of our insistence on sheltering Zero Wing, but I didnt think Zero Wing would bring me such a big surprise, an old man with a graying beard said, smiling when he saw the outcome of the first match. Then, he looked toward the woman in tight-fitting crimson sportswear standing next to him and said, The rest is up to you now, Commander Frost. Dont worry, City Lord. Star Lake City will definitely win this time, Red Frost said, a rare smile appearing on her face. There wasnt much of a gap in strength between Star Lake City and Riverlight City, to begin with. So, having a 90-point lead after the first match would relieve a lot of pressure on the Star Lake Legion in the two subsequent matches. Shortly after the Tier 4 match ended, the Tier 5 match began. The Tier 5 matchs intensity was vastly greater than the Tier 4 matchs intensity. Because Riverlight City had the Paimon Conglomerates assistance, even defending their own capture points became a challenging feat for the battle groups led by Chen Qilin. Despite Chen Qilins best efforts, the Tier 5 match ended with Star Lake City occupying only seven capture points while Riverlight City occupied thirteen. Star Lake Citys 90-point lead shrunk to just a 42-point lead because of this defeat, and Star Lake Citys spectators couldnt help but feel frustrated over this outcome. They didnt think the Star Lake Legions Tier 5 battle groups would be so weak. Fortunately, the Tier 6 battle groups led by Red Frost herself performed well afterward, winning the Tier 6 match with twelve capture points occupied. In the end, the city battle concluded with Star Lake City having an 82-point lead. Along with this victory, not only did Star Lake City put an end to its losing streak, but it also managed to regain its fifth set of power furnace energy. Chapter 3357 - Chapter 431 - Astronomical Contribution Chapter 431 C Astronomical Contribution Star Lake City, Gods Domain Association: Following the end of the city battle, the Gods Domain Association became the liveliest location in Star Lake City. This was due to the Star Lake Legions many participants gathering here and forming a long line in front of the exchange counter situated in the Associations second-floor lobby. We really lucked out this time! Not only did the city win an additional set of power furnace energy, but the City Lord even decided to give all legion members a three-month bonus to celebrate! a young man in his late teens who had only joined the Star Lake Legion recently exclaimed as he looked at the numbers displayed on his quantum watch. The pretty girl standing behind the young man nodded in agreement. Then, she enviously looked at a young man and woman waiting in line some distance ahead and said, Its thanks to Commander Red Frost and Zero Wings battle group. Otherwise, reserve participants like us would have nothing to do with the reward distribution this time. I wonder when Ill be able to become an official participant. If I can get into Zero Wings battle group, Ill also be able to strike it rich like Clay Blade and Pace Angel. Similar to Clay Blade and Pace Angel, the young man and pretty girl were also geniuses from the Blue Flash World. Before joining the Star Lake Legion, they both thought they would enjoy great success once they joined the city legion. However, after making it into the legion, they quickly realized that life after joining the city legion wouldnt be as smooth-sailing as they thought. It was true that they could receive a fixed amount of contribution points each month after joining the Star Lake Legion. However, depending on ones position in the legion, the amount of points one could receive would vary significantly. In the case of reserve participants, they would only receive 1,000 contribution points a month. That wasnt even enough for them to meet the minimum qualifications to rent a room at the Gods Domain Association. Theyd also have to complete a couple of missions on top of that. To make matters worse, if a reserve participant didnt have a corporation or powerful family supporting them, they would also need to figure out a way to earn enough Star Coins to pay for their accommodations in the Gods Domain Association. Otherwise, even with enough contribution points, they would still be evicted from their rooms. Simply put, life as a reserve member in the Star Lake Legion was nowhere near as carefree as they initially imagined. They would still need to worry about making ends meet, and the luxury of visiting Star Lake Citys high-class establishments was still as far away from them as when they first arrived in the Greater World. Moreover, even if they were lucky enough to become official participants later on, unless they could attract the attention of any corporation or powerful family, they would still have to work hard to cover their training resources and living expenses. Soon! Once we convert our 3,000 points into three chances to use the mental strength training room, well definitely become one-star grandmasters! At that time, well take the test to become official participants and apply to join Zero Wings battle group! the young man said confidently. There was a large variety of mental strength training resources available in the Gods Domain Association, and the most popular among them was the mental strength training room, which drastically improved the efficiency of its occupants mental strength training. However, while the mental strength training room was an excellent training facility, it cost 1,000 city contribution points and 10,000 Star Coins to use each time. For participants belonging to the Star Lake Legion, 10,000 Star Coins was still a manageable sum. However, it was a different story for the contribution points required. Because of the steep cost, most official participants could only afford to enter the mental strength training room once or twice a month. So, having three opportunities to use the mental strength training room was akin to a dream for reserve participants like them. Pace Angel! Just you wait! Ill also be joining Zero Wings battle group soon! The pretty girl nodded in agreement with the young man, and she couldnt help but turn to look at the young woman waiting in line some distance ahead with eyes brimming with fighting spirit. They were both top-tier geniuses of the same era in the Blue Flash World. In terms of talent, she was even superior to Pace Angel, and it wouldnt be wrong to say that she was only one small step away from becoming an official participant in the Star Lake Legion. Star Lake City, Star Lake Training Center: Because most of the Star Lake Legions participants had gone to exchange resources at the Gods Domain Association, the usually overcrowded Star Lake Training Center had become somewhat deserted. Currently, only a small number of youngsters belonging to the various corporations and powerful families could be seen conducting their usual training here. At this time, a man and a woman could be seen entering the training centers main hall, the arrival of these two people instantly sparking a discussion among the training teenagers. Quick, look! Isnt that Vice Commander Shi Feng? Why is he here? I thought he would be exchanging resources at the Gods Domain Association . Hes so handsome! I wonder if Vice Commander Shi is accepting female disciples? Because Star Lake City achieved victory in the city battle, the entire city was in a festive mood. This was true for both the city legions participants and the citys inhabitants. Meanwhile, as one of the biggest contributors to the citys victory, Shi Feng received an astronomical amount of contribution points. Yet, rather than think of how to spend these points at the Gods Domain Association, Shi Feng had come to the Star Lake Training Center. This situation was somewhat surprising to the youths in the training center. Another corporation just contacted us, Guild Leader. They hope that we can sell them some points, and theyre willing to buy them using Star Coins at a ratio of 1:25, Hidden Soul excitedly said. Star Coins werent easy to come by in the Greater World. Yet, everything from training resources to living expenses cost a lot of Star Coins. It was especially so if one was looking to develop their mental strength as efficiently as possible. For example, the accommodations available on the Gods Domains Associations 500th floor and above cost several thousand Star Coins per day. For people lacking in Star Coins like them, this was the perfect opportunity to earn some. Thats not a bad rate, but trading contribution points for Star Coins simply isnt worthwhile at this juncture, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Under normal circumstances, individuals were prohibited from trading contribution points with each other. However, participants of the city legion were eligible to donate their contribution points to others once a month. This was also the default channel for the citys various corporations and powerful families to obtain contribution points. Normally, the various corporations and powerful families would only offer a rate of 1:20 when purchasing Star Coins. In other words, one contribution point was worth twenty Star Coins. Even if an organization or powerful family decided to be generous, they would, at most, offer a rate of 1:22 or 1:23. Rarely would anyone offer a rate of 1:25. Meanwhile, whenever a city battle ended, the various battle groups would receive a set amount of contribution points based on their performances. More specifically, each point they scored during the city battle would translate to 50,000 contribution points, and this amount would double should the city emerge victorious in the city battle. Then, once a battle groups earnings were tallied, the Main God System would automatically distribute the points to the groups members based on everyones individual performance. Zero Wings battle group had occupied nine capture points during the city battles Tier 4 match, scoring a total of 45 points for Star Lake City. In other words, Zero Wings battle group received 4.5 million contribution points, the highest out of all battle groups in the Star Lake Legion. Out of the 4.5 million contribution points, Shi Feng received four million, while the remaining half a million points were split between the battle groups four other members.[1] The average participant would normally only have between 10,000 to 100,000 contribution points for sale. In contrast, Shi Feng had four million contribution points in his possession. So, it was only normal for the various corporations and powerful families to make him a better offer. Meanwhile, should Shi Feng choose to sell his four million contribution points at a rate of 1:25, hed receive one hundred million Star Coins. That was already equivalent to the liquid assets of the average corporation in Star Lake City. However, Shi Feng did not plan to exchange contribution points for Star Coins as it would be incredibly unwise to do so at this time. The city gaining an additional set of power furnace energy meant that the citys structure would undergo a complete overhaul. The city would be able to accommodate a larger population, and the value of the citys real estate would increase. Meanwhile, if one wished to rent the citys real estate, one must bid for it using the citys contribution points. If one did not have enough contribution points, one shouldnt even consider renting any real estate, even if one had the Star Coins to afford it. Amidst their conversation, Shi Feng and Hidden Soul arrived at the top floor of the Star Lake Training Center. This was where the Star Lake Real Estate Center was situated at. TL Notes: [1]the remaining half a million points were split between the battle groups four other members: Leroja and the others arent part of the Star Lake Legion or Star Lake City, so they dont receive any contribution points. Chapter 3358 - Chapter 432 - Zero Wings First Step Chapter 432 C Zero Wings First Step There were over a dozen service counters in the Star Lake Real Estate Center. Usually, hardly any of these counters would see any people waiting in line. At this time, however, every counter had a long line of people waiting in front of it, and these people were all representatives of the citys various corporations and powerful families. Sure enough, they all came running here. Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised when he saw the situation in the real estate center. The city battle had just concluded, so the various corporations and powerful families must have gained a huge harvest of contribution points. So, it was only natural they would spend these points on purchasing real estate. After all, now that the city had gained an extra set of fuel, the citys population was bound to increase, and so would the value of the citys real estate. Apart from commercial real estate, the various corporations and powerful families also made the citys training centers and guild buildings their primary objectives. Star Lake City had constructed these properties specifically for the various powers to rent, and they came with living quarters and a place to train. So, if a power were to rent these properties, it would no longer have to cover its members living and training expenses. However, as Star Lake City had limited space, it could only construct a limited number of these training centers and guild buildings. If a power wished to develop in a particular city, it would have to do its best to rent as many training centers and guild buildings as possible. Meanwhile, the more of these properties a power owned, the more appealing it would be to up-and-coming talents. This was also the reason the various corporations and Gods Domain powers were frantically collecting city contribution points in the various cities. It should be known that every city in the Greater World was linked to several dozen human civilizations. This made them a gathering place for these civilizations geniuses. If a power wished to develop well in Gods Domain, it was crucial to continuously bring in fresh blood. However, the geniuses of just one civilization were far from enough for a power to achieve great success in the Greater Gods Domain. Hence, the real estate of the various cities became a primary target for the various powers. Shi Feng! Standing among the people waiting in line, Chen Qilin gnashed his teeth when he saw Shi Feng entering the hall. Chen Qilin suffered a massive loss because of Shi Fengs performance in the city battle. Firstly, since he had failed to do anything about Zero Wing, the Divine Seal Saints promise to him was naturally null and void. Secondly, because the Tier 5 battle teams he led had lost in the city battle, the contribution points he ended up receiving were much lower than expected. This resulted in the Dawn Light Corporation having to spend nearly half of its liquid assets to purchase contribution points, and this outcome caused his position in the line of succession to fall by a lot. Yet, despite his losses, there was nothing Chen Qilin could do to take revenge on Shi Feng. Because Shi Feng had obtained the most contribution points from the city battle, Star Lake Citys various corporations and powerful families were now eagerly trying to befriend him. Not to mention, Shi Fengs performance, or more specifically, Zero Wings performance during the city battle, had refreshed the various corporations and powerful families opinions of Zero Wing. Firstly, there was Cheng Xin, a Swordsman capable of going toe to toe with Reckless Knight. Then, there was Amber Soul, a Swordsman capable of defeating Reckless Knight. Moreover, both had accomplished their respective feats while experiencing a delay in their movements. So long as Zero Wing could continue inviting these two people to help it, they would become a weapon of mass destruction for Zero Wing in city battles. There would also be nothing the Paimon Conglomerates Divine Seal Saint could do about it. Apart from Chen Qilin, the representatives of the other corporations and powerful families also noticed Shi Fengs arrival. However, unlike Chen Qilin, these other representatives did not react begrudgingly to seeing Shi Feng. Instead, they took the initiative to greet him, all of them looking to befriend him. However, Shi Feng didnt stop to chat with these representatives. After briefly responding to their greetings, he left Hidden Soul to chat with them. Meanwhile, he made his way to the counter with the shortest line and began to wait for his turn. Hello, Mr. Shi. Here is the list of every training center and guild building available for rent in the city, the beautiful receptionist behind the counter said as she offered an electronic tablet to Shi Feng. If you fancy any real estate, you simply need to write a bid for it and wait for the announcement next week. Then, youll know if youve won your bid. Okay. Shi Feng accepted the tablet and quickly scanned through it. Every city in the Greater World handled its real estate via silent auctions. Every interested bidder would write the amount of contribution points they were willing to pay as an upfront cost, and the winner would be announced at a later date. Then, the winner would need to pay a fixed rent in Star Coins plus the contribution points they had put down for their bid. Such an auction system added a factor of uncertainty to the bidding process. This would put a bidders capital and judgment to the test. At the same time, a silent auction system could prevent malicious competition and allow weaker powers to survive in the various cities. It looks like Star Lakes City Lord isnt clueless about running his city Not only has the rent been increased, but even the three largest training centers and guild buildings in the city center have been made available. This will quickly let the city recollect the contribution points it has just distributed Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he was done browsing the list. The training centers and guild buildings in Star Lake City could be divided into three size categories: small, medium, and large. Among them, small training centers and guild buildings allowed up to 200 people to be exempted from paying the monthly city contributions, medium ones allowed up to 400 people, and large ones allowed up to 1,000 people. Meanwhile, although the city center housed the richest energy in the city, there was limited space in the city center. Hence, there were only twelve large-sized training centers and guild buildings in the city center. Excluding the nine that have already been rented out, there were only three remaining. Before today, the city had never put these three properties up for rent, so this was a rare opportunity to acquire them. [Sector 14 Large Training Center] Facilities: 50 Basic Simulation Combat Rooms, 10 Intermediate Simulation Combat Rooms, 3 Advanced Simulation Combat Rooms. Accommodations: 900 Basic Quarters, 100 Advanced Quarters, and 10 Special Quarters. Annual Rent: 80,000,000 Star Coins Starting Bid: 2,200,000 contribution points [Sector 35 Large Guild Building] Facilities: 2 Large Training Grounds, 10 Medium Training Grounds, 30 Small Training Grounds, 30 Basic Simulation Combat Rooms, 5 Intermediate Simulation Combat Rooms, and 1 Advanced Simulation Combat Rooms. Accommodations: 900 Basic Quarters, 100 Advanced Quarters, and 5 Special Quarters Annual Rent: 95,000,000 Star Coins Starting Bid: 2,400,000 contribution points [Sector 78 Large Training Center] Facilities: 50 Basic Simulation Combat Rooms, 10 Intermediate Simulation Combat Rooms, and 5 Advanced Simulation Combat Rooms. Accommodations: 900 Basic Quarters, 100 Advanced Quarters, 15 Special Quarters. Annual Rent: 104,000,000 Star Coins Starting Bid: 3,000,000 contribution points Chapter 3359 - Chapter 433 - Sudden Change to Gods Domain Chapter 433 C Sudden Change to Gods Domain TL Notes: Made some fixes to Chapter 432: Simulation Combat Room -> Combat Simulation Room Annual Rent: 104,000,000 Star Coins -> Annual Rent: 140,000,000 Star Coins When he was done reading the details of the three large training centers and guild buildings, Shi Feng took a deep breath. The City Lord really knows how to tempt people, Shi Feng thought as he wryly smiled. The pricing of the three properties was relatively fair. After all, this was the city center they were talking about. The average medium training center there would typically have an annual rent of 50 million Star Coins and an upfront cost of one million contribution points. Meanwhile, the average medium training center could only accommodate up to 400 people. Originally, Shi Feng had only planned to rent a medium training center or guild building. After all, Zero Wing had only made a couple of million Star Coins in the Miniature Ancient World thus far. He would even have to sell some contribution points to afford a medium training center. However, the price-to-performance ratio of the three large training centers and guild buildings was so good that Shi Feng couldnt help but be tempted. The large training center in Sector 78 was particularly attractive. It had a whopping five Advanced Combat Simulation Rooms and fifteen Special Quarters. These were facilities that could only be accessed through spending contribution points. Even then, there were not enough of these facilities available to meet the high demand. Take the Star Lake Training Center, for example. It had 100 Advanced Combat Simulation Rooms, and it cost 2,000 Star Coins and 100 contribution points to use them every time. However, despite the high cost, they would be fully booked by the Star Lake Legions members every day. Advanced Combat Simulation Rooms were in such high demand because they allowed users to engage directly in simulation warfare. In addition, so long as users had detailed information on a player, they could simulate any player they wanted to fight against. This would grant users a realistic experience of fighting against their desired opponents, and it was not an experience that the Basic and Intermediate Combat Simulation Rooms could provide. As for the Special Quarters, while they werent comparable to the living quarters found on the Gods Domain Associations 600th floor and above, they did come equipped with a mental strength training room. This training room could enhance the efficiency of users mental strength development, and even two-star mental strength grandmasters could receive significant benefits from it. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the main reason most rookie geniuses in the Greater World chose to join a corporation or a powerful family was so that they could have stable access to Advanced Combat Simulation Rooms and Special Quarters. It seems I have no choice but to take a gamble. Shi Feng gritted his teeth and used all four million of his contribution points to bid on Sector 78s large training center. That was one million more points than the minimum bid. Generally, the various powers wouldnt exceed 20% of the minimum price when bidding for real estate in a third-tier city. After all, what the various powers mainly wanted were the residential slots. If the price exceeded the minimum by more than 20%, itd be better if they bought other properties. As for how Shi Feng was supposed to pay for the large training centers annual rent of 140 million Star Coins, after much deliberation, he decided that he would exchange God Crystal Fragments for Star Coins. Many experts in the Holy World would gladly buy God Crystal Fragments using Star Coins. Each fragment could easily sell for eight to ten thousand Star Coins. In addition, Shi Feng could also sell some of his Seven Luminaries Crystals. Even in the Holy World, Seven Luminaries Crystals could still be sold for a lot of Star Coins. And if worse came to worst, he could always borrow some Star Coins from the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate. Of course, he would only do so as a last resort. After all, doing so would cause him to owe the Dragon Tongue Conglomerate a favor. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng wrote down his bid, his quantum watch immediately notified him that four million contribution points had been deducted from his account. With this, Ive become poorer than even some reserve participants now Shi Feng wryly smiled as he looked at the numbers displayed on his quantum watch. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to buy a drop of Stardew after bidding on a medium guild building. It was so that he could step into the realm of mental strength grandmasters earlier. Now, though, he couldnt even afford to stay in the living quarters on the Gods Domain Associations 600th floor, let alone purchase Stardew Are you alright, Guild Leader? Hidden Soul asked as she walked over to Shi Feng and noticed the wry smile on his face. It should be known that Shi Feng was in a very good mood when they were on their way to the Star Lake Training Center. Its nothing. I just became poorer, Shi Feng explained. Poor? Hidden Soul was rendered speechless by Shi Fengs answer. Four million contribution points. With this many points, Shi Feng could already be considered one of the wealthiest people in Star Lake City. If Shi Feng considered himself poor, everyone else in the city would be beggars. However, Shi Feng did not clarify the misunderstanding. He couldnt afford to let anyone know he was aiming at Sector 78s large training center. Otherwise, he would run the risk of facing malicious competition. If a corporation or powerful family decided to compete against him for the training center, he would lose without a doubt. After all, the citys various powers had collected a ton of contribution points from the Star Lake Legions participants. Added together, these participants had far more contribution points than he did. Beep Beep Beep While Shi Feng was pondering in silence, his quantum watch suddenly issued a series of message prompts and warning prompts. Whats going on? Shi Feng was a little stunned by the information displayed on his watch. Out of the six prompts he received, five were message prompts, and these messages came from Amber Soul, Cheng Xin, Leroja, Cross, and Desolate Fury. All five of them had messaged him almost simultaneously. Their messages also more or less had the same content: Log into Gods Domain ASAP! As for the sixth prompt, it was a warning message from the Main God System. System: Warning! Warning! It is detected that you are away from Gods Domain. Please log into Gods Domain within ten minutes. If you do not log into Gods Domain in ten minutes, you will have to start over with a new character. If his quantum watch wasnt linked to his Gods Domain account, Shi Feng would have thought that this was a scam message. This was because he had never heard of a situation where the Main God System required players to log back into Gods Domain within a stipulated time after they had logged out of the game, let alone being threatened with account deletion. However, Shi Feng knew that the Main God System was not joking. Amber Soul and the others had messaged him to log back into Gods Domain almost simultaneously. This more or less indicated that the systems message wasnt a hoax. Ten minutes? Shi Feng frowned when he saw how little time he was given to log back into the game. There was no way he could make it back to the Gods Domain Association in under ten minutes. While Shi Feng was trying to think of a solution, Hidden Soul also received a warning prompt on her quantum watch, the systems message confusing her greatly. Guild Leader, I just received a warning from the system telling me to log back into Gods Domain within ten minutes. Otherwise, Im going to have to restart my account, Hidden Soul said. Could this be a hoax? No, it shouldnt be fake. I also received the same warning, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Something big must have happened in Gods Domain for the system to issue such an urgent warning. But how can we get back to the Association in ten minutes? Hidden Soul asked, her anxiety rising when she heard Shi Fengs words. The Gods Domain Association was half an hour away from the Star Lake Training Center by car. Unless they could fly, there was no way they could reach the Association in under ten minutes. Dont worry. We are official participants of the Star Lake Legion, so we can borrow the training centers living quarters, Shi Feng said. Then, he promptly led Hidden Soul toward the Star Lake Training Centers living quarters. Meanwhile, shortly after Shi Feng and Hidden Soul left the Real Estate Center, an uproar occurred throughout the entire Star Lake City. Almost simultaneously, many players in Star Lake City had received the same warning from the system, and everyone couldnt help but panic. At the same time, a shocking piece of news also started to spread across the city. A new Realm had emerged in the Greater Gods Domain! Chapter 3360 - Chapter 434 - New Realm Emerges Chapter 434 C New Realm Emerges Darkness, depression, and powerlessness A wave of discomfort rampantly eroded Shi Fengs mind as soon as he logged into Gods Domain. This feeling The sudden discomfort felt familiar to Shi Feng. However, this sense of familiarity came from deep within his mind, and he couldnt remember where he had experienced this discomfort before. When Shi Feng opened his eyes, he was immediately stunned by the scene before him. Shi Feng remembered logging out of the game inside a hotel room in the Saint Camp. Yet, now, not only did he appear outside the hotel, but all of the buildings around him looked far more dilapidated than before. The hotel behind him, in particular, was riddled with holes and covered with green plants. If Shi Feng didnt know any better, he would have thought he had left the Saint Camp for centuries or more rather than just one short day. The entire Saint Camp had already been devoured by a towering forest. The sky also no longer looked dull gray but a refreshing blue instead. Apart from Shi Feng, the other players in the Saint Camp were also greatly shocked by the scene before them. What happened here? I was still walking on the street normally a moment ago. Yet, everything instantly changed after the system announced someone triggered an event. Mana! I can release my mana from my body! Impossible! Werent Saints the only players who could release mana in the Holy World? Its true! I just tried it! I can really release my mana from my body! Apart from the change in scenery, everyone also noticed a change to the Holy Worlds mana, and many people couldnt help but be delighted and excited by this change. Due to the Holy World having incredibly rich mana, players were greatly restricted when it came to using their own mana. Most players couldnt even release their mana from their bodies to manipulate the ambient mana around them. As a result, this prevented them from exhibiting their full strength. However, now that they could release their mana from their bodies, it would undoubtedly make it easier for them to kill monsters and raid Dungeons. This, in turn, would speed up the rate at which they could obtain God Crystal Fragments. While immersed in surprise and delight, everyone suddenly received a system notification. System Announcement: A player has successfully triggered a Global Event. The Holy World has successfully evolved into the Eternal Realm. All players within the Eternal Realm will no longer be subject to any restrictions. All players can now log off normally and communicate with players outside the Eternal Realm. System Announcement: All players in the Eternal Realm will no longer be subject to any level and tier restrictions. Everyone in the Saint Camp fell silent momentarily when the system announcements appeared. Immediately afterward, almost everyone revealed an ecstatic look. Are you kidding me?! A Realm?! The Holy World has evolved into a new Realm?! Who caused this?! Arent they a little too lucky?! Crap! Im not dreaming, am I? A new Realm! I never thought I could experience such a historical event in my lifetime! Could we have traveled back to Gods Domains ancient times? All the players in the Saint Camp reacted with great excitement and enthusiasm toward the system announcement. Some even revealed intoxicated looks. There were three thousand Realms in the Greater Gods Domain, and countless Gods Domains were connected to these Realms. This might seem like a lot, but after so many years of development, these three thousand Realms had long become overcrowded. The various upper-ranking hegemonic powers, conglomerates, and apex powers had also deeply ingrained themselves within these Realms, their positions in these Realms becoming unshakable. Unfortunately, the number of Realms in the Greater Gods Domain had seemingly been fixed since ancient times. According to the Seven Luminaries Alliances record of existing history, no new Realms had emerged in the Greater Gods Domain since the ancient era. Now that a new Realm had suddenly appeared, it went without saying that this was a shocking and fortuitous event. Realms were not only vast and rich in resources, but they also served as a connection point for countless new Gods Domains. Meanwhile, these new Gods Domains were the main source for the Greater Gods Domains various powers to recruit geniuses. In modern times, though, the various conglomerates and apex powers would quickly lay claim over any newly appeared Gods Domain. Because of this, it became very difficult for newer powers to grow, and the birth of a new conglomerate or apex power would only occur once every few hundred years. However, a new opportunity had appeared now! The birth of a new Realm was a massive opportunity for hegemonic powers and corporations to develop into upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates. Existing conglomerates could even use this opportunity to develop into a cross-realm conglomerates. But compared to the opportunity provided to the various powers, the emergence of a new Realm created an even bigger opportunity for the individual player. It was true that the existing Realms in the Greater Gods Domain were rich in resources. However, compared to ancient times, the Realms in modern times were vastly inferior regarding resources. This was because many of the rarer and more valuable resources had long been harvested and exhausted by people of the past. It should be known that the Greater Gods Domain used to be crowded with Gods during the ancient era. And although humans were one of the weaker races at the time, the human race back then still had far more Tier 6 powerhouses and Saints than the human race of modern times. Ultimately, the reason for this difference was the vastly superior resources available during the ancient era. However, it was a different story for the Eternal Realm. The abundance of the Eternal Realms resources was even greater than the various Realms during the ancient era. This was because the Eternal Realm had just been born, so it had never been developed by players. Meanwhile, as the first batch of players to arrive in the Eternal Realm, they had a much bigger advantage than players outside the Eternal Realm. Although there were many Realms in the Greater Gods Domain, the various Realms were scattered across the Void Sea and far apart. Meanwhile, as a newly born Realm, the Eternal Realms location in the Void Sea remained unknown to everyone. If players from other Realms wished to enter the Eternal Realm, they would first have to search for it in the Void Sea, which was by no means an easy task. By the time the various Realms players and powers located the Eternal Realm, they, the pioneers of the Eternal Realm, would have long explored a significant portion of the Eternal Realm. It wouldnt even be surprising for a bunch of Tier 6 players and Tier 6 Saints to appear and occupy a corner of the Eternal Realm for themselves. The Eternal Realm? Shouldnt it only appear five years later? Shi Feng was somewhat familiar with the name of the new Realm mentioned in the system announcement. After all, it had caused a huge commotion across the entire Greater Gods Domain when it initially appeared during his previous life. Back then, even the various apex powers had gotten involved in the competition for this new Realms resources. However, according to his memories, the Eternal Realm should have only appeared five years from now While everyone in the Eternal Realm was excited, many of the various powers experts quickly logged out of the game to report this situation to their superiors. Chapter 3361 - Chapter 435 - Breaking the Balance Chapter 435 C Breaking the Balance What did you say? A new Realm has appeared? Are you sure this information is accurate? Quickly contact all teams that are fighting in the Void Sea! Have them find a way to locate the Eternal Realm as soon as possible! We must find it before the other powers do! Hurry up! Contact all members at the Elder rank and above! The Eternal Realm will be ours! We must not let the other upper-ranking hegemonic powers taint it with their hands! When the various powers learned of the Eternal Realms birth, every one of them reacted maniacally. They had their Tier 6 teams, which were originally responsible for campaigning in the Void Sea, abandon their positions to search for the Eternal Realms whereabouts. Some powers had even abandoned their fortresses to have more Tier 6 experts hunt for the Eternal Realm. Greater World, Silver Frost City, Green God Corporations branch headquarters: Inside the vice presidents office on the top floor, Xia Qingying, dressed in a suit and seated in an office chair, removed the electronic glasses she wore as hints of shock and joy appeared in her eyes. Has there been any good news from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, Vice President Xia? Lu Wen, who was sorting through documents on her tablet, curiously asked as she looked at Xia Qingying. Lu Wen had spent a long time by Xia Qingyings side as the latters confidant. However, rarely would she ever see Xia Qingying make such a pronounced expression. The last time Xia Qingying had revealed a look of joy on her face was when Black Flame entered the Luminous Glory List. However, compared to that time, Xia Qingying was clearly in even greater excitement and delight right now. There were even hints of shock on her face. It is indeed good news! No, great news! Xia Qingying nodded and smiled. A new Realm has emerged in the Greater Gods Domain. A new Realm? Lu Wen was momentarily taken aback. She even dropped her tablet on the floor. This How is this possible? Lu Wen felt as if Xia Qingying was joking with her. Shocking, right? Xia Qingying smiled when she saw Lu Wens reaction. If this information didnt come directly from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, I probably wouldnt have believed it, either. After her initial shock, Lu Wen reacted in pleasant surprise to this piece of news. However, immediately afterward, the joy on her face turned gloomy as she said, But even if this is true, it will be difficult for us to have any part in it. Anyone could understand the potential profits to be harvested from a newly birthed Realm so long as they werent a fool. Even apex powers would most likely be tempted into action, let alone conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Once these major characters made a move, minor characters like the Green God Corporation would have no place in the new Realm. If corporations and ordinary hegemonic powers dared to intervene, they would be instantly eliminated like cannon fodder. After all, the quality and quantity of experts they had were vastly inferior. Depending on the Eternal Realms situation, the only powers qualified to intervene in the new Realms affairs would be veteran upper-ranking hegemonic powers and above. Even newly promoted upper-ranking hegemonic powers wouldnt be qualified to participate in the upcoming struggle. Its not like we dont have a chance. The corners of her mouth raising, Xia Qingying said, Nobody knows of the new Realms exact whereabouts yet. If we can occupy some of the new Realms Lands and territory ahead of time, even after the new Realms location gets discovered, we can potentially hold our ground against the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Do you mean to say Lu Wen quickly figured out what Xia Qingying was trying to convey. The Void Sea was boundless. For the various conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers that knew of the exact locations of the three thousand Realms, they could undoubtedly locate the new Realm much sooner than ordinary corporations and hegemonic powers. However, there hadnt been any new Realms appearing since the ancient era. So, even though the various conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers had a significant advantage, it still wouldnt be a walk in the park for them to find the new Realm. After all, traversing the Void Sea was a dangerous task even for Tier 6 players, so the search for the new Realm couldnt progress all too quickly. But it was a different story for players who were already in the new Realm from the very beginning. So long as the Green God Corporation could recruit some of those players, it could secure a foothold in the new Realm much sooner than the various conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Thats right! Xia Qingying nodded. Then, in a serious tone, she said, Lu Wen, I need you to try to secure as much of the corporations working capital as possible. We can even give up on some of our Lands. Then, head to the Gods Domain Association and put in a commission saying that the Green God Corporation is willing to purchase the new Realms Lands and currency for a high price. Understood! Lu Wen responded and quickly acted on Xia Qingyings commands. Every Realm was composed of numerous kingdoms and empires, which would be composed of numerous towns and cities. The newly birthed Realm should also be using its own currency rather than the common currency adopted by the various other Realms. So, what they should do now was try to secure as much Land and currency as possible in this new Realm. Although this was a somewhat silly method, it was the only reliable way for ordinary corporations like the Green God Corporation to get a head start in the new Realm. At the same time, when the Greater Worlds various corporations and hegemonic powers received news of the Eternal Realms situation, some of them took a similar action as the Green God Corporation and started to offer astronomical prices to purchase the Eternal Realms Land and currency. For a time, life seemingly returned to the stagnant Greater Gods Domain as everyone made noise over the newly emerged Realm. Besides curiosity toward the new Realm, many players looked forward to making it big in the Eternal Realm. It was especially so for the players who were already in the Eternal Realm. Normally, the various powers would seldom purchase a Realms currency. They wouldnt even bother purchasing the Lands of towns. Instead, they would only spend their money on important Lands in cities. Even then, most players would have nothing to do with these transactions as the various powers had long monopolized the Lands of the various cities. Individual players had no chance of getting their hands on these Lands, let alone reselling them to make a profit. However, the various powers of the various Realms were now incredibly generous. Not only were they offering to purchase the Eternal Realms currency at astronomical prices, but they were also looking to purchase the Lands of the Eternal Realms towns. So long as one could get their hands on a plot of Land in the Eternal Realm, one wouldnt have to worry about not being able to resell it for a fortune. Shi Feng was also very happy in regard to this situation. However, different from the Eternal Realms players, he still felt that the various corporations and hegemonic powers offers were too low. The resources available in a newly birthed Realm were far superior to the Realms found during the ancient era. Many resources considered incredibly rare during the ancient era could even be found in the Eternal Realm. An example would be the Eternal Realms standard currency. Unlike the rest of the Greater Gods Domain, the Eternal Realm did not use Mana Coins as its standard currency. Instead, the standard currency here was the Eternal Coin! Eternal Coins were made using a precious metal called Eternal Adamantite found during the ancient era. In the modern era, the existence of Eternal Adamantite was akin to a myth. Meanwhile, not only could it be used to raise the production success rate of Legendary Weapons and Equipment, but it could also be used to construct Saint-rank Fortresses, Dark-Gold Flying Ships and above, and Dark-Gold Combat Puppets and above. It should be known that fortresses, flying ships, and combat puppets of these ranks were crucial for powers to reign supreme in a world. Even an existence as mighty as the Galaxy Conglomerate only had a small number of these constructs in its possession. Moreover, they were all items inherited from the ancient era. After all, even if a power managed to get their hands on the design for one of these constructs in the modern era, they couldnt get their hands on enough Eternal Adamantite to construct any. However, so long as one could secure enough Eternal Adamantite, producing these war machines would no longer be a dream. Chapter 3362 - Chapter 436 - The Beginning of Holy Power and Mana Chapter 436 C The Beginning of Holy Power and Mana Eternal Realm, Pharos Town: Since the Saint Camp had transformed into a lush forest, the players in the camp quickly gathered in the nearest town. Because the Holy World seemed to have experienced countless years of transformation in the blink of an eye, the terrain of the land had undergone tremendous changes. What were originally lakes could have turned into mountains, what were originally ruins could have turned into lakes, and what was originally wilderness could have turned into canyons. Moreover, even NPCs, who originally existed in small numbers in the Holy World, had become much more numerous than players. The number of NPCs in Pharos Town alone had already exceeded 200,000. That was several times greater than the number of NPCs found in a town in the outside world. In addition, every one of these NPCs was astonishingly strong. Even the ordinary civilian NPCs here were above Level 150, Tier 3, while NPC adventurers were above Level 150, Tier 4, and the towns leaders were above Level 160, Tier 5. The weapons and equipment found on these NPCs were even more staggering. In the case of the NPC adventurers, every one was equipped with at least one Legendary Weapon or Equipment, with some having even two or three. Even titled experts, individuals who occupied a dominant position in the outside world, felt great pressure while standing among these Tier 4 NPC adventurers, let alone the Tier 5 NPC leaders. Quick! Lets hurry to the mayors place before all the quests are taken! Teaming up to collect daily materials at the Calamity Canyon! Four waiting on two! Accepting only Level 140s fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary Equipment or better! Absolute Technique clearance! Absolute Technique clearance! Only three Eternal Gold Coins for each! I have ten copies on hand! First come, first served! Before Shi Feng could even reach Pharos Towns main street, he was greeted by the sight of many players peddling and forming teams next to the town gate. Seeing this, Shi Feng couldnt help but feel nostalgic. Thinking back to when Gods Domain first launched in his homeworld, the players back then behaved just as lively as the players outside Pharos Town did. The only difference was that the players outside Pharos Town werent a bunch of weak and clueless newcomers. Instead, even the weakest among them was a titled expert. Even so, the thing these experts needed to do was still the same. Whether players were in a town or a city in Gods Domain, if players wanted to purchase Shops and Lands, status was incredibly important. Meanwhile, players could gain status in Pharos Town by completing quests issued by the town and earning reputation in the town. Then, once players became a noble of the town, they could start to purchase the towns Shops and Lands. And if players could quickly secure the Shops and Lands with strategic locations, they could sit back and watch as the value of their purchases appreciated in the future. Of course, apart from requiring status, players would also need a significant amount of the Eternal Realms currency to purchase Shops and Lands. That guy selling Absolute Techniques really knows how to run a scam. How dare he ask for three Eternal Gold for one Absolute Technique? I know, right? The system only awarded us ten Eternal Copper each as a starting bonus. And looking at the towns material gathering quests, wed be lucky if we could make thirty Eternal Copper after half a days work. Going by the exchange rates of one hundred Eternal Copper to one Eternal Silver and one hundred Eternal Silver to one Eternal Gold, our party might not even make three Eternal Gold after doing quests for a whole month. Itd be great if I could have three Eternal Gold now. I heard the Shops by the town gate only cost two Eternal Gold to buy. Some passing players looked at the conglomerate representative selling Absolute Techniques in contempt and started hushed discussions among themselves. The Eternal Realm had just emerged, and they were the first batch of pioneers. The Eternal Realms NPCs did not accept materials obtained from monsters for money. If players wished to make money, they could only do so through completing quests, raiding Dungeons, and killing Bosses. As a result, even one Eternal Copper Coin was very precious. After all, the various conglomerates had very few members in the Eternal Realm right now. They also didnt have a way to send more people into the Eternal Realm for the time being, so they couldnt rely on numbers to amass a significant sum of Eternal Coins. Because of this, the various conglomerates were in short supply of Eternal Coins, and they could only purchase them from players of other powers. However, while the 99 Absolute Techniques were valuable, one Absolute Technique definitely wasnt worth as much as Pharos Towns real estate. If they were to sell the towns real estate to the powers outside the Eternal Realm, they could easily get an offer for multiple Absolute Techniques for one Shop or Land. They might even get a big bonus of Star Coins. So, only a fool would use three Eternal Gold to purchase one Absolute Technique. Moreover, the value of Eternal Coins had yet to reach its peak. The best time to sell Eternal Coins would be when the various powers started to pour into the Eternal Realm in large numbers. That would be when the various powers would feel the most urgent in acquiring Eternal Coins to purchase the Eternal Realms real estate. While the various experts were frantically doing quests, Shi Feng quietly arrived at a grocery store in Pharos Town. Although the grocery store was tiny, it was a massive advantage to Shi Feng since no other players were present nearby. Shopkeeper, how much for this Holy Power Potion? Shi Feng asked as he held up a palm-sized bottle containing light-blue liquid. Three Eternal Copper per bottle, the shopkeeper said after briefly glancing at the bottle in Shi Fengs hand. I want three bottles, Shi Feng said as he took out nine of the Eternal Copper Coins he had received from the system, leaving only one Eternal Copper Coin in his pocket. Now, he couldnt even afford to stay in a hotel in the town. Unlike the other Realms in the Greater Gods Domain, the Eternal Realm didnt just have mana filling its environment. On top of mana, the Eternal Realms environment also housed a special kind of energy. Holy Power! Not only did holy power fill the Eternal Realm, but it also caused significant transformations to the monsters living here. Because the Eternal Realms monsters had not only mana but also holy power to strengthen them, they were more difficult to deal with than monsters found outside the Eternal Realm. Because of this, pure physical attacks and attacks that relied on mana could do very little damage to the monsters in the Eternal Realm. Even against monsters of the same level and tier, players would be fortunate if they could do one-tenth of the damage they could normally do. Meanwhile, the players during Shi Fengs previous life referred to this phenomenon as Holy Power Protection! Because of the presence of Holy Power Protection, even fighting against monsters that were one tier lower became a challenge for players, let alone fighting monsters of the same tier. Moreover, as Tier 4 players couldnt fly in the Eternal Realm, a basic action that should normally be easy to execute for Tier 4 players, traveling across long distances also became a problem. As a result, players would typically need to form teams to complete quests. If players choose to tackle quests alone, they might not even complete one quest in one day. However, it didnt take long for the players back then to discover an item known as the Holy Power Potion. When consumed, the Holy Power Potion could strengthen players with Holy Power for one hour, thus allowing them to ignore a significant portion of a monsters Holy Power Protection. Although the Holy Power Potions cost of three Eternal Copper per bottle was a steep price to pay for early pioneers, it was a miracle tool that could greatly speed up the killing of monsters. After securing the Holy Power Potions, Shi Feng quickly left the town and ran for three hours straight to reach the Gray Shadow Hills, a Level 145 map. Getting to this place truly is a challenge, Shi Feng thought, breathing a deep sigh as he looked at the Gray Shadow Hills ahead of him. Because Shi Feng was only Level 135, monsters had chased him throughout nearly the entire journey here. Currently, because of the presence of Holy Power Protection, the entirety of the Gray Shadow Hills was essentially off-limits to Level 140 players. After all, monsters would gain a significant amount of HP for each level after Level 100. If players were only looking to earn money and reputation, killing monsters with lower HP would be much more efficient. However, Shi Feng didnt only come to the Gray Shadow Hills because there was less competition here. Instead, a larger part of the reason was to kill the Gray Shadow Hills Regional Boss. This was also one of the quickest methods of earning currency and reputation during the early days of the Eternal Realm. Chapter 3363 - Chapter 437 - Pioneering Chapter 437 C Pioneering The Gray Shadow Hills appeared to be covered in a huge shadow. However, this shadow didnt only affect players visibility but also the rest of their five senses. Moreover, the woodland covered by the shadow seemed to be alive and constantly changing. Even with the help of the system map, players would easily lose their way if they werent careful. To make matters worse, upon entering the woodland, players would have a much more challenging time detecting monsters due to the presence of life everywhere. In this situation, players could only rely on their eyes to determine the location and actions of monsters. Even seasoned experts would attract many monsters if they werent careful. Fortunately, Shi Feng had already reached the fifth-floor standard. Players who had reached the Extrasensory Realm could predict and avoid all kinds of dangers even with their five senses inhibited. So long as Shi Feng didnt rush his advance, hed have no trouble avoiding the Level 145-plus monsters that roamed the forest. Although there are fewer monsters here, the feeling of danger I get has increased. The Regional Bosss sphere of activity should be close, Shi Feng judged as he looked at a bushy hilltop not far away. Although he couldnt see what was at the hilltop, his brain warned him of great danger. So, he began carefully trekking over to that area. Meanwhile, the closer Shi Feng got to the hilltop, the clearer the sense of danger became. Yet, even when he got close enough to get a clear look at the entire hilltop, all he saw was an empty clearing with no monsters whatsoever. When Shi Feng got within 100 yards of the hilltop clearing, though, the shadows from the surrounding forest converged in the middle of the clearing and transformed into a thirty-meter-tall nine-headed hound. As soon as the hound materialized, it let loose an angry howl as if to announce Shi Fengs death. [Nine-Headed Shadow Beast (Regional Boss)] (Ferocious Beast, Superior Mythic) Level 147 HP 40,000,000,000 A Ferocious Beast? Shi Feng was a little astonished when he saw the Shadow Beasts stats. No wonder I felt such great danger. Sure enough, pioneering the Eternal Realm wont be an easy task. Ferocious Beasts had varying Bloodlines and Life Ratings. The weakest among Ferocious Beasts were comparable to Angels, while the strongest ones could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Dragons. Although the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast didnt have a noble bloodline, it was still at the standard of ordinary Valkyries. After factoring in the effects of Holy Power Protection, even a team composed of 20 Tier 4 experts would have to flee if they encountered it. This was because the Shadow Beasts 40 billion HP simply wasnt a hurdle players could overcome with technique alone. Even if a 20-man team of experts could overwhelm the Shadow Beast in terms of techniques, theyd die from exhaustion long before they would be anywhere close to killing the Shadow Beast. Fortunately, the Gray Shadow Hills Regional Boss being a Ferocious Beast was still within Shi Fengs expectations. Immediately, Shi Feng took out the Ancient Oath and summoned the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon. At this time, the Phantom Dragon had become much smaller than when Shi Feng summoned it in the World Passage, its body length only measuring about thirty meters. Its level had also fallen to Level 135, just like Shi Feng. However, the intensity of the aura it exuded was not at all inferior to the Shadow Beast. [Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon] (Legendary Flying Mount, Tier 4) Level 135 HP 5,000,000,000 As if stimulated by the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragons presence, the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast lunged at the Phantom Dragon without any forewarning. However, the Phantom Dragon was extremely quick in both reaction and speed. With a flap of its wings, the Phantom Dragon lifted itself off the ground and evaded the Shadow Beasts lunge. Then, the Phantom Dragon swiped its tail at the Shadow Beast, landing a strike squarely on one of the Shadow Beasts nine heads. -415,675! A damage value of over 400,000 appeared above the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast. If other players were to see the pitiful amount of damage the Phantom Dragon just did, it wouldnt even be strange if their eyes fell out of their sockets. Tier 4 Legendary Flying Mounts stood at the apex among Tier 4 existences of the same level. An attack from such a Mount could deal damage in the millions, even to a Tier 5 Legendary monster. Yet, the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragons attack failed to even cause one million points of damage to the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast, a mere Superior Mythic monster. Going by the Shadow Beasts HP, the Phantom Dragon would need close to 100,000 attacks to kill the Shadow Beast. Moreover, that was before factoring in the Shadow Beasts combat recovery. After taking into account the Shadow Beasts ability to recover 2% of its HP every five seconds, the Shadow Beast was no different than an immortal existence to the Phantom Dragon. Sure enough, even physical attacks nearing the Tier 5 standard can hardly damage a Superior Mythic here. Shi Feng wasnt all too surprised when he saw the negligible decrease in the Nine-Headed Shadow Beasts HP. Immediately, he took out a bottle of Holy Power Potion and drank it. Then, he brandished the Winter of Eternal Night and Shadow Incinerator against the Shadow Beast. Going by his previous lifes memories and many experiences of exploring the Eternal Realm, Shi Feng knew that players could only pose a threat to monsters of the same tier when they had the Holy Power Potions assistance. Of course, the Holy Power Potion wasnt a miracle drug that could solve all problems. So, while it could let players fight against the Eternal Realms monsters on an even playing field, players still couldnt solo monsters of the same tier under normal circumstances. However, Shi Fengs Basic Attributes were already at the Tier 5 standard. So, he should be able to solo monsters of the same tier. -21,348,574 -113,246,465 Its doable! Shi Feng was delighted by the damage he caused. Even without the assisstance of any Skills, Spells, or Stamina-exhausting combat techniques, the Winter of Eternal Night managed to cause over 20 million damage with a normal attack, while the Shadow Incinerator managed to cause over 100 million damage. Though, in the Shadow Incinerators case, its damage was amplified by 500% because it landed a critical hit. Even so, with some luck, it shouldnt be difficult for Shi Feng to achieve a DPS of 160 million. Shi Fengs only concern now was whether three bottles of Holy Power Potion would be enough for him to take down the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast. However, Shi Feng didnt have time to ponder that question. With the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon distracting the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast, Shi Feng began landing a continuous stream of attacks on the Realm Lord. Occasionally, he would also use some Skills and combat techniques to amplify his damage output. Even after the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast entered a berserk state, its situation did not change. Shi Feng continued relying on the Phantom Dragons massive body to evade the Shadow Beasts attacks while sneaking in his own attacks in return. Eventually, when less than five minutes were left on the third Holy Power Potions duration, the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast reluctantly fell under Shi Fengs swords. Meanwhile, the death of the Shadow Beast awarded Shi Feng with an astronomical amount of EXP. Even while under the effects of the God of Times curse, he still managed to level up from 135 to 137. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have slain the Regional Boss Nine-Headed Shadow Beast. Level difference of 10. EXP obtained increased by 1,000%. System: Congratulations! You have secured the Regional Boss Nine-Headed Shadow Beasts First Kill. Pharos Town Reputation Points +20 (100 points to become a noble of the town) and level will be increased by one. When the notifications ended, the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast dropped a tattered recipe, a milky white crystal, and a small silver box full of coins. Chapter 3364 - Chapter 438 - Holy Aura Chapter 438 C Holy Aura TL Notes: Changing the Holy Power Potion in Chapters 436 and 437 to Holy Power Bottle because Holy Power Potion represents something else in this chapter. The Eternal Realms loot is as cheap as always Shi Feng sighed, feeling exasperated when he saw that the Nine-Headed Shadow Beast had only dropped three items. It was true that the Eternal Realm was rich in resources. However, this wealth mainly pointed to the resources under the possession of the Eternal Realms kingdoms and empires. When it came to the Eternal Realms monsters, they were even more impoverished than monsters found in other Realms. The only salvation was that the little loot the Eternal Realms monsters dropped would typically be very high quality. The Coin Chests dropped by monsters, for example, possessed incredible value. The contents of a Coin Chest changed depending on its color. The chest would be filled with Eternal Bronze Coins if it were bronze-colored, Eternal Bronze and Silver Coins if it were silver-colored, and Eternal Silver and Gold Coins if it were gold-colored. Typically, though, monsters would only drop Bronze and Silver Coin Chests. After collecting the three items the Shadow Beast dropped, Shi Feng began inspecting them. [Basic Holy Power Potion Recipe] Can be learned by Master Alchemists to produce the Basic Holy Power Potion. The Basic Holy Power Potion can strengthen users with Holy Power for up to 10 minutes. Cooldown: 2 minutes [Holy Power Crystal] (Legendary Material) Contains incredibly dense Holy Power. When Shi Feng opened the Silver Coin Chest, he found 73 Eternal Silver Coins and 25 Eternal Bronze Coins. This would be a significant harvest even for the average 20-man Tier 4 team operating in the Eternal Realm. How lucky am I? I only killed one Regional Boss, yet I already got the Basic Holy Power Potion Recipe? When Shi Feng looked at the tattered alchemy recipe in his hand, he instantly regained some energy. Due to the abundance of Holy Power in the Eternal Realm, monsters had received a considerable improvement in their toughness. Yet, players could not receive the same help from Holy Power as monsters. On the contrary, Holy Power would cause players physical and mental discomfort. Meanwhile, the Basic Holy Power Potion was an item that could help players mitigate the negative effects of Holy Power. It was similar to the Holy Power Bottle but stronger. During the Eternal Realms early exploration stage, the Basic Holy Power Potion was one of the key potions needed for exploration, as it could let players exhibit their full combat power during crucial moments. The problem was that players needed to craft the Basic Holy Power Potion themselves, and the recipe for the potion was only dropped by Regional Bosses at a very low chance. Depending on ones luck, one could kill a hundred Regional Bosses without even getting a copy of the recipe. Due to this, recipes for the Basic Holy Power Potion could usually sell for more than ten Eternal Gold Coins during the early exploration stage. With that kind of money, one could already purchase two or three plots of prime real estate in a town. If the conglomerates of Shi Fengs previous life were to learn that he had obtained the recipe after killing just one Regional Boss, they would definitely curse at him. As for the Holy Power Crystal, it was also a highly valuable item as it could be used as a power source. When used to drive war weapons, players targeted by these weapons would be subjected to even stronger negative effects from Holy Power. I wont have to continue hunting after getting such a good harvest, Shi Feng thought. He was very satisfied with the Nine-Headed Shadow Beasts loot. So, after putting the loot away, he promptly began making his way back to Pharos Town. Level 140 map, Flameheart Canyon After Shi Feng exited the Gray Shadow Hills and entered the Flameheart Canyon, he could see many player parties killing the Flame Spiders in the magma-filled canyon for quests. At first glance, these parties seemed to have no trouble tackling the Level 140 Grand Lord-ranked Flame Spiders. Even when the Flame Spiders outnumbered the player parties by three-to-one, the monsters could not land any solid hits on the players they fought. However, upon closer inspection, one would find that these player parties were having great difficulty killing the Flame Spiders. This was because even their Tier 4 Skills and Spells could only cause around one million damage to the Flame Spiders, while the normal attacks of a Level 140 Berserker could only cause around 400,000 damage. These attacks could barely dent the Flame Spiders 300 million HP. Even when an entire player party focused all of its attacks on a single Flame Spider, it would still take the party a long time to kill one. None of these player parties paid much attention to Shi Feng when they saw him running past them. They merely regarded him as another fool who thought he could complete quests solo and was now retreating after realizing his folly. When Shi Feng was about 2,000 yards away from the Flameheart Canyons exit, the cliffs on both sides of the canyon suddenly shook, causing gravel to fall off continuously. The ensuing booming sounds were so intense that they echoed thousands of yards away. A team battle? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he saw over a hundred figures engaged in battle in the distance. The Eternal Realm had only emerged recently. Unless there was an unresolvable grudge involved, players logically wouldnt choose to engage in PvP out in the fields. After all, time during the early exploration stage was incredibly valuable. It would be foolish to risk ones life and time to fight other players during this period. As Shi Feng got closer to the canyons exit, he started to get a clear look at the clashing figures. The players involved in the fight were split into two groups of different sizes. The smaller group consisted of players with elf-like appearances. These elf-like players were dressed in shorts and tulles, and their bodies were covered in glowing rune-like markings. The bigger group consisted of human players. They were clad in the equipment of their respective classes, and they desperately guarded a caravan against the elf-like players. At first glance, one would think that the human players guarding the caravan would be the superior force of the two groups since they had a numerical advantage and were clad in proper equipment. Not to mention, the elf-like players didnt even wield any weapons when they fought. Yet, despite having less than 50 combatants on their side, the elf-like players were overwhelming the 100-plus human players guarding the caravan. It should be known that the players guarding the caravan were by no means weak. Even the weakest among them was a fourth-floor expert clad in multiple Fragmented Legendary items. Why are they here? Upon closer observation, Shi Feng noticed three familiar faces among the players guarding the caravan, and he couldnt help but be surprised by this discovery. The three players in question were all women, and they were White Owl, Thousand Scars, and Death Omen. All three were members of the Paimon Conglomerate. White Owl, in particular, was one of the Paimon Conglomerates Ten Great Paragons and someone Shi Feng had previously fought in the World Passage. Currently, White Owl had already reached Level 140, Tier 5, and she was holding back three elf-like players by herself. Before Shi Feng could wrap his head around this situation, he saw a male elf sending White Owl flying over a dozen yards away with a punch, the elven mans fist looking like it was wrapped in some sort of energy. Meanwhile, after stabilizing her body, White Owl couldnt help but look at the elven man, who was only at Level 142, Tier 4, in shock. It was especially so when she felt the vibrations still coming from her starlight greatsword. Holy Aura? A look of confusion appeared in Shi Fengs eyes as he looked at the Tier 4 elven man. Holy Aura could be considered a method of using Holy Power to greatly strengthen ones offensive and defensive capabilities. Only, there shouldnt be any human players capable of using Holy Aura According to Shi Fengs knowledge, only one race could use Holy Aura. The Holy Race! I commend you for forcing me to go all out. However, you heretics shouldnt think of spreading any information youve seen here! the Tier 4 elven man said as he looked at White Owl. Then, the Holy Aura wrapped around his fist increased in density as he sent another punch flying in White Owls way. Chapter 3365 - Chapter 439 - Realm of God Expert Chapter 439 C Realm of God Expert White Owl did not panic when facing the elven mans punch. On the contrary, she smiled. Immediately afterward, White Owl gripped her starlight greatsword and executed an angled sweep, unleashing a sword light that overturned the land as it headed for the elven mans fist. Absolute Technique, Heavens Collapse! Boom! When sword light and fist collided, a storm that engulfed a radius of over a hundred yards instantly ensued. The players fighting within the affected area were sent flying, and everyone else couldnt help but be stunned by this situation. Space within the Eternal Realm was much stabler than the space of other Realms. Normally, even an all-out attack from a Tier 4 player would be utterly incapable of affecting the Eternal Realms space, and it would be as if the Tier 4 player had just executed a normal attack. And even for attacks that had reached the Tier 5 standard, they could only have limited influence over their surrounding space. Yet, the energy storm White Owl and the elven man had created through their clash had affected a radius of over a hundred yards. The raw power of these two players attacks was simply terrifying. You were hiding your strength before? the Tier 4 elven man exclaimed as he looked at the majestic warrior before him. Naturally. When going up against unknown opponents, the first thing one should do is collect information, White Owl said as she patted the dust on her equipment. If our side reacted too strongly, you probably wouldnt feel assured to use all your strength. The expressions of the elven man and his companions darkened when they heard White Owls words. Do you think you have won already? the elven man said. Then, he glanced at the two companions fighting alongside him and shouted, Well bring her down together! As soon as the elven man finished speaking, a fog-like substance immediately appeared around his two companions bodies. Of the two companions, one concentrated his Holy Aura around his feet, enhancing his Movement Speed. At the same time, the other used his Holy Aura to transform himself into a ten-meter-tall beast, causing his every movement to become powerful and explosive. Sure enough, theyre of the Holy Race. After observing the combat methods of the elf-like players for a little longer, Shi Feng started to remember his distant memories more clearly. Gods Domain was a virtual reality game made by an advanced civilization of a higher dimension. Whether it was the Greater Gods Domain or the various Gods Domains that filled it, everyone simply assumed these were virtual creations made for humans and humans only. Nobody had ever thought that civilizations outside of human civilizations existed. However, that all changed along with the Eternal Realms appearance. A considerable period after the Eternal Realms appearance, it was discovered that humans werent the only sentient species in existence, and neither were humans the only sentient species to have access to Gods Domain. The other sentient species in question regarded themselves as the Holy Race. They possessed appearances similar to elves, but they had many sacred patterns covering their bodies. Meanwhile, not only did the Holy Race have different combat styles from humans, but even the power they used in Gods Domain was completely different. Similar to how humans relied on Mana as their foundation for combat, the Holy Race relied on Holy Power. However, unlike Mana, Holy Power couldnt induce various phenomena. Instead, it was a power that strengthened the users essence. Simply put, Holy Power enhanced a players Physique and Basic Attribute, which allowed the Holy Race to be vastly superior to human players in these regards. If speaking purely in terms of Physique and Basic Attributes, the Holy Races players were comparable to Angels of the same tier. Moreover, the Holy Races sacred patterns were similar to the Angels wings in that the more sacred patterns a member of the Holy Race could etch onto their bodies, the more they could benefit from Holy Power, and the stronger they would become. Due to these reasons, the average human player simply wasnt a match for the average member of the Holy Race. And because of this situation, when the Holy Race eventually invaded the Greater Gods Domain, they took no time to spread the flames of war across half of the Greater Gods Domain. At the time, countless hegemonic powers, corporations, and even conglomerates had perished. Subsequently, the three Tier 4 Holy Race experts could be seen attacking White Owl together. Even though White Owl was already at Tier 5, nothing she did could let her defeat her three opponents. The best she could do was maintain a stalemate. Although the Holy Race expert who had turned into a giant beast wasnt particularly fast, he possessed great Strength and a large attack range. Every one of his attacks was comparable to White Owls Heavens Collapse. As for the Holy Race expert who had strengthened his legs, his speed was comparable to Tier 5 Assassins. Then, there was the Holy Race expert who had strengthened his fists to a point where his punches felt more like meteor strikes. When fighting against these three Holy Race experts, White Owl felt she was going up against three Tier 5 players rather than three Tier 4 players. Moreover, all three were highly skilled experts. Fortunately for White Owl and her team members, out of the several dozen Holy Race players attacking their caravan, only a few could use Holy Aura. This womans too strong, Northlight, the middle-aged man, who had transformed into a giant beast, said to the young man, who had strengthened his fists, through the team chat. We still havent damaged her even after working together. If we keep wasting time here, these aliens reinforcements might arrive. I know, the young man named Northlight said. Then, looking at White Owl, whose breathing was a little disordered, he smiled and said, But these aliens are different from us. They have vastly inferior Physiques, and even their Stamina is terrible. Moreover, by the looks of it, those strange moves she is using seem to consume a lot of Stamina. If we keep pushing her, Im sure a flaw will appear in her defenses in no time. So long as we get rid of her, we can quickly take care of the rest. The middle-aged man pondered over the young mans words for a moment. Then, he answered, Okay! In reality, White Owl wasnt the only one utilizing their battle to collect information. The members of the Holy Race were similarly using this battle to collect information on White Owl and her teammates. And although the two sides hadnt fought for long, the shortcomings of the humans quickly became evident to the Holy Race. While White Owls every move indeed exhibited incredible power, this explosive power came at the cost of increased Stamina and Concentration consumption. If White Owl were to continuously rely on these exhausting attacks, it wouldnt be long before she would start to tire. However, before the three Holy Race experts could carry on with their battle of attrition, the aura of a Tier 5 Grand Wizard, who looked to be a man in his forties, suddenly skyrocketed in intensity. The man silently cast Frost World, a Tier 5 Curse, summoning over a hundred icicles to attack the two Holy Race experts he fought. Every one of the icicles the Grand Wizard summoned behaved like seasoned fourth-floor experts and could accurately target the blind spots of the two Holy Race experts. Even though the two Holy Race experts could use Holy Aura, they rapidly lost their HP under the Grand Wizards attacks. 90% 70% 50% The two Holy Race experts died before any of the nearby Holy Race players could come to help them. Upon seeing this development, everyone on the battlefield fell silent. Even Northlights group of three was shocked by this situation. The Realm of God? The two Holy Race experts who had just gotten killed might not be as strong as the three of them, but their combat standards were on the same level. Yet, the Grand Wizard had killed the two like cannon fodder. Moreover, the Grand Wizard was seemingly able to predict the future as all of his attacks targeted his two opponents blind spots. Seeing this, Northlight and the others could only think of one explanation. A Realm of God expert! Chapter 3366 - Chapter 440 - Saints Sword Chapter 440 C Saints Sword TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 439: Original: This womans too strong, Northlight, the middle-aged man, who had transformed into a giant beast, said to the young man, who had strengthened his fists, through the team chat. Changed to: This womans too strong, Northlight, the young man who had transformed into a giant beast said to the young man with strengthened fists through the team chat. The author switched to referring to the beastified middle-aged man as a young man in Chapter 440. Im not sure what he wants, but Ill go with young man since its in the latest chapter. Sir Lionheart! When White Owl turned to look at the Tier 5 Grand Wizard, who had just killed two of the Holy Races experts, a hint of reverence appeared in her eyes. Unrestrained Lionheart! This was a name known by all in the Greater Gods Domain. It was the name of an expert who had entered the Luminous Glory Lists top 100 ten years ago and was now serving as a vice commander of the Red Dragon Nations main force. As for the Red Dragon Nation, it was a pseudo-apex power whose existence eclipsed even the Paimon Conglomerate. Although the Paimon Conglomerate was one of the Starlight Realms overlords, its strength paled when compared to the Guild known as the Red Dragon Nation. White Owl might seem like the leader of the caravan escort this time, but in reality, Unrestrained Lionheart was the escorts leader. However, truth be told, White Owl never thought Unrestrained Lionheart would reveal his strength so soon. She originally thought he would rather collect more information on the Holy Race than save the escort team from annihilation. After all, information on the Holy Race was much more valuable than a mere 100-man team. Death Omen and Thousand Scars were also greatly excited when they saw the numerous icicles dancing in mid-air. Fifth-floor experts were crucial in campaigning and safeguarding fortresses in the Void Sea. Rarely would such experts operate in the Greater Gods Domains various Realms. So, it was normally nigh impossible for the two of them to see a fifth-floor expert in action. It was especially so for a fifth-floor expert like Unrestrained Lionheart. After all, most fifth-floor experts would be at Tier 6. Very few would remain at lower tiers, such as Tier 4 or Tier 5. Meanwhile, being able to witness a fifth-floor expert in action was a valuable learning opportunity for non-fifth-floor experts. It was especially so when the fifth-floor expert in question had yet to reach Tier 6. This was because one could get a clear look and feel of the fifth-floor experts godlike techniques. Everyone, retreat! When Northlight saw two of his teams top combatants getting killed, he froze for a moment before hurriedly calling for a retreat through the team chat. Meanwhile, as soon as Northlight finished giving the command to retreat, he promptly turned around and fled. As for his two companions, they similarly fled without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, Northlight and his two companions had already moved over a hundred yards away from the caravan. Although White Owl tried to chase after the three Holy Race experts, she simply couldnt keep up with their speed, and the distance between them continuously widened. Is there such a huge gap in our Physiques and Basic Attributes? White Owl was astonished as she looked at the Holy Race trio, who were already more than 200 yards away from her. Even though she was one tier above the trio, her Movement Speed was inferior to the Holy Race trio when they gathered their Holy Aura around their legs. How are we so unlucky? Of all the aliens we could have encountered, we just had to come across one who has reached the Realm of God already, the beastified young man complained when he saw that they had already shaken off White Owl. Dont complain. We might not have annihilated them, but weve gained a significant harvest this time, Northlight said, chuckling. If we bring back the information we collected, His Highness will reward us handsomely for it! Hearing Northlights words, the young man of the trio who was the fastest of the trio nodded excitedly and said, With this information, His Highness will be able to conquer this new land and make it into the Holy Races territory in no time! While the trio was conversing and advancing through the Flameheart Canyon, they suddenly spotted someone standing in the path ahead of them. At this time, Shi Feng stood in the middle of the canyon with his eyes narrowed and the Winter of Eternal Night unsheathed. He had long expected the Holy Races players to flee into the Flameheart Canyon, so he had chosen to wait for them here ahead of time. A mere Level 137 trash dares stand in our way? When the beastified youth saw Shi Feng intending to stand in their way, he bellowed, You must be tired of living! Why waste words with him? Lets just get rid of him and be on our way. If we let that Realm of God expert catch up to us, none of us will be leaving here alive, the young man who had focused all of his Holy Aura into his legs said with disregard. Nodding in agreement, Northlight said, Indeed. Theres no point wasting time on trash. Well leave him to you, Forest Ape. Leave it to me, Forest Ape, the youth who had focused all of his Holy Aura into his legs, said with a nonchalant smile. Then, he further accelerated his advance. In the blink of an eye, Forest Ape had moved several dozen yards away from Northlight and the beastified youth. Then, in only two seconds, he had shortened the distance between himself and Shi Feng from 500 yards to 100 yards. When White Owl and the others saw this scene from a distance, they couldnt help but be astonished. His speed just now still wasnt his all? When White Owl saw the many afterimages Forest Ape left behind in his trail, it quickly became obvious to her that Forest Ape hadnt been going all out when fighting against her. At this time, Forest Apes Movement Speed was at least 30% faster than when he fought her. Different from White Owl, Thousand Scars attention wasnt on Forest Ape but on the male Swordsman standing in the middle of the canyon. In a confused tone, she muttered, Why does that Swordsman look somewhat familiar? BlackFlame! Death Omens eyes widened in shock as she looked at the Swordsman standing in the Holy Race trios way. Although Shi Feng wore a cloak that covered parts of his face, Death Omen had a Master Identification Skill. So, she could see some of Shi Fengs personal information. Black Flame? When White Owl heard the name Death Omen called out, her initial reaction was to feel surprised, which was followed by joy. Black Flame was an expert ranked among the Luminous Glory List. During the battle in the World Passage, even though he was only a Tier 4 player, he could already fight against Storm and Saint Arm, who were both Tier 5 players at the time. Although White Owl didnt know how Black Flame managed to appear in the Eternal Realm after disappearing from the World Passage, it shouldnt be difficult for him to hold back the Holy Race trio. Meanwhile, so long as Black Flame could keep the Holy Race trio pinned until Unrestrained Lionheart arrived, the Holy Race trio, who were the quickest to escape out of all the Holy Race players, would not be leaving with their lives. According to the information they gathered, if Holy Race players were to kill human players, the latter would be prohibited from logging into Gods Domain for two days on top of suffering the standard death penalty. And although there was no way to verify it, the reverse should also be true. So, if they could eliminate all of the Holy Race players here, they could delay detailed information on the human race from falling into the Holy Races hands for two more days. If they could accomplish this, it would significantly help their subsequent operations. While White Owl was feeling delighted, Forest Ape arrived within 20 yards of Shi Feng. Die! Forest Ape did not hold back in the slightest this time. After condensing the Holy Aura in his legs to the extreme, he began circling Shi Feng at extreme speeds, leaving behind over a dozen afterimages in his wake, all the while thrusting his hand at Shi Feng as if it were a spear. Forest Ape moved so quickly that even the average Tier 5 Assassin would have difficulty pinpointing his location. Holy Devour! However, Shi Feng did not even look at Forest Ape and simply executed a horizontal slash in a particular direction. After reaching the Extrasensory Realm, this was also the best slash he could execute at Tier 4. Immediately afterward, Forest Ape and his afterimages simultaneously revealed an expression of agony as an indescribable pain spread across his entire body. Then, his HP fell to zero. I died? Forest Ape fell into a daze when he saw the world around him losing its color. It was also at this time he finally got to see what had caused his brief but excruciating experience. Flames! A sea of flames! With only one slash, Shi Feng had transformed a radius of 100 yards into a sea of crimson flames. These flames also carried destructive power so great that they managed to distort the space within the canyon. Meanwhile, Forest Ape wasnt the only one incinerated by these destructive flames. Before Northlight and the beastified young man could react, they, too, were devoured by the flames Chapter 3367 - Chapter 441 - Goddess of Space Chapter 441 C Goddess of Space What an incredible expert! Hes more than just incredible. Didnt you see that even White Owl could do nothing against those three just now? Is that guy really just a Tier 4 Sword Emperor? After seeing the three Holy Race experts incinerated by the sea of flames, the other human players who had caught up to White Owl couldnt help but voice words of admiration as they looked at Shi Feng. Everyone present had seen the strength the three Holy Race experts had exhibited. Although the trio had to work together just to gain a slight advantage over White Owl, it remained a fact that they could contend against a bona fide Tier 5 player. Moreover, with the Holy Power Protection effect the Holy Race enjoyed, the trios Defense was superior to the average Tier 5 Legendary monster. Yet, despite having these things going for them, the trio failed to survive more than one attack from Shi Feng. At this time, White Owl, Death Omen, and Thousand Scars were similarly dumbfounded by this situation. It was especially so for White Owl. As someone who had personally fought the three Holy Race experts, White Owl knew just how absurdly high the trios Defense was. Previously, when she landed a Heavens Collapse on Forest Ape, she didnt even manage to take off 5% of the other partys HP. Yet, it should be known that Forest Apes Defense was the weakest out of the trio. While White Owl acknowledged that the attack Shi Feng just used was powerful, her senses told her that it was slightly weaker than the Heavens Collapse she had used. Yet, this slightly weaker attack instantly killed the three Holy Race experts. Of course, White Owl wasnt completely ignorant of what just happened. She was aware that Shi Feng could accomplish what he just did because his usage of mana had already reached a terrifying level. The fact that he instantly detonated the mana within a 100-yard radius was proof of this. Meanwhile, rather than defeating the three Holy Race experts with just one attack, itd be more accurate to say that Shi Feng had defeated them by creating countless mana explosions around them. Although each of these individual explosions wasnt exceptionally powerful, when countless such explosions simultaneously occurred in a small area, the combined force would naturally be impressive. It was also because of these mana explosions that no mana remained in the area engulfed by the sea of flames. While everyone was feeling shocked, the sound of a system notification entered Shi Fengs ears. System: Congratulations! You have slain three Tier 4 Holy Race players. Adventurers Association Merit Points +30. System: You have accumulated 10 Adventurers Association Merit Points. You have received an Adventurer Medallion. [Adventurer Medallion] (Ornament, Bronze Rank) When wearing the Adventurer Medallion, you may ask to exchange for treasures at any Adventurers Association. This thing will save me a lot of time, Shi Feng thought, smiling as he looked at the medallion in his hand. Apart from trying to prevent the Holy Race from obtaining detailed information on the human race too soon, another reason Shi Feng came to intercept Northlights groups retreat was so that he could acquire an Adventurer Medallion. In Gods Domain, so long as players killed alien players, they could earn Merit Points from the Adventures Association. Upon accumulating 10 Merit Points, players would receive an Adventurer Medallion and become qualified to exchange for items in the Adventurers Associations treasury. Meanwhile, the more Merit Points players accumulated, the higher the rank their Adventurer Medallion would become, and the more functions the medallion would have. The quality of the items players could exchange from the Adventurers Associations treasury would also become better. However, leveling up the Adventurer Medallion wasnt an easy task. Players might only need ten Merit Points to receive the Bronze Adventurer Medallion, but theyd need to accumulate one thousand points to upgrade it to the Mysterious-Iron rank, 10,000 points to the Secret-Silver rank, one hundred thousand points to the Fine-Gold rank, one million points to the Dark-Gold rank, ten million points to the Epic rank, one hundred million points to the Fragmented Legendary rank, and one billion points to the Legendary rank. According to rumors, once players successfully upgrade their Adventurer Medallion to the Legendary rank, theyd be qualified to exchange a Fragmented Divine Weapon from the Adventurers Associations main branch. Because of this rumor, countless players were tempted to kill the Holy Races players. Shi Feng dared not have any thoughts on getting a Legendary Adventurer Medallion. He was already satisfied with having just a Bronze Medallion. During the Eternal Realms exploration stage, a Bronze Medallion could let players avoid many detours. After putting the Adventurer Medallion away, Shi Feng approached the three corpses before him and collected the items they dropped. Apart from equipment meant for the Holy Race, Shi Feng found a petrified tree branch. The equipment these three dropped is good. Its a pity they cant be used by humans, Shi Feng thought as he put the three pieces of equipment he collected into his bag. The three pieces of equipment Northlights group dropped were all at the Fragmented Legendary rank. Normally, obtaining three pieces of Fragmented Legendary Equipment in less than a minute should be cause for celebration. However, as the Holy Races weapons and equipment were filled with rich Holy Power, humans could not use them, so they did not have any value whatsoever to humans. Just when Shi Feng was getting ready to leave the Flameheart Canyon, a young man from the caravan approached him. This young man was none other than Unrestrained Lionheart, the de facto leader of the caravan escort. Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Black Flame, Unrestrained Lionheart said, starting the conversation with words of gratitude. We would have lost a lot of opportunities if these people managed to escape. Its nothing, Shi Feng said, responding to Unrestrained Lionhearts initiative with a smile. Even if I didnt decide to help, you could have easily taken care of the situation, Mr. Lionheart. Unrestrained Lionheart was very well-known during the war with the Holy Race in Shi Fengs previous life. The man had single-handedly defended an entire world from the Holy Race. Afterward, he even fought solo against three Ancient Saints, existences that rivaled the Greater Gods Domains Ancient Gods. Unfortunately, although Unrestrained Lionheart managed to cause the permanent downfall of two of the Ancient Saints and scare off the third one, he also permanently lost the qualifications to log into Gods Domain after that fight. Though, Unrestrained Lionheart wasnt the only Tier 6 expert to have met with a permanent fall during the war with the Holy Race. Tens of thousands of other Tier 6 experts had met with a similar fate. You jest, Mr. Black Flame. I dont have that kind of ability, Unrestrained Lionheart said, shaking his head. Then, after a slight pause, he asked in a hopeful tone, I would like to make a request of you, Mr. Black Flame. The caravan I am escorting is headed to Pharos Town mainly to recruit qualified experts to explore an Ancient Gods ruins that we and the Holy Race coincidentally found. An Ancient Gods ruins? Would such a discovery necessitate such a large mobilization from you? Shi Feng asked, a puzzled look appearing on his face. Ruins left behind by an Ancient God might be incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain, but for a pseudo-apex power like the Red Dragon Nation, the Guild had already explored over a dozen such ruins. No matter how Shi Feng looked at it, it didnt make sense for the Red Dragon Nation to react so desperately to an Ancient Gods ruins, so much so that it would be willing to visit different towns to recruit the help of other experts. In response to Shi Fengs question, Unrestrained Lionheart shook his head and said, If these ruins belonged to the average Ancient God, we naturally wouldnt need to go to such lengths to compete over it. However, our investigation showed that these ruins might belong to someone special. Someone special? Who? Shi Feng grew even more curious. According to our investigation Carefully, Unrestrained Lionheart said, The ruins might have been left behind by the Goddess of Space. The Goddess of Space?! Shi Feng was startled. The Goddess of Space might not be a Primordial God, but she was an Ancient God who surpassed many Primordial Gods. Whether it was his homeworlds Seven Treasures or the Greater Gods Domains Seven Luminaries Codex, these powerful items were all closely related to the Goddess of Space. However, according to Shi Fengs memories, the Goddess of Spaces ruins should have only been discovered in the Eternal Realm over a year after the Realm had emerged. It was also the only known relic left behind by the Goddess of Space. The Courtyard of Space! Chapter 3368 - Chapter 442 - Black Flame? A Saint? Chapter 442 C Black Flame? A Saint? Thats right. It is very likely the Goddess of Space has left behind these ruins, Unrestrained Lionheart said, nodding. Then, he cautiously continued, It is why we must secure the ruins First Clear before the Holy Race does. If it really is a relic of the Goddess of Space, indeed, we cannot let the Holy Race secure its First Clear, Shi Feng said in agreement. The Courtyard of Space left behind by the Goddess of Space was a place of incredible value as it housed two treasures made by the Goddess herself. The first treasure was the Seven Luminaries Ring. The second treasure was the Divine Spatial Potion. The Seven Luminaries Ring was a ring that granted its wearer the best survival capabilities available in the Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, its use was not restricted by race. As for the Divine Spatial Potion, consuming it would permanently increase the users affinity to the power system(Mana or Holy Power) they were affiliated with by one level. Meanwhile, both treasures could only be obtained from the Courtyard of Spaces First Clear. In addition, players who secured the Courtyard of Spaces First Clear could obtain a large amount of Eternal Realm Reputation Points, which would greatly accelerate their development in the Eternal Realm. What do you think, Mr. Black Flame? Would you be willing to join our team? Unrestrained Lionheart asked, taking the initiative to extend an invitation to Shi Feng. So long as you agree to join us, I can pay you two Eternal Gold and one Fragmented Legendary item obtained from the ruins. If we successfully secure the First Clear, I will pay you an additional two Eternal Gold. As soon as Unrestrained Lionheart finished speaking, Death Omen and Thousand Scars couldnt help but look at him in surprise and confusion. The Eternal Realm had emerged only recently, so the various powers could only get their hands on a limited amount of Eternal Coins. For the most part, the various powers had to rely on their members to earn Eternal Coins. Currently, the average Tier 4 titled expert in the Eternal Realm probably didnt even have one Eternal Silver Coin in their pockets. So, even one Eternal Gold Coin was an unimaginable fortune. It should be known that Unrestrained Lionheart had only promised two Eternal Gold Coins to the Tier 5 experts he had recruited thus far. Moreover, this amount would only be paid if they successfully secured the First Clear. Yet, Unrestrained Lionheart had promised Shi Feng, a Tier 4 player, a total of four Eternal Gold Coins and one Fragmented Legendary item from the ruins. This was an unbelievable offer, even if Shi Feng was a Luminous Glory expert. Thats not a bad price, Shi Feng said after pondering for a moment. But if you want me to join, youll have to promise me two conditions. Unrestrained Lionheart was not surprised by Shi Fengs words. Patiently, he said, May I know what those conditions are? Nodding, Shi Feng said, Firstly, I want command over the team. Secondly, I want the privilege of choosing any one item from the ruins harvest. Is he crazy? Thousand Scars nearly jumped when she heard Shi Fengs words. The fact that Unrestrained Lionheart was taking the initiative to extend an invitation to Shi Feng was already plenty mind-blowing. After all, if given the opportunity, many Luminous Glory experts would probably offer to join their team for no remuneration. Yet, even after receiving a sky-high offer from Unrestrained Lionheart, not only was Shi Feng not satisfied, but he was even asking to become the teams leader and the privilege to choose any one item obtained from the ruins. Death Omen similarly looked at Shi Feng in confusion. The current Zero Wing was entirely reliant on Black Flame for its fame. Although it was proven that Zero Wing had some connections with Cheng Xin, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates Little Princess, such a connection was far from enough to put Zero Wing on equal footing with Unrestrained Lionheart. So, the fact that Unrestrained Lionheart was taking the initiative to invite Shi Feng could be regarded as a good opportunity for Zero Wing to form a connection with Unrestrained Lionheart. Yet, by the looks of things, Shi Feng had decided to let go of this opportunity. Meanwhile, after listening to Shi Fengs conditions, Unrestrained Lionheart silently pondered for a moment before saying, I do not have the authority to agree to your two conditions, Mr. Black Flame. I will need to seek the commanders opinion before I can give you a response. No problem. You can contact me anytime after you have thought about it, Shi Feng said, sending a friend request to Unrestrained Lionheart. Then, he promptly made his way out of the Flameheart Canyon. After Shi Feng left, White Owl walked up to Unrestrained Lionheart and said, Mr. Lionheart, I dont think the commander will entertain Black Flames conditions for even a second. We might even get reprimanded for bringing them up. Shi Fengs combat standard might have reached the fifth-floor standard, but he was nothing more than a bottom-ranked Luminous Glory expert. Such strength was nowhere near enough to attract their commanders attention, let alone convince their commander to give him the command of the team. That might not be the case, Unrestrained Lionheart said, smiling. It might not? White Owl looked at Unrestrained Lionheart in confusion. Looking at White Owl, Unrestrained Lionheart suddenly remembered something and patiently explained, You might not know this since you werent in the Holy World previously, but some time ago, Black Flame defeated Hidden Wind, who is 42nd on the Luminous Glory List. Because of this, many people suspect that Black Flame might have already reached the realm of Saints. If we can have a Saint join our team, our chances of securing the First Clear will increase significantly. He defeated the 42nd-ranked Hidden Wind? A Saint? Whether it was White Owl, Death Omen, or Thousand Scars, all of them were dumbfounded by Unrestrained Lionhearts words. Pharos Town, Adventurers Association: I would like to purchase 300 Compounding Potions, Shi Feng said as he presented his Adventurer Medallion at a VIP counter on the second floor. The biggest function the Adventurer Medallion had during the Eternal Realms exploration stage was to let players purchase the Compounding Potion. The Compounding Potion not only had the Holy Power Bottles effects but could also strengthen players mana. Moreover, it had a long duration of 12 hours and a low price of 10 Eternal Copper. It could be regarded as the best tool for players to survive in the Eternal Realms wilderness. However, every towns Adventurers Association would only sell 300 Compounding Potions each day. Once the Holy Race started to make their existence known in the Eternal Realm, there wouldnt be enough Compounding Potions to go around, and players could make a fortune just by reselling these potions. Okay. That will be 30 Eternal Silver, the beautiful receptionist behind the counter replied. Immediately, Shi Feng paid the 30 Eternal Silver, put the 300 Compounding Potions into his bag space, and ran for the Alchemy Association. Alchemy Association: How may I help you, Sir? the female elf standing behind the commission counter asked as she looked at Shi Feng with a smile. Please help me start a material collection commission for Earthen Magic Flowers. I am paying one Eternal Copper for every ten Earthen Magic Flowers, Shi Feng stated. Although the Holy World evolving into the Eternal Realm had caused him to lose the opportunity to earn God Crystal Fragments, the appearance of the Holy Race had given him another opportunity to make a fortune. Apart from handling commissions from NPCs, the various Associations in the Greater Gods Domain also handled commissions from players. Only, commissions made by players would not offer any EXP or Reputation Points on completion. How long would you like to keep your commission available? the receptionist asked. The handling fee the Alchemy Association charges is based on the commissions duration. Each day will cost 50 Eternal Copper, and you may only keep a commission active for up to three days. Have it up for two days for the time being, Shi Feng said as he took out the remaining 43 Eternal Silver Coins in his bag. Use the rest to buy Earthen Magic Flowers. The Earthen Magic Flower was a material unique to the Eternal Realm, and it could be used to make all sorts of Mana Recovery Potions. However, as it was one of the more commonly available herbs that could be harvested out in the wilderness, it wasnt worth much. Currently, the market price for Earthen Magic Flowers was only one Eternal Copper Coin per 20. However, this would change once the Holy Race made its existence known. When players of the human race and the Holy Race fought, the penalty for death would be much more severe. For example, even after getting resurrected, human players killed by Holy Race players would continue to be tainted by Holy Power, and this Holy Power would cause their mana to grow incredibly unstable and prevent them from fighting normally. Meanwhile, if players wished to recover the stability of their mana, they could either wait for a long time for their mana to recover naturally or use a Mana Stabilizer. Consuming a Mana Stabilizer made from Earthen Magic Flowers could let players recover their manas stability immediately. Because of this effect, Mana Stabilizers would quickly be in high demand once the Holy Race began aggressively clashing with humans. This, in turn, would increase the demand for Earthen Magic Flowers. At that time, the price of Earthen Magic Flowers would quickly skyrocket. Going by his memories, Shi Feng recalled that Earthen Magic Flowers had, at one point, sold for two Eternal Copper each. Even then, supply could never meet demand. As a result, Alchemists who had stockpiled Earthen Magic Flowers made a fortune during that period. Very well. Your commission has already been issued. After the elven receptionist received all the necessary information, she added Shi Fengs commission to the Alchemy Associations commission board. Shortly after this commission appeared, an uproar occurred among the players in the Alchemy Association. Chapter 3369 - Chapter 443 - Abnormal Upgrade Chapter 443 C Abnormal Upgrade Pharos Town, Alchemy Association: A continuous stream of players could be seen entering the Alchemy Association. As soon as these players entered the building, they would either wait in line before a counter to turn in or pick up quests. Very few would bother to approach the commission board. Among the few people loitering in front of the commission board, a slovenly man wearing a simple robe looked through the new commissions on the board. However, after looking through a few listings, the slovenly man couldnt help but sigh. Sure enough, all of these commissions are looking for Grandmaster Potions or above Cigarette Life had long gotten used to seeing only commissions for Grandmaster Potions and above. Although Alchemy Associations did not exist during the Holy World era, players would often post alchemy commissions in Saint Camps. It was just that the commission system back then wasnt as formal. Everyone simply wrote an advert stating their requests and published it on the notice board of the various Saint Camps central plazas. Back then, players would have to look for a commission that suited them to earn God Crystal Fragments. Now that the Holy World had evolved into the Eternal Realm, what Cigarette Life needed to do to earn money remained the same. It wasnt by engaging in combat. Instead, it was by practicing the art of alchemy that he wasnt particularly proficient in. Before entering the Holy World, Cigarette Life was one of the Greater Gods Domains rare titled experts. If put in the average hegemonic power, he could easily receive the position of commander of a trump card legion. However, after entering the Holy World, he became a mediocre existence. If it werent for his not-so-good alchemy skills, he might not even be able to make a living in the Holy World. Unfortunately, his alchemy skills werent enough for him to thrive in the Holy World. This was because any decent expert in the Holy World could make enough money that they didnt have to care about their finances. To protect their lives and complete commissions, these experts would typically purchase potions at the Grandmaster rank or above. Hence, demand for potions at the Master rank was pitifully low. Meanwhile, as someone who could only make Master Potions, Cigarette Life could only make a living by selling niche Master Potions. Hm?! A commission for Earthen Magic Flowers? When Cigarette life read an inconspicuous commission pasted at the corner of the commission board, he couldnt help but rub his eyes to check if he was hallucinating. As an alchemist, Cigarette Life had long looked into the various alchemy materials available in the Eternal Realm, so he knew it was widely available out in the wilderness. Players wouldnt even need to be an alchemist to be able to harvest Earthen Magic Flowers. However, as it was an auxiliary material for many kinds of Mana Recovery Potions, demand for Earthen Magic Flowers had always been quite significant. So, even though the flowers were widely available, twenty Earthen Magic Flowers could be exchanged for one Eternal Copper. Many teams would typically harvest some to turn in for money while hunting or doing quests. But now that someone was purchasing Earthen Magic Flowers for one Eternal Copper per ten flowers, simply harvesting Earthen Magic Flowers had become much more lucrative than killing monsters and doing quests. It should be known that players could, at most, earn thirty to forty Eternal Copper when doing quests for an entire day. However, if players spent an entire day harvesting only Earthen Magic Flowers, it was possible to collect over a thousand flowers. In other words, it was possible to earn one Eternal Silver a day, which was more than double what players could typically earn from doing quests. Immediately, Cigarette Life ran out of the Alchemy Association and began going around purchasing Earthen Magic Flowers for one Eternal Copper per twenty flowers. Whats wrong with that guy? Why is he buying so many Earthen Magic Flowers? Hes bought several hundred already. Even if hes buying it for his Guild, there shouldnt be a need for this many Earthen Magic Flowers. I know, right? Earthen Magic Flowers are merely a kind of auxiliary material. Not a lot is needed for potion-making. Something is fishy with this guy. In less than an hour, some observant players started to notice the strangeness in Cigarette Lifes behavior. Moreover, Cigarette Life wasnt the only player behaving this way. As time passed, more and more players also started to purchase Earthen Magic Flowers in bulk, with some even buying the flowers for one Eternal Copper per fifteen flowers. Eventually, some players turned their attention to the towns inconspicuous Alchemy Association. What?! Someones buying Earthen Magic Flowers for one Eternal Copper per ten flowers?! Those bulk buyers must have made a killing! Ten Earthen Magic Flowers for one Eternal Copper?! Im definitely draining all of the commissioners capital! Dammit! This is discrimination! Why was this commission posted only at the Alchemy Association?! Upon discovering the commission issued via the Alchemy Association, even players who werent alchemists had started to group up to harvest Earthen Magic Flowers. While Pharos Town had fallen into a craze of harvesting Earthen Magic Flowers, Shi Feng rented a room in a hotel to recover his Stamina and Concentration. Who is this Northlight person? Shi Feng muttered in shock as he looked at the petrified tree branch in his hand. The Holy Trees Main Branch! The Holy Trees existence to the Holy Race was akin to the Tree of Lifes existence to the human race. It could only grow by gathering the power of a world. Meanwhile, the main branch of the Holy Tree was a bona fide Inferior Divine Artifact-ranked material. For Holy Race players, its value was no less than that of a Legendary Weapon. Even if a Holy Race player simply carried the tree branch on them, they could greatly benefit from it as the tree branch would continuously gather Holy Power around them, which would, in turn, strengthen their Holy Power. Previously, Shi Feng hadnt paid close attention to the petrified tree branch and only assumed it was some kind of rare material. He never thought he would get his hands on such valuable material. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng appraised the petrified tree branch, the Winter of Eternal Night hanging on his waist suddenly trembled. System: The Winter of Eternal Night has detected a World Source. Do you wish to let it devour this World Source to evolve? Shi Feng was stunned by the system notification. Honestly, the part where the Winter of Eternal Night needed to devour World Sources to evolve had given him a considerable headache. After all, World Sources were the foundations of a world. They werent things that could be obtained on a whim. The fact that the Holy Trees Main Branch could be treated and absorbed like a World Source was completely outside of his expectations. However, despite his surprise, Shi Feng didnt hesitate to let the Winter of Eternal Night devour the Holy Trees Main Branch. Immediately, the Winter of Eternal Night spontaneously transformed into an illusory wolf and devoured the arm-sized tree branch in one bite. Then, space in the room seemingly froze. Whether it was Shi Feng or the dust falling in the room, everything stagnated. The only things that did not stop moving completely were Shi Fengs thoughts. Once the space in the room came to a standstill, boundless mana began pouring out from the void and into the Winter of Eternal Night. After this phenomenon continued for over ten seconds, Shi Feng suddenly felt a resplendent energy coming out from the void, the mere presence of this energy causing his heart to palpitate. This energy was different from mana, and it had the power to strengthen all creatures. Holy Power! A type of energy that weapons originally shouldnt be able to absorb was now being devoured by the illusory wolf that the Winter of Eternal Night had transformed into. Moreover, as the illusory wolf devoured this resplendent energy, glowing white sacred patterns started to appear all over its body. After this situation continued for around ten minutes, the illusory wolf reverted into the shape of a sword and hovered in front of Shi Feng. At the same time, the space in the room started to unfreeze. Chapter 3370 - Chapter 444 - New Eternal Night Chapter 444 C New Eternal Night Pharos Town, Collet Hotel: As space in the room started to become unfrozen, Shi Fengs mind also started to become active again. Then, it took a few more minutes before he regained the ability to move his body normally. Is this the evolved Eternal Night? When Shi Feng saw the dark-blue longsword with silver engravings floating in front of him, he couldnt help but be amazed. Weapons and equipment that could evolve werent particularly rare in Gods Domain. A typical example would be Magic Weapons, which could be continuously improved by absorbing other weapons. It was even possible to nurture a Magic Weapon up to the Legendary rank. However, Magic Weapons came with massive disadvantages. Not only would each subsequent upgrade cost more and more resources, but each upgrade would also increase the strength of the backlash users would suffer. Meanwhile, once players failed to cope with the backlash of a Magic Weapon, the Magic Weapon would devour them, and they would have to start a new account. Meanwhile, Magic Weapons would usually cause a huge commotion when getting upgraded. However, those commotions were nothing compared to the commotion the Winter of Eternal Nights evolution caused. It should be known that even when a Magic Weapon was being upgraded to the Legendary rank, it could, at most, cause Tier 4 players to shudder or become incapable of movement. However, the Winter of Eternal Nights evolution froze the surrounding space. Moreover, even with his Concentration at the Tier 6 Basic standard, Shi Fengs thoughts had become sluggish under this freezing effect. After seeing the brand new Winter of Eternal Night, Shi Feng quickly clicked on the longsword to check its stats. [Winter of Eternal Night] (One-handed Sword, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 5,000, Tier 3 Attack Power (370% of Strength) Attack Speed (4% of Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks gain the Extreme Frost effect, inflicting the Freezing effect within a 10*50 yard area of the attack; Attacks have a 40% chance to deal 500% damage and weaken the effectiveness of all Mana and Holy defenses by 40%; Strength increased by 100%, Agility increased by 90%, Intelligence increased by 60%, Endurance increased by 90%, Attack Speed increased by 60%; Ignore Levels +60; Effect of all Sword-type Skills improved by 100%; All Sword-type Skills will be strengthened by Holy Power; Effect of Mana increased by 100%. Additional Passive Skill 1: Winters Body. Winter of Eternal Night will absorb its users Mana to strengthen its users physique. The higher the Manas quality, the greater the improvements. Improvement limited at 150%. Additional Passive Skill 2: Holy Power Destruction. Achieve a destructive effect against all forms of Holy Power. Additional Active Skill 1: Radiant Night (Tier 5). Adds the power of erosion to all of the users attacks and forcibly increases the users attack by one tier (up to Tier 6 Peak). Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 20 minutes Additional Active Skill 2: World of Frost (Tier 5). Casts the shadow of a world around the user, enveloping an area of a 1,000-yard radius. The user may summon up to 21 frost swords within the enveloped area. Each frost sword will carry 150% of the users Strength. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour Additional Active Skill 3: Holy Manas Shadow. Use a combination of Holy Power and Mana to reconstruct the users body. Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 1 natural day Additional Profound Inheritance 1: Formless Sword. Converts any object into a temporary sword. The quality of the sword created depends on the object used and the magic array constructed by the user. Duration: 1 hour Cooldown: 1 natural day Additional Profound Inheritance 2: World Sword. Devour World Sources to evolve. The Primordial God of Thunders final creation that has absorbed a main branch from the Holy Tree. The Winter of Eternal Night holds the power source of a Primordial God, and it is capable of freezing all things. What astonishing stats. Shi Feng was stunned. The evolved Winter of Eternal Night might not provide as many Basic Attributes as the average Legendary Weapon, but the abilities that came with the weapon were simply incredible. The ability to use Holy Power had always been unique to the Holy Race. During his previous life, no matter how excellent humans were at crafting weapons, even the Legendary Weapons they crafted could not add Holy Power to their attacks. It was similar to how weapons crafted by the Holy Race could not add mana to their attacks. Yet, now, not only could the Winter of Eternal Night add Holy Power to the users attacks, but it could also weaken Holy Power defenses. Moreover, it could even destroy the Holy Power it came into contact with. With these effects, the Winter of Eternal Night could cause frightening damage to both monsters with Holy Power protection and Holy Race players. Not even Legendary Weapons could compete with the Winter of Eternal Night in these regards. When Shi Feng gripped the Winter of Eternal Night, he could feel an indescribable power slowly spread across the surface of his body, forming an invisible layer of clothing around him. When Shi Feng tried to swing the Winter of Eternal Night, the defensive magic array protecting the room instantly turned freezing cold, the cold air the magic array radiated causing the space in the room to turn a little sluggish. A second later, a crack formed on the defensive magic array. This destructive power! Its as if I am already wielding a Legendary Weapon! Shi Fengs eyes glowed when he saw the cracked barrier in the room. The hotels defensive magic arrays could stop even Tier 5 attacks with ease. If a Tier 5 expert wielding a Fragmented Legendary Weapon did not use an Absolute Technique or a Tier 5 Curse or Taboo Skill, they wouldnt be able to cause any visible damage to the hotels defensive magic arrays. Yet, now, with just a simple swing of the Winter of Eternal Night, he had managed to cause visible damage to the rooms defensive magic array. The standard of his destructive power was probably close to reaching the Tier 6 threshold already. While Shi Feng was immersed in the joy of the Winter of Eternal Nights evolution, he suddenly received a call request. When he answered the call, Desolate Furys face immediately appeared before him. How are you doing, Brother Black Flame? Desolate Fury excitedly asked. How about joining the three of us in exploring the Great Beast Forest? Have all three of you proceeded to Tier 5 already? Shi Feng asked, feeling a little surprised to see that Desolate Fury had risen to Tier 5 already. As for the Great Beast Forest mentioned by Desolate Fury, it was a Level 145-plus map. With monsters having the protection of Holy Power, it simply wasnt a place where Tier 4 parties could roam. If players wished to explore the map, theyd need to go in with a party of Tier 5 players. Mhm. Now that the Holy World has evolved into the Eternal Realm, we decided to stop staying at Tier 4, Desolate Fury said, nodding. We were also confident in creating a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body thanks to our harvests in the Holy World, so there was no point delaying our promotion any longer. Shi Feng agreed with the decision of Desolate Fury and the others. The current Eternal Realm had already become the focus of the entire Greater Gods Domain. It would even become an existence akin to the Twelve Sanctuaries in the future. So, unless Desolate Fury and the others didnt wish to benefit from the Eternal Realm, it wouldnt be a wise decision for them to continue staying at Tier 4. It was especially so when they could already create a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. How about it? Do you want to go with us? Desolate Fury eagerly asked. I still have many things to do here, so I cant go exploring with you right now, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Once the Holy Race made their existence known, Earthen Magic Flowers werent the only items that would see their value skyrocket. Magic barriers that could block Holy Power would also become very popular as they could achieve miraculous effects against Holy Race players. Meanwhile, the scrolls for this magic barrier didnt require any exotic materials to create. Instead, their production mainly needed Mana Stones, and even Grandmaster Magicians could easily produce them. The only troublesome part was securing the design. The design for the magic barrier in question wasnt obtained from killing monsters or clearing Dungeons. During Shi Fengs previous life, the magic barrier was created through the joint effort of multiple Great Grandmaster Magicians. Fortunately, Shi Feng had learned the design for this magic barrier during his previous life. Now that he was a Great Grandmaster Magician, it shouldnt be too difficult to reproduce the magic barrier without the design. If Shi Feng wanted a place in the future Eternal Realm, he would need a lot of funds. Meanwhile, the best opportunity to make money would be immediately after the Holy Races invasion began. If he missed this opportunity, it was unlikely he would get another one. By the way, if you are going to the Great Beast Forest, its best if you buy some Holy Power Bottles from a grocery store. Theyll be of great help to you, Shi Feng reminded. Okay. Make sure to contact us if you change your mind, Desolate Fury said, sighing in mild disappointment. Afterward, Shi Feng began trying to replicate the magic barrier from his previous life in the Collet Hotel. Time also quickly passed while he was trying to do so, and it was already bright outside before he realized it. Beep! Beep! Beep! This is Looking at the call request before him, Shi Feng saw a somewhat unfamiliar name. Unrestrained Lionheart! Chapter 3371 - Chapter 445 - Another Way to Use Mana Chapter 445 C Another Way to Use Mana When Shi Feng saw Unrestrained Lionheart contacting him, he set aside the Mana Stone in his hand and somewhat helplessly answered the call. After researching the Holy Power Negation Barrier Magic Array for an entire night, he couldnt help but have a newfound respect for the Great Grandmaster Magicians behind the barriers development. Even though it was only a Grandmaster Magic Array, it wasnt something a Great Grandmaster Magician could replicate easily. The Holy Power Negation Barrier was unlike any magic array Shi Feng had seen. Traditional magic arrays didnt place much emphasis on mana volume. Or, more specifically, they didnt need fixed amounts of mana to activate. However, the Holy Power Negation Barrier did. Moreover, it had different volume requirements for gaseous, liquid, and solid mana. When the players during Shi Fengs previous life constructed the Holy Power Negation Barrier, they wouldnt need to make precise mana adjustments because they had its design. The system would automatically make all the necessary adjustments based on the design. So, even Grandmaster Magicians could easily construct the Holy Power Negation Barrier. However, Shi Feng currently did not have the design to guide him. He only had memories of the design. As a result, finding the right amount of mana to inject into the Holy Power Negation Barriers mana nodes became a huge challenge. The magic array would stop functioning normally and possibly even crumble if the volume of mana it received was off by even a small margin. Meanwhile, after numerous attempts at replicating the Holy Power Negation Barrier, Shi Feng realized just how astounding of an understanding the barriers creators had toward mana. Just by relying on Mana, they managed to find a way to block out Holy Power completely. It should be known that Mana and Holy Power were two different types of energy capable of permeating one another. Meanwhile, it was normally impossible for these two types of energy to isolate each other. Yet, the Great Grandmaster Magicians in his previous life had found a way to manipulate Mana so that it would reject Holy Power. This was simply unbelievable. It looks like your side has reached a conclusion, Mr. Lionheart, Shi Feng calmly said as he looked at Unrestrained Lionheart. Yes, we have, Unrestrained Lionheart said, nodding. The commander has agreed to your two conditions. However, the commander also has one condition for you. What is it? Shi Feng asked, a little surprised by Unrestrained Lionhearts answer. He didnt think Unrestrained Lionhearts commander would actually agree to both of his conditions. It should be known that Unrestrained Lionheart was a veteran fifth-floor expert belonging to the Red Dragon Nation, so whoever could serve as his commander would naturally have extraordinary strength and influence. Logically, there should be no way such an individual would tolerate handing over command of their team to an outsider, much less the privilege of choosing any one item from the teams harvest. After all, Shi Feng was only one individual. It wouldnt make a significant difference for a 100-man team to have an extra one or two experts or be missing one or two experts. At the end of the day, the raids success would still depend on the teams overall strength. Of course, if Unrestrained Lionhearts commander was willing to accept his conditions, there was no reason for Shi Feng to be against their decision. The Courtyard of Space was the only known ruin left behind by the Goddess of Space. Whether it was the Seven Luminaries Ring or the Divine Spatial Potion obtainable from the ruin, both were of extraordinary value. The Divine Spatial Potion was especially important for Shi Feng. Tier 4 players could be regarded as the weakest existences in the current Eternal Realm. Hence, Shi Feng needed to advance to Tier 5 as soon as possible. However, because of his quest, he needed to create a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body before he could do so. Meanwhile, apart from improving his Concentration standard, the only other method that could allow him to create a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body would be through improving his mana affinity. If he could improve his affinity with mana, it would increase his control over mana by a significant margin. Simple. Smiling, Unrestrained Lionheart said, Once the teams casualty exceeds 20%, you will have to forfeit your command over the team and the privilege of choosing an item of your choice. Okay, no problem, Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Ensuring the teams casualty stayed below 20% was a big ask. For teams challenging the Courtyard of Space without prior knowledge, achieving such a low casualty rate would be impossible. However, Shi Feng knew plenty about the Courtyard of Space. The various powers during his previous life had placed a lot of attention on the Courtyard of Space. Even after someone had secured the Courtyard of Spaces First Clear, the various powers did not stop exploring the ruin for clues pertaining to the Goddess of Space. Hence, plenty of information and strategies concerning the Courtyard of Space became publicly available. You sure are a straightforward person, Mr. Black Flame, Unrestrained Lionheart said, feeling a little surprised by Shi Fengs quick and decisive response. The ruin will activate in the Corrosion Mountain Range in 25 hours. Please be there on time, Mr. Black Flame. I will. Shi Feng nodded. After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call and resumed his research of the Holy Power Negation Barrier Magic Array. Even though Shi Feng had already become a Great Grandmaster Magician, the more he studied the Holy Power Negation Barrier, the more he learned about magic arrays. Magic arrays were a phenomenon formed through using mana to manipulate the various magic elements. Meanwhile, each magic element could produce varying effects depending on the volume of mana used to manipulate it. Players might achieve powerful effects by manipulating the various magic elements using an excessive amount of mana, but if they could use the perfect amount of mana for each element, they could have the various magic elements achieve 100% of their effects. In other words, if done right, players could use the same amount of mana to manipulate a greater amount of magic elements. However, finding the right amount of mana to manipulate each element wasnt a simple task. If players did not have a sufficiently high affinity with mana, they couldnt even begin to explore this topic. Fortunately, Shi Fengs mana affinity had already reached Level 5 thanks to the Great Grandmaster Emblem. If it was still at Level 4, he would have been met with a dead end. Subsequently, time went by quickly as Shi Feng experimented using varying volumes of mana to manipulate the various magic elements. Every experiment he did put him closer to grasping the perfect amount of mana to use to manipulate the various elements. First, he mastered the element of fire in the first hour. Afterward, he mastered the element of water in the third hour. In the sixth hour, he mastered the element of wind. In the ninth hour, he mastered the element of earth. In the thirteenth hour, he mastered the element of illusion. In the sixteenth hour, he mastered the element of time. In the twentieth hour, he mastered the element of space. Once Shi Feng found the appropriate amount of mana to use to manipulate the seven magic elements, he felt as if he had reached a new level in the manipulation of magic arrays. I should be able to complete the Holy Power Negation Barrier now. After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng looked at the tattered magic scrolls on the ground and wryly smiled. Sure enough, learning anything in this game costs a significant amount of money and resources. Magic scrolls that could be used to create Grandmaster Magic Arrays were typically sold for five Magic Crystals each. In addition, each attempt at creating the Holy Power Negation Barrier cost 30 Mana Stones. Now that he had made over 500 failed attempts, he had spent over 2,500 Magic Crystals at 15,000 Mana Stones. There was no way the average expert could afford such an expenditure. Fortunately, Shi Feng had brought 30,000 Mana Stones with him when he left the Miniature Ancient World. Even after all those failed attempts, he still had enough Mana Stones to explore the various magic elements and continue producing magic scrolls for the Holy Power Negation Barrier. Following this, Shi Feng started trying to produce the Holy Power Negation Barrier Magic Scrolls for real. Unfold the magic scroll Structure the mana nodes Shape the mana circuits Form the magic arrays Finally, inject the mana! As soon as Shi Feng injected mana into the scroll covered with complex magic arrays, powerful ripples of mana began spreading from the scroll, these ripples causing the surrounding mana to become denser. System: Congratulations! You have developed a new Grandmaster Magic Array. Rewarding two levels. System: Please name your magic array. TL Notes: It would seem that I have misunderstood the concept of mana the author was trying to convey all this time Apparently, mana(ħ) and the various magic elements(ħԪ) are separate things, and mana is used to manipulate the various magic elements. I was always under the assumption that mana was a general term used to refer to different types of mana, but it seems thats not the case. But in Chapter 375, the author mentioned elemental affinity(ħԪ׺Ͷ), yet mentioned mana affinity(ħ׺Ͷ) in this chapter. So, I guess they are somewhat the same thing to a certain extent? I havent a clue. Anyway, I will be using the correct interpretation going forward, but I dont think I will ever go back to correct my misinterpretation. There are just too many chapters to go through. x.x Fyi: Three Supreme Elements = Space, Time, Illusion Four Major Elements = Fire, Water, Earth, Wind Chapter 3372 - Chapter 446 - Difference Between Energy Systems Chapter 446 C Difference Between Energy Systems Following the system notification, two layers of purple-gold brilliance emerged from Shi Fengs body. At the same time, Shi Fengs level rose from 137 to 139. However, Shi Feng did not pay any attention to the increase in his level. Instead, his focus was on the magic scroll in his hands. It was as if the Grandmaster Magic Barrier Scroll in his hand wasnt just a Grandmaster Magic Barrier Scroll but a peerless treasure instead. Success! An indescribable sense of excitement filled Shi Feng as he looked at the magic array drawn on the scroll. How unexpected. I didnt think such frightening results would be possible just by finding the right volume of mana to manipulate the seven magic elements. At this point, Shi Feng had already restored the Holy Power Negation Barrier from his memories. So long as he activated the magic scroll in his hands, he could create a barrier that would expel all Holy Power. Meanwhile, this barrier would have an effective radius of 1,000 yards and a duration of one hour. However, these werent the important points. What truly excited Shi Feng was the amount of mana he had used to create the Holy Power Negation Barrier. After optimizing his mana usage, he managed to reduce the mana he used by roughly 40%. A 40% reduction in mana expenditure would be of significant help to players. In Gods Domain, players could only store a limited amount of mana in their bodies. When Tier 4 players and above battled, they would typically attach mana to their attacks, whether the attack was a normal attack, a combat technique, a Mana Technique, a Skill, or a Spell. Although the mana mentioned here wasnt limited to just the mana in players bodies and also included the ambient mana manipulated by players, that was beside the point. Meanwhile, the purpose of this mana was to manipulate the various magic elements to produce various phenomena. This also meant that the more excess mana players had, the more magic elements they could control and the stronger the phenomenon they could create. Similar to how players could exhibit greater strength with their combat techniques after eliminating their excess movements, players could also achieve a similar result by eliminating excess mana usage. If players could use 40% less mana to achieve the same results, the results they could achieve by optimally using 100% of their mana would reach a whole new level. When Shi Feng saw the results he had achieved, realization suddenly dawned on him. It was no wonder the human players in his previous life couldnt compete against Holy Race players. The disparity between the two races was so great that there was a massive difference in strength, even between the Tier 6 players of the two races. In the end, human players could only fight against Holy Race players if they had an advantage in weapons and equipment. Originally, Shi Feng had found it very strange that Gods Domain would give preferential treatment to one particular race of players. However, it turned out that wasnt the case at all. The disparity between human players and Holy Race players wasnt a result of the game giving preferential treatment to Holy Race players. Instead, it resulted from human players failing to truly grasp how to use mana. Or more specifically, human players were not on the same level as Holy Race players when it came to the standard of utilizing their respective races energy systems. If human players could optimize the way they used mana, assuming that all other factors were equal, it should be possible for human players to achieve the same combat power as Holy Race players. System: Please name the magic array you have developed. If you fail to do so in three minutes, the system will automatically generate a name for it. Shi Feng quickly returned from his thoughts when he heard the system notification. Then, he said, Name it as the Holy Power Negation Barrier.'' System: New Grandmaster Magic Array successfully named. From now on, other players will be unable to construct the Holy Power Negation Barrier without learning its design beforehand. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the latest notification. Now that he had become the Holy Power Negation Barriers developer, he had finally grasped his first money-printing machine. If other Magicians wished to construct the Holy Power Negation Barrier in the future, they could only do so after learning the magic array design he produced. Otherwise, they would never be able to construct the barrier. After this, all he needed to do was wait until the great war between human and Holy Race players began. Once the war between the two races began, the Holy Power Negation Barrier would become a necessity for the various human powers to go against the Holy Race. At that time, hed have a constant stream of money flowing into his pockets. Twenty-one hours have already gone by in the blink of an eye. I should hurry to the Corrosion Mountain Range. After looking at the time, Shi Feng quickly put away the Holy Power Negation Barrier Scroll and left the Collet Hotel. The Corrosion Mountain Range was five large maps away from Pharos Town. Since the Eternal Realms environment prevented Tier 4 and Tier 5 players from flying, even Tier 5 players would need a significant amount of time to cross such a great distance. As for Tier 4 players, theyd have to run for at least 15 hours straight to cross this distance. While walking Pharos Towns main street, Shi Feng could hear many people shouting to purchase Earthen Magic Flowers at a high price of one Eternal Copper per twelve flowers. Yet, even at this price, nobody was willing to part with their Earthen Magic Flowers. They even looked at the shouting players as if they were looking at a bunch of fools. Shi Feng was quite astonished to see this. He didnt expect the news of the Earthen Magic Flowers to spread so quickly. After leaving Pharos Town, Shi Feng went to a deserted location and summoned the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon. Ordinary Mounts couldnt survive in the Eternal Realm due to the environment here. As for Flying Mounts, although they could be summoned, they could only roam the Eternal Realm for a short time. Even as a Legendary Flying Mount, the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon could only be summoned for eight hours a day. As for Extraordinary Flying Mounts, they could only stay summoned for four hours a day. Moreover, theyd have to reach Tier 4 first to even be summoned, as a Tier 3 Extraordinary Flying Mount could not resist the corrosion of Holy Power. Although there were many experts in the Eternal Realm, the players who owned a Tier 4 Extraordinary Flying Mount were probably few and far between. If a Legendary Flying Mount were to suddenly appear in the Eternal Realms skies, it would definitely become a target for the various powers. At that time, even as someone who had defeated the Luminous Glory Lists 42nd-ranked expert, Shi Feng would have difficulty surviving in the Eternal Realm. After all, the help a Legendary Flying Mount could provide to players during the Eternal Realms exploration stage was probably no less than that of a Divine Artifact. So, before Shi Feng reached Tier 5 and caught up to the various powers experts in tiers, itd be best to keep the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragons existence a secret as long as possible. Immediately, Shi Feng hopped onto the Phantom Dragon and activated a Tier 3 Isolation Scroll to enter Stealth. Then, he had the Phantom Dragon soar into the sky and beyond the clouds. At this altitude, even Tier 6 players would have difficulty noticing him. And even if some players did spot the Phantom Dragons silhouette, they would only assume it to be a flying monster rather than a Flying Mount. After flying for over three hours, Shi Feng arrived at the edge of the Corrosion Mountain Range. Thank goodness I made it in time. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the mountain range ahead of him. The Eternal Realms ambient Holy Power had a much greater impact on the Phantom Dragon than he expected. The journey that should have normally taken only an hour ended up taking over three hours instead. Anyway, since the Corrosion Mountain Range was already within sight, Shi Feng decided to recall the Phantom Dragon and trek the rest of the way. The Corrosion Mountain Range had a level range of Level 145 to Level 160. So, as soon as Shi Feng entered the map, he had to deal with large groups of Level 145-plus High Lords. Under normal circumstances, only Tier 5 teams could grind in this map. If a Tier 4 team tried to do so, their chances of annihilation were practically 100%. However, Shi Fengs goal wasnt to grind here. His Basic Attributes had also reached the Tier 5 standard already. So, he had no trouble maneuvering through the Corrosion Mountain Range. In less than an hour, Shi Feng quietly arrived at the meeting point inside the Corrosion Mountain Range. The meeting point was set in a small basin in the gigantic mountain range. Although trees densely covered the entire basin, Shi Feng could vaguely spot a large number of human and Holy Race players gathered in the basin. At a glance, the number of players in the basin exceeded 10,000, and over a thousand of these players were at Tier 5. Meanwhile, human players made up nearly 70% of these numbers. At this time, the players from the two races were gathered around a huge gate of light that protruded from the ground. Each race stood on one side of the gate. Seeing how the players from the two races were deadlocked, it was obvious that both sides were wary of the others strength and did not dare to try to monopolize the Courtyard of Space. You are finally here, Mr. Black Flame. Unrestrained Lionheart stood among the crowd in his light-blue robe. When he saw Shi Feng appearing at the basins edge, he took the initiative to approach Shi Feng. The commander has already started to grow anxious from waiting, so lets hurry over there. Chapter 3373 - Chapter 447 - Marriage Chapter 447 C Marriage Corrosion Mountain Range: In front of the Courtyard of Spaces teleportation gate Following Unrestrained Lionheart, Shi Feng quickly passed through the security network formed by over a hundred Level 140-plus, Tier 5 experts. These Tier 5 experts came from the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates, and they worked together to prevent independent teams and the expert teams of other powers from approaching the teleportation gate. After passing the security network, Shi Feng saw over ten teams gathered before the teleportation gate. Among these teams, two stood out the most. Each of these two teams had over 70 Tier 5 experts, and they were positioned the closest to the teleportation gate. In addition, Shi Feng could feel his sixth sense warning him of certain individuals among these two teams. Subsequently, Unrestrained Lionheart led Shi Feng to one of these two teams. Then, he respectfully greeted a beautiful woman wearing a silver-gray robe and wielding a wooden staff. Frey? Shi Feng was taken aback for a moment when he saw the beautiful woman. Frey! The Galaxy Conglomerates Fourth Princess. She was also the peerless genius whom Shi Feng had met once in the Miniature Ancient World. However, unlike in the Miniature Ancient World, Frey was currently at Level 141, Tier 5 already. The aura she exuded was vastly stronger than before. When Frey saw Shi Feng looking at her, she smiled and teasingly said, We meet again, Guild Leader Black Flame. Unrestrained Lionheart was surprised when he heard Freys words. Unable to help his curiosity, he looked at Shi Feng and asked, Are you acquainted with the commander, Mr. Black Flame? Mhm. I had the fortune of being on the same team as Miss Frey in the past, Shi Feng said somewhat awkwardly. Previously in the Miniature Ancient World, Shi Feng had exploited Freys situation to make a fortune because he thought he would never meet the woman again after the Nether King raid. After all, Frey was one of the Galaxy Conglomerates Four Princesses. The Starlight Realm was also such a huge place. So, the possibility of them meeting again should be incredibly small. However, Shi Feng never thought he would meet Frey in the Eternal Realm. Even more astonishing was that someone of Unstrained Lionhearts stature would behave so respectfully in front of Frey. This situation was both astonishing and confusing. While Frey might be the Galaxy Conglomerates Fourth Princess, Unrestrained Lionheart was the vice commander of the Red Dragon Nations main force. In front of the Red Dragon Nation, the Galaxy Conglomerate was nothing. Any one of Red Dragon Nations second-level affiliated powers could easily match the Galaxy Conglomerate, let alone the Red Dragon Nations stronger first-level affiliated powers. Meanwhile, the Red Dragon Nation had dozens of second-level affiliated powers and over a dozen first-level affiliated powers I see. When Unrestrained Lionheart heard Shi Fengs answer, realization dawned upon him as he said, No wonder Vice Guild Leader Frey agreed to your conditions without hesitation. Vice Guild Leader? Youre saying Miss Frey is a Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation? Shi Feng asked, finding Unrestrained Lionhearts words a little hard to believe. After all, according to his memories, the Red Dragon Nation didnt have a Vice Guild Leader named Frey, much less a Vice Guild Leader who was so young. It should be known that only the strong were respected in a pseudo-apex power. However, even peerless paragons would have difficulty becoming a Vice Guild Leader in a pseudo-apex power before the age of forty. After all, anyone capable of becoming a Vice Guild Leader in a pseudo-apex power would be a peerless paragon at the very minimum, so competition for these limited positions was intense. Meanwhile, Frey probably wasnt even 25 years old this year. So, how could she possibly become a Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation? Thats correct. Unrestrained Lionheart nodded. Then, in a tone of admiration, he said, Vice Guild Leader Frey has recently been promoted into the Red Dragon Nations Ninth Vice Guild Leader. Excluding the Red Dragon Nations Founding Elders, she is the first person in the Guild to have met the requirements to become a Vice Guild Leader at such a young age. Death Omen and Thousand Scars, who were also on the team, similarly looked at Frey in admiration. The fact that Nameless Blade could become the Paimon Conglomerates Third Paragon at such a young age was already an incredible feat. He was even only half a step away from reaching the fifth-floor standard. However, compared to Frey, Nameless Blades achievements were nothing. Frey stood on a completely different level from Nameless Blade. Honestly, the only reason Death Omen and Thousand Scars could be a part of the Red Dragon Nations team was that they had provided the Red Dragon Nation with some information relating to the ruin this time and because they had an incomplete map for half of the ruin. If not for these reasons, they would never have qualified to join Freys team. While Shi Feng was talking with Unrestrained Lionheart, a man looking like he was in his fifties approached Frey. The man was one of the Tier 5 players on Freys team, and he exuded a terrifying aura. After walking up to Frey, the man quietly reminded, The ruin will soon activate, Vice Guild Leader Frey. I know, Elder Parker. Frey nodded. Then, she looked at Shi Feng and earnestly stated, Guild Leader Black Flame, as per our agreement, you will have full command over the team. However, if the teams casualty rate exceeds 20%, I will be taking back the teams command and your item selection right. I hope you dont forget. After saying so, Frey made Shi Feng the teams leader, her actions shocking the experts on the team. Only Death Omen, Thousand Scars, and Unrestrained Lionheart remained unfazed. Please rest assured, Vice Guild Leader Frey. So long as the teams casualty rate exceeds 20%, I will immediately surrender the teams command. I wont even ask for any payment for my services this time, Shi Feng said confidently. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a low laugh suddenly came from a distance. Its been a while since I last saw you, Frey, but it seems your judgment is getting worse with time. The person who spoke was a handsome and muscular man who had already reached Level 142, Tier 5. While walking up to Frey, the man smiled and said, You might as well marry me now. Once you do, both you and your family will have better futures ahead of you. You think too highly of yourself, Moro. Frey did not get angry at the approaching mans words. Instead, she calmly said, I am now the Ninth Vice Guild Leader, while you are still the Seven Vice Guild Leader. With the opportunities in the Eternal Realm, do you think I will need long to surpass you? The man named Moro suddenly laughed. If you can secure this ruins First Clear, you might indeed have a chance to surpass me, Moro said as he looked at Frey with an admiring gaze. Then, he slowly continued, Its a pity you wont get such a chance. As soon as Moro finished speaking, Elder Parker, who originally stood behind Frey, suddenly walked over to Moro and stood behind him. At the same time, over a dozen other Tier 5 experts on Freys side joined Elder Parker on Moros side. Moreover, six of these Tier 5 experts were fifth-floor experts. All of a sudden, silence fell over the area. What is the meaning of this, Elder Parker? Frey asked as she looked at Elder Parker, her calm expression wavering for the first time. The Galaxy Conglomerate has treated you well all these years, hasnt it? Parker was an Elder of the Galaxy Conglomerate, and he had risen to this position by climbing up from the conglomerates bottom ranks. Because of his history and strength, the status he enjoyed in the Galaxy Conglomerate was second to only the conglomerates successors. You are right. Galaxy has indeed treated me well, Parker said, nodding. However, I have also fought for over a century for Galaxy and allowed the conglomerate to secure a foothold in the Holy World, so I have long paid back my debt. Now that Lord Moro is willing to recommend me for an Elder position in the Red Dragon Nation, I simply cannot bring myself to turn down such an offer. Just when Frey was about to say something, Moro interjected and said, Which is why I say your judgment has grown worse, Frey. Anyway, once youve made up your mind, you can come and marry me anytime. But if you stay obstinate, you might not get to keep your place as the Ninth Vice Guild Leader for long. Just when Frey was about to say something, Moro interjected and said, Which is why I say your judgment has grown worse, Frey. Anyway, once youve made up your mind, you can come and marry me anytime. But if you stay obstinate, you might not get to keep your place as the Ninth Vice Guild Leader for long. Chapter 3374 - Chapter 448 - World Mode Chapter 448 C World Mode In front of the Courtyard of Spaces teleportation gate: When Moro left with Parker and over a dozen Tier 5 experts from Freys team, the other teams present couldnt help but gasp. Whats going on? Have those two teams decided to join forces? When the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers teams saw over a dozen Tier 5 experts joining Moros teams, they immediately felt great pressure. Moros team originally had over 70 Tier 5 experts already. Among them, twenty-five were fifth-floor experts, and one was even a SaintCDesert Web, the Windworld Saint from the Sacred Quake Realm. Out of all the human teams present, Freys team was the only one that could match Moros team. Now, though, Moros team had suddenly gained an extra 15 Tier 5 experts. Moreover, six of these Tier 5 experts were fifth-floor experts, and one of them was Parker, the Rockspear Saint who was formerly the manager of a Saint Camp in the Holy World. With the addition of these experts, Moros team now had over 90 Tier 5 experts, of which two were Saints and thirty-one were fifth-floor experts. Just the sight of such a line-up was enough to instill fear into the various teams present, let alone the thought of competing with such a team for the ruins First Clear. That Parker is a bastard! How dare he do such a thing!? Thousand Scars cursed. When she saw the Rockspear Saint defecting to Moros team, anger and despair filled her eyes. Frey had gone to great lengths to gather over 70 Tier 5 experts to secure the ruins First Clear. She had paid a particularly heavy price to recruit the 22 fifth-floor experts among these Tier 5 experts. Originally, Freys team should have gained an advantage over Moros team after the addition of Black Flame, who was rumored to have reached the realm of Saints. However, with the loss of the Rockspear Saint and six fifth-floor experts, even with Black Flames addition, there was no way for Frey to compete with Moro for the ruins First Clear. The old fellows betrayal is unsurprising, Death Omen said, shaking her head. If he stays with the Galaxy Conglomerate, he will forever remain an Elder of the conglomerate. At most, he will be revered in the Starlight Realm. However, its a different story if he becomes an Elder of the Red Dragon Nation. At that time, even the Galaxy Conglomerates helmsman will have to treat him with respect For experts who had already reached the realm of Saints, money could no longer move them. Only status and authority could. Meanwhile, Moros offer could tempt even young and budding Saints, let alone an old Saint with hardly any growth potential left like Parker. As expected of someone who has sat in the Vice Guild Leader seat for two decades. After letting the situation sink into her mind, Frey did not react in anger. Instead, she merely looked at Moros departing figure with narrowed eyes. There were limited Elder positions in the Red Dragon Nation, so competition over these positions was extremely intense. Even the top three ranking Vice Guild Leaders would have difficulty getting their hands on a slot, so it was incredible that Moro managed to secure a slot. Meanwhile, when Unrestrained Lionheart saw what Moro had just done, he only felt contempt for the other party. In Unrestrained Lionhearts opinion, the struggle for the position of Guild Leader should be a fair and honest competition. However, Moros use of underhanded tactics was despicable and lacked charisma. Even if Moro managed to become the Red Dragon Nations Guild Leader in the future, he would have difficulty convincing the Red Dragon Nations members to obey him wholeheartedly. Gods Domain had always been a place where the strong were respected. Powerful experts would not submit themselves to a weak Guild Leader. This, in turn, made it impossible for a weak Guild Leader to lead a Guild to greatness. The reason Unrestrained Lionheart admired Frey was that the latter had relied on her individual achievements to become the Red Dragon Nations Ninth Vice Guild Leader. We have less than ten minutes before the ruin activates, Vice Guild Leader. Im afraid we can only recruit experts from the other powers present to make up for our missing numbers, Unrestrained Lionheart said after looking at the time. Moro had deliberately chosen to reveal Parkers betrayal at the last moment. With ten minutes left until the ruins activation, there was no way they would have enough time to find and gather powerful experts from other places. Their only option would be to recruit from the experts present. However, recruiting experts belonging to other powers evidently wasnt a wise decision. After all, nobody could guarantee whether these experts were qualified or whether they would sabotage the raid. And even if these experts were qualified and didnt sabotage the raid, they would most likely ask ridiculous amounts of compensation for their aid. After pondering for a moment, Frey said, Lets just recruit some people for now. As the First Clear of this ruin concerned the Red Dragon Nations future development in the Eternal Realm, the Guilds executives placed great importance on it. Frey had even used a lot of the Guilds resources to recruit experts to fight for her. If she failed to secure the ruins First Clear, she would risk losing her position as the Ninth Vice Guild Leader. However, just as Unrestrained Lionheart was about to recruit experts from the other teams, Shi Feng suddenly stopped him. Wait, Shi Feng said as he extended a hand to stop Unrestrained Lionheart. Then, he turned to Frey and continued, Miss Frey, since you think we are short of manpower, I can recommend some trustworthy combatants to you if you are interested. Can you find enough experts to make up for our missing numbers, Mr. Black Flame? Unrestrained Lionheart eagerly asked. If given a choice, hed rather recruit a group of trustworthy experts than the experts of other powers. What are your conditions? Frey rolled her eyes at Shi Feng when she heard his offer. She was very familiar with this situation. Honestly, if her Vice Guild Leader status wasnt in danger, she would have definitely turned around and left as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking. When Shi Feng saw the contemptuous look Frey was giving him, he awkwardly smiled and said, Now that the teams circumstances have changed, itd be a huge loss for me to follow the original condition of maintaining the teams casualty rate below 20%. Moreover, since my side will be contributing more manpower, it is only reasonable for me to ask for more compensation. What you say makes sense. Frey nodded in agreement with Shi Fengs words. I can loosen the casualty condition and increase the maximum to 40%. I can also give you priority in choosing two items from the ruin. Are these conditions acceptable? Very much so. Shi Feng agreed to the new conditions without hesitation. Immediately afterward, he contacted Desolate Fury and asked, Brother Fury, are you three interested in making a fortune? Subsequently, time passed by quickly. Roughly ten minutes after Shi Feng contacted Desolate Furys group of three, the seal on the Courtyard of Spaces teleportation gate suddenly lifted, and a pillar of light rose from the gate and several thousand meters into the sky. Move out! The First Clear belongs to the Holy Race! As soon as the seal was lifted, the teams on both the human side and the Holy Race side charged at the expanding teleportation gate. However, even though many teams had already made their way into the Courtyard of Space, Moro did not have his team follow suit. Instead, he quietly observed Frey from a distance. Youve already given Frey a chance, Vice Guild Leader Moro. Its her fault for blindly trusting Black Flame and not cherishing your offer, so you cannot be blamed for this, Parker said when he saw that Freys team seemed to be waiting for someone. Many teams have already entered the ruin, so we dont have much time left to waste. Alright, lets head inside as well, then, Moro said, giving out the command to enter the Courtyard of Space. Sometime after Moros team entered the Courtyard of Space, Unrestrained Lionheart could no longer maintain his composure as he anxiously looked at Shi Feng and asked, Brother Black Flame, when will your friends be arriving? Nearly an hour had already passed since the ruins activation. After such a long time, even the other teams had probably explored a significant portion of the ruin already, not to mention Moros team. As soon as Unrestrained Lionheart finished speaking, though, three figures swiftly appeared in front of the team. Sorry for the long wait, Brother Black Flame, Desolate Fury said, hurriedly apologizing when he saw the anxious faces of the experts standing around Shi Feng. Dont worry about it. You guys have arrived very quickly already, Shi Feng said, waving his hand. The Great Beast Forest might be located next to the Corrosion Mountain Range, but it still wasnt an easy task for a Tier 5 player to travel from the Great Beast Forest to this place. Since everyones here, lets begin the raid! Everyones here? When Unrestrained Lionheart heard Shi Fengs words, he couldnt help but recount Desolate Furys group. However, no matter how many times he looked at the group, he only counted three players. That was only one-fifth of the players they were missing. Big Sis Omen, do you think Black Flame is messing with Vice Guild Leader Frey? Thousand Scars couldnt help but ask when she saw Shi Feng making his way to the teleportation gate. Death Omen was similarly puzzled by Shi Fengs actions, and she felt that Shi Feng was going too far with his joke. While everyone was feeling perplexed over Shi Fengs actions, Shi Feng suddenly drew a Master Mana Gathering Array in front of the teleportation gate. Immediately afterward, the golden light pillar that enveloped the teleportation gate turned pitch-black. At the same time, everyone outside the teleportation gate received a series of system notifications. System: The difficulty for the Courtyard of Space has been adjusted from God Mode to World Mode. System Warning: World Mode Team Dungeon discovered. Please think carefully before choosing to enter the Team Dungeon. Chapter 3375 - Chapter 449 - New Upper Limit? Chapter 449 C New Upper Limit? The teleportation gate that was originally enveloped by golden light was now enveloped in pitch-black light, the sight making everyone think as if night had descended. World Mode? Thousand Scars and Death Omen fell into a daze when they heard the system notification, shock and confusion appearing in their eyes. What did he do? Unrestrained Lionheart turned to look at Shi Feng, an additional layer of mystery shrouding the individual who was already mysterious, to begin with. It was universally accepted in the Greater Gods Domain that God Mode was the highest difficulty that Team Dungeons could have. Never had a greater difficulty been discovered. Yet, now, Shi Feng had revealed a difficulty setting above God Mode simply by drawing a magic array. This was simply unbelievable. At this time, even Frey looked at Shi Feng in surprise. After witnessing him successfully leading a Tier 3 team to take down a Tier 5 Nether King, Frey had long known that Shi Feng was an extraordinary individual. She could have never completed her Legendary Quest if it wasnt for Shi Feng. It was for this reason she had agreed to let Shi Feng take command of her team this time a second time. However, Frey and her team members werent the only ones informed about the change in the Courtyard of Spaces difficulty. The many other human and Holy Race players present in the basin had received a similar notification from the system. What? World Mode? Is this for real? Shouldnt the highest difficulty for Team Dungeons be God Mode? Quick! Notify the commander that a change has occurred to the ruin! Everyones initial reaction to the Courtyard of Spaces change was to be confused. Then, they quickly snapped out of their dazes and contacted their respective teams and superiors. After all, the increased upper limit of the Courtyard of Spaces difficulty was absolutely an earth-shattering piece of news. Every God Mode Team Dungeon was a massive treasure trove in the Greater Gods Domain. However, Team Dungeons with a God Mode difficulty setting was unlike other Dungeons. Not only did they appear randomly and infrequently, but they would also disappear forever so long as someone secured its First Clear. Meanwhile, the Courtyard of Space was a ruin left behind by the Goddess of Space. So, it went without saying it would house astonishing loot. This was also why the various powers were desperate to secure the First Clear for the Courtyard of Spaces God Mode. Now that the Courtyard of Space had gained an even higher difficulty setting, the loot available in this higher difficulty setting might be elevated to a whole new standard. After all, this was the first time a World Mode difficulty setting had appeared in the Greater Gods Domain. Lets head inside, Shi Feng said through the team chat after seeing that he had successfully activated the Courtyard of Spaces World Mode. It was common knowledge that God Mode Team Dungeons would disappear once someone had secured their First Clear. However, the Courtyard of Spaces entrance did not disappear. Instead, the teleportation gate simply entered a sealed state and forbade players from entering the Dungeon. It wasnt until a month later, when the various powers had stopped paying attention to the Dungeon, that a change occurred. More specifically, the team that had secured the Courtyard of Spaces First Clear had returned and drawn a Master Mana Gathering Array on the sealed teleportation gate. Then, what happened next shocked the entire Greater Gods Domain. God Mode, the difficulty setting publicly acknowledged as the upper limit for Team Dungeons, stopped being the upper limit. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he stepped into the teleportation gate and vanished before everyones eyes. Should we go in, Vice Guild Leader? Unrestrained Lionheart asked as he looked toward Frey, hesitation in his eyes. Before today, the Greater Gods Domains Team Dungeons had five difficulty settings: Normal, Hard, Hell, Asura, and God. The first three difficulty settings could be found in most of the randomly occurring Team Dungeons in the Greater Gods Domain. The last two difficulty settings could only be found in a very small number of one-off Dungeons, and they offered players the opportunity to obtain extraordinary loot. However, in return, Asura and God Mode Team Dungeons had a ridiculously high raid difficulty. In the case of God Mode Team Dungeons, their difficulty was so great that even a team fully composed of titled experts would have trouble securing the First Clear in a short time. So, a team that wasnt at full occupancy would have even greater trouble. Currently, while it was true that the Courtyard of Spaces World Mode would offer greater rewards than its God Mode, its raid difficulty would also be much greater. With their team of fewer than 90 players, just how were they supposed to raid it successfully? We dont have a choice, Frey said as she looked at the teleportation gate enveloped in dark light. If we dont enter now, we shouldnt even consider entering later. As soon as Frey finished speaking, Unrestrained Lionheart and everyone else on Freys team felt frightening killing intent directed toward them. The owners of this killing intent had no intentions of hiding their thoughts, so Unrestrained Lionheart and the others could tell that it came from all the players around them. Moreover, it wasnt limited to just human players but also the distant Holy Race players. Kill them! Do not let any of them inside! The World Mode Courtyard of Space is ours! Almost simultaneously, the human and Holy Race players in the basin maniacally charged at Freys team. Lets head inside as well, Frey said, giving the oncoming human and Holy Race players a glance before stepping into the teleportation gate after Shi Feng. Unrestrained Lionheart wryly smiled when he saw this situation. Then, he hurriedly had everyone on the team enter the teleportation gate, not daring to stay in this place even a moment longer. There was no doubt that the World Mode Courtyard of Space was a treasure trove beyond anyones imagination. The various powers naturally wouldnt let this opportunity get away. Even if the Red Dragon Nation was a pseudo-apex power, the various powers were unlikely to show them any courtesy. Upon seeing Unrestrained Lionheart and the others disappearing into the teleportation gate, the human and Holy Race players quickly switched their target to each other and began a slaughter outside the Courtyard of Space. Everyone was desperately trying to monopolize and enter the Courtyard of Space. At the same time, the various teams inside the God Mode Courtyard of Space also received news about the Dungeons change. What did you say? Moro was stunned by his subordinates report. The Courtyard of Space now has a World Mode option? He had never heard of Team Dungeons having a World Mode difficulty setting before. What should we do now, Lord Moro? Desert Web, the Windworld Saint, asked anxiously. The higher-ups have told us to secure the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear at all costs, but weve already entered the God Mode Courtyard of Space, so we cannot change difficulty settings for an entire week. Meanwhile, Vice Guild Leader Freys team is already inside As soon as Desert Web finished speaking, Parker, the Rockspear Saint resting at the side, revealed an ashen complexion. What was going on here? Chapter 3376 - Chapter 450 - World Mode Courtyard of Space Chapter 450 C World Mode Courtyard of Space Elder Parker, what is the meaning of this World Mode? Moro questioned as he coldly looked at Parker. Why have I never heard you mentioning it before? The Red Dragon Nation was a pseudo-apex power and a titanic existence in the Greater Gods Domain. It was vastly more powerful than the likes of the Galaxy Conglomerate. Because of this, every Elder position in the Guild was highly sought after by the Red Dragon Nations many executives. Parker might be one of the rare individuals who had reached the realm of Saints, but the Red Dragon Nation had quite a few of such existences under its command. So, even as a Saint, Parker wouldnt be guaranteed an Elder position if he joined the Guild. Meanwhile, for the sake of ruining Freys plans, Moro and the conglomerate behind him had paid a heavy price to secure Parker an Elder position in the Red Dragon Nation. Yet, now I have never heard Frey talk about this before when I was by her side, Lord Moro, Parker hurriedly explained when he saw Moros cold expression. The two women who provided the Courtyard of Spaces information never mentioned this, either. Honestly, Parker was even more astonished than Moro to learn that Frey had activated the Courtyard of Spaces World Mode. Enough. I do not want to hear your excuses, Moro said. Everyone present shuddered when they heard Moros cold tone. Even Saints like Parker and Desert Web shuddered a little. As someone who had served as one of the Red Dragon Nations Vice Guild Leaders for over two decades, Moro possessed not only astonishing individual strength but also an extraordinarily powerful background. So, it wasnt difficult for him to deal with a Saint or two. What should we do now, Lord Moro? Desert Web asked. Even if we try to form a new team now, I do not think we can gather strong enough players to raid the World Mode Courtyard of Space. We continue with our raid. After taking a deep breath, Moro took a deep breath and smiled. I have underestimated Frey before. I hate to admit it, but it would seem that she didnt get into the position through luck. It is too late for us to contest World Mode now. But Frey probably didnt expect Parkers group to defect, so she shouldnt think of securing the First Clear, either! That is true. Desert Web nodded. Her team cant even clear God Mode without Parkers group, let alone World Mode. Meanwhile, if we can obtain the God Mode Courtyard of Spaces loot, it should make things a lot easier for us to raid World Mode. Indeed! Frey might think she has secured an advantage, but if she cant even clear God Mode, what can she do in World Mode? This is the first time the Greater Gods Domain has ever seen a World Mode Team Dungeon, so its raid difficulty should be beyond imagination. It might look like we have taken a longer way, but who will emerge victorious remains to be seen! Moro nodded. Immediately, he stood up and said, Weve rested enough! Continue advancing! Parker vehemently nodded in agreement with Moro and Desert Web. He also couldnt help but sigh in relief. Apart from Moros team, the other teams stuck in the God Mode Courtyard of Space also had the same idea and started to accelerate their raid progress. They were all aiming to pave a path for themselves toward the World Mode Courtyard of Space. Meanwhile, inside the World Mode Courtyard of Space The Courtyard of Spaces interior was as vast as a city. Countless divine patterns covered the sky, the glow they radiated illuminating the entire courtyard. Meanwhile, along with the descent of numerous streaks of light in the courtyards front garden, the garden quickly became lively. This is the World Mode Courtyard of Space? Death Omen and Thousand Scars immediately gasped when they arrived in the front gardens plaza. Although there were no monsters in the plaza, they could see spatial blades flying all over the courtyard. These spatial blades came in various lengths, with the smaller ones measuring several centimeters while the larger ones measuring several dozen meters. The smaller spatial blades were incredibly hard to follow with the naked eye, while the larger spatial blades looked like they could easily cleave a skyscraper in half. Not only did these spatial blades cover almost every open space in the courtyard, but they also moved in irregular patterns. Moreover, every spatial blade carried enough destructive power to give Tier 6 experts a lot of trouble. Tier 5 players simply had no chance at blocking these spatial blades and living to tell the tale. Even Tier 5 MTs were not an exception. When Frey, Unrestrained Lionheart, and the other fifth-floor experts of the team saw the spatial blades flying around them, they couldnt help but feel cornered. As if these spatial blades werent hard enough to deal with, on top of having great numbers, speed, and irregular movement patterns, these spatial blades would also bounce off any object which innately belonged to the courtyard, altering their course and speed in the process. It was also challenging to predict whether a spatial blade would accelerate or decelerate after bouncing off an object. If they had to fight against monsters in such an environment, even fifth-floor experts going all out would have difficulty performing effectively, let alone fourth-floor experts. So, this is the rumored Blade Field. Shi Feng was similarly astonished by the sight before him. To make matters worse, because the Blade Field covered One of the aspects that made the World Mode Courtyard of Space challenging was the Blade Field. Every spatial blade in the Blade Field had power at the Tier 6 standard and speed rivaling the arrows fired by Tier 5 Rangers. Because of the Blade Fields presence, even traversing the courtyard became a challenge, let alone fighting against the courtyards monsters. Moreover, as the Blade Field covered the entire courtyard, players had to be in constant motion and couldnt stop to rest for even a moment. Yet, as luck would have it, raiding the World Mode Courtyard of Space required a significant amount of time. Simply put, the challenges players faced in the World Mode Courtyard of Space were on an entirely different level than what players needed to face in the God Mode Courtyard of Space. While everyone was feeling shocked by the scene before them, bursts of roars suddenly came from outside the garden plaza. The roars echoed throughout the entire plaza, causing everyone to shudder involuntarily. Before anyone could react, several thirty-meter-tall scaled behemoths appeared in their view. Tier 5 Earth Dragons?! Heavens! Tier 5 Earth Dragons! Madness! This is madness! These are the highest-ranked Dragonkins we are talking about, yet there are three of them here?! This is totally different from the information we received! When everyone saw the three scaled behemoths wandering the garden before them, their faces paled as if they had just seen a ghost. Even Unrestrained Lionheart started to sweat out of anxiety. [Devouring Earth Dragon] (Dragonkin, Legendary) Level 147 HP 500,000,000,000 Earth Dragons were at the top of the Dragonkin hierarchy, and they possessed Life Ratings nearing actual Dragons. Normally, any Tier 5 Legendary Earth Dragon could be regarded as a World Boss. After factoring in the effects of Holy Power Protection, even a 100-man Tier 5 team would have great difficulty raiding one. Yet, now, three Tier 5 Earth Dragons had appeared before their teams. Moreover, these Earth Dragons were merely the fodder of the Courtyard of Space Most importantly, their team had to fight against these Earth Dragons in an environment covered with spatial blades. Guild Leader Black Flame, are you certain we can raid this place? When Frey saw the three Devouring Earth Dragons roaming the garden before her, she couldnt help but turn to Shi Feng. Chapter 3377 - Chapter 451 - Explosive Damage Chapter 451 C Explosive Damage Dont worry. Seeing Freys confusion, Shi Feng calmly smiled and said, If nothing unexpected occurs, raiding the World Mode Courtyard of Space should be easy. Easy? Unrestrained Lionheart was left speechless. The Devouring Earth Dragons had 500 billion HP each. After factoring in their innately extraordinary Defense and the Holy Power Protection effect, the average Tier 5 expert team would probably need half a day just to kill one. Yet, now, their team had to go up against three Devouring Earth Dragons simultaneously. They even had to do so in the Courtyard of Spaces deadly environment. If nothing unexpected occurred, theyd be long dead before they could see any of the Devouring Earth Dragons HP fall to a critical level. Not to mention, their team currently only had 88 members. They were missing 12 players worth of DPS. Twelve players might not seem like much to a 100-man team, but under normal circumstances, after deducting the teams 10 tanks and 20 healers, a 100-man team would only have 70 players doing damage. So, a reduction of 12 players was equivalent to a reduction of one-sixth of the teams damage output. This was by no means a negligible difference. Thousand Scars also felt that Shi Feng was spouting nonsense, and she couldnt help but roll her eyes at him. The Tier 5 Devouring Earth Dragons could regenerate 100 million HP every five seconds. That was already close to the full HP of a Mythic monster of the same level. Meanwhile, Tier 5 players could only average around 10 million DPS when fighting against Tier 5 Legendary monsters in the Eternal Realm. Even if 100 Tier 5 players attacked together, they could only do around five billion damage every five seconds. Moreover, this was only the case for the average Legendary monster. Against the likes of a Devouring Earth Dragon, the damage Tier 5 players could do would be much lower. Simply put, even the damage output of a 100-man team of Tier 5 players wouldnt be enough to overcome the battle recovery of the Courtyard of Spaces Devouring Earth Dragons. While everyone was expressing their confusion, Shi Feng took out a bunch of Compounding Potions from his bag and distributed them among the team. Drink this potion before we start fighting. Afterward, Desolate Fury will distract an Earth Dragon, while the other tanks lure the remaining two to the side. As for everyone else, focus your attacks on Desolate Furys Earth Dragon, Shi Feng instructed through the team chat. Is this potion all we need? When Frey looked at the Compounding Potion in her hand, a hint of confusion appeared in her eyes. The Compounding Potions effect was simple. Upon consumption, the potion would enhance the user with Mana and Holy Power for twelve hours. No matter how Frey looked at it, she found it hard to believe that such an effect would be enough to help them deal with the three Devouring Earth Dragons. Honestly, even with a Fragmented Divine Weapon in hand, Frey doubted the damage she could do could be much greater than experts wielding Fragmented Legendary Weapons. So, how much improvement could a potion possibly provide? However, since Shi Feng was now in charge of the team, Frey and the others quickly consumed the Compounding Potion and moved accordingly. Desolate Fury was the first to step out of the safety of the plaza. Wielding his ancient and heavy shield, he swiftly evaded the spatial blades flying about and quickly attracted the attention of the three Devouring Earth Dragons. Meanwhile, following behind Desolate Fury were the other tanks of the team, and they patiently waited for the right time to lure two of the Earth Dragons away. Unlike the average monster found out in the fields, the Legendary-ranked Devouring Earth Dragons were highly intelligent. After letting loose an angry roar, they moved as one and charged at Desolate Fury from three different directions. Their actions were swift and precise. Even with a shield, there was no way Desolate Fury could defend himself against all three attacks simultaneously. Come! When Desolate Fury saw the claws of the three Earth Dragons coming at him, he began to rotate his bulky shield, his heart pounding with excitement. Previously, when Desolate Fur first received Shi Fengs invitation, he hadnt thought much of it. However, he was given a huge fright after seeing the individuals on the team. Unrestrained Lionheart, one of the vice commanders of the Red Dragon Nations main force! Frey, a Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation and one of the Galaxy Conglomerates Four Princesses! In front of these individuals, even Cheng Xin, the Dragon Tongue Conglomerates Little Princess, was nothing, let alone a measly titled expert like Desolate Fury. For him to be on the same team as these individuals felt no different than a dream. Hence, he naturally had to perform his best to not shame Shi Feng. Subsequently, three loud metallic clangs echoed across the garden, the resulting shockwave so powerful that everyone present could feel it with their bodies. Meanwhile, to everyones surprise, even after blocking the attacks of the three Devouring Earth Dragons, Desolate Fury still had over 90% of his HP remaining. Not only did he possess Basic Attributes close to matching the three Earth Dragons, but his reaction speed was also extraordinary. What a quick reaction speed. When Unrestrained Lionheart saw Desolate Fury successfully blocking the three Earth Dragons claw attacks, a flash of surprise appeared in his eyes. The three Devouring Earth Dragons had perfectly timed their attacks to land at the same time. In such a situation, even a Tier 5 expert at the fifth-floor standard could, at best, block two out of the three attacks. In the Greater Gods Domain, Legendary monsters possessed incredible reaction speeds, and even fifth-floor experts would barely have an advantage over Legendary monsters in this regard. This was because reaction speed had little to do with an individuals Basic Attributes and combat standards. Instead, it was affected more by an individuals Physique and innate talent. For Desolate Fury to block all three attacks, hed need to have reaction speed superior to most of the teams fifth-floor experts. Previously, Unrestrained Lionheart was still confused as to why Shi Feng would have a titled expert serve as the main tank while keeping the teams two fifth-floor tanks on support. After all, they were all Tier 5 tanks. However, after seeing Desolate Furys performance, Unrestrained Lionheart quickly understood that Shi Feng had chosen the right person to be the main tank. Tanks were responsible for aggroing monsters. If a tank did nothing but evade a monsters attacks, theyd have difficulty building aggro. If a tank wanted to build aggro, it would be best to block attacks with their shield. Under Gods Domains aggro system, blocking attacks with a shield generated much more aggro than dealing damage. As a result, tanks that could perfectly block attacks were much more popular than tanks that could perfectly dodge attacks. Meanwhile, unlike Unrestrained Lionheart, Shi Feng wasnt surprised by Desolate Furys performance at all. In Shi Fengs previous life, Desolate Fury was known as the Divine Shield Bearer. Apart from having a Divine Shield, another major factor contributing to Desolate Fury receiving such a title was his extraordinary reaction speed. Thanks to his reaction speed, even fifth-floor experts could never land any direct hits on Desolate Fury, who was nothing more than a titled expert at the time. They could only rely on brute force to overwhelm him. All other tanks move forward! Shi Feng commanded when he saw that the three Devouring Earth Dragons were getting ready to launch a breath attack. Immediately, the two tank parties led by the two fifth-floor tanks charged forward. Then, the two fifth-floor tanks preemptively attacked two of the three Earth Dragons, the one-handed axe and one-handed saber they wielded giving off a resplendent glow as they struck the occupied Earth Dragons eyes. -86,316,544 -91,647,481! Two damage values nearing one hundred million appeared above the two Devouring Earth Dragons heads, the sight of these values instantly silencing the battlefield as everyone widened their eyes in shock. This situation dumbfounded even the two fifth-floor tanks responsible for causing these damages. What was going on? Chapter 3378 - Chapter 452 - Combat-Ranked Secret Treasure Chapter 452 C Combat-Ranked Secret Treasure Since when did Gravel and Executioner get so powerful?! Unrestrained Lionheart was greatly shocked and confused when he saw the two tanks causing nearly 100 million damage each to the two Devouring Earth Dragons. Despite being defense-focused classes, the two Tier 5 tanks named Gravel and Executioner had caused close to 100 million damage to the Devouring Earth Dragons. This situation made Unrestrained Lionheart, a Tier 5 Grand Wizard, start to question life. After all, the Legendary-ranked Devouring Earth Dragons were probably close to rivaling Tier 5 Dragons in Defense. Based on his experience fighting the Eternal Realms monsters, Unrestrained Lionheart doubted he could cause over 30 million damage to the Earth Dragons, even if he blasted them with a twofold Tier 5 Spell. Yet, the two Tier 5 tanks managed to triple that amount. How did those two do it? White Owl, who was observing the situation from nearby, also found this development mind-blowing. She had fought against Tier 5 Legendary monsters in the Eternal Realm before. However, even as a Tier 5 Divine Rune Warrior, her attacks could only cause a little over 20 million damage. Moreover, this was only because she was fully equipped with a Fragmented Legendary Set and wielded the Legendary-ranked Starlight Greatsword. If she didnt have these two things, shed be fortunate if she could even cause 10 million damage to a Legendary monster. While everyone on the team was feeling confused and excited, the other tanks also started to land their respective attacks on the Devouring Earth Dragons. -61,465,411! -64,641,542! A series of damage values exceeding 60 million appeared above the two Devouring Earth Dragons heads. Although the other tanks attacks were not as powerful as the two fifth-floor experts, the damage they caused was still enough to make it look as if the two Devouring Earth Dragons were fake. For a moment, everyone on the team couldnt help but be frightened by this situation. Could this be the effect of that Compounding Potion? When Frey saw the damage caused by the Tier 5 tanks attacks, she quickly recalled the confidence Shi Feng previously showed. Before, what worried her the most was the teams lack of damage. Even if they could withstand the Earth Dragons attacks, they would ultimately die from exhaustion if they couldnt kill the Earth Dragons fast enough. Yet, Shi Feng reacted calmly to this concern. It meant that he was never concerned that the team might not have enough damage. Yes, this is the Compounding Potions effect, Shi Feng said, nodding and smiling. With this, you can rest assured now, right? The reason Shi Feng wasnt worried whether they could successfully raid the World Mode Courtyard of Space was mainly the Compounding Potion. Under the potions effects, players could ignore a portion of their opponents Holy Power Protection and strengthen their Mana. These effects allowed players to cause as much damage as they normally would against monsters outside the Eternal Realm. Tanking the monsters in the Dungeon also shouldnt be a problem. After all, the team was composed of experts at the titled standard and above. And with his knowledge of the Dungeon, completing the Dungeon shouldnt be a huge challenge. Do you have more of this potion? When Frey heard Shi Fengs words, she couldnt help but look at him with glowing eyes. I want to buy them in bulk. No, Ill take everything you have. The most troublesome aspect of fighting the Eternal Realms monsters was the Holy Power Protection. This buff prevented players from doing damage normally. However, the Compounding Potion perfectly negated this buff. If players had the Compounding Potions assistance, it would be of significant help to them in grinding, exploring, and raiding. When Shi Feng saw Freys expectant gaze, he couldnt help but chuckle and said, Miss Frey, these Compounding Potions arent cabbages. Not only are they expensive, but they are also limited in quantity. I dont have many left after deducting the ones I distributed to the team. The Compounding Potion was a precious treasure during the Eternal Realms exploration stage. This was because the various towns Adventurers Associations only sold 300 bottles a day. If he wanted to have an easier time exploring the Eternal Realms various maps in the future, it was a must for him to stockpile Compounding Potions while he still could. Otherwise, once other players in the Eternal Realm took notice of the potion, it would become incredibly difficult to get his hands on it. When Frey saw that Shi Feng was reluctant to sell her the Compounding Potion, she smiled and said, Ill buy 100 bottles at one Eternal Silver per bottle. One Eternal Silver per bottle? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished by Freys generosity. Even one Eternal Silver was a fortune to most experts in the current Eternal Realm. As far as he could remember, even though the Compounding Potion had a high resale value due to its high demand, the highest the potion had ever gone for was 50 Eternal Copper. Beyond that price, most players would rather buy Holy Power Bottle instead. The Holy Power Bottle might not be as effective as the Compounding Potion, but it could still let players ignore a significant portion of the Holy Power Protections effects. It was also much cheaper and available in unlimited supply. This is already a very generous offer. I doubt you will find anyone offering you a better price in the two nearby towns, Frey said, growing a little anxious when she saw Shi Fengs expression remaining indifferent. Other powers might be able to offer a higher price per bottle, but they dont have the capital to buy 100 bottles. Okay. Well make the trade once we are out of the Dungeon, Shi Feng said after pretending to think over the offer for a moment. Although he wanted to stock up on Compounding Potions, opportunities to earn nine Eternal Gold were few and far between during the Eternal Realms early exploration stages. If he could get his hands on such significant capital, hed be able to accomplish many more things. By the time Shi Feng and Frey reached an agreement, Gravel and Executioner had also successfully lured the two Devouring Earth Dragons far away from the rest of the team. Following this, the team began bombarding the Earth Dragon tanked by Desolate Fury. Subsequently, the Devouring Earth Dragon began losing HP in the dozens of millions. Occasionally, it would even take a hit that plundered over 100 million of its HP. All of a sudden, the Earth Dragon that everyone previously thought was undefeatable, no longer looked as invincible as before. In less than ten minutes, the first Devouring Earth Dragon fell. Then, in less than half an hour, all three Devouring Earth Dragons were handily defeated, their deaths contributing a huge amount of EXP to Shi Feng and the others. Although Shi Fengs experience bar didnt even budge due to the God of Times curse, many people on the team saw their levels increase from 140 to 141. Meanwhile, along with the third Devouring Earth Dragons fall, everyone in the team couldnt help but fall into a momentary daze. Are these really Legendary-ranked Earth Dragons? Why does it feel like I just killed some small fries? This Compounding Potion is just too good. Using it makes me feel like Im cheating. Itd be great if I could also use this potion for grinding. Dream on. A potion with such a powerful effect must be very valuable. Who would let you use it to grind? I wonder how Vice Guild Leader Moro will react if he learns about the Compounding Potion? Do you guys think hell get a stroke? Apart from feeling delighted, everyone felt a strong desire for the Compounding Potion after defeating three Legendary-ranked Devouring Earth Dragons so easily. However, after everyone was done marveling at the Compounding Potions effects, a strong sense of disappointment filled them when they saw the Devouring Earth Dragons loot. For the first two Devouring Earth Dragons they killed, the monsters only dropped two silver chests filled with coins and nothing else. The stinginess of the Earth Dragons was unprecedented in the Greater Gods Domain. Fortunately, the third Devouring Earth Dragon had dropped a bronze sphere in addition to a silver coin chest. A Combat-ranked Secret Treasure? A flash of surprise appeared in Shi Fengs eyes when he saw the bronze marble. Chapter 3379 - Chapter 453 - Power to Change the World Chapter 453 C Power to Change the World Do you recognize this item, Guild Leader Black Flame? When Frey saw the look of surprise on Shi Feng, curiosity filled her as she picked up the bronze marble. The bronze marble dropped by the third Devouring Earth Dragon looked and felt inconspicuous. It didnt give off any mana fluctuations and couldnt be identified. If it wasnt an item dropped by a Legendary-ranked Earth Dragon, she would have probably ignored it thinking it was an ordinary marble someone dropped. Mhm, I do recognize it. Shi Feng nodded. This is something good thats hard to come by. Secret Treasures were items unique to World Mode Dungeons, and they carried the power to change the world. Meanwhile, Secret Treasures could be categorized into several ranks, namely Common, Combat, Extraordinary, and Fantasy. Meanwhile, even Common-ranked Secret Treasures were comparable to Fragmented Legendary Equipment in value, while Combat-ranked Secret TReasures were more valuable than even Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Is it really something good? Frey asked as she fiddled with the bronze marble. Even when she used a Master Identification Skill, she failed to appraise it. This thing cannot be appraised, Shi Feng said when he saw magic arrays appearing in Freys eyes. Faintly smiling, he continued, You need to use a sufficient amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals to activate it. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, everyone present couldnt help but look at the bronze marble with great curiosity. This thing needs Seven Luminaries Crystals to activate? Frey was surprised. The preciousness of Seven Luminaries Crystals need not be said. The rich mana within the crystals gave them incredible value, and many player powers often used these crystals as the main form of currency in auctions. The crystals were also essential for players to get promoted to Tier 6. However, Seven Luminaries Crystals were scarcely available in the Greater Gods Domain. They were so rare that a large part of why there were so few Tier 6 players in the Greater Gods Domain was that of the Seven Luminaries Crystals limited supply. In reality, many experts were more than capable of creating a Divine Body but couldnt because they didnt have access to enough Seven Luminaries Crystals. So, Frey found it hard to imagine that an ordinary-looking marble would actually require precious Seven Luminaries Crystals to activate. But when Frey changed her perspective, she quickly felt it was only right for the marble to have such a setting. The entire World Mode Courtyard of Space was shrouded in mystery. The Dungeon was so strange that its Legendary-ranked Devouring Earth Dragons would only drop coin chests. When it came to stinginess, the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces Devouring Earth Dragons definitely ranked number one out of all Legendary monsters in the Greater Gods Domain. Outside the Eternal Realm, Tier 5 Legendary monsters would drop a minimum of one or two Fragmented Legendary items, several Epic items, and a bunch of precious raw materials when killed. Even inside the Eternal Realm, Tier 4 Mythic monsters wouldnt drop only coin chests when killed, let alone Tier 5 Legendary monsters. Logically, as the difficulty setting above Heaven Mode, World Mode should offer better loot. It was very strange for World Mode to have such pitiful loot. So, it could be considered normal for one of the items dropped in the Dungeon to require Seven Luminaries Crystal to activate. Thinking up to this point, Frey took out a bunch of Seven Luminaries Crystals and began feeding them to the bronze marble. The bronze marble felt like it was gaining more and more life with every Seven Luminaries Crystal it merged with. The marble started with no mana fluctuations, but after only a moment, it started giving off powerful mana fluctuations rivaling that of Fragmented Legendary items. What a hungry beast this thing is. It still isnt satisfied even after eating 500 units? Unrestrained Lionheart exclaimed. The average hegemonic power would only have a daily income of several thousand units. So, 500 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was by no means a small amount. After Frey fed the bronze marble a few more Seven Luminaries Crystals, glowing divine runes appeared on the marbles surface. Six hundred units. Lets hope it was worth the price, Frey muttered as she tapped a finger on the glowing marble. [Orichalcum Secret Treasure] (Tier 1 Secret Treasure, Combat) Attaches to gauntlets. Once attached, it can increase the wearers Mana Protection by 15% and the attached equipments Basic Attributes by 10%. Incredible! Freys eyes widened, pleasantly surprised by the information displayed before her. What kind of item is it, Vice Guild Leader? Unrestrained Lionheart asked, his curiosity growing even greater when he saw Freys excited reaction. Is it some kind of Legacy? Take a look at it for yourself, Frey said as she shared the Orichalcum Secret Treasures stats in the team chat, not bothering to hide the information. Meanwhile, as soon as the information appeared in the team chat, everyone but Shi Feng gasped. This thing increases the wearers Mana Protection? Is this for real? Wasnt Mana Protection supposed to be fixed? It is, for the most part. Thus far, it is publicly acknowledged that every players Mana Protection is set at a fixed value, and it will only change with the players tier. If news of this item gets out, itll probably shake up the entire Greater Gods Domain. Unrestrained Lionheart and the others were greatly shocked by the Orichalcum Secret Treasures Attributes. In the Greater Gods Domain, all attacks made by players and monsters would carry some mana, and this attached mana would greatly increase the destructiveness of ones attacks. However, every player also possessed Mana Protection that served to weaken the effects of mana. Meanwhile, the stronger a players Mana Protection, the better they could defend against mana attacks. However, thus far, the only known way players could raise their Mana Protection was by raising their Life Rating. In other words, as players tiers increased, so would their Mana Protection. This was one of the main reasons lower-tiered players couldnt deal a lot of damage to higher-tiered players. Now, though, the Orichalcum Secret Treasure revealed a new method for players to raise their Mana Protection. Moreover, going by the first part of the Orichalcum Secret Treasures introduction, it was evident that players werent limited to equipping just one Secret Treasure. Instead, players could attach a Secret Treasure to every piece of equipment they wore, and the result of doing so would probably be extraordinary. At that time, players could easily transcend tiers even without any Legendary Weapons or Equipment. Once the information on Secret Treasures got out, it could alter Greater Gods Domains existing power structure! So, this is the World Mode difficulty? Unrestrained Lionheart couldnt help but shudder in excitement. Previously, he had assumed that the World Mode difficulty was merely a greater difficulty setting than God Mode and nothing more. However, by the look of things, World Mode didnt just represent the difficulty of a Dungeon. At the same time, it represented a power that could change the Greater Gods Domain! Chapter 3380 - Chapter 454 - Courtyard of Spaces Benefit Chapter 454 C Courtyard of Spaces Benefit The Orichalcum Secret Treasure stirred the desires of many on the team. Everyone present was an expert, so everyone knew the importance of Mana Protection. It was especially important for high-tiered players like them. The fact that the Orichalcum Secret Treasure the wearers Mana Protection by 15% meant that equipping it would allow the wearer to ignore 15% of the damage they received from most, if not all, attacks launched by players and monsters. And while 15% might not seem like a lot, it was enough to propel a players defensive capabilities to a whole new level. If a player could originally only withstand a pummeling from six monsters of the same level and tier, upon equipping the Orichalcum Secret Treasure, they could increase that number to seven. In the Eternal Realm, where monsters were present in large numbers and possessed great strength, the Orichalcum Secret Treasure could be of great help to players in their exploration of the Realm. Guild Leader Black Flame, as per our agreement, if you do not want this Orichalcum Secret Treasure Holding the Orichalcum Secret Treasure, Frey looked toward Shi Feng and smiled, saying, Itll belong to me. Frey looked calm and composed when she spoke to Shi Feng, behaving as if she didnt care whether Shi Feng used his privilege of selecting two items from the Courtyard of Space on the Orichalcum Secret Treasure. Unfortunately, try as she might, the hint of worry in her voice still betrayed her true thoughts. In reality, Frey was incredibly worried Shi Feng might choose the Orichalcum Secret Treasure as one of the two items he would be taking. Although their team had already obtained a Secret Treasure after killing the first three monsters they encountered in the Courtyard of Space, shed be a fool to assume that Secret Treasures had a high drop rate in this Dungeon. As items capable of rewriting the Greater Gods Domains existing power structure, there was no way Secret Treasures would have a high drop rate. The more likely explanation for the Orichalcum Secret Treasure dropping so early into the raid was that their team had lucked out and obtained an ultra-rare drop that would normally take many raids to acquire. For all she knew, the Orichalcum Secret Treasures value might even surpass the combined value of the Dungeon Bosss loot. When Shi Feng saw the worry in Freys eyes, he shook his head and chuckled, saying, Dont worry, Miss Frey. I am not interested in the Orichalcum Secret Treasure. Secret Treasures were indeed a rare drop in World Mode Dungeons. This was also why he was surprised to see one drop so soon. Normally, even if players killed all of a World Mode Dungeons monsters, theyd be lucky if they could get three or four Secret Treasures. If unlucky, they might end up with only one Secret Treasure to show for their efforts. Moreover, the majority of the Secret Treasures dropped would only be Common-ranked Secret Treasures that could only provide a small boost to Mana Protection. They wouldnt even increase the Basic Attributes of the attached piece of equipment. However, while Secret Treasures might be rare, they were nothing compared to the Divine Spatial Potion and Seven Luminaries Ring. Thank you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Frey sighed in relief when she heard Shi Fengs answer. If she could give the Orichalcum Secret Treasure to one of her teams tanks, it would increase the teams survivability significantly. This, in turn, would greatly help the team in exploring the Eternal Realm and raiding Team Dungeons in the future. The Secret Treasures value easily surpassed that of most Fragmented Legendary items. With the Orichalcum Secret Treasure, she would also have a greater chance of coming out on top in her struggle with Moro. After saying so, Frey handed the Orichalcum Secret Treasure to a Tier 5 Demidragon Shield Warrior. When the tall and large Shield Warrior received the Secret Treasure, he excitedly attached it to his Fragmented Legendary Gauntlets without hesitation. As soon as the Demidragon Shield Warrior equipped the Orichalcum Secret Treasure, his mana underwent a significant transformation. Anyone sensitive to mana would be able to tell that the mana surrounding the Shield Warrior had become much more condensed. It truly is incredible. Its a pity well only get to look at it, White Owl said as she enviously looked at the Demidragon Shield Warrior. There were many powerful experts in the current Eternal Realm, and those who could match her existed in significant numbers. Competition out in the fields was originally very intense already, and it was made worse with the addition of the Holy Race players. If she could have a Secret Treasure in this situation, it would increase her survivability by a lot. Standing next to White Owl, Death Omen and Thousand Scars nodded in agreement, and they couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion. Their agreement with Frey was different from Shi Fengs agreement with her. According to their agreement, they would provide information on the Courtyard of Spaces monsters on the condition that Frey let them join her raid team. However, there was an added condition stating that they would have nothing to do with the Dugeons loot, and all they could get from the raid were the Reputation Points awarded by the Dungeons First Clear reward. Shi Feng, on the other hand, could choose any two items obtained from the Dungeon. Yet, he had chosen not to take the Orichalcum Secret Treasure. Are you certain you dont want the Orichalcum Secret Treasure, Brother Black Flame? Desolate Fury asked as he looked at Shi Feng strangely. If you have this item, itll greatly help you compete for an entry token in the Blood Hell Mountain Range once the map opens in five days. Every Realm in the Greater Gods Domain was massive. Although nobody knew how large the Eternal Realm was currently, players in the current Eternal Realm could only operate in the vicinity of the various towns. The Eternal Realms various towns were situated in maps below Level 150. If players wished to level up quickly after reaching Level 145, it was a must for them to enter Level 150-plus maps. Meanwhile, the Blood Hell Mountain Range was the closest thing to a Level 150-plus map in this region. However, because of the Holy Race players appearance, once players entered the Blood Hell Mountain Range, a slaughter fest was bound to occur between human and Holy Race players once the map activated in five days. At that time, if players entered the map without sufficient survival capabilities, it was unlikely they would survive for long. Moreover, the Blood Hell Mountain Range held the only NPC City discovered thus far. Meanwhile, if players wished to enter the city, they would need to obtain an entry token by killing the monsters inside the Blood Hell Mountain Range. Without the entry token, players would be unable to enter the city and obtain more information on the Eternal Realm. It might be of some help, but obtaining an entry token in the Blood Hell Mountain Range isnt a difficult matter, to begin with, Shi Feng said with a faint smile. It was true that there would be an intense struggle in the Blood Hell Mountain Range once the new map was activated, and having the Orichalcum Secret Treasure would greatly increase his survivability during the struggle. However, so long as he could get his hands on the Divine Spatial Potion and Seven Luminaries Ring, securing an entry token for the city in the Blood Hell Mountain Range would be a piece of cake. Its not a difficult matter? When Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja heard Shi Fengs words, they couldnt help but wryly smile. Unlike Shi Feng, the three of them were not at all confident in obtaining an entry token in the Blood Hell Mountain Range. Theyd be glad if they could even grind for levels in there. After all, even if they ignored the many human experts in the Eternal Realm, they were nowhere near strong enough to win against the Holy Race players in a fight. When Shi Feng saw the wry smiles on the trios faces, he chuckled and said, Its not a tough thing for you three to accomplish, either. You think too highly of us, Guild Leader Black Flame, Leroja said, shaking her head. We might not have any problems dealing with the Holy Races Tier 4 players, but we stand no chance against their Tier 5 players. And by the time the map opens in five days, many of the Holy Races players would have most likely reached Tier 5 already. At that time, we will have no advantages going into the Blood Hell Mountain Range. If we are talking about your current selves, it will indeed be impossible for you to obtain an entry token, Shi Feng said, nodding in agreement. Then, he continued in a whisper, But havent you noticed something peculiar with the spatial blades flying around the Dungeon after fighting in here for so long? Something peculiar? Hearing Shi Fengs words, the trio promptly began observing the spatial blades flying about the garden. However, even after observing the spatial blades for over ten minutes, they failed to find anything special about them. Eventually, Shi Feng decided to give the trio another hint, whispering, Observe the spatial blades through mental perception and mana fluctuations. Doesnt it look like these spatial blades attack patterns are forcing you to move in a way resembling a body technique? Realization immediately dawned on the trio, and they hurriedly began mentally simulating themselves dodging the spatial blades. Its true! Leroja quietly exclaimed. Not just that, but this body technique resembles a Gold Body Technique Ive seen before! Desolate Fury and Cross were greatly shocked when they heard Lerojas words. A Gold Body Technique? Chapter 3381 - Chapter 455 - Goddesss Legacy Chapter 455 C Goddesss Legacy Are you certain, Leroja?! Cross asked as he looked at Leroja with fervent eyes. At the same time, though, he couldnt help but feel a little skeptical of Lerojas evaluation. Leroja might hold a significant position in Heavenly Boa, a pseudo-upper-ranking hegemonic power, but to say that she had access to information pertaining to Gold Combat Techniques was still hard to believe. Even if one considered the entire Greater Gods Domain, there were only a very limited number of Gold Combat Techniques in existence. Meanwhile, every Gold Combat Techniques Legacy was more than enough to cause upper-ranking hegemonic powers to lose their minds and tempt even apex powers into action. Gold Combat Techniques simply werent things that ordinary hegemonic powers could think of having access to. Usually, the best combat techniques ordinary hegemonic powers had access to were the 99 Absolute Techniques, Advanced Silver Combat Techniques that were close to rivaling Gold Combat Techniques. Even then, few players among ordinary hegemonic powers would have the opportunity to learn the 99 Absolute Techniques. Typically, players belonging to ordinary hegemonic powers would need to be extremely lucky to receive an opportunity to learn an Absolute Technique. Either that or they needed to be valuable enough for their respective powers to pay an exorbitant price for them to learn an Absolute Technique from an upper-ranking hegemonic power. So, Cross found it hard to believe that the Courtyard of Spaces hostile environment was actually the Legacy for a Gold Body Technique. Moreover, this Legacy was even of the simulation training type. There were three different types of Combat Technique Legacies. Or, more specifically, there were three different levels. Level 1 Combat Technique Legacies conveyed information to players via a demonstration. Level 2 Combat Technique Legacies conveyed information via simulation training, where players would be put in a special space to comprehend the combat technique. Level 3 Combat Technique Legacies conveyed information via experience, where players would get to experience executing the complete combat technique once. From Level 1 to Level 3, each subsequent level made it easier for players to learn a combat technique. Meanwhile, it was simply unthinkable that the Courtyard of Space would offer players the opportunity to learn a Gold Combat Technique via a Level 2 Combat Technique Legacy. Of course! Leroja said definitely. Hearing Lerojas words, even Shi Feng couldnt help but look at her in surprise. He didnt think she would be so knowledgeable. The Courtyard of Spaces Blade Field was indeed a Legacy for a Gold Combat Technique. Moreover, it wasnt just any ordinary Gold Combat Technique. Flowing Space! It was a top-tier Gold Body Technique created by the Goddess of Space. The technique was split into four levels: Stepping Space, Phantom Body, Flowing Light, and Instant Space. Flowing Space as a whole was vastly superior to the average Gold Combat Technique. Even the techniques first level, Stepping Space, was already close to matching the potency of Basic Gold Body Techniques, while the second level, Phantom Body, could rank number one out of all Basic Gold Body Techniques. If players could master Flowing Space to the fourth level, Instant Space, theyd have themselves one of the top three Gold Body Techniques in existence. Meanwhile, Gold Combat Techniques were rarer than even Legendary Weapons. Even Frey, who was now a Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation, probably hadnt seen more than a handful of Gold Combat Techniques. She might never have even seen a Gold Body Technique before, considering that body techniques were much rarer than offensive and defensive combat techniques. The reason Shi Feng knew the Courtyard of Spaces Blade Field was a Legacy for Flowing Space was that the team that secured the Courtyard of Spaces First Clear in Shi Fengs previous life had been fortunate enough to obtain Flowing Spaces Legacy Tablet, which allowed them to watch the complete demonstration of Flowing Space. It was also after obtaining the Legacy Tablet for Flowing Space did the team realize that the Courtyard of Spaces hostile environment was actually a simulation training left behind by the Goddess of Space. Unfortunately, as the team had already conquered the Courtyard of Space at the time, they couldnt return to make use of the simulation training even if they wanted to. They had no choice but to learn the Gold Body Technique via the Legacy Tablet, which significantly increased the learning difficulty. If thats the case, doesnt this mean weve struck gold? Desolate Fury said, excitement coloring his face as he turned to look at the countless spatial blades flying around the garden. It might be challenging to learn a Gold Combat Technique, but if we have a simulation training legacy, even we can have a chance at learning it. Shi Feng nodded. Gold Combat Techniques, even Basic ones, were incredibly hard to learn. It was especially so if players were learning a Gold Combat Technique via watching demonstrations. Even for geniuses like Desolate Fury, Leroja, and Cross, their chances of successfully learning a Gold Combat Technique through this method were less than 5%. Even a peerless paragon like Frey wouldnt have more than a 20% chance of successfully learning a Basic Gold Combat Technique. Meanwhile, the complexity of Gold Combat Techniques was also why any player who had successfully mastered one could stand at the Greater Gods Domains apex. However, if the learning process was done via simulation training, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Lerojas chances of success would reach 20%. Although it was still a very low success rate, it was still better than nothing. Moreover, Flowing Space was a special Gold Combat Technique in that its four segments were completely independent of each other. It was different from other Gold Combat Techniques that required players to fully master them to properly use. And as luck would have it, Stepping Space, the first level of Flowing Space, was much easier to learn than Basic Gold Combat Techniques. So, the chances of the trio successfully learning it were very high. Once the trio learned Stepping Space, their combat power would skyrocket. At that time, they might even be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with pseudo-fifth-floor experts. Meanwhile, if they had the strength to rival pseudo-fifth-floor experts, they should have no trouble holding their ground against the Holy Races Tier 5 players and securing an entry token in the Blood Hell Mountain Range. Seeing the excited looks on the trio, Shi Feng chuckled and quietly said to them, We can train using the spatial blades when we are fighting monsters later, but be sure not to make it too obvious to the others. Rest assured, Brother Black Flame. We wont let the others discover what we are doing, Desolate Fury said, nodding. Cross and Leroja also nodded their heads. They were very grateful to Shi Feng for sharing the Courtyard of Spaces hidden benefit with them. After all, if he didnt do so, they would probably never notice it. So, now that Shi Feng was asking them not to spread this information, they naturally wouldnt act recklessly and arouse suspicion from the others. After everyone rested in the starting plaza for half an hour, the team resumed its advance and exploration of the Courtyard of Space. The entire Courtyard of Space was split into three areas: the outer garden, inner courtyard, and core castle. The garden area was occupied by numerous Devouring Earth Dragons, while Combat Puppets with incredibly high combat standards occupied the courtyard area. Every Combat Puppet was at the Tier 5 Legendary rank and possessed combat standards rivaling third-floor experts. In addition, these Combat Puppets usually appeared in groups of 30 or more. As for the castle area, it was occupied by Great Wind Spirits, Level 147 Higher Legendary monsters that were known for being incredibly swift. Even with the Compounding Potions effects and Shi Fengs leadership, the team could only progress at a snails pace due to the presence of these powerful monsters and the constant harassment of countless spatial blades. However, while everyone else was having a headache dealing with the Courtyard of Spaces monsters and environment, Shi Feng, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja enjoyed the entire process as they used the monsters to experiment with and learn the Flowing Space technique. Initially, the four focused 99% of their attention on dodging spatial blades because they tried to learn the evasive body technique imparted by the spatial blades. As a result, they did hardly any damage to the monsters they faced. After the team defeated a couple of dozen Devouring Earth Dragons, another Secret Treasure dropped. This time, it was a Common-ranked Secret Treasure meant for cloth armor headgear. While Frey and the others were feeling overjoyed by this harvest, Shi Fengs group of four had secretly memorized the movements for all four of Flowing Spaces levels and officially began trying to use the Gold Body Technique. Meanwhile, the courtyard areas Combat Puppets seemed specifically designed to help players learn how to use Flowing Space. The Combat Puppets were eight-arm machines that were capable of launching rapid attacks. This made it difficult for players to get close to them, even for fourth-floor experts. Among those in the team, only Tier 5 MTs and fifth-floor experts capable of predicting danger could hold their ground against these Combat Puppets in a one-on-one situation. When Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja fought against the Combat Puppets using Flowing Space, they still needed to defend themselves using their weapons from time to time. As for Shi Feng, because he was already at the Extrasensory Realm, he was able to properly use Flowing Space in his battle. Although his execution was a little stiff, he achieved astonishing results with the technique. From an outsiders perspective, it looked as if Shi Feng was dancing amidst a storm of fists. He would even soar into the air from time to time, his evasive capabilities vastly superior to players stuck fighting on the ground. This scene greatly shocked Frey and the others. He can fly? Chapter 3382 - Chapter 456 - First Step, Stepping Space Chapter 456 C First Step, Stepping Space Arent we in the Eternal Realm? Unrestrained Lionheart couldnt help but rub his eyes when he saw Shi Feng dancing and evading a Combat Puppets attacks in mid-air. In the Eternal Realm, even Tier 5 experts were incapable of flight. Yet, Shi Feng, a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, had accomplished this feat. At this time, Unrestrained Lionheart wasnt the only one finding this situation unbelievable. Death Omen, Thousand Scars, and White Owl, who were more familiar with Shi Feng, couldnt help but be astonished by what they were seeing. How is he doing it? Death Omen was greatly confused as she watched Shi Feng rapidly move across the air. As a former Tier 6 Assassin, Death Omen was more knowledgeable regarding speed and body techniques than anyone present. The reason Tier 4 players could fly was mainly due to the transformation of their mana. Because of their stronger mana, Tier 4 players could manipulate a much larger amount of ambient mana in their surrounding environment, which, in turn, allowed them to create an invisible pair of mana wings to achieve flight. However, the Eternal Realms environment contained not just Mana but also Holy Power. Meanwhile, the influence Holy Power had over Mana made it incredibly difficult for players to manipulate the ambient Mana around them reliably. Hence, even Tier 5 players were incapable of flight in the Eternal Realm. If players wished to fly in the Eternal Realm, they would have to create a Divine Body and reach Tier 6. At that time, they would have a frightening amount of mana in their bodies, and they could create a pair of mana wings for themselves even without manipulating ambient mana. However, no matter how much Death Omen focused her senses, she couldnt sense any fluctuations coming from Shi Feng or the ambient mana around him. Yet, Shi Feng had clearly changed directions three times in mid-air, his feet never touching the ground throughout the process. Moreover, he had accomplished this feat so quickly that he was already close to catching up to the Tier 4 players outside the Eternal Realm. Did he learn how to use it already? Unlike everyone else, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja had an idea of how Shi Feng was flying, and they couldnt help but gape at this realization. A monster! They couldnt think of a more fitting description to describe Shi Feng. The mans learning capabilities were simply monstrous. The three of them had already memorized the movements involved in the Goddess of Spaces Gold Body Technique. Hence, they knew how challenging it was to execute the technique. Even though the three of them were only half a step away from reaching the Beyond Domain Realm, it was still incredibly challenging for them to execute the technique at a crude level, let alone execute it smoothly. The series of movements involved in Flowing Space made use of every aspect available in space. In a certain sense, the combat technique was a way of utilizing the Domain Realms principles to the extremes. Upon reaching the Domain Realm, players could perceive everything around them up to a certain range. Meanwhile, every improvement they achieved in the Domain Realm would raise the clarity of their perception. When players reached the Domain Realms third step, their perception was already clear enough for them to stand in the middle of a rain and count the raindrops present within their vicinity. They could even pinpoint the location of specific raindrops if they wanted. Meanwhile, Flowing Space made full use of this extraordinary perception to determine the flow of wind and the various particles present in the users vicinity. Then, through subtle movements across the entire body, the user of Flowing Space would move through the path of least resistance while simultaneously compressing small patches of air around them to create spatial tension, which, in turn, allowed the user to achieve flight. Of course, Flowing Space didnt just allow users to add an extra dimension to their combat. The techniques explosive movements also allowed users to double their speed or more. Incredible! Truly incredible! No wonder Flowing Space can rank among the top three of all Gold Body Techniques! Shi Feng was in awe as he evaded the Combat Puppets attacks. Even though my movements are still clumsy, I can still move in mid-air, and the speed I can achieve is already on par with Advanced Silver Body Techniques! Meanwhile, with each subsequent use of Flowing Space, Shi Feng became increasingly familiar with the technique, and the amount of time he could stay in the air also became increasingly longer. Currently, the team was fighting against a group of more than 30 Combat Puppets, and every one of these Combat Puppets was a Legendary monster with 150 billion HP. In addition to the teams tanks, every other melee player of the team was also assigned to tank a Combat Puppet. Even fifth-floor magical class experts like Unrestrained Lionheart and Frey had to take on one by themselves. This was so that the teams ranged damage dealers could focus on killing the Combat Puppets one at a time. That should be enough practice against one Combat Puppet. When Shi Feng stopped feeling pressure from facing just one Combat Puppet, he swiftly aggroed the Combat Puppets that Unrestrained Lionheart and Frey were facing. He intended to test his limits with three Combat Puppets. Is he crazy? Frey was rendered speechless when he saw Shi Feng trying to take on three Combat Puppets by himself. The Combat Puppets in the Courtyard of Space were Legendary monsters with extraordinary combat capabilities. Even as a Tier 5 player, Frey could, at most, take on two by herself. Shi Feng was currently only a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. He might have Tier 5 Basic Attributes, but tanking one Combat Puppet should already be his limit. In fact, it was already amazing he could keep up with the Combat Puppets attacks. After all, it took White Owl, a Tier 5 Divine Rune Warrior, her all just to defend against the attacks of one Combat Puppet. She couldnt even launch any attacks of her own against the Combat Puppet. Meanwhile, things played out exactly as Frey anticipated. As soon as Shi Feng had to go up against three Combat Puppets simultaneously, he immediately fell into a passive state, unable to find any opportunities to attack. He even had to resort to blocking attacks using both his swords, something he had never done previously. After all, blocking any attack from the Combat Puppet would result in him getting sent flying over a dozen yards and losing over one-fifth of his HP. One minute Ten minutes Thirty minutes After butting heads with the Combat Puppets and getting sent flying numerous times, Shi Feng gradually reduced the frequency in which he got sent flying. Initially, he would be forced to block an attack every two or three seconds. However, as his execution of Flowing Space smoothened, he was able to gradually increase the interval to twenty seconds and more. When the battle crossed the one-hour mark, the team had already slain over 20 Combat Puppets. However, just as everyone thought the battle would soon end, another group of 32 Combat Puppets suddenly emerged from the distance and charged at the team. Not good! All tanks activate your Lifesaving Skills and intercept those monsters! Frey hurriedly commanded through the team chat. Immediately, the teams Tier 5 tanks stopped conserving their strength and activated their respective Tier 5 Lifesaving Skills. The Lifesaving Skills came in all shapes and forms. Some increased HP and Defense, some increased Strength, Defense, and speed, and some reduced the damage the user received. Because of these Lifesaving Skills, the ten Tier 5 tanks managed to pin down 30 out of the 32 new Combat Puppets in no time. Brother Black Flame, be careful! Desolate Fury shouted when he saw the remaining two Combat Puppets getting attracted by Shi Fengs fight. Shi Feng was already busy fighting against three Combat Puppets. If two more joined the fray, he would definitely be killed. Unfortunately, Desolate Furys reminder was useless as the two new Combat Puppets reached Shi Feng in no time and promptly sent a flurry of punches at Shi Feng, their rapid attacks making it look like a wall of fists was closing in on Shi Feng. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw the numerous punches coming at him, a sense of powerlessness filled him. This is While looking at the two Combat Puppets joint attack, Shi Feng suddenly gained inspiration and changed his footwork. Then, to everyones astonishmentShi Feng started stepping on the oncoming punches, his actions accelerating his already incredible speed even further. Moreover, even when the wall of punches looked like it had collided with Shi Fengs body, Shi Feng did not receive even a single point of damage. At the same time, the sound of a system notification rang in Shi Fengs ears. System: Congratulations! You have learned the Gold Combat Technique Flowing Space. Rewarding one level and a permanent 10% increase in reaction speed. Chapter 3383 - Chapter 457 - Goddesss First Appearance Chapter 457 C Goddesss First Appearance How can such an out-of-this-world body technique exist? This is insane! A Tier 4 Sword Emperor is tanking five Legendary monsters solo?! Even Saints shouldnt be able to pull off such a stunt! No wonder the Vice Guild Leader is willing to pay such a high price to hire him. If Elder Parker finds out about this, hell probably die of regret. Everyone was greatly shocked as they watched Shi Feng taking on five Combat Puppets while staying in the air. Although their team had less than 100 members because of Parker and Cos betrayal, Shi Feng had single-handedly made up for the twelve missing players. This situation was both unbelievable and frightening. It should be known that a Tier 5 MT with a Tier 5 Lifesaving Skill active could, at best, take on five Combat Puppets simultaneously. Moreover, it would only be for a very limited time. Yet, Shi Feng, a Tier 4 Sword Emperor, had accomplished this feat without the use of any Lifesaving Skills. Meanwhile, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja were greatly excited by this situation. This body technique is simply incredible! Cross wore a fervent look as he watched Shi Fengs fight. If I can successfully learn it as well, I can fight against even Extrasensory Realm experts! Leroja also shared similar thoughts, her eyes full of surprise and hope. Previously, she only knew that the Courtyard of Spaces hostile environment was actually a Gold Combat Techniques Legacy in disguise. However, she had no idea exactly how powerful this Gold Combat Technique was. However, after seeing Shi Feng transforming the sky into his battlefield, something which should be impossible to accomplish in the Eternal Realm, she quickly understood the value of the Flowing Space technique. The boost in combat power this combat technique could provide to players in the Eternal Realm was utterly immense. It was especially so for Rangers like herself. If she could monopolize the skies while her opponents were stuck on the ground, she was confident she could fight against even fifth-floor experts. So, this is a Gold Combat Technique? Compared to Leroja and the others, Shi Feng was even more excited by Flowing Spaces effectiveness. In addition to letting him sprint in mid-air, the technique also drastically boosted his speed on the ground. If he wanted to, every step he took on the ground could propel him across great distances instantaneously and leave over a dozen afterimages in his wake. This situation thoroughly renewed his opinion of Flowing Space and Gold Combat Techniques altogether. In his previous life, Shi Feng never got to learn a Gold Combat Technique. The strongest technique he managed to learn was the Holy Annihilation Mana Technique. Now that he had successfully learned one, he finally understood how frightening Gold Combat Techniques could be. He also understood exactly how powerful the Goddess of Spaces Gold Body Technique was. Even though his mastery of Flowing Space only reached the Stepping Space standard, not only did he gain a permanent 10% boost in reaction speed, but he also gained a huge boost in his Movement Speed and nimbleness while executing the technique. He was at least twice as fast and nimble than when he was outside the Eternal Realm. As icing on the cake, he also gained the ability to fly in the Eternal Realm. So long as he didnt run out of Stamina and Concentration, he could remain in flight for as long as he wanted. With all these benefits, even if he didnt wield a Legendary Weapon, he was confident he could hold his ground against a Dragon of the same tier! Meanwhile, outside the Courtyard of Space, nine hours after the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces activation Streams of light appeared outside the teleportation gate, the light revealing the silhouette of human players as they faded. Dammit! Damn it all! Moro cursed as he glared at the dark pillar of light rising from the teleportation gate. Parker, who was teleported out of the Courtyard of Space with Moro, also wore an ugly look, his face looking like it had aged by more than a decade. Hahaha! Thats one more team annihilated! And its even a team from the Red Dragon Nation this time! The Red Dragon Nations team might be strong, but its a pity that the God Mode Courtyard of Space is unlike any of the other God Mode Team Dungeons weve seen before. Indeed! I heard that even a team of 100 Tier 5 experts from the Holy Races side has gotten annihilated. Originally, the Courtyard of Spaces outside was supposed to be embroiled in a battle involving only a couple of thousand players. Currently, though, no fights were taking place around the teleportation gate. Players from both the human race and the Holy Race were merely resting, and neither side intended to fight. Moreover, the number of players outside the Courtyard of Space had increased to several tens of thousands. And if one looked carefully, one would find that some of these players belonged to the teams that had previously entered the God Mode Courtyard of Space. Now that weve failed to raid the God Mode Courtyard of Space, what should we do next, Lord Moro? Desert Web tentatively asked as he looked at Moro, who was clearly in a terrible mood. After scanning the area and pondering for a moment, Moro said, We wait! The God Mode Courtyard of Spaces difficulty was beyond his imagination. The Dungeons Final Boss was absurdly tough, gradually exhausting and eradicating his team. Meanwhile, teams that had suffered annihilation in a God Mode Team Dungeon could only reenter the Dungeon after the weekly cooldown period. Were waiting? Anxiously, Desert Web said, But the Blood Hell Mountain Range would have already activated by the time the cooldown finishes Of course, we wont wait for that long, Moro said as he looked at the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces teleportation gate. Then, he sneered and continued, I just checked, and not only is Freys team not here, but my friends list shows that she is still online. This proves that her team is still inside. Otherwise, the various powers experts here would have long since eliminated her team! Do you mean to wait for Vice Guild Leader Freys team to come out? Desert Webs eyes lit up when he heard Moros words. Currently, there were very few teams with the strength necessary to challenge the World Mode Courtyard of Space. This was because 99% of the raid teams that had previously gathered to raid the Courtyard of Space had entered the Dungeons God Mode difficulty. Out of the human teams gathered, the only one that managed to enter World Mode was Freys team. The Courtyard of Spaces God Mode difficulty was already challenging beyond belief. So, one could easily imagine how challenging World Mode would be. If the teams present wished to successfully raid the World Mode Courtyard of Space once their respective cooldown periods were over, they would need plenty of information regarding the World Mode Dungeon. Meanwhile, Freys team was undoubtedly the best source of information. It was also why so many people were gathered here. Everyone was waiting for the players that had entered the World Mode Courtyard of Space to obtain information relating to the World Mode Dungeon. Of course, these players had the option to not share any information, but if that was the case, there would only be one outcome awaiting them. Death! Inside the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces castle area A team of 88 players arrived at a double door leading into the central hall on the castles top floor. The doors were made of unknown material, and divine patterns giving off a primordial presence engraved on them. The doors emanated a frightening mental oppression that could easily cause ordinary Tier 4 experts to shudder. When the players walked up to the double door, the doors slowly parted to reveal the central hall and two figures standing inside the hall. Upon seeing these two figures, the players couldnt help but be shocked. An Ancient Gods aura! How is this possible?! The Goddess of Space? Inside the central hall that was as wide as four sports stadiums, two figures measuring over ten meters in height stood in the middle. Of these two figures, one was male, while the other was female. Both figures radiated Divine Might so powerful that even Tier 6 players would subconsciously back away. The woman in the hall was especially imposing. Even though the woman was just standing still, it felt like she was the master of the Courtyard of Space. Even the mana in everyones body was seemingly compelled to flow toward the woman. At the same time as Shi Feng and the others discovered this woman, the woman in question also noticed their presence. Suddenly, she vanished from where she stood and reappeared in front of Shi Fengs group, her spontaneous appearance making it seem as if she had always been standing in front of the group. TL Notes: Just a reminder that Extrasensory Realm = Beyond Domain Realm. When players reach this realm, they become able to utilize their 6th sense more effectively, allowing them to predict dangers and take appropriate countermeasures. Realms of Refinement: 1)Refinement Realm C better control of subtle movements 2)Flowing Water Realm C better at piecing moves together to smoothen maneuvers 3)Void Realm C cant remember what this is. I think it has something to do with having better perception. 4)Domain Realm (3 steps)* C vastly improved perception. 5)Beyond Domain Realm/Extrasensory Realm C improved 6th sense effectiveness *Domain Realm is different from Mana Domain. Mana Domain is something gained through having superior control over mana. Thus far, Mana Domain has two stages, Mana Domain and World Creation. Chapter 3384 - Chapter 458 - Holy Ancestor? Chapter 458 C Holy Ancestor? Unrestrained Lionhearts expression paled as he looked at the giant of a woman standing before him. Then, he looked to Shi Feng and wryly smiled, saying, Mr. Black Flame, I think we received a little more than what we bargained for The inside of the hall was shrouded in mist, so they couldnt determine the womans appearance and strength just now. However, that was no longer the case now that the woman was standing right in front of them. Although the womans blue-rimmed white hood prevented them from seeing her face, the sight of the womans stats bewildered everyone. [Goddesss Shadow] (Ancient Gods Doppelganger, Tier 6) Level 240 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Level 240? Is this really just a doppelganger? At this time, White Owl, Death Omen, and Thousand Scars similarly experienced despair. The three of them previously had the fortune of seeing an Ancient God in person in the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage. So, they could tell that in terms of presence, the Goddesss Shadow before them was much stronger than even the Ancient God they met in the World Passage. Under normal circumstances, even a team of Tier 6 experts would have to flee if they encountered this Goddesss Shadow, let alone a bunch of Tier 5 players like themselves. After all, the Goddesss Shadows level of 240 was a height most Tier 6 players in the Greater Gods Domain struggled to reach. Not to mention, as an Ancient God, the Goddesss Shadow possessed a Life Rating vastly superior to Dragons of the same tier. The Goddess of Space truly is an existence that has surpassed Primordial Gods. Standing before the Goddesss Shadow, Shi Feng also experienced unprecedented pressure. Right now, it felt like he was standing in front of a real Ancient God rather than a mere doppelganger. It should be known that doppelgangers in Gods Domain would always be much weaker than the main body. Normally, a Tier 6 Gods doppelganger would only be at the Tier 5 standard. The doppelgangers Life Rating would also be inferior to an actual God. At most, a Gods doppelganger would have Life Rating rivaling four-winged Valkyries. Yet, the Goddesss Shadows Life Rating reached the standard of Ancient Gods. With this doppelgangers level and Life Rating, even if it was only at Tier 5, it would still be impossible for their team to defeat it. Just as everyone thought their raid had come to an end, the Goddesss Shadow suddenly spoke up. After all this time, someone has finally come. Indifferently looking at Shi Fengs group, the Goddesss Shadow asked, Can I ask you all to lend me a helping hand? A helping hand? May I know what you require us to do, Esteemed Goddess? Shi Feng curiously asked. In terms of combat power, the Goddesss Shadow definitely stood among the very apex of the Greater Gods Domain. Even apex powers would have difficulty slaying it. So, Shi Feng found it hard to believe the Goddesss Shadow would need their help. Simple. I need you to extinguish the Ancient God over there. Otherwise, it wont be long before he breaks out of his seal and terrorize the Greater Gods Domain, the Goddesss Shadow said. Kill him? Shi Feng couldnt help but turn to the figure standing in the middle of the hall. At this time, the mist in the hall gradually dissipated, revealing a figure restrained by dozens of translucent chains. There were faint purple-gold divine runes flashing on the chains, the runes giving every chain a tyrannical Divine Might. Rather than inanimate objects, it felt as if every one of these chains was a Tier 6 God. Shi Feng couldnt help but grow confused as he looked at the gigantic man in the middle of the hall. From what Shi Feng recalled, the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces Final Boss should be a four-winged Tier 6 Archangel, an existence with a Life Rating superior to Valkyries and close to matching ordinary Dragons of the same tier. Basically, teams needed to defeat a monster that was about as strong as a Tier 6 Dragon. The only difference was that, unlike Dragons that relied on having a powerful Physique and access to Draconic Magic for their strength, Archangels relied on combat techniques and weapons for their strength. This made Archangels much more difficult to deal with for ordinary teams. As for the Goddesss Shadows existence and request, Shi Feng had never heard about these things existing in his previous life. What surprised Shi Feng even more was the man restrained in the hall. Silver runes covered the mans entire body, and Shi Feng was incredibly familiar with these runes. A member of the Holy Race! Indeed! The man restrained in the hall was a Tier 6 Holy God! Moreover, the man wasnt any ordinary Tier 6 God. Seeing how the man was covered in holy runes, the man was most likely a Holy Ancestor A Holy Ancestor! Out of the many Holy Gods that existed among the Holy Race, those who could be regarded as Holy Ancestors were few and far between. Meanwhile, their existence was akin to the Greater Gods Domains Primordial Gods. So, when Shi Feng heard that the Goddesss Shadows request was for them to kill a Holy Ancestor, he couldnt help but feel as if the other party was joking with them. [Manoset] (Holy Ancestor, Tier ? ? ?) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Seemingly noticing everyones concerns, the Goddesss Shadow said, Do not worry. I will use my power to weaken him. He wont be able to exert more than 10% of his strength. With your strength, you should be strong enough to fight him. As soon as the Goddesss Shadow finished speaking, a series of system notifications rang in everyones ears. System: Congratulations! You have triggered the World-ranked Event Goddess of Spaces Seal. Assist the Goddesss Shadow in killing the Holy Ancestor. System: You are advised to challenge the Goddess of Spaces Seal event with everything you have. Failure to complete the event will lead to massive changes throughout the Greater Gods Domain. You will also be dealt with using the most severe punishment. A World-ranked Event? Kill the Holy Ancestor? Whats going on here? Unrestrained Lionheart and the others froze when they heard the content of the system notifications. Whether it was the World-ranked Event or the Holy Ancestor, neither were things they had heard of before. Even so, they could still determine the severity of the situation based on the information they understood. Everyone present had seen how powerful the Holy Races players were, so they couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful a God from the Holy Race could be. Subsequently, before Shi Feng, the leader of the team, could make a response to the Goddesss Shadows request for help, the other party suddenly vanished. Then, the Goddesss Shadow reappeared in the air in the middle of the hall and chanted a series of obscure divine incantations. Immediately afterward, over a thousand magic arrays appeared all over the hall, every magic array being a threefold magic array exceeding the Great Grandmaster rank. Suddenly, the divine runes on the chains binding the Holy Ancestor glowed as they rapidly sapped his strength. However, even as the Holy Ancestor was growing weaker, not only did he not feel upset, but he even started to smile. At the same time, terrifying bursts of Holy Power spread across the entire Courtyard of Space. Hahaha! Space! Did you honestly think Ive made no preparations throughout all these years? Manoset said, laughing. Then, he coldly swept his gaze across Shi Fengs group and continued, Pitiful adventurers, today will mark the end of your lives! As soon as Manoset finished speaking, the chains binding him started to break one after another. Meanwhile, with every chain that broke, Manosets aura also grew in intensity. At one point, his mere presence had caused the entire castle to tremble. Shi Feng and the others also found themselves unable to move their bodies Die! After breaking out of the chains restraining his arms, Manoset swung his fist in the direction of Shi Fengs group. Chapter 3385 - Chapter 459 - Surpassing Dragons Chapter 459 C Surpassing Dragons When Manoset threw his punch, even the halls sturdy space instantly turned into a dark void. Not only did this void devour all mana caught within its vicinity, but it also caused time to slow down to a standstill. As a result, Shi Feng and every other player present could not move. Moreover, apart from Shi Feng, Frey, Unrestrained Lionheart, and a few other experts on the team, everyone else experienced a lag in their thoughts. Its over So, this is the strength of a Holy Ancestor? Frey and Unrestrained Lionheart were greatly shocked when they saw the destruction happening before their very eyes. Tier 6 Gods were very rarely seen in the Greater Gods Domain, but as a pseudo-apex power, the Red Dragon Nation had plenty of video information on Tier 6 Gods. The Guild even had quite a few video recordings of Ancient Gods in battle. However, out of all the Gods and Ancient Gods recorded in the Red Dragon Nations archives, not even the strongest Ancient God could throw out a punch as powerful as Manosets. Incredible! This punch is already as strong as a Primordial Gods attack! Shi Feng was also greatly surprised by Manosets devastating punch. Shi Feng had fought against many Holy Gods during his previous life, but never had he come across a Holy Ancestor before. So, this was his first encounter with a Holy Ancestor. Even in the Holy Races world, few records were available on Holy Ancestors. As far as Shi Feng was aware, no human player had come across a Holy Ancestor during his previous life, and all everyone knew was that Holy Ancestors were existences rivaling Primordial Gods. Meanwhile, it should be known that Manoset was currently in a sealed state. Even though he had already broken free of the chains binding him, his strength remained sealed, and hed be fortunate if he could even unleash 30% of his actual strength. Yet, even with just 30% of his strength, Manoset could already throw a punch rivaling that of Primordial Gods. While Shi Feng was marveling at Manosets punch, the shock that Frey and Unrestrained Lionheart experienced gradually turned into despair. A Primordial Gods attack simply wasnt something Tier 5 players could withstand. Even Fragmented Legendary items would be reduced to dust if struck by a Primordial Gods attack. So long as they were killed by it, they would most certainly see their Immortal Souls extinguished. However, when Manosets fist was just ten yards away from reaching Shi Fengs group, the Goddesss Shadow, who was in the middle of chanting an incantation, suddenly waved her hand. Boom! An explosion shook the entire Courtyard of Space, the shockwaves of the explosion causing the courtyards environment to crack like glass. If another such explosion occurred, the courtyards environment would most certainly shatter, and everything within the courtyard would perish. Back inside the castles top-floor hall Were alive? Were not dead? The players in the hall couldnt help but be surprised as they inspected their bodies. Although most of the players present had failed to see what had just happened, they werent fools. Time in the hall had yet to freeze the instant Manoset swung his fist, so everyone understood that there was no way any of them could have survived an attack from the Holy Ancestor. While everyone was wrapped in confusion, several thoroughly translucent barriers before them shattered and disappeared one after another. When the fifth barrier disappeared, and cracks started to appear on the sixth one, Manosets fist came to a complete stop. Am I dreaming? A sixfold World Wall? Unrestrained Lionheart nearly dropped his staff when he saw the barriers that had just shattered, and he couldnt help but look toward the Goddesss Shadow. Is she really just a doppelganger? World Wall was a Tier 6 Defensive Spell. It was also the strongest Defensive Spell available at Tier 6. Normally, even a Tier 6 expert at the fifth-floor standard could, at best, silent-cast a onefold World Wall. And if they chanted the Spells incantation, they could cast a twofold World Wall. Yet, the Goddesss Shadow had constructed a sixfold World Wall with just a wave of her hand. Normally, this was a feat an Ancient God would find extremely difficult to accomplish even with their true bodies Die! Manoset was unfazed even after seeing his first attack failing to connect. Without hesitation, he began throwing out a barrage of devastating punches, the punches so numerous that it looked like a wall of fists was approaching Shi Fengs group. The players present were dumbfounded when they saw this scene. A Gold Combat Technique?! Impossible! How can an NPC use a Gold Combat Technique? How are we supposed to even fight against such an NPC? Of those present, Frey and Unrestrained Lionheart were especially shocked when they saw the barrage of punches. With their vast knowledge of Gods Domain, they immediately understood that Manoset had just executed a Gold Combat Technique. It should be known that NPCs typically possessed much greater Basic Attributes than players. They also had higher combat standards than monsters, with many Tier 6 NPCs having combat standards at the fourth-floor standard. Because of these factors, very few Tier 6 players could rival Tier 6 Gods, and a large number of Tier 6 experts were necessary to take down a Tier 6 God under normal circumstances. However, if a Tier 6 God knew how to use Gold Combat Techniques on top of having greater Basic Attributes than players and greater combat standards than monsters, defeating them would be nigh impossible for players. Seal! Just as the barrage of punches was about to reach Shi Fengs group, a divine voice suddenly echoed in everyones mind. Immediately afterward, the wall of fists gradually disappeared. Dammit, Space! You cannot stop me! Manoset yelled out in pain and fury. Subsequently, countless divine runes appeared around Manoset, locking down the space within a 100-yard radius of the Holy Ancestor. Then, these divine runes started to resonate with the remaining chains on Manosets body and sap away at his strength. Primordial God Tier 6 Ancient God Tier 6 God The instant Manosets Life Rating fell to the Tier 5 standard, the brightness of the divine runes around him peaked, and Manosets strength stopped falling. Hahaha! Is this the limit of your doppelganger? Manoset laughed when he saw the Goddesss Shadows body destabilizing. Or do you think these ants can defeat me just because Ive been weakened to Tier 5? Manosets mockery did not earn any reaction from the Goddesss Shadow. Instead, the Goddess Shadow merely turned to the halls entrance and said to Shi Fengs group, The rest is up to you now. I have already suppressed Manoset to the best of my abilities, but I can only maintain this suppression for a limited time. After saying so, the Goddesss Shadow closed her eyes and focused all her attention on maintaining Manosets seal. She wants us to fight that? When everyone looked at the weakened Holy Ancestor, they couldnt help but reveal a wry smile. [Manoset] (Holy Ancestor, Tier 5) Level 148 HP 1,500,000,000,000 It was true that Manoset had been weakened to the Tier 5 standard, but simply looking at Manosets HP was enough to tell them how frighteningly powerful Manoset was still. Even a Dragon of the same tier would be put to shame when compared to the Holy Ancestor. Before everyone could come to terms with the situation, Manoset swung his fist at the team once again. Compared to before, Manosets punch this time was much less frightening. Even so, it still carried power at the Tier 6 standard, and it was strong enough to distort the surrounding space. Before Manosets punch could reach the team, a Tier 5 Demidragon Shield Warrior intercepted it. The Demidragon Shield Warrior was the tank that had previously received the Orichalcum Secret Treasure from Frey. After he let out a roar, his shield transformed into multiple barriers of light that continuously redirected and weakened Manosets punch. One of the 99 Absolute Techniques, Skylight Guardian! Boom! Subsequently, the Demidragon Shield Warrior was sent flying and crashing into a wall, his shield falling out of his hands and his HP decreasing by over 80% Crest! Unrestrained Lionheart was greatly shocked by this development. Crest was their teams ace tank. Not only did he wield a top-tier Fragmented Legendary Shield close to rivaling Legendary Shields, but he also had the Orichaulcum Secret Treasure equipped. Combined with the Absolute Technique Skylight Shield, even if he blocked an attack from a Tier 6 Divine monster, he shouldnt lose more than 30% of his HP. Yet, now, not only did Manosets attack put Crest into a heavily injured state, but the Shield Warrior had also lost over 80% of his HP. How were they supposed to fight against such a powerful foe? Chapter 3386 - Chapter 460 - Tier 6 Super Spell Chapter 460 C Tier 6 Super Spell How is this possible?! When everyone saw Crest collapse, the shock they experienced was many times greater than when they first saw the Holy Ancestor. Previously, everyone still lacked a clear concept of Manosets strength since they didnt have any knowledge regarding the existence of Holy Ancestors. It was similar to how they lacked a clear understanding of the strength of Primordial Gods since they had only ever read about them in historical records. However, after seeing Manoset getting weakened to the Tier 5 standard and still nearly killing Crest in one hit, everyone finally understood just how powerful the Holy Ancestor was. It should be known that Crest was a fifth-floor expert, an existence standing at the Greater Gods Domains apex. With his combat techniques and Fragmented Legendary items, he could tank Tier 6 monsters even as a Tier 5 player. With a tank like Crest, a team of several dozen Tier 5 experts could even slay Tier 6 monsters of the same level. This was also why Frey dared to challenge the God Mode Courtyard of Space in the first place. It really is a Gold Combat Technique! Is the Main God System playing a joke on us? When Desolate Fury saw that Crest could no longer move his arms, he couldnt help but despair a little. Previously, Desolate Fury still wasnt certain if Manoset had used a Gold Combat Technique. But now, he was certain. As a Tier 5 tank himself, Desolate Fury knew better than anyone how difficult it was to damage a tank like Crest to such an extent. Not only could Fragmented Legendary Shields neutralize a significant amount of damage their wielders received, but they could also dampen the force of attacks blocked to a significant extent. After taking into account that Crest had used a combat technique to redirect Manosets attack, the actual force that was transferred from Manosets fist to Crests shield shouldnt exceed 10%. Manoset might have astonishing Basic Attributes, but they were only at the standard of ordinary Tier 6 Divine monsters. With Crests Basic Attributes that were close to reaching the Tier 6 standard, there was no way a Tier 6 Divine monster could heavily injure him. The only explanation Desolate Fury could come up with for this situation was that Manoset had used a Gold Combat Technique. It should be known that players who mastered a Gold Combat Technique could transcend tiers and rank among the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. So, just how were they supposed to fight against a Tier 6 monster that had mastered a Gold Combat Technique? Mr. Black Flame, Im afraid we cant beat this monster. No matter how I look at it, I just cant see us overcoming his Gold Combat Technique Unrestrained Lionheart said, wryly smiling when he saw Manoset ignoring them to target the Goddesss Shadow instead. Gold Combat Technique? Shi Feng chuckled when he heard Unrestrained Lionhearts words. What hes using isnt a Gold Combat Technique. It might look like Manoset had just used a Gold Combat Technique, but the move didnt have anything to do with combat techniques. Instead, what the Holy Ancestor used was a Holy Art unique to the Holy Race. Holy Aura was a method for players to enhance their raw offensive and defensive capabilities using Holy Power, whereas Holy Arts were essentially the evolution of Holy Aura. Or, more specifically, they were special methods of using Holy Aura. Meanwhile, similar to combat techniques, Holy Arts could be categorized into Bronze, Silver, and Gold ranks. Hearing Shi Fengs response, Unrestrained Lionheart shook his head and smiled, saying, Even if what he used isnt a Gold Combat Technique, it still doesnt change our situation. It will take at least a few Tier 6 players to take him down. The many fifth-floor experts standing nearby nodded in agreement. It simply wasnt feasible for Tier 5 players like them to fight against an existence like Manoset. Not really. We dont need multiple Tier 6 players. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng said, If we can have one Tier 6 combatant to distract him, defeating him isnt out of the question. Holy Arts were different from combat techniques. In terms of improvements, Holy Arts provided a more well-rounded improvement, whereas combat techniques provided more extreme improvements. For example, some combat techniques might increase only the users offensive capabilities, some might only increase defensive capabilities, etc. Only through such extreme improvements could Gold Combat Techniques let users transcend tiers. This also meant that Gold Holy Arts couldnt let users transcend tiers. Is what you said true? Frey asked as she looked at Shi Feng with a serious gaze. Can we truly raid this Boss if we have a Tier 6 combatant? Vice Guild Leader, could it be that you Unrestrained Lionheart panicked when he heard Freys words. Even though Frey hadnt revealed her intentions, he could already guess where she was going with her words. But thats your last trump card for competing against the other Vice Guild Leaders It doesnt matter. If we get annihilated here, I will be doomed regardless, Frey said to Unrestrained Lionheart, shaking her head. Then, she returned her focus to Shi Feng and asked, How confident are you, Guild Leader Black Flame? If no accidents occur, we have a 50% chance of succeeding, Shi Feng answered. Although the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces Final Boss turned out different from what he heard, in a situation where Manoset could not move from where he stood, defeating him wasnt exactly impossible. After all, he had slain plenty of Tier 6 Holy Gods during his previous life. Slaying a Tier 5 Holy Ancestor who was partially immobilized shouldnt be too difficult. 50%? Frey was surprised by Shi Fengs answer. Then, she smiled and said, Okay! Ill place my bet on you! After saying so, Frey raised the staff she wielded and chanted an incantation. Immediately, a silver, fivefold magic array appeared under Freys feet, the magic array taking up over half of the hall. Subsequently, Freys aura rapidly weakened, her soul falling into a weakened state in no time. At the same time, the fivefold magic array began to release a frightening aura. A dragon? Amazing! Vice Guild Leader Frey is simply amazing! This is a Tier 5 Dragon we are talking about! Everyone was shocked when they saw the gigantic figure emerging from the fivefold magic array. Is this Dragon Soul Summoning, one of Nethersouls three rumored abilities? Shi Feng was similarly astonished by the sight of the dragon emerging from the magic array. [Ghost Dragon] (Dragon, Legendary) Level 141 210,000,000,000 The Divine Weapon Nethersoul came attached with three Tier 6 Super Spells that surpassed even Tier 6 Curses. Although Dragon Soul Summoning could only summon the soul of a dragon and not a living dragon, it was still plenty frightening. At the very least, the Ghost Dragon before him definitely possessed combat power at the Tier 6 standard. Go! After summoning the Ghost Dragon, Frey promptly commanded it to attack Manoset. Annoying pest! When Manoset saw the Ghost Dragon swiping its claw at him, he removed his focus from the Goddesss Shadow and threw a wall of punches at the immediate threat. Chapter 3387 - Chapter 461 - Matching a Holy Ancestor? Chapter 461 C Matching a Holy Ancestor? When Frey looked at the countless oncoming fists, she promptly switched her actions with the Ghost Dragon, transforming its claw into a black hole. Space Annihilation, the 13th-ranked Absolute Technique! Boom! Boom! Boom! Countless explosions shook the hall, making it feel like doomsday had arrived. The space in the hall also cracked and destabilized more and more with each subsequent explosion. For a moment, it felt like two Tier 6 experts were battling here. This exchange greatly stunned Desolate Fury, Thousand Scars, and the others. Had this battle taken place outside the Eternal Realm, the explosions taking place in the hall would have been strong enough to erase an entire map. Is this the power of a dragon? No, this isnt a result of just the dragons power. Its also because of Vice Guild Leader Freys impressive control. Indeed. Space Annihilation is an incredibly complex technique. Even fifth-floor experts have difficulty executing it under normal circumstances, let alone executing it through a non-human body. Yet, Vice Guild Leader Frey is executing the technique consecutively. If were comparing purely in terms of control, Vice Guild Leader Frey can already rank among the Red Dragon Nations top ten. Red Dragon Nations members grew excited when they saw the Ghost Dragon manipulated by Frey holding its ground against Manoset. They also grew more confident in defeating the Holy Ancestor. The biggest concern a team faced when raiding a Boss monster was whether it had the ability to withstand the Bosss attacks. So long as a team had someone or some way to resist a Bosss attacks, it would become possible to raid the Boss. Previously, the power Manoset displayed was simply terrifying, and their teams ace tank nearly got killed in one hit. If any of the teams other tanks tried to block the Holy Ancestors attacks, they would most likely be killed on the spot. So, their team essentially had no way of resisting Manosets attacks. However, now that the Ghost Dragon under Freys control had proven itself capable of resisting Manosets attacks, all they needed to do next was attack the Holy Ancestor with their all. Subsequently, the teams ranged players began bombarding Manoset with attacks from over a hundred yards away. Tier 5 Skill, Space Breaker! Tier 5 Spell, Ice Devourer! Tier 5 Taboo Skill, Demon Kings Rose! Because the Holy Ancestor could not move and was busy defending himself from the Ghost Dragons attacks, he could only let the numerous Tier 5 Skills and Spells batter his body. -3,465,424! -5,541,746! -7,465,471! Everyone froze when they saw the damage they did to the Holy Ancestor. Impossible! My Tier 5 Taboo Skill only caused seven million damage? Did the Compounding Potions effects expire? Everyone couldnt believe their eyes when they saw how little damage they had caused to Manoset. Previously, even when they fought against the Legendary-ranked Devouring Earth Dragons, their attacks still managed to cause damage nearing 100 million. Meanwhile, the Devouring Earth Dragons were only slightly inferior to Dragons of the same tier regarding Defense. Yet, when they used the same attacks against Manoset, none managed to cause more than ten million damage to the Holy Ancestor. The damage they caused wasnt even a fraction of Manosets battle recovery, let alone Manosets 1.5 trillion HP pool. At this rate, even if Manoset simply stood there and took their attacks, he would still be perfectly fine after a hundred years. As expected of a Holy Ancestor. Not even Tier 6 Dragons have such a high Defense. Shi Feng was also a little astonished when he saw Manosets Defense. Although members of the Holy Race typically had very high Defense due to the improvements provided by Holy Power, this was the first time Shi Feng had seen a member of the Holy Race having such an absurdly high Defense. This wont do, Vice Guild Leader. The Bosss Defense is simply ridiculous. Theres no way we can deal enough damage to kill him, Unrestrained Lionheart said, the corner of his eyes twitching as he silent-cast Tier 5 Spells one after another. Frey also fell into thought as she manipulated the Ghost Dragon. Although she had long known that Manoset wouldnt be an easy foe to defeat, she didnt think the Holy Ancestor would be this frightening. Not only did Manoset have HP greater than Tier 5 Dragons, but he even had Defense greater than Tier 6 Dragons. The rest is up to you now, Guild Leader Black Flame, Frey anxiously said as she looked at Shi Feng. Now that they had a way to block Manosets attacks, the next biggest problem they needed to resolve was how to deplete the Holy Ancestors HP. If they couldnt even overcome the Holy Ancestors battle recovery, defeating him would be a pipe dream. However, Shi Feng was only a Tier 4 Sword Emperor. Frey found it truly hard to imagine what methods Shi Feng could possibly come up with to deplete Manosets HP. In response to Freys words, Shi Feng nodded and walked up to Manoset. What is Brother Black Flame trying to do? Desolate Fury couldnt help but grow worried when he saw Shi Feng moving within 100 yards of Manoset. Theres no way to dodge the Bosss punches at such close range, and even one of those punches is enough to K.O. a Tier 5 tank. I cant see any other options. Ranged attacks are already proven useless, Leroja said while firing arrows at the Holy Ancestor. Guild Leader Black Flame should have a way to block the Bosss punches, so hes probably thinking of testing the effectiveness of melee attacks. Melee attacks? When White Owl overheard Lerojas assessment, her curiosity was piqued, and she began observing Shi Fengs every action closely. Not to mention, as a melee player, she didnt have anything better to do right now. Manosets punches were simply overwhelming. Not only did the Holy Ancestors punches carry immense power, but they also possessed frightening speed. Outside 100 yards, it was still possible for Tier 5 players like herself to react to the punches in time and take appropriate countermeasures. However, within 100 yards, they would be struck without fail. Subsequently, as Shi Feng moved closer and closer to Manoset, the Holy Ancestor finally shifted his attention to him and threw out numerous punches. Seeing this, Shi Feng promptly raised the Winter of Eternal Night. Holy Manas Shadow! Suddenly, a cloud of crimson mist appeared around Shi Feng, enveloping him completely. Then, in the blink of an eye, a ten-meter-tall Swordsman covered in holy runes emerged from the cloud of crimson mist. The instant this giant of a Swordsman appeared, everyone present involuntarily shuddered as an indescribable sense of pressure enveloped them. For a moment, it felt as if a God had appeared in the hall. Immediately afterward, one of Manosets punches could be seen connecting with the giant Swordsman. However, the punch simply passed through the Swordsman without accomplishing anything. Subsequently, the giant Swordsman began moving across the air at unbelievable speeds, rapidly evading Manosets punches one after another. Flowing Spaces First Step, Stepping Space! How fast! Death Omens eyes widened her eyes in shock when she saw that the giant Swordsman had already arrived in front of the Holy Ancestor. The Swordsman had crossed a distance of several dozen yards in the blink of an eye. This speed was already enough to rival a Tier 6 Assassin using an Advanced Silver Combat Technique. However, Death Omen could clearly feel that the Swordsmans Life Rating was nowhere near the Tier 6 standard. Disappear, ant! When Manoset saw Shi Feng appearing before him, he sneered and abandoned all defense against the Ghost Dragon, opting to send a rain of punches at Shi Feng. Holy Annihilation! Without hesitation, Shi Feng executed his strongest move against Manosets barrage of punches. Boom! Space within the hall became devastated, and the barrage of punches disappeared as Manoset was sent stumbling backward and nearly falling to the ground. At the same time, an unbelievable damage value appeared above his head. -84,654,841! Chapter 3388 - Chapter 462 - Final Strike Chapter 462 C Final Strike Is he human? Am I hallucinating? What kind of damage is that? Could he be a Tier 6 Sword God? Is this his trump card? Everyone couldnt help but wonder if they were hallucinating when they saw the damage value of more than 80 million. Even Frey had momentarily forgotten to control the Ghost Dragon. Previously, no matter what kind of attacks they used against Manoset, none of them managed to deal over ten million damage. Even when Unrestrained Lionheart landed a Tier 5 Curse directly on Manosets body, he only managed to cause around seven million damage. It should be known that a Tier 5 Curse was comparable to Tier 6 Spells in power. Yet, the Curse only dealt about 10% of the damage Shi Fengs attack did. Moreover, that was only because Shi Feng had used his attack to block Manosets attack. If Shi Feng managed to land a direct hit on the Holy Ancestor, the damage he could cause would be devastating. While everyone was still in shock, Shi Feng, in his reconstructed body composed of Mana and Holy Power, swung his sword again. Holy Annihilation! Because of Freys Ghost Dragon pinning Manoset this time, Shi Feng was able to connect his attack with Manosets body, the Holy Ancestor wincing a little when Shi Fengs sword cut through his body. -1,218,654,651! Shi Fengs attack caused Manosets HP bar to experience a visible drop this time. Upon seeing this, everyone present gasped. Crap! What is this damage?! Thats already more than our entire team did to the Boss! Is this the strength of a Saint? No way. I doubt even Saints can have such frightening damage. No wonder the Vice Guild Leader is willing to hire him at such a costly price. Had we entered God Mode with him, we would have definitely secured the First Clear. When everyone saw Shi Fengs second attack dealing 1.2 billion damage, they felt shocked and joyful. At the same time, they became more confident in bringing down Manoset. Is that all he has for his trump card? Different from everyone else, Frey frowned when she saw the decrease in the Holy Ancestors HP. Shi Fengs attack might seem impressive for causing 1.2 billion damage, but it was still nothing compared to Manosets 1.5 trillion HP. With his battle recovery, Manoset could recover 30 billion HP every five seconds. That was equivalent to regenerating six billion HP every second. But just when Frey was feeling uneasy, Shi Feng suddenly appeared behind Manoset and stabbed the Holy Ancestor with the Shadow Incinerator. The End! With death as the price, incite all of the Shadow Incinerators power to deal a devastating blow. This was Shi Fengs strongest trump card, and it was also the only method he had to raid Manoset successfully. The Shadow Incinerator was a Godly Relic. During his previous life, the weapon had allowed the strongest Demigod to slay an Ancient God. Although Manoset was a Holy Ancestor, an existence comparable to Primordial Gods, he was currently weakened by the Goddess of Spaces seal, and his Life Rating was only at the level of a Tier 5 Holy God. So long as Shi Feng could heavily injure Manoset, defeating the Holy Ancestor wouldnt be a dream. Otherwise, with their current team, even if they increased the teams size by tenfold, itd still be impossible to kill Manoset. Initially, during the early phases of the war between the Holy Race and the human race in his previous life, human players were utterly powerless against the Holy Races Holy Gods. It didnt matter even if numerous Tier 6 human experts worked together. They simply couldnt overcome the frightening Defense and HP of the Holy Gods. However, later on, human players found an effective way to take down Holy Gods, and that was by heavily injuring them. So long as a Holy God became heavily injured, they would lose the ability to strengthen their body with Holy Aura. Without Holy Aura, a Tier 6 Holy Gods Defense would become weaker than even that of Tier 6 Divine monsters, and their Basic Attributes would also plummet. The only problem with this strategy was that human players first needed to overcome the frightening Defense of a Holy God to injure them heavily. Meanwhile, the requirement to do so was much greater than the requirement to heavily injure a Divine monster. Please let this succeed! Shi Feng prayed when he ran the Shadow Incinerator through Manosets heart. Boom! Suddenly, the space surrounding Manoset transformed into purgatory, and even the Ghost Dragon, which was swinging its claw to attack Manoset, had lost its claw. Roar! Immediately afterward, everyone heard an agonizing cry coming from Manoset, the powerful sound waves the Holy Ancestor produced causing Unrestrained Lionheart and the others to stumble over a dozen yards backward. A short moment later, the flames surrounding Manoset disappeared and revealed a dark void. The result of Shi Fengs attack was even more devastating than Manosets punch before the Holy Ancestor was weakened to Tier 5. What did he do? Mutual destruction? Is he crazy? Everyones eyes widened in shock when they saw only one figure standing amidst the void. At this time, Manoset was in a miserable state as he stood in the middle of the void. The Holy Ancestors body was covered in severe burns, and the gaping hole in his chest. His Life Rating had also plummeted even further, a sign that he had been heavily injured. Even his HP had undergone a shocking change. [Manoset (Heavily Injured)] (Holy Ancestor, Tier 5) Level 148 HP 750,000,000,000 However, while Manoset might have entered a heavily injured state, Shi Feng had also disappeared, leaving behind only a ring in his place. He must be insane! He chose Soul Annihilation just to injure a Boss? Unrestrained Lionheart was flabbergasted when he failed to sense Shi Fengs presence. Unlike the average player, Unrestrained Lionheart had a powerful perception toward souls. This allowed him to easily distinguish the state of a players soul when they died. Hence, he could tell that Shi Fengs Immortal Soul had disappeared after detonating himself to heavily injure the Holy Ancestor. When players died a normal death, their Immortal Souls would not suffer any damage whatsoever. Only when players were killed by a Tier 5 attack or above would their Immortal Souls suffer some permanent damage. Even so, their Immortal Souls would remain in existence after death. However, should a player suffer Soul Annihilation, nothing would be left of their Immortal Soul once they died. Meanwhile, Soul Annihilation to a player was equivalent to a permanent farewell from Gods Domain. This was an outcome worse than any penalty players could receive for failing a quest in Gods Domain. After all, the worst penalty a quest could give was to have players start over with a new account. However, if a player suffered Soul Annihilation, they wouldnt even get the chance to start over again. No, hes still alive! Frey said as she lifted her head and looked at the space above the ring Shi Feng had dropped after his death. There, the figure of a person was slowly materializing. What?! He had such an item on him?! Unrestrained Lionheart was given another huge surprise when he saw Shi Feng resurrecting. Although many items in the Greater Gods Domain could let players resurrect on the spot, items that could let players avoid a true death were extremely rare and valued as much as Legendary Equipment. Even Frey had only received one such item from the Red Dragon Nation after rising to the position of Vice Guild Leader. Meanwhile, when White Owl saw Shi Feng resurrecting above the ring he dropped, she couldnt help but reveal a wry smile. Others might not know where Shi Feng had gotten that death prevention tool from, but as one of the Paimon Conglomerates Ten Great Paragons, White Owl couldnt be any more familiar with it. The Sacred Phantom Ring! It was a priceless treasure that could allow its wearer to avoid true death once a day. It was a top-tier treasure, even among the many lifesaving treasures in the Greater Gods Domain. Even though it was only a Fragmented Legendary item, its lifesaving capabilities were no weaker than a Legendary-ranked lifesaving item. Originally, the Sacred Phantom Ring was a treasure the Paimon Conglomerate had prepared for the Divine Seal Saint. However, the Divine Seal Saint had given it to his youngest son Dira, who had ended up losing it to Shi Feng Good! It worked! After resurrecting, when Shi Feng saw Manosets chilling state, a look of joy appeared in his eyes. Immediately, he commanded, Quick! Everyone attack the Boss now! Chapter 3389 - Chapter 463 - World Modes First Clear? Chapter 463 C World Modes First Clear? Upon seeing Shi Feng pick up the Sacred Phantom Ring and hearing his command, everyone promptly snapped out of their dazes and went into action. Nobody present was a fool, so everyone understood that this was a crucial opportunity. But will this really work? Unrestrained Lionheart wondered skeptically. Even though Manoset was currently looking pale and breathing heavily, Unrestrained Lionheart still couldnt help but have his doubts about defeating the Holy Ancestor. It was indeed astonishing that Shi Feng could heavily injure Manoset. If he had used that same attack against a Tier 6 tank, the latter would most likely have been killed on the spot, even with a Lifesaving Skill activated. Only, while Manoset might be heavily injured, nothing had really changed for the team. Firstly, while it was true that Boss monsters couldnt actively recover from a heavily injured state, the negative state would only last for a very limited time. It was why teams would typically only heavily injure a Boss monster when the Boss in question had gone berserk. Secondly, Manoset was ridiculously durable. Even in a heavily injured state, the Holy Ancestor still had 750 billion HP. That was more than what a Level 148, Tier 5 Dragon possessed. While Manoset could no longer benefit from the battle recovery effect, it would still take the team a long time to deal 750 billion damage, and time was a privilege they couldnt afford. However, despite his concerns, Unrestrained Lionheart did not dawdle in his actions. Immediately, he activated a Berserk Skill and began casting a threefold Tier 5 Spell. At the same time as Unrestrained Lionheart was preparing his attack, the Tier 5 Rangers of the team also activated their Berserk Skills and bombarded Manoset with arrows. The Ghost Dragon that had lost a claw also opened its maw. Tier 5 Skill, Heavens Rain! Tier 5 Skill, Soul Chaser! Tier 5 Skill, Nine-in-One! Dragon Breath! The Ghost Dragons breath attack carried power rivaling Tier 5 Curses. So, Manoset had no choice but to defend against the attack with his fists. This led to more than 200 arrows landing directly on his body. -116,134,523! -214,764,212! -124,891,591! Upon seeing the series of damage values appearing above Manosets head, everyone present couldnt help but be stunned. Am I hallucinating? Every arrows dealing over 100 million damage? Is the system bugged? Previously, when the teams Tier 5 Rangers attacked Manoset, each of their arrows could only deal several million damage. Yet, now, each arrow was dealing over 100 million damage, and the entire volley of arrows had caused the Holy Ancestor to lose nearly 20 billion HP. All of a sudden, the goal of dealing 750 billion damage no longer looked as out of reach as it did previously. Its doable! The raids doable! The melee players standing at the forefront grew ecstatic. Immediately, they sped up their charge toward Manoset so that they could quickly get in on the action as well. It seems we should also stop withholding our strength. When Death Omen saw the damage dealt by the Rangers, she promptly activated Shadows Power, a Berserk Skill that doubled her Strength and Agility and improved her reaction speed by 30%. Thousand Scars also followed suit and activated her Berserk Skill Divine Flame. Immediately, the two daggers she wielded transformed into scorching flames that behaved like serpents, the flame serpents attacking Manoset and causing damage in the tens of millions. Although each of Thousand Scars attacks didnt deal as much damage as the Tier 5 Rangers arrows, her high Attack Speed allowed her to match the Rangers damage output. Meanwhile, once the teams melee players started landing attacks on Manoset, the teams overall damage output more than doubled. Even though Manoset was wildly flinging punches, as the power of his punches couldnt even reach the Tier 6 standard right now, they were of no threat to the Tier 5 players present. At most, the punches only let him block a portion of the incoming attacks. 76% 52% 33% Manoset lost dozens of billions of HP with every round of attacks he suffered, which resulted in his HP bar decreasing by visible chunks. However, the lower the Holy Ancestors HP fell, the slower the decrease became. Faster! Faster! We need to be faster! When Shi Feng saw Manosets punches becoming faster and stronger, he knew that the Holy Ancestor would soon recover from his heavily injured state. Meanwhile, once Manoset recovered, it would be a pipe dream for their team to defeat him. When Manosets HP fell to 25%, the gaping hole in his chest had already recovered by 90%, and a silver heart had started to take shape in the hole. Hahaha! When Manoset saw that he was close to fully recovering, he laughed and stopped defending against the incoming attacks. Instead, he scanned the players before him with a contemptuous gaze, causing everyone to experience unprecedented intimidation. Holy Art, Splitting Star! After Manoset let out a loud roar, a gigantic illusory fist smashed down on the hall like a falling star. Partway through its descent, the star split into countless meteorites that carried as much power as the Holy Ancestors punches. Seeing this, Shi Feng promptly stopped holding back, the Winter of Eternal Night in his hand unleashed a dark aura that enveloped its surroundings. Radiant Night! Swords Orbit! Under Radiant Nights effect, every one of Shi Fengs attacks carried power at the Tier 6 standard and dealt damage in the hundreds of millions to Manoset. While executing Swords Orbit, Shi Feng could land over thirty attacks on the Holy Ancestor every second, which translated to more than ten billion damage every second. 25% 23% 21% As Manosets HP fell, the number of players killed by the descending meteorites also increased. 80 62 45 In only a few seconds, the team lost over 40 players. Of the teams surviving members, only those at the fifth-floor standard could dodge the rain of meteorites perfectly. As for titled experts, they could only pray that they werent targeted by more than two meteorites at a time. Otherwise, unless they were a tank, they would be killed on the spot. Is it still not enough? Shi Feng couldnt help but feel disappointed when he saw that the team had less than 30 members remaining and that Manoset had recovered from his heavily injured state. Currently, Manoset still had 20% of his HP remaining. With fewer than 30 players on the team, they wouldnt be able to defeat the Holy Ancestor even if he was still heavily injured. So, itd be even more impossible to defeat Manoset now that he was no longer heavily injured. This is the end of the line for you ants! Manoset said, his body seemingly growing a little larger after he had recovered from his injuries. Then, he sent a flurry of punches at Shi Feng and the others. Sure enough, its a failure Frey sighed deeply when she saw the wall of punches coming at her. However, just as everyone thought the wall of punches would devour them, the Goddesss Shadow, who had been maintaining the seal on Manoset all this time, suddenly moved. Youve done well to weaken Manoset to such an extent, Heavens Blessed, the Goddesss Shadow said as she raised her hands. Immediately, Eternal Energy flooded the hall, and the space around Manoset began to twist and shrink rapidly, forcing the Holy Ancestor to shrink with it. In the blink of an eye, Manosets ten-meter-tall body was reduced to just one meter, then to the size of a rice grain, and ultimately to an indiscernible speck. This scene dumbfounded everyone in the hall. Hes dead? Shi Feng was similarly stunned by Manosets abrupt disappearance. A Holy Ancestor! An existence comparable to Primordial Gods was eliminated, just like that Before Shi Feng could come back to his senses, a series of system notifications sounded in everyones ears. System: Congratulations! You have cleared the World Mode Courtyard of Space and completed the Goddess of Spaces Seal Event. Regional System Announcement: Congratulations to Red Dragon Team for obtaining the First Clear on the World Mode Courtyard of Space. Rewarding +100 Regional City Reputation Points and +200 Regional Town Reputation Points. For a time, unprecedented silence enveloped the entire Corrosion Mountain Range. Faster! Faster! We need to be faster! When Shi Feng saw Manosets punches becoming faster and stronger, he knew that the Holy Ancestor would soon recover from his heavily injured state. Meanwhile, once Manoset recovered, it would be a pipe dream for their team to defeat him. When Manosets HP fell to 25%, the gaping hole in his chest had already recovered by 90%, and a silver heart had started to take shape in the hole. Hahaha! When Manoset saw that he was close to fully recovering, he laughed and stopped defending against the incoming attacks. Instead, he scanned the players before him with a contemptuous gaze, causing everyone to experience unprecedented intimidation. Holy Art, Splitting Star! After Manoset let out a loud roar, a gigantic illusory fist smashed down on the hall like a falling star. Partway through its descent, the star split into countless meteorites that carried as much power as the Holy Ancestors punches. Seeing this, Shi Feng promptly stopped holding back, the Winter of Eternal Night in his hand unleashed a dark aura that enveloped its surroundings. Radiant Night! Swords Orbit! Under Radiant Nights effect, every one of Shi Fengs attacks carried power at the Tier 6 standard and dealt damage in the hundreds of millions to Manoset. While executing Swords Orbit, Shi Feng could land over thirty attacks on the Holy Ancestor every second, which translated to more than ten billion damage every second. 25% 23% 21% As Manosets HP fell, the number of players killed by the descending meteorites also increased. 80 62 45 In only a few seconds, the team lost over 40 players. Of the teams surviving members, only those at the fifth-floor standard could dodge the rain of meteorites perfectly. As for titled experts, they could only pray that they werent targeted by more than two meteorites at a time. Otherwise, unless they were a tank, they would be killed on the spot. Chapter 3390 - Chapter 464 – Astonishing Rewards Chapter 464 C Astonishing Rewards Outside the Courtyard of Space World Mode got cleared? Nobody has even seen God Modes Final Boss yet, so how is it possible that someone has already cleared World Mode? Could World Mode actually be easier than God Mode? No way. I heard from some people who had entered World Mode, and they say that even the fodder monsters there are Legendary-ranked Earth Dragons. There are also countless spatial blades randomly flying about the courtyard, and every spatial blade can easily kill Tier 5 players. The difficulty of fighting Legendary monsters in such an environment is simply ridiculous. Thats vastly more challenging than what players have to face in God Mode. Easier than God Mode? What nonsense are you talking about? Ive entered World Mode, and I can tell you that titled experts cant even survive ten seconds without working together in groups of ten or more. When everyone outside the Courtyard of Space received the system announcement, they couldnt help but look at the now-sealed teleportation gate in a daze. Many of the players present had entered the God Mode Courtyard of Space, so they knew how challenging the Team Dungeon was. It was unlike any God Mode Team Dungeons found outside the Eternal Realm. Hence, they couldnt help but find it unbelievable that someone had conquered the Courtyard of Spaces World Mode, which was supposedly a greater difficulty setting than God Mode. How can the Dungeons World Mode get conquered? The Rockspear Saint Parker was in utter disbelief as he stared at the system announcement displayed before him. This is bad, Lord Moro. We dont even know which team has conquered the Dungeon right now the Wind Saint Desert Web said to Moro. In order to secure the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear, Moro had recruited the help of the experts working under the Guilds Grand Elders. However, as these experts were operating in different regions in the Eternal Realm, Moro had to make many promises to the Grand Elders to get these experts to abandon their ongoing tasks to come and help him. Yet, now, someone else had conquered the World Mode Courtyard of Space before these experts could even enter the Dungeon. Once the Grand Elders learned of this, they would definitely reprimand him for this failure. The Red Dragon Nations current Guild Leader was about to conclude his term. As the Red Dragon Nation was a pseudo-apex power, the position of Guild Leader came with a lot of precious resources and influence in the Greater Gods Domain. Hence, every Vice Guild Leader was eyeing the position, resulting in intense competition. Now that Moro had wasted the precious development time of many of the Guilds experts in the Eternal Realm, the Guilds other Vice Guild Leaders would definitely use this opportunity to make trouble for him. They might even snatch his authority in the Eternal Realm. However, contrary to Desert Webs assumption, Moro did not explode into a flying rage. Instead, he remained very calm, behaving as if this matter had nothing to do with him. What are you panicking for? Moro nonchalantly said. Then, he turned to look at the teleportation gate, his expression darkening a little as he smiled and said, Even until now, Freys team has yet to come out of the Dungeon. Dont you find this situation very interesting? Do you mean to say that Desert Webs mouth gradually widened in disbelief as he processed Moros words. Vice Guild Leader Freys team secured World Modes First Clear? Otherwise, how do you explain this situation? Pointing at the teleportation gate, Moro said, According to the general rules of Dungeons, so long as a team gets annihilated in a Dungeon, the whole team will get resurrected outside the Dungeon. Seeing as Freys team has yet to come out even until now, it goes without saying that they are the ones who have secured World Modes First Clear. Freys team secured World Modes First Clear? When Parker overheard Moros words, he held his head with both hands and instinctively denied Moros claim. Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Parker knew better than anyone what kind of standard Freys team members possessed. The number of fifth-floor experts on Freys team didnt even amount to half of the fifth-floor experts on Moros team. If Moros team couldnt even conquer the God Mode Courtyard of Space, how could Freys team possibly secure the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear? This was the First Clear of a World Mode Team Dungeon they were talking about! Currently, the World Mode Courtyard of Space was receiving a lot of attention from the Red Dragon Nations Grand Elders. Whoever secured the World Mode Dungeons First Clear was bound to receive more support from those Grand Elders, which would, in turn, increase their chances of winning in the competition for the position of Guild Leader. Meanwhile, so long as Frey became the Red Dragon Nations next Guild Leader, the experts under her would have a very bright future ahead of them. At that time, even the Guilds Elders would have to behave respectfully around them If that really is the case, what should we do next, Lord Moro? Desert Web asked anxiously. If Frey did secure the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear, it went without saying the Guilds Grand Elders would give their support to her. At that time, how was Moro supposed to compete against her for the position of Guild Leader? Dont worry. Frey securing the First Clear is good news for us, Moro said, suddenly smiling. Good news? Desert Web revealed a confused expression. Look at the other players here, including the Holy Races players. Smiling, Moro asked, Do you think theyll spare Freys team? This is the Greater Gods Domains first World Mode Team Dungeon we are talking about. The rewards for the Dungeons First Clear are bound to be incredible. If Frey wants her team to leave this place alive, shell have no choice but to rely on us. Desert Web scanned their surroundings when he heard Moros words. Then, realization quickly dawned on him. When the system announcement first appeared, everyone was indeed shocked by the news. Now, though, only greed existed on everyones faces. Items obtained from a Dungeon would drop on death in the first two hours. Meanwhile, once a Dungeons Final Boss was killed, players could only stay in the Dungeon for an additional 30 minutes. Afterward, they would be forcibly teleported out of the Dungeon. Hence, so long as they sealed off the Dungeons entrance and killed the players who came out of the Dungeon, they would be able to obtain the Dungeon Bosss loot. All we need to do is stand aside and watch the show, Moro said as he walked to a corner to rest. At the same time, the members of the various powers gathered outside the teleportation gate started to act. Even the Holy Races players had taken the initiative to establish cooperation with the various human powers. Meanwhile, inside the Courtyard of Space Less than thirty figures sat slumped on the floor of an ancient hall, their eyes lighting up in surprise and joy as they looked at the system notifications before them. We did it! We got the First Clear! This is the First Clear reward for World Mode?! Thousand Scars, Desolate Fury, and the others couldnt help but shout out in excitement when they saw the Holy Ancestor disappearing completely. System: Congratulations! You have received a Goddess Treasure Chest for completing the Goddess of Spaces Seal Event. The reward is so generous? Unrestrained Lionheart was greatly shocked as he looked at the treasure chest in his hand. Although he didnt know what rank of treasure chest the Goddess Treasure Chest belonged to, seeing as it was made entirely of Seven Luminaries Crystals, its value must rival Legendary Treasure Chests. It should be known that Legendary Treasure Chests were extremely rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Even God Mode Team Dungeons would only occasionally drop one. Yet, now, the World Mode Courtyard of Space had awarded every team member with one Goddess Treasure Chest. Moreover, this was in addition to the items gradually descending from the ceiling. The rewards were so lucrative that it felt as if they had just raided 100 God Mode Team Dungeons. However, unlike everyone else, Shi Fengs attention wasnt on the Goddess Treasure Chest. Instead, his gaze was focused on items descending from the ceiling, a flash of surprise appearing in his eyes when he saw what the Holy Ancestor had dropped. Chapter 3391 - Chapter 465 - Goddesss Treasure Chapter 465 C Goddesss Treasure Mr. Black Flame, you dont seem very interested in the Goddess Treasure Chest, Unrestrained Lionheart commented when he noticed Shi Feng paying more attention to the items dropped by the Holy Ancestor than the Goddess Treasure Chest in his hand. It is only thanks to your leadership that we managed to secure the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear. How about I ask Vice Guild Leader Frey for permission to exchange one of the Bosss dropped items for your Goddess Treasure Chest? That wont be necessary. Two items are enough for me, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Treasure chests such as the Goddess Treasure Chest were also known as Divine Treasure Chests. Meanwhile, the value of a Divine Treasure Chest could range anywhere from an Inferior Legendary Treasure Chest to an Inferior Mythical Treasure Chest. Although Shi Feng had no idea how powerful the Goddess of Space was exactly, after seeing how powerful the goddesss doppelganger was, he was certain that the goddess was vastly stronger than the average Ancient God. Hence, it wouldnt be surprising if the rewards inside the Goddess Treasure Chest rivaled that of Legendary Treasure Chests in value. The only downside of Divine Treasure Chests was that each chest would only contain one item. However, even if it was only one item, it was still a precious item from a Legendary Treasure Chest-equivalent. So, it wouldnt be any worse than the items dropped by the Holy Ancestor. After all, the Holy Ancestor they killed here was heavily suppressed. Moreover, they had even relied on the Goddesss Shadow to deal the finishing blow. In terms of value, the Holy Ancestors loot would, at best, rival the loot of an ordinary Tier 6 Holy God. When Shi Feng finished speaking, many people in the hall had already opened the Goddess Treasure Chest they received. Suddenly, silence enveloped the entire hall, which was followed by bursts of exclamations. Heavens! A Secret Treasure! I got a Secret Treasure from my treasure chest! A Gold Combat Technique Legacy?! I must be hallucinating! I actually got a one-time opportunity to experience a Gold Combat Technique! Everyone who had opened their Goddess Treasure Chest couldnt help but gasp when they saw the contents of their respective chests. Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja, in particular, revealed fanatical expressions. A Legacy Pearl! This was an item that could allow players to experience the combat technique recorded inside. Meanwhile, the combat technique recorded in their Legacy Pearls was none other than the Gold Body Technique Flowing Space. Although the three of them were envious of those who had obtained Secret Treasures, the thought of exchanging their Legacy Pearls for a Secret Treasure never crossed their minds. As they had already made some progress in learning the Flowing Space technique, the Legacy Pearl was much more valuable to them than any Secret Treasure. After all the effort they had put in previously, if they could experience the correct way of using Flowing Space even once, they would have at least a 50% chance of successfully learning the Gold Body Technique and reaching the techniques first level, Stepping Space. At that time, their combat power would skyrocket, and theyd be able to hold their ground against fifth-floor experts. While they might not become the strongest, they would still be regarded as powerhouses in the Eternal Realm. We really lucked out this time, Big Sis Omen. Both of us actually got Combat-ranked Secret Treasures, Thousand Scars said as she looked at the Secret Treasure in Death Omens hands. Then, she looked at her own Secret Treasure and continued, If I attach this thing to my boots, Im confident I can hold my ground against Holy Race experts of the same tier. Death Omen nodded and smiled in response. Originally, she thought that they would merely be working as free labor in this raid. Apart from receiving some Town Reputation Points, they never really thought of obtaining anything else. So, it was a pleasant surprise for them to be able to leave the Courtyard of Space with a Secret Treasure. Different from Thousand Scars, Death Omen had obtained a Secret Treasure for weapons. Although it didnt increase any Movement Speed like Thousand Scarss Secret Treasure, it allowed her Attack Power to undergo a qualitative improvement. A Legacy Pearl for Flowing Space? When Shi Feng opened his Goddess Treasure Chest and saw the Legacy Pearl in it, he couldnt help but feel a little joyful. While it was true that Secret Treasures offered players a more direct improvement to combat power, the value of Flowing Spaces Legacy Pearl was easily ten times greater than any Combat-ranked Secret Treasure. Currently, Shi Feng had already achieved the Stepping Space level, so the Flowing Space technique he executed was already strong enough to rival ordinary Gold Body Techniques. However, if he could reach the Phantom Body level He would fear nobody in the Eternal Realm once he became a Tier 5 Sword Saint. Even if many Tier 6 experts arrived in the future, he was confident he could secure himself a spot in the Eternal Realm. Its a pity that I still havent perfected my mastery of the Stepping Space level. Otherwise, I could have used this Legacy Pearl right away and tried to reach the Phantom Body level. After staring at the Legacy Pearl in his hand for a moment, he ultimately chose to set it aside in his bag, deciding that he would only use the Legacy Pearl once he had perfected his mastery of the Stepping Space level. Guild Leader Black Flame, all of the loot has settled, Frey said, smiling in a happy mood as she pointed at the items scattered on the nearby ground. As per our agreement, you get to choose two items first. Okay. After sweeping his gaze across the Holy Ancestors loot, Shi Feng walked over to the items and picked up two without hesitation, saying, Ill be taking these two items, then. The Holy Ancestor dropped nine items. Every one of these nine items radiated a faint trace of Eternal Energy, so anyone could tell they were extraordinary. Among them, there were weapons, equipment, potions, and designs. There were also two Secret Treasures that radiated an extraordinary aura. Unlike the Secret Treasures everyone had seen thus far, the two Secret Treasures dropped by the Holy Ancestor were enveloped by a dark purple glow. Based on presence alone, they were clearly a cut above the Orichalcum Secret Treasure, which was a Combat-ranked Secret Treasure. So, when everyone saw these two Secret Treasures, they couldnt help but salivate over them. If they could attach both of these Secret Treasures to their equipment, they could probably elevate their Mana Protection from the Tier 5 standard to the Tier 6 standard. And even if it didnt reach the Tier 6 standard, it would be very close to reaching it. Their combat power would also see a massive improvement. However, Shi Feng did not pick even one of the two Secret Treasures for his two allotted items. Instead, he had chosen a potion and a feather. The potion was held in a bottle made entirely out of Seven Luminaries Crystal, and the potion itself was a blood-red liquid with purple-gold sparkles. As for the feather, it looked rather inconspicuous. The feather was the size of his palm, and it was pure white, like an angels feather. If not for the faint Eternal Energy it radiated, it could have easily been mistaken for an ordinary item. Hes not choosing any of the Secret Treasures? Frey couldnt help but be surprised by Shi Fengs choice. In her opinion, although all nine items dropped by the Holy Ancestor were undoubtedly precious, the value of the two Secret Treasures easily surpassed the combined value of the seven other items. Yet, Shi Feng didnt even glance at the two Secret Treasures that were clearly above the Combat rank when he chose the blood-red potion and feather. This was truly a surprising situation. Are you sure you want those two items, Guild Leader Black Flame? Frey couldnt help but ask. Mhm. Shi Feng definitively nodded and smiled. The two items he chose might seem ordinary compared to the two Secret Treasures, but they were actually the two most valuable items dropped by the Holy Ancestor. Any one of them was easily more valuable than the two Extraordinary-ranked Secret Treasures combined. The potion he chose was naturally the Divine Spatial Potion, an item that could permanently increase the users perception of their respective power system by one level. As for the feather, it was the famous treasure the Goddess of Space had relied on to spread her name across the Twelve Sanctuaries in the past. The Feather of Oath! TL Notes: [1]power system is referring to the humans Mana system and the Holy Races Holy Power system. Chapter 3392 - Chapter 466 - Twelve Wings of Heaven! Chapter 466 C Twelve Wings of Heaven! Since youve already made up your mind, I will be taking the remaining drops, Guild Leader Black Flame, Frey said, inwardly sighing in relief when she saw the determined look on Shi Feng. Although Frey had no idea what use the potion and feather had, she knew that the two Extraordinary-rank Secret Treasures were of great importance to her. Each of them was easily more valuable than a Legendary Weapon. The competition for the Red Dragon Nations Guild Leader position was extremely intense. Vice Guild Leaders would not only be tested on their administration and leadership capabilities, but they would also be tested on overall strength. The strength here referred to individual combat power and background, but out of the two, individual combat power was of much greater significance. After all, if a Vice Guild Leader wasnt sufficiently strong as an individual, it would be hard for them to get the Guilds numerous powerhouses to acknowledge them and follow their orders. Not to mention, as the Red Dragon Nation was a pseudo-apex power, the Guilds Guild Leader would be under constant threat of assassination from hostile forces. If a Guild Leader ended up getting killed, it would greatly impact the Red Dragon Nations reputation and influence. Therefore, individual combat power was the main criterion for the Red Dragon Nation when choosing a new Guild Leader. Currently, Frey was still weaker than the veteran Vice Guild Leaders of the Guild. Yet, the time for the current Guild Leader to retire was growing closer and closer. So, she was in urgent need of improving her combat power. If she could receive the bonuses of two Extraordinary-rank Secret Treasures, her chances of becoming the Red Dragon Nations next Guild Leader would increase substantially. Meanwhile, Shi Feng simply chuckled when he saw Frey hurriedly collecting the two Secret Treasures. Then, he sat down to rest while he appraised the feather in his hand. The Feather of Oath! Also known as the Twelve Wings of Heaven! While it might not be a Divine Artifact-ranked weapon or equipment, it was still a bona fide Divine Artifact. Moreover, it was a Divine Artifact whose value rivaled the Greater Gods Domains Ten Great Divine Weapons. In the distant past, the Goddess of Space had created the Feather of Oath and relied on it to achieve a transcendental position among Ancient Gods. At one point, she was even suspected of already becoming strong enough to rival Primordial Gods. However, very few people knew about the Feather of Oath in the current Greater Gods Domain. Shi Feng only knew about it because of a Primordial God Legacy he had obtained during his previous life. Through that Primordial God Legacy, he learned bits of information regarding the war of Ancient Gods. During that war, the Goddess of Space had relied on the Feather of Oath to fight a Primordial God at the heart of the Greater Gods Domain. Although the Goddess of Space did not emerge victorious in that fight, she didnt lose, either. Instead, she had fought the Primordial God to a stalemate. As a result of that fight, the Feather of Oaths name spread across the Twelve Sanctuaries. Meanwhile, the reason the Feather of Oath became known as the Twelve Wings of Heaven was its ability to summon twelve War Goddesses. It was with the help of these twelve War Goddesses that the Goddess of Space could hold her ground against a Primordial God. So, when Shi Feng saw the Feather of Oath appearing among the items dropped by the Holy Ancestor, he couldnt help but be surprised. In less than a minute, the Feather of Oaths information appeared before Shi Feng. [Feather of Oath] (Fragmented Divine Artifact) An item worn by the Goddess of Space. It is a treasure created using the souls of twelve heroes from before the Great Destruction. However, the Feather of Oath has suffered serious damage during a fight against three Holy Ancestors, and repairing it will require six World Sources. (Current number of World Sources absorbed: 0) Additional Skill 1- War Goddess Summoning: For every 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal expended, summon one War Goddess of the same tier(up to Tier 6). The War Goddesses summoned cannot exceed the summoner by ten levels. Every War Goddess summoned will last for three hours. Up to six War Goddesses can be summoned at the same time. No incantations required. No Cooldown. Additional Skill 2- Heroic Pledge: Expend one God Crystal to temporarily upgrade a War Goddess by one tier(up to Tier 6). Duration: 30 minutes Cooldown: 6 hours A Fragmented Divine Artifact?! Shi Feng nearly failed to keep his mouth shut when he saw the Feather of Oaths stats. He had long expected the Feather of Oath to be in a damaged state. After all, even if they were talking about the rewards for a World Mode Team Dungeons First Clear, the chances of a Legendary item appearing were relatively low. Hence, when he picked up the Feather of Oath, he had already mentally prepared himself to see it being at the Legendary rank only. Yet, now, not only was the Feather of Oath at the Fragmented Divine Artifact rank, but it even allowed him to summon up to six War Goddesses simultaneously! This was simply insane! These were War Goddesses they were talking about! Moreover, these werent just any War Goddesses, but War Goddesses from before the Great Destruction! While War Goddesses only possessed Life Rating on par with six-winged Valkyries, they were existences who had reached the extremes of contemporary combat. Hence, they were titled as War Goddesses. What did it mean to reach the extremes of contemporary combat? It meant achieving the standard of Gold Combat Techniques in every movement! Simply imagining an existence with the Life Rating of a six-winged Valkyrie executing a Gold Combat Technique with their every move sent shivers down Shi Fengs spine. Yet, now, he could summon six of such existences Subsequently, time passed bit by bit. After the fallen members of the team were resurrected and everyone rested for about ten minutes, Unrestrained Lionheart followed Freys instructions and began paying the teams foreign aid their promised compensation. Every foreign aid was given two Eternal Gold Coins. In the current Eternal Realm, where most experts only made several dozen Eternal Copper a day, a payout of two Eternal Gold was undoubtedly a fortune. When Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja each received two Eternal Gold from Unrestrained Lionheart, they couldnt help but be at a loss for words. After all, they had already received an immense harvest from the Courtyard of Space. They didnt think they would receive two Eternal Gold on top of that. Brother Black Flame, please have our share of the compensation. It is only because of you we could secure the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear. It is also thanks to you that we had the fortune to join this team. If we keep this compensation on top of enjoying all these benefits, Im afraid we will be too ashamed to even look at you in the future. Indeed. We are already satisfied with being able to enter the Courtyard of Space and obtain a Goddess Treasure Chest, Guild Leader Black Flame. After exchanging looks with each other, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja came to a silent agreement with each other and simultaneously shoved the Eternal Gold Coins they received to Shi Feng, giving him no chance to even refuse the coins. At this time, Unrestrained Lionheart also approached Shi Feng and handed him a small pile of coins with a smile, saying, Here is the remuneration Vice Guild Leader Frey promised and the payment for the 100 bottles of Compounding Potion, Mr. Black Flame. Your total comes to 14 Eternal Gold. After a slight pause, Unrestrained Lionheart continued, By the way, the Blood Hell Mountain Range will soon activate. Would you be interested in joining us to explore it, Mr. Black Flame? We can split the city entrance tokens we obtain evenly. After accepting the coins, Shi Feng shook his head and said, Thank you for the offer, Brother Lionheart. However, I have other matters to tend to, so Im afraid I cannot join your exploration. With the standard of Freys team, he would benefit greatly if they evenly split the city entrance tokens they obtained. However, now that he had 20 Eternal Gold Coins in hand, he could accomplish many matters he previously couldnt even dream of accomplishing. Meanwhile, those matters were of far greater importance than a couple of city entrance tokens. Very well, then. Unrestrained Lionheart couldnt help but feel a little disappointed. Even so, he didnt insist on the matter. We should be careful once we leave the Dungeon, Brother Lionheart, Shi Feng said when he saw that Frey was preparing the team to leave the Courtyard of Space. We might have secured World Modes First Clear, but the Dungeon has already attracted a lot of attention. The people outside are unlikely to let us leave without a fight. You can rest assured, Mr. Black Flame. Confidently, Unrestrained Lionheart said, Vice Guild Leader Frey has long prepared for such an eventuality. Anyone who dares try anything funny will meet a swift end! Shi Feng nodded, unsurprised by this revelation. As a Vice Guild Leader of a pseudo-apex power, Frey must have long grown accustomed to getting attacked at the entrance of Dungeons, so there was no way she came to a Dungeon as important as the Courtyard of Space unprepared. He only offered them a reminder so they didnt grow complacent after securing the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear. After all, nobody could tell how crazily the various powers would react to the first World Mode Team Dungeons First Clear. Meanwhile, after everyone was rested and ready to go, they stepped into the teleportation gate in the middle of the hall and exited the Courtyard of Space. Chapter 3393 - Chapter 467 - Grand Gathering Chapter 467 C Grand Gathering Outside the Courtyard of Space Following the appearance of numerous bright flashes, the figures of 88 players appeared in front of the cordoned teleportation gate. Theyre out! Look quickly! Those people finally came out! A burst of noise instantly turned the originally calm basin lively. At this time, over 50 thousand human and Holy Race players could be seen gathered around the teleportation gate. These players formed a tight encirclement around the teleportation gate, and the instant they saw the team of 88 players appearing in front of the gate, excitement and greed colored their eyes. It was as if they had just seen the most tempting treasure in existence, and they couldnt help but get the urge to charge forward and claim this treasure for themselves right away. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng and the others appeared outside the Courtyard of Space and saw the scene before them, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. Although it was already nighttime in the Corrosion Mountain Range, they could still see that players crowded their surroundings. They could also feel the gazes of all these players focusing on them. In a situation where most of these players were fourth-floor experts and above, their deterrence was greater than even that of Tier 6 Divine monsters. Are you kidding me? Death Omens eyes twitched a little when she saw how many players were surrounding them. This is probably what it feels like to be universally condemned Desolate Fury commented with a wry smile. At this time, even Unrestrained Lionheart, who had been full of confidence just a moment ago, had become surprisingly quiet. As a core member of a pseudo-apex power, Unrestrained Lionheart was no stranger to battles involving hundreds of thousands of players. After all, such battles were a common occurrence in the Greater Gods Domain. Not to mention, there were even specific battlefields in Gods Domain that allowed any player to join to experience battles of epic scale. However, while he might have felt some pressure when participating in those large-scale battles, it was nothing compared to what he felt from being stared at by tens of thousands of fourth-floor experts and above. If a person didnt possess a strong will, theyd probably experience a mental meltdown and collapse on the spot if they were put in a similar situation. Meanwhile, after a moment of silence, Shi Feng and the others quickly noticed that the players surrounding them were split into four camps; two for the human players and two for the Holy Race players. After seeing their team exit the Dungeon, these four camps each sent several representatives to meet them. Greetings, Vice Guild Leader Frey. I have heard many great things about you. I am Mad Blade, the representative of the four conglomerates gathered. On behalf of the four conglomerates, I would like to congratulate you for securing the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear and bringing honor to the human race, a Level 142, Tier 5 Tigerkin Berserker from the human players side said with a smile. Following the Tigerkin Berserker, a Level 141, Tier 5 Giant carrying a shield on his back also offered his congratulations to Frey, saying, I am Moving Mountain. On behalf of the seventeen Guilds gathered, congratulations on conquering the World Mode Courtyard of Space, Miss Frey. Unrestrained Lionheart couldnt help but gasp when he heard the two peoples introduction. Why are they here? Unrestrained Lionheart muttered in disbelief, sweat rolling down his forehead as he looked at Mad Blade and Moving Mountain. Are they famous, Senior Lionheart? Thousand Scars asked, her curiosity piqued when she saw Unrestrained Lionhearts behavior. Theyre more than just famous. On behalf of Unrestrained Lionheart, White Owl nervously answered, They are legends who have risen to prominence over a century ago. Both of them are experts who had entered the Luminous Glory Lists top three when they were young. After reaching Tier 6, they have even fought against many old monsters belonging to the various apex powers without dying even once. Around two decades ago, they were tasked with guarding two large-scale Saint Camps situated at the northern ruins. At the time, anyone who dared to attack them could last no more than ten moves. Even Saints were no exception I never thought they would show up in this place. Thousand Scars, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja nervously gulped when they heard White Owls introduction. Saints belonged to the strongest category of players in the Holy World. Yet, even Saints couldnt last more than ten moves against Mad Blade and Moving Mountain? Just what standard had these two individuals reached already? It should be known that a Saint could easily fight against multiple fifth-floor experts without losing. If Mad Blade and Moving Mountain had the strength to kill a Saint in under ten moves, just one of them could probably annihilate their entire team At this time, two experts from the Holy Race stepped forward, the approach of these two individuals causing Mad Blade and Moving Mountain to back away a little. Hints of fear had even appeared in Mad Blades and Moving Mountains eyes when they looked at the two Holy Race experts. Both of these Holy Race experts looked middle-aged. One looked serious and sharp, while the other was brimming with fighting spirit. However, unlike Mad Blade and Moving Mountain, these two Holy Race experts did not take the initiative to greet Frey. Instead, they simply looked at her indifferently. Hurry up and use the Tier 5 Group Teleportation Scroll, Lionheart! Frey anxiously whispered to Unrestrained Lionheart as she kept her eyes on the four experts in front of her. Although she had made ample preparations to fight against even a force of several Saints and several hundred fifth-floor experts, she wasnt the least bit confident that her preparations could have any use against these four experts. Others might not know exactly how strong Mad Blade and Moving Mountain were, but Frey did. Not only were the two Saints, but they had also created a complete set of Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Typically, most Saints and fifth-floor experts who had created Exclusive Absolute Techniques for themselves would only be limited to one of three types: offensive, defensive, or movement. However, Mad Blade and Moving Mountain had created a complete set of Exclusive Absolute Techniques. So, unlike other Saints and fifth-floor experts, Mad Blade and Moving Mountain werent just strong in one aspect but all aspects instead. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that they had no weaknesses, at least when it came to combat techniques. However, even more importantly was that both Mad Blade and Moving Mountain were in possession of Legendary Weapons. If a Saint with no Legendary Weapons like Parker were to fight them, the fight would end as soon as it began Lionheart? Frey couldnt help but grow confused when she saw no response from Unrestrained Lionheart. Meanwhile, after a long silence, Unrestrained Lionheart whispered back, Ive been trying to use it the instant they showed up, but the scroll hasnt shown any reaction even until now Its not responding? Frey quickly scanned her surroundings when she heard Unrestrained Lionhearts words, but doing so only confused her even more. But theres no magic barrier here! Based on her knowledge, a teleportation scroll would only fail to activate if the surrounding space was sealed. Meanwhile, a magic barrier was required to seal the space of an area. However, she couldnt even feel any mana fluctuations in the area right now, let alone see a magic barrier. You can stop searching, Miss Frey. Magic barriers arent the only way to lock down space. You can achieve a similar feat if you have a Mana Domain of a sufficiently high standard, Moving Mountain said, chuckling. Frey and the others went pale when they heard Moving Mountains explanation. Although they had long known that Saints were individuals who had mastered certain aspects of mana to the extreme, they had never heard of any Saint having the ability to lock down space with their Mana Domain Following Moving Mountains explanation, Mad Blade said, Vice Guild Leader Frey, I am sure you understand why we have surrounded you here. For your own sake, hand over all your gains from the Courtyard of Space. Otherwise, things wont end with you and your team simply dying once! Chapter 3394 - Chapter 468 - Madman Black Flame Chapter 468 C Madman Black Flame Mad Blades words were akin to whispers from hell, causing Frey and her team members to feel as if their feet were entangled in thorny vines, and the only thing they could do was wait for death to claim their lives. Mad Blade, Moving Mountain, you two best not go too far! Arent you afraid of the Red Dragon Nations retaliation?! Unrestrained Lionheart bellowed in an attempt to shake away his anxiety. Following Unrestrained Lionhearts words, all of the players surrounding Freys team laughed as if they had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Afraid? Of course, were afraid! Chuckling, Moving Mountain said, Thats why weve all formed alliances. On my side, there is the Hundred City Alliance made up of 17 upper-ranking hegemonic powers. On Old Blades side, there is the Conglomerate Alliance made up of four cross-realm conglomerates. Do you think the Red Dragon Nation is a match for our two alliances? Unrestrained Lionhearts and Freys expressions turned even grimmer when they heard Moving Mountains words. As for White Owl, Desolate Fury, and the others, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded by this revelation. An alliance between seventeen upper-ranking hegemonic powers. An alliance between four cross-realm conglomerates. Even when a Divine Artifact had appeared in the past, such large and powerful alliances had never been formed. Back then, the alliances formed by the various powers would, at most, consist of five or six upper-ranking hegemonic powers or two conglomerates. If seventeen upper-ranking hegemonic powers and four conglomerates banded together, they could probably put up a fight against even a bona fide apex power. Yet, all these upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates had banded together just to deal with their team of 88? Are these people insane? Thousand Scars despaired over this situation. Its not like were trying to monopolize the Eternal Realm. All we did was get the First Clear of a World Mode Dungeon. Is this what Zero Wings members felt when going up against the Paimon Conglomerate? Death Omen wryly smiled in this situation, and she couldnt help but resonate with Shi Fengs situation when the Paimon Conglomerate targeted him in the Miniature Ancient World. At this time, only Shi Feng was unsurprised by the terrifying scene before him. This was also why Shi Feng had given Unrestrained Lionheart a reminder before they exited the Dungeon. Whether it was Thousand Scars or Frey, they had severely underestimated the importance of the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces First Clear in the various powers eyes. More specifically, they had underestimated the desire of the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates to improve their standings in the Greater Gods Domain. At present, the power structure in the Greater Gods Domain was already fixed. Unless upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates could produce a heaven-defying individual, they would have no choice but to submit to the various apex powers and pseudo-apex powers for the rest of their continued existence. However, the emergence of the Eternal Realm created an opportunity for the various powers to elevate their status. Be it apex powers or small Guilds, everyone would have the same starting point in the Eternal Realm. It was akin to playing on the launch day of a new Gods Domain. In a situation where everyone understood the significant impact Gods Domain had on the real world, which power wouldnt go crazy over the Eternal Realm? It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that so long as there was an opportunity to gain an advantage, every player and power in the Eternal Realm would do everything they could to secure it. Meanwhile, the rewards of a World Mode Team Dungeon could undoubtedly provide the various powers with a massive advantage. Not to mention, this was also a good opportunity to eliminate a powerful competition. So, there was no way the various powers would give up on such an opportunity. While Frey and the others had fallen into despair and hesitation, a team of several hundred Tier 5 experts was quietly spectating the situation from a distant corner. Meanwhile, standing among these experts was Moro. All of our forces are here, Lord Moro. Should we act now? Desert Web asked. If were too late to act, the four alliances might get away with the items. Dont worry. We still have plenty of time, Moro said, smiling. Freys a stubborn woman. If we want to reap more profits from her, well have to wait until she starts to lose team members. If we wait until more than half her team is gone, she might even agree to hand over all of the loot to us in exchange for the rest of her teams survival. If I can get my hands on all the loot, well see if any of the Grand Elders will side with her. Parker secretly nodded in agreement with Moro. He also couldnt help but admire Moros insight. Originally, he thought they were finished, and all the glory would be taken by Frey alone. But now, thanks to Moros brilliant plan, Frey had become their stepping stone instead. In front of the Courtyard of Spaces teleportation gate After scanning the tens of thousands of experts surrounding them, Frey took a deep breath and whispered to Shi Feng, Im afraid we wont be making it out of here alive, Guild Leader Black Flame. However, their primary target is me. It is my fault for not preparing sufficiently, so I will figure out a way to open a path for you and your friends. At that time, use that opportunity to flee. So long as you can break out of the spatial lockdowns radius, escaping shouldnt be difficult. At this point, Frey was already certain that neither Mad Blade nor Moving Mountain intended to let her and the Red Dragon Nations members leave. With how many experts there were surrounding them, there was no way the Red Dragon Nations members could break out of the encirclement and escape, either. The only thing they could do was keep all these experts occupied and hopefully create an opening for those not belonging to the Red Dragon Nation to escape. Would you be willing to make a deal with me, Miss Frey? Instead of answering Freys suggestion, Shi Feng nonchalantly smiled and offered her a different proposal. I can safely get your team out of here in exchange for two hundred million Star Coins. Shi Fengs words immediately stunned Frey. Death Omen and Thousand Scars also couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in utter surprise. They couldnt believe that Shi Feng was still in the mood for jokes despite the situation they were in. Are you sure youre not joking with me, Guild Leader Black Flame? Frey asked, wondering if Shi Feng had lost his mind. They were basically at a dead end right now. Moreover, it was one that would result in them getting disqualified from the Eternal Realm. At this moment, she would gladly pay even one billion Star Coins if she could avoid this dead end, let alone two hundred million. But could there really be a way out of this situation? Of course not. Im very much serious, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Frey took a long look into Shi Fengs eyes and saw that the man, indeed, wasnt joking with her. This led her to remember all the impromptu agreements she had made with Shi Feng thus far and how much Shi Feng seemed to love money. Honestly, she had no idea whether she should be grateful or angry at him. Although Shi Feng was always there to help her in a pinch, he would always ask for large sums of money in return. However, considering their relationship was primarily that of business partners and little of anything else, Frey ultimately sighed and smiled, saying, Fine. If you can bring us out of here, Ill transfer two hundred million to your account as soon as were safe! Good! That settles it! Shi Feng smiled. With this, he would finally have enough money for his training center. At the same time as Shi Feng and Frey reached an agreement, Mad Blade and Moving Mountain also overheard their conversation, and they couldnt help but be incensed by what they heard. Shi Fengs behavior clearly showed that he thought nothing of them! Moreover, rather than a business talk, it looked more like Shi Feng and Frey were flirting! Good! Very good! I want to see how long you can stay arrogant, kid! Mad Blade was both angry and amused by Shi Fengs behavior. Immediately, he charged toward Shi Feng with his greatsword stirring up a storm. Chapter 3395 - Chapter 469 - War Goddesss Initial Appearance Chapter 469 C War Goddesss Initial Appearance Not good! Unrestrained Lionheart panicked when he saw Mad Blade lunging in for an attack. Mad Blade, also known as the Made Gale Saint, might be a Berserker, but he was in possession of the tigerkin races strongest bloodline, the Golden Bloodline. As a result, when engaged in melee combat, he possessed explosive speed and power that allowed him to surpass even Assassins of the same tier. Currently, there were less than 100 yards separating Mad Blade from Shi Feng. This was a distance that even a normal Tier 5 Berserker could cover in an instant, let alone Mad Blade. At this distance, there was nothing Unrestrained Lionheart or anyone else on the team could do to help Shi Feng So fast! Standing behind Shi Feng, Death Omen and Thousand Scars went wide-eyed, shocked by the speed Mad Blade displayed. Fast! Mad Blade was too fast! Even as Tier 5 Assassins, they barely managed to react to Mad Blades advance. In the time it took them to blink their eyes, Mad Blade had already appeared in front of Shi Feng. The Berserker was so fast that it was as if he had used a high-tiered Teleportation Spell. When Tier 5 Grand Wizards used a Tier 5 Teleportation Spell, while they crossed distances of over a thousand yards instantly and without any delays, they needed to reorient themselves and adjust their bodies accordingly. Meanwhile, this process required time. Although it would take little time, they must complete this process before taking further action. However, Mad Blade didnt need to do so. Because he had physically crossed the distance between himself and Shi Feng in an instant, it was as if he had always stood in front of Shi Feng. Meanwhile, as soon as Mad Blade reached Shi Feng, the massive greatsword he wielded transformed into a wall of wind that smashed into Shi Feng. As the wall of wind covered a large area, facing it was akin to going up against the attacks of four Tier 5 Combat Puppets simultaneously. As expected of a Saint who has created a complete set of Exclusive Absolute Techniques. Shi Feng dared not take any chances when going up against the wind wall coming at him. Immediately, he activated Abyssal Power, increasing his Defense by 100%, Strength by 150%, Agility by 60%, Physique by 50%, and Endurance by 100% for three minutes. Then, he swung the Winter of Eternal Night, having it meet Mad Blades attack. Radiant Night! Second Sword, Holy Devour! Suddenly, surging flames crashed into the wall of wind. Boom! The collision between the flames and wind created countless spatial rifts in the surrounding area and powerful shockwaves that sent nearby Tier 5 experts flying several dozen yards backward. Subsequently, Shi Fengs figure could be seen flying out of the fiery storm and landing in front of the teleportation gate. He then stumbled three steps backward before catching his feet. Even after activating Abyssal Power, Shi Feng still lost 66% of his HP from blocking Mad Blades attack. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the Mad Gale Saint was already close to matching the sealed Holy Ancestor in terms of raw power. It seems youre not all talk after all, Mad Blade commented with a sneer when he saw Shi Feng still standing. But this is the end of the line for you. After saying so, Mad Blade stepped out of the dissipating storm and charged at Shi Feng once more. Apart from Frey and a few other experts that rivaled Tier 6 players, nobody else present managed to follow his speed. Mad Blade! Do you think Ill continue letting you run free?! Frey shouted as she swung the Nethersoul staff. Mad Blade had acted very suddenly just now, so Frey had failed to react to his attack in time. However, now that she was ready, she naturally wouldnt let the Berserker act as he wished anymore. Immediately, sixteen semi-translucent Soul Annihilation Spears flew at Mad Blade. As these spears were immune to the resistance of space, they flew faster than even a Tier 6 Rangers arrows. Like lightning bolts, they instantly reached Mad Blade and threatened to bombard him from all directions. You think you can stop me? Mad Blade looked at the approaching Soul Annihilation Spears in contempt. Then, he promptly changed his footwork. Exclusive Absolute Technique, Phantasm Steps! Subsequently, all sixteen Soul Annihilation Spears harmlessly passed through Mad Blades body as if it was nothing but an illusion. Black Flame! Run! Unrestrained Lionheart instinctively shouted when he saw Freys attack failing to connect. The Phantasm Steps technique was Mad Blades trademark move. It was a footwork very close to reaching the Gold Combat Technique standard. Once Mad Blade executed this footwork, even Frey, someone who wielded a Fragmented Divine Weapon, could do nothing to him, and she would have no choice but to teleport away and avoid staying anywhere near Mad Blade temporarily. Either that or shed have to waste a Lifesaving Skill to counter the technique. Dammit! Frustration filled Frey when she saw Mad Blade disappearing. If only she had enough Seven Luminaries Crystals on hand. In that case, shed have access to two Extraordinary-ranked Secret Treasures to bolster her strength, and shed have no trouble fighting against Mad Blade. Meanwhile, a brief moment after Mad Blade had disappeared from everyones sight, he reappeared in front of Shi Feng. Lets see how you stay arrogant now, you little punk! After saying so, Mad Blade executed Wind Barrier, his offensive-type Exclusive Absolute Technique, for a second time. However, the instant Mad Blade swung his greatsword, he could faintly hear Shi Feng muttering something to himself. Sure enough, trying to fight Tier 5 old monsters with the strength of a Tier 4 Sword Emperor is still asking for too much. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, a purple lightning bolt suddenly descended from the skies, threatening to strike Mad Blade if the Berserker persisted in his frontal assault. However, relying on instincts, Mad Blade swiftly twisted his body, spinning away from the lightning bolt and smoothly transitioning into attacking Shi Feng from the side. Clang! A loud metallic clang echoed across the battlefield. Then, following it was silence. Who?! Mad Blade bellowed as he turned to look at the person who stopped his attack. Although he didnt back his side attack with any combat techniques, the attack still carried power at the Tier 6 standard because of his Legendary Greatsword. It wasnt an attack ordinary Tier 5 experts could casually block. A War Goddess? Surprise flashed in Mad Blades eyes as he looked at the spear-wielding woman before him. At the same time as Mad Blade got a good look at the person who had blocked his attack, everyone else present also saw the woman dressed like a holy knight standing in front of Shi Feng, protecting him. Immediately, shock and confusion spread. Is this his trump card? A look of surprise flashed in Freys eyes as she looked at the War Goddess, who had suddenly appeared in front of Shi Feng. There were some incredibly powerful NPCs in Gods Domain, and among them were War Goddesses. According to rumors, War Goddesses had developed their techniques to the extreme and mastered complete sets of Gold Combat Techniques. It was also rumored that War Goddesses could fight against Dragons of the same tier. However, under normal circumstances, players couldnt even come into contact with such NPCs, let alone summon one to fight for them. Such a feat was as difficult as summoning a Dragon to fight for them. So what if you have a War Goddess? After his initial surprise, Mad Blade turned to look at Shi Feng in contempt. At the end of the day, she is only a Level 150, Tier 4 War Goddess. Do you think she alone can block all of my attacks? War Goddesses might be frightening foes to fight against, but that was only if one went up against War Goddesses of the same tier or higher. A Tier 4 War Goddess might be of some threat to Mad Blade, but that wasnt enough to stop him from killing Shi Feng. In response to Mad Blades provocation, Shi Feng faintly smiled and asked, If ones not enoughwhat about six? Chapter 3396 - Chapter 470 - One Move? Chapter 470 C One Move? Six? Mad Blade laughed at Shi Fengs comment. Do you think youre the War Gods Temples Grand Adjudicator? War Goddesses were the War Gods Temples strongest combatants, and the birth of every War Goddess came with great difficulty. Even the War Gods Temples main headquarters did not have many War Goddesses operating directly under it. Meanwhile, the War Gods Temples Grand Adjudicator was the only person with authority to command the main headquarters War Goddesses. However, as soon as Mad Blade finished speaking, Shi Feng injected 5,000 more units of Seven Luminaries Crystal into the Feather of Oath, causing five lightning bolts to descend from the sky. Then, once the dust settled, five more lithe figures appeared before Shi Feng. Of these women, some wielded shields, some wielded greatswords, and some wielded great bows. Everyone involuntarily gasped when they saw the six War Goddesses standing in a row in front of Shi Feng. How is this possible?! Unrestrained Lionhearts eyes nearly fell out of their sockets when he saw the six War Goddesses. War Goddesses! Six of them! Even the War Gods Temples main headquarters would probably have to send all of its War Goddesses to match this number. Old Blade! Kill him quickly! While everyone was in a daze, Moving Mountain suddenly shouted at Mad Blade, his powerful voice coming from his four-meter-tall body echoing throughout the entire basin. Hearing this, Mad Blade instantly snapped out of his daze and used Storm Realm, his Legendary Greatswords Additional Skill, at Shi Feng. War Goddesses were existences rivaling Dragons. Moreover, as they were NPCs, they could not only coordinate their movements with each other, but they could do it better than even players. If six Tier 4 War Goddesses worked together, they could possibly slay even a Tier 5 Dragon. Immediately, with Mad Blade as the center, space-shredding wind blades spread to the surroundings, covering a 1,000-yard radius. Too late! When Shi Feng saw Mad Blade using a Large-scale Destruction Spell, he promptly had the War Goddesses take action. Subsequently, the six Level 150, Tier 4 War Goddesses could be seen attacking Mad Blade simultaneously. However, none of them attacked him with their weapons. Instead, they created numerous divine runes around Mad Blade, suppressing him and preventing any of his mana from spreading. Tier 4 Medium-scale Combination Super Spell, Sacred Seal! In the eyes of most players, War Goddesses were only NPCs who had mastered the art of combat to the extreme. Few people knew that War Goddesses were in possession of numerous Super Spells, especially Combination Super Spells. War Goddesses could cast Small-scale Combination Super Spells if there were three of them working together, medium-scale if there were six, large-scale if there were nine, and super-large-scale if there were twelve. This was why the Goddess of Space could go against Primordial Gods with the help of twelve War Goddesses. Although Shi Feng could only summon Tier 4 War Goddesses right now, a Tier 4 Medium-scale Combination Super Spells might was already close to matching that of Tier 6 Curses. Boom! A deafening explosion echoed throughout the basin, stupefying everyone present. Hes gone? Is this the power of War Goddesses? When Unrestrained Lionheart saw that the place where Mad Blade originally stood had transformed into an empty void, an indescribable sense of shock filled him. Although Unrestrained Lionheart knew that War Goddesses were terrifying foes to face, the ones Shi Feng summoned were only at Tier 4. In his opinion, even if six Tier 4 War Goddesses worked together, they would be fortunate if they could even pin down Mad Blade. It should be known that Mad Blade was a Saint who had been active for over a century already. Now that he had risen to Tier 5, with the help of his Legendary Weapon, the average Tier 6 expert would be helpless against him. They might even get killed if they werent careful. Yet, now, Mad Blade had failed to survive even one move against the six Tier 4 War Goddesses Incredible! Guild Leader Black Flame is simply incredible! When Cross saw Mad Blade getting obliterated, his eyes glowed with uncontrolled excitement. At least were safe now, Thousand Scars thought in excitement and relief when she saw the six War Goddesses instantly eliminate Mad Blade. Mad Blade was one of the strongest players present. If even Mad Blade couldnt survive one move against the six War Goddesses, it should be simple for their team to break out of this encirclement. After all, even if all of the other rabbles worked together, the threat they posed to their team wouldnt be comparable to the threat Mad Blade posed. Meanwhile, following Mad Blades death, ugly expressions appeared on the players belonging to the two human alliances. It was especially so for the Red Dragon Nation members on Moros side. What should we do now, Lord Moro? Desert Web quietly asked as he looked at Moro. The combination attack of those six War Goddesses rival Tier 6 Curses. If Vice Guild Leader Freys team focuses solely on escaping, Moving Mountain and the others wont be able to stop them Frey herself possessed astonishing strength. Even if numerous ordinary fifth-floor experts worked together, they would have difficulty keeping her pinned. Only veteran Saints like Mad Blade and Moving Mountain could pin and kill her. This was also why the two human alliances had chosen the two veteran Saints to represent them. Now that Mad Blade had gotten killed, if Shi Feng had his six War Goddesses keep Moving Mountain distracted, Frey could easily use one of her trump cards to escape. Nothing. We keep on waiting, Moro said with a faint smile. Then, looking at Shi Fengs distant figure, he continued, It seems Black Flame is indeed capable. Its no wonder Frey is willing to pay an exorbitant price to hire him. Its a pity that Mad Blade and Moving Mountain arent the only players present capable of killing Tier 6 experts. The Holy Races experts? When Desert Web heard Moros words, he turned to look at the Holy Race players who had been calmly watching from the side throughout this entire time. The strength of Holy Race players was apparent to all in the Eternal Realm. At the same tier, most human players were not a match for Holy Race players. In the case of Holy Race experts capable of using Holy Aura, even titled experts would have to work in pairs just to take on one such expert. Moreover, these were only the most common Holy Race experts they were talking about. Among Holy Race experts, the truly powerful ones were capable of using their Holy Aura to execute Holy Arts. According to the information human players have obtained thus far, Holy Arts could be categorized into three ranks. Similar to combat techniques, the ranks were Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Even experts capable of using Bronze Holy Arts could already rival the average Saint-ranked expert. As far as Moro knew, out of the Holy Race players present, over thirty could use Bronze Holy Arts, and five could use Silver Holy Arts. Of the latter group, the leaders of the two Holy Race powers could even use Advanced Silver Holy Arts. Meanwhile, after silence enveloped the battlefield for a short moment, the two Holy Race powers members suddenly stormed forward and surrounded Freys team. Bate! What are you trying to do?! Moving Mountain shouted as he looked at the leader of one of the Holy Race powers. Dont forget our agreement! You still dare bring up our agreement after this embarrassing display? the man named Bate said disdainfully. If not for your ability to seal space, do you honestly think we need to partner with you aliens? Since you have already proven yourself incapable of keeping them here, it is our turn to act. You just need to keep locking down this space. If you cant do that much, dont even think of getting any of the loot! After saying so, Bate gestured for his subordinates to attack. Subsequently, Bate and more than 50 other Holy Race experts charged Freys team together. Every one of these Holy Race experts was at Tier 5. When clad in their Holy Auras, their presence was no weaker than that of Tier 5 Saints. Moreover, four among them had presences no weaker than Mad Blade. Frey couldnt help but gasp when she saw this scene. A force of 50-plus Tier 5 Saints and four experts on Mad Blades caliber was something even the Red Dragon Nation would have difficulty fielding. Chapter 3397 - Chapter 471 - The Zenith of Techniques Chapter 471 C The Zenith of Techniques TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 470: four experts on Mad Blades caliber Changed to: five experts on Mad Blades caliber Is this the Holy Races strength? Didnt our reports say they only have thirty Bronze Holy Art users? Dammit! These bastards have been hiding their strength! How are we supposed to contest for the loot now?! The human players present were greatly shocked when they saw the composition of the Holy Race team charging Freys team. Saint-ranked experts were extremely rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Even among the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers, Saints would be put into core executive positions at the very minimum. Of the human powers present, even if the seventeen Guilds and four conglomerates joined forces, they wouldnt have more than twenty Saints. Yet, now, it was revealed that the Holy Races powers had over 50 Saint-ranked experts With such a huge disparity in numbers, many of the human players present couldnt help but suspect whether they could even get any of the items dropped by Freys team. Lord Moro, the Holy Races strength After looking at the 50-plus Holy Race experts charging Freys team, Desert Web couldnt help but turn to Moro worriedly. Hasnt it exceeded our expectations by too much? According to their investigation, the Holy Races two powers should, at most, have thirty experts who rivaled human Saints. They had also prepared to assist Freys team escape under this assumption. Now that it was revealed that there were more than fifty Saint-ranked experts on the Holy Races side, if they proceeded with their plan to help Freys team escape, not only was there a high risk of their plan failing, but they would also risk getting themselves killed. At this time, Moros complexion had turned incredibly gloomy. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Originally, he thought he could safely play the role of the oriole. Yet, the mantis he was looking to prey on turned out to be a lion. If he insisted on third-partying in this situation, he and his team were bound to face certain death. After a quick deliberation, Moro hurriedly said to Desert Web, Contact Moving Mountain. Tell him I have a way for us to secure the Courtyard of Spaces loot, but I want half of it! Understood! Hearing Moros command, Desert Web hurriedly ran over to Moving Mountain. While Desert Web was rushing toward Moving Mountain, Frey, who was originally filled with the hope of escaping, revealed a bitter smile. It seems you wont get to earn that 200 million, Guild Leader Black Flame, Frey jokingly said to Shi Feng. Instead of the entire team, I hope you can safely get Crest out. I will pay you 50 million Star Coins if you succeed. Frey did not hold any hopes of her escaping safely since she knew she was everyones primary target. However, it might be possible for Crest to escape since nobody was paying any particular attention to him. When Unrestrained Lionheart overheard Freys words, he promptly instructed everyone in the team to provide cover for Crests escape. Likewise, he, too, understood that there was no way for their team to escape from this place in one piece. It should be known that the Holy Races powers had five experts on Mad Blades caliber. Meanwhile, three were enough to keep Shi Fengs War Goddesses distracted, while the remaining two could keep Frey pinned. Without Frey and the six War Goddesses, the Holy Races remaining 50-plus Saint-ranked experts could easily slaughter the rest of their team. Dont worry, Miss Frey. I will collect those 200 million Star Coins from you, Shi Feng calmly said with a smile. I will open a path afterward, so try to keep up as much as possible. You will open a path? When Frey heard Shi Fengs words, she couldnt help but switch her gaze between Shi Feng and the 50-plus Holy Race experts in confusion, thinking that Shi Feng must be joking with her. This was an encirclement formed by more than fifty Saint-ranked experts they were talking about. In a situation where less than 300 yards separated both sides, their teams chances of breaking through the encirclement were practically zero. Even if they tried to break through from one specific direction, they would have to face a minimum of twenty Saint-ranked experts and three Holy Race experts of Mad Blades caliber. Charge! However, Shi Feng did not give Frey and the others any time to think. Immediately, he charged forward in the direction of the Corrosion Mountain Ranges exit. Seeing this, Frey gritted her teeth and signaled Unrestrained Lionheart and the others with her eyes. Then, everyone quickly followed Shi Feng. Do they want to go down fighting? When Bate saw the actions of Freys team, he looked toward the four male Holy Race players nearby and said, Deathclaw, Heavy Fist, you four gather at my location! Well eliminate them in one fell swoop! Had Freys team chosen to split up and try to break through from multiple directions, he would have had to split his forces to prevent anyone from slipping through. However, now that Frey had chosen to concentrate her teams strength, he could gather the four other experts capable of using Silver Holy Arts, and the five of them could work together. Got it! The four Holy Race men with presences as powerful as Mad Blade nodded and quickly congregated at Bates location. Although Shi Feng and the others moved very quickly, the Holy Race experts who had mastered Silver Holy Arts were even quicker. Before Shi Feng and the others could get within 50 yards of the encirclement, Bate and the others had already grouped up. You four take care of that summoner! Ill take care of the woman! Bate said as he swept his gaze across the War Goddesses. He did not intend to take any risks. Since the six War Goddesses were summoned creatures, they would disappear if their summoner died. In that case, killing Shi Feng would be the most efficient way to eliminate them. Upon hearing Bates arrangement, Deathclaw and the others charged at Shi Feng without hesitation, their bodies vanishing on the spot. As experts capable of using Silver Holy Arts, they benefited much more from their Holy Aura than other Holy Race experts. As a result, they could move even faster than Mad Blade when they got serious. So fast! Frey was greatly shocked when she saw Deathclaw and the others disappearing from her sight. Even though her attention was on Deathclaw and the others this entire time, they moved so quickly that she only managed to catch a glimpse of their advance. As for everyone else on her team, they probably didnt even catch a glimpse. When Unrestrained Lionheart saw Deathclaws group disappearing, he promptly shouted, Black Flame, dodge! Although Unrestrained Lionheart couldnt keep up with the speed of Deathclaws group, even a fool could tell that the four experts were targeting Shi Feng. Unfortunately, apart from shouting a reminder, there was nothing else he could do to help Shi Feng. It might be the smartest decision for you to target me, but its a pity you have no idea what you are facing, Shi Feng thought, smiling when he saw Deathclaws group disappearing. Heroic Pledge! With just a thought from Shi Feng, one of the God Crystals in Shi Fengs bag space merged with the Feather of Oath. Immediately, a ripple of power spread across the entire battlefield, causing everyone present to shudder involuntarily. Meanwhile, the origin of this ripple was a spear-wielding War Goddess. Somethings not right! Retreat! Bate shouted at Deathclaw and the others through the team chat. Although he had no idea what had suddenly changed, his instincts warned him of grave danger. Deathclaw and others also instinctively felt something was amiss, the alarm bells in their minds blaring at full volume. Without a second thought, they promptly fled in the direction they came from. However, the instant Deathclaw and the others began to retreat, a spear-wielding woman exuding a sacred aura suddenly appeared in their path. Then, this woman split into four identical copies of herself and executed three attacks against them. Although they had tried to defend themselves against the spear-wielding woman The first attack tore down their defenses, the second attack pierced their bodies, and the third attack disintegrated their bodies! The three attacks happened slowly in the perception of the players nearby. However, in reality, the entire process happened in an instant, and those watching from afar only saw a bright flash enveloping Deathclaws group. Then, when the flash faded, only a spear-wielding War Goddess could be seen standing where Deathclaws group originally stood, the woman radiating an aura that caused even the Tier 4 players to stand over a thousand yards away to tremble in fear. Chapter 3398 - Chapter 472 - Becoming a Legend In One Battle Chapter 472 C Becoming a Legend In One Battle They died? Arent those four supposed to be able to use Silver Holy Arts? Can someone tell me what just happened? Upon seeing Deathclaws group of four getting killed, the human players spectating from a distance were immediately dumbfounded. Many of the human players present had conducted an investigation into the Holy Race, so they knew that Holy Race experts capable of using Silver Holy Arts could rival experts such as Mad Blade. Previously, when Mad Blade died, everyone could still see how it happened. However, none of them managed to see how Deathclaws group died. All they saw was a bright flash. Then, the four experts were gone Impossible! Bate found this situation even more unbelievable than the spectating human players. Even though he had clearly seen how Deathclaws group died, his mind still couldnt accept this situation. Experts capable of using Silver Holy Arts were top-tier existences even among the Holy Races experts. If Deathclaws group of four worked together, they could even hold their ground against a Tier 6 Holy God. Yet, now, they failed to last even one move against a human NPC? At this time, Frey and the others standing behind Shi Feng were likewise astonished by this development. Are Tier 4 War Goddesses supposed to be this strong? Unrestrained Lionheart couldnt help but doubt his knowledge of Gods Domain as he looked at the spear-wielding War Goddess. No, thats not right! Seemingly noticing something, Frey promptly used an Identification Skill on the spear-wielding War Goddess. Then, she exclaimed, Tier 5! Shes a Tier 5 War Goddess! Tier 5? Unrestrained Lionheart also hurriedly used his Identification Skill when he heard Freys claim. Then, with a look of disbelief, he exclaimed, How is this possible?! Apart from Frey and Unrestrained Lionheart, those who had noticed that the spear-wielding War Goddess had risen to Tier 5 were also shocked by this development, and they couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion. A Tier 5 War Goddess! How can he command a Tier 5 War Goddess?! Is he an NPC?! Heavens! I must be dreaming! Who is that Black Flame? Holy Race players might be unfamiliar with the existence of War Goddesses, but it was a different story for human players. It was especially so for the human experts present. War Goddesses were existences that rivaled Dragons of the same tier! For many of the Tier 5 experts present, a Tier 4 War Goddess might not be too big of a threat. However, if they had to go up against a Tier 5 War Goddess, thatd be no different than knocking on deaths door. For players, a War Goddess of the same tier was essentially unbeatable. Unless, of course, a player had mastered a complete set of Gold Combat Techniques or were fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. This was because a War Goddess had mastered the art of combat to the extremes, and every one of her moves was basically a Gold Combat Technique. If the many Tier 5 experts present worked together, it would still be possible for them to survive a fight against a Tier 5 Dragon. They would even have hope of slaying it. However, if they had to fight a Tier 5 War Goddess, they would have zero chances of winning. All they could do was wait for death to claim them. In the current Eternal Realm, a Tier 5 War Goddesses was absolutely invincible among players. Logically, it shouldnt be possible for current players to wield such strength in the Eternal Realm. Meanwhile, after a moment of silence, Shi Feng and the others quickly exited the basin with the help of the Tier 5 War Goddesss frightening deterrence. Throughout this process, neither the human players nor the Holy Race players present dared to get close to Shi Feng and the others. Everyone simply stood aside and watched as the team left. Even Bate, who commanded the two Holy Race powers, took the initiative to step aside, not daring to show any hostilities against Shi Fengs team. While Bate was confident he could survive against even a Tier 5 Dragon for some time, he did not think he could last even a moment against the Tier 5 War Goddess. A Tier 5 Dragon might have vastly superior Basic Attributes than he did, but so long as he didnt try to block any of the dragons attacks and relied only on evasion, hed be able to hold out for quite some time. However, the Tier 5 War Goddess not only possessed greater Basic Attributes than him, but she also had an overwhelming advantage in technique standards. He simply stood no chance against such an existence. When Shi Feng and the others finally disappeared from the basin, the players in front of the Courtyard of Spaces teleportation gate sighed in relief. Im afraid we will have a hard time explaining ourselves to the Grand Elders now, Lord Moro Desert Web said, his mind at a loss on what to do when he saw Freys team disappearing. Moro had borrowed many experts from the Red Dragon Nations Grand Elders for the sake of securing the Courtyard of Spaces loot. Yet, now, he had failed to obtain anything. There was no way the Grand Elders would spare him easily for wasting their subordinates precious development time. Meanwhile, Parker was filled with regrets when he saw Freys team successfully escaping. He would have been the number one expert working under Frey if he had chosen to stay with Frey. With the loot Frey obtained from the World Mode Courtyard of Space, she could significantly elevate her position in the Red Dragon Nation. At the same time, he could almost certainly become an Elder of the pseudo-apex power, and he wouldnt have to bend his knees to the likes of Moro. Black Flame, is it? As if he did not hear any of Desert Webs words, Moro glared at the place where Shi Feng disappeared with eyes full of hatred. A minor character like you with no background dares to foil my plans? I will let you know how foolish of a decision youve made for helping Frey today! Are you thinking of reporting Black Flames information to the Grand Elders, Lord Moro? Desert Web asked, a thought suddenly coming to his head when he heard Moros words. Thats right! Moro sneered. The Grand Elders want an explanation? In that case, Black Flame is the best explanation! Despite having no background, he has the ability to summon a Tier 5 War Goddess. Moreover, this ability likely came from the Courtyard of Space. Yet, Frey has given it to Black Flame instead of the Guild. What do you think the Grand Elders will think about this? Realization dawned on Desert Web when he heard Moros words. It was true that Black Flame had created a legend today in the Corrosion Mountain Range. However, a treasure that could be used to summon War Goddesses wasnt something a minor character with no background could obtain. The only explanation was that Black Flame had acquired it from the Courtyard of Space. Logically, Frey should have contributed this treasure to the Guild. Yet, she had given it to an outsider. If the Guilds Grand Elders were to learn of this, they would definitely be greatly dissatisfied. Subsequently, Desert Web followed Moros instructions and conveyed everything that happened in the Corrosion Mountain Range to the Red Dragon Nations Grand Elders, making sure to put emphasis on the War Goddesses. He also spread this information to other powers. For a time, news of Black Flame creating a legend with the help of a Tier 5 War Goddess quickly spread across the Eternal Realm, causing countless players to feel shocked and envious. Chapter 3399 - Chapter 473 - Level 6 Mana Chapter 473 C Level 6 Mana In the primeval forest outside the Corrosion Mountain Range Will you really not consider joining us at White Sail Town, Guild Leader Black Flame? Frey asked with a look of concern. By now, news of you having the ability to summon a Tier 5 War Goddess should have spread. You will be on your own if you continue developing in Pharos Town. Even if you can summon a Tier 5 War Goddess, you cant have her summoned by your side all the time. I strongly suggest you move to White Sail Town. My forces are operating from there, and the town is also situated close to the Blood Hell Mountain Range. We can offer you a lot of help. Upon hearing Freys offer, Thousand Scars, Death Omen, and White Owl turned to look at Shi Feng with hopeful eyes. Although there were some conflicts and hostility between them and Shi Feng in the past, they were currently under orders by Nameless Blade to join Zero Wing. Shi Fengs performance in the Courtyard of Space also allowed them to see just how powerful of an expert he was. As it so happened, the three of them were using White Sail Town as their base of operations. So, if Shi Feng moved his base of operations to White Sail Town, not only could they have a greater chance at fulfilling Nameless Blades mission, but they could also hopefully learn a thing or two from Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng shook his head in response to Freys offer, saying, Thank you for the offer, Miss Frey, but I have already spread my roots too deeply into Pharos Town. I also have many ongoing affairs in Pharos Town. I can no longer afford to move my operations to other towns. There were many opportunities available in the Eternal Realm, especially during the early exploration stage. Of these opportunities, a major one would be transportation. Because of the Eternal Realms restrictions, players couldnt use any Land Mounts for travel. They could only rely on their feet or Flying Mounts at the Extraordinary rank or higher. And even if players had an Extraordinary Flying Mount, they could only use it for roughly four hours a day. This greatly restricted players ability to develop rapidly in the Eternal Realm. However, Flying Mounts werent the only mode of transport available to players during the Eternal Realms early stages. Sky Ships! Sky Ships were flying vehicles that traveled between the Eternal Realms various NPC Cities and NPC Fortresses. Even after the early exploration stage ended, Sky Ships remained the primary mode of transport for players to travel and transport cargo across great distances. Hence, any NPC City or NPC Fortress that had an airport was highly coveted by players and powers, their lands being worth their weight in gold. Currently, access to the Eternal Realms NPC Cities remained closed off to players, but access to NPC Fortresses was already open. The only problem was that these NPC Fortresses were situated in dangerous high-leveled maps, and these were not players that current players could casually set foot into. Fortunately, Shi Feng knew of a Medium NPC Fortress situated nearby Pharos Town. The Lightless Fortress! In addition to being an NPC Fortress situated near Pharos Town, the Lightless Fortress was also the only safe haven situated on the path leading to the Level 160 World-ranked Regional Map, the Hundred Eyes Canyon. Meanwhile, the Hundred Eyes Canyon was a place where Secret Treasures dropped. During Shi Fengs previous life, even upper-ranking hegemonic powers were erased from existence amidst the struggle for hegemony over Hundred Eyes Canyon. As for the Lightless Fortress, the value of its lands had skyrocketed thousands of times. Players could make a fortune simply by renting out the fortresss lands. Before the Courtyard of Space raid, Shi Feng was only a Tier 4 Sword Emperor with hardly any money to his name. Even if he had the Mutated Frostflame Dragon to aid him, he still didnt have any ideas on how he could afford the Lightless Fortresss lands. However, not only did he have 20 Eternal Gold Coins on hand now, but he also obtained the Divine Spatial Potion. With the potion, he could attempt ascending to Tier 5. So long as he could successfully create a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body and get promoted into a Tier 5 Sword Saint, he could try to reach the Lightless Fortress. Cant you at least humor me and consider my offer for a moment? Frey shook her head and sighed when she saw Shi Feng rejecting her offer without hesitation. Fine, suit yourself. I will have someone transfer the 200 million Star Coins I promised to your account soon. If you come into any trouble in the future, feel free to find me at White Sail Town. So long as its not trouble on todays scale, I can more or less give you some help. I will have to thank you in advance then, Miss Frey, Shi Feng said, finding Freys offer surprising. He didnt think the woman would be so generous. Subsequently, Shi Feng parted ways with Freys team and returned to Pharos Town with Desolate Furys group of three. Pharos Town, Alchemist Associations VIP room: While Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja had left for the towns training center to study the Flowing Space combat technique, Shi Feng paid a visit to the Alchemy Association to collect the Earthen Magic Flowers he had commissioned the Association to purchase. Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw the NPC receptionist before him taking out bag after bag of Earthen Magic Flowers. In less than two days, all of the money he had left with the Alchemy Association was used up, and he ended up with over 40,000 Earthen Magic Flowers. Because of his actions, though, many other players had also started purchasing Earthen Magic Flowers, while some were stalking the players purchasing these flowers. Evidently, all of these players suspected that there might be some great use for these flowers. However, Shi Feng did not mind this situation. With the Sacred Phantom Rings disguise, most players would have no way of tracking him, let alone finding out the true purpose of the Earthen Magic Flowers. After Shi Feng placed another commission to purchase Earthen Magic Flowers and put in a deposit of one Eternal Gold, he quickly returned to the Collet Hotel. Inside an advanced suite on the Collet Hotels third floor Divine Spatial Potion, dont disappoint me! Shi Feng mentally prayed as he took out a bottle made of Seven Luminaries Crystal from his bag. Theoretically, the Divine Spatial Potion could forcibly increase a players affinity with their power system by one level. However, whether it could actually raise his Mana Affinity to Level 6 was uncertain. After all, he had only ever heard about the Divine Spatial Potion. Never had he used it before. Meanwhile, in the Greater Gods Domain, individuals with Level 5 Mana Affinity were already as rare as a phoenixs feather. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that anyone who had reached this standard would be a Great Grandmaster Magician or higher. As for the rumored Level 6 Mana Affinity, he had never heard of anyone reaching it during his previous life. Currently, it was necessary for him to create a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body if he wanted to reach Tier 5 without failing his Legendary Quest. However, if he followed the orthodox way of improving his mastery over magic arrays, it would take him a long time before he could achieve any significant improvements. If he wanted to do so quickly, his only option would be to improve his Mana Affinity. After calming his anxious heart, Shi Feng removed the lid on the Divine Spatial Potion and consumed the bright red liquid in the bottle. Gulp. As soon as the bright red liquid flowed into his stomach, Shi Feng felt an indescribable sense of heat spreading across his entire body. Immediately afterward, he felt as if the mana within his body was set ablaze. Violent! His mana had become incomparably violent! Even with his bountiful combat experience, Shi Feng still nearly lost consciousness due to the scorching pain coming from all over his body. After Shi Feng endured this pain for more than ten minutes, the pain finally subsided. Then, peace returned to his world. Is thiswhat Level 6 Mana feels like? When Shi Feng looked at the slightly messy room around him, it was as if the world around him was laid bare before him. At this time, no secrets could hide from his senses. Chapter 3400 - Chapter 474 - Legendary Mana Body Chapter 474 C Legendary Mana Body Collet Hotel, third-floor advanced suite: Sitting cross-legged on the floor, Shi Feng continuously waved his fingers across the space before him, his actions causing the rooms environment to change from normal to scorching hot to freezing cold and to windy as fuck. It was as if he had become the rooms absolute overlord, and he could change the spaces environment however he wanted. Shi Feng continued this experimentation for several minutes before finally stopping, excitement and joy coloring his eyes. Incredible! The benefits of having Level 6 Mana Affinity are simply incredible! Shi Feng was greatly shocked by the effects of having Level 6 Mana Affinity. At this moment, no secrets could hide from his eyes, and it was as if the doors to a new world had opened for him. The veil that previously obscured his view of the magic elements and their operations had vanished, and he could now see everything with perfect clarity. He didnt even need to use his eyes to perceive the magic elements around him anymore. However, even more surprising was that his control over the magic elements had undergone a qualitative transformation. Normally, he would need to use his own mana to drive the magic elements of the world around him. However, he no longer needed to do that. Now, he could manipulate the magic elements within a 300-yard radius with just his thoughts. He could even use this method to make the magic elements operate in a unique pattern. In other words, he could now achieve World Creation with just a thought. It should be known that only a very small portion of Tier 5 NPCs could achieve World Creation. Moreover, most, if not all, of them needed to use their mana to guide the magic elements around them. Yet, Shi Feng did not need to do so. With just a thought, he could make the mana within a 300-yard radius move only for him, essentially creating an independent world around himself. This was simply incredible. His control became even greater when it came to the magic elements within a 50-yard radius. Within a 50-yard radius, he couldnt simply manipulate them as if they were his own. They were his own. It was as if his body had expanded to cover a 50-yard radius, and the degree of control he could exert over this space was vastly greater than what he could achieve with World Creation. World Creation only allowed him to change the operating rules of the magic elements around him, thereby achieving a suppressing effect on his opponents. But now, within a 50-yard radius, he couldnt simply suppress his opponents ability to use external mana. Instead, he had absolute control over the magic elements, and he could use this absolute control to completely deprive his opponents ability to use external mana. Not only that, but he could also have the ambient magic elements invade his opponents bodies, forcing them to use a portion of their mana to defend against these invading magic elements. And if his opponents chose not to defend, they would die once enough magic elements invaded their bodies. It was similar to the corrosion effect of the mysterious energy in Gods Domain. At this time, Shi Feng doubted that anyone under the realm of Saints could use even a shred of their mana once they entered within 50 yards of him. If he didnt permit them to use mana, they would most likely have to fight him using only their physical bodies. I wonder how many Mana Gathering Arrays I can manipulate with my current level of mana control? When Shi Feng looked at the surrounding mana flowing under his will, he couldnt help but start constructing Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays. Previously, when his Mana Affinity was only at Level 5, he could manipulate up to 64 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays simultaneously. If other Great Grandmaster Magicians were to learn of it, they would definitely be given a fright. This was because the average Great Grandmaster Magician could only manipulate around 30 Great Grandmaster Arrays simultaneously, while stronger ones could manipulate around 40. With the ability to manipulate 64 Great Grandmaster Arrays, Shi Feng could already single-handedly operate a small-sized Great Grandmaster Barrier to trap a Tier 6 Legendary monster. Unfortunately, even the ability to manipulate 64 Great Grandmaster Arrays wasnt enough for Shi Feng to construct a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body. Subsequently, Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays could be seen appearing around Shi Feng one after another. 10 20 30 As if manipulating these Mana Gathering Arrays was no trouble at all for Shi Feng, their numbers rapidly increased. In no time, Shi Feng had already created over a hundred Mana Gathering Arrays, and he could control all of them simultaneously. This result was vastly better than what he achieved when he only had Level 5 Mana Affinity. Im already at 122 Mana Gathering Arrays, but why does it feel like Im only manipulating 40? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he felt how little strain from manipulating 122 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays. At this rate, even manipulating 180 Mana Gathering Arrays shouldnt be a problem! It should be known that 180 Great Grandmaster Arrays were enough to form a medium-sized Great Grandmaster Barrier. Meanwhile, such a barrier could kill a Tier 6 expert easily. In fact, many of the fortresses situated in the Void Sea were only using defensive barriers of such standard. 130 150 160 As Shi Feng thought, he only reached his limit after creating his 188th Mana Gathering Array. Looking at the 188 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays in the room, Shi Feng breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then, he began constructing his Mana Body. Now that the number of Mana Gathering Arrays he could manipulate had drastically increased, he obviously could not use the same structure he used on his last attempt at creating a Tier 5 Mana Body. Fortunately, Shi Feng developed many Mana Body structures during his time on the Hundred Refinement Buildings second floor. Among them were structures using over a hundred Mana Gathering Arrays. It was just that he couldnt use these structures since he had limited mana control at the time. Now, though, he could put those structures to use. Although he didnt plan those structures to house as many as 188 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays, he should be able to put them to use so long as he made some minor modifications. Time passed rapidly. After trying various modifications for more than ten hours, Shi Feng finally reached his ideal Mana Body structure. Its make or break now! After taking one last look at his completed Mana Body structure, Shi Feng began guiding mana to activate it. As he had a Tier 3 Legendary Mana Body, the strength of the Tier 5 Mana Body he created needed to reach 270% of his Tier 3 Mana Body. Previously, even with the help of the Hundred Refinement Buildings second-floor environment, he only managed to reach 255%, and increasing it by even 1% more was a huge challenge. Currently, although Shi Feng had increased the number of Mana Gathering Arrays he could manipulate by nearly threefold, he still wasnt particularly confident in creating a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body. After all, he had never even heard about Tier 5 Legendary Mana Bodies existing. Subsequently, the Mana Gathering Arrays in the Mana Body structure activated one after another. At the same time, like a whale drawing water from its surroundings, the Mana Body structure instantly sucked away all of the mana in the room. Once the room became devoid of mana, the Mana Body structure even began to draw mana from the void. After this process continued for roughly ten minutes, the sound of a system notification rang loudly in the depths of Shi Fengs mind. System: Congratulations! You have successfully constructed a new Mana Body. The constructed Mana Bodys strength is at 291% of your current Mana Body and has reached the Tier 5 standard. The created Mana Body is evaluated to be at the Advanced Legendary rank. Do you wish to replace your current Mana Body with it and get promoted to Tier 5? Chapter 3401 - Chapter 475 - Tier 5 Sword Law Saint Chapter 475 C Tier 5 Sword Law Saint 291%?! Advanced Legendary?! Shi Feng was stunned by the system notification. A Tier 5 Mana Body that had reached the Advanced Legendary rank! Originally, he didnt have much hope for constructing a Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body, even if he already had Level 6 Mana Affinity and could simultaneously manipulate 188 Great Grandmaster Mana Gathering Arrays. After all, the environment he was currently in was nowhere near comparable to the Hundred Refinement Buildings second-floor environment. Honestly, he would have been overjoyed even if he had achieved the minimum requirement of 270%. After all, even Tier 5 Advanced Epic Mana Bodies were exceedingly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Any player who managed to construct one could instantly be made into a reserve core executive of an apex power. For the paragons nurtured by the Greater Gods Domains various powers, climbing tiers was not a problem. If they wanted to, they could even ascend to Tier 6 within a very short period of time. However, no paragon worth their salt would do such a thing, and neither would the power they belonged to let them do such a thing. This was because the strength of Tier 6 players could vary tremendously depending on the foundation theyve established for themselves during their earlier tiers. The standard of a players mana was especially crucial when getting promoted to Tier 6. If a player lacked sufficiently strong mana, they would face great difficulty when using Tier 6 Skills and Spells. The complexity of Skills and Spells in Gods Domain increased exponentially with tier. By Tier 5, if a titled expert didnt have a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body, the best they could do was achieve an 80% Completion Rate for their Tier 5 Skills and Spells. That wasnt even enough to exhibit 100% of the effects of their Tier 5 Skills and Spells. Normally, only with a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body could a titled expert achieve an 85% Completion Rate and exhibit 100% of their Tier 5 Skills and Spells effects. Not to mention, the stronger a players Tier 5 Mana Body was, the more help they could get when they constructed their Divine Body. If a player did not have a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body, they would have great difficulty constructing a Tier 6 Epic Divine Body, and they would not be able to exhibit the strength of a true Tier 6 player. Hence, there were so many geniuses and paragons in the Greater Gods Domain choosing to stay at Tier 4 for a long time. Unless they could construct a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body, it was highly unlikely they would choose to progress to Tier 5. Otherwise, they would have no chance of competing against the Greater Gods Domains apex experts. Meanwhile, a Tier 5 Basic Legendary Mana Body should already be more than enough for a player to join the ranks of legends in the Greater Gods Domain. So, Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine how much potential a Tier 5 Advanced Legendary Mana Body possessed. System: Congratulations! You have completed the second phase of the Legendary Quest Hundred Refinement Mana Body. Rewarding 5 levels and 100 Free Legacy Skill Points. System: You have activated the third phase of the Legendary Quest Hundred Refinement Mana Body. Quest Content: Create a Legendary Divine Body within one year. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. Theres still a third phase? Shi Feng couldnt help but frown when he saw the third phase of the Hundred Refinement Mana Body Quest. Moreover, similar to before, he had no say in activating the quest. It was true that the Hundred Refinement Mana Body Quest offered incredibly generous rewards. Just by completing the quests first two phases, he had already earned 130 Free Legacy Skill Points. It should be known that players only received one Free Legacy Skill Point every five levels at Tier 3 and two for every three levels at Tier 4. While some Epic Quests would award roughly five Free Legacy Skill Points on completion, such quests were a minority among Epic Quests. In other words, completing the first two phases of the Hundred Refinement Body Quest was no different than completing 26 Epic Quests. Meanwhile, it went without saying that the third phase would definitely offer even better rewards. However, the problem was that constructing a Divine Body was far more challenging than a Tier 5 Mana Body. Many paragons with Tier 5 Advanced Epic Mana Bodies could only construct a Tier 6 Epic Divine Body with the help of apex powers. Yet, now, Shi Feng needed to construct a Legendary Divine Body. The third phases difficulty was many times greater than the second phase. While Shi Feng was having a headache over the new goal that had been forced onto him, another prompt came from the system. System: Do you wish to replace your current Mana Body and get promoted to Tier 5? If you do not make a decision, you will automatically abandon the promotion after 30 seconds. Once that happens, you will have to construct another Mana Body when you wish to get promoted to Tier 5 in the future. Shi Feng hurriedly chose to get promoted to Tier 5 when he saw this prompt. He did not wish to try his luck a second time. As soon as Shi Feng chose to get promoted, the Mana Body structure he constructed promptly replaced his existing Mana Body. Then, it began hungrily devouring the mana coming from the void. After this process continued for roughly ten minutes, Shi Feng felt tremendous power overflowing from his body, causing the rooms space to grow heavy. Currently, the density of the mana his body naturally radiated was already close to rivaling the mana contained in Mana Stones. Amazing! So, this is the strength of an Advanced Legendary Mana Body? System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 5 Sword Law Saint (Sword Saint). All Basic Attributes +6,000, all Resistances +600, Mana recovery rate increased by 300%, Mana strength increased by 100%, Concentration increased by 100%, all physical, magical, and mental attacks received that are below Tier 5 will be weakened by 50%, all Basic Attributes increased by 180%, physique increased by 200%, and reaction speed improved by 120%. Rewarding 200 Legacy Skill Points. System: The God of Times curse has been weakened. The curse will only reduce your experience gain by 50% and double the gravity you experience now. Aside from his vastly superior mana body, the bonuses he received for becoming a Tier 5 Sword Law Saint were also frightening. When he became a Tier 5 Blade Saint during his previous life, he only received a bonus of 5,000 points to all Basic Attributes and a 150% increase to all Basic Attributes. Yet, this time, he had received an extra 1,000 points and a 30% increase to all Basic Attributes. With his current Basic Attributes, he could already fight a six-winged Tier 5 Valkyrie of the same level in a frontal confrontation. However, compared to the bonuses he received, Shi Feng was more interested in the Tier 5 Legacy Skills he could learn. In Gods Domain, the importance of Skills and Spells increased along with tiers. After all, while players could only afford to learn a limited number of combat techniques and Mana Techniques, they could learn many Skills and Spells. Not to mention, some of the more powerful high-tiered Skills and Spells were stronger than even Gold Combat Techniques. Hence, the more high-tiered Skills and Spells a player learned, the stronger they would become. Currently, even ordinary Tier 4 Skill and Spell Books could go for several Epic Weapons and Equipment each, while ordinary Tier 5 Skill and Spell Books could go for a Fragmented Legendary item each. As for high-ranking Tier 5 Skill and Spell Books, they could even be traded for several Fragmented Legendary Weapons. Moreover, demand for them was almost always greater than supply. Meanwhile, Legacy Skills were among the few ways players could learn Skills and Spells at the Tier 5 Peak rank and above. When Shi Feng got promoted into a Tier 5 Blade Saint during his previous life, he was only offered the choice to learn two Tier 5 Peak Skills and one Tier 5 Apex Skill. Yet, now, displayed in the window for his Tier 5 Legacy Skills were two Tier 5 Ultimate Skills and one Tier 5 Super Spell TL Notes; For reference(Taken from Chapter 2868 of main story): System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 5 Blade Saint (Sword Saint). All Basic Attributes +5,000, all Resistances +500, Mana recovery rate increased by 300%, all physical and magical attacks received that are below Tier 5 will be weakened by 40%, all Basic Attributes increased by 150%, physique increased by 200%, and reaction speed improved by 100%. Rewarding 200 Legacy Skill Points. Chapter 3402 - Chapter 476 – Unparalleled Confidence Chapter 476 C Unparalleled Confidence TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 473. Changed: Level 160 World-ranked Regional Map, the Hundred Eyes Canyon To: Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeon, the Hundred Eyes Canyon [Fluctuating Law] (Action-type) Requires: Sword Tier 5 Ultimate Legacy Skill Construct a world barrier with a radius of 20 yards around the user. The world barrier can block all attacks. The users Strength, Agility, and reaction speed will be increased by 100% while in the barrier. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 10 minutes Learning condition: 120 Legacy Skill Points [Divine Annihilator] (AOE Destruction Skill) Tier 5 Ultimate Legacy Skill Cause an elemental collapse in the users mana coverage area every second for 10 seconds. Every elemental collapse will carry three times the effect of the users Strength. Cooldown: 30 minutes Learning condition: 120 Legacy Skill Points [Sword Rakshasa] Requires: Sword Tier 5 Super Legacy Spell Consume one one-handed sword at the Epic rank or above to create a heavenly sword. The greater the consumed swords quality, the greater the Strength the heavenly sword would come with (up to the Tier 6 Peak standard). Duration: 1 minute Cooldown; 6 hours Learning condition: 200 Legacy Skill Points Shi Feng desperately wanted all three Tier 5 Legacy Skills, so much so that his eyes had gone red from staring at them. Ultimate Skills and Spells were incredibly powerful and valuable in the Greater Gods Domain as they rivaled Taboo Skills and Curses of the same tier. Among them, Tier 5 Ultimate Spells were especially valuable. The reason for this was due to the rarity of Tier 6 Spell Books. They were nearly as rare as Legendary Equipment, and most Tier 6 experts could only get their hands on a few if they didnt have a powerful backing. Meanwhile, to compensate for this deficiency, such Tier 6 experts would rely on Tier 5 Ultimate Spells as their trump cards. It seems I can only learn two for now. Shi Feng didnt hesitate for long before choosing to learn Fluctuating Law and Sword Rakshasa. As soon as he did so, most of his Legacy Skill Points disappeared. If he wanted to learn Divine Annihilator as well, he would have to accumulate points from level-ups and quest rewards. Meanwhile, after learning Fluctuating Law and Sword Rakshasa, Shi Feng received a massive boost to his overall combat power. Fluctuating Law was a Skill that could be used offensively and defensively, so it could achieve extraordinary effects in battle. Meanwhile, Sword Rakshasa was a Super Spell he could use as an additional trump card and to supplement his lack of Tier 5 Spells. With the addition of Fluctuating Law and Sword Rakshasa on top of the significant bonuses he received from his Tier 5 promotion, Shi Feng was confident he could now defeat Mad Blade, a veteran Tier 5 Saint with a Legendary Weapon, without using the Feather of Oath. In the current Eternal Realm, Shi Feng had already reached the apex in terms of personal combat power. Even without the Feather of Oath, he already had the necessary combat power to compete with the various powers. Now that Im at Tier 5, I should head to the Lightless Fortress next, Shi Feng thought as he stood up and left the hotel. Seeing as the sun was still up, he hurriedly summoned the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon and flew eastward to the Hundred Eyes Canyon. The Hundred Eyes Canyon was one of the few World Mode Regional Dungeons discovered in the Eternal Realm during his previous life. All of the Regional Bosses and randomly occurring 20-man Team Dungeons in the Hundred Eyes Canyon had a chance of dropping Secret Treasures. As a result, the World Mode Regional Dungeon became a place where all powers in the Greater Gods Domain wished to have a hand in. Meanwhile, because the Lightless Fortress was the closest stronghold to the Hundred Eyes Canyon, the fortress naturally became highly contested by the various powers. This, in turn, led to the value of the fortresss Lands and Shops soaring by hundreds of times. Now that the Blood Hell Mountain Range would soon activate, once the various powers established themselves in the neutral NPC City situated on the map, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered the Lightless Fortresss existence. And once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before the Hundred Eyes Canyons existence came to light. As Shi Feng was a player with no background whatsoever, if he wanted to establish a foothold for himself in the Eternal Realm and compete against the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates, he needed to have sufficient funds. Meanwhile, the only method he could currently use to earn a large amount of capital was by purchasing the Shops and Lands of fortresses that were currently outside the various powers notice. As for other avenues of making money, they were still outside of his current capabilities. After flying intermittently for over a dozen hours, Shi Feng successfully arrived outside the Lightless Fortress before sunset. Although he encountered many high-leveled monsters on his way here, he managed to repel and shake them off by working together with the Mutated Frostflame Dragon. Regarding the Lightless Fortress, rather than call it a fortress, itd be more appropriate to consider it a small NPC City that housed a tiny population of only several tens of thousands of NPCs. The guards protecting the Lightless Fortresss gate were Level 180, Tier 4 NPCs clad in uniform armor. Twelve of them working together could form a battle array, and when their battle array was active, they could take on a Tier 5 NPC of the same level. Meanwhile, leading these Tier 4 NPC guards was a Level 200, Tier 5 NPC guard captain. Even without the help of the Tier 4 NPC guards, the guard captain alone could overwhelm any Tier 5 player in the current Eternal Realm. As the Lightless Fortress was the only safe haven near the Hundred Eyes Canyon, it cost a whopping two Eternal Silver Coins just to enter the city. It was an exorbitant entrance fee that could bankrupt many Tier 5 players. However, two Eternal Silver was nothing for Shi Feng now that he had a fortune of nineteen Eternal Gold. After paying the entrance fee, Shi Feng promptly made his way to the Lightless Fortresss administration hall. Because of the 100 Regional City Reputation Points he received from the Courtyard of Spaces First Clear rewards, he could directly purchase the Lands and Shops near the Lightless Fortresss Airport. After browsing the choices available, Shi Feng spent seventeen Eternal Gold on buying two Lands and two Shops. Although the purchase had drained most of his available funds, it also relieved him of one of his worries. Once Shi Feng was done with his business at the administration hall, he rented a room at a nearby hotel and chose to go offline. The next time he logged back into the game would be when the new city map activated. Previously, the emergence of the Eternal Realm had happened so suddenly that he didnt even have time to return to the Gods Domain Association. As a result, he had no choice but to use one of the gaming cabins at the Star Lake Training Center. Moreover, to secure an advantage for himself in the Eternal Realm, he had spent two consecutive days in the game, putting himself at great risk of getting attacked by the Paimon Conglomerate. Chapter 3403 - Chapter 477 - Dark Star Chapter 477 C Dark Star Star Lake City, Star Lake Training Center: Twenty virtual gaming cabins were neatly lined in a row in a spacious lounge the size of two basketball courts. Following a hissing sound, the door of one of the cabins slowly opened. Why are there so many people here? When Shi Feng emerged from the gaming cabin, he was surprised to see all the occupied gaming cabins around him. The Star Lake Training Centers gaming cabins were reserved for the city legions participants. Although some participants would use these cabins for duels from time to time, they would never use them to access Gods Domain long-term. The reason for this was safety concerns. While the training center had guards stationed in it, because it wasnt private property, anyone who wasnt explicitly banned by the city could visit the establishment. As a result, it wasnt out of the question for assassinations to happen. Shi Feng had heard of many such instances during his previous life. For the sake of winning in city battles, some cities would send spies to infiltrate their opponents public training centers and incapacitate key participants in one way or another. Hence, few participants would access Gods Domain via a public training centers gaming cabins long-term. Some cities even forbade their city legions participants from doing so. After looking around, Shi Feng was surprised to find Hidden Soul among these cabins. He had thought she would have long returned to the Gods Domain Association by now, but that didnt seem to be the case. However, before Shi Feng could ponder why Hidden Soul was still logged into Gods Domain, a man and a security robot approached him. These security robots were strong enough to single-handedly subdue two-star mental strength grandmasters and below. Two of them working together could even keep a three-star grandmaster pinned for a short time. They were effectively the strongest defensive force in the various cities. Many corporations and powers coveted these security robots and hoped to have several of them guarding their main headquarters. Unfortunately, these technological products were the various cities core assets, and no city would sell its security robots. Only a few powerful conglomerates would put a few up for auction from time to time. Moreover, the currency used to bid for these machines was not Star Coins but Gods Domains Legendary items or items of equal value. Vice Commander Shi Feng, by order of the City Lord and Legion Commander, everyone who comes out of the lounges gaming cabins must leave the lounge right away, the man patiently explained to Shi Feng. So, please leave the lounge now. Was this order issued because many people were forced to enter the game? Shi Feng asked out of curiosity. He was forced to enter Gods Domain because of the Eternal Realm, but he found it hard to believe that this many people in Star Lake City had entered the Eternal Realm as well. Yes, there are quite a lot. Its not just the people in this training center. Many people across the city have been forced to log into Gods Domain as well, the man said, nodding. However, from the information weve gathered thus far, we only know that this situation is related to the newly emerged Eternal Realm; we still dont know about the specifics. Its related to the Eternal Realm? Hearing the mans words, Shi Feng suddenly recalled Death Omen and Thousand Scars, two people who logically shouldnt have appeared in the current Eternal Realm. Could Soul and Snow be in the Eternal Realm as well? Earlier, Shi Feng had checked his friends list and saw that he could contact neither Hidden Soul nor Gentle Snow. Evidently, both were in a state where they couldnt be contacted in Gods Domain. Combined with what he had just learned, there was a 90% chance that the two had somehow found themselves in the Eternal Realm as well. The current Eternal Realm was in a state where players couldnt contact those outside the Eternal Realm. Even in the Eternal Realm, if two players were not within a certain range, they would not be able to contact each other. Please leave this place quickly, Vice Commander Shi Feng, the man repeated when he saw Shi Feng suddenly falling silent. After taking another look at Hidden Soul, Shi Feng promptly made his way out of the lounge. He had no way of contacting Hidden Soul in her current state. The only thing he could do was wait until Hidden Soul exited the gaming cabin. Fortunately, he wouldnt have to worry about her safety seeing as the city had already dispatched security robots to guard the lounges entrance. After all, not just any power would be willing to send their three-star grandmasters to conduct an assassination. Meanwhile, after stepping out of the lounge, Shi Feng began inspecting the messages on his quantum watch. There was nothing he could do about Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow entering the Eternal Realm. However, it wasnt exactly a bad thing for the two to be in the current Eternal Realm. While the Eternal Realm was indeed filled with dangers, these dangers also came with the best opportunities available in the Greater Gods Domain. Both Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow possessed incredible talent. Shi Feng had seen it firsthand during his previous life. If the two could safely grow in the Eternal Realm, they could be of massive help to him in the future. After all, Gods Domain wasnt a single-player game. Why are there so many messages? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw that he had over a hundred unread messages. Most of these messages were from people applying to join Zero Wings battle group. There were also some messages sent by the representatives of Star Lake Citys corporations and powerful families, and these people requested to purchase city contribution points from him using Star Coins. Apparently, in just two short days, the exchange rate of Star Lake Citys contribution points had increased from 1:25 to 1:30. This was an unprecedented high in Star Lake City. However, setting aside whether he even had any contribution points right now, even if he did have some, he had no intentions of humoring these requests. After all, city contribution points were of great importance to him. Not to mention, he had just made 200 million Star Coins off of Frey, so he had no reason to exchange his points for Star Coins. Shortly after Shi Feng stepped out of the Star Lake Training Center, he saw an urgent message Xia Qingying sent him a day ago. An invitation to the Dark Star? The content of Xia Qingyings message surprised Shi Feng. There were only a very small number of apex powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, out of these apex powers, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was an incredibly special entity. It could even be considered somewhat of a transcendental existence. This was because the Eternal Chamber of Commerce only did business in Gods Domain. Moreover, its business empire was beyond massive. For the sake of expanding its business empire, it had even gone out of its way to construct a satellite in the Darkness Plane to let Gods Domains players conduct various transactions there. Meanwhile, the satellites name was Dark Star. The way players could access the Dark Star was by invitation. So long as players had an invitation from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, they could use the virtual gaming cabin to project a phantom of themselves directly onto the Dark Star. However, an invitation merely allowed players to visit the Dark Star. If players wanted the right to trade on the Dark Star, they would also need to pass the Eternal Chamber of Commerces test. Xia Qingying was currently trying to pass the Chamber of Commerces test, and she hoped that he, or more specifically, Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame, could make good on their previous agreement to provide her with assistance when needed. Meanwhile, Xia Qingyings request was that Black Flame could become one of her foreign aids for the test. Gods Domain, Dark Star: The Dark Star was a Moon-sized satellite floating in the void. Meanwhile, erected on this satellite was a majestic city. Currently, over a thousand players were lined up outside the city, waiting to enter it. Outside of the Dark Star, these players were of varying levels and tiers. However, upon setting foot on the Dark Star, all of them were either elevated or suppressed to Level 120, Tier 4. Standing in the corner of the city gate was a group of one man and two women. Of the two women, one was a beautiful and intelligent-looking Cleric who was constantly looking at the time displayed on her wrist, her face looking gloomy and anxious as she watched the seconds go by. Meanwhile, this woman was none other than Xia Qingyings in-game character. Why isnt he here yet? When Xia Qingying saw that there were less than ten minutes left before the test began, she couldnt help but look around in search of the person she had not seen in a long time. TL Notes: I do not know if the Darkness Plane mentioned here is connected to the one mentioned in the main story in any way. It could be an entirely different thing. Chapter 3404 - Chapter 478 – Luminous Glory List’s Powerhouse? Chapter 478 C Luminous Glory Lists Powerhouse? Vice President Xia, you dont have to worry about the Eternal Chamber of Commerces test, even if that person doesnt show up, the short-haired young man standing next to Xia Qingying said. The young man was an Elementalist wielding a staff made of withered wood, and he wore a calm look as he leaned against the city wall. I alone am enough to pass the test for you. You wont need any other foreign aid. The other woman in the group was a long-haired beauty clad in silver heavy armor with a sword and shield on her back. When the woman heard the Elementalists words, she glanced at the other party before turning to Xia Qingying and indifferently saying, Vice President Xia, regardless of whether your other foreign aid arrives, according to our agreement, so long as I pass the test, you will need to hand that item to me. Naturally, Xia Qingying answered, her mood growing complicated as she looked at the man and the woman before her. The short-haired young man was Invincible Swallow, a peerless paragon the Green God Corporation had nurtured from childhood. He was a Tier 6 Mage God who could cast Spells as easily as he spoke. Even before reaching Tier 6, he was a paragon capable of transcending tiers and killing the various powers paragons as if slaughtering livestock. Currently, Invincible Swallows status in the Green God Corporation had already risen to a point where only the corporations directors and above could command him. As for the beautiful Shield Warrior standing next to Invincible Swallow, her name was Xuanwu Chisa. Her existence was akin to a legend in the Gods Domain under the Green God Corporations control. She had played a leading role in the establishment of a powerful empire, and all native players knew her as the Iron Valkyrie. Once, in the Greater Gods Domain, Xuanwu Chisa had destroyed a fortress owned by an upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Void Sea. Unfortunately, as she wanted to avoid retaliation from the upper-ranking hegemonic power in question, she chose to hide her identity. So, very few people knew about her achievement. Just as Xia Qingying finished speaking, a low voice entered her ears. Sorry to keep you waiting, Vice President Xia. Following this voice, a cloaked Swordsman with somewhat messy hair approached the trio. You truly are a busy person, Guild Leader Black Flame, Xia Qingying said when she saw Shi Feng. Had Shi Feng been a few more minutes late, he would have missed the start of the test. However, despite her complaint, Xia Qingying still felt joy and relief to see Shi Feng show up. Lets hurry inside. Were going to miss the test if we dont enter the city soon. At Xia Qingyings words, Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisa simultaneously turned their heads to scrutinize Shi Feng. According to the original plan, they were supposed to participate in the Eternal Chamber of Commerces test as a group with Xia Qingying. However, when the time for the test was fast approaching, Xia Qingying suddenly decided to have someone else take the test in her place, and this person was none other than the cloaked Swordsman currently standing before them. Not much needed to be said regarding Xia Qingyings strength. Not only was she a vice president of the Green God Corporation, but she had also spent quite some time operating in the Greater Gods Domain already. Thanks to the plentiful resources and opportunities she had access to, she was now one of the few fifth-floor experts in the Greater Gods Domain. For this reason, both Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisa wholeheartedly acknowledged Xia Qingyings strength. Although the two of them were stronger than her in combat, because of her age and identity, they still regarded her as their equal, which was why they found it very surprising that Xia Qingying would let someone else take the Eternal Chamber of Commerces test in her place. Black Flame? Invincible Swallow suddenly thought of something when he heard the form of address Xia Qingying used for Shi Feng. The Luminous Glory Lists 963rd-ranked Asura Sword Emperor? So, you are the rising star of our Gods Domains new generation. Xuanwu Chisa also came to a realization as she looked at Shi Feng. Although a 963rd-ranked Luminous Glory expert was nothing in front of them, Xia Qingying was known for cherishing talents in the Green God Corporation. So, it made sense for Xia Qingying to relinquish her position in the upcoming test to allow their homeworlds rising star an opporunity to experience the Greater Gods Domains grander stage. After all, the Eternal Chamber of Commerces test could be regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If luck was on this rising stars side, he might be able to achieve significant growth from this experience. Yes, thats me. Shi Feng smiled and nodded. Both Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisa could be considered old acquaintances to him. Though, neither of them knew him in this life. Alright, thats enough talking. We dont have much time left. You three can get acquainted after we enter the city and register for the test, Xia Qingying said, feeling a little exasperated when she saw the three people before her beginning to introduce themselves to one another. Immediately, she led the trio to the city gate. Upon arriving at the gate, Xia Qingying presented her invitation token, which she had received from an Elder of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, to the captain of the gatekeepers. Im sorry, but I will need you to wait here for a bit, Vice President Xia. Administrator Wu just received news that a VIP will soon be arriving in the city for the upcoming test, so he has registered the VIP in advance. Once the VIP has arrived and gets verified, we will begin your registration, the gatekeeper captain nonchalantly said. Early registration? Xia Qingyings expression darkened as she looked at the gatekeeper captain. Dark Stars registration has always required a personal appearance. The person in question hasnt even shown up yet, and youre making us wait here. Dont be angry, Vice President Xia. Weve already completed the registration procedures for the VIP, so you only need to wait a few more minutes, the gatekeeper captain said without a shred of guilt. Moreover, the other party is one of the Luminous Glory Lists top ten powerhouses. He is most likely to gain advanced membership in the test this time. He isnt someone we can afford to offend. A few more minutes?! Xia Qingying immediately grew furious. You know as well as I do that the test is going to start in a few minutes! How are we supposed to participate in the test if we wait until he is done registering?! Girl, you sure have a hot temper. Im just a little late to arrive. Is there a need to get so heated up? Suddenly, a sarcastic voice came from afar. Then, a young man could be seen approaching the gate. Although the young mans actual tier in Gods Domain was only Tier 4, the aura he exuded caused many of the experts present to subconsciously step away from him. Crap! Isnt he Solitary Madness?! Sure enough, he is incredible! Even though Im a Tier 6 player in Gods Domain, my heart still shudders in his presence. When the crowd lining up outside the city gate saw the Berserker youth, they quickly recognized him and opened a path for him. Youre finally here, Lord Madness! Please, head inside! When the gatekeeper captain saw the approaching young man, he promptly walked over to welcome the other party with a big smile. You! Xia Qingyings anger surged even higher when she saw the gatekeeper captain ignoring her group. However, just as she was about to give the gatekeeper captain a piece of her mind, a pitch-black sword light suddenly flashed by her side, cutting out a spatial tear that extended over a thousand yards. The spatial tear disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. However, when everyone present saw the aftermath of the sudden attack, they couldnt help but fall silent. Chapter 3405 - Chapter 479 - Sanctuarys Inhabitant Chapter 479 C Sanctuarys Inhabitant What just happened? What an incredible strike! I cant believe he actually killed that Solitary Madness! This is crazy! That guy must be insane to take action on Dark Star! Is he not afraid of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce? Shortly after the pitch-black sword light disappeared, many of the players present turned to look at its origin with eyes full of shock and fear. After all, whoever had just killed Solitary Madness had done so in one move. It should be known that even the minimum requirement for players to get into the Luminous Glory List was to be at the fifth-floor standard. Naturally, those capable of ranking among the lists top ten were the best of the best among Tier 4 experts. Although players would have their Basic Attributes and Physique fixed at the Level 120, Tier 4 standard when staying on Dark Star, which prevented them from exhibiting their full strength, it still wasnt an easy task to kill a fifth-floor expert, much less an expert of Solitary Madnesss caliber. With Solitary Madnesss perception of danger, very few attacks could overwhelm his defensive and evasive capabilities. More importantly, Dark Star was a trade hub created by the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. Taking action here was no different than slapping the apex power in the face. Now that the person you want to register is gone, can we begin our registration now? Shi Feng calmly asked as he looked at the gatekeeper captain. You?! The gatekeeper captain wore an incredibly ugly expression as he looked at Shi Feng. A Saint?! Meanwhile, Xia Qingying couldnt help but turn to look at Shi Feng in shock. She never imagined that not only would Shi Feng dare to attack Solitary Madness, but he would also kill Solitary Madness in one move. Xia Qingying had long known that the man known as Black Flame was very strong and was suspected of having even mastered a Saint-ranked Mana Technique. She was certain that his strength was beyond the information published by the Seven Luminaries Alliance. This was also why she had invited him as a helper. But! She never thought he would be this strong! You sure are quick to make a move! Invincible Swallow said to Shi Feng, laughing when he recalled the attack Shi Feng had just executed. You are indeed qualified to be a helper if you can kill Solitary Madness in one move. What a busybody! After glancing at Shi Feng, Xuanwu Chisha looked away in dissatisfaction as she returned the sword and shield wielded to her back. Although Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisha had varying reactions, it was clear to anyone with eyes that both of them supported Shi Fengs behavior. In fact, even if Shi Feng didnt take action against Solitary Madness, the two of them would have subsequently acted. Are they not afraid of angering the Eternal Chamber of Commerce? You must be new to Dark Star, right? Although Eternal indeed controls Dark Star, this place is outside the city. So long as you dont make a move inside the city, Eternal wont care what you do. Thats right. Moreover, the security personnel is obviously in violation of the rules. If they try to escalate this matter, they will be the ones to suffer instead. When the long-time guests of Dark Star waiting in line saw the nonchalant behavior of Xia Qingyings group, none of them found the groups reaction surprising. They even explained the reason for the groups reaction to the players new to the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Dark Star. Flying Scythe! Hurry up and register us! Or do you not plan on following the rules? After snapping out of her daze, Xia Qingying looked at the time and loudly questioned the gatekeeper captain. The average guest on Dark Star might behave respectfully to the Eternal Chamber of Commerces gatekeepers, but she was a guest invited by one of Eternals Elders. Even the Chamber of Commerces administrators needed to show her respect. After all, such an invitation was not something money could buy. Money could only be used to purchase an entrance ticket to Dark Star. Not to mention, should she pass the Eternal Chamber of Commerces test and become an official partner, her status in Eternal would exceed even that of the Chamber of Commerces administrators. At that time, gatekeeper captains such as Flying Scythe would be obligated to greet her respectfully when they saw her. When Flying Scythe heard Xia Qingyings words, although his expression still looked incredibly ugly, he had no choice but to follow regulations and begin registering Xia Qingyings group of four. Captain Scythe! Has our distinguished guest not arrived yet? Shortly after Flying Scythe finished registering Xia Qingyings group, a short and chubby middle-aged man approached the gate from inside the city, a look of impatience on his face. At the chubby mans question, Flying Scythes expression turned even uglier. This was because the chubby man was none other than Wu Duanhen, an administrator of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. The VIP you mentioned has already arrived, Administrator Wu, Flying Scythe said in a low voice. But he was killed before he could get verified Killed?! Wu Duanhen immediately exploded into a rage when he heard Flying Scythes words. Someone dares to lay their hands on my guest?! Yes Turning to look at the distant backs of Xia Qingyings group, Flying Scythe explained, Vice President Xias group did it. They were in a hurry to enter the city, so they killed Solitary Madness since he was taking up their time. Xia Qingying?! Wu Duanhens face darkened as he turned to look at Xia Qingyings distant figure. She killed my distinguished guest simply because she couldnt wait a moment longer?! Does she really think I cant touch her because she has an Elder backing her?! Administrator Wu, dont forget that the one backing Xia Qingying is that Elder, Flying Scythe quickly reminded Wu Duanhen when he heard the chubby mans words. If you try to lay your hands on her, both of us will suffer! So what if that Elder is backing her? Wu Duanhen sneered. The person Xia Qingying offended this time isnt just Solitary Madness but also that distinguished guest from one of the Twelve Sanctuaries! Not even that Elder can save her this time! You mean that distinguished guest? Flying Scythes eyes brightened. The distinguished guest in question was a peerless paragon originating from one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. For the sake of recruiting him, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, a pseudo-apex power, had even promised him a Vice Guild Leader position. Besides that, the Eternal Chamber of Commerces executives had also prepared an additional advanced membership slot in the upcoming test specifically for him. The reason for this was simple. The Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries would rarely initiate contact with other Realms. As a result, even apex powers would have difficulty extending their roots deep into the Twelve Sanctuaries. As for weaker powers, it would be even more difficult for them to do so. Normally, the various powers would try to befriend and recruit native paragons to better enter the Twelve Sanctuaries. It was especially so for peerless paragons. This was because every peerless paragon was bound to have an extraordinary origin. Meanwhile, even an apex power like the Eternal Chamber of Commerce could stand to benefit a lot from partnering with such an individual. Xia Qingying has been taking advantage of the fact that she has that Elders backing to disrespect me time and again. Now that she has made such a blunder, Im going to let her know the consequences of offending me! Wu Duanhen declared smugly as he looked at Xia Qingyings distant figure. The distinguished guest in question had specifically invited Solitary Madness to participate in the test this time because Solitary Madness was one of the Luminous Glory Lists few top ten powerhouses willing to become his follower. After all, the competition for the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Guild Leader position was intense, and securing it wouldnt be possible without enough experts. Now that Xia Qingyings group had killed Solitary Madness, it was a direct slap in the face to that distinguished guest. Once the Elders hosting the upcoming test learned about this offense, they were bound to make Xia Qingyings group pay! Chapter 3406 - Chapter 480 - Him?! Chapter 480 C Him?! Dark Star, Darkmoon City: Upon entering the city, Xia Qingying led the group to a teleportation channel that facilitated rapid travel around the city. Then, using the teleportation channel, they arrived at the center of Darkmoon City less than a minute after they entered the city. The Dark Star Auction House! Darkmoon City was a vast place. It was more than ten times bigger than the Holy Cities found in the Greater Gods Domain. It could easily accommodate a population of one billion, and over a hundred million players entered and left the city daily. Of course, only a tiny percentage of visitors were actual partners or guests invited by the Eternal Chamber of Commerces executives. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that 99.99% of the players entering the city were people who had bought an entrance ticket through real-world channels. The Dark Star Auction House could be regarded as Dark Stars heart. It was a place that any player who entered Darkmoon City would visit at least once. Otherwise, they would have wasted a trip to Dark Star. In the Dark Moon Auction House, one could find items commissioned by players originating from the Greater Gods Domains various Realms being sold. In addition, one could also see various competitive events in which the participants were all experts among experts. Some of these participants might even be experts who had caused a huge uproar in the Greater Gods Domain with their achievements. Meanwhile, so long as one could obtain a sufficiently high ranking in these events, one could enjoy greater privileges in Darkmoon City. The only problem was that one must become an official partner of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce before one would be eligible to participate in these events. Otherwise, one could only spectate from the side. As it so happened, the test to become an official partner of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was also held in the Dark Star Auction House. Inside the arena on the Dark Star Auction Houses 100th floor Although the partnership test had yet to begin, the arena that could accommodate over 100,000 spectators was already packed with players. Im looking forward to the test this time. Even though its only a basic partnership test, three of Eternals Elders are going to preside over it. I know, right? Youll usually only see Eternal sending three Elders for the advanced partnership test. If not for that peerless paragon from one of the Twelve Sanctuaries, the test this time would have probably had only one Elder presiding over it like usual. Hahaha, the ticket I bought this time is money well spent! If there are going to be three Elders presiding over the test, I wonder how many people can pass the first round? Excitement filled the eyes of the spectators present as they looked at the three individuals standing in the middle of the stage. The first round of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces basic partnership was a screening process in which participants would be put up against the Eternal Chamber of Commerces representative. After all, Gods Domain was a place where might was right. Without sufficient strength, one could accomplish nothing. So, those seeking to become official partners of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce needed to have sufficient strength. Of course, the bar of this initial screening wouldnt be set very high. In past tests, participants only needed to last ten seconds against the Eternal Chamber of Commerces representative. If they could survive ten seconds, they would proceed to the second and final round, where they would compete with each other for the limited partnership slots supplied by the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. However, unlike past tests, where only one Elder would preside over the screening, the test this time would be presided over by three Elders. It went without saying that the initial screenings difficulty had increased significantly. Quick, look! Its the Divine Glory Lists Worldbreaking Axe, Untold Paths! Crap! It really is him! If the Worldbreaking Axe is here, theres no need to wonder whos going to come in first place this time. Thats right. I heard that he single-handedly obliterated a 100-man Tier 6 team from the Origin Conglomerate sometime ago. Even if his stats are suppressed to the Tier 4 standard right now, who here can possibly go up against him? There was a middle-aged man with unkempt hair standing in the middle of the stage, and he carried two large axes that radiated a blue glow. When the spectators spotted this middle-aged Berserker among the participants, their breaths became labored, and their faces became fanatical. It was as if they had just seen the god they revered. As the cries of surprise among the spectator stands grew louder, many of the participants present also took notice of the middle-aged man in question. The Worldbreaking Axe? Shi Feng couldnt help but scrutinize the middle-aged man with messy hair. There were three ranking lists that the Seven Luminaries Alliance periodically published across the entire Greater Gods Domain, and they were the Luminous Glory List, the Sacred Glory List, and the Divine Glory List. Of these three lists, the first two recorded talents of the younger generation. Only the Divine Glory List was different. The Divine Glory List didnt document budding talents. It only documented established powerhouses! If one didnt have the strength to contend against Tier 6 Gods, one couldnt even qualify for the Divine Glory List. Meanwhile, during Shi Fengs previous life, Untold Paths climbed to the 50th rank at his peak. Moreover, this was only after taking into account the old monsters that were no longer active on the public stage. If these secluded monsters were excluded, Untold Paths could easily rank among the top ten of the Greater Gods Domains active Tier 6 experts. Even as an individual, he was an existence that the various apex powers had to take seriously. While everyones attention was on Untold Paths, a large group of players arrived at the arenas entrance. These players consisted of experts on the Luminous Glory List, experts on the Sacred Glory List, and participants with prestigious backgrounds. At this time, though, every one of these individuals was walking alongside a young man clad in dark-gray leather armor, all of their attention focused on the young man. Meanwhile, the instant this young man appeared, he instantly became the focus of everyone in the arena. Even the three Elders responsible for presiding over the test couldnt help but take a look at him. So hes Abyss Water? The rumored peerless paragon from one of the Twelve Sanctuaries? No wonder the Scarlet Merchant Alliance is willing to let him become one of its Vice Guild Leaders. His presence alone is stronger than even Untold Paths. After seeing Abyss Water in person, Im no longer sure who will be coming in first place in the test. As the young man clad in dark gray surveyed the arena like an emperor surveying his domain, both participants and spectators felt their souls shuddering. At the same time, many players present finally understood why the various apex powers and pseudo-apex powers coveted the Twelve Sanctuaries peerless paragons so much, even if these individuals didnt have any amazing achievements. The feeling Abyss Water gave off was akin to a machine created for slaughter. Moreover, his gaze did not look like one that belonged to a youth but an old monster who had lived for centuries already. It was incredibly sharp and penetrated deep into ones soul. Meanwhile, Xia Yingying couldnt help but frown when she saw Abyss Water stepping onto the stage. This was because standing next to Abyss Water wasnt just the participants of the upcoming test. There was also Wu Duanhen, whom Xia Qingying had ignored at the citys entrance. Currently, Wu Duanhen could be seen saying something to Abyss Water. In response, Abyss Waters expression fell by several degrees as he turned to look at Xia Qingyings group. These people have the nerve to mess with me? They must not know what death is! Abyss Water said, his chilly tone causing the surrounding players to shiver. The hostility shown by Abyss Water was apparent to everyone present. He also did not hold back his voice when he spoke. It was obvious he was indirectly hinting at the Eternal Chamber of Commerce to do something about this matter. Those people sure are pitiful, Boss Paths. With this, they probably wont even get past the first round, a hearty young man carrying a shield on his back said to Untold Paths, shaking his head as he looked at Xia Qingyings group. Many powers wished to befriend and recruit Abyss Water because of his status as a peerless paragon from one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. Even the Eternal Chamber of Commerce wouldnt be an exception. Pitiful? When Untold Paths heard the young Shield Warriors words, he looked toward Xia Qingyings group of four out of curiosity, only to spot a familiar Swordsman among the group. Immediately, he used a Master-ranked Identification Skill on the Swordsman, and the result greatly surprised him as he exclaimed, Its him?! Why is he here?! Him? When the young Shield Warrior saw the look of shock on Untold Paths face, he couldnt help but follow the other partys line of sight in confusion. Chapter 3407 - Chapter 481 - Silence Chapter 481 C Silence TL Notes: I made a misinterpretation in Chapter 478. Apparently, Shi Fengs not replacing Xia Qingying in the group. He is joining the group as the fourth member. I have already made the necessary changes to Chapter 478, but theyre too lengthy, so I wont be listing them here. If you dont want to re-read Chapter 478, just note that Xia Qingyings group will be taking the test as a group of four instead, and the reason Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisha were surprised was changed from Xia Qingying letting Shi Feng replace her to Xia Qingying reacting in delight to see Shi Feng showing up. Dont you find that swordsman familiar? Untold Paths said to the young Shield Warrior, smiling. And his name, you should have heard it not long ago. I have? The young Shield Warrior took another look at the Swordsman among Xia Qingyings group of four. Then, his eyes widened in shock as he exclaimed, Black Flame! He is Black Flame! Not long before they arrived on Dark Star, the World Light Conglomerate, the cross-realm conglomerate they belonged to, had issued a sky-high bounty to the conglomerates executives. The bounty was worth a staggering one billion Star Coins, and the target was a Swordsman named Black Flame. It should be known that a fortune of one billion Star Coins was something even heirs of conglomerates would covet. It was also a fortune that could make many experts on the Divine Glory List lose their minds. Yet, this sky-high bounty wasnt for killing Black Flame. It was only for them to acquire Black Flames contact information Indeed! Black Flames contact information was worth a billion Star Coins! Even those who were well-versed in the ways of the world, like Untold Paths, were stunned by this bounty, and they had to verify with the higher-ups whether there was a typo with the reward. It should be known that the life of an upper-ranking hegemonic powers Vice Guild Leader was only worth around two hundred million Star Coins. Even the head of Untold Paths, an expert on the Divine Glory List, was only worth half a billion. One billion Star Coins was already enough to have Untold Paths killed twice. Yet, the World Light Conglomerates core executives were willing to pay such a fortune just to obtain one persons contact information Even as an executive of the World Light Conglomerate, Untold Paths utterly failed to understand the core executives thought process when he initially heard about the bounty. Only after one of the Grand Elders he had owed a favor to had come to ask for his help on the matter did Untold Paths learn why the conglomerate was looking to get in touch with Black Flame. Apparently, it was because of an incident that the World Light Conglomerate had taken part in the Eternal Realm. In that incident, the team led by the Red Dragon Nations Vice Guild Leader Frey had been caught in an encirclement formed by four conglomerates, seventeen upper-ranking hegemonic powers, and over 50 Saint-level experts from the Holy Race. Normally, it should have been the end of the road for Freys team. Yet, a Swordsman named Black Flame had safely brought the team out of the encirclement. It wasnt an exaggeration to call this achievement a legend. When Untold Paths heard of it, he had thought the Grand Elder was joking with him. However, irrefutable video evidence showed that Black Flame had accomplished it. On top of that, Black Flame was also suspected of helping Freys team secure the First Clear of the first-ever World Mode Team Dungeon discovered. With such terrifying strength and the ability to conquer World Mode Team Dungeons, one could say that Black Flame was the best partner for the World Light Conglomerate in the Eternal Realm. There was no way the conglomerates higher-ups would miss out on such an opportunity. Boss? Looking at Shi Fengs distant figure, the young Shield Warrior stuttered in excitement, S-Shouldnt we go over and help him? T-Thats a bilBlack Flame we are talking about! What can we even do to help right now? Can you help them pass the preliminaries? Untold Paths rolled his eyes at the young Shield Warrior. Then, with a wry smile, he continued, Lets wait for the finals. When Abyss Water makes his move, well beat him up for Black Flame. The young Shield Warrior nodded eagerly. Lord Abyss Water, please rest assured. I have already informed the Elders. You wont need to dirty your hands on those people. I guarantee the Elders will give you an account, Wu Duanhen said with a flattering smile. If they dont kneel and apologize to you, they will face the wrath of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. In addition, once the participating talents and spectating powers learn of your importance to the Chamber of Commerce, Im sure they will be more than eager to help you vie for the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Guild Leader position. They dont have to apologize to me. They just need to apologize to my friend, Abyss Water said, nodding to Wu Duanhens words. Naturally, Wu Duanhen couldnt help but feel excited when he saw Abyss Water agreeing with him. I will personally tell them when the time comes. Normally, Wu Duanhen would never dare to have any thoughts of offending Xia Qingying because of her ties with one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Elders. But now, with Abyss Waters backing, even if he made life miserable for Xia Qingiyng, the Elder behind her wouldnt dare to say anything. Subsequently, time passed by quickly as the various participating groups stepped onto the stage one after another. To the audiences shock, over seventy percent of the participating groups failed to last even ten seconds against the three Elders, while twenty percent of the groups passed with one or two casualties, and less than ten percent passed with all members intact. In past tests, at least seventy percent of the participating groups could enter the finals. Yet, now, not even a third of the participating groups could do so. However, while this difficult test was bad news for the participating groups, it made for a thrilling spectacle for the spectators. Watching Untold Paths and Abyss Waters groups in action was especially exhilarating. Unlike others, these two groups did not have any foreign aid. Each group only had three members, and each member faced the three Elders in one-on-one battles. The fights were incredibly intense, and it was especially so for Untold Paths and Abyss Waters fights. Untold Paths was like a god of war when he fought, pushing his opponent back by a step with every swing of his axe. Moreover, throughout the entire battle, Untold Paths only used one of his axes, never drawing his second one. As for Abyss Water, he was incredibly swift and elusive in his movements. He could split into over a dozen copies of himself at will. These copies were real yet fake; they were real when launching attacks and fake when taking attacks. If not for all of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Elders being Saint-level experts, Abyss Waters opponent would have suffered greatly in their fight. After Abyss Waters group finished their test, it was Xia Qingyings groups turn to step onto the stage. The group of four immediately attracted the entire audiences attention as soon as they appeared on stage. Abyss Water had clearly expressed his anger toward Xia Qingyings group before the start of the preliminaries. Hence, there was no way the Eternal Chamber of Commerces three Elders would let Xia Qingyings group pass easily. They might even kill Xia Qingyings group in the very first exchange as a show of sincerity to Abyss Water. Everyone, be careful. I doubt these three Elders will make things easy for us, Xia Qingying reminded Shi Feng and the others in a low voice. Xuanwu Chisha and Invincible Swallow remained surprisingly silent in response to Xia Qingyings reminder. They understood the severity of the situation, and they were watching the three Elders every move with utmost seriousness. Their group of four was a temporary one formed by four people who had never fought together before. Hence, the coordination between them was bound to be stiff. On the other hand, the Eternal Chamber of Commerces three Elders were more than likely comrades-in-arms who had fought together on more than one occasion. At the very least, the threes coordination was bound to be superior to their group of four. Not to mention, all three Elders were Saint-level experts, and Saints could exhibit much greater combat power when working together with other Saints. Although the three Elders had always chosen to fight separately when fighting the previous groups, it would be wishful thinking for them to assume that the three Elders would do the same for their group of four. Because of Abyss Waters issue, it was likely the Elders would fight as a group. If they were not careful and were caught out of position, one of them might have to face the joint attack of three Saints. Shortly after Xia Qingying finished speaking, a whistle sounded on the stage, announcing the start of the battle. But One second Two seconds Three seconds To everyones surprise, even until ten seconds had passed and the whistle signaling the end of the match sounded, nothing happened Whats going on? Xia Qingyings eyes went wide with confusion as she looked at the three Elders standing quietly across the stage, her mind failing to comprehend the situation. Chapter 3408 - Chapter 482 - World Creation, Second Form Chapter 482 C World Creation, Second Form What? Thats it? Can someone tell me whats going on? Wasnt the Eternal Chamber of Commerce supposed to deal with Xia Qingyings group? Why didnt the three Elders just stand there without doing anything? Or are they planning to let Abyss Water handle them personally? Theres no way, right? No matter how I look at it, I feel like the treatment Xia Qingyings group received from the three Elders is much better than that of Abyss Waters group. They didnt even make a single move Everyone was stunned when they saw how Xia Qingyings group got through the first round. Previously, everyone thought Xia Qingyings group was doomed, and the groups four members would have to be revived. But now, not to mention being revived, they didnt even have to lift a finger. The three Elders simply stood still and did nothing until the end of the match At this point, even Wu Duanhen, who had been brimming with confidence less than a minute ago, was dumbfounded. Could the three Elders really be planning to let Abyss Water take care of matters personally? Confusion and disbelief filled Wu Duanhen as he looked at the three Elders on the stage. It was obvious to all that the Eternal Chamber of Commerce valued Abyss Water very highly. After all, the Chamber of Commerce had gone as far as to increase the number of advanced partnership slots in the test this time. It should be known that the annual basic partnership test would usually only offer one advanced partnership slot. It had been the case for many years now. Yet, this time around, two advanced partnership slots were offered. This just goes to show how much the Eternal Chamber of Commerces higher-ups valued Abyss Water. Given how highly the higher-ups regarded Abyss Water, the three Elders could not possibly be unaware of this. Now that Abyss Water was looking to establish his authority by taking down Xia Qingyings group, this was a great opportunity for the three Elders to do Abyss Water a big favor. Meanwhile, this favor would be especially valuable if Abyss Water could recruit sufficient experts and win sufficient support to become the next Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Logically, the three Elders should be more aware of this than Wu Duanhen. Yet, now, not only did they let Xia Qingyings group pass the preliminaries, but they had even done so by literally doing nothing. What exactly were they trying to achieve here? At this point, Abyss Water, who is standing nearby, also looks a bit solemn as he stares at Wu Duanhen and says in a slightly cold tone: Administrator Wu! Did you really inform the three Elders properly? Are you playing me? Lord Abyss Water, I really did tell the three Elders everything, Wu Duanhen said. Although he was filled with doubts, he still hurriedly tried to devise an excuse. Its possible that the higher-ups want you to personally handle this matter in front of everyone, which is why the three Elders let them pass the first round. Fine, Ill deal with it myself. Abyss Water didnt say anything else. After all, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was still an apex power. It had a lot of influence, even in the Twelve Sanctuaries. Moreover, he wasnt the only peerless paragon to have come out of the Twelve Sanctuaries. Many others had done so as well. It just so happens that Im looking to let the geniuses and paragons here know what kind of gap exists between them and me! Wu Duanhen breathed a sigh of relief at this. He was truly afraid Abyss Water would dig deeper. After all, he was only expressing his own thoughts, and he honestly had no idea what the three Elders were thinking. On the other side, Xia Qingying and the others walked down from the battle stage, full of doubts, as they quietly waited for the three Elders to announce the start of the second and final round. Of the group of four, only Shi Feng faintly felt the three Elders attention focusing on him for a moment. After a while Everyone! The preliminaries are over! Up next will be the finals! said the oldest Elder, a Level 219, Tier 6 Berserker, as he swept his gaze across the groups below the stage. For the finals, all groups that have passed the preliminaries will be teleported to random locations on a battlefield. Your job is to fight and survive, and groups will be ranked based on the order they are eliminated. There are two advanced partnership slots and eight basic partnership slots available in this test, and they will be given out to the top ten groups in order of ranking. That means the last two groups standing will receive the advanced partnership slot. The round will last for half an hour, and the battlefield will continuously shrink throughout the round, so you wont have to worry about finding opponents. Now, let the final round begin! As the Level 219, Tier 6 Berserker Elder declared the start of the finals, over thirty qualified groups were forcibly teleported to a vast arena below the platform. The entire battlefield had a radius of two thousand yards. For players with Physiques and Basic Attributes at the Level 120, Tier 4 standard, this size was neither too big nor too small. It was enough for 30-plus groups to fight without affecting other groups, but it also allowed other groups to quickly gather and fight in bigger groups. This setting made it so that players werent tested just for their combat capabilities but also for other factors, such as situational awareness. What a small world. You guys killed Solitary Madness at the city gate before, right? Looking at Xia Qingyings group standing less than a hundred yards from him, Abyss Water calmly said as if passing judgment, Now, Ill give you three seconds to consider. Submit to me, apologize to my friend when you leave, and Ill let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, Ill make sure youre the first to be eliminated from the test! In your dreams! Without hesitation, Invincible Swallow swung his wand and summoned four magic arrays for four Tier 4 Curses under his feet. Seeing this, Xuanwu Chisha promptly charged toward Abyss Water, her body transforming like a moving streak of light as she closed in on the Assassin. She did not intend to give the other party any opportunities to set up a sneak attack. At the same time, Xia Qingying raised her hand and created a Holy Barrier on all four members of their group. After doing so, she cast the Tier 4 Hypersensitivity State and the Tier 4 Divine Reflection for Xuanwu Chisha, the former greatly enhancing the targets perception and the latter having the ability to reflect one magical attack. This left Abyss Water, who was just an Assassin, with only the option of close combat against Xuanwu Chisha, a Shield Warrior. As a Shield Warrior, Xuanwu Chisha was naturally much stronger in terms of Strength, Endurance, and Defense than an Assassin of the same level. An Assassin of the same tier would be committing suicide if they tried to face her in direct combat. Not a bad response. Even when Abyss Water saw Invincible Swallow, Xuanwu Chisha, and Xia Qingying attacking him together, he simply sneered in disdain. Its a pity none of you understand mana! As soon as Abyss Water finished speaking, terrifying mana erupted from his body, instantly causing everyone within a 200-yard radius to feel as if their bodies had been submerged in a swamp. At the same time, a faint, illusory miniature world appeared, inhibiting the flow of mana in Invincible Swallows four magic arrays and drastically reducing Xuanwu Chishas speed. Subsequently, Abyss Wate swung the dagger in his right hand in the direction of Xuanwu Chisha, who was still over thirty yards away. When Xuanwu Chisha saw this, she instinctively raised her sword and shield to cover her front. Boom! Following a loud bang, Xuanwu Chisha was lifted off her feet and sent flying backward by several yards. Even when she landed and stabilized her posture, the sword and shield she wielded continued trembling uncontrollably. After just one exchange, it became apparent that Abyss Water was not at all inferior to Xuanwu Chisha in terms of Strength. On the contrary, he was even leagues above her, and if Xuanwu Chisha had not used an Absolute Technique to deflect some of the force, her flight backward would have covered a minimum of twenty yards. Miniature World?! How can he use World Creations second form at Tier 4?! Xia Qingying was greatly shocked as she looked at the illusory world that had formed around them. For players to use World Creations first form at Tier 4, they would need to be at the standard of Saints at the very minimum. As for World Creations second form, it was simply unheard of for players to use it at Tier 4. After all, even Tier 5 Saints had difficulty using it. Chapter 3409 - Chapter 483 - Legendary Mana Bodys Might Chapter 483 C Legendary Mana Bodys Might When Abyss Water unleashed his Miniature World, both the players on the battlefield and the spectators outside were shocked by the scene before them. Incredible! This is simply incredible! So, this is how strong the Twelve Sanctuaries peerless paragons are? The second form of World Creation! Many Tier 6 magical class experts cant even reach this realm, yet he managed to do it as a Tier 4 Assassin! Crap! If he can use World Creations second form at Tier 4, isnt he practically invincible in the finals?! When everyone saw the illusory world that had appeared on the battlefield, emotions of envy, admiration, and worship filled their eyes. It was especially so for the magical class experts present. They couldnt help but wish they could burn the sight of Abyss Waters Miniature World in the depths of their minds. For most expert players, just achieving World Creation was already their lifelong limit. As for casting the second form, it was a technique exclusive to Saints. Even so, the supposed minimum requirement for Saints to achieve World Creations second form was to reach Tier 5. This was because the Mana Body of a Tier 4 player was incapable of providing enough mana to support World Creations second form. Yet, at this moment, Abyss Water had cast World Creations second form with the stats of a Level 120, Tier 4 player. Seeing this, everyone present couldnt help but wonder exactly how powerful Abyss Waters Mana Body was. Was it an Advanced Epic Mana Body? Or could it be a Legendary Mana Body? Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Xia Qingying, Invincible Swallow, and Xuanwu Chisha quickly halted their offensive and took a defensive stance as soon as they saw Abyss Waters Miniature World. Are we not going to help, Boss Paths? the young Shield Warrior belonging to Untold Paths group asked when he saw Untold Paths suddenly stopping. Now that all of us are suppressed to the Tier 4 standard, hes essentially invincible on this battlefield, Untold Paths said, his eyes flashing with a trace of frustration. Unless he dismisses his Miniature World, it wont matter how many bodies we throw at him. All of us will die! Most of the players present had probably seen Miniature World, World Creations second form, in action a few times thus far. This might even be the first time for some players. Hence, their understanding of it would naturally be limited. However, it was a different story for Untold Paths. As an expert on the Divine Glory List, Untold Paths had fought many opponents who were capable of casting Miniature Worlds, so he knew exactly how tricky it was to fight against an opponent like Abyss Water. Once a players World Creation reached the second form, they could turn the ambient mana around them into a part of their mana, and this came with many benefits. For starters, they could also extend their attack range by a significant margin. Besides that, they could increase their maximum mana capacity. They could also improve their destructive power and Physique. Most importantly, World Creations second form would have a drastically stronger mana suppression effect toward enemies. Unless the opponent could similarly use World Creations second form, they shouldnt consider using any ambient mana around them once caught in a Miniature World. When fighting someone capable of using World Creations second form, if one could not similarly cast a Miniature World, their only option was to fight through super-long-range attacks and turn the fight into a battle of attrition. After all, even World Creations first form already took a lot of mana to maintain. Needless to say, the cost of maintaining World Creations second form would only be even more frightening. The problem was that everyone on Dark Star was suppressed to the Level 120, Tier 4 standard. Meanwhile, Tier 4 players had very limited ways to attack from a great distance. Not to mention, the battlefield only had limited space for players to maneuver around, and it was even shrinking as time passed. With Abyss Waters capabilities, he could easily reach every corner of the battlefield in the blink of an eye, so it would be impossible to keep their distance from him. As expected of Abyss Water! Even a Divine Glory expert like Untold Paths dare not get close to him! Outside the battlefield, Wu Duanhen watched the clash between Abyss Water and Xia Qingyings group with great excitement. Now that he had latched onto Abyss Waters ship, the stronger Abyss Water was, the greater his position in the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would become in the future. Meanwhile, the ability to use World Creations second form at Tier 4 was undoubtedly an incredible feat. Even among Eternals Grand Elders, most likely, only a few could replicate it. On the battlefield, Xuanwu Chisha took a deep breath and said in a low voice through the team chat, I have a way to push him back once and only once. As soon as it happens, use the opportunity to get out of his Miniature World! Your Taboo Skill may not be enough, so let me help you, Invincible Swallow quietly said. I can trap him for a very brief period. Rather than knock him back, try to land a fatal blow. Alright, you trap him, and Ill finish him. Xuanwu Chisha nodded without hesitation. However, right after their brief conversation, Abyss Waters figure suddenly blurred for an instant. Not good! That was a doppelganger! Although Abyss Waters figure had returned to looking solid, Xuanwu Chisha still noticed the brief change, deduced the cause for it, and promptly warned the others. However, Xuanwu Chishas warning came a moment too late. Before Invincible Swallow could react, he heard Abyss Waters voice suddenly coming from behind him. Did you all really think Id be foolish enough to confront you directly and abandon an Assassins advantage? Without warning, Abyss Water had appeared behind Invincible Swallow like a ghost with two blood-red daggers held in a reverse grip. Then, he brought the weapons down onto the suppressed Tier 6 Mage Gods back. Even though Invincible Swallows brain was already alerted to Abyss Waters attack, his body couldnt keep up with the Assassin, who was empowered by his Miniature World. Clang! A crisp metallic collision reverberated and echoed in the hearts of Invincible Swallow and Xia Qingying, who stood beside Invincible Swallow. Contrary to everyones expectations, Abyss Waters two blood-red daggers did not sink into Invincible Swallows back. Instead, they stopped three inches short of reaching the Mage Gods back, their descent hindered by a blue longsword. You can keep up with my speed? Abyss Water looked at the owner of the blue longsword, surprise and disbelief in his eyes. Aside from Abyss Water, Invincible Swallow and Xia Qingying also could not believe what they were seeing. Setting aside whether a Tier 4 Swordsman could keep up with a Tier 4 Assassins speed, simply the fact that Shi Feng could match Abyss Waters power was already mind-blowing. After all, the power Abyss Water could exert with the help of his Miniature World was not something most Tier 4 players could withstand. Take Xuanwu Chisha, for example. Had her class not belonged to the tank category, Abyss Water would have incapacitated or killed her when she previously blocked his attack. The combination of a tank class and a shield granted Xuanwu Chisha incredible durability. If she blocked an attack with her shield, she could mitigate 80% of the attacks impact and reduce the damage she received to a great extent. Not to mention, Xuanwu Chisha wasnt just an ordinary Shield Warrior. She was also the owner of the Divine Warrior class, a unique class. When it came to tanking damage, she was significantly stronger than ordinary Shield Warriors and Guardian Knights. Yet, even under such circumstances, Xuanwu Chisha was still sent airborne and knocked several yards away. This was an indicator of the terrifying offensive power Abyss Water possessed. In response to Abyss Waters surprise, Shi Feng calmly said, Youre not that fast, though? Arrogance! Abyss Water snorted and promptly tried to use his Exclusive Absolute Technique, Divine Dance. He developed the technique by combining an Offensive Absolute Technique and an Absolute Body Technique. It was his signature move, and its offensive capabilities were no different than that of a true Gold Combat Technique. However, just as Abyss Water was about to swing his daggers, he suddenly felt a dense mana emanating from Shi Feng. Then, what happened next shocked him. Mana! Why cant I manipulate mana?! TL Notes: The power() term Ive used in this chapter is a representation of Strength()+other bonuses. As World Creation/mana doesnt directly increase the numerical value of the Strength stat, I felt that it would be inaccurate to say that so-and-so has great Strength. Fyi, Upper-cased Strength represents the Strength stat in Gods Domain, while lower-cased strength represents overall strength. Also, C strength; power; force. The author uses for a lot of things, so I can never be sure what he is referring to unless he specifically mentions Strength Attribute(). Chapter 3410 - Chapter 484 - Invincible Chapter 484 C Invincible What Whats going on? Why cant I sense any mana?! As soon as Shi Feng spread his mana, all players within a 300-yard radius involuntarily shuddered. Some even felt fear. It was no exaggeration to say that mana was the most familiar existence to players in Gods Domain. Starting from Tier 0, players had to constantly perceive and manipulate mana until they mastered their own mana. Then, once they became more proficient at these two things, they would start learning how to handle the mana around them. Meanwhile, of the experts on the battlefield, every one of them had long since ingrained the ways of perceiving and using their own mana and ambient mana into their bones. Of course, it wasnt as if the players present had never experienced staying in an environment without mana. However, the battlefield they currently stood on clearly wasnt one such environment. On the contrary, mana was present in such abundance that it had already taken a solid state. Yet They could not perceive it It was as if the thing their eyes were seeing wasnt mana but something else entirely No! Why can his Mana Domain cover such a large range? We are on Dark Star right now. Even an expert like Abyss Water cant extend his Miniature World beyond 200 yards, yet this guy is covering 300 yards! Thats not all! I can feel my own mana getting eroded as we speak, and Im having trouble even manipulating it! The players present within the area covered by Shi Fengs mana quickly noticed its peculiarities. Meanwhile, Abyss Water, who stood closest to the source of this mana, noticed these peculiarities even more clearly. What did he do? Abyss Water was greatly confused as he looked at Shi Feng. Heavy! His body had become incredibly heavy! However, this heaviness was unlike standing in a high-gravity space. While standing in Shi Fengs Mana Domain, Abyss Water felt as if countless hands had latched onto him and were pulling him down. So long as he tried to move, a powerful opposing force would act on his body. But what really puzzled him was his inability to manipulate any of the mana around him. As a result, he could no longer keep his Miniature World extended, and he could only keep it covering the surface of his body. This situation was simply unbelievable. This was undoubtedly the first time he had experienced his Miniature World getting suppressed to such an extent. Not even the Tier 6 Gods he had encountered in the past could accomplish such a feat. However, Abyss Water wasnt the only person feeling surprised right now. Shi Feng, the cause of Abyss Waters predicament, was similarly surprised, though he was surprised for an entirely different reason. World Creations second form truly is powerful. Shi Feng was secretly amazed when he saw Abyss Water still being able to maintain his Miniature World. Even with a Legendary Mana Body and Level 6 Mana Affinity, the best I can do is suppress his Miniature World. None of my mana can invade his body and erode his mana. Before reaching Level 6 Mana Affinity, Shi Feng was still unaware of how powerful a Legendary Mana Bodys mana was. He simply thought of it as quantitative upgrade to a Advanced Epic Mana Body and that it would only be better at suppressing other players mana. Of course, even if it was only a quantitative upgrade, it was already plenty impressive as it allowed him to match the mana of Tier 5 players even when he was only at Tier 4. However, after upgrading his Mana Affinity to Level 6, he finally realized the true power of a Legendary Mana Body. With his amazing mana pool, not only could he easily suppress his opponents, making it impossible for them to manipulate their mana, but he could also use mana to enhance his strength to a terrifying extent. This was also why, even with both their stats suppressed to the Level 120, Tier 4 standard, Shi Feng was able to kill Solitary Madness, one of the top ten experts on the Luminous Glory List, in one move. However, Shi Feng stayed surprised for only a moment. Immediately afterward, he swung the Winter of Eternal Night and sent a tsunami of fire at Abyss Water. Second Sword, Holy Devour! With the enhancement of Shi Fengs powerful mana, the raging flames of Holy Devour were able to cause cracks in Dark Stars rigid space. If Im going to die, Im taking you with me! After glancing at the tsunami of flames, Abyss Water instantly transformed his two daggers into hundreds of blood-red threads. Then, he cast these threads toward Shi Feng as if he was casting a fishing net, every one of these threads easily cutting apart the space in their path. Is the Scarlet Merchant Alliance insane?! It took out one of its most prized possessions just to recruit a peerless paragon from the Twelve Sanctuaries?! Standing nearby, Xia Qingyings face turned pale when she saw the sight of Abyss Waters daggers transforming into hundreds of scarlet threads. The Scarlet Threads! They were a set of Legendary Weapons, and they ranked among the top Legendary Weapons. At one time, the set of daggers even used to be among the Seven Luminaries Alliances Legendary Weapon List, a record of the top 100 Legendary Weapons that existed in the Greater Gods Domain. Throughout history, the Scarlet Threads were used by two of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Divine Glory experts. With the dagger set in hand, those two experts could single-handedly slay Tier 6 Gods. Meanwhile, a big factor contributing to the Scarlet Threads was the Attached Skill Thousand Blood Blades. Not only did this Skill grant players the ability to transcend tiers, but it was also unstoppable. At this time, it wasnt just Xia Qingying who noticed Abyss Water was wielding the Scarlet Threads. Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisha also recognized the Legendary Dagger Set as well as the infamous Thousand Blood Blades. It looks like theyll perish together, Invincible Swallow silently lamented. An attack composed of hundreds of projectiles was something even veteran Saints could not dodge completely. When the past two owners of Scarlet Threads wielded the daggers, even Tier 6 Saints had fallen to this move. His death wont be in vain, Xuanwu Chisha thought, a hint of admiration appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Abyss Water was an expert capable of using World Creations second form at Tier 4. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that he was invincible among Tier 4 players of the same level. So, the fact that Abyss Water was forced into using a trump card like Thousand Blood Blades just showed how formidable of an opponent Shi Feng was. When everyone thought Shi Feng and Abyss Water would perish together, Shi Feng suddenly took the initiative to meet the oncoming scarlet threads. Logically, it should be impossible for any Tier 4 player to evade hundreds of attacks at a time. Yet, Shi Feng appeared to be the master of this space as his figure constantly flickered back and forth in mid-air, traveling at speeds even faster than players using Instantaneous Movement. This, in turn, made it impossible for the scarlet threads to catch him. First Step, Stepping Space! In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had passed through the hundreds of threads and stood directly in front of Abyss Water. Moreover, before Abyss Water even realized it, the blue longsword in Shi Fengs hand had already inserted itself into his forehead, causing his HP to plummet. AGold Combat Technique? Abyss Water stared at Shi Feng in disbelief. He wanted to say something, but no words could come out of his mouth as HP had already reached zero. Then, his vision turned gray, and his body collapsed outside his control. Subsequently, the entire arena fell into an unprecedented silence as everyone, even those still fighting on the battlefield, froze in place. Nobody could utter a word as they stared at Abyss Waters corpse. Just a moment ago, everyone believed that Abyss Water, a monster capable of using World Creations second form at Tier 4, would be invincible on the battlefield. Yet, now, this invincible existence had fallen to a single strike from a Tier 4 Swordsman Chapter 3411 - Chapter 485 - Eternal Chamber of Commerces Decision Chapter 485 C Eternal Chamber of Commerces Decision Boss, what exactly did Black Flame just do? the young Shield Warrior standing next to Untold Paths couldnt help but ask as his eyes focused on Abyss Waters corpse. Shouldnt Thousand Blood Blades be an unstoppable attack? Also, how can Black Flame move so flexibly in the air? Shouldnt it be impossible for players to fly on Dark Star? While saying so, the young Shield Warrior turned to look at Shi Feng, confusion filling his eyes as he watched the Swordsman sheath his weapon. None of what just happened made sense to him. Thousand Blood Blades was a well-known Skill in the Greater Gods Domain. When the two previous owners of the Scarlet Threads wielded the dagger set, they had slain countless experts using the Thousand Blood Blades Skill. Although Abyss Water was currently limited to the Level 120, Tier 4 standard, any one of his several hundred scarlet threads could easily kill a Tier 4 player of the same level. Not to mention, with an expert like Abyss Water manipulating the scarlet threads, it should be utterly impossible for any Tier 4 player to evade the threads completely. Even more astonishing was Shi Fengs ability to move in the air. After all, it should be impossible for players to fly in Dark Star as it was a forced setting. At most, players could jump and stay suspended in the air for a brief moment. Yet, Shi Feng had stayed in the air throughout the entire time he was dodging the scarlet threads and closing the distance on Abyss Water! Most likely, he has mastered a Gold Combat Technique! A Gold Body Technique at that! Untold Paths said after a deep breath. But Ive never seen such a Gold Body Technique in the Guilds archives before Hes a Golden Master? The young Shield Warriors breathing became a little labored. Anyone who mastered a Gold Combat Technique was known as a Golden Master and considered an apex existence in the Greater Gods Domain. Even apex powers would try their best to recruit Golden Masters as they were a source of great power. Golden Masters had also become a measure of strength for the various Realms to gauge the strength of an apex power, and the more Golden Masters an apex power possessed, the stronger it would be considered. Meanwhile, among experts who had mastered Gold Combat Techniques, those who had mastered Gold Body Techniques were somewhat special. Firstly, Gold Body Techniques existed in scarce numbers, and so were the people who had mastered them. Secondly, experts who had mastered Gold Body Techniques were almost invincible against opponents of the same tier out in the fields. This was because they could run or fight whenever they wanted. No wonder the higher-ups want to get in touch with him. With such strength, he can conquer and occupy territories in the Eternal Realm with ease. When Untold Paths deduced that Shi Feng might have mastered a Gold Body Technique, a new realization quickly dawned on him. Although experts who had mastered Gold Body Techniques were not as useful as those who had mastered Offensive and Defensive Gold Combat Techniques in dungeon raids, they were extremely powerful in outdoor PvP situations and stronghold sieges. Now that the Eternal Realms various powers still lacked access to their full capabilities, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that a Golden Master who had mastered a Gold Body Technique was nigh invincible in the Eternal Realm. Of course, it would be under the precondition that said Golden Master was going up against opponents of the same level, tier, and equipment standard. While Untold Paths and the young Shield Warrior were quietly conversing among themselves, Xia Qingying, Invincible Swallow, and Xuanwu Chisha quickly came to their senses. You really know how to hide your cards, Vice President Xia. How did you even manage to find such an expert? Invincible Swallow looked at Xia Qingying and couldnt help but say. A Golden Master who had mastered a Gold Body Technique ranking only 963rd on the Luminous Glory List? This might as well be the joke of the century. At this time, even Xuanwu Chisha couldnt help but admire Xia Qingyings capabilities. So long as a Golden Master reached Tier 6 and obtained sufficiently good weapons and equipment, their debut into the Divine Glory List was basically guaranteed. Moreover, they would have a very high ranking. Meanwhile, not even pseudo-apex powers would dare think of inviting such an expert to work for them. Yet, not only did Xia Qingying dare to do so, but she had even succeeded. Dont spread this news, Xia Qingying awkwardly reminded Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisha. Xia Qingying didnt intend to correct Invincible Swallows and Xuanwu Chishas misunderstanding. This was because even she herself was surprised by this revelation. It should be known that Shi Feng was formerly an expert who could barely stay in the Miniature Ancient Worlds God-ranked Expert List. Never could she have imagined such a person could have such terrifying strength. Naturally. Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisha nodded to express their understanding. The current Green God Corporation was not united at heart. Many people were eyeing Xia Qingyings position. In such a situation, Shi Feng would undoubtedly become one of Xia Qingyings trump cards in the future. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng killed Abyss Water, none of the other groups on the battlefield dared to pick a fight with Xia Qingyings group of four, choosing only to fight among themselves. Ultimately, Xia Qingyings group won first place without suspense, while Untold Paths group won second. This outcome was completely different from what everyone expected at the beginning of the test, so the atmosphere in the whole arena turned incredibly tense. Xia Qingying is in big trouble. The Eternal Chamber of Commerce has gone out of its way to prepare an extra advanced partnership slot to win over Abyss Water. Yet, Xia Qingyings group not only eliminated Abyss Water, but they even took an advanced membership slot for themselves. The Eternal Chamber of Commerce must be fuming over this matter right now. Theyre very bold; Ill give them that. Interests come above everything else for the various powers in Gods Domain, and to defy the Eternal Chamber of Commerces interests takes a lot of courage. But isnt that Swordsman named Black Flame suspected to have mastered a Gold Combat Technique? I doubt even the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would want to offend someone like him, right? You would think so, but thats only the case for other powers. This is the Eternal Chamber of Commerce we are talking about. Not to mention Golden Masters, Eternal probably owns more than one Divine Artifact. Do you think it would be afraid of an expert whos only suspected of having mastered a Gold Combat Technique? When the test results came out, the players on the spectator stand promptly engaged in a quiet discussion. While it was true that the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was an apex power that took a somewhat aloof stance in the Greater Gods Domain, the organization was still subject to various interests. Even if the Eternal Chamber of Commerce didnt take any drastic measures immediately out of consideration for its reputation, the apex power probably wouldnt let Xia Qingyings group have a good time on Dark Star later. This was also something Xia Qingying was very concerned about. The Twelve Sanctuaries predated the current Greater Gods Domain, and many myths and secrets are circulated within them. Some of these secrets were even tied to the mysterious Primordial Gods. Many upper-ranking hegemonic powers and cross-realm conglomerates desperately wished to gain a foothold in the Twelve Sanctuaries, but only a few could actually achieve this wish. Even for Tier 6 experts, entering the Twelve Sanctuaries was an extremely difficult task. Now that her group had disrupted the Eternal Chamber of Commerces plans, if the organization took the offense to heart, the consequences would be unbearable for her group. However, after the test ended, the Eternal Chamber of Commerces attitude surprised everyone. Contrary to everyones expectations, the three Elders of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce wore friendly smiles as they awarded Xia Qingying the authority of an advanced partner. They even took the initiative to remind Xia Qingying that she was now qualified to visit the Dark Star Auction Houses 200th floor and beyond, which was where players could get in touch with the Eternal Chamber of Commerces inner circles. After the award ceremony Elders, are we just going to let them go like this? Wu Duanhen asked with a puzzled face as he looked at the three Elders who had just stepped down from the stage. Xia Qingyings group has eliminated Lord Abyss Water and even got a free advanced partnership. If we dont do anything about this, Eternal will become a laughing stock for the various powers. Laughing stock? Who dares to laugh at us? The leading Elder coldly said as he looked at Wu Duanhen. And since when did you think you could represent the Eternal Chamber of Commerce? Also, why would you think the extra advanced partnership slot is for Abyss Water? Chapter 3412 - Chapter 486 - Taboo Slayer Chapter 486 C Taboo Slayer Its not? Wu Duanhen was shocked. Anyone who worked at the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would know that the organization was all about profits. So long as there were sufficient benefits to be had, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce could even disregard its reputation. Abyss Water was not only a peerless paragon in the Twelve Holy Realms but also a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, a pseudo-apex power. He was undoubtedly the most suitable candidate for the extra advanced partnership slot. Out of everyone participating in the test this time, Wu Duanhen found it hard to imagine anyone else who could bring the Eternal Chamber of Commerce more benefits than Abyss Water. Little Wu, in light of your past performances, I can make an exception and tell you that the extra advanced partnership slot was prepared for Xia Qingying, the leading Elder said as he called up an intelligence report. I have a detailed report on why this is the case that I can show you, but once you see it, you cant continue staying on Dark Star anymore. Do you want to see it? Prepared for Xia Qingying? How is that possible?! Wu Duanhen was dumbfounded when he heard the Elders words. He felt that the Elder was playing a joke with him. But, then again, he knew that the Elder in front of him would never play jokes, so he gritted his teeth and said, I want to see it. Even if Ive failed, I want to know why! Suit yourself. Have a look, then, the leading Elder said as he shared the report with Wu Duanhen. Remember not to share it with others. Youll know the consequences if you get discovered! I understand. Wu Duanhen nodded and promptly began scanning the report before him. Impossible! Wu Duanhen exclaimed after a while, his face turning extremely pale. This was because the reports focus was on none other than Black Flame, the person who had killed Abyss Water. The intelligence report recorded many astonishing pieces of information regarding Black Flame, and any of these could easily cause a stir among the various powers should they be leaked. The part where the Paimon Conglomerate suspected there to be an expert rivaling Primordial Gods standing behind Black Flame was especially unbelievable. Yet, no matter how unbelievable it might seem, there was irrefutable evidence showing that Black Flame had the assistance of an expert capable of repelling an Ancient God in the World Passage. This information was incredibly stimulating news, even for the various apex powers. However, compared to the information the Eternal Chamber of Commerce uncovered, even the news of Black Flame potentially having a Primordial God-level expert backing him was insignificant. The Taboo Slayer! Black Flame actually knew someone who could potentially be the Taboo Slayer! Now you understand why the higher-ups prepared an advanced partnership slot for Xia Qingying, right? the leading Elder calmly asked as he looked at Wu Duanhen. However, despite how calmly the Elder spoke, it was still possible to hear a hint of excitement in his words. Yes, I understand now. Abyss Waters defeat was just, Wu Duanhen said with a bitter smile. Even if it is only a suspicion, the Chamber of Commerce will undoubtedly side with Xia Qingying. The Taboo Slayers existence was known to only a handful of powers throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain. In fact, not even the Seven Luminaries Alliance knew about the Taboo Slayer. As an internal member nurtured by the Eternal Chamber of Commerce since childhood, Wu Duanhen was somewhat privy to the Taboo Slayers information. There were twenty-two monsters that should never be provoked in the Greater Gods Domain. They were existences even Primordial Gods and apex powers were helpless against. In the publics eyes, these twenty-two monsters were essentially taboo-like existences. However, only a handful of powers knew that there were, in reality, twenty-three such monsters, not twenty-two. Only, the twenty-third monster had previously inhabited one of the Twelve Sanctuaries, so very few people knew about its existence. Meanwhile, that twenty-third monster was killed by a mysterious Swordsman, and those who knew about this Swordsmans feat came to call her the Taboo Slayer. It was a title with a simple meaning. It meant that the owner of this title could slay the Greater Gods Domains Taboos! The several powers that learned of this news promptly blocked all information from spreading. As it happened, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was one of these powers. As for why they did so, it was also simple: the news was too shocking, and it might lead to a great upheaval in the Greater Gods Domain. After all, a player had slain a monster that even the Primordial Gods could do nothing about. Even apex powers wouldnt be able to sit still on this news, let alone upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers. However, later on, the Taboo Slayer suddenly disappeared from Gods Domain for some reason, and nobody knew where she had disappeared all these years. The only record left about the Taboo Slayer was that she was a stunning woman with long, light blue hair wielding a sword with a blade as thin as a cicadas wing. And when this woman went on the offensive, her strikes were as fast as lightning. Back when the Taboo Slayer had accomplished the unprecedented feat of slaying a Taboo, one of the experts who had witnessed the spectacle from afar had tried to replicate her swordsmanship. In the end, he created a technique called Void Annihilation, and it was currently ranked 26th among the 99 Absolute Techniques. Void Annihilation had power comparable to that of Gold Combat Techniques. With the help of this technique, the expert in question ended up winning the championship of the Seven Luminaries Alliances A-League. Aside from that expert, one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces experts also tried to replicate the Taboo Slayers swordsmanship and ended up developing a Gold Combat Technique. And because of this achievement, said expert was instantly promoted into a Grand Elder. Even to this day, the location of the battle between the Taboo Slayer and the 23rd Taboo was kept under lockdown by the several powers. From time to time, these powers would also send some of their talented Swordsmen to get a feel of the battlefield and hopefully gain some enlightenment. Meanwhile, in the battle at the world passage, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce coincidentally discovered someone who looked strikingly similar to the Taboo Slayer. The Glimmering Sword, Laura Crader! Abyss Water was indeed a powerful and influential expert. Not only was he a peerless paragon of the Twelve Sanctuaries, but he was also a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. However, compared to the Taboo Slayer, he was nothing. So, the moment Xia Qingying chose Black Flame to become one of her helpers, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce had already chosen to give Xia Qingying an advanced partnership slot. As for Abyss Water, he was never within the Eternal Chamber of Commerces consideration. Inside the Dark Star Auction House, a luxurious and spacious elevator the size of a basketball court was currently making its way up the skyscraper. As the floor count on the elevators display kept increasing, a mixture of anticipation and unease filled Xia Qingying. Although the Eternal Chamber of Commerce recruited many partners every year, if one wanted to truly reach the Greater Gods Domains apex, one must enter the Eternal Chamber of Commerces inner circles. This, in turn, meant that one had to be qualified to enter the Dark Star Auction Houses 200th floor and above. Starting from the 200th floor, transactions between players would be strictly based on a barter system. More specifically, Legendary Weapons would become the standard currency for trading, and every transaction would involve at least one Legendary Weapon, and sometimes even Fragmented Divine Artifacts, exchanging hands. On very rare occasions, a transaction could even determine the rise or death of an entire world. You dont have to be nervous, Qingying. You have already received Eternals recognition now that youve become an advanced partner. Not only are you qualified to enter the floors above two hundred, but you can also bring others with you, a graceful middle-aged man with a graying beard said to Xia Qingying with a smile. But I honestly didnt expect you to become not just an ordinary partner but an advanced partner in such a short time. I should have Weilan learn from you more. Weilan is still young, Uncle Yan Hua. She became one of the top 100 experts on the Sacred Glory List not long ago, and now she has also become the Blaze Conglomerates First Successor. I fared much worse than she did when I was her age, Xia Qingying humbly said to the elegant middle-aged man. Also, I could only become an advanced partner thanks to my friends. It wasnt just my own efforts. Although the Blaze Conglomerate was not as powerful as the Galaxy Conglomerate, it was still a conglomerate on par with the Paimon Conglomerate. Meanwhile, even a bottom-ranked successor in the Blaze Conglomerate wielded much greater strength and authority than a vice president of the Green God Corporation. That girl never gives me any peace of mind, Yan Hua said, shaking his head. Rather than talk about that headache, let me tell you more about the 200th floor and above. Stepping onto the 200th floor is no different than stepping into a new world. The environment you will come across is completely different from what you can find below the 200th floor. The items you can come into contact with are also beyond your imagination. Particularly today; todays auction is probably the biggest one the Dark Star Auction House has hosted in recent years! Chapter 3413 - Chapter 487 - Seven Cities, Four Towers, Three Absolutes Chapter 487 C Seven Cities, Four Towers, Three Absolutes The biggest auction in recent years? Xia Qingyings interest was piqued when she heard Yan Huas claim. Are you saying theres going to be a Fragmented Divine Artifact up for auction? Even though she wasnt an official partner of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce before today, she had visited the Dark Star Auction House numerous times in the past. However, due to her limited clearance, she could only participate in ordinary auctions held below the 200th floor. Meanwhile, according to Yan Hua, the auctions on the 200th floor and above involved transactions of Legendary Weapons or top-tier Legendary Equipment at the very minimum. This was not something she had ever seen taking place below the 200th floor. If todays auction could be regarded as the biggest auction in recent years, it meant that a Fragmented Divine Artifact, which was known to occasionally appear in auctions held on the 200th floor and above, was likely to appear. When Xia Qingying mentioned the words Fragmented Divine Artifact, Invincible Swallow and Xuanwu Chisha also showed signs of excitement. Only the Dark Star of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce can offer players a worry-free trading experience without the fear of being tracked. If players could get their hands on a Fragmented Divine Artifact, they could undergo a qualitative transformation that no Legendary Weapon or Legendary Equipment could provide. It was especially so if a Tier 6 player acquired one, as they would be able to unleash the Fragmented Divine Artifacts full potential. Dont be too hasty. Yan Hua faintly smiled when he saw Xia Qingyings excited expression. Of course there wont be any Fragmented Divine Artifacts for sale. Even the various apex powers treated these items like their babies, so theres no way they would just casually take one out to sell. If its not a Fragmented Divine Artifact, what is being auctioned? Xia Qingying grew even more curious. In response, Yan Hua chuckled and quietly asked, Have you all heard of the Eternal Realm? Xia Qingying nodded. She was very familiar with the Eternal Realm as she had done a lot of research on it. If not for her not knowing the Eternal Realms exact location, she would have long traveled there already. My sources tell me that many things from the Eternal Realm will be available for auction this time. These things include the various towns properties, Yan Hua patiently explained. Even the rumored Secret Treasure will be available for auction. Secret Treasure? Xia Qingying, Invincible Swallow, and Xuanwu Chishas eyes lit up when they heard this. Invincible Swallow even took the initiative to ask: Uncle, is it the rumored treasure that can enhance Mana Protection? Yes. Yan Hua nodded, Thats the thing. How many Star Coins will it cost? Invincible Swallow asked excitedly, Or what kind of weapon or equipment can be used to exchange for it? Xia Qingying and Xuanwu Chisha also pricked up their ears when they heard Invincible Swallows question, clearly interested in how the Secret Treasure would be sold. What are you thinking about, young man? Yan Hua glanced at Invincible Swallow and said seriously, That is a treasure that only drops in World Mode Dungeons. Do you think you can buy it with Star Coins? You can also forget about trading weapons and equipment for it. Unless, of course, you are planning to bid with a Fragmented Divine Artifact. While there are many Legendary Weapons and Equipment on the market, there is only a pitiful number of such Secret Treasures in existence for now. From what I heard, Frey from the Galaxy Conglomerate had to owe a huge debt of gratitude and pay an astronomical price just to protect the Secret Treasures in her possession. Can you imagine the value of these Secret Treasures? Invincible Swallow fell silent when he heard this, as did Shi Feng But dont be too disappointed, young man, Yan Hua said with a slight smile. I heard that this auction will be settled exclusively in Eternal Coins. As long as you have enough Eternal Coins, you can buy the Secret Treasure. Invincible Swallow was rendered even more speechless when he heard Yan Huas follow-up words. After all, only players currently present in the Eternal Realm could obtain Eternal Coins, while others could only buy from these players. It should be known that Xia Qingying was one of the earlier players to start purchasing Eternal Coins. She had also hired players in the Eternal Realm to farm for Eternal Coins. Yet, even until now, she had only accumulated several Eternal Gold Coins. If even Xia Qingying had little success, it went without saying that he, who was only an Elder of the Green God Corporation, had fared even worse. Meanwhile, Shi Feng couldnt help but be pleasantly surprised by Yan Huas revelation. If the transaction could be settled using Eternal Coins, he might be able to get in on some of the action. As Yan Hua continued to explain the auction rules, the elevator eventually stopped on the 210th floor. The auction venue on the 210th floor could accommodate up to ten thousand people. Currently, though, the place was packed, and if not for Yan Hua having reserved a VIP room ahead of time, they might not even have had a place to sit. The auction participants were either representatives of conglomerates or executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers. It was normally difficult for players to see even one of these individuals, but now they were everywhere. The auction had already been ongoing for some time when the group arrived, and the Eternal Realms town properties were currently being auctioned. Meanwhile, without exception, every property was bought at an overpriced price. Even a shop in a small towns outer area could go for ten Eternal Gold, while shops in the town center could go from anywhere between twenty to thirty Eternal Gold. When Shi Feng saw this, he instantly lost interest in participating in the auction. In his opinion, any town property players could get their hands on in the current Eternal Realm should not be worth more than three or four Eternal Gold. After all, players in the Eternal Realm currently only had access to towns situated on Level 140 maps. In a few more days, the player population in these towns would plummet as everyone moved to higher-leveled locations. Unless these towns were situated near high-value resource nodes, their properties would quickly lose value. Meanwhile, a fortune of twenty Eternal Coins was already enough to buy a piece of prime real estate in the central area of an NPC city. Sometime later Up next will be the star for today, the beautiful auctioneer on stage said, pausing for a moment. This next auction will be a special auction. The next auction item is not a town property but is something related to the upcoming Neutral NPC City, the Crystal City of Secrets! Upon hearing the auctioneers introduction, the audience held their breath in anticipation. Previously, the town properties sold throughout the auction was of little economic value. The various powers were only buying these properties to prepare a place for their soon-to-arrive Tier 6 armies to familiarize themselves with the Eternal Realms environment and occupy parts of the Eternal Realm. But it was a different story for a Neutral NPC City. That would be a place necessary for players to move around in the Eternal Realm. It was a place players could live in regardless of how high of a level they reached. The Crystal City of Secrets? Shi Feng was also shocked as he looked at the holographic city model displayed on stage. In the previous life, there was a common saying in the Eternal Realm that had spread across the entire Greater Gods Domain. Seven Cities, Four Towers, and Three Absolutes. The Seven Cities and Four Towers referred to the eleven most populated places in the Eternal Realm, while the Three Absolutes referred to three peerless players. Meanwhile, these eleven locations and three individuals could rival an entire Realm in a literal sense. Among them, the Crystal City of Secrets was one of the seven cities. It was also known as the Secret Treasure Mine! Chapter 3414 - Chapter 488 - One Man Conglomerate? Chapter 488 C One Man Conglomerate? Crap! This Crystal City of Secrets is amazing! It even comes with a natural underground secret land! As expected of the Dark Star Auction House. Even though our conglomerates members are operating near that city, none have managed to discover the city thus far. But this city truly is impressive. With a secret land that has a level range of 120 to 200, players wont even have to step out of the city to grind for levels. It also means that the value of the citys lands and shops will only increase with time! The audience grew breathless from excitement as they read the Crystal City of Secrets general information provided by the auction house. Members of the various conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers were especially excited. The future value of the Crystal City of Secrets was apparent even to fools. Particularly, once the Eternal Realms location in the Greater Gods Domain was discovered and large numbers of players swarmed into the Eternal Realm, the citys value would skyrocket. After all, the value of a citys properties increased along with the number of players gathered in the city. By the way, I have something to tell everyone. The beautiful auctioneer on the stage smiled as she looked at the excited crowd. Im sure everyone present has already heard about the Secret Treasures obtained from the recently conquered World Mode Team Dungeon, right? Well, as it so happens, the monsters in the Crystal City of Secrets Underground Crystal Palace also have a very small chance of dropping Secret Treasures! As soon as the auctioneer announced the news about the Secret Treasures, the atmosphere in the auction hall changed instantly. If before the halls atmosphere was enthusiastic, now it was like the calm before the storm, and the whole venue had become extremely quiet. However, this kind of quiet only lasted for two seconds. Im buying it! Whatever youre selling, no matter how much it costs, Ill buy it! Secret Treasure! I must have one of those Secret Treasures! Quickly! Contact the higher-ups and have them prepare more funds! Buy every Eternal Coin thats available on the market right now! The Eternal Chamber of Commerce must be crazy! Why didnt they announce such important news ahead of time?! How am I supposed to get enough Eternal Coins now?! The entire audience went crazy as they looked at the Crystal City of Secrets holographic projection on the stage. Even Yan Hua and Xia Qingying could no longer sit still, both using every connection they had to source more Eternal Coins. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was rendered speechless when he saw how the auctioneer had riled up everyones emotions. Unlike everyone else present, Shi Feng knew that the auctioneer was withholding information. It was true that the Crystal City of Secrets Underground Crystal Palace dropped Secret Treasures. However, players looking to enter the Underground Crystal Palace had to pay a hefty price to do so. More specifically, they had to pay a significant amount of Eternal Coins and Seven Luminaries Crystals. Moreover, the entrance fee would change depending on the players level. The higher a players level, the greater the fee they would have to pay. As an example, if a Level 200 player tried to enter the Underground Crystal Palace, they would have to pay a fee of 10 Eternal Gold and 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Furthermore, once inside, players could only stay for a maximum of three days. And should they die inside, they would lose their chance to raid the secret land and could only enter again after a four-day cooldown period. The cost and risks involved in raiding the Underground Crystal Palace were utterly unbearable for most players in the current Eternal Realm. Ladies and gentlemen, please hold on for a moment. I havent finished yet, the beautiful auctioneer said to calm the crowd. As I mentioned before, this is a special auction in that you dont have to pay on the spot. Instead, we will need your help in completing a quest that requires a large number of Eternal Coins. The starting bid for this auction is 100 Eternal Gold, with a deposit of 10 Eternal Gold. Once you win the bid, should you fail to pay the promised amount in time, your deposit will be confiscated. The auctioneer paused for a moment to let the audience process her words. Then, she continued, However, should you pay the promised amount, you will receive five Underground Palace Emblems after we complete the quest. These emblems are Epic-ranked items that passively let wearers gain noble status in the Crystal City of Secrets. Besides that, they also have two active abilities. The first ability allows the wearer to open a portal to the Underground Crystal Palace from anywhere in the Eternal Realm. You can also return to the location where you entered from. The cooldown time for this ability is one day. The second ability has to be used inside the Underground Crystal Palace, and it allows the wearer to open a portal to any of the palaces zones that are under Level 150. With this ability, you wont have to waste your three-day time limit in the secret land traveling across the Level 120 zone. If none of the distinguished guests present have any objections, let the auction begin! As soon as the auctioneer finished introducing the auction item and auction rules, the faces of the audience members turned even more frenzied. I bid 120 Gold! None of you here should even think of competing with me! I bid 150! Ill fight anyone who tries to outbid me! Move out of the way! Im the Vice Guild Leader of Flaming Bee, and I bid 200 Gold! Anyone who outbids me will be making an enemy out of a pseudo-apex power! While the Crystal City of Secrets lands and shops were valuable, there was a prerequisite to purchasing them: one needed to be a noble of the city. Meanwhile, to do so meant acquiring enough Reputation Points. This was an arduous process that even the conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers had a headache dealing with. Now, though, they could directly purchase noble status in the city. This was far more valuable of an opportunity for the various powers than purchasing any land or shop directly. After only a short moment, the auction price had increased from the starting bid of 100 Eternal Gold to 240 Eternal Gold. Even the Galaxy Conglomerates wealthy Fourth Princess would be astonished by the vast fortune being thrown here. With 240 Eternal Gold, one could buy at least a dozen properties in the Eternal Realms NPC Cities. Yet, now, such a fortune was being used to purchase only five Epic-ranked emblems. Dammit! These people are crazy! Does Flaming Bee have to bid 260 Gold just for a couple of emblems?! Yan Hua cursed, frustration filling his eyes as he looked at the only eighty-odd pieces of Eternal Gold Coins in his hand. Flaming Bee has many experts in the Eternal Realm, Uncle Yan Hua. Theyve also offered sky-high prices to attract coin farmers to help them. We stand no chance against them, Xia Qingying said in an attempt to soothe Yan Huas frustration. Rather than focus on the emblems, lets think about how we will compete for the Secret Treasures coming up next. Youre right. Yan Hua calmed down a little bit, quickly understanding that a pseudo-apex power like Flaming Bee was completely outside of the Blaze Conglomerates league. However, just when the two were about to give up, a low voice suddenly sounded in their ears. Its still too early to give up. If you two are willing to cooperate with me, I can win this auction and give each of you an emblem afterward. What do you think? Xia Qingying and Yan Hua both turned to Shi Feng in surprise. It was especially so for Yan Hua. In his eyes, Shi Feng was just another one of Xia Qingyings followers, and without her, Shi Feng wouldnt even be qualified to enter here. Im not trying to doubt you, young man, but do you understand the value of 260 Eternal Gold Coins? Patiently, Yan Hua explained, Even if we recklessly bid and win the auction now, well only end up losing ten Eternal Gold later if we cant pay up. Or are you saying you can guarantee we can afford to pay the bill afterward? Guarantee? Shi Feng couldnt help but smile at Yan Huas words. Subsequently, he took out the deeds to the properties he had recently bought in the Lightless Fortress and asked, Will these deeds be enough? Yan Hua initially remained skeptical when he heard Shi Fengs response, so he simply took a quick look at the deeds with a carefree heart. However, upon seeing the content of the deeds, he was greatly shocked. A Level 160 Fortresss property? And four of them as well? Chapter 3415 - Chapter 489 – Initial Partnership Chapter 489 C Initial Partnership Properties of a Level 160 fortress? Upon reading the deeds Shi Feng shared, Yan Hua wasnt the only one to react in surprise. Xia Qingying, who was familiar with Shi Fengs situation, was similarly stunned. Currently, all of the Greater Gods Domains major powers were seeking a way to establish themselves in the Eternal Realm. However, thus far, even upper-ranking hegemonic powers have only managed to secure a small number of properties in the Eternal Realm. Moreover, every one of these properties belonged to Level 140 towns. In terms of value, these town properties were vastly inferior to a fortresss properties. This was because while towns could act as rest and transfer points for merchant caravans, they did not come equipped with an airport. Due to environmental factors, even Tier 5 players could not fly in the Eternal Realm. Hence, if current players wished to travel great distances quickly, their only option would be to head to the nearest fortress and use the airport there. This, in turn, made fortress properties incredibly valuable. The fact that fortresses existed in small numbers and earning Reputation Points in these fortresses was incredibly challenging and only made their properties even more valuable. Currently, even the most inconspicuous property in a Level 140 fortress could sell for roughly four or five prime real estates of a Level 140 town. If it was a property situated near the fortresss airport, its value would automatically double. As for the properties of a Level 160 fortress Not even the various pseudo-apex powers had gotten their hands on one thus far. Yet, Shi Feng had brought out four properties belonging to a Level 160 fortress. Moreover, all four properties were situated near the airport Where did you find this person, Vice President Xia? Invincible Swallow quietly asked Xia Qingying. Shi Fengs display of strength just now was already plenty astonishing. However, even that achievement would become insignificant compared to the four deeds Shi Feng just brought out. Although Invincible Swallow wasnt currently present in the Eternal Realm, he could still tell how valuable the Eternal Realms fortress properties were going by the audiences behavior in this auction. So, he knew that a Level 160 fortresss properties were definitely outside the reach of someone like him. In fact, even Yan Hua, a member of the Blaze Conglomerates Board of Directors, was unlikely to have access to such properties. Xia Qingying glanced at Invincible Swallow and slowly said, Would you believe me if I said I found him from the Miniature Ancient World? What do you think? Invincible Swallow rolled his eyes at Xia Qingying. The Eternal Realm was a gathering of major powers, many of which surpassed the likes of the Green God Corporation. Meanwhile, the Miniature Ancient World was merely a subsidiary world of the Green God Corporations homeworld. How could a big shot like Shi Feng possibly come from there? Suit yourself, Xia Qingying nonchalantly said. She didnt take their conversation seriously since she never expected Invincible Swallow to believe her to begin with. Only, the gaze she used to look at Shi Feng had subtly changed after this revelation. While Xia Qingying and Invincible Swallow whispered to each other, Yan Hua took a deep breath and solemnly looked at Shi Feng. He no longer looked at Shi Feng as another one of Xia Qingyings followers but as an equal instead. I admit that you have convinced me, young man, Yan Hua said with interest. Tell me, what kind of partnership do you have in mind? Yan Huas willingness to cooperate did not surprise anyone present. With those four golden properties, Shi Feng could easily win this auction by himself. There was no need for him to collaborate with others. Simple. After putting away the deeds, Shi Feng calmly said, I have a way for us to secure enough Eternal Gold after the auction. However, in exchange for sharing my method, after deducting the amount required to pay off the auction, I want 70% of the remaining total profit, while Vice President Xia will take 10%. Although Shi Feng could win the bid by selling the Lightless Fortresss properties, he would also lose access to four money-printing machines. He would be losing out significantly in the long run. After all, the Hundred Eyes Canyons value was no less than the Underground Crystal Palace to players. Yet, he currently lacked the ability to make a large amount of Eternal Coins by himself. To do so, he would need to partner with someone well-connected. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Fengs words, Xia Qingying couldnt help but look at the man in surprise. Originally, she thought that she would be fortunate if she could obtain even one of the Underground Palace Emblems. She didnt expect to also get a share of the business proposal Shi Feng was making. Moreover, her share was half of that of the Blaze Conglomerates. It should be known that the Blaze Conglomerate was leagues above the Green God Corporation. If not for her being acquainted with an Elder in the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, she would have never gotten the opportunity to meet a big shot like Yan Hua. Do I only get 20%? Yan Hua frowned slightly. Young man, if Im not mistaken, youre planning to use Blazes connections to make money in the Eternal Realm, right? Im not trying to boast, but even among the powers here, few are as well-connected as Blaze. Dont you think 20% is too little? Hearing Yan Hua expressing his dissatisfaction, Xia Qingying thought of giving up her own share of the profits. After all, it was a fact that her presence in this transaction was negligible. However, before Xia Qingying could speak, Shi Feng got ahead of her and said, You are correct, Mr. Yan. I do need the Blaze Conglomerates connections in the Eternal Realm. After a slight pause, Shi Feng continued, But even without the Blaze Conglomerates connections, I can still implement the method I mentioned regardless. I might not make as much, but it will still be a sizable sum. The Blaze Conglomerate, on the other hand, would have lost significant profits and an opportunity to establish a foothold in the Crystal City of Secrets ahead of others. The Blaze Conglomerate might not be as powerful as the Galaxy Conglomerate in the Greater Gods Domain, but it was superior to the Galaxy Conglomerate when it came to the roots it had spread across the Eternal Realm. Even the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would be amazed if it got to see the full extent of the Blaze Conglomerates forces in the Eternal Realm. It was also why the Blaze Conglomerate managed to establish a powerful foundation for itself during the Eternal Realms early stages and grow into a pseudo-apex power during the later stages. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs words left Yan Hua speechless for a moment. Okay! I accept your offer! Seeing the increasingly intense bidding for the Underground Palace Emblems, Yan Hua ultimately chose to concede. But we have to establish the Gods Domain Contract now. Yan Hua ended his words with a huff. In the past, he had only ever seen others begging the Blaze Conglomerate for a partnership. Some of these people even included individuals with great renown in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, when it came to Shi Feng The young man had left him feeling utterly defeated Anyone with a properly working brain could determine the Underground Crystal Palaces importance. If the Blaze Conglomerate could get its hands on the Underground Palace Emblem, even if it was just one, it would be enough to let the conglomerate secure a stable foothold in the Crystal City of Secrets ahead of the various other powers. Unfortunately, the Blaze Conglomerate wasnt in a position to bargain with Shi Feng for more benefits. After all, while Shi Feng had the option of partnering with other powers to win the Underground Palace Emblems, the Blaze Conglomerates only had Shi Feng as an option for a partner in this endeavor. Naturally. Shi Feng faintly smiled. In reality, had Yan Hua insisted on asking for more shares, Shi Feng was already prepared to give the Blaze Conglomerate an additional 10%. After all, the Blaze Conglomerates connections in the Eternal Realm were vastly superior to the average conglomerate. If he wanted to get in touch with a power of similar caliber, it would take him a lot of time to do so. In no time, Shi Feng, Yan Hua, and Xia Qingying signed a three-way Gods Domain Contract. According to the contracts stipulations, any party that violated the contracts terms would not only lose all their personal possessions in Gods Domain to the other contract parties, but they would also permanently lose access to Gods Domain. It was an extremely harsh penalty. Just you wait, you little brat After signing the contract, Yan Hua secretly smiled. Lets see how youll beg me for help once you get to the Crystal City of Secrets. At that time, Ill teach you how to respect your elders. As the Crystal City of Secrets was one of the few NPC Cities currently discovered in the Eternal Realm, many powers sought to establish a foothold in it. After learning of the citys whereabouts, Yan Hua already knew there would be at least three pseudo-apex powers moving into the city. With these three titans based in the city, even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would have difficulty surviving there, let alone individual players. While Shi Feng was finalizing his partnership details with Yan Hua and Xia Qingying, the bidding in the auction venue continued, and the price kept on climbing to new highs. I bid 290 Gold! I bid 300 Gold! When the Vice Guild Leader of Flaming Bee shouted his bid of 300 Eternal Gold with bloodshot eyes, the whole auction venue fell silent as this price had already exceeded the budget of most of the powers present. Only a few powers were still busily contacting other powers, hoping to join forces for one last bid. After waiting a moment and seeing no new bids being made, the beautiful auctioneer raised the gavel in her hand, intending to start the first of the last three calls. However, before her gavel could hit the bell in front of her, a low and plain voice suddenly came from one of the VIP rooms in the venue. Five hundred Gold! Chapter 3416 - Chapter 490 – City Maps Unlocked Chapter 490 C City Maps Unlocked The plain voice coming from the VIP room elicited a gasp from everyone in the auction hall. Five hundred?! Is this person crazy?! Thats already enough money to buy one or two Legendary Weapons! Could it be an apex powers successor? Everyone in the audience looked up at the VIP room on the second floor, each guessing who could be inside and possess such terrifying wealth. The Dark Star Auction Houses VIP rooms had a privacy function preventing others from seeing the situation inside. So long as a VIP rooms guest did not choose to let others see the state of their room, they would be shielded from the prying eyes of others. This was one of the safety measures taken by the Eternal Chamber of Commerce to protect its guests. Dammit! Which apex power is standing in my way?! The Vice Guild Leader of Flaming Bees face turned red with anger and frustration as he looked at the room where the latest bid came from. Flaming Bee might be a pseudo-apex power, but the price of 500 Eternal Gold Coins was already way beyond its budget. At this stage of the Eternal Realm, only apex powers could possibly afford to spend 500 Eternal Gold on a single investment. Meanwhile, the voice of the person who made the bid obviously came from a young man. However, there was no way any ordinary young man could have 500 Eternal Gold lying around. Even the average executive of an apex power would not have the authority to spend 500 Eternal Gold. So, the only logical conclusion was that the young man was the successor of an apex power. Realizing this, Flaming Bees Vice Guild Leader had no choice but to swallow this defeat. After a short surprise, the beautiful auctioneer on the stage couldnt help but look at the VIP room on the second floor and softly ask, Esteemed Guest, are you sure you want to bid 500 Gold? Even if the Eternal Chamber of Commerce had announced the sale of the Underground Palace Emblems ahead of time, it would have been highly unlikely for the emblems to sell for a fortune of 500 Eternal Gold. This was because there were far too few players in the Eternal Realm right now, making it difficult to earn Eternal Coins. Although there was the option of purchasing Eternal Coins from other players using real-world resources, there were many powers frantically seeking to purchase Eternal Coins at a high price. As a result, even apex powers could only get their hands on a limited amount of Eternal Coins. At this time, though, the audience and auctioneer werent the only ones surprised by this bid. Even Yan Hua and Xia Qingying, who sat in the VIP room where the bid came from, were greatly surprised. 500G Five hundred Eternal Gold Coins! Even if they sold all their possessions in the Eternal Realm, they couldnt come up with such a fortune Yes, I am bidding 500 Gold. Can you start the countdown now, Miss Auctioneer? Shi Feng casually asked. Of course, the beautiful host laughed awkwardly and immediately began the bidding process. Five hundred Gold going once! Five hundred Gold going twice! Five hundred Gold going thrice! Congratulations to the guest in Room No. 5 for winning the partnership opportunity for the Crystal City of Secrets! As the auctioneer announced the end of the bidding, the whole auction hall was once again shocked. Not only because the five Epic Emblems were sold at a sky-high price but more so because of how Shi Feng had placed his bid. Is this the strength of an apex power? Flaming Bees Vice Guild Leader really has bad luck coming across an apex powers successor. I wonder which apex power that person comes from? As expected of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. Even the successors of other apex powers are drawn to do business with it. Its a pity we cannot get to know this person. Many of the youths seated on the first floors audience seats were only attending this auction for the sake of experience. When these youths saw the conclusion of the auction lot, they couldnt help but turn around to look at the second floors VIP Room No. 5, their eyes full of awe and admiration. An apex power! There were only a very small number of apex powers in the Greater Gods Domain, and these powers stood at the very pinnacle of the game. Even a pseudo-apex power like Flaming Bee could only keep its head down in front of these apex powers, as competing against any apex power would mean grave consequences. However, while the auction halls first floor was in an uproar, the atmosphere in the second floors VIP Room No. 5 was somewhat strenuous. Guild Leader Black Flame! Yan Huas face was livid as he looked at Shi Feng, his eyes full of disbelief. Thats 500 Eternal Gold we are talking about! While placing such a bid might stop Flaming Bee from putting up a fight, we cant come up with such an amount, even if we sell all four of your properties! How are we supposed to make up for the rest?! Xia Qingyue nodded in agreement. She felt that Shi Feng had gone overboard with his bidding. After all, this was the liquidity of two pseudo-apex powers they were talking about! Two! Even if they pooled all of their manpower and resources together, they couldnt even come close to matching one pseudo-apex power, let alone two I admit that 500 Gold is a significant amount, Shi Feng said, nodding as he turned to look at Yan Hua and Xia Qingying. Then, he calmly continued, But if we proceed according to my plan, it should not be difficult for us to earn 500 Gold. Not difficult? Yan Hua was momentarily rendered speechless. According to the auction houses conditions, they had, at most, three days to complete the payment. In other words, they needed to earn 500 Eternal Gold Coins in three days. Not even apex powers could necessarily guarantee they could earn so many Eternal Coins in such a short period. Anyway, just follow my plan. If its not enough, you can use my properties as collateral. Shi Feng didnt bother to go into the details. Instead, he simply assigned Yan Hua and Xia Qingying the task of collecting as many Earthen Magic Flowers as they could. The Earthen Magic Flower was not a rare herb. It could be found everywhere in the Eternal Realm. However, if Shi Feng had only himself to rely on, he would only be able to collect a very limited amount. After all, he had to travel from town to town by himself. Hed be fortunate if he could buy out the Earthen Magic Flowers of two or three towns before players discovered the herbs importance. However, it was a different story for Yan Hua and Xia Qingying. They had hired many experts across the Eternal Realm, so they could collect Earthen Magic Flowers from many more towns than Shi Feng could. Meanwhile, the Holy Race players sphere of activity wasnt limited to just one region in the Eternal Realm but everywhere in the Eternal Realm. So long as human players and Holy Race players started to fight out in the fields, the price of Earthen Magic Flowers would skyrocket. There also wouldnt be a need to worry about the herbs falling. After all, while Earthen Magic Flowers might be ordinary herbs, they still needed time to regrow. Moreover, the Earthen Magic Flower was a herb unique to the Eternal Realm, so even after players outside the Eternal Realm arrived, there wouldnt be a sudden influx of the herb. Although Yan Hua and Xia Qingying were skeptical about Shi Fengs plan, they followed his instructions nonetheless and began collecting Earthen Magic Flowers in bulk after leaving Dark Star. They bought the herb at a unified price of one Eternal Copper for every ten Earthen Magic Flowers. They also offered the option of exchanging real-world resources for Earthen Magic Flowers. This created an opportunity for resellers to make a small profit, which, in turn, encouraged more players to gather Earthen Magic Flowers for Yan Hua and Xia Qingying. As for Shi Feng himself, he didnt idle around either. After leaving Dark Star and returning to the Eternal Realm, he promptly rode the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon to the three nearest towns. Then, he spent his two remaining Eternal Gold Coins to purchase Earthen Magic Flowers in large quantities. While Shi Feng was stockpiling Earthen Magic Flowers, news that excited all players and powers in the Eternal Realm spread. The maps for the various NPC Cities were finally unlocked! Chapter 3417 - Chapter 491 - Flower Frenzy Chapter 491 C Flower Frenzy Brothers! Charge! The entrance tokens to Blood Hell City will be ours! All teams, split up and report any Regional Bosses you find right away! We must not let players from other powers get to these Bosses! The Guild Leader has promised a reward of 100,000 Star Coins to whoever gets an entrance token! With the unlocking of the various city maps, the various powers operating in the Eternal Realm frantically mobilized their teams to Level 150-plus maps housing NPC Cities. Even independent players couldnt help but make their way to these city maps, hoping to get their hands on a city token. NPC Cities were much rarer in the Eternal Realm than NPC Towns, with there being only one city for every ten or so towns. NPC Cities were also transportation hubs that connected various parts of the Eternal Realm, and players of all levels needed to enter NPC Cities regardless of their level to develop and live in the Eternal Realm. Therefore, the land and shops in NPC Cities were suitable for long-term holding, and players wouldnt have trouble reselling them at high prices. Not to mention that there were far more opportunities in NPC Cities than in NPC Towns. Meanwhile, the sooner a player entered an NPC City, the greater their chances of obtaining these opportunities. Simply put, NPC Cities were crucial for players and powers to secure an advantage in the Eternal Realm. It was especially so for the various powers. In the Greater Gods Domain, NPC Towns did not have the ability to let Guilds establish Guild Residences; only NPC Cities did. For a power to develop quickly, a Guild Residence was crucial.[1] With a Guild Residence, a Guilds members could enjoy various guild benefits and special treatment in the city the Residence was in. This, in turn, would make guild members more cohesive. If a Guild had a Guild Residence, expert players would also be more willing to join it and contribute to the Guilds growth. Silver Frost City, Green God Corporations branch headquarters: Arent we being a little too reckless, Vice President? Lu Wen, dressed in work clothes, asked Xia Qingying in concern when she read the report on the latest batch of Earthen Magic Flowers they bought. Not only have we spent all of our Eternal Coins purchasing Earthen Magic Flowers, but we have also traded away many resources. After this latest purchase, our forces in the Eternal Realm cant even afford to replenish their consumables. If we cant resell these Earthen Magic Flowers, our plans in the Eternal Realm will be ruined Thus far, they have already collected 4.31 million Earthen Magic Flowers across 60-plus towns in the Eternal Realm. In order to collect this amount, they had to spend all of the Eternal Coins they had accumulated and even mortgage more than ten properties in a second-tier city. If they couldnt sell these Earthen Magic Flowers, all of the efforts theyve made in the Eternal Realm would have been for naught. After all, Earthen Magic Flowers were common in the Eternal Realm, and it was normally difficult to even sell them in small quantities, let alone a whopping 4.31 million. We dont have a choice. Five hundred Eternal Gold is no small amount. If we dont have enough Earthen Magic Flowers, it could become a big problem later, Xia Qingying said. However, even she couldnt help but be dubious of Shi Fengs plan. After all, even though the various city maps were now unlocked and the various powers and independent players were madly scrambling for entrance tokens, it remained to be seen that demand for Earthen Magic Flowers would increase. At the same time, Yan Hua was also under great pressure. Yan Hua had similarly amassed a massive stockpile of Earthen Magic Flowers. More specifically, he had collected a total of 31.6 million Earthen Magic Flowers. He had basically utilized all of his connections and authority in the Blaze Conglomerate to collect this common herb from all over the Eternal Realm. Currently, because of his massive acquisition, the prices of Earthen Magic Flowers have indeed increased. Initially, it was one Eternal Copper for 20 Earthen Magic Flowers. Now, it was one Eternal Copper for 12 Earthen Magic Flowers. However, even then, he would still make a humongous loss if he sold his Earthen Magic Flowers at such a price. Eternal Realm, Blood Hell Mountain Range: Amidst the vast mountains covered in a faint blood-red mist, a team of several dozen players was resting beside the corpse of a Level 152 Legendary Boss. These players were all Tier 5 players, and their levels were all above 144. Many of these players were also fifth-floor experts, and they were led by Moro, the Seventh Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation. In addition to the Legendary Bosss corpse, there were also hundreds of player corpses in the area. Among these player corpses, some belonged to human players, while the rest belonged to Holy Race players. Lord Moro, our scouts have found another batch of Holy Race teams rushing towards us. We must leave here quickly, the Wind Saint Desert Web said as he approached Moro, who was in the middle of looting the Boss. Damn those lunatics! How many of them are there?! Moros face turned gloomy when he heard the news. Cant those who have been resurrected fight normally yet? Competition in the city maps was far more intense than Moro expected. Not only did he have to compete against other powers, but he also had to face the troublesome Holy Race players. To make matters worse, anyone killed by a Holy Race player would be put in an Unstable Mana state after getting resurrected, making them unsuitable for combat. In less than half a day, nearly half of the several thousand players he mobilized into the Blood Hell Mountain Range had been put out of commission. This situation would greatly impact his ability to compete for Blood Hell Citys entrance tokens. Not yet. Whether it is those resurrected using Resurrection Spells or those resurrected at the nearest town, nobody can get rid of the Unstable Mana status, Desert Web said, shaking his head. Based on the research of our Guilds Grandmaster Alchemists, Im afraid the only way to get rid of this status is by taking Mana Stabilizers. In that case, why arent those alchemists making more Mana Stabilizers? Frowning, Moro commanded, If theyre lacking recipes, just buy them above market price. I want those out-of-commissions ready for combat as soon as possible! In response to Moros command, Desert Web revealed an awkward expression as he said, The Alchemy Association sells the recipe for Mana Stabilizers, so we have no trouble getting it. But the main ingredient, Earthen Magic Flowersis now out of stock in the market. Out of stock? Moro was surprised. Isnt the Earthen Magic Flower a basic herb? How can it be out of stock? When those alchemists realized that Mana Stabilizers were our only solution, they promptly tried to buy more Earthen Magic Flowers. You can say that we bought out every Earthen Magic Flower that was within our reach. But for some reason, the flowers are in short supply right now, and we only managed to purchase a couple hundred. We can only make a little over 100 bottles with that amount, Desert Web explained. It might not sound like a lot, but we can already be considered lucky. I heard other powers are willing to pay one Eternal Copper Coin for one Earthen Magic Flower, yet they didnt manage to buy even ten Earthen Magic Flowers Dammit! Someone is definitely hoarding the flowers! Moro frowned. But I wont let these people rip us off so easily. Since we cant get any from Scott Town, well buy them in other towns. I refuse to believe we wont be able to find any! Then, Ill have some people go to other towns immediately! Desert Web nodded. At the same time as Moro acted, the various powers operating in the Blood Hell Mountain Range similarly started trying to buy Earthen Magic Flowers from other towns. However, the result they all got was surprisingly consistent. Out of stock! TL Notes: [1]Guild Residence(פ): I am not sure if this is supposed to be Guild Residence. The raws used ݵ, which translates to Guild Stronghold/Base. Chapter 3418 - Chapter 492: Terrifying Wealth Chapter 492: Terrifying Wealth Silver Frost City, Green God Corporations branch headquarters: Vice Guild Leader, the Guild Leader of Three-Tailed Eagle suddenly contacted us, saying he wants to buy some Earthen Magic Flowers from us. Hes willing to buy them at one Eternal Copper per flower. He is even willing to negotiate if you arent satisfied with the price, Lu Wen excitedly reported to Xia Qingying as she entered the office. The Three-Tailed Eagle was an upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Starlight Realm. It was also one of the several dominant powers in the Silver Frost City. Normally, it would be impossible for them to even see the Vice Guild Leaders of the Three-Tailed Eagle. Yet, now, Three-Tailed Eagles Guild Leader was personally contacting them It seems he has quite the sensitive ears. I guess we can sell him some as a favor, Xia Qingying said, smiling. But we cant sell him too many. Tell him that we can only sell him 10,000 flowers and that we use for the rest. Understood! Lu Wen nodded. After Lu Wen left the office, Xia Qingying carefully reviewed the communication records from Dark Star. Among them were Vice Guild Leaders and Guild Leaders of upper-ranking hegemonic powers and executives of conglomerates. All these people contacted her, hoping to purchase Earthen Magic Flowers. Meanwhile, every one of them offered to purchase the flowers for more than one Eternal Copper per flower. No wonder he didnt look worried. He can easily make over a thousand Eternal Gold from this endeavor, let alone five hundred Xia Qingying couldnt help but be amazed and impressed by Shi Fengs capabilities as she looked at the list of communication records before her. Personally, Xia Qingying considered having several dozen Eternal Gold Coins as already being wealthy beyond measure. After all, this was roughly how much an upper-ranking hegemonic power operating in the Eternal Realm currently possessed. Yet, now, Shi Feng had so easily earned over a thousand Eternal Gold. Even she, who would only receive a 10% cut of the profits, could still earn over a hundred Eternal Gold. This fortune was already enough to rival the wealth of pseudo-apex powers. Meanwhile, in a certain VIP lounge in the Dark Star Auction House Old Yan, you are too much! Weve been friends for so many years. Yet, now that youve struck a gold mine, you dont even want to sell me a million Earthen Magic Flowers? Its not like Im refusing to pay you, an imposing man who looked to be in his forties and wearing the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Vice Guild Leader Emblem said indignantly as he looked at Yan Hua. Shoo! Shoo! A million Earthen Magic Flowers? You might as well rob me! Not even my precious daughter has asked me for so many! Yan Hua said as he gave the imposing man a look of disdain. Five million! Thats the most I can sell you! Also, its going to cost you 600 Gold! No negotiations! Deal! Five million it is! You sneaky old bastard. What kind of luck do you have to have collected so many Earthen Magic Flowers? I bet youre going to make a fortune this time, the imposing man said. Then, he begrudgingly transferred 200 Eternal Gold to Yan Hua and continued, This is a deposit. Ill pay the remaining 400 Gold within three days. A fortune? Yan Hua didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he heard the imposing mans comment. Indeed, Yan Hua had made a profit, but it was only a paltry amount compared to Shi Fengs share. At this time, Yan Hua deeply regretted not asking for ten or twenty percent more previously. It should be known that he had collected over 30 million Earthen Magic Flowers. Going by current market conditions, he could easily earn 3,500 Eternal Gold from reselling them. After factoring in the flowers Xia Qingying collected and deducting the cost of the flowers and the 500 Eternal Gold they needed to pay for the auction, 10% of the profits could easily amount to 300 Eternal Gold or more. That was already comparable to the liquidity of an entire pseudo-apex power As time passed, and the intensity of battles between human players and Holy Race players in the various city maps continued to increase, the price of Earthen Magic Flowers reached three Eternal Copper per two flowers on the second day of the city maps activation. Even Shi Feng was surprised by the soaring demand for Earthen Magic Flowers. He only had his stall open in Pharos Town for less than half an hour, yet he had already sold more than 200,000 Earthen Magic Flowers, receiving 36 shiny Eternal Gold Coins. But even more astonishing were the profits made by Yan Hua and Xia Qingying. In just one day, they had already raised 500 Eternal Gold, completed the auction transaction, and received the five Underground Palace Emblems. Personally, Shi Feng had earned more than 800 Eternal Gold through a Dark Star transaction, and with the eternal gold coins earned from selling Earthen Magic Flowers, he now had a mind-blowing wealth of 903 Eternal Gold. No wonder those alchemists in the past managed to secure so many properties, with some even having as many properties as hegemonic powers Shi Feng fell into a daze as he looked at the Eternal Coins in his bag. A fortune of 903 Eternal Gold was something even apex powers could not take out in the current stage of the Eternal Realm. He could buy an entire street in an NPC City with such wealth. Even if it was a large NPC City like the Crystal City of Secrets, he could afford to purchase twenty to thirty properties with this amount of money. If handled correctly, the income these properties generated could make even upper-ranking hegemonic powers feel envy. But Shi Feng soon shook his head and gave up these temptations. I initially thought I wouldnt have a chance, but now I can probably give it a try, Shi Feng thought, excitement coloring his eyes. Certainly, the various NPC Cities shops and lands were of great value. It was especially so for the shops and lands of the Crystal City of Secrets, one of the Eternal Realms future Seven Great Cities. But owning a mere twenty or thirty shops in the Crystal City of Secrets was far from enough if one wanted to develop a power in the Eternal Realm. While the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates might not be as wealthy as he was right now in the Eternal Realm, it should be known that their forces were scattered across the Eternal Realms various regions and developing in unison. Their progress in the beginning might be slow, but as time passed, their development rate would only become faster and faster. At one point, simply the influence and trade channels they had in the various towns and cities would be enough to bring them tremendous wealth to surpass the income those twenty or thirty shops in the Crystal City of Secrets could generate. Not to mention, Shi Feng could only make a fortune because he had taken advantage of the Holy Races invasion. After this, there would no longer be any more opportunities to make such a fortune. If he wanted to continue to make a lot of money, he would have to follow in the footsteps of those powers in the previous life and pay a fortune to Buy an NPC Citys Transportation Firm! Chapter 3419 - Chapter 493 - Golden Party? Chapter 493 C Golden Party? If I buy the Crystal Citys Transportation Firm, I wonder if the Brilliant Sky Temple of my past life will go crazy. Shi Feng was filled with complicated feelings as he looked at the Underground Palace Emblem in his hand. The Eternal Realm was a unique existence in the Greater Gods Domain. Unlike other Realms that were already well-developed, the entire Eternal Realm was still in its infancy. There existed no kingdoms or empires in the Eternal Realm, only NPC Cities. As a result, the functional buildings of each NPC City, such as auction houses, airports, and transportation firms, could all be bought by players. In other Realms, players were only limited to purchasing the shops and lands of NPC Cities. Of course, the cost of buying these industrial buildings was unimaginable, and the cost would only increase along with the citys population. In the later stages, it would cost over one hundred thousand Eternal Gold just to buy an ordinary NPC Citys airport. On top of that, there was also a high management fee of several tens of thousands of Eternal Gold to be paid every month. If one could not afford the management fee, the industry building would be confiscated immediately. Without strong financial resources and influence, not only could one not make money through industry buildings, but one would also lose money to the point of bankruptcy. In Shi Fengs previous life, some upper-ranking hegemonic powers had even fallen into ruin because of their greed. As for the Brilliant Sky Temple, it was originally only a top-ranking hegemonic power that was close to becoming a pseudo-apex power in Shi Fengs previous life. Meanwhile, the Guild became a laughing stock among everyone in the Eternal Realms early stages because it decided to purchase the Crystal City of Secrets Transportation Firm. However, sometime after its purchase, it had quickly grown from an upper-ranking hegemonic power into a bona fide apex power in the Greater Gods Domain, its feat stupefying the various pseudo-apex powers. Transportation firms were not profitable in the Eternal Realms early and mid stages, and this was because of the Holy Races presence. The constant harassment of the Holy Race players became a strong deterrent for players to become merchants. After all, even if a merchant caravan could successfully fight off the Holy Race players they came across, most of the caravan would be destroyed by the end of the fight. Not only would merchants not earn a single coin, but they might even lose money because of their destroyed goods. Therefore, there were no players willing to take on such tasks. Since owners of transportation firms made their money from intermediary fees, they would have no income if no player was willing to operate as a merchant. On the contrary, they would even have to pay a frightening management fee every month. This was also why the various powers laughed at the Brilliant Sky Temple for purchasing the Crystal City of Secrets Transportation Firm. Because the Brilliant Sky Temple had purchased the Eternal Realms mid-stage, the Guild had ended up paying an upfront cost of over five thousand Eternal Gold. Yet, just when everyone thought the Brilliant Sky Temple would come to regret its decision, the Brilliant Sky Temple suddenly used an item called the Heroic Mark to upgrade Crystal Citys Basic Transportation Firm to an Advanced Transportation Firm. Then, as a result, many NPC nobles and even great nobles began to issue commissions via the firm. In no time at all, this Crystal City of Secrets Transportation Firm became a hot commodity for all players and powers. Most Basic Transportation Firms only offered commissions made by ordinary NPCs, and only rarely would NPC nobles make a commission. Meanwhile, only when a commission came from an NPC noble could players obtain City Reputation by completing it. Reputation was the basis for taking over NPC Cities. However, daily quests that rewarded City Reputation were relatively rare, and noble commissions were even rarer. However, so long as players managed to complete a noble commission, they could earn a large amount of City Reputation and a chance of obtaining a Secret Treasure as a reward. Although the chances were low, noble commissions were still one of the more reliable ways for players to obtain Secret Treasures. As for Advanced Transportation Firms, not only did they offer many more commissions from NPC nobles, but they would also offer commissions made by NPC nobles of other cities. Meanwhile, by completing these foreign nobles commissions, players could obtain Reputation Points for the corresponding NPC Cities. As a result, after the Crystal Citys Transportation Firm got upgraded to the Advanced rank, the various powers frantically fought over the commissions issued by the firm. This, in turn, allowed the Brilliant Sky Temple to make a killing. During the Eternal Realms later stages, the firm generated a daily income of several tens of thousands of Eternal Gold for the Brilliant Sky Temple. Many experts had even chosen to join the Brilliant Sky Temple so that they could take on commissions issued by great nobles. As for the Heroic Mark, it was one of the drops from the Underground Secret Palaces Level 155 Floor Master. It was a guaranteed drop on the Floor Masters First Kill, and the Brilliant Sky Temple just so happened to have secured it. Because of it, the Guild decisively raised funds to purchase the Crystal Citys Transportation Firm Currently, access to the various city maps had only become available recently, so not many players have entered the Crystal City of Secrets yet. Because of this, the citys transportation firm should be very cheap. At most, it would cost one or two thousand Eternal Gold. With his current wealth, he shouldnt have any trouble purchasing it. As long as he can get the Heroic Mark, the transportation firm would definitely become an endless treasure trove, its value far surpassing the citys various commercial properties. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng dared not waste any more time, promptly leaving Dark Star and logging into Gods Domain. Then, he contacted Desolate Furys group of three. I plan to do a quest in a secret land. Are you three interested in joining me? Shi Feng asked. There is a chance for Secret Treasures to drop in that secret land. If any drop, we will distribute them by priority of classes. The Underground Palace Emblem could open a teleportation gate that allowed up to six players to enter. Even with his current strength, it would be a challenge for him to solo the Level 155 Floor Master. However, if he had the help of three other Tier 5 experts, his chances of success would increase a little. Not to mention, he could use this opportunity to train Desolate Fury, Leroja, and Cross. After all, the trio possessed great potential. They were simply lacking Legacies and opportunities. Secret Treasures? Desolate Furys eyes lit up when he heard this. Thats great! The three of us have finally learned Flowing Space recently, and weve been itching to try it out. Wait for us, Brother Black Flame! Well head over there now! All three of you have learned Flowing Space? Desolate Furys words stunned Shi Feng. Flowing Space was a Gold Combat Technique developed by the Goddess of Space. Even if one managed to grasp only the techniques First Step, Stepping Space, one would still be considered a bona fide Golden Master and an apex existence among players of the same tier. Mhm. All three of us have learned it. Desolate Fury nodded. Then, in a slightly embarrassed tone, he continued, Leroja and Cross managed to grasp the techniques essence less than half a day after using the Legacy Crystal. If it werent for them practicing beside me continuously, Im afraid I wouldnt have been able to grasp it. Thats still very impressive! After all, thats a Gold Combat Technique we are talking about! Its not something you can just learn on a whim! Shi Feng said, feeling delighted. Although he had long known that the trio had great potential, he did not expect their talent and potential to be so high. With this, their party would have four Golden Masters! Not even apex powers could afford to casually assemble such a party. Had such a party appeared during the encirclement in the Corrosion Mountain Range, the various powers present at the time would have been scared to death. Yet, just when everyone thought the Brilliant Sky Temple would come to regret its decision, the Brilliant Sky Temple suddenly used an item called the Heroic Mark to upgrade Crystal Citys Basic Transportation Firm to an Advanced Transportation Firm. Then, as a result, many NPC nobles and even great nobles began to issue commissions via the firm. In no time at all, this Crystal City of Secrets Transportation Firm became a hot commodity for all players and powers. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. Most Basic Transportation Firms only offered commissions made by ordinary NPCs, and only rarely would NPC nobles make a commission. Meanwhile, only when a commission came from an NPC noble could players obtain City Reputation by completing it. Reputation was the basis for taking over NPC Cities. However, daily quests that rewarded City Reputation were relatively rare, and noble commissions were even rarer. However, so long as players managed to complete a noble commission, they could earn a large amount of City Reputation and a chance of obtaining a Secret Treasure as a reward. Although the chances were low, noble commissions were still one of the more reliable ways for players to obtain Secret Treasures. As for Advanced Transportation Firms, not only did they offer many more commissions from NPC nobles, but they would also offer commissions made by NPC nobles of other cities. Meanwhile, by completing these foreign nobles commissions, players could obtain Reputation Points for the corresponding NPC Cities. As a result, after the Crystal Citys Transportation Firm got upgraded to the Advanced rank, the various powers frantically fought over the commissions issued by the firm. This, in turn, allowed the Brilliant Sky Temple to make a killing. During the Eternal Realms later stages, the firm generated a daily income of several tens of thousands of Eternal Gold for the Brilliant Sky Temple. Many experts had even chosen to join the Brilliant Sky Temple so that they could take on commissions issued by great nobles. Chapter 3420 - Chapter 494 - A Transportation Firm That Has an Owner? Chapter 494 C A Transportation Firm That Has an Owner? Crystal City of Secrets, Underground Secret Palace: Four beams of light descended on the plaza in front of the Underground Secret Palace, the lights fading to reveal Shi Feng and his three party members. However, the sudden appearance of Shi Fengs group did not attract the attention of the many players nearby, their behavior making it seem as if the sudden appearance of players on the plaza was commonplace. Dizziness assaulted the minds of the party of four when they first arrived in the city, and it took a moment for them to recover and get a clear look at the scene before them. So, this is the Crystal City of Secrets? Desolate Fury, Leroja, and Cross were in awe when they saw how many players there were walking on the streets around them. Although Pharos Town had quite a large player population, it was nothing compared to the Crystal City of Secrets. Not only did the Crystal City have a significantly larger player population, but its players also possessed astonishingly high levels and powerful backgrounds. At first glance, most of the players walking the Crystal Citys streets were above Level 150. That was much higher than the three of them, who were still stuck at Level 145. Moreover, going by the Guild Emblem these players wore, every one of them came from an upper-ranking hegemonic power, at the very least. Some of them even wore the Guild Emblems of pseudo-apex powers. In contrast, only a small portion of Pharos Towns player population came from upper-ranking hegemonic powers. As players originating from ordinary hegemonic powers, Desolate Fury, Leroja, and Cross couldnt help but feel out of place in the Crystal City of Secrets. Shi Feng, on the other hand, didnt think much of the scene around him. During his previous life, the Crystal City of Secrets was one of the Eternal Realms Seven Great Cities. Every one of these seven cities could rival an entire Realm on its own. Although access to the Crystal City had only become available to players recently, its potential was already clear for all to see. Hence, it was only natural for so many powers to gather here. Guild Leader Black Flame, are we really going to stay here from now on? Cross couldnt help but look at Shi Feng, feeling a bit nervous. After spending some time together in the Eternal Realm, Shi Fengs strength became evident to the three of them. In their eyes, he was no different than a legendary existence. Hence, the three of them had already decided to follow Shi Feng. They had even joined the Asura Mercenary Alliance that Shi Feng mentioned. However, even though the three of them had successfully learned a Gold Combat Technique, as individuals originating from hegemonic powers, they knew that upper-ranking hegemonic powers were not opponents to be trifled with. After all, a players strength wasnt determined solely by their combat standards and combat techniques. There were also other factors, such as weapons, equipment, Skills, Spells, etc. In a city where so many upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers were concentrated, independent players like themselves would have difficulty surviving, even if they were highly skilled. After all, upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers were in command of many experts. How were solo or small groups of players supposed to compete against these powers in searching for crucial resources such as weapons and equipment, high-ranking quests, and high-tiered Skills and Spells? Before solo players could get their hands on any of these resources, the various powers would have long secured them with their vast manpower. I dont see any problem settling down here. For loosely grouped players like us, everywhere in the Eternal Realm is pretty much the same. We might as well choose a place where its easy to obtain Secret Treasures. Leroja said, her eyes full of fighting spirit as she looked at the experts of powerful origins around her. Back in the Starlight Realm, although they were considered peerless paragons of kingdoms and empires, they never had any opportunities to compete with the experts of the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers. Now, though, not only would they get such an opportunity, but they could also compete with these experts on the same starting line. This had been Lerojas wish for many years. Youre right. Cross nodded, his heart similarly brimming with fighting spirit. Now that weve learned a Gold Combat Technique, I refuse to believe we cant make a name for ourselves here! Dont worry too much. Shi Feng looked at the trio and smiled. Since I plan to develop in this city, I naturally have some confidence. After saying so, Shi Feng led the trio to the Crystal Citys City Hall. Crystal City of Secrets, City Hall: Logically, as the Eternal Realms various city maps had just been unlocked, there shouldnt be many powers capable of affording the various NPC Cities shops and lands. However, the Crystal City of Secrets City Hall was unexpectedly crowded with players, and these players were frantically fighting over the citys lands and shops. Im buying Plot No. 96! Ill take this small shop worth 42 Gold! Dammit! Who bought the plot I had my eye on?! There were more than ten counters on the City Halls first floor, and there was a long line in front of every counter. The sight was so grand that even Shi Feng couldnt help but be a little surprised. Guild Leader Black Flame, are you planning to buy a shop or a plot of land? Desolate Fury asked as he turned to look at Shi Feng in surprise. Just by listening to the conversations in the first-floor hall, Desolate Fury could already tell that the Crystal Citys properties were incredibly expensive to purchase. Even a random property located in the citys outskirts was being sold for several dozen Eternal Gold, while properties located in the city center were sold for over a hundred Eternal Gold. Even ordinary hegemonic powers wouldnt have the money to afford the Crystal Citys properties, so Desolate Fury found it hard to imagine that Shi Feng, by himself, could have so much money. No. Shaking his head, Shi Feng said, Im here to buy the transportation firm. The transportation firm? Desolate Fury was stunned for a moment. Even Leroja and Cross couldnt help but think they had misheard Shi Feng. Could transportation firms be bought? However, Shi Feng did not bother clarifying the trios confusion. Instead, he made his way to the third floor. The City Hall had three floors. The first floor was prepared for ordinary customers interested in purchasing the citys shops and lands. The second floor was prepared for VIP customers, and one could purchase valuable shops and lands not available to ordinary customers. As for the third floor, it was a place where few players would set foot on. This was because the third floor specialized in selling the citys various industrial buildings. Greetings, dear customer. How may I be of service to you today? When Shi Feng arrived on the third floor, he was led into a private room where a Level 200, Tier 5 Elf greeted him with a beautiful smile. Then, the female elf continued. We specialize in selling large properties to wealthy customers such as yourself, and we will ensure your satisfaction. After saying so, the elven beauty took out a thin brochure. The lands and shops recorded in the brochure could not be found even on the second floor. It was a list specifically designed for players carrying a large amount of Eternal Gold. However, Shi Feng didnt even look at the brochure, opting to ask directly, How much for the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm? Are you sure you want to buy the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm? The elven beauty looked at Shi Feng with great surprise. Although the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm is only located in the suburbs and occupies a small area, purchasing it will still cost you 850 Gold. In addition, you need to pay a weekly management fee of 300 Gold. As the population of this city continues to grow, the management fee will also increase. Payment delays will not be tolerated, either. If you fail to make payment for even a week, we will repossess the transportation firm. Upon hearing the elven beautys words, Desolate Fury, Leroja, and Cross couldnt help but gasp. The price of 850 Eternal Gold was probably something even pseudo-apex powers couldnt afford right now. Not to mention, there was even a weekly management fee of 300 Eternal Gold. This was extortion at its finest! Im sure, Shi Feng said without hesitation. Heres 850 Gold. Lets go through the procedures now. Upon seeing the coins Shi Feng placed on the table, Desolate Fury and the others were utterly stupefied, and they couldnt help but look at Shi Feng as if they were looking at a monster. 850 Eternal Gold! How could anyone have this much money right now? As soon as Shi Feng completed the handover procedures and obtained the transportation firms management rights, the players who were currently browsing for quests in the transportation firm were forcibly teleported out of the building. At the same time, the sound of a system notification entered their ears. System: The Secret Crystal Transportation Firm is now a players private property. Players without permission are not allowed entry. Chapter 3421 - Chapter 495 - Bubbling Crystal City of Secrets Chapter 495 C Bubbling Crystal City of Secrets Whats going on? A players private property? Isnt this an NPC Citys transportation firm?! Can players buy such a thing?! Crap! Even if this transportation firm is available for purchase, the price shouldnt be low. Which power decided to make such a huge investment? The players who were forcibly teleported out of the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm couldnt help but be shocked by the revelation that a player had bought the transportation firm. They had never heard of players being able to purchase an NPC Citys transportation firm before, so they never thought it could be done in the Eternal Realms NPC Cities. However, everyone quickly got over their surprise as their attention shifted to wondering which power was behind the Secret Crystal Transportation Firms purchase. It should be known that transportation firms were one of the primary sources of income for players operating in NPC Cities. So, taking ownership of a citys transportation firm was no different than controlling the economic lifeline of players in the city. While it might be good news for the power who owned the transportation firm, it was bad news for everyone else as they could potentially be put under heavy restrictions. Of course, such restrictions would have little effect in the current Eternal Realm. With the large influx of Holy Race players, it had become extremely difficult for players to transport merchandise across different maps. This was because the Holy Race players were focused on leveling up and gathering resources in the various maps, so they wouldnt spare the human players they came across. Not to mention, they could earn Honor Points for killing human players. Currently, the only reason players were willing to take on quests from the transportation firm right now was because Holy Race players and human players were still fighting over the entrance tokens. The Holy Race players did not have the spare energy to venture to other maps, so it wasnt particularly dangerous to trade across maps. However, once this period passed, apart from quests issued by NPC nobles, players were unlikely to take on any quests from a transportation firm. Meanwhile, after purchasing the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm, Shi Feng quickly reopened the establishment, allowing all players to take on quests. The transportation firms in Gods Domain earned their revenue through intermediary fees. The firm would charge up to 10% of what players earned from a quest taken from the firm. So, the more players there were doing quests, the more revenue a transportation firm could generate. In the early stages of the Eternal Realm, a transportation firm could earn at least two Eternal Silver from a 20-man quest involving short-distance trading. If an NPC noble had issued the quest, the firm could stand to earn up to six Eternal Silver. Meanwhile, during the early stages of the Crystal City of Secret, the city could gather at least a million players. Even with the Holy Races interference, it should still be possible for the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm to see over a thousand quests being completed each day. In other words, the transportation firm could make at least 30 Eternal Gold a day, which would help cover a significant portion of the buildings weekly management fee and lessen the burden on Shi Fengs pockets. Shortly after Shi Fengs party of four left the City Hall, the entire City Hall went into an uproar. Many people talked about the news of the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm being purchased, and the various powers began frantically looking into who was behind the purchase. Although the Secret Crystal Transportation Firm had little constraint on the Crystal Citys various powers due to the Holy Races interference, it was still a form of restriction. If the transportation firms owner decided to target them, it could still cause them significant trouble, so it was necessary to investigate thoroughly. At the same time, the Crystal Citys various powers began to frantically accumulate wealth. This was because the various powers realized that if the Crystal Citys transportation firm could be purchased, it went without saying that the citys other industrial buildings could be bought, too. The auction house and airport, in particular, became key targets of the various powers. If anyone managed to control these two buildings, it would be no different than if they controlled the entire city. Guild Leader Black Flame, isnt it too early to buy the transportation firm now? Desolate Fury asked Shi Feng when he saw the various powers players starting to purchase Eternal Coins at significantly higher prices than before. Had we secretly saved up more money, we could have bought the auction house or airport instead. Either of those buildings would have been much more valuable than the transportation firm. The auction house and airport were places where players were bound to have to spend money in the future. If they could purchase one of these two locations before the various powers learned about the possibility of purchasing industrial buildings, the wealth and influence they could earn would be vastly greater than what they could get from the transportation firm. No, now is the right time to buy it. If we wait any later, buying itll become very difficult, Shi Feng said, chuckling. However, he did not bother explaining further as he led the trio to the Underground Secret Palace. It was true that controlling an NPC Citys auction house or airport was no different than controlling the entire city. However, the Main God System naturally wouldnt let players take control of these two buildings so easily. At first glance, the auction house and airport might seem like treasure troves, but in the Eternal Realm, they were losing businesses. Even in the early stages of the Crystal City of Secrets, it would cost a minimum of 10,000 Eternal Gold to purchase either of these two buildings, and the weekly management fee would be over 5,000 Eternal Gold. To make matters worse, players could only take 5% of the profits generated by the auction house and airport. In other words, players who bought the auction house could only receive 5% of the establishments revenue, which was generated via processing fees. It was the same case for the airport. Moreover, the fees charged by the auction house and airport were fixed by the system, and the only way players could increase them was by upgrading the buildings using special means. If players could not accomplish that, their only other option was to find ways to increase the citys player population. Essentially, the only reason players would buy the auction house and airport was to have more influence over the city. Meanwhile, this influence would last as long as their financial circumstances allowed it. Currently, in the Crystal Citys early stages, the transportation firm was the only building with the opportunity to be upgraded. As for the other industrial buildings, they could not be improved at present. In a situation where the various powers desperately needed money for their development, whoever bought the Crystal Citys auction house and airport would be a fool. Crystal City of Secrets, Underground Crystal Palace: In the time that it took for Shi Feng to make a round trip to the City Hall, the number of players gathered in the plaza in front of the Underground Crystal Palaces entrance had increased by several times. Meanwhile, teams of twenty or more players formed by the various powers could be seen waiting in line to enter the secret land. Party of six looking for one more member! We need a Level 150, Tier 5 Cleric or higher with at least three Fragmented Legendary items! Twenty-man farming team recruiting ten more members! Looking for Level 150 experts and above! Secret Treasures obtained will be auctioned internally! Stay away if you cant afford the entrance fee! Employer team recruiting Level 150-plus experts of any class! The employer will cover the entrance fee! If we obtain a Secret Treasure, every team member will receive five Eternal Gold! Apart from those waiting in line, many players could also be seen looking for teams or forming teams in the plaza. Just as Shi Feng was about to join the queue with his party, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure among the crowd in the plaza. Gentle Snow! Chapter 3422 - Chapter 496 - Astonishing Transformation Chapter 496 C Astonishing Transformation TL Notes: Changing Transportation Firm to Trading Firm. Underground Crystal Palace, entrance plaza: Clad in white holy armor and carrying two greatswords, Gentle Snow stood amidst the crowd in the plaza while faint magic patterns circled her body. At first glance, Shi Feng nearly failed to recognize her. Compared to when Gentle Snow participated in the city battle, the current Gentle Snow had undergone a massive transformation in terms of levels and combat standards. During the city battle, Gentle Snow only managed to match titled experts of the same tier by relying on her Void Saint Legacy. But now, Gentle Snow was not only a Level 152, Tier 5 Void Saint, but she had also developed her combat standard to the peak of the fourth-floor standard. One could say that she was already a pseudo-fifth-floor expert. So long as she could elevate her control over her body to the Extrasensory Realm, she would become a true fifth-floor expert. Guild Leader? Gentle Snow also quickly noticed Shi Feng. As soon as Gentle Snow spoke, the noblewoman standing next to her turned to look at Shi Feng with a curious gaze. The noblewoman appeared to be on the same team as Gentle Snow, and she wore a set of light blue armor while carrying a silver spear and a shield on her back. Snow, do you know that person? the noblewoman asked Gentle Snow after seeing that Shi Feng was only a Level 145 player. This was a very low level in the Crystal City of Secrets, and it wasnt even comparable to the levels of fourth-floor experts. Hes Guild Leader Black Flame, the leader of my Guild, Big Sis Qilin, Gentle Snow introduced. Black Flame? The noblewoman named Ink Qilin seemed to recall something when she heard Gentle Snows introduction. The Luminous Glory Lists Asura Sword Emperor? Yes. Gentle Snow nodded. Then, she suggested, Big Sis Qilin, our team is currently short of members. Why dont we form a team together and explore the Underground Crystal Palace? Hearing this, Ink Qilin took a glance at Shi Feng and his party and pondered for a moment before saying, They are sufficiently strong, but their levels are a little low. You can invite them, but make sure you let them know that the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team always allocates loot based on the systems evaluation of individual contributions to the team. If they have no problem with that, we can explore the Underground Crystal Palace together. After Ink Qilin finished speaking, a middle-aged male elven Cleric on the same team shook his head and said, Snow, do you really want to invite your Guild Leader? Scarecrow Fox isnt your average adventure team. We are a prominent force throughout the Greater Gods Domain. Your strength has also improved significantly during the time you have been with us, and your weapons and equipment are leagues better than what you had before. While I dont know how your Guild Leader got here, as a bottom-ranked Luminous Glory expert with such a low level, hes going to have a hard time keeping up with our pace. Gentle Snow grew a little hesitant when she heard this. Throughout this period, Gentle Snow came across extraordinary opportunities and made significant leaps in strength. She had also replaced all of her weapons and equipment with significantly better ones. Ink Qilin, a vice commander of the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team, had even given her the Frost Thunder Dual Blades, which were a set of Legendary Greatswords. Even then, she was just barely able to keep up with Scarecrow Foxs members and achieve somewhat noticeable contributions. If Shi Fengs party couldnt contribute sufficiently to the team, not only would they be wasting their time, but they would also be wasting the expensive entrance fee. Even for Level 145 players, it cost 20 Eternal Silver and 50 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per person to enter the Underground Crystal Palace. As for players between levels 150 and 159, the entrance fee was even higher, costing 50 Eternal Silver and 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per person. Currently, the average titled expert operating in the Crystal City of Secrets would be fortunate to even have 10 Eternal Silver in their possession, while the average fifth-floor expert would only have around 20 Eternal Silver. Hence, the Underground Crystal Palaces entrance fee was a considerable expense for most players. As for Gentle Snow, she was only able to have a little over 90 Eternal Silver in her possession, thanks to Scarecrow Foxs team. If not for the team, she would have never been able to afford to enter the Underground Crystal Palace. However, after some hesitation, Gentle Snow still decided to invite Shi Fengs party to the team. Although Scarecrow Fox was only an adventure team with few members operating in the Eternal Realm, it was a force to be reckoned with in the Greater Gods Domain. In fact, it was strong enough to compete with the various conglomerates. The Paimon Conglomerate was closely eyeing Zero Wing, even to this day. Although Zero Wing currently had Star Lake Citys protection, it wasnt a long-term solution. However, if Zero Wing could earn Scarecrow Foxs favor, it was possible the Paimon Conglomerate would back off a little out of wariness. Meanwhile, after hearing about Gentle Snows suggestion, Shi Feng readily agreed to it. He had heard about the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team in his previous life. The adventurer teams members were incredibly strong, and its seven commanders were even existences capable of rivaling Tier 6 Gods. At its peak, it nearly reached the standard of pseudo-apex powers. If not for the fall of Spear Paradise, Scarecrow Foxs Great Commander, the adventurer team might have had a real chance to become a pseudo-apex power. Meanwhile, his goal was to obtain the Heroic Mark dropped by the Level 155 Floor Master. If the loot was distributed based on individual team contributions, it couldnt get any better for him. Subsequently, Shi Fengs party of four merged with Scarecrow Foxs team of twelve and joined the line to enter the Underground Crystal Palace. While waiting in line, Shi Feng listened to Gentle Snow talk about her encounters in Gods Domain after the city battle, and he couldnt help but be amazed. Apparently, after being abruptly required to log into Gods Domain, Gentle Snow had also found herself appearing in a special location. It was also at that place where she came across the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team. Meanwhile, when she was in that place, she could not log out of the game, and even the flow of time there was completely different. Even though only several days had passed since the city battle, Gentle Snow stated that she had spent over two months in that special location. During this time, she was promoted to Tier 5, and her combat standards also saw massive improvements. Meanwhile, it was only a day ago when she and Scarecrow Foxs team had discovered a teleportation passage that led to the Crystal City of Secrets map. Its only been several days since the city battle? Gentle Snow couldnt help but be in disbelief after hearing Shi Fengs account of recent events. In her experience, she had spent a long time in the Gods Domain, which was an extremely dangerous thing to do since she had logged into the game from a public location. If not for the system preventing her from logging out for another day, she would have gone offline as soon as she arrived in the Crystal City of Secrets. You dont have to worry about safety for now. Star Lake City has arranged for security and protection. There is also an AI robot replenishing your gaming cabins nutrient solution. So, just wait until the system lets you log out safely, Shi Feng said with a smile. Shi Feng was already used to seeing certain spaces having different time flows. He was just surprised by how extraordinary Gentle Snows experiences were whenever she entered spaces with different time flows. While Shi Feng and Gentle Snow were chatting, a commotion suddenly occurred in the plaza. A short moment later, the thousands of teams in the plaza could be seen stepping aside for a 20-man team. Even the teams of upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates did not dare to stand in this 20-man teams way, giving the team unhindered access to the Underground Crystal Palace. Whats the background of this team? Why are the various powers teams voluntarily making way for it? Cant you see the emblem on their chests? Its the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, a pseudo-apex power! The young man leading the team seems to be Abyss Water, a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Rumors say he could already use World Creations second form at Tier 4. Now that hes at Tier 5, with how young he is, he can probably rival the apex power Demons Gates Starfall Witch. The crowd standing outside the plaza engaged in a heated discussion among themselves when they saw how the teams waiting in line behaved toward the Scarlet Merchant Alliances team. Meanwhile, amidst everyones discussion, the Scarlet Merchant Alliances team had already cut the line and arrived in front of Ink Qilin, who was first in line. The Scarlet Merchant Alliance is in a hurry, so get lost if you know whats good for you! a Level 151 Elder of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance yelled at Ink Qilin. Chapter 3423 - … TL Notes: Changing Transportation Firm to Trading Firm. In front of the Underground Crystal Palace, Scarecrow Foxs members revealed ugly looks on their faces when they heard the words of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Elder. The Crystal City of Secrets was now a gathering place for many powers, and as far as they were aware, there were at least four pseudo-apex powers currently operating in the city. Among them, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance vaguely ranked among the top two, so it wasnt an existence an adventurer team like Scarecrow Fox could afford to offend. However, the problem was that their team had already paid the entrance fee to enter the Underground Crystal Palace. Right now, they were merely waiting for the NPC guards to complete the registration procedures and let them inside. If they left now, they wouldnt get a refund on their entrance fee, and they would have to pay again later. But they didnt have that much money at the moment, and by the time they collected enough to enter the Underground Crystal Palace, many of the opportunities available in the secret land would have been taken by others. At this time, River Light, the middle-aged elven Cleric standing behind Ink Qilin, stepped forward and smiled, saying, Dear friends of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, I am River Light of the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team. We have already paid the entrance fee and are only waiting to enter the Underground Crystal Palace. Do you mind waiting for the NPC to complete the registration procedures? As soon as River Light spoke, many of the players present revealed shocked expressions. Scarecrow Foxs River Light! Is he the River Light who entered the Sacred Glory Lists top 100 over a decade ago? I have heard of River Light. Back when he was still on the Sacred Glory List, I heard that he was on good terms with an Honorary Elder of the pseudo-apex power Azure Wave Temple. He even participated in several large-scale Crusade Quests with the Azure Wave Temple. Its a pity he rose to fame a little too late. Had he been given another one or two years, he could have most likely fought for a spot among the Sacred Glory Lists top 30. Some of the various powers players started a discussion among themselves when they heard River Light introducing himself. They didnt expect the team currently first in line would have someone of such significant origins in it. As for River Light, the target of the surrounding players discussion, although he remained calm on the surface, he inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. It was true that he was quite well-known in the Greater Gods Domain. If he were only dealing with an upper-ranking hegemonic power, the other party would most likely back off out of respect. However, it wasnt necessarily true for the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Only an existence of a similar caliber, such as the Azure Wave Temple, could get the Scarlet Merchant Alliance to back off. The problem was that he couldnt directly mention the Azure Wave Temple in this situation. Otherwise, the pseudo-apex power would definitely find trouble with him later on. Now that others had brought up the Azure Wave Temple on his behalf, things couldnt be better. Who do you think you are? So what if you have some connection with the Azure Wave Temple? Do you think the Scarlet Merchant Alliance will be afraid of it? The Scarlet Merchant Alliances Elder sneered. Our Vice Guild Leader is standing here right now. Even if that Honorary Elder youre acquainted with comes here in person, he will still have to step aside for Vice Guild Leader Abyss Water! Ill say this one last time! Get lost! River Lights face turned pale when he heard this, but he didnt dare say anything. And to think that he had only recently told Gentle Snow that Scarecrow Fox was a major power with quite a lot of influence in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, now, not even an Elder from the Scarlet Merchant Alliance was showing Scarecrow Fox any respect. At this time, Ink Qilin finally decided to speak up, Friends from the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, although you have significant influence in the Crystal City of Secrets, it wont benefit either of us to fight, dont you think? As soon as Ink Qilin finished speaking, the intensity of her aura also began to rise. Like a lioness about to go on a rampage, the aura she exuded intimidated many of the Tier 5 experts nearby, causing them to subconsciously step away from her. Ink Qilin might only be a vice commander in Scarecrow Fox, but she was a Saint who had climbed to the Sacred Glory Lists top ten over a decade ago. At present, she had even created a complete set of Exclusive Absolute Techniques for herself. Paired with the Legendary Spear and Shield in her possession, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that she was one of the apex experts of the current Eternal Realm. As soon as Ink Qilin expressed her willingness to fight, the members of the Scarecrow Fox present and Gentle Snow also prepared themselves for a fight to the death. For players operating solo or in adventurer teams long-term, they were usually people unafraid of getting into trouble. Not to mention, they were currently in the Eternal Realm, where even apex powers were unable to exhibit their full strength. You want to pick a fight with the Scarlet Merchant Alliance? The Scarlet Merchant Alliances Saint-ranked Elder laughed when he saw the behavior of Scarecrow Foxs members. Do you have the qualifications? When the Elder finished speaking, three old men whose faces were hidden by the Black Cloaks they wore stepped out from the Scarlet Merchant Alliance team. What?! Is the Scarlet Merchant Alliance really planning to fight? If Im not mistaken, that person is Ink Qilin, one of Scarecrow Foxs vice commanders. I heard that if Ink Qilin advances to Tier 6, she could absolutely be ranked among the Divine Glory List. Even if the Scarlet Merchant Alliance should have difficulty dealing with her. The spectating crowd couldnt help but be surprised to see the Scarlet Merchant Alliances strong attitude. While the Scarlet Merchant Alliance was indeed powerful, it still needed to pay attention to experts of Ink Qilins caliber in the Eternal Realm. Not to mention, there were still many powerful experts from Scarecrow Fox standing behind Ink Qilin. If the two sides fought, there was no doubt the Scarlet Merchant Alliance would emerge victorious, but this victory would come at a considerable price. Just when everyone was finding this situation strange, the three old men removed their Black Cloaks and revealed their faces. Impossible Ink Qilin fell into a daze when she saw the faces of the three old men. Why are the Demon Cave Trio here? The Scarlet Merchant Alliance, as a pseudo-apex power, had been around for a very long time, and many of its old monsters had already retired from the active scene. Of these retired old monsters, some of the more famous ones were the Demon Cave Trio, who had risen to fame more than a century ago. The Demon Cave Trio were blood-related brothers, each of whom was a Saint-ranked expert who had created a set of Exclusive Absolute Techniques for themselves. Under the training of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, they became able to fight as if they were of one mind. On top of that, they possessed a secret technique that allowed them to form a natural battle array that enhanced their Basic Attributes and let them share their five senses. When the Demon Cave Trio were still active at Tier 6, they had once successfully killed a Tier 6 God. Later on, they even assassinated many experts capable of killing Tier 6 Gods. Although they had failed more times than they had succeeded, it was still a fact that they had succeeded sometimes, and these achievements made the trio famous throughout the Greater Gods Domain. Now that the Demon Cave Trio had appeared in the Eternal Realm, even though they were currently only Tier 5 Assassins, it would still be a piece of cake for them to annihilate Scarecrow Foxs team When Gentle Snow saw Ink Qilins reaction to the three old men, even though she personally didnt know who the Demon Cave Trio were, she still understood that they were most likely doomed. Although they should currently be safe, considering they were still in the city, it would be a different story once they entered the Underground Crystal Palace or left the city. At that time, these three old men could attack them without worry. Im sorry, Guild Leader. I thought we could get some extra help for the Guild, but I didnt expect to attract an even stronger enemy, Gentle Snow apologized to Shi Feng, her face full of regret. Chapter 497 C Do You Have the Qualifications? Chapter 3424 - Chapter 498 - Who Is That Guy? Chapter 498 C Who Is That Guy? Following the revelation of the Demon Cave Trios identities, an uproar occurred outside the Underground Crystal Palaces entrance. Now that the Demon Cave Trio have made an appearance, Scarecrow Foxs team is doomed. Not only are they doomed now, but they can also forget operating in the Eternal Realm in the future. Coming to the Underground Crystal Palace to sightsee today was indeed a good idea. I didnt think I would get to see three former Divine Glory List experts in action. Even if they have already retired from the frontlines, unless one of those peerless individuals shows up, none of Scarecrow Foxs members should think of escaping the trios clutches. No wonder the Scarlet Merchant Alliance chose to take such a strong stance. With the Demon Cave Trio here, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance can easily label itself the strongest power based in the Crystal City of Secrets. When the spectating players looked at the Demon Cave Trio, some were filled with excitement, some sighed helplessly, and some looked at Scarecrow Foxs team with sympathy. At the same time, everyone couldnt help but think that Scarecrow Fox was truly unlucky. The Scarlet Merchant Alliance had many old monsters, but the Demon Cave Trio was one of the top few existences that others wished to avoid encountering the most. Even the peerless individuals of apex powers would get a headache when targeted by the trio. Currently, Ink Qilin was the only person among Scarecrow Foxs team capable of standing up against one of the Demon Cave Trio in a one-on-one fight. Even then, it would only be limited to a direct confrontation. As for everyone else, they couldnt even survive against the Demon Cave Trio in a direct confrontation. Friends of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, today we of Scarecrow Fox are in the wrong, River Light hurriedly said with a smile. How about this? We will cover your entrance fee as an apology. You have a way with words, the Elder of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance said, laughing. Then, he glanced at the alluring Ink Qilin and transcendental Gentle Snow and continued, If you want to make amends, fine. We can forget this slight out of respect for your Great Commander, but you will have to let these two beauties accompany Vice President Abyss Water for a few days. Do that, and we will call it a day for todays matter. Dont go too far! Snow is not one of Scarecrow Foxs members! Ink Qilin said angrily. Ink Qilin had intentions of recruiting Gentle Snow into Scarecrow Fox. Unfortunately, Gentle Snow had turned down her invitation stating that she had already joined a Guild called Zero Wing and did not intend to join any other powers. Hence, Ink Qilin decided to bring Gentle Snow along with her team and help her grow, hoping that their time together could change Gentle Snows mind. After all, Gentle Snow possessed far greater talent than any paragon Ink Qilin had met thus far. If Gentle Snow ended up getting humiliated because of Scarecrow Foxs problem, Ink Qilin didnt know how she could bring herself to face Gentle Snow in the future, let alone invite Gentle Snow to join Scarecrow Fox. Going too far? Undying Shadow, the eldest of the Demon Cave Trio, sneered. We are only allowing you to keep Vice Guild Leader Abyss Water company out of respect for your Great Commander. If you still refuse to accept our offer, well have no choice but to eliminate you all from the Eternal Realm! It seems youre really set on using us to set an example. Ink Qilin narrowed her eyes on Undying Shadow, vaguely understanding what was going on. Scarecrow Fox was an adventurer team capable of rivaling conglomerates in the Greater Gods Domain. Under normal circumstances, even though the Scarlet Merchant Alliance had already reached the pseudo-apex power standard, it still wouldnt try to butt heads with Scarecrow Fox for no valid reason. It was especially so in the Eternal Realm. Yet, even though neither side had any big grudges against the other, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance seemed hellbent on making things difficult for Scarecrow Fox. The only reason Ink Qilin could think of was that the Scarlet Merchant Alliance was trying to prove to the various powers and players present that The Scarlet Merchant Alliance was the number one power in the Crystal City of Secrets! Meanwhile, Scarecrow Foxs demise would be the best evidence. If even a conglomerate-level adventurer team like Scarecrow Fox had to submit to the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, what could other powers possibly do? You have three seconds to consider, Undying Shadow coldly said. If you refuse, none of you can continue living in the Eternal Realm. Well have you die once every time you log in. And dont think you can escape our pursuit. Us brothers all have Tracking Skills, and everyone has already been marked. The mark lasts for three days and wont disappear even if you log out. The duration will only reduce if you are in Gods Domain. Also, dont think you can just hide in the city. We can keep on placing new marks, so it wont matter how long you stay in the city! Ink Qilin fell into despair when she heard this. She didnt mind fighting to the very end, but Gentle Snow couldnt afford to do so. This was because Gentle Snow had a special Legacy, and she would lose it if she were to start playing a new account. Gentle Snow also understood there was no way to resolve the situation today, and Zero Wing might even get implicated because of her. And if it were just following the Scarlet Merchant Alliance into the Underground Crystal Palace for a few days, it wouldnt be a big deal. Just as Gentle Snow was about to agree to the conditions proposed by the Undying Shadow, Shi Feng suddenly stepped forward and quietly looked at the Demon Cave Trio for a moment. Then, with a calm smile, he said, The Scarlet Merchant Alliance is indeed as domineering as Ive heard. However, Gentle Snow is a member of Zero Wing. If I, Zero Wings Guild Leader, dont show you any respect, what will you do about it? Is he crazy? Ink Qilin gaped in shock when she heard what came from Shi Fengs mouth. They were already having a headache resolving their current issue with the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Yet, Shi Feng had taken the initiative to provoke the pseudo-apex power, creating even more trouble for them Guild Leader? Gentle Snows beautiful eyes widened. Originally, this matter would have only needed her and Ink Qilin to resolve. But now that Shi Feng had intervened, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance would definitely start a fight to establish its dominance Hahaha! Excellent! Its been too long since Ive seen a youngster with such courage. Rather than getting angry at being provoked by the Guild Leader of some Guild he had never heard of, Undying Shadow laughed when he heard Shi Fengs words. It seems me and my brothers have been away from the frontlines for so long that people have forgotten about our exploits. At the same time as Undying Shadow finished speaking, the surrounding spectators promptly erupted with noise. Crap! This guy must be insane! Look! Undying Shadows face is livid! This kid is dead for sure! Who is this guy anyway? What gave him the courage to provoke the Demon Cave Trio? After a round of exclamations, the surrounding players couldnt help but wonder about Shi Fengs identity. After all, provoking the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Demon Cave Trio was no different than inviting death for a drink. Meanwhile, standing among the Scarlet Merchant Alliances team, Abyss Water had remained indifferent to the entire situation thus far. However, when he saw Shi Feng stepping out from Scarecrow Foxs team, his expression instantly changed. Why is he here? Chapter 3425 - Chapter 499 - Black Flame Takes Action Chapter 499 C Black Flame Takes Action Crystal City of Secrets, Underground Crystal Palaces entrance: A moment after Undying Shadow finished speaking, the eldest of the Demon Cave Trio suddenly vanished from everyones sight. Then, before the noisy crowd could react, he had already appeared in front of Shi Feng and reached for Shi Fengs shoulder with one of his shriveled palms. Not good! When Ink Qilin saw Undying Shadows action, she frowned and hurriedly charged forward to intervene. Similar to the rest of the Greater Gods Domain, the Eternal Realms NPC Towns and Cities prohibited players from attacking others. Should players go against this rule, nearby NPC guards would not hesitate to apprehend or kill them. However, it was a different story if an action taken was limited to only simple physical contact. In that case, the action would not be considered an attack, and the NPC guards would not pay any heed to it. But even if players did not receive any quantifiable damage in Gods Domain, it was still possible for them to experience a certain degree of pain and suppression if they were subjected to a sufficiently great physical force. Meanwhile, although Undying Shadow was an Assassin, he was in possession of the Crimson Shadow Warrior class, a hidden class that granted players a Berserkers Strength and an Assassins speed. Not to mention, Undying Shadow was Level 151. He also possessed the Desolate Shadow Set and the Dragons Chord Set, of which the former was a well-known Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set in the Greater Gods Domain, while the latter was a Magic Weapon Set that was close to rivaling Legendary Weapons. Even though Ink Qilin was in possession of a Legendary Weapon, she dared not say she could beat Undying Shadow when it came to the Strength Attribute. So, how was a Level 145 Sword Saint supposed to match Undying Shadow? Unfortunately, before Ink Qilin could get within ten yards of Undying Shadow, the latter had already placed his palm on Shi Fengs shoulder. Gentle Snow grew anxious when she saw this, but there was nothing she could do about it. Undying Shadows hand might not look like it was of any threat, but the downward force it exerted could be felt by even players standing over a hundred yards away. In fact, the force exerted was so great that faint cracks had even appeared in the surrounding space. This Guild Leader of Zero Wing is too impulsive River Lights complexion turned unpleasant when he saw Undying Shadows hand clutching Shi Fengs shoulder. Originally, this matter could have been resolved by simply apologizing. However, thanks to Shi Fengs provocation, this matter was unlikely to be salvageable even if Scarecrow Foxs Great Commander showed up. What will I do about it? Undying Shadow snorted as he looked at Shi Feng. Then, he applied even more force with his hand as he said, Brat! Ill have you kneel for me! As soon as Undying Shadow increased the force he used, the sound of bones creaking and space shattering could be heard. At the same time, many of the surrounding players experienced suffocating pressure. Some of the nearby Tier 5 experts even got the urge to kneel. Mental intimidation! His Concentration is at Tier 6! Divine Might! Hes already reached the realm of Divine Might?! Many of the experts present couldnt help but gasp when they experienced the oppressive feeling that constantly assaulted them. Divine Might? Ink Qilin also fell into a daze when he saw Undying Shadow had seemingly become the ruler of the space around him. Divine Might! Normally, this was a form of power that only Tier 6 existences could master. Meanwhile, once a player mastered Divine Might, all existences beneath Tier 6 would be no different than ants to them. This was because one could greatly suppress those beneath Tier 6 by relying only on ones Divine Might, greatly restricting the target players mobility and thought process. After all, if a player had to defend themselves from mental attacks constantly, there was no way they could fight at their full capacity. While it was logically possible for players of a lower tier to master Divine Might, even Tier 5 players would have an extremely difficult time doing so as players needed to reach Tier 6 in their Concentration standard. This was also the biggest hurdle that prevented many experts from advancing to Tier 6. In Gods Domain, apart from raising tiers, the only reliable way players could improve their Concentration was by honing their mental willpower. However, this was a very gradual process, and as Concentration was a Hidden Attribute that couldnt be inspected like the several Basic Attributes, players wouldnt know if their training method was effective until they made noticeable progress or no progress at all after a long time. This was also why many experts were still stuck at Tier 5, unable to progress to Tier 6 despite having incredibly high combat standards. And even if a Tier 6 player restarted a new account and climbed back up to Tier 5, it would still take them a long time to develop their Concentration to the Tier 6 standard. Hence, Undying Shadows possession of Tier 6 Concentration surprised everyone. Meanwhile, when Ink Qilin thought about how Shi Feng was being subjected to the dual pressure of Undying Shadows Strength and Concentration, she could already picture the sight of Shi Feng kneeling in front of everyone. One second Two seconds Three seconds However, as the seconds went by, the plaza quickly grew eerily quiet as everyone looked at Shi Feng in confusion. Contrary to Ink Qilins and everyone elses expectations, Shi Feng did not kneel. Instead, he remained standing steadily as he quietly gazed upon Undying Shadow. You Undying Shadow was similarly surprised to see Shi Feng standing steadily before him. are fine? Ink Qilin also gaped in shock at this scene, her mind failing to comprehend what was going on. Undying Shadows Strength was apparent to everyone present. If he could crack the Eternal Realms stable space with his hand alone, it meant his Strength was already nearing the Tier 6 standard. Not to mention, there was also the Divine Might he had abruptly unleashed. If caught unprepared, Ink Qilin doubted even she could react and adjust her body accordingly in time. But what was up with Shi Fengs reaction? Shi Feng didnt even flinch in response to Undying Shadows oppression, let alone adjust his body to defend against it. Whether it was Undying Shadows physical oppression or mental intimidation, Shi Feng behaved as if neither existed. Could it be that Undying Shadow was only joking around and never intended to do anything to him? Do you have eyes?! Cant you see how surprised Undying Shadow looks?! Could there be some restriction placed on the Underground Crystal Palaces entrance that prevents players from experiencing overly powerful Strength and Concentration? Is that why that guys behaving as if nothing happened? Otherwise, who could possibly withstand that kind of Strength and Divine Might? When the spectating crowd saw Shi Feng looking unaffected by Undying Shadows offensive, many players speculated that this might be because of the Underground Crystal Palaces uniqueness. Hence, Shi Feng was able to avoid making a fool of himself in front of everyone. However, just as everyone was starting to believe this to be so Since youre done playing your hand, its my turn now, Shi Feng said as he looked at the confused old man before him. Then, he gently pressed his hand on Undying Shadows shoulder and said, Kneel! Boom! Suddenly, a loud explosion, coupled with the sound of the ground cracking, echoed throughout the entire plaza. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd in the plaza, Undying Shadow knelt on the ground, one of his hands desperately holding onto Shi Fengs arm while the other supported him on the ground. A pained expression had also appeared on Undying Shadows face. However, even though Undying Shadow was desperately resisting to the point where the veins on his forehead had bulged, and his face had turned bright red, he still could not resist Shi Fengs seemingly gentle touch as he ultimately fell flat to the ground Chapter 3426 - Chapter 500 - Unfathomable Chapter 500 C Unfathomable Elder Undying? The Scarlet Merchant Alliance Elder, who was originally clamoring arrogantly and expecting to enjoy an entertaining show, couldnt help but widen his eyes in disbelief when he saw Undying Shadow kneeling. Undying Shadow was a legendary figure in the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. At the same time, he was the leader of the Demon Cave Trio. Whenever the trio was forced into a direct confrontation during an assassination attempt, Undying Shadow would always be the one to handle it. Whether it was in terms of direct combat capabilities or Basic Attributes, Undying Shadow was the strongest out of the Demon Cave Trio. In fact, out of their current 20-man team, Undying Shadows Strength was second to only Abyss Water, who wielded a Legendary Weapon. Even then, the gap wasnt significant enough that Abyss Water could overwhelm him to the extent that Shi Feng was currently doing. Brat! Youre courting death! When the Demon Cave Trios second eldest Myriad Shadows and youngest Thousand Shadows saw Undying Shadow being forced to kneel, flames of anger ignited in their eyes as they charged at Shi Feng simultaneously. There was only a distance of twenty yards separating the two Demon Cave brothers from Shi Feng. For experts of their caliber, they could cross such a distance in the blink of an eye. Subsequently, Myriad Shadows and Thousand Shadows could be seen arriving by Shi Fengs sides and grabbing onto his shoulders. Then, Thousand Shadows took out a Tier 4 Area Teleportation Scroll and chanted an incantation while setting the teleportation coordinates. This was also one of the mainstream methods used by the various powers to target players in NPC Towns and Cities. The Area Teleportation Scroll worked differently from other group-based teleportation scrolls. Players did not have to be in the same party to get teleported. So long as players stood within the Area Teleportation Scrolls radius, they would be forcibly teleported when the scroll activated. For this reason, Area Teleportation Scrolls were incredibly rare and valuable, and even pseudo-apex powers wouldnt casually use them. But now that Undying Shadow was forced to kneel in front of a crowd of thousands, they absolutely needed to make Shi Feng pay. Otherwise, the reputation of both their Demon Cave Trio and the Scarlet Merchant Alliance would receive a severe blow. The only problem was that Area Teleportation Scrolls needed several seconds to activate. So long as players ran out of the scrolls radius during this time, they could avoid getting teleported. Hence, whenever they were using an Area Teleportation Scroll to target specific players, they would need several players working together to immobilize the target player. Since they were currently using a Tier 4 Area Teleportation Scroll, so long as they could keep Shi Feng within the scrolls 20-yard radius for several seconds, they could teleport Shi Feng out of the Crystal City of Secrets. And once outside the city, they could work together to kill Shi Feng easily. Youre the ones courting death! Without looking at Myriad Shadows and Thousand Shadows, Shi Feng pressed down on the empty space before him with his other hand and said, Kneel, all of you! In addition to being a Tier 5 Sword Law Saint, Shi Feng also had Shadow Incinerator and the Winter of Eternal Night equipped. At the same time, he was also a Special Lifeform and shared 10% of the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragons Basic Attributes. So, even though he was only at Level 145, if comparing solely in terms of the Strength Attribute, he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a Level 155 player equipped with a Legendary Weapon. Meanwhile, with his Level 6 Mana Affinity, he could manipulate all mana within a 50-yard radius as if it were part of his own body. Unless others were willing to break the citys rules and attack him for real, otherwise, it wouldnt matter how many players tried to suppress him, all of them would be forced to their knees if they tried to compete with him purely in terms of Strength. Following Shi Fengs words, the Area Teleportation Magic instantly crumbled, while Myriad Shadows and Thousand Shadows were forced to kneel, the two feeling as if an invisible hand was pressing down on them. Void Suppression? Ink Qilins eyes went wide when she saw Myriad Shadows and Thousand Shadows getting forced onto their knees as well. She felt as if she had just seen a fantasy turn real, and she couldnt help but doubt what she saw. According to Gentle Snow, Zero Wing was merely a Guild that had risen up from a Miniature Ancient World. Even though Zero Wings Guild Leader ranked among the Luminous Glory List, he was still nothing more than a developing genius in the eyes of the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. He couldnt even be considered a powerhouse, let alone stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team. Yet, now, simply by manipulating the mana surrounding him to perform a simple Void Suppression, Shi Feng had managed to suppress two of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances infamous Elders. Such a feat could already rival the recorded legends in the Greater Gods Domain. Are the Luminous Glory Lists bottom-rankers nowadays this strong now? River Light was similarly flabbergasted by this situation. He felt that the Seven Luminaries Alliance must be toying with him. It should be known that not even the Sacred Glory Lists top-ten powerhouses could suppress the Demon Cave Trio, let alone a player ranked at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List. While the spectators were immersed in shock, Shi Feng started walking toward the Scarlet Merchant Alliances team. Every step he took was slow and casual. Yet, everyone present felt as if their hearts were getting stepped on. Im in a hurry, so all of you come at me together, Shi Feng calmly said to the Scarlet Merchant Alliances gloomy-looking members, showing no reservations whatsoever toward the pseudo-apex power. I hate to admit it, but you are indeed impressive, young man. After scrutinizing Shi Feng, the Scarlet Merchant Alliances clamoring Elder sneered and said, But do you truly think you can contend with a pseudo-apex power by yourself? So long as we are willing to show our hand, neither you nor the people behind you should think of leaving this place alive! Every upper-ranking hegemonic power in the Greater Gods Domain possessed an extraordinary foundation composed of various trump cards. These trump cards could include legions of experts, war weapons, mighty battle arrays, etc. While these trump cards were limited in number, they could be used to slay even Tier 6 Gods. Meanwhile, as a pseudo-apex power, the Scarlet Merchant Alliances foundation was magnitudes stronger than upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Currently, although the Greater Gods Domains various powers were limited in the means they could use in the Eternal Realm, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance still had plenty of ways to deal with individual Tier 5 players. When Ink Qilin heard this, her expression grew a little more serious. No matter how strong an individual was, it would still be difficult for them to go up against an entire power, much less a pseudo-apex power. If the Scarlet Merchant Alliance was willing to pay the corresponding price, it was entirely possible for it to keep Scarecrow Fox out of the Crystal City of Secrets. Feel free to try, then! Shi Feng sneered. He had never flinched, even when he was going up against apex powers in his previous life. Now that he possessed a Tier 5 Advanced Legendary Mana Body and the Godly Relic Shadow Incinerator, he had even less reason to be afraid of powers like the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Good! Ill grant you your wish! When the clamoring Elder heard Shi Fengs response, he took out an ink-black crystal ball from his bag, the crystal ball holding so much power that even the Tier 5 players standing over a hundred yards away couldnt help but shudder. Tier 6! The ink-black crystal housed a large-scale Destruction Spell at the Tier 6 standard! Meanwhile, Shi Feng unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator when he saw the clamoring Elder take out the ink-black crystal ball. He no longer intended to hold back, deciding to eliminate the clamoring Elder along with the rest of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances members right here and now. This would save him from having to deal with the Scarlet Merchant Alliances harassment in the Underground Crystal Palace. However, just when the clamoring Elder was about to unleash the Spell stored in the crystal ball Cease your hand, Elder Cliff! Abyss Water shouted at the clamoring Elder. Then, he turned to Shi Feng and smiled, saying, We were in the wrong today, Guild Leader Black Flame. On behalf of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, I apologize to you and your friends. As a token of apology, please accept this map of the Underground Crystal Palace that we found. Vice Guild Leader? The clamoring Elder named Burning Cliff couldnt help but be puzzled as he turned toward Abyss Water. Apart from Burning Cliff, Ink Qilin and River Light also couldnt help but gape in shock. What was going on here? The Scarlet Merchant Alliances Elder Burning Cliff was clearly determined to fight to the death. Yet, before the fight could break out, the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Vice Guild Leader had taken the initiative to apologize. He even offered a precious map of the Underground Crystal Palace as compensation Chapter 3427 - Chapter 501 - Lord of War Goddesses Chapter 501 C Lord of War Goddesses Crystal City of Secrets, Underground Crystal Palaces entrance: Whats going on? Why did the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Vice Guild Leader apologize? I heard that Abyss Water is a vicious person. Now that he has become a Vice Guild Leader in the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, its unlikely hell back off even if Scarecrow Foxs Great Commander shows up in person. What kind of origin does that Black Flame guy have? Could that guy be the son of some apex powers big shot? After Shi Feng accepted the map of the Underground Crystal Palace and entered the secret land with Scarecrow Foxs team, a commotion immediately occurred in the entrance plaza. The Scarlet Merchant Alliance was known for its domineering behavior. After suffering such a huge slight, it would already be a miracle for the pseudo-apex power not to retaliate with all its might, let alone apologize and offer compensation. Such a situation was utterly unbelievable. What is the meaning of this, Vice Guild Leader Abyss? After getting back on his feet, Undying Shadow looked at Abyss Water with a questioning gaze. If we dont teach that brat a lesson after suffering such an insult, we wont be able to establish a foothold in the Crystal City of Secrets in the future. The average Elder in the Scarlet Merchant Alliance might be of lower standing than Vice Guild Leaders like Abyss Water, but Undying Shadow was a long-standing Elder who had contributed greatly to the Guild, so he did not need to behave cautiously when dealing with the Guilds Vice Guild Leaders. On the contrary, many Vice Guild Leaders would treat him with respect so as to rope him to their side. Honestly, if it werent for the Guild Leaders command, Undying Shadow would have never chosen to follow Abyss Water. At this time, Undying Shadow wasnt the only person with questions. Burning Cliff and the other Guild Elders present also looked at Abyss Water for answers. If not for their status in the Guild being lower than Abyss Water, a paragon personally appointed to the position of Vice Guild Leader by the Guild Leader, they would have long taken action against Shi Feng instead of letting him go. Shi Feng might be powerful for being able to overwhelm the Demon Cave Trio, but he was still only one Tier 5 player. He still didnt have the qualifications to behave arrogantly in front of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Cant establish a foothold? In response to Undying Shadows question, Abyss Water indifferently asked, Who says so? Undying Shadow immediately went quiet. The Scarlet Merchant Alliance was one of the top two powers operating in the current Crystal City of Secrets. If the Scarlet Merchant Alliance wished to establish a foothold in the city, who would dare say anything about it? But after this scene Undying Shadow quickly calmed his anger when he understood Abyss Waters point. Its going to be difficult for us to recruit new members in the city. After all, which expert would be willing to join a Guild that backs away from a lone Swordsman? Thats right, Vice Guild Leader. Burning Cliff nodded in agreement. It might be fine if Black Flame is a famous figure in the Greater Gods Domain, but hes just a bottom-ranked Luminous Glory expert. Well get a bad name if this news spreads A bottom-ranked Luminous Glory expert? Turning to Burning Cliff, Abyss Water questioned, Do you think a bottom-ranked Luminous Glory expert can single-handedly suppress the Demon Cave Trio? Since when has the Seven Luminaries Alliances Luminous Glory List become so prestigious? Burning Cliff fell silent at this response. As for Undying Shadow, his expression turned somewhat ugly. If a genius ranked at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List could single-handedly suppress the Demon Cave Trio, the Luminous Glory List in question wouldnt be the same Luminous Glory List they knew. After all, not even the top-ranking geniuses of the current Sacred Glory List could accomplish such a list, much less a bottom-ranked genius on the Luminous Glory List. Could you be familiar with Black Flame, Vice Guild Leader? Burning Cliff asked out of curiosity. Of course, even if Abyss Water answered no, Burning Cliff wouldnt believe him. It should be known that even after witnessing Shi Feng overpowering the Demon Cave Trio, Burning Cliff was confident he and the other Elders present could kill Shi Feng nonetheless. Yet, Abyss Water had intervened without hesitation and even offered the precious map, which they had gone to great lengths to obtain, as compensation. If Abyss Water had done all this without knowing anything about the Swordsman known as Black Flame, there was no way he would make such an unintelligible move. Meanwhile, Undying Shadow, Myriad Shadows, and Thousand Shadows quickly understood Burning Cliffs point and turned toward Abyss Water, curious to learn who Black Flame was. I do know him. Moreover, I can clearly tell you that its inadvisable for us to provoke him now, Abyss Water said. Then, he shared a document through the team chat and continued, This is the information I collected on Black Flame. You can take a look, but never leak it to others! After his defeat on Dark Star, Abyss Water promptly utilized his connections to investigate Shi Feng. After all, there was no way a genius ranked at the bottom of the Luminous Glory List could defeat him, a paragon originating from one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. He absolutely refused to believe such a thing could be possible. Not to mention, even after his defeat and subsequent departure from Dark Star, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce did not offer him any responses. It was as if the Eternal Chamber of Commerce never really cared whether he became one of its partners, and this situation confused him greatly. However, after paying a great price, he finally dug out a piece of information that many powers had tried their best to hide about Black Flame, the Asura Sword Emperor. Inadvisable for us to provoke him? Arent you putting Black Flame on too high of a pedestal, Vice Guild Leader? When Burning Cliff and the other Elders of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance saw how seriously Abyss Water spoke of Shi Feng, they couldnt help but feel as if the latest addition to the Guilds rank of Vice Guild Leaders was inexperienced. While unverifiable through the Greater Gods Domains historical records, there were many stories of legendary and mythical individuals single-handedly destroying entire major powers. There were even stories of individuals going up against an entire apex power by themselves, and these stories served as inspirations for and were worshiped by countless experts. However, as veterans who had experienced countless storms and tides, Burning Cliff and the others knew that even if these miracles were real, the people behind these miracles should all be at Tier 6. Moreover, they would be existences who had walked to the very limits of Tier 6 Lifeforms. As for Tier 5 Lifeforms? If there even existed stories of Tier 5 Lifeforms accomplishing any of the aforementioned feats, they would be just that. Stories. Of course, Burning Cliff and the others wouldnt dare outright say such a thing to Abyss Waters face. Despite their skepticism, they still chose to read the document Abyss Water shared. After all, Abyss Water was officially a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Apart from the Demon Cave Trio, everyone else would be asking for trouble if they tried to disrespect him. Even if he couldnt outright dismiss them from the Guild, he could assign them to a position that was far from the Guilds central power. However, after Burning Cliff and the others read through the shared document, a wide variety of emotions quickly colored their originally indifferent expressions. He summoned War Goddesses to fight several dozen powers? A Tier 5 War Goddess?! Can such a thing be summoned by players?! The Demon Cave Trio broke into a cold sweat after watching the battle video attached to the document. It was especially so when they saw the Tier 5 War Goddess in the video obliterating so many Holy Race experts. The pinnacle of techniques! The true pinnacle of techniques! The Tier 5 War Goddess in the video was an existence no Tier 5 player should even dream of challenging. Even though the Scarlet Merchant Alliance had a couple of trump cards in the Eternal Realm that could be used to easily dispose of Tier 5 players, all of them would be nothing but a joke in front of a Tier 5 War Goddess. It was no wonder Abyss Water had intervened and even apologized. The Lord of War Goddesses! This was the new title the various powers, who had participated in the battle outside the Courtyard of Space, had designated for the Asura Sword Emperor. Chapter 3428 - Chapter 502 - Times Have Changed Chapter 502 C Times Have Changed In a vast jungle inside the Underground Crystal Palace Over a dozen streaks of light landed on the forest, startling many nearby small animals. Weve arrived on the fourth floor, just like that? Shock filled Ink Qilins eyes as she surveyed her surroundings. Although Shi Feng had already proven himself extraordinary with his performance outside the Underground Crystal Palace, she didnt think he would have an equally surprising card up his sleeve. The Underground Crystal Palace was a secret land with a level range of 120 to 200, and it had one floor for every ten levels. Normally, whenever players entered the Underground Crystal Palace, regardless of which floor was their actual destination, they would have to start from the first floor, which had a level range of 120 to 129. Originally, such a setting wouldnt have been a big deal as players simply needed to spend more time reaching their desired floor. However, the problem was that every player could only stay in the Underground Crystal Palace for three days. Regardless of whether players died, they would be teleported out of the secret land once the three-day time limit was up. To make matters worse, according to their understanding, the Underground Crystal Palaces floors were massive, with each floor being at least three times as big as the average large-sized map found in the outside world. In a situation where even Tier 5 players could only rely on their two feet to travel, they would have wasted half of their three-day time limit by the time they reached a floor that corresponded to their levels. Moreover, that was under the premise that they didnt encounter any obstructions from monsters. If they had to stop to defeat monsters or take detours, they would have to waste even more time reaching their destination. However, after their team entered the Underground Crystal Palace, Shi Feng took out two tokens and handed them to Gentle Snow and Desolate Fury. Then, with the help of these tokens, their entire team was teleported to the Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor Who exactly is your Guild Leader, Snow? River Light asked as he turned to Gentle Snow after scanning the fourth floors environment. Dont say that hes the leader of a Guild coming from some miniature world. Do you think I will still believe such a thing? Apart from River Light, several other members of Scarecrow Fox also turned to look at Gentle Snow with an inquiring gaze. Originally, they thought Gentle Snows Guild Leader would only be an ordinary expert, and they were only willing to let Shi Feng join their team because of Gentle Snow. But now, they realized how laughable their previous thoughts were. Setting aside the Scarlet Merchant Alliances matter, just Shi Fengs ability to teleport them to the Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor was already beyond the means of any ordinary expert. After all, this was a mind-blowingly massive opportunity. Currently, even though the various powers operating in the Crystal City of Secrets had already dispatched many powerful teams into the Underground Crystal Palace, it would still take them at least a day before they could reach the fourth floor. In other words, not only would their team be the first to explore the fourth floor, but they could also have the entire floor to themselves for at least a day. Faced with River Lights question, Gentle Snow didnt know what to say. This was because she felt that even if she told the truth, neither River Light nor the other members of Scarecrow Fox would believe her. Though, honestly, even she was starting to wonder if she was in a dream. According to Shi Feng, in the two months she had spent with Scarecrow Foxs team, only several days had passed in the real world. Originally, she thought she must have bridged the gap between her and Shi Feng with the extra development time she managed to gain. After all, although two months wasnt a long time, her worldview and strength had still undergone a qualitative transformation. In fact, she had changed so much that even the Paimon Conglomerate, which previously seemed like a very troublesome opponent, no longer seemed as intimidating as before. She felt that so long as she returned to the Miniature Ancient World, she could help improve Zero Wing significantly. However, by the looks of things, rather than her, Gentle Snow felt that Shi Feng was the one who had gained two extra months. Moreover, he must have encountered numerous opportunities to achieve such frightening growth. While Gentle Snow was experiencing mixed feelings about Shi Fengs growth, Shi Feng was busy surveying the surrounding environment. In most parts of the Eternal Realm, Mana and Holy Power existed in the environment in a 50-50 ratio. However, on the Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor, Holy Power took up 95% of the energy present in the environment, whereas Mana took up only a measly 5%. Because of this environment, every monster present on the floor was brimming with Holy Power. If a human player were to stand within 30 yards of the monsters here, they would immediately find their use of mana getting interrupted. Even players with Tier 5 Epic Mana Bodies wouldnt be spared from this influence. If players were to fight a bunch of Tier 4 Mythic monsters brimming with Holy Power in such a situation, even Tier 5 players would face great difficulty. Meanwhile, this was something Ink Qilin and the others also quickly noticed. Battle Apes? Ink Qilin frowned as she looked at the group of over a hundred Level 152 Mythic monsters gathered in the distance. [Graystone Battle Ape] (Ferocious Beast, Mythic) Level 152 HP 4,000,000,000 The Graystone Battle Apes were only three meters tall, but all of them were clad in armor and wielded weapons. Different from the average monster, these Battle Apes were clearly creatures that excelled at group combat. Going by past experiences, Ink Qilin knew that Battle Apes were highly intelligent. These Graystone Battle Apes also looked like they were using standardized equipment inscribed with Secret Runes, similar to what NPC guards of NPC Cities used. So, they should be able to form a battle array that boosted their overall combat power. Even in the outside world, a dozen of these Tier 4 Mythic-ranked Graystone Battle Apes fighting together with the support of a battle array could kill a Tier 5 player. In this place where players could not use mana, fighting these Graystone Battle Apes would be a nightmare for players. River, you and your group get ready, Ink Qilin commanded after pondering for a moment. Well go with the traditional method and trap a portion within a barrier first. Everyone else, use a Holy Power Bottle and quickly eliminate the commanding Battle Apes! At Ink Qilins command, River Light and the others nodded before quickly taking out several Tier 4 Magic Scrolls from their bag spaces. The fourth floors environment and monsters might be tougher than expected, but they were experts of the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team. They had come across many such situations before this, so it was only a matter of wasting a little more time to eliminate these Grayston Battle Apes. While everyone was getting ready for battle, though, Shi Feng, who had been feeling the mana around him all this time, suddenly said, Vice Commander Qilin, I have a way for us to clear out these monsters quickly. A way to clear out these Battle Apes quickly? Shi Fengs words immediately piqued Ink Qilins curiosity. Do you really have a way to do so, Guild Leader Black Flame? Going by our adventurer teams past experiences of fighting Battle Apes, these Graystone Battle Apes should be able to form battle arrays. Moreover, the battle arrays strength would grow stronger the more Battle Apes there are to maintain it. If we try to fight them as one big group instead of splitting them up into smaller groups, killing them will be challenging. They might not be a match for the Demon Cave Trio, but fighting monsters was Scarecrow Foxs specialty. However, out of all the times she had watched and personally fought in fights involving Battle Arrays, the best way she could think of for their current team of fewer than twenty players to eliminate the 100-plus Graystone Battle Apes would be to tackle them in batches. She also found it hard to imagine there would be any better methods. I can prevent them from using battle arrays within 100 yards of me, Shi Feng said, chuckling. If we are talking about Battle Apes that cannot use battle arrays, Im sure you all can deal with them easily, right? The suppression by Holy Power was indeed powerful on the fourth floor, and even players with Tier 5 Epic Mana Bodies would be greatly affected. However, Shi Feng had previously tested and found that his Tier 5 Advanced Legendary Mana Body remained unaffected. He could even maintain control over the mana within a 100-yard radius. Within this radius, none of the Battle Apes should think of activating their battle arrays, which relied on mana to activate. If what you say is true, we can try to take them on all at once, Ink Qilin said, still somewhat skeptical. However, because of Shi Fengs previous performance and the massive opportunity he had provided them by bringing them straight to the fourth floor, she felt she should at least give his suggestion a try out of respect. And even if Shi Fengs plan failed, they could simply execute the original plan. Subsequently, several players separated from the team to lure the Graystone Battle Apes. Chapter 3429 - Chapter 503 – Three Golden Masters? Chapter 503 C Three Golden Masters? Alright! Lure them here! Ink Qilin commanded through the team chat upon seeing the Shield Warrior and Guardian Knight, who had gone to lure the Graystone Battle Apes, entering positions. Blaze Eye, keep an eye out for any Battle Apes trying to break away from the group! We cannot let any of them leave to call for reinforcements! Battle Apes were highly intelligent monsters. Upon reaching the Tier 4 Mythic rank, their intelligence could already closely rival players. Not only did they know how to fight in a coordinated group, but they also knew how to seek help from nearby Battle Apes. There were many instances where players would underestimate Mythic-ranked Battle Apes and unknowingly find themselves surrounded by an army of thousands of Battle Apes. When thousands of Battle Apes joined together to form a battle array, even if all of them were only at the Tier 4 Mythic rank, they could take on a Tier 6 player. Moreover, there was a high chance the Tier 6 player in question would get whittled down and ultimately die from exhaustion. Hence, when facing highly intelligent monsters like Battle Apes, there were two things players must do. Firstly, players needed to ensure they had the ability to kill a small number of Battle Apes within a short period of time. Secondly, players needed to ensure no Battle Apes could escape and call for reinforcements. Once the size of a Battle Ape army reached 10,000, even bona fide Tier 6 players would have to flee, let alone Tier 5 players. Dont worry, Big Sis Qilin. I wont let any of them get away! a Ranger youth named Blaze Eye responded confidently. Subsequently, when Ink Qilin and the others saw the Graystone Battle Apes getting closer and closer, they couldnt help but grow nervous. By now, the group of 100-plus Graystone Battle Apes had already formed a battle array, allowing every one of them to closely rival Tier 5 Legendary monsters in Strength and speed. Combined with the strengthening effect of Holy Power, even someone like Ink Qilin, who wielded a Legendary Weapon and Shield, could only afford to tank about a dozen Graystone Battle Apes at a time. If any other Shield Warrior or Guardian Knight tried to tank the Graystone Battle Apes without a Legendary Weapon and Shield, they could, at most, take on four at a time. Should they try to take on ten or more, they would die in a matter of seconds, even with healers healing them. With less than 20 players on their team, if they couldnt isolate these Graystone Battle Apes into groups in time using magic barriers, it wouldnt take more than ten seconds for their whole team to suffer annihilation. In reality, there was also the option of approaching the group of Graystone Battle Apes and launching a sneak attack instead of luring the group over. However, considering that there were other Battle Apes operating in the surroundings, Shi Feng felt that it was safer to lure the monsters over. 200 yards 150 yards 80 yards Take action! Shi Feng commanded when he saw that the Graystone Battle Apes had already moved within 100 yards of him. At the same time, he unleashed his World Creation. Immediately, with Shi Feng as the center, mana as dense as metal began to spread and envelop every player and monster on the battlefield. Mana! My mana isnt suppressed anymore! River Light was greatly surprised when he sensed his body regaining the ability to radiate mana to the surroundings. Previously, even though he had a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body, he couldnt even manipulate the mana within his body, let alone letting it out of his body. As a result, he could only use Tier 3 and Tier 4 Healing Spells, drastically reducing his healing potential. However, in his current state, he felt that he could utilize 100% of his mana. This performance was even better than he could normally achieve in the Eternal Realm. Quick, look! The Battle Apes battle array has crumbled! Blaze Eye excitedly stated as he fired arrows at the Graystone Battle Apes from the top of a large tree. What a powerful Mana Domain Ink Qilin exclaimed. Not only did Shi Fengs Mana Domain weaken the Battle Apes, but it also allowed everyone on the team to recover their original combat power. With these changes, their team could take on hundreds of Graystone Battle Apes with ease, let alone a measly hundred or so. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng crushed the Graystone Battle Apes battle array with his World Creation, the several commanding Battle Apes quickly realized the severity of the situation and let loose several roars. Not good! Dont let them get away! Gentle Snow hurriedly charged forward when she heard the roars of the commanding Battle Apes. As mentioned before, Battle Apes were highly intelligent monsters. Should they realize they were at a disadvantage, their first course of action would be to call for reinforcements. However, if the disparity between them and their opponents was too large, they would choose to split up and escape without hesitation. This was also the biggest problem players faced when fighting Battle Apes. The Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor had a forest terrain. It was the perfect terrain for Battle Apes to operate at peak performance. If a group of Mythic-ranked Battle Apes decided to flee, trying to stop them from fleeing would be an absolute nightmare. When Ink Qilin saw the Graystone Battle Apes scattering like startled birds, she couldnt help but experience a headache. Although everyone on the team could now fight at full strength, the majority of them could only pin down three or four Battle Apes at a time. After all, not much had changed regarding their speed. Not to mention, Shi Fengs Mana Domain only had a 100-yard radius. For Tier 4 monsters, crossing such a distance would take no more than a second. But one second was far from enough for them to activate their magic barriers However, unlike everyone else, Shi Feng remained unfazed even after seeing the Battle Apes choosing to flee. Instead, he quickly advanced to the center of the fleeing Battle Apes and calmly said, Fury, Leroja, Cross, Ill leave them to you! In response to Shi Fengs words, Desolate Fury calmly looked at the fleeing Battle Apes and said in a slightly excited voice, Is it finally our turn to make a move? I thought I would only get to spectate from the side throughout this entire operation, Cross said, laughing. Alright, enough talking. Hurry up and get to work! Leroja said, smiling as she grabbed the great bow she carried. Then, she vanished into thin air and reappeared over a hundred meters above the forest. At this time, Leroja was like an empress overlooking a battlefield as she stood in the sky. Whether it was the Battle Apes running through the forest or jumping on treetops, every one of them was clearly presented in her eyes. Subsequently, Leroja drew the bowstring and released it. Then, over a hundred arrows scattered from her bow and accurately struck all of the fleeing Graystone Battle Apes, causing their movements to freeze momentarily and their HP to fall by over ten million. At the same time, Desolate Fury and Cross swiftly traversed through the forest. While doing so, not only did their feet stay off the ground, but they could also make sharp turns without relying on trees for leverage. Even though the Graystone Battle Apes were already plenty agile as they jumped from tree to tree, Desolate Fury and Cross were even more agile. In the blink of an eye, many of the fleeing Graystone Battle Apes were knocked off course and sent crashing to the ground, giving the Scarecrow Fox members on the ground an easy time to intercept them. Heavens! Theyre moving in the air! Theyre Golden Masters! Three Golden Masters? Chapter 3430 - Chapter 504 - Secret Treasure Set Chapter 504 C Secret Treasure Set The sight of Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja fighting in the air stunned Gentle Snow and Scarecrow Foxs members. If it were outside the Eternal Realm, any Tier 4 player could easily achieve flight and combat in the air. However, in the Eternal Realm where Holy Power was present in significant volume, even Tier 5 Saints could not fly. At most, they could leap and propel themselves to a great height by relying on mana. Before reaching Tier 6, the only way players could achieve actual flight was by relying on Gold Combat Techniques. In other words, players would have to be Golden Masters. Three Golden Masters? River Light couldnt help but take a deep breath as he watched the three people fighting in the air. This number is probably already on par with what the various apex powers have dispatched in their exploration teams, right? No! Not even apex powers can take out such a lineup in the current Eternal Realm! Ink Qilin said definitively. As one of Scarecrow Foxs vice commanders, Ink Qilin had access to a lot more information regarding the various apex powers than even the average executive of upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Golden Masters were essentially individuals who had reached the extremes of a particular field of techniques, and even the various apex powers only had a small number of such experts under their command. Every one of these experts was highly valued by the various apex powers, and not even Vice Guild Leaders had the authority to command them, let alone send several of them to the Holy World earlier on. Hence, in the current Eternal Realm, it was impossible for any single apex power to form a team spearheaded by three Golden Masters. Were they always this strong? Similar to Scarecrow Foxs members, Gentle Snow also wore a shocked expression as she looked at Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja. However, part of why she was surprised was for a different reason. Gentle Snow was not a stranger to the trio. She had met them during Star Lake Citys city battle, and she had seen them displaying strength superior to the average titled expert. However, it was also apparent that Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja had yet to reach the fifth-floor standard back then, as they were a lot weaker than Cheng Xin and Amber Soul, who were both fifth-floor experts. So, how in the world did the three of them suddenly become Golden Masters? Stop staring and start erecting the barriers! The three of them cant pin the apes down forever! Shi Feng shouted when he saw that everyone was still idly watching the trio fight. It was true that Gold Combat Techniques were powerful and could let players achieve extraordinary feats. However, using Gold Combat Techniques also put a massive toll on players Stamina and Concentration. Hence, these techniques were only meant to be used during crucial moments rather than continuously. Even Shi Feng, with his Advanced Legendary Mana Body and Tier 6 Concentration, could not afford to do so. Ink Qilin was the first to snap out of her daze. Immediately, she commanded, River, take action! Hearing this, River Light and several other Scarecrow Fox members unfurled the Tier 4 Magic Scrolls in their hands and began chanting an incantation. In three seconds, multiple translucent barriers made of mana appeared across the battlefield and joined together to cover a 200-yard radius. These barriers isolated the Graystone Battle Apes into small groups, and unless they could break the barriers using force, their hopes of escaping would be dashed. Upon seeing the magic barriers taking shape, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja stopped using Flowing Space. Instead, with Desolate Fury at the front and Cross and Leroja attacking from behind, the trio began clearing out the trapped Battle Apes. Because the Tier 4 Master Barriers were created via magic scrolls, they were a little weaker than Tier 4 Master Barriers personally created and maintained by players. Even so, these barriers would have no trouble keeping the Graystone Battle Apes trapped for two or three hours, which was more than enough clean-up time for the team. Everyone on the team had already reached Tier 5. Although the Graystone Battle Apes had four billion HP each, every member of the team could easily deal over ten million damage with their Skills and Spells. If everyone focused their attacks on one particular Battle Ape, it wouldnt take more than a minute for them to finish it. Subsequently, in less than 15 minutes, every one of the 100-plus Graystone Battle Apes died at the hands of Desolate Fury, Ink Qilin, and the others. The speed at which they eliminated the group of Mythic monsters was so fast that even Ink Qilin, a highly-experienced monster hunter, couldnt help but be shocked. Due to the intelligence of Battle Apes, defeating them was a very troublesome task. Normally, even a 20-man team of Tier 5 experts would need at least two hours to eliminate a group of 100-plus Mythic-ranked Battle Apes. Yet, now, thanks to Shi Fengs group of four, their team was able to speed up this process by multiple times. This is so satisfying! I know, right? Our grinding efficiency here is much faster than what we could achieve outside. Im nearly at Level 153 after this wave. After the last Graystone Battle Ape fell, everyone was surprised to find that their experience bar had filled up by a small chunk. In the current Eternal Realm, players levels and grinding efficiency were incredibly important. Not only could players equip higher-level weapons and equipment as their levels increased, but they could also afford to explore higher-leveled maps. Meanwhile, in the Underground Crystal Palace, the speed at which players could defeat the monsters here was of utmost importance. As players could only stay in the Underground Crystal Palace for a limited time, the faster they could defeat the monsters they faced, the more monsters they could kill during their three-day time limit. This, in turn, would increase their harvest from the secret land. Jackpot! We hit the jackpot! River Light, who had gone to loot the Graystone Battle Apes scattered corpses, suddenly shouted. Jackpot? Did a Secret Treasure drop? Crap! It really is a Secret Treasure! How are you so lucky today, Team Leader River?! Following River Lights exclamation, the other members of the team who had gone to loot the Graystone Battle Apes, turned toward him with surprised looks. It was true that the Graystone Battle Apes offered lucrative loot as they were Level 152 Mythic monsters. Aside from dropping a bunch of materials and Level 150-plus Dark-Gold Equipment, they also dropped God Crystal Fragments at a low probability. Even so, before River Lights discovery, nobody thought the Graystone Battle Apes could drop Secret Treasures, the Underground Crystal Palaces main attraction. Everyone was previously of the opinion that only Boss monsters could drop Secret Treasures. How lucky of him. Shi Feng was also a little surprised by River Lights discovery, though he had low hopes of such discoveries happening frequently. The Graystone Battle Apes indeed had a chance of dropping Secret Treasures, but the probability of that happening was less than 0.1%. So, rather than grinding the Graystone Battle Apes for Secret Treasures, Shi Feng personally placed more importance on the EXP they provided. Even after evenly splitting the EXP among everyone on the team, Shi Feng still saw his experience bar increasing by a visible chunk after defeating the group of Battle Apes. Moreover, that was after the God of Times curse had already reduced his EXP gain by 50%. At this rate, he could catch up to the average level of players operating in the Crystal City of Secrets by the time he concluded his three-day exploration of the Underground Crystal Palace. While Shi Feng was estimating how many levels he could gain in the next three days, his attention was caught by a pale gray bead with incomplete Secret Runes engraved on it. Upon taking a closer look at the glass bead on the ground, he couldnt help but be stunned. A Secret Treasure Set? Quickly, Shi Feng picked up the glass bead and took out a piece of Seven Luminaries Crystal to infuse into it. Chapter 3431 - Chapter 505 - Empire Taking Shape Chapter 505 C Empire Taking Shape Is there something special about that Secret Treasure, Guild Leader Black Flame? Desolate Fury couldnt help but grow curious when he saw Shi Feng hastily picking up a gray bead from the ground and appraising it. Likewise, Cross and Leroja also noticed Shi Fengs behavior and paused their looting action, a surprised look appearing on their faces as they looked at Shi Feng. Unlike everyone else on the team, the three of them had raided a World Mode Team Dungeon with Shi Feng. They were also part of the first team of players to have discovered the existence of Secret Treasures. However, even when the Courtyard of Spaces Final Boss dropped two Extraordinary Secret Treasures, Shi Feng barely paid attention to them. Yet, even though the glass bead was clearly a Common-ranked Secret Treasure, Shi Feng was showing great interest in it. So, it was only natural theyd be curious about it. It is indeed very special. Shi Feng nodded and smiled. If we can complete a set, we could even challenge Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeons. Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeons? Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, the trio couldnt help but look at the glass bead in Shi Fengs hand with even greater surprise. While they didnt know how challenging a Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeon was exactly, they knew that Level 160 God Mode Regional Dungeons were places where even Tier 6 experts had difficulty surviving while Level 160, Tier 5 expert teams could get annihilated easily. Going by the World Mode Courtyard of Spaces difficulty, they could easily imagine how challenging a Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeon could be However, Shi Feng didnt bother offering the trio any additional explanations. Instead, he focused all his attention on the gray glass bead. During the middle stages of the Eternal Realms birth, the Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeon Hundred Eyes Canyon was one of the most popular places for players. Not only did the monsters there drop plenty of Secret Treasures and high-tiered Skills and Spells, but it was also possible to obtain the Lords Certificate from there. During the Eternal Realms early-to-mid stages, the entire realm was in chaos, and only a small number of NPC Towns, Cities, and Fortresses existed. Because of this, there were plenty of lands rich in resources for players to develop and establish a country of their own. The only problem was that these undeveloped lands were located far from any NPC strongholds, and reaching them required a lot of time, even with the help of Legendary Flying Mounts. It might not be a problem if players only needed to travel to these places once, but the time players wasted on travel would quickly pile up if they had to make multiple trips. This was where Guild Cities came in. To establish a Guild City in the Eternal Realm, players would need to have the Lords Certificate, and to obtain a Lords Certificate, players would need to explore and raid the Hundred Eyes Canyon.[1!!] Normally, only Tier 6 teams could raid a Level 160 World Mode Regional Dungeon, but there were exceptions to everything. In this case, it was a Tier 5 tank equipped with a Secret Treasure Set. Secret Treasures normally already provided a sizable increase to Mana Protection for players. Meanwhile, Secret Treasure Sets provided an additional boost to Mana Protection on top of that. When Tier 5 players equipped a Secret Treasure Set, even if it was Common ranked, they could still have the Mana Protection of a Tier 6 player. Originally, Shi Feng didnt place much hope on obtaining a Secret Treasure Set. After all, even non-set Secret Treasures were already incredibly rare, let alone Secret Treasure Sets. Normally, these sets could only be obtained from World Mode Regional Dungeons such as the Hundred Eyes Canyon. As for the Underground Crystal Palace, Shi Feng had only ever heard of Secret Treasure Sets dropping from the Level 160-plus areas. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng infused 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal into the glass bead, the Secret Treasures stats were revealed to him. [Graymoon Secret Treasure] (Tier 1 Secret Treasure, Common) Attaches to leg guards. Once attached, it can increase the wearers Mana Protection by 13%. Six-piece Set Effect: Increases Mana Protection by an additional 30%. Its the Graymoon Set? Shi Feng was initially stunned when he saw the Graymoon Secret Treasures stats. Then, ecstasy filled him. He had heard of the Graymoon Set in his previous life. It was a very special existence among Common Secret Treasure Sets. It was also the Underground Crystal Palaces most iconic Secret Treasure Set, and what made the set special was that it did not have any class restrictions nor armor-type restrictions. As a comparison, the Combat-ranked Orichalcum Secret Treasure obtained from the Courtyard of Space could only be attached to gauntlets, which were gloves belonging to the plate armor category. Meanwhile, because of the Graymoon Secret Treasures uniqueness, it became standard equipment for the various powers main forces during the Eternal Realms later stages. Normally, though, the Graymoon Secret Treasure could only be obtained from monsters roaming the Underground Crystal Palaces Level 160-plus areas. So, the fact that one dropped in the Level 150 area was a pleasant surprise to Shi Feng. If he could complete a set and let a Tier 5 tank equip it, even if it was only a Level 150 tank, he could begin exploring the Hundred Eyes Canyon right away. Here is the other Secret Treasure that dropped, Guild Leader Black Flame. At this time, Ink Qilin approached Shi Feng and handed him the Secret Treasure that River Light found. At the same time, she couldnt help but grow a little envious as she looked at the Graymoon Secret Treasure that Shi Feng had just appraised. Before entering the Underground Crystal Palace, they had agreed that they would distribute the loot based on individual contributions to the team. Although the Graystone Battle Apes had dropped two Secret Treasures, going by contribution rankings, both Secret Treasures would go to Shi Feng When the other members of Scarecrow Fox saw this, they, too, couldnt help but grow envious. However, none of them voiced any objections. If not for Shi Feng breaking apart the Battle Apes battle array, they would have had great difficulty defeating the monsters. There was even a possibility they would get annihilated. Hence, Shi Feng deserved to have both Secret Treasures. However, after Shi Feng appraised the second Secret Treasure, he found that, while it might be a Common Secret Treasure, it wasnt part of the Graymoon Set. So, he handed it back to Ink Qilin and said, You can have this one. There is a specific kind of Secret Treasure I want. If any Secret Treasure of that kind drops, I want priority over it. In exchange, I will give you a Secret Treasure of equal rank every time I exercise this privilege. I will also cover the appraisal cost. What do you think? This Is that really alright? Ink Qilin asked in surprise. With Shi Fengs five-man groups contributions, even if more Secret Treasures dropped afterward, Scarecrow Foxs group was unlikely to receive many. However, if they followed Shi Fengs distribution method, Scarecrow Fox stood to get a lot more Secret Treasures. Of course. Shi Feng chuckled. He did not care for the average Common Secret Treasure. Even if players fully equipped themselves with independent Common Secret Treasures, they wouldnt see a qualitative transformation in their combat performance. However, it was a different story for the Graymoon Set. Hence, hed rather give up the chance to obtain more Secret Treasures and focus on completing the Graymoon Set first instead. As for Gentle Snow, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja, none of them had any opinions about Shi Fengs decision. It was especially so for Gentle Snow. She had received a lot of help from Scarecrow Fox during the past two months. So, even if Shi Feng didnt suggest such a distribution method, she would have given her share of Secret Treasures to Ink Qilin. Subsequently, with the help of Shi Fengs Mana Domain, the team rapidly eliminated the surrounding Graystone Battle Apes. After hunting continuously for two whole days, the team managed to eliminate several hundred groups of Graystone Battle Apes. Although the harvest they got from subsequent groups of Battle Apes was not as good as the first group they killed, their luck still wasnt all too terrible, obtaining one Secret Treasure for every two or three groups they killed. After hunting several hundred groups, they obtained a total of 142 Secret Treasures. Out of these 142 Secret Treasures, 106 went to Shi Fengs group of five. However, of these 106 Secret Treasures, only 14 were part of the Graymoon Set. To make matters worse, none of these set pieces could form a complete set; every set was missing one or two pieces. Exp-wise, Shi Feng was able to reach Level 152. While Shi Feng and the others were resting, Gentle Snow, who had returned after logging off to rest in the real world, approached Shi Feng with a gloomy expression. Guild Leader, I got in touch with Hidden Soul. TL Notes: [1!!]This was where Guild Cities came in. To establish a Guild City in the Eternal Realm, players would need to have the Lords Certificate, and to obtain a Lords Certificate, players would need to explore and raid the Hundred Eyes Canyon.: I have no idea if this part is accurate or not as this part was partially missing from the raws I received. I just made a guess based on the context given, so I will come back to change it if it turns out to be wrong. [2]Secret Treasure ranks: Common -> Combat -> Extraordinary -> Fantasy (Chapter 453) Chapter 3432 - Chapter 506 - Crazed Border Chapter 506 C Crazed Border Has Soul logged out? Did something happen on her end? Shi Feng asked, sensing something was amiss when he saw Gentle Snows expression. Hidden Soul had entered the Void Saints Legacy Land along with Gentle Snow. However, the two did not end up together after the city battle. Instead, Gentle Snow was swept into a special space, while Hidden Soul had been missing ever since. Just yesterday, Shi Feng had deliberately gone offline to meet up with Gentle Snow and check on Hidden Souls situation at the Star Lake Training Center. Initially, he had thought that Hidden Soul would have a mandatory online period similar to Gentle Snow, but it seemed that Hidden Soul was either busy in Gods Domain or had a longer mandatory online period, as she did not come offline at the same time as Gentle Snow. Mhm, theres nothing wrong with Soul herself, Gentle Snow said before pausing. Then, she took a deep breath and whispered, Its just that a concerning problem has taken place in the Miniature Ancient World. After the city battle, the system required all players in the Miniature Ancient World to stay online. Moreover, time there had been flowing at an astonishing rate throughout this period. According to Soul, four months had already passed in the Miniature Ancient World, and it has only just returned to normal now. Players are also able to log in and out freely now. Four months? Shi Feng was shocked to hear this. Throughout the many years he played Gods Domain, he had only ever heard of players experiencing different time-flows after getting trapped in certain special locations. However, he had never heard of an entire world getting sealed and having its time flow accelerated, even if it was only a miniature world. Not to mention, the Miniature Ancient Worlds time flow was accelerated to quite a significant extent, experiencing in-game four months in only several real-world days. This was truly an astonishing situation. The accelerated time flow wasnt a problem originally. Although the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers remained fiercely competitive even after the World Passage was closed, they reached a state of balance, Gentle Snow said. But as soon as the system lifted the seal on the Miniature Ancient World and the flow of time returned to normal, another World Passage opened. The new World Passage is very stable and can easily allow Tier 5 players to come and go. Moreover, after our Miniature Ancient World was unsealed, the location where the World Passage opened up changed. It is no longer located in the Starlight Realms Sea of Giants, but a part of the Void Sea that is very close to several Realms. The Void Sea? Shi Feng was stunned. Wouldnt that make it a target of contention for numerous Realms? The Greater Gods Domains various Realms were located far apart from one another. Even Tier 6 players would have difficulty traveling between two neighboring Realms. Not to mention, there were many undeveloped areas and primordial ruins in the Void Sea. Many of the Greater Gods Domains discovered Divine Artifacts were obtained from these undeveloped areas and primordial ruins. Hence, experts at Tier 5 and above would typically head to the Void Sea to further their development. Because of this, the various powers operating in the Void Sea would typically build Guild Fortresses for their members to teleport to. Not only would this let their members save on travel time, but the various powers could also charge non-member visitors exorbitant entrance fees to generate additional revenue, killing two birds with one stone. The problem was that every Guild Fortress could only accommodate a limited number of players. Moreover, the materials required to build a Guild Fortress in the Void Sea were demanding and costly, so the various powers couldnt build as many fortresses as they wanted. However, it was a different story for a miniature world. A miniature world could accommodate many, many more players than a Guild Fortress. So, now that a miniature world had appeared in the Void Sea, one could easily imagine the turmoil it would cause among the various powers. Gentle Snows face darkened slightly as she nodded to Shi Fengs words. Then, she said, Many powers have already entered the Miniature Ancient World thus far. Not only are these powers frantically seizing the Guild Towns built by our native powers, but they have also destroyed many of our native powers. Currently, whether it is the Asura Mercenary Alliance or Zero Wing, neither is doing well During the two months Gentle Snow had spent with Scarecrow Fox, she learned how intense and terrifying the competition among the Greater Gods Domains various powers was. It was especially so for struggles involving multiple Realms. When going up against the powers of multiple Realms, even the Greater Gods Domains upper-ranking hegemonic powers were likely to face destruction, let alone the Miniature Ancient Worlds native superpowers. It seems we will have to return to the Miniature Ancient World as soon as possible, Shi Feng said, deciding to push forward some of his plans. If a Guild wished to become an immortal kingdom and stand at the Greater Gods Domains apex, the first thing it needed to do was to ensure it had a stable supply of fresh blood. Typically, when the Greater Gods Domains various powers chose to recruit young talents, they would prioritize the geniuses of their homeworld first and foremost. This was because native geniuses were less likely to betray them. It would also be more convenient to nurture them in the real world. Everyone might be tied together in Gods Domain, but players of different civilizations were situated far apart from one another in the Greater World. If a power recruited players originating from the same homeworld, they could be certain that these players operated in the same region as they did in the Greater World. However, if a power recruited players from a different homeworld, they wouldnt necessarily be operating in the same sphere of mobile cities. They might not even be operating on the same interstellar continent. This would make managing and nurturing these players a very troublesome affair. The Miniature Ancient World was their civilizations miniature world. It served as a foundation for Zero Wing to establish a foothold in the Greater Gods Domain. If Zero Wing got eliminated from the Miniature Ancient World, hed have to start planning for early retirement. Return to the Miniature Ancient World? Gentle Snow looked at Shi Feng with confusion. Can we even do that? Mhm. I have a way for us to go back, Shi Feng said in a whisper. But before that, we need to deal with things here. Returning to the Miniature Ancient World was not a problem for him. The Abyss Workshop Certification allowed teleportation between Realms. He also had the Miniature Ancient Worlds location saved, so he could use the Workshop Certification to create a World-Breaking Gate that linked the Eternal Realm and the Miniature Ancient World. The only problem was that he could only teleport up to twenty players at a time. But before returning, he still needed to obtain the Heroic Mark first. Otherwise, hed risk other powers securing the Level 155 Floor Masters First Kill before he did, and that was not a risk he could afford to take. While Shi Feng and Gentle Snow were having their discussion, everyone in the team suddenly heard the voice of Blaze Eye, one of the teams Rangers who had gone to scout ahead. Everyone! I found a Mutated Floor Master! Upon hearing Blaze Eyes words, the eyes of the teams resting members instantly lit up with excitement. Blaze, are you sure you didnt make a mistake? Is it really a Mutated Floor Master? Ink Qilin asked in eagerness and doubt. The Underground Crystal Palaces Floor Masters could be regarded as the biggest treasure of the secret lands every floor. And although mutated monsters were considerably stronger than their non-mutated counterparts, the loot they dropped would also be significantly better. Im sure, Big Sis Qilin, Blaze Eye affirmed. Okay! Send us the coordinates! Well head over there right away! In the meantime, hurry up and set up a fog barrier! We mustnt let other teams discover the Mutated Floor Master! Ink Qilin instructed. Quite a few teams had already arrived on the fourth floor by now. If other teams were to discover the Mutated Floor Master, a battle of epic proportions was bound to ensue. Chapter 3433 - Chapter 507 - Mutated Floor Master Chapter 507 C Mutated Floor Master Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor: In less than ten minutes, Shi Feng, Ink Qilin, and the others arrived in the middle of a valley surrounded by a lush forest. Big Sis Qilin, over here! Blaze Eye called out when he saw Ink Qilin arriving in the valley with the rest of the team. Then, he reported, I have already set up multiple Fog Barriers in the area. I have also scouted the surroundings, but I havent spotted any other players aside from those on our team. Ink Qilin scanned the surrounding fog for a moment before nodding. Then, she asked, Where is the Mutated Floor Master? The Fog Barrier covered a very large area. Not only did it work to obscure vision, but it also weakened the effects of perception-type Skills and Spells. Even if Assassins and Rangers got close to the fog generated by the Fog Barrier, they would have difficulty identifying the presence of monsters within the fog. It was also unlikely someone would suspect the fog covering the valley was the product of Fog Barriers, since it was common for large maps to have fog. It was why it was common for players to set up Fog Barriers in advance when fighting Boss monsters out in the wilderness. Its just ahead in the nearby corpse site. That Mutated Floor Masters perception is very strong, so I dare not get too close, Blaze Eye said with lingering fear in his eyes. Big Sis Qilin, be careful later. That Mutated Floor Master feels off. Even though I was using Eagle Eye to observe it from over a thousand yards just now, I felt it noticing me. Yet, it showed no intention to attack me and simply focused on devouring monster corpses Its perception is that powerful? Ink Qilin was a little surprised. It was common for mutated monsters to devour other monsters since they had already shaken off many of the restrictions the Main God System imposed on monsters. Meanwhile, the more players and monsters a Mutant devoured, the stronger it would become. However, even if a Floor Master had mutated, it was still impressive that it could perceive Blaze Eye from over a thousand yards away. Thus far, even the Tier 5 Legendary monsters they had encountered on the Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor only had a perception range of up to 300 yards. In comparison, the Mutated Floor Masters perception range could be said to have reached the standard of Tier 6 Divine monsters already. Subsequently, under Blaze Eyes guidance, Ink Qilin and the others arrived at a place littered with corpses. These corpses covered a radius of over a thousand yards. The stench of blood in the air was so intense that even the battle-hardened members of Scarecrow Fox couldnt help but feel suffocated. Aside from monster corpses, many player corpses could also be spotted in this area. It was evident that the Mutated Floor Master had gone around killing quite a few of the player teams that had arrived on the fourth floor and gathered their corpses here. Not good! When Ink Qilin saw the humanoid figure standing in the center of this corpse site, she instinctively shouted, Retreat! Quickly! Fear! Trembling fear! At this moment, the emotion of fear was vividly displayed on Ink Qilins face. Unfortunately, before River Light and the others could react, a low and cold voice suddenly echoed in everyones minds. Not bad. So you did bring more food for me. I should be able to evolve with these additions. The moment this voice appeared in their minds, whether it was Scarecrow Foxs members or Desolate Furys group of three, unprecedented fear immediately colored their faces. A Special Intelligent Lifeform! The Floor Master before them had already evolved into a disaster that could make the entire Greater Gods Domain tremble with fear! Before Ink Qilin and the others could even scatter and flee, the figure in the middle of the corpse site had already appeared in front of them as if it had been there from the beginning. A human? Gentle Snow was a little stunned as she looked at the exquisite, doll-like beauty standing before their team. Rather than a ferocious monster, what stood before them was a beautiful woman wearing a white one-piece dress. The woman had waist-length silver hair, and the smile she wore on her face was warm and enchanting. At first glance, Gentle Snow failed to sense any danger coming from the woman. Dammit! Ink Qilin cursed out loud. Unlike Gentle Snow, Ink Qilin looked at the woman floating before them with a pale and terrified expression, as if she was not looking at a peerless beauty but a ferocious beast instead. Special Intelligent Lifeforms. Such existences were exceedingly rare, even throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, a representation of what Special Intelligent Lifeforms could accomplish was the Twenty-Two Taboos. [Mutated Floor Master (Tia)] [Special Intelligent Lifeform, Legendary) Level 163 HP 2,000,000,000,000 ,,, Tia, the Mutated Floor Master before them, might not have reached the Tier 6 Divine rank, and even her level was only at 163, but she was already an undefeatable existence for Tier 5 players like them. The reason for this was not simply because Tia possessed insurmountable Basic Attributes. Besides that, she also possessed Saint-level control over mana due to her being a Special Intelligent Lifeform and the ability to steal the Skills and Spells of the players she devoured. Combined with her computing speed that vastly surpassed that of players, her existence alone could rival an army of magical-class Saints. The system really isnt making things easy for me Shi Feng wryly smiled as he looked at the Special Intelligent Lifeform before him. Special Intelligent Lifeforms were existences that players should do their best to steer clear of in the Greater Gods Domain. Even though Tia was only a newly-born Special Intelligent Lifeform, she could already rival Dragons of the same tier and level in terms of overall strength. All of you, become my food! Tia said as she waved a finger around in the air. Suddenly, everyone present experienced a feeling of suffocation, and even Shi Feng was no exception. This was because the mana within a 1,000-yard radius had been drawn to form multiple magic arrays of massive size. Tier 5 Spell, Dimensional Wind! Over a dozen instances of Dimensional Wind appeared around the team simultaneously, one for every member of the team. In Tias hands, the triple- and quadruple-casting methods regarded by players as incredibly challenging were nothing but a joke. Subsequently, over a dozen dimensional blades could be seen flying at every member of the team, each blade being several hundred meters in size. Faced with these devastating dimensional blades, even the highly experienced members of Scarecrow Fox felt despair. After all, Dimensional Wind was originally already a large-scale Destruction Spell. A Tier 5 Saint-ranked Elementalist could, at most, silent-cast one instance. Yet, Tia had cast over a dozen instances simultaneously. How were they even supposed to fight such an existence? It seems a big investment is unavoidable. When Shi Feng saw the humongous dimensional blades targeting everyone in the team, he stopped withholding his cards and injected 6,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal into the Feather of Oath, summoning six Level 162, Tier 5 War Goddesses. Tier 5 War Goddesses?! When the six War Goddesses appeared, even Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja, who had previously seen Shi Feng summoning War Goddesses, couldnt help but be stunned. The degree of shock they experienced from seeing the six Tier 5 War Goddesses was no less than what they experienced when they first saw the Mutated Floor Master. Is this why Abyss Water apologized? When Ink Qilin saw the six War Goddesses, she suddenly realized why Abyss Water had so decisively apologized to Shi Feng despite being a Vice Guild Leader of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. Before Ink Qilin could snap out of her daze, the six War Goddesses had already started attacking the approaching dimensional blades using the various weapons they wielded. Boom! In the blink of an eye, every dimensional blade was snuffed out of existence, the collision between the dimensional blades and the War Goddesses weapons drawing a dark curtain over the valley. At first glance, it looked as if someone had punctured a hole in the sky, the hole measuring over a thousand meters in radius. Chapter 3434 - Chapter 508 - Magic and Combat Techniques Chapter 508 C Magic and Combat Techniques Is this the might of the War Goddesses? Were saved! Everyone was shocked and excited by the six War Goddesses performance. Originally, their team stood no chance whatsoever against the Mutated Floor Master. This was because a Special Intelligent Lifeform had an overwhelming advantage over players, and this could be seen by how effortlessly Tia had cast over a dozen Tier 5 Spells simultaneously. It was simply unthinkable for players to defeat a Special Intelligent Lifeform of the same tier. But now, with the six Tier 5 War Goddesses on their side, killing the Mutated Floor Master would no longer be a dream. There was a real chance they could accomplish the unthinkable. Dont relax just yet. These War Goddesses can only stay summoned for a limited time. If we cant finish the battle quickly, we will still be doomed, Shi Feng said, reminding his excited teammates that they had yet to win the battle. The summoned War Goddesses only had a duration of three hours. While the Feather of Oaths War Goddess Summoning Skill didnt have a cooldown, each War Goddess had a hidden summoning cooldown of one natural day. So, even if he had Seven Luminaries Crystals to spare, he couldnt summon them limitlessly. Upon hearing Shi Fengs words, everyone promptly calmed down. The ability to summon six War Goddesses was indeed amazing. But there was no way such an amazing ability would have no restrictions. Otherwise, itd be too heaven-defying. And although Shi Feng did not mention how long the War Goddesses could stay summoned specifically, they probably couldnt stay summoned for very long. Meanwhile, it definitely wouldnt be an easy task to deplete Tias two trillion HP within a limited time. They would need to deal a minimum of 40 billion damage every five seconds just to overcome the Mutated Floor Masters battle recovery. Even if Tia simply stood still and let them bombard her with attacks, killing her would still be a challenge. What do you suggest we do, Guild Leader Black Flame? Ink Qilin asked via the team chat while keeping her eyes focused on Tia, who didnt look to be in a hurry to take further action. Well have to heavily injure her. Otherwise, we will just die from exhaustion, Shi Feng said as he looked at the Mutated Floor Master. The War Goddesses will work together to give her a heavy blow, but we must buy time for them. They cannot be disturbed throughout the preparation process. The reason the Feather of Oath was regarded as one of the Goddess of Spaces prized possessions was not because of the War Goddesses individual combat capabilities. Instead, it was because of a Combination Gold Combat Technique the twelve summoned War Goddesses could use together. According to rumors, when twelve Tier 6 War Goddesses used this combination technique, they could even heavily injure a Primordial God. Although Shi Feng could only summon six Tier 5 War Goddesses right now, the combination technique they used should be enough to heavily injure a Tier 5 Special Intelligent Lifeform. So long as Tia was heavily injured, not only would her Basic Attributes plummet, but she would also lose her battle recovery ability. Coupled with the attacks of the six War Goddesses, their team would have a real chance of killing Tia. Otherwise, with Tias HP and their limited time and manpower, it simply wouldnt be possible for them to take down the Mutated Floor Master. If its just guarding the War Goddesses for a short time, we can totally do that, Ink Qilin said very confidently. But for how long do we need to protect them exactly? A little over ten seconds, Shi Feng estimated. During this time, Tia will definitely attack us relentlessly. Just over ten seconds? Ink Qilin breathed a sigh of relief. Then, while holding her shield, she said, Then, I am 100% confident I can protect them. My shields Boundary Defense can neutralize all hostile attacks within an area for twenty seconds. I can even tank multiple Divine monsters throughout this duration. Okay. Nodding, Shi Feng said, I am bound to be Tias priority target as the summoner, so I cannot stay near the War Goddesses. I will find an opportune moment to have the War Goddesses prepare their combination attack, but once they start their preparation, I will have to leave them in your hands. After saying so, Shi Feng promptly distanced himself from the War Goddesses. Otherwise, Tia could simply focus all her attacks on one location, and the War Goddesses would not have any opportunities to prepare their combination attack. I dont know what you are trying to do, but do you think you can escape from me? Tia nonchalantly said as she glanced and pointed a finger at Shi Feng, who was executing Flowing Space to leave the battlefield. Suddenly, space and time seemed to have become frozen, and several dozen magic arrays appeared around Shi Feng. When Shi Feng saw the magic arrays that had appeared around him, he quickly recognized two threefold magic arrays, and he couldnt help but curse at the players responsible for feeding the Tier 5 Curses Spatial Garden and Time Arc to Tia. Even with his Basic Attributes reaching the Tier 6 standard, Shi Feng still found himself immobilized due to the effects of the two triple-cast Curses, and he could only watch as several dozen Tier 5 Offensive Spells targeted him. Attack! Shi Feng didnt dare to drag things out any longer and immediately called for the War Goddesses to start preparing their attack. At the same time, he activated Fluctuating Law, constructing a world barrier around himself that protected him from the bombardment of Spells. Following Shi Fengs command, the six War Goddesses gathered together and closed their eyes to meditate, isolating their minds from their surroundings. At first glance, it didnt look like the War Goddesses were doing anything. Unfortunately, Tia immediately sensed the danger the War Goddesses posed to her and raised one of her hands. Then, everyone on the battlefield lost access to their five senses. However, this state lasted for only an instant. Then, once everyone recovered their five senses, they saw hundreds of meteorites appearing in the sky. The meteorites were massive, each having a radius of several thousand meters. Moreover, every meteorite was inscribed with divine runes, and their mere presence caused the surrounding space to collapse. Tier 5 Curse, Starry Rhapsody! Tias Starry Rhapsody was stacked more than ten times, and just its activation depleted the mana in a 10,000-yard radius. Everyone felt suffocated due to the lack of mana around them, and the sight of the descending meteorites instilled an indescribable sense of terror in them. So, this is a Special Intelligent Lifeform? At this moment, everyone on the battlefield could feel the approach of death. They also came to understand why Special Intelligent Lifeforms had the potential to grow into existences regarded as taboo by the entire Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, when Ink Qilin saw the descending meteorites, she instinctively activated her Tier 5 Legacy Berserk Skill Heros Heart, increasing all her Basic Attributes by 150% and Defensive Skill effects by 200%. Boundary Defense! Suddenly, a barrier that blocked everything appeared with Ink Qilin at its center, covering a radius of fifty yards. Boom! Boom! Boom! A moment later, the descending meteorites began bombarding Ink Qilins Boundary Defense one after another, the resulting shockwaves turning the entire battlefield into a dark void and sending tremors across the Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor. Chapter 3435 - Chapter 509 - War Goddesses VS Tia Chapter 509 C War Goddesses VS Tia Following the meteorite bombardment, the lush valley that was shrouded in mist transformed into a desolate wasteland shrouded in dust and smoke. As the dust gradually settled, a small area of distorted space could be seen in the middle of the valley. The space in this area looked like shattered glass, cracked and falling apart. Inside the shattered space, Ink Qilin and six War Goddesses stood unharmed. But despite Ink Qilin successfully stopping the Mutated Floor Masters devastating attack, River Light and the other Scarecrow Fox members couldnt help but be stunned. The spatial barriersare cracked How is this possible?! This is the vice commanders strongest Defensive Skill! River Light and the Scarecrow Fox members could not believe their eyes when they saw the layers of cracked barriers surrounding them. Ink Qilins Legendary Shield was a special item. Along with her Legendary Spear, the two items made up the Legendary Frost Guardian Set. Because of this, the shield was much stronger than the average Legendary Shield. Normally, if Ink Qilin used Boundary Defense with Heros Heart active, the Legendary Shields Skill could easily stop even the attacks of Tier 6 Divine monsters for its full 20-second duration. But now, Tia had cracked Ink Qilins Boundary Defense to a significant extent with just one attack. At this rate, two or three more attacks of similar caliber would be enough to shatter the barrier entirely At this moment, Ink Qilins expression had also turned solemn as she looked up at Tia in the sky. The destructive power of just one meteorite was not enough to overcome her Boundary Defenses defensive limit, but the continuous bombardment depleted the barriers mana reserve faster than she could replenish it. Hence, the barrier ended up cracking. However, before Ink Qilin and the others could react, Tia lifted her hand and covered the sky with numerous large magic arrays once again. Tier 5 Curse, Gravity Flood! Suddenly, walls of darkness descended from the magic arrays and fell onto Ink Qilin and the others. In the blink of an eye, a black sphere had formed around Ink Qilin and the others, the sphere continuously compressing the spatial barriers of Ink Qilins Boundary Defense. Boom! With a loud bang, the space enveloped within the black sphere turned into nothingness. Even though Ink Qilins Boundary Defense had already started to recover some of its mana reserves after losing a significant portion to Tias Starry Rhapsody, the rate of replenishing wasnt fast enough to refill everything before Tias follow-up attack struck. As a result, the spatial barriers that surrounded Ink Qilin and the others shattered thoroughly after defending against Tias Gravity Flood. As expected of a Special Intelligent Lifeform. I didnt think it was even possible to use Gravity Flood in such a way. Shi Feng, who was busy dodging the magical projectiles Tia was constantly sending his way, couldnt help but be amazed by the display of magical prowess he just saw. If he were on the receiving end of Tias multi-folded Gravity Flood, he would have never been able to survive it, even with Fluctuating Law. Only a specialized tank such as Ink Qilin could do so. Your barriers gone now, so stop struggling and become my food! Tia indifferently said as she waved her hand once more. Immediately, void chains emerged out of nowhere, threatening to envelop Ink Qilin and the others. Upon seeing these chains, everyone couldnt help but gasp. Tier 5 Super Spell, Law Imprisonment! Over a thousand void chains extended toward Ink Qilin and the others, each one carrying enough power to match the meteorites Tia had previously summoned. These chains also possessed incredible speed. Combined with their numbers, it would be impossible for Ink Qilin and the others to dodge and block them completely. Just as the void chains were about to reach Ink Qilin and the others, the six War Goddesses suddenly opened their eyes in unison. At this moment, the six War Goddesses felt like they were of one body. Good! Attack! When Shi Feng saw the War Goddesses completing their preparations, he promptly gave the command to attack. Suddenly, the intensity of the six War Goddesses auras increased substantially. At the same time, the phantom of a War Goddess appeared behind them, the phantom measuring over a hundred meters in height. As soon as the phantom War Goddess appeared, the void chains that threatened to envelop Ink Qilin and the others shattered and faded out of existence. Then, before Tia could react, the phantom War Goddess threw a golden spear at her. The golden spear was like a lightning bolt, piercing through space and time in a flash. Even as a Tier 5 Special Intelligent Lifeform, Tia failed to react to the attack, her heart pierced by the golden spear before she could even blink. Meanwhile, after the golden spear pierced Tias heart, the intensity of the Mutated Floor Masters aura rapidly weakened, and even her maximum HP plummeted. We did it! We really did it! Everyone grew ecstatic when they felt Tias aura waning. The strength that Tia demonstrated could not be described as anything other than terrifying. If it werent for the War Goddesses timely intervention, they would have most certainly died to the Mutated Floor Masters Law Imprisonment. Dont let your guard down! Shi Feng shouted as he looked at his relieved teammates. Then, he ordered, We must attack the Boss with everything we got starting now! The six War Goddesses will support us from the side! We must kill the Boss before she recovers! The War Goddesses might have heavily injured Tia, but the Mutated Floor Masters maximum HP remained at an astonishing one trillion. She also had incredible Defense. So, even if Tia were without battle recovery, it still wouldnt be easy to kill her. Moreover, the War Goddesses could only use their combination technique once, so they couldnt heavily injure Tia again. Hearing Shi Fengs words, everyone quickly settled down and began pulling out all their cards. Starting from Ink Qilin and Desolate Fury, the two tanks charged at the Mutated Floor Master while activating their respective Taunt Skills, the former using War Horn while the latter using Furious Roar. With the activation of these two Skills, Tia had no choice but to focus her attention on them. However, after entering a heavily injured state, not only did Tia lose her ability to fly, but she also lost her terrifying spellcasting capabilities. No longer could she cast multi-folded Spells. The best she could do was cast a dozen or so single-folded Tier 5 Spells at a time. Now that Tia could only cast ordinary Tier 5 Spells, Ink Qilin and Desolate Fury didnt even need to defend against them. This was because River Light could negate all of them easily with his Cleric Spells. Meanwhile, once Ink Qilin and Desolate Fury got close to Tia, the Mutated Floor Master had no choice but to start moving her body to defend herself against the two tanks attacks. However, even while heavily injured, Tia still retained enough Strength to repel Ink Qilin and Desolate Fury, her physical punches taking over 20% of Ink Qilin and Desolate Furys HP, even when striking on the two tanks shields. Moreover, Tia would send at least three or four punches every time, so even when Ink Qilin and Desolate Fury shared the burden between them, their HPs kept fluctuating at a precarious threshold. After watching the two tanks fight for a moment, the six War Goddesses and everyone else began their attack on Tia. The six War Goddesses shined dazzlingly as they attacked Tia together. They were able to accurately grasp the weaknesses in Tias defenses and deliver critical blows every time, each blow plundering over 60 million HP from the Mutated Floor Master. Meanwhile, Shi Feng dealt over 50 million damage with every attack, while Gentle Snow, with the help of her Legendary Weapons, caused over 40 million damage with her Tier 5 Skills. As for everyone else, they dealt about 30 million damage on average with their Tier 5 Skills and Spells. 99% 98% 97% Even though Tia was a Special Intelligent Lifeform, her HP still rapidly decreased under everyones attacks. After more than an hour of nonstop attacking Quickly! We only have 7% to go! 6%! By the time Tias HP dropped to 5%, she had fully recovered from her heavily injured state, and a furious expression appeared on her previously indifferent face. With just a wave of her hand, she sent Ink Qilin and Desolate Fury, who were using shields to defend themselves, flying over a hundred yards, reducing their HP by more than 90%. You insolent ants! Its the end of the line for you! Tia suddenly raised both hands, causing a Mana Surge to occur in a 10,000-yard radius. It was obvious she intended to use her ultimate move to kill everyone in one fell swoop. How could this be River Light despaired as he looked at the magic arrays that blotted the sky. At a glance, there was a minimum of 100 Tier 5 Curses being cast simultaneously. Tier 5 Curses were strong enough to rival Tier 6 Spells. Even Tier 6 Divine monsters would suffer if they were struck by over a hundred Tier 5 Curses. When Shi Feng saw the magic arrays in the sky, he took out the Feather of Oath once more. This time, rather than inject Seven Luminaries Crystals into the Feather of Oath, he injected a God Crystal instead. Heroic Pledge! Chapter 3436 - Chapter 510 - One-Star Heroic Mark Chapter 510 C One-Star Heroic Mark As soon as Shi Feng activated Heroic Pledge, the shattered rocks scattered across the valley began to float into the air. Immediately afterward, a terrifying aura descended from the sky, causing these floating rocks to fall back onto the ground. Subsequently, a spear-wielding War Goddess, the origin of the terrifying aura, rose into the air. Then, the spear she wielded transformed into numerous beams of light that collided with the Tier 5 Curses descending from the sky. Boom! Boom! Boom! When the beams of light and Tier 5 Curses collided, blinding light spread from the sky above the valley, and the sound of explosions echoed for tens of thousands of yards. The earth also trembled, and fissures measuring thousands of yards formed. Before the explosions even ceased, the spear-wielding War Goddess appeared in front of Tia and swept her spear at the Mutated Floor Master. Boom! A dark void encompassing a radius of over a hundred yards formed in the sky as Tia blocked the spear with her forearms. However, she failed to neutralize the force behind the War Goddesss spear, and she ended up getting sent flying dozens of yards backward and losing a visible chunk of her HP. Not giving Tia any time to reorient herself, the spear-wielding War Goddess followed up her attack with an unrelenting assault. Even though Tia had already recovered to her peak state, she could just barely defend herself using Tier 5 Defensive Curses. Even then, her HP still continued to decline. 5% 4% 3% Incredible! Shi Feng couldnt help but be amazed when he saw how Tia was forced into a passive state. Even though Tia was only at the Tier 5 Legendary rank, her being a Special Intelligent Lifeform allowed her to fight Tier 6 Divine monsters in a direct confrontation. In fact, the average Divine monster would find themselves on the losing end if their level was the same as Tias. Yet, in front of a Tier 6 War Goddess, Tia performed no better than a child trying to fight an adult. Even with the ability to cast dozens of Tier 5 Defensive Curses simultaneously, Tia failed to adequately defend herself against the Tier 6 War Goddesss assault. Meanwhile, after executing a series of several dozen attacks, the War Goddesss spear suddenly trembled amidst the void. Then, the weapon transformed into a river of stars that obliterated everything in its path. Tier 6 Skill, Galaxy Burst! The river of stars crashed into Tia one time after another, each collision plundering 1% of her HP. On the third collision, Tias HP fell to zero, and her body fell out of the sky and crashed into the valley below Is she dead? Everyone fell into a daze when they saw Tia suddenly falling out of the sky and the numerous magic arrays in the sky fading out of existence. It should be known that only a few seconds had passed from when the War Goddess rose into the air to block all of Tias Tier 5 Offensive Curses to when the War Goddess killed Tia. Tias strength was evident to all. Even a Tier 5 Dragon would not be her match. Yet, the Mutated Floor Master was thoroughly outclassed by the Tier 6 War Goddess! Who is this person? River Light was at a loss for words as he looked at Shi Feng standing in the distance. A Tier 6 War Goddess! A combatant of such caliber could rank amongst even the Greater Gods Domains apex existences, let alone the Eternal Realm. Not even pseudo-apex powers would want to provoke such an existence. At this time, Ink Qilin also wore a complicated expression as she looked at the Tier 6 War Goddess in the air. Originally, she thought that their two groups were in a mutualistic relationship. She felt that while Shi Fengs group might be powerful, they still needed Scarecrow Foxs help in the Underground Crystal Palace. However, by the looks of things, it seemed she was sorely mistaken. With the help of the Tier 6 War Goddess, Shi Feng could easily sweep through the entire Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor. Of course, what Ink Qilin did not know was that the Tier 6 War Goddess had a short duration of thirty minutes. Thirty minutes might be enough to finish off a near-death Tia, but it would be a different story if Tia was still at full HP. Regardless, following Tias death, everyone on the team received enough EXP to level up at least once. Then, a series of system notifications rang in their ears. System: Congratulations! You have slain a Floor Master. Rewarding 50 Crystal City of Secrets Reputation Points and 10 Free Legacy Skill Points. System: Congratulations! You have secured the First Kill of the fourth floors Floor Master. You have received the Underground Crystal Palace Explorer title. All Basic Attributes will be increased by 3% when you enter the Underground Crystal Palace in the future. Although the First Kill rewards were attractive, everyone couldnt help but turn their gazes toward Tias loot. Setting aside Tias status as one of the Underground Crystal Palaces Floor Masters, just her status as a Special Intelligent Lifeform already made it impossible for anyone present to guess what kind of loot she could drop. After all, not even apex powers could kill the Greater Gods Domains taboo existences. As expected of a Special Intelligent Lifeform. These drops are simply astounding. Shi Feng couldnt help but be astounded by the 18 items Tia dropped. Normally, the Floor Master of the Underground Crystal Palaces fourth floor would only drop several items when killed, and the best loot it could drop was Combat-ranked Secret Treasures. Moreover, only a maximum of one could drop each time. But now, Tia had dropped 16 Secret Treasures, of which nine were Combat-ranked, and seven were Common-ranked. In addition, among the Combat-ranked Secret Treasures dropped, there was even the Ice Crystal Set, which was famous throughout the Eternal Realm during Shi Fengs previous life. Similar to the Graymoon Set, the Ice Crystal Set was a six-piece set. However, unlike the Graymoon Set, the Ice Crystal Set offered two set effects when all six pieces were collected. The first set effect increased all Basic Attributes by 15%, while the second set effect increased the users Mana Protection by 50%. Meanwhile, Tia happened to drop a complete Ice Crystal Set, while the remaining three Combat-ranked Secret Treasures were individual pieces. As for the Common-ranked Secret Treasures, five of them were the missing pieces Shi Feng needed to finish his Graymoon Sets. With this, he now had three full Graymoon Sets. However, rather than the Secret Treasures, Shi Feng placed more attention on the two remaining items Tia dropped. Of the last two items, one was a tattered ancient book, while the other was a scroll made of ancient parchment. Both items looked and felt incredibly old but also emitted a faint aura of eternity. At a glance, they did not look like items that belonged to this world. This When Shi Feng finished appraising the two items, his heartbeat accelerated. The ancient book recorded the design for the Secret Crystal Teleportation Scroll, and it allowed players to teleport down by one floor in the Underground Crystal Palace when used. Although it had a one-day cooldown, it was an indispensable treasure for players looking to develop in the Underground Crystal Palace. As for the ancient scroll, it was the Heroic Mark. However, this Heroic Mark was not just any ordinary Heroic Mark. Instead, inscribed on the scroll was a One-star Heroic Mark, which could be used to upgrade a Basic Trading Firm to an Advanced Trading Firm and unlock one of the trading firms hidden advanced functions. Chapter 3437 - Chapter 511 - Trading Firm Upgraded Chapter 511 C Trading Firm Upgraded Crystal City of Secrets, Underground Crystal Palaces entrance plaza: Several streaks of light fell next to the plaza fountain as Shi Feng and his teammates returned from the Underground Crystal Palace. Were finally back. Desolate Fury looked at the crowded Mijing Square with a sense of relief. I can really use a good meal after three days of constant battling. I dont think its time for us to rest yet, Leroja said as she glanced around and noticed that many more players had come to challenge the Underground Crystal Palace. Then, she turned to Shi Feng and asked, When will we be leaving, Guild Leader Black Flame? Everyone is tired, and I still need to do some preparation, so lets take a break first, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw Lerojas eagerness. How about we meet at the Blue Rose Bar in three hours? If a player didnt die in the Underground Crystal Palace, they would have to spend three full days in the secret land before they could leave. Hence, after killing Tia, Shi Feng and the others continued hunting Graystone Battle Apes, obtaining an extra two dozen Common Secret Treasures and completing a fourth Graymoon Secret Treasure Set. Of the four Graymoon Sets, Shi Feng distributed three to Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja while keeping the last set for himself. As for the Ice Crystal Set, he decided itd be best if Gentle Snow equipped it. Meanwhile, after equipping their respective Secret Treasure Sets, their group of five saw a significant improvement in their overall combat power. After distributing the Secret Treasure Sets, Shi Feng told Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja that he hoped they could go to a place to help him with something, to which the trio readily agreed. They didnt even ask where they would be going or what they needed to do. Guild Leader Black Flame. After exiting the Underground Crystal Palace, Ink Qilin hesitated for a moment before seeking out Shi Feng and earnestly saying, It is thanks to your help this time we are able to have such a significant harvest. May I know if there is anything I can help you with? Vice Commander? River Light looked at Ink Qilin in surprise. The Scarecrow Fox adventurer team had always acted independently and would never approach any powers. This was also Ink Qilins style of doing things. Will thatbe fine? Shi Feng also knew about the Scarecrow Fox adventurer teams manner of operation, so he couldnt help but find Ink Qilins offer surprising. In reality, Shi Feng did plan to bring some experts back to the Miniature Ancient World with him. After all, the Miniature Ancient World was currently targeted by many Realms, so it would be unrealistic for him to try to tackle this problem by himself. Its fine. Ink Qilin nodded. This is my decision. If I act alone, the commanders wont have any opinions. As soon as Ink Qilin finished speaking, the other Scarecrow Fox members promptly spoke up as well. How sly of you, Vice Commander. You should count us in as well if youre going to be helping Guild Leader Black Flame. Thats right, Big Sis Qilin! Guild Leader Black Flame has helped us a ton this time. If were talking about helping him, we should all go! All of the Scarecrow Fox members present took the initiative to join Ink Qilin in helping Shi Feng. Rather than object to helping Shi Feng, they looked forward to doing so. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow couldnt help but be moved by this scene. While she wasnt a member of Scarecrow Fox, she knew how strictly the adventurer team was against involvement with other powers. Depending on the impact of their actions, Ink Qilin and the others could be dismissed from Scarecrow Fox. As for Shi Feng, he couldnt help but be put in an awkward position when he saw Scarecrow Fox members eagerness to help. After waiting for everyones excitement to settle down, he said, Everyone, while I do need help, I can only bring a small number of people with me. While he did plan to bring some helpers back to the Miniature Ancient World, he also planned to bring a batch of people to the Eternal Realm for Zero Wings development. Meanwhile, the Abyss Workshop Certification could only teleport up to twenty people at a time. So, he could only bring a few people with him to the Miniature Ancient World, lest these people wished to stay there for the foreseeable future. In that case Seeing the awkwardness in Shi Fengs expression, Ink Qilin looked to her subordinates and said, River Light, Blaze Eye, and I will follow Guild Leader Black Flame while the rest of you take a break in the Crystal City. Ultimately, the members of Scarecrow Fox could only go along with Ink Qilins arrangement. Ink Qilin, along with River Light and Blaze Eye, were the strongest members of their team. If only a limited number of people could follow Shi Feng, the three of them would be the most suitable candidates. Following this, Shi Feng parted ways with everyone, making his way to the Secret Crystal Trading Firm, which was located on the citys outskirts, by himself. Although the One-star Heroic Mark didnt have an expiration date, the earlier he upgraded the trading firm, the earlier it could start bringing him fortunes. It would also help in changing everyones mindset. If he waited too long, and the notion that the Eternal Realms trading firms were unprofitable became deeply set in everyones mind, it would take a lot of effort to change everyones opinions later on. Secret Crystal Trading Firm: Now that three days had already passed since access to the Underground Crystal Palace was made available, the number of players visiting the Secret Crystal Trading Firm had decreased significantly. At this time, only a couple of teams could be seen selecting commissions to challenge on the first-floor hall. Sure enough, the various powers have already swiped all the commissions made by nobles. It looks like we can only take on these Advanced Guard Quests, a Level 153 middle-aged man carrying a huge axe on his back said in frustration as he looked at the commission list presented by the receptionist. Boss, weve saved up quite a bit of money recently. Why dont we go to the Underground Crystal Palace? a Level 152 Elementalist youth standing next to the middle-aged Berserker suggested. Many teams have suffered at the hands of the Holy Race recently. Not only did these teams not make any money, but they even lost their deposit. Even if advanced commissions dont require large deposits, the risk and reward are not proportional. Wed be better off trying our luck in the Underground Crystal Palace. I heard that the teams that went to the Underground Crystal Palace returned with huge harvests. With our teams strength, we can definitely give it a try. I guess youre right. The middle-aged Berserker nodded after pondering over the young Elementalists words for a moment. Alright! Lets try our luck in the Underground Crystal Palace. If were lucky enough to find a Secret Treasure, well strike it rich! After saying so, the middle-aged Berserker led his team out of the first-floor hall, making the already sparsely populated hall even more desolate. When Shi Feng saw this scene, he didnt think much of it and went upstairs. The appearance of the Holy Race turned all profitable trading firms in NPC Cities into losing businesses, but the channels for players to make money in NPC Cities have also increased. In the case of the Crystal City of Secrets, players could earn a huge profit just by obtaining some materials from the Underground Crystal Palace or drawing maps of the secret land. Not to mention, there was also the possibility of obtaining Secret Treasures in the Underground Crystal Palace. Currently, even a Common Secret Treasure could sell for dozens of Eternal Gold. That was already enough money to buy an ordinary shop in the Crystal Citys suburbs. If one was lucky enough to obtain two Secret treasures, one could even purchase a shop inside the city. Meanwhile, whether one decided to lease their shop to others or use it to do business, one would be guaranteed a steady income. This was because NPC Cities were currently regarded as the safest places in the Eternal Realm for both players and NPCs. Because of this, many NPCs would visit NPC Cities to trade. Not only would these NPCs sell quality items to the citys shops, but they would also purchase items from shops. During the early stages of the Eternal Realm, the buying power of NPCs was even greater than players. Therefore, the number of players willing to visit the trading firm in the Crystal City of Secrets was even lower than that of other NPC Cities. A short while later, Shi Feng arrived at the core room located on the Secret Crystal Trading Firms top floor. Then, he carefully took out the One-star Heroic Mark from his bag. Unlike the trading firms of Guild Cities, the trading firms of the Eternal Realms NPC Cities required prestige to be upgraded. Meanwhile, a Heroic Mark was the best way to convince NPC nobles of a trading firms strength and get them to make commissions with the trading firm. System: Do you want to engrave the One-star Heroic Mark into the trading firms core magic array? After engraving the One-star Heroic Mark, the trading firm needs to be upgraded into an Advanced Trading Firm, and the upgrade will cost 1,000 Eternal Gold. Do you wish to proceed with the engraving? Engrave it! Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Throughout the past three days, he had already received the subsequent profits generated from the Earthen Magic Flower sales and obtained 1,990 Eternal Gold. Not even pseudo-apex powers had this much liquidity. Chapter 3438 - Chapter 512 - Hidden Advanced Function Chapter 512 C Hidden Advanced Function Crystal City of Secrets, Secret Crystal Trading Firm: Whats going on? Why did I get teleported outside? Look at the trading firm! The whole buildings sealed off! Whats the trading firms owner trying to do? Why did they drive everyone out of the building? How are solo players like us supposed to make money now? After getting forcibly teleported out of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm, many solo players were quickly pushed to the brink of insanity when they saw the trading firm that was now enveloped in a black magic barrier. Unlike players operating in teams, solo players had a much more difficult time making money in the Eternal Realm. The increasing number of Holy Race players operating out in the fields only served to make the situation worse. Now, most material collection quests had become so dangerous that most solo players would steer clear of them. For solo players operating in the Crystal City of Secrets, the Secret Crystal Trading Firm was one of the few channels which they could earn money through. Yet, now, they could no longer enter the trading firm. This was a terrible development as it would no longer affect their income but also delay their entry into the Underground Crystal Palace. If they couldnt quickly find an equally good source of income, the gap between them and players operating in teams would grow even bigger. However, before the players on the street could further their discussions, all players operating within the Crystal City of Secrets region received a system announcement. Regional System Announcement: The Secret Crystal Trading Firm has been upgraded to an Advanced Trading Firm. It is expected to reopen in one hour. The system announcement repeated three times, stunning the noisy solo players on the street into silence. All of them couldnt help but look at the system announcement again and again, wondering if they had misread it. Madness! This is madness! It got upgraded into an Advanced Trading Firm, just like that? Damn! Whos the one who bought the Secret Crystal Trading Firm? None of the powers operating in the city even have an Advanced Shop! Following the system announcement, even players who had never bothered to visit the trading firm to pick up commissions started to get excited, a flame of passion burning in their eyes. Trading firms could be found all over the Greater Gods Domain, so anyone who had spent some time playing Gods Domain would know about them. Naturally, they also knew how significant of a difference there existed between a Basic and Advanced Trading Firm. For expert players and the various powers, the existence of Basic Trading Firms was basically negligible. Unless they could secure a commission made by an NPC noble with 100% certainty, they would not bother visiting Basic Trading Firms. Even in the Eternal Realm the various powers teams would only ever bother taking on commissions issued by NPC nobles. As for other commissions, only ordinary teams and solo players would bother with them. Hence, the popularity of Basic Trading Firms remained largely the same. However, it was a different story for an Advanced Trading Firm. There would be many NPC nobles issuing commissions at an Advanced Trading Firm every few hours, which was a stark contrast to Basic Trading Firms, which would only receive several dozen per day. Hence, even solo players would have a chance at securing an NPC nobles commission from an Advanced Trading Firm. In addition, there was also a chance for elite commissions made by great nobles to appear at an Advanced Trading Firm. If players could complete an elite commission, the amount of City Reputation Points they could receive from it would be several times that of an ordinary nobles commission. Underground Crystal Citys entrance plaza: At this time, the crowd gathered at the plaza could be seen voluntarily stepping aside and opening a path for a 20-man team that had just exited the Underground Crystal Palace. The leader of this team was a young red-haired female Elementalist. This Elementalist not only carried a Legendary Staff, but she was also equipped with two pieces of Legendary Equipment, specifically a set of cloth armor and a hat. Upon closer inspection, one could also see Secret Treasures attached to these two pieces of equipment. However, despite many expert players salivating at the Elementalists Secret Treasures, none dared to have any thoughts about them. This was because even the weakest member of this 20-man team was a fifth-floor expert. The teams several elderly folk were even well-known Saint-ranked experts in the Greater Gods Domain. Should we go and check out that trading firm, Miss Billow? a tall young man carrying a shield whispered to the female Elementalist after seeing the system announcement. Not necessary, The Elementalist going by the name of Billowing Water[1] indifferently said as she focused her gaze on a distant Guild Residence. A couple of noble commissions wont make us much money. Rather than waste our time running between places, we should prioritize recruiting more experts into our Guild and organize the information we collected from the Underground Crystal Palace. If we can have more teams enter the Underground Crystal Palace, well be able to gather more Secret Treasures. Once our main force is fully geared, earning money will no longer be a problem! Understood! The tall young man nodded in agreement. Aside from Billowing Waters team, the various powers operating in the Crystal City similarly did not bother sending their members to the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. All of them decided it was more important to focus their efforts on the Underground Crystal Palace than completing a couple of noble commissions. Meanwhile, over at the Secret Crystal Trading Firm The trading firm enveloped by a pitch-black magic barrier had undergone great changes. The originally old and dilapidated building had become an exquisite construction with ten floors. The first two floors were open to everyone, and anyone could accept commissions from there. However, access to the third floor and onwards was limited to members only. Specifically, the third, fourth, and seventh floors were only open to basic members and above, while the fifth, sixth, and eighth floors were open to advanced members only. As for the ninth floor and above, they were off-limits to even advanced members, and only those with permission from the trading firms owner could enter. What luck! Shi Feng was secretly overjoyed when he saw the features available on the trading firms seventh floor and above. I didnt think I would get the Secret Treasure Market! Once a trading firm reached the advanced rank, a membership system would be introduced with three ranks: non-members, basic members, and advanced members. Whichever rank players received would depend on how much money they were willing to pay. Non-members didnt need to pay any fees, but basic and advanced members needed to pay a weekly membership fee. This was because basic and advanced membership slots were limited. In the case of a One-star Advanced Trading Firm, it would only have 5,000 basic membership slots and 1,000 advanced membership slots. As for how much players needed to pay for each type of membership, it was entirely up to the trading firms owner to decide. Meanwhile, regardless of whether players became a member, it wouldnt affect their ability to accept commissions at the trading firm. The only difference separating members and non-members was the ability to enjoy the hidden advanced functions a trading firm would gain once it reached the advanced rank. There were various advanced functions an Advanced Trading Firm could potentially obtain, with some being good and some being better. In the case of the Eternal Realms trading firms, there were two advanced functions regarded as the best, and one of them was the Secret Treasure Market. Normally, unless one could obtain a Three-star Heroic Mark and use it to unlock all of an Advanced Trading Firms functions, one would otherwise have to rely on luck to get the advanced functions they wanted. So, Shi Feng felt like he had hit the jackpot when he saw that the One-star Heroic Mark he used had gained him the Secret Treasure Market. Meanwhile, as its name suggested, the Secret Treasure Market was a place where the citys NPC great nobles would periodically sell some Secret Treasures. The Secret Treasure Market was divided into three levels: Common, Combat, and Extraordinary. The three levels corresponded to the first three ranks of Secret Treasures, and they indicated the highest possible rank of Secret Treasures that could appear on them. As for the Fantasy-rank Secret Treasures, they were exceedingly rare even for the Eternal Realms NPCs, so no NPC would sell them. Of the Secret Treasure Markets three levels, the Common level was situated on the seventh floor and open to basic members and above, the Combat level was situated on the eighth floor and open to advanced members only, and the Extraordinary level was situated on the ninth floor and opened only to players with advanced membership and permission from the trading firms owner. System: The Secret Crystal Trading Firm has been successfully upgraded to an Advanced Trading Firm. Do you wish to reopen it now? TL Notes: [1]Billowing Water: Her name in real life is Weilan, and she is Yan Huas daughter. Seeing as Xia Qingying refers to Yan Hua as Uncle Yan, I assume that Yan is Yan Huas surname. So, Weilans full name should be Yan Weilan. Chapter 3439 - Chapter 513 - Frightening Start Chapter 513 C Frightening Start Crystal City of Secrets, Secret Crystal Trading Firm: Following the sound of glass shattering, the pitch-black barrier that enveloped the trading firm cracked and faded out of existence, revealing a brand-new and towering building. Is this the new trading firm? Ten floors? Its surprisingly tall. Quick, look, there seems to be a new rule posted next to the entrance! The reopening of the new Secret Crystal Trading Firm immediately caught the attention of independent players who previously lacked interest in it. Everyone was curious to see what the Crystal Citys Advanced Trading Firm had to offer. However, when everyone saw the announcement posted next to the entrance, an uproar immediately ensued. Whoevers running this place must be crazy! Twenty Eternal Silver for a basic membership and one Eternal Gold for an advanced membership? This is daylight robbery! This isnt just daylight robbery! This is slavery in disguise! I am at the Crystal Citys standard for experts, but the best I can hope to make in a day is two or three Eternal Silver. Id have to slave away for an entire week just to get a basic membership, yet each term lasts only one week! Everyone criticized the new rule set by the trading firm, and they cursed the owner of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm for being crazy. As for the various powers members who had come to investigate, some of them burst out laughing. It was no secret in the Greater Gods Domain that Advanced Trading Firms came with a membership system. This membership system was also the main way for Advanced Trading Firms to generate revenue. Meanwhile, depending on the level of membership players bought, they could enjoy varying benefits when accepting commissions. One example of an Advanced Trading Firms membership was the improved efficiency of accepting commissions. More specifically, members wouldnt need to compete with non-members over the limited counters in the public hall. They could simply head to the members-only area to do so. This would not only save them a lot of time, but it would also increase their chances of securing commissions issued by nobles and great nobles. And as a trading firm could only have a limited number of membership slots, even if all membership slots ended up getting filled up, players wouldnt have to worry about overcrowding and facing the same problem as non-members. Of course, if players still werent satisfied with the waiting time, there was also the option of signing up for advanced membership, which was even more limited in quantity. Meanwhile, players who valued their time more than money would usually be willing to sign up for a trading firms membership, but That would only be true under the condition that the price was reasonable, and the Secret Crystal Trading Firms membership pricing was anything but reasonable. Currently, every player operating in the Crystal City of Secrets was trying to save money to enter the expensive Underground Crystal Palace. So, they would try to avoid spending money unnecessarily as much as possible. If the Secret Crystal Trading Firms membership fee was just a few dozen Eternal Copper, most players might still consider it. But now, it cost twenty Eternal Silver just to get a basic membership. Unless the trading firms owner was playing a joke on everyone with the announcement, they must have a few screws loose in their head. Im afraid the average player wont be able to afford such high fees, Guild Leader, Gentle Snow said when she heard the mocking and taunting of the players entering the trading firm. How about we lower the price a little to attract a group of players first? Gentle Snow was very surprised when she first learned that Shi Feng had bought the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. If not for Shi Feng going out of his way to call her here and task her with managing the establishment, she would have still been under the assumption that an apex power was behind the trading firms purchase. After all, trading firms in the current Eternal Realm were essentially losing businesses. The good news was that the Secret Crystal Trading Firm was now an Advanced Trading Firm, so they had an opportunity to turn the establishment into a profitable business. The bad news was that the prices Shi Feng had set for the trading firms membership were absurdly high. If they continue to leave the membership pricing as such, they would simply be wasting a good opportunity to make money. I get what youre trying to say, but we dont have much choice, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The current prices are already a bargain. It was true that an Advanced Trading Firm offered more avenues to make money from than a Basic Trading Firm, but the Secret Crystal Trading Firms management fees had also increased accordingly. Previously, he only needed to pay 300 Eternal Gold per week for the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. But now that the trading firm had reached the Advanced rank, the management fee was no longer just 300 Eternal Gold. 1200G Instead, it was 1,200 Eternal Gold! Indeed! He had to pay 1,200 Eternal Gold in management fees every week to the Crystal City of Secrets! Rather than him, the Crystal City of Secrets was the biggest extortionist! After paying the upgrade fee, Shi Feng only had a little over a thousand Eternal Gold left in his hand. He currently no longer had a way to earn money quickly like the Earthen Magic Flower. If he couldnt make 200 Eternal Gold within a week, all the efforts he had put into purchasing and upgrading the Secret Crystal Trading Firm would go down the drain. Currently, the Secret Crystal Trading Firm only had 5,000 basic membership slots and 1,000 advanced membership slots. Even assuming he managed to sell all membership slots at the designated price of twenty Eternal Silver for basic membership and two Eternal Gold for advanced membership, he would only end up with 2,000 Eternal Gold per week. However, normally, it would be very difficult to fill all membership slots during the Eternal Realms early stages. Yet, the trading firms management fee would continue to rise along with the Crystal Citys population. At some point, not even 2,000 Eternal Gold would be enough to cover the weekly management fee A bargain? Gentle Snow was momentarily at a loss for words. She couldnt help but feel that she and Shi Feng were from different worlds. Dont worry, Shi Feng said and chuckled. It wont be long before they become more than willing to accept this price. Anyway, now that we are finished with business here, lets head to the Blue Rose Bar. After saying so, Shi Feng turned and left the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow looked at the trading firms first-floor hall for a moment before gritting her teeth and following Shi Feng out of the building. A few hours after Shi Feng teleported back to the Miniature Ancient World with Gentle Snow and the others, the Secret Crystal Trading Firm, which was previously sparsely populated, became crowded with players looking to take on a commission. Many of these players were solo players, while only some were from adventurer teams, but every one of them frantically competed over the limited noble commissions. More than a hundred people are waiting before us, Commander. It wont do for us to continue waiting in line, a Level 152 young man from an ordinary adventurer team said as he looked at the players waiting in front of the first-floor halls dozen or so counters. Then, he turned to the Level 154 elderly knight standing next to him and continued, By the time our turn arrives, all of those noble commissions would probably have long been taken Hearing the young mans words, the elderly knight surveyed the hall and stroked his white beard, a pondering look on his face. A moment later, he said, Fine. Ill go sign up for a basic membership. Well just consider this an opportunity to earn City Reputation. After saying so, the elderly knight reluctantly took out the few Eternal Silver from his bag and walked toward the counter that handled membership sign-ups. Chapter 3440 - Chapter 514 - Popular Trading Firm Chapter 514 C Popular Trading Firm Crystal City of Secrets, Secret Crystal Trading Firms third-floor hall: After signing up for a basic membership, the old knight led his team to the third-floor hall. At a glance, they could see that the hall was deserted of players. It was evident that the vast majority of independent players and adventurer team members felt that it was more worthwhile to save money to enter the Underground Crystal Palace as soon as possible. As expected, the place is deserted, a Level 153 female Cleric in the team said, frowning when she saw that they were the only team in the hall. After seeing this desolate scene, she felt even more pain from spending twenty Eternal Silver for a basic membership. Even if they had bought a basic membership for only one person and the average cost for the team came down to just one Eternal Silver per person, it was still a costly expenditure. It should be known that their Bluefire Knight adventurer team was only one of the many inconspicuous adventurer teams operating in the Crystal City of Secrets. Unlike well-established adventurer teams that had existed long before the Eternal Realm, Bluefire Knight only came into being after the Eternal Realm. Currently, their entire adventurer team only had twenty members, and apart from the commander and a few others being fifth-floor experts, everyone else was only a titled expert. Titled experts might be highly regarded in the Greater Gods Domain, but they were merely the lowest caste in the Crystal City of Secrets. Because of this, it was a huge challenge for their adventurer team to make money. One Eternal Silver was already equivalent to half a days income for each of them. By now, news of various teams making a killing in the Underground Crystal Palace had already spread throughout the city, so it was no longer a question of whether players could make money from the secret land. Yet, in a time when everyone was trying to enter the Underground Crystal Palace as quickly as possible, their adventurer team spent half a days worth of income on a trading firms basic membership. This meant that they would lag behind their peers in entering the Underground Crystal Palace by half a day. Did I make the wrong choice? the elderly knight wondered. After seeing the state of the third-floor hall, he couldnt help but start to regret his impulsive decision. It should be known that the twenty Eternal Silver they spent only allowed them to take on commissions from the third floor for seven days. Meanwhile, it took at least a day to complete the average noble commission, while some could take up to two days. After all, all of these commissions involved escorting merchant caravans to other NPC Towns and Cities, and even the nearest town and city was half a day away. So, even the shortest round trip would take a day. Even if they were to accept only noble commissions for the entirety of the seven-day membership, they could only take on a maximum of seven. In other words, they had paid twenty Eternal Silver for the privilege of accepting seven noble commissions. On paper, this might seem like a good deal. After all, not only did the players downstairs have to wait in line for one or two hours for their turn, but there was also a high chance that there might not be any noble commissions available for them when their turn arrived. However, it should be noted that their primary goal was to make money to enter the Underground Crystal Palace. Currently, they were only doing commissions for the sake of collecting enough money to cover the secret lands entrance fee. Once they collected enough money, they would naturally enter the secret land right away. In other words, they would not be doing commissions for seven days consecutively, and their efficiency wouldnt necessarily be faster than the adventurer teams waiting in line on the first and second floors. On the contrary, they might even lose out in efficiency, as those waiting in line downstairs still had a small chance of accepting a noble commission. If the players downstairs managed to secure a noble commission, all the money they made would be profit. However, the elderly knight quickly shook away the doubts in his mind and made his way to the nearest commission counter. His wealth of experience told him that he had made the right decision, so he remained firm in his conviction. It was true that players had a chance to receive a noble commission by waiting in line on the first and second floors. However, it was only a chance. If they ended up having only ordinary commissions to choose from, theyd have to rejoin the line from the back. While there was also the option of accepting non-noble commissions, few players would choose this option as there wasnt much money to be made from them. Itd be better to wait until a noble commission appeared. But who knew how long they would need to wait until they could secure one? Currently, the number of players visiting the Secret Crystal Trading Firm was still small. After all, the trading firm had only been upgraded to the Advanced rank not long ago. But once more players started visiting the trading firm, one- or two-hour lines would become a thing of the past. At that time, even four-hour lines would be a blessing. And if there were no noble commissions available at the end of the four-hour-long wait Just thinking about doing it all over again gave the elderly knight the chills. Hello, sir. Here is the latest list of commissions available, the receptionist behind the counter greeted the elderly knight and showed him a list. Upon seeing the lists content, the elderly knights eyes instantly brightened. At a glance, he could see dozens of noble commissions available for selection. Moreover, many of these commissions were highly profitable ones. The average noble commission only paid enough for a 20-man team to receive two or three Eternal Silver per person. However, more than a dozen noble commissions on the list paid about four Eternal Silver per person. This was already more than what the various powers teams earned from monopolizing and raiding Team Dungeons. I want to take this commission thats headed to the Wilderness Fortress! the elderly knight hurriedly said as he pointed at a commission on the list. Understood. A maximum of twenty people can take on this commission, and the remuneration is one Eternal Gold. You may start the commission as soon as you pay the 10% deposit, the receptionist said, nodding. Then, she handed the elderly knight a ticket and continued, This is your free ticket to the seventh floors Secret Treasure Market. You may use it to participate in the Secret Treasure Market that is taking place in five days. If you are interested in Secret Treasures, you might be able to buy the Secret Treasures you desire. Secret Treasure Market? Buying Secret Treasures? The elderly knight was somewhat dumbfounded as he looked at the ticket in his hand. Is what you said true? Can I really buy Secret Treasures directly at the Secret Treasure Market? Naturally. Our trading firm regularly sells Secret Treasures on the upper floors, and the higher up you go, the higher the rarity of the Secret Treasures you can find. Sometimes, some great nobles will even bring Secret Treasures of high rarity to sell, the receptionist explained. The elderly knight started breathing heavily when he heard this. Currently, the main reason the various powers and players were entering the Underground Crystal Palace was so that they could acquire Secret Treasures. However, even though the secret land did drop Secret Treasures, the drop rate was very low. They were so rare that, apart from the various powers main forces, not many teams, few teams had actually obtained a Secret Treasure from the secret land thus far. In such a situation, the ability to purchase Secret Treasures directly from NPCs was akin to a dream coming true. It should be known that whoever controlled the most and the best Secret Treasures in the Greater Gods Domain would have control over the Greater Gods Domain in the future! After the elderly knight concluded his interaction with the receptionist, he promptly shared the news of the Secret Treasure Market with the rest of his team, causing everyone to wonder if he was daydreaming. However, after the elderly knight took out the ticket for the seventh floors Secret Treasure Market, everyone was shocked to learn that Secret Treasures could be purchased directly. Enough talking. Not many people know of this news yet, so we should try to get enough money to secure a few advanced membership slots while we still can, the elderly knight said in a hurried tone. The trading firms advanced membership slots are very limited, so I believe many powers would be willing to hire us as their agents! The members of Bluefire Knight nodded excitedly. Then, they began borrowing money from friends to make what would be a life-changing purchase. Around one and a half hours after Bluefire Knights members started their operation, more and more independent players discovered the Secret Crystal Trading Firms secret, and news of the Secret Treasure Market quickly spread. Half an hour later, every basic and advanced membership slot available in the Secret Crystal Trading Firm had been taken. At the same time, news of the Secret Treasure Market finally reached the ears of the various powers operating in the Crystal City of Secrets, causing a huge commotion throughout the Eternal Realm. Everyone also began to pay attention to the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. However, Shi Feng, the owner of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm, remained wholly ignorant of this situation. In fact, Shi Feng didnt even know how long he had been stuck in the cross-realm teleportation passage until, finally, a space-time rift appeared within the passage and sucked him and his teammates into it. Then, a system notification entered everyones ears. System Warning: You have discovered the Miniature Ancient World. Space and time here are in a chaotic state, so you will not be able to contact the outside world after entering. Chapter 3441 - Chapter 515 - Different Era Chapter 515 C Different Era Miniature Ancient World, Boundary Sea: On a large island shaped like a hammer, over a thousand players were currently engaged in intense combat with each other. These players were mostly at Level 155 or above, with most being at Tier 4 while some were at Tier 5. These players were split into two groups, and it looked like two armies were clashing when they fought. Both groups mainly fought using two tactics. They would either have numerous Tier 4 players supporting a couple of Tier 5 players using magic barriers or have a bunch of Tier 4 players fight with the assistance of battle arrays. Both tactics worked well at keeping the opponents Tier 5 combatants at bay, and the battle fell into a stalemate as neither group could get the upper hand over the other. The battle between the two player groups had turned a radius of several thousand yards into scorched land. Even the islands Level 150-plus monsters steered clear of these players, none daring to get close. While the two groups were gradually escalating the intensity of their fight, a four-meter-tall spatial rift opened up in the nearby forest. Then, Shi Feng and his teammates came flying out of the rift. What an incredible miniature world! Desolate Fury exclaimed shortly after exiting the rift. The density of the mana here is comparable to the former Holy World! Indeed. Shi Feng also couldnt help but be surprised when he sensed the Miniature Ancient Worlds mana. If were comparing solely density, the mana here is already on par with the Holy Worlds. The Holy Worlds mana was extraordinary. It was so dense that it could suppress players mana. Meanwhile, such a mana environment was something most players and powers could only dream of finding. Hence, the fact that the current Miniature Ancient World had mana rivaling that of the Holy World was astonishing. It should be known that the Miniature Ancient Worlds mana environment couldnt even compare to that of the Starlight Realms Ancient River Kingdom previously. Yet, now, the situation was reversed, and the gap was vastly greater than before. Even more surprising was the Miniature Ancient Worlds law suppression that resulted from this dense mana. Not only did it cause his teleportation to go wrong, but it also restricted him from releasing his mana out of his body. It should be known that he had a Tier 5 Advanced Legendary Mana Body. Yet, after arriving in the Miniature Ancient World, he could no longer manipulate the mana around him to fly. Now, he could only walk using his feet. Theres a battle over there, Leroja calmly stated after glancing at the players fighting roughly two thousand yards away from them. By the looks of things, it should be a clash between two different powers, but it looks like one side is about to crumble soon. Shortly after Leroja spoke, the battle developed as she predicted, with one side gradually retreating. Though, this outcome came as no surprise to anyone on Shi Fengs team. After all, there was a very apparent gap in strength between the two clashing groups. At first glance, both groups were roughly even in numbers, with both groups most likely being 1,000-man legions originally. However, there was a significant difference in the number of Tier 5 experts the two groups possessed. One side had over twenty Tier 5 experts, while the other had less than ten. Without a fortified stronghold to back them, it would only be a matter of time before the group with fewer Tier 5 players lost. Attack! a level 160, Tier 5 Grand Wizard on the winning side commanded when he saw the enemy retreating. Use Spatial Lockdown! We must not let these native Tier 5s escape! Following the Grand Wizards command, several dozen Tier 4 players quickly took out a magic scroll from their bag and created a Spatial Lockdown Barrier that enveloped a 5,000-yard radius. Now, unless the enemy team could exhaust the barriers mana reserves, they shouldnt think of stepping out of the barrier. Players from outside the Miniature Ancient World? When Shi Feng heard the Grand Wizards command, he started to observe him with more scrutiny. On closer observation, Shi Feng noted that the Grand Wizard was undoubtedly a titled expert. If put in an ordinary hegemonic power, he would hold a position among the hegemonic powers core executives. In addition, apart from the commanding Grand Wizard, the twenty or so other Tier 5 experts on his team were also quite strong. Every one of them was at the fourth-floor standard. A team with such a line-up would be more than enough to topple most of the hegemonic powers that had entered the Miniature Ancient World, let alone the Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers. However, when Shi Feng turned to observe the other team, composed of native experts, he discovered something even more surprising. Even though the team of native experts had less than ten Tier 5 experts, every one of them had respectable combat standards. Every one of them was either a Domain Realm expert or a fourth-floor expert. Normally, a Gods Domain that had only recently opened its doors to the Greater Gods Domain would be fortunate even to have a dozen or so experts reaching the fourth-floor standard. Moreover, all of these experts would be among the strongest existences of that Gods Domain. However, Shi Feng didnt recognize any of the supposedly native Tier 5 experts on the battlefield. Amidst Shi Fengs amazement, a team of twelve Tier 5 players suddenly joined the battle against the team composed of foreign players. The team of twelve was led by two women; a Tier 5 Elementalist and a Tier 5 Assassin. Moreover, both were young women. Following the appearance of these two young women, the atmosphere surrounding the battlefield instantly changed. Hooray! Our reinforcements have arrived! Wow! Its the Asura Mercenary Alliances Clear Sky and Nightingale! Were saved! The native players grew ecstatic when they saw the team of twelve joining the battlefield. A look of reverence even appeared on their faces when they saw Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin leading the team. As for the foreign players, they exploded into an uproar when they saw the 12-man team. Dammit! Why is it those two?! The Grand Wizard commanding the foreign team cursed when he saw Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin. Then, with great reluctance, he commanded, Everyoneretreat! Hearing the Grand Wizards call for retreat, the foreign players dropped what they were doing and fled in all directions without hesitation. Trying to escape? A cold glint flashed in Zhuo Yalins eyes when she saw the foreign experts fleeing. Dont even think about it! Immediately, Zhuo Yalins speed skyrocketed, her body splitting into fifteen copies that chased after the fleeing Tier 5 experts. Her speed was like lightning, and every Tier 4 player she passed by would disintegrate into particles of light. Equally formidable, Lin Yaoyue raised her staff and cast three Tier 5 Spells simultaneously, sending forth an amalgamation of wind, lightning, and icicles that killed over a hundred Tier 4 players in the blink of an eye. By the end of the battle, less than 20% of the foreign players managed to escape with their lives, and more than half of the foreign teams Tier 5 players died in battle. If not for the commanding Grand Wizard ordering a retreat as soon as he saw Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin, the teams losses would have been even more severe. Whats going on? Gentle Snow couldnt help but be stunned as she looked at Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin in the distance. What exactly happened when she was away from the Miniature Ancient World? When did Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin become so strong? TL Notes: [1] Lin Yaoyue = Clear Sky (formerly[or still is?] the Gods Domain Academys director) Zhuo Yalin = Nightingale (witness to Shi Feng clearing the Colosseums fifth-floor test) *Colosseum is where players could fight for a chance to reconstruct their Mana Bodies. [2] Chapter 3442 - Chapter 516 - Rumored Founder? Chapter 516 C Rumored Founder? Those two are incredible! Those fourth-floor experts didnt even last more than three moves against them! Even among titled experts, they have already reached the standard of paragons. They dont look very old, either. With such strength and talent, they would still be considered top-tier paragons even if they joined an upper-ranking hegemonic power. When the battle finally concluded, Desolate Fury, Ink Qilin, and the others started to analyze Lin Yaoyues and Zhuo Yalins performances. At the same time, they started to take the Miniature Ancient World more seriously. Fourth-floor experts and titled experts might be everywhere in the Eternal Realm, but that was because the former Holy World was a gathering place of the various Realms geniuses and paragons. Normally, a fourth-floor expert would be considered a famous individual in any kingdom or empire of any Realm. As for paragons, they were nigh invincible existences among players of the same generation in any kingdom or empire. Different from Desolate Fury and the others, Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw Lin Yaoyues and Zhuo Yalins performances. At this time, whether it was Lin Yaoyue or Zhuo Yalin, both of them were already strong enough to rival Saint Nine, the former tenth-ranked player on the Miniature Ancient Worlds God-ranked Expert List. In other words, they had reached the standard of the Ancient River Kingdoms Ten Great Paragons. However, Shi Feng clearly remembered that before he left the Miniature Ancient World, the two had yet to even reach the Domain Realm, let alone the standard of titled experts and paragons On the other side, after Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin achieved victory over the foreign players, the native players cheered with joy. As expected of Asuras Clear Sky and Nightingale! I wonder when I can become a core member of Asura? A core member? Stop daydreaming! Most of the God-ranked experts from the former first-rate Guilds and superpowers are still stuck as internal members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. At present times, only those who have reached the titled standard are qualified to become core members. I really envy those who joined Asura early on. If I had joined a few months earlier, I might have become an internal member by now. Forget about it. I heard that Asura is currently recruiting many young geniuses to nurture, and those who pass will get to train in the rumored primordial tower right away. If the tower is anything like the rumors mention, those rookies will most likely take up a bunch of internal member slots. They get to train in that primordial tower? It seems that even the Asura Mercenary Alliance is feeling quite a bit of pressure this time. After seeing Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin achieve victory, many of the native players present expressed their admiration for the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Yearning also filled their eyes when they spoke about Asuras primordial tower. While everyone was engaged in discussion, the ten other members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance returned to Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalins side. These ten players were all young men and women who had reached Tier 5, and they couldnt help but feel prideful when they received the worshiping gazes of the Tier 4 youths around them. Passing the Asura Mercenary Alliances test was not an easy feat. Meanwhile, the ten of them were not only fortunate enough to pass the test, but they even became internal members of the mercenary alliance. To top it all off, they got to fight alongside Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin, two of the Asura Mercenary Alliances Grand Elders. This was an opportunity many could only dream of obtaining. Were done with the clean-up, Miss Nightingale, a Level 157 Berserker reported. But I came across a group of Tier 5 players roughly two thousand yards away. I dont recognize them, and they dont seem like native players, but a man and a woman among them claimed to know both of you and want to talk to you. As soon as the male Berserker finished speaking, the female Swordsman beside him sneered and said, Ghost Axe, who doesnt know Miss Clear Sky and Miss Nightingale in the Miniature Ancient World? There are tons of people queuing up to meet them. How can you even believe those peoples words? The other members of the team also nodded in agreement with the female Swordsmans words. They felt that the Berserker named Ghost Axe was too naive. A group of unfamiliar Tier 5 players? And they said they know us? Zhuo Yalin grew a little curious. Oh, the woman said her name was Gentle Snow, Ghost Axe suddenly added. She said youll know who she is once you hear this name. Big Sis Snow? Zhuo Yalins voice was full of excitement. Take us there quickly! Big Sis is back? A look of surprise also appeared on Lin Yaoyues face. Hearing the twos urging, Ghost Axe dared not waste any time and hurriedly led them to the forest where he came across Gentle Snow. Meanwhile, Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue followed him closely without hesitation. Upon seeing this scene, the female Swordsman who previously mocked Ghost Axe couldnt help but be stunned. She also couldnt help but wonder who Gentle Snow was. In no time, Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin arrived at a temporary campsite under Ghost Axes lead. Then, when they spotted two familiar faces sitting around the campsite, unprecedented joy and excitement colored their faces. Subsequently, Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin brought the team of eight Tier 5 players away from the island on their Bronze Warship, making a bee for the Abyssal Star City, the Asura Mercenary Alliances main headquarters. As the Asura Mercenary Alliances main headquarters, Abyssal Star City attracted tons of visitors every day, many of which came to join the mercenary alliance. Many powers had also chosen to settle down in Abyssal Star City, causing the citys player population to reach a frightening level. Nowadays, even Asura members with priority access to the city have to queue up for several hours to enter the city. As for non-members, it was anyones guess as to how long they had to wait in line. Of all the members in the Asura Mercenary Alliance, only those holding the position of core member or above could enter the city without having to wait in line. And although many powers have offered to pay sky-high prices for a similar privilege for some of their members, Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin never agreed to their requests. Abyssal Star City, Asura Mercenary Alliances headquarters, top-floor conference room: Who do you think that man and woman are, Big Sis Reaver? Ive never seen Miss Clear Sky and Miss Zhuo Yalin get so excited before. They even called for an emergency meeting among the alliances other executives, a female Guardian Knight curiously asked the female Swordsman standing next to her as she looked at the door next to her. The female Swordsman was named Sound Reaver and held extraordinary status in the Asura Mercenary Alliance. On top of being the number one expert among Asuras rookie geniuses, she was also recruited as the disciple of Chief Administrator Hidden Soul three months ago. Im not sure about the woman, Sound Reaver said, shaking her head. Then, her expression suddenly became solemn as she continued, But I have some ideas about the man. Although that man is a Tier 5 player, I didnt feel anything special or dangerous about him, the female Guardian Knight commented when she heard Sound Reavers words. Could he be some young master from the Green God Corporation? No! After a slight pause, Sound Reaver said, He is very likely to be the rumored founder of the Asura Mercenary AllianceBlack Flame! Chapter 3443 - Chapter 517 - Hundred City Battle Chapter 517 C Hundred City Battle Black Flame? Youre saying that mans the Asura Sword Emperor? The God Lists former number one? The female Guardian Knights eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance when she heard Sound Reavers answer. The Asura Sword Emperors achievements had already become legendary in the Miniature Ancient World. Not only did he establish Zero Wing, but he was also behind the establishment of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. In addition, he had also defeated famous geniuses and paragons one after another amidst the Miniature Ancient Worlds chaotic era. Only, because Black Flame would usually keep his appearance and information concealed, not many people actually knew what he looked like. Moreover, it had already been four months since Black Flame disappeared. In the ever-changing Miniature Ancient World, everyone had long regarded the Asura Sword Emperors name as a legend of the past. Many people even believed that Black Flame had been forever eliminated from Gods Domain during the battle in the World Passage, hence his disappearance. However, if Sound Reavers deduction was correct, and the Asura Sword Emperor had returned alive, it would become a huge encouragement for the entire Asura Mercenary Alliance. It was especially true now that a large number of foreign powers had invaded the Miniature Ancient World, and the Asura Mercenary Alliances influence was continuously shrinking. Nowadays, Asura could only barely maintain the safety of the surrounding naval zones of Abyssal Star Citys newly transferred location. When Zhuo Yalin informed the executives of Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance about Shi Fengs return, everyone was pleasantly surprised. Then, without hesitation, they dropped what they were doing and rushed over to Asuras headquarters. Unfortunately, due to the drastic changes in the Miniature Ancient Worlds environment rendering teleportation useless, everyone had to travel back by foot. Otherwise, they would have immediately teleported back to Abyssal Star City using the Guild Transfer Scroll. Meanwhile, as Asuras executives arrived at the mercenary alliances headquarters one after another, the alliance members present in the first-floor hall couldnt help but feel that something big was taking place. Whats happening today? Why are so many executives coming back? It is indeed strange. Even Chief Administrator Hidden Soul has dropped her guard duty over at the Boundary Seas fortress to come back. Its not just the Chief Administrator. Even Grand Elders such as Liu Wusheng, Echoing Judgment, Crimson Heart, Su Qianliu, and Galaxy Past have returned. Every one of them has to safeguard a specific region, yet all of them have gathered here today. Seeing as so many of our alliances bigwigs have gathered here today, could it be that the foreign powers are planning something big? When the mercenary alliances members saw how many executive members had gathered in the alliances headquarters today, they couldnt help but start a discussion among themselves. The Asura Mercenary Alliance was no longer a minor power in the Miniature Ancient World. Currently, it held control over more than ten settlements and fortresses. When it came to this regard, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was number one among the Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers. Although there were other alliances that held control over more than ten settlements and fortresses previously, that all changed once the foreign powers invasion began. None of the native alliances had the strength to defend so many territories at the same time. As a result, they had to abandon most of their territories and concentrate their strength on protecting three settlements and fortresses. In the corridor leading to the Asura Mercenary Alliances top-floor conference room An old man and a middle-aged man walked slowly toward the conference room that only executives of the Asura Mercenary Alliance could enter. Old Liu, what do you think our chances of winning are now that Guild Leader Black Flame has returned? Galaxy Past asked in a low voice, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. Our chances of winning? Liu Wusheng stopped and looked at Galaxy Past with a bitter smile. Wed be lucky if we even have a 10% chance of defending our territories. Only 10%? Galaxy Past was surprised. Do you think thats low? Liu Wusheng asked when he saw Galaxy Pasts surprise. Do you remember the God Lists former top five? How do you think you compare to them now? I should be an even match for them, Galaxy Past said confidently. Exactly! Liu Wusheng nodded. Then, he sighed and continued, We improved a lot compared to four months ago, but Guild Leader Black Flame has missed out on the opportunities we had during these past four months. Now that we have to face a simultaneous assault from multiple upper-ranking hegemonic powers Im afraid there is very little that one person can do, even if this person is Guild Leader Black Flame Galaxy Past also couldnt help but sigh upon hearing this. The Asura Mercenary Alliance had indeed improved significantly compared to a couple of months ago, but whether it was in terms of quantity or quality, Asuras Tier 5 experts still lagged behind the Greater Gods Domains upper-ranking hegemonic powers by a lot. According to the intelligence they gathered, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers had already gathered many Tier 5 experts and were preparing to take over all of the native powers settlements and fortresses. And since Asura held control over the greatest number of settlements and fortresses out of all native powers, it naturally attracted the most attention from the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Hence, the gathering of Asuras executives this time was not only because of Shi Fengs return but also because, as guessed by the alliances members, the various foreign powers were planning something big. Inside the top-floor conference room Currently, over a dozen executive members were gathered in the conference room that could accommodate hundreds. Of these people, apart from Shi Feng who was still at Level 153, everyone else had already reached Level 159 or above. In Shi Fengs eyes, everyone present had undergone significant changes during the time he was absent. It was especially so for Hidden Soul. Not only did her presence become sharper and more dangerous, but she had also reached Level 160, which was the minimum requirement to ascend to Tier 6. Now, so long as she developed her Concentration to the Tier 6 standard and gathered 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, she could attempt to break through to Tier 6. Youre finally back, Guild Leader, Su Qianliu said. When she saw that Shi Feng had also reached Tier 5, she couldnt help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, she smiled and continued, Had you returned any later, our alliance would have probably ceased to exist already. Su Qianliu might have spoken in a joking manner, but everyone present couldnt help but feel a little embarrassed. The reason everyone present could gather and work together as a group in the past was all because of Shi Feng. However, because Shi Feng had disappeared for four months, the alliances affiliated powers stopped being as cohesive as before. Even with Su Qianliu, Hidden Soul, and Blackie acting as mediators, none of the alliances affiliated powers were willing to submit to each other. As a result, it became very difficult to accomplish large operations. Having to face the foreign powers invasion with the mercenary alliance in such a state was simply a nightmare. You all have already done a good job developing the alliance to such a state in the time I was away, Shi Feng said, understanding the meaning Su Qianliu was trying to imply with her words. I have a general understanding of the situation, but I do not plan to stay long in the Miniature Ancient World. Are you giving up on the Miniature Ancient World, Guild Leader Black Flame? Everyone present immediately grew anxious. No. Shi Feng shook his head. Then, in a firm tone, he said, The Miniature Ancient World is our foundation. I came back this time to strengthen the Asura Mercenary Alliance and Zero Wing and also to enable everyone to have a better development. Strengthen the Asura Mercenary Alliance and enable us to have better development? Liu Wusheng and the others couldnt help but look at Shi Feng curiously. They wondered how exactly Shi Feng was going to achieve his claims. After all, whether it was the current Asura Mercenary Alliance or Zero Wing, neither had a particularly optimistic future. Seeing the looks of skepticism on everyones faces, Shi Feng smiled and said, Instead of staying bound to the Miniature Ancient World, I plan to bring some people outside to develop! Chapter 3444 - Chapter 518 - Show of Force Chapter 518 C Show of Force As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, time seemingly became frozen as the whole conference room fell completely silent. A moment later, Liu Wusheng stood up with an excited look and asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, youre not joking with us, are you? Ever since the Myriad Worlds Descent expansion pack went live, all native players came to learn that whether it was the Miniature Ancient World or the Gods Domain they previously fought on, both were merely an insignificant part of the Greater Gods Domain. The world outside their Gods Domain was not only much vaster but also more exciting. It also provided players with better development opportunities. However, now that the various foreign powers had blocked off the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage, native players had no hope of entering the Greater Gods Domain. While everyone in this conference room was aware that Shi Feng had the ability to travel out of the Miniature Ancient World, the fact that Shi Feng could do so didnt mean they could as well. After all, it wasnt easy to get past the World Barrier. At this time, Galaxy Past, Crimson Heart, Lin Yaoyue, and Zhuo Yalin also looked toward Shi Feng. Although none of them said anything, their eyes exposed their desires. Im serious about what I said, Shi Feng explained, unsurprised by Liu Wusheng and the others skepticism. Glimmers and Purple Lights members can attest to this. Hearing Shi Fengs words, Liu Wusheng and the others turned to look at a middle-aged knight and a three-meter-tall muscular man sitting in the corner. The middle-aged man was the Purple Light Trading Firms Commander Echoing Judgment, while the three-meter-tall man was the Glimmer adventurer teams Acting Commander Kasio. We can indeed confirm this. Echoing Judgment nodded. More specifically, thats how we arrived in the Miniature Ancient World in the first place. With Echoing Judgment and Kasios confirmation, Liu Wusheng and the others felt a shiver run through their bodies. At the same time, unprecedented excitement appeared in their eyes. If it was true that Shi Feng could bring others out of the Miniature Ancient World, Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance would achieve prosperity in the Miniature Ancient World, even if they didnt want to. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that every native player currently operating in the Miniature Ancient World wished to enter the Greater Gods Domain. Once the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players find out that Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance could extend their reach into the Greater Gods Domain, the number of players seeking to join Zero Wing and Asura would reach unprecedented levels. After a short pause, Shi Feng continued, Currently, the number of people I can bring each time is limited. Aside from allocating one slot to every power, I also plan to allocate two slots for the talented newcomers trained by the Asura Mercenary Alliance. We only get one slot each? Liu Wusheng grew a little disappointed. There were so few slots available that there were barely enough to even divine among the executive members of Zero Wing and Asura. This meant they wouldnt have any additional slots to use to tempt players to join Zero Wing and Asura. We shouldnt be too greedy. Having even one slot is already good enough, said Crimson Heart from the Hundred Flower Palace said calmly. None of the other native powers can send even one player out of the Miniature Ancient World. Thats true. Galaxy Past nodded in agreement with Crimson Hearts statement. While Shi Feng could only provide a limited number of slots to leave the Miniature Ancient World, it was still better than nothing. Not to mention, the number of players they could have in the Greater Gods Domain would add up over time. At this time, Hidden Soul suddenly spoke up, While it is good that we can head outside, the foreign powers that have invaded the Miniature Ancient World remain a problem. I dont think they will give us much time to grow. Indeed. According to the information Ive gathered, we are in a very precious situation, Su Qianliu concurred. There are currently three upper-ranking hegemonic powers eyeing our settlements and fortresses. These three powers alone have gathered over 70,000 Tier 5 experts in the Miniature Ancient World, while all of us added together dont even have 10,000. Even if we abandon all but one of our territories, we will still have difficulty fending them off Su Qianlius reminder poured a bucket of cold water over everyones heads, bringing them back to reality. The three upper-ranking hegemonic powers targeting them had 70,000 Tier 5 players. Even if all of these Tier 5 players were only at the third-floor standard, they were still enough to sweep away Zero Wings and Asuras forces. You dont need to worry about this, Shi Feng calmly said in response. Which of the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers is currently the strongest? He was well aware of the strength of upper-ranking hegemonic powers thanks to his previous lifes experiences. If an upper-ranking hegemonic power didnt need to have a certain number of players defending its settlements and fortresses in the Greater Gods Domain, it could easily mobilize an army of several hundred thousand Tier 5 players into the Miniature Ancient World. After inspecting her data, Su Qianliu answered, Of the three, the strongest is the Hades Society. Currently, it has nearly 30,000 Tier 5 players in the Miniature Ancient World. Nearly 30,000? Thats quite a lot. Shi Feng nodded. Where are they gathered? The Hades Society is mainly gathered in Withered Sea City, not far from the world channel, Hidden Soul answered with an unpleasant expression. Withered Sea City was originally a monster city that we captured, and it served as a resting place for us in the Dead Ash Sea. But on the first day after the new World Passage opened, the Hades Society took it from us A city that was taken away? Shi Feng laughed when he heard this. In that case, well make a show of force using the Hades Society. A show of force? Su Qianliu and the others looked at Shi Feng with some confusion. Mhm. Shi Feng nodded and stood up. Then, he commanded, Gather all available Tier 5 experts in Abyssal Star Citys central plaza immediately! With the current strength of Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance, stopping the various foreign powers invasion would be impossible. If they wanted to develop peacefully in the Miniature Ancient World, they would need to let the various foreign powers know that Zero Wing and Asura were not opponents to be trifled with. Meanwhile, eliminating the Hades Society was undoubtedly the best way to prove this! After Shi Feng issued his command, although everyone present failed to understand what he was trying to do, they still executed his orders accordingly. Immediately, Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance issued a call to assemble, and a large number of Tier 5 experts suddenly gathered in Abyssal Star Citys central plaza. In no time, over a thousand Tier 5 experts had gathered, and the number continued to increase as time passed, the sight of so many Tier 5 experts gathering sparking the curiosity of Abyssal Star Citys players. At the same time, news of Zero Wing and Asura gathering their Tier 5 experts quickly reached the Miniature Ancient Worlds various powers. Chapter 3445 - Chapter 519 - Surpassing Expectations Chapter 519 C Surpassing Expectations Abyssal Star City, Zero Wings Residence: Ever since Abyssal Star City got promoted into an Advanced City, Zero Wings Residence had become one of the citys iconic sites. Not only did it occupy an area of two sports stadiums, but it also had a 50-floor Guild Hall that was over 200 meters tall. Apart from the Primordial Tower, no other building in the city could match Zero Wings Guild Hall in height. Currently, a long line of players could be seen waiting to enter Zero Wings Guild Residence. Among them, young men and women made up the majority, and all of them were eagerly talking about Zero Wing. Something big seems to be going on in Zero Wing. So many of its Tier 5 experts have suddenly gathered. I wonder what Zero Wing is planning to do? I recall that the last time Zero Wing conducted a major operation was two months ago, when it was attacking a monster nest in the Dead Ash Sea. Back then, the various hegemonic powers only had around thirty Tier 5 experts, yet Zero Wing had mobilized over a hundred Tier 5 experts and over a hundred ships to capture that nest. That nest also became the location for the Dead Ash Seas first fortress afterward and solidified Zero Wings place as the number one Guild in the Miniature Ancient World. Thats right. It was also around that time I thought of joining Zero Wing. Its a pity Zero Wings requirements are so high. Ive never passed the test even once until now. Thankfully, Zero Wing suddenly loosened the requirements for players under 20. I must pass the test today! Indeed. Zero Wings recruitment conditions are extraordinarily high. Even after Zero Wing has loosened its requirements, newcomers like us still need to reach the Refinement Realm and Truth Realm at the very minimum. Even with all the changes that have taken place in the Miniature Ancient World, not many players can meet these conditions. When the youngsters waiting in line to take Zero Wings recruitment test spoke about the loosened conditions to join Zero Wing, they couldnt help but feel a little exasperated. Out of all the native powers operating in the Miniature Ancient World, Zero Wings recruitment conditions were without a doubt the highest. To this day, the Five Great Super Guilds remained existences that corporations in the real world had to do their best to befriend. Yet, even the Five Super Guilds only required players to reach the Half-step Refinement Realm standard to become normal members. Yet, players needed to reach the Refinement Realm and the Truth Realm to become normal members of Zero Wing. But even with such stringent requirements, everyone still sought to join Zero Wing. This was because Zero Wings member benefits were unquestionably the best. Particularly, if players could get promoted to an elite member, they would gain the opportunity to train in the Primordial Tower, rapidly improving in all aspects and increasing their chances of creating a high-ranking Tier 5 Mana Body. Inside the Guild Leaders Office in Zero Wings Residence Shi Feng couldnt help but be a little surprised as he read a detailed report on Zero Wings current situation. Even with the Miniature Ancient Worlds current excellent conditions, few players could get promoted to Tier 5. The average superpower only had several hundred Tier 5 experts. Moreover, the majority of them had only created a Tier 5 Silver Mana Body. Yet, Zero Wing currently had 3,216 Tier 5 experts! This was already comparable to what the various Super Guilds had on the main continent. Not to mention, out of these 3,216 Tier 5 experts, 70% had created a Tier 5 Gold Mana Body, and 15 had created a Tier 5 Epic Mana Body. Of the 15 players, apart from Shi Fengs early companions, such as Su Qianliu, Rampant Blade, Happy Snow, and Firecloud, there were also Zero Wings rookie geniuses, such as Wu Xiaoxiao, Midsummer, and Jun Luosha, and those who joined Zero Wing later on such as Wordless Ember and Sleeping Quicksand. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, few hegemonic powers possessed so many high-quality Tier 5 experts. Currently, most ordinary hegemonic powers in the Greater Gods Domain only have several dozen Tier 6 experts under their command. Meanwhile, the reason these hegemonic powers had so few Tier 6 experts was that few of their experts could create a Tier 5 Gold Mana Body. Players would undergo a massive qualitative transformation when going from Tier 5 to Tier 6. Meanwhile, to accomplish this qualitative leap, players would not only need a large amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals, but they would also need to be able to create a Divine Body. However, the process of creating a Divine Body was challenging even to titled experts. This was because players technical skills had little to no influence over the creation of a Divine Body. There were only two factors that could affect the success of a Divine Bodys creation. Firstly, Concentration. Players needed to have their Concentration at the Basic Tier 6 standard at the very minimum. Secondly, Mana Body. The higher the rank of ones Mana Body, the lower the difficulty one would face in creating their Divine Body. Because of these two factors, even though the Greater Gods Domain was a place rich in resources, few players could ever reach Tier 6. Meanwhile, so long as players managed to create a Tier 5 Gold Mana Body, depending on the quality of their Legacies, their chances of creating a Divine Body ranged between 5% to 30%. Currently, even assuming that all of Zero Wings Tier 5 experts with Tier 5 Gold Mana Bodies only had a 5% chance of creating a Divine Body, Zero Wing could still potentially have more than 110 Tier 6 experts in the future. Not to mention, Zero Wing was still continuously growing, Abyssal Star City had yet to reach the Main City standard, and the Primordial Towers third floor had yet to be unlocked. The Primordial Towers third floor was the last and most crucial floor. If players could train there, they could undoubtedly achieve greater improvements than what they could achieve on the first two floors. Why did you gather so many Tier 5 experts, Guild Leader? Dont tell me you plan on attacking Withered Sea City? Blackie asked, sweating profusely as he looked at Shi Feng. Withered Sea City has over 10,000 Tier 5 experts and several Tier 6 combatants defending it daily. The Hades Society can also recall all of its Tier 5 experts to Withered Sea City at a moments notice. At that time, we might have to face nearly 30,000 Tier 5 experts and 20 Tier 6 combatants Although Blackie did not participate in the Asura Mercenary Alliances meeting, he had still heard from Su Qianliu that Shi Feng planned to make a show of force in the Miniature Ancient World. Hence, Shi Feng gathered all available Tier 5 experts in Zero Wing and Asura. However, based on his understanding of Shi Feng, there was no way Shi Feng would bring so many experts to Withered Sea City just for the sake of putting on a simple show. The only reason Shi Feng would gather all of Zero Wings and Asuras Tier 5 players was to capture Withered Sea City. Hearing Blackies words, Su Qianliu also couldnt help but grow anxious. In her opinion, it was simply ludicrous to attack Withered Sea City with their current forces. Setting aside the fact that they would have to face nearly 30,000 Tier 5 experts, just the opponents twenty or so titled experts with Tier 6 combat power would be enough to give them a huge headache. In the four months Shi Feng was away, Rampant Blade, Wu Xiaoxiao, Wordless Ember, and Sleeping Quicksand were the only ones in Zero Wing who could achieve Tier 6 combat power. As for Asuras side, only Hidden Soul, Liu Wusheng, Crimson Heart, Galaxy Past, Echoing Judgment, and Kasio had achieved it. In total, Zero Wing and Asura only had ten Tier 6 combatants. If they were on the defending side, it might be fine to have ten Tier 6 combatants go up against twenty, but it would be suicidal to do so when they were the attackers. Youve guessed it. Shi Feng calmly nodded while reading the report in his hand. We might not be a match for them when it comes to numbers, but we wont lose to them when it comes to top combatants. After saying so, Shi Feng took out a glass marble, a Secret Treasure he had obtained from the Underground Crystal Palace. Chapter 3446 - Chapter 520 - Shocking All Sides Chapter 520 C Shocking All Sides Zero Wings Residence, Guild Leaders Office: When Su Qianliu and Blackie finished inspecting the Secret Treasures stats, their breaths immediately grew heavy. Where did you get such a treasure, Guild Leader?! Blackies eyes were full of shock as he looked at the Secret Treasure on the table. When players raised their tiers, it wasnt only their Basic Attributes and Physiques that would receive a qualitative increase. They would also see a significant improvement in their Mana Protection. The difference in Mana Protection was also why players of a lower tier would usually have difficulty damaging players of a higher tier. However, unlike Basic Attributes and Physique, there werent any weapons, equipment, or tools that increased Mana Protection. As far as what was currently known in Gods Domain, the only way players could increase their Protection was by raising their tier. Yet, the Secret Treasure on the table had broken this norm. When equipped, it would increase the users Mana Protection. This was simply unbelievable. If even one article can increase Mana Protection by this much, you can probably become invincible among players of the same tier if you have three articles equipped, Su Qianliu commented. Then, she looked toward Shi Feng and asked, Do you have a lot of these Secret Treasures, Guild Leader? One could say that Mana Protection was the foundation of tier suppression in Gods Domain. At first glance, the term Mana Protection would lead one to think that it increased players resistance toward Mana. However, according to research conducted by many Lifestyle players, the essence of Mana Protection was the total volume of mana contained within a players body. When players raised their tiers, the size of their mana pool would also increase accordingly. Meanwhile, players having more mana in their body would be akin to them being in an environment rich in mana, while players having less mana in their body would be akin to them being in an environment lacking in mana. Hence, the higher a players Mana Protection, the bigger their mana pool would become, and the better the mana environment that would surround them. With greater Mana Protection, not only would players receive less damage from attacks, but they would also see a rise in their destructive power. This was also why, even if two players of different tiers had similar Basic Attributes, the performance of their normal attacks, Skills, and Spells would be different. Not a lot. Calmly, Shi Feng said, I only have 92 of these things on me right now. Excluding the Graymoon and Ice Crystal Secret Treasure Sets, his group had only received 92 Common Secret Treasures from the Underground Crystal Palace based on the systems allocation. As for the Combat Secret Treasures dropped by Tia, the Mutated Floor Master, he had given them all to Scarecrow Fox. Ninety-two? Blackie and Su Qianliu were promptly dumbfounded. They had never even heard of any items being able to increase players Mana Protection before today. In their opinions, the value of a Secret Treasure was no less than that of a Fragmented Legendary Weapon, and it would be fortunate if Shi Feng could take out even ten Secret Treasures. But 92? With this many Secret Treasures, they could form a 20-man team of invincible Tier 5 players! Anyway, you two pick a few Secret Treasures for yourselves first. Afterward, find a group of trustworthy Tier 4 players and distribute the rest to them. Its best if they are fourth-floor experts. Make absolutely sure news of these items doesnt get out, Shi Feng said as he looked at the two stunned people before him. Then, he took out all of the Secret Treasures in his bag and placed them on the table. He still had no intentions of letting the Asura Mercenary Alliances folk know about Secret Treasures. After all was said and done, Asura was merely a loose organization with few restrictions. Meanwhile, Secret Treasures were extraordinary items. If the outside world came to know that there were Secret Treasures in the Miniature Ancient World, nobody could guarantee the safety of the Miniature Ancient World. Leave it to us, Su Qianliu responded, an excited expression appearing on her face when she snapped back to her senses. Well make sure everyone who receives a Secret Treasure signs a Gods Domain Contract. Nobody should even think of leaking this secret! Blackie also nodded, his heart beating with excitement as he looked at the Secret Treasures on the table. They would be able to create a 20-man team with Mana Protection rivaling Tier 6 players with all these Secret Treasures, and once this team made its debut, it would absolutely shock the entire Miniature Ancient World. Following this, Su Qianliu and Blackie quickly carried out Shi Fengs instructions, distributing the Secret Treasures to Zero Wings fourth-floor experts, such as Firecloud, Midsummer, Happy Snow, Jun Luosha, and others. Meanwhile, when these individuals received their Secret Treasures and saw their effects, they couldnt help but grow ecstatic. Three hours later, over 8,000 players gathered in Abyssal Star Citys central plaza following Shi Fengs command. These were all Tier 5 players of Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance. When these 8,000-plus Tier 5 players gathered in the central plaza, many passersby couldnt help but stare at them. Many executives of the various powers even went out of their way to come here when they heard that so many of Zero Wings and Asuras Tier 5 experts had gathered. On the rooftop dining area of a high-end restaurant next to Abyssal Star Plaza What the heck is the Asura Mercenary Alliance trying to do by gathering so many Tier 5 players? One Step, the Titan Sword of the Divine Hunters Guild, said in displeasure as he swayed the glass of wine in his hand. Currently, One Step was already a Level 157, Tier 5 Berserker. Are you worried theyll target Divine Hunters? the Level 158, Tier 5 female Elementalist sitting across One Step said with a faint smile. I heard that Divine Hunters has been fighting Asura over a Seven Luminaries Crystal vein in the Dead Ash Sea recently. Maybe Asura has finally gotten fed up and decided to put an end to the fighting once and for all? Glancing at the female Elementalist, One Step disdainfully said, You speak as if Morning Light has never provoked Zero Wing before. If my memories serve me correctly, your people stole a Large Shipyard from Zero Wing while Zero Wing was busy defending a siege. Isnt that why a big shot like you has come running all the way here now, Melissa? Dark Banner Melissa of the Morning Light Guild did not refute One Steps words. Instead, she glanced at the various hegemonic powers experts that have gathered around the Abyssal Star Plaza because of the Asura Mercenary Alliances latest movement. A force of over 8,000 Tier 5 experts was one that no hegemonic power in the current Miniature Ancient World could afford to ignore. It was especially so since the Asura Mercenary Alliance had quite a few Tier 6 combatants. If Asuras goal this time were to attack Morning Light, it would be an existential battle. At the very least, it would decide whether Morning Light could continue to operate and thrive in the Miniature Ancient World. Following the collapse of the first World Passage, the Miniature Ancient World had entered a sealed state. During this period, the Asura Mercenary Alliance, with Zero Wing at its core, had achieved mind-blowingly rapid development. Honestly, if not for the second World Passage opening, letting the various hegemonic powers mobilize more Tier 5 experts into the Miniature Ancient World, none of them would even have the qualifications to challenge the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Even so, if the current Asura Mercenary Alliance were hellbent on targeting a specific hegemonic power, it would be a nightmare for said power. Hence, the Miniature Ancient Worlds various hegemonic powers had promptly come running to Abyssal Star City as soon as they heard Asura gathering its Tier 5 experts. While One Step and Melissa were ridiculing each other, a new group of players arrived at the plaza. When One Step and Melissa saw the cloaked male Swordsman walking at the front of this group, their eyes immediately widened in disbelief. For most people, they wouldnt have paid much attention to the cloaked Swordsman due to his lack of presence. However, for One Step and Melissa, the cloaked Swordsman was someone they would never forget. Black Flame! Hes actually back? Chapter 3447 - Chapter 521 - Black Flame Returns Chapter 521 C Black Flame Returns Upon overhearing One Steps and Melissas exclamations, the restaurants rooftop dining area suddenly fell silent as everyone turned to look at the cloaked Swordsman in the plaza. Is he the Asura Sword Emperor, Black Flame? Didnt they say Black Flame disappeared in the World Passage long ago? No wonder Asura is making such a huge commotion. With Black Flames return, a reevaluation of the Asura Mercenary Alliances strength will be necessary. In the current Greater Gods Domain, few people did not know the name of the Asura Sword Emperor Black Flame. This name was especially well-known among the various hegemonic powers. More specifically, this was a name that the various hegemonic powers needed to remember. While the Seven Luminaries Alliances Luminous Glory List might only be prepared for Tier 4 players of the younger generation, the list encompassed the entire Greater Gods Domain. Even the simple feat of getting onto the list of 1,000 players was something the various hegemonic powers experts could only dream of accomplishing. In a situation where the Asura Mercenary Alliance already had many titled experts under its command, the sudden addition of the Asura Sword Emperor could cause a qualitative change to Asuras top combat power. Meanwhile, following Shi Fengs arrival, some of Asuras members quickly recognized him. Guild Leader Black Flame? Am I dreaming? Is Guild Leader Black Flame actually back?! This is great! With this, our top combat power will see further improvement! Lets see which hegemonic power will dare to provoke us in the future! So, hes the Miniature Ancient Worlds former number one Swordsman? Many members of Asura were excited to see Shi Feng. It was especially so for the older members. They had personally witnessed Shi Fengs astonishing accomplishments in the Miniature Ancient World, so they had a much better idea of what could come from Shi Fengs return. You really guessed it, Reaver! a young female knight in her late teens said excitedly to the female Swordsman next to her when she saw Asuras older members recognizing Shi Feng. Although Sound Reaver had previously guessed that the cloaked Swordsman was the Asura Sword Emperor Black Flame, it was only now that this conjecture had received confirmation. The Miniature Ancient Worlds number one Swordsman? While watching Shi Feng walk onto the elevated platform in the middle of the plaza, Sound Reavers eyes burned with determination. This title will be mine sooner or later! After becoming Hidden Souls apprentice, Sound Reaver had come to learn of Hidden Souls unfathomable strength. Yet, even with such unfathomable strength, Hidden Soul continued to hold Black Flame in great esteem. This made Sound Reaver curious about Black Flame. Only, after seeing Black Flame in person, Sound Reaver couldnt help but be disappointed. This was because Shi Feng did not have as powerful and frightening of a presence as she imagined. She couldnt even feel any pressure coming from him as she did with her master Hidden Soul. I wonder what Guild Leader Black Flame has gathered so many of us here for? I heard from an executive that Guild Leader Black Flame seems to be planning to use the Hades Society to set an example! Using the Hades Society to set an example? Doesnt that mean well be attacking the Hades Society? Isnt it a little too early for us to be attacking the Hades Society? I heard that they have fifth-floor experts. Even if Guild Leader Black Flame is back, we still cant match the Hades Societys fifth-floor experts in numbers. Well be at a disadvantage in top combat power. After learning of Shi Fengs return, Asuras members began speculating why Shi Feng had gathered so many Tier 5 experts. And when they spoke about the possibility of attacking the Hades Society, they couldnt help but think that Shi Feng was acting a little too recklessly. It was indeed good news for Asura that a fifth-floor expert such as Shi Feng had returned. But the current Miniature Ancient World was no longer the same as in the past. Simply being a fifth-floor expert could no longer guarantee one a spot among the Miniature Ancient Worlds top ten players. This was because every upper-ranking hegemonic power that had entered the Miniature Ancient World had multiple fifth-floor experts under its command, and there were easily more than ten upper-ranking hegemonic powers operating in the Miniature Ancient World. While Asuras members were talking among themselves, both the executives of Asura and the various powers present suddenly started receiving messages and call requests. Did something happen, Soul? Shi Feng asked when he noticed a sudden change in Hidden Souls expression. Something big happened! Hidden Soul said grimly. Just a moment ago, we received news that the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe have secretly gathered most of their Tier 5 experts at the Boundary Sea. Their numbers exceed 50,000, and their Tier 6 combatants exceed 60. They moved very secretively, and they had already appeared within ten kilometers of Abyssal Star City when we discovered them Dammit! These three upper-ranking hegemonic powers must have joined forces long ago! All the conflicts they had with each other were nothing but acts to deceive us into letting our guards down! Now that they heard that weve gathered most of our Tier 5 experts in Abyssal Star City, they must be planning to wipe us out once and for all! Liu Wusheng cursed under his breath after reading the latest intelligence report he received. He never thought the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers would band together. Before anybody could say anything else, Abyssal Star Citys alarm for battle suddenly rang, and numerous Magic Mirrors appeared above the city. Meanwhile, displayed in these mirrors was the image of several thousand ships. Among them were hundreds of Bronze Ships and above, and every player riding these warships was at Tier 5. At a glance, the Tier 5 players aboard these ships numbered in the tens of thousands, and the sight of all these Tier 5 experts was shocking to even the battle-hardened experts in Abyssal Star City. Many experts had even forgotten how to breathe. Apart from the thousands of ships sailing across the sea, there were also three thirty-meter-long wyverns flying in the sky. Each of these wyverns carried twenty or so Tier 5 experts, and just the sight of these experts struck fear into the fourth-floor experts present in Abyssal Star City. Tier 6 combatants! This was the term that the various fourth-floor experts instinctively thought of. However, compared to the several dozen Tier 6 combatants, everyone was more terrified by the sight of the three experts helming the wyverns. Of these three experts, two were men, and one was a woman. All three looked rather young and did not look like they were even 25 years old. Yet, the sight of these three experts had given everyone the illusion three deities had just descended onto the mortal world. At this moment, even the various hegemonic powers experts who were in Abyssal Star City to watch the show had fallen silent, all of them wearing looks of disbelief. Sacred Glory experts! Chapter 3448 - Chapter 522 - A Sacred Glory Expert? I’ve Long Stopped Being One Chapter 522 C A Sacred Glory Expert? Ive Long Stopped Being One The Hades Society must be crazy! Is this the true strength of the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers? Asuras members were filled with astonishment and worry when they saw the three individuals helming the three wyverns. As for executives such as Liu Wusheng, they started to feel as if their previous belief that Asura could defend Abyssal Star City so long as they concentrated their forces was nothing but a joke. Meanwhile, Asuras members werent the only ones who despaired at the sight of the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribes combined army of Tier 5 experts. The various hegemonic powers executives who had come to Abyssal Star City to investigate Asuras activities similarly felt suffocated at this sight. While it was true that the Asura Mercenary Alliance was an enemy of the various hegemonic powers, none of the various hegemonic powers executives could bring themselves to feel delighted over Asuras predicament. On the contrary, they felt a sense of camaraderie with Asuras members. Worldbreaking Axe, Heratis! Myriad Spears, Daylight! Unsleeping Death, Death Stride! One Step was greatly shaken when he saw the three individuals helming the wyverns. Is this a celebrity battle organized by the Seven Luminaries Alliance? Why are there three Sacred Glory experts here? It seems the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers plan to eliminate Asura once and for all, Melissa said, sighing. The three ranking lists published by the Seven Luminaries Alliance across the entire Greater Gods Domain were known by all. They were also often the focus of discussion for many people. With the exception of the Luminous Glory List, players capable of entering the Sacred Glory List or Divine Glory List were publicly recognized as powerhouses in the Greater Gods Domain. Even the fifth-floor experts regarded as core combatants by the various hegemonic powers were nothing but a joke in front of these powerhouses, let alone titled experts like themselves. Meanwhile, Heratis, Daylight, and Death Stride were not only ranked among the Sacred Glory List, but all three of them were also ranked within the top 500. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that just one of them was enough to wipe the floor with any hegemonic power operating in the Miniature Ancient World. Normally, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would never send such precious combatants into a miniature world. After all, these experts could accomplish much greater things in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, now, three of these experts were mobilized just to target the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Such a shocking scene could rarely be seen even in the Greater Gods Domain, so it was mind-blowing that it had happened in a miniature world. Before the players in Abyssal Star City could come back to their senses, faint laughter came from above the city. Black Flame! I heard you want to use the Hades Society to set an example! I wonder how you feel now? asked a fair-skinned young girl of the giant race. The girl was one of the three individuals helming the wyverns, and she spoke in a teasing tone. If you hand over Abyssal Star City and beg for mercy now, I might decide to be merciful and let you go! You sure know how to tell a joke, Heratis, said a rigid and short young man who was similarly helming a wyvern. Then, the young man laughed unreservedly and said, Since when has the Worldbreaking Axe spared anyone who has begged for mercy? If I remember correctly, you annihilated the soul of the last guy who begged for mercy. Stride, you didnt have to expose Heratis like that, said a savage-looking man with messy hair. You should give our Brother Black Flame some hope. That way, we wouldnt have to waste as much energy taking over Abyssal Star City. You might think of it as troublesome, but not me, the short young man named Death Stride said, sneering. It wont be anything more than a little exercise. What trouble could there be? You are simply bringing shame to your title of Myriad Spears, Daylight. Glaring at Death Stride and Daylight, the giant girl named Heratis said in dissatisfaction, Can you two give this newbie here a little chance? He is a Luminous Glory expert, after all. Who knows? I might very well decide to be merciful. The three cannon fodders helming the wyverns ran their mouths one after another, none of them taking Shi Feng seriously. Even the 8,000-plus Tier 5 experts of Asura were no different than ants in their eyes. However, the trios contempt did not provoke any ridicule or anger from the players in Abyssal Star City. On the contrary, everyone shuddered at their words. It seems they really intend to wipe us out, Hidden Soul solemnly said as she looked at the three trio talking and laughing in mid-air. If the three individuals talking were insignificant nobodies, their words could be dismissed as a joke. But all three of them were on the Sacred Glory List. So, their arrogant words sounded more like a predator wanting to have some fun with their prey before killing it. As a former commander of the Flower of Seven Sins, Hidden Soul had seen many individuals behaving as such before. While everyone in the Abyssal Star Plaza was watching on in silence, a woman stepped up from behind Shi Feng and said: Are Sacred Glory experts so noisy nowadays? These words were not spoken loudly, but in the silent plaza, they sounded like they were amplified countless times. Hence, everyone in and around the plaza heard these words clearly, and this included One Step and Melissa. The woman who spoke had an elegant look, and she carried a silver spear and shield on her back. Although she had reached Tier 5 already, she was only at Level 156, which was quite low compared to the various hegemonic powers experts. Apart from those in and around the plaza, the players riding on the three wyverns in the sky also heard the elegant womans words loudly and clearly. Immediately, the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers Tier 6 combatants couldnt help but shudder, though not because of the woman but because of the aura emanating from Heratis. It seems you are eager to be the first to die, old hag! Heratis said, her gaze growing colder and colder as she looked at Ink Qilin. Since youre in such a hurry, Ill grant you your wish! After saying so, Heratis reached for the five-meter-long axe she carried on her back and threw it at Ink Qilin. When the axe separated from Heratiss hand, it traveled across the air without making any sound. Yet, the weapon traveled at the speed of lightning, and it easily penetrated Abyssal Star Citys defensive magic array and struck Ink Qilin. The sight of this unimpressive attack caused everyone in Abyssal Star City to gasp. It was especially so for Asuras members. Abyssal Star Citys defensive magic array had stood strong against numerous attacks from hegemonic powers and sea monsters. The defensive magic array could even block attacks that had reached the Tier 6 standard. Yet, it behaved as if it did not exist against Heratiss attack Boom! Following a deafening explosion coming from the plaza, everyone in the city gasped once more. This was because, contrary to everyones expectations, Ink Qilin had stopped Heratiss frightening axe. More specifically, she had caught the giant weapon with one hand, and she neither moved nor lost any HP in the process. Are you also a Sacred Glory expert?! Heratis was greatly shocked when she saw Ink Qilin catch her attack without taking any damage. In her opinion, apart from Sacred Glory experts, no other expert of the same tier could stop her attack without taking damage. A Sacred Glory expert? After tossing the giant axe aside, Ink Qilin reached for the spear on her back. Then, she threw the weapon at Heratis and indifferently said, Ive long stopped being one. Chapter 3449 - Chapter 523 - Tier 6 Appears Chapter 523 C Tier 6 Appears Like a shooting star, a streak of light shot through the sky above Abyssal Star City and disappeared. Following it, a scream echoed throughout the city. She couldnt resist it? Daylight and Death Stride widened their eyes in disbelief when they saw one of Heratiss arms getting obliterated. They could neither believe nor fathom how this had happened. Heratis, the Worldbreaking Axe, was known for her abnormally high Strength Attribute. When comparing Strength, she could rank among the Sacred Glory Lists top 100. Her Guild had even assigned her the Legendary-ranked Titan Battle Axe because of her dispatch to the Miniature Ancient World this time. In her current state, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Heratiss Strength had reached the average standard of Level 160, Tier 6 Berserker Gods. Yet, even though Heratis had used her axe to block Ink Qilins attack, her axe still got sent flying, and one of her arms was obliterated Impossible! Madness and disbelief filled Heratiss eyes at the loss of her arm. Blinded by rage, she waved her remaining hand and recalled the Titan Battle Axe. Then, she slashed down in Ink Qilins direction. Absolute Technique, Heavenly Might! Space warped along with the descent of the Titan Battle Axe, and many of those standing in the way of the Legendary Weapon found themselves robbed of their ability to move. However, while many had found themselves immobilized by Heratiss Heavenly Might, Ink Qilin remained unaffected. Not only that, but Ink Qilin had thrown the spear she recalled with even greater speed, the weapon splitting into more than a dozen copies of itself mid-flight. Absolute Technique, Compounded Shadow! Spear after spear struck the warped space. When the fifth spear struck, space shattered, and the remaining spears continued onward to Heratis. Seeing this, Heratis was forced to cancel her attack and brandish her axe to defend herself. One strike Two strikes Three strikes Every strike caused Heratis to lose a chunk of her HP. When the eighth spear struck the Titan Battle Axe, Heratiss HP fell to zero, and her body fell lifelessly from the sky. Suddenly, silence enveloped Abyssal Star City as everyone stared at Ink Qilin as if they had just seen a ghost. Heratis, the Worldbreaking Axe and 439th on the Sacred Glory List, had diedjust like that? How is this possible?! Not even the top 30 Sacred Glory experts can kill Heratis so easily! Who is that woman?! As individuals who were similarly ranked within the Sacred Glory Lists top 500, Daylight and Death Stride couldnt help but be shocked and frightened by Ink Qilins strength. As for the players standing in the Abyssal Star Plaza, they were dumbfounded by this unexpected turn of events. Liu Wusheng, Zhuo Yalin, and the other executives of Asura, in particular, felt like they were dreaming. Where did you find such an expert, Guild Leader?! Isnt she a little too strong?! Blackie exclaimed, his mouth having difficulty staying shut. Logically, an expert on the Sacred Glory List should be able to dominate the entire Miniature Ancient World single-handedly. Yet, now, a Sacred Glory expert had just been killed in seconds. The clash between Ink Qilin and Heratis was so one-sided that Blackie couldnt help but suspect that the Worldbreaking Axe he had just seen getting killed was an impostor. As for One Step and Melissa, they couldnt help but scrutinize Ink Qilin. Could this woman be the Asura Mercenary Alliances true owner? This was the thought that came to the minds of One Step and Melissa. Unlike Blackie, they had met Heratis in the Greater Gods Domain before, so they knew that the Heratis that had just been killed was the real deal. Meanwhile, in Gods Domain, the person in control of an organization would typically be the strongest player in the entire organization. Seeing as Black Flame was only a genius on the Luminous Glory List, One Step and Melissa couldnt help but suspect that Ink Qilin was the true owner of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Ink Qilin? I saw this name among the Sacred Glory Lists top 10 over a decade ago. Could this woman be that Ink Qilin? Shes a former top-10 Sacred Glory expert? No wonder Heratis is no match for her. Could she be Zero Wings mysterious backer? Some of the older players present quickly recognized Ink Qilin. And upon discovering Ink Qilins identity, they no longer found it surprising that Ink Qilin could kill Heratis so effortlessly. It was true that Heratis was amazing for being able to rank among the Sacred Glory Lists top 500. However, there was a qualitative difference between someone ranked in the top 500 and someone ranked in the top 30. So, it wasnt all too unbelievable for a former top 10 Sacred Glory expert to kill the current 439th-ranked Sacred Glory expert in one exchange. However, of those present, only Shi Feng, Gentle Snow, Desolate Fury, Leroja, Cross, River Light, and Blaze Eye knew the only reason Ink Qilin could kill Heratis so effortlessly was because she had multiple Secret Treasures equipped. There were even Combat-ranked Secret Treasures among them. Be it Basic Attributes or Mana Protection, Ink Qilin was far above Heratis. Hence, it was only natural for Heratis to lose to Ink Qilin in a clash of Absolute Techniques. Of course, had Heratis chosen to fight by evading, even Ink Qilin would have needed some time to kill her. The fight wouldnt have ended so quickly and decisively. While everyone was immersed in silence, Shi Feng collected the item Heratis dropped and turned his gaze toward Daylight and Death Stride. It seems your plan to take over Abyssal Star City isnt going as smoothly as you expected. Will you two beg for mercy now or choose to continue fighting? Shi Feng nonchalantly asked. An ugly look appeared on Daylight and Death Stride when they heard Shi Feng returning their previous provocation to them. Black Flame! Dont get cocky just because you have Ink Qilin backing you! Not only did Daylight not panic after realizing Ink Qilins identity, but he even sneered and said, Do you really think we have no way to deal with her? With just you two? Youre still not qualified for that, Shi Feng said disdainfully. Whether it was the Hades Society, Primal Empire, or Sacred Tribe, he had never regarded any of them as his actual opponents. This was because upper-ranking hegemonic powers lacked the qualifications to be his opponent. However, a second after Shi Feng finished speaking, a powerful voice echoed throughout Abyssal Star City. Is this old man qualified, then? Following this question, an indescribable pressure swept through Abyssal Star City, forcing all players below Tier 5 to their knees. Many Tier 5 experts also felt their movements becoming stiff. Suddenly, a lean old man appeared mid-air, his body staying suspended in the air without any support as he overlooked Abyssal Star City. Divine Might! This is real Divine Might! This is a lie! This must be a lie! Tier 6?! Hes a Tier 6 Berserker God?! Shock and fear filled the eyes of Asuras members as they looked at the old man. They never expected someone from the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers to get promoted to Tier 6 already. Chapter 3450 - Chapter 524 - Fighting a Tier 6 Opponent Chapter 524 C Fighting a Tier 6 Opponent Tier 6! This was the highest tier players could achieve in Gods Domain. It was also the dream of countless players to reach this tier. Even with the countless experts that existed in the Greater Gods Domain, Tier 6 players remained the various powers core combat power. Tier 6?! Is this the Hades Societys true capability? Hidden Soul, Liu Wusheng, and the Asura Mercenary Alliances other executives wore grim expressions as they quietly looked at the old man hovering above the city. The joy they felt from seeing Ink Qilin killing Heratis disappeared completely when they felt the aura coming from the old man and saw the Hades Society Guild Emblem the old man wore. In the current Miniature Ancient World, Tier 6 was a goal that the various powers experts were frantically trying to reach. This was because they knew that the appearance of the first Tier 6 player would instantly change the Miniature Ancient Worlds power structure. Although Hidden Soul and the others had long known that a Tier 6 player could appear at any moment given the Miniature Ancient Worlds current situation, they never thought the Hades Society would give birth to a Tier 6 player so quickly. Shortly after the appearance of the elderly Berserker God, the various hegemonic powers executives present in Abyssal Star City went into an uproar. Is the Hades Society insane?! How dare they send Nightmare Chaser to the Miniature Ancient World?! One Step was in utter disbelief as he looked at the old man in the sky. Unlike the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players, One Step knew a lot more about the Greater Gods Domains various powers. Nightmare Chaser! This was a name that any player who had operated outside the Starlight Realm would have heard of at least once. It was also a name regarded by the various powers operating in the Void Sea as taboo for their Tier 5 members. More specifically, the various powers prohibited any of their Tier 5 members from taking action within the Hades Societys Devil Fortress. This was because any Tier 5 player who dared to do so would be permanently removed from Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the cause of these removals was none other than Nightmare Chaser. Nightmare Chaser was the Tier 6 Berserker God responsible for guarding the Devil Fortress. He was also the biggest contributor to the Devil Fortresss prosperity. In the current situation where only Level 160, Tier 5 players were allowed to enter the Miniature Ancient World, the idea of sending a Level 220, Tier 6 Berserker God into the Miniature Ancient World was simply absurd. It was especially so when the Berserker God in question was Nightmare Chaser. After all, not only would it cost an astronomical expenditure to bring Nightmare Chaser back to Tier 6 within a short time, but it would also leave Devil Fortress without the infamous Nightmare Chasers protection. Abyssal Star City is a lost cause now, Melissa stated with a sigh. Then, she turned her gaze toward Shi Feng, who stood in the Abyssal Star Plaza, and continued, I thought I would have another chance to fight Black Flame again, but it seems that wont be possible anymore. What a pity. One Step nodded in agreement as he similarly turned to look at Shi Feng. With Nightmare Chasers personality, he absolutely wont rest until every member of Asura is gone. After losing to Shi Feng several months ago, One Step would often think of redeeming himself. But after seeing Nightmare Chaser, he did not doubt that be it Zero Wing or the Asura Mercenary Alliance, both would become history after today. However, just when everyone thought Shi Feng would panic at the sight of Nightmare Chaser, Shi Feng nonchalantly glanced at the lean old man in the sky and said: Im afraid youre still lacking. These words were spoken in a flat tone, yet they echoed loudly in the ears of everyone present in Abyssal Star City. Meanwhile, following Shi Fengs words, the various hegemonic powers executives couldnt help but look at him with their eyes and mouth wide open. Is he crazy? He still dares to make provocations at a time like this? Is he not afraid Nightmare Chaser will make him disappear from Gods Domain? Does he think Ink Qilin can still protect him? When the various hegemonic powers executives saw Shi Fengs behavior, they couldnt help but think of him as a fool. After all, a Tier 6 Berserker God was present before him, yet he still failed to see the situation for what it was. How brave of you! It seems you have already prepared yourself to face the consequences of provoking a Tier 6 expert! Suddenly, Nightmare Chaser raised his hand and summoned a crimson saber. Then, he slashed downward with the saber, sending forth a frightening energy blade that threatened to cut Shi Feng and Abyssal Star City in half. When the energy blade made contact with Abyssal Star Citys defensive magic array, it cut through the self-generated defensive magic array like a hot knife through butter. In front of the frightening energy blade, the defensive magic array that could normally withstand bombardment from an army of Tier 5 players behaved as if it did not even exist. Meanwhile, all of the players in Abyssal Star City couldnt help but be dumbfounded by this scene. Is this how powerful Tier 6 players are? Sound Reaver thought. This was the first time she had seen a Tier 6 player in action, and she couldnt help but be greatly shocked. As an Advanced City, Abyssal Star City came with a defensive magic array that could withstand continuous bombardment from over a thousand Tier 5 experts. Without Skills and Spells specifically designed to break barriers, it would be impossible to break the defensive magic array within a short time. This had already been proven multiple times in the Miniature Ancient World. Yet, the defensive magic array that had withstood numerous attacks from various hegemonic powers failed to last even one move against Nightmare Chaser. The gap between Tier 5 and Tier 6 players was magnitudes greater than what she initially thought. Meanwhile, different from Sound Reaver, Shi Feng remained unfazed in the face of Nightmare Chasers attack. He didnt even try to evade it, looking like he was simply waiting to receive the Berserker Gods judgment. But just when it seemed like the energy blade was about to hit Shi Feng, a figure appeared before him, the shield in the persons hand raised to face the energy blade directly. A moment after the shield and energy blade made contact, a deafening explosion reverberated throughout Abyssal Star City. The resulting shockwaves were so powerful that most of the Tier 5 players standing in the plaza were sent flying over a hundred yards away. When the dust settled, a large, bottomless fissure could be seen splitting the plaza. Two people could also be seen standing at one end of the fissure, and they were Shi Feng and the shield-wielding Ink Qilin. They didnt die? What did she do? The various Tier 5 experts situated around the plaza couldnt help but doubt their eyes. There was no doubt Nightmare Chasers attack carried devastating power. It simply wasnt an attack Tier 5 players like themselves could hope to withstand. This was evident just by looking at Abyssal Star Citys fading defensive magic array. Even the slightest contact with this attack could probably reduce a Tier 5 tank to dust. Yet, not only did Ink Qilin survive blocking Nightmare Chasers attack, but the HP she lost from doing so was also inconsequential. How is this possible?! Is she really just Tier 5? Riding atop the wyverns loitering above the city, Daybreak and Death Stride were visibly shaken as they looked at Ink Qilin. No one knew the might of Nightmare Chaser better than them. Even if Nightmare Chaser was still at Tier 5, the two of them working together would not last more than three moves against him. Yet, even though Nightmare Chaser was currently at Tier 6 and wielding the Legendary Weapon Revenant Blade, Ink Qilin didnt even lose 3% of her HP from blocking Nightmare Chasers attack. How was this even possible? Chapter 3451 - Chapter 525 - Godlike Line-Up Chapter 525 C Godlike Line-Up Incredible! This is simply incredible! It felt like I would have been obliterated if I had just touched that energy blade, yet she managed to deflect it! No wonder Guild Leader Black Flame is so relaxed! With such capabilities, she can already fight true Tier 6 players! Liu Wusheng and the others were greatly astonished by Ink Qilins combat capabilities when they saw the fissure that had resulted from Nightmare Chasers attack getting deflected. At the same time, they couldnt help but put themselves in Ink Qilins shoes and wonder how they would do against Nightmare Chasers attack. However, no matter how many simulations they ran in their minds, they could only get one resultinstant death! The gap between them and Ink Qilin was simply massive. Whether it was technique or Basic Attributes, they were vastly inferior to Ink Qilin. Good! We should have a fighting chance now! Hidden Soul thought, hints of expectation and joy coloring her gloomy face when she saw Ink Qilin mostly unscathed. Originally, Hidden Soul was already close to falling into despair. After all, she knew the difference between Tier 5 and Tier 6 players. When she was still active on the main continent, the best she could ever do as a Tier 5 player was threaten Tier 6 players. It was a qualitative difference that could not be overcome with numbers alone. Not to mention, Nightmare Chaser wasnt your average Tier 6 player. If it was with her current combat standard, Hidden Soul was confident she could defeat the Tier 6 players she had previously faced on the main continent. However, she had zero confidence she could triumph against Nightmare Chaser. After all, as a fifth-floor expert, Nightmare Chaser could sweep the floor with her even if they were at the same tier, let alone having a one-tier advantage. In a certain sense, the Tier 6 Nightmare Chaser was even more terrifying of a foe than the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribes 50,000-plus Tier 5 experts. But now that Ink Qilin had shown herself capable of fending off Nightmare Chasers attack, it would take a lot of pressure off of Abyssal Star City if she could keep him pinned. However, contrary to everyones expectations, Nightmare Chaser didnt seem all too surprised to see Ink Qilin overcome his attack. Not bad! As expected of a vice commander of Scarecrow Fox, Nightmare Chaser praised as he looked at Ink Qilin. With how effortlessly you deflected my attack, I can say with certainty that youll be put onto the Divine Glory List the day you decide to advance to Tier 6. That Great Commander of yours will have a wide smile on his face when he learns of how much you have improved. You overpraise me, sir, Ink Qilin calmly responded as she looked at Nightmare Chaser. If not for the miniature world suppressing you, I wouldnt have been able to deflect your attack so easily. As soon as Ink Qilin finished speaking, Hidden Soul and the others couldnt help but gasp. That devastating attack was subjected to the worlds suppression? Many native players couldnt help but find Ink Qilins words unbelievable. It was especially so for the native players who had seen Tier 6 players in action on the main continent before. They had a very hard time believing that Nightmare Chasers devastating attack was subjected to any form of suppression. Of the players present, only those who had spent time in the Greater Gods Domain knew that Ink Qilin wasnt lying. Every world in Gods Domain, be it a main world or a miniature world, had a protection mechanism for native players against foreign players. If players entered a foreign world, they would face a suppression that would increase in strength along with tiers, and the suppression for Tier 6 players was absurdly powerful. This was why most worlds in the Greater Gods Domain remained under the control of native powers. As Nightmare Chaser wasnt a native player of the Miniature Ancient World, he would face a 40% suppression to his Basic Attributes and Physique as a foreign Tier 6 player. In other worlds, Nightmare Chaser could only perform at 60% of his peak in the Miniature Ancient World. Of course, even with his Basic Attributes and Physique suppressed to such a significant extent, he was still far above Tier 5 players in these regards. Meanwhile, after praising Ink Qilin, Nightmare Chaser turned to look at Shi Feng, who stood behind Ink Qilin. It seems you werent behaving arrogantly without reason, young man, Nightmare Chaser said, chuckling as he stroked his long beard. But I wonder, how will you behave if you have to face two Tier 6s? Upon hearing Nightmare Chasers words, the players in Abyssal Star City couldnt help but shudder and think that he must be joking. It was already plenty unbelievable for one Tier 6 player to appear. Two Tier 6 players? Was that even possible? Nightmare, you old bastard! Couldnt you keep your mouth shut?! Suddenly, a man shrouded in black mist appeared next to Nightmare Chaser. As if the mist-shrouded man had always been there, nobody noticed how he arrived next to Nightmare Chaser. At the same time, following the mist-shrouded mans arrival, a terrifying Divine Might spread across Abyssal Star City, causing everyone to feel as if a hand was gripping their heart. Tier 6! Another Tier 6! Heavens! What in the world is happening here?! The Hades Society sending Nightmare Chaser here is already crazy enough. Now, even the Primal Empire has lost its mind and mobilized Wraith Saint?! One Step got goosebumps as he looked at the two figures in the sky. Melissa was also visibly shocked by this sudden turn of events. Whether it was Nightmare Chaser or Wraith Saint, both were famous individuals in the Void Sea. Any one of them appearing on the battlefield could cause a great uproar. Yet, now, both of them had entered the Miniature Ancient World and were working together to besiege a city Meanwhile, Myriad Spears Daylight and Unsleeping Death Death Stride smirked when they saw the reactions of the players in Abyssal Star City. Ink Qilin was indeed amazing for being able to slay Heratis and deflect an attack from Nightmare Chaser. But when faced with both Nightmare Chaser and Wraith Saint, what could she do? What do we have for them to mobilize two Tier 6 experts? Hidden Soul wryly smiled as she looked at the two figures in the sky, unsure of what the Asura Mercenary Alliance could possibly do to get out of this predicament. As for Liu Wusheng and the others, they thoroughly fell into despair. Young lady from Scarecrow Fox. At this time, Nightmare Chaser suddenly looked at Ink Qilin and smiled, saying, If you turn away and leave now, I can pretend as if you were never here out of respect for your Great Commander. You have three seconds to consider. When Wraith Saint heard Nightmare Chasers suggestion, he wasnt particularly surprised. Scarecrow Fox was a powerful adventurer team that even the Hades Society would prefer to avoid provoking. Scarecrow Foxs Great Commander was especially someone to be feared. Thank you for your goodwill, but please forgive me for refusing it, sir, Ink Qilin said, shaking her head. Then, in an earnest tone, she continued, At the same time, I would like to advise you that it is not a wise choice to make an enemy out of Guild Leader Black Flame. Not a wise choice? Nightmare Chaser laughed. He felt like he had just heard the funniest joke of the century. However, he did not try to argue with Ink Qilin. Instead, he turned to Wraith Saint and said, Ill keep this girl pinned while you deal with the other kid. Well show this little girl what wisdom really means! Fine. But you owe me a favor, Wraith Saint said out of annoyance. Sure. Nightmare Chaser nodded. When Nightmare Chaser finished speaking, Wraith Saint disappeared and reappeared twice in quick succession, the distance between him and Shi Feng shortening significantly with each reappearance. In the meantime, Nightmare Chaser brandished his saber, sending multiple energy blades in Ink Qilins direction to keep her busy. Many of the various hegemonic powers executives sighed at this scene. This was because they could tell that Shi Feng was doomed this time. However, when Wraith Saint disappeared from everyones eyes for the third time, several arrows targeted him from multiple directions, forcing him to reappear. Then, two figures appeared directly in front and behind him, the one in front charging him with a shield while the one in the back swung an axe at him. Boom! The three sides separated as soon as they collided. Immediately afterward, Wraith Saint could be seen reappearing nearby, a solemn look on his face as he looked at his three new opponents. Three Golden Masters? Chapter 3452 - Chapter 526 - World-Shaking Battle Chapter 526 C World-Shaking Battle Who are you people? Which power are you from? What did Black Flame promise you? Looking at the three figures hovering before him, Wraith Saint couldnt help but voice his confusion to calm his restless heart. After all, the three new arrivals were simply terrifying! Golden Masters were apex existences in the Greater Gods Domain, and not even apex powers would be willing to offend one without good reason. Yet, now, three Golden Masters had appeared before him. Normally, this was something that would only happen in Higher Wars. What was a Higher War? That was a battle that only pseudo-apex powers and above could participate in. Meanwhile, these battles had long been regarded as legends in the Greater Gods Domain. If not for the three Golden Masters before him being at Tier 5 and equipped with relatively subpar equipment, he would have probably turned around and fled already. At this moment, Wraith Saint wasnt the only one disturbed by this sudden turn of events. Nightmare Chaser had also stopped his clash with Ink Qilin and stared at the three figures hovering in front of Wraith Saint in shock, confusion, and terror. While the average player might not understand what it meant to be able to fly in the current Miniature Ancient World, as a veteran Tier 6 expert who had fought in countless battles in the Greater Gods Domain, Nightmare Chaser knew what it meant. Golden Masters! Three Golden Masters! What kind of sick joke was this?! Which power are we from? Promise? Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja couldnt help but be confused when they heard Wraith Saints questions. Then, Desolate Fury nonchalantly answered, Stop blindly guessing. All three of us are members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance? Wraith Saint couldnt help but look at the three Golden Masters as if they were liars. Before deciding to attack Abyssal Star City, the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe had conducted a thorough investigation on Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance. However, based on their findings, apart from the Shimmering Sword Laura Crader, everybody else couldnt be considered a noteworthy adversary. Yet, now, three Golden Masters had suddenly appeared and declared themselves members of the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Not even a fool would believe their words. When the two sides in mid-air suddenly stopped fighting, both Asura and the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers members couldnt help but be stunned and confused. Whats going on? When Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao saw Wraith Saint and Nightmare Chaser seemingly backing away out of fear, they couldnt help but grow confused. Why do they seem afraid of Commander Fury and the two others? Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao were no stranger to Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja. They had met all three in the Ancient River Kingdoms Rookie Competition. As for the trios strength, while it was true that they were powerful experts, that was only among experts of the same generation operating in the Ancient River Kingdom and its surrounding countries. But compared to powerhouses such as Wraith Saint and Nightmare Chaser, who were famous throughout the Greater Gods Domain, there was still much to be desired from the trio. Yet, Wrath Saint and Nightmare Chaser were now behaving warily against the trio. This was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, the members of the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers reacted differently from Midsummer and Wu Xiaoxiao. It was especially true for Daylight and Death Stride. A force of three Golden Masters was no laughing matter. This was more than just a problem of facing three powerful experts. Before deciding to fight these three individuals, they also needed to determine which powers these individuals represented and whether they could afford to slight these powers. Dammit! Everyone, attack! Well take down Abyssal Star City first! Nightmare Chaser commanded after seeing that the three Golden Masters refused to reveal their origins. So what if they have three Golden Masters? Do they really think they can stop an army of 50,000?! Personally, Nightmare Chaser did not wish to make such a reckless command when they had three Golden Masters as opponents. After all, even if these three Golden Masters were only Tier 5 players who did not possess a single Legendary item, the mobility they could achieve in the Miniature Ancient World was still far superior to a foreign Tier 6 player like himself. Not to mention, the destructive power the trio previously displayed had undoubtedly reached the Tier 6 standard already. The problem was that they couldnt afford to continue this stalemate. The Miniature Ancient World was a crucial location for the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribes plans in the Void Sea, and who knew what the powers backing the three Golden Masters were planning? So, rather than wait and see how things played out, the better choice to make would be to eliminate the Miniature Ancient Worlds strongest native power, the Asura Mercenary Alliance, as quickly as possible. Once Asura was out of the picture, even if the powers backing the three Golden Masters decided to make a move on the Miniature Ancient World, they would have difficulty doing so. Kill them all! Leave no one alive! Daylight and Death Chaser promptly relayed Nightmare Chasers command to the army they led. Immediately, dozens of Tier 6 combatants and over 50,000 Tier 5 experts swarmed Abyssal Star City. And because Abyssal Star Citys defensive magic array was no longer in operation, nothing stopped the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers members from invading the city. Meanwhile, to prevent the citys destruction, Asuras members had no choice but to step out of the city to meet the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers members in battle. Fortunately, they had the assistance of the citys Cannon Towers, Magic Towers, and Tier 4 and Tier 5 NPCs to even the odds to a certain extent. However, this also led to an exceptionally fierce clash between both sides. The battle involving tens of thousands of Tier 5 existences shook the land outside Abyssal Star City. On this battlefield, even the fourth-floor experts normally regarded as invincible became insignificant existences, and one mistake could easily lead to their demise. Only the Tier 5 experts with Tier 6 combat power were not afraid of being surrounded and could dominate their surroundings by themselves. As for the other Tier 5 experts, at least a hundred of them died every second. Initially, when the various spectating powers saw how the battle was developing, they thought that Abyssal Star City was doomed for destruction. After all, there was a significant difference in numbers between both sides. While both sides might seem evenly matched right now, it remained a fact that Asura had less lasting power than the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Not to mention, Abyssal Star Citys defensive magic array was already destroyed. So, it was only a matter of time before Asuras side lost. However, everyone quickly noticed a peculiar situation occurring on the battlefield. A group of 20-plus experts from Zero Wing was cutting across the battlefield like a harvester designed for harvesting players lives. Not only did every player in this group possess Tier 6 combat power, but they also possessed unbelievably high durability. Even when multiple hostile Tier 6 combatants tried to gang up on one of them, one healer was enough to let the targeted Zero Wing member withstand the combined assault. In contrast, the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers Tier 6 combatants fared as if they were made of paper. When targeted by several of Zero Wings Tier 6 combatants, they would get killed in seconds, even with multiple healers healing them However, what astonished everyone the most was Gentle Snows performance. She fought as if she were a true Tier 6 Berserker God on the battlefield, and nobody could last more than one hit against her greatswords. Even when multiple Tier 6 combatants surrounded her, she could still reap a life with every swing of her dual greatswords. In only several minutes, Gentle Snow had claimed the lives of over a thousand Tier 5 experts. Her strength was so devastating that even Nightmare Chaser had to abandon his fight with Ink Qilin and focus on eliminating Gentle Snow first. Only, the outcome of the clash between Gentle Snow and Nightmare Chaser frightened everyone once more. It turned out thatthe two were evenly matched Chapter 3453 - Chapter 527 - Number One Swordsmans Sword Chapter 527 C Number One Swordsmans Sword As the clash between tens of thousands of Tier 5 experts took place outside Abyssal Star City, the various powers spectating from within the city gained a new understanding of the Asura Mercenary Alliance and Zero Wing. It was especially so for Zero Wing. It should be known that Abyssal Star City was currently facing the combined assault of three upper-ranking hegemonic powers without the assistance of the citys defensive magic array. If any other power in the Miniature Ancient World faced such a predicament, their city would quickly fall into ruin, and their forces annihilated. Yet, the Asura Mercenary Alliance was evenly matched with the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. No. The Asura Mercenary Alliance wasnt just evenly matched. It was even slowly gaining an advantage under the lead of Zero Wings 20-plus experts. Incredible! Zero Wings strength is simply astonishing! Many rumors have speculated that Zero Wing doesnt have any capable experts other than Black Flame, but in reality, Zero Wing is actually a den of monsters! Three Golden Masters! What kind of origin does Zero Wings Guild Leader possess to command such experts? Most of the hegemonic powers operating in the Miniature Ancient World looked down on the miniature worlds native powers, so much so that they wouldnt even bother forming partnerships with them. After all, no matter how powerful a native power was, its strength was only limited to the Miniature Ancient World. Once the Miniature Ancient Worlds native powers set foot into the vast Greater Gods Domain, be it the various superpowers or the Miniature Ancient Worlds number one power, all would become insignificant existences. Even Black Flames achievement of getting into the Luminous Glory List was only enough to make the various hegemonic powers feel surprised. It still wasnt enough to get them to put any significance on him. After all, a genius was only a genius. But after today, the hegemonic powers operating in the Miniature Ancient World had to re-evaluate the significance of Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance. A force consisting of three Golden Masters and over twenty Tier 5 experts with Tier 6 combat power was one to be wary of in any Realm. After all, once these individuals advanced to Tier 6, there was no doubt they could become bona fide powerhouses in the Greater Gods Domain. If all of these individuals reached Tier 6, it might even be enough to elevate Zero Wing and Asura to the status of an upper-ranking hegemonic power. Meanwhile, the opportunity to partner with a future upper-ranking hegemonic power was a huge temptation for any hegemonic power operating in the Greater Gods Domain. This was because an upper-ranking hegemonic power could hold control over resources far beyond the imagination of ordinary hegemonic powers. Meanwhile, to gain access to these resources, one would normally have to join an upper-ranking hegemonic power. The only problem was that in a situation where resources were limited, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers wouldnt casually absorb ordinary hegemonic powers. But it was a different story for a new and emerging upper-ranking hegemonic power. A new upper-ranking hegemonic power would need many affiliated powers to assist its development. It was especially so when it came to the management of territories and recruitment of geniuses. Without the help of affiliated powers, an upper-ranking hegemonic power would have a much more difficult time competing with other upper-ranking hegemonic powers. We cant continue like this, Nightmare, Wraith Saint hurriedly said when he saw that the casualties on their side had exceeded 10,000 already. Even if we can win, well lose at least 70% of our Tier 5 experts. If we sustain such heavy losses in this critical juncture, we will have trouble dealing with the other upper-ranking hegemonic powers. While upper-ranking hegemonic powers such as the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe did not consider Tier 5 experts as strategic assets, losing 70% would still be a huge blow to them. This was more than just a matter of losing some levels. Even more important was the loss of weapons and equipment. After all, while Tier 5 experts might not be considered strategic assets, they remained the mainstays of the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Many of these experts owned Fragmented Legendary items, which were still considered precious items even in the Greater Gods Domain. Even if the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe were upper-ranking hegemonic powers, they would still find it difficult to handle losing tens of thousands of Fragmented Legendary items all of a sudden. In that case, well take away their head first! Nightmare Chaser said as he looked at Shi Feng, who was currently operating Abyssal Star Citys magic barrier. You still have your Doppelganger Skill, right? Help me keep the two from Scarecrow Fox busy while I finish that kid! Most cities in Gods Domain came with two magic arrays. The first was a defensive magic array meant to prevent enemies from invading the city, while the second was a magic barrier meant to buff the citys defenders. If a citys magic barrier had someone actively controlling it, it could grant even greater bonuses to allies. Meanwhile, the presence of these two magic arrays was why it was so difficult to besiege cities in Gods Domain. Currently, it might seem like the Asura Mercenary Alliance was disadvantaged in numbers, but every one of them received at least a 15% boost to their Basic Attributes from Abyssal Star Citys magic barrier. This allowed Asuras members to surpass their forces Basic Attributes by a large margin. If not for this buff, Gentle Snow and the others would have never been able to overturn the situation to such a great extent. Okay! Wraith Saint nodded. Immediately, he used his Tier 6 Legacy Skill Hundred Shadows, instantly splitting into a hundred copies of himself. Every copy had 100% of his Basic Attributes, and they could last up to one minute. Of course, as players werent superhumans, Wraith Saint could only focus on controlling ten of his doppelgangers, ensuring that each of them had the combat standard of a titled expert. As for his other doppelgangers, they would only be at the Refinement Realm standard. Even so, Hundred Shadows still allowed Wraith Saint to become a very tricky opponent to deal with in the Void Sea, and the average Tier 6 Saint could only flee when encountering him. Meanwhile, upon using Hundred Shadows, Wraith Saint promptly used his doppelgangers to pin down Ink Qilin and River Light, preventing them from saving Shi Feng. He also sent some doppelgangers to distract Gentle Snow, stopping her rampage. Kid! Lets see who can save you this time! Using the opportunity Wraith Saint created, Nightmare Chaser quickly appeared before Shi Feng and summoned hundreds of dead souls from his Revenant Blade. Every one of these dead souls had the ability to devour souls, and three to five of them were enough to devour a Tier 5 players Immortal Soul completely. Combination Absolute Technique, Soul Slaughter! After summoning the dead souls, Nightmare Chaser promptly used them in conjunction with a Combination Absolute Technique, the presence he exuded at this moment causing even a Tier 6 player like Wraith Saint to feel a chill crawl down his back. As for everyone else, they felt as if death had just embraced them. Guild Leader! Dodge it! Hidden Soul and the others panicked when they saw the dead souls Nightmare Chaser summoned. Even a real Tier 6 player would have difficulty defending themselves against the simultaneous attack of hundreds of dead souls. Not to mention, those dead souls could not be blocked by players However, just when it seemed like the dead souls were about to devour Shi Feng, Shi Feng nonchalantly glanced at Nightmare Chaser and unsheathed the Winter of Eternal Night and Shadow Incinerator. Subsequently, Shi Feng split into multiple copies of himself in mid-air, each copy creating a spiraling river of stars around them that distorted the surrounding space. Gold Combat Technique, Flowing Space! Swords Orbit! Chapter 3454 - Chapter 528 - Unrivalled Chapter 528 C Unrivalled TL Notes: dead souls -> lost souls The hundreds of lost souls summoned by Nightmare Chaser emitted piercing screams above Abyssal Star Citys magnificent city walls, causing the Tier 5 players within a 1,000-yard radius to fall into a daze. As for those beneath Tier 4, they fainted on the spot and were forcibly logged out of the game. Evidently, everyone caught within range of the piercing screams had suffered a significant mental blow. What kind of footwork is that?! How is he moving so quickly?! Is Black Flame crazy? Hes really trying to block that kind of attack? Isnt it common sense that souls cannot be physically touched? Does he not even know that? Everyone couldnt help but be confused by Shi Fengs actions when they saw him taking the initiative to meet the lost souls in battle. After all, souls in Gods Domain did not have a physical form, meaning they couldnt be touched. This, in turn, made it difficult for players to harm souls. Meanwhile, when Nightmare Chaser saw Shi Feng trying to block his attack, he couldnt help but get the urge to laugh. Soul Slaughter was his trademark move, and he had killed many Tier 6 experts with it. Some of these targets were even Tier 6 Saints who were proficient with soul attacks. Yet, all of them had died to this move without exception. The lost souls he summoned might seem like they could only launch soul attacks, but every one of them also carried a saber light. In other words, anyone targeted by his Soul Slaughter would not only have to face several hundred soul attacks, but they would also have to face several hundred physical attacks simultaneously. So, for a Tier 5 Sword Saint to try to defend against the lost souls was no different than suicide. Boom! Boom! Boom! Thundering explosions echoed throughout Abyssal Star City, one after another. Contrary to everyones expectations, the hundreds of lost souls did not phase through Shi Fengs swords. Instead, the moment they came into the spiraling rivers of stars, they vanished out of existence like flames getting extinguished. As for the saber lights the lost souls carried, they behaved as if they had collided with an impenetrable wall, and they were the main cause of the explosions that echoed throughout the city. After several hundred explosions, all of the lost souls disappeared, and Shi Feng could be seen standing tall in mid-air. A Golden Master! Hes a Golden Master as well! Guild Leader Black Flame is a Golden Master? Daylight and the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers other members subconsciously gasped when they saw Shi Feng hovering in mid-air. Even Liu Wusheng and the Asura Mercenary Alliances other members reacted in a similar manner. Previously, they still didnt understand the significance of being able to fly in the current Miniature Ancient World. Now, though, they knew that only Tier 6 players and players who had mastered a Gold Combat Technique of the footwork variety could accomplish such a feat. Meanwhile, it should be known that Golden Masters were apex existences in the Greater Gods Domain. The fact that the Asura Mercenary Alliance had three Golden Masters was already very astonishing. Yet, now, it was revealed that Asura had a fourth Golden Master. Not to mention, unlike the three other Golden Masters, Shi Feng was a native player of the Miniature Ancient World. Once he got promoted to Tier 6, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that hed become an invincible existence in the Miniature Ancient World. At that time, no foreign power would be able to do anything about him. I see! So thats why that little girl spoke so highly of you! When Nightmare Chaser saw Shi Feng hovering at the same elevation as he was, he quickly remembered the words Ink Qilin had previously said to him and came to a realization. But, then, a hint of madness appeared on his face as he said, But so what if youre a Golden Master? It still doesnt change the fact that youre only at Tier 5. Today, Ill teach you the difference in tiers! As soon as Nightmare Chaser finished speaking, the intensity of his aura skyrocketed, and his body rapidly grew in size until he became a five-meter-tall giant. In this state, his every movement caused the surrounding space to collapse, and the Divine Might he exuded caused everyone apart from Wraith Saint to have difficulty moving. Tier 6 Legacy Skill, Spirit God Transformation! Hes fully recovered to his peak state! When Wraith Saint felt Nightmare Chasers aura, he couldnt help but grow a little envious. Spirit God Transformation was a Legacy Berserk Skill that enhanced Nightmare Chasers Basic Attributes by 220%, Physique by 100%, five senses by 100%, and reaction speed by 100% for one minute. With the assistance of this Berserk Skill, Nightmare Chaser could even out the powerful suppression he faced from the Miniature Ancient World and exhibit the combat power of a normal Tier 6 player. With the combat power of a normal Tier 6 player and the Legendary Weapon Revenant Blade supporting Nightmare Chaser, not even a Tier 5 Golden Master could survive against him. Subsequently, Nightmare Chaser could be seen casually swinging the Revenant Blade in Shi Fengs direction. Immediately afterward, hundreds of Tier 5 players positioned within a thousand yards of Nightmare Chaser were sent flying and losing more than one-third of their maximum HP. As for Shi Feng, the actual target of Nightmare Chasers attack, he was sent flying over a thousand yards away, and his HP fell by over 50%. The two swords he wielded also trembled violently as he held them up before him. The difference in strength was obvious at a glance. The two of them were not on the same level at all. Youre still alive? Nightmare Chaser was a little surprised to see Shi Feng still standing after taking an attack from his normal state. Unable to help himself, he said in a tone of admiration, I have to say that your Defense is really something. However, its time to end this farce. With the difference in our tiers, you wont survive a second attack from me! You are right. As a Tier 5 player, I stand no chance against you. After taking a look at the trembling swords in his hands, Shi Feng suddenly sheathed the Shadow Incinerator. Then, he looked at Nightmare Chaser and calmly said, But itll be a different story if I reach Tier 6. If you reach Tier 6? Nightmare Chaser smirked at Shi Fengs comment. Do you think its that easy to reach Tier 6? There were indeed many ways for players to forcibly elevate their tiers in Gods Domain, but most of these methods could, at most, elevate players to Tier 5 or grant them combat power at the Tier 6 standard. If players wished to forcibly elevate their tiers to Tier 6, they would need to rely on a Fragmented Divine Artifact at the very least. But how rare were Fragmented Divine Artifacts in the Greater Gods Domain? Reaching Tier 6 is indeed difficult, but I can get infinitely close to it, Shi Feng said, nodding. Then, he expended a God Crystal to use Ancient Dragons Power to upgrade the Winter of Eternal Night to the Legendary rank. Holy Manas Shadow! Immediately, a vast amount of Holy Power and Mana flowed out of the Winter of Eternal Night and into Shi Fengs body. Then, these two types of energies began reconstructing Shi Fengs body, increasing its size. Three meters Five meters Nine meters Shi Fengs body kept growing until it reached twenty meters in height. At the same time, holy patterns appeared all over his body, and complex magic arrays that emitted a sacred glow appeared in his eyes. At first glance, it looked as if a deity from ancient times had descended onto the mortal world. Now, lets start the second round! Chapter 3455 - Chapter 529 – Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection Chapter 529 C Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection A Transformation Skill? You have indeed become much stronger, Nightmare Chaser said as he looked at Shi Fengs enlarged body. But so what? You still arent a Tier 6 player! As soon as Nightmare Chaser finished speaking, an illusory world suddenly formed around him, and his Divine Might started to cause the space within a 10,000-yard radius to tremble. All Tier 5 players caught within Nightmare Chasers Divine Might froze as if their bodies were restrained, while most Tier 4 players fell into a daze. Only a very small number of strong-willed Tier 4 players could remain clear-minded. Along with the appearance of the illusory world, Nightmare Chasers Divine Might had undoubtedly undergone a qualitative transformation. What a powerful Law Projection! Ink Qilin mentally exclaimed as she looked at Nightmare Chaser. She, too, had her mobility largely affected by Nightmare Chasers Divine Might. Was he not fighting seriously at all just now? Apart from a difference in Life Rating and Basic Attributes, another major factor that set Tier 5 and Tier 6 players apart was the ability of Tier 6 players to use Law Projection via their Divine Bodies. A Law Projection was like the Mana Domain of a Tier 4 player. Only, a Law Projection was formed with a Divine Body as its core, and it could rewrite the operating laws of a specific area with its own unique laws. So, a Law Projection was vastly stronger than a Mana Domain. Even a Tier 5 player capable of using World Creation could only mitigate some of the effects of a Tier 6 players Law Projection. Of course, not all Tier 6 players Law Projection was of the same strength. Weaker Law Projections could be completely neutralized by a Tier 5 players World Creation, while a strong and complete Law Projection could make it so that Tier 5 players couldnt even use World Creation. Meanwhile, Nightmare Chasers Law Projection was clearly very strong. This was because Ink Qilin could only mitigate a small portion of its suppressing effects with her World Creation, and her combat power was reduced by over 70% A Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection! As expected of Nightmare Chaser! Wraith Saint couldnt help but be in awe when he felt the suppression coming from the formless laws around him. He has probably already mastered three Basic Laws to create such a powerful Law Projection. If he can perfectly combine all three, hell have a true Advanced Law Projection in his hands! As a veteran Tier 6 expert in the Greater Gods Domain, Wraith Saint knew much more about Law Projections than Tier 5 and Tier 6 players of the younger generation. Not only did he know about the strength categories surrounding Law Projections, but he also had a detailed understanding of how players could develop their Law Projections. A Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection? Shi Feng also couldnt help but look at Nightmare Chaser, feeling a little surprised when he felt the frightening pressure coming from his surroundings. When players advanced to Tier 6, the Law Projections they could form would differ depending on the Laws they had learned. Over 90% of newly-promoted Tier 6 players wouldnt have even one Basic Law mastered, so their Law Projections would be naturally formed by their Divine Bodies and considered the weakest variety. Such Law Projections could be completely neutralized by the World Creations of Tier 5 players. As for Saints, they were individuals who had fully mastered the operating principles of at least one Basic Law. So, even if a Saint was newly promoted to Tier 6, they could create a powerful Law Projection that could easily suppress Tier 5 players World Creations. As for Pseudo-Advanced Law Projections, their formation required complete mastery over three Basic Laws. The Saint-ranked experts who could accomplish such a feat were few and far between. Moreover, so long as these players could combine the three Basic Laws they mastered, they could form an Advanced Law Projection. At that time, they could even suppress the formation of newly-promoted Tier 6 players naturally-occurring Law Projections, let alone Tier 5 players World Creations. Advanced Law Projections were so powerful that a Tier 6 player with an Advanced Law Projection and a Legendary Weapon could kill a Tier 6 God by themselves. Although Nightmare Chasers Law Projection had yet to reach the Advanced standard, his achievement of reaching the Pseudo-Advanced standard was still one that many Tier 6 Saint-ranked experts could only dream of attaining. It seems you know quite a lot about Law Projections, Nightmare Chaser commented when he heard Shi Feng accurately identify his Law Projections rank. Then, he proudly continued, Thats right! I mastered my third Basic Law only a few years ago! You are the first person in this miniature world to have forced me to reveal this card, so you can die with pride! After saying so, Nightmare Chaser disappeared from everyones vision before reappearing behind Shi Feng, the Revenant Blade in his hand transforming into a streak of light as it targeted the back of Shi Fengs neck. Nightmare Chasers speed was so fast that most of the Tier 5 players present couldnt even react to his attack. Boom! A loud explosion echoed throughout Abyssal Star City, and the resulting shockwaves reduced the citys sturdy walls into rubble. In the direction of the Revenant Blades advance, a large fissure had also appeared on the ground several thousand yards away, the fissure causing the island that Abyssal Star City sat on to lose a small corner. Amidst everyones shock, though, the Revenant Blade could be seen scraping against a sword, their friction causing sparks to fly in all directions. He blocked it? How is this possible?! Everyones eyes bulged when they saw Shi Feng successfully stopping the Revenant Blade without taking any damage. Wraith Saint, in particular, couldnt help but gawk at this sight. Did I hold back too much? Nightmare Chaser was a little confused when he saw how easily Shi Feng had blocked his attack. However, he didnt fuss over it too much as he hadnt been serious with his attack just now. After all, in his opinion, no Tier 5 player should be able to stop his attack when suppressed by his Law Projection. Immediately, Nightmare Chaser began raining a series of attacks on Shi Feng with his Revenant Blade. Boom Boom Boom Countless explosions echoed throughout the entire island, the shockwaves of the explosions annihilating the Tier 4 players caught within a few thousand yards of the explosions epicenter. For a time, it looked like the Apocalypse had come for Abyssal Star City. However, despite Nightmare Chasers rampant attacks, he failed to do a single point of damage to Shi Feng. The only thing he managed to accomplish was deforming the surrounding terrain and awe the surviving players down below. What did you do? Nightmare Chasers emotions quickly went from calm to bewilderment after seeing Shi Feng block dozens of his moves without taking any damage. Why arent you affected by my Law Projection? If both of them had similar Basic Attributes, it would be understandable for their clash to yield no results. However, he had a Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection empowering him. Even a Tier 6 tank with similar Basic Attributes would have already fallen after blocking so many of his attacks, let alone a Tier 5 Sword Saint. The only explanation Nightmare Chaser could think of for this situation was that Shi Feng was unaffected by his Law Projection. But it was simply unheard of for a Tier 5 player to be able to ignore the effects of a Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection! Isnt it just a Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection? Why are you making it sound like it cannot be resisted? Shi Feng nonchalantly responded. Then, an illusory world formed around him, causing the surrounding space to collapse and distort. A Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection?! How is this possible?! Nightmare Chaser became dumbfounded as he looked at the collapsed space around Shi Feng. Chapter 3456 - Chapter 530 – Legend Re-emerges Chapter 530 C Legend Re-emerges As Shi Feng hovered in mid-air, the space caught within the illusory world he summoned repeatedly collapsed and mended itself, and this illusory world continuously expanded as time went on. In just three seconds, the illusory world had already covered a radius of several thousand yards, and it actively butted heads with Nightmare Chasers illusory world. He also has a Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection?! Incredible! He actually reached Tier 6! Thats not the point. This is a Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection we are talking about. The formation of one requires complete mastery over three Basic Laws. Not only is Black Flame a Golden Master, but he has also mastered three Basic Laws at such a young age. Is he a monster? Many of the various ordinary hegemonic powers executives and upper-ranking hegemonic powers experts were greatly shocked to see Shi Fengs Law Projection matching Nightmare Chasers Law Projection in strength. Although the strength categorization of Law Projections was a secret to most Tier 5 and Tier 6 players, executives of ordinary hegemonic powers and experts of upper-ranking hegemonic powers could still find out about it so long as they were well-connected. Meanwhile, it should be known that Law Projections were different from Gold Combat Techniques. The use of Law Projections required players to have sufficient understanding and control over the magical elements, while the use of Gold Combat Techniques required players to have sufficient understanding and control over their bodies. The two couldnt even be put in the same category. Normally, just being able to master one of these two things to a high standard could already put a player at the Greater Gods Domains apex. As for mastering both, that was something most players didnt even dare to dream of accomplishing. It seems the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers are in trouble, One Step said as he looked at the two godlike existences clashing above Abyssal Star City. Black Flame is just too strong. If this stalemate continues, even if the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers can win, it will be a pyrrhic victory. By the time the other upper-ranking hegemonic powers are ready to mobilize their experts, the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe will lose their ability to compete for the Miniature Ancient World. No wonder the Desolate Star Corporations successor, Maria, insisted on partnering with Zero Wing at all costs, Melissa said, nodding in agreement with One Step. At the same time, she couldnt help but grow a little envious of Marias insightful decision. Now that Abyssal Star City has Black Flame defending it, so long as the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers arent crazy, they will try to avoid fighting Black Flame as much as possible. And with Abyssal Star Citys status in the Miniature Ancient World, it wont have trouble making Star Coins in the future. Star Coins were indispensable to any power or corporation operating in the real world. They were especially important in the cultivation of geniuses. After all, Gods Domains resources were not enough to offer geniuses comprehensive growth. They would also need to complement these in-game resources with real-world resources such as potions. Meanwhile, these real-world resources cost a lot of Star Coins. Without sufficient Star Coins, no matter how powerful a power was in Gods Domain, its future achievements would be limited. There were even many examples of promising powers with meteoric rises disappearing from Gods Domain because they lacked the channels to earn Star Coins. Now that the Miniature Ancient World had become a rest stop in the Void Sea for multiple Realms, any player operating nearby would definitely choose to enter the Miniature Ancient World and rest in its cities. After all, there were very few places for players to rest in the Void Sea, and fortresses in the Void Sea were always overcrowded. Once the Void Seas players started entering the Miniature Ancient World, the Guild Cities situated near the Miniature Ancient Worlds entrance were bound to be the first choice for these players to visit. At that time, even if these Guild Cities only charged an entrance fee of ten or twenty Star Coins, they could still make a killing. They might even be more profitable than the fortresses found in the Void Sea by virtue of Guild Cities being larger than fortresses. While the players in Abyssal Star City were in shock, Nightmare Chaser suddenly distanced himself from Shi Feng. You are very strong, Guild Leader Black Flame. All of us have underestimated you, Nightmare Chaser said, offering praise to Shi Feng without reservation. With your strength, you are qualified to occupy a portion of the Miniature Ancient World. If you are willing to cooperate with us, I can promise you on behalf of the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe that we will not only have a truce but also return Withered Sea City to you. I am sure you are aware that neither of us will benefit from continuing this battle. It will only benefit the other upper-ranking hegemonic powers that will come in the future. The wisest choice to make here would be for us to cooperate. Many players were surprised by Nightmare Chasers sudden proposal. Both sides had already fought to such an extent, yet Nightmare Chaser was now taking the initiative to offer not only a ceasefire but also a partnership. However, everyone also understood why Nightmare Chaser had made such a decision. Whether it was the previous Zero Wing or the Asura Mercenary Alliance, neither was qualified to occupy a portion of the Miniature Ancient World. However, all of that changed following Black Flames appearance. Meanwhile, be it in the real world or in Gods Domain, there were no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. You were the ones to pick a fight, yet you are now talking about cooperating? Arent you people thinking too highly of yourselves? Shi Feng coldly said as he looked at Nightmare Chaser. Youd better think it through, Guild Leader Black Flame, Nightmare Chaser calmly said. If you think we are afraid of you, then you are dead wrong. You should be aware that no good would come out of a fight between our two sides. If I want to, I can even eliminate everyone here except you. At that time, neither Zero Wing nor Asura can continue surviving in the Miniature Ancient World. Nightmare Chasers words were full of arrogance, but nobody present refuted him. This was because his words were the truth. Apart from Shi Feng, nobody else present could survive against Nightmare Chaser. Rather than say that this battle was a fight between several powers, itd be more accurate to say that it was a fight between two individuals. Is that so? Shi Feng suddenly laughed. Lets see you try it, then! Immediately, dozens of Shi Fengs doppelgangers appeared around Nightmare Chaser. These were the products of Flowing Spaces Second Step, Phantom Body. Under the effects of Holy Manas Shadow, Shi Feng could finally use the Gold Combat Techniques second stage, elevating his mobility to a whole new level. Meanwhile, although Shi Fengs Law Projection was not as large as Nightmare Chasers, he still managed to suppress Nightmare Chasers Law Projection for an instant, weakening the bonuses the Berserker God received. Third Sword, Holy Annihilation! Boom! Endless flames enveloped the sky above Abyssal Star City, instantly breaking the stalemate between Shi Feng and Nightmare Chaser. Moreover, because Nightmare Chaser failed to defend himself in time, and because Holy Annihilations attack was omnidirectional, the Berserker God ended up taking a direct hit and lost 6% of his HP. My Law Projection is being suppressed? Nightmare Chaser was greatly confused when he experienced Shi Fengs sudden increase in combat power. Even if it was only an instant, his Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection had still been suppressed, resulting in an imbalance in strength between both sides. Die! Shi Feng didnt give Nightmare Chaser any time to think as he continued executing Flowing Space and Holy Annihilation, repeatedly plundering the Berserker Gods HP. In Gods Domain, mastering and combining three Basic Laws wasnt the only way to form an Advanced Law Projection. If players mastered an Advanced Law, they could similarly form an Advanced Law Projection once they reached Tier 6. In his previous life, Shi Feng had mastered more than one Advanced Law. Although he couldnt form an Advanced Law Projection due to him lacking a Tier 6 Divine Body, the Law Projection he formed with the help of Holy Manas Shadow still wasnt something that a Pseudo-Advanced Law Projection could completely neutralize. One hit Two hits Three hits Every attack Shi Feng executed took away some of Nightmare Chasers HP. Although Nightmare Chaser tried desperately to evade Shi Fengs attacks in the hopes that he could drag out the fight until Shi Fengs Holy Manas Shadow ran out, he was simply no match for Shi Feng when it came to mobility. As a result, he could only watch as his HP plummeted. On the seventeenth attack, Nightmare Chasers HP fell to zero, marking the death of a Tier 6 Berserker God! Chapter 3457 - Chapter 531 - Sword Gods Sword Chapter 531 C Sword Gods Sword In the vast Greater Gods Domain, any Tier 6 player could be considered a powerhouse worthy of managing a stronghold. However, it was a different story for Tier 6 experts capable of ruling over a fortress in the Void Sea. These individuals were apex existences of their respective Realms, and the various powers would try to avoid provoking them as much as possible. Because of this, Tier 6 experts who were capable of managing fortresses in the Void Sea would rarely get killed. Several years could go by without even one of these experts dying. Meanwhile, the Hades Societys Nightmare Chaser had been challenged by countless Tier 6 experts over the decades he managed the Hades Societys Devil Fortress. However, not once had he ever been defeated, let alone killed. He was akin to a legend in the Hades Society. Yet, now, this legend of the Hades Society had been killed in a miniature world. When the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers members attacking Abyssal Star City saw this, all of them fell silent as they watched Nightmare Chasers body fall from the sky. For a time, they even forgot to continue fighting. Lord Chaser got killed?! This must be a lie! Nightmare Chasers been undefeated for decades! How can he get killed, just like that?! The three upper-ranking hegemonic powers members couldnt accept Nightmare Chasers death. It was especially so for the Hades Societys members. They could accept Nightmare Chasers defeat, as there were countless experts in the Greater Gods Domain. Not to mention, situations where the younger generations surpassed the older generations often occurred. However, what they couldnt accept was Nightmare Chaser getting killed by someone of a lower tier. He transcended tiers to kill Nightmare Chaser?! Did I just bear witness to the birth of a legend?! River Light of Scarecrow Fox was greatly shocked when he saw Nightmare Chasers corpse hitting the ground. It could already be considered a legendary feat for a Tier 5 player to kill a Tier 6 player, let alone a Tier 6 player of Nightmare Chasers caliber. What Shi Feng just accomplished was already beyond legendary. At this time, even Ink Qilin was at a loss for words. Previously, Ink Qilin had only thought of getting closer to Shi Feng because of his ability to summon a Tier 6 War Goddess. After all, a Tier 6 War Goddess was an opponent that even pseudo-apex powers would not dare to provoke. The assistance of a Tier 6 War Goddess could also yield incredible results in the exploration of the Underground Crystal Palace. Moreover, apart from having the ability to summon a Tier 6 War Goddess, Shi Feng also seemed to be more knowledgeable about the Underground Crystal Palace than even pseudo-apex powers. Hence, Ink Qilin resolved herself to form a connection with Shi Feng. At that time, Scarecrow Fox could purchase useful information from Shi Feng and secure some advantages in the competition over the secret land. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from tinyurl.com/37k7u89t. But now, it appeared that Shi Fengs potential far exceeded her expectations. Even without relying on the Tier 6 War Goddess, Shi Feng could easily secure himself a place in the Underground Crystal Palace just by relying on himself and the three Golden Masters he commanded. The four of them alone might even be able to compete with the various pseudo-apex powers. Guild Leader Black Flame is so strong, Reaver! Even that Tier 6 Berserker God is no match for him! the young female knight standing next to Sound Reaver exclaimed. Victory is on our side for sure now! Is this the strength of the former number-one Swordsman? Sound Reaver wondered as she stared at Shi Fengs figure standing proudly in mid-air. Previously, Sound Reaver had been confident she could catch up to Shi Feng. But now, she didnt even know how long it would take her just to get to Nightmare Chasers standard, let alone catch up to Shi Feng. Suddenly, Sound Reaver understood why, despite Shi Feng having missed the most important four months of development in Miniature Ancient World, Asuras executives, such as Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue, would still hold him in such high regard. At the same time, Zero Wings and Asuras members cheered in celebration. After all, not only did Shi Fengs victory signify their victory in this battle, but it also meant that Zero Wing would become officially recognized as a powerful Guild in the Miniature Ancient World. As for the Asura Mercenary Alliance, it would become capable of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. After this battle, Asuras members would no longer have to fear the various foreign powers and could develop in peace in the Miniature Ancient World. After all, they had someone capable of slaying Tier 6 experts on their side. Unless the various foreign powers were willing to make big sacrifices, how many Tier 6 experts could they possibly afford to mobilize into the Miniature Ancient World? Dammit! Everyone, retreat to Withered Sea City immediately! Wraith Saint commanded with gritted teeth when he saw Nightmare Chasers fall. Hearing this, Daylight, Death Stride, and the six other surviving Tier 6 combatants of the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers briefly exchanged glances before each taking out a silver crystal half the size of a person. Then, they began pouring their mana into their respective crystals. Immediately, a teleportation ring encompassing a 1,000-yard radius appeared around each of the eight players, forcibly teleporting all of their allies away. A Large Group Teleportation Crystal?! They even prepared such a strategic item?! One Step couldnt help but be flabbergasted when he saw how the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers members disappeared from the battlefield. Group Teleportation Crystals were already worth a ton in the Greater Gods Domain due to their rarity, each being as valuable as a Fragmented Legendary Weapon. Above them were Large Group Teleportation Crystals, and not only were they rarer than Legendary items, but each of them was as valuable as a Legendary item. Normally, a veteran hegemonic power would only have several Large Group Teleportation Crystals in storage, and they would never use them unless their continued existence was threatened. Yet, now, the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers had used a combined total of eight Large Group Teleportation Crystals. How wealthy of these people. Ink Qilin was also astonished by the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers extravagance. After all, Large Group Teleportation Crystals were consumable items. What the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers just did was no different than burning eight Legendary items. Even a mighty adventurer team like Scarecrow Fox would wince at such a loss. Of course, Ink Qilin could understand why the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers made such a costly decision. If the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe were to lose all of their Tier 5 experts in this battle, the losses they would suffer would be far greater than just eight Legendary items. It was one thing to lose tens of thousands of Fragmented Legendary items. It was a whole other matter to lose their qualifications to compete over the Miniature Ancient World. That was a loss the three powers could never accept. Escape? When Shi Feng saw the army of Tier 5 players disappear, he focused his gaze on the eight fading teleportation arrays in the sky. Do you think you can escape in front of a Great Grandmaster Magician? After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng raised the Winter of Eternal Night and swung it at the eight fading teleportation arrays. Radiant Night! Swords Orbit! Immediately, hundreds of sword lights as dark as night traveled surged into the teleportation arrays. Then, they merged with the teleportation arrays and vanished without a trace. Chapter 3458 - Chapter 532 - Frightened Withered Sea City Chapter 532 C Frightened Withered Sea City Dead Ash Sea, Withered Sea City: Amidst the glow of the setting sun, Flying Mounts could be seen flying across the blue sky above Withered Sea City, and hundreds of ships could be seen coming and going from the citys port at every given moment. Many of the players riding on these Flying Mounts and ships were foreign players visiting the Miniature Ancient World to rest, and their arrival brought life and laughter to the extremely dangerous Dead Ash Sea. The Hades Society sure lucked out. Not only were they the first to discover this miniature world, but their fortress in the Void Sea is even located near this place. So long as theyre willing to invest some Mana Stones and Seven Luminaries Crystals, they can quickly mobilize a large number of Tier 5 players here, the Myriad Forest Empires Silent Saintess, who was now a Level 158, Tier 5 player, said enviously as she looked at the crowded port. The fee to enter Withered Sea City is thirty Star Coins. There are a minimum of 300,000 players coming here to rest from the Void Sea every day, so thats nearly ten million Star Coins of pure profit every day. If I can make that much money every day for ten days, I can already retire and enjoy life. A hundred million Star Coins? Are you living in a dream? Glorious Mantra, who was now a Level 157, Tier 5 player, said with a look of disdain. With our standards, unless we advance to Tier 6, the most we can make within our lifetimes is twenty or thirty million. Its a pity we got eliminated from the Rookie Competition by Black Flame, Silent Saintess said with a sigh. Otherwise, we wouldve similarly had a chance to enter the Eternal Realm. If we can get a head start there, we can easily make a couple hundred million. We wouldnt have to explore the dangerous Void Sea in search of ruins and treasures. We also wouldnt have to get exploited by the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Because of her failure to secure a spot in the Galaxy Corporations invitational competition, she had no choice but advance to Tier 5 and team up with the Red Star Kingdoms Glorious Mantra and the Iron Lion Kingdoms Martial Quadbeast to explore the Void Sea. Stop bringing it up. We can only consider ourselves unlucky for coming across a Luminous Glory expert, Martial Quadbeast said, sighing. Rather than reopening old wounds, we should focus on recovering our Stamina and Concentration as soon as possible. More and more experts are migrating to our part of the Void Sea because of this Miniature Ancient World, so we should hurry up and explore our region. That way, we can explore even farther areas before those other Tier 5 experts arrive. Silent Saintess and Glorious Mantra nodded. Then, the trio made their way to Withered Sea Citys central district. While the three of them might be titled experts, their strength only held significance in the various kingdoms and empires. In the Void Sea, where experts from various Realms gathered, titled experts were relatively common. Not to mention, the Void Sea was mainly the domain of Tier 6 players. Withered Sea City, central district: When Silent Saintess, Glorious Mantra, and Martial Quadbeast arrived at the bustling central district, they were immediately greeted by a shocking spectacle. At this moment, tens of thousands of radiant lights suddenly descended upon the central plaza, the descent of every streak of light bringing with it a frightening aura. Evidently, all of these players who had just teleported into the city were Tier 5 players. Moreover, many of these Tier 5 players were fourth-floor experts and titled experts. They also wore the Guild Emblems of the Hades Society, Primal Empire, or Sacred Tribe. When these tens of thousands of Tier5 experts appeared together, the terrifying aura they emanated caused Silent Saintesss group of three to shudder in fear. Whats going on? Why did so many Tier 5 experts suddenly appear together? All of these players are from the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe Could the three powers have banded together? What? Did you just find out about it now? I heard that the three powers had joined forces to attack Abyssal Star City and are planning to thoroughly exterminate the Asura Mercenary Alliance, the alliance created by the Asura Sword Emperor Black Flame. I also heard that Black Flame has recently returned, so it must have been a battle of epic proportions. They went to exterminate Asura? Why are they back, then? When the players resting in the restaurants surrounding the central plaza saw the sudden arrival of the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers experts, they couldnt help but grow curious and start a discussion among themselves. Black Flame? Silent Saintesss group of three also had their interests piqued when they overheard the discussions of the players around them. That person actually comes from this miniature world? Black Flame, the Asura Sword Emperor, had already become a legendary figure in the Ancient River Kingdom and its surrounding countries. He had appeared very suddenly in the Ancient River Kingdom and proceeded to defeat numerous paragons in the kingdoms Rookie Competition. But after becoming the Rookie Competitions champion, he disappeared just as suddenly as he appeared. Then, just when everyone thought Black Flame had been eliminated by some power targeting him, his name suddenly appeared on the Seven Luminaries Alliances Luminous Glory List, exciting countless players in the Ancient River Kingdom and the players who had fought Black Flame in the past. However, Silent Saintesss group of three didnt think they would hear Black Flames name again after entering the Void Sea, much less hear about him clashing against three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Withered Sea City, central plaza: Thank goodness Black Flame didnt react in time. Wraith Saint breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw that all of the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribes surviving Tier 5 experts made it back to Withered Sea City alive. For a moment there, he was truly worried that Shi Feng would react fast enough and kill the players activating the Large Group Teleportation Crystals. If those teleportation crystals failed to activate, their three powers would have had to suffer catastrophic losses in the Miniature Ancient World. Black Flame is too conceited. He probably thought that we never considered the possibility of failure, Myriad Spears Daylight said, laughing. Now that we managed to conserve over 70% of our Tier 5 players, we just need to wait for more Tier 6 players to appear. Then, we can go back and take care of Zero Wing and Asura! Death Stride, the Unsleeping Death, and the other Tier 6 combatants of the three powers also laughed and nodded. The Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage had only opened not long ago, so foreign powers such as the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe had yet to start exerting their strength. Once more of their Tier 5 paragons got promoted to Tier 6, it wouldnt matter how heaven-defying Shi Feng was. Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance would still be doomed. After all, their three powers had far more resources to create Tier 6 players than Zero Wing and Asura did. The three upper-ranking hegemonic powers were defeated? Silent Saintess, Glorious Mantra, and Martial Quadbeast were stunned when they overheard Daylights words. Upper-ranking hegemonic powers were apex existences in the Starlight Realm. They were vastly superior to ordinary hegemonic powers, and each of them controlled over a dozen empires and dozens of kingdoms. If three upper-ranking hegemonic powers banded together, even conglomerates would have to tread carefully around them. Yet, now, they were defeated by the alliance created by Black Flame? However, just as the members of the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers were joyfully deriding Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance, the sky above Withered Sea City suddenly changed. The next moment, hundreds of dark sword lights suddenly descended from the teleportation passage situated within the citys defensive magic array, each one carrying irresistible might. Even Tier 5 players standing thousands of yards away felt an instinctive fear when they felt the power coming from these sword lights. Before anyone could react, the hundreds of sword lights fell onto the crowded central plaza and transformed into a brilliant river of stars that was encompassed by a dark void. Then, the miniature galaxy disappeared, leaving behind a desolate wasteland Whatjust happened? Where did everyonego? Tens of thousands of Tier 5 experts are gone, just like that? What is up with those sword lights?! Those are definitely the attacks of a Tier 6 existence! And how did those attacks come through the teleportation passage? Did a Tier 6 NPC make a move? Apart from fear, the players resting around the central plaza were also filled with confusion. The central plaza had been fine just a moment ago. Yet, not only was it suddenly attacked, but the attack had come through a teleportation passage, directly bypassing Withered Sea Citys defensive magic array. Such a situation was simply unheard of. Meanwhile, in a corner of the central plaza, Silent Saintess, Glorious Mantra, and Martial Quadbeast felt shivers crawl down their spines. This was because they were incredibly familiar with the attack that had just annihilated the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers Tier 5 army. Is the system playing a joke on us? Silent Saintess dazedly muttered as she stared at the fading sword lights. She would never mistake those sword lights. Those were the sword lights of the Asura Sword Emperor, and they were the product of the combat technique that previously killed her in the Rookie Competition! Chapter 3459 - Chapter 533 - Updated Sacred Glory List Chapter 533 C Updated Sacred Glory List Boundary Sea, Abyssal Star City: A day had passed since the defensive siege took place in Abyssal Star City. By now, most of the citys infrastructure had been restored, and many shops, hotels, and restaurants had resumed operating normally. Not only did Abyssal Star City not fall into depression, but it had become even more bustling than before. Originally, Abyssal Star City would only see daily traffic of about ten million players. Moreover, most of it would consist of native players. Now, though, not only did the citys player traffic increase multiple times, but most of it also consisted of foreign players. Many foreign powers had even decided to make Abyssal Star City their base of operations. Meanwhile, all this was due to the shocking event in Withered Sea City yesterday. Is that where the Asura Sword Emperor lives? a Level 160, Tier 5 Sword Saint of the Blood Elf race muttered as she looked at the majestic Guild Residence in the distance. The elven Sword Saint was two meters tall, and she wore the Guild Emblem of Azure Fang, a pseudo-apex power in the Greater Gods Domain. When this elven Sword Saint walked down the street, many foreign experts would take the initiative to make way for her. Even fifth-floor experts famous in the Void Sea dared not get close to her. Why is Azure Fangs Saintess here?! Has Azure Fang lost its mind?! I heard Azure Fangs Saintess recently constructed an Advanced Epic Divine Body and can get promoted into a Tier 6 Sword God anytime. Azure Fang has even prepared to appoint her as its Third Vice Guild Leader. Why would such a big shot appear in this place? It is indeed strange. While the Miniature Ancient World might be a goldmine, it shouldnt hold much appeal to a pseudo-apex power like Azure Fang. You cant say that. After all, the Miniature Ancient World is a meeting point for multiple Realms. There might not be many visitors now, but once news of the Miniature Ancient World spreads, tons of profits can be gained. With Abyssal Star Citys current location and facilities, its revenue will be considerable even for a pseudo-apex power. Not to mention, quite a few powers currently have their eyes on Abyssal Star City. Even if Black Flame is strong, he will probably have trouble dealing with all of them. If Azure Fang steps up now, so long as Black Flame is smart, he will choose to partner with Azure Fang for protection. In exchange, Azure Fang will get some extra income without having to make too big of an investment. The various powers experts started a hushed discussion among themselves when they saw Azure Fangs Saintess making her way to Zero Wings Residence. Initially, the various foreign powers operating in the Miniature Ancient World were given a huge fright when they learned of the decimation of the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribes Tier 5 army in Withered Sea City. After all, the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers Tier 5 army was composed of tens of thousands of Tier 5 experts as well as the Tier 6 Wraith Saint. Yet, all of these experts were killed in the middle of Withered Sea City, and nobody knew who was responsible for this slaughter. It should be known that the Hades Society had invested a ton into Withered Sea City so as to solidify its foothold in the Miniature Ancient World, going as far as to set up a Great Grandmaster Defensive Magic Array for the city immediately after capturing it from the Asura Mercenary Alliance. This put the citys defensive capabilities on par with the Void Seas fortresses. Meanwhile, even a hundred Tier 6 experts attacking together would need a long time to break through such a powerful defensive magic array under normal circumstances. Yet, someone had managed to bypass the defensive magic array and annihilate tens of thousands of Tier 5 experts, all within an instant. Never in their dreams would the various powers dare to imagine such a situation happening. However, it was a fact that such an incident had taken place, so how could the various powers not be frightened? But after the various powers probed around, they discovered something even more frighteningthe culprit behind this incident was none other than Black Flame, the founder behind the two organizations targeted by the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe. Despite being only a Tier 5 Sword Saint, Black Flame had transcended tiers to slay the Tier 6 Nightmare Chaser. After that, he even utilized the teleportation arrays of the Large Group Teleportation Crystals used by the three upper-ranking hegemonic powers to escape to annihilate the three powers Tier 5 army. Both achievements sounded like they came straight out of a fantasy. As a result of these achievements, Black Flame had thoroughly become a thorn in the eyes of the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. The various upper-ranking hegemonic powers had even secretly joined forces with the intention of eliminating Black Flame first before competing for the Miniature Ancient World. Inside a high-class bar in Abyssal Star City Many executives of ordinary hegemonic powers were currently gathered here to exchange information and form alliances. They were doing so to resist the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and survive in the Miniature Ancient World. One Step, Melissa, arent your Guilds a little too crazy? Why did you decide to join Asura at this critical juncture? Are you not afraid of those upper-ranking hegemonic powers retaliation? a Level 160, Tier 5 Shield Warrior said, expressing his confusion when he saw the two people before him wearing the Asura Mercenary Alliances emblem. It is indeed risky, but as the saying goes, a friend who helps you when you are in need is better than one that congratulates you when you are successful, One Step said before taking a sip of wine. Though, despite how calmly he spoke, the hint of worry in his eyes betrayed his calmness. Divine Hunters and Morning Lights decision to join the Asura Mercenary Alliance was honestly a huge gamble. After all, once they lost the bet, they would permanently lose access to the Miniature Ancient World. However, One Step did not regret his decision to push Divine Hunters into this decision as he had personally witnessed Black Flames growth. He firmly believed that if Divine Hunters did not join the Asura Mercenary Alliance now, they would come to regret it in the future. Risky? Is that so? Melissa suddenly grinned as if she had just heard a funny joke. One Step, our Guilds have hit the jackpot this time. What jackpot? One Step looked at Melissa in confusion. In response, Melissa glanced at One Step with a rare hint of fervor in her eyes and said, A friend of mine whos in the Seven Luminaries Alliance just messaged me that the Sacred Glory List has just been updated. Who do you think got onto the Sacred Glory List this time? Its probably Guild Leader Black Flame, right? One Step nonchalantly answered. With his ability to transcend tiers, its only normal for him to get onto the Sacred Glory List. But even if he does get onto the Sacred Glory List, I doubt the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers will give up on targeting him. Youve guessed correctly. Guild Leader Black Flame did make it into the Sacred Glory List this time, Melissa said, smiling at One Steps nonchalance. But do you know what new title the Seven Luminaries Alliance has given to him? Chapter 3460 - Chapter 534 - New Title Chapter 534 C New Title A new title? One Step couldnt help but look at Melissas smiling face in confusion, failing to understand why she would ask such a question. What does that have to do with them hitting a jackpot? Dark Banner Melissa was a talented paragon from roughly the same generation as him. Although they belonged to different Guilds, they shared numerous interactions in the Starlight Realm, so they understood each others personalities well. They were both friends and rivals. It was why they could get together to share a drink. But right now, One Step truly couldnt understand why Melissa would think Black Flame getting a new title would deter the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers from targeting Zero Wing and Asura. It might be true that Black Flame was the undisputed number one player in the current Miniature Ancient World, but he was still not a true Tier 6 player. He could only rely on a special Skill to temporarily elevate himself to Tier 6 status. While such an ability was indeed amazing, a group of Tier 6 players could easily wear him out and kill him. So, how could Black Flame gaining a new title possibly get the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers to give up on a cake as tempting as the Miniature Ancient World? Do you really think the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers will be scared of a title on the Sacred Glory List, Melissa? the Level 160, Tier 5 Shield Warrior sitting at the same table as One Step and Melissa said, laughing. If thats the case, those upper-ranking hegemonic powers can simply retire from the Greater Gods Domain and hand all of their resources over to the powers with Sacred Glory experts. We can also start measuring the various powers strength by how many Sacred Glory experts they have. Many of the executives of hegemonic powers present also laughed after hearing Melissas and the Shield Warriors words. The three primary ranking lists published by the Seven Luminaries Alliance were indeed famous throughout the Greater Gods Domain. However, out of the three lists, the various powers only truly cared about and feared one of them. the Divine Glory List! Of the three ranking lists, the Luminous Glory List was also known as the Genius Ranking List, the Sacred Glory List was known as the Expert Ranking List, and the Divine Glory List was known as the Apex Ranking List. The meaning behind each list was very obvious. Players on the Sacred Glory List were indeed hard to come by in the Greater Gods Domain, but they could never be considered true powerhouses because they werent at Tier 6. There was still a significant difference between Sacred Glory experts and players who had reached the apex. Meanwhile, so long as a player did not rank among the Greater Gods Domains apex, not even ordinary hegemonic powers would truly fear them, let alone upper-ranking hegemonic powers. The average title on the Sacred Glory List is indeed insufficient to scare those upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Melissa did not get angry at the people laughing at her. On the contrary, she nodded in agreement with their opinions. But she quickly changed her tone as she continued, However, Guild Leader Black Flames title is different. If you dont believe me, check it out yourselves. After saying so, Melissa shared the latest information she received regarding Black Flames entry into the Sacred Glory List with everyone around her. A moment later, the noisy bar suddenly fell silent as everyone looked at the information Melissa shared in disbelief. Lord of War Goddesses? How is this possible?! He can summon six War Goddesses by himself? Does he have a Divine Artifact? The information Melissa shared on Black Flame wasnt detailed. It only had a brief introduction of Black Flames capabilities. If they wanted more details, they would need to purchase the latest edition of the Sacred Glory List sold by the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Even so, the limited information was already enough to leave everyone amazed and shocked. War Goddesses were one of the apex combatants of the Greater Gods Domains Human NPCs. They were one of the main factors keeping players in check and deterring the various player powers from causing chaos in the various human kingdoms and empires. Meanwhile, this deterrence was deeply ingrained in the souls of the Greater Gods Domains various powers. In the distant past, many Guilds behaved wantonly after gaining power. One particular Guild had started rapidly expanding its territory across the Greater Gods Domain after accumulating sufficient apex combatants. It even tried to conquer kingdoms and empires without going through the normal channels. While those kingdoms and empires had Tier 6 NPCs defending them, there was no way they could win against Tier 6 apex combatants. So, the hegemonic powers managing those kingdoms and empires were annihilated, and the fall of those countries was imminent. But just when everyone thought everything was set in stone, the Human NPCs of the targeted kingdoms and empires sought help from the War Gods Temple. Then, what happened next shocked the entire Greater Gods Domain. Less than a day after those kingdoms and empires asked for help, the powerful Guild, which commanded apex combatants and could challenge apex powers, disappeared overnight Indeed! All of the Guilds members, from the Guild Leader to the normal members, vanished from Gods Domain overnight. Not many details were known about what had happened, but there was one thing everyone was certain of. The War Gods Temple had mobilized an NPC legion composed of twenty individuals, and every one of them was a Human NPC bearing the title of War Goddess. Even though the twenty War Goddesses were severely outnumbered, they had annihilated the lawless Guilds several thousand Tier 6 experts, including the six old monsters wielding apex combat power. All of these Tier 6 players were deprived of their qualifications to enter Gods Domain. Meanwhile, after that battle, as many as seven of the mobilized War Goddesses had reported back to the War Gods Temple. From that moment on, the Greater Gods Domains players realized that simply having apex combat power didnt necessarily mean they would become invincible. They could still be killed, nonetheless. Meanwhile, after that incident, the seven surviving War Goddesses were labeled by players as the Original War Goddesses. In the long years that followed, although many up-and-coming Guilds would still occasionally cause trouble, every one of them was wiped out by the War Gods Temples War Goddess Legion without exception. Because of these examples, it became common knowledge in the Greater Gods Domain that even apex powers should not provoke the War Goddess Legion. Now that it was revealed that Black Flame could summon six War Goddesses by himself, even if he could only summon six Tier 5 War Goddesses, he was still an opponent to be feared. After all, in the Miniature Ancient World, where foreign Tier 6 players could not exhibit their full strength, Tier 5 War Goddesses who had developed their techniques to the extremes could easily reign supreme over a region. Dead Ash Sea, Withered Sea City: After more than a day had passed, Withered Sea Citys central plaza had been fully restored. The city looked like it had never been attacked, and the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribes members continued patrolling the city as usual. The number of foreign Tier 5 players visiting the city had even increased by many times. Did you hear? It seems Hades, Primal, and Sacred have already started to contact the other upper-ranking hegemonic powers after suffering the loss they did yesterday. Theyre planning to take over the seas and thoroughly isolate Abyssal Star City. I did hear about something like that happening. I even saw some of the other upper-ranking hegemonic powers members entering the Hades Societys Residence a while ago. Though, I have to say that Black Flame is incredible to be able to force three upper-ranking hegemonic powers to such an extent. I know, right? These upper-ranking hegemonic powers are no different than kings in the Void Sea. Nobody dares to provoke them without good reason. Its a pity that these powers are going to lock down the sea. Once they do so, even Black Flame will be powerless to do anything about it. Many foreign Tier 5 players resting in Withered Sea City discussed the incident in the city yesterday. They couldnt help but be amazed that a player from a miniature world could corner multiple upper-ranking hegemonic powers to a point where they needed to join forces. Huh? Hey, look at the sky. Why is there a War Goddess there? Chapter 3461 - Chapter 535 - Legend of War Goddess Chapter 535 C Legend of War Goddess Withered Sea City: When the players in the city noticed a War Goddess suddenly appearing in the sky, the whole city erupted into commotion. Theres not just a War Goddess there! Theres also a dragon! Isnt that Black Flame riding on the back of that dragon? Whats going on? Is the Asura Sword Emperor planning to attack Withered Sea City? Curiosity filled everyone in the city when they saw the War Goddess and dragon in the sky. Everyone got especially excited when they noticed the Asura Sword Emperor riding on the back of the dragon. Too long! It had been far too long since any individual dared to challenge an upper-ranking hegemonic power. Previously, everyone thought yesterdays attack on Withered Sea City was already the Asura Sword Emperors limit; that it was the best he could do. After all, Withered Sea City was a stronghold operated by three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. The defensive magic array alone could easily withstand a siege of over a hundred Tier 6 players. Not to mention, there was also the citys magic barrier that could weaken the Basic Attributes of enemies. Even if Black Flame was the strongest player in the Miniature Ancient World, if he tried to attack Withered Sea City all by himself, it was unlikely he could leave with his life. Yet, now, Black Flame had taken the initiative to attack Withered Sea City by himself. This was simply unbelievable. Is Black Flame crazy? The Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe now have four Tier 6 experts safeguarding Withered Sea City. Even if he can summon a Tier 5 War Goddess, what can he possibly do to the city? Maybe Black Flame probably doesnt know about this. After all, Hades, Primal, and Sacred had secretly shown us the additional forces they mobilized to assure us. Theres a chance news of the three powers strength has yet to reach Zero Wing and the Asura Mercenary Alliance. Regardless, this is going to be interesting. Even at Tier 5, a War Goddess can still pose a significant threat in the Miniature Ancient World. We can use this opportunity to see how powerful this Tier 5 War Goddess can be and come up with the appropriate countermeasures. There were currently several dozen players originating from various upper-ranking hegemonic powers present in the Hades Societys Residence, and they couldnt help but be surprised to see a War Goddess and a dragon appearing above Withered Sea City. The Lord of War Goddesses! This was the new title the Seven Luminaries Alliance had given to Black Flame. Even if Black Flame was only a Tier 5 player, they still had no choice but to take him seriously. After all, there were many examples of powerful Guilds facing destruction at the hands of War Goddesses in the Greater Gods Domain. Now that Black Flame had come to attack Withered Sea City with a Tier 5 War Goddess, this was an excellent opportunity for them to gather information. If Black Flames War Goddess could not deal with the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe, they could band together without worry. And if the War Goddess caused significant losses to the three powers, they would remain neutral. That way, no matter who won or lost, they wouldnt lose. Are we really going to do this, Guild Leader? Standing atop the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon, Su Qianliu couldnt help but grow worried as she looked at the city beneath her. An offensive siege was different from a defensive siege. Participants of an offensive siege would be subjected to the suppression of the besieged citys magic barrier, and it was why Zero Wing and Asura could fend off an attack by three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. They would have no such advantages if they were to attack Withered Sea City now. And on the chance they suffered defeat, the advantages Zero Wing had built up would be lost. Its just three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Theyre still not worthy of my fear, Shi Feng calmly said as he looked at the prosperous city below. Shi Feng had always planned to make the Miniature Ancient World into Zero Wings backyard, having it become a continuous supply of talent and resources for Zero Wing. That way, Zero Wing would have an easier time establishing a foothold in the Eternal Realm. Not to mention, now that the Miniature Ancient World had become a resting point for multiple Realms in the Void Sea, it could also provide Zero Wing with a stable source of Star Coins, which would, in turn, stabilize Zero Wings economy in the real world. After saying so, Shi Feng took out the Feather of Oath and used Heroic Pledge to forcibly upgrade the War Goddess next to him, instantly elevating her into a Level 164, Tier 6 War Goddess. At the same time, the War Goddess began radiating a terrifying Divine Might that covered a radius of tens of thousands of yards. Go on; its time to let them know despair! Without hesitation, Shi Feng commanded the War Goddess to execute her strongest move, the Tier 6 Unique Skill Void Blast, against Withered Sea City. In response, the War Goddess clad in silver armor aimed her longbow at Withered Sea City and drew it into a full moon, a large fourfold magic array forming in front of the arrowhead. Then, divine patterns started to form around the magic array, the appearance of every divine pattern enhancing the magic arrays power by a notch. Thousands of divine patterns simultaneously strengthened the magic array, causing it to become so powerful that its mere presence shattered the surrounding space. T-Tier 6 T-Thats a Tier 6 War Goddess!! Meanwhile, following the War Goddesss promotion to Tier 6, all players in Withered Sea City fell into bewilderment. It was not unheard of for players and powers to summon War Goddesses in the Greater Gods Domain. Aside from special items, they could also be summoned using summoning arrays. However, the best these items and summoning arrays could do was summon a Tier 5 War Goddess. As for players summoning Tier 6 War Goddesses, that was unheard of. After all, Tier 6 War Goddesses were legends and apex combatants in the Greater Gods Domain. They were existences that would only appear in Realm Wars or battles of that scale. However, before anyone in Withered Sea City could return to their senses, the War Goddess let loose the silver arrow nocked in her longbow, and the arrow transformed into a dazzling star that descended onto the city. Boom! For a moment, it was as if the Sun had appeared in Withered Sea City. Players standing several kilometers away from the city could clearly see and feel the intensity of the light and heat coming from the miniature star. After some time passed, the radiance that enveloped the city disappeared, revealing a sight that dumbfounded Su Qianliu. Gone! The entire Withered City was gone! A Main City that was populated by over thirty million players was erased from existence, just like that! We can go back now. While looking at the tattered remains of Withered Sea Citys walls, Shi Feng instructed, Have Blackie and the others come to take over and rebuild the city. Then, proceed with the plans we previously discussed. Before this, Shi Feng didnt wish to publicize that he could summon a Tier 6 War Goddess. This was because a Tier 6 War Goddesss influence was so significant that it might lead to many pseudo-apex powers taking extreme measures. However, to let Zero Wing gain more benefits from the Miniature Ancient World, he decided it was no longer necessary to hide this information. He couldnt stay in the Miniature Ancient World long term. He would even take many capable individuals to the Eternal Realm with him. If Zero Wing lacked sufficient deterrence, it wouldnt be able to retain its portion of benefits in the Miniature Ancient World. Okay Su Qianliu instinctively replied, her mind still having yet to return to its senses. Subsequently, following Shi Feng returned to Abyssal Star City with Su Qianliu and had Blackie bring some members over to Withered Sea City by ship to capture and rebuild it. It was impossible to destroy a city in Gods Domain fully. So long as the City Lords Token remained, a city could be rebuilt, even if it was thoroughly demolished. The possibility of the City Lords Token not being within Withered Sea City was also zero. If a City Lords Token was taken out of the city, or if the City Lords Mansion was destroyed, it would be teleported back to the City Lords Mansion automatically. This was a setting put in place so that players wouldnt have to worry about being unable to take over a city after capturing it. Meanwhile, shortly after Blackie and the other members of Zero Wing arrived at Withered Sea City, they couldnt help but be surprised by what they found. Or, more specifically, what they failed to find. Many foreign players who came to Withered Sea City to rest were similarly shocked by the citys sudden disappearance. But less than half an hour after the citys disappearance, specific information about the citys destruction quickly appeared on the Miniature Ancient Worlds official forum. For a time, the entire Miniature Ancient World fell into silence. Now that Black Flame had come to attack Withered Sea City with a Tier 5 War Goddess, this was an excellent opportunity for them to gather information. If Black Flames War Goddess could not deal with the Hades Society, Primal Empire, and Sacred Tribe, they could band together without worry. And if the War Goddess caused significant losses to the three powers, they would remain neutral. That way, no matter who won or lost, they wouldnt lose. Are we really going to do this, Guild Leader? Standing atop the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon, Su Qianliu couldnt help but grow worried as she looked at the city beneath her. An offensive siege was different from a defensive siege. Participants of an offensive siege would be subjected to the suppression of the besieged citys magic barrier, and it was why Zero Wing and Asura could fend off an attack by three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. They would have no such advantages if they were to attack Withered Sea City now. And on the chance they suffered defeat, the advantages Zero Wing had built up would be lost. Its just three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Theyre still not worthy of my fear, Shi Feng calmly said as he looked at the prosperous city below. Shi Feng had always planned to make the Miniature Ancient World into Zero Wings backyard, having it become a continuous supply of talent and resources for Zero Wing. That way, Zero Wing would have an easier time establishing a foothold in the Eternal Realm. Not to mention, now that the Miniature Ancient World had become a resting point for multiple Realms in the Void Sea, it could also provide Zero Wing with a stable source of Star Coins, which would, in turn, stabilize Zero Wings economy in the real world. Chapter 3462 - Chapter 536 - Three Absolutes Chapter 536 C Three Absolutes I went to Withered Sea City, but it was gone. Can someone tell me what happened? Are you sleeptalking? Or are you trying to pull a trick on us? Thats Withered Sea City we are talking about, a city operated by three upper-ranking hegemonic powers. You must have gone to the wrong place. I have a picture of my map and my current location. I even visited Withered Sea City once before. Theres no way I could have gone to the wrong place. As more and more players tried to visit Withered Sea City to rest, more evidence of Withered Sea Citys disappearance appeared on the official forum, stunning many players who were still doubtful of the situation. Withered Sea City occupied an island that spanned dozens of kilometers. However, in the images shared on the official forum, where Withered Sea City used to occupy was now a huge crater. It was also possible to see tattered remains of the citys walls. It looked as if the entire city had been erased off the island, and this devastation sent shivers down the spines of all who saw it. While everyone was wondering how Withered Sea City had fallen to ruin in such a short time, videos showing the process of the citys destruction suddenly started to appear on the forum, one after another. These videos were taken from varying distances, but they all had a common point. The videos showed Black Flame, the Asura Sword Emperor, suddenly appearing above Withered Sea City with a War Goddess. Afterward, the War Goddess could be seen firing an arrow at the city, causing the city to become engulfed in a dazzling radiance upon impact. Then, when the radiance disappeared, so did Withered Sea City Boundary Sea, Abyssal Star City: When the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon landed in the courtyard of Zero Wings Residence, before Shi Feng could even get down, he heard deafening cheers and shouts coming from outside the Residence. Look! Its Guild Leader Black Flame! Oh my god! Its the real deal! Hes too cool! Hooray for the Tier 6 War Goddess! Hooray for Guild Leader Black Flame! Lets see if those foreigners dare to continue looking down on us native players! The number of players queuing up outside Zero Wings Residence was several times greater than yesterday. Moreover, many of them were Tier 5 experts. And when these players saw Shi Feng appearing in the courtyard, they couldnt help but get the urge to charge into the Residence. Fortunately, the Zero Wing members on duty were prepared for this situation as they had long erected a magic barrier at the entrance, prohibiting those without permission from entering. Meanwhile, in the courtyard of Zero Wings Residence, the many executives of the Asura Mercenary Alliance who had long been waiting for Shi Fengs return promptly surrounded him as soon as he got off the Frostflame Dragon. Youve really given us a scare this time, Guild Leader Black Flame, Liu Wusheng said with a wry smile. Also, everyones already talking about how you destroyed Withered Sea City with just one blow, and many hegemonic powers have come to us hoping to join Asura. Hidden Soul is swamped with work right now. The individual strength Shi Feng had shown before was already astonishing, but the means he just showed was even more astonishing. Originally, Liu Wusheng thought that whether it was Zero Wing or the Asura Mercenary Alliance, the best they could do was survive in the Miniature Ancient World. This situation wouldnt change unless they could find a way to produce a large number of Tier 6 experts. However, following the Tier 6 War Goddesss appearance, the Miniature Ancient Worlds status quo thoroughly changed. Now, many ordinary hegemonic powers have expressed their desire to join the Asura Mercenary Alliance, which put Liu Wusheng in a huge dilemma. It was undoubtedly great news for the Asura Mercenary Alliance to have more foreign hegemonic powers join. After all, unlike individual players joining Asura, powers that chose to join the mercenary alliance would be required to enter an offensive and defensive pact. In other words, they would be standing in the same boat as Asura. This, in turn, would increase Asuras strength and influence in the Miniature Ancient World. However, the addition of a large number of foreign hegemonic powers would also weaken the position of native powers in the mercenary alliance. After all, the various foreign hegemonic powers were much stronger than the various native powers. This was true in both the Miniature Ancient World and the Greater Gods Domain. Every hegemonic power occupied a vast territory, with some even monopolizing an entire empire. Depending on how the situation was handled, even Asuras founding powers, such as Witchs Sin, might have to worry about getting pushed out of the mercenary alliances inner circle of power. For this reason, Mysterious Moon hurriedly sent Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin, who were relatively close to Shi Feng, to inquire about Shi Fengs plans for the future. The Hundred Flower Palace had also sent Crimson Heart and Cleansing Rue for the same reason. Originally, after experiencing the Miniature Ancient Worlds four months of accelerated development, the various founding powers of Asura believed that they had already caught up to Zero Wings pace. They even thought they could already stand at the same height as Shi Feng. Yet, in reality, not only did the gap between them and Shi Feng not shrink in the slightest, but it had even widened by a lot. Foreign hegemonic powers have asked to join? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised to hear Liu Wushengs words. Nodding, he said, Tell Soul that she can let them join, but in addition to requiring them to dispatch personnel to safeguard Asuras cities long-term, they will also only receive one-third of the contribution points that early alliance members receive when contributing talents to the alliance. And if they want to access the Primordial Towers second floor thats still off-limits to the public, they will have to pay double what early members are paying. Okay. Ill notify Hidden Soul right away, Liu Wusheng said, feeling a little relieved when he heard Shi Fengs arrangement. The Asura Mercenary Alliance was established with the primary goal of serving Zero Wing. When Witchs Sin and the other native powers initially chose to join Asura, they had done so because of the potential they saw in Shi Feng and Zero Wing. And as they had predicted, they did achieve rapid growth after joining the Asura Mercenary Alliance. But this growth came at the cost of a large amount of Asura Contribution Points. On an even playing field, there was no way native powers like Witchs Sin could outcompete the various foreign hegemonic powers when it came to earning contribution points. But if the acquisition rates were tweaked in favor of old members, it would be more or less possible for them to compete against the newly joined hegemonic powers. However, what Liu Wusheng didnt know was that Shi Feng had always planned to prioritize nurturing the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players. After all, all of them came from the same world. If the Miniature Ancient Worlds native players grew strong, it would become less likely for their civilization to get eliminated in the Greater World. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng finished arranging the Asura Mercenary Alliances future development and management issues, Gentle Snow suddenly entered his office in a hurry. Guild Leader, an elven Sword Saint from the pseudo-apex power Azure Fang says she wants to meet you, Gentle Snow said. Then, she hesitantly continued, The other party claims that she is Azure Fangs Third Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth, but apart from Azure Fangs Guild Emblem, she has nothing else to prove her identity. Since adventuring with Ink Qilin, Gentle Snow had come to learn a lot about the Greater Gods Domain. So, she was very much aware of how terrifying a pseudo-apex power could be. Take the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, for example. Even in a place such as the Crystal City of Secrets, where titled experts occupied the lowest level of the citys social hierarchy, the players operating in the city would still actively make way when encountering the Scarlet Merchant Alliances members. Now that someone claiming to be a Vice Guild Leader of Azure Fang had come knocking on Zero Wings doors, if the situation wasnt handled correctly, Zero Wing might find itself with another powerful foe. An elven Sword Saint named Aurebeth? When Shi Feng heard the name Gentle Snow mentioned, he couldnt help but feel as if he had heard it from somewhere before. Yet, he couldnt remember where he had heard it from. Do you have her picture? Here is a video clip I recorded, Gentle Snow said as she shared a short clip with Shi Feng. In the recording, a two-meter-tall elven woman with gray hair could be seen standing in the lobby of Zero Wings Guild Hall. The woman looked young, no more than twenty-one or twenty-two years old. Even though the video had clearly captured the woman, one would fail to notice her presence if one wasnt paying attention. It was as if the woman did not exist in this world. Meanwhile, Shi Feng couldnt help but be stunned when he saw this gray-haired elven woman. Why is one of the Three Absolutes here? Chapter 3463 - Chapter 537 - Goddess Law Chapter 537 C Goddess Law One of the Three Absolutes? Gentle Snow ran Shi Fengs words through her mind when she saw the look of surprise on his face. However, she couldnt recall ever hearing about the title Shi Feng mentioned. Is this person famous? She will be in the future, Shi Feng explained when he saw Gentle Snows curious gaze. But I doubt many people know of her right now. The Eternal Realms Three Absolutes were known by all in the Greater Gods Domain during his previous life, and they were publicly known to be able to stand against an entire Realm by themselves. This was by no means a form of praise. Instead, the Three Absolutes truly did accomplish the feat of going up against an entire Realm. As for when the Three Absolutes had risen to fame, it was during the war between human players and Holy Race players. Meanwhile, Blood Elf Aurebeth, the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa, was one of the three Absolutes, and she was someone who had perfectly inherited a Goddess Law. However, as far as Shi Feng could remember, he had never heard of the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa joining any powers. In fact, most people didnt even know how she came to possess the strength that allowed her to become an Absolute. When Aurebeth first debuted on the public stage, she had already accomplished a feat that shook the entire Eternal Realm. At the time, she had single-handedly fought 37 Tier 6 experts from the Holy Race and defeated them. It should be known that these 37 Tier 6 experts possessed combat power rivaling Tier 6 Gods. Yet, the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa had not only killed all of them, but she even survived the fight with only her soul severely injured. Meanwhile, the next time Aurebeth made a move was several months later, when the Holy Race had declared a Holy War on the Greater Gods Domain and mobilized an army composed of the members of thousands of major powers. During that war, Aurebeth had slain thousands of Tier 6 experts from the Holy Race. And unlike her debut battle, she only sustained light injuries from the war. It was also after that war that she became known as the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa. As for her becoming one of the Three Absolutes, it was during another war with the Holy Race that took place at the Twelve Sanctuaries. At the time, Aurebeth had single-handedly defended an entire fortress from one of the Holy Races apex powers. Even after continuously trying for two months, the enemy apex power failed to bring down the fortress. Yet, now, the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa had suddenly become a member of the pseudo-apex power Azure Fang. Moreover, she wasnt even in the Eternal Realm. This situation was wildly different from the information Shi Feng knew. Do you want to meet her? Gentle Snow asked. Yes, of course, Shi Feng nodded. The Three Absolutes were legendary individuals in the Greater Gods Domain. Even the various apex powers would do everything they could to recruit them, let alone him. Aurebeth was someone who had fully mastered a Goddess Law. Once she progressed to Tier 6, the Law Projection she could form would be vastly superior to the average Advanced Law Projection. Even though Shi Feng had multiple Advanced Laws during his previous life, his Law Projection would still be suppressed if it went up against Aurebeths Law Projection. Now that there was an opportunity to meet with one of the Three Absolutes, Shi Feng naturally wouldnt let go of it. Zero Wings Guild Leaders Office: Gentle Snow walked into the office with Aurebeth. The instant Aurebeth stepped through the door, Shi Feng could feel an indescribable pressure weighing down on him. Her Mana Affinity is at an even higher level than mine? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished as he looked at Orebes. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that his Tier 5 Advanced Legendary Mana Body was unprecedented in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, his mana had lost to Aurebeths despite this. Meanwhile, Aurebeth also noticed something when she stepped into the room, but she didnt seem to mind it much as she sat down on the sofa Gentle Snow had led her to. Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. Thank you for taking the time to meet me, Aurebeth greeted. Despite looking rather young, she had a mature and intellectual voice. You jest, Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth. It is Zero Wings honor to have a Vice Guild Leader of Azure Fang visit, Shi Feng responded politely. May I know why you have asked to meet me, Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth? It brings me shame to say this, but Looking a little embarrassed, Aurebeth said, I am very keen to enter the Eternal Realm, but I lack the means. Even Azure Fang doesnt have any way to help me. However, while resting in a fortress in the Void Sea, I was fortunate enough to learn that you have previously appeared in the Eternal Realm, Guild Leader Black Flame. But now, here you are in the Miniature Ancient World. Are you asking me to take you to the Eternal Realm, Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth? Shi Feng asked, not feeling particularly surprised by Aurebeths revelation. The moment he returned to the Miniature Ancient World, anyone with a keen mind would have guessed that he had a means of traveling between Realms. I know traveling between Realms is not an easy feat and must come at a great cost, Guild Leader Black Flame. Confidently, Aurebeth said, I am willing to foot the cost, and I guarantee youll be satisfied by my payment. Youll guarantee my satisfaction? Shi Feng chuckled. With his previous lifes experiences, few things could catch his eye in the Greater Gods Domain. May I know what is the payment you speak of? As if waiting for this question, Aurebeth promptly said, An entry slot to the upper level of the Eternal Realms Golden Spire! As to what the Golden Spire is, Im sure you should be more familiar with it than I am. A slot to the Golden Spires upper level? Shi Feng was quite surprised by Aurebeths offer. The Eternal Realm had the Seven Cities, Four Towers, and Three Absolutes. Among them, the Golden Spire was one of the Four Towers. The Golden Spire contained countless treasures belonging to Gods. There were even Fragmented Divine Artifacts available inside. However, if players wished to obtain these treasures, they would first have to pass the Golden Spires trials. The Golden Spires trials were split into two levels: the lower level and the upper level. Players required a key to enter and challenge the Golden Spires trials, and each key only allowed two players to enter the spire. The Golden Spires keys were incredibly hard to come by. They were scattered across the Eternal Realm, and even upper-ranking hegemonic powers might not come across a key for the lower level after a month of searching. The chances of finding a key for the upper level were even lower, with only one upper-level key being found for every hundred or so lower-level keys. They were so rare that even apex powers might not find one after a year of searching. Because of this, whenever an upper-level key was found, the various powers would do everything they could to secure it. Apex powers even offered three Legendary Weapons to purchase an upper-level key. During his previous life, Shi Feng had never obtained an upper-level key. Through Zero Wings strength, he only managed to obtain a few lower-level keys. Meanwhile, the reward for passing the upper-level trial was a Gold Ancient Tome. This Gold Ancient Tome could provide detailed information on all worldly items, but players only had one opportunity to look up the item they wanted. The Ancient Tome would become useless after one use. In the past, many experts who had passed the upper-level trial had relied on the Gold Ancient Tome they acquired to obtain a Fragmented Divine Artifact. Currently, Shi Feng had a headache finding the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments. If he could obtain a Gold Ancient Tome, it would undoubtedly alleviate some of his problems. Not even apex powers can necessarily get their hands on one of the Golden Spires upper-level keys right now, Aurebeth explained. If you enter the Golden Spires upper level, even obtaining a Fragmented Divine Artifact might not be out of the question, Guild Leader Black Flame. It will definitely be worthwhile to trade one entry slot to the Eternal Realm for this opportunity, dont you think? It is indeed a worthwhile deal, Shi Feng said after pondering for a moment. But if you wish to enter the Eternal Realm, I need you to agree to a condition, Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth. Chapter 3464 - Chapter 538 - Meeting Aqua Rose Again Chapter 538 C Meeting Aqua Rose Again What condition? Aurebeth asked, frowning a little when she heard Shi Fengs words. She felt that Shi Feng was asking for too much. The entry slot for the Golden Spires upper level was exceedingly rare and precious. After all, according to her investigations, players could potentially obtain a Fragmented Divine Artifact if they were strong enough. Meanwhile, a Fragmented Divine Artifact was something that could grant Tier 5 players the strength to fight against Tier 6 players. Hence, simply the opportunity to obtain a Fragmented Divine Artifact was easily worth much more than an entry slot for the Eternal Realm. Shi Feng noticed the unhappy expression on Aurebeths face, and he couldnt help but chuckle as he said, Dont misunderstand me, Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth. Im not asking for more payment. I just need you to keep quiet about the exact method you used to enter the Eternal Realm. An opportunity to enter the Golden Spires upper level was tempting, but the Abyss Workshop Certification wasnt an ordinary item worth exposing for such an opportunity. Its ability to transport multiple people across Realms at a relatively affordable cost was especially valuable. Now that he had returned to the Miniature Ancient World, it would only be a matter of time before others noticed something. And if he helped Aurebeth, others would notice it even sooner. However, exactly how he traveled between Realms was a crucial point he wished to keep secret. Plenty of people were trying to get into the Eternal Realm right now. If even an expert such as Aurebeth was willing to make such a lucrative offer to enter the Eternal Realm, it went without saying other experts would be in a similar situation. In that case, he would have plenty of business opportunities in the future, and having his methods remain unknown would give him a bigger advantage during negotiations. You can rest assured on this point, Guild Leader Black Flame. I can sign a Gods Domain Contract promising this, Aurebeth said, expressing her understanding. If others ask how I entered the Eternal Realm, I will say that I arrived there after accidentally entering a space-time passage. That wont be necessary, Shi Feng said, waving his hand. If they ask about it, you can tell them the truth and say I helped you. Tell them the truth? Aurebeth couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise. The ability to enter the Eternal Realm from the outside world was earth-shattering. The various pseudo-apex and apex powers would try to obtain this ability at all costs if they learned about it. The at all costs here wouldnt necessarily mean they would pay anything to obtain it. Instead, there was a high possibility they would outright demand Shi Feng hand over the method. But since Shi Feng dared to say so, it meant he was confident he could go against the various apex powers. Though, exactly what was giving him that confidence remained unknown. After all, having one Tier 6 War Goddess was nowhere near enough to get the various apex powers to acknowledge him as an equal. Following this, Shi Feng signed a Gods Domain Contract with Aurebeth, the contract stating that Shi Feng would help Aurebeth enter the Eternal Realm. In return, Aurebeth must not tell others the exact method she used to enter the Eternal Realm, and she also must bring Shi Feng into the Golden Spire a week after they entered the Eternal Realm unless Shi Feng himself asked for a delay. Three days later After arranging the defenses of Withered Sea City, setting up a new Great Grandmaster Defensive Magic Array, and ensuring the city reopened successfully, Shi Feng used the Abyss Workshop Certifications World-Breaking Teleportation to open a World-Breaking Gate to the Eternal Realm. This time, he brought Su Qianliu, Wu Xiaoxiao, Midsummer, Rampant Blade, Jun Luosha, Wordless Ember, Sleeping Quicksand, Hidden Soul, Liu Wusheng, Galaxy Past, Crimson Heart, Sound Reaver, and Aurebeth with him. After including Desolate Fury, Cross, Leroja, Ink Qilin, River Light, and Blaze Eye, they filled up all twenty slots of the World-Breaking Teleportations twenty teleportation slots. Upon returning to the Eternal Realms Crystal City of Secrets, Ink Qilin and the others eagerly entered the Underground Crystal Palace. But because Shi Feng had to go to the Golden Spire with Aurebeth, he could only have Gentle Snow lead Su Qianliu and the others to explore the Underground Crystal Palace with Scarecrow Foxs team. Ink Qilin had no objections to teaming up with Zero Wing and Asuras members. After all, it would be highly beneficial for Scarecrow Fox to do so. Firstly, Su Qianliu and the others were all equipped with Secret Treasures, which allowed them to have significantly greater damage output than other Tier 5 players. Secondly, Desolate Fury, Cross, and Leroja were Golden Masters, and a team that had the assistance of three Golden Masters could perform much better than even the various pseudo-apex powers teams. While Gentle Snow and the others left for the Underground Crystal Palace, Shi Feng and Aurebeth visited a deserted area in the Crystal City and used Aurelias key to teleport to the Golden Spire. Golden Spire: After the bright teleportation array faded, a magnificent spire that was ten kilometers in height appeared before Shi Fengs eyes. The spire was ancient, radiating a powerful Divine Might that prevented players under Tier 5 from approaching. Although Tier 5 players could approach the spire, their movements would become stiff when enveloped by its Divine Might. Only experts with Basic Attributes that had reached the Tier 6 standard could remain unaffected by the Divine Might. There sure are a lot of people. Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw the large gathering of players outside the Golden Spire. At a glance, well over 10,000 players were gathered outside the Golden Spire. It should be known that these were only the players who had yet the spire. Who knew how many more people were inside the spire? Of the several times he had visited the Golden Spire during his previous life, he had never come across so many players coming to challenge the Golden Spire. Aurebeth was also surprised by this situation. She had not expected to see so many players challenging the Golden Spire, and she couldnt help but feel tricked. After all, the keys to the Golden Spire werent as rare and valuable as the rumors suggested. Before Shi Feng and Aurebeth could recover from their surprise, a young man, who was a Level 158, Tier 5 Berserker, approached them. Would you two like to join our team to enter the Golden Spire? the Berserker youth asked as he looked at Shi Feng and Aurebeth. Is it necessary to team up to enter the Golden Spire? Shi Feng couldnt help but be confused as he looked at the Berserker youth, whose combat standard was at the fifth-floor standard. The Golden Spire wasnt a Dungeon. Instead, it was a place that offered all who entered a standardized trial. There was no need for players to team up. It wont be necessary inside, but its a different story if you want to enter the Golden Spire, the Berserker youth said with a wry smile. Then, he pointed at the Golden Spires entrance and said in frustration, Do you see those people? They are all experts from the various pseudo-apex powers. You have just arrived, so you might not know, but those pseudo-apex powers have blocked the entrance and stated that nobody can enter before their members inside come out. If you want to force your way inside, you will need to have sufficient strength and qualifications. For example, if you are a member of a pseudo-apex power, and your team has sufficient fifth-floor experts, they will let you through since they know it wouldnt be worth fighting you. If you cant meet these two conditions, theyll kill you on the spot if you try to force your way in. Hearing the Berserker youths explanation, Shi Feng swept his gaze across the hundred or so players standing in the way of the Golden Spires entrance. All these experts were at the fifth-floor standard, and the Guild Emblems they wore came in seven varieties. Among them, the ones Shi Feng was familiar with were the Scarlet Merchant Alliances and Flaming Bees Guild Emblems. Shi Feng also spotted the Guild Emblem of Star Dynasty, one of the Greater Gods Domains Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. You can probably tell who the old man standing in the lead is, right? Hes the Demon Axe War God, one of Star Dynastys Elders. Not only is he a veteran Saint, but he is also a Golden Master. Its best if you dont try to provoke him. He has killed over a thousand experts thus far, the Berserker youth explained when he saw Shi Feng looking somewhat stunned. However, what the Berserker youth didnt know was that Shi Feng wasnt stunned because of Demon Axe but by a woman standing some distance away from Demon Axe. The woman in question wore a dark purple robe. She was stunningly beautiful like a fairy, and her every move radiated a seductive charm. Meanwhile, this woman was none other than Aqua Rose, one of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders in Shi Fengs previous life! TL Notes: [1][Demon Axe War God: This is a title. It is based off of his trademark move, Demon Axe(spoilers). I will refer to him as Demon Axe in subsequent chapters as I do not know his actual ID, and it sounds long-winded to keep repeating Demon Axe War God. Chapter 3465 - Chapter 539 - Black Flame? Chapter 539 C Black Flame? Why is she here? Shi Feng was genuinely surprised when he saw Aqua Rose standing outside the Golden Spires entrance. During his previous life, Aqua Roses life trajectory experienced massive changes due to his intervention. Firstly, she no longer worked for Twilight Echo. Instead, she chose to join Zero Wing and became Zero Wings Vice Guild Leader. Later on, she got promoted to Tier 6 and supervised Zero Wings rapid development across multiple Realms simultaneously. Eventually, she even became one of the key figures who spearheaded Zero Wings entry into the Twelve Sanctuaries and led Zero Wings fight against the various apex powers. Meanwhile, as one of Zero Wings Five Great Experts, Aqua Rose not only mastered two Gold Combat Techniques, but she even acquired a Fragmented Divine Artifact[1] and became capable of fighting Primordial Gods of the same level. In this life, though, Aqua Rose should have experienced a similar situation as other Tier 6 experts from their homeworld and entered the Greater Gods Domain through some special means. Only, Shi Feng didnt think he would meet Aqua Rose in the Eternal Realm of all places. Moreover, the current Aqua Rose differed greatly from the Aqua Rose in Shi Fengs previous life. The Aqua Rose in Shi Fengs previous life was always brimming with vitality and fighting spirit, but the current Aqua Rose was inexplicably calm, like a lone wanderer who had experienced countless crises. And although the current Aqua Rose was not as strong as the Aqua Rose in Shi Fengs previous life, she was still a bona fide fifth-floor expert. She could undoubtedly be considered one of the strongest experts in their homeworld. In addition, as if determined by fate, the current Aqua Rose wielded the same Fragmented Divine Staff[2] she used in Shi Fengs previous life. Breath of the Deep Sea! With the assistance of Breath of the Deep Sea, even if Aqua Rose was currently only a Level 158, Tier 5 expert, she had a great chance of defeating Tier 5 Saints wielding Legendary Weapons. Is that beauty an acquaintance of yours? Aurebeth asked out of curiosity when she saw Shi Feng staring at Aqua Rose. Something like that, Shi Feng said in an uncertain tone. They were indeed very familiar with each other during his previous life. After all, Zero Wings daily operations largely depended on Aqua Rose, with Gentle Snow and Blackie acting as her assistants. However, in this life, he had spent the first ten years of Gods Domain working as the Guild Leader of some no-name Guild, whereas Aqua Rose held the position of Honorary Elder of Twilight Echo, a top-tier first-rate Guild. They had zero interactions with each other. Even now, this remained true. So, he couldnt really say that they were acquaintances. Something like that? Aurebeth grew confused. She couldnt understand how someone could be something like an acquaintance. Regardless, after taking another look at Aqua Rose in the distance, she softly said, I dont know what your relationship is with her, but I can tell you that shes not some random nobody. Based on my sources, one of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Taboos has taken a liking to her and signed a Blood Contract with her. So long as she joins Scarlet in the future, shell easily become one of the greats there. A Blood Contract? Realization dawned upon Shi Feng when he heard Aurebeths explanation. Blood Contracts werent uncommon in Gods Domain. It could be considered a way for players to grant other players strength. Or, more specifically, a Blood Contract could grant the contractee the combat experiences of the contractor, letting them personally experience the battles the contractor had experienced. However, the creation of a Blood Contract was not a simple task. Firstly, the contractor had to reach the two-star great grandmaster standard in their mental strength development. Secondly, the contractor needed the materials to create a Blood Contract. Meanwhile, most of the materials needed were at the Inferior Divine rank. Lastly, the contractor had to invest roughly two to five years of their time and energy into creating the Blood Contract. Throughout this period, the only thing the contractor could do was immerse their combat experiences into the Blood Contract. Because of these three stringent factors, typically only pseudo-apex powers and apex powers could create Blood Contracts. Weaker powers had neither the resources nor the ability to create one. Outside the Golden Spires entrance Im afraid Ill have to trouble you after we enter the spire, Aqua, a Level 157, Tier 5 Cleric dressed in a holy white robe said apologetically as she walked up to Aqua Rose. Big Brother Dragon Soul had to go ahead and enter the spire first. Otherwise, he wouldnt be able to pass the trial before the other powers chosen ones and obtain the best reward. Though, if we had Big Brother Dragon Soul here to help us, none of the other pseudo-apex powers would have dared to lay a hand on us, nor would the Star Dynastys Demon Axe be pointing fingers at us now. I understand, Melody. You dont have to apologize. Helping you is also something I should do, Aqua Rose said as she looked at the Cleric named Seven Melody. Then, she glanced at the stalwart Berserker standing in front of the Golden Spires entrance and inwardly sighed as she thought to herself, The strength gap truly is huge. Sure enough, only the pseudo-apex powers chosen ones can fight against these Golden Masters. The trip to the Golden Spire this time might seem like a joint effort between the seven pseudo-apex powers, but in reality, it was a competition between the seven pseudo-apex powers chosen ones. Although Aqua Rose had the fortune of catching the eye of one of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Taboos due to Seven Melody and received significant improvements to her combat standards, among the experts visiting the Golden Spire this time, she could barely be considered above average. And in front of an expert like the Demon Axe War God, she was an insignificant existence. Its a pity you refused to get together with Big Brother Dragon Soul and join our family. Otherwise, with your talent, you would have definitely received a slot to enter the Golden Spires upper level first, Seven Melody said as she looked at Aqua Rose with a hint of pity. If you could secure the upper levels rewards, you can definitely become a powerhouse in the Eternal Realm in the future. At that time, you and your family can move into a special-tier city, and even people from Demons Gate would be helpless against you. Become a powerhouse in the Eternal Realm? Aqua Rose smiled and shook her head. How can it be that easy? Not to mention, if I join your family, Demons Gate will also point its sword at your family. After finding herself in the Greater Gods Domain through a fortunate event, Aqua Rose originally thought she could operate freely because of her status as a Tier 6 expert. However, after wandering about the Greater Gods Domain for some time, she learned that even Tier 6 players could barely get by here. By the way, I heard someone from your homeworld got onto the Sacred Glory List. He even caused multiple upper-ranking hegemonic powers to suffer immense losses, Seven Melody suddenly said. With his talents, if he has enough fortuitous encounters, he might also be able to become a powerhouse in the Eternal Realm. You mean Black Flame? In a plain tone, Aqua Rose said, He has indeed made a name for himself in the Eternal Realm, but what he has seen thus far is only the tip of the iceberg the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers have to show. Not to mention, there are still pseudo-apex powers and apex powers above upper-ranking hegemonic powers. While Aqua Rose and Seven Melody quietly conversed, two people approached the Golden Spires entrance. Of the two, one was male, the other was female, and both were of the Swordsman class. Seeing the two Swordsmen, a middle-aged Level 158, Tier 5 Saint-ranked Berserker guarding the entrance impatiently said, Do you two not see that our seven Guilds are busy here? Get lost if youre smart! Get lost? Are you talking about yourselves? Shi Feng asked. As soon as Shi Fengs words fell, the whole area went silent. Whether it was the players standing around the Golden Spire or the seven pseudo-apex powers members, everyone looked at Shi Feng in disbelief. Meanwhile, when Aqua Rose saw the familiar figure she had just recently seen on the latest Sacred Glory List, her eyes widened. Black Flame? TL Notes: [1][2]Fragmented Divine Artifact: Im not sure whether this is supposed to be a Divine Artifact or a Fragmented Divine Artifact. In the first instance[1], the author mentioned Divine Artifact, but in the second instance[2], the author wrote Fragmented Divine Artifact. For the time being, Ill leave it as Fragmented Divine Artifact. It could also be possible that Breath of the Deep Sea is a Fragmented Divine Artifact that could be upgraded/repaired into a Divine Artifact. Chapter 3466 - Chapter 540 - Slaying a God With One Hand Chapter 540 C Slaying a God With One Hand What a crazy bastard! What gave him the courage to provoke the seven pseudo-apex powers people? That guys suicidal! Does he not see all the death drops scattered around the entrance?! Everyone was shocked by Shi Fengs blatant provocation. Shi Feng wasnt the first person to have tried to get past the seven pseudo-apex powers blockade and enter the Golden Spire, but everyone who previously tried had done so with a negotiating attitude. None dared to even speak loudly to the seven pseudo-apex powers members. Even so, the seven pseudo-apex powers members still killed those people to set an example. But now that Shi Feng had taken the initiative to provoke the seven pseudo-apex powers, nobody could imagine what the seven powers would do to Shi Feng and his companion. Kid, you have guts, Ill give you that! But do you really think you can talk big in front of us just because you two are wearing Azure Fangs emblem? The middle-aged Berserker laughed. Or do you think we will back away because of Azure Fang? The other seven pseudo-apex powers members laughed along with the middle-aged Berserker. It was true that Azure Fang was a pseudo-apex power, but which of their seven Guilds wasnt one? Not to mention, leading their group was Star Dynasty, one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. With their line-up, not even Azure Fangs Guild Leader would dare to behave so arrogantly in front of them. At this time, because of the commotion Shi Feng caused, even Demon Axe, who had been resting his eyes, had turned to look at Shi Feng. Azure Fang? Turning to the middle-aged Berserker, Shi Feng calmly said, Since when have I said I was a member of Azure Fang? Youre not from Azure Fang? The middle-aged Berserker looked at Shi Feng in confusion. Then, upon taking a closer look, he found that Shi Feng, indeed, wasnt wearing Azure Fangs Guild Emblem. Only the Blood Elf standing next to him was. And at this discovery, he couldnt help but ask, Which Guild are you from, then? It was true that Azure Fang didnt have the qualifications to behave arrogantly before them, but it would be a different story if Shi Feng were a member of one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers or an apex power. At this time, the other seven pseudo-apex powers members also grew serious, none daring to laugh at Shi Feng anymore. It might still be fine if Shi Feng was only a member of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers, but they would be in deep trouble if he were from an apex power. Not even the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers would dare to offend an apex power. The Golden Spire was crucial for the various powers development, and everyone had to pay a great price to come here. If they were to kill an apex powers member here, even if said apex power wasnt strong enough to retaliate against them in the Eternal Realm, that didnt mean said apex power couldnt conduct its retaliation outside the Eternal Realm. Meanwhile, under everyones anxious gaze, Shi Feng proudly said, Zero Wing. Zero Wing? Everyone was momentarily stunned as they looked at Shi Fengs proud expression, their brains rapidly trying to recall which apex power went by the name of Zero Wing. Unlike everyone else, though, Aqua Rose couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in exasperation. She couldnt believe Shi Feng would be so bold to speak the truth. And to say it in such a prideful manner Are you messing with me, you little punk?! the middle-aged Berserker bellowed after he finished recollecting his memories. Ive never heard of any apex power called Zero Wing! You must be tired of living! Meanwhile, shortly after the middle-aged Berserker finished speaking, some of the people present quickly recognized Shi Feng. Zero Wing? I know who he is! Hes Zero Wings Black Flame! Now that you mention it, he does look like Black Flame. So, hes the guy who caused a couple of upper-ranking hegemonic powers to eat a huge loss? No wonder hes so arrogant. For someone with no background, coming in eleventh on the Sacred Glory List is indeed a great achievement. In any other Realm in the Greater Gods Domain, such an achievement certainly gives him bragging rights. Its a pity hes in the Eternal Realm. He has no idea what terrifying existences he is going up against! After the publication of the latest Sacred Glory List, many players throughout the Greater Gods Domain came to learn of the name Black Flame. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the various pseudo-apex powers, experts on the Sacred Glory List were still nothing but jokes. It looks like its about to end, Aqua Rose muttered, sighing when Aqua Rose saw the seven pseudo-apex powers experts getting ready for a fight. When she first arrived in the Greater Gods Domain, she had similarly thought that none of the Greater Gods Domains powers dared to provoke her because she was a Tier 6 player. It wasnt until she offended the apex power Demons Gate that she came to understand how terrifying apex powers were. In fact, not to mention apex powers, even pseudo-apex powers could easily put a Tier 6 player into despair if they revealed so much as a small portion of their capabilities. While Aqua Rose was distracted with her thoughts, Demon Axe suddenly moved. In the blink of an eye, Berserker, who had been guarding the Golden Spires entrance all this time, arrived before Shi Feng. What? Demon Axe is taking action himself? Demon Axe taking action was outside of everyones expectations. Even the middle-aged Berserker who was about to teach Shi Feng a lesson was shocked by this development. After all, Demon Axe had only ever taken action against groups of experts thus far. He had never bothered to move against individual players. Hes using his trademark move?! When Aqua Rose saw the Demon Axe War Gods movements, she instantly knew that the other party was using his trademark move, and she couldnt help but be shocked by this development. The Demon Axe War God was titled as such because of his mastery over the Gold Combat Technique Demon Axe. It was with this technique that the Demon Axe War God spread his fame across the Greater Gods Domain. Although Demon Axe wasnt at Tier 6 right now, the combination of his Gold Combat Technique and Legendary Axe allowed him to exhibit power on par with a Tier 6 players full-powered attack. If Aqua Rose were to face this attack herself, even if she had a Fragmented Divine Artifact in hand, she would have to use an Invulnerability Skill to keep herself alive. None of her other means would let her survive Demon Axes attack. But just when Demon Axes pitch-black axe was about to connect with its target, Shi Feng suddenly appeared above Demon Axe, the blue longsword in his hand already descending toward the Tier 5 Berserker. Radiant Night! Holy Annihilation! Ptch-black flames emerged from the Winter of Eternal Night as it closed in on Demon Axe. Though, it did not land on Demon Axe directly, as the latter had redirected his weapons trajectory and used his attack to defend himself. Boom! When axe and longsword collided, pitch-black flames rose into the air. When the flames dissipated, Demon Axe could be seen kneeling on the ground and looking up at Shi Feng in disbelief, a long gash running from his shoulder to his chest. Then, whilst confusion filled his mind, Demon Axe collapsed to the ground, becoming deader than dead Chapter 3467 - Chapter 541 - Golden Spires Trial Chapter 541 C Golden Spires Trial Demon Axes fall plunged the surrounding players into an unprecedented shock. Demon Axe was not only a veteran Tier 6 Berserker God but also someone who had mastered a Gold Combat Technique. Even if he was currently at Tier 5, few players of the same tier could block his trademark move and live to tell the tale. Even the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones, individuals who had received priority nurturing and mastered Gold Combat Techniques, could only match Demon Axe in a frontal clash. Yet, now, the mighty Demon Axe War God had failed to survive even a move against Shi Feng. Moreover, this was after he had blocked Shi Fengs attack with his own This was beyond inconceivable. More importantly, if even the Demon Axe War God had faced such a conclusive demise, who else present could possibly survive more than a move against Shi Feng? When the middle-aged Berserker saw Shi Feng slaying Demon Axe in one move, he couldnt help but wipe the sweat coating his forehead. At the same time, he celebrated the fact that he was slower than Demon Axe to make a move against Shi Feng. Otherwise, hed be the one in Demon Axes shoes instead. Meanwhile, Aqua Rose, who had been wearing a grim expression up to this point, couldnt help but widen her eyes and gasp in shock at how the clash unfolded. Of all the members the seven pseudo-apex powers had mobilized to the Golden Spire this time, only the chosen ones nurtured by the seven pseudo-apex powers with everything theyve got could win against Demon Axe. Even then, it would be a narrow victory. So, Aqua Rose couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful Shi Feng was to be able to achieve such a decisive victory over Demon Axe. However, what Aqua Rose didnt know was that Shi Feng was currently equipped with the Graymoon Secret Treasure Set, which boosted his Mana Protection to the Tier 6 standard. Because of this, when he used Holy Annihilation, the Mana Technique would perform no differently than if a true Tier 6 player executed it. Unless his opponent had a Fragmented Divine Artifact or Tier 6 Mana Protection, trying to stop his Holy Annihilation as a Tier 5 player would be no different than charging head-first into a moving train. Of those present, only Aurebeth seemed unsurprised by this outcome. It was as if she had known this would happen long ago, and she simply observed the various pseudo-apex powers members surrounding them with a look of interest. Do you still wish to stand in our way? Shi Feng asked as he surveyed the hundred or so experts surrounding him and Aurebeth. His expression remained calm, behaving as if what he did was trivial. If this fight had happened before he grasped the Gold Combat Technique Flowing Space, he would have indeed had difficulty killing Demon Axe. The best he could do was rely on the Graymoon Sets effects to gradually whittle down the other party. However, after grasping Flowing Space, Shi Feng no longer feared fights with players of the same tier. Even Golden Masters of the same tier would have a headache facing him. Not to mention, Demon Axe was only an expert who had mastered an Offensive Gold Combat Technique, making him no different than a glass cannon in front of Shi Feng. So long as he gave Shi Feng an opportunity, Shi Feng could finish him on the spot. Dont get conceited just because you killed Demon Axe, Black Flame! Even if you enter the Golden Spire, our chosen ones wont spare you! Thats right! You might not fear us because youve mastered a Gold Body Technique, but our chosen ones have mastered more than just one type of Gold Combat Technique! Several of them have even mastered Gold Body Techniques! Youre finished, Black Flame! You might still have a chance if youre up against those upper-ranking hegemonic powers, but going against our seven pseudo-apex powers will be your end in the Eternal Realm! Nobody can save you now! The seven pseudo-apex powers members sneered as they looked at Shi Feng, their confidence growing as they spoke. They even convinced themselves that Shi Feng would be eliminated from the Eternal Realm in the near future. Is that so? Then, come forward and show me what youre made of! Shi Feng sneered as he took a step forward. Immediately, the hundred or so experts surrounding Shi Feng subconsciously took a step back, as if there existed an invisible wall between them and Shi Feng. And following this, every step forward Shi Feng took, these experts would take one step backward, nobody daring to stay within 50 yards of him. This sight stunned the players present around the Golden Spire once more. All of the seven pseudo-apex powers members present were fifth-floor experts, and quite a few of them were even Saint-ranked experts. Normally, a team of such a composition would be feared anywhere they went. Yet, now, all these experts behaved like cowardly sheep in front of Shi Feng. Even after Shi Feng had stepped into the Golden Spire with Aurebeth and vanished from everyones vision, the seven pseudo-apex powers members still did not dare move within 50 yards of the Golden Spires entrance. An expert! This is how a true expert should be! Black Flame is too strong! If I could experience such a situation even once, Id have no more regrets in my life! When the surrounding players saw Shi Feng and Aurebeth disappearing into the Golden Spire, they couldnt help but verbalize their admiration for Shi Feng. Some had even started posting the videos they had just recorded onto the Eternal Realms official forum to let everyone know what a true expert looked like. Aqua Rose was also greatly shocked by this situation. She didnt think Shi Feng would be so strong as to deter the seven pseudo-apex powers experts from putting up even the slightest form of resistance. He was easily ten times stronger than in the video the Seven Luminaries Alliance had attached to the Sacred Glory List. She found it truly hard to imagine such an expert had remained unknown for so long in their homeworld. Demon Axe is dead, and the various powers are in chaos. Lets use this chance to enter the spire, Aqua, Seven Melody suggested to Aqua Rose when she saw the members of the six remaining pseudo-apex powers falling into disarray. Also, although Black Flame is extraordinarily strong, I still dont think hell be a match for the chosen ones inside. But if we get him to join us and team up with Big Brother Dragon Soul, itll benefit us all! Aqua Rose fell into thought when she heard Seven Melodys suggestions. There were quite a few of the seven pseudo-apex powers members inside, and all of them were competing with each other. Even the Scarlet Merchant Alliance members inside werent united at heart. If they could get Black Flame to join their group, it would help them greatly in surviving the competition. Alright! Lets head inside as well! Immediately, Aqua Rose and Seven Melody used the chaos to sneak into the Golden Spire. Aside from them, many other players had also used this opportunity to charge into the Golden Spire. Inside the Golden Spire When their blurred vision recovered, Shi Feng and Aurebeth found themselves standing in front of a grand staircase in the clouds. The staircase was incredibly wide, at least several kilometers wide at first glance, and each step was one meter high and two meters long. Obviously, these steps were not made for humans but for larger races. The staircase extended to a great height, but because the density of the clouds increased with height, it was impossible to see anything beyond a thousand meters. Moreover, violent mana enveloped the staircase. Even with an Advanced Legendary Mana Body, Shi Feng could feel his mana gradually getting influenced and going out of control. Sure enough, the magic elements here feel incredible no matter how many times I come here. When Shi Feng sensed the dense magic elements around him and felt his mana being affected, he couldnt help but be astonished. Whether it was when he visited this place as a Tier 6 player in his previous life or with a Tier 5 Advanced Legendary Mana Body in this life, his mana failed to resist the influence of the Golden Spires mana regardless. Even Aurebeth was not an exception to this phenomenon. Just as Shi Feng was about to start climbing the staircase, a system notification suddenly rang in his ears. System: Primordial Abyssal Gods Legatee detected. Do you wish to activate the Advanced Abyssal Trial? Chapter 3468 - Chapter 542 - Advanced Abyssal Trial Chapter 542 C Advanced Abyssal Trial An Advanced Abyssal Trial? Shi Feng was caught off guard by the system notification. He had visited the Golden Spire more than once in his previous life. He had even conducted detailed research on the spire, and the information he held was no less than what the various apex powers possessed. However, he had never heard of the Golden Spire having an Abyssal Trial, much less an Advanced Abyssal Trial. Normally, the Greater Gods Domains various powers could go all out to fight each other just to secure a clue relating to a Primordial God. Some upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates had even perished because of this. Meanwhile, the Primordial Abyssal God was one of the strongest Primordial Gods that had ever existed. If it was made known that a clue relating to the Primordial Abyssal God was hidden in the Golden Spire, there was no way the various powers could sit still. Even the high and mighty apex powers wouldnt hesitate to start a war with each other. However, according to the information Shi Feng collected, the Golden Spires construction might involve Ancient Gods, but it was totally unrelated to Primordial Gods. Otherwise, the various apex powers would have long since occupied the Golden Spire. They would have never let other powers set even a foot into the spire. System: You have three minutes to decide whether to activate the Advanced Abyssal Trial. If no response is given, the Advanced Abyssal Trial will not be activated by default. Activate it! Shi Feng decided without hesitation. The Primordial Abyssal Gods Legacy was extraordinary. Setting aside the fact that Primordial God Legacies were nearly impossible to find in the current Greater Gods Domain, just participating in an Abyssal Trial was a fortuitous opportunity in and of itself. Shi Feng had no doubts he could get promoted to Tier 6 with his current capabilities. However, the Hundred Refinement Mana Body Quest required him to construct a Legendary Divine Body, which was no easy feat. The construction of a Divine Body was different from a Mana Body. The stronger a Divine Body a player desired, the stronger the laws they needed to master to stabilize their Divine Body. Typically, an Epic Divine Body required the mastery of one Advanced Law to stabilize. Although he had mastered three Advanced Laws, he wasnt sure if that was enough to stabilize a Legendary Divine Body. If he could master more Advanced Laws through the help of the Abyssal Legacy, it would greatly increase his chances of constructing a Legendary Divine Body. System: Advanced Abyssal Trial activated. Please climb to a height of 20,000 meters in the Golden Spires upper level within two days. Rewards unknown. System: The countdown will begin as soon as you take your first step onto the lower levels staircase. Please pay attention to your remaining time. Climb to a height of 20,000 meters in two days? Shi Feng gasped when he saw the trial requirements, and he couldnt help but wonder if the Main God System was joking with him. The Golden Spire was split into the lower and upper levels. Both levels measured 30,000 meters in height. Although players with the upper levels key could gain access to the spires upper level, they still needed to start their ascend from the lower level. Moreover, for every 1,000 meters climbed, the trials difficulty would increase. The average expert would typically need around two days just to get through the lower level. As for reaching the 20,000-meter mark on the upper level, that was an achievement that only five players had ever accomplished in Shi Fengs previous life. In addition, over 99% of the players who challenged the upper level failed to even reach the 10,000-meter mark. Currently, even if Shi Feng combined his past lifes experiences with his current capabilities, he was only confident in reaching the 10,000-meter mark. As for the 20,000-meter mark, even if he had unlimited time, reaching it would be a huge challenge, let alone reaching it in two days. That was simply an impossible request. Just as Shi Feng and Aurebeth were about to start climbing the staircase before them, two flashes of light appeared near them. When the lights faded, they revealed the figures of Aqua Rose and Seven Melody. When Seven Melody spotted Shi Feng and Aurebeth, she approached them without hesitation and warmly spoke as if they were long-time acquaintances, Please wait a moment, Guild Leader Black Flame. I have a tempting offer to make to you and your companion. May I have some of your time? A tempting offer? What is it? Aurebeth asked as she scrutinized Seven Melody with a look of curiosity. It is something that will allow you to gain a great harvest, Third Vice Guild Leader Aurebeth. I promise, Seven Melody said, exposing Aurebeths identity with a smile. Aurebeths gaze turned a little wary when she heard Seven Melodys words. The changes to Azure Fangs Third Vice Guild Leader position were made in secret, and only a few people in Azure Fang were aware of it. Most other people in the Guild only knew that someone else was sitting in the position of Third Vice Guild Leader. They werent aware of exactly who was sitting in the position. You dont need to look at me like that, Miss Aurebeth. Im not a monster, Seven Melody said, smiling. I am only here to discuss a collaboration between us. It is a collaboration that can bring both of our parties great benefits. Collaboration? What kind of collaboration do you have in mind? Shi Feng asked out of curiosity. Simple. Turning to Shi Feng, Seven Melody said, I have Legacy that holds a method to resist the lower levels mana, and it is the only copy in the Eternal Realm. This method can drastically lower the difficulty of your ascent. I can share it with you, but in exchange, I need you to help us reach the upper level as quickly as possible. I believe that we can both benefit greatly from this collaboration. After all, the sooner you reach the upper level, the more lucrative the final rewards you will receive. In addition, we can further our collaboration if we come across the Scarlet Merchant Alliances chosen ones. If we work together with Scarlets chosen ones, not even the other pseudo-apex powers chosen ones will dare to find trouble with you. A method to resist the lower levels mana? Shi Feng couldnt help but look at Seven Melody in surprise. He had never heard of a mana resistance method recognized by the Main God System for the Golden Spires lower level. Normally, players could only research their own method of combating the lower levels mana. A standardized method was never found. After all, every players Mana Body was different, and different Mana Bodies would react differently to the Golden Spires mana. Yes. It is something that the beautiful Aqua next to me acquired after going through great difficulty. You will not find a second copy of it in the Eternal Realm, Seven Melody said, nodding as she pointed at Aqua Rose. You will most certainly regret it if you miss this opportunity. For your information, it has already been over two days since the seven pseudo-apex powers members entered the Golden Spire. They are probably scattered across both levels by now, and if you come across them, they will undoubtedly try to hinder your progress. Even if you can defeat them, it will take time and add difficulty to your trial. It will also affect the rewards you will receive. But with our mana resistance method, you can at least reduce some of the difficulties you will face and save yourself a lot of time. Alright, I can agree to your conditions, Shi Feng answered. Personally, he was quite intrigued by Seven Melodys suggestion. He was curious to see what kind of mana resistance method could be universally applied to all players. Not to mention, accepting Seven Melodys offer would allow him to help and get acquainted with Aqua Rose. Im fine with it, too, Aurebeth said, nodding. Great! Lets have a happy collaboration, then! Seven Melody happily said before taking out an ancient stone tablet. Then, she continued, Try to learn the method on this tablet as quickly as possible. There are going to be more people coming in in a moment. When Seven Melody took out the stone tablet, the corners of Shi Fengs mouth immediately twitched after just taking a casual glance at it, the shock he currently experienced no less intense than when he triggered the Advanced Abyssal Trial. A Primordial God Tablet! Chapter 3469 - Chapter 543 - Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique Chapter 543 C Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique Well? Are you two done learning it? Seven Melody urgingly asked as she looked at Shi Feng and Aurebeth. There is limited space in the trial area, and many more people will be entering soon! If we have to resist the trials attacks within a limited space, the difficulty we have to face will increase, so we need to move quickly! However, despite Seven Melodys urging, Shi Feng dared not rush himself and completely immersed himself in the information conveyed by the stone tablet. After all, this was a Primordial God Tablet they were talking about, and there were only a very small number of these tablets in the current Greater Gods Domain! Before the Holy Races invasion, those who got their hands on a Primordial God Tablet were deceived by the tablets unremarkable appearance. At first glance, the tablets looked like nothing more than records casually left behind by the myriad Ancient Gods. However, sometime after the Holy Races invasion began, players began to discover the uniqueness of the Primordial God Tablets. Typically, a stone tablet left behind by an Ancient God would only contain one mana interpretation method. Or, more specifically, these Ancient God Tablets could only be interpreted using one method, and they would also only yield one outcome. However, Primordial God Tablets were different in that they could be interpreted using numerous mana interpretation methods, and every different method used would yield a different result. After only glancing at the tablet Seven Melody took out, Shi Feng had already discerned over ten methods to interpret it, which yielded him over ten different methods of resisting mana. This situation allowed Shi Feng to understand why Seven Melody had determined that her stone tablet held a mana resistance method everyone could use. Of course, the numerous mana resistance methods recorded in the Primordial God Tablet were only one of its multiple aspects. What made a Primordial God Tablet truly incredible was the Mana Techniques they contained. Every Primordial God Tablet would have a Mana Technique Legacy hidden in it. As for whether players could obtain this Mana Technique Legacy, it all depended on whether they could find the corresponding mana interpretation method for it and whether they had the necessary talent and capabilities to learn the Mana Technique. The passing down of Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques had ceased during the Mythical Era. Although Saints of future generations would later develop Saint-ranked Mana Techniques, they were merely crude imitations of Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques. They werent even 10% as powerful or effective. This was also why Primordial Gods were extremely powerful. During his previous life, Shi Feng had tried to find opportunities to learn a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, but he never managed to secure one, even after offering to trade for it using a Legendary Equipment Set. Yet, now, Seven Melody had given him this opportunity without hesitation. Even if she wasnt aware of what she had in her hands, it was unbelievable nonetheless. If he were to let this opportunity slip by him, he would definitely regret it. Are you two still not done?! Its been two minutes already! Seven Melody started growing anxious when she saw that Shi Feng and Aurebeth were still stuck learning from the tablet. Previously, when she and Aqua Rose studied the tablet, they didnt use more than thirty seconds. Meanwhile, as soon as they finished studying the tablet, the mana resistance method she spoke of was automatically generated and engraved in their minds. Yet, now, Shi Feng and Aurebeth still werent done studying the tablet after two minutes. With this much time, even a pig should have finished learning the mana resistance method already. Just a little longer. Im finding some parts difficult to understand, Shi Feng awkwardly explained. This was his first time interpreting a Primordial God Tablet. He had also never learned how to interpret a Primordial God Tablet, as only powers with Primordial God Tablets would know the proper methods to do so. However, none of these powers would share their methods or their Primordial God Tablets with others. Even if these powers did share their methods, they likely wouldnt be useful. After all, the correct interpretation methods for every Primordial God Tablet were different. Meanwhile, in the two minutes he spent studying Seven Melodys Primordial God Tablet, he had already tried over a hundred interpretation methods and obtained over a hundred answers. But none of these answers led to a Mana Technique. Meanwhile, roughly five minutes after Shi Feng started studying the Primordial God Tablet, a large group of players appeared at the bottom of the staircase. At a glance, there were easily over a thousand players. After these players excitedly surveyed the Golden Spires interior, they promptly charged up the staircase, none even bothering to glance at Shi Fengs group of four. Seven Melody felt as if her head was about to explode when she saw this, and she couldnt help but turn to Aqua Rose and whisper, Aqua, are these two people truly experts? Why do I feel like theyre just two blockheads? I dont know. Aqua Rose shook her head, similarly feeling puzzled as she watched Shi Feng and Aurebeth completely focused on the stone tablet in Seven Melodys hand. The tablets content is pretty simple. Logically, they should only need a few seconds to learn everything. Subsequently, time continued passing, and amidst Aqua Rose and Seven Melodys hushed conversation, Aurebeth suddenly took a deep breath and smiled. I learned it! Aurebeth reported to Seven Melody, looking quite proud of herself. Hearing Aurebeths report, Seven Melody didnt know what she should say in response. Should she praise her? Ten minutes! Aurebeth had used ten minutes to accomplish what she had accomplished in less than thirty seconds, yet the Blood Elf behaved like a child who had just scored full marks on a test. For a moment, Seven Melody couldnt help but wonder if she had taken out the wrong tablet At this time, Aurebeth noticed that Shi Feng was still staring at the tablet, his body remaining motionless. He seems to be stuck on something, just like you were before, Aqua Rose explained when she saw Aurebeth looking at Shi Feng curiously. Well, it is quite difficult. Aurebeth nodded to express her understanding. If not for my foundation, I would have probably been stuck for a much longer time. Seven Melody grew even more speechless when she saw Aurebeth expressing her understanding. Were any foundations necessary to use a mana interpretation method on a stone tablet? Wasnt this something that could be accomplished by any player capable of manipulating mana? Meanwhile, after half an hour, a joyful exclamation suddenly sounded at the bottom of the Golden Spires lower level. Hearing this, Seven Melody and Aqua Rose breathed a sigh of relief. This was because the joyful exclamation came from none other than Shi Feng. Finally At long last Ive finally learned it! At this moment, the joy on Shi Fengs face was apparent even to an ordinary person. His excitement could even infect those looking at his expression. However, Seven Melody and Aqua Rose could only roll their eyes at Shi Feng when they saw his behavior. Thirty minutes. In the half-hour they spent waiting for Shi Feng to be done with learning the mana resistance method, they saw over 10,000 players entering the Golden Spire and ascending the lower levels staircase. With the addition of so many competitors, it would become even more difficult for them to catch up to the first batch of experts the Scarlet Merchant Alliance had sent into the Golden Spire. Lets go, Shi Feng said, awkwardly smiling when he saw the impatient look on Seven Melodys and Aqua Roses faces. Dont worry. I promise we can catch up to them in no time. Studying the Primordial God Tablet was not easy. He had used over a thousand mana interpretation methods before he finally found the one that led him to the Mana Technique recorded on the tablet. Fortunately, the Mana Technique recorded on the tablet just so happened to be incredibly useful for him. This was because the Mana Technique was a sword technique meant for Swordsmen. The Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! It was a well-known Mana Technique in the Greater Gods Domain, and it was also the trademark technique of the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa! What excited Shi Feng, even more, was the identity of the creator behind this Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique. The Goddess of Space! Despite not being a Primordial God, the Goddess of Space had created a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique. For players who werent Primordial Gods, Dark Moon was undoubtedly the easiest to learn out of all Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques in existence! Chapter 3470 - Chapter 544 - Initial Mastery Over the Law of Space Chapter 544 C Initial Mastery Over the Law of Space Catch up in no time? Seven Melody couldnt help but roll her eyes at Shi Feng, feeling both angry and exasperated. The Golden Spires trials were tailored toward individual players. If players could pass the trials, they could continue to advance. If not, they would be stuck where they were, and outsiders wouldnt be able to help them. In addition, there was limited space inside the Golden Spire. So, the more players there were challenging Golden Spire, the less space players had to maneuver around, which would, in turn, increase the difficulty of their trials. Currently, more than 10,000 players were already inside the Golden Spire, and these players had nearly a 30-minute head start over their group of three. If they were to start their climb now, the difficulty of the trials they faced would be substantially greater, and the time they needed to overcome the trials would most certainly be longer than normal. So, even if they did catch up to these 10,000-plus players, Seven Melody wasnt even sure if she and Aqua Rose could outcompete the Scarlet Merchant Alliances paragons who had entered the Golden Spire in the first batch. Apart from the chosen ones cultivated by the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, the competition between the Guilds paragons was extraordinarily intense. While she might have an upper-level key for the Golden Spire in her possession, she couldnt use it to enter the upper level at her discretion. Whether she could use it to enter the upper level still depended on the time she used to complete the lower level. After all, upper-level keys were hard to come by. The Scarlet Merchant Alliance naturally wouldnt waste such a precious resource on individuals who took too much time to complete the lower level. However, Shi Feng didnt bother to explain himself. He simply smiled and stepped onto the staircase before him. Dark Moon, the Goddess of Spaces Legacy, was incredibly profound. The Mana Technique was split into seven moves: the Sword of Earth, the Sword of Water, the Sword of Wind, the Sword of Fire, the Sword of Time, the Sword of Illusion, and the Sword of Space. The seven moves were an advanced application of the Four Major Elements and the Three Supreme Elements. There were no differences in strength between the seven moves. Each move had its strengths. Meanwhile, Dark Moon utilized the element of Space as its core, and the element allowed for the continuous integration of other magic elements. When all seven elements were merged into one, the user of Dark Moon could fight Primordial Gods of the same tier. Although Shi Feng had yet to master any of the seven moves, through the information he gained from the Goddesss Legacy, he had already gained initial mastery over the Law of Space, which could be considered as him having learned the Dark Moon Mana Technique. By manipulating the Space element, he could not only fully stabilize his mana, but he could even spread it out to create a Mana Domain inside the Golden Spire. While he couldnt extend his Mana Domain as far out as he normally could, he could ensure its absolute stability within a 50-yard radius. Gaining mastery over the Space element also enlightened Shi Feng on why, despite the Primordial God Tablet having various mana resistance methods, any of these methods could allow players to resist the Golden Spires rampant mana. Lets go as well, Melody, Aqua Rose said persuasively as she looked at the exasperated Cleric beside her. There might be some changes to the plan, but at least none of those outside experts will dare to make a move against us. The Golden Spire had lucrative rewards. This was something everyone knew. But not everyone could get their hands on these rewards, and some selfish individuals might choose to sabotage others once they knew they had no chance of proceeding any further. However, with Shi Feng acting as a deterrent, it was unlikely anyone would dare to target their group. I guess youre right After thinking it over, Seven Melody could only use Aqua Roses reasoning to console herself. Subsequently, Seven Melody and Aqua Rose also stepped onto the staircase, intending to pass through the lower levels trials as quickly as possible. Players would face a trial every 1,000 meters they ascended in the Golden Spire. According to the information the Scarlet Merchant Alliance obtained, these trials required players to break through a magic barrier while fighting against Magic Puppets of the same tier. Every Magic Puppet was at the Refinement Realm standard by default, and they could only damage the players they were summoned to target. Moreover, the Magic Puppets would grow stronger with numbers. For every three Magic Puppets on the battlefield, they could form a small battle array that would increase their Basic Attributes and elevate their combat standards by one rank. For every three small battle arrays present, they could form a medium battle array that would elevate the Magic Puppets Basic Attributes to the standard of Archaic Species and combat standards to the Void Realm. For every three medium battle arrays present, they could form a large battle array that would increase the Magic Puppets Basic Attributes to the standard of Ferocious Beasts and grant every one of them the ability to use Domains. If surrounded by these enhanced Magic Puppets, even fifth-floor experts would lose their lives if they werent careful. While facing the attacks of these Magic Puppets, players needed to break the magic barrier hindering their advance as quickly as possible. Otherwise, once a set amount of time passed, the magic barrier would fully regenerate, and players would have to start breaking the barrier all over again. Furthermore, for every trial players completed, the number of Magic Puppets they faced would increase by three. And for every 10,000 meters they climbed, the gravity they experienced and the volatility of the mana surrounding them would double. Meanwhile, the instant Seven Melody and Aqua Rose ascended 1,000 meters up the staircase, their first trial began, and six Magic Puppets appeared a short distance away from them. The six Magic Puppets charged at the two players in groups of three, and each group was empowered by a small battle array. In this rampant mana environment, a fourth-floor expert would have to expend a lot of energy just to cope with these Magic Puppets. However, just as Seven Melody and Aqua Rose were about to rely on their formidable Basic Attributes to repel the Magic Puppets, a familiar voice suddenly entered their ears. Kneel! Following this voice, the crisp sound of three objects hitting the ground came from nearby. When Seven Melody and Aqua Rose turned toward the source of these sounds, they saw three Magic Puppets falling flat onto the floor as if something heavy was crushing them How is this possible?! Seven Melody exclaimed, her mouth having difficulty closing when she saw the owner of the voice. The person who had immobilized the three Magic Puppets was none other than Shi Feng, the person who had spent half an hour learning a mana resistance method. Mana Domain! Hes using his Mana Domain! Aqua Rose muttered in shock as she looked at Shi Feng. She was able to quickly determine the cause of the three Magic Puppets situation. He can use his Mana Domain here! Apart from a Mana Domain, Aqua Rose could think of no other explanation for how Shi Feng managed to suppress the Magic Puppets with words alone. But the problem was that the Golden Spires mana environment destabilized players mana. In such a situation, even fighting normally was an impossible task, let alone creating a Mana Domain that was strong enough to suppress enemies thoroughly. This situation was even more unbelievable than fantasy! Has he already mastered the Law of Space? At this time, Aurebeth was similarly looking at Shi Feng in astonishment, but the cause for her surprise was different from that of Seven Melody and Aqua Rose. As someone who had learned the Goddess of Spaces Dark Moon Legacy, Aurebeth could more or less guess how Shi Feng could use his Mana Domain inside the Golden Spire. However, it was precisely because she knew how he did it that she couldnt help but be astonished. Previously, after spending ten minutes analyzing Seven Melodys Stone Tablet, Aurebeth had arrived at the Goddess of Spaces Legacy. Then, after learning the Goddesss Legacy, she gained basic mastery over the Space element, which allowed her to stabilize the mana in her body. Originally, Aurebeth thought that she was already a fast learner. But now, it was revealed that, even though Shi Feng had taken more time to analyze the stone tablet than she did, he had gained greater mastery over the Goddesss Legacy than she did. After all, the fact that Shi Feng could extend his mana beyond his physical body meant that he had already gained advanced mastery over the Space element, which also meant that he had already gained initial mastery over the Law of Space. This was simply unbelievable. The rest of you kneel as well! When Shi Feng saw the six Magic Puppets targeting Seven Melody and Aqua Rose resuming their charge, he spoke again. Immediately afterward, all six Magic Puppets fell to the ground and stopped moving. Then, he calmly said: Lets go to the next trial. TL Notes: [1]Kneel!: This should have been translated as Get down!, but it could be misunderstood as Shi Feng telling his allies to get down because hes gonna use some powerful AOE move, so I opted for Kneel! It also sounds cooler. Chapter 3471 - Chapter 545 - Sudden Changes to the Golden Spire Chapter 545 C Sudden Changes to the Golden Spire Golden Spire, Upper Level: In a vast temple surrounded by clouds, a burst of colorful radiance suddenly appeared in the middle of the structure. Then, the lights disappeared to reveal four figures. We arrived, just like that? A pleasant voice sounded, causing the hundred or so players resting in the temple to turn their heads toward the source. The owner of the voice was a female Cleric with a gentle and elegant appearance, and at first glance, she looked very much like an angel. Newcomers? Has another pseudo-apex power arrived at the Golden Spire? These people have such bad luck to appear at this time. Now, the upper-level key they went to great lengths to obtain has gone to waste. When the resting players saw the female Clerics group appearing in the temple, some expressed surprise, some expressed ridicule, and some expressed pity. Whats wrong with these people? Why are they looking at us like that? Seven Melody wondered in confusion. After scanning the temple, she could tell everyone was talking about their group. This is strange. This should be nearly everyone, if not everyone, who has reached the upper level, Aqua Rose commented. Logically, the first batch of players to have entered the spire should have arrived on the upper floor quite some time already. Even though weve taken only eleven hours to clear the lower level, it doesnt make for us to meet them here. These people also look exhausted, so theyve clearly been through a lot of battles. Keys to the Golden Spires upper level were incredibly rare. At most, only a couple dozen should have been found thus far. And since each key could only allow two players to enter the spires upper level, the maximum number of players that could enter the upper level should only be a little over a hundred. In other words, the players resting in the temple should be most, if not all, of the players currently on the upper level. It should be known that their group of four had entered the Golden Spire two days later than the various Guilds first batch of players did. Logically, the players in the first batch should have long arrived and made significant progress on the upper level. So, it was incredibly strange for them to meet so many players at the upper levels starting point. Amidst Seven Melody and Aqua Roses confusion, an exclamation suddenly sounded from a corner of the temple. Little Seven? How did you get up here so quickly? The speaker was a female Assassin dressed in black leather. She had a shapely figure, and she gave off a wild feeling. Although the Assassin was masked, it was still possible to tell that she had a beautiful face based on her facial features. Big Sis Glow? Seven Melody exclaimed when she saw the female Assassin. Then, she curiously asked, Why are you still on the first trial? Shouldnt you have entered the upper level long ago? Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul were the Scarlet Merchant Alliances chosen ones of this generation. The two were about evenly matched in strength, and they were labeled as the Scarlet Merchant Alliances most talented chosen ones in the past century. Even before reaching the age of 25, the two had already mastered a Gold Combat Technique. Now, in their thirties, they had already mastered two Gold Combat Techniques of different categories and received the Guilds full support. Both of them were equipped with Legendary Equipment Sets and top-tier Legendary Weapons, and at the same level and tier, they could fight against even the chosen ones nurtured by apex powers. We are here by accident, the female Assassin named Solitary Glow said, waving her hand. Then, she moved her sharp gaze over to Shi Feng and Aurebeth, curiously asking, Who are these two? Why did you arrive here with them? Theyre the reinforcements I found, Big Sis Glow, Seven Melody proudly said. This man here is Guild Leader Black Flame, while this beautiful lady here is Azure Fangs Saintess. It is thanks to them that Aqua and I were able to arrive on the upper level so quickly. It only took them eleven hours to complete the lower level. They were several times faster than the various pseudo-apex powers paragons. Although some of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances paragons waiting at the end of the lower level had initially thought of competing for the two slots she had for the upper level, they could only despair after learning of her and Aquas clear speed. In fact, if not for the two of them being too slow at breaking the trials magic barriers, Shi Feng and Aurebeth could have completed the lower level in six hours. Guild Leader Black Flame? When Solitary Glow heard Shi Fengs name, she suddenly thought of something as she looked at Shi Feng, feeling somewhat surprised, and asked, Are you the one who killed Demon Axe and angered the Star Dynasty? Yes, thats me, Shi Feng nodded. How brave of you. Seeing the calm look on Shi Feng, Solitary Glow couldnt help but give him a friendly reminder, saying, Do you know that Sleeping Spark, one of the Star Dynastys chosen ones, has already declared that he will kill you every time he sees you? He has also announced a reward of five Eternal Gold for anyone who reports your location in the Golden Spire. Five Eternal Gold? Aqua Rose was astonished by the revelation. That much? One Eternal Gold was about as much as the average fourth-floor expert owned in the current Eternal Realm, so paying five Eternal Gold for just a players location was a huge extravagance. Now that even the various cities in the real world were buying up Eternal Coins, a fortune of five Eternal Gold would be enough for her to live extravagantly in a second-tier city for an entire year. How generous of them, Seven Melody commented in agreement. Even she didnt have five Eternal Gold on her right now. I heard that the Secret Treasures sold by the Crystal City of Secrets Trading Firm only cost about a dozen Eternal Gold. With the reward theyre offering, I can already buy a Common Secret Treasure after reporting Guild Leader Black Flames location three times. Upon hearing Seven Melodys words, Shi Feng couldnt help but look at the Cleric in surprise. He didnt think the Secret Crystal Trading Firms fame had spread so much. You two shouldnt have come here, Solitary Glow said as she returned her gaze to Seven Melody and Aqua Rose. Not long ago, Sleeping Spark climbed to a height of 10,000 meters and caused a sudden change to the entire upper level. Aside from him, everyone else was teleported back to the starting point. In addition, the trials Magic Puppets have also undergone a qualitative transformation. Now, even the first trials Magic Puppets have Domains, and every move they make is at the standard of an Advanced Bronze Combat Technique. Combined with the assistance of their small battle array, all three of the first trials Magic Puppets have combat standards at the fourth-floor standard. Even if Dragon Soul and I keep you two safe from other players, the best you two can accomplish is clear the first trial. Theyve stepped into the Realms of Truth? Seven Melody was greatly surprised. Even when she climbed to 30,000 meters on the lower level, the combat standards of the Magic Puppets she faced only had access to a Domain. They had no mastery over the Realms of Truth. If the upper levels Magic Puppets were as strong as Solitary Glow described, combined with the Golden Spires volatile mana environment, even fifth-floor experts would find their progression coming to a halt. After all, if the Magic Puppets could exhibit the power of Bronze Combat Techniques with their every move, after factoring in the assistance of a small battle array, they would be able to unleash power at the Tier 6 standard. This would remove any advantages players had over the Magic Puppets. As for you two, Im afraid you have come here for nothing, Solitary Glow said as she turned to Shi Feng and Aurebeth. While I am grateful for you for bringing Little Seven and her friend here, you are currently being targeted by the Star Dynasty. All of the various pseudo-apex powers members here have their eyes set on you two. Even if Dragon Soul and I try to help you, I dont think they will give up. When Seven Melody saw that Solitary Glow was hinting at Shi Feng and Aurebeth to leave, she quickly interjected and said in a serious tone, Guild Leader Black Flame and his friend are very strong, Big Sis Glow. If you join forces with them, you can definitely climb to greater heights. Very strong? Solitary Glow couldnt help but chuckle at Seven Melodys claim. How strong could someone ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List possibly be? Even someone of her caliber would quickly fall when attacked by over a hundred paragons and chosen ones from the various pseudo-apex powers. However, seeing the determination in Seven Melodys eyes, Solitary Glow ultimately sighed and said, Alright, then. Since they have helped you, it would be shameful of us to just stand by and watch. But let me make things clear. Our ability to resist is limited. If we cant hold on, your friends will have to rely on themselves. Thank you, Big Sis Glow, Seven Melody said with a smile. Okay, get ready. Well start climbing the spire in one minute, Solitary Glow said before leaving to discuss the situation with Dragon Soul, who was resting some distance away. Chapter 3472 - Chapter 546 - Come and Meet Your Maker Chapter 546 C Come and Meet Your Maker Seven Melody breathed a sigh of relief shortly after Solitary Glow walked away. Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul were the Scarlet Merchant Alliances chosen ones of this generation. They were slated to become the Guilds Taboos in the future, and their status was so high that they didnt even need to show respect to the Guilds Vice Guild Leaders. Even though Seven Melody was the successor of her family, out of the two chosen ones, only Dragon Soul came from her family. Solitary Glow, on the other hand, was nurtured by the Guild Leaders family. So, if Solitary Glow refused to help her, there would be nothing Seven Melody could do about it. Im sorry, Guild Leader Black Flame, Seven Melody said as she looked at Shi Feng apologetically. Big Sis Glow doesnt mean any harm. Its just that upper-level keys are incredibly precious, and she is worried that me and Aqua will waste this opportunity. I understand. Shi Feng nodded, not minding Solitary Glows attitude toward him. If I were in her position, I wouldnt dare to recklessly help an outsider in the Golden Spire, either. Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul were very famous individuals during Shi Fengs previous life. It was especially so for Solitary Glow. Aside from their strength, another factor that played into their fame was due to the splitting of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. At the time, the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Guild Leader had suddenly left the Guild with a bunch of people to start his own Guild called the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce. Then, after its establishment, the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce fought restlessly against the Scarlet Merchant Alliance. However, because the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Taboos remained with the Guild, the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce was never a match for it. If not for Solitary Glow having the strength to hold off three of Scarlets Taboos by herself at the time, the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce wouldnt even be able to continue surviving in the Greater Gods Domain. Back then, the Scarlet Merchant Alliance had made numerous offers to pull Solitary Glow back to its side. However, no matter how tempting an offer Solitary Glow received, she had never agreed to defect from the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce. Ultimately, though, the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce still met its destruction after the Scarlet Merchant Alliance produced a new Taboo, breaking the balance in strength. Meanwhile, after the Blood Drinking Chamber of Commerce disappeared from the Greater Gods Domain, Solitary Glow seemingly disappeared with it. She never joined another power or showed herself in public afterward, and a few apex powers couldnt help but lament the situation. It wasnt just because the Greater Gods Domain had lost a loyal and powerful asset such as Solitary Glow. It was more so because the Scarlet Merchant Alliance could have become one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers and potentially even an apex power in the future had it not experienced such a sudden internal split. Meanwhile, after meeting Solitary Glow in person, Shi Feng could tell that she was indeed devoted to her Guild, her behavior lacking any ulterior motives. If any other member of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Guild Leaders faction were in her place, they would be more than eager to see Seven Melody waste an upper-level key, as this would, in turn, weaken the influence of Seven Melodys faction. Not to mention, there were over a dozen Star Dynasty experts currently targeting their group of four in the temple. Among them, even the weakest among them was a Level 157 Saint, and every one of them also wielded a Legendary Weapon. If these experts were to work together, even if they were only at Tier 5, they could still reign supreme over any kingdom in the outside world, and no power would dare to underestimate them. With all these experts targeting their group, nobody could fault Solitary Glow even if she refused to help their group. Honestly, if Zero Wing wasnt in the middle of clashing with multiple apex powers in his previous life, Shi Feng would have tried to recruit Solitary Glow into Zero Wing. Meanwhile, shortly after the exchange between Shi Feng and Seven Melody, Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul approached their group. Dragon Soul was a giant of a man, his height coming in at six meters. He carried a large hammer made of white bones on his back, and every step he took shook the ground around him. Even though he was only a Level 158, Tier 5 Berserker, he gave off the feeling of a bona fide Tier 6 Berserker God. Lets go. After sweeping an indifferent glance at Shi Feng and Aurebeth, Dragon Soul said, When the Star Dynastys people come for us later, Glow and I will stop their two chosen ones. As for the others, you will have to deal with them yourselves. What arrogant words you have there, Dragon Soul. Do you really dare protect the people the Star Dynasty is targeting? As soon as Dragon Soul finished speaking, a young male Demidragon clad in black armor and wielding a large saber suddenly spoke up. Do you think you are invincible in the Golden Spire just because you managed to survive a fight with Sleeping Spark? So, are you saying you can win against me, Black Tiger? Dragon Soul said as he glanced at the Demidragon with disdain. If I say Im going to protect them, nobody can touch them! The Star Dynasty had four chosen ones. However, apart from Sleeping Spark, Dragon Soul did not consider any of the other three chosen ones as worthy of his attention. If not for the interference of the Golden Spires Magic Puppets, he and Solitary Glow could easily trample over the two other Star Dynasty chosen ones on the upper level. I would like to see you try, then! Suddenly, a low and crisp laugh sounded in the temple, and the nonchalant expressions of Dragon Soul and Solitary Glow immediately grew serious as they turned to look at the person who just spoke. The person who just spoke was a gorgeous woman in a red dress. She had long fiery red hair that cascaded down her back, and she was akin to a fire elemental as her mere presence caused the surrounding space to heat up. Evidently, the woman had already surpassed the standard of Saints when it came to the use of the fire element. Are you planning to help the Star Dynasty, Scarlet? Dragon Soul asked, his expression darkening and a hint of fear flashing in his eyes as he looked at the gorgeous woman. At this time, Solitary Glow also wore an ugly expression as she whispered to Shi Feng and Aurebeth, Shes Flaming Bees Scarlet Sorceress. She is no weaker than Dragon Soul and I. If she decides to help the Star Dynasty, Im afraid you will have to give up on challenging the Golden Spire. Few people in the Greater Gods Domain knew about Scarlet Sorceress. Firstly, it was because Flaming Bee had secretly nurtured Scarlet Sorceress as one of its chosen ones, and rarely would she take action in the Greater Gods Domain. Secondly, most of those who had fought Scarlet Sorceress in actual battle had their existences immolated, with even their Immortal Souls being burnt to nothing. If not for Scarlet Sorceress taking action on the Golden Spires upper level, none of them present would have known that Flaming Bee had been hiding such a chosen one. I have no intentions of helping the Star Dynasty, Scarlet Sorceress said, shaking her head. Then, she turned to Shi Feng and continued, I simply have some accounts to settle with Guild Leader Black Flame. With me? Shi Feng couldnt help but grow confused. He failed to recall ever having provoked Flaming Bees Scarlet Sorceress. What a forgetful person you are, Guild Leader Black Flame. Smiling faintly at Shi Feng, Scarlet Sorceress said, Have you forgotten about Eternals auction already? Thanks to you allying with the Blaze Conglomerate, Flaming Bee lost its head start in the Underground Crystal Palace. I was present at the auction and watched as you happily outbid us. I bet you never thought about today, right? Following Scarlet Sorceresss words, Solitary Glow, Seven Melody, and Aqua Rose couldnt help but grow speechless at Shi Fengs ability to offend pseudo-apex powers. Meanwhile, Shi Feng laughed in response to Scarlet Sorceresss words. Then, after stepping onto the staircase connected to the temple, he nonchalantly glanced at Scarlet Sorceress and the Star Dynastys members and said, Do you think I need to? As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, dense mana spread from his body, instantly causing the three Magic Puppets that had appeared before him to kneel on the ground. Even though all three Magic Puppets were at the fourth-floor standard, none could move an inch from where they stood, let alone get close to Shi Feng Chapter 3473 - Chapter 547 - Distinguished Results Chapter 547 C Distinguished Results A Mana Domain?! He can use his Mana Domain in the Golden Spire?! How is this possible? How is he unaffected by the spires rampant mana? The players resting in the temple couldnt believe their eyes when they saw the Magic Puppets kneeling to Shi Feng as if he were their ruler. Even Scarlet Sorceress, who had been mocking Shi Feng just a moment ago, looked at this situation in stunned silence. How did he do it? Shouldnt it be impossible to control the Golden Spires volatile mana? Solitary Glow was greatly confused by the situation taking place on the staircase. She even suspected that her eyes were currently playing a trick on her, and the three Magic Puppets werent actually kneeling before Shi Feng. The biggest difference separating high-tiered players from low-tiered players was the ability to use Mana Domains. During the initial launch of a Gods Domain, there was even a saying that players beneath Tier 4 were no different than ants. This saying existed because of the ability for Tier 4 players to use Mana Domains. With the assistance of a Mana Domain, a Tier 4 player could exert absolute suppression over players beneath Tier 4 and turn zerg tactics into jokes. Although everyone present was currently at Tier 5, the difference between having and not having the ability to use a Mana Domain would result in a massive gap in combat power. At this time, Dragon Soul also started to take Shi Feng seriously. He no longer dared to treat him as merely a friend of Seven Melody and someone needing protection. Even though Shi Fengs equipment was inferior to everyone present, his ability to unleash his Mana Domain in the Golden Spires environment would ensure he was not at a disadvantage. He would even be at an advantage when fighting on the staircase. Once in a trial area, players would have to constantly face the attacks of Magic Puppets. If players were to fight other players in this situation, they would have to defend themselves against the attacks of both players and Magic Puppets. However, the trials Magic Puppets were nothing but jokes in front of Shi Feng. If anyone were to fight Shi Feng in a trial area, they would not only have to fight the Magic Puppets and Shi Feng together, but they would also have to do so while being suppressed by Shi Fengs Mana Domain. In such a situation, even ten chosen ones working together would not be a match for Shi Feng. Seeing the various pseudo-apex powers members falling into a daze, Seven Melody and Aqua Rose couldnt help but be amazed. It was especially so for Aqua Rose. Aqua Rose could never imagine herself going against the chosen ones of two pseudo-apex powers. Yet, Shi Feng, someone who came from the same world as her, had not only done so, but he had managed to deter the two pseudo-apex powers chosen ones to a point where they didnt dare to make a move against him. Lets go, Shi Feng said to Seven Melody and Aqua Rose. Seeing as neither Scarlet Sorceress nor the Star Dynastys members dared to escalate their aggression, he no longer wished to continue wasting his time with them. After saying so, Shi Feng began making his way up the staircase. Okay. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd in the temple, Seven Melody and Aqua Rose followed Shi Feng excitedly. As for Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul, it took them a moment to process the situation, but they quickly chased after Shi Fengs group once they came back to their senses. At the same time, they couldnt help but feel complicated by this unexpected development. Originally, Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul thought they would be the ones helping Shi Feng progress on the upper level. But now, Shi Feng was the one helping them instead. Shortly after Shi Fengs group left, the upper levels starting temple went into chaos. The spectating players were especially noisy. None of them thought that a newcomer on the Sacred Glory List would be able to overwhelm the Star Dynasty, one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers, in such a leisurely manner. If news of this situation spread, it would definitely shock all the players and powers in the Greater Gods Domain. Are you just going to let them leave like this, Scarlet? the Star Dynastys Black Tiger asked as he looked at Scarlet Sorceress. Our reputation is going to take a hit after this. If youre worried about your reputation, why dont you attack him? Scarlet Sorceress said as she looked at Black Tiger in disdain. I would if I could beat him, Black Tiger said before laughing in embarrassment. If we werent in the Golden Spire, I would definitely let him know what despair is. You dont say? Scarlet Sorceress rolled her eyes at Black Tiger. Then, she turned toward the direction that Shi Feng disappeared to and sneered, saying, But this matter wont end so easily. We might not be a match for him now, but we can simply wait for Sleeping Spark to finish challenging the spire. If we work with him, we can easily kill Black Flame and his group. Black Tiger nodded in agreement. He was also confident in Sleeping Sparks strength. Sleeping Spark might also be one of the Star Dynastys chosen ones, but he was much stronger and more talented than any other chosen ones. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say they stood on completely different levels. This was evident based on their respective performances in the Golden Spire. None of the experts currently resting in the starting temple could reach the upper levels 10,000-meter mark. Yet, Sleeping Spark had done so. He had even started to challenge the 14,000-meter mark already. They also didnt have to worry about not being able to encounter Shi Feng again. Unlike the lower level, players would not be automatically teleported out of the spire when killed by the upper levels Magic Puppets. Instead, they would be teleported back to the starting temple, scored by the system based on their performance, and given a few options for their rewards.[1] Hence, they would have one more opportunity to redeem themselves later on. Subsequently, time passed by quickly. After Scarlet Sorceress and Black Tiger waited in the starting temple for nearly a day, the ranking list available next to the temples treasury finally got updated. Immediately, they noticed several new names appearing on the stone tablet and Sleeping Spark, who originally occupied first place on the list, falling to third place. How is this possible?! Black Tiger and Scarlet Sorceress nearly lost their minds when they saw the updated ranking list. The Challenge Tablet was something that had appeared after the Golden Spires upper floor had transformed. The tablet recorded the names of the players who had successfully climbed to the 10,000-meter mark, and players on the tablet were ranked based on the final height they achieved. The tablet could record the names of up to 100 players, and it was updated daily. For the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones and paragons present, the Challenge Tablet was the ranking list they wanted to enter the most. This was because it was far more credible than any ranking list published by the Seven Luminaries Alliance, as it placed more emphasis on players talent and potential. The Seven Luminaries Alliances ranking lists were created based on observation and judgment, so not everyone on these ranking lists had actually fought each other before. As for the Golden Spires Challenge Tablet, while it also didnt rank players based on duel performances, everyone ranked on it was subjected to the same challenges and enemies. So, it allowed players to compare their talent and strength without biases or deviations. Before this, the Challenge Tablet only recorded one name: Sleeping Spark. Because of this, even the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Dragon Soul had no choice but to admit that he was inferior to Sleeping Spark. But now, several new names appear on the Challenge Tablet, and most were very familiar to Scarlet Sorceress and Black Tiger. 7th C Seven Melody C Current Record: 10,647 meters. 6th C Aqua Rose C Current Record: 11,745 meters. 5th C Solitary Glow C Current Record: 14,582 meters. 4th C Dragon Soul C Current Record: 14,645 meters. 3rd C Sleeping Spark C Current Record: 16,458 meters. 2nd C Aurebeth C Current Record: 18,428 meters. 1st C Black Flame C Current Record: 19,786 meters. TL Notes: [1]Just a fyi: The players resting in the starting temple were teleported back because Sleeping Spark reached the 10,000-meter mark. They werent teleported back because they were killed, so they(particularly Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul) can still challenge the upper level. Chapter 3474 - Chapter 548 - Sword of Space! Chapter 548 C Sword of Space! Sleeping Spark got overtaken? Black Flame and Aurebeth? Who are these people? Am I hallucinating? This is Sleeping Spark we are talking about! Even the various apex powers are looking to recruit him! Dont forget that the Star Dynasty has hastily confirmed Sleeping Sparks position as a future Taboo to keep him from defecting. So, once he reaches Tier 6, hell immediately get to manage a Divine Artifact! I know about Aurebeth. Shes Azure Fangs officially recognized Saintess. She is considered the best talent Azure Fang has had in the past few centuries. I previously thought Azure Fang was exaggerating about this, but it seems that those claims arent unfounded, seeing as she is two trials ahead of Sleeping Spark. With such a talent under its command, Azure Fang will most certainly prosper in the future. A height of 19,786 meters? Is Black Flame the successor of some apex power? The players resting in the starting temple started an excited discussion among themselves when they saw the changes to the Challenge Tablet. To them, this development was even more shocking than Shi Fengs accomplishment of deterring the members of the Star Dynasty and Flaming Bee. It should be known that climbing a height of 19,786 meters on the upper level wasnt something that could be accomplished with a Mana Domain alone. According to their research on the Golden Spire, once players climbed to a height of 10,000 meters on the upper level, the opponents they had to face would change from ordinary Magic Puppets into Advanced Magic Puppets. Even without the assistance of battle arrays, these Advanced Magic Puppets would possess Basic Attributes nearing that of Tier 6 Divine monsters of the same level. They could also exhibit the power of an Advanced Silver Combat Technique with their every move. If these Advanced Magic Puppets were under the effects of a large battle array, they would not only have the Basic Attributes of a Divine monster, but they could also exhibit power nearing the standard of Gold Combat Techniques with their every move. With such parameters, these Advanced Magic Puppets would not fear any Mana Domain. At most, they would lose some of their mobility. Even a bona fide Tier 6 player would be instantly reduced to ashes if they tried to fight against 27 of such frightening Advanced Magic Puppets. Meanwhile, at the upper levels 19,800-meter mark Boom! Boom! Boom! At this time, a figure could be seen moving back and forth, left and right, while continuously dodging and blocking hundreds of wind blades. These wind blades covered the entire staircase section, and every one of them possessed enough power to send even Tier 6 MTs flying off their feet. The figure going up the wind blades was massive, standing at a height of twenty meters. White holy patterns also covered this figures body, and his every action carried the power to destroy worlds. So, none of the terrifying wind blades could leave a scratch on him. Meanwhile, this giant of a person was none other than Shi Feng with Holy Manas Shadow active. Currently, though, Shi Feng wore a pale complexion as his mental state was quickly reaching its limit. Even full-powered attacks with Holy Manas Shadow active can barely damage it? Shi Feng couldnt help but frown as he looked at the slightly damaged barrier in the distance. The Golden Spire tested players based on their tiers. So, the magic barriers Tier 5 and Tier 6 players faced were completely different, with the former having to face significantly weaker ones. With his current strength, once he activated Holy Manas Shadow, he could exhibit power at the Tier 6 Peak standard if he went all out. This was already the strongest attack he could accomplish as a Tier 5 player. Yet, even after dishing out dozens of attacks of this caliber, he had only managed to leave some cracks on the barrier separating him from the 20,000-meter mark. Moreover, these scratches would rapidly heal over time. If he stopped attacking, the barrier would return to its original state in just three seconds. After trying up to this point, Shi Feng couldnt help but wonder exactly how powerful the Tier 6 players who had climbed to the upper levels 20,000-meter mark in his previous life had to be to accomplish what they did. It should be known that he was a Great Grandmaster Magician. Unlike other players, he could target all of his attacks on the magic barriers weakest areas, which allowed him to achieve drastically better results at a much lower cost. However, Shi Feng didnt have much time to ponder as the 27 Magic Puppets had no intentions of letting him catch his breath. After completing one round of attacks, they promptly brandished their claws at him again in a frenzy, filling the space above the staircase with space-shredding wind blades. Sure enough, I can only pass this trial with attacks that have broken the limits of my tier. Immediately, Shi Feng executed Flowing Space and evaded all of the Magic Puppets attacks. He no longer tried to block or deflect the oncoming wind blades, choosing to gradually focus his mind. After the previous series of attacks, Shi Feng had already verified that those who passed the 20,000-meter mark in his previous life must be individuals with Primordial God Legacies. If he wanted to complete the Advanced Abyssal Trial in his current state, his only option to succeed would be to rely on the Goddess of Spaces Mana Technique, Dark Moon. Otherwise, he would have to halt his progression before the 20,000-meter mark. However, Shi Feng honestly didnt wish to try using Dark Moon. Dark Moon was unlike any Saint-ranked Mana Technique. It involved the manipulation of various magic elements on a massive scale. Even if he had already mastered manipulating the various magic elements, it would still be a tall order to execute the Mana Technique at Tier 5. He would need to reach Tier 6 at the very least to use it normally. Should he try to use Dark Moon at Tier 5, he would have to focus all of his mental capacity on the task, rendering him unable to do anything else. In other words, it would be a do-or-die situation. Originally, he had only considered researching the Mana Technique after getting promoted to Tier 6. But now, he had no choice but to give it a try. Good! Nows the time! After reviewing the Sword of Space multiple times in his mind, Shi Feng activated Fluctuating Law, his last resort, to create a world barrier around himself that could block all attacks. Then, he began using all of his mental capacity to construct a blade using the element of space. However, while Fluctuating Law might have a theoretical duration of thirty seconds, it was currently only a Tier 5 Skill, whereas its opponents were 27 Magic Puppets that rivaled Tier 6 Divine monsters. After blocking just one round of attacks from the Magic Puppets, numerous cracks appeared on the world barrier. And before the barrier could even repair itself, more attacks bombarded it again. After three short seconds, the world barrier started breaking into large pieces. At this point, the barriers self-recovery ability had become nothing but a joke, and there was no way the barrier could last through its full duration. Fortunately, Shi Feng finished structuring the space elements, as shown in the Goddess of Spaces Legacy, in these three seconds. Then, the surrounding volatile mana began converging on the blade he constructed, the size of the affected area rapidly growing over time. In the blink of an eye, the affected area had expanded from its initial radius of 100 yards to a radius of 1,000 yards. Even then, it showed no signs of stopping. Faster! Faster! When Shi Feng saw the barrier protecting him falling into a tattered state, a sense of urgency filled his heart. At this point, he no longer had any spare energy to do anything else. All of his energy was focused on maintaining the Sword of Spaces mana structure. If he tried to do anything else, the mana structure would crumble, the Sword of Spaces formation would fail, and all his efforts thus far would be in vain. So, he could only pray that Fluctuating Law could hold on for a few more moments. One-tenth of a second Two-tenths of a second Three-tenths of a second What should have been a brief moment felt like an eternity in Shi Fengs mind. Several wind blades pierced through the world barrier the next moment, flying straight for Shi Fengs heart. But just as the wind blades were about to hit him, Shi Feng suddenly felt a tremor in space as the blade in his hands suddenly exerted a mighty suction force on the surrounding area, causing the space in a 10,000-yard radius to contract. Then, the blade in his hands transformed into a black dot. Without hesitation, Shi Feng executed a slash at the oncoming wind blades. Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, Sword of Space! Chapter 3475 - Chapter 549 - Super S-Rank Evaluation Chapter 549 C Super S-Rank Evaluation At the upper levels 16,800-meter mark, 21 Advanced Magic Puppets that rivaled Level 158, Tier 6 Divine monsters in strength were currently attacking a Level 158, Tier 5 Grand Wizard. The Grand Wizard was a young man wearing a dark gray robe, and he had dark-blue divine patterns marking his eyes, giving him a profound appearance. The Grand Wizard would simultaneously cast four Tier 5 Spells of four different elements time and again in retaliation against the Advanced Magic Puppets attacks. Though unlike the average Grand Wizard, the young man could cast his Tier 5 Spells without uttering a single chant. The four Tier 5 Spells the young man chose to cast were of the wind, fire, water, and earth elements. After casting these Spells, the young man would merge them into one, drastically increasing their raw power and enabling it to send multiple Advanced Magic Puppets flying over dozens of yards at a time. And while this wasnt enough to stop all of the Advanced Magic Puppets from attacking him, it was enough to break the battle array that strengthened them. After sending another group of Advanced Magic Puppets flying, the young man looked at the distant sky with a solemn gaze. How can such volatile mana be drained completely? The young man frowned in confusion as he recalled the two people who had overtaken him some time ago. Is there really such a large gap between me and them? The mana present on the Golden Spires upper level was much more violent than on the lower level. Even with his standards, the young man could only ensure that the volatile mana did not negatively affect him. He couldnt even make this highly volatile mana into his own, let alone drain a 10,000-yard radius dry of this volatile mana. As the most talented chosen one to have appeared in the Star Dynasty in the past hundred years, Sleeping Spark always believed that nobody could surpass him. Even the successors of the various apex powers Taboos were of little significance in his eyes. In fact, Sleeping Spark had even planned to challenge the various apex powers Taboos as soon as he advanced to Tier 6 and got his hands on a Divine Artifact. He was just that confident in his strength and talent. Yet, nowtwo people had surpassed his progress in the Golden Spire. Moreover, both individuals were roughly the same age as he was, with the Blood Elf Swordsman being even younger than him. No! I cannot lose to them! Even if they are faster, I will be the one to have the last laugh! Sleeping Spark thought determinedly as he looked at the distant staircase. It was indeed outside of Sleeping Sparks expectations for Shi Feng and Aurebeth to overtake him. However, it was also a fact that he had yet to go all out. Due to his status as the Star Dynastys most talented chosen one, he was granted the use of the Eye of Divine Punishment, a top-tier Legendary Staff. If he activated the Berserk Skill that came with the staff, he could become a Tier 6 player for a short period. In that state, he could even put up a fight against a Tier 6 Dragon, let alone the Magic Puppets, which were only comparable to the average Tier 6 Divine monster. But just as Sleeping Spark was preparing to advance, a loud explosion suddenly reverberated throughout the upper level. Subsequently, Sleeping Spark saw the staircase in the distance above him shattering. Then, dense and oppressive mana began falling like raindrops, staining the world around him with darkness. Howis this possible?! Sleeping Spark became dumbfounded as he gazed at the falling rain of darkness. A God! This is a Tier 6 Gods mana! Could they be fighting against a Tier 6 God up there?! Tier 6 Gods! They were the apex existences of the Greater Gods Domain. It was especially so when it came to mana. The mana of Tier 6 Gods had reached a density so extraordinary that it was basically uniquely available only to them. Even if it was Sleeping Spark, he could only hope to put up a fight against a Tier 6 God after he himself had gotten promoted to Tier 6. If he tried to fight a Tier 6 God when he was at Tier 5, even with the help of the Eye of Divine Punishment, he would only be met with certain death. Before Sleeping Spark could recover from his shock, a series of system announcements sounded in his ears. Regional System Announcement: Congratulations to Black Flame for conquering the 20,000-meter mark of the Golden Spires Upper Level and becoming the Golden Spires first Qualified Candidate. All Advanced Magic Puppets on the Upper Level will be upgraded into Special Magic Puppets. All other players challenging the Upper Level will be automatically teleported back to the Upper Levels Starting Temple in five seconds. Regional System Announcement: All players teleported back to the Upper Levels Starting Temple may choose to settle their challenge rewards or begin a new challenge. The system announcements repeated three times, leaving all players climbing the Golden Spire in a stupified state. Black Flame? Isnt he the guy who killed the Star Dynastys Demon Axe War God? I heard that the Star Dynasty has already put a bounty on him. Yet, even with a bounty on his head, he still managed to climb to the upper levels 20,000-meter mark! Isnt he a little too strong?! Calling him strong is an understatement. Last I heard, the Star Dynastys Sleeping Spark only reached the 10,000-meter mark after climbing the upper level for around two days. In comparison, even though Black Flame had such a late start, he still became the first to reach the 20,000-meter mark. I doubt even the various apex powers chosen ones can match his talent and strength. But isnt he only ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List? When the players stuck on the lower level heard the system announcements, they reacted with shock and excitement. Previously, when Shi Feng had slain the Demon Axe War God outside the Golden Spire, everyone thought that Shi Feng was crazy and ignorant. After all, he was blatantly provoking a pseudo-apex power while having no significant background. He had no idea how powerful the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones were. But after seeing Shi Feng surpass the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones, everyone quickly came to a realization. A monster would soon emerge in the Eternal Realm. Moreover, this would be a monster that would shake the entire Greater Gods Domain in the future. It had been a very long time since such a thing had happened, and they were fortunate enough to witness the beginning of this legend. Compared to the players on the lower level, Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul found Shi Fengs accomplishment even more shocking. They had personally experienced the difficulty of the upper levels 10,000-meter mark. That was no longer a challenge that could be overcome with the help of a Mana Domain. Meanwhile, it went without saying that the trial to reach the 20,000-meter mark would only be vastly more difficult. Not to mention, apart from completing the 20,000-meter marks trial, Shi Feng had also overtaken the almighty Sleeping Spark. It should be known that the Star Dynasty had already recognized Sleeping Spark as one of the Guilds Taboos. So long as he got promoted to Tier 6 and got his hands on a Divine Artifact, he could immediately stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the other Taboos of the Guild. Hence, compared to reaching the 20,000-meter mark, Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul found it even more astonishing that Shi Feng overtook Sleeping Spark. However, compared to those two impressive feats, what unnerved Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul, even more, was the Tier 6 Gods mana they felt raining down from the sky a moment ago. And the reason for their shock was because of the fluctuations the mana gave off. That was Shi Fengs mana! They had accompanied Shi Feng up the upper levels staircase for some time, so they would never mistake it. But what kind of monster did Shi Feng have to be to develop his mana to match the standard of Tier 6 Gods? Regardless, the fact that such a monster was Seven Melodys friend left Solitary Glow and Dragon Soul with no choice but to reassess the young misss position in her family. Meanwhile, out of everyone in the Golden Spire, the person most surprised by Shi Fengs achievement would have to be Aqua Rose. This was because nobody knew Shi Fengs origins better than she did. As someone who came from the same Gods Domain, she knew their homeworlds lack of resources. It would be a miracle if their homeworld could even produce a talent rivaling chosen ones such as Solitary Glow. After today, Shi Feng, as an individual, would most likely have the qualifications to speak to a pseudo-apex powers Guild Leader as an equal. While everyone else on the upper level was teleported back to the starting area, Shi Feng stepped onto the 20,000-meter mark with a pale complexion. The instant he stepped onto the 20,000-meter mark, system notifications sounded in his ears one after another. System: Congratulations! You have become the Golden Spires first Qualified Candidate. Rewarding Levels +5 and Eternal Realm Reputation +50. System: Congratulations! You have completed the Advanced Abyssal Trial with a Super S-rank evaluation. You may choose to receive an Abyssal Treasure or an Abyssal Guidance. Chapter 3476 - Chapter 550 - Unsealing the Shadow Incinerator Chapter 550 C Unsealing the Shadow Incinerator What astonishing rewards! Shi Fengs fatigue instantly disappeared when he saw the reward options. Anything capable of being regarded as an Abyssal Treasure in Gods Domain would be a treasure once used by the Primordial Abyssal God. In other words, it would be a Primordial God Treasure, and it would be at the Fragmented Divine Artifact rank at the very least. It was an item that could tempt even the various apex powers. The Abyssal Guidance was likewise extraordinarily valuable. In Gods Domain, countless Tier 6 players would do anything to get a Tier 6 Gods guidance to further improve themselves. While a Tier 6 Gods guidance wasnt as detailed as a Gods Legacy, the guidance would be specifically targeted toward improving one aspect of the player receiving it. Hence, players would benefit much more from a Gods guidance than a Gods Legacy. On the open market, one opportunity to receive a Gods guidance was worth as much as five Legendary Weapons and Equipment. As for a Primordial Gods guidance, that was something akin to a legend in the Greater Gods Domain. Nobody would be willing to trade it away, even for a Fragmented Divine Artifact. After all, while Fragmented Divine Artifacts were exceedingly rare, quite a few could still be found throughout the Greater Gods Domain. In contrast, even information on Primordial Gods was nigh-impossible to find in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone a Primordial Gods guidance. After recovering from his surprise, Shi Feng chose the Abyssal Guidance as his reward without hesitation. An Abyssal Treasure might be precious, but there were all sorts of Abyssal Treasures in existence. If he happened to obtain an Abyssal Treasure that he couldnt use, it would be a massive loss to him. The Abyssal Guidance, on the other hand, would give him a guaranteed opportunity to improve one aspect of himself. Shi Feng experienced an unimaginably massive Concentration expenditure when using the Sword of Space. The expenditure was so great that he nearly lost consciousness as soon as he finished using the Mana Technique. But this also allowed Shi Feng to understand the might of the Goddess of Spaces Dark Moon Mana Technique. Even if he had used only one part of the Mana Technique, it still allowed him to exhibit power rivaling Tier 6 Gods as a Tier 5 player. If he could reduce the Sword of Spaces Concentration expenditure, making it more practical to use at Tier 5, he would have a fighting chance even if he came across the various pseudo-apex powers Tier 6 experts in the future. Currently, the average level of the Eternal Realms frontline experts was 158, with a few having already reached Level 159. At this point, it wouldnt be long before the various pseudo-apex powers and upper-ranking hegemonic powers experts completed the final sprint and reached Level 160. By then, these powers would quickly gain a batch of Tier 6 players to command in the Eternal Realm. Meanwhile, although Shi Feng had also reached Level 159 due to the Golden Spires reward, he couldnt advance to Tier 6 as soon as he reached Level 160. This was because he needed to construct a Legendary Divine Body before he could get promoted to Tier 6, which was by no means an easy task to accomplish. At that time, he would have to face a bunch of Tier 6 players while being stuck at Tier 5. If he could receive the Primordial Abyssal Gods guidance and improve his mastery over Dark Moon, it would greatly help in the development of his personal strength and the construction of his future Divine Body. This, in turn, would increase his survivability and reduce the time he needed to construct a Legendary Divine Body. You have made a wise decision, young heaven-blessed. As soon as Shi Feng decided, an illusory figure several hundred meters tall appeared on the staircase before him and spoke in a voice of commendation. At the same time, Shi Feng could feel a terrifying Divine Might descending upon him, instantly rendering him immobile. Well? Which aspect do you wish to receive my guidance on? You have used the last strand of power I have left in this spire, so this will be the last time I will appear here. Looking at Shi Feng with a hint of surprise in his eyes, the illusory figure pointed at one of the swords hanging by Shi Fengs waist and asked, Do you want to receive my guidance on that Goddesss Legacy? Or do you want help with that sword that shouldnt exist? Sword that shouldnt exist? Shi Feng couldnt help but turn to look at the Shadow Incinerator. Then, pointing at the Shadow Incinerator, he asked, Almighty Being, do you mean you can help me unseal this sword? Generally, guidance involved the guide providing pointers to players in technical aspects. Meanwhile, the Shadow Incinerator was a weapon, so guidance shouldnt have anything to do with it normally. But if the Primordial Abyssal God could indeed help him unseal the Shadow Incinerator, he would naturally be more than happy to go with that option. It should be known that Ife, the Crimson Wing, had slain eight Ancient Gods with the Shadow Incinerator in his previous life. After that accomplishment, the Shadow Incinerator was even ranked fifth on the Seven Luminaries Alliances Divine Weapon List. Not to mention, the Shadow Incinerator currently in his possession wasnt just a Divine Artifact but a Godly Relic instead. Unseal it for you? The Primordial Abyssal God shook his head and laughed. You have a wonderful imagination. Unfortunately, only you, the wielder, can undo the seals on this sword. Nobody else can do it for you. I can only teach you the way to unseal it. As for what extent you can unseal it to, it all depends on your abilities. Teach me how to unseal it? Shi Feng couldnt help but feel a bit of disdain toward the Primordial Abyssal God. He already knew how to unseal the Shadow Incinerator. Why would he need anybody to guide him in doing so? Your current Concentration has reached the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, so you are already qualified to undo the first seal. Failing to notice the disdain in Shi Fengs heart, the Primordial Abyssal God continued speaking, Of course, if you wish to rely only on yourself, you will most likely have to wait until your Concentration reaches the Tier 6 Advanced standard or possibly even the Tier 6 Peak standard. I can undo the first seal right away? Shi Feng was shocked. It was as the Primordial Abyssal God had said. According to his estimates, he would have to develop his Concentration to the Tier 6 Advanced standard before he could break the mental nodes in the Shadow Incinerator. Before then, he could do nothing about them. However, developing his Concentration any further than he already had would be difficult to accomplish. After all, a strong body was required to nurture a strong mind. Achieving a Tier 6 Advanced Concentration simply wasnt feasible with a Tier 5 body. Alright, make your choice. That Goddesss Legacy, or this sword, the Primordial Abyssal God said, not giving Shi Feng any further answers. Meanwhile, Shi Feng fell into contemplation for a moment as he looked at the Shadow Incinerator. Whether it was improving his mastery over Dark Moon or unsealing the Shadow Incinerator, both could significantly improve his strength. It was especially so for the Mana Technique developed by the Goddess of Space. After all, mastering Dark Moon meant mastering a Goddess Law. Such mastery would undoubtedly be of great help to him in creating his Legendary Divine Body. Eventually, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and said, I choose the unsealing method of the Shadow Incinerator! As a Swordsman, the temptation of having a good sword was simply irresistible to him. Good! As you wish! The Primordial Abyssal God nodded and gently placed a finger on Shi Fengs head. Immediately, Shi Feng felt streams of information flooding his brain. These pieces of information were not very complicated. They simply described a special way of utilizing his mind. The technique was named Mental Condensation, and it allowed the user to increase their minds tenacity. What an incredible mental application method! After Shi Feng was done analyzing the Mental Condensation technique, he had completely forgotten about the Goddess of Spaces Legacy. In Gods Domain, players could only raise their minds tenacity by elevating their Life Rating or relying on incredibly rare tools. Before today, Shi Feng had never even heard of a mental application method that could increase the tenacity of a players mind. However, the Primordial Abyssal Gods mental application method had accomplished it. Moreover, this method was very easy to learn, easier than even a Silver Combat Technique. So long as he mastered it, he could even pass it on to others. Its value was easily comparable to that of Dark Moon. Thats it for the guidance. How far you can progress in the future is up to you now. When the Primordial Abyssal God saw the dazed look on Shi Feng, he left behind a few words before vanishing completely. Meanwhile, after sitting silently for a while, Shi Feng quickly learned Mental Condensation and took out the Shadow Incinerator. Then, he began destroying the mental nodes inside. One node Three nodes Nine nodes After breaking 26 mental nodes, Shi Feng successfully undid the first seal on the Shadow Incinerator. Immediately, an invisible pressure rivaling the Divine Might of Tier 6 Gods spread across a radius of several thousand yards. The pressure was so overwhelming that even Shi Feng, the Shadow Incinerators wielder, felt a little oppressed mentally. Chapter 3477 - Chapter 551 - Tier 6 God? Chapter 551 C Tier 6 God? Incredible! Shi Feng couldnt help but be flabbergasted after looking at the weapon vaguely enveloped by black flames in his hand. [Shadow Incinerator (Dark Soul)] (One-handed Sword, Sealed Godly Relic) Equipment Requirement: Soul-Bound Attack Power (490% of Strength) Attack Speed (3% of Strength and Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Attacks ignore 100% of all defensive effects; Attacks have a 30% chance of triggering the Soul Devour effect; Attacks have a 40% chance of being elevated by one rank and dealing 500% damage; Attacks cause an additional 100% damage to all creatures below Tier 6; Ignore Levels +60; All Attributes increased by 170%; Physique increased by 100%; Reaction speed increased by 60%; Effects of all attacks increased by two ranks (up to Tier 6 Peak); The strength of Mana increased by one rank; Concentration increased by one rank. Additional Passive Skill- Incinerators Body: Weakens all damage received by 60% and increases World Perception by one rank. Additional Active Skill 1- Incinerators Phantasm: Sacrifice 10 Levels to summon the Phantasm of a player. The Phantasm can only be two tiers higher than the Shadow Incinerators wielder (up to Tier 6). Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 5 natural days Additional Active Skill 2- The End: With death as the price, incite all of the Shadow Incinerators power to deal a devastating blow to a 10,000-yard radius. The stronger the soul sacrificed, the stronger the attack will be (up to Tier 6 Peak). Additional Active Skill 3- Scorching Flame: Sacrifice 1 Level to attach the Flames of Shadow to the Shadow Incinerator. The Flames of Shadow can damage and destroy all weapons and equipment below the Legendary rank. Duration: 3 minutes Cooldown: 1 natural day The myriad Ancient Gods have placed four seals on the Shadow Incinerator. One of the seals has been lifted thus far. Wielding the Shadow Incinerator will cause continuous mental scorching. Deaths while wielding the Shadow Incinerator will result in a loss of 100 points in all Attributes. The Shadow Incinerator was already on par with top-tier Legendary Weapons in Basic Attributes, while it surpassed top-tier Legendary Weapons in Attack Power. Even the Solomons Sword he wielded in his previous life was inferior to it. With the current Shadow Incinerator, I can fight Tier 6 experts without having to use Holy Manas Shadow. While wielding the Shadow Incinerator, Shi Feng felt as if he was no different than an actual Tier 6 player. Now, he was only missing Tier 6 Skills and Spells. If he were to fight against Nightmare Chaser again, unless the other party had grown stronger, he was confident he could achieve victory in seventeen moves or less. Now that Ive achieved my goals here, its time I head back. After glancing at the staircase leading to the top of the Golden Spire, Shi Feng opened the system interface and chose to give up on his challenge. Immediately, his body transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the staircases 20,000-meter mark section. After reaching the upper levels 20,000-meter mark, players would only receive additional rewards if they could reach the 30,000-meter mark. If they couldnt do that, they would simply be investing their time and energy into honing their skills. However, as far as Shi Feng could recall, nobody in his previous life had ever climbed to the upper levels 30,000-meter mark. Not even the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa managed to do it. Currently, Shi Feng was only at Tier 5. Although he had undone one of the Shadow Incinerators seals, he had yet to master Dark Moon. He was still nowhere near comparable to the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa in his previous life. So, he would simply be biting off more than he could chew by trying to challenge the upper levels 30,000-meter mark now. Rather than waste his time and energy on a fruitless endeavor, he would be better off returning now and choosing his reward from the starting temple. Golden Spire, upper levels shrine: A brilliant light descended upon the starting temple. Immediately, the hundred or so experts gathered in the temple promptly turned to where the light had fallen. When the light faded, a cloaked man carrying two longswords by his waist appeared in everyones sight. Look! Hes back! Hes back already? Are the trials beyond the 20,000-meter mark so difficult? The trials undergo a qualitative transformation every 10,000 meters, so its not strange to see him fail. Not to mention, thats the 20,000-meter mark we are talking about. Even someone as strong as Dragon Soul only managed to climb to the 14,000-meter mark. I guess thats true. But I wonder what the Star Dynasty will do? Now that Sleeping Spark is back, after including Flaming Bees Scarlet Sorceress, they will have four chosen ones on their side. The four of them could probably kill a Divine monster if they worked together. Black Flame also looks to have exhausted himself. If the four of them attack together, Black Flame will most likely meet an untimely end. Thats not necessarily true. Dont forget that Black Flame has Azure Fangs Saintess behind him. Shes second on the Challenge Tablet. If the two of them work together, itll be hard to say which side will win. Many players in the temple began to whisper among themselves when they saw Shi Feng returning. Some also expressed their excitement and anticipation as they watched Shi Feng making his way to the temples exchange room. While many experts would often clash with each other in Gods Domain, fights would rarely occur between experts who had reached the fifth-floor standard. As for fights between chosen ones, they were even rarer than fights between players and Tier 6 Gods. If tickets were sold for a fight between chosen ones, they would definitely sell like hotcakes throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain. Also, aside from getting to watch a fight between chosen ones, everyone also looked forward to seeing how strong Shi Feng was. After all, he was someone who had surpassed Sleeping Spark at climbing the Golden Spire. The Golden Spire did not prohibit players from fighting each other. The only reason nobody had started a fight on the upper level thus far was simply that they wished to avoid starting a war between the various pseudo-apex powers. However, it was a different story for Shi Feng, someone who lacked the backing of a pseudo-apex power. Nothing stopped the Star Dynastys chosen ones and Flaming Bees Scarlet Sorceress from taking action against him. Subsequently, just as Shi Feng was making his way toward the exchange room, four individuals emerged from the room. These four individuals were none other than Scarlet Sorceress and the Star Dynastys three chosen ones. The four of them had just finished selecting their rewards, and only 100 yards separated them from Shi Feng. Seeing this, the surrounding spectators immediately focused their attention. For Tier 5 experts, a distance of 100 yards could be crossed with no more than a step. Will they make a move? Everyone widened their eyes and held their breaths, afraid they would miss the instant the fight broke out. 90 yards 50 yards 30 yards When less than 30 yards separated both sides, the Star Dynastys Black Tiger and Candle Bearer, as well as Flaming Bees Scarlet Sorceress, took out their weapons one after another. They planned to use this opportunity to teach Shi Feng a lesson. Previously, the three of them dared not take action. However, now that they had Sleeping Spark on their side, they were brimming with confidence. Hey! You three! Stop messing around! Sleeping Spark was startled when he saw the three people beside him preparing for a fight. Hurriedly, he warned them, He might be a Tier 6 God! Chapter 3478 - Chapter 552 - They Are Very Bold Chapter 552 C They Are Very Bold Tier 6 God? Scarlet Sorceress nearly dropped her staff when she heard Sleeping Sparks warning, and she couldnt help but look at the other party in disbelief, wondering if he was joking with her. It should be known that Sleeping Spark was the one who had declared he would kill Shi Feng, and she had simply decided to go along with it. Yet, now that Shi Feng was in front of them, and they had their weapons at the ready Sleeping Spark was telling them that Shi Feng might be a Tier 6 God? That Shi Feng might be one of Gods Domains apex existences? Please tell me youre kidding, Spark! Black Tiger whispered to Sleeping Spark as his gaze stayed on Shi Fengs approaching figure, an additional hint of wariness appearing in his eyes. Now isnt the time for jokes! It should be known that the various pseudo-apex powers experts were all watching them. Now that they had drawn their weapons, their intentions couldnt be any clearer, so there was no going back for them. Im not joking. When Sleeping Spark saw the looks of doubt he was given, he wryly smiled and said, Even if he isnt at the standard of Tier 6 Gods, he should be close to it. In reality, Sleeping Spark doubted that Shi Feng had already reached the standard of Tier 6 Gods. After all, that was the standard of the Greater Gods Domains apex combatants. However, after returning to the starting temple, Sleeping Spark had coincidentally overheard Aurebeth, Azure Fangs Saintess, speaking about the monsters and magic barrier she faced at the 18,000-meter mark. Hence, he was now 100% certain that the shocking scene he had seen taking place on the staircase and the Tier 6 Gods mana that subsequently rained down on him was Shi Fengs doing. Not to mention, Shi Feng ascended to the 20,000-meter mark as soon as those phenomena occurred. An existence nearing Tier 6 Gods? After hearing Sleeping Sparks words, Black Tiger took another look at Shi Feng and immediately got goosebumps when he saw Shi Fengs calm composure. Even though Shi Feng was clearly suffering from Concentration exhaustion, he could still behave so calmly in front of the four of them. Besides Shi Feng having strength nearing Tier 6 Gods, Black Tiger couldnt think of any other explanations for Shi Fengs behavior. Moreover, Sleeping Spark had no reason to deceive them. Dammit! You bastards tricked me! Scarlet Sorceress switched her gaze between her staff and Shi Fengs slowly approaching figure. She had no idea how she should get out of this awkward situation and safely leave this place. While she might be a chosen one of Flaming Bee, due to the limitations of her tier and her lack of a Divine Artifact, she didnt even have the strength to resist a Tier 6 God, let alone fight one. If she tried to fight a Tier 6 God now, she would suffer a miserable defeat and be at huge risk of having her soul annihilated. Should that happen, she would forever lose the qualifications to enter Gods Domain. In the Greater World, where Gods Domain meant everything, her life would be as good as over if she lost access to Gods Domain I suddenly remembered I have urgent matters to attend to, so Ill be logging off first. Good luck, you guys. Black Tiger suddenly slapped his forehead and chose to log off with a smile. Black Tiger! You! Scarlet Sorceress gnashed her teeth when she saw Black Tiger going offline. But immediately afterward, she, too, chose to go offline forcibly. As for Candlelight Bearer, after seeing Black Tiger and Scarlet Sorceress logging out of the game, he also decisively logged out, his body collapsing to the ground. In the blink of an eye, three of the four chosen ones standing before Shi Feng were lying on the ground, the sight shocking everyone present. Whats going on? Shi Feng was also puzzled to see Black Tiger, Scarlet Sorceress, and Candlelight Bearer forcibly logging out of the game. After all, he hadnt even done anything yet. It should be known that forcibly logging out of the game came with consequences. If fortunate, players would only lose a handful of levels from doing so. But if unfortunate, they could be prohibited from logging into the game for up to half a month. Now that the Eternal Realm was still in its early exploration stage, losing half a month of progress would be no different than losing a limb. Sorry, they suddenly disconnected, Sleeping Spark awkwardly explained as he used mana to pick up the three motionless bodies around him. Im afraid youll have to wait until next time for your duel with them. After saying so, Sleeping Spark promptly stepped away from the exchange rooms entrance with the three offline players bodies. Only, nobody present believed a single word Sleeping Spark said. The two sides were just about to start fighting, yet three people on one side suddenly disconnected? There was definitely something strange about this situation! Those three sure know how to flee quickly. Seven Melody, who had just exited the exchange room, couldnt help but smile when she saw Sleeping Spark leaving with the three bodies. Had they been a step slower, they would probably have to bid farewell to Gods Domain forever. They made the right choice, Dragon Soul, the six-meter-tall giant standing next to Seven Melody, said. If it were me, I would have probably hesitated for a while. Standing next to Dragon Soul, Solitary Glow silently nodded in agreement with him. An existence nearing Tier 6 Gods was not something Tier 5 players like themselves could face. So, Black Tiger, Scarlet Sorceress, and Candle Bearer had made the right decision to log out of the game decisively. Of course, if Solitary Glow were to stand in their shoes, she would have probably hesitated to forcibly log out of the game, even if she knew the consequences of fighting a Tier 6 God. After all, there was only a possibility that Tier 5 chosen ones like herself would face a permanent death from going up against a Tier 6 God, whereas forcibly going offline would guarantee her a major setback in the Eternal Realm. Did all of you finish choosing already? Shi Feng asked, feeling a little surprised when he saw Seven Melody and the others exiting the exchange room so soon. I heard that there are more than ten thousand treasures in there. Even if you glance through them, it should still take some time. It had been, at most, twenty minutes since he reached the upper levels 20,000-meter mark. So, Seven Melody and the others couldnt have spent more than twenty minutes in the exchange room. Such a short time definitely wasnt enough to look through all of the items in the exchange room. The Golden Spire held many treasures left behind by various Gods. Aside from weapons and equipment, the Golden Spires treasury also held various Legacies, tools, and designs. Every one of these items could tempt the hearts of players in the outside world. Although every player was only allowed to select one item for their reward, the higher players managed to ascend in the Golden Spire, the more items that would be made available for them to choose from. Mhm. Were done choosing, Seven Melody said, nodding. Actually, weve already decided what we would pick before coming to the Golden Spire. So, we quickly chose the treasures we came for after browsing for a bit. Dragon Soul and Solitary Glow nodded in agreement. Although they didnt spend much time in the exchange room, they were all very satisfied with their harvests. Meanwhile, after Seven Melody finished speaking, Aqua Rose, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly took a deep breath and walked up to Shi Feng with a serious look. Guild Leader Black Flame, this might sound rude of me, but I hope you can do me a favor, Aqua Rose said as she retrieved a golden book from her bag. This is the Gold Ancient Tome I exchanged from the exchange room. It can be used to search for clues about any item in existence. I believe it will be of some help to you. Shi Feng looked at the Gold Ancient Tome in silence for a moment. Then, he looked at Aqua Rose and admitted, This thing is indeed useful to me, but may I know what it is you need my help with, Miss Aqua? The main reason he visited the Golden Spire this time was to obtain a Gold Ancient Tome. However, the Golden Spire only had a very limited number of Gold Ancient Tomes. There were probably only a couple of dozen in total. During his previous life, all of them were exchanged shortly after the Golden Spire opened. Currently, even if he entered the exchange room, he couldnt guarantee that there would be any Gold Ancient Tomes remaining. After all, Gold Ancient Tomes were incredibly useful. So long as players knew the name of a Fragmented Divine Artifact, they could immediately get their hands on clues pertaining to it with the help of a Gold Ancient Tome. Hence, unless they had a specific item in mind, the various pseudo-apex powers experts would typically choose a Gold Ancient Tome for their reward. Chapter 3479 - Chapter 553 - Myriad Hands Chapter 553 C Myriad Hands Thats good to hear. Aqua Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Shi Fengs answer. Then, with an earnest look, she said, What I need help with isnt anything complicated, Guild Leader Black Flame. You only need to conduct a little investigation to know that I am currently targeted by Demons Gate, an apex power. Now that the entrance to our homeworld has been partially opened, it will only take another month or so before it becomes fully open. To give our worlds younger generation a head start, the Green God Corporation has selected 10,000 budding geniuses to bring over to the Greater World ahead of time, and it will be conducting a talent fair in Silver Frost City, a second-tier city in the Greater World, so that the Greater Worlds various powers can absorb some of our worlds young talents. My younger cousin was lucky enough to be selected by the Green God Corporation and become one of the 10,000 geniuses. However, Demons Gate is pursuing me relentlessly. While I am safe for the time being since I am currently in the Eternal Realm in Gods Domain and living in a first-tier city in the Greater World, Im worried they will target my cousin. I hope you can head to the talent fair and recruit my cousin. I only request that you let her stay in Star Lake City for three or four months. Originally, Aqua Rose had not planned to ask Shi Feng for help. After all, the existence targeting her was Demons Gate! Whether in the Greater Gods Domain or the Greater World, Demons Gate was an apex power known by all. Just mentioning this name could send shivers down the spines of countless upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Demons Gate was notorious for being vicious and ruthless in the Greater Gods Domain. Its members would stop at nothing to achieve their goals, and it was especially so for its core members. Although other apex powers deeply resented Demons Gate, nobody could do anything about Demons Gate, for it was too strong. It could even fight against two or three apex powers simultaneously at its peak. If she hadnt received the protection of one of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Taboos, deterring the Demons Gate member from targeting her to a certain extent, she would have already perished in the Greater Gods Domain. Hence, when it came to matters involving that Demons Gate member, Aqua Rose couldnt even rely on her friends and family, even if she wanted to. But after seeing Shi Feng singlehandedly suppress the chosen ones and paragons of two pseudo-apex powers and revealing strength nearing Tier 6 Gods, Aqua Rose saw a ray of hope. Anyone with strength nearing Tier 6 Gods would be considered an apex existence in the Greater Gods Domain. Even that person from Demons Gate would have to tread carefully around such an existence. It was especially so now that they were in the Eternal Realm, where numerous powers were competing. In the Eternal Realm, many powers would be more than willing to do anything to try to win the favor of such an existence. Even opposing an apex power like Demons Gate wouldnt necessarily be out of the question. Demons Gate? Shi Feng frowned a little. He had experienced getting hunted by Demons Gate countless times during his previous life, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Demons Gates existence was omnipresent. If not for Demons Gate being too strong, he would have long led Zero Wing to annihilate the apex power. He didnt think Aqua Rose would have provoked his old enemy in this life. If you find my request too difficult to fulfill, you can also have someone else take my cousin into hiding for a month, Aqua Rose hurriedly said when she saw Shi Feng frowning. Ill try to hurry over as soon as possible. No, its not a difficult request, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, he calmly continued, Its just Demons Gate. Its nothing significant. In his previous life, Demons Gate had failed to do anything about him after countless attempts. Now that he wielded the Godly Relic Shadow Incinerator and the Goddess of Spaces Dark Moon Legacy, the apex power would only be even helpless against him.. Meanwhile, as soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Dragon Soul and Solitary Glow couldnt help but be at a loss for words. Demons Gate was one of the few apex powers in existence, and its influence spanned across the entire Greater Gods Domain. The top ten players on the Divine Glory List were the only individuals qualified to deem Demons Gate insignificant. It should be known that every player ranked within the Divine Glory Lists top ten was an existence that had long transcended humans. Every one of them could easily kill an Ancient God, and some of them had even slain the taboos of apex powers before. Hence, the various apex powers greatly feared the Divine Glory Lists top ten experts. While Shi Feng might have strength nearing Tier 6 Gods and would most definitely become even stronger once he got promoted to Tier 6 in the future, it was still far-fetched to say that he could match the top ten experts on the Divine Glory List. Does that mean you will accept my request, Guild Leader Black Flame? Aqua Rose asked eagerly. Personally, Aqua Rose wasnt confident that Shi Feng would agree to her request. After all, nobody would want to offend an apex power, much less one as notorious as Demons Gate. Had she posed her request to any other Tier 6 expert in the Greater Gods Domain, most, if not all of them, would have turned around and walked away as soon as they heard the mention of Demons Gate. In some Realms, Demons Gates name was even considered a taboo that must never be mentioned. In her opinion, it would already be a miracle if Shi Feng agreed to find a proxy to shelter her cousin for a month. While a month wasnt as much time as she would like, it was enough of a buffer for her to secure a slot in a first-tier city for her cousin with the Scarlet Merchant Alliances help. As for keeping her cousin in their homeworld, that would be impossible. Her cousin had worked desperately to secure a slot to enter the Greater World in advance. Even if she tried to persuade her cousin, the other party was unlikely to heed her advice. Not to mention, she was the cause of her cousin being targeted by Demons Gate. I can, Shi Feng calmly said. I can also promise to enter your cousin into Zero Wing, and so long as Zero Wing continues to exist, no harm will come to her. However, I will need you to promise me one thing in exchange. What do you need me to promise you, Guild Leader Black Flame? Aqua Rose asked, her determined voice suggesting she would agree to any demands. When I need your help in the future, you must unconditionally help me once, Shi Feng said, chuckling. If you can promise me that, I will guarantee your cousins safety. Although he had never heard of Aqua Rose having any cousins in his previous life, this was a good opportunity for him to get closer to her. No problem. Aqua Rose nodded and smiled. So long as it is something I can help you with. Shi Fengs condition couldnt even be considered a demand. It was practically a gift for her. After all, Shi Feng was someone who could closely rival Tier 6 Gods as a Tier 5 player. He stood on a completely different level than she did. If there were something he needed her help with, it would be her fortune to help him. I will take your word for it, Shi Feng said. He could tell what was going through Aqua Roses mind, and he couldnt help but chuckle. What is your cousins name? My cousin goes by the name of Silk Radish in Gods Domain. She has only come into contact with Gods Domain for a short time, and she is still a university freshman. She isnt interested in grinding and adventuring, but she is greatly interested in Gods Domains engineering system. She has been researching it since she entered Gods Domain, Aqua Rose introduced. Silk Radish? Engineering? Shi Feng was stunned by the incredibly familiar name from Aqua Roses mouth. Myriad Hands Silk Radish! She was one of the only six Pseudo-Divine Craftsmen in the Greater Gods Domain in his previous life! Chapter 3480 - Chapter 554 - Treasure Exchange Chapter 554 C Treasure Exchange While she is only a Basic Master Engineer right now, she is very talented, and it shouldnt be difficult for her to become a Grandmaster Engineer in the future, Aqua Rose awkwardly added when she saw the stunned look on Shi Fengs face. There were many Lifestyle classes in Gods Domain, and they allowed players to achieve prosperity in Gods Domain, even if they werent skilled in combat. However, in the Greater Gods Domain, Lifestyle players would only be considered to have reached an entry-level after reaching the Master standard. It was especially so for the engineer subclass. While the various combat tools they produced were useful to low-tier players, they were mostly inconsequential to high-tier players. Even the tools produced by a Grandmaster Engineer for Tier 5 and Tier 6 players would pale in effectiveness compared to a potion produced by a Grandmaster Alchemist. To make matters worse, engineers require a lot of resources to nurture. The cost of producing a Grandmaster Engineer was two or three times more than it would take to produce a Grandmaster of another subclass. Because of these reasons, the Greater Gods Domains various powers were reluctant to nurture Engineers. It didnt matter even if the Engineer player in question was very talented Rest assured, Miss Aqua. I promise she will receive the best treatment in Zero Wing, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw Aqua Roses awkwardness. Moreover, I guarantee her future achievements will surpass your imagination. Silk Radish was known by all in his previous life. Her status in the Greater Gods Domain was so exalted that even the various apex powers wished to recruit her. It was true that most engineers in the Greater Gods Domain were of little use to high-tier players. After all, the strongest combat tools that most engineers could produce could only reach the Tier 5 standard. They would be of little threat to Tier 5 players, let alone Tier 6 players. However, Silk Radish wasnt your average engineer. She was an engineer who had climbed to the Pseudo-Divine Craftsman rank in the Greater Gods Domain, and the combat tools she produced could shock even Primordial Gods. Particularly, the Legendary Flying Ships she produced could scare even Ancient Gods into fleeing. During Shi Fengs previous life, some apex powers were willing to go to war with another apex power just to get a Legendary Flying Ship from Silk Radish. Silk Radishs influence in the Greater Gods Domain was well above the influence of other Pseudo-Divine Craftsmen. That is good to hear, Aqua Rose casually responded, simply taking Shi Fengs words as pleasantries. Then, she handed the Gold Ancient Tome and Silk Radishs contact information to Shi Feng, saying, Here is my cousins information. I still cant get in touch with her outside, but I believe the Green God Corporation will be holding its talent fair in Silver Frost City in a few days. I will have to trouble you when the time comes. Okay, leave it to me, Shi Feng said, not bothering to say anything else as he accepted the Gold Ancient Tome and Silk Radishs information. It was a fact that engineers did not have a favorable outlook in the current Greater Gods Domain, so his behavior of praising Silk Radish indeed looked perfunctory. After all, who could have imagined that a little girl would become a Pseudo-Divine Craftsman? And who could have imagined that the Greater Gods Domains various powers would start frantically nurturing engineers because of Silk Radish? Meanwhile, after Shi Feng and Aqua Rose were done with their conversation, Seven Melody took the initiative to add Shi Feng as a friend. She even invited him to move his base of operations to Royal Eternal City, the most prosperous city in the current Eternal Realm. Royal Eternal City was the only royal capital in the Eternal Realm. It wielded authority and unique functions that vastly surpassed other NPC Cities. Many pseudo-apex powers and apex powers have gathered there, and those without the backing of these powers couldnt even establish a foothold in the city. However, Shi Feng turned down Seven Melodys sincere invitation. In regards to this, Seven Melody could only leave the Golden Spire disappointed with Aqua Rose and the others. After Seven Melody left, Aurebeth couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion. Are you really going to offend Demons Gate just for a Gold Ancient Tome? Aurebeth asked out of curiosity. The people from Demons Gate are a bunch of lunatics. No matter how hard that woman tries to hide her cousins existence, Demons Gates people will eventually discover that little girl. Do you think its worth it? For just a Gold Ancient Tome? Definitely not, Shi Feng said, chuckling. But if its for that little girl, I think its worth it. It seems you are also a lunatic, Aurebeth said, sighing. But you have helped me a great deal this time. If you come across any trouble in the future, I can lend a hand once. After saying so, Aurebeth disappeared from the temple, leaving Shi Feng stunned. He never thought the Bloodsoaked Rakshasa would promise to help him once. This would have been an incredibly rare opportunity in his previous life. However, Shi Feng didnt dwell on the matter for long before he stepped into the exchange room. Although he had already acquired a Gold Ancient Tome, plenty of other attractive items were still available in the Golden Spires treasury. Greetings, Sir. Here is your exchange list, the mechanical puppet in the exchange room said as it handed Shi Feng a list. According to the rules set by the Gods, you may exchange for only one item from this list. Shi Feng was familiar with the Golden Spires exchange rules, so he started browsing the list immediately. Are these the available rewards for reaching the upper levels 20,000-meter mark? Shi Feng couldnt help but be shocked by the items listed. The list not only contained the Gold Ancient Tome he needed, but it also contained many treasures that were very hard to come by in the outside world. For example, there were a total of 23 Gold Combat Technique Tablets available on the list. Not even the various apex powers possessed this many Golden Laws. Aside from Golden Laws, Shi Feng could also choose from as many as eight Fragmented Divine Artifacts, fourteen God Guidances, and twenty-eight World Sources as his reward There were well over a thousand items Shi Feng had never heard of being available for exchange on the list, and every item could cause the Greater Gods Domains players to lose their minds. Even Shi Feng was not an exception. A Goddess Armament?! Shi Feng couldnt help but gasp when he saw a striking name on the list. Goddess Armament! Also known as Fates Guidance! There were only six instances of this item in the Greater Gods Domain, and every one of them had a chance of providing a female player with a full Divine Artifact Set. Of course, the Divine Artifact Sets left behind by Goddesses were not so easy to obtain. While it was true that each Goddess Armament could become a complete Divine Artifact Set, whether players could obtain it was a different story. Every Goddess Armament would put players through twelve trials. If players could pass all twelve trials, they would obtain a personalized Divine Weapon and the Goddess Armament Set, a six-piece Divine Artifact Set. However, if players failed to pass even one trial, they would forever lose the qualifications to rechallenge the trials. Due to the Goddess Armaments potential, any power that got its hands on a Goddess Armament would treat it as its most prized possession and keep it safely guarded in the hopes that someone in their Guild could clear the twelve trials one day and become one of the strongest players in the Greater Gods Domain. As far as Shi Feng was aware, a total of four Goddess Armaments were found in his previous life. Of them, three were acquired by apex powers, while one was acquired by the pseudo-apex power Azure Fang. However, even after obtaining the Goddess Armaments for many years, nobody from these four powers managed to obtain the Goddess Armament Set. This situation caused many people to think that the rumors surrounding the Goddess Armaments were false. Are you sure you wish to exchange for this item, Sir? the mechanical puppet asked when it saw Shi Fengs finger stopping on the Goddess Armaments name. You may not change your choice once you have confirmed your decision. You will also be unable to select any other treasures in your subsequent entries unless you reach the summit. Chapter 3481 - Chapter 555 - Drastic Changes Chapter 555 C Drastic Changes Im sure! Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Although nobody in his previous life had ever succeeded in acquiring a Goddess Armament Set, so long as he had a Goddess Armament on hand, he could continuously have the Guilds core female members challenge it. Even if the hope of someone completing all twelve trials was small, it was a much more reliable method to obtain a full Divine Artifact Set than other alternatives. If someone in the Guild successfully obtained the Goddess Armament Set, it would instantly propel Zero Wing to the top of the Greater Gods Domain. Very well. After the puppet confirmed Shi Fengs decision, a parchment exuding a primordial presence appeared before Shi Feng. This is the Goddess Armament you have exchanged. This item will drop on death, so please keep it safe. System: It is detected that you are not a female player. You are unable to start the Goddess Trial. Sure enough, only female players are qualified to challenge the trial. Regardless, this will add more to the Guilds foundation. When Shi Feng saw the system notification, he decided to mimic the four powers in his previous life and keep the Goddess Armor tucked away in the deepest part of Zero Wings Guild Residence, never letting it see the light of day. Then, he would take his time selecting trustworthy female guild members to challenge the Goddess Trial. While he didnt have high hopes for anyone completing the Goddess Trial, so long as someone succeeded, Zero Wing would flourish. After putting the Goddess Armament away, Shi Feng called up his system interface and chose to exit the Golden Spire. Crystal City of Secrets, Secret Crystal Plaza: Six-man party recruiting a Level 156, Tier 5 tank or above. Must be fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary items at the very least. You will get three Eternal Gold Coins for every Common Secret Treasure that drops! Twenty-man team recruiting members to explore the Underground Crystal Palace! Must have experience raiding the secret land! We have an employer already! Every team member will receive two Eternal Gold for every Common Secret Treasure dropped! Level 158, Tier 5 Cleric with one Common Secret Treasure looking for a group! Only asking for four Eternal Gold per Common Secret Treasure dropped! The citys central plaza had become something akin to a marketplace as players could be seen shouting everywhere, and many were independent players seeking riches. The state of the plaza was completely different from when Shi Feng first entered the city. Shortly after Shi Feng, a Level 159, Tier 5 Swordsman, appeared in the plaza, a beautiful woman quickly approached him. Hey, handsome guy, do you want to join my team? the woman, a Level 155 Elementalist, asked Shi Feng in a gentle voice. My team is filled with beauties. If you join us, you will get to know many beautiful women and stand to make three Eternal Gold for every Common Secret Treasure dropped! As soon as the Elementalist finished speaking, a muscular man came over and interjected. Hey pal, dont be fooled by this chick. If you want to explore the Underground Crystal Palace, join my team instead. Ill guarantee you a minimum payout of four Eternal Gold, the muscular man, Level 157 Guardian Knight, said. If a Combat Secret Treasure drops, I will give you ten Eternal Gold! So what if you are offering ten Eternal Gold? The Elementalist looked at the Guardian Knight in disdain. My team leader is a member of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. Our pay might be lower, but we have a proxy to buy Secret Treasures from the Secret Treasure Market. So long as this handsome guy here collects enough money, we can guarantee he will get to buy the Secret Treasure he desires. Can your team offer him that? Whats so great about that? I have a friend whos an advanced member of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. So long as I give him the word, he can even buy a Combat Secret Treasure for me! the Guardian Knight said, showing no weaknesses. Im sure your team is just grinding for Common Secret Treasures to sell and make money to buy suitable Combat Secret Treasures from the trading firms eighth floor, right? So what if we are? When the Elementalist heard the Guardian Knights words, she looked at the other party contemptuously and said, Also, my team leader is a bona fide member. As for that friend of yours, who knows if hes really an advanced member? There are only 1,000 advanced members in total, and the various powers are paying upwards of ten Eternal Gold to buy out the proxy qualifications of each advanced member. Do you expect me to believe an independent player like yourself can secure the proxy qualifications to buy a Combat Secret Treasure? The Guardian Knight fell silent when he heard the Elementalists words. Contrary to the Elementalists doubts, he did have a friend who was an advanced member of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. But as the Elementalist mentioned, there was no way his friend would give up the opportunity to make ten Eternal Gold or more to buy a Combat Secret Treasure for him. After all, it wouldnt be as easy to secure advanced membership at the Secret Crystal Trading Firm in the future. So, this could be his friends only opportunity to make a quick buck. People are paying ten Eternal Gold for proxies? Shi Feng was greatly surprised by the information he just heard. Not counting his earnings from commissions, he only made a profit of 800 Eternal Gold from selling out the Secret Crystal Trading Firms memberships.[1] Yet, each advanced member made upwards of ten Eternal Gold from working as proxies. This meant that the trading firms 1,000 advanced members were making a total of 10,000 Eternal Gold at the very least. Combined, they were making even more money than he was Listen to me, pal. Ignoring the Elementalists question, the Guardian Knight turned to Shi Feng and said, If you join our team, you only need to pay a proxy fee of ten Eternal Gold, and I guarantee you will get a suitable Combat Secret Treasure. Stop spouting nonsense! the Elementalist scoffed. Right now, even the commander of one of the citys top 20 adventurer teams is offering to join any power and slave away for several years if he can get a proxy slot to purchase a Combat Secret Treasure! Only a fool would believe you can get one! The commander of one of the citys top 20 adventurer teams is selling himself just for a Combat Secret Treasure? Shi Feng was astonished by this revelation. While Secret Treasures were indeed precious in his previous life, especially those at the Combat rank or above, they werent so precious that the commanders of any of the Crystal Citys top 20 adventurer teams were willing to sacrifice so much to obtain them. It should be known that the Crystal City of Secrets was a gathering place of experts. Even the commanders of the citys top 50 adventurer teams would be at the fifth-floor standard at the very least, let alone the commanders of the top 20 adventurer teams. Outside the Eternal Realm, such experts would be the overlords of a region, and even the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would be willing to treat them as equals. Dont think that Im exaggerating, the Elementalist said to Shi Feng when she saw the astonished look on his face. Then, she sighed and continued, One of my team leaders close friends is a top expert among independent players, with great looks to boot. But even she has offered herself to work as an Outer Elder for several years for any upper-ranking hegemonic power that could provide her with a couple of Combat Secret Treasures. Even then, none of the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers were willing to accept her offer. A top expert? Out of curiosity, Shi Feng asked, How strong is she? She is a Saint who has mastered her control over the magic elements and is an Upper God Realm Adventurer certified by the World Tower. She is also currently equipped with a full Fragmented Legendary Set and a top-tier Fragmented Legendary Weapon, the Elementalist said in a serious tone. An Upper God Realm Adventurer? Shi Feng could no longer stay calm after hearing this. After all, even if an expert of such caliber wasnt at Ink Qilins standard, she was probably close to matching Ink Qilin already. Can I ask you two to spread a message to the various adventurer teams for me? In return, I can promise each of you a basic membership in the Secret Crystal Trading Firm in the future. If you do well, you may even become an advanced member. TL Notes: [1]profit of 800 Eternal Gold: Just a recap: In Chapter 513, it was mentioned that Shi Feng stood to make 2,000 Eternal Gold if he sold out all 5,000 basic memberships and 1,000 advanced memberships. However, he also had to pay a weekly management fee of 1,200 Eternal Gold for the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. So, if we ignore the revenue generated from commissions completed by players, Shi Feng would only generate a profit of 800 Eternal Gold per week. [2]Upper God Realm Adventurer: I assume it is the ranking for adventurers who have climbed to the World Towers fifth floor or above? Recap of Chapter 244: These are the adventurer ranks that correspond to the World Towers first four floors: 1)Basic Adventurer C first floor 2)Advanced Adventurer C second floor 3)Superior Adventurer C third floor 4)Top Adventurer C fourth floor Im not sure if Upper God Realm(֮ߵð) corresponds to the fifth-floor standard as there is the Upper(ߵ) prefix. There have been no hints of a sixth floor, either. But since the independent player in question is a Saint-ranked player Im not gonna jump to conclusions here, but Ill leave the Upper prefix in for now. Chapter 3482 - Chapter 556 - Worlds Initial Opening Chapter 556 C Worlds Initial Opening Shi Fengs words were plain, yet they caused the Level 155 Elementalist and Level 157 Guardian Knight to look at him in disbelief. At the same time, though, their eyes showed hints of expectation and yearning. Are you telling the truth? the Elementalist questioned. Dont be joking with me here, little bro, the Guardian Knight said, nodding in agreement with the Elementalist. Dont mention an advanced membership, even if its just a basic membership, so long as you can get me one, Ill make sure everything you said is taken care of! The Secret Crystal Trading Firm might have as many as 5,000 basic membership slots, but they were still incredibly precious in the Crystal City of Secrets. Many players were willing to pay anywhere from three to five Eternal Gold just to hire a proxy to purchase Common Secret Treasures. After all, even though the Underground Crystal Palace dropped Common Secret Treasures, players could only equip the Secret Treasure they acquired if it suited their class. Not to mention, the various powers had already made the Underground Crystal Palace their backyard, harvesting and monopolizing anything that was of significant value in the secret land. By now, independent players only had access to the various powers unwanted scraps. Dont believe me? Seeing the doubtful looks on the two peoples faces, Shi Feng retrieved two Common Secret Treasures from his bag and said, What do you think of these two Secret Treasures? When the Elementalist and Guardian Knight saw the two Common Secret Treasures, their eyes widened in disbelief. Brother! Just tell us what to do! the Guardian Knight said without hesitation. The value of Secret Treasures was known by all in the Crystal City of Secrets. The act of giving away even one Common Secret Treasure was already considered mind-blowing, let alone two. Not even the executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers could afford to do such a thing. Not to mention, the two Secret Treasures Shi Feng had taken out were perfectly suited for their classes. Hurry up and tell us what to do! the Elementalist followed, a look of excitement on her face. Chuckling, Shi Feng said, What I need you to do is simple. Just spread the news that a Guild called Zero Wing is partnered with the Secret Crystal Trading Firm and that any fifth-floor expert willing to join Zero Wing for more than a month will be guaranteed a basic membership in the trading firm. Those who perform well might even get advanced membership. As for fourth-floor experts, as long as they contribute sufficiently, they will have the opportunity to purchase Common Secret Treasures from the trading firm, and those who perform outstandingly will also have a chance to gain advanced membership. Is that all we have to do? The Guardian Knight was a little stunned by Shi Fengs simple request. He had originally expected to cross dangerous valleys and oceans of fire to get his hands on Shi Fengs promised Common Secret Treasure. Yet, all he needed to do was spread some news. Not to mention, even without his intervention, the news in question would spread like wildfire once released. Is what you just said real? The Elementalist blinked her eyes in disbelief. She had never heard of a Guild going by the name of Zero Wing. It should be known that even the various pseudo-apex powers had failed to secure a partnership opportunity with the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. So, how could an unknown Guild accomplish it? Wouldnt you know once you give it a try? Shi Feng chuckled. Previously, he had been ruminating over how he should go about recruiting the Crystal Citys independent players into Zero Wing. After all, every player operating in the current Eternal Realm was an extraordinary existence in the Greater Gods Domain. Independent players of such caliber had long grown used to operating by themselves or in small groups, so they did not care about joining any Guild. However, he now had an opportunity to recruit these independent players through the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. Whether it was fourth-floor experts or fifth-floor experts, both were hard to come by in the Greater Gods Domain. It was especially so for fifth-floor experts. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would only have a limited number of such experts under their command. If thats the case Im a titled expert, so I should be qualified to join. After pondering for a moment, the Guardian Knight asked, Where can I join this Zero Wing you mentioned, Brother? Im also a fourth-floor expert! I should be able to join Zero Wing, right? the Elementalist asked anxiously. Seeing the Elementalist and Guardian Knight expressing their intentions to join Zero Wing without hesitation, Shi Feng smiled and said, You can join so long as you meet the requirements. As for where you should go to sign up, didnt I already say that Zero Wing is partnered with the Secret Crystal Trading Firm? Are you saying we can sign up at the trading firm directly? The excitement in the Guardian Knights eyes grew even more apparent after hearing Shi Fengs words. Then, Ill head there right away! Me, too! the Elementalist said before dashing toward the Secret Crystal Trading Firm. Meanwhile, after the two arrived at the crowded Secret Trading Firm and waited for their turn at a counter, they tentatively asked the NPC behind the counter about joining Zero Wing. Then, they received an answer that thoroughly stunned them. If you two are adventurers who have conquered the World Towers fourth floor, you are indeed qualified to join Zero Wing. If you wish to join Zero Wing, please fill in the form here, the female elf behind the counter said before placing two forms before the Guardian Knight and Elementalist. After joining Zero Wing, if you wish to become a member of the trading firm, you will have to accumulate 5,000 Guild Contribution Points in Zero Wing first. Once you fulfill this condition, you can directly a basic membership for the next weekly refresh. After the Guardian Knight and Elementalist had their questions answered, the other players waiting in line nearby couldnt help but widen their eyes in disbelief. The Secret Crystal Trading Firms membership was incomparably precious, so much so that even the various pseudo-apex powers had failed to get their hands on any. Yet, it was now possible to purchase this membership just by joining Zero Wing? After a short silence, the surrounding players started frantically shouting and expressing their intentions to join Zero Wing. This situation confused the players still waiting in line at the back. Are these people crazy? Why are they shouting to join Zero Wing? Could it be some kind of hidden code? When the crowd in the building saw the several dozen players going crazy in front of the counters, they couldnt help but wonder what these players were losing their minds over. But less than a minute later, everyone else in the building also started to go crazy. Then, in no time at all, Zero Wings name quickly spread across the entire Crystal City of Secrets. While the Crystal Citys independent players were losing their minds, Shi Feng spent a hundred Eternal Gold Coins to purchase a Guild Residence for Zero Wing. Then, in less than a day, the Guild Residence welcomed the addition of over 10,000 fourth-floor experts and 100 fifth-floor experts With so many fifth-floor experts, Zero Wing can probably afford to pick a fight with the citys pseudo-apex powers already When Shi Feng saw the list of new guild members, he didnt know whether he should be celebrating or weeping. While the sudden influx of so many experts was certainly a cause for joy, the poverty of Zero Wings Guild Warehouse would most likely cause these experts to leave the Guild as soon as they accomplished their goals. If he couldnt find a solution quickly, the Guilds current prosperity would be fleeting. While Shi Feng was pondering how he could go about adding more Secret Treasures into the Guild Warehouse, he suddenly received a message from Xia Qingying, informing him that their world was already in its initial stages of opening up to the Greater World. Because of this, the Green God Corporation had selected 10,000 geniuses to bring into the Greater World in advance, and the corporation welcomed all partnered powers to head to Silver Frost City to inspect, and hopefully recruit, these geniuses. Xia Qingying had even booked a flight to Silver Frost City for him, saving him a lot of trouble. Ten thousand geniuses, is it? After reading Xia Qingyings message, Shi Feng couldnt help but recall the many young paragons he had missed out on recruiting in his previous life because of Demons Gate persistently hunting him. Now that he no longer had such a burden on him, he could use this opportunity to recruit some of these potential paragons in addition to Myriad Hands Silk Radish. Chapter 3483 - Chapter 557 - That Man? Chapter 557 C That Man? Silver Frost City was a second-tier city situated on the Starlight continent, and it was a gigantic steel city that slowly traveled about a snowy and desolate land. The citys exterior was covered in snow all year round due to its travel route, but the inside of the city experienced spring all year round. At the citys entrance, there would almost always be a trail of armored buses coming in and out of the city. These buses either came from other mobile cities or set out from Silver Frost City to other mobile cities. Even at night, there was no end to the arrival and departure of these armored buses. Be careful, all of you! We are no longer in the world we are used to living in! If anyone misbehaves, I will kick them off the bus and send them packing back to our world! On one of the buses entering the city, a one-star mental strength grandmaster representing the Green God Corporation lectured the hundreds of young men and women on the vehicle while exuding a terrifying mental deterrence. Incredible! Is this how strong mental strength grandmasters are? As expected of the Green God Corporation. Even the representatives they sent to guide us are mental strength grandmasters. I have only ever met a mental strength grandmaster once in the Upper Zone, yet out of the dozens of buses used to transport us, every one of them is led by a mental strength grandmaster. No wonder none of our worlds other corporations dare defy the Green God Corporation. Theyre in completely different leagues from each other. I heard that the city we are in is a second-tier city on this continent, and over a hundred third-tier mobile cities are operating around it. I also heard that the residents of Silver Frost City could easily live past 500 years old, and many people have a chance of becoming mental strength grandmasters. It feels like we are entering a city of miracles. Its a pity I didnt get selected by the Green God Corporation last time. Otherwise, I wouldnt have to be competing for the qualifications to stay in a third-tier city right now. The young men and women on the bus were awed by the elderly man serving as their guide. They were also awed by the urban scenery outside the bus as they could see mental grandmasters, which were incredibly hard to come by in their homeworld, in every corner of the city. Moreover, shortly after the bus entered the city, they could feel their bodies getting rejuvenated. They could feel a mysterious energy present in the space around them, and simply inhaling this energy accelerated their thought processes and improved their bodies flexibility significantly. Alright, were here! Everyone, off the bus! the elderly guide urged when he saw the bus coming to a halt. Under the guides urging, the hundreds of youngsters on the bus alighted from the armored vehicle. They were then greeted by the sight of several dozen other armored buses parked in a spacious arena, and the youngsters who had alighted from these other buses had already gathered in front of the arenas central stage with expectant and confident looks on their faces. Are you really not going to reconsider, Radish? a girl in a light-blue dress asked as she looked at the girl standing beside her. The other girl in question was of similar age, but she looked more mature and charming, and she wore a blue, short-sleeved dress. Then, the girl in a light-blue dress continued, Ever since your cousin went missing, the other members of your family have clearly distanced themselves from you. I also heard that Star Cherry, your cousins archenemy, has recently entered the good graces of a big shot. That big shot is the commander of another power. Are you sure you dont want to go to Ice Forest Town with me? We just need to wait five more years and wait to take a city powers test. I trust in my cousins message, Silk Radish, the girl in the blue, short-sleeved dress, said in a determined tone. Since she says everything is fine, it must be so. Moreover, I look forward to competing with the Greater Worlds geniuses. Even if I lose, I need to know how I lost. The Green God Corporation had brought 10,000 geniuses to the Greater World for its partners to recruit. However, it wasnt compulsory for these partners to recruit these geniuses. So, those who failed to get recruited would be returned to their homeworld, and they could only rely on their own capabilities to enter and live in the Greater World in the future. After all, the Green God Corporation still wasnt powerful enough to let so many people live in the Greater Worlds cities. However, the Green God Corporation had also given the unselected geniuses a second option. Should these unselected geniuses choose not to return to their homeworld, they could choose to live in a town for five years. During this period, some powers originating from the various mobile cities would come to recruit talents. And if these geniuses could catch the attention of these powers, they would be able to migrate into a mobile city. Meanwhile, knowing that her chances were slim, Silk Radishs friend Jade River had preemptively chosen to live in one of the Greater Worlds towns and wait for an opportunity to migrate into a city. Why are you so gullible? Jade River couldnt help but look at her friend as if she was looking at a fool. Your cousin suddenly contacts you after going missing for more than a year, and the first thing she says is that some man will show up to solve all your problems. How can you even believe such a thing? Are you sure your cousin isnt being tricked by that man? Silk Radish fell silent. She, too, agreed with her friends words. Before her elder cousin had suddenly gone missing for over a year, her cousin would rarely come into close contact with any man. Yet, now, her cousin had suddenly reappeared and told her that a man would appear during the Green God Corporations talent fair and take care of all of her problems. No matter how she thought about it, this situation sounded very suspicious. While Silk Radish and Jade River conversed, several dozen individuals stepped onto the central stage. These individuals were all executive members of the Greater Worlds various powers. Meanwhile, the person hosting the talent fair this time was Xia Qingying, the Green God Corporations Vice President. She was also the chief supervisor of the Green God Corporations branch in Silver Frost City. When Xia Qingying appeared, all of the youths standing below the stage cheered and reacted in astonishment. Firstly, it was because of Xia Qingyings figure and identity. Secondly, it was because of Xia Qingyings frightening mental strength. Despite not being much older than them, Xia Qingying was already a mental strength grandmaster. In contrast, none of them were even mental strength masters yet. Our time is precious, Qingying. Before Xia Qingying could even say anything, a handsome young man impatiently interrupted, Do as we said to you before. Apart from those in the top 100 of the list, have everyone else get lost! The young mans abrupt words caused the youths below the stage to fall silent. As for the various powers executives standing on stage, they also kept quiet, with some behaving nonchalantly, some smiling, and some nodding their heads in agreement. In one way or another, all of them expressed their agreement with the young man. Meanwhile, Xia Qingying, who was just about to start hosting the talent fair, reacted grimly to the young mans words. Arent you acting a little too hastily, Mr. Xiao Quan? Xia Qingying spoke in a low voice. The Green God Corporation has selected these talents out of tens of millions of youths from our homeworld. It is a pity to disqualify them so soon. Xiao Quan might look like a young man, but he was already well into his forties. Meanwhile, nobody in Silver Frost City dared to offend him, and any power wishing to operate in the city would have to show him a certain amount of respect. This was because Xiao Quan was not only a vice commander of the citys Silver Frost Legion, but he was also the son of the citys City Lord. Originally, the talent fair should have been the Green God Corporations affair, but Xiao Quan suddenly came running here for some reason. Moreover, without even waiting for her to speak, he abruptly declared the end of the talent fair. Such behavior was simply incomprehensible. TL Notes: [1]Silk Radish( Lng Lu): I am unsure if Silk Radishs real name is Ling Luo, or if she is just having others address her with her Gods Domain ID. My hesitance to deem it as her real name stems from the way Aqua Rose introduced Silk Radish in Chapter 553: My cousin goes by the name of Silk Radish in Gods Domain. (λнܡ) The way Aqua worded it really made it sound like Silk Radish/Ling Luo is just a character name. Fyi, Aqua Rose(ˮɫǾޱ)s name is 100% a character name and not Aquas name in real life. ˮɫ = water-colored/light blue || Ǿޱ = rose There might be people named Ǿޱ(rose), but the surname ˮɫ(water-colored) does not exist, as far as I know, at the very least. Chapter 3484 - Chapter 558 - Ill Be Taking Them! Chapter 558 C Ill Be Taking Them! Hasty? Xiao Quan scrutinized Xia Qingying in amusement. Then, he faintly smiled and said, In all the years you have spent in Silver Frost City, you have never taken more than two seconds to turn down my invitations, Qingying, but youve never seen me saying anything about it, have you? Moreover, Im not the only one holding such an opinion, right? Mr. Xiao Quan is right. These youngsters dont look particularly talented to me. Only the top 100 on the list are decent. Theres no need to have the others remain. I agree. You know full well that the various cities have limited space, Vice President Xia. We should save these precious resources for more talented individuals. The executives of the various powers present hurriedly nodded and voiced their agreement with Xiao Quan, making it sound as if everything Xiao Quan had just stated was true. As you can see, Qingying, this is everyones opinion. It isnt mine alone, Xiao Quan said as he swept a glance at the various powers executives. Then, he smiled and continued, A large part of why the Green God Corporation can have its current position in Silver Frost City is due to the efforts of these people here, so you shouldnt act too arbitrarily. Otherwise, you might put the Green God Corporation in a vulnerable position in Silver Frost City. Xia Qingyings expression had turned indescribably ugly at this point. While the Green God Corporation had multiple branches established across the Greater World, only a handful were in second-tier cities. So, the corporation would suffer a heavy blow if it lost even one of these second-tier branches. Right now, Xia Qingying couldnt help but hesitate. Should she protect the 10,000 talents she had brought with her? Or should she protect the Green God Corporations second-tier branch? Are all of us going to get kicked out, just like that? Jade Rivers face turned pale. Xia Qingyings silence already made it apparent that the situation was not in their favor. It was also obvious that the young man was not someone Xia Qingying could afford to offend. Jade River deeply yearned for the Greater World. She had even planned to go down the most difficult and conservative path to stay in the Greater World. Yet, now, she wouldnt even be allowed to go down this path. Even Vice President Xia doesnt have a solution? Silk Radish thought as she stared at Xia Qingying in disbelief. Unlike the other young talents present, she knew a lot more about the Greater World thanks to her cousin. Her cousin had entered the Greater World much sooner than everyone else, and she had even made some accomplishments for herself here. Meanwhile, out of all the people her cousin had talked extensively about, Xia Qingying was one of these people. Even in the Greater World, Xia Qingying could be considered a remarkable figure. Her individual strength was leagues above the geniuses and paragons of their Gods Domain, and even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would have to show her some respect. Yet, now, Xia Qingying was looking helpless in front of the young man on stage, and all she could do was swallow her opinions. If even Xia Qingying was in such a state, what could budding talents like themselves possibly do in this situation? Are you still unconvinced, Qingying? Seeing Xia Qingyings silence, Xiao Quan snapped his fingers, summoning a young man to his side. Ill make things simple. Hes the most useless member of the Silver Frost Legion. So long as any of your talents can beat him, I promise I wont say another word! Xiao Quans words immediately aroused the hopes of the young men and women below the stage. The young man beside Xiao Quan looked seventeen years old at most, whereas the youngest among them was seventeen, while the older ones were already nineteen. With a two-year gap between them and the young man, they might have hope of winning, even if the young man in question was an inhabitant of the Greater World. However, before any of the youths below the stage could act on their revitalized hope, the guides representing the Green God Corporation hurriedly whispered to them, Dont act recklessly, you fools! That young man isnt a wastrel! Hes already a three-star mental strength master! A three-star mental strength master? The many youths in the arena gasped. A seventeen-year-old three-star mental strength master? It should be known that there wasnt even one mental strength master among them Three-star mental strength masters were individuals wielding great authority in their homeworlds Upper Zones. Most of their families didnt even have a three-star mental strength master, and many of them made it their lifelong goal to become one. Yet, now, it was revealed that the seventeen-year-old before them had already accomplished their lifelong goal What? Nobodys coming forward? Xiao Quan sneered as he looked at the youngsters below the stage. What a bunch of useless people. If you cant even make use of the opportunity Ive given you, why should I bother recruiting you? The youths in the arena clenched their fists and gritted their teeth in silent hatred when they heard Xiao Quans words, and they couldnt help but get the urge to take on the seventeen-year-old young man. However, they also understood that they would only be bringing shame to the Green God Corporation and Xia Qingying if they were to give in to their urges now. After all, none of them had even the slightest chance of defeating a three-star mental strength master. Since nobody has any more objections, this event is over! Xiao Quan declared after sweeping his gaze across the crowd in the arena. What a waste of my time. After Xiao Quan finished speaking, the various powers executives also got ready to leave, none showing any intentions of speaking up for Xia Qingying. However, immediately after the various powers executives got up from their seats, a deep voice echoed throughout the arena. Vice President Xia! I dont care about everyone else, but I will be taking them. Do you have any objections? Following these words, the arena fell silent once again as everyone turned to look at the voices origin. Then, everyone saw a man in his thirties casually walking over to Xia Qingying on the stage, looking as if he was having a light conversation with an old friend. Guild Leader Shi Feng? Xia Qingying was stunned when she saw Shi Feng. Although she had never officially introduced Xiao Quan, everybody present could more or less guess by the behaviors of the various powers executives that Xiao Quan wasnt someone to mess with. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs publicly recruiting someone as soon as Xiao Quan declared the end of the talent fair was no different than a slap to Xiao Quans face. Immediately, Xiao Quans expression could be seen darkening, and everyone present felt a chill crawling down their spines. Of course, Shi Feng was an exception as he behaved as if he didnt even see Xiao Quan as he pointed at two young women below the stage. Is he talking about us? Jade River couldnt help but grow confused when she saw Shi Feng pointing at her and Silk Radish. Although she tried searching her memories, she failed to recall having ever met this casual-looking man. Could he be the man Big Sis was talking about? Silk Radish couldnt help but grow a little worried when she saw Shi Fengs appearance. Silk Radishs goal was to remain in the Greater World, but now that a big shot like Xiao Quan had already declared for them to leave, they would most likely be sent back to their homeworld if nothing unexpected occurred. So, she couldnt help but wonder if her cousins helper could truly help her out of this predicament. Who the hell are you, kid? How dare you run your mouth on this stage?! The Green God Corporation is getting worse and worse! How can such a rude nobody be invited to such an important event?! When the executives of the Green God Corporations partnered powers failed to recognize Shi Feng, they started questioning and condemning him as if they were denouncing a criminal. Meanwhile, Shi Feng smiled as he swept his gaze across the various powers executives. Then, he said: Who am I? Someone you cannot afford to offend! Chapter 3485 - Chapter 559 - Two-Star Limit Grandmaster? Chapter 559 C Two-Star Limit Grandmaster? Is he crazy? Xia Qingying couldnt help but gape in shock when she saw Shi Feng completely disregarding Xiao Quan and the various powers executives. It was one thing for Shi Feng to provoke Xiao Quan previously. After all, Shi Feng wasnt aware of Xiao Quans identity at the time. At worst, he would simply lose the ability to operate in Silver Frost City in the future. However, it was a different story to show such contempt for the various powers executives. Xiao Quan cherished his reputation dearly, so even if he were to take action against Shi Feng, he wouldnt do so openly. The various powers executives, on the other hand, were all dominant figures of third-tier cities, and they had fought using all sorts of means to achieve their current positions. Moreover, unlike Xiao Quan, Shi Feng had no special background in the Greater World. So, the various executives absolutely wouldnt have any qualms about escalating the situation and picking a fight with Shi Feng. Someone we cannot afford to offend? What bold words you have there, you little punk! It seems becoming a one-star grandmaster has gotten to your head! Do you really think of yourself as some kind of big shot? Since the Green God Corporation is unwilling to teach this kid a lesson, well do it instead! Anyone interested in volunteering? The various powers executives openly discussed teaching Shi Feng a lesson, none of them treating him with any significance. According to their senses, Shi Feng was only at the one-star mental strength grandmaster standard. And going by his appearance, he should be someone in his thirties. In third-tier cities, anyone capable of becoming a one-star grandmaster in their thirties would indeed be considered a rare genius. In fact, Shi Feng could still be considered a genius even in a second-tier city like Silver Frost City. Take the seventeen-year-old standing beside Xiao Quan, for example. The young man might have become a three-star master at such a young age, but his chances of becoming a one-star grandmaster before he entered his thirties were considerably slim. There might only be a one-rank difference between a three-star master and a one-star grandmaster, but the gap was like a chasm. There was even a clear division in status between individuals at the two ranks. So long as a person became a one-star grandmaster, they could unconditionally enter any mobile city in the Greater World. They wouldnt have to provide any credentials or pay any fees. This held true even for first-tier cities. Of course, whether a one-star grandmaster could gain residential qualifications in a first-tier mobile city was another matter. Meanwhile, so long as a person wasnt a mental strength grandmaster, even if they were to become a three-star mental strength master before the age of ten, they would need credentials to even enter a third-tier city. Otherwise, they could only look at the city from the outside. While the various powers executives were talking, Xia Qingying, who had originally planned to mediate the situation, became frozen in place. A one-star grandmaster? Xia Qingying couldnt help but doubt her senses. At the same time, she couldnt help but feel as if she was meeting Shi Feng for the first time. She clearly remembered that the first time she met Shi Feng, the other party wasnt even a one-star mental strength master. And even by the end of the Star Lake Legions recruitment test, Shi Feng had only become a two-star master. How long had it only been since Shi Feng joined the Star Lake Legion? How had he become a one-star grandmaster already? Vice President Xia, while I dont know why the Green God Corporation would invite such an arrogant punk, if I dont teach him a lesson now that he has offended us like so, Ill be unable to show my face in Morning Dew City, a savage-looking man suddenly said as he looked at Xia Qingying. The man looked to be in his forties, and he had a towering body with a height of two and a half meters. I hope you can show some understanding. After saying so, the tall and savage man strode toward Shi Feng, not showing Xia Qingying, the host of todays talent fair, any respect. However, nobody on the stage found the savage mans behavior and words surprising. Even Xiao Quan simply smiled in response to the savage mans actions. Old Xun is as impulsive as ever, Xiao Quan commented as he looked at the savage-looking man. Then, he turned to Xia Qingying and smiled, saying, Dont take Old Xuns behavior to heart, Qingying. He has always been like this. If anything happens, I can have someone send that kid to the hospital. Morning Dew Citys Madman Xun! Even in Silver Frost City, this name was considerably famous. Madman Xun was only 43 this year, yet he had already crippled over a thousand mental strength grandmasters in Morning Dew City, with quite a few of his victims being two-star grandmasters. Madman Xun had even crippled the head of one of Silver Frost Citys powerful families without a second thought after the other party provoked him. Although Xiao Quan was also a two-star grandmaster and possessed a wealth of combat experience like Madman Xun, even he couldnt help but be a little fearful of the savage man. This was because Madman Xun was not only crazy, but he was also ruthless in battle. Every one of his moves was executed with either the intent to kill or cripple. Without putting his life on the line, Xiao Quan was not the least bit confident in winning a fight against Madman Xun. Meanwhile, as Madman Xun moved closer and closer to Shi Feng, the crowd below the stage couldnt help but worry for Shi Feng. This was because Madman Xun didnt look like a human at all! Indeed! Madman Xun could no longer be considered a human! After all, just a second ago, Madman Xun was clearly only 2.5 meters tall. Yet, a second later, his body started to bulk up in size, his muscles visibly expanding and his veins bulging like earthworms crawling all over his body. Then, in only five seconds, Madman Xun had transformed into a three-meter-tall giant. So, this is the body manipulation ability of two-star grandmasters? Silk Radish was greatly shocked when she saw Madman Xuns transformation. What separated mental strength grandmasters from mental strength masters wasnt just their mental strength but also their ability to control their bodies. A mental strength grandmaster could break the limits on not only their physical strength but also their physical growth. However, before today, Silk Radish had only ever heard of such a feat being possible. This was her first time seeing it happening in person. Kid! You said earlier that you are someone we cannot afford to offend. How about you try saying it again? Madman Xun threatened as he stood imposingly in front of Shi Feng. As soon as Madman Xun finished speaking, he raised his hand and slapped his hand down on Shi Feng. With his current height of three meters, Madman Xuns arms were as thick as water buckets, while his hand was like a large pot. And as he smashed down with his hand, an explosive noise could be heard coming from the surrounding air. Seeing Madman Xuns attack, everyone present did not doubt that Shi Feng would be flattened by it. Even if Shi Feng tried to defend himself with his arms, nothing would change. However, even after seeing the huge palm descending toward him, Shi Feng remained unfazed as he lifted one of his hands. The next moment, Shi Fengs dainty hand could be seen grabbing onto Madman Xuns wrist, stopping Madman Xuns hand in its tracks. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng rotated his body and executed a throw. Subsequently, Madman Xuns three-meter-tall body could be seen spinning across the air like a ragdoll and crashing onto the stages solid ground, the heavy impact causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. Thenhe fell unconscious. Suddenly, the whole arena fell silent as everyone stared at Madman Xuns unconscious body in disbelief. You area two-star limit grandmaster? When the various powers executives snapped out of their daze, they turned to look at Shi Feng with a grave expression. Chapter 3486 - Chapter 560 - Xia Qingyings Madness Chapter 560 C Xia Qingyings Madness Radish! This person is so strong! Jade River exclaimed to Silk Radish when she saw how easily Shi Feng had stopped Madman Xuns attack and subsequently thrown the giant of a man. Then, she turned to Silk Radish and asked, Say, do you think we have a chance to stay here? Previously, Jade River hadnt thought much about Shi Fengs declaration to recruit her and Silk Radish. After all, even a big shot like Xia Qingying dared not go against Xiao Quan. However, after seeing how handily Shi Feng had defeated the monster-like Madman Xun, Jade River couldnt help but start to think that Shi Feng might truly be able to let her and Silk Radish remain in the Greater World. Probably. Silk Radish also grew excited when she saw Shi Fengs performance. She never expected her cousin to find an expert of such caliber to come and recruit her. A two-star limit grandmaster! Those ignorant of the Greater Worlds matters, such as Jade River, wouldnt necessarily understand the significance of a two-star limit grandmaster. However, as Aqua Roses cousin, Silk Radish knew just how exalted the status of two-star limit grandmasters was. For 99% of the individuals who manage to become a one-star mental strength grandmaster in the Greater World, the best they could hope to achieve within their lifetimes would be the two-star grandmaster standard. This was the case for the various powers executives standing on the stage. None of them had any hopes of ever becoming a two-star limit grandmaster. This was because becoming a two-star limit grandmaster meant taking half a step into the realm of three-star grandmasters, and it would only be a matter of time before they became a full-fledged three-star grandmaster. It should be known that three-star mental strength grandmasters were existences capable of becoming the lord of a city in the Greater World, and even in conglomerates, they would occupy core executive positions. While two-star limit grandmasters werent three-star grandmasters, they would still be regarded as big shots in second-tier cities, and the various families and corporations operating in these cities would have to show them a certain degree of respect. This kids a two-star limit grandmaster? A frown formed on Xiao Quans face as the abrupt turn of events took him by surprise. Madman Xun was first-rate even among two-star mental strength grandmasters. Aside from three-star grandmasters, only two-star limit grandmasters could defeat him so easily. As for the possibility of Shi Feng being above the three-star grandmaster standard, that likelihood was close to zero. This was because every one of these existences could shake the entire Starlight Continent with their actions. It was highly unlikely any existence above the three-star grandmaster standard would concern themselves with existences like the Green God Corporation. However, after Xiao Quan experienced a brief surprise, a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes. A two-star limit grandmaster might be able to scare powers operating in third-tier cities, but he was the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. Even three-star grandmasters would have to show him some respect, let alone a two-star limit grandmaster. Dont you think it is a bit too much to use such heavy-handed tactics? Xiao Quan said to Shi Feng as he glanced at the unconscious Madman Xun. Or do you think you can act with disregard in Silver Frost City simply because you are a two-star limit grandmaster? Following Xiao Quans words, the various powers executives on stage regained some of their confidence. Thats right! You are in Silver Frost City right now! This isnt a place where you can behave as you wish! Mr. Xiao Quan is the City Lords son! Even three-star grandmasters will have to be polite with him. What right do you have to act so arrogantly as a two-star limit grandmaster? The various powers executives all stood with Xiao Quan and began to clamor. It was especially so after they saw the arrival of the citys security teams. It was true that two-star limit grandmasters enjoyed an exalted status in the Greater World. If they were currently in a third-tier city, they would absolutely try to avoid provoking Shi Feng as much as possible. Only the City Lord and the various powerful families and corporations old monsters would have an advantage over him. However, it was a different story in a second-tier city like Silver Frost City. The security force here was so strong that even three-star grandmasters wouldnt dare to go against it directly, let alone a two-star limit grandmaster. All second-tier mobile cities had a security force consisting of Advanced Enforcement Robots. Meanwhile, every one of these was strong enough to match a two-star limit grandmaster, while a team of them could go up against a three-star grandmaster. Meanwhile, after detecting the fight between Shi Feng and Madman Xun, Silver Frost Citys automated security system mobilized as many as three security teams to the fight scene. If these three teams worked together, apprehending a two-star limit grandmaster would be a piece of cake. Less than ten seconds after they appeared, the three security teams had already arrived on the stage and surrounded Shi Feng, their performance astonishing those who lived in third-tier cities. Advanced Enforcement Robots were a luxury that most third-tier cities could only afford to use in areas of great importance. As for maintaining the citys security, third-tier cities would normally rely on their respective city legions grandmaster members for that. This was also one source of income for a city legions grandmaster members. It seems this city is quite wealthy, Shi Feng thought as he looked at the three security teams that consisted entirely of Advanced Enforcement Robots. Advanced Enforcement Robots could only be produced by a small minority of conglomerates, and even the likes of the Paimon Conglomerate lacked the ability to do so. As a result, Advanced Enforcement Robots were incredibly expensive to purchase. On top of that, they also cost a ton to maintain, with the maintenance cost of each Advanced Enforcement Robot being more than the cost to sustain ten two-star mental strength grandmasters. As for whether Shi Feng could win a fight against three teams of Advanced Enforcement Robots, the chances of that happening were essentially zero. After all, he was only a one-star grandmaster right now, not a two-star limit grandmaster. The reason Shi Feng could defeat Madman Xun so easily was entirely because of the Mental Condensation technique he had learned from the Primordial Abyssal Gods phantom in the Golden Spire. When he tried to replicate this technique in the real world, it allowed him to condense his mental strength, enhancing it to the limits of the two-star grandmaster standard. This, in turn, allowed him to just barely manipulate his strength at a cellular level. If not for this, he would have needed a lot more time to defeat Madman Xun. If Shi Feng wanted to win against the Advanced Enforcement Robots, his mental strength would have to reach the two-star grandmaster standard. Before that, his only option would be to flee or face defeat. Meanwhile, along with the Advanced Enforcement Robots appearance, Silk Radish and Jade River couldnt help but despair. They never thought that Xiao Quan would be the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. If such a person declared for them to leave the Greater World, who could possibly keep them here? They also no longer placed any of their hopes on Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng clearly wasnt in an optimistic situation. If he dared to take action, the Advanced Enforcement Robots would probably suppress him without hesitation. What are you guards still waiting for? Why havent you driven this troublemaker away yet? the various powers executives commanded the Advanced Enforcement Robots as they pointed at Shi Feng. We suspect he isnt an invited guest and is only here to cause trouble! Xiao Quan also nodded, indicating for the Advanced Enforcement Robots to take action. The citys Advanced Enforcement Robots operated on the basis of maintaining the citys security. However, those wielding advanced authority in the city could have the Advanced Enforcement Robots inspect whether certain individuals possessed citizenship in the city. And if an individual was found to not be a resident, they could command the Advanced Enforcement Robots to expel said individual from the city. The Advanced Enforcement Robots promptly closed in on Shi Feng after receiving Xiao Quans approval. Seeing this, nobody present was surprised by this outcome. Shi Feng might be a powerful expert, but Silver Frost City was Xiao Quans home ground. Even if a third-tier citys City Lord came here, they would be helpless against Xiao Quan, and their only option would be to grit their teeth and leave. Wait! He is my guest! Rather than him, these people here are the ones making trouble! Just as the Advanced Enforcement Robots were about to take action, a crisp and loud voice rang out and echoed throughout the arena, causing a stir among the crowd. Meanwhile, the speaker was none other than Xia Qingying, the host of the talent fair this time. Chapter 3487 - Chapter 561 - Zero Wings Value Chapter 561 C Zero Wings Value Did Xia Qingying lose her mind? When everyone heard the words that came out of Xia Qingyings mouth, they couldnt help but doubt their ears. Is Vice President Xia crazy? Those are the Green God Corporations distinguished guests we are talking about! Xiao Quan is even among them! How dare she do such a thing?! a one-star mental strength grandmaster from the Green God Corporation mentally exclaimed as he stared at Xia Qingying with his mouth hanging wide open. Those invited to attend the talent fair this time were all distinguished powers operating in the various third-tier cities. These powers shared plenty of business transactions with the Green God Corporation, and they were even vital investors in some of the Green God Corporations projects. Yet, now, Xia Qingying was reporting the representatives of these powers as uninvited troublemakers to the citys security force. Such behavior was no different than an act of war against all of these powers! What kind of relationship does that guy have with the vice president? Crap! I must have forgotten to wake up today! The other Green God Corporation members present were similarly confused by Xia Qingyings actions. They couldnt comprehend why she would try to offend the various powers and thoroughly sever any ties she had with Xiao Quan. Xiao Quan was the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. If he were to get kicked out of an event held within Silver Frost City, it would be a disgrace to the city. There was no way the City Lord would ignore this slight, and the least he would do was drive the Green God Corporation out of the city. Who is this man? How did your cousin find such a helper, Radish? Jade River couldnt help but ask Silk Radish while her eyes stayed on Xia Qingying. It should be known that Xia Qingying was still enduring the humiliation brought to her by Xiao Quan and the various powers executives previously. Yet, because of Shi Feng, she had chosen to sever all ties she had with these people! I have no idea, Silk Radish said with a look of surprise and shock. In their eyes, Xia Qingying was akin to a legend. This was also the case for all of the youths living in their homeworlds Upper Zones. After all, she was someone who succeeded in becoming a Senior Vice President of the Green God Corporation at such a young age. Yet, now, this legendary individual had chosen to sever the ties she had with numerous powers in the Greater World for a man they had never even heard of. She had even offended a second-tier city in the process of doing so. Xia Qingyings decision was simply incomprehensible. If the Green God Corporations directors were to learn of this matter, Xia Qingying would absolutely lose her position as Senior Vice President. Numerous powers and Silver Frost City would also target her. Are you insane, Xia Qingying? Xiao Quan questioned Xia Qingying, his voice containing a mix of surprise and anger. Youre going so far just for a two-star limit grandmaster? Besides feeling anger, Xiao Quan also failed to comprehend Xia Qingyings behavior. The Green God Corporation held an extremely high status in Silver Frost City, and this status could only be matched by the ancient families and corporations with three-star mental strength grandmasters. Yet, now, Xia Qingying chose to abandon this status? Just for a two-star limit grandmaster? Looking at Xiao Quan, Xia Qingying calmly said, He is not just a two-star limit grandmaster. He is also Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader. Zero Wing? The Guild of the Lord of War Goddesses? Xiao Quan and the various powers executives promptly gasped upon hearing Xia Qingyings words. If it was any other Guild in the Greater Gods Domain, they would most likely be unfamiliar with it. However, Zero Wing had already become a name known by all throughout the Starlight Continent. This was because almost everyone knew that the Sacred Glory Lists eleventh-ranked expert belonged to a Guild called Zero Wing. Although most people were unfamiliar with the player named Black Flame, they knew the significance of the Sacred Glory Lists eleventh rank. It was enough to strike fear into the Starlight Realms various powers. Not to mention, ever since Black Flame single-handedly repelled the joint army of three upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World, many upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Starlight Realm had sought to partner with Zero Wing. Hes Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader? Silk Radish and Jade River also gasped in surprise when they heard Xia Qingyings words. Zero Wing! This was the Guild that all of the younger generation players from their world wished to join. Some people had even abandoned all of their progress on the main continent so that they could take Zero Wings recruitment test in the Miniature Ancient World. Unfortunately, Zero Wing had stopped recruiting members from the real world. Otherwise, geniuses like them wouldnt have bothered participating in the Green God Corporations audition. Instead, they would have gone to apply for Zero Wing. So what if you have latched onto Zero Wing? Dont forget that you have offended everyone present, Xia Qingying. At the end of the day, Zero Wing is only a Guild with potential. It has no way of resolving your current problems! After recovering from his initial surprise, Xiao Quan sneered at Xia Qingying. Moreover, you have no idea who and what power you have just offended! Before Xiao Quan could continue speaking any further, the Advanced Enforcement Robots had already removed him and the various powers executives from the arena. The arena they were in was reserved for the Green God Corporations talent fair. As the events host Xia Qingying had absolute authority over the entire venue. Hence, even if Xiao Quan held advanced authority in the city, the Advanced Enforcement Robots would prioritize Xia Qingyings commands over his. This was something not even the City Lord could change. Meanwhile, after seeing Xiao Quan and the various powers executives removed from the arena, those remaining in the venue couldnt help but be shaken. At the same time, news of this situation quickly spread throughout Silver Frost City, shocking everyone in the city. Madness! This is madness! A major upheaval is going to happen in the city after today! I heard that the City Lord has promptly contacted all of Silver Frost Citys top-tier powers after learning of this matter. It seems hes planning to thoroughly expel the Green God Corporation from the city. Do you think Silver Frost City is the only one taking action? I heard that all of those third-tier powers involved this time have withdrawn their investments from the Green God Corporation. Xia Qingying is absolutely in deep trouble. I also heard those powers have secretly contacted the other powers of their respective cities, asking them to reject any talent from the Green God Corporations homeworld. By the looks of things, they plan to thoroughly isolate the Green God Corporation and Zero Wing. Less than ten minutes after Xiao Quan and the various powers executives were removed from the arena, information regarding Xia Qingyings actions had already spread to all corners of the city, inciting the astonishment of the various powers and families based in the city. Was it truly worth sacrificing so much just for an up-and-coming Guild? Meanwhile, half an hour after Silver Frost City had announced its intentions to expel the Green God Corporation and Shi Feng from the city, news of this incident was displayed in the conference room of the Green God Corporations main headquarters. Everyone, give your opinions. What should we do about this? Chapter 3488 - Chapter 562 - Next Stop: Zero Wing Chapter 562 C Next Stop: Zero Wing Silver Frost City, Green God Corporations Branch Headquarters: Following Silver Frost Citys eviction order against the Green God Corporation, almost everyone in the city no longer dared to get close to the corporations branch headquarters. Currently, the only people present in the branch headquarters were the corporations members. You have terrible luck, Luosha. You just joined the Silver Frost Legion, yet you got kicked out before you could enjoy any of its benefits, a tanned woman with an attractive figure and beautiful appearance said as she looked at the suitcase-carrying girl beside her. With your talent, you could have definitely become a vice commander in the future. Its unfortunate that the ruthless City Lord refuses to spare even newcomers like yourself. Isnt it even worse for you, Big Sis Fire Dance? Jun Luosha said, sighing as she looked at the tanned woman beside her. You have won multiple energy mines for the city, and you relied entirely on your own strength and achievements to become Silver Frost Citys Fifth Vice Commander. Yet, as soon as the City Lords eviction notice came out, the shameless commander told you to leave without hesitation. He has completely ignored the fact that it was thanks to your vote that he barely managed to become the Silver Frost Legions commander and didnt even bother to plead with the City Lord for some mercy for you. Hearing Jun Luoshas words, Fire Dance shook her head and nonchalantly said, Its nothing. If I didnt give my vote to him, Xiao Quan would have become the commander. Had that happened, we would have been in a far more miserable situation. I guess thats true Jun Luosha nodded. Xiao Quan possessed considerable strength as he received the City Lords full support and guidance. Hence, he was qualified to become the Silver Frost Legions commander. However, Xiao Quan was very opinionated toward the Green God Corporations members because Xia Qingying constantly rejected his feelings for her. Had he become the Silver Frost Legions commander, all of the Green God Corporations members in the legion would have had difficulties getting by. As for the Green God Corporations members dismissal from the Silver Frost Legion this time, the City Lords eviction order wasnt actually the main driving force. Had the City Lord been the only party to desire this outcome, the removal of the Green God Corporations members would have never happened. The only reason it happened was because many parties wished for it. After all, the city legion had limited membership slots. Once these limited slots were filled, nobody could join the legion unless someone from the legion left. What plans do you have for the future? Fire Dance asked Jun Luosha. We cant stay in Silver Frost City any longer. But with our history of being part of the Silver Frost Legion, it shouldnt be too difficult for us to get into the city legion of other second-tier cities. I dont plan to join any other second-tier citys legion, Jun Luosha said. Then, a smile suddenly appeared on her face as she continued, Actually, even if I werent kicked out this time, I would have still left sooner or later. You were planning to leave all this time? Her curiosity piqued, Fire Dance asked, Did you find a place offering better benefits? Naturally. Its easily a thousand times better than the Silver Frost Legion, Jun Luosha stated confidently. Why dont you come with me, Big Sis Fire Dance? Which place are you talking about? Fire Dance asked after giving the offer some thought. Could it be the legion of a first-tier city? No! Jun Luosha answered, smiling when she saw the confused look on Fire Dances face. Its a place that youve heard about recently. Are you talking about Zero Wing? Fire Dance was exasperated. Have you forgotten whos responsible for me losing my vice commander position? Its merely the vice commander position of a second-tier city, Jun Luosha said disdainfully. Zero Wing is vastly stronger than any second-tier city, and it easily outmatches the Silver Frost Legion. Keep boasting, Fire Dance said, rolling her eyes at Jun Luoshas claim. She felt that Jun Lusoha was simply being stubborn. The Silver Frost Legion was a second-tier citys city legion, and it was a gathering place for numerous geniuses and paragons. Many upper-ranking hegemonic powers paragons were even members of the legion. This was why competition for the Silver Frost Legions membership was extraordinarily intense. Zero Wing might have been able to suppress three upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World, but Black Flame was the sole contributor to that accomplishment. In reality, Zero Wing couldnt even be put on the same level as the Silver Frost Legion, which housed the paragons of many upper-ranking hegemonic powers. So, saying that Zero Wing outmatched the Silver Frost Legion was simply nonsense. After all, no matter how powerful Black Flame was, could he kill hundreds of paragons in a simulated battle all by himself? Wouldnt you know whether Im telling the truth if you make a trip to Star Lake City with me, Big Sis Fire Dance? Jun Luosha said, grinning when she saw the doubt on Fire Dances face. If it were before she had entered the Eternal Realm, she would have similarly thought that the Silver Frost Legion was an excellent place to develop herself in. However, her thoughts changed after she entered the Eternal Realm. Members of a second-tier citys legion? Paragons of upper-ranking hegemonic powers? Geniuses of the Starlight Realm? None of these statuses were worth anything in the Eternal Realm. Even the strongest paragon of an entire Realm would become insignificant once they entered the Eternal Realm. Any random player one encountered in the current Eternal Realm would be a fourth-floor expert at the very least, while titled experts in the Greater Gods Domain couldnt even be considered an expert there. It should be known that fifth-floor experts were extremely rare in the Starlight Realm, yet this was only the baseline standard to be considered an expert in the Eternal Realm. Moreover, experts of such caliber could be seen everywhere in the Underground Crystal Palace. During her time in the Underground Crystal Palace, she even had the opportunity to watch Saints in battle. Saints! Every Saint stood at the apex of their respective Realms, and opportunities to watch Saints in action were exceedingly rare. Yet, she had witnessed no less than twenty such fights in the Underground Crystal Palace. Not to mention, there were even Golden Masters present in the team she belonged to. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that, even without Black Flame, the current Zero Wing could eradicate the Silver Frost Legion with only a couple of members. Fine. Ill go with you, Fire Dance said, thinking that she might as well take a look at Zero Wing since she had nothing better to do. But, let me say this in advance. I will leave without hesitation if Zero Wing doesnt turn out as great as you say. No problem. Jun Luosha smiled and nodded. Fire Dance was a battle maniac, so Jun Luosha highly doubted Fire Dance would be willing to leave Zero Wing once she joined it. After all, the current Zero Wing was simply terrifying. It should be known the current Silver Frost Legion only had one fifth-floor expert at its command, whereas Zero Wing had over a hundred. Moreover, this number was rapidly increasing over time Green God Corporations Branch Headquarters, top-floor lounge: Im sorry for the embarrassing sight Ive shown you this time, Guild Leader Shi Feng, Xia Qingying awkwardly said after looking at the City Lords ultimatum. Originally, she had invited Zero Wing to the talent fair, hoping that Zero Wing could recruit some of their homeworlds geniuses. However, she never thought the talent fair would experience such an unexpected development. The Green God Corporation was even informed to return all of its properties in Silver Frost City and vacate all of its members from the city in three days or face the consequences. You dont have to say that, Miss Xia, Shi Feng said while looking out the window and sweeping his gaze across Silver Frost City. If it werent for your intervention, I would have probably been kicked out of the city by now. You are too humble, Guild Leader Shi, Xia Qingying said, shaking her head. With your strength, I believe it wouldnt be challenging for you to shake off those Advanced Enforcement Robots. Moreover, with Zero Wings potential, I would probably be plagued by regret for the rest of my life had I chosen to stay silent in that situation. Rank 11th on the Sacred Glory List? Only she knew how much this ranking underplayed Zero Wings potential. At this time, Shi Feng retracted his gaze from the view outside the window and asked, Miss Xia, are you interested in Silver Frost City? Chapter 3489 - Chapter 563 - Third Method Chapter 563 C Third Method Am I interested in Silver Frost City? Xia Qingying looked at Shi Feng in confusion. May I know what you mean by that, Guild Leader Shi Feng? It had already been over four centuries since Silver Frost City ruled over this region as a second-tier city, and the citys City Lord position had never changed hands. It was also because of this City Lord that Silver Frost City could protect its rank for over four centuries. Meanwhile, the number of upper-ranking hegemonic powers based in the city continuously increased throughout these four centuries. By now, there were at least five upper-ranking hegemonic powers rooted here. Because of this, Silver Frost City was above average compared to the several neighboring second-tier cities. It wasnt an existence that could be shaken by just one or two upper-ranking hegemonic powers. This would remain the case even if the Green God Corporation were included in the mix. Not to mention, Silver Frost Citys City Lord was only half a step away from entering the realm above grandmasters. So long as he succeeded, even the conglomerates operating on the Starlight Continent would have to show him a certain degree of respect. There are three ways to take over a city in the Greater World, Shi Feng stated as he looked Xia Qingying in the eye. The first method is to have a three-star grandmaster contest for the position of City Lord. The second method is to take control of the citys city legion in its entirety. That way, you can decide the citys fate with a thought. As for the third method, it is to set a bounty! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Xia Qingying grew even more puzzled. Set a bounty? The first method mentioned was the most commonly used means of taking over a mobile city. It was especially popular among the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Typically, if an upper-ranking hegemonic power fancied a particular second-tier city, it would establish a base of operations there before having its own three-star mental strength grandmaster compete for the City Lord position. If the three-star grandmaster managed to gain the approval of half of the citys residents, the position would change owners. For this method, the chosen three-star grandmaster needed to be strong enough. At the very least, they would need to be as strong as the current City Lord. Otherwise, they would have difficulty gaining the citizens approval. After all, only a powerful City Lord could ensure the citys safety. As for the second method, the chances of achieving success with it were much lower. A city legion generally recruited members from all over the place. Hence, it was almost impossible for a single power to monopolize all of a city legions slots. Normally, this method would only be used by pseudo-apex powers in a hurry to expand their territory. Meanwhile, the way they would go about doing so was by having a large number of their talents join the targeted citys city legion, outcompete the legions other members, and deprive the competition of resources. However, this method would only rarely be used. As for the third method Shi Feng mentioned, this was the first time Xia Qingying had heard about it. Seeing Xia Qingyings confused look, Shi Feng chuckled and explained, This method has only been successfully employed a handful of times throughout the Greater Worlds history, so its not surprising that you dont know about it, Miss Xia. By setting a bounty, I mean placing a bounty in the Greater Gods Domain on every member of the targeted citys city legion and forcing them to leave the city legion! In reality, Shi Feng only knew of two instances where the third method had been used, and both happened during his previous life. The first instance happened when Demons Gate placed a bounty on Zero Wing, while the second instance happened when Zero Wing placed a bounty on Demons Gate. These two bounties had shaken the entire Greater Gods Domain when they occurred. Now, he planned to initiate a third instance, letting Silver Frost City know the price of targeting his friends and allies. This would also be a warning to any city that dared to think of supporting Demons Gate, the mastermind behind this whole affair! Should any city dare to support Demons Gate in messing with him in the future, he would have the whole city disappear from the Greater World! Thats simply unfeasible! Xia Qingying was surprised by Shi Fengs explanation. The cost of doing so is completely disproportionate to the rewards! Moreover, who can possibly afford such an undertaking? We are talking about placing a bounty on all of the powers involved in the city legion! It is doable, Shi Feng stated confidently. So long as we cast a sufficiently tempting bait, someone will take on the task. Bait? Xia Qingying felt a little confused. Are you going to use a Divine Artifact as bait? What kind of bait would be tempting enough to get players and powers to go up against five upper-ranking hegemonic powers simultaneously? A Divine Artifact? Even a Divine Artifact would most likely be insufficient as bait. Two Divine Artifacts would be needed, at the very least. However, only a lunatic would probably use two Divine Artifacts or more to take over a second-tier city. Not to mention, if Zero Wing revealed that it had two or more Divine Artifacts in its possession, everyone would probably decide that it would be easier to rob Zero Wing instead. That wont be necessary. Shi Feng shook his head. There is a simpler solution, and it is even something you are best at. Something Im best at? Xia Qingying was thoroughly confused at this point. She was not proficient at constructing Divine Artifacts. She couldnt even construct Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Divine Patterns! Smiling, Shi Feng said, You should have heard of them before, right, Miss Xia? You mean that lost art? Nodding, Xia Qingying said, I know about it. According to legends, divine patterns can strengthen items, raising their Basic Attributes by close to one rank. However, the art has disappeared from the Greater Gods Domain ever since the Mythical Eras Ancient Divine War and only scarce remnants of divine patterns remain. Although various powers have tried researching it, nobody has achieved any noteworthy results thus far. Could you have found remnant records of divine patterns, Guild Leader Shi Feng? Divine patterns were indeed highly sought after in the Greater Gods Domain, their attractiveness no less than that of Secret Treasures. After all, the items produced by players generally had similar Basic Attributes so long as they were of the same quality. If players could increase the Basic Attributes of a piece of equipment, even if only by 1%, they would gain an extra 10% in Basic Attributes or more if they could do so for all of their weapons and equipment. This would give them a significant advantage over other players with the same weapons and equipment quality. No, I dont have any remnant records of divine patterns, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, he tapped on the quantum watch on his hand, summoning a holographic projection of the Basic Divine Pattern he had previously created, saying, I have obtained a complete Divine Engraver Legacy! As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, the lounge became incredibly quiet as Xia Qingying looked at Shi Feng as if he was joking with her. It wasnt just a remnant record! It wasnt just a complete record, either! It wasnt even multiple complete records of divine patterns! Instead, it was a complete Divine Engraver Legacy? If Shi Feng wasnt fooling her, then she must be dreaming! It should be known that becoming an official Divine Engraver would allow one to strengthen Fragmented Legendary items, letting them receive a qualitative improvement. If a player were fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary items strengthened by a Divine Engraver, the additional Basic Attributes they could obtain would be equivalent to the Basic Attributes of a Legendary Weapon. Even in the current Greater Gods Domain, Legendary Weapons remained so rare that upper-ranking hegemonic powers could only afford to lend them to their peerless paragons. However, it was a different story for Fragmented Legendary items. Even ordinary hegemonic powers used full sets of Fragmented Legendary items as standard equipment for their paragons. If Shi Feng was telling the truthwhat he had in his hand could rewrite the history of the Greater Gods Domain! Chapter 3490 - Chapter 564 - Frightening Wealth Chapter 564 C Frightening Wealth Are you sure you arent joking with me, Guild Leader Shi Feng? Xia Qingying couldnt help but ask when she saw the Basic Divine Pattern displayed above Shi Fengs watch. Silver Frost City is just a second-tier city. I doubt anybody would believe you would share the complete Divine Engraver Legacy with them just to deal with Silver Frost City. The Divine Engraver subclass had long become extinct in the Greater Gods Domain. Although there were some players capable of creating divine patterns, they could only create a couple of incomplete varieties, and they werent actually recognized as Divine Engravers. Even so, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers still highly sought these faux Divine Engravers. If a true Divine Engraver appeared in such a situation, even the various apex powers would probably have difficulties sitting still. Not to mention, they were talking about a Legacy capable of mass-producing Divine Engravers here. So long as Shi Feng gave the word, he could easily get his hands on even a first-tier mobile city, let alone a second-tier mobile city like Silver Frost City. Meanwhile, all Shi Feng needed to do was give his helpers one opportunity to learn the Divine Engraver Legacy. Yet, now, Shi Feng intended to share the complete Divine Engraver Legacy with her just so she could take control of Silver Frost City. If Silver Frost Citys City Lord were to learn of this, he would probably have a heart attack. This was bullying of the highest order! You have misunderstood, Miss Xia, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the shocked look on Xia Qingyings face. If we are only talking about Silver Frost City, it naturally wouldnt be worthwhile for me to take out the Divine Engraver Legacy. My goal is to establish a partnership with you, Miss Xia. Taking control of Silver Frost City is only the first step of this partnership. The Divine Engraver Legacy recorded in the Book of Eternity was no trivial matter. Even if he revealed only a small portion of it, it would be enough to cause an uproar throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain. If it were only to get payback for Xia Qingying, Shi Feng wouldnt need to share the Divine Engraver Legacy. Establish a partnership with me? Xia Qingying blinked her eyes in confusion, her mind having difficulties processing Shi Fengs words. She was only one of the Green God Corporations Senior Vice Presidents. Even though she had previously shown strong support for Shi Feng, that was only because she deemed Zero Wing to have great potential. Even if Shi Feng sought to repay her gesture, she highly doubted he would use the Divine Engraver Legacy to establish a partnership with her. After all, that was something incredibly tempting, even to the various apex powers. As an advanced member of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, your connections vastly surpass the average corporation, Miss Xia. The Green God Corporation is also established in quite a number of mobile cities, Shi Feng calmly explained. Im sure you dont need me to tell you how precious the Divine Engraver Legacy is. If information about it were to leak, it would result in a calamity of epic proportions for Zero Wing. Zero Wing is currently looking to nurture a large batch of Divine Engravers, but it is rather difficult for players to become one. If we wish to conduct this large-scale operation in secret, we will require your help to select a group of trustworthy talents from the various mobile cities. In exchange for your help, we can give you 10% of all profits generated by the Divine Engravers you recruit. What do you think? The cultivation of Divine Engravers was a challenging task. Not only did it require a large amount of resources, but it also required talent. If Zero Wing were to openly recruit Lifestyle players, the Guild would cease to exist in both the Greater Gods Domain and the Greater World before it could even finish nurturing its first batch of Divine Engravers. Hence, this cultivation process must be conducted secretly. Meanwhile, by having Xia Qingying help in the recruitment process, not only could Zero Wing recruit more talents, but it would also ensure the secrecy of the entire operation. In addition, Xia Qingying could also handle the sale of the divine patterns produced later on using her connections with the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. Out of everyone Shi Feng knew, Xia Qingying was the best partner candidate he could think of at present. Furthermore, Silver Frost City had a large population, ranking near the top among the surrounding second-tier cities. The region it occupied was even home to the Frost Spring, which produced water capable of clearing and calming the drinkers mind. During Shi Fengs previous life, many Lifestyle players migrated to Silver Frost City because of the Frost Spring, as drinking the springs water helped with their research and growth both inside and outside Gods Domain. One could say that Silver Frost City was the most suitable mobile city for developing Lifestyle players. You seem to have a lot of trust in me, Guild Leader Shi Feng. Are you not worried I will leak this astonishing information? Xia Qingying asked, a playful smile appearing as she scrutinized the man before her. You might be in for heavy losses should that happen. I believe you arent that foolish, Miss Xia, Shi Feng calmly said with a smile. Alright, then. I admit I am very tempted. When Xia Qingying failed to see any changes in Shi Fengs expression, she helplessly sighed and asked, How many people do you want to recruit for the starting batch? A thousand? Two thousand? The future prospects of the Divine Engraver subclass were limitless, and there was no lack of demand for the divine patterns they produced. If they capitalized on the Divine Engraver Legacy properly, even 1% of the generated profits would exceed the total income of any conglomerate, let alone 10%. At this point, Xia Qingying couldnt help but be grateful to Xiao Quan and Silver Frost Citys City Lord. If not for them, she would have never received such an opportunity. Well start by recruiting 10,000 people first, Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. I will hand you the Basic Divine Pattern Designs as soon as possible. So long as players successfully learned how to create a divine pattern, they could produce as many designs for it as they wanted. Previously, he had already become an Apprentice Divine Engraver. So, he would have no difficulties producing Basic Divine Pattern Designs. As for letting others learn using the Book of Eternity, he dared not do such a thing. It might be easier for players to become a Divine Engraver if they learned through the Book of Eternity, but each learning attempt using it cost one God Crystal. It simply wasnt a cost the average power could afford. Not to mention, the Book of Eternity didnt only contain the knowledge necessary to start on the path of a Divine Engraver. Instead, it contained a complete Divine Engraver Legacy that could potentially help players develop into a Famed Craftsman or even a Divine Craftsman. He naturally wouldnt let others gain access to such a precious Legacy. For this reason, he decided to recruit 10,000 individuals to nurture in the first batch. Without the Book of Eternitys assistance, players would face much greater difficulty learning to become a Divine Engraver. With such circumstances, the difficulty of grasping a Basic Divine Pattern would be no different than becoming a Master Magician, and their chances of becoming a Divine Engraver were probably 1% or less. In other words, if they recruited 10,000 talents to nurture, at most, 100 of them would become Apprentice Divine Engravers capable of producing Basic Divine Patterns that could be used to strengthen Epic Weapons and Equipment. And as it was even more challenging to graduate from being an Apprentice Divine Engraver, out of these 100 Apprentice Divine Engravers, it would be fortunate if even three to five of them could become an official Divine Engraver. Meanwhile, three to five Divine Engravers were barely enough to execute his plan. Ten thousand? Xia Qingyings mouth twitched when she heard Shi Fengs answer. Do you know how much it would cost to recruit so many players, Guild Leader Shi Feng? Aside from material expenses, we will also have to cover their salaries, which will vary depending on the confidentiality agreement we sign with them. If we go by the highest-level confidentiality agreement, we will need to pay every person at least 10,000 Star Coins a month. Should any of them succeed in becoming an Apprentice Divine Engraver or Divine Engraver, we will have to further increase their benefits. Not to mention, we will also have to pay for the contribution points needed for them to remain in a mobile city. And if we are going to recruit 10,000 people, we will have to split them across several dozen cities. Every citys contribution points are independent of each other. If we were to purchase contribution points on such a large scale, even if we have everyone stay in only third-tier cities, it would still be a significant expenditure. After adding everything together, we will have to spend a minimum of 500 million Star Coins a month. Are you sure you want to recruit so many people? A monthly expenditure of half a billion Star Coins was a huge burden even to the Green God Corporation. This was why few corporations could afford to nurture their members in mobile cities on a large scale. Not to mention, Zero Wing was only a Guild that had recently set foot into the Greater World. Chapter 3491 - Chapter 565 - Guild Ranking Chapter 565 C Guild Ranking Zero Wing doesnt have that many Star Coins at present, Shi Feng said with a hint of embarrassment. However, he wasnt surprised by the expected cost of recruiting 10,000 people. Can I pay with Eternal Coins? He had already invested most of his funds into acquiring a large training center in Star Lake City, and he only had a few dozen million Star Coins left. He would be virtually broke once he bought the needed Life Potions for the Guilds internal members. Eternal Coins? Nodding, Xia Qingying said, Thats fine. But if you wish to get a good price in the current market, you will need to provide a substantial amount. Roughly how many can you come up with? She was aware that Zero Wing had made a lot of Eternal Coins through the sale of the Earthen Magic Flowers previously. While Zero Wing must have spent most of its earnings already by now, considering the Eternal Realms high cost of living, if Zero Wing still had two or three hundred Eternal Coins remaining, they could begin their recruitment plans officially. I can take out 1,000 Gold for the time being, Shi Feng stated. After deducting the expenses for purchasing the Guild Residence and hiring high-tier NPCs, he had a little over 1,200 Eternal Gold left in his pockets. But he felt he should save 200 Eternal Gold as a precaution after considering the Guilds daily operations. You can take out 1,000 Gold right now? Xia Qingying was dumbfounded by Shi Fengs answer. As far as she knew, the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers operating in the current Eternal Realm had, at most, 600 Eternal Gold available on hand. Moreover, these were the wealthier upper-ranking hegemonic powers. The average upper-ranking hegemonic power would only have around 300 Eternal Gold to spare. After all, players would frequently enter combat out in the current Eternal Realm. Moreover, the various powers needed to purchase Secret Treasures for their core experts. As a result, they could only afford to retain a limited amount of liquid assets. On the current market, so long as players could sell Eternal Gold in batches of 200 or 300 coins, they could sell each Eternal Gold for one million Star Coins. In other words, 1,000 Eternal Gold would amount to one billion Star Coins! In terms of liquid assets, Zero Wing was even wealthier than the Green God Corporation! If its not enough, I can gather another 3,000 Gold if you give me a few more days, Shi Feng said. He had already doubled the pricing for the second batch of the Secret Crystal Trading Firms membership slots. He was also making about four to five hundred Eternal Gold from commissions every day. So, he would have no difficulties gathering 3,000 Eternal Gold in three days. You can gather another 3,000? Xia Qingying started to feel a little overwhelmed. Four thousand Eternal Gold! That was four billion Star Coins they were talking about! Not to mention, even with four billion Star Coins, one wouldnt necessarily be able to purchase 4,000 Eternal Gold. After all, Secret Treasures had already appeared on the market, and the various players and powers were frantically raising funds to purchase them. So, very few players and powers were willing to sell their Eternal Coins. In the current Eternal Realm, only apex powers could probably take out so many Eternal Coins at a time. Is it still not enough? Shi Feng was a little astonished when he saw Xia Qingyings expression. Although he didnt know the current market value of Eternal Coins, he felt that 4,000 Eternal Gold should be worth 500 million Star Coins at the very least. Enough! Its definitely enough! Xia Qingying said excitedly after snapping out of her daze. If Zero Wing can take out 4,000 Eternal Gold, I have a huge deal that can not only let Zero Wing earn a large sum of Star Coins but also ten drops of Stardew! Ten drops of Stardew? Shi Fengs heart stirred when he heard these words. Stardew was an exceedingly precious resource in the Greater World, and it was one of the few treasures that could assist the growth of mental strength grandmasters. Although the various third-tier cities allowed the members of their respective city legions to exchange Stardew at the price of one million contribution points per drop, members were only limited to one drop every three to five years. This was also why many experts would migrate to higher-ranked mobile cities when given the opportunity. In second-tier cities, legion members were allowed to exchange one drop of Stardew per year. That was a vastly better privilege than what third-tier cities provided. If he could get his hands on ten drops of Stardew, he could progress to the two-star grandmaster standard within a short time, and Zero Wing could also produce several additional mental strength grandmasters. This would greatly help Zero Wings future development in the Greater World. Guilds in the Greater World couldnt expand simply because they wanted to. It was especially so if they sought to establish branches in the various mobile cities. Before a Guild could expand, it would have to get its rank evaluated by the Gods Domain Association. Going by the Gods Domain Associations standards, Guilds with fewer than ten mental strength grandmasters or no three-star grandmasters or above would be deemed as Class 3, and they would only be allowed to develop in third-tier cities. Moreover, they could only set up bases in a maximum of three cities. If a Guild wished to expand its territory beyond this limit, it must be recognized as a Class 2 Guild first. To reach Class 2, a Guild would need at least ten mental strength grandmasters and one two-star grandmaster or above. And once a Guild reached Class 2, it could set up bases in a limited number of second-tier cities and an unlimited number of third-tier cities. As for reaching Class 1, a Guild would need to have five three-star grandmasters under its command. It would also need to have at least 500 mental strength grandmasters. Only then would it be qualified to expand into first-tier cities. Currently, Shi Feng was the only mental strength grandmaster in Zero Wing, while Gentle Snow and the others were still three-star masters. So, even if there was an opportunity to expand into a second-tier city right before their eyes, there would be nothing they could do. While there was the option of defying the Gods Domain Associations arrangement, that was something Shi Feng dared not do. In fact, even the various apex powers wouldnt dare to do such a thing. This was because nobody would dare to doubt the strength of an organization that spanned across every town and city in the Greater World. Anyway, if he could get his hands on ten drops of Stardew, with the growth potential of Zero Wings members, Zero Wing could become a Class 2 Guild within a short period. At that time, Zero Wing could expand into a second-tier city and recruit even more talents. It could also purchase training sources from the Gods Domain Association that werent normally available to Class 3 Guilds. Three days! I will get 4,000 Gold for you in three days! Shi Feng confidently said as he looked at Xia Qingying. Three days shouldnt be a problem, Xia Qingying said, nodding. I can use this time to prepare for the personnel recruitment. I will give you an address within the Eternal Realm three days later. At that time, you just need to head over there to transfer the coins to me. I will have to trouble you with that, then, Miss Xia, Shi Feng said, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. If he missed this opportunity to obtain the ten drops of Stardew, he would probably have to wait until the first batch of Divine Engravers appeared before he would get another opportunity to obtain so much Stardew. Moreover, he would put himself at great risk of exposure. Following this, Shi Feng began discussing the details of recruiting personnel from the various cities with Xia Qingying, ensuring they handled everything with absolute secrecy. Before Zero Wing became fully developed, he absolutely couldnt afford to let others know that Zero Wing could cultivate Divine Engravers. Otherwise, it would be the end of the road for Zero Wing. Two hours after Shi Feng and Xia Qingying concluded their discussions, several advanced levitating cars parked outside of the Green God Corporations branch headquarters in Silver Frost City. Then, bodyguards in suits stepped out of the cars one after another, each wearing the emblem specially assigned to the bodyguards working at the Green God Corporations main headquarters. Every one of these bodyguards also radiated the aura of a two-star grandmaster. Once all of these bodyguards stepped out of the levitating cars, a white-robed old man stepped out of the car parked in the middle. When the various powers mental strength grandmasters secretly observing this group from afar felt this old mans presence, they couldnt help but gasp. A three-star grandmaster! The big shot from the Green God Corporations black ops came in person? Xia Qingying is doomed this time. A corporation will never deploy its black ops unless its for a critical situation. Chapter 3492 - Chapter 566 - Crazed Green God Corporation Chapter 566 C Crazed Green God Corporation Silver Frost City, City Lords Manor: The City Lords Manor was situated on a floating island hovering three thousand meters above Silver Frost City. Currently, Xiao Quan stood atop the stadium-sized manors rooftop, inhaling the Singular Energy surrounding him as he gazed over the city. After taking a few rhythmic breaths of the Singular Energy that was several times denser than what was available in the city, Xiao Quan took off his coat and jumped into the rooftop swimming pool. The swimming pool was filled with Frost Water, and Xiao Quans mind experienced unprecedented clarity when he meditated in it. After soaking for more than ten minutes, Xiao Quan suddenly opened his eyes. At the same time, his aura underwent a qualitative transformation, and his tall figure started to shrink a little. If before he was a mighty tiger, now he was only a nimble leopard. When Xiao Quans transformation concluded, a young woman in her twenties approached him. The woman had an attractive face and devilish figure, and she wore a light blue skirt highlighting her long legs. Congratulations on becoming a two-star limit grandmaster, Vice Commander Xiao Quan. With this, it will be time for Commander Nangong to step down from his position, the woman said with a playful smile. She looked at Xiao Quan as if she were looking at a toy, her face lacking any traces of reverence or respect for the young master of Silver Frost City. How rare of you to visit me, Cang Sha, Xiao Quan said as he looked at the devilish woman, a hint of indifference in his voice. Could she have more instructions for me? Her Highness is very busy. It is already rare that she would have me contact you even once. How could she possibly have the time to care about the trivial matters here? the devilish woman named Cang Sha said, laughing. I am only here to inform you that that person from the Green God Corporations black ops has arrived. Isnt that to be expected? Xiao Quan nonchalantly responded. The Green God Corporation is currently on the brink of being purged from Silver Frost City, and many of its partners from the various third-tier cities have already announced the withdrawal of their investments. If the Green God Corporations main headquarters still remained silent, do you think it can still keep its branch in Silver Frost City? Because of Xia Qingyings stunt during the talent fair, the Green God Corporation offended not only many of its partnered powers but also Silver Frost Citys City Lord. If the corporation didnt do anything about Xia Qingying, there would be no end to this matter. However, as Xia Qingying was a Senior Vice President of the Green God Corporation, not just anyone could be sent to deal with her. Only the corporations black ops, which operated directly under the Green God Corporations Chairman, would be qualified to do so. Or are you here to tell me that the Green God Corporation is looking to negotiate with me? Xiao Quan suddenly chuckled. If they want to negotiate, sure. Have Xia Qingying kneel in front of my door for a day and bring me that Shi Feng. If they can do that, I might just reconsider. The Green God Corporation was only a second-rate corporation in the Greater World. It wasnt even qualified to expand into a first-tier city. In fact, it was entirely due to a stroke of luck that it even managed to expand into Silver Frost City in the first place. If the Green God Corporation were to be removed from Silver Frost City, its status and influence in the Greater World would take a huge hit. At that time, it might even risk losing its branch headquarters in other second-tier cities. After all, competition within second-tier cities was incredibly intense. Should any party show even a moment of weakness, the other powers in the city would definitely capitalize on the situation and gang up on it. No, thats not the case, Cang Sha said, shaking her head. Then, she playfully grinned and continued, Less than ten minutes after the VIP arrived, he left the Green God Corporations building without expressing anything. Xia Qingying is still sitting in the position of Senior Vice President as we speak. What?! Cang Shas revelation stunned Xiao Quan. A corporation would only ever mobilize its black ops during critical times. Not to mention, the Green God Corporation had gone as far as to mobilize that three-star grandmaster this time. Even his father would have to treat that person as an equal. So, it wouldnt even be surprising if that person crippled Xia Qingying on the spot. Yet, he was now being told that Xia Qingying had suffered no consequences for her actions Seeing the shock on Xiao Quans face, Cang Shas smile widened as she continued, Oh, the Green God Corporation also announced that it would not withdraw from Silver Frost City. On the contrary, the Green God Corporation has stated that if you and the various powers executives do not apologize to Guild Leader Shi Feng, it will cease all transactions with Silver Frost City and the various powers! Have the people at Green God Corporation lost their minds?! Xiao Quan burst into a peal of angry laughter. They want me to apologize? And they want to cut off all transactions with Silver Frost City? I want to see just who will be the first to surrender! Silver Frost City controlled all trades within the region it occupied. Once Silver Frost City announced the termination of trade with a particular power, none of the mobile towns and cities within the region would dare to continue doing trade with said power. At that time, nobody would even dare approach the Green God Corporations building, let alone assist its development in Silver Frost City. Anyway, thats all I have to say about the Green God Corporation. Suddenly, Cang Sha spoke in a serious tone, Dont forget Her Highnesss task. If you fail to complete it, I will take over for you. Dont say I never reminded you. You only have this one chance. Your concerns are unnecessary! Xiao Quan coldly said. Since that bastard dares to ruin my plans, I will make him regret ever setting foot into Silver Frost City! I will even make Star Lake Citys City Lord kick him out! Star Lake City was one of the third-tier cities operating within Silver Frost Citys territory. So long as he gave the word, he could immediately have ten or more third-tier cities initiate a simulation war with Star Lake City. Would Star Lake City dare face ten third-tier cities? So long as Star Lake City dared to do so, it would immediately be cut off from its energy resources. Star Lake Citys City Lord would never take such a risk unless he were a fool. Meanwhile, on a large supersonic passenger plane departing Silver Frost City The plane that could normally accommodate hundreds of passengers was currently occupied by only several dozen people from the Green God Corporation. As a result, the planes interior felt quite empty. Elder Xinwu, didnt you have something important to discuss with Miss Xia? a beautiful and intellectual woman asked as she looked at the white-robed old man beside her. Why would you suddenly drag a pitiful alchemist like me out all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong? Also, this isnt the way to the main headquarters. Can you stop teasing this old man, little girl? You are our worlds only Great Grandmaster Alchemist, so why do you still behave like a child? Xinwu said as he rolled his eyes at the woman. As for where were headed, it isnt the main headquarters, but I assure you it is somewhere nice. Somewhere nice? Where are we going? the woman asked, her curiosity piqued. Star Lake City! Xinwu said, chuckling as he stroked his beard. Star Lake City? The woman tried to recall the names of the various cities of this region. Then, she asked in confusion, Isnt that a third-tier city? Moreover, isnt that the city where Zero Wing is based? Why are you taking me there? Yes, that is the city where Zero Wing is based. As for why we are headed there Xinwu nodded. On behalf of the Green God Corporation, I ask that you join Zero Wing, Silent Wonder! You want me to join Zero Wing? Are you joking with me, Elder Xinwu? Silent Wonder couldnt help but look at the old man next to her as if the other party had gone senile. It should be known that the Green God Corporation had originally arranged for her to join the Galaxy Conglomerate. She had only been staying in Silver Frost City because the conglomerate had a recruitment point set up there, and she was waiting for the conglomerate to start recruitment. I am not joking, and neither have I gone senile, Xinwu said, his gaze turning solemn as he recalled the item Xia Qingying had previously shown him in private. Even as a three-star mental strength grandmaster, seeing that item for the first time still gave him goosebumps. This is, without a doubt, the best path for you! Chapter 3493 - Chapter 567 - Surpassing the Apex Chapter 567 C Surpassing the Apex Greater World, Star Lake City: After Shi Feng concluded his discussions with Xia Qingying, he traveled by plane to Star Lake City with Silk Radish and Jade River. When they arrived outside the Zero Wing Training Center, the two girls couldnt help but be shocked by the long line of people waiting outside the entrance. Paragons! At this time, the geniuses and paragons that the Green God Corporation had painstakingly nurtured in Silver Frost City were gathered outside the Zero Wing Training Center, each waiting for their turn to take Zero Wings recruitment test. Even Pace Angel and Clay Blade, who were tasked with managing the training center, were dumbfounded by this situation. Many of these geniuses and paragons were either members of the Silver Frost Legion or those looking to join the Silver Frost Legion previously. So, the average talent and strength of these individuals were significantly greater than the Star Lake Legions members. Moreover, one of the Silver Frost Legions vice commanders was even among these people! This was the vice commander of a second-tier city legion they were talking about! Normally, if such a big shot were to join a third-tier city, the city would give them the position of reserve commander without hesitation. Yet, such an individual had come to join Zero Wing. This situation shocked not only Pace Angel and Clay Blade but also the Star Lake Legions members and the various powers secretly observing Zero Wing. Fire Dance! Isnt she the Silver Frost Legions Fifth Vice Commander? Purple Jade had difficulties keeping her mouth closed when she saw a familiar figure waiting in line outside the Zero Wing Training Center. Why is she here in Star Lake City? When the Green God Corporation had previously decided to select a group of experts to enter the Greater World ahead of time, it had gone out of its way to ask Fire Dance, who was serving as a vice commander in Silver Frost Citys city legion, to make a trip back to their homeworld. The corporation had done so to let the chosen candidates, Purple Jade included, know the gap in strength between their homeworlds experts and the Greater Worlds experts. Although Fire Dance was only a Tier 5 Assassin at the time, when the chosen candidates fought her in simulation warfare, none managed to last more than three moves against her. Indeed! Even though all of the chosen candidates were Tier 6 God-ranked experts, none managed to last more than three moves against Fire Dance. Their performance at the time was nothing but a joke, and their perception of the Greater Worlds experts was completely refreshed. Although they had already entered the Greater World and joined the Star Lake City for some time, they still didnt think they could last more than three moves against Fire Dance. Yet, now, such a monster had come to join Zero Wing? Meanwhile, standing next to the Secret Pavilions Purple Jade, the Witch of the West Alice, who was good friends with Purple Jade, was also in shock. However, her shock stemmed from a different reason. Or, more specifically, a different person. The person in question was a beautiful woman without a mighty aura. Instead, her appearance radiated intelligence and elegance, and it was obvious she wasnt an expert player at first glance. Even so, Alice couldnt help but rub her eyes when she saw this woman. Great Grandmaster Alchemist Silent Wonder! Why is she joining Zero Wing as well? Confusion colored Alices golden eyes when she saw Silent Wonder waiting in line outside the Zero Wing Training Center. Didnt that guy only leave for a short while? What in the world did he do? When Silent Wonder was still only a Grandmaster Alchemist, the Five Great Super Guilds had already frantically tried to recruit her. Ultimately, though, Silent Wonder joined the Green God Corporation after the latter extended an olive branch to her. Now that Silent Wonder had already become a Great Grandmaster Alchemist, she could be regarded as a prominent figure even in the Greater Gods Domain, and the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would be more than willing to extend an olive branch to her. All Silent Wonder needed to do was take her pick. Yet, rather than join an upper-ranking hegemonic power, Silent Wonder was now joining Zero Wing Is it really fine for us to join Zero Wing, Big Brother Shi Feng? Silk Radish worriedly asked Shi Feng when she saw the people waiting to enter the Zero Wing Training Center. Beside Silk Radish, Jade River also couldnt help but grow anxious. Originally, they had been thrilled that they could finally stay in a third-tier city in the Greater World. Although they had relied on connections to achieve it, they were confident they wouldnt lose to a third-tier citys geniuses by much. However, after seeing the people waiting in line, they could no longer maintain their composure. Currently, neither of them was even a one-star mental strength master. In contrast, every person queued up outside the Zero Wing Training Center was a three-star master, with some even being one-star grandmasters. In addition, many of the Lifestyle players waiting in line were at the Grandmaster standard, a stark contrast to the two of them, who were only at the Basic Master standard. If they were to join Zero Wing in their current state, could they even survive the competition? Dont worry. You two should be fine, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at the two anxious girls. Silk Radishs potential need not be mentioned. During Shi Fengs previous life, everybody knew about her. As for Jade River, while she wasnt as talented as Silk Radish, she was still one of the few people who became both a Great Grandmaster Magician and a Great Grandmaster Forger. The Nine Refinements Witch! Because Shi Feng was busy dealing with Demons Gates relentless attempt to hunt him down during his previous life, he didnt have much energy to spare on recruiting the talents of his homeworld. This led to many of his homeworlds geniuses and paragons joining other powers. Now, though, as if fate was playing a trick on him, not only were his old comrades looking to join the current Zero Wing, but even the geniuses and paragons he had missed out on were also joining Zero Wing. Combined with the Book of Eternity he had obtained in this life, he was confident he could put up a good fight against Demons Gate in the future. However, following the addition of these players to Zero Wing, Shi Feng also couldnt help but grow worried. The Zero Wing in his previous life had entered the Greater World with his entire homeworlds support. As a result, the Guild established itself in the Greater Gods Domain early on and occupied many resource nodes. In contrast, the current Zero Wing had entered the Greater World with virtually nothing to its name. The Guild didnt even have enough Star Coins to purchase Life Potions, let alone Stardew, which was vital in the rapid development of mental strength and body cells. While the geniuses and paragons currently looking to join Zero Wing possessed astonishing talent, they still needed sufficient resources to exhibit their strength and potential properly. Otherwise, their growth and future would become stifled. Four thousand Gold! I must gather 4,000 Gold in three days! When Shi Feng looked at the long line outside the Zero Wing Training Center, a hint of resolve appeared in his eyes. Money and resources were vital for developing any Guild in the Greater World. If he could secure the Star Coins and ten drops of Stardew Xia Qingying had promised him, he could elevate Zero Wing to the next level within a short period. Subsequently, Shi Feng took Silk Radish and Jade River to tour the Zero Wing Training Center. Although the Zero Wing Training Center was only a third-tier citys training center, it was a large training center with five advanced combat simulation rooms and fifteen special living quarters. Even in a second-tier mobile city, these facilities could only be accessed after waiting for a long time and spending a significant amount of city contribution points. Normally, members of second-tier city legions and core members of powers based in second-tier cities could only use these facilities two or three times a month. After all, even second-tier cities had limited advanced combat simulation rooms and special living quarters. Currently, Zero Wing didnt have many members in Star Lake City, so five advanced combat simulation rooms and fifteen special living quarters would be enough to let Zero Wings members enjoy a usage rate similar to the city legion members of second-rate cities. This privilege surprised even Fire Dance and Silent Wonder when they joined Zero Wing. They didnt think that a Guild that had only entered the Greater World recently could rent a large training center in Star Lake City. Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye. During these three days, Shi Feng spent most of his time producing Basic Divine Pattern Designs in the Crystal City of Secrets, his efforts pushing him to Level 160. At the same time, he secretly had Zero Wings core female members attempt the Goddess Armaments trials, hoping that one could conquer all twelve trials. I made 4,585 Gold in three days. The income generated from the trading firms commissions is much higher than I initially expected. If I can successfully get my hands on the promised Stardew, I can try to challenge Tier 6. When Shi Feng looked at his own level, a hint of excitement welled up within him. Although he still wasnt 100% confident he could create a Legendary Divine Body, he had come up with many more ideas after learning the Law of Space. If he could activate his brain cells with the help of Stardew, he could give the challenge a try. If he succeeded, he could occupy a spot for Zero Wing in the World Mode Regional Dungeon Hundred Eyes Canyon, which would, in turn, allow Zero Wing to become one of the dominant powers in the Crystal City of Secrets. When Shi Feng thought of making another Basic Divine Pattern Design, Xia Qingying messaged him a set of coordinates. The coordinates pointed to a location within the Crystal City, and she urged him to head to the location to conduct their transaction immediately. Chapter 3494 - Chapter 568 - Ten Great Sword Gods Chapter 568 C Ten Great Sword Gods Crystal City of Secrets, outer area: Numerous flying ships could be seen coming to and from the Crystal Citys airport. The arriving flying ships, in particular, were packed with players. These players wore excited looks on their faces, and they promptly dashed toward the Underground Crystal Palace as soon as they disembarked, all hoping to make a fortune inside the secret land. Two days ago, news of the first Extraordinary Secret Treasure to have ever appeared in the Underground Crystal Palace spread. The Secret Treasure was found in the secret lands Level 160 area, and its appearance had shaken the entire Eternal Realm. At the same time, it raised the significance of high-ranking Secret Treasures to a whole new level. Common Secret Treasures only increased Mana Protection, whereas Combat Secret Treasures provided an additional boost to the attached weapon or equipments Basic Attributes. While these bonuses could improve players strength, they werent so significant that one article would be enough to let players undergo a qualitative improvement. To achieve that, players would have to be fully equipped with Common or Combat Secret Treasures. However, it was a different story for Extraordinary Secret Treasures! Not only did Extraordinary Secret Treasures improve Mana Protection and Basic Attributes, but they also came attached with Special Abilities! In Gods Domain, many weapons and equipment had Additional Skills, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that any item at the Epic rank or above would have Additional Skills. Meanwhile, these Additional Skills added to the Skill and Spell repertoire of players, raising their overall combat power. The only problem was that these Additional Skills had Cooldowns and limited durations. However, Special Abilities did not have a Cooldown. They acted more like Talents than Skills. An example of Talent would be the elf races mana affinity. Elves were innately more sensitive to mana than the average human, and they also had an easier time manipulating mana. Because of this, many magical class experts would actively choose to change their race to the elf race. However, opportunities to convert into an elf were few and far between. For most players, they could only choose to convert into a half-elf. Of course, while the mana affinity of half-elves wasnt as good as that of pure-blooded elves, it was still better than that of the average human. So, converting into a half-elf was still a good choice for most players. But now, it became possible to obtain Special Abilities, which were closely similar to Talents, through an Extraordinary Secret Treasure. This could be a life-changing opportunity for any player! Indeed! A life-changing opportunity! Many players would fail to reach the peak or apex because they were lacking in certain aspects. So long as they could find a solution to their weaknesses, they could break out of their stagnated growth, and becoming a peak expert or even an apex expert would no longer be out of the question. Meanwhile, the Special Abilities of Extraordinary Secret Treasures could very well be the solution these experts needed. Normally, once players had exhausted their potential, unless they could get their hands on a Divine Artifact or Fragmented Divine Artifact, it would no longer be possible for them to raise their standings in the Greater Gods Domains strength hierarchy. For example, no matter how many Legendary Weapons and Equipment a fourth-floor expert equipped, they would always be seen as inferior to fifth-floor experts in the publics eye. It was even more so in the eyes of the various powers. After all, the acquisition of Legendary Weapons and Equipment wasnt a problem for them. What mattered most to them was a players combat standard. However, with the discovery of Extraordinary Secret Treasures, rewriting ones destiny would no longer be a privilege exclusive to only a select few individuals in the Greater Gods Domain. With the assistance of Extraordinary Secret Treasures, it also became possible for the masses to compensate for their weaknesses, undergo qualitative transformations, and ultimately rewrite their lives. As a result, many of the Eternal Realms expert players flocked to the Crystal City of Secrets in the hopes that they could obtain an Extraordinary Secret Treasure from the Underground Crystal Palace. After Shi Feng arrived at the coordinates Xia Qingying sent him, about a dozen or so cloaked players approached him. Although these players had concealed their appearances, their every action showed that they were at the fifth-floor standard. The woman in the lead was even a Saint-ranked expert. So, it was you? No wonder you can gather so much money so quickly, the woman in the lead commented, a hint of realization appearing in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. May I know your name, Miss? Shi Feng asked as he looked at the unfamiliar woman before him. Billowing Water, the woman replied in a quiet tone.[1] Billowing Water? Shi Feng promptly recalled something upon hearing the womans name, and he couldnt help but be surprised as he asked, The Blaze Conglomerates Heart Sword? The Blaze Conglomerate was a Cross-Realm Conglomerate rivaling the Galaxy Conglomerate. Meanwhile, Heart Sword Billowing Water was one of the Blaze Conglomerates two Taboos during his previous life. The wielder of the Formless Twilight! Formless Twilight was a very special Divine Artifact. Even when it was still a Fragmented Divine Artifact, it did not have any fixed form, and it only had two abilities. The first ability allowed the wielder to transform Formless Twilight into any sword. The second ability allowed the wielder to create multiple swords, and the number and type of swords created were up to the wielders imagination. When Billowing Water initially got her hands on the Fragmented Divine Artifact-ranked Formless Twilight, her strength had undergone an earth-shattering change. Even though she did not master any Gold Combat Techniques, she could defeat experts who did. After Formless Twilight was upgraded into a Divine Artifact, Billowing Water even surpassed War Goddesses when it came to offensive capabilities. Back then, Billowing Water had defeated five of the Seven Luminaries Alliances Grand Elders consecutively. The Seven Luminaries Alliance had even labeled her as one of the Greater Gods Domains Ten Great Sword Gods later on, putting her on the same level as Wordless Ember. Currently, Shi Feng could not see Billowing Water carrying any weapon, so it was evident that she had already obtained the rumored Formless Twilight. Even if the weapon was only a Fragmented Divine Artifact right now, it should still enable her to fight against any apex expert without fear. So, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine why Billowing Water needed to conceal her appearance to meet him. Thats right, I am the Heart Sword, Billowing Water said, nodding. Then, after taking a good look at Shi Feng, she continued, You are quite strong. Aside from the promised 4,000 Gold, would you be interested in making another deal with me? It is a rather significant transaction. Significant? How significant is it? Shi Feng smiled. Have you ever heard of the Forbidden Zone? Billowing Water quietly asked. Shi Fengs eyes immediately lit up upon hearing the name Billowing Water mentioned. Then, doing his best to lower his voice, he asked, Do you know how to reach the Forbidden Zone? The Forbidden Zone was considered a secret in the current Eternal Realm, and players could learn of it through high-tiered NPCs. According to these NPCs, the Forbidden Zone was simply a place situated outside the Eternal Continent, and it was referred to as such by the Gods of old. However, so long as one did a little digging, one would find that the Forbidden Zone wasnt simply a place situated outside the Eternal Continent. Instead, the term referred to the two other major continents that existed in the Eternal Realm. Contrary to popular belief, the Eternal Realm didnt only consist of the Eternal Continent. Instead, there existed three major continents. Apart from the northern continent that human players resided on, there were two other continents in the west and south. Players of a foreign race occupied these two continents, and the two continents possessed vastly different civilizations and resources. Of the two other continents, the western continent was closest to the northern continent. It was also a place whose environment was closest to rivaling the environment of the Greater Gods Domains Mythical Era. It should be known that humans of the Mythical Era had a much easier time getting promoted to Tier 6. Moreover, the western continent held World Fragments that couldnt be found on the northern continent, and these were precious treasures that could help players master World Laws! Unfortunately, it was incredibly difficult to venture into the Forbidden Zone. Even Tier 6 players could not force their way there and could only rely on special means. TL Notes: [1]Billowing Water/Weilan: She is Yan Huas daughter briefly mentioned in Chapter 486. I am uncertain if Weilan is her real name or character name, but since Yan Hua is the one who mentioned it, Im guessing that it is her real name. It would be rather strange for a father to refer to his daughter by her in-game name. Regardless, to make it easier to remember her, I have decided to use a translated version of her name when in the game, similar to Gentle Snows case. [2]Gods of old(ϵ): I have no idea which type of God this is referring to. Im assuming its a little bit of all three categories? Fyi, As you can see, ϵ has a little bit of everything. [3]Mythical Era: Era of the Ancient Gods Chapter 3495 - Chapter 569 - Forbidden Zone Chapter 569 C Forbidden Zone Big Sis Billow, isnt it inappropriate to tell an outsider this secret? Before Billowing Water could answer Shi Fengs question, a male demidragon standing behind her suddenly interrupted. The demidragon in question was a Level 160, Tier 5 Guardian Knight, and he carried a large and heavy shield on his back. At the same time, the several elderly Saint-ranked experts present frowned. They were evidently dissatisfied with Billowing Waters decision. Information pertaining to the Forbidden Zone was of utmost importance to the Blaze Conglomerate. Yet, Billowing Water had abruptly decided to share this secret with an outsider without even consulting with anyone else. Its fine. Ill be able to reap more profits if we can have an additional companion, Billowing Water answered the young demidragon. Then, she smiled at Shi Feng and continued, Moreover, with Guild Leader Black Flames connections, Im sure it wouldnt be difficult for him to find a way to the Forbidden Zone. What do you think, Guild Leader Black Flame? Are you interested in my offer? Id be lying if I said I wasnt interested, Shi Feng said as he looked at Billowing Water in surprise. May I know what deal you intend to make, Miss Billow? Contrary to Billowing Waters words, information on the Forbidden Zone was by no means easy to obtain. Otherwise, there wouldnt have been so many powers and Tier 6 players who couldnt set foot into the Forbidden Zone in his previous life. Even in the current Eternal Realm, there would be many conglomerates and pseudo-apex powers whod be more than willing to cooperate with Billowing Water should they know that the latter knew how to get to the Forbidden Zone. So, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine why Billowing Water would take the initiative to collaborate with him. Simple. Chuckling, Billowing Water said, I can take you to the Forbidden Zone, but in exchange, all of your earnings during this trip will belong to me. Or, you can pay me 300 Eternal Gold, and you will only have to give half of your earnings to me. Three hundred Eternal Gold and half of my earnings for an entry slot? Shi Feng was a little taken aback. In the current Eternal Realm, an expenditure of 300 Eternal Gold was significant to any upper-ranking hegemonic power. Such a large expenditure might adversely impact an upper-ranking hegemonic powers development. After all, 300 Eternal Gold was already enough to purchase two or three shops in the Crystal City of Secrets central district. If you cant afford the 300 Gold, you can always go with the first option, Guild Leader Black Flame, Billowing Water said with a smile. Not to mention, this condition will only stay in effect for your first trip. You wont have to pay me anything the second time you head to the Forbidden Zone. That wont be necessary. I will pay the 300 Gold, Shi Feng stated. Billowing Waters condition of 300 Eternal Gold and half of his earnings might be a steep price, but the sooner he could enter the Forbidden Zone, the sooner he could get his hands on treasures such as the World Fragments. That way, Zero Wing could also have a better future ahead of it. Tier 6 was a big threshold to cross in the Greater Gods Domain. Tier 6 players were also the basis of how the various powers were evaluated. During his previous life, the appearance of World Fragments had reduced the difficulty of getting promoted to Tier 6 for many players. If Zero Wing could get its hands on a World Fragment early on, it might even be able to catch up to the various apex powers in terms of Tier 6 player count. You are a decisive man, Guild Leader Black Flame. Billowing Water was not particularly surprised to hear Shi Feng choosing to pay 300 Eternal Gold. Though, she did feel a little disappointed. Lets write up a contract, then. There were limitless business opportunities in the Forbidden Zone. As the leader of a Guild, it wasnt strange for Shi Feng to be willing to bet 300 Eternal Gold on these opportunities. But at the same time, such a decision could also be considered very foolish. Subsequently, Shi Feng and Billowing Water signed a Gods Domain Contract, and Shi Feng paid 300 Eternal Gold to Billowing Water. Besides that, Billowing Water also spent three billion Star Coins and ten drops of Stardew to purchase 4,000 Eternal Gold from Shi Feng. Essentially, Billowing Water had sold the Stardews for 100 million Star Coins per drop. It should be known that purchasing Stardews was normally impossible. Only someone of Billowing Waters stature would be willing to make such a generous offer. Inside a VIP room of a flying ship departing the Crystal City of Secrets Big Sis Billow, dont tell me you agreed to bring that guy along simply because of 300 Gold. The other powers will most likely make fun of us if they learn of this, the demidragon youth asked in confusion as he watched Billowing Water fiddle around with an Eternal Gold Coin. While Eternal Coins were indeed important to them, they werent so desperate that they would take an outsider to the Forbidden Zone just for 300 Eternal Gold. It should be known that if they offered the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers an opportunity to enter the Forbidden Zone, those powers would be more than willing to pay five or six hundred Eternal Gold. At most, they would have to pay in installments. Exactly. Black Flame only ranks 11th on the Sacred Glory List, Big Sis Billow. Even if we bring him with us, there isnt much he can do to help us. The other youths in the room agreed with the demidragon youth and looked at Billowing Water curiously. They were members of the younger generation secretly nurtured by the Blaze Conglomerate, and they idolized Billowing Water, the conglomerates First Successor. Many of them even started their journey in Gods Domain alongside Billowing Water. So, they had a good understanding of Billowing Waters personality. In the general publics eye, being ranked 11th on the Sacred Glory List was indeed an impressive achievement. However, such an achievement wasnt anything noteworthy in their social circle. If not for the various conglomerates being reluctant to expose all their cards and nurturing some of their geniuses and paragons in secret, they would have long monopolized the Luminous Glory List and Sacred Glory List. A person ranked 11th on the Sacred Glory List naturally isnt worth my attention, Billowing Water said. Then, her expression suddenly turning serious, she continued, But my old man suddenly went crazy and decided to have my little sister join Zero Wing, telling her to become one of Zero Wings internal members. The youths in the room were momentarily stunned when they heard Billowing Waters answer. The Fourth Young Miss was told to join Zero Wing? Wasnt the Fourth Young Miss supposed to join Star Dynasty? The little sister mentioned by Billowing Water was the Blaze Conglomerates youngest successor. She was also the pearl of the Blaze Conglomerate, and her overall talent was only slightly inferior to her elder sister Billowing Water. When it came to mental strength, she was even superior to Billowing Water. Logically, even if the Fourth Young Miss failed to inherit the Blaze Conglomerate, the conglomerate would still try its best to put her in the executive position of a pseudo-apex power. This would, in turn, strengthen the Blaze Conglomerates position in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, the Fourth Young Miss was now being told to join Zero Wing Big Sis Billow, does that mean you are At this time, the demidragon youth suddenly came to a realization. Are you trying to show Black Flames limits to Lord Yan Hua? The Forbidden Zone was a dangerous place, and players couldnt survive there without sufficient strength. That is my intention. Billowing Water nodded. The old man isnt in the Eternal Realm, so he has no idea how much strength the various powers have hidden here. And since I cant talk him out of his decision, my only option is to show him how laughable Black Flame is when he is put among the monsters in the Forbidden Zone. Hearing Billowing Waters words, the youths present burst into laughter. They had experienced a similar baptism when they first visited the Forbidden Zone not too long ago. Now, it was the 11th-ranked Sacred Glory experts turn. Chapter 3496 - Chapter 570 - Superior Demigod Chapter 570 C Superior Demigod Twenty-nine hours after the flying ship left the Crystal City of Secrets, Shi Feng, Billowing Water, and the others arrived at a coastal NPC City. After disembarking from the flying ship, Billowing Water summoned a Four-Winged Frost Dragon, a Basic Legendary Flying Mount, and flew everyone across a misty ocean for three hours before arriving at a giant floating island. Torrents of chaotic energy flowed through the area where the floating island was situated. These energy torrents were incredibly powerful, and even Tier 5 players would be vulnerable to them. If players dared get close to these chaotic energy torrents, they would quickly have their mana sapped out of their bodies, causing them to grow weak and disoriented. However, the floating island acted as a safe haven for players, surrounded by magic arrays that diverted the chaotic energy that swept through the area. Were here, Billowing Water stated as she stopped the forty-meter-long Frost Dragon outside a magnificent temple hovering above the floating island. The temple was situated outside the floating islands protection, so chaotic energy torrents enveloped it completely. However, when the Four-Winged Frost Dragon landed, the energy torrents started to actively avoid the temple and let the Frost Dragon land inside. Welcome to the Eternal Temple. To teleport to the Forbidden Zone, each person must pay 150 Eternal Gold. The teleportation procedure will only begin once 200 people have gathered. When the Frost Dragon landed inside the temple, a 500-man team immediately greeted it. All 500 members of this team were fifth-floor experts at Level 158, Tier 5 or above. They were also equipped in standardized Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets, and there were faint mana circuits connecting these 500 equipment sets and forming a large Bronze Battle Array. The battle array not only allowed these 500 players to share their senses, but it also provided a qualitative improvement to their Basic Attributes. Under the effects of the Bronze Battle Array, these 500 Tier 5 players felt like 500 Tier 6 players. The combined aura they exuded was powerful enough to scare even actual Tier 6 players into fleeing. The Luminous Battle Array? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw the standardized equipment of the 500 players. The Luminous Battle Array! It was one of the well-known battle arrays owned by the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Although the complete Luminous Battle Array required 500 players to form, once formed, it allowed all of the players in the battle array to transcend tiers. It was, without a doubt, a tactical-class battle array. Unfortunately, while the Luminous Battle Array was amazing, it couldnt be mass-produced as the Luminous Set, the Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set required to form the battle array, was incredibly hard to produce. The materials required to produce it were exceedingly rare, and even the Seven Luminaries Alliance had only managed to produce 5,000 sets in total during Shi Fengs previous life. Normally, the Luminous Battle Array could only be seen being used at the Seven Luminaries Alliances Holy City, which also served as the alliances main headquarters, and three secret lands. If news spread that the Seven Luminaries Alliance used one of its Luminous Battle Arrays to guard only a temple, it would definitely shock the entire Greater Gods Domain. However, when Shi Feng heard the teleportation fee the Seven Luminaries Alliance was charging, he could understand why the Seven Luminaries Alliance would station such a frightening force in the Eternal Temple. The fee of 150 Eternal Gold per person had already transcended the realm of daylight robbery. While he was still feeling gleeful over making several hundred Eternal Gold per day through the Secret Crystal Trading Firm, the Seven Luminaries Alliance was making 30,000 Eternal Gold from every batch of players it teleported Honestly, he wouldnt even find it surprising if the Seven Luminaries Alliance had mobilized two or three complete Luminous Battle Arrays to protect the Eternal Temple, let alone one. As for Billowing Water, this wasnt her first time visiting the Eternal Temple, so she was unfazed by the Seven Luminaries Alliances teleportation fee. After calmly jumping off the Frost Dragons back, she took out 2,250 Eternal Gold and handed it over to the Seven Luminaries Alliances guard captain in a coin pouch.[1] I have confirmed that I have received 2,250 Eternal Gold for fifteen people, the guard captain stated after weighing the coin pouch in his hand. You are lucky. There are already 179 people gathered. After including your team of fifteen, you will only have to take the assessment and wait for six more people before you can get teleported. Are there people taking the test now? Billowing Water asked. Not that many, the guard captain said as he pointed at the line in front of a gigantic crystal. By the time you finish your assessments, we should have enough people to teleport. After looking at the line, Billowing Water unsummoned her Four-Winged Frost Dragon and joined the line with her group. An assessment? When Shi Feng heard the guard captain mentioning an assessment, he couldnt help but grow confused. So, he asked Billowing Water, Are there requirements to use the teleportation service here? There are no requirements to use the temples teleportation, Billowing Water explained with a smile. The assessment is only here to determine which location players are suited to enter. Although there will be 200 players teleported in every batch, Tier 5 players can be teleported to three different locations depending on the crystals assessment of their current strength. The temple has three strength ratings for Tier 5 players: Basic Demigod, Advanced Demigod, and Superior Demigod. For the Basic Demigod rating, players only need strength rivaling Tier 5 Heroes of the same level to achieve it. Players who achieve the Basic Demigod rating can teleport to an archipelago that doesnt have many Holy Race players. However, while PvP incidents might happen less frequently there, the archipelago is rather poor in resources. As for the two other ratings, players will need to rival Tier 5 Eight-Winged Valkyries to achieve the Advanced Demigod rating and rival Tier 5 Dragons for the Superior Demigod rating. Those who achieve the Advanced Demigod rating will get teleported to a coastal region, while those who achieve the Superior Demigod rating will get teleported to an inland region, which is most abundant in resources out of the three locations. When Billowing Water finished her explanation, the group also arrived before the gigantic crystal inside the temple hall. Currently, the gigantic crystal was scanning a group of players standing inside the magic array before it. Twenty seconds later, a mechanical voice came from the crystal. Assessment: Advanced Demigod. You may head to the coastal region. Assessment: Advanced Demigod. You may head to the coastal region. Assessment: Basic Demigod. You may head to the archipelago region. Every time the crystal made an announcement, the players waiting in the surroundings couldnt help but be awed. It was especially so for the Blaze Conglomerates youths. Achieving the strength of a Basic Demigod was no easy feat in Gods Domain. Even the many Tier 5 NPCs that could strike fear into players were merely regarded as Tier 5 NPCs and could not be considered a Demigod. To become a Demigod, a Tier 5 NPC would first need to own a Legendary Weapon. Secondly, their Concentration standard needed to reach Tier 6, also regarded as Heroess Realm. When a Tier 5 NPC reached this standard, they would become existences even fifth-floor experts of the same tier would try to avoid like the plague. Should a Tier 5 Demigod wish to wreak havoc in the Greater Gods Domain, they could be likened to natural disasters. Tier 5 Demigods were so powerful that even the Sacred Glory Lists top 10 experts could only shake their heads in defeat if they came across one. Yet, players who reached the standard of Basic Demigods could only rank at the bottom of the Eternal Temples hierarchy of players. Furthermore, over half of the players getting assessed had reached the Advanced Demigod standard, each capable of rivaling Eight-Winged Valkyries of the same level. These were all existences that could slay the average Tier 6 player. Assessment: Advanced Demigod. You may head to the coastal region. Nice! Secret Treasures do help! the demidragon youth from the Blaze Conglomerate exclaimed when he heard his strength rating. An Advanced Demigod! Even among the various monsters operating in the Forbidden Zone, experts with the strength of an Advanced Demigod could be considered mid-tier. He also wouldnt have to worry about returning from the Forbidden Zone without harvests. It seems he didnt simply survive out of luck last time. Billowing Water nodded in approval as she looked at the demidragon youth. Since the demidragon youth could now enter the coastal region, he could more or less leave the Forbidden Zone with some harvests this time. Had he been assigned to the impoverished archipelago region again, the best he could hope for was to leave the Forbidden Zone with his life. While the demidragon youth was celebrating, Shi Feng stepped out of the crystals magic array. Immediately afterward, a mechanical voice came from the crystal. Assessment: Superior Demigod. You may head to the inland region. Chapter 3497 - Chapter 571 – Golden Kingdom Chapter 571 C Golden Kingdom A Superior Demigod?! Crap! A Superior Demigod appeared?! Following the crystals announcement, everyone waiting in the hall turned their heads toward Shi Feng, their gazes filled with astonishment and envy. There were vast differences between the three locations players could teleport to via the Eternal Temple. Although each was more dangerous than the previous, the rewards players could obtain from the more dangerous locations were many times better. It was especially so for the inland region. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the players who visited the inland region would return as a completely different person. Superior Demigod? Isnt he only ranked 11th on the Sacred Glory List? The Blaze Conglomerates youths were in disbelief as they looked at Shi Feng and his nonchalant expression. They had met some of the Sacred Glory Lists top ten powerhouses before. However, ever since they returned from their first visit to the Forbidden Zone, they were confident that, aside from the Sacred Glory Lists top two, they could defeat and possibly even kill any of the other Sacred Glory Lists top ten experts. Hence, in their eyes, the so-called experts who ranked outside of the Sacred Glory Lists top ten were nothing more than a joke. Yet, now, Shi Feng was rated as a Superior Demigod? Had the Sacred Glory List undergone a revision while they werent paying attention? Since when did the Sacred Glory List hold so much value? How interesting. No wonder the old man has such high praises for him, Billowing Water thought as she looked at Shi Feng, her eyes revealing intentions to challenge Shi Feng to a fight. Subsequently, she stepped into the magic array before the assessment crystal. A moment later, another repeating mechanical sound resounded in the temple hall. Assessment: Superior Demigod. You may head to the inland region. The announcement caused the people in the hall to turn their heads and stir once more. Even the Seven Luminaries Alliances experts tasked with maintaining security in the hall couldnt help but take an extra look at Shi Feng and Billowing Water. Normally, they would only see one Superior Demigod appearing for every few batches of players they teleported. Yet, not only did two Superior Demigods appear in this batch, but both even belonged to the same team. Even the various pseudo-apex powers expert teams couldnt necessarily match such a line-up. It seems she has already mastered the Formless Twilight, Shi Feng concluded when he heard the strength rating Billowing Water was given. At the same time, he, too, got the urge to spar with Billowing Water. Because he was constantly chased by Demons Gate in his previous life, he never had the opportunity to challenge the Greater Gods Domains publicly acknowledged Ten Great Sword Gods, and it became one of his regrets. Although Wordless Ember was also one of the Ten Great Sword Gods, the current Wordless Ember had yet to fully develop. He hadnt even obtained his own Divine Artifact yet, so Shi Feng saw no meaning in challenging him. Billowing Water, on the other hand, had not only acquired the Formless Twilight already, but she had even become proficient at wielding it already. Even if she wasnt at her peak, she would still be a worthy opponent to hone his sword techniques against. His Swords Orbit was only one step away from reaching the Gold Combat Technique standard. Unfortunately, he didnt have any ideas on achieving a breakthrough. In such a situation, if he encountered an expert with comparable Basic Attributes who had already mastered a complete set of Gold Combat Techniques in the future, he would be at a considerable disadvantage. However, Shi Feng quickly suppressed his urges. While it was indeed important to improve his sword techniques, it was even more important that he entered the Forbidden Zone to search for a World Fragment. We have 200 people now. Everyone, gather at the teleportation array! Amidst Shi Fengs brief contemplation, the Seven Luminaries Alliances guard captain suddenly shouted. And upon hearing the guard captains words, the players waiting in the hall started gathering toward the teleportation array in the hall. In no time, 200 players stood within the ancient teleportation array situated in the middle of the hall. Seeing this, the guard captain took out a couple dozen Seven Luminaries Crystals and embedded them into the teleportation array, causing the dense mana in the hall to form a complete mana circuit. Before I send you off, let me remind you all that the Forbidden Zone is not human territory. If you die there, you will be resurrected in an NPC City on our side after one day. As for how long you can stay there and what you can obtain, it all depends on your abilities. However, I advise you not to be too greedy. What matters most is that you return alive since, should you die, you wont be able to bring back any of your precious harvests. After the guard captain finished speaking, everyone felt their vision blurring, and the scenery before them underwent a drastic change. In a secluded canyon on the Western Continent When Shi Feng and Billowing Water recovered their vision, they found themselves standing in the middle of a humble town enveloped in a faint golden barrier. Newcomers! Look! We have newcomers! No way! We really have newcomers?! Quick, notify the party leader! When the players setting up stalls along the towns main street saw a sudden brilliance falling on the town, and two people emerged from said brilliance, excitement filled their eyes, and they behaved as if they had just seen a priceless treasure. So, this is the Western Continents inland region? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished as he observed his surroundings. Although he had long learned about the Western Continents situation in his previous life, he still couldnt help but be shocked after arriving here in person. Eternal Energy! Although various kinds of energy were present in his surroundings, the Eternal Energy here was so dense that it nearly rivaled the Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor. It should be known that players could only enter the Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor once in their lifetimes. They wouldnt get a second chance even if they started a new account. Moreover, they could only experience the first floors environment for five short days. In contrast, even though the density of the Eternal Energy present on the Western Continent was slightly lower than that of the Hundred Refinement Buildings first floor, players could stay in this environment for as long as they wanted. They could enjoy a constant flow of inspiration simply by standing and breathing here, and they would not have to worry about lacking directions to develop themselves. If a player could live in this environment for a long period, they would have no trouble getting promoted to Tier 6. Another matter that surprised Shi Feng was that a human town existed in the middle of the Western Continent, which was completely occupied by the Holy Race. Although the town was tiny, being only one-fifth the size of the average Basic Town, it was still a bona fide human town. With the towns circumstances, its value easily exceeded that of the Crystal City of Secrets. The Seven Luminaries Alliance truly is insane To think they would bring even the Golden Kingdom here When Shi Feng saw the faint golden barrier that covered the entire town, he couldnt help but admire the Seven Luminaries Alliances wealth. The Divine Artifact Golden Kingdom! The Golden Kingdom was the Seven Luminaries Alliances ultimate defensive trump card. While the Golden Kingdom was only a magic item and not a weapon or a piece of equipment, it was one of the few defensive magic barriers capable of withstanding an attack from a Primordial God. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that so long as a settlement was protected by the Golden Kingdom, so long as the Golden Kingdom had enough energy, the town would be impregnable. The only downside was that the Golden Kingdom couldnt be moved for a year once it was set up. During Shi Fengs previous life, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had relied on the Golden Kingdom to defend a fortress against the Holy Races invasion. At the time, the Holy Races various powers had joined forces to attack said fortress. Yet, even after besieging the fortress for over a year and permanently sacrificing hundreds of thousands of Tier 6 experts, the Holy Race still failed to capture the fortress. That battle had become an eternal legend in the Greater Gods Domain. Now that the Seven Luminaries Alliance had used the Golden Kingdom to secure a safe haven for itself on the Western Continent, even if other human powers established their own settlements on the Western Continent in the future, none would be able to compare to the Seven Luminaries Alliances town in terms of safety. However, compared to all these things, what surprised Shi Feng the most were the hundreds of players that occupied the town. Even though these players were only at Tier 5, the strength of the mana they exuded was superior to that of actual Tier 6 players. Some of them even had mana rivaling Tier 6 Gods Chapter 3498 - Chapter 572 - Mythical Eras Mana Chapter 572 C Mythical Eras Mana Before Shi Feng and Billowing Water could recover from the initial shock of experiencing the Western Continents environment, hundreds of players suddenly swarmed them from all corners of the street. Each and every one of them resembled starving dogs that had just spotted two juicy pieces of meat. Its been so long since weve had any new Superior Demigods! And this time, we got two! Friends, how about joining our Falcon Party? I guarantee youll earn a hundred contribution points per excursion! At that rate, you can exchange for a Mana Purification Technique in just three days! Come to our Rainstorm Party instead! We can help you obtain Bronze Purification Techniques, if not even Basic ones! You folks from Rainstorm sure love to boast. A Bronze Purification Technique? Not a single person in your party has managed to learn one yet! Friends, join our Half-Leaf Party instead! Our party leader is an expert who has already mastered a Bronze Purification Technique. We earn far more contribution points than the other parties! The towns players shouted offers to Shi Feng and Billowing Water, one after another, without giving them any time to react. Mana Purification Techniques? Shi Feng was greatly surprised by the offers everyone made. He had only learned how to improve his mana after accepting the Primordial Abyssal Gods Legacy. However, it was an incomplete technique that provided him with limited improvements. Judging by the strength of the surrounding players mana and the superior Mana Purification Techniques they spoke of, it was evident that their techniques surpassed his incomplete one. Logically, the strength of his mana should rank number one among players of the same tier because of the Tier 5 Legendary Mana Body he created. Even if there were some Tier 5 players with stronger mana, the gap between them shouldnt be significant. However, the Tier 5 players around him possessed significantly stronger mana than him. Some even had mana rivaling Tier 6 Gods, which was simply unbelievable. If he could bring a large number of these so-called Mana Purification Techniques back with him or establish a long-term supply chain, it would undoubtedly lead to qualitative transformations in the overall strength of Zero Wings members. Seven Luminaries Town, Seven Luminaries Bar: After listening to the fervent invitations from various parties in the town, Shi Feng and Billowing Water chose to engage in further negotiations with a female elf named Moon Bamboo, who was a Guardian Knight and had mastered a Bronze Mana Purification Technique. How about it? Will you join us, friends? While Dawnlight might not be among the top five parties in town, we are solidly ranked in the top ten, Moon Bamboo explained to Shi Feng and Billowing Water. After elegantly taking a sip of coffee, she continued, We currently need two more members to complete our party. If you join Dawnlight, youll enjoy two major benefits that most other parties cant offer. Firstly, you wont have to worry about acquiring a Bronze Purification Technique. The party leader and I have already mastered one each, while the other two members have acquired their own; they just need to learn how to use them. So, if we obtain more Bronze Purification Techniques in the future, you two will receive your share right away. Additionally, once the other two members succeed in learning their Bronze Purification Techniques, Dawnlight will have four members who have mastered the technique. At that time, our party wont have to fear encountering teams composed of monstrous Tier 5 experts from the Holy Race. As a side note, both the party leader and I have mastered two Gold Combat Techniques each. Secondly, youll save on accommodation fees. Normally, you would have to spend one Eternal Gold per day for accommodation in the town. However, our party has used contribution points to rent a six-person hotel suite for a month. We still have more than ten days left, so you wont have to spend anything on accommodation during this period. While Moon Bamboo explained the benefits of joining the Dawnlight Party to Shi Feng and Billowing Water, a tall and muscular man, a Tier 5 Summoner, walked over to the table and unceremoniously sat down next to her. Bamboo, youve been negotiating with these youngsters for half an hour, and you still havent won them over? I thought youd be more capable with that beauty and big sister energy of yours, the male Summoner said, sighing and shaking his head. Im recruiting two Superior Demigods at the same time. Why dont you give it a try, Mr. Party Leader? Moon Bamboo said, rolling her eyes at the male Summoner. There were very few players operating in Seven Luminaries Town, and the majority of them were members of the various pseudo-apex powers. Players from other powers constituted less than 10% of the towns population. It should be known that human players who died on the Western Continent would be sent back to the Eternal Continent with 100% certainty. If they wished to return to the Western Continent, they would have to pay an additional 150 Eternal Gold for the teleportation fee. Such an expenditure was exorbitant, even for the various pseudo-apex powers. Unless they had made significant contributions to their Guilds on the Western Continent, they would have to pay out of their own pockets. Hence, it became very difficult for non-pseudo-apex power parties to recruit new members. After all, newcomers had plenty of parties to choose from, so they would naturally compare their options. My name is Sky Pivot, and I am the party leader of Dawnlight, the male Summoner introduced himself to Shi Feng and Billowing Water with a smile. Our party is planning to explore the Plain of Fallen Gods, a Level 160 to Level 180 map, soon. Rumor has it that the map drops treasures that can help with our Tier 6 promotion. As the party leader, I can exercise my authority to allow you to have first pick of one of the items we obtain during the expedition. If we acquire additional Mana Purification Techniques, I will also give them to you for free, so you wont need to invoke your privilege for them. What do you think, friends? When Sky Pivot finished speaking, Moon Bamboo couldnt help but look at him in shock. Every party was currently preparing to tackle the Plain of Fallen Gods in order to achieve Tier 6 promotion as quickly as possible. After all, this would give them an advantage over the other parties in town and give them a head start in exploring the Primordial Demons Necropolis, a World Mode Regional Dungeon rumored to drop Advanced Bronze and possibly even Silver Mana Purification Techniques. If they were to let the two newcomers have the promotion treasure first, it would likely impact their later exploration of the Primordial Demons Necropolis. If thats the case, I would like to join your party, Shi Feng said after considering his options. His primary goal was to reach Tier 6. As for the World Fragment, obtaining it relied entirely on luck. Rather than blindly searching for a World Fragment, he would be better off securing a Mana Purification Technique first and learning more about the Western Continent. This way, even if he were to operate solo in the future, he would have a better chance of surviving and achieving his goals. Im fine with it, too, Billowing Water said, nodding. The promotion treasure and Mana Purification Technique also tempted her. Great! Then its settled! Well set off tomorrow! Sky Pivot exclaimed, laughing heartily. Following that, Shi Feng and Billowing Water raised their cups to celebrate their joining the Dawnlight Party. After enjoying a delicious meal at the bar, they rested in the hotel until dawn. At the break of dawn, under Sky Pivots urging, the entire party of six set off for the Plain of Fallen Gods. Chapter 3499 - Chapter 573 - Mana Purification Technique Chapter 573 C Mana Purification Technique Western Continent, Plain of Fallen Gods: The Holy Races presence was everywhere on the Western Continent, so it was incredibly challenging for human players to explore and acquire resources here. If human players were to traverse the Western Continent, they would come across Holy Race parties or teams fighting monsters almost once every few minutes. To avoid clashing with these Holy Race players, Shi Feng and the others had to proceed with extreme caution, which, in turn, hampered their travel speed. The Plain of Fallen Gods was situated four large maps away from Seven Luminaries Town. Normally, it would only take Holy Race players two or three hours to cross this distance, but Shi Feng and the others took roughly seven hours. Even so, this could already be considered a fast travel speed for human players, as other Tier 5 human players would need at least two days to complete this journey. This was all thanks to Sky Pivot. As a Tier 5 Summoner, Sky Pivot could not only summon Tier 5 monsters to fight for him, but he could also use them as Mounts. He could even summon flying monsters to use as Flying Mounts. Meanwhile, the Tier 5 Illusory Gryffin summoned by Sky Pivot could not only act as a Flying Mount, but it could also rely on its Tier 5 Illusion Spells to conceal its passengers. Because of this, the Illusory Gryffin looked no different than the average flying monster when it flew in the sky, and it did not attract any attention from the Holy Race players fighting on the ground. Eventually, after six hours of flight, the 20-meter-long Illusory Gryffin arrived at the Plain of Fallen Gods and landed on top of a hill, granting the Dawnlight Party an unobstructed view of their surroundings. Newbies, stick close to me, Budding Leaf, a level 160, Tier 5 female Oracle, said hurriedly to Shi Feng and Billowing Water after landing. The strength of your mana is too weak, so itll quickly get devoured by monsters. When we start fighting later, let the party leader and the others soften up the monsters a little first before joining the fight. The monsters can devour our mana? Billowing Water couldnt help but be surprised. While there might be monsters capable of devouring mana in the Greater Gods Domain, none could devour the mana of players, let alone the mana of Tier 5 players. It should be known that the mana of players would reach a near-solid state once they got promoted to Tier 5. Even if a monster tried to devour their mana, it wouldnt be an easy task to accomplish. Leaf is right, Splashing Fire, a middle-aged male Ranger, said, nodding in agreement with Budding Leaf. The monsters on the Western Continents inland region can devour Mana and Holy Power. If you dont have sufficiently strong Mana or Holy Power, youll get sucked dry and killed by the monsters here in no time. Many players had unknowingly died like so when the town was initially founded. Billowing Water was dumbfounded even further. How were they supposed to fight against monsters capable of devouring all forms of energy? For melee players like herself, it wouldnt matter whether she fought using combat techniques or Skills. Both would be useless as she couldnt afford to get close to the monsters here. As for Shi Feng, he was unfazed by this revelation. The information he learned in his previous life included the various problems players faced when fighting monsters on the Western Continent. The Western Continents monsters were essentially nightmares for the human pioneers, and they could only rely on ranged players to kill these monsters. Even so, it was a very challenging task to do so. The Western Continents monsters possessed extraordinarily high Defense, so much so that even players of the same tier could do barely any damage against them. For example, a Tier 5 player casting a Tier 5 Spell could only shave off about 10,000 HP from a Tier 5 Legendary monster. It should be known that these Tier 5 Legendary monsters had HP in the tens of billions, with some even having upwards of one hundred billion. An attack that dealt only 10,000 damage wouldnt even be enough to tickle these monsters. Before Budding Leaf and Splashing Fire could continue with their explanations, a Level 165 Legendary-ranked Half-Snakekin General suddenly emerged from the nearby forest, and it charged at the Illusory Gryffin with a speed that was easily twice as fast as the Eternal Continents Legendary monsters. [Half-Snakekin General] (Humanoid Creature, Legendary) Level 165 HP 60,000,000,000 Not good! Run! Its a Regional Boss! Billowing Water and the others had originally readied themselves for a fight. However, when Sky Pivot saw the Half-Snakekin General, he promptly called for a retreat with a grave expression on his face. Thats a Regional Boss? When Billowing Water saw the Half-Snakekin Generals stats, she couldnt understand why Sky Pivot would react so nervously. Normally, Level 160 Legendary Bosses in the Greater Gods Domain would have several hundred billion HP at the very least, with some even having up to a trillion HP. If a Level 165 monster only had 60 billion HP, it couldnt even be considered a Tier 5 Legendary monster. It wouldnt take much time for Tier 5 players to kill such a monster. Moreover, even if the Half-Snakekin General was indeed a Region Boss, their Tier 5 party should be able to slay it with ease. Before Billowing Water could figure out why Sky Pivot was so terrified, the Half-Snakekin General suddenly appeared beside her while twirling its two crescent blades. At the same time, the Half-Snakekin General started to dance an enchanting dance that mesmerized all who saw it. When Billowing Water saw the Half-Snakekin Generals blade dance, she could feel herself being drawn to it, and this situation caused an unprecedented chill crept up her spine. A Fusion Combat Technique! The Half-Snakekin General had undoubtedly executed a combat technique at the Silver rank or above. Moreover, the attack wasnt composed of just the combat technique but also a mental attack. If she were to fall for the Half-Snakekin Generals mesmerization for even a moment, she would lose her life to the Regional Boss in the blink of an eye. At this time, Billowing Water finally understood why Sky Pivot would react so fearfully toward encountering such a weak Regional Boss. An attack composed of a combat technique and a mental attack was no different than a fatal poison for players. This was because players would have great difficulty responding with a combat technique of their own while being subjected to a mental attack. Fighting the Half-Snakekin General in such a situation would be an absolute nightmare. Hah! Fortunately, Billowing Water was a Saint-ranked expert with plenty of combat experience under her belt, and she promptly let out a shout to clear her mind. At the same time, a golden greatsword appeared in her hands, and she used the massive weapon like a shield to defend herself against the Half-Snakekin Generals twirling blades. Boom! The instant the weapons collided, Billowing Water was sent flying over a hundred yards away. In just one exchange, it was evident that there was a great disparity in Strength between both sides. However, the Half-Snakekin Generals attack still wasnt over. Utilizing the reactive force generated from having its attack blocked by Billowing Waters Formless Twilight, the Half-Snakekin General propelled itself toward Shi Feng, who was evidently weaker than the four other standing members of the party. Its over for this newbie When Moon Bamboo saw that less than fifteen yards separated the Half-Snakekin General and Shi Feng, she couldnt help but close her eyes. The Half-Snakekin General was not only fast but also incredibly nimble. Although Moon Bamboo did not know how Billowing Water had managed to summon a greatsword out of nowhere, Shi Feng was evidently a standard Swordsman as he carried two longswords around his waist. If he were subjected to the Half-Snakekin Generals mental attack and blade dance simultaneously, he might not even have time to draw his weapons, let alone defend himself. Clang! Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting something hard echoed throughout the area. Immediately afterward, whether it was Moon Bamboo and the others or Billowing Water, who had been sent flying, all of them gaped in shock. At this time, Shi Feng could be seen standing steadily in place with both hands raised up to his neck, and the Half-Snakekin Generals crescent blades were grasped firmly within his hands. As for the Half-Snakekin General, even though it was hissing menacingly and applying force to its arms, it couldnt push its crescent blades forward by even a millimeter more Chapter 3500 - Chapter 574 - Half-Step Tier 6 Chapter 574 C Half-Step Tier 6 This newbies Strength is incredible! If we are talking solely about Strength, he has already surpassed the average Tier 6 Berserker. Budding Leaf and Splashing Fire were greatly shocked when they saw Shi Feng catching the Half-Snakekin Generals weapons. The Half-Snakekin General was a Legendary-ranked Regional Boss. While it wasnt a Strength-oriented monster, its Strength was still vastly superior to even Tier 5 Berserkers of the same level. Only Tier 5 Berserkers wielding Legendary Weapons could hope to match it. Not to mention, one couldnt block the Half-Snakekin Generals attacks simply by having great Strength. Billowing Water was a good example of this. Even though Billowing Water was a Swordsman, her Strength was already on par with the average Tier 6 Berserker of the same level. Yet, the Half-Snakekin General still sent her flying. Hes at the Half-Step Tier 6 standard already! Moon Bamboo exclaimed, a hint of excitement appearing on her face. Weve picked up a gem this time. If he can block the Bosss Fusion Combat Technique so easily, his Concentration must have reached the Tier 6 Advanced standard already. Hes only short of constructing a Divine Body to get promoted to Tier 6 now. Most of Seven Luminaries Towns players might be Superior Demigods, with some having Basic Attributes rivaling rookie Tier 6 players, but there were still differences between Superior Demigods. It was especially so on the Western Continent. Whether it was the Western Continents environment or monsters, both were different from that of the Eternal Continent and Greater Gods Domain. While many human players who had entered the Western Continent might rival actual Tier 6 players, they couldnt fully exhibit their strength here. This was because the Western Continent was home to monsters capable of devouring all forms of energy and launching powerful mental attacks. Without sufficient Mana and Concentration, players would be powerless against these monsters. Normally, newcomers in Seven Luminaries Town would lack Mana and Concentration. As a result, the monsters of the Western Continent could easily devour their Mana and influence their minds. This prevented newcomers from effectively utilizing Combat Techniques, Skills, and Spells, limiting them to fighting against average Tier 5 Legendary monsters. If a newcomer wished to stand a chance against the Tier 5 Regional Bosses of the Western Continent, they would need to master at least a Basic Mana Purification Technique. As for Tier 6 Divine monsters, only Half-Step Tier 6 experts like Sky Pivot and Moon Bamboo, who have mastered Bronze Mana Purification Techniques and possess Tier 6 Intermediate standard Concentration, would stand a fighting chance against them. Currently, although Shi Fengs Mana was somewhat weak, his Concentration had already reached the Tier 6 Advanced standard. Even if he were to face a Divine monster on the Western Continent, he wouldnt be powerless to resist. Meanwhile, the addition of a Half-Step Tier 6 expert to the party would undoubtedly increase the partys overall strength by a large margin. Is his Concentration at such a high level already? Billowing Water, who was sent flying into the distance, couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in disbelief. She was confident that her Concentration was top-notch, even among paragons of the same generation. And although her Concentration had yet to reach the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, she wasnt far from reaching it. However, when facing the Half-Snakekin Generals Fusion Combat Technique, she could barely defend against it. She couldnt utilize any of her combat techniques, which prevented her from resisting the Half-Snakekin Generals attack completely. Otherwise, she wouldnt have been sent flying by the Regional Boss. But before Billowing Water could snap out of her daze, several hundred Level 160-plus Half-Snakekin Warriors emerged from the surroundings. These Half-Snakekin Warriors were all Tier 4 Mythic monsters. Although each was inferior to Tier 5 players, when they attacked as a group and utilized Combination Combat Techniques, they could still pose a significant threat to Tier 5 players. Moreover, with their high HPs, they could easily drag out the fight and wear out Tier 5 players. Escape is no longer an option, Sky Pivot said, sighing helplessly when he saw the Half-Snakekin Warriors that surrounded them. Everyone, prepare for battle. Isnt this great news, Leader? Its not every day we get to come across a Regional Boss, Splashing Fire said, smiling jovially when he saw the approaching Half-Snakekin Warriors. Now that our party has one more Half-Step Tier 6 expert, it would be a waste to run away. I agree with Fire. This is a rare opportunity, Moon Bamboo said, nodding. Normally, their party would avoid any Legendary-ranked Regional Bosses they encountered and target only normal Legendary monsters. Of course, it wasnt because they couldnt defeat a Legendary-ranked Regional Boss. It was just that it would take too much time. After all, their party previously only had two damage dealers. If they took too much time to finish the Boss, nearby Holy Race players were bound to take notice. However, now that their party had gained an extra Half-Step Tier 6 expert, their partys overall damage output would increase by 50% at the very least. With such a huge improvement to their damage output, they could definitely give raiding a Legendary-ranked Regional Boss a try. Okay! Leaf, Fire, you two go and support Billowing Water! Sky Pivot commanded. The rest of us will handle the Regional Boss! Got it! Splashing Fire licked his lips and promptly went into action with Budding Leaf. Immediately, Splashing Fire nocked his longbow and launched flaming arrows at the approaching Half-Snakekin Warriors one after another, the hail of flaming arrows forcing the Mythic monsters to scatter in an attempt to avoid the attacks. At the same time, Budding Leaf waved her staff, summoning numerous barriers to isolate the scattered Half-Snakekin Warriors and prevent them from executing deadly Combination Combat Techniques. In the blink of an eye, Splashing Fire and Budding Leaf had lowered the threat of the Half-Snakekin Warriors by a significant margin. This, in turn, allowed Billowing Water to withstand and repulse the Mythic monsters with little effort. Lets begin attacking as well! Sky Pivot said when he saw the Half-Snakekin Warriors getting blocked. Then, he returned his focus to the Half-Snakekin General and continued, Our time is limited! We must eliminate this Boss before the Holy Race players arrive! After saying so, Sky Pivot constructed a summoning array that brought forth two Legendary monsters. Then, together with the previously summoned Illusory Gryffin, the three summoned creatures stood around Sky Pivot and transformed into a Phantom Dragon. Under Sky Pivots control, the Phantom Dragon cast Dragons Glory, a three-fold Tier 5 Draconic Spell. Immediately, hundreds of laser beams shot at the Half-Snakekin General from all directions. At the same time, Moon Bamboo appeared behind the Half-Snakekin General and raised her shield, releasing numerous shadow chains that bound the Regional Boss. At the same time, a gigantic sword of light also descended from the sky. Tier 5 Super Spell, Lightshadow Taboo! Seeing Sky Pivot and Moon Bamboo taking action, Shi Feng unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and Winter of Eternal Night before executing Swords Orbit, forming a galaxy of stars that spread to his surroundings. Boom! The top of the hill was flattened in the blink of an eye, and everyone within a 30,000-yard radius could clearly hear the battle atop the hill. Theres a battle happening over there! Whoevers fighting must be fighting a Regional Boss if theyre causing such a huge commotion! Lets hurry on over! We cant let the others get ahead of us! Over a dozen Holy Race teams operating in the vicinity could hear the commotion caused by the Dawnlight Partys battle, and they hurriedly charged toward the source of the commotion with fervent eyes. Chapter 3501 - Chapter 575 - Visit From Red Frost Chapter 575 C Visit From Red Frost Plain of Fallen Gods: The hill that was originally over a hundred meters tall had transformed into a vast canyon after a battle, which affected a radius of ten kilometers, took place here. Numerous gorges that were over a hundred meters deep could be seen dotting the canyon. The entire terrain had undergone a drastic transformation, and gradually mending spatial tears could still be seen in the canyon. The battles already over? Dammit! We were still one step too late! How could it have ended so quickly? It hasnt been more than three minutes since we first heard the commotion. Could it have been a 100-man team? When the teams of Holy Race experts arrived at the battlefield, they were disappointed to find that the battle they came to interfere with had already concluded. At the same time, they couldnt help but wonder what had taken place here. They had hurried their way over here as soon as they heard the commotion. They had even ignored the monsters that tried to attack them, afraid they would miss out on the action. While the Plain of Fallen Gods was vast, it had no more than twenty Regional Bosses. But maybe because of how few Regional Bosses there were here, each Regional Boss offered extraordinary rewards. It was especially so for the First Kill rewards. Due to this, competition over the Plain of Fallen Gods Regional Bosses was exceptionally intense. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that a swarm of players would gather at even the slightest sign of a Regional Boss. Yet, even though they had taken such a short time to reach the battlefield, they failed to find even a single monster after arriving, let alone players. It was as if the battle they heard was nothing but a dream While teams of Holy Race experts were coming and going from the battlefield, the Dawnlight Party was cautiously resting in a small cave deep within the depths of the canyon. The party of six didnt even dare to breathe loudly as they tentatively stared at the countdown timer displayed in the corner of their vision, the timer indicating how much time was left until they could log out of the game. Ten more seconds! This barrier should hold up! Budding Leaf whispered as she watched several Holy Race teams investigate the canyon outside. These Holy Race players are truly insane! How did so many of them show up in less than three minutes?! Its a good thing that you guys fought quickly, Leader. Otherwise. We would have had to fight against over a thousand Holy Race experts. Billowing Water also gazed out of the cave solemnly, not daring to relax her guard. Although she had already heard about the situation regarding the Western Continents inland region from Sky Pivot and Moon Bamboo, she still couldnt help but be frightened by all the Holy Race teams outside. Every Holy Race player that came to check in on the canyon was at Level 160, Tier 5 and above. Moreover, every one of them gave off a presence comparable to the veterans of Seven Luminaries Town, and each team had at least three experts of Sky Pivot and Moon Bamboos caliber. Even though Billowing Water stood among the apex of the Eternal Continents experts, she was reduced to the weakest caste in this place We were lucky this time. We could have never finished the Boss so quickly without Black Flames help, Sky Pivot said, smiling. As we previously discussed, well log off to rest for six hours. The Holy Race players outside should give up and leave for good after failing to find anything for six hours. Everyone nodded in agreement. Then, as soon as their respective timers counted down to zero, they promptly chose to log out of the game one after another. Just as everyone was fading out of existence, Billowing Water couldnt help but look at Shi Fengs fading figure with a complicated look. Originally, she thought she could let Shi Feng know his insignificance by bringing him to the Western Continent. She never thought she would be the one being shown how insignificant she was instead. In fact, if it werent for Shi Fengs assistance this time, their party would have never been able to kill the Half-Snakekin General and secure the Regional Bosss lucrative loot. Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center: As the sun set, the virtual gaming cabin of a special living quarter slowly opened. Then, Shi Feng climbed out of the cabin, grabbed one of the Life Potions placed next to the cabin, and drank it while admiring the cityscape outside the window. As one of Star Lake Citys large training centers, the Zero Wing Training Center was only a couple of streets away from the citys commercial center. Even as the sky darkened, the streets outside the building remained bustling with cars and people. Many of these people were young talents who had come from the surrounding towns to join the citys various powers. It seems Zero Wings fame has spread quite a bit, Shi Feng thought in surprise when he saw the long line of people waiting to enter the Zero Wing Training Center. Previously, the long line of people waiting outside the Zero Wing Training Center was mainly due to Zero Wings partnership with the Green God Corporation. The Green God Corporation had encouraged many of its members, who had been kicked out of Silver Frost City, to come to Star Lake City and join Zero Wing. However, even after several days had passed, the number of people seeking to join Zero Wing did not decrease. On the contrary, it was continuously increasing. After learning that Zero Wing was recruiting members, many powers operating in the neighboring towns had even paid a hefty price to send their young talents to take Zero Wings recruitment test. Because of this, Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul had to work hectically these past few days. Shi Feng even had to start worrying about the training centers lack of space and thinking about purchasing more real estate in Star Lake City. Otherwise, Zero Wing could, at most, afford to recruit around 1,000 geniuses to nurture. If Zero Wing only had 1,000 geniuses to work with, who knew how long it would take for the Guild to gain more mental strength grandmasters, become recognized as a Class 2 Guild by the Gods Domain Association, and become qualified to move into a second-tier city. Ive already received the Blaze Conglomerates promised three billion Star Coins, but the ten drops of Stardew will probably take another day or two to arrive. Looking at his watch, Shi Feng inwardly prayed, Lets hope these Stardews can help Zero Wing reach Class 2 quickly. Otherwise, the Guilds development in the Crystal City of Secrets will stagnate. The development of human powers on the Western Continent was much faster than he anticipated. The Seven Luminaries Alliance had already established a town on the Western Continent. At this rate, he could already tell that the conflict between humans and the Holy Race would happen much sooner and at a much greater intensity. Currently, Zero Wing might have relied on the Secret Crystal Trading Firms benefits to recruit a batch of fifth-floor experts, but if Zero Wing couldnt offer any additional benefits, these fifth-floor experts were bound to leave Zero Wing once they fulfilled their contract. While Shi Feng was contemplating how he should distribute the ten drops of Stardew, Gentle Snow suddenly contacted him. Commander Red Frost is here to see you, Guild Leader. She says she has something urgent to discuss with you. Should I let her in? Commander Red Frost wants to see me? Shi Feng was surprised by Red Frosts visit. As the Star Lake Legions commander, Red Frost was a very busy person, and even the legions vice commanders could rarely meet her, let alone get her to visit them in person. Immediately, Shi Feng had Gentle Snow lead Red Frost to the top floors VIP lounge. Zero Wing Training Center, VIP lounge: When Shi Feng stepped into the room, he saw Red Frost sitting on the sofa, fiddling with a data key. The current Red Frost wore a cold expression devoid of her usual cheerful demeanor. Youre finally here, my almighty vice commander, Red Frost said, a hint of curiosity appearing on her cold face. May I know if my esteemed vice commander can answer me one question: What on earth have you done to provoke fifteen third-tier mobile cities to initiate a city battle with us? All of them will even be arriving together in seven days! Chapter 3502 - Chapter 576 - Sanctuarys Curse Chapter 576 C Sanctuarys Curse Red Frost spoke without emotion, her indifferent voice adding a layer of frost to the rooms atmosphere. Despite having already become a one-star grandmaster, Shi Feng was still affected by this chilly atmosphere. Fifteen third-tier cities have declared war on us simultaneously! Its been centuries since such a thing happened in our region! Red Frost said with emphasis as she scrutinized Shi Feng. The last time such a thing happened, Silver Frost City hadnt even become a second-tier city yet. If not for the City Lord having a favorable view of you, do you know what kind of situation you would be facing right now? There might seem like a large number of third-tier mobile cities operating on the Starlight Continent, but they were, in reality, rather limited in numbers. Normally, a third-tier city would only come across another third-tier city after wandering about for several months. And unless a new energy vein was discovered, it was highly unlikely for multiple third-tier cities to be present in the same location at the same time. Meanwhile, even a handful of third-tier cities competing over an energy vein would typically result in some of the involved cities losing a couple of the energy veins they originally owned. In severe cases, some of the involved cities might even be knocked back to their starting point and forced to survive with just one energy vein. In that state, they would be at risk of running out of energy at any moment and cease to be a city. As for the current situation where fifteen third-tier cities were gathering to attack Star Lake City together, Red Frost couldnt even begin to imagine what would become of Star Lake City if this situation wasnt handled properly. I havent done anything as over the top as you might think, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Red Frosts solemn expression. If theres anything Ive done, its simply disrespecting the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, Red Frost couldnt help but reveal a look of astonishment. Youre saying you offended Xiao Quan? The son of the City Lord overseeing the second-tier mobile city of our region? Red Frost couldnt help but seek confirmation. Thats right. Its him, Shi Feng said, nodding. How audacious of you, Red Frost commented before pursing her lips. That fellows the most favored child of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. Hes slated to inherit the City Lord position in the future. If you have offended him, neither you nor Zero Wing can continue operating within Silver Frost Citys territory. Not even our City Lord can cover for you this time. Shi Feng wasnt surprised by Red Frosts words. Instead, he smiled and said, The City Lord might not be able to cover for me now, but what if Star Lake City becomes a second-tier mobile city? This time, the situation differed from when the Paimon Conglomerate was applying pressure on Star Lake City. Star Lake Citys jurisdiction fell under the Galaxy Conglomerate, so the most the Paimon Conglomerate could do was tempt other third-tier cities into attacking Star Lake City. If it tried to do anything more, the Galaxy Conglomerate would no longer turn a blind eye to its actions. As for the incident this time, all parties involved fell within the Galaxy Conglomerates jurisdiction. So, no matter how much the conflict escalated, the Galaxy Conglomerate would not intervene. A second-tier mobile city? Red Frost laughed. Do you think the Star Lake Legion has what it takes to win against fifteen city legions simultaneously? City battles in the real world differed from battles in Gods Domain. Not only would participants have their Physiques heavily suppressed, but even the weapons and equipment they could access highly depended on their mental strength standard. The stronger the weapons and equipment participants tried to manifest, the stronger their mental strength needed to be. So, one could say that a city battle was a mental strength competition. However, city battles could only be regarded as competitions of mental strength only if they were one-on-one scenarios. In a situation where both sides were limited to only ten battle groups and two hundred participants, there were limited means each side could employ after they scattered their forces across different occupation points. In a one-versus-many scenario, things would be different. It was especially so when one side consisted of fifteen cities. The side with fifteen cities could deploy 150 battle groups consisting of 3,000 participants. In such a situation, they would be more than capable of using various large-scale magic arrays. For example, they could use large-scale magic barriers to suppress the enemy. They could also use large-scale offensive magic arrays powered by several hundred magical class players to launch attacks that players of the same tier could not resist. They could even deploy large-scale defensive magic arrays that could easily stop attacks from players of the same tier. It was no exaggeration to say that one-versus-one simulation warfare and one-versus-many simulation warfare were two entirely different types of conflict. In the latter case, the impact that individual players could have on the battle would be diminished significantly. I cannot guarantee whether we can win. Looking at Red Frost, Shi Feng contemplated for a moment before asking, If you were to recover your peak strength, how likely are you to win the Tier 6 battle, Commander Red Frost? Recover my peak strength? Red Frost couldnt help but look at Shi Feng curiously for a moment when she heard his question. Then, she laughed and said, Do you have a way to let me recover? Do you even know what kind of injury I have suffered? The source of your bodys mana has been damaged, and it has led to the severe weakening of your manas strength, right? Shi Feng said, chuckling. According to the rumors floating about in Star Lake City, Red Frost possessed astonishing talent. Yet, she plummeted from grace after suffering some kind of injury during her campaign in the Twelve Sanctuaries. Meanwhile, based on his observations during the last city battle, Shi Feng found that, despite being at Tier 6, Red Frosts mana was abnormally thin. He also noticed that she didnt make use of any mana throughout the entire battle, relying only on her weapon, equipment, and techniques. This was a very bizarre way to fight for a pseudo-great grandmaster. The only explanation Shi Feng could come up with to explain this situation was that Red Frost had suffered damage to her mana source, which, in turn, led to a drastic decrease in her manas strength. This was a phenomenon he had heard of before, and it could be said to be a type of curse in the Twelve Sanctuaries. Without the proper means to resolve it, players would be stuck with it forever. The curse would follow them, even if they started a new account. Originally, Shi Feng didnt have any way of combating this curse. Unless Red Frost could kill the person who cursed her, her mana would be permanently weakened. However, after learning about the Western Continents Mana Purification Techniques, he was confident he could resolve Red Frosts problem with ease. Do you truly have a solution? Red Frost shot up from her seat and stared intently at Shi Feng, the excitement in her eyes very apparent. The Sanctuaries curse was something she had never mentioned to anyone. She would also never use mana, even during normal battles, and she would only fight while relying on her Basic Attributes. Even if others took notice of her strange behavior, they would only think that it was her style of combat; they wouldnt suspect a problem with her mana. I wouldnt have brought it up if I didnt have a solution, Shi Feng asserted. So, once again, how confident are you in winning the Tier 6 battle if you can recover your peak strength, Commander Red Frost? Im sure you know that fighting multiple cities simultaneously is a completely different experience from fighting just one city. There are many more means our opponents can employ, so the battle isnt something the individual player can influence easily. After pondering for a moment, Red Frost answered, If I can recover my peak strength, I would probably have a thirty to forty percent chance of winning the Tier 6 battle. Up to 40%? Shi Feng was a little surprised by Red Frosts answer. Originally, he felt that, even if he looked at the situation optimistically, Red Frost would only have a 20% chance of victory. Moreover, this was built on the foundation that Red Frost was a pseudo-great grandmaster. What if we add in a battle group thats fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment? Chapter 3503 - Chapter 577 - On the Basis That I Am Black Flame! Chapter 577 C On the Basis That I Am Black Flame! A battle group fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment? When Red Frost heard Shi Fengs words, she felt he was joking with her. Whether it was Legendary Weapons or Legendary Equipment, both were incredibly rare and precious in the Greater Gods Domain. Even upper-ranking hegemonic powers would rarely be willing to let their developing paragons use these items. Take Star Lake Legion, for example. The entire legion only had three Legendary Weapons and Equipment in its possession, and all three were on loan from the City Lord after he dug into his own pockets to acquire them. The Star Lake Legion couldnt even afford to fully equip a player in Legendary items, let alone a full battle group consisting of twenty participants. In fact, not even top-ranking second-tier mobile cities would dare to think of fully equipping a 20-man battle group in Legendary items. Indeed! A battle group fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment! Shi Feng nodded. If you can have such a battle group under you, how confident are you at winning, Commander Red Frost? Normally, only upper-ranking hegemonic powers and above could possibly accomplish the feat of fully equipping a 20-man battle group in Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Ordinary hegemonic powers and corporations operating in third-tier cities shouldnt even consider doing such a thing. However, he was in possession of the Divine Engraver Legacy. He was also a Basic Apprentice Divine Engraver. So long as he could further develop the strength of his mana by a little bit, it shouldnt be difficult for him to learn how to draw Intermediate Divine Patterns in seven days. Previously, he had already mastered drawing a set of Basic Divine Patterns. The only reason he didnt attempt to learn how to draw Intermediate Divine Patterns and become a bona fide Divine Engraver was that he lacked God Crystals. If he wanted to learn a set of Intermediate Divine Patterns from the Divine Engraver Legacy, he would need to spend 50 God Crystals. This was not an amount that the average power could take out. Back then, he would have needed to sell everything he owned just to gather the required 50 God Crystals. Not to mention, becoming a bona fide Divine Engraver wasnt his priority back then. So, he didnt bother to invest too much time and resources into the endeavor. Now, though, not only did the Green God Corporation secretly gather a group of Lifestyle talents for him, but he had also received a large amount of funds. He could begin nurturing a large batch of players into Apprentice Divine Engravers at any time, and it wouldnt be long before these players became Apprentice Divine Engravers. If he couldnt become an official Divine Engraver before that happened, he wouldnt be able to carry out his subsequent plans. After all, he couldnt possibly spend 50 God Crystals to let someone else learn from the Book of Eternity in his place. The cheapest and safest way to carry out his plans would be if he learned how to draw Intermediate Divine Patterns himself. Meanwhile, once he could draw Intermediate Divine Patterns, he would be able to strengthen Fragmented Legendary items. At that time, he would simply have to strengthen a battle group fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary items. Then, he would have himself a battle group that possessed Basic Attributes rivaling a battle group fully equipped with Legendary items. Moreover, he wouldnt have to worry about applying too much extra burden on the participants mental state. Of course, to keep his ability to draw divine patterns a secret as much as possible, he still couldnt reveal too many. A 20-man battle group was about the limit. If he strengthened the weapons and equipment of only 20 participants, he could still justify it by claiming to have purchased a batch of Intermediate Divine Patterns at an exorbitant price. Any more, and he would have a hard time explaining himself. If he were to accidentally expose to the various powers his ability to draw Intermediate Divine Patterns, itd be the end of the road for him. Whether it was Demons Gate or the Seven Luminaries Alliance, every apex power would try to capture him at all costs to take control of the Intermediate Divine Patterns in his possession. With his current strength, there would be nothing he could do to resist. If you can get such a battle group for me, there is nothing else I can say. Grinning, Red Frost patted her well-endowed chest and expressed confidently, If I still cant secure victory in the Tier 6 battle, I will help you with anything you need in the future without question. Looking at Red Frosts seductive and noble appearance, Shi Feng suddenly felt that if Blackie and the others were to learn of Red Frosts suggestion, they would 100% hope that the coalition of fifteen cities would win against Star Lake City. Setting aside the fact that Red Frost was a stunning beauty, just the fact that she was a pseudo-great grandmaster was already enough to tempt any upper-ranking hegemonic power and pseudo-apex power into recruiting her. In the Greater World, three-star grandmasters could control a city, while great grandmasters could influence the direction of an entire continents development. A great grandmaster could also control a first-tier city and command respect from the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates. If you have no problems with the Tier 6 battle, winning the city battle also wouldnt be a problem, Shi Feng hurriedly said when he noticed Red Frost starting to scrutinize him again. After the city battle, Star Lake City will be able to take a leap forward and become a second-tier city. Im sure the City Lord will be very interested in my proposal. The lifelong dream of many three-star grandmasters was to preside over a second-tier mobile city. This was so they could cross the large hurdle before them and enter the realm of great grandmasters. No matter how affluent a third-tier city was, it still had far too few energy resources to supplement the birth of a great grandmaster. Even the most energy-rich location in a third-tier city would only be comparable to the central district of a second-tier city, and it was still far from matching the most energy-rich location of a second-tier city. Not to mention, a second-tier citys City Lord enjoyed much greater status in the Gods Domain Association than a third-tier citys City Lord. The Gods Domain Association was an incredibly mysterious organization in the Greater World. Nobody knew about the Associations origins, but everyone knew that the Association could produce great grandmasters. Or, more specifically, apart from certain special opportunities in Gods Domain, the only way a person could become a great grandmaster in the Greater World was by relying on the Gods Domain Association. In fact, the majority of the Greater Worlds great grandmasters only existed because of the Association. Star Lake Citys City Lord was already old, and his chances of becoming a great grandmaster were slim. If he wanted to achieve a breakthrough and prolong his lifespan and youth, his only option would be to become the City Lord of a second-tier city. Youre right. Returning to her seat, Red Frost crossed her legs and nodded. Then, she smiled and said, The City Lord will not be able to resist a chance to become a second-tier citys City Lord. He will even be willing to stake his life for it. But, the problem is, on what basis do you expect us to believe you can fulfill any of your promises? Shi Fengs proposal indeed tempted Red Frost. Her mind had even temporarily fallen into disarray because of it. However, she was a pseudo-great grandmaster. She was also the Silver Lake Legions commander, and she wielded the most authority in Star Lake City after the City Lord. She naturally wouldnt trust someone so easily. Not to mention, Shi Fengs offer sounded too good to be true. Shi Feng also sat back down. Then, looking at Red Frost in the eye, he calmly said: On the basis that I am Black Flame. Shi Feng did not speak in a loud voice. Yet, his words had seemingly stopped time as the lounge fell completely silent. Chapter 3504 - Chapter 578 - Regional Bosss Loot Chapter 578 C Regional Bosss Loot Black Flame? Youre Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame?! Red Frost shot up from her seat once again and looked at Shi Feng in disbelief. This time, she strongly believed Shi Feng was joking with her. Black Flame had already become a household name in the Greater Gods Domain. Black Flame was also why she and the City Lord had a very optimistic view of Zero Wings future. It was especially so for Red Frost after she took an in-depth look into Black Flames growth process. The only word she could use to describe Black Flame was shocking. First, Black Flame had gotten into the Luminous Glory List. Later, he entered the Eternal Realm and single-handedly suppressed several upper-ranking powers and Holy Race powers. Then, just when everyone thought Black Flames success was only a product of luck, he appeared in the Miniature Ancient World and accomplished something even more astonishing. Despite being a Tier 5 player, Black Flame had single-handedly slain a Tier 6 Berserker God and slaughtered tens of thousands of experts across a distance of hundreds of kilometers. After the battle, he was even ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List, granting him great fame across the Greater Gods Domain for some time. However, all of this was not important. As a former Sacred Glory List expert, Red Frost knew that the ranking list was merely the tip of the iceberg. Many talented paragons were still not ranked on the Sacred Glory List. More specifically, these were the talents secretly nurtured by the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and above. Meanwhile, in the eyes of these talents, the Sacred Glory List was nothing more than a joke to entertain the masses. It wasnt something worth taking seriously at all. But after conducting in-depth research on Black Flame, Red Frost also realized that the Sacred Glory List had only revealed a small portion of Black Flames true potential. What was truly frightening about Black Flame was his rate of growth. Black Flames growth was simply unheard of. When Black Flame first entered the Sacred Glory List, he was merely suspected to be a fifth-floor expert. Yet, even though only a short time had passed, he was now an existence who had mastered a Gold Combat Technique. Even back in her heyday, her growth would be insignificant compared to Black Flames. At one point, Red Frost even suspected that Black Flame might be an old monster who had decided to come out of retirement and establish a Guild out of boredom. Yet, she was now being told that Black Flame, Zero Wings mythical Guild Leader and the Lord of War Goddesses, was actually a young man in his thirties, and he wasnt even a mental strength master not long ago How could she possibly believe this?! Indeed! It is ! Shi Feng said, smiling and nodding as he looked at Red Frosts shocked expression. Will that be enough to prove I can fulfill my promises? He didnt find Red Frosts reaction particularly strange. Anyone who bothered to do some research would more than likely assume that Black Flame was someone of significant age. After all, Black Flames rate of growth was highly abnormal. Many people even suspected that Black Flame might have originated from some ancient power. Otherwise, how could he be so bold as to challenge multiple pseudo-apex powers? Unfortunately, no matter how everyone racked their minds, they would probably never imagine that he was a reincarnator, much less a reincarnator who had reincarnated more than once. How can I trust that you are Black Flame? Red Frost sternly asked, her previously cheerful and charming appearance nowhere to be seen. Simple! Tapping on his watch, Shi Feng summoned a holographic panel displaying his Gods Domain profile. I cant possibly falsify my Gods Domain ID, right? While exposing his identity as Black Flame came with risks, it was a much less significant secret to expose compared to the Divine Engraver Legacy. After all, in the various powers eyes, Black Flame was merely a developing monster. As a Tier 5 player, Black Flame couldnt even pose a significant threat to upper-ranking hegemonic powers, let alone pseudo-apex and apex powers. However, Black Flames identity held significant meaning for Red Frost, the Star Lake Legions commander. This was because only those who had come into personal contact with him would know how abnormal his rate of growth truly was. The worth of his future potential easily surpassed the worth of a second-tier city. You really are Black Flame! When Red Frost saw the ID displayed on the holographic panel, she couldnt help but look at Shi Feng as if she had just seen a priceless treasure. Arent you afraid Ill leak your identity? The Paimon Conglomerate still has a bounty on your head, and not only has the bounty grown to one billion Star Coins, but it also includes a permanent residential slot in a first-tier city. I doubt you will be tempted by such trifling rewards, Commander Red Frost, Shi Feng said, chuckling. If you could be so easily tempted, you would never have stayed in Star Lake City. You would have long moved into a first-tier city and enjoyed much greater status in the Greater World. No matter how weak Red Frost had become in Gods Domain, it did not change the fact that she was a pseudo-great grandmaster in the real world. This alone was enough to net her a core executive position in any pseudo-apex power. Had she taken on such a position, she could have promptly moved into one of the high and mighty special-tier mobile cities, let alone a first-tier mobile city. You are correct. Red Frost nodded, a hint of nostalgia flashing in her eyes. Then, she took a deep breath and continued, Since you have proven yourself to be Black Flame, I will no longer question the feasibility of tackling the fifteen cities. I will also personally speak to the City Lord about your proposal. Black Flame had single-handedly annihilated the experts of three upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World. So, defeating fifteen third-tier city legions would be nothing more than repeating that feat. Not to mention, Black Flame had stated that he could help her recover to her peak! I will have to trouble you with that, then, Commander Red Frost, Shi Feng expressed his gratitude. No trouble; its no trouble at all, Red Frost said, smiling. Just dont forget your promise to me. Naturally. I guarantee youll recover to your peak in seven days, Shi Feng affirmed. He was rather confident in obtaining a Mana Purification Technique in seven days. After all, Mana Purification Techniques werent particularly rare on the Western Continent. It was even possible to exchange for Mana Purification Techniques using resources in Seven Luminaries Town. Of course, Bronze Purification Techniques were still a little tricky to obtain. This could be seen by how only a minority of the veteran players operating in Seven Luminaries Town had learned a Bronze Purification Technique. If he couldnt get his hands on a Bronze Purification Technique in seven days, he would have to settle with exchanging a Common Purification Technique. Even if it couldnt resolve Red Frosts problem completely, it should more or less recover some of her Tier 6 manas strength. Following this, Shi Feng and Red Frost spent the next three hours discussing the details of their cooperation. This also meant that six hours had passed in Gods Domain, so Shi Feng promptly returned to his living quarters and logged back into the game as soon as he concluded his discussion with Red Frost. Everyone in the Dawnlight Party had agreed to log back into the game at a specific time. If he let the others wait for him for too long, they might fall into danger. After all, the Plain of Fallen Gods remained the Holy Race players territory, the Holy Race players would not hesitate to join forces to subjugate any human players they discovered on the map. Hence, every second and minute a human player spent on the Plain of Fallen Gods was incredibly dangerous. Plain of Fallen Gods: Youre back, Brother Black Flame. When Sky Pivot saw Shi Feng appearing, he solemnly said, Now that everyones here, we will split the loot according to our previous agreement. No problem. Shi Feng nodded when he saw the excitement on Sky Pivots face. The Half-Snakekin General had dropped eleven items previously. However, as they were in a rush before, they quickly collected the items closest to them before fleeing to this cave. Then, they hastily logged out of the game after setting up a magic barrier on the caves entrance. So, even until now, nobody knew what they had obtained from the Regional Boss. Subsequently, under Sky Pivots command, everyone took out the items they looted. Immediately afterward, the density of Mana and various other energies in the cave started to rise rapidly. Even Eternal Energy had started to gather from all directions. Chapter 3505 - Chapter 579 - Soul Blood Chapter 579 C Soul Blood What dense Eternal Energy! Incredible! The Eternal Energy gathered here is already denser than when we defeated the Final Boss of that Hell Mode Team Dungeon! Sky Pivot and the other original members of the Dawnlight Party promptly lost their calm when they sensed the change in their surrounding environment. Is that really the case, Leader? Has the loot of this Regional Boss gathered denser Eternal Energy than a Hell Mode Team Dungeons Final Boss? Billowing Water asked out of curiosity. She wasnt aware of the Western Continents loot situation, so she didnt share the same reaction as Sky Pivot and the others. In Gods Domain, the higher the quality of an item, the more mana it could attract from the surroundings. But judging by the reactions of Sky Pivot and the others, although the Half-Snakekin Generals loot had also attracted a lot of mana, the standard of judging an items quality was evidently based on the Eternal Energy the item attracted. It is much denser, Sky Pivot said, nodding. Our party previously collaborated with a couple of other parties to raid a Hell Mode Team Dungeon, but the Final Bosss loot only doubled the density of the surrounding Eternal Energy. The affected area was also only limited to a 10-yard radius, Moon Bamboo explained. But as you can see, these items have increased the surrounding Eternal Energys density by several times. If not for the magic barrier weve set up, the area they can influence might even increase to a radius of several hundred yards. Essentially, weve struck gold this time! Indeed! Looking at the eleven items on the ground, Budding Leaf sighed ruefully and said, When we participated in the joint dungeon raid, a total of eight noteworthy items dropped, and our party only received two. Our party even lost two members during the raid. Even so, we still ended up profiting significantly. But what we got from that raid is nothing compared to our current harvest. The Dawnlight Party had obtained two valuable items from the Hell Mode Team Dungeon they raided. Of them, one was a Bronze Mana Purification Technique, while the other was a Combat-ranked Secret Treasure. The Bronze Purification Technique was given to Moon Bamboo, the vice party leader of the team, while the Combat-ranked Secret Treasure was given to Sky Pivot. After receiving their respective treasures, both Moon Bamboo and Sky Pivot saw a significant increase in strength. Even after accounting for the loss of their two party members, the Dawnlight Partys overall strength still increased significantly, allowing the party to retain its status in Seven Luminaries Town. Enough talking. The barrier might be able to prevent the Holy Race players outside from detecting us, but some of them might have Scouting Skills that can see through the barriers concealment. Lets quickly appraise these items before trouble finds us, Sky Pivot urged. Moon Bamboo nodded and promptly began to use her Identification Skill to appraise the eleven items. Many of the Holy Races combat methods and Skills were incomprehensible to human players. As a result, many parties failed to survive their encounters with Holy Race players. So, it was best to avoid contact with Holy Race players as much as possible. Thirty seconds later, Moon Bamboo finished appraising the eleven items, the speed of her appraisal astonishing even Shi Feng. We really lucked out this time! Moon Bamboo exclaimed. Other than four Common Secret Treasures and two Legendary materials, we also got one Bronze Purification Technique and four Combat Secret Treasures! Theres a Bronze Purification Technique and four Combat Secret Treasures? Sky Pivot and the others couldnt help but be astonished. Billowing Water found this outcome especially shocking. Whether it was the Bronze Purification Technique or Combat Secret Treasures, both were extremely rare on the Western Continent. According to her understanding, even Seven Luminaries Towns veteran parties wouldnt necessarily own a Bronze Purification Technique or a Combat Secret Treasure. Most were still stuck with Common Purification Technique and Common Secret Treasures. Yet, their party had obtained one Bronze Purification Technique and four Combat Secret Treasures from killing just one Regional Boss. This was an unbelievable harvest. Brother Black Flame, as per our agreement and your contribution to the party, this Bronze Purification Technique belongs to you, Sky Pivot calmly said. Besides that, you and Billow can have priority in choosing one item from the remaining items. Moon Bamboo, Budding Leaf, and Splashing Fire did not object to Sky Pivots arrangement. They simply looked at the partys two newcomers. Although they had reaped a huge harvest this time, Sky Pivot had already informed them of the promises he previously made to Shi Feng and Billowing Water. They had also agreed to Sky Pivots decision before they set out, so they werent about to kick up a fuss now. Not to mention, even if they conceded three items, the rest of the loot was still plenty astonishing. Meanwhile, Billowing Water couldnt help but look at Shi Feng enviously when she heard he would be receiving a Bronze Purification Technique. For newcomers like themselves to survive on the Western Continent, it was imperative that they strengthened their mana as soon as possible. Not to mention, a Bronze Purification Technique could undoubtedly provide a huge increase in strength. If she could get her hands on one and learn it successfully, she was confident she could enter Seven Luminaries Towns upper ranks. Would you like to make a trade with me, Miss Billow? Shi Feng quietly asked when he noticed Billowing Waters yearning for the Bronze Purification Technique. We previously agreed that half of my earnings in the Forbidden Zone would belong to you. If I give this Bronze Purification Technique to you, can we settle the matter? Are you really willing to trade this Bronze Purification Technique for half of your harvests later? Billowing Water asked, confused by Shi Fengs offer. Even though she hadnt spent much time in Seven Luminaries Town, she knew how valuable a Bronze Purification Technique was. It was highly unlikely they would get another Bronze Purification Technique in their subsequent exploration. So, Shi Feng would be losing out big time if he were to trade away his Bronze Purification Technique to offset the earnings he needed to split with her afterward. Of course, Shi Feng said, smiling. While the Bronze Purification Technique is valuable, it isnt something I must have right now. Moreover, if you can strengthen your mana, it will make subsequent explorations in this party easier. We will also have a greater chance of obtaining a second Bronze Purification Technique and more precious items. Okay! I agree to your offer! Billowing Water said, finding Shi Fengs reasoning to be valid. If she could learn a Bronze Purification Technique, the Dawnlight Partys overall strength would further increase. Afterward, they would have an easier time exploring the Plain of Fallen Gods, and their chances of obtaining better loot would also increase. If another Bronze Purification Technique truly did drop, Shi Feng would have bet correctly and earned much more than he originally would have. Immediately, Shi Feng handed the Bronze Purification Technique he obtained to Billowing Water and strode toward the ten remaining items. Ill choose this one, Shi Feng said as he picked up a crystal vial containing a drop of scarlet liquid. The scarlet liquid was called Soul Blood, and it was one of the two Legendary materials dropped by the Regional Boss. Seeing this, Billowing Water couldnt help but be surprised once again. This time, though, she completely failed to understand why Shi Feng would choose a Legendary material instead of the more precious Combat Secret Treasures. However, what Billowing Water did not know was that the reason Shi Feng had decided to trade away the precious Bronze Purification Technique in the first place was precisely so that he could keep this unassuming Soul Blood. Are you sure you want to choose the Soul Blood, Brother Black Flame? When Sky Pivot saw Shi Feng choosing the crystal vial, he couldnt help but seek further confirmation from Shi Feng. Chapter 3506 - Chapter 580 - Tier 6 Advanced Concentration Chapter 580 C Tier 6 Advanced Concentration Brother Black Flame, while the description of Soul Blood states that it can be used to permanently improve a players Concentration, its actual effects are minimal, Splashing Fire sincerely explained when he saw Shi Feng using his privilege to acquire the Soul Blood. Quite a few parties in town have obtained the Soul Blood before, and they were all deceived by its described effects initially. They all thought they had gotten their hands on some great treasure, and one of the top-ranking teams had even paid a significant amount of money to purchase the Soul Blood from others. However, out of everyone who has used Soul Blood, not a single person managed to raise their Concentration standards.[1] It was quite a well-known incident back then, Budding Leaf added. The team originally intended to use Soul Blood to raise three of its newcomers Concentration standards from Tier 6 Basic to Tier 6 Intermediate since, after factoring in the help of a Mana Purification Technique, the team would promptly gain three more capable combatants. However, even though all three of those newcomers were originally already stuck at the limits of the Tier 6 Basic standard, none of them managed to raise their Concentration to the Tier 6 Intermediate standard. The outcome nearly drove everyone on that team to madness. Moon Bamboo also nodded, expressing her agreement with Splashing Fire and Budding Leaf. By now, they had already regarded Shi Feng as one of their own. Not to mention, as a Half-step Tier 6 expert, Shi Feng might become even stronger than Sky Pivot once he learned a Mana Purification Technique. So, it was in their best interests to dissuade him from a bad decision and form a good relationship with him. Even at the limits of the Tier 6 Basic standard, they didnt achieve a breakthrough? Billowing Water was taken aback when she heard Budding Leafs explanation. Previously, she, too, had contemplated whether she should go for the Soul Blood. After all, if she could push her Concentration to the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, paired with the Bronze Mana Purification Technique, she could reach the Half-step Tier 6 standard, or possibly even higher. Its fine. Ill choose it, Shi Feng stated firmly as he continued holding onto the Soul Blood. Soul Blood was a material unique to the Eternal Realm, and it was available in scarce quantities. During his previous life, any Soul Blood that appeared on the market would be immediately snatched up by the various pseudo-apex and apex powers. Other powers wouldnt even have a chance to obtain one. Honestly, Shi Feng had still been skeptical when he first saw the vial of Soul Blood previously. After all, how could he come across one so easily? However, after Moon Bamboo appraised it, he promptly resolved to make a trade with Billowing Water. Soul Bloods introduction was true in that it could be used to improve a players Concentration standard. However, what the introduction didnt mention was how players should go about using Soul Blood. Because of this, during the initial phase of Soul Bloods discovery, players would ingest Soul Blood directly and receive negligible improvements to their Concentration. This, in turn, led to Soul Blood being treated as garbage by players and left in a corner to collect dust for a considerable amount of time after its initial discovery. During his previous life, it wasnt until players discovered a library that had survived in the Eternal Realm since the Mythical Era did the various powers become aware of the correct way to utilize Soul Blood. When that discovery was made, it caused a sensation throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain. According to records found in the ancient library, there were three ways to utilize Soul Blood. The first method was to ingest it directly. This method yielded the worst results, and it could only let players with Concentration below the Tier 6 standard achieve a one-rank improvement. Moreover, this method would only be effective once, with subsequent consumptions of Soul Blood not yielding any improvements. And if players with Tier 6 Concentration tried to ingest Soul Blood directly, they would only receive negligible improvements. The second method was to refine Soul Blood into a Soul Amplification Potion. When players consumed the Soul Amplification Potion, they would see a permanent increase of one or two ranks to their Concentration standard. While players of all Concentration standards could use this second method, each player could only consume one Soul Amplification Potion in their lifetime. The third method was to merge with the Soul Blood by dripping it onto ones eye. This method would cause players to experience scorching pain like no other in their souls. So long as players could endure the pain and avoid losing consciousness throughout the merging process, the Soul Blood would thoroughly merge with their souls and permanently improve their Concentration by one rank. Likewise, each player could only use this method once in their lifetime. Of the three methods, the second method was both the safest and most effective. Coming in second in effectiveness was the third method, but it was also the riskiest of the three methods. However, regardless of the method, players could only try one. Once they successfully applied one of the three methods, they would become immune to the effects of Soul Blood. Currently, producing the Soul Amplification Potion was out of the question for Shi Feng. Firstly, he didnt have the recipe. Secondly, even if he did have the recipe, he would need a Great Grandmaster Alchemist to produce the potion for him, and it would be done at a low success rate of thirty to forty percent. Hence, he could only go with the third method of utilizing the Soul Blood. It was also the most common method used by players who had obtained Soul Blood in his previous life. Although the Soul Amplification Potion could improve Concentration by up to two ranks, the opportunity for players with Tier 6 Concentration to permanently increase their Concentration by one rank was enough to make countless experts lose their minds. It was especially so for players operating on the Western Continent. Such an improvement would allow players to achieve a qualitative improvement. When Sky Pivot and the others saw Shi Fengs determination, they no longer tried to dissuade him. Instead, they proceeded with allocating the remaining loot based on party contribution. Unsurprisingly, the four Combat Secret Treasures were distributed to Sky Pivot, Moon Bamboo, Billowing Water, and Shi Feng. As for the four Common Secret Treasures, they were evenly distributed between Splashing Fire and Budding Leaf. Once the party finished distributing the loot, Sky Pivot promptly summoned a dozen rat-sized stealth summons and scattered them outside the cave. When it came to scouting, these stealth summons were as capable as Rangers and Assassins. With one eye closed, Sky Pivot observed the situation outside the cave through the eyes of his summons. Then, he solemnly said, There are still a couple of Holy Race teams outside. Im afraid well have to wait until they move some distance away before we can leave. Sure enough, those people wont give up so easily. I guess we just have to have a competition of patience with them like always, Splashing Fire said, unperturbed by this outcome. Then, he went to sit in a corner of the cave and started researching the Common Secret Treasures he just obtained. As for everyone else, they, too, began researching their respective harvests while awaiting further orders from the party leader. I guess I can also use this opportunity to raise my Concentration, Shi Feng thought when he saw that everyone was busy with their respective affairs. Then, he stepped into a dark corner of the cave and cautiously dripped the Soul Blood onto his right eye. Immediately after the scarlet liquid made contact with his eyeball, Shi Feng immediately felt rampant energy invading his soul and trying to corrode his entire being. In just an instant, Shi Feng felt like flames were scorching his body, inside and outside. It really hurts! Shi Feng mentally exclaimed as he stared at the scarlet veins that appeared all over his body. He didnt think merging with the Soul Blood would be so excruciatingly painful. If not for the countless hardships he experienced in his previous life, he would have probably screamed in agony right about now. However, amidst the pain, Shi Feng could also feel strands of Eternal Energy flowing into the depths of his Immortal Soul and improving its resilience. The painful experience lasted for a full twenty minutes before disappearing, leaving Shi Feng with a sense of liberation. Immediately afterward, the sound of a system notification entered his ears. System: Congratulations! You have achieved Tier 6 Advanced Concentration while still being at Tier 5. Rewarding Mental Dominator title. Chapter 3507 - Chapter 581 - Divine Kingdoms Resurgence Chapter 581 C Divine Kingdoms Resurgence Mental Dominator? Shi Feng was surprised by the title he abruptly obtained. [Mental Dominator] When the title is equipped, it weakens all mental attacks received by 20%. The effect of weakening mental attacks received by 20% might seem insignificant, but that would only be true if he were still on the Eternal Continent. On the Western Continent, the Mental Dominator title could yield him extraordinary benefits. Compared to the Eternal Continents monsters, the Western Continents monsters werent all that different in Basic Attributes. However, because of their mastery over mental attacks, they were vastly more difficult to deal with. If he were to equip the Mental Dominator title, he would raise his resistance to mental attacks to a new level. If he were to face the Half-Snakekin General again, he wouldnt even need to split his attention to deal with the Regional Bosss mental attacks. Now that my Concentration has reached the Tier 6 Advanced, I can probably execute Sword of Space without channeling my mana for a long time, Shi Feng theorized when he felt his control over his mana improving significantly. Then, he unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and thought, I wonder if I can break the second seal. When he previously undid the Shadow Incinerators first seal, the weapon had gained the might of a Legendary Weapon. If he could undo the second seal, the Godly Relic could undoubtedly elevate his overall strength to a whole new level. At that time, even if he had to roam the Western Continent by himself, he would face far fewer problems. One time Two times Three times Shi Feng tried attacking the mental nodes on the Shadow Incinerators second seal multiple times using Mental Condensation in quick succession. However, the mental nodes remained completely unfazed. It seems I was hoping for too much. Shi Feng wryly smiled when he saw how he had utterly failed to break the second seal. The Shadow Incinerators second seal was of a much higher rank than the first seal. Moreover, he sensed that the effectiveness of the Mental Condensation technique taught to him by the Primordial Abyssal God had weakened significantly after his Concentration reached the Tier 6 Advanced standard. The technique did not strengthen his Concentration to the Tier 6 Peak standard and only improved it by half a rank. If he wanted to break the second seal, he would still have to raise his Concentration by half a rank. Nevermind. At least I wont have difficulties learning how to inscribe Intermediate Divine Engravings now. Shi Feng quickly got over his disappointment and regained his calm. After all, his primary goal in trading away the Bronze Mana Purification Technique for the Soul Blood was never to undo the Shadow Incinerators second seal. Instead, it was to upgrade his Concentration to the Tier 6 Advanced standard so that he could learn how to inscribe Intermediate Divine Engravings quicker and have an easier time roaming the Western Continent by himself. Admittedly, he could have an easier time killing Legendary-ranked Regional Bosses if he operated with the Dawnlight Party. However, he was in possession of the Feather of Oath. So long as he could resist the mental attacks of the Western Continents monsters, he could afford to explore higher-level maps and slay Legendary-ranked World Bosses by himself. Not only would he get to monopolize all of the loot, but the quality would also be vastly superior to that of Regional Bosses. Somethings up! Everyone, gather! At this time, Sky Pivot suddenly disrupted the caves tranquility, his command causing everyone to gather at the caves entrance reflexively. What happened outside, Leader? Splashing Fire asked, growing a little anxious when he saw Sky Pivots unusually serious expression. Did the Holy Race players discover us? Their party of six might be strong, but the Holy Race players had many experts. Some of them could even contend against the likes of Sky Pivot. If two or three of such experts worked together, they could quickly take down Sky Pivot, let alone the rest of their party. No, thats not it, Sky Pivot said, shaking his head. Then, with a confused look, he continued, The Holy Race players outside are behaving strangely. It looks like they received a command of some sort, and they are now gathering in a particular direction. But I havent sensed any signs of battle coming from the direction they are headed. They are heading in a direction without signs of battle? Shi Feng had his curiosity piqued a little when he heard Sky Pivots description. The Holy Race players were similar to human players in that they were split among numerous powers. Currently, the Holy Race players operating on the Plain of Fallen Gods all came from different powers, so their relationship with each other was that of competitors. Because of this, whenever they started to gather in the same direction, it usually meant they had perceived signs of battle coming from that direction, and they intended to contest for loot. But if there were no signs of battle, it meant that no Boss battles were taking place nearby. In that case, it was very strange for the Holy Race players to gather in the same direction. It still wouldnt make sense even if allies notified them about a Boss battle taking place. If they were so far away that they couldnt perceive any signs of the battle in question, the battle would have long ended by the time they arrived at the scene, and there would be no point in them heading over. Wait! Thatsacity? Before anyone could come to a conclusion, Sky Pivot suddenly exclaimed, A city appeared on the Plain of Fallen Gods! Before Sky Pivot could continue speaking, a regional announcement rang in everyones minds. Regional System Announcement: The sealed Divine Kingdom of old has been opened. Divine Kingdoms Afterglow expansion pack activated. The announcement repeated three times, stunning everyone. During Gods Domains Mythical Era, countries that could be dubbed as a Divine Kingdom were countries ruled by Gods, and they possessed civilizations and technologies far beyond the grasp of the modern era. No wonder the Holy Race players are rushing over there! A Divine Kingdom! This is undoubtedly the biggest opportunity the Western Continent has to offer! Splashing Fire exclaimed ruefully. If we can secure even a tiny portion of what the Divine Kingdom has to offer, it will probably still be better than a Regional Bosss loot. Moon Bamboo nodded in agreement. Then, she looked at Sky Pivot and said, This is a rare opportunity, Leader. Now that our party has grown much stronger, should we take a look too? Following Moon Bamboos words, Splashing Fire, Budding Leaf, and Billowing Water also looked at Sky Pivot with hopeful and excited gazes. During the past half an hour, they had already equipped the Secret Treasures they had obtained. Billowing Water had also gained initial mastery over her Bronze Purification Technique, putting her current strength close to Sky Pivot. Okay! Lets go and take a look! After hesitating for a moment, Sky Pivot decided to take a gamble. Plain of Fallen Gods, central region: What should have been a vast forested plain was now dominated by a towering city. The city occupied the entirety of the Plain of Fallen Gods central region and awed all players who approached it with its mountain-like walls. It should be known that even the walls of Holy Cities would normally only reach a height of one hundred meters. Yet, the city that occupied the central region had walls measuring thousands of meters in height. Even birds would need to fly a long time to reach the top of the walls and cross them. As for players who couldnt fly, these walls were akin to an insurmountable barrier. At this time, though, thousands of Flying Mounts filled the sky above the city. Each of these Flying Mounts was at Tier 4 or above, and standing on the back of these Flying Mounts were Holy Race players exuding astonishing auras. Even the weakest of these Holy Race players exuded auras on par with the average Tier 6 human player. As for the Holy Race players standing atop the several Tier 5 Flying Mounts positioned in the lead, their presence was akin to that of Gods, and they exuded Holy Power that distorted the surrounding space. At this time, a Level 164, Tier 5 middle-aged man with a solemn appearance could be seen approaching a young man on his Tier 5 Flying Mount. The young man had holy patterns marking his eyes, and the middle-aged man put on a respectful expression when he arrived before the young man. Lord Royal Thunder, all Tier 6 combatants operating in the Plain of Fallen Gods have already gathered. They number more than 50,000, and they are ready to comply with your orders, the middle-aged man reported. We have also discovered several human parties riding Tier 5 Flying Mounts secretly stalking us from 3,000 yards away. Should we eliminate them before we proceed? Chapter 3508 - Chapter 582 - Demon of Swords Chapter 582 C Demon of Swords Human parties? A look of interest appeared on the young man with patterned eyes. Then, he turned to the fair-skinned girl with an indifferent face standing next to him and asked, Are there any noteworthy experts among them, Feather? You jest, Lord Thunder. There are no noteworthy experts among humans. They are merely a bunch of ants, the girl named Extreme Feather responded. Currently, only the chosen ones nurtured by the humans apex powers can put up a fight against me. Every other human is unlikely to survive a single move from me. Is that so? The young man named Royal Thunder couldnt help but lose interest after hearing Extreme Feathers answer. Then, he turned back to the middle-aged man and said, In that case, quickly take care of those human parties. I dont wish to waste time on them. Royal Thunder had no doubts about Extreme Feathers words. Extreme Feather was one of the Nine Great Chosen Ones under his command, and she was one of the key figures assisting him in securing his position within his family. When he initially heard that there were human players nearby, his first thought was to find a noteworthy opponent among them for Extreme Feather. After all, only by fighting strong opponents could Extreme Feather grow quicker. But if the opponents were merely insignificant ants, there was no need to waste time on them. Understood! the solemn middle-aged man responded before flying away with a thousand Holy Race experts. Meanwhile, a little over two thousand yards away, the various human parties operating on the Plain of Fallen Gods had gathered together. Every party had used a Tier 5 Group Isolation Scroll to conceal their presence. Unless one came very close to these parties, even fifth-floor experts would have difficulty noticing them. It seems the other side has discovered us, Pivot, a robust man riding atop a Tier 5 Void Manta commented when he saw the thousand or so Holy Race experts flying over from a distance. Then, he looked at a nearby male Summoner and smiled, saying, Will you be needing our help this time? Careful not to eat your own words, Fire Bull, Sky Pivot said in exasperation as he looked at the robust man. According to Seven Luminaries Towns party rankings, Dawnlight is one rank above Fire Demon. You should be more concerned about your own party right now. In Seven Luminaries Town, the Fire Demon Party and the Dawn Light Party could be considered rivals. However, not once did the Fire Demon Party ever manage to surpass the Dawnlight Party in rankings. Times have changed, Pivot, the robust man named Fire Bull said with a nonchalant smile. Our party has recently welcomed a strong newcomer, so our strength is no longer the same as before. Not to mention, didnt Dawnlight lose two members some time ago? Do you think your party is the only one with new members? Sky Pivot said disdainfully. Hey, not everyone is equal, Fire Bull said before delightedly pointing at a female Swordsman with an enticing figure. Our newcomer is extraordinary. While she might be young in age, she has already reached the Half-step Tier 6 standard. Even an old guy like you might have a tough time against her. Hello, Party Leader Sky Pivot. I am Cang Sha, the Fire Demon Partys newest member, Cang Sha introduced herself to Sky Pivot in a seductive voice. I am still new to Seven Luminaries Town, so I hope you can look out for me in the future. Hello. I am Sky Pivot, the Dawnlight Partys leader, Sky Pivot hurriedly introduced himself as well when he saw how polite Cang Sha was. Cang Sha? While looking at the Fire Demon Partys seductive new member, Shi Feng suddenly recalled a name from his previous life. Demon of Swords, Cang Sha! She was one of the chosen ones nurtured by the apex power Demons Gate. She became a three-star mental strength grandmaster at a very young age, and she was also the youngest person to become a Taboo in Demons Gates history. However, outside of Demons Gate, few people had ever seen Cang Shas true appearance. It wasnt even possible to find Cang Shas battle records through public means. Even so, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had awarded Cang Sha the title of Demon of Swords and described her as an existence on par with the Ten Great Sword Gods. At one point during Shi Fengs previous life, the Midnight Tea Partys legendary existence, Endless Scars, fought Cang Sha. Although Endless Scars did not disclose the fights result, Shi Feng did learn one thing from Endless Scars. Only Primordial Gods could defeat Cang Sha! The evaluation stunned Shi Feng when he first heard it. Primordial Gods were existences standing at the very apex of Gods Domain. Even among players regarded as Taboos, very few could put up a fight against Primordial Gods, let alone stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Primordial Gods. While Shi Feng wondered about Cang Shas true identity, Fire Bull, the Fire Demon Partys leader, directed his Void Manta closer to the Dawnlight Party. What do you think, Pivot? Look at how polite our newcomer is! Fire Bull boasted. I can also tell you that Cang Sha isnt just polite. She can absolutely stun you once she takes action. So long as your party is willing to admit defeat, we wouldnt mind helping you out this time. Otherwise, you might not even get past the city gates before getting sent back to the Eternal Continent. Stun me? Sky Pivot couldnt help but laugh. Then, he pointed at Shi Feng and said, Do you know who our partys newcomer is? Who is he? Fire Bull responded with an expression of disdain. Black Flame! The Lord of War Goddesses ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List! Sky Pivot proudly stated. Once those Holy Race experts arrive, just watch as we enter the city ahead of you! Sky Pivot wasnt worried about the approaching Holy Race experts. Aerial combat was different from ground combat. It was especially so when everyone currently lacked the ability to fly on their own on the Western Continent. In such a situation, it was easy for several hundred players to form an impenetrable encirclement on the ground. However, in the air, where everyone had to rely on Flying Mounts to stay airborne, the best the Holy Race experts could accomplish was to have several players attack from up close. Everyone else could only rely on long-range bombardment. In such a situation, their party could simply rely on defensive magic arrays to defend against incoming attacks while they charged into the city. Meanwhile, once they entered the city, the monsters that infested the city would greatly diminish the advantage of numbers. At that time, the Holy Race players would have a much more difficult time keeping them pinned. Eleventh on the Sacred Glory List? Fire Bull laughed. Fire Bull had previously thought the Dawnlight Party had recruited someone incredible for Sky Pivot to boast about so much. However, it would seem that he had overestimated his old rival and the Dawnlight Party as a whole. The party must be in dire straits if it was treating a Sacred Glory expert as a treasure. Black Flame? Meanwhile, Cang Shas gaze promptly locked onto Shi Feng when she heard Sky Pivots words, and she couldnt help but lick her lips as she scrutinized Shi Feng. How interesting. So, you are Zero Wings Guild Leader? I wonder what would become of Zero Wing if I were to kill you now? Cang Shas words were like the Devils whispers, sending shivers down the spines of everyone present. Everyone felt as if a sharp sword was hanging over their heads, ready to fall and claim their lives at any moment. Chapter 3509 - Chapter 583 - Sweeping the Sky With One Slash Chapter 583 C Sweeping the Sky With One Slash Following Cang Shas words, Fire Bulls anxiety levels promptly skyrocketed. Cang Sha! No messing around! Fire Bull quickly advised when he saw Cang Sha seemingly itching for a fight. I dont know what grudge you have with that young man, but you will cause all of us to die here if you act now. At this point, Fire Bull regarded Cang Sha as if she were his ancestor. It wasnt simply because Cang Sha possessed astonishing strength; it was also due to her unpredictable temperament. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that she could be smiling at someone in one moment and killing them in the next. In fact, this had happened multiple times in Seven Luminaries Town, and the Fire Demon Party had already made many enemies in town because of Cang Sha. Currently, they were about to engage a force of a thousand Holy Race experts in battle. Even if it was just an aerial battle, it wouldnt be easy to deal with. If they were to start a fight with the Dawnlight Party in such a situation, it would undoubtedly lead to a nightmarish scenario. Others might not know of the Dawnlight Partys true strength, but as an old rival of the party, Fire Bull knew just how formidable the party was. It was especially so for the partys leader, Sky Pivot. Sky Pivot was so strong that if he disregarded caution and unleashed his full power, not even the top ten experts of Seven Luminaries Town would dare to provoke him. The Summoner class might seem to primarily rely on summoned creatures as their main method of attack, but Sky Pivot wasnt just a Summoner. He was also a Spirit Controller. And while the Spirit Controller hidden class might not be considered a Peak Class, it was an Advanced Class that strongly complemented the Summoner class. As a Spirit Controller, Sky Pivot could devour the souls of creatures to strengthen himself. When combined with his Summoner classs ability to merge with his summoned creatures, Sky Pivot could easily transcend tiers. Normally, though, Sky Pivot would rarely ever use this move. Fire Bull only happened to see Sky Pivot using it once during their previous joint dungeon raid. If it wasnt for the Dawnlight Party being put at risk of annihilation, Sky Pivot might not have used that move at the time. While Fire Bull was anxiously keeping Cang Sha in check, standing atop the Illusory Gryffin, Moon Bamboo and the others instinctively drew their weapons and fixed their gazes on Cang Sha with great caution. Who is this young lady?! Why is her aura so terrifying?! Moon Bamboo was greatly shocked by Cang Shas presence. If she didnt know any better, she would have thought she was facing a Demon God. As an expert with Tier 6 Intermediate Concentration, Moon Bamboo could remain calm even if she faced a genuine Tier 6 God. Yet, even though she was currently facing a young lady of the same tier, her heart pounded with great anxiety. This was simply unbelievable. How many monsters are there hidden in the Greater Gods Domain? Billowing Water was at a loss for words. Originally, she believed she had already reached the apex of the Greater Gods Domain, thinking that few experts among the younger generation could rival her. However, upon arriving in the inland region of the Western Continent, her assumption was quickly proven wrong by Black Flame, ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List. And now, she was again proven wrong by Cang Sha, whom she had never even heard of until today. Moreover, these unknown experts she encountered seemed to be getting younger and younger While Moon Bamboo, Billowing Water, and the others were recovering from their shock, Cang Sha suddenly retracted her imposing aura, transforming back into a harmless-looking girl. I was just playing a small joke with Big Brother Black Flame, Leader. Why are you taking it so seriously? Cang Sha said, chuckling softly as she looked at Fire Bulls nervous expression. A joke? Fire Bull looked at Cang Shas playful expression in exasperation. You nearly scared me to death! Just a moment ago, he was only a moment away from taking preemptive action against the Dawnlight Party. After all, Cang Sha was a member of the Fire Demon Party. So long as she made a move, it would be equivalent to the Fire Demon Party making a move. And since they were going to engage in a battle with the Dawnlight Party, it was only natural for them to take the initiative and finish the fight before it could escalate. Otherwise, if Sky Pivot unleashed his full power, the Fire Demon Party would suffer significant losses. Rather than focus on me, I think we should prioritize dealing with the Holy Race experts first, Leader, Cang Sha said as she looked at the Holy Race experts who were less than two hundred yards away. True. Nodding, Fire Bull turned to Sky Pivot and said with a serious look, This is your last chance to submit, Pivot. Otherwise, we wont help you afterward. Arent you being a little overconfident in yourself, Fire Bull? Youd be better off focusing your concern on yourself. Dont let me see you failing to even make it to the entrance later, Sky Pivot said, chuckling. While he did not know the exact strength of the current Fire Demon Party, he was well aware that the current Dawnlight Party was significantly stronger than before. In addition to three Half-step Tier 6 players, the party also had Billowing Water, whose Basic Attributes had already reached the standard of Tier 6 players. With such a formidable lineup, breaking through the Holy Races aerial encirclement would be a piece of cake. Lets go, Leader, Cang Sha said to Fire Bull after taking one last look at Shi Feng. Since Party Leader Pivot has already made his decision, we will wait for the Dawnlight Party inside the city. Cang Sha was personally interested in Black Flame and originally intended to eliminate him herself. However, when she thought about how she might risk exposing some of her strength, she decided to leave this matter for the Holy Race players to handle. Alright, then. Suit yourself, Fire Bull said as he looked at Sky Pivots confident expression. Then, he directed the Void Manta to fly toward the several dozen approaching Flying Mounts. A moment later, the Void Manta, under Fire Bulls control, abruptly turned into a blur and swiftly flew past the approaching Holy Race experts without attracting attention. It was as if none of the Holy Race players noticed the Fire Demon Party, and they simply let the party fly past their shoulders. Whats going on? Moon Bamboo couldnt help but be dumbfounded by how easily the Fire Demon Party had gotten past the Holy Race experts. Why did those Holy Race experts let them pass just like that? A mental combat technique! Thats a mental combat technique! She has actually mastered a high-ranking mental combat technique! No wonder Fire Bull was so confident! Sky Pivot exclaimed. Who is this young lady? Mental combat techniques were extremely rare in Gods Domain, their rarity comparable to Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Some of the stronger mental combat techniques could even rival Divine Artifacts in rarity. As for the difficulty of mastering a mental combat technique, it was several times greater than mastering Offensive and Defensive Gold Combat Techniques. However, so long as a player managed to master a mental combat technique, theyd be nigh-invincible among players of the same tier! The Holy Race experts look furious, Leader. Im afraid it might be difficult for us to break through, Moon Bamboo commented when she saw how all of the approaching Holy Race experts had already unleashed their Holy Auras. It was obvious that the Holy Race experts had realized how the Fire Demon Party had played them and were prepared to face another mental combat technique. What made Holy Race players stronger than human players was their mastery of Holy Aura. So long as they activated their Holy Auras, their strength would undergo a tremendous transformation. Even in a competition of raw Strength, Moon Bamboo, who was a Half-step Tier 6 Guardian Knight, would be outmatched. Splashing Fire and Budding Leaf also couldnt help but grow nervous. Previously, they had planned to take advantage of the Holy Race players unpreparedness to swiftly break through. But now, all of the approaching Holy Race players had used their Holy Auras. In such a situation, their chances of breaking through became highly uncertain. Meanwhile, Fire Bull, who was close to reaching the city, couldnt help but chuckle when he turned back and saw the Holy Race experts closing in on the Dawnlight Party. He had tried to advise Sky Pivot, but its a pity the other party refused to heed his advice and conceitedly believed that he could break through the Holy Race army with just a couple of Half-step Tier 6 players. However, as the Void Manta was about to reach the city walls, Fire Bull suddenly heard a deafening thunder echoing from behind him. Immediately afterward, the sky darkened, and mana in the vicinity vanished completely. When Fire Bull turned around, he saw a Swordsman standing at the edge of a patch of darkness. As for the thousand or so Holy Race experts who had been closing in on the Dawnlight Party, they had all vanished from the sky as if they had never appeared. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Sword of Space! Lets head over as well, Shi Feng said as he sheathed the Shadow Incinerator. Chapter 3510 - Chapter 584 - Tier 6 Realm? Chapter 584 C Tier 6 Realm? Theyre gone? A thousand Holy Race experts disappeared, just like that? The Fire Demon Partys members riding atop the Void Manta gaped in shock as they looked at the empty sky behind them. That was a force of 1,000 Tier 5 Holy Race experts they were talking about. Faced with such a force, their party only dared to rely on a mental combat technique to slip by. As for facing the Holy Race experts in direct confrontation, that would simply be suicidal. Holy Race players might not be proficient at ranged attacks, but so long as the several dozen Flying Mounts the Holy Race experts rode on could get within 100 yards of their party, it would promptly turn into a nightmarish scenario for their party. Tier 5 Holy Race players might similarly lack the ability to fly on the Western Continent as Tier 5 human players, but they could strengthen their physical bodies with Holy Aura, which would, in turn, allow them to jump across a distance of a hundred yards easily. At that time, the Holy Race experts could use their Flying Mounts as a springboard to close the distance with their party and attack them. If any of their party members lacked sufficiently strong defensive capabilities, they would last no more than a few seconds against the Holy Race experts. Yet, now, the Holy Race experts they feared were knocked out of the sky by one of the Dawnlight Partys newcomers in a single attack. None of the Holy Race experts managed to withstand the force of the newcomers attacks. This was simply unbelievable. After all, these were Tier 5 Holy Race experts they were talking about! With their Holy Auras activated, these Holy Race experts would gain Strength and Defense vastly superior to human players. Yet, of the one thousand Holy Race experts that approached the Dawnlight Party, not even one managed to remain on their Flying Mounts. They were all heavily injured and knocked out of the sky. That damned Sky Pivot! Fire Bull was greatly shocked as he watched Shi Feng sheath his sword. Where did he find such a monster?! Fire Bull previously thought he had already lucked out significantly when he recruited Cang Sha. But now, it turned out that one of the newcomers Sky Pivot recruited was even more monstrous. The feat of heavily injuring a thousand Tier 5 Holy Race experts with one attack was something neither he, nor Sky Pivot could accomplish, even if they went all out. If anyone could pull off such a feat, it would have to be the old monsters in Seven Luminaries Town, who were fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Has he reached the Tier 6 Realm already? At this time, even Cang Sha couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise. Very few human experts in Seven Luminaries Town had reached the Tier 6 Realm. Each of these experts was fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, and they rivaled Tier 6 Holy Race experts. Currently, in a situation where none of the players operating on the Western Continent had reached Tier 6 yet, experts who had reached the Tier 6 Realm undoubtedly stood at the apex among the Western Continents experts. Even the Holy Races various powers wouldnt dare to provoke such existences casually. On the other side, Sky Pivot and the others also couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in astonishment. In fact, the shock they experienced was even greater than what the Fire Demon Partys members experienced. The Tier 6 Realm! I must be dreaming! Our party actually has an expert of the Tier 6 Realm?! Sky Pivot, Moon Bamboo, Budding Leaf, and Splashing Fire gaped in shock as they looked at Shi Feng. Experts of the Tier 6 Realm stood at the absolute apex of the current Western Continents players. Unlike the four of them, who could only rival the Tier 6 human players outside the Eternal Realm, experts of the Tier 6 Realm could rival Tier 6 Holy Race players. In the current situation where none of the Western Continents Holy Race experts had reached Tier 6 yet, a human expert of the Tier 6 Realm could go unopposed on the Western Continent. Even the Holy Races expert teams would have to avoid these human experts. It would be akin to a group of Tier 5 human players outside the Eternal Realm coming across a Tier 6 human player. Even if the Tier 5 players had the advantage in numbers, they would be nothing more than a group of ants in front of the Tier 6 player. It wouldnt be difficult for the Tier 6 player to crush the group of Tier 5 players. How much strength has he kept hidden? Billowing Water was at a loss for words as she looked at Shi Feng. Originally, she thought that after obtaining a Bronze Mana Purification Technique, she had reduced the gap in strength between her and Shi Feng. She had even been confident that she could surpass Shi Feng once she fully mastered the Bronze Purification Technique. Yet, it turned out that her imagination couldnt be any further from reality. While she was preparing herself to die at the hands of the Holy Race experts, Shi Feng heavily injured all one thousand Holy Race experts with a single attack. Not only did the strength gap between them not reduce, but it had grown even larger instead The city gates are open, Leader. Lets quickly enter the city. Itd be the end of us if we get surrounded by the Holy Races army, Shi Feng said when he saw Sky Pivot still in shock. Contrary to Sky Pivot and the others conclusion, Shi Feng was not an expert of the Tier 6 Realm. He also couldnt go up against the Holy Races Tier 5 army alone. After upgrading his Concentration to the Tier 6 Advanced standard, it was true that he was able to reduce the time it took him to execute Sword of Space. And with the techniques ability to let him surpass the limits of Tier 5, it was only natural the Tier 5 Holy Race players failed to resist his attack. However, it remained a fact that he needed time to channel his strength to execute the technique. Previously, the Holy Race experts approach had given him ample time to execute Sword of Space. The fact that they came in a single direction also made it convenient for him to target them all. But had the Holy Race experts approached from all directions, he would only be able to strike down a portion of them, and he wouldnt have the time needed to execute Sword of Space a second time before he came under attack. And if several hundred Tier 5 Holy Race experts attacked him, Shi Feng doubted he would fare any better than Sky Pivot. Right! Lets hurry on over! Sky Pivot snapped out of his daze and hurriedly directed the Illusory Gryffin to fly over to the city gates. Divine scripts and runes covered the towering city hovering above the Plain of Fallen Gods central region, and they protected the city from trespassers. If players wished to enter the city, they could only do so via the gates, which were devoid of any divine scripts and runes. Currently, the gates were open, and the Holy Race players had yet to establish a proper defensive network, so it was the perfect opportunity for them to enter the city. But if they dragged their feet and allowed the Holy Races army to set up a defensive network, they shouldnt think of entering the city anymore. At that time, not even a force of multiple experts of the Tier 6 Realm should think of barging into the city. Meanwhile, after the Dawnlight Party slipped into the city, the Holy Race experts who were knocked out of the sky started to cause a commotion on the ground. Our luck is simply terrible, Commander Heads. We didnt complete even one of the tasks Lord Thunder assigned us. What are the chances that we would meet an expert who has mastered an extremely powerful mental attack and an expert of the Tier 6 Realm? If the other legions learn of this, theyll probably laugh their heads off, a Level 163 team leader of the Holy Race said in exasperation as he watched the Fire Demon Party and Dawnlight Party flying into the nameless city. Royal Thunder was of extraordinary origins, and countless players wished to get into his good graces. Yet, even though their legion had secured a good opportunity to perform, they ended up wasting it. Our luck is terrible? The middle-aged man, who Royal Thunder previously tasked to eliminate the surrounding human parties, suddenly laughed as he watched Shi Feng disappear into the city. Then, he said, I dont think so at all. On the contrary, I think we are incredibly lucky! That man is no expert of the Tier 6 Realm. Were lucky? And how is that man not an expert of the Tier 6 Realm? His sword heavily injured all of our brothers. Had we not joined our Holy Auras together in time, that attack might have killed us all, another team leader said in confusion. That attack has naturally reached the Tier 6 Realm. Smiling, the middle-aged man named Hundred Heads said, But the mana usage method of that attack is very similar to that of Primordial Gods! So, I suspect he has obtained the Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique that those big shots have always wanted! Chapter 3511 - Chapter 585 - City Treasury Chapter 585 C City Treasury A Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique? Are you sure youre not mistaken, Commander Heads? I heard that the humans have hardly any Saint-ranked Mana Techniques, while Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques are no different than myths to them. When the team leaders of the legion led by Hundred Heads heard his conjecture, they quickly voiced their doubts. The Holy Race and the human race might be from different factions and completely different worlds, but the Holy Race still had a certain degree of understanding regarding the human race. Meanwhile, according to their understanding, Saint-ranked Mana Techniques were considered by humans to be the best Mana Techniques available, whereas Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques didnt even exist for humans. Otherwise, human players wouldnt be so weak on average. No, Im certain the attack he used is a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique! Hundred Heads firmly stated. Have any of you recorded the battle just now? Im going to send it to Lord Thunder, I did, but will you send it to Lord Thunder, Commander? Wouldnt we be in for dire consequences if it turns out not to be a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique? a team leader voiced his concerns anxiously. While the Mana Techniques created by the humans Primordial Gods could only be used by human players, the strength of Primordial Gods was evident. In a one-on-one situation, not even their Holy Ancestors could be a match for the humans Primordial Gods. So, one could say that Primordial Gods were extremely skilled in using their available strength. It was also why the Holy Races many powers had offered lavish rewards for anyone who could get their hands on the humans Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques. These powers intended to use these Mana Techniques as a reference to enhance their Holy Power usage. However, Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques were simply too difficult to come by. Even after scouring the entirety of their own Greater Gods Domain, they failed to find even a trace of a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique. Hence, if they were to present a clue that could reliably lead to the procurement of a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, they would have made a huge accomplishment. And should this clue lead to the acquisition of an actual Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, the various powers would definitely reward them handsomely. But conversely, if the clue provided was false, they should also be prepared to face the wrath of the various powers. Dont worry; Ill take full responsibility! Hundred Heads stated after he obtained the battle video from one of his subordinates. Then, he proceeded to forward it to Royal Thunder without hesitation. At the same time, he mentally added, But Ill also take full credit for it. On a certain street lined with ancient buildings forged completely out of steel, several Holy Race legions were currently engaged in heated combat with several Half-Snakekin monsters. Many of these Half-Snakekin monsters were at the Tier 5 Legendary rank, and even the weakest among them was a Tier 4 Superior Mythic. Their levels also ranged from upwards of 170, and their numbers exceeded 10,000. These Half-Snakekins would also come together to fight using combination combat techniques, making it difficult for even individual and small parties of Tier 5 players to fight them. However, under the might of the Holy Races several Tier 5 legions, the Half-Snakekin army quickly shrunk in size. How interesting. One of the humans from just now actually possesses a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, Royal Thunder, who was commanding the battle from the rear, said with a smile after reading a report he just received. A Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique? Extreme Feather, standing next to Royal Thunder, revealed a look of interest when she heard the other partys words. Is the report accurate, Your Highness? Seeing as Hundred Heads decided to send me this message, he must be very confident in his judgment, Royal Thunder said. Then, he turned to Extreme Feather and asked, Why, has your interest finally been piqued? You jest, Your Highness. How can anybody not be interested in a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique? Extreme Feather responded. Do you want me to go and capture the person for you now? Its not an urgent matter, Royal Thunder said, waving his hand. According to the report, the human named Black Flame has already entered the city. In that case, he must have been randomly teleported to somewhere in the city. This zone is special, so it will be difficult for the humans to leave, even if they want to. Not to mention, Black Flame is an expert of the Tier 6 Realm. I dont doubt he and his party can traverse the city so long as they are careful, so it is only a matter of time before we encounter them. It wont be too late to capture him when that happens. Extreme Feather nodded in agreement. Of the groups that had entered the nameless city, the legion directly under Royal Thunders command should be the only group capable of taking down an expert of the Tier 6 Realm. The other powers legions would be helpless against an expert of such caliber, so there would be no need to fear that Black Flames party might get killed by other Holy Race legions. In addition, the nameless city was a special zone that allowed players to leave via the designated exit found in the citys depths. If players couldnt find the exit, they would be trapped in the city for the rest of their lives, and not even in death could they leave the city. Thus, so long as their legion blockaded the citys exit, they were bound to be able to intercept Black Flames party. Meanwhile, as Royal Thunder had predicted, the Dawnlight Party was currently cautiously making its way deeper into the city. The monsters here feel endless. We cant even finish a wave before another one comes at us, Splashing Fire complained, his scalp tingling when he saw another group of several hundred Half-Snakekin monsters charging at their party. Well die from exhaustion at this rate. Dont complain and be grateful, Fire, Moon Bamboo, who was fighting against a Legendary-ranked Half-Snakekin Chieftain, said to Splashing Fire. It is only thanks to Guild Leader Black Flame that we can enter the city. The drop rate of these monsters is more than double that of the monsters outside. There are also no Holy Race players here to harass us. Even if we end up dying a dozen times here, we will still end up making a huge profit once we leave. Everyone else nodded in agreement. Normally, they would be forcibly teleported back to the Eternal Continent if they were to die on the Western Continent. However, when they entered this nameless city, they were informed that they would be resurrected inside the city should they die in the city. This point alone already made it worthwhile for them to face the endless hordes of monsters. Not to mention, the monsters inside the city had a significantly higher drop rate. Even though they had only killed a few waves of Half-Snakekin monsters thus far, they had already acquired one Combat Secret Treasure and several Common Secret Treasures. They had even obtained as many as two Common Mana Purification Techniques. Common Purification Techniques might be widely available in Seven Luminaries Town, but they were far from worthless. At present, players seeking to exchange a Common Purification Technique would have to fork out a Combat Secret Treasure. The average party would also need three or four days to get its hands on a Common Purification Technique. In contrast, their party had already obtained two Common Purification Techniques and one Combat Secret Treasure after just ten minutes of grinding. We wont have to worry about dying from exhaustion, Shi Feng said as he joined the conversation. Then, while observing the surrounding Half-Snakekin monsters, he continued, Half-Snakekins are nocturnal, and their senses are heightened at night. So long as we persist until daylight, we should be able to eliminate a wave of these monsters before another wave discovers us. Half-Snakekins werent particularly rare monsters in Gods Domain, so everyone quickly recalled the habits of Half-Snakekins after hearing Shi Fengs explanation, and they couldnt help but sigh in relief. This meant that so long as they rested during the day, they should have no trouble surviving in the city. Subsequently, time passed, and five days went by in the blink of an eye. Throughout these five days, the Dawnlight Party ceaselessly fought at night and rested during the day to recover their Stamina and Concentration. Meanwhile, not only did every party member level up to 163 and beyond, but the party also obtained over 200 Combat Secret Treasures and over 1,000 Common Secret Treasures. In addition, the party also obtained over seventy Common Purification Techniques and six Bronze Purification Techniques. Even after evenly distributing the loot, every party member still managed to fully equip themselves with Combat Secret Treasures. Brother Black Flame, I think I found the citys treasury! Sky Pivot, who was in the midst of scouting the city via his summons, suddenly said in the party chat. Chapter 3512 - Chapter 586 - Level 180 Gorgon Queen Chapter 586 C Level 180 Gorgon Queen The citys treasury? Did you really find it, Leader?! When the others in the Dawnlight Party heard Sky Pivots words, they promptly perked up their ears, not wanting to miss out on anything important. They had gained a massive harvest in the past five days, which was easily more than they had gained over the past two months of exploration. If they were to show up in the current Seven Luminaries Town fully equipped in Combat Secret Treasures, they would instantly become the center of attention. Not to mention, they could also use their excess Secret Treasures and Mana Purification Techniques to trade with the Seven Luminaries Alliance. It should be known that the Seven Luminaries Alliance was incredibly wealthy. So long as they could provide sufficient Secret Treasures and Mana Purification Techniques, they could even exchange Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Of course, they wouldnt do such a thing, as they all belonged to organizations. Obtaining Secret Treasures on the Western Continent might be relatively easy, but it was a completely different situation on the Eternal Continent. On the current Eternal Continent, even a single Common Secret Treasure could cause the various powers core experts to lose their minds. If each of them were to bring back a haul of several hundred Common Secret Treasures to their respective organizations, they would definitely cause a massive uproar. Not to mention, they would also be bringing back multiple Combat Secret Treasures. However, if they were talking about the citys treasury, the harvest they obtained in the past five days would most likely be pitiful in comparison. In Gods Domain, any citys treasury represented the entire citys wealth. The value of the items inside easily outstripped the items that monsters could drop. Simply acquiring a citys treasure could allow a power to prosper and grow stronger. Im not entirely sure, Sky Pivot said after taking a deep breath. I found an underground chamber thats sealed by divine scripts and runes through my Shadow Rats. There are also a thousand Legendary-ranked Half-Snakekin Chieftains and a hundred Regional Boss-ranked Half-Snakekin Generals guarding the entrance. A thousand Chieftains and a hundred Generals? Heavens! Is this a nest of Bosses? Splashing Fire gasped. Normally, it would take a team or party of highly-skilled experts just to raid one Regional Boss. Moreover, Regional Bosses would typically only operate solo or with a group of underlings. It was simply unheard of for one hundred Regional Bosses to be in the same location. If thats the case, the sealed chamber should be the citys treasury, Billowing Water said, feeling that Sky Pivots judgment should be on the mark. It wasnt uncommon for the various powers to raid monster-infested cities. Meanwhile, the treasuries of these cities would usually be guarded by multiple Bosses. The only difference between those cities and this nameless city was that this citys treasury had many, many more Bosses guarding it. What should we do? Should we give it a try? Budding Leaf asked. Of course! Moon Bamboo stated firmly. Any citys treasury would contain an astronomical wealth, let alone a city left behind by a Divine Kingdom. The items contained in this nameless citys treasury would most likely be beyond measure. Shi Feng also nodded in agreement with Moon Bamboo. Although he had already achieved his goal of coming to the Plain of Fallen Gods, now that the opportunity to secure this nameless citys treasury was presented before him, he naturally had to give it a try. Okay! Ill lead the way! Sky Pivot stopped hesitating when he saw that everyone was in agreement. Nameless City, underground passage: Under Sky Pivots lead, the party traversed the citys underground network without encountering any monsters and arrived at an underground plaza after just three short hours. Currently, though, the underground plaza that was the size of several sports stadiums was occupied by ten thousand Holy Race experts, and these experts were methodically eliminating the one hundred Half-Snakekin Generals. Dammit! The Holy Race got here ahead of us! Splashing Fire softly cursed with a look of reluctance when he saw that all Half-Snakekin Chieftains were dead, and the surviving Half-Snakekin Generals had little HP remaining. Had they arrived when the Holy Race was in a stalemate with the monsters, they could have still taken the opportunity to cause chaos or perhaps even cause both sides to suffer severe losses. But now that the battles outcome had already been decided, they would have to face the wrath of ten thousand Holy Race experts. Moreover, they would have to do so while grounded this time. As expected of the Holy Race. Their overall strength is far superior to that of human players, Shi Feng thought as he observed the Holy Race experts in the underground plaza. In his previous life, Holy Race players were much stronger than human players on average. This wasnt simply because Holy Race players had access to Holy Power. Besides that, Holy Race players were also much better at utilizing their Holy Power than humans were at utilizing Mana. In addition, the population of Holy Race players was much larger than human players. Now, seeing the Holy Race experts on the underground plaza, he gained a better understanding of the Holy Races situation. It would seem that the Holy Race players werent just stronger than human players on average. They also had a very obvious superiority in numbers regarding fifth-floor experts. Of the Holy Race teams gathered on the plaza, at least 10% of each teams members were at the fifth-floor standard. On the humans side, even the various apex powers would have difficulty fielding such teams. Aside from special exceptions, apex powers could only afford to have one fifth-floor expert leading each of their 100-man elite teams on average. However, of the Holy Race players gathered on the plaza, the majority of them only came from ordinary powers among the Holy Race. At best, these powers were equivalent to the humans ordinary hegemonic powers. What a coincidence, Pivot. You guys made it here as well. Suddenly, a wild and deep voice entered the ears of the Dawnlight Partys members. A moment later, a translucent silhouette appeared not far away from the team, and it belonged to none other than Fire Bull, the leader of the Fire Demon Party. You guys are as good at hiding as always, Fire Bull, Sky Pivot commented when he saw Fire Bull and the rest of the Fire Demon Party suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Its a pity that neither of us is fated to have this treasury. Even if you came when the fight just started, it wouldnt have mattered, Fire Bull said, nonchalantly shaking his head. Then, he shifted his gaze toward an expressionless woman standing on the plaza and continued, Do you see that beauty single-handedly suppressing a Half-Snakekin General over there? So long as shes here, none of us stand a chance. Is she very strong? Billowing Water asked as she followed Fire Bulls gaze out of curiosity. Strong? Fire Bull looked at Billowing Water in exasperation. The word strong doesnt come anywhere close to describing her. She was previously responsible for single-handedly annihilating the team led by one of Seven Luminaries Towns old monsters. Thats not your average 20-man team we are talking about. Thats one of the towns top three teams. Even the teams weakest member is at the Half-step Tier 6 standard. Yet, even the whole team working together failed to survive against that woman. Moreover, from what I heard, nobody on the team survived more than one move against her She annihilated such a team by herself? Billowing Water was shocked. So shes Extreme Feather, the Angel of Death? When Moon Bamboo looked at the expressionless woman on the plaza, she disgruntledly said, But so what if she is? How would we know if we cant gain anything if we dont give it a try? So long as the Regional Bosses die, the treasurys seal will be lifted. We are already inside a city zone. Once the seal is lifted, we can simply charge into the treasury, grab an item, teleport away with a Random Teleportation Scroll, and quickly locate the exit. If we do that, how can she, a Holy Race player who cant use any Skills or Spells, catch up to us? Because Holy Race players utilized Holy Power instead of Mana, they lacked the means to achieve instant teleportation. So long as their mana didnt get sealed, they could easily escape from Extreme Feather and the other Holy Race players. Oh, right! Fire Bull exclaimed in realization. How can I forget they lack the means to stop us from teleporting? So long as we use a Random Teleportation Scroll, we can easily escape! Following Moon Bamboos words, everyone present quickly came to a realization and simultaneously turned to the now unsealed treasury, excitement filling their eyes. While they might not be able to monopolize the entire treasury, they could still make a fortune if they could obtain some of the treasurys items. Immediately, Sky Pivot, Fire Bull, and everyone else took out a Tier 4 Random Teleportation Scroll from their bags. They were ready to charge into the treasury and activate the scroll at a moments notice. However, before Sky Pivot and the others could take action, a lithe figure with a serpents tail suddenly slithered out of the unsealed treasurys doors. Upon seeing this lithe figure, everyone, including the Holy Race players intending to rush into the treasury, froze and shuddered. This was because the monster that came out of the treasury was nothing like the Half-Snakekin monsters that guarded the treasury. Instead, it was a Level 180, Tier 6 Divine monster. A Gorgon Queen! Chapter 3513 - Chapter 587 - Primordial Godkin Chapter 587 C Primordial Godkin Impossible! Why is a Primordial Godkin here?! When Sky Pivot and Fire Bull saw the lithe figure that emerged from the treasury, their jaws dropped, and their minds couldnt help but doubt what their eyes were seeing. [Gorgon Queen] (Primordial Godkin, Divine) Level 180 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Gorgons were descendants of Gods. However, they werent particularly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. The Gorgon race even occupied an entire Realm to themselves, and said Realm was currently one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. In terms of Life Rating, the Gorgons were only slightly inferior to Dragons and evenly matched with Angels. Because of this, any Gorgon that successfully reached the Tier 6 Divine rank would instantly become an opponent that most Tier 6 players would actively avoid. As for Gorgon Queens, who inherited the bloodline of Primordial Gods, they were regarded as Primordial Godkins and possessed talent far above other Gorgons. Needless to say, Gorgon Queens were extraordinarily powerful. They were so powerful that one of them was even regarded as one of the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos. How dare you insignificant ants set your sights on my races treasures?! I will let all of you know the severity of your sins! the Gorgon Queen bellowed as she glared at the Holy Race players before her. Immediately afterward, an invisible ripple of energy spread from her. When the ripple spread across the plaza, nearly 90% of the Holy Race players on the underground plaza collapsed on the spot. Then, their bodies quickly turned to stone and disintegrated into dust What This abrupt development dumbfounded the remaining Holy Race players. It should be known that everyone present had seen Tier 6 Divine monsters before. Yet, even with their experience, they still couldnt comprehend what they just witnessed. With only her gaze, the Gorgon Queen had erased nearly 10,000 Tier 5 experts. How could this even be within the realm of feasibility? What an incredible mental attack! Shi Feng was greatly shocked when he saw the thousands of Holy Race experts turning to dust. He had slain Tier 6 Gorgons in his previous life, but none of them could even come close to matching the Gorgon Queen before him. With just one mental attack, the Gorgon Queen had annihilated all players whose Concentration was under the Tier 6 Intermediate standard. Moreover, this was only an AOE mental attack. Her single target mental attacks would undoubtedly be much more powerful. Have fun by yourself! That Gorgon Queen isnt something my party can handle at this point! Fire Bull said to Sky Pivot before hurriedly activating his Random Teleportation Scroll. When he saw how effortlessly the Gorgon Queen had annihilated thousands of Holy Race experts, he dared not remain in this place for even a moment longer. Were leaving as well! Sky Pivot promptly said in the party chat. All of us will be at risk of permanent death if that Gorgon Queen notices us! Hearing Sky Pivots command, Moon Bamboo, Budding Leaf, Splashing Fire, and Billowing Water did not hesitate to activate the Random Teleportation Scrolls in their hands. After seeing the Gorgon Queens display of power, none dared to try their luck anymore. Mental attacks were largely similar to soul attacks in Gods Domain. In other words, mental attacks could be used to damage souls. Meanwhile, if players had their souls annihilated, they would have to bid goodbye to Gods Domain forever. With such high stakes, nobody would dare to bet whether the Gorgon Queen could annihilate their souls. The surviving Holy Race experts were no different in this regard, and many chose to retreat without hesitation. Dammit! Extreme Feather cursed angrily when she saw the other powers experts fleeing. Unfortunately, despite her anger, she could do nothing about this situation. We should quickly retreat as well, Miss Feather, a Level 165 Holy Race expert anxiously advised when he saw the gloomy look on Extreme Feather. The surviving experts might be able to survive the Gorgon Queens AOE mental attacks, but the Gorgon Queen definitely wasnt limited to such attacks. She undoubtedly possessed much stronger targeted mental attacks. As for whether they could resist these targeted mental attacks, only a fool would try to test it. After looking at her anxious subordinates, Extreme Feather gritted her teeth and said, Everyoneretreat! Upon hearing Extreme Feathers call for retreat, the remaining Holy Race players sighed in relief. For a moment there, they had been incredibly worried Extreme Feather would command them to throw their lives away. Immediately, the surviving Holy Race players scattered and fled from the underground plaza, none daring to stay here even a moment longer. You want to escape? When the Gorgon Queen saw the Holy Race players fleeing, a contemptuous look appeared on her beautiful face. Do you think Ill let you? Moving her serpent tail, the Gorgon Queen slithered toward the remaining thousand or so Holy Race experts like a bolt of lightning, every Holy Race expert she slithered past turning to stone on the spot. The Gorgon Queen didnt have to lift even a finger to petrify the fleeing players. She simply wasnt an existence that Tier 5 players could hope to resist. Lets give it a try! Shi Feng thought when he saw the Gorgon Queen hunting down the remaining Holy Race players. Immediately, he equipped the Mental Dominator title and charged toward the treasury. Even though he had never fought a Gorgon Queen before, he was still more or less aware of their capabilities. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that players would die on the first exchange if they didnt have sufficiently high Concentration. Even if players possessed heaven-defying Basic Attributes, it still wouldnt matter. Normally, players would need to have Tier 6 Advanced Concentration at the very minimum to go up against a Tier 6 Gorgon Queen. Otherwise, they wouldnt even be qualified to stand before a Tier 6 Gorgon Queen, let alone fight one. They would simply be petrified on the spot. Currently, Shi Fengs Concentration had already reached the Tier 6 Advanced standard. If he utilized Mental Condensation, he could push it slightly above the average mark of the Tier 6 Advanced standard. And once he factored in the Mental Dominators title effect of weakening all mental attacks he received by 20%, he should have no trouble resisting the Gorgon Queens targeted mental attacks. Hes How dare he?! Extreme Feather, in her escape, noticed Shi Feng charging for the treasury, and this discovery instantly filled her with rage. After all, it was evident that Shi Feng was utilizing them as distractions for the Gorgon Queen! Despicable ant! Thats not a place you can set foot in! The Gorgon Queen also noticed Shi Fengs actions, and true rage colored her eyes for the first time. Immediately, she gave up chasing after the several dozen Holy Race experts before her and turned around to go after Shi Feng instead. Good! Extreme Feather inwardly celebrated when she saw the Gorgon Queen going away. Not once in her life had anybody dared to take advantage of her. If not for the threat of the Gorgon Queen, she would have definitely taken care of Shi Feng herself. Chapter 3514 - Chapter 588 - War Goddess VS Gorgon Queen Chapter 588 C War Goddess VS Gorgon Queen The underground plaza was spacious, but Shi Feng wouldnt need more than three seconds to cross it and reach the treasury, thanks to his Basic Attributes having reached the Tier 6 standard. Despicable ant! Die! But when Shi Feng was only halfway to reaching the treasury, the Gorgon Queen suddenly appeared next to him as if she had just teleported, and she looked at him with a pair of eyes that seemed like it could pierce the soul and mesmerize anything in the world. At this moment, even while standing nearly 700 yards away, Extreme Feather could feel her soul shuddering. Without a doubt, the mental attack the Gorgon Queen used this time was on a completely different level than the one she used previously. In fact, the mental attack had instantly petrified the several dozen Holy Race experts within a 200-yard radius of the Gorgon Queen. However, what happened next caused Extreme Feathers eyes to go wide. Impossible! Extreme Feather couldnt help but doubt her eyes when she saw Shi Feng pausing for only a moment before continuing his charge toward the treasury. Based on her senses, Extreme Feather felt that there was a huge possibility the Gorgon Queens second mental attack could petrify even her. The experts petrified by the Gorgon Queen also served as a good measurement. Each of those petrified experts possessed Concentration at the Tier 6 Intermediate standard. It was also why they had survived the Gorgon Queens first mental attack while those who only possessed Tier 6 Basic Concentration didnt. Now, though, these experts with Tier 6 Intermediate Concentration had died after merely getting struck by the ripples of the Gorgon Queens second mental attack. Even though Extreme Feather had Tier 6 Advanced Concentration, she highly doubted she could survive if she were the target of such an attack. And even if she could survive it, she would most likely be put in a daze for a long time. Yet, what was up with Shi Feng? Despite being the target of the Gorgon Queens single-target mental attack, Shi Feng only froze briefly before he resumed charging toward the treasury. He made it seem as if the Gorgon Queens mental attack was only a tickle that only managed to distract him for a moment. The attack utterly failed to cause any substantial harm to him. At this moment, Extreme Feather wasnt the only one stunned by this outcome. The Gorgon Queen similarly did not expect her attack to have so little effect, and she was so surprised that she forgot to chase after Shi Feng right away. As for Shi Feng, he kept on dashing for the treasury with a frantically beating heart. Almost! For a moment there, Shi Feng nearly had his consciousness dragged out of his body and lost control over his body. Fortunately, he had instinctively used the Mental Condensation technique taught to him by the Primordial Abyssal God at the very last moment, which, in turn, dragged his separating consciousness back into his body. Despicable ant! You wont get a second chance! When the Gorgon Queen saw Shi Feng crossing the treasurys doors, a layer of gloom colored her beautiful face, and the temperature of her surroundings instantly rose by a hundred degrees. Immediately, she slithered after Shi Feng, rapidly reducing the distance between them. At the same time, she summoned two crescent blades into her hands and transformed them into an illusory behemoth that tried to devour Shi Feng with its gaping maw. Upon seeing this scene, the escaping Holy Race experts shuddered in fear. The shock they experienced from witnessing this scene was also a hundred times greater than when they saw the Gorgon Queen instantly killing thousands of their companions. A Gold Holy Art! Extreme Feather gasped when she saw the illusory behemoth that was a thousand meters tall. Holy Arts were unique to Holy Race players. They were similar to the combat techniques of human players, and they could be categorized into three ranks: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Holy Arts were incredibly difficult to use. Because of this, players who could make use of Bronze Holy Arts would already be considered experts among Holy Race players, while those who mastered a Silver Holy Arts would be treated as core members if they joined a power. As for Gold Holy Arts, they were so complex that even Extreme Feather had only mastered one thus far. However, in exchange for their complexity, Gold Holy Arts were incredibly powerful, and Extreme Feather couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful one could be in the hands of a monster of the Gorgon Queens caliber. War Goddess Summoning! Heroic Pledge! When Shi Feng sensed the behemoth appearing behind him, he promptly activated the Feather of Oaths Skills without hesitation. He did not dare attempt to endure the Gorgon Queens attack himself. Unlike everyone else present, he was the Gorgon Queens primary target. When the Gorgon Queen summoned the illusory behemoth, she also launched a mental attack at him. In such a situation, he was already fortunate he could retain his consciousness. He didnt have any spare energy to retaliate against the illusory behemoth. Subsequently, a Tier 6 War Goddess appeared between him and the illusory behemoth, and she stabbed at the behemoth with the spear she wielded, the weapon expanding in size as it closed in on the behemoth. Boom! A deafening explosion rocked the entire underground plaza and created a hole through the roof of the plaza, the hole extending all the way to the surface. The explosion also gave everyone present a mild concussion. He blocked it? When Extreme Feather saw Shi Feng standing inside the treasury unharmed, she couldnt help but be greatly shocked. She never thought the Gorgon Queen would fail to kill Shi Feng time and again. Moreover, even the War Goddess summoned by Shi Feng had only stumbled a few steps back after blocking the Gorgon Queens attack. One item Two items Three items. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had already moved several items from the treasury into his bag space, the sight causing the Gorgon Queens gaze to turn even colder. Despicable ant! Do you think a War Goddess is enough to stop me?! the Gorgon Queen bellowed. Disappear from this world! After saying so, the Gorgon Queen began chanting an incantation composed using an ancient language, her voice echoing throughout the entire Nameless City. Immediately afterward, both the Nameless Citys Mana and Holy Power began gathering around the Gorgon Queen. Tier 6 Super Spell, Chaos Spear! When Shi Feng sensed the frightening amount of energy gathered around the Gorgon Queen, he understood that he was about to overstay his welcome. Immediately, he took out a Tier 4 Random Teleportation Scroll and used it to teleport out of the Nameless City. However, even after teleporting out of the treasury, Shi Feng still wasnt assured, and he promptly used World-Breaking Teleportation to return to the Eternal Continents Crystal City of Secrets, thoroughly vanishing from the Western Continent. At the same time Shi Feng disappeared from the treasury, the Gorgon Queen also finished the final verse of her incantation. Subsequently, a spear radiating the aura of death formed in her hand, and she threw the spear at the location where Shi Feng previously stood in the treasury. When the Chaos Spear arrived at where Shi Feng disappeared from, it traced the spatial ripples in the area and instantly appeared at the location where Shi Feng had randomly teleported to. Immediately afterward, it followed the spatial ripples there and disappeared once again. The next time the Chaos Spear appeared, it had already arrived above the Crystal City of Secrets. Following its appearance, a mighty aura of death enveloped the entire Crystal City, causing all players within the city to shudder in shock and fear. Before the Crystal Citys players could react, the Chaos Spear fell from the sky. Chapter 3515 - Chapter 589 - Kings Treasure Chapter 589 C Kings Treasure Whats going on? Someones actually attacking the Crystal City? What?! Chaos Spear?! Whos using a Tier 6 Super Spell on the city?! Its over! Were all done for! When the Chaos Spears dominating aura spread across the Crystal City of Secrets, many of the citys players failed to recognize the Super Spell, and they couldnt help but fall into confusion and bewilderment. As for the players who did recognize the Chaos Spear, fear and despair overwhelmed them. Chaos Spear! A Tier 6 Super Spell known for rivaling the attacks of Ancient Gods! One strike from a Chaos Spear could obliterate an entire city and its surrounding region. Even Tier 6 MTs with their Lifesaving Skills activated would get killed on the spot if struck by a Chaos Spear. In the current situation where none of the Crystal Citys players had even reached Tier 6, there was a considerable chance the Chaos Spear could annihilate everyones souls, permanently removing them from Gods Domain. However, before anyone could think of a response, the Chaos Spear had already made contact with the citys defensive magic array. Boom! A deafening thunder shook the sky, and a powerful impact spread across a radius of several dozen kilometers. The sky also shattered like glass, making it seem like Armageddon had arrived. However, when the thunder dissipated, both the Crystal City and its inhabitants remained intact, and the players in the city couldnt help but look up in disbelief. This was because what originally should have been a devastating attack ended up getting neutralized by the countless divine scripts that hovered above the city. The Chaos Spear didnt even cause the city to vibrate, let alone damage any of the citys infrastructure. All the Tier 6 Super Spell managed to accomplish was put on a flashy fireworks show. That was close. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the shattered sky above the city. If he hadnt chosen to teleport back to the Crystal City using the Abyss Workshop Certification right away, he would have absolutely died at the Gorgon Queens hands. He had personally witnessed the strength of Primordial Godkins in his previous life. Random Teleportation Scrolls might work against the average Tier 6 Divine monster, but the concept of distance was of little significance to a monster of the Gorgon Queens caliber. It was also why so many experts had died at the hands of the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos. Similar to the space-crossing attack he had previously executed in the Miniature Ancient World, the only way to stop the Gorgon Queens attack would be to block it. Fortunately, he had the Crystal City of Secrets to fall back on. The Crystal City of Secrets was one of the Eternal Continents Seven Great Cities. In his previous life, the Crystal City stood firm even in the face of the Holy Races all-out invasion. Apart from a large number of powers and experts operating in the city, the city itself also had various defensive measures created by Ancient Gods. Even if a group of Ancient Gods were to attack the city, it would take them a considerable amount of time to tear down the citys defenses. While Shi Feng was feeling relieved, the rest of the Crystal City erupted into chaos. Everyone started discussing the Chaos Spear that attacked the city and the Crystal Citys defensive measures that stopped the Chaos Spear. Many powers also promptly mobilized their forces to investigate why the Crystal City would be suddenly subjected to such a powerful attack. In Gods Domain, NPC Cities might face occasional monster hordes and siege battles for no reason, but they would never be subjected to an Ancient Gods attack out of the blue. After all, existences capable of launching such attacks all stood at the apex of Gods Domain. Even a simple action from these existences would be considered a major event, let alone launching a direct attack on the crystal City of Secrets. It should be known that the Crystal City had many Tier 6 NPCs garrisoning it. Moreover, these werent your average Tier 6 NPCs. Even the weakest among them was equipped with a Legendary Equipment Set. Paired with the citys magic array, even Tier 6 Saint-ranked experts shouldnt think of stirring up a scene in the city. While the Crystal Citys various powers were frantically investigating the unexpected event, Shi Feng quietly returned to Zero Wings Residence. The Residence had undergone significant changes while Shi Feng was away. Not only were there many more Guild members coming and going from the Residence, but the equipment standard of these Guild members had also improved substantially, with many of them having two or three Common Secret Treasures equipped. Compared to most of the Crystal Citys experts, who only had one Common Secret Treasure equipped, Zero Wings members were in a vastly better state. They were already close to matching the various pseudo-apex powers members. You newcomers have some good luck. Boss Furys group will be coming along with us to the Underground Crystal Palace this time, and theyll be taking us to explore the Level 165 zone. The Level 165 zone? I heard that only the various pseudo-apex powers elite teams can grind there right now, and theyve also found quite a few Extraordinary Secret Treasures already! It seems you all are well-informed. For your information, Boss Furys group has already located a Boss. If we can successfully raid it, our Guild might get its very first Extraordinary Secret Treasure. Zero Wing will become the sixth Guild to own an Extraordinary Secret Treasure at that time. Everyone involved in the raid will earn a ton of GCPs. Currently, a team of players was gathered in the Residences courtyard, and one of the Guilds veteran members proudly introduced the objectives of the teams upcoming operation, the veteran members words stirring the excitement and expectation of the Guilds new members. Ever since the first Extraordinary Secret Treasure appeared in the Underground Crystal Palace, every power operating in the Crystal City had ramped up their efforts in exploring the secret land. However, even until now, only a few teams could explore the secret lands Level 165 zone. A team not only required players with sufficiently high combat and equipment standards to raid the Level 165 zones Bosses, but it also needed enough players capable of blocking the Bosses attacks. Otherwise, the more fragile members of the team would get annihilated in no time. Currently, only a handful of teams operating in the Crystal City could accomplish such a feat. So long as Zero Wing could do so, the Guild would have a stable source of Extraordinary Secret Treasures in the future. Sixth? Shi Feng couldnt help but smile when he overheard the conversation of the players in the courtyard. It seems Fury and the others are making great progress. The Underground Crystal Palaces Level 165 zone was already an area where only Tier 6 players could delve in. Apart from the various pseudo-apex powers, it would be incredibly difficult for any other power to explore the Level 165 zone at this time. The fact that Zero Wing could already begin exploring the Level 165 zone showed that the Guilds teams could already rival the various pseudo-apex powers teams. If Desolate Fury and the others could successfully explore the Level 165 and acquire an Extraordinary Secret Treasure, Zero Wing would become an attractive choice for the Eternal Realms various independent experts. It would undoubtedly elevate the Guilds status to a whole new level. Zero Wing also wouldnt need to rely on the Secret Crystal Trading Firms privileges to retain its members anymore. After Shi Feng entered the Guild Hall, he made his way to an underground secret room and activated the rooms defensive barrier. It was to prevent players outside the room from affecting or spying on the situation inside. I took such a big risk this time. I even had to return ahead of time. Lets hope the treasurys items wont be too disappointing. After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng opened his bag space and took out the five items he looted from the Nameless Citys treasury. As soon as Shi Feng took out the five items, the space within the room began to shake, and cracks appeared in the rooms defensive barrier. At the same time, streams of Eternal Energy began flowing out of the void and into the room. Chapter 3516 - Chapter 590 - Promoting the Frostflame Phantom Dragon Chapter 590 C Promoting the Frostflame Phantom Dragon What dense Eternal Energy! Shi Feng was stunned by the huge streams of Eternal Energy flowing out of the void. Previously, when the Dawnlight Party killed the Half-Snakekin General on the Plain of Fallen Gods, the Eternal Energy that the Regional Bosss loot gathered was already very astonishing. However, compared to the phenomenon before him, it was utterly insignificant. It should be known that the secret rooms defensive barrier could withstand attacks from Tier 5 players. Yet, the barrier was cracking simply from the Eternal Energy in the room. In addition, when he inhaled, he could feel a refreshing feeling spreading throughout his mind and body. However, Shi Feng didnt dwell on this phenomenon for long as he quickly appraised the five items. He worried that the rooms barrier might break if he wasted any more time. If that happened, the situation inside the room would become exposed. After taking about a minute to appraise the five items, Shi Feng couldnt help but be stunned once again. No wonder that Gorgon Queen tried so desperately to kill me. After seeing the items he had looted, Shi Feng quickly understood why the Gorgon Queen looked so incensed when she saw him looting the treasury. If he were in the Gorgon Queens shoes, he, too, would probably wish for nothing more than to kill the thief. Of the five items he looted, four were incredibly rare Fragmented Divine Artifact-ranked materials, and they were two bottles of Divine Water of Life and two bottles of Soul Essence. Divine Water of Life was the superior version of the Water of Life. Not only could it be used to resurrect dead NPCs, but it could also enhance the essence of NPCs. Its only downside was that players couldnt use it. Regardless, it was an item that had disappeared since the ancient era, and he had only learned about it through records found in the Grand Library. But if he were to put a value on the Divine Water of Life, each bottle should be worth one Legendary Weapon at the very least. As for Soul Essence, it was an item with only one purposeto give players who had suffered permanent deaths in Gods Domain a second chance to enter Gods Domain. It was a simple purpose, but it was one that all players in Gods Domain highly coveted. Although each player could only use Soul Essence once in their lifetimes, its value still matched that of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. As for the fifth item Shi Feng looted, it was a consumable. Or, more specifically, it was a potion produced by a Craftsman Alchemist. The Elixir of Fortune! So long as players drank the potion, their Luck, a Hidden Attribute, would be increased significantly for 24 hours. Looking at the Divine Water of Life, Soul Essence, and Elixir of Fortune, Shi Feng suddenly got goosebumps. It should be known that he had only gotten past the treasurys doors and stopped at the outermost section. Moreover, he had only randomly looted five items from the outermost section. However, from what he managed to see, the treasury was at least the size of a sports stadium, and he saw many more items similar to the five he looted present in the treasury. In his previous life, when Zero Wing captured an ancient Holy City, the combined value of the items Zero Wing obtained from the Holy Citys treasury couldnt even come close to the five items before him. Yet, these five items only comprised a small portion of the items stored in the stadium-sized treasury But before Shi Feng could recover his senses, a series of system notifications suddenly rang in his ears. System: A Gorgon Queen has cursed you. System: The Gorgon Queens Curse will cause part of your soul to dissipate with each death you suffer. While this curse is in effect, the Gorgon Queen will also be alerted to your presence so long as you get within 1,000 yards of the Kings Treasury. How ruthless! Shi Feng couldnt help but be flabbergasted when he saw the notifications. Although he had already guessed that the treasurys origins were extraordinary, he didnt expect to suffer such severe consequences from looting it. The Gorgon Queens Curse ensured he would lose a portion of his Immortal Soul with each death he suffered. This meant that from now onward, even normal deaths would gradually push him toward a permanent death in Gods Domain. Moreover, even if he exhausted his Immortal Soul and resurrected it using Soul Essence, the curse still wouldnt disappear. The only way he could get rid of it was by killing the curses caster. Even if it were in his previous life, the feat of slaying a Tier 6 Primordial Godkin was something he would have to mobilize the entirety of Zero Wings strength. It simply wasnt a task he could complete by himself. However, Shi Feng quickly got over his shock and shifted his attention toward the two bottles of Divine Water of Life. Divine Water of Life was labeled as one of the three Divine Liquids in Gods Domain, and it could elevate the Life Rating of any creature, except players, to the extremes. Items such as the Fruit of Life and the Seven Luminaries Fruit were nothing in comparison to the Divine Water of Life. During his previous life, Shi Feng had seen a Personal Guard who had been enhanced using the Divine Water of Life. The Personal Guard in question was also one of the only five Advanced Legendary Guards that existed in the entire Greater Gods Domain. Normally, the various powers executives could, at best, recruit Epic-ranked NPCs to serve as their Personal Guards. Meanwhile, when developed to their full potential, Epic Guards could closely match Four-Winged Valkyries of the same tier. As for Legendary Guards, not even the various apex powers would dare think of recruiting one. This was because every Legendary Guard could rival Gods of the same tier when fully developed. As for Advanced Legendary Guards, they were existences on par with Ancient Gods. Though, in the eyes of players, they were even more challenging to deal with than Ancient Gods. This was because Personal Guards had a much easier time obtaining weapons and equipment than players. Meanwhile, an Advanced Legendary Guard could potentially equip themselves fully with Divine Weapons and Equipment. And once they managed to do so, their combat prowess would be on par with Primordial Gods. Meanwhile, all five Advanced Legendary Guards in Shi Fengs previous life were fully equipped with Divine Weapons and Equipment. Because of this, even the various apex powers had to treat the owners of these Personal Guards with respect. Normally, Advanced Legendary Guards were born with their rank. It wasnt a realm that Personal Guards could achieve by relying on external items. The Divine Water of Life was the only exception. It was also because one of the five Advanced Legendary Guards had come into existence by relying on the Divine Water of Life that the various powers were made aware of its existence. Only, apart from the owner of the artificial Advanced Legendary Guard, nobody else knew how to obtain the Divine Water of Life. I dont have any Personal Guards with great potential right now, so I can only gamble on it, Shi Feng thought as he took out the Ancient Oath. Flying Mounts might not be comparable to Personal Guards in combat power, but they were much more useful than Personal Guards. This was because even if a Flying Mount died, it could be resurrected limitlessly without using Water of Life. Previously, the Frostflame Phantom Dragon had already become an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount after undergoing a mutation. If it could achieve further improvements, it would greatly benefit him. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng summoned the Mutated Frostflame Phantom Dragon inside the secret room. Then, to ensure his success, he fed both bottles of Divine Water of Life to the Phantom Dragon. Upon consuming the two bottles of light-blue liquid, the Phantom Dragon let out a resounding roar, and its body began radiating a multicolored brilliance. For a moment, it looked like the Phantom Dragon was transforming into a dragon of light. Its size also started to grow at a visible rate. Ten seconds later, the Phantom Dragon had grown to a length of 100 meters. If not for the secret room having an adjustable space, it would have been impossible for the room to fit the Phantom Dragon. After one full minute had passed, the multicolored brilliance radiated by the Phantom Dragon dissipated, revealing a body that measured 300 meters in length. The Phantom Dragon was several times larger than before, and its every action caused the secret rooms space to tremble. Chapter 3517 - Chapter 591 - Frightening Divine Flying Mount Chapter 591 C Frightening Divine Flying Mount TL Notes: Please regard all instances of Divine Dragons in the main story as Sacred Dragons from now on. Did itreach Tier 5? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he felt faint pressure coming from the Frostflame Phantom Dragon. This was something he had not experienced even when he faced the Half-Snakekin General. Moreover, the Frostflame Phantom Dragon no longer looked like a Flying Mount but rather an actual dragon instead. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng hurriedly checked the pendant in his hand. He wanted to check to what extent the Frostflame Phantom Dragon had been upgraded. Unlike other items that raised the users Life Rating, the Divine Water of Life did not have a usage limit. So long as one had enough Divine Water of Life, one could continuously use it to improve a creatures potential to the extremes. Only, the higher a creatures potential, the more Divine Water of Life would be needed to improve its potential. [Ancient Oath] Can be used to summon a Divine-ranked Tier 5 Frostflame Dragon as a partner to fly and fight freely in the sky. If the Frostflame Dragon dies, it will need 60 natural days to return to life. Additional Effect: Grants the Ancient Oaths wielder 15% of the Frostflame Dragons Basic Attributes. A Tier 5 Divine-ranked Dragon? The stats that appeared before Shi Feng stunned him momentarily. Be it Flying Mounts that were pure-blooded Dragons or Divine Flying Mounts, both were things he had only ever heard about through rumors thus far. As for a Divine Flying Mount that also happened to be a Dragon, this was the first time he had ever heard of one existing. Flying Mounts could be categorized into four major ranks: Common, Extraordinary, Legendary, and Divine. These ranks represented a Flying Mounts potential. It also represented the difficulty of upgrading their tiers. Generally, a Legendary Flying Mount would have a chance of getting promoted to Tier 6, while Advanced Legendary Flying Mounts would have a considerable chance of getting promoted to Tier 6. As for Divine Flying Mounts, they were fated to get promoted to Tier 6. In other words, he was now in possession of a Dragon that was fated to reach Tier 6! If news of this spread, it would absolutely shake the entire Greater Gods Domain! Dragons were an apex race in Gods Domain, and their average Life Rating was essentially unmatched at the same tier. Even the average Tier 6 Dragon could closely rival Tier 6 Gods in combat power. So, having a dragon as a Flying Mount would undoubtedly make him envied by all players. In addition, the existence of Flying Mounts was akin to tools. So, unlike NPCs and contracted beasts, the concept of a true death did not exist for Flying Mounts, and they could be summoned limitlessly. Players also wouldnt have to go out of their way to level up their Flying Mounts as Mounts leveled with their owners. More importantly, players would get to share a portion of their Flying Mounts Basic Attributes, and any player would drool over a dragon-class bonus. This was because what made dragons strong was their heaven-defying Basic Attributes, and their Basic Attributes far outclassed monsters of the same tier. It should be known that monsters already possessed far greater Basic Attributes than players in general. The disparity was so significant that even if players equipped themselves with top-tier weapons and equipment, they would still be slightly behind monsters of the same level and tier in Basic Attributes. Yet, dragons possessed even greater Basic Attributes than the average monster, with a Tier 5 Dragon having the Basic Attributes of a Tier 6 monster of the same level. So, one could only imagine the Basic Attributes one could obtain from a Dragon/Flying Mount. With this, I can probably fight the Western Continents Tier 6 Divine monsters, even without getting promoted to Tier 6. When Shi Feng looked at his Attribute Panel and saw the numbers listed, he couldnt help but feel as if he were dreaming. Even though he was only receiving 15% of the Tier 5 Frostflame Dragons Basic Attributes, the bonus was already enough to put his Basic Attributes on par with a Tier 5 expert equipped with a full set of Legendary Equipment. A full set of Legendary equipment! For most players, owning a full set of Legendary Equipment was something they could only dream of achieving. Even the various apex powers chosen ones wouldnt necessarily get to enjoy such a benefit. This was because a Tier 6 expert fully equipped with Legendary Equipment would be strong enough to match Tier 6 Gods. Assigning such valuable equipment to Tier 5 players would be an utter waste. Such behavior would be beyond extravagant, and very few powers would be foolish enough to do such a thing. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng pulled up his contacts and called Gentle Snow. When the call connected, Gentle Snow couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in surprise and ask, Youre back already, Guild Leader? Previously, Shi Feng had already informed her through the real world that he was currently visiting the Forbidden Zones Western Continent and stated that they shouldnt try to contact him unless it was an emergency. As for the Eternal Realms Western Continent, Gentle Snow had more or less learned about it from Shi Feng. So, she knew that while the Western Continent had many more opportunities available than the Eternal Continent, it was also filled with much greater dangers. She also heard from Shi Feng that the Western Continent was infested with Holy Race players, so he couldnt afford even a moments carelessness. Something unexpected happened, so I made a trip back first, Shi Feng said, nodding. Im planning to bring some of Zero Wings members with me when I go there again, so have Qianliu and the others quickly gather in the Guild Residence. Now? Gentle Snow hesitated to comply with Shi Fengs orders. We are currently exploring the Underground Crystal Palaces Level 165 zone. We are also planning to raid a Regional Boss once our reinforcements arrive. If we leave now, we will miss this precious opportunity. Its fine. At most, youll miss out on an Extraordinary Secret Treasure. In a definitive tone, Shi Feng said, Just tell Fury and the others that I have different arrangements for you all, and you wont be exploring with them for the time being. Zero Wing might be exploring the Underground Crystal Palaces Level 165 zone currently, but this expedition was led by Desolate Furys and Scarecrow Foxs groups. The expedition didnt only consist of Zero Wings members. Ultimately, the Bosss loot would have to be distributed based on contributions, and not all would go to Zero Wing. Not to mention, compared to the Underground Crystal Palace and the rest of the Eternal Continent, the Western Continent was of vastly greater importance. So, he planned to bring some of Zero Wings members to develop them on the Western Continent. Otherwise, others might say that Zero Wing lacked capable combatants and could only rely on joining forces with other powers to achieve its current standards. Alright, then. Ill inform them immediately, Gentle Snow replied as she stopped hesitating. Then, she promptly informed Su Qianliu and the others on the expedition team about Shi Fengs orders. Meanwhile, when Su Qianliu, Hidden Soul, and the others heard about Shi Fengs command, they swiftly returned to the Residence, abandoning their exploration of the Level 165 zone. As for Desolate Furys and Scarecrow Foxs groups, although they were confused by Shi Fengs decision, they didnt make any comments about it. After all, this was Zero Wings private affair, and they were merely Zero Wings collaborators. Zero Wings Residence, Guild Leaders Office: Why did you summon us back in such a hurry, Guild Leader? Did something happen? Hidden Soul, who had already chosen to become a member of Zero Wing thoroughly, asked as she looked at Shi Feng. The various powers are in the midst of competing for the Level 165 zones Regional Bosses to give their members a better chance of getting promoted to Tier 6. Isnt it a waste for us to give up like this? It wasnt easy for players to get promoted to Tier 6 in Gods Domain. Not to mention, the strength of the Divine Body created would also influence players strength in the future. Because of this, the various powers were currently looking for ways to improve their experts chances of getting promoted to Tier 6 with a powerful Divine Body, and Extraordinary Secret Treasures were one of the more effective methods that could be used to accomplish this goal. Meanwhile, once the various powers experts created a sufficiently strong Divine Body, they could promptly get promoted to Tier 6 and capture ownerless settlements occupied by Divine monsters. This, in turn, would grant the various powers unimaginable advantages and wealth. Yet, even though Zero Wing also had an opportunity to secure such advantages and wealth, they had actively abandoned it Looking at Hidden Souls slightly angry expression, Shi Feng smiled and retrieved a book from his bag space, asking, Extraordinary Secret Treasures might be important, but what do you think of this item? The book was none other than the Bronze Mana Purification Technique he had obtained from grinding in the Nameless City with the Dawnlight Party. Chapter 3518 - Chapter 592 - Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique Chapter 592 C Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique A Mana Purification Technique? Hidden Soul couldnt help but grow confused when she saw Shi Feng taking out a book. However, upon inspecting the book, whether it was Hidden Soul or Gentle Snow and the others, everyone was surprised. There existed very few methods that players could rely on to improve the strength of their mana in Gods Domain. Typically, they could only rely on the effects of special weapons and equipment to do so. However, every one of these items was worth a fortune. If the weapon or equipment happened to be at the Fragmented Legendary rank, it would be worth more than even the average Legendary Weapon and Equipment. Yet, now, a Mana Purification Technique could accomplish the same result as one of those valuable items, and the effects were even permanent. The technique completely shattered their knowledge of Gods Domain. Moreover, the Bronze Mana Purification Technique before them was simply heaven-defying. It could actually elevate the strength of their mana by one tier, instantly granting them access to mana that was typically only available to Tier 6 players. Where did you get this thing, Guild Leader? Gentle Snow couldnt help but ask. Mana was the foundation of human players. Meanwhile, the stronger their mana, the easier a time they would have when constructing their Divine Bodies. It was also why the various powers were desperately looking to obtain Extraordinary Secret Treasures before having their experts get promoted to Tier 6. Otherwise, with the wealth the various powers possessed, even the average upper-ranking hegemonic power could have produced a group of Tier 6 experts by now. They wouldnt have needed to bother hunting for high-ranking Secret Treasures. However, even in the case of Extraordinary Secret Treasures, a player would need to be fully equipped with them to elevate their manas strength from Tier 5 to Tier 6. The Western Continent, Shi Feng frankly stated. This is also why I called all of you back. The Western Continent? Hidden Souls gaze grew passionate when she heard Shi Fengs answer. If we can secure a large number of these Bronze Purification Techniques, Zero Wing will absolutely become the number one Guild in the Crystal City! Or possibly even the whole Eternal Realm! Having stronger mana meant being able to construct stronger Tier 6 Divine Bodies. Compared to the Bronze Purification Technique, Extraordinary Secret Treasures were greatly inferior. Dont get excited too early. Bronze Mana Techniques arent so easy to obtain. Im only taking you there to try our luck, Shi Feng said, shaking his head and chuckling when he saw everyones excitement. The drop rate for Bronze Purification Techniques was incredibly low, even in the Nameless City. After grinding with the Dawnlight Party for five days, he had only received one for his share. It was simply impossible for Zero Wing to distribute Bronze Purification Techniques to its members in large quantities. The only reason he was bringing along Hidden Soul and the others was so that they could try their luck before the upcoming city battle began. After all, he had promised Red Frost to help her recover her peak strength before the city battle, and a Common Purification Technique was probably not enough to let her do so; a Bronze Purification Technique would be needed at the very least. Subsequently, everyone split up to make the necessary preparations as they waited for the Abyss Workshop Certifications World-Breaking Teleportation to come off cooldown. Then, as soon as the Skill was ready, Shi Feng brought Hidden Soul and the other core members of Zero Wing to the Western Continents Nameless City. After twelve hours had passed, the Nameless City had already recovered its initial calm. Such rich Eternal Energy! I feel like if I could train here for a long time, reaching the fifth-floor standard would no longer be a dream. The instant Hidden Soul and the others arrived in the Nameless City, they felt invigorated. As for Wu Xiaoxiao and Midsummer, who had experienced the Hundred Refinement Building in the past, they found the Nameless Citys environment incredibly familiar. Were limited on time. Ill aggro the monsters while you all find opportunities to deal damage, Shi Feng said as he looked at the intoxicated members of his team. After saying so, Shi Feng leaped several hundred yards away and charged toward the nearest Half-Snakekin monster. At the same time, he took out the Feather of Oath and summoned six Tier 5 War Goddesses to fight alongside him. Unlike before, he no longer intended to hold back when fighting the Half-Snakekin monsters. Previously, when he was grinding with the Dawnlight Party, everyone in the party needed to share the loot they obtained. Had he expended Seven Luminaries Crystals to summon War Goddesses back then, he would have incurred a huge deficit. But now that everyone on his team was a core member of Zero Wing, all of the loot would belong to Zero Wing, so he naturally didnt need to continue conserving his strength. Meanwhile, with the help of the six Tier 5 War Goddesses, Shi Feng was able to kill the Half-Snakekin monsters several times faster than the Dawnlight Party, even without the help of Hidden Soul and the others. Needless to say, the efficiency increased even further when Zero Wings members joined in. Although Zero Wings members initially suffered a lot against the Half-Snakekin monsters mental attacks, thanks to the six War Goddesses assistance, they never got into life-threatening situations. And because of the monsters loot, everyones morale grew as they fought. Normally, they would need to kill hundreds of monsters in the Underground Crystal Palace for a Common Secret Treasure to drop. In comparison, they would see one dropping here every dozen or so Half-Snakeskin monsters they killed. They would even occasionally see Combat Secret Treasures dropping. It should be known that Combat Secret Treasures were normally only dropped by Regional Bosses in the Underground Crystal Palace. The chances of normal monsters dropping it were close to zero. Combat Secret Treasures were so rare that even until now, Gentle Snow was the only one fully equipped with Combat Secret Treasures. Moreover, it was the Ice Crystal Secret Treasure Set that Zero Wing had obtained quite some time ago. As for everyone else present, they only had two Combat Secret Treasures equipped, with the rest of their kit comprising Common Secret Treasures. Even so, they could already rank among the upper echelon of experts in the Crystal City. When one Half-Snakekin General was about to die, Shi Feng took out the Elixir of Fortune and drank it. Then, he promptly ended the Legendary Regional Bosss life. Is thatan Advanced Bronze Purification Technique? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw mist-like Eternal Energy gathering around a book the Half-Snakekin General dropped. He hadnt been hoping for much when he used the Elixir of Fortune. He only hoped to obtain one or two Bronze Purification Techniques before the city battle. After all, he couldnt afford to grind for five straight days this time. Going by past experience, Common Purification Techniques could increase the density of the surrounding Eternal Energy by several times when initially dropped, while Bronze Purification Techniques could make the surrounding Eternal Energy vaguely visible to the naked eye. Currently, though, the Mana Purification Technique the Half-Snakekin General dropped had turned the surrounding Eternal Energy into a mist-like state. There was no doubt it was the Advanced Bronze Purification Technique currently sought by all of Seven Luminaries Towns players. Chapter 3519 - Chapter 593 - Fifteen Cities Arrive! Chapter 593 C Fifteen Cities Arrive! Is this Advanced Bronze Purification Technique precious, Guild Leader? Hidden Soul asked when she saw Shi Feng looking visibly moved as he picked up a book from the ground. They had already obtained several Mana Purification Techniques from killing only a few hundred Half-Snakekin monsters, so it didnt seem like Mana Purification Techniques were as rare as Shi Feng made them out to be. Precious? Shi Feng couldnt help but feel exasperated when he saw Hidden Souls calm reaction. Would you believe me if I said this is possibly the first Advanced Bronze Purification Technique found on the entire Western Continent? Based on Sky Pivots claims, Advanced Bronze Purification Techniques could only be obtained from the Primordial Demons Necropolis, a World Mode Regional Dungeon. World Mode Regional Dungeons were off-limits to non-Tier 6 players, and even Tier 6 experts would face a considerable chance of death. Normally, Tier 6 players would have to operate in 20-man teams at the very least to ensure their safety. Yet, now, they had obtained an Advanced Bronze Purification Technique without having to set foot into a place as dangerous as the Primordial Demons Necropolis. If the Seven Luminaries Alliance were to learn of this, it would probably get the urge to strangle them. First? Hearing Shi Fengs words, Hidden Soul took out a book she had looted from a Tier 4 Mythic-ranked Half-Snakekin Warrior and happily said, Then, mine here should be the second one. As soon as the book Hidden Soul took out was exposed to the surrounding environment, it promptly attracted Eternal Energy from its surroundings, and the density of the gathered Eternal Energy was comparable to what surrounded the book the Half-Snakekin General dropped. Seeing Hidden Souls elated look, Shi Feng couldnt help but fall silent. He had only obtained an Advanced Bronze Purification Technique after using the precious Elixir of Fortune. Yet, Hidden Soul had acquired one without the help of a similar item. Moreover, it would seem that she had acquired it before he did Of course, Shi Feng didnt find the situation completely unreasonable. The Nameless City, for the most part, remained unexplored. So, the monsters loot drop rate should be higher than normal, and this should be applied to Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Techniques as well. Guild Leader! Several Holy Race teams are advancing in our direction from the east! Sleeping Quicksand, who was observing the surroundings using the Eyes of God Spell, suddenly reported. Theyll reach us in ten seconds! We have limited time; dont engage them, Shi Feng stated. Well head to the central region where there are more monsters. Quicksand, use Mirage Enchantment on the team. The Oracle class wasnt just a healing class. It was also a powerful support class. Not to mention, Sleeping Quicksand was conferred the title of Saintess by the Seven Luminaries Alliance in his previous life. Back then, she was considered one of the ten strongest experts in the past century. Currently, although Sleeping Quicksand had yet to fully develop her potential, she was already close to reaching the fifth-floor standard after honing herself in the Eternal Realm. Her Concentration had also reached the Tier 6 Intermediate standard already. So, it wasnt difficult for her to cast Mirage Enchantment, a Tier 4 Spell, on a team of less than twenty players. Meanwhile, with the help of Mirage Enchantment concealing everyones presence and the six War Goddesses clearing the way, the team shook off the pursuing Holy Race players in no time. Then, they swiftly made their way deeper into the Nameless City. Subsequently, a day passed in the blink of an eye. Thanks to the help of the six War Goddesses, Zero Wings team killed far more Half-Snakekin monsters in one day than the Dawnlight Party did in five days. Everyone on the team also reached Level 165, placing them at the top of the Western Continent. Guild Leader, a call came in from Vice President Xia in the real world. She says the fifteen cities will reach Star Lake City in less than twelve hours. Even if Star Lake City accelerates to buy time, it will take those cities no more than twenty hours to surround Star Lake City, Hidden Soul reported to Shi Feng after seeing him finish off a Half-Snakekin General. Also, Vice President Xia says she has already delivered the God Crystals you need. Finally. I thought she wouldnt make it in time. Shi Feng sighed in relief at the news. Tally the loot and have everyone log off to rest. After making the deal with Red Frost, Shi Feng had promptly contacted Xia Qingying, hoping that she could utilize the Eternal Chamber of Commerces trade network to purchase God Crystals in bulk for him. Although he had tried to purchase God Crystals in the Crystal City of Secrets via Zero Wing, the various powers regarded God Crystals as a strategic resource and refused to sell any of their stockpiles. Not to mention, God crystals were as rare as Fragmented Legendary items. So, even after many days of effort, Zero Wing had only collected a little over 30 God Crystals. Moreover, all of them were acquired from independent players at the astronomical price of one Combat Secret Treasure per two God Crystals. However, that still wasnt enough God Crystals for his purposes. Each attempt to learn an Intermediate Divine Engraving from the Book of Eternity cost 50 God Crystals. With the God Crystals he had on hand, he couldnt even afford one learning attempt. Not to mention, he also needed to save a few God Crystals so that he could utilize the Feather of Oaths Heroic Pledge in case of emergencies. Ultimately, after much deliberation, he chose to purchase God Crystals from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce through Xia Qingying at the price of twenty Eternal Gold Coins per God Crystal. Last he was informed, Xia Qingying had successfully purchased at least 200 God Crystals from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, essentially spending most of the profits the Secret Crystal Trading Firm generated thus far. And after factoring in the Guilds daily expenditure, Shi Feng was left with little to no money. Leave it to me! Hidden Soul happily responded and began collecting the items on the ground. After about ten minutes, Hidden Soul finished organizing the teams loot and handed Shi Feng a list. Here is a list of all the loot we obtained after entering the Nameless City, Guild Leader, Hidden Soul said as she looked at her own copy of the list excitedly. Thus far, we have collected 1,227 Common Secret Treasures, 232 Combat Secret Treasures, 143 Common Purification Techniques, 26 Bronze Purification Techniques, and 10 Advanced Bronze Purification Techniques. We already have enough Purification Techniques to outfit a 100-man team! Although Shi Feng already had a general idea of how much loot they had acquired, he still couldnt help but be shocked when he heard the actual numbers. Setting aside the Secret Treasures, just the 26 Bronze Purification Techniques and 10 Advanced Bronze Purification Techniques they obtained would already be enough to cause the entire Seven Luminaries Town to go crazy. At this point, Shi Feng didnt even dare imagine how terrifying a team Zero Wing could develop if it managed to digest all of these Bronze and Advanced Bronze Purification Techniques. It should be known that any player who successfully learned a Bronze Purification Technique would be publicly recognized as a Half-step Tier 6 player in Seven Luminaries Town. Such players could even match Tier 6 players on the Eternal continent. As for players who successfully learned an Advanced Bronze Purification Technique, although Shi Feng didnt have any references to go by, he was certain that such players would be at the Half-step Tier 6 standard at the very least. And if Zero Wing were to suddenly gain a force of 36 Half-step Tier 6 experts, it could probably dominate the entire Crystal City of Secrets and strike fear into the various pseudo-apex powers. Following this, Shi Feng kept all the Mana Purification Techniques and Common Secret Treasures. Then, he had everyone fully equip themselves in Combat Secret Treasures before storing the rest away. After doing all that, he and the rest of the team found a secure location before logging out of the game. TL Notes: Due to changes made by the author, I will making the following changes from Chapter 414 onward: 1) Certain instances of Basic/Intermediate Divine Patterns will now be changed to Basic/Intermediate Divine Engravings. But note that both Divine Patterns and Divine Engravings exist. Divine Engravings are a composition of Divine Patterns E.g. Chapter 415: Original: The Basic Strengthening Pattern was composed of three different divine patterns: the Basic Structural Analysis Pattern, the Basic Structural Remodeling Pattern, and the Basic Structural Solidification Pattern. Edited: The Basic Enhancement Engraving was composed of three different divine patterns: the Basic Structural Analysis Pattern, the Basic Structural Remodeling Pattern, and the Basic Structural Solidification Pattern. 2) Engraving(action) and drawing(action) will also be replaced with inscribing(action) to avoid repetition such as Shi Feng is engraving a Basic Divine Engraving. 3) a set of Basic/Intermediate Divine Patterns will be changed to a/an Basic Intermediate Engraving. Chapter 3520 - Chapter 594 - Night Watch Legion Chapter 594 C Night Watch Legion Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center: The hatch of Shi Fengs virtual gaming cabin opened. But before Shi Feng could climb out of the cabin, his quantum watch sounded an incoming call. After climbing out of the cabin, Shi Feng connected the call and immediately saw the holographic image of Pace Angel, who was tasked with managing the Zero Wing Training Center, appearing before him. Guild Leader, Vice President Xia of the Green God Corporation is already waiting in the lounge, Pace Angel hurriedly reported when she saw her call connecting. In addition, voices for Zero Wing to be removed from the city are growing louder because of the fifteen cities closing in. Currently, over a hundred corporations and families have already spoken up in protest to the City Lord. Over half of the Star Lake Legions members have also withdrawn from the legion to force the City Lord into making a decision. Some time ago, news of fifteen cities joining forces to target Star Lake City spread. As a result, many of the citys local powers started calling for Zero Wing to be banished, and their voices have only grown louder as the fifteen cities arrival drew near. At this point, over half of the cities powers have already started to protest against the City Lord. Normally, if half of a citys powers engaged in a protest, even the City Lord would not be able to ignore it. After all, these powers and their members were vital to a citys survival and prosperity. Yet, if Star Lake Citys City Lord chose to banish Zero Wing, Zero Wing would no longer be able to operate in a city and have to settle with developing in a town How resolute of these powers. Shi Feng nonchalantly smiled as he looked through the list Pace Angel sent him. But their departure isnt all bad news. We can use this chance to refine the current Star Lake Legion. Itll also make things easier for Zero Wings members to join the legion afterward. Refine the Star Lake Legion? Pace Angel was stunned by Shi Fengs nonchalant comment. While it might be great for Zero Wing that so many people were leaving the Star Lake Legion, the departure of these individuals would also result in a severe reduction in combat power for the Star Lake Legion. Losing so much combat power at such a critical juncture would put Star Lake City at an even more severe disadvantage when it went up against the fifteen cities later. Ignore them. More importantly, I need you to have all of Zero Wings battle group members gather in an advanced simulation room. I have something important to tell them, Shi Feng instructed. Understood. Although Pace Angel remained very worried, she still followed Shi Fengs orders and began contacting the members of Zero Wings battle group one after another. Meanwhile, after tidying himself up, Shi Feng made his way to the top-floor lounge. He could wait no longer to get his hands on Xia Qingyings God Crystals. Even though he had yet to learn a Mana Purification Technique, thanks to the Soul Blood boosting his Concentration to the Tier 6 Advanced standard, tasks such as analyzing items and restructuring mana became a lot easier for him to manage. Learning how to inscribe Intermediate Divine Engravings also wouldnt be a difficult task. Top-floor VIP lounge: Inside the lounge that was as large as a basketball court, a man and a woman sat quietly on the sofa next to the window wall. Meanwhile, standing behind them were four young men and women dressed in formal wear. Of these four young men and women, even the oldest was only 24, while the youngest was only 22. Yet, all four of them were not only two-star mental strength grandmasters, but their presence was also stronger than that of Star Lake Citys vice commanders. You and Elder Xin have gone too far with your absurdities this time, Qingying. How could you arbitrarily have the corporations geniuses move to Star Lake City? The man seated on the sofa was in his forties and radiated an imposing aura, and his eyes exuded a hint of rage as he looked at Xia Qingying, who sat next to him. I can ignore your decision to go against Silver Frost City, but I will be taking the Silver Frost Legions former members with me. Im sure you know of Night Watch Citys current situation. Having more members in the Night Watch Legion will increase our chances of establishing a base in the city! I am aware of the situation, Elder Mu, Xia Qingying unhurriedly said. But Zero Wings importance is no less than Night Watch Citys. Also, if we lack manpower in Night Watch City, we can simply partner with Zero Wing. We can establish a foothold in Night Watch City easily with Zero Wings help. Zero Wing? Are you sure youre not joking? Elder Mu laughed when he heard Xia Qingyings words. Ive heard that Zero Wings present situation in Star Lake City is far from optimistic. If Zero Wing cant even survive the upcoming raid by the fifteen cities, do you think it can help us establish a foothold in Night Watch City? Night Watch City was the fourth second-tier mobile city that the Green God Corporation had set its sights on. It was significantly stronger than Silver Frost City, and its population was three times larger than Silver Frost Citys. Occasionally, it could even link up with first-tier mobile cities. Many of the Starlight Realms upper-ranking hegemonic powers sought to establish a foothold in Night Watch City but failed to do so. As for the Green God Corporation, it had only received an opportunity to do so thanks to one of its special connections. Even so, the chances of success werent optimistic. If the Green God Corporation could successfully establish a foothold in Night Watch City simply by relying on an up-and-coming Guild like Zero Wing, it would definitely be regarded as a legendary tale on the Starlight Continent. Do you think I would joke around with the corporations future, Elder Mu? Xia Qingying asked as she rolled her eyes at the imposing man beside her. Mu Huangwu! He was one of the Green God Corporations few three-star mental strength grandmasters. He was also the corporations youngest three-star grandmaster. If not for Mu Huangwu being obsessed with combat and personal improvement in Gods Domain, he would have long become the number one candidate for the Green God Corporations president. You might be serious, but who can guarantee Zero Wing has that capability? Mu Huangwu responded without any reservations. Black Flame? The person ranked eleventh on the Sacred Glory List? You can rest assured on this point, Elder Mu. The strength Zero Wing has kept hidden far exceeds your imagination, Xia Qingying said confidently. If Zero Wing fails to help us, I will personally lead a team to Night Watch City, and I wont ever leave the city until the corporation succeeds in establishing a foothold. Xia Qingying had a very optimistic view of the Divine Engraver subclass. If Shi Feng could make good on his promise and nurture several bona fide Divine Engravers, the Green God Corporation could easily rely on these Divine Engravers to establish a foothold in Night Watch City. While Xia Qingying and Mu Huangwu were talking, the lounges doors suddenly opened, and in came Shi Feng. Apologies for the long wait, Vice President Xia, Shi Feng said when he saw that Xia Qingying had brought along with her Mu Huangwu, a famous individual from the Green God Corporation. However, although he was surprised by this development, he maintained a calm expression as he continued, If Im not mistaken, you seem to have something else to discuss other than our transaction. Mu Huangwu was famous in Shi Fengs previous life. Not only was he one of the Green God Corporations few three-star grandmasters, but he was also an incredibly talented instructor, having nurtured as many as five three-star grandmasters and one pseudo-great grandmaster for the Green God Corporation. If not for the Green God Corporation being limited on resources, these numbers might have even doubled. You are as straightforward as always, Guild Leader Shi. Xia Qingying faintly smiled when she saw Shi Feng walking over. I have already brought the things you asked for. And indeed, besides our transaction, I have another big business proposition for Zero Wing. A big business proposition? Xia Qingyings words piqued Shi Fengs curiosity. May I know what it is? Night Watch City! Xia Qingying stated as she raised her hand and sent an electronic document to Shi Feng. Here is all the information on Night Watch City. On behalf of the Green God Corporation, I hope to seek Zero Wings cooperation in securing a foothold in Night Watch City. Night Watch City? Shi Feng immediately had his interest piqued. After all, Night Watch City was one of the few places in his previous life that auctioned Stardew regularly. That is indeed a big business proposition. Night Watch City will be holding its annual membership test in a few days. I hope to borrow Zero Wings strength to help the Green God Corporations members join the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups. In return, Zero Wing will receive half of the city contribution points these members receive in the future. What do you think? Xia Qingying suggested. Have you lost your mind, Xia Qingying?! Mu Huangwu was dumbfounded by Xia Qingyings offer. Do you know how few of our members can get into the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups?! And you want to give half of their points away?! Mu Huangwu was confident that two or three of the talents under his tutelage could join the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups. As for everyone else, their chances were incredibly slim. Even with external assistance, the best they could hope for was an extra one or two members getting into an ace battle group. While that could more or less be considered a good outcome, it was a different story if they had to give half of their members contribution points away. They would gain nothing from this exchange and even end up with less than what they originally could have obtained. No problem, Shi Feng said to Xia Qingying, ignoring Mu Huangwus rant. I can provide assistance to the Green God Corporation and let all of your members qualify for an ace battle group. However, I want 70% of their city contributions! Chapter 3521 - Chapter 595 - Zero Wings Capability? Chapter 595 C Zero Wings Capability? Seventy percent? Xia Qingying couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in astonishment. It was unquestionably absurd to demand a 70% cut. Even though she was aware that Zero Wing could utilize divine engravings to help many of the Green God Corporations members join the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups, she still found it very difficult to stomach this price. For an official member of the Night Watch Legion to join an ace battle group, not only would they need to undergo a combat assessment, but they would also need to undergo a test for their technical standards. They couldnt just rely on powerful weapons and equipment. After all, for the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers members seeking to join the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups, acquiring quality weapons and equipment wasnt difficult. What a bold statement! Mu Huangwu stated as he looked at Shi Feng with a hint of rage in his eyes. Do you think all those geniuses I have nurtured can get into an ace battle group simply by having Zero Wings help? Arent you looking down on the Night Watch Legion a little too much? Do you think the Night Watch Legion is the same as the Star Lake Legion? Mu Huangwu had devoted all his efforts to nurturing a batch of geniuses to join the Night Watch Legion. He had even invested all the resources he had acquired from the Night Watch Legion into this endeavor. But even with all that, he had only managed to get a little under twenty people into the Night Watch Legion. And out of these people, only three had a chance of getting into an ace battle group. As for those three people in question, every one of them was capable of becoming a third-tier city legions commander. Yet, now, Shi Feng spoke as if anyone could qualify for the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups. If you are skeptical of Zero Wings strength, how about we make a bet, Elder Mu? Shi Feng smiled as he looked at the furious man seated next to Xia Qingying. If I lose, Zero Wing will raise the Basic Attributes of the Green God Corporations members in the Night Watch Legion to the Legendary standard for free. That means theyll have Basic Attributes rivaling players fully equipped with Legendary items. Conversely, if Elder Mu loses, you will have to help Zero Wing in cultivating some geniuses. How about it? Do you dare accept this bet, Elder Mu? Mu Huangwu was very reputable in Shi Fengs previous life. Many conglomerates even tried to invite him to nurture their talents. Unfortunately, after Mu Huangwu helped the Green God Corporation produce a new generation of three-star grandmasters, he abruptly retired and stopped training people completely. Even when Zero Wing offered to compensate him handsomely, Mu Huangwu still refused. Later down the line, all traces of Mu Huangwu even vanished from the Greater World. Now that Mu Huangwu was right before his eyes, Shi Feng naturally had to make good use of this opportunity. If he could get Mu Huangwu to nurture Zero Wings talents, it would absolutely allow Zero Wing to progress further in this life. Raise their Basic Attributes to the Legendary standard? Mu Huangwu had his interest piqued by Shi Fengs words. Are you serious? The Green God Corporation might have quite a few Legendary Weapons and Equipment, but there was no way it could afford to invest all of these items into the Night Watch Legion. As for increasing the Basic Attributes to the Legendary standard, it was similarly a distant and unachievable dream. However, if Shi Feng was telling the truth and Zero Wing had a way to increase the Basic Attributes of all of the Green God Corporations members in the Night Watch Legion to the Legendary standard, the number of people capable of joining the legions ace battle groups would definitely skyrocket. Vice President Xia can vouch for me on this point, Shi Feng said as he turned to look at Xia Qingying. I can indeed vouch for this point, Xia Qingying said, nodding. But she still couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion, failing to comprehend where Shi Feng was going with his proposition. If thats the case, I can take you up on your wager! Mu Huangwu said, nodding after hearing Xia Qingyings assurance. Then, he looked at Shi Feng and asked, So, what do you want to bet on? Please come with me. Seeing that Mu Huangwu had taken the bait, Shi Feng smiled and stepped out of the lounge. What is he trying to do? Xia Qingying wondered as she looked at Shi Fengs departing figure in confusion. Initially, she thought Shi Feng would set the topic of his wager as whether Zero Wing could help improve the Basic Attributes of the Green God Corporations members join the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups. Then, he would handily win the bet by using his divine engravings to enhance the weapons and equipment of those members. But Shi Feng didnt intend to make such a one-sided wager by the looks of things. Moreover, he seemed incredibly confident in whatever he had planned. Zero Wing Training Center, top-floor advanced combat simulation room: Currently, nineteen of Zero Wings battle group members were training in the simulation room half the size of a sports stadium. Among them, some were formerly members of the Silver Frost Legion, such as Fire Dance and Jun Luosha. Now, though, they were officially members of the Star Lake Legion thanks to Red Frosts authorization. What do you think of Zero Wings battle group, Elder Mu? Shi Feng asked as he pointed at the individuals training in the room. Do you think they can win the Tier 5 match against the fifteen cities later on? Mu Huangwu started to scrutinize the Zero Wing battle group members training in the room. Not a chance, Mu Huangwu stated without hesitation. Then, he pointed at two women and continued, Apart from Fire Dance and Jun Luosha, only that Assassin and Berserker are adequate. Everyone elses standard is abysmal. None of them are even one-star grandmasters. They might do fine if they only have to go against one of the fifteen cities, but against all fifteen cities simultaneously? They might as well not even show up for the match. Guild Leader Shi Feng, you cant be thinking of At this time, Xia Qingying started to have an idea where Shi Feng was going with his bet, and she couldnt help but be surprised. You guessed correctly, Vice President Xia. Since Elder Mu doubts Zero Wings ability to nurture talents, I naturally have to bet on it with Elder Mu, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, he looked at Mu Huangwu and continued, Seeing as Elder Mu doesnt think Zero Wings battle group can win against the fifteen cities in the Tier 5 match, I will bet on Zero Wings battle group winning the Tier 5 match! Deal! I accept your bet! You best not regret it! Mu Huangwu said, elated by Shi Fengs words. Although he didnt know what kind of capabilities Zero Wing possessed, even if Zero Wing managed to fully equip all of its battle groups members with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, it still wouldnt be possible for them to win the Tier 5 match against the fifteen cities. Before coming to Star Lake City, he had already learned about the fifteen cities situation, so Mu Huangwu knew that the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord was behind all of this. He also knew that Xiao Quan had hired at least ten Tier 5 fifth-floor experts. In comparison, Zero Wings battle group had, at most, five fifth-floor experts. Not to mention, apart from having a numerical advantage in fifth-floor experts, the fifteen cities could also afford to utilize large-scale magic barriers and battle arrays. In that case, well have Vice President Xia serve as our witness, Shi Feng said before tapping on his quantum watch and hashing out a betting agreement. According to the agreement, so long as Zero Wings battle group won against the fifteen cities in the Tier 5 match, Mu Huangwu would do his best to help Zero Wing train its talents. Conversely, if Zero Wings battle group lost the Tier 5 match, Zero Wing would assist the Green God Corporation establish a foothold in Night Watch City at no cost. Is your Guild Leader crazy, Luosha? Fire Dance couldnt help but be confused when she saw Shi Feng and Mu Huangwu signing a betting agreement with each other. Elder Mus insight and information network are extraordinary. Since Elder Mu dares to take the bet, the fifteen cities must have a numerical advantage over us in terms of fifth-floor experts. Yet, your Guild Leader Shi doesnt plan to call for Zero Wings other experts to help and only plans to have our group fight? After training with some of Zero Wings members in the advanced combat simulation room, Fire Dance learned that Zero Wing had many fifth-floor experts under its command. Moreover, this number exceeded 100. It was just that the people of Star Lake City were unaware of this fact. Now that the fifteen cities would soon arrive, Shi Feng could have easily called upon these fifth-floor experts to win the upcoming city battle. Yet, instead of doing so, he intended to rely only on Zero Wings battle group to fight. His actions were simply incomprehensible. I dont know. Nonchalantly, Jun Luosha said, But Im sure Guild Leader Shi has a solution. Solution? What solution? Thats a force of three thousand we are talking about! Fire Dance exclaimed, exasperated by Jun Luoshas response. After Mu Huangwus group left, Shi Feng turned around and walked over to Fire Dance and the others. Then, he pulled up a file on his quantum watch and shared it with everyone present. The file was a detailed report on Mana Purification Techniques. Upon reading the report, Fire Dance and the others promptly fell silent. We still have a little more than ten hours before the battle with the fifteen cities begins. I have already sent each of you a Bronze Mana Purification Technique, so try to learn as much as you can within this time. I will also reward anyone who succeeds in learning it with an even better Mana Purification Technique, Shi Feng said. Then, he swept his gaze across the stunned individuals in the room before leaving. Chapter 3522 - Chapter 596 - Cities Gather Chapter 596 C Cities Gather What?! I thought only special weapons and equipment could increase mana strength! I must be seeing things! According to the instructions, so long as I master this Bronze Mana Purification Technique, my Tier 5 mana can be strengthened to the standard of Tier 6 NPCs! This is crazy! Where did Guild Leader Shi even get something like this?! If news of this gets out, the various apex powers will definitely lose their minds! Apart from Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, and Jun Luosha, everyone else in the room fell into a frenzied state after reading the detailed report on Bronze Mana Purification Techniques. Aside from feeling ecstatic, they also couldnt help but find the report hard to believe. Fire Dance, in particular, couldnt help but suspect Shi Feng was playing a joke on them when she finished reading the information on the Bronze Mana Purification Technique. Normally, the strength of players mana would only increase with their tier. It was common knowledge in Gods Domain, and no power or player had ever broken this norm. Even the mighty apex powers were no exception. However, the Mana Purification Technique described in the report shattered this notion. So long as players successfully learned a Bronze Mana Purification Technique, they could elevate the strength of their mana by up to one tier, which was simply unbelievable. It should be known that the improvement of ones mana wouldnt lead to just an improvement in strength. It would also reduce the difficulty of constructing Mana Bodies and Divine Bodies. What was even more unbelievable was that according to Shi Feng, once they learned the Bronze Mana Purification Technique he sent them, he would reward them with an even better Mana Purification Technique. Why do you seem unsurprised by all this, Luosha? Fire Dance asked when she noticed the girl beside her looking as cool as a cucumber. We are dealing with a technique that can increase the strength of our mana here. It is probably unique in the entire Gods Domain. Dont tell me you already knew about it long ago? In response, Jun Luosha frankly nodded and said, The Guild Leader previously said that this was information classified to core members and above, so I never told you about it, Big Sis Fire. Core members already knew about this secret previously? Fire Dance couldnt help but look at Jun Luosha in astonishment. Previously, she hadnt thought much about becoming a core member of Zero Wing. After all, in her opinion, she already knew everything there was to know about Zero Wing. But now, she realized that she knew nothing about Zero Wing. The Mana Purification Techniques existence could shake the entire Greater Gods Domain. If the various powers got their hands on it, they would probably ensure only their core executives knew about it. Yet, now, Zero Wing had not only shared this secret with elite members like her and the others in the room, but it had also allowed them to learn this precious technique. Unless Zero Wing was led by fools, there could only be one reason the Guild would do such a thingit had secrets far more valuable and important than the Mana Purification Technique. However, no matter how Fire Dance racked her mind, she simply couldnt imagine what secrets Zero Wing could have that surpassed the Mana Purification Technique. While Zero Wings battle group members began studying the Bronze Purification Techniques, Shi Feng promptly sent a copy of the Bronze Purification Technique to Red Frost and logged back into Gods Domain. Xia Qingying had already sent him 200 God Crystals, so he intended to utilize the Nameless Citys superior environment to start learning how to inscribe an Intermediate Divine Engraving. Fortunately, as Shi Feng expected, the dense Eternal Energy that filled the Nameless City created an excellent learning environment. Even though he had yet to learn a Mana Purification Technique, he only had to spend 150 God Crystals, which was equivalent to three learning attempts, to grasp the Intermediate Enhancement Engraving. The cost of learning an Intermediate Divine Engraving is truly extravagant. Shi Feng winced in pain when he inspected his bag space. The expenditure of God Crystals was only to let him experience the inscription process. Besides that, he also had to expend Seven Luminaries Crystals to put his knowledge into practice. Previously, when he was learning how to draw the Basic Enhancement Engraving, he had expended tens of thousands of units worth of Seven Luminaries Crystals to expedite the learning process. Now, in order to learn how to inscribe the Intermediate Enhancement Engraving quickly, he had expended over 500,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. The learning cost had increased by nearly tenfold. Fortunately, he had entrusted the development of Divine Engravers to Xia Qingying. If it were left to Zero Wing alone, it would have been impossible with the Guilds lack of foundation in the Greater Gods Domain. Even so, with how costly it was to nurture Divine Engravers, the best the Green God Corporation could do was nurture a batch of Apprentice Divine Engravers. After all, the cost of inscribing an Intermediate Divine Engraving was on a completely different level than that of a Basic Divine Engraving. The Basic Enhancement Engraving was only composed of three divine patterns. Although the cost of inscribing divine patterns would double with each additional divine pattern inscribed, with the first pattern costing 10 units, the second pattern costing 20 units, and the third pattern costing 40 units, it would only cost 70 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to inscribe all three divine patterns, In comparison, the Intermediate Enhancement Engraving required the inscription of six divine patterns. The sixth divine pattern alone cost 320 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to inscribe. This simply wasnt an expenditure an ordinary power could afford on a large scale. Thank goodness I found a treasure like this Nameless City. Otherwise, it would be impossible to nurture Divine Engravers in the future, Shi Feng inwardly celebrated when he saw nearly half of his stockpile of Seven Luminaries Crystals had disappeared. Players needed to expend Seven Luminaries Crystals to inscribe divine engravings because their mana lacked purity. Unless players had mana nearing the standard of Tier 6 Gods, they could not use their mana to inscribe divine engravings. They could only rely on external mana sources such as Seven Luminaries Crystals to do so. In a way, one could say that the art of inscribing divine engravings was not something players of the current era could learn. Fortunately, he had discovered Mana Purification Techniques. With the help of Mana Purification Techniques, players could achieve the mana of Tier 6 Gods with relative ease. At that time, players would no longer have to rely on Seven Luminaries Crystals to inscribe divine engravings. Instead, they could accomplish the task using their own mana, even if it was just barely. At the same time, Shi Feng also had to admit that, while Intermediate Enhancement Engraving was costly to produce, its effects were leagues above the Basic Enhancement Engraving. The Basic Enhancement Engraving only increased the Basic Attributes of the inscribed weapon or equipment by 10%, whereas the Intermediate Enhancement Engraving increased Basic Attributes by 30%. It should be known that this increase wasnt simply included in the modifiers that came with the inscribed item. Instead, it directly enhanced the Basic Attributes of the inscribed item. Later on, the inscribed items inherent modifiers could further improve these additional Basic Attributes. If a player were to be fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary items inscribed with the Intermediate Enhancement Engraving, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that they were fully equipped with Legendary items. At this point, Shi Feng couldnt even imagine how much of an improvement an Advanced Divine Engraving could bring. Regardless, now that Shi Feng had learned how to inscribe the Intermediate Enhancement Engraving, he had officially graduated as an Apprentice Divine Engraver and was now a true Divine Engraver. So, he promptly began producing Intermediate Enhancement Engraving Scrolls. Each production attempt cost 630 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, and Shi Fengs failure rate was about 50%. In other words, the cost of each Intermediate Enhancement Engraving Scroll he produced was a whopping 1,260 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. At this price, it would cost him about 15,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to fully inscribe a players equipment. And if he were to translate that into a 20-man team, the total cost would be roughly 300,000 units Subsequently, time quickly passed. Before Shi Feng knew it, he had already finished making enough Intermediate Enhancement Engraving Scrolls to inscribe two 20-man teams fully. Although he managed to raise his success rate as his proficiency grew, he still spent most of his Seven Luminaries Crystals. Now, he was only left with a little over 50,000 units, which wasnt even enough to create a Tier 6 Divine Body. Just when Shi Feng was planning to use his remaining time to learn the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique, he suddenly received an emergency notification from his virtual gaming cabin. At the same time as Shi Feng received the emergency notification, an alarm blared throughout Star Lake City, causing everyone in the city to stop what they were doing and look up at the sky. At this time, fifteen enormous holographic screens appeared above Star Lake City. Each screen displayed a different mobile city approaching Star Lake City, and these fifteen cities had Star Lake City completely surrounded. Faintly, everyone also saw numerous individuals standing atop the walls of these mobile cities, and all of these individuals revealed excited expressions as their respective cities neared Star Lake City. Shortly afterward, the entirety of Star Lake City started to get virtualized, and a holographic timer covering half of the citys sky began counting toward the start of the imminent city battle. Chapter 3523 - Chapter 597 - Divine Glory Expert Chapter 597 C Divine Glory Expert Theyre here! The fifteen cities still came in the end What is the City Lord thinking? So many of the cities powers have already stated that we wont have to fight the fifteen cities so long as he removes Zero Wing from the city. The City Lord must have lost his mind. What benefits did Zero Wing offer for him to go to such lengths? Is he really not worried Star Lake City might cease to exist? Despair and frustration filled the inhabitants of Star Lake City when they saw the countdown timer above the city. Star Lake City had just secured its fifth set of power furnace fuel not long ago, so it was the perfect opportunity for development. And if everything went well, they, the inhabitants of Star Lake City, could expect to see a rise in their status and living standards in the Greater World. But now, rather than an improvement in living standards, they should be expecting a drastic degradation instead, as Star Lake City was effectively doomed. Fighting against one city and multiple cities in a city battle were two entirely different matters. If a city lost a city battle against multiple cities, it wouldnt lose just one set of fuel. Instead, the number it lost would depend on the number of cities it lost to in points. So long as Star Lake Citys total points was lower than one of the fifteen cities, it would have to compensate the other party with one set of fuel. This also meant that Star Lake City could potentially lose all of its fuel. And if Star Lake City didnt have enough fuel to settle its debt, it would be forced to dissolve, and its remains divided by the cities that did not receive any fuel. At that time, Star Lake City would also cease to exist. Different from Star Lake Citys general populace, the citys various powers and influential families reacted in excitement and joy when they saw the countdown timer in the sky. As per our agreement with Xiao Quan, he will leave us with all of Star Lake Citys fuel after the city battle, and we will all have a chance to vie for the position of City Lord! Our family will be the one to rule over Star Lake City! We really have to thank Zero Wing for this. Otherwise, who knows how long we would have had to wait for our corporation to have a chance at competing for the City Lord position. When the executives of Star Lake Citys various corporations and influential families saw less than one-third of the Star Lake Legions usual members gathered atop Star Lake Citys city wall, they couldnt help but reveal delighted smiles. Typically, it was very rare for third-tier mobile cities to see a change in ownership. After all, the city legions of the various third-tier mobile cities were roughly equal in strength, so the chances of a third-tier city winning or losing in a city battle were usually 50-50. Because of this, most third-tier cities could usually maintain their fuel at a certain volume. Not to mention, if a city was lucky, it might even come across a newly born fuel source to blanket its losses. But it was a different story now that Xiao Quan, the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord, was spearheading an attack on Star Lake City. Under normal circumstances, third-tier mobile cities would never join forces. The fifteen cities had only agreed to do so to please Xiao Quan. Meanwhile, the result of this collaboration was that the fifteen cities would be able to easily overwhelm Star Lake City with their numbers and deprive Star Lake City of all its fuel in one fell swoop, forcing it into dissolution. And once Star Lake City dissolved, the position of Star Lake Citys City Lord would naturally cease to exist, and the citys future would be determined by the fifteen cities that had conquered it. Currently, fewer than one thousand people could be seen standing atop Star Lake Citys city wall. And although these people were members of the Star Lake Legion, most of them didnt officially belong to a battle group. It was just that the legions personnel shortage was so severe that it had no choice but to include its reserve members to fill the numbers. After all, unlike in Gods Domain, players needed to expend their mental strength to maintain their weapons and equipment in a city battle. Moreover, the better the weapon and equipment a participant materialized, the greater the toll on their mental strength would be. Hence, in a city battle, the addition of every participant could bring about a significant impact. While the Star Lake Legions participants were preparing their respective simulation cabins, an elderly man exuding a dignified aura arrived atop the city wall with a group of young men and women. Following the arrival of this elderly man, both the various powers executives and the citys inhabitants couldnt help but be surprised. The elderly man was Feng Yiqing, the City Lord of Star Lake City. It had already been several decades since he had taken on the position of the Feng familys head and Star Lake Citys City Lord. It had also been several decades since he had become a three-star grandmaster. At present, it was rumored that he was already a pseudo-great grandmaster, and he was only one step away from reaching the great grandmaster standard. For him to bring his family guards It seems even Feng Yiqing is unnerved by this situation, Mu Huangwu, who was quietly sipping tea on Star Lake Citys spectator stands, commented when he saw Feng Yiqing arriving atop the city wall. All twenty of those youngsters are one-star grandmasters. One of them has even reached the fifth-floor standard. As expected of the family that has ruled over Star Lake City for so many years. Theyre also equipped with the Feng familys family heirloom, so it shouldnt be difficult for them to defend two or three capture points in the Tier 6 match, Xia Qingying commented when they saw that all twenty of the youths were equipped in standardized equipment sets. She also couldnt help but admire the Feng familys foundations. It was an incredibly difficult task to nurture a young fifth-floor expert, even for upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Greater Gods Domain. For a family in the Greater World, the difficulty would only be greater. As for the equipment sets the twenty youths wore, they were Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Sets that could be used to form a small battle array. Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Sets were exceedingly rare. They were so rare that players were more likely to encounter a player fully equipped with Legendary items than a player equipped in a Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Set. And although the bonuses the battle array provided could not even match the bonuses provided by one Legendary Weapon, a Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Set was easily worth as much as twenty Legendary Weapons. The reason for this lay in the effects Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Sets had on real-world city battles. Unlike Legendary Weapons and Equipment, Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Sets placed very little burden on the wearers mental strength. On top of that, they also allowed their wearers to form a battle array, which would increase their wearers Basic Attributes by one piece of Legendary Equipments worth and allow the sharing of senses between wearers. Because of these effects, should the Feng familys family guards stick together during the city battle, they would be akin to an impregnable fortress. Not even a 20-man team equipped with Legendary Weapons could take them down. Thats not necessarily true, Mu Huangwu said, shaking his head. Then, he pointed toward Myriad Forest City, which vaguely looked like it was the leading force of the fifteen cities, and continued, Do you see that masked giant standing on the Myriad Forest Citys side? Dont you find him familiar? Masked giant? Xia Qingying followed Mu Huangwus finger and focused her gaze on the Myriad Forest City. Then, her eyes quickly widened as she gasped and exclaimed, How is this possible?! How did Xiao Quan enlist the help of the Hundred-Armed Giant?! The masked giant Mu Huangwu pointed out was a three-meter-tall masked man. Even with the mans face being hidden, Xia Qingying still recognized him at first glance. Hundred-Armed Giant, the 92nd-ranked player on the Divine Glory List. Unlike the Luminous Glory and the Sacred Glory Lists, the Divine Glory List was a powerhouse ranking list recognized by all, while experts ranked on the Divine Glory List were experts standing at the apex of the various Realms. The Divine Glory List had 1,000 spots. Among them, the top 100 spots served as a major dividing line. Every expert in the top 100 of the Divine Glory List had mastered at least two or more Gold Combat Techniques. Additionally, each of them was fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. In the presence of these individuals, the average fifth-floor expert couldnt even compare. Chapter 3524 - Chapter 598 - Red Frosts Peak Condition Chapter 598 C Red Frosts Peak Condition Mr. Hundred-Arm, as per our agreement, we will leave Feng Yiqings family guards to you, Myriad Sky, the Myriad Forest Legions commander, calmly said to the resting three-meter-tall giant before her in an alluring tone. However, despite her calm manner of speech, hints of fear and awe could be seen in her eyes. Of the fifteen cities attacking Star Lake City this time, Myriad Forest City could be said to be the strongest. It was also the closest to becoming a second-tier city out of all third-tier cities operating in this region. Currently, not only did Myriad Forest City have enough fuel to operate seventeen power furnaces, but its size was also close to matching that of second-tier cities. There were even three upper-ranking hegemonic powers based in the city. Normally, Myriad Forest City would have never entertained Xiao Quans willful demand to attack Star Lake City. However, when Xiao Quan showed up in Myriad Forest City with the Hundred-Armed Giant in tow, the city had no choice but to reevaluate its opinion of the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. Anyone capable of ranking on the Divine Glory List was, without a doubt, an apex existence in the Greater Gods Domain. As for those ranked within the Divine Glory Lists top 100, they were monsters capable of bringing about the doom of an upper-ranking hegemonic power so long as they desired. Sure. Leave them to me, Hundred-Armed Giant said, nodding as he glanced at the holographic screen above Myriad Forest City. Myriad Skys breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Hundred-Armed Giants response. For a moment, she was honestly worried the Divine Glory expert might refuse to listen to commands. When it came to the Star Lake Legion, it was of little significance in the eyes of Myriad Forest City and its city legion. However, it was a different story for Feng Yiqing. After all, Feng Yiqing was rumored to be a half-step great grandmaster who was close to crossing the final threshold. The family guards he nurtured naturally wouldnt be pushovers. If it was only a matter of defeating Star Lake City in a city battle, Myriad Forest City could easily complete its part. However, the fifteen cities goal this time was the destruction of Star Lake City. They needed to ensure Zero Wing did not have a place to call home. Currently, there were two major threats in the Star Lake Legion. The first threat was the legions commander, Red Frost. The second threat was Feng Yiqings family guards. Star Lake Legion would have ten capture points it needed to defend. If it managed to defend two or three capture points in the Tier 6 match, there was a chance it could continue to exist. This was not an outcome Myriad Forest City wished to see. After all, Myriad Forest City had already agreed with Xiao Quan that as long as Star Lake City perished, Hundred-Armed Giant would offer his help to Myriad Forest City once. If Myriad Forest City could gain the help of the 92nd-ranked Divine Glory expert when competing for its 20th set of fuel in the future, its victory would be assured, and it would finally become a second-tier mobile city. Preparations on Moon Trail Citys side are complete. We can move out whenever, Commander Sky! Hidden Leaf City is ready as well. We only await your command, Commander Sky. When the countdown timer for the city battles Tier 6 match reached zero, the various city legions surrounding Star Lake City promptly expressed their readiness to attack Star Lake City. Good! Everyone, move according to plan! Each citys battle groups will be responsible for one capture point! Do not give the enemy any chance to group up! Myriad Sky commanded when she saw that the other fourteen cities city legions were ready to move. Immediately, 150 battle groups consisting of 3,000 individuals began surging out of the fifteen cities. Then, each citys battle groups gathered under one command before quickly making their way toward Star Lake City. Each of the fifteen cities had ten battle groups consisting of 200 Tier 6 experts. Even if one of these cities was unfortunate enough to encounter the entirety of the Star Lake Legion shortly after entering Star Lake City, it was unlikely to suffer destruction within a short time. On the contrary, as the battle dragged out, more and more of the other cities battle groups would gather, making it even more impossible for the Star Lake Legion to accomplish anything. The Star Lake Legion would even suffer annihilation once enough reinforcements arrived. As for the possibility of the Star Lake Legion fleeing into the fifteen cities, it wouldnt matter even if that happened. Whether the Star Lake Legion decided to split up and attack multiple cities or concentrate all of its forces into one city, the Star Lake Legions battle groups were bound to come across the battle groups of the cities they decided to attack. Ultimately, they still couldnt avoid being surrounded and annihilated. Meanwhile, when Star Lake Citys inhabitants saw this sight through the holographic screens above the city, they couldnt help but gasp. Even the Star Lake Legions veteran members felt their scalps going numb at this sight. It was obvious that the fifteen cities intended to bring ruin to Star Lake City without giving it any opportunities to resist. Less than ten minutes later, the fifteen cities battle groups entered Star Lake City from multiple directions. Then, they began searching for the Star Lake Legions members and capture points. Weve arrived at Capture Point 3! We discovered nobody here! Capture Point 1 is undefended as well! Same with Capture Point 8! When the various cities battle groups started to occupy Star Lake Citys capture points one after another, the various cities were surprised to discover that the Star Lake Legion was defending none of these capture points. Sure enough, theyve chosen to concentrate their forces Myriad Sky muttered when she heard the reports from the various city legions. However, she wasnt surprised by this development. She would have made a similar decision if she had been in charge of the Star Lake Legion. A 20-man battle group is approaching us from the front, Commander Sky! the Tier 6 Ranger beside Myriad Sky suddenly reported. Theyre still over a kilometer away, and well encounter them in twenty seconds. Are you sure its just one battle group? Myriad Sky was a little surprised by this situation. A full battle group of 20 participants might be an adequate force in a city battle between two cities, but it was far from sufficient when the opponent consisted of fifteen cities. Not to mention, with the fifteen cities current distribution of forces, even if the Star Lake Legion had only split its forces into two teams of 100 participants, it would still be a very foolish decision. Thats right. Its just one battle group of twenty, the Ranger affirmed. They look like they are deliberately coming to us, and the person leading the battle group seems to be the Star Lake Legions commander, Red Frost! The Sky Piercer is coming? Hundred-Armed Giant, who was walking alongside the Myriad Forest Legion, suddenly revealed a look of interest. I heard rumors saying she had the potential to enter the top 100 during her peak. Do you think this might be a trap of the Star Lake Legion, Mr. Hundred-Arm? Myriad Sky asked. She couldnt help but feel something was amiss when she heard her subordinates report. Less than 1,000 meters separated both sides currently. At this distance, Tier 6 players using Scouting Skills could easily discover each other. So, it shouldnt be a mistake to say that Red Frost had already discovered the Myriad Forest Legion. But with only twenty participants on her side, why would Red Frost take the initiative to approach the Myriad Forest Legions 200-man team? So what if its a trap? Hundred-Armed Giant said in disdain. Setting aside the fact that Red Frost is no longer at the peak, even in her prime, she only had a chance to break into the top 100. Even with the support of Feng Yiqings family guards, what can they do against me? Hearing this, Myriad Sky couldnt help but agree with Hundred-Armed Giant. Hundred-Armed Giant was an expert currently ranked among the Divine Glory Lists top 100, whereas Red Frost the Sky Piercer only had a chance of breaking into the top 100 during her peak. The two were on completely different levels. Not to mention, the Myriad Forest Legion had a massive numerical advantage over Red Frosts battle group. About twenty seconds after the Tier 6 Ranger reported his findings, a group of participants appeared before the Myriad Forest Legion. The group consisted of 20 participants, and it was led by a long-haired woman clad in white holy armor and armed with a crimson spear. At the same time as this battle group appeared, Myriad Sky couldnt help but shudder. It was especially so when she felt the presence of the goddess-like woman. It felt as if she was standing before a Tier 6 God, and this realization filled her mind with doubts. Was the Red Frost before them still not in her peak form? Chapter 3525 - Chapter 599 - Divine Downfall Chapter 599 C Divine Downfall What kind of terrible luck does Commander Red Frost have? Why did she have to come across Hundred-Armed Giant right off the bat? Hundred-Armed Giant came in 92nd on the latest Divine Glory List. I recall the last time he took action was when he stole from the Red Dragon Nation. At the time, the Flame Dragon Legion, led by the Red Dragon Nations First Vice Guild Leader, was raiding a World Boss called the Evil Void Dragon. The raid had proceeded smoothly from start to finish, but as soon as the Boss died, Hundred-Armed Giant suddenly appeared and snatched the Void Axe, a Fragmented Divine Artifact, that dropped. I also heard about that incident. Although the Flame Dragon Legion tried to hunt him down, Hundred-Armed Giant ultimately got away after killing several dozen of the Flame Dragon Legions experts. Also, strangely enough, the Red Dragon Nation didnt try to escalate the matter afterward. When Star Lake Citys inhabitants saw the encounter between Red Frosts battle group and Hundred-Armed Giant, they couldnt help but grow anxious. Even the Star Lake Legions spectating vice commanders were no exception. Hundred-Armed Giant was incredibly famous in the Greater Gods Domain, and it would be rare to find somebody who hadnt heard about him and his recent achievement. The Flame Dragon Legion was the pseudo-apex power Red Dragon Nations trump card legion. It consisted of 1,000 Tier 6 experts, and all of its team leaders were fifth-floor experts, while its vice commanders were Saint-ranked experts. Under the effects of the legions battle array, they were a force that was beyond the comprehension of anyone in Star Lake City. The Flame Dragon Legion was so powerful that, even if the fifteen city legions currently attacking Star Lake City were to band together, these fifteen legions still wouldnt fare any better than a baby would in a fight against an adult. Yet, Hundred-Armed Giant had not only successfully escaped from the pursuit of the Flame Dragon Legion, but he had even killed dozens of the legions experts in the process. His strength was already beyond description. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Hundred-Armed Giant alone was more challenging of an opponent than the entirety of the fifteen cities 3,000-man army. Hahaha! Wonderful! Lets see how our mighty commander can continue acting arrogantly in Star Lake City after this! Chen Qilin, a former Star Lake Legion vice commander, reacted in joy and excitement when he saw Red Frost meeting Hundred-Armed Giant. In the past, be it in prestige or strength, nobody in Star Lake City could challenge Red Frost. She held so much influence in the city that she could deprive him of his position as a vice commander with only a few words, turning him into an absolute joke in the city. Moreover, he had no choice but to endure the humiliation, as there was nothing he could do against a pseudo-great grandmaster like Red Frost. But now, he would finally get to see Red Frost suffering defeat. The current Star Lake Legion was a far cry from before. Because of many experts withdrawing, the legion couldnt even field ten full Tier 6 battle groups for the city battle. And although the City Lord had included his family guards at the last minute, the Star Lake Legion still only managed to field a little over 60 participants for the Tier 6 match, of which nearly one-third were with Red Frost. Normally, had Red Frost managed to flee into one of the other mobile cities with the City Lords family guards and conducted guerilla warfare, it would have still been possible for Star Lake City to earn some points from the Tier 6 match. However, now that Red Frost had encountered Hundred-Armed Giant, the Tier 6 match was as good as over. While Red Frost might be a Divine Glory expert in the past, it should be known that Hundred-Armed Giant was currently ranked 92nd on the Divine Glory List. Ignoring the fact that Red Frost was no longer at her peak, even if she were still in her prime, she still wouldnt be a match for Hundred-Armed Giant. Meanwhile, as Red Frosts battle group moved closer and closer to the Myriad Forest Legion, to everyones surprise, Red Frost suddenly charged ahead of her battle group. It did not look like she intended to work with her allies to break the Myriad Forest Legions defensive line. Not bad. As expected of someone who had the potential to enter the top 100. When Hundred-Armed Giant saw Red Frost charging ahead with her crimson spear, a look of interest surfaced on his face. Then, he commanded, Leave her to me! You guys get rid of the others! Well have to trouble you with that, then, Mr. Hundred-Arm, Myriad Sky said, sighing in relief. In Myriad Skys opinion, the current Red Frost felt no different than a Tier 6 God, and she highly doubted the Myriad Forest Legion could take Red Frost on. Without Hundred-Armed Giants assistance, the fifteen cities would have to concentrate all of their forces and erect magic barriers to be able to kill Red Frost. So, it was naturally good news that Hundred-Armed Giant was willing to take action. Following Myriad Skys response, Hundred-Armed Giants three-meter-tall frame suddenly vanished. Then, he reappeared within 20 yards of Red Frost, his speed stunning many of the Tier 6 experts present. Hes so fast! Is this the famous Space-Crossing Steps? Didnt they say that even three-star grandmasters would have difficulty executing Gold Combat Techniques in simulation warfare? How did he manage it so easily? Is this the strength of the top 100 Divine Glory experts? Many gasped when they saw Hundred-Armed Giants lightning-quick maneuvers. Even Myriad Sky couldnt help but widen her eyes in shock. Unlike in Gods Domain, players would have their physical strength heavily suppressed in simulation warfare. Not to mention, players also needed to expend mental strength to maintain their weapons and equipment in simulation warfare. Because of these two factors, it was incredibly challenging for players to execute complex maneuvers such as Gold Combat Techniques. Yet, Hundred-Armed Giant had executed Space-Crossing Steps, which was a Gold Combat Technique and his trademark move, with little to no stress. It was simply unbelievable. Meanwhile, at the same time as Hundred-Armed Giant appeared before Red Frost, a dark-gray axe appeared in his hand. The instant the axe appeared, the intensity of the aura Hundred-Armed Giant radiated increased substantially, causing many of the Tier 6 experts present to shudder involuntarily. Is that the Void Axe? Mu Huangwu, who was spectating the match from inside the city, couldnt help but marvel at the dark-gray axe decorated by electric arcs. With that Fragmented Divine Axe in hand, Hundred-Armed Giant can probably trade blows with the various pseudo-apex powers Taboos. Even if that madwoman is still at her peak right now, I doubt she can last more than five moves against him Sitting next to Mu Huangwu, Xia Qingying revealed a grim look when she saw Hundred-Armed Giant taking out the Void Axe. The Tier 6 match took up a significant portion of the city battles points. If Star Lake City lost the Tier 6 match to a miserable extent, it wouldnt matter how well the city did in the Tier 4 and Tier 5 matches. There would be no salvaging the situation anymore. While everyone was distracted by the Void Axe, Hundred-Armed Giant attacked Red Frost without hesitation, executing his other trademark move, the Gold Combat Technique Meteoric Laceration. In only an instant, Hundred-Armed Giant had executed over a hundred slashes from various angles, creating a web of rapid attacks that gave Red Frost neither time nor space to evade. He was fully committed to eliminating the Star Lake Legions commander as quickly as possible. At this moment, even though they werent the actual target of Hundred-Armed Giants Meteoric Laceration, everyone present could feel the threat of death descending looming over them. Good! Youll serve as a good test subject for the fruits of my research! Red Frost did not grow flustered in the face of Hundred-Armed Giants attack. On the contrary, she revealed a look of excitement as she entered a stance and gathered the surrounding mana to the tip of her spear. Then, she charged forward and executed the Forbidden Technique she had spent years studying. Forbidden Technique, Gods Return! Boom! Boom! Boom! The sound of metal colliding echoed throughout Star Lake City time and again as axe and spear clashed, the intensity of the collisions creating shockwaves that spread over a thousand yards. Before anyone could react, a figure suddenly shot out from the epicenter of the shockwaves and crashed into a nearby metal building, the HP bar above the figures head shrinking one-third in size. Then, upon getting a clear look at this figure, everyones jaws fell wide open. This was because the figure in question belonged to none other than the 92nd-ranked Divine Glory expert, Hundred-Armed Giant! TL Notes: [1]Forbidden Technique: I have no idea if Forbidden Technique(ս) is an extension of the combat technique(ս) category, Mana Technique(ħս) category, or if its something entirely new. For the time being, it looks like it is either an extension of the Mana Technique category or something entirely new. Chapter 3526 - Chapter 600 - Complete Victory! Chapter 600 C Complete Victory! Hundred-Armed Giant Lost? When Myriad Sky saw the familiar figure embedded in the nearby building, she revealed a bewildered look. Her mind failed to process what had just happened. It should be known that Hundred-Armed Giant had executed Meteoric Laceration, a Gold Combat Technique. Moreover, he had done so using the Void Axe, a Fragmented Divine Artifact. Even a Tier 6 God of the same level wouldnt be able to withstand his attack head-on and take evasive measures. Yet, Red Frost, the Sky Piercer who was no longer in her prime, had managed to overpower Hundred-Armed Giant in a direct confrontation? I must be hallucinating! How can that Hundred-Arm Giant lose?! At this moment, Myriad Sky and the Myriad Forest Legions members werent the only ones in disbelief. This development similarly dumbfounded the spectators of Star Lake City and the fifteen cities. It was especially so for Star Lake Citys various powers, Chen Qilin, and the other former Star Lake Legion members. Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. While none of them had ever seen Red Frost fighting with her full strength, Chen Qilin and the others still had a general idea of her strength. In their opinions, Red Frost was, at most, close to the standard of Tier 6 Gods. Otherwise, there wouldnt have been a need for her to retire in a measly third-tier city. So, how exactly did she manage to defeat Hundred-Armed Giant in one exchange? Impossible! Even if Red Frost is still at her peak, she only has the potential to enter the Divine Glory Lists top 100, whereas Hundred-Armed Giant is a genuine top 100 expert! How could he have lost to her after just one exchange?! Chen Qilin jumped out of his seat when he saw the scene displayed above the city. No matter the place, experts ranked among the Divine Glory Lists top 100 were existences capable of single-handedly turning the tides of battle. If Red Frost had the strength to topple the 92nd-ranked Divine Glory expert in just one exchange, then The course of the entire city battle would change because of Red Frost. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, after Hundred-Armed Giant fell out of the dent he created in the metal building, he couldnt help but look at Red Frost with a tinge of fear in his eyes. It seems all of those rumors of you getting cursed in a Sanctuary and losing your strength were nonsense. You did acquire that ruins Legacy, Hundred-Armed Giant said as he drank a Grandmaster Regeneration Potion. Then, after recollecting himself, he continued, But! Even if that move of yours has already reached the level of Taboos, you still have a long way to go if you want to win this match! After saying so, Hundred-Armed Giant turned his gaze toward Myriad Sky. Commander Sky, have all your healers assist me in distracting Red Frost. That move she used expends a lot of mental strength, so she cannot sustain it for long, Hundred-Armed Giant commanded without caring for his reputation. While Im distracting her, the rest of you take care of the others. Also, have all other cities battle groups gather toward us. Even if Red Frost is already at the standard of Taboos, we can still wear her down! If he had encountered Red Frost in the Greater Gods Domain, he would have turned around and fled without hesitation. But now that he had a force of 3,000 to work with, defeating Red Frost wasnt out of the question. Okay! Myriad Sky agreed. After snapping out of her daze, her unsettled heart quickly calmed down. As Hundred-Armed Giant stated, even if Red Frost was strong enough to rival Taboos, existences who were equipped with Divine Artifacts, there was a limit to her strength in a city battle environment. With their overwhelming numerical advantage, they could most certainly whittle her down. Not to mention, they had Hundred-Armed Giant, an existence capable of trading blows with Red Frost, on their side. Immediately, the Myriad Forest Legion split into two groups under Myriad Skys arrangement. Among them, one group consisted of 26 healers responsible for supporting Hundred-Armed Giant. Red Frost shouldnt think of killing Hundred-Armed Giant now unless she could kill him within an instant. As for the remaining 172 players, Myriad Sky led them into a charge against the 19 other members of Red Frosts battle group. If they could eliminate these 19 players before the City Lords family guards arrived, it would reduce the amount of support Red Frost could receive. How decisive of you. When Red Frost saw Hundred-Armed Giant seeking help from the Myriad Forest Legion, she couldnt help but admire the other party. I thought a solo expert like yourself would refuse to work with others no matter what. There were countless experts in the Greater Gods Domain. Among them, solo experts capable of entering the Divine Glory List typically disliked cooperating with others in a fight. It was especially so when they were facing lone opponents. In such scenarios, solo experts would prefer a one-on-one fight and forbid others from interfering. Firstly, it was because one-on-one battles allowed for better honing of their skills. Secondly, it was rare for solo experts to find opportunities to fight equally skilled opponents in a one-on-one scenario, so every opportunity had to be cherished. I dont have a choice. If it were possible, I wouldnt want to do this either, Hundred-Armed Giant calmly replied when he saw Red Frost showing no signs of resuming their fight right away. Dont go saying that Im despicable for relying on numbers, either. If you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for provoking someone you shouldnt have provoked! While Hundred-Armed Giant was speaking, Myriad Sky and the players she led had already started to attack the members of Red Frosts battle group. The 172 players Myriad Sky led were all titled experts fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary items. For the sake of this city battle, Myriad Forest City had even loaned a Legendary Weapon to every team leader of the Myriad Forest Legion. When facing titled experts without Legendary Weapons, it would be a piece of cake for these team leaders to go one-on-ten while relying on their advantage in Basic Attributes. Only fifth-floor experts could possibly defeat them. Despicable? Red Frost laughed when she heard Hundred-Armeds words. Why would I? On the contrary, I should be the one saying those words to you. What? Hundred-Armed Giant couldnt help but be puzzled by Red Frosts words. It was especially so when he saw that Red Frost still had no intentions of moving and was simply watching Myriad Skys group take action against her battle group members. Admittedly, Red Frosts battle group members were strong, each being a one-star grandmaster or higher. However, none of them were fifth-floor experts, so there was no way they could win against Myriad Skys group. I originally planned to mess with you for a bit, but now it seems that wont be possible, Red Frost said. Then, she looked toward the confidants she led and calmly said, You guys can stop suppressing yourselves. Its time to show these people what happens when they provoke the wrong person! As soon as Red Frost said so, a mighty aura that closely rivaled Red Frosts started to spread from the 19 members of her battle group. Suddenly, it felt as if 19 Tier 6 Gods had descended upon the battlefield Chapter 3527 - Chapter 601 - First-Tier Mobile City Chapter 601 C First-Tier Mobile City Impossible! When Red Frosts battle group members unleashed their auras, everyone from the Myriad Forest Legion was dumbfounded. Even Hundred-Armed Giants jaw had fallen a little. Setting aside Red Frosts combat standards, it should be known that in terms of Basic Attributes alone, she already rivaled Tier 6 Gods. So, the fact that Red Frosts battle group members radiated an aura closely matching that of Red Frost meant that aside from Red Frost, there were 19 other Tier 6 Gods in Red Frosts battle group! Tier 6 Gods! Nineteen Tier 6 Gods! Tier 6 Gods were already considered apex existences throughout the entire Greater Gods Domain. Even the existence of just one Tier 6 God was enough to warrant great caution from an upper-ranking hegemonic power. If Tier 6 players werent fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, they would have difficulty putting up any form of meaningful resistance. As for a force of 19 Tier 6 Gods, that was more than enough to destroy an empire in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone the fifteen cities city legions. At this time, even the Star Lake Legions spectating members couldnt help but be stunned by this unexpected revelation. They never thought their legion would have kept such strength hidden. Dammit! Everyone, retreat! Myriad Sky instinctively commanded after sensing the auras of the nineteen players before her exploding in intensity. In the face of players with Basic Attributes nearing Tier 6 Gods, even the Myriad Forest Legions team leaders, who were each equipped with a Legendary Weapon, could last no more than a few exchanges before getting killed. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that just one of Red Frosts battle group members was enough to take on all of the Myriad Forest Legions team leaders. Needless to say, the members without Legendary Weapons would fare even worse. In that case, how were they supposed to go up against Red Frosts 19 battle group members? Unfortunately, Myriad Skys command was of little use as Red Frosts battle group members had already started attacking the Myriad Forest Legions members as soon as they stopped suppressing themselves. Even without the use of powerful Gold Combat Techniques, Tier 6 Curses, or Tier 6 Taboo Skills, Red Frosts battle group members could easily claim the lives of several Myriad Forest Legion members with every Bronze Combat Technique, Tier 6 Skill, or Tier 6 Spell they used. Only the Myriad Forest Legions team leaders, equipped with Legendary Weapons, could barely resist. Even so, they would still get sent flying and lose a significant portion of their HP. In no time at all, the Myriad Forest Legion had already lost more than fifty members. How is this possible?! Hundred-Armed Giant couldnt help but look at Red Frosts battle group members in confusion. Even if Star Lake City managed to find a backer and acquire a large number of Legendary items, only three-star grandmasters could materialize a full set of Legendary items! Where did Star Lake City find so many young three-star grandmasters?! Three-star mental strength grandmasters were incredibly rare, and it was even more so for three-star grandmasters of such a young age. Even conglomerates would only have a handful of such talented individuals. In order to gather so many young three-star grandmasters, the full support of a pseudo-apex power would be required at the very least. However, before Hundred-Armed Giant could figure out the situation, Red Frost had already raised her spear and thrust the weapon at him. In a situation where the Star Lake Legion didnt even have 100 members participating in the Tier 6 match, the first thing the legion needed to accomplish to ensure its victory would be to eliminate the greatest threatHundred-Armed Giant. Then, the Star Lake Legion would have to quickly eliminate the fifteen city legions one after another before they managed to respond. Otherwise, with the fifteen city legions numerical advantage, they could easily have half of their forces keep the Star Lake Legion pinned with magic barriers while the rest of their forces occupied Star Lake Citys capture points. The fifteen city legions could even opt to conduct guerilla warfare since, with the disparity in numbers, it would be impossible for the Star Lake Legion to occupy too many capture points. Regardless of which option the fifteen cities chose, Star Lake City would ultimately lose. Meanwhile, Hundred-Armed Giant quickly realized this point and tried to escape. Unfortunately, Red Frost didnt give him such an opportunity and repeatedly executed Gods Return with her spear. Even with more than twenty healers healing him, Hundred-Armed Giant had no choice but to commit everything to defense. Otherwise, if he allowed Red Frosts attacks to connect with his body, not even a force of 20-plus healers could keep him alive. Its over. When the fifteen cities spectators saw Red Frost picking off Hundred-Armed Giants healers one after another and ultimately finishing off the 92nd-ranked Divine Glory expert, their hearts could no longer remain calm. They couldnt find any words to comment on the situation, either, as none of them had expected such an outcome. Even so, with Hundred-Armed Giants death and the Myriad Forest Legions annihilation, even if the remaining fourteen city legions managed to group up to a certain extent afterward, it was unlikely they could put up any meaningful resistance against Red Frosts battle group. Indeed, as everyone expected, in the following two hours, Red Frosts battle group swiftly annihilated or crippled eleven out of the fifteen city legions before they managed to react. Then, the 20-man battle group split up and took independent action as the remaining four city legions could no longer pose a significant threat to them. Even though the remaining four city legions eventually chose to conduct guerilla warfare, the Star Lake Legion still managed to occupy over 50 capture points. Moreover, the Star Lake Legion occupied at least three capture points from each city. So, unless the fifteen cities could annihilate the Star Lake Legion in the subsequent Tier 5 and Tier 4 matches, all fifteen cities would have to lose one set of power furnace fuel. Meanwhile, following the conclusion of the Tier 6 match, all of Star Lake Citys inhabitants celebrated in joy. With the Star Lake Legions massive victory in the Tier 6 match, so long as the legion didnt lose too miserably in the Tier 4 and Tier 5 matches, Star Lake City could acquire several more sets of fuel. This would undoubtedly propel Star Lake Citys development to the next level. At the same time, though, many who had withdrawn from the Star Lake Legion couldnt help but regret their decisions. Myriad Forest City: In a viewing room situated on the top floor of the citys tallest building, the City Lords of the fifteen cities and the executives of numerous powers were currently gathered here. However, be it the fifteen City Lords or the various powers executives, everyone wore cautious looks as they sat around a gloomy young man, their behavior making it seem like the young man was the top figure in the room. Apart from the gloomy young man, the twenty young men and women who sat around him were also targets of caution for the various City Lords and executives. This was because half of these twenty youths were two-star grandmasters, while the other half were three-star grandmasters. Though, compared to the mental strength of these youths, what struck fear in everyone present was their status. They were members of a Tier 5 ace battle group from Skystar City, a first-tier mobile city! It wasnt an exaggeration to say that these twenty youths were far out of the reach of any of the City Lords present. Normally, these City Lords would only get to see these youths when they spectated first-tier city battles. At other times, they wouldnt be able to get acquainted with these youths, even if they wanted to. It seems I will have to rely on you in the next match, Brother Tianhao, Xiao Quan said to the gloomy young man beside him. No problem, the gloomy young man nonchalantly replied. As per our agreement, it will cost you 4,000 Eternal Gold if we take action! Naturally. Xiao Quan nodded. So long as you can annihilate Zero Wings members, I will send the money to you in no more than two days, Brother Tianhao. Alright, leave it to us, the gloomy young man said, smiling. I kept hearing Frey talk about how formidable Zero Wing is. Lets see if Zero Wing really is as extraordinary as Frey claims! Chapter 3528 - Chapter 602 - Zero Wing Takes the Field Chapter 602 C Zero Wing Takes the Field Inside the viewing room When the gloomy young man going by the name of Luo Tianhao finished speaking, he left the room with his subordinates to participate in the upcoming Tier 5 match. Meanwhile, it was only after the youths from Skystar City had left did everyone in the room dare to start breathing normally. What should we do next, Young Master Xiao Quan? Myriad Forest Citys City Lord asked respectfully after approaching Xiao Quan. Hearing Myriad Forest Citys City Lords question, the other City Lords also respectfully looked toward Xiao Quan, none of them exuding the majesty and dignity of a City Lord. Initially, the main reason they had agreed to go along with Xiao Quans willfulness was so that they could get into Silver Frost Citys good graces. But after seeing the forces Xiao Quan had brought with him to Silver Frost City, they no longer cared about buttering up to Silver Frost City. Instead, they felt that it would be much more worthwhile to gain the favor of Xiao Quan himself. First, it was Hundred-Armed Giant, the 92nd-ranked expert on the Divine Glory List. Now, it was one of the Tier 5 ace battle groups of Skystar City, a first-tier mobile city. Logically, whether it was Hundred-Armed Giant or Skystar Citys ace battle group, neither should be within reach of the son of a second-tier citys City Lord. The fact that Xiao Quan could get these two forces to work for him meant that there was more to his identity than meets the eye. You dont have to be nervous. All you need to do is have your forces cooperate with Brother Tianhao in the Tier 5 match. Leave everything else to Brother Tianhao, Xiao Quan said, chuckling nonchalantly. Understood! The various City Lords responded unanimously. Then, they promptly contacted the city legions under their command. Meanwhile, a smirk appeared on Xiao Quans face as he looked at the distant Star Lake City and thought, Qingying, you might think you have found yourself a powerful backer, but you simply have no idea what kind of existence Shi Feng has provoked. A few days ago, a development unbeknownst to him must have occurred, as his superior had abruptly allowed him to utilize Demons Gates forces on the Starlight Continent. Meanwhile, the command he received was to permanently erase Zero Wing from the Greater World. When he received this command, he decided to use this opportunity to thoroughly show Xia Qingying the consequences of offending him. Although a minor accident had occurred with the arrangements he made for the Tier 6 match, what truly mattered was the upcoming Tier 5 match. To ensure Star Lake Citys defeat in the Tier 5 match, he had even paid a heavy price to get one of Skystar Citys Tier 5 ace battle groups to serve as reserve members for the Myriad Forest Legion. As for the battle group Luo Tianhao led, it stood among the apex of all Tier 5 battle groups on the Starlight Continent. There was no way Zero Wings recently-established battle group could compete against it. Time passed quickly. Ten minutes after the Tier 6 match concluded, the Tier 5 participants of all sixteen cities began entering their simulation cabins one after another. However, when the Myriad Forest Legions Tier 5 participants made their initial appearance, an uproar immediately occurred among the sixteen third-tier mobile cities. Heavens! Why do those participants from the Myriad Forest Legion look like theyre Skystar Citys ace battle group members?! They dont just look like them! They are them! They represented Skystar City in the most recent first-tier city battle! Everyone was surprised to see Luo Tianhao and his battle group appearing on Myriad Forest Citys side. Even Mu Huangwu and Xia Qingying, who were spectating from Star Lake Citys spectator stand, were shocked by this development. What did Xiao Quan do? How did he get one of Skystar Citys ace battle groups to help him? Confusion filled Xia Qingyings eyes as she looked at the holographic screen displaying the Myriad Forest Legions Tier 5 participants. Since when did first-tier cities interfere with the struggles of second- and third-tier cities? On the Starlight Continent, first-tier cities were essentially unattainable existences for the various second- and third-tier cities. Normally, first-tier cities would find it beneath themselves to even meddle with the struggles of top-ranking second-tier cities, let alone third-tier cities. After all, the two stood on completely different playing fields. Aside from a significant difference in equipment standards, there also existed a massive difference in mental strength standards. In a second-tier city legion, three-star grandmasters were extremely rare. But in a first-tier city legion, three-star grandmasters were very common. They were so common that every battle group would have a three-star grandmaster leading it. As for ace battle groups, while not all members would be three-star grandmasters, they would be, at the very least, two-star limit grandmasters. Additionally, all of them were fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, and they were even capable of materializing all of their equipment in battle. This was a stark contrast to the ace battle group members of second- and third-tier legions, where many of them couldnt materialize Legendary items, even if they possessed some. As for the combat standards of a first-tier legions ace battle group members, they were all at the fifth-floor standard at the very least. At this moment, Xia Qingying wasnt the only one shocked by this development. Even Red Frost, who had relaxed after winning the Tier 6 match, couldnt help but look at Myriad Forest Citys screen with twitching eyes. Exactly what kind of existence did our mighty Guild Leader of Zero Wing offend? Previously, Red Frost was still rather confident in Shi Fengs ability to win the Tier 5 match. However, after seeing one of Skystar Citys ace battle groups appearing in the Myriad Forest Legion, she couldnt help but grow worried. Even if they were talking about the Tier 6 match, a battle group of Tier 5 fifth-floor experts fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment could probably win against the fifteen cities. Placing such a battle group in the Tier 5 match of a third-tier city battle was simply cheating. With such a frightening battle group present, how was Zero Wing supposed to win the Tier 5 match? Apart from Shi Feng, Zero Wings battle group had, at most, four other fifth-floor experts. Even if they were fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary items strengthened by Intermediate Divine Engravings, their Basic Attributes would still be slightly inferior to players fully equipped with Legendary items. Not to mention, they wouldnt have access to the other bonuses and abilities of Legendary items. While everyone was discussing Skystar Citys ace battle group, the bell signaling the start of the Tier 5 match sounded. Following the start of the Tier 5 match, the fifteen city legions promptly gathered at one location, as previously discussed. They did not give the Star Lake Legion any opportunities as their comrades did in the Tier 6 match. After gathering, the army of 3,000 marched toward Star Lake City. Then, after dedicating 1,000 players to constructing a magic barrier, the rest of the army began systematically searching for the Star Lake Legions members. Xiao Quan is such a cautious person, Leader. We cant even demonstrate our strength to Zero Wing with such a setup, a graceful female Elementalist from Luo Tianhaos battle group said, frowning as she watched the fifteen cites members erecting a large barrier that enveloped the entire army. Once this barrier is completed, I doubt we will get to even see Zero Wings members. Once the large magic barrier constructed by 1,000 players took shape, it would encompass more than half of Star Lake City. And if it was settled in the heart of the city, it could cover at least 70% of the city. In such a situation, there was no way the Star Lake Legion or Zero Wings battle group would think of contesting for the capture points covered by the barrier. Isnt that better? Luo Xiaohao chuckled. Not only do we get to make a large sum of Eternal Coins without doing anything, but we can also let Frey know the Zero Wing she mentioned is an insignificant coward. If Zero Wing doesnt even dare to fight us, what qualifications does it have to partner with the Galaxy Conglomerate? Someones approaching us from in front, Leader! a Tier 5 Ranger from the same battle group suddenly reported. Theyre very fast! Theyll reach us in ten seconds! It seems theyre smart and know that this is their only chance to get close to us, Luo Tianhao said, unsurprised by the report. After all, once the barrier was completed, Star Lake City was as good as theirs. How many people do they have? There seems to be onlyfive, the Tier 5 Ranger awkwardly said. Chapter 3529 - Chapter 603 - Lunacy! Chapter 603 C Lunacy! Is he insane?! Why did he send only five people?! Over at Star Lake Citys spectator stands, Xia Qingying stood up and exclaimed in a somewhat ear-piercing voice when she saw only five figures appearing before the fifteen cities army, confusion and disbelief filling her eyes. As Zero Wings partner, Xia Qingying was more or less aware of Zero Wings situation. While Zero Wing might have very few capable experts based in Star Lake City, it definitely wasnt so short on manpower that it could only have five people participate in the Tier 5 match. Not to mention, Shi Feng had even shown Zero Wings battle group to Mu Huangwu previously. That was undoubtedly a full battle group. Moreover, Shi Feng always had the option of seeking reinforcements from Zero Wings other members in Gods Domain. While external reinforcements might experience a delay in controlling their bodies, fifth-floor experts could still display combat standards vastly superior to titled experts nonetheless. Combined with weapons and equipment enhanced by Intermediate Divine Engravings, these fifth-floor experts could put up a fight against even Skystar Citys ace battle group. Yet, Shi Feng had chosen to participate in the Tier 5 match with just five people. Now, not only would it be impossible to defeat Skystar Citys ace battle group, but even winning against the fifteen city legions would be an insurmountable challenge. At this time, Mu Huangwu also nodded in agreement with Xia Qingying. He felt that Shi Feng had already given up on the Tier 5 match. Otherwise, there would be no reason why he would have only five people participate. No matter how futile the Tier 5 match might seem, he should have mobilized at least twenty people. After all, every additional participant counted in a city battle. Are you all Zero Wings members? Luo Tianhao asked out of curiosity as he looked at the five people approaching him. Luo Tianhao had only heard a little about the Guild named Zero Wing, and most of it had come from Frey. However, based on Freys description, Zero Wing was supposedly an amazing Guild, so much so that she strongly recommended the Galaxy Conglomerate to establish deeper ties with it. Thats right, Shi Feng responded, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes as he looked at Luo Tianhao and his battle group. In his previous life, Luo Tianhaos battle group was considerably famous on the Starlight Continent. The battle group had helped Skystar City achieve consecutive victories and zero defeats in the Tier 5 matches against other first-tier cities. Somewhere down the line, the battle group even won a match for a transcontinental special-tier city, instantly solidifying the Galaxy Conglomerates position in the city. However, despite Luo Tianhaos achievements and status as the Galaxy Conglomerates Sixth Successor, Shi Feng never really paid much attention to him. This was because most major struggles in the Greater Gods Domain only involved Tier 6 players, while Luo Tianhao and his battle group only focused on Tier 5 matches. Good! Luo Tianhao nodded as he looked at Shi Feng. Since you have the courage to stand before us, we wont bully you with numbers. Instead, well have a five-on-five match. If you win, my battle group will stay out of Star Lake City. If we win, you must personally tell Frey that Zero Wing isnt worthy of collaborating with Galaxy. How about it? Upon hearing Luo Tianhaos words, the fifteen city legions members promptly grew anxious. In this Tier 5 match, Luo Tianhaos battle group was the main force for their side, while everyone else was only here as support. While they might be able to kill Shi Fengs group if they finished constructing their magic barrier, they would be in a bind if Shi Fengs group fled to another city. Even if the fifteen cities were to ultimately win the Tier 5 match, so long as Shi Fengs group successfully occupied one or two capture points in another city, there was a chance the unlucky city might lose to Star Lake City in points. Not to mention, according to their intelligence, all five members of Shi Fengs group should be fifth-floor experts. Thats a rather generous offer, Team Leader Luo. Shi Feng couldnt help but chuckle when he saw Luo Tianhaos confidence. Unfortunately, I am not interested in it. Also, Im afraid nobody present is qualified to discuss conditions with Zero Wing. As soon as Shi Fengs words fell, an uproar immediately occurred among the fifteen cities. It was especially so for Star Lake Citys spectators. Crap! Is that guy nuts? How dare he provoke Skystar Citys ace battle group at this critical moment? Is he not worried City Lord Feng will kick him out of Star Lake City? Star Lake Citys spectators couldnt help but look at Shi Feng as if he was a fool. After all, Luo Tianhaos offer allowed Zero Wing to have a fair fight. Yet, not only did Shi Feng turn down such an opportunity, but he had even provoked Luo Tianhao while he was at it Were not qualified to discuss conditions with you? Luo Tianhao laughed. At the same time, his expression gradually darkened. I would have assumed the Guild that Frey has talked so much about would have some brains, but it seems Zero Wing is merely run by a bunch of irredeemable fools. Since you think were unqualified, let me see how long you can last against my battle group! Immediately, Luo Tianhao and his battle group members materialized their Legendary Weapons and Equipment, the appearance of the items bringing along with them an aura surpassing that of the average Tier 6 player. And when everyone saw their weapons and equipment, they couldnt help but be awed. It was very rare to see players fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment in the Greater Gods Domain. Not even the executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers would necessarily have a full set of Legendary items. Yet, every member of Luo Tianhaos member group was fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. With such an equipment standard, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that Luo Tianhaos battle group could confront a Tier 6 God. Meanwhile, when Fire Dance felt the astonishing aura coming off of Luo Tianhaos battle group, she looked at Shi Feng with fiery eyes and asked, Can I have this battle, Guild Leader? Ah! Not fair, Big Sis Fire! Jun Luosha pouted. We already agreed to share before! Guild Leader! As a Vice Guild Leader, I think I should be the one to handle this fight, Gentle Snow interjected. Fire Dance and the others can go after me if I fail. All of a sudden, four of Zero Wings five-man party could be seen contesting for the opportunity to take on Luo Tianhaos battle group by themselves. When everyone else saw this scene, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded, and it was especially so for Luo Tianhao and his battle group members. Previously, it was already plenty ludicrous that Zero Wing had only dispatched five people to participate in the Tier 5 match. Yet, it seems the women around Shi Feng had also lost their minds as they now argued for a chance to fight alone. At this time, even those familiar with Fire Dance, such as Xia Qingying and Mu Huangwu, couldnt help but question whether they were hallucinating or Fire Dance and the others had truly gone insane. Stop arguing, Shi Feng said with a wry smile. If you all insist on soloing, well go by order of whoever mastered the Advanced Bronze Purification Technique first. That way, itll be fair to everyone. Chapter 3530 - Chapter 604 - God-Ranked Domain Chapter 604 C God-Ranked Domain Star Lake Citys spectator stand: When Xia Qingying and Mu Huangwu saw only Fire Dance stepping forward to face Luo Tianhaos battle group, they couldnt help but gasp. Qingying! What did Shi Feng do to Fire Dance during this period?! Mu Huangwu demanded with rage-filled eyes. How did she get so foolish and ignorant?! Fire Dance was a genius nurtured by the Green God Corporation. Hence, Mu Huangwu, as an Elder of the Green God Corporation, had a good idea of what she was capable of. While Fire Dance might have been a vice commander of the Silver Frost Legion in the past, whether in equipment standards or mental strength standards, she was still greatly inferior to the ace battle group members of Skystar City. Not to mention a one-on-twenty scenario, even in a one-on-one scenario, Fire Dance wouldnt necessarily emerge victorious. Fire Dance would only be making a fool of herself in front of everyone by challenging Luo Tianhaos battle group alone. If news of her actions reached Night Watch City, she would be promptly disqualified before she could even take the Night Watch Legions test. Unlike third-tier cities, when second-tier cities recruited participants, they wouldnt just test the applicants talent. They would also inspect the applicants battle records. After all, each second-tier city ruled over upwards of a hundred third-tier cities, so they did not lack talented individuals to choose from. It was especially so for Night Watch City, a top-ranking second-tier city. Normally, only the most excellent individuals from third-tier cities could qualify for the Night Watch Legion. If Night Watch City was to find out about Fire Dances foolish behavior in this city battle, she would probably get disqualified on the first round of the test. After all, strategies were crucial in city battles. Heroic actions would only put the rest of the legion in danger. If Guild Leader Shi Feng has decided on this course of action, Im sure he has his reasons, Xia Qingying responded to Mu Huangwus questioning, albeit somewhat hesitantly. Although Xia Qingying knew Zero Wing had the trump card known as Intermediate Divine Engravings, she still couldnt help but be confused as to why Shi Feng had decided to let Fire Dance fight Luo Tianhaos battle group alone. No matter how she looked at it, it simply wasnt a wise decision. Myriad Forest Citys spectator stand: Fire Dance? When Xiao Quan saw Fire Dance walking toward Luo Tianhaos battle group, a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes. As a vice commander of the Silver Frost Legion himself, Xiao Quan naturally recognized Fire Dance and had a very good idea of her strength. However, while Fire Dance might not have trouble soloing any of the fifteen cities battle groups, it would be a completely different story if she tried to solo Luo Tianhaos battle group. Shed probably be killed in the first few exchanges. This wasnt to say that Fire Dances combat standard was vastly inferior to the members of Luo Tianhaos battle group. It was just that there was a qualitative difference in the equipment standards of both sides. The gap in equipment standards was also one of the main factors contributing to the powerlessness of second-tier cities in the face of first-tier cities. Good! Very good! If thats how you want to do it, Ill let Frey know how foolish and ignorant the Guild she has been singing praises of is! Luo Tianhao coldly said when he saw only Fire Dance stepping forward. Lotus! Ill leave her to you! Following Luo Tianhaos words, a graceful and innocent-looking female Elementalist stepped forward from behind him. And even though the Elementalist looked to be only in her early twenties, none of the other youths in the battle group were dissatisfied with Luo Tianhaos decision. This was because the Elementalist named Lotus was not only Luo Tianhaos close confidant, but she was also the battle groups vice team leader. Moreover, although it hadnt been long since Lotus joined, she already ranked among the top five of the group in strength. When Lotus initially joined the Galaxy Conglomerate, Luo Tianhao and Frey, two of the conglomerates successors, had fought over her. Ultimately, Luo Tianhao only managed to win her over after offering up a premium villa in Skystar Citys city center. Skystar City was one of the few first-tier mobile cities operating on the Starlight Continent. Hence, every inch of land in the city was worth its weight in gold. As for the city centers villas, they were so limited and valuable that even the Galaxy Conglomerates successors would only be assigned one premium villa each, and they couldnt obtain a second one without significant achievements. However, the price Luo Tianhao paid to recruit Lotus was undoubtedly worth it. Firstly, despite being only 22 this year, Lotus was already a three-star mental strength grandmaster. Even in the Galaxy Conglomerate, talents of her caliber were incredibly rare. Secondly, she was the owner of the Sky Saint Legacy, one of the Starlight Realms Four Great Saint Legacies. So long as she got promoted to Tier 6, she would instantly be put onto the Divine Glory List. Understood! Lotus nodded. After Lotus responded, she could be seen briefly disappearing from the virtualized street before reappearing within 100 yards of Fire Dance. Then, she raised her staff toward the sky. Boom! All of a sudden, as if all of the air in the city had been sucked away, everyone in the city experienced a feeling of suffocation. Is this the strength of first-tier cities?! When Star Lake Citys inhabitants saw the threefold magic array covering a small section of the citys sky, they all felt a deep fear. Tier 5 Super Spell, Sky Crash! The difficulty of casting a Tier 5 Super Spell exceeded that of Tier 6 Spells, and its power was no less than that of Tier 6 Spells. Meanwhile, simply being able to silent-cast one Tier 5 Super Spell would already be considered a great achievement for Tier 5 titled experts. Yet, Lotus had managed to complete a triple silent cast. Not even veteran Saint-ranked experts could necessarily accomplish such a feat. Its over Mu Huangwu wryly smiled when he saw the threefold magic array in the sky. That little girls mental strength is simply monstrous! Sky Crash was a Super Spell that covered a radius of 3,000 yards. It was a powerful Spell that could bring forth devastating effects so long as it was completed. Normally, players could easily counter it by interrupting the caster before the Spell was completed. This was also the case, even if it was silently cast. Although players who utilized silent casting might look as if they had instantly cast their Spells, it was a fact that they needed to go through the standard procedure of constructing the Spells magic array. It was just that, in the case of silent casting, players would construct their Spells magic array in their minds. As for Sky Crash, it was an incomparably complex Spell, so a considerable amount of time would be needed to finish its magic array. Meanwhile, this time gave melee players the perfect opportunity to interrupt the caster. But now Lotus had successfully completed a threefold Sky Crash! Moreover, she had cast it while fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment! Should the Super Spell connect, it would instantly obliterate a small portion of Star Lake City, let alone Fire Dance. Disperse! While everyone in Star Lake City was terrified, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly echoed in their ears. Immediately afterward, a wave of mana, several times denser than what was used to fuel Lotuss Sky Crash, abruptly struck Sky Crashs magic array, causing the fully-formed magic array to disintegrate rapidly. At the same time, the same mana enveloped the fifteen cities participants, immobilizing them. It was as if they had fallen into a quagmire made of steel, and they could move neither their bodies nor their mana in the slightest. Whats happening?! How can there be such a powerful Mana Domain?! Ive seen this Mana before! This is a Tier 6 Gods Mana Domain! Following this unexpected development, everyone couldnt help but look toward the center of the Mana Domain Fire Dance! Chapter 3531 - Chapter 605 - Slaughtering Aces Chapter 605 C Slaughtering Aces Tier 6 Gods possessed immense power. They were so powerful that even a Tier 6 player fully equipped with Legendary items could only match a Tier 6 God in strength. Moreover, said Tier 6 God would have to be without weapons or equipment. As for resisting Tier 6 Gods who were fully equipped with Legendary items, only the legends among players could accomplish such a feat. Or, more accurately, anyone capable of accomplishing this feat would be regarded as a legend, and their achievement would be recorded in the annals of the Greater Gods Domains history. Because of this, even for the various apex powers, Tier 6 Gods remained formidable existences that mustnt be underestimated. As for weaker powers, unless they were confident in their strength, they would do their best to avoid confrontation with a Tier 6 God. Meanwhile, what made Tier 6 Gods such formidable opponents for players was their mana! God-ranked Mana! So long as a Tier 6 God unleashed their Mana Domain, all players beneath Tier 6 would be rendered powerless. Any Skill or Spell they had learned would become utterly useless, and they could only battle while relying on their Basic Attributes. And needless to say, if any player beneath Tier 6 tried to fight a Tier 6 God with only their Basic Attributes, they would be severely overestimating themselves. A moment after Fire Dance unleashed her Mana Domain, silence fell over the street she stood on. Fire Dance was akin to a bona fide Tier 6 God at this time. While enveloped by Fire Dances mana, not even Lotus, a Sky Saint fully equipped with Legendary items, could manipulate any of her surrounding mana, let alone the other Tier 5 experts present. A God-ranked Domain! How can a Tier 5 Assassin like her have such mana?! Not even Tier 6 experts equipped with Divine Artifacts have such terrifying mana! Whether it was Mu Huangwu, Xia Qingying, or the fifteen cities experts, everyone couldnt help but look at Fire Dance in shock and horror. Could she have a Divine Artifact? The members of the Skystar battle group couldnt help but look at Fire Dance in astonishment. Aside from a Divine Artifact, they couldnt think of anything else that could let a Tier 5 Assassin have a God-ranked Mana Domain. Or, more specifically, apart from Divine Artifacts, no other item should be capable of giving a Tier 5 player the ability to contend against a Tier 6 God. But if Fire Dance truly did have a Divine Artifact in her possession, how were they supposed to fight her? Impossible! Luo Tianhao denied his teammates speculation without hesitation. She isnt even a three-star grandmaster! Youd have to be a one-star great grandmaster to materialize a Divine Artifact! How can such an existence be as young as her? Not to mention, would such an existence ever bother getting involved in such a trivial battle? Luo Tianhaos words instantly brought everyone back to their senses and lessened the fear in their eyes. Whether it was a Divine Artifact or a one-star great grandmaster, both were existences capable of shaking up the Starlight Continents stability. On the other hand, Zero Wing was merely an up-and-coming Guild and barely had any fame in the Greater Gods Domain. As for Fire Dance, she was merely a former vice commander of a second-tier city legion. No matter how they looked at it, neither Zero Wing nor Fire Dance could have anything to do with a Divine Artifact or a one-star great grandmaster. So what if you have a God-ranked Mana Domain? Returning his focus to Fire Dance, Luo Tianhao stubbornly said, Even if none of us can use our surrounding mana, I refuse to believe you can block all of our attacks! Following Luo Tianhaos words, everyone in the Skystar battle group launched attacks on Fire Dance simultaneously. While none of them could utilize their surrounding mana to further enhance their Skills and Spells, the Basic Attributes of their Legendary Weapons and Equipment allowed them to retain their mobility and strength; they could still exhibit the combat power of Tier 6 players nonetheless. Immediately, three tanks executed a Combination Combat Technique and charged at Fire Dance in unison, their unified charge capable of sending even Tier 6 Divine monsters flying. At the same time, three Berserkers and four Swordsmen separately executed their own Combination Combat Techniques to cover Fire Dances flanks, while two Assassins circled behind Fire Dance, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to her. As for Lotus and the other ranged players, they rained numerous attacks from above. All twenty members of the battle group matched their assault perfectly, covering all possible areas that Fire Dance could use for evasion. Even if a Tier 6 expert were to be put in Fire Dances position, they would quickly be overwhelmed and killed by all these attacks. Good! However, Fire Dance did not even flinch when she saw Luo Tianhao and the others attacking her together. Instead, she unsheathed the daggers she carried around her waist and executed a footwork, instantly splitting into several dozen copies of herself. Then, all her doppelgangers moved swiftly and unpredictably like a group of butterflies while brandishing their daggers. Fusion Combat Technique, Dance of Chaos! Dance of Chaos was a Fusion Combat Technique Fire Dance had personally developed, and it was a pairing between the Tier 5 Skill Doppelganger space and the Advanced Silver Combat Technique Splitting Light. It was an ultimate technique that allowed her to spontaneously unleash a large number of attacks that far exceeded her usual limit. Originally, she had developed this technique with the goal of achieving victory through a high attack frequency. When it came to raw power, each attack was inferior to the attacks of Berserkers of the same tier. But now, thanks to the enhancement of her God-ranked Mana and the Intermediate Divine Engravings, the power of her attacks were elevated tremendously, and they now surpassed the attacks of Berserkers of the same tier. Meanwhile, as soon as Fire Dance executed Dance of Chaos, she transformed the area around her into a void and sent the three charging tanks stumbling back several steps. As for the Berserkers, Swordsmen, and Assassins, they were sent flying by several dozen yards, their HPs falling by more than half. Impossible! Tier suppression?! Dont tell me she is already a true Tier 6 player?! Luo Tianhao, being a Berserker, couldnt help but look at his trembling arms in confusion. It should be known that they were all roughly equal in Basic Attributes. Logically, even if he was rendered incapable of utilizing the mana around him, he would, at most, be slightly inferior to Fire Dance in a direct confrontation. It didnt make sense for him to fare so poorly against Fire Dance. Of course, if such a situation had happened in Gods Domain, he wouldnt have batted an eye at it. In fact, he had personally experienced such situations when fighting in Gods Domain, and that was when he had fought against true Tier 6 players! But they were in the Tier 5 match of a city battle right now. No player could be at Tier 6, so how did Fire Dance accomplish what she just did? Before Luo Tianhao could make sense of the situation, Fire Dance had already concluded her Dance of Chaos and made her way to the Skystar battle group rear line, where Lotus and three other magical class experts were in the middle of casting a Tier 5 Curse together. When Lotus and the three other magical class experts saw Fire Dance approaching them, they promptly dropped their spellcasting and used Advanced Instantaneous Movement to instantly move 600 yards away from their original position. Then, they promptly activated the Tier 6 Magic Barriers that came with their Legendary Equipment. However, Fire Dance didnt mind the four magical class players escape and simply executed Shadow Voidblade, a Tier 5 Taboo Skill, in their direction. Immediately, over a hundred invisible blades cut through space and reached the four magical class players location. Then, they tore through the Tier 6 Magic Barriers as if they were made of paper and shredded the four players before they could even react. Four of Skystar Citys aces had fallen in the blink of an eye, and silence fell over the entire Star Lake City! Chapter 3532 - Chapter 606 - Frightening Chapter 606 C Frightening Theyre dead? Four of Skystar Citys aces died, just like that? Everyone was in disbelief when they saw Lotus and three other magical class experts from the Skystar battle group getting shredded into oblivion. They already understood that Fire Dance was strong. They had even accounted for the possibility that the entirety of the Skystar battle group might not be a match for her. After all, if Fire Dance could handily repel a joint rush executed by three tanks fully equipped with Legendary items, what could the others possibly do against her once they were within her attack range? But to instantly kill four of Skystar Citys aces, especially when all four players had activated their Legendary Equipments Lifesaving Skills? That was something they couldnt comprehend. The Lifesaving Skills that came attached with Legendary Equipment were typically at the Tier 6 standard. Even if Tier 5 players activated them, they would still be strong enough to resist the attacks of Tier 6 Divine monsters for a short time. Yet, the magic barriers summoned by the four players fared no differently than fragile paper against Fire Dances attacks. How could they not feel shocked by this? What kind of strength must one have to break the Tier 6 Lifesaving Skills of Legendary Equipment so easily? Xia Qingying and Mu Huangwu, who were familiar with Fire Dance, were especially stunned by this development. Since when did Fire Dance become such a terrifying existence? Skystars four magical class experts were by no means weak. Lotus, in particular, was a monstrous existence. Even if they were to meet in the Greater Gods Domain, Mu Huangwu doubted he could kill Lotus with absolute certainty, and it should be known that he was a genuine Tier 6 player equipped with a Legendary Weapon. Yet, Fire Dance had accomplished the feat with ease, making Tier 6 Defensive Skills and Spells look no different than a joke. No wonder he dared to bet against Elder Mu. When Xia Qingying saw Fire Dance beating Luo Tianhaos battle group without any help, she couldnt help but sigh in amazement. Originally, Xia Qingying still had trouble understanding why Shi Feng would refuse to call for reinforcements from the rest of Zero Wing and instead choose to participate with only the Zero Wing members based in Star Lake City. After all, she had long known that Zero Wing was capable of far more than what most people thought. But now, it seemed that even though she was more knowledgeable regarding Zero Wing than others, Zero Wing still had many secrets she wasnt privy to. At the same time, she finally understood why Shi Feng could so confidently state that he could help her occupy Silver Frost City previously. While everyone was caught in shock and fear, Fire Dance turned toward the Skystars two Clerics after finishing off the four magical class experts. So long as she eliminated these two Clerics, Skystars melee experts would lose their infinite source of HP, and it would only be a matter of time before she could wear them down. Bastard! Dont get too full of yourself! Luo Tianhao bellowed when he saw Fire Dance targeting the two helpless Clerics. Do you really think we have no way to deal with you? Everyone, activate your Combination Berserk Skills! Skystars members were briefly stunned when they heard Luo Tianhaos command. A moment later, though, they all grew ecstatic. Unlike the average Berserk Skill, a Combination Berserk Skill could be activated together by multiple players to achieve stronger effects; the more players there were in the team with the same Combination Berserk Skill, the greater the Skills effects would be when activated. The strongest Combination Berserk Skill discovered to date was rumored to have a maximum capacity of 1,000 players, and when activated at maximum capacity, it could allow even ordinary Tier 6 players to contend against Tier 6 Ancient Gods. Meanwhile, their battle group was fortunate enough to also own a Combination Berserk Skill. It was something Luo Tianhao had recently acquired through the Galaxy Conglomerate after much effort. And while it only had a maximum capacity of 20 players, they still regarded it as their battle groups biggest trump card for the next first-tier city battle. Normally, even if they were to get annihilated in the city battle against Star Lake City, they would never make use of this trump card. It was why they hadnt used it until now. But now that Luo Tianhao had given the command, they were naturally more than willing to use it. Before Fire Dances daggers could connect with the two Clerics necks, runes began appearing all over the two Clerics. As soon as these runes appeared, they began rampantly draining the surrounding area of mana, instantly creating a manaless environment that weakened Fire Dances attack. Clang! A sound resembling metal colliding reverberated throughout the area. The strength of their mana increased? Fire Dance couldnt help but be surprised as she looked at the Holy Shields that protected the two Clerics from her daggers. After she learned the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique, her mana underwent a qualitative transformation. Now, not only was her manas density significantly greater than before, but its purity was also on par with mana found in Seven Luminaries Crystals. On top of that, the strength of her mana had also increased. Overall, her mana had already surpassed the mana of the average Tier 6 player in all aspects, and it was close to matching the mana of Tier 6 Gods. Under the enhancement of such mana, she was no different than a genuine Tier 6 player. Meanwhile, under the effects of tier suppression, most Tier 5 players should have great difficulty blocking her attacks. It was especially so when she attacked using Skills. Each of her Tier 5 Skills could exhibit the might of genuine Tier 6 Skills, and they were vastly superior to the Tier 6 Skills and Spells launched by Tier 5 players. So, the fact that the two Clerics Tier 5 Holy Shield managed to stop her Tier 5 Shadow Edge meant that the strength of their mana had experienced a significant increase. Sure enough, it is only because of your mana that you could kill Lotus and the others, Luo Tianhao said, grinning when he saw Fire Dances daggers getting stopped. Unfortunately, this is the end of the line for you. While our Combination Berserk Skill isnt at full capacity, it is still enough to propel our mana close to the Tier 6 standard. With the current difference in our mana, your Skills will no longer be as effective on us! Amazing! As expected of Skystar Citys ace battle group! When Xiao Quan saw Luo Tianhaos battle group activating a Combination Berserk Skill, he couldnt help but marvel at the prowess of first-tier city battle groups. At lower tiers, players could achieve decent results with Berserk Skills. Some Berserk Skills could even enable players to transcend tiers. However, as players ascended to higher tiers, the effectiveness of Berserk Skills would also diminish. This reduction in effectiveness would become especially apparent for Tier 5 experts. Due to the increased accessibility of high-ranking equipment for high-tiered players, Tier 5 experts would usually have a few Fragmented Legendary items equipped. Some Tier 5 experts might even have a full set of Fragmented Legendary items or a Legendary item. All of these Fragmented Legendary and Legendary items provided significant Basic Attribute bonuses, and they served to dilute the impact of Basic Attribute bonuses provided by Berserk Skills. Hence, Tier 5 experts would be fortunate if they could even get a 20% boost to their combat power from a Berserk Skill. Yet, despite being fully equipped with Legendary items, Luo Tianhao and his teammates were able to elevate their manas strength close to the Tier 6 standard with just a Berserk Skill Our Combination Berserk Skills duration is limited, so use your Tier 5 Taboo Skills to eliminate her as quickly as possible! Luo Tianhao commanded when he saw Fire Dance intending to create distance between them and drag out the fight. Once shes dead, Zero Wing will be powerless to turn the tide! However, as soon as Luo Tianhao gave his command, a deep voice suddenly sounded in the area. Although the volume of this voice wasnt loud, the words the voice conveyed sent a chill down the spines of Luo Tianhao and his companions. The rest of you can join the fight; Fire Dance might have trouble by herself. TL Notes: [1]Fyi, High-ranking equipment provide two types of Basic Attributes: 1) Base Basic Attributes 2) Percentage-based Basic Attributes Base Basic Attributes add to the base of players Basic Attributes, while percentage-based Basic Attributes modify the base Basic Attributes of players. e.g. [Abyssal Blade] (One-handed Sword, Magic Weapon, Fragmented Legendary Rank) Equipment Requirement: Strength 3,000, Agility 2,000 Attack Power (235% of Strength Attribute) Attack Speed (2.3% of Agility Attribute) All Attributes (Increases according to users level) Ignore Levels +35 When equipped: Strength increased by 50%, Agility increased by 50%, Intelligence increased by 35%; Endurance increased by 50%; Attack Speed increased by 40%; All effects of weapon-related Skills increased by 20%; All item level requirements reduced by 10 Levels. All Attributes (Increases according to users level) This line refers to base Basic Attribute. Items with level ranges dont typically show the exact values. When equipped: Strength increased by 50%, Agility increased by 50%, Intelligence increased by 35%; Endurance increased by 50%; This line refers to percentage-based Basic Attributes. The calculations should work out to something as follows: A C Character base Basic Attributes X C Equipment base Basic Attributes Y C Equipment percentage-based Basic Attributes Z C Total Basic Attributes Z = (A+X)*Y As for how the total percentage-based Basic Attributes are calculated, it is just a simple addition of all the percentage-based Basic Attributes that a player has. For example, assuming that a player only has a weapon and a helmet equipped, and the weapon increases Strength by 100% while the helmet increases Strength by 50%, Y=100%+50%. Going by this form of calculation and the fact that Berserk Skills also provide percentage-based Basic Attributes, the more percentage-based Basic Attributes a player receives from their equipment, the less effective Berserk Skills would be. Chapter 3533 - Chapter 607 - Dark Moon Chapter 607 C Dark Moon Join the fight? Luo Tianhao fixated his gaze on Shi Feng when he heard the other partys words, a hint of solemnity adding to his expression. Likewise, the other members of the Skystar battle team also couldnt help but look at Shi Feng, wondering if they had misheard him. If it was before they had fought Fire Dance, they wouldnt have cared whether Shi Feng had the rest of Zero Wings battle group join the fight. On the contrary, they would have encouraged it, as that would let them save time and end the fight much more quickly. However, after witnessing Fire Dances terrifying display of strength, they no longer dared to underestimate the four other members of Zero Wings battle group. Not to mention, Shi Feng, the leader of Zero Wings battle group, should have seen the effects of their Combination Berserk Skill and already gained a good idea of their combat capabilities. He should know that their fight wasnt one that ordinary Tier 5 players could interfere in. At the very least, one must be at the standard of genuine Tier 6 players to avoid getting killed instantly. If Shi Feng understood this and still chose to have the rest of his battle group members join the fight, it meant that the other three women in the battle group were likely to be just as strong as Fire Dance. Finally! Hidden Soul exclaimed as she stretched her back. Then, she lazily said, I thought my chance would never come. Lets fight together, then. Standing beside Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow and Jun Luosha nodded. Then, the three of them began walking toward Luo Tianhao and the others, each step they took adding to the shock Luo Tianhao and the others experienced. Mana! Although the three women did not release any of their auras, the closer they got, the denser the mana surrounding Luo Tianhao and the others became. Even though they had just drained their surroundings of mana, the ambient mana that currently surrounded them was even denser than when Fire Dance initially released her mana. How is this possible?! Luo Tianhao felt as if the end of the world had arrived as he looked at Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and Jun Luosha. Dealing with Fire Dance alone had already given him a massive headache. Not only was Fire Dance a fifth-floor expert with Basic Attributes at the Legendary standard, but she even possessed mana close to rivaling that of Tier 6 Gods. She was such a monstrous existence that should she get promoted to Tier 6, she would instantly become an existence capable of upsetting the Starlight Realms balance. Meanwhile, in the current battle, even though he and his teammates had already activated their Combination Berserk Skill, they would most certainly need to trade damage for damage and sacrifice a few players to kill her. Moreover, they would need to do so before their Combination Berserk Skills duration ran out. Otherwise, only death would await them. However, before they could even defeat Fire Dance, they were now being told that Zero Wing had three more monsters of Fire Dances caliber? Before Luo Tianhao could recover from his stupor, Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and Jun Luosha had already joined the battle. After joining the battlefield, the three women did not bother with any fancy combat techniques. Instead, they merely fought using their Tier 5 Skills. Tier 5 Skill, Splitting Shadows! Tier 5 Skill, Blade Storm! Tier 5 Skill, Sword Resonance! Suddenly, over a dozen doppelgangers of Hidden Soul appeared on the battlefield, each doppelganger carrying 150% of Hidden Souls Basic Attributes. Enhanced by her God-ranked Mana, her doppelgangers could easily repulse Skystars tanks with their every attack. As for the rest of Skystars members, they had no choice but to abandon their offensive against Fire Dance and focus solely on defense, lest they wish to get killed by Hidden Soul in a couple of moves. Immediately after Hidden Soul had single-handedly suppressed the entirety of the Skystar battle group, Gentle Snow and Jun Luosha followed up with a combination attack targeted toward Skystars lone Oracle. Gentle Snows AOE attack forced the Oracles to desperately erect defensive barriers on his teammates, while Jun Luosha used the opportunity to instantly end the Oracles life, reducing Skystars healers by one. Dammit! When Luo Tianhao saw his Oracle getting killed, he knew that the fight was as good as over. Hence, he promptly turned toward the fifteen cities experts and shouted, Deploy the Star Cluster Barrier! With his battle groups strength, the best they could do was deal with Fire Dance alone. If they wished to defeat Zero Wings four members, they must rely on the Star Cluster Barrier. The Star Cluster Barrier was among the most commonly seen large-scale great grandmaster magic barriers in the Greater Gods Domain. It required 1,000 Grandmaster Magicians to construct, and it could suppress the Basic Attributes, Physique, and Mana of even Tier 6 Gods by a minimum of 30%. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that this battle would be as good as over once the Star Cluster Barrier was deployed. It was also why he detested the idea of utilizing it previously. Meanwhile, upon hearing Luo Tianhaos command, the fifteen cities participants, who had been anxiously waiting for their turn all this time, promptly executed their orders and completed the Star Cluster Barrier. Sure enough, the disparity in numbers is simply too much for just a handful of powerhouses to manage. When Mu Huangwu saw the countless stars and magic arrays appearing across Star Lake Citys sky, he couldnt help but sigh. Previously, Red Frost had only managed to win the Tier 6 match because of the fifteen cities conceited attitude. She had wisely taken advantage of this fact to quickly eliminate the fifteen city legions one after another before they could group up and become a significant threat. Unfortunately, Zero Wings battle group didnt have such a luxury in the Tier 5 match. Under the effects of the Star Cluster Barrier, even mighty Tier 6 Gods would be at great risk of death. It was just that Tier 6 Gods would normally never let players have any opportunities to catch them in a Star Cluster Barrier out in the fields. But in a city battle, constructing a Star Cluster Barrier over a handful of players was a piece of cake. Meanwhile, after the completion of the Star Cluster Barrier, Fire Dance, Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and Jun Luosha were immediately subjected to a powerful suppression. Their mana was quickly weakened to the standard of ordinary Tier 6 players, while their Basic Attributes declined to the Fragmented Legendary standard. Now, they were merely a shadow of their former selves. When Luo Tianhao and his teammates sensed the effects of the Star Cluster Barrier, they couldnt help but sigh in relief. They had very nearly sullied their reputation as one of Skystar Citys ace battle groups in Star Lake City, a measly third-tier city. The Star Cluster Barrier, is it? As it so happens, I have a move called Dark Moon! As soon as Luo Tianhao and his teammates breathed a sigh of relief, Shi Feng, who had been standing by idly all this time, suddenly unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator hanging by his waist and executed a horizontal cut at the sky. Dark Moon Mana Technique, Sword of Space! Dark Moon was a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique that placed stringent requirements on the users Concentration and Mana. Previously, Shi Feng could only barely execute the Mana Technique, even after utilizing all of his power-up abilities. But after he grasped the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique and elevated the strength of his mana to the standard of Tier 6 Gods, he could finally execute Dark Moon without relying on any Skills, albeit just barely. Meanwhile, the moment Shi Feng swung the Shadow Incinerator, darkness enveloped the entirety of Star Lake City. However, this darkness lasted only for a brief moment before disappearing. Immediately afterward, the sky began to split into pieces and fall to the ground like falling snow. Then, what followed was the sound of the Star Cluster Barrier shattering TL Notes: [1]Basic Attributes at the Legendary standard: This expression refers to players with Basic Attributes rivaling players fully equipped with Legendary items. I personally find it incredibly awkward to write this lengthy segment, so Basic Attributes at the Legendary standard is the alternative I decided to go with. Chapter 3534 - Chapter 608 - Birth of a New Second-Tier City Chapter 608 C Birth of a New Second-Tier City What did he do?! Wasnt the Star Cluster Barrier said to be infallible even against Tier 6 Gods?! Luo Tianhao, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, couldnt help but gape in shock when he saw the fragmented stars and magic arrays in the sky. He simply couldnt comprehend what just happened. This was the Star Cluster Barrier they were talking about! It was a great grandmaster barrier known for being effective against Gods! Of all the past instances where the Star Cluster Barrier had been deployed in a city battle, not once did it meet with failure. Yet, now, less than five seconds after this supposedly infallible magic barrier was deployed, it had met its end at a swing of Shi Fengs sword At this moment, Luo Tianhao wasnt the only one stupefied by this development. Seated at Star Lake Citys spectator stands, Xia Qingying and Mu Huangwu similarly couldnt believe their eyes. The Star Cluster Barrier might be commonly used in the Greater Gods Domain, but it remained a trump card the various powers used to raid World Bosses. So long as the Star Cluster Barrier was deployed, even Tier 6 Gods could be killed! Yet, now, this almighty barrier had failed to last even one move from Shi Feng? Guild Leader? When Fire Dance, who had been having difficulty fending off the attacks of Skystars aces, saw the shattered Star Cluster Barrier, she couldnt help but look at Shi Feng with widened eyes. At this moment, she felt as if this was the first time she was getting to know Shi Feng. Or, more specifically, Zero Wing. As a former vice commander of Silver Frost City, Fire Dance was very knowledgeable regarding the Star Cluster Barriers capabilities. She had also seen records of the barrier in action when browsing through Silver Frost Citys archives. So long as the Star Cluster Barrier was deployed in a city battle, the battle would become a one-sided slaughter unless the opponent could similarly deploy a great grandmaster barrier. Either that or if the opposing side had a one-star great grandmaster capable of materializing a Divine Artifact. However, Fire Dance was certain that Shi Feng was neither in possession of a Divine Artifact nor was he a one-star great grandmaster. Qingying! Who is he?! After recovering his senses, Mu Huangwu promptly turned toward Xia Qingying, his eyes filled with excitement and desire. That mana usage! Its simply unheard of! That attack could probably rival the attacks of Divine Artifact-wielding Taboos already! Ordinary experts might not be able to tell exactly how powerful Shi Fengs attack was, but as a three-star mental strength grandmaster and a Tier 6 expert who had mastered five Basic Laws and one Advanced Law, Mu Huangwu knew exactly how frightening it was. Shi Fengs utilization of the Law of Space in his attack had reached an incredible extent. This, in turn, allowed his mana to experience a qualitative improvement, going beyond the standard of Tier 6 Gods and rivaling the standard of Ancient Gods! Ancient Gods! These were existences who had once coexisted with Primordial Gods before the latter disappeared in the Ancient Mythical Era. They possessed strength that far surpassed the Tier 6 Gods of modern times, and the various powers and many apex experts of the Greater Gods Domain could only hope to chase after their footsteps. Only players wielding Divine Artifacts could hope to fight against Ancient Gods in the current age of Gods Domain. As for everyone else, they werent even qualified to stand before an Ancient God. Yet, despite being in the body of a Tier 5 player, Shi Feng could exhibit the power of an Ancient God. How could Mu Huangwu not find this exciting? Who is he? When Xia Qingying heard Mu Huangwus question, she couldnt help but wryly smile as she looked at Shi Feng as if she was looking at a stranger. I might have known him in the past, but now I truly have no idea who he is. If it was before today, she would have dared to say that she already knew everything there was to know about Shi Feng. After all, way back when she first established a partnership with Shi Feng, she had already conducted a thorough investigation into his background. Before establishing Zero Wing, Shi Feng was merely the dismissed Guild Leader of a second-rate Guild called Shadow. Although he was somewhat famous in Jin Hai City and known by others as the Sword Magician, he had only been a Level 200, Tier 3 Sword King in Gods Domain during his peak. Even in their homeworld, Shi Feng would be considered a nobody in their homeworld, let alone the Greater Gods Domain. Not even the executives of first-rate Guilds would take a second look at him, much less individuals like herself and Mu Huangwu. Yet, now, the nobody who used to be no more than a Level 200, Tier 3 Sword King in their homeworld had become an expert capable of shattering the Star Cluster Barrier with one attack Even if she were to provide concrete evidence detailing Shi Fengs past, she highly doubted Mu Huangwu would believe a single word. Are you trying to mess with me, Qingying? Mu Huangwu refused to believe Xia Qingyings words. I know he is most certainly of extraordinary origins, but I assure you I wont cross any boundaries. I simply want to know who he is. You just want to know who he is? Thats simple. In her sincerest tone, Xia Qingying said, He is Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader. Looking at Xia Qingying, Mu Huangwu suddenly felt that the little girl was getting more and more mischievous. Mu Huangwu wasnt the only one curious about Shi Fengs identity. Whether it was the fifteen cities or Luo Tianhao, they were all curious about it. Anyone capable of surviving in a third-tier city was not a fool. Although many people failed to understand how Shi Fengs attack managed to accomplish what it did, they still understood that anyone capable of destroying a great grandmaster barrier in one attack couldnt possibly be an ordinary person. Frost, youve been telling me to blindly trust our little friend without telling me his identity all this time. Can you tell me who he is now? Feng Yiqing asked as he looked at Shi Fengs image, his eyes filled with burning anticipation. Initially, even when Red Frost continuously tried to persuade him and put her reputation on the line, he still had his doubts about clashing against the fifteen cities. If not for Red Frost saying that there was a chance he could take a step forward and become a true great grandmaster, he would have never staked the entire Star Lake City on Shi Feng. However, after witnessing Shi Fengs mind-blowing sword strike, Feng Yiqing knew he had made the right decision. An Ancient God! Shi Feng most definitely shared an intricate connection with the near-extinct Ancient Gods. Otherwise, there was no way he could exhibit the power of Taboos. If he could master even a fraction of that power, it would no longer be a dream for him to become a great grandmaster in his lifetime. Him? Seeing Feng Yiqings eager expression, Red Frost faintly smiled and said, Isnt he Zero Wings Acting Guild Leader? You You little Feng Yiqing couldnt help but be exasperated by Red Frosts response. Fine. Dont tell me, then. In any case, Ill have plenty of opportunities to get to know this young man. Thats true. Red Frost smirked as she returned her gaze to Shi Fengs image. With the destruction of the Star Cluster Barrier, the outcome of the city battle was as good as decided. Even the subsequent Tier 4 match was no longer of any consequence. This was because everyone knew that a new second-tier city would be born today, and that city would be none other than Star Lake City! Chapter 3535 - Chapter 609 - Shocking All Sides Chapter 609 C Shocking All Sides Following the sound of a bell, the city battle involving sixteen third-tier cities officially ended. However, out of the sixteen cities, only Star Lake City was filled with lively voices. As for the other fifteen cities, they fell into a dead silence, unable to accept the outcome of the city battle. Three consecutive defeats! It was originally supposed to be a one-sided domination of Star Lake City by the fifteen mobile cities. Yet, what ended up happening was the domination of the fifteen cities instead. Like the Tier 5 match, Zero Wing had single-handedly annihilated the fifteen cities forces in the Tier 4 match. The outcome had dumbfounded everyone spectating the match, and it was especially so for Star Lake Citys various powers. Crap! Whats the deal with Zero Wing? I can accept the Tier 5 matchs results since the participants were Zero Wings executives, but how did Zero Wings newcomers become such monsters as well? Since when did Clay Blade and Pace Angel become so amazing? Didnt they arrive at Star Lake City in the same period I did? Incredible! All twenty members of Zero Wings Tier 4 battle group have strength rivaling Tier 5 players! That Clay Blade and Pace Angel even have Legendary-standard Basic Attributes! Whether it was Shi Feng or Red Frost, they had long been famous in Star Lake City. So, even though the two exhibited astonishing strength in the Tier 5 and Tier 6 matches, the shock everyone experienced from seeing the twos performance was a little more subdued compared to the shock they experienced from watching the Tier 4 match that just concluded. It was especially so when everyone saw Clay Blade and Pace Angels performance. Due to Clay Blade and Pace Angels affiliation with Zero Wing, every power operating in Star Lake City had long possessed their detailed information. Meanwhile, everyones evaluation of the two was that they were both at the standard of ordinary participants. Under normal circumstances, it would take them many years to meet the requirements to join an ace battle group in Star Lake City. There was even a possibility they might never qualify until they retired. Yet, contrary to everyones expectations, Clay Blade and Pace Angel displayed strength that even the various powers of Star Lake City had to fear during the city battle. Meanwhile, the only explanation everyone could come up with was that Zero Wing had something to do with Clay Blade and Pace Angels astonishing growth, and anyone who said otherwise would be lying or delusional. For a time, many newcomers who had recently joined Star Lake Citys various powers began to yearn for Zero Wing. Many also regretted their decision not to join Zero Wing. Otherwise, they might have obtained strength rivaling, or even surpassing, Clay Blade and Pace Angel. Myriad Forest Citys VIP viewing room: What should we do now, City Lord? Myriad Sky asked, her complexion a little pale as she looked toward Myriad Forest Citys City Lord, sitting beside her. Star Lake City is bound to become a second-tier city after this. Originally, they thought that, after their defeat in the Tier 5 and Tier 6 matches, they could rely on the Tier 4 match to temporarily hinder Star Lake Citys promotion to a second-tier city. However, they did not expect such a devastating outcome. Three consecutive victories After obtaining such a result against the fifteen cities, Star Lake City would undoubtedly become a second-tier city. At that time, many upper-ranking hegemonic powers would seek to establish themselves in Star Lake City. So long as Star Lake City gave the word, these upper-ranking hegemonic powers seeking to join Star Lake City would be more than willing to bring Myriad Forest City to the brink of ruin. Theres nothing we can do, Myriad Forest Citys City Lord said, sighing. Then, he whispered, Get in touch with Zero Wing. So long as Zero Wing is willing to spare us, we will compensate with twenty drops of Stardew and four thousand Life Potions. Isnt that a little too much? Myriad Sky quietly asked. A sum of 4,000 bottles was already equivalent to half a years consumption for the Myriad Forest Legion. Moreover, although Life Potions had a price tag of 50,000 Star Coins per bottle, acquiring them in bulk wasnt easy. Even Myriad Forest City would have difficulty taking out so many bottles on such short notice. As for Stardew, it was even more precious a resource. Twenty drops of Stardew were already equivalent to one-third of Myriad Forest Citys current stockpile. If they were to give away twenty drops, it would take many years for Myriad Forest City to recover the loss. Even if thats the case, we still have to give it. We cannot afford to provoke Zero Wing. Havent you seen that even Skystar Citys ace battle group was defeated? In a sense, Zero Wing is even more terrifying than Silver Frost City, Myriad Forest Citys City Lord said, shaking his head. Zero Wing has only recently started to develop, so it is probably lacking in cultivation resources. If we drag our feet until Zero Wing has fully grown, even if we offer to double the compensation at that time, Zero Wing might not bother to accept it. Ill take care of it, then, Myriad Sky said, no longer hesitating. No third-tier city could withstand the wrath of a second-tier city, much less Zero Wing, an existence capable of going up against a first-tier citys ace battle group. Myriad Forest City wasnt the only city to secretly contact Zero Wing. At the same time, the City Lords of the other third-tier cities had similarly sent people to get in touch with Zero Wing, hoping to gain Zero Wings forgiveness. While all this was happening, seated at the central position of the VIP viewing room, Xiao Quan wore an ashen look on his face. He had naturally noticed the actions of the City Lords around him. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. Others might not know the extent of Shi Fengs strength after seeing his attack during the Tier 5 match, but as an outer member of Demons Gate, Xiao Quan understood it very well. Simply put, it was over. There was nothing more he could hope to accomplish against Zero Wing. Not to mention, Zero Wings foundation far exceeded his expectations. Not only did Zero Wings Tier 5 members perform astonishingly, but even the Guilds relatively unknown Tier 4 members had shown themselves capable of transcending tiers. At this point in time, Zero Wing simply wasnt an existence he could afford to provoke. No wonder Xia Qingying supported him so strongly back then. When Xiao Quan rewatched Shi Fengs battle footage, a hint of regret and anger filled his eyes. It had always been his principle to befriend the strong. Had he known that Shi Feng possessed such strength earlier on, he would have chosen to discreetly resolve the issue with Silk Radish instead. But while I might have offended him after this, with the current strength of Zero Wing and Star Lake City, they still arent a threat to my position in Silver Frost City. At worst, Ill just avoid having any dealings with them in the future. He honestly hadnt expected things to turn out this way when he belittled Shi Feng back during the Green God Corporations recruitment event. However, as the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord and an outer member of Demons Gate, Xiao Quan did not have to fear Zero Wing and Star Lake City, either. There were significant differences between second-tier and third-tier city battles. Firstly, the scale was different. Instead of just 200 participants per tier, cities would have to field 1,000 participants per tier. Secondly, the Tier 6 match was weighted even more heavily, making up 60% of the final score. In comparison, the Tier 6 match of third-tier city battles didnt make up even 50% of the final score. Lastly, due to the low number of second-tier cities on the Starlight Continent, second-tier cities were only allowed to engage in a city battle with the same opponent once every five years. Because of these three points, very few second-tier cities would ever face the threat of demotion. What was more likely to happen was a change in rulership or a complete overhaul of city legion members. Shortly after, Xiao Quan boarded a supersonic aircraft and returned to Silver Frost City less than half an hour after the city battle ended. Then, treating the city battle as nothing more than a trivial matter, he immersed himself in training, completely ignoring the matter of Star Lake City and Zero Wing. Meanwhile, an hour after Xiao Quan left, the fifteen cities began transferring their power furnaces to Star Lake City one after another. At the same time, the Zero Wing Training Center became overcrowded with representatives and young geniuses who were either here to congratulate Zero Wing or join Zero Wing. All of a sudden, the training center had become the focal point of Star Lake City. Chapter 3536 - Chapter 610 – Promotion Chapter 610 C Promotion Zero Wing Training Center, Guild Leaders Office: Guild Leader, the fifteen cities representatives have contacted me hoping to resolve the misunderstanding this time. They say theyre willing to compensate us for our troubles, Hidden Soul said disgruntledly as she handed a list of reparations to Shi Feng. These people are utterly shameless. Do they take us for pushovers? Calling all this as a misunderstanding If not for Zero Wing turning the tables with its Intermediate Divine Engravings and Mana Purification Techniques, the consequences of this city battle would have been catastrophic for Zero Wing and Star Lake City. Dont take it too seriously. After all, Xiao Quan has gone to great lengths this time. If the fifteen cities could get into the good graces of Silver Frost City, it would increase the overall strength of their city legions considerably, Shi Feng said before turning his focus toward the list he received. A moment later, he couldnt help but raise an eyebrow in surprise, saying, How generous of these cities. Are they actually willing to part with so many resources? Each of the fifteen cities wasoffered to compensate Zero Wing with ten to twenty drops of Stardew in addition to several thousand bottles of Life Potions. For the average third-tier city, these resources should amount to close to half of their available stockpiles. The fifteen cities would definitely have their development hampered after such a significant loss, and it would take them a minimum of two years to recover. It is indeed quite a lot. Hidden Soul nodded in agreement. The total comes to 206 drops of Stardew and 50,000 bottles of Life Potions. Should we accept them? Of course! Shi Feng answered without hesitation. Then, smiling, he continued, Zero Wing is in desperate need of resources right now. The situation is so bad that we cant even afford to recruit more internal members. But if we have this batch of resources, Zero Wing will be able to quickly grow into a Class 2 Guild. Well also have an easier time recruiting the Eternal Realms fifth-floor experts and convincing them to settle down with Zero Wing. The benefits of Life Potions need not be mentioned. Life Potions were a resource that all powers in the Greater World needed to supply to their geniuses. Each developing genius would have to be allocated at least one bottle per year and up to five bottles per year, depending on their talent. The various powers also had to maintain a supply of Life Potions that their members could exchange for Guild Contribution Points. If the various powers couldnt fulfill these two requirements, no genius or paragon would choose to join them. After all, mental strength was the basis of success in the Greater World. Previously, Zero Wing didnt have many members in the Greater World, so Shi Feng could more or less cover Zero Wings Life Potion requirements by himself. However, once the number of geniuses Zero Wing needed to nurture reached the hundreds or thousands, he could no longer rely on himself. Hence, it was imperative Zero Wing accepted the fifteen cities compensation. With such a large batch of Life Potions, he might even be able to nurture some of Zero Wings members in the Miniature Ancient World. Currently, the World Passage had already opened to a significant extent. In response, the Green God Corporation had eased the conditions for people of their homeworld to enter the Greater World. Now, anyone who was a mental strength master could enter the Greater World. With the Life Potions effects, he could bring more of Zero Wings members over to the Greater World before the World Passage fully opened, letting them settle down in the Greater Worlds various cities ahead of others. As for Stardew, its effects were even more extraordinary. For example, even though it hadnt been long since Shi Feng became a one-star grandmaster, after consuming just one of the ten drops of Stardew, which he had previously acquired from Billowing Water, his mental strength was now close to reaching the two-star grandmaster standard. Aside from Shi Feng, Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul had also consumed one drop each, and they could propel their mental strength to the peak of the three-star master standard. Now, they were only half a step away from becoming one-star grandmasters, and it should take no more than one more drop of Stardew for them to cross the final hurdle. Once both became one-star grandmasters, Zero Wing would be one step closer to becoming a Class 2 Guild. In the Greater World, a Guild needed to achieve Class 2 status if it wanted to have anything to do with second-tier cities. If a Guild did not meet the Gods Domain Associations requirements to become a Class 2 Guild, it would be forbidden to set up a base and recruit members on a large scale in a second-tier city. Hence, whether it was for personal growth or the growth of Zero Wing, Stardew was of extraordinary value. If it was before today, Shi Feng would have never thought Zero Wing could get its hands on over 200 drops of Stardew so soon. I understand. Hidden Soul nodded, finding Shi Fengs words reasonable. Ill negotiate more with them and try to have them cough up some more Stardew. Ill leave it to you, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the eager look on Hidden Souls face. Of course, her excitement was understandable. Hidden Soul had benefited significantly from the drop of Stardew she consumed. Aside from the growth in her mental strength, her Concentration in Gods Domain had also been elevated by one rank. Now, it was already at the Tier 6 Basic standard, and she could start attempting to create her Tier 6 Divine Body. If Hidden Soul could consume more Stardew and push her Concentration to the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, paired with the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Techniques effects, getting promoted to Tier 6 would be a piece of cake. At that time, the only concern she would have would be the quality of the Divine Body she could construct. Oh, right, I nearly forgot. Heres a compilation of the city contribution we earned. It also lists the bonus from City Lord Feng, Hidden Soul said as she took out another list and handed it to Shi Feng. Commander Frost says that it was quite difficult to calculate Zero Wings contribution because we won fifteen power furnaces this time. But considering Zero Wings contribution, the city will reward each of Zero Wings participating members with 10 million points and an additional 300 million to Zero Wing. Theyre giving us an extra 300 million? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw the list of reward allocations. Previously, when he helped Star Lake City achieve an overwhelming victory against Riverlight City in the Tier 4 match, he had only received several million contribution points for his efforts. Not to mention, that was when Star Lake City was still a third-tier city. Now that Star Lake City was a second-tier city, its contribution points would become even more valuable. So, by logic, even if Zero Wing had contributed massively to the city battle, the rewards should still more or less be toned down. Yet, on top of awarding each of Zero Wings participating members 10 million points, Star Lake City had separately awarded Zero Wing 300 million points. If it were in any other second-tier city, Zero Wing would have needed several years, or possibly more than a decade, to earn so many contribution points. Such a lucrative reward could make even upper-ranking hegemonic powers jealous. City Lord Feng is the truly generous one. He has permanently assigned an entire street in the city center to Zero Wing. As soon as Zero Wing becomes a Class 2 Guild, we can immediately register the street under Zero Wings name with the Gods Domain Association, Hidden Soul said as she handed a deed to Shi Feng. Ive already looked up the streets details. Going by the Gods Domain Associations regulations, we can settle up to 10,000 members there. With this, we can freely recruit members without worrying about residential slots. It seems well have to turn Zero Wing into a Class 2 Guild as soon as possible, Shi Feng stated as he looked at the deed passionately. Normally, even after a Class 2 Guild rented a large guild building in a second-tier city, it would only receive 1,000 residential slots for its members. Moreover, it would also have to spend large sums of contribution points each year to ensure it didnt get outbid by other Guilds over the property. However, it was a different story if a Guild was gifted a parcel of land by the City Lord. The Guild would not have to worry about competing with other powers over the property, nor would it have to pay exorbitant annual fees to the city. Only, very few City Lords would ever grant parts of their city to outsiders. After all, per the Gods Domain Associations regulations, each City Lord would only have the privilege of gifting up to two plots of land during their term. Normally, City Lords would exercise this privilege for themselves, using one of the properties to nurture their own family and the other property to nurture their own powers. So, the fact that City Lord Feng was willing to give one of these two properties to Zero Wing showed how generous he was. Half a day later, a gigantic semi-translucent screen appeared above Star Lake City. Immediately afterward, an emergency announcement echoed throughout the entire city. Notice to all of Star Lake Citys residents! Star Lake City has successfully equipped twenty power furnaces! As per the Gods Domain Associations regulations and witness, Star Lake City will immediately be promoted into a second-tier mobile city once all twenty power furnaces are activated! All of Star Lake Citys residents will also be promoted to second-tier city residents! All power furnaces will be activated in ten seven three one Chapter 3537 - Chapter 611 - Second-Tier Star Lake City Chapter 611 C Second-Tier Star Lake City When the semi-translucent screen above the city displayed a countdown timer, Star Lake Citys residents revealed expressions of joy and excitement. Many had even dropped what they were doing to stare at the sky, waiting for the countdown to end. The moment the timer reached zero, a layer of white mist rose from the center of Star Lake City, rising to an altitude of 6,000 meters before dispersing to the surroundings. Meanwhile, following the dispersal of this mist, everyone in Star Lake City experienced a comfortable feeling. At the same time, their minds and bodies felt much lighter and more invigorated than before. Is this a second-tier citys environment? Its incredible! Even if I dont consume any Meditation or Life Potions, I feel that its only a matter of time before I can become a three-star master! If I have the aid of some Meditation or Life Potions, it might even be possible for me to become a mental strength grandmaster! A second-tier mobile city! Our city has finally been promoted into a second-tier mobile city! Amazing! This is simply amazing! I never thought I would get to become a second-tier citys resident within my lifetime! If my friends living in other third-tier cities are to learn of this, theyll probably die from envy! Hurray for the City Lord! Hurray for the Commander! Hurray for Zero Wing! Star Lake Citys residents grew ecstatic when they experienced the effects of Star Lake Citys promotion. Although everyone had already known that Star Lake City would become a second-tier city following the conclusion of the city battle, they still couldnt help their excitement after personally experiencing Star Lake Citys astonishing transformation. Apart from status, mental strength also played a significant role in determining a persons lifespan in the Greater World. For example, mental strength masters living in a third-tier city could expect to live up to 500 years old easily, while mental strength grandmasters could expect to live past 800 years old. However, becoming a mental strength grandmaster was a nigh-impossible feat for the average person. Not only did the process require an astronomical amount of resources, but a sufficiently good environment would also be necessary. If a person couldnt fulfill these two requirements, their chances of becoming a grandmaster would decrease drastically. In third-tier mobile cities, only those who had joined the city legion would have a relatively easy time becoming a one-star grandmaster. As for the civilians living in third-tier cities, most of them would hover around the two-star or three-star master standard, and their chances of becoming a mental strength grandmaster were less than 0.01%. On the other hand, in second-tier mobile cities, the average civilian had close to a 0.1% chance of becoming a mental strength grandmaster. This was a massive increase in probability. Not to mention, second-tier cities had access to more and better resources than third-tier cities. As for the fifteen cities surrounding Star Lake City, they all remained in a silent state. As for the fifteen cities residents, they couldnt help but look at Star Lake City with envious gazes. Normally, if a person wasnt born in a second-tier city, they would have to become a mental strength grandmaster to secure a residential slot in a second-tier city. Either that, or they could purchase a residential slot from a local power at an astronomical price. There was also the possibility that a second-tier citys local power would offer a person a residential slot for free, but that privilege would only be limited to those with talent. Hence, Star Lake Citys civilian residents were in an incredibly fortunate and enviable position. Although they would still be at risk of losing their residential status should Star Lake City need to make room for geniuses and paragons in the future, they were still in an enviable position nonetheless. After all, most civilians living in third-tier cities would never get to live in a second-tier city. Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center: Although Star Lake Citys Singular Energy is still inferior to veteran second-tier cities, its status as a second-tier city alone should make it much easier for Zero Wing to recruit fifth-floor experts as internal members, Shi Feng thought when he felt the sudden increase in Singular Energy within the city. In the Greater World, the Gods Domain Association would recognize any Guild as a major power so long as said Guild could successfully establish itself in a third-tier city. After all, many parallel worlds were connected with the Greater World, and more were getting connected by the day. In comparison, the number of third-tier cities in the Greater World grew at a much slower rate. This disparity led to more than 90% of the powers operating in the Greater World having no choice but to develop in towns with inferior environments. Hence, any power capable of establishing itself in a third-tier city definitely deserved to be considered a major power. Unfortunately, that was only the Gods Domain Associations opinion. In the eyes of the Greater Gods Domains true experts, they only considered Guilds established in second-tier cities as major powers. Many fifth-floor experts have also set second-tier cities as their baseline living standards. Due to this situation, unless a Guild could establish itself in a second-tier city, no matter how lucrative of an offer it made, most fifth-floor experts would never agree to become an internal member of the Guild and live long-term in the Guilds headquarters in the Greater World. At most, they would become outer members that could withdraw from the Guild whenever they wanted. Firstly, these fifth-floor experts were doing so for the sake of their future. Any expert capable of reaching the fifth-floor standard in Gods Domain was bound to have excellent mental strength. Some of them might even be three-star grandmasters. For individuals of such caliber, unless they were allowed to live in the City Lords Mansion, which housed the densest Singular Energy in a third-tier city, and supplemented with a large amount of resources, their mental strength would regress over time and reduce their lifespans. This was also why so few three-star grandmasters operated in third-tier mobile cities. Secondly, it was because of resources. While the Gods Domain Association had a branch in all third-tier cities, the Association placed a heavier emphasis on second-tier cities and above. Because of this, the resources and commissions available to third-tier cities were very limited. Not to mention, when most third-tier cities came across precious resources out in the wilds, they would typically bring these resources to trade for what they needed in second-tier cities. At this time, Gentle Snow suddenly entered Shi Fengs office and said, Elder Mu and co are here, Guild Leader. They say they wish to revisit the partnership matter youve previously discussed. Theyre finally here? Shi Feng smiled when he heard Gentle Snows report. Sure, bring them here. Mu Huangwu was an expert at nurturing mental strength grandmasters. If Zero Wings members could receive Mu Huangwus training, Zero Wings progression into a Class 2 Guild could be accelerated significantly. At that time, Zero Wing could achieve a qualitative transformation in scale in the Crystal City of Secret, and it would no longer have to worry about its secrets getting out. Zero Wing also wouldnt have to worry about lacking manpower, and it would only be a matter of time before it became one of the Crystal Citys dominant powers. Chapter 3538 - Chapter 612 - Help With Training Chapter 612 C Help With Training Zero Wing Training Center, top floor, Guild Leaders Office: Under Gentle Snows lead, Mu Huangwu, Xia Qingying, and seventeen youths entered Shi Fengs office, instantly making the spacious room a little crowded. Of the seventeen youths following Mu Huangwu and Xia Qingying, four wore suits, looking like bodyguards, while the remaining thirteen wore black sportswear. The youths in sportswear wore the Starry Scythe Emblem, a symbol denoting their official membership with the Night Watch Citys Night Watch Legion. The seventeen young men and women stood in two rows and wore stern expressions, the uniformity of their actions making them look like trained soldiers. The weakest among them was a two-star grandmaster, while two were even two-star limit grandmasters. Even when these youths were just standing there, Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow couldnt help but feel a strong pressure coming from them. Incredible! Sure enough, the Green God Corporation is vastly superior to the average corporation, Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed after looking at the thirteen youths behind Mu Huangwu and Xia Qingying. Typically, the young talents nurtured by powers operating in second-tier cities could, at best, become one-star grandmasters before the age of 30. This wasnt simply due to a lack of talent. It was also due to a lack of resources. Yet, of the seventeen youths Mu Huangwu and Xia Qingying had brought with them, all of them were under 25. And among the thirteen new faces, one of them, a young man with a short stature and a pretty face, even looked like he was no older than sixteen or seventeen. When Shi Feng saw the young man, he quickly recognized the other party. The young man was none other than the White Emperor, Azure Shadow. In Shi Fengs previous life, Azure Shadow was one of the pseudo-great grandmasters nurtured by Mu Huangwu. At the same time, he was the youngest Taboo under the Green God Corporations command. Despite not owning a Divine Artifact, Azure Shadow could exhibit the power of Taboos. During his peak, he even ranked among the Ten Great Rangers of the Greater Gods Domain. At the time, even without Divine Artifacts, he could still rival Ancient Gods. According to rumors, if the White Emperor could get his hands on a Divine Artifact, he could even compete for the top three spots among the Ten Great Rangers. However, following Mu Huangwus retirement, Azure Shadow also vanished without a trace, his disappearance becoming a mystery in the Green God Corporation. After taking a seat, Mu Huangwu got straight to the point and asked, May I know if our previous discussion of partnership is still valid, Guild Leader Shi? Are you talking about Zero Wing helping the Green God Corporations members enter the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups? Shi Feng asked, recalling Xia Qingyings previous business proposal after hearing Mu Huangwus question. Thats right. Mu Huangwu nodded excitedly. Then, he pointed at the seventeen youths behind him and said, So long as Zero Wing can help the Green God Corporation nurture them and help them join an ace battle group in the Night Watch Legion, I can promise Zero Wing 70% of their city contribution on behalf of the Green God Corporation. You want Zero Wing to train them? Shi Feng couldnt help but be a little stunned as he turned to look at the equally stunned youths. Are you sure youre not joking with me, Elder Mu? The seventeen youths behind Mu Huangwu were the Green God Corporations core paragons. Moreover, each of them was a bona fide Tier 6 expert in Gods Domain. They were already regarded as executives in the Green God Corporation, and they were existences standing at the apex of Gods Domain. Yet, Mu Huangwu was offering to let Zero Wing borrow their strength? Even if it was under the condition of training, it was still a ludicrous offer. Honestly, if it wasnt for Mu Huangwus unique status, Shi Feng would have instantly written off Mu Huangwus words as nonsense. After all, even in the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers, only Guild Leaders and Vice Guild Leaders would have the authority to mobilize such a force. If Xia Qingying, a senior vice president of the Green God Corporation, were to try the same, the seventeen youths wouldnt have heeded her orders at all, much less go under the wing of another power. Im not joking, Mu Huangwu stated definitively. I have brought them all up from when they were still children. If any of them dare disobey your arrangements, just tell me, and Ill teach them a lesson! Hearing Mu Huangwus words, the seventeen youths shuddered and quickly retracted whatever words they originally intended to say. Meanwhile, Xia Qingying couldnt help but look at Mu Huangwu in disbelief. Originally, she thought Mu Huangwu had only come to agree to Shi Fengs conditions and have Shi Feng assist these seventeen youths in getting into the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups. She never imagined Mu Huangwu would leave the training of these youths to Shi Feng. It should be known that these youths were paragons that the Green God Corporation had nurtured with the intention of sending them into conglomerates or pseudo-apex powers. They were meant to pave a smoother path for the Green God Corporation in the future. It was why the Green God Corporation had invested so heavily in developing these youths. Even if these youths failed to become core executives in the corporations or pseudo-apex powers they had joined, they would still become existences wielding a certain degree of authority. Yet, Mu Huangwu was offering to let Zero Wing, or more specifically, Shi Feng, instruct these youths. So long as this deal went through, these youths would effectively owe Shi Feng a favor. In that case, should Shi Feng encounter any trouble and require assistance in the future, he could call upon these youths, and they would be obligated to help him, lest they wish to be known as ungrateful. If you truly wish for Zero Wing to train them, we can do that for you, Elder Mu, Shi Feng answered. Then, he calmly looked toward the two rows of youths and continued, But Zero Wing has a condition. Following Shi Fengs words, the seventeen youths present couldnt help but cast a contemptuous look toward him. They would only be training under Zero Wing for several days. There was no way they could achieve any improvements in such a short time. This was simply a way for Mu Huangwu to sell Shi Feng a favor. Under such circumstances, Shi Feng should already be thanking his lucky stars if they were even willing to listen to his commands. Yet, despite being offered such a generous deal, Shi Feng still dared to ask for more. Feel free to state your condition, Guild Leader Shi. Mu Huangwu did not get angry at Shi Fengs words. On the contrary, he smiled and said, Not to mention one condition, even ten conditions wouldnt be a problem. Elder Mu? Azure Shadow couldnt help but look toward Mu Huangwu anxiously. After all was said and done, the seventeen of them were all Tier 6 players. Moreover, they were either pseudo-fifth-floor experts or experts who had mastered Saint-ranked Mana Techniques. Even alone, each of them could put up a good fight against fifth-floor experts. Not to mention, they were all equipped with Legendary Weapons. In terms of combat power, they already stood at the apex of Gods Domain. Moreover, as individuals who had become two-star grandmasters at such a young age, they had a limitless future ahead of them. Yet, Mu Huangwu was now making it seem as if they were the lucky ones for being able to train under Zero Wing. However, Mu Huangwu did not offer any explanations and simply sent a sharp glare at Azure Shadow, causing the youth to keep quiet. You jest, Elder Mu. Nonchalantly, Shi Feng said, I only need them to sign a Gods Domain Contract promising lifetime confidentiality and pay a training fee of ten God Crystals per person. Chapter 3539 - Chapter 613 - Actual Tier 6 Players Chapter 613 C Actual Tier 6 Players Ten God Crystals?! Thats daylight robbery! Upon hearing Shi Fengs conditions, Azure Shadow could no longer hold himself back. Every power had its own systems when it came to developing geniuses, so it was normal for Shi Feng to wish to keep Zero Wings training system a secret. So long as the conditions in the Gods Domain Contract werent excessive, they would have no problem signing it. But it was a different story for the training fee of ten God Crystals. God Crystals might not be as rare as Fragmented Legendary Weapons, but they were still considered a strategic resource by the Greater Gods Domains various powers. They could be used to restore certain Fragmented Legendary items into Legendary items. Hence, most powers would keep a tight hold over their God Crystals. At present, the market value of a God Crystal was only slightly lower than that of a piece of Fragmented Legendary Equipment. And as ten God Crystals were enough to repair most Fragmented Legendary items, a sum of ten God Crystals was essentially equivalent to one piece of Legendary Equipment. In other words, Shi Feng was asking to be paid seventeen pieces of Legendary Equipment for training them for only several days! Not even apex powers would dare make such an egregious demand! Even Xia Qingying, who favored Shi Feng training the Green God Corporations talents, couldnt help but doubt her ears when she heard Shi Fengs price. At this point, Shi Feng might as well ask if he could clean out the Green God Corporations coffers. Zero Wing wont insist on the matter, Shi Feng said, chuckling. We can simply follow our previous agreement. In return for helping your members join the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups, Zero Wing will receive 70% of their city contributions. As for our bet, Elder Mu, you will need to help with training Zero Wings members from time to time. Following Shi Fengs words, the seventeen youths standing behind Mu Huangwu instantly exploded into an uproar. Elder Mu, its already enough for us to have your training. Even without Zero Wings help, we can still become aces in the Night Watch Legion! I agree! With our strength and talent, even if we fail to become aces this year, we can definitely make it next year! Well only miss out on, at most, one or two city battles! The loss of points wont affect the corporations plans in the long run! The seventeen youths spoke up one after another. Although none of them outright mentioned Zero Wing as being the crux of the problem, they clearly indicated that the transaction with Zero Wing wasnt worthwhile and Shi Feng was merely taking them for fools. Okay! Well go with your arrangement, Guild Leader Shi! Ill pay ten God Crystals for each of them! Mu Huangwu said after some hesitation. Once their training concludes, I will hand you all 170 God Crystals. Can we sign the contract now? Elder Mu, thats 170 God Crystals we are talking about, Xia Qingying worriedly said. She couldnt help but be astonished by Mu Huangwus decision. A sum of 170 God Crystals was by no means insignificant. Previously, even after Shi Feng was willing to part with an astronomical amount of wealth, she had only managed to collect 200 God Crystals from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. Although Mu Huangwu had plenty of resources on hand due to him being one of the Green God Corporations three-star grandmasters, it still wouldnt be easy for him to take out 170 God Crystals. He might even have to make some sacrifices with regard to the Green God Corporations branch in Night Watch City. No matter how Xia Qingying thought about it, she simply couldnt understand why Mu Huangwu was willing to go to such lengths. Dont worry, Vice President Xia. Ive been saving for many years, so I can still afford to take out 170 God Crystals, Mu Huangwu explained, understanding Xia Qingyings concerns. Since I suggested this partnership, I will shoulder the full payment. If you are willing to go that far, I wont be against it, Xia Qingying said, waving her hand and indirectly expressing that she would keep this matter a secret from the corporations other executives. Subsequently, Mu Huangwu took the initiative to hash out a Gods Domain Contract via his quantum watch. The contract mainly detailed the transaction between him and Zero Wing. As for the confidentiality contract meant for Azure Shadow and the others, Shi Feng would have to prepare it himself. Meanwhile, after seeing all that Mu Huangwu had done, Shi Feng naturally wouldnt dissuade or object to the other partys decision. On the contrary, he welcomed it very much. Shi Feng urgently needed God Crystals and Seven Luminaries Crystals, so much so that he even intended to trade some of Star Lake Citys contribution points for God Crystals and Seven Luminaries Crystals. Otherwise, there was little he could do with his existing stockpiles. Here is the confidentiality contract; have a look at it. You can sign it if you find no problems with it, Shi Feng said as he sent each of the seventeen youths a lifetime confidentiality contract. The contracts terms were simple. Azure Shadow and the others were simply required to keep all details regarding their training a secret. Should they leak information without Shi Fengs consent, they would be permanently banished from Gods Domain. After Azure Shadow and the others finished reading, they briefly looked at the contract Mu Huangwu signed before placing their signature on their respective confidentiality contracts. Excellent. Since we have established our partnership, training will commence tonight, Shi Feng said after seeing all seventeen youths sign the confidentiality contract. Then, he sent them the coordinates of the Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passage and continued, Log into Gods Domain tonight and head to these coordinates. We will meet up there and begin your training. Although he wasnt particularly keen on letting these seventeen youths in on Zero Wings secrets, it would be a waste not to make use of their strength. After all, these were seventeen Tier 6 players equipped with Legendary Weapons they were talking about. They were existences that even conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers would try to avoid provoking. Got it. Well be there on time! Azure Shadow and the others responded after memorizing the coordinates. However, despite none of them saying it, all of them had already inwardly decided they would make trouble for Zero Wings Tier 5 Guild Leader later on. Meanwhile, after the partnership was established, Mu Huangwus group returned to their accommodations in Star Lake City. On their way back, Mu Huangwu urged Azure Shadow and the others to quickly head toward the meeting point, his urging exasperating the seventeen youths. Meanwhile, back in Shi Fengs office Do you really plan on bringing them with us, Guild Leader? Hidden Soul couldnt help but ask as she watched Shi Feng organizing some documents. The Western Continent remains a secret even in the Eternal Realm right now. Of course. Shi Feng nodded and smiled. This is a rare opportunity. Since Ive already agreed to train them, I naturally have to do my best. Moreover, not only am I going to take them to the Western Continent, but Im also going to let them learn the Mana Purification Technique. I intend to thoroughly change the power structure of existing second-tier city legions and let that Young Master Xiao know the price of provoking Zero Wing! Chapter 3540 - Chapter 614 - Instructor Black Flame? Chapter 614 C Instructor Black Flame? Silver Frost City, City Lords Mansion: Inside an isolated room the size of a football field, numerous youths clad in standardized sportswear were nimbly evading air bullets coming from their surroundings while rapidly ascending a majestic staircase made of singularite. The metal staircase consisted of 300 steps. With each step these youths ascended, the grimmer their expressions would become. Some youths would also become incapable of moving their feet after reaching the 100th step and beyond, and so long as any youth stopped moving, they would quickly be sent flying off the staircase by multiple air bullets. Then, they would quickly get back on their feet and resume climbing the staircase again. Although most of these youths were under the age of 25, each and every one of them was a two-star grandmaster. Several youths had even developed their mental strength to the two-star limit grandmaster standard already. However, compared to the youths continuously struggling to climb the staircase, the man with graying hair standing on the 298th step was a stark contrast. Even when struck by air bullets repeatedly, the man stood firm in his position. When the air bullets struck the gray-haired man, they were like rocks hitting the bottom of the ocean. Their impact created neither any sound nor any ripples. It was as if these air bullets didnt actually exist. The City Lord is incredible! I have to use all my strength just to withstand a hit from those air bullets, yet the City Lord can neutralize the air bullets impact simply by manipulating his muscles! Is this the strength of three-star grandmasters? The City Lord is probably at the cusp of becoming a great grandmaster already. If he can take the final step, Silver Frost City will welcome a new era of prosperity. When the youths resting below the staircase looked at the man standing on the 298th step, passion and reverence burned in their eyes. The man was Xiao Yihu, Silver Frost Citys legendary City Lord and the role model of countless geniuses and paragons. Not only was Xiao Yihu a pseudo-great grandmaster, but he was also a member of the Galaxy Conglomerates esteemed Council of Elders. Over the centuries, he had nurtured numerous outstanding disciples, some of whom had become the core executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers. A few of his disciples were even part of the Galaxy Conglomerates Council of Elders currently. While the resting youths were trying to figure out how they could receive Xiao Yihus guidance, Xiao Yihus resting eyes suddenly snapped open. Then, in only a dozen steps, he arrived at the bottom of the staircase and looked at the young man who had just entered the room. The young man had a fit body and a cold expression. The instant he appeared, all the resting youths in the room kept quiet and looked at the young man respectfully. Did something happen on Little Quans side, Jiancheng? Xiao Yihu asked in a low voice as he looked at the young man approaching him. Nothing happened to Xiao Quan during his outing, City Lord, the young man named Jiangcheng reported. But something did happen over at Star Lake City. Did the fifteen cities lose? Xiao Yihu asked. Then, in a slightly angry tone, he continued, What a bunch of useless imbeciles. Cant they even complete such a simple task? Not only did the fifteen cities lose, but Star Lake City has also been promoted into a second-tier city, Jiancheng said, nodding. Then, he handed Xiao Yihu a report and continued, Here are the details of the city battle. Zero Wing is much stronger than anticipated, and even Skystar Citys ace battle group has suffered defeat at Zero Wings hands. Zero Wing is indeed strong. Old Feng has also finally gotten his lifelong wish. Its a pity that he is unaware of how deep the waters of second-tier cities are, Xiao Yihu nonchalantly commented after reading the report. Regardless, tell Little Quan to focus on developing his mental strength and stop wasting time on trivial matters. The upcoming ranking battle between second-tier cities is what you all should be prioritizing. Understood! Jiancheng responded before taking his leave. He was not surprised at all by Xiao Yihus indifference toward Star Lake Citys promotion. It was indeed unexpected for Star Lake City to get promoted to a second-tier city and for Zero Wing to defeat Skystar Citys ace battle group. However, compared to the vast Starlight Continent, their achievements remained insignificant. It was especially so in Xiao Yihus eyes. In his opinion, all of the city battles taking place within Silver Frost Citys sphere of activity were nothing more than a fight between children. Even second-tier city battles were not an exception. The only thing that Xiao Yihu was truly concerned about was the Starlight Continents Second-Tier Ranking Battle held by the Gods Domain Association once every decade. Everything else was of little significance. Greater Gods Domain, Miniature Ancient Worlds World Passages entrance: This should be the place Guild Leader Shi Feng mentioned, Fire Dance, a Level 171 Assassin wearing a crimson leather jacket and a ponytail, said as she looked at the seventeen youths beside her. Azure, you all best not mess around during training. You are here to accept Zero Wings training so that you can pass the ace battle groups selection, not to cause trouble. Fire Dance was acquainted with Azure Shadows group. They had met a few years ago. She had even trained alongside these youths under Mu Huangwu in the past. Therefore, she knew that these seventeen youths were rebellious individuals. It was especially so for Azure Shadow. Due to his extraordinary talent, he refused to obey anyone but Mu Huangwu in the Green God Corporation. The Green God Corporation had hired many reputable instructors to reign in Azure Shadows rebellious attitude in the past. However, none of those instructors managed to last very long before Azure Shadow finished mastering all they had to teach. Azure Shadow had even gone on to defeat each and every one of those instructors in a spar, causing those instructors to leave with injured pride. This situation had given the Green God Corporation a huge headache. We know, Big Sis Fire, Azure Shadow, a Level 173 Ranger, said as he smiled at Fire Dance. But if we are superior to the person responsible for training us, what qualifications does that person have to train us? Not to mention, we even paid such an exorbitant price for this training. I agree with Azure, Big Sis Fire. You are now a member of Zero Wing, so you get to join this training for free. But the rest of us had to pay a total of 170 God Crystals. If Zero Wings training turns out to be too simple, wouldnt we have wasted all those God Crystals? Following Azure Shadows words, the rest of the youths also started to chime in. At this point, they could already imagine Zero Wings instructor leaving in dejection after losing to them. You all Fire Dance experienced a headache when she saw what Azure Shadow and the others were planning to do. She was fully aware of the talent the seventeen youths possessed. If not for her having a fortuitous encounter and being with the Green God Corporation for a much longer time, she would have probably lost to Azure Shadow and the others in combat standards long ago. It was especially so for Azure Shadow. The young man was practically a monster. Even when faced with complicated Advanced Silver Combat Techniques, Azure Shadow needed no more than a few tries to master them completely. He could even take things a step further and combine them to create his own exclusive techniques. At this point, only fifth-floor experts capable of predicting future moves could beat Azure Shadow in a contest of combat techniques. While Fire Dance was conversing with Azure Shadows group, a cloaked Swordsman approached them. Following this Swordsmans appearance, Fire Dance couldnt help but be stunned. Guild Leader Black Flame? TL Notes: [1]singularite: Its a made-up name. Raws is supposed to be singular metal. Chapter 3541 - Chapter 615 - Crazed Night Watch Members Chapter 615 C Crazed Night Watch Members Why is he here? Fire Dance couldnt help but doubt her eyes when she saw the cloaked Swordsman before her. Black Flame, the 11th-ranked player on the Sacred Glory List! This was a name known by all throughout the Greater Gods Domain. As for Zero Wings members, both Black Flames name and appearance were deeply ingrained into their minds. While Fire Dance was training alongside Zero Wings members for the city battle, she had heard plenty of things about Black Flame. Hence, she was considerably familiar with the player named Black Flame. In the Eternal Realm, Black Flame had single-handedly suppressed an army of tens of thousands of Holy Race players. Later on, Black Flame had single-handedly erased the headquarters of three upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the Miniature Ancient World. Aside from achievements, Black Flame was also well-connected. He shared close ties with three Golden Masters, and Ink Qilin, a vice commander of the Scarecrow Fox adventurer team, even openly expressed her respect toward him. These four individuals would also often collaborate with Zero Wing in exploring the Crystal City of Secrets Underground Crystal Palace. At this point, Black Flame could already be considered a legendary figure in the Greater Gods Domain. He wasnt someone that the average person could hope to meet. The Lord of War Goddesses? When Azure Shadow saw Shi Feng, a hint of shock flashed in his eyes. He didnt think Zero Wing would send its true Guild Leader to come to instruct them. It seems Zero Wing is going all out this time to have its Guild Leader come to train us personally. No wonder Guild Leader Shi Feng asked for such an exorbitant fee. Black Flames status as the 11th-ranked Sacred Glory expert alone already makes the fee worthwhile. When the rest of the Night Watch battle groups members saw that it was Shi Feng approaching them, they couldnt help but start a hushed discussion among themselves. It was especially so when they felt Shi Feng, who was only a Tier 5 player, radiating an aura stronger than theirs. While the Sacred Glory Lists significance might not be comparable to the Divine Glory List, anyone capable of entering the Sacred Glory List would still be regarded as a VIP in any Realm. Not to mention the Green God Corporation, even the average upper-ranking hegemonic power and conglomerate would have difficulty employing the assistance of such individuals. So what if hes ranked 11th on the Sacred Glory List?! Azure Shadow said in the team chat. Hell still need to have actual abilities to train us! I guess youre right. After thinking it over, the rest of the Night Watch battle groups members nodded in agreement. Black Flame might be famous, but that wouldnt necessarily mean he was qualified to train them. It was especially so for someone like Black Flame, who relied heavily on external items. The primary reason Black Flame could achieve his current status was due to his ability to summon War Goddesses. When it came to actual combat standards, he wouldnt necessarily be superior to them. While Azure Shadow and the others were having a secret discussion among themselves, Shi Feng briefly swept his gaze across Fire Dance and the seventeen youths. Since everyones here, follow me, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the seventeen youths scrutinizing him. But before we leave, let me remind you that you must keep everything you see later on a secret. Also, as this training is meant for nurturing Zero Wings internal members, you are only allowed to stay until the Night Watch Legions ace battle group selection. After that, you will all have to leave. Upon hearing Shi Fengs reminder, aside from Fire Dance, everyone else present revealed contemptuous expressions. They had experienced all kinds of training in the past. They had even participated in training camps jointly hosted by multiple powerful conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers. So, they didnt believe, even for a second, that Zero Wing could provide them with any noteworthy training. Yet, Shi Feng was making Zero Wings training sound like it was the most precious thing in the world. At this time, Azure Shadow and the others became further resolved to complete whatever training Zero Wing had to offer before the training session was anywhere close to completion. Then, they would take their leave without hesitation. Meanwhile, Shi Feng did not bother to offer any additional explanations, even when he saw the seventeen youths contemptuous expressions. He simply led the group to a deserted area of the Void Sea and waited for World-Breaking Gates cooldown to end. Then, he spent another 1,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to bring everyone to the Eternal Realm. Starlight Continent, Star Lake City: As the morning sun rose, Star Lake Citys airport basked in its brilliance. Even though it had only been a day since Star Lake City had gotten promoted to a second-tier city, the airport was already crowded with supersonic planes from various third-tier cities. Of the guests these supersonic planes carried to Star Lake City, apart from the various powers executives, a significant portion consisted of mental strength grandmasters and budding talents. As Star Lake City was a new second-tier city, it currently didnt face any problems with overpopulation. Hence, these individuals all sought to use this opportunity to secure themselves long-term residence in a second-tier city. Are Azure and the others still not here? Mu Huangwu muttered as he looked out through the airport lounge and at the Green God Corporations private plane parked outside. If we still dont take off soon, we wont make it for the registration! Mu Huangwu couldnt help but find the tardiness of Azure Shadow and the others strange. After all, his disciples were normally very punctual. Not to mention, they would be flying back to Night Watch City to register for the Night Watch Legions ace battle group selection this time. If they were to miss the registration period, they would have to wait another year before they could try for an ace battle group again. Did they forget when we were leaving? Xia Qingying, who had come to see Mu Huangwus group off, similarly found this situation confusing. Mental strength grandmasters had an extremely accurate grasp on time. They could tell the precise time of day, even without looking at the time. Logically, there was no way Azure Shadow and the others would be late when they knew they had to attend an event as important as the ace battle group selection. Impossible, Mu Huangwu firmly denied Xia Qingyings conjecture. I even went out of my way to remind them the time before they logged into Gods Domain yesterday. Did they get into an accident? When Xia Qingying heard Mu Huangwus words, she promptly thought of contacting the Gods Domain Association. Azure Shadow and the others were mental strength grandmasters. Since it was unlikely they had misremembered their flights departure time, it must mean they had gotten into an accident. Otherwise, there was no way they would be tardy. But just as Xia Qingying was about to contact the Gods Domain Association, a group hastily entered the lounge. Youre finally here. Mu Huangwu sighed in relief when he saw the individuals entering the lounge. What happened to you all? Why did you arrive so late? The group of new arrivals was none other than Azure Shadows group. Only, at this moment, Azure Shadow and the others wore anxious looks on their faces, their usual calm nowhere to be seen. Lets quickly board the plane, Elder Mu. Itll be bad if were late, Azure Shadow hurriedly said to Mu Huangwu. The other members of the Night Watch battle group nodded in agreement, their anxious expressions making it seem like they couldnt wait even a moment longer to board the plane. So you actually know youre late? Mu Huangwu couldnt help but feel exasperated when he saw the anxious expressions of Azure Shadow and the others. Youre lucky you made it in time. Had you all arrived any later, you would have missed the registration period! You misunderstand, Elder Mu. Were not talking about the ace battle group selection, Azure Shadow hurriedly said. We already made an appointment with the instructor. The instructor will only wait half an hour for us. We only have a minute left, so we must board the plane and log into Gods Domain immediately. Otherwise, were going to be late! Chapter 3542 - Chapter 616 - Zero Wings Training Chapter 616 C Zero Wings Training Mu Huangwu was so stunned by Azure Shadows words that he forgot what he was going to say. As for Xia Qingying, she similarly couldnt help but doubt if something was wrong with her ears. After all, just a day ago, Azure Shadow and the others had expressed strong hostilities and contempt toward Zero Wings training. Yet, they were now worried they might be late for training? Lets talk another time! Were going to be late! When Azure Shadow saw that Mu Huangwu and Xia Qingying were unresponsive, he charged out of the boarding gate without hesitation. Seeing this, the other members of the Night Watch battle group also followed suit, leaving behind Mu Huangwu in the waiting lounge. Can you tell me whats going on, Qingying? Mu Huangwu asked as he stared at the boarding gate with a stunned expression. Anyone could tell that Azure Shadow and the others looked forward to participating in Zero Wings training. But even if they were to look forward to Zero Wings training, it didnt make sense for them to look forward to it that much. It should be known that it was to the extent that they prioritized it even more than becoming aces in the Night Watch Legion. At this moment, Mu Huangwu even suspected that if Azure Shadow and the others were made to choose between joining the Night Watch Legions ace battle groups or participating in Zero Wings training, they would choose the latter without hesitation. This I have no idea, either, Xia Qingying said with a wry smile. While she might be privy to some of Zero Wings secrets, she highly doubted that something like the Intermediate Divine Engraving could garner much interest from Azure Shadow and the others. But looking at the reactions Azure Shadow and the others had toward Zero Wings training, it was already to a point where she could describe them as fanatical. Otherwise, they wouldnt have cast aside Mu Huangwu just so that they could avoid being late for training. Eternal Realm, Western Continent, Nameless City: After boarding the Green God Corporations private plane, Azure Shadow and the others promptly hopped into the temporary virtual gaming cabins the corporation had prepared on the plane and logged into Gods Domain. Then, when they saw that Zero Wings members were still resting around them, they couldnt help but sigh in relief. Thank goodness we made it back in time, Azure Shadow thought when he saw Shi Feng sorting through items nearby. Before arriving at the Nameless City, Azure Shadow, as someone who had trained in the Galaxy Conglomerates holy land in the past, felt that no other place could compare to said holy land. However, he instantly changed his mind after arriving at the Nameless City. Compared to the Nameless City, the Galaxy Conglomerates holy land was nothing more than a cheap knockoff. Every corner of the Nameless City was brimming with Eternal Energy. Simply standing in the city allowed him to experience gradual but continuous improvement. He even felt that he could achieve a breakthrough at any moment. However, the training Shi Feng provided them was even more valuable compared to the Nameless Citys environment. The Bronze Mana Purification Technique! This was a technique that could allow their mana to achieve a qualitative improvement. Before today, he had never even heard of such a technique existing. Simply gaining an initial mastery over the Bronze Mana Purification Technique made him feel he could fight against Tier 6 experts fully clad in Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Yet, what was even more unbelievable was that there was something even better than the Bronze Mana Purification Technique. Unfortunately, as he and the others werent internal members of Zero Wing and all of the loot they acquired belonged to Zero Wing, they currently couldnt learn the Advanced Bronze Purification Technique. If they wanted to learn it, they would have to kill a certain number of Regional Bosses and use their contributions to exchange one. However, while their group of seventeen was currently capable of moving independently of Zero Wings group, they werent familiar with the Nameless Citys terrain. So, it would be much more effective if they searched for Regional Bosses with Zero Wings group. Not to mention, Shi Feng would demonstrate Flowing Space from time to time. This presented them with an opportunity to watch and learn a Gold Combat Technique up close. Gold Combat Techniques were incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. The various powers would treat the Gold Combat Techniques they owned as heirlooms, and they would rarely ever share these techniques with outsiders. If outsiders wished to learn these techniques, they could only do so through watching battle videos, which was a nigh-impossible task. This was due to the complexity of Gold Combat Techniques. When players fought using Gold Combat Techniques, they would usually only utilize fragments of the technique. Unless a player was willing to thoroughly demonstrate their Gold Combat Technique, others would never be able to learn their techniques intricacies. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng fought, he would always execute his Gold Combat Technique from start to end for them to observe. Typically, this was a treatment only the paragons of pseudo-apex and apex powers could receive. If they were to miss this opportunity, they would absolutely regret it for the rest of their lives. Alright, everyone, get organized. Since everyones back, well begin exploring the core region, Shi Feng commanded when he saw Azure Shadow and the others returning. After fighting and learning for the entirety of last night, Azure Shadows group had already mastered the Common Mana Purification Technique and begun to learn the Bronze version. With their present combat power, it would be a waste not to explore the Nameless Citys core region. The Nameless City could be categorized into four regions: outer, inner, central, and core. Since yesterday, they have been exploring the central region and have acquired a good harvest. Overall, they obtained 14 copies of the Advanced Bronze Purification Technique and 41 copies of the Bronze Purification Technique. Even without the help of the War Goddesses, their grinding efficiency was better than when they had the War Goddesses assistance. However, for a Regional Dungeon of the Nameless Citys rank, the core region would typically have many more Regional Bosses spawning within it than in the central region. There might even be Tier 6 Divine Bosses guarding the place. Divine Regional Bosses were incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. They also had a long respawn time and were the primary target of contention between the various powers. Meanwhile, the Nameless City had only appeared not long ago. It was still in its exploration phase, hence its monsters had such a high drop rate. If they were to miss this exploration phase, even if Zero Wing could mobilize more experts to slay the Nameless Citys Divine Regional Bosses later on, their harvest might not even come close to their harvest in the current central region. After everyone organized themselves, they began advancing toward the Nameless Citys core region under Shi Fengs command. After four hours of constant fighting, Shi Feng and the others arrived at the Nameless Citys core region. A thin layer of mist covered the entire core region, making it impossible for those outside to see or sense the situation inside. However, the instant everyone stepped into the mist, they promptly realized how wondrous of a location this was. The density of the Eternal Energy in the core region was more than double that of the central region. Only, before Shi Feng and the others could take their time to enjoy the significantly denser Eternal Energy, they saw a female Swordsman of the human race running in their direction with a 1,000-man Holy Race legion chasing after her. The Swordsman in question was incredible. Despite being only a Level 165, Tier 5 Sword Saint, she continuously neutralized the attacks launched at her by the Tier 5 Holy Race experts. It should be known that these Holy Race experts could rival Tier 6 human players when empowered by their Holy Auras. Moreover, over a hundred of them could attack the human female at a time. Yet, the most they managed to do was cause some minor damage to the human female. Even experts who had mastered Gold Footwork and Defensive Combat Techniques would find difficult to achieve a similar combat performance as the human female. That Swordsman is amazing! Gentle Snow exclaimed as she watched the human female repeatedly breaking out of the Holy Race players encirclement. Even if Big Sis Qilin gets promoted into a Tier 6 Guardian Knight, she wouldnt fare much better against so many Holy Race experts. Billowing Water? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw who the human female was. Why is she here? Chapter 3543 - Chapter 617 - Seventeen Tier 6 Players Chapter 617 C Seventeen Tier 6 Players The Blaze Conglomerates Heart Sword? When Azure Shadow heard the name that came out of Shi Fengs mouth, he couldnt help but be surprised. Do you know Miss Billowing Water, Instructor Black Flame? Azure Shadow was fortunate enough to participate in a training camp hosted by the Galaxy Conglomerate in the past. While there, he had heard many tales of a monstrous talent capable of rivaling Frey, the Galaxy Conglomerates Fourth Princess. Meanwhile, the monstrously talented person was the Blaze Conglomerates Eldest Young Miss Weilan, a.k.a. Billowing Water. Although Billowing Water currently only ranked within the Sacred Glory Lists top 100, she was one of the few experts capable of fighting Golden Masters despite having mastered no Gold Combat Techniques herself. Because of her capabilities, many Gods Domain critics have commented that Billowing Water could absolutely rank among the Divine Glory List in the future. I guess you can say that we are partners of sorts, Shi Feng answered after giving the question some thought. We were part of the same team previously, and we conducted a couple of transactions. Upon hearing Shi Fengs answer, Azure Shadow and the others couldnt help but cast looks of admiration at Shi Feng. Billowing Water was the Blaze Conglomerates First Successor. She was a big shot who even Night Watch Citys City Lord would have little chance to come into contact with. And even if they were to meet, it was unlikely they could find a common topic to talk about, let alone become partners and conduct transactions. While big shots like Billowing Water might require a lot of resources in both the Greater Gods Domain and the Greater World, these resources were not things that the average person could access. Anyone who could provide these resources were bound to be extraordinary individuals. Should we help her, Guild Leader? Gentle Snow asked when she saw Billowing Water getting surrounded once again. It might not seem like Billowing Water was in any life-threatening danger, but that would only be true for now. Once all of the 1,000 Holy Race experts managed to encircle her completely, Billowing Water would no longer have any opportunities to break through. Not to mention, as the fight dragged on, the noise made would most certainly attract the attention of nearby Holy Race players. At that time, many more Holy Race experts would join the chase. The only way Billowing Water could truly escape her current predicament was if she could quickly kill all 1,000 of the Holy Race experts chasing after her. But, evidently, she couldnt accomplish that by herself. Since weve met, we naturally have to help out. Lets go, Shi Feng said, nodding. If Shi Feng wasnt acquainted with Billowing Water, he would have most likely chosen to turn a blind eye to her predicament. After all, the Western Continent was the Holy Races territory. It was especially so for the Nameless City. Engaging one of the Holy Races player legions here wouldnt be wise. So long as a fight broke out, they would have to face endless harassment from nearby Holy Race experts, and they would be unable to explore the Nameless City properly. However, since Billowing Water was one of his partners, Shi Feng naturally couldnt just stand by and watch the Holy Race experts kill her. Subsequently, under Shi Fengs command, everyone swiftly advanced toward Billowing Waters location. Although Shi Feng and the others did not make any noise in their approach, because their team had over 30 members, their approach quickly attracted the attention of Billowing Water and the Holy Race experts attacking her. Run away! Quickly run away! When Billowing Water saw Shi Feng among the group of human players approaching her, she didnt relax. On the contrary, her expression turned even grimmer as she shouted for Shi Fengs group to run away. These arent your average Holy Race players! Quickly head back to Seven Luminaries Town and inform everyone that the Holy Race has already found a way to break the towns defenses! Seven Luminaries Town is their next target! How dare you humans trespass on our territory?! None of you should think of leaving with your lives! the commander of the Holy Race legion, a Level 167 Beast Berserker, bellowed when he saw Shi Fengs approaching group. Everyone, split up and surround the new trespassers! Ill keep this woman pinned! We must not let them spread the news! Following the Beast Berserkers command, the entire legion of Holy Race experts quickly cast aside Billowing Water and switched their attention toward Shi Fengs team. Close to a hundred party and team leader-ranked Holy Race experts charged straight toward Shi Fengs team, while the rest of the legion split up to form an encirclement. When Billowing Water saw this, her expression quickly turned ugly. The legion pursuing her was unlike any other. Even the legions party leaders possessed strength rivaling Moon Bamboo, the Dawnlight Partys vice party leader, while the legions team leaders rivaled Sky Pivot, the Dawnlight Partys party leader. If not for her encountering a fortuitous opportunity in the Nameless Citys core region, which allowed her to repair a significant portion of her Fragmented Divine Weapon, she would have long been killed by this extraordinary legion. Unfortunately, Billowing Water couldnt afford to get distracted any longer as she needed to focus on surviving against the Holy Race legions commander. A Beast Berserker! The Beast Berserker class was a Peak Class among the Holy Race. But despite its lower rank, it was superior to even the human races Saint Classes. Previously, in order to cover for Billowing Waters escape, Sky Pivot and Moon Bamboo had chosen to face the Beast Berserker in a frontal confrontation. However, after only three exchanges, Sky Pivot and Moon Bamboo fell; they didnt even manage to distract the Beast Berserker for five seconds. The other partys strength was beyond terrifying. Immediately, Billowing Water gathered her scattered Formless Twilight and transformed it into a greatsword, the weapons mere presence destabilizing the surrounding space. With the greatsword in hand, Billowing Waters Strength had also increased substantially. Now, her Strength was slightly superior to even Level 170 Divine monsters. Escape is no longer an option for you all, the Beast Berserker said. However, instead of hurrying to eliminate Billowing Water, he turned to look at Shi Fengs team and sneered. Since you dared to steal that item from us, I will show you the consequences of meddling with our affairs. When the Beast Berserker commander finished speaking, the Holy Race legions party and team leaders had already arrived within 100 yards of Shi Fengs team. For Tier 5 players, this was a distance that could be crossed in a single breath. This should be close enough. Everyone, take action, Shi Feng commanded when he saw the remaining distance between his team and the Holy Race legions party and team leaders. Upon receiving Shi Fengs command, Azure Shadow and the others promptly stopped concealing their information and auras with their Black Cloaks. Immediately, seventeen illusory worlds descended upon the street and overlapped each other. At the same time, frightening Divine Might swept across the entire street, briefly causing all Holy Race players within a 3,000-yard radius to lose focus. Chapter 3544 - Chapter 618 - Fear and Panic Chapter 618 C Fear and Panic Tier 6?! Theyre Tier 6 players! Seventeen Tier 6 players?! How is this possible!? The moment the amalgamation of Divine Might washed over the Holy Race experts, they all fell into a daze as their minds started to doubt the reality of their current situation. Tier 6 players! Whether it was for the human race or the Holy Race, Tier 6 players were existences who had secured a hold over the laws of the world. Hence, it was extremely difficult for players to get promoted to Tier 6. In the current Eternal Realm, most experts wouldnt dare to attempt the Tier 6 promotion unless they were confident in success. This was because failure to get promoted would force players into a long state of rest, and it would be a considerable amount of time before they could make their next attempt. By the time they recovered, other experts would have long surpassed them, and they would be forced to retire from the Eternal Realms main stage. Not to mention, the energy resources required to challenge the Tier 6 promotion were immense. Even for the Holy Race, they could only afford to let a few people challenge the Tier 6 promotion. Yet, it was now revealed that among the human team consisting of only a little over thirty members, seventeen of them had actually gotten promoted to Tier 6 already? Who could possibly accept this situation? Even if all seventeen humans were the weakest Tier 6 players in existence, they would still be considered a frightening force in the current Nameless City. They would be more than enough to go up against their legion of 1,000. Not to mention, these seventeen human players werent by any means weak for Tier 6 players. On the contrary, they were far above the average, each being stronger than Tier 6 Divine monsters of the same level. After all, simply the act of these seventeen players releasing their Divine Might was enough to affect their entire legions mobility. This situation was no different than if they were to go up against the Holy Races Tier 6 experts. Impossible! How can the humans have seventeen Tier 6 players?! The Beast Berserker, the Holy Race legions commander, was similarly dumbfounded as he looked at Azure Shadows group in the distance. Even until now, none of the Holy Races various powers had managed to produce a Tier 6 player. Meanwhile, according to their investigation, the human race should be faring even worse than them. Yet, now, seventeen Tier 6 human players had appeared on the Western Continent, which was supposed to be the Holy Races home ground Am I dreaming? Billowing Water, who had prepared herself to fight to the death, couldnt help but rub her eyes as she looked at Azure Shadows group. She felt that she must be dreaming. It was currently the goal of the Eternal Realms various powers to produce a Tier 6 player as soon as possible. But according to the information she received, even the various apex powers had yet to accomplish this goal. So, the only explanation she could come up with for this situation was that she was in a dream. The Holy Races experts, huh? Azure Shadow revealed a look of excitement as he gazed upon the Holy Race experts before him. Just in time. I can use you all to test my improvements. After saying so, Azure Shadow nocked his longbow and launched a series of arrows into the sky. At the same time, a magic array covering a 1,000-yard radius formed in the sky. Tier 6 Skill, Stars From Heaven! Azure Shadow had heard from Shi Feng the strength of the Holy Race when they first arrived at the Nameless City. Hence, he wasnt ignorant of the circumstances surrounding the Holy Race. Under the same tier, human experts would have difficulty competing against Holy Race experts. Tier 5 Holy Race experts capable of using Holy Aura could even transcend tiers to fight Tier 6 human players. Based on his senses, he could tell that the team leader-ranked Holy Race players before him were undoubtedly such experts. If he were to clash with any one of these team leaders when he first arrived at the Nameless City, their fight would be intense, and it would take him a considerable amount of time to kill them. If several of these team leaders attacked him simultaneously, he might even be in danger of losing his life. Now, though, these party and team leader-ranked Holy Race experts were no longer a threat to him or his companions. Instead, these Holy Race experts had become the most suitable targets for them to familiarize themselves with their newfound strength. Meanwhile, the instant the magic array in the sky finished forming, countless space-rending arrows began to rain down from the sky, the spatial tears they left in their wake creating a scene resembling the arrival of the Apocalypse. Boom! Boom! Boom! Countless explosions echoed in the Nameless Citys core region, the explosions lasting for ten whole seconds before coming to an end. When the dust clouds created by the arrow rain scattered, they revealed a desolate wasteland amidst the tall buildings decorating the Nameless Citys core region. As for the Holy Race experts who previously populated the street, their numbers had been reduced from a thousand to less than a hundred, and even the ones still standing looked incredibly miserable. Have I become so powerful already? Azure Shadow couldnt help but be taken aback by the devastation he caused. His original intention for using Stars From Heaven was to break the Holy Race experts formation so his teammates could pick off the stragglers. This was the tactic they normally employed when fighting against groups of players or monsters. After all, each arrow in Stars From Heaven only carried 70% of his Strength. It was only because of the Skills large number of projectiles that it could pose a certain degree of threat to Tier 6 experts. Yet, the effects of his Stars From Heaven vastly surpassed his expectations. Despite being an ordinary Tier 6 Skill, it achieved a result surpassing even that of Tier 6 Curses cast by Tier 6 Mage Gods. Each arrow exhibited power at the Tier 6 Peak standard. For a moment, he even suspected he could threaten a Tier 6 Gods life with this Tier 6 Skill. Are you on drugs, Azure? How in heaven did you do that? Dawn Arrow, another Ranger from the Night Watch battle group, asked in astonishment. Stars From Heaven was a common Tier 6 Skill of the Ranger class. Hence, Dawn Arrow was very familiar with the Skills capabilities. Normally, the Skill would only be enough to tickle Tier 6 Divine monsters and damage Tier 5 Legendary monsters slightly. While it might be more effective against players, it shouldnt be anywhere close to being life-threatening to the Holy Race experts. However, it was a completely different story for Azure Shadows Stars From Heaven. In Azure Shadows hands, the Skill performed no differently than the Tier 6 Curse Star Blast. Had Azure Shadow used this move outside the Eternal Realm, he might even be able to delete an entire map. What kind of drug do you think I would have to take to get such an effect? Azure Shadow answered, rolling his eyes. Also, we train and operate together all the time. What dont you know about me? This wont do! Im going to try it as well! Dawn Arrow said before copying Azure Shadow in using Stars From Heaven. Meanwhile, as soon as Dawn Arrow used his Skill, the surviving Holy Race experts couldnt help but despair. Each arrow they previously faced carried power at the Tier 6 Peak standard. Normally, even a Divine monster would become heavily injured after being rained upon by so many such arrows. They only managed to survive the projectile bombardment because they had used all of their Lifesaving Skills. Yet, as soon as they finished surviving the rain of arrows, they had to face it again? Chapter 3545 - Chapter 619 - Tier Difference! Chapter 619 C Tier Difference! Despicable humans! Dont you dare look down on the Holy Race! When the Beast Berserker commander saw a second Stars From Heaven being used, he unleashed his Holy Aura and transformed into a giant measuring several hundred meters in height. The giant was clad in armor and wielded four axes with its two sets of arms. The giant looked like a titan from primordial times, and every one of his movements caused space to tear. Immediately after appearing on the battlefield, the primordial titan spun his body and created a whirlwind with his axes, causing the countless descending arrows to scatter and devastate the surrounding street and buildings. A Beast Berserker? When Shi Feng saw the primordial titan neutralizing Dawn Arrows Stars From Heaven, a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes. The Beast Berserker class was a Peak Class among the Holy Race. It was an incredibly rare class with stringent requirements. Even among the Holy Race, few Beast Berserkers existed. Meanwhile, unlike the human races Peak Classes, the Holy Races Peak Classes not only offered players a larger variety of Class Skills, but they also offered players Talents that could grant them unimaginable combat power. In the case of the Beast Berserker class, its Talent was called Ancestral Manifestation. Depending on the level of mastery players had over their Holy Aura, the size and strength of their Ancestral Manifestation would differ. For example, an Ancestral Manifestation that was several hundred meters tall would be slightly stronger than the average Divine monster. If an Ancestral Manifestation reached a thousand meters tall, its strength would rival the Tier 6 Gods. At the same time as the Beast Berserker commander neutralized Dawn Arrows Stars From Heaven, Dawn Arrow and Azure Shadow promptly followed up with more Tier 6 Skills. Tier 6 Skill, Scattered Explosions! Tier 6 Skill, Strike From Heaven! Scattered Explosions could transform the users arrows into AOE attacks and be impossible to block. Moreover, the higher the Skill Completion Rate, the greater the power and AOE of the attacks would be. As for Strike From Heaven, it would transform the user into an arrow and launch it at a speed that triumphed over all Ranger Skills. Meanwhile, the higher the Skill Completion Rate, the faster and stronger the arrow would be. When Dawn Arrow and Azure Shadow saw the Beast Berserker neutralize Dawn Arrows Stars From Heaven, they instantly knew they wouldnt be a match for the other party in a one-on-one situation. The gap in combat standards simply wasnt something they could hope to bridge with their enhanced mana and advantage in tier. If they wanted to beat the Beast Berserker, their only option would be to work together and rely on their advantage in Skills. Thanks to the Bronze Mana Purification Technique they learned, not only did the raw power of their Skills increase significantly, but even their Skill Completion Rates had reached an unprecedented high. Previously, the best they could achieve was an 85% Skill Completion Rate with their Tier 6 Skills. Now, they could use their Tier 6 Skills at a Completion Rate of 90% or above, which, in turn, allowed their Skills to exhibit power comparable to the standard of Tier 6 Gods. Hence, even though the Beast Berserker had tried his best to avoid the attacks from Dawn Arrows Scattered Explosions with his superior combat standards, his gigantic Ancestral Manifestation still ended up getting caught within the large AOE of multiple explosions, causing him to lose a significant amount of HP. At the same time, Azure Shadow, while in his Strike From Heaven form, executed the Advanced Silver Combat Technique Thousand Mirages and repeatedly struck the defensive Ancestral Manifestation, causing the other party to stumble time and again. After this cycle was repeated only three times, the Beast Berserker with superior combat standards succumbed to Dawn Arrows and Azure Shadows overwhelming Tier 6 Skills and fell. He died, just like that? Billowing Water couldnt believe her eyes when she saw the Beast Berserkers body scattering into particles of light. Although she had long guessed this outcome, she still couldnt help but be a little shocked when she saw how effortlessly the Beast Berserker got killed. Meanwhile, a moment after the Beast Berserker got killed, the Night Watch battle groups other members also finished eliminating the Holy Race legions surviving party and team leaders and started to collect the loot the Holy Race players dropped. Why are you here, Miss Billow? Didnt you teleport away with Party Leader Pivot and the others before? Shi Feng asked as he approached Billowing Water. Level 170-plus Legendary Regional Bosses roamed the Nameless Citys core region. Many Holy Race legions also operated in this region. It simply wasnt a place Billowing Water could operate in by herself, so he found it strange to find her here by herself. Hearing Shi Fengs question, Billowing Water wryly smiled and answered, Our random teleportation brought us to the core region. Seeing it was a rare opportunity, we decided to explore the area cautiously. Not long ago, we coincidentally came across several tens of thousands of Holy Race experts raiding a Level 175 Divine-ranked Guardian Dragon. When the Guardian Dragon died, it dropped about a dozen incredible items. At the same time, its death undid the seal of a six-eyed God from the Holy Race. After being freed, the six-eyed God signed a contract with the Holy Races various powers. Based on what we heard, so long as the various powers can sacrifice a certain number of human players to the six-eyed God, they could obtain great strength. Originally, we wanted to bring this information back to Seven Luminaries Town, but the Holy Races God discovered us. Although we were fortunate enough to snatch two of the dropped items, we later got chased by the Holy Race legion, and only I managed to survive until this point. The Holy Races various powers signed a contract with a six-eyed God? Shi Feng couldnt help but frown when he heard Billowing Waters recollection. The Holy Races Gods came in all shapes and sizes. But out of all the Holy Race Gods he knew of, only one had six eyes. The Soul-Eating Ancestor! The Soul-Eating Ancestor was a God who grew stronger by devouring the Immortal Souls of human players. At the same time, it could grant Holy Race players bloodlines of higher purity, allowing them to improve much more quickly than human players. In addition, the Soul-Eating Ancestor was one of the strongest Holy Race Gods who had led the attack on the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries. However, according to Shi Fengs knowledge, it should still be several years before the Holy Race players unseal the Soul-Eating Ancestor. The fact that the Soul-Eating Ancestor was unsealed so soon in this timeline definitely wasnt good news for the human race. Now that the Holy Races various powers had the Soul-Eating Ancestors assistance, they could rapidly grow stronger so long as they kept sacrificing human players. In contrast, human players could only rely on gradual exploration of the Eternal Realm to uncover stronger Legacies. It should be known that the first Holy Mana War would begin in the not-so-distant future. If this situation continued, Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine what would happen to the human race at that time. I really have to thank you for saving me this time, Guild Leader Black Flame. Otherwise, I would have had to suffer the same fate as Party Leader Pivot and the others, Billowing Water said gratefully. Then, she couldnt help but turn to look at Azure Shadow and the other Tier 6 players of Shi Fengs team and asked, Also, would you be willing to negotiate a deal with the Blaze Conglomerate, Guild Leader Black Flame? Although she didnt know what kind of relationship these seventeen Tier 6 experts shared with Shi Feng, the fact that Shi Feng could gather seventeen Tier 6 experts in the Eternal Realm was more than enough for the Blaze Conglomerate to take Shi Feng very seriously. Chapter 3546 - Chapter 620 - Zero Wings Value Chapter 620 C Zero Wings Value A deal? With the Blaze Conglomerate? Shi Feng couldnt help but grow curious when he heard Billowing Waters somewhat urgent tone. Previously, Billowing Water had only dealt with him in a personal capacity. Yet, she was now proposing a business transaction to him on behalf of the Blaze Conglomerate. So, the significance of the deal was undoubtedly much greater. Yes. A deal with the Blaze Conglomerate, Billowing Water said, smiling slightly when she saw a hint of interest appearing on Shi Fengs face. Do you remember the floating island we visited before coming to the Forbidden Zone, Guild Leader Black Flame? I do. We teleported to the Western Continent from that floating island, Shi Feng said, nodding and feeling a little confused as he looked at Billowing Water. The Eternal Temple, situated on the floating island, was vital for human players to travel from the Eternal Continent to the Western Continent. However, he failed to see what business they could discuss regarding that floating island. After all, the island was currently under the Seven Luminaries Alliances control, and all of the islands profits belonged to the Alliance. As you can see, there are many benefits to be had on the Western Island. Taking her time, Billowing Water smiled and explained, Meanwhile, the number of powers that know about the secrets here is increasing by the day. I believe it wont be long before many players will know about the Western Continent. And as luck would have it, the Blaze Conglomerate has discovered an island roughly two hours away from the floating island by flight. We have also gone ahead and established a Guild City on the island. When Shi Feng heard Billowing Waters revelation, although he remained calm on the surface, he was inwardly shocked by the news. In the current Eternal Realm, the various powers had trouble even establishing themselves in the various NPC Cities. As for constructing their own Guild City out in the fields, nobody had managed to do so thus far due to the stringent requirements. Firstly, to construct a Guild City in the Eternal Realm, a Guild would have to obtain a City Building Order. However, City Building Orders could only be acquired by killing Level 160-plus World Bosses in the Eternal Realm, and such Bosses were extremely rare in the Eternal Realm. And even if players did manage to find and kill a Level 160-plus World Boss, the City Building Order wasnt guaranteed to drop. Secondly, a Guild would need to have sufficient funds to construct. This wasnt just an expense of several thousand Eternal Gold Coins they were talking about. Without at least 100,000 Eternal Gold, a Guild shouldnt even consider constructing a Guild City in the Eternal Realm. Even for the various pseudo-apex powers, they would need a considerable amount of time to amass such a fortune. Hence, in the current Eternal Realm, owning a Guild City was a luxury that even the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers could not afford, let alone the Blaze Conglomerate. For now, we have already completed the groundwork for the Guild Citys construction. However, with how valuable the city is, even if we expend all of our defensive measures, Im afraid we wont be able to defend our ownership, Billowing Water added with a wry smile. To this, Shi Feng nodded in agreement. Currently, the only known way for human players to travel to the Western Continent was through the Seven Luminaries Alliances Eternal Temple. However, if players wished to enter the floating island, they would have to pay the Seven Luminaries Alliance a fee of 150 Eternal Gold, regardless if they wished to utilize the Eternal Temples teleportation services. Because of this, it simply wasnt possible for players to stay there long-term. If a Guild City existed near the floating island, it would make it much more convenient for the various powers and players. Such a Guild City could even become a trade hub for the Eternal and Western Continents, and its value would be unimaginable. If any pseudo-apex power were to learn of the Guild Citys existence, they definitely wouldnt mind snatching it from the Blaze Conglomerate. And with the Blaze Conglomerates current strength, there was no way it could defend the city from the various pseudo-apex powers. Which is why we have decided to find strong partners, Billowing Water said as she took on a more serious expression. We have already come into an agreement with two pseudo-apex powers not long ago. If we include Zero Wing, I believe we should have no problems defending the Guild City. Previously, Billowing Water did not have an optimistic view of the Guild named Zero Wing. In her opinion, Black Flame was the only noteworthy individual in the Guild. But after seeing the seventeen Tier 6 experts on Shi Fengs team, even if they were only hired hands, the fact that Zero Wing could hire helpers of such caliber was already enough for the Blaze Conglomerate to take Zero Wing seriously. Not to mention, seeing how respectfully Azure Shadow and the others behaved toward Shi Feng, it was obvious the two parties shared a close connection. The city in question indeed has unlimited potential. But what kind of price is the Blaze Conglomerate willing to pay? Shi Feng asked after pondering over the offer. If Zero Wing agrees to the partnership Billowing Water paused, taking a moment to think. I can promise you 20% of the citys profits. Twenty percent? Shi Feng shook his head. That is a lot, but it still isnt enough for Zero Wing. If you want Zero Wings help, in addition to the 20%, Zero Wing will require a Guild Residence slot and ten shops located in the city center. This Isnt that a little too much? Billowing Water couldnt help but hesitate. The two pseudo-apex powers that had agreed to partner with the Blaze Conglomerate had only asked for 20% of the citys profits and a few shops in the city center. The Blaze Conglomerate had promised neither of them a Guild Residence slot. After all, a Basic Guild City only had three Guild Residence slots. In such a situation, these precious slots should only be given to integral allies. Not at all. Zero Wings value far exceeds this price, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, he took out several dozen copies of the Bronze Mana Purification Technique and continued, I believe you should know the difference between an expert who has learned a Bronze Purification Technique and an expert who hasnt, right? When Billowing Water saw the stack of books Shi Feng took out, her mind froze momentarily. She naturally knew of the Bronze Mana Purification Techniques preciousness. Even in the Nameless City, it wasnt an easy task to acquire a copy. Not to mention, any Tier 5 player who had learned the Bronze Mana Purification Technique would immediately gain Tier 6 combat power. In other words, what Shi Feng had in his hands was the ability to instantly create several dozen Tier 6 combatants Your conditions have exceeded my jurisdiction. After hesitating for a moment, Billowing Water said, I cannot give you an answer right away. I will have to discuss with the conglomerates executives first. Sure. Shi Feng nodded, unsurprised by Billowing Waters reply. Billowing Water might be the Blaze Conglomerates First Successor, but she still wasnt the conglomerates helmsman. Meanwhile, only the helmsman could approve such an important decision. Successors like Billowing Water could, at most, cast votes on the matter. Following this, Billowing Water left the core region by herself and hurried over to the teleportation passage located in the city center. She intended to inform Seven Luminaries Town regarding the Holy Races plans before logging off to discuss Zero Wings partnership conditions with the conglomerates executives. Meanwhile, shortly after Billowing Water left, Zero Wings members also finished collecting the items the Holy Race players dropped. Were done collecting the loot, Guild Leader, Gentle Snow said excitedly as she approached Shi Feng, who had been resting his eyes while in deep thought. These Holy Race players are incredibly wealthy. Its especially so for their commander. Hes practically a walking treasure trove! After saying so, Gentle Snow took out a bunch of items, the appearance of the items immediately causing the Eternal Energy in a several hundred-yard radius to double in density. Chapter 3547 - Chapter 621 - Eternal Magic Armor Chapter 621 C Eternal Magic Armor These areEternal God Crystals? Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he saw the piles of purple-black crystals Gentle Snow took out. Eternal God Crystals! This was a rare kind of God Crystal found in the Eternal Realm. While it might be different from the God Crystals acquired by human players in the Greater Gods Domain, it possessed all the effects and functions of the standard God Crystal. In addition, unlike ordinary God Crystals, Eternal God Crystals could be absorbed by players. Ordinary God Crystals were crystals made from concentrating the power of Gods. The creation of each God Crystal required a God to expend a significant amount of their power. Meanwhile, not only could these God Crystals be used to help Gods recover their power quickly, but they could also be used to repair weapons and equipment created by Gods. Eternal God Crystals, on the other hand, were different. They were naturally occurring crystals found only in the Eternal Realm. Hence, even Tier 1 players could make use of Eternal God Crystals. So long as a player absorbed an Eternal God Crystal, not only could they receive bursts of inspiration for a short period, but their Concentration and Mana Perception standards would also be temporarily increased by one rank. Whether players were looking to construct a Mana Body or a Divine Body, Eternal God Crystals could provide them with extraordinary assistance. Meanwhile, the rarity of Eternal God Crystals far exceeded ordinary God Crystals and Fragmented Legendary items. Because of this, the market value of Eternal God Crystals could easily reach three ordinary God Crystals per Eternal God Crystal during Shi Fengs previous life. Even then, few players would be willing to part with their Eternal God Crystals at this price. However, while Eternal God Crystals offered many benefits, they also had a glaring flawthey would drop on death, and they could not be stored in warehouses for long periods. Players must carry their Eternal God Crystals on them or use them quickly. Currently, Shi Feng counted at least 400 Eternal God Crystals piled up before him. This was even more than the total number of Eternal God Crystals he had seen throughout his previous life Ive already tallied everything up. We obtained a total of 435 Eternal God Crystals, Hidden Soul said excitedly as she walked over to Shi Feng and Gentle Snow. Besides that, the Holy Race commander also dropped an Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set Design. It is a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set that can be used to form Bronze Battle Arrays when present in large numbers. If we have 20 sets in a team, we can form a Small Bronze Battle Array. If we have 100 sets, we can form a Medium Bronze Battle Array. If we have 500 sets, we can form a Large Bronze Battle Array. If we can equip a team of 500 Tier 5 players with these sets, killing even Tier 6 Gods wont be out of the question. Honestly, I cant figure out why that Holy Race commander would carry such a priceless treasure on him. The Eternal Magic Armors design? Shi Feng couldnt help but quickly read through the thick book Gentle Snow just took out. The Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Sets name rang loudly in the Greater Gods Domain during his previous life. It was an equipment set rivaling the Seven Luminaries Alliances Luminous Set. In fact, in terms of Basic Attributes, it even surpassed the Luminous Set. Moreover, unlike the Luminous Set, the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set could be used by both human and Holy Race players. The only problem was that the production of the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set required Eternal God Crystals. Mass-producing the set was simply too difficult of a feat to accomplish. As far as he knew, only three full batches of 500 sets had ever been made, of which two batches belonged to the Holy Race, while one batch belonged to the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. Seeing that the Holy Race commander had dropped the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set Design, Shi Feng had reason to believe that the other party didnt even bother to inspect the loot he acquired from the Guardian Dragon before pursuing Billowing Water and the rest of the Dawnlight Party. Otherwise, there was no way he would carry such a priceless treasure on him and risk losing it. He would have definitely chosen to store it in a warehouse for safekeeping right away. As expected of the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set Just producing one set costs six Eternal God Crystals. Most of the apex powers back then probably cant even afford to produce 500 sets. Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished when he finished studying the design. The Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set was a six-piece set with a relatively low production difficulty. The average Grandmaster Forger could probably manufacture it at a considerably high success rate. The other materials required to produce the set were also easy to source. The only real problem was the Eternal God Crystals required. He would need three thousand Eternal God Crystals if he wanted to produce a full batch of 500 sets. Even if he counted both his previous and present lives, he had never seen such an amount Lets hurry back to the Crystal City, Guild Leader. Its not safe here, Gentle Snow suggested. If the Holy Race players find out what theyve lost, they definitely wont let us go. Although she didnt know how the Holy Race viewed Eternal God Crystals, even a fool could tell the value of the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set Design. It was a treasure that could lead to the birth of an apex power. If the Holy Race players were to learn of their loss, they absolutely would go crazy. We might have gained a lot this time, but it is still too early to return. Its especially so now that we have obtained such a valuable design, Shi Feng said, smiling as he put the design away. Have everyone take a break. Well be changing our route. Instead of the City Lords Mansion, well be heading for the citys underground treasury! The citys treasury? Do you know where the Nameless Citys treasury is, Guild Leader? When Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul heard Shi Fengs words, their eyes instantly brightened, and they couldnt help but get the urge to shake an answer out of Shi Feng. The Nameless City was undoubtedly a place of riches. This could be seen just by their harvest in the short time they spent here. Meanwhile, a citys treasury usually stored the wealth the city had accumulated throughout the years. One could say that most of a citys wealth could be found in its treasury. Normally, when players were looking to capture a city, their foremost priority would be the citys treasury, whereas the City Lords Mansions priority came in second. However, as city treasuries were usually hidden in secretive locations and made difficult to find, players almost always had no choice but to capture the City Lords Mansion first. That way, they would immediately learn the location of the citys treasury. Not to mention, they could utilize the citys barrier to weaken their enemies in the city. Of course, it would be a different story if players learned of the location of the citys treasury ahead of time. Naturally. Shi Feng smiled and nodded. So, rest up and get ready. Previously, he was utterly powerless against the Gorgon Queen, so he had no choice but to avoid her like the plague. But now that he had learned the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique and included Azure Shadows group in his team, he felt they could fight the Primordial Godkin. Hence, he naturally wouldnt let this opportunity slip by him. Not to mention, the early liberation of the Soul-Eating Ancestor would most certainly accelerate the Holy Races development. If Zero Wing wanted a better chance at surviving and thriving in the upcoming Holy Mana War, it couldnt rely on just the Mana Purification Technique. It would also need the Nameless Citys treasury. Chapter 3548 - Chapter 622 - Fighting the Gorgon Queen Again Chapter 622 C Fighting the Gorgon Queen Again Are you sure we can take on a Primordial Godkin with our current strength, Instructor Black Flame? Azure Shadow anxiously asked Shi Feng as he looked around the deserted underground passage they were currently traversing. Hearing Azure Shadows question, the other Night Watch battle group members perked up their ears and looked toward Shi Feng with anxious eyes. Their goal in coming to the Nameless City was to improve themselves. However, after learning the Bronze Mana Purification Technique, they never truly got to exert themselves to their fullest potential, be it when they fought against the citys Tier 5 Legendary monsters or the Holy Race experts. Even when they fought against the citys Legendary monsters, they could complete the entire clash without using any of their mana for Skills and Spells. As for the Holy Races 1,000-man legion, it was merely a one-sided battle and couldnt be considered a proper fight. Currently, if they wished to truly achieve noteworthy improvements, they would need a sufficiently strong opponent. Only then could they push their standards to the next level. However, when they heard from Shi Feng that they would be going up against a Gorgon Queen, which was a Primordial Godkin, they couldnt help but worry. Primordial Godkins were monsters possessing the bloodline of Primordial Gods. Their strength surpassed the average dragon and angel of the same tier. Not to mention, out of the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, one was a Gorgon Queen. While that Gorgon Queen in question might be a mutated existence, it remained a fact that ordinary Gorgon Queens were not existences that ordinary Tier 6 experts could fight against. Normally, if players wished to raid a Level 180 Gorgon Queen, they would need to form a 100-man team of Level 200, Tier 6 players at the very least. Currently, their team didnt even have forty members. Not to mention, only seventeen were Tier 6 players, and their average level was only 175. A huge gap existed in Basic Attributes between them and Level 200, Tier 6 players. Relax. Follow my plan, and you wont have any trouble fighting the Gorgon Queen, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Azure Shadow and the others. If it was before Azure Shadow and the others had learned the Bronze Mana Purification Technique, Shi Feng would have never considered challenging the Gorgon Queen with them. But with the assistance of the Bronze Mana Purification Technique and their Legendary Weapons, they already met the minimum requirement to raid the Gorgon Queen. Now, it was only a question of whether they could survive one hit from the Gorgon Queen. If they could avoid getting killed instantly, raiding the Gorgon Queen shouldnt be a problem. While Shi Feng was chatting with Azure Shadow and the others, the team arrived at the plaza situated in front of the citys treasury. At this time, although the plaza had already been repaired to a significant extent, it was still possible to see cracks and dropped weapons and equipment all over the place. This gave Azure Shadow and the others a feel of how tragic and terrifying the battle that had taken place here previously was. Despicable human! How dare you trespass on my territory again?! I will have your soul annihilated for desecrating the holy land of my race! For a moment, an alluring voice echoed in the depths of everyones minds, causing them to feel a hint of goodwill and fascination toward the voices owner. Subsequently, a soul-stirring figure slowly slithered out of the treasurys gigantic steel doors, the figures every movement seducing everyone and forcing their eyes to focus on her. Meanwhile, this soul-stirring figure was none other than the Gorgon Queen responsible for safekeeping the Nameless Citys treasury. [Gorgon Queen] (Primordial Godkin, Divine) Level 180 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Everyone, consume these Eternal God Crystals! Ill have the War Goddess distract her later! Remember to never try to block any of the Gorgon Queens holy aura attacks! Shi Feng commanded and promptly distributed some Eternal God Crystals to everyone on the team when he saw the Gorgon Queen emerging from the treasury. His previous clash with the Gorgon Queen allowed him to thoroughly understand that the Gorgon Queen before them was extremely proficient in mental attacks. If it wasnt for his Concentration and willpower being sufficiently strong, he would have never survived the Gorgon Queens mental attacks. While Eternal God Crystals were indeed precious, for the sake of ensuring their raids success, he couldnt care less about wasting some of them. Immediately, everyone consumed the Eternal God Crystal they received, temporarily raising their Concentration and Mana Perception by one rank. At the same time, various inspirations started to appear in their minds, one after another. In the meantime, Shi Feng summoned a War Goddess and used the Feather of Oaths Heroic Pledge on her, raising her tier by one. And because Shi Feng had raised his level to 170 since last time, the War Goddess he summoned this time was at Level 180. This effectively placed the War Goddess on the same starting line as the Gorgon Queen, as both were at Level 180, Tier 6. Boom! As soon as the Level 180, Tier 6 War Goddess appeared on the plaza, she promptly thrust her spear forward to block a large scimitar that had suddenly appeared before her. The scimitar was coated in holy aura, and its impact with the War Goddesss spear created an impact that cracked the surrounding space and caused Fire Dance and the other Tier 5 players, who stood some distance away, to stumble a little. So strong! Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul couldnt help but be shocked when they saw the Gorgon Queen suddenly appearing before the War Goddess. Although Shi Feng had already informed them of the Gorgon Queens strength on their way here, it wasnt until they got to experience the Gorgon Queens strength at such a close distance did they finally understand how frightening the Primordial Godkin was. If not for the Tier 6 War Goddesss presence, they and the other Tier 5 players of the team would have definitely died just now. After all, they didnt even notice when the Gorgon Queen had disappeared from the treasurys entrance. By the time they noticed, the Gorgon Queens blade had already been blocked by the War Goddess Shes going all out right from the beginning? Shi Fengs expression grew solemn as he looked at the Gorgon Queen. The Gorgon Queen had started with a Gold Holy Art right off the bat. If it wasnt for the War Goddesss intervention, even if he defended himself using Swords Orbit, he would have been sent flying over a hundred yards and sustained heavy injuries. However, before everyone could relax, the Gorgon Queen suddenly transformed her two scimitars into two full moons and charged at Shi Feng, who stood a hundred yards away from her. She completely ignored the War Goddess before her and everyone else in her way, behaving as if only Shi Feng existed in this space. Dont even think about killing the instructor! Growling Potato, a Shield Warrior from the Night Watch battle group, bellowed as he activated the Tier 5 Skill Wrath of Justice and the Tier 6 Skill Shield Return. Then, he intercepted the Gorgon Queen with his shield raised. When the Gorgon Queens full moons collided against Growling Potatos shield, Growling Potato stumbled a step back and lost nearly one-third of his HP, while the Gorgon Queens advance came to a halt. At the same time, Azure Shadow activated Strike From Heaven, transforming into a streak of light that shot at the Gorgon Queen, his speed far surpassing the reaction speed of ordinary Tier 6 experts. Ants! However, the Gorgon Queen merely reacted to Azure Shadows attack with contempt and, with a casual flick of her wrist, accurately deflected the Rangers Strike From Heaven with one of her scimitars. The degree of skill she displayed was so incredible that even fifth-floor experts would be left marveling. But during the brief moment the Gorgon Queen was occupied with Azure Shadows attack, a silver spear suddenly swept at her willowy waist, catching her off guard. As a result, the attack connected fully and sent her flying several hundred yards away. The attack also caused one of her nine HP bars to deplete slightly, finally exposing her previously indecipherable HP to everyone. Chapter 3549 - Chapter 623 - Princesss Reappearance Chapter 623 C Princesss Reappearance TL Notes: (Chapter 284) Land of Ancient Dragons -> Land of Primordial Dragons (Chapter 291) Ancient Dragons Power -> Primordial Dragons Power (Chapter 293) System: You have received the Dragon Princesss favor and obtained the Primordial Dragons Power. So long as your Primordial Dragons Power is discovered by a certain Evil Gods followers or a certain Demon Gods followers, you will be marked by this Evil God or Demon God and be hunted down endlessly. -> System: You have received the Dragon Princesss favor and obtained the Primordial Dragons Power. So long as your Primordial Dragons Power is discovered by Evil God and Demon God followers, you will be marked by these Evil Gods and Demon Gods and be hunted down endlessly. When the Gorgon Queens HP became readable, everyone present couldnt help but gasp. How are we supposed to defeat this thing?! Will we really be fine, Guild Leader? Somber expressions appeared on everyones faces when they saw the Gorgon Queens HP. [Gorgon Queen] (Primordial Godkin, Divine) Level 180 HP 8,996,900,000,000 When everyone initially saw the War Goddesss spear doing over three billion damage to the Gorgon Queen, they were both surprised and delighted. After all, an attack of such caliber was more than enough to heavily injure a Level 180 Divine monster. And should the Gorgon Queen sustain a heavy injury, they would have a much easier time defeating her. However, their hopes were immediately dashed when they saw the Gorgon Queens maximum HP of nine trillion. Compared to the Gorgon Queens HP, the damage the War Goddess dealt wouldnt even be enough to tickle the Primordial Godkin. With her battle recovery, the Gorgon Queen could recover 2% of her HP every five seconds. In other words, she could recover 180 billion HP every five seconds, or 36 billion HP every second. Without at least ten Tier 6 War Goddesses, they would have zero chances of killing the Gorgon Queen. Sure enough, the system wont let us get to the treasury so easily. Shi Feng was similarly astonished when he saw the Gorgon Queens HP. Although this situation is outside of my expectations, we arent without a chance. Everyone, move according to plan and buy me thirty seconds! Try your best to distract the Gorgon Queen and assist the War Goddess! He had slain a Divine-ranked Gorgon Queen in his previous life. However, compared to the Gorgon Queen he killed back then, the Gorgon Queen guarding the Nameless Citys treasury had ten times more HP. Normally, without an overwhelming advantage in numbers or a Taboo existence, it would be impossible for players to take down such a monster. Since their current circumstances didnt allow them to overwhelm the Gorgon Queen with numbers, their only option would be to rely on a Taboo existence. Taboo existences were individuals who had surpassed Tier 6 Gods and rivaled Primordial Gods. One hit from such an existence could heavily injure even a fully-kitted Tier 6 God. Naturally, it would also be a piece of cake for such an existence to heavily injure a Divine-ranked Primordial Godkin. However, it was incredibly difficult for players to acquire the strength of a Taboo existence in Gods Domain. Normally, only Tier 6 players wielding Divine Artifact-ranked Weapons could accomplish such a feat. Meanwhile, Divine Weapons were so rare that only about one out of every ten Cross-Realm Conglomerates would have one. In Shi Fengs case, owning a Divine Weapon was nothing more than a dream for him, whether in his previous life or current life. Be that as it may, while he might not have a Divine Weapon right now, he did get to become acquainted with a Taboo existence in this life. The other party in question was the ruler of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary and the closest existence to a Primordial God. Dragon Princess Kalisha! Originally, Shi Feng had hoped he could heavily injure the Gorgon Queen with the Tier 6 War Goddess alone. However, after their brief clash, it was evident that only a Taboo existence could heavily injure the Primordial Godkin. Hence, he had no choice but to splurge 300 God Crystals and Eternal God Crystals to help Dragon Princess Kalisha recover to the standard of Taboo existences. Immediately, Shi Feng took out all of the ordinary God Crystals he had acquired from Xia Qingying and some Eternal God Crystals from his bag. Then, he began converting their power and directing them into a summoning rune to complete the Dragon Princesss quest. So long as he completed Kalishas quest and summoned her, she would be obligated to protect him from the Gorgon Queen. In the meantime, following Shi Fengs command, everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and attack the Gorgon Queen. They had to try their best to create an opportunity for the War Goddess to land a direct hit on the Primordial Godkin. When the War Goddess and Gorgon Queen resumed their clash, though, everyone quickly found themselves fascinated by the exchange. Whether it was the War Goddess or Gorgon Queen, both possessed combat proficiencies far beyond what anyone present possessed. Previously, when the Gorgon Queen was focused on killing Shi Feng and when the War Goddess was able to exploit the Gorgon Queens inattentiveness, it still wasnt possible to see the depths of their prowess. However, now that the two were focused on each other, they thoroughly displayed the intricacies of their combat experience. The handling of details when executing evasive maneuvers The handling of impromptu changes and preparatory actions when attacking The handling of impromptu mana adjustments and rapid conversions when using Skills and Spells It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the War Goddess and Gorgon Queen had handled all of these combat aspects perfectly. Meanwhile, when Azure Shadow and the others, who had consumed an Eternal God Crystal before the fight began, observed the fight between these two existences, they felt as if the doors to a whole new world had just been opened for them. After the battle continued for twenty seconds, everyone on the battlefield suddenly had their attention attracted toward Shi Feng, who had been chanting an incantation and crafting a rune all this time. Extravagance! Complete and utter extravagance! In the time everyone was preoccupied with the fight against the Gorgon Queen, Shi Feng had gone from expending ordinary God Crystals to Eternal God Crystals that were as precious as Legendary items. Multiple Eternal God Crystals could be shattering in Shi Fengs hands every second. Even though Azure Shadow and the others werent Zero Wings members, they still couldnt help but wince at this sight. After all, none of them actually owned their Legendary Weapons. Instead, these weapons were loaned to them by the Green God Corporation so that they could establish themselves in the Night Watch Legion. Yet, now, they were made to watch Shi Feng expend enough Eternal God Crystals to equip each of them with a Legendary Weapon When Shi Feng started to expend Eternal God Crystals, the summoning rune before him also started to draw the surrounding energies toward itself. Even the mana of Azure Shadow and the others, which rivaled the mana of Tier 6 Gods, was drawn toward the rune. Eventually, even the War Goddess and Gorgon Queen started to get affected, neither of them able to continue exhibiting 100% of their Skills and Spells potential. In the case of the Gorgon Queen, she even started to have difficulties concentrating holy power into holy aura, which, in turn, slowed her ability to execute holy arts and defend herself. As a result, Azure Shadow and the others started to land their Skills and Spells on the Gorgon Queen, each of their attacks reaping hundreds of millions of HP from the Primordial Godkin. Despicable ant! Die! When the Gorgon Queen saw that Shi Fengs rune started to have an increasingly larger effect on the surrounding environment, she knew that Shi Feng was attempting something extraordinary. Without hesitation, she ignored all attacks from the War Goddess and Azure Shadows group and used Chaos Spear against Shi Feng. Chaos Spear was a Tier 6 Super Spell, and it carried the power of an Ancient God when used by the Gorgon Queen. Even the Tier 6 War Goddess would sustain heavy injuries if struck by such an attack, and it would require multiple Tier 6 War Goddesses working together to block the attack completely. Hence, the logical move for Shi Feng to make in this situation would be to evade the attack. However, as Shi Feng was currently occupied with drawing Kalishas summoning rune, he had no choice but to take the Gorgon Queens attack. Otherwise, not only would he fall short of success, but all of the God Crystals and Eternal God Crystals he had expended thus far would also go to waste. Hurry up! Hurry up! When Shi Feng saw that the Gorgon Queen had already finished forming her Chaos Spear, he began mentally urging the summoning rune to absorb the Eternal God Crystals energy more quickly. Fortunately, at the same time as the Gorgon Queen released her Chaos Spear, Shi Feng also finished injecting the last Eternal God Crystal into the summoning rune, completing it. Immediately afterward, the space in front of Shi Feng shattered, creating a dark void that housed a figure several thousand meters tall. The figure in question was a beauty wearing a long, holy dress and a silver crown. The beauty slowly opened her eyes after appearing in the underground plaza, and the instant she did so, everyone present felt their souls shuddering. They couldnt help but feel as if all life was insignificant in front of this giant of a sleeping beauty. Chapter 3550 - Chapter 624 - Princesss Reward Chapter 624 C Princesss Reward When Dragon Princess Kalishas gigantic figure appeared in the underground plaza, everyone present couldnt help but be shocked. Even Azure Shadow and the others, who had a wealth of experience in the Greater Gods Domain, were not an exception. What in the world did Instructor Black Flame summon? Im confident I can fight even Tier 6 Gods in my current state, yet Im actually feeling fear right now? Heavens! I must be dreaming! Thats a bona fide Ancient God! According to the Great Library, only Ancient Gods can have a true body that exceeds a thousand meters! An Ancient God? The Guild Leader can summon an Ancient God? Both Azure Shadows group and Zero wings members couldnt help but doubt their eyes as they looked at Kalishas titanic frame. Gods could be regarded as the ceiling of strength for most players in the Greater Gods Domain. They were existences feared by even the Greater Gods Domains various major powers. For this reason, any player capable of matching Tier 6 Gods in strength would be qualified to speak to upper-ranking hegemonic powers as equals. The various upper-ranking hegemonic powers would not dare to disrespect these players, and they would also make extremely lucrative offers in the hopes of recruiting these players. But this was merely the upper limit that ordinary expert players could see. Above the myriad Gods, there were existences known as Ancient Gods. These were incredibly ancient beings. Although they were similarly Gods, the standard of their Life Rating had long surpassed the Gods of the current era. Meanwhile, only Tier 6 experts wielding Divine Weapons could hope to put up a fight against these existences. Naturally, the strength of Ancient Gods was something all Tier 6 players and the various powers wished to grasp. Hence, they all frantically sought for clues pertaining to Ancient Gods, and so long as even the slightest clue was found, the many powers and Tier 6 players would try to secure it at any cost. Only, clues pertaining to Ancient Gods were extremely rare. Over 99% of Tier 6 players would go through their entire lives without ever encountering one. And anyone who managed to do so could boast about it for a lifetime. Yet, now, instead of a clue, a bona fide Ancient God had appeared before their very eyes. Moreover, the Ancient God was even summoned by Shi Feng. How could they not be shocked by this situation? However, before anyone could snap out of their dazes, the Gorgon Queen had launched her Chaos Spear at Shi Feng. Tier 6 Super Spell, Chaos Spear! Super Spells were designed to allow their users to transcend tiers. When cast by the Gorgon Queen, Chaos Spear could rival the attack of an Ancient God. Should it connect, it could instantly obliterate a Holy City capable of housing one hundred million inhabitants. Seeing the Gorgon Queens attack, Shi Feng instinctively unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and readied himself to use Incinerators Phantasm at any time. In his previous life, Dragon Princess Kalisha was known by all as the ruler of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. She was an existence transcending the average Tier 6 NPC, and she was even rumored to have strength rivaling Primordial Gods. But That was strength she had come to possess only after becoming the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ruler. Although Shi Feng had already fulfilled his quest contract and helped Kalisha recover her strength, that didnt automatically make her the ruler of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Meanwhile, with Kalishas current strength, he wasnt sure if the Dragon Princess was actually strong enough to fully block an Ancient Gods attack. If he were to get hit by the Gorgon Queens Chaos Spear as a Tier 5 player, he had a considerable chance of suffering a permanent death. Even if he had the Sacred Phantom Ring, it still wouldnt matter. After all, all item effects had an upper limit. Once an item effects upper limit was breached, it would lose effectiveness. The power of Ancient Gods was regarded as the power of Taboos in the Greater Gods Domain. Meanwhile, the reason it was considered as such was its ability to shatter many of the Greater Gods Domains restrictions. It was so overwhelming that it could shatter the effects of even Legendary items, let alone Fragmented Legendary items. However, just when the Gorgon Queens Chaos Spear was about to bring death to Shi Feng, Kalishas titanic frame suddenly disappeared. Then, before anyone realized it, Kalisha had reappeared next to Shi Feng in the size of a normal human, and held within her right hand was a spear shrouded by dark mist. You really know how to get yourself into trouble, my dear heavens blessed, Kalisha said to Shi Feng as she nonchalantly glanced at the fearful Gorgon Queen in the distance. Then, she glanced at the depleted crystals on the ground and continued, But I have to say that your performance has exceeded my expectations. I have recovered a lot of my strength thanks to all these Eternal God Crystals youve gathered. After saying so, Kalisha gently squeezed the spear in her hand. Then, the Chaos Spear, which was capable of rivaling an Ancient Gods attack and obliterating an entire Holy City, burst apart into a cloud of mist and faded out of existence. When the Gorgon Queen saw this scene, her body shuddered, and the fear in her eyes deepened. She also dared not make any further movements, evidently petrified by Kalishas show of power. At this time, Shi Feng was equally startled by Kalishas performance. A Primordial Godkins Tier 6 Super Spell was an attack even Ancient Gods would try to avoid confronting directly. At the very least, they would use a Skill or Spell to block the attack. Yet, Kalisha had not only caught the Gorgon Queens Chaos Spear with a single hand, but she had even crushed it easily. The toughness and strength of her physical body was simply terrifying. It seems you are also quite the lucky person to be able to find this place, Kalisha commented as she looked past the Gorgon Queen and at the treasury behind the Primordial Godkin. Then, she turned her gaze toward Shi Feng and smiled, saying, Anyway, as a reward for helping me recover, I can give you two options. For the first option, I can help you eliminate this little fellow and give you the full Primordial Dragon Legacy. With it, your future achievements will not be in any way inferior to Primordial Gods. For the second option, I can help you three times with my phantom and give you a Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal. With the legacy crystal, you only need to expend 100 God Crystals to experience a complete legacy guidance, and you can do so up to ten times before the crystal disappears. My strength is still unstable since I have just recovered. I will need to search the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary for the Primordial Dragon Relic right away, so you only have three seconds to decide. Three seconds? Shi Feng couldnt help but be exasperated as he looked at the yawning Dragon Princess. Three seconds wasnt enough for him to properly consider his choices at all. Not to mention, both options were incredibly tempting to him. Alright, times up, Kalisha tiredly said as she looked at Shi Fengs pondering face. Im taking my leave if you still cant decide. Seeing that Kalisha truly intended to leave, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and said, Ill pick the second option! Chapter 3551 - Chapter 625 - Kalishas Phantom Chapter 625 C Kalishas Phantom The second option? Kalisha blinked as she looked at Shi Feng, her lips curling into a smile. You have made quite theunique choice. Are you certain you wish to give up on the opportunity to match Primordial Gods? Im sure! Shi Feng said definitively. Most players would have gone with Kalishas first option in this situation. After all, Primordial Dragons were evenly matched with Primordial Gods in strength. Meanwhile, an opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Primordial Gods was one that most players would find irresistible. However, in Shi Fengs case, the first option wasnt the ideal choice. Instead, it was the second option. This was because he had already acquired the Goddess of Spaces Legacy and a portion of the Primordial Abyssal Gods Legacy. Whether it was the Goddess of Space or the Primordial Abyssal God, both were extraordinary existences. If he could secure any of their Legacies, he could absolutely stand above the average Primordial God in the future. Originally, he had still been racking his mind over how he should go about learning the Goddess of Space and Primordial Abyssal Gods Legacies he had acquired. After all, without any guidance, it would be incredibly difficult for him to study them. And even if he managed to receive legacy guidance from a God or even an Ancient God, it was unlikely to be of much help to him. However, it would be a different story if they were talking about a Primordial Dragons Legacy. As Primordial Dragons were existences on par with Primordial Gods, a Primordial Dragons legacy guidance would naturally be on par with a Primordial Gods legacy guidance. If he could receive such a legacy guidance, it would definitely accelerate his research of the two Legacies by a significant margin. Not to mention, he would have ten opportunities to receive a Primordial Dragons guidance. Very well, then. Kalisha didnt try to change Shi Fengs mind any longer. Instead, she took out a light-red crystal and handed it to Shi Feng, saying, Heres the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal. I have left my phantom inside it. Aside from using it for legacy guidance, you can also use it to summon my phantom up to three times. Those Evil and Demon Gods should have already noticed that I have recovered my strength, so I hope you can make good use of that crystal and live until the next time we meet. System: Congratulations! Kalishas Favorability of you has increased by 30 points. You have activated the second phase of the Inferior Mythical Quest Sanctuarys Rise. Quest Content: Head for the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary and search for the Primordial Dragon Relic to help stabilize Kalishas strength. You must also avoid getting killed by Evil Gods and Demon Gods during this period. Rewards unknown. Penalties unknown. System: Warning! Warning! System: You have been cursed by multiple Evil Gods and Demon Gods, and they have also locked onto your souls aura. You will be subjected to attacks by an Evil Demons Shadow every 30 days. The Evil Demons Shadows will grow stronger with time, and you can only lift the curse on you by killing the Evil Gods and Demon Gods who have placed it on you. As expected of an Inferior Mythical Quest Shi Feng couldnt help but be flabbergasted by the system notifications. In Gods Domain, quests starting from the Epic rank would usually come with significant penalties that could have a permanent impact on players accounts. In the case of Legendary Quests, the penalties would become so severe that players would have no choice but to start a new account. However, in the case of the Sanctuarys Rise quest, Shi Feng didnt even have the option of starting a new account, as the curse of the Evil and Demon Gods would simply be transferred to his new account, and the Evil Demons Shadow would continue to attack him every month. The only way he could rid himself of the curse would be to kill the Evil and Demon Gods responsible for placing the curse. Meanwhile, after Kalisha finished speaking, she swiped a finger across the air and created a space-time tunnel before her. Then, her body transformed into a streak of light that disappeared into the tunnel. She left, just like that? Shi Feng was rendered speechless by Kalishas hasty departure. Originally, he thought Kalisha would at least attack the Gorgon Queen once before leaving. However, after helping him block the Gorgon Queens Chaos Spear, the Dragon Princess completely ignored the Primordial Godkin. She even caused him to be the target of an Evil Demons Shadow. An Evil Demons Shadow was essentially a Gods doppelganger. However, unlike illusory doppelgangers, an Evil Demons Shadow had a physical body. Meanwhile, Evil and Demon Gods capable of going against Kalisha definitely werent ordinary Gods. They were most likely Ancient Gods, so their physical doppelgangers would not be any weaker than Tier 6 Gods. With his current strength, there was no way he could beat such an existence. Since that person has left, its time for you to meet your end! When the Gorgon Queen saw Kalisha leaving, she breathed a deep sigh of relief and started chanting an incantation. This time, the Gorgon Queen did not speed-cast a Tier 6 Super Spell. Instead, she took her time double-casting two Tier 6 Super Spells, her spellcasting causing all mana within a 10,000-yard radius to gather around her. The mana within 1,000 yards of her also became frozen, causing Azure Shadow and the others, Tier 6 experts who had learned the Bronze Mana Purification Technique, to be unable to manipulate the ambient mana around them. A moment later, doppelgangers of the Gorgon Queen started appearing within a 1,000-yard radius of herself. In the blink of an eye, a hundred Gorgon Queens had appeared on the plaza, all looking no different than the real deal. Moreover, each of them wielded a Chaos Spear in their hands. She knows Time Doppelganger as well?! How can a Boss grasp so many Tier 6 Super Spells?! Is this the strength of a Primordial Godkin? Azure Shadow and the others despaired when they saw the Gorgon Queens doppelgangers. Previously, they already felt that the Gorgon Queen was absurdly powerful. After all, not only did she possess a ridiculous amount of HP, but she could also cast the Tier 6 Super Spell Chaos Spear. But now, they finally understood that the Gorgon Queen had only been playing with them all this time. Time Doppelganger was a Tier 6 Super Spell that allowed users to create 100 doppelgangers of themselves. Although these doppelgangers only had a 30-second duration, each doppelganger had 100% of the originals Basic Attributes. Normally, due to Time Doppelgangers complexity, an individual would be fortunate if they could even cast it. As for using it in conjunction with another Tier 6 Super Spell, it was simply unthinkable. Even Tier 6 fifth-floor experts wouldnt be able to accomplish such a feat. Yet, the Gorgon Queen had successfully paired Time Doppelganger with Chaos Spear It seems I cant avoid wasting a use. When Shi Feng saw the Gorgon Queen going all out, he did not hesitate to activate the light-red crystal Kalisha left him. Kalisha had obviously given him the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal as a means to resist the Evil Demons Shadows. However, if he tried to save its uses in this situation, only death would await him. Suddenly, the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal released a dazzling brilliance. Immediately afterward, a 1,000-meter-tall illusory phantom of Kalisha appeared on the plaza. When Kalishas phantom appeared, the Gorgon Queen promptly entered high alert and hesitated to proceed with her offensive. However, when she verified that Kalishas phantom was nothing more than a phantom, much of her fear vanished. Subsequently, as if to repay Kalishas act of ignoring her previously, the Gorgon Queen had all her doppelgangers cast their Chaos Spears at Kalishas phantom. She intended to bombard the phantom out of existence. Meanwhile, in response to the oncoming Chaos Spears, Kalishas phantom simply raised its palm and swiped at them. The phantom did not bother using any Skills or Spells, choosing to block the oncoming attacks with only its bodys strength. Boom! A deafening explosion echoed across Nameless City, and clouds of smoke and dust filled the underground plaza. When the dust clouds settled, Kalishas phantom was nowhere to be seen. At the same time, the entire underground plaza had sunk by several hundred meters, and all of the Gorgon Queens doppelgangers were nowhere to be seen. As for the Gorgon Queen herself, her body was riddled with serious injuries, and her HP had decreased by nearly 10% TL Notes: [1]Evil Demons Shadow(аħ֮Ӱ): Im still not certain on this term. I was originally going to go with phantoms of Evil and Demon Gods, but the author seems insistent on using аħ֮Ӱ(Evil Demons Shadow). The system notification is also rather vague, so Im not sure if Shi Feng is going to be targeted by one shadow or multiple. So, there is the possibility that аħ֮Ӱ is referring to Evils Shadow(s) and Demons Shadow(s). I dont have enough information to work off of, so I will come back and make changes in the future if necessary. Chapter 3552 - Chapter 626 - Sudden Change Chapter 626 C Sudden Change Incredible! Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the Gorgon Queens maximum HP reduce from nine trillion to just four trillion. Originally, Shi Feng felt he would already be fortunate if Kalishas phantom could neutralize the Gorgon Queens all-out attack. After all, although Kalisha herself might be stronger than the average Ancient God, it was unlikely a phantom of herself could exhibit the same combat prowess. In his opinion, Kalishas phantom should, at most, be at the standard of Tier 6 Gods. However, never did Shi Feng think that Kalishas phantom could heavily injure the Gorgon Queen. With such strength, the phantom was already strong enough to match the average Ancient God. Meanwhile, spectating from nearby, whether it was Azure Shadows group or Zero Wings members, everyone couldnt help but gape at the scene before them. None of them could think of any words to describe the roller coaster of emotions they had just experienced. Initially, they thought that, with the appearance of Kalisha, the battle was as good as over. After all, the Dragon Princess could crush the Gorgon Queens Chaos Spear with her bare hand. Yet, a few seconds later, Kalisha swiftly took her leave after making some kind of deal with Shi Feng. She showed no intentions of attacking the Gorgon Queen whatsoever. Then, just when they were racking their minds on how they should cope with the Gorgon Queens terror, Kalishas phantom suddenly appeared and heavily injured the Gorgon Queen with a simple swipe of its hand Stop daydreaming and support the War Goddess with everything youve got! Shi Feng hurriedly commanded when he saw that his teammates were still dazed. We must eliminate the Gorgon Queen before she recovers! Kalishas strength might have heavily injured the Gorgon Queen, reducing the Primordial Godkins maximum HP from nine trillion to four trillion and nullifying her battle recovery, but defeating the Primordial Godkin remained a great challenge. Heavily injured monsters in Gods Domain could recover from their injuries with time. Should the Gorgon Queen recover from her injuries, she would immediately regain her battle recovery. Her maximum HP would also gradually recover to its peak. At that time, it would become impossible for them to defeat the Gorgon Queen, and he would have to expend another opportunity to have Kalishas phantom make a move, which was something he would prefer to avoid doing as much as possible. Meanwhile, after everyone heard Shi Fengs command, they promptly snapped out of their dazes and began frantically attacking the Gorgon Queen with the Tier 6 War Goddess, none daring to hold back in the slightest. After their previous clash with the Gorgon Queen, they already understood that the Primordial Godkin wasnt an existence they could afford to provoke in their current state. If they couldnt kill the Gorgon Queen while she was heavily injured, they would lose the opportunity to kill her once she recovered. Brothers! For the sake of the Advanced Bronze Purification Technique! To hell with it! After resolving himself, Azure Shadow commanded in the team chat, All members, use the Rage Potion! The Rage Potion was one of the more common trump cards the Green God Corporation had prepared for their group. It was also one of the few potions that had an effect on Tier 6 players. When consumed by Tier 6 players, the Rage Potion could increase the users Basic Attributes by 100% and Physique by 50% for six hours. It was a precious potion that could only be crafted by Great Grandmaster Alchemists, and each member of their group would only be assigned one bottle per month. Following Azure Shadows command, the other Night Watch battle group members promptly used their respective Rage Potions, elevating their damage output to the next level. Now, each of their attacks could cause over 100 million damage to the Gorgon Queen. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also dared not be stingy in this situation. Immediately, he used the Feather of Oath to summon five Tier 5 War Goddesses and had them join the battle. In her heavily injured state, the Gorgon Queens combat standard was no different from ordinary Tier 6 Divine monsters. Meanwhile, with the Tier 5 War Goddesses ability to exhibit the power of Gold Combat Techniques with their every move, they were in no way inferior to the average Tier 6 Divine monster. When they worked together with the Tier 6 War Goddess, they easily overwhelmed the Primordial Godkin and reduced her to nothing more than a punching bag for them. 87% 86% 85% As time passed, the Gorgon Queens HP rapidly fell under everyones fierce offensive, and it would only be a matter of time before the Primordial Godkin fell. When the battle was nearing the thirty-minute mark, Shi Feng, who had been continuously attacking the Gorgon Queen using Swords Orbit, suddenly received a call from Billowing Water. Has your discussion yielded an outcome already, Miss Billow? Shi Feng asked, smiling as he looked at Billowing Waters face displayed on the call window. He was honestly a little surprised the other party was contacting him so soon. Previously, the price he set for helping the Blaze Conglomerate defend its city was by no means insignificant. Normally, it should take a conglomerate like Blaze two or three days of discussion and analysis, at the very least, before a decision could be made. No, not yet, Billowing Water said, shaking her head. Then, with a somewhat ugly expression, she continued, I am contacting you for a different matter, Guild Leader Black Flame. A different matter? A hint of curiosity appeared in Shi Fengs eyes. Mhm. I urgently need a large sum of Eternal Gold Coins. May I know if you have some available? Billowing Water asked with a serious look. Shi Feng was rather surprised by Billowing Waters sudden need for a large sum of Eternal Gold Coins. After all, as the Blaze Conglomerates First Successor, she must have access to a significant sum already. So, he found it hard to imagine Billowing Water lacking Eternal Gold. Regardless, he still chose to answer her question, saying, I only have several hundred Eternal Gold on hand right now, but I have quite a lot over on the Eternal Continent. May I know how much you need, Miss Billow? Although he had spent a lot of Eternal Gold to purchase God Crystals some time ago, the Secret Crystal Trading Firm was generating a lot of profits for him daily. This was due to the trading firms ninth floor occasionally selling Extraordinary Secret Treasures. Combined with the various powers enthusiasm toward Extraordinary Secret Treasures, each article could easily be auctioned for over a thousand Eternal Gold. Even if he would only receive a small fraction of these sales, it was still enough to make him a fortune. Currently, he should have no trouble taking out three or four thousand Eternal Gold. I need about 300,000 Eternal Gold, Billowing Water said awkwardly. Moreover, I need it within a week. Three hundred thousand? Are you starting an all-out war against someone? Shi Feng couldnt help but ask. In the current Eternal Realm, a fortune of 300,000 Eternal Gold was outside the reach of even pseudo-apex powers. In fact, aside from the Seven Luminaries Alliance, he doubted that any other power could take out such a sum. Meanwhile, apart from waging an all-out war against a major power, Shi Feng couldnt think of another reason Billowing Water would need so much money. Something like that Putting on a gloomy expression, Billowing Water truthfully said, The Chairman plans to marry off my little sister to a major power. I dont wish to see my little sister thrown into this pit of fire, so I now have to win over a group of Elders and experts in the conglomerate. Only by doing so can I negotiate with the chairman. But I will need a lot of Eternal Gold to accomplish all this, so will it be possible for you to get together 300,000 Eternal Gold within a week, Guild Leader Black Flame? Chapter 3553 - Chapter 627 - Second City Building Order Chapter 627 C Second City Building Order A political marriage? Is it with a big family from one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers? Shi Feng couldnt help but be a little surprised when he heard Billowing Waters recount. The various powerful families in the Greater World were massive in size. It was especially so for the families operating conglomerates that had existed for centuries or millennia. These families easily had over ten thousand members. For this reason, political marriages between these powerful families and conglomerates were very common, and the Blaze Conglomerate wasnt an exception. However, as far as Shi Feng knew, the Blaze Conglomerates Fourth Young Miss was the apple of the Blaze Conglomerates eye. She was a monstrously talented individual who became a great grandmaster at the young age of twenty-two. In fact, this Fourth Young Miss was so talented that before becoming twenty-two of age, the Blaze Conglomerate had kept a tight lid over her talent and only revealed it after her mental strength reached the great grandmaster standard. In other words, the Blaze Conglomerate should be well aware of its Fourth Young Misss talent. Even if the Blaze Conglomerate was going to arrange a political marriage with another power, it should have selected a less-talented family member for the task. It would be highly illogical for the Blaze Conglomerate to use its Fourth Young Miss for the task. Meanwhile, unless the Blaze Conglomerates current chairman was an utter buffoon, the fact that he would be willing to marry the conglomerates Fourth Young Miss off to another power showed that the power in question was extraordinary. And in Shi Fengs opinion, even the families behind the average pseudo-apex power wouldnt warrant the Blaze Conglomerate to sacrifice its Fourth Young Miss, so the other party should be one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. No, its a small family that few people have ever heard about, Billowing Water said, shaking her head. However, that family has experienced a rapid rise in the Eternal Realm. Currently, it has already annexed over ten upper-ranking hegemonic powers and fully occupied two fortresses. It is also putting up a good fight against the various pseudo-apex powers based in the Eternal Continents capital city, and it even has a slight edge over them. For some reason, the familys debauched Third Successor has taken a liking to my little sister. Moreover, I dont know how, but the chairman somehow got persuaded into agreeing with the marriage. Many Elders and executives in our family stand on the chairmans side. If I want to stop this marriage from happening, I must have sufficient strength in the Eternal Realm to negotiate with the chairman. I can get you 300,000 in a week, but what will you use as collateral, Miss Billow? Shi Feng asked after pondering for a moment. Three hundred thousand Eternal Gold is not a small sum. It is a significant fortune to any pseudo-apex power. It is especially so now that everyone is frantically buying up real estate. For most powers currently operating in the Eternal Realm, accumulating 300,000 Eternal Gold in a week should be nigh impossible. However, it wasnt out of the question for Zero Wing. With Zero Wings ownership of the Secret Crystal Trading Firm and Shi Fengs Divine Engraver Legacy, accumulating 300,000 Eternal Gold in a week should be doable. Only, if Shi Feng were to agree to help Billowing Water, he would stifle Zero Wings development. After all, Zero Wing currently already possessed land in a second-tier mobile city. So long as Zero Wing had enough capital and resources, it could expand its influence and recruit experts in the Eternal Realm on a large scale. As you know, the Blaze Conglomerate had fortunately come across a City Building Order previously, Guild Leader Black Flame. Billowing Water was unfazed when she heard Shi Feng bringing up the topic of collateral. Calmly, she said, But aside from the conglomerates City Building Order, I also have one myself. You also have one? Shi Feng was shocked. City Building Orders were exceedingly rare in the Eternal Realm. As far as he was aware, only Level 160-plus World Bosses dropped them at a low probability. The Blaze Conglomerate should already be thanking its lucky stars for being able to obtain one. If it became known that the Blaze Conglomerate had two City Building Orders in its possession, every power in the Eternal Realm would immediately try to erase its existence. I was lucky enough to steal it from the Holy Race. I was originally planning to secretly construct a Guild City once I have accumulated enough funds, but I cant afford that anymore, Billowing Water explained. Im sure you know how valuable a City Building Order is, Guild Leader Black Flame. If I use it as collateral, you will stand to profit regardless of whether I can repay you. Shi Feng nodded in agreement. Then, he asked, May I ask that you prove your possession of the City Building Order, Miss Billow? City Building Orders were easily worth a million Eternal Gold in the current Eternal Realm. After all, there werent many Level 160-plus World Bosses in the Eternal Realm, and the drop rate for City Building Orders was less than 3%. Not to mention, in a situation where teleportation between NPC Cities was impossible, constructing a Guild City in a high-level resource map would guarantee the citys owner a highly lucrative source of income. It wouldnt take long for the owner to recoup their investments. Of course, Billowing Water answered before taking out an ancient parchment engraved with golden runes and sharing its information with Shi Feng. Feel free to verify it, Guild Leader Black Flame. It was already unbelievable for any player or power to get their hands on one City Building Order in the current Eternal Realm, let alone two. It was only normal for Shi Feng to seek verification. It is indeed a City Building Order for the Eternal Realm, Shi Feng said, nodding as he finished inspecting the parchment in Billowing Waters hands. At the same time, a trace of shock flashed in the depths of his eyes. The parchment in Billowing Waters possession was indeed a City Building Order. There were no inconsistencies with the item information, either. Only, Billowing Waters City Building Order wasnt meant for the Eternal Continent. Instead, it was meant for the Western Continent There were three types of City Building Orders in the Eternal Realm, each corresponding to one of the three continents. Among them, those engraved with purple runes corresponded to the Northern Continent, also known as the Eternal Continent, those engraved with golden runes corresponded to the Western Continent, and those engraved with blue runes corresponded to the Southern Continent. However, as the item information for all three types of City Building Orders was the same, players unaware of the differences would only learn about them when they tried to use their City Building Orders on the wrong continent. Meanwhile, for human players, the value of a City Building Order for the Western Continent wouldnt just be worth one million Eternal Gold. To establish a foothold on the Western Continent, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had gone as far as to mobilize the Golden Kingdom, a Divine Artifact, to protect Seven Luminaries Town. If the Seven Luminaries Alliance could acquire a Guild City on the Western Continent simply by spending one million Eternal Gold, it would probably die from happiness. Can we sign the contract now, Guild Leader Black Flame? Billowing Water asked anxiously. I urgently need 10,000 Eternal Gold right now. As for the remaining 290,000 Eternal Gold, I hope you can deliver a portion of it to me every day over a week. And if I cant repay you in two weeks, I will give this City Building Order to you. Do we have a deal, Guild Leader Black Flame? Chapter 3554 - Chapter 628 - Queens Fall Chapter 628 C Queens Fall No problem. If you can return to the Crystal City, you can head to Zero Wings Residence to collect 10,000 Eternal Gold today, Shi Feng said, nodding and smiling. Zero Wing will also deliver you at least 50,000 Eternal Gold every day after today, ensuring that you will receive 300,000 Eternal Gold within a week. Although Zero Wing currently only possessed about 4,000 Eternal Gold, so long as they sold some of the Guilds Combat Secret Treasures, they could accumulate 10,000 Eternal Gold in no time. Doing so wouldnt affect the Guilds operations either, as he and his team had obtained many Mana Purification Techniques and Secret Treasures while they were grinding in the Nameless City. Currently, just the Combat Secret Treasures they had numbered over 1,000 already, while their Common Secret Treasures numbered nearly 10,000. Moreover, some of these Combat and Common Secret Treasures came in sets that could be sold at a much higher price than individual pieces. Honestly, should he choose to sell all of these Secret Treasures immediately, he could probably get Billowing Water the 300,000 Eternal Gold she needed before the end of the day. However, to avoid affecting the market value of Secret Treasures, he decided it would be better to sell the Secret Treasures in batches and let the Crystal Citys inhabitants digest them slowly. Okay! Ill head over to Zero Wings Residence to sign the contract right away. Billowing Water sighed in relief when she heard Shi Fengs answer. Out of all the powers she was closely acquainted with, none could take out 300,000 Eternal Gold within a week. She had only sought out Zero Wings help as a last resort. After all, if she were to ask for help from a power she wasnt familiar with, she would risk exposing her possession of a City Building Order. The value of a City Building Order in the current Eternal Realm was enough for even pseudo-apex powers to disregard their reputation. At that time, she might not even be able to protect her City Building Order, let alone use it in a transaction. Ill have someone trustworthy contact you and make sure no third parties will learn of our transaction, Shi Feng assured while suppressing the excitement in his heart. Then, afraid that something unexpected might happen over on Billowing Waters side, after disconnecting the call, Shi Feng promptly opened a World-Breaking Gate next to him and had Hidden Soul return to the Crystal City with all of the Secret Treasures in his bag. He also had Hidden Soul conceal her identity while selling the Secret Treasures and dealing with Billowing Water. A City Building Order for the Western Continent! The current Eternal Realm was still in its infancy. Whether it was the human race or the Holy Race, neither side possessed any Tier 6 players in the Eternal Realm. In such a situation, it would be incredibly difficult for either side to take down a well-prepared Guild City. Meanwhile, once a Guild City was allowed to settle down and develop, the difficulty of destroying it would rapidly increase over time. So long as Zero Wing could get its hands on Billowing Waters City Building Order, the Guilds influence in the Eternal Realm would immediately rise to a new height. It was especially so now that many powers had already learned of the Western Continents existence. Soon, many players from the Eternal Continent would be looking to enter the Western Continent. Meanwhile, if these players wished to operate on the Western Continent long-term, they would need to have a place settlement they could operate from. Although the Seven Luminaries Alliances Seven Luminaries Town existed, Guild Towns and Guild Cities were two entirely different concepts. Apart from providing players a place to rest, a Guild Towns private houses offered no other functions. In comparison, a Guild Citys private houses allowed players to bind with the houses teleportation array and, so long as they werent attempting cross-realm teleportation, teleport back to their houses directly. By doing so, they would also get to avoid paying the citys entrance fee. They could even use this teleportation feature to teleport out of certain maps that prohibited teleportation. Meanwhile, in the Eternal Realm where NPC Cities did not possess teleportation arrays, the teleportation feature of private houses was invaluable. It was especially so for humans operating on the Western Continent, as human players would be forcibly teleported back to the Eternal Continent when they died on the Western Continent. If these players wanted to return to the Western Continent, they would have to pay a teleportation fee of 150 Eternal Gold. Such a price was unbearable even for the executives of pseudo-apex powers, let alone other players. However, if players owned a private house in a Guild City located on the Western Continent, they could teleport from the Eternal Continent to their house on the Western Continent, saving them the exorbitant intercontinental teleportation fee. Hence, if given the opportunity, many players would be more than willing to pay a significant upfront fee to buy or rent a private house on the Western Continent. So long as Zero Wing could construct a Guild City on the Western Continent, it could make a fortune simply by collecting rent on the citys private houses, and its income would absolutely exceed the various NPC Cities. In the future, the citys revenue might even match the total income of a fully developed pseudo-apex power in the Eternal Realm. Meanwhile, after Hidden Soul left, Shi Feng continued grinding down the Gorgon Queens HP with everyone. Even though the Gorgon Queen was heavily injured, it was still a challenge to deplete its massive HP pool of four trillion. Fortunately, Azure Shadow and the other Night Watch battle group members were Tier 6 players who had learned the Bronze Mana Purification Technique. In addition, they had also consumed an Eternal God Crystal, so whether it was their combat standard or mastery over their Skills and Spells, both were rapidly improving throughout the battle. This, in turn, increased the damage they dealt to the Gorgon Queen. Azure Shadows improvements were especially apparent. After attacking the heavily injured Gorgon Queen for half an hour, he successfully stepped into the Extrasensory Realm and became a bona fide fifth-floor expert. As a result, his damage output experienced a qualitative transformation. Furthermore, roughly ten minutes later, Gentle Snow, Wordless Ember, and Sleeping Quicksand had similarly reached the Extrasensory Realm one after another. Now, even in the Eternal Realm, they could be considered experts standing at the apex. Everyone, increase your damage output! We only have five more minutes before the Gorgon Queen recovers! Shi Feng said when he saw that the Gorgon Queen still had 14% of her HP remaining. Although he could still heavily injure the Gorgon Queen by summoning Kalishas phantom again, every summon he wasted would increase the risks he had to face when the Evil Demons Shadows came for him later. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not wish to summon Kalishas phantom for a second time. Holy Manas Shadow! World of Frost! Suddenly, Shi Fengs frame increased to twenty meters, and the aura he radiated skyrocketed in intensity. Then, he executed Swords Orbit with the twenty-one frost swords he summoned and bombarded the Gorgon Queen with attacks comparable to Azure Shadows. The participation of the twenty-one frost swords was akin to a sudden addition of twenty-one Tier 6 experts to the battlefield. Immediately, the Gorgon Queens HP started to decrease at a much greater rate. 14 10 5 When the Gorgon Queens HP fell to 1%, the Gorgon Queen fully recovered from her heavily injured state. As if having expected this, the Gorgon Queen promptly launched countless mental blades at her surroundings, instantly annihilating every Tier 5 player except for Shi Feng. Immediately afterward, the Gorgon Queen silent-cast a Chaos Spear and used it to obliterate Growling Potato. Die! When Shi Feng saw the Gorgon Queen eliminating one of their Tier 6 tanks, he gritted his teeth and executed Dark Moon using a combination of three frost swords. Then, relying on the Eternal God Crystals Concentration boost, he consecutively executed the Goddess-ranked Mana Technique three times. -37,067,064,246! -36,198,718,458! -36,815,715,419! Three damage values exceeding even the highest damage caused by the Tier 6 War Goddess appeared above the Gorgon Queens head, instantly depleting the Primordial Godkins remaining HP. Chapter 3555 - Chapter 629 - Fragmented Divine Artifact Chaos Windblade Chapter 629 C Fragmented Divine Artifact Chaos Windblade When the Gorgon Queen died, Eternal Energy began to condense in the desolate battlefield, and the density of Eternal Energy within a several thousand-yard radius began to rise rapidly. We won! We won!!! A Level 180, Tier 6 Primordial Godkin! I cant believe we defeated such a legendary World Boss! Instructor Black Flames last three strikes were amazing! They could already compete with the Bosss Chaos Spear! Azure Shadow and the other surviving Night Watch battle group members collapsed in exhaustion when the raid ended, their HP bars nearly depleted. Even so, they wore ecstatic expressions on their faces. Normally, it would take at least a 100-man team of Tier 6 experts to even have a chance at successfully raiding a Tier 6 Primordial Godkin. Not to mention, the Primordial Godkin in question was even a Gorgon Queen, a creature who shared the same race as one of the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboo Bosses[1]. Yet, now, with just a team of thirty or so players and more than half of those players being at Tier 5 only, they had successfully raided a Tier 6 Primordial Godkin. Their success could absolutely be considered a miracle. If they were to publicize this battle record, it would shake the entire Greater Gods Domain. Of course, Azure Shadow and the others also understood that their success was mainly attributed to the Ancient God summoned by Shi Feng. If not for the Ancient God heavily injuring the Gorgon Queen, they stood no chance against the Primordial Godkin. This point could be seen from how they fared against the Gorgon Queen the instant she recovered from her injuries. With just one move, the Gorgon Queen had obliterated half of their team. Even the surviving Tier 6 players had suffered a heavy mental blow, their mental states becoming incredibly lethargic. If they werent actively keeping themselves awake right now, they would have promptly lost consciousness and been forcibly logged out of the game. Meanwhile, following the Gorgon Queens death, a purple-gold glow enveloped every surviving member of the team. The EXP the Tier 6 Primordial Godkin awarded was so abundant that everyone leveled up at least four times. As for Shi Feng, the person who dealt the killing blow, his level shot to 177, instantly catching up to Azure Shadow and the others. Thank goodness I gambled correctly. Shi Feng sighed deeply in relief as he looked at the Gorgon Queens corpse. If not for the Eternal God Crystal increasing his Concentration to the Tier 6 Peak standard, he could have never executed Dark Moon three times consecutively. Even so, after using Dark Moon three times in quick succession, his mental state had become incredibly frail, and his bodys movements felt incredibly heavy. He would probably fall asleep on the spot if he dropped his guard for even a moment. At the same time as Shi Feng sighed in relief, several items overflowing with Eternal Energy formed in the underground plaza. The items numbered only six, which was a very low number for a Tier 6 World Boss. However, shock instantly filled everyones eyes when they saw the six items. Even Shi Feng was not an exception. Are you kidding me?! What dense Eternal Energy! Not even the Fragmented Divine Artifacts Ive seen can hold a candle to these items! Could there be an intact Divine Artifact among these items? The Eternal Energy theyre radiating is nearly at a liquid state. Even if there isnt an intact Divine Artifact, there should still be multiple Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Multiple Fragmented Divine Artifacts!! The last I recall, even when the various pseudo-apex powers manage to kill Tier 6 Gods, the most theyll get is one Fragmented Divine Artifact! If those pseudo-apex powers learn of this, theyll probably die from envy! Astonishment and admiration filled Azure Shadow and the others as they looked at the six glowing items floating before them. Although they didnt know what exactly the six items were, it was easy to tell these items were extraordinary going by the Eternal Energy gathered around them. It wouldnt be strange if half of these items were Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Be it weapons or equipment, the various powers would regard every Fragmented Divine Artifact as one of their most prized possessions. They were incredibly rare, and many upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates wouldnt even necessarily own one. However, so long as an upper-ranking hegemonic power possessed a Fragmented Divine Artifact, they would immediately be ranked among the top of upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Or more specifically, owning a Fragmented Divine Artifact was a criterion for being ranked as such, which was a testament to the rarity and might of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Is this because of the exploration bonus? Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he finished collecting the six items. He had killed many Tier 6 Gods in his previous life, some of which were even above Level 200. Meanwhile, it should be known that there was a qualitative difference between monsters that had reached Level 200 and monsters below Level 200. Firstly, once monsters reached Level 200, regardless of their tier, they could form a miniature world within them. Meanwhile, the formation of this miniature world would provide monsters with a qualitative improvement in Physique, Mana, and physical toughness. Secondly, once monsters reached Level 200, their Magic Resistance would no longer be zero. Instead, all monsters at Level 200 and above would have a certain degree of Magic Resistance, which would increase their resistance toward players Skills and Spells. Because of these two factors, Level 200 was a huge turning point for monsters in the Greater Gods Domain. Of course, Level 200 was also a huge turning point for players. Upon reaching Level 200, players would no longer gain EXP from monsters below Level 200. They must kill Level 200 monsters or above if they wished to continue leveling up. Meanwhile, the minimum tier for monsters at Level 200 or beyond was Tier 5. Moreover, after reaching Level 200, the amount of EXP players needed to level up would skyrocket. Players fighting in teams would also no longer evenly share the EXP they earned from monsters. Instead, EXP would be distributed based on individual contributions. These factors made it much more difficult for ordinary players to level up after reaching Level 200. As a result, many players lacking strength would find themselves hovering at Level 200 for the rest of their careers in Gods Domain. Anyway, due to the significant changes monsters would undergo at Level 200, the loot they dropped would also become significantly better. Yet, despite being a Level 180 monster, the Gorgon Queens loot was superior to even the loot of Level 200-plus, Tier 6 Gods. Contrary to what Azure Shadow and the others surmised, only one of the six items was a Fragmented Divine Artifact. Even so, in terms of overall value, the Gorgon Queens loot vastly exceeded the estimates of Azure Shadow and the others. [Chaos Windblade] (Greatsword, Fragmented Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Strength 12,000, Level 160 Attack Power (1,600% of Strength) Attack Speed (4% of Strength and Agility) All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) Ignore Levels +80; Attacks ignore 80% of all Defense and Magic Resistance effects; Attacks have a 20% chance to trigger the Chaos Devour effect, devouring the targets energy for the users own use; Attacks have a 70% chance to increase by two ranks and cause 400% damage(the effect is halved against Tier 6 creatures). When equipped: Increases all Basic Attributes by 400%; Increases Physique by 220%; Increases reaction speed by 150%; Improves all attacks by one tier(up to Tier 6 Peak); Increases Mana Strength by one rank; Increases mental reaction by 30%. Additional Passive Skill- Heart of Chaos: Weakens enemies resistance to all forms of energy by 50% and improves perception by one rank. Additional Profound Skill 1- Chaos World: Have the Chaos World descend upon the user and cover a 3,000-yard radius. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 1 natural day Additional Profound Skill 2- Chaos Incarnation: Endows the user with the power of chaos, turning them into a Chaos Controller. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 7 natural days Forged by the Primordial Chaos. The Chaos Windblades core is currently damaged, and it needs to absorb nine World Hearts and one Chaos Core to fully recover. Shi Feng was rendered speechless as he looked at the Chaos Windblade. In reality, this wasnt the first time he had heard of the Chaos Windblades name. This was because it was one of the more famous Fragmented Divine Weapons in the Holy Race players possession in his previous life. It was even ranked 23rd on the Seven Luminaries Alliances Cross-World Fragmented Divine Artifact Ranking List. He never thought the weapon would end up in his hands in this life. However, compared to the Chaos Windblade, what caught Shi Fengs attention even more was the fist-sized void fragment in his hand. When he looked at this fragment, his heart palpitated uncontrollably. A Medium World Fragment! TL Notes: [1]Taboo Bosses: This is a new term introduced by the author. I guess the author finally realized how many things Taboo is referencing and decided to add further specifications. [2]Level 200 was also a huge turning point for players: I translated this section as is, and I dont know if the turning point for players includes the internal miniature world that monsters get when reaching Level 200. The author also never specifically mentioned it and simply wrote that Level 200 was similarly a turning point for players. However, personally, seeing as weaker players could have their progression permanently halted at Level 200, Im of the opinion that players dont get such a benefit, and the Level 200 turning point is mostly negative for players. Chapter 3556 - Chapter 630 - Medium World Fragment Chapter 630 C Medium World Fragment How is the Bosss loot, Guild Leader? I see that Azure Shadow and the others look very excited. Did a Fragmented Divine Artifact drop? A Fragmented Divine Artifact?! Really?! Doesnt that mean weve struck gold?! I heard that some upper-ranking hegemonic powers still dont have any Fragmented Divine Artifacts, even after killing multiple Tier 6 Gods! If our Guild owns one, becoming a top-tier upper-ranking hegemonic power will no longer be a dream! While Shi Feng was appraising the Gorgon Queens loot, Zero Wings members quickly directed their curiosity toward the Gorgon Queens loot after being resurrected. The Gorgon Queen was undoubtedly the strongest Boss they had encountered since entering the Eternal Realm. And seeing how abundant the Eternal Realms resources were, it went without saying that the Primordial Godkins loot would be incredible. If Zero Wing could obtain one or two Fragmented Divine Artifacts, it would have a much easier time developing in the future. After all, for many expert players, the raiding capability of a powers main force was one of their main considerations when joining a power. Meanwhile, a Fragmented Divine Artifact could undoubtedly improve a main forces raiding capabilities by a large margin. Currently, the Eternal Realms various powers were utilizing their respective capital to recruit a large number of experts. By now, the various powers had already spread their roots in the Eternal Realms various NPC Cities, and many had even captured fortresses already. One could say that the various powers strength was increasing by the day. Although Zero Wing had also recruited many experts thanks to the Secret Crystal Trading Firms benefits, the trading firm had limited membership slots. As a result, it could only help Zero Wing recruit a very limited number of experts. When recruiting experts, Zero Wing was still far behind even the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates, let alone the various pseudo-apex powers. If Zero Wing wished to attract more experts, it would have to rely on its main force to raid more Bosses. Otherwise, it would only be a matter of time before Zero Wings status in the Crystal City of Secrets plummeted to that of an ordinary power. Have a look at them yourselves. Seeing everyones eager looks, Shi Feng didnt try to hide too much and showed them five of the dropped items, excluding only the Medium World Fragment. Apart from the Medium World Fragment and Chaos Windblade, the Gorgon Queen also dropped one Rejuvenation Potion Recipe, one Secret-Silver Flying Ship Design, one Tier 6 Magic Scroll, and one Fantasy-rank Secret Treasure. Among them, the Rejuvenation Potion Recipe was a Grandmaster Alchemist Recipe. Isnt this Chaos Windblade a little ridiculous?! It has an equipment requirement of 12,000 Strength! Even Tier 6 players will have trouble meeting such a requirement! Crap! A Secret-Silver Flying Ship Design! If we can mass-produce this thing, we can properly rule the fields of the Eternal Realm! A Fantasy-rank Secret Treasure! So, this is a Fantasy Secret Treasure?! Gentle Snow and the others couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they finished studying the five items. Setting aside the astonishingly powerful Chaos Windblade, just the Secret-Silver Flying Ship Design, Rejuvenation Potion Recipe, and Fantasy-rank Secret Treasure were more than enough to elevate Zero Wings status to that of an overlord in the Eternal Realm in the future. [Rejuvenation Potion Recipe] (Grandmaster Alchemist Recipe) When the Rejuvenation Potion is consumed, the user will be automatically resurrected once should they die in the next 12 hours. Death penalty will be halved. Players can only use the Rejuvenation Potion once every 24 hours. [Wind Dragon Secret Treasure] (Tier 1 Secret Treasure, Fantasy) Attaches to leather leg guards. Once attached, it can increase the wearers Mana Protection by 30% and the attached equipments Basic Attributes by 25%. Additional Talent- Divine Speed: Increases the wearers Movement Speed by 40% and reaction speed based on the wearers Agility. [Silverwing Flying Ship Design] Can be used to construct a Secret-Silver Flying Ship with a maximum capacity of 500 people, Tier 5 Advanced armor, and Tier 5 Peak combat power. Flight speed rivals Tier 5 Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mounts. The Silverwing Flying Ship carries: 30 Special Magic Elven Cannons, each possessing power at the entry-level Tier 6 standard; 10 Floating Destroyer Cannons that can be used offensively and defensively. Each possesses power at the entry-level Tier 6 standard; 2 Void Magic Cannons(main cannon), each possessing power at the Tier 6 Basic standard. In the current Eternal Realm, where the majority of players could only rely on their own two feet and the various NPC Cities airports for travel, it would be a tremendous boon for a power to come into possession of a Flying Ship. After all, compared to Flying Mounts, Flying Ships had superior combat capabilities and carrying capacity. A Flying Ship would provide a qualitative improvement to any powers exploration of the Eternal Realm. As for the Wind Dragon Secret Treasure, any player who equipped it would immediately see a significant rise in their combat power. The improvement might even be enough to let fourth-floor experts fight evenly against fifth-floor experts. And if a fifth-floor expert were to equip the Wind Dragon Secret Treasure, they might even be able to match experts who had mastered Gold Combat Techniques. If Zero Wing could gain such an expert, the overall strength of its main force would be elevated to the next level. Alright, lets quickly loot the treasury! The Holy Race players are probably on their way already! Shi Feng did not find everyones excited and shocked reactions strange. After all, the five items he shared with them were indeed astonishing. However, compared to the Medium World Fragment he had kept hidden, these five items were of little significance. When he first visited the Eternal Realm, he felt that he would be incredibly fortunate if he could get his hands on even a Small World Fragment. After all, in addition to being unique to the Western Continent, World Fragments were also incredibly rare and hard to obtain. However, he never imagined the Gorgon Queen would drop a Medium World Fragment. It should be known that a Small World Fragment was already precious enough for any power to regard it as one of their most prized possessions. After all, at the cost of just one God Crystal, a Small World Fragment could let up to 10 players experience the operating principles of various Basic World Laws with great clarity for 12 hours. Moreover, if players used the Small World Fragments ability when they were constructing their Divine Body, the ability could artificially increase their Divine Bodys strength by 5%. In comparison, the Medium World Fragment in his possession could let up to 20 players experience the operating principles of both Basic and Advanced World Laws with great clarity for 24 hours. When the Medium World Fragments ability was used during a Divine Bodys construction, it could also increase the Divine Bodys strength by 10%. There was a massive difference in the Law Projections of players who had mastered only Basic Laws and players who had mastered Advanced Laws. Simply the suppression an Advanced Law Projection had on a Basic Law Projection was enough to weaken a Tier 6 player by a significant margin. Not to mention, World Fragments could also artificially raise a Divine Bodys strength during construction, thereby increasing players success rate at completing their Tier 6 promotion. Due to the Medium World Fragments astonishing effects, even though Shi Feng trusted the Zero Wing members present, he still felt it necessary to keep it a secret. Otherwise, if the Medium World Fragments effects were to get exposed, it would bring about a catastrophe for Zero Wing. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng finished speaking, he promptly entered the treasury that the Gorgon Queen previously guarded. TL Notes: [1]Additional Talent: I think the author forgot that Secret Treasures at the Extraordinary rank and above should come with Special Abilities(Chapter 568), which were supposed to be similar to Talents. I guess were going with Talent now. I dont know how Im supposed to fix this mix-up for Chapter 568, so Ill leave it as such. Otherwise, Im going to end up with sentences such as, But now, it became possible to obtain Special AbilitiesTalent, which were closely similar to Talents, through an Extraordinary Secret Treasure. Chapter 3557 - Chapter 631 - Kings Treasury Chapter 631 C Kings Treasury Following the Gorgon Queens death, the Nameless Citys treasury became completely undefended, so Shi Feng and the others could freely enter it. Is this really a citys treasury? When everyone stepped past the entrance, they were immediately shocked by the dense Eternal Energy and mountains of treasures that filled the treasury. Even Azure Shadow and the other Night Watch battle group members, with their wealth of experience in the Greater Gods Domain, couldnt help but be taken aback. Players capturing monster-infested cities was common in the Greater Gods Domain. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that it happened daily. Meanwhile, once players captured a monster-infested city, they would naturally get their hands on its treasury. Because of this, information on city treasuries was readily available. It was especially so among the various powers. Normally, players could expect to find a large sum of currency, weapons, equipment, and rare materials in a city treasury. On average, the items found in a city treasury would be enough to supplement the needs of 10,000 players. This was why many powers in Gods Domain actively sought to raid monster cities. However, the Nameless Citys treasury completely shattered the understanding Azure Shadow and the others had regarding city treasuries. The average city treasury would only be the size of a football field. However, the Nameless Citys treasury was comparable to a sports stadium that could accommodate 100,000 people. Moreover, unlike the materials stored in the average city treasury, which were mainly at the Epic rank, the Nameless Citys treasurys materials were mainly at the Legendary rank, with some even at the Inferior Divine Artifact rank. There was easily a tenfold difference in value. Dont just stand there and do nothing. We need to move these treasures away before the Holy Race players arrive, Shi Feng commanded when he saw that his teammates were dazed by the treasurys treasures. Their fight with the Gorgon Queen had created a huge commotion. Although the fight didnt last very long, the Holy Race players on the surface should have noticed it already. The Holy Race players might be apprehensive about inspecting the situation underground while the fight was ongoing, but that would no longer be the case once the fight ended and the commotion ceased. There could only be two reasons why such a huge commotion would suddenly stop: the team raiding the Gorgon Queen had suffered annihilation, or the Gorgon Queen had been defeated. Regardless of the actual situation, the Holy Race players would send scouts to check in on the situation. After all, should the Gorgon Queen be killed, it would mean free access to unimaginable riches. There was no way the various Holy Race powers would let such an opportunity slip by. Currently, due to the battle with the Gorgon Queen, the overall combat power of their team had hit rock bottom. In Shi Fengs case, it was already taking his all to move his body normally. There was no way he could fight in such a state. So, they could only try to empty out the Nameless Citys treasury before the Holy Race players arrived. Meanwhile, upon hearing Shi Fengs command, everyone snapped out of their dazes and hurriedly started to store the treasurys items in their bag space, none daring to dawdle for even a moment. On the Nameless Citys surface The commotion underground disappeared? The Gorgon Queen is definitely behind the commotion. The fight should have ended now that it gone quiet underground. Immediately have those nearby the underground entrance check on the underground plaza. Just like Shi Feng surmised, the Holy Race players on the surface had noticed the commotion happening underground. Meanwhile, as soon as the commotion ended, the various Holy Race powers exploring the Nameless Citys core region promptly sent scouts to check on the underground plaza. Nameless City, City Lords Mansion: A legion consisting of tens of thousands of Holy Race experts was methodically eliminating the Regional Bosses in the Nameless Citys City Lords Mansion. Shortly after the Holy Races various powers had dispatched their scouts to inspect the underground plaza, the young woman commanding the legion retreated from the frontlines and approached a young man at the rear. The battle underground seems to have concluded, Lord Royal Thunder. The various powers have already sent scouts to investigate. Should we send someone as well? Extreme Feather asked the young man before her respectfully. The current Extreme Feather was completely different from when Shi Feng last encountered her in the underground plaza. Her Life Rating had already risen to match that of Gods, completely transcending the average Holy Race player. That Gorgon Queen isnt an easy opponent. Even that existence will need some preparation to deal with her, Royal Thunder said with a pondering look. Then, with squinted eyes, he continued, Although the chances are slim, we cannot afford to lose the treasury guarded by that Gorgon Queen. Immediately have the Third and Fourth Legions hurry over there. Understood! Extreme Feather immediately nodded and left to carry out Royal Thunders command. Underground plaza, Nameless Citys treasury: While many Holy Race players were quickly making their way to the treasury, Gentle Snow and the others were frantically collecting all of the treasures they could get their hands on. They also couldnt help but wish they could grow a few extra pairs of hands. However, even after Gentle Snow and the others had looted for several minutes straight, the number of items in the treasury had barely reduced. Seeing this, Gentle Snow and the others didnt know whether they should feel happy or sad. My six Epic Bags are nearly full already, Guild Leader, Gentle Snow hurriedly told Shi Feng while looting. But I dont think weve looted even 20% of the treasury yet Im nearly full as well, Instructor Black Flame, Azure Shadow said in frustration. This was definitely the most exasperating situation he had encountered since he started playing Gods Domain. In the past, he had always felt that the monsters in Gods Domain dropped too few treasures and could never fill the Epic Bags he prepared. But now, there were so many treasures before him that he couldnt even fit everything into the six Epic Bags in his possession Just carry whatever you can, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anxious look on Gentle Snow and Azure Shadow. It was never possible to clear out the treasury with so few of us here. What matters is we grab the most important items. There were so many items in the treasury that it would take at least several hundred players worth of bag space to clear out completely in one trip. So, for their team of just 30-plus players, it was never possible for them to take everything. The only thing they could do was take the most valuable items. It was why Shi Feng had previously told Gentle Snow and the others to prioritize items radiating dense Eternal Energy. Many of these items were Inferior Divine Artifact-rank materials such as the Divine Water of Life and Soul Essence. These materials were far more valuable than the average Legendary-rank material. As for Shi Feng himself, he prioritized collecting the treasures placed in the middle of the treasury. These central items were far more precious than the materials scattered throughout the treasury. Some examples include Secret Treasures, Mana Purification Techniques, and large quantities of Seven Luminaries Crystals and Eternal God Crystals. Moreover, the Secret Treasures and Mana Purification Techniques stored in the treasury were extraordinary. In the case of Secret Treasures, all of them came in sets and were at the Combat rank or above. He even saw several Extraordinary Secret Treasure Sets. In the current market, these Extraordinary Secret Treasure Sets were easily worth more than a Fragmented Divine Artifact. If a titled expert were to equip the set, they could immediately match Golden Masters in combat. Fortunately, with his Fragmented Legendary Spatial Bag, Shi Feng had no trouble collecting all of the loot in the middle of the treasury. Meanwhile, he should have collected about twenty Extraordinary Secret Treasure Sets based on his rough estimates. This was an amount that could frighten the Eternal Realms various powers. I detect many Holy Race players approaching us, Instructor Black Flame, Azure Shadow hurriedly reported when he sensed the presence of Holy Race players with his Tier 6 Skill Sky Eye. Theyll reach the treasury in about twenty seconds. There are more than a thousand of them, and their numbers are quickly increasing. Its time we take our leave, then. Everyone, leave this place using a Random Teleportation Scroll and log off to rest, Shi Feng said as he took out a Tier 4 Random Teleportation Scroll. Hearing this, everyone couldnt help but look at the remaining treasures reluctantly. However, they also understood they lacked the strength to defend the treasury, so they quickly activated their respective Tier 4 Random Teleportation Scrolls. Meanwhile, less than ten seconds after Shi Feng and the others left, a large group of Holy Race players arrived at the underground plaza, and they were immediately dumbfounded when they saw the Gorgon Queens corpse. TL Notes: [1]Kings Treasury: I dont know why this chapter is titled Kings Treasury(֮). Chapter 3558 - Chapter 632 - Advanced Guild Residence Chapter 632 C Advanced Guild Residence The Gorgon Queens dead! Shes dead? How?! This is a Tier 6 Primordial Godkin we are talking about! What kind of power could possess the strength to raid her?! The Holy Race players who arrived at the underground plaza gasped in disbelief when they saw the corpse in the middle of the plaza. They couldnt believe that the terrifying Gorgon Queen had fallen. Quick! Inform the commander! The treasury! The city treasury is open! Charge! Theres no way they could have emptied the treasury in such a short time! After recovering from their shock, the Holy Race players promptly contacted their superiors before rushing into the treasury. Dammit! Were we too late? Extreme Feather revealed an ugly expression as she gazed at the empty area in the middle of the treasury. While mountains of treasures still filled the Nameless Citys treasury, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that the treasurys most precious items had already been taken. What remained probably didnt amount to even one-tenth of the value of the taken items. What should we do now, Commander Feather? Its likely that item has already been taken an elderly man radiating an aura rivaling Tier 6 Gods asked as he looked at Extreme Feather. How are we supposed to explain ourselves to that person? Though its troublesome, we can only inform that person of the situation, Extreme Feather said. Then, revealing a rare sneer, she continued, That item is something that person is determined to obtain. With that persons power, finding whoever took that item wont take long. At that time, well see how those people resist that existence! Inform everyone to secure the remaining treasures. Do not spare anyone who dares to compete against us! All of the treasures here are ours! Subsequently, a brutal struggle erupted within the Nameless Citys treasury. It was the fiercest battle between the Holy Races various powers on the Western Continent to date. The battle would go on to last more than ten days and see over a hundred Holy Race powers getting involved. By the end of the battle, over a million Holy Race players would have died, and several Holy Race powers would be thoroughly eliminated from the Eternal Realm. As for the treasurys wealth, several major powers would end up dividing it among themselves. While the Holy Races various powers were fighting over the Nameless Citys treasury, Shi Feng and the others had logged out of Gods Domain after finding a safe location in the Nameless City. After resting three hours in the real world, Shi Feng had Gentle Snow and the other Zero Wing members log back into the game before transporting everyone back to the Crystal City of Secrets with a World-Breaking Gate. Following this, Shi Feng logged out of the game to rest for an entire day before teleporting Azure Shadow and the other Night Watch Battle Group members back to the Crystal City as well. Eternal Continent, Crystal City of Secrets: When the morning sun covered the land with its rays, the players in Zero Wings Residence started a new day of activities. So, this is Zero Wing? Looking out the window of the room, Azure Shadow and the other Night Watch battle group members couldnt help but be astonished by the strength of the Zero Wing members walking around in Zero Wings Residence. Although there were no more than a thousand Zero Wing members in the Residence, it was possible to see quite many fifth-floor experts mixed among them. It should be known that fifth-floor experts were rare, even in conglomerates and pseudo-apex powers. They were individuals who could be tasked to spearhead the defense of strategic locations. In upper-ranking hegemonic powers, fifth-floor experts would be automatically assigned an Elder position, and there wouldnt be more than several dozen of them in the entire organization. Yet, just in Zero Wings Residence alone, Azure Shadow and the others had already counted over 50 fifth-floor experts. This was already more than what some upper-ranking hegemonic powers had, and they couldnt help but have difficulty believing that Zero Wing was only established not long ago. All of you have performed excellently this time. Based on your contributions, each of you will receive a copy of the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique. With it, I trust that you will have no problems with the Night Watch Legions ace battle group test, Shi Feng said, smiling as he observed the stunned look on Azure Shadow and the others. Since there is still some time until the test, feel free to use the Guild Halls combat rooms to spar with Zero Wings members. It should give you a lot of inspiration. Can we invite the Guilds fifth-floor experts for a spar, Instructor Black Flame? Azure Shadow asked tentatively. Currently, some of their group had already reached the fifth-floor standard, while the rest were very close to reaching it. If they could spar with a large number of fifth-floor experts, it would definitely help them improve significantly. However, fifth-floor experts were incredibly rare existences in any Realm, and so was the opportunity to spar with them. Moreover, fifth-floor experts were usually very busy. So, they wouldnt usually waste their time sparring with others unless they stood to gain something. But after seeing so many fifth-floor experts gathered in one place, Azure Shadow and the others were reluctant to give up on the opportunity to spar with these experts so easily. Naturally, Shi Feng answered, chuckling. I can prepare a combat room for each of you. I believe many fifth-floor experts will be interested in sparring with you all when the time comes. I only hope that you dont find it too much trouble. Fifth-floor experts were indeed rare outside the Eternal Realm, but they were rather common in the Eternal Realms Crystal City of Secrets. Rather than fifth-floor experts, what was rarer were Tier 6 experts like Azure Shadow and the others. Currently, there was not a single Tier 6 player in the Crystal City outside of Azure Shadows group. Not to mention, Azure Shadow and the others had extraordinary mana. In the face of a Tier 6 Gods mana, if players did not have a sufficiently strong grasp over World Laws and precision control over mana, even releasing their mana out of their body would be a challenge. If players could fight in the presence of a Tier 6 Gods mana for a long period, it would absolutely help them to improve in these two aspects, which would, in turn, help them with their Tier 6 promotion. Hence, for Zero Wings fifth-floor experts, the opportunity to spar against Azure Shadows group was definitely a fortuitous one. It was especially so since they had already met the level requirement to challenge their Tier 6 promotion. Thank you, Instructor Black Flame! We wont disappoint you! When Azure Shadow and the others heard Shi Fengs reply, excited looks appeared on their faces. At the same time, their worship of him increased even further. Due to the high status fifth-floor experts enjoyed in the Greater Gods Domain, even upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates would have trouble getting their fifth-floor experts to execute a command. It was especially so if the command involved a thankless task such as being a sparring partner. Subsequently, after receiving their copy of the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique, Azure Shadow and the others promptly left the room to deposit their loot into Zero Wings warehouse. Then, they began wholeheartedly studying the Purification Technique in preparation for Shi Fengs sparring arrangement. As for Shi Feng, he paid a visit to the core room of Zero Wings Residence after scanning through the loot he obtained from the Nameless Citys treasury. The Nameless Citys treasury truly is something. I didnt think it would even have an Advanced Guild Promotion Order. With this, I wont have to worry about recruiting experts anymore, Shi Feng thought as he pulled out an ancient scroll from his bag space. System: Advanced Guild Promotion Order detected. Do you wish to upgrade your existing Guild Residence into an Advanced Guild Residence? Upgrade it! Shi Feng decided without hesitation. Chapter 3559 - Chapter 633 - Zero Wings Warehouse Chapter 633 C Zero Wings Warehouse System: Guild Residence will finish upgrading in 30 minutes. System: Do you wish to spend 10,000 Eternal Gold Coins to upgrade the existing Guild Hall into an Advanced Guild Hall? Upgrade the Guild Hall! Shi Feng promptly chose to upgrade the Guild Hall as well. Shi Feng had previously had Hidden Soul return to the Crystal City in advance and secretly sell the Secret Treasures they obtained in small batches. Meanwhile, the popularity of the Secret Treasures far exceeded his expectations. Zero Wing had earned a whopping 100,000 Eternal Gold in just one day, and it only came at the cost of a quarter of their Secret Treasure stockpile. If they sold all of the Secret Treasures they obtained, they could expect to earn about 400,000 Eternal Gold. After deducting the 60,000 Eternal Gold given to Billowing Water, Zero Wing still possessed a little more than 45,000 Eternal Gold. So, an expenditure of 10,000 Eternal Gold wasnt anything significant for the current Zero Wing. Not to mention, the value of an Advanced Guild Hall in the Eternal Realm easily exceeded 10,000 Eternal Gold. It was also one of the most valuable privileges afforded to an Advanced Guild Residence. Basic Guild Halls had many private rooms where Guild members could spend some Guild Contribution Points to rest in. Not only could these private rooms help players recover their Stamina and Concentration at an accelerated rate, but they could also help in the removal of foreign energies, such as Holy Power. Meanwhile, Advanced Guild Halls took things a step further. Not only did Advanced Guild Halls have advanced private rooms, the enhanced version of the standard private room, but they also had guild quarters that offered long-term stays for Guild members. Although guild quarters were more limited in number, going by the size of Zero Wings Residence, its Advanced Guild Hall should have at least 1,000 guild quarters. These guild quarters were akin to a Guild Citys private houses. They could be equipped with teleportation arrays that players could teleport to. The only difference between the teleportation feature of a Guild Halls guild quarters and a Guild Citys houses was that the former had a 36-hour cooldown, while the latter only had a 24-hour cooldown. Even so, the teleportation feature of guild quarters was invaluable in the Eternal Realm. With it, Guild members could save their time on making return trips and start to explore more distant locations. Their leveling and resource acquisition efficiencies would be nearly double that of players who couldnt directly teleport back to a city. After initiating the Guild Residence and Guild Halls upgrade, Shi Feng hurried to deposit his loot into the warehouse. They had acquired many treasures from the Nameless Citys treasury. Just the items in Gentle Snows and Azure Shadows bags numbered over 200,000. Among them were over 30,000 bottles of Divine Water of Life, over 10,000 bottles of Soul Essence, and over 150,000 Legendary materials of all kinds. The value of these items was enough to cause even an apex power to lose its mind. However, compared to the items Shi Feng obtained, the value of these materials paled significantly. In fact, merely the Seven Luminaries Crystals and Eternal God Crystals he obtained were enough to surpass these materials in value. In the case of Seven Luminaries Crystals, he had obtained over 5,000 Seven Luminaries Crystal Treasure Chests, each containing close to 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. All of the treasure chests combined contributed roughly 50,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even the various apex powers wouldnt necessarily have such an amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals. As for Eternal God Crystals, he had looted over 10,000 of them. The several hundred Eternal God Crystals the Holy Race players obtained from the Nameless Citys core region looked like a pittance compared to the amount he obtained. Aside from Seven Luminaries Crystals and Eternal God Crystals, he had also obtained 1,000 Behemoth Sets, 50 Dragons Fury Sets, 3,000 copies of the Bronze Mana Purification Technique, 500 copies of the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique, and 10 copies of the Silver Mana Purification Technique. The Behemoth Set was a Combat Secret Treasure Set, while the Dragons Fury Set was an Extraordinary Secret Treasure Set. The combined value of all these items was even greater than the value of the Seven Luminaries Crystals and Eternal God Crystals he obtained. Only, compared to all these items, what attracted Shi Fengs interest the most was a pulsating golden heart. However, no matter how Shi Feng tried to investigate and research the golden heart, he was only given answers such as Unknown and Cannot be appraised by the system. Even so, every time the golden heart pulsated, it would emit a liquid-like Eternal Energy. In fact, simply letting it out in an enclosed room would quickly turn the rooms Eternal Energy into a mist-like state. Even if this item was used as nothing more than a decoration in a room, its value would easily rival complete Divine Artifacts. Are you really going to let Guild members freely exchange all these items, Guild Leader? Hidden Soul asked, feeling very shocked when she learned that Shi Feng was going to make a bunch of Combat Secret Treasure Sets and Common Mana Purification Technique copies available for exchange. Currently, although many teams had already started to obtain Combat Secret Treasures from the Underground Crystal Palace, the actual number of Combat Secret Treasures obtained was still pitiful compared to the Crystal Citys player population. Hence, Combat Secret Treasures remained an incredibly rare commodity. As for Combat Secret Treasure Sets, even pseudo-apex powers were unlikely to have more than a few sets. Yet, Shi Feng had decided to make 50 Behemoth Sets available for exchange in the Guild Warehouse. Not only did this allow all Guild members to inspect the Behemoth Set, but internal members could also freely exchange it with GCPs. If the Crystal Citys various powers were to learn of this, they would absolutely go crazy. Moreover, as if he wasnt satisfied with this result, Shi Feng took things a step further by making 50 copies of the Common Mana Purification Technique available for exchange. Currently, the Common Mana Purification Technique had only started to become popularized among the various pseudo-apex powers. As for everyone else, it remained exceedingly rare. Even the core members of upper-ranking hegemonic powers were not an exception. If it became known that Zero Wings internal members could exchange for the technique, it would absolutely cause a huge uproar. Mhm. These items might be precious, but fifth-floor experts and geniuses with great potential are more valuable, Shi Feng said, nodding. Moreover, this is only the first batch. Later on, I will make the Bronze Purification Technique and Extraordinary Secret Treasure Sets available for exchange as well. Even the Extraordinary Secret Treasure Sets? Hidden Soul couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in astonishment. It had only been a day since she had returned from the Western Continent. Previously, Zero Wing didnt even own a single Extraordinary Secret Treasure. Yet, Shi Feng was now prepared to make Extraordinary Secret Treasure Sets available for exchange to internal members. This situation made her wonder what exactly she had missed by returning to the Eternal Continent ahead of everyone else. How did Zero Wing suddenly become so wealthy? By the way, Ill give this Fantasy Secret Treasure to you on loan for now. As for the GCPs needed to exchange it, you can take your time repaying it, Shi Feng said as he handed Hidden Soul the Wind Dragon Secret Treasure. Hidden Soul was one of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders, yet she was still a step away from becoming a fifth-floor expert. Now that Zero Wing already had many fifth-floor experts, if Hidden Souls strength did not improve, she would have difficulty convincing others of her leadership. However, if Hidden Soul had the Wind Dragon Secret Treasures help, she should be close to matching even Golden Masters. Subsequently, time passed, and half an hour went by in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, a pillar of light enveloped the entirety of Zero Wings Residence, and all players inside the Residence simultaneously received a system notification. System: Zero Wings Residence has been successfully upgraded into an Advanced Guild Residence. Chapter 3560 - Chapter 634 - Zero Wings Three Overlords Chapter 634 C Zero Wings Three Overlords Zero Wings Residence, Guild Hall: The Guild Halls lobby was packed with Zero Wing members waiting in line in front of the Guilds commission counter, all looking to pick up Guild Quests. So many people were waiting in line that they filled half of the lobby. If players from other Guilds could see this sight, they would most certainly be astonished. Normally, players in a Guild would be reluctant to take on Guild Quests. It was especially so in the Eternal Realm. This was due to Guild Quests requiring players to leave the confines of NPC Cities and enter the wilderness. Many Holy Race players currently roamed the Eternal Continents wilderness. If players from the two races met, a battle was bound to ensue. And because the risk of death was very high during such events, few members of the various Guilds were willing to challenge Guild Quests. However, the situation was completely different in Zero Wing. Zero Wings members happily took on Guild Quests, their behavior making it seem as if they did not care about the high risk of dying to Holy Race players. As everyone waited for their turn to select a Guild Quest, a team of twenty players walked into the lobby. The team was of modest size, but nearly half of its members were fifth-floor experts. The leading middle-aged male Berserker was even carrying a Legendary Spear and wore a Legendary Helmet, and his imposing presence was no different than that of Tier 6 players. Meanwhile, when the male Berserker and his team appeared, they immediately drew the attention of everyone in the lobby. Boss Samsara is back! Boss Samsaras aura is incredible! As expected of the man who led the annihilation of dozens of Holy Race teams! I can see why even the Holy Races various powers have started to offer bounties for his head! With how strong Boss Samsara is, I think Boss Black Flame is the only person in the Guild stronger than him. I heard many Guilds have tried to poach him during this period, with some even offering permanent residency in a first-tier city. When the Zero Wing members in the lobby looked at the 20-man teams leader, feelings of awe and envy filled them. Fervent Samsara! Formerly the commander of the Samsara adventurer team, Fervent Samara had chosen to join Zero Wing with his adventurer team in order to obtain the Secret Crystal Trading Firms advanced membership. Meanwhile, after joining Zero Wing, his performance in the Guild impressed many Zero Wing members, especially in dangerous wilderness maps. He had even made Zero Wings name known in the surrounding NPC Cities. Now, even though Fervent Samsara wasnt an executive member of Zero Wing, his influence in the Guild had surpassed even that of Zero Wings several Vice Guild Leaders. Amidst everyones discussions, Fervent Samsara and his team approached the corner of the first-floor dining area. Seeing this, everyone in the lobby quieted down. Currently, seated in the corner that Fervent Samsara approached was another team of players. The team was much larger than Fervent Samsaras team, consisting of 50 players. Moreover, one-third of the teams members were fifth-floor experts. Meanwhile, the leader of this larger team was Heavy Abyss, a female Guardian Knight clad in icy-blue heavy armor. Although Heavy Abysss helmet prevented others from seeing her face, going by the outline of her armor, she was definitely a stunning beauty. In fact, many guild members suspected that Heavy Abyss could probably rival the Guilds several Vice Guild Leaders. However, compared to Heavy Abysss appearance, everyone in Zero Wing was more curious about her strength. Heavy Abyss was originally a solo player operating in the Crystal City of Secrets. Like Fervent Samsara, she had joined Zero Wing to enjoy the Secret Crystal Trading Firms advanced membership. However, unlike Fervent Samsara, Heavy Abyss had only started to form her team after joining Zero Wing and impressing the Guilds other fifth-floor experts with her strength. As for how strong Heavy Abyss was exactly, it remained a mystery to everyone in Zero Wing. But based on her performance thus far, everyone knew she was in no way inferior to Golden Masters. Combined with the fifth-floor experts who followed her, her influence in Zero Wing was already comparable to Fervent Samsara, and everyone recognized her as one of Zero Wings Three Overlords. Have those two ever gone out of their way to interact with each other? Whats going on? Why are two of Zero Wings Three Overlords suddenly having a meeting? Is something big going to happen soon? The Zero Wing members in the lobby were astonished when they saw Fervent Samsaras team taking a seat before Heavy Abysss team. Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss were recognized as Zero Wings Three Overlords. Each of them held great influence in Zero Wing. All three were also incredibly strong, and many experts were willing to become their followers. However, these three individuals had varying daily activities. Adding on Zero Wings loose management over its normal members, these three individuals had almost never interacted with each other. Yet, two of Zero Wings Three Overlords have met up together now. In everyones opinion, such a meeting definitely meant a major event was coming up for Zero Wing. Greetings, Commander Abyss. This should be our first official meeting, right? After taking his seat, Fervent Samsara greeted the heavily armored woman before him. Then, in a tone of amazement, he continued, You are as powerful as the rumors say. In terms of Concentration, I think you are already the undisputed number one. Unless his senses were playing a trick on him, he was certain that the Concentration of the woman before him had already reached the Tier 6 Advanced standard. For a Tier 5 Guardian Knight, this was an unbelievable achievement. You are too kind, Commander Samsara, Heavy Abyss replied in a clear and ethereal voice. However, there was no hint of joy or delight in her tone. You are not bad, either. Now that you have fused an Advanced Law already, you can probably challenge your Tier 6 promotion any time and immediately become the Crystal Citys strongest player. You are indeed amazing, Commander Abyss, Fervent Samsara laughed heartily, unfazed at having his secret seen through. In that case, lets get straight to the point. Are you here to talk about the Skylight Associations invitation? Heavy Abyss asked. Thats right. Fervent Samsara nodded. Im sure youve already looked into it, but Skylight has been developing rapidly at the capital, and it is now looking to expand into the Crystal City. To do that, it needs local experts familiar with the citys situation. Skylights representative has offered me ten permanent residential slots in a first-tier city and a spot on their Board of Elders. They are also willing to help cover my contract penalties with Zero Wing. I trust that you have received a roughly similar offer. I also heard that you have been helping our several Vice Guild Leaders train during this period. Do you have any suggestions? Suggestions? Calmly smiling under her helmet, Heavy Abyss asked, Are you suggesting that I suggest to the Guild Leader to further reduce the restrictions on outer members like us? Fervent Samsara did not respond verbally and simply looked at Heavy Abyss in silence, obviously acknowledging Heavy Abysss words. If Fervent Samsara had to be honest, he had nothing negative to say about his time with Zero Wing. The atmosphere among the Guilds outer members was rather lax, with few restrictions, and Zero Wing remained the only Guild that could guarantee players access to the Secret Crystal Trading Firms membership. Even now, many independent players still sought to join Zero Wing for these reasons. However, after all was said and done, he was still more accustomed to being a completely free and independent player. In addition, the Secret Crystal Trading Firms attractiveness was decreasing by the day. If possible, he would like to negotiate with Zero Wing to further reduce the restrictions imposed on players like himself and Heavy Abyss. If I have to comment After pondering in silence for a moment, Heavy Abyss said, Well definitely enjoy unimaginable wealth and status if we join the Skylight Association. But if we want to improve our skills and strength, becoming full-fledged members of Zero Wing may be the better choice. Join Zero Wing to improve our skills and strength? Fervent Samsara was surprised by Heavy Abysss words. How so? At the same time as Fervent Samsara finished speaking, a regional announcement entered the ears of everyone in Zero Wings Residence. Regional Announcement: Congratulations to Zero Wing for upgrading its Guild Residence into an Advanced Guild Residence. Chapter 3561 - Chapter 635 - Whole City in an Uproar Chapter 635 C Whole City in an Uproar The regional announcement was repeated three times, its arrival causing all players in Zero Wings Residence to fall silent for a moment. An Advanced Guild Residence? Whats going on? The Zero Wing members present couldnt help but doubt their eyes as they read the regional announcement in their notification window. It wasnt uncommon to see Advanced Guild Residences outside the Eternal Realm. On the contrary, they were practically everywhere. However, for an Advanced Guild Residence to appear in the Eternal Realm, and in the Crystal City of Secrets no less, it was an incredibly unbelievable situation. Is this the reason? Fervent Samsara asked as he looked at Heavy Abyss in astonishment. An Advanced Guild Residence might be of little significance to players outside the Eternal Realm, but it was a matter of great significance for players living in the Eternal Realm. Guild quarters! This was one of the privileges available only to Advanced Guild Residences and above. Guild quarters allowed guild members to have their own private residence within the Guild Residence. With it, no matter how far players traveled, so long as they remained in the Eternal Realm, they could immediately teleport back to their guild quarters on demand. Such a privilege was invaluable in the Eternal Realm. This However, Heavy Abyss was similarly stunned by this situation. Her suggestion to Fervent Abyss was based entirely on the astounding growth rate of Zero Wings Vice Guild Leaders. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the several Vice Guild Leaders growth in strength was unprecedented. Not to mention, Zero Wing was willing to go to great lengths to nurture its internal members, which could be seen by how it had arranged for fifth-floor experts other than herself to train its internal members. With how generous Zero Wing was toward its internal members, if she and Fervent Samsara became Zero Wings internal members, they might just be able to further develop their skills and strength. But Zero Wing suddenly coming into possession of an Advanced Guild Hall was definitely beyond her imagination. However, before anyone could react, everyone inside the Guild Hall was forcibly teleported to the Residences front plaza. At the same time, the Guild Hall started to rapidly transform before everyones eyes. Then, after just ten seconds, a ten-story Guild Hall took shape before the Zero Wing members in the plaza. Quick! Secure some guild quarters right away! Buying GCPs at a high price! Buying GCPs at a high price! Following the appearance of the new Guild Hall, the Zero Wing members promptly snapped out of their dazes and charged into the building, wanting to be the first to exchange a guild quarter. Meanwhile, after many Zero Wing members arrived at the Guilds exchange point, they were once again shocked by the items made available for exchange using Guild Contribution Points. Crazy! Zero Wing must be crazy! Oh my god! Fifty Combat-ranked Secret Treasure Sets! Am I hallucinating? Mana Purification Technique?! Wasnt this thing rumored to be available only to the various major Guilds core members? Everyone couldnt believe their eyes when they saw the list of items that could be exchanged in the Guild Warehouse. Be it the Behemoth Combat Secret Treasure Set or the rumored Mana Purification Technique, none of them were things ordinary players like themselves could come into contact with. In fact, even the various pseudo-apex powers executives wouldnt necessarily have access to these items. Yet, Zero Wing was now making these items available for exchange. Moreover, the only condition to exchange these items was to be an internal member What should we do now, Boss Samsara? one of the fifth-floor experts from the Samsara adventurer team asked. Previously, even when faced with the Skylight Associations lucrative offer to recruit them, they had only felt a hint of temptation. After all, the conditions offered were merely nice-to-haves and not necessary in their opinions. However, it was a completely different story for Zero Wings internal benefits. They would be blatantly lying if they said they didnt want them. No wonder our dear Guild Leader never paid much attention to the management of outer members, Fervent Samsara said, taking a deep breath after he finished looking through the warehouses exchange list. It seems its time we have a proper discussion with that Guild Leader of ours. When the Samsara adventurer team joined Zero Wing, it had only done so on a superficial level. Nobody in the adventurer team ever considered becoming a part of Zero Wing. Zero Wings executives also didnt seem to care about this matter, choosing to let them free range in the Guild. Of course, they were more than happy with such an arrangement. It was also why they didnt rush to join the Skylight Association. However, after seeing the benefits Zero Wing offered to its internal members, it had become very difficult for them to sit still. It was especially so when they saw the Mana Purification Technique. This was something that they must have if they wished to progress further as Tier 6 players in the future. Lets go and negotiate with the Guild Leader as well, Commander Abyss. We can forge a much better Divine Body if we can exchange this Mana Purification Technique. Similar to the Samsara adventurer team, many of the fifth-floor experts in Heavy Abysss team were also tempted by Zero Wings internal benefits. At worst, well offer to sign a ten-year contract with Zero Wing. So long as we can get our hands on the Mana Purification Technique, even serving Zero Wing for a decade wouldnt be a problem. Their desire for the Mana Purification Technique was blazing hot. Meanwhile, their interest in joining the Skylight Association could be described as lukewarm. Okay. Ill try to talk to him, Heavy Abyss said, sighing helplessly. Her original intention was to distance herself from Zero Wings internal affairs as much as possible. She also didnt wish to get involved in the war between Guilds that was bound to happen in the future. But she would be lying if she said the Mana Purification Technique didnt tempt her. While two of Zero Wings Three Overlords were making their move, news of Zero Wings Residence being upgraded quickly spread across the Crystal City of Secrets, causing many independent experts to grow restless. They could still resist Zero Wings temptation if it was only a matter of Secret Treasures. But the privilege to teleport back to the city was something they could not resist. The Eternal Realm was massive. Even with the help of Flying Ships, it would take several hours to travel between neighboring NPC Cities. Moreover, as players levels increased, they would also need to travel farther and farther away from NPC Cities to grind in suitable maps. As for the Underground Crystal Palace, it simply couldnt be used as a reliable grinding spot due to the entrance cooldown. Not to mention, each time they re-entered the secret land, they would have to start from the first floor. Players under Level 160 might be able to more or less rely on the Underground Crystal Palace for EXP, but it was simply unrealistic to try to level up in the secret land past Level 160. Ultimately, they would still have to go to the high-level maps in the fields. Meanwhile, when it came to grinding out in the fields, the ability to teleport back to a city would become extremely important. Not only would it allow players to cut their travel time in half, but they could also use this ability to escape from danger. Shortly after the upgrade of Zero Wings Residence, news of Zero Wings internal benefits also started to spread across the city. Upon learning of the items Zero Wings internal members could exchange for, many fifth-floor experts and adventurer teams that were previously against getting involved in the struggles between Guilds promptly jumped out of their seats and contacted Zero Wing. Of course, as these fifth-floor experts and adventurer teams were reluctant to abandon their freedom completely, they didnt outright choose to become Zero Wings internal members. Instead, they offered to be in Zero Wings service for anywhere from several years to over a decade. In return, they asked for the privilege to exchange for the Mana Purification Technique. Over 200 fifth-floor experts have contacted me thus far, Guild Leader. Are you really not going to consider their suggestions? Hidden Soul couldnt help but ask Shi Feng when she saw the partnership conditions the various adventurer teams and solo experts had sent her. Also, Samsara and Heavy Abyss have asked to meet you. They should be wanting to discuss this matter as well. A force of more than 200 fifth-floor experts. Even if these experts didnt become internal members of Zero Wing, simply having them based in Star Lake City would bolster Zero Wings strength significantly. The current situation was a good example. Even though most of the fifth-floor experts currently in Zero Wing werent internal members, in the eyes of the various powers, Zero Wings threat level in the Crystal City of Secrets was no less than that of pseudo-apex powers. Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss, is it? Shi Feng, who was fiddling with the golden heart in his office, chuckled when he heard Hidden Souls report. So theyve finally started to grow restless. Very well. Have them come to my office. It just so happens I also want to meet them. Chapter 3562 - Chapter 636 - Primordial Chaos Body Chapter 636 C Primordial Chaos Body Zero Wings Residence, Guild Hall, top floor: Under Hidden Souls lead, Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss arrived in front of the Guild Leaders Office. At this time, though, both of them wore solemn expressions, the calmness they previously wore in the lobby nowhere to be seen. The Guild Halls top floor had always been off-limits to non-internal members of the Guild. Adding on the fact all of the Guild Halls primary functions could be accessed from the first floor, outer members of Zero Wing had never really cared whether they could access the Guild Halls top floor. Not to mention, every Guild had its own secrets, so it was understandable for Zero Wing to have some secrets that it might not want non-internal members to know on the top floor. However, after arriving at the Guild Halls top floor, Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss found that compared to the lower floors, this place was akin to a completely different world. Indeed! The top floor of Zero Wings Guild Hall could only be described as a whole other world! After all, even though the Crystal City of Secrets had yet to see any players successfully getting promoted to Tier 6, they had seen at least a dozen Tier 6 players present on the top floor of Zero Wings Guild Hall. Moreover, each of these Tier 6 players were akin to bona fide Gods, and simply standing in the presence of these players residual mana caused the two of them to suffocate. It should be known that the two of them were among the strongest experts operating in the Crystal City. Even though they were still at Tier 5, they were more than strong enough to fight Tier 6 players of the same level. Yet, every one of the Tier 6 experts loitering in the top floors hallway instilled a sense of danger in them. When players reached the fifth-floor standard, also known as the Extrasensory Realm, their sixth sense would become incredibly accurate. If their senses told them a player posed a threat to their lives, it meant that they would have trouble even escaping from said player, let alone match or defeat the other party in a fight. With such a frightening force at Zero Wings disposal, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that even if all of the Crystal Citys powers banded together, they still probably wouldnt be a match for Zero Wing. Yet, despite Zero Wing having such a force, none of Zero Wings outer members were privy to this information. At this time, Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss were already close to losing their confidence in negotiating better conditions for themselves. Meanwhile, after opening the doors to the Guild Leaders Office, Hidden Soul said to Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss, Head on in. The Guild Leader is waiting inside. Although Hidden Soul did not personally involve herself in the Guilds basic operations, she had still heard of Zero Wings Three Overlords, particularly Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss. In terms of influence over Zero Wings outer members, Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss had exceeded even Zero Wings Guild Leader. Zero Wings Guild Leaders Office: When Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss stepped into the room, a dense wave of Eternal Energy washed over them, invigorating their mind and body. Immediately afterward, they couldnt help but be shocked by the scene in front of them. Currently, inside the spacious office, a young man could be seen sitting behind the sole desk in the room, holding a pulsating golden heart in his hand. Despite being a Tier 5 player, the young man exuded an aura comparable to the Tier 6 experts in the hallway. Meanwhile, the golden heart the young man held released a dense cloud of Eternal Energy into its surroundings every time it pulsated. What dense Eternal Energy! Heavy Abyss mentally exclaimed when she felt the Eternal Energy surrounding her. If I try to construct an Epic Divine Body in such an environment, I can probably raise my success rate by a minimum of 30%! Thats aPrimordial Chaos Body? Unlike Heavy Abyss, Fervent Samsaras attention was focused on the pulsating golden heart in Shi Fengs hand. His reaction toward the heart was so intense that even his voice trembled when he spoke. How is this possible?! A Primordial Chaos Body? Shi Feng was a little taken aback by the words from Fervent Samsaras mouth. Do you recognize this thing? The reason Shi Feng was openly researching the golden heart in his office was to intimidate Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss. Currently, Zero Wing was in urgent need of capable experts to accelerate its development. It was especially so now that Billowing Water had used her City Building Order as collateral. If Zero Wing could establish a Guild City on the Western Continent, the Guild would need many fifth-floor experts to help defend its city. Meanwhile, during Shi Fengs previous life, Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss were incredibly strong and famous individuals. If he could get them to become Zero Wings internal members and move into Star Lake City, many fifth-floor experts would also move with them. At that time, Zero Wing would no longer have to worry about lacking experts to use. However, Shi Feng didnt expect someone to recognize the golden heart he had taken out for display. Shi Feng wasnt ignorant of the Primordial Chaos Body. It was a kind of Godly Relic that came into existence along with the Greater Gods Domain. According to rumors, Primordial Chaos Bodies possessed unimaginable strength, and Primordial Gods had relied on them to construct their Divine Bodies. However, such Godly Relics had thoroughly disappeared from the Greater Gods Domain during the Mythical Era. If any Primordial Chaos Bodies still existed in the modern era, they could most likely be found in the ruins of Primordial Gods. This was why the various powers were fanatics when it came to exploring Primordial God ruins. They were so desperate that they wouldnt let even clues pertaining to Ancient God ruins slip past them. I was fortunate enough to see a Primordial Chaos Body once in an Ancient Gods Legacy, Fervent Samsara said, taking on a respectful tone when he spoke to Shi Feng. The one I saw was a golden brain. Similar to the golden heart in your hand, the brain felt like a living object, and it naturally diffused liquid-like Eternal Energy into its surroundings. The Ancient God in question used the Primordial Chaos Body to create a Divine Body suitable for himself. As for the Ancient Gods name, many people have heard of it. In modern times, he is known as the God of Four Elements. No wonder. Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he heard Fervent Samsaras explanation. The God of Four Elements might be vastly inferior to the Goddess of Space, but the Four Gods Secret Art he developed was publicly acknowledged as a Secret Art capable of rivaling Gold Combat Techniques, and players could use it to transcend tiers. Moreover, the God of Four Elements was rumored to be an Ancient God capable of rivaling Primordial Gods in strength. I have a presumptuous request, Guild Leader Black Flame. All of a sudden, Fervent Samsara looked at Shi Feng with a serious gaze and solemnly said, Can you let me experience the Primordial Chaos Body once? I am willing to accept any conditions. Are you crazy, Samsara? Heavy Abyss couldnt help but look at Fervent Samsara in astonishment. She didnt think the other party would dare make such a bold request. The Primordial Chaos Body was so well-known that even a solo player like herself had heard about it. She also knew how precious it was. Hence, should any power get its hands on a Primordial Chaos Body, apart from its core executives, there was no way it would let other players use it. Not to mention, according to rumors, it cost a mind-boggling five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to use the Primordial Chaos Body each time. This was a sum that could cause any conglomerate to wince in pain. Meanwhile, Fervent Samsara was only an outer member of the Guild. Moreover, did he not see the Tier 6 experts in the hallway outside? Even among Tier 6 players, the individuals in the hallway were far above the average. Sure, I can agree to your request. Moreover, I can extend this offer to not just Samsara, but you as well, Abyss, Shi Feng said, a smile suddenly forming on his face. Chapter 3563 - Chapter 637 - Zero Wings Condition Chapter 637 C Zero Wings Condition As soon as Shi Feng finished speaking, silence befell the room. Even Fervent Samsara, the person who had made the request to Shi Feng, was evidently surprised by Shi Fengs response. Me, too? Although Heavy Abysss face was hidden behind her helmet, her astonishment was apparent. Of course, Shi Feng said, smiling. It was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise that Fervent Samsara could recognize the golden heart as a Primordial Chaos Body. As a thank-you to Fervent Samsara, Shi Feng didnt mind letting the other party experience the Primordial Chaos Bodys effects once. Not to mention, Shi Feng didnt really have a choice. The Primordial Chaos Bodys value was comparable to a Book of Eternity. In fact, it was even more valuable in certain aspects. With Zero Wings current strength, it would be a disaster for the Guild if news of the Primordial Chaos Body got out. Please state whatever conditions you have, Guild Leader Black Flame! Ill do my best to fulfill them all! Fervent Samsara said without hesitation. Heavy Abyss also looked at Shi Feng with curiosity. She would be lying if she said she wasnt interested in the Primordial Chaos Body. After all, it was one of the few items that could let players reach the realm of Primordial Gods in the Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, unlike players who relied on Divine Artifacts, the strength they gained via the Primordial Chaos Body would belong entirely to themselves. My conditions are simple, Shi Feng said, chuckling. In addition to becoming Zero Wings internal members, you only need to use one billion GCPs or five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to exchange it. One billion GCPs or five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal? Fervent Samsara nearly choked when he heard Shi Fengs condition. Of course, he wasnt surprised at the condition of needing to become an internal member. After all, no sane power would give away such a precious opportunity to an outsider. In fact, simply becoming an internal member could already be considered a lax condition. The only problem was the payment of one billion Guild Contribution Points or five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. He could afford neither of these two payment methods. It was especially so for the five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even conglomerates would have difficulty taking out such a large sum on short notice, let alone an individual player like himself. Shi Fengs condition similarly stumped heavy Abyss. Even though there was an opportunity to experience a Primordial Chaos Bodys effect placed right before her, she lacked the money and resources to secure it. Of course, I am aware neither of you can afford to make such a large payment right away, Shi Feng added when he noticed the awkward looks on Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss. I can loan the two of you the necessary resources once you become internal members of Zero Wing. That way, you two can get promoted to Tier 6 quickly and avoid missing out on the Eternal Realms many opportunities. I appreciate your understanding, Guild Leader, Fervent Samsara said, growing ecstatic when he heard Shi Fengs words. Can we experience the Primordial Chaos Body immediately after signing our contract at the Guilds headquarters, Guild Leader? Heavy Abyss asked for further confirmation. Honestly, she found it hard to believe Shi Feng would offer them such loose conditions. If they were dealing with any other power, she wouldnt even be surprised if she was required to sell herself to secure this priceless opportunity. Yes. Once you arrive at Zero Wings headquarters in the real world and sign your contract, you can log in and come to me straight away, Shi Feng said, nodding. The cost to use the Primordial Chaos Body might be outside the means of most other powers, but it was still bearable for the current Zero Wing. After all, the Guild had just acquired 50 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal from the Nameless Citys treasury not long ago. Moreover, once Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss became Tier 6 players, Zero Wings overall strength would increase drastically. After all, in terms of combat standards, the two of them were far above Azure Shadow and the others. Even in the Crystal City of Secrets, they could be considered top-ranking experts. Meanwhile, after receiving Shi Fengs assurance, Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss promptly agreed to Shi Fengs conditions. Then, after contacting their subordinates, they logged out of the game and hurried over to Star Lake City right away, not wanting to waste even a single second. Shi Feng wasnt surprised to see the twos behavior. If he wasnt worried he might waste a costly opportunity, he would have probably spent five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal right away to experience the rumored Primordial Chaos Body. But now that he had obtained a Medium World Fragment, he naturally had to make proper use of it first. After Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss left, Shi Feng called out to Hidden Soul, who had been standing guard outside the room, and said, Have the Guilds Grandmaster Magicians construct a Mana Gathering Array and a large-scale Grandmaster Magic Barrier in the Guild Halls underground secret room. The sooner, the better. A Medium World Fragment was extraordinary. If he tried to use it without sufficient precautions, it would most likely cause a huge commotion outside. Normally, players would only use a Medium World Fragment inside a Great Grandmaster Magic Barrier to ensure absolute secrecy. However, as he didnt have any Great Grandmaster Magic Barriers on hand, he could only make do with a Large Grandmaster Magic Barrier. Okay, Ill get it done right away, Hidden Soul said, nodding. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng was done making arrangements, he logged out of the game as well to rest. The fight with the Gorgon Queen had greatly affected him mentally. Even though he had rested offline for some time already, he still hadnt made a full recovery. He was still in need of one or two days of rest. Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center: Although Star Lake City had only been promoted to a second-tier mobile city not long ago, its population had already increased by several million. Whether it was powers based in the neighboring towns or nearby third-tier mobile cities, all of them had sent many of their talents to Star Lake City. More specifically, they had sent their talents to join Zero Wing. This, in turn, caused the Zero Wing Training Center to become incredibly popular. Even at night, the line outside the building stretched across several streets. Have Silk Radish and Jade River come to my office, Angel. Have the Guilds recently contracted Grandmaster Forgers and Engineers come as well, Shi Feng said while drinking a bottle of Life Potion. Though, when he saw the tired look on Pace Angels face, he couldnt help but feel a little apologetic toward the other party. In terms of management capabilities, Gentle Snow and Hidden Soul were undoubtedly more skilled than Pace Angel. However, as they were currently busy with matters in the Eternal Realm, they couldnt afford to take care of the Zero Wing Training Centers matters. And as Fire Dance still wasnt familiar with Zero Wings internal affairs, Pace Angel ultimately had to manage the entire training center by herself. Okay, Ill contact them right away, Pace Angel said, nodding. Then, she started contacting the forging and engineering departments. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng disconnected the call, he took a seat behind his desk and, through his quantum watch, pulled up an ancient design dropped by the Gorgon Queen. The Silverwing Flying Ship Design! Items such as the Medium World Fragment and Primordial Chaos Body might let Zero Wing produce top-tier experts, but the Silverwing Flying Ship Design was an item that could enable Zero Wing to compete against the Holy Race for hegemony over the Eternal Realm! Chapter 3564 - Chapter 638 - Meeting of Talents Chapter 638 C Meeting of Talents Zero Wing Training Center, Guild Leaders Office: Twenty-four young men and women were gathered in the office that was half the size of a basketball court. The oldest among these individuals was just nearing 25, while the youngest was just nearing 16. Apart from their youthfulness, these youths had another thing in commonthey were all incredibly talented Lifestyle Players. Placed in any upper-ranking hegemonic power, these youths would be put on a pedestal and receive full support in their development. Many powerful experts would also be willing to pay a high price to acquire customized tools and equipment from these youths. At this time, though, these youths all wore anxious expressions as they stood in the spacious office. It was true that they were top talents of their respective corporations or families. It was also true that should they join an upper-ranking hegemonic power, they would receive priority nurturing. However, their value as individuals remained insignificant when compared to the young man seated before them. Zero Wings Guild Leader, Shi Feng! He was a legendary figure in the region of the continent they currently resided in. He had played a key role in elevating Star Lake City from a third-tier mobile city into a second-tier mobile city and made Zero Wing a highly sought-after partner for the various upper-ranking powers. In the future, he might even be able to help Zero Wing move into a first-tier mobile city. Do you think we can be selected, Big Brother? a 16-year-old girl anxiously asked the tall and robust young man beside her. We only managed to come in fourth and fifth in forging success rates this time. I also heard that Jade River is receiving personal guidance from Guild Leader Shi Feng. Now that she has been promoted into a Grandmaster Forger, if the Guild Leader is only looking for four forgers, well most likely get disqualified The current Zero Wing was extraordinarily popular in the area. Many corporations and powerful families had sent their combat talents to Zero Wing. But because Zero Wing could only afford to recruit a limited number of players, competition for these limited slots was incredibly intense. Meanwhile, as Zero Wing was recruiting even fewer Lifestyle Players, competition among Lifestyle Players was even more intense. If the chances of a combat player getting selected were one in a thousand, the chances of a Lifestyle Player getting selected were one in ten thousand. Moreover, even after making it into Zero Wing, one still couldnt relax. After all, more and more talents were bound to join Zero Wing in the future. Once Zero Wing filled up the residential slots it had in Star Lake City, it would have to start sending some of its members to third-tier cities to make room for more talented individuals. At this point, the only way Zero Wing members could guarantee themselves a place in Star Lake City was if they became an internal core member of the Guild. Now that Shi Feng had suddenly gathered them here, it was their best opportunity to prove their worth. If they could get selected for whatever task Shi Feng had for them, it would make becoming a core member much easier for them in the future. Dont worry. While our success rates arent high, seeing as Guild Leader Shi Feng has gathered so many of us here, Im sure we will be given a fair test. If were lucky, it is still possible for us to be chosen, the tall young man going by the name of Huo Rong replied anxiously. In the family they came from, he and his little sister were considered the most talented forgers in their familys history, and they took pride in that fact. However, when they applied to join Zero Wing, they quickly understood that they werent anything special. When they applied to join Zero Wing, over a million other forging geniuses had also done so. Among them, quite a few were already Grandmaster Forgers despite being under twenty years of age. It was only through sheer luck that they managed to stand out from the competition and get recruited. Had they formed even a little worse during the recruitment test, it wouldnt have been strange for them to get disqualified. At this time, the other Lifestyle geniuses in the room similarly felt anxious. It was especially so for Silk Radish and Jade River, whom Shi Feng had specifically summoned. Unlike the other Lifestyle Grandmasters present, they didnt get into Zero Wing by surviving an intense competition. Instead, they had gotten in because of their connection with Aqua Rose. They had also only become Lifestyle Grandmasters recently because of all the resources Zero Wing had poured into them. So, if Shi Feng wanted them to compete against the other Lifestyle Grandmasters present, they highly doubted they could achieve a pleasant result. No need to be nervous, Shi Feng said, chuckling when he saw the anxious faces before him. I might have called you here for a project, but I dont need you to complete it if you cant. I just want to see how much you can accomplish. The Silverwing Flying Ship was a highly complicated work requiring multiple classes to complete. It possessed enough firepower to outgun even a Tier 6 player, and the difficulty of its construction easily exceeded even that of Legendary Equipment. The requirement for Magicians was especially high, as even Grandmaster Magicians would find it challenging to construct the required magic arrays. Not to mention, a Secret-Silver Flying Ship simply wasnt something a few dozen players could complete within a reasonable amount of time. At the very least, several hundred players would be needed for the task. It simply wasnt something Zero Wing could attempt at manufacturing at present. As for why he had summoned Zero Wings internal Lifestyle members, it was to see how much of the Silverwing Flying Ships crucial components they could complete. That way, he could prepare the necessary resources for these young geniuses to tackle the parts they couldnt manufacture. Meanwhile, everyone sighed in relief when they heard Shi Fengs explanation. Then, they couldnt help but start to wonder what kind of project Shi Feng had for them to only expect them to be able to complete a certain portion. Come over and take a look. Afterward, tell me how much you can complete, Shi Feng said as he pointed at the component designs on his desk. However, these designs were limited to the Silverwing Flying Ships core components. The Silverwing Flying Ship Design consisted of several hundred components, of which thirty-something were core. These core components were also the most challenging to overcome. Meanwhile, by sharing only the core components, he could conceal the Silverwing Flying Ship to a large extent, as it would be impossible to tell that these core components were for a Flying Ship just by looking at them. Following Shi Fengs instructions, everyone gathered around the desk and analyzed the various designs on display. Everyone did their analysis carefully, afraid they might miss minor details that could cause problems with the final product. After eight hours, the twenty-four Lifestyle Grandmasters finished their analysis. Then, with the help of the offices Gods Domain Simulation Cabins, they quickly performed a rudimentary simulation. Once everyone finished their respective simulations, Shi Feng said, Well then, what are your completion rates? I can complete 50% of the forging designs! I can complete 60% of the engineering designs! I can complete 65% of the forging designs! Hearing everyones report, Shi Feng couldnt help but be pleasantly surprised. Nobody reported a completion rate lower than 50%, and everyones problems were concentrated on the power sources magic arrays. In that case, he would only need to collect materials for the power source and have everyone practice constructing it repeatedly. At this time, a tall young man suddenly stepped forward from the group. Then, while scratching his head, he anxiously said, I can complete the forging designs at a 20% success rate Twenty percent? When Shi Feng first heard the percentage the tall young man reported, his first reaction was to ask why the young man could only complete so little of the forging designs. However, before he could voice his doubts, his attention was quickly drawn to two of the young mans words. Success rate? Completion rate and success rates were two entirely different concepts. If a Lifestyle Player reported that they only had a completion rate for a project, it meant that they could only manufacture a certain portion of the project. As for the remaining portion, they wouldnt be able to manufacture it no matter what. On the other hand, if a Lifestyle Player reported a success rate for a project, it meant that they could manufacture the entire project. Even if the success rate was only 20%, it was still infinitely better than nothing. What is your name? Shi Feng couldnt help but ask as he looked at the tall youth. Chapter 3565 - Chapter 639 - Pseudo-Divine Artifact Forger Chapter 639 C Pseudo-Divine Artifact Forger A 20% success rate? Is that guy bluffing? I doubt even Great Grandmaster Forgers can get a 40% success rate. Hes only an Advanced Grandmaster, and his forging success rate even ranked fourth among us previously, yet hes now claiming he can achieve a 20% success rate? Hes probably trying to catch the Guild Leaders attention. Following the tall young mans answer, many of the other young geniuses in the room couldnt help but start a hushed discussion among themselves. Although nobody present knew that the designs Shi Feng shared were for a Secret-Silver Flying Ships core components, as Lifestyle Grandmasters, they could still identify the complexity of these designs. Meanwhile, their knowledge told them that some of these designs were already beyond the means of Lifestyle Grandmasters to manufacture. So, when everyone heard the tall youth saying he could manufacture all of the forging designs, their immediate reaction was to doubt his claims. Of course, everyone could also understand why the young man would lie about his capabilities. The current Zero Wing was akin to the midday sun in Star Lake City. It was the power with the most residential slots for Star Lake City. As a result, many geniuses and paragons from the hundreds of nearby third-tier mobile cities and thousands of towns sought to join Zero Wing. Furthermore, the benefits Zero Wing offered to its core members were tempting even to the various corporations and powerful families. So long as one could become a core member of Zero Wing, one could spend Guild Contribution Points to exchange for precious resources such as Stardew. It was even possible to exchange for the right to enter the Eternal Realm. The Eternal Realm was a Realm that countless players sought to enter in the current Greater Gods Domain. The opportunities available in the Eternal Realm were beyond any other Realm. There had even been rumors of ordinary Lifestyle Players becoming VIPs in conglomerates and pseudo-apex powers after learning a unique recipe or design in the Eternal Realm. Unfortunately, as there still wasnt a way for players to reach the Eternal Realm from the outside, Lifestyle Players outside the Eternal Realm could only look on in envy. So, now that Zero Wing was offering its members an opportunity to enter the Eternal Realm, how could they not be excited? Of course, they had only learned about these core member benefits after becoming internal members of Zero Wing and signing a Gods Domain Contract and a Guild Contract. This was also why they had worked so enthusiastically after joining Zero Wing. It was all so they could become core members as soon as possible. Huo Rong, the tall young man answered anxiously. He could naturally hear the hushed discussions behind him, and he couldnt help but grow worried Shi Feng might come to the same conclusion as his peers. It was especially so after he had heard all of his peers reporting completion rates of about 50 to 60 percent only. Honestly, at this point, even he couldnt help but start to doubt his simulation results. However, it was a fact that he had ended up with a 20% success rate after conducting numerous simple simulations via the Gods Domain Simulation Cabin. Hence, this result should be absolutely correct. After all, the Gods Domain Simulation Cabin could perfectly simulate various matters from Gods Domain. Even though the simulation cabin was incapable of replicating lifestyle procedures as well as it could combat, which could usually achieve over 90% uniformity, its simple simulations still shouldnt be too far off from the real deal. At the very least, instances where one could successfully manufacture an item via the simulation cabin but couldnt in Gods Domain shouldnt exist. Huo Rong? Melting Flame? Shi Fengs curiosity was piqued when he heard the young mans name. Do your forging success rates fluctuate significantly? For example, do you experience situations where you get only half the average success rate when youre unlucky, and 10 or 20 percent higher than the average when youre lucky? Mhm. Huo Rong nodded in surprise. He didnt think Shi Feng would know of his forging circumstances. When Im lucky, I can achieve success rates 10 or 20 percent higher than others. But if Im unlucky, Id be fortunate if I can even achieve a 10% success rate. Honestly, Huo Rong felt very distressed about his own unique situation. If he could stabilize his erratic forging success rates, he could have long joined a conglomerate with his younger sister and become internal members there. Okay, I understand. Shi Feng nodded and smiled. Since its the simulation cabins result, it should be correct. In that case, may I know if you are interested in becoming a core member of Zero Wing? A core member of Zero Wing? Me? Huo Rong was stunned. Originally, he had been worried Shi Feng would refuse to believe in his result and have him manufacture the items in Gods Domain. After all, he had only managed a 20% success rate in the simple simulations. In Gods Domain, having a 20% success rate didnt necessarily mean players could absolutely succeed in manufacturing an item every one out of five tries. Instead, the numbers were much more down-to-earth, and players would be fortunate to even succeed once or twice out of thirty tries. Meanwhile, the designs Shi Feng shared required materials so precious that even the various major powers would have difficulty obtaining them. At best, they could only take out a few sets on short notice, which should also be true for Zero Wing. In that case, even if Huo Rong could perfectly transfer his simulation success rate to Gods Domain, his chances of manufacturing the items were slim. At that time, not only would he make a fool of himself, but he would also be at risk of getting kicked out of Zero Wing. Thats right. Shi Feng nodded. And its not just you. Anyone who has achieved a 70% completion rate can also become a core member of Zero Wing. Huo Rongs name was known by all in Shi Fengs previous life. One could even say that his name was recorded in the annals of the Greater Gods Domains history. Only, by the time Huo Rong had risen to fame, he was already much older than he was now. Moreover, at the time, Huo Rong didnt belong to any of the various major powers. Instead, he was only a member of an ordinary hegemonic power. Meanwhile, Huo Rongs fame wasnt because he was unbelievably talented. Even at his peak, he had only managed to develop his forging skills to the Basic Great Grandmaster standard. Craftsmen like Silent Wonder and Silk Radish would leave him in the dust if compared only in ranks. Instead, the reason for Huo Rongs fame was his ability to produce items sought after by even the various apex powers. Or, more specifically, he had manufactured items that were outside the abilities of even Craftsman Forgers. Pseudo-Divine Artifacts! Or, more specifically, Replicas of bona fide Divine Artifacts. Moreover, the precision of these Replicas was so high that they could reach the Fragmented Divine Artifact rank. Compared to Replicas that could only achieve ranks such as Legendary and Fragmented Legendary, Huo Rongs Divine Artifact Replicas were in a completely different realm. Hence, when the Greater Gods Domains various powers learned that a Pseudo-Divine Artifact had come from the hands of a Great Grandmaster Forger, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. After all, even Craftsman Forgers could only manufacture Legendary Weapons and Equipment at a very low success rate, let alone Pseudo-Divine Artifacts. Yet, Huo Rong had accomplished this miraculous feat not just once, but three times, silencing everyone who thought he had only gotten lucky. As for the reason Huo Rong could produce Pseudo-Divine Artifacts, it was because he possessed a Divine Craftsman Talent that nobody else had. Even Huo Rong himself had only discovered this Talent after getting promoted into a Great Grandmaster Forger. Meanwhile, the Talents effects were simple. It granted Huo Rong a minimum success rate of 10 to 20% when he was manufacturing weapons and equipment above the Epic rank and reduced his success rate by 10% when he was manufacturing weapons and equipment at the Epic rank or below. If he was manufacturing items that werent weapons or equipment, his success rate would increase or decrease depending on the rank of the materials used. The existence of this Talent was why Huo Rong had been ignored for a long time. Grandmaster Forgers were very common for the Greater Gods Domains various powers. Meanwhile, these Grandmaster Forgers would be tasked with producing Epic Weapons and Equipment most of the time, and very rarely would they have an opportunity to manufacture weapons and equipment above the Epic rank. Even if such a project fell into the hands of Grandmaster Forgers, those selected would usually be Advanced Grandmaster Forgers with a good track record. For someone like Huo Rong, who couldnt even produce Epic Weapons and Equipment at a decent success rate, there was no way he would be given an opportunity to produce items above the Epic rank. My little sister, Huo Ling, is also as talented as I am in forging, Guild Leader. Although she didnt achieve a 70% completion rate, she is only one step short of becoming a Great Grandmaster Magician. If she can become a Great Grandmaster Magician, I believe she can fully complete the forging designs as well, Huo Rong said as he pointed at a 16-year-old girl standing nearby. Only one step short of becoming a Great Grandmaster Magician? Shi Fengs eyes brightened as he turned to look at the girl Huo Rong was pointing at. Then, he eagerly asked, Is that true? TL Notes: [1]Huo Rong and Huo Ling: Just a heads up- Huo Rong() will be Melting Flame in the game. Huo Ling() will be Flaming Bell in the game. Chapter 3566 - Chapter 640 - Eternal Magic Armors Trial Production Chapter 640 C Eternal Magic Armors Trial Production If you dont believe me, I can have my sister draw a magic array to prove herself right now, Guild Leader. Huo Rong couldnt help but panic a little when he heard Shi Fengs sudden question, and he hurried to offer an explanation. Everyone else present was similarly surprised by Shi Fengs reaction, and they couldnt help but wonder why Shi Feng would express such great interest in a girl who was still one step short of becoming a Great Grandmaster Magician. After all, he didnt even react in such a way when hearing about Huo Rongs ability to fully manufacture the forging designs he provided. There was a vast difference between Half-step Great Grandmaster Magicians and true Great Grandmaster Magicians. Over 99% of Advanced Grandmaster Magicians in the Greater Gods Domain could never be able to take the final step. Hence, while Great Grandmaster Magicians were incredibly rare in Gods Domain, Advanced Grandmaster Magicians who were one step short of becoming Great Grandmasters were not. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that such Advanced Grandmaster Magicians were a dime a dozen. Take the current Zero Wing, for example. So long as Zero Wing gave the word, many such Advanced Grandmaster Magicians would be ready at its service. No need. I believe you. Also, very few people can become an Advanced Grandmaster Magician at such a young age, so she is indeed qualified to become a core member of Zero Wing, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, he swept his gaze across the other youths in the room and asked, Is anyone else here an Advanced Grandmaster Magician? Following Shi Fengs question, the other youths in the room turned to look at each other, but none of them raised their hands. Thats a shame. Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the silent crowd. Half-step Great Grandmaster Magicians were indeed common in the Greater Gods Domain, but Half-step Great Grandmaster Magicians who were also Advanced Grandmaster Forgers were not. Such talent remained precious to the various powers, and it was especially so for the current Zero Wing. Since returning from the Nameless City, Shi Feng had desperately sought to materialize the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set. After all, the Eternal Magic Armors forging process wasnt particularly complicated. Apart from needing sufficient knowledge of magic arrays to engrave the intricate Eternal Battle Array, the only other major challenge was procuring a large supply of Eternal God Crystals. So long as these two requirements were met, any Grandmaster Forger could produce the Eternal Magic Armor. Originally, Shi Feng had planned to produce the Eternal Magic Armor himself. But as the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, he had many things he needed to do, and he couldnt afford to spend too much time on manufacturing items. Ultimately, he would need other Lifestyle Players to manufacture the set. Only then could Zero Wing have a long-term supply of the Eternal Magic Armor. Meanwhile, although Shi Feng had not heard of Huo Lings name in his previous life, the fact that she met the Eternal Magic Armors manufacturing requirements would naturally catch his interest. Since there is no one else, apart from Huo Rong and Huo Ling, anyone who has achieved a completion rate of 70% or above can apply with Pace Angel to become a core member. Once you do so, Pace Angel will give you a set of coordinates in the Greater Gods Domain. Head to the coordinates at the designated time, and someone will bring you to the Eternal Realm. After saying so, Shi Feng got out of his seat and left his office. Meanwhile, the youths remaining in the office immediately exploded into an uproar. Crap! It was actually true?! The Eternal Realm! I cant believe we get to go to the Eternal Realm! Dammit! I only managed to get a 65% completion rate this time! If only it was higher! Although they had long heard that core members could travel to the Eternal Realm, it wasnt until Shi Feng said it himself that they truly understood that the opportunity was real and that it wasnt just a slogan to motivate guild members. This situation caused those who failed to meet Shi Fengs requirements to feel envious and disappointed. This is great, Radish! We are going to the Eternal Realm! Jade River said excitedly to the person beside her. Silk Radish nodded in response, though she still couldnt help but feel like she was dreaming. Originally, with the appearance of a monster such as Huo Rong, Silk Radish felt their chances of becoming a core member of Zero Wing would fall to zero. However, she didnt expect those who achieved a 70% completion rate would get to become core members as well. Meanwhile, as luck would have it, both she and Jade River achieved a 70% completion rate in their simulations, securing them a spot among Zero Wings core members and an opportunity to enter the Eternal Realm. Nowadays, there was nobody who didnt know about the Greater Gods Domains Eternal Realm. Everyone knew the Eternal Realm was a place of countless opportunities, and the growth players could achieve there was far superior to other Realms. The speed at which players could earn money was also many times faster. Take the current market value of Eternal Coins, for example. Just one Eternal Gold Coin was enough for a person to live extravagantly in Star Lake City. One could even stay in the Gods Domain Associations high-end living quarters for a month. Ever since they moved into Star Lake City, their daily expenditure had increased significantly. It was especially so after Star Lake City became a second-tier city. But if they could develop in the Eternal Realm, not only could they earn enough money to cover their own living expenses, but they might also make enough to bring their families into Star Lake City. About a day later, a group of youths wearing Zero Wings Guild Emblem appeared inside Zero Wings Residence in the Crystal City of Secrets. These youths looked astonished and curious as they took in their surroundings, their behavior making it seem as if this was their first time seeing the Eternal Realm. However, the appearance of these youths did not garner any attention from the players inside the Residence. Ever since Zero Wings Residence got promoted into an Advanced Residence, many players have sought to join Zero Wing. In just one day, Zero Wing had gained an additional several tens of thousands of experts. Even the Guilds fifth-floor experts had increased by more than 200. By now, Zero Wing had already become a first-class power in the Crystal City of Secrets. Meanwhile, after joining Zero Wing, these experts promptly got busy earning Guild Contribution Points. So, even if someone noticed these youths were new faces, nobody could be bothered to spare them a second glance. The Guild has already prepared all the designs and materials you need in your designated Special Forging Rooms and Special Engineering Rooms. The rest is up to you now, Shi Feng said, smiling at the youths before him. For every component you successfully produce, the Guild will reward you with 5,000 GCPs and 10 Eternal Gold Coins. The gathered youths immediately gasped when they heard Shi Fengs words. The youths who were more knowledgeable about the Eternal Realm were especially astonished by Shi Fengs generosity. In the current Eternal Realm, a titled expert would be considered wealthy if they had one Eternal Gold in their possession. As for fifth-floor experts, most of them would only have several Eternal Gold in savings. Yet, Zero Wing was now offering each of them ten Eternal Gold for every component they produced. If they managed to produce several components, they could instantly become wealthy players in the Eternal Realm, and their expenses in Star Lake City would no longer be a concern. Alright, head off to your respective workshops. As for you, Flaming Bell, come with me, Shi Feng said before taking Flaming Bell, also known as Huo Ling, to one of the Guild Halls underground secret rooms. Zero Wings Guild Hall had become much bigger after being upgraded into an Advanced Guild Hall. However, the place with the densest Mana and Eternal Energy remained the rooms surrounding the core secret room, which housed the Guilds core magic array. To take full advantage of this situation, Shi Feng turned two of these rooms into a Special Forging Room and a Special Private Room, and the environment found inside these rooms was far superior to the average Special-ranked room. When Flaming Bell stepped inside the Special Forging Room, she was immediately stunned by the rooms environment. Whether it was the rooms Mana or Eternal Energy, both were at least twice as dense as what could be found outside. Simply standing inside the Special Forging Room made her feel as if she had ascended to a higher plane of existence. While Flaming Bell was immersed in the feeling of omniscience, Shi Feng took out a thick and heavy tome from his bag. Meanwhile, the tome was none other than the Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Set Design he had acquired from the Holy Race. Take a look at this and see what kind of success rates you can achieve, Shi Feng said in a serious tone as he pointed at the tome on the forging table. Chapter 3567 - Chapter 641 - Skylight Association Chapter 641 C Skylight Association This isa Fragmented Legendary Battle Array Equipment Set? Flaming Bell was greatly shocked when she started studying the Eternal Magic Armors design. Although young, her knowledge of Gods Domain was comparable to that of executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Originally, she thought that with Zero Wing being a new Guild, its foundation should be inferior to the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers, and the Guild would be amazing if it even owned an Epic Equipment Set Design. After all, mainstream players in the current Greater Gods Domain were only geared in a full suit of Epic Weapons and Equipment, and only the elite members of the various powers would get to use Epic Equipment Sets. As for Fragmented Legendary items, these were items reserved for only a small number of elites. There might be many titled experts in the Eternal Realm, but there still werent many players with Fragmented Legendary items. Most titled experts could only dream of owning a Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set, let alone Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets that came with battle arrays. Honestly, in the current Greater Gods Domain, if any upper-ranking hegemonic power could get its hands on 20 Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets that could be used to form a Small Bronze Battle Array, they would immediately regard these equipment sets as one of their most prized possessions. What do you think? How likely are you to succeed in producing it? Shi Feng asked when he saw that Flaming Bell had finished studying the design. Shi Feng dared not act recklessly with the Eternal Magic Armors production. After all, each production attempt cost six Eternal God Crystals. Even if he had over 10,000 Eternal God Crystals right now, he still couldnt afford to mess around. If Flaming Bells production success rate was too low, he would rather delay the sets production. Fifty percent! Flaming Bell answered tentatively after giving the matter some thought. That is my current limit. But if I can work in this environment, I am confident I can become a Great Grandmaster Forger in three months. My success rate should reach 90% or more at that time! Whether it was the opportunity to produce the Eternal Magic Armor or the opportunity to work in this Special Forging Room, she did not wish to give up any of them. However, she dared not lie, either, so she could only pray that Shi Feng gave her a little bit more time. You can raise it to 90% in three months? Shi Feng couldnt help but look at Flaming Bell in surprise. He didnt think the girl would be so talented, so much so that she would dare to promise she could get promoted into a Great Grandmaster Forger in three months. It should be known that Great Grandmaster Forgers were regarded as bigshots, even in the Greater Gods Domain. Although their status was not as lofty as that of Great Grandmaster Magicians, many upper-ranking hegemonic powers still sought to work with them. Not to mention, Flaming Bells current production success rate had also exceeded his initial expectations by 10%. Okay, Ill leave the Eternal Magic Armors production to you. All of the materials have already been prepared. For every set you successfully produce, you will receive 1,000 GCPs and 2 Eternal Gold Coins. If you can complete 500 sets in fifteen days, you will receive an additional 50,000 GCPs and 100 Eternal Gold Coins! Thank you, Guild Leader! Flaming Bell grew ecstatic when she heard Shi Fengs words. I wont let you down! Ill also make sure to produce 500 sets in fifteen days! I wont take any payment if I fail to do it! Just make sure you study the design properly. It wont be easy to make 500 sets in fifteen days, Shi Feng said, chuckling. In reality, he had only set the goal of making 500 sets in fifteen days as a way to motivate Flaming Bell. He didnt really expect her to achieve it. After all, even he could only barely accomplish such a task. Seeing as Flaming Bell wasnt even a Great Grandmaster Magician yet, she would definitely need more time to engrave the equipment sets magic array. Of course, if Flaming Bell could achieve the goal, it would greatly help Zero Wing. After all, 500 Eternal Magic Armor Equipment Sets were already enough to fully activate the Eternal Battle Array, letting 500 Tier 5 players to rival Tier 6 players. At that time, Zero Wing should no longer have any problems defending its city on the Western Continent. Shortly after Shi Feng concluded his conversation with Flaming Bell, he suddenly received a call. Big Sis Qilin brought a group of people to the Residence, Guild Leader. She says those people are from a Guild called Skylight Association and that they wish to discuss something important with you, Gentle Snow said. Do you want to meet them? Ink Qilin brought someone here? Nodding, Shi Feng said, Alright, take them to the lounge. Ink Qilin was a vice commander of Scarecrow Fox. Meanwhile, Scarecrow Fox had been working closely with Zero Wing in the Underground Crystal Palace during this period. Out of respect for their partnership, it would only be reasonable for him to meet with Ink Qilins guests. Moreover, Shi Feng was relatively knowledgeable about the Skylight Association. It was a very famous yet mysterious power in the Eternal Realm during his previous life. Its rise in the Eternal Realm was very sudden, and on the surface, it could even rival the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers in strength. Its Templar Legion was especially famous. The Templar Legion consisted of 1,000 members. At its peak, every member was a Tier 6 titled expert or above. Every one of them also wielded a special power that allowed them to exhibit strength rivaling Tier 6 Gods temporarily. When the Templar Legion moved as one, it was virtually unstoppable in the Eternal Realm. Overall, the Skylight Association could be considered one of the Greater Gods Domains latest overlords after the Eternal Realms appearance. Zero Wings Residence, VIP Lounge: When Shi Feng arrived at the lounge, he saw Ink Qilin and River Light quietly seated on a magic stone sofa. Presently, they have reached Level 169 and Level 168, respectively. Meanwhile, seated across them was a gray-haired old man who looked to be in his sixties or seventies. Compared to Ink Qilin and River Light, the old man was much higher in levels, reaching Level 171 already. It was apparent that Ink Qilin and River Light felt great pressure when facing the old man, as both had beads of sweat covering their foreheads. There were also about a dozen middle-aged men and women standing behind the old man. Not only were they all at Level 170, but they were also experts who had climbed to the realm of Saints. Placed in any upper-ranking hegemonic power, these individuals would definitely be given the position of Elder. Yet, they now behaved like soldiers awaiting instructions as they stood behind the old man. Meanwhile, following Shi Fengs appearance, these soldier-like middle-aged players simultaneously turned to look at him, their gazes sharp as knives. No wonder Miss Qilin has pushed Zero Wing so strongly to Paradise. When the old man heard Shi Feng entering the room, he opened his eyes and took a moment to scrutinize Shi Feng. Then, he sighed and said, Young people nowadays are truly amazing. Youre only in your thirties, yet not only have you mastered Gold Combat Techniques already, but your current strength even rivals true Tier 6 players. Youre even more terrifying than Paradise when he was young. You jest, Elder Sword. I am still far behind the Divine Spear, Shi Feng said, immediately recognizing the gray-haired old man as Nineteenth Sword, one of the Greater Gods Domains current Ten Great Swordsmen. In addition, the old man was also one of the few solo experts who had managed to be awarded a position among the Ten Great Swordsmen. As for the Paradise mentioned by the old man, he was the holder of the title Divine Spear, and he currently ranked among the top ten of the Divine Glory List. May I know what you have come to discuss on behalf of the Skylight Association, Elder Sword? Something good, Nineteenth Sword said, chuckling. Zero Wings growth in the Eternal Realm is obvious to all, so the Skylight Association has sent me to invite Zero Wing to become a part of the Skylight Association. Chapter 3568 - Chapter 642 - Mythical Race Chapter 642 C Mythical Race Become a part of the Skylight Association? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised to hear Nineteenth Swords words. Instead, he asked out of curiosity, May I know what price the Skylight Association is willing to offer? Many up-and-coming powers in the Greater Gods Domain would receive invitations from the various major powers. Or more specifically, the various major powers saw potential in these up-and-coming powers and wished to make them into their subordinate powers. This was also one of the more common methods the Skylight Association had used to expand its influence in the Eternal Realm during his previous life. Meanwhile, Zero Wings growth in the Crystal City of Secrets was clear for all to see. The Guilds current influence in the city was completely different from before. So, it was only natural for some powers to be interested in making Zero Wing their subordinate. Only, what caught Shi Feng by surprise was Nineteenth Swords appearance. Nineteenth Sword was known for being a lone wolf in the Greater Gods Domain, going so far as to turn down invitations from apex powers. Yet, now, not only did Nineteenth Sword enter the Eternal Realm, but he had even joined the Skylight Association. This was something that did not happen during Shi Fengs previous life. Capital injection will naturally be essential, Nineteenth Sword calmly said. For starters, Skylight will invest 200 billion Star Coins and 1,000 drops of Stardew in Zero Wing. Then, it will progressively invest an additional 1 trillion Star Coins and 2,000 drops of Stardew to help Zero Wing expand rapidly in the Crystal City of Secrets. Of course, these are only the basic investments. The real benefit for experts such as yourself will be an opportunity to convert into a Mythical Race. The Skylight Association can offer Zero Wing 100 of such conversion slots. In return, the Skylight Association seeks only 51% of Zero Wings shares. I doubt you will need me to tell you how valuable the Mythical Races are, right? When Nineteenth Sword finished speaking, the eyes of Ink Qilin and River Light immediately brightened. It was especially so when they heard the words Mythical Races. The existence of Mythical Races was akin to legends! The various races in the current Greater Gods Domain had only appeared after the Mythical Era. Or, more specifically, they were the descendants of the Mythical Eras races, and humans were no exception. Meanwhile, compared to the Mythical Eras races, even the elven and demidragon races, which were considered the most gifted among modern races, would be considered below average. For example, according to the Grand Librarys records, the Mythical Eras elves were easily ten times better at manipulating the various magic elements than modern elves due to the purity of their bloodline. They didnt even need to focus their minds to perceive the magic elements around them. Instead, they could see the various magic elements with their naked eyes. Another example would be the subdivisions of the human race, such as the Brave Ones and the Divine Eye race. Brave Ones possessed bodies that were nearly as tough as that of dragons, making them natural-born warriors. Meanwhile, members of the Divine Eye race possessed dynamic vision several times superior to normal humans, making them natural-born hunters. If they could convert to any of these Mythical Races, they could definitely achieve a qualitative improvement. They might also match, or possibly even surpass, Golden Masters in combat standards. Are you perhaps talking about Holy Ring Citys Mythical Races, Elder Sword? Shi Feng asked. The Greater Gods Domains Mythical Races had long gone extinct, so it shouldnt be possible for anyone to convert to a Mythical Race. Even if it could be done, these methods should involve Legacies left behind by Ancient Gods or Primordial Gods. Meanwhile, out of all possible avenues Shi Feng could think of, the only way the Skylight Association could obtain 100 Mythical Race conversion slots currently would be through Holy Ring City, a Neutral City situated in the Eternal Realm. It would also be one of the cities where all powers in the Greater Gods Domain sought to occupy. However, only a small number of powers could truly ever move into Holy Ring City. This was because human players werent the only ones who could enter Holy Ring City. Holy Race players could similarly do so. But as Holy Ring City could only accommodate a limited number of players, only the Guilds that managed to secure one of the citys 16 Guild Residence slots could let a fixed number of their members enter the city freely. As for everyone else, they would need to obtain an entry slot via the World Ark. The World Ark was a super-large Level 170 to Level 200 World Mode Regional Dungeon. It was situated incredibly far from any NPC City, and all players and powers could go there to compete for the opportunity to enter Holy Ring City. It wasnt something the Skylight Association could monopolize. It seems you are very well-informed, Guild Leader Black Flame, Nineteenth Sword said, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. Then, he confidently continued, Indeed, I am referring to Holy Ring Citys Mythical Races. Many pseudo-apex powers have already set their sights on Holy Ring City. Many Holy Race powers will also be participating in the competition. So, ordinary powers shouldnt even consider participating in the competition, let alone exchange for the right to convert to a Mythical Race. If Zero Wing wants any conversion slots, joining the Skylight Association will be essential. Otherwise, with Zero Wings current strength, even stepping into the World Ark will not be possible. If thats all the Skylight Association has to offer, Im afraid I will have to disappoint you, Elder Sword, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Nineteenth Swords confident look. Skylights offer is a little too low for Zero Wing to accept. Low? When Nineteenth Sword saw Shi Fengs nonchalant expression, he smiled and asked, Young man, do you know how intense the competition at the World Ark is? Not even the Crystal Citys various pseudo-apex powers can guarantee they can secure 10 conversion slots, let alone 100. If you refuse this offer today, you will definitely come to regret your decision in the future. Regret? Chuckling, Shi Feng said, Its just 100 conversion slots. Thats not enough for me to feel regretful. Holy Ring Citys Mythical Race conversion slots were indeed precious, but they were insignificant compared to the resources he currently had on hand. Not to mention, his aim wasnt merely the Mythical Race conversion slots, but also Holy Ring City itself. Meanwhile, silence enveloped the lounge following Shi Fengs statement. His words especially shocked Ink Qilin and River Light. Madness! Absolute madness! By now, they had already more or less heard about the situation at the World Ark. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that it was a place only pseudo-apex powers and above could set foot into. While Zero Wing might be a dominant force in the Crystal City of Secrets, it remained insignificant compared to the powers vying for Holy Ring City. Now that Shi Feng had turned down Nineteenth Swords invitation, Zero Wing might not even be able to enter the World Ark, let alone Holy Ring City. After all, Nineteenth Sword was responsible for overseeing the Skylight Associations affairs at the World Ark. So long as Nineteenth Sword gave the word, any Zero Wing member would be killed on sight if they set foot into the Regional Dungeon. Most importantly, to prevent the various Holy Race powers from monopolizing the World Arks resurrection camps, the various human powers had agreed to join forces and wrestle control over these camps when they activated in four days. If Zero Wing couldnt get a share of these resurrection camps, its members would face significantly greater difficulty exploring the World Ark. Good! Youngsters nowadays are much bolder than my time. Standing up, Nineteenth Sword took one last look at Shi Feng and said, I hope Zero Wing can still be so tough four days later! After saying so, Nineteenth Sword left with his entourage, showing no intention of staying any longer. Chapter 3569 - Chapter 643 - Activating the Medium World Fragment Chapter 643 C Activating the Medium World Fragment You really shouldnt have reacted so impulsively, Guild Leader Black Flame, Ink Qilin said worriedly to Shi Feng after seeing Nineteenth Sword leave. The Skylight Association is very powerful in the Eternal Realm; even the various pseudo-apex powers are wary of it. Not to mention, Elder Sword is known for his arrogance. Now that Zero Wing has rejected his buyout offer, he is bound to target Zero Wing at the World Ark. Nineteenth Sword had rejected all of the invitations he had received from the various apex powers thus far, so it was a huge deal for him to join a non-apex power like the Skylight Association. Yet, when he came in person to make Zero Wing a buyout offer on the Skylight Associations behalf, he had faced such an outright rejection. With his prideful personality, there was no way he would let this slight go. Not to mention, the World Ark was a high-level World Mode Regional Dungeon that was bound to be the focus of the various players and powers in the future. At that time, there wouldnt be just one citys worth of players and powers competing over the map, but many cities instead. There were also the Holy Races various players and powers. Although Zero Wing currently already had over 100,000 members and over 200 fifth-floor experts, such numbers were nothing in the competition over the World Ark. If Zero Wing wanted to thrive in the Regional Dungeon, the wisest choice would be to partner with the Skylight Association. Dont worry, Vice Commander Qilin, Shi Feng said, chuckling. The current Zero Wing is no longer the same as before. The Skylight Association is not worthy of Zero Wings fear. The Skylight Association indeed grew to an extraordinary extent during his previous life. But the current Zero Wing similarly shouldnt be underestimated, either. Not to mention, even with the limited resources he had during his previous life, he still managed to fight Demons Gate, an apex power, to a standstill. So, why should he be afraid of a non-apex power like the Skylight Association? If you feel that the Mana Purification Technique is sufficient as a trump card, I advise you to reconsider, Guild Leader Black Flame, Ink Qilin said, wryly smiling when she heard Shi Fengs nonchalant response. I dont know how, but the Skylight Association has also managed to secure many copies of the Mana Purification Technique for its elites. This is also how the Skylight Association has thrived at the World Ark. Skylight has also acquired many copies? Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear this. He found it hard to believe that an up-and-coming power like the Skylight Association could get its hands on many copies of the Mana Purification Technique. In the current Eternal Realm, only the various apex powers should be able to get their hands on a considerable amount. As for Zero Wing, it had only gotten lucky and secured a large number from the Nameless City. In short, be careful of Skylight, Guild Leader Black Flame, Ink Qilin said cautiously. There is no way Skylight is an ordinary existence. Despite the various apex powers offering various resources to recruit him, Elder Sword still turned down all of their offers. Yet, Skylight has somehow managed to convince him to join. Moreover, it isnt just Elder Sword. According to Scarecrow Foxs intelligence, many of the Greater Gods Domains top adventurer teams and famous individuals have also joined Skylight. Skylights forces have also killed several of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers legions at the World Ark already, and these were legions led by Vice Guild Leader-individuals we are talking about. Nobody knows exactly how powerful the Skylight Association is right now. Thank you for your reminder, Vice Commander Qilin, Shi Feng said gratefully. I will take note of this. Okay. I still have to take care of the Great Commanders mission, so Ill be taking my leave as well, Ink Qilin said, nodding before leaving Zero Wings Residence with River Light. Meanwhile, a moment after Ink Qilin and River Light left, Gentle Snow stepped into the lounge. Should we head to the World Ark with Azure Shadows group in four days, Guild Leader? Gentle Snow suggested. The Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers were second to only the various apex powers. Meanwhile, their legions led by Vice Guild Leader-level individuals were so strong they could survive against even Divine Glory experts. Yet, the Skylight Association had managed to kill multiple such legions. No need. Let them focus on preparing for their test, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. If we want to stand out in the Eternal Realm, it is best if we rely on ourselves. Hows the secret rooms renovation coming along? The barrier has been set up as you requested. Not even Tier 6 experts should think of breaking it in a short time, Gentle Snow answered with a look of curiosity. She couldnt understand why Shi Feng would ask to erect such a powerful barrier for a single room. The barrier was already strong enough to protect the average city. Its done already? Shi Feng smiled when he heard Gentle Snows answer. In that case, have Souls group gather there in an hour. The same goes for you. Why are we gathering there? I dont think it will be necessary if were gathering for a sparring session. Gentle Snow asked in confusion. After learning the Advanced Bronze Purification Technique, everyone is busy trying to master World Laws. Many of them are also very close to mastering a Law already. Shi Feng couldnt help but chuckle when he heard Gentle Snows concerns. Then, he said, Naturally, it is to help you all master more Laws. Of course, I wont object if you all decide you dont want this opportunity. I can always enjoy it by myself. Master more Laws? Gentle Snow was momentarily stunned. Really? World Laws played a vital role in determining a Divine Bodys Completion Rate and strength. The more World Laws a player mastered, the higher their Divine Bodys Completion Rate and strength would be. In reality, many of Zero Wings executive members could already get promoted to Tier 6. But they all had great ambitions, so they wished to make more progress in World Laws before creating their Divine Body and getting promoted to Tier 6. But mastering World Laws was not an easy task. Apart from gaining assistance from various Legacies, they could only rely on themselves to comprehend and experiment. Of course. When have I ever lied to you? Shi Feng said, chuckling. Hurry up and notify the others. Okay! Ill go and inform them right away! Gentle Snow said hurriedly. Also, youre not allowed to monopolize this opportunity, Guild Leader! While Gentle Snow left to contact Hidden Soul and Zero Wings other executives, Shi Feng made his way to the secret room protected by a Large Grandmaster Magic Barrier. The secret room was the size of a football field, and it was more than enough to accommodate the activities of over a hundred players. Its all up to you now. After arriving in the secret room, Shi Feng took out the Medium World Fragment from his bag. Then, he injected a God Crystal into the fist-sized void fragment. Chapter 3570 - Chapter 644 - World Law Paradise Chapter 644 C World Law Paradise When the God Crystal merged with the Medium World Fragment, wisps of silver-gray mist emanated from the fist-sized void fragment and spread across the room like ripples across a pond. In only a few moments, dense mist filled the entire room, darkening the room. Meanwhile, standing amidst the darkness, Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished by the unprecedented experience he was currently experiencing. More specifically, he could currently see everything in his surroundings with incredible clarity, particularly the magic elements around him. In Gods Domain, players perception of the various magic elements would increase and decrease with the mana density. Yet, even though the rooms mana density remained the same as before, his perception of magic elements had undergone a qualitative transformation. Are these the effects of a Medium World Fragment? Shi Feng was greatly shocked as he looked at the countless magic elements moving around him. The level of his Mana Affinity already ranked at the top of the Greater Gods Domain, but even then, it only allowed him to vaguely see the movements of the magic elements around him. In comparison, after activating the Medium World Fragment, not only could he see the surrounding magic elements with great clarity, but even their movements had seemingly slowed down by a lot. The magic elements in Gods Domain moved at great speeds. Even with Level 6 Mana Affinity, he could normally only catch glimpses of a magic elements movement. Observing a magic element move was no different than observing a shooting star for him. So, one could just imagine how challenging it would be to analyze a World Law that was weaved by countless magic elements. This was also why despite there being countless experts in the Greater Gods Domain, Saint-ranked experts remained exceedingly rare. But, at this time, Shi Feng found the movements of the magic elements around him had slowed down by more than half. This made it many times easier to observe and analyze the World Laws they weaved. While Shi Feng marveled at the Medium World Fragments amazing effects, over a dozen Zero Wing members entered the secret room. Apart from Gentle Snow, there was Hidden Soul, Su Qianliu, Wordless Ember, Sleeping Quicksand, Rampant Blade, Wu Xiaoxiao, Midsummer, Fire Dance, Jun Luosha, Firecloud, Happy Snow, Lin Yaoyue, Zhuo Yalin, Crimson Heart, and Cleansed Rue. Lin Yaoyue, Zhuo Yalin, Crimson Heart, and Cleansed Rue were originally members of Mysterious Moon and Hundred Flower Palace. But ever since Zero Wing became the Miniature Ancient Worlds overlord and brought many of the Asura Mercenary Alliances executives into the Eternal Realm, many of the mercenary alliances Guilds had chosen to merge into Zero Wing. Among them were Mysterious Moon and Hundred Flower Palace. Shi Feng naturally welcomed the addition of the two first-rate Guilds. It was especially so for the individuals Lin Yaoyue, Zhuo Yalin, Crimson Heart, and Cleansed Rue. All four of them possessed exceptional talent, and it was especially so for Crimson Heart and Cleansed Rue. During Shi Fengs previous life, Cleansed Rues fame was on par with Gentle Snow, being one of their Gods Domains Four Goddesses. After entering the Greater Gods Domain, she even became a Saint-ranked expert who had mastered three Basic Laws; she was only short of merging the three Basic Laws into an Advanced Law. Unfortunately, due to Hundred Flower Palaces lacking foundations, Cleansed Rue ended up having her potential restricted. Had Hundred Flower Palace been as strong as an upper-ranking hegemonic power and provided Cleansed Rue with a full set of Legendary Equipment, she could have rivaled Tier 6 Gods in strength. As for Crimson Heart, Hundred Flower Palaces First Vice Guild Leader, her achievements were even more extraordinary than Cleansed Rue. Firstly, she managed to develop an Exclusive Absolute Technique that rivaled Gold Combat Techniques. Secondly, with a full set of Legendary items, she managed to force a Tier 6 God into retreating after fighting for an entire day, which, in turn, allowed Hundred Flower Palace to occupy an ancient ruin in the Void Sea. Originally, Shi Feng thought Hundred Flower Palace would remain only as Zero Wings ally like in his previous life. He never thought that Crimson Heart would somehow manage to persuade Shadow Flower, Hundred Flower Palaces mysterious Guild Leader, to incorporate Hundred Flower Palace into Zero Wing. Mysterious Moons decision to merge into Zero Wing did not surprise Shi Feng at all. After all, Mysterious Moon was just your average first-rate Guild. On the other hand, while Hundred Flower Palace might be a first-rate Guild on the surface, whether in quantity or quality, its experts could already rival super-first-rate Guilds. So long as Hundred Flower Palace waited for their Gods Domains World Passage to fully open and enter the Greater Gods Domain, it would be akin to an aquarium shark returning to the ocean. It would quickly grow into an ordinary hegemonic power in the Greater Gods Domain, and it might even have hopes of rivaling upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the future. Hence, Shi Feng was very much surprised by Hundred Flower Palaces addition to Zero Wing. But since Hundred Flower Palace had already merged into Zero Wing, he naturally had to make full use of Crimson Hearts and Cleansed Rues potential. What is this place?! I can actually perceive the movements of magic elements here! Cleansed Rue exclaimed as soon as she stepped into the secret room. Cleansed Rue had been repeatedly shocked by Zero Wings strength since Hundred Flower Palaces merger into Zero Wing. In addition to having the ability to bring its guild members into the Eternal Realm, Zero Wing also had a frightening number of fifth-floor experts in the Eternal Realm. Compared to Zero Wing, the so-called Five Great Super Guilds of their Gods Domain were nothing but jokes. Moreover, after joining Zero Wing, they also got to spar with the Guilds fifth-floor experts daily, achieving rapid growth. Take Crimson Heart, for example. Right now, Crimson Heart was already a pseudo-fifth-floor expert, and it shouldnt be long before she became a bona fide fifth-floor expert. As for Cleansed Rue, she was a titled expert already, and she also shouldnt have any trouble achieving the fifth-floor standard in the future. Originally, Cleansed Rue thought she had already seen everything Zero Wing had to offer and that nothing else could shock her. But after entering this secret room, she realized that Zero Wing still had more shocking secrets she had yet to discover. Currently, getting promoted to Tier 6 was no longer a problem for her. The only problem was whether she could construct a Divine Body at the Gold rank or above, which required her to master at least one Basic World Law. However, mastering a Basic World Law was easier said than done. To accomplish such a feat, not only did players need to have sufficient Legacy Guidances, but they also needed to fully familiarize themselves with the movements of the various magic elements. If there was even a slight error in their analysis and manipulation, they would never succeed at mastering a World Law. Meanwhile, players in Gods Domain could normally only rely on their senses to perceive the movement of magic elements. It was impossible to do so with the naked eye. Yet, not only was it possible to see magic elements moving in this secret room, but the movement of the rooms magic elements was also much slower than normal. This secret room was essentially a paradise for mastering World Laws. At this time, Cleansed Rue wasnt the only one in shock. Gentle Snow, Hidden Snow, and everyone else was similarly stunned. They never thought they would get to observe World Laws under such circumstances. The benefits of the environment here are self-explanatory. However, I can only keep it active for a limited time, so make use of it while it lasts, Shi Feng suddenly said as he swept his gaze across the dazed individuals before him. The Guild has also prepared sufficient Seven Luminaries Crystals for all of you. If you decide you are ready to get promoted to Tier 6, you can retrieve your share from the Guild Warehouse at any time. After saying so, Shi Feng distributed some Eternal God Crystals to everyone before leaving them to their own devices. As for how much they could achieve in this secret room, it was all up to their individual potential. While everyone was busy analyzing World Laws, Shi Feng made his way to a corner of the room and took out a golden heart from his bag. Lets hope I can get something out of this! After making a silent prayer, Shi Feng injected five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal into the Primordial Chaos Body. TL Notes: [1] Lin Yaoyue = Clear Sky Zhuo Yalin = Nightingale Chapter 3571 - Chapter 645 - Superior Divine Body Chapter 645 C Superior Divine Body Starlight Continent, First-Tier Mobile City, Galaxy City: A plane measuring over ten thousand meters in length was currently parked above the citys airport, dwarfing the many supersonic passenger planes traveling to and away from the city. Needless to say, the gigantic plane attracted the attention and shock of many in the airport. The Greater World was composed of numerous continents. For the average person, they would usually never leave the city they resided in, let alone travel to a different continent. But for those looking to travel to other continents, supersonic passenger planes were no longer sufficient. Instead, FTL(faster-than-light) passenger planes would be required. However, FTL passenger planes were incredibly costly, and only the various conglomerates could afford to own such planes. Even then, they would be limited to owning only a few, and they would normally only use these planes for their own development purposes. Outsiders shouldnt think of hitching a ride on a conglomerates FTL plane. Yet, the group of people that had just alighted from the FTL plane clearly werent here on official business. Judging by their varying casual attires, they were evidently tourists who had come to visit the Starlight Continent. It also didnt seem like they had flown here using their own organizations exclusive FTL plane. This was a level of extravagance that even the Galaxy Conglomerate had never done before, so how could Galaxy Citys inhabitants not react in shock? Meanwhile, walking among the tourists were about a dozen or so young men and women. These youths were akin to well-trained warriors, each giving off an astonishing presence. After arriving at Galaxy City, these youths promptly started to scrutinize the city around them, gathering as much information as they could with their eyes. When these youths walked along the streets of Galaxy City, many passersby subconsciously turned to look at them. After all, not only did these youths possess sharp temperaments, but every one of them was also a three-star mental strength grandmaster. Even in a first-tier city like Galaxy City, experts of such caliber remained incredibly rare. Not to mention, walking in the lead of these youths was a middle-aged man whose mere presence suffocated even nearby mental strength grandmasters. This is such a backwater place. Whether it is in development or energy density levels, this city cant even compete with our continents second-tier cities, a tall young woman said, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes as she surveyed the city around her. Are we really going to develop in that so-called Star Lake City from now on, Big Brother Samsara? Their group operated a mercenary unit in the real world under Fervent Samsaras leadership. Even among the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries, their mercenary unit was rather well-known, and many conglomerates would usually hire them to fight against other powers. So, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that their mercenary unit thrived in the Twelve Sanctuaries. Although they recently had to put their mercenary activities on hold because Fervent Samsara got dragged into the Eternal Realm by chance, they could promptly resume their activities once the Eternal Realms coordinates were found. Yet, even though the Eternal Realms coordinates had yet to be discovered, Fervent Samsara had suddenly gathered them together and insisted they move to a backwater place like the Starlight Continent to develop. On top of that, they wouldnt even be operating from one of the Starlight Continents first-tier cities. Instead, they would be setting up base in a newly-promoted second-tier city. No matter how they racked their minds, they simply couldnt understand why Fervent Samsara would make such a decision. I already told you that I wont force you if you dont want to come. Since youre here already, stop asking questions, Fervent Samsara sternly said as he glanced at the youths behind him. I still cant tell you why I am moving into Star Lake City. But if you join Zero Wing later, I will ask the Guild Leader if I can share this information with you. The Primordial Chaos Body! This was an item Primordial Gods used to construct their Divine Bodies. Although Shi Feng never explicitly mentioned it, Fervent Samsara knew he must never share this secret with a third party, even if it was someone he deeply trusted. After all, even the slightest information leak could bring about disaster to them. I didnt mean to question your decision, Big Brother Samsara, the young woman hurriedly said when she saw Fervent Samsara suddenly becoming stern. But we all have families that rely on us for money and resources. Were just worried we cant continue to provide for our families if we suddenly join Zero Wing. The other youths in the group agreed with the young womans words. Every member of their mercenary unit came from a small family. Their families had to go through great effort to nurture them to their current states, so it was only natural that they repaid their debt now that they had become capable experts. But it cost a lot of money and resources to let their family members live in first-tier cities. If joining Zero Wing negatively affected their income, they might lose the ability to support their families. Not to mention, they had gone through a lot of trouble to develop their mercenary unit to its current prosperous state. For them to join an up-and-coming Guild, which they had never even heard about until recently, would be no different than having them start all over again. The hardships they had experienced in the past really werent something they wished to go through another time. Dont worry. When have I mistreated you all? Fervent Samsara said, chuckling when he saw everyones worried looks. If you join Zero Wing with me, I guarantee youll be better off than you are now. The current Zero Wing might seem like it was still an upstart power with an uncertain future, but Fervent Samsara was certain Zero Wing would eventually become a major player in the Greater Gods Domain. It might even become a pseudo-apex power in the future. Meanwhile, the best time to join Zero Wing would naturally be when the Guild was still starving for manpower. Of course, he couldnt just join Zero Wing by himself. If he wished to step into Zero Wings core circle and hold influence in the Guild, he would need more people to help him. Crystal City of Secrets, Zero Wings Residence, underground secret room: After Shi Feng injected five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal into the Primordial Chaos Body, divine patterns lit up all over the golden heart. Immediately afterward, segments of information flooded his mind, making him feel as if his brain was about to explode. After this situation continued for nearly half an hour, the Primordial Chaos Body finally stopped transmitting information. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs face was pale and sweated profusely. Yet, despite looking clearly exhausted, excitement filled his eyes. Incredible! I didnt think the Primordial Chaos Body would hold such a Legacy! No wonder the Primordial Gods would create their Divine Bodies with the help of Primordial Chaos Bodies! Shi Feng mentally exclaimed as he watched the golden hearts divine patterns fade out of existence. In Gods Domain, all players seeking to get promoted to Tier 6 needed to construct a Divine Body suited to them. Meanwhile, players could construct two types of Divine Bodies: ordinary Divine Bodies and Superior Divine Bodies. However, this was a secret most players werent privy to, and it was something Shi Feng had only come across by luck during his previous life. In the current Gods Domain, whether it was players or Gods, the Divine Bodies they created were only Divine Bodies. Only Primordial Gods and a small number of Ancient Gods had constructed a Superior Divine Body for themselves. This was also why there was such a huge difference in strength between the two groups. During his previous life, Shi Feng had only gotten the opportunity to construct a Superior Divine Body because of a Primordial God Legacy he obtained. Different from ordinary Divine Bodies, Superior Divine Bodies could not be constructed without the guidance of a Legacy. Even if he had experience constructing a Superior Divine Body, he couldnt construct one without the necessary Legacy. Originally, he thought he would not get to construct a Superior Divine Body in this life, and the most he could achieve was construct an ordinary Divine Body that was at the Legendary rank. After all, the opportunity he had come across in his previous life was not something that could be actively sought after. But now, he actually had another chance to construct a Superior Divine Body! Chapter 3572 - Chapter 646 - Divine Body of Legends Chapter 646 C Divine Body of Legends I didnt think I would get another chance to create a Superior Divine Body. The five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal were really well spent. After calming his emotions, Shi Feng started to carefully analyze the new information in his brain. There were many different ways to construct a Divine Body, so even though he had experience constructing a Superior Divine Body, he couldnt treat the matter with light regard. Meanwhile, from what he gathered after briefly looking through the information he received, the guidance provided by the Primordial Chaos Body was most certainly different from the guidance he received from the Primordial God Legacy in his previous life. For starters, the Primordial God Legacy in his previous life had provided him with step-by-step instructions on how to construct a specific Superior Divine Body. All he needed to do was meet all the target requirements, and he would have himself a Superior Divine Body. On the other hand, the Primordial Chaos Body only provided him with a general method of creating a Divine Body. He would still need to complete the vital sections by himself. As for what kind of Divine Body he could create, it would depend on the World Laws he had mastered. According to the Primordial Chaos Bodys Legacy, the more World Laws he mastered, the stronger his Divine Body would be. He could even construct a Superior Divine Body if he had mastered a sufficient number of World Laws. Of course, before aiming to construct a Superior Divine Body, he would first need to deal with the basic portion of the Primordial Chaos Bodys Divine Body construction method, which would not be easy. When he created his Superior Divine Body in his previous life, including the core magic arrays, he had to engrave over a thousand Grandmaster Magic Arrays and manipulate them simultaneously. However, compared to the Primordial God Legacys method of creating Superior Divine Bodies, the Primordial Chaos Bodys method was even more astonishing. After glancing at the information provided by the Primordial Chaos Body, he found that he needed to construct over 1,900 Grandmaster Magic Arrays just for his Divine Bodys core. On top of that, he also had to construct some additional Grandmaster Magic Arrays at vital nodes situated across the Divine Body, and these nodal magic arrays numbered roughly one-tenth of the core magic arrays. After factoring in both types of magic arrays, he would need to construct over 2,000 Grandmaster Magic Arrays. Even at a rough estimate, the Superior Divine Body construction method provided by the Primordial Chaos Body was at least twice as complex as the step-by-step method he obtained from the Primordial God Legacy in his previous life. As if that wasnt enough, he also had to thoroughly research the magic arrays suggested by the Primordial Chaos Body. Otherwise, he would not be able to merge the World Laws he had mastered with his Divine Body and construct the nodal magic arrays. One hour Ten hours Thirty hours It was not until the evening of the next day that Shi Feng withdrew from his mind. Sure enough, constructing a Superior Divine Body of my own isnt going to be an easy task. If I wasnt already a Great Grandmaster Magician, the Seven Luminaries Crystals I spent would have been for nothing, Shi Feng inwardly celebrated as he looked at the complete Divine Body Magic Array in his mind. The process of researching the 1,900-plus Grandmaster Magic Arrays wasnt particularly difficult. Any Grandmaster Magician could do it with enough time. What made the process challenging was having the insight to tell that these Grandmaster Magic Arrays involved every Basic World Law in existence. Indeed! Every Basic World Law in existence! The intricacy of the 1,900-plus Grandmaster Magic Arrays was simply unbelievable! It was common knowledge that when players constructed a Divine Body, it would be as if they were creating a miniature world within themselves. However, this miniature world would be an incredibly broken one, and it only existed to enable players to execute Law Projection. This was because the Divine Body players created only involved a small portion of the Basic World Laws that existed. It was also the same case with the Superior Divine Body that Shi Feng had created in his previous life. However, when Shi Feng constructed the Primordial Chaos Bodys Divine Body Magic Array, he felt he was constructing a Gods Domain with complete Basic Laws. It was simply incredible. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Divine Body template provided by the Primordial Chaos Body was the most perfect Divine Body in existence. It did not require any additional magic arrays at all. So long as he used this Divine Body Magic Array to construct an ordinary Divine Body, its rank would definitely exceed the Legendary rank. In fact, he might not even need to achieve a 90% Completion Rate to exceed the Legendary rank. In that case, completing the Hundred Refinement Mana Body quest would be a piece of cake. As for constructing a Superior Divine Body, that was also simple. So long as he merged an Advanced Law he had fully mastered with the Divine Body Magic Array, he would have himself a Superior Divine Body. In his previous life, he was able to construct a Superior Divine Body because of the Law of Destruction he had mastered. Or rather, the Primordial God Legacys Superior Divine Body was created based on the Law of Destruction. Thus, he would be able to construct the Superior Divine Body so long as he mastered the Law of Destruction. The same was also true now. So long as he converted the Law of Destruction into the required nodal magic arrays and merged them with the Divine Body Magic Array, he would be able to immediately reclaim his previous lifes achievements. However, as a Great Grandmaster Magician, Shi Feng was also aware that he would be wasting the Primordial Chaos Body if he did that. Unlike the Primordial God Legacys Divine Body Magic Array, the Primordial Chaos Bodys Divine Body Magic Array was fully capable of adopting multiple Advanced Laws. Meanwhile, the more Advanced Laws he merged into the magic array, the more World Power he could influence when he got promoted to Tier 6. Now that I have mastered all the foundational magic arrays, I should try merging the Law of Destruction and Law of Space with them. Hopefully, I have enough resources to fund my attempts. When Shi Feng looked at the Seven Luminaries Crystals in his bag, he couldnt help but lose confidence. Although he wasnt looking to construct a Divine Body right away, if he wanted to operate the Divine Body Magic Array supplied by the Primordial Chaos Body normally, he would need to supply it with Seven Luminaries Crystals. Or, more specifically, every time he attempted to merge the nodal magic arrays, he would need to spend Seven Luminaries Crystal to see if the Divine Body Magic Array could operate normally. While such experiments might not cost as much as it did to construct a Divine Body, each attempt would still require 50,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Normally, when a Grandmaster Magician was looking to develop a new Grandmaster Magic Array, they were unlikely to succeed without making a few thousand attempts. Even Great Grandmaster Magicians would need at least several hundred attempts. Aside from the 10 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal needed to fund Fervent Samsaras and Heavy Abysss opportunity to experience the Primordial Chaos Body, Shi Feng only had a little more than 35 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal remaining. Among them, he would have to save about 10 to 20 million units to fund the Tier 6 promotion of guild members. So, all in all, he didnt really have a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals to waste. However, Shi Feng didnt hesitate to proceed with his experiments. Right now, constructing a Superior Divine Body was of the utmost importance. Everything else was secondary. Even if he ended up wasting all of his Seven Luminaries Crystals, he simply needed to obtain more. Following this, Shi Feng used an Eternal God Crystal and, under the Medium World Fragments assistance, started converting the Law of Destruction and Law of Space into Grandmaster Magic Arrays to merge with the Divine Body Magic Array. One time Two times Three times On the third day after the Medium World Fragment was activated, quite a few people in the secret room started to joyfully prepare for their Tier 6 promotion. Shi Feng, though, remained seated in his corner. Another failure Shi Feng felt as if he had gotten ahead of himself when he looked at the Divine Body Magic Array that had refused to operate normally even once. He had gone through hundreds of attempts in the past two days, expending over 20 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. However, not once did he manage to get the Divine Body Magic Array to operate normally. In other words, he couldnt settle for a defective product even if he wanted to. The difficulty of converting two Advanced Laws into magic arrays was far greater than he initially anticipated. Fortunately, as if the Main God System had decided to take pity on him, on the next nodal magic array arrangement he tried, the moment he finished drawing the last magic array using the mana of the Seven Luminaries Crystals, the Divine Body Magic Array lit up brightly. It was a scene that had never occurred before in his past several hundred attempts, and it was evident that the Divine Body Magic Array could function normally already. TL Notes: [1]The Primordial God Legacy mentioned here is referring to the Legacy Guidance that Shi Feng had received via the Ancient Gods Eye in the main story. However, as I have previously mentioned, the author never really offered much clarification in the main story, so I ended up assuming that Ancient God(Ϲ) and Primordial God() were the same thing. So, the Ancient Gods Eye should actually be Primordial Gods Eye instead, and the Legacy Guidance received from it is considered a Primordial God Legacy. Chapter 3573 - Chapter 647 - Challenging the Tier 6 Promotion Chapter 647 C Challenging the Tier 6 Promotion Did I get it right this time? Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw the magic arrays on the Magic Array Scroll lightning up. Currently, excluding the 10 million units he had to save, he had less than 15 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystals left to spend. However, if he continued with his experiments, Zero Wing might start to have trouble funding its members Tier 6 promotion. There were many fifth-floor experts in the current Zero Wing, and the Guilds total member count even exceeded 100,000. However, unlike other Guilds, because Zero Wings sphere of activity in the Eternal Realm was limited to the Crystal City of Secrets, it had a very limited income of Seven Luminaries Crystals. If he were to spend all of Zero Wings Seven Luminaries Crystals, the Guild would have difficulties producing Tier 6 players in the foreseeable future. Fortunately, he had finally achieved success. With over 14 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal remaining, Zero Wing should have no trouble affording its members Tier 6 promotion. Just when Shi Feng was about to officially begin constructing his Divine Body, Hidden Soul suddenly approached him. Youre finally done with your work, Guild Leader, Hidden Soul hurriedly said when she saw that Shi Feng had finally stopped drawing on Magic Array Scrolls. Had you continued working any longer, I might have had to interrupt you. Everyone had been focused on improving their mastery of the magic elements in the past two days. And because everyones method of going about doing so was different, Hidden Soul did not dare to disturb Shi Feng for fear of interrupting him at a critical moment and ruining all of his progress. Did something happen? Shi Feng asked when he saw the mix of joy and anxiety on Hidden Souls face. Yes. After taking a deep breath, Hidden Soul explained, Some time ago, Mu Huangwu messaged us saying that Azure Shadows group has successfully passed Night Watch Citys test. They even monopolized the top ten positions. But as a result, they became a hot topic in Night Watch City, and quite a few powers have started to look into this situation. Mu Huangwu estimates that it wont be long before those powers find out about Zero Wings involvement. So, theyve begun investigating already? Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised by this piece of news. Smiling, he said, Tell Mu Huangwu that he can leak some information. Just say that Zero Wing has sold some Secret Treasures to the Green God Corporation and allowed Azure Shadows group to receive a huge boost in strength. Of course, make sure to do this covertly. Azure Shadows group had experienced meteoric improvements during their training in Zero Wing. It was especially so after they received the Advanced Bronze Mana Purification Technique. Although they werent fully equipped with Legendary items, they were already close to rivaling Tier 6 Gods. And if they were to fight against the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers Tier 6 paragons, even if they were inferior to those paragons by one rank in combat standards, so long as those paragons hadnt learned a Mana Purification Technique yet, they could achieve victory handily. Fortunately, due to the nature of Secret Treasures improving players Mana Protection, they could be used as a cover to explain the abnormal mana strength of Azure Shadow and the others. As for the matter of Night Watch Citys various powers showing interest in this matter, it was something Shi Feng had long anticipated. It was also something he had hoped would happen. It hadnt been long since Zero Wing had established itself in Star Lake City, so the Guild was in urgent need of various resources and Star Coins. While Zero Wing could easily acquire these things if it sold its Secret Treasures to the Eternal Realms various powers, Zero Wing would be funding its competition if it did that. It might be fine to sell a small portion, but if the numbers grew too large, Zero Wings advantage in the Eternal Realm would diminish significantly. However, it would be a different story if Zero Wing sold its Secret Treasures to Star Lake Citys neighboring cities. Most of the powers based in these neighboring cities didnt have any presence in the Eternal Realm. So, it wouldnt affect Zero Wings influence to sell Secret Treasures to these powers. Moreover, if Zero Wing were to sell its Secret Treasures through the Miniature Ancient World, it could sell its Secret Treasures at a high price and avoid getting heavily taxed by trading via the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. Not to mention, Zero Wing could use these transactions to apply pressure on Silver Frost City, killing two birds with one stone. Mhm. Ill notify Elder Mu, Hidden Soul said, nodding. Also, one more thing. The Skylight Association has officially moved into the Crystal City yesterday, and it has recruited five upper-ranking hegemonic powers and twenty-three of the citys top 30 adventurer teams. Right now, it should have over 300 fifth-floor experts and over 300,000 members under its command. Vice Commander Qilin has advised us to be careful and said that we should avoid the World Ark for the time being. What an extravagant move. Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear Hidden Souls report on the Skylight Association. Although he had long known that the Skylight Association was wealthy, he didnt think it would be to such an extent. Setting aside the five upper-ranking hegemonic powers, just recruiting twenty-three of the citys top 30 adventurer teams was a challenging task. After all, even when Zero Wing had offered these adventurer teams the opportunity to get their hands on Mana Purification Techniques, none of them had taken the bait. The fact that these adventurer teams had agreed to join the Skylight Association must mean that Skylight had offered them a much more irresistible offer. The World Arks resurrection camps are activating soon, Guild Leader. Should we go or not? Hidden Soul asked. She was aware of the conflict between Zero Wing and the Skylight Association. Now that the Skylight Association had recruited many experts in the Crystal City, if Zero Wing were to head to the World Ark to develop, a direct confrontation with the Skylight Association would be inevitable. Of course were going! Why wouldnt we? Shi Feng said, chuckling. The resurrection camps are crucial for development at the World Ark. If we miss this chance, itll be difficult for us to catch up in the future. Now that some of our people have already started their Tier 6 promotion, wouldnt it be a waste not to compete? If thats the case, Ill go and get ready, Hidden Soul said, deciding to challenge her Tier 6 promotion right away. Currently, she had already mastered two Basic Laws thanks to the Medium World Fragments help. Originally, she had planned to master a third Basic Law before challenging her Tier 6 promotion. That way, she could construct an Epic Divine Body with 100% certainty. But for the sake of the World Ark, she decided not to delay her Tier 6 promotion any longer. The Medium World Fragments effects were admittedly astonishing, but it only allowed players to tap into the potential they had accumulated over time and achieve rapid growth. Once players exhausted their untapped potential, their growth would slow down significantly, and they would need significantly more time to achieve any notable growth. However, the current Eternal Realm was overflowing with opportunities, and time was an incredibly precious resource. If she were to delay her Tier 6 promotion for too long, she would miss out on many of these opportunities, effectively putting the cart before the horse. Okay, you go and do that, Shi Feng said, not bothering to dissuade Hidden Soul from her decision. After all, he was fully aware that reaching Tier 6 was just the beginning. After Hidden Soul took her leave, Shi Feng took out an Eternal God Crystal and absorbed it without hesitation. Then, he took out the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal he had obtained from Kalisha. Whether I succeed or fail, it all comes down to this! After taking one last look at the completed Divine Body Magic Array, Shi Feng injected 100 Eternal God Crystals into the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal. Chapter 3574 - Chapter 648 - Choice of Divine Body Chapter 648 C Choice of Divine Body Zero Wings Residence, underground secret room: As soon as Shi Feng finished injecting the 100 Eternal God Crystals, the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal promptly transformed into a red streak of light that flowed into the depths of his mind. Simultaneously, the scene before him transformed into a boundless darkness. A moment later, a golden dragon suddenly appeared amidst the darkness, the dragons body measuring over 10,000 meters in length. Aside from having a titanic body, the golden dragon also radiated an aura so powerful that it easily surpassed any Ancient God Shi Feng had encountered thus far. In front of the golden dragon, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the average Ancient God was a speck of dust. Simply the breaths of the golden dragon were enough to stir the mana within a several million-yard radius. And if the golden dragon exhaled strongly, its breath could most likely shatter the World Barrier of a Gods Domain. You have one opportunity to receive my guidance, Adventurer. What do you wish to learn from me? the golden dragon asked as it gazed upon Shi Feng, its eyes looking like it could see through all of Shi Fengs secrets. Esteemed Golden Dragon, may I ask that you let me experience this magic array that I have created? Shi Feng asked as he looked at the golden dragon. Due to the Hundred Refinement Mana Body quest, he needed to construct a Divine Body at the Legendary rank. Combined with his aim to construct a Superior Divine Body, he naturally wouldnt dare to act recklessly. While the Divine Body Magic Array he created could function normally now, how strong the Divine Body would be exactly also remained unknown. If he wished to find out, he would need to construct a Divine Body with it and experience it for himself. Not to mention, even if he had a functioning Divine Body Magic Array on hand, it wasnt a guarantee that he could construct a Divine Body successfully. It might still be tolerable if he successfully constructed his Divine Body. At worst, he could abandon the opportunity to get promoted to Tier 6 and wait a month before challenging his Tier 6 promotion gain. But if he failed to create one, he would need to wait for several months before he could challenge his Tier 6 promotion again. Meanwhile, if the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal could let him experience the Divine Body Magic Array he created, he could get a rough estimate of what rank the Superior Divine Body he created would end up at. Moreover, the experience should also increase his construction success rate. Of course, if the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal couldnt provide such guidance, he could still switch to a more extravagant method to test his Divine Body Magic Array. Simple. After taking a look at Shi Fengs Divine Body Magic Array, the golden dragon held up one of its claws over Shi Feng. Immediately, under the golden dragons manipulation, Shi Feng started to experience the process of constructing a Divine Body using his Divine Body Magic Array. The process was methodical and specific, from engraving the necessary magic arrays to the guidance of mana into the engraved magic arrays. Every step was also executed flawlessly and without any fanfare. When the Divine Bodys construction ended, Shi Feng felt himself becoming vastly stronger than before. If he were to return to the outside world in such a state, he could easily devastate a large area with his every move. But this feeling of power quickly disappeared, indicating the end of the Legacy Guidance. Its still slightly weaker than my last Superior Divine Body? After carefully analyzing his experience, Shi Feng felt that although his new Superior Divine Body allowed him to exhibit strength much greater than he could exhibit in his previous life, it was mainly due to the Mana Purification Technique he had mastered. Not to mention, the World Power he felt the instant he completed his new Superior Divine Body was slightly weaker than when he completed his former Superior Divine Body. In other words, his new Superior Divine Bodys upper limit should be inferior to that of an Epic Superior Divine Body. Subsequently, after his consciousness returned to the secret room, Shi Feng carefully made some minor adjustments to the nodal magic arrays arrangement. Fortunately, the Divine Body Magic Array was also activated successfully this time. So, he promptly spent 100 Eternal God Crystals for another trial. According to Kalisha, the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal could be used up to ten times, each use costing 100 God Crystals. So, he had ten chances to try. Once he expended all ten uses of the Legacy Crystal, he would need to conduct his experiments via actual construction attempts. And if he couldnt produce satisfactory results within a certain period of time, he would have no choice but to forgo constructing a Superior Divine Body and settle for an ordinary Legendary Divine Body to complete his quest. Meanwhile, Shi Feng was rather fortunate on his second attempt, as he constructed a Superior Divine Body slightly stronger than the Epic Superior Divine Body in his previous life. The new Superior Divine Body had evidently exceeded the Epic standard already. However, for safetys sake, Shi Feng still chose to expend all ten Legacy Guidance opportunities, consuming 1,000 Eternal God Crystals in the process. This was a cost that could cause any power to suffer a heart attack. Only the second, fifth, and tenth attempts managed to surpass my past lifes Divine Body Shi Feng couldnt help but grow hesitant as he looked at the ten successful Divine Body Magic Arrays he had drawn. The outcome of his ten attempts was better than he anticipated, as three of the ten attempts had yielded a Superior Divine Body stronger than what he had in his previous life. But what rank these three Superior Divine Bodies could achieve remained uncertain. Because he could only experience each Divine Body for a brief instant after it was completed, there was very little information he could base his judgment on. Firstly, if he were to rank the three Superior Divine Bodies by the World Power he sensed, the fifth attempt would be the strongest, while the tenth attempt would rank second, and the second attempt would rank last. Though, in reality, the difference between the three was tiny. Secondly, if he were to judge the strength of their mana, the second attempt would be the strongest, while the tenth attempt would rank second, and the fifth attempt would rank last. The rankings were essentially flipped. Lastly, if he were to judge them by the density of their mana, the tenth attempt carried the densest mana, while the second and fifth attempts were tied for second place. It seems a gamble is inevitable. After hesitating for a moment, Shi Feng decided to construct the tenth attempts Divine Body. While the amount of World Power influenced was a good indicator of a Divine Bodys strength, Shi Feng also understood that mana was the foundation of everything in Gods Domain. Furthermore, his understanding of his Divine Body Magic Array had grown with each passing attempt. This, in turn, allowed him to continuously perfect the magic array. Meanwhile, even the tiniest improvements were noteworthy when it came to Divine Body construction. Logically, no matter how bad his tenth attempt turned out to be, it shouldnt be worse than his first attempt. Not to mention, the tenth attempts Divine Body possessed significantly denser mana than the second and fifth attempts; it wasnt a minute difference like in the World Power influenced. After making his decision, Shi Feng followed the step-by-step instructions he learned through the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal and began earnestly engraving the Divine Body Magic Array with Seven Luminaries Crystals. And because he already had experience engraving the magic arrays, while he didnt manage to replicate the Legacy Guidances perfection, he still managed to engrave all 2,000-plus Grandmaster Magic Arrays without error. After Shi Feng engraved the magic arrays, he took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Then, using the two Advanced World Laws he had mastered, he began guiding the Seven Luminaries Crystals mana into the Divine Body Magic Array, powering it and using it to create a complete miniature world. The process of guiding mana into the Divine Body Magic Array and activating it was much more challenging than the engraving process. Not only was it more time-consuming, but it also placed a huge toll on his Concentration and tested his control over mana. Had Shi Feng attempted to manipulate the 2,000-plus Grandmaster Magic Arrays with his base Tier 6 Advanced Concentration, he would have definitely failed. But with the help of an Eternal God Crystal and the Mental Condensation technique, he managed to elevate his Concentration to the Tier 6 Peak standard, which was just barely enough to let him manipulate the 2,000-plus Grandmaster Magic Arrays. As a result, though, he felt as if he was crossing a log bridge while carrying a thousand kilograms on his back; he would slip and fall if he let his focus slip for even a moment. One minute Three minutes Ten minutes After manipulating the Grandmaster Magic Arrays for over ten minutes, even with the help of the Eternal God Crystal, Shi Feng still exhausted himself to his limits. The system had even warned him to log off and rest as soon as possible. Almost Just one last step Shi Feng bit his tongue to keep himself conscious. If he were to fall unconscious here, all his efforts would have gone to waste. The advantages he had accumulated in the Eternal Realm would also vanish. Fortunately, most of the Divine Bodys core magic arrays had already been activated, and there were only five more to go. Five Four Three Just as Shi Feng was about to black out, the sound of a system notification rang in his ears. Chapter 3575 - Chapter 649 - Star Soul Chapter 649 C Star Soul System: Congratulations! You have successfully constructed a Superior Divine Body. The constructed Superior Divine Bodys Completion Rate is at 96% and has reached the Tier 6 standard. The constructed Superior Divine Body is evaluated to be at the Legendary rank. Do you wish to get promoted to Tier 6? Legendary? Shi Feng was both shocked and pleasantly surprised when he saw the system notification. He didnt think he would actually make the right choice. System: Warning! Your Concentration has fallen to a dangerous level. You will be forcibly logged out and prohibited from logging in for twelve hours. Promote! When Shi Feng noticed his vision gradually darkening, he chose to be promoted to Tier 6 without hesitation. Once players finished constructing their Divine Bodies in Gods Domain, if they couldnt decide whether they wanted to be promoted to Tier 6 within a few minutes, the system would assume they didnt wish to be promoted by default. Meanwhile, once players abandoned the opportunity to get promoted to Tier 6, not only would they need to spend another 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal when they wished to be promoted in the future, but they would also have to wait for a month before they could challenge their Tier 6 promotion again. In the ever-changing Eternal Realm, A months time was enough for any expert to be disqualified from the frontlines. Not to mention, only by reaching Tier 6 could players truly start to explore the Eternal Realms many vital regions. Currently, many powers already had experts who were qualified to get promoted to Tier 6. The only reason they still didnt have any Tier 6 players was because they feared their experts might encounter failure during their promotion. After all, the penalty for a failed promotion was many times more severe than the penalty for abandoning a successful promotion. Hence, the various powers forbade any of their experts from challenging their Tier 6 promotion until they were 100% confident in success. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng gave his response, he promptly logged out of Gods Domain. Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center, top-floor living quarter: After climbing out of his gaming cabin, Shi Feng dragged his exhausted body over to the fridge, took out a small bottle, and consumed the drop of Stardew inside. Immediately, his tired expression started to recover. Now, all thats left is to hope Snow and the others can succeed, Shi Feng thought as he looked out the window at the long line of people waiting outside the Zero Wing Training Center. Although Zero Wing had acquired unimaginable wealth from the Nameless Citys treasury, most of this wealth couldnt be used immediately. Meanwhile, Zero Wing had recruited many guild members in both Star Lake City and the Eternal Realms Crystal City of Secrets recently. This, in turn, had increased Zero Wings expenditure significantly. It was especially so on Star Lake Citys side. Currently, members recruited in the Crystal City of Secret could enjoy all of the benefits Zero Wing had to offer. They even had fifth-floor experts leading them on expeditions to the Underground Crystal Palace and Dungeons out in the fields. They didnt have to worry about money or equipment in the slightest. In comparison, as most of the internal members recruited in Star Lake City were scattered across the Starlight Realms various kingdoms and empires, Zero Wing couldnt even offer them a proper place to train in Gods Domain, let alone provide them with a stable supply of weapons and equipment. To make matters worse, most of them were only Tier 4 players. For the sake of developing these internal members, Zero Wing had no choice but to purchase items from the Eternal Chamber of Commerce at a high price before letting these members exchange for these items at a low price. With the revenue Zero Wing was currently generating via the Secret Crystal Trading Firm and the sale of Common Secret Treasures, it could still afford to provide for a few thousand internal members using such a method. But as Zero Wings internal member count continued to increase, it would need to further increase its income. Meanwhile, if Zero Wing wished to make more money to sustain its development, securing territory in the World Ark would become imperative. The World Ark was the only place players could reliably obtain entry passes for the Holy Ring City. But if players died in the World Ark, they would be automatically resurrected in a nearby NPC Citys Resurrection Temple, and they would need to spend more than ten hours traveling back to the Regional Dungeon. So, exploring the World Ark could be said to be a very troublesome task. Of course, the World Arks automatic resurrection problem wasnt without a solution. There were many resurrection camps in the World Ark. If players occupied and registered themselves at one of these camps, they would be automatically resurrected at the registered camp if they died inside the World Ark. Not only would this save them a lot of travel time, but they could also halve their death penalty. Because of this, the resurrection camps were essential for players looking to explore the World Ark. Meanwhile, so long as a power could occupy a resurrection camp, even if they only charged players a fee of one Eternal Silver a day, they could still make a fortune. In Shi Fengs previous life, if powers managed their resurrection camps well, they could stand to make two to three fortresses worth of revenue from each resurrection camp. Moreover, these were fortresses situated on high-level maps they were talking about. The only problem was whether a power could occupy a resurrection camp for a long period. Unlike towns, cities, and fortresses, the World Arks resurrection camps had no defensive facilities. Players could only rely on themselves to defend their resurrection camps from invaders. Meanwhile, as the Holy Ring City was of utmost importance to both human and Holy Race powers, it went without saying that competition over the World Arks resurrection camp would be intense, so much so that it could be equated to a Realm War. If a power didnt have sufficient strength, occupying a resurrection camp would be out of the question. While Shi Feng was resting his mind, Pace Angel suddenly contacted him. Guild Leader, a man going by the name of Fervent Samsara says he is here to join the Guild. He came with a group of roughly twenty people. He says he already has Vice Guild Leader Souls approval, Pace Angel said. But I cant get in touch with Vice Guild Leader Soul right now. Should I register them? Thats quick of him. Shi Feng was a little surprised to hear Fervent Samsaras name. Immediately, he said, Go ahead and register them. Afterward, have them come to my office. Shi Feng had previously heard Fervent Samsara saying he would bring some companions to join Zero Wing with him and that these companions were all Tier 6. Since they had arrived so soon, he could get them to help him with some matters. Meanwhile, Pace Angel disconnected the call and quickly registered Fervent Samsaras group once she received Shi Fengs answer. Roughly half an hour later, Fervent Samsaras group entered Shi Fengs office under Pace Angels guidance. Upon entering the room, the youths following Fervent Samsara immediately scrutinized Shi Feng with curious eyes. So, hes the rumored Lord of War Goddesses? the charming and candid-looking young woman standing next to Fervent Samsara exclaimed as she looked at Shi Feng. After they had chosen to join Zero Wing, Fervent Samsara shared the fact that Shi Feng was Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame with them, looking to have them be in awe of Zero Wing. After all, few people did not know of Black Flames deeds in the current Greater Gods Domain. Enough from all of you. Especially you, Bygone. Dont disgrace the Star Soul adventurer teams name, Fervent Samsara said as he glared at the young woman beside him. When Fervent Samsara officially announced he would join Zero Wing, Shi Feng had shared his true identity with him. The revelation shocked him greatly, as he never thought Zero Wings Guild Leader had started from nothing and didnt have any powers backing him. But it was also because of this that he grew even more confident in Zero Wings prospects, going as far as to persuade his companions to join Zero Wing with him. Im sorry for the unsightly display, Guild Leader Black Flame. After glaring at the young woman named Bygone Magic, Fervent Samsara apologized to Shi Feng. Then, he asked, May I know what you have summoned us here for? Star Soul? Shi Feng suddenly stopped the work he had on hand and looked at Fervent Samsaras in surprise. You all are from the Star Soul adventurer team? Although Shi Feng had long known Fervent Samsara was extraordinary and the companions he brought would most likely be extraordinary as well, he didnt think they would be of such extraordinary origins. There were eight legendary adventurer teams in the Greater Gods Domain. These were all adventurer teams that had accomplished miraculous achievements. Meanwhile, Star Soul was one of these legendary adventurer teams, and the whole adventurer team only consisted of twenty members. Yet, despite having so few members, not only did Star Soul successfully help a Holy City fend off one of the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, but the adventurer team had also heavily injured said Taboo-level monster. When Star Soul accomplished this feat in Shi Fengs previous life, its fame instantly spread across the Greater Gods Domain. However, because Star Souls members normally kept their identities a secret, nobody had any concrete information on the adventurer teams members. Chapter 3576 - Chapter 650 - Zero Wing Branch Guild chapter 650 C zero wing branch guild have you heard of us before, guild leader black flame? fervent samsara asked, feeling a little surprised by shi fengs reaction. star souls name might be somewhat well-known among the twelve sanctuaries, but outside of the twelve sanctuaries, only conglomerates would be aware of the adventurer teams existence. so, fervent samsara found it hard to believe shi feng would have heard of star soul before. ive heard of you all in the sanctuaries, shi feng explained after calming his initial surprise. i heard that every member of your adventurer team is incredibly strong and that you all can slay even tier 6 gods. star soul had aided the various conglomerates in many crusades in the twelve sanctuaries during his previous life. among them included raids of tier 6 gods. however, after star souls well-known battle against one of the twenty-two taboos, the adventurer team stopped accepting commissions completely, and its name gradually faded into obscurity. although many people speculated the cause of star souls disappearance, most agreed that it was likely due to the adventurer teams final battle. in the fight against the taboo-level monster, star soul lost more than half its members, including its commander and vice commander. these individuals had permanently lost their qualifications to log into gods domain, and even gods domains many resurrection methods were ineffective against them. this had most likely led to the adventurer team being incapable of continuing its activities. even so, star soul remained a legend in the greater gods domain. after all, the greater gods domains twenty-two taboos were publicly regarded by the various powers as existences that should never be provoked. simply being able to escape from one of these twenty-two taboos was already an incredible feat. yet, star soul had managed to heavily injure one of these existences. you exaggerate, guild leader black flame. we simply got lucky while helping those conglomerates with their raid, fervent samsara answered. then, he repeated his question, may i know what you need us to do for you? hearing fervent samsaras question, shi feng got straight to the point and said, i hope you can head to gazing moon city of the starlight realms ancient river kingdom and establish a branch for zero wing there. the eternal realm might be crucial for the greater gods domains various powers, but it was still only a small part of the greater gods domain. currently, while it might seem like zero wing had become one of the crystal city of secrets leading powers, apart from fifth-floor experts, it couldnt even come close to matching ordinary hegemonic powers in other aspects. if no changes were made, zero wings advantages would instantly disappear once the various powers located the eternal realm. it might even have difficulty protecting its current territories. hence, zero wing needed to expand its development in the greater gods domain. it was especially so now that there wasnt much time before the world passage of his home gods domain opened. once the world passage was fully opened, whether it was the ancient river kingdom or the surrounding kingdoms and empires, all of the powers based in these countries would invade his home gods domain and occupy the resources there. every gods domain was the foundation of development for the world it was tied to. if a world were to lose its gods domain, all of its inhabitants would face much greater difficulty surviving in the greater world in the future. the reason for this was that the inhabitants of each world could only create a gods domain account in their own gods domain. if a world lost its gods domain, it would mean that future generations could no longer create a gods domain account easily. not to mention, every gods domain had some unique legendary- and inferior divine artifact-rank materials. the world bosses that periodically spawned was also a stable source of fragmented legendary weapons and equipment. and, while not a reliable source, the occasional legendary quest that emerged was also an opportunity for players to obtain legendary weapons and equipment. these were all items crucial to a guilds development. guild leader black flame, it might not be difficult for star soul to establish a foothold in the ancient river kingdom, but im afraid developing a branch guild there isnt going to be easy, bygone magic, who was star souls vice commander and the young woman standing next to fervent samsara, said. even if we have the necessary resources and offer attractive benefits to recruit members, the local powers wont just stand by and watch as we take a cut of their profits. they will try to drive us out at all costs. we simply dont have the ability to keep guild members safe out in the fields with only so few of us. while it was important for a guild to recruit new members, it was even more important for the guild to have the ability to help these new members level up. while star soul was strong enough to fight against hegemonic powers, it simply didnt have the necessary manpower to protect guild members grinding out in the fields from ambushes. not to mention, star souls members needed to level up themselves as well. they couldnt afford to play nanny around the clock. you dont have to worry about this, shi feng said, chuckling. once you arrive, just focus on recruiting members. you wont have to participate in low-tier battles. all you need to do is protect the guilds residence and one particular building. in return, your gcp compensation will be three times higher than the eternal realms members. in addition, you can also exchange for items limited to only internal and core members. shi feng was not at all worried about whether zero wing could develop itself in the ancient river kingdom. his only concern was whether zero wing had enough combat power to protect the hundred refinement building. the hundred refinement building in his previous life was famous throughout the starlight realm. not only did it generate a tremendous amount of wealth each day, but it was also a paradise for nurturing low-tiered newcomers. because of this, many powers sought to acquire it, with some even aiming to destroy it to prevent others from obtaining it. originally, he had planned to wait for zero wings forces in the miniature ancient world to grow stronger and for his home gods domains world passage to fully open before opening the hundred refinement building to the public. at that time, with mysterious moon and hundred flower palaces strength, defending the hundred refinement building shouldnt be too big of a problem. but now that the star soul adventurer team had come to join zero wing, there was no longer a need to wait. with the adventurer teams nineteen tier 6 experts, defending the hundred refinement building definitely wouldnt be a problem. items exclusive to internal and core members? bygone magic had her interest piqued when she heard shi fengs words. she knew that zero wings internal members had access to incredible items. not only could they exchange for the behemoth set, a combat-ranked secret treasure set, but they could also exchange for mana purification techniques, items which were incredibly rare even in the eternal realm. these items were also one of the reasons they had followed fervent samsara to zero wing. here is the exchange list. you can take a look for yourselves, shi feng said as he shared with everyone present information on the extraordinary secret treasure sets and bronze mana purification techniques that only zero wings core members could exchange. then, he smiled and continued, if you dont have any more questions, you can head to gazing moon city right away. Chapter 3577 - Chapter 651 - Tier 6 Sword Law Saint chapter 651 C tier 6 sword law saint zero wing training center, internal members lounge: the lounge was half the size of a sports stadium, and its walls were fully covered by holographic screens that vividly depicted tall mountains, flowing waterfalls, and lingering mist. there was also a restaurant, various training equipment, and many of the latest virtual gaming cabins prepared in the lounge. after leaving shi fengs office, the members of star soul were led to this lounge by pace angel, many of them wearing shocked faces. of course, the reason for their shock wasnt the lounges environment but something else entirely. what kind of origin does zero wing have exactly, big brother samsara? those items are simplyterrifying, bygone magic asked fervent samsara immediately after seeing pace angel leave. following bygone magics question, everyone else from star soul also looked at fervent samsara. at this time, all of the contempt they previously held toward zero wing had vanished without a trace. after all, the items made available to zero wings core members were simply too frightening. even now, secret treasures remained incredibly precious in the eternal realm. according to their intelligence, the various powers elites would be fortunate to have a full set of common secret treasures at this stage of the eternal realm, and it was only the main force members of upper-ranking hegemonic powers who could get their hands on a couple of combat secret treasures. as for the mana purification technique, it was something completely outside the reach of most upper-ranking hegemonic powers. only conglomerates and pseudo-apex powers could get their hands on some. the fact that zero wing could let their internal members exchange for combat secret treasure sets and common mana purification techniques was already highly unbelievable. originally, when they heard about this from fervent samsara, their immediate reaction was to doubt him. after all, such an act of generosity was outside the capabilities of even pseudo-apex powers. it didnt make sense an upstart guild could afford such a feat. however, when they saw the item exchange list exclusive to zero wings core members, they couldnt help but wonder if they were hallucinating because of jetlag. the dragons fury set, an extraordinary secret treasure set! bronze mana purification techniques! these were items that they doubted even apex powers could afford to share with their executives, let alone core members. i dont know, fervent samsara said, shaking his head. then, in a definitive tone, he continued, but i can tell you one thing, and that is if you become an executive of zero wing, your future achievements should be no less than that of the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones. fervent samsara knew very clearly that be it the dragons fury set or the bronze mana purification techniques, neither of these things was zero wings biggest trump card. instead, the primordial chaos body was the true killer. the primordial chaos body was directly related to the strength of primordial gods. it was a godly relic that could change a players divine body. it might even have something to do with the rumored superior divine body, which, according to rumors, could only be constructed with the help of a complete primordial god legacy. meanwhile, once a player constructed their divine body, it wasnt as if they couldnt change it. so long as they were willing to pay the price, they could reconstruct their divine body. only, under normal circumstances, nobody would be willing to do so. after all, if a players divine body didnt undergo a qualitative transformation, it wouldnt affect their strength much. however, it would be a different story if a player could upgrade their ordinary divine body to a superior divine body. if bygone magic and the others could become zero wings executives, it was entirely possible that shi feng would allow them to experience the primordial chaos body. at that time, if they could successfully construct a superior divine body, it wouldnt be out of the question for them to match ancient gods of the same level in strength. achievements no less than the pseudo-apex powers chosen ones? the eyes of bygone magic and the others lit up when they heard fervent samsaras words. in the first-tier mobile city they came from, the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones were existences that ordinary citizens like themselves could never hope to reach. after all, every pseudo-apex powers chosen one was slated to take over the management of their respective guilds divine artifacts and become a taboo-level existence in the future. at that time, they would be tasked with safeguarding the resources of an entire realm. they were also the reason the special-tier mobile cities powerful families got to enjoy the status they currently enjoyed. alright, enough talking. quickly log back into gods domain and head to gazing moon city, fervent samsara said, smiling when he saw the yearning looks on bygone magic and the others. the sooner you complete the guild leaders assignments, the sooner youll become an executive of zero wing. hearing this, bygone magic and the others promptly borrowed one of the virtual gaming cabins in the lounge and logged into gods domain. they also secretly vouched to perform well in the ancient river kingdom and earn as many gcps as they could. as for fervent samsara, he also logged back into gods domain to prepare for his eventual experience of the primordial chaos body. he did not wish to waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. meanwhile, after shi feng rested for six hours, he returned to his room and logged into gods domain once more. crystal city of secrets, zero wings residence, underground secret room: when shi feng came back online, he could feel a tremendous change in his surroundings. however, he quickly realized that it wasnt his surroundings that had changed. instead, it was the sensitivity of his five senses being amplified dozens of times. meanwhile, following this change, he no longer felt like an insignificant ant when he perceived the world around him. instead, he felt as if he had become equal with the world. is this the effect of a superior divine body with two advanced laws merged? shi feng was greatly shocked when he sensed the rich mana radiating from his body. its density and purity were already on par with the mana of seven luminaries crystals. although he had previously gotten to experience a complete superior divine body with the primordial dragons help, those experiences only lasted for a brief moment. not to mention, the density of his current mana was not only superior to any of the ten simulated superior divine bodies, but the strength of his mana was also slightly superior to that of ancient gods. however, after shi feng looked at the bonuses he received from his tier 6 promotion, the improvement to his mana suddenly felt inconsequential. system: congratulations! you have become a tier 6 sword law saint (sword god). all basic attributes +12,000, all resistances +1,000, mana recovery rate increased by 500%, mana strength increased by 200%, concentration increased by 200%, stamina recovery speed increased by 100%, hp recovery speed increased by 100%, concentration recovery speed increased by 100%, all physical, magical, and mental attacks received that are below the tier 6 peak standard will be weakened by 60%, all basic attributes increased by 270%, and reaction speed improved by 200%. rewarding 500 legacy skill points. system: the god of times curse has been weakened. there will no longer be an experience gain penalty. the curse will only double the gravity you experience now. system: congratulations! you have completed the third phase of the legendary quest hundred refinement mana body. you have obtained the qualifications to be the hundred refinement buildings owner, and all of the hundred refinement buildings functions will now become available to you. rewarding 100 free legacy skill points. with my current strength, even soloing a level 170 god shouldnt be a problem, shi feng thought when he finished reading the system notifications. even though he wasnt fully equipped with legendary weapons and equipment right now, he was confident he could suppress a tier 6 god of the same level. moreover, it would be without the use of law projection. meanwhile, after looking at his attributes, shi feng turned his sights to the tier 6 legacy skills he could learn. tier 6 skills and spells were of utmost importance to tier 6 players. every additional tier 6 skill or spell players learned would increase their overall strength by a large margin. meanwhile, the stronger a players class in gods domain, the stronger the legacy skills and spells they could learn at each tier. previously, shi feng already found it astonishing that he was allowed to learn a tier 5 super spell when he got promoted to a tier 5 sword law saint. however, when he saw what he could learn at tier 6, he couldnt help but take a deep breath. Chapter 3578 - Chapter 652 - Ten Tier 6 Players chapter 652 C ten tier 6 players three super spells it seems i will have to make some time to earn legacy skill points. when shi feng saw the three tier 6 super legacy spells he could learn, he didnt know whether he should laugh or cry. [sword law world] requires: sword tier 6 super legacy spell create chains of law using world power to weaken all enemies within a 30,000-yard radius by 30%. duration: 10 minutes cooldown: 30 minutes learning condition: 300 legacy skill points [divine shadow] requires: sword tier 6 super legacy spell allows the caster to transform into 100 judgment swords. each judgment sword will carry 200% of the casters attack speed and 300% of the casters strength. cooldown: 3 minutes learning condition: 300 legacy skill points [divine aurora] requires: sword tier 6 super legacy spell (super large destruction spell) exert the law break effect once on a 500*30,000 yard area. cooldown: 1 natural day learning condition: 300 legacy skill points every one of these three super legacy spells was incredibly terrifying. moreover, unlike other tier 6 super spells, these three tier 6 super legacy spells did not have any limitations. indeed! none of them had any strength limitations! normally, tier 6 super spells would have a strength limit clearly defined in their descriptions. no matter how strong a player was, they could never exceed this set limit. however, the sword law saints super legacy spells did not have such limits defined. take sword law world, for example. its description simply stated that it could weaken all enemies within range by 30%. in other words, the super spell could take effect against even ancient gods, and affected ancient gods would be weakened in all aspects by 30%. the super spells effects would not diminish simply because of an ancient gods extraordinary strength. as for divine shadow, each of the judgment swords it created would possess 200% of the users attack speed. in a sense, the super spell provided a 100% increase in attack speed, which was an incredibly rare and powerful effect. with shi fengs attack speed, the judgment swords he created would be so fast that not even tier 6 gods of the same level could keep up with them. on top of that, each judgment sword would carry 300% of his strength, and it was a modifier without any upper limits. if he were to fight the nameless citys gorgon queen again, he did not doubt he could heavily injure the primordial godkin with a single use of divine shadow. as for divine aurora, it was similarly an astonishing super spell. although it had a short and simple description, any player who had a good understanding of gods domain would know that the world of gods domain was composed of many world laws that prevented it from being destroyed easily. if he were to use divine aurora against a player, getting injured would be the least of said players worries. if the other party failed to defend themself adequately, they might cease to exist in gods domain permanently. not to mention, divine auroras range could practically cover an entire map. so long as he cast the spell, there would be no escape for his enemies. long story short, each of the three super spells had their respective strengths. if he could learn all three, he would become a natural disaster for his enemies. unfortunately, he currently only had a little over 700 legacy skill points, so he could only afford to learn two of the three tier 6 super spells. after hesitating for some time, shi feng ultimately chose to learn sword law world and divine shadow, leaving divine aurora for the future. sword law world and divine shadow were incredibly useful in battles of all scales. they also complemented each other well. if he had access to both, they should be enough to let him deal with most situations. shortly after shi feng finished learning the two super spells, multiple mana pillars suddenly appeared in the secret room, one after another. one two three a total of nine mana pillars appeared in the secret room, their presence illuminating the room brightly. nine of them succeeded? shi feng couldnt help but be a little surprised to see nine mana pillars emerging so soon. it should be known that most players would need at least two or three days to construct their divine bodies. the only reason he managed to complete his divine body so quickly was due to the primordial dragon legacy crystals legacy guidances. logically, even if he had left gods domain for twelve hours to rest after completing his divine body, it should still be some time before gentle snow and the others could complete their divine bodies. not to mention, the construction of a divine body was a challenge where even fifth-floor experts werent guaranteed success. although gentle snow and the others had the medium world fragments assistance, their chances of success still shouldnt be very high. originally, shi feng thought that he would be fortunate if he could bring three or four tier 6 players with him to the world ark. yet, contrary to his expectations, nine people had succeeded in their tier 6 promotion. tier 6! i am finally at tier 6! hidden soul exclaimed, an unprecedented excitement coloring her face as she sensed the frightening mana she radiated. when she was still active in their home gods domain, she had never managed to get past tier 5. even when her combat standards had already exceeded the average tier 6 expert, she still never managed to get promoted to tier 6. but now, she finally did it. so, this is what being at tier 6 feels like? standing nearby, gentle snow also couldnt help but analyze her divine body in wonder. when she tried punching and kicking at empty air, her every movement caused the large grandmaster magic barrier protecting the secret room to tremble. her current strength was vastly superior to her strength at tier 5. meanwhile, unlike hidden soul and gentle snow, crimson heart did not show much of a reaction after completing her promotion to tier 6. instead, she kept her eyes shut and quietly sensed the changes to herself and her surrounding environment. but when she eventually opened her eyes, a powerful divine might immediately spread from her body and nearly shattered the secret rooms magic barrier. interesting! so, this is what having god-ranked mana feels like? crimson heart curled her lips upward when she looked at the trembling magic barrier. at this time, gentle snow, hidden soul, and crimson heart werent the only ones immersed in joy and surprise. wordless ember, sleeping quicksand, fire dance, jun luosha, cleansed rue, and rampant blade were also happily familiarizing themselves with their new bodies. meanwhile, as none of these nine individuals did anything to suppress their divine might, it felt as if nine tier 6 gods currently stood in the secret room. moreover, as each of them radiated mana denser than even that of tier 6 gods, the mana in the secret room instantly reached a solid state. if not for the grandmaster magic barrier protecting the others in the room, this mana would have definitely suffocated them. while gentle snow and the others were busy researching their newfound strength, shi feng suddenly received a call from someone he hadnt heard from in quite a while. long time no see, miss frey. what made you remember me all of a sudden? do you have some good news for me? shi feng joked when he saw freys smiling face through the screen. as a matter of fact, i do, frey said, nodding with a smile. i wish to procure your help with something, guild leader black flame. might you be interested? Chapter 3579 - Chapter 653 - World Ark chapter 653 C world ark help you? with what? shi feng curiously asked as he looked at frey. he was more or less aware of freys current circumstances. due to her accomplishments in the courtyard of space, freys influence in the red dragon nation had increased substantially. as a result, she was now tasked with managing three npc cities and one npc fortress occupied by the pseudo-apex power, and the forces under her were achieving rapid development every day. hence, he found it hard to imagine frey would need any sort of assistance from him. the seven luminaries alliance has recently invited the eternal realms various pseudo-apex powers for a meeting in the world arks inner area. the invitation mentions a joint coalition to deal with the holy races invasion, frey leisurely explained. as for the world arks importance, im sure you are already aware of it, right? it is crucial to both the human race and the holy race. an invitation to the world arks inner area? shi feng had his interest piqued. the seven luminaries alliance might be an apex power, but it would rarely interfere with other powers affairs. most of the time, it would take a neutral stance in the greater gods domain, and the only times it would call for collaboration with other powers were usually for major events. of course, even when such rare events occurred, not just anyone could participate in them. without an official invitation from the seven luminaries alliance, anyone who tried to get a cut of the action should be prepared to face severe consequences. it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that doing so would be no different than making an enemy out of the seven luminaries alliance. it is likely to have something to do with the inner areas resurrection camps that will soon activate, frey added. then, she got straight to the point, saying, those invited have invited many other powers to attend the meeting with them, and i am no exception. what do you think, guild leader black flame? think you can spare some time for me? if you are interested in the world arks resurrection camps, then you shouldnt miss this opportunity. if your forces and mine work together, we can likely secure ourselves a spot in the inner area. since you have already said so, i naturally cant miss it, miss frey, shi feng said, accepting freys offer without hesitation. competition over the world ark had been extremely intense during his previous life. it was especially so for the competition over the inner areas resurrection camps. those were places where only pseudo-apex powers and above could step into. although he was confident he could secure a resurrection camp for zero wing, it would only be limited to the world arks outer area. with zero wings current capabilities, the inner areas resurrection camps were completely out of the question. after all, frey had already mentioned that the seven luminaries alliance was spearheading the campaign for the inner areas resurrection camps. uninvited powers that dared to poke their noses where they didnt belong, retribution would swiftly come for them. in fact, the seven luminaries alliance wouldnt even need to make a move. it simply needed to do nothing, and the holy race would gladly deal with the interlopers on its behalf. it should be known that the holy races various powers had only revealed a small portion of their true strength thus far. meanwhile, the seven luminaries alliance was a big reason the various human powers could trade blows and survive against the holy race in his previous life. without the seven luminaries alliance holding back several of the holy races strongest powers, the various human powers would have long been annihilated. now that frey was inviting him to join the seven luminaries alliances campaign, shi feng naturally couldnt miss it. great. well meet outside the world arks horizon mountain range, frey said, nodding before disconnecting her call with shi feng. meanwhile, after seeing frey finishing her call, unrestrained lionheart, the grand wizard standing beside frey, worriedly said, the competition this time isnt going to be simple, vice guild leader. zero wing might have secured itself a place in the crystal city of secrets, but i heard it provoked that person from the skylight association. if we come across the skylight association at the world ark, the other party will definitely cause trouble for us. the skylight associations rise in the eternal realm was extraordinary, so much so that it had been invited to the seven luminaries alliances meeting this time. this proved that the seven luminaries alliance recognized the skylight association to be at the level of a pseudo-apex power. while the red dragon nation might be a pseudo-apex power as well, frey could only mobilize a portion of the guilds forces this time. compared to the forces the skylight association had mobilized to the world ark thus far, her forces were much more inferior. i know. looking at unrestrained lionheart, frey faintly smiled and said, i invited zero wing precisely because it has offended the skylight association. you did it on purpose? unrestrained lionheart was confused. you should know of the intense competition in the guild, right? if i want to compete for the top three vice guild leader positions, i must have sufficiently strong allies, frey explained. although zero wing is still not strong enough, it has incredible potential. it is especially so now that black flame can command so many tier 5 war goddesses. if he can progress further, he might even rival the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones. it will benefit me greatly if i can receive zero wings and black flames support at that time. also, while black flame might have provoked the skylight association, does that make the red dragon nation a pushover? upon hearing freys reasoning, unrestrained lionheart more or less understood her decisions. zero wings overall strength might be inferior to even upper-ranking hegemonic powers right now, but the guild had a high-end combatant like black flame. even alone, black flames strength could greatly help them in raiding world mode regional dungeons and world bosses. now that zero wing was in danger, it was the perfect time for them to get the guild to owe them a favor. as for the matter with the skylight association, it wasnt a big problem at all. after all, the red dragon nation was also a pseudo-apex power. the skylight association wouldnt dare to recklessly provoke or go to war with it. world ark, outer area, horizon mountain range: the horizon mountain range was a majestic mountain range extending across the world ark. it was shrouded in a layer of thunderclouds, and countless lightning bolts bombarded it like rain. each of these lightning bolts carried power at the tier 6 standard and could heavily injure tier 5 legendary monsters. the thunder they generated also echoed across dozens of kilometers, intimidating the nearby legendary monsters from getting close to the mountain range. at this time, though, hundreds of thousands of players were gathered at the mountain ranges entrance. each of these players was at level 170 and above, and many of them were equipped with fragmented legendary items and a mix of common and combat secret treasures. even if these players were placed in the crystal city of secrets, their equipment standard would be considered top-notch. the seven luminaries alliance is going as far as to mobilize a complete luminous battle array? the holy race is going to suffer this time. i know, right? the full luminous battle array can let 500 tier 5 experts gain tier 6 strength. who can possibly stop a force of 500 tier 6 players? several of the nine great pseudo-apex powers have also appeared this time, and the forces they mobilized are similarly astonishing. each of them has mobilized more than 10,000 members. and although they dont have something as powerful as the luminous battle array, they still have 100-man battle arrays to let their members achieve near-tier 6 standards. theyre way stronger than the other pseudo-apex powers. when the members of the invited powers saw the 500 figures guarding the horizon mountain ranges entrance, they couldnt help but be awed by the seven luminaries alliances strength. its nearly time. why isnt zero wing here yet? go and take a look for me, lionheart, frey said, frowning. ive already contacted the members at the world arks entrance. they say they havent seen any zero wing members thus far, unrestrained lionheart said, shaking his head helplessly. as frey and unrestrained lionheart stood anxiously outside the horizon mountain range, dozens of flying mounts appeared in the distant sky. the crowd gasped in amazement as the flying mounts drew closer, revealing a thousand players equipped with standardized fragmented legendary equipment sets. the players equipment linked with each other to form a battle array, and the combined aura they exuded made it feel like a legion of a thousand tier 6 experts had just arrived. the sheer presence of these players was so overwhelming that many players down below started to suffocate. Chapter 3580 - Chapter 654 - Tier 6? chapter 654 C tier 6? its the templar legion! its the skylight associations templar legion! so, this is skylights templar legion? incredible! i didnt think skylights main force would be comparable to the nine great pseudo-apex powers already! when the crowd in front of the horizon mountain ranges entrance saw the approaching skylight association members, they experienced a mix of shock and awe. it was especially so for the powers that never had any dealings with the skylight association before today. for the gathered powers, a force of several dozen extraordinary flying mounts and above wasnt anything significant. even a collection of 1,000 fragmented equipment sets was something the various pseudo-apex powers present could easily take out. but it was a different story for fragmented legendary equipment sets that came with battle arrays. even the nine great pseudo-apex powers could not take out a thousand such sets in the eternal realm. of course, everyone could also tell that the fragmented legendary equipment sets worn by the skylight association members could not create 500-man large bronze battle arrays. instead, these sets could only form 100-man medium bronze battle arrays that could only let tier 5 players gain near-tier 6 combat power. nonetheless, it was still a very frightening collection of equipment in the eternal realm. shortly afterward, the skylight associations flying mounts descended in front of the mountain ranges entrance under everyones gaze, and its members quickly gathered on the ground in organized ranks. their movements resembled well-trained soldiers, and it didnt look like they were members of an upstart guild. meanwhile, after the skylight associations members put away their flying mounts, the organized legion separated into two, opening a path for three individuals. of the three individuals, walking in the lead was nineteenth sword, while following behind him were a man and a woman. upon seeing these three individuals, everyone present fell silent for a moment. heavy shield titan! mjolnir milia! unrestrained lionheart couldnt help but gape in shock when he saw the two individuals walking behind nineteenth sword. so skylight managed to recruit these two as well no wonder the capitals pseudo-apex powers are wary of provoking it when frey saw nineteenth swords group of three, a hint of fear appeared in her eyes. as one of the greater gods domains current ten great sword gods, nineteenth swords strength need not be said. as for heavy shield titan and mjolnir milia, while they werent as strong as nineteenth sword, they were still veteran divine glory experts. titan, in particular, was an expert who had mastered two gold combat techniques already, and he was only some ways away from entering the ranks of the ten great guardian knights. similar to nineteenth sword, both titan and milia used to be solo players. even though the various pseudo-apex powers had made many lucrative offers to them, none had managed to catch their attention. so, seeing them operating under the skylight association now was very surprising. meanwhile, with nineteenth sword, titan, and milia operating together, even the red dragon nation must be wary of them. not to mention, they also had the skylight associations templar legion backing them. among the gathered forces, the overall strength of the skylight associations forces should only be second to the seven luminaries alliance. how interesting. it seems skylight is rather serious about the resurrection camps this time. amidst the crowd, an imposing middle-aged man clad in dark-gray armor and carrying a blood-red axe revealed a look of intrigue as he scrutinized the skylight associations forces. then, he looked toward the two-meter-tall female blood elf standing next to him and smiled wickedly, saying, i heard you are rather close with zero wings guild leader, aurebeth. nineteenth sword has already stated he is going to deal with zero wing. are you sure youre not going to join my side? with my help, ensuring zero wing a place in the world ark shouldnt be a problem. the middle-aged mans words were calm and arrogant. however, none of the surrounding experts refuted or ridiculed him. on the contrary, everyone did their best to avoid looking at the middle-aged man, afraid they would catch his attention. indeed, the appearance of nineteenth swords group of three was astonishing. but the middle-aged man was no ordinary expert, either. garut the blood emperor. in addition to being one of azure fangs two great vice guild leaders, he was also crowned as one of the ten great berserker gods this year. in terms of combat standards, he was not at all inferior to nineteenth sword and titan. furthermore, garut had behind him several hundred experts equipped with fragmented legendary equipment sets that could form 100-man bronze battle arrays. while his teams overall strength might be inferior to the skylight association, the difference wasnt significant. not to mention, azure fang was a pseudo-apex power with a long history. its foundations vastly surpassed that of the skylight association. so, nobody knew what other cards the blood emperor had up his sleeve. if garut were to pick a fight with nineteenth swords group, there was no saying who would emerge victorious. you can keep your kind intentions to yourself. i am only here to fulfill my agreement with the guild leader, aurebeth said as she glanced at nineteenth swords group. then, she closed her eyes and continued, also, guild leader black flame doesnt need my help. he doesnt need your help? garut couldnt help but raise an eyebrow at aurebeths words. the name of black flame rang loudly in his ears. it was especially so after black flame had defeated sleeping spark, the star dynastys strongest chosen one, becoming one of the sacred glory lists top powerhouses. in the future, there was no doubt black flame could enter the ranks of the divine glory list. however, black flames strength was one thing, while zero wings clash with the skylight association was another thing altogether. simply a comparison in numbers would put zero wing far behind the skylight association, let alone a comparison in overall strength. even if black flame was strong enough to match nineteenth sword, the skylight association still had titan and milia. if those two were left unchecked, they could deal devastating damage to zero wings forces. and even if aurebeth decided to intervene, the best she could do was distract those two for some time. so, garut found it hard to imagine what could possibly allow zero wing to not fear the skylight association. however, aurebeth did not bother to explain herself. she simply rested her eyes while waiting for time to pass. not saying, huh? garut did not get angry at aurebeths behavior. instead, he calmly smiled and said, have it your way, then. the guild leader is planning to rectify the crystal citys situation after the expedition this time anyway. when that time comes, ill have plenty of time to learn about zero wing. while garut and the various pseudo-apex powers executives were waiting for the seven luminaries alliance to initiate the meeting, a dragon that was over a hundred meters in length flew over from the distant sky, its appearance immediately attracting everyones attention. a tier 5 dragon? why would a tier 5 dragon appear in this place? wait, there are people riding on that dragon! when everyone got a closer look at the approaching frostflame dragon, they couldnt help but be astonished. dragons were incredibly rare in the greater gods domain. meanwhile, as one of gods domains apex races, dragons possessed immense strength. it was especially so once they reached tier 5 and above. under normal circumstances, a tier 5 dragon could already rival tier 6 divine monsters, requiring many tier 6 experts working together to slay it. even for the various pseudo-apex powers present, they would need to mobilize at least a 100-man team with a medium bronze battle array to stand a chance against a tier 5 dragon. yet, now, someone was using a tier 5 dragon as a mount. how could they not be surprised by this situation? meanwhile, the frostflame dragon whipped up a storm under everyones gaze as it descended in front of the horizon mountain range. then, when the players riding atop the frostflame dragon hopped onto the ground, the players gathered in front of the mountain range were stunned once more. tier 6? Chapter 3581 - Chapter 655 - Apex War chapter 655 C apex war am i dreaming? ten tier 6s? ive never seen this six-winged guild emblem before. which guild are these players from? ten tier 6s! i doubt even the nine great pseudo-apex powers can take out so many! a hundred experts had jumped off the frostflame dragons back, of which ten radiated divine might. when everyone felt the divine might of these ten players, they couldnt help but fall into a daze. it was very easy to distinguish tier 6 players from tier 5 players so long as they werent trying to hide the fact that they were at tier 6. it was especially so if they did not restrict their divine might. any player below tier 6 would experience immense mental suppression when standing in the presence of a tier 6 players divine might. even if a tier 5 players concentration had reached the tier 6 standard, they would still feel strong oppression, and they must divert some of their attention into resisting it. guild leader black flame? shock colored freys beautiful eyes as she watched shi feng put the tier 5 frostflame dragon away. as for unrestrained lionheart, he couldnt help but doubt his eyes as he looked at zero wings members. tier 6 was currently the primary goal of the eternal realms various powers. however, achieving it wasnt easy, as the tier 6 promotion required a significant amount of seven luminaries crystal and had an unreliable success rate. before the various powers could ensure a higher promotion success rate, they wouldnt dare let their experts challenge their tier 6 promotion. otherwise, they would risk throwing away the precious advantages they had built up through their head start in the eternal realm. moreover, even if the various powers had some experts capable of reliably completing their tier 6 promotion, the best they could hope for was a few players successfully getting promoted to tier 6 in the near future. a force of ten tier 6 players was something not even the red dragon nation would dare think of having in the near future, let alone now. it should be known that there was a qualitative difference between tier 5 and tier 6 players. even though the various pseudo-apex powers present had experts equipped with fragmented legendary battle array equipment sets, these experts could only achieve near-tier 6 combat power. in a situation where the difference in combat standards wasnt significant, a tier 6 player could easily go up against dozens of tier 5 players in a battle array. only with the help of a large bronze battle array would it be possible for several tier 5 players to distract a tier 6 player. moreover, this was under the assumption that the tier 6 player in question was only equipped with fragmented legendary items. if the tier 6 player was equipped with a legendary weapon, it would take dozens, if not a hundred, tier 5 experts to resist them, even with the help of a large bronze battle array. currently, if zero wings ten tier 6 experts worked together, after factoring in shi fengs extraordinary capabilities, they could probably match even the seven luminaries alliances complete 500-man luminous battle array. while frey and everyone else were immersed in shock, nineteenth sword couldnt help but frown as he gazed at shi fengs group. im afraid were going to have difficulty dealing with zero wing, elder sword, titan, carrying a thorny shield on his back, whispered to nineteenth sword as he watched frey approach shi fengs group. if they were outside the eternal realm, a force of ten tier 6 players would be trivial. after all, even ordinary hegemonic powers would have dozens of tier 6 players, let alone pseudo-apex powers. but in the current eternal realm, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that tier 6 players were one-man legions. even as a divine glory expert who had mastered two gold combat techniques, titan could, at most, go up against one or two tier 6 players equipped with only fragmented legendary items. if the other party was equipped with a legendary weapon and at the fifth-floor standard, the best he could hope to accomplish was to distract one of them. if all ten of zero wings tier 6 experts were to fight together, the skylight associations chances of victory would be slim. that wasnt to say the skylight association was made up of unskilled players. it was just that the difference between tier 5 and tier 6 players was just that big. otherwise, the greater gods domains various powers wouldnt determine a guilds strength based on the number of tier 6 experts it had. i know. our current priority is to occupy a resurrection camp. everything else comes later, nineteenth sword said as he took a long look at shi feng. then, he turned away and stopped paying attention to zero wings team. the resurrection camps of the world arks inner area were vital for the skylight association to enter holy ring city. therefore, before securing a resurrection camp, he had never intended to do anything else. meanwhile, over at azure fangs team, garut looked astonished as he scrutinized zero wings team. it seems i have really underestimated zero wing. no wonder it dares to go against skylight, garut commented with a smile. its a pity that even tier 6 players would have limited effect on the upcoming battle. otherwise, i would have really liked to partner with them. hearing garuts comment, aurebeth, azure fangs saintess, remained quiet. though, a hint of astonishment still flashed in her eyes when she took a glance at shi feng. shortly after zero wings team arrived, an elderly grand wizard emerged from the world arks inner area and stood before the seven luminaries alliances forces. the grand wizard looked considerably old, having white hair and a white beard. even the aura he gave off felt decrepit. apologies for the long wait. i am gray eagle, an elder of the seven luminaries alliance. after surveying the crowd gathered in front of the mountain range, the old man spoke in a voice that resonated across the skies. as some of you may have guessed, apart from the matter regarding the inner areas resurrection camps, another reason the seven luminaries alliance has invited you all here today is to discuss forming a joint resistance against the holy races various powers. when gray eagle started to speak, the various powers representatives promptly perked up their ears, wondering what kind of plan the seven luminaries alliance was concocting this time. the holy race is incredibly strong. i am sure those of you who have fought in the world ark should know this by now, gray eagle continued when he saw that everyone was paying attention. according to our investigations, the holy race has ten royal powers, and each is as strong, if not stronger than our apex powers. previously, as you have only been competing in the outer area, none of the holy races royal powers have bothered to intervene, but the activation of the inner areas resurrection camps has garnered the attention of one of them. before gray eagle even finished speaking, the various powers members were already in shock. it was especially so for those who had experienced clashing with the holy race in the world arks outer area. each royal power is as strong as our apex powers? and there are ten of them? is this going to be an apex war? frey and the other pseudo-apex powers representatives had difficulty digesting the information gray eagle shared. although they had long known the holy race was powerful, they didnt think it was this strong. it should be known that their greater gods domain only had several apex powers. yet, the holy race had ten apex power equivalents. moreover, one of these apex power equivalents would even be participating in the battle over the world ark this time. an apex war! this was a taboo in the greater gods domain, and it was a battle that non-apex powers should never think of interfering in. the last time an apex war occurred, countless powers faced permanent elimination, and among them was a pseudo-apex power and five upper-ranking hegemonic powers. if the battle over the world arks resurrection camps turned into an apex war, how were they supposed to compete? Chapter 3582 - Chapter 656 - Seven Luminaries Alliances Foundation chapter 656 C seven luminaries alliances foundation world ark, horizon mountain range: following gray eagles words, the hundreds of thousands of experts gathered before the mountain range fell silent. even shi feng couldnt help but be surprised by the old mans revelation. even a royal power has gotten involved? shi feng experienced a mild headache as he tried to digest gray eagles words. currently, the various human powers still knew very little about the holy races might, and even the seven luminaries alliance was no exception. the seven luminaries alliance might have uncovered the existence of the holy races royal powers, but it still didnt understand the true extent of these royal powers strength. when the war between the two races officially began in his previous life, the strength the holy races royal powers exhibited could easily be described as horrifying, with even the weakest royal power being able to rival the seven luminaries alliance! it should be known that the seven luminaries alliance was the greater gods domains oldest apex power. it was so strong that even demons gate, an organization made up of a bunch of lunatics, only dared to pick small and inconsequential fights with it; never would it dare to escalate any confrontations to the level of realm wars. yet, despite being so powerful, the seven luminaries alliance was only roughly equal with the holy races weakest royal powers. honestly, the only reason humans had managed to trade blows with and survive against the holy race in his previous life was that only four royal powers had participated in the invasion. had one or two more royal powers involved themselves with the war, not only would humans lose complete control over the eternal realm, but even a portion of the twelve sanctuaries would have been taken over. so, the fact that one of the holy races royal powers had decided to get involved with the competition over the world ark definitely wasnt good news for the various human powers. there is no need to despair, gray eagle continued as he looked at the depressed crowd. the reason the seven luminaries alliance has invited everyone here today is to help you secure a resurrection camp and establish yourselves in the world ark. what do you need us to do, elder gray eagle? an assassin, the representative of flaming bee, asked. upon hearing flaming bees representatives question, everyone else perked up their ears, wondering what they had to do to secure themselves a place in the world arks inner area. normally, a war between apex powers was one that even pseudo-apex powers couldnt hope to involve themselves with. it wasnt because they didnt have as many experts as apex powers. instead, it was because of the qualitative difference between their apex combatants. so long as they didnt have a way to bridge this gap, trying to defend a resurrection camp from an apex power would be nothing but a pipe dream. after taking a moment to scan the crowd, gray eagle faintly smiled and said, the seven luminaries alliance has been active in the world arks inner area for quite some time already. as soon as the resurrection camps were activated, we immediately occupied six camps that were closest to the holy races side. our presence there will largely prevent the holy races powers from invading our side. everyone immediately grew excited when they heard gray eagles words. the world ark had multiple entrances. a portion of these entrances were on the human races side, while a portion was on the holy races side. moreover, these entrances led to distinctly different sections of the world ark, and it was the same as the inner area. if the seven luminaries alliance was willing to position itself at the forefront of the human side, the holy race would have much greater difficulty interfering with the human races resurrection camps. after all, even if the holy race chose to sneak past the seven luminaries alliances defensive line and attack the resurrection camps behind it, the greater distance their resurrected forces would have to travel would make it a lot easier for the various human powers to defend their resurrection camps. but the holy race wont let us get away with occupying those six resurrection camps easily, so we hope that all of you here can help us defend those six camps first, gray eagle said. so long as we can thoroughly secure our hold over those six camps, we will leave the rear line resurrection camps to you. as for how many camps each of you can occupy, it will depend on your own capabilities. if nobody has any questions, you may follow me to our camps. following gray eagles words, everyone fell silent, all wondering if they should go along with the seven luminaries alliances arrangement. azure fang is fine with this arrangement, but what if other apex powers try to snatch our resurrection camps? garut asked. everyone can rest assured on this matter. any power not participating in the defense this time will have no right to compete for the rear line resurrection camps. even other apex powers are not an exception, gray eagle said, smiling. if any power dares to defy this rule, the seven luminaries alliance will personally act to eliminate them! although gray eagle spoke in a calm tone, his voice exuded confidence and resolution, allowing everyone present to understand that no human power would dare to break the rules. meanwhile, after obtaining the seven luminaries alliances assurance, the various powers present promptly agreed with the alliances proposal and followed gray eagle into the horizon mountain range. immediately, over ten thousand of flying mounts flew toward the six frontmost resurrection camps on the human side of the world arks inner area. world ark, deadzone forest: the world ark was a level 170 to level 200 world mode regional dungeon. it covered a massive area, and it was separated into many map zones of varying levels. among them, the deadzone forest was a level 180 to level 190 map situated in the world arks inner area. even though shi fengs team rode on the tier 5 frostflame dragon, many level 180-plus legendary-rank soul monsters in the deadzone forest still chased after them. all of the deadzone forests soul monsters were made up of death energy and couldnt be damaged by normal physical attacks. if players wished to harm these monsters, they would need to expend a large amount of mana to wear down these monsters death energy first. only then could their physical attacks start to deal damage. if players were to clash with the deadzone forests monsters, they would need to end the fight as quickly as possible. otherwise, they might deplete their mana and lose their ability to damage the monsters. once that happened, it would only be a matter of time before they exhaust their stamina and concentration and die. fortunately, the tier 5 frostflame dragon had no trouble shaking off the pursuing soul monsters with its speed, and shi fengs team safely arrived at a small basin lined with countless tombstones. this basin was one of the resurrection camps that had recently been activated in the world arks inner area. when shi feng and the others arrived at the basin, they saw multiple grandmaster magic arrays covering it, each maintained by 1,000 players. meanwhile, inside the basin, not only were there tens of thousands of players, but there were also hundreds of magic elven cannons set up. each of these magic elven cannons could exhibit power at the tier 6 standard, and they had a firing range of 5,000 yards and a blast radius of 500 yards. in addition, there were also hundreds of dark-gold combat puppets stationed across the basins perimeter. each combat puppet was twenty meters tall and possessed strength rivaling tier 6 berserkers. they also possessed defense that made them nigh-impervious to damage from weapons under the legendary rank. the defenses here are already on par with that of holy cities frey couldnt help but be shocked when she saw the resurrection camps defensive measures. however, the shock frey and everyone else experienced was quickly replaced when they entered the resurrection camp and got a closer look at the players inside. of the many seven luminaries alliance members stationed in the resurrection camp, more than 20 were bona fide tier 6 players. there were also 200 tier 5 players radiating auras on par with tier 6 players, and they were even equipped with fragmented legendary equipment sets that could form an incomparably rare 100-man advanced bronze battle array Chapter 3583 - Chapter 657 - God Hunter chapter 657 C god hunter is that the rumored sacred glory battle array? unrestrained lionheart couldnt help but be awed as he looked at the 200 tier 5 players radiating auras on par with tier 6 players. no wonder so few powers can survive after getting dragged into an apex war. the seven luminaries alliance had three mighty battle arrays in its possession, of which the one with the greatest renown was the 500-man luminous battle array. when used at full capacity, the luminous battle array could strengthen tier 5 players to a point where they could match tier 6 players. in other words, the complete luminous battle array could be used to create a force of 500 tier 6 players. however, while the luminous battle array might be the most famous of the three battle arrays, it wasnt the strongest. instead, the sacred glory battle array, an advanced bronze battle array, ranked above it. although the sacred glory battle array was only a medium battle array and could only accommodate up to 100 players, it could let each tier 5 player in the battle array to create a powerful law projection superior to that of the average tier 6 player. besides that, the battle array also gave players a tremendous boost in basic attributes, putting them on par with tier 6 players fully equipped with fragmented legendary equipment and one piece of legendary equipment. with the help of the sacred glory battle array, a tier 5 player could overwhelm an ordinary tier 6 player in battle. moreover, unlike the luminous battle array, the sacred glory battle arrays effects werent limited to tier 5. tier 6 players could also benefit from the sacred glory battle array, albeit much less than tier 5 players. according to rumors, if 100 tier 6 players activated the sacred glory battle array, each would gain a 10% increase in physique and basic attributes. and although tier 6 players wouldnt even get to share their senses, these bonuses were still significant improvements for tier 6 players nonetheless. currently, although the sacred glory battle array wasnt being used by tier 6 players, it still allowed the seven luminaries alliance to gain an additional 200 experts capable of overpowering the average tier 6 player. this was an overwhelming advantage that no pseudo-apex power could overcome in the current eternal realm. does the seven luminaries alliance even need our help? they can easily defend this place with the forces they have, frey muttered and sighed dejectedly when she saw the difference between the seven luminaries alliances forces and the various powers that had come to assist with the resurrection camps defense. the seven luminaries alliance had occupied six resurrection camps, so the various powers forces were split into six legions and sent to assist each camp. among them, the legion sent to reinforce the deadzone forests resurrection camp consisted of 80,000 players, with the weakest member being a titled expert. in addition, 3,000 of these players could employ the help of 100-man medium bronze battle arrays. on paper, the various powers forces outnumbered the seven luminaries alliances forces. however, in terms of overall combat power, the seven luminaries alliances forces wouldnt even need to break a sweat to obliterate them. is this the strength of an apex power? fire dance similarly couldnt help but be shocked when she saw the seven luminaries alliances defensive forces. ever since she joined the green god corporation, she had participated in many battles across the greater gods domain, and she felt that she had already learned much of what there was to learn. but after coming to the eternal realm, she had her worldview shattered time and again, and it was especially so this time. even without including the seven luminaries alliances experts, the several hundred dark-gold combat puppets in this resurrection camp were probably enough to eradicate any realm empire. yet, these dark-gold combat puppets were only one of the defensive measures prepared for the resurrection camp. moreover, this was only one of six resurrection camps occupied by the seven luminaries alliance at this time, fire dance wasnt the only person from zero wing stunned by the seven luminaries alliances might. everyone else was in a similar situation, and they were once again made to realize how far of a path zero wing still needed to travel to reach the apex. of everyone present, shi feng was the only one unfazed by the resurrection camps defensive measures. the seven luminaries alliance was the greater gods domains oldest power. its foundations far surpassed the other apex powers. in his previous life, the human race could have never withstood the holy races invasion if it wasnt for the seven luminaries alliance shouldering the frontline. shortly after the various powers forces arrived, a young woman from the seven luminaries alliance approached them and stood on an elevated platform. the young woman had a silver ponytail reaching down to her waist, and she had a gaze that was as sharp as a knife. she was a level 173, tier 6 ranger, and she was equipped with exquisite mail armor and carried a strange longbow made entirely out of crystals. i am verdant rainbow, the commander-in-chief of this resurrection camp. since you all have agreed to the seven luminaries alliances conditions, you should know of the camps significance. once the battle begins later on, the seven luminaries alliance will take on the brunt of the enemy forces. you all simply need to take care of any rabble that manages to slip by, the young woman stated loudly as she surveyed the crowd before her. personally, i only have one condition for you all: do not let any holy race player set foot into the core circle. if any manages to do so, chase them out at all costs. you can also earn contribution points from the seven luminaries alliance for every holy race player you kill. once the battle is over, you can spend these points to exchange for weapons and equipment. the top five contributors of this camp will also get to exchange for one legendary weapon or equipment. so, i hope you do not disappoint me! upon hearing verdant rainbows words, apart from a few ignorant youngsters, everyone else couldnt help but be awed by the seven luminaries alliances generosity. the value of one or two legendary items might not be significant to the various pseudo-apex powers, but it was a different story for thirty legendary items. if it were them, they would definitely hesitate to give away thirty legendary items for a single battle. after all, legendary items were incredibly rare, and it was especially so in the eternal realm. rumor has it that the seven luminaries alliances warehouse has the biggest and most complete collection of legendary weapons and equipment in the greater gods domain, and any class can find a corresponding weapon or equipment in it. blood emperor garut licked his lips as he looked at verdant rainbow. it seems i cant afford to take it easy in this battle. besides garut, aurebeth also couldnt help but look at verdant rainbow, a hint of interest flashing in her eyes. for experts of their caliber, weapons and equipment were of utmost importance. however, getting their hands on highly compatible legendary items wasnt easy because every legendary item had different compatibility with different classes. generally, the best way to obtain legendary items of high compatibility would be to get them custom-made. the only problem was that very few individuals could enjoy such a service, even among the various pseudo-apex powers. meanwhile, if custom-made items werent an option, the next best option would be to find non-general legendary items, also known as class-specific legendary items. to actually open up its warehouse it seems the seven luminaries alliance is serious this time. shi feng was also tempted by verdant rainbows words. in the hands of the right class, class-specific items would usually perform 10% to 20% better than general items, even if both possessed the same attributes. this was because class-specific items could not only enhance and make it easier to use the skills and spells of their corresponding classes, thereby increasing their users skill and spell completion rates. however, compared to the seven luminaries alliances rewards, what surprised shi feng, even more, was that the ranger named verdant rainbow had appeared in this place. verdant rainbow might be unknown to most players in the current greater gods domain, but she was incredibly famous during shi fengs previous life. her title was even known by all throughout the greater gods domain, as it was one of the few titles in the greater gods domains history that carried the word god. god hunter! Chapter 3584 - Chapter 658 - First War chapter 658 C first war is that woman strong, guild leader? hidden soul asked out of curiosity when she saw shi feng scrutinizing verdant rainbow. hidden soul understood shi feng to a certain degree, so she knew that most experts couldnt catch his attention. even when the other party was a powerful and influential person in the greater gods domain, shi feng would, at most, take a few extra glances at them. he would never bother to scrutinize them. normally, those who could gain shi fengs scrutiny would be individuals of extraordinary strength. or, more specifically, individuals who could threaten his life. yes. very much so, shi feng quietly said and nodded. i dare say shes among the top ten strongest players in the current eternal realm. top ten? hidden soul couldnt help but take a closer look at verdant rainbow upon hearing shi fengs evaluation. then, she skeptically continued, although she is currently at tier 6, her mana and aura still feel weaker than azure shadows group. the various apex powers should have also sent some of their old monsters into the eternal realm. even if she is slightly stronger than the various apex powers younger generation, i doubt anyone of the younger generation can rank among the eternal realms top ten. hidden soul was no longer as ignorant regarding the greater gods domain as she was when she was still operating under the flower of seven sins. while she might not know how many experts the various apex powers had under their command, she knew every major power operating in the greater gods domain had a group of old monsters operating behind the scenes. in terms of age, even the youngest of these old monsters were probably over a century old, while the older ones had mingled in the greater gods domain for centuries already. meanwhile, because of the combat experience they had accumulated and the foundation they had built for themselves, they had a vast advantage over players of the younger generation, and it would take the younger generation a lot of time and effort to catch up to them. moreover, the stronger a power was, the more so this would be. after all, most of these old monsters had similarly been regarded as paragons and chosen ones during their younger days. the talent they possessed was not at all inferior to the current younger generation. admittedly, not many powers and players were currently present in the eternal realm. but even in this limited population of players, it would still be incredibly difficult to rank among the top ten in strength. in hidden souls opinion, even shi feng couldnt necessarily accomplish this feat, so the odds of a woman younger than shi feng accomplishing it should be even lower. it might be impossible for others, but not for her, shi feng said, shaking his head and wryly smiling when he saw the skeptical look on hidden soul. as for why that is the case, it is because she currently possesses the world string, a divine artifact. it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to regard her as a taboo. verdant rainbow was a legendary name in shi fengs previous life. during a defensive siege against the holy race, verdant rainbow had single-handedly slain sixteen ancient saints and one holy ancestor. her achievement was so astonishing that she scared away the royal power attacking the holy city she defended. but who could blame them? to the holy race, ancient saints were the equivalent of the human races ancient gods, while holy ancestors were the equivalent of the human races primordial gods. yet, with one bow, verdant rainbow had shot down sixteen ancient saints and one holy ancestor. such an achievement could only be found in the grand librarys records in the modern greater gods domain. in fact, verdant rainbows achievement might be even more incredible than these records. it was why the twelve rulers of the twelve sanctuaries had unanimously agreed to award verdant rainbow with the title of god hunter. in terms of significance, a title awarded by the twelve sanctuaries rulers was far more valuable than a title awarded by the seven luminaries alliance. not only was it a representation of strength and status in the greater gods domain, but it also came with blessings from the greater gods domain. although the current verdant rainbow had yet to become as strong as she was when the holy race invaded the twelve sanctuaries in shi fengs previous life, the fact that she was already in possession of the world string meant that she could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with ancient gods. this was also why shi feng was so surprised to see verdant rainbow. a divine artifact? is the seven luminaries alliance insane? after hearing shi fengs words, hidden soul couldnt help but gape in shock as she looked at the strange-looking crystalline longbow on verdant rainbows back. for players like herself, divine artifacts were things they could only dream of obtaining. although shi feng had handed the fragmented divine artifact-rank chaos windblade to gentle snow sometime ago, hidden soul still felt that divine artifacts were far out of her reach. meanwhile, divine artifacts were items regarded by the various pseudo-apex powers as their greatest trump card. they would never take out their divine artifacts to a fight unless they were facing an existential crisis. hence, hidden soul found it unbelievable the seven luminaries alliance would let someone take a divine artifact into a fight over just one resurrection camp. it should be known that divine artifacts were items that could be dropped on death. in fact, they would have a considerably great chance of dropping in battles between players. after all, players could use curse-type tools or special barriers to drastically increase their opponents death penalty. on a large battlefield, players could even lose all of their weapons and equipment if they died multiple times. there was also no way to hide a divine artifact from others in battle. it might be hard to tell a weapon or equipments exact rank outside of battle, but once in battle, so long as a player wasnt an inexperienced amateur, they could quickly determine the rank of their opponents weapons and equipment based on the other partys combat performance. not to mention, the might of a divine weapon was vastly superior to legendary and fragmented divine weapons. the moment verdant rainbow took action, everyone would be able to tell she was wielding a divine weapon. defending a resurrection camp with a divine weapon was no different than waving a winning lottery ticket in a crowded street. was the seven luminaries alliance not afraid of getting robbed? thats not for us to worry about, shi feng said when he saw hidden souls drooling look. then, he switched to the team chat and said, miss frey, once the battle begins, have all of your people gather near our tier 6 members and do not move more than a hundred yards away. otherwise, we will have difficulty rescuing you. arent you being a little too cautious, guild leader black flame? we will only be dealing with the rabble who manages to slip through, unrestrained lionheart said as he looked at shi feng in confusion. not to mention, if we restrict our movements to 100 yards around you, we will have trouble chasing the holy race players out of the camps core circle. the rules for occupying a resurrection camp were simple. so long as a guild could ensure it had the most members present in a resurrection camps core circle for 24 hours, it would immediately gain ownership of the resurrection camp. no interruptions were allowed during this period. if a guild failed to maintain its numerical advantage even once, the whole occupation process would have to start all over again. but once a resurrection camp was occupied, if other guilds wished to occupy it, they would need to ensure nobody but their own members were present in the core circle. moreover, they needed to keep it that way for 24 hours. if so much as one member from the resurrection camps owner entered the core circle, the occupation process would be canceled, and it could not be restarted until the core circle was cleared out. even if the invading guild had more members in the core circle, it still wouldnt matter. hence, for those seeking to occupy a resurrection camp, it was crucial they be the first to occupy it. currently, their task was to chase away any holy race player who managed to enter the resurrection camps core circle. if they had to limit their movements to within 100 yards of shi fengs team, they would have difficulty exhibiting their strength. just as shi feng was about to explain his decision, several of the dark-gold combat puppets stationed along the resurrection camps perimeter suddenly went on alert as numerous red dots appeared on their 20,000-yard warning map. these red dots came in different sizes. the greater the size, the greater the targets energy levels, the greater the targets strength, and the greater the threat the target would pose to the combat puppet. i got 1,043 high-energy alerts! the holy races army is here! estimates show at least 1,043 tier 6 experts! Chapter 3585 - Chapter 659 - Holy Race Army chapter 659 C holy race army deadzone forest, resurrection camp: following the dark-gold combat puppets alert, the several large grandmaster magic barriers protecting the resurrection camp seemingly came to life as they lit up with numerous magic patterns. immediately afterward, the several thousand tier 5 magical class experts presiding over the magic barriers each took out an ancient scroll. then, they began manipulating the magic array drawn on the scroll with all their might, their actions causing all mana within a 10,000-yard radius to congregate and form a mana storm in the middle of the resurrection camp. as soon as the mana storm finished forming, the mana density within the resurrection camp rose rapidly, increasing by threefold in only three seconds. players present within the camp even felt their control over mana improving greatly. what dense mana! a great grandmaster mana strengthening barrier?! the seven luminaries alliance has even taken out such a strategic barrier?! as expected of the most transcendental apex power. ive only ever seen pseudo-apex powers using portable great grandmaster mana strengthening barriers on their primary guild cities in the void sea. yet, the seven luminaries alliance is using one just to defend a resurrection camp when the various powers experts saw that the resurrection camps magic barriers and mana had been greatly strengthened, they promptly recognized the ancient scrolls the seven luminaries alliances members had taken out, and they couldnt help but be amazed. great grandmaster magic arrays were extremely precious in the greater gods domain. it was especially so for large great grandmaster magic arrays that required 1,000 players to maintain. meanwhile, the rarity of portable large great grandmaster magic arrays was even greater, and even pseudo-apex powers would have difficulty getting their hands on a full set. apart from great grandmaster magicians being incredibly rare, another reason for this was the scrolls used to house the large great grandmaster magic array. scrolls were much more fragile than the walls of towns, cities, and fortresses. if players wished to engrave something as powerful as a great grandmaster magic array onto a set of scrolls, the scrolls in question would need to be of very high quality. at the very least, they must be made from legendary materials. meanwhile, the average large great grandmaster magic array would need at least 1,000 scrolls to house it completely. even for a pseudo-apex power, it would put a huge dent in their coffers if they were to produce a full set of such scrolls. because of this, the various pseudo-apex powers only had a very limited number of portable large great grandmaster magic arrays. unless they were looking to defend a location of great importance, they would never use these portable magic arrays. theyre here? when shi feng saw the resurrection camps magic arrays going into full swing, he couldnt help but glance at the dark forest in the distance. while shi feng was gazing at the distant forest, the various powers executives started to prepare their forces for battle. as for the seven luminaries alliances side, verdant rainbow flew straight to the edge of the magic barriers with the rest of the alliances tier 6 experts and quietly gazed at the distant sky. not long after, in the direction verdant rainbow was looking at, a train that was 30 meters wide and 2,000 meters long appeared. the train traveled across the sky rapidly, and following behind it was a dense swarm of holy race experts. these holy race experts flew with the help of wings made up of holy patterns, the glowing wings brightly illuminating the gloomy sky. shortly after its appearance, the sky train arrived within a few thousand yards of the resurrection camp and directed its side toward the camp. at the same time, numerous barriers made of holy patterns lit up across the trains entire length, protecting the 300-plus energy cannons and 1,000-plus holy race experts within the trains carriages. when the human players within the resurrection camp saw the holy race experts aboard the sky train, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. after all, of these holy race experts, over a thousand radiated auras stronger than tier 6 divine monsters despite being only at tier 5, and over 50 were at tier 6. that was more than twice the number of tier 6 experts the seven luminaries alliance had stationed in this resurrection camp. no need to fret. the holy races legacies are more comprehensive than ours, making it easier for them to advance to tier 6. but we humans are superior when it comes to strength utilization. the combined might we can exhibit also far exceeds them, verdant rainbow calmly stated to everyone, unfazed by the sky train and the holy race experts aboard it. we will deal with the holy races tier 6 experts. the rest of you only need to focus on the others, verdant rainbow continued. once gaps start to appear in the barriers, all forces are to barricade them immediately. do not let any of the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts inside! the various powers members felt slightly relieved when they heard verdant rainbows words. the situation was still manageable if they only needed to deal with the holy race armys pseudo-tier 6 experts. after all, they had teams assisted by bronze magic arrays. they might not be a match for the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts in one-on-one combat, but they had the numerical advantage. if several of them fought against one of the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts, combined with the help of a bronze battle array, they could still achieve victory. but it would be an entirely different story if they were to face the holy races bona fide tier 6 experts. aside from a difference in basic attributes, tier 6 players had access to tier 6 skills and spells that tier 5 players did not. the effects of the combat techniques they used would also be stronger. even with the help of a bronze battle array, tier 5 players would have difficulty mitigating these differences. it looks like a tough battle is inevitable. freys expression grew serious when she saw the holy race army that covered the sky. immediately, she had the red dragon nations 100-man battle array team prepare for battle. apart from the holy race experts aboard the voyage train, over 200,000 tier 5 holy race experts were still waiting to invade the resurrection camp as soon as the opportunity appeared. these experts might not be as strong as those on the train, but they still radiated auras close to that of tier 6 divine monsters. they werent opponents the average fourth-floor expert could hope to resist in one-on-one combat. meanwhile, on azure fangs side, garut and aurebeth each led a 100-man battle array team to the edge of the resurrection camp, their eyes focused on the voyage trains energy cannons. during this time, a young man with a dark-blue holy eye imprinted on his forehead appeared on top of the voyage train. then, before the various powers battle array teams could get into positions, the three-eyed young man waved his hand and shouted: fire! following the young mans command, the voyage trains 300-plus energy cannons fired on the resurrection camp simultaneously. in response, verdant rainbow commanded the resurrection camps magic elven cannons to fire at the voyage train. boom! boom! boom! suddenly, it was as if the sun had risen in the deadzone forest as blinding light drowned the area around the resurrection camp. deafening explosions also rang across tens of thousands of yards. meanwhile, as a result of this exchange of cannon fire, the energy barriers of both sides shook violently, and the area between them turned into an empty void. after the first round of bombardment, subsequent rounds quickly followed. following each bombardment, the distance between both sides also shortened. when the gap shortened to less than 1,000 yards, cracks finally started to appear in the barriers on both sides. charge! stop them! commands to charge into battle were issued on both sides simultaneously. Chapter 3586 - Chapter 660 - Whose Attack Is That? chapter 660 C whose attack is that? less than a thousand yards currently separated the two sides. for any tier 5 expert, this was a distance they could cross with just several steps. for tier 5 holy race experts with superior basic attributes, fighting at this distance would be no different than tier 4 players fighting within a hundred yards of each other. naturally, this distance would be even more negligible for the pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts. in the blink of an eye, the holy races tier 5 experts were already within 500 yards of the resurrection camp, while the pseudo-tier 6 experts were already within 200 yards. as for the tier 6 holy race experts aboard the voyage train, although they remained in their positions, they started attacking the resurrection camps magic barriers, preventing the barriers from recovering and widening the existing cracks. seeing more than 50 tier 6 skills targeting the magic barriers, the various powers members inside the resurrection camp couldnt help but feel unnerved. the magic barriers were their greatest defensive measure. if the cracks in the barriers became overly large, they would allow more holy race experts to infiltrate the resurrection camp, increasing the difficulty of dealing with the holy race experts. it would be especially so for the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts. each of them was capable of great destruction, and it would be a nightmare for tier 5 players to fight them without the assistance of a battle array. optimally, each crack in the barriers should only allow five or six pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts to enter at a time. if it was only that many, their 100-man battle array teams could easily send them flying back out of the cracks before they could react. but if ten or more pseudo-tier 6 experts entered at the same time, their battle array teams attacks would no longer have enough firepower to send all of them flying out of the magic barriers. and if some of these pseudo-tier 6 experts manage to gain a foothold within the resurrection camp, they would become much harder to deal with. when the tier 6 skills were about to connect with the magic barriers, though, verdant rainbow suddenly drew her longbow to its limit and fired a glowing silver arrow into the sky. once the silver arrow flew out of the magic barriers, it turned into hundreds of chains that spread out to form countless flat world barriers, the barriers blocking more than half of the incoming tier 6 skills. at the same time, the rest of the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 experts used their tier 6 skills and spells one after another, blocking the rest of the holy races tier 6 skills and preventing any further damage to the magic barriers. what an incredible defensive arrow! everyone, whether human players or holy race players, couldnt help but be stunned by the arrow launched by verdant rainbow. usually, tier 6 experts originating from apex powers could exhibit power at the standard of tier 6 gods when they used tier 6 skills. if several dozen of these tier 6 experts attacked together, the combined might of their attacks could overwhelm even the defenses of ancient gods at the same level. yet, verdant rainbow had stopped over 20 of such tier 6 skills with a single arrow, without the help of any skills or spells. if speaking solely in terms of defensive capabilities, verdant rainbow was definitely at the standard of ancient gods. is that woman verdant rainbow, the seven luminaries alliances chosen one of this generation? when the three-eyed young man in charge of the holy race army looked at rainbow, he quickly identified her based on the intelligence his organization had collected. he also couldnt help but be a little surprised as verdant rainbow was a lot stronger than the reports stated. however, the three-eyed young mans surprise lasted only briefly before he resumed commanding the tier 6 experts on his side to attack the magic barriers for a second time. it was as if he did not care that verdant rainbows team could neutralize all of their tier 6 experts attacks. subsequently, an intense exchange of firepower occurred between the holy race and the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 experts. in the meantime, under the support of the voyage trains cannon fire, the holy races tier 5 experts recklessly charged through the gaps of the magic barriers, paying no heed whatsoever toward the attacks coming from the human players inside the barriers. in just a few seconds, multiple groups of pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts successfully infiltrated the resurrection camp. in response, the dark-gold combat puppets, sacred glory battle array team, and many other battle array teams charged forward to engage these pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts in battle, intending to expel them out of the magic barriers before more of them could gather. boom! boom! boom! because of their massive numerical disadvantage, even though the pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts had superior basic attributes, they failed to react to all of the attacks directed at them and ended up getting hit numerous times. however, following the end of the first round of bombardment, everyone on the human side couldnt help but be shocked by what they saw. how can this be?! the number of attacks each of the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts had received would normally be enough to blow even tier 6 tanks into smithereens. yet, these pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts had lost less than one-third of their hps. in fact, before anyone on the human side could react, multiple heals had landed on the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts, instantly bringing their hps back to full. upon seeing this scene, even garut and aurebeth couldnt help but knit their brows. while they remained confident they could win against the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts in one-on-one combat, they definitely couldnt defeat their opponents quickly with how frightening their defense was. unless they could somehow prevent their opponents from being healed, killing them would be impossible, and they could only watch as more holy race experts infiltrate the resurrection camp. tier 6 holy bodies? verdant rainbows complexion darkened a little when she noticed the peculiarity of the pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts. unlike the eternal realms various pseudo-apex powers, the seven luminaries alliance possessed an in-depth understanding of the holy race. meanwhile, based on the alliances investigation and research, holy race players innately possessed physique that was much stronger than human players. combined with the attribute strengthening effect of holy aura, even the tanks of human players could not hope to match holy race players of the same tier in defense and the various resistances. but still, it should be impossible for a tier 5 holy race expert to take so little damage after getting hit by more than a dozen attacks from tier 5 human experts. she even saw that these holy race experts didnt bother to dodge the attacks coming at them, choosing to resist them directly. meanwhile, the only explanation she could come up with for this situation was that these tier 5 holy race experts possessed tier 6 holy bodies. the holy body of holy race players was similar to the divine body of human players. it was qualitatively superior to the tier 5 body in physique, resistance, and damage reduction. as a result, tier 5 players would have great difficulty damaging anyone with a tier 6 holy body. unless they could overcome the upper limit of the holy bodys damage reduction, the damage they could cause would be considerably limited. its too late to notice now. when the three-eyed young man using tier 6 skills aboard the voyage train saw the panicking human experts within the resurrection camp, he curled his lips in disdain. do you think those rabble powers youve fought thus far can compare to a royal power like us? compared to the human races greater gods domain, the holy races greater gods domain was much bigger in size, and the competition there was much more intense. yet, even under such conditions, only ten royal powers existed, and they ruled over the greater gods domain like an emperor. among them, each royal power had varying trump cards. meanwhile, the ability to let tier 5 players have a tier 6 holy body was only one of many trump cards the various royal powers possessed. now that the first batch of tier 5 experts with holy bodies had infiltrated the magic barriers, so long as they held on for some time, many more experts with holy bodies would join them. it also wouldnt matter if the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 experts decided to take action. after all, if the human experts chose to do so, their tier 6 experts could simply take advantage of the situation to attack the magic barriers, creating more cracks in the barriers and letting even more experts infiltrate the resurrection camp. however, just when the second batch of experts with holy bodies tried to infiltrate the resurrection camp, several dozen dazzling stars shot through the cracks and targeted these experts. although these experts had promptly reacted to these oncoming stars and entered defensive stances, the collision still sent them flying over 200 yards back and depleted over half of their hp whose attack is that?! the advancing holy race experts were immediately startled by this sudden turn of events. Chapter 3587 - Chapter 661 - God-ranked Expert chapter 661 C god-ranked expert deadzone forest, resurrection camp: immediately after several dozen holy race experts with tier 6 holy bodies were sent flying, the other holy race experts present couldnt help but turn to look at the origin of the dazzling stars, a hint of panic appearing in their eyes. the various human powers experts also turned toward the origin of the stars, their hearts filled with shock and curiosity. the first batch of pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts that had infiltrated the resurrection camp had already thoroughly displayed the strength of a holy race expert with a tier 6 holy body. even when struck by over a dozen attacks from tier 5 human experts, they barely lost one-third of their hp. it should be known that the tier 5 human experts in question werent ordinary tier 5 players. not only did they possess basic attributes at the tier 6 standard, but even the weakest among them could use advanced silver combat techniques. they could probably already exhibit power at the tier 6 peak standard in all their attacks. if over a dozen of these attacks landed on a tier 6 human tank, they would absolutely perish if they did not activate a lifesaving skill. simply put, the reason the pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts had lost only one-third of their hp definitely wasnt because the human players attacking them were weak. meanwhile, the several dozen dazzling stars clearly originated from one attack. yet, each of those stars had managed to deprive a pseudo-tier 6 holy race expert of more than 50% of their hp. the might they displayed was simply unfathomable. after everyone turned to look at the origin of the dazzling stars, the first thing that caught their attention was a cloaked young man carrying a longsword by his waist and wielding a black longsword with crimson patterns in his right hand. black flame? guild leader black flame! a god-ranked expert? many of the human experts present recognized shi feng immediately. it was especially so for those familiar with him, such as frey, unrestrained lionheart, and aurebeth. and, without exception, everyone couldnt help but be shocked and confused as they looked at him. the name of black flame was no longer a stranger to the greater gods domains players. as one of the sacred glory lists top powerhouses, many powers and experts felt that black flame had a strong chance of entering the divine glory list in the future. previously, when black flame revealed his status as a tier 6 player, he had also caused quite a huge commotion. however, compared to his current feat of sending several dozen pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts flying, the commotion he previously caused was insignificant. tier 6 players might currently be considered apex existences in the eternal realm, but there also existed significant differences between tier 6 players. it was similar to the difference between titled experts and fifth-floor experts. if they were only talking about a single realm, titled experts could indeed be considered apex existences and mainstays of the various powers. however, if the scale was expanded to cover the entire greater gods domain, titled experts would seem ordinary, and the various powers would consider only fifth-floor experts as core members. meanwhile, black flames attack had undoubtedly reached the standard of tier 6 gods. moreover, it wasnt just a normal attack from a tier 6 god. after all, the attack was much stronger than that of the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 experts, and it should be known that they were all equipped with legendary weapons. the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 experts would probably have to use tier 6 taboo skills or curses to match black flames attack. and if the attack was at that caliber, it was already enough to heavily injure level 180 divine monsters. furthermore, as everyone present was not an ordinary expert, they could tell that black flames attack was only a normal attack as it did not exhibit any mana fluctuations. the only players capable of achieving such a feat in the greater gods domain would be the rumored god-ranked experts. god-ranked experts! typically, tier 6 players must be fully equipped with legendary weapons and equipment to achieve this standard. but after reaching this standard, players would become capable of trading blows with tier 6 gods, and upper-ranking hegemonic powers would have to start to treat them seriously. it also wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that one such individual could be equated to an entire pseudo-upper-ranking hegemonic power. as for pseudo-apex powers, they would also do their best to recruit such individuals. a god-ranked expert, huh? verdant rainbows eyes lit up with joy as she looked at shi feng, who stood close to the resurrection camps core circle. she never expected zero wing to give her such a surprise. just now, verdant rainbow was very close to commanding the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 experts to expel the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts. after all, the camps magic barriers were designed to defend against external attacks. if too many pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts infiltrated the resurrection camp, not only could they cause devastating damage to the tier 5 experts inside the camp, but they could also sabotage the magic barriers from the inside, causing them to fail before they reached the end of their 24-hour duration. good! with a god-ranked expert here, none of those pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts should think of infiltrating the camp! a black-clad elderly man casting a tier 6 defensive spell said, sighing in relief. at this rate, we should have no trouble holding on until we occupy the camp. the other seven luminaries alliance members nodded in agreement, their tense expressions loosening significantly. the forces the sun dynasty, the royal power attacking them, dispatched had far exceeded their expectations, so their chances of successfully defending the resurrection camp were originally very low. however, things were different now that they had a god-ranked expert. setting aside whether they could defeat the sun dynastys army, they should have no trouble defending the resurrection camp until the end of the occupation process. at that time, they would have completed the mission assigned to them by the higher-ups. while verdant rainbow and the others were feeling relieved, the three-eyed young man standing aboard the voyage train knitted his brows slightly. where did that god-ranked expert come from? why do we have no information about him? the three-eyed young man coldly questioned the people around him after double-checking the intelligence reports he had received. there is nothing wrong with our information, your highness. that human isnt a member of the seven luminaries alliance, a tall young man standing nearby hurriedly explained. going by the information weve collected on the human race, he should be black flame, the guild leader of an upstart guild in the eternal realm. he has also recently become one of the sacred glory lists top powerhouses. how fortunate of the seven luminaries alliance, the three-eyed young man coldly said. but since this punk dares to stick his head out for the seven luminaries alliance, we need to teach him what it means to make an enemy out of the sun dynasty. have the three fist saints take care of him. i do not wish to see him still existing in gods domain by the end of this battle. isnt that too much, your highness? the tall young man broke into a sweat when he heard the three-eyed young mans words. the three fist saints are here to ambush the seven luminaries alliances chosen one. it simply isnt worth having them target black flame. the three fist saints were core elders of the sun dynasty, and every one of them was a god-ranked expert. to devastate the seven luminaries alliances younger generation and make a great contribution to the sun dynasty, the three-eyed young man had deliberately invited the three fist saints to erase verdant rainbow from gods domain. but if the three fist saints were to prematurely expose themselves to deal with black flame, the seven luminaries alliance would definitely take precautions to protect verdant rainbow. at that time, it would become nigh-impossible to target her. you dont need to worry about this. have the three fist saints move out. i do not wish to see the other five occupy a camp before me, the three-eyed young man said without hesitation, giving the tall young man a dissatisfied glare. understood! ill notify the three elders right away! the tall young man dared not say anything else and quickly contacted the three fist saints. tl notes: [1]god-ranked expert: the god-ranked expert term that will appear from this chapter onward will be referring to experts capable of rivaling tier 6 gods rather than merely experts who had reached tier 6. Chapter 3588 - Chapter 662 - Fist Saint chapter 662 C fist saint outside the resurrection camp, over 200,000 tier 5 holy race experts rained attacks on the camps magic barriers while providing cover for the advancing pseudo-tier 6 holy race players. as a result, shouting and explosions continuously echoed throughout the deadzone forest. meanwhile, standing among the holy race army were three elderly men with many holy patterns covering their bodies. despite the three old men radiating near-solid holy auras, hardly any of the surrounding holy race players noticed them as they quietly advanced with the army. even the few holy race experts who noticed the three old men simply deemed them ordinary. this was because despite the thick holy aura they radiated, the three old mens life rating was only at the tier 5 standard. while it was true that their superior holy auras would grant them stronger strengthening effects, they could, at best, rival the average tier 6 human expert. in the holy race army, such experts were a dime a dozen, so there was no reason to pay any particular attention to the three old men. however, if any of the tier 6 experts aboard the voyage train saw these three old men, they would know that the three elders were, in reality, bona fide tier 6 players. moreover, their holy auras could strengthen their physique and basic attributes to match tier 6 dragons. paired with their legendary weapons and equipment, they could easily match the human races tier 6 gods. if these three old men were to work together to execute an advanced silver holy art, they could annihilate even a tier 6 players soul. when the three old men arrived within 500 yards of verdant rainbow, the seven luminaries alliances chosen one, they immediately prepared themselves to take action. once the voyage trains energy cannons fired again, they would use the distraction created to close the gap and execute their holy arts against verdant rainbow, forcing the seven luminaries alliances chosen one into permanent retirement. however, as the three elders were waiting for the right opportunity, they suddenly received a message that caused their eyebrows to twitch. we are to eliminate black flame instead? after reading the message, the elder with no hair on his head couldnt help but grow a little dissatisfied. his highness really knows how to make trouble for us. isnt that better? rather than eliminating a heavily guarded chosen one, it would be much easier to eliminate an upstart guilds guild leader, the elder with a long beard said, chuckling. regardless, we can still repay that persons favor. in that case, lets do it! the elder with holy patterns in his eyes said. then, after taking a deep breath, he began slowly advancing to where shi feng was. seeing this, the two other old men quickly followed. although they were known as the three fist saints, only one of them actually went by the name of fist saint, and that was earthen fist saint, the person with holy patterns in his eyes. when earthen fist saint gathered his holy aura in his fists, his punches could devastate the land and tear apart the sky. even the human races tier 6 gods would stumble by half a step when receiving his punches. as for how the three of them came to be known as the three fist saints, it was because all three of them fought using gloves, and they happened to slay a tier 6 god from the human race when working together in the past. now that earthen fist saint had decided to target black flame instead, they naturally wouldnt raise any objections. three minutes later, the three old men arrived within 400 yards of shi feng. at this time, the battle had become much more chaotic as the holy race army had moved much closer to the resurrection camp. explosions kept occurring all over both sides energy barriers, neither side giving up on bringing down the opponents energy barriers. after all, once the opponents energy barriers failed, they would be able to cause maximum damage to the other side. in the meantime, many holy race experts kept fearlessly charging through the gaps in the resurrection camps magic barriers. as more and more gaps appeared in the resurrection camps barriers, even shi feng could only afford to target the holy races pseudo-tier 6 experts, leaving the rest to the others. however, even after seeing this, the three fist saints did not rush to attack shi feng. instead, they patiently infiltrated the resurrection camp with the other tier 5 holy race experts. meanwhile, inside the resurrection camps magic barriers, all of the various powers members capable of exhibiting power at the tier 6 standard worked together with the seven luminaries alliances dark-gold combat puppets and sacred glory battle array team, trying their best to restrict the holy race experts from causing havoc inside the magic barriers. among them, the main combatants responsible for resisting these holy race experts were the various pseudo-apex powers new-generation chosen ones and vice guild leaders. out of all these talented individuals, the one with the most outstanding performance was azure fangs blood emperor garut. as someone nominated for a position among the ten great berserker gods this year, garut could exhibit power at the tier 6 peak standard with every swing of his giant crimson axe. paired with torrential thunder, a gold combat technique he had mastered, not only could he unleash these powerful attacks rapidly, but his attacks could also suppress the surrounding areas space and time, reducing the mobility of his opponents. unless the holy race experts targeted by garut possessed something similar to the instantaneous movement spell, they would have no choice but to receive his attacks. meanwhile, with the help of torrential thunder, garut had already killed over 20 holy race experts thus far. another three holy race experts? when garut saw three elderly holy race experts crossing the magic barriers through a gap near him, he charged at the trio and swung his axe at them without hesitation. torrential thunder! immediately, garuts crimson axe transformed into a huge thunderbolt that threatened to wash over the three elderly holy race experts. however, the instant garut executed his attack, his sixth sense immediately warned him of danger. although initially confused by this unexpected development, when garut saw that the three elderly holy race experts remained unaffected by his torrential thunders space-time suppression, he instantly broke out in a cold sweat. he also couldnt fathom how this situation could have happened. while he might only be at tier 5 right now, he was in possession of the peak hidden class dragonblood warrior and the demidragon bloodline. in addition, he was equipped with the legendary-rank blood axe and a full set of legendary equipment. even if he were to face off against a true tier 6 player, he could still put up a good fight. not to mention, when he executed torrential thunder against the pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts previously, he managed to immobilize all of them and send them stumbling several steps backward without exception. yet, when he used the same attack against the three elderly holy race experts, the trio didnt get immobilized in the slightest. this led him to think of one frightening possibility. god-ranked experts! Chapter 3589 - Chapter 663 - Experts Meet chapter 663 C experts meet three god-ranked experts? garuts eyes twitched when he saw that the three elderly men were unaffected by his gold combat technique. he retreated almost instinctively, not daring to be anywhere near the three. most players in the greater gods domain only knew that the term god-ranked expert represented players capable of rivaling tier 6 gods and that they shouldnt try to offend these existences. they didnt know exactly why they should fear and try to avoid offending god-ranked experts. however, it was a different story for the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers. they had a much better understanding of god-ranked experts, and they knew exactly why players shouldnt offend these existences. soul annihilation! once a player reached the standard of tier 6 gods, they would become strong enough to annihilate even the immortal souls of tier 6 players. while there wasnt a 100% success rate, the fact that the possibility existed was more than enough to instill fear into the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers. it was not easy for the various powers to nurture their talented newcomers. the resources spent were one thing. a more crucial problem was finding talented individuals to recruit and nurture. if their young talents suffered soul annihilation, they could no longer log into gods domain for the rest of their lives. their talent would also become meaningless. if a power had all of its mainstays eliminated from gods domain one after another, it would only be a matter of time before it faced destruction. unless, of course, it was willing to pay an astronomical price to resurrect the dead players. but the price of resurrecting players who had suffered permanent deaths was incredibly costly even to the various apex powers, let alone the various pseudo-apex powers and upper-ranking hegemonic powers. currently, as garut was only a tier 5 player, even one god-ranked expert would be enough to annihilate his soul, let alone three. if he tried to fight these three god-ranked experts, his retirement from gods domain would be virtually guaranteed. you reacted quite quickly. it seems you should also be a powers chosen one, the old man with the long beard commented when he saw garut abruptly retreating. in that case, die! ignoring the effects of garuts torrential thunder, the bearded old man punched out with his right fist, his movements slow and silent. however, when garut saw this seemingly ordinary punch, he immediately felt the approach of death, and he had no idea how he should even resist it. the bearded old mans punch might seem ordinary to the average person, but as an expert who had mastered two basic laws, garut could tell that the old mans punch was anything but ordinary. this was because the old mans fist was actively disrupting and scattering the magic elements around it. it should be known that skills and spells relied on the flow of magic elements to form, so the bearded old mans punch could essentially nullify any skills and spells it came into contact with! am i going to die, just like that? when garut saw the energy fist that came from the bearded old man, he couldnt help but feel a little depressed. in reality, with his strength and talent, he could already challenge his tier 6 promotion and complete it without fail. meanwhile, so long as he was at tier 6, even if he were to face off against a god-ranked expert, he was confident he could trade many blows with the other party. he could even escape with his life if needed. however, for the sake of creating a better divine body, he had chosen to delay his promotion. because of that, he was now going to have his soul annihilated but just as the energy fist was about to connect with garuts retreating figure, a tall and lithe figure suddenly appeared between them. the figure belonged to a female blood elf, and as soon as she appeared, she swung the longsword she wielded at the energy fist. subsequently, it was as if time had stopped flowing in the deadzone forest, and all mana within a several thousand-yard radius disappeared, causing everyone to experience a sense of suffocation. then, a speck of scorching white light formed at the tip of the blood elfs longsword as it collided with the bearded old mans energy fist. boom! immediately, a deafening explosion echoed throughout the resurrection camp, followed by a powerful shockwave that shattered a huge chunk of the magic barriers. what the heck? how is that a fight between tier 5 players? everyone in the resurrection camp immediately had their attention attracted toward the blood elf and bearded old man. but when everyone saw that the two individuals were only tier 5 players, they couldnt help but gape in shock. it should be known that the seven luminaries alliances barriers were strengthened by a great grandmaster mana strengthening barrier. normally, even tier 6 players would need to attack it several hundred times to create a crack. yet, now, the shockwave created by two tier 5 players had made a hole so large that it could let several dozen players through it simultaneously aurebeth? garut couldnt help but be stunned as he looked at the blood elf before him. he never expected aurebeth to come to his rescue. he also never expected aurebeth to be able to block a blow from a god-ranked expert. a limit breaker? when the bearded old man saw that aurebeths hands were only trembling slightly from blocking his attack, he also couldnt help but be a little surprised. it might look like he had nonchalantly threw his punch, but it was actually enhanced by a silver holy art. if it connected, even a tier 6 player might get killed on the spot or, at the very least, become heavily injured. yet, despite being at tier 5, aurebeth remained standing even after blocking his attack. not only that, but she didnt even stumble or take any damage. apart from aurebeth being one of the rumored limit breakers, he couldnt think of anyone else who could accomplish such a feat. we absolutely cannot let this girl live! earthen fist saint coldly stated as he looked at aurebeth. old ape, you stay here and get rid of her. old scorpion and i will take care of black flame! leave it to me, the bearded old man named heavenly ape saint said, nodding. after heavenly ape saint finished speaking, he stopped hiding his strength and unleashed a frightening aura onto his surroundings, his aura immediately immobilizing aurebeth and garut. then, he readied himself to execute an all-out punch against aurebeth. according to the information they had gathered, the human races so-called limit breakers were all owners of primordial god legacies. if these individuals were allowed to grow to their full potential, they would become extremely frightening existences that even the sun dynasty would have to be wary of. now that a budding limit breaker had appeared before them, they naturally had to eliminate her. while heavenly ape saint was creating a commotion, earthen fist saint and the bald elder used the opportunity to close in on shi feng. they intended to eliminate him before the various human experts could react and provide support. can you block his attack again, aurebeth? garut couldnt help but ask when he saw heavenly ape saint was preparing to throw another punch. now that the three elderly holy race experts had exposed themselves, the seven luminaries alliance definitely wouldnt let them run rampant in the resurrection camp. so long as aurebeth could stop heavenly ape saints second attack, the two of them would have a much greater chance at survival. do you really think im a tier 6 sword god? aurebeth answered as she kept her eyes on the bearded old man before her. i had to exhaust myself completely just to use that attack. i cant even move right now, let alone fight. it seems were doomed, then when garut saw that aurebeth indeed couldnt move, he understood that aurebeth had truly exhausted herself and their fates were sealed. just as garut was thinking of putting up a final struggle, though, a peerless beauty suddenly appeared in front of them. at the same time, several figures also appeared around earthen fist saint and the bald old man. a tier 6 player? when heavenly ape saint saw the female berserker who had appeared before aurebeth and garut, a hint of contempt appeared in his eyes. do you think you can block my attack? after saying so, heavenly ape saint immediately punched out with his fist, sending a gigantic fist flying forward. how would i know if i dont try? in response, the female berserker simply smiled and raised the greatsword she wielded. then, while stirring up a chaotic storm around her, she swung the heavy weapon down at the approaching fist. Chapter 3590 - Chapter 664 - Snow Goddess chapter 664 C snow goddess boom! when fist and sword collided, the resulting shockwave destabilized the space within the magic barriers and caused the tier 5 experts within a several hundred-yard radius to stumble backward. she blocked it? looking through the smoke clouds, aurebeth couldnt help but be astonished when she saw the greatsword-wielding peerless beauty standing firmly. the others nearby might not be aware of how frightening heavenly ape saints strength was, but aurebeth, who had clashed once with the bearded old man, knew of it very well. heavenly ape saints punch might seem inconspicuous, but there was no doubt it carried the power of tier 6 gods. if the average tier 6 expert tried to block it, they would die on the spot unless they were a tank with a lifesaving skill activated. this was also why garut had felt he would face certain death if he received heavenly ape saints punch. if aurebeth hadnt previously used the primordial god-ranked mana technique dark moon, she would have died when she tried to block heavenly ape saints punch. as for the female berserker, while she might be a tier 6 berserker god, even if heavenly ape saints punch didnt outright kill her, it should have still caused her substantial damage. after all, she had only blocked the punch with a normal attack. she never used any combat techniques or skills. yet, the female berserker was unscathed, displaying unbelievable strength. another god-ranked expert? apart from aurebeth, garut was similarly shocked by the peerless beautys performance. he was especially shocked to see the six-winged emblem the woman wore. god-ranked experts were exceedingly rare in the greater gods domain. each stood at the very apex of the greater gods domain, and their existences were few and far between, even among the various apex and pseudo-apex powers. naturally, because of their extraordinary strength, most god-ranked experts were well-known individuals in the greater gods domain. it was one thing for zero wings black flame to be a god-ranked expert. after all, black flames name had already been known across the greater gods domain for quite some time, and many people acknowledged that he could most certainly become a god-ranked expert. but how in the world did another god-ranked expert emerge from zero wing? what garut found even more unbelievable was that, despite being a vice guild leader of the pseudo-apex power azure fang, he had never even heard of the peerless beauty before him. how interesting. no wonder you dare to come forward. standing in mid-air, heavenly ape saint couldnt help but be a little surprised when he saw another god-ranked expert appearing. however, his surprise lasted for only a moment before he retracted his fist and took a step forward. immediately afterward, heavenly ape saint vanished from where he stood, leaving behind hundreds of afterimages as he threw one punch after another at gentle snow from varying directions. since he couldnt overpower gentle snow in strength, he would overwhelm her with speed. heavenly ape saint might be of the holy race, but he knew that the human races berserker class was a strength-focused class that lacked dexterity. it was unlike the holy races fistfighter class, which was balanced in all basic attributes. not to mention, gentle snow was a berserker armed with a greatsword, a weapon with obvious pros and cons. the large weapon might give her attacks a lot of power, but its attack speed was at least 10% to 20% slower than other berserker weapons. meanwhile, the usual tactic a berserker like gentle snow would employ against an opponent with high attack speed would be to move around constantly to reduce the number of attacks she needed to face. it was a tactical retreat, so to speak. however, if gentle snow did that, she would fall right into his trap. as a god-ranked expert himself, heavenly ape saint understood there was no easy way to conclude a battle between god-ranked experts quickly. even if he managed to overwhelm gentle snow with his high attack frequency and land some attacks on her, there was no way he could kill her in a short time. in that case, rather than waste his time against gentle snow, the smarter thing to do would be to annihilate the souls of the human races chosen ones, particularly limit breakers like aurebeth. limit breakers were usually individuals with primordial god legacies, and they would become incredibly tough opponents to deal with once they advanced to tier 6. if aurebeth was allowed to develop, she would definitely become a thorn in the sun dynastys side when it came time to occupy holy ring city. however, contrary to heavenly ape saints expectations, gentle snow did not choose to kite him. instead, she calmly held up the chaos windblade horizontally before swinging it at the several hundred afterimages around her. silver combat technique, twelve extreme slashes! immediately, twelve sword lights flew toward the oncoming energy fists. is she crazy? heavenly ape saint couldnt help but be confused when he saw gentle snow standing her ground. while it might be incredible for a berserker to execute twelve attacks instantaneously, gentle snow would have to be crazy if she thought she could stop several hundred of his punches with just twelve slashes. she would be fortunate if she could even block half of them. as for the rest, they would most certainly connect with her body. it should be known that each of his punches carried the power of a tier 6 god. if over a hundred of them connected, it wouldnt even be strange if gentle snow got eliminated on the spot. aurebeth and garut were similarly stunned when they saw gentle snows actions. they couldnt understand why, of all the methods she could have used, she would try to fight heavenly ape saint in speed. what she was doing was no different than throwing an egg against a rock. however, when the twelve sword lights fanned out, aurebeth and garut were quickly stunned once more. this was because powerful storms could be seen stirring in the places where the sword lights had passed through, and these storms generated wind blades that collided with the surrounding energy fists, causing them to melt away like snow. meanwhile, these wind blades were none other than the result of the chaos windblades hidden ability, and this hidden ability was what gave gentle snow the confidence to stand her ground against heavenly ape saints rapid attacks. by the end of gentle snows twelve extreme slashes, not only did all of heavenly ape saints afterimages and energy fists disappear, but heavenly ape saint himself had also reappeared 500 yards away from gentle snow with his right arm trembling slightly. die! before heavenly ape saint could even process what had just happened, gentle snow promptly followed up her small victory with another attack. bronze combat technique, triple sword flash! while only a bronze combat technique, triple sword flash was the fastest offensive combat technique in gentle snows repertoire. when she paired it with her chaos windblades strength and god-ranked mana, her attacks could overwhelm tier 6 gods of the same level. subsequently, three sword lights tore through space as one and instantly arrived before heavenly ape saint. they moved so fast that even tier 6 assassins would have trouble reacting to them. however, heavenly ape saint was an expert at the extrasensory realm. while startled by the attack that even his five senses had trouble tracking, he followed the warning from his sixth sense and instinctively gathered all his strength and punched out. holy art, heaven bombardment! for a brief moment, an illusory giant several hundred meters tall appeared in heavenly ape saints place and punched at the oncoming sword light. boom! following a loud explosion, aurebeth and garuts eyes went wide as they saw heavenly ape saint getting sent flying several hundred yards away. and although the bearded old man landed on his feet, his arms were shaking, and his hp had fallen by roughly 5%. he had obviously lost to gentle snow in a competition of strength, and the difference was far from a little. after looking at his trembling arms, heavenly ape saint hurriedly shouted into his team chat, old scorpion, help me! i cant hold this place by myself! his exchange with gentle snow might seem like it had lasted for some time, but only two seconds had passed thus far in reality. if he didnt ask for help, hed become a corpse before the minute was even over. but even after heavenly ape saint waited for some time, he did not receive a reply from tailless scorpion, the bald old man he had called out to. just as he was about to get angry, tailless scorpion finally made a response. no! you come and help me, old ape! im the one whos having trouble holding on! ??? Chapter 3591 - Chapter 665 - Zero Wings Experts chapter 665 C zero wings experts tailless scorpions words stunned heavenly ape saint for a moment. then, while defending against gentle snows attacks, he angrily said, stop joking around! im facing a god-ranked monster here! when it came to combat standards, he was indeed superior to gentle snow. in fact, gentle snow wasnt even at the extrasensory realm, so she couldnt appropriately respond to most of his attacks and evasive maneuvers. however, when it came to the strength attribute, gentle snow was superior to him by a large margin. the strength of her mana was also no different than that of tier 6 gods. these factors combined allowed her to exhibit significantly stronger skills and combat techniques. not to mention, gentle snow could whip up powerful storms every time she attacked, and these storms covered a large area. because of this, even when gentle snow was only using bronze combat techniques, it felt like she was a tier 6 god using a tier 6 skill. while heavenly ape saint might have god-ranked strength, that was only true when he was using advanced silver holy arts. moreover, even when using advanced silver holy arts, he could only fight against a tier 6 god who wasnt using any skills or spells. if he tried to fight a tier 6 god who was using tier 6 skills and spells, he would not be a match whatsoever. currently, he would lose about 5% of his hp every time he traded blows with gentle snow. even if he had various grandmaster recovery potions in his bag, he wouldnt last long against her. meanwhile, tailless scorpion was only ambushing black flame with earthen fist saint. even if multiple tier 6 human experts attacked them, it should still be childs play for them to deal with their opponents. however, after hearing heavenly ape saints angry rant, tailless scorpion responded with an even angrier shout. god-ranked monster?! so, what?! you only have to deal with one on your side! do you know how many i have to deal with here?! tailless scorpion said in a mocking tone. how many? tailless scorpions words caught heavenly ape saint once more, and he couldnt help but feel that the other party was intent on messing with him. even in the holy races greater gods domain, experts on the level of the human races tier 6 gods were incredibly rare. so, even less needed to be said for the human race. while an ancient apex power like the seven luminaries alliance might have many such experts under its command, the most it could afford was to station one god-ranked expert in each camp. even if many human powers had joined forces with the seven luminaries alliance this time, each resurrection camp shouldnt have more than two god-ranked experts. as for the resurrection camp they were currently targeting, the fact that there were three god-ranked experts here could already be considered an anomaly. so, how could tailless scorpion and earthen fist saint possibly be going up against multiple god-ranked experts? refusing to believe tailless scorpions words, after blocking another one of gentle snows triple sword flash, heavenly ape saint quickly turned to look at a location roughly 1,000 yards away. only, what he saw dumbfounded him. how can this be?! currently, tailless scorpion and earthen fist saint could be seen fighting against eight tier 6 experts. but contrary to heavenly ape saints expectations, his two comrades did not have the upper hand in battle. instead, they were being beaten into submission. as for why this was happening, it was because all eight of their opponents possessed mana rivaling tier 6 gods. on earthen fist saints side, he faced four opponents, of which one was a female assassin who moved so quickly that his senses utterly failed to keep up, and one was a female cleric providing support from the side. as for the remaining two, they were a male swordsman and a spear-wielding female berserker who could trade blows with him evenly. because of these four opponents, earthen fist saint was so preoccupied that he didnt even have time to speak. even then, he was still losing hp rapidly. as for tailless scorpion, he was in an even more precarious situation. simply resisting the joint attacks of the male berserker and female swordsman he faced already took a huge toll on him. yet, he still had to guard himself against the sneak attacks of a female assassin and a female elementalist. if not for the grandmaster recovery potion he had just consumed, he would have long been killed already. however, the fact that tailless scorpion and earthen fist saint were being cornered still wasnt the part that surprised heavenly ape saint the most. what truly surprised heavenly ape saint was that whether it was those eight tier 6 experts, the female berserker facing him, or their elimination target, black flame, they all wore the same six-winged guild emblem. all ten of these god-ranked experts came from the same guild how was this even possible? at this time, heavenly ape saint wasnt the only one finding this situation unbelievable. everyone was shocked by this situation, whether it was the human players in the resurrection camp or the holy race players attacking the camps magic barriers from the outside. ten god-ranked experts?! what kind of guild is this?! why havent i heard of it before?! chalk splendor, the three-eyed young man commanding the holy race army from the voyage train, bellowed. according to the sun dynastys investigations, the human races greater gods domain only had several apex powers. among them, the one with the deepest foundation was the seven luminaries alliance, which was why the sun dynasty had made ample preparations for the attack on the human races resurrection camps this time. chalk splendor had even recruited the help of the three fist saints of his own accord to surprise the seven luminaries alliance. yet, a power even more frightening than the seven luminaries alliance had suddenly appeared in the resurrection camp he was assigned. ten god-ranked experts. that was probably as many god-ranked experts as the seven luminaries alliance had in total in the world ark. yet, he knew nothing about this power. how could he not be furious? however, compared to the holy race players, those familiar with zero wing, such as aurebeth and frey, were even more shocked by this turn of events. since when did zero wing become so strong? frey was in disbelief as she watched zero wings members suppress the three fist saints. the others present might not be aware of zero wings circumstances, but frey had watched zero wing take its first step out of a miniature world. at the time, apart from shi feng, zero wing didnt have any other fourth-floor experts, let alone god-ranked experts. it also wasnt anywhere close to rivaling ordinary hegemonic powers, let alone upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates like the galaxy conglomerate. yet, zero wing now had ten god-ranked experts under its command. although most of them barely reached the threshold of god-ranked experts, they were still experts that the various pseudo-apex powers had to treat with great caution. they were also existences that frey, a vice guild leader of the red dragon nation, had to treat with respect. meanwhile, over on the seven luminaries alliances side, the alliances members were both shocked and overjoyed. after all, a force of ten god-ranked experts was more than enough for them to win this battle. im afraid the three fist saints wont last much longer, your highness. should we retreat? or the elderly man standing beside chalk splendor asked quietly. the battles current situation was clear for all to see. once the three fist saints were defeated, zero wings god-ranked experts would be free to cause havoc on the battlefield. at that time, even retreating would become a challenge for the holy race army. of course, that wasnt to say that their army was under any threat of annihilation. after all, they were from the sun dynasty, one of the holy races ten royal powers. the sun dynasty had foundations superior to the seven luminaries alliance, and it had made ample preparations to secure the world arks inner resurrection camps. their army, in particular, even had a divine artifact prepared. it seems it is time i show these aliens what true power is! instead of calling for a retreat, chalk splendor took a step forward before jumping off the voyage train, a crescent blade appearing in his right hand as he made his descent. then, just as he was about to land, his body started rapidly growing in size. thirty meters one hundred meters three hundred meters a 1,000-meter-tall version of chalk splendor appeared outside the resurrection camp in the blink of an eye. then, before anyone could react, chalk splendor punched out at the resurrection camps magic barriers, his fist instantly shattering the large grandmaster magic barriers maintained by thousands of tier 5 magical class players. Chapter 3592 - Chapter 666 - Sunlight Blade chapter 666 C sunlight blade the battlefield fell deathly silent following the destruction of the resurrection camps large grandmaster magic barriers. the various human experts, in particular, were filled with shock and fear as they looked at the thousand-meter-tall giant responsible for this destruction. it should be known that the resurrection camps barriers were 1,000-man grandmaster magic barriers. they had also been strengthened by a great grandmaster mana strengthening barrier. under normal circumstances, they should last a long time, even when attacked by multiple tier 6 gods. yet, the giant that had abruptly appeared outside the camp had shattered all these barriers with one punch an ancient god? how can the holy race summon an ancient god?! the various human powers executives couldnt help but be stupefied as they looked at chalk splendors mountainous figure. even battle-seasoned chosen ones like aurebeth couldnt help but feel a sense of powerlessness at this moment. it should be known that the current chalk splendor was no different from the greater gods domains ancient gods. his figure was towering and reached into the clouds, and even 100-meter-tall tier 5 dragons would look like infants before him. as for tier 5 players like themselves, they were no different than ants before chalk splendor, and he could probably kill many of them with a single stomp. meanwhile, with chalk splendors participation and the destruction of the resurrection camps magic barriers, there would no longer be a battle to speak of. what followed next would be a one-sided slaughter. is that the rumored sunlight blade? the sun dynasty must be crazy! why would it mobilize one of its seven arcanas just to capture a resurrection camp?! are they not worried other royal powers would steal it?! the seven luminaries alliances elders fell into a daze as they looked at chalk splendors thousand-meter-tall body and the resplendent crescent blade he wielded. as one of the holy races ten royal powers, the sun dynasty possessed many divine artifacts. however, according to the seven luminaries alliances investigation, the sun dynasty only regarded seven of its divine artifacts as its most prized possessions, which were also labeled as the seven arcanas. each arcana was a top-tier divine artifact and could easily rank among the human races greater gods domains ten great divine artifacts. meanwhile, the sunlight blade was one of the sun dynastys seven arcanas. when paired with the moonlight blade, which was similarly regarded as an arcana, they could let a tier 6 holy race expert gain an ancestral holy body and fight primordial gods of the same level. even when used separately, the sunlight blade and the moonlight blade could let tier 6 holy race experts rival ancient gods. in the sunlight blades case, its sunlight body skill granted the user a 90% damage reduction, a 10,000% increase in hp, and a battle recovery of 2% hp per five seconds. if a tier 6 holy race expert activated sunlight body, even ancient gods could only damage them slightly. based on the information the seven luminaries alliance collected, once the sunlight blades wielder activated sunlight body, even divine artifact wielders would have great difficulty killing them, and the only way around it would be to wait until the skills duration ended. hence, the sunlight blade was also known as the immortal blade. get ready to withdraw, rainbow. this battle is over, one of the seven luminaries alliances elders said to verdant rainbow with a gloomy face. there is nothing we can do to the sunlight body when it is active, and it has a duration of one hour. we simply cant last that long. in reality, the seven luminaries alliance wasnt completely helpless when it came to dealing with the sunlight blade. one example would be divine afterglow, one of the seven luminaries alliances most prized possessions. if they had divine afterglows power, even if the sun dynasty mobilized both the sunlight blade and the moonlight blade, they could still defend the resurrection camp. however, setting aside the fact that divine afterglow was currently being used to protect the seven luminaries alliances town on the western continent, even if it wasnt in use, there was no way they would use such a valuable item to protect one resurrection camp. i understand. verdant rainbow nodded. then, she promptly issued a command, saying, i will distract him while you all find a way to safely evacuate. verdant rainbow had read the report on the sunlight blade, so she knew they stood no chance against it. it didnt matter, even if the world string she wielded was also a divine artifact. after all, chalk splendor could simply shrug off her attacks with his sunlight body and eliminate everyone else in the resurrection camp. so, the only thing they could do now was to withdraw and minimize losses, preventing more people from suffering soul annihilation. the seven luminaries alliances elders promptly went into action after receiving verdant rainbows command, organizing the various teams into an orderly withdrawal while coordinating their movements with the several hundred dark-gold combat puppets in providing cover for everyone. you want to leave? its too late for that! die! when chalk splendor saw the human forces retreating, he promptly swung the sunlight blade at the dark-gold combat puppets covering the humans retreat. with only a single swing of the divine weapon, several dozen dark-gold combat puppets, which could normally resist the attacks of tier 6 players with ease, were cut in half. the mountain range several dozen miles away was also bisected from the waist, several mountain tops briefly becoming airborne before crashing back down. subsequently, just as chalk splendor was about to target the retreating human forces, verdant rainbow angrily bellowed: your opponent is me! verdant rainbow no longer hid the world strings power as she summoned strings of cyan-colored energy to form a bolt of silver lightning. then, the summoned lightning quickly transformed into a silver arrow, which verdant rainbow proceeded to release at the gigantic chalk splendor. when the silver arrow separated from the world string, it quickly split into a thousand lightning bolts that flew at chalk splendor. then, these lightning bolts converged into 100 dark gray lightning bolts, each carrying power so strong that they could rival the skills and spells used by ancient gods. and should even one of these dark gray lightning bolts be allowed to connect, it could instantly destroy multiple large maps or knock a tier 6 god unconscious. when faced with a hundred of these terrifying lightning bolts, even bona fide ancient gods would have to be careful. meanwhile, these dark gray lightning bolts were the product of string of divine punishment, one of the world strings profound skills. when paired with ninefold heart, a gold combat technique that allowed her to merge nine sources of power into one to exhibit ninefold power, even ancient gods wouldnt be able to come out unscathed after blocking it. do you think you are worthy of being my opponent? when chalk splendor saw verdant rainbows attack, he simply scoffed and threw a punch. gold holy art, setting sun! immediately, chalk splendors fist turned into a miniature sun as it collided with the oncoming lightning bolts. then, when both sides collided, the dark gray lightning bolts were deflected to the surroundings, forming an area of absolute nothingness around chalk splendor. be it the players, the land, or the sky, everything within a several hundred-yard radius of chalk splendor ceased to exist. a moment later, an earth-shattering noise echoed across the battlefield as a gigantic fist-shaped hole appeared in a mountain several dozen miles away. the several thousand tier 5 human experts who happened to be in that location were also obliterated, and even the fragmented legendary weapons and equipment they dropped were reduced to nothing. subsequently, silence spread across the entire deadzone forest tl notes: [1]divine afterglow(): divine afterglow() can be roughly translated as divine nations afterglow, but i dont know if this is referring to the golden kingdom(ƽ) or something else entirely. ill come back to make changes if necessary when i have more information in the future, but for the time being, i will be assuming that golden kingdom and divine afterglow are two different items. Chapter 3593 - Chapter 667 - First Battle Against a Divine Artifact chapter 667 C first battle against a divine artifact how can this be? verdant rainbow couldnt help but be stupefied when she saw the devastation caused by the energy fist that had flown right past her body. verdant rainbow was well aware that even with the world string, there was no way she could defeat chalk splendor in direct combat. all she could do was try to distract him and minimize the losses of her allies. however, what verdant rainbow didnt expect was for her full-powered attack to be utterly useless against chalk splendor. in fact, if she hadnt evaded chalk splendors energy fist, she would have even died on their very first exchange. is this the power of one of the sun dynastys seven arcanas? the seven luminaries alliances elders were similarly shocked by the fact that verdant rainbow couldnt even distract chalk splendor. it should be known that even without the world string, verdant rainbow would still be an undisputed god-ranked expert. with the world string, she could rank among the eternal realms top ten experts. she could even rank among the top five if they were comparing purely in terms of attack power. yet, despite being such a powerful expert, verdant rainbow couldnt even serve as a distraction to chalk splendor. this situation was so unbelievable that they couldnt help but suspect the world strings status as a divine artifact. so, even after all that, we still wont be making it out alive? garut wryly smiled as he looked at the gigantic fist-shaped hole in the distance. previously, after escaping from the three fist saints with his life and seeing zero wings ten god-ranked experts, garut thought that their side had won and the battle would be smooth sailing moving forward. however, he never thought the tides of the battle would change once again so quickly and suddenly. it truly felt like he was riding on a rollercoaster of fate. meanwhile, if even an expert as powerful as verdant rainbow could do nothing against the holy races three-eyed youth, it goes without saying that nobody else could do anything against him. in fact, every human player on this battlefield might have to say goodbye to gods domain by the end of the battle. after all, if chalk splendor could obliterate a mountain several dozen miles away, even high-tiered random teleportation scrolls could not let them escape safely. chalk splendor could easily penetrate space and time to obliterate any player who tried to escape through a space-time passage. as for the zero wing members distracting the three fist saints, they also felt the threat of death looming over them after seeing chalk splendors attack, their complexions turning incredibly gloomy. hahaha! thats what you aliens get for trying to oppress us with numbers! you all are doomed now! heavenly ape saint couldnt help but laugh when he saw chalk splendor taking action and the gloomy expression on gentle snow. now that his highness has taken action, all of you will fall here today! if his highness had taken the sunlight blade out on loan, why couldnt he have used it earlier? tailless scorpion grumbled. while he felt fortunate over this turn of events, he also couldnt help but feel a little resentful. after all, he currently only had one-third of his hp remaining. he might have gotten killed by fire dances group of four had chalk splendor taken action any later. the sunlight blade is incredibly precious, so his highness will naturally try to avoid using it if he can. the penalty on his contributions will also be less severe, earthen fist saint said after putting some distance between himself and hidden souls group of four. but the strength of these aliens truly is astonishing to force his highness to use the sunlight blade. they can die with honor. heavenly ape saint and tailless scorpion nodded in agreement. they similarly couldnt help but feel a hint of admiration toward the human experts they fought. the sunlight blade was a priceless treasure that only the sun dynastys successors were qualified to use. moreover, each successor was only granted limited chances to use the sunlight blade. in the past, whenever these successors used the sunlight blade, it would always be for fighting against the chosen ones of other royal powers. so, the fact that the human experts here could get chalk splendor to use the sunlight blade meant that they could rival the various royal powers chosen ones already. meanwhile, after dealing with verdant rainbows attack, chalk splendor immediately directed his attention toward zero wings tier 6 members. you alien scum! how dare you make me use the sunlight blade?! all of you die! after saying so, chalk splendor threw a punch in the direction of gentle snow and the others, the chilling killing intent he radiated immobilizing all tier 5 experts within a several thousand-yard radius. when the sun dynastys members saw chalk splendors rage, they were not surprised by it. if chalk splendor had only taken the sunlight blade out on loan and did not use it, he would, at most, expend some guild contribution points. it wouldnt affect the limited number of uses he had over the weapon. and if it wasnt for zero wings members, the sun dynasty could have easily captured the deadzone forests resurrection camp without chalk splendor having to use the sunlight blade. but because of zero wings members, chalk splendor was forced to waste one of his usage rights over the sunlight blade, which would, in turn, reduce his chances when competing for the guild leader position in the future. so, it was only normal for him to be furious at zero wings members. meanwhile, just as chalk splendors energy fist was about to reach them, gentle snow readied herself to use chaos incarnation and resist with all her might. however, before she could do so, numerous sword lights soared across the sky like shooting stars and struck the oncoming energy fist. boom! boom! boom! the sword lights struck the mighty fist one after another, causing booming sounds to reverberate across the sky and everyones hearts to tremble. following each collision, the trajectory of chalk splendors energy fist could also be seen deviating slightly. after being bombarded by several dozen sword lights, the mighty energy fist that even verdant rainbow was powerless against flew past gentle snows group and struck a canyon several dozen miles away, instantly transforming the canyon into a bottomless crater. guild leader? gentle snows eyes were full of disbelief when she saw the familiar sword lights. she, or more specifically, all of zero wings executive members, were very familiar with those shooting star-like sword lights. this was because they were the product of shi fengs trademark move, swords orbit. it was a combat technique that could be used both offensively and defensively. thus far, outside of shi feng, they had not seen anyone else using this combat technique before. black flame! guild leader black flame? when looking at the man proudly standing in mid-air and the longsword marked by crimson patterns he wielded, the various human powers experts, especially those familiar with the player named black flame, couldnt help but gape in shock. am i dreaming? frey couldnt help but doubt her eyes as she looked at the incomparably familiar figure in the distance. a taboo-level existence! a taboo-level existence capable of deflecting chalk splendors attack! Chapter 3594 - Chapter 668 - Astonishing Strike chapter 668 C astonishing strike who exactly is black flame, elder gray eagle? when verdant rainbow saw the mighty energy fist getting deflected completely, unprecedented shock filled her eyes. then, as soon as she snapped out of her daze, she promptly questioned the elder responsible for escorting the various powers experts to the deadzone forests resurrection camp. from what she could tell, the combat technique shi feng just executed wasnt particularly complicated. at best, it was an advanced silver combat technique that any fourth-floor expert could master. it paled in comparison to her ninefold heart. yet, such a simple technique had successfully deflected chalk splendors energy fist. even if the energy fist was merely the result of a normal attack from chalk splendor, it was still astonishing nonetheless. at the very least, she would have difficulty replicating the feat if she relied only on ninefold heart. me? gray eagle, still feeling shocked over this series of developments, couldnt help but be surprised when he heard verdant rainbows question. gray eagle was only an outer elder of the seven luminaries alliance. his status in the alliance was vastly inferior to inner elders, let alone a chosen one like verdant rainbow. normally, he wouldnt even have the opportunity to talk with verdant rainbow, let alone have her take the initiative to ask him a question. do you not know? verdant rainbow asked with a frown. gray eagles primary responsibility as an outer elder was to collect and organize information for the seven luminaries alliance, so he was expected to know everything there was to know when it came to matters relating to the seven luminaries alliance. it was especially so for the battle revolving around the world arks inner resurrection camps this time. after all, if the seven luminaries alliance didnt properly understand the various powers strength, it would be difficult to ensure all six resurrection camps were at the same standard in terms of combat power. of course, the various powers would more or less keep some of their trump cards a secret. but as an outer elder of the seven luminaries alliance, gray eagle should still have some general information about these hidden trump cards. i do know a little! gray eagle hurriedly said. black flame is currently zero wings guild leader. he also ranks among the top five of the latest sacred glory list. the sacred glory lists top five? when verdant rainbow heard gray eagles answer, she couldnt help but grow a little incensed as she felt that the other party was messing with her. if black flame was only one of the sacred glory lists top five experts, where would that put her? the bottom of the sacred glory list? or was it the bottom of the luminous glory list? this is based on his last public performance, gray eagle hurriedly explained. we still do not know how strong he is exactly. i understand. verdant rainbow sighed, feeling very dissatisfied with the information gray eagle provided. after all, if not for shi feng taking action today, she would have missed the opportunity to get acquainted with such a powerful expert. once were done with this battle, i want you to utilize all available resources to investigate him. i want to know everything there is to know about him. do not let even a single battle video slip by! verdant rainbow could also be considered a taboo-level expert as she wielded the world string. because of this, compared to the other players present, she had a much better idea of how astonishing it was exactly that shi feng managed to deflect chalk splendors attack with just an advanced silver combat technique. it should be known that shi feng didnt even possess a divine artifact on him. after all, if he wielded a divine artifact, there was no way he could have hidden it once he started attacking seriously. for a tier 6 player without a divine artifact to deflect chalk splendors attack, even if it was only a normal attack, they must have a heaven-defying secret. meanwhile, in verdant rainbows opinion, there was an 80% chance shi fengs strength came from a primordial god legacy and a 50% chance shi feng had constructed a superior divine body. regardless of which it was, it presented hope for her to further improve herself. understood! gray eagle hurriedly responded. on the other side, garut the blood emperor was filled with shock and realization as he looked at shi fengs figure in mid-air. he finally understood why aurebeth, someone who was usually cold and indifferent toward others, would show such interest in shi feng, so much so that she would think nothing of zero wings provocation toward the skylight association. so this is the secret youve been hiding all this time! garut couldnt help but gnash his teeth as he glared at aurebeth. fortunately, he had found out shi feng was a taboo existence before it was too late. otherwise, he would make the mistake of offending zero wing once he started expanding into the crystal city of secrets. taboo-level experts were the apex of apex existences in the greater gods domain, and they served as the foundation of the various pseudo-apex powers. garut wouldnt have to worry about offending zero wing if it were outside the eternal realm. after all, azure fang had more than just one or two taboo-level existences. moreover, they were all at level 230 or above and much stronger than the current verdant rainbow. however, inside the eternal realm, azure fang did not have even one taboo-level existence. so, if he provoked zero wing, he couldnt even imagine what would become of azure fangs branch guild in the crystal city of secrets. he might also be at risk of suffering a permanent death, which would remain true even if he got promoted to tier 6. the reason taboo-level existences were feared by the various pseudo-apex and apex powers was that they could annihilate the souls of tier 6 players with 100% certainty, and only tier 6 players wielding a divine artifact could avoid such a fate. however, divine artifacts were incredibly rare, and even a pseudo-apex power like azure fang wouldnt casually allow a vice guild leader like himself to wield one. while the various human players were immersed in shock, chalk splendor turned his attention toward shi feng. interesting! truly interesting! i never expected to meet someone like you here! chalk splendor said, excitement and enthusiasm filling his eyes. it looked as if he was a starving wolf who had just seen a juicy cut of meat. i, chalk splendor, can give you a chance. give me a copy of all your legacies, and i can spare your life. i will even spare the lives of your guild members. similar to verdant rainbow, chalk splendor also understood that shi feng was no ordinary expert and the other party must possess a primordial god legacy. meanwhile, whether this legacy was related to a combat technique, a mana technique, or a way to construct a superior divine body, it would be invaluable nonetheless. while a holy race player like himself wouldnt be able to benefit from this legacy directly, he could research it and find ways to put it into practice. and should he succeed, he would stand a much better chance when competing for the sun dynastys guild leader position in the future. spare my life? in response to chalk splendors confidence and demand, shi feng very plainly said, you are nothing more than a second-rate holy child of the sun dynasty. do you really think you are invincible in the eternal realm? the sun dynasty would nurture over a dozen successors every generation, also known as holy children. meanwhile, as one of the ten royal powers of the holy races greater gods domain, there was no way the sun dynasty would let their core holy children enter the dangerous eternal realm. only bottom-ranked holy children would brave the risk and enter the eternal realm. so, the fact that chalk splendor was in the eternal realm indicated that his standing among the sun dynastys holy children was low. at best, he would be at the standard of second-rate holy children. you bastard! chalk splendor instantly exploded into fury when he heard shi fengs words. indeed, as shi feng surmised, chalk splendors standing among the sun dynastys holy children wasnt optimistic. out of the sun dynastys fourteen holy children, he ranked near the bottom at twelfth place. it was a major sore spot for him, and it was why he had come to the eternal realm to fight for achievements. meanwhile, shi fengs words had undeniably pierced this sore spot. immediately, chalk splendor executed the setting sun holy art at shi feng without hesitation, bringing forth another miniature sun onto the battlefield. in response, shi feng raised his sword and flew toward the miniature sun. dark moon! this would be the first time shi feng was using the dark moon after constructing his superior divine body, and it would also be the first time he could use the mana technique at its full capacity. suddenly, as the miniature sun descended onto the battlefield, a dark crescent blade of light emerged and cut across the sky. boom! tl notes: [1]at the very least, she(verdant rainbow) would have difficulty replicating the feat if she relied only on ninefold heart: just to recap, the attack verdant rainbow blocked was executed with setting sun(gold holy art). so, verdant rainbow is saying/thinking that its not exactly impossible for her to block a normal attack from chalk splendor if she executed ninefold heart with a skill/spell/something else. Chapter 3595 - Chapter 669 - Superior Divine Bodys Effects chapter 669 C superior divine bodys effects following the collision between the miniature sun and the dark crescent moon, cracks formed across the sky above the resurrection camp. countless stars could be seen beyond these cracks, proving that the eternal realms world barrier had been damaged. the resulting shockwave of the collision had also caused all players within a several-mile radius to shudder. arent they a little too strong?! this is the world barrier of a realm we are talking about! is this a fight between taboos? the various human experts were stupefied when they saw the stars scattered amidst the deadzone forests cloudy sky. every world and realm possessed a world barrier that isolated them from the rest of the greater gods domain and protected them from invaders. depending on the size of a world or realm, the strength of its world barrier would also differ. the world barriers of miniature worlds were among the weakest, while the world barriers of the various realms were among the strongest. however, even a miniature worlds world barrier was not something tier 6 players could damage easily. as for the standard gods domains world barrier, while there were precedents of players damaging them, it was a feat most tier 6 players should never think of accomplishing. as for the world barrier of a realm, most players present had never seen one being damaged. yet, now, merely the shockwave generated by the clash between chalk splendor and shi feng was enough to crack the eternal realms world barrier. it was simply unbelievable. hes unscathed? how can that human be unscathed? isnt that his highnesss setting sun holy art? could that person also be a divine artifact owner? many of the holy race experts couldnt help but be surprised when they saw shi feng coming out of the clash unharmed. chalk splendor might be ranked twelfth among the sun dynastys holy children, but now that he wielded the sunlight blade, he wasnt an existence the average taboo-level expert could hope to match. if the average taboo-level expert tried to defend against his gold holy arts, even if they werent outright killed, they would still sustain heavy injuries. yet, shi feng came out unscathed after blocking chalk splendors setting sun. he blocked it?! verdant rainbow was also stunned as she looked at shi feng. verdant rainbow had personally gone up against chalk splendors setting sun previously, so she knew just how powerful the gold holy art was in chalk splendors hands. it had completely deflected her full-powered attack, and if she hadnt dodged quickly enough, she would have even been heavily injured. yet, despite not having a divine artifact-ranked weapon, shi feng had managed to neutralize chalk splendors setting sun completely. the extent of his strength was simply incomprehensible. what a powerful legacy! chalk splendor was similarly caught off guard by this development, his brows furrowing slightly. he didnt think his full-powered attack would fail to injure shi feng. if shi feng was so strong, it would increase the difficulty of capturing him significantly. miss rainbow, i will distract this holy child while you take care of the rest of the holy race army, shi feng said to verdant rainbow via the team chat. hearing shi fengs words, verdant rainbow promptly snapped out of her daze and gratefully said, i will have to trouble you with him, then, guild leader black flame. chalk splendor was undeniably the toughest opponent on this battlefield. his presence alone had even forced her to call for a retreat. so, if shi feng could keep chalk splendor busy, dealing with the rest of the holy race army would become much easier. after verdant rainbow finished speaking, she promptly commanded the seven luminaries alliances elders to lead a counterattack on the holy race army. the human army might have sustained significant damage because of chalk splendor, losing several hundred dark-gold combat puppets and over a hundred magic cannons, but if chalk splendor was taken out of the equation, it was still possible for the remaining human army to defend the resurrection camp. subsequently, verdant rainbow drew the world string and executed ninefold heart against the voyage train. she intended to break the voyage trains defensive barriers and bring both sides back to parity. dont even think of touching the voyage train! when chalk splendor saw verdant rainbow firing a lightning arrow at the voyage train, he promptly ignored shi feng and swatted at the arrow with his palm. for experts of their caliber, they would only need one attack to shatter most defensive barriers. although the voyage train possessed powerful defensive barriers, if verdant rainbows arrow struck them, they would fare no differently than how the resurrection camps barriers had fared against his fist. hence, even if it meant risking an attack from shi feng, chalk splendor needed to block verdant rainbows attack. not to mention, the sunlight body was titled the immortal body. he didnt have to fear taking a hit from anyone. however, before chalk splendors palm could get in the way of the lightning arrow, numerous star-like sword lights struck it, forcibly altering its trajectory. as a result, verdant rainbows lightning arrow flew past chalk splendors palm unhindered and pierced through the voyage trains defensive barriers, shattering them completely. in the blink of an eye, both sides were on a level playing field again. you despicable bastard! how dare you hinder me?! chalk splendor glared at shi feng with wrathful eyes before promptly executing setting sun against shi feng again. now that the voyage trains barriers were shattered, the holy race army could no longer attack from safety and would have to engage the human army directly. even if the holy race army ultimately won, it would have sustained significant losses, which would, in turn, adversely impact his contributions. meanwhile, in response to chalk splendors attack, shi feng executed dark moon again without hesitation, the collision of their attacks causing more cracks to form in the sky. so what if youre a limit breaker?! i refuse to believe you can keep on stopping me! after seeing his attack blocked again, chalk splendor bellowed as he executed another setting sun at shi feng. at this point, chalk splendor already understood that so long as shi feng was present, he would not be able to intercept verdant rainbows attacks. only after eliminating shi feng could he start to deal with the other humans. meanwhile, although shi fengs dark moon was astonishingly powerful, it was bound to be costly to use. this was also a common flaw among the human races combat techniques and mana techniques. in terms of cost-effectiveness, they simply couldnt compare with the holy races holy arts. boom! boom! boom! the rapid exchanges between shi feng and chalk splendor caused the state of the sky to rapidly switch between dazzling bright and pitch-black, and nobody could stay within 1,000 yards of them. how can he still use that move? after more than a hundred exchanges, chalk splendors expression started to turn ugly, and he couldnt help but look at shi feng in confusion. even if holy arts didnt cost as much stamina and concentration to use as combat techniques and mana techniques of the same caliber, chalk splendor still felt a little tired after using a gold holy art over a hundred times in quick succession. yet, even though shi feng had clearly used a primordial god-ranked technique an equal number of times, he looked no different than he did at the start of their battle. this legendary superior divine body truly is incredible. when shi feng sensed the stamina and concentration he had expended thus far, he similarly couldnt help but be surprised. although shi feng had constructed a superior divine body in his previous life, it only ended up at the epic rank. previously, he had assumed that a legendary superior divine body only provided a slightly greater boost to physique and mana than an epic superior divine body. however, after using dark moon continuously, he finally realized what separated a legendary superior divine body from an epic one. the legendary superior divine bodys stamina and concentration recovery speeds were at least double that of the epic superior divine body. the same goes for ease of manipulation. previously, when he executed dark moon at tier 5, it felt as if 1,000-kilogram weights held his arms down, and moving them was a huge challenge. but now, it felt like he was merely swinging a 100-kilogram greatsword. while it was still tough, it was much better than before. combined with his amazing stamina and concentration recovery speeds, he could easily execute dark moon two or three hundred times consecutively. dammit! i cant keep wasting time on him! chalk splendor thought as he abruptly turned away from shi feng and threw his fists in the direction of the human army, sending out several hundred energy fists. he did not give shi feng any opportunities to execute swords orbit. at this point, chalk splendor understood that the holy race army would be doomed if he wasted any more time fighting shi feng. after all, verdant rainbow could kill tier 6 holy race experts like it was childs play with her divine weapon, let alone the weaker holy race experts. so, youre finally getting serious. shi feng smiled when he saw chalk splendor ignoring him. then, he smiled as he pulled the feather of oath out of his bag. Chapter 3596 - Chapter 670 - War Goddess Battle Array chapter 670 C war goddess battle array deadzone forest, resurrection camp: while shi feng and chalk splendor clashed in the sky, an intense battle also took place on the ground. tier 6 human experts fought against tier 6 holy race experts, dark-gold combat puppets fought against pseudo-tier 6 holy race experts, and zero wings nine tier 6 members fought against the three fist saints and over a dozen tier 6 holy race experts! at the same time, the voyage train eliminated thousands of tier 5 human experts with every round of cannon fire, while verdant rainbow rained countless lightning arrows on the tier 5 holy race experts, permanently erasing several hundred holy race experts from gods domain with every volley of arrows she fired. although some of the targeted holy race players managed to react to verdant rainbows arrows and defend themselves with their weapons, the impact still depleted all of their hp instantly regardless. after both armies clashed for only three minutes, the battlefields total casualties had already exceeded 100,000. the intensity of the battle far surpassed the intensity of any team battle. even the casualty count for fifth-floor experts had already exceeded 10,000. all elders, target the voyage train! verdant rainbow commanded as she switched her target to the voyage train. the voyage trains several hundred cannons might have long cooldowns, but their attacks were incredibly powerful. even when the human army was positioned loosely, the cannons together could eliminate several thousand players each time they fired. the human army was already at a numerical disadvantage, to begin with, so giving the voyage train free reign would put the human army at an even greater disadvantage. upon receiving verdant rainbows command, many of the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 elders immediately began bombarding the voyage train with attacks. in response, the holy races 50-plus tier 6 experts also promptly moved to intercept verdant rainbow and the seven luminaries alliances elders attacks. however, their effort was futile as none could block verdant rainbows attacks, and her lightning arrows landed squarely on the voyage train. although the voyage train possessed powerful defensive capabilities, verdant rainbow still destroyed over a hundred of its cannons with her lightning arrows. so long as she fired another two or three volleys, all of the voyage trains cannons would be rendered useless. but before verdant rainbow could attack the voyage train again and secure a small victory for the human army, she suddenly felt a chill crawling down her spine. then, she immediately noticed chalk splendors thousand-meter-tall figure throwing several hundred energy fists at the human army, the gigantic fists akin to meteors raining down from the sky. everyone! dodge! verdant rainbow instinctively shouted. at the same time, she drew the world string and executed ninefold heart, hoping to block as many energy fists as she could. the pairing of the world string and ninefold heart yielded incredible results, as every lightning arrow verdant rainbow launched carried as much power as the descending energy fists. unfortunately, verdant rainbow only had enough time to launch several dozen lightning arrows, whereas chalk splendor had thrown several hundred energy fists at the human army. the several hundred energy fists also covered a combined radius of over 10,000 yards. combined with the speed of their descent, even the seven luminaries alliances tier 6 elders wouldnt be able to escape out of their range in time, let alone the tens of thousands of human experts and ten thousand holy race experts caught within range. all of you, die! chalk splendor sneered as he looked at the struggling human experts. previously, chalk splendor had only chosen to leave verdant rainbow and the others alone because he wanted to incapacitate shi feng as quickly as possible. however, if he was serious about targeting the human experts, not even shi feng could stop him. after all, while shi feng might be able to deflect his attacks, that was with the use of over a dozen sword lights for each of his attacks. if chalk splendor launched several hundred energy fists simultaneously, shi feng would need to instantly launch several thousand sword lights to counter, which was simply impossible. it also wouldnt matter even if shi feng used dark moon. the mana technique could, at best, block a small portion of his energy fists. meanwhile, although each energy fist might only contain the power of the average taboo-level expert, their large size allowed them to cause destruction on the scale of large destruction spells. even if only a handful of energy fists ended up landing on the battlefield, at least 10,000 human experts would cease to exist. is his highness crazy?! why is he targeting us as well?! heavenly ape saints complexion turned pale when he looked up and saw the descending energy fists. of the several hundred energy fists chalk splendor had thrown, over half were targeted at the heart of the battlefield. if they connected successfully, even god-ranked experts would get vaporized on the spot. moreover, there was a real possibility they would suffer soul annihilation. the other holy race experts fighting in the heart of the battlefield similarly despaired. they never thought chalk splendor would be so ruthless as to use an indiscriminate large-scale attack on his own allies. however, just as the energy fists were about to land on the battlefield, six pillars of light suddenly appeared in the sky. at the same time, everyones hearts skipped a beat as they felt six distinct and powerful auras washing over them. in front of these six auras, even the three fist saints auras paled in comparison. upon turning to look at the origin of the six intimidating auras, everyone on the battlefield gasped. tier 6 war goddesses?! am i hallucinating? how are there six tier 6 war goddesses here? everyone instinctively thought they were hallucinating when they saw the six war goddesses in the sky. war goddesses were the human races trump card. they were also the epitome of technique. they could exhibit the power of gold combat techniques with their every move, and those who had reached tier 6 could even fight tier 6 gods. moreover, these werent your average tier 6 god they were talking about. instead, they were tier 6 gods who were armed to the teeth. in addition, as war goddesses leveled up, they would also master increasingly frightening skills, spells, and gold combat techniques. upon reaching level 180 and beyond, they would even start to have advanced gold combat techniques in their repertoire. currently, all six tier 6 war goddesses in the sky were at level 187. simply in terms of levels, they were more than ten levels higher than chalk splendor. not to mention, these tier 6 war goddesses radiated auras far stronger than any of the tier 6 war goddesses they had seen outside of the eternal realm, and each felt only slightly weaker than chalk splendor disappear! the instant the six war goddesses appeared, they uttered a word in unison. then, they moved their bodies as if they were dancing. gold combination technique, thousand stars. in the blink of an eye, the six war goddesses created a thousand afterimages across the sky, each afterimage colliding with one of chalk splendors energy fists. then, all of chalk splendors energy fists disappeared as if they had never existed as expected of one of the goddesss most prized possessions. no wonder she can fight primordial gods just by summoning twelve war goddesses. shi feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw the war goddesses thoroughly neutralizing chalk splendors indiscriminate attack. originally, shi feng thought the war goddesses could, at best, neutralize the attacks targeted at the center of the battlefield. after all, he had yet to repair the feather of oath, whereas the sunlight blade chalk splendor wielded was a complete divine artifact. however, it would seem that he had underestimated the feather of oath. now that he had reached tier 6, the feather of oath could finally exhibit its true potential and summon six tier 6 war goddesses. meanwhile, when these six tier 6 war goddesses entered their war goddess battle array, the buffs they received were enough to put them on par with tier 6 gods of the same level. paired with a gold combination combat technique, they could fight taboo-level existences in the truest sense. Chapter 3597 - Chapter 671 - Might of Gold chapter 671 C might of gold who is he exactly? when verdant rainbow saw all the energy fists getting blocked, she couldnt help but look at shi feng in shock. originally, she had already found it astonishing that shi feng could put up a fight against chalk splendor despite not having a divine artifact. now, he had even summoned six war goddesses capable of contending with chalk splendor. it was as if he was a one-man army. in fact, with the strength shi feng had displayed thus far, verdant rainbow wouldnt even be surprised if he could rank within the divine glory lists top 100. yet, she had never heard of such a powerful expert until today. however, before verdant rainbow could snap out of her daze, shi feng suddenly swung his hand forward. then, the six war goddesses promptly surrounded chalk splendor and began bombarding him with various attacks, thoroughly preventing him from launching further attacks against the human army. while the war goddesses were keeping chalk splendor occupied, shi feng suddenly said to verdant rainbow, i need you to distract chalk splendor for a moment, miss rainbow. can you do that for me? you want me to distract him? verdant rainbow was surprised by shi fengs sudden request. at this time, the six war goddesses had already thoroughly suppressed chalk splendor, the latter unable to even complete a punch before getting counterattacked. so, verdant rainbow couldnt understand why shi feng would need her help. we wont outlast the sunlight bodys duration. if we want to win this battle, our only option is to heavily injure chalk splendor while we still can, shi feng explained. you dont need to keep him occupied for too long. just five or six seconds will do. it was evident this was chalk splendors first time using the sunlight blades sunlight body. meanwhile, if one wasnt used to controlling such a large body, one would have difficulty exhibiting the sunlight bodys true potential, and one could only rely on the sunlight bodys size and incredible raw power to fight. however, as one of the sun dynastys holy children, chalk splendor shouldnt need much time before he familiarized himself with the sunlight body and learned how to control it effectively. at that time, the six war goddesses could no longer suppress him. after all, if comparing in strength and reaction speed, the level 187 war goddesses were far inferior to chalk splendor. hence, before chalk splendor could adapt to the sunlight body, it was necessary to deal a heavy blow to him. only, the six war goddesses would need some preparation time to do so. six seconds? when verdant rainbow heard shi fengs words, she immediately nodded and said, if its only that long, i can do it. if she was asked to confront chalk splendor in her current state, she would lose with 100% certainty. but if she only needed to distract him for five or six seconds, she could accomplish it easily. after all, the world string she wielded was a divine artifact. it was just that the world string wasnt designed with offense as its priority. hence, her strength was inferior to chalk splendor. good! then, begin immediately! when shi feng heard verdant rainbows confident response, he promptly had the six war goddesses distance themselves from chalk splendor and enter a six-pointed formation. subsequently, the war goddesses put away their weapons, closed their eyes, and began linking their mana with each other. do you think ill just let you prepare an ultimate move?! anyone could tell that the six war goddesses were preparing for a powerful attack, and chalk splendor was no exception. immediately, he executed ancestral holy fist, a gold holy art, at the war goddesses. unlike setting sun, ancestral holy fist allowed him to throw out a hundred lightning-fast energy fists with a single punch. while each energy fist was not as powerful as setting suns singular attack, they could overwhelm enemies with speed and numbers. world chains! in response to chalk splendors attack, verdant rainbow immediately activated world chains, which was another one of the world strings profound skills. when activated, the profound skill would summon eight world chains to bind and suppress targets within the targeted area. the more chains a target was bound by, the stronger the chains suppression. if a target was bound by all eight chains, the target would have their basic attributes suppressed by 50% and defense suppressed by 100% for thirty seconds. world chains was a powerful skill for suppressing enemies, and its only flaw was its long one-hour cooldown. immediately, eight purple-gold chains appeared within a 3,000-yard radius of chalk splendor out of the void and promptly wrapped themselves around chalk splendors gigantic body. one chain two chains three chains when all eight world chains wrapped around chalk splendor, they restricted his movements and reduced his basic attributes by 50% and defense by 100%. moreover, no matter how much chalk splendor struggled, all he could do was watch as the six war goddesses merged their mana. the world strings world chains truly is an unreasonable skill. not only do the summoned chains restrain the targets movements, but each chain is individually strong enough to immobilize an ancient god. even a primordial god would probably have a headache if caught by all eight chains, shi feng inwardly exclaimed as he looked at the massive world chains that covered the sky. in terms of offensive power, the world string was vastly inferior to the sunlight blade. but when it came to crowd control, it ranked at the top among divine weapons. if caught, even ancient gods would be immobilized for the skills full thirty-second duration, let alone chalk splendor. if the divine weapon that chalk splendor currently wielded was something other than the sunlight blade, verdant rainbow could have probably eliminated him long ago. meanwhile, verdant rainbow quietly observed chalk splendor while her consciousness focused on manipulating the world chains to amplify their suppression effect. previously, verdant rainbow had not bothered using world chains against chalk splendor simply because there was no point in doing so. she didnt have any way to heavily injure or kill chalk splendor, so all she would accomplish was disable chalk splendor for thirty seconds. that wasnt enough time for her to change the situation of the battle. but now that shi feng had a way to deal with chalk splendor, verdant rainbow naturally wouldnt continue saving the world chains skill. before anyone realized it, five seconds had already passed. everyone on the battlefield was engaged in a heated battle, and even a moments inattention could lead to their fall. so, nobody could afford to let themselves be distracted by their surroundings. when shi feng saw that the war goddesses had completed their preparations, he couldnt help but grow excited. subsequently, the six war goddesses vanished, and a 1,000-meter-tall phantom of a divine goddess appeared in their place. the goddess wielded a spear made out of lightning, and as soon as she materialized, she held up her spear, poised herself, and cast the weapon at chalk splendor. advanced gold combination technique, goddesss shadow! this was the strongest combination technique that the six tier 6 war goddesses could execute after reaching level 180. boom! an earth-shattering explosion reverberated throughout the world ark, and the world barrier within a several dozen-mile radius of the explosions epicenter was thoroughly shattered by a lightning arc that spanned across thousands of yards. at this moment, everyone on the battlefield stopped what they were doing, utterly stupefied by this scene. even the holy race experts were no exception. Chapter 3598 - Chapter 672 - Frightened Chalk Splendor chapter 672 C frightened chalk splendor world ark, outer area, rune hills: a 100-man team of tier 5 players was currently clashing against several hundred hazy specters. on the players side, they were all above level 170 and fully equipped with fragmented legendary items and common secret treasures. as for the specters side, they were all at the tier 5 legendary rank. the specter lord leading them was even a level 175 regional boss whose basic attributes were on par with tier 5 dragons, and it had a body that measured over a dozen meters tall. normally, even a 1,000-man team of tier 5 experts would find fighting against such a powerful group of monsters impossible. yet, the 100-man team had no trouble dealing with these monsters. meanwhile, leading this team of players was a female shield warrior, and she was none other than ink qilin, one of the scarecrow fox adventurer teams vice commanders. with the use of frost protection, ink qilin effortlessly deflected the specter lords attacks while accurately piercing the regional bosss weak points with her spear one time after another. this one-sided exchange infuriated the specter lord, and it relentlessly targeted ink qilin, completely ignoring the other players nearby. everyone, increase your output against the boss! ink qilin shouted in the team chat when she saw the specter lords remaining hp. hearing this, the scarecrow fox members responsible for damaging the regional boss promptly upped the intensity of their attacks. finally, several minutes later, the specter lord fell and dropped dozens of items that radiated astonishing mana. among them, several were combat secret treasures, and everyone couldnt help but grow joyful when they noticed this. however, before everyone could celebrate, ink qilin promptly issued a command to retreat. then, she swiftly collected the regional bosss loot before running away from the several hundred tier 5 specters with her team. snatching regional bosses here truly is a pain, river light complained as he looked at the group of holy race players that had just appeared in the distance. thankfully, we managed to kill this one quick enough. as a world mode regional dungeon, the world arks monsters had astonishing loot. loot here was at least twice as good as loot in the underground crystal palace. moreover, there was no time limit, and players could grind here for as long as they wanted. for a top-tier team like theirs, the world ark was akin to heaven. however, because of this, competition in the world ark was also unlike anywhere else in the eternal realm. not only did they have to be wary of the various powers teams, but they also needed to be cautious of the holy races players. in such a situation, securing regional bosses was no different than trying to win the lottery. its a pity the seven luminaries alliance has locked down the inner area. otherwise, with our teams strength, we could have explored the inner area instead of competing with all these teams out here, ink qilin said, sighing. even if the seven luminaries alliance opens up the inner area, i doubt we can afford to explore the inner area for the foreseeable future, river light said, shaking his head. each camp can only resurrect a limited number of players at a time. the powers occupying those camps will definitely prioritize their own members, so its unlikely theyll let us register at their camps. thats true. ink qilin nodded. however, when she thought about how the various pseudo-apex powers members could freely explore the world arks inner area, she still couldnt help but grow a little envious. the great commander is close to nineteenth sword. once the fight over the inner areas resurrection camps concludes, maybe we can ask the great commander to persuade elder sword. if the skylight association lets us register at their resurrection camp, well be able to explore the inner area and solidify our position among the eternal realms first-rate adventurer teams. at that time, we can definitely be of significant help to the great commander, river light said with a hint of hopefulness. while ink qilin and the others were fleeing from the pursuing holy race players, an explosion suddenly came from a distance. then, when they turned toward the explosions origin, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. this was because they saw a gigantic lightning arc sundering the distant sky and revealing a patch of darkness decorated by stars. thatswhere the inner area isright? river light muttered as he looked at the shattered world barrier in the distance. mhm that is where the inner area is at ink qilin nodded, similarly shocked by this situation. the world arks rune hills were located hundreds of miles from the inner area. it was also obvious that the terrifying lightning arc originated from the depths of the inner area, so the lightning arcs origin should be at least a thousand miles away from their current location. they simply couldnt imagine what kind of battle was taking place in the inner areas depths to generate a commotion so frightening that they could see and hear it from where they stood. if players in the world arks outer area could experience the commotion taking place in the inner areas depths, it goes without saying players fighting in the inner area could experience it as well. crap! what is going on over there?! even a battle between tier 6 gods shouldnt cause such a huge commotion. who is fighting over there? an uproar quickly occurred among the seven luminaries alliances various resurrection camps as everyone looked in the direction of the terrifying lightning in curiosity and confusion. they simply couldnt fathom what was taking place there. meanwhile, over at the deadzone forests resurrection camp chalk splendor coughed out large mouthfuls of blood as he held onto the gaping hole in his chest, his complexion looking incredibly anemic. his hp had also fallen by a massive 20%. his highness is injured? the sunlight body actually got damaged? the holy race experts on the battlefield fell into a daze as they looked at the 50-meter-wide hole in chalk splendors chest. the sun dynastys tier 6 elders found this situation especially unbelievable. as elders of the sun dynasty, they had a much better understanding of the sunlight blades capabilities. some of them had even grown up listening to the achievements crafted by the sunlight blade. once the sunlight blades wielder activated sunlight body, they should theoretically become immortal. so long as the skill remained active, even ancient saints of the same level could only deal several hundred thousand damage to the sunlight blades wielder. yet, now what is that combat technique? verdant rainbows eyes widened in shock as she looked at the fading silhouette of the divine goddess. originally, she thought the war goddesses all-out attack could, at best, injure chalk splendor slightly. after all, the sunlight blade was one of the sun dynastys seven arcanas. there was no way it could be dealt with easily. yet, contrary to her expectations, the war goddesses combat technique had pierced chalk splendors body completely and shattered even the world chains she had used to restrain chalk splendor. the combat techniques destructive power was simply unprecedented. at this time, even shi feng was greatly shocked by this outcome. he never imagined goddesss shadow would be so frightening as to pierce the sunlight body completely. it was as if the goddess of space herself had descended onto the battlefield. however, shi feng quickly understood why the combat technique could achieve what it did. if the six war goddesses had relied on the goddesss shadow technique alone, there was zero chance they could have heavily injured the sunlight body. it was only due to the world chains suppression that the technique achieved such a mind-blowing result. only, the heavily-injured chalk splendor didnt have the leeway to consider such matters. at this time, only fear existed in his heart as he looked at the six war goddesses. run! run away! almost out of instinct, chalk splendor turned his gigantic body around and fled. Chapter 3599 - Chapter 673 - Astonishing Battle chapter 673 C astonishing battle not good! hes trying to escape! the instant verdant rainbow saw chalk splendor turning his body, she immediately knew what was going through his mind, so she hurriedly shouted a reminder to shi feng. however, by the time verdant rainbow finished her words, chalk splendor had already vanished from where he stood. then, by the time everyone had reacted to the situation, he had already appeared several thousand yards away. his speed was so fast that tier 5 players couldnt react to it, and even tier 6 players could barely catch his figure. run! i must run away! i cannot die in this place! chalk splendor kept reciting these words in his mind as he frantically gathered all his holy aura toward his feet. at this time, the only thought in his mind was how he could flee this battlefield with his life. he was one of the sun dynastys holy children. he had a boundless future ahead of him. he was an existence standing atop tens of millions of people. if he failed to capture the resurrection camp, he would, at worst, have a lower chance of becoming guild leader in the future. however, if he were to die to those war goddesses, it would mean eternal ruin for him. the sunlight blade, as a divine artifact, might be able to reduce his chances of getting soul annihilated by even holy ancestors and primordial gods significantly, but he dared not take the risk. during the earlier years of the holy races greater gods domain, items that could resurrect players who had suffered soul annihilation had indeed existed in relatively large quantities. however, fewer and fewer of these items spawned over time, so their supply quickly dwindled with use. in the current generation, even a royal power like the sun dynasty only owned several dozen such items. meanwhile, when considering the guilds future development, there was no way the sun dynasty would use one of these priceless treasures on a twelfth-ranked holy child like himself. in other words, if he were to suffer soul annihilation here, he shouldnt think of setting foot into gods domain for the rest of his life. moreover, as the holy races real world was much crueler than the humans greater world, he would be fortunate if he was only reduced to a servant. if unlucky, he would be banished to the distant and terrifying interstellar borders. hence, chalk splendor dared not gamble with his life. even if he still had nearly 80% of his hp remaining and could easily shrug off the attacks of ancient gods, he still chose to run away. dont even think of escaping! when shi feng saw chalk splendors heavily injured state, he realized this was a massive opportunity and promptly executed flowing space to chase after the other party. normally, shi feng would have no chance of killing chalk splendor if sunlight body was active. after all, there was a reason the holy race had regarded the sunlight body as the immortal body. however, now that the sunlight body was heavily damaged, chalk splendor had lost his battle recovery effect on top of 30% of his basic attributes and 50% of his defense. in such a situation, chalk splendor was no more than a mini-boss that couldnt recover any hp. meanwhile, it should be known that chalk splendor was one of the sun dynastys holy children. in terms of potential loot, killing him would be no different than killing a tier 6 god. most importantly, killing him would be a great achievement. the seven luminaries alliance might have merely recruited the various powers to help it defend against the sun dynastys siege, but if someone could kill one of the sun dynastys holy children, it would be a massive contribution to the human race. meanwhile, going by shi fengs understanding of the seven luminaries alliance, even if the alliance didnt award him with a fragmented divine artifact, he should be able to secure several pieces of legendary equipment compatible with his sword law saint class. at that time, even if he were to face wielders of divine weapons, he could put up a good fight. he wouldnt need to rely solely on dark moon and could fight with his skills and spells. hence, for a better future, shi feng did not hesitate to swing his sword after catching up to chalk splendor. tier 6 super spell, sword law world! tier 6 super spell, divine shadow! goddess-ranked mana technique, dark moon! immediately, sword law world reduced chalk splendors basic attributes by an additional 30%, while divine shadow transformed shi feng into 100 judgment swords that attacked chalk splendor with 200% of shi fengs attack speed and 300% of shi fengs strength. in addition, one of these judgment swords even executed dark moon. under normal circumstances, even if shi feng could reduce chalk splendors basic attributes by 30% with sword law world, it would do little to help him as the sunlight bodys defense was simply too powerful to overcome. he would have difficulty damaging chalk splendor, even with dark moon. however, chalk splendor was currently heavily injured. after sword law world further weakened him by 30%, shi fengs judgment swords became incredibly effective against him. the one he used to execute dark moon even managed to deal over a million damage. for tier 6 divine monsters with trillions of hp, they wouldnt even bat an eye if they lost a million hp to an attack. however, for the current chalk splendor, who didnt even have one billion hp, this was a terrifying amount of hp to lose. not to mention, each of the other judgment swords could also cause over 100,000 damage to chalk splendor. as a result, even though chalk splendor desperately tried to defend himself, his hp still depleted rapidly. from time to time, the six war goddesses would also intercept and attack him, causing his hp to plummet even quicker. meanwhile, when one of the sun dynastys elders saw this situation, he quickly snapped out of his daze and shouted, not good! quickly protect his highness! hearing this, the holy races many experts also snapped out of their daze. only, nobody dared to step forward to help chalk splendor. it wasnt because they were cowardly or held any negative opinions about chalk splendor. it was simply because shi feng was a taboo-level existence; nobody dared to brave the risk of having their soul annihilated. because of this, a strange scene was created on the battlefield. despite chalk splendor, the holy race armys commander-in-chief and a holy child of the sun dynasty, getting hunted down by shi feng alone, the rest of the holy race army merely stood by and watched. dammit! dammit! you forced me to do this! chalk splendor cursed shi feng in a begrudging tone when he saw he had less than 10% of his hp remaining. if chalk splendor wished to escape to safety, his only option now would be to retreat to one of the sun dynastys resurrection camps. powerful barriers and tactical weapons heavily protected these camps. even if shi feng was a taboo-level existence, he shouldnt think of breaking through the defenses of these camps. it might even be possible to kill shi feng if he wasnt careful. however, in the current situation, chalk splendor knew there was no way he could reach any of these resurrection camps alive. so, his only option now would be to swallow a bitter pill and use a desperate move. hence, as soon as chalk splendor finished speaking, he raised the sunlight blade and activated suns brilliance, summoning golden flames that engulfed his body. suns brilliance was the sunlight blades third profound skill. it could also be considered a desperation skill. when activated, suns brilliance would destroy all matter within a 10,000-yard radius. but in return, chalk splendor would lose five levels and one hundred points in all basic attributes. he would also enter a weakened state for ten natural days. do you think youre the only one with a desperation skill? when shi feng saw the golden flames that engulfed chalk splendor and his surroundings, he knew that the other party must have chosen to self-destruct and activate suns brilliance. immediately, he canceled divine shadow and reverted to his human form. then, he unsheathed the shadow incinerator and slashed at the oncoming flames. profound skill, the end! goddess-ranked mana technique, dark moon! suddenly, a crimson lotus flower bloomed from the shadow incinerator and transformed into a blazing crescent moon that lashed out at the oncoming golden flames, the two sources of flames generating powerful heat waves when they collided. then, just when it seemed like both attacks would enter a stalemate, the blazing crescent moon cut through the golden flames and chalk splendors neck. immediately afterward, the crescent moon exploded into a gigantic lotus flower of flames that consumed a 10,000-yard radius. when the flames subsided, shi feng could be seen standing proudly in mid-air, whereas chalk splendor had lost all of his hp, and his gigantic body fell into the massive void that had appeared in place of the lotus flower. in the clash of desperation shi feng emerged victorious! Chapter 3600 - Chapter 674 - War Harvest chapter 674 C war harvest world ark, deadzone forest, resurrection camp: when chalk splendor started to flee from the battlefield, the holy race army quickly fell into disarray as everyone realized the battle was lost. immediately, while relying on the voyage trains cover provided, the sun dynastys executives began to tactically retreat from the battlefield. as for the other holy race experts, they became walking atms for the various human experts as they failed to put up adequate resistance. target the tier 6 experts! do not let any of them get away! verdant rainbow commanded when she saw the sun dynastys executives withdrawing from the battlefield. although the outcome of the battle was already decided, verdant rainbow knew this was only the beginning of the competition in the world arks inner area. if the seven luminaries alliance wished to secure an advantageous position in the inner area, it must eliminate as many of the holy races tier 6 experts as possible. after all, even when operating solo, these tier 6 experts could effortlessly eliminate a 100-man tier 5 team. while the seven luminaries alliance might not bat an eye at its tier 5 members losing a couple of levels, it was a different story for the loss of weapons and equipment. even with its capabilities, the seven luminaries alliance would have trouble replacing its members weapons and equipment if too many were lost in a short period. this, in turn, would affect the alliances development in the world arks inner area. hence, it was imperative that they eliminated as many tier 6 holy race experts as possible so that more of the alliances tier 5 experts could survive in the upcoming struggle. the executives of the various human powers also understood this point. thus, they promptly gave up on chasing after the fleeing tier 5 holy race experts and led teams to target the holy races tier 6 and pseudo-tier 6 experts. in only a moment, one-third of the holy races tier 6 and pseudo-tier 6 experts had fallen. among them, nearly half were killed by verdant rainbow. dammit! our losses are too severe! while clashing against gentle snow and tactically retreating, heavenly ape saints complexion turned incredibly ugly when he saw the sun dynastys tier 6 experts falling one after another. if they had only suffered defeat in this battle and lost a bunch of tier 5 experts, executives like himself would, at worst, receive a scolding and have some of their guild contribution points deducted. however, it was a different story if they lost a large number of tier 6 and pseudo-tier 6 experts. the experts killed by verdant rainbow were especially concerning. as verdant rainbow was a taboo-level existence, even the tier 6 players she killed would have a high chance of suffering soul annihilation, while the tier 5 players with tier 6 holy bodies had a 100% chance of suffering soul annihilation. if too many of these players suffered a permanent death, it would deal a heavy blow to the sun dynastys operations in the eternal realm. currently, even earthen fist saint, who hadnt shown much expression thus far, couldnt help but grow livid over this situation. for the sun dynasty, fallen tier 5 experts were easy to replenish. it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the sun dynasty could have as many tier 5 experts as it wanted in the eternal realm. however, it was a different story when it came to replenishing tier 6 and pseudo-tier 6 experts. after all, it wasnt an easy task to get promoted to tier 6. not only did the promotion require a significant amount of resources, but the success rate was also very low. almost 99% of tier 5 experts would be stumped by it. the conditions to have a tier 6 holy body while still being at tier 5 were also stringent. in fact, the process was even more challenging than getting promoted to tier 6 directly. it was just that these pseudo-tier 6 experts were looking to have a better future and chose not to rush to complete their tier 6 promotion. now that one-third of these experts had fallen, their superiors in the sun dynasty definitely wouldnt let them off the hook easily. however, before earthen fist saint and the sun dynastys other executives had time to mourn their inevitable punishment, a gigantic lotus flower of flames suddenly appeared in the distant sky and reduced a 10,000-yard radius into nothingness. his highnessdied? his highness got killed?! everyone from the holy race army couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw chalk splendors gigantic body disappearing into the void. the sun dynastys elders were especially dumbfounded. they never imagined chalk splendor could be killed with sunlight body active. chalk splendor died?! verdant rainbow was similarly stunned when she saw that only shi feng remained proudly standing amidst the dark void. originally, even after seeing chalk splendor becoming heavily injured, verdant rainbow still didnt think shi feng could kill chalk splendor. at best, shi feng could chase chalk splendor all the way back to the holy races resurrection camps. after all, chalk splendor was a holy child of the sun dynasty. when dealing with others outside, he would be regarded as the sun dynastys face. unless the sun dynasty did not care for its reputation, it wouldnt let chalk splendor be killed easily and would provide him with plenty of lifesaving measures. yet, chalk splendor still died. it was also possible to see the items he dropped after dying, so verdant rainbow couldnt even dispute this matter even if she wanted. meanwhile, when garut saw this scene, he was similarly at a loss for words. taboo-level experts were terrifying existences. yet, shi feng had managed to slay one. with such strength, even outside of the eternal realm, shi feng would be regarded by the various pseudo-apex powers as an existence to be feared. while everyone was in a daze, zero wings tier 6 members used the opportunity to attack the three fist saints with their strongest moves. with a swing of the chaos windblade, gentle snow sent heavenly ape saint flying. then, she activated chaos world to suppress the three fist saints and executed her strongest attack against heavenly ape saint. absolute technique, five extreme flashes! five sword lights merged into one, combining to form an attack that neared the ancient god standard. at the same time, crimson heart, who had originally been clashing against earthen fist saint, abruptly cast her spear at heavenly ape saint. tier 6 legacy skill, boundary breaker! absolute technique, blazing sky! immediately, a blazing spear pierced through space, forming a pincer attack on heavenly ape saint with gentle snows sword light. although heavenly ape saint managed to block gentle snows attack, the impact of the collision paralyzed him briefly, and he ended up letting the blazing spear pierce through the back of his heart. then, before he could recover his posture, gentle snow suddenly appeared before him and dissected him into pieces, ending his life on the spot. concurrently, hidden soul and fire dance ambushed tailless scorpion, who had already lost most of his hp from the battle thus far, instantly plundering what little hp he had remaining. in the blink of an eye, out of the three fist saints, only earthen fist saint remained standing against zero wings nine tier 6 members. earthen fist saint was greatly frightened by this sudden development. hurriedly, he took out a gray crystal ball and activated it, his body instantly transforming into several dozen streaks of light that dispersed in all directions, the speed of his withdrawal making it impossible for anyone to chase after him. meanwhile, the unforeseen fate of the three fist saints caused the battle to become even more one-sided in the humans favor. on the other side of the battlefield, shi feng breathed a deep sigh of relief when he saw chalk splendors body disappearing. thank goodness i acquired the sacred phantom ring a while ago. otherwise, this fight really would have ended with mutual destruction today, shi feng thought as he picked up the sacred phantom ring from the ground before him. then, when he looked at the place where chalk splendor died, a look of shock and joy immediately surfaced on his face. the sunlight blade? two items could be seen floating at where chalk splendor died. among them, one was none other than the sunlight blade, divine artifact wielded by chalk splendor. Chapter 3601 - Chapter 675 - Shock chapter 675 C shock there was a silver crescent blade marked by gold holy patterns quietly floating amidst the dark void. although nobody wielded the blade, it still radiated a divine might that could cause the average tier 6 player to suffocate. in the case of tier 5 players, they wouldnt even be able to move within 100 yards of the weapon. the weapon was much superior to the average divine artifact. to think even the sunlight blade dropped when shi feng saw the sunlight blade floating in the void, he couldnt help but start to pity chalk splendor. originally, shi feng thought hed be fortunate if he could even kill chalk splendor. as for the sunlight blade, he never hoped for it to drop. while it was true that players could drop their divine artifacts on death, the chances of that happening were incredibly low. more often than not, players wouldnt lose their divine artifact even after losing all the items in their bag. not to mention, shi feng could feel that chalk splendor did not suffer soul annihilation when he killed the other party. had chalk splendor only dropped a couple of pieces of legendary equipment, he could have continued his life as one of the sun dynastys holy child once he was resurrected. after all, such a loss was inconsequential to someone of his status. but now that chalk splendor had dropped the sunlight blade, he was doomed. as one of the sun dynastys seven arcanas, the sunlight blade was infinitely more valuable than any holy child. chalk splendor would pay the price for losing it. at the very least, he could say goodbye to his position as a holy child. its a pity this is a weapon exclusive to the holy race shi feng thought after inspecting the sunlight blade. [sunlight blade] (saber, divine artifact) equipment requirement: tier 5, strength 40,000 cannot be equipped or inspected by players outside of the holy race. significant differences existed between the weapons and equipment of greater gods domains. for example, most of the weapons and equipment used by human players were developed around mana, so holy race players could not use them. conversely, the holy races weapons and equipment were developed around holy power, so human players could not use them. while there existed some weapons and equipment that werent limited to a specific type of energy and could be used by players of any race, such universal items were very rare in gods domain. unfortunately, the sunlight blade was a weapon crafted by a holy ancestor from the holy race, and it was developed specifically to maximize the holy races strengths. hence, even if players of other races acquired it, they would not find any use in it. however, shi feng didnt feel particularly disappointed. although he couldnt equip the sunlight blade, it did not change the fact that it was an incredibly valuable treasure. he could simply find an opportunity to sell it back to the holy race, trading it for a divine artifact of the human race or a universal divine artifact. if i remember correctly, the royal powers that have invaded us have quite a few universal divine artifacts. maybe i can get one or two from them, shi feng smiled as he put away the sunlight blade. at the same time, he also started to set his sights on some of the holy races universal divine artifacts. the sunlight blade was a top-tier divine weapon. its value far exceeded the average divine artifact. meanwhile, although the holy race had invaded the human races greater gods domain in his previous life, many trades still occurred between the two races. some powers from both races even specialized in such post-war trades. meanwhile, although the various powers of the two races knew of these trades, they simply turned a blind eye to them, never bothering to hinder them. this was because the war had increased the expenditure of weapons and equipment far beyond the natural supply. the war had created a situation where even if one had the money, one couldnt buy any weapons and equipment. both races would also always end up with a bunch of top-tier weapons and equipment that they couldnt use. in such a situation, rather than hold onto these unusable weapons and equipment, it would be much better if they traded them for usable weapons, equipment, and resources. hence, the various powers of both races implicitly supported these post-war trades. after putting the sunlight blade away, shi feng turned his attention to the other item chalk splendor dropped. it was a purple-gold colored helmet, and although the divine might it radiated was much weaker than the sunlight blade, it could still suppress the average tier 5 expert. is this a piece of universal equipment? when shi feng held the helmet in his hands, he couldnt feel any holy power or mana fluctuations coming from it. he also failed to inspect it normally, so he used a master identification skill on it out of curiosity. in gods domain, universal weapons and equipment typically wouldnt give off energy fluctuations. or, more specifically, they didnt favor any particular type of energy. so, when unequipped, they wouldnt give off any fluctuations. but after they were equipped by players and powered by the wearers energy, they would start to give off powerful energy fluctuations. in addition, universal weapons and equipment were generally of very high quality. this was because precious materials were needed to produce items that could accommodate all forms of energy. as a result, all successfully produced universal weapons and equipment were of astonishing quality. at the very least, they would be at the fragmented legendary rank. so, seeing as the purple-gold helmet did not give off any energy fluctuations, shi feng couldnt help but suspect it to be a piece of universal equipment. not to mention, when subjected to his taboo-level attack, all items at the fragmented legendary rank or below should have been disintegrated. the fact that the purple-gold helmet remained unscathed proved that it was of extraordinary quality. in no time, the master identification skill began analyzing the purple-gold helmets information, and a loading bar appeared in the corner of shi fengs vision. 10% 30% 80% after nearly a minute, the purple-gold helmets information finally appeared before shi feng. upon reading the information, shi feng couldnt help but be surprised. [eternity crown(replica)] (damaged item, fragmented divine artifact) equipment requirement unknown. attributes unknown. non-bag space item. (collect 100 eternal stones to transform the eternity crown into a divine artifact. the eternity set will become unique when all six set pieces are collected. currently, 83 eternal stones have been collected already.) the eternity set?! shi feng nearly dropped the helmet when he saw its information. when shi feng previously saw the dragon tongue conglomerates eternity gauntlets, he did have thoughts of collecting the eternity set. however, he quickly gave up on the idea after the holy world evolved into the eternal realm. after all, setting aside whether he could get his hands on any replicas of the eternity set, simply finding eternal stones in the vast eternal realm would be a nigh-impossible task for individual players or small powers. yet, surprisingly, chalk splendor not only possessed a replica of the eternity set, but he had even collected 83 eternal stones for it already. so long as shi feng put in some effort, he could turn this replica into the real eternity crown. meanwhile, with the eternity set being one of the six great divine sets of the human races greater gods domain, even a loose piece of the set could let players achieve a qualitative leap. immediately, shi feng put the eternity crown away safely into his bag. then, he rejoined the battlefield and started killing the escaping holy race experts, collecting as much contribution as possible before the battle concluded. eternal realm, western continent, black sea city: black sea city was a super-large npc city that hovered thousands of meters above the ocean. over 100 million players were active in it daily, and even tier 6 players could be seen walking the city streets. hundreds of flying ships also flew in and out of the city at all times. however, because the sun dynasty had made black sea city its main headquarters in the eternal realm, it controlled the city with an iron grip and forbade any other powers from establishing a foothold. at this time, an uproar was occurring in the top-floor conference room of the sun dynastys guild residence. what did you say? you lost the sunlight blade? Chapter 3602 - Chapter 676 - World Arks Battle Situation chapter 676 C world arks battle situation world ark, inner area, silent mountains, resurrection camp: following the complete activation of the core circle, the seven luminaries alliance officially occupied the silent mountains resurrection camp. seeing this, the sun dynastys army, which had been frenziedly attacking the camp, had no choice but to retreat in frustration. hooray! we won! we won! we won! how close. i thought we would have failed for sure after all the magic barriers got destroyed. when the seven luminaries alliance and the various powers members saw the holy race army retreating in their flying vehicles, some cheered, some rejoiced, and some collapsed on the ground, trying to catch their breath. but without exception, everyone was happy over the victory they had just achieved. we have severely underestimated the holy race this time nineteenth sword, who only had a few pieces of intact equipment equipped, muttered as he looked at the sun dynastys retreating forces, a hint of fear appearing in his eyes. the battle at the silent mountains resurrection camp might not have lasted as long as the guild wars fought outside the eternal realm, which would typically span across multiple days and nights, but its intensity was multiple times greater. after only 24 hours, the resurrection camp that started with nearly 200,000 players had less than 30,000 players remaining. in the skylight associations case, its losses were even more tragic. the templar legion had 1,000 members at the start of the battle. now, less than 100 members remained alive. in addition, of the legions two vice commanders, heavy shield titan had fallen in combat, while mjolnir milia had sustained heavy damage to her soul and would be out of commission for a long time. to make matters worse, of the fallen templar legion members, one-third had suffered permanent deaths. in fact, even nineteenth sword had nearly suffered a permanent death at the hands of a god-ranked holy race expert. are you alright, elder sword? milia asked, her complexion pale as she limped over to nineteenth sword. im fine. i only had all of my fragmented legendary equipment destroyed, nineteenth sword said as he looked at milia. weve suffered a truly huge loss this time. after scanning the gathering templar legion members, milia gloomily said, i originally thought we were only here to play a minor supporting role. with so few of our members remaining, even if the others regroup with us after getting resurrected, im afraid itll be difficult for us to occupy a resurrection camp. the skylight associations losses this time were beyond tragic. with their remaining forces, there was no way they could safely occupy a resurrection camp in the world arks inner area. that might be the case, but i doubt the other powers are in a better situation than us, nineteenth sword said nonchalantly. moreover, we can already consider ourselves fortunate that we managed to defend this resurrection camp. for all we know, the holy race might have annihilated the other camps. milia did not disagree with nineteenth sword. the holy race army that had attacked the silent mountains resurrection camp might have retreated, but it did not retreat in the direction of the holy races resurrection camps. instead, the army went to another one of the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps. evidently, whichever camp the army was headed had been taken over by the holy race. after all, the occupation process of all six camps had started simultaneously. if a camp had already been successfully occupied, it wouldnt make sense for the holy race to try to contest it as the difficulty of securing it would increase substantially. while nineteenth sword and milia were talking, the man in charge of the silent mountains resurrection camp gathered everyone. i would like to thank everyone for assisting the seven luminaries alliance this time. without you all, we would have never managed to defend this camp. we have already started to tally everyones contribution. we will notify you of your contribution once the calculations are complete. we will also send you a list of exchangeable items based on your contribution, and you may head to any of our branches to exchange your contribution, azure ship, the commander of the resurrection camp and a core elder of the seven luminaries alliance, said. what is the state of the other camps, azure ship? nineteenth sword asked as he looked at the commander. upon hearing nineteenth swords question, the various powers members promptly perked up their ears, all of them curious to learn of the other resurrection camps performance. the battle at the silent mountains resurrection camp had been extraordinarily intense, and they had very nearly failed to defend it. if the powers stationed in the other camps had faced a situation similar to theirs or worse, it would definitely be good news to them. after all, at the end of the day, they were all competing for the inner areas resurrection camps. the situation at the other camps isnt optimistic, either, azure ship said, sighing. based on the reports ive received thus far, two camps failed, and three of the remaining camps suffered a casualty rate exceeding 50%. when everyone heard azure ships words, they werent particularly surprised by the news. after all, they had personally experienced the holy race players combat power. those who failed to defend their camps couldnt be faulted, and those who succeeded were merely lucky. of course, this was undoubtedly good news for the various pseudo-apex powers present. three? his curiosity piqued, nineteenth sword asked, if only two camps failed, shouldnt four camps remain? yes, there is indeed another camp that succeeded. azure ship nodded. then, with an envious look, he said, that camp achieved a major victory. they eliminated over 70% of the holy race army they faced, and they even managed to kill the holy child leading the army. is one of the alliances vice guild leaders stationed there? nineteenth sword couldnt help but be shocked when he heard all these achievements. nineteenth sword did not doubt the holy race armys strength. he had also heard about the sun dynastys holy children from the seven luminaries alliance. the status of holy children was only slightly below that of the sun dynastys vice guild leaders, so it went without saying an army led by a holy child would be much stronger than the rest. yet, despite this, the camp that faced the holy childs army still achieved a major victory. the only explanation nineteenth sword could come up with for this situation was that one of the seven luminaries alliances vice guild leaders had taken action. otherwise, there was no way the camp could have killed the holy child on top of defeating the holy race army. the various powers experts came to a similar conclusion as nineteenth sword, and they couldnt help but envy the powers stationed at the aforementioned camp. after all, not only did those powers manage to avoid significant losses, but they also got to earn a lot more contribution. you misunderstand, elder sword, azure ship said, shaking his head. the camp didnt achieve a major victory because of the alliance. instead, the camp managed to stay standing because of a great experts intervention. the great expert in question is also single-handedly responsible for killing the sun dynastys holy child. its not one of the alliances experts? nineteenth sword grew even more surprised. then, he hurriedly asked, may i know if i am acquainted with that person? nineteenth sword did not think azure ship would go out of his way to boast about another powers expert. the fact that azure ship would speak so highly about an outsider must mean that the great expert in question did play a vital role in the resurrection camps defense. however, out of all the experts nineteenth sword had seen answering the seven luminaries alliances call for assistance, he simply couldnt think of anyone capable of accomplishing such a feat. you should have heard of that person before, elder sword, azure ship said. he is black flame, the lord of war goddesses! Chapter 3603 - Chapter 677 - Top Five Expert? chapter 677 C top five expert? black flame? azure ships answer dumbfounded nineteenth sword, and he couldnt help but think the other party was joking with him. thats right. azure ship nodded. then, in a voice of admiration, he said, although the alliance has made plenty of preparations for that camp, going as far as to arrange a divine artifact there, the holy race similarly came prepared and mobilized a divine artifact. the holy races divine artifact is even the sunlight blade, one of the sun dynastys seven arcanas. the camps losses would have been unimaginable if not for black flame killing the holy child wielding the sunlight blade. he killed a holy child who had a divine artifact? milia couldnt help but doubt azure ships words. the sun dynastys holy children were all individuals at the standard of chosen ones. individually, they were definitely as strong as the seven luminaries alliances chosen ones. if a chosen one of such caliber was given a divine weapon, they would undoubtedly become a taboo-level existence. yet, azure ship was saying that black flame had not only defeated such a taboo-level existence but also killed him? who could possibly believe him? is there really no mistake with this information? nineteenth sword couldnt help but ask. the skylight association had conducted a thorough investigation into black flames strength. however, based on the associations assessment, he could, at best, enter the divine glory lists top 300 after reaching tier 6. this would put him close to titans and milias standards. yet, azure ship was now saying that black flame was already strong enough to slay taboo-level existences. how could nineteenth sword possibly bring himself to believe this? this information is absolutely accurate, azure ship said definitively. in fact, the higher-ups are already prepared to rank black flame among the eternal realms top five experts once the new ranking list for the eternal realm comes out. the eternal realms top five? nineteenth swords expression turned incredibly gloomy. back in the crystal city of secrets, nineteenth sword had ridiculed shi feng for overestimating himself and claimed that zero wing would have no future in the world ark. news of the matter had even become widely spread, and the various powers were all eagerly waiting to see how he would take care of shi feng. but if shi feng was strong enough to rank among the eternal realms top five experts, he could utterly crush the current skylight association in the eternal realm what should we do now, elder sword? milia quietly asked nineteenth sword. if black flame wants to, we wont have any chance at securing a foothold in the world ark. milia knew much about the matter between shi feng and nineteenth sword. not to mention, nineteenth sword had even publicized this matter himself, so a peaceful resolution was practically out of the question. black flame is indeed a tricky opponent for us right now, but he will similarly have difficulty surviving in the inner area later. after thinking over the matter, nineteenth sword regained his calm as he said, youve seen how strong the holy race is for yourself. do you think occupying a resurrection camp in the inner area will be easy? also, more experts will reach tier 6 as time passes. so what if he is a taboo-level existence? now that he has killed one of the sun dynastys holy children, the sun dynasty wont let zero wing off the hook easily. with zero wings foundations, do you think it can go up against the sun dynasty? we can simply wait until the sun dynasty takes care of him. at worst, we will avoid him during this time and take our time exploring the inner area. whoever among us will emerge victorious remains uncertain! anyone who had participated in the battle this time would know what kind of competition awaited them in the world arks inner area. it simply wasnt feasible for one taboo-level existence to occupy an entire resurrection camp. and even if shi feng did manage to occupy a resurrection camp, he would have to garrison it long-term and could never move too far away from it. meanwhile, with how big the world ark was, the skylight association could simply operate in areas outside of zero wings influence. with its powerful foundations and many potential tier 6 experts, nineteenth sword was confident that the skylight association would have no trouble surpassing zero wings development in the world ark. youre right. milia nodded, fully agreeing with nineteenth swords argument. admittedly, shi feng wasnt an existence the skylight association could afford to provoke at present. however, competitions between powers were not decided overnight. even if zero wing had a taboo-level existence, with the guilds pitiful foundations and expert count, it would quickly lose its advantages to the various powers. not to mention, shi feng would have thoroughly offended the sun dynasty after this battle. it should be known that the sun dynasty was a titanic existence on par with the seven luminaries alliance. it could probably make even primordial gods suffer, let alone slay a taboo-level existence. subsequently, time passed quickly. half a day after the battle between the seven luminaries alliance and the sun dynasty concluded, the pseudo-apex powers that had assisted the alliance eventually decided against trying to monopolize the rear-line resurrection camps. instead, they chose to form mini-alliances among themselves. meanwhile, because of zero wings outstanding performance at the deadzone forests resurrection camp, azure fangs garut and the red dragon nations frey took the initiative to suggest allying with zero wing to occupy and defend a resurrection camp together. and upon further discussion, it was agreed that zero wing would be the one to lay claim to the camp. it was also agreed that zero wing would receive 40% of the camps slots while the two other guilds would receive 30% each. soul lake, resurrection camp: weve finished clearing out the camps monsters, guild leader. all we need to do now is protect it for 24 hours, hidden soul reported to shi feng. nodding, shi feng said, good. you all can rest for now. ill need you all to guard the core circle if any battle takes place later. zero wing currently had less than 100 members present. even with azure fang and the red dragon nations help, it would be tough for them to face an army of tens of thousands of holy race experts if their tier 6 combatants were mentally exhausted. hence, hidden soul and the others needed to rest. meanwhile, should they successfully occupy the soul lakes resurrection camp, they would no longer have any worries about money in the future. this was because the soul lake was one of the closest maps to the inner areas frontline. in addition, although the monsters here were all at level 175 and above, they were much more sparsely populated compared to other maps. so, the soul lake could be considered one of the safer maps in the inner area, and it was very suitable for expert teams to grind in. hearing shi fengs words, hidden soul nodded and made her way into one of the temporary camps to rest. now, all we need to do is wait for 24 hours. when shi feng saw the core circles runes gradually lighting up, he couldnt help but grow a little eager. while shi feng and the others were waiting for time to pass, the seven luminaries alliance suddenly sent everyone a message. the message contained a list of everyones contribution rankings and a personal exchange list. Chapter 3604 - Chapter 678 - Seven Luminaries Alliances Exchange List chapter 678 C seven luminaries alliances exchange list soul lake, resurrection camp: a moment after the seven luminaries alliances message arrived, everyone in the camp revealed ecstatic expressions. they didnt think the seven luminaries alliance would finish tallying everyones contributions so quickly. in the blink of an eye, the atmosphere in the originally quiet camp immediately turned lively. as expected of the most ancient apex power. the seven luminaries alliances foundations truly are terrifying. shi feng couldnt help but sigh ruefully after briefly looking through the seven luminaries alliances message. according to the regulations the seven luminaries alliance had set this time, the top five contributors of each resurrection camp could exchange for one legendary weapon or equipment. in the case of the deadzone forests resurrection camp, shi feng was the undisputed number one contributor, while coming after him were gentle snow, crimson heart, hidden soul, and fire dance. zero wing had monopolized the top five rewards for the deadzone forests resurrection camp, leaving none for the other powers. fortunately, because of the camps major victory, the seven luminaries alliance had provided everyone with a much more abundant exchange list. in shi fengs case, he even got to exchange one extra item from his list because of his achievement of killing the holy child chalk splendor. as for the exchange list he received, it was so abundant that executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers would faint from excitement if they saw it. of the items he could exchange, there were 1,654 legendary weapons, 7,171 pieces of legendary equipment, 8,513 legendary items, and 121,065 inferior divine artifact-rank materials! even the eternal realms incredibly rare eternal stones were made available on the list. when seeing all these items, even shi feng, with his wealth of knowledge and experience, couldnt help but feel a sense of admiration. in his previous life, although zero wing had grown strong enough to clash with even the apex power demons gate, the zero wing of that time only had about 6,000 legendary items, which included legendary weapons and equipment. even for newly-promoted pseudo-apex powers, it was a huge accomplishment to own 6,000 legendary items. however, it should be known that zero wing had only been developing in the greater gods domain for several years at the time. while zero wings arsenal of legendary items remained insignificant compared to pseudo-apex powers that had existed for centuries, it had already reached a level that most upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates could never hope to achieve. yet, even though the seven luminaries alliance had only revealed a small portion of its stockpile, it was already more than enough to stomp the past zero wing into the ground. in fact, even pseudo-apex powers would probably choke from seeing this small portion. meanwhile, shi feng wasnt the only person awed by the seven luminaries alliances wealth. even though most of the players in the camp would only receive lists containing fragmented legendary items or lower, they still couldnt help but be shocked by the seven luminaries alliances wealth. it was especially so for top contributors like garut and frey. i have truly underestimated the seven luminaries alliance. no wonder none of the other apex powers dare to provoke it. theres no way anyone can compete against such wealth, frey thought in astonishment as she looked at her exchange list. depending on ones contribution, the exchange list one would receive would also differ. the lower ones contribution, the lower the quality of the items one could exchange, and the fewer options one would receive. although her exchange list didnt have any legendary items, she was still among the top contributors in the deadzone forests resurrection camp. because of this, she received a list of fragmented legendary items, and the quantity listed could cause any pseudo-apex power to go crazy. over ten million fragmented legendary items she would need months just to look through every single item. the wealth the seven luminaries alliance had amassed was truly awe-inspiring and disheartening. of course, while the seven luminaries alliance might have made an astonishing number of fragmented legendary items available for exchange, only a small portion of the players present were actually qualified to exchange for one. this was because players would need to kill at least five tier 5 holy race experts to qualify. even so, it was still very astonishing. at the very least, the red dragon nation could not afford to make such a generous move. there were hundreds of thousands of experts stationed across the six resurrection camps. those who had successfully slain five tier 5 holy race experts might be in the minority, but they should still number twenty to thirty thousand. in other words, the seven luminaries alliance would need to give away at least twenty thousand fragmented legendary items. it should be known that the average upper-ranking hegemonic power operating in the greater gods domain only had a stockpile of about one hundred thousand fragmented legendary items, with the stronger ones having two or three hundred thousand. after all, fragmented legendary items were not easy to come by. it was also why epic items remained the standard for most players, and many tier 5 experts didnt even have one fragmented legendary item in their possession. what the seven luminaries alliance was giving away today was already enough to fully equip two 1,000-man tier 6 legions in fragmented legendary items. even pseudo-apex powers would find such a loss incredibly painful. should i get the eternal stones? shi feng hesitated as he looked at his list. currently, he was only short of 17 eternal stones from completing the eternity crown. although he could only exchange for two eternal stones this time, it would still reduce the time he needed to complete the eternity crown significantly. meanwhile, the boost in strength the eternity crown could provide him would be far greater than any legendary weapon. wait this is shi fengs eyes suddenly brightened when he spotted a particular name on the list. a world source! refined void blood! [refined void blood] (inferior divine artifact rank material) a stone condensed from the world law in the source of void. the source of void was a type of world source. although the refined void blood was not as precious as a source of void, it could still be considered a world source. meanwhile, the value of world sources went without saying. they were even more precious than legendary weapons. this was because many fragmented divine artifacts required world sources to repair. typically, powers would never trade their world sources away. after all, while divine artifacts were as rare as a phoenixs feather, the rarity of fragmented divine artifacts was much lower in comparison. most upper-ranking hegemonic powers would have at least one or two fragmented divine artifacts in their possession. because of this, these powers would never give away the world sources they had acquired. so, when shi feng saw the refined void blood available for exchange, he couldnt help but wonder why the seven luminaries alliance would put it on the list. after all, in terms of value, a complete divine artifact was easily worth more than a hundred legendary weapons. is it because the refined void blood cant be used to repair divine artifacts? shi feng was very confused when he saw that there were as many as three units of refined void blood available for exchange. however, shi feng did not hesitate for long before he chose to exchange for two units of refined void blood. even if the refined void blood couldnt be used to repair fragmented divine artifacts, it remained a priceless treasure to him. this was because the winter of eternal night in his possession could evolve simply by devouring world source-type items. meanwhile, the winter of eternal night was no ordinary weapon as it was the primordial god of thunders final creation. two units of refined void blood should be more than enough to improve the winter of eternal night significantly. meanwhile, after shi feng made his decision, he quickly received a response from the seven luminaries alliance, stating that he would receive his items in twelve hours. Chapter 3605 - Chapter 679 - Legendary Winter of Eternal Night chapter 679 C legendary winter of eternal night world ark, soul lake: time passed, and roughly ten hours after shi feng locked in his desired items, a group of dark figures appeared a short distance outside the resurrection camp. these dark figures radiated a mighty aura, and their presence unnerved many of the players in the camp. is it an enemy attack? unrestrained lionheart muttered, a hint of astonishment flashing in his eyes as he looked at the dark figures. the approaching dark figures might only number twenty, but every one of them was a bona fide tier 6 player. among them, the cloaked and masked person moving in the lead even wielded a divine weapon and radiated an aura comparable to verdant rainbow. it shouldnt be. frey shook her head after observing the dark figures for a moment. they might be powerful, but theyre not radiating holy power. mana is even continuously gathering around them, so they should be human experts. and if thats the case, they shouldnt have a reason to fight for our resurrection camp since there are still plenty of unoccupied camps in the inner area. as soon as frey finished speaking, the 20-man team arrived at the edge of the magic barrier erected around the soul lakes resurrection camp. we are from the eternal chamber of commerce. we are here to distribute the items you have exchanged from the seven luminaries alliance, the cloaked man standing in the lead said as he revealed the eternal chamber of commerces guild emblem to everyone in the camp. the eternal chamber of commerce? following the masked mans words, the players in the resurrection camp sighed in relief and quickly welcomed the 20-man team inside the magic barrier. nobody doubted the validity of these dark figures identities, either. it was impossible to falsify guild emblems in gods domain. every guild emblem was unique, and the eternal chamber of commerces golden scales emblem was widely known across the greater gods domain. as expected of an apex power when garut saw that the eternal chamber of commerce had mobilized twenty tier 6 experts and one divine artifact just to run errands, he couldnt help but be shocked. in the current eternal realm, even the pseudo-apex powers would not have more than one or two tier 6 experts under their command. yet, the eternal chamber of commerce could afford to have twenty tier 6 experts run errands for the seven luminaries alliance. this was something no pseudo-apex power could think of accomplishing. of everyone in the resurrection camp, only shi feng remained unfazed by the eternal chamber of commerces show of strength. the eternal chamber of commerces existence might be a mystery to many, but shi feng knew that eternals foundations were only slightly inferior to the seven luminaries alliance. when it came to facilitating transactions across the greater gods domain, eternal was even vastly superior to the seven luminaries alliance. after entering the resurrection camp, the leader of eternals delivery team approached shi feng and handed him two crimson metal cubes, saying, here are the items you have requested, guild leader black flame. shi feng accepted the metal cubes, satisfaction filling his heart. these two metal cubes were none other than the two units of refined void blood he had requested. with the refined void blood, he should have no trouble upgrading the winter of eternal night to the legendary rank. please accept this gold vip token as well, guild leader black flame, the masked man from eternal said as he handed shi feng a golden token with the word eternal engraved on it. with this token, you can participate in any of the auctions taking place on the dark star auction houses 300th floor or above. frey and garut grew even more surprised when they saw the gold token the masked man handed to shi feng. they never thought the eternal chamber of commerce would give shi feng one of its gold vip tokens. after all, anyone who possessed one of these tokens would be treated as one of the eternal chamber of commerces core elders. normally, even guild leaders of pseudo-apex powers wouldnt necessarily be able to get their hands on a gold vip token. as for the auctions taking place on the dark star auction houses 300th floor and above, those were auctions that all executives of the various pseudo-apex powers wished to participate in. this was because every item sold there was enough to make the various pseudo-apex powers lose their calm. thank you. shi feng accepted the gold vip token without hesitation. although he did not know why the eternal chamber of commerce was willing to give him such a privilege, the gold vip token would help him out significantly in the future. the ability to participate in the auctions hosted on the dark star auction houses 300th floor and above was especially valuable as all items sold there were extraordinary. even materials at the inferior divine artifact rank could be found there. meanwhile, after seeing off the eternal chamber of commerces members, shi feng entered one of zero wings temporary camps and carefully took out the winter of eternal night and the two units of refined void blood. system: two world sources detected. do you wish to have the winter of eternal night absorb them all? absorb them all! shi feng agreed to the prompt without hesitation. immediately, as if it had just sensed the most delectable delicacy in the world, the winter of eternal night released two clouds of dark-blue mist and used them to envelope the two units of refined void blood. roughly fifteen minutes later, several streams of crimson mist appeared around the winter of eternal nights dark blue blade. at the same time, the weapon also started to radiate a powerful divine might. [winter of eternal night] (one-handed sword, legendary rank) equipment requirement: strength 45,000, agility 30,000, tier 4 attack power (500% of strength) attack speed (3% of strength + agility) all attributes (increases according to the users level) when equipped: attacks gain the extreme frost effect, inflicting the spatial freezing effect within a 10*50 yard area of the attack; attacks have a 60% chance to deal 400% damage; attacks have a 20% chance to deal 1,000% damage and weaken the effectiveness of all mana and holy defenses by 70%; increases strength by 280%, agility by 200%, intelligence by 140%, endurance by 100%, and attack speed by 80%; ignore levels +80; effect of all sword-type skills improved by 100%; all sword-type skills will be strengthened by holy power; effect of mana increased by 100%. additional passive skill 1: winters body. winter of eternal night will absorb its users mana to strengthen its users physique. the higher the manas quality, the greater the improvements. improvement limited at 200%. additional passive skill 2: holy power destruction. achieve a destructive effect against all forms of holy power. additional active skill 1: radiant night (tier 6). adds the power of erosion to all of the users attacks and forcibly increases the users attack by one tier. duration: 30 seconds cooldown: 10 minutes additional active skill 2: world of frost (tier 6). casts the shadow of a world around the user, enveloping an area of a 5,000-yard radius. the user may summon up to 100 frost swords within the enveloped area. each frost sword will carry 300% of the users strength. duration: 5 minutes cooldown: 30 minutes additional active skill 3: holy manas shadow (tier 6). use a combination of holy power and mana to reconstruct the users body. duration: 10 minutes cooldown: 1 natural day additional active skill 4: void barrier (tier 6). use the void as a defensive barrier, rendering a 100-yard radius immune to all damage. duration: 30 seconds cooldown: 1 hour additional profound inheritance 1: formless sword. converts any object into a temporary sword. the quality of the sword created depends on the object used and the magic array constructed by the user. duration: 1 hour cooldown: 1 natural day additional profound inheritance 2: world sword. devour world sources to evolve. the primordial god of thunders final creation that has absorbed a main branch from the holy tree and refined void blood. the winter of eternal night holds the power source of a primordial god, and it is capable of freezing all things. Chapter 3606 - Chapter 680 - Sun Dynastys Ultimatum chapter 680 C sun dynastys ultimatum what an incredible improvement! shi feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw the legendary winter of eternal nights stats. in his previous life, apart from having a superior divine body, another one of the key reasons he could thrive shortly after entering the greater gods domain was due to solomons sword, a legendary weapon he had gone through great lengths to obtain. the weapon was also regarded as one of the ten great legendary weapons of his home gods domain. meanwhile, after ascending to the legendary rank, the winter of eternal nights basic attributes could already rival solomons sword. moreover, unlike solomons sword, the winter of eternal night still had room for growth. when shi feng grabbed the dark blue sword hovering before him, silver patterns lit up across the blade, and the temperature of the surrounding environment plummeted. shi feng could also feel the flow of time in his surroundings slowing down. is this the winter of eternal nights hidden ability? excitement filled shi feng when he sensed the changes in the surrounding space. after equipping the winter of eternal night, he could feel that the flow of time around him had become slower than normal. although it was only a minor decrease of about 25%, it would still help him significantly in battle. it would be especially so in battles against other tier 6 players. combat at tier 6 was much more unforgiving than combat at lower tiers. this was due to tier 6 players having extraordinary attack power. unless one possessed items such as the sunlight blade, under the same equipment standard, even a single mistake could lead to players going from full hp to becoming a corpse in the blink of an eye. meanwhile, the winter of eternal nights hidden ability to affect time would not only grant its wielder more time to react to enemy attacks, but it would also improve the wielders reaction speed, movement speed, attack speed, and spellcasting speed. it was an all-rounded buff that was much superior to a buff that merely increased reaction speed. paired with the winter of eternal nights basic attributes, shi feng felt he could fight against even ancient gods of the same level. while shi feng was taking his time experiencing the winter of eternal nights changes, hidden soul and gentle snow suddenly entered his tent. guild leader! something big happened! hidden soul solemnly said. just a while ago, the holy races sun dynasty issued an ultimatum to the seven luminaries alliance. they demand the alliance to hand over chalk splendors killer and the sunlight blade. otherwise, they will destroy all of the alliances resurrection camps at any cost, making it impossible for the alliance to establish a foothold in the world ark! theyre threatening the seven luminaries alliance directly? shi fengs expression also grew serious when he heard this. although shi feng had long guessed that the sun dynasty wouldnt remain silent over chalk splendors death and the loss of the sunlight blade, he never thought the sun dynasty would be so ruthless as to threaten the seven luminaries alliance. should we return to the crystal city immediately, guild leader? gentle snow asked. what the sun dynasty just did was incredibly ruthless. rather than find trouble with zero wing, the sun dynasty had chosen to target the seven luminaries alliance, forcing the alliance to take action against zero wing. as the sun dynasty was a holy race power, it would normally need to go through the apex powers fighting at the forefront if it wished to target zero wing. this would make it very difficult for the sun dynasty to do anything to zero wing. however, it was a different story for the seven luminaries alliance. the seven luminaries alliance was one of the human races apex powers. setting aside the alliances influence over the human races greater gods domain, simply the strength it possessed in the eternal realm could let it easily suppress zero wing. to make matters worse, the seven luminaries alliance was planning to develop in the world ark, so it did have a reason to fear the sun dynastys all-out targeting. meanwhile, so long as the seven luminaries alliance decided to take action against zero wing, it would be nigh-impossible for zero wing to survive. its too soon to make any conclusions, shi feng said, shaking his head. also, its unlikely the seven luminaries alliance will leave us out to dry. a more likely scenario is that the alliance will have us hand over the sunlight blade. after all, the alliance still needs to maintain its reputation. so, we should wait and see what the alliance decides to do first before jumping to conclusions. now that zero wing had secured a resurrection camp in the world arks inner area, it could finally start making large amounts of money in the eternal realm. not to mention, zero wing would also have an advantage over other powers when it came to entering the holy ring city. if zero wing were to abandon its development in the world ark now, its losses would be massive. not to mention, zero wing played a vital role in helping the seven luminaries alliance resist the sun dynasty. even if the sun dynasty planned to go all out, it was highly unlikely the seven luminaries alliance would choose to hand over shi feng, chalk splendors killer. otherwise, the alliances reputation would be ruined, and its influence over the greater gods domain would wane. so, what zero wing needed to do now was wait for the seven luminaries alliance to finish negotiating the sun dynasty and see to what extent the alliance was willing to compromise. when hidden soul and gentle snow heard shi fengs reasoning, they decided to go with shi fengs arrangement and wait for the seven luminaries alliances response. apart from the soul lakes resurrection camp, a commotion also occurred across the world arks various resurrection camps following the sun dynastys ultimatum. hahaha! i knew the sun dynasty wouldnt let zero wing get away so easily! nineteenth sword happily said after reading the report he just received. so what if black flame is one of the eternal realms top five experts? in the end, he still has to withdraw from the world ark! zero wing is indeed quite pitiful, milia said, feeling a hint of sympathy for zero wing. when it comes to military strength, the sun dynasty is evidently superior to the seven luminaries alliance. if the alliance wishes to avoid tragic losses in the eternal realm and appease the sun dynasty, the least it will need to do is to have zero wing permanently withdraw from the world ark. as for zero wing, the best it could hope for is some compensation from the seven luminaries alliance. the world ark was a world mode regional dungeon, and it was one of the key regions for powers to establish a foothold in the eternal realm. if zero wing could not extend its development into the world ark, even with a mighty expert like black flame leading it, it would ultimately still be reduced to a second-rate power in the eternal realm. subsequently, time passed quickly. while the various powers and players were discussing what decision the seven luminaries alliance would ultimately make, the soul lakes resurrection camp welcomed a group of seven luminaries alliance members. so theyve still come in the end unrestrained lionheart muttered with a wry smile when he saw the seven luminaries alliance members riding atop the approaching tier 5 flying mount. then, he turned to frey and asked with a complicated heart, are we really going to continue standing on the same front as zero wing? we have no choice but to take the gamble, frey replied resolutely as she looked at the approaching flying mount. with the world arks current state, it was simply impossible for just two or three pseudo-apex powers to adequately defend a resurrection camp in the inner area. without zero wings help, the red dragon nation would lose the ability to secure an early advantage in the world arks inner area. meanwhile, even if the seven luminaries alliance chose to compromise with the sun dynasty and zero wing refused to comply, the most the alliance would do was let the sun dynasty fight zero wing without interfering. so, frey planned to continue standing on the same front as zero wing. although this would put the red dragon nation directly in the sun dynastys line of sight, the red dragon nation would at least still have a chance at securing an early advantage in the world arks inner area. a short moment later, a 60-meter-tall two-headed blaze eagle landed in the middle of the resurrection camp. then, more than fifty tier 6 experts wearing the seven luminaries alliances guild emblem alighted from the blaze eagle, and walking in the lead was a middle-aged man who was a level 173, tier 6 mage god. who among you is black flame? the middle-aged mage god asked as he scanned the crowd in the resurrection camp. Chapter 3607 - Chapter 681 - Responding in Kind chapter 681 C responding in kind soul lake, resurrection camp: following the middle-aged mage gods words, a powerful divine might swept across the resurrection camp, and everyone in the camp felt like a mountain had just fallen on their shoulders. the pressure from the divine might was so intense that all of the tier 5 players in the camp had difficulty breathing, and even those capable of matching tier 6 experts found themselves immobilized. a divine domain?! disbelief filled garuts eyes as he looked at the middle-aged mage god. in gods domain, players could typically only radiate divine might after reaching tier 6. meanwhile, once players developed their concentration to the extremes of the tier 6 standard, they could mentally manipulate their divine might to form a domain, which was also known as a divine domain. meanwhile, once a divine domain was unleashed, it could suppress players below tier 6 effortlessly and subject tier 6 experts to a powerful mental suppression, rendering them incapable of executing their combat techniques and mana techniques normally. and even if they managed to execute their techniques, it would put a huge toll on their concentration. who is this person? what kind of status does he have in the seven luminaries alliance? frey was similarly shocked as she looked at the middle-aged mage god. according to the red dragon nations intelligence, there were no more than twenty divine domain experts across the greater gods domain. however, the middle-aged mage god was never mentioned in the red dragon nations intelligence. i am! a moment after the middle-aged mage god unleashed his divine domain, a deep voice echoed throughout the resurrection camp. immediately afterward, shi feng stepped out of the crowd and approached the middle-aged mage god in a steady stride. he also gave off the feeling of a primordial giant, and those he walked past felt their hearts instinctively shudder. when shi feng arrived before the seven luminaries alliances members, the terrifying aura he radiated caused even the alliances tier 6 experts to lower their heads and avoid his gaze, all of them afraid to catch his attention. incredible, as expected! no wonder little rainbow has praised you so highly, the middle-aged mage god said, smiling as he looked at shi feng. i am aimless bloodshed, a core elder of the seven luminaries alliance. i am here this time to talk to you about the sun dynastys matter, guild leader black flame. aimless bloodshed? shi feng briefly fell into a daze when he heard the middle-aged mage gods introduction. experts whose concentration had reached the extremes of tier 6 were exceedingly rare in the greater gods domain. in the current timeline, the existence of the seven luminaries alliances aimless bloodshed was indeed unknown to the greater gods domain. however, in shi fengs previous life, aimless bloodshed was incredibly famous during the war between the two races. he made his debut on the public stage in a major battle during the war, and he revealed himself as a divine domain expert as soon as he appeared. meanwhile, with the help of his divine staff divine spirit, he could rank among the greater gods domains top three when it came to mental attacks. though, for some reason, the first time aimless bloodshed made a public appearance was also his last. he never participated in any subsequent battles, and nobody was able to uncover much information about him. may i know what the seven luminaries alliance has decided, elder bloodshed? shi feng asked. the sun dynasty has reacted intensely this time, but the seven luminaries alliance is no pushover, either. chuckling, aimless bloodshed said, based on our negotiations with the sun dynasty, we can offer zero wing two options. two, is it? when shi feng heard aimless bloodsheds words, he could more or less guess what the other party would say next. the first option is for zero wing to hand over the sunlight blade and withdraw from the world ark. in return, the sun dynasty will give zero wing three pieces of universal legendary equipment and let this matter slide, aimless bloodshed said. should the sun dynasty dare renege on its promise, the seven luminaries alliance will respond in kind. as for the second option, zero wing will similarly have to hand over the sunlight blade, but the sun dynasty wont offer any compensation. instead, zero wing may continue competing in the world ark. upon hearing aimless bloodsheds words, many of the players present couldnt help but be surprised. they didnt think the seven luminaries alliance would ultimately offer zero wing such lenient choices. the second option was especially lenient. although zero wing would lose its spoils of war, it could still retain its advantages in the world ark. this was undoubtedly the best outcome for zero wing. these are already the best conditions the seven luminaries alliance can fight for zero wing, guild leader black flame, aimless bloodshed said in a somewhat embarrassed tone. the sun dynastys combat power in the world ark is slightly superior to the seven luminaries alliance. if the sun dynasty tries to attack us with zero regard to cost, we will have difficulty defending our current resurrection camps. i understand. shi feng nodded. he knew the seven luminaries alliance had already taken out its greatest sincerity. the fact that the seven luminaries alliance had even sent a big shot like aimless bloodshed to persuade zero wing showed how much the alliance valued zero wing. may i ask you a question? feel free to ask anything, guild leader black flame, aimless bloodshed answered, smiling. if zero wing goes to war with the sun dynasty, can the seven luminaries alliance remain neutral? shi feng calmly asked. go to war with the sun dynasty? aimless bloodshed froze momentarily, his mind failing to process shi fengs words. yes. zero wing will go to war with the sun dynasty! shi feng stated resolutely. the sunlight blade was one of the sun dynastys seven arcanas. its value was extraordinary, and it could easily be traded with the holy race for two universal divine artifacts. the sun dynastys compensation of three pieces of legendary equipment was nothing but a joke. in his previous life, he never got the opportunity to own even one divine artifact. now that he had a chance to own two, he naturally wouldnt abandon it easily. it was especially so now that he had upgraded the winter of eternal night to the legendary rank. in the world ark, he had no need to fear the sun dynasty. this after hearing that shi feng was serious, aimless bloodshed couldnt help but say, are you really going to provoke the sun dynasty, guild leader black flame? thats one of the holy races ten royal powers we are talking about. it is a tough opponent, even for the seven luminaries alliance. at this moment, aimless bloodshed felt that shi feng must have lost his mind. after all, an upstart power in the eternal realm was trying to pick a fight with an opponent that even the seven luminaries alliance dreaded. this was no different than having a death wish. while zero wing might not be a royal power, we wont capitulate just because of a few words. in a resolute tone, shi feng said, since the sun dynasty insists on using force, we will simply respond in kind. Chapter 3608 - Chapter 682 - World Gates Initial Appearance chapter 682 C world gates initial appearance is he crazy? unrestrained lionheart couldnt help but doubt his ears when he heard shi fengs resolute words. is he not afraid that zero wing would be erased from gods domain? anyone who had participated in the defense of the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps should know how powerful the holy races royal powers were by now. it simply wasnt possible for any human power to resist a royal power on its own. even an existence as mighty as the seven luminaries alliance could just barely resist the sun dynasty. although shi feng was a taboo-level expert, an existence such as the sun dynasty should have quite a few such experts. even if shi feng could ensure his own safety, what about the rest of zero wing? at this time, frey was similarly surprised by this situation. she didnt think shi feng would refuse both options proposed. the second option, in particular, could already be considered generous. all zero wing needed to do was to surrender the sunlight blade to retain its ability to develop in the world ark. as for negotiating a fair deal with the sun dynasty, that was simply out of the question. after all, there was a huge gap in strength between both parties. sure enough. when hidden soul heard shi fengs resolute reply, she couldnt help but wryly smile. as expected of our guild leader. battle! in the early phases of the miniature ancient world, shi feng had stood strong in the face of overwhelming odds and single-handedly caused the various superpowers to suffer severe losses. now that zero wing had entered the eternal realm and achieved metamorphosis, there was no way he would allow zero wing to capitulate so easily. indeed! we will simply respond in kind. gentle snow nodded, fighting spirit burning in her eyes. the sun dynasty might be a frightening existence, but zero wing wasnt a pushover, either. it was especially so now that zero wings guild residence had a secret room capable of increasing players chances of getting promoted to tier 6. as for herself, if she could fight against more experts and perfect her techniques, her strength would also increase with time. is zero wing made up of lunatics? when garut saw the enthusiastic look on gentle snow and zero wings other members, he couldnt help but be astonished. the sun dynasty had already proven itself to be superior to the seven luminaries alliance in combat. logically, all powers should be doing their best to avoid confrontations with the sun dynasty. yet, even though zero wing was clearly presented with an opportunity for reconciliation, shi feng chose to take the initiative to provoke the sun dynasty. moreover, aside from shi feng, the rest of the zero wing members also shared a similar sentiment. it was as if the entire guild was made up of lunatics. can the seven luminaries alliance remain neutral, elder bloodshed? shi feng asked once more as he looked at the dazed middle-aged man before him. although i havent consulted with my superiors, i can say with certainty that the seven luminaries alliance is a human power, so we will never side with the holy race, aimless bloodshed said confidently. if anyone dares to assist the holy race, i will be the first to object! thank you very much, elder bloodshed, shi feng gratefully said. subsequently, aimless bloodshed quickly left for one of the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps to report zero wings decision to his superiors and have them prepare for the inevitable. time passed quickly. several hours after zero wing made its decision, the world arks various powers also learned of the outcome, and a huge commotion swept across the entire eternal realm. it should be known that not even the various pseudo-apex powers would dare to publicly challenge one of the holy races royal powers. yet, zero wing, an upstart guild in the eternal realm, had done it. this was undoubtedly the most shocking piece of news to date in the eternal realm. at the same time, because the seven luminaries alliance had finished establishing its defenses in the world arks inner area, it no longer restricted players from entering the inner area. and as zero wing managed to safely occupy the soul lakes resurrection camp, many players flocked to the camp. after much deliberation, shi feng ultimately decided to charge each player twenty eternal silver for registering at the resurrection camp. this might be a significant sum for tier 5 players operating in the eternal realm, but many players still chose to register at the soul lakes resurrection camp regardless. after only a day, over 50,000 players had registered at the camp already. after all, so long as players registered at a resurrection camp in the inner area, not only could they be resurrected in the world arks inner area, but the death penalty they suffered could also be reduced. even if this was only the fee for one registration, it was still a worthwhile trade considering the potential profits they could gain from the world arks inner area. if not for many players being wary of the sun dynasty, many more players would have come to register at the soul lakes resurrection camp. what do you think is going on with the sun dynasty, guild leader? its been more than a day since our response, yet they still havent shown any signs of taking action, hidden soul said in confusion. more and more players were coming to register at the soul lakes resurrection camp, yet not a single holy race player had appeared near the camp thus far. could they simply be trying to intimidate us, but in reality, they dont actually have the strength to deal with us? ever since the seven luminaries alliance forwarded zero wings rejection, the sun dynasty did not make a single response. in fact, according to zero wings investigation, the sun dynasty had even reduced its activities at the inner areas frontlines. they are merely gathering their strength, shi feng said nonchalantly. they are aware that i have killed chalk splendor and can summon six tier 6 war goddesses, so they know that if they want to destroy zero wing and intimidate the human race, they will need to gather much more strength. not to mention, the holy race has many tier 5 experts capable of advancing to tier 6. they simply lack the necessary resources to get promoted. in that case, should we have more of our internal fifth-floor experts enter the secret room and advance to tier 6, guild leader? hidden soul asked worriedly. the sun dynasty undoubtedly had a frightening number of tier 5 experts capable of advancing to tier 6. in comparison, although zero wing had a medium world fragment, for the sake of secrecy, they only dared to let trustworthy members enjoy the medium world fragments benefits thus far. as a result, zero wing didnt have many experts capable of completing their tier 6 promotion at a reliable success rate. if this situation persisted, zero wing would only become more disadvantaged over time in the world ark. this shi feng couldnt help but hesitate. admittedly, letting more internal members enjoy the medium world fragments benefits and advance to tier 6 would increase zero wings overall strength. however, it would also increase the risk of exposing the medium world fragments existence. after all, most of zero wings internal members in the crystal city of secrets werent based in star lake city in the real world. it was unrealistic to think that everyone could keep this matter a secret. meanwhile, once the medium world fragments existence was exposed, zero wings opponent would no longer be limited to the holy races sun dynasty. instead, it would have to go up against the various human powers operating in the eternal realm. while shi feng was hesitating, gentle snow suddenly barged into the tent in a hurry. guild leader, i just received an offline message regarding our gods domains world gate! excitedly, gentle snow said, it has finally appeared in the starlight realm! tl notes: [1]resurrection camp registration: i believe 100% of the 20 eternal silver fee charged goes to zero wing, as the red dragon nation and azure fang probably want to save their slots for their own members/allies. also, judging by the following: even if this was only the fee for one registration, each registration should only allow players to be resurrected one time at the camp. once players have exhausted their resurrection chance, theyll probably have to pay the fee and register again for subsequent resurrections. Chapter 3609 - Chapter 683 - Returning to Gods Domain chapter 683 C returning to gods domain has it appeared already? shi feng was pleasantly surprised by the news gentle snow brought him. any gods domain that wished to connect with the greater gods domain would need to do so through a world gate. however, before a gods domain was linked with the greater gods domain, its world gate could not be seen in the greater gods domain. only when a gods domain was close to being fully connected would its world gate appear in the greater gods domain. meanwhile, once the world gate revealed itself, it would open at varying times. depending on the rank of the gods domain in question, it could take as soon as several days to as late as several months for the world gate to open. in addition, unlike the world gate of miniature worlds, the world gate of a gods domain did not have any restrictions. as soon as it opened, tier 6 players could pass through it immediately. there was no gradual process to speak of. the situation would be completely different from the miniature ancient world, where, even now, its world gate only allowed tier 5 players to pass through. for most players, whether living in the greater gods domain or the gods domain that was opening up, the appearance of a world gate could only be considered a pleasant surprise. at best, they would have access to more resources and business opportunities. however, for the current zero wing, it was an opportunity to achieve a qualitative transformation. according to the green god corporation, our gods domains world gate appeared in the starlight realm roughly five hours ago, and it is situated in the northern wasteland thats close to the ancient river kingdom, gentle snow said. the green god corporation also states that the world gate will open in ten days at the latest and that the powers of two realm empires and six realm kingdoms have already mobilized their armies to surround the gate. at that time, im afraid it is going to be difficult to enter or exit the gate. aside from the lofty apex and pseudo-apex powers, i doubt anybody can resist the resources and experts of an entire gods domain, shi feng said, unsurprised by gentle snows report. i need to make a trip back to our gods domain immediately. i will leave the feather of oath with you in the meantime. with it, you should be able to defend the resurrection camp from the holy races various powers without trouble. but if defeat is inevitable, make sure to retreat without hesitation. no need to make meaningless sacrifices. normally, it should be impossible for players to cross a world gate before it opens. however, shi feng was an exception. previously, he had acquired a gray key in the miniature ancient world that allowed him to freely travel between gods domains. however, there was a precondition for using the gray key: he needed to know the exact location of the gods domain he wished to visit. originally, he had thought of finding a sealed passage in the miniature ancient world that was connected with his home gods domain. that way, he could use the gray key to travel to the gods domain he had lived in for many years and obtain the god slayers legacy. however, his development speed and the opportunities he had encountered far exceeded his imagination. not only did he get his hands on the primordial abyssal gods legacy, but he had even obtained a primordial chaos body and constructed a superior divine body with it. these opportunities completely eliminated the need for him to acquire the god slayers legacy. hence, he had postponed returning to his home gods domain. but now that the world gate had appeared, it was imperative that he returned before they opened. zero wing had annexed many guilds in the miniature ancient world. a few examples were the star alliance, hundred flower palace, and mysterious moon. these first-rate guilds all possessed many tier 5 and tier 6 players in their home gods domain. so long as zero wing could absorb these experts and bring them to the eternal realm, zero wing could increase its strength without having to worry about exposing the medium world fragments existence. not to mention, these tier 5 and tier 6 experts had been operating on their home gods domain for as long as ten years now. even a tier 3 player could reach level 200 when given such a long time, let alone players of higher tiers. meanwhile, level 200 was a massive turning point in gods domain. the benefits players could receive from reaching level 200 would be no different than achieving a one-tier promotion. under the same tier, a level 200 player fully equipped with epic weapons and equipment could match a level 190 player fully equipped with legendary equipment. and if the opponent was a level 180 player, they would be beaten black and blue, even if they had a legendary weapon. if such a group of high-level tier 6 players were to appear in the current eternal realm, it would absolutely tilt the realms balance! leave it to us, guild leader! well make sure the resurrection camp stands strong before you return! gentle snow assured as she accepted the feather of oath. unless the holy race attacked the resurrection camp with two or more taboo-level experts, six level 180-plus, tier 6 war goddesses should be enough to keep most opponents at bay. not to mention, she, hidden soul, fire dance, and crimson heart had already exchanged a gold combat technique suited for themselves from the seven luminaries alliance. with the assistance of eternal god crystals, they should have no trouble mastering their respective gold combat techniques. most importantly, shi feng had already summoned azure shadows group to the resurrection camp a few hours ago. in certain aspects, the defenses of the soul lakes resurrection camp were superior to even the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps. alright, ill leave it to you all! after saying so, shi feng activated world-breaking teleportation and left the eternal realm without hesitation. starlight realm, northern wasteland: the northern wasteland was a level 180 neutral map. because it lacked high-level resources, apart from when the occasional world boss respawns, it was rare to see players roaming the map. currently, though, the northern wasteland had become very lively due to the appearance of a new world gate here. many tier 5 and tier 6 players at level 180 and above were gathered around the new world gate, and they were all from the various powers based in the neighboring kingdoms and empires. these powers prohibited any independent players from coming close to the world gate, fully intending to be the first ones to harvest the gods domain tied to the world gate. sure enough, it is the same as before. shi feng grew a little reminiscent when he saw the million or so players gathered around the world gate. when his home gods domains world gate opened in his previous life, the various native players thought it would spell a massive fortuitous opportunity for them. however, what ended up welcoming them after they stepped out of the world passage was a siege from the greater gods domains various powers. many players died, and even shi feng had only managed to escape after exhausting his trump cards. after a moment of observation, shi feng made his way to a deserted canyon nearby and retrieved the gray key, which he hadnt used all this time, from his bag. system: a closed gods domain has been detected. coordinates confirmed. do you wish to open a portal and enter the closed gods domain? open it! shi feng nodded and chose to open the portal. immediately, dark gray runes lit up across the gray key. thirty seconds later, a space-time passage opened up. then, without hesitation, shi feng stepped into the portal and disappeared from the canyon. Chapter 3610 - Chapter 684 - The Current Gods Domain chapter 684 C the current gods domain amidst tall mountains covered by thundering skies im finally back. while quietly taking in his surrounding environment, shi feng couldnt help but find both familiar and foreign. in his previous life, he had spent the majority of his time fighting in this gods domain. he had even formed a guild and made it into the strongest guild in this gods domain. however, none of that had happened in this life, and the gods domain he was currently standing in was very different from the one in his previous life. system: ruined mountain range detected. system: communication with players outside the ruined mountain range has temporarily been disabled. the ruined mountain range? upon receiving the system notifications, shi feng couldnt help but look up at the thundering gray skies, feeling a little stressed. the ruined mountain range was labeled as a forbidden land in his home gods domain. it was a place where even tier 6 players were not free from danger. the ruined mountain range was split into four areas: outer, inner, central, and core. the deeper one traveled, the greater the danger one would face. even in his previous life, shi feng had never set foot into the ruined mountain ranges core area, and he could just barely operate in the central area. currently, although he was only standing in the ruined mountain ranges inner area, there was still a real chance of him dying if he wasnt careful. immediately, shi feng searched for a path that led to the outer area and hastily left the inner area. there were three major threats in the ruined mountain range. the first major threat was the lightning strikes that grew stronger as one traveled deeper into the mountain range. in the inner area, any random lightning strike could easily kill the average tier 6 player. if struck by multiple lightning strikes simultaneously, even ancient gods could be killed. this made it so that even tier 6 players would not dare to fly and could only walk on the ground. the second major threat was the powerful mysterious energy that corrodes players bodies. likewise, this energy grew stronger the deeper one traveled. meanwhile, once a player was fully corroded, they would be forcibly logged out of the game, and their in-game character would die on the spot. the third major threat was the ruined mountain ranges monsters. unlike most monsters in gods domain, the ruined mountain ranges monsters could grow as they fought against players. however, their growth wasnt just limited to levels and intelligence. as they fought against players, they would also learn the various techniques and tactics applied by players. on top of that, they also knew how to flee when outmatched. due to these traits, the ruined mountain ranges monsters would continuously grow stronger over time. as a result, when exploring the ruined mountain range, many tier 5 players would find themselves incapable of soloing even tier 4 mythic monsters of the same level, while tier 6 players could just barely suppress a tier 5 legendary monster by themselves. in shi fengs previous life, many experts kept exploring the ruined mountain range in large teams, and their actions led to the monsters inside growing to a frightening degree. at that time, if a tier 6 expert entered the ruined mountain range without a team and encountered a tier 6 divine monster, their death would be practically guaranteed. multiple tier 6 experts needed to move together to stand a chance at surviving. so, one could simply imagine how frightening those monsters were. although shi feng didnt know to what extent the various powers experts had trained the ruined mountain ranges monsters in this life, based on his experience, those monsters should have already grasped bronze combat techniques and mana techniques at the very least. they should have also grasped many combination techniques. with his current strength, shi feng was confident he could kill lone divine monsters by himself. however, if he got caught up in a fight against multiple divine monsters or one divine monster and numerous legendary monsters, they could easily occupy him until he died from mysterious energy corrosion. as his primary goal in returning to his home gods domain was to absorb the various first-rate guilds experts into zero wing and send them to the eternal realm, he naturally couldnt afford to waste time in the ruined mountain range. ruined mountain range, inner area: after sprinting for three hours, shi feng arrived at a canyon shrouded in thorny vines. then, he entered a cave connecting the ruined mountain ranges inner and outer areas. this is when shi feng entered the cave and arrived at the cavern inside, he couldnt help but be surprised by the scene he saw. currently, inside the spacious cave the size of a sports stadium, tens of thousands of players were gathered. the weakest among these players were at level 190, tier 4, while the stronger ones were level 190-plus, tier 5 experts. most of these players stood in groups of several dozen, while the rest were players hawking wares in the cavern. selling level 200 epic weapons and equipment for cheap! whisper me if youre interested! selling tier 5 random teleportation scrolls! they can save your life at critical moments! only three left! first come, first served! buying grandmaster-rank food in bulk! can pay with seven luminaries crystals! over a hundred players were hawking wares at the caverns entrance. the cavern looked so lively that shi feng felt he was standing in a towns marketplace rather than an incredibly dangerous forbidden land. in addition, all of the items being traded here were normally very hard to come by in gods domain. what is going on here? shi feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes as he looked at the crowded and lively cavern. the ruined mountain range was a forbidden land for humans. many expert players might come here to explore, but due to the ruined mountain ranges hostile environment, players could not truly rest here. hence, there should not exist any gathering place for players in the ruined mountain range. instead, teams that explored the ruined mountain range would usually find a safe location to use as a temporary shelter. however, the cavern before him was akin to a market. the liveliness here was comparable to the average npc town in the outside world. this was a situation he had never heard of in his previous life. while shi feng was feeling confused, some players started to loudly recruit members for teams in the middle of the cavern. recruiting ten level 200-plus, tier 4 experts and above for a direct trip to the central area! we have three level 200-plus, tier 5 professional league experts leading the team! recruiting for a temporary team to the central area! we have a tier 6 expert leading! accepting only level 190, tier 4 players and above! those interested only need to pay 20 units of seven luminaries crystal per person! we have 35 spots remaining! the dozen or so recruiters were all recruiting for teams headed toward the ruined mountain ranges central area. some players were recruiting members to make money, while some were recruiting for capable allies. their actions made it seem like the ruined mountain ranges inner area was a team dungeon. the team with the tier 6 player, in particular, had over a hundred players applying to join almost instantly this scene dumbfounded shi feng. he never thought the ruined mountain ranges central area would be so popular, so much so that even tier 4 players would pay seven luminaries crystals to go there. amidst shi fengs daze, a level 194, tier 5 grand wizard wielding a fiery staff suddenly approached him. the other party was a petite girl, and a hint of anxiety and expectation colored her widened eyes as she looked at shi feng. big brother, are you looking to escort people? Chapter 3611 - Chapter 685 - God Slayers Treasury chapter 685 C god slayers treasury escort people? a hint of surprise flashed across shi fengs eyes as he looked at the petite girl before him. he wasnt hiding his basic information right now, so any player could inspect him and learn that he was a sword god. the petite girl similarly did not hide her information. the girl was named fiery heart, and she looked no older than 18. yet, she was already a level 194, tier 5 grand wizard and had multiple pieces of fragmented legendary equipped. the fiery staff she wielded was even a top-tier fragmented legendary weapon. though, what caught shi fengs attention the most was fiery hearts guild emblem. it was a guild emblem with the image of a dragon and a phoenix, and the guild it belonged to was none other than the dragon-phoenix pavilion, a super-first-rate guild in this gods domain. normally, guilds of such caliber would have teams accompanying their young experts into dangerous places. they wouldnt let their young talents team up with strangers, much less allow them to visit the ruined mountain ranges central area. after all, that was a place where even tier 5 players had less than a 10% chance of surviving. moreover, should they die in the central area, there was a small chance they could suffer a permanent death. not to mention, judging by fiery hearts age and tier, she was no doubt one of the dragon-phoenix pavilions core members. there only existed a small number of tier 6 experts in this gods domain. a superpower would be fortunate to have four or five tier 6 experts. so, tier 5 experts remained the main combat power of the various powers, and the loss of even one tier 5 expert would be significant. this was something fiery heart should understand. yet, fiery heart had not only appeared in the ruined mountain range, but she was even asking shi feng, a stranger, to escort her to the central area. this situation confused shi feng greatly. while the monsters in the ruined mountain ranges central area might have good loot, the dangers that came with exploring the central area simply werent worth it for tier 5 experts. rather than take such a risk, it would be better if fiery heart explored the inner and outer areas. if you are willing to escort me and my team, we will compensate you adequately, big brother, fiery heart hurriedly said when she saw that shi feng didnt seem willing to entertain her offer. our team has 45 members, and well pay 25 units of seven luminaries crystal for each member. even if some of us accidentally die midway, we will still pay 15 units per person. that is quite a generous offer. shi feng nodded. then, out of curiosity, he asked, but can you tell me why you want to head to the central area, young lady? seven luminaries crystals were regarded as a hard currency everywhere. many transactions involving fragmented legendary items and above were usually conducted using seven luminaries crystals. it was especially so in this gods domain, where seven luminaries crystals remained the biggest hurdle for most tier 5 players in advancing to tier 6. meanwhile, fiery hearts offer to pay 1,125 units of seven luminaries crystal just to escort 45 players to the ruined mountain ranges central area was a lucrative offer even tier 6 players would find hard to resist. not to mention, she was even offering to pay 15 units for those who died midway. however, rather than the payment, shi feng was more interested in finding out why so many players were trying to get to the central area. do you not know? fiery heart couldnt help but look at shi feng in shock. she didnt think there would be someone who still didnt know about the matter regarding the ruined mountain ranges central area. dont be surprised. regarding fiery hearts question, shi feng had long come up with an excuse, so he calmly said, i fell into a miniature world some time ago, and it took me a while to come back. so thats why you didnt seem interested for a second there, i thought you only planned to escort friends and allies realization dawned on fiery heart. then, she explained, well, the matter regarding the central area isnt much of a secret. a few days ago, an ancient ruin called the ruined temple appeared in the central area, so many people are going there to explore it, hoping to reap a big harvest. fiery heart did not doubt shi fengs reasoning. after all, many players would abruptly disappear from time to time in gods domain, and most of these disappearances were due to players entering various miniature worlds. it was also very common for players to be trapped in these miniature worlds for months and even years. the ruined temple? shi feng fell into a daze when he heard this name. in his previous life, the ruined temple had caused a huge wave in both his home gods domain and the greater gods domain. this was because the ruined temple wasnt just your average ancient ruin. instead, it was a treasury left behind by the god slayer. to the players of his home gods domain, the god slayer was inconspicuous. this was because the god slayer only created a few achievements in this gods domain. the ancient gods slain by the god slayer were also rather average. however, it was a different story in the greater gods domain. according to the greater gods domains historical records, the god slayer was responsible for the death of the last ancient demon god, an existence rivaling primordial gods! meanwhile, it goes without saying that the treasury left behind by such a frightening existence would be a great temptation to the greater gods domains various powers. however, the timing of the ruined temples appearance in this timeline was different. in his previous life, the ruined temple only appeared one year after the world gate fully opened. of course, following its appearance, many players flooded the ruined mountain ranges central area, all of them hoping to obtain the god slayers legacy and become an existence capable of rivaling primordial gods. there are many treasures in the ruined temple, big brother, fiery heart continued when she noticed the look of interest on shi fengs face. from what i heard, several temporary teams have already found loose pieces of fragmented legendary equipment sets there. with big brothers tier, as long as you go there, the various powers main forces will definitely try to recruit you. even if you gain nothing from the ruined temple, the pay you can get from those powers should still be worth your time. alright, ill take you all there, shi feng answered after giving the matter some thought. have your team get ready. well set out right away. the ruined temple was an opportunity he could not miss. it was especially so since its exploration reward could only be claimed once. in his previous life, because he was stuck dealing with enemies in the greater gods domain, he never got the opportunity to explore the ruined temple himself. now that the ruined temple had appeared, he naturally wouldnt miss it. moreover, going by fiery hearts words, this gods domains various powers had gathered in the ruined mountain ranges central area because of the ruined temples appearance. with hundred flower palace and the others being first-rate guilds, they had most likely sent their main forces to explore the ancient ruin. this would make it much easier for him to gather them all together. meanwhile, after hearing shi fengs reply, fiery heart quickly left to inform her resting teammates. are you sure that uncle is reliable, heart? a young man named crying blade asked. he was a level 200, tier 5 berserker, and he couldnt help but grow a little worried as he looked at the person fiery heart had found to escort them. setting aside the fact that ive never even heard of him, his level is just 178. at such a low level, i highly doubt he can escort all of us safely to the ruined temple. why dont we wait a little longer and find a higher-leveled tier 6 expert? the other members of the team nodded in agreement. a players level was just as important as their tier. the ruined mountain ranges central area was filled with level 200 monsters. a level 178, tier 6 player would have their strength greatly restricted there. a moment after crying blade finished speaking, several players entered the cavern from the outer area. walking in the lead was a woman with shoulder-length crimson hair, and she was a level 202, tier 6 sword god carrying two longswords on her back. oh my god! look! its crimson mist, the eternal glory adventurer teams newly promoted sword god! tl notes: [1]eternal glory adventurer team: fyi, this is the adventurer team that ji luorong, phoenix rains little sister, belongs to in this timeline. [2] [however, the timing of the ruined temples appearance in this timeline was different. in his previous life, the ruined temple only appeared one year after the world gate fully opened.] going by these two sentences, my theory is that shi fengs gods domain fully connected with the greater gods domain at the same time as it did in this timeline. in other words, it should have only become fully connected roughly 10~11 years after launch. Chapter 3612 - Chapter 686 - New Generation of Experts chapter 686 C new generation of experts following the arrival of crimson mist, the level 202, tier 6 sword god, all the players in the cavern inadvertently found themselves turning to look at her. even fiery heart was not an exception. incredible! even though shes just standing there, im having trouble moving in her presence! as expected of one of the top five experts from the most recent s-league. now that she has advanced to tier 6, she can probably match the various superpowers veteran tier 6 experts already. match? i heard that crimson mist managed to kill a tier 6 fallen angel with her team just recently for a legendary quest, and she obtained a legendary sword from the quest. in her current state, she can probably even try to fight tier 6 gods of the same level. when the crowd in the cavern looked at crimson mist, all of them, regardless of gender, wore looks of yearning and worship. tier 6 players were as rare as a phoenixs feather in gods domain. they were so rare that not every first-rate guild would have one. as for the various superpowers, many of them only had one tier 6 expert. so, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that tier 6 players represented the apex of strength in gods domain. in a situation where veteran tier 6 experts were operating behind the scenes, crimson mist had become a living legend for the general public. the crimson sword? shi feng also turned his sight toward crimson mist, and he couldnt help but scrutinize the female swordsman with crimson, shoulder-length hair. shi feng had heard of crimson mists name in his previous life. it was some time after his home gods domain became fully connected with the greater gods domain, and the owner of this name came from the newest generation of experts of his home gods domain. in that generation, seven individuals stood out the most, and the public regarded them as the three gods and four saints. meanwhile, one of the three gods was none other than crimson mist, the crimson sword. because shi feng had been busy evading demons gates pursuit in his previous life, he had only ever heard of crimson mist before. he never met her in person, and the only information he had on her was of her achievements in the greater gods domain. more specifically, crimson mist appeared in 10th place on the starlight realms tier 6 rookie list shortly after she entered the greater gods domain. and if not for the eternal glory adventurer team lacking resources, she could have even squeezed herself into the top five. while shi feng was sifting through his memories, crimson mist walked to the middle of the cavern and scanned the players around her. then, she loudly announced, eternal glory is hosting an escort to the ruined temple! we are charging 30 units of seven luminaries crystal per player! we are accepting only 92 players! anyone above level 190, tier 4 can apply! crimson mists voice was indifferent, but it gave off a powerful sense of security. she made it sound like a trip to the ruined mountain ranges central area was no different than a casual stroll down a street. meanwhile, as soon as crimson mist finished speaking, the crowd in the cavern quickly erupted into commotion. the crimson sword is escorting players? as expected of the crimson sword! shes starting with a 100-man team right off the bat! the average tier 6 expert simply cant compete against her! goddess! i want to apply! many experts were overjoyed to hear crimson mist offering to escort players to the ruined temple. many tier 5 experts also couldnt help but be impressed when they heard her hosting a 100-man team. the situation in the ruined mountain ranges inner and central areas was unlike in other maps, where a teams safety would increase with size. on the contrary, the larger a team was, the more danger it would be in. this was because the ruined mountain ranges monsters were highly intelligent, and they would never blindly attack any player they encountered. instead, they would first observe their opponents, and they would only attack if they had a numerical advantage. if they didnt, they would call for reinforcements until they had enough numbers to overwhelm their opponents. hence, players seeking to travel to the ruined temple would usually only form 50-man teams. this was also the ideal team size that many experts had concluded from their experience. yet, crimson mist had chosen to lead a 100-man team. unless she was confident in her strength, there was no way she would do such a thing. in no time, many players had gone to apply for crimson mists team. some level 200-plus, tier 5 experts from other teams had even chosen to leave their teams to join crimson mists team. seeing the crowd around crimson mist, crying blade from the dragon-phoenix pavilion hurriedly said to fiery heart, heart! lets quickly go and apply as well! there might not be any spots left for us if we dont hurry! the other dragon-phoenix pavilion members also looked at fiery heart, a hint of urgency in their eyes. although crimson mist charged a higher price for her services than shi feng, there was no doubt it would be safer if they traveled with her. however, the guilds higher-ups had appointed fiery heart as the leader of their team, so she would ultimately decide on which course of action the team would take. this was also why fiery heart had taken the initiative to talk to shi feng. i know what all of you are thinking, but weve already concluded our negotiations. we cannot go back on our agreement, fiery heart sternly said as she glared at her teammates. i disagree. you might be the leader, but that doesnt mean you can act selfishly, heart, crying blade said as he stepped forward. the guild has tasked us to head to the ruined temple as reinforcements, so we must prioritize our safety above all else. that uncle over there might be a tier 6 sword god, but with his low level, how is he any different from us in front of level 200-plus monsters? if you insist on acting selfishly, ill just pay out of my pocket! the other level 200-plus, tier 5 experts of the team nodded in agreement. crying blade! i am the leader of this team! fiery heart bellowed. you might be the leader, but dont forget that youre from the phoenix pavilion, while i am from the heavenly dragon pavilion. also, if you werent from the phoenix pavilion, do you think you can get selected as the team leader with your strength? crying blade said, sneering. then, while making his way over to crimson mist, he continued, regardless, i am heading over there. whoever wants to stick with that uncle over there can stay! the dragon-phoenix pavilion was made up of the phoenix pavilion and the heavenly dragon pavilion, and the two were in a competitive relationship with each other. if not for the current guild leader being the phoenix pavilions pavilion master, fiery heart could have never become the leader of the operation this time. subsequently, over half of the dragon-phoenix pavilions members left with crying blade to join crimson mists team without hesitation. unfortunately, fiery heart could do nothing but watch as this happened. the heavenly dragon pavilions current pavilion master was constantly at loggerheads with the current guild leader. as a result, the heavenly dragon pavilions members were no longer as accommodating toward the phoenix pavilions members. not to mention, the command to head to the ruined temple didnt come directly from the guild leader this time. instead, it came from the guilds executives, and the command was only for them to reach the ruined temple as quickly as possible. although the guilds executives had appointed fiery heart as the teams leader out of respect for the guild leader, she didnt hold absolute authority over the team. not a single level 200-plus, tier 5 expert stayed? when fiery heart saw that only sixteen members stayed behind, her complexion turned incredibly ugly. Chapter 3613 - Chapter 687 - This Big Brother Is a Little Strong chapter 687 C this big brother is a little strong tl notes: crimson sword(name) -> crimson mist(name) added: crimson sword(title) simply put, crimson sword is crimson mists title. why are there only seventeen of you? wheres the rest? shi feng asked after scanning the dragon-phoenix pavilion members behind fiery heart. the number of players fiery heart had brought with her was completely different from what she told him previously. an accident happened on my side, big brother black flame, fiery heart tentatively said as she looked at shi feng. but i will still pay the total amount we agreed on. i will also have other players join us to make up for the missing numbers. i believe we can gather a 50-man team in no time. fiery heart could tell that shi feng wanted to head to the ruined temple as quickly as possible. previously, her team had 45 members, including herself, and she could have easily recruited four more players to complete a 50-man team with shi feng. but now that they were 32 players short, completing the team would take a lot longer. so, she couldnt help but worry that shi feng would decide to cast them aside and head to the ruined temple alone. that wont be necessary. we can advance quicker with fewer members, shi feng calmly said to fiery heart. lets set out now. after saying so, shi feng stepped out of the cavern, his actions causing fiery heart and her teammates to grow worried. however, they still hurriedly chased after him. meanwhile, upon seeing the departure of shi fengs team, crying blade and the rest of the dragon-phoenix pavilion members couldnt help but be dumbfounded. is fiery heart crazy? crying blade couldnt help but doubt his eyes when he saw only fiery hearts team leaving with shi feng. it could be said that a 50-man team was the ideal standard for players looking to travel to the ruined temple. at this size, the team would only need to face monster hordes that were about equal in size. however, if the team was any larger, it would have to fight against monster hordes that were several times larger. and if the team was any smaller, every decently strong monster it encountered would not wait for reinforcements to attack it. this, in turn, would cause the team to face monster attacks far more frequently, severely slowing down their advance. in addition, if the team couldnt eliminate or shake off the monsters they encountered fast enough, they would risk attracting more monsters. hence, 50-man teams became the ideal standard for players looking to travel to the ruined temple. even when level 200-plus, tier 6 experts were looking to escort a few friends to the ruined temple, they would first recruit more players to form a 50-man team before heading out. but now that fiery heart had set out with less than 20 players in the team, even if they ultimately made it to the ruined temple, there shouldnt be more than two or three survivors. amidst crying blades surprise, crimson mist finished recruiting members for her 100-man team. everyone, set out! when crimson mist saw that over half her team was made up of level 200-plus, tier 5 players, she issued a command to advance without hesitation. immediately, the 100-man team charged out of the cavern. ruined mountain range, inner area: after advancing for about 3,000 yards, fiery heart and the others quickly noticed the presence of many monsters in their surroundings. more monsters were also gathering over time, all at level 190 and above. there were also several tier 5 legendary monsters among them. whats going on with these monsters? why arent they attacking us yet? a level 192, tier 5 cleric asked, frowning as she observed the monsters shadowing them. their team only had 18 members. logically, any tier 5 legendary monster they encountered should attack them without hesitation. this would also be good news for their team as they had a tier 6 expert leading them. although they would be attacked more frequently than a 50-man team, they could still reach the ruined temple safely if they took their time eliminating the monsters they encountered. yet, even though three legendary monsters had already discovered them, none attacked them. instead, these monsters merely stalked them while waiting for reinforcements. if this situation continued, their team would eventually face annihilation. the ruined mountain ranges monsters dont have their five senses suppressed. their perception radius is much larger than ours, so they should have detected crimson mists team and are gathering their strength to deal with all of us, fiery heart said with an ugly complexion. right now, our only options are to either pull away from crimson mists team and deal with those monsters or stop immediately and let crimson mists team pass us. however, despite what she said, fiery heart felt that both options were terrible for their team. if they chose to pull away from crimson mists team, they would have to face nearly a 50-man teams worth of monsters. to make matters worse, three of these monsters were at the legendary rank. it would definitely be a tough battle if they chose to fight these monsters. yet, if they chose to wait for crimson mists team to pass, although they could shift the monsters attention to crimson mists team, doing so would increase their exposure to the ruined mountain ranges mysterious energy. how could she do this?! did she not notice us leaving?! the female cleric said in exasperation. although never clearly stated, the various teams traveling from the cavern to the ruined temple knew that teams needed to maintain sufficient distance from each other when advancing to the ruined temple. otherwise, the monsters would regard them as a single team, and both teams would suffer. since their team was the first to set out, crimson mist should have waited at least ten minutes before setting out with her team, making sure there was sufficient distance between their two teams. she should have noticed us leaving, but she probably doesnt care about such matters, fiery heart said with a wry smile. someone capable of leading a 100-man team to the ruined temple naturally wouldnt be worried about going up against a 50-man teams worth of monsters. even if this number increased several times, it still shouldnt be a big problem. to save time, crimson mist naturally wouldnt care about showing common courtesy to a small team like theirs. should we stop now, big brother? fiery heart asked shi feng through the team chat. if we continue advancing, we will have to face more and more monsters later on ignore them. we will continue advancing, shi feng calmly replied. is he not worried in the slightest? fiery heart couldnt help but be surprised by shi fengs indifferent response. she never thought shi feng would be confident enough to challenge crimson mist. any player capable of reaching tier 6 wouldnt be a fool. they would know how to accurately gauge their and their opponents strengths. so, the fact that shi feng had chosen to continue advancing meant that he was strong enough to deal with their current adversaries. realizing this, fiery heart kept quiet and continued following shi feng with her team. meanwhile, over at crimson mists team under crimson mists careful selection, her team comprised primarily level 200-plus, tier 5 experts. as for the rest, although they were under level 200, they were all tier 5 assassins, tier 5 rangers, and tier 5 swordsmen; classes with excellent mobility. in less than three minutes, the team arrived within 1,000 yards of shi fengs team. this was also the limit of players perception range in the ruined mountain range. they havent stopped? crimson mist was slightly surprised when she saw shi fengs team still advancing steadily in front. Chapter 3614 - Chapter 688 - Difference Between Sword Gods chapter 688 C difference between sword gods why dont we stop for a moment, vice commander? that way, the gathered monsters will most certainly go for that group of people, and we can use the chance to overtake them, a middle-aged man who was a level 203, tier 5 guardian knight from eternal glory suggested to crimson mist when he noticed that shi fengs team showed no signs of slowing down. everything was as fiery heart assumed. they had indeed noticed shi fengs team leaving, but they did not care about dealing with more monsters, so they boldly departed without waiting in the hopes that shi fengs team would wisely step aside and let them go first. however, it was now obvious that shi fengs team was not sensible and had no intentions of stepping aside. in that case, all they could do was stop their advance temporarily to have the pursuing monsters start attacking shi fengs team. then, they would use the chance to overtake shi fengs team. no need. theyll stop when the time comes, crimson mist indifferently said as she continued advancing in the ruined temples direction. she didnt even glance at shi fengs team, showing no interest in them and regarding them as no more than pebbles on the roadside. understood! the middle-aged guardian knight retreated to the side and stopped speaking. crimson mist might have chosen the most troublesome method to advance, which would ultimately cause them to be attacked by a portion of the pursuing monsters, but it still wasnt a problem for them. shi fengs team would be the only ones who would be in trouble. if shi fengs team still didnt know to repent over their decision, once the monsters amassed enough numbers to start attacking, there was a high chance they would get annihilated. lunatic! that guy must be a lunatic! why is he trying to challenge crimson mist?! running at the back of crimson mists team, crying blade couldnt help but be surprised when he saw that shi feng was still advancing steadily in front. ever since crimson mist got promoted into a sword god and obtained a legendary weapon, the various powers had already regarded her as one of the four great sword gods, and her strength could rival tier 6 gods of the same level. even the five great super guilds old monsters had nothing but praise for her, and they all felt that current eternal glory could already rival the midnight tea party of old. so, it could be seen just how highly the five great super guilds old monsters evaluated crimson mist. she simply wasnt an existence the average tier 6 expert could hope to match. currently, the number of monsters pursuing shi fengs team had already exceeded 100, and the number of legendary monsters had even reached six. it should be known that the ruined mountain ranges legendary monsters normally required a party of tier 5 experts to deal with, and even tier 6 experts could only suppress them in one-on-one situations. when facing three or four legendary monsters, a tier 6 expert might not lose, but they would still be kept busy for a long time. meanwhile, shi fengs team only had 18 members. with so few members, they were already at risk of annihilation if they were to go up against a monster horde of such size and quality. yet, shi feng still insisted on competing against crimson mist. he simply had a death wish. as the distance between the two teams continued to shrink, the number of pursuing monsters also increased. one hundred and fifty two hundred two hundred and fifty six legendary monsters ten legendary monsters fifteen legendary monsters. when crimson mists team moved within 30 yards of shi fengs team, the monster count had already exceeded 300, and the number of legendary monsters reached 20. this situation caused every tier 5 expert present to panic. at this time, even the previously calm eternal glory members were wearing heavy expressions. after all, the monsters had already outnumbered them by three-to-one. there were also twenty level 195-plus legendary monsters. if these legendary monsters attacked together, they could kill even a tier 6 player of the same level. dammit! is that sword god crazy?! is he aiming for mutual destruction? the middle-aged guardian knight from eternal glory fumed when he saw that shi feng still had no intentions of stopping. it was understandable for shi feng to want to compete against crimson mist. even so, there was no need for him to risk his life. in fact, he had even put their lives on the line now. shortly after the middle-aged guardian knight finished cursing, the pursuing monsters suddenly halted their stalking activities and started to attack both shi fengs and crimson mists teams. these monsters were lizardmen wielding skillfully crafted weapons, and they attacked in groups of three or five using combination techniques. with the help of these combination techniques, even those at the tier 4 mythic could exhibit power at the tier 5 peak standard. moreover, their attack rate was comparable to that of tier 5 players. boom boom boom after the initial clash, the tier 4 lizardman slaughterers charging at the forefront had not only broken apart the formations of both teams, but they had also inflicted light injuries to all tier 5 players present. everyone, return to formation! do not let them mess up our coordination! fiery heart promptly commanded after the initial clash. activate the battle array! the middle-aged guardian knight from eternal glory gnashed his teeth as he commanded eternal glorys members to activate their trump card. then, he continued, all ranged dps and healers gather together! all melee players form a circle! do not get caught out alone! immediately, both teams entered defensive formations in an orderly manner, neither getting distracted by the lizardmens first wave of attack. although the ruined mountain ranges monsters were highly intelligent, players were similarly intelligent. not to mention, most players had engaged in group combat since their first day in gods domain, so compared to monsters, players were much more adept at working with each other. most importantly, players had distinct class specializations. tank classes were responsible for attracting enemy attacks, dps classes for dealing damage, and healer classes for providing support. in contrast, monsters had no specializations, and those of the same race generally possessed the same skills and spells. there was no variation to speak of. due to these points, so long as players kept calm, they could easily stabilize the situation and gradually occupy an advantageous position in group battles against monsters. while the tier 5 players were engaging the tier 4 lizardman slaughterers in battle, the legendary-ranked lizardman heroes started their attack on crimson mist and shi feng. the lizardman heroes similarly moved in coordination, the twenty of them splitting into two groups of ten to deal with the two tier 6 players. they intended to distract the human teams two strongest combatants to give the other lizardmen time to kill the other players. get lost! after looking at the lizardman heroes targeting her, crimson mist unsheathed the two longswords she carried on her back and brandished them. like two dragons executing a tail swipe, the two weapons instantly sent the ten lizardman heroes flying, the sight exciting crimson mists teammates. how strong! i cant believe she neutralized the ten monsters combination technique and sent them flying! as expected of crimson mist! those legendary monsters are no match for her whatsoever! crimson mists teammates all cast looks of admiration at her. after seeing her attack, they all felt that the battle before them was no longer a problem, and they couldnt help but grow excited. while crimson mists teammates were immersed in excitement, shi feng stood still and calmly looked at the ten lizardman heroes attacking him. then, just as everyone thought that shi feng had been scared silly, he took a step forward. suddenly, a divine might rivaling that of primordial gods spread from shi feng. then, the ten lizardman heroes suddenly froze mid-air as if they were petrified. a divine domain?! fiery heart gaped in shock at this scene, and her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Chapter 3615 - Chapter 689 - SSS-Rank Expert chapter 689 C sss-rank expert a divine domain?! how is this possible?! crying blade couldnt believe his eyes when he saw the ten lizardman heroes standing frozen around shi feng. the level 197 lizardman heroes might only be tier 5 legendary monsters, but each was strong enough to give the average tier 6 expert of the same level a headache. if ten of them worked together, they could even cause substantial damage to the tier 6 expert in question. only experts of crimson mists caliber could send ten lizardman heroes flying with a single attack. shi feng was only a level 178 player, so it was evident he had only gotten promoted to tier 6 recently. yet, he managed to immobilize the ten lizardman heroes attacking him simply by unleashing his divine might. this meant that his control over his divine might had already reached a level where he could already form the rumored divine domain. divine domain! even among the five great super guilds, the ability to form a divine domain was a divine technique that only two old monsters had successfully grasped. meanwhile, so long as these two old monsters unleashed their divine domain, they would be invincible to existences below tier 6. be it monsters or players, everything below tier 6 would be incapable of resisting them. while everyone was dazedly staring at the ten immobilized lizardman heroes, shi feng unsheathed one of the longswords he carried around his waist and brandished it, instantly creating a galaxy of stars across the battlefield. subsequently, the ten lizardman heroes and all other lizardman monsters within a 1,000-yard radius of shi feng were sent flying and crashing over a thousand yards away, and all of them entered a heavily injured state. is he a monster?! the middle-aged guardian knight from eternal glory gasped at this scene. the act of heavily injuring 300-plus lizardmen was simply unbelievable, even if most of them were only mythic monsters. if it was up to crimson mist, there was zero chance she could replicate such a feat. this wasnt to say that crimson mist didnt have the raw power to heavily injure over 300 mythic-ranked lizardmen. instead, it was because she lacked the ability to manipulate over 300 attacks to accurately circle around the players on the battlefield and strike only the lizardmen. if crimson mist truly wished to heavily injure all of the lizardmen in her vicinity, she would have no choice but to use an indiscriminate aoe attack. meanwhile, after shi fengs move, no more lizardmen stood in the way of his team. lets go, shi feng said as he looked at fiery heart and the other dazed members of his team. then, he promptly continued on his way toward the ruined temple, showing no intentions whatsoever to stay and fight alongside crimson mists team. fiery heart failed to react to shi fengs words immediately. it wasnt until she closed her mouth with much effort that she had her teammates chase after shi feng. as for crimson mist and her teammates, they simply watched as shi fengs team left, unable to come up with any words. it wasnt until shi fengs team had moved a thousand yards away and the heavily injured lizardmen had scattered from the battlefield that everyone snapped out of their daze. how can this be?! regret filled crying blades heart as he watched fiery hearts group leave. originally, crying blade thought the quickest and safest way to reach the ruined temple would be to join crimson mists team. however, after seeing shi fengs display of overwhelming strength, even a fool could tell that the best option to travel to the ruined temple would be to follow shi feng. moreover, because he had chosen crimson mists team over shi fengs team, he must have inadvertently offended shi feng already. after this, even if he wanted to establish a connection with shi feng, it would be incredibly difficult to do so. who do you think that person is, vice commander? not only does he know how to cast a divine domain, but his strength attribute is also through the roof. how have i not heard of him until now? the middle-aged guardian knight from eternal glory asked, unable to suppress his curiosity. with his capabilities, it should be impossible for him to stay unknown in gods domain. i dont know who he is, either, crimson mist said, shaking her head. then, she continued with certainty, but that person shouldnt have mastered his divine domain yet. he hasnt mastered it? the middle-aged guardian knight grew confused. that cant be. none of those lizardman heroes could move just now. he indeed immobilized those lizardman heroes just now, but when i checked with my golden eyes, none of them were weakened, crimson mist explained. i once met one of those two old monsters while out roaming with the commander. when that old monster used his divine domain, all of the legendary monsters within range had their basic attributes weakened by 30%. but that persons divine might did not, so it should be incomplete and can only be considered a pseudo-divine domain. it was as crimson mist theorized. in reality, shi feng did not master the ability to form a divine domain. he had only managed to suppress the lizardman heroes with his divine might because his concentration had reached the tier 6 peak standard, and his life rating had improved substantially by virtue of his superior divine body. even if its not a complete divine domain, that person should still be strong enough to be regarded as an sss-rank expert, the middle-aged guardian knight said as he looked in the direction of shi fengs departure with expectant eyes. i truly did not think the ruined temple would attract so many sss-rank experts. after the sixth-ranked divine prodigy and the recently promoted martial fanatic, there is this hidden expert now. things are going to get interesting at the ruined temple. i wonder what rank the commander can achieve now that she has advanced to tier 6 as well? sss-rank experts were individuals who had successfully placed within the top five of an s-league season, and they were all qualified to participate in the ten saints league. meanwhile, it had been a very long time since the ranking of gods domains sss-rank experts had changed. but following the ruined temples appearance, many tier 6 experts had decided to take action, so conflict between them would be inevitable. among them, the clash between sss-rank experts was definitely the most anticipated by all players in gods domain. alright, thats enough. we should quickly notify the commander about this matter, crimson mist said as she rolled her eyes at the middle-aged guardian knight. what? now? hearing crimson mists intentions, the middle-aged guardian knight worriedly said, but if we inform the commander of such a powerful hidden expert now, what if she fails to resist her urges and challenge him right away? wouldnt we miss the opportunity of a lifetime? apart from searching the ruined temple for treasures, their goal in exploring the ruined temple this time was to solidify the eternal glory adventurer teams position in gods domain. after all, two of eternal glorys members had successfully advanced to tier 6 recently. the adventurer teams strength was no longer the same as before. meanwhile, under normal circumstances, it was almost impossible to see two sss-rank experts in the same place, much less see them clashing. although it still wasnt certain that a clash would occur between sss-rank experts at the ruined temple, their performances there would make it possible for comparisons to be made. this would, in turn, create a good opportunity for eternal glory to make a name for itself in gods domain. we cannot hide this information. after all, there are only a few such experts in gods domain, and every move they make is of great significance, crimson mist said. then, a hint of expectation appeared in her eyes as she continued, also, between that person and the commander, arent you curious to find out who is stronger? Chapter 3616 - Chapter 690 - Astonishing Ruined Temple chapter 690 C astonishing ruined temple time passed quickly. after running for about ten hours, shi feng, fiery heart, and the others arrived before the ruined temple that was situated in the ruined mountain ranges central area. the ruined temple sat on top of a mountain shrouded by thunderclouds. the presence of these thunderclouds made it so that even tier 6 gods would only dare to travel to the ruined temple on foot. if they tried to fly, they would put themselves at risk of getting vaporized by lightning. amazing! how many experts have come to the ruined temple?! fiery heart was both shocked and excited when she saw the hundreds of thousands of players gathered outside the ruined temple. normally, s-league participants were incredibly hard to meet in gods domain. yet, many of them could be seen gathered in the plaza before the ruined temple right now. she even spotted more than thirty of gods domains elusive tier 6 experts. it felt as if she was attending the gods domain associations international ten saints league. starting a team to explore the ruined temples chapel area! recruiting only level 200-plus, tier 5 experts with six-piece level 200-plus epic equipment sets! recruiting members to explore the graveyard area! we have a former tier 6 s-league expert leading us! all drops and treasure chests will be auctioned internally! accepting only level 200-plus, tier 5 a-league experts! only 15 slots remain! selling three seven luminaries treasure chests fresh out of the ruined temple! each for only 5,000 units of seven luminaries crystal! come and try your luck at obtaining a fragmented legendary item! aside from players recruiting for teams to explore the ruined temple, the plaza also had many players selling the loot they acquired from the temple. many of the players who had just arrived at the ruined temple couldnt help but drool at this sight as they didnt think there would be people selling seven luminaries treasure chests. seven luminaries treasure chests were one of the highest-ranking treasure chests available in gods domain. even the worst item players could obtain from one would be a piece of top-tier epic equipment. not to mention, the seven luminaries treasure chests being sold were obtained from the ruined temple, a level 200-plus ancient ruin. the chances of obtaining a fragmented legendary weapon or equipment from them were bound to be higher than from seven luminaries treasure chests obtained from other places. although the price of each seven luminaries treasure chest was exorbitant, so long as one could obtain a fragmented legendary item from them, one would instantly recover their cost and make a huge profit on top of it. after all, any random piece of fragmented legendary equipment could be sold for tens of thousands of units of seven luminaries crystal. if it was a top-tier piece, it could even be sold for more than 100,000 units. when fiery heart and the others saw this scene, they couldnt help but be astonished by the potential harvests available in the ruined temple. normally, players who obtained a seven luminaries treasure chest would never publicize their harvests. instead, they would gamble on their luck and secretly open it themselves. after all, even if they failed to obtain a fragmented legendary item, so long as they could obtain a top-tier design or recipe, they could still make a significant sum of seven luminaries crystals. yet, there were now players willing to sell the seven luminaries treasure chests they acquired. this meant that the drop rate for seven luminaries treasure chests was considerably high in the ruined temple. otherwise, there was no way these players would be willing to take the conservative route and settle for just 5,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. meanwhile, after shi feng and the others arrived before the ruined temples entrance, fiery heart suddenly turned to shi feng and asked, would you consider joining our team, big brother? although the dragon-phoenix pavilion isnt comparable to the five great super guilds, the team we sent here is top-tier across gods domain. our guild leader will also offer you a satisfactory price. fiery heart had already gained a good understanding of shi fengs strength on their way here. he could absolutely be considered an sss-rank expert. meanwhile, an expert of such caliber could be of massive help to any team. if she could invite shi feng to join the dragon-phoenix pavilions exploration team, she would be making a huge contribution to the guild. however, before shi feng could respond, a pleasant female voice suddenly interjected. the dragon-phoenix pavilion might have dispatched a top-tier team to explore the ruined temple, but compared to joining the pavilion, it would be much better if you joined eternal glorys team. the owner of the voice was a woman who had just stepped out of the ruined temple. the woman wore a silvery-gray mage robe and wielded a jade staff. the mana gathered around her was of a solid state, and it was comparable to the mana of tier 6 gods. the woman was also at level 210, her level being much higher than most of the tier 6 experts present in the plaza. following the womans appearance, a commotion occurred in the plaza. my god! its ji luorong! eternal glorys commander is actually here as well?! wait! shes a tier 6 mage god now! she actually succeeded in her promotion! many of the experts present recognized the woman in the silvery-gray mage robe, and all of them couldnt help but look at her in surprise. however, they were surprised not simply because ji luorong was the eternal glory adventurer teams commander, but also because she had successfully advanced from a tier 5 grand wizard to a tier 6 mage god. eternal glory was one of gods domains top-ranking adventurer teams, and a large part of how it achieved its current position was because of its commander, ji luorong. in the past, despite being only at tier 5, ji luorong had successfully killed multiple tier 6 experts when she involved herself in a chaotic war between the various superpowers. as a result, even though she was not at tier 6, the gods domain association still regarded her as an sss-rank expert. many people even felt that should ji luorong successfully advance to tier 6, she could secure herself a spot among the ten saints. unfortunately, ji luorong never managed to advance to tier 6, and her name gradually faded from everyones minds after the war between the various superpowers ended. but now! hello, i am ji luorong, commander of the eternal glory adventurer team. under everyones gaze, ji luorong approached shi feng and introduced herself with a smile. may i know if you are interested in joining eternal glorys team? i can assure you that you will obtain a much more bountiful harvest with us than with the dragon-phoenix pavilion, especially now that the pavilion is getting obstructed inside the ruined temple. obstructed? ji luorongs words piqued shi fengs curiosity. what do you mean by that? shi feng wasnt surprised that ji luorong would approach him. he was quite familiar with ji luorong in his previous life, so he knew she was a combat enthusiast. if she suddenly learned of a powerful hidden expert appearing within her vicinity, she would most certainly try to approach and interact with said expert. its not much of a secret. everyone operating in the library area should know of this matter by now, ji luorong said. a new team dungeon has recently appeared in the library area, and the dragon-phoenix pavilions team and a couple of members from an upstart guild called zero wing are trying to enter it. but because the pavilions guild leader offended the flower of seven sins some years ago, the latters team is currently obstructing the pavilions team from entering the team dungeon. right now, the pavilions team cant even take the team dungeons entrance test, let alone enter the dungeon. so, if youre considering joining the pavilions team, i advise you to abandon the idea. the flower of seven sins isnt an existence the average person can afford to provoke! Chapter 3617 - Chapter 691 - Ancient Human chapter 691 C ancient human fiery hearts complexion turned pale when she heard ji luorongs words. anxiously, she asked, is my guild leader alright, commander ji? the flower of seven sins was a transcendental assassin organization specializing in killing players for money in gods domain. apart from the flower of seven sins internally nurtured experts, other experts could also take on commissions from the flower of seven sins to earn money and resources. it wasnt an exaggeration to say that 99% of assassinations in gods domain were related to the flower of seven sins, and even the five great super guilds had suffered at the hands of the organization. now that the dragon-phoenix pavilion was butting heads with the flower of seven sins, it would absolutely spell disaster for the pavilion. if the guild leader got killed by the flower of seven sins, not only would she lose some of her top-tier equipment, but the phoenix pavilion might also start to have difficulty keeping the heavenly dragon pavilion under check. they havent started to fight yet, last i saw them, ji luorong said. then, in a slightly disappointed tone, she continued, if not for that team dungeon that has recently popped up, i really would have wanted to trade a few blows with that guild leader of yours. the sin of wraths newly promoted commander should also make for a good opponent. whether it was phoenix rain, the dragon-phoenix pavilions current guild leader, or blood sand, the newly promoted commander of the flower of seven sins sin of wrath, both were legendary individuals in gods domain and rumored to be as strong as the ten saints. so, they were the perfect sparring partners for ji luorong now that she had finally advanced to tier 6. meanwhile, fiery heart sighed in relief when she heard ji luorongs answer. if a fight were to break out between the dragon-phoenix pavilion and the flower of seven sins in the ruined temple, it would most likely be a life-or-death situation. but there should still be room for reconciliation if a fight hadnt started between the two. can you bring me there to take a look, commander ji? shi feng asked. shi fengs words surprised ji luorong. with a hint of confusion in her eyes, she asked, theres a good chance a fight will break out. are you sure you want to go? the conflict between the dragon-phoenix pavilions team and the flower of seven sins team wasnt just a simple clash between two player teams. instead, it was a clash between two powers. if a third party dared to get close to the battlefield, the two parties would immediately deem them as an enemy trying to take advantage of the situation, and both of them would prioritize eliminating this third party above all else. this was also why ji luorong had chosen not to involve herself in the conflict and came out to meet shi feng instead. naturally, ji luorong did not think that an expert of shi fengs caliber would be ignorant of such matters. im sure. shi feng nodded affirmatively. his goal in returning to his home gods domain was to gather zero wings new recruits. now that he knew some of zero wings members were in the ruined temples library area and were about to come to blows with the flower of seven sins, he naturally had to go and take a look at the situation. are you going as well, big brother? fiery hearts complexion brightened when she heard shi fengs intentions. assuming that the two sides had yet to start fighting, if the dragon-phoenix pavilion were to gain an sss-rank expert in such a situation, the flower of seven sins would definitely reconsider taking action. of course. its not that often i get to watch such a huge fight, shi feng said, chuckling as he looked at fiery hearts expectant look. alright, then. if you want to take a look, i will accompany you, ji luorong said, accepting shi fengs request without hesitation. at the same time, a look of interest appeared on her face. anyone looking to poke their noses into a clash between two powers must pay for their actions. if ji luorong was by herself, she definitely wouldnt try to involve herself with the affairs of the dragon-phoenix pavilion and the flower of seven sins. after all, even if she had successfully gotten promoted to tier 6, she still wasnt confident in going up against all the apex experts of the two powers. but it was a different story if she had shi feng by her side. shi feng was an sss-rank expert highly praised by even crimson mist. ji luorong wouldnt mind sinking her feet into these muddy waters with such an expert by her side. subsequently, ji luorong led shi feng and the others into the ruined temple. the inside of the ruined temple was many times bigger than it looked from the outside. as soon as players stepped through the temples entrance, it would be as if they had just entered a miniature world. meanwhile, the inside of the temple was split into four primary areas: the chapel area, the graveyard area, the library area, and the living area. the chapel area was the safest of the four areas as it was only a level 190 to level 200 map. all team dungeons that randomly appeared in it were also at level 200 and below. it was a considerably safe area, even for tier 5 players. the graveyard and library areas were level 200-plus maps. they were much more dangerous than the chapel area, and even tier 6 players had a considerable chance of dying. they were also the main activity areas for the main forces of first-rate powers and above. the living area was the most dangerous of the four areas. it was a level 225-plus map, and tier 6 players would have an extremely high chance of dying in it if they were below level 220. meanwhile, under ji luorongs lead, shi feng and the others quickly traveled across the ruined temple. then, after advancing for about two hours, they arrived at an ancient-looking library that measured three hundred meters in height. currently, standing in front of the librarys entrance was a three-meter-tall man. the giant of a man wore a white holy robe and carried a greatsword that was as long as he was tall on his back. although the man was only standing still with his eyes closed and his arms crossed in front of his chest, he exuded an aura rivaling primordial beasts. [minos] (hero, ancient human, tier 6) level 205 hp ? ? ? ? ? ? behind minos was a pitch-black portal that served as a team dungeons teleportation gate. at this time, though, a magic barrier covering a 500-yard radius was erected around minos. it was obvious that players must complete some kind of test before they could enter the team dungeon. apart from the team dungeon, shi feng and the others also saw a heated battle taking place outside the barrier. the battle was between two teams of players. one team consisted of less than 100 members, and two different guild emblems could be spotted in this team. the other team had more than 200 members, but none wore a guild emblem. in addition, all of these players names were bright red, with a few even being colored black. they also exuded bloodlust visible to the naked eye, something that couldnt be seen on the average red player. we were still too late fiery hearts complexion turned ugly when she saw that the dragon-phoenix pavilion and the flower of seven sins had started fighting already. currently, a level 212, tier 6 female elementalist from the dragon-phoenix pavilion could be seen fighting against a level 211, tier 6 male berserker and a level 210, tier 6 male assassin. although the female elementalist vaguely held the upper hand in their fight, the same could not be said for the two other tier 6 experts on the dragon-phoenix pavilions side. of these two other tier 6 experts, both wore a six-winged guild emblem. among them, one was a level 211, tier 6 female assassin, and her opponents were three level 210, tier 6 black players. although the female assassin did her best to defend herself, her hp steadily fell over time. as for the other, she was a level 210, tier 6 female elementalist, and her opponents were two tier 6 black players. although she wasnt losing much of her hp, she could barely hold her ground against her opponents. at a glance, it was obvious that the dragon-phoenix pavilion was at a disadvantage. as expected of the demon queen. shes actually holding her ground against blood sand and his vice commander hyena, ji luorong said in a tone of admiration as she watched phoenix rain manipulate a sea of flames against her two opponents. while blood sand might have been promoted into the sin of wraths commander only recently, nobody in gods domain would dare to underestimate him. this was because he had successfully assassinated an old monster from mythology, one of the five great super guilds. yet, despite simultaneously going up against blood sand and his vice commander hyena, phoenix rain did not show the slightest hint of weakness. phoenix rains strength far exceeded ji luorongs understanding of her. while ji luorong, shi feng, and the others were observing the clash between the two powers, the two powers experts also noticed their arrival. Chapter 3618 - Chapter 692 - Zero Wings Guild Leader chapter 692 C zero wings guild leader as soon as the members of the dragon-phoenix pavilion and the flower of seven sins noticed shi fengs group, as if they had premeditated it, they promptly ceased fighting and separated into two groups. why is that madwoman back? phoenix rain frowned as she looked at ji luorong. ji luorong was famous for being a battle maniac in gods domain. even when she was still at tier 5, she had participated in many wars involving the various superpowers, and the tier 6 experts she had killed to date numbered as many as eight. now that ji luorong had successfully advanced to tier 6, even phoenix rain dared not underestimate her. if ji luorong was looking to get herself involved in the battle between the dragon-phoenix pavilion and the flower of seven sins, she could absolutely affect the entire state of the battle. her participation might even lead to one side suffering a tragic defeat. ji luorong! what is the meaning of this?! are you thinking of starting a war with us?! blood sand coldly looked at ji luorong. has eternal glory been prospering so much lately that you want it erased from gods domain?! admittedly, the eternal glory adventurer team had grown much stronger now that ji luorong and crimson mist had successfully advanced to tier 6. the current eternal glory was so strong that even superpowers like the dragon-phoenix pavilion would need to be wary of it. however, it was a different story for the flower of seven sins. the flower of seven sins was a transcendental power in gods domain, and it stood on a completely different level than the dragon-phoenix pavilion. in the eyes of the flower of seven sins, even the five great super guilds were not worthy of its fear. it should be known that the five great super guilds were publicly acknowledged as the five strongest guilds in gods domain, and each of them had existed for more than a century. the foundations they had built up for themselves far exceeded any other guild. so, if the flower of seven sins didnt even fear the five great super guilds, even less needed to be said about the eternal glory adventurer team. dont get so riled up. im not here to pick a fight, ji luorong said and smiled in response to blood sands questioning. i only brought someone here to take a look. take a look? blood sand grew even more agitated after hearing ji luorongs answer. coldly, he said, whos the bastard with the death wish? hearing blood sands words, fiery heart, who stood next to shi feng, couldnt help but grow worried. the flower of seven sins had always operated fearlessly in gods domain, and any individual or power who dared to provoke the organization would never have a good end. this time, blood sand and his team were targeting the dragon-phoenix pavilions team because of a personal grudge between phoenix rain and a big shot from the flower of seven sins. it wasnt actually the flower of seven sins grudge. however, it would be a completely different story if someone tried to spectate the flower of seven sins activities. anyone who did so would be offending the entire flower of seven sins! the last superpower that had provoked the flower of seven sins had long been erased from gods domain. this was also why blood sand dared to threaten to eliminate the eternal glory adventurer team. if even superpowers were not safe from the flower of seven sins, it goes without saying the organization could easily eliminate any individual player who had provoked it. in fact, if the flower of seven sins was serious, it could permanently erase even existences as strong as the ten saints. meanwhile, when phoenix rain heard ji luorongs answer, she couldnt help but look at ji luorong in surprise. could it be an old monster from one of the five great super guilds? phoenix rain instinctively deemed that whoever had come to spectate must be someone from the five great super guilds. moreover, it should be someone of great status, such as the five great super guilds old monsters. after all, only individuals with such strength and status would dare to provoke the flower of seven sins. however, even after looking through ji luorongs group several times, phoenix rain failed to find anyone who could be this old monster. aside from shi feng, who was a level 178, tier 6 swordsman, everyone else in ji luorongs group was a member of the dragon-phoenix pavilion. before phoenix rain could come to further conclusions, shi feng calmly looked at blood sand and said, so what if im here to watch your fight? what do you take the flower of seven sins as? an apex power? following shi fengs words, silence briefly enveloped the entire battlefield. who is he? is this guy crazy? whether it was the dragon-phoenix pavilions members or ji luorong, they all looked at shi feng in shock. this was already beyond having a death wish! not even the five great super guilds guild leaders would dare say such words to the flower of seven sins! good! very good! glaring at shi feng, blood sand coldly said, although i dont know who you are, since you dare to poke your nose into the flower of seven sins business, it doesnt matter even if you have the five great super guilds backing you! nobody can save you today! as soon as blood sand finished speaking, hyena and the five black players from the flower of seven sins suddenly charged at shi feng at lightning speeds. their actions were so fast and sudden that even phoenix rain and ji luorong failed to react to them immediately. however, just as hyena and the five black players were about to reach shi feng, two figures suddenly intercepted them. shadow flower! purple eye! what are you two trying to do?! hyena glared at the two women before him in anger and confusion. does zero wing intend to protect that person?! now that a third party had appeared, the personal grudge between the flower of seven sins and the dragon phoenix pavilion should logically be set aside temporarily. yet, shadow flower and purple eye had intercepted their group, essentially declaring that they wished to make an enemy out of the entire flower of seven sins. such behavior was incredibly confusing. shadow flower, purple eye, have you two lost your minds?! phoenix rain was similarly surprised by the two womens actions. she couldnt understand why they would try to protect that swordsman. although it is not our wish to do so, he is our guild leader! shadow flower, the former guild leader of the hundred flower palace, said with a wry smile as she looked at phoenix rain. tl notes: [1]shadow flower and purple eye: shadow flower C hundred flower palaces guild leader purple eye C an expert from the star alliance/galaxy pasts assistant Chapter 3619 - Chapter 693 - Ten Saints chapter 693 C ten saints your guild leader? phoenix rains eyes widened in shock when she heard shadow flowers response. zero wing! this was a guild that had been established only recently in gods domain, and it experienced a meteoric rise that confused many players and powers. whether it was the star alliance or the hundred flower palace, both were large guilds with strong potential to become superpowers in the future. they also had many talented rookies who had made a name for themselves in gods domains a-league, and it wouldnt be strange for them to advance to tier 6 in the future. yet, despite having such excellent circumstances, the star alliance and the hundred flower palace had both chosen to disband and merge into zero wing. apart from them, mysterious moon, another first-rate guild, had similarly chosen to merge into zero wing zero wings appearance had shaken the entire gods domain. after all, this was a merger of three first-rate guilds they were talking about. among them, there were even pseudo-superpowers like the star alliance and the hundred flower palace. the combined strength of these three guilds could strike fear into even veteran superpowers like the dragon-phoenix pavilion. in fact, in terms of tier 6 experts, zero wing already had more than what some veteran super guilds possessed. this was also why phoenix rain had chosen to partner with zero wing to explore the ruined temple this time. meanwhile, seeing as zero wing could convince three first-rate guilds to merge into one guild, many people, including phoenix rain, felt that whoever was helming the guild must possess unbelievable strength and connections. so, what was up with this level 178, tier 6 swordsman? you are zero wings guild leader? ji luorong couldnt help but turn to look at shi feng in surprise. ji luorong had a much better understanding of shadow flower than phoenix rain. the woman was incredibly ambitious, so much so that she dreamed of one day having the hundred flower palace stand shoulder to shoulder with the five great super guilds. it was because of this that ji luorong found it unbelievable when she initially heard shadow flower had disbanded the hundred flower palace and had all of its members join zero wing. for a time, she even suspected that zero wing was a product of the green god corporation. otherwise, there was no explanation for why an ambitious person like shadow flower would disband the hundred flower palace. after all, the hundred flower palaces growth potential was superior to even the dragon-phoenix pavilion, let alone the star alliance. it was just that this matter was something only ji luorong knew. as for how the hundred flower palace could have such potential, it was because of two factors. firstly, it was because shadow flower herself was an sss-rank expert. secondly, it was because crimson heart and cleansed rue, two of the hundred flower palaces vice guild leaders, had the potential to become sss-rank experts. while sss-rank experts might be exceedingly rare to most superpowers, that was not the case for the hundred flower palace. thats right. i am zero wings guild leader, shi feng said, smiling as he looked at the shocked look on ji luorong. surprised? of course! how can i not be surprised?! ji luorong retorted as she looked at shi fengs smiling face. we are talking about zero wings guild leader here! until now, everyone has been guessing that zero wings guild leader is actually an old monster from the green god corporation. how can you be so young? am i not allowed to be zero wings guild leader simply because i am young? shi feng chuckled. thats not what i meant. after reorganizing her thoughts, ji luorong said, what im saying is that zero wings guild leader should be an expert capable of ranking among the ten saints. otherwise, theres no way someone like shadow flower would willingly submit to zero wing. the ten saints? thats not a hard standard to achieve, shi feng said. if you join zero wing, i promise you can reach it in a day. a day? keep on boasting! ji luorong rolled her eyes at shi feng. she did not believe his words in the slightest. the ten saints represented the apex of combat power in their gods domain. although there were still some hidden old monsters who had chosen not to compete for a position among the ten saints, the ten saints were still part of the strongest group of experts in their gods domain. meanwhile, the condition to become one of the ten saints was incredibly stringent. not only did players need to have sufficiently high combat standards, but they would also need to have sufficiently good weapons and equipment. simply having one legendary weapon wouldnt suffice. players would need at least several pieces of legendary equipment paired with a legendary weapon. however, legendary weapons and equipment were incredibly rare in gods domain. even for the five great super guilds, it was incredibly difficult for them to equip a player with so many legendary items. naturally, it would be even more difficult for other guilds to accomplish it. as for independent players or members of adventurer teams, it would take nothing short of a miracle for them to accomplish such a feat. throughout their gods domains history, only one player had managed to join the ranks of the ten saints without being backed by a guild. that person was a legendary individual, and they were also ranked as the number one expert on the gods domain experts list at the time. only, that person had disappeared all of a sudden, and rarely would anybody talk about them nowadays. although ji luorong was confident in her strength, she knew she still had a long way to go to match the ten saints. she would need at least several more years of accumulation before she could truly try to challenge those individuals. yet, shi feng was saying that so long as she joined zero wing, he would need only a day to give her the strength of the ten saints. no matter how she looked at it, shi feng must be joking with her. what if i can do it? shi feng chuckled when he saw how ji luorong was doubting him, his words filled with provocation and temptation. Chapter 3620 - Chapter 694 - One Move to Slay the Seven Sins chapter 694 C one move to slay the seven sins how can he still talk to someone else so casually after provoking the flower of seven sins? does he really think shadow flower and purple eye can protect him? when phoenix rain saw shi feng leisurely conversing with ji luorong, confusion colored her pale golden eyes. she had met and clashed with many people in her time leading the dragon-phoenix pavilion, and this wealth of experience had given her the ability to discern a persons inner emotions. whether a person was secretly feeling anger, fear, or hesitation, she could tell with just a glance. because of this ability, she could often gain the upper hand over her opponent, whether in battle or negotiations. this, in turn, allowed the dragon-phoenix pavilion to achieve much greater heights under her leadership. logically, now that shi feng had provoked the flower of seven sins, an organization feared by all in gods domain, he should be feeling fearful, if not worried, at the very least. after all, even the five great super guilds guild leaders would feel a hint of anxiety if they ended up provoking the flower of seven sins. however, the only emotion phoenix rain could see in shi feng was calmness. it was as if what he just did was insignificant, and the flower of seven sins seven tier 6 experts were of no threat to him. in the meantime, shadow flower and purple eye looked like they were going up against a mighty foe as they faced hyenas group of six. they focused all their five senses on the group, not daring to relax in the slightest. after all, while they might be apex experts in gods domain, their chances of victory were still slim if they had to go up against six of the flower of seven sins tier 6 experts simultaneously. they would be walking a tightrope, and a single mistake could spell their doom. are you sure theres nothing wrong with our guild leader, palace master flower, purple eye asked shadow flower, exasperated by shi fengs behavior. the star alliances merger into zero wing was handled fully by galaxy past, the star alliances former guild leader. although purple eye was a grand elder of the star alliance, she did not know the details surrounding the merger, and she only agreed to it because she trusted in galaxy pasts judgment of the future. as a result, she did not know anything else about black flame besides him being zero wings guild leader and the number one player in the miniature ancient world. purple eye couldnt be faulted for her ignorance. most players developing on the main continent did not pay attention to the miniature ancient worlds affairs. this was because most of those who had entered the miniature ancient world were either new players or players looking for a new beginning after failing to succeed on the main continent. in the real world, most people still placed all of their attention on the main continent, wanting to make a name for themselves amidst countless famous experts. after all, the main continents resources were far more abundant than the miniature ancient world. although the main continents various powers had indeed sent some members to develop in the miniature ancient world, most had done so with a mentality of testing the waters. few had mobilized noteworthy amounts of manpower and strength. however, it was a different story for the hundred flower palace. the hundred flower palace had invested heavily into the miniature ancient world, going as far as to send two of its vice guild leaders, who had the potential to advance to tier 6, to the miniature ancient world. in addition, with how ambitious of a person shadow flower was, the fact that she would choose to merge the hundred flower palace into zero wing proved that she understood zero wing well. otherwise, she would never take such a crazy action. if we are speaking solely about combat standards, our guild leader should rank within the top three of our gods domain, shadow flower said after giving purple eyes question some thought. then, she hesitantly continued, although he is currently rather low-leveled, he should be able to handle one of the flower of seven sins black players. based on crimson heart and cleansed rues accounts, shi feng was undoubtedly a fifth-floor expert. moreover, he had mastered at least one gold combat technique. if not for the five great super guilds having two unreasonably strong old monsters, shadow flower would dare say that shi feng could rank number one in their gods domain. however, combat standards did not represent all of a players strength in gods domain. levels also played a vital role. if the level difference between two players got too large, it might create a gap in basic attributes and physique so large that it could not be bridged by technique alone. not to mention, level 200 was a major turning point for players. in shadow flowers opinion, shi feng would not stand a chance if he were to fight against a fourth-floor expert like hyena. but if it was the flower of seven sins black players, who were only at the domain realm standard, he should be able to hold his ground. only one black player? purple eyes expression grew solemn when she heard shadow flowers answer. if thats the case, our only choice is to escape. otherwise, once blood sand takes action, none of us can leave this place alive. previously, they could only hold their ground against the flower of seven sins seven tier 6 experts because they were working together with phoenix rain. now that phoenix rains stance remained unclear, they could only hope for her presence to keep blood sand in check. this would leave them having to deal with six of the flower of seven sins tier 6 experts. and with shi feng being able to deal with only one black player, nothing would change. but they would be doomed once blood sand deemed it safe to take action. finally starting to feel scared? hyena smirked when he saw purple eye vaguely showing intentions to retreat. but dont you think its a little too late? as soon as hyena finished speaking, he suddenly vanished into thin air. at the same time, three black players attacked shadow flower, while the remaining two attacked purple eye, giving them no opportunities to run to shi fengs aid. dammit! when shadow flower saw hyena disappearing, she immediately activated her tier 6 legacy skill dark phantom and split into five copies of herself. each of these doppelgangers had 100% of her basic attributes. they could also use all of her skills and spells. however, they could only last a minute, and the skill had a one-hour cooldown. after activating dark phantom, shadow flower had her doppelgangers intercept hyena. however, even after focusing all their senses on scanning the surrounding area, they failed to locate hyenas presence. hyenas stealth capabilities were unbelievable, and it was as if he did not exist in this space. meanwhile, hyenas disappearance also interrupted ji luorong, who had been deep in thought. then, she turned to shi feng and asked, do you need my help? ji luorong was very interested in shi fengs offer. although she still didnt fully trust his words, she wouldnt simply stand by and watch hyena kill shi feng. no need. its only a fourth-floor expert, shi feng said, shaking his head. then, he unsheathed the winter of eternal night and brandished it. swords orbit! suddenly, numerous sword lights intersected, and a galaxy of stars covering a 1,000-yard radius appeared with shi feng at its center. hundreds of stars circled around shi feng, each carrying the strength of a level 200, tier 6 god. even level 200 divine monsters would be sent flying if these stars struck them. after the winter of eternal night was upgraded to the legendary rank, shi fengs basic attributes skyrocketed. even at level 178, his basic attributes could already closely rival level 200, tier 6 gods. even in his home gods domain, his basic attributes could already rank at the top. this was also why he dared to return to his home gods domain. not to mention, he also had a superior divine body to enhance his mana and reactions. a moment later, shi feng sheathed his weapon, and the galaxy of stars faded out of existence. at the same time, a short figure fell out of the void and collapsed on the ground, the persons equipment in tatters and body covered in bone-deep cuts. the persons hp bar was also empty, indicating that they had become a corpse. meanwhile, this short figure was none other than hyena, the person who had vanished just a moment ago Chapter 3621 - Chapter 695 - Saint Production chapter 695 C saint production hyenas dead?! how did he die? what did that swordsman do?! everyone present, whether it was the dragon-phoenix pavilions or the flower of seven sins members, couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw the scene before them. hyena was the sin of wraths vice commander and second strongest member after blood sand. he was only slightly weaker than shadow flower and purple eye in overall strength, and he had incredible stealth capabilities. with sufficient preparations, he could successfully assassinate even shadow flower and purple eye. isnt he a little too strong?! purple eye couldnt help but gasp as she looked at hyenas corpse. at the same time, she couldnt help but suspect shadow flower of messing with her before. he should be able to handle one of the flower of seven sins black players? what kind of nonsense was that? it should be known that shadow flower was very skilled at detecting signs of life. yet, even she had failed to detect hyena when he was under stealth. in contrast, despite being only a level 178 sword god, shi feng managed to kill hyena in one move and accomplished it before hyena revealed himself. his strength was already beyond purple eyes comprehension. hes comparable to a level 200, tier 6 god?! shadow flower was equally shocked by this turn of events, and she couldnt help but scrutinize shi fengs calm figure. shi fengs strength was miles apart from what she heard from crimson heart and cleansed rue. how did you do it? ji luorong asked in confusion as she watched shi feng sheath his sword. hyena had already developed his stealth capabilities to a level where even the current ten saints could not detect him. if it were up to the ten saints, they would have to wait until hyena attacked them before executing a targeted response. not to mention, shi feng had even killed hyena in one move. admittedly, shi fengs attack that had reached the standard of a level 200, tier 6 god was very powerful. however, it definitely wasnt enough to kill hyena. after all, hyena was a level 210, tier 6 assassin equipped with a legendary dagger. the rest of his equipment was also at the fragmented legendary rank. even if he fought against an actual level 200, tier 6 god, he could survive for a long time. yet, hyena failed to survive even one move against shi feng. this situation confused ji luorong greatly, and she couldnt understand how shi feng had accomplished this feat, no matter how she thought about it. its nothing special. seeing the confusion on ji luorongs face, shi feng nonchalantly said, he might have concealed himself well, but his concealment is pointless in front of my sixth sense. his reaction speed also cant keep up with my attack rate, so its only natural for him to die. under the same basic attributes, fifth-floor experts had an insurmountable advantage over fourth-floor experts. no matter what a fourth-floor expert tried to do, all of their actions would be laid bare in front of a fifth-floor expert. meanwhile, with this knowledge, a fifth-floor expert could effortlessly misdirect a fourth-floor experts movements and attack trajectories, creating many opportunities to bypass the fourth-floor experts defenses. not to mention, although shi feng was only at level 178, he was vastly superior to hyena in both basic attributes and physique. so, it was only natural for him to kill hyena in one exchange. however, despite how casually shi feng described his actions, ji luorong still couldnt help but be shocked. its only natural for him to die? ji luorong didnt know how shi feng could speak such words so nonchalantly. after all was said and done, hyena was a tier 6 fourth-floor expert. he was an existence whom even the ten saints could not kill in one move. in fact, ji luorong doubted she was any stronger than hyena. yet, shi feng spoke as if experts of her caliber were nothing but a bunch of noobs. meanwhile, after this sudden turn of events, blood sand, who had been warily watching phoenix rains movements, couldnt help but turn to look at shi feng with a grim expression. currently, his gaze no longer contained the calmness and anger it had before. instead, deep-seated fear had replaced it. he never thought shi feng could be this strong. only, before blood sand and everyone else could react, shi feng suddenly appeared before the flower of seven sins five black players and executed swords orbit once more. although the five black players had instinctively activated their lifesaving skills and tried to flee, they lasted no more than two seconds in the face of shi fengs sword lights, and they dropped numerous weapons and equipment following their death. it was a fight that couldnt even be considered a fight. everyone was stunned once again. these were five tier 6 experts they were talking about! yet, they had disappeared in the blink of an eye previously, everyone still found shi fengs achievement of killing hyena in one move a little unrealistic. after all, hyena was already dead when they saw him. this time, though, they saw very clearly how shi feng dealt with the five black players. a crushing defeat! it was an absolutely crushing defeat! moreover, shi feng had single-handedly killed six of the sin of wraths tier 6 experts. what he just did was essentially strike the sin of wrath to the bottom of the flower of seven sins seven sins. if the sin of wrath couldnt quickly help these six experts replenish their lost weapons and equipment, it would be a long time before the sin of wrath could hold its head high in the flower of seven sins. black flame! you bastard! blood sand glared at shi feng with a manic look. how dare you kill six of the flower of seven sins tier 6 experts?! i will never spare you or zero wing! just you wait! the flower of seven sins retribution will come for you! the death of these six tier 6 experts was a significant loss to the flower of seven sins and blood sand himself. after all, he only had a few tier 6 experts under his command, and three of the black players killed this time were even the subordinates of other commanders. is that so? i look forward to it. while watching blood sand lose his mind, shi feng slashed downward with the winter of eternal night. third sword, holy annihilation! immediately, a pillar of flames devoured blood sand and the space around him. even though blood sand had tried to defend himself with his two-handed saber, the impact still plundered all of his hp, and he dropped multiple pieces of equipment when he died. aside from blood sand, all of the tier 5 experts from the flower of seven sins standing behind him were also reduced to ashes, their deaths contributing a bunch of weapons and equipment to shi feng. all of the sin of wraths tier 6 experts were annihilated? phoenix rain couldnt help but look at the situation before her with widened eyes. she never thought shi feng would dare to provoke the flower of seven sins so thoroughly. since its fight with the five great super guilds, the flower of seven sins had never suffered as much damage as it did today. not only did all of the sin of wraths tier 6 experts get annihilated, but even blood sand, the sin of wraths commander, was killed. this was absolutely the greatest humiliation the flower of seven sins had suffered since its inception. guild leader, once news of the sin of wraths tier 6 experts getting annihilated reaches the flower of seven sins executives, im afraid all of zero wings guild residences will be in big trouble, shadow flower said with a wry smile. the flower of seven sins was known for exacting revenge on all who offended them. now that shi feng had caused the flower of seven sins to suffer such a huge loss, there was no doubt the organization would use its full strength to deal with zero wing. it should be known that the flower of seven sins experts far outnumbered zero wings experts. if the flower of seven sins attacked zero wings guild residences, it would cause devastating damage to zero wing. that might have been true in the past, but the era of this gods domain has already changed now that i am here, shi feng said nonchalantly. i can produce even experts on the ten saints level in batches. how many of such experts can the flower of seven sins resist? ten? twenty? Chapter 3622 - Chapter 696 - Birth of Two Monsters chapter 696 C birth of two monsters this when shadow flower and purple eye heard shi feng claiming he could produce experts on the ten saints level in batches, they didnt know what to say. in addition, as shi feng did not bother to speak in a private chat and simply said everything in public, everyone present could hear him clearly. after all, everyone present was a tier 5 expert or above. after a moment of silence, phoenix rain couldnt help but ask, can you really produce a batch of experts on the level of the ten saints, guild leader black flame? currently, phoenix rain could just barely match the ten saints in strength and was just slightly stronger than blood sand. even then, the difference was limited, and it was only because of her superior equipment standard. meanwhile, if they counted the five great super guilds hidden old monsters, there shouldnt be more than twenty experts on the level of the ten saints. if shi feng could produce ten or twenty such experts, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that zero wing could go uncontested in gods domain. at that time, not to mention the flower of seven sins, even if the five great super guilds banded together, they would still have to stay clear of zero wing. if she could deepen her partnership with zero wing, having zero wing help produce several ten saints-level experts for the dragon-phoenix pavilion, the dragon-phoenix pavilion could quickly become another super guild in gods domain. naturally. seeing phoenix rain, an old acquaintance, taking the initiative to ask him, shi feng did not bother to withhold any information, plainly saying, many tier 6 experts fail to reach the ten saints level not because they lack combat standards. instead, it is often because of their lacking basic attributes. meanwhile, i have a way to increase these experts basic attributes to match that of the ten saints, so i can naturally produce as many ten saints-level experts as i want. he had brought with him 20 dragons fury extraordinary secret treasure sets and 200 behemoth combat secret treasure sets this time. he aimed to establish a solid foundation for the newly integrated zero wing and make zero wing the undisputed number one guild in his home gods domain. that way, he could mass recruit talented newcomers from his homeworld and nurture tier 6 players in batches without having to worry about his secrets getting leaked. guild leader black flame, on behalf of the dragon-phoenix pavilion, i hope to establish a strategic partnership with zero wing, phoenix rain said. after hearing shi fengs answer, she understood that shi feng must have a way to get his hands on a large number of legendary weapons and equipment. if zero wing is willing to help the dragon-phoenix pavilion to produce some ten saints-level experts, the pavilion will provide zero wing access to all its shops and trade connections. the pavilion will also use seven luminaries crystals to cover the full cost of producing these experts. in addition, the pavilion will form a permanent strategic alliance with zero wing to resist the flower of seven sins. phoenix rains proposal caught shadow flower and purple eye off guard. they never thought phoenix rain would put so much faith in their guild leader. at the same time, they couldnt help but be in awe of phoenix rains wealth and courage. it should be known that zero wing currently had very few tier 6 experts. even if they included shi feng and red feather, a former elder of the star alliance and the person tasked with keeping the security of zero wings main headquarters, zero wing would only have four tier 6 experts. if they were comparing purely in terms of numbers, the flower of seven sins had a massive lead over zero wing. so, even if shi feng had the means to produce ten saints-level experts, zero wing still couldnt trade blows evenly with the flower of seven sins for the foreseeable future. as for the dragon-phoenix pavilion, it had even fewer tier 6 experts, totaling three only. although all three were top-tier and could most likely become ten saints-level experts if adequately equipped, it wasnt exactly a wise decision to provoke the flower of seven sins just to obtain two or three ten saints-level experts within a short time. without a certain degree of courage, any sane leader would never take such a risk. your proposal is very sincere, guild leader phoenix, shi feng said, nodding. but he quickly followed it up with a rejection, saying, however, zero wings means cannot be provided to non-zero wing members. if you wish to achieve greater heights with your subordinates, you will have to merge the dragon-phoenix pavilion into zero wing. forgive me for rejecting all other proposals. the dragons fury set was a priceless treasure, even in the greater gods domain. it wasnt something that could be valued using seven luminaries crystals, real estate, or trade connections. even one set could attract many upper-ranking hegemonic powers and pseudo-apex powers to fight over it. so, there was no way he would trade any away. not to mention, his goal in returning this time was to make zero wing the number one guild in his home gods domain. he naturally wouldnt try to nurture other powers. is there really no room for negotiations, guild leader black flame? phoenix rain couldnt help but be surprised by shi fengs decisive refusal. if she were to make the same proposal to any other power in gods domain, said power would accept it without hesitation. after all, zero wing merely needed to sell its strengthening items to the dragon-phoenix pavilion. in exchange, not only would zero wing receive a large sum of seven luminaries crystals, but it would also receive the dragon-phoenix pavilions full support in resisting the flower of seven sins. meanwhile, so long as zero wing could survive the flower of seven sins initial onslaught, it could slowly amass tier 6 players and develop more ten saints-level experts, ultimately becoming the supreme ruler of gods domain. no matter how one looked at it, this partnership could only benefit zero wing. so, she found it hard to believe shi feng would turn down her offer so decisively. you shouldnt turn down the idea of merging the dragon-phoenix pavilion into zero wing so quickly, either, guild leader phoenix, shi feng said, chuckling. once you see the improvements my items can provide, you will understand that joining zero wing will be no harm to the dragon-phoenix pavilion. on the contrary, it might even be a good thing for you all. a good thing? ji luorong couldnt help but be exasperated by shi fengs words. she never thought shi feng could be so shameless. it should be known that the dragon-phoenix pavilion was an overlord in gods domain, whereas zero wing was only an upstart guild. yet, shi feng was saying that it would benefit the dragon-phoenix pavilion to become a part of zero wing, and he was even saying it to phoenix rain, a ten saints-level expert. phoenix rains equipment standard was already top-tier among tier 6 experts. not only did she wield a legendary staff, but she was also equipped with six pieces of legendary equipment. even if her equipment standard could still be improved, there wouldnt be much room for improvement. at most, she could switch out her fragmented legendary equipment for a few more pieces of legendary equipment. meanwhile, phoenix rain could easily accomplish something like this in the future, even without joining zero wing. if that were the case, why should she join zero wing and reduce herself to becoming a vice guild leader of zero wing? however, shi feng did not wait for phoenix rain to make a response this time. instead, he took out two dragons fury sets and handed them to shadow flower and purple eye. meanwhile, looking at the spherical crystals in their hands, shadow flower and purple eye couldnt help but grow confused. bind these items to your equipment. if you dont have enough seven luminaries crystals, you can get them from me, shi feng said, not bothering to offer any explanations. he merely had shadow flower and purple eye follow his instructions to bind the dragons fury sets. shadow flower and purple eye both had a fragmented legendary equipment set equipped. although not as ideal as legendary equipment, they still wouldnt be wasting the dragons fury sets potential. after looking at the secret treasures in each others hands, shadow flower and purple eye couldnt help but be astonished by the binding cost of these secret treasures. each crystal sphere cost 3,000 units of seven luminaries crystal to bind, with the full set totaling 18,000 units. the cost was absurdly expensive. however, the two still followed shi fengs instructions and quickly bound the secret treasures with their equipment. suddenly, whether it was shadow flower or purple eye, both had seemingly become dragons that had just awoken from a slumber. immediately, the auras they exuded caused phoenix rain and ji luorong to instinctively retreat a hundred yards away Chapter 3623 - Chapter 697 - Outside of Gods Domain chapter 697 C outside of gods domain how is this possible?! after phoenix rain and ji luorong instinctively retreated a hundred yards away, fear and disbelief filled them as they looked at shadow flower and purple eye. previously, they were already very surprised when they saw shi feng handing shadow flower and purple eye a pile of marble-like crystals. they didnt think that shi feng was referring to something other than legendary weapons and equipment when he mentioned the strengthening items. based on their understanding of gods domain, the easiest way for players to improve their basic attributes by a qualitative margin was through upgrading their weapons and equipment. in the case of shadow flower and purple eye, only legendary weapons and equipment would enable them to achieve a qualitative leap. as for tools, it shouldnt be possible for any to improve shadow flower and purple eyes basic attributes by any substantial amount. yet, the crystal marbles shi feng took out had accomplished it. this had completely exceeded their knowledge of gods domain. moreover, it wasnt just shadow flower and purple eyes basic attributes that had received a massive improvement. another thing that improved was their mana, and it was to an extent where even phoenix rain and ji luorong felt suffocated by it. such mana could no longer be defined in human terms. rather than two human players, phoenix rain and ji luorong felt like they were standing before two tier 6 dragons. the shadow flower and purple eyes mana was no longer something the average tier 6 player could resist! however, compared to phoenix rain and ji luorong, shadow flower and purple eye were even more surprised by their transformation. these secret treasures are unbelievable! purple eye couldnt help but be dumbfounded when she felt the changes the dragons fury set had brought to her. from an outsiders perspective, they could only tell that she and shadow flowers basic attributes and mana had achieved a qualitative improvement. it also wouldnt be an exaggeration to say they had already reached the ten saints level. however, as those who had equipped the dragons fury set, they knew that the extraordinary secret treasure set didnt just improve their basic attributes and mana. at the same time, it also granted them an additional talent. dragon metamorphosis! this additional talent granted them the racial talent of the dragon race. not only did it improve their five senses to closely rival that of dragons, but it also elevated their control over mana to a whole new level. on the surface, dragon metamorphosis might not improve players statistically. however, this additional talent was vital in determining how much a player could utilize their statistical attributes. in other words, besides providing qualitative improvements to their basic attributes and mana, the dragons fury set had also raised their combat standards to a new level. no wonder you are so confident, guild leader black flame. the value of these crystals indeed exceeds legendary weapons and equipment, phoenix rain commented in admiration when she sensed danger coming from shadow flower and purple eye. even ten saints-level experts will go crazy for these crystals, let alone weaker tier 6 experts. the various superpowers of gods domain all had their own ways of obtaining legendary weapons and equipment. it was only a matter of time. however, the secret treasures shi feng took out were items phoenix rain had never heard about. if these secret treasures were given to ten saints-level experts such as herself, they could absolutely raise their strength by another standard, completely surpassing all tier 6 experts in gods domain. meanwhile, such experts could probably go up against any of the five great super guilds by themselves. the world gate will soon open. im sure you know this well, guild leader phoenix, shi feng said as he looked at phoenix rain. there are countless experts and powers outside of our gods domain. even existences as strong as the five great super guilds would be nothing more than an insignificant guild outside, and the same is true for ten saints-level experts. i do know a little about the world outside our gods domain, phoenix rain stated honestly. their legendary weapons and equipment far outnumber ours, let alone their experts. i heard that they even have heaven-defying items, such as divine artifacts. as for our ten saints-level experts, they seem to only be regarded as fourth-floor experts, and there are countless such experts outside. only the rumored fifth-floor experts can be considered powerhouses and strike fear into the various hegemonic powers. unfortunately, our gods domain is lacking a comprehensive training system, so it is beyond the means of most players to become fifth-floor experts. phoenix rain couldnt help but feel a little disheartened when speaking of the world outside their gods domain. she fully understood how weak their gods domain was, especially regarding combat standards. their gods domains powers only had ten years to develop their training systems, whereas the greater gods domains powers had already been perfecting theirs for decades and centuries. not only could the greater gods domains powers develop fourth-floor titled experts, but some could even develop fifth-floor experts. that is correct. it is also why i say it is beneficial for the dragon-phoenix pavilion to merge into zero wing, shi feng said, nodding. no matter how much the pavilion develops in our gods domain, the best it could hope to achieve in the future is to rival the five great super guilds. once the world gate opens, our gods domains powers will be fortunate if they can keep their existing territories, let alone develop outside. however, so long as the dragon-phoenix pavilion becomes a part of zero wing, both the pavilion can develop outside of our gods domain, achieving a height that the current pavilion can never achieve. as for yourself, you might even get to stand shoulder to shoulder with the outside worlds apex experts, becoming an existence that the various powers would fear. i doubt that can ever happen. i know my limits, phoenix rain said, wryly smiling. even if you give me a legendary equipment set, i will, at most, become a second-rate expert in the outside world with my combat standards. shi feng did not respond to phoenix rains words. instead, he turned to look at the hero guarding the librarys entrance and asked phoenix rain, what do you think of the current shadow flower and purple eye, guild leader phoenix? what rating can they receive if they challenge minoss trial? hearing this, phoenix rain glanced at shadow flower and purple eye before definitively saying, a-rank. before shi fengs arrival, the 100-man library dungeons test had been activated for a few days already, and many teams had challenged it. phoenix rain also knew the strength of some of the teams that challenged the trial and the ratings they received, so she could make accurate estimates of how a team would perform in the trial. for 100-man teams looking to gain the privilege to enter the library dungeon, they would need to score at least a b-rank rating. but even for the dragon-phoenix pavilions main force, achieving such a rating was difficult, which was why she had chosen to partner with zero wing. now that shadow flower and purple eyes basic attributes could already rival the ten saints, the dragon-phoenix pavilions team had essentially gained two ten saints-level experts. with such a significant improvement, the team would have a very good chance of securing an a-rank rating. in that case, why dont we give it a try? shi feng asked, chuckling when he heard phoenix rains confident reply. we will gladly accept your help if you are willing to offer it, phoenix rain answered. originally, she thought she could no longer expect zero wings help since zero wings team was already strong enough to enter the library dungeon by itself. so, although she did not know what shi feng was trying to do, she still gladly accepted his suggestion. immediately, shi feng had shadow flower and purple eye follow phoenix rains original plan and enter the magic barrier with the dragon-phoenix pavilions team. Chapter 3624 - Chapter 698 - Might of Dragon Metamorphosis chapter 698 C might of dragon metamorphosis when phoenix rain and the others stepped into the barrier, minos suddenly opened his eyes. his eyes were covered with glowing runes, and just a glance from them caused the tier 5 players present to shudder and feel as if minos was staring directly at their souls. in addition, the mana minos radiated was vastly superior to ordinary tier 6 npcs, and everyone couldnt help but feel as if they were standing before a level 205, tier 6 god. my kin, according to the ancient agreement, if you want to enter this library and regain the lost power inside, you must first pass my trial, minos said in a dignified voice as he scanned the players before him. for ten minutes, you must try your best to survive my attacks. so long as half of you survive, you will have passed my test. in addition, the more of you who survive after ten minutes, the greater the privilege you will be granted once you enter the library. i hope you do not disappoint me. after saying so, minos removed his greatsword from his back and wielded it with both hands. activate the threefold mana sealing barrier! all tier 5s stay 300 yards away from minos! tanks, protect those who fall within 300 yards of minos! phoenix rain promptly issued commands one after another according to her original plan when she saw minos readying his weapon. based on the information they collected, minoss basic attributes were comparable to gods of the same level. so, under normal circumstances, any tier 5 player would almost certainly die if they got hit by any of his attacks. however, it was possible to rectify this problem by utilizing the mana sealing barrier, the strongest grandmaster barrier currently in the various superpowers possession that could suppress even tier 6 divine monsters. after stacking three mana sealing barriers, minos would be weakened just enough for tier 5 tanks to survive a hit. immediately, thirty-six dragon-phoenix pavilion members each took out a magic scroll made using dragon hide. then, they split into three groups of twelve to cast three identical barriers on minos, the barriers creating law chains that restrained minos and weakened his basic attributes and physique by 20%. good! when phoenix rain saw the threefold mana sealing barrier taking effect on minos, she promptly said to the level 210, tier 5 female elementalist beside her, summon your personal guard, blue! with minos having basic attributes that rivaled tier 6 gods, even tier 6 tanks would not dare to receive his attacks directly. not to mention, there were no tier 6 tanks in the dragon-phoenix pavilions team. fortunately, her subordinate, blue phoenix, had a tier 6 epic personal guard. moreover, the personal guard in question was a level 212, tier 6 guardian knight. he had much greater hp and defense than tier 6 players of the same level, and he was more than capable of surviving a few attacks from minos now that the latter was weakened. understood! upon hearing phoenix rains command, blue phoenix hurriedly took out a summon guard scroll from her bag. please wait a moment, guild leader phoenix, shadow flower suddenly interrupted. is something the matter, palace master flower? phoenix rain asked in a somewhat hurried tone. they were standing within 500 yards of minos. if a tier 6 god decided to launch an attack at this distance, the attack would connect almost instantly. so, any time wasted now could potentially lead to the teams annihilation. meanwhile, having blue phoenixs personal guard tank minos was part of the plan they had previously agreed on. purple eye and i wish to test our current standards, so can i trouble you to keep watch for the time being? shadow flower said as she turned to look at minos, a hint of expectation in her eyes. if we fail to resist minos and cause the team to incur casualties, we will promptly return to following your original plan. we will also surrender our share of entry slots for the library. following shadow flowers words, purple eye nodded in agreement. alright, then. but be careful. phoenix rain did not reject shadow flowers proposal. this was because it was indeed a tempting proposal. whenever a team successfully passed minoss trial, it would receive an entry pass that could let 100 players into the library dungeon. based on their previous partnership agreement, zero wing would receive 40 entry slots and 40% of the dungeons harvest for helping the dragon-phoenix pavilion in minoss trial. but going by shadow flowers proposal, should she and purple eye fail to deal with minos by themselves, the dragon-phoenix pavilion would gain the opportunity to monopolize the library dungeons harvest. and even if they did succeed, they would simply follow the previously agreed profit distribution. so, the dragon-phoenix pavilion could only stand to profit from this proposal. as for whether shadow flower and purple eye might come into any life-threatening danger from challenging minos by themselves, phoenix rain was confident she could save their lives if necessary. when shadow flower and purple eye received phoenix rains nod of approval, they immediately went into action. transforming into an afterimage, shadow flower vanished from where she stood and reappeared beside minos a second later. then, she began weaving her way around minos rapidly, leaving over a dozen afterimages in her wake as she poked at minos with her daggers one time after another. her speed was so fast that even phoenix rain had trouble keeping track of her. as for minos, although he promptly reacted and brandished his greatsword, he failed to do anything about shadow flower. shadow flower seemed to be able to see through all of his movements, never failing to dodge his attacks. in the meantime, purple eye silently waved her staff and summoned three tornadoes, each shredding the surrounding space and exhibiting power rivaling that of tier 6 curses. when all three tornadoes struck, even minos had to briefly pause his movements to keep his body stable. meanwhile, under shadow flowers constant harassment and purple eyes timely attacks, minos thoroughly got pinned in place. he did not have the leisure to target anyone else. an advanced silver fusion technique and triple tier 6 silent casting?! how are they managing this?! phoenix rain gaped in shock when she saw shadow flower and purple eyes performance. whether it was the advanced silver fusion technique or the triple tier 6 silent casting, neither were techniques that shadow flower and purple eye could execute previously. after all, had they been capable of such techniques, they would have wiped the floor with the flower of seven sins black players, who had been distracting them just now. in fact, if speaking purely in terms of techniques, they could already rank among the top five of the current ten saints. Chapter 3625 - Chapter 699 - Double Improvement? chapter 699 C double improvement? have their five senses been improved?! ji luorongs eyes sparkled when she saw shadow flower and purple eye fight minos. many powers had already challenged minos multiple times, so his information was widely known among the various powers. as a tier 6 hero, minos not only possessed basic attributes close to matching tier 6 gods, but he also possessed incredible intellect. in battle, he would almost always prioritize eliminating tier 5 players instead of wasting time on tier 6 players. even if tier 6 players tried to intercept him, minos would simply knock them out of the way before he continued slaughtering tier 5 players. hence, when the various powers teams challenged minoss trial, they would usually be met with annihilation. in fact, some teams couldnt even last a minute, let alone secure a b-rank rating. ji luorong also knew a little about shadow flower and purple eyes standards. even if the two now possessed basic attributes rivaling the ten saints, it would still be impossible for them to block minoss great sword. ji luorong had personally clashed with minos previously. while minoss swordsmanship might seem simple and predictable, his attack speed was incredibly high. even fourth-floor experts wouldnt necessarily be able to react to his attacks, let alone make preemptive judgments to dodge or deflect his attacks. yet, through their coordination, shadow flower and purple eye had successfully distracted minos for eight whole minutes already. the two never failed to evade minoss greatsword throughout these eight minutes. moreover, as if they had predicted all of his attacks, they could always launch a counterattack targeted toward his defensive blindspots after evading his attacks. they thoroughly rendered minos incapable of targeting anyone else on the team. in ji luorongs opinion, the only way shadow flower and purple eye could accomplish such a feat was if they had received a huge improvement in their five senses. there was no way their combat performance could have improved to such an extent if they only received an improvement in their basic attributes. meanwhile, an improvement to the five senses was undoubtedly something all expert players in gods domain dreamed of obtaining. an improvement to the five senses could not only allow players to learn combat techniques more easily, but it would also let them discover their own imperfections, which would, in turn, give them a clearer idea of how they could improve themselves. this was also why talented players in gods domain could improve so quickly. after advancing to tier 6, ji luorong knew she had already reached the limit she could achieve with her current circumstances. unless she received the outside worlds superior training system, it was almost impossible for her to further improve her combat standard. but now, the secret treasures shi feng had taken out allowed her to see a new possibility to further improve herself. meanwhile, noticing the excitement on ji luorongs face, shi feng chuckled and asked, so, are you interested in joining zero wing now, commander ji? due to their gods domains isolated state, few tier 6 experts existed. as a result, battles between tier 6 experts also happened very infrequently. if an expert lacked opponents of a similar caliber to spar with, they would have more difficulty discovering their imperfections. under such circumstances, aside from a few exceptional talents, it would be almost impossible for experts to reach the extrasensory realm. i have to say that your offer is very tempting, guild leader black flame, ji luorong said as she watched shadow flower and purple eyes battle against minos. then, she shook her head and continued, but the world gates opening is upon us, and many outside powers have set their eyes on our gods domain. even if zero wing can nurture ten saints-level experts, it remains a fact that zero wing has a very limited number of tier 6 experts. in addition, the flower of seven sins has connections with many powers in the outside world. even if zero wing can resist the flower of seven sins now, that is unlikely to be the case in the future. i do not wish to put my friends under such risk. if shi feng had taken out these secret treasures before he offended the flower of seven sins, ji luorong might have agreed to join zero wing. but shed have to be stupid to join zero wing now that shi feng had annihilated the sin of wraths tier 6 experts and started a never-ending feud with the flower of seven sins. after all, just as phoenix rain stated previously, even the ten saints would become insignificant when placed in the world outside their gods domain. even if zero wing could nurture ten or twenty ten saints-level experts, it would still be doomed once the world gate opened. not to mention, eternal glory was an adventurer team, a gathering of like-minded independent players. unlike guilds such as the dragon-phoenix pavilion, eternal glory did not need to occupy fixed territories to thrive. so long as they did not offend powerful existences, they could survive and thrive anywhere. it was completely unnecessary for eternal glory to risk joining zero wing to gain more strength. your concern is indeed a problem, commander ji. shi feng was not surprised by ji luorongs reply. chuckling, he asked, but what if shadow flower and purple eye can improve their strength even further? improve even further? ji luorong couldnt help but look at shi feng in confusion. may i know what you mean, guild leader black flame? shadow flower and purple eyes improvement was already incredibly astonishing. it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that they could now rank among the top five of the ten saints. so, ji luorong found it hard to believe there could be any more methods that could improve their strength even further. explaining it will be difficult. smiling, shi feng sent a document to ji luorong and said, its better if you take a look at it yourself. shi feng didnt just return with the dragons fury sets and behemoth sets. besides that, he also brought 100 copies of the bronze mana purification technique and 1,000 copies of the advanced mana purification technique. meanwhile, the document he shared with ji luorong was a documentation of the effects of the bronze mana purification technique. how can this be possible?! when ji luorong finished reading the document, disbelief filled her eyes. the bronze mana purification techniques effects were simply unheard of. after all, according to the document, if a tier 5 player successfully mastered the bronze mana purification technique, the strength of their mana could immediately rival tier 6 players. and if a tier 6 player mastered the technique, their mana could rival even tier 6 gods. mana was the foundation of all things in gods domain. for players, the stronger their mana, the stronger their skills and spells. if a tier 6 player could wield a tier 6 gods mana, they could probably reign supreme across their entire gods domain. youll know whether i am lying after you see its effects for yourself, commander ji, shi feng said, chuckling as he sent a message to shadow flower and purple eye. at this time, shadow flower and purple eye had already completed minoss trial and secured an s-rank rating for the dragon-phoenix pavilion team. they suddenly revealed an ecstatic look when they received shi fengs message. immediately, the two took out an ancient book from their bags. it was none other than the bronze mana purification technique that shi feng had secretly given to them before. without hesitation, they sat down and studied their respective copies. Chapter 3626 - Chapter 700 - Rivaling Gods! chapter 700 C rivaling gods! guild leader black flame, i dont know what happened with flower palace master and purple eye, but theyve chosen to stay in the barrier even after the trial has ended. if they still dont come out by the time the trial resets, theyll have to face a much more challenging trial than the team trial! after leaving the magic barrier, phoenix rain anxiously approached shi feng and informed him of shadow flower and purple eyes abrupt decision to remain within the barrier. at this point, phoenix rain had already seen zero wings value, and it far exceeded her expectations. this discovery also made her conclude that the dragon-phoenix pavilion must join zero wing! it absolutely must! minoss team trial was a huge headache, even for the various superpowers. it was so challenging that, even after partnering up with zero wing, phoenix rain initially felt that they would be fortunate if they could obtain a b-rank rating. although shadow flower and purple eye subsequently had their basic attribute improved to match the ten saints, even then, phoenix rain only felt that their team could secure an a-rank rating. however, the strength shadow flower and purple eye displayed had far exceeded phoenix rains expectations. it was so amazing that she couldnt help but think that the two could match a fifth-floor expert if they worked together. a fifth-floor expert! even in the world outside of their gods domain, experts of such caliber were incredibly rare. yet, zero wing could produce such experts on demand. with such a heaven-defying ability, even if zero wing ended up being suppressed by the outside worlds powers in the near future, it could still end up achieving a height far beyond the dragon-phoenix pavilions reach in the long run. meanwhile, because shadow flower and purple eye managed to distract minos for ten minutes and keep him from targeting anyone else, the dragon-phoenix pavilions team earned an s-rank rating in minoss trial. as a reward for their outstanding performance, their team received a temporary buff that increased 5% of all their attributes when inside the library dungeon and a detailed map of the dungeon. with this, it was more than possible for them to catch up to the five great super guilds progression, become the first team to conquer a team dungeon in the ruined temple, and receive the best pioneering reward! but all this could only happen under the precondition that shadow flower and purple eye remained alive in reality, minos offered two different types of trials. the first trial was known as the team trial. players could only challenge this trial in 100-man teams, and they only needed to survive ten minutes against minos. as for the second trial, it was known as the hero trial, and it would only activate when fewer than 100 players were present within minoss magic barrier. unlike the team trial, the hero trial did not have a time limit, and players needed to shave off 10% of minoss hp to pass it. moreover, players could not leave the trial until they passed it or got teamwiped. even worse, if players got annihilated inside the magic barrier, they would lose a level and couldnt recover any weapons and equipment they dropped on death. if shadow flower and purple eye were to lose their legendary weapons, their strength would plummet, and it would absolutely impact the library dungeon raid later on. dont worry, guild leader phoenix. looking at shadow flower and purple eye, shi feng explained to phoenix rain, they are only following my instructions. your instructions? phoenix rain couldnt help but look at shi feng in astonishment, unable to figure out his thoughts. it wasnt an exaggeration to say that minoss hero trial wasnt something players in their current gods domain could hope to challenge and succeed. after all, minos was an existence on par with tier 6 gods. even players ten levels higher than minos would face certain death if they tried to challenge him. currently, all known cases of players successfully killing tier 6 gods in their gods domain involve only tier 6 gods below level 180. moreover, these successful raids were all conducted by player teams with average levels at level 210 or above. if players wished to defeat minos, a level 205, tier 6 hero rivaling tier 6 gods of the same level, they would need at least a 100-man team of level 220, tier 6 players. otherwise, theyd simply be asking for death. secret treasures might be able to enhance a players combat standards and improve their growth speed, but it is still not enough to let the players of our gods domain match the outside worlds apex experts. i am sure you understand this, guild leader phoenix, shi feng said. then, he pointed at shadow flower and purple eye, who had their eyes closed and were in deep thought, and continued, when i said i could let you match the outside worlds apex experts by joining zero wing, i wasnt joking. now, i will have them show you what i mean. the ability of secret treasures to accelerate a players growth could indeed tempt phoenix rain and ji luorong to join zero wing. however, if zero wing wanted to win over the dragon-phoenix pavilion and eternal glory, zero wing would need to convince them with its existing strength. otherwise, it would be very difficult to get them to take the risk of joining zero wing. match the outside worlds apex experts? when phoenix rain heard shi fengs words, she couldnt help but look at shadow flower and purple eye with a curious gaze. while phoenix rain had never personally interacted with any of the outside worlds apex experts, she had still heard some bits of information about them. even the weakest of these apex experts were existences capable of rivaling tier 6 gods of the same level. meanwhile, such existences would typically be equipped with legendary weapons and legendary equipment sets, their combat standards would have reached the fifth-floor standard, and some would have even mastered one or multiple gold combat techniques. if she had to be honest, the gap between herself and these apex existences was massive, and it definitely wasnt something a dragons fury set could make up for. at this time, ji luorong had also focused her attention on shadow flower and purple eye, curious to see how much the two could improve after learning the bronze mana purification technique. after phoenix rain and ji luorong waited for twenty minutes, minos announced the rules of the hero trial to shadow flower and purple eye before readying his greatsword once more. at the same time, shadow flower and purple eye finally opened their eyes. immediately, everyone outside the magic barrier felt two mighty sources of mana descend upon them, making them feel like an invisible mountain had just fallen onto their shoulders and causing the space around them to tremble. when subjected to the presence of this mana, all of the tier 5 experts present also found themselves suffocating. is this supposed to be mana? when fiery heart felt the mana enveloping her, she couldnt help but question her knowledge about mana. after all, the mana enveloping her completely differed from the mana she recognized. not only was it as dense as lead, but it was also continuously corroding and reshaping the surrounding space to adapt to itself. however, before those outside the barrier could pay closer attention to the frightening mana enveloping them, minos had already executed an attack on shadow flower and purple eye. with a swing of his greatsword, minos sent a sword light as bright and scorching as the sun in the direction of shadow flower and purple eye. the sword light was a product of dimensional holy slash, a tier 6 skill, and minos had executed it without holding back any strength. if a tier 6 tank tried to block the attack without a tier 6 lifesaving skill active, they would likely die on the spot. meanwhile, upon seeing this attack, purple eye raised her staff and summoned a tornado shrouded in black lightning arcs before her and shadow flower. boom! when minoss sword light collided with purple eyes lightning tornado, a powerful explosion occurred, and the sound waves reached well over 10,000 yards away. immediately afterward, both sword light and tornado disappeared, and minos and purple eye each could be seen stumbling a step backward from the generated shockwave. at a glance, the two were evenly matched Chapter 3627 - Chapter 701 - Sealed Expansion Pack chapter 701 C sealed expansion pack s-she blocked it! she actually blocked it! when the spectating crowd saw that similar to minos, purple eye had only stumbled a step backward, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded. phoenix rain and ji luorong were especially shocked, the two staring at purple eye with their mouths agape. as individuals who had personally clashed with minos before, they knew exactly how frightening minos could be when using skills. previously, even after receiving a qualitative boost to their basic attributes, shadow flower and purple eye would always preemptively interrupt minoss skills. they never dared to let him fully activate his skills, as theyd have no way of blocking them. but now, purple eye managed to block minoss skill all by herself. she even came out evenly matched in the exchange. it was simply unbelievable. has she fully mastered it already? shi feng was similarly surprised when he saw purple eye blocking minoss skill. normally, the bronze mana purification technique wasnt something that could be adopted at a moments notice. even after players learned how to apply the technique, getting used to their manas transformation would still take some time. however, purple eyes current performance clearly showed that she had already grasped her new mana well. otherwise, there was no way she could have exhibited power at the standard of tier 6 gods with her tier 6 spell storm torrent. while everyone outside the barrier was still in awe over purple eyes performance, shadow flower transformed into a blur as she charged at minos. then, as soon as she reached the tier 6 hero, she split into a hundred copies of herself and began attacking minos from all directions. in response, minos rapidly brandished his greatsword, generating blinding sparks all around him as he blocked shadow flowers daggers one time after another. however, despite his strong defense, many of shadow flowers attacks still managed to slip by and strike him directly, causing his hp to plummet steadily. is this the power of the bronze mana purification technique? ji luorong was shocked beyond words as she watched purple eye and shadow flowers performance. although the information shi feng shared with her already stated that the bronze mana purification technique could enhance tier 6 players mana to match that of tier 6 gods, she still couldnt help but be shocked when she saw the techniques effects with her own eyes. it should be known that shadow flowers and purple eyes levels were only slightly higher than minos; there wasnt even a 10-level gap. yet, they were already strong enough to trade blows with minos. if news of this spread, it would shake the entire gods domain. it was universally recognized that tier 6 gods were invincible against players of the same level. players could only defeat a tier 6 god by relying on level suppression. this was also the only viable method the various superpowers had to deal with tier 6 gods. but now, shadow flower and purple eye were strong enough to single-handedly deal with a tier 6 god without having to rely on level suppression. in their current states, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that they were matchless in gods domain. even those two old monsters from the five great super guilds would most likely hesitate to trade blows with them directly. most importantly, zero wing could mass-produce experts like shadow flower and purple eye is this result to your satisfaction? these are the benefits zero wing is offering to its internal members. if you join zero wing, you, too, will get to enjoy them, shi feng said to phoenix rain and ji luorong. also, these benefits arent just limited to tier 6 members. tier 5 members can also receive secret treasures and mana purification techniques, albeit of a slightly inferior quality. even so, they can still gain tier 6 combat power. even tier 5 members can receive these benefits? phoenix rain was surprised. she could more or less accept the situation if zero wing only provided its secret treasures and mana purification techniques to its tier 6 members. after all, the secret treasures and mana purification techniques that could elevate shadow flower and purple eye to such a standard were bound to be limited in quantity. it would already be incredible if zero wing could allow every one of its tier 6 members to have a set of these items. but now, shi feng was saying that even tier 5 members could get their hands on these secret treasures and mana purification techniques. while tier 5 players werent everywhere in gods domain, they still existed in large numbers. every superpower would have no trouble taking out several hundred tier 5 players. in the dragon-phoenix pavilions case, it could easily take out 500 tier 5 players. if the dragon-phoenix pavilion could equip each of these 500 tier 5 players with secret treasures and mana purification techniques, even if these items were lower quality, it would still be enough to let the pavilion rule over gods domain with an iron fist. after all, there shouldnt be more than a hundred players with tier 6 combat power in the current gods domain. a force of 500 tier 6 combatants would be enough to beat up all of gods domains superpowers. okay. eternal glory is willing to join zero wing! ji luorong answered without hesitation. truth be told, she was a little frightened by the strength shadow flower and purple eye had just displayed. at the same time, she somewhat understood why first-rate guilds like the hundred flower palace, the star alliance, and mysterious moon were willing to join zero wing. with the strength shadow flower and purple eye currently possessed, the flower of seven sins would have great difficulty dealing with even one of them. not to mention, zero wing could produce even more experts of such caliber. with such an ability, it would only be a matter of time before zero wing surpassed the five great super guilds in all aspects. if all of what you say is true, i can agree on the dragon-phoenix pavilions behalf in joining zero wing immediately, guild leader black flame, phoenix rain said after seeing ji luorong agreeing to have eternal glory join zero wing. i will complete all the transfer procedures within a week. at that time, all of the pavilions tier 5 and tier 6 experts will report to zero wings main headquarters. even before seeing the mana purification techniques effects, phoenix rain was already convinced by the secret treasures effects to join zero wing. it was just that she would need some time to convince the dragon-phoenix pavilions former guild leader and the heavenly dragon pavilions pavilion master. however, after seeing the bronze mana purification techniques effects, phoenix rain knew that she no longer needed to waste time convincing anybody. with the current benefits zero wing was offering, so long as it gave the word, a ton of powers and experts would come running to join it. at that time, the dragon-phoenix pavilion might not even be able to join zero wing. in that case, lets sign a gods domain contract right away, then. as for the matters regarding the merger, you can talk to shadow flower and purple eye about that. they will tell you everything you need to know, shi feng said as he retrieved two gods domain contracts from his bag. honestly, shi feng didnt care whether the dragon-phoenix pavilion or eternal glory joined zero wing. so long as phoenix rain and ji luorong joined, whether the rest of the dragon-phoenix pavilion and eternal glory joined was inconsequential. a moment later, shi feng, phoenix rain, and ji luorong finished signing their respective contracts. according to their contracts, phoenix rain and ji luorong would officially join zero wing on behalf of their respective powers, and they would also promise to merge their respective powers into zero wing, completing all transfer procedures within a week. in return, shi feng would need to supply the two of them with secret treasures and mana purification techniques ahead of time. regarding this, shi feng gladly fulfilled his side of the contract, handing phoenix rain and ji luorong each a dragons fury set and a copy of the bronze mana purification technique. in addition, he also supplied each of the tier 5 experts present with a behemoth set and a copy of the advanced mana purification technique, making it easier for them to raid the library dungeon later on. while the dragon-phoenix pavilions members and ji luorong were busy attaching their secret treasures and learning their mana purification techniques, the battle inside the magic barrier concluded. although minos possessed basic attributes rivaling tier 6 gods of the same level, shadow flower and purple eye still had no trouble shaving off 10% of his hp when working together. at the same time as shadow flower and purple eye passed the hero trial, a system announcement rang across gods domain. system announcement: a group of players has successfully passed the ruined temples hero trial, lifting the seal on the sealed expansion pack ancient glory. all taboo mode dungeons in gods domain will be activated. system announcement: the sealed expansion pack will take one natural day to unseal. all players will be logged out in one hour. Chapter 3628 - Chapter 702 - Taboo Mode Dungeon chapter 702 C taboo mode dungeon someone cleared the hero trial? whats going on? didnt they say that the hero trial is impossible to clear? taboo mode dungeons? what the heck are those? could they be dungeons of a higher rank than god mode dungeons? seeing as youre asking such a question, youre probably the type who rarely sets foot into libraries, right? well, for your information, all of the weapons and equipment that we obtain from team dungeons in gods domain have a level limit of 200. even fragmented legendary items are capped at level 200. meanwhile, taboo mode dungeons are places that drop level 200-plus weapons and equipment. crap! isnt that amazing?! i dont even have a single fragmented legendary item until now. if i can get myself a level 205 epic item, wouldnt that mean id have something better than a fragmented legendary item?! following the system announcement, the various official forums across gods domain exploded with activity. although everyone was initially bewildered by the announcement, they quickly grew ecstatic over the news. they also couldnt help but wonder who were the players responsible for clearing the hero trial. this was because the conquerors of the hero trial had essentially started a new era in gods domain. following this new expansion pack, the status quo in gods domain would see unprecedented changes. this day would definitely go down in gods domains history. while the general masses were celebrating the new expansion pack, the various powers were frantically looking into the identities of the players behind this expansion pack. after all, these players had conquered the hero trial that was previously deemed impossible to clear. in fact, no more than thirty seconds after the system announcement, the five great super guilds had already placed a bounty for the hero trials conquerors, offering as many as five pieces of fragmented legendary equipment for the conquerors identities. as for their goal, it was simple. it was to verify whether these players knew any detailed information pertaining to the taboo mode dungeons that would appear following the expansion pack. if they could get their hands on this information, they could immediately start raiding these taboo mode dungeons once they appeared. however, although the five great super guilds bounty tempted many players, nobody managed to uncover any information about the players who cleared the hero trial. in the meantime, outside the ancient library in the ruined temples library area: taboo mode dungeons? shi feng was similarly stunned by the system announcement. he never thought clearing the hero trial would lead to the activation of taboo mode dungeons in his home gods domain. the term taboo mode dungeon was not uncommon in the greater gods domain. in fact, many powers were very familiar with the term. meanwhile, when one thought of taboo mode dungeons, one would immediately think of the twelve sanctuaries. although the greater gods domain was vast, the weapons and equipment produced in most realms could only reach level 200. indeed! even in the greater gods domain, most weapons and equipment had a level limit of 200. even fragmented legendary items were not an exception. it was just that their level limit was not clearly indicated. however, so long as players with fragmented legendary items leveled past 200, they would realize that no matter how much they leveled up, their fragmented legendary items basic attributes would no longer increase with their levels. this was also one of the factors contributing to the difficulty of leveling past level 200 for players. once players reached level 200, they would no longer receive exp when killing monsters of the same level or lower. they would even stop receiving exp from quests below the legendary rank. while this wouldnt necessarily be a problem if monsters similarly stopped growing, the problem was that monsters did continue to gain basic attributes past level 200. meanwhile, with players having their weapons and equipment restricted to level 200, this made it difficult for ordinary experts to kill level 205 monsters. as for experts fully equipped with fragmented legendary items, although they could still cope against monsters up to level 210, they would similarly hit a wall when facing level 215-plus monsters. as a result, even among the various powers tier 6 executives, few could reach level 215, and most would hover around level 210. of course, it would be a different story if players owned legendary items. this was because the hidden level limit of legendary weapons and equipment was level 220. hence, any player equipped with a few legendary weapons and equipment in the greater gods domain could generally reach level 220 and above, with some having even reached level 230 already. in shi fengs previous life, it wasnt until after he entered the greater gods domain that he understood the value of weapons and equipment that could level past level 200. an individual piece of level 210 epic equipment was easily worth more than a fragmented legendary item. if it was a level 210 epic equipment set, it was enough to cause even the executives of the greater gods domains various powers to grow envious. after all, legendary weapons and equipment remained incredibly rare in the greater gods domain. meanwhile, the primary place players could obtain level 200-plus weapons and equipment was taboo mode dungeons. only, taboo mode dungeons were exceedingly rare in the greater gods domain, and only the twelve sanctuaries were certain to have them. this was also why the greater gods domains various powers sought to establish a foothold in the twelve sanctuaries. since there was no reliable way to obtain legendary weapons and equipment in large quantities, if the various powers wished to develop their strength, they could only try to obtain level 200-plus weapons and equipment from taboo mode dungeons. after all, dungeons were known to be places that could produce weapons and equipment at a fixed rate. hence, everyone sought to monopolize a taboo mode dungeon, which, in turn, led to many wars being waged in the twelve sanctuaries. shi feng never thought that taboo mode dungeons would be hidden in his home gods domain. if news of this reached the greater gods domain, he couldnt even begin to imagine what would happen to this place. it seems i need to grow zero wings strength even quicker now. when shi feng thought about the soon-to-open world gate, he immediately decided to accelerate his plans. once the world gate opened and news of his home gods domain having taboo mod dungeons spread, the greater gods domains various powers would send droves of tier 6 players to occupy his home gods domain. even the fact that these tier 6 players would be weakened after entering his home gods domain likely wouldnt be enough to deter these powers. subsequently, time passed quickly. after everyone in gods domain was forcibly logged out and the ancient glory expansion pack started to take effect, several shocking pieces of news appeared across gods domains various official forums. firstly, blood sand, the commander of the flower of seven sins sin of wrath, had abruptly declared war on zero wing. he had also placed an internal bounty on zero wings members, offering to pay five units of seven luminaries crystal for each internal member of zero wing. the offer was unprecedented, and countless red players eagerly sought to assassinate zero wings internal members right away. besides blood sands bounty, phoenix rain, the guild leader of the dragon-phoenix pavilion, suddenly announced the dissolution of the dragon-phoenix pavilion, and all members of the pavilion would be transferred into zero wing. at the same time, ji luorong, the commander of the top adventurer team eternal glory, also announced she would join zero wing with all of her adventurer teams members. in no time, zero wing, a guild that had been relatively unknown before, suddenly became the center of attention in gods domain. Chapter 3629 - Chapter 703 - Gods Domain Shaken chapter 703 C gods domain shaken zero wing? what is this guild? what kind of background does it have? not only did it provoke a bounty from the flower of seven sins, but it even got the dragon-phoenix pavilion and eternal glory to join it! could it be a new guild established by an international corporation? even international corporations shouldnt have that kind of strength. after all, that is the dragon-phoenix pavilion we are talking about. it has multiple powerful corporations backing it. it shouldnt need any more corporations to support it. indeed. i also heard that eternal glorys commander ji luorong got promoted to tier 6 not long ago. even when ji luorong was still at tier 5, she already dared to disrespect the blackwater corporation. yet, she has now chosen to join a no-name guild. it is truly inconceivable. i just did some digging into zero wing. it seems its being led by a second-rate guilds former guild leader. it first appeared in the miniature ancient world and is currently thriving there. some time ago, even first-rate guilds like the hundred flower palace and the star alliance had chosen to merge into it. so, i guess you can say it is quite a strong guild. even so, the dragon-phoenix pavilion and eternal glory are still crazy to join zero wing at this juncture. the flower of seven sins is offering five units of seven luminaries crystal for each of zero wings internal members. this is already enough to tempt the various powers tier 5 experts, let alone tier 5 red players. this is undoubtedly a great opportunity to earn some seven luminaries crystals for the tier 6 promotion. when the news surrounding zero wing spread on the official forums, many players couldnt help but wonder about zero wings background. not only did this new guild assimilate multiple first-rate guilds, but it even managed to swallow up a superpower like the dragon-phoenix pavilion and a top adventurer team with three tier 6 experts like eternal glory. after assimilating so many powers, zero wing could already be regarded as an overlord in gods domain. of course, now that zero wing had somehow offended the flower of seven sins, everyone could already foresee that this new overlord would soon cease to exist in gods domain. meanwhile, inside the top-floor vip room of a hundred-story hotel in the real world there was a round table placed in the middle of the spacious room, and over a dozen figures sat around the table. some individuals wore cloaks to hide their appearances, and some appeared in holographic form. these individuals also varied in age and gender, and quite a few of them were executives of superpowers. among these individuals, one of them was illusory words, the second vice guild leader of the superpower crimson emperor and one of gods domains ten great clerics. another of these individuals was the invincible spear lifeless thorn, and he was currently ranked number one on gods domains black player list! every one of these individuals had almost nothing in common in gods domain, but they all shared one common characteristic here. they were all tier 6 players! everyone gathered in this room was a bona fide tier 6 expert in gods domain. among them, the leader of this gathering was an old man over a hundred years old. although the old man was just sitting there, everyone in the room felt oppressed simply by being in his presence. even three-star mental strength masters would break out in a cold sweat. the old man was one of gods domains hidden old monsters. he was from the same era as the five great super guilds old monsters, so very few people knew his true name. however, he had cultivated many experts who were widely known throughout gods domain. among the old mans students, the most famous would have to be flowing cloud, the current top one of the ten saints and a level 226 holy warrior! outside of the two old monsters from the five great super guilds, flowing cloud was also publicly acknowledged as the strongest player in gods domain. in the past, flowing cloud single-handedly wiped the floor with an empire with his saber, causing netherworld empire, one of the five great super guilds, to back off. it was also for this reason the tier 6 experts present in the vip room greatly feared the old man. according to flowing cloud, he never managed to defeat the old man in a duel. moreover, all of his defeats ended within ten moves. everyone couldnt even begin to imagine how strong the old man was if even the strongest of the ten saints couldnt last ten moves against him. phoenix rain! dont you think youve gone too far?! looking at phoenix rain, who sat in the sixth seat, the old man coldly said, have you forgotten why i established this tier 6 alliance in the first place? i did it so that you all can have a place to survive once the world gate opens! yet, you want to give the dragon-phoenix pavilion away? we already promised them three empires and twelve kingdoms once the world gate opens. how are we supposed to give them an account on this? the atmosphere in the room reached a freezing point following the old mans words. is zero wing that great of a guild, little sister rain? is it really worth you giving up the entire dragon-phoenix pavilion and your future in the greater gods domain? illusory words, who sat beside phoenix rain, asked, her voice giving off a healing feeling. when illusory words finished speaking, everyone else in the room also turned to look at phoenix rain curiously. out of everyone here, phoenix rain could be said to be the strongest supporter of the tier 6 alliance. she was also among the most knowledgeable regarding the greater gods domain in this room. in fact, many of the individuals present had only joined the tier 6 alliance because of phoenix rains invitation. so, everyone was greatly surprised when they learned of phoenix rains decision to hand the dragon-phoenix pavilion to zero wing. it isnt a matter of whether it is worth it, phoenix rain said, sighing as she swept her gaze across the people around the table. instead, joining zero wing is the best option. if it was before her encounter with shi feng, phoenix rain would have felt that the tier 6 alliance was the dragon-phoenix pavilions only option. after all, the tier 6 alliance had over a dozen tier 6 experts. with such a force at their disposal, even the greater gods domains various powers would have to more or less show them some respect. but after her meeting with shi feng, phoenix rain could only think of the tier 6 alliance as nothing more than a joke. is zero wing that strong? do you think it can remain unfazed even when making an enemy out of all of us here? the old man suddenly asked in a cold voice. Chapter 3630 - Chapter 704 - Phoenix Rains Choice chapter 704 C phoenix rains choice redstone hotel, top-floor vip room: upon hearing the old mans question, everyone at the table couldnt help but gaze toward phoenix rain. among them, illusory words, a vice guild leader of crimson emperor, couldnt help but grow worried as she looked at her good friend phoenix rain. rain, stop angering elder mist any further illusory words whispered to phoenix rain. most of the people present only knew the old man as the tier 6 alliances founder. however, as a vice guild leader of crimson emperor, a veteran super guild, illusory words was well aware of the old mans true identity. the old man went by the name of hidden mist in gods domain, and he was one of the founding elders of mythology, one of the five great super guilds! if not for hidden mist having a falling out with another founding elder and withdrawing from mythology many years ago, mythology would have long become the strongest guild in the world rather than just one of the five strongest. meanwhile, throughout the years hidden mist had operated behind the scenes, not only did he nurture many famous experts, but he also gained the full support of more than ten corporations. it was also due to the financial support of these corporations that the dragon-phoenix pavilion could have its current strength, and the many tier 6 experts present could have the legendary equipment currently in their possession. if phoenix rain angered hidden mist, she could lose her standing in gods domain and the dragon-phoenix pavilion. it should be known that the dragon-phoenix pavilions experts didnt just sign a gods domain contract with the pavilion. they had also signed a gods domain contract with the corporations backing it. hence, even if the dragon-phoenix pavilion disbanded and merged into zero wing, unless the pavilions many experts wished to lose their existing weapons and equipment, they would still need to listen to the arrangements of those corporations. if it were a few years ago, phoenix rain would have indeed had the final say in all matters in the dragon-phoenix pavilion. this was because the corporations that supported the pavilion also supported phoenix rain. however, after the corporations behind hidden mist had invested in the dragon-phoenix pavilion, phoenix rain could no longer decide the fate of the pavilions many experts all by herself. i know you are striving to secure a better future for our native tier 6 experts, elder mist, phoenix rain said calmly. but dont you think it is a little too much to ask all of us here to surrender half of our territories and sign a lifetime contract to obey those people? and what do we get in return? some security and the ability to enter the greater gods domain? on the other hand, if we join zero wing, while we might not be able to resist the outside powers right away, we wont have any trouble defending our existing territories. as we gain more and more tier 6 experts, we can even expand our reach to the outside world. in reality, there were two reasons phoenix rain had chosen to attend the tier 6 alliances meeting today. firstly, it was to announce her transfer to zero wing. secondly, it was to recruit some experts to join zero wing with her. that way, she could have more influence in zero wing. i dont blame you for having such thoughts, but that is simply because you dont understand how strong the outside powers are, hidden mist said, sighing as he looked at phoenix rain. then, resolutely, he continued, if you insist on joining zero wing, i wont stop you. however, you are not allowed to take any part of the dragon-phoenix pavilion with you. you will also have to announce your retirement as the pavilions guild leader, and nine dragons emperor will take your position. otherwise, you and your confidants will have to surrender all of the weapons and equipment you have gained because of the corporations and compensate the corporations for all the potions and resources they have supplied to you! following hidden mists words, nine dragons emperor, who was in his late thirties and seated in the eighth seat, stood up with a smile. phoenix rain doesnt hold absolute authority in the dragon-phoenix pavilion, elder mist. i can persuade the shareholders and grand elders to relieve her of her position, nine dragons emperor said to hidden mist before glancing at phoenix rain. also, phoenix rains weapons and equipment arent her personal belongings. those are legendary equipment gained through countless sacrifices from the dragon-phoenix pavilions experts. phoenix rain can leave the pavilion, but she must surrender all of her legendary equipment and fragmented legendary items first. upon hearing nine dragons emperors words, many of those present couldnt help but look at phoenix rain with some sympathy. nine dragons emperor had always been dissatisfied with working under phoenix rain as a vice guild leader of the dragon-phoenix pavilion. in addition, he had the support of nearly half of the pavilions members. if he were to take the initiative to persuade the pavilions shareholders and grand elders, with the support of the corporations behind hidden mist, he could indeed deprive phoenix rains authority and confiscate her items. meanwhile, once phoenix rain lost her legendary equipment, even if she was a tier 6 expert, it would be long before she could make any waves in gods domain. her value to zero wing would also plummet. nine dragons emperor! how can you do this to your guild leader?! illusory words, seated in the fourth seat, said with a frown. the new expansion pack is just about to launch, and it is the best time for us to make further improvements before the world gate opens! are you trying to eliminate rain completely by having her surrender all her items now?! this is her decision. i didnt force her into it, nine dragons emperor said contemptuously. if she doesnt want such a fate, she can always choose not to join zero wing and continue being the dragon-phoenix pavilions guild leader. you! illusory words glared at nine dragons emperor, a flame of wrath burning in her eyes. hidden mist merely sought to dissuade phoenix rain from leaving the tier 6 alliance, yet nine dragons emperor sought to take her life. i can surrender my position as guild leader. i can also return all of the weapons and equipment the corporations have given me and compensate the corporations for the potions and resources i have used. however, i will not hand over the guild towns and real estate under my name, phoenix rain said firmly to hidden mist. are you truly going to destroy all of your effort and future for zero wing? hidden mist asked in a colder tone. i have already made a promise to guild leader black flame, phoenix rain said with a casual smile. she paid no attention whatsoever to the change in hidden mists tone. gods domains various guild and npc cities were necessary to pay for a guilds operating costs. if zero wing wished to develop rapidly in their gods domain, the guild must have some real estate in the various guild and npc cities. it was also the bottom line she had set for herself in her partnership with shi feng. if she couldnt even keep this bottom line, shed be too ashamed to occupy a vice guild leader position in zero wing. good! you best not regret your decision! hidden mist said as he took one last look at phoenix rain. take your leave, then. the tier 6 alliance still has other important matters to discuss. hearing this, phoenix rain got out of her seat and took her leave without hesitation, her actions surprising many present. they never thought phoenix rain would be willing to abandon her position as the dragon-phoenix pavilions guild leader, discarding many years of her effort. meanwhile, following phoenix rains departure, nine dragons emperor smiled even more jovially than before. in reality, nine dragons emperor and hidden mist had been the ones to initiate the abrupt meeting today. meanwhile, apart from questioning phoenix rain, the meeting was held to discuss an even more important subjectthe powers outside their gods domain. more specifically, after learning of their gods domains most recent expansion pack, the outside powers have decided they would forcibly send a batch of players to their gods domain to compete for the taboo dungeons. phoenix rains departure from the tier 6 alliance today would thoroughly eliminate any opportunities she had to make a comeback in gods domain! tl notes: [1]veteran super guild: im not sure if this description of crimson emperor is accurate. in the main story, crimson emperor was described as a veteran super-first-rate guild. it might have advanced into a super guild at some point, though. Chapter 3631 - Chapter 705 - Outside Powers Arrive chapter 705 C outside powers arrive gods domain, ruined mountain range: after waiting for one natural day, many players promptly logged back into gods domain. in addition, many powers and independent experts swarmed to the ruined temple with their respective teams, causing the originally crowded place to become even more crowded. is that the taboo mode dungeon mentioned in the ancient glory expansion pack? so, this is the first taboo mode dungeon?! i cant believe there are two level 220, tier 6 hero npcs guarding its entrance! just how powerful are the monsters inside?! i heard that this taboo mode dungeon was originally a level 210 god mode team dungeon in the ruined temple, so its difficulty should be above god mode. many expert players continued to gather in front of the ruined library in the ruined temples library area. when these experts saw the 1,000-meter-tall sealed crimson portal at the librarys entrance, they couldnt help but be shocked. in gods domain, most team dungeons entrance portals would only be several meters in height. even 500-man team dungeons would only have their entrance portals measure about a dozen meters in height. this was everyones first time seeing a team dungeon with a 1,000-meter-tall entrance portal. although a team dungeons entrance portal wouldnt necessarily reflect its difficulty, everyone present could clearly feel the oppressive mana radiating from the ruined librarys portal. the radiated mana was so oppressive that many players found themselves suffocated. it felt as if they werent standing before an inanimate portal but a living creature instead. more specifically, it felt like they stood before a tier 6 god. because of this, tier 5 players found it difficult to even get close to the portal. while everyone was observing the dungeons entrance, a tier 5 ranger suddenly exclaimed, quick, look! its the five great super guilds teams! subsequently, the crowd gathered in the fountain plaza before the ruined library could be seen stepping aside to make way for a 100-man team. the guild emblems worn by the members of this team consisted of five types, indicating that this was a team formed by five guilds. of the members of this team, even the weakest was a tier 5 expert radiating an aura that could closely match the average tier 6 expert, and even the weakest piece of equipment found on this player was at the fragmented legendary rank. in addition, there were as many as 50 bona fide tier 6 experts in this team, and every one of them was equipped with at least one piece of legendary equipment. when these 50 tier 6 players stood together, ordinary tier 5 experts dared not stand anywhere near them. as expected of the five great super guilds. they can actually afford to mobilize 50 tier 6 experts to this dungeon. this is probably as many tier 6 experts as all other powers have combined. it seems i have severely underestimated them in the past, ji luorong, who had just come online, couldnt help but be astonished as she looked at the team the five great super guilds had sent to raid the taboo mode dungeon. fifty tier 6 experts. that averages to ten per guild. no wonder even veteran super guilds dare not provoke the five great super guilds, crimson mist said with a hint of fear in her eyes. thankfully, we never seriously offended any of them in the past. otherwise, we really would have been erased from gods domain. the five great super guilds have occupied most of our gods domains resources, so its unsurprising for them to have such a foundation, shi feng said, not particularly surprised by the five great super guilds strength. in his previous life, because he had activated the world gate quite a few years in advance, the various powers had to interact with the greater gods domain before they could develop strong foundations. as a result, they barely had any tier 6 experts and had a very hard time surviving through the initial phase of the world gates opening. however, in the current timeline, the five great super guilds had already been operating in gods domain for ten years. they would have to be wasting the resources they had been occupying if they couldnt even produce 50 tier 6 experts after all these years. do you think we can secure the first clear, guild leader? ji luorong worriedly asked as she looked at the partially unsealed entrance portal. team dungeon raids placed a heavy emphasis on a teams overall strength. meanwhile, even if they included all of the dragon-phoenix pavilions and eternal glorys tier 6 members, zero wing would only have ten tier 6 experts. even if all ten of these tier 6 experts possessed strength surpassing the ten saints, it shouldnt be enough to bridge the gap between zero wings team and the five great super guilds team. not to mention, only two of eternal glorys tier 6 experts were present. crimson mask, another vice commander of eternal glory, was occupied with a quest and couldnt make it for the raid. it should be known that zero wing was responsible for activating the taboo mode ruined library. itd be a huge embarrassment for zero wing if the five great super guilds ended up securing the ruined librarys first clear. just as ji luorong finished speaking, another commotion occurred in the fountain plaza. before anyone could react, a mighty pressure descended upon everyone in the plaza, making everyone feel like the sky was falling. boom subsequently, the 100,000-plus tier 5 experts in the plaza started to collapse to the ground one after another. although a small minority of tier 5 experts managed to stay standing, their complexions had turned extremely pale. this how is this possible?! ji luorong couldnt believe her eyes as she looked in the plazas direction. at this time, a team of 100 tier 6 experts could be seen walking across the plaza. every member of this team was equipped with a fragmented legendary equipment set, and they were all at level 215 and above. in addition, even the weakest radiated an aura stronger than the ten saints. who are these people? at this time, even the five great super guilds experts were in great shock. not only had they never seen or heard of any of these 100 tier 6 experts before, but these players also wore a never-before-seen three-eyed guild emblem. meanwhile, shortly after this 100-man tier 6 team appeared, another 100-man team arrived at the plaza. although this 100-man team did not radiate as strong of an aura as the team with the three-eyed emblem, it similarly had 100 tier 6 experts equipped with a uniform fragmented legendary equipment set. the team did not look like it was from any power in gods domain. what is going on? where did all these tier 6 experts come from? crimson mist muttered, confusion coloring her eyes as she looked at the two tier 6 teams. i know every power that has a tier 6 expert, but i have never heard of any guild having 100 tier 6 experts meanwhile, after observing the two teams for a while, shi feng said, they should be from powers outside of our gods domain. Chapter 3632 - Chapter 706 - Difference Between Powers? chapter 706 C difference between powers? outside powers? when ji luorong heard shi fengs answer, she couldnt help but look at the two tier 6 teams in the plaza with renewed shock. is this the strength of the powers outside our gods domain? ji luorong did not doubt shi fengs statement. after all, she had never seen or heard of any of the 200 level 215-plus, tier 6 experts who had just arrived at the plaza. not to mention, shi feng had a much better understanding regarding the powers outside of their gods domain than even phoenix rain. since shi feng had deemed these two tier 6 teams to be from an outside power, it should almost certainly be the case. only, werent these outside powers a little too frightening?! a hundred tier 6 experts! this was a number that could already match the total number of tier 6 experts that existed in their entire gods domain. yet, each of the two outside powers that had shown up here had arrived with a hundred tier 6 experts. moreover, even the weakest of these tier 6 experts could rival the ten saints in strength wouldnt our gods domain be finished once the world gate opens, guild leader black flame? purple eye asked nervously as she looked at the 200 tier 6 foreign experts in the plaza. while purple eye was confident she could win a fight against any of these foreign tier 6 experts thanks to her secret treasure set and mana purification technique, the other party had an overwhelming number of tier 6 experts. she doubted she could escape with her life if she had to go up against such overwhelming odds. needless to say, the chances of the average native tier 6 expert surviving against these foreign experts were even lower. it should be known that the world gate remained closed thus far, and the outside worlds players still couldnt freely enter their gods domain. yet, the outside worlds powers could already dispatch such an invincible force into their gods domain. at this point, purple eye couldnt even begin to imagine what would happen once the world gate opened, and the outside worlds players could freely enter their gods domain. how were any of their gods domains powers supposed to survive? dont worry. seeing the anxiety on purple eye, shi feng explained, as a protection mechanism for native players, every gods domain will suppress all non-native players who enter it, and the higher a players tier, the stronger the suppression they will face. so, while these foreign tier 6 experts might have powerful auras, their basic attributes are actually much weaker than the average tier 6 player. theyre just slightly stronger than tier 5 players and can only be considered as pseudo-tier 6 players. moreover, foreign tier 6 players cannot manipulate the mana inside our gods domain; they can only utilize their own mana. if you were to fight them, you can easily take on a hundred of them by yourself. every gods domain came with a powerful protection mechanism for its native players. this mechanism existed to maximize the survival rate of civilizations newly introduced to the greater gods domain and allow everyone to climb to the apex. or, at the very least, it could ensure a civilization wouldnt get eliminated as soon as it was introduced to the greater gods domain. of course, there were always exceptions. if a power destroyed a gods domain directly, the players and powers inhabiting said gods domain would immediately cease to exist. only, very few powers possessed such frightening strength in the greater gods domain. meanwhile, ji luorong and the others couldnt help but sigh in relief when they heard shi fengs explanation. they had much to lose in gods domain. it would be absolutely terrible for them if their gods domain were to become another civilizations possession as soon as the world gate opened. be that as it may, we can only stay holed up in our gods domain. we wont be able to leave at all while ji luorong and the others were sighing in relief, a team of several dozen players approached them. meanwhile, walking in the lead of this team was phoenix rain. upon seeing phoenix rain, ji luorong and the others couldnt help but be dumbfounded. did you all get robbed, big sis rain? ji luorong couldnt help but ask when she saw the present state of phoenix rain and her teammates. at this time, the only item in phoenix rains possession that remained the same was her staff. apart from that, all of the equipment she previously wore had been swapped out for level 200 epic equipment. it was like she had transformed from an empress to a peasant. moreover, it wasnt just phoenix rain that had undergone such a transformation. blue phoenix and the other dragon-phoenix pavilion members on phoenix rains team had also lost all of their fragmented legendary items. although level 200 epic weapons and equipment was by no means terrible in gods domain, they still shouldnt be the only items that a super-first-rate guilds main force members had equipped. after all, even in first-rate guilds, every main force member would have at least one or two fragmented legendary items. if not for phoenix rain still having her legendary staff, the overall strength of phoenix rains team wouldnt even meet the standard of a first-rate team. we werent robbed, blue phoenix, who stood behind phoenix rain, said with a wry smile. its just that the guilds grand elders and shareholders have all switched to nine dragons emperors side. to ensure that we could keep the guild towns and real estate we had promised to zero wing, big sis rain had no choice but to return all of the weapons and equipment that belonged to the dragon-phoenix pavilion. on top of that, big sis rain also ended up owing a huge sum of money although blue phoenix spoke in a casual and teasing manner, everyone who heard her could tell she was greatly disheartened. after all, how could she not be disheartened? she had previously been equipped with weapons and equipment that were among the best in gods domain. yet, now, she had lost all those things, effectively losing years of her effort. its fine. we can simply get more weapons and equipment, phoenix rain said nonchalantly. so long as we have those real estate, we can always rise back again. you make it sound as if its easy, rain, illusory words, wearing a black cloak that failed to hide her seductive figure, said as she rolled her eyes at phoenix rain. then, she bluntly continued, have you forgotten how much you have gone through to get your hands on those three pieces of legendary equipment? even with the tier 6 alliances assistance, it took you several years to gather the necessary materials to repair those equipment. moreover, that was back when the various powers were in the midst of exploring gods domains maps. now that 99% of gods domains maps have been explored, do you think itll be as easy to get your hands on three pieces of legendary equipment, and compatible ones at that? not to mention, zero wing wouldnt necessarily be grateful for your sacrifice. on the other hand, if you were still the dragon-phoenix pavilions guild leader right now, you could have gotten in touch with the dragon hunting temple by now. thats an upper-ranking hegemonic power we are talking about. exploring the taboo mode dungeon with such a power will be infinitely better than doing so with a guild that barely has any tier 6 players. illusory words words were sharp, especially when she mentioned zero wing. her eyes focused on shi feng, and her gaze had a cold glint. after learning of the tier 6 alliances true trump card in the latest meeting, illusory words felt that phoenix rains decision to join zero wing was utterly foolish. unfortunately, the only thing she could do to try to rectify the decision was to persuade phoenix rain to apologize to hidden mist. with how highly the old man valued her, phoenix rain should have no trouble rejoining the tier 6 alliance so long as she voiced her regret. while illusory words was speaking, another 100-man team arrived at the plaza. although not composed entirely of tier 6 experts, this 100-man team still had 30 tier 6 experts. meanwhile, leading the team was a one-eyed middle-aged man who was a level 217, tier 6 guardian knight wearing a dragon-shaped guild emblem, and standing next to him was nine dragons emperor, a level 211, tier 6 ranger. at this time, all 70 of the level 210, tier 5 experts standing behind nine dragons emperor were equipped with a uniform fragmented legendary equipment set, and they radiated auras that could closely rival tier 6 players. although the whole 100-man team was not a match for the two tier 6 teams from before, it could closely match the five great super guilds team. thats the fragmented legendary basic battle array equipment set provided by the dragon hunting temple. although not as strong as the two outside powers advanced version, it is still a one-of-a-kind in our gods domain, illusory words said as she looked at nine dragons emperors team. then, she returned her gaze to phoenix rain and sighed, saying, if you hadnt withdrawn from the dragon-phoenix pavilion, that equipment could have been yours fragmented legendary equipment sets that came attached with battle arrays were impossible to find in their gods domain. yet, phoenix rain had abandoned the opportunity to secure one of these sets for herself just to join zero wing, a guild that barely had any fame until recently. zero wing is indeed incapable of securing compatible legendary equipment currently, shi feng said, chuckling when he saw illusory words voicing grievances on phoenix rains behalf. but if its only fragmented legendary battle array equipment sets, zero wing has some. Chapter 3633 - Chapter 707 - Beyond Hegemonics chapter 707 C beyond hegemonics you have some? illusory words couldnt help but look at shi feng contemptuously when she heard his words. why dont you take them out and show them to us, then? as wealthy as the five great super guilds were, even they probably didnt have a single fragmented legendary battle array equipment set. needless to say, it would be even more impossible for zero wing, an upstart guild that had merely integrated several first-rate guilds, to have any. in illusory words opinion, shi feng was merely putting on an act. those battle array sets cant exhibit their potential without sufficient scale, guild leader. if you want to raise our overall strength, itll be enough to just give each of us a few fragmented legendary items, phoenix rain advised. phoenix rain similarly did not think zero wing would have any fragmented legendary battle array equipment sets. but to save shi feng from embarrassment, she decided to offer him an alternative solution that she knew he could fulfill. after all, shi feng had previously killed a bunch of experts from the flower of seven sins and obtained their equipment. the hundred flower palace and the star alliance were also first-rate guilds with powerful foundations before they joined zero wing. so, zero wing should have no trouble coming up with enough fragmented legendary items to arm a small team of several dozen. blue phoenix also hurriedly nodded in agreement. unlike illusory words, blue phoenix knew that zero wing had treated them wonderfully thus far, and theyd be very ungrateful if they tried to make trouble for zero wing. you dont need to turn down my offer, shi feng said as he initiated a trade with phoenix rain and started placing eternal magic armor equipment sets into the trade window one after another. melting flame and the others had worked tirelessly to produce these eternal magic armor sets, and shi feng had brought a little over fifty sets back with him this time. although it wasnt enough to equip a 100-man team, only twenty sets were needed to activate a small bronze magic array. guild leader you really dont have t when phoenix rain saw that shi feng was trading equipment to her, her immediate reaction was to try to stop him. however, when she got a closer look at the eternal magic armor set, her words got caught in her mouth. each part of the eternal magic armor set was covered in runes that combined to form a self-contained structure. at a glance, the runes obviously formed a battle array, and it was a battle array of high quality at that. simply the mana the eternal magic armor set carried was no less than the battle array sets of the two foreign tier 6 teams. as a vice guild leader of zero wing, you will be needed to lead your own exploration team in the future. so, take these eternal magic armor sets as a welcome gift, shi feng said to phoenix rain in a private chat as he traded forty eternal magic armor sets to her without hesitation. although zero wing isnt at the level of apex powers, we arent your average power in the greater gods domain, either. forty bronze battle array sets? phoenix rain nearly exclaimed out loud when she saw the eternal magic armor sets shi feng had just traded to her. what did you just say, rain? bronze battle array sets? and forty of them? illusory words couldnt help but grow confused as she looked at phoenix rain. in response to illusory words confusion, phoenix rain shared the eternal magic armor sets stats with her. of course, she had only done so because she trusted illusory words and wished to let the other party understand more about zero wing. meanwhile, after seeing the eternal magic armor sets statistics, illusory words couldnt help but be dumbfounded. it should be known that the two foreign tier 6 teams were backed by conglomerates. even then, they could only equip themselves with advanced battle array sets. as for the dragon hunting temple, it wouldnt even dare to dream of owning bronze battle array sets. yet, not only did zero wing possess bronze battle array sets, but shi feng had even gifted forty sets to phoenix rain at no cost. just what kind of foundation must zero wing possess to be so generous? rain, arent we best friends? can you tell me what kind of power zero wing is? illusory words whispered to phoenix rain. at this time, illusory words could no longer see zero wing as a native power of their gods domain. or, more specifically, she refused to believe this to be the case. after all, if even the five great super guilds didnt have such a powerful foundation, there was no way a native upstart guild could have it. this seeing the urgency on illusory words face, phoenix rain pretended to hesitate for a moment before saying, i cant give you a precise answer. i can only say that zero wing is a power above hegemons. a power above hegemons? illusory words couldnt help but take another look at shi feng when she heard phoenix rains answer. although her heart was still full of doubts, it was a fact that phoenix rain had received forty eternal magic armor sets from shi feng. despite being an upper-ranking hegemonic power, even the dragon hunting temple could not get its hands on a treasure like the eternal magic armor set. this must mean that only the powers rumored to stand above upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the outside world could access treasures like the eternal magic armor set. zero wing? a power above hegemons? this revelation stunned illusory words for a long time. if zero wing truly stood above upper-ranking hegemonic powers, the hundred flower palace, the star alliance, and phoenix rains decision to go all-out on zero wing would no longer be an illogical one. why dont you join zero wing as well, big sis illusory? phoenix rain asked when she saw the pondering look on illusory words. youll be subjected to the dragon hunting temples management if you follow elder mist. with such a restriction, it is highly improbable that crimson emperor can prosper outside of our gods domain. youll also have a hard time improving yourself any further. now that the tier 6 alliance had subordinated itself to the dragon hunting temple for protection, it went without saying any valuable resource the tier 6 alliance acquired in the future would go to the dragon hunting temple. as for the tier 6 alliances members, theyd be fortunate if there were even scraps left for them. this illusory words was a little tempted by phoenix rains proposal. however, before illusory words could give her an answer, nine dragons emperor suddenly shouted for her from a distance. illusory! we have only been given one chance! if you dont want to end up like phoenix rain, hurry up and gather here! when illusory words heard nine dragons emperor calling for her, she quickly dismissed her thoughts of joining zero wing. unlike phoenix rain, the restraints on her were much heavier. after all, she did not have the support of any corporation or shareholder of crimson emperor. her decision to join the tier 6 alliance was even made against the wishes of crimson emperor. because of this, crimson emperors several vice guild leaders were watching her closely, eagerly waiting for her to slip up. what a pity. phoenix rain couldnt help but sigh when she saw illusory words leave her side. dungeons were a crucial source of weapons and equipment for the various powers, and the two most important roles in a dungeon raid were the tanks and healers. as a tier 6 cleric god and one of gods domains ten great clerics, illusory words could reduce the difficulty of any team dungeon by a large margin so long as she had a sufficiently strong tank standing before her. it was also why, despite tasking the dragon-phoenix pavilion to raid the taboo mode ruined temple on its behalf, the dragon hunting temple still included illusory words in its team. no need to feel unfortunate, shi feng said nonchalantly as he looked at illusory words departing figure. she will soon learn that joining zero wing will be the best option, even if it means making an enemy out of all powers in gods domain. as soon as shi feng finished speaking, the ruined librarys entrance portal also became fully unsealed. Chapter 3634 - Chapter 708 - The Price of Taboo Mode chapter 708 C the price of taboo mode ruined temple, ruined library: when the thousand-meter-tall portal bloomed with dazzling brilliance, the magic runes responsible for sealing it dissipated completely. almost simultaneously, the several hundred thousand players gathered in front of the portal went into a frenzy. charge! the taboo dungeons first clear is ours! the many 100-man teams in the plaza charged into the portal one after another frantically, all of them aiming to secure the ruined librarys first clear and become the pioneer of the new era in gods domain. however, whether it was the various superpowers teams or the foreign tier 6 teams, none moved from where they stood. they merely observed all of this happening, behaving like they didnt care about the ruined librarys first clear. imbeciles. do they think a taboo dungeons first clear can be easily acquired? the one-eyed middle-aged guardian knight from the dragon hunting temple thought contemptuously as he watched the teams swarming the ruined librarys entrance portal. taboo dungeons were considered gold mines, even in the greater gods domain. however, not just any power could harvest these gold mines. this wasnt to say that certain powers had monopolized taboo dungeons and forbade others from entering. on the contrary, although apex powers had indeed occupied some of the known taboo dungeons in the greater gods domain, they would gladly welcome anyone to enter their taboo dungeons if the other party was willing to pay a fee of 50,000 units of seven luminaries crystal or treasures of equivalent value. they would even welcome their enemies with open arms if they were willing to pay up. of course, these apex powers werent doing so wasnt out of generosity, and neither was it because they didnt care about the items inside taboo dungeons. instead, it was because of the great difficulty of raiding taboo dungeons and the extreme cost of deaths inside taboo dungeons. if players died inside a taboo dungeon, they wouldnt simply lose some exp and items. they would also lose a portion of their immortal souls. during the advent of taboo dungeons, players never noticed the damage to their immortal souls when they died in a taboo dungeon. this was because the portion they lost on each death was barely perceptible. however, as players started to experience more deaths inside taboo dungeons, they eventually noticed the subtle death penalty in taboo dungeons. but even then, players didnt care about the loss as it was so miniscule that it did not affect their normal development. that was, until one day, a main force member of a particular power lost an accumulated total of 10% of his immortal soul while raiding taboo dungeons. upon hitting the 10% threshold, said player suffered a permanent death, and the news dumbfounded the various powers back then. under normal circumstances, if players lost only 10% of their immortal souls, they wouldnt even see any impact on their skill and spell usage. yet, a player had suffered a permanent death after losing just 10% of their immortal soul to taboo dungeons. this discovery frightened the greater gods domains various powers. as a result, none of the various powers dared to recklessly allow their teams to raid taboo dungeons from then onward. meanwhile, based on past successes, a team would have to be fully composed of tier 6 experts equipped with fragmented legendary equipment sets to successfully raid taboo dungeons. moreover, these were only level 210 taboo dungeons. in the case of level 210-plus taboo dungeons, each team member would need to have at least one or two pieces of legendary equipment. otherwise, the chances of success would be near non-existent. as luck would have it, the ruined temple was a level 210 taboo dungeon. it was the greatest difficulty conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers like the dragon hunting temple were willing to challenge. not to mention, the ruined temples first clear reward remained available, and there was no need to pay an entrance fee since nobody had laid claim to the taboo dungeon yet. hence, they were willing to pay the price of sending some members through the world gate before it opened to descend upon this gods domain. however, rather than blindly charging into the taboo dungeon like the native teams, what they should do first and foremost was to wait. whenever a new taboo dungeon appeared, it was standard for the various powers to send numerous reconnaissance teams to gather as much information as possible. never would they send their main forces into a taboo dungeon blind. after all, the main force members of any power were highly valuable and would require a lot of time to replace. it was especially so for peerless geniuses, as the loss of such geniuses could take years, decades, or even centuries to recover from. as for why they had shown up so early, it was to detain and interrogate any natives who came out of the taboo dungeon. the crowd is gone. how are your preparations coming along? shi feng asked phoenix rain when he saw the mostly empty plaza. after sweeping her gaze across her teammates, phoenix rain nodded and answered, we are ready to go. okay, lets head inside, then, shi feng said before entering the ruined library with phoenix rain, ji luorong, and the others. you are doomed for sure, phoenix rain! when nine dragons emperor saw phoenix rain entering the ruined library, he couldnt help but smirk. this was the first time a taboo dungeon had appeared in their gods domain, so there shouldnt be anybody from their gods domain who knew about the cost of taboo dungeons. if not for the dragon hunting temple, nine dragons emperor wouldnt have known about the horrors of taboo dungeons, either. meanwhile, knowing illusory words relationship with phoenix rain, nine dragons emperor had deliberately kept this information from illusory words. so, by the time phoenix rain notices the damage to her immortal soul, she should only be a few deaths away from a permanent death. Chapter 3635 - Chapter 709 - One-Man Legion? chapter 709 C one-man legion? after crossing the portal, shi feng and his team were teleported into a corridor covered in thorny vines and lined with stone statues. then, upon getting a good look at their surroundings, ji luorong and the others couldnt help but gasp. is this supposed to be a taboo dungeon? phoenix rain was flabbergasted as she looked at the divine runes engraved on the walls. not only did these divine runes suppress her mental state and physique, but they also weakened her control over her body and mana. despite being a tier 6 player, phoenix rain currently felt that she was only slightly stronger than tier 5 legendary monsters of the same level. if even she was suppressed to such an extent, she couldnt even begin to imagine what would become of tier 5 players in this dungeon. not to mention, there were also the 100-plus demon statues that lined the sides of the corridor. at first glance, they might look like inanimate statues, but closer inspection would show that they were bona fide level 208 count-ranked demon kings. among them, there were also six 100-meter-tall demon statues that were level 210 marquis-ranked demon kings.[1] unlike humans, demons inherently possessed extraordinary five senses and control over mana. even the lowest-ranking demon could put up a good fight against human npcs of the tier. as for count-ranked demons, they could rival four-winged valkyries of the same tier, and it should be known that tier 5 four-winged valkyries were existences that could give even tier 6 players a difficult time. yet, there were over a hundred such existences in this corridor, and this was only the starting point of the taboo dungeon as for marquis-ranked demons, they could rival six-winged valkyries of the same tier, and defeating a marquis-ranked demon king would require at least a 100-man tier 5 team led by one tier 6 player. we are quite lucky. we got teleported to the exhibition area instead of the curse area, shi feng said, sighing in relief when he saw the demon statues lining the corridor. you consider this lucky? ji luorong couldnt help but look at shi feng dubiously as she pointed at the six 100-meter-tall demon statues in the distance. guild leader, those are level 210 marquis-ranked demon kings. just one of them is enough to hold back our entire team. we are indeed lucky. had we started from the cursed area, we would have had to give up before we could even start, shi feng said, chuckling. the ruined library might have been upgraded into a taboo mode dungeon, but the only thing that changed was the addition of divine runes that suppressed players. meanwhile, based on the information he heard of the ruined library in his previous life, players would be randomly teleported to one of three starting areas when they entered the dungeon, specifically the exhibition area, the cursed area, and the courtyard area. prior to the upgrade, although each of these three areas housed monsters of a different type, there wasnt any notable difference in overall raid difficulty. however, after the ruined library became a taboo mode dungeon, the cursed area would undoubtedly become the deadliest of the three areas. the cursed areas monsters were evil spirits, and attribute-wise, they were the weakest out of all monsters in the three starting areas. however, their weakness was compensated by the fact that the cursed area would curse all players in it, drowning them in darkness and restricting their vision range to just one yard. and as evil spirits did not have a fixed form and could move without making any sound, players would have a very difficult time reacting to them. in comparison, while the exhibition areas demons might have powerful attributes, neither they nor the environment placed any restrictions on players. meanwhile, following the addition of the divine runes, players would have their mental states suppressed while in the dungeon, which would prevent them from mentally perceiving their surroundings. if their vision was restricted on top of that, unless they had reached the extrasensory realm, they could forget trying to block any attacks from monsters. they were almost certain to get hit by any monsters that targeted them. in gods domain, unless players possessed a tier advantage, they would receive significant amounts of damage if monsters landed a direct hit on them. even tank classes could not survive more than a few direct hits from monsters of the same tier and level, let alone other classes. what should we do next, guild leader? phoenix rain asked, frowning after she finished scrutinizing the corridors situation. although the terrain here is cramped, there is still too much space for us to create an effective choke. and even if our tier 6s can hold back those six marquises, our tier 5 tanks can, at best, hold back two or three counts each. we simply dont have the numbers to hold all the counts at bay. the basic attributes and mana of their teams tier 5 members might be close to reaching the tier 6 standard, but under the divine runes suppression, only the tanks would stand a chance against the level 208 count-ranked demon kings in a one-on-one fight. not to mention, the demon statues outnumbered their team. we dont have to go through such trouble to deal with these demon statues, shi feng said as he scanned his surroundings. i will distract these demon statues, while the tanks will stop any that manage to slip by. as for everyone else, just focus on doing damage. if he was still at tier 5 right now, hed have no way of successfully raiding the taboo mode ruined temple with his current team. fortunately, he now had basic attributes rivaling level 200, tier 6 gods. his basic attributes were superior to even level 210 divine monsters, let alone level 210, tier 5 demon kings. before phoenix rain and the others could say anything, shi feng unsheathed the winter of eternal night and activated world of frost, summoning 100 frost swords that carried 300% of his strength. then, he charged forward and initiated the attack on the demon statues. with his mental state suppressed heavily, shi feng could not execute combat techniques with his frost swords. however, because of his overwhelming strength, each frost sword could easily shatter even the tier 5 curses of the marquis-ranked demon kings. in just the first exchange, all the count-ranked demon kings were sent flying all over the place, and each saw a small chunk of their hp bars vanishing. although each count-ranked demon king had over 100 billion hp, they lost over a billion when struck by shi fengs frost swords. as for the marquis-ranked demon kings, they were sent stumbling by shi fengs attacks, and each of them lost over 100 million hp. a one-sided exchange! it was an absolutely one-sided exchange with overwhelming strength! in fact, before anyone else could take action, the count-ranked demon kings had already lost 10% of their hps. it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that shi feng could eliminate all of the count-ranked demon kings without any help. is he really just a level 178, tier 6 swordsman? ji luorong couldnt help but be dumbfounded as she looked at the 100 frost swords shi feng manipulated. previously, shi fengs performance when he annihilated the flower of seven sins members was already incredible. even so, it paled in comparison to his current performance. anyone could tell that the ruined librarys monsters were tough opponents. even a 100-man tier 6 team should need significant time and effort to eliminate a group of demon statues. yet, these demon statues were no different than cannon fodder in front of shi feng. he could kill them however he wanted, and none of them could resist. at this point, ji luorong even suspected that, if given enough time, shi feng could conquer the entire taboo dungeon by himself we should join the fight as well, boss. otherwise, the guild leader is going to take care of all these monsters by himself, crimson mist said before she charged at one of the marquis-ranked demon kings. compared to ji luorong, crimson mist was much less fazed by shi fengs current performance. after all, she had already seen shi feng suppressing a group of monsters in the ruined mountain ranges inner area without lifting a finger. that was a much more shocking scene in comparison. subsequently, shi feng and the others quickly dispatched the demon statues. when one of the marquis-ranked demon kings corpses turned to dust, it left behind a dark blue armguard covered in ancient divine runes, the armguards appearance momentarily freezing the space around it. we got a drop already? when shi feng saw the dark blue armguard, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. tl notes: [1]demon king: note that demon king is the term used to refer to tier 5 demons. tier 3 C demon tier 4 C great demon tier 5 C demon king Chapter 3636 - Chapter 710 - God Chaser Set chapter 710 C god chaser set what is this equipment? how can it seal space in its natural state? looking at its glow effect, it should only be a piece of epic equipment. youd rarely find space-restricting hidden abilities, even among legendary equipment. how can a piece of epic equipment have such an ability? everyone had their curiosity piqued when they saw the effect the dark blue armguard exerted on its surroundings, and they couldnt help but wonder about the armguards actual quality. is it really just a piece of epic equipment, guild leader? ji luorong asked when she saw shi feng starting to appraise the armguard. then, she continued in astonishment, the instant that armguard appeared, i felt myself frozen in place momentarily. the only other item that has given me such an experience before is the burning sun bow, and thats one of the ten great legendary weapons owned by that old monster from mythology. theres no way something with a similar hidden ability is only at the epic rank. the burning sun bow was one of gods domains ten great legendary weapons, and it had a hidden ability that allowed its user to briefly lock down the surrounding space of their targets. even so, the burning sun bows hidden ability could only come into effect when a player equipped it. yet, despite being unequipped, the dark blue armguard momentarily froze everyone present. and if it could already exert such a powerful effect while in an unequipped state, how powerful would it become when equipped by a player? at this time, phoenix rain, shadow flower, and the others also looked at shi feng curiously. this armguard is indeed at the epic rank, shi feng said, nodding after he finished appraising the armguard. then, he joyfully continued, but this isnt any ordinary epic armguard. instead, its the armguard piece for the god chaser set, a level 210 epic equipment set. its only a level 210 epic set? phoenix rain and the others were visibly disappointed when they heard shi fengs answer. a level 210 epic equipment set could match a fragmented legendary equipment set in basic attributes, and it could indeed be considered top-tier equipment in their gods domain. however, once the world gate opened, such a set could no longer be considered top-tier. dont be so quick to discount it, shi feng said, shaking his head and chuckling when he saw everyones disappointed looks. the god chaser set might only be a level 210 epic equipment set, but when all eight pieces are gathered, the set can be leveled up to 220 and grant basic attributes rivaling a full set of legendary equipment. moreover, the eight-piece set effect also reduces the level requirement to level 200. even in the greater gods domain, the god chaser set can be considered top-tier. in his previous life, the god chaser sets produced by the ruined temple were only level 200 dark-gold equipment sets. even after gathering all eight set pieces, the basic attributes players could gain from the god chaser set was similar to what they would get from being equipped with a full set of fragmented legendary equipment. honestly, when shi feng learned of the god chaser set in his previous life, he couldnt help but find the information on the set exaggerated. after all, according to the information extracted from the ruined library, the god slayer had personally crafted the god chaser set, and it was described to be able to give humans strength to combat gods. but if the god chaser set only provided similar basic attributes as a full set of fragmented legendary equipment, there was no way it could let humans fight gods of the same level and tier. however, after seeing the epic-ranked god chaser set, shi feng realized the information wasnt exaggerating matters after all. instead, it had just been referring to a different god chaser set. another thing that surprised shi feng was the epic god chaser sets drop rate. normally, the drop rate in taboo mode dungeons was abysmal. this was true even for newly discovered taboo mode dungeons. so, he was greatly surprised when he saw a set piece for the epic god chaser set dropping from the first group of monsters they killed. if it can rival a full set of legendary equipment in basic attributes and be worn at level 200 anyone who equips the full set will be nigh-invincible, even after the world gate opens! blue phoenix exclaimed. even for the five great super guilds, it would be an absolute extravagance to fully equip a player in legendary equipment. so, if a player could equip the full god chaser set, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to consider them invincible in gods domain. according to the dragon-phoenix pavilions understanding of the world outside of their gods domain, it was similarly difficult for powers to fully equip a player in legendary equipment. even if there were powers who could afford to do so, there wouldnt be many. in that case, we should eliminate as many demon statues as we can while advancing. itll be a jackpot for us if we can gather a complete set, ji luorong said with sparkling eyes. if zero wing could add a nigh-invincible expert to its ranks, it would serve as a huge motivation to guild members and a powerful deterrence to enemies. this was an effect that could not be achieved normally, even with multiple tier 6 experts. immediately, everyone became much more enthusiastic about killing demon statues. however, due to shi fengs skills being a limiting factor, they had to rest for a few minutes before they could proceed with the next battle. this led to the teams progression being rather slow. to make matters worse, the drop rate was relatively low. after six hours of hunting, even with shi feng having consumed an elixir of fortune, the team only obtained 31 pieces of equipment, of which only 13 were set pieces for the god chaser set. moreover, most of them were duplicates. while shi feng and the others were hard at work, a commotion occurred outside the ruined library. in the past six hours, several hundred thousand players, amounting to several thousand teams, had entered the ruined library. some teams faced deadly traps, some faced demon statues, and some faced evil spirits. however, regardless of which challenge they faced, over 99% of these teams died before they could even make it past the first group of traps or monsters they faced. even teams led by tier 6 players had faced annihilation. the difficulty of the taboo mode ruined temple was truly unprecedented. as expected, none of these wastrels are useful, the one-eyed middle-aged guardian knight from the dragon hunting temple scoffed when he read the intelligence nine dragons emperor gathered. then, he looked toward nine dragons emperor and commanded, tell hidden mist to gather all of the tier 6 alliances tier 6 players and have them explore the ruined temple. have them get ready to transfer the promised real estate as well. the dragon hunting temple will send someone to complete the handover procedures tomorrow. only the tier 6 alliances members will be going in? nine dragons emperor couldnt help but be shocked. thats right. do you have a problem? the one-eyed guardian knight coldly asked. no, but even if elder mist agrees to it, i dont think we can gather much information with just so few of us, nine dragons emperor hurriedly said. you just need to gather as much information inside the dungeon as possible. i dont need you to die more than a few times, the one-eyed guardian knight said as he looked at nine dragons emperors worried expression. then, he pointed at the two other foreign teams, who were in the midst of apprehending tier 5 and tier 6 experts, in the distance and coldly smiled, saying, you should be thankful you are partnered with the dragon hunting temple. otherwise, youll probably have the same fate as those people, having to explore the taboo dungeon until youre gone for good! ill get it done right away. when nine dragons emperor saw the two foreign teams capturing the various powers tier 6 experts outside the ruined library, he dared not hesitate any longer. meanwhile, when illusory words, who had hidden her identity with a black cloak, saw the scene outside the ruined library, she couldnt help but shudder. just a moment ago, she saw the two foreign teams capturing several joint teams formed by over a dozen native superpowers, and among those captured were crimson emperors tier 6 experts. then, these foreign teams forced the players they captured to explore the ruined library, and those who refused to comply were repeatedly killed until they fell back to level 0. how did things come to this Chapter 3637 - Chapter 711 - Gods Domains Calamity chapter 711 C gods domains calamity redstone hotel, top-floor vip room: the time currently was late in the evening. the sky outside the top-floor vip room was pitch-black, and few cars and pedestrians could be seen on the street below. despite this, the room was brightly lit. at this time, the round table that could easily accommodate more than thirty people was fully seated. among the tier 6 alliances members, there were also about a dozen or so other individuals present in holographic form. if any of these individuals were to appear in a crowded location, almost everyone would recognize them immediately. sinful flame, a legendary individual from the superpower azure chamber of commerce! melancholy, the guild leader of the super guild thirteen thrones! silent soul, the guild leader of the superpower unyielding soul! half madness, one of the ten saints and a member of the super guild battle wolves! every one of these individuals was a big shot in gods domain. currently, though, all of them wore indescribably grim looks on their faces. so, going by your words, we dont have any other choice, elder mist? melancholy, a giant of a man over two meters tall, asked angrily as he looked at the bearded hidden mist. that is correct. this is already our best option, hidden mist said, nodding somewhat helplessly. i believe all of you have already learned of the situation at the ruined temple. the allure the taboo dungeon holds to the foreign power has far exceeded our imaginations. not only have they captured the tier 6 experts of over a dozen superpowers, but they are also going after the tier 5 s-league experts. they have even gone as far as to force everyone to sign a gods domain contract or face an endless cycle of death. nine dragons emperor and illusory words have both witnessed this happen in person. they have also made a recording, so feel free to watch it. right now, your only option is to join the tier 6 alliance, hand over all your real estate, and become a subordinate power to the dragon hunting temple. only then can you avoid suffering a worse fate in the hands of the two other powers. upon hearing hidden mists words, everyone couldnt help but fall silent. powerlessness! at this time, everyone present felt a deep sense of powerlessness overwhelm their hearts. it should be known that the dozen or so native tier 6 experts who had gone to raid the ruined library were all individuals that even they had to treat with caution. yet, none of these experts could put up any resistance in front of the two foreign powers teams. even the five great super guilds experts had barely managed to evade capture by promptly re-entering the taboo dungeon after exiting it. otherwise, they, too, would have suffered a similar fate. it should be known that all of the foreign tier 6 experts were merely pseudo-tier 6 experts. although their battle arrays could boost basic attributes, it did not change the fact that they couldnt manipulate the mana around them. yet, their gods domains native tier 6 experts could just barely win against these foreign tier 6 experts in a one-on-one fight naturally, in such a situation, no native power could challenge the two foreign powers 200 tier 6 experts. not to mention, these were only the advance teams of the two foreign powers. their actual armies would only arrive once the world gate opened. signing a contract with the dragon hunting temple isnt necessarily our only option. amidst the silence, a sweet and crisp voice suddenly echoed across the round table, causing everyone to turn toward the source of the voice. what other options do you have, vice guild leader illusory? sinful flame from the azure chamber of commerce immediately asked in a somewhat excited tone. the only reason the dragon hunting temple was willing to partner with their gods domains native powers was to establish a sturdy foundation for itself before the world gate opened. that way, it could nurture their gods domains native experts to raid the taboo mode ruined dungeon on its behalf. if not for this reason, it was unlikely the dragon hunting temple would be interested in partnering with any native power. so, apart from becoming a subordinate of the dragon hunting temple, sinful flame found it hard to imagine what better options were available to their gods domains native powers. zero wing! illusory words said through her holographic projection. based on my understanding, not only is zero wing superior to the outside worlds hegemonic powers, but it is also providing excellent treatment to native experts and powers who join it. so long as we join zero wing, i believe we can survive this calamity. even in the worst-case scenario, we should still be able to develop safely in our gods domain. zero wing? superior to hegemonic powers? nine dragons emperor, who was similarly attending this meeting in holographic form, laughed when he heard illusory words statement. has phoenix rain brainwashed you, illusory words? are you going to toss your mind away after phoenix rain? ive already looked into zero wing, and it is nothing more than an upstart guild from our gods domain. its acting guild leader is even the former guild leader of a second-rate guild only. although zero wing has achieved good results in the miniature ancient world, that is only because the foreign powers have barely invested any strength there. how can you even compare the miniature ancient worlds situation with ours? do you truly think zero wing can go against those foreign powers? the dragon hunting temple is only willing to give us a chance because the world gate has yet to open. if we lose this chance, we will all become slaves to the foreign powers once the world gate opens, and we will have to spend the rest of our lives in that taboo dungeon. upon hearing nine dragons emperors words, everyones expression turned even uglier. they originally thought illusory words could bring them some hope, but it merely turned out to be despair. i dont know if zero wing can resist against the foreign powers. illusory words did not get angry because of nine dragons emperors rebuttal. instead, she calmly said, but i do know that zero wings guild leader has given phoenix rain forty fragmented legendary equipment sets that come with a bronze battle array. i doubt any of our native powers can afford such generosity, right? in fact, how many foreign powers can replicate such an act? impossible! nine dragons emperor immediately cast doubt over illusory words statement. fragmented legendary equipment sets were incredibly rare to begin with, let alone those that came with a bronze battle array. not even the dragon hunting temple could take out forty of such sets. if what you say is true, vice guild leader illusory, can zero wing ensure our independence and safety once we join it? melancholy asked. at this time, everyone else in the room also looked at illusory words. since illusory words dared to make such a claim, the matter regarding the forty sets of fragmented legendary equipment sets must be true. it also showed that zero wing possessed an extraordinary foundation, and that it wasnt as weak as nine dragons emperor described. at the very least, zero wing should be much stronger than any of their gods domains native powers. the only problem now was whether zero wing could ensure their independence and safety. this illusory words did not know what to say in this situation. after pondering for a moment, she said, im afraid i will need to consult with rain first before i can give everyone an answer. Chapter 3638 - Chapter 712 - God Slayers Treasury chapter 712 C god slayers treasury ruined temple, ruined library: as shi feng and his team advanced deeper into the ruined library, the quantity and quality of demon statues they faced continuously increased. initially, the demon statues only appeared in groups of a hundred or so, but that number gradually increased to 200 and beyond. in addition, count-ranked demon kings appeared in greater numbers, and even duke-ranked demon kings had started to appear. these duke-ranked demon kings were close to rivaling tier 5 dragons of the same level, and their appearance caused the progression of shi fengs team to slow down significantly. we got lucky this time, guild leader! this duke dropped the boots for the god chaser set! ji luorong said as she held up the pair of light-blue boots she had just finished appraising, excitement and fighting spirit coloring her eyes. with this, we only need the helmet to complete the set! apart from the astonishing loot, everyone was also able to improve their control over their enhanced mana after continuously clashing with the ruined librarys demon statues. the improvement was especially obvious among the teams tier 6 members as shi feng had tasked them with fighting the duke-ranked demon kings they encountered in one-on-one situations. these high-intensity battles allowed them to improve their skill and spell completion rates rapidly. when using tier 6 skills and spells, the average tier 6 expert in gods domain could only achieve a completion rate of 80%. even those who had reached the fourth-floor standard could only advance their completion rate to 85%, enabling their tier 6 skills and spells to exhibit 100% of their effects. meanwhile, once a skill or spells completion rate reached 85%, every subsequent increase would improve the spell significantly. if a tier 6 skill or spell reached a 100% completion rate, it could exhibit as much as 200% of its original effects, allowing it to exhibit power rivaling tier 6 taboo skills or curses. and if a tier 6 taboo skill or curse achieved a 100% completion rate, it could exhibit power rivaling the attacks of ancient gods. in ji luorongs case, the highest completion rate she had achieved when using tier 6 spells in the past was 87%, while her result with tier 6 curses peaked at 80%. but after acquiring the dragons fury secret treasure set and bronze mana purification technique and battling with them for ten hours, she could already cast her tier 6 spells at a steady 93% completion rate. paired with the strength of her mana, her tier 6 spells could already exhibit strength rivaling the attacks of tier 6 gods. if she could stabilize her tier 6 curses at an 85% completion rate, even tier 6 gods would suffer against her if they did not use tier 6 defensive skills or spells to defend themselves. in fact, ji luorong could already see herself achieving a 95% completion rate with her tier 6 spells so long as she trained for another ten hours or so. at that time, it would no longer be a dream to cast her tier 6 curses at a steady 90% completion rate and fight against bona fide tier 6 gods. alright, everyone, rest up for ten minutes. well be entering the collection hall after this, shi feng said, chuckling when he saw ji luorong and the others looking eager to continue fighting despite having just concluded an intense battle. although shi feng indeed wanted ji luorong and the others to quickly adapt to their new mana, a taboo mode dungeon was not to be trifled with. even with his current strength, he had to rely on his skills heavily to assist the team. if they tried to fight without his skills, there was a high chance they would get teamwiped. as a side note, shi feng received an incredibly lucrative amount of exp from the demon statues they felled because of his low level. after just ten hours of grinding, he had already leveled up from level 178 to level 180, and his basic attributes were now at the standard of level 200, tier 6 gods in the truest sense. so long as the ruined librarys final boss wasnt a level 210, tier 6 god, he was confident he could lead his team to victory. guild leader! something big happened in gods domain! phoenix rain exclaimed as she approached shi feng with hurried steps. some hours ago, the two foreign teams that have descended upon our gods domain suddenly started to capture tier 5 and tier 6 experts to do their bidding. the various powers are all panicking because of this, and several superpowers on illusory words side are asking to join zero wing. however, they worry that zero wing might not be able to ensure their independence and safety once the world gate opens, so they hope for us to prove our strength. should we agree? after shi feng distributed the secret treasures and mana purification techniques to them, phoenix rain no longer worried about the foreign powers. with zero wings current strength, it was more than strong enough to survive against even the foreign powers armies. now, she only wondered whether it would be worthwhile to let other native powers join zero wing. these foreign powers are acting rather quickly. shi feng wasnt particularly surprised to hear the matter phoenix rain reported. or, more specifically, it was only a matter of time before it happened. after all, native tier 6 experts were the best tools to explore a taboo mode dungeon. there was no way these foreign powers would forgo using these tools. tell illusory words that they can either join us or get lost. zero wing isnt interested in begging others to join! honestly, after recruiting phoenix rains and ji luorongs groups, zero wing no longer needed tier 6 experts. whether it was phoenix rains subordinates or ji luorongs eternal glory adventurer team, both had many tier 5 experts capable of advancing to tier 6. they were merely lacking the right opportunity. meanwhile, shi feng would have no trouble letting these individuals advance to tier 6 with the medium world fragment in his possession. in that case, why should zero wing go out of its way to prove itself to those seeking to rely on it? did these people take zero wing for a charity case? understood. phoenix rain nodded in agreement. a guild didnt need to have many members, especially not members who would pack their bags and flee at the first sign of danger. if the various superpowers werent even willing to take the risk to join zero wing, zero wing would be better off not having them as members. while phoenix rain was relaying shi fengs answer to illusory words, shadow flowers voice suddenly appeared in the team chat. i think i discovered a treasury, guild leader, shadow flower said before sharing an image through the team chat. the image showed a golden door sealed by countless divine chains. engraved on the door was a man holding a long sword fighting to the death, and below the man laid countless corpses of demons and gods. the god slayers treasury? shi feng immediately got goosebumps when he saw the image. very few records of the god slayer existed in gods domain, but according to rumors, the god slayer could slay gods despite having a mortal body. moreover, these werent just your average tier 6 gods, but primordial gods. from what shi feng uncovered in his previous life, the god slayer initially appeared in a very distant era. it was so distant that none of the gods of the modern era existed back then, and some ancient gods hadnt even been born yet. during that era, existences that could be referred to as gods would be considered primordial gods in the modern era. according to rumors, the god slayer had left behind many treasures across the greater gods domain to provide the human race a helping hand in times of danger. meanwhile, the ruined library was one of the places rumored to house the god slayers treasure. however, shi feng had never heard of anyone discovering the god slayers treasure in the ruined library in his previous life. however, the instant shi feng saw the image shadow flower shared, he was already certain of it. hidden behind the golden door were undoubtedly the treasures the god slayer had left behind! in shadow flowers eyes, the engravings on the door might only be a depiction of a piece of ancient history. however, as someone who had learned the goddess of spaces mana technique, shi feng could tell that these engravings had a similar function to those found on primordial god tablets. in other words, someone had done the unthinkable and used a primordial god tablet as a door! after seeing such an extravagant gesture, shi feng refused to believe that the god slayers treasures werent behind that door! Chapter 3639 - Chapter 713 - First Generation Saint chapter 713 C first generation saint send me your coordinates, flower. well head over there immediately. after ensuring he wasnt hallucinating, shi feng quickly calmed his excited heart and led his team to shadow flowers location, worried that the god slayers treasures might disappear if he was even a second late. shi feng had done plenty of research on the god slayers treasures in his previous life. although he ended up finding two possible locations in the greater gods domain, both locations only contained an opportunity the god slayer had offhandedly left behind. it was similar to the opportunity he had found in his home gods domain; neither were actually treasures left of the god slayer. even so, he had gained plenty from these two opportunities. one of them even allowed him to acquire zero wings prided holy city, a bastion that even the apex power demons gate could not break. so, shi feng couldnt even imagine what awaited him in the god slayers treasury. after advancing for two hours, shi feng and the others arrived at the secret passage shadow flower had found inside a cellar in the core area. the entrance to the secret passage was well-hidden. if not for the dragons fury secret treasure set enhancing shadow flowers sensitivity to mana, even if she was a tier 6 assassin and a grandmaster magician, she would have never noticed there was a secret passage hidden in the deserted cellar. the entire secret passage was wrapped in an illusion barrier. the barrier was incredibly profound and could manipulate time and space. even if players accidentally stepped into the secret passage, they would still think they were inside the cellar. they would not think they had already stepped into a completely different space-time. however, once shadow flower noticed something was amiss, she promptly utilized her knowledge as a grandmaster magician to carefully analyze what was wrong. after analyzing her surroundings for over ten minutes, she finally noticed she had stepped into an illusion barrier. from then onward, it took her no more than ten minutes to uncover the method of crossing the barrier. meanwhile, as shi feng was already a great grandmaster magician, he had an even easier time analyzing the illusion barrier. after just one minute, shi feng had already led his team into the secret passage. subsequently, everyone felt ripples coming from the surrounding space-time. then, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves standing before an ancient temple. the temple was no more than a hundred meters in height, but the golden door serving as its entrance radiated a divine might so powerful that it caused even tier 6 experts like ji luorong to shudder. they could also feel their mental states being suppressed to a greater degree. meanwhile, above the golden door bound by divine chains were over a hundred rotating great grandmaster magic arrays, and the figure of a person could be vaguely seen amidst these magic arrays. what in the world?! ji luorong couldnt help but gasp when she got a good look at the figure amidst the magic arrays. besides ji luorong, everyone else present also wore indescribably grim looks as they looked at the figure, their bodies involuntarily shuddering as if they had just been soaked in icy cold water. [sky dragon saint ukarius (first generation saint)] (ancient human, tier 6) level 210 hp 2,000,000,000,000,000 is the main god system joking with us? when crimson mist saw ukariuss stats, she couldnt help but get the urge to turn around and flee. whether it was ukariuss title of saint or his status as a tier 6 ancient human, both were things that could instill fear in any player when appearing independently. yet, not only did ukarius have both of these things, but he even had an additional title of first generation saint. according to information found in gods domains libraries, first generation saints were monsters among monsters. this was because first generation saints existed in an era when gods still roamed the lands. because of this, only humans of extraordinary strength could be regarded as saints during that era. moreover, in gods domain, even tier 6 gods who were world bosses only possessed nine hp bars. this was also the highest number of hp bars anyone had ever seen on an existence. yet, ukarius had twelve hp bars what kind of life rating and combat standard did the sky dragon saint have to warrant all these hp bars? upon seeing ukariuss stats, phoenix rain and purple eye similarly gasped. after a while, phoenix rain said, lets give up, guild leader. we cannot afford to provoke this boss. every treasury represented significant wealth to any power in gods domain. in the case of a treasury inside a taboo dungeon, even a fool could tell it was extraordinary. when phoenix rain initially heard shadow flower reporting her discovery, she had indeed reacted with excitement. however, after seeing ukarius, even though she knew shi feng was strong enough to rival level 200, tier 6 gods, she did not think they had any chance of victory. it should be known that even among the modern human race, tier 6 saints were existences capable of rivaling tier 6 gods. tier 6 ancient humans who had achieved the status of saint could only be stronger. she wouldnt be surprised if ukarius could kill level 200, tier 6 gods with a single blow. as for tier 6 players, theyd be fortunate if they didnt suffer soul annihilation. a first generation saint? shi feng was similarly shocked when he saw ukarius. the information available in their gods domain was limited, so while phoenix rain and the others might know about the existence of first generation saints, their knowledge should barely scratch the topics surface. however, it was a different story for shi feng. as someone who had spent years roaming the greater gods domain and exploring the twelve sanctuaries, shi feng understood plenty about first generation saints. more specifically, he knew the requirements to become a first generation saint. if ancient humans in the mythical era wished to earn the title of saint, they would need to master at least three advanced laws. normally, if a tier 6 npc were to master even one advanced law, they would become the nightmare of all tier 6 players. if a player did not similarly master an advanced law, they would instantly lose half of their strength as soon as the tier 6 npc used law projection. if a first generation saint used law projection with three advanced laws, even tier 6 players who had mastered advanced laws would lose at least half their strength. as for tier 6 players who had not mastered any advanced laws, they would be fortunate if they could retain even 10% of their strength. as for shi feng, since he had mastered a goddess law, he should be able to resist a first generation saints law projection, albeit barely. however, with only the basic attributes of a level 200, tier 6 god, he stood no chance against ukarius in a frontal confrontation. we should leave this place quickly, guild leader. we are dead if ukarius notices us, ji luorong hurriedly said after snapping out of her daze. she did not wish to stay in ukariuss presence for even a second longer. leave? shi feng took another look at the golden door when he heard ji luorongs words. then, an idea suddenly came to him as he turned to blue phoenix and said, no, we still have a chance! can you summon your personal guard, blue? my personal guard? blue phoenix was confused by shi fengs request. my personal guard might be tier 6, but he is only at the epic rank. he cant survive the bosss attacks. an epic personal guard might not be enough, but what about a legendary personal guard? shi feng said expectantly as he thought of the divine water of life in his bag. Chapter 3640 - Chapter 714 - Legendary Guard chapter 714 C legendary guard legendary? can my personal guard become a legendary guard? confusion appeared on blue phoenixs delicate face when she heard shi fengs words. although blue phoenix held shi fengs strength in high regard, as phoenix rains assistant and an expert who had nurtured personal guards for many years, she knew exactly how difficult it was to improve a personal guards growth potential. it was especially so for epic guards, whose growth potential had reached 100 points. of course, in exchange for the increased difficulty, every subsequent improvement a personal guard achieved in growth potential would also increase the growth rate of their basic attributes by a frightening extent. take her epic personal guard, dragon knight los merin, for example. with 107 points in growth potential, los merin was undoubtedly at the top among their gods domains epic personal guards. he could defend against attacks from even dragons of the same level and tier. this was also why the dragon-phoenix pavilion previously dared to challenge minoss trial. meanwhile, to develop los merins growth potential to such an extent, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the dragon-phoenix pavilion had expended all of the precious materials available in gods domain. at this point, it was unlikely their gods domain had enough materials to help los merin achieve even a one-point improvement in growth potential, let alone advance to the legendary standard. after all, the minimum requirement for a personal guard to reach the legendary standard was 120 points in growth potential, and los merin was 13 points short of reaching it. no amount of manpower would be enough to gather the necessary materials to upgrade los merin into a legendary personal guard. of course, he can, shi feng said definitively. what is your personal guards current growth potential? normally, unless a personal guard was inherently an epic guard, upgrading them to the legendary standard was nigh-impossible. even in the case of natural epic personal guards, they would still require plenty of legendary and inferior divine materials to advance to the legendary standard. the total cost of such an endeavor was so expensive that most conglomerates wouldnt even be able to afford it. only pseudo-apex powers and apex powers would be able to do so. fortunately, shi feng had previously raided the nameless citys treasury and acquired over 30,000 bottles of divine water of life. so long as he was willing to pay the price, he could even produce an advanced legendary guard, let alone a legendary guard. hes currently at 107 points, blue phoenix said awkwardly. thirteen points to go? shi feng couldnt help but frown a little when he heard blue phoenixs answer. then, he handed blue phoenix three bottles of divine water of life and said, it seems we can only take a gamble. although there was no limit to the consumption of divine water of life, only the first three bottles would yield the greatest effects. afterward, every subsequent improvement would require the consumption of multiple bottles of divine water of life. he had only brought 241 bottles with him when he returned, leaving the remaining 30,000 bottles in zero wings guild warehouse in the eternal realm. if the first three bottles failed to shrink the 13-point gap by a lot, the remaining 238 bottles would unlikely be enough to upgrade blue phoenixs personal guard to the legendary standard. an inferior divine material?! phoenix rain couldnt help but be taken aback when she saw the divine water of life. isnt this a little too extravagant, guild leader black flame? as the dragon-phoenix pavilions former guild leader, phoenix rain knew how much effort had gone into collecting the materials used to upgrade blue phoenixs personal guard. among these materials, there were even several bottles of water of life, an incredibly rare and precious material in their gods domain. only with these materials could los merin achieve a growth potential of 107 points. meanwhile, the divine water of life was a hundred times more precious than the normal water of life. it was so rare that she had only ever seen it being mentioned in history books. yet, shi feng was thinking of using such a precious material just to bet on the chance they could upgrade los merins growth potential to the legendary standard. this was beyond extravagance. after all, the divine water of lifes effects far surpassed that of the normal water of life. if these three bottles were used properly, they could bring zero wing three legendary guards. at that time, zero wing would be unstoppable in gods domain. so long as we succeed, everything will be worth it, shi feng said to phoenix rain nonchalantly. then, he looked at blue phoenix and continued, hurry up and have your personal guard drink them. this blue phoenix was no fool. she naturally understood the divine water of lifes value, so she couldnt help but look toward phoenix rain for directions. listen to the guild leader, phoenix rain said and nodded when she failed to spot any hesitation on shi fengs face. after seeing phoenix rains nod of approval, blue phoenix stopped hesitating and summoned her personal guard. then, she had him drink all three bottles of divine water of life. however, she still couldnt help but grow a little nervous when she saw him drinking the precious liquid bottle after bottle. a moment after los merin consumed all three bottles, his aura suddenly changed. if before he was a lion cub, now he was an adult lion. he felt completely different from before, and he exerted an oppressive feeling on those around him. what an incredible aura! ji luorong exclaimed as she looked at los merin. he feels stronger than me already. indeed. with such basic attributes, he should have no trouble clashing with a tier 6 god, shadow flower commented. everyone marveled and rejoiced over los merins astonishing transformation. shi feng, however, frowned. how many points to go? shi feng asked blue phoenix. shi feng had encountered more than one advanced legendary guards in his previous life, let alone basic legendary guards. so, he knew how strong legendary guards were supposed to be, and los merin definitely wasnt one. in response, blue phoenix looked at los merins statistics and gloomily said, he still needs three more points los merins growth potential was currently at 117 points. he could already be considered the strongest epic guard in their gods domain. however, he was still far from reaching the legendary standard. in fact, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that unless los merin could gain access to more divine water of life, he would have zero chance of reaching the legendary standard within his lifetime. after all, even in the world outside of their gods domain, it was unlikely that there were treasures superior to the divine water of life. only three? thank goodness. shi feng sighed in relief when he heard blue phoenixs answer. then, he took out another 140 bottles of divine water of life and handed them to blue phoenix, saying, have him drink all of these. starting from the fourth consumption, a personal guard must consume multiple bottles of divine water of life to see any improvements. more specifically, the fourth consumption would require 10 bottles, the fifth consumption would require 30 bottles, the sixth consumption would require 100 bottles, the seventh consumption would require 300 bottles, and the eighth consumption would require 1,000 bottles. with the amount of divine water of life he had on hand, he could only upgrade blue phoenixs personal guard three more times. fortunately, los merin only needed three more points. even if each consumption only improved his growth potential by one point, he could still advance to the legendary standard without fail. t-that many? blue phoenix gaped in shock when she saw the 140 bottles of divine water of life. as for everyone else, they were similarly dumbfounded by this scene. it was especially so for phoenix rain, who had some understanding of the divine water of life. with 140 bottles of divine water of life, so long as one wasnt a fool and utilized them normally, it was entirely possible to rule over the entire gods domain. yet, shi feng was using all these precious materials just to create one legendary guard words such as insane and extravagant could no longer describe shi fengs actions. what he was doing was no different than tossing a mountain of gold into the ocean just to see some waves. hurry up. the boss has already noticed us, shi feng urged when he saw ukarius suddenly opening his eyes. hearing this, blue phoenix hurriedly had los merin consume all 140 bottles of divine water of life in one fell swoop. boom! immediately, a pillar of terrifying flames made of mana rose from los merin, and a mighty aura swept across everyone present. los merins current aura was in a completely different dimension compared to before, and even phoenix rain and the other tier 6 players present couldnt help but stumble multiple steps away from the personal guard. success! shi feng smiled when he saw this scene. Chapter 3641 - Chapter 715 - Legendary VS First Generation chapter 715 C legendary vs first generation so the rumors of legendary guards rivaling gods of the same level were true. a legendary personal guard if those who chose not to leave the dragon-phoenix pavilion with phoenix rain learn of this, theyll probably die from regret. at this time, ji luorong and the other tier 6 team members felt immense pressure from los merin. it should be known that shi feng had previously given each tier 6 member of the team a dragons fury set and a bronze mana purification technique, the combination allowing them to gain strength close to matching tier 6 gods of the same level. yet, despite their strength having improved so much, they still got the urge to run away when they stood before los merin, a level 212, tier 6 dragon knight. it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that none of their gods domains powers possessed anyone capable of contending against los merin. even the five great super guilds were no exception. after all, even the strongest expert from the five great super guilds could only match level 200, tier 6 gods. said expert still had a long way to go to match level 212, tier 6 gods. alright, this is no time to be daydreaming. what is los merins current potential? shi feng asked, smiling as he looked at blue phoenixs dazed expression. of course, shi feng could understand the reactions of blue phoenix and the others. any player would be surprised if it was their first time seeing a legendary guard. after all, the life rating and basic attributes of legendary guards were vastly superior to most tier 6 players. it was especially so for legendary guards who were fully equipped with legendary items or several fragmented divine artifacts. in front of such legendary guards, even tier 6 players equipped with multiple legendary items would be no different than ants. currently, although los merin was not fully equipped with legendary weapons and equipment, he still possessed incredibly powerful basic attributes. if he were to fight against the tier 6 players of their gods domain, he would be akin to an adult fighting against a bunch of toddlers. hes at 121 points, blue phoenix said after snapping out of her daze. not bad. he should have no trouble tanking the boss now, shi feng said, feeling a little joyful as he looked at los merin. then, he commanded, everyone, get ready. when los merin tanks the boss, everyone else should find opportunities to deal damage. however, never get greedy and try to get close to the boss! once a personal guard reached the legendary standard, every subsequent one-point increase in growth potential would increase their base basic attributes by 10%. after factoring in their weapons and equipment, their overall strength would increase by an even greater margin. although los merin had yet to complete his exclusive legendary guard quest and acquire a set of top-tier legendary weapons and equipment for himself, thanks to his growth potential, his basic attributes should be close to matching a 120-point legendary guard fully equipped with legendary weapons and equipment. meanwhile, as soon as shi feng finished issuing his command, ukarius suddenly appeared within 300 yards of the team. at the same time, a staff embedded with seven seven luminaries gemstones appeared in his hand. foolish intruders! this is not a place where you belong! ukarius waved his staff as he gazed down at shi fengs team. suddenly, a fourfold magic array that was several thousand yards in diameter appeared above shi feng and the others. the magic array instantly drained the surrounding area of mana, causing all of the tier 5 experts present to fall to their knees. impossible! this is impossible! how can anyone quadruple-cast the tier 6 version of dark paradise?! is he a monster?! all of the tier 5 experts despaired as they looked at the fourfold magic array above their heads. even ji luorong and phoenix rain, who were tier 6 mage gods, were greatly frightened. what ukarius had cast was the tier 6 version of dark paradise. as it was a tier 6 curse, even tier 6 mage gods like themselves would normally take their time casting it. otherwise, their skill completion rate would end up very low, and the effects their dark paradise could achieve would be terrible. meanwhile, casting a fourfold spell was akin to casting the same spell four times. in the case of tier 6 curses, quadruple-casting them was such a challenging endeavor that it was outside the capabilities of even tier 6 gods proficient in magic. however, the fact that ukarius had cast a fourfold tier 6 curse was still not the most frightening part. what truly frightened everyone was that ukariuss fourfold dark paradise was cast with a 100% completion rate subsequently, a black ball of mana emerged from the fourfold magic array and descended upon shi fengs team rapidly. the ball of mana erased everything in its path, and there was no doubt it could erase even the immortal souls of tier 6 players should it be allowed to connect. however, halfway through the mana balls descent, a brilliant radiance suddenly illuminated the sky. at the same time, los merin could be seen appearing before the mana ball with his shield raised. just as los merins shield was about to collide with the fourfold dark paradise, countless divine runes emerged from the shield, forming a twofold barrier that covered a 1,000-yard radius. twofold tier 6 super spell, oracular barrier! boom! for a moment, the land and the sky vanished as a powerful shockwave turned the space in a 10,000-yard into a dark void. the flood of mana that resulted from the collision of spells was so violent that it momentarily prevented the world laws from repairing the affected space. however, the two individuals in the sky did not stop their clash after the initial impact. moving at a speed that even tier 6 experts could barely perceive, los merin defended against ukariuss spells using his shield while continuously trying to close in on the first generation saint. throughout this period, their respective law projections also clashed with one another. although los merin could only ensure that a limited area was free from the influence of ukariuss law projection, it was just barely enough to cover everyone from shi fengs team. however, ukarius was no ordinary boss. not only did he prevent los merin from getting anywhere near him, but he also caused los merin to lose over five billion hp each time the other party blocked his spells. even after becoming a legendary guard, los merin only had 70 billion hp. at this rate, it wouldnt take more than a minute for los merin to fall. all healers, keep los merin alive with everything you have! tier 5s, find opportunities to attack with combination skills and spells! shi feng calmly commanded, not at all surprised to see los merin being in a convincingly disadvantageous position. a legendary guard might rival gods, but first generation saints were existences far superior to gods. after issuing his commands, shi feng promptly activated his tier 6 legacy super spell sword law world. then, he joined everyone in attacking ukarius. although ukarius was a first generation saint who had mastered three advanced laws, sword law world still took full effect, weakening him by 30% in all aspects. as a result, ukariuss maximum hp fell to 1.4 quadrillion, and his law projection was weakened by 30%. this change allowed los merin to gain the upper hand, and the dragon knight instantly appeared within melee range of the first generation saint and dealt over 30 billion damage with a tier 6 shield bash. he can close the gap now! what skill did the guild leader use?! isnt it overpowered?! when everyone saw los merin finally landing a hit on ukarius, their confidence no longer wavered. split into 10-man groups and attack with large combination spells! phoenix rain was similarly excited by this development, and she promptly commanded her tier 5 subordinates to attack ukarius using large combination spells. immediately, apart from the fourteen healers, every other tier 5 expert in the team started attacking ukarius in groups of ten. under normal circumstances, tier 5 large combination spells could already exceed the average tier 6 spell in power. now that all of the teams tier 5 members had mana rivaling tier 6 players, the tier 5 large combination spells they cast could rival tier 6 curses, each attack causing over 10 billion damage to ukarius. in just one volley, the teams eight tier 5 groups had dealt over 100 billion damage. paired with shi fengs attack, which dealt over 300 billion damage, they managed to put a visible dent in one of ukariuss twelve hp bars. however, before anyone could celebrate, ukariuss battle recovery kicked in, instantly replenishing all of the hp he had just lost. this sight plunged everyone into despair once again. sure enough, the difference is still too much. shi feng wryly smiled when he saw ukariuss fully recovered hp. although ukarius had been weakened by 30%, his hp remained at a staggering value, and it allowed him to recover 28 trillion hp every five seconds. under normal circumstances, even a 100-man tier 6 team would be helpless against him. it seems i have no other choice. immediately, shi feng took out the primordial dragon legacy crystal and summoned kalishas phantom. this time, kalishas phantom was visibly stronger than the last time shi feng had summoned it. the phantom of a 10,000-meter-tall dragon had even appeared with kalishas phantom. meanwhile, after scanning the surrounding area, kalishas phantom revealed a look of surprise briefly before she pointed a finger at ukarius. at the same time, the phantom dragon behind kalisha opened its mouth and gathered a concentrated ball of energy in it. then, it bellowed in the direction of ukarius. primordial dragon roar! Chapter 3642 - Chapter 716 - Primordial Dragons Roar chapter 716 C primordial dragons roar despicable dragon! this is not where you belong! when ukarius saw the massive phantom dragon opening its mouth, his composure disappeared, and his expression turned gloomy. at the same time, a seven-colored radiance bloomed from his staff, and numerous magic arrays that spewed out divine runes appeared above him. in the blink of an eye, countless divine runes had wrapped themselves around ukarius, making it impossible for even los merin to get within a thousand yards of him. as for everyone else, their attacks were erased from existence as soon as they moved within a thousand yards of the first generation saint. this boss wasnt even taking us seriously this entire time? ji luorong couldnt help but doubt herself when she saw this sudden development. previously, although ukarius was strong, they could more or less damage him after shi feng had weakened him. but now, their attacks couldnt even get within a thousand yards of ukarius, let alone damage him. the difference in strength was simply despairing. meanwhile, a moment after ukarius finished constructing his divine rune barrier, the gigantic phantom dragon suddenly bellowed. immediately afterward, a gray beam exuding a boundless destructive aura struck ukariuss barrier. however, unlike the attacks of ji luorong and the others, the gray beam did not get erased. instead, it tore through the barrier like a thin sheet of paper and devoured ukarius. even then, the beam did not stop as it continued advancing and devouring the land behind ukarius, creating a bottomless pit in front of the temple. as expected of one of the twelve sanctuaries rulers. not even a level 210 first generation saint can defend against her attack shi feng couldnt help but be astonished when he saw ukarius losing the left half of his body to the gray beam. it should be known that kalisha was still not in her peak state. yet, she could already exhibit such power with only her phantom. although her primordial dragon roar did not outright kill ukarius, it took away more than 10% of his hp and put him in a heavily injured state. this was a feat that even ancient gods would have great difficulty replicating. in fact, if kalisha hadnt halted her attack after hitting ukarius, shi feng suspected she could put a hole through his home gods domain. how many more trump cards does he still have?! when phoenix rain saw ukarius being deprived of most of his combat power, she couldnt help but look at shi feng in shock. even though it hadnt been long since they started clashing with ukarius, phoenix rain could already tell that the first generation saint was an impossible opponent. they wouldnt stand a chance against ukarius even if they gathered all of their gods domains players, let alone fighting him with just six tier 6 players. under normal circumstances, their only option was to wait for death to claim them and pray they wouldnt get their souls annihilated. yet, with only a single move, shi feng had reduced ukarius to a state where the first generation saint couldnt even pose a threat to their team. we need to start attacking. we cannot let the boss recover his body, shi feng commanded when he saw kalishas phantom disappearing. once ukariuss body fully recovered, even if he remained heavily injured, he could still exhibit combat power rivaling tier 6 gods of the same level. with his absurdly high hp, even if he didnt have combat recovery, he could slowly whittle them to death. hearing shi fengs command, phoenix rain and the others understood this was a precious opportunity and promptly resumed their attack on ukarius. immediately, phoenix rain, ji luorong, and purple eye activated a tier 6 berserk skill and started casting tier 6 curses such as dimensional spirit blade, skyfire thunder spear, and meteor explosion. although none of these tier 6 curses were known for having astonishing power, they were the tier 6 curses that the trio were most proficient in. for example, phoenix rain could control up to a hundred dimensional blades at a time, ji luorong could control several hundred thunder spears at a time, and purple eye could control over a thousand meteors at a time. before their mana dried up, they could attack endlessly with these tier 6 curses. meanwhile, shadow flower and crimson mist activated their respective doppelganger skills, with shadow flower splitting into five copies of herself and crimson mist summoning two copies of herself. shadow flowers doppelgangers possessed 100% of her basic attributes, while crimson mists doppelgangers had 150% of her basic attributes. after doing so, they worked with los merien to negate all of ukariuss attempts at launching a counter-offensive and allow everyone else to attack the first generation saint freely. as for shi feng, he activated holy manas shadow and world of frost, transforming into a 20-meter-tall giant and summoning 100 frost swords to his side. immediately afterward, he executed swords orbit and launched a barrage of stars at ukarius, each impact easily depleting nearly a hundred billion of the first generation saints hp. after just one cycle of attacks, he dealt over ten trillion damage to ukarius, his dps alone surpassing the combined total of the rest of his team. 87% 50% 20% ukariuss hp rapidly fell under everyones fierce attacks. but at the same time, ukarius gradually recovered his body and combat power. first, it was his left arm. then, it was his left leg. as ukarius recovered more of his divine body, he also shifted from using tier 4 spells to tier 5 spells to defend himself. when ukariuss hp fell to 2%, he finally recovered his divine body completely and could use tier 6 spells again. immediately, he retaliated against shi fengs team with a fourfold tier 6 curse, overcoming los merins defense with ease and obliterating four of the ten tier 5 groups. this turn of events shocked everyone. it should be known that ukariuss heavily injured status was still in effect. yet, he could still kill them with ease. its over for you intruders! die, all of you! after his initial retaliation, ukarius coldly glanced at shi fengs team before summoning fifteen magic arrays around himself, each corresponding to a tier 6 spell. however, at the same time as ukarius had decided to rid himself of his opponents once and for all, shi feng raised the shadow incinerator high into the air and swung down with it. die! the end! third sword, holy annihilation! immediately, a towering pillar of flames rose from under ukarius. although ukarius had promptly reacted to it by casting a tier 6 defensive spell and summoning a barrier to protect himself, the crimson flames took only a second to burn through the barrier and envelop him. meanwhile, following a scream of agony, ukariuss remaining hp disappeared completely system: congratulations! you are the first team to have conquered the ruined library. dungeon rewards doubled. you will be teleported out of the ruined library in two hours. Chapter 3643 - Chapter 717 - Taboo Dungeons First Clear chapter 717 C taboo dungeons first clear we won?! we won!! when phoenix rain and the other survivors heard the system notification, they couldnt help but feel like they were dreaming. although ukarius had less than 2% of his hp left just now, that still translated to more than 16 trillion hp. with a tier 6 defensive spell protecting ukarius, even los merin would need some time to do that much damage to the first generation saint. outside of los merin, ukarius was more than capable of killing everyone else in that period. however, nobody had expected shi feng to be able to plunder 16 trillion hp from ukarius simply by raising his sword. while everyone was in a daze, shi feng reappeared from the void and quickly collected the sacred phantom ring from the ground. thank goodness i had the sacred phantom ring to substitute my death. otherwise, we really would have lost this time. shi feng breathed a deep sigh of relief as he looked at ukariuss charred corpse on the ground. the ruined librarys difficulty had far exceeded his expectations. originally, he thought it would have been a battle without any surprises. he never thought he would have to exhaust his trump cards to clear the taboo dungeon. even then, he had barely succeeded. the last moment where ukarius went berserk was especially anxiety-inducing. even though the first generation saint was clearly in a heavily injured state, he still managed to cast fifteen tier 6 spells simultaneously. his capabilities were simply heaven-defying. meanwhile, following ukariuss death, golden glows began enveloping shi feng one after another as his level skyrocketed. level 185 level 187 level 189 ultimately, shi fengs level settled at 191. aside from shi feng, some of the lower-level members who survived the battle also leveled up. for example, crimson mist had leveled up from level 202 to level 205. compared to the average boss monster, the exp ukarius awarded on death was in a completely different dimension. however, nobody paid much attention to the exp they gained from ukarius. instead, they curiously looked at the sealed golden door after snapping out of their daze. ukarius was the final boss of their gods domains first taboo mode dungeon. he was also the strongest boss monster, bar none they had ever encountered. he was so powerful that, despite being heavily injured, he managed to overwhelm los merin, who was a legendary personal guard and a level 212, tier 6 dragon knight. with such a powerful existence serving as the gatekeeper of the ruined librarys treasury, the items contained in the treasury should logically be amazing beyond their imaginations. healers, resurrect the dead. everyone else, rest for now. we will explore the treasury together later, shi feng instructed when he saw everyones passionate gazes. every treasury in gods domain would contain a mountain of treasures. at the very least, there should be enough items to fully stuff the bags of several dozen players. with time being limited, they naturally had to prioritize resurrecting the dead so that they could have more members help loot the treasury. upon hearing shi fengs command, the healers promptly started resurrecting the dead. around ten minutes later, the forty players who had died were resurrected. lets go in, then. seeing that everyone had fully recovered, shi feng made his way toward the treasurys golden door. however, as everyone got closer to the 30-meter door, they were suddenly subjected to a continuous barrage of mental attacks, and over half the team fell to their knees on the spot, unable to move forward any further. what powerful mental attacks. with such an obstacle in place, those without tier 6 basic concentration wont even be able to enter the treasury, phoenix rain, who had arrived before the golden door, said with a somewhat pale complexion. the law chains sealing the golden door had disappeared following ukariuss death. as a result, those who tried to approach the golden door would now be subjected to powerful mental attacks. these mental attacks were so powerful that they disqualified over half of the teams tier 5 members as soon as they moved within 100 yards of the door. by the time they were close enough to touch the door, only fifteen players remained standing. aside from the teams tier 6 members, the rest were all tier 5 players who had already developed their concentration to the tier 6 standard. subsequently, when shi feng pushed apart the golden door, a stream of even stronger mental attacks assaulted everyones minds. everyone felt as if someone had just slammed a hammer into their brain, and even the tier 6 members of the team had nearly collapsed to their knees from the pain. those without tier 6 intermediate concentration should avoid entering, after taking a moment to feel the mental attacks intensity, shi feng looked at blue phoenix and the other tier 5 experts, who were still struggling to stay standing, and said, find a suitable location to train your concentration while you wait for us to collect the treasures. there were both advantages and disadvantages to mental attacks. on the one hand, they could wear out a players concentration. on the other hand, they could temper a players mind, providing significant assistance to players in developing their concentration. of course, such tempering had to be done in moderation. if players tried to tackle mental attacks that were far beyond their tolerance, they could very well suffer soul annihilation. based on his analysis, the mental attacks inside the treasury would induce significant pain even to players with tier 6 intermediate concentration. if players tried to enter the treasury with their concentration below the tier 6 intermediate standard, they would quickly lose consciousness. phoenix rain agreed with shi fengs analysis. so, when she saw the reluctant looks on blue phoenix and the others, she said, stay here, blue. it is unfortunate, but you shouldnt throw your life away just for some treasures. understood. after taking one last look at the corridor beyond the golden door, blue phoenix and the other tier 5 members helplessly backed away and quietly watched as shi feng and the other five tier 6 members of the team entered the treasury. after shi fengs group walked down the treasurys entrance corridor for about ten minutes, they arrived at a palace lined with stone statues. upon stepping inside the palace, the group was greeted by the sight of mountains of treasures that radiated incredibly dense eternal energy. is this the first clear reward? ji luorong couldnt help but gape in shock as she looked at the mountains of treasures before her. it should be known that the god chaser set had a rather low drop rate throughout the taboo dungeon. yet, several of the mountains in this treasury were made up of god chaser sets entirely. moreover, all of these god chaser sets came in complete sets. aside from the god chaser sets, the treasury also housed many divine titan sources, an inferior divine material that all powers dreamed of obtaining to use as a power source. many items, such as combat puppets, flying ships, and the core magic arrays of guild towns and cities, required a power source. meanwhile, divine titan sources were akin to gods among power sources. this was because divine titan sources generated eternal energy when in use, and should mana-powered items be operated using eternal energy, their capabilities would improve substantially. while ji luorong and the others were stunned by how many divine titan sources were in the treasury, shi feng had his eyes glued to an old painting hanging on a wall. a divine artifact?! Chapter 3644 - Chapter 718 - Origin Myth chapter 718 C origin myth what did you say, guild leader? a divine artifact? that painting is a divine artifact?! when phoenix rain and the others heard shi fengs exclamation, they couldnt help but follow his gaze and look at the unassuming painting on the wall. however, they failed to sense even a strand of mana from the painting, let alone eternal energy. it was no different than the ordinary paintings used as decoration. but shi feng was far more knowledgeable about gods domain than them, so they couldnt completely discount his words. for those living in their gods domain, divine artifacts were very foreign objects. but at the same time, these were also items they yearned to obtain. although they didnt have much knowledge regarding the world outside their gods domain, they knew that divine artifacts remained extraordinary items there, and every divine artifact could potentially lead to the birth or death of a titanic existence in the outside world. now that a divine artifact could potentially be hanging right before their eyes, how could they not be surprised and excited? i cant say for sure, shi feng said before hurriedly approaching the painting to appraise it. in reality, shi feng wasnt particularly familiar with divine artifacts, either. although he had collected a lot of information on divine artifacts, he never managed to own one himself. meanwhile, according to his knowledge, divine artifacts normally radiated incredibly dense eternal energy, even when not equipped by a player. some divine artifacts would even radiate divine might so powerful that they could prevent ordinary tier 6 experts from approaching it. moreover, as far as he knew, players couldnt obtain complete divine artifacts outside of trading with or stealing from other players. instead, players could only acquire complete divine artifacts by repairing fragmented divine artifacts. this was also one of the reasons that made divine artifacts difficult to obtain. honestly, shi feng had not noticed anything special about the painting on the wall when he first laid eyes on it. he only suspected it to be a divine artifact rather than a fragmented divine artifact because of the sunlight blade in his bag. ever since shi feng obtained the sunlight blade from chalk splendor, the weapon had been slumbering in his bag and never made any movements. as he was a human player and could not use the sunlight blade, he could only leave it in his bag and wait for an opportunity to sell it back to the holy race for a good price. however, as soon as he stepped inside the palace just now, the sunlight blade suddenly moved. or, more specifically, it became incredibly agitated, as if it had encountered something scary. it even tried to escape from his spatial bag. fortunately, he had kept the sunlight blade in his inferior legendary spatial bag. the interior of an inferior legendary spatial bag was akin to a miniature world, and it came with a world barrier that an ownerless divine artifact couldnt break. meanwhile, what frightened the sunlight blade to such an extent was none other than the painting on the wall. so long as he looked in the paintings direction, the sunlight blade would immediately become agitated, and it would only settle down once he looked away from it. for the sunlight blade to fear an object so greatly, the object in question would have to be a divine artifact or an item that transcended divine artifacts. however, shi feng was well aware that godly relics that were stronger than divine artifacts could not be as unassuming as the old painting. take the shadow incinerator, for example. even when it was completely sealed, he already had great difficulty getting close to it. had he encountered the shadow incinerator in its unsealed state, he could have never gotten anywhere near it, let alone obtain it. hence, shi feng concluded that the painting was a divine artifact. divine artifacts in gods domain came in various forms, so it wasnt impossible for a divine artifact to be inconspicuous. a good example would be the seven luminaries alliances golden kingdom. the golden kingdom came in the form of a tattered flag, and if a person were to encounter it without knowing what it was, they would never think it was a divine artifact. after arriving before the painting, shi feng immediately took it down from the wall and started appraising it. it really is one! shi feng grew ecstatic when he saw the loading bar that appeared after he activated his identification skill. normally, even when he appraised an inferior legendary material, the process would only need one minute. yet, the appraisal of the painting needed five minutes. apart from divine artifacts, he could think of no other item that required such a long appraisal process. one minute three minutes five minutes the instant the loading bar finished, shi feng felt his mind spinning, and he very nearly dropped the painting in his hands. the origin myth?! shi feng was in shock and disbelief as he looked at the information displayed before him. [origin myth] (divine artifact rank item) contains an origin space passed down from the mythical era. so long as enough energy is injected, the origin space can be activated and used to modify and strengthen items. cooldown: 1 natural day unbelievable! it was absolutely unbelievable! at first glance, the origin myth might seem a little too ordinary to be a divine artifact. after all, it only had a simple description indicating its ability to modify and strengthen items. however, upon closer inspection, one would notice that no limitations were mentioned in the description. this meant that the origin myth did not have a limit on how much it could modify or strengthen an item. this point alone would put its value far beyond even godly relics such as the shadow incinerator and seven luminaries codex. as for the name origin myth, it was something that virtually every power in the greater gods domain was familiar with. this was because the origin myth was the most prized possession of the origin sanctuary, one of the greater gods domains twelve sanctuaries. only, the origin myth had been missing since the mythical era. during the mythical era, the origin sanctuary ranked among the top three of the twelve sanctuaries, and the reason it could stay at such a high rank was due to its possession of countless treasures. meanwhile, according to rumors, most of these treasures came from the origin myth, with some even being divine artifacts. but one day, the origin myth suddenly went missing, plunging the origin sanctuary into chaos. although the origin sanctuary had tried everything to locate its most prized possession, it ultimately failed. as a result, its stockpile of treasures stopped growing, and its ranking among the twelve sanctuaries plummeted, falling from the top three to tenth place. who would have thought the well-renowned origin myth would be hidden inside the god slayers treasury when shi feng looked at the origin myth in his hands, he suddenly understood why the sunlight blade would react so fearfully toward it. although the sunlight blade was regarded as an arcana by the sun dynasty, it was still just a divine artifact. with the origin myths powers, it was entirely possible to modify the sunlight blade to abandon its use of holy power and instead adopt the use of mana. in that case, the sunlight blade would become a treasure of the human race instead of the holy race. the sunlight blade was the creation of one of the holy races holy ancestors, so it would more or less contain some of the holy ancestors will. because of this, it would naturally be against becoming a treasure of the human race. hence, it tried to flee when it discovered the origin myth. unfortunately, all the sunlight blade accomplished was to inform shi feng of the origin myths existence. lets try it on you, then! thinking up to this point, shi feng retrieved the sunlight blade from his bag and placed it into the origin myth. although the sunlight blade desperately struggled, it was powerless against shi fengs iron grip, and it could do nothing but watch as it got sent into the origin myths origin space. activate the origin space! Chapter 3645 - Chapter 719 - Inferior Divine chapter 719 C inferior divine system: origin space has detected the divine artifact sunlight blade. system: the sunlight blade is identified to be an item exclusive to the holy race. do you wish to modify it into an item exclusive to the human race? when shi feng placed the sunlight blade into the origin myth, two system notifications appeared before him, instantly turning his suspicion into ecstasy. the sunlight blade was one of the sun dynastys most prized possessions. if not for the assistance of verdant rainbows world string, shi feng could have never killed chalk splendor and obtained the weapon. if the sunlight blade could be modified into a weapon usable by human players, zero wing would instantly gain a strategic weapon. modify it! shi feng chose to modify the sunlight blade without hesitation. system: modifying the sunlight blade into a weapon exclusive to the human race will cost 80,000,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. do you wish to proceed? eighty million? the corners of shi fengs mouth twitched when he saw the new notification. eighty million units of seven luminaries crystal was a massive sum to any power in the greater gods domain. normally, a tier 6 player would only need 100 thousand units for their tier 6 prompt. a sum of 80 million units was already enough to pay for 800 players tier 6 promotion. previously, shi feng had spent most of his seven luminaries crystals to create his superior divine body, so he only had a little over 14 million units on hand right now. it was nowhere near enough to pay for the sunlight blades modification. sure enough, divine artifacts cannot be obtained easily, shi feng thought as he replaced the sunlight blade in the origin space with the abyss workshop certification. honestly, shi feng wasnt particularly disappointed by this outcome. he also wasnt surprised that it cost 80 million units of seven luminaries crystal to modify the sunlight blade. every divine artifact, whether it was a weapon or equipment, could affect the greater gods domains status quo. the fact that the origin myth could modify a divine artifact was already very astounding. if it could do so at a low cost, on top of that, it could no longer be rated as merely a divine artifact. instead, it would be an existence far superior to divine artifacts. so, simply knowing that the sunlight blade could be modified was already a satisfying result for shi feng. now, all he needed to do was save up 80 million units of seven luminaries crystal. system: origin space has detected the legendary item abyss workshop certification. system: do you wish to strengthen and modify the abyss workshop certification? yes! shi feng immediately agreed to strengthen the abyss workshop certification, wanting to see if he could afford to improve it. although he had many items he could strengthen using the origin myth right now, considering his limited stockpile of seven luminaries crystal, he decided to prioritize strengthening items of greater importance. meanwhile, the abyss workshop certification was undoubtedly the item that needed strengthening the most. zero wings greatest advantage in the eternal realm was its ability to transport players across realms. players outside the eternal realm had an overwhelming advantage over the eternal realms players in levels and equipment standards, so it would benefit zero wing greatly if it could have many such players fighting for it in the eternal realm. however, the abyss workshop certification could only teleport up to twenty players at a time. this greatly restricted zero wings growth in the eternal realm. system: strengthening and modifying the abyss workshop certification into an inferior divine item will cost 6,000,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. do you wish to proceed? proceed! shi feng gritted his teeth as he made his choice. although spending six million units of seven luminaries crystal here would reduce the number of tier 6 experts zero wing could have, shi fengs current priority was transporting as many tier 5 and tier 6 experts from his home gods domain to the eternal realm. only by doing so could zero wing safeguard its resurrection camp in the world ark. following shi fengs decision, six million units of seven luminaries crystal in shi fengs bag transformed into a stream of energy that flowed into the origin space. a moment later, a colorful brilliance bloomed from the abyss workshop certification, and the magic arrays and divine runes engraved on it disappeared. at the same time, new magic arrays and divine runes formed on it. the new magic arrays and divine runes were visibly more streamlined than the old ones. they even incited the surrounding eternal energy. after the strengthening and modification process continued for five minutes, a brand new abyss workshop certification appeared in shi fengs hands. [abyss workshop certification] (inferior divine rank item) a certification of glory in the past. it can be used to teleport to the abyss workshop. cannot be traded. there is a 0.1% drop rate on death. automatically disappears if stored in a warehouse for more than 180 natural days. additional skill 1- abyss teleportation: teleport to the abyss workshop from any location. each teleportation will cost 10 mana stones. cooldown: 5 natural days additional skill 2- world-breaking teleportation: forcibly opens a world-breaking gate at a pre-designated location. up to 22 locations can be saved. each gate can only transfer up to 100 people. each gate activation costs 2,000 units of seven luminaries crystals. cooldown: 6 hours incredible! shi feng was astonished when he saw the abyss workshop certifications new statistics. he was especially surprised by the increase in the number of people world-breaking teleportation could teleport. with the carrying capacity increased by five times, he could bring many level 200-plus, tier 5 and tier 6 experts into the eternal realm within a short period. we have finished looting the treasury, guild leader. should we leave now? phoenix rain suddenly asked through the team chat. you looted everything? shi feng couldnt help but be surprised when he saw the palaces empty state. he never thought phoenix rain and the others could loot the god slayers treasury completely. compared to the nameless citys treasury, the god slayers treasury was a lot smaller, and it could only be considered a small-sized treasury. even so, five players worth of epic spatial bags wouldnt be enough to loot it completely. surprised, guild leader? well, ill have you know that my commander has a legendary spatial bag! its inside is like a miniature world, and it is one-of-a-kind in our gods domain! crimson mist explained, smiling when he saw the surprised look on shi fengs face. all of the precious materials, weapons, and equipment eternal glory has acquired in the past are kept inside my commanders bag. you can say that my commander is eternal glorys mobile warehouse. as if to support crimson mists words, ji luorong revealed a look of delight as she patted one of the pouches on her waist, making it look like the palaces items were nowhere near enough to fill her legendary spatial bag. alright. since everything is collected, lets leave, then. after looking at how much time they had left in the dungeon, shi feng put the origin myth and abyss workshop certification away before choosing to forcibly teleport the entire team out of the ruined library. while shi feng and the others were leaving the ruined library, a commotion erupted outside the dungeons entrance. what did you say?! zero wing is the one behind the first clear?! disbelief colored nine dragons emperors face when he heard his subordinates investigative report. he felt as if the entire world was playing a joke on him. Chapter 3646 - Chapter 720 - Are You Black Flame? chapter 720 C are you black flame? are you sure your information is correct? illusory words asked, surprise coloring her eyes as she looked at the level 209, tier 5 assassin reporting to nine dragons emperor. not long ago, the tier 6 alliances members were still angry over zero wings response. they felt that zero wing wasnt taking them seriously as it refused to give them any form of assurance. they also felt that zero wing was only putting on a strong front and, in reality, it didnt actually have the strength to protect even itself, let alone others. honestly, after seeing zero wings response, illusory words herself couldnt help but suspect that phoenix rain might have exaggerated zero wings actual strength to convince her to join. however, if the tier 5 assassins report was accurate, everyone from the tier 6 alliance, including herself, would have misjudged zero wing. it should be known that even the foreign teams could not conquer the taboo mode ruined library. yet, zero wing had done it. moreover, zero wing had accomplished this feat with only six tier 6 players. it was such an incredulous feat that illusory words couldnt help but doubt its validity. the information comes from a very reliable source, the tier 5 assassin stated firmly. shortly after the announcement of the taboo dungeon being conquered, some of zero wings raid team members have announced their success in the guild. zero wings guild reputation has also increased by 100,000 points around the same time. so, i dont think they were lying. it seems rain has really made the right bet. illusory words couldnt help but envy phoenix rain when she heard the tier 5 assassins explanation. before today, nobody took zero wing seriously. however, once news of zero wing securing the first clear of the taboo mode ruined library spread, the various superpowers would probably fight to establish a partnership with zero wing. after all, zero wing being able to secure a taboo dungeons first clear was a strong testament to its strength. not to mention, taboo dungeons produced level 200-plus weapons and equipment. if zero wing could raid a taboo dungeon, it meant the guild would have a stable supply of level 200-plus weapons and equipment. even if the world gate opened in the future and tons of foreign powers invaded their gods domain, zero wing would still have the capital to continue competing. at that time, even if their gods domains various superpowers sought to join zero wing, zero wing wouldnt necessarily be willing to accept them. however, phoenix rain, who had joined zero wing before its rise in fame, would have no such concern. dont get happy for phoenix rain too soon, illusory, nine dragons emperor said before looking at the two foreign teams outside the ruined librarys entrance. then, he continued with a sneer, zero wing might have secured the first clear, but they can only keep their reward if they have the strength to protect it. upon hearing nine dragons emperors words, illusory words couldnt help but look at the taboo dungeons entrance with a grim look. previously, the two foreign teams maintained a competitive relationship with each other, even when they were capturing native tier 5 and tier 6 experts to work for them. however, as soon as the system announced that someone had secured the ruined librarys first clear, the two teams promptly joined forces to blockade the entrance portal and erected a threefold spatial barrier that could trap even tier 6 players for a considerable period. evidently, these foreign teams intended to eliminate zero wings team and take the first clear rewards for themselves. while illusory words was thinking of contacting phoenix rain, a beam of crimson light suddenly shot out of the entrance portal and landed a short distance away. then, individuals began emerging from the crimson light one after another, and these individuals were none other than shi feng and his teammates. they came out so quickly! how bold of them. do they not know that the two foreign teams are watching the entrance? they might be betting that the two foreign teams wont take action so quickly. otherwise, theyd be fools to come out of the dungeon. zero wing is doomed. the first clear it worked hard to secure will now benefit the two foreign teams instead. when shi fengs team appeared, the various powers experts, who had long given up on raiding the ruined library, engaged in a heated discussion. they didnt think zero wings raid team would be so foolish as to actually leave the taboo dungeon after clearing it instead of trying to buy time by logging out of the game. players were allowed to go offline inside dungeons in gods domain. they would simply be teleported to the dungeons entrance when they came back online. hence, when it came to team dungeons prioritized by the various powers, teams would normally choose to log out inside the dungeon after successfully securing the first clear. although they would still be forcibly teleported to the dungeons entrance when they came back online, they would still have bought themselves some precious time. if they waited long enough, they could even leave the dungeon scot-free. after all, it was unfeasible for any power to erect a magic barrier on a dungeons entrance over a long period. it was especially so for magic barriers that could trap tier 6 players. the cost would quickly build up and diminish potential profits. of course, if a team had sufficiently strong backing and knew nobody would dare to target it, it could also leave the dungeon right after securing the first clear. but in everyones opinion, zero wing should be nowhere near comparable to the conglomerates backing the two foreign teams. so what if you can secure the first clear? so what if your team is strong? in the end, all your effort will go to someone else, nine dragons emperor said contemptuously as he looked at phoenix rain, who was trapped inside the threefold spatial barrier. it was true that zero wings team was strong. the fact that it could secure the ruined librarys first clear proved it was stronger than any of the teams present. however, no matter how strong zero wings team was, it was still just a single team. while the players outside the ruined library closely monitored the situation, the scouts dispatched by the various powers also relayed the scene to their superiors. black flame! lets see how you can keep your arrogance in front of two conglomerates! blood sand from the flower of seven sins said with a vicious expression as he watched the video his subordinate sent him. after the fight with zero wing, his position in the flower of seven sins had plummeted. originally, he had been having a headache thinking of how he could get his revenge on zero wing after phoenix rain and ji luorong had joined the guild. but now, he wouldnt need to take action anymore. he could simply let the two conglomerate-backed foreign teams take care of zero wing for him. the various native powers of their gods domain might be unfamiliar with the greater worlds conglomerates, but as an executive of the flower of seven sins, blood sand knew just how terrifying they were. every conglomerate was an existence that ruled over numerous gods domains and had countless tier 6 experts under their command. if an upstart guild like zero wing was to go against a conglomerate, only death would await it. at this time, each of the two conglomerate-backed teams outside the ruined library could be seen sending a representative to meet with zero wings team. of the two representatives, one was a man, and the other was a woman. both were level 217, tier 6 players fully equipped with legendary weapons and equipment, and both were clearly experts at the fifth-floor standard. after arriving before zero wings team, the woman, who was a level 217, tier 6 swordsman with a tall and powerful figure, looked at shi feng with a hint of surprise in her eyes and asked: are you black flame, the lord of war goddesses? Chapter 3647 - Chapter 721 - New Divine Glory List chapter 721 C new divine glory list whats going on? why does that big shot look like shes familiar with black flame? black flame? the lord of war goddesses? could zero wings guild leader actually be someone famous? the conglomerate-backed womans question caught the various native players by surprise. nobody could understand what was going on right now, and the tier 6 experts of the various native superpowers were especially confused by this development. the members of the two conglomerate-backed foreign teams were incredibly arrogant. none of them took any native expert seriously, and even the five great super guilds old monsters could not catch their attention. of course, the arrogance of these foreign experts was not unfounded, as each of them was much stronger than any native expert. it was especially so for the female swordsman who was currently speaking to shi feng. previously, not only did she capture five of the various superpowers tier 6 experts by herself, but she had accomplished the feat with only three moves. because of her strength and actions, many native players had already secretly started to refer to her as the devil. yet, this devil was now taking the initiative to ask black flame for confirmation of his identity. how could everyone watching this not be surprised? yes, that is me, shi feng said, nodding. he also couldnt help but be a little surprised as he looked at the woman before him. while he might have some fame in the eternal realm, most of the greater gods domain should still be unaware of his existence. after all, only a small portion of the greater gods domains players and powers were currently involved with the eternal realm. in addition, the core experts of upper-ranking hegemonic powers and conglomerates would usually have their focus on the twelve sanctuaries. so, they wouldnt usually show any interest in matters outside the twelve sanctuaries. as for the seven luminaries alliances sacred glory list, it might be within the attention of the greater gods domains various powers, but most powers only regarded the experts on this list as talented children worthy of befriending. nobody would actually regard a sacred glory expert as an actual powerhouse in the greater gods domain. meanwhile, the woman before him was the leader of a conglomerate-backed team. moreover, the team she led had come here specifically to raid a taboo dungeon, so it went without saying she should possess incredible combat prowess and status in the conglomerate she was from. there was no reason someone important like her would pay attention to a budding genius on the sacred glory list. at most, she would know of the existence of such a person. after all, whether it was the luminous glory list or sacred glory list, both would see significant changes every now and then, but only a minority of those on these lists could ultimately become powerhouses in the greater gods domain. greetings, mr. black flame. i am sword bee, the vice commander of the red mirror conglomerates third main force. i am also currently serving as the leader of the red mirror conglomerates vanguard team. when the female swordsman received shi fengs confirmation, a hint of respect immediately appeared on her indifferent face. i truly did not think i would have the fortune of meeting you in this gods domain. before sword bee could continue speaking, the male berserker, who was the leader of the other conglomerate-backed team, suddenly stepped forward. greetings, mr. black flame. i am light chaser, the leader of the forest crystal conglomerates vanguard team, the male berserker took the initiative to introduce himself. i didnt think you were personally taking action, mr. black flame. i now know why the taboo dungeon can be conquered so quickly. if my superiors learn of this, they will probably be given a fright. sword bee and light chaser behaved as if they were speaking to an old friend when they talked to shi feng. the hint of respect in their voices was also obvious, and it caused the surrounding spectators to fall silent. even phoenix rain and the others of shi fengs team couldnt help but look at this scene in stunned silence. when they were about to leave the ruined library, phoenix rain and the others had already prepared themselves for a tough fight. however, the attitudes of the two conglomerate-backed teams leaders were nothing like they expected. rather than trying to rob them, it looked more like these two individuals were congratulating them for their success. i still have other business to tend to. if you have nothing else for me, can i leave? shi feng asked. he could tell that sword bee and light chaser were eager to continue their conversation, but he wasnt interested in doing so. it also didnt seem like they wished to harm zero wing, so although he didnt know their motives, he naturally wouldnt take the initiative to attack them. of course. since you have other matters, it is only natural that you tend to them first, mr. black flame, light chaser said. he could tell that shi feng wasnt planning to stay any longer, so he hurriedly waved at his subordinates, saying, what are you all still standing there for? did you not hear that mr. black flame has something to do? hurry up and make way! when the members of the two conglomerate-backed teams heard light chasers words, they dared not disobey and quickly took down the magic barrier covering the dungeon portal. then, they took the initiative to make a path for shi fengs team to leave the plaza. when the various native experts saw this scene, all of them were dumbfounded. whats going on? illusory words was similarly stunned as she watched shi fengs team safely depart from the plaza. it should be known that the two conglomerate-backed teams had made it very obvious they were going to take lethal action against the team that secured the ruined librarys first clear. otherwise, they wouldnt have gone out of their way to join forces and erect a magic barrier over the dungeons entrance. yet, the instant the leaders of the two teams saw shi feng, they behaved as if they had just met an old friend and even personally saw him off nine dragons emperor was similarly confused by this development. it should be known that even the leader of the dragon hunting temples vanguard team had to behave respectfully in front of sword bee and light chaser. whats wrong? dont tell me youre acquainted with black flame? the one-eyed guardian knight from the dragon hunting temple asked when he saw nine dragons emperors gaze fixated on shi fengs team. im not acquainted with him, but a friend of mine is, nine dragons emperor said, shaking his head. then, unable to help his curiosity, he asked the one-eyed guardian knight, who exactly is that black flame, mr. dragon tamer? why would those two behave so respectfully toward him? your friend is very fortunate, then, the one-eyed guardian knight named dragon tamer said. then, he looked at nine dragons emperor and pondered for a moment before asking, have you heard of the greater gods domains divine glory list before? the divine glory list? hearing dragon tamers question, nine dragons emperor quickly recalled the greater gods domains apex ranking lists previously mentioned by hidden mist. is it the ranking list where only the greater gods domains apex experts can enter? thats correct. dragon tamer nodded. then, he looked at shi fengs departing back and respectfully said, black flame is the latest expert to enter the divine glory list. the lord of war goddesses black flame. moreover, he has been granted the rank of 281st. that is a high ranking, even on the divine glory list! hes 281st on the divine glory list?! nine dragons emperor nearly lost his footing when he heard dragon tamers words. even the lowest-ranked expert on the divine glory list was an extraordinary existence who could single-handedly shake an entire realm, let alone someone ranked within the top 300. when dealing with such an individual, even cross-realm conglomerates would have to tread carefully, let alone the average conglomerate. if any of their gods domains native powers could get into the good graces of such an expert, they could be worry-free even when developing in the greater gods domain, let alone in their gods domain. Chapter 3648 - Chapter 722 - Times Have Changed chapter 722 C times have changed black dragon empire, black dragon city, zero wings residence: we are done appraising and tallying the loot we got from the treasury, guild leader, phoenix rain reported excitedly as she stepped into the guild leaders office. in addition to 12,485 divine titan sources, we have obtained 216 god chaser sets and 114 god slayer combat puppets. that many? shi feng was a little surprised by the numbers phoenix rain reported. although he had long known the god slayers treasury would house extraordinary wealth, he didnt think it would be to such an extent. firstly, the value of the divine titan sources and epic-ranked god chaser sets went without saying. as for the god slayer combat puppets, they were bona fide advanced dark-gold combat puppets. they were superior to even the dark-gold combat puppets the seven luminaries alliance used in the defensive clash against the sun dynasty. each could overwhelm the average tier 6 player, even when piloted by a level 0 player. although a force of 114 god slayer combat puppets still wasnt enough to let zero wing triumph over the sun dynasty in an all-out clash, it should be enough to let zero wing defend its resurrection camp in the world ark. besides that, we have already integrated with six superpowers and received the real estate of five empires and twenty-six kingdoms. our stockpile of seven luminaries crystal is currently sitting at 3.15 million units, and our tier 6 expert count has reached 14. as for tier 5 experts, we now have over 10,000 level 200-plus, tier 5 experts, of which 2,000 are at level 210 and above, phoenix rain continued reporting. also, as per your instructions, i have asked the 164 level 210-plus, tier 5 experts who have mastered at least one basic law if they are willing to sign the gods domain contract you provided, and 109 have agreed. excellent, shi feng said, nodding in satisfaction. have everyone who has signed the contract gather in the residence as soon as possible. we will leave our gods domain in three hours. were leaving today? phoenix rain couldnt help but look at shi feng in surprise. shortly after the two conglomerate-backed foreign teams respectfully saw shi feng off from the ruined library, many native powers expressed their wishes to join zero wing. as a result, zero wing became swamped with work selecting and integrating these powers. fortunately, zero wing was very stringent on the powers and players it accepted. otherwise, completing the preliminary integration in just a day would have been impossible. originally, phoenix rain thought they would have a few more days to complete the integration work. she never thought they would be heading for the eternal realm so soon. mhm. zero wings situation in the eternal realm isnt looking too good from what ive been told, so well need to send reinforcements as soon as possible, shi feng said with a wry smile. if possible, he would also prefer to bide his time to bring more experts into the eternal realm. unfortunately, the sun dynasty did not plan on giving him more time. the world ark was one of the most important locations in the eternal realm, and there were two reasons for this. firstly, it was a producer of secret treasures. secondly, it was a gateway for players to enter holy ring city. currently, holy ring city was the only known location where players could reincarnate into a mythical race. meanwhile, the power of mythical races was so great that they could influence the greater gods domains power structure, and this held true for both human players and holy race players. because of this, holy ring city would inevitably become a gathering place of immense wealth and talent in the future. once holy ring city developed to its peak, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to equate its significance to an entire realm. if zero wing couldnt establish a foothold in holy ring city, it would have much greater difficulty establishing itself in the eternal realm. ill notify them right away, phoenix rain said before leaving the office. three hours later when shi feng opened a world-breaking gate, phoenix rain, illusory words, and the other tier 6 experts of zero wing couldnt help but look at it with a fervent gaze. they had always dreamed of traveling to the world outside of their gods domain. after all, a single gods domain was too small of a stage for a tier 6 player. only by stepping onto a bigger stage could they develop more effectively. not to mention, now that it was only a matter of time before the inhabitants of their world needed to migrate to the greater world, they would need to start earning the greater worlds currency and resources. otherwise, once their worlds currency and resources became unusable, they would immediately become destitute. those in the first batch, follow me through the gate. those in the second batch, wait here for six hours, shi feng said before taking the lead to cross the world-breaking gate. seeing this, those selected to be in the first batch quickly followed shi feng through the gate and had their vision blinded by a bright flash. then, when they could see again, they found themselves standing in a room filled with unbelievably dense mana. the room even had a trace of eternal energy. is this the world outside our gods domain? phoenix rain couldnt help but widen her eyes in shock as she looked out the window at the courtyard of zero wings residence. although she had taken only a few glances, she could already tell the combat standards of the players walking in the courtyard. the fourth-floor standard! even the weakest player walking in the courtyard was a fourth-floor expert! it should be known that even domain realm experts were incredibly rare in their gods domain. as for those who had reached the fourth-floor standard, they were all existences who could compete for a spot among the ten saints. yet, such experts were the most common type of experts found in zero wings residence in the eternal realm. while phoenix rain and the others were looking through the window of shi fengs office with shocked expressions, a woman entered the room. the woman had an extraordinary presence, instantly dominating everyones attention as soon as she appeared. youre finally back, guild leader. vice guild leader frey and i would have failed to hold on had you taken any longer to return. carrying the chaos windblade on her back, gentle snow was akin to a war goddess as she walked up to shi feng. although she was currently only at level 180, phoenix rain and the others felt as if they were standing before a tier 6 god. in fact, the power she carried within her body was so overbearing that it distorted the space around her. gentle snow? phoenix rain couldnt help but be surprised when she saw gentle snow. although it had been years since she last saw gentle snow, she could still recognize her face. gentle snow, the snow goddess. the woman was very famous during the early days of gods domain. when she suddenly disappeared from gods domain, many powers lamented over her disappearance as they all felt that gentle snow had the potential to become a tier 6 expert. at one point, phoenix rain had also tried to recruit gentle snow. she felt that gentle snow was comparable to blue phoenix in talent, and she was confident the woman could become of huge assistance to her. unfortunately, gentle snow turned down her offer, and she never saw the other party ever since. now that phoenix rain was meeting with gentle snow again, she found that the other party had become inhumanly strong. gentle snow had become so strong that phoenix rain doubted she could survive more than a handful of moves against her. Chapter 3649 - Chapter 723 - Advanced Fine-Gold Flying Ship chapter 723 C advanced fine-gold flying ship guild leader phoenix? gentle snow was a little surprised to see phoenix rain in the room. she didnt think shi feng could successfully abduct the renowned demon queen of their home gods domain. personally, gentle snow admired phoenix rain a lot. this was because the other party had single-handedly developed the dragon-phoenix pavilion into an overlord in their gods domain. in contrast, not only did she fail to properly manage ouroboros, a first-rate guild, but she even ended up getting dismissed from the guild. i am no longer the dragon-phoenix pavilions great pavillion master, so you dont have to address me as guild leader phoenix. im slightly older than you, so call me big sis phoenix instead, phoenix rain said, shaking her head. at the same time, she couldnt help but have mixed feelings as she looked at gentle snow. phoenix rain considered herself rather talented. she had also been superior to gentle snow in combat standards the last time they met. yet, from what she could tell, gentle snows combat standard should have already reached the extrasensory realm youve reached the fifth-floor standard and learned that gold combat technique already, snow? shi feng was similarly surprised when he sensed gentle snows aura. before he left, gentle snow admittedly exuded a very strong aura already. however, that was by virtue of the chaos windblade enhancing her basic attributes to an extraordinary extent, and he did not feel an ounce of danger when he stood in her presence. not to mention, even with the chaos windblade, gentle snows basic attributes were still inferior to his at the time. now that he had reached level 191, which was eleven levels higher than gentle snows current level, he logically should have an even bigger advantage in basic attributes over gentle snow than before. yet, he could now feel a vague sense of danger coming from her. of all the explanations he could think of, the only reasonable one was that gentle snow had become a fifth-floor expert who had grasped a gold combat technique. mhm. the gold combat technique i received from the seven luminaries alliance is highly compatible with me, and i was lucky enough to achieve a breakthrough when i was fighting against the holy race experts some time ago, gentle snow said, nodding and revealing an excited expression. nine sword eradication was the name of the technique she had exchanged from the seven luminaries alliance as her reward, and it was one of the few advanced gold combat techniques offered to her for exchange. she also suspected it to be a technique created by the goddess of space as it looked very similar to the swordsmanship she had seen while completing a guild guidance quest. originally, she had only exchanged the technique to help her learn the swordsmanship in the guidance quest. she never really expected to be able to learn nine sword eradication, seeing as it was an advanced gold combat technique. however, to her surprise, she actually succeeded. is the holy races offensive very fierce? shi feng asked when he noticed the fatigue on gentle snows face. no shelters were available in the world ark, so players could not get any proper rest to recover their concentration while operating there. as for the resurrection camps, they only functioned to resurrect players and nothing more. so, even with the help of concentration recovery potions and tents, players could only delay the inevitable. meanwhile, if players wished to avoid dying from concentration exhaustion, they would have to periodically return to a city for proper rest. however, it had only been a few days since he left the eternal realm. unless gentle snow had been stationed at the resurrection camp throughout this entire time, there was no way she would look as tired as she was now. things are indeed a little tricky, gentle snow said, sighing. although the seven luminaries alliance is safeguarding the frontline and has even extended some assistance to our camp, the sun dynasty is employing guerilla warfare and giving the alliance no opportunities to help us. thus far, the sun dynasty is only attacking us with a 100-man team of tier 6 experts, and the team will always withdraw after landing a swift blow on us. as a result, our tier 5 members keep decreasing, and we cant even leave the camp to explore. even azure shadows group has died several times already. it seems they dont want to waste too much manpower dealing with us. shi feng immediately understood the situation after hearing gentle snows report. how are things coming along on melting flames side? they have produced another 100 sets of eternal magic armor for us. melting flame has also successfully become a great grandmaster forger, gentle snow said. but just these 100 sets arent enough to change the state of battle, so melting flame has gathered all of the guilds manpower and even borrowed some of the red dragon nations manpower to rush the production of a silverwing. i was just about to retrieve it and use it to reinforce the resurrection camp. theyve completed a silverwing already? shi feng couldnt help but be surprised. currently, exploration of the world arks inner area was of the utmost priority for both the human race and the holy race. neither side would allow the other to gain any advantage in holy ring city. it was why the sun dynasty had mobilized so little manpower to deal with zero wing. while a 100-man team of tier 6 experts was impressive, it was nowhere near enough to capture zero wings resurrection camp. at most, such a force could be used to eliminate some of the camps tier 5 and tier 6 defenders. not to mention, even if the sun dynasty successfully eliminated zero wing from the world ark, it would not be able to reclaim the sunlight blade. hence, the sun dynasty had chosen to stifle zero wings progression in the world ark instead of committing more manpower to completely eliminate zero wing from the world ark. have a look yourself, gentle snow said as she shared a holographic image of a completed silverwing flying ship with shi feng. i cant believe it. shi feng was greatly surprised as he looked at the image before him. at this point in time, it should logically be impossible for zero wing to manufacture the silverwing flying ship in the eternal realm. after all, secret-silver flying ships were considerably rare even in the greater gods domain, let alone the eternal realm. thinking up to this point, shi feng couldnt help but feel joyful. all of you rest for the time being. we will head for the world ark together afterward, shi feng said as he looked at phoenix rain and the others. then, he turned to gentle snow and continued, you come with me to meet with melting flame, snow. its about time we turn the tables on the holy race. normally, the addition of just one secret-silver flying ship would do little to help with zero wings current predicament. but if the silverwing flying ship was powered by a divine titan source, it would instantly become the ruler of the skies. not long after, shi feng arrived at melting flames workshop with the confused gentle snow. currently, melting flame was in the process of forging an eternal magic armor. guild leader! what brings you here? melting flame asked, feeling pleasantly surprised when he saw shi feng. see if this thing can help improve the silverwing, shi feng said, getting straight to the point as he placed a divine titan source on melting flames work table. this isa divine titan source? melting flames eyes brightened immediately after he inspected the crimson crystal on the stone table. where did you find such godly material, guild leader? just tell me if its of any use, shi feng said, exasperated by melting flames response. yes! its of incredible use! melting flame answered with certainty. if i have this divine titan source, i can upgrade the silverwing into an advanced fine-gold flying ship! Chapter 3650 - Chapter 724 - New Silverwing chapter 724 C new silverwing tl notes: made a change to chapter 681: original: meanwhile, once players developed their concentration to the extremes of the tier 6 standard, they could mentally manipulate their divine might to form a domain, which was also known as a divine domain. edited: meanwhile, once players developed their concentration to the tier 6 limit standard, they could mentally manipulate their divine might to form a domain, which was also known as a divine domain. advanced fine-gold? shi fengs eyes brightened when he heard melting flames answer. how many people do you need? how long will the upgrade take? secret-silver flying ships were already considerably rare in the greater gods domain. as for fine-gold flying ships, they were as rare as a phoenixs feather, and they were usually regarded by upper-ranking hegemonic powers as one of their most prized possessions. originally, shi feng thought melting flame could, at best, upgrade the silverwing into a fine-gold flying ship. after all, the improvements flying ships received from each rank upgrade were much more significant than weapons and equipment. hence, it was much more challenging to upgrade a flying ships rank. meanwhile, upon reaching the advanced fine-gold rank, a flying ship would be akin to a mobile fortress. not only could it withstand the attacks of tier 6 players, but it also had the power to kill tier 6 players. if the average tier 6 player were to encounter an advanced fine-gold flying ship while traveling across the void sea, they would usually steer clear of its path. for these reasons, advanced fine-gold flying ships were used by conglomerates as their primary method of transporting cargo between realms. its only a simple power source replacement, so ill only need one grandmaster engineer to assist me with the modifications. the process also shouldnt take more than four or five hours, melting flame said, anticipation coloring his face as he looked at the crimson crystal on the table. he had only seen an advanced fine-gold flying ship once before, and it was when he was visiting a holy city. when the advanced fine-gold flying ship appeared near the holy city, the entire city erupted with commotion. even the holy citys tier 6 defenders went on high alert for fear that the advanced fine-gold flying ship was looking to do harm to the city. now that he had the opportunity to create an advanced fine-gold flying ship, he couldnt help but feel as if he was in a dream. okay, go and get a grandmaster engineer right away, but make sure they are trustworthy, shi feng said, nodding. then, he handed melting flame a gods domain contract and added, also, whoever you choose must sign this contract. the both of you will be responsible for modifying all silverwings produced in the future. while time was of the essence currently, zero wing could still afford to wait a handful of hours, especially if it meant it could add an advanced fine-gold flying ship to its resurrection camps defense. at that time, the resurrection camps safety would rise to a whole new level. as for why shi feng was placing such heavy emphasis on keeping the silverwings upgrade process a secret, it was because almost all advanced fine-gold flying ships in the greater gods domain came from ancient ruins. not a single power in existence could manufacture flying ships of such rank. hence, should news of zero wing having the ability to produce advanced fine-gold flying ships get leaked, the consequences would be beyond zero wings capability to bear. do you still have more of this godly material, guild leader? melting flame couldnt help but doubt his ears when he heard shi fengs words. he dared not believe shi feng had more than one divine titan source. as an inferior divine material, the divine titan sources rarity went without saying. melting flame wouldnt even be surprised if there only existed a handful of pieces in the greater gods domain. yet, going by shi fengs words, it was obvious that zero wing was looking to create more than just one advanced fine-gold-ranked silverwing. in other words, zero wing still had more divine titan sources. i cant tell you how many i have, but you can come straight to me for a divine titan source for every silverwing you complete, shi feng said. also, make sure you are the only person present when installing the new power source. the value of a divine titan source was not much lower than an advanced fine-gold flying ship, and the divine titan sources shi feng obtained from the god slayers treasury numbered over ten thousand. if melting flame were to learn of this number, he would probably go crazy. if all these divine titan sources could be converted into advanced fine-gold flying ships, zero wing would be unstoppable even in the holy races greater gods domain, let alone the human races greater gods domain. i understand! rest assured, guild leader! melting flame nodded, understanding the importance of this matter. immediately, he left to seek out a trustworthy engineer. the fact that zero wing could mass produce secret-silver flying ships was already plenty astonishing. if it became known that zero wing could mass produce advanced fine-gold flying ships, all hell would break loose in the eternal realm. zero wings residence, special workshop: two zero wing members wearing a grandmaster engineer emblem currently stood before a work table, looking at melting flame, wondering why the other party had gathered them here. why did you summon me and silk radish here, boss flame? do you have something important for us to do? dozing crocodile, a young man in his mid-twenties and one of the two grandmaster engineers in the room, asked as he looked at melting flame nervously. due to his contribution to the production of a large number of eternal magic armor for the guild, melting flame had already become zero wings chief forger. although he still wasnt a core executive of zero wing, his status was already comparable to that of core executives. its nothing major, melting flame said as he looked at the two individuals who had joined zero wing at the same time as he did. then, with a smile, he took out a gods domain contract and continued, i need an exclusive engineer to work under me. the benefits are listed in this contract. see if any of you are interested. heeding shi fengs instructions, melting flame settled on two possible candidates to take on shi fengs task with him. these two candidates were silk radish and dozing crocodile. they were among the same batch of players who joined zero wing as he did, and both were currently among the best engineers in zero wing. we can never log in to gods domain once we break the contract? dozing crocodile frowned when he read the final clause of melting flames contract. admittedly, melting flame offered incredibly lucrative benefits in his contract. in addition to a monthly salary of 100,000 star coins, melting flame also offered an advanced living quarter in zero wings main headquarters. in the current situation where the surrounding third-tier mobile cities were all frantically competing over star lake citys housing spaces, this was a privilege dozing crocodile dared not dream of obtaining. however, signing this gods domain contract would also mean that he would forever be restricted to working for zero wing. it should be known that he had only joined zero wing on behalf of his family, and his relationship with zero wing could only be considered a temporary partnership. there was also a strong possibility he would become the head of his family in the future. compared to the benefits he could reap from being the ruler of a hegemonic power, the benefits melting flame offered could only be considered laughable. so, there was no reason for him to restrict himself to zero wing. ill sign this contract, big brother melting flame, silk radish said without hesitation after reading the contract. silk radishs circumstances were different from dozing crocodiles. dozing crocodile was an original inhabitant of the greater world, and he even had citizenship in a third-tier mobile city. even if he left zero wing, he would still have plenty of equally good options to choose from. however, for silk radish, zero wing was her only option as it was the only guild from her home world currently operating in the greater world. not to mention, once she signed the exclusive contract, she would become a core member of zero wing and receive more resources to support her advancement to the great grandmaster rank. okay. sign it and follow me, melting flame said, nodding. subsequently, silk radish signed the gods domain contract and left to modify the silverwing with melting flame. as for dozing crocodile, he nonchalantly returned to his workshop and resumed striving to become a great grandmaster engineer so that he could become the head of his family as soon as possible. roughly five hours later, melting flame ran to the guild leaders office and happily handed the modified silverwing to shi feng. then, he left to start production on the second silverwing so that he could modify more secret-silver flying ships into advanced fine-gold flying ships and produce a fleet of them for zero wing. zero wing residence, guild leaders office: its all up to you now. after melting flame left, shi feng took out the origin myth and expectantly moved the advanced fine-gold silverwing from his bag into the origin space. an advanced fine-gold flying ship might be powerful, but calling it the ruler of the skies was a stretch, especially against the holy races sun dynasty. one advanced fine-gold flying ship was not enough to get zero wing out of its current predicament. however, with zero wings current situation, it wouldnt be possible to produce a second advanced fine-gold flying ship within a short time. hence, shi feng decided to take things a step further and upgrade the silverwing again. system: origin space has detected the advanced fine-gold silverwing. strengthening and modifying the silverwing will cost 4,000,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. do you wish to proceed? four million?! what a scam! shi feng couldnt help but be flabbergasted by the system notification. it had only cost him six million units of seven luminaries crystal when he upgraded the abyss workshop certification from a legendary item into an inferior divine item. yet, the system was now asking him to pay four million units just to strengthen an advanced fine-gold flying ship. the cost scaling was absolutely ridiculous. eventually, though, shi feng still chose to grit his teeth and strengthen the silverwing. Chapter 3651 - Chapter 725 - Foundation Debut chapter 725 C foundation debut zero wing residence, guild leaders office: immediately after shi feng made his decision, a colorful radiance bloomed from the silverwing inside the origin space. at the same time, the countless magic arrays engraved on the silverwings hull were broken down and reorganized, the entire process lasting over a dozen minutes. when the strengthening process concluded, a brand new silverwing appeared before shi fengs eyes. [silverwing flying ship] (advanced dark-gold flying ship) maximum capacity: 1,000 people durability 70,000/70,000 possesses tier 6 upper-rank armor. item storage when liberated: 150,000 bag space slots and 6,000 non-bag space slots. additional active skill 1- holy spirit field: when activated, prevent all enemies within a 10,000-yard radius from utilizing their surrounding energy for 30 minutes. no cooldown. each activation costs 300 units of seven luminaries crystal. additional active skill 2- holy spirit barrier: when activated, renders all allies within a 3,000-yard radius immune to damage for one minute. cooldown: 30 minutes each activation costs 1,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. the silverwing flying ship carries: 100 spirit destruction cannons, each possessing power at the tier 6 peak standard; 28 floating spirit cannons that can be used offensively and defensively; each possesses power at the tier 6 peak standard; 3 spirit disintegration cannons. their power can reach the tier 6 limit standard. the silverwing flying ship has a flight speed that rivals tier 6 legendary flying mounts. each activation of the silver flying ship costs 5,000 units of seven luminaries crystal, and it expends 100 units of seven luminaries crystal per day while in operation. incredible! shi feng gasped when he saw the new silverwings statistical description. an advanced dark-gold flying ship! he had only ever seen these behemoths appearing in the war between the two races. these advanced dark-gold flying ships were also why the various apex powers could confidently traverse the frontlines. as for the exact statistics of those advanced dark-gold flying ships, they were only known to the apex powers that owned them. everyone else could only make guesses. but after seeing the statistics of one himself, shi feng could only describe advanced dark-gold flying ships as heaven-defying. simply the fact that the upgraded silverwing possessed tier 6 upper-rank defensive armor meant that the average tier 6 player could be utterly incapable of damaging it. even taboo-level experts wielding divine weapons would only be able to damage it slightly. besides that, the silverwings offensive capabilities were also through the roof. it should be known that spirit destruction cannons were weapons that could normally only be found in void fortresses, fortresses situated in the void sea. with 100 spirit destruction cannons equipped, the advanced dark-gold silverwing could already rival the firepower of a void fortress. not to mention, there were also the spirit disintegration cannons that could launch attacks close to rivaling the attacks of ancient gods. if a tier 6 tank was struck by one of these cannons without a lifesaving skill active, they would die on the spot, even if they were fully equipped with legendary equipment. no wonder those advanced dark-gold flying ships ive seen could single-handedly take down entire fortresses. with such firepower, even tier 6 gods will have to steer clear of them. shi feng couldnt help but get a little emotional as he moved the brand-new silverwing into his bag. he had coveted advanced dark-gold flying ships greatly in his previous life. however, flying ships at the fine-gold rank and above could only be acquired from ancient ruins. although zero wing had explored many ancient ruins, it only managed to procure several fine-gold flying ships. as for dark-gold flying ships and beyond, only the various apex powers were known to have any. moreover, they were all acquired through many, many years of effort. but now, zero wing finally had an advanced dark-gold flying ship of its own. moreover, so long as zero wing had enough seven luminaries crystals, it could easily produce more than what the various apex powers owned. but im going to have to get more seven luminaries crystals after this when shi feng took a look at the remaining seven luminaries crystals in his bag, he couldnt help but feel helpless toward the origin myth. the origin myths ability was undeniably amazing, but the cost to use it was also beyond imagination. after integrating six superpowers from his home gods domain into zero wing, he had acquired a little over three million units of seven luminaries crystal, bumping his stockpile to twelve million units. but after strengthening the silverwing, his stockpile had fallen back to eight million units, which was only enough to fund the tier 6 promotion of eighty players. not to mention, it also cost seven luminaries crystals to maintain and operate the silverwing. simply put, the seven luminaries crystals he currently had on hand were not at all enough for his use. while shi feng was wondering whether he should laugh or cry about his situation, gentle snow suddenly entered his office. good news, guild leader! fervent samsara and heavy abyss have successfully advanced to tier 6! gentle snow excitedly reported. theyve succeeded? shi feng was shocked. before shi feng left for his home gods domain, fervent samsara and heavy abyss had already received the primordial chaos bodys legacy and began their challenge to construct a superior divine body in the residences underground secret room. however, if asked whether the two could succeed, shi feng couldnt actually say for certain. after all, there shouldnt be more than a few players who had successfully constructed a superior divine body across the entire greater gods domain. even in his previous life, shi feng had only successfully constructed a superior divine body because he was lucky enough to obtain a primordial god legacy that provided the complete procedure to construct a specific superior divine body. however, the primordial chaos bodys legacy only showed players a general guideline. if players wished to construct a superior divine body through the primordial chaos body, they would need to have incredibly high mastery over world laws and magic arrays. mhm. both of them say they have succeeded, gentle snow said, nodding. she understood shi fengs shock as she knew that fervent samsara and heavy abyss had been constructing superior divine bodies for their tier 6 promotion. good! have them get ready. well be heading to the world ark in a moment, shi feng said with a smile. youre bringing them as well? gentle snow couldnt help but grow worried. theyve been busy with their promotion all this time, so they arent even at level 170 right now. theyre at least ten levels behind the players operating at the world ark. how about we let them level up a little first before sending them to the world ark? though a ten-level gap wouldnt make much of a difference between players and monsters under level 200, zero wings opponents in the world ark werent monsters but holy race players instead. meanwhile, a ten-level gap would give the holy race players a considerable advantage in weapons and equipment. unless fervent samsara and heavy abyss faced opponents with inferior combat standards, theyd fare no differently than cannon fodder. dont worry. they can overcome a ten-level gap with their standards, shi feng said, chuckling. the fact that fervent samsara and heavy abyss had constructed a superior divine body for their tier 6 promotion meant they would have a significant advantage over the average tier 6 player in basic attributes, physique, and mana. they were also experts who were equipped with legendary items and had mastered the advanced bronze mana purification technique. even if they were ten levels behind the other tier 6 players operating in the world ark, they could easily bridge the gap if they equipped the eternal magic armor and dragons fury secret treasure set. not to mention, both were experts who had mastered an advanced law. alright, then. i will notify them, gentle snow said. Chapter 3652 - Chapter 726 - Guild War chapter 726 C guild war world ark, soul lake: ever since the seven luminaries alliance lifted restrictions on the world arks inner area, the inner areas resurrection camps had become a gathering place for the eternal realms various powers and independent players. the soul lake resurrection camp under zero wings ownership was especially popular. this was because the soul lake, the map the resurrection camp was situated on, was a level 175-plus map that had a much lower population of monsters compared to other maps. this made it an ideal place for players seeking to get some rest. as icing on the cake, the soul lake was also close to the core areas holy ring city. due to these reasons, even though the soul lake resurrection camp charged an exorbitant fee of 20 eternal silver per person per day and would occasionally come under attack by the sun dynastys forces, tens of thousands of players still flocked to it. this, in turn, allowed zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation to generate significant amounts of wealth. inside one of the advanced tents in the soul lake resurrection camp elder sword, according to our scouts, zero wing has already started to gather its forces in the crystal city and is preparing to reinforce its resurrection camp with more tier 6 experts, a five-meter-tall young man carrying a towering shield said to nineteenth sword respectfully after he entered the tent. meanwhile, following this behemoth of a level 178 guardian knights appearance, the 20-plus tier 6 experts resting in the camp immediately felt a powerful pressure falling onto their shoulders. heavy shield titan! a veteran expert on the divine glory list! although titan had died once while assisting the seven luminaries alliance, the alliance compensated him handsomely after he was resurrected. as a result, not only did his strength not fall, but it even increased as he managed to grasp his third gold combat technique. zero wings actions are futile, nineteenth sword said nonchalantly. this resurrection camp is generating 6,000 eternal gold coins every day. do you think the sun dynasty will simply sit back and watch as zero wing grows stronger? but the sun dynastys recent attacks havent significantly damaged zero wing, azure fang, or the red dragon nation, elder sword. scratching his head in confusion, titan asked, could there be new movements from the sun dynasty? thus far, the sun dynasty had only sent one 100-man tier 6 team to attack the soul lake resurrection camp. although this team could always kill several hundred of the camps defenders, the damage to zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation wasnt particularly severe, as their tier 6 experts had only died a couple of times. not to mention, zero wing had the ability to summon tier 6 war goddesses. so long as the six tier 6 war goddesses appeared on the battlefield, the sun dynastys experts would scatter like frightened rabbits, none daring to clash with the war goddesses head-on. besides the war goddesses, zero wings gentle snow had also distinguished herself in the fights with the sun dynasty. at one point, she had single-handedly killed 26 of the sun dynastys tier 6 experts, instantly earning her recognition as a god-ranked expert from the various powers. even as a veteran expert on the divine glory list, titan dared not say he could beat gentle snow in a duel. with the soul lake resurrection camp already having such powerful defenders, if zero wings black flame joined in the defense, the sun dynastys 100-man tier 6 team would become utterly powerless against the resurrection camp. do you truly think the sun dynasty lacks the strength to deal with zero wings resurrection camp? nineteenth sword sneered. the only reason the sun dynasty has turned a blind eye to zero wing until now is because the other holy race powers were keeping it busy. but now, the sun dynasty has already declared to the seven luminaries alliance that unless zero wing returns the sunlight blade and begs for forgiveness, it will mobilize its holy guard to eradicate all of the world arks resurrection camps! the holy guard?! titan was shocked by this revelation. isnt that one of the sun dynastys five conquest legions?! according to the information the seven luminaries alliance provided to the various powers, the sun dynasty had established five conquest legions to combat the other royal powers operating in the eternal realm. meanwhile, the holy guard was one of these five legions. the holy guard was a legion with 12,000 members, and it could be further categorized into six hundred 20-man teams. even the weakest member was a fifth-floor standard, while team leader-level individuals were all god-ranked experts. when working together, each team could put up a good fight against even taboo-level existences. not to mention, the holy guard also had various war weapons at its disposal. if the sun dynasty truly mobilized the holy guard, even if it was only a portion, it would be enough to make the seven luminaries alliance suffer. flattening the resurrection camps on the human side would also be a simple task. indeed, which is why we have gathered here, nineteenth sword said, nodding. then, a cold glint flashed in his eyes as he continued, now that the sun dynasty has threatened to mobilize its holy guard, even the seven luminaries alliance can no longer afford to protect zero wing. it might be if black flame capitulates, but if he doesnt, it will be the perfect opportunity for us to claim this resurrection camp for ourselves! i understand. i will contact milia and have her transfer more manpower over from the royal capital, titan said with an excited look. although zero wing was much stronger than nineteenth sword expected, it remained a fact that it had offended the sun dynasty. with the sun dynasty threatening to mobilize its holy guard, if black flame refused to capitulate, zero wing would have to withdraw from the world ark, leaving the soul lake resurrection camp to be claimed by others. considering this, many human powers had most likely already set their sights on the soul lake resurrection camp. naturally, the skylight association couldnt miss such a great opportunity, either. after all, the profits the soul lake resurrection camp could generate were simply astonishing. while the skylight association was preparing to capture the soul lake resurrection camp, the various powers operating in the area took a similar course of action and continuously gathered their forces. this caused the player population of the soul lake resurrection camp to increase rapidly toward the 100,000 threshold. what should we do, vice guild leader frey? garut, one of azure fangs two great vice guild leaders, asked as he paced around the tent in annoyance. these powers arent even trying to hide that theyre waiting for our destruction. yet, the seven luminaries alliance still hasnt given us any feedback. the star lake resurrection camp was a cash cow. even though azure fang and the red dragon nation only received 30% of the profits each, they still had a daily income of more than 2,000 eternal gold. moreover, their daily income could easily increase tenfold in the future as more players enter the world ark. but now theres no point asking me, frey said, snapping out of her daze and revealing a wry smile. i only know that the seven luminaries alliance has already sent someone to the crystal city to contact guild leader black flame. by the looks of things, the alliance wants to get zero wings response before deciding what to do. thinking of the sun dynastys holy guard, frey felt powerless and could only place her hopes on the seven luminaries alliance. if even the seven luminaries alliance refused to help, zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation would most definitely lose the soul lake resurrection camp. Chapter 3653 - Chapter 727 - To Arms! chapter 727 C to arms! eternal realm, crystal city of secrets: due to the underground crystal palaces existence, the crystal city of secrets had become one of the ten most populated cities on the human players side in the eternal realm. the citys player population exceeded 60 million, and it could be considered a highly populated city even in other realms. at this time, a commotion was taking place in the crystal city due to the sun dynastys sudden declaration of war. zero wing really knows how to find trouble, provoking a royal power from the holy race of all things. not even the seven luminaries alliance can save zero wing now. zero wings fall wont just stop at the world ark, either. if zero wing refuses to return the divine artifact it took, the sun dynasty will target the other powers operating in the world ark as well. at that time, those powers will definitely find trouble with zero wing. from what i heard, many of those who joined zero wing are regretting their decision right now. i wonder how zero wings guild leader is going to respond? it might be fine if he apologizes and returns the divine artifact, but if he refuses to capitulate, zero wing will probably have to part ways with its advanced residence. its a pity that zero wing is only an emerging power. if its manpower and resources were spread across the eternal realm like the various pseudo-apex powers, it could still thrive even without relying on the world ark. the players resting and chatting in the bars and restaurants of the city couldnt help but sympathize with zero wing as they discussed the guilds predicament. they never thought the guild that had over 200 fifth-floor experts and the potential to become a pseudo-apex power would dare to provoke the sun dynasty, an existence that even the seven luminaries alliance was unwilling to provoke. while the crystal citys various powers and players were wondering how zero wings guild leader black flame would respond, zero wings residence had become incredibly lively. this was because many guild members who had gone offline to rest had come rushing back after learning of the sun dynastys declaration of war. meanwhile, when the seven luminaries alliances representatives stepped into the guild hall, the zero wing members in the building looked at these representatives with emotions of anxiety, anger, and expectation. what do you think the guild leader will do, boss samsara? a level 176, tier 5 swordsman asked as he looked at fervent samsara. hearing the swordsmans question, the other zero wing members nearby all looked toward fervent samsara, who was currently a level 167, tier 6 berserker god. fervent samsara was one of zero wings three overlords. while not a guild executive, his influence in the guild surpassed even the vice guild leaders. he was also acknowledged as one of the five strongest experts in the guild. is there even a need to ask? of course we will be giving the sun dynasty a fight. even if we lose, we will simply withdraw from the world ark. i doubt there is anything the sun dynasty can do to us outside the world ark, a young elementalist said, fighting spirit brimming in his eyes. its not so simple, fervent samsara said, shaking his head when he heard the young elementalists words. then, with a serious look on his face, he continued, we can fight, but we absolutely cannot abandon the world ark. otherwise, we will quickly get overtaken by the other powers in the crystal city. after all, the mythical races will be of great help to the various powers in exploration. originally, fervent samsara had been feeling quite happy after he successfully advanced to tier 6. however, his happy mood quickly disappeared as news of zero wings predicament greeted him as soon as he left the underground secret room. while fervent samsara was wondering how shi feng would respond to the seven luminaries alliances representatives, he suddenly noticed a group of cloaked players through the corner of his eyes. although these players had hidden all their personal information with their black cloaks, the six-winged emblem they wore on their cloaks showed that they were zero wing members. abyss, do you know who those cloaked people are? fervent samsara whispered to the female knight in ice-blue armor sitting beside him. fervent samsara was familiar with most of zero wings members, and he was certain he had never seen anyone from the group of cloaked players. his sixth sense also told him that these individuals were not simple. it was especially so for the dozen or so players sitting at the head of the group. he actually got goosebumps looking at them. this was the first time he had experienced such a situation in the eternal realm. im not sure, either. i heard they joined zero wing not long ago, and they were even personally welcomed by the guild leader, heavy abyss said, shaking her head. then, looking at the group of cloaked players with a serious gaze, she continued, but i can feel that those people are no weaker than you and i. just how many secrets does our guild leader have? while looking at the supposed leaders of the cloaked players, fervent samsara had his curiosity toward shi feng piqued. now that fervent samsara had constructed a superior divine body, he dared say he was one of the strongest players in the eternal realm. he would even dare to clash against players with divine artifacts. yet, of the group of cloaked players, about a dozen gave him a feeling of danger. this situation was simply unbelievable. zero wings guild hall, third-floor vip lounge: the seven luminaries alliance has already conveyed the sun dynastys intention to you, guild leader black flame, verdant rainbow, who was currently at level 182, said to shi feng while wearing a serious expression. the alliance currently has most of its forces occupied fighting another royal over in the core area, so only the forces i oversee in the inner area are available to help you. after discussion, the alliance hopes zero wing can withdraw from the soul lake temporarily. once the sun dynasty transitions into the core area and becomes occupied fighting the other royal power, it wont be able to spare much of its forces to target zero wing. zero wing can return at that time, and the alliance will also assist zero wing in defending its resurrection camp. in reality, the seven luminaries alliance was infuriated by the contempt the sun dynasty had shown. unfortunately, there was nothing the alliance could do about the sun dynastys threat, as it just so happened that the alliance had started a territorial clash with another royal power in the world arks core area. i am grateful for the seven luminaries alliances goodwill, miss verdant, shi feng said. but now that the sun dynasty has declared war on zero wing, it would not make sense for zero wing to retreat without a fight. are you really going to do this, guild leader black flame? verdant rainbow couldnt help but sigh when she heard shi fengs answer. the holy guard isnt some second-rate legion like the ones the sun dynasty sent to attack us initially. it is a force established specifically to deal with other royal powers, and every member is currently a bona fide tier 6 player. if it comes down to a fight, even a taboo-level existence like yourself might die. is that so? well, they are more than welcome to try! shi feng said, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. Chapter 3654 - Chapter 728 - World Ark in Turmoil chapter 728 C world ark in turmoil crystal city of secrets, airport: lunatic! hes simply a lunatic! is he trying to bring his entire guild down with him?! looking out the window of the flying ship they were on, the outer elder who had accompanied verdant rainbow to zero wing couldnt help but be shocked as he looked at the players gathering inside zero wings residence. the fact that the seven luminaries alliance had sent verdant rainbow, the alliances rising star, to communicate with black flame was already enough to show how much it valued zero wing. normally, not even the guild leaders of pseudo-apex powers would receive such a treatment. as if that wasnt enough, the seven luminaries alliance had even promised that so long as zero wing temporarily withdrew from the world ark this time, it would help zero wing reestablish itself in the world ark in the future. this was an opportunity that many powers could only dream of obtaining, yet black flame had turned down this offer and insisted on fighting the sun dynastys holy guard with only zero wings strength although black flame is indeed a little crazy, zero wing shouldnt be underestimated, either, verdant rainbow said as she looked at zero wings residence. when we first arrived inside the guild hall, i sensed at least ten experts who could threaten me. ten?! the outer elder couldnt help but look at verdant rainbow in astonishment. how can a new guild possibly have so many taboo-level existences?! it should be known that verdant rainbow was a new generation chosen one of the seven luminaries alliance. her combat standard was through the roof. paired with the world string, although she still wasnt at the standard of the alliances veteran taboo-level existences, she could still be considered mid-tier among all taboo-level existences in the greater gods domain. hence, anyone who could make verdant rainbow feel threatened should be a taboo-level existence at the very minimum. but how could zero wing possibly have ten taboo-level existences? i dont know. verdant rainbow shook her head. then, thinking of the holy guard she had previously encountered in the world arks core region, she sighed and said, but it doesnt matter whether zero wing has ten or twenty taboo-level existences. none will matter in front of the sun dynastys holy guard. the sun dynastys strength far exceeded the seven luminaries alliances imagination. of the holy guards 12,000 members, over 600 were considered team leaders. all of them were also battle-hardened individuals who had clashed against the holy races other royal powers for many years. so long as these team leaders formed a 20-man team with the holy guards weaker members, they could trade blows with taboo-level existences. with the holy guard having 12,000 members, it meant that the legion had 600 teams that could trade blows with taboo-level existences. ten against six hundred? with such a huge disparity in numbers, even a layman could tell zero wings chances of victory were non-existent. this was also why the sun dynasty dared declare that it would eradicate all of the human races resurrection camps in the world ark. while verdant rainbow and her entourage were leaving the crystal city of secrets, news of zero wings intention to fight the sun dynasty quickly spread like wildfire, and every player and power who received news of this matter couldnt help but be shocked by shi fengs decision. world ark, soul lake resurrection camp, skylight associations advanced tent: black flame is truly insane. titan couldnt believe his eyes when he read the report from his subordinate. isnt that good news? milia the mjolnir smiled. we will now have a stable source of income to fund the construction of a guild town. after seeing the fortune the blaze conglomerate was raking in thanks to its guild city, many powers had already started to prepare for the construction of their own guild town, and the skylight association was no exception. however, constructing a guild town in the eternal realm was easier said than done. aside from requiring a building order, astronomical funding was also needed. fortunately, the skylight association could easily solve this problem so long as it took over the soul lake resurrection camp. originally, had zero wing chosen to make peace with the sun dynasty, it could have easily defended the soul lake resurrection camp with the help of azure fang and the red dragon nation. but now, zero wing had willingly chosen to fight the sun dynasty to the death titan nodded in agreement with milias words. many powers were eyeing the soul lake resurrection camp due to its economic value. fortunately, zero wing had chosen to send itself into the jaws of death and give everyone a chance to lay claim to the resurrection camp. how is the gathering of our forces coming along? nineteenth sword interrupted. the 42 tier 6 experts stationed in the capital are already making their way here, milia answered, smiling after checking the latest update report. once they arrive, we will have 70 tier 6 experts here, far exceeding the scarlet merchant alliance and flaming bee. at that time, not even the star dynasty can clash with us. good! have them hurry up a little, nineteenth sword said, nodding. if we dont have enough forces by the time the sun dynasty starts its attack, those other powers might get the upper hand over us. you can rest assured, elder sword, titan said. according to our scouts, the sun dynasty seems to have learned of zero wings intention and is enraged by it. originally, the sun dynasty had already stopped amassing its forces after gathering 4,000 players. but now, the sun dynasty has changed its mind and is looking to gather all holy guard members. this process will take at least a day. our reinforcements would have long arrived by then. zero wing truly has dug a hole for itself. even nineteenth sword couldnt help but be stunned when he heard titans report. originally, nineteenth sword estimated the sun dynasty would only send three or four thousand members of its holy guard. even then, he would consider it an overestimation of zero wings strength. yet, because of zero wings bold declaration to fight back, the sun dynasty was now looking to mobilize the entire holy guard against zero wing. it should be known that the holy guard had 12,000 members. this was three times the original force the sun dynasty was going to use to attack the soul lake resurrection camp. zero wing had truly dug a hole for itself this time. crystal city of secrets: all of our members are ready, guild leader. we can set off at any time, gentle snow reported to shi feng with slight trepidation as she looked at the near-one thousand zero wing members who were brimming with fighting spirit. of the zero wing members gathered, all of them were fifth-floor experts. many were also experts who had mastered saint-ranked mana techniques. they were already the strongest combatants zero wing could muster. if these experts were annihilated, zero wing would be truly finished. good! lets set out! after looking at everyones eager expressions, shi feng took out the silverwing from his bag. Chapter 3655 - Chapter 729 - Steel and Iron chapter 729 C steel and iron crystal city of secrets, zero wings residence: what is the guild leader doing? it looks like hes retrieving something from his bag. when the zero wing members gathered in the residences courtyard saw shi feng chanting an incantation at his bag, they couldnt help but grow curious. seeing as shi feng had gathered so many of zero wings experts today, it was clear that they would be going to reinforce the guilds resurrection camp in the world ark. yet, rather than hurrying over to the world ark, shi feng was taking his time retrieving something from his bag. while everyone was wondering what shi feng was retrieving, a gigantic spatial magic array suddenly appeared above the residence. the silver spatial magic array covered the entire residence, its appearance causing a commotion both inside and outside the residence. a moment later, a flying ship forged entirely from iron and steel emerged from the magic array. the ship spanned over a thousand meters from bow to stern, and its gradual descent cast a dark shadow over the land beneath it. at first glance, the ship was akin to a floating mountain, and its appearance dumbfounded the zero wing experts in the courtyard. is that a flying ship? whats going on? since when did our guild have a flying ship? heavens! how can there be a flying ship this massive?! its at least 1,200 meters long! at this time, even fervent samsara, who was familiar with many of the greater gods domains secrets, couldnt help but be shocked by the sight of the silverwing flying ship. it should be known that the average flying ship in gods domain only measured about one or two hundred meters long. even the various pseudo-apex powers prided fine-gold flying ships only measured about eight hundred meters long. however, if placed beside the silverwing, even fine-gold flying ships would look no different from infants standing beside an adult. is this flying ship really the silverwing, guild leader? gentle snow asked. she couldnt help but rub her eyes in doubt as she looked up at the flying ship above her. gentle snow knew of shi fengs intentions to modify the silverwing. she had also seen the silverwings original appearance. originally, the silverwing was only a 500-meter-long flying ship armed with thirty cannons. yet, the current silverwing had not only tripled in size, but its armaments had also quadrupled in number. the ships three main cannons were especially noteworthy. merely the mana fluctuations they naturally radiated were enough to make her heart palpitate. it should be known that she was currently strong enough to rival tier 6 gods of the same level. there should be very few existences in the current eternal realm that could threaten her. yet, she was now feeling the threat of death coming from a flying ships main cannons naturally, shi feng said, chuckling. only, the current silverwing is at the advanced dark-gold rank. advanced dark-gold?! doesnt that put it on the same level as the obsidian?! gentle snow exclaimed. the obsidian. it was currently the strongest known flying ship in the greater gods domain, and it was owned by the seven luminaries alliance. the obsidian was without a doubt a strategic weapon for war, and it was rumored that one obsidian flying ship had enough firepower to rival a god-ranked fortress. hence, gentle snow couldnt help but be astonished to hear that the silverwing was now equal to the obsidian. while watching the silverwing gradually descend, shi feng asked gentle snow, by the way, youve already had the selected 114 fifth-floor members sign a confidentiality contract, right? all 114 members have signed it already. if they dare leak any information on the god slayer combat puppet or transfer their assigned unit to a third party, they will permanently lose the ability to log into gods domain, gentle snow said with certainty. good. shi feng nodded. then, he instructed, also, before i give the command, tell them not to take out the god slayer combat puppets under any circumstances. the soul lake resurrection camp was of utmost importance to zero wing. not only was it an important source of income, but it also served as an assurance for the guild to recruit tier 6 experts in the crystal city of secrets. with the holy race army being several times or possibly even dozens of times larger than the soul lake resurrection camps forces, the god slayer combat puppets would become one of the resurrection camps primary trump cards. hence, it was imperative that the holy race army remained ignorant of the god slayer combat puppets existence before the war began. otherwise, their effectiveness in battle would plummet. combat puppets were often used as trump cards in wars between the various powers. when deployed at opportune moments, they could often achieve amazing results. it was especially so for dark-gold combat puppets. dark-gold combat puppets came with large destruction spells that could match tier 6 destruction curses cast by tier 6 mage gods. even when operated by tier 0 players who hadnt reached the refinement realm standard, dark-gold combat puppets could act as a mobile cannon and devastate battlefields. naturally, in the hands of experts, dark-gold combat puppets could display even greater combat effectiveness. oftentimes, even a handful of dark-gold combat puppets were more than enough to turn the tides of a battle involving tens of thousands of experts. so, one could imagine just how terrifying a force of 114 advanced dark-gold combat puppets manipulated by fifth-floor experts could be. during the war between the two races in shi fengs previous life, even though the holy race had an overwhelming numerical advantage over the human race, human players still managed to hold their ground and put up a good fight. ultimately, they even managed to stop the holy race armys advance in the eternal realm. meanwhile, apart from the few monstrously powerful experts, the reason the human race managed to accomplish such a feat was largely due to war weapons. of course, war weapons were not without their flaws. it was especially so for advanced dark-gold combat puppets like the god slayer combat puppet. simply powering up a god slayer combat puppet already cost 500 units of seven luminaries crystal, while every use of its large destruction spells cost 50 units of seven luminaries crystal. if a guild didnt have a sufficiently large stockpile of seven luminaries crystals, it wouldnt matter how many war weapons it possessed. it wouldnt be able to afford to use them. rest assured, guild leader. they wont make a move without your command. moreover, to ensure they have sufficient firepower, i have assigned each of them 5,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. that should be enough to last them through the entire battle, gentle snow said excitedly. before shi fengs return, gentle snow could only despair whenever she considered facing the sun dynastys encirclement. however, after seeing the 114 god slayer combat puppets shi feng brought back, she immediately gained the confidence to trade blows with the sun dynasty. subsequently, shi feng had the near-1,000 experts gathered in the courtyard board the silverwing. then, under the gaze of the crystal citys players, the silverwing transformed into a silver glow as it flew toward the world ark, its speed vastly superior to the flying transport ships docked at the citys airport. world ark, soul lake: as the battle between zero wing and the sun dynasty drew closer, the various powers members and independent players started distancing themselves from the soul lake resurrection camp, leaving only the members of zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation. its been nearly a day, yet zero wings forces have yet to show up. they probably got scared. i heard that many of the sun dynastys subordinate powers have decided to join the crusade against zero wing because of the bounty the sun dynasty is offering. even excluding the sun dynastys forces, their forces totaled over 200,000 players. by now, they have already blocked the paths leading to the soul lake resurrection camp, and even the seven luminaries alliances teams will have trouble reaching the camp. quick, look! theres a flying ship approaching from over there! isnt that zero wings six-winged emblem?! Chapter 3656 - Chapter 730 - Unsheathed Sword chapter 730 C unsheathed sword soul lake, resurrection camp: although many players and powers had distanced themselves from the soul lake resurrection camp due to the upcoming war, the camps player population hardly decreased. this was because azure fang and the red dragon nation had gathered over 100,000 members at the camp. in addition, azure fang and the red dragon nation had also set up multiple large magic barriers and top-tier magic elven cannons around the camp. the magic elven cannons numbered as many as 300, and each could exhibit power at the tier 6 standard. in static defenses alone, the soul lake resurrection camp was already superior to many of the eternal realms fortresses. as expected of pseudo-apex powers. i didnt think you would manage to gather so many tier 5 elites and war weapons on such short notice, shi feng said as he scanned the players in the resurrection camp. at a glance, he could see that all of the tier 5 experts in the camp were fully equipped with fragmented legendary items and common secret treasures. some of them were even equipped with combat secret treasures. not even zero wing could equip so many players to such a standard. unfortunately, this is still far from enough. as we are right now, we are far behind even the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds, let alone the sun dynastys holy guard, frey said, shaking her head. for the sake of defending the soul lake resurrection camp, she had pulled all the strings she could and gathered 70,000 experts from the red dragon nation. she would have preferred to gather even more experts if it was possible. unfortunately, this was already most of the experts the red dragon nation had operating in the eternal realm. it was the same for azure fang. only, azure fang managed to gather a little more experts than the red dragon nation, its forces totaling 80,000. although the combined forces of azure fang and the red dragon nation reached 150,000, they were still numerically disadvantaged compared to the 200,000-plus players the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds managed to gather. in a frontal confrontation, their chances of victory would be slim. do you have any suggestions for the upcoming siege, guild leader black flame? garut asked. garut was honestly surprised that zero wing had only decided to mobilize about 1,000 players. originally, he thought zero wing would at least send tens of thousands of tier 5 experts to aid in the defense. that way, they wouldnt be too far behind in numbers compared to the holy races side. yet, zero wing had only sent close to a thousand players. although there were over a dozen tier 6 experts among them, and some tier 5 experts were equipped with the eternal magic armor equipment set, they would be of little use in a battle involving hundreds of thousands of tier 5 and tier 6 holy race players. the fact that zero wing had brought the behemoth known as the silverwing didnt matter, either. their chances of victory were still slim. after all, the holy race army attacking them had over 10,000 tier 6 experts. moreover, these were all experts trained to fight against other royal powers. they were much more superior compared to the holy race players who had attacked the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps previously. rather than be on the defense, i am considering taking the fight to them. no matter what, a resurrection camp is not a stronghold. even if you strengthen its defenses with magic barriers and arm it with various war weapons, once the battle begins, we will fare no differently than if we clashed with the enemy on an open field, shi feng said. on the other hand, if we ambush the enemys scattered tier 6 combatants with small but elite assault teams, we can greatly reduce the enemys top combatants before the main event. the use of tier 5 players in the upcoming battle would be limited, and tier 6 players would be the main fighting force for both sides. if one sides tier 6 players suffered annihilation, its remaining forces would be powerless to resist the other sides tier 6 players. previously, in the defensive war led by the seven luminaries alliance, they couldnt let too many holy race players enter the alliances resurrection camps as it would disrupt the occupation process. hence, they had to stay in the camps to prevent anyone from sneaking through. now, though, the sun dynastys goal was to target zero wing and eliminate all the forces stationed in the soul lake resurrection camp. in such a situation, it would be foolish for them to stay inside the resurrection camp. it was especially so now that he had brought a bunch of level 200-plus experts from his home gods domain to the eternal realm. in a defensive siege, the combat effectiveness of these level 200-plus experts would be limited. however, if they were put in a field battle involving only tens of thousands of players, their strength would be overwhelming. of course, this was a secret shi feng did not plan on sharing with outsiders like frey and garut. reducing their combat power before the main battle is indeed a good idea, but with our current forces, it really isnt ideal to do such a thing frey said after pondering over shi fengs suggestion. based on the intelligence ive received, the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds are no pushovers. each guild has several hundred tier 6 experts under their command. even if they are scattered across the soul lake, each group should still have over a hundred tier 6 experts. meanwhile, the total number of our tier 6 combatants is only a little over a hundred. we will need to concentrate all of our tier 6 combatants into one team if we want to eliminate any of their teams within a short time. i agree. even with your current strength, we can, at most, afford to form two assault teams, guild leader black flame, garut said, nodding in agreement with frey. but if it is just two assault teams, the damage we can do to the enemy will be negligible. we will also expose our top combatants, making it easier for the enemy to counter us. one or two teams might not do the trick, but what about ten? shi feng said, chuckling. ten assault teams? frey and garut couldnt help but look at shi feng in confusion. they failed to understand what was going through shi fengs head. their three guilds only had a little over a hundred tier 6 experts. if they were to form ten assault teams, each team would only receive about a dozen tier 6 experts. theyd be sending their forces straight into the jaws of death if they tried pitting a dozen tier 6 human experts against a hundred tier 6 holy race experts. you two dont have to worry about this. zero wings members will take on the responsibility of attacking the enemys tier 6 experts. i only need you to send some scouts to determine the positions of the enemy forces, shi feng said, not bothering to explain himself. if there are no more problems, lets quickly get things into motion. the enemys tier 6 experts will start to group up if we drag our feet for too long. shi fengs words stunned frey and garut. however, since they couldnt think of a good reason to object to zero wing shouldering all responsibilities for attacking the enemy, they agreed to provide several hundred scouts for reconnaissance. even if these scouts were annihilated, it wouldnt result in much losses to their two guilds. subsequently, shi feng had phoenix rain and the other players from his home gods domain form nine assault teams and scattered them across the soul lake. then, he hopped onto the silverwing with zero wings main force members and flew to the border connecting the soul lake with the frontline maps. it was already known that the holy race army was continuously gathering their forces at the border, so they would definitely find some enemies there. meanwhile, shortly after zero wing arrived at the soul lake resurrection camp with the eye-catching silverwing, news of zero wings arrival quickly reached the sun dynastys holy guard. zero wings guild leader has arrived at the soul lake resurrection camp, your highness, heavenly ape saint, who was currently a level 181, tier 6 player, cautiously reported to a woman with a stunning appearance and slender figure. however, it doesnt look like he is as tough as he makes himself out to be. according to our investigations, black flame only brought a thousand players to reinforce the resurrection camp. it is obvious he is afraid we will wipe out zero wings forces. as things stand, the three guilds armies will be more than enough to destroy the soul lake resurrection camp. i thought the person who killed my foolish little brother would be someone incredible, but it seems i have overestimated him. after hearing heavenly ape saints report, the woman named daystar nonchalantly commanded, lets not waste any more time, then. have our gathered forces move out immediately. i want to be back in the core area in half an hour. understood! heavenly ape saint respectfully withdrew and began instructing the gathered members of the holy guard to advance on the soul lake resurrection camp immediately. Chapter 3657 - Chapter 731 - Zero Wings Elites chapter 731 C zero wings elites following the news of zero wings silverwing arriving at the soul lake resurrection camp, the three holy race guilds that had entered the soul lake quickly went into action. the sun dynasty was a royal power of the holy race, so although the three guilds were subordinates of the sun dynasty, they were still vastly superior to the average human guild. presently, each of the three guilds had gathered around 90,000 experts to encircle and attack the soul lake resurrection camp, their combined forces exceeding 270,000. in addition, they had close to 1,500 tier 6 experts in total. with these forces, they wouldnt fear clashing against even the seven luminaries alliance. of all the places the vice guild leaders could have assigned us to, why did they assign us to receive the new arrivals? what rotten luck we have! by the time we move out, well probably have nothing left to do. i know, right? i can only hope that zero wing will last a little longer. otherwise, well earn barely any guild contributions on this trip. at the entrance to the soul lake, a group of tier 6 holy race experts stood atop a mountain, watching team after team of holy race players cross the canyon below. the canyon served as the gateway to the soul lake, and these experts were assigned by the three holy race guilds to watch over it. however, as they watched their allies cross the canyon and disappear into the soul lake, they couldnt help but feel envious. the reason for their behavior was the generous bounty the sun dynasty had placed on zero wing. anyone who successfully killed a zero wing member would earn guild contribution points from the sun dynasty, which was a huge opportunity for holy race players. in the holy races greater gods domain, the ten royal powers had monopolized 99% of all precious resources. their monopoly over high-ranking holy arts and materials needed to repair legendary weapons and equipment was especially firm. this made it incredibly difficult for other powers to get their hands on these resources. if they wished to get their hands on these precious resources, their only options were to either become strong enough to replace a royal power or subordinate themselves to a royal power. of course, even after a guild subordinated itself to a royal power, things wouldnt be smooth sailing for all its members. as royal powers would only grant their subordinate guilds a limited amount of precious resources, the members of a subordinate guild typically had to use an exorbitant amount of the guilds contribution points to exchange these resources. the types of resources they had access to were usually very limited as well. but now, they had an opportunity to earn the sun dynastys guild contribution points directly, and all they needed to do was kill members of zero wing. not only did this mean that they could exchange precious resources at a significantly cheaper price, but the variety of items they could exchange would also be much greater. they could even make a fortune by reselling the items they exchanged. inside a certain tent on the mountaintop how are preparations coming along on your side, locust? the holy guard has already moved out. once her highness daystar takes action, there wont be anything left for us to do, a giant of a man who was ten meters tall, covered in holy patterns, and had messy hair said to the elegant middle-aged man resting beside him. if the rumors about black flame killing chalk splendor are true, he should be able to rank in the transcendent list. you know how hard it is to find opportunities to fight such experts. itd be a pity if we dont even get to fight him. the holy races transcendent list was similar to the divine glory list published by the seven luminaries alliance. all those on the list were experts who would be remembered by history. they were also qualified to establish training centers and recruit disciples in the real world. most importantly, they would qualify to live in the holy land, which was the dream of countless holy race players. unfortunately, 90% of the transcendent list was monopolized by experts from royal powers, and no expert from other powers would ever dare to challenge these individuals. after all, the act of doing so was a provocation to the royal powers. as a result, those not belonging to a royal power could only challenge the remaining 10% if they wanted to secure a place on the transcendent list. however, there were so many players seeking to challenge the remaining 10% that the current waiting list was over a century. unless they could come across one of these few transcendent experts alone out in the fields, it would be nearly impossible for them to get into the transcendent list. but now, a new opportunity known as black flame had appeared. it should be known that chalk splendor was a reserve candidate for the transcendent list, and many powers had deemed it likely he could enter the transcendent list in the future. yet, chalk splendor had died in the hands of black flame, which meant that black flame was stronger than him. this meant that so long as someone could kill black flame, there was a high chance they could be put on the transcendent list and skip the trouble of having to defeat an existing transcendent expert. black flame is indeed strong, but it is an exaggeration to say that he has the strength to enter the transcendent list, the elegant man named locust said contemptuously. dont forget that the seven luminaries alliances verdant rainbow was helping black flame when he killed chalk splendor. even so, it is still an incredible feat. if we can kill such an expert, we will get nominated for a reserve candidate spot at the very least, the giant of a man said excitedly. six fingers has a point, a woman with her eyes closed said. the woman sat alongside the giant and the elegant man, and she carried two sabers on her back. if youre not interested, locust, leave black flame to me later on. i was originally planning to challenge one of the royal powers reserve candidates, but it will save me a lot of trouble if i can come across black flame. locust was rendered speechless when he heard the womans words. sky pillar saintess, myriad blades! she was a chosen one of the sky pillar guilds latest generation. both she and six fingers, the giant of a man, were his rivals when it came to competing for a spot on the transcendent list. if he allowed either of them to kill black flame, his entry into the transcendent list would be delayed even further. while locust, myriad blades, and six fingers were chatting inside their tent, the silverwing had stealthily arrived within a thousand yards of the canyons entrance. currently, the silverwing was concealed with a tier 5 invisibility scroll, and shi feng stood on its deck as he observed the holy race army stationed above the canyon. im done analyzing the energy fluctuations, guild leader. i detected over 30,000 energy signatures, and 414 of them are tier 6, fiery heart, a tier 5 grand wizard equipped with the god chaser set, reported through the team chat with certainty. thats quite a lot of tier 6s. it seems we were right to come here first, shi feng said, chuckling. is everyone in position? for the current eternal realms human powers, a force of 400-plus tier 6 holy race experts would be considered a huge threat. however, it was a different story for the tier 5 and tier 6 experts from his home gods domain, as well as tier 6 experts like gentle snow. everyones in position and ready to take action! guild leader, give us the command! hidden soul, fire dance, and four level 200-plus, tier 5 assassins responded one after another to shi fengs question, each positioned next to a tent occupied by the holy race armys tier 6 experts. attack! after seeing that everyone was in position, shi feng promptly gave the command to attack. tl notes: [1]sky pillar priestess: i am unsure if this should be holy child, holy daughter, or priestess. i might come back to make changes in the future. Chapter 3658 - Chapter 732 - Celebrity Black Flame chapter 732 C celebrity black flame tl notes: made a fix to chapter 731: original: subsequently, shi feng split zero wings members into ten assault teams, making sure to evenly distribute phoenix rain and the other experts from his home gods domain across the ten teams. then, scattered the ten teams across the soul lake. as for shi feng himself, he hopped onto the silverwing with zero wings main force members and flew to the border connecting the soul lake with the frontline maps. it was already known that the holy race army was continuously gathering their forces at the border, so they would definitely find some enemies there. edited: subsequently, shi feng had phoenix rain and the other players from his home gods domain form nine assault teams and scattered them across the soul lake. then, he hopped onto the silverwing with zero wings main force members and flew to the border connecting the soul lake with the frontline maps. it was already known that the holy race army was continuously gathering their forces at the border, so they would definitely find some enemies there. basically, it means that zero wing has only formed ten assault teams in total instead of eleven. upon receiving shi fengs command, fire dance and the others promptly took action against the tents they were stalking. although the advanced tents used by the three holy race guilds were protected by an energy barrier that could normally withstand multiple tier 6 attacks, fire dance and the others shattered the barriers standing in their way with just a single attack. subsequently, before any of the tier 6 holy race experts resting in the targeted tents could react, fire dance and the others swiftly brandished their daggers and short swords, stabbing their hearts and slitting their necks. each of the targeted tents housed between five and six players. even though holy race players inherently possessed a lot of hp and defense, they still died instantly to the attacks of fire dance and the others, which were close to rivaling the attacks of tier 6 gods.[1] in the blink of an eye, six advanced tents were ambushed, and 31 tier 6 holy race experts were killed. ambush! human assassins are ambushing us! at the same time as fire dance and the others took action, a tier 5 holy race expert patrolling nearby noticed their presence and promptly shouted to alert the others. all of the holy race experts assigned to this location were battlefield veterans. the moment they heard someone alerting an ambush, whether it was those resting in tents or chatting somewhere, everyone promptly dropped what they were doing and rushed in the direction of zero wings six assassins. they even erected an energy barrier that covered the entire campsite, ensuring that the six assassins could not escape. commander six! emergency! zero wings members have ambushed us! we have activated the holy power barrier and trapped them in the campsite already! a tier 6 patrol reported urgently after entering the camp occupied by the three guilds army commanders. zero wing ambushed us? six fingers couldnt help but be stunned by his subordinates report. are you sure youre not mistaken? it should be known that their three guilds already regarded zero wing as a fish on a chopping block. after all, according to their investigations, zero wing only had a little over one hundred tier 6 experts defending its resurrection camp. that was only a fraction of what they had. with so few tier 6 experts, zero wing would have great difficulty even defending its resurrection camp. how could zero wing possibly take the initiative to attack their campsite, which had over four hundred tier 6 experts? however, before the tier 6 patrol could answer six fingers, locust had already put away the tent, revealing the sight of the aforementioned holy energy barrier shattering and several dozen figures descending from the sky. black flame! that person is zero wings guild leader black flame! the instant the several dozen figures appeared in the sky, many of the holy race players in the campsite immediately recognized shi feng and began shouting frantically. it was like shi feng was a candle in the dark, his presence being extraordinarily eye-catching. since when did you become so famous among the holy race, guild leader? gentle snow asked. she couldnt help but be stunned when she saw the holy race army down below behaving like a bunch of mortals who had just seen god descend upon them. it should be known that just a moment ago, the holy race players in the campsite were in the middle of encircling fire dances group of six. yet, now, all of them were focusing their attention on shi feng, behaving as if they had completely forgotten about the 31 tier 6 experts fire dances group had killed i have no idea. at this time, even shi feng found this situation confusing. did he really have such a striking appearance? it should be known that he was wearing a dark gray cloak that hid his equipment and weapons. he did not reveal any distinguishing features. paired with his face, he should look the most inconspicuous of everyone on his team. however, what shi feng did not know was that after he had killed chalk splendor, many holy race powers had deemed him an expert worthy of the transcendent list. meanwhile, the transcendent list was a ranking list known by all among the holy race. even those who merely have the potential to enter the transcendent list would have their faces memorized by most holy race players. hence, the three guilds members had long memorized shi fengs appearance. and as experts who had developed their minds to a great extent, it was very easy to single out shi feng from his teammates. tier 5 members, stay at least a thousand yards away from black flame! locust of the leisure prison guild commanded sternly upon learning of shi fengs presence. hes already stronger than tier 6 gods. those weaker than tier 6 gods should prioritize targeting zero wings other experts! at locusts command, all the holy race experts obeyed without hesitation, solemn expressions on their faces. no one dared to underestimate shi feng. treating him like a world boss, they had only their core experts face him head-on while everyone else supported them from behind. in only a moment, 23 level 180-plus, tier 6 holy race experts stepped forward, each strong enough to rival the human races tier 6 gods. they then charged toward shi fengs landing location. as for the other tier 6 holy race experts, they charged at the other zero wing members. how cautious of you all, shi feng said, still slightly surprised as he looked at the 23 experts standing before him. as far as he could remember, holy race experts held great contempt for human experts. if holy race experts encountered human experts out in the fields, most would choose to fight one-on-one duels, even when they had the numerical advantage. yet, the campsites 23 strongest holy race experts had chosen to attack him together. this was a situation far beyond the norm. cautious? looking down at shi fengs comparatively small figure, six fingers grimly said, i dont think so. when dealing with limit breakers like yourself, no amount of caution is excessive. in the holy races greater gods domain, the term limit breaker was used to describe monstrously powerful players. more specifically, limit breakers were all monsters capable of ranking on the transcendent list! previously, six fingers was partially convinced by locusts opinion that shi feng had only managed to kill chalk splendor thanks to the assistance of the seven luminaries alliances chosen one. however, after seeing shi fengs extraordinary use of the surrounding energy, six fingers immediately understood that shi feng wasnt someone who needed to rely on others to kill chalk splendor. if they wished to go against such a monster, they would have to gather all of their campsites strength to have any chance at victory. locust and i will distract him, six, myriad blades whispered to six fingers and the others as she cautiously approached shi feng with locust. take any opportunity you see, even if it means our deaths. after saying so, myriad blades unsheathed her sabers and charged at shi feng. tl notes: [1]they still died instantly to the attacks of fire dance and the others, which were close to rivaling the attacks of tier 6 gods: in this scenario, i believe that the attacks of the level 200-plus, tier 5 assassins rival the attacks of tier 6 gods that are at fire dance and hidden souls level. so, somewhere around level 180, considering that gentle snow is level 180 as of chapter 723. Chapter 3659 - Chapter 733 - Black Flames Sword chapter 733 C black flames sword itll all be up to you, six. i doubt myriad and i can create many opportunities. when locust saw myriad blades charging at shi feng, he put on a determined expression and raised the thorny wooden staff he wielded. immediately, countless holy patterns started to form around him. dont worry. i understand. six fingers solemnly nodded. logically, six fingers should have been the one to engage and distract shi feng since his ten-meter-tall body would make him the best fit for melee combat out of everyone present. yet, myriad blades and locust had chosen to take on this role instead. as for why they had made such a decision, it was because six fingers owned an astonishingly destructive holy art called heavenly strike. heavenly strike was a mysterious holy art six fingers had found in an ancient ruin, and it could exhibit power rivaling holy ancestor-ranked holy arts. paired with his fragmented divine artifact radiance, he could overwhelm the defenses of even ancient gods of the same level. hence, myriad blades and locust had chosen to create opportunities for him to land attacks on shi feng. otherwise, if they tried to trade blows with a limit breaker like shi feng, the latter would eventually whittle them to death. at the same time as six fingers nodded, myriad blades brandished her sabers and summoned a thousand holy armaments. these armaments came in various forms, such as sabers, spears, swords, axes, shields, and whips. each armament had its respective strengths, and they all carried power at the tier 6 god standard. when myriad blades willed all of these holy armaments to attack shi feng, it was as if a thousand myriad blades were attacking shi feng together. moreover, none of these holy armaments were restricted by hp, so they remained unfazed even when attacked. fusion holy art, thousandfold mirage! thousandfold mirage allowed myriad blades to become a one-man legion, and it was the primary reason behind her confidence in challenging a royal powers reserve candidate for the transcendent list. in the meantime, the elegant locust suddenly revealed a ferocious expression, his eyes turning crimson as the wooden staff he wielded merged with his body. his body also became withered like dead wood and shrunk by several sizes. then, once his transformation was complete, he turned into a stream of light as he charged at shi feng, his speed so fast that he could put tier 6 assassins to shame. fusion holy art, sanguine ascension! sanguine ascension was the ultimate desperation move locust had developed by combining a holy art with one of his legacy skills. when used, it allowed his movement speed and attack speed to achieve a qualitative leap, and nobody could keep up with him under the same tier. however, in exchange for this overwhelming speed, he would fall into a heavily injured state for a considerable time after using the fusion holy art. when zero wings members saw myriad blades and locusts display of strength, they couldnt help but be shocked. are those two monsters? fervent samsara was similarly shocked when he saw myriad blades swarm of holy armaments and locusts impossibly fast speed. although he could keep up with locusts speed thanks to his sixth sense, his body couldnt, especially not when locust was constantly changing his attack and movement trajectories. as of present, fervent samsara was certain he stood no chance against myriad blades and locust, even in one-on-one situations. thousandfold mirage and sanguine ascension? is the other one heavenly strike? shi feng suddenly thought of three names when he saw the moves executed by myriad blades and locust. during the war between the two races in his previous life, many holy race experts had become famous in the human races greater gods domain due to their feats. among them, three were particularly outstanding, and they were myriad blades the sky pillar saintess, locust the fleeting wraith, and heavenly strike six fingers. or, more specifically, their trademark moves were very well-known. in the sky pillar saintesss case, she had slaughtered an apex powers holy city with her thousandfold mirage. as for the fleeting wraith, he had single-handedly distracted death wind, one of demons gates nine great experts. it should be known that death wind not only wielded a divine weapon but was also equipped with divine equipment. under normal circumstances, even shi feng would not dare to fight death wind for too long. yet, locust had distracted death wind for half a day and safely retreated. similar to the other two, six fingers had accomplished an incredible feat that made him famous throughout the human races greater gods domain. the feat in question involved killing one of the seven luminaries alliances taboo existences with one almighty strike from his hammer, which instantly scared the million-strong army led by said taboo existence into fleeing. in his previous life, shi feng rather admired these three individuals. after all, these three individuals all dared to stand against the human races apex powers by themselves. only, he never thought he would face all three of them together right now. black flame! let me see just how strong you are! manipulating her holy armaments, myriad blades bombarded shi feng from all sides. although it was a chaotic bombardment with no skill involved, it was the most effective method to deal with limit breakers like shi feng. limit breakers of the human race were individuals who had gotten ahold of primordial god legacies and achieved strength beyond the limit in one aspect. when facing such overwhelming strength, techniques no longer mattered. in myriad blades case, she could only rely on having an overwhelming numerical advantage to fight shi feng. die! despite seeing myriad blades bombardment, locust did not hesitate to join the fight. with his focus on shi fengs back, locust kept moving around erratically in mid-air at extreme speeds. even experts who had made significant progress in the extrasensory realm would have difficulty reacting to his movements. if chalk splendor was currently standing in shi fengs position, even if he still had the sunlight blade with him, he would probably lose his life to the duo if he did not activate sunlight body preemptively. he might even die before he could even put up any form of defense. bring it on! seeing the display of raw power happening before him, shi feng started to feel a sense of danger. immediately, he unsheathed and brandished the winter of eternal night and shadow incinerator. world of frost! scorching flame! swords orbit! flowing light! suddenly, shi fengs level fell by one, and one hundred frost swords appeared around him. although the frost swords were still vastly outnumbered by the holy armaments, when shi feng executed swords orbit with them, the miniature stars they created instantly turned the tables on the holy armaments. moreover, scorching flames enveloped each star, and the rotation of the stars created a bright and scorching galaxy within a 1,000-yard radius of shi feng. subsequently, scorching stars and holy armaments clashed, causing powerful explosions and creating cracks in the eternal realms space. over ten thousand collisions took place in a mere moment, each collision sending a holy armament flying and leaving cracks in it. at the same time, shi feng was constantly moving about in the air, and try as locust might, he simply couldnt catch up to shi fengs constantly shifting position. all the while, myriad blades and locust saw their stamina and concentration draining rapidly because of their ultimate moves. this how is this possible?! arent limit breakers supposed to have exceeded the limit in only one aspect? whether it was myriad blades or locust, they couldnt help but be dumbfounded by this situation. not only did they fail to match shi feng in a clash of strength, but they also failed to match him in speed. for a moment, they even wondered if shi feng was human. Chapter 3660 - Chapter 734 - One-Hit Asura chapter 734 C one-hit asura how strong! thats the sky pillar saintess and fleeting wraith we are talking about! how can black flame still hold the upper hand when fighting both of them?! is that guy a monster? as the intensity of the battle between shi feng and myriad blades and locust grew, the tier 6 holy race experts waiting for an opportunity to strike couldnt help but be astonished. they had heard of black flame before. they also understood how powerful a limit breaker could be. however, it should be known that myriad blades and locust were not a couple of nobodies in the holy race. despite not being members of a royal power, they were strong enough to put up a fight against experts on the transcendent list. if given the opportunity, they could very well become experts on the transcendent list. normally, if the two went all-out and worked together, even divine artifact owners would have a headache dealing with them. yet, myriad blades and locust were being overwhelmed right now. myriad blades holy armaments were constantly being struck down, while locust couldnt even close the distance on shi feng, let alone find an opportunity to attack him. they could only watch as shi feng gradually wore down the holy armaments. are you still not ready, six? myriad cant hold on for much longer! locust said anxiously through the team chat when he saw that myriad blades could only use her holy armaments for defense and nothing else. originally, locust thought that with his extraordinary speed and reactions, paired with myriad blades incredible control, shi feng should be rendered helpless in no time. but now, whether it was the speed he prided himself in or myriad blades incredible attack rate, both were inferior to shi feng. shi fengs physical parameters were simply monstrous. now, only six seconds after their exchange began, they had already fallen into a complete disadvantage. in fact, he could already foresee myriad blades holy armaments crumbling apart completely in a few seconds. once that happened, it would take no more than an instant for him and myriad blades to die. dont worry. im ready, six fingers responded with a grim chuckle. dont fault me if you die. upon hearing six fingers response, locust and myriad blades immediately noticed a gigantic phantom appearing a thousand yards away from them. the phantom was in the image of six fingers, and it was several thousand meters tall. at this time, the phantom had already raised the mountainous hammer it wielded and smashed it down toward the area where they were fighting. as the hammer descended, it cast a dark shadow over a 1,000-yard radius. at the same time, fervent samsara and the other zero wing members, who were fighting against the holy races tier 6 experts in the distance, felt a chill run down their spines. the power of taboos! this was undoubtedly the power of taboos! the average tier 6 player would be at risk of permanent death if they were so much as scratched by this attack, let alone getting hit directly. die! six fingers bellowed with all his might as he glared at shi feng. at the same time, the phantom hammer accelerated its descent even further. heavenly strike! black flame! youll be dying with us here! when locust saw the descending hammer, he turned to look at shi feng with a sneer on his face. six fingers heavenly strike was not only powerful, but it also had a large attack radius. even if shi feng had astonishing speed, there was no way he could get out of heavenly strikes 1,000-yard aoe in time. not to mention, he still needed to deal with their distraction. boom! a dazzling beam of light shot into the sky, reaching a height of 10,000 meters before stopping. when the beam of light faded, the mountain the holy race army had set up their campsite on had disappeared, and taking its place was a bottomless abyss. is this lord six fingers heavenly strike? crap! arent we in the world ark right now? how can an attack deform the world arks terrain to such an extent?! i doubt even black flame can survive such a frightening strike. the three holy race guilds members gasped when they saw the devastation caused by six fingers heavenly strike. the world ark was one of the few world mode regional dungeons in the eternal realm. its terrain was extremely sturdy, and even tier 6 players would have difficulty damaging it. yet, six fingers had erased an entire mountain in a single strike, effectively turning the entrance canyon into a basin. on top of that, he had also left behind a bottomless pit with a 1,000-yard radius. the power of his attack was simply unheard of. what a tough opponent black flame is. had i come across him by myself, i would have no choice but to run. looking at the smoke rising from the bottomless abyss before him, six fingers couldnt help but feel fortunate he had myriad blades and locust to keep shi feng distracted. although heavenly strike had astonishing power, six fingers needed a long time to conjure the required phantom. without someone to distract his targets for him, in the six seconds it took him to conjure his phantom, even tier 5 experts could easily move out of his attack range, let alone tier 6 experts. if his opponents were confident in their strength, they could even attack and kill him while he was occupied. and seeing shi fengs astonishing speed and control, he did not doubt shi feng could kill him in six seconds. while six fingers was thinking of commanding the surviving tier 6 god-ranked experts to clean up the rest of zero wings members, something amidst the dispersing smoke clouds caught his attention. impossible! six fingers was dumbfounded by the sight before him. at this time, with one of his swords raised, shi feng could be seen holding back the mountainous phantom hammer, thoroughly preventing it from descending any further. not only that, but he still had over 95% of his hp remaining hes not dead?! how can he still be alive?! the three holy race guilds members who were just about to rejoice were similarly dumbfounded by this situation, none willing to believe what they were seeing. your attack is indeed extraordinary, but you chose the wrong opponent! shi feng did not bother to offer any explanations when he saw six fingers look of shock. while using the winter of eternal night to hold back the phantom hammer, he swung the shadow incinerator at six fingers, who stood over a thousand yards away. third sword, holy annihilation! immediately, a tide of flames swept toward six fingers, the speed of the flames so fast that time in the surrounding area had seemingly stopped flowing as they moved. i wont let you kill me that easily! six fingers was no ordinary holy race expert. almost at the same time as shi feng executed his attack, his powerful sixth sense made him lift his hammer to defend himself. boom! the instant the scorching flames and hammer collided, six fingers body flew away like a kite with its string severed, and his hp bar began to deplete at a visible rate. 60% 30% 10% when six fingers crashed into the mountain on the other side of the former canyon, his hp fell to zero, and he wore an astonished look as his body gradually dispersed into particles of light. guild leader? at this time, the three holy race guilds members werent the only ones in shock. gentle snow, fervent samsara, and the other zero wing members fighting against the holy races tier 6 experts were similarly dumbfounded. it should be known that even with their current strength, they wouldnt dare say they could defeat someone as mighty as six fingers. yet, this seemingly mighty individual failed to survive even one attack from shi feng Chapter 3661 - Chapter 735 - Beams of Destruction chapter 735 C beams of destruction six fingers is dead? impossible! this is six fingers we are talking about! how can lord six fingers die to one attack from a human swordsman? could there be some kind of bug in the world ark? when the several hundred tier 6 holy race experts present saw six fingers body fading away, they couldnt help but be in disbelief. it was bad enough that six fingers mighty heavenly strike had failed to kill shi feng, but the fact that six fingers couldnt withstand one attack from shi feng was truly beyond their comprehension. it even challenged their understanding of gods domain. if speaking purely in terms of strength, six fingers was second to only divine artifact users. his strength was so overwhelming that not even experts like locust and myriad blades would dare to face him head-on. no matter how they thought about it, they simply couldnt understand how this situation had come to be. dont just stand there! when shi feng saw that gentle snow, fervent samsara, and the others were still in a daze, he quickly reminded them, the three army commanders have been eliminated, so quickly take care of the remaining tier 6 holy race experts! we dont have much time to waste here! the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds had mobilized nearly 300,000 players this time, of which about 1,500 were tier 6 experts. currently, these tier 6 experts were scattered across the soul lake, so it was zero wings best opportunity to eliminate them before the main battle. but now that they had attacked the entrance campsite, it went without saying news of their actions would reach the rest of the three holy race guilds forces. if they wished to eliminate more tier 6 experts before the main battle, they had to act quickly. otherwise, once these holy race armies were prepared, the difficulty of dealing with them would increase exponentially. upon hearing shi fengs words, gentle snow, fervent samsara, and the others quickly snapped out of their daze and started killing the tier 6 holy race experts. out of all the zero wing members present, only fiery heart, who had just arrived in the eternal realm recently, remained unfazed by shi fengs strength. before shi feng even voiced his reminder, she had already cast a tier 5 curse at a group of level 180-plus, tier 6 holy race experts. although six fingers was astonishingly powerful, he was only a level 182 player. even if he possessed strength superior to tier 6 gods of the same level, it should be known that shi feng could already contend with level 200, tier 6 gods when he first returned to their home gods domain. level 200 was a massive turning point in gods domain. going from level 199 to level 200 would be akin to achieving a one-tier advancement. so, even before shi feng returned to their home gods domain, his strength was already superior to that of the current six fingers. after killing the first generation saint ukarius, he had even leveled up to level 191, his basic attributes improving by two minor thresholds. in shi fengs current state, his attack could cause even level 200, tier 6 gods to stumble. so, fiery heart didnt find it surprising that six fingers had died so abruptly. while zero wings members were cleaning up the tier 6 holy race experts, someone from the three holy race guilds quickly called for a retreat. retreat! retreat quickly! we are no match for black flame! only by gathering all of our tier 6 experts and using a large combination holy art can we fight him! suddenly, all of the holy race experts present began to flee in all directions, nobody having any intention of fighting shi fengs team to the death. seeing this, gentle snow and the others experienced a headache. setting aside the 30,000-plus tier 5 holy race experts, if the 400-plus tier 6 holy race experts were determined to flee, they wouldnt be able to prevent more than a few from escaping. have the ships spirit cannons finished charging, rampant? when shi feng saw the holy race experts scattering, he promptly posed a question to rampant blade, who had stayed behind to pilot the silverwing. in reality, shi feng was more than capable of killing locust, myriad blades, and six fingers as soon as their fight began. the reason he didnt do so was out of concern that he might frighten the three holy race guilds members into fleeing. if that happened, even he wouldnt be able to kill more than a couple of tier 6 holy race experts before all of them escaped. hence, before getting off the silverwing, shi feng had instructed rampant blade to begin charging the flying ships one hundred spirit destruction cannons and eight floating spirit cannons. the attacks of the spirit destruction cannons and floating spirit cannons were destruction spells with massive aoes. although the power of these cannons was inferior to his attacks, it still wasnt something ordinary tier 6 experts could afford to receive recklessly. if all 128 spirit cannons fired together, their combined effect would be many times greater than if he were to use holy annihilation or dark moon many times in quick succession. all 128 spirit cannons are fully charged, guild leader! rampant blade reported excitedly as he looked at the charging indicators on the 100 spirit destruction cannons and 28 floating spirit cannons. good! fire! shi feng commanded without hesitation. boom! boom! boom! immediately, all of the spirit destruction cannons and floating spirit cannons aboard the silverwing fired simultaneously, each unleashing a beam covering a 3,000-yard radius onto the fleeing holy race players. if caught in the middle of these beams striking radius, not even tier 6 players could run to safety in time, and theyd have no choice but to defend against the destructive beams. when all 128 beams descended, a blinding light enveloped the soul lakes entrance, covering a radius of tens of thousands of yards. from a distance, it looked as if the land was being purified. none of the tier 5 holy race experts could resist the spirit destruction cannons, all of them vaporized the instant they made contact with the beam attacks. as for the tier 6 holy race experts, although one beam was not enough to kill them, each beam still shaved off a visible chunk of their hp. after suffering 128 beam attacks, even the holy race experts who could rival tier 6 gods of the same level were reduced to ashes. after the beams of destruction dissipated, the three holy race guilds campsite had become a barren wasteland. apart from a few holy race experts who managed to escape with the help of lifesaving tools, the rest were all dead. is this the power of an advanced dark-gold flying ship? gentle snow couldnt believe her eyes as she looked at the vast expanse of scorched earth before her. of the 30,000-plus holy race experts stationed at this campsite, 99% were killed in an instant. even god-ranked holy race experts were no exception. over a dozen tier 6 god-ranked experts! apart from apex powers, no other human power could go up against such a force in the current eternal realm. yet, in front of the silverwing, these god-ranked experts were no different than cannon fodder. fervent samsara and heavy abyss were similarly shocked by this development. although they had long known that the silverwing was a high-ranking flying ship, they never thought it could be this frightening. the firepower of this flying ship was even greater than that of a void fortress. guild leader, nearly 100 tier 6 holy race experts escaped before the attack connected, rampant blade reported the information he got from the silverwings exploration magic array. so be it. everyone, back on the ship! we must eliminate as much of the holy race armys forces as possible before news spreads! shi feng wasnt particularly surprised by rampant blades report. immediately, he commanded everyone to return to the silverwing and head for another campsite the red dragon nation and azure fang had discovered. while shi fengs team was making its way to another campsite, zero wings nine other assault teams also began their attack on the holy race army one after another. the holy race armys campsite is just ahead. are you sure you want to attack it, vice guild leader phoenix? unrestrained lionheart, the vice commander of the red dragon nations main force, couldnt help but ask phoenix rain as he looked at the holy races campsite in the distance. truth be told, unrestrained lionheart was full of apprehension as he followed phoenix rain, zero wings newly appointed vice guild leader, to attack the holy race army. this was because he had never heard of phoenix rain until today. moreover, most of the players in phoenix rains team were only tier 5 players. it should be known that the campsite they were targeting housed over 10,000 holy race players, of which over a hundred were tier 6 players. yet, phoenix rain was looking to attack it with only a team of ten Chapter 3662 - Chapter 736 - Frightened Holy Race chapter 736 C frightened holy race naturally. standing amidst a primordial forest with an advanced black cloak concealing her information, phoenix rain responded confidently to unrestrained lionhearts anxiety. before phoenix rain came to the world ark, shi feng had already informed her of the general situation of the eternal realm and zero wing, so she knew that zero wing needed to defend its resurrection camp at all costs. otherwise, zero wing would lose access to holy ring city, and its development would lag behind the other powers over time. it should be known that most powers operating in the eternal realm had scattered large amounts of manpower across the eternal realms various npc cities. not only were these npc cities gathering places for a large number of players during the eternal realms initial stages, but the real estate of these npc cities was also an opportunity for the various powers to generate astronomical wealth. with zero wings current development being limited to just one city, it wouldnt matter how well zero wing fared in the eternal realm. at the end of the day, zero wing still couldnt generate enough wealth to compete against the various powers that were operating in numerous npc cities. to make matters worse, zero wing had very few tier 6 experts under its command presently. this, in turn, limited how many resource nodes it could occupy in the eternal realm. even if zero wing currently possessed the ability to increase a players chances of advancing to tier 6, the guild would still need experts with the potential to reach tier 6 before it could start to produce tier 6 experts. although the crystal city of secrets had a large player population, it was still just one city. compared to the players populating the many npc cities across the eternal realm, the crystal citys player population was minuscule. at this rate, it wouldnt be long before the various powers would have more tier 6 experts than zero wing. once that happened, there would be very little zero wing could do to catch up. if zero wing wished to stand a chance against the various conglomerates and pseudo-apex powers, its only hope now was to defend its resurrection camp and rely on it to generate wealth and expand zero wings territory. if you insist but please be careful, vice guild leader phoenix. hearing phoenix rains determined response, unrestrained lionheart reminded, according to our scouts, the campsite has at least three god-ranked experts. if you find yourself not a match, retreat as soon as possible. if your tier 5 teammates get killed by any of those three, they might permanently lose access to gods domain. at least three god-ranked experts? sinful flame, a legendary individual and an elder of the azure chamber of commerce, licked the edges of his mouth in excitement when he heard unrestrained lionhearts words. i never thought i would get an opportunity to become a challenger at my age. you better not hog them all to yourself, elder flame. at least leave some for me, phoenix rain said, chuckling when she saw sinful flames enthusiastic behavior. due to the limited number of tier 6 experts and fourth-floor experts in their home gods domain, she had very few opponents she could spar with ever since she advanced to tier 6. however, that was no longer the case now that she had arrived in the eternal realm. meanwhile, similar to sinful flame, she wanted to spar with as many tier 6 experts as she could. it would be even better if they were fourth-floor experts and above. whether she won or lost these fights, she would benefit from them massively. no can do. also, we must agree to a first come, first served basis. nobody is allowed to interfere with each others fights, sinful flame said, rolling his eyes at phoenix rain. he showed no intention of making concessions to his juniors. fine. phoenix rain helplessly nodded. meanwhile, unrestrained lionheart was exasperated when he heard the conversation between sinful flame and phoenix rain. arrogant! these two individuals were wildly arrogant! god-ranked experts were respected and feared by the various upper-ranking hegemonic powers in the greater gods domain. yet, sinful flame and phoenix rain regarded god-ranked experts as merely sparring partners. it should be known that these two individuals were merely fourth-floor experts. they were leagues inferior to the holy races god-ranked experts. even if sinful flame and phoenix rain worked together, they would stand no chance against a god-ranked expert from the holy race. in fact, they would still lose even if the god-ranked expert gave them a handicap of an arm and a leg. yet, they were now boldly claiming that they were going to challenge multiple god-ranked experts by themselves everyone, move out! when phoenix rain saw one of the holy races level 181 god-ranked experts emerging from an advanced tent, she suddenly issued a command to move out before charging forward by herself, behaving nothing like a proper leader. you shameless little girl! sinful flame stamped his feet angrily at phoenix rains behavior. however, when he saw that phoenix rain had already gained a head start of several hundred yards, he promptly charged at the advanced tent that the level 181 god-ranked expert had emerged from. as for the eight tier 5 zero wing members on phoenix rains team, they charged forward in a frenzy. as if afraid they wouldnt be noticed, they even went as far as to shout a battle cry as they advanced on the holy race army. lunatics! these people are a bunch of lunatics! unrestrained lionheart was dumbfounded when he saw zero wings team initiating a frontal confrontation. werent they supposed to ambush the enemy?! how was this anything like an ambush?! at this time, aside from unrestrained lionheart, the red dragon nations scouts, who were observing the holy races campsite from afar, were similarly stunned by this situation. if they didnt know any better, they would think that zero wings 10-man team was secretly backed by a 100,000-man army. after all, these zero wing members behaved nothing like a 10-man team would when advancing on a 10,000-man army. naturally, zero wings unrestrained shouting caught the attention of the holy race army in no time. immediately, the holy race players stationed in the campsite emerged from their tents and quickly grouped into parties, intending to use combination holy arts to retaliate against the attacking enemy. whats going on? why are there only ten players? are these human players playing a joke on us? after the holy race players got into positions, they couldnt help but doubt their eyes when they saw the approaching zero wing members. ten players! a team of ten players actually dared to charge at their army of 10,000! not only that, but only two among these ten players were tier 6 experts! if they didnt know any better, theyd think they were being attacked by a team of god-ranked experts armed to the teeth! while the holy race players were pondering how they should deal with zero wings deranged members, phoenix rain suddenly raised her staff into the air. immediately afterward, a twofold magic array for a tier 6 curse that covered the entire campsite suddenly appeared, shocking all of the holy race players in the campsite. however, what shocked the holy race players wasnt the fact that phoenix rain had double-cast a tier 6 curse, but the mana that was being used to power the tier 6 curse! phoenix rains mana was as solid as steel, and not even the mana of tier 6 gods could compare! upon sensing the mana in the twofold magic arrays, even the holy races god-ranked experts, who were initially thinking of ridiculing zero wings members, shuddered involuntarily. shes beyond gods? Chapter 3663 - Chapter 737 - Silent Battlefield chapter 737 C silent battlefield tl notes: i previously mentioned that the raws i received for chapter 505 were missing a section. well, ive found the completed version and made the necessary changes. original: the only problem was that these undeveloped lands were located far from any npc strongholds, and reaching them required a lot of time, even with the help of legendary flying mounts. it might not be a problem if players only needed to travel to these places once, but the time players wasted on travel would quickly pile up if they had to make multiple trips. this was where guild cities came in. to establish a guild city in the eternal realm, players would need to have the city building order, and to obtain a city building order, players would need to explore and raid the hundred eyes canyon. edited: the only problem was that these undeveloped lands were located far from any npc strongholds, and reaching them required a lot of time, even with the help of legendary flying mounts. it might not be a problem if players only needed to travel to these places once, but the time players wasted on travel would quickly pile up if they had to make multiple trips. this was where guild strongholds came to play. however, establishing a guild stronghold in the eternal realm was a challenging task. not only did the construction of a guild stronghold require an astronomical amount of eternal gold coins, but a city building order was also needed. to make matters worse, it was incredibly difficult to obtain a lords certificate. even the pseudo-apex powers in the current eternal realm would need to mobilize all their forces to acquire one. meanwhile, the hundred eyes canyon was one of the few players where players could obtain city building orders. also, lords certificate changed to city building order. tier 6 curse, endless requiem! this was the only large-scale destruction spell in phoenix rains repertoire. even with the powerful suppression that the world arks environment placed on mana, endless requiem could still cover a 1,000-yard radius in a deathly gale that eroded all life. of course, endless requiem wasnt all-powerful. setting tier 5 players aside, any decently equipped tier 6 player caught within the tier 6 curses aoe should have no trouble surviving it under normal circumstances. however, it should be known that phoenix rain was currently level 212 and equipped with the god chaser set. in terms of power, her endless requiem would be stronger than even that of level 200, tier 6 gods. it was no longer a large-scale destruction spell that players under level 200 could withstand. dammit! stop her! one of the holy race armys leaders shouted as he pointed at phoenix rain. almost immediately, the four god-ranked holy race experts stationed in the campsite charged at phoenix rain. they understood what they needed to do, and they did not hesitate to take action for even a moment. on the other side, phoenix rain naturally noticed the four level 180-plus god-ranked experts charging at her. however, even when the four god-ranked experts arrived within 500 yards of her, she did not stop channeling her endless requiem. instead, she simply raised her free hand at the four experts. triple speed-casting, tier 6 spell, thunder dragons halberd! suddenly, three crimson lightning bolts shot out from phoenix rains hand and targeted three of the four approaching god-ranked experts. each lightning bolt also split into countless branches as they closed in on its target, covering a much greater area and making evasion impossible. as a result, the three targeted god-ranked experts could only gather their holy aura to defend themselves. boom! following a loud explosion, the three level 181, tier 6 god-ranked experts were sent flying back over a hundred yards, and their hps fell by nearly 50%. one of them even had his arm crippled because he had failed to deflect phoenix rains attack completely. who is she? the holy race players in the campsite felt their worldview challenged when they saw this development. just by raising her hand, phoenix rain, a human mage god, had crippled one god-ranked expert and injured two while the holy race players in the campsite were in shock, the fourth god-ranked expert had arrived within 50 yards of phoenix rain. however, before he could attack phoenix rain, a gray-clad old man suddenly appeared before him and swung a knights sword at his neck. this situation left him with no choice but to try to block and deflect the attack. clang! when both sides clashed, a crisp sound echoed across the battlefield. immediately afterward, the holy race armys fourth god-ranked expert could be seen being sent flying like a cannonball. it was also obvious that the god-ranked expert had sustained serious injuries as even after crashing into the ground, he failed to get up right away. an existence beyond gods! it was another existence beyond gods! in a mere team of ten, there were actually two experts who were above gods! before the holy race players in the campsite could wrap their minds around this mind-boggling situation, the remaining eight members of zero wings assault team also began their attack, bombarding the campsite with a series of arrows and spells. although these eight zero wing members were only tier 5 players, they were all at level 210 and equipped with the epic god chaser set. the power of their attacks could rival level 180, tier 6 gods. with their opponents being only a bunch of level 180 players, it went without saying they could deal devastating damage. subsequently, the attacks of eight tier 5 zero wing members could be seen obliterating any tier 5 holy race player they came into contact with. as for the tier 6 holy race experts struck by these attacks, although they didnt die on the spot, they still sustained heavy injuries, proving that they werent strong enough to confront the attacks directly. the eight tier 5 zero wing members were effectively invincible as they clashed with the holy race army, killing several dozen tier 5 holy race experts with their every attack and heavily injuring tier 6 holy race experts. as for the tier 6 shadow knight sinful flame, he was akin to the grim reaper on the battlefield, eliminating every holy race expert in his path without fail. in only three seconds, sinful flame and the eight tier 5 zero wing members had already killed over a thousand holy race players, reducing the campsites population by nearly 10% am i hallucinating? unrestrained lionheart couldnt help but rub his eyes as he watched the slaughter before him. he seriously suspected he was hallucinating. it was already unbelievable that zero wings 10-man assault team had two taboo-level existences. yet, as if that wasnt enough, the remaining eight members of the team were also existences slightly stronger than the average god-ranked experts[1]. most importantly, these eight individuals were only tier 5 players. it should be known that unrestrained lionheart was an elder of the red dragon nation. however, even after ascending to tier 6, he was still much weaker compared to god-ranked experts of the same level. unless he could gather a full set of legendary equipment for himself, he could never hope to fight god-ranked experts of the same level. yet, zero wings eight tier 5 members could not only fight god-ranked experts, but they were even winning with an overwhelming advantage as unrestrained lionheart grappled with reality, the holy race army suffered another thousand casualties. the holy race army, once a symbol of fear for the various human powers, was now crumbling apart like a house of cards before the relentless onslaught of zero wings assault team. with such frightening teams under his command, its no wonder black flame can hold the skylight associations partnership offer in contempt. if nineteenth sword learns of this, hell probably regret ever making an enemy out of zero wing. when unrestrained lionheart saw how easily phoenix rains team was massacring an army of 10,000-plus holy race players, he suddenly started to pity nineteenth sword. it should be known that zero wing had dispatched ten assault teams to ambush the holy race army scattered across the soul lake. even if the other teams were slightly weaker than phoenix rains team, the difference shouldnt be significant. with such a force under zero wings command, even if all of the pseudo-apex powers currently operating in the world ark joined forces, they still couldnt afford to provoke zero wing. yet, the skylight associations nineteenth sword had declared he would make it impossible for zero wing to survive in the world ark everyone, gather on me! im activating the holy aegis! as zero wings assault team members continued their slaughter, the holy race armys commander took out a holy totem from his bag and chanted an incantation. subsequently, numerous protective screens made of holy power formed around the campsite, isolating the holy race army from zero wings members. at the same time, a barrier covering a 1,000-yard radius formed around zero wings members, trapping them inside. someone, contact the rest of the army! inform them that zero wings main force is attacking us and that we have trapped them here! have them send reinforcements immediately! the army commander commanded. now, they only had to wait for reinforcements from the rest of the army to eliminate phoenix rain and the others. admittedly, phoenix rain and her teammates were very strong. on a battlefield involving only ten thousand players, they could exhibit heaven-defying strength. however, their strength would become insignificant when faced with the three holy race guilds army of 200,000-plus experts. the three guilds had gathered over a hundred god-ranked experts this time, so annihilating eight god-ranked experts would be childs play. they also had large-scale combination holy arts that, when executed by a hundred tier 6 god-ranked experts, could obliterate even taboo-level existences. have these guilds lost their minds?! why would they use a defensive treasure like holy aegis here?! unrestrained lionheart revealed an ugly look when he saw the protective screens that had formed around the holy race armys campsite. holy aegis was a famous single-use tool among the holy race as it could withstand many attacks from even taboo-level existences. however, due to its rarity, each holy aegis was worth as much as a legendary weapon, and even the holy races royal powers did not have many, let alone the subordinates of royal powers. if phoenix rains team couldnt break out in time, their fates would be sealed once the rest of the holy race army arrived. while unrestrained lionheart was having a panic attack, the members of the three holy race guilds calling for reinforcements inside the holy aegis suddenly revealed dumbfounded expressions. requesting reinforcements! our coordinates are 154.445! we have discovered zero wings taboo-level main force members! screw you! we have also discovered zero wings taboo-level main force members! there are three of them here! we have already trapped them using holy aegis, so hurry up and send reinforcements! tl notes: [1]slightly stronger than god-ranked experts: this line is written in unrestrained lionhearts perspective, so the god-ranked experts here are referring to level 180, tier 6 god-ranked experts. phoenix rain and the others are equipped with the advanced black cloak, so unrestrained lionheart is unaware of their actual levels. Chapter 3664 - Chapter 738 - New Legend chapter 738 C new legend world ark, soul lake resurrection camp: following the arrival of zero wings reinforcements, the atmosphere in the resurrection camp became incomparably tense and gloomy. it was especially so for the red dragon nations and azure fangs members. although they kept setting up magic arrays and war weapons around the camps perimeter, they wore grim expressions as they did so. after all, their opponents this time were the sun dynastys holy guard and an army of 200,000-plus holy race experts formed by the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds. not even the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps could defend against such a force. so, even though the red dragon nation, azure fang, and zero wing worked together, their chances of successfully defending the soul lake resurrection camp were slim. what do you think zero wing is trying to do, milia? i thought they were sending their flying ship to aid in the defense, but it left again shortly after arriving. the red dragon nation and azure fang also sent out a bunch of scouts to investigate the holy race army. could they be planning an ambush? titan asked out of curiosity as he observed the situation inside the soul lake resurrection camp with the help of a magic mirror. ive also heard other guilds saying that black flame has gone toward the three holy race guilds campsite with a small team. does he really think he can turn this guild war around all by himself? how should i know? milia answered, shaking her head. then, a solemn look suddenly appeared on her face as she continued, but based on our scouts reports, the forces the three holy race guilds have scattered across the soul lake seem to be in disarray right now. did black flame really initiate an attack on them? titan asked, revealing a look of interest. if thats the case, we should go over and take a look. the seven luminaries alliance has placed black flame on the latest edition of the divine glory list. hes even ranked among the top 300 despite having only reached tier 6 recently. this is the same treatment spear paradise received when he debuted after killing a level 200-plus ancient god. by now, black flame had already become a hot topic for many players in the greater gods domain, and the cause behind it was the latest edition of the divine glory list. the divine glory list was a ranking list that recorded the greater gods domains apex powerhouses. although it wasnt perfect, it was still very reliable, and it held vastly greater influence in the greater gods domain than the luminous and sacred glory lists. as for why everyone was discussing black flame specifically, it was because he had debuted on the divine glory list. not only that, but he had also debuted with a ranking in the top 300, even though black flame had only advanced to tier 6 recently. this was a treatment the seven luminaries alliance had rarely offered in the past century. it should be known that anyone capable of entering the divine glory list would be an existence capable of trading blows with a level 200, tier 6 god at the very least. in addition, the seven luminaries alliance would rarely assign debutants a high ranking on the divine glory list. for example, although there were some debutants who had proven themselves capable of trading blows with ancient gods, most of them had only debuted with a ranking in the top 500. as for why the seven luminaries alliance would do so, it was to ensure the accuracy of the divine glory list. after all, a single battle wasnt enough to give a full picture of a players strength. it was entirely possible that the player just so happened to have performed outstandingly in that particular battle. it could also be that they had taken advantage of unique circumstances, such as the enemy being weakened prior to the battle. only by evaluating players across multiple battles could the seven luminaries alliance make an accurate evaluation. of course, this didnt mean that the seven luminaries alliance was arbitrary in its decision to give black flame his current rank. the alliance had clearly indicated on the divine glory list that black flame had received his ranking because of his achievement of killing chalk splendor, a holy child of the sun dynasty. the alliance had also indicated that chalk splendor was wielding the sunlight blade, a divine weapon, at the time. with the achievement of slaying a taboo-level existence under his belt, nobody would question black flames qualifications to be on the divine glory list. after all, taboo-level existences were few and far between in the greater gods domain. moreover, most, if not all, belonged to the various apex powers and pseudo-apex powers. however, it would be a little far-fetched to say that black flame deserved to be ranked within the top 300 in his first evaluation. that was akin to saying that black flame was on the same standard as spear paradise, the great commander of the scarecrow fox adventurer team. it should be known that spear paradise debuted on the divine glory list after slaying a level 200-plus ancient god. even if chalk splendor was wielding the sunlight blade when black flame fought him, it would be an exaggeration to say that he could compare with a level 200-plus ancient god. not to mention, black flame had verdant rainbow helping him from the side. without verdant rainbows assistance, black flame would never have been able to kill chalk splendor. for these reasons, many people felt that the seven luminaries alliance was giving preferential treatment to black flame. either that or the alliance deemed that black flames potential was equal to the spear paradise of the past, which, in turn, meant that black flame was qualified to stand on equal footing with lofty existences such as nineteenth sword, who was one of the current ten great sword gods. hence, titan couldnt help but be curious about black flames talent and potential. thats merely the alliance showing black flame its appreciation for his contributions, nineteenth sword said contemptuously as he opened his eyes. youre not young anymore, titan. how can you not understand something so simple? do you really think black flame is worthy of being compared with spear paradise? in nineteenth swords opinion, black flame could indeed be regarded as a genius for mastering a gold combat technique at such a young age. it was also why he praised the young man originally. however, to say that black flame was comparable with spear paradise in potential would be a gross overestimation. others might not be fully aware of the circumstances surrounding spear paradise, but nineteenth sword was. spear paradise the divine spear might have been a late bloomer, but as he kept growing, his strength became increasingly astonishing. he had grown so strong that he had single-handedly turned scarecrow fox into an adventurer team that even the various pseudo-apex powers needed to respect. on what grounds did black flame deserve to be equated to someone like spear paradise? i doubt it is black flame fighting against the three holy race guilds, milia said, shaking her head. according to the information i received, a mysterious power is attacking multiple of the three guilds campsites simultaneously, causing them severe losses. moreover, this mysterious power has already mobilized more than ten taboo-level existences thus far. do you think zero wing has that many taboo-level existences? i guess youre right. titan nodded. currently, black flame was the only known taboo-level existence in zero wing. as for gentle snow the snow goddess, although she was strong, she was far from reaching the standard of taboos. no matter how titan thought about it, there was no way zero wing could mobilize ten taboo-level existences. can you have your people look into that power, milia? nineteenth sword asked. itll be even better if you can get in touch with that power. there should only be a few powers capable of mobilizing so many taboo-level existences in the greater gods domain, and none were existences the skylight association could afford to provoke at present. so, it would naturally be good if the skylight association could get acquainted with this mysterious power. this just as nineteenth sword asked his question, milia received an update from one of her subordinates. then, she suddenly grew hesitant as she turned to nineteenth sword and said, that power seems to bezero wing. Chapter 3665 - Chapter 739 - Holy Guard Arrives chapter 739 C holy guard arrives zero wing? titan revealed a surprised look when he heard milias words. youre not joking, are you, milia? even for the various apex powers, it would be difficult for them to come up with a force of ten taboo-level existences in the current eternal realm. so, how was it possible that a newly-established guild like zero wing could do so? if zero wing truly had such a powerful foundation, the skylight associations threat to zero wing would become a complete joke. are you certain, milia? nineteenth sword asked, similarly having difficulty believing milias words. there should be no mistaking it, milia said as she solemnly looked at the report she just received. the scouts i dispatched have already sent over several battle videos involving the holy race armys campsites. youll know once you take a look. after saying so, milia played two videos she received on the magic mirror for nineteenth sword and titan to watch, each lasting no more than twenty seconds. the first video showed a battle in a forest, and a large section of the forest could be seen encircled by screens made from holy power of unprecedented density. shortly after the video began, a cloaked woman wearing a six-winged emblem could be seen waving the staff in her hand and calling down a gale of death upon the forest. the gale dyed the forest environment in a shade of gray and repeatedly struck the energy screens, wearing them away. in only a few seconds, the energy screens, which looked like they could withstand a long and continuous bombardment from even a taboo-level existence, shattered. subsequently, it took only a moment for the gale of death to annihilate the thousands of holy race players behind the energy screens. the second video showed a battle taking place beside a lake. the holy race army in the video comprised over 10,000 players, of which more than 30 tier 6 experts. as soon as the video began, a cloaked female assassin could be seen reaping the lives of the tier 6 holy race experts one after another. none of the tier 6 holy race experts could last more than a move against the female assassin; even god-ranked experts were not an exception. similar to the elementalist in the first video, the female assassin could be vaguely seen wearing zero wings six-winged emblem. when the second video concluded, silence enveloped the tent. neither nineteenth sword nor titan could find any words. what should we do now, elder sword? milia asked, breaking the silence. if zero wing decides to take action against us in the world ark, im afraid we will be powerless to resist. if zero wing only had one or two taboo-level existences, the skylight association could still hold its ground, albeit just barely. however, fighting a force of more than ten taboo-level existences was no longer within the realm of the current skylight associations capabilities. at this time, titan also turned to nineteenth sword for his decision. nineteenth sword was the person in charge of the skylight associations operations in the world ark. he was also the person who knew the skylight association best. if even nineteenth sword didnt have a way out of this predicament, the skylight association would most likely have to withdraw from the world ark. it seems i have underestimated black flame. i didnt think he would have hidden so many experts who can rival taboo-level existences. contrasting the reaction milia and titan had expected, nineteenth sword suddenly chuckled. then, he said, our plan remains unchanged. you two should just stick to it like before. but zero wing has over ten taboo-level existences, elder sword! titan emphasized. these taboo-level existences alone should be enough to defend the soul lake resurrection camp from the sun dynasty. taboo-level existences were akin to weapons of mass destruction when used against the powers operating in the current eternal realm. even one taboo-level existence could achieve astounding effects on a battlefield, let alone a force of over ten taboo-level existences. even the sun dynasty shouldnt be capable of defeating such a force. although these two people have tried their best to hide it, their actual combat standards arent particularly noteworthy, nineteenth sword said nonchalantly as he glanced at titan. i dont know what method zero wing has used to grant them the power of taboos, but i can say for certain that they dont have any divine artifacts equipped. they merely have incredibly high basic attributes. zero wing would be dreaming if it thinks it can defeat the sun dynastys holy guard with such players. is the sun dynastys holy guard that powerful, elder sword? milia asked out of curiosity. she couldnt understand why nineteenth sword would be so certain zero wing wouldnt be a match for the holy guard. i hadnt told this to you two before, but i trust this information should reach the various powers soon. putting on a solemn expression, nineteenth sword said, two days ago, the eternal chamber of commerce had sent four divine artifact wielders to the world arks core area on a mission. however, all four of them ended up getting killed by the sun dynastys holy guard. four of eternals divine artifact wielders were killed?! impossible! milia exclaimed. did the holy guard mobilize in full force? the eternal chamber of commerce was an apex power of the human race. although it had always operated mysteriously, no power would dare to underestimate it, especially not its divine artifact wielders. in terms of combat standards, these divine artifact wielders were definitely comparable to the seven luminaries alliances verdant rainbow. so, milia found it truly hard to imagine what kind of force was necessary to kill four of such individuals. full force? nineteenth sword cackled. if the holy guard really did attack with all its members, do you think eternal will bother to suppress the news? a 1,000-man team! the holy guard mobilized only a 1,000-man team! furthermore, that 1,000-man team only sent four of its 100-man teams to deal with eternals four divine artifact wielders four 100-man teams? this how is this possible? titan couldnt help but be taken aback. had the holy guard mobilized all its members to kill four taboo-level existences, although he would still be surprised, he wouldnt find it unbelievable. however, killing four divine artifact wielders with only four hundred players sounded like a fantasy, no matter how he thought about it. just as nineteenth sword was about to say something in response, the magic mirror inside the tent suddenly fluctuated violently, numerous ripples spreading across the mirrors surface. powerful energy fluctuations are approaching the resurrection camp! has the sun dynasty arrived? apart from the skylight associations magic mirror, the other powers observing the soul lake resurrection camp from a distance also saw intense reactions coming from their magic mirrors. subsequently, a moment after these magic mirrors started to fluctuate, the image of a gigantic eighteen-headed serpent that measured several thousand meters tall appeared on them. thousands of holy race players could also be seen standing atop the serpents eighteen heads, their standardized equipment and organized formations giving them the appearance of a well-trained army. apart from looking like disciplined soldiers, all these holy race players were at level 182, tier 6 or above. among them, the team leaders were fully equipped with legendary equipment, and the auras they radiated could match that of tier 6 gods of the same level. furthermore, standing at the forefront of each of the serpents eighteen heads were individuals with auras as strong as the eighteen-headed serpent itself. aside from wearing guild emblems shaped like the sun, the eighteen individuals also wore white capes imprinted with a similarly shaped holy pattern. meanwhile, when the various human powers experts saw these holy race players, a name automatically appeared in their minds. the holy guard! Chapter 3666 - Chapter 740 - God-ranked Battle chapter 740 C god-ranked battle theyre finally here. so, this is the sun dynastys holy guard? inside the soul lake resurrection camp, frey and garut were greatly shocked as they looked at the eighteen-headed serpent hovering outside the camp. as vice guild leaders of pseudo-apex powers, frey and garut were no strangers to battles of epic proportions. they had even personally witnessed realm wars, battles that involved billions of experts fighting in the void sea, before. however, compared to the scene before them, even realm wars would pale a void leviathan?! standing in the control room of a 1,000-meter-long flying ship, verdant rainbow instinctively uttered a name as she looked on in astonishment at the eighteen-headed serpent displayed in the magic mirror. is this the strength of the sun dynasty? the seven luminaries alliance elder standing beside verdant rainbow was similarly surprised. a void leviathan! a level 193 void leviathan! for most players in the greater gods domain, this was likely a name they had never heard of. however, for the various apex powers executives and experts who had ventured to the fringes of the void sea, this name would be very familiar. although it was generally thought that the void sea was endless and without borders, that was only because the various powers had yet to find an end after exploring it for many years. however, one particular area of the void sea could be considered the void seas border. or, more accurately, it was a place players could not approach. as for why players couldnt approach this so-called border, it was due to the dangers that existed there. even taboo-level experts equipped with divine weapons would fall if they dared to tread into that place. however, for those who did tread into this borderland, the first gatekeepers they would encounter were the void leviathans. void leviathans were a type of ferocious beast, and their life rating was so high that they could match sacred dragons. at the same level, even ancient gods would dread facing a void leviathan. void leviathans were extremely violent, and they existed for the sake of devouring all life. furthermore, void leviathans typically moved in groups of dozens or more than a hundred. it was virtually impossible to find any on their own and tame them. at the very least, no human power had ever managed to tame a void leviathan, let alone bring one into the eternal realm. so, it was truly astonishing to see the sun dynastys holy guard using a void leviathan as a flying mount. it also showed how fearsome of a foundation the sun dynasty possessed. while the spectating human powers were looking at the void leviathan in shock, the red dragon nation and azure fang members in the soul lake resurrection camp revealed ashen faces. even tier 6 players like frey and garut were no exception. unlike the numerous powers observing the battlefield through magic mirrors, frey and garuts attention wasnt directed towards the void leviathan. instead, their gazes were fixed on the eighteen individuals standing at the forefront of each of the void leviathans heads. frey, do you think we still have time to run away? garut asked with a wry smile. the void leviathan itself was already a fearsome opponent to face. yet, as if that wasnt enough, each of the eighteen leader-like individuals standing atop the void leviathans heads also radiated an aura no weaker than that of the void leviathan. it was especially so for the three-eyed beauty standing on the void leviathans centermost head. if the seventeen other individuals were described as harbingers of death, the three-eyed beauty was death itself. it seems we have severely underestimated the holy guard, whether it is us or the seven luminaries alliance as frey looked at the three-eyed beauty, she understood that their defeat was assured. setting aside the three-eyed beauty, simply the holy guards void leviathan and seventeen taboo-level experts were more than enough to flatten the soul lake resurrection camp. although frey had already learned from unrestrained lionheart that zero wing possessed more than ten taboo-level experts, she still didnt think they could win against the holy guard. it should be known that the void leviathan wasnt your average ferocious beast. each of its eighteen heads was akin to an independent monster. it was just that these eighteen monsters shared the same body. in other words, facing a tier 6 void leviathan was akin to facing eighteen tier 6 dragons simultaneously. with such a force, one could easily destroy an entire kingdom, let alone a resurrection camp. not to mention, the holy guard had over 10,000 tier 6 experts. the team leaders of the holy guard were also only slightly weaker than tier 6 gods of the same level. with such strength, not even pseudo-apex powers could afford to provoke the holy guard. while everyone in the resurrection camp was in despair, a streak of silver light suddenly appeared on the horizon and shot in the camps direction. the speed of the approaching object was so fast that, by the time the many tier 5 experts realized what was going on, a flying ship had already appeared above the resurrection camp. thank goodness they made it back in time. when frey saw the flying ship hovering above the camp, she couldnt help but feel a little relieved. the flying ship was none other than zero wings silverwing. moreover, standing aboard the silverwing were the assault teams that had gone to ambush the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds. although the timely return of these assault teams still wouldnt be enough to equalize the strength of the resurrection camps defenders with the holy guard, they still added some hope to the camp. are we really going to fight them to the death here, guild leader? gentle snow asked, her voice wavering as she looked at the gigantic void leviathan. before returning, gentle snow believed that zero wing should have no trouble defending the soul lake resurrection camp from the sun dynasty. however, after seeing the holy guard for herself, she couldnt help but be frightened. compared to the holy guard, the forces the sun dynasty had previously sent to attack the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps were nothing but a joke. details aside, it should be known that zero wing currently only had 16 taboo-level existences and 84 god-ranked experts. in comparison, the holy guard possessed over 10,000 tier 6 experts, of which nearly 1,000 were god-ranked experts, and 18 were taboo-level existences at first glance, even if zero wing could potentially emerge victorious, its chances of victory would be incredibly slim. in this situation, the wiser move for zero wing to make would be to withdraw from the world ark. after all, with zero wings current strength, even without the world ark, it could easily thrive somewhere else in the eternal realm. it was unnecessary to butt heads with the sun dynasty. im afraid its too late to withdraw now, shi feng said. when he looked at the holy guard riding on the void leviathan, he couldnt help but sigh in amazement. as expected of a royal power. i didnt think it would be possible for anyone to have such strength so soon. originally, shi feng thought that it shouldnt be possible for any power to mobilize many god-ranked experts during the eternal realms early exploration stage. even if the sun dynasty was a royal power from the holy race, he felt that the most the sun dynasty would have at this point in time was a hundred god-ranked experts. hence, he felt that with the strength of his home gods domains experts, zero wing could easily take over the eternal realm. however, he never thought that the sun dynasty would already have such a frightening foundation in the early stages of the eternal realm. while shi feng was observing the holy guard, the three-eyed beauty standing on the void leviathan shifted her gaze onto him. at the same time, her three eyes turned dark purple, and faint arcs of lightning could be seen flashing in them. wherever her eyes gazed upon, space and time froze, and even tier 6 experts found themselves immobilized. are you black flame? the one who took the sunlight blade, daystar asked like a superior questioning her subordinate as she gazed down at shi feng. her voice rang across the sky, and it felt like the world itself was questioning shi feng. that is me, shi feng answered as he met daystars gaze. daystar, the commander of the sun dynastys holy guard. she was known in shi fengs previous life as the arbiter of death. had she not abruptly returned to the holy races greater gods domain during the war between the two races, many believed the outcome would have been far less favorable to the human race. good. you may die now. daystar nodded. then, she raised her hand, gesturing for the holy guard to attack in full force. Chapter 3667 - Chapter 741 - Level 212, Tier 6 Personal Guard chapter 741 C level 212, tier 6 personal guard as daystars indifferent voice echoed across the battlefield, the seventeen vice commanders of the holy guard kicked off the void leviathans heads and shot straight toward the silverwing. as for the rest of the holy guard, they grouped up in their respective teams and advanced on the resurrection camp down below. not even bothering with the formalities, huh? seeing the advancing holy guard, shi feng commanded, lets take action as well, then! immediately, phoenix rain and the other tier 6 experts from shi fengs home gods domain moved to meet the holy guards vice commanders in battle. relying on the attribute advantage provided by the god chaser set, phoenix rain, ji luorong, shadow flower, and the others easily kept the holy guards vice commanders at bay. at the same time, over a hundred metallic combat puppets emerged from the resurrection camp. these combat puppets measured over thirty meters tall, and each radiated an aura that could instill fear into even tier 6 players. meanwhile, as soon as these combat puppets appeared, they unleashed space-shattering destructive beams at the numerous attacks launched by the holy guards members. boom boom boom suddenly, the area around the soul lake resurrection camp became brightly lit. even players operating in the surrounding maps could see a dazzling glow rising from the soul lake. meanwhile, following the initial exchange, all of the magic and holy barriers erected on the battlefield shattered, leaving both sides defenseless. this forced the two sides to engage each other in a direct confrontation. logically, with the holy guard having over 10,000 tier 6 experts on its side, the legion shouldnt need much effort to deal with the resurrection camps defenders, even if zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation had a combined army of over 100,000. however, the addition of zero wings god slayer combat puppets created a huge problem for the holy guard. each of the god slayer combat puppets attacks was akin to a tier 6 large-scale destruction curse. against attacks of such caliber, even tier 6 god-ranked experts could not survive getting hit more than a few times. so, when the 114 god slayer combat puppets on the battlefield attacked together, nothing could stand in their way. after only one joint attack from the god slayer combat puppets, the holy guard had already sustained several hundred casualties. moreover, those killed did not leave any weapons or equipment behind, as everything within a 1,000-yard radius was thoroughly disintegrated. in contrast, although the holy guards team leaders had retaliated against the god slayer combat puppets, all of their attacks combined only managed to shave one point off the combat puppets durability. for the god slayer combat puppets that had 2,000 durability points, such damage was completely negligible. as for the exchange between the rest of the holy guard members and the resurrection camps defenders, although zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation suffered many more casualties due to the majority of their forces being composed of tier 5 players, the casualty rate for both sides was roughly equal. when the various spectating powers saw this situation, they couldnt help but be flabbergasted. those combat puppets must be above the dark-gold rank! verdant rainbow was greatly shocked as she looked at the god slayer combat puppets displayed in the magic mirror before her. it was surprising enough that zero wings hidden experts could hold their ground against the holy guards vice commanders. i didnt think they would also have so many advanced dark-gold combat puppets hidden! no wonder black flame can scoff at the sun dynastys threats! previously, verdant rainbow firmly believed that zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation were severely disadvantaged in terms of army composition, primarily due to the staggering disparity in tier 6 experts between the two sides. even if zero wings mysterious experts could distract the holy guards vice commanders, the remaining holy guard members could easily eliminate the three guilds forces before regrouping with their vice commanders to overwhelm zero wings mysterious experts. although tier 6 players possessed incredibly high physical parameters, they would still deplete their stamina and concentration rapidly in intense battles. it was especially so in battles against experts of a similar caliber. if both sides went all out, it wouldnt even be strange if they used up their stamina and concentration completely after only several dozen exchanges. meanwhile, once out of stamina and concentration, it wouldnt matter if zero wings mysterious experts were taboo-level existences. they would instantly become fish on a chopping block, even to ordinary tier 6 players. however, zero wing had instantly bridged this massive gap in strength with its god slayer combat puppets, the addition of these combat puppets thoroughly prevented the general members of the holy guard from affecting the high-level battle above ground. while zero wings trump card is indeed surprising, you shouldnt forget that daystar is no ordinary expert, your highness, the seven luminaries alliance elder standing beside verdant rainbow said, shaking his head. although the rumors say that eternals four taboo-level existences had died in the hands of 400 of the holy guards members, you and i both know that this is merely misinformation released by eternal to cover up the actual situation. in reality, daystar had single-handedly killed all four of those individuals while the rest of the holy guard merely watched from the side. now that daystar has even brought a void leviathan to the battlefield, i can only see zero wings chances of victory as slim. zero wings ability to mobilize over a hundred advanced dark-gold combat puppets was indeed amazing. even the seven luminaries alliance could never imagine mobilizing so many. this was because of the difficulty of repairing war weapons of such caliber. even if the alliance could repair them, the materials needed to do the repairs were incredibly difficult to procure. however, although powerful, advanced dark-gold combat puppets were not almighty. while they might achieve incredible results when used against players, their effectiveness would plummet when used against monsters. in the case of a ferocious beast like the void leviathan, it probably wouldnt need more than a few attacks to destroy the god slayer combat puppets. with its high hp and defense, it also wouldnt fear the god slayer combat puppets bombardment. while the seven luminaries alliance elder was speaking, the previously idle void leviathan had seemingly received a command from daystar as it suddenly opened its mouths to initiate a breath attack on the resurrection camp. each of the void leviathans eighteen heads gathered enough energy to exceed the standard of tier 6 gods. if all eighteen heads attacked together, even ancient gods of the same level should think twice before trying to receive it. is that woman crazy? frey, who was battling against a team leader of the holy guard, grew somber when she saw the void leviathan preparing for a breath attack. the void leviathan was massive, so even tier 6 players would likely have difficulty escaping its breath attacks aoe in time. if the void leviathan scattered its eighteen breath attacks, it could absolutely cover the entire resurrection camp. however, apart from the members of their three guilds, several thousand holy guard members were also fighting in the resurrection camps vicinity. in other words, if the void leviathan were to release its breath attacks in this situation, thousands of holy guard members would get killed as well however, the holy guard members embroiled in battle behaved as if they did not notice the void leviathans actions. they kept fighting in a frenzy, and some even actively prevented the camp defenders from distancing themselves from the resurrection camp. they were fully intent on perishing together. it seems theres no holding back in this situation. when shi feng saw the void leviathans intentions, he sighed and said, bring him out, blue! understood! upon hearing shi fengs command, blue phoenix promptly took out a summon guard scroll and activated it. boom! suddenly, as if the sky was falling, a mighty aura descended upon the entirety of the soul lake. then, a dragon knight clad in heavy armor gradually emerged from a magic array before blue phoenix, his presence causing the souls of everyone on the battlefield to shudder. a level 212, tier 6 personal guard? Chapter 3668 - Chapter 742 - Legendary Guard VS Void Leviathan chapter 742 C legendary guard vs void leviathan am i dreaming? level 212, tier 6? how can such a personal guard exist? the holy guards members and the spectating human powers were greatly confused when they saw los merin. personal guards were a feature available to both human and holy race players. hence, both races were familiar with the existence of personal guards. for this reason, they knew how difficult it was to develop personal guards to tier 6 and how powerful tier 6 personal guards could be. however, rather than los merins tier, what truly confused everyone was his level. level 212! outside the eternal realm, personal guards of this level were relatively common, and nobody would fuss about seeing one. however, in the current eternal realm, a level 212 personal guard was virtually invincible. it also wasnt a level that was supposed to exist in the current eternal realm. be it in the human races greater gods domain or the holy races greater gods domain, level 200 was a massive turning point. upon reaching level 200, the basic attributes of players, monsters, and npcs would experience a qualitative transformation. even the most ordinary level 200, tier 6 npc could easily dominate a city populated by only tier 6 players under level 200, ensuring nobody would dare to make trouble in the city. this was also why, despite having such powerful forces already, none of the holy race powers dared to attack the eternal realms various npc cities. any random npc city in the eternal realm would have more than one level 200-plus, tier 6 npc guarding it. if tier 6 players under level 200 tried to attack these cities, even if they attacked in a massive army, their actions would be no different than suicide. so, how could they not be shocked and frightened now that there was a level 212 personal guard before them? although many players had already started to recruit personal guards in the various npc cities, the npcs they recruited were only around level 190. while level 200-plus npcs existed in the eternal realm, they were typically big shots of their respective cities, and recruiting them was nigh impossible. a level 212, tier 6 personal guard? daystar, standing atop the void leviathan, also looked surprised when she saw the dragon knight los merin. however, the surprise in her eyes quickly faded as she indifferently said, had you used this trump card against any other legion, you would have indeed been undefeatable. unfortunately, your opponent is the void leviathan. even a level 212 personal guard will have to disappear along with the resurrection camp here! at the same time as daystar finished speaking, the void leviathan unleashed the energy it had been charging with its eighteen heads. in an instant, eighteen radiant beams shot out from the void leviathans mouths and converged to form a miniature world that covered a 5,000-yard radius. then, this miniature world descended upon the soul lake resurrection camp. in the meantime, frey and the others found themselves immobilized due to the pressure exerted by the miniature world. they felt as if they were stuck between two converging worlds, and all they could do was wait for death to claim them. what a pity verdant rainbow couldnt help but sigh when she saw the void leviathans attack. as daystar mentioned, had los merins opponent not been the void leviathan, he could have absolutely defended the soul lake resurrection camp. it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say that he could render the sun dynasty powerless against the resurrection camp. unfortunately, the void leviathan was no ordinary ferocious beast. it was an existence capable of devouring all existences, and even ancient gods of the same level were fearful of them. in terms of combat power, a level 193 void leviathan was superior to even level 200, tier 6 gods, let alone a level 212, tier 6 personal guard. while verdant rainbow was lamenting zero wings fate, los merin suddenly appeared in the miniature worlds path of descent with his shield raised. evidently, he planned to receive the void leviathans attack head-on to protect the resurrection camp. boom! a loud explosion occurred, followed by a powerful shock wave that shook the entire soul lake. the shock wave was so intense that even the sky had turned into a dark void. it seems zero wing will still lose in the end. verdant rainbow sighed deeply as she looked at the magic mirror. it was indeed surprising that zero wing had a level 212, tier 6 personal guard hidden under its sleeve, but the soul lake resurrection camps defenders were still weaker than the holy guard. meanwhile, now that everyone in the resurrection camp had been annihilated, even if zero wings main force members were still alive, the resurrection camps defenders no longer had the ability to defend the camp over a long period. however, just as verdant rainbow was about to command her flying ships pilot to leave the soul lake, the magic mirror before her suddenly revealed a figure standing amidst the void. how is this possible?! verdant rainbow gaped in shock as she stared into the magic mirror. thats an attack that can repel an ancient god of the same level! how can he survive that?! at this time, under the shattered sky, the soul lake resurrection camp could be seen perfectly intact. in fact, it wasnt just the resurrection camp that was in perfect shape. even the dragon knight los merin looked no different from before. attack! before anyone could react to this unexpected turn of events, blue phoenix commanded los merin to retaliate against the void leviathan. in response, los merin summoned a spear into his hand and thrust it in the void leviathans direction. at the same time, three magic arrays abruptly appeared above the void leviathan. threefold tier 6 super spell, spirit impact spear! when the void leviathan saw the magic arrays above its head, it instinctively launched another breath attack with its eighteen heads. however, it was too late to disrupt the magic arrays formation as a molten spear clad in flames had already emerged from them. then, the molten spear could be seen colliding with the dazzling miniature world created by the void leviathan. boom! the molten spear passed through the void leviathans miniature world unhindered. then, it proceeded to strike the void leviathan out of the air and pinned it to the ground, the impact creating a crater that had a radius of tens of thousands of yards. not only that, but the void leviathan also lost a huge chunk of its hp and three of its heads, becoming heavily injured. as for the remaining fifteen heads, fear colored their eyes as they looked up at los merin. so strong! he heavily injured a level 193 void leviathan in one hit! crap! what rank is that personal guard? the various spectating powers were shocked when they saw the heavily injured void leviathan. it should be known that a level 193 void leviathan was stronger than even level 200, tier 6 gods. yet, it fared no differently than a lizard before los merin Chapter 3669 - Chapter 743 - Trump Card? chapter 743 C trump card? why isnt the void leviathan recovering? what did that personal guard do? dont tell me thats a legendary personal guard? a series of questions popped into nineteenth swords mind as he spectated the battlefield from his tent. others might not know how powerful void leviathans were, but not nineteenth sword. as someone who frequently operated around the boundaries of the void sea, nineteenth sword was no stranger to void leviathans. he had even personally traded blows with them before. as the first gatekeeper of the void seas borderland, void leviathans not only possessed strength that could strike fear into ancient gods of the same level, but they also possessed a frightening recovery ability that could let them outlast ancient gods of the same level. under normal circumstances, even a level 210, tier 6 god could not heavily injure a level 193 void leviathan in one hit. on the contrary, the level 210, tier 6 god was more likely to run out of steam before they could kill the level 193 void leviathan. hence, nineteenth sword couldnt help but be dumbfounded when he saw a measly level 212 personal guard heavily injuring a level 193 void leviathan. guild leader? how many more secrets are you still keeping from us? on the battlefield, fervent samsara and heavy abyss couldnt help but turn to look at shi feng when they saw los merins performance. the two of them were among the first batch of fifth-floor experts to join zero wing in the crystal city of secrets, so they could be considered veteran internal members already. they had also watched zero wing grow from nothing to its current state in the crystal city, so they could confidently say that they understood zero wing very well. however, after arriving at the world ark and witnessing the series of events that had taken place up until this point, they suddenly felt incredibly foreign toward their own guild. first, it was the batch of mysterious tier 6 experts. next, there were the frightening silverwing flying ship and advanced dark-gold combat puppets. now, it was a level 212, tier 6 personal guard who could heavily injure an existence rivaling level 193 ancient gods. no matter how they thought about it, these were not things that the guild they had watched develop should possess. advanced epic? no, thats not right hes a legendary guard! daystars three purple eyes turned a little gloomy as she looked at los merin. a legendary personal guard! based on her knowledge, only a personal guard who was at the legendary rank could possibly accomplish such a feat. however, among the holy race, personal guards with such exceptional growth potential were incredibly scarce and considered invaluable assets. powers that possessed legendary personal guards typically avoided deploying them unless in dire straits, out of apprehension of losing them in combat. the sun dynasty was no exception, hence the absence of its legendary personal guards in the eternal realm. of course, the primary reason for their absence was that personal guards of level 200 and above were prohibited from entering the eternal realm. yet, now, a small human guild with neither fame nor history was actually willing to put a legendary guard to battle in the eternal realm. not only that, but this legendary guard was even level 212 youve guessed correctly. he is indeed a legendary guard, shi feng said, chuckling when he saw daystar furrowing her brows. what do you think? is the trump card i prepared effective against the holy guard? daystar, the arbiter of death. she was a well-known holy child of the sun dynasty. out of the sun dynastys fourteen holy children, she was also the likeliest to become the next guild leader. even in his previous life, shi feng would have to steer clear of her. honestly, shi feng was quite surprised to encounter daystar so soon. without the harvest from the god slayers treasury, defending the soul lake resurrection camp would have been impossible, and zero wings foundations might have even been endangered. fortunately, the arbiter of deaths timing was poor, or shi feng would have suffered a huge loss. so what if you have a legendary guard? daystar glanced at shi feng, paying no heed to his provocation. the holy guards might is beyond your comprehension! as daystar spoke, many holy guard members on the battlefield suddenly formed six-person parties and merged their holy auras with their respective party leaders. shortly thereafter, these holy guard members died one by one, while the party leaders who received their holy auras experienced a meteoric rise in strength, quickly rivaling taboo-level existences. death reborn? shi feng remained unfazed, looking like he had long anticipated this development. combination holy art, death reborn! death reborn was a combination holy art that sacrificed five players with holy auras of roughly equal standards to massively strengthen a players holy aura and attributes. it was one of the sun dynastys well-known trump cards in shi fengs previous life. it was also why the holy guard could become one of the sun dynastys five conquest legions in the eternal realm. you know quite a lot. daystar looked at shi feng in surprise. death reborn was one of the sun dynastys secrets that was known by few, even among the holy races various powers. in a situation where the human race and holy race were not on familiar terms, it should logically be impossible for a human player to learn of death reborn. i only know a little, shi feng said, chuckling. then, he snapped his fingers and continued, since the other side is getting serious, its time for you all to stop hiding and fight them seriously as well. fight seriously? everyone couldnt help but look at shi feng in shock, failing to comprehend what shi feng was saying. were zero wings members still not fighting seriously? hahaha! ive been waiting for these words! sinful flame, who had been fighting against two of the holy guards vice commanders, revealed an ecstatic look when he heard shi fengs words. you two have been having a lot of fun using all your techniques on me, havent you? well, its this old mans turn now! as soon as sinful flame finished speaking, his aura started to skyrocket in intensity, as if he had transformed from a slumbering beast into an awakened dragon. his black cloak was shredded into countless pieces under the pressure of his frightening aura and mana, revealing his personal information to all. sinful flame, level 218! hah i wanted to spar with them a little longer melancholy, the former guild leader of thirteen thrones, said and sighed. similar to sinful flame, he stopped suppressing his aura and mana, causing his low-quality black cloak to become shredded. melancholy, level 217! how dare you old fellows complain? at least you got to fight one-on-two all this time, ji luorong said as she sent a dissatisfied glance at sinful flame and melancholy. as she said so, she, too, stopped hiding her strength. ji luorong, level 212! upon receiving shi fengs command, phoenix rain and the thirteen other tier 6 players from shi fengs home gods domain stopped hiding their aura and mana, revealing their true levels. all of them were above level 200. moreover, aside from crimson mist, everyone else was at level 210 or above. the auras and mana they radiated were also stronger than tier 6 gods of the same level. thirteen level 210-plus god-ranked experts? heavens! is zero wing playing a joke on us? Chapter 3670 - Chapter 744 - Holy Guard Defeated chapter 744 C holy guard defeated above the soul lake resurrection camp phoenix rain and the thirteen other tier 6 experts from shi fengs home gods domain hovered proudly in the air, each radiating a towering pillar of mana that covered the entire resurrection camp. the auras they radiated also made everyone on the battlefield feel as if fourteen demon gods had just awoken from a long slumber. this development shocked everyone on the battlefield. even frey and garut, who were in the middle of an intense battle, subconsciously stopped their actions to look at phoenix rains group of fourteen. level 200 was a massive turning point in gods domain. this held true for both monsters and players. in the greater gods domain, even a level 200, tier 5 player fully equipped with fragmented legendary items could already trade blows evenly with a level 190, tier 6 player fully equipped with fragmented legendary items, let alone level 210-plus, tier 6 god-ranked experts. in the current eternal realm, level 210-plus, tier 6 god-ranked experts were virtually invincible. yet, zero wing had fourteen of such experts what kind of method did he use exactly? how can he bring so many level 200-plus players into the eternal realm? frey was filled with disbelief as she looked at shi feng, who stood aboard the silverwing. although the greater gods domains various powers had yet to discover the eternal realms exact coordinates, many powers had already found methods to send players into the eternal realm. it was especially so for the various apex powers. virtually all of them already possessed such means. moreover, the number of players they could send over was massive, which was why they had such an overwhelming advantage over the other powers in the current eternal realm. however, as mighty as they were, even the various apex powers could not bring level 200-plus players into the eternal realm. this was because of the restrictions imposed by the eternal realms laws. is this what you meant when you said zero wing can bring people into the eternal realm, aurebeth? garut couldnt help but ask as he turned to look at aurebeth, azure fangs saintess. havent i reported it to the guild leader long ago? aurebeth responded by looking at garut strangely. but you never said zero wing can bring level 200-plus players? garut nearly lost his calm when he saw aurebeths calm expression. garut had long known about zero wings ability to transport players into the eternal realm. this was because aurebeth had entered the eternal realm via zero wings channel. aurebeth had even admitted to it herself. hence, this matter was not a secret among azure fangs executives. in fact, aurebeth had even mentioned that so long as the various powers were willing to pay the price, zero wing could help them bring players into the eternal realm. originally, azure fangs executives had scoffed at this matter. after all, it wouldnt matter how many players they brought into the eternal realm. no amount of players under level 200 would be enough to change the situation in the eternal realm. even bringing several tier 6 players wouldnt change the overall situation. this was because the various powers did not lack experts capable of advancing to tier 6. however, it was a different story if zero wing could bring level 200-plus players into the eternal realm i might not have mentioned it, but none of you asked me, either, aurebeth calmly replied. you aurebeths response rendered garut speechless. unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. in reality, aurebeth couldnt be considered a full-fledged member of azure fang. she wasnt internally nurtured by the guild. instead, she had only joined the guild because of an invitation from azure fangs guild leader, and her relationship with azure fang was more like a partnership than anything else. she was under no obligation to care about azure fangs interests. in such a situation, it was already fortunate she was willing to share her method of entering the eternal realm. while garut and aurebeth were conversing, phoenix rain and the others had already thrown themselves at the holy guards team leaders, giving the enemy no time to gather themselves. meanwhile, in front of level 210-plus, tier 6 players equipped with the god chaser set, which provided basic attributes on par with level 220 legendary equipment, level 180, tier 6 players were no more than infants before adults. even if the holy guards team leaders had been artificially strengthened to rival taboo-level existences, they were no exception. boom! boom! boom! in the blink of an eye, over ten holy guard team leaders were killed. the difference in basic attributes was too overwhelming. even if the holy guard team leaders possessed superior combat standards, in a situation where they were severely disadvantaged in speed and power, they had no choice but to trade blows with phoenix rain and the others, which led to them losing hp rapidly. in just ten seconds, phoenix rain and the others had already killed over 200 holy guard team leaders. during this time, although the holy guards seventeen vice commanders had tried to intervene, eight of them had to work together just to distract crimson mist, who was only a level 200-plus player. naturally, they were even more helpless against phoenix rain and the others, and all they could do was watch as the holy guards members were slaughtered. meanwhile, when the various spectating powers saw this scene, they couldnt help but be flabbergasted. taboo-level existences! in any of the pseudo-apex powers present, taboo-level existences were considered apex combatants. they were also the various pseudo-apex powers biggest source of confidence. in the current eternal realm, even the various apex powers would be helpless against a force of several hundred taboo-level existences. yet, this seemingly unstoppable force had become as fragile as an infant against zero wings fourteen members. is this the real reason behind black flames confidence? after observing phoenix rains group for a while, verdant rainbow shifted her attention toward shi feng, a rare smile forming on her face. i wonder what expression those vice alliance masters will make once they learn of this. because of their fear of displeasing demons gate, they even said i was overestimating black flame and warned me against using my privilege to raise his rank. in reality, black flame receiving a rank in the divine glory lists top 300 was an extremely controversial topic in the seven luminaries alliance. meanwhile, as black flames primary advocate, verdant rainbow had been ridiculed by many in the alliance. they all thought she was exaggerating her description of black flame, especially regarding his importance in resisting the various holy race powers. after all, black flame was only one person. he didnt even have a divine artifact. yet, she had insisted on propping up black flame to strengthen zero wing. in their opinion, all she was doing was wasting resources. be that as it may, the assistance of apex powers like demons gate is still crucial in resisting the holy race, your highness. without them, we would not be able to resist the holy race in the eternal realm, the elder standing beside verdant rainbow explained when he saw her delighted expression. i know that. verdant rainbow nodded. when she recalled demons gates reminder from before, her expression darkened. the eternal realm was vast and brimming with ancient resources. in their pursuit of these ancient resources, the human race and holy races engaged in numerous large-scale battles across the eternal realm. however, outside of the conflict in the world ark, most of these conflicts remained hidden from non-apex powers. currently, the various apex powers were already struggling to protect the human races territory. if demons gate were to cause a commotion in this situation, the human race would be put into a perilous situation in the eternal realm. as for whether demons gate would dare make such a treacherous move, that wasnt even a question. after all, demons gate was unlike the average guild. it was filled with a bunch of lunatics who would be willing to do anything. while verdant rainbow was having her conversation, the siege over the soul lake resurrection camp reached a conclusion. the holy guard, which originally began with over 10,000 players, had fewer than 2,000 players remaining. meanwhile, although zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation had suffered many more casualties, most of their main force members remained alive. moreover, it was only a matter of time before zero wing annihilated the holy guard. should we use our final trump card, commander daystar? heavenly ape saint tentatively asked when he saw the ugly look on daystar. although the death reborn combination holy art was one of the holy guards trump cards, it wasnt the last of the legions trump cards. the legion still had one more trump card to use. however, if this final trump card was used here, the holy guards subsequent plans would be as good as forfeit. zero wing, is it? i will remember this humiliation! after fiercely glaring at shi feng, who remained aboard the silverwing, daystar commanded, everyone, retreat! upon receiving daystars command, every surviving holy guard member took out a gray talisman from their bags and activated it. immediately, holy power enveloped them, and they turned into streaks of light as they disappeared from the resurrection camp. Chapter 3671 - Chapter 745 - All Sides Shocked chapter 745 C all sides shocked theyre retreating? the holy guard is retreating? we won! we won! we defended the resurrection camp! when the remaining players in the resurrection camp saw the holy guard members suddenly turning into streaks of light and vanishing, they cheered in excitement. although they already understood that victory would likely fall to them once zero wings level 200-plus players revealed their strength, they also knew it would be a pyrrhic victory. after all, the fact remained that the holy guard had over 10,000 tier 6 players, while their three guilds barely had over a hundred. as evidence, even though their three guilds started the battle with over 150,000 players, they ended the battle with fewer than 30,000 players. if not for the 114 god slayer combat puppets drawing most of the holy guards attention, it wouldnt even be surprising if all of their tier 5 players died in battle. thank goodness we managed to hold on. when frey saw the holy guard vanishing, she scanned the remaining players in the resurrection camp and breathed a sigh of relief. while tier 5 players could no longer be considered main combatants in the current eternal realm, they still served as a necessary foundation for the various powers to increase their tier 6 combatants. in this battle, where their opponents consisted entirely of tier 6 holy race experts, tier 5 players who were killed would likely lose two or three levels and enter a weakened state for several days at the very least. in more severe cases, they might even lose the ability to log into the game for one or two weeks. as for the tier 5 players killed by the holy guards god-ranked experts, theyd be fortunate if they only lost access to gods domain for a couple of weeks. if they were unlucky, they might even lose access to gods domain permanently. with the casualty rate of the defenders being at over 80%, the loss was undoubtedly tragic. in the red dragon nations case, it could no longer afford to participate in any large-scale battles for a short period. its development across the eternal realm would also be severely affected. fortunately, they ultimately managed to defend the soul lake resurrection camp! the world ark was the first high-level world mode regional dungeon in the eternal realm. it was even home to holy ring city, a neutral city and a place for players to reincarnate as a mythical race. it was destined to become one of the eternal realms central development zones, and there would be a steady streak of players coming to develop in it in the future. if the red dragon nation could rely on the soul lake resurrection camps astonishing income, it would not need to worry about its future development in the eternal realm. above the soul lake resurrection camp should we give chase, guild leader? hidden soul asked through the team chat. they didnt teleport far away. my tracking skill shows they are only 50,000 yards from us. with the silverwings speed, we can catch up to them in less than a minute. as an assassin and a veteran of the battlefield, hidden soul had made it a habit to leave a tracking mark on her opponents. that way, she could always chase after her opponents should they escape. currently, most of zero wings tier 6 main force members remain alive. even without azure fang and the red dragon nations help, they could easily eliminate the holy guards remaining forces. nevermind. as the saying goes, do not press a desperate foe too hard, shi feng said, shaking his head as he looked in the direction where the holy guard had retreated. our goal is to defend the resurrection camp. if we give chase, it might lead to the spectating powers trying to take advantage of the situation. the holy guards fame was widespread in his previous life. although phoenix rains group was strong, he wouldnt dismiss the possibility of the holy guard having more hidden trump cards. it should be known that daystar, in shi fengs previous life, had single-handedly eradicated all life in a realm. even when experts equipped with divine artifacts attempted to confront her, none returned alive. it was also this frightening capability that earned her the title of arbiter of death. personally, shi feng did not wish for zero wings members to test daystars capabilities. he didnt dare gamble on whether daystar currently possessed the frightening capability she exhibited in his previous life. this was also why he remained on standby on the silverwing throughout the fight. had daystar displayed that capability, he would have promptly used the silverwing to retreat with zero wings main force members. meanwhile, hidden soul and the others did not voice any opposition to shi fengs decision. immediately, they began instructing the surviving players to tidy up the battlefield. at the same time as the three guilds were starting to clean up the battlefield, a commotion erupted among the various spectating powers. are you kidding me?! the holy guard actually retreated?! incredible! zero wing actually defeated the sun dynasty that even the seven luminaries alliance fears! after this battle, the eternal realms power structure will most likely see a huge change. the executives of the various spectating powers were filled with disbelief when they saw the holy guard retreating in defeat. for a moment, they even suspected someone had cast an illusion on their magic mirrors. it should be known that zero wing was merely an upstart guild that had appeared with the eternal realm. yet, not only did it manage to take out an advanced dark-gold flying ship and over a hundred advanced dark-gold combat puppets, but it also had fourteen level 200-plus, tier 6 experts. not even the various apex powers could take out such strength in the current eternal realm. it was especially so for the level 200-plus, tier 6 experts. so long as the soul lake resurrection camp had these fourteen experts defending it, nobody in the current eternal realm could threaten zero wings ownership over the resurrection camp. what should we do, elder sword? titan asked worriedly as he turned to nineteenth sword. once news of this battle gets out, well most likely have great difficulty surviving in the world ark previously, the various powers had distanced themselves from the soul lake resurrection camp due to concerns about zero wings ability to defend it and potential retaliation from the sun dynasty. however, after zero wings victory against the holy guard, one of the sun dynastys five conquest legions, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call the soul lake resurrection camp a fortress of seemingly impenetrable defenses. in fact, it might even surpass the safety of the seven luminaries alliances resurrection camps. because of this, it could be foreseen that many powers would try to curry favor with zero wing. at that time, the skylight associations suffering would be the best greeting gift Chapter 3672 - Chapter 746 - Battle Harvest chapter 746 C battle harvest crystal city of secrets, airport: many flying ships from the various npc cities and fortresses could be seen waiting to dock at the crystal citys airport. the airports five-story waiting hall was also crowded with players waiting to travel to the eternal realms high-level maps. isnt this airport a little too crowded? a petite level 173 female berserker clad in silver armor bearing scarecrow foxs mark remarked as she looked at the long line snaking through the waiting hall. i wonder when our adventurer team will be able to have our own flying ship like the other powers. if we had our own flying ship, we wouldnt have to waste so much time waiting in line. thats not going to happen anytime soon, little garment, river light, a level 180, tier 6 cleric, remarked with a wry smile as he gazed at the petite female berserker. while flying ships might be commonplace in the greater gods domain, only pseudo-apex powers and above possess them in the eternal realm. even conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers dont stand a chance of owning one. fortunately, our adventurer team secured a medium private house in the crystal city long ago. otherwise, with the current influx of players, we might struggle to even enter the city, let alone board a flying ship. the petite female berserker was named mirror garment, and she was currently receiving training from scarecrow fox. she was the successor of one of the conglomerates backing scarecrow fox, and the adventurer team would usually go all-out to help her grow. however, the problem was that the current eternal realm was a gathering place of the mighty, and scarecrow foxs status here could only be considered average. because of this, the influence it could exert and the resources it could access were limited. it could not easily access an entire realms resources like it could outside the eternal realm. i understand. mirror garment nodded. when she looked at the various conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers peerless geniuses who were in the waiting hall, a hint of fighting spirit appeared in her eyes. it hadnt been easy for her to enter the eternal realm. despite her status, she had to undergo fierce competition to earn a spot. although scarecrow fox was a behemoth in the realm she hailed from, she recognized that the eternal realm was a haven for the exceptionally powerful. this notion was readily apparent from the state of the crystal citys airport. throughout the waiting area, peerless geniuses could be spotted. in their respective realms, these individuals would be regarded as renowned figures. however, within the crystal city of secrets, these peerless geniuses were merely insignificant figures. if we can acquire more combat secret treasures or a couple of extraordinary secret treasures from the world ark this time, having a flying ship sent over from the greater gods domain wouldnt be out of the question, ink qilin said, smiling when she saw the fighting spirit on mirror garments face. also, if youre lucky, you might even get to register at one of the inner areas resurrection camps on this trip. the inner area? are you for real, big sis qilin? mirror garment asked as she looked at ink qilin with fiery eyes. although she had only recently arrived at the eternal realm, she had overheard many players discussing the world ark while exploring the underground crystal palace and crystal city of secrets. the world ark was currently a place of contention for many powers, and its inner area was so dangerous that even members of pseudo-apex powers were at high risk of death. because of this, it became mandatory for players to register themselves at an inner area resurrection camp if they wanted to explore the world arks inner area effectively. the only problem was that this privilege was not easily obtained. even the members of the various pseudo-apex powers had difficulty securing a spot. if she could register at a resurrection camp in the inner area, she could explore the inner area more efficiently and find more opportunities for growth. naturally, ink qilin said, chuckling. scarecrow fox might be insignificant in the crystal city, but we have a good relationship with zero wing. acquiring a registration slot shouldnt be too difficult. zero wing? mirror garment was unfamiliar with the name ink qilin mentioned. even after searching through all the information she had of pseudo-apex powers in her mind, she could not remember ever hearing this name before. however, mirror garment was no fool. based on ink qilins prideful tone when she spoke of scarecrow foxs relationship with zero wing, she could tell that zero wing was no ordinary power. as ink qilin was about to provide mirror garment a detailed explanation, a nearby team overheard their conversation, and a level 181, tier 6 swordsman from the team suddenly approached them. the swordsman in question was a middle-aged man clad in armor adorned with a sword emblem, and trailing behind him was a young man who was also a tier 6 swordsman. the blademaster society! mirror garment gasped when she saw the approaching middle-aged swordsman. the blademaster society was an adventurer team renowned in the greater gods domain, its reputation surpassing even scarecrow fox. the societys two commanders, both bearing the title of blademaster, were particularly celebrated for their strength, being only marginally weaker than scarecrow foxs legendary great commander. greetings, vice commander qilin. i am ocean watcher, a vice commander of the blademaster society, the middle-aged swordsman introduced himself respectfully. i couldnt help but overhear you mentioning your relationship with zero wing, vice commander qilin. if it is not too much to ask, can i trouble you for an introduction? just a chance to meet with zero wing will do. you dont have to say anything on the blademaster societys behalf. regardless of success or failure, we will offer this extraordinary secret treasure for your troubles. ocean watcher? the ocean slicing sword god? mirror garment gaped in shock when she heard the middle-aged swordsmans introduction. the ocean slicing sword god was well-known across the greater gods domain. he was an expert ranked among the divine glory lists top 100, and even pseudo-apex powers had to treat him with a certain degree of respect. yet, after hearing that scarecrow fox shared a good relationship with zero wing, ocean watcher was willing to humble himself before ink qilin, even going as far as to offer an incomparably precious extraordinary secret treasure just to get a recommendation from ink qilin. this situation piqued mirror garments curiosity toward the guild known as zero wing. just what kind of power could compel a top 100 divine glory expert to exhibit such caution and deference? i cannot promise you a meeting, ink qilin answered after pondering the matter. it all depends on guild leader black flames willingness. that is only natural. when ocean watcher didnt hear an outright refusal from ink qilin, a hint of excitement appeared on his face. his reaction also caused the young tier 6 swordsman beside him to scrutinize mirror garment seriously, treating her like a powerful rival. seeing this, mirror garment couldnt help but be filled with disbelief. while the interaction between scarecrow fox and the blademaster society was taking place, over at the soul lake resurrection camp weve finished cleaning up the battlefield, guild leader, gentle snow said as she entered the advanced tent occupied by zero wings executives, who were in the middle of sorting through the loot acquired from the sun dynastys three subordinate guilds. then, she handed shi feng a list and excitedly reported, not only did we not incur any losses in this battle, but we even made a fortune. in addition, as soon as the battle concluded, many powers contacted us asking to buy long-term registration slots. Chapter 3673 - Chapter 747 - Ring City Royal Order chapter 747 C ring city royal order following gentle snows excited statement, hidden soul and the others couldnt help but chuckle. these powers are the very definition of opportunists. before we fought the sun dynasty, none of them were willing to enter a long-term partnership with us. yet, now that we have repelled the sun dynasty, all of them are suddenly interested in doing so. fire dance and rampant blade curled their lips in disdain when they heard about the various powers behavior. its normal, shi feng said, unsurprised by the behavior of the various powers. chuckling, he said, not even the seven luminaries alliance will want to provoke the sun dynasty if it can avoid doing so. meanwhile, zero wing is only an upstart guild in the eternal realm. how could the various powers possibly dare bet on us? indeed. hidden soul nodded in agreement. then, she added, even so, we cant let them benefit off us so easily. setting aside the resurrection slots we need to reserve for our three guilds, we should strictly limit how many slots we share with others. otherwise, the wait time is going to become a problem. how many slots do you think we should offer them, guild leader? gentle snow asked as she looked at shi feng. although the world arks resurrection camps didnt have a theoretical limit on how many players they could register, they could only resurrect a limited number of players each time. if the soul lake resurrection camp only had a user base of about 100,000, it would have no problem handling the potential traffic. however, it would be a different story if the user base reached a million or more. if too many players sought to be resurrected simultaneously, theyd have to wait a long time for their turn. if the wait time ended up being as long as it would take players to travel from the nearest npc city to the world ark, thered be no point in registering at the soul lake resurrection camp. based on the distance between our resurrection camp and the nearest npc city, we should hit our maximum capacity at 500,000 players. we will need to reserve 60,000 for our three guilds and 200,000 for other players out of these slots. so, let the various powers compete for 140,000 slots for now and set the price at 30 eternal silver per slot. shi feng said after some thought. as for the remaining slots, well gradually distribute them as more tier 6 players appear. the world arks inner area was different from the outer area. although tier 5 players could explore the inner area, their chances of encountering holy race players were significantly greater. meanwhile, with the holy race having far more tier 6 players than the human race, the chances of tier 5 human players dying in the inner area would be incredibly high. so, even if the soul lake resurrection camp registered only 400,000 players, registered players might need to wait half a day just to get resurrected. ill make the necessary arrangements, gentle snow said, nodding. after gentle snow left the tent, shi feng turned his attention toward the list gentle snow had handed to him. it was a list showing the items they acquired from the holy guard. prior to the battle, zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation had already agreed that any loot acquired during the defensive siege would go to whichever guild was responsible for obtaining it in the first place. meanwhile, with zero wings members being responsible for over 90% of the holy guard members killed, it meant that over 90% of the loot obtained went to zero wing. so, zero wings harvest was very fruitful. the holy guard was one of the sun dynastys five conquest legions, so it went without saying that the equipment standard of its members was excellent. even the most inferior equipment they dropped was at the fragmented legendary rank. the only problem was that most of the weapons and equipment dropped by the holy guard members could only be equipped by holy race players. in the hands of human players, they were utterly useless. even so, the amount of usable loot zero wing acquired still astonished shi feng. there are actually 2,487 universal fragmented legendary items. no wonder she said we made a fortune shi feng couldnt help but gasp a little as he looked at the list in his hand. zero wing had expended a lot of seven luminaries crystals for mobilizing the god slayer combat puppets in the defensive siege. more specifically, out of the 570,000 units prepared, less than 200,000 units remained. fortunately, zero wing had won the battle, which eliminated the need to compensate guild members for losses related to weapons and equipment. instead, zero wing would only need to compensate guild members for the loss of levels and contributions made during the battle. after calculating the guild contribution points required for these compensations, 2,000 fragmented legendary items should be more than enough for zero wing to break even. essentially, zero wing had made a profit of 487 fragmented legendary items in this battle. this was nearly enough to fully equip a 50-man team with fragmented legendary items. under normal circumstances, the current zero wing would need at least a month to acquire nearly 500 fragmented legendary items. moreover, this was only because of the eternal realms favorable circumstances. outside of the eternal realm, zero wing would probably need several months to acquire so many fragmented legendary items. it would be great if i could turn the holy races exclusive weapons and equipment into usable resources right away. when shi feng looked at the 10,000-plus fragmented legendary items usable by only holy race players on the list, he couldnt help but sigh in dejection. weapons and equipment exclusive to the holy race were utterly useless to human players. normally, if players wished to convert these items into usable resources, they could only do so by auctioning them off at a neutral citys auction house. although they would incur a hefty processing fee, they could sell these unusable items to holy race players for eternal coins. however, none of the eternal realms neutral cities had been activated thus far, so such transactions were not yet possible. while shi feng could also convert these exclusive items using the origin myth, it wasnt worth doing so. after all, seven luminaries crystals were incredibly precious and strategic resources. they were even more valuable than fragmented legendary items in a certain sense. huh? this isa ring city royal order? shi fengs eyes suddenly widened when he noticed a particular item on the list. whats wrong, guild leader? hidden soul asked out of curiosity when she noticed the sudden change in shi fengs expression. aside from hidden soul, everyone else in the tent also noticed shi fengs surprised reaction, and they couldnt help but turn to look at him. although most of the players in the tent had yet to reach the fifth-floor standard, they were still fourth-floor experts. hence, no changes occurring within their perception range could escape their notice. its nothing bad. our guild has simply struck gold, shi feng said, chuckling when he saw hidden soul and the others looking at him. hearing shi fengs response, hidden soul and the others couldnt help but roll their eyes at him for stating the obvious. you guys shi feng couldnt help but feel exasperated by the looks of disdain hidden soul and the others were giving him. however, he refrained from explaining himself and retrieved a tattered scroll from the epic spatial bag that gentle snow had passed him along with the list just now. the ring city royal orders! also known as the ring citys twelve aristocrats! holy ring city had twelve aristocratic positions, specifically six viscounts, four counts, and two dukes. they were established by the first city lord, and they coincided with the twelve official fiefs that covered the world arks core area around holy ring city. indeed! the only way for players to acquire a guild city in the world ark, the first high-level world mode regional dungeon in the eternal realm, was by becoming one of holy ring citys twelve aristocrats and acquiring an official fief. so long as a power could succeed in doing so, they would gain access to unimaginable wealth. meanwhile, the tattered scroll in shi fengs hand was none other than the ring city royal order necessary to become one of the twelve aristocrats. Chapter 3674 - Chapter 748 - Battle of the Four Royals chapter 748 C battle of the four royals to be able to find something like this the holy guard truly is incredible. shi feng briefly fell into a daze as he looked at the tattered scroll. the ring city royal order wasnt something that could be acquired easily. even though the one currently in shi fengs possession was only an incomplete fragment, its value still exceeded that of a divine weapon. under the right circumstances, it could even be worth multiple divine weapons. this was because the world ark was one of the eternal realms few world mode regional dungeons. simply the fact that the monsters here could drop extraordinary secret treasures and above already made it an invaluable location, let alone the fact that it also housed various resources and ore veins that couldnt be found elsewhere. most importantly, the world ark was home to holy ring city. at first glance, holy ring city might not seem special. after all, although neutral cities werent everywhere in the eternal realm, there were still quite many. however, holy ring citys true value quickly presented itself once the various powers discovered the eternal realms coordinates in the void sea. a city of absolute neutrality! of course, this doesnt mean the other neutral cities of the eternal realm werent genuinely maintaining a neutral stance. instead, the issue was that most of these neutral cities could no longer uphold their neutrality once various powers discovered the eternal realms coordinates, even if they intended to do so. however, holy ring city was different. as mighty as the holy races royal powers were, not even they could do anything about it. in fact, not even the legendary battle of the four royals had managed to bring down the city. the battle of the four royals! it was a battle that shook the greater gods domains of both the human race and the holy race. in shi fengs previous life, there wasnt a single player in either greater gods domain who did not know about that battle. it was such a spectacle that it was even broadcast live in the real world for all humans to see. shortly after the eternal realm appeared, the players of both greater gods domain already understood the value it held. hence, both human and holy race players were adamant about controlling the entire eternal realm. meanwhile, the places where the most wealth was gathered across the entire eternal realm were none other than the eternal realms neutral cities. hence, once the eternal realms coordinates in the void sea were discovered, the powers of both greater gods domain promptly started to capture the eternal realms neutral cities one after another. when all but holy ring city remained unoccupied, four of the holy races ten royal powers decided to compete over the city, which led to a battle of epic proportions. the battle at the time was of a scale that had never been seen in the history of the human races greater gods domain. at the time, even apex powers like the seven luminaries alliance could only watch from the sidelines, powerless to interfere. however, contrary to everyones expectations, none of the four royal powers managed to capture holy ring city. instead, the battle of the four royals had concluded with the defeat of all four royal powers, the outcome shocking everyone meanwhile, after the battle of the four royals, whether it was the human powers or the holy race powers, everyone understood one thingholy ring citys neutrality could not be threatened. this discovery instantly led to holy ring citys value skyrocketing by over ten thousandfold. naturally, the value of holy ring citys twelve aristocratic positions also skyrocketed. presently, although the value of the twelve aristocratic positions was nowhere near as high as it was in shi fengs previous life, they were still vastly more valuable than any resurrection camp. after all, the sole purpose of resurrection camps was to provide players with a place to resurrect inside the world ark. in contrast, the guild towns and cities situated on holy ring citys official fiefs came with all the standard features and more. whether it was resurrection or accommodation, these were merely the basics of what they had to offer. what made them truly valuable was the right to facilitate trade between players and other cities. as these guild towns and cities were affiliated with holy ring city, a neutral city, the trades they could facilitate were not limited by race. for example, human players werent restricted to trading with other human players only. instead, they could trade with players of other races. it was also the case for city trades. these guild towns and cities werent limited to trading with only human cities. instead, they could also trade with holy race cities. in shi fengs previous life, the four royal powers had gained control over 80% of holy ring citys fiefs after failing to capture holy ring city. because of this, they established an absolute authority over neutral trades and generated wealth far beyond the imaginations of the six other royal powers. only one-fifth? shi feng had mixed feelings as he looked at the tattered scroll in his possession. honestly, he had never thought about getting his hands on a ring city royal order before today. to be given a glimmer of hope now was truly an uncomfortable experience. it should be known that acquiring a complete ring city royal order was mind-bogglingly difficult. it wasnt a challenge that could be accomplished by just one individual or a powerful team. the only reliable method to obtain ring city royal orders he knew of could easily instill despair into any existing apex power. this was because this method required players to take over an entire foreign realm. it was also why, on the holy races side, only royal powers had managed to acquire holy ring citys official fiefs. currently, the ring city royal order in his possession was only one of five fragments. to secure one of the twelve aristocratic positions, he would have to gather the remaining four fragments. however, every ring city royal order and their fragments were unique. this meant that, even if players got their hands on multiple fragments, it was possible that they werent fragments of the same royal order. of course, the system would show some mercy to players who successfully obtained fragments of a ring city royal order. so long as players managed to collect one-fifth of a royal order, they could complete the rest by paying holy ring city to start a foreign realm crusade. they wouldnt need to rely entirely on luck. although shi feng did not know from where in the world arks core area the holy guard managed to obtain this fragment, the fact that it made up one-fifth of a complete royal order meant that he already had the opportunity to obtain a complete royal order. however, shi feng was also aware that while the current zero wing already had the strength to suppress the holy races top combatants, it was a different story when it came to capturing an entire realm from the holy race. if zero wing were to go on such a crusade, it would have to go up against a realm that had existed for hundreds, if not thousands, or possibly even tens of thousands of years. moreover, the holy race players operating in said realm would not be under any suppression or restrictions. against such opponents, zero wings current strength would be nothing but a joke. this was also why he did not reveal the ring city royal order to hidden soul and the others right away. wait what if looking at the ring city royal order, shi feng suddenly thought of a possibility. what if i used the origin myth? the origin myth was the origin sanctuarys most prized possession, capable of forcibly modifying even divine artifacts. with the ring city royal order being only a legendary item, there was no way the origin myth couldnt modify it. thinking up to this point, shi feng promptly moved the fragmented ring city royal order into the origin myths origin space. no matter what, he had to try and see if he could repair the legendary-rank ring city royal order. however, after putting in the royal order, shi feng did not receive a response from the origin myth. it wasnt until thirty seconds had passed that a system notification echoed in his mind. system: origin space has detected the legendary ring city royal order. Chapter 3675 - Chapter 749 - Building a Town chapter 749 C building a town it works? shi feng revealed a look of joy when he saw the system notification. if the origin space showed no reaction, it meant that the ring city royal order couldnt be repaired. however, so long as the origin space showed a reaction, it meant that it was possible to make changes to the royal order. subsequently, time passed by in silence as shi feng patiently watched the progress bar above the origin space fill up. at the three-minute mark, another system notification sounded in shi fengs mind. system: origin space has detected the ring city royal order. do you wish to repair it? system: repairing the ring city royal order will cost 50,000,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. do you wish to proceed? fifty million?! shi feng gasped when he saw the cost. it should be known that modifying the legendary-rank abyss workshop certification only cost six million units of seven luminaries crystal previously. yet, the legendary-rank ring city royal order cost a whopping 50 million. this was already close to matching the cost of modifying a divine artifact. meanwhile, an expenditure of 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal definitely wasnt something the current zero wing could afford. after deducting the seven luminaries crystals spent on strengthening the silverwing and covering the costs of the defensive siege, zero wing only had a little over seven million units remaining. zero wing would need a considerable amount of time to make up the difference. not to mention, the various powers in the current eternal realm were fervently nurturing tier 6 players, and zero wing was no exception. this, in turn, would make it even more difficult for zero wing to save up 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal. contact frey and garut for me, soul. after pondering for a moment, shi feng took a deep breath and issued a command to hidden soul. ask them if they can come up with a total of 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal. tell them that zero wing intends to conduct a big transaction with them. fifty million? hidden soul couldnt help but look at shi feng in surprise and confusion. what are you planning, guild leader? a sum of 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal was enough to let 500 tier 5 experts challenge their tier 6 promotion. not even apex powers could come up with such a large sum on short notice. aside from hidden soul, phoenix rain and the others in the tent also couldnt help but look at shi feng in astonishment. even if they sold their home gods domain, they doubted they could come up with such a large sum of seven luminaries crystals. just contact them for me for now. i will tell you all about it later, shi feng said, not bothering to explain himself. there was no need to question whether it would be worth spending 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal to repair the ring city royal order. it was worth it! it was absolutely worth it! when operating the world arks resurrection camps, players could only charge eternal coins for the services they offered. however, in the towns and cities built on holy ring citys twelve fiefs, players could set the currency they charged for services such as auction houses, shops, and private houses. in other words, players could change their collected currency into seven luminaries crystals. in his previous life, the four royal powers that occupied over 80% of the official fiefs made it mandatory to use holy power crystals, a strategic resource for the holy race, when doing business at their auction houses. this, in turn, meant that holy race players wishing to purchase items from human players had to use holy power crystals to pay the auction houses processing fees. because of this, the four royal powers made a huge fortune, raking in millions of units of holy power crystals every day. meanwhile, all the various powers could do was watch on enviously. now that shi feng had the opportunity to get his hands on a complete ring city royal order, hed be willing to pay even 500 million units of seven luminaries crystal if it meant he could secure it, let alone 50 million units. after shi feng waited for about fifteen minutes, hidden soul returned to the tent with frey and garut in tow. were here, guild leader black flame. what is this business proposition that you have for us? garut asked as he looked at shi feng curiously. fifty million units of seven luminaries crystal is no small amount. even if azure fang and the red dragon nation work together, wed have to empty our pockets to come up with such a sum. could zero wing be planning to sell some of its shares over the resurrection camp? frey asked as she scrutinized shi feng. seven luminaries crystals were of utmost importance to the various powers in the current eternal realm. they would not trade them away unless absolutely necessary. after all, there was no power that did not want more tier 6 players under their command. only by having more tier 6 players could they explore the eternal realm more effectively. although the eternal realm was relatively abundant in seven luminaries crystals, their demand was still vastly greater. as a result, the various powers still had to import most of their seven luminaries crystals from outside the eternal realm, incurring a steep cost in the process. unless zero wing could offer something that could tempt their respective guilds, even if the two of them were willing to do zero wing a favor, the executives of their respective guilds were unlikely to play ball. meanwhile, out of everything frey could think of, the only thing of value zero wing could offer was its shares of the soul lake resurrection camp. the battle against the sun dynastys holy guard had proven the soul lake resurrection camps defenses to be impregnable. because of this, players were coming in droves to register at the resurrection camp, causing the camps income to increase several times. at this time, it wouldnt even be an exaggeration to call the soul lake resurrection camp the most lucrative location in the human races territory. most importantly, this wasnt even the soul lake resurrection camps limit, as the number of players registering at the camp was still increasing steadily. hence, if zero wing were to offer up some of its shares over the soul lake resurrection camp, the executives of azure fang and the red dragon nation definitely wouldnt mind paying huge sums of seven luminaries crystals for them. no. shi feng shook his head. no? garut grew even more curious when he saw shi feng shaking his head. could it be those combat puppets, then? it would be interesting if thats the case, frey said, feeling a little excited. if there was anything else zero wing had that was of value to azure fang and the red dragon nation, it would have to be the silverwing flying ship and god slayer combat puppets. however, not even for a moment did frey think that zero wing might sell the silverwing flying ship. after all, even outside the eternal realm, the flying ship was a priceless treasure, let alone in the eternal realm. this left only the god slayer combat puppets. although nowhere near as valuable as the silverwing, the combat power they possessed could still be considered extraordinary in the current eternal realm. if the red dragon nation could get its hands on a batch of god slayer combat puppets, its exploration of the world ark could be improved greatly. it would no longer have to worry about lacking tier 6 players. thats not it, either, shi feng said, chuckling. we give up, guild leader black flame. just tell us what youre trying to sell us, frey said, feeling a little confused. if its not too much of a problem, we can probably convince our guilds other executives to agree to this matter. garut nodded in agreement with freys words. they regarded their partnership with zero wing highly. so long as shi feng wasnt making them incur a major loss, they wouldnt mind giving him 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal. a town! shi feng declared with a smile. zero wing intends to construct a town in the world arks core area. are you two willing to spend 25 million units of seven luminaries crystal each to permanently purchase one large shop and one large land there? Chapter 3676 - Chapter 750 - 2-Star Count chapter 750 C 2-star count real estate for a town in the world arks core area? youre not joking with us, are you, guild leader black flame? when frey and garut heard shi fengs words, they looked at him with bloodshot eyes and bated breaths. their voices also trembled as they spoke, neither daring to believe the validity of shi fengs words. the world ark was the only high-level world mode regional dungeon activated in the eternal realm. because of this, even the competition in the world arks inner area was already incredibly intense. as evidence, as soon as their three guilds had proven themselves capable of defending the soul lake resurrection camp, numerous powers had come forth, offering to pay astronomical prices just to secure some resurrection slots. meanwhile, this situation was already enough to make them wonder if they were in a dream. as for occupying a guild town in the world arks core area? even if they were only limited to occupying a shop and a plot of land in said town, it was not something they would dare to dream of accomplishing. in fact, not even the various apex powers would dare think of accomplishing such a thing in the current eternal realm! it should be known that currently, even the human races various apex powers were having great difficulty surviving and exploring the world arks core area. as for the human races other powers, the core area was a forbidden land that was absolutely off-limits for them. however, if one could secure a place to rest in the world arks core area, one would gain unimaginable advantages when exploring it. at this time, frey and garut werent the only ones shocked by shi fengs words. hidden soul and the other zero wing executives present in the tent were similarly dumbfounded. they might have reacted with even greater excitement if not for frey and garuts presence. after all, the advantages zero wing could gain from having a guild town in the world ark were leagues above what it could gain from a resurrection camp. firstly, zero wing could construct a guild residence in the guild town. this, in turn, meant that zero wings members could teleport directly to the world arks core area using guild transfer scrolls. secondly, guild members could get proper rest in the world ark and trade various resources with each other in a relatively safe environment. with these two advantages alone, zero wing could easily triumph over the various powers in the world ark. im not joking. if you two dont believe me, we can establish a gods domain contract for this transaction, shi feng said, chuckling when he saw frey and garuts excited response. what do you think? are you two willing to carry out this transaction? i accept on the red dragon nations behalf! frey answered without hesitation, behaving like she was afraid shi feng would go back on his word. immediately afterward, she contacted the red dragon nations other executives to start gathering seven luminaries crystals. azure fang is also in! although garut answered a second later than frey, his speed in contacting azure fangs other executives was not at all slower than freys. give me half a day, and ill get you your 25 million units, guild leader black flame! meanwhile, after frey and garut agreed to shi fengs business proposal on behalf of their respective guilds, they quickly signed a gods domain contract over the transaction. the contract required azure fang and the red dragon nation to provide 25 million units of seven luminaries crystal to zero wing each. in return, once zero wing finished constructing its guild town in the world arks core area, they would each gain permanent ownership over a large shop and a large land in the guild town. arent we acting a little too hastily, guild leader? after seeing frey and garut leave the tent, hidden soul worriedly said to shi feng, although the two of them are unlikely to expose this matter, we cant say the same for their guilds executives. phoenix rain and gentle snow, zero wings other vice guild leaders, nodded in agreement. they similarly felt that shi fengs behavior this time was incredibly risky. the world ark was currently the primary target of contention for the holy races royal powers and the human races apex powers. meanwhile, zero wing had only recently defeated the sun dynastys holy guard and stabilized its foothold in the world arks inner area. if zero wing tried to occupy a large number of advantages in the core area right away, even the human races various powers wouldnt tolerate it, let alone the holy races various powers. after all, the advantages a guild town could provide were simply massive. it simply wasnt something that a resurrection camp could compete against. the nail that sticks out gets hammered down! this was a simple principle that occurred almost constantly in gods domain. if zero wings only opponent was the sun dynasty, it could still more or less survive. however, if zero wing had to go up against a bunch of apex powers and royal powers, the only outcome awaiting it would be death. ultimately, zero wing could only surrender its guild town to the various apex and royal powers. dont worry. nobody can take away zero wings possessions, shi feng said, chuckling. he did not bother to explain his decision. if zero wings guild town was constructed in any other location, he would have indeed had to worry about defending it. however, he would have no such concern if he constructed it on one of holy ring citys twelve official fiefs. in gods domain, the main god system would usually grant newly constructed guild towns a one-month buffer period. if the town was attacked during this buffer period, the npc power the town was affiliated with would step forward to protect it. in other words, if anyone were to attack a guild town constructed on one of the twelve official fiefs, they would have to prepare themselves to face the wrath of holy ring city. it should be known that holy ring city was the sole neutral city that retained its status of neutrality in the eternal realm during shi fengs previous life. not even the might of four royal powers could threaten it back then, let alone now. meanwhile, a month was enough for zero wing to amass a fortune through its town. paired with its medium world fragment and the players from shi fengs home gods domain, zero wing could mass-produce level 210-plus, tier 6 experts. at that time, itd be the various powers whod have to be afraid of zero wing, not the other way around. half a day later, frey and garut personally delivered 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal to shi feng, neither of them letting others interfere throughout the process. evidently, they knew it would be in their best interest to let as few people as possible know about this transaction. meanwhile, after shi feng saw the two off, he returned to his advanced tent and used the origin myth to repair the ring city royal order without hesitation. as soon as shi feng injected the 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal into the origin space, the tattered scroll in the origin space started to recover at a visible rate. in only a minute, a brand new scroll made of sheepskin appeared before shi feng. [fourth ring city royal order] (inferior divine artifact rank item) one of the twelve title certificates conferred by the first city lord of holy ring city. the owner of this certificate will be granted the title of a 2-star count and the shadowring basin as their fief. as long as the holder of this certificate is in the world ark, they can teleport to any location in the connected fief at any time. additionally, the holder of this certificate has the privilege of constructing one guild town on their fief at no cost. a 2-star count? shi feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the description of the ring city royal order. there were twelve ring city royal orders, each granting a different starting rank. among them, six granted players the viscount rank, four granted the count rank, and two granted the duke rank. these three major ranks could further split into multiple minor ranks. in the case of counts, they could be split into three minor ranks, starting from the 1-star status and ending at the 3-star status. of the four royal orders that granted a starting rank of count, one started players as a 3-star count, one started as a 2-star count, and the remaining two started as a 1-star count. after gaining an aristocratic position, players could raise their ranks by completing holy ring citys quests. meanwhile, the higher a players rank, the greater the authority they could wield in holy ring city. the differences would start to become especially apparent starting from the count rank. for example, although a 2-star count was only one minor rank above 1-star counts, they gained the privilege of constructing an advanced town directly on their fief. they wouldnt need to start from a basic town like 1-star counts. meanwhile, an advanced town was not only four times larger than a basic town, but it also had the privilege of trading with one neutral city! in his previous life, several apex powers had to work together just to acquire a 2-star viscount rank. then, they had to go through even more effort to develop it into a 2-star count so that they could upgrade their basic town into an advanced town. yet, in this life, he got to start as a 2-star count directly. system: do you wish to construct an advanced town on your fief immediately? Chapter 3677 - Chapter 751 - Mythical Era City chapter 751 C mythical era city did something happen, guild leader? hidden soul asked anxiously when she noticed shi feng looking dazed. now that zero wing had already formalized its new partnership with azure fang and the red dragon nation, it wouldnt be long before the various powers learned of zero wings intent to construct a city in the world arks core area. if a problem were to crop up at this juncture, it would be terrible news for zero wing. dont worry; its something good, shi feng said after choosing to proceed with the advanced towns construction. then, he commanded, bring over all the earnings we made from the resurrection camp. actually, no, bring me as much money as you can get your hands on. i have a great use for it! when the several apex powers successfully upgraded their basic town into an advanced town, it instantly became the target of envy for the various human powers. even shi feng couldnt help but covet it. originally, shi feng thought hed be fortunate to start as a 2-star or 3-star viscount. if that were the case, itd be a long while before zero wing could have an advanced town in the world ark. after all, raising ones aristocratic rank in holy ring city was no easy task. however, now that zero wing could construct an advanced town directly, hed have to change up his plans a little. it should be known that, upon reaching the advanced rank, guild towns operating under holy ring city would remain exceptional entities even until the eternal realms middle stages. this was due to their gaining access to an advanced feature, namely the ability to establish a teleportation trade route with one other neutral city outside of holy ring city in the eternal realm. indeed! every advanced town operating under holy ring city could let players teleport to one pre-designated neutral city located in the eternal realm, saving them a lot of time and the need to carry the risks of traveling across great distances. human players could even trade with holy race players, depending on the neutral citys location. of course, this feature wasnt without its flaws. in addition to being a one-way teleportation, the teleportation itself costs a hefty sum. in shi fengs previous life, the advanced town operated by the several apex powers charged each player 100 units of seven luminaries crystal to teleport to the neutral city it was connected with. even outside the eternal realm, this costly fee could make many tier 6 experts wince in pain, let alone in the eternal realm during its early and middle stages. even so, many independent players and experts from the various powers were willing to pay this costly teleportation fee in his previous life. this was because there were very few neutral cities that players could actually enter during the eternal realms early and middle stages. aside from being far from civilization, they also had stringent entry conditions. they werent places where players could enter whenever they wanted. in comparison, the price of 100 units of seven luminaries crystal could be considered dirt cheap. with the current eternal realm still in its early stages, there should be very few players capable of entering neutral cities. meanwhile, with the value of neutral cities, having the ability to teleport to one was akin to gaining access to a gold mine. so long as zero wing had enough money, it could purchase all kinds of real estate in bulk. although almost all of these neutral cities would become unsafe once the eternal realm entered its later stages, by the time that period arrived, zero wing would have made far more money than it had invested. not to mention, every neutral city had its own unique resources. there is 234,431 eternal gold inside, guild leader, hidden soul reported as she handed a spatial bag containing eternal gold coins to shi feng. aside from the 42,135 eternal gold the camp made today, 55,412 eternal gold came from the camps operations before today, and 136,704 eternal gold came from our recent operations in the crystal city. if you still need more, snow should be able to secure another thirty or forty thousand eternal gold by today if she sells some of the warehouses common and combat secret treasures. leave the secret treasures in the warehouse; save them for the new members we recruit. this much money should be enough for now, shi feng said as he put the eternal coins away. then, after managing his affairs in the resurrection camp, he promptly used the ring city royal order to teleport to the shadowring basin. world ark, core area, shadowring basin: on a vast plain shrouded in darkness stood a town enveloped in a magic barrier. while walking slowly toward the teleportation hall situated in the center of the town, shi feng quietly admired the buildings inside the isolated town. system: construction of shadowring town is completed. the town will be open to npcs in one natural day. the town will be fully opened to players in two natural days. system: as shadowring town is newly constructed, it will receive holy ring citys protection for thirty natural days. you are advised to refine the towns defenses during this period. system: as an advanced town, shadowring town may open a one-way teleportation channel to one neutral city in the eternal realm. do you wish to enable this feature? activate it! shi feng decided without hesitation. system: please select one neutral city in the eternal realm. you cannot change your choice once you have decided. in addition, depending on the distance of the selected neutral city, the eternal coins required to construct the teleportation channel and the seven luminaries crystals consumed for the teleportation will differ. immediately, a list of over a hundred neutral cities appeared before shi feng, each with its own teleportation channel construction cost and teleportation fee. of these neutral cities, the closest one to shadowring town cost 1,000 eternal gold to connect with a teleportation channel and one unit of seven luminaries crystal per player to teleport. meanwhile, the farthest one cost 200,000 eternal gold to connect and two hundred units of seven luminaries crystal per player to teleport. those vampires! their teleportation cost was only five units, yet they charged one hundred units per player! when shi feng saw the teleportation cost for the neutral city, which the several apex powers had connected their advanced town with in his previous life, he couldnt help but curse at them. the early and middle stages were the most advantageous periods for players to develop within the eternal realm. if the several apex powers had not been so greedy, the human races various powers could have had a much easier time resisting the holy races various powers. this, in turn, could have prevented the holy races invasion from progressing all the way to the twelve sanctuaries, thus safeguarding the twelve sanctuaries survival and preserving the continued growth of human players. while shi feng was pondering which neutral city he should connect shadowring town with, a striking name suddenly entered his sight. luminous sky city! it was regarded as one of the eternal realms five great neutral cities in shi fengs previous life. it was also an ancient city that had existed since the mythical era. although it ultimately fell under the control of a royal power, with the exception of holy ring city, it was the latest neutral city to be conquered. in addition, it was one of the few neutral cities situated in the middle of the forbidden zone. [luminous sky city] teleportation channel construction cost: 60,000 eternal gold coins teleportation cost: 60 units of seven luminaries crystal per person its not too expensive. after pondering for a moment, shi feng gritted his teeth and chose to connect shadowring town with luminous sky city. for a human power like zero wing, it would normally be best to have teleportation access to a neutral city on the western continent. that way, zero wing could have an easier time developing on the western continent. more players would also be willing to head to the forbidden zones western continent. however, considering he had a city building order for the western continent, shi feng felt it unnecessary to connect shadowring town with a neutral city there. rather than that, it would be more beneficial to have teleportation access to luminous sky city, which would eventually become a gathering place for players of the human race and the holy race and one of the ten most populated cities in the eternal realm. such an advantage would significantly help zero wing, especially during the eternal realms early stages. in his previous life, once the coordinates of the eternal realm were discovered, various pseudo-apex and apex powers had chosen to consolidate their strength and focus their development on the eternal continent. consequently, other players who had entered the eternal realm during that time chose to scatter across the rest of the realm. this, in turn, led to the rise of many human powers outside the eternal continent. some of these human powers even managed to grow to a point where they could exchange blows with the royal powers of the holy race. back then, zero wing had missed the right timing to extend its development into the eternal realm, so shi feng naturally couldnt let this mistake happen again. system: construction of the teleportation channel is completed. going by the timing of the eternal realms appearance, neither race should have many players operating in luminous sky city right now. i can use this opportunity to secure some of the citys prime real estate. upon seeing the completion of the construction of the teleportation channel, shi feng registered shadowring towns coordinates into the abyss workshop certification before stepping into the teleportation array and disappearing from the town. tl notes: [1]forbidden zone: this is a general term that covers all locations outside the eternal continent, e.g., the western continent, the southern continent, and everything in between. Chapter 3678 - Chapter 752 - Small Silver Battle Array chapter 752 C small silver battle array off the coast of the eternal continent, luminous sky city: as shi feng walked out of the teleportation hall, which was a thousand meters tall, a large section of the citys landscape came into view. luminous sky city was built atop the ocean, resembling a giant moving island. despite being a neutral city, its player and npc populations were superior to even the crystal city of secrets. how are there so many players here already? shi feng couldnt help but be taken aback when he saw over 10,000 players resting and walking about on the street in front of the teleportation hall. the areas surrounding luminous sky city were filled with sea monsters at level 180 or above. some of these monsters could rival land-based tier 6 divine monsters, and some were even level 180-plus, tier 6 archaic species. moving farther away from the city, some surrounding maps even housed level 190-plus monsters. for the current eternal realms players, who only averaged at level 170, even venturing into this region was a challenge, let alone surviving in it. meanwhile, upon closer inspection, shi feng discovered that the players loitering outside the teleportation hall averaged at level 185, with the highest-level player he saw being at level 190. over 5% of these players had also reached tier 6 already. in addition, most of these players did not have a guild emblem equipped, indicating they were independent players. however, despite their high levels, shi feng discovered that the equipment standard of these independent players was much inferior compared to the eternal continents guild players. yet, despite the various powers of the human race and the holy race having yet to set foot into luminous sky city, so many independent players had arrived already. this situation truly surprised and confused shi feng. as shi feng walked down the street, the players loitering on the streetside did not pay him any particular attention. they simply took his arrival as normal and continued doing what they had been doing. twenty-man grinding team for star-devouring whale tribes! were missing two tier 6 healers! must be at level 185 and equipped with a level 200 dark-gold equipment set at the very least! recruiting for an independent trade escort quest! were still missing three level 180-plus experts! well take anyone fully equipped with level 200 dark-gold equipment! tier 6 players get priority! quite a few players were recruiting for team members outside the teleportation hall. moreover, none of these players seem to care about the race of the players they recruited. human players were open to recruiting holy race players, while holy race players were open to recruiting human players. most importantly, everyone around them thought nothing of this situation. they behaved like this was a completely normal thing. if the eternal continents players or the western continents players were to come here, they would definitely be given a fright. this wasnt just because these players didnt mind teaming up with an enemy race. it was also because of the low equipment requirements they stated. it didnt look like these players were preparing to fight against powerful high-level monsters at all. instead, it looked like they were prepared to head to a low-level map to stomp on weaklings. yet, to shi fengs utter confusion, he saw these teams heading for luminous sky citys entrance as soon as they recruited enough members for their teams. did i come to the wrong place? shi feng couldnt help but knit his brows as he watched the teams exiting the city. if he hadnt had prior knowledge regarding luminous sky citys situation, he would have simply regarded this bizarre situation as normal. however, the problem was that his understanding of luminous sky city was no less than his knowledge of the crystal city of secrets. after all, luminous sky city was one of the eternal realms five great neutral cities in his previous life. it was difficult for any player to not know anything about it. meanwhile, it should be known that star-devouring whales were bona fide archaic species. their bloodline might be inferior to dragons, but tier 5 star-devouring whales would have no trouble contending with the average tier 6 monster. they also usually moved in groups of dozens or over a hundred. in addition, if a star-devouring whale reached tier 6, it would even become a regional boss. if the 20-man teams he saw could challenge the star-devouring whales in groups of equal size, they should have no trouble achieving victory. however, if they were to challenge an average-sized tribe of star-devouring whales, there was a very high likelihood they would suffer a teamwipe. not to mention, if their battle lasted too long, the commotion they caused could very well attract other sea monsters wandering nearby. if these 20-man teams were composed of players equipped with top-tier equipment, shi feng wouldnt be so surprised by their boldness. however, the equipment standard of these players could only be considered average. if they were to rely on such ordinary equipment to grind star-devouring whales, their efficiency would be terrible, and theyd be much better off grinding weaker monsters. after walking down several streets, shi feng also noticed that the players inhabiting luminous sky city had astonishingly high combat standards. even in the crystal city of secrets, fifth-floor experts only made up a tiny fraction of the citys player population. take zero wing, for example. despite having over 100,000 members operating in the crystal city, less than 300 of these members were fifth-floor experts. as for pseudo-fifth-floor experts, they numbered even fewer than actual fifth-floor experts. yet, whether it was the human players or holy race players inhabiting luminous sky city, roughly 1% of them were pseudo-fifth-floor experts. this was a considerably high percentage, and it could already match the ratio of the various pseudo-apex powers elite legions. upon arriving at luminous sky citys main street, shi feng decided to inquire some players about the citys current situation. however, before he could begin his inquiries, he discovered numerous players had set up stalls along the street. it would not be an exaggeration to say that player stalls lined the sides of the main street from beginning to end. moreover, these stalls offered items of considerable quality, with legendary materials forming the majority of the goods on display. even battle arrays, which were seldom sold on the market, were being offered by these street vendors. most surprisingly, shi feng found that some adventurer teams were actually selling small battle array scrolls. small advanced bronze battle array scrolls! small silver battle array scrolls! these small battle array scrolls were one-time consumables, and they could be activated by twenty players when twenty of them were gathered. meanwhile, when activated, they would strengthen players basic attributes and allow them to share their five senses, and these effects could last for twelve hours. if a team of tier 5 players were to use a complete small silver battle array, each team member would be strong enough to fight against tier 6 players in a one-on-one battle. in a group fight, the tier 5 players would even have an edge in perception due to their shared senses. so thats why so many players dare to leave the city. realization dawned upon shi feng as he beheld these small battle array scrolls. with the aid of a small silver battle array, even tier 5 players with less-than-optimal equipment could bridge the gap in basic attributes and tiers between themselves and the formidable sea monsters wandering outside luminous sky city. intrigued by this situation, shi feng decided to approach one of the stalls selling small silver battle arrays. at this time, hundreds of players were browsing around the stall, each at level 185 or above. quite a few of them were also tier 6 experts. normally, a small silver battle array scroll could fetch six to eight eternal gold on the eternal continent, with demand consistently exceeding supply. however, the stall shi feng visited sold these scrolls at a bargain, each costing only one eternal gold. meanwhile, the stall in question was operated by three players, all being young women with remarkable appearances. moreover, shi feng couldnt help but be shocked when he got a better look at two of these beauties. this was because the two women in question were aqua rose and the scarlet merchant alliances seven melody. unlike the last time they met, aqua rose and seven melody had already advanced to tier 6. they had also reached level 187, which could be considered super-first-rate on the eternal continent. as for the third woman, she was a swordsman carrying four longswords on her back, and her level was even higher than aqua rose and seven melody, being at level 189. this could be considered first-rate, even in luminous sky city. why is she here? shi feng couldnt help but be surprised once again when he recognized the female swordsman. myriad swords, frost raven! she was the commander of the sky dragon knight order and the only player to own four divine swords in the greater gods domain. in shi fengs previous life, she was also one of the only two ten great sword gods to enter the divine glory lists top ten during the war between the two races. while shi feng was wondering why frost raven was developing in luminous sky city, a group of players suddenly approached the trios stall and surrounded it. demons gate is doing business here! irrelevant bystanders, get lost! Chapter 3679 - Chapter 753 - Turmoil in the Southern Region chapter 753 C turmoil in the southern region following the sudden loud shout, silence enveloped the entire main street. at the same time, the many players on the street, whether they were human or holy race players, quickly scattered. even the players thinking of purchasing small silver battle array scrolls at the encircled stall took the initiative to back away. whats demons gate trying to do now? these demons gate bastards! after constantly locking down maps, are they now looking to steal things as well?! i doubt that. small silver battle array scrolls arent any sort of valuable treasure. many sea monsters have a chance of dropping them. tier 6 sea monsters are even guaranteed to drop them. not to mention, it doesnt look like they are interested in those scrolls whatsoever. are they interested in those three beauties, then? if thats the case, those three are in trouble. demons gate is filled with a bunch of pvp maniacs. when the bystanders on the street saw demons gates 20-man team surrounding the stall operated by frost raven, seven melody, and aqua rose, they couldnt help but express their anger toward demons gate. they also couldnt help but sympathize with the trio. however, despite their feelings over the situation, the bystanders only dared to voice their opinions in hushed discussions. even though demons gates team consisted of only twenty players, far fewer than the several hundred bystanders present, nobody actually dared to speak loudly or normally. in fact, not even the tier 6 bystanders, who similarly outnumbered demons gates team, dared to voice their opinions. this was because they were aware of one thingshould they dare to provoke demons gate, they could abandon all thoughts of surviving in the eternal realms southern region in the future. in fact, they would be fortunate if they managed to escape with just being cornered out of the southern region or killed back to level 0. what was more likely to happen was having soul annihilation bestowed upon them. after all, this fate had already befallen many of the teams that had dared to provoke demons gate previously currently, although many guilds of various sizes were operating in the sea south of the eternal continent, virtually all of them had already submitted themselves to either demons gate or the royal power operating in this region. as for those who refused to submit, they had already been dealt with by both parties. hence, demons gate was essentially the ruler of the southern region, and only the holy races royal power could afford to cross it. meanwhile, after the demons gate members surrounded the stall, a young man who was clad in a black-and-white leather jacket and carrying a scythe on his back approached the stall. with his stark white hair and slitted pupils, he exuded an aura of menace that sent chills down the spines of all bystanders. white ghost! why is the death scythe here? many of the experts present shuddered violently when they saw the menacing young man. of demons gates younger generation, there existed the three great chosen ones and six great paragons, and demons gate deemed every one of them capable of becoming powerhouses in the future. among them, white ghost the death scythe was one of the six great paragons. originally, demons gate had sent white ghost to the southern region to have him refine himself by clashing against the experts of the royal power. however, due to his vicious nature, white ghost did far more than just hone himself using the holy races experts. in addition to eliminating every holy race expert he encountered, he also killed any human player who dared to voice an opinion regarding demons gates conduct. no less than a thousand fifth-floor experts in the southern region have perished at white ghosts hands to date. he had also slain several of the royal powers transcendent list reserve candidates, earning him a place on the holy races transcendent list. just recently, he had even eliminated a taboo-level existence from the scarlet merchant alliance. at this juncture, it would be an understatement to label him a monster cloaked in human skin. meanwhile, under everyones gaze, white ghost slowly made his way up to frost raven, seven melody, and aqua rose. you have two choices, aqua, white ghost said to aqua rose, a faint smile playing on his lips. either you relinquish that item to us now, or none of you three will ever leave luminous sky city alive. after a slight pause, white ghost turned to look at frost raven and continued, the vice guild leader has already given the word. should you surrender the item, not only will you get to join demons gate, but miss raven here will also get to become a core member of ours. despite white ghosts seemingly friendly invitation, everyone present could sense the unquestionable authority in his words. even the onlooking tier 6 experts couldnt help but shudder at the oppressive atmosphere he created. however, despite the threatening invitation, many onlooking players couldnt help but grow envious of aqua rose and frost raven. it should be known that demons gate was a bona fide apex power. apart from those nurtured internally, anyone else who wished to join demons gate would first have to meet its incredibly high entry requirements. as for the privilege of becoming a core member of demons gate, it was normally something that members could only earn after slaughtering countless lives. very rarely would demons gate invite a player to become a core member. however, as long as one successfully became a core member of demons gate, one would enjoy an exalted position. even the members of the royal power operating in the southern region would hesitate to kill a core member of demons gate. the reason for this was that demons gate was made up of a bunch of lunatics. anyone who dared to kill a core member of demons gate would face unrelenting retaliation from the apex power. of course, this did not imply that the royal power operating in the southern region was weaker than demons gate. on the contrary, the royal power in question could easily wipe the floor with demons gate in a direct confrontation. the problem was that demons gates members operated like assassins, employing all sorts of covert tactics to catch their opponents off guard. they would never offer their opponents a fair fight. while everyone thought aqua rose would accept white ghosts offer, frost raven, looking like the trios leader, suddenly spoke up in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant, saying, allow us to refuse demons gates offer. if that is all you are here for, please take your leave and dont disturb our business. aqua rose nodded in agreement. however, as frost ravens voice faded, a frigid atmosphere descended upon the street. an oppressive killing intent also swept across a radius of a thousand yards, paralyzing many of the tier 5 experts present. are you rejecting demons gates goodwill? white ghost asked. although he kept his faint smile, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. do you know the consequences of rejecting demons gates goodwill? as soon as white ghost spoke, the demons gate members behind him took a step forward, baring their menacing looks and killing intent at frost ravens group. so long as frost ravens group dared to utter another word of refusal, or if white ghost gave the word, they would immediately move to eliminate the three women. are those three stupid? how dare they refuse demons gate? have they grown tired of living in gods domain? now that the death scythe has already approached them in person, do they really think demons gate wouldnt dare to attack them inside the city? many bystanders couldnt help but look at frost raven, aqua rose, and seven melody in disbelief. they never thought there would exist someone in the southern region who would dare to refuse demons gates conditions. it should be known that demons gate would not hesitate to kill even the chosen ones of the holy races royal powers. moreover, even after being slighted in such a manner, the royal powers could do nothing about it. if demons gate decided to target a group of independent players, the difficulty of the task would be easier than childs play. at this time, frost raven, aqua rose, and seven melody also started to feel a little pressure. they did not doubt whether white ghosts team would dare to attack them in luminous sky city if they rejected demons gates offer again. moreover, with the prowess of demons gates members, if these lunatics threw caution to the wind, there was a high chance the three of them might not survive until the surrounding npc guards came to their rescue. the situation would be even worse if white ghost joined the fight. while frost raven, seven melody, and aqua rose were thinking about how they could get out of this predicament, a deep voice suddenly rang out from nearby. has demons gate never heard of first come, first served? can you let me finish my shopping before you start fighting? as the words spoken by this voice echoed across the street, the originally heavy atmosphere lightened up significantly. then, everyone present couldnt help but turn their attention toward the source of the voice, all wanting to see who was the fool who dared to stir trouble during this serious moment. at this time, a cloaked man carrying two longswords around his waist could be seen walking up to the trios stall. the man approached the stall with a casual expression, behaving as if demons gates members did not exist. guild leader black flame? tl notes: [1]southern region(: this is not referring to the southern continent. also, as a refresh: eternal continent = northern continent = human races continent western continent = holy races continent Chapter 3680 - Chapter 754 - Demons Gate chapter 754 C demons gate aqua rose and seven melody were momentarily stunned when they saw the cloaked swordsman approaching their stall. they never thought the person who dared to speak out against demons gate would actually be shi feng, the person they had encountered at the golden spire. meanwhile, white ghost furrowed his brow as he cast a chilling glare at shi feng. although white ghost did not speak up, almost everyone present could also sense his surging anger as the atmosphere that had briefly relaxed became incredibly tense once more. meanwhile, upon sensing white ghosts anger, the surrounding players quickly distanced themselves from him, afraid they would get dragged into the ensuing crossfire. that guy must be crazy to stand out in this situation! is he really going to challenge demons gates prestige? the surrounding bystanders felt their hearts rising up their throats as they looked at shi feng. they also had no doubts that shi feng would become a corpse in just a moment. kid! it seems you have a lot of courage, huh, daring to interfere in demons gates matters, white ghost said coldly as he looked at shi feng. is this your first day in luminous sky city? it was common knowledge in the southern region that demons gate was the regions ruler. not even the holy races various powers would dare to oppose it here. yet, someone was now openly challenging this established fact. this was a brazen act of provocation against demons gates reputation. it had already been a long while since he had encountered such a situation after his arrival in the eternal realm. however, he did not mind letting everyone in the southern region learn of demons gates horrors once more! as soon as white ghost finished speaking, several of the tier 6 experts around him promptly encircled shi feng, cutting off all his paths of retreat. meanwhile, when aqua rose and seven melody saw this development, they couldnt help but grow concerned. they felt that shi feng was playing with fire by provoking demons gate right now. although luminous sky city had npc guards patrolling all its streets, players werent guaranteed absolute safety. if demons gate was determined to take action, even frost raven, the strongest of their trio, might not escape unscathed. demons gate was an apex power. because of this, all of its experts capable of advancing to tier 6 at this stage of the eternal realm would be fully equipped with legendary equipment and have learned mana purification techniques. in terms of overall strength, they could rival tier 6 gods of the same level, and even the chosen ones of pseudo-apex powers would have to fight them seriously to ensure their victory. while aqua rose and seven melody were mired in concern, frost raven suddenly spoke through the party chat, ill try to stop them later. use this opportunity to run to the npc guards. so long as the npc guards are around, not even white ghost will dare to try his luck. be very careful, big sis raven! white ghost is no ordinary opponent! seven melody cautioned when she heard frost raven voicing her intention to help shi feng. although she was confident in frost ravens strength, white ghosts notoriety was not unfounded. meanwhile, relying on their sixth sense, demons gates members noticed the gazes of aqua rose and seven melody veering toward the patrolling npc guards nearby and promptly realized their intentions. however, just as they were about to intercept the two, a light-blue longsword suddenly appeared in their way. stay. shi fengs deep voice rang across the area again, stunning everyone in silence. no one had expected anyone to dare to stand against demons gate, least of all a young swordsman whose name was unknown in the southern region. are you tired of living, punk?! the four demons gate members encircling shi feng bellowed. they never thought shi feng would dare to ignore them to such an extent. immediately, they took a threatening step forward, trying to intimidate shi feng into backing away. as for taking actual action, none of them had thought of doing so thus far. after all, they hadnt received a verbal command from white ghost to take action. if they recklessly attacked shi feng, they would instantly attract the npc guards attention and be regarded as enemies. at the same time, one of the four demons gate members, a level 187, tier 6 assassin, suddenly used soul guidance, a tier 6 skill, on shi feng, casting a blue ray directly onto his soul. should soul guidance be allowed to take effect, shi fengs location would become known to the assassin throughout the skills duration; thered be no hiding from demons gate for him. moreover, as soul guidance had no offensive properties, its use would not attract the npc guards attention. however, before the blue ray could come into contact with shi feng, a sword light suddenly grazed the tier 6 assassins neck. then, the assassin collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. an item even appeared next to the assassins lifeless body this scene immediately stunned everyone. hes dead? what happened? how did that assassin from demons gate die? why didnt he dodge that attack? despite the clear indication of the tier 6 assassins depleted hp bar, many of the bystanders remained baffled as to what had just happened. the tier 6 assassin was evidently in the midst of activating soul guidance on shi feng, yet he had inexplicably died mid-action. to add to their confusion, shi feng had remained motionless throughout the entire encounter. what did guild leader black flame do just now? seven melody gaped in shock, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at the corpse of the demons gate assassin. what incredible reaction speed! frost raven was indescribably shocked as she looked at shi feng, who looked like he hadnt moved at all this entire time. while the more discerning observers present might have noticed shi feng killing the demons gate assassin with a single sword strike, the reality of the situation was far more intricate. being one of the few players in luminous sky city equipped with multiple fragmented divine artifacts and the owner of a unique hidden class, frost raven possessed five senses and physique far superior to even tier 6 gods of the same level. because of this, she managed to catch a glimpse of what actually happened. in reality, shi feng had executed dozens of subtle alterations to his swords trajectory during his seemingly straightforward attack. meanwhile, overwhelmed by the rapid and unpredictable changes, the demons gate assassin ultimately succumbed to the final trajectory taken by shi fengs sword. aside from the onlooking crowd, demons gates members were similarly stunned by this situation. it was especially so for the three other demons gate members encircling shi feng. they also couldnt help but reveal grim expressions as they looked at shi feng. if anyone else out of the four of them got killed, they might not have thought much of it. however, the tier 6 assassin who got killed was the most skilled out of them. if even the tier 6 assassin couldnt survive an exchange with shi feng, how would they fare? what are you all worried about?! white ghost suddenly shouted when he saw the anxious looks on his subordinates. we are inside luminous sky city. he initiated the attack! hell be the target of the npc guards! at white ghosts reminder, everyone from demons gate promptly snapped out of their daze and encircled shi feng. since shi feng was the aggressor in this situation, all they had to do was buy time until the npc guards arrived to deal with him. friend, leave quickly! youll be in trouble if the npc guards arrive! frost raven hurriedly said to shi feng. it was never a good idea to initiate an attack while inside npc towns and cities. if captured by npc guards, especially inside a place like luminous sky city, one would suffer a miserable fate. its too late to escape now! the demons gate members surrounding shi feng sneered and promptly took offensive maneuvers against him. previously, they were wary of attacking shi feng for fear of being targeted by the npc guards. but since shi feng had initiated an attack on one of their team members, they could now attack him without fear of retaliation from the npc guards, as their actions would be considered self-defense. immediately, three tier 6 tanks closed in on shi feng with their shields raised, while two tier 6 mage gods erected defensive screens to cover any gaps left by the tanks. they had no intention of giving shi feng any opportunities to escape. can you defend against my attacks, though? when shi feng saw the players closing in on him, he reacted by executing swords orbit. with his strength being on par with level 200, tier 6 gods, even level 185-plus, tier 6 tanks with their lifesaving skills activated could not survive more than two or three attacks from him. if he could directly hit their bodies, he could finish them even quicker. subsequently, with shi feng at the center, a resplendent galaxy of stars spread across the street. boom! suddenly, white ghost, who had armed himself with his scythe at some point, was sent flying over a dozen yards through the air. upon landing, he stumbled several steps before regaining his footing. over a quarter of his hp bar had also disappeared. as for the nearly ten demons gate members who surrounded shi feng, they all met an even worse fate, all of them dying on the spot how is this possible? white ghost couldnt help but look at shi feng in disbelief. it should be known that his weapon, death scythe, was a fragmented divine artifact. with it equipped, he could achieve strength nearing the standard of ancient gods of the same level. furthermore, when he executed stormscythe, a gold combat technique that came as a set with the death scythe, he could exhibit power enough to knock even tier 6 gods of the same level into the air. yet, when he clashed with shi fengs attack using stormscythe, he was the one who got knocked into the air instead this scene also dumbfounded the surviving members of demons gate. after all, white ghost, nicknamed the death scythe, was sent flying in a direct confrontation. moreover, it was after he had used a gold combat technique has he already mastered the accompanying combat technique? shi feng couldnt help but be a little surprised as he looked at white ghost. some divine artifacts in gods domain came with corresponding gold combat techniques. these techniques existed to maximize the potential of their corresponding divine artifacts, and they were much more powerful than the average gold combat technique. however, they were also much more difficult to master. your highness! the npc guards have arrived! that swordsman is dead! when the surviving demons gate members saw some npc guards entering their sight, they immediately revealed cold smiles as they looked at shi feng. shi fengs strength might have exceeded their expectations, but it was utterly useless against luminous sky citys level 200-plus npc guards. this is bad seven melody couldnt help but grow worried when they saw the npc guards encircling shi feng. however, just as demons gates members were waiting to see how shi feng would struggle in the hands of the npc guards, the tier 6 guard captain suddenly walked up to shi feng and respectfully said, greetings, count shadowring. how may we be of service to you today? Chapter 3681 - Chapter 755 - Maniac Versus Maniac chapter 755 C maniac versus maniac currently, more than twenty level 210-plus npc guards equipped with standardized legendary equipment sets stood along the sides of the main street. although these npc guards were only at tier 5, any one of them could easily suppress tier 6 experts under level 200. meanwhile, following the words of the level 220, tier 6 guard captain equipped in a luxurious suit of armor, all of the players present froze on the spot. demons gates members were especially dumbfounded by this situation. why arent these npc guards taking action? count shadowring? who is that guy? questions popped up in everyones minds, one after another. the scene before them had completely overturned their knowledge of luminous sky city. it was commonly known that any player who dared to cause a scene in luminous sky city would meet a swift death. this was an ironclad rule that nobody had managed to defy thus far. yet, now, not only had this rule been broken, but the level 220, tier 6 guard captain was even behaving very respectfully to shi feng count? am i dreaming? astonishment filled seven melody as she looked at shi feng. luminous sky city was a neutral city in the eternal realm. because of this, obtaining an aristocratic position in it was incredibly difficult. in fact, even becoming an ordinary noble was something the various powers could only dream of accomplishing right now. besides seven melody, aqua rose was similarly taken aback by this unexpected development. they had been operating in luminous sky city and striving to establish a foothold in the southern region, a land rich in ancient legacies, for a considerable period already. consequently, they had invested significant effort into contributing to luminous sky city. however, despite their efforts, they still lacked a lot of contribution points to attain the status of ordinary nobles. yet, she was now being told that shi feng had attained the rank of count unlike everyone else, though, shi feng himself was not surprised by the npc guards behavior. as a 2-star count of holy ring city, he would enjoy basic noble privileges in all neutral cities across the eternal realm. although these were merely the privileges afforded to an ordinary noble, they still put him above the average player. although demons gates assassin did not attack him, the other party used a tracking skill. if such an action was taken against the average player in a neutral city, it wouldnt be considered an offense. however, when done to players with noble status, it would be judged as aggressive behavior, and nearby npc guards would immediately arrest the person using the tracking skill. as a side note, if a player possessed true count privileges in a neutral city, they wouldnt even need to have their enemies use tracking skills on them to make them a target of the city. if their enemies lacked sufficient status in the city, they could simply have their enemies banished from the city. and even if these banished players could enter the city again, they would need to pay an exorbitant deposit before they could do so. had demons gates members initiated an attack on him, their fates would have been even worse. even if none of their attacks managed to hit him, he could have the npc guards apprehend and imprison all of demons gates members. of course, if both parties had an aristocratic position, npcs would judge the situation differently and apprehend only the first party to have caused actual damage. however, as a neutral city in the eternal realm, luminous sky city should have only been activated recently. it was unlikely that anyone would have an ordinary noble status, let alone an aristocratic position. this was also why shi feng was confident in helping aqua rose resist demons gate. these people used a tracking skill on me. with my status in luminous sky city, whats the heaviest punishment i can impose on them? shi feng asked the npc guard captain as he pointed at white ghosts group. according to the citys rules, since they intend to harm you, the principal offender will be detained for one month, while the offenders companions can be detained for up to ten days, the guard captain said as he looked at white ghosts group. good. lock them up for ten days, then, shi feng said, nodding. understood! at shi fengs instructions, the guard captain promptly gestured at his subordinates to apprehend white ghosts group. meanwhile, when the bystanders on the street saw the npc guards moving to apprehend demons gates members, their mouths widened in shock. it was clearly shi feng who had initiated an attack on demons gate and killed multiple of its members. yet, demons gates members were the ones who were now being arrested. moreover, they would be imprisoned for ten days. this was undoubtedly the biggest loss demons gate had ever suffered in luminous sky city. dammit! how does he have the rank of count?! white ghosts expression darkened at this unexpected development. white ghost was more or less aware of the privileges granted to players holding aristocratic positions in the eternal realms neutral cities. however, he never thought shi feng would already attain the rank of count so soon after luminous sky citys activation. as for getting imprisoned for ten days, hed rather die multiple times than suffer such a fate. the eternal realm had only appeared not long ago, and the power structure within it remained fluctuating. it was especially chaotic in the southern region, a place where many powers operated. if he wished to maintain an advantage in the southern region, he would need to treat every day with utmost importance. if he became absent for ten days, he wouldnt even be surprised if the southern region took on a completely new look. what should we do, your highness? a demons gate member asked anxiously when he saw the approaching npc guards. ten days! if they were to fall behind by ten days, becoming second-rate players would be the least of their concerns. most importantly, theyd lag behind other players in accumulating contribution points in luminous sky city, and other powers would have long snatched all of the important real estate in the city. retreat! do everything you can to retreat! white ghost shouted. so long as we leave the city, these npcs will stop chasing us! we can take our time dealing with these bastards afterward! their only option right now was to escape out of luminous sky city. for them, a ten-day jail sentence was no different than a death sentence. it should be known that the internal competition within demons gate was vastly more intense compared to other powers. if they allowed their competitors to surpass them, it would be incredibly difficult for them to recover later. at white ghosts command, the remaining demons gate members hastily activated their lifesaving tools to escape. not even for a moment did any of them think of fighting the npc guards. at their current levels, these level 210-plus, tier 5 npc guards could send them flying or injure them heavily with even a casual attack. not to mention, if they tried to fight these npc guards, not only would they die, but they would still have to spend ten days in jail. theyre finally leaving. seven melody sighed in relief when she saw demons gates members retreating. so long as their group of three could successfully avoid a confrontation with demons gate today, it would become much easier for them to shake demons gate off their tail in the future. this was because they would finally have enough money to rent a transport ship after todays sales and start taking on delivery quests to accumulate contribution points rapidly. then, once they became nobles of luminous sky city, they would no longer have to fear demons gate in the city. while demons gates members were treating, white ghost suddenly took out a scroll from his bag and activated it. immediately afterward, the sky above the main street darkened, and a powerful aura of death enveloped the entire street. subsequently, dark threads descended upon shi feng and aqua roses group at an astonishing speed. even shi feng got hit by these threads, failing to react in time. however, the dark threads did not cause any damage. instead, they penetrated deep into the souls of shi feng and the others before quickly forming a mark. a demon mark? shi feng immediately recognized the mark that had formed in the depths of his soul. there was a special scroll exclusively available to demons gate that, when used, could place a demon mark on players souls. each demon mark lasted for six days, and it allowed all demons gate members to know the marked players location throughout this period. if demons gate members were within a certain distance of a marked player, the demon mark would even actively inform them of the marked players presence. meanwhile, so long as a demons gate member managed to kill a marked player while the demon mark was still in effect, they could earn an astronomical amount of guild contribution points. essentially, the demon mark was a bounty order used internally by demons gate, and it was something that only a very small number of individuals in demons gate could use. moreover, it was a privilege that they could only use once in their lifetime. so what if you are a count? since you dare to make an enemy out of demons gate in the southern region, only death awaits you! white ghost said, sneering when he saw shi feng and the others getting hit by the demon mark. although i dont know who you are, i want to see how long youll survive being hunted by demons gate! originally, white ghost had intended to kill shi feng to establish his authority over the other players and powers operating in luminous sky city. however, he never expected to be played by shi feng, causing demons gates reputation to be damaged. now, he was resolved to kill shi feng at all costs. as for aqua roses group, he naturally wouldnt spare them, either. with the demon mark now in effect, if shi feng, aqua rose, seven melody, and frost raven were to take even a step out of luminous sky city during the next six days, they would immediately face an endless pursuit by demons gates members. its over! he actually used the demon mark! none of them can escape now! i knew it would turn out like this! its simply suicide to go against demons gate in the southern region! the bystanders couldnt help but lament when they looked at shi fengs group. they could already tell how seriously white ghost took this matter. he absolutely wouldnt let them off easily. meanwhile, aqua rose, seven melody, and frost raven also revealed grim looks at this turn of events. they never thought white ghost would be so ruthless as to use his once-in-a-lifetime privilege on them. is that so? ill be waiting, then! when shi feng saw white ghost trying to escape using a tier 5 random teleportation scroll, he executed flowing space to arrive before the other party instantly and brandished the winter of eternal night. holy annihilation! holy annihilation! holy annihilation! pillars of flame rose into the sky one after another. shi fengs attacks were so swift that white ghost had no time to defend himself with a combat technique. he could only instinctively swing his scythe to parry each fiery strike. as a result, his hp plummeted with each attack blocked. in a mere second, four exchanges took place, and white ghost was reduced to ashes on the fourth exchange. from the beginning to the end, white ghost never got to use his random teleportation scroll Chapter 3682 - Chapter 756 - Luminous Sky in an Uproar chapter 756 C luminous sky in an uproar following white ghosts death, the demons gate members, who were in the midst of retreating, couldnt help but widen their eyes in disbelief. hes dead! no way! that white ghost actually got killed?! and so quickly at that?! the other players on the street were similarly stunned when they saw white ghost turning into ashes. white ghosts infamy was widely known throughout the southern region. he was the nightmare of many expert players. this was because he was responsible for eliminating many of the expert players and various powers executives who had opposed demons gate. his reputation even extended to the holy race, where his act of slaying several members of a royal power netted him a place on the holy races transcendent list. yet, now, someone had not only managed to kill the mighty white ghost but had done so in a near-instantaneous manner. if they hadnt witnessed this spectacle with their own eyes, most of them would have probably had difficulty believing such a feat was possible. aqua! while watching shi feng collect the loot demons gates members dropped, seven melody shook the dazed aqua rose beside her and asked, is he really the guild leader black flame we met before? the last time they met, seven melody merely regarded shi feng as a talented member of the younger generation capable of contending against the various pseudo-apex powers chosen ones. however, the strength shi feng had just displayed was nothing but shocking. idont know either aqua rose was similarly at a loss for words after seeing this situation. it should be known that one of the scarlet merchant alliances taboo-level existences had died in a fight against white ghost. yet, shi feng had killed white ghost so effortlessly. honestly, if she hadnt seen shi fengs face before at the golden spire, she would have doubted if the person currently before her was someone else instead. what incredible strength! frost raven was equally shocked as she looked at shi feng. ive seen most of the top experts in the southern region, but none can compete against him in strength. is he really just ranked 281st on the divine glory list? as a tier 6 swordsman herself, frost raven couldnt help but feel a sense of powerlessness when she looked at shi fengs sword strikes. in fact, she had failed to accurately evaluate his sword strikes right away. she could only react to them based on her instincts. honestly, frost raven doubted she could do any better than white ghost if she were to go up against an opponent with such overwhelming strength and speed. yet, such a terrifying expert was only ranked 281st on the divine glory list. for a moment, she couldnt help but suspect that the seven luminaries alliance had made a mistake in their analysis. after all, she was currently ranked 197th on the divine glory list! meanwhile, due to the shock brought about by white ghosts death, only three demons gate members managed to escape in the end, with the rest being captured by the npc guards. as for the demons gate members who were killed, they were the unluckiest of the bunch. not only did they die in vain, but they would also be imprisoned for ten days. miss melody, demons gates members have all left. if you want to leave luminous sky city, its best to do so now. im sure it wont be long before demons gate sends reinforcements to avenge white ghost. at that time, it will become much more difficult to leave the city, shi feng suggested to seven melodys group after he finished looting. thank you very much for your help this time, guild leader black flame. if not for you, we would have been in real trouble. seven melody didnt hurry to leave. instead, she took her time to introduce shi feng to frost raven, saying, this person here is the sky dragon knight adventurer teams vice commander frost raven. its all thanks to her help that aqua and i could establish ourselves in the southern region. if you are looking to extend zero wings operations to the southern region, i strongly recommend partnering with the sky dragon knight adventurer team, guild leader black flame. greetings, guild leader black flame. thank you for your help this time. adding to seven melodys introduction, frost raven said, although the sky dragon knight adventurer team isnt comparable to apex powers like demons gate, it is a member of the southern regions order of twelve. when it comes to strength in the southern region, the order of twelve is only slightly behind demons gate. in fact, we are even stronger than demons gate in maritime transportation. if zero wing needs anything to be transported by sea in the future, we can offer you a 30% discount. i will have to trouble you in the future, then, shi feng said, choosing not to turn down frost ravens offer. in his previous life, the order of twelve, an alliance of twelve adventurer teams, indeed possessed naval strength superior to demons gate in the eternal realm. it was also the biggest player in transporting non-bag space items between the eternal continent and the western continent. it played an especially vital role in the transportation of the origin crystal wood, the best core material for the construction of flying ships and transport ships, produced by the southern regions islands. currently, the reason zero wing could not mass-produce silverwings was largely due to the lack of core materials. most of these core materials were non-bag space items. although inferior legendary and legendary spatial bags could carry a relatively large amount of these items at a time, the amount still paled when compared to what was needed to construct a silverwing. multiple trips had to be made just for the construction of one silverwing. not to mention, it also took a considerable amount of time to collect these core materials. hence, zero wing needed to find a better way to source these materials. meanwhile, after becoming a 2-star count of holy ring city, shi feng had the idea of importing origin crystal wood from the southern region to the eternal continent, and there were two ways he could go about doing so. he could either transport origin crystal wood from the southern region to the eternal continent entirely by sea, or transport them to luminous sky city before placing them into a legendary spatial bag and teleporting them back to the eternal continent. normally, each log of origin crystal wood would only cost one eternal gold if bought at the source. however, it cost three eternal gold to transport each log to luminous sky city and at least five eternal gold to transport to the eternal continent. generally speaking, it would take upwards of 10,000 logs of origin crystal wood just to construct a flying ship that shuttled between the various guild cities airports. if zero wing could get a 30% discount from the order of twelve for maritime transportation, the guild could save a lot of money. guild leader black flame! we were just about to go with big sis raven to meet up with the rest of the order of twelves adventurer teams to occupy a town on a deserted island! why dont you come with us? given your strength, im sure the order of twelve would be willing to give you 5% of the towns shares for your help, seven melody said. occupying a town on a deserted island? shi feng was a little tempted by seven melodys suggestion. there were countless deserted islands in the southern region, of which a small number housed towns occupied by monsters. if players could subjugate the monsters in one of these towns, they would become the new owners of this town. they could then operate the town like the world arks resurrection camps and generate incredible wealth. when frost raven heard seven melodys proposal, she quickly added, i can talk to my commander about this. i trust that my commander will agree to this arrangement. im afraid i will have to decline. i still have other matters to take care of, shi feng said, deciding against accepting the offer after thinking it over. this trip to luminous sky city made shi feng realize he had underestimated the development speed of the eternal realms various powers. if even the southern regions order of twelve had already begun preparing to establish their own town, it was likely that the other parts of the eternal realm were in a similar situation. in that case, the best course of action for zero wing to take would be to get shadowring city up and running as soon as possible. after shi feng chatted with seven melodys group for a little bit longer, the trio sold all 126 of their remaining small silver battle array scrolls to shi feng before quickly departing to meet up with the rest of the order of twelve. meanwhile, due to shi fengs clash with demons gate, the players in luminous sky city were stirred into excitement. some players had even uploaded videos of the fight to luminous sky citys official forums. one man, one sword, one-shotting demons gates paragon! demons gates death scythe one-shotted! shortly after these videos appeared, they immediately became the hottest topic in luminous sky city. demons gates usual domineering behavior caused many players in luminous sky city to have a lot of opinions. however, because of demons gates overbearing strength, no one who had opposed the apex power had ever met with a good outcome. as a result, everyone could only endure demons gates tyranny. now that shi feng had killed white ghost, one of demons gates six great paragons, and dealt a massive loss to demons gate, everyone naturally reacted with excitement and joy. for a time, everyone started to curiously speculate about shi fengs identity. many players also started to worship shi feng. meanwhile, after some experts did some digging, shi fengs identity quickly surfaced, and an uproar occurred across luminous sky city. this was because no one expected that black flame, the 281st expert on the divine glory list and the guild leader of zero wing, the guild which had repelled the sun dynastys holy guard just recently, would actually come to luminous sky city to develop. they also didnt expect him to offend demons gate as soon as he arrived. shortly after this news surfaced, it quickly reached the ears of the southern regions various powers. naturally, demons gate, the southern regions overlord, had also learned of this news. Chapter 3683 - Chapter 757 - Counts Reward chapter 757 C counts reward southern region, human npc city, cruise city, demons gates residence: inside the magnificent guild hall, demons gates members were busily moving about because of the matter at luminous sky city. all of them exuded killing intent. some guild members even began to organize their own teams to head to luminous sky city to kill shi feng. meanwhile, several of demons gates executives had gathered in the residences guild leaders office. weve looked into the matter already, your highness. the person responsible for killing white ghost is zero wings guild leader, black flame! a white-haired level 187, tier 6 berserker god anxiously reported to the elegant woman seated before him. despite her petite stature, the elegant woman radiated an indescribable aura of majesty with each of her movements. her presence was so overwhelming that some of the guild executives present, including the recently resurrected white ghost, dared not even raise their heads. meanwhile, when it came to their opinions of the elegant woman, all of the demons gate members based in cruise citys residence felt nothing but awe and admiration toward her. this was because the woman was one of demons gates publicly acknowledged three great chosen ones. star maiden, elise! elise was also the youngest of the three great chosen ones. at only twenty-four, she had already progressed to the later stage of the world towers fifth floor and could execute gold combat techniques with her every move. she had also reached the unthinking realm, the extrasensory realms second stage, and it was entirely possible for her to break those shackles by thirty and rival the standards of demons gates old monsters. zero wings black flame, is it? elises lips curled into a faint smirk when she heard the white-haired berserkers report. how intriguing. i havent even settled the score for harboring that little girl, yet he dares to come to the southern region to stir up even more trouble? black flame has gone too far! how dare he come to our territory and kill white ghost?! this is an insult to our reputation! a tier 6 female berserker who was robust like a bear said angrily. your highness, please allow me to lead a team to eliminate black flame! we shall let him know that even if he managed to stop the holy guards assault, he is still not qualified to behave arrogantly before demons gate! phoenix flame is right, your highness! not only did black flame show up in our territory by himself, but he even killed white ghost! if we dont teach him a lesson, we will become a joke in the eternal realm! people might even think we are afraid of him! the other guild executives chimed in as well, all of them agreeing with phoenix flames view. had zero wing mobilized an army into luminous sky city, and a huge fight between zero wing and demons gate broke out, they could still have turned a blind eye to the matter. yet, black flame had dared to show up on their territory by himself. he had even publicly slain demons gates members in luminous sky city. if they still chose to ignore this transgression and take no action against zero wing, demons gates reputation in the southern region would be utterly ruined. he is a count. it isnt worth trying to kill him in luminous sky city, elise said, shaking her head. then, she casually added, inform the various powers in the world ark that we will be opening up our resurrection camp in the core region and that they can register at the camp by eliminating zero wings members. for each normal member they kill, they can register at the camp for one day at no cost. for slaying zero wings elite members, they receive three days of free registration. and if they manage to kill an executive of zero wing, they gain lifetime registration at the camp. elises decision startled all of the guild executives present. ruthless! it was an incredibly ruthless decision! it should be known that demons gate had to sacrifice multiple divine artifact-ranked tools to occupy the resurrection camp it currently owned in the world arks core region. moreover, demons gates members hadnt even begun to fully reap the benefits of the resurrection camp. if the camp was made available to the public now, it was almost guaranteed that players would do everything possible to secure a registration slot. consequently, zero wing would not only lose the ability to survive in the world ark, but it would also lose the resurrection camp it had fought hard to defend. if met with such an outcome, black flame, the guild leader of zero wing, would most likely lose his mind. subsequently, demons gates executives left the office and carried out elises instructions, issuing a public bounty on all zero wing members operating within the world ark and causing a huge stir. in the meantime, shi feng arrived at luminous sky citys city hall all by himself. currently, luminous sky citys city hall was crowded with players from both the human race and the holy race. these players were here on behalf of their respective powers, and they were all eagerly waiting for the city hall to make more shops and lands available for sale. of course, as none of them were nobles, none of them were actually here to buy real estate. instead, they were only here to determine the value of the real estate on offer and how much they should spend on bidding for them in the future. the sale of real estate in the eternal realms neutral cities was different from that of neutral cities in other realms. outside of the eternal realm, players could usually purchase the shops and lands of neutral cities on a first come, first served basis. the prices of these real estate were also fixed, and they would only change when the city was promoted. in the eternal realm, however, the shops and lands of neutral cities were acquired through auctions. once players proved themselves capable of affording the base price of a particular piece of real estate, they were given a bidding period where they had to outbid other interested buyers. in addition, as players from both the human race and the holy race could participate in the auction, the final price typically far exceeded the base price. due to this system, players and powers interested in buying luminous sky citys real estate had to first determine how much eternal coins would be appropriate to allocate to each piece of real estate. if the final cost exceeded the potential profits they could generate, they would have no choice but to give up. hence, while no one had yet to gain noble status in luminous sky city, the powers of both races seized this opportunity to assess the citys real estate prices to make informed bids when the time arrived. of course, there existed the possibility that certain players might gain the privilege of acquiring the citys real estate considerably earlier than others. however, even if this were to occur, these players would not necessarily secure an insurmountable advantage in purchasing the citys real estate. this was because some of the citys npc nobles would typically participate in the bidding process alongside players. if players could not outbid these npc nobles, their attempts to acquire the real estate would be unsuccessful, regardless of whether other players were competing against them. shop 0046742! is anybody interested in co-buying shop 0046742? trading secret-silver warships for eternal coins! each for 100,000 gold! we have three in total! well even cover the handling fees for foreign players! advanced transport ships for sale! two advanced transport ships for sale! each for 80,000 gold! theyre essential for grinding and transporting goods! i can cover the auction fees of both ships! within the vast first-floor hall, capable of accommodating tens of thousands of people, shouts echoed from every corner. when shi feng heard the ceaseless shouting, he couldnt help but be astonished. although none of the various powers had acquired the qualifications to purchase luminous sky citys real estate yet, all of them were doing everything they could to accumulate capital. meanwhile, compared to the wealth these powers were amassing, the 70,000-plus eternal gold he currently had on hand was nothing. it was especially so when he compared himself with the holy races various powers. currently, not only did holy race players make up the bulk of those hawking their wares, but they were also going as far as to sell advanced transport ships, which were incredibly valuable in the current eternal realm. thank goodness i dont have to compete with them. after looking at the situation in the first-floor hall, shi feng quietly made his way to the second-floor hall. inside a vip lounge on the second floor greetings, lord count. how may i be of service to you today? after shi feng made his way to the second floor, he was ushered into a vip lounge and greeted by a beautiful female elf. i am looking to buy real estate, shi feng stated directly. very well. here is a list of all the shops and lands you can currently bid for in the city, the elven administrator said as she handed shi feng a crystal tablet. the tablet was roughly the size of an a4 paper, but it listed an astonishing number of shops and lands. the number was many times greater than what was listed on the first-floor hall. can my status actually grant me so many options? shi feng was slightly surprised as he examined the information on the tablet. however, when his gaze fell upon a specific line of text highlighted in bright red, his shock intensified. an upscale shop! tl notes: [1]upscale shop: in the main story, shop ranks listed were: in chapter 757 and 758, the shops mentioned were: the characters used to describe the shops are different, so i assume that the ordinary/normal shops in the eternal realms neutral cities cannot be upgraded into high-end/upscale shops. so, rather than go with basic/advanced shop, i decided to use a different term here. Chapter 3684 - Chapter 758 - Upscale Shop chapter 758 C upscale shop how much for this shop? after suppressing his restlessness and apprehension, shi feng pointed at the red text on the tablet and directed a question at the administrator. two kinds of shops were available in the eternal realms neutral cities: ordinary and upscale. in addition, both types could be categorized into small, medium, and large shops. it was also the case for lands. for ordinary shops, they could only sell the items that they had in stock. or, more specifically, they could only sell the items stored in their warehouses. meanwhile, for each transaction ordinary shops made, they would need to pay a 10% processing fee to the city, which was significantly better than the 20% that street stalls had to pay. players could also hire npcs to manage their shops for them. more importantly, ordinary shops could display ten times more items. hence, whether it was the average player or the various powers, they would usually try to purchase shops if they were looking to do business in a neutral city. they would sell their wares through street stalls only when they lacked the means of acquiring a shop. naturally, another viable option existed for players who could not afford to purchase a shop: the citys auction house. the only drawback was that to commission items in a neutral citys auction house, players were first required to attain noble status within the city. additionally, they would need to pay a substantial processing fee of 25% or more. in return, players gained access to a significantly larger customer base, making it considerably easier to secure a favorable price for their wares. often, the additional profits generated were even sufficient to cover the exorbitant processing fee. however, the auction house was not something that most players should consider utilizing during the early stages of a neutral citys development. for upscale shops, when compared to ordinary shops, not only were they significantly rarer, but they also possessed vastly superior functionality. unlike ordinary shops, upscale shops were not limited to simply selling the items they had in stock. in addition to their own stock, upscale shops could connect with other shops and share their products, and the number of shops an upscale shop could connect with directly correlated with its star ranking. if an upscale shops star ranking reached a sufficiently high level, it could even establish connections with shops in other realms. this feature would not only eliminate the hassle of transporting goods, but it could also substantially expand the amount and variety of products available in the shop. however, upscale shops were incredibly rare. in shi fengs previous life, out of all the neutral cities controlled by the various human powers in the eternal realm, some didnt even have an upscale shop, while those that did would not have more than a handful. hence, now that it was revealed that luminous sky city, one of the eternal realms ten most populated neutral cities in the future, had an upscale shop for sale, how could shi feng not get excited? bidding for this shop starts at 175,000 eternal gold coins, lord count. located in the citys outer area, this shop, though slightly outdated and categorized as a small shop, boasts a genuine 3-star ranking, the npc administrator explained. currently, fifteen nobles and two great nobles have already expressed interest in purchasing the shop. if you intend to purchase it, you will likely have to spend up to 500,000 eternal gold coins. a starting price of 175,000 gold and an estimated final price of 500,000 gold? when shi feng heard the administrators answer, he immediately felt the malice of the main god system. it should be known that ordinary shops situated in the outer areas of the eternal realms neutral cities typically sold for 10,000 to 20,000 eternal gold only. even prime real estate in the inner areas would, at most, be sold for 40,000 to 50,000 eternal gold. after all, constructing a guild city in the eternal realm only cost around 300,000 to 400,000 eternal gold. the upscale shops starting price of 175,000 eternal gold was already double that of ordinary shops located at the core areas main street. of course, the upscale shop was undoubtedly worth this price. simply the fact that it was a 3-star shop made it vastly superior to any of the ordinary shops situated in luminous sky citys core area. a 1-star upscale shop could only connect with one other shop. it was also incredibly challenging to upgrade a 1-star upscale shop to 2-star status. not only did the shop have to maintain a sufficiently large foot traffic and transaction volume across a long period, but more importantly, it also needed to accumulate sufficient shop reputation. an upscale shops reputation could only be raised by gaining favorable opinions from npc nobles. essentially, the shop would need to have enough npc nobles buying items from it to increase its reputation. however, it should be known that npc nobles had a much greater demand for quality than players. for example, legendary weapons and equipment, which players considered incomparably precious, were only considered products of fine quality in the eyes of npcs. many npc nobles, therefore, disdained purchasing such items. the difficulty of upgrading a 2-star upscale shop to 3-star status was even greater. once at the 2-star status, an upscale shops reputation could only increase if it had enough local great nobles patronizing it. otherwise, its reputation would never reach the 3-star standard. as for reaching the 4-star standard, the shop would need to have great nobles from other cities patronizing it. although much more difficult to accomplish, the benefits of reaching the 4-star standard were game-changing for upscale shops. as previously mentioned, the number of shops an upscale shop could connect with corresponded to its star ranking. at the 1-star standard, an upscale shop could only connect with one other shop. meanwhile, advancing to the 2-star standard would double that connectivity to two shops, and advancing to the 3-star standard would double it again, reaching four. however, upon reaching the 4-star standard, an upscale shop would achieve a substantial leap, being able to connect with up to ten other shops. this improvement would substantially expand the shops operational scale and transform it into a trade hub leagues above 3-star upscale shops. of course, while it would be better to have a 4-star upscale shop, shi feng was already satisfied that he could outright purchase a 3-star upscale shop in luminous sky city. with it, he could save a lot of time and trouble. what are your thoughts, lord count? the npc administrator asked with a smile. as this is the first shop we have made available for auction, bidding will conclude in just 29 hours. if you seek to purchase it but lack the necessary funds, out of consideration for your status as an esteemed 2-star count of holy ring city, we can offer you a loan of up to 500,000 gold, repayable over a week with a 40% interest rate. furthermore, if you succeed in winning the auction but fail to repay the loan, we will confiscate only the shop; no additional fees will be imposed. when shi feng looked at the smiling administrator, he suddenly felt like he had accidentally entered a back alley store. a 40% interest rate meant he needed to pay back 700,000 eternal gold to the city in one week. moreover, even with this loan, he wasnt guaranteed to win the auction auctions for real estate in the eternal realms neutral cities adopted a closed bidding process. additionally, each person could only bid once. once all interested buyers had placed a bid, the winner would be revealed at the end of the auction. in other words, while it was possible that some bidders might have only placed a bid that was one eternal gold higher than the starting price, it was also possible that someone had bid several times higher than the starting price. furthermore, he couldnt simply avoid paying interest, even if he failed to purchase the upscale shop. hed still have to pay every coin he owed. do you wish to proceed with this transaction, lord count? the npc administrator asked with a welcoming smile. fine! ill take the 500,000 gold loan! shi feng said, gritting his teeth. although the risks were indeed great, the potential rewards were too good to pass up. also, ill bid 570,000 gold on this shop! while the npc administrator might have said he should only expect to spend up to 500,000 eternal gold, he wasnt so naive as to bid only at that price. hed be ruined if he failed to win the auction. very well. i have confirmed your bid. we will inform you of the auctions results in 29 hours, so please be patient. after the npc administrator verified shi fengs intent, she handed him a bidding certificate that displayed the auctions remaining time. 29 hours 43 minutes 27 seconds Chapter 3685 - Chapter 759 - The Beginning of Change chapter 759 C the beginning of change luminous sky city, luminous sky auction house: there really are a lot of items sold here. no wonder the various powers back then would have personnel stationed here at all times. while browsing the items consigned by npcs at the auction house, shi feng couldnt help but inwardly sigh in exclamation. in the current greater gods domain, great grandmaster potions were regarded as treasures by the various powers. normally, only a few pseudo-apex and apex powers would sell these potions at their own auction houses. even then, they would only sell in small quantities. yet, such potions were currently available in large quantities in the luminous sky auction house. even craftsman magic array scrolls, which had nearly gone extinct in the greater gods domain, were being sold at the luminous sky auction house. moreover, they numbered several dozen. although they werent enough to form a complete set, so long as players were willing to invest some time and had sufficient eternal coins, it was entirely possible for them to acquire one or even multiple complete sets. at this time, though, shi feng could only look at the items sold at the luminous sky auction house. for the sake of purchasing the upscale shop, not only did he spend most of the eternal coins on him, but he had also taken out a huge loan from the city. with the auction houses noteworthy items being priced in the hundreds or thousands of eternal gold coins, there was nothing he wanted that his remaining funds could afford. lord count, it will cost you 6,000 eternal gold coins to consign these 3,000 fragmented legendary items at our auction house for two days. are you sure you wish to consign them? the beautiful elven npc behind the counter asked shi feng for further confirmation after she finished taking stock of shi fengs items. im sure, shi feng said as he handed his remaining eternal coins to the beautiful elf before him. aside from purchasing large amounts of real estate, his goal in visiting luminous sky city this time was to sell the holy race-exclusive weapons and equipment zero wing had acquired from the sun dynastys holy guard. for human players, holy race-exclusive weapons and equipment were no different than scrap metal. however, as human players couldnt trade with holy race players through the usual means, they normally had to rely on neutral cities to dispose of the holy race-exclusive items they acquired. meanwhile, in the current situation where players had yet to establish shops in neutral cities, the only way to dispose of a large amount of holy race-exclusive weapons and equipment within a short period was through the auction house. although players could also set up a street stall to sell these items, it was a much more time-consuming process. not to mention, many more holy race players and powers could see items sold at the auction house. of course, the auction house wasnt without its flaws. firstly, it charged a hefty processing fee, typically amounting to 25% or more of the products selling price. secondly, it was slow to make payments. unlike sales made through shops and stalls, players wouldnt receive the proceeds of their auction house sales immediately. instead, the auction house would usually withhold the funds for one to two days before transferring them to players. meanwhile, after consigning the 3,000 holy race-exclusive fragmented legendary weapons and equipment, shi feng couldnt help but breathe a sigh of relief. now, all thats left to do is wait and see if my bid will win. if it doesnt, ill end up taking a huge loss this time. looking at the bidding certificate in his hand, shi feng experienced a headache as he was reminded of his debt of 700,000 eternal gold. if possible, he would have preferred to avoid owing money to npcs. however, he couldnt afford to miss the opportunity to secure an upscale shop. although he could have secured more funding by selling off the holy race-exclusive fragmented legendary weapons and equipment, he wasnt certain that the holy race players in luminous sky city could afford to purchase all of his stock before the auction ended. while shi feng was preparing to leave the auction house and familiarize himself with luminous sky city, a system announcement suddenly rang in his ears. universal system announcement: a player has triggered the world main storyline quest oceans sigh. gods domain will undergo a major update. all players will be forcibly logged out in ten minutes. the system update will take one natural day. please prepare to log out. the system announcement repeated three times, stunning every player inside the auction house. a universal system announcement?! what kind of quest is this oceans sigh? if i remember correctly, its already been several centuries since the last universal announcement, right? the various powers executives stared at the system announcement in disbelief. players of gods domain were no strangers to system announcements. this was because system announcements occurred almost constantly in the greater gods domain. however, when it came to gods domains universal system announcements, most players had definitely never heard of them before. only executives of various powers were aware of their existence. in fact, not all executives would necessarily be privy to information about universal system announcements. the system announcements and notifications in gods domain were typically generated according to the reported incidents scope of influence. meanwhile, even across the greater gods domains history, system updates that could affect the entirety of gods domain were few and far between, and each occurrence led to a major event. dammit! how did it get triggered so soon?! shi feng was similarly in disbelief when he received the system announcement. oceans sigh! in his previous life, this was a world main storyline quest that had only been triggered six years after the eternal realms appearance. the quest itself wasnt anything significant. similar to the countless other world main storyline quests that had been triggered across the greater gods domain, the completion of the oceans sigh quest would only result in some changes to one of many gods domains. however, it was a different story for the system update that appeared along with the activation of the oceans sigh quest. in his previous life, this update had struck fear into both human players and holy race players. it had even caused a massive upheaval in the power structure of the human race and the holy races greater gods domains. this was because the major system update would bring about a mutation to the entirety of gods domain! at that time, players of gods domain would no longer be mere players in a game. gods domain would also cease to be just a virtual reality game! system: gods domain will undergo a major system update. you have nine more minutes until you are forcibly logged out. system: do you wish to log out to rest now? while shi feng was in a daze, he received a reminder from the system. log out! upon seeing the notification, shi feng chose to go offline without hesitation. after the major update took place in his previous life, the method of playing gods domain had undergone drastic transformations. meanwhile, one of the new features introduced by the update was soul synchronization. the introduction of soul synchronization transformed gods domain to resemble simulation warfare in the real world. because of this, if players did not have sufficiently high mental strength in the real world, they would lose the ability to use powerful weapons and equipment in gods domain. more importantly, as the name soul synchronization suggested, if players sustained injuries in gods domain, they would also incur injuries to their mental state in the real world. meanwhile, if players wished to quickly recover from these mental injuries, they would need mental recovery potions. due to these two points, the value of mental recovery potions in the real world skyrocketed, their prices inflating by several dozen times. at the time, many powers that did not have a sufficient stockpile of mental recovery potions quickly found themselves returning to square one. Chapter 3686 - Chapter 760 - Soul Synchronization chapter 760 C soul synchronization star lake city, zero wings headquarters: as the virtual gaming cabins heavy hatch slowly opened, shi feng groggily climbed out of the cabin and stood beside it for a few minutes, waiting for his foggy vision to clear. sure enough, the synchronization has already begun. i made the right decision to log out sooner. shi feng wryly smiled as he looked at his somewhat trembling hands. the introduction of soul synchronization rendered many expert players speechless in shi fengs previous life. it was especially so for players equipped with legendary items or above. the mental toll these powerful items had on them was so severe that, even when players did not engage in combat in gods domain, they would still constantly accumulate mental fatigue. this situation led many players who lacked mental strength standards to consider equipping weapons and equipment of lower quality for their daily combat. presently, shi feng had already reached the three-star mental strength grandmaster standard with the help of stardew. if it was only a matter of maintaining three or four legendary items, hed have no trouble doing so. however, the shadow incinerator was a godly relic. even if its actual capabilities were only at the legendary standard right now, the burden of equipping it was no less than that of a divine artifact. as a three-star grandmaster, shi feng could, at most, maintain one divine artifact with his current mental strength. if he equipped any additional legendary weapons or equipment, hed be placing his mental state under constant heavy stress, and it wouldnt take long before he suffered from mental overload. in fact, his current fatigued state was a clear sign of mental overload. if he wished to recover from this state, hed have to either rely on mental recovery potions or rest for a couple of weeks. this situation also forced him to consider whether he should continue using the shadow incinerator. otherwise, even grinding for levels would become a problem in the future. after catching his breath, shi feng made his way to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of life potion. when he consumed it, his mind immediately felt refreshed, and his complexion recovered considerably. after the major system update took effect in his previous life, life potions swiftly became the preferred mental recovery potion in the greater world. although not as potent as meditation potions, which could accelerate mental recovery and aid mental strength development, life potions were much more affordable. hence, whenever the various powers experts sustained injuries in gods domain, they would rely on life potions for mental recovery in the real world. only in urgent situations would players turn to meditation potions for a faster recovery. as a result of this development, the cost of sustaining injuries in gods domain skyrocketed. in fact, due to the major update, it became a trend for players and powers to compete with each other using their stockpile of life and meditation potions. thinking up to this point, shi feng tapped on his quantum watch and contacted xia qingying. miss xia, do you have any channels to acquire life and meditation potions in bulk? shi feng asked, noting through the holographic projection that xia qingying had just climbed out of her virtual gaming cabin. can you specify the exact volume? xia qingying asked, looking at shi feng in confusion. if its only a few thousand or tens of thousands of bottles, you can simply purchase them directly from the star lake legion. im sure star lake citys city lord wouldnt refuse. i need a lot. several million bottles, at the very least. moreover, i need it within 24 hours, shi feng said, nodding. several million? within 24 hours? xia qingying was surprised. is zero wing looking to replace meals with life potions? the availability of life potions and meditation potions was indeed much higher in the greater world than in their homeworld. virtually every mobile city would sell them internally. in the case of life potions, individuals could often acquire them for just 100,000 star coins per bottle. moreover, it wouldnt cost any city contribution points. however, even for the various powers operating in mobile cities, they would only maintain a stable stockpile of several thousand bottles of life and meditation potions. in regards to a sum of several million bottles of life and meditation potions, not even veteran second-tier mobile cities would have that many. can you get them? shi feng asked seriously, not bothering to answer xia qingyings question. xia qingying was a senior vice president of the green god corporation. she had also been developing her forces in the greater world for quite some years already. outside of star lake citys city lord, she was the only person shi feng knew who could potentially acquire such a large volume of life and meditation potions within 24 hours. although feng yiqing, star lake citys city lord, was rather supportive of zero wing, it remained a fact that he was an outsider. conversely, xia qingying was a staunch partner of zero wing. even if she were to discover shi fengs motives after the major system updates effects were revealed, it was unlikely she would divulge his preemptive stockpiling to others. not even the galaxy conglomerate can get you that many in 24 hours, let alone me, xia qingying said with a wry smile. then, after pondering for a moment, she added, but if you were to change your goal to purchasing a production plant for life and meditation potions, i might just be able to help you with that. do you know a seller? shi feng couldnt help but look at xia qingying in surprise. although life and meditation potions were not as valuable as stardew, they still werent products that the average power could manufacture. in fact, simply the recipes to produce life and meditation potions were in high demand among the various powers, let alone the raw materials to produce them. normally, only conglomerates could produce these potions. its one of the blaze conglomerates production plants, xia qingying affirmed, nodding. the seller happens to be someone you knowweilan. shes currently offering 50% of the production plants shares, but her asking price is quite steep. how much is she asking for? shi feng asked. four fragmented divine artifacts or one hundred million units of seven luminaries crystal in the eternal realm xia qingying said awkwardly. fragmented divine artifacts were exceedingly rare. most upper-ranking hegemonic powers did not even own that many outside the eternal realm, let alone inside. as for the alternative price of 100 million units of seven luminaries crystal, although any upper-ranking hegemonic power could afford it outside the eternal realm, acquiring such a sum within the eternal realm was completely out of the question. in essence, those who could afford the production plant had no need for it, while those who needed the production plant couldnt afford it. it is indeed a little expensive. shi feng furrowed his brows slightly when he heard xia qingyings words. while it was true a production plant for life and meditation potions was worth a fortune, due to the limited raw materials, the average production plant could, at most, produce several tens of thousands of bottles a day. if he occupied only 50% of the plants shares, hed be fortunate if he could receive 20,000 bottles a day. based on the current market value of life and meditation potions, 50% of a production plants shares were nowhere near worth 100 million units of seven luminaries crystal in the eternal realm, let alone four fragmented divine artifacts. of course, that would only be true before the oceans sigh quest was triggered. after the major system update, those shares would be worth far more than a complete divine artifact. ive tried advising her before, but she is adamant about this price, xia qingying said, sighing. if she wasnt urgently looking to raise her combat power, she probably wouldnt be selling any shares in the first place. if shes only looking to quickly raise her combat power, can you ask if she might be interested in 1,000 sets of small silver battle array scrolls? i trust that the benefits she can reap from them should be no less than what she can get from 100 million units of seven luminaries crystal, shi feng suggested after giving the matter some thought. a thousand sets of small silver battle array scrolls? are you serious? xia qingying couldnt help but look at shi feng in astonishment. a small silver battle array could let a team of 20 tier 5 players transcend tiers. a thousand sets would be enough to arm an army of 20,000. thatd be akin to transforming 20,000 tier 5 players into 20,000 tier 6 players. in contrast, 100 million units of seven luminaries crystal could, at best, lead to the birth of 1,000 tier 6 players. if only looking at the short term, there was no comparison between the two. tl notes: [1]weilan = billowing wate Chapter 3687 - Chapter 761 - 3-Star Shop chapter 761 C 3-star shop im serious, shi feng said, chuckling at xia qingyings skepticism. so long as miss weilan is fine with this arrangement, i can deliver the goods to her in three days. under normal circumstances, nobody would be willing to trade a thousand sets of small silver battle array scrolls for merely 50% of a production plant for life and meditation potions. after all, the total value of these scrolls far exceeded the value of 100 million units of seven luminaries crystal. moreover, these scrolls were usually in a state of lacking supply. however, in luminous sky city, the supply of small silver battle array scrolls far exceeded demand, so much so that each scroll was only sold for one eternal gold. at this price, it would only cost 20,000 eternal gold to acquire 1,000 full sets. only a fool would refuse to spend 20,000 eternal gold to purchase 50% of a production plant for life and meditation potions. if thats the case, you should have no problems securing this deal, xia qingying said, smiling. ill contact weilan right away. wait for my good news. after saying so, xia qingying hung up the call and proceeded to contact weilan excitedly. subsequently, things proceeded as xia qingying anticipated. before the day was even over, weilan had already decided to take shi fengs offer. she only requested that shi feng deliver the 1,000 sets of small silver battle array scrolls to the crystal city of secrets within three days. meanwhile, as if worried shi feng would regret his decision, she even asked shi feng to sign a gods domain contract with her offline to seal the deal. in response, shi feng gladly obliged weilans request and signed a gods domain contract with her. while shi feng and weilan were finalizing their contract, the various players and powers of gods domain engaged in a heated discussion over the major system update on the official forums. everyone wondered what kind of changes the new update would bring. according to historical records, every major system update in gods domain caused a huge upheaval among gods domains players and powers. many new geniuses and powerhouses have also emerged following these major system updates. for this reason, the various powers promptly began recruiting members en masse. it was especially so for the eternal realms various powers. they all began to offer extravagant benefits to attract new members. this, in turn, caused their member count to skyrocket. guild leader, we are in a bit of trouble this time, gentle snow said, furrowing her brows as she read the latest report she received from her subordinates. not long ago, demons gate issued a bounty on all zero wing members operating in the world ark, and the reward for it was an opportunity to register at demons gates resurrection camp in the core area. however, following the system update, demons gate has added that those who successfully kill zero wings elite members can become normal members of demons gate directly. as for those who manage to kill zero wings main force members, they can even become an internal member of demons gate. how generous of them. shi feng couldnt help but be astonished when he read the detailed report gentle snow had shared with him. demons gate was an apex power of the human race. for this reason, the conditions for joining it were extremely harsh. it was especially so for those who werent selected by demons gate to nurture internally from a young age. to put things into perspective, even the paragons of upper-ranking hegemonic powers would have difficulty joining demons gate. even in shi fengs previous life, where demons gate had an unending feud with zero wing, demons gate had never offered such conditions. once these conditions go into effect, only our main force members can survive in the world ark. everyone else wont be able to step outside the resurrection camp, hidden soul, who stood beside gentle snow, said with a frown. the appearance of the major system update presented the various powers with an opportunity to achieve rapid growth. however, demons gates actions would make it infinitely more difficult for zero wing to recruit members. since demons gate wants to play, well play with them, shi feng said, smiling as he looked at the grim expressions on gentle snow and hidden soul. if demons gate wants to use zero wing as a litmus test, two can play that game. once you go online, immediately spread the news that zero wing is recruiting. the conditions for recruiting will also be simple. anyone who manages to kill an elite member of demons gate can become a normal member of zero wing, while those who manage to kill demons gates core members can become an internal member of zero wing. this gentle snow did not know what to say in response to shi fengs words. demons gate was an apex power and a titanic existence in the greater gods domain. the guild was so wealthy that even pseudo-apex powers could only stare in awe and envy. as for the benefits demons gate offered to its members, they were so tempting that countless paragons wished to join the guild. in contrast, zero wing had only recently made a name for itself in the world ark. even if it would eventually become known that zero wing owned a guild city in the core area, gentle snow doubted it would be enough to tempt many people into killing demons gates members. not to mention, killing an elite member of demons gate would only allow one to become a normal member of zero wing, while killing a core member of demons gate would only allow one to become an internal member of zero wing aside from fools, nobody would take such a deal dont worry. when the time comes, the number of players trying to join zero wing wont be any less than those trying to join demons gate, shi feng said, chuckling. all you need to do is spread the news once you go online. under normal circumstances, shi feng wouldnt have dared to play such a game with demons gate. not even in his previous life would he dare to do such a thing. after all, hed simply be humiliating himself. however, it was a different story now that the major system update had occurred. if it was before the update, the potential benefits players could reap from shadowring town and the ability to travel to luminous sky city could only be considered subpar. but after the update, there would be very few players in the greater gods domain who could resist these benefits. the introduction of soul synchronization not only subjected players to real-world mental consequences from injuries sustained in gods domain, but it also substantially increased their daily expenses. a prime example of this increased expenditure would be the fees players paid to use the battle arena. following the major system update, players would need extensive combat practice to acclimate their fighting styles to the soul synchronization feature. however, it would be incredibly dangerous if they tried to achieve this through engaging in fights with monsters out in the fields. after all, if they sustained injuries, they would need to either consume mental recovery potions or remain offline for a long period to let their damaged mental states recover fully. hence, battle arenas, which provided players with a space where they could spar without having to worry about injuries, became the ideal place for players to adapt to soul synchronization. in the case of the eternal realm, the battle arenas in neutral cities would become their best option. so long as they spent some money, they could spar with even experts from the holy race. and in a situation where everyone was restarting from the same starting line, this would be an opportunity that few players could resist. subsequently, time passed rapidly, and gods domain finished updating in the blink of an eye. at the same time, countless players eagerly logged into gods domain. southern region, luminous sky city: as soon as shi feng came back online, a system notification rang in his ears. system: congratulations! you have successfully won the bid for the 3-star shop and become the first player in luminous sky city to own an upscale shop. rewarding one luminous sky treasure chest. Chapter 3688 - Chapter 762 - Beyond Tier 6 chapter 762 C beyond tier 6 a luminous sky treasure chest? am i dreaming? shi feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes as he read the reward stated in the system notification. there were many kinds of treasure chests in gods domain. of those shi feng knew, the rarest and most valuable ones would have to be the treasure chests given out by neutral cities situated between the human races and the holy races greater gods domains. out in the fields, the best treasure chest players could acquire were legendary treasure chests. they had a minuscule chance of containing a fragmented divine artifact, and all players dreamed of obtaining it. however, when speaking of which was rarer and more precious, the treasure chests given out by the neutral cities situated between the two greater gods domains were superior. of course, that wasnt to say that these neutral city treasure chests were of a higher quality. instead, it was because they contained products of the mythical era. the mythical era was the most prosperous era of the gods. many, many powerful legacies existed at the time, far more than in the current declining era. it was especially so for legacies pertaining to the path beyond tier 6. in the current declining era, the highest achievable tier in gods domain was tier 6. even gods could not surpass this limit. this was also the consensus of all players in gods domain. however, as long as players explored the twelve sanctuaries, they would come to understand one very important facttier 6 was not the end. a perfect example would be primordial gods. based on the various apex powers collected information and analysis, there was no doubt that primordial gods had transcended the limits of tier 6. this was also why primordial gods were vastly stronger than ancient gods. since the upper limit of npcs did not stop at tier 6, it went without saying that tier 6 was not the limit for players, either. it was just that the way to get promoted beyond tier 6 had been lost. presently, after conducting many years of research and investigation in the twelve sanctuaries, the greater gods domains various powers have already found some clues pertaining to the path beyond tier 6. meanwhile, all of these clues led to one point the mythical era! there existed more than one god and human who had surpassed primordial gods during the mythical era. key among them would be the god slayer, an existence who wasnt even a god, yet could slay primordial gods! this was also the result the various apex powers had reached after conducting a joint investigation. during the mythical era, individuals could go beyond tier 6. moreover, there existed more than one way to do so. more specifically, each of the twelve sanctuaries had their own way of going beyond tier 6. this was also why the greater gods domains various powers were desperate to explore the twelve sanctuaries, with some even willing to wage an existential war against those standing in their way. meanwhile, outside the twelve sanctuaries, the eternal realm was one of the few places in the greater gods domain containing fragments of the mythical era. furthermore, the fragments here were even more complete than those found in the twelve sanctuaries. hence, both human powers and holy race powers fought fiercely for control over the eternal realm. to acquire more information on the mythical era, the holy race even tried to take over the twelve sanctuaries of the human races greater gods domain in shi fengs previous life. fortunately, after a desperate struggle, the various human powers managed to stop the invasion by several of the holy races royal powers and chased them out of the twelve sanctuaries. otherwise, the human race would have had an even lower likelihood of going beyond tier 6. meanwhile, the luminous sky treasure chest was one of the few treasure chests that had been passed down from the mythical era, and it contained creations made during that era. in shi fengs previous life. the reason the various powers of both races tried to conquer the eternal realms various cities wasnt just to monopolize the wealth generated by these cities. besides that, a more important reason was to acquire mythical era treasure chests like the luminous sky treasure chest. upon seeing the luminous sky treasure chest appearing in his bag, shi feng quickly suppressed his impulse to open it right here and now. instead, he quietly made his way to his recently acquired upscale shop and activated its defensive barriers, which were made up of densely woven divine patterns. only after ensuring he had isolated himself from the outside world did he carefully take out the treasure chest he had received from the system. to think i would acquire a luminous sky treasure chest from simply purchasing an upscale shop those 770,000 eternal goin coins were money well spent. shi feng fell into a daze as he looked at the crystalline treasure chest before him. divine runes circled the entire treasure chest, and its presence made him feel as if he were standing before an ancient god.[1] originally, he thought the biggest benefit he had gained from his 770,000 eternal gold purchase was the upscale shops 3-star status. however, he now realized that wasnt the case at all. instead, his biggest gain was the luminous sky treasure chest before him. moreover, it was a luminous sky treasure chest that he hadnt known existed in his previous life. in his previous life, he only knew of five luminous sky treasure chests. among them, the holy race acquired two from luminous sky citys treasury when they captured the city, while the rest were acquired by other players through other means. as for how he knew this, it was because of the luminous sky treasure chests presence. unlike ordinary treasure chests, luminous sky treasure chests would exude a divine might rivaling ancient gods, even when unopened. in the presence of an ancient gods divine might, the average tier 6 expert would find themselves crumbling to the ground. hence, whenever a luminous sky treasure chest appeared, everyone within the vicinity would immediately notice it. fortunately, because he had received his luminous sky treasure chest as a system reward, the treasure chest was deposited directly into his bag space. it was also fortunate that it was deposited into his fragmented legendary spatial bag, which prevented the treasure chests divine might from leaking. after calming his excitement, shi feng carefully opened the luminous sky treasure chest. boom! immediately, a black pillar of light rose from the treasure chest and smashed against the shops barriers. each of the shops divine pattern barriers could normally block dozens of attacks from tier 6 players. however, the pillar of light shattered two of these barriers and cracked a third one before dissipating. its destructive power was comparable to an all-out attack from a tier 6 god. meanwhile, once the light dissipated, the treasure chests contents appeared in shi fengs vision. there was only a small book in the treasure chest. at first glance, the booklet looked inconspicuous. however, when shi feng saw the several divine runes imprinted on its cover, his heart began to palpitate, and his breathing turned ragged. no wonder the powers that obtained the five luminous sky treasure chests back then kept a tight lid over what they obtained. an indescribable sense of joy and enthusiasm filled shi fengs eyes as he looked at the booklet before him. a mythical era creation! the booklet before him was the design for a creation from the mythical era! tl notes: [1]770,000 eternal gold: this is after factoring in the 40% interest rate on the 500,000 eternal gold loan. actual money spent on purchasing the upscale shop = 570,000 eternal gold 40% interest on the loan = 200,000 eternal gold total shi feng spent to acquire the upscale shop = 770,000 eternal gold Chapter 3689 - Chapter 763 - Mythical Era Creation chapter 763 C mythical era creation tl notes: made some changes to chapter 753 changed royal powers to royal power. apparently, there is only one royal power operating in the southern region. thank goodness i opened it inside the shop. otherwise, thered no longer be a place for me in any greater gods domain if others learned of this design. while looking at the booklet in the luminous sky treasure chest, shi feng couldnt help but celebrate inwardly. the design recorded in the booklet was for a creation that couldnt be found even in the greater gods domains grand library. it was also an advanced epic construction that he had only seen once in his previous life. the tower of the abyss! it was an advanced epic construction that had caused a frenzy among all players in gods domain. it was also the only advanced epic construction he knew about in his previous life. in gods domain, the constructions players could build were categorized into basic constructions, advanced constructions, peak constructions, and extraordinary constructions. however, in his previous life, one of the holy cities constructed by the holy race housed an advanced epic construction. meanwhile, the name of the advanced epic construction was none other than the tower of the abyss. the tower of the abyss had only one function: to provide players with a place of constant combat. in addition, similar to the world tower, the tower of the abyss was separated into multiple floors that offered players challenges of varying difficulties. however, unlike the world tower, which only had six floors, the tower of the abyss had seven. in addition, unlike the world tower, which provided trials that directly tested a players combat standards, the tower of the abyss provided players with an opponent to fight against. moreover, this opponent could be any player who appeared across gods domains history. in shi fengs previous life, the holy race had relied on the tower of the abyss to spar against countless players and continuously produce monstrously strong players batch after batch. in turn, human players had an increasingly difficult time resisting the holy race. if not for several peerless individuals emerging among the human race, it would have only been a matter of time before the human race was deprived of living space in the eternal realm. what an incredible creation. it can actually record players of all races across gods domain. had the human race gained such existence back then, we wouldnt have been restricted to just operating on the eternal continent. while reading the tower of the abysss general introduction, shi feng couldnt help but be amazed. the highest known combat standard any human player had achieved in his previous life was only the sixth floor. however, that wasnt to say that the sixth-floor standard was the highest achievable combat standard for human players. instead, it was simply because players no longer had a path they could reference for further improvement upon reaching the sixth-floor standard. in fact, human players didnt even have any references when they initially attempted to reach the fifth-floor standard. they had relied entirely on trial and error to achieve it, and they only managed to know they had achieved the fifth-floor standard thanks to the world tower. as for the world tower, it did not provide players with any guidance whatsoever. it merely let players know whether they had reached a certain standard. hence, human players could learn that they had reached the fifth- and sixth-floor standards after their numerous trials and errors. but even the world towers tests would end when players reached the sixth-floor standard. this was because all that existed on the world towers sixth floor was empty space. players would not be given any trials to determine whether they had transcended the sixth-floor standard or taken the wrong path in their journey of self-improvement. however, the tower of the abyss was different. whether it was on the sixth or seventh floors, players could encounter distinct opponents to challenge themselves against. moreover, players wouldnt be limited to just one opponent or a small pool of opponents but all of gods domains players. meanwhile, the difference between having and not having an opponent to train with was night and day. the difference would become even more stark when the opponent came in a large variety. an example of this would be shi fengs home gods domain. before his home gods domain connected with the greater gods domain, the average combat standard of the players there was pitiful when compared to the greater gods domains players. however, once his home gods domain gained access to the greater gods domain, many powerful experts would emerge. some would even make it to the apex of the greater gods domain. while shi feng was thinking about how he should make use of the tower of the abyss, he nearly fainted when he saw the materials needed to construct the advanced epic construction. the main materials needed are 50 tons of divine void sand and 100 ingots of space-time gold? is this a joke? shi feng felt dizzy as he repeatedly inspected the materials listed in the booklet. divine void sand was a very familiar material to the executives of the greater gods domains major powers. in fact, acquiring divine void sand was even easier than procuring most legendary materials. this was because divine void sand could be readily found at the void seas boundary. however, divine void sand was normally measured in units of grams. moreover, as far as shi feng was aware, the total amount of divine void sand that the various powers had extracted from the void seas boundary didnt even reach 1,000 grams. yet, the construction of the tower of the abyss required 50 tons! as for space-time gold, it was a rare divine artifact-ranked material, even in the mythical era. in the modern era, he doubted he could come up with 100 ingots of space-time gold, even if he were to loot the entire greater gods domain. thats not right! if these are the materials needed, how did the holy race construct the tower of the abyss back then? shi feng was utterly perplexed as he looked at the main materials needed to construct the tower of the abyss. shi feng was certain that, as formidable as the holy race was, even they should not think of acquiring 100 ingots of space-time gold from their greater gods domain. after all, divine artifact-ranked materials were imbued with world laws. while not necessarily unique, it should be impossible for more than twenty ingots of space-time gold to exist in a greater gods domain, let alone a hundred. as for the 50 tons of divine void sand, while not impossible to acquire, procuring them would be a monumental undertaking that would necessitate many years of constant effort. however, shi feng distinctly recalled that the holy race had completed the construction of the tower of the abyss within a few years after the eternal realms appearance. with such limited time at their disposal, not even if they plundered the human races greater gods domain could they have procured 50 tons of divine void sand could it be did they construct it using alternative materials? with his experience as a forger, shi feng suddenly thought of a possibility. divine void sand and space-time gold were not without alternatives. based on the research of many forgers, divine void sands primary effect was to gather the power of the void, whereas space-time ingot provided the power of space and time. if it was only a matter of gathering the power of the void and supplying the power of space and time, golden void sand and space-time bloodstones could achieve similar results. golden void sand, though not a common material, was an inferior legendary material produced by the void sea. as for the space-time bloodstone, while it was inferior divine artifact-ranked material, any tier 6 monster related to space and time had a chance of dropping it. consequently, many powers even sold it on the open market for the price of one legendary equipment. although it was always rumored that the tower of the abyss had a seventh floor, no human player could actually verify it. this was because the strongest holy race player ever seen by human players was only at the sixth-floor standard. nobody had ever seen a seventh-floor expert among the holy race. meanwhile, although golden void sand and space-time bloodstones were inferior to divine void sand and space-time gold, they should be enough to meet the requirements to construct a lesser version of the tower of the abyss. the more shi feng pondered over the many details of his previous life, the more he became convinced that the holy race had resorted to alternative materials to construct their tower of the abyss. otherwise, if the holy race had indeed used 100 ingots of space-time gold the mere thought sent shivers down his spine. with the seven luminaries alliances capabilities, it should be able to quickly gather the golden void sand and space-time bloodstones i need. the guild also has over a dozen grandmaster architects, so i can probably try constructing it in shadowring town. when shi feng saw that constructing the tower of the abyss didnt require a lot of technical skills, he decided to contact verdant rainbow to source the needed materials for its construction. the tower of the abyss was akin to a lighthouse that provided a guiding light. it should be known that the current zero wing didnt even have a clear-cut method for achieving the fifth-floor standard, let alone the sixth-floor standard. if zero wing could successfully construct the tower of the abyss, the guild could achieve a leap in standards in no time. Chapter 3690 - Chapter 764 - Crucible of the Ancients chapter 764 C crucible of the ancients golden void sand and space-time bloodstones? looking at shi feng through their video call, verdant rainbow couldnt help but be astonished. guild leader black flame, although these items arent particularly rare, the amount you need is a little too much. it is especially so for the 100 space-time bloodstones. procuring them outside the eternal realm might not be a problem, but importing them will cost a fortune. are you sure you want to buy them? im sure. state your price, shi feng said, nodding. currently, shi fengs only option to procure the main materials for the tower of the abyss was to seek out the seven luminaries alliances assistance. it might be relatively easy for the average power to get their hands on golden void sand as it was only an inferior legendary material, but it was a completely different story for the space-time bloodstones, which were inferior divine artifact materials. only apex powers could acquire 100 space-time bloodstones within a short period. for any other power, it would take them at least a year or more. as for the current zero wing, acquiring space-time bloodstones wasnt even within the realm of possibilities. it should be known that tier 6 monsters related to space and time were highly limited in quantity in every realm. moreover, they were highly contested by the various powers because they dropped space-time magic crystals, which were essential to construct cross-realm teleportation magic arrays. meanwhile, the necessity of cross-realm teleportation magic arrays went without saying. without them, players would have to spend days traveling from one realm to the other, even with the help of a tier 6 legendary flying mount. i can quote you a price cheaper than the going rate for inferior divine artifact materials, but i will accept only eternal coins as payment, verdant rainbow said after pondering for a bit. each space-time bloodstone will cost you 10,000 eternal gold, while every 1,000 grams of golden void sand will cost you 100 eternal gold. based on the amount you need, it will cost you six million eternal gold in total. six million? shi feng was left speechless when he heard verdant rainbows quote. although he had long known that these materials wouldnt come cheap, he never expected it to cost six million eternal gold. this was already enough to purchase a hundred shops and lands in the eternal realms various neutral cities. unless he sold off the sunlight blade or the origin myth, he shouldnt even think of getting his hands on so much money within a short period. its because of the amount of golden void sand you are asking for, guild leader black flame. six million is already the lowest i can go, verdant rainbow said, smiling when she saw the awkward look on shi fengs face. but if you can help me with a small problem, i can let you defer payment for up to ten days after you receive the goods. this is already the limit of what i can do for you. ten days? shi feng was a little tempted by verdant rainbows offer. may i know what it is you need help with, miss rainbow? ten days might not be a lot of time, but if he could get the upscale shop and shadowring town up and running, it should be more than possible to make six million eternal gold in ten days. not to mention, once he constructed the tower of the abyss, earning even sixty million eternal gold would be a piece of cake, let alone six million. i got my hands on an admission ticket for the crucible of the ancients, and i am in need of several experts. so, i hope to form a six-man party with you and two of zero wings level 200-plus experts, verdant rainbow said in a serious tone. so long as we can get through the crucibles preliminaries, i can waive 500,000 eternal gold off your material cost. the crucible of the ancients? are you referring to the continental championship? shi feng couldnt help but be surprised as he looked at verdant rainbow. the crucible of the ancients was a special place in the eternal realm. according to the various npc cities library records, the crucible was also known as a breeding ground of powerhouses. it functioned similarly to a combat arena, allowing players from all over the eternal realm to fight each other in a competition. victors of the crucible would receive a reward from the ancient existences operating it, while losers would be disqualified, and they would have to acquire another admission ticket if they wished to participate in the crucible again. meanwhile, as the admission tickets were scattered across the eternal realms three continents, the crucible became a battleground for players from all continents, which, in turn, earned the crucible the nickname of the continental championship. in response to shi fengs question, verdant rainbow nodded and asked, mhm. are you interested, guild leader black flame? of course! shi feng answered without hesitation. when will admissions begin? in his previous life, zero wing rarely participated in the struggles in the eternal realm, so it never had anything to do with the crucible of the ancients. not to mention, the various apex powers had jointly monopolized the crucible, making it very difficult for other powers to participate in the so-called continental championship. it should be known that the rewards given out by the crucible were extraordinary. moreover, even if players failed to win a reward, simply being able to participate in the continental championship was a massive opportunity in and of itself. after all, the crucible was one of the few places where players could spar with experts of other races without interference. this was very beneficial for those seeking to refine themselves. in fact, the crucible of the ancients was part of why the various apex powers could give birth to so many monsters in his previous life. now that he had an opportunity to take part in it, he naturally couldnt miss it. the next session starts in three days, verdant rainbow said. since you have agreed to my offer, we will meet up in the crystal city of secrets in three days. i will also have your materials delivered to you two days from now. okay, shi feng said before disconnecting the call. after shi feng disconnected the call, the young man, a level 185, tier 6 berserker standing beside verdant rainbow, revealed a look of dissatisfaction. have you lost your mind, rainbow? the berserker youth questioned verdant rainbow angrily. have you forgotten how much trouble elder flood had to go through to get that admission ticket for you? yet, on top of selling all those materials to zero wing at such a bargain price, you are also giving three of the admission tickets slots to zero wing? do you know how big of a price the other apex powers are paying to get a ticket? the crucible of the ancients had already hosted multiple competitions since the eternal realms appearance. thus far, practically all powers that had gotten their hands on an admission ticket would use it to nurture their own geniuses. after all, being able to fairly clash with the paragons of other races was an unbelievably precious opportunity. yet, now, verdant rainbow had given three slots to zero wing for free. her decision was utterly incomprehensible. you do remember that ive already participated in the continental championship more than once, right? also, why do you think the admission tickets have become such a rare commodity in the first place? verdant rainbow calmly looked at the angry berserker youth. then, she moved her gaze toward the various holy race teams operating in the distance and explained, it is because fewer and fewer parties from the human race are making it past the preliminaries. at this rate, the admission tickets the human race receives each session might drop down to less than a handful. if we want to change this situation, we will have to prioritize getting past the preliminaries. understanding verdant rainbows intentions, the berserker youth softened his tone a little as he said, i know that. but why did you have to give a slot to black flame? the holy race might have placed black flame onto their transcendent list, but he is ranked at the very bottom. if you are going to give a slot to someone under level 200, you could have invited demons gates white ghost. like black flame, white ghost is also ranked on the transcendent list. he is also younger and has single-handedly killed one of the scarlet merchant alliances taboo-level existences in direct combat. if it wasnt for his party having bad luck and encountering one of the top 16 parties last session, he could have definitely led his party through the preliminaries. is that so? after glancing at the berserker youth, verdant rainbow shared a video with him and said, take a look for yourself. this is a battle white ghost fought in luminous sky city not long ago. tl notes: [1]please note that there are two sentences that i have deliberately translated vaguely: (a)fewer and fewer parties from the human race are making it past the preliminaries (b)he could have definitely led his party through the preliminaries in these two instances, the raws for preliminaries is Ԥѡһ, which could be interpreted as: (a)first round of the preliminaries (b)preliminaries, a.k.a. the first round of the continental championship i dont have enough details on the continental championship, so i dont know which version is correct. the author could be referring to the first round of the preliminaries, but he could also be padding his word count. Chapter 3691 - Chapter 765 - Abyss Chamber of Commerce chapter 765 C abyss chamber of commerce he died? how is this possible?! when the berserker youth finished watching the battle video verdant rainbow had shared with him, he couldnt help but think it was fake. it should be known that white ghost was one of demons gates six great paragons. he was also an expert ranked on the holy races transcendent list. yet, the video showed white ghost dying to some unknown swordsman in just three moves of course, that wasnt to say that the berserker youth thought that white ghost was invincible and nobody could defeat him. instead, he simply found it unbelievable that anyone could kill the death scythe using only three moves. nothings impossible, verdant rainbow calmly said as she looked at the astonished berserker youth. although demons gates higher-ups have tried to suppress the news of this matter from spreading, it is already known by all within the guild, and many of demons gates experts are currently talking about it. but if thats the case, doesnt that mean this swordsman is as strong as the current generations ten great sword gods? who is he, then? did one of the ten great sword gods accidentally wander into the eternal realm? the berserker youth asked verdant rainbow excitedly. the current generations ten great sword gods were vastly superior to paragons of apex powers like himself. aside from having superior combat standards, they also had a considerable advantage in weapons, equipment, and levels. if one of the current generations ten great sword gods did come to the eternal realm, it would be wonderful news for the human players operating in the eternal realm. do you think thats possible? verdant rainbow said as she rolled her eyes at the berserker youth. of the ten great sword gods, aside from nineteenth sword, who had forcibly lowered his level to enter the eternal realm, the other nine were pillars of their respective guilds. they were usually busy safeguarding locations of great importance, and they would never go on adventures that would put their lives in jeopardy. not to mention, with their strength, even if they were to go on an adventure, their destination would be the twelve sanctuaries. the chances of any of them accidentally entering the eternal realm were close to zero. who is this person, then? the berserker youth grew confused. out of everyone he knew in the eternal realm, he couldnt think of any swordsman who could kill white ghost in three moves. verdant rainbow did not answer the berserker youths question directly. instead, she smiled and asked, why do you think demons gate would suddenly offer others membership for killing zero wings members? are you saying this swordsman is black flame? the berserker youth was in disbelief. admittedly, black flame was very strong. not only did he manage to kill chalk splendor, a holy child of the sun dynasty, but he even made it onto the holy races transcendent list. in the current eternal realm, his strength could already rank at the apex. however, to say that black flame was strong enough to kill white ghost in three moves was not something the berserker youth could readily believe. apart from him, i cant think of anyone else, verdant rainbow said as she looked at the cloaked swordsman in the video. then, she returned her gaze to the berserker youth and continued, werent you questioning his qualifications just now? do you think he is qualified now? the berserker youth fell silent. if the person who had killed white ghost was indeed black flame, having black flame join their party would undeniably increase their chances of getting through the preliminaries. if this is true, he is indeed qualified, the berserker youth admitted. however, he quickly added in a serious tone, but since he has killed white ghost, demons gate absolutely will not spare him. if we invite black flame and his guildmates to the crucible, we will be creating an opportunity for demons gate to snipe three of zero wings top combatants. demons gate will undoubtedly ambush them when they return from the crucible. when that happens, it will look like we are helping demons gate to lure black flame into a trap. i have thought of this possibility, verdant rainbow said nonchalantly. i have already sent someone to hire the order of twelve. although the current orders overall strength is vastly inferior to demons gate, they should have no trouble protecting black flames group. how generous of you when the berserker youth heard verdant rainbows intention to hire the order of twelve, he couldnt help but be astonished. the order of twelve might not have much fame on the eternal continent, but it was one of the few major powers capable of resisting demons gate in the southern region. its top combatants were especially amazing, capable of giving even demons gate a headache. meanwhile, as a gathering of adventurer teams, the order of twelve delved into many fields of business. aside from transporting goods, their primary business was to be mercenaries. however, the order of twelves services were not cheap, especially when it needed to gather enough combatants to fight demons gate on short notice. even if verdant rainbow was a chosen one of the seven luminaries alliance, hiring the order of twelve would still put a dent in her finances. southern region, luminous sky city, outer area: in an alley just a few streets away from luminous sky citys entrance, shi feng quietly approached a dilapidated seven-story building. the building occupied an area of no more than two basketball courts, and it was the most inconspicuous out of all buildings in the alley. even if its location was moved to the main street, it was doubtful any npcs would be willing to visit it. meanwhile, this seven-story building was none other than the 3-star upscale shop shi feng had spent a fortune to acquire. this place is deserted when shi feng stepped into the shop and saw the empty first floor, he suddenly felt as if he were scammed. although he had long known that a shop situated in the citys outer area wouldnt receive much foot traffic, he didnt expect the shop to not even have players visiting it. it was performing even worse than an ordinary shop operated by npcs. the only thing he could feel fortunate about was that the shop came with seven npc staff. moreover, all seven were level 200-plus, tier 5 npcs, so they were just barely strong enough to ensure the shops security. this meant he wouldnt need to recruit npcs to manage the shop. when the seven npc staff saw shi feng entering the shop, they quickly formed a row before him and respectfully awaited his instructions. starting today, your primary task is to procure battle array scrolls at the silver rank or above. purchase silver scrolls for one eternal gold each and advanced silver scrolls for three eternal gold each, shi feng instructed. additionally, organize the fragmented legendary items here and sell them at 90% of the auction houses current market price. understood! when the seven npcs saw shi feng retrieving a bunch of holy race-exclusive fragmented legendary items from his bag, they quickly began appraising their value and setting an appropriate price. when it came to managing store operations, their work efficiency was multitudes greater than that of players. after only half a day, the seven npcs finished appraising all of the nearly 10,000 fragmented legendary items shi feng took out and filled the shops display shelves on all seven floors to the brim. next, shi feng took out stacks of basic and intermediate divine engraving scrolls. these scrolls, totaling 3,000 in number, were the product of zero wings secretly nurtured divine engravers. after working tirelessly day and night, they managed to produce 2,400 basic divine engraving scrolls and 600 intermediate divine engraving scrolls. originally, shi feng had intended for zero wing to accumulate more strength before selling these divine engraving scrolls. however, with the advent of the new era, players were now required to have sufficiently powerful mental strength in the real world if they wished to use weapons and equipment of high quality in gods domain. as a result, epic and fragmented legendary weapons and equipment became the daily driver of many expert players. because of this situation, the value of divine engraving scrolls would skyrocket to unprecedented heights. if he didnt capitalize on this opportunity now, he doubted he would find a similar opportunity in the future. system: you have finished setting up your shop. please rename your shop. note that the designated name will become the shops official name moving forward. since this shop is why i got the tower of the abyss, lets name it the abyss chamber of commerce. after giving the matter some thought, shi feng decided on a new name for the upscale shop. he also handed all authority over the shop to the seven npc staff, letting them manage its daily operations entirely. this, in turn, would reduce the possibility of others forming a link between the shop and zero wing. system: naming successful. the abyss chamber of commerce will officially begin operations in ten seconds. Chapter 3692 - Chapter 766 - Colossal Existence? chapter 766 C colossal existence? tl notes: changed divine pattern scroll to divine engraving scroll to stay consistent with chapters 596 and 603. now, all thats left to do is to wait and see how well these divine engraving scrolls will sell. after seeing the abyss chamber of commerce starting official operations, shi feng grabbed a guild transfer scroll from his bag and teleported back to shadowring town. he dared not spend even a moment longer in luminous sky city for fear of being recognized by others. divine engraving scrolls were considered a lost technology by both the human race and the holy race. any player who could learn divine engraving to an amateur degree would be treated as a vip by the various powers. this would be especially so after the implementation of the major system update. after the major system update, the demand for divine engravers would skyrocket, utterly eclipsing all other subclasses in gods domain. at that time, even players who could produce only unfinished basic divine engraving scrolls would enjoy status rivaling the craftsmen of other subclasses. in his previous life, a large part of why he had invested a lot of effort into researching divine engravings was in the hopes that he could mass-produce basic divine engraving scrolls. that way, zero wing could have the financial capability to resist demons gate. now, having obtained a complete divine engraver legacy and secretly nurtured a large batch of divine engravers, if he let the rest of the world learn of his secrets, it would spell doom for both himself and zero wing. although he didnt intend to sell all 3,000 divine engraving scrolls at once and only intended to display a dozen at a time, it was still enough to cause an uproar in luminous sky city. not to mention, once it became known that the abyss chamber of commerce would be selling divine engraving scrolls long-term, even a fool would understand that there existed divine engravers behind the chamber of commerce. moreover, they should exist in considerable numbers. although neither human nor holy race powers could threaten the abyss chamber of commerces safety in the current luminous sky city, it was a different story for zero wing. destroying the current zero wing wouldnt be a challenging task for apex and royal powers. it was merely a question of intent and whether the endeavor would be worth the effort. hence, for the sake of concealing zero wings connection with the abyss chamber of commerce, not only could shi feng not advertise it, but he also had to keep his distance from it. otherwise, the consequences would be fatal. meanwhile, shortly after shi feng left, many players walking in the nearby street quickly took notice of the newly opened abyss chamber of commerce. hey! theres a player shop there! crap! whos the prodigal who opened up a shop here?! do they not know that the only players who walk by this area are those transporting goods? maybe they selected the wrong shop when finalizing their purchase? the players on the street could clearly tell that the abyss chamber of commerce was a shop that had recently entered private ownership, so they couldnt help but have their curiosity piqued. after all, very few players and powers currently had the ability to purchase a shop in luminous sky city. not to mention, the abyss chamber of commerce was located in a section of the citys outer area that did not house any special constructions. regardless, since it is a player shop, there should be some good stuff for sale, right? lets go and take a look. i wonder if this shop accepts consignments? if it does, i wouldnt mind paying a little extra. due to the current situation in luminous sky city, most players operating there were naturally curious about player shops. this was because only players and powers of extraordinary caliber could qualify to purchase a shop in the city, which, in turn, led to the natural assumption that their shops would offer items of extraordinary quality. while the players on the street were having their discussion, about a dozen players approached the abyss chamber of commerce. of these players, some were from the human race, while some were from the holy race. when these players stepped into the abyss chamber of commerce, all of them were immediately dumbfounded by the scene before them. there were over a hundred display shelves on the first floor, and all of them displayed weapons and equipment that radiated a glow unique to fragmented legendary items. it should be known that while the various powers had many fragmented legendary items in their possession, not even pseudo-apex and apex powers would be willing to sell so many fragmented legendary items to outsiders. in gods domain, fragmented legendary items were considered a strategic resource to any power. because of this, it would already be fortunate if the various powers would be willing to barter their fragmented legendary items, let alone sell them directly for money. although it was still possible to see fragmented legendary items being sold for money from time to time, these were normally sold by adventurer teams or solo experts who couldnt find a use for these items. it was practically impossible to find any shop selling over a hundred fragmented legendary items at a time. however, the surprise of these dozen or so players did not end there. a moment later, they noticed something that blew their minds. divine engraving scrolls! am i hallucinating? crap! its not just basic divine engraving scrolls! there are actually intermediate versions as well! theyre insanely cheap as well! each basic divine engraving scroll only costs 300 eternal gold, while intermediate ones only cost 3,000 eternal gold each! when everyone took a closer look at the twelve glowing scrolls displayed in front of the display shelves and saw the flowing divine runes on them, their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. divine engraving scrolls were considered products of the mythical era in both the human races and the holy races greater gods domains. even in the past, basic divine engraving scrolls, which could strengthen only epic weapons and equipment, were already valued nearly as much as a fragmented legendary item. in the current gods domain, where players needed powerful mental strength to use fragmented legendary items and above, the value of divine engraving scrolls had increased even further, multiplying by several dozen times. nobody move! all of these divine engraving scrolls belong to the ocean whale adventurer team! scram! how dare a second-rate adventurer team spout nonsense in front of the hundred lions nation?! following a brief silence, every player in the shop began to go crazy. whether it was the human players or the holy race players, they immediately sought to snatch all twelve divine engraving scrolls sold by the abyss chamber of commerce and resell them to make a fortune. after all, the value of these divine engraving scrolls wasnt limited to just strengthening weapons and equipment. they also had great research value. however, despite the fuss the players caused, none of them actually had the necessary funds to purchase the divine engraving scrolls. after all, a sum of several thousand eternal gold was not something the average player or power possessed in the current eternal realm. hence, the players in the shop promptly contacted their acquaintances to borrow money. at the same time, they also started to purchase battle array scrolls at the silver rank and above in bulk, thinking of reselling these scrolls to the abyss chamber of commerce to accumulate funds. meanwhile, news of the abyss chamber of commerce selling divine engraving scrolls quickly spread. moreover, as the abyss chamber of commerce was a player shop, the various powers operating in luminous sky city promptly began investigating it, trying to find out which power was behind the generous action of selling divine engraving scrolls for money. eventually, even demons gate and the royal power operating in the southern region joined in the fray, trying to uncover the power behind the abyss chamber of commerce. the two powers had also declared that if the abyss chamber of commerce refused to partner with them, they would make it so it could not do business in luminous sky city. however, instead of receiving a favorable response, the two powers members immediately entered the abyss chamber of commerces blacklist and were permanently forbidden from setting foot into the shops premises. when news of this matter leaked, it caused an uproar across the southern region, causing many players and powers to wonder what kind of colossal existence stood behind the abyss chamber of commerce for it to dare to offend an apex power and a royal power. while the southern region was in an uproar, shi feng, who had just returned to zero wings residence in shadowring town, received a system notification. system: shadowring towns construction is completed. do you wish to remove the seal on the town? Chapter 3693 - Chapter 767 - Towns Debut chapter 767 C towns debut remove the seal! when shi feng saw the system notification, he chose to unseal the town without hesitation. in gods domain, if players did not remove the magic barrier sealing their guild towns, not only would the town be incapable of increasing its popularity, but it also couldnt recruit any npc guards. of course, players didnt really need to worry about their guild towns safety within its 30-day protection period. so long as players werent in a hostile relationship with the local npc ruling power, other players usually wouldnt try to take the town by force during this period. players also wouldnt have to worry too much about the security inside their town as the local npc ruling power would temporarily send a batch of npc guards to patrol the town during the protection period. meanwhile, as soon as shi feng confirmed his decision, the translucent barrier covering shadowring town vanished, and the town itself was no longer invisible when viewed from a distance. the monsters wandering the surrounding forest also noticed shadowring towns presence, and they could attack the town at any moment. aside from monsters, the many player teams grinding in the shadowring basin also noticed shadowring towns appearance right away. there are powerful mana fluctuations coming from over there! what powerful energy fluctuations. did some incredible treasure just reveal itself? a guild town! theres actually a guild town there! when the magic barrier covering shadowring town dissipated, many players sensitive to mana noticed the resulting mana fluctuations and decided to investigate the source. then, they were briefly stunned when they discovered that a town had appeared in the shadowring basin. immediately afterward, though, they began contacting their respective superiors while looking like maniacs. what did you say?! a guild town appeared in the core area?! keep your eye on it! do not move your sight away for even a second! also, try to figure out which power is behind that guild town! investigate the guild towns defenses! if possible, we must capture it before the other powers make their move! the powers that learned of shadowring towns existence promptly gathered their forces. they behaved as if the town was a lamb to the slaughter, and they worried other powers would snatch it from them if they were late by even a moment. meanwhile, shortly after the discovery of shadowring town, news of its existence also reached the soul lake resurrection camp. guild leader black flame, dont you think youve taken too big of a risk this time? you didnt even give us any time to prepare, frey said to shi feng resentfully through their video call. everyone in the world ark already knows about shadowring town by now. aside from the various pseudo-apex powers, the various apex powers have also mobilized their armies to the town. thats right. i have also received information that the two royal powers operating in the world ark have mobilized their forces. by the looks of it, they intend to capture the town by force, garut said as he massaged his aching temples. he never thought shi feng would act so rashly. although shi feng had told them he intended to construct a guild town in the world arks core area, they never expected him to complete construction so soon. moreover, he had even unsealed the town without giving them any prior notice. with the situation as it was, they wouldnt even have time to send reinforcements to the town. it should be known that the world ark was one of the few high-level world mode regional dungeons in the eternal realm. merely the resources available in the inner area were enough to cause the various powers to fight tooth and nail. the value of a guild town in the core area was immeasurable. no power in the eternal realm could resist its allure. they would undoubtedly attempt to capture it, regardless of its protection period. after all, the advantages a core area guild town offered were simply too vast to ignore. whoever owned the guild town could gain a massive lead over all other powers in the world ark. not to mention, now that most of the players operating in the world ark had reached level 180 and beyond, achieving victory against a bunch of level 200-plus, tier 6 npc guards would no longer be a dream. while assaulting the guild town would likely result in substantial casualties, the potential rewards far outweighed the risks. under normal circumstances, so long as zero wing, azure fang, and the red dragon nation were willing to mobilize all their forces, combined with the defensive prowess offered to a guild town during its protection period, it would still be possible for them to defend the guild town. but now, they didnt have even a sliver of a chance to defend shadowring town currently, powers from the human race and the holy race were marching their armies toward shadowring town. even if their three guilds could send some forces to defend the town now, they wouldnt be able to send all their forces immediately, especially not their trump cards that were tied up in other locations. meanwhile, without these trump cards, even resisting the armies of the various human races apex powers would be a dream, let alone the holy races royal powers. you two dont have to worry about this. even if all powers in the current eternal realm gathered, they shouldnt think of capturing shadowring town, shi feng said, chuckling when he saw the worried looks on frey and garut. rather than worry about the town, you two should make sure nobody learns that you own permanent shops and land in shadowring town. otherwise, there is nothing i can do to save you. shi feng naturally understood the consequences of unsealing shadowring town so soon. in fact, he knew much more than frey and garut how crazily the various powers would react to shadowring towns discovery. after all, the various powers of both races had fought intensely over the twelve settlements surrounding holy ring city. the battles had been so intense that some pseudo-apex powers had even been forced to retire from gods domain. are you really confident in defending it, guild leader black flame? frey asked as she stared at shi feng with anxiety and expectation. previously, she had remained skeptical about shi fengs claim of constructing a guild town in the world arks core area. even after formalizing their transaction with a gods domain contract, she still found the matter surreal, and she had braced herself for the possibility of seeing her investment of 25 million units of seven luminaries crystal disappear into thin air. however, after seeing footage of shadowring town, she started to grow fearful. she feared that the opportunity to soar to much greater heights would slip out of her hands. naturally. well, youll know whether i am lying when the time comes. when shi feng saw that frey remained anxious despite his assurance, he decided to offer a simple response before disconnecting the call. after hanging up the video call, shi feng shifted his gaze toward the npc recruitment tab in the town system interface before him. although the current eternal realm remained in its infancy phase, after witnessing the forces the various apex and royal powers possessed, shi feng knew it would be incredibly risky to rely solely on the temporary forces dispatched by holy ring city to defend shadowring town. if the various apex powers and two royal powers operating in the world ark decided to go all out, they could even succeed at capturing one of the weaker neutral cities in the eternal realm, let alone a guild town in its protection period. it was only a question of whether these powers were willing to bear the cost of doing so. fortunately, zero wing had secured the nameless citys treasury, allowing it to obtain a large amount of divine water of life. if used adequately, shadowring town could probably withstand an attack from even an entire royal power, let alone the limited forces the various apex and royal powers currently had in the eternal realm. tl notes: [1]an entire royal power: this is referring to all the forces a royal power has in the holy races greater gods domain. Chapter 3694 - Chapter 768 - Makings of a Paradise chapter 768 C makings of a paradise world ark, shadowring town: sometime after the initial opening of shadowring town, npcs started to show up in large numbers, creating a lively atmosphere in the town. there were so many npcs trying to enter shadowring town that a long line had formed outside the towns entrance, the sight stirring the envy of the various powers members who had come to check out the new town that had appeared in the world arks core area. npc merchants and npc caravans were many players primary income sources. the more npc merchants and npc caravans a guild town possessed, the higher the quantity and quality of quests players could acquire from said town. aside from the individual player, the towns ruling power could also generate more income. this was especially true for a neutral guild town. all of the income generated by the town would belong to the ruling power. furthermore, the town could do business with both the human race and the holy race. it should be known that they were currently in the world ark, one of the few high-level world mode regional dungeons in the eternal realm. the resources available here were far beyond what was available elsewhere. even if shadowring town did nothing but resell race-exclusive weapons and equipment, it could still generate a massive fortune. i wonder which guild is so lucky to secure a guild town in this location. even if we count only those currently gathered, there are already over four million players here. with so many players, the town can probably match a pseudo-apex powers income in the eternal realm simply by collecting some accommodation fees. lucky? it doesnt feel that way to me. there are three apex powers and two royal powers currently eyeing this town. do you think whoevers behind this town can defend it? i guess youre right. i heard that even that peerless chosen one from demons gate is hurrying over here. if the power behind this town is wise, they might be able to keep one or two shops to make some money. but if they refuse to hand the town over, theyll have to face the wrath of three apex powers and two royal powers. as the various powers members observing shadowring town saw more and more players gathering, they couldnt help but grow envious of whoever was the owner of the guild town. after the major system update, combat in gods domain had become significantly more challenging for players. so long as players sustained physical injuries, they would sustain a corresponding degree of mental injuries in the real world. moreover, healing spells were incapable of rectifying this problem. all healing spells would do was help players recover their lost hp and from their physical injuries; they did not help with the mental injuries players sustained. in addition, once players accumulate mental injuries to a certain degree, they would start to have difficulty controlling their in-game characters and ultimately be forced offline. meanwhile, if players wished to quickly recover from their mental injuries, in addition to consuming mental recovery potions offline, it was also crucial for them to rest their gods domain characters inside a town or city. only when both recovery methods were employed could players recover from their mental injuries with the greatest efficiency. not to mention, by resting inside a town or city in the game, players could also relieve the mental fatigue they had accumulated from using their weapons and equipment. this was already something many players had proven from experience. originally, players operating in the world ark would have to make periodic trips to a nearby npc town or city to rest. this was because the world arks resurrection camps could only let players with sufficient mental strength continue fighting. they couldnt enable players to operate in the world ark indefinitely. however, it was a different story for a guild town inside the world ark. the effects of resting in shadowring town would be no different than resting in an npc town neighboring the world ark. so long as players rested in shadowring town, they could quickly resume their exploration of the world ark. moreover, shadowring town could earn money from both human and holy race players. even if the current owner of shadowring town could only retain a shop or a plot of land in the town once the three apex powers and two royal powers intervened, they could still generate a fortune that could earn them the envy of even pseudo-apex powers. while the various powers were enviously looking at shadowring town from a distance, a flash of white light appeared in the sole guild residence inside shadowring town. then, the white light faded to reveal a figure covered by an advanced black cloak. after arriving in the town, the cloaked figure quickly entered stealth and made their way to shadowring towns town hall. although the various powers members were closely monitoring the situation inside shadowring town, none noticed this cloaked figure. guild leader, ive brought the 13,000 bottles of divine water of life you asked for, hidden soul reported after meeting shi feng inside the town hall. then, while retrieving the divine water of life from her bag, she looked toward the npc guards standing behind shi feng and reluctantly asked, are you really going to use all 13,000 bottles on these npc guards? divine water of life was an incomparably rare commodity, even during the mythical era. at present, the various powers regarded it as a priceless treasure, and they would only ever use it on npcs who inherently possessed incredibly high growth potential. however, with shadowring town being only an advanced guild town, there was no way it could attract any npc guards with exceptional growth potential. they could already thank their lucky stars if they managed to recruit a couple of dark-gold guards. meanwhile, the only advantages these npc guards had over zero wings personal guards were their starting levels and tiers. but in terms of growth potential, these npc guards were leagues behind the personal guards zero wings guild members had carefully selected in the eternal realm. dont feel reluctant about it. these strategic resources are meant to be used during moments like this, shi feng said. then, he pointed at the 1,000 npc guards in the town halls lobby and continued, evenly distribute the divine water of life to them. divine water of life was indeed precious. however, compared to having 13,000 bottles of divine water of life, having an advanced town in the current world ark was much better. not to mention, the 1,000 npc guards he recruited possessed far greater growth potential than hidden soul assumed. under normal circumstances, the npc guards an advanced guild town could recruit would indeed be limited in growth potential. however, because of his status as a 2-star count of holy ring city, shadowring town was able to attract some of holy ring citys npc guards. because of this, over 10,000 npc guards had come to apply for a position in shadowring town in only a little more than ten hours. among them, over 700 were level 210-plus, tier 6, while the rest were level 200-plus, tier 5. in addition, of the 700-plus tier 6 npc guards, over 100 were dark-gold npc guards, and 323 were fine-gold npc guards. as for the tier 5 npc guards, 673 were dark-gold npc guards, and one was even an epic npc guard. with such growth potential, these tier 5 npcs would have no trouble advancing to tier 6. after deliberating for a moment, shi feng quickly decided to recruit 100 tier 6 dark-gold npc guards, 300 tier 6 fine-gold npc guards, 599 tier 5 dark-gold npc guards, and the sole tier 5 epic npc guard. although a neutral advanced guild town could recruit up to 4,000 npc guards, considering the cost of hiring these npc guards and the possibility of npc guards with better growth potential appearing in the future, shi feng decided to recruit only one thousand for the time being. not to mention, if he recruited any more, he wouldnt have enough divine water of life to distribute to everyone. by recruiting only 1,000 npc guards, he could distribute 13 bottles to each npc guard, granting them four opportunities to improve their growth potential. this was also the maximum number of improvements he could afford. after receiving shi fengs command, hidden soul quickly distributed the 13,000 bottles of divine water of life to the 1,000 npc guards in the lobby and had them consume everything. Chapter 3695 - Chapter 769 - Shadowring Town Opens chapter 769 C shadowring town opens shadowring town, town hall: as the 1,000 npc guards drank their assigned divine water of life, the density of the mana inside the lobby started to increase rapidly. pillars of mana even began to rise from each npc guard, which, in turn, caused the space within the lobby to shatter. what powerful mana! hidden soul couldnt help but be shocked as she looked at the dark void that had formed before her. how much did these npc guards improve? normally, a tier 6 npcs mana would already be considered powerful if it could shake the surrounding space. as for individuals who could shatter the space around them with their mana alone, they would typically have reached the standard of tier 6 gods already. even then, these npcs wouldnt normally try to shatter their surrounding space using only their mana. this was because it was a huge waste of mana. only individuals who couldnt properly control their mana or used powerful skills and spells would unleash their mana all at once. after all, whether it was npcs or players, neither possessed limitless mana. once they exhausted their mana, the effectiveness of their skills and spells would plummet. however, it should be known the 1,000 npc guards in the lobby were only letting their mana radiate naturally. yet, it was already enough to shatter the surrounding space. the mana was so dense that it made her feel like she had stepped into a muddy swamp their mana is indeed astonishing. it seems they have improved quite significantly, shi feng commented. he was similarly shocked by the npc guards transformation. unlike hidden soul, who had spent most of her life in their home gods domain, shi feng had witnessed many major events in the greater gods domain in his previous life. he had even participated in more than one battle involving hundreds of millions of players between the human race and the holy race. normally, on the greater gods domains battlefronts, where tier 6 npcs could be seen in the millions, a force of 1,000 npc guards would be utterly insignificant. however, it was a different story for the phenomenon of 1,000 npc guards shattering space with only the mana they naturally radiated. even across the greater gods domain, such occurrences were few and far between. at the very least, as far as shi feng could recall, he had only ever seen npc guards with such frightening mana stationed in the holy cities that apex powers and a small minority of pseudo-apex powers used as their main headquarters. however, unlike shadowring town, these holy cities were the product of many years of effort. subsequently, shi feng began inspecting the 1,000 npc guards. incredible! shi feng couldnt help but gasp when he saw the npc guards updated information. each npc guard received 13 bottles of divine water of life, so they had four attempts to improve their growth potential. logically, he should have only distributed three bottles to each npc guard, giving them three improvement attempts. after all, starting from the fourth attempt, the cost of each attempt would increase substantially, with the fourth attempt alone costing ten bottles of divine water of life. even so, shi feng decided to provide these npc guards with an additional attempt, hoping that some of them could exceed the limits of their current rank. fortunately, it would seem he had made the right call, as the effects of the divine water of life far exceeded his expectations. shadowring town started with 100 tier 6 dark-gold guards and 599 tier 5 dark gold guards. while such a force could be considered first-rate outside the eternal realm, there was a lot left to be desired in the eternal realm. but now, out of these 699 dark-gold guards, 634 had advanced into epic guards, 58 had advanced into advanced epic guards, and 7 had advanced into legendary guards! four of these seven npc guards with legendary growth potential were originally at tier 5. however, following the increase in their growth potential, all four of them had advanced to tier 6, making it so that shadowring town now had seven level 210-plus, tier 6 legendary guards. the 300 tier 6 fine-gold guards did not disappoint shi feng, either. all of them had advanced into epic guards, and several were only missing anywhere from two to six points of growth potential before they could become advanced epic guards. its a pity ive already spent all my money. otherwise, i could have equipped them with personalized legendary weapons and equipment rather than standardized ones, increasing their overall strength even further, shi feng thought, faintly sighing as he looked at the 1,000 npc guards who had all achieved epic growth potential and above. although he had equipped the npc guards with legendary weapons and equipment, they were all standardized items. while that might be the best weapons and equipment players would normally equip their npc guards and personal guards with, once npc guards and personal guards reached the epic rank, so long as players were willing to pay the price, they could gear their guards with personalized legendary weapons and equipment. in the eternal realm, a set of personalized legendary weapons and equipment for npcs cost 6,000 eternal gold. while still a hefty sum, it was many times cheaper than the legendary weapons and equipment used by players. meanwhile, compared to standardized legendary weapons and equipment, personalized versions not only provided an additional 15% or more in basic attributes but also increased skill and spell completion rates by 10% or more. such improvements were enough to propel an npc guards combat power to the next level. if any epic guard were to equip a set of personalized legendary weapons and equipment, they could instantly rival six-winged valkyries of the same level in strength. as for advanced epic guards and legendary guards, with a set of personalized legendary weapons and equipment equipped, the former could closely rival gods of the same level, while the latter could stand on equal footing with gods of the same level. under normal circumstances, a force of 934 six-winged valkyries, 58 pseudo-gods, and 7 gods would be enough to threaten even the foundations of an entire realm, let alone the current eternal realm. while shi feng was about to assign patrol routes for the 1,000 npc guards, he suddenly received a call from gentle snow. guild leader, our scouts say that the members of the three apex powers and two royal powers have already arrived at the shadowring basin. their tier 6 members total at more than 60,000. judging by their actions, they seem ready to forcibly capture the town, gentle snow urgently reported with an anxious expression. during this period, zero wing had produced six more level 210-plus, tier 6 experts thanks to the medium world fragment. this put the total number of level 210-plus, tier 6 experts in the guild to 20. with such a force, the guild was already strong enough to withstand a frontal assault from the sun dynasty. however, it was a completely different story if zero wing had to go up against three apex powers and two royal powers simultaneously. there was only so much 20 level 210-plus, tier 6 experts could do with their limited stamina and concentration. not to mention, their opponents this time consisted of over 60,000 tier 6 experts nurtured by apex and royal powers. in front of such a force, even bona fide level 210, tier 6 gods would fall. i got it. shi feng nodded. proceed according to plan. aside from phoenix rains team of ten having to ensure the resurrection camps safety, all other tier 6 members can move into shadowring town. will everything really be alright, guild leader? gentle snow asked worriedly. shadowring town was of utmost importance to zero wings future development. yet, even though three apex powers and two royal powers were currently aiming to capture the town, shi feng had chosen to leave half of zero wings combat power at the soul lake resurrection camp. no matter how gentle snow thought about it, this decision was incredibly reckless. dont worry. there isnt a single power in the current eternal realm that can threaten shadowring town, shi feng said, chuckling. half an hour after his call with gentle snow, shi feng pulled up shadowring towns system interface and chose to open the town to players without hesitation. whats going on? players can enter now? suddenly, the npc guards, who originally prohibited players from entering shadowring town, began permitting entry to players. when the millions of players observing the town from afar saw this, a commotion instantly erupted. Chapter 3696 - Chapter 770 - Apex Gathering chapter 770 C apex gathering world ark, shadowring basin, shadowring town: as the only guild town in the world arks core area, shadowring town quickly attracted over five million human and holy race players within a day after its discovery. among them, over a million were even tier 6 players. if counting only tier 6 players gathered, shadowring town could triumph over every npc city in the eternal realm. meanwhile, following the discovery that shadowring town was now open to players, the atmosphere surrounding the millions of players gathered outside the town reached a boiling point. everyone was eager to be the first to charge into the town. however, even after some time had passed, none of these eager players dared to approach the towns entrance. instead, they remained still as they watched five legions gradually making their way over to the town from a distance. only after these five legions had gathered before the towns entrance did the several million players dare to close in on the town a little. at least these people know their place, chalk splendor, who had already reached level 187, scoffed. while riding atop a voyage train, he cast a disdainful glance with his three eyes at the surrounding several million players. the moment shadowring town was discovered, it was already fated to become the backyard of powers like the sun dynasty. if weaker powers dared to interfere with the towns affairs before the two royal powers and three apex powers reached a conclusion over the towns ownership, they would simply be courting death. splendor, i didnt think you could remain a holy child despite being defeated by a human and losing the sunlight blade. your elder sister must have done a lot of pleading for you, huh? standing on the head of an elven dragon several hundred meters tall, a green-eyed young man from the holy race suddenly poked fun at chalk splendor. venom tail! dont get cocky just because you performed a little better in the last continental championship and secured a holy child position in sovereign mark! do you think you can win a duel against me? chalk splendor responded as he glared at the level 189 green-eyed young man. sovereign mark was a royal power no weaker than the sun dynasty. the two powers had also clashed numerous times in the holy races greater gods domain. on the individual level, chalk splendor had traded blows with venom tail plenty of times before entering the eternal realm. in terms of strength, he was originally above venom tail. hence, he became a holy child much sooner than venom tail did. however, since coming to the eternal realm, venom tail had encountered a lucky opportunity that enabled him to become the first batch of players to participate in the continental championship. meanwhile, thanks to the rewards he earned from the continental championship, not only did venom tail achieve significant improvements in strength, but his status in sovereign mark also skyrocketed. i might consider it if its a duel with daystar, but you? ill pass, venom tail said, chuckling. despite being an esteemed chosen one of a royal power, you actually lost to a human with barely any fame. if i were you, i would have chosen to retire on the spot. you bastard! chalk splendor instantly lost his temper and got ready to attack venom tail when he heard the latters provocation. his loss to black flame was, without a doubt, the biggest sore spot in his life. after all, out of all the royal powers holy children who had entered the eternal realm, he was the first to get killed by a human player. this had caused him to become a joke among the holy race. while venom tail was preparing to engage chalk splendor in battle, the legions of the seven luminaries alliance, demons gate, and the eternal chamber of commerce just so happened to have arrived before shadowring towns entrance, their arrival instantly quelling the urges of the two young men. these damnable humans and their irritable timings chalk splendor cursed under his breath as he coldly looked at verdant rainbow, a chosen one of the seven luminaries alliance and the leader of the three human legions. chalk splendor similarly hated verdant rainbow to the bone. after all, it was only with verdant rainbows assistance that black flame could have killed him. otherwise, with the sunlight blades power, nobody could have killed him. verdant rainbow? i didnt think you would be the one leading the humans this time, venom tail said, smiling as he looked at verdant rainbow. well? are you thinking of interfering with shadowring town as well this time? are you really not afraid sovereign mark will annihilate you all? treasures belong to those who can secure them. the same goes for this town, verdant rainbow calmly said as she looked at sovereign marks nearly 20,000 tier 6 experts. meanwhile, after glancing at the near-30,000 human players behind verdant rainbow, venom tail smiled and asked, what do you propose? all of us will enter the town first. then, we will decide who gets to occupy the town using strength. what do you think? verdant rainbow said as she pointed at shadowring towns opened gates while directing her gaze at venom tail and chalk splendor. it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that any one of the holy races ten royal powers was stronger than even the human races strongest apex power. however, now that the seven luminaries alliance, demons gate, and the eternal chamber of commerce had joined forces, their combined army was only marginally smaller than the sun dynasty and sovereign marks combined army. if both sides decided to fight, the battles outcome could swing either way. not to mention, the sun dynasty and sovereign mark werent the best of friends. the sun dynasty can go along with this arrangement, but on one condition. after recollecting himself, chalk splendor smiled at verdant rainbow and said, the seven luminaries alliance must ensure that it will halt all aid to zero wing from now onward. if you can agree to this condition, i will agree to your condition of exploring the town together. halt all aid to zero wing? verdant rainbow frowned. zero wing? is it the guild of the human who killed our dear chalk splendor? venom tails interest was piqued when he heard chalk splendors condition. if thats the case, sovereign mark will second this condition. a guild that dares embarrass a royal power of the holy race naturally cannot continue to exist. personally, venom tail had no interest in the guild known as zero wing. however, considering the holy races reputation, he wouldnt mind helping chalk splendor get a little revenge. otherwise, the holy children of the holy races royal powers would truly become a joke in the eyes of other powers. we will never just as verdant rainbow was about to refuse chalk splendors condition, the muscular woman behind her suddenly interrupted. miss verdant, dont be so quick to refuse, phoenix flame, a tier 6 berserker from demons gate, said. i think we can agree to these two holy childrens demands. we are only talking about a small guild here. surely, you wouldnt consider having us engage two of the holy races royal powers in mortal combat simply over a small guild, right? are you doing this on purpose, phoenix flame? verdant rainbow glared at phoenix flame, very much dissatisfied by the other partys suggestion. it was already bad enough that chalk splendor was using this opportunity to corner zero wing. she didnt think phoenix flame would do the same as well. hey, it wasnt me who proposed this condition, phoenix flame said, shrugging. i am only suggesting whats best for our three powers. verdant rainbows resolve started to waver after hearing phoenix flames words. although she knew this was nothing but an excuse, she still couldnt help but hesitate. meanwhile, amidst verdant rainbows hesitation, a young man with a slim body like that of a cheetah suddenly spoke up. rainbow, i know you want to support zero wing, but you have to look at the situation, the young man, a tier 6 assassin from the eternal chamber of commerce, said. even if we set aside shadowring town, there is still the continental championship to consider. demons gates assistance will be crucial in the competition. we shouldnt sour relationships between our three powers simply because of zero wing. zero wing isnt worthy of that. not to mention, we are only halting support for zero wing in the world ark. we can simply compensate zero wing with some rewards afterward. after saying so, the assassin youth looked toward venom tail and chalk splendor, saying, i, fallen dragon, agree to your condition on behalf of the three apex powers here. i hope you two can keep your promise! naturally, venom tail said, chuckling nonchalantly. chalk splendor also nodded in response. subsequently, the five powers concluded their discussions and marched their armies into shadowring town. Chapter 3697 - Chapter 771 - Gods Aplenty chapter 771 C gods aplenty shadowring basin, shadowring town: theyve gone in! i didnt think these five powers would join forces. with this, there really isnt anything left for us to do here. i wonder if theyll open the town to the public after capturing it? i sure hope they do. when the human players and holy race players observing from the surroundings saw the legions of the three apex powers and two royal powers entering the town together, some were disappointed, some were happy, and some were expectant. if it werent for the presence of these five powers, they would have long charged into shadowring town to explore it. if possible, they would also do everything they could to contact the towns ruling power and try to lease shops and land from them. but with the five powers intervention, nobody sought to get in touch with shadowring towns ruling power anymore. after all, the towns ownership was destined to change. before the five powers gained control over the town, any action the rest of them took in the town would bring them no benefit. on the contrary, they might even earn themselves the five powers ire. meanwhile, inside shadowring town the moment verdant rainbow and the other four powers leaders stepped into shadowring town, they were all shocked by the state of the towns main street. people could be seen coming and going on the towns relatively narrow main street, and many 3-star npc merchants could be seen setting up stalls selling rare items. there were even npcs of mythical era races wandering around on the street. mythical era races! whether it was human players or holy race players, they all sought to convert to a mythical era race and gain talent far beyond the imagination of modern races. yet, whether it was in their respective greater gods domains or the eternal realm, the seven luminaries alliance, demons gate, the eternal chamber of commerce, the sun dynasty, and sovereign mark had never encountered any npc of a mythical era race, let alone the method to convert into such a race. they only knew that mythical era races existed in holy ring city. but now, not only did they manage to see npcs of mythical era races inside shadowring town, but nearly 10% of the towns npc population was made up of such npcs. how could they not be surprised? gold! ive struck gold! chalk splendors eyes were shining as he looked at the npcs walking on the street. while converting to a mythical era race remained out of sight for current players, it was a different story for recruiting npcs of mythical era races as personal guards. so long as an npc was spotted inside a town or city, players could recruit them as a personal guard. if he could recruit npcs with high growth potential and were of mythical era races, it would definitely help pave a smooth road for his future. it would be even better if he could form a legion of such npcs. with such a legion under his command, nobody could stand in his way. after all, the strength ceiling for mythical era races was undoubtedly higher than that of modern races. in a situation where everyone couldnt progress beyond tier 6, it went without saying those of mythical era races would triumph in a fight. this town must belong to sovereign mark! when venom tail saw the npcs of mythical era races around him, he promptly issued an order to his subordinate, pass down my command! i want everyone to hurry over to the town hall immediately! we must snatch the town token before everyone else! at the same time, verdant rainbow, phoenix flame, and fallen dragon similarly commanded their forces to charge toward shadowring towns town hall, no one having any interest in surveying the town any longer. if they wanted to recruit npcs of mythical era races as personal guards, the best way to do so would be to first become the ruler of shadowring town. after all, npcs in gods domain were intelligent, with some being even more intelligent than players. hence, recruiting npcs was a difficult process, and players would typically need some sort of prestigious status to increase their chances of success. meanwhile, the only way to become a guild towns ruler would be to secure the town token, which would typically be stored in the town hall. the towns owner could also be carrying the town token, but the possibility was low. this was because the town token could not be taken out of the town. so, rather than needlessly moving the town token around and exposing it to greater risks, keeping it stored in the town hall under the constant security of npc guards would be much safer. subsequently, the five powers 60,000-plus tier 6 experts could be seen charging toward the center of shadowring town like a bunch of madmen. however, just as they were about to reach the town hall, verdant rainbow and the others suddenly stopped running as they had their attention drawn toward the teleportation hall erected in the town center. and while staring at the majestic teleportation array constructed inside the teleportation hall, they couldnt help but reveal dumbfounded expressions. am i dreaming? verdant rainbow was filled with disbelief as she looked at the scene displayed on the other end of the teleportation array. this town is directly connected to luminous sky city? luminous sky city was the number one neutral city in the eternal realms southern region. not only did it possess precious resources that couldnt be found on the eternal continent, but it also served as a crucial route connecting the eternal continent and the western continent. presently, all apex powers had already dispatched personnel to establish a base of operations in luminous sky city. however, as the southern region was far away from the eternal continent, making it tedious to reach, even the seven luminaries alliance could only afford to send a limited number of members to develop there. it was also because of this situation that demons gate, having the ability to transport players from outside the eternal realm directly to the southern region, could rule over the southern region with an iron fist, becoming the envy of the other apex powers. yet, it was now revealed that they could teleport directly to luminous sky city via a town in the world ark this town must belong to demons gate! when phoenix flame saw shadowring towns teleportation hall, greed colored her eyes, and her breathing quickened. as someone who frequently traveled between the eternal continent and the southern region, phoenix flame knew how difficult it was to transport players between these two places. in addition to being time-consuming, it also cost a lot of money and resources. if conducted on a large scale, even apex powers would wince at the cost. however, the cost to teleport from shadowring town to luminous sky city was only a meager 600 units of seven luminaries crystal! this was an absolute bargain! thinking up to this point, the five powers tier 6 experts resumed their charge toward the town hall with even greater haste. in less than thirty seconds, venom tail, chalk splendor, verdant rainbow, phoenix flame, and fallen dragon arrived in front of shadowring towns town hall. the 60,000-plus tier 6 experts also caught up to them in short order, looking ready to fight. meanwhile, just when venom tails group of five had opened the doors to the town hall and were about to command their forces to demolish the building, the 1,000 npc guards, who were still waiting to receive their assignments, turned around simultaneously to look at the five individuals. heavy! suffocating! the instant the doors opened, mana of unbelievable density gushed out of the town hall, washing over everyone outside the building and transforming the surrounding space into a dark void. standing in the presence of this mana, none of the level 180-plus, tier 6 experts outside the town hall could move their bodies, and they couldnt help but feel as if a group of gods from primordial times had descended upon the world again Chapter 3698 - Chapter 772 - Zero Wings Town? chapter 772 C zero wings town? god-ranked npc guards? how is this possible?! this is madness! how can a mere town have so many epic and legendary npc guards?! i must be hallucinating! yes! this must be a hallucination! a moment after opening the doors to the town hall, venom tail, phoenix flame, and the other leaders of the five powers simultaneously closed the doors again out of instinct. likewise, none of them could bring themselves to believe what they had just seen was real. there was no way shadowring town, a guild town that had been constructed only recently, could have a thousand npc guards with epic potential and above. not to mention, they had even spotted numerous advanced epic npc guards capable of rivaling level 210, tier 6 gods and seven npc guards who had made them experience the threat of death it should be known that all five of them were wielders of divine artifacts. if even they felt that their lives were in jeopardy, the only explanation was that these seven npc guards had legendary potential. seven legendary npc guards? seven?! even with decades of development, a holy city wouldnt be able to recruit so many npc guards with legendary potential, let alone an advanced town! unlike the recruitment of personal guards, the recruitment of npc guards for a town or city could only be done within the town or city itself. this situation placed a huge restriction on the pool of npcs that players could choose from. however, in return for this restriction, the npc guards of towns and cities could inherently form battle arrays while fighting inside the town or city where they belonged. the strength of these battle arrays would also increase with the number, strength, and growth potential of the npc guards involved. under normal circumstances, a six-man party of dark-gold npc guards could inherently form a small advanced bronze battle array and trade blows with a dragon of the same tier and level. if they were epic npc guards, they could form a small silver battle array and clash with a god of the same level and tier. in the case of tier 6 legendary npc guards, if six of them worked together, they could fight ancient gods of the same level and tier! although the majority of the epic npc guards inside the town hall were at tier 5, if they fought in units of 100, they could inherently form a medium silver battle array that could elevate their individual strength to the tier 6 standard. and if all 1,000 npc guards in the town hall came together to form a large battle array, they would become an even more frightening entity. this was also why, even though the number of npc guards that guild towns and cities could recruit was much fewer than the player population they could accommodate, they remained a force to be feared. it should be known a force of 60,000 level 180-plus, tier 6 players would be nothing but cannon fodder in front of a level 200 ancient god, let alone seven legendary npc guards who could come together to exhibit combat power rivaling a level 210-plus ancient god. my anxiety to get here must have caused me to hallucinate. yes, that must be it. after taking a few deep breaths, venom tail reopened the doors to the town hall. when the heavy doors creaked open, the same intense mana gushed out of the town hall once more. likewise, the 1,000 npc guards from before remained standing inside the building, their faces colored with bewilderment as they stared at the players outside. though the npc guards gazes did not carry hostility, the players outside couldnt help but feel like helpless prey who had stumbled into a tigers den. verdant rainbow! care to explain?! venom tail growled, his voice laced with underlying anger and frustration, once he was certain he wasnt hallucinating. seven legendary and fifty-eight advanced epic npc guards! which one of your apex powers is behind this tasteless prank?! all 1,000 npc guards were of the human race, making it almost certain that a human was behind shadowring towns construction. after all, if a member of the holy race had constructed shadowring town, the npc guards they recruited would normally be of the holy race as well. based on sovereign marks research of the human race, only apex powers could possibly construct a guild town of such caliber in the current eternal realm. if venom tail wasnt certain that no royal-level powers existed among the human race, he would have assumed that a royal power from the human race was behind this prank. after all, so long as a royal power was willing, it could confidently defend a single guild town in the eternal realm. it was only a matter of how the royal power chose to do so. had the unknown human apex power behind shadowring town declared it would defend its town to the bitter end from the onset, sovereign mark would have never bothered to come here with such a large force, wasting a significant amount of manpower and resources in the process. i wish i knew, verdant rainbow said, wryly smiling as she looked at venom tails angry expression. the human race boasted fewer than ten apex powers. of them, only the seven luminaries alliance, demons gate, and the eternal chamber of commerce were operating in the world ark. if a fourth apex power truly was operating in the world ark, it was inconceivable that the seven luminaries alliance, with its extensive connections and intelligence gathering capabilities, would remain ignorant about it. not to mention, all human powers belonged to the same camp. if the seven luminaries alliance knew a human power was behind shadowring towns construction, it would never have hastily deployed its forces to seize the town for fear of it falling into the holy races control. instead, it would have sought partnership with said human power. when venom tail saw genuine confusion on verdant rainbows face, he turned his gaze toward phoenix flame and fallen dragon, only to find them similarly at a loss. evidently, none of the three human powers here knew who was behind this guild town. as the five powers members were speculating about the human apex power behind shadowring town, a deep voice echoed in the town halls lobby, startling everyone present. what brings you all to the town hall today? upon hearing this voice, everyone present turned toward the source in unison. there, they saw a level 190, tier 6 swordsman wearing a six-winged emblem on his chest. the swordsman did not have any sense of presence, giving off the feeling that he did not exist. if the swordsman hadnt taken the initiative to speak up, nobody would have noticed him. guild leader black flame? verdant rainbow was instantly dumbfounded when she saw the swordsmans face. it should be known that not even the seven luminaries alliance could muster seven legendary, fifty-eight advanced epic, and over nine hundred epic npc guards in the current eternal realm. the state of shadowring town even led her to suspect an unknown apex power, or possibly even a royal power, might be hiding among the human race. however, of all the possibilities she imagined, she never thought that the owner of shadowring town would be how can this be? this town belongs to zero wing? verdant rainbow wasnt the only one dumbfounded. chalk splendor, who had met shi feng in the past, and phoenix flame, who had watched shi fengs battle video, were equally bewildered by this unexpected revelation. Chapter 3699 - Chapter 773 - Fearless chapter 773 C fearless black flame? are you zero wings guild leader black flame? when venom tail and fallen dragon heard the words of chalk splendor and verdant rainbow, they reacted with skepticism, and they couldnt help but feel like the two were playing a joke on them. setting aside how an upstart guild like zero wing could construct a guild town in the world arks core area, how were they supposed to believe zero wing could recruit 1,000 npc guards of epic potential and above? even the average apex power would find it nigh-impossible to accomplish such a feat. thats right. i am black flame, shi feng said, finding venom tail and fallen dragons need to verify his identity a little exasperating. if all you are here to do is play some name-calling game, please find someone else to entertain you. as soon as shi feng finished speaking, the 1,000 npc guards behind him advanced on venom tail and the others in unison. they evidently got the hint that shi feng was looking to drive these uninvited guests away. the 1,000 npc guards gave off the feeling of 1,000 gods as they advanced on venom tails group, their intimidating presence causing the five powers experts to retreat subconsciously. at first glance, the five powers 60,000-plus tier 6 experts might seem terrifying. however, they would fare no differently than ants before a human if they tried to fight against these 1,000 level 210-plus npc guards. theyd be especially fragile in front of the seven legendary npc guards. if these seven legendary npc guards fought as a group within the confines of shadowring town, theyd be as strong as an ancient god of the same level. merely the divine might they radiated could immobilize most tier 6 players. hold on a second, guild leader black flame! when venom tail saw the npc guards about to take action, he hurriedly called out to shi feng and said, i am venom tail, a holy child of the sovereign mark guild! i come here bearing only good intentions to seek partnership with zero wing! as soon as venom tail finished speaking, chalk splendor, verdant rainbow, phoenix flame, and fallen dragon cast a look of contempt at him in unison. before entering shadowring town, venom tail was very supportive of chalk splendors proposal to target zero wing. in fact, if it werent for venom tails agreement, chalk splendor could have never gotten verdant rainbow to agree to halt all support the seven luminaries alliance provided to zero wing in the world ark. yet, as soon as venom tail saw that capturing shadowring town was no longer possible and that zero wing was the towns ruling power, he instantly changed tunes, proposing to cooperate with zero wing. the extent of his shamelessness was so astonishing that it could even be considered admirable. you say you come with good intentions? shi feng asked, his gaze indifferent as he swept over the nearly 20,000 sovereign mark members behind venom tail. and you demonstrate it by encircling the town hall with such a large force of tier 6 experts? a misunderstanding! its all a misunderstanding! venom tail said, chuckling. sovereign mark might have brought a lot of members here, but havent the four other powers here done the same? the treasures in gods domain have always gone to those with capabilities. as the leader of a guild, i am sure you are aware of this, mr. black flame. now that zero wing has proven itself capable of protecting shadowring town, it has naturally become the ideal partner for sovereign mark. while making up excuses, venom tail couldnt help but regret his hasty decision to support chalk splendors proposal. shadowring town was akin to a mountain of gold. whether it was the ability to recruit npcs of mythical era races as personal guards or the ability to teleport directly to luminous sky city, both could bring immense wealth and benefits to sovereign mark. in a situation where sovereign mark lacked the strength to seize shadowring town, the next best option would naturally be to partner with zero wing. but now, sovereign mark had already offended zero wing if sovereign mark was permanently banned from shadowring town because of this, its competitiveness in the world ark would undoubtedly plummet. what you say is right, but arent you forgetting something? have you forgotten how you forced the seven luminaries alliance to stop supporting zero wing in the world ark? when chalk splendor saw venom tail shifting the topic, he unceremoniously exposed the other partys true colors. the sun dynasty and sovereign mark were rivals. if he allowed sovereign mark to benefit from shadowring town, he might as well say goodbye to his status as a holy child of the sun dynasty. as for seeking a partnership from zero wing himself? not even for a moment did chalk splendor humor the thought. he did not think that shi feng would ever partner with the sun dynasty after the bounty the sun dynasty had placed on him. he also personally wished for shi fengs demise, so he would naturally favor seeing zero wing have as many enemies as possible. splendor, you! venom tail glared at chalk splendor. if he could establish a partnership with zero wing and purchase a few shops and land permanently, it would definitely earn him significant merits in sovereign mark. but now, it was all ruined. subsequently, venom tail returned his gaze toward shi feng, but his attitude was no longer friendly like before. since the cats out of the bag, ill cut to the chase, venom tail said. then, glancing outside the town, he threatened, the holy race currently holds the upper hand in the world ark. sovereign mark and the sun dynasty also hold significant influence over the holy race members operating here. since you have already offended the sun dynasty previously, if you offend sovereign mark as well, your town will most likely have trouble operating in the future. upon hearing venom tails words, chalk splendor couldnt help but gnash his teeth angrily. the sun dynasty and sovereign mark indeed held significant influence over the holy races various powers and players operating inside the world ark. if zero wing refused to partner with sovereign mark, it was unlikely any holy race player would set foot into shadowring town in the future. currently, shadowring towns greatest advantage was its ability to enable trade between human players and holy race players. if no holy race players visited, the town would instantly lose its greatest advantage. so long as shi feng didnt have a few screws loose in his head, he wouldnt turn down this transaction. seeing this situation, phoenix flame also started to grow anxious. prior to this, demons gate had already placed a public bounty on zero wing across the entire eternal realm. it had even used its guild membership as a reward to convince more players to attempt the bounty. although zero wing had retaliated by similarly placing a bounty on demons gate, everyone merely treated it as a joke. after all, the difference in value between the two guilds membership was night and day. however, it was a completely different story following shadowring towns appearance. setting aside the various benefits shadowring town offered, so long as zero wing established a partnership with sovereign mark, a royal power of the holy race, its status in the eternal realm would skyrocket. zero wing might even be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with demons gate. after factoring in shadowring towns connection with luminous sky city, if zero wing had sovereign marks assistance, it might come to gain absolute authority over a significant portion of the southern region. if that happened, demons gate would be in deep trouble. while phoenix flame was worried about demons gates future, shi fengs voice echoed across the town hall once more. i see that sovereign mark is as domineering as always, shi feng said, chuckling when confronted with venom tails threat. unfortunately, your threats are meaningless. whether it is the sun dynasty or sovereign mark, zero wing has never intended to partner with any holy race power. if you only want to trade, zero wing will welcome it. but if you want to supplant zero wing, zero wing wouldnt mind having a few more enemies! Chapter 3700 - Chapter 774 - Astonishing Profits chapter 774 C astonishing profits world ark, shadowring town: why have they all come out? do the five powers not plan on capturing this town? it cant be, right? this is the only guild town in the core area. if taken advantage of properly, you can make a fortune from collecting rent alone. not to mention, the town can facilitate trade between the two races. how can the five powers possibly give up on it? the millions of players observing shadowring town from a distance immediately engaged in a heated discussion when they saw the tier 6 experts of the two royal powers and three apex powers exiting the town. they couldnt believe the five powers would give up on a treasure trove like shadowring town. admittedly, the player population shadowring town could accommodate paled compared to npc cities. as an advanced town, shadowring town could only accommodate up to two million players at a time, which was a far cry from npc cities that could accommodate tens of millions of players. however, shadowring town was a guild town. this meant that the towns ruling power could keep all the profits generated by the town; they wouldnt need to pay a hefty tax to npcs. hence, even if shadowring town only had a stable player population of two million, the income it could generate would easily exceed that of shops in npc cities. inside an advanced tent situated roughly a thousand yards away from shadowring town a group of tier 6 players wearing the skylight associations guild emblem revealed astonished looks when they saw a female berserker, whose body was as robust as a bear, walking out of shadowring town. elder sword, what do you think is going on? setting the holy race aside, even that phoenix flame has come out, milia, who had risen to level 182, asked as she looked at nineteenth sword, who was currently at level 184, tier 6. nineteenth sword was one of the greater gods domains ten great sword gods, and he had risen to fame for quite some years now. although he had mostly been operating as an independent player in the past, he had many disciples among the various powers. among these disciples was phoenix flame, one of demons gates current six great paragons. furthermore, she was among the most outstanding disciples nineteenth sword had nurtured in recent years, and there was hope that she would catch up to spear paradise in the future. hence, if milia had to point out who in the skylight association was the most familiar with phoenix flame, it would definitely have to be nineteenth sword. it is indeed strange, nineteenth sword muttered, a hint of confusion appearing in his sharp gaze. although it has been quite a while since i last saw phoenix flame, that little girl has always been impatient and does things without regard for the consequences. she must have gone out of her way to come to seize shadowring town this time, so i find it hard to imagine she would leave without doing anything. could the power behind shadowring town be an existence even demons gate is wary of provoking? milia asked. while she might not know much about the two royal powers from the holy race, demons gates modus operandi was known by all among the human race. considering shadowring towns significance, she could think of only one explanation as to why demons gate would walk away without a fight: it could not afford to provoke shadowring town. thats a likely possibility, nineteenth sword said with a pondering look. then, he moved his gaze toward shadowring town and continued, but this is good news for the skylight association. the withdrawal of the five powers signifies that even they are powerless against shadowring town. previously, the five powers held an overwhelming advantage in the core area due to their resurrection camps, but with shadowring towns appearance, we can have a chance at catching up with the five powers exploration teams. if we can partner with the power behind shadowring town, we might even be able to surpass the five powers exploration progress! nineteenth swords words excited milia and the other skylight association members present. although the various powers currently already had the ability to explore the world arks core area, compared to the two royal powers and three apex powers, who all owned resurrection camps in the core area, their accomplishments in the core area could only be considered pitiful. moreover, whenever they encountered the five powers members, they always had to step aside. even when regional bosses, treasure chests, and monster respawn points were right before them, they still had to surrender everything to the five powers. otherwise, should a fight break out, the consequences would not be something that they, powers without resurrection camps in the core area, could bear. however, it was a different story now that shadowring town had appeared. not only could they register to resurrect in shadowring town, but they could also rely on the town to thoroughly recuperate. most importantly, since even the five powers were powerless to do anything about shadowring town, other powers could start to oppose the five powers teams out in the fields without fearing losing their foothold in the core area. at this time, the skylight association wasnt the only one with such thoughts. the other powers and adventurer teams present to see the five powers defeat also came to a similar conclusion. because of this, as soon as the five powers members disappeared into the distance, every player gathered outside shadowring town charged into the town without hesitation. everyone was focused on renting hotel rooms or finding out how to rent shops and private houses in the town. in less than half an hour, the hotels, restaurants, and shops of shadowring town became fully packed with players. the situation on the streets was also remarkable, with endless crowds walking along the streets and player stalls popping up one after another. madness! this is simply madness! it costs one eternal gold every 24 hours to rent a stall space here, yet not a single unoccupied space remains! the profits this town can rake in a day from stall rental alone can probably already match the apex powers daily income! while strolling the streets of shadowring town, frey couldnt help but be stupefied when she saw that player stalls lined every corner of every street. normally, in an npc city with a player population in the tens of millions, the number of player stalls in the city would, at best, amount to several tens of thousands. however, despite shadowring town having a player population of just two million, over 200,000 players were setting up stalls here. moreover, unlike npc cities, which charged a mere two or three eternal silver per day for street stalls, shadowring town demanded a hefty one eternal gold every 24 hours. this translated to over 400,000 eternal gold in a gods domain day, a staggering sum far beyond the reach of even the strongest of pseudo-apex powers in the current eternal realm. only apex powers could possibly achieve such a daily income. it is indeed astonishing. garut agreed with freys sentiment while looking at the many stalls operated by holy race players. although ive long known the town would prosper once it opens, i never thought it would reach such a frightening extent. if we hadnt signed a contract with zero wing early on, we might not even have the qualifications to compete for a shop in shadowring town. frey nodded in agreement, a feeling of delight spreading within her. when considering shadowring towns future promotion, the town needed to have many npc merchants establish operations here. because of this, there were only so many shops the town could rent out to players. although the red dragon nation and azure fang were pseudo-apex powers, their chances of winning would be slim if they had to compete fairly over shadowring towns shops. it would be even more so if they included holy race powers in the competition. after all, the holy race was vastly superior to the human race in numbers and strength. their royal powers alone numbered as many as ten, while their apex and pseudo-apex powers outnumbered that of the human race by several times. if all these powers were allowed to compete for shadowring towns shops, the red dragon nation and azure fangs chances of winning would be virtually non-existent. shadowring town, town hall, vip lounge: guild leader black flame, we are likely to face a lot more trouble at the crucible of the ancients now that you have chased away venom tail and the others, verdant rainbow said, wryly smiling as she looked at shi feng. in addition to the sun dynasty, sovereign mark, and demons gate, shi feng had also permanently blacklisted the eternal chamber of commerce for trying to seize shadowring town. from this point onward, so long as any member of these powers dared to set foot into shadowring town, the towns npc guards would kill them on the spot. fortunately, she had established a partnership with zero wing prior to this situation. otherwise, even the seven luminaries alliance would have most likely received a similar treatment as the four other powers. Chapter 3701 - Chapter 775 - Clue Pertaining to the Road Beyond Tier 6 chapter 775 C clue pertaining to the road beyond tier 6 please rest assured, miss rainbow. since we have already accepted your offer, we will not disappoint you, shi feng said with a smile. although it will become a little tougher without the help of eternal chamber of commerces and demons gates parties, even without their help, zero wing can still help you get past the preliminaries. in essence, the continental championship was a clash for hegemony between three races. because of this, participating parties usually needed to rely on other parties of the same race if they wanted to survive the chaotic preliminaries. with the eternal chamber of commerce and demons gate being apex powers, they definitely had some admission tickets, and receiving help from their parties would undoubtedly save a lot of trouble. however, so long as their party boasted sufficiently strong members, they could still conquer the preliminaries, even without the help of others. i am aware of the strength zero wing has displayed in the defense against the sun dynastys holy guard. seeing shi fengs nonchalance, verdant rainbow couldnt help but sigh as she shared a document with him and said, but the preliminaries this time will no longer be the same as before. the major system update has brought a change to the continental championships rules. i was originally thinking of informing you about this after my trip to shadowring town, but since you are here, have a look at the updated rules. participating players will now have their levels suppressed to the average? when shi feng saw the updated continental championship rules, his expression on his face remained unchanged. in his previous life, the continental championships rules had indeed changed after the major system update. more specifically, all participants would have their levels equalized, making it so that the championship placed more emphasis on individual combat standards. thats right. verdant rainbow nodded with a frown. because of this new rule, players who exceed the average level will no longer have an advantage. all participants can rely only on their individual combat standards to achieve victory. the main reason she extended an invitation to zero wing previously was to capitalize on zero wings level 200-plus members. with the level advantage these zero wing members had, they could easily overwhelm their opponents and get through the preliminaries. after all, the advantages given to players at level 200 could not be overcome easily. not to mention, zero wing had experts at level 210 and above. however, her plan thoroughly fell into ruins following the introduction of the new rule. in terms of combat standards, zero wings level 210-plus experts could only be described as unremarkable, and replacements for them could be easily found, even among the human races pseudo-apex powers. in the new continental championship, where they would be facing the powerhouses of the two other races, zero wings level 210-plus experts could only be regarded as victims are you considering to give up on our partnership, miss rainbow? shi feng asked after he was done reading the updated rules. the change this time was unexpected. i will fulfill my promise of extending your loan repayment by ten days, verdant rainbow said. then, with gritted teeth, she continued, but i will have to make some changes regarding two of zero wings slots. if zero wing cannot come up with participants strong enough to enter the holy races transcendent list, i will have no choice but to find someone else to fill these slots. i understand your intentions. shi feng chuckled when he saw the awkward look on verdant rainbow. before we continue with this topic, may i ask if you are interested in achieving even better results in the upcoming continental championship, miss rainbow? at this point, it was evident shadowring town had a promising future. anyone who wasnt a fool would definitely try to establish a long-term partnership with zero wing. however, the continental championship was equally important, so it was understandable that verdant rainbow wanted to replace unqualified participants. naturally. who wouldnt want the continental championships amazing rewards? verdant rainbow answered, giving shi feng a strange look. the continental championship was currently the top priority for the three races occupying the eternal realms three continents. everyone wanted to achieve good results in the championship and gain rapid growth. however, performing well in the championship was easier said than done. in reality, even parties consisting entirely of experts from the holy races transcendent list would find it difficult to achieve good results, let alone those who were only theorized to be strong enough to enter the transcendent list. if thats the case, let zero wing have four slots. in return, i can guarantee we will secure a place in the top four of the continental championship. however, aside from providing an extra slot, you will have to pay zero wing an additional 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal, shi feng said with certainty when he saw the interested look on verdant rainbow. you can guarantee a top-four placing? verdant rainbow couldnt help but look at shi feng in surprise. she felt that shi feng was joking with her. every continental championship would see several hundred parties participating. normally, parties would be handsomely rewarded so long as they could pass the preliminaries. meanwhile, those who could climb to the top 16 could receive the guidance of the ancient beings behind the crucible of the ancients, while those who managed to ascend to the top 4 would see their rewards doubled or more. however, out of all the continental championships hosted, the best result the human race had managed to secure thus far was the top 16. at this point, entering the top 4 was nothing but a dream. not to mention, she even had to pay 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal for this ranking. that was basically half a divine artifact. we still have time before we need to set out for the crucible. you can use this time to properly consider my offer, miss rainbow, shi feng said very calmly. in his previous life, the continental championship didnt just serve as a training ground for the various powers talents. after the major system update, it also became the hope for many peerless players to achieve further improvement. this was because parties who managed to enter the top 4 in the continental championship could receive detailed guidance from the ancient beings behind the crucible of the ancients. this also happened to be one of the few clues pertaining to the road beyond tier 6 available in the eternal realm. although the human race had produced many powerful experts, not a single party managed to enter the continental championships top 4. it wasnt until the eternal realms three absolutes joined forces that they fortunately managed to enter the top 4 once. it was also from that point onward the human races various powers learned of the continental championships true significance. only, neither the three absolutes nor their three other party members revealed the specifics of what they learned regarding the road beyond tier 6. currently, there still werent many experts participating in the continental championship. although the implementation of the major system update had removed the possibility of having a level advantage, so long as he had sufficient seven luminaries crystals, he could simply create a new advantage by upgrading the epic-ranked god chaser sets to the fragmented legendary rank and giving them to gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss were currently among the top 5 in combat standards in zero wing. if they were equipped with the fragmented legendary-ranked god chaser sets, while shi feng couldnt promise their party would become the champion, he was confident they could get into the continental championships top 4 without any trouble. Chapter 3702 - Chapter 776 - Strengthening the God Chaser Set chapter 776 C strengthening the god chaser set you really dont hold back, do you, guild leader black flame? verdant rainbow couldnt help but hesitate on shi fengs offer. she would be lying if she said she wasnt interested in a top 4 placing in the continental championship. however, it was a considerable expenditure for her to give away four participation slots as well as 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal. it might even put her in an awkward situation in the seven luminaries alliance. she had received her admission ticket from a grand elder of the seven luminaries alliance, and the other party had originally intended for the ticket to be used to nurture the guilds geniuses. so, when she decided to give three participation slots to zero wing, many guild executives criticized her. if she were to give zero wing another slot, it would mean depriving another one of the seven luminaries alliances geniuses of the opportunity to improve, and it would definitely enrage the guild executives who already thought negatively of her. as for the 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal, shed have to mortgage many of her properties in the eternal realm if she wanted to convince the seven luminaries alliance to secure such an amount. i am sure you know how difficult it is to get into the top four, miss rainbow. if i am the only one representing zero wing, i can help you without any payment. but if you want a good placement, i must make considerable sacrifices to help you achieve that, shi feng explained. in reality, he would already be benefiting greatly if he could secure four participation slots for zero wing. he was simply putting verdant rainbow in a tough spot by asking her for an additional 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal. however, he had no choice but to do so, as he had already spent all of his seven luminaries crystals and didnt have enough to upgrade even one god chaser set. i can agree to your conditions, guild leader black flame. after pondering for a moment, verdant rainbow said to shi feng, the additional slot should be doable, but if i am to pay you 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal, i will need you to lease a shop on shadowring towns main street to me for free for a month. otherwise, i cannot convince the guilds other executives to take out so many seven luminaries crystals. if its only a month, i can agree to your condition, shi feng said, nodding. but how soon can you deliver the seven luminaries crystals to me? there were over twenty shops lining shadowring towns main street. excluding the ones needed for npc merchants and zero wings purposes, six shops could be rented out. however, no matter how valuable shadowring towns shops were, there was no way he could get anyone to pay a monthly rent of 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal. so, he would be a fool to refuse verdant rainbows condition. i can have it delivered within half a day after we finalize our deal, verdant rainbow said, smiling when she heard shi feng accepting her condition. if she could secure a top 4 placing in the continental championship and rent a shop on shadowring towns main street for free for a month, all for the price of just 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal, she would turn a huge profit. she could also offer an explanation to the guilds executives. okay. lets write up the contract, then. hearing verdant rainbows response, shi feng wasted no time as he retrieved two gods domain contracts from his bag. within a day after shi feng signed the contract with verdant rainbow, the sun dynasty, sovereign mark, and demons gate suddenly declared shadowring town off-limits to all players. any player who dared to approach the town would be met with death. the announcement shocked the players operating in the world ark. they never expected the three powers to make such a ruthless decree. those who wished to take advantage of shadowring town were especially taken aback, and many couldnt help but voice their grievances. shadowring town, zero wings residence: guild leader, those three guilds are simply outrageous! theyve stationed their tier 6 legions at all of the shadowring basins entrances and exits just to blockade the town! now, anyone caught trying to enter or leave the shadowring basin must pay them one eternal gold! starting tomorrow, the three guilds will even kill anyone who tries to enter the shadowring basin! gentle snow complained angrily as she stormed into shi fengs office. let me ambush them with a team, guild leader! i refuse to believe they can keep blockading the entrances! the sun dynasty and sovereign mark were royal powers of the holy race. because of this, all holy race players operating in the world ark would usually defer to the two royal powers decisions, none daring to offend them. as for demons gate, it was an apex power famed for its ruthlessness among the human race. aside from other apex powers, no other individual or power from the human race would dare to offend demons gate. now that the three powers had come together to persecute shadowring town, it was almost guaranteed that no player would dare to visit the town. meanwhile, if shadowring town did not have players visiting it, there was no way zero wing could afford the towns daily expenditures. of course, persecuting shadowring town didnt come free and easy for the three powers, either. the world arks mysterious energy constantly ate away at the bodies of players. the monsters occupying the maps around shadowring basin were also plentiful. even if the three powers forces remained stationary, monsters would attack them continuously, forcing them to expend stamina and concentration. because of this, the three powers needed to commit a large number of players to maintain the blockade. this, in turn, would prevent these players from doing more meaningful things, such as exploring the world ark and finding opportunities to develop themselves. what the three powers were doing was essentially persecuting shadowring town at the expense of the futures of a large number of their own tier 6 experts, which was utterly insane. ignore them. if they want to block the entrances, let them, shi feng said, chuckling as he looked at the anxious gentle snow. has the seven luminaries alliances seven luminaries crystals arrived yet? the sun dynasty, sovereign mark, and demons gates joint effort to seal the shadowring basins entrances and exits was indeed astonishing. any normal guild town would have faced an imminent demise if persecuted in such a manner. however, shadowring town was no ordinary guild town. instead, it was a guild town that could access luminous sky city directly. although it was only a one-way teleportation, it was still a path to riches for many players and powers. it was especially so now that the sales of basic and intermediate divine engraving scrolls had garnered widespread attention in luminous sky city. in just one day, the abyss chamber of commerce had managed to sell several thousand holy race-exclusive fragmented legendary items, generating a million eternal gold in revenue. even after he paid off his 700,000 eternal gold debt to luminous sky city, he would still have 300,000 eternal gold to spare. as for the divine engraving scrolls sold by abyss, they had already become a target for the eternal realms various powers. many players and powers who managed to get their hands on some would instantly resell the scrolls for a huge profit. naturally, when the players on the eternal continent learned of this situation, they, too, wanted to get in on this opportunity. however, traveling to the southern region was not an easy task. outside of shadowring towns teleportation channel, every other method to reach the southern region came at a price that the average power could not afford. hence, for most players operating on the eternal continent, shadowring town was their only option to reach luminous sky city. this situation made it so that shadowring town would have no lack of players trying to visit it. not to mention, aside from purchasing divine engraving scrolls to resell, players on the eternal continent could also sell their high-quality weapons, equipment, and secret treasures at luminous sky city since the prices for these items were considerably higher in the southern region. ive received them already, gentle snow said as she handed all of the seven luminaries crystals in her spatial bag to shi feng. in addition to the 50 million units of seven luminaries crystal, the materials you asked for have also been delivered. however, the construction design of the tower of the abyss is too complex. on top of that, you have asked to use alternative materials. so, our architects still need some time to do research. the tower of the abyss doesnt need to be rushed. just have them construct it to the best of their abilities, shi feng said when he heard gentle snows report. then, he eagerly took out the origin myth and inserted a complete god chaser set into the origin space. system: origin space has detected the god chaser set. strengthening and modifying it will cost 10,000,000 units of seven luminaries crystal. do you wish to proceed? that many? shi feng couldnt help but frown when he saw the cost. he could already produce an inferior divine artifact with 10 million units of seven luminaries crystal. even so, he did not hesitate to strengthen the god chaser set. Chapter 3703 - Chapter 777 - Continental Championship Begins chapter 777 C continental championship begins shadowring town, zero wings residence: as soon as shi feng injected ten million units of seven luminaries crystal into the origin space, a colorful radiance enveloped the god chaser set. subsequently, countless magic arrays and divine runes poured into the god chaser set, causing the mana radiated by the equipment set to rise in density. this process lasted for ten minutes. ten minutes later, a brand new god chaser set appeared in shi fengs hands. how did it go, guild leader? gentle snow eagerly asked when she saw shi feng inspecting the strengthened god chaser set. shi feng had directly informed gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss about his plans to use the seven luminaries crystals he acquired from verdant rainbow to strengthen the god chaser sets. hence, gentle snow wasnt surprised by what just happened. however, that didnt stop her from growing curious about the outcome of the strengthening process. take a look yourself, shi feng said as he shared the new god chaser sets statistics with gentle snow. meanwhile, after gentle snow was done reading the new god chaser sets attributes, excitement appeared on her face as she exclaimed, amazing! the strengthened god chaser set is simply beyond extraordinary! after being strengthened, not only did the epic-ranked god chaser sets quality advance to the fragmented legendary standard, but its set effects also underwent drastic changes. at the epic rank, the god chaser sets four-piece set effect only increased physique by 50%, while its six-piece set effect increased the basic attributes the set provided by 80%. as for the eight-piece set effect, it elevated the sets basic attributes to the level 220 standard while lowering the equipment requirement to level 200. when players equipped the set, the basic attributes they could gain would be similar to if they were fully equipped with legendary equipment. after ascending to the fragmented legendary rank, though, the god chaser sets four-piece set effect increased physique by 100%, while its six-piece set effect increased the sets basic attributes by 120% and improved the wearers skill and spell completion rates by 10%. as for the eight-piece set effect, although it similarly elevated the sets basic attributes to the level 220 standard, the equipment requirement was changed to tier 6 only. so long as players were at tier 6, they could equip the set at any level. on top of that, the eight-piece set effect also improved neural responses by 50%. it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that so long as a tier 6 player equipped the fragmented legendary-ranked god chaser set, they would instantly become a monster of the new era! setting aside the fact that the set allowed level 180, tier 6 players to have basic attributes surpassing level 200, tier 6 gods, just the fact that it increased skill and spell completion rates by 10% and improved all neural responses by 50% were enough to make it beyond incredible. in the era after the major system updates implementation, the fragmented legendary-ranked god chaser set could artificially raise a players combat standards by one or two levels. at this time, gentle snow even had the feeling that if she equipped this new god chaser set, she could defeat even veteran fifth-floor experts in battle. when on offense, she could simply rely on her basic attributes to overwhelm her opponents. even if her opponents could predict her every move, itd be meaningless if their bodies couldnt keep up with her attack speed and strength. when on defense, even if she failed to predict her opponents actions, she could rely on her exceptional neural responses to react to all of the actions they executed. unless her opponents could overwhelm her in attack speed, attack power, or strength, they would be helpless against her. these ten million units of seven luminaries crystal were well spent. when shi feng saw the new god chaser set, the sting he previously felt disappeared. with ten million units of seven luminaries crystal, he could probably scrape together a full set of legendary equipment. although its performance would most likely be below average, it was a full set of legendary equipment nonetheless. yet, the origin myth had asked for a similar sum just to upgrade the god chaser sets quality from epic to fragmented legendary. no matter how he looked at it, he was definitely losing big time. however, after seeing the new god chaser sets attributes, he only had one thing to say. worth it! subsequently, shi feng strengthened three more epic-ranked god chaser sets, not hesitating even in the slightest throughout the process. of the four sets, he kept one set for himself while distributing the three other sets to gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. then, when they equipped the fragmented legendary-ranked god chaser sets, all four of them saw a huge increase in their basic attributes. shi feng, in particular, saw the greatest improvement. up until this point, he had been using the damaged sacred armor. now that he had replaced it with the fragmented legendary-ranked god chaser set, his basic attributes instantly skyrocketed, and they now rivaled that of level 200 ancient gods. in his current state, he could be regarded as a humanoid boss even in the greater gods domain, let alone the eternal realm. as for gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss, they behaved like children who had acquired a new toy when they received their respective god chaser sets. they excitedly went to the guild residences combat rooms to conduct various tests, only settling down a day later after they had destroyed all of the residences combat rooms and received complaints from the zero wing members trying to refine themselves in shadowring town. guild leader black flame, the championship has begun. im already in front of your residence. how are your preparations coming along? verdant rainbow asked through the video chat as she looked at shi feng, who was in the midst of drawing some runes. youre here already? when shi feng saw that verdant rainbow was already outside the residences entrance, he quickly finished engraving the last core divine pattern needed for the tower of the abyss and handed it to the architect waiting before him. then, he said to verdant rainbow, preparations on my side are done. ill meet you at the entrance. while gentle snow and the others were acclimatizing to the new god chaser sets, shi feng didnt let himself stay idle, choosing to help the guilds architects engrave the divine patterns they had trouble with. now that the technical issues were resolved, the architects would only need several more days to complete the tower of the abyss and let shadowring town bask in the same glory the holy races holy city had enjoyed in his previous life. shadowring town, zero wings residence, entrance: although the sun dynasty, sovereign mark, and demons gates blockade on the shadowring basin remained strong and scared off many players from visiting shadowring town, it did not stop a bunch of independent players from joining zero wing and teleporting to the town via guild transfer scrolls. in just a little over a day, zero wing had gained so many tier 6 experts that there was now a constant stream of them entering and leaving the guild residence. meanwhile, after verdant rainbow concluded her call with shi feng, she and the berserker youth standing beside her only had to wait a while before shi feng stepped out of the residence with gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss in tow. why is it them? verdant rainbow couldnt help but knit her brows a little when she saw the three individuals behind shi feng. originally, verdant rainbow thought zero wing still had some frightening experts hidden. she never thought shi feng would choose to bring gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. verdant rainbow was very familiar with these three individuals. they were also currently regarded by the various powers as zero wings strongest experts. in terms of combat standards, fervent samsara and heavy abyss were both veteran fifth-floor experts, while gentle snow had also recently advanced to the fifth-floor standard. if compared to the various pseudo-apex powers experts, these three could definitely stand among the very top. however, they could only be considered first-rate when compared to the various apex powers experts and even worse if compared to the participants of the continental championship. Chapter 3704 - Chapter 778 - Death Wind the Divine Eye chapter 778 C death wind the divine eye rainbow, is black flame messing with you? the berserker youth wearing the seven luminaries alliances guild emblem grew furious when he saw gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. verdant rainbow had exhausted every avenue available to her to increase her chances of performing well in the upcoming continental championship. she had even borrowed a divine artifact from the guild. likewise, he, a reserve chosen one of the seven luminaries alliance and the owner of the title demonic spear, had asked for many favors before he finally managed to borrow a divine spear from the guild. for the sake of securing a good placing in the continental championship, the two of them had essentially put everything they had on the line. yet, zero wing had made a complete fool of them by sending out the likes of gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. in fact, aside from combat standards, even the levels of these three individuals were a complete joke. currently, experts standing at the forefront of the eternal realm were already averaging at level 192. yet, gentle snow was only at level 187, while fervent samsara and heavy abyss were at level 181 and level 182, respectively. their levels couldnt even be considered third-rate in the current eternal realm. of course, having a low level was still a forgivable sin following the introduction of the continental championships new rule. however, what was unforgivable was that the equipment of these three individuals was radiating the glow effect of fragmented legendary items. a fragmented legendary equipment set might be considered good in the world ark, but in the continental championship, where the chosen ones of the three continents gathered, such equipment was only fit for beggars. guild leader black flame, are you sure youre going to have the three of them participate? verdant rainbow asked shi feng in a questioning and confused tone. although shi feng had concealed his weapons and equipment with an advanced black cloak, gentle snow and the others did not. so, even a level 0 player could see they were fully equipped with fragmented legendary items. in the continental championship, where legendary equipment was considered the bare minimum, gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss would be fortunate if they didnt become the butt of everyones jokes, let alone serve as capable combatants. yes, theyll be coming with us, shi feng said, nodding. then, he turned his gaze to the berserker youth behind verdant rainbow and asked, and this must be death wind the demonic spear, the seven luminaries alliances latest reserve chosen one, right? do you know me? death wind looked at shi feng in surprise. he was currently using a special tool to hide his personal information. even master-ranked identification skills should not be able to uncover his level, much less his name. it should be known that his name remained a secret in the greater gods domain, and only a few among the seven luminaries alliance knew about it. most people only addressed him as the demonic spear. naturally. who wouldnt know of the seven luminaries alliances chosen one candidate? shi feng faintly smiled as he looked at death wind. death wind was very well-known in shi fengs previous life, so much so that it gave zero wing a huge headache. presently, death wind might be known as the demonic spear, a title given to him by the seven luminaries alliance, but he went by a different title in shi fengs previous life. it was also a title known by all in the greater gods domain. the divine eye! one of demons gates nine great experts! although nurtured by the seven luminaries alliance during the early years of his gods domain career, death wind was secretly a spy working for demons gate. when death wind ultimately betrayed the seven luminaries alliance, he caused the alliance to suffer a huge loss. he would then become known as the divine eye, an existence feared by all in the greater gods domain. you are very well-informed, guild leader black flame. death wind looked at shi feng cautiously when he heard the other partys words. for some reason, he felt like a ferocious beast was watching him, and the feeling sent chills down his back. my information network can only be considered sub-par when compared to yours, mr. death wind. while keeping his gaze on death wind, shi feng deepened his smile and asked, i overheard you saying that i was messing with miss rainbow just now. may i know what you mean by that? its a misunderstanding, guild leader black flame. when verdant rainbow heard shi fengs question, she knew that shi feng must have overheard everything death wind said just now. it wasnt all that surprising that shi feng had overheard their conversation, either. when players reach tier 6, they achieve inhuman levels in all physical aspects. naturally, this included their hearing capabilities. so long as tier 6 players were paying attention, they could even hear someone speaking softly from several hundred yards away. in fact, this was common knowledge in the greater gods domain. hence, although death wind had kept his voice down when speaking about zero wing, he had actually spoken intending to let shi feng hear him. however, death wind couldnt be faulted for his opinion of zero wing. after all, he had gone to great lengths to prepare for the continental championship. it was understandable he would be upset to see zero wing treat the continental championship so lightly. its not a misunderstanding. sweeping his gaze across gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss, death wind bluntly said to shi feng, the continental championship is full of experts. i had to put everything on the line to get into this party. you, guild leader black flame, on the other hand, are having three people equipped with only fragmented legendary equipment participate. if youre not messing with us, what are you doing? i see. in response to death winds unceremonious questioning, shi feng maintained his smile as he said, in that case, how about we make a bet, mr. death wind? a bet? looking at shi feng strangely, death wind asked, what are we betting? the cloud piercer in your possession! shi feng said as he glanced at the divine spear on death winds back. if i win, the cloud piercer will belong to me. if i lose, i will give you a divine artifact of similar quality as the cloud piercer. how about it? the cloud piercer was a very well-known divine artifact in shi fengs previous life, and it was in a completely different league compared to the one currently in death winds possession. although the current cloud piercer was also rated as a divine artifact, it was actually damaged and incomplete. the complete cloud piercer, on the other hand, could rank among the greater gods domains ten great divine artifacts. moreover, although the cloud piercer was currently regarded to be on loan from the seven luminaries alliance, the truth of the matter was that demons gate had secretly given it to death wind to help elevate his status in the seven luminaries alliance. a divine artifact of similar quality? you are aware that my cloud piercer is not a run-of-the-mill item, right? death wind had his interest piqued. how do you intend to carry out this bet? simple. chuckling, shi feng said, since you deem the three of them unqualified, how about we compare your score in the preliminaries with theirs? so, youre saying that so long as my score is better than that of one of the three of them, i will win? is that right? death wind asked, seizing the opportunity to insert a condition of his own. death wind! verdant rainbow glared at death wind. she never thought death wind would have no intention of easing the relationship between the two sides. ignoring verdant rainbow, death wind continued, i am only one person, while there are three people on your side, guild leader black flame. you cant possibly expect me to surpass all three of their scores, right? of course not, shi feng said with a smile. so long as you can match one-third of any of their scores in the preliminaries, i will consider it your victory. what do you think? Chapter 3705 - Chapter 779 - Crucible chapter 779 C crucible guild leader black flame, have you lost your mind? when verdant rainbow heard shi feng taking the initiative to offer such an overwhelmingly favorable condition to death wind, she couldnt help but feel that shi feng was being a little too reckless. the continental championships preliminaries ranked participating parties based on their accumulated points. party members would be shuffled into different groups during the preliminaries, and they had to fight all other members of the group in a round-robin manner. meanwhile, only the top ten members of each group would receive points. each group would typically have 21 players. in other words, each player would need to fight in twenty matches during the preliminaries, and they would be ranked based on the number of victories they achieved. the player coming in first place would receive twenty points, second place would receive ten points, third place would receive nine points, fourth place would receive eight points, and so on, ending with tenth place receiving two points. verdant rainbow understood death winds strength well. although weaker than her, going by her experience in participating in the continental championship, he should have a high chance of securing an eighth-place position in the preliminaries. even if he underperformed, he should come in tenth place at the very least. in other words, if any of zero wings three members failed to get into the top three of their respective groups, shi feng would lose the bet. furthermore, should death wind rank fifth in his group, even if zero wings three members became their respective groups champions, shi feng would still lose. dont regret your words, guild leader black flame! after staring at shi feng in shock, death wind revealed a wide grin. death wind had never revealed his true strength in the seven luminaries alliance. moreover, for the sake of achieving good results in the upcoming continental championship, he had paid a hefty price to borrow three extraordinary secret treasures. paired with the cloud piercer, he now had basic attributes that could closely rival that of level 200, tier 6 gods. with such basic attributes, he could even try to go for a top-five placement in the preliminaries, let alone the top ten. in other words, if death wind accepted the bet, gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss must become the champions of their respective groups. otherwise, shi feng would lose the bet. meanwhile, if shi feng fulfilled his side of the bet and gave him a divine artifact no weaker than the cloud piercer, death wind was confident he could instantly become the seven luminaries alliances strongest chosen one of this generation. he would also have a very high likelihood of becoming one of the senates twelve grand elders. naturally. shi feng nodded as he took out a gods domain contract. ranking first in the preliminaries might be difficult for others, but it was an easy task for the current gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. after all, they werent just equipped with the new god chaser set right now. they were also equipped with the dragons fury set, an extraordinary secret treasure set. speaking purely in terms of basic attributes, physique, and mana, the three of them were superior to even level 200, tier 6 gods. so long as the three of them did not meet any of the peerless monsters in his previous life, they should almost be guaranteed to become the champions of their respective groups. this was also why he dared to promise verdant rainbow a top-four placement in the continental championship. meanwhile, so long as he acquired the cloud piercer, not only could he hamper death winds growth, but he could also give fervent samsara, who was a spear-user, an excellent weapon. that way, even after the eternal realms mainstream players reached level 200, zero wing would rest easy knowing that it had a taboo-level existence safeguarding its assets. after all, once mainstream players reached level 200, guild towns would essentially become defenseless if they did not have a taboo-level existence protecting it. it was especially so on the western continent. although shi feng had a city building order for the western continent, he dared not actually use it since zero wing didnt have a taboo-level existence who could be assigned to defend its guild city. while shi feng himself could be considered a taboo-level existence, as he was zero wings guild leader, he couldnt afford to be tied down to one location for an extended period. as for gentle snow, fire dance, and the others, although they were zero wings top experts in shi fengs previous life, they had yet to reach their full potential in this life. of zero wings current members, only fervent samsara and heavy abyss had the capabilities to defend a guild city after reaching level 200. in the meantime, standing behind shi feng, gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss couldnt help but look at death wind sympathetically. they felt that shi feng was akin to the devil. rather than betting with death wind, it would be more accurate to say that shi feng was blatantly robbing death wind of a divine artifact. subsequently, death wind signed a gods domain contract with shi feng over their bet. according to the contract, should one side dare to renege on their promises, they would be permanently banished from gods domain by the main god system. not even the divine resurrection water could give them a second chance at entering gods domain. are you two done? can we go now? verdant rainbow asked in exasperation when she saw shi feng and death wind finish signing the contract. then, when she received a nod from the two, she retrieved an ancient scroll from her bag and chanted an incantation. a moment later, a space-time gate over a hundred meters tall appeared before the party. the gate radiated a frightening aura resembling that of gods, causing many tier 6 players nearby to suddenly feel the threat of death looming over them. we should hurry. the teleportation gate lasts only a short time, verdant rainbow said before walking into the space-time gate. shi feng, death wind, and the others did not hesitate to follow after verdant rainbow, all of them disappearing from the residences entrance and leaving the many players inside and outside the residence stunned. everyone wondered where shi fengs party had gone. after all, if even the teleportation gate they used was such a frightening object, the place it led to would naturally be even scarier. eternal realm, crucible of the ancients: as shi feng and the others stepped through the space-time gate, they arrived in a grand plaza lined with stone steles and statues. each stele and statue was upwards of a thousand meters in height, and they radiated a divine might as strong as that of ancient gods. it was like each stele and statue was a living ancient god, and their presence made the several thousand players in the plaza feel like ants. this is the crucible of the ancients. rumor has it that it once served as a colosseum of life and death for countless ancient beings, and every stele and statue here is a representation of them. not only do these steles and statues carry great power, but they also hold the legacies of those ancient beings, verdant rainbow said. since this was the first time death wind, shi feng, and the others had come to the crucible of the ancients, she decided to offer them an explanation of the surrounding steles and statues. while shi feng and the others were gazing in awe at the countless steles and statues surrounding them, other human players who were visiting the crucible for the first time were in a similar situation. a hint of fanaticism even colored their eyes when they saw the tallest steles and statues in the plaza. incredible! were those ninety-nine 10,000-meter-tall steles and statues left behind by primordial god-ranked existences? yes, but theyre not the only primordial god-ranked steles and statues the crucible has to offer. the ones here can be accessed so long as you pass the preliminaries. if you can get into the championships top four, you can head to a deeper area that is said to house steles and statues that are tens of thousands of meters tall. the individuals those steles and statues represent are mighty existences, even among primordial god-ranked existences! snap out of it. those steles and statues arent for us. ordinary parties like ours have no chance of entering the top four. many of the royal powers elite parties cant climb beyond the top thirty-two. youve heard of the holy races daystar, right? well, shes the leader of the sun dynastys trump card party, but even she only managed to secure a place in the top eight. there is also demons gates star maiden elise. even though shes regarded as a nigh-invincible existence among her peers, she barely managed to reach tenth place in the last continental championship. while the human players in the plaza were discussing matters pertaining to the continental championship, gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss overheard them, and they couldnt help but be shocked. even that daystar only managed to get into the top eight? fervent samsara muttered in disbelief as he recalled the three-eyed holy race woman he saw during the defensive battle against the sun dynastys holy guard. although the three-eyed woman never took any direct action throughout the battle, he could still tell how frightening she was based on her presence. it was evident she was no ordinary fifth-floor expert when it came to combat standards. it was likely she had already reached the unthinking realm, the second stage of the extrasensory realm. in all honesty, fervent samsara felt that had daystar taken action back then, the outcome of the defensive siege would have been much less decisive. only, as daystar was evidently trying to hide her strength, she never took action throughout the battle. while fervent samsara and the others were in a daze, many of the players in the plaza suddenly turned to look at a party that had just arrived. at a glance, it was obvious that all six members of this party were fully equipped with legendary equipment. each member also wielded at least one divine weapon. of the partys members, the one who stood out the most was a four-armed young man. the young man gave off the presence of a god as he stood there, and it felt like the world revolved around him. hes the holy races strongest representative, divine fist garuda, verdant rainbow whispered, wearing a serious expression as she introduced the four-armed young mans identity to shi feng and the others. Chapter 3706 - Chapter 780 - Gathering of Monsters chapter 780 C gathering of monsters so, hes the divine fist? shi feng couldnt help but scrutinize the four-armed young man when he heard verdant rainbows whispered introduction. divine fist garuda was a name known by all among the holy race and the human race in shi fengs previous life. however, few people had ever seen garuda in person. most people had only ever heard of his terror. garuda was the strongest chosen one of the thunder empire, a royal power of the holy race. he had strictly limited his sphere of activity to the western continent and never participated in the war between the holy race and the human race. yet, human players still felt that garuda was extremely powerful. this was due to the rumor that even the eternal realms three absolutes were defeated by garuda. however, as nobody had any evidence showing garuda and the three absolutes clashing, many people speculated that their encounter occurred during the continental championship and that garuda was the reason the three absolutes failed to progress beyond the top 4. originally, shi feng thought garuda should be relatively old, considering that the other party could defeat the three absolutes in his previous life. however, now that he was seeing garuda in person, he doubted the other party was even twenty years old. an unthinking realm expert who wasnt even twenty years of age! it should be known that most fifth-floor experts could only dream of achieving the unthinking realm. although many peerless paragons had tried, most had failed to reach it within their lifetimes. but for those few who could reach the unthinking realm before the age of thirty, they would be considered once-in-a-century monsters and prodigies who defied common sense. after reaching the extrasensory realm, players could start to use their sixth sense to predict their opponents attacks and execute counterattacks. however, this didnt mean that players would become invincible once they reached this realm. as living creatures, humans needed time to think. no matter how quick a persons reaction speed was, their body would still need some time to make a response. thus, when players at the extrasensory realm fought each other, the fight would turn into a competition of speed. however, that would only be the case for players in the extrasensory realms first stage. upon reaching the unthinking realm, players would no longer need to rely on their brains thoughts to carry out actions. instead, their bodies would move automatically, akin to moving entirely based on instincts. this, in turn, allowed players to execute actions at unbelievable speeds. normally, though, if players wanted to reach the unthinking realm, they would need to invest a significant amount of time in harsh training and combat. this was so that they could develop their bodys instincts. hence, players who could reach the unthinking realm were typically old monsters of advanced age. yet, garuda had reached this realm despite being younger than twenty. his talent for combat was so out of this world that even the three absolutes could never hope to match him. he even had the thunder empire, a royal power no weaker than the sun dynasty, to back him. with such talent and backing, his future would be limitless. aside from garuda, shi feng also spotted a familiar lithe figure among garudas party. angel of death, extreme feather! since they last met outside the nameless citys treasury, extreme feather had become considerably stronger. not only was she currently at level 192, tier 6, but she was also fully equipped with legendary equipment and wielded two crescent blades that were clearly divine weapons. at the same time as shi feng noticed extreme feather, the angel of death similarly noticed him. do you know that human swordsman, feather? noticing that extreme feather was looking at shi feng specifically, garuda curiously asked, is he strong? extreme feather was the most recent addition to the thunder empires chosen ones. she had an aloof personality, and she rarely showed interest outside of developing her combat skills. so, it was a rare sight for her to give anyone more than a glance. its nothing. retracting her gaze from shi feng, extreme feather said, hes just a little thief with higher-than-normal concentration standards. the last time they met, extreme feather had watched shi feng resist a mental attack from a tier 6 gorgon queen, and she had to admit that it was indeed a surprising sight. however, that was the only remarkable trait shi feng possessed. nothing else about him stood out. and if concentration was the only thing he had going on for him, hed remain insignificant in front of true experts. when garuda heard extreme feathers evaluation, he stopped paying attention to shi feng and the human race in general. of the three races participating in the continental championship, the human race was the weakest. even their strongest party had failed to enter the top eight in the last championship, ending with only a tenth-place placement. rather than waste his time on such a harmless opponent, it would be better if he focused on his strongest competition for today. subsequently, garuda turned his gaze toward a particular party from the crystallians standing in the middle of the plaza. the members of this party looked virtually the same as humans. only, they were five to six meters tall, and they each had a crystal the size of their eyeballs growing out of their foreheads. they all wore robe-like clothing and carried various staffs on their backs. they neither radiated mana nor holy power. in fact, they did not radiate any sort of energy from their bodies. yet, whenever they moved, it felt like the space around them was having difficulties supporting their existence. regarding the crystallians, many human players all looked toward them with eyes full of curiosity. unlike the holy race, the crystallians were never seen even once on the eternal continent, much less engage the human race in territorial battles like the holy race. most human players operating in the eternal realm didnt even know a third race of players existed. however, for human players who had participated in the continental championship, they knew that there were indeed three races of players in the eternal realm. only, the crystallians did not operate on the eternal continent or the western continent. instead, their operations were limited to a mysterious continent that neither the human race nor the holy race had come in touch with thus far. meanwhile, in terms of overall strength, the crystallians were slightly weaker than the holy race but were still considerably stronger than the human race. as evidence, the crystallians had six royal powers. as for the crystallian party garuda was looking at, it was none other than the party that came in second place in the last continental championship. the party was led by earthen princess rin, the crystallians strongest representative and someone who nearly defeated garuda in battle in the last championship. while garuda was looking at rin, the latter also turned to look at him, their gazes clearly indicating that they regarded each other as their strongest opponent in this championship. no wonder miss rainbow thinks it will be a challenge to even get through the preliminaries. when gentle snow saw the three races of players gathered in the plaza, she couldnt help but grow a little excited. every player here is at the fifth-floor standard and fully equipped with legendary equipment. even if put in the sun dynastys holy guard, they can become vice commanders at the very least. its not surprising. only 420 parties can participate in each championship. even if all 420 slots are filled, that only translates to 2,520 players. that is nothing compared to the player base of the three races that number in the quadrillions, shi feng said as he calmly swept his gaze across the players in the plaza. it should be known that the participants of the current continental championship were limited to only the players operating in the eternal realm. once the three races located the eternal realms entrance, the intensity of the continental championship would skyrocket to unimaginable heights. it would become so intense that even the top 20 experts on the current divine glory list might not make it past the preliminaries. this was also why many experts in his previous life sought to participate in the continental championship. simply being able to participate in the championships preliminaries was a priceless learning opportunity for many players. not to mention, should one successfully get through the preliminaries, one would get the opportunity to trade blows with the apex existences of the three races. shortly after shi feng finished speaking, a deafening voice sounded across the plaza. congratulations, all ye heavens blessed! welcome to the crucible of the ancients! Chapter 3707 - Chapter 781 - First Preliminary Battle chapter 781 C first preliminary battle as the loud voice echoed across the plaza, everyone felt the power of space and time restraining their bodies. even those with basic attributes as strong as tier 6 gods found themselves immobilized completely. immediately afterward, 120 miniature worlds materialized above the plaza, each encompassing a 1,000-meter radius. then, as soon as these miniature worlds appeared, the 2,520 players in the plaza were randomly assigned into groups of 21 and drawn into these miniature worlds. heavens blessed, you have been separated from your parties and assigned to one of 120 groups. in each group, you are required to fight your fellow contenders in a round-robin tournament, and each victory you achieve will influence the points you receive at the end of the preliminaries. if you wish for your party to pass the preliminaries, your partys total points must be within the top 32. parties who fail to rank among the top 32 will be disqualified, but those who rank among the top 64 may stay behind to spectate. everyone else will be teleported back to where they came from. now, without further ado, i announce the start of the continental championships preliminaries! may each groups selected contenders step onto the ring! when the players who were drawn into the miniature worlds heard the deafening voices announcement, they started to scrutinize the players around them, fighting spirit burning in their eyes. they obviously understood that all the players drawn into the same miniature world were their opponents. are these newcomers my opponents this time? what the hell! this isnt fair! why did i get assigned to the same group as garuda?! youre saying thats unfair? how about you take a look at my group? my group has ten members of parties who made it past the preliminaries last time! when the players in the 120 miniature worlds were done inspecting their opponents, some grew excited, while some had the urge to cry. when it came to parties capable of passing the continental championships preliminaries, not a single one had any incompetent party members. after all, parties were ranked based on their total points in the preliminaries. if a party member did poorly in the preliminaries, it would severely impact the partys overall performance. because of this, the members of such qualifying parties could typically rank among the top ten of their respective groups in the preliminaries, even if they were put against strong opponents. if they got put against weak opponents, they could even try to get into the top six or seven. after the major system update, players would expend a considerable amount of stamina and concentration in every battle. although players could not truly die in the continental championship, they would still consume stamina and concentration in every match they fought, and none of it would be replenished. if they encountered a tough fight in their first few matches, it would adversely impact their performance in subsequent matches. of course, participants could also forfeit a match outright to conserve their stamina and concentration. but for those capable of participating in the continental championship, who would be willing to give up without a fight? how interesting. i didnt think we would be assigned to the same group. when venom tail saw shi feng similarly assigned to miniature world 085, he felt pleasantly surprised and nervous at the same time. previously, venom tail had taken a huge hit to his reputation in sovereign mark because of shi feng. the encounter in shadowring town had even allowed chalk splendor to make fun of him. yet, all he could do at the time was grind his teeth in anger and frustration. now, though, not only did he come across shi feng again in the continental championship, but they were also assigned to the same group in the preliminaries. this was undoubtedly a good opportunity for him to get revenge. as for why venom tail felt nervous, it was because he would be fighting shi feng in his tenth match. in a situation where they were both individuals ranked on the transcendent list, he couldnt confidently say he could defeat shi feng. after the various parties learned of their party members grouping, verdant rainbows expression turned a little ugly. dammit! how are we so unlucky?! verdant rainbow had the urge to curse out loud when she saw the groups her party members were assigned. the groups she, shi feng, and death wind were assigned were still relatively normal. the strongest member of their groups was only a member of a top 16 party. their groups also only had up to two members of parties that had made it past the preliminaries in the last continental championship. moreover, none of them were key members of their parties. as for the rest of their group members, they were relatively unknown experts among the three races. however, it was a different story for gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss. it wouldnt be an exaggeration to consider their groups as hell. each of them had to face anywhere from seven to ten members of parties that had made it past the preliminaries. the situation was especially bad in miniature world 006, the world gentle snow was assigned. in addition to having to face ten contenders who had successfully made it past the preliminaries in the past, she also had to face a key member of the previous championships top 8 party. returning blade the soul breaker! in terms of individual strength, returning blade could rank among the top 20 in the last continental championship. his ability to transform into a soul-breaking beast made it life-threatening for his opponents to face him head-on. anyone struck by the soul-breaking beast would not only lose hp but also have a portion of their souls devoured. moreover, the soul-breaking beast would usually remain in an ethereal form and only materialize when launching an attack, making it immune to attacks most of the time. to make matters worse, gentle snows first battle in her group was against returning blade. should gentle snow refuse to forfeit her match and insist on fighting returning blade, she might as well not fight in the remaining nineteen matches. guild leader black flame, how about advising gentle snow to forfeit her match against returning blade? returning blade is no ordinary expert. after the major system update, the threat of his soul-breaking beast has most likely risen to a whole new level. even trading blows with him would severely impact her performance in subsequent matches! verdant rainbow hurriedly said after contacting shi feng. gentle snow was zero wings vice guild leader, so verdant rainbow didnt think it would be appropriate for an outsider like herself to persuade the other party. after all, the continental championship was a precious opportunity for expert players to clash with apex experts of foreign races in a one-on-one scenario. thus, only shi feng, the guild leader of zero wing, had the qualifications to dissuade gentle snow from proceeding with her fight with returning blade. miss rainbow, i think we should leave this decision to snows judgment. while returning blade might be a powerful foe, zero wings vice guild leaders are no pushovers, either, shi feng said. despite seeing the worry on verdant rainbows face, he had no intention of intervening in gentle snows decisions. ever since gentle snow had been chosen by fates guidance[1], her strength had improved by leaps and bounds. now that she had equipped the new god chaser set, even shi feng had no idea how strong she had become. although there was still a possibility gentle snow might not be a match for returning blade, he doubted she would be outright defeated. meanwhile, verdant rainbow was at a loss of words after hearing shi fengs refusal. at this rate, their party might not even be able to make it past the preliminaries, let alone enter the championships top 4. at the same time, death wind couldnt help but smile when he was done inspecting the groups to which he and his party members were assigned. setting gentle snow aside, it would be a miracle if fervent samsara and heavy abyss could place fifth in their respective groups. now, all he had to do was place tenth in his group to win his bet with shi feng. miniature world 006s second match is over! winner: black jade of the holy race! miniature world 006s third match will now begin! may the holy races returning blade and the human races gentle snow take the ring! tl notes: [1]fates guidance: to recap, fates guidance is referring to the goddess armament set that appeared in chapter 554. i dont know what gentle snow had been chosen by fates guidance means exactly, but i doubt gentle snow has already conquered all twelve trials as she still needs to equip the god chaser set. a more likely scenario is that she has cleared one or two trials and obtained some of the goddesss legacy. Chapter 3708 - Chapter 782 - Goddesss Sword Technique (Advanced Gold Combat Technique) chapter 782 C goddesss sword technique (advanced gold combat technique) crucible of the ancients, miniature world 006: i finally get to see returning blade fight again. that human girl sure is unlucky to meet returning blade on her first match. i wonder how far she can push returning blade? it would be great if she could get him to reveal some of his cards. who do you take returning blade for? hes already considered one of the top 20 experts in the last continental championship. now that he has replaced his staff and all of his equipment, its obvious he has become much stronger. at this point, id be grateful if that human girl could even burn some of returning blades stamina, let alone force him to reveal his cards. i guess youre right. lets hope the human girl can last a little longer. when the participants in miniature world 006 saw returning blade and gentle snow step onto the ring, they started a hushed discussion among themselves. of the 21 participants assigned to miniature world 006, most deemed returning blade to be the strongest among them. so, whether they could rank first in the group depended on whether they could defeat returning blade. if it was before the major system update, none of them would have even considered defeating returning blade. however, following the major system update, the limitation that stamina and concentration placed on players had increased substantially, making it very challenging for players to fight at their peak for prolonged periods. thus, so long as returning blade failed to conserve his stamina and concentration adequately in his first few matches, it was entirely possible for the participants of miniature world 006 to defeat him. on the ring, returning blade and gentle snow stood facing each other. returning blade was a member of the holy race whose body was covered with holy patterns. he wore a silver-gray leather jacket, and his gaze was as sharp as a snake. although he looked no older than thirty, the way he carried himself indicated that he had already reached the unthinking realm. if placed among human players, he would be considered a monster among monsters. admit defeat. you are no match for me. when returning blade saw that the human female clad in silver armor and carrying a greatsword was only at level 187, he unceremoniously said, you will only be wasting your stamina and concentration by fighting me. youd be better off conserving them for your subsequent matches. you might even be able to secure a better placement. admit defeat to conserve my stamina and concentration? gentle snow smiled at returning blades suggestion. then, while grabbing the chaos windblade from her back, she said, but i dont think i will have to expend much stamina and concentration fighting you. as soon as gentle snow finished speaking, the spectators below the ring rolled their eyes in unison. they all thought that gentle snow was crazy beyond salvation. it should be known that returning blade was a key member of a top 8 party in the last continental championship. even when compared to the other players among the top 8, few would dare say they were superior in individual strength. one could say that he was second to only experts of the holy races garuda and the crystallians rins caliber. not to mention, after the major system update, the threat of returning blades soul-breaking beast had risen to a whole new level. now, even the experts who ranked among the top 10 of the previous continental championship would find it a headache to fight him. in contrast, gentle snow was a human berserker whose name nobody present had heard before. this proved that the various powers didnt consider her a noteworthy threat. yet, despite being such an insignificant character, she dared to treat returning blade with little regard. aside from having a few screws loose in her head, what else could lead her to do such a thing? good! very good! returning blade narrowed his eyes as he looked at gentle snow with an icy gaze. the last time i met a human player as audacious as you were when i lost to that girl elise. lets see how your audacity stacks up to hers! youre in luck, then. youll get to experience the same situation again, gentle snow calmly said. returning blade grew enraged at gentle snows remark. immediately, he exerted his holy aura and merged it with his staff, sparking a reaction that transformed him into a five-headed beast that was over twenty meters tall. the five-headed beast looked like the agglomeration of countless evil spirits, its body constantly phasing in and out of existence, making it impossible for players to see its appearance clearly. meanwhile, when the participants below the ring saw returning blades soul-breaking beast, they all revealed gloomy looks. hes using his trademark move right off the bat? this soul-breaking beast looks even stronger than the last one he transformed into! the last one only had three heads, while this one has two more! moreover, this ones aura is clearly stronger than level 200, tier 6 gods! when the spectating participants saw the level 192 soul-breaking beast, their souls experienced a suffocating feeling. those who had seen returning blades performance in the last continental championship were especially shocked to see how much returning blade had improved since then. fusion holy art, holy beast incarnation. it was a fusion holy art that allowed players to transform into a soul-breaking beast. meanwhile, the strength of the soul-breaking beast created could be determined based on the number of heads it had. this was because each additional head a soul-breaking beast possessed meant that it would gain an additional attack method. normally, when players used a doppelganger skill, they had to control their doppelgangers indirectly through the games system. the process was akin to manipulating a stringed puppet. however, that was not true for the soul-breaking beasts multiple heads. each additional head a soul-breaking beast had meant that the user could have their consciousness split one more time. this allowed them to manipulate each head directly as if they were manipulating their own body, which, in turn, enabled them to exhibit 100% of their combat standards with every head. die! as soon as his transformation was complete, returning blade had the soul-breaking beasts five heads strike out at gentle snow simultaneously. each head could extend infinitely and materialize at will. not only did this make it difficult to predict their attack trajectories, it was also challenging to predict when they would materialize. furthermore, all five heads could carry out their attacks without any need for thought, making it nigh-impossible to evade them. meanwhile, as returning blade expected, gentle snow could not evade all of his attacks. hence, she opted not to evade them. instead, she raised the chaos windblade and executed a downward swing. then, all of a sudden, the ground within a 50-yard radius of gentle snow sank. two of the soul-breaking beasts heads that were in the middle of launching an attack on gentle snow also fell to the ground like metal attracted to a powerful magnet. my attacks couldnt connect? returning blade couldnt help but doubt his five senses at this moment. the soul-breaking beasts body was his body, so he could feel everything it felt. originally, two of the soul-breaking beasts heads had materialized and were about to clamp down their jaws on gentle snow. yet, an invisible force had abruptly cut their advance short and redirected their attack trajectory when they were only a fingers width away from reaching her. aside from returning blade, the spectating participants below the ring were similarly confused as to what had just happened. so, this is the goddesss sword technique? while watching the live broadcast of gentle snows match, shi feng vaguely figured out how gentle snow achieved what she had just done. at a glance, it was obvious gentle snow had somehow created a downward wind pressure on the area around herself. although returning blades soul-breaking beast maintained an ethereal form, so long as it materialized, it would immediately be subjected to this downward pressure. it was also evident that the soul-breaking beasts heads were not immune to the pressure as they had their attack trajectories forcibly redirected. however, what shi feng couldnt figure out was what gentle snow had done to create this continuous wind pressure. it was an attack method he had never seen gentle snow use before, and he could only assume it was a combat technique she had learned through fates guidance. Chapter 3709 - Chapter 783 - Monster of a New Generation chapter 783 C monster of a new generation am i hallucinating? why didnt returning blades attack connect? this human girl is amazing! she actually stopped an attack from returning blade! are we going to see the birth of a new monster in the continental championship? when the spectators of miniature world 006 saw gentle snow stopping returning blades attacks, although they didnt understand how exactly she accomplished it, they knew how incredible of an accomplishment it was. this made them change their opinions of gentle snow. before the match between gentle snow and returning blade began, everyone thought the match was overwhelmingly in returning blades favor. but now, they felt that the match could go either way, and they immediately started to pay closer attention to the match. normally, a match-up between experts of returning blades caliber would only occur in the continental championships main event. for this reason, only parties who could rank among the top 64 would get to spectate such match-ups. it seems i have underestimated you. however, this is only the beginning! ultimately, returning blade was an expert among experts. although he couldnt quite understand how gentle snow had redirected the soul-breaking beasts attacks, he quickly realigned his emotions and made his next move. holy art, super size! suddenly, the soul-breaking beasts body expanded, transforming into a behemoth over 300 meters tall and occupying a considerable section of the ring. gentle snow also looked no different than an ant in front of the soul-breaking beasts mountainous figure. lets see how you deflect my attack this time! as soon as returning blade finished speaking, one of the soul-breaking beasts gigantic heads opened its maw to clamp down on gentle snow. not only did the current attack have a significantly greater aoe, but the power it exerted could also rival an all-out attack from a level 200, tier 6 god. additionally, because of super sizes effects, even if gentle snow could similarly deflect this stronger attack, the soul-breaking beast could alternatively choose to materialize itself only after it had devoured gentle snow already. although doing so would not deprive gentle snow of any hp, it would subject her to the soul-corroding properties of the soul-breaking beasts attacks. returning blade had learned super size thanks to the guidance he received in the last championship. originally, he had intended to reserve it as a trump card for when he went up against the members of the previous championships top 8 parties during the main event. however, now that gentle snow had shown herself capable of stopping his trademark move, he naturally couldnt afford to conserve his strength anymore. the preliminaries this time were much more competitive than the last championship, so if possible, he would prefer to defeat his opponents as quickly as possible. that way, he could conserve his stamina and concentration to the greatest extent to deal with future variables. trying to use size to your advantage? lets see who comes out on top, then! when gentle snow saw the soul-breaking beasts gigantic, ethereal head descending upon her, she abruptly inserted the chaos windblade into the ground and gathered her mana into the weapon. simultaneously, whether it was mana or holy power, all forms of energy in the ring began gathering around the chaos windblade, causing the weapon to give off a colorful radiance that brightly illuminated the entire miniature world. is this a human skill? thats not right! arent the human races skills and spells supposed to use mana only? how is she absorbing the holy races holy power as well? the spectators of miniature world 006 were in disbelief when they saw what was happening before their eyes. in fact, even shi feng, who was watching the matchs live broadcast, was a little dumbfounded. the energy used by every race of players in gods domain was preordained. human players could only use mana, while holy race players could use only holy power. it was impossible for the two races to use each others energy. although never explicitly stated, everyone regarded this as an ironclad law in gods domain. yet, gentle snow had broken this supposed law! subsequently, when the soul-breaking beasts attacking head came within ten yards of her, gentle snow suddenly removed the chaos windblade from the ground in a dramatic manner, causing everyone in the miniature world to feel agentle breeze brushing past their face did her execution fail? the spectators below the ring couldnt help but be confused by this situation. they couldnt see gentle snows actions yielding any effects. they also couldnt see anything happening to the soul-breaking beasts attacking head. so, their immediate reaction was to assume gentle snow had failed to execute whatever move she was trying to use. however, the spectators quickly noticed something was wrong. more specifically, they noticed that the soul-breaking beast had stopped moving entirely. immediately afterward, the spectators below the ring found their vision darkening. then, before they realized it, they were in the air and free-falling whats going on? the spectators in miniature world 006 were dumbfounded. they couldnt understand what was happening. however, shi feng and verdant rainbow, who were watching the match through the live broadcast, saw what happened very clearly. after gentle snow removed her greatsword from the ground, the space within miniature world 006 was flipped upside down. it wasnt that the spectators had suddenly appeared in mid-air, but that these players were falling toward the sky. even the soul-breaking beast, who remained in an ethereal state, was affected by this change gravity manipulation? shi feng was greatly shocked by this scene. previously, he had assumed gentle snows sword technique was related to wind pressure. however, looking at it now, that didnt seem to be the case at all. in its ethereal state, the soul-breaking beast was immune to all physical and magical attacks. the only thing that could affect it was gravity. this was why the soul-breaking beast would fall to the ground should it ever leap into the air. so, now that the direction of miniature world 006s gravity was reversed, the soul-breaking beast had no choice but to go along with gravity and fall to the miniature worlds new ground. meanwhile, after shi feng understood the true nature of the new strength gentle snow had grasped, he turned off the live broadcast and focused his attention elsewhere. after all, if gentle snow could manipulate gravity, and to such a great extent at that, the soul-breaking beast would gain no advantages from being in an ethereal state. and should returning blade try to compete with gentle snow in strength, he would quickly find himself outmatched. essentially, returning blades defeat was assured! back in miniature world 006, returning blade was in a state of confusion. currently, he couldnt even figure out what gentle snow had done, let alone touch her. to make matters worse, his hp was rapidly depleting over time. at this rate, he would lose over half of his hp by the time he landed. meanwhile, just like shi feng had anticipated, while returning blade was preparing for his landing, gentle snow reversed the gravity acting on him once more. ultimately, returning blade didnt even get to land an attack on gentle snow before he lost all of his hp following returning blades defeat, gentle snows fame skyrocketed. no longer was she considered a nobody. now, she was regarded as a new-generation monster who could defeat a top 20 expert from the last continental championship. at the same time, everyone also recognized her as the strongest expert in miniature world 006! zero wings vice guild leader, is it? when elise, the leader of demons gates party, received news of gentle snows achievement, she couldnt help but watch the battle video her party member had shared with her, a hint of intrigue coloring her eyes. Chapter 3710 - Chapter 784 - The New Replacing the Old chapter 784 C the new replacing the old who is that human newcomer? i cant believe returning blade lost to her. gentle snow? could she be a monster secretly nurtured by an apex power? the power of that move has definitely reached the standard of level 200, tier 6 gods already, but why havent i heard of her before? with such strength, she can probably rank among the top 15 experts in this championship. after the unexpected conclusion of gentle snows first match, the many parties that initially had their attention focused on returning blade shifted their emphasis to gentle snow. some of the former top-ranking holy race and crystallian parties also began to investigate gentle snow, wanting to know all there was to know about her. returning blade was a key member of one of the last championships top 8 parties. besides the former first- and second-ranked parties, every other party was paying close attention to him. after all, if they wished to enter the top 4, they would inevitably cross paths with returning blade. of course, the reason why even top-ranking parties had decided to pay attention to gentle snow wasnt solely because of her victory against returning blade. it was also because of how handily she had defeated him. it was obvious she still had some strength hidden, so the various top-ranking parties had to be wary of her. while a partys overall strength played an important role in the continental championships preliminaries, the individual strength of party members would become much more important in the main event. it wasnt strange to see one or two individuals dictating the performance of an entire party. what a powerful sword technique! verdant rainbow couldnt help but grow excited when she saw the conclusion of gentle snows first match. no wonder guild leader black flame was so confident! with such strength, she can probably hold her ground against even the former top-eight monsters! initially, verdant rainbow was still considerably worried about gentle snows performance in her supposedly hellish group. she feared that gentle snow might fail to score even one point. should that happen, their party could forget about advancing to the main event. however, after seeing gentle snows strength, verdant rainbow was confident the woman could compete for the group champion position, let alone the top 10. meanwhile, so long as a party had one member who managed to become a group champion in the preliminaries, the party would have a considerable chance of getting past the preliminaries. after all, there were only 120 groups in the preliminaries, and the party members of the former top 16 parties would usually become the group champions of most of these groups. this left only a small limited number of slots for other parties. hence, if a party could have two group champions, so long as the other party members didnt perform too terribly, the party would virtually be guaranteed a spot in the main event. this was also why verdant rainbow had originally sought to add two level 200-plus experts from zero wing to her party. contrasting verdant rainbows reaction, death wind revealed an ashen look when he finished watching gentle snows match. he never imagined gentle snow would be this strong. she was like a completely different person compared to when she fought in the defensive siege against the sun dynastys holy guard. unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the bad news he would receive while death wind was pinning his hopes on zero wings fervent samsara and heavy abyss, the two concluded their respective matches and shook death winds world once more. inside miniature world 023, fervent samsara went up against monoeye florist, a member of a former top 16 party from the crystallians, and emerged victorious! inside miniature world 045, heavy abyss went up against nightmare soul, a member of a former top 32 party from the holy race, and emerged victorious! although neither fervent samsara nor heavy abyss had put on an amazing performance like gentle snow, their victories left no room for doubt regarding their strength. additionally, both monoeye florist and nightmare soul were group champions in the last championships preliminaries, so while not as strong as returning blade, they could still be considered powerful experts. party leader rin, the party assembled by the seven luminaries alliances verdant rainbow is quite good. if we include verdant rainbow herself, her party now has four potential group champions, a young crystallian man who was over seven meters tall and carrying a war hammer said as he finished watching the noteworthy battle videos his subordinates had collected for him. moreover, these three newcomers have all defeated former group champions. that gentle snow woman, in particular, is practically as strong as my partys dusky dove. quite a few geniuses have popped up on the humans side since the last championship. standing beside the young man, rin, carrying a staff on the back of her six-meter-tall body, similarly revealed a look of interest after she was done watching the battle videos her subordinate had prepared for her. its not just the humans. the holy races sun dynasty and thunder empire have also added two incredible newcomers to their parties, rin said as she shared two battle videos with dead soul, the tall young man. although rin and dead soul did not belong to the same power, with the latter being the leader of an independent party, dead souls party was incredibly strong, having secured fourth place in the previous championship. dead soul, the dragon hammer, was also one of the few experts who could trade blows with the holy races divine fist garuda. meanwhile, of the two battle videos rin shared, the first showed the match of roaring flame, a new addition to the party led by the sun dynastys daystar, while the second showed the match of extreme feather, a new addition to the party led by the thunder empires garuda. roaring flame was a young man with crimson skin and golden holy patterns in his eyes, looking like a flame elf at first glance. in his video, he could be seen wielding a silver saber, and he used it to defeat a key member of a former top 8 party in one blow. the might of his attack was so powerful that it had destroyed the entire ring and nearly punctured a hole in the miniature world. as for extreme feather, she evoked the image of cold for those who laid eyes on her. in her video, she could be seen wielding two crescent blades as she moved about the ring at unbelievable speeds. she created over a hundred afterimages across the ring with only a step, and it took her only three moves to defeat six-eyed mad god, the strongest member of returning blades party and one of the top 10 experts in the previous continental championship. it truly is a surprise. i did not think so many of the last championships top experts would be defeated so soon into the preliminaries. i wonder how many of the former top twenty experts will remain by the end of the preliminaries, dead soul said with eyes full of anticipation. i expect only half will remain, rin calmly commented. the standards of the newcomers this time are quite high. dead soul nodded in agreement. he felt that there were indeed quite a few monsters among the newcomers this time. among them, there were even a few whom he had to be careful against, let alone the other former top 20 experts. while the leaders of the former second- and fourth-ranked parties were chatting, the contenders in miniature world 085 started a discussion on the upcoming match-up: black flame versus venom tail. as expected of sovereign marks newest holy child, venom tail has become a lot stronger compared to last time. not only did he bring a divine artifact with him this time, but the dangerous vibes i am getting from him have also intensified considerably. i wouldnt be surprised if he can match returning blade right now. i wouldnt count that black flame fella out just yet, though. i think hes a member of the verdant rainbow party, and you know how incredible the party has been performing thus far. it is now considered second only to the humans star maiden party. i wonder how strong black flame is. if he is as strong as venom tail, the verdant rainbow party will have a good chance of entering the top sixteen this time. it might even become the first human party to enter the top eight. the top eight? arent you underestimating the former top-eight parties a little? the verdant rainbow party might have defeated returning blade, but this seasons parties are evidently of a higher standard. even if black flame can match venom tail, the best the party can hope for is the top sixteen. any higher will just be wishful thinking. aside from the contenders in miniature world 085, many players who were paying attention to the verdant rainbow party had also tuned in to watch the match between black flame and venom tail. they were curious to see how far the verdant rainbow party could make it in the championship. Chapter 3711 - Chapter 785 - Tier 6 Skills That Exceed 100% chapter 785 C tier 6 skills that exceed 100% crucible of the ancients, miniature world 104: while a young lady elegantly made her way out of the ring, the nineteen spectating contenders outside remained silent, all of them wearing looks of disbelief as they looked at the dead young man from the holy race in the ring. eight paths died, just like that? this is the little monster of sovereign marks trump card party we are talking about! hes even one of the former top ten experts! how can he lose so easily?! a monster! this human girl is an absolute monster! she clearly only had a minor edge over eight paths when they fought in the last championship, yet she can now one-shot him?! elise is now probably as strong as garuda and rin, right? when the contenders outside the ring looked at elise, demons gates strongest chosen one, they felt like they were looking at a monster. it should be known that sovereign marks eight paths was no weakling. this could be inferred simply through looking at the two divine artifacts he had equipped. additionally, eight paths was the leader of a top 8 party in the previous continental championship. he had even butted heads with elises party in the round of 16. though slightly weaker than elise at the time, he leveraged the main events party-based format to achieve victory, halting elises partys advance in the top 16. but now, the difference in strength between eight paths and elise had expanded from a small gap to a massive chasm. elise had stepped into a completely different playing field. after elise made her way out of the ring, her silver eyes suddenly noticed a call request from phoenix flame. your highness, black flame is going up next, phoenix flame said excitedly when she saw her call getting connected. his opponent is sovereign marks venom tail. with him as the opponent, we should get a good estimate of black flames true strength. venom tail? he should suffice. elise nonchalantly nodded. if black flame hasnt improved since the defensive siege, he will have no chance at victory. currently, most powers participating in the continental championship were under the assumption that venom tail was only participating with one divine artifact. however, based on demons gates sources, venom tail had secretly borrowed a divine artifact from sovereign mark, meaning that he was actually participating with two divine artifacts. but arent we being a little too careful, your highness? phoenix flame asked in confusion. gentle snow might be able to pose some threat to you, but verdant rainbows party is still nowhere near strong enough to threaten us in the main event. even if black flame does defeat venom tail, i doubt their party can beat any of the former top eight parties. not to mention, black flame has repeatedly opposed us this entire time. you dont get it. when elise recalled the two moves gentle snow used against returning blade, she put on a serious expression and said, her sword technique is unlike any other. not even the divine fist and the earthen princess can confidently say they can win against her if she can perfectly execute it. the championship this time is also considerably different from before, and we must secure first place no matter what. if black flame can defeat venom tail, i wouldnt mind making their party my chess piece and helping them enter the top eight. understood. although phoenix flame was still confused, she had absolute faith in elises decisions. meanwhile, inside the ring of miniature world 085, venom tail and shi feng stood facing each other. although the match had already begun, neither of the two hurried to take action. we meet again, guild leader black flame. what a coincidence, venom tail said with a delighted look. my memory of you kicking me out of shadowring town remains fresh till this day, and i have been constantly thinking of how i should repay you. im glad to hear a holy child like you still remembers me, shi feng said, responding to venom tails disingenuous smile with a faint smile of his own. if you really wish to repay me, you can do so by surrendering right now. you really know how to make a joke, guild leader black flame, venom tail said while activating true eye, an identification skill that came with his legendary ring, on shi feng. then, he chuckled and continued, you want me to surrender? when you only have a fragmented legendary equipment set and a level of 190? when you dont even have a single divine artifact on you? originally, venom tail was still rather concerned about facing shi feng. this was because shi feng had kept his weapons, equipment, and level concealed while he was in shadowring town. he also didnt have an opportunity to use true eye on shi feng back then. however, after inspecting shi feng with true eye, he realized all his worries had been for nothing. under normal circumstances, the gap in strength between a player without a divine artifact and a player with a divine artifact was so massive that it was nigh impossible to bridge, even if the former had a considerable advantage in combat standards. needless to say, the gap would become even more gigantic if a player had two divine artifacts while the other had none. what do you mean by that? when shi feng saw venom tails smile turn cunning, he understood that venom tail must have used a powerful skill to determine the quality of his equipment. stop pretending, black flame, venom tail said unceremoniously. under the effects of my true eye, even legendary-ranked concealment tools are useless. i can clearly see that you barely have any legendary weapons and equipment, let alone divine artifacts. i will now let you know how foolish it was of you to kick me out of shadowring town! after saying so, venom tails aura skyrocketed in intensity. he also stopped concealing the presence of his two divine artifacts, letting their auras spread across the ring. at the same time, venom tail began to radiate a holy aura several times stronger than what chalk splendor radiated when he wielded the sunlight blade. two divine artifacts? how generous of sovereign mark. apart from that weapon, they even lent him a prized possession like the holy aura robe. black flame is doomed for sure. indeed. with the holy aura robes ability to amplify the wearers holy aura by three times, any skill venom tail uses will exceed the 100% completion rate threshold. now, every move he makes will be as powerful as an ancient saint of the same level. apart from the former top two experts, i dont think anyone here can afford to confront him directly. the holy race players in miniature world 085 were greatly astonished when they recognized the robe venom tail wore. whether it was for the human race or the holy race, divine artifacts were considered incomparably precious treasures. even royal powers that had existed for thousands of years would only have a very limited number of divine artifacts. it was especially so for top-tier divine artifacts. meanwhile, sovereign marks holy aura robe was a divine artifact of a similar caliber as the sun dynastys sunlight blade. when a player equipped it, their basic attributes would rise to a whole new level, and the holy aura they conjured would skyrocket in power. for a player of venom tails caliber, the holy aura he could conjure with the help of the holy aura robe would be vastly superior to even the holy aura of ancient saints. with such a powerful holy aura, he could combat ancient saints, the equivalent of the human races ancient gods, of the same level. when paired with a divine weapon, he would become a walking natural disaster in gods domain. at this point, no one present doubted that venom tail could obliterate the entire miniature world in a single blow if he chose to. you were quite proud of your towns tier 6 legendary guards, werent you? you thought there was nothing i could do because you had those god-ranked guards protecting you, huh? well, let me show you the absolute power of an ancient god! venom tail said as he abruptly leaped into the air and swung his ritual sword at shi feng. tier 6 holy skill, thousand light purification! skill completion rate: 103%! immediately, the ritual sword transformed into countless light particles that rained down on the ring, each comparable to the all-out attack of a level 192 ancient god. if struck directly by one of these attacks, even a level 200, tier 6 god would sustain serious injuries. at this time, the miniature world was also showing signs of collapse. absolute power? is that so? while looking at the descending light particles, shi feng leisurely unsheathed the shadow incinerator and executed an upward slash. at the same time, he also cast divine shadow, one of the tier 6 super spells he had learned when he advanced to tier 6. tier 6 super spell, divine shadow! spell completion rate: 105%! originally, shi feng had only managed to cast divine shadow with a 95% completion rate. however, under the influence of the god chaser sets six-piece set effect that increased skill and spell completion rates by 10%, his super spell was able to exceed the 100% threshold. Chapter 3712 - Chapter 786 - Successive Victories chapter 786 C successive victories boom! inside miniature world 085s ring, countless light particles could be seen clashing with hundreds of judgment swords, the shockwaves they generated creating cracks in the miniature worlds space. powerful space-time storms also began to brew within the miniature world, catching several of the spectating participants off-guard and reducing them to ashes on the spot. after the collision between the light particles and the judgment swords continued for about two seconds, several judgment swords managed to slip past the light particles and strike venom tail. seeing this, venom tail dared not risk receiving the attacks with his body, so he promptly brandished his ritual sword to defend himself. clang! clang! clang! following each judgment sword blocked, venom tail was pushed back a little further in the air. it felt like he was striking a sledgehammer each time he defended himself with his ritual sword. his hand trembled, and his hp also decreased by a significant amount. how is this possible? venom tail was filled with disbelief. it should be known that he currently had two divine artifacts empowering him. one of them was even the holy aura robe, a piece of equipment that could let him exceed the 100% completion rate threshold when using tier 6 skills. yet, despite having such items, he still failed to fully block shi fengs tier 6 super spell and even lost 20% of his hp as a result. this was simply unbelievable. before venom tail could overcome his shock, shi feng swung the shadow incinerator once more. immediately, the 300-plus judgment swords created by divine shadow assaulted venom tail for a second time, giving him no time to think. one wave two waves three waves the attacks executed by the judgment swords were as powerful as the attacks of a level 200 ancient god. although venom tail had desperately used all sorts of tier 6 skills and holy arts to defend himself, with over three hundred judgment swords attacking him together, his defenses crumbled rapidly, and the strength he took pride in became a complete joke. when shi feng swung the shadow incinerator for a fifth time, venom tail could do nothing but watch as his hp fell to zero meanwhile, inside miniature world 085, it wasnt until the system had announced black flame as the winner that time within the miniature world seemed to start flowing again. black flame won? thats the holy aura robe we are talking about! how can venom tail still be outmatched so thoroughly?! what kind of divine artifact is black flame wielding?! the spectators in the miniature world couldnt help but be shocked and confused when they saw venom tails miserable defeat. it should be known that venom tail had two divine artifacts equipped! admittedly, venom tail himself wasnt a particularly exceptional expert when put within the continental championship. he couldnt even be considered a top 30 expert in the previous championship. however, with the holy aura robe, one of sovereign marks prized possessions, empowering venom tail, not even an expert like returning blade should consider defeating him. after all, venom tail not only had the basic attributes of two divine artifacts to support him, but he could also execute all of his skills with a completion rate of over 100%, letting them exhibit more than double their original effects. in a frontal confrontation, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to consider him invincible in the continental championship. yet, some unknown human swordsman had defeated venom tail so handily are all members of this verdant rainbow party monsters? that guy isnt just a monster! hes a freak of nature! not even the divine fist can necessarily defeat venom tail in a frontal confrontation! if we are speaking purely in terms of strength, black flame is definitely the strongest in this championship! that kind of strength is indeed terrifying. i truly did not expect to see such an expert in a human party. black flame can definitely rank among the top ten in terms of individual strength. i wouldnt even be surprised if he can rank among the top five. when the other players in the crucible of the ancients saw shi fengs match with venom tail, they couldnt help but rethink their opinions of the verdant rainbow party. first, gentle snow had defeated returning blade, a former top 20 expert. now, black flame had defeated venom tail in five exchanges. with the verdant rainbow party having two experts capable of ranking among the continental championships top 10 experts, everyone had no choice but to reevaluate the partys significance. in the continental championship, a party with only one reliable expert could, at best, enter the top 16. a good example would be the human races star maiden party. with elise serving as the partys sole linchpin, the party ultimately failed to progress beyond the top 16 and could only settle for tenth place in the previous championship. it simply wasnt possible for a one-man party to achieve victory starting from the round of 16. it was especially so after the implementation of the major system update. with stamina and concentration becoming even more important, getting into the top 16 might be impossible for one-man parties. however, it was a different story now that it was revealed that the verdant rainbow party had two monstrously strong experts. the party was absolutely qualified to contend for a top 8 position, and it might even have hopes of entering the top 4. meanwhile, so long as a party was revealed to have hopes of entering the top 4, it would instantly become a powerful foe for all other parties. after all, the rewards for the top 4 were significantly more lucrative than those for other rankings, offering an opportunity for players to receive detailed guidance from the depths of the crucible of the ancients. it should be known that existences considered mighty, even among primordial god-ranked existences, could be found in the crucibles depths. the guidance provided by these existences could allow tier 6 players like themselves to make further progress in their tier 6 journey, so they naturally couldnt miss out on such an opportunity. currently, the highest tier players could achieve in gods domain was tier 6. this meant that players who reached tier 6 could no longer rely on increasing their tiers to improve their strength; they would need to seek out alternative methods. however, while tedious, tier 6 players could achieve qualitative improvements so long as they could successfully adopt one of these alternative methods. it was similar to the development of the mana body players had to experience at tier 4. if players could unlock 100% of their mana bodies, the power of their skills and spells would be on an entirely different level when compared to players who had yet to fully unlock their mana bodies. meanwhile, after shi feng defeated venom tail, he suddenly received a friend request followed by a call from demons gates star maiden. the star maiden? shi feng couldnt help but be a little surprised as he looked at the woman in the video, who looked to be in her early twenties. elise the star maidens fame was much greater than even death wind the divine eyes in shi fengs previous life. while death wind was considered one of demons gates nine great experts, elise was considered by demons gate as an anomaly that would only appear once every few centuries. many people assumed she would eventually become demons gates strongest expert if she hadnt suddenly gone missing in the twelve sanctuaries one day. greetings, guild leader black flame, elise greeted shi feng, her calm tone and demeanor making it seem like she was ignorant of the many offenses shi feng had committed against demons gate. i have an offer that i believe will interest you. Chapter 3713 - Chapter 787 - Ten Seeded Parties chapter 787 C ten seeded parties an offer? what kind? shi fengs eyebrow shot up as he met elises gaze, surprised not only by elises proposition but also by the very presence of demons gates undefeated champion. in shi fengs previous life, elise never lost a fight against any human player she challenged. just before she moved her operations from the eternal realm to the twelve sanctuaries, she even won a duel against a grand elder from demons gate. however, shortly after the all-out war between the human race and the holy race began, elise suddenly went missing, sending the entirety of demons gate into panic. at the time, demons gate had dropped everything it was doing to scour the twelve sanctuaries. even demons gates nine great experts had mobilized in full force to search for elise. it was a spectacle that spoke volumes of elises importance to demons gate. it should be known that even if demons gates guild leader suffered a permanent death, the guilds nine great experts would not act together to exact revenge. yet, they were willing to sacrifice large amounts of their time to search for elise, their actions surprising all powers back then. because of demons gates response, many rumors began to circulate. some speculated elise was internally designated as demons gates next guild leader. some also speculated elise possessed information pertaining to the path beyond tier 6. hence, even demons gates nine great experts were willing to waste their precious time to search for her. so, to see such an exalted figure from demons gate reaching out to him surprised shi feng. guild leader black flame, seeing as you are participating in the championship, i presume you are interested in entering the top four. in an indifferent tone, elise stated, my party can help you achieve that dream. as i am sure you have already learned of the main events rules from verdant rainbow, parties that make it into the main event are allowed to swap opponents with parties of the same race. with your partys strength, so long as you do not encounter the divine fist party and the earthen princess party, you should have a considerable chance at winning. are you perhaps offering to fight those two parties for us, miss elise? shi feng asked with a smile. that is correct. elise nodded. should you encounter those two parties, my party can take them on for you. in exchange, if my party encounters the two other former top four parties, i will need your party to fight them for me. i believe this is an excellent deal for you. elises words tempted and surprised shi feng. neither divine fist garuda nor earthen princess rin were ordinary characters. it wouldnt be an exaggeration to consider them the strongest player of their respective races in the current generation. even their party members, though beneath them in strength, were extraordinary experts. yet, elise spoke as if her victory against these two extraordinary parties was only a matter of course, and she was only making him this offer out of reluctance to reveal her full strength before she clashed with them. allow me to turn down your offer, miss elise, shi feng said after pondering in silence for a moment. why? elise asked, her indifferent voice tinged with a hint of confusion. do you find it an obligation to refuse because of zero wings hostile relationship with demons gate? no, thats not it. shi feng shook his head. i just think that your offer is lacking. lacking? elise chuckled. do you mean to say you are confident in entering the top four on your own, guild leader black flame? i am not trying to belittle you, but do you think you wont encounter either of those two parties before you enter the top four? no, not at all. shi feng shook his head and smiled. i merely think that even if my party comes across those two parties, we wont necessarily lose. elise did not immediately ridicule shi feng after hearing his statement. instead, she paused momentarily before asking, what are your conditions, then? as if expecting this question, shi feng firmly answered, the goddess tablet that is in your possession! in his previous life, there was a rumor speculating that elise had moved her operations to the twelve sanctuaries to search for the goddess of spaces legacy. initially, shi feng doubted the rumors credibility, but he quickly changed his mind once he learned that elise was the reason demons gate was relentlessly persecuting aqua rose and forcing her to surrender the stone tablet. unless elise knew that the stone tablet in aqua roses possession was a primordial god tablet, shi feng found it hard to imagine why someone of elises stature would go to such lengths to acquire it. however, under normal circumstances, it should be impossible for others to know that the tablet in aqua roses possession was a primordial god tablet. even aqua rose herself wasnt aware of the stone tablets actual identity, while shi feng only recognized it thanks to his past lifes knowledge. in a situation where one lacked the ability to interpret the tablet, most people would only assume the stone tablet contained a gods legacy, which could only be considered insignificant for the likes of an apex power like demons gate. yet, elise was adamant in acquiring this supposedly insignificant stone tablet in aqua roses possession. this led shi feng to believe that elise knew aqua rose possessed a primordial god tablet. moreover, she likely knew that the tablet was linked to the goddess of space, and the reason she knew this was because she, too, had a goddess tablet of her own. after all, there existed more than one goddess tablet, and without having a goddess tablet of her own, how could elise possibly know of the existence of other goddess tablets? you seem to know a lot. elise raised an eyebrow. i dont necessarily need you to transfer ownership of the goddess tablet to me, shi feng added. i only need you to lend it to me for a while. the dark moon mana technique recorded in aqua roses goddess tablet had three stages. if players wished to fully master it, they would need to be able to fully exert the strength of all seven elements. however, aqua roses tablet only contained detailed information about the law of space, while the information available on the remaining six elements was only enough to scratch the surface. in such a situation, it would take shi feng ages to master dark moon fully. if he wanted to accelerate this process, he would have to get his hands on more goddess tablets. you are still not qualified to negotiate conditions with me, elise bluntly stated. since your party doesnt want to compete for the top four, just pretend this conversation never happened. after saying so, elise disconnected the call, giving shi feng no opportunities to negotiate further. so you think i cant compete for the top four? shi feng chuckled as he looked at the disconnected call. lets see which of us will be more qualified to compete for the top four, then! he wasnt in a rush to acquire more goddess tablets. after all, he wasnt without alternatives. if it was before he acquired the tower of the abyss, he might have tried to negotiate with elise more seriously. however, now that he had the tower of the abyss, he could more than likely rely on it to perfect the dark moon mana technique. meanwhile, after elise ended her call with shi feng, phoenix flame promptly approached her to inquire about the outcome. how did black flame respond, your highness? phoenix flame asked, feeling a little surprised when she noticed the slight frown on elise. in her mind, elise would remain calm and indifferent when dealing with most matters, and very rarely would she express anger. hes nothing more than a megalomaniac, elise said as she flicked her sleeves. then, she instructed phoenix flame, saying, proceed according to the original plan. if we encounter the other two top four parties, its fine to reveal the majority of our cards. understood. phoenix flame nodded. following the conversation between shi feng and elise, the continental championships preliminaries progressed rapidly. after six hours, the battles in the 120 miniature worlds concluded, and all 420 participating parties were assigned their respective scores. among them, the 32 parties with the highest scores would advance to the main event, while everyone else was disqualified. while inspecting their scores on the scoreboard, the various parties couldnt help but be shocked when they saw the parties ranked among the top 32. although everyone already knew the participants this time around were stronger than the last championships participants, they hadnt expected that only 12 out of the former top 32 parties would make it past the preliminaries this time. even more shocking was the change to the preliminaries top 10 parties. 10th place C eight paths party C 87 points 7th place C star maiden party C 96 points 5th place C verdant rainbow party C 104 points Chapter 3714 - Chapter 788 - Sixth-Floor Existence chapter 788 C sixth-floor existence i must be hallucinating! how did half of the top 10 seeded parties get replaced? didnt the eight paths party rank in the top eight last time? how did it end up in tenth place? crap! whats up with that verdant rainbow party and ink crystal party?! a huge scoreboard appeared in mid-air when the preliminaries concluded. when the participants saw the information listed, gasps echoed across the crucible. while not a perfect indicator of strength, the rank and score each party secured in the preliminaries allowed other participants to gauge the partys overall strength. meanwhile, the top 10 parties in the preliminaries were traditionally regarded as the top 10 seeded parties. in past championships, although it wasnt uncommon for new names to appear among the top 10 seeded parties, the number was typically limited to just one or two. yet, now, not only did the top 10 seeded parties welcome five new names, but two of them even entered the top 5. firstly, it was the human races verdant rainbow party. five of its members became group champions of their respective groups and earned 20 points each, while the last member came in eighth place and earned 4 points, putting the partys total at 104 points. in the past, such a total wouldnt even be enough to put a party in the top 10. yet, the verdant rainbow party managed to come in fifth place. this was simply unbelievable. however, what was even more astonishing was the crystallians second-ranked ink crystal party. all six party members ended up as group champions, putting their total points at 120. this was the same as the total score the third-ranked earthen princess party secured, and the fact that the ink crystal party managed to rank above the earthen princess party was the part that shocked everyone. it wasnt uncommon to see multiple parties score the full 120 points in past championships. in such situations, time would become the tiebreaker, and these parties would be ranked based on the time they spent on matches in the preliminaries. in other words, the ink crystal partys members completed their matches faster than the members of the former second-ranked earthen princess party. im a chosen one from a crystallian power, but why havent i heard of any of the ink crystal partys members before? what?! the ink crystal partys leader is just a little girl! going by her looks, is she even eighteen? hahaha! what an amazing little girl! its only her first time participating in the continental championship, yet shes already made such an incredible achievement! our race has a bright future ahead! the humans arent doing too bad this time, either. one of their parties actually squeezed into fifth place. it seems theyve made a lot of progress during this period. upon seeing the results on the scoreboard, some participants celebrated, while some grew anxious. in the case of the holy races participants, most of them wore gloomy expressions. in the last championships preliminaries, the holy race occupied 19 out of the top 32 positions, while the crystallians occupied 10 and the humans occupied 3. this time, however, the holy race only had 15 parties in the top 32, while the crystallians had 12 and the humans had 5. this indicated that the holy races overall development was starting to lag behind the two other races and even risked being overtaken by the crystallians. the holy races performance was even worse when looking at the top 5 seeded parties. of them, only two parties were from the holy race, while two were from the crystallians, and one was from the humans. this outcome was utterly disheartening. although its a pity we didnt get through the preliminaries this time, the verdant rainbow party has earned a lot of prestige for us humans. well also get assigned more admission tickets for the next championship. indeed. i really didnt expect to see five of our parties making it through the preliminaries this time. its a pity my party doesnt even have the qualifications to spectate when the many human parties that failed to rank in the top 64 saw the main events name list, they couldnt help but rue over their inability. the continental championships main event was a clash between the apex existences of the eternal realms three continents. fights of such caliber could rarely be seen, even in the greater gods domain. in a certain sense, players could gain more from spectating such fights than personally participating in the continental championships preliminaries. after all, if a player had never seen the apex of gods domain, how were they supposed to know if they were halfway there or still wasting their time at the starting line? although the various human powers would often host combat competitions across the greater gods domain, none could compare with the continental championship. after all, the majority of the participants in these competitions would be at the fourth-floor standard, while only the strongest participants would be at the fifth-floor standard. even then, these fifth-floor experts could only be considered mediocre at best. in contrast, even the weakest participant in the continental championship was a fifth-floor expert. shortly after the preliminaries results were announced, the parties that failed to rank in the top 64 were teleported out of the crucible of the ancients. simultaneously, the top 32 parties were teleported to the main events venue, and everyone promptly began scrutinizing each other. is she ink crystal? rin, the earthen princess, revealed an astonished expression as she looked at a crystallian girl who was only a little over five meters tall. at first glance, the crystallian girl named ink crystal looked adorable. however, whether it was rin or garuda, a hint of fear quickly surfaced in their eyes when they finished scrutinizing ink crystal. a pseudo-sixth-floor expert? garuda smiled when he finished scrutinizing ink crystal. interesting! how interesting! my trip here this time wasnt a waste after all! aside from rin and garuda, shi feng was also staring at the adorable crystallian girl named ink crystal. whats going on? shi feng couldnt help but be dumbfounded as he looked at ink crystal. while shi feng couldnt say the same for the other participants present, he knew exactly what ink crystals combat standard was. this was because he had personally seen experts of ink crystals caliber in his previous life. a sixth-floor expert! ink crystal was a bona fide sixth-floor expert! she was a peerless monster who could reach the tower of the abysss sixth floor and single-handedly defeat gods! however, as far as shi feng could recall, he had never heard of any crystallian girl named ink crystal in his previous life. not to mention, despite being so young, the girl had already achieved such a frightening standard. before shi feng could snap out of his daze, a voice echoed across the crucible of the ancients. the continental championships main event has begun! may the verdant rainbow party and the holy guard party step forward to start the first match! Chapter 3715 - Chapter 789 - Combating the Holy Guard Party chapter 789 C combating the holy guard party when the ancient and majestic voice echoed across the crucible, it caused a stir among the 64 parties in the venue. were starting the main event with such an exciting match-up? two of the top ten seeded parties are matched against each other, right off the bat? how unlucky of them. i know, right? both parties have a chance at entering the top eight. yet, one of them will be stuck in the top thirty-two. what nonsense are you spouting? we all know that the holy guard party is a bona fide top-eight party, whereas that human party only got lucky with the groups its members were assigned in the preliminaries. the main event involves party-based fights that test the overall strength of parties. points scored in the preliminaries mean nothing in the main event. indeed. there are many examples of seeded parties in past preliminaries failing to survive even the first round of the main event. the spectating crowd started a hushed discussion as the two parties approached the central ring. many players found it a pity that the main event would begin with such an exciting match-up. they felt that both the holy guard party and the verdant rainbow party had the potential to compete for the top 8. yet, one of these parties was now fated to settle in the top 32. however, some holy race and crystallian players also expressed opposing opinions. they felt the verdant rainbow party had relied on luck to become one of the top 10 seeded parties, and the partys results in the preliminaries could not prove that the party was among the ten strongest parties in the continental championship. hahaha! black flame must be dumbfounded right now! he probably never expected in a million years he would face the arbiter of deaths party right off the bat! phoenix flame couldnt help but laugh out loud when she saw the verdant rainbow party entering the central ring. he cant even enter the top sixteen now, let alone the top eight! phoenix flame was very displeased when she learned that the verdant rainbow party was ranked fifth in the preliminaries. her mood became especially bitter when many holy race and crystallian parties started to discuss how the verdant rainbow party was the human races strongest party this time around. this situation was an affront to demons gates party. fortunately, demons gate would not need to stomach this humiliation much longer. the continental championships main event pitted parties against each other. battles would not be conducted on the individual level like in the preliminaries. hence, a partys overall strength weighed heavily in the main event. additionally, the major system update caused players stamina and concentration consumption to increase drastically. this, in turn, affected players ability to fight extended battles and reduced the effectiveness of individual players in group combat. although the verdant rainbow party had a monster known as black flame, the other party members were insignificant characters. at most, gentle snow and verdant rainbow could be considered qualified combatants. but in overall strength, the holy guard party, with its latest line-up, was on a completely different level than the verdant rainbow party. in the previous championship, daystar was the star of the holy guard party, and she was even considered one of the top 5 experts at the time. however, although her party members were weaker than her, every one of them was still stronger than verdant rainbow. in this season, the holy guard partys line-up became even more terrifying. apart from daystar remaining as the partys leader, the rest of the party was replaced with the sun dynastys holy children. while chalk splendor, who ranked last among the sun dynastys holy children, could be considered negligible, the man and the woman standing beside daystar were existences whom even the thunder empires garuda had to be wary of. this was because the two were none other than the sun dynastys first holy child, holy blood, and second holy child, moon demon. in individual strength, holy blood and moon demon could be put on the same level as daystar. they might even be stronger than the arbiter of death as they had spent much more time as the sun dynastys holy children than daystar. its still too soon to discount the verdant rainbow party, elise said, offering a rare comment. the battles in the main event take place in randomly selected maps, and party members are randomly scattered at the start of the battle. if the verdant rainbow party can regroup ahead of the holy guard party, they can use numbers to their advantage. phoenix flame did not deny elises sentiment. if the main event allowed parties to start each match grouped up, the holy guard party was almost certain to defeat the verdant rainbow party. firstly, there was daystar, who was considered to be an all-around expert and the strongest in overall strength among the sun dynastys holy children. then, there was holy blood and moon demon, the former being considered the strongest melee combatant and the latter being considered the strongest ranged combatant among the sun dynastys holy children. if these three worked together, even garuda, regarded as the strongest player among the holy races current generation, would likely experience defeat. however, like the preliminaries, the main event also incorporated luck-based factors to give weaker parties a chance to surpass stronger parties. aside from having to fight in more complex terrains, party members in the main event had to start each match separated. this created an opportunity for players to gain a numerical advantage over their opponents. even if a party was considered weaker than its opponent, achieving victory wouldnt be out of the question if it could regroup sooner than its opponent and capitalize on its numerical advantage. this was why the various royal and apex powers had yet to monopolize the continental championship and why weaker parties still had a chance of basking in glory. of course, not all of the top-tier parties shared elises sentiment. even while knowing the main events mechanisms, they did not think highly of the verdant rainbow partys prospects. this was because the holy guard partys members were clearly much stronger than the verdant rainbow partys members. in addition to each of the holy guard partys members being equipped with a divine weapon, daystar, holy blood, and moon demon were also unthinking realm experts. even if only a few of them managed to group up, they could beat the living daylights out of the entire verdant rainbow party. in the central ring shortly after the two parties were in position, a bright flash enveloped the entire ring. when the bright flash faded, the ring that originally covered only a 1,000-yard radius had transformed into a ruined urban setting covered with tall buildings. the battlefield was as vast as a large map, and even tier 6 experts would require upwards of twenty minutes to traverse from edge to center. currently, the twelve members of the two parties stood scattered across the ruined city. each player also had a screen displaying their situation to the spectators outside the ring. the moment the twelve players regained vision of their surroundings, they burst into a sprint as if premeditated, leaving behind numerous afterimages as they made their way to the heart of the city. although the main events maps were large, they would shrink with time. hence, parties would usually prioritize grouping up in the maps center and avoid fighting while numerically disadvantaged. while the spectators thought it would be a while before the first fight broke out between the two parties, moon demon, who had been maneuvering through the outskirts of the urban ruins like an agile snake, suddenly stopped atop a residential building. then, her head snapped to a particular direction, while her eyes focused on a figure speeding across a distant street, the figure in question being none other than shi feng. what incredible senses! even with the battlefield suppressing everyones senses heavily, she managed to detect him from so far away! phoenix flame exclaimed while spectating moon demon. black flame is in trouble now! while phoenix flame was talking, moon demon melded with her surroundings and vanished. however, although the spectators could no longer see her, the rapidly changing environment displayed on the screen indicated that moon demon was closing in on shi feng. Chapter 3716 - Chapter 790 - Dual Advanced Law Projection chapter 790 C dual advanced law projection commander azure, do you think guild leader black flame stands a chance against moon demon? frost raven, seated in the spectator stands as a member of the order of twelves party, asked the man sitting beside her while she anxiously watched shi fengs and moon demons livestreams. the man sitting beside frost raven was named azure dragon, and he was a level 193, tier 6 shield warrior in his early thirties. when he heard frost ravens question, he pondered in silence for a long while. i cant say. azure dragon ultimately shook his head, his gaze solemn as he watched shi feng remain ignorant of the imminent danger. moon demons hunting methods are out of the norm. our great commander is at the unthinking realm, but even he barely managed to block moon demons attacks while aware of her presence. although black flame has previously shown himself to possess astonishing strength, field combat is different from a duel. unless moon demon gets discovered, she will likely succeed in her ambush. this is also why assassin- and ranger-type classes are considered the best for field pvp. the sun dynastys moon demon was known by all in the southern region. in her debut battle in the southern region, she single-handedly hunted a 1,000-man tier 6 legion belonging to the order of twelve using her sly and elusive marksmanship. additionally, she wasnt even using a divine weapon back then. with the sun dynasty equipping each of its representatives with at least one divine weapon for the continental championship, it went without saying moon demons current strength was vastly superior to before. doesnt that mean guild leader black flame will be the first player to get eliminated? frost raven asked. it was honestly a surprise for frost raven to participate in the continental championship on behalf of the order of twelve this time. it was even more of a surprise when she saw shi feng participating in the same continental championship and defeating venom tail, a chosen one of one of the holy races royal powers. as a human and a swordsman player, she found the outcome invigorating. although demons gate reigned supreme in the southern region, it ultimately wasnt as powerful as the holy races royal powers. any human player with experience fighting large numbers of holy race players would know this. on average, the holy races players were individually stronger than human players, and they would become a fearsome force when present in large numbers. moreover, these were only ordinary experts they were talking about. the holy races chosen ones were even more terrifying, and frost raven doubted her whole party could win a fight against one of the holy races chosen ones. currently, even across the entire order of twelve, only a few members could survive in one-on-one combat with the holy races chosen ones, and this knowledge caused frost raven to feel despair. originally, frost raven had started to see some hope again after seeing shi fengs victory, but now that wont necessarily be the case, azure dragon said, his expression becoming more focused as moon demon moved closer and closer to shi feng. although moon demon discovered black flame first, her maximum shooting range should not exceed three hundred yards. they are still over a thousand yards apart right now. so long as black flame can detect moon demon before she closes the distance to three hundred yards, he still has a chance to block her attacks. and so long as black flame can stop moon demons first volley, she will be put into a passive state. if black flame can get within melee range of her, victory will be his. upon hearing azure dragons comments, frost raven placed all her attention on shi fengs livestream, hoping that shi feng could detect moon demon before it was too late. at this time, the various holy race and crystallian parties were also watching moon demon approach shi feng with great interest. the current battlefield was a city covered with many high-rises. compared to primal forests, getting within 300 yards of another player without getting detected was much easier in such a setting. the complex interiors of each building made it especially easy for players to advance undetected. the only problem with such an urban setting was the limited ambush points available. hence, the first ambush attempt was key. so long as moon demon failed in her first ambush attempt, shi feng would definitely be able to pinpoint her position and track her down. at that time, moon demons disadvantage of being a marksman would be amplified considerably. under the spectators gazes, moon demons willowy figure silently shuttled between buildings, moving ever closer to shi feng. all the while, shi feng, who was steadily advancing to the center of the city, remained ignorant of moon demons presence. when less than 500 yards separated the two, moon demon settled down on the middle floor of a 50-story building in shi fengs path. then, she quietly stood ten yards away from the window with her repeating crossbow raised and seemingly entered a trance, her aura disappearing completely. for a moment, the spectators even lost sight of moon demon. only, when they looked carefully at the screen, their brains quickly realized moon demon was still standing there. meanwhile, shi feng, who had moved within 400 yards of moon demons location, remained ignorant of moon demons presence. not even his sixth sense had picked up on the imminent danger. however, contrary to everyones expectations, moon demon did not attack shi feng as soon as he arrived within 300 yards of her. instead, she maintained her trance-like state as she watched shi feng leave her sight. then, one second after she lost sight of shi feng whoosh! in one swift motion, moon demon concentrated her holy aura into her repeating crossbow and pulled the trigger. then, before any sound could even spread, sixteen crossbow bolts left the repeating crossbow, drawing a beautiful arc as they rapidly closed in on shi fengs back. meanwhile, when the sixteen bolts arrived within 30 yards of shi feng, shi fengs sixth sense finally issued him a warning. however, because of how fast the crossbow bolts were, even though shi feng had detected them, there simply wasnt enough time for his body to make any responses, much less block all sixteen of them. what terrifying marksmanship azure dragon muttered in shock and trepidation when he saw this scene. moon demons marksmanship was simply unpredictable. it wasnt until the very last moment that her attacks revealed their presence to shi feng. however, at such a close distance, not even unthinking realm experts could react fast enough to defend against her attacks. under such circumstances, the best an unthinking realm expert could hope for was to block a few of moon demons attacks. but with moon demons basic attributes, getting hit by even a few of her attacks would be a death sentence. at this time, shi feng was also in shock. almost instinctively, he activated the winter of eternal nights void barrier, nullifying the damage of all attacks within a 100-yard radius. bang bang bang a series of knocking sounds came from half a yard away from shi feng, which was followed by sixteen crossbow bolts falling to the ground beside shi fengs feet. holy crap! shi feng was greatly shocked as he looked at the sixteen bolts on the ground. what kind of presence concealment method is that?! although shi feng had entered the match mentally prepared to fight unthinking realm experts like daystar, he never imagined fighting such an expert out in the fields would be so different from fighting traditional fifth-floor experts. it was like he was going up against a completely different type of opponent. it should be known that his physique was enhanced by his superior divine body. yet, even his sixth sense had failed to detect moon demons attacks until the very last second. moreover, he could tell that this situation wasnt due to his basic attributes being inferior. it was entirely due to the other partys combat standard thoroughly outclassing his. no amount of basic attributes would have let him react to those crossbow bolts any sooner. honestly, had he not instinctively activated a lifesaving skill just now, those sixteen bolts would have sealed his fate. oh? you blocked them. not bad. when moon demon heard the sound her bolts generated, she didnt even need to see to know what had happened. with a smile in her eyes, she leisurely rearmed her repeating crossbow while saying, but i wonder how many more skills you have to use to block my attacks? skills and spells had durations and cooldowns. in the case of lifesaving skills, they typically had short durations and long cooldowns. it was a stark contrast to her attacks, which did not rely on any skills and hence did not have a duration or cooldown. additionally, with the city buildings providing cover for her, she should be safe from detection and free to attack shi feng for some time. however, just as moon demon was about to launch her second volley, shi feng, who understood he was in a precarious situation, suddenly smiled. as expected of the holy guard party. it seems i have no choice but to rely on some unconventional methods. while sweeping his gaze across the buildings before him, shi feng said in a low voice, if you think i only have strength to fall back on, you are sorely mistaken! dual advanced law projection! Chapter 3717 - Chapter 791 - Two Versus One chapter 791 C two versus one what a fast reaction! those shots were simply beautiful! these two people are amazing! is this how a clash between the top ten experts is supposed to be? the spectators watching from the spectator stands and outside the ring momentarily forgot to breathe as they watched the initial exchange between moon demon and shi feng. after watching the two clash, some spectators even started to find themselves unworthy of considering themselves experts. moon demons long-range offensive capabilities were simply stupendous. unlike other ranger-type players who relied on strength or numbers to achieve victory, moon demon relied solely on technique. unless her opponent could maintain an invulnerable state for long periods, theyd be a fish on the chopping block against the combination of her exceptional presence concealment and elusive marksmanship. of course, shi feng was likewise extraordinary. he had correctly identified his limitations as soon as he detected moon demons attacks and activated an invulnerability-type defensive skill to protect himself. had he stubbornly chosen to block or dodge moon demons attacks, death would have greeted him either way. although black flame has blocked the first volley, moon demon managed to keep her position hidden using her groundbreaking marksmanship, azure dragon commented and sighed when he saw shi feng successfully neutralizing moon demons attacks. now, it will be a fight to see who can outlast the other. invulnerability skills and spells had limited duration. if shi feng couldnt locate moon demon within this limited period, death would be his only outcome. to make matters worse, shi feng didnt have the option to conduct an area bombardment on the general area where moon demons attacks originated from. the continental championships main event placed an extraordinarily powerful suppression on players. even tier 6 gods would have their destructive capabilities suppressed to the standard of a tier 2 player, while a tier 6 curse cast by a tier 6 mage god could not bring down even a single high-rise. while shi feng was strong enough to demolish all of the buildings within a 300-yard radius of him, he would need an unreasonable length of time to accomplish it. however, as soon as azure dragon finished speaking, a law projection suddenly descended upon a 500-yard radius around shi feng. the law projection radiated an oppressive feeling that reached the spectators, and even tier 6 gods would most likely have their basic attributes and physique weakened by up to 50%, let alone tier 6 players. what a powerful law projection! what kind of law projection is this?! even the advanced law projection i saw last season could only cover a 100-yard radius, yet this thing is covering a 500-yard radius! the spectators were dumbfounded when they saw the law projection that suddenly appeared. law projection was an ability that the tier 6 players of all three races could use. however, rarely would anybody bother to use it in the continental championship, especially not in the main event. this was because virtually every chosen one in the main event could use advanced law projection. meanwhile, in a situation where both sides could use advanced law projection, neither side would gain an advantage over the other, and they would merely put more strain on their already-limited concentration. not to mention, advanced law projections in the main event could only cover a 100-yard radius. such a small law projection could be of hardly any use in reconnaissance. however, shi fengs law projection was vastly superior to any law projection anyone had ever seen in the continental championships main event. simply the fact that it covered a 500-yard radius was enough to make it invaluable in the main event. shi feng would become a walking radar with his law projection active, and he could locate allies and enemies much more easily. this, in turn, allowed him to create more favorable fights for himself and his party. not to mention, his law projection also had an incredibly powerful suppressive effect. on the battlefield, moon demon was equally shocked when she sensed shi fengs dual advanced law projection. she never expected shi feng to have such a powerful detection method. almost at the same time as she fired her second volley, her instincts as a marksman kicked in, and she turned around and fled without a second thought. in addition to having a 500-yard detection radius, shi fengs law projection also exerted an unimaginably powerful suppression. even when moon demon tried to counter it with her own advanced law projection, she still had her basic attributes reduced by 20%. if she had to engage shi feng in melee combat in such a state, she would be at an overwhelming disadvantage. i found you! as soon as moon demon moved, shi feng immediately looked toward a 50-story building no more than 300 yards away. then, he executed flowing space, his body shooting toward the building like a cannonball. what?! moon demon experienced another mental blow when she sensed the speed at which shi feng was gaining on her. hes nearly as fast as when i am unsuppressed! however, despite her astonishment, moon demon did not reduce her speed in the slightest. she also began firing at shi feng with her repeating crossbow to disrupt his advance. subsequently, a cat-and-mouse game ensued amidst the outskirts of the dilapidated city. throughout the process, the gap between the two continuously shrank while explosions rocked the area one after another. after a while, shi feng finally closed the gap enough to spot moon demons long white hair and dark gray leather outfit. however, before he could catch up to moon demon, he suddenly sensed the presence of another holy race player entering his law projection. this other holy race players life rating felt monstrous, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to regard the other party as a mini holy ancestor. additionally, he could sense that this other holy race player was advancing straight toward him. holy blood, is it? when shi feng focused his attention on this new arrival, he quickly identified the other party as holy blood, the sun dynastys first holy child. on moon demons side, while moon demon was jumping between high-rises, a solemn voice suddenly entered her ears. moon, black flame cannot be allowed to live, holy blood said to moon demon through the party chat as soon as he was within the 500-yard communication range. we must eliminate him right here and now! it seems im pretty lucky for you to be the first person i meet up with. when moon demon heard holy bloods voice, her mind immediately pictured a three-meter-tall man, and she couldnt help but smile. okay, ill try to lure him to you. however, i cant promise he will give chase. when moon demon realized shi feng had detected her with his law projection, she began to attack him relentlessly. however, she didnt do so solely to impede shi fengs advance. she also did it to attract the attention of nearby players. after all, trying to escape from an expert with superior basic attributes was unrealistic. not to mention, said expert could pinpoint her location so long as she remained within 500 yards of him. of course, she was also taking a huge risk in doing so. this was because the commotion she created wouldnt simply attract the notice of her party members. it would also attract the attention of the enemys party members. so, her fate would depend on which side she attracted first. fortunately, moon demons gamble paid off, and holy blood was the first to approach her. holy blood had the strongest physique of the holy guard partys six members. he was more than capable of engaging shi feng in melee combat. meanwhile, with holy blood keeping shi feng distracted, all she needed to do was coordinate her attacks with holy blood, and they should have no trouble eliminating shi feng. just try your best! holy blood understood that there were no fools among experts of their caliber. he knew it was unlikely shi feng would fall into their trap and put himself in a disadvantageous position. Chapter 3718 - Chapter 792 - Pseudo-Goddess Law chapter 792 C pseudo-goddess law when the spectators saw the change in development, many couldnt help but grow disappointed. how unlucky of black flame. he was so close to eliminating moon demon. indeed. that law projection of his is simply terrifying. moon demon probably wouldnt last ten moves against black flame in a melee engagement. but now that holy blood is here, black flame will have to retreat regardless. otherwise, if he gets entangled with holy blood, he will become an easy target for moon demon. in that kind of situation, even garuda would be in trouble. what a pity. if holy blood wasnt the first to show up but someone else instead, black flame could have chosen to hold his ground. when the spectators saw holy blood dashing toward shi feng, they couldnt help but sympathize with the verdant rainbow party. admittedly, shi fengs law projection was powerful. however, holy bloods physique was likewise extraordinary, being regarded as the player with the strongest physique in the sun dynasty. holy bloods life rating was also incredibly close to reaching the holy ancestor standard, which, in turn, granted him exceptional basic attributes. additionally, holy blood had mastered many offensive and defensive holy arts. even if shi fengs law projection could suppress holy bloods basic attributes by 20%, he wouldnt hold much of an advantage over the other party. if shi feng were to engage holy blood and moon demon in an extended fight, he would inevitably lose. meanwhile, frost raven couldnt help but frown when she saw this unexpected turn of events. you dont have to get anxious, azure dragon said when he noticed the change in frost ravens mood. the holy guard party might have good luck, but black flames law projection is no joke. i would even go as far as to call it a tactical weapon. so long as black flame can regroup with the rest of his party, the verdant rainbow party will still hold the overall advantage. frost raven pondered over azure dragons words for a moment before she nodded in agreement. although shi feng had lost the opportunity to eliminate moon demon, it did not change the fact that his law projection could impose a powerful suppression on all his enemies. hence, the verdant rainbow party still held a considerable advantage in this match. so long as the verdant rainbow party could avoid taking any casualties before everyone regrouped, it would have a considerable chance of winning the match. however, contrary to the expectations of frost raven and the other spectating human players, shi feng did not distance himself from moon demon. on the contrary, the gap between them continued to shrink, and shi feng behaved like he would not rest until he had killed moon demon. is black flame insane? when phoenix flame saw that shi feng was persisting in his pursuit despite holy blood having moved within 300 yards of moon demon, even she couldnt help but be astonished. for an expert like holy blood, 300 yards was not a great distance. even while heavily suppressed by the battlefields environment and shi fengs law projection, holy blood could close this distance in three seconds. meanwhile, even if shi feng managed to catch up to moon demon this instant, he wouldnt be able to kill moon demon in three seconds. ultimately, holy blood would be able to intercept shi feng and keep him distracted so that moon blood could kill him. sitting beside phoenix flame, elise was also a little surprised when she saw shi feng refusing to retreat. for experts participating in the continental championship, it was crucial for them to know how to look at the bigger picture. they needed to know what to do and when to do it. the last thing they should do was to let their emotions cloud their judgment. this was already the second time shi fengs behavior had confused her. previously, the man had countered her offer with an unreasonable demand. now, he refused to retreat despite being in a highly disadvantageous position. what an interesting person you are. are you really planning to fight us by yourself? moon demon couldnt help but poke fun at shi feng while watching the latter persistently chasing after her. originally, moon demon had thought to verbally provoke shi feng to get him to keep up the chase. however, shi fengs behavior exceeded her expectations. even after noticing holy bloods presence, shi feng did not halt his pursuit. on the contrary, he had further intensified his pursuit. shi fengs behavior was so strange that it even gave her the illusion that he had been waiting for holy bloods arrival. what if i am? shi feng stated bluntly. let me see what you are made of, then! holy blood, who had already moved within 100 yards of shi feng, shouted as he threw a punch at shi feng. fusion holy art, blood waterfall! when holy blood threw his punch, even with the powerful suppression that was acting on him, he transformed into a crimson tiger several times his size and lunged at shi feng, leaving five sonic booms in his wake. the tigers size also grew as it got closer to shi feng, while the strength of its aura soared to the standard of level 200 ancient gods. in response to this frightening punch, shi feng swung the sword in his hand. third sword, holy annihilation! overbearing flames engulfed the crimson tiger, their collision generating a metallic ring and sending dazzling sparks flying everywhere. then, both the flames and the crimson tiger erased each other from existence, and holy bloods fist smashed into shi fengs longsword, the impact creating a shockwave that rocked the buildings within a 100-yard radius. following this straightforward exchange, shi feng stumbled three steps backward, while holy blood flew back by over a dozen yards. he still has so much strength, even while suppressed by my law projection? shi feng was surprised when he saw holy blood faring not much worse than him. it should be known that shi fengs strength was currently at the standard of level 200 ancient gods. even if he was only at the entry level of the threshold, this was still the strength of a level 200 ancient god they were talking about. logically, such strength should be enough to overwhelm holy blood, who was only a level 193 player. yet, despite holy blood being suppressed by his law projection, he only managed to gain a slight advantage over the other party. they would likely be equal in strength if holy blood wasnt suppressed. meanwhile, although holy blood maintained a calm expression, he was greatly shaken inside. the pairing of his exceptional life rating and divine gauntlets granted him a massive advantage in basic attributes over players of the same level. holy blood even dared to say that garuda was inferior to him in this regard. yet, now, a human swordsman had surpassed him in basic attributes. this was simply unbelievable. moon, we must eliminate this person right here and now. i will keep him distracted for you, so do whatever it takes to kill him, holy blood commanded as he looked at moon demon. understood, moon demon responded, focusing on shi feng. only at this moment did she truly understand the extent of shi fengs terror. previously, although moon demon knew shi feng possessed extraordinary basic attributes, she still believed that holy blood was superior in this regard. she never expected shi fengs basic attributes to be at such a frightening level. out of everyone in the holy guard party, only holy blood and daystar could afford to face shi feng in direct combat. if anyone else were to get within melee range of shi feng, they would probably be dead in a few exchanges. there were many variables in a six-on-six match. nobody could guarantee whether shi feng could get within range of the other four members. if they didnt kill shi feng now and let the match develop into a six-on-six party battle, their chances of defeat would be much greater than their chances of victory. subsequently, holy blood could be seen transforming into a 100-meter-tall crimson tiger and lunging at shi feng. at the same time, moon demon fired her repeating crossbow, launching all her crossbow bolts straight through the crimson tiger, evidently resolved to eliminate shi feng at the cost of holy bloods life. holy blood and moon demon were incredibly swift in their actions. it wasnt until their bodies had gone into motion that shi feng perceived their actions. additionally, even though shi feng had the basic attributes of a level 200 ancient god, his sixth sense still warned him of imminent death. come! however, shi feng did not back away from the danger. after all, this was the moment he had been waiting for this entire time. immediately, shi feng merged the law of space and the law of destruction he had mastered. then, he used the fusion of the two advanced laws to cast his law projection. according to the information he had gathered in his previous life, the goddess law transcended advanced laws. if players wished to achieve the standard of a goddess law, they would need to fuse three advanced laws. currently, he had fused the law of destruction he had mastered in his previous life with the law of space he had mastered in this life. although the fusion of the two wasnt enough to reach the goddess law standard, it could still be considered a pseudo-goddess law, and he could use it to cast a law projection that was considerably stronger than before. Chapter 3719 - Chapter 793 - Gold-Ranked Swords Orbit chapter 793 C gold-ranked swords orbit bang! bang! bang! on a street lined with high-rises, holy blood and moon demon suddenly felt their bodies stiffening as they were executing their attack on shi feng. their basic attributes also fell by another 20%, which, in turn, caused their attack speed to plummet. ultimately, even though holy blood and moon demon could execute movements without having to first process them through their minds, the average speed of their attacks still fell behind shi fengs. the sound of metal ringing echoed across the street in rapid succession. contrary to everyones expectations, shi feng blocked all of holy bloods and moon demons attacks, taking no damage whatsoever. how is this possible?! this unexpected development dumbfounded the spectators. they never expected the suppressive effect of shi fengs law projection to become stronger. originally, holy blood and moon demon were already experiencing an overall suppression of 20% because of shi fengs law projection. now, it had increased to over 30%, creating a qualitative difference between them and shi feng in attack speed. moreover, besides attack speed, the strength advantage shi feng originally had over holy blood also widened. as a result, holy blood was sent flying over 20 yards away after their clash, and his hp fell by over 20%. how can his law projection be so strong? moon demons mind was mired in confusion as she looked at shi feng in disbelief. previously, the fact that shi fengs law projection could suppress her and holy blood by 20% despite them also having advanced law projections was already astonishing. now, shi fengs law projection could no longer be considered astonishing. it was utterly frightening. currently, the suppression they experienced was akin to the suppression an advanced law projection would impose on a basic law projection. the two were on completely different levels. moon! retreat! when holy blood experienced the change in shi fengs law projection, he immediately understood that they were no longer a match for shi feng. they would only be adding more variables if they persisted in their fight. moon demon nodded, similarly understanding that they couldnt afford to keep fighting with shi feng. if they continued their fight, all three of them would end up wasting precious stamina and concentration. while it would be beneficial if they could exhaust a huge threat like shi feng, the problem was that they couldnt do any damage to shi feng, whereas shi feng could deal considerable damage to them. this meant that they would ultimately lose and that it would be foolish to keep fighting shi feng. now, their best option would be to regroup with daystar and work with her to eliminate shi feng. otherwise, the holy guard party would never win this match. do you think ill let you leave so easily? when shi feng saw holy blood and moon demon intending to withdraw, he immediately executed swords orbit with his two swords. holy blood and moon demon were two of the sun dynastys three strongest holy children. they were also among the three key combatants of the holy guard party. so long as shi feng could eliminate them here, the match was as good as won. conversely, if shi feng allowed holy blood and moon demon to regroup with daystar, even if he could now cast his law projection with the pseudo-goddess law, he dared not say he could win with certainty. aside from being known as the arbiter of death, daystar had also mastered two advanced laws, specifically the law of death and the law of time. this was a secret only a few people should be aware of in this timeline, and shi feng had only learned of it because daystar had exhibited both advanced laws in the war between the two races. although daystar had never shown herself capable of merging advanced laws, likely because she never learned the goddess of spaces dark moon mana technique, she should have no problem casting her law projection using two separate advanced laws. at that time, the suppressive effect shi fengs law projection could impose on her would be incredibly limited, and he would be fortunate if he could even suppress her by 10%. originally, shi feng had only considered using his dual advanced law projection to eliminate moon demon. he had not planned to reveal his fusion law. however, since holy blood decided to join the fight, shi feng decided he didnt need to conceal this trump card any longer. immediately, shi feng created countless sword lights around him, which, in turn, merged into dazzling stars that bombarded holy blood and moon demon. although swords orbit was only an advanced silver combat technique, it was the fastest sword technique in shi fengs repertoire. additionally, it cost considerably less concentration to execute swords orbit than it did to execute a more powerful technique like dark moon and holy annihilation. it cost shi feng several times more concentration to maintain his pseudo-goddess law projection than it did to maintain his dual advanced law projection. if he tried to execute dark moon or holy annihilation in this situation, his concentration would run dry in the blink of an eye. after all, his concentration was only at the tier 6 pseudo-peak standard. it hadnt actually reached the tier 6 peak standard yet. hence, he could only afford to pair swords orbit with his pseudo-goddess law projection. furthermore, a law projection was originally intended to convert every aspect of the surrounding environment to benefit the user. now that shi feng was casting his law projection with a pseudo-goddess law, he could detect the flaws in his swords orbit. when he developed swords orbit into an advanced silver combat technique, he had only refined it with the goal of pushing his body to its limits, and he had always felt that it was missing something. unfortunately, he could never determine what exactly was missing. now, though, thanks to his pseudo-goddess law projection, he finally understood what the advanced-silver swords orbit lackedintegration with and manipulation of the surrounding environment. what a fast sword technique! moon demon was briefly astonished when she saw shi fengs sword orbit. however, immediately afterward, a smirk formed on her face. its a pity it is lacking in power. shi fengs swords orbit indeed possessed incredible speed. however, in terms of raw power, it couldnt even come close to shi fengs holy annihilation. even with shi fengs law projection suppressing them by over 30%, moon demon and holy blood could still deflect all of shi fengs attacks without taking any damage. after several dozen exchanges between the two sides, a deafening explosion suddenly came from a nearby plaza. someones fighting over there! almost simultaneously, shi feng, holy blood, and moon demon turned to look at a plaza roughly 3,000 yards away. nine players could be seen fighting in the dilapidated plaza, and they were none other than the other members of the holy guard and verdant rainbow parties. among them, gentle snow and verdant rainbow fought against daystar, while fervent samsara, heavy abyss, and death wind each took on one of the holy guard partys remaining members. currently, while fervent samsara, heavy abyss, and death wind were still holding their ground against their respective opponents, gentle snow and verdant rainbow were having trouble keeping up with daystars onslaught, and it was evident they would not last much longer. daystar fought while wielding two ritual swords. the ritual swords behaved like whips in her hands, flexible and unpredictable. daystar could also change their trajectories without any forewarning, so even unthinking realm experts would have a headache dealing with them, let alone individuals who had yet to reach the unthinking realm like gentle snow and verdant rainbow. in reality, the only reason gentle snow and verdant rainbow could survive against daystar until now was entirely because of gentle snows basic attributes and mastery over gravity. without these two factors enabling her to withstand and redirect daystars attacks, she and verdant rainbow would have died in the first few exchanges. even so, mistakes were bound to happen if they did nothing but defend, and both of them now had less than 30% of their hps remaining. a chance! holy bloods and moon demons eyes glimmered when they saw the current state of gentle snow and verdant rainbow. it was evident gentle snow and verdant rainbow were on their last breath. if they could kill these two women and regroup with daystar, shi fengs fate would be sealed. a chance? thats only if you can live to take it! when shi feng saw holy blood and moon demons excited behavior, a ruthless glint appeared in his eyes. then, he suddenly started brandishing his swords in slow motion, swinging them along with the wind and space. after executing swords orbit dozens of times in the environment created by his pseudo-goddess law projection, he finally understood how he could integrate swords orbit with the surrounding environment. at the same time as shi feng started to execute the new and improved version of swords orbit, the sound of a system notification also rang in his ears. system: congratulations! you have developed swords orbit into a gold combat technique! tl notes: a) their basic attributes also fell by another 20% b) originally, holy blood and moon demon were already experiencing an overall suppression of 20% because of shi fengs law projection. now, it had increased to over 30% i think the 20% in a) is calculated based on their current basic attributes, which is at 80% of their original. so, the second 20% reduction would translate to 16% of their original basic attributes, which would put their final basic attributes at 64% [100-20-16] of their original basic attributes. Chapter 3720 - Chapter 794 - Arbiter of Death chapter 794 C arbiter of death hundreds of rotating sword lights spread across the dilapidated urban sprawl, demolishing every building in their path and causing rubble to rain on the street. when the sword lights dissipated, dust and smoke clouds filled the air. amidst the ruins, moon demon pushed away the debris covering her. although she did not sustain any visible injuries, her previous delight was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a grave expression. how did his sword technique improve so much all of a sudden? moon demon was greatly puzzled as she looked at her hp bar and holy bloods corpse. previously, although she and holy blood remained at a disadvantage after working together, they could still trade blows with shi feng without taking catastrophic damage. but now, in just one move, shi feng had not only killed holy blood, but he had also plundered over 30% of her hp. moreover, this was only because holy blood was the recipient of 90% of shi fengs attacks. had she received half of shi fengs attacks, she would most certainly have died. success! meanwhile, shi feng was ecstatic as he looked at the system notification before him. in gods domain, players would only be considered to have reached the apex if they had learned a gold combat technique. this was because only combat techniques that had reached the gold rank could pose a threat to fifth-floor experts and above. previously, although he had learned the gold-ranked flowing space, it primarily enhanced his maneuverability since it was a body technique. while he could use flowing space to overwhelm his opponents senses, he still had to ensure he had an advantage in basic attributes if he wanted to overpower his opponents defenses. of the top-tier techniques in his repertoire, only dark moon, a primordial god-ranked mana technique, enhanced his offensive power significantly and allowed him to threaten stronger opponents. now that swords orbit had been elevated to the gold rank, he would have one more offensive measure to fall back on. additionally, as swords orbit was a gold combat technique, using it would place less burden on his concentration than a primordial god-ranked mana technique. it also wouldnt conflict with the mana control of his law projection as its execution relied solely on the users body. hence, even though his concentration was only at the tier 6 advanced standard currently, he could afford to cast a pseudo-goddess law projection while using a gold combat technique. this development increased his combat power significantly. in his current state, he wouldnt need much time to finish off moon demon. meanwhile, this unexpected development excited the various human spectators. what a powerful sword technique! the holy guard party is in trouble. theres no way moon demon can last long by herself. once black flame regroups with verdant rainbow, not even daystar can survive against them. now that holy blood, one of the holy guard partys top three combatants, was taken out of the picture, it would only be a matter of time before moon demon followed in his shoes. to make matters worse, daystar was currently being kept busy by gentle snow and verdant rainbow. at this rate, the verdant rainbow partys victory was as good as guaranteed. amidst the spectators discussion, a 100-meter-tall, hundred-armed giant suddenly appeared in the plaza. as soon as the giant appeared, it sent a flurry of punches at gentle snow, verdant rainbow, fervent samsara, heavy abyss, and death wind, each of its punches carrying the power of a level 200 ancient god. chalk splendor is finally getting desperate! is this the moonlight blades power? among the sun dynastys seven arcanas were the sunlight and moonlight blades. although the sun dynasty had previously lost the sunlight blade to shi feng, it still retained the moonlight blade, and the divine weapon was assigned to chalk splendor when he was selected to participate in the continental championship. meanwhile, unlike the sunlight blade, which made its wielder nigh-unkillable, the moonlight blade granted its wielder ultimate power. even though chalk splendor was currently only at level 191, when he activated the moonlight blades moonlight body skill, he could gain strength that was at the limits of the level 200 ancient god standard. although the skill had a very short duration and cost the wielder levels to activate, it allowed the wielder to essentially one-shot any tier 6 player below level 200. boom! boom! boom! on the battlefield, hundreds of illusory fists bombarded verdant rainbow and the others at speeds that broke the sound barrier. when facing these illusory fists, even verdant rainbow, who was equipped with two divine artifacts, and gentle snow, who had basic attributes nearing the standard of level 200 ancient gods, felt a sense of peril. whoosh! suddenly, verdant rainbow started to move at speeds far greater than anything she had exhibited thus far. in only an instant, several hundred afterimages of verdant rainbow formed across the plaza, each firing a volley of arrows at the descending illusory fists. this was the effect of future price, a skill that came with the divine necklace space-time teardrop. when activated, future price would temporarily improve the users perception of time at the cost of the users levels. the more levels the user sacrificed, the more strength and speed they would gain. when the illusory fists and arrows collided, a series of deafening explosions echoed across the plaza, and the terrain around the plaza was devastated. the exchange between chalk splendor and verdant rainbow happened at lightning speeds, and only a few spectators outside the ring could keep up with them. following the initial exchange, it instantly became apparent that verdant rainbows strength was inferior to chalk splendors. although she had an edge over chalk splendor in speed, it wasnt enough to prevent chalk splendor from getting to her allies. as more exchanges occurred, death wind became the first to succumb to the illusory fists, and it was only a matter of time before gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss followed. ultimately, when verdant rainbow saw that death was imminent, she decided to forgo defense and fire an arrow at chalk splendor with all her might. blinding light enveloped the plaza briefly. when the brilliance faded, verdant rainbow, gentle snow, fervent samsara, and heavy abyss lay dead on the ground alongside death wind. meanwhile, the hundred-armed giant that chalk splendor had transformed into was missing its head, while the two other members of the holy guard party had a gaping hole in their hearts. of the four holy guard party members fighting in the plaza, only daystar managed to block verdant rainbows dying retaliation. amazing! i didnt think she could claim the lives of chalk splendor and two other holy children at the very last moment! crap! isnt the moonlight body supposed to be invincible against tier 6 players under level 200? how did it end with a one-for-three trade? incredible! as expected of the seven luminaries alliances brightest chosen one in recent years! even in death, she managed to drag the moonlight body down with her! when the spectators saw verdant rainbow succeed in her attempt at mutual destruction, they couldnt help but feel admiration for her. the sun dynasty didnt regard the moonlight blade as one of its seven arcanas for nothing. when a level 191, tier 6 player like chalk splendor activated the moonlight blades moonlight body, there was no tier 6 player under level 200 he couldnt kill. although shi feng was strong enough to kill holy blood, he would likely die if he tried to clash with chalk splendor while moonlight bodys effect was still active. not to mention, he also had to go up against daystar simultaneously. fortunately, verdant rainbow eliminated chalk splendor and two other holy children at the last moment, preventing shi feng from encountering the worst possible situation. meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, shi feng had deprived moon demon of her remaining hp, leaving only him and daystar on the battlefield. it seems we are the only two left, daystar said as she watched shi feng flying toward her with her three eyes. then, looking at verdant rainbows crumbling body, she added, i must admit, i have underestimated you all. i didnt expect chalk to get killed at the last moment. miss rainbow isnt as weak as you think. she is the leader of our party, after all, shi feng said, chuckling. shi feng wasnt particularly surprised by the sudden burst of strength verdant rainbow displayed at the end. after all, verdant rainbow was known as the god hunter in his previous life. it was just that she had yet to unleash her full potential thus far. but your luck ends here, daystar said as she returned her gaze to shi feng. then, the two ritual swords she wielded vanished, and a banner spear took their place. deaths banner! this was the name of daystars new weapon, and it was the divine weapon that led her to become known as the arbiter of death. you may be right, but i beg to differ. shi feng understood that daystar was getting serious, so he cast his pseudo-goddess law projection without hesitation. Chapter 3721 - Chapter 795 – Death’s Banner chapter 795 C deaths banner when shi feng and daystar were the only ones left in the ring, the atmosphere outside the ring grew tense. i did not expect the match to end with a one-on-one between these two. a former top-five expert versus a current top-ten expert. i wonder who will turn out stronger? daystar isnt known as the arbiter of death for nothing. aside from garuda and rin, nobody else from the last championship can confidently say they can defeat daystar. not to mention, black flame is only considered one of the current top-ten experts. how can he possibly be a match for daystar? i agree. also, black flame has already expended much of his stamina and concentration fighting holy blood and moon demon. in contrast, daystar has never fought seriously this entire time, and only now did she take out her trademark weapon. generally speaking, black flames chances of victory are slim. but you cant discount black flames incredible law projection. that thing can suppress even holy bloods physique by over 30%. it is the strongest law projection i have ever seen. although i admit daystar is amazing, can she beat black flame if she is suppressed by over 30% in all aspects? the spectators debated the confrontation between shi feng and daystar. the debate was especially heated among human and holy race players. at this point, everyone could agree that, whether it was the verdant rainbow party or the holy guard party, both had the qualifications to enter the continental championships top 8. there was also no doubt that the ace combatants of the two parties stood at the apex of their respective races. as soon as azure dragon finished speaking, the holy race experts sitting nearby instantly cast a look of disdain at him. do you humans honestly think the former top eight parties are pushovers? or do you think having a powerful law projection is enough to enter the top eight? theyve probably forgotten the might of daystar. after all, daystar hasnt used her deaths banner even once in this championship. now that she has brought out the divine weapon, her combat power is at least twice as much as before. even if she is weakened by 30%, black flame will still be no match for her. the words of the spectating holy race experts earned nods of agreement from many nearby players. they could only see the spectating human players as ignorant for thinking that a human player could be a match for a chosen one of the holy race. meanwhile, outside the ring, verdant rainbow and the other resurrected members of the verdant rainbow party wore serious expressions as they looked at the main screen above the ring. its all up to you now, guild leader black flame! verdant rainbow anxiously clenched her fists as she watched the showdown between shi feng and daystar. if possible, verdant rainbow would have wanted to fight alongside shi feng. however, she never expected the sun dynasty to loan the moonlight blade to chalk splendor after the latter had lost the sunlight blade. she also didnt expect chalk splendor to be willing to pay the price of using moonlight body. this situation left her with no choice but to respond with all her might. dammit! if only i had fully grasped that sword technique! gentle snow similarly felt anxious and reluctant. had she mastered the goddesss sword technique, while she wouldnt necessarily be able to defeat the moonlight body, she should have no problem surviving against it. meanwhile, had she survived the final bout, she could have fought alongside shi feng and increased their partys chances of winning. in the plaza filled with dust clouds your law projection is indeed incredible. unfortunately, it will not affect me the same way it affected holy blood and moon demon, daystar said as she slammed the silver banner she wielded into the ground and cast her law projection. boom! immediately, shi fengs law projection was forced ten yards away from daystar, and its suppressive effect was dampened significantly. now, the suppressive effect daystar experienced was just 10% rather than over 30%. additionally, spirits of the dead started to rise from the ground around daystar, forming an undead legion of a thousand strong in the blink of an eye. each of the spirits in the undead legion shared the same level and tier as daystar. they even shared the same basic attributes. additionally, each spirit had its own unique appearance, with some even looking like humans and crystallians. most importantly, all of them exhibited combat standards at the fifth-floor standard, their movements resembling living players. when daystars legion of undead appeared, many among the spectators gasped. this was because they recognized some of the faces of these spirits. deaths will. this was a skill that came with the divine weapon known as deaths banner, and it allowed the wielder to summon any player they had killed in the form of a spirit. moreover, the summoned spirits would retain 100% of the replicated players combat standards. is this daystars true strength? azure dragon was at a loss for words as he looked at the undead legion on the screen. how is this possible? frost raven, who was originally confident in shi feng, also found this situation unbelievable, her body getting goosebumps. it was one thing for daystar to be able to summon a thousand fifth-floor experts. however, to frost ravens disbelief, some of the replicated human experts were in the top 100 of the divine glory list. she even spotted the faces of several commanders from the order of twelve is she hacking? how can such a divine artifact exist? fervent samsara muttered in disbelief as he looked at the undead legion. at this point, the fight between shi feng and daystar could no longer be considered a battle between two players. it was virtually a battle between one player and an entire legion. furthermore, this legion was composed of a thousand fifth-floor experts. with such strength, even feats such as slaying an ancient god or destroying an entire realm wouldnt be out of the question. i have laid waste to multiple realms with my collection. though i rarely use it against individual players, you are worthy of this privilege, daystar said as she gazed indifferently at shi feng. after this battle, you, too, will enter my collection. although deaths banner was not included among the sun dynastys seven arcanas, it was a heaven-defying divine weapon. unlike most divine weapons, deaths banner only had one ability, and that was to create perfect replicas of the players deaths banner had killed. additionally, the stronger the wielders concentration, the more replicas they could summon. in the hands of the weak, deaths banners ability was negligible. however, in the hands of experts like daystar, it was an ability that could defy the heavens. so long as daystar killed enough experts, she could summon an army of experts to fight for her. at a certain point, she could even become a one-man apex power. im flattered, shi feng calmly responded. but if you think you can defeat me with this army, i suggest you reconsider. after saying so, shi feng took out the feather of oath and summoned the war goddesses. Chapter 3722 - Chapter 796 - War Goddesses VS Legion of Undead chapter 796 C war goddesses vs legion of undead is black flame using a summoning tool? whats the point of using a summoning tool at this time? hes going up against a thousand experts nearing daystars standard. even if all of us watching here fought her, we wouldnt necessarily win, let alone a couple of tier 6 summons. when the spectators saw the several summoning arrays in the plaza, they were all puzzled by shi fengs actions, and they could only see this situation as shi fengs attempt to delay the inevitable. a 1,000-man legion of fifth-floor experts under level 200 could easily conquer even taboo mode dungeons. hence, a couple of tier 6 summons could do little to help shi feng in his fight against daystar. amidst the spectators discussion, six war goddesses clad in holy armor and armed with various weapons descended upon the plaza, each exuding a suffocating aura. level 200, tier 6 war goddesses! level 200 was a major turning point in gods domain. it was especially so for npcs like war goddesses. compared to monsters, npcs wouldnt receive as much of a boost in basic attributes when they reached level 200. however, their weapons and equipment would undergo drastic transformations. for reference, the average level 200, tier 6 npc would typically be fully equipped with legendary weapons and equipment, and they could put up a good fight against barely equipped level 200, tier 6 gods. stronger tier 6 npcs would have a fragmented divine artifact-ranked weapon, and they would be as strong as barely equipped tier 6 gods. as for the six war goddesses, they were fully equipped with fragmented divine artifacts i must be dreaming! how can this be real?! is that summoning tool a divine artifact? the holy race experts who originally wanted to ridicule shi feng for overestimating his capabilities gaped in shock when they saw the six war goddesses. even verdant rainbow and the others who were aware of the feather of oaths existence couldnt help but be shocked. tools that could summon level 200, tier 6 npcs werent particularly rare in the greater gods domain. all major powers would have some of these tools. only, none of them could summon npcs as strong as war goddesses. it was also completely unheard-of for summoned tier 6 npcs to come fully equipped with fragmented divine artifacts. it should be known that the rarity of fragmented divine artifacts was much greater than that of legendary weapons. even the various apex powers didnt have many in their possession. aside from their chosen ones, they would never assign a fragmented divine artifact to their younger generation members. as for being fully equipped with fragmented divine artifacts, not even the various apex powers executives could necessarily enjoy such a privilege. although npcs in gods domain had a much easier time obtaining high-quality equipment, obtaining a full set of fragmented divine artifacts remained a nigh-impossible task for most npcs. the technology to produce weapons and equipment at the fragmented divine artifact rank and above was lost during the mythical era, and virtually all the ones that exist today originated from the mythical era and had traceable origins. typically, tier 6 npcs fully equipped with fragmented divine artifacts were rulers of an entire realm in the greater gods domain. even the war gods temple had fully equipped only one of its war goddesses with fragmented divine artifacts when it mobilized its forces to stop the twenty-two taboos from terrorizing the greater gods domain in the past. yet, now, shi feng had summoned six of such war goddesses. how could everyone not be shocked? meanwhile, in the ruined plaza after looking at the six war goddesses he summoned, shi feng turned to daystar and said, lets begin, then. there existed a qualitative difference between the feather of oath and deaths banner. although the feather of oath remained in a damaged state, it wasnt considered one of the goddess of spaces most prized possessions without a reason. in its complete state, the feather of oath could enable the goddess of space to trade blows with a primordial god of the same level. although deaths banner was indeed heaven-defying, it was nowhere near strong enough to let its wielder fight a primordial god. you have truly surprised me, daystar admitted, a hint of surprise coloring her face. however, she quickly regained her calm and said, but you are destined to fall! my spirits can be resummoned without end, whereas your war goddesses will stay dead should they die! you are right. shi feng nonchalantly nodded in acknowledgment when he heard daystar point out the feather of oaths weakness. then, he added, but that will only matter if you can last until they die! the feather of oath shared a common flaw with all summoning tools: the inability to resummon summoned creatures within a short time after death.[1] however, deaths banner wasnt without its flaws, either. although the weapon could summon an endless stream of spirits, doing so greatly burdened the wielders concentration. the more spirits the wielder summoned, the greater the burden on their concentration. after the major system update, this flaw would become especially apparent. lets see which of us can last longer, then! daystar raised her banner spear and charged at shi feng without hesitation. simultaneously, the undead behind her also charged with her. every spirit possessed the combat standard and instincts of the player they replicated. as they advanced, they executed their trademark moves on shi feng, completely ignoring the war goddesses and their own lives. in the blink of an eye, over a hundred ranged attacks exhibiting power bombarded shi feng, each as strong as an all-out attack from holy blood. attack! when shi feng saw the oncoming spirits, he promptly commanded the war goddesses to retaliate, not daring to treat the situation lightly. at shi fengs command, the six war goddesses positioned themselves in front of shi feng, and one of them summoned numerous divine pattern barriers with her shield, creating a wall of light between herself and the undead legion. then, a longbow-wielding war goddess nocked her weapon and fired at the incoming attacks. whoosh whoosh whoosh a wall of densely packed arrows flew forward, striking down most of the incoming attacks and eliminating over half of the advancing undead legion in the blink of an eye. as for the dozen or so attacks that managed to make it past the wall of arrows, they were deflected by the wall of light before they could even get near shi feng. before anyone could voice their surprise at the divine pattern barriers defensive prowess, the remaining four war goddesses, armed with a greatsword, a spear, a battle axe, and a two-handed saber, respectively, charged past the barriers. then, like precision machines, they began slaughtering the spirits with perfect movements. none of them made any excess movements, killing at least one spirit with every move. even level 190-plus, tier 6 fifth-floor experts were nothing more than children in front of the war goddesses, and over a hundred spirits were erased from existence in the blink of an eye. however, daystar was no ordinary expert. even after seeing most of her spirits getting killed in the first exchange, she showed no fear and simply resummoned all of them. the spirits also started acting as her shield, enabling her to bypass the six war goddesses and easily reach shi feng. then, the surrounding space began to tremble as daystar swung her banner spear down at shi feng, making it feel like the world was collapsing around him. holy ancestor-ranked holy art, spatial demolition! in response, shi feng swung the shadow incinerator to meet daystars attack. gold combat technique, swords orbit! tl notes: [1]taken from chapter 508: the summoned war goddesses only had a duration of three hours. while the feather of oaths war goddess summoning skill didnt have a cooldown, each war goddess had a hidden summoning cooldown of one natural day. so, even if he had seven luminaries crystals to spare, he couldnt summon them limitlessly. Chapter 3723 - Chapter 797 - Top 16 Party chapter 797 C top 16 party boom! a powerful shockwave spread across the plaza as shi feng and daystar traded blows. following the exchange, shi feng felt his entire arm growing numb, as if he had just struck an impenetrable wall with the shadow incinerator. he also stumbled five steps backward before he managed to stabilize his body, each step he took leaving huge cracks in the ground. what incredible strength, daystar thought, shock and confusion flashing in her eyes. she had similarly suffered from the impact of her clash with shi feng, the force transmitted through her banner spear enough to send her flying over a dozen yards away. it should be known that she currently had two divine artifacts equipped. combined with spatial demolition, a holy ancestor-ranked holy art, she could exhibit power matching a tier 6 super spell or tier 6 curse used by a level 200 ancient god, even while suppressed by shi fengs law projection. yet, she still failed to overpower shi feng. this was simply unbelievable. incredible. as expected of the arbiter of death. shi feng was equally surprised by the outcome of his exchange with daystar. although he did not have any divine artifacts equipped, his basic attributes should closely rival those of level 200 ancient gods. yet, even after he had used the upgraded swords orbit, he still failed to gain a significant advantage over daystar. the other party was terrifying beyond words. again! even after experiencing failure, daystar did not intend to change her approach. without hesitation, she executed spatial demolition against shi feng once more. come! shi feng also chose not to avoid confronting daystar, executing swords orbit once more. the arbiter of death was universally famous among the human race in shi fengs previous life. unfortunately, as shi feng had been busy dealing with demons gates constant pursuit back then, he never had time to participate in the war between the two races. this led him to miss out on many opportunities to trade blows with the holy races experts. now that he could fight the arbiter of death, he naturally wouldnt let this opportunity slip by. subsequently, longsword and banner spear clashed repeatedly, sending shockwaves across the plaza. although both shi feng and daystar adamantly refused to block each others attacks, they attacked at lightning speeds and constantly altered the trajectories of their attacks. sometimes, they would even execute over a dozen alterations in one exchange. meanwhile, outside the ring, many spectators were dazzled by the rapid exchange between shi feng and daystar. even experts like verdant rainbow felt their scalps going numb. everything was happening too quickly! when it came to the speed of executing mid-battle transitions, daystar, an unthinking realm expert, was undoubtedly superior to shi feng. however, what shi feng lacked in response time, he more than made up for with his absurd attack speed, and he could always block daystars banner spear in the nick of time. after over a dozen exchanges, cracks started to appear in the surrounding space. even so, shi feng and daystar showed no signs of reducing their battles intensity and kept trying to find gaps in each others defenses. these two must be insane. are they not worried about affecting their performance in subsequent matches by fighting like this? their strength is unbelievable. not even level 200 ancient gods should be able to crack the battlefields space. how much strength do they have? when the spectators saw that the clash between shi feng and daystar had already demolished multiple streets, they couldnt help but feel like they were watching a fight between gigantic beasts rather than players. it should be known that the battlefields used to host the continental championships main event were exceptionally stable. not only did this impose a powerful suppression on players, but it also created a space with rigidity unrivaled in gods domain. if a players attack could crack the space of one of these battlefields, the same attack could destroy the average large map in the outside world. daystar has improved significantly since we last met, garuda commented, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit as he watched the ongoing fight inside the ring. this human named black flame is not bad, either. with how he is keeping up with daystar right now, he can probably rank among the top five, even in this season. indeed. rin, who sat beside garuda, nodded in agreement. although black flame has yet to reach the unthinking realm, his astonishing attack speed paired with that sword technique can more than make up for his weaknesses. if we compare solely in maximum speed, i must admit i am inferior to him. by the looks of things, it seems they intend to determine the winner through speed alone. lets see who can last longer, then, garuda said with a smile. then, he turned to rin and continued, whoever emerges victorious here will have to face you and me afterward. i wonder which among us will face them first? a competition of speed would take a significant toll, even on fifth-floor experts. hence, the fight between shi feng and daystar was destined to be short. once either side could no longer keep up, they would instantly be killed by the other side. however, regardless of who emerged victorious in this battle, they would have to face either garuda or rin afterward. meanwhile, after trading several dozen blows with each other, shi feng and daystar felt incredibly exhausted. their consciousness even started to waver. you are strong. unfortunately, it seems your concentration is still a little lacking to support your law projection, daystar said, her lips curving into a faint smile as she looked at shi fengs pale complexion. we will decide the winner in three moves! after saying so, daystar executed spatial demolition once more. this wont do. i will lose if i keep this up. when shi feng saw daystar attacking him with the same move, he knew that his defeat would be inevitable if he responded similarly. gritting his teeth, he promptly stopped maintaining his pseudo-goddess law projection, switching to his dual advanced law projection instead. he weakened his law projection? daystar immediately noticed the change in shi fengs law projection, and she couldnt help but find shi fengs decision puzzling. however, she did not slow down her actions in the slightest. when daystars banner spear was only half a yard away, shi feng suddenly tightened his grip around the shadow incinerator and swung it upward. goddess-ranked mana technique, dark moon! suddenly, daystar noticed her banner spear starting to bend. she also saw the world before her splitting in half. however, before she could say anything, her vision turned gray, and her hp fell to zero. subsequently, silence enveloped the crucible of the ancients momentarily as everyone tried to process what had just happened. daystar died? the arbiter of death lost? the spectators were stunned when they saw daystar getting killed. they couldnt believe shi feng could exhibit even greater strength at the very last moment. meanwhile, amidst the spectators confusion, shi feng stood quietly inside the ring. defeating her truly was a challenge. shi feng exhaled deeply as he looked at daystars dissipating corpse on the ground. if he hadnt grasped the goddess-ranked mana technique dark moon, he really would not have been a match for daystar in this battle. additionally, the current daystar he faced had yet to grow to her full potential. after all, not even the eternal realms three absolutes would necessarily be a match for the arbiter of death when she was at her peak. meanwhile, after shi feng successfully eliminated daystar, an ancient voice echoed across the ring. congratulations to the verdant rainbow party for entering the top sixteen. party members may use the following time to rest. now, let us welcome the next two parties into the ring. shi feng was immediately teleported out of the ring when the announcement by the ancient voice concluded. then, before anyone outside the ring could discuss the first matchs outcome, the second matchs pairing was revealed. second match: earthen princess party vs eight paths party! when the second matchup was revealed, everyone waiting outside the ring and watching from the spectator stands gasped. Chapter 3724 - Chapter 798 - Sixth Goddess Tablet chapter 798 C sixth goddess tablet whats going on with this championship? is something wrong with the system? first, it was a match between a former top-eight party and one of the current seeded parties. now, it is a match between the former second-place party and a former top-eight party. are we going to see half of the top-ranking parties get eliminated in the first round? this shouldnt be happening. none of the previous continental championships have ever matched the seeded parties against each other so early into the main event. at this time, whether it was the parties waiting for their turn outside the ring or the players spectating from the spectator stands, they all couldnt help but suspect something had gone wrong with the main god system. otherwise, such match-ups shouldnt have occurred so early into the main event. in past continental championships, parties who placed in the top 10 of the preliminaries would never encounter each other in the round of 32. it was also why the top 10 parties in the preliminaries were regarded as seeded parties. yet, even though they were only into the second match of the round of 32, four of the ten seeded parties had already been matched against each other. is this ancient being trying to mess with us? verdant rainbow was at a loss for words as she looked up at the mighty silhouette in the sky. originally, verdant rainbow thought that after having defeated the holy guard party, one of the former top-eight parties, her party should have a solid chance at entering the top eight. she wouldnt even discount the possibility of entering the top four anymore. however, after seeing the earthen princess party being selected for the second match, verdant rainbow couldnt help but feel like her party was getting targeted by the continental championships organizer. after all, the winners of the first and second matches in the round of 32 would be scheduled to fight each other in the round of 16. if anyone were to tell her that her party wasnt being singled out, she would be the first to cast doubt at them. of course, the eight paths party had even worse luck than her party. as a former top-eight party and one of the current seeded parties, the eight paths party should have no trouble entering the top 16 under normal circumstances. however, now that it was matched against the earthen princess party, its journey in the continental championship was destined to stop at the top 32. even if the eight paths party cried foul right now, nobody would blame it. meanwhile, every member of the eight paths party wore gloomy expressions as they stepped into the ring. evidently, they did not expect the system to be so ruthless as to pair them against an unbeatable opponent in the first round. eight paths, admit defeat, rin, who stood six meters tall, said as she looked at the leader of the eight paths party. you stand no chance in this match. rin, i admit that you are strong, but this is a group battle. we wont know the outcome until we fight, eight paths of sovereign mark said, choosing to stand his ground despite knowing the overwhelming odds. do you remember the star maiden party? even though elise was stronger than me, didnt she still lose to my party? venom tail and the other members of the eight paths party nodded in agreement. admittedly, rin the earthen princess was a mighty expert. however, in the previous continental championship, the earthen princess party and the star maiden party shared a similarity in that they both relied heavily on their key members. like how the star maiden party relied on elise, the earthen princess party also relied heavily on rin for its accomplishments. as for the other members of the two parties, they were much less fearsome in comparison. thus, victory was still possible so long as the eight paths party could quickly regroup and eliminate rins party members first. suit yourself, rin said, shaking her head. you are merely putting up a futile struggle. subsequently, the second match of the main event began. to no ones surprise, the earthen princess party emerged victorious. however, what did surprise the spectators was the fact that the earthen princess never made a move throughout the match. only two of her party members fought the entire time. in terms of overall strength, the two members of the earthen princess party were much stronger than the eight paths partys six members, and the battle between the two sides ended shortly after it started. meanwhile, after witnessing the second matchs outcome, everyone understood that the earthen princess party had already rectified the one weakness it had in the last continental championship. after the second match concluded, shi feng made his way to a private lounge in the crucible of the ancients. miss elise, may i know what you have called me for this time? shi feng asked as he looked at elise, who had been resting in the lounge for some time now. ive previously said that your party has a chance of entering the top four, but that might not be possible if you come across the divine fist party or the earthen princess party. while glancing through a report from her subordinate, elise indifferently asked, now that youve seen the earthen princess partys strength, do you still wish to persist? naturally, shi feng answered without hesitation. the current earthen princess party might be much stronger than before, but i believe in my partys capabilities. of course, if you are willing to let me borrow your goddess tablet for some time, i wouldnt mind giving up the opportunity to fight the earthen princess party, miss elise. what a bold claim. are you that confident of defeating rin? elise snorted disdainfully. it didnt seem like you had an easy time winning against the holy guard party previously. anyone who had watched the first match would know that the verdant rainbow party had barely won against the holy guard party. hence, there was virtually no hope for the verdant rainbow party to win against the earthen princess party, which was significantly stronger than the holy guard party. why dont you take a look at this, then? shi feng did not bother to refute elises statement. instead, he took out a small stack of scrolls from his bag. meanwhile, as soon as elise saw the scrolls, her expression instantly changed. intermediate divine engraving scrolls? elise was greatly shocked as she looked at the scrolls covered in divine patterns in shi fengs hands. compared to divine artifacts, the rarity of intermediate divine engraving scrolls was even greater in the greater gods domain. even the various apex powers only had a few in their possession. even now, there was only one known place where players could reliably acquire intermediate divine engraving scrollsluminous sky citys abyss chamber of commerce! the abyss chamber of commerces background was shrouded in mystery. it would release about a dozen intermediate divine engraving scrolls every once in a while. however, such a small number was nowhere near enough for the various powers to share. thus, the scrolls would always be sold out as soon as they became available. yet, now, shi feng had taken out over a dozen of these scrolls. this was simply unbelievable. indeed. these are all intermediate divine engraving scrolls, shi feng said, chuckling. i still have some more inside my bag, enough to use on the fragmented legendary equipment sets of zero wings four members. im sure i dont need to tell you how much improvement we can receive from these scrolls, right, miss elise? shi feng had prepared amply for the continental championship. aside from equipping gentle snow and the others with the new god chaser set, he had also prepared enough intermediate divine engraving scrolls for four players. initially, he had held back from using the intermediate divine engraving scrolls, thinking that the new god chaser set should be enough to let them win the championship. however, the circumstances surrounding the latest continental championship had exceeded his expectations, so he had no choice but to use the scrolls now. so this is the reason for your confidence. elise took a long look at shi feng. then, after pondering for a while, she said, fine, i will loan the tablet to you. however, you will have only one day to study it. after one day, you must return it to me, regardless of whether you manage to learn anything! no problem. shi feng nodded and smiled. then, he took out a set of gods domain contracts and said, lets officialize the terms right away. the goddess tablet was extraordinary. although elise had only agreed to loan it to him for a short time, it was better than nothing. after all, even ordinary experts could benefit significantly from a surface analysis, let alone someone like him, who had in-depth experience studying a goddess tablet. after establishing the contract, elise handed shi feng a palm-sized tablet and left the lounge to participate in her partys first match in the main event. meanwhile, left alone in the lounge, shi feng did not waste time and immediately began studying the tablet. the sixth goddess tablet? shi feng was greatly shocked by the information displayed on the tablet. compared to aqua roses goddess tablet, elises goddess tablet was in a completely different league. Chapter 3725 - Chapter 799 - Promotion to Peak chapter 799 C promotion to peak when elise returned to the waiting area outside the ring, a tall, muscular woman hurriedly approached her. the second match has concluded, your highness, phoenix flame said worriedly. the eight paths party lost. thats to be expected, elise said, unfazed by phoenix flames report. it seems rin has put in considerable effort to deal with garuda. rin didnt even make a move throughout the entire match. her five party members thoroughly suppressed the eight paths party, phoenix flame said as she shared a battle video with elise. out of rins five party members, the strongest one would have to be the archon named first light. he single-handedly killed eight paths and another one of the eight paths partys key members, and arclight, the divine weapon he wields, is comparable to the sun dynastys moonlight blade. in the video phoenix flame shared, a six-meter-tall young crystallian man stood on a flying shuttle formed from countless sharp blades while manipulating a hundred-meter-long greatsword to attack his opponents. his attacks were comparable to those of level 200 ancient gods, and he shaved off multiple buildings with every swing of his greatsword. additionally, his attacks were unbelievably fast, making it look like he was brandishing a feather rather than a colossal weapon. in front of first lights weapon, eight paths was no different from an ant. he could not evade any of first lights attacks and could only defend against them, losing a considerable chunk of his hp each time he did so. ultimately, even with the support of his party members, eight paths still died to the crystallian named first light. meanwhile, after elise finished watching the video, she turned to phoenix flame and asked, hes quite strong. do you think you can keep him busy? the crystallian race did not manipulate holy power like the holy race or mana like the human race. instead, they were proficient in manipulating implements and could manipulate them like they were manipulating their limbs. meanwhile, the archon class was one of the best classes available to the crystallians, with owners of the class being able to turn their implements into a copy of themselves. out of all the crystallian classes, the archon class was the trickiest to deal with. if he doesnt have any more divine artifacts hidden, i should be able to keep him occupied, phoenix flame answered after considering elises question. good. ill leave him to you, then, elise said without hesitation. she did not cast any doubt over phoenix flames claim. what? phoenix flame was briefly startled by elises words. then, realization quickly dawned on her as she asked, has black flame agreed? mhm. weve reached an agreement, and i have loaned the sixth goddess tablet to him for a day, elise admitted. your highness, thats the sixth goddess tablet we are talking about. its value far surpasses the value of aqua roses tablet. this is such an unfair deal for us, phoenix flame said. primordial god tablets were few and far between in the greater gods domain, and those linked to the goddess of space were even rarer. eighteen goddess tablets existed in total, and each held some of the goddess of spaces legacies. among them, seven tablets held the goddesss most important legacies, and they were labeled as the first to seventh goddess tablets. these ranked goddess tablets were vastly more valuable than the unranked goddess tablets. if a player could successfully learn the contents of a ranked tablet, the benefits they could gain would be worth as much as a divine artifact. dont worry. learning even one of the lesser legacies within a day is easier said than done, let alone the primary legacy, elise said indifferently. if black flame is so confident in his abilities, i dont mind giving him a day. phoenix flame agreed with elise when she heard the latters words. each goddess tablet contained a multitude of legacies. it was especially so for the ranked goddess tablets. although even the lesser legacies inside these goddess tablets were extraordinary, learning them was a significant challenge. previously, phoenix flame had taken a month just to learn a legacy from the sixth goddess tabletand that was only one of the tablets lesser legacies rather, not the primary legacy. not to mention, before players could even access the legacies inside a goddess tablet, they would first have to decipher the goddess tablet. with only a day granted to him, the most shi feng could accomplish was deciphering the sixth goddess tablet and learning how many legacies it held. ultimately, he would be no better than someone who had never held the sixth goddess tablet. while elise and phoenix flame prepared themselves for the round of 16, unbeknownst to them, shi feng had already deciphered the sixth goddess tablet with the help of a resplendent crystal he had retrieved from his bag. the crystal was none other than an eternal god crystal. by relying on the eternal energy contained within the eternal god crystal, shi feng could boost his brain activity and greatly enhance his learning capabilities. after spending about ten minutes deciphering the sixth goddess tablet, shi feng came to learn of its significance. not only did the sixth goddess tablet indicate the existence of 18 goddess tablets, but it also contained 24 goddess legacies. of these 24 goddess legacies, 23 consisted of combat technique legacies and mana technique legacies. more specifically, there were 12 gold combat techniques, five advanced gold combat techniques, five primordial god-ranked mana techniques, and one goddess-ranked mana technique. as for the final legacy, it was the goddess of spaces sixth legacy. the sixth goddess tablet held many more legacies than the goddess tablet in aqua roses possession. additionally, each of these legacies was not much weaker than the dark moon mana technique contained in aqua roses goddess tablet, and they could cause a stir in the greater gods domain. it was especially so for the sixth goddess legacy. concentration enhancement! unlike most other legacies, players only needed to decipher the sixth goddess legacy to benefit from it. as soon as they succeeded in doing so, they would receive a permanent upgrade to their concentration. although each player could benefit from the sixth goddess legacy only once in their lifetime, it was unbelievable nonetheless. the hidden attribute known as concentration might have little significance to ordinary players, but it was of extraordinary significance to expert players. this was because the stronger a players concentration, the more combat and mana techniques they could use. the cost of using combat and mana techniques would also be reduced. for expert players who had mastered many kinds of techniques, developing their concentration was of utmost importance. unfortunately, few methods were available to improve a players concentration in the greater gods domain. most players could only improve their concentration by continuously straining their bodies. although some items could be used to improve concentration, they would be fiercely contested by the various powers whenever they appeared. fortunately, shi feng was already familiar with the goddess tablets mana interpretation method. although the sixth goddess legacy was several times more complex than the dark moon mana technique, with the eternal god crystals assistance, he could decipher the sixth goddess legacy as easily as he deciphered dark moon. six hours later the mana inside the lounge suddenly grew agitated and flooded shi fengs mind. this, in turn, caused his mind to enter an unprecedented state of clarity. at the same time, system notifications rang in his ears, one after another. system: congratulations! you have successfully deciphered the goddesss sixth legacy. your concentration has received a permanent improvement. system: congratulations! your concentration has reached the tier 6 peak standard. Chapter 3726 - Chapter 800 - Third Step, Flowing Light chapter 800 C third step, flowing light tier 6 peak! finally, my concentration has fully recovered! shi feng was both surprised and excited when he heard the system notifications. for most players, even developing their concentration to the tier 6 standard was already a monumental challenge. the reason most expert players could never advance to tier 6 was their lacking concentration. meanwhile, once players developed their concentration to the tier 6 standard, it would become even more difficult to develop it further. if players did not encounter any fortuitous opportunities or priceless treasures that could permanently improve their concentration, the only way they could improve it was by engaging in high-intensity combat for considerable amounts of time. this was also why very few tier 6 players could develop their concentration to the tier 6 peak standard, with most hovering at the tier 6 intermediate and tier 6 advanced standards. however, so long as a player successfully developed their concentration to the tier 6 peak standard, their strength would undergo a qualitative transformation. in gods domain, particularly after the major system update, players would expend a considerable amount of concentration when using skills, spells, combat techniques, mana techniques, and law projections. because of this, if there wasnt a huge gap in basic attributes and combat standards, battles between players would often turn into a competition of concentration, and whoever possessed the stronger concentration would emerge victorious. meanwhile, after a players concentration reached the tier 6 peak standard, not only would they have twice as much concentration to expend as players with only tier 6 advanced concentration, but they would also expend 30% less concentration when using skills, spells, etc. furthermore, their perception and control over their body would also improve significantly. all in all, these improvements made it so that huge gaps in strength existed even among tier 6 players. in his previous life, shi feng was fortunate enough to develop his concentration to the tier 6 peak standard shortly after he reached tier 6. hence, even when he encountered experts with superior combat standards, he could defeat them with ease. he had even eliminated experts wielding divine weapons who did not have tier 6 peak concentration. originally, shi feng thought he would need considerable time to develop his concentration to the tier 6 peak standard in this life. he never expected to accomplish it so quickly. now that my concentration is at the tier 6 peak standard, paired with the mental condensation technique, my concentration can probably already rival those old monsters whose concentration is at the tier 6 limit standard, shi feng thought as he executed the mental condensation technique. then, he eagerly cast his pseudo-goddess law projection to test his upgraded concentrations effects. sure enough, my concentration consumption has halved compared to before. now, i should have no trouble using dark moon with the pseudo-goddess law projection. previously, when his base concentration was still at the tier 6 advanced standard, he could only artificially elevate it to the tier 6 peak standard with the mental condensation technique, and maintaining the pseudo-goddess law projection put a huge burden on him. because of this, he couldnt afford to use dark moon, a powerful mana technique that required him to actively manipulate the magic elements around him. however, now that his base concentration had reached the tier 6 peak standard, he should have no trouble using the pseudo-goddess law projection and dark moon simultaneously. of course, he couldnt possibly test this theory in the lounge. so, instead of doing so, he decided to try out a different hypothesis. immediately, shi feng began to pace around inside the lounge, executing flowing space under the effects of his pseudo-goddess law projection. it felt like he was stepping into the gaps in space with each of his steps, and he created over 50 afterimages in the blink of an eye. that was triple the number he could previously create while executing flowing space. as shi feng continued executing flowing space, he became more familiar with and proficient at manipulating his surrounding environment. this, in turn, led to the creation of even more phantom bodies. sixty seventy eighty when the number of phantom bodies shi feng could maintain simultaneously reached 100, all afterimages within the lounge vanished, and only a streak of flowing light could be seen. the speed he was currently exhibiting far surpassed the limits of his basic attributes. he was moving so fast that he could sense the flow of time around him slowing down. even the dust in the room was visibly taking several times longer to fall to the ground. what incredible speed. is this the power of the third step? when shi feng abruptly stopped moving in the middle of the lounge and saw that the streak of light circling the room was still persisting, he couldnt help but be shocked. in gods domain, players would be automatically ranked among the apex once they master a gold combat technique. this was because gold combat techniques granted players the strength to transcend tiers. however, not all gold combat techniques were equal. they could still be separated into different grades, and the goddess of spaces flowing space could undoubtedly rank among the best of gold combat techniques. previously, even when shi feng had only learned flowing space up to the second step, phantom body, he could already exhibit speed that could overwhelm the senses of fifth-floor experts. even players who had mastered gold combat techniques failed to keep up with him. meanwhile, flowing space became even more powerful after reaching the third step. with the speed he was exhibiting, even unthinking realm experts who possessed similar basic attributes would have great difficulty keeping up with him. at this time, shi feng even felt he could defeat daystar while relying solely on flowing space. he wouldnt have had to put his life at risk like he did when he dealt the final blow to the arbiter of death. after all, daystar wouldnt be able to pinpoint his location. if he paired this speed with his gold-ranked swords orbit, daystar wouldnt even know what hit her. however, when shi feng dismissed his pseudo-goddess law projection, he promptly discovered that he could only execute flowing space up to the second step. he could not achieve the third step without having a better grasp of his surrounding environment. sure enough, my control over the surrounding space is a lot worse without the pseudo-goddess law projections assistance. shi feng couldnt help but sigh as he looked at the 50 or so fading phantom bodies in the lounge. it seems i will have to pair flowing space with the pseudo-goddess law projection if i want to maximize its effect. after shi feng was done with his tests, he pulled up his friends list, contacted gentle snow, and had her come to the lounge to study the sixth goddess tablet. unlike the preliminaries, the continental championships main event would have a six-hour break after every two matches. this gave participants time to recover some of their concentration and stamina. with the main events first round having 16 matches, the party that won in the first rounds first match would get 48 hours of rest in gods domain, which happened to be the same amount of time elise had agreed to loan the sixth goddess tablet to shi feng. although shi feng felt he could still benefit more from the sixth goddess tablet if he researched it further, he didnt think the other legacies in the tablet could help him that much. after all, he had already grasped the goddess-ranked mana technique dark moon and peak gold combat technique flowing space. so, rather than use this precious opportunity to improve his strength by a little, it would be better to let gentle snow study it. as for why shi feng chose gentle snow, it was because she had previously received the goddesss guidance[1]. with the knowledge she inherited, she was the best candidate to maximize the goddess tablets use. it would also maximize the improvement of the partys overall strength. tl notes: [1]goddesss guidance: i will be changing fates guidance to goddesss guidance since the author has decided to adopt a new term. Chapter 3727 - Chapter 801 - Second Seal Undone chapter 801 C second seal undone crucible of the ancients, private lounge: guild leader, why did you call me here so urgently? did something happen? gentle snow asked when she entered the lounge and saw shi feng holding a stone tablet. currently, the parties remaining in the championship were taking advantage of the break time after the second match to either rest or study their opponents. this break period was especially important for their party, as their opponent in the second round would be the earthen princess party. not much needed to be said about the strength of the previous championships runner-up. the earthen princess party was undoubtedly one of the favorites to win the championship this time. in fact, after the earthen princess partys performance in the first round, many had already deemed it as strong as the previous seasons champion. after all, rin was the only noteworthy member of the earthen princess party in the last championship. meanwhile, first light, one of the earthen princess partys latest additions, had shown himself to be nearly as strong as rin. if rin and first light worked together, defeating garuda, who was regarded as the strongest expert in the previous championship, wouldnt be out of the question. hence, the earthen princess party was, without a doubt, the verdant rainbow partys biggest hurdle in getting into the top 8. yet, instead of researching the earthen princess party, shi feng disappeared after the first match, leaving the five of them wondering how they were supposed to deal with the earthen princess party i made a deal with demons gates elise. her party will swap opponents with us in the next round, shi feng said before handing the sixth goddess tablet to gentle snow. she also agreed to lend us this goddess tablet for a day. i have already learned the legacy i wanted from the tablet, so ill leave it with you for the remaining time. if you can learn the legacies inside before our next match, it will increase our partys strength considerably. the goddesss legacies? gentle snow revealed a shocked expression as she looked at the goddess tablet in her hands. shes even willing to share such a thing? for any player who had studied the greater gods domains history, they would understand the significance of the goddess of spaces legacies. gentle snow, who had received the goddesss guidance, understood their significance even better. if any apex power were to discover the existence of any of the goddesss legacies, they would do anything to make it theirs. this was also why shi feng required those he chose to sign a highly restrictive confidentiality contract before he allowed them to undergo the goddess armaments trials. hence, gentle snow couldnt help but find it unbelievable that elise would share the goddesss legacies with zero wing just to fight the earthen princess party. it should be known that the goddesss guidance she received did not provide her with any specific legacy. she was merely put through various combat situations to gain experience. if she wanted to inherit the goddesss legacies, she would need to learn how to put these experiences into practice. in contrast, legacy tablets had clearly defined legacies that players could learn simply through imitation. the difference in difficulty between the two learning processes was like night and day. why wouldnt she? shi feng answered nonchalantly. elise is very ambitious this time around. she might even be aiming to become the champion, seeing as she has come prepared to fight the divine fist party and the earthen princess party. with the participants this season being much stronger, it would be in her best interest to encounter her strongest opponents as soon as possible. that way, she can face them before she exposes her trump cards. even if she ultimately fails to become the champion, so long as her party enters the top four, the rewards she can receive will be no less than the legacies contained in this goddess tablet. the goddess tablets were indeed precious. however, compared to going beyond tier 6, even the sixth goddess tablet could be regarded as insignificant. going by elises behavior, it was likely she had learned something about the rewards. hence, she was willing to enter the top four at all costs. shi feng wouldnt even discount the possibility that the woman was aiming to win the championship. after all, even among the top four, there were significant differences between the rewards granted to each rank. i understand, gentle snow said as she looked at the goddess tablet with a serious gaze. she was determined to learn at least one goddess legacy before their partys next match. ill leave these three eternal god crystals with you. try to learn at least one of the legacies in this thing. if you succeed, our party will have an easier time in the next match, shi feng said, chuckling as he took out three eternal god crystals and gave them to gentle snow. normally, even talented players would need weeks to learn a goddess legacy. however, gentle snow had experience dealing with goddess legacies. if she also had the help of eternal god crystals, it should be possible for her to learn a goddess legacy in a day. not to mention, gentle snows talent for combat was superior to even shi fengs, having achieved the pseudo-sixth-floor standard in shi fengs previous life. although gentle snow had her growth delayed for several years in the current timeline, the fact that she could pass some of the goddess armaments trials proved that her talent remained unchanged. if gentle snow could fully master a goddess legacy, paired with the gravity manipulation technique she had grasped, her combat power would skyrocket. at that time, it wouldnt even be surprising if she could fight unthinking realm experts. subsequently, shi feng left gentle snow to her own devices while he made his way to a different lounge with protection that could withstand attacks from even level 200 ancient gods. vip advanced lounge: shi feng held the shadow incinerator with both hands as he sat in the middle of the room. at the same time, he repeatedly conjured mental blades in his mind, preparing to strike at the mental nodes of the shadow incinerators second seal. i failed the last time i tried with my concentration at the tier 6 peak standard. now that i can elevate it to rival the tier 6 limit standard, i should have no trouble breaking the second seal. after inspecting the shadow incinerators second seal, shi feng immediately bombarded it with the mental blades he conjured. boom! boom! boom! previously, shi feng could not damage the second seal in the slightest. this time, though, a tiny crack appeared after he had attacked the seal multiple times. although the crack was so small that one would miss it without careful observation, it was a crack nonetheless. its working! shi feng was ecstatic when he saw the tiny crack. the shadow incinerator was a godly relic superior to even divine artifacts. this could be seen simply from the power the shadow incinerator could exhibit after having only its first seal removed. although the current shadow incinerator was weaker than actual divine artifact-ranked weapons, it was already comparable to fragmented divine artifact-ranked weapons. if all its seals were removed, it would definitely surpass divine weapons. in shi fengs previous life, crimson wing ife, the strongest demigod in the greater gods domain, had slain eight ancient gods consecutively using the shadow incinerator. under normal circumstances, even the strongest divine weapon in the human races greater gods domain shouldnt be able to let a demigod slay even one ancient god, let alone eight ancient gods. immediately, shi feng held back his excitement and resumed his bombardment of the second seal. although the shadow incinerators second seal was unimaginably tough, more and more cracks appeared under shi fengs bombardment. moreover, the rate at which the cracks appeared increased over time. meanwhile, after shi feng persisted for over 40 hours and started to grow dizzy, a crisp shattering sound echoed in the lounge. success! Chapter 3728 - Chapter 802 - Star Maiden vs Earthen Princess chapter 802 C star maiden vs earthen princess vip advanced lounge: following the crisp shattering sound, the shadow incinerator ignited into flames, the dark red flames impacting the rooms defensive barrier and causing it to tremble violently. what a powerful mental deterrence! shi feng felt he was looking at a primordial god awakening as he looked at the shadow incinerator. if he hadnt artificially elevated his concentration to the tier 6 limit standard, he might have even had difficulty moving in the shadow incinerators presence. moreover, the shadow incinerators mental deterrence wasnt the only thing that had undergone a significant transformation. the weapons body turned completely pitch-black, with faint black smoke rising from it. the weapon also radiated an intense heat that scorched the space within the lounge. [shadow incinerator (dark soul)] (one-handed sword, sealed godly relic) equipment requirement: soul-bound attack power (1,400% of strength) attack speed (5% of strength and agility) all attributes (increases according to the users level) when equipped: attacks ignore 100% of all defensive effects; attacks have a 50% chance of triggering the soul devour effect; attacks have a 100% chance of being elevated by one rank and dealing 1,000% damage; attacks cause an additional 200% damage to all creatures below tier 6; ignore levels +80; all attributes increased by 300%; physique increased by 200%; reaction speed increased by 120%; effects of all attacks increased by two ranks (up to tier 6 limit); the strength of mana increased by one rank (up to tier 6 limit); concentration increased by one rank (up to tier 6 limit). additional passive skill- incinerators body: weakens all damage received by 80% and increases world perception by one rank. additional profound skill 1- incinerators phantasm: sacrifice 20 levels to summon the phantasm of a player. the phantasm can only be two tiers higher than the shadow incinerators wielder (up to tier 6). duration: 10 minutes cooldown: 3 natural days additional profound skill 2- the end: sacrifice the wielders soul, reducing the wielders level by one as a result, to incite all of the shadow incinerators power to deal a devastating blow to a 50,000-yard radius. the stronger the soul sacrificed, the stronger the attack will be (up to tier 6 limit). cooldown: 30 minutes additional profound skill 3- scorching flame: sacrifice a portion of the wielders soul to attach the flames of shadow to the shadow incinerator. the flames of shadow can destroy all weapons and equipment below the legendary rank and damage those below the divine artifact rank. duration: 5 minutes cooldown: 1 natural day additional profound skill 4- worlds descent: with the wielder as the center, call down a complete world to strengthen the wielders law projection. duration: 5 minutes cooldown: 1 hour the myriad ancient gods have placed four seals on the shadow incinerator. two of the seals have been lifted thus far. wielding the shadow incinerator will cause continuous mental scorching. deaths while wielding the shadow incinerator will result in a loss of 50 points in all attributes. what heaven-defying attributes! shi fengs jaw dropped when he finished reading through the shadow incinerators updated attributes. even when comparing basic attributes only, the shadow incinerator was superior to most fragmented divine artifacts. as for its attack power, it was simply absurd. for comparison, gentle snows chaos windblade, despite being a two-handed weapon, only took 1,600% of its wielders strength attribute as its attack power. meanwhile, the shadow incinerator, despite being a one-handed weapon, took 1,400% of its wielders strength attribute as its attack power. however, compared to the shadow incinerators basic attributes, the absurdity of its offensive effects and the limits of these effects was on a whole other level. as a fragmented divine artifact, the chaos windblade had already reached the ranks limits. even so, the limits of the weapons effects could only reach the tier 6 peak standard. this was also the limit of virtually all other fragmented divine artifacts. yet, the shadow incinerator had broken this norm, its effects having the potential to achieve the tier 6 limit standard. what did it mean to reach the tier 6 limit standard? most players in gods domain would only assume it to be the limits of tier 6 players, which, in the best-case scenario, would translate to the tier 6 god standard. hence, it couldnt be considered anything significant. however, players with experience fighting ancient gods would know that wasnt actually the case. instead, the tier 6 limit mentioned in weapon and equipment introductions referred to the limits any creature could achieve before they went beyond tier 6. currently, only primordial god-ranked existences were known to have gone beyond tier 6. besides them, the strongest creatures in gods domain had yet to go beyond tier 6. in other words, the shadow incinerators effects could achieve near-primordial god standards and rival the effects of many divine artifact-ranked weapons. my current basic attributes can rival holy children armed with three divine artifacts. when shi feng sensed the improvement in his basic attributes, he discovered that the overall improvement he received from the shadow incinerator was comparable to that of a divine artifact-ranked one-handed weapon. once he paired the shadow incinerator with the new god chaser set, not even players equipped with three divine artifacts should consider surpassing him. now, he truly was strong enough to win the entire championship. before shi feng could familiarize himself with the shadow incinerator, he suddenly received a call from verdant rainbow. how is your rest coming along, guild leader black flame? verdant rainbow asked anxiously. the second rounds first match is about to begin. so much time has passed already? shi feng was a little surprised. he didnt think he had spent over 40 hours undoing the second seal. we need you to come over quickly. although the star maiden party has agreed to switch opponents with us, we cant do the switch unless all party members are present, verdant rainbow said, feeling exasperated when she saw shi fengs look of realization. shi feng was the one who negotiated the deal with elise to switch opponents. yet, even though the match was about to start, he was nowhere to be seen. okay, ill go over immediately, shi feng said, smiling awkwardly. then, he disconnected the call and hurried to the main event venue. crucible of the ancients: at this time, the first round of the main event had concluded, and the members of the top 32 parties were quietly waiting outside the ring for the second round to start. whats gotten into the star maiden? why did she agree to switch opponents with the verdant rainbow party? does she not care about ranking this time? it is indeed strange. not to mention, arent demons gate and zero wing hostile to one another? whats with the sudden change? arent you guys jumping to conclusions? dont forget that elise was regarded by many as a strong contender for the top five experts in the last championship, and the primary reason her party got stopped in the top 16 was her weak party members. now that the star maiden party has recruited stronger members, the earthen princess party should be in for a tough fight. a heated debate erupted among the spectators when they saw the star maiden party walking into the ring with the earthen princess party. on one side, some cast doubt over elises decision to fight the former runner-up so soon into the championship. on the other side, some looked forward to the clash between star maiden elise and earthen princess rin. in the previous championship, elise was the strongest female expert among the human races representatives, while rin was the strongest female expert among the crystallian races representatives. although rins party had won second place in the last championship, as the two women had never clashed, nobody knew who was stronger. now, though, everyone would finally get to see who was stronger. amidst the spectators cheers and debates, the ancient being hovering above the ring announced the start of the second rounds first match. Chapter 3729 - Chapter 803 - Terrifying chapter 803 C terrifying outside the ring, the members of the 14 other remaining parties watched intently as the match between the star maiden party and the earthen princess party began. its finally beginning. while watching rin and elise facing each other in the ring, garuda glanced at his party members and said, rin is one of the few among the crystallians younger generation who is about to cross that step. her offensive measures are ever-changing and unpredictable, and she is one of the few experts who can put me under pressure. elise is also incredibly talented, and i found myself shuddering when i saw the power she wielded previously. a clash between them can be regarded as an apex battle between the younger generation of our three races. if you all intend to achieve further breakthroughs, i suggest you observe the upcoming fight seriously. lord garuda, is that human woman really strong enough to fight rin? extreme feather curiously asked as she looked at elise, who was holding a black book. rin is an expert nearing the sixth-floor standard, while elise no matter how i look at it, she should have only entered the unthinking realm recently. in a situation where both of them are equipped with two divine artifacts, i cant see how elise is supposed to be a threat to rin. most holy race players operating on the western continent had never heard of elise the star maiden. however, many knew of rin the earthen princess. this was because rin was one of the few experts who had reached the pseudo-sixth-floor standard, and she could be considered an apex existence, even if put among the holy race. if not for the holy race having garuda, a peerless paragon[1] that would only appear once every few centuries, rin definitely would have been the champion of the last continental championship. in contrast, not only was elise from the human race, the weakest out of the three races operating in the eternal realm, but her combat standard was also inferior to rins. in a situation where both sides had roughly equal basic attributes, extreme feather found it hard to imagine how elise could defeat rin. it should be known that there were significant differences between a novice unthinking realm expert and a pseudo-sixth-floor expert. although both could move their bodies entirely based on instinct, the pseudo-sixth-floor expert would have already developed their concentration to the tier 6 peak standard. the pseudo-sixth-floor expert would have also relied on their concentration to develop a complete set of gold combat techniques, no longer having flaws in their offense, defense, and movement. meanwhile, players would have a much better foundation when using their self-developed combat techniques than combat techniques learned from others. players could also execute their self-developed combat techniques perfectly and achieve stronger effects than combat techniques learned from others. youll know once you see elise in battle. the combat techniques she has learned are far from ordinary, garuda said, chuckling. however, he did not bother offering any additional explanations. hearing this, extreme feather focused her gaze on rin and elise. meanwhile, aside from garudas party members, shi feng and the others were similarly wondering how the fight between rin and elise would play out. the match between the star maiden party and the earthen princess party took place in the middle of a tropical rainforest with a canopy over a hundred meters high. raindrops the size of ping pong balls also constantly fell from the sky, reducing the visibility in the forest and preventing even tier 6 players from seeing more than ten meters ahead. when the match began, the members of the star maiden party and the earthen princess party were scattered across the map. initially, everyone spectating the match thought it would take a while before any fight started between the two parties. however, contrary to everyones expectations, shortly after the match began, two players already met and stood facing each other. one was rin, a six-meter-tall crystallian who wielded a staff, while the other was elise, a petite human who wielded a black book. star maiden. i found it a pity that i didnt get to fight you last time. now, i can finally get my wish, rin said. then, she glanced curiously at the book in elises hands and asked, arent you going to open it? the black book elise wielded was famous in the last championship. nobody knew exactly what the black books quality was, but as long as it was open, it could help elise chant her spells and even increase the completion rate of her spells. hence, when elise took a fight seriously, she would always open her black book first and foremost. yet, the star maiden had surprisingly chosen not to open her black book. i will open it when necessary, elise calmly said as she faced her giant opponent. make your move. boom boom boom taking elise on her offer, rin initiated the fight without hesitation. immediately, the staff she wielded separated from her hand and began to rotate in the air. simultaneously, the land within a 10,000-yard radius began to rise like the folds of a dumpling while the hills and mountains transformed into earthen arms that grabbed at elise. from afar, it looked like elise had become enemies with the land, and it was a horrifying sight to behold. at this time, the spectators fully understood why rin was known as the earthen princess. is this the earthen princesss strength? verdant rainbows complexion turned ugly as she watched rins display. everything within sight had virtually become elises enemy. additionally, the several dozen hands formed from hills and mountains possessed strength rivaling level 200 ancient gods, and each executed techniques that resembled gold combat techniques. it was like several dozen ancient gods were executing gold combat techniques against elise simultaneously strength! technique! the earthen princess had achieved the extremes in both aspects, and verdant rainbow couldnt even imagine defeating her. however, unlike verdant rainbow, elise remained calm, even after seeing the earthen princess revealing her trademark move. she also didnt bother to open her black book as she faced the dozens of earthen hands threatening to crush her. instead, she simply pointed a finger at rin. suddenly, the sky above rin shattered, and a meteorite spanning 10,000 meters emerged from the void. the meteorites descent was as fast as lightning, and it was obvious it would hit rin before the earthen hands could crush elise. this scene startled rin. in a panic, she manipulated the land surrounding her, calling forth waves of earth to stop the descending meteorite. boom! a loud explosion echoed across the battlefield, and a mushroom cloud rose tens of thousands of meters into the sky. then, a devastating shockwave quickly followed, sweeping across the map and turning everything in its path into ruins. a massive crater spanning over half the battlefield and measuring 10,000 meters deep could also be seen forming. silence! at this moment, silence enveloped the crucible of the ancients as everyone tried to come to terms with what they had just witnessed. the earthen princess was gone rin, regarded as the strongest crystallian representative in the continental championship, failed to survive even one move against elise meanwhile, elise did not reveal any particular emotions, even after successfully eliminating rin. she simply flew off to eliminate the other members of the earthen princess party, behaving like she had just completed a trivial task. tl notes: [1]peerless paragon: so, it seems that peerless paragon is another way of referring to chosen ones. i guess peerless paragon can be used to cover independent players as well since unless they are part of an adventurer team, there isnt anybody to choose them. Chapter 3730 - Chapter 804 - Tier 6 Limit Concentration chapter 804 C tier 6 limit concentration a suffocating silence enveloped the crucible of the ancients as everyone stared at the screen above the ring in disbelief. rin, the earthen princess, was regarded as the number two expert in the last continental championship. she was strong in both offense and defense. her ability to control the battlefield was also unrivaled, and facing her was akin to facing the land itself. even divine fist garuda, the number one expert in the last championship, had taken considerable time to wear her out and kill her. yet, now, the earthen princess had failed to survive even one move against elise is she really that star maiden? at this time, verdant rainbow was similarly in disbelief as she looked at elise. although demons gates star maiden was known as a peerless paragon, her combat standard was not much stronger than the peerless paragons nurtured by other apex powers. this was information that the seven luminaries alliance had obtained, so it couldnt be wrong. additionally, in the last continental championship, although elise was regarded as the strongest player among the human races representatives, she was only considered one of the top five experts in the whole championship. she was deemed to be considerably weaker than garuda and rin. yet, now, elise had defeated rin with ease. it was like she had transformed into a completely different person. how did elise get so strong? death wind muttered. compared to verdant rainbow, he was even more shocked by elises performance. as a spy planted in the seven luminaries alliance by demons gate, death wind understood demons gates three great chosen ones better than anyone in the seven luminaries alliance. although elises combat standard was the strongest of the three great chosen ones, if pitted against the seven luminaries alliances verdant rainbow, she should only win six out of ten fights. but now, elise had already ascended to a height that death wind couldnt even comprehend. is this the true strength of the various apex powers chosen ones? gentle snow was also greatly shocked as she watched elise proceed to eliminate the rest of the earthen princess party. originally, when gentle snow successfully learned a goddess legacy from the sixth goddess tablet, she thought her strength had risen to a point where she could match the various apex powers chosen ones already. in fact, she felt that she could even beat these chosen ones with the help of the god chaser set. however, after seeing elises performance, gentle snow couldnt help but rethink her evaluation. after all, even if she put the goddess legacy she had just learned into practice, she doubted she could achieve strength anywhere near what elise had just displayed. no, not at all. this strength is not something the various apex powers chosen ones can achieve right now, shi feng said, shaking his head. elise can only achieve such strength because her concentration has already reached the tier 6 limit standard, which, in turn, lets her utilize 100% of her divine artifacts potential. meanwhile, rin, caught unprepared, got one-shotted by elise. does tier 6 limit concentration grant such incredible strength? gentle snow looked at shi feng in surprise. the number of divine artifacts the earthen princess had equipped definitely wasnt lower than elises. even if there was a difference in quality between divine artifacts, the gap shouldnt be big enough for elise to kill rin in one move. her concentration has reached the tier 6 limit standard already? verdant rainbow snapped around to look at shi feng when she overheard his explanation. how can this be?! as one of the seven luminaries alliances chosen ones, verdant rainbows knowledge of divine artifacts went beyond gentle snows. hence, she knew how big of a difference in strength could result from whether a player could fully utilize a divine artifact. it was generally known that when players equipped a divine artifact, they would gain the strength to transcend tiers. when tier 6 players equipped a divine artifact, they would gain the strength of taboos, which was also known as the entry-level of the ancient god standard. however, unbeknownst to many, divine artifact-ranked weapons and equipment had an additional feature compared to weapons and equipment of lower rankthe power of their skills and effects were determined by their users concentration standard. the stronger a players concentration, the greater the power their divine artifacts could exhibit. if a tier 6 player could exert 100% of a divine artifacts potential, they could exhibit power reaching the limits of the ancient god standard. the only problem was that players would typically need to have tier 6 limit concentration to fully utilize a divine artifacts potential. this was an impossible requirement for most players. only a few individuals in the greater gods domain had ever developed their concentration to the tier 6 limit standard. moreover, most, if not all, of these individuals were old monsters who had lived for many years. however, elise was, at most, 25 years old. at such an age, she would already be considered a paragon among paragons if she could develop her concentration to the tier 6 peak standard. it simply shouldnt be possible for her to have tier 6 limit concentration. while unbelievable, it is a fact, shi feng said earnestly as he looked at verdant rainbow. also, i believe elises concentration has already reached the tier 6 limit standard for quite some time. otherwise, her star destroyers completion rate wouldnt be so high. the black book elise wielded was a top-tier divine weapon, and star destroyer, the profound skill that came with the book, was incredibly famous in shi fengs previous life. it was so famous that it was even regarded as the strongest destruction spell beneath primordial gods. meanwhile, as elise was the first person to have acquired the sixth goddess tablet, shi feng didnt find it strange that her concentration had already reached the tier 6 limit standard. after all, elise had similarly displayed exceptional talent in concentration development in shi fengs previous life. she was far ahead of other chosen ones her age when it came to this regard, and it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say she was the best among her peers. when verdant rainbow heard shi fengs answer, realization suddenly dawned on her. she finally understood why elise had agreed to swap opponents with their party, choosing to face the earthen princess party in the round of 16. although the earthen princess was strong, she definitely wasnt strong enough to face the full might of a divine weapon head-on. if she were to be caught unprepared, death would be the only outcome. at this time, shi feng wasnt the only one who discerned how elise managed to one-shot rin. many of the key members of the remaining parties similarly noticed the reason behind the fearsome might of elises star destroyer. naturally, divine fist garuda was no exception. tier 6 limit concentration, is it? how interesting. no wonder she dared to face rin head-on. garuda smirked as elise finished the earthen princess partys last member. i initially thought it would be another easy victory. i didnt think that, after that little crystallian girl, i would meet another challenging opponent. following the conclusion of the match between the star maiden party and the earthen princess party, excitement and joy filled the spectating human players. in the last championship, neither the holy race players nor the crystallian players regarded the various human parties with any significance. after all, even the strongest human party failed to advance beyond the top 16 back then. but now, the star maiden party had shown itself qualified to contend for the championship, leading to the two races no longer daring to underestimate human players. meanwhile, as the championship progressed, the intensity of the battles between parties also increased. even though it was only the round of 16, the various parties displayed strength exceeding that of the former top 8 parties. the participants this time were so strong that even garuda had to personally take action to ensure the divine fist partys victory. next up will be the second rounds eighth match! may the verdant rainbow party and the dead soul party enter the ring! following the mighty beings announcement, the crystallian players in the venue shouted their support for the dead soul party. go, dead soul party! our races reputation is in your hands now! dead soul! beat those humans up and avenge rin! many crystallians felt ashamed when the earthen princess party lost to a human party of all parties. so, they all hoped that the dead soul party, which ranked fourth in the previous championship, could salvage some of the crystallian races tarnished reputation. otherwise, the holy race would definitely make fun of them. black flame is in trouble. even the divine fist had a headache dealing with the dragon hammer last time, phoenix flame said, smirking as she watched shi feng and his party enter the ring. i bet they wont make it past the top 16. although the verdant rainbow party had defeated the new and improved holy guard party, it was still much weaker than the dead soul party. after all, the dead soul party was a strong contender for second place in the previous continental championship. the party was merely unlucky, encountering the divine fist party in the previous semifinals and having its progress stopped prematurely. Chapter 3731 - Chapter 805 – Advanced Gold Combat Technique chapter 805 C advanced gold combat technique the match between the verdant rainbow party and the dead soul party took place in an ancient town covered in fog. the fog was dense, and even tier 6 players couldnt see beyond 50 yards. meanwhile, as always, the members of the two parties were randomly scattered across the map when the match began. this fog suppresses perception quite heavily. i cant sense anything outside of 100 yards. when death wind appeared on the battlefield and saw the fog around him, he quickly jumped onto the roof of a house and observed his surroundings. fortunately, im not far from the town center. i can prepare an ambush in this area. crystallian players had weaker senses than human players. with visibility being reduced to just 50 yards, if he concealed his presence, he could virtually guarantee the enemy could only detect him once they were within 50 yards of him. for tier 6 players, this was a distance that could be covered in an instant. if he could detect the enemys movements before he was at risk of being discovered, he would undoubtedly have the upper hand in battle. immediately, death wind hid on the roof and concentrated on his senses, quietly waiting for his prey to show up so that he could vent his frustrations on them. originally, death wind thought he could make a name for himself through the continental championship. however, not only did he lose his bet with shi feng and have to surrender his divine weapon to the other party after the championship, but he had also failed to make any noteworthy accomplishments until now. if he still failed to display his worth, both the seven luminaries alliance and demons gate would stop taking him seriously. hence, it was imperative he killed a member of the dead soul party in this match. only by doing so could he redeem himself in front of the two apex powers. after all, the dead soul party came in fourth in the last continental championship. every member of the party was superior to the average chosen one nurtured by the various apex powers and destined to become an apex expert in the future. if he could kill one of these experts by himself, whether it was the seven luminaries alliance or demons gate, they would invest heavily into his development so long as they werent fools. while death wind was patiently waiting on the rooftop, he sensed a presence entering his perception. dead soul? death wind panicked a little. the person who entered death winds perception was a robust, seven-meter-tall crystallian man. the man wore simple clothing and carried a war hammer as large as his body. the war hammer was the iconic weapon of dead soul, so the mans identity quickly became apparent to death wind. currently, dead soul was leisurely walking along the streets of the town. he behaved like he was only out for a stroll rather than participating in the continental championship. dammit! when death wind sensed dead soul moving closer to his location, he promptly turned around and fled. he originally thought he would catch a rabbit. he didnt expect to encounter a dragon. not bad. thatll be one already. a moment after death wind began his escape, dead soul turned to look at the rooftop death wind previously hid on and swung his war hammer in its direction. suddenly, death wind, who had already fled over several hundred yards away, found himself immobilized. then, his body crashed into the ground like a cannonball, sinking hundreds of meters deep. before death wind could even wrap his mind around what happened, he was already standing outside the ring with the other participants. meanwhile, this development stunned the spectators. currently, in the screen that was supposed to show death winds perspective, a crater measuring several hundred yards in radius could be seen, and it looked like a giant beast had walked through the area. a monster! hes an absolute monster! so, this is the dragon hammer, huh? for players watching dead soul in action for the first time, they couldnt believe what they just saw. even death wind, the person killed by dead soul, couldnt help but widen his eyes in disbelief. not only did dead souls attack cover a massive radius, but it was also executed with incredible speed. in fact, everything happened so quickly that death wind could still see his body dissipating when he respawned outside the ring what incredible attack speed! extreme feather exclaimed as she watched dead soul making his way to the town center after eliminating death wind. how is he considered only the second strongest expert among the crystallians representatives? its because his party only came in fourth in the last championship. but if we are comparing only in attack speed, dead soul is the best, garuda explained. honestly, if i hadnt relied on my special bloodline, i doubt i could have defeated him in the last championship. unless he engages rin in a fight, nobody can tell who is stronger. garuda did not lower his voice when speaking. hence, everyone in the venue could hear what he said, and those watching dead soul fight for the first time were greatly shocked. they never thought dead soul would be as strong, or possibly even stronger, than the earthen princess. hmph. rin, who was now seated on the spectator stands, naturally overheard garudas comment as well. however, she simply snorted and didnt refute it. while the spectators were discussing dead souls strength, the dragon hammer encountered another member of the verdant rainbow party. his opponent this time was a woman clad in a suit of white holy armor and armed with a greatsword. currently, the woman quietly stood in the middle of the street as she watched him walk up to her. what an interesting human you are. youve clearly noticed me long ago, yet you chose not to run away, dead soul said in a surprised tone as he entered within 50 yards of gentle snow. our two parties will have to battle sooner or later. since i can have a one-on-one fight right now, why should i run away? gentle snow said calmly as she unsheathed the chaos windblade. those are some bold words. i hope you have the strength to back up those words. dead soul did not get angry at gentle snows words. instead, he casually swung his war hammer at gentle snow like he was shooing a fly. at the same time, gentle snow also made her move, her speed far exceeding what she previously exhibited. immediately, the chaos windblade transformed into a dark thunderbolt. fleeting thunderclap! this was the advanced gold combat technique gentle snow had learned from the sixth goddess tablet. the combat technique involved the user executing three consecutive strikes, each strike being stronger than the other. all three strikes were also executed beyond the users maximum attack speed, and they would eventually merge into one attack that could exhibit power rivaling primordial god-ranked mana techniques. subsequently, the dark thunderbolt could be seen splitting the sky and causing dead soul to stumble backward by half a step. meanwhile, gentle snow stumbled three steps backward and lost 5% of her hp. how did her strength improve so much? when daystar saw gentle snow taking barely any damage from her exchange with dead soul, she couldnt help but grow confused. daystar vividly remembered that gentle snows strength was inferior to hers when they had previously fought. naturally, gentle snow should not be a match for dead soul, either. after all, dead soul similarly had two divine artifacts equipped. and if he executed the gold-ranked implement manipulation technique he developed, he should thoroughly outclass gentle snow. however, unbeknownst to daystar, gentle snow had upgraded her equipment using intermediate divine engraving scrolls. now, her equipment provided her with 30% more basic attributes than before. combined with fleeting thunderclap, the power she could exhibit was not much weaker than what dead soul could exhibit with his gold-ranked implement manipulation technique. before daystar could recover from her surprise, gentle snow executed fleeting thunderclap a second time against dead soul. Chapter 3732 - Chapter 806 - Top Four chapter 806 C top four dead soul swung his war hammer again when he saw gentle snow executing her second attack. this time, though, he no longer took the fight lightly, the speed of his attack increasing considerably. the space around gentle snow also trembled much more as it collapsed in on her. boom! however, despite dead souls stronger attack, gentle snow split the collapsing space without fail. additionally, the exchange this time resulted in dead soul and gentle snow stumbling back one step each. how is this possible?! death wind, watching from outside the ring, was dumbfounded when he saw gentle snow coming out even with dead soul. death wind had personally experienced dead souls attack speed, so he knew how frightening it was. even unthinking realm experts should have difficulty keeping up with that kind of attack speed, let alone gentle snow, who wasnt even at the unthinking realm. before death wind could snap out of his daze, gentle snow swung the chaos windblade and executed fleeting thunderclap for the third time. this time, gentle snows attack was so fast that many of the spectators failed to even see the movement of her arms. all they saw was a dark thunderbolt crossing the space between gentle snow and dead soul. a moment later, dead soul stumbled three steps backward before he regained his footing. the war hammer he wielded also trembled violently, and his hp bar had decreased by 3%. the outcome of the third exchange was nearly identical to that of the first. only, the positions of dead soul and gentle snow were reversed. who are you? dead soul asked as he looked at gentle snow, who wasnt even one-third of his height, with furrowed brows. zero wings vice guild leader, gentle snow. gentle snow knew dead soul wasnt simply asking for her name. after all, the names of the members of both parties were published before the match began. zero wings vice guild leader? dead soul looked at gentle snow in surprise. he had never heard of the guild named zero wing, so it obviously wasnt one of the human races apex powers. this meant that a vice guild leader from a non-apex power had suppressed him. this was a huge surprise to him, and he couldnt help but laugh heartily. you are the only person after the divine fist who managed to overwhelm me. your sword technique must be at the advanced gold rank, right? the main reason dead soul lost to garuda in the previous championships semifinals was because of the other partys advanced gold holy art. unlike ordinary gold-ranked techniques, advanced gold-ranked techniques allowed players to transcend their limits. hence, garuda was able to surpass dead souls attack speed and power. if it wasnt for garudas advanced gold holy art, their fight would have gone a lot differently. thats right, gentle snow frankly admitted. i am no match for you in combat standards, so i can only rely on fleeting thunderclap to defeat you. gentle snows response shocked phoenix flame, who was spectating outside the ring. black flame must be out of his mind! why would he give such a precious opportunity to a vice guild leader? does he think hell get a second chance at using the sixth goddess tablet? phoenix flame felt deeply confused and jealous as she looked at gentle snow. although elise would often loan the sixth goddess tablet to phoenix flame, she could afford to be so generous because she owned the tablet. in contrast, shi feng only had a day with the tablet. yet, rather than using this opportunity for himself, he had given it to a subordinate. phoenix flame found his behavior utterly incomprehensible. however, what phoenix flame found even more surprising was that gentle snow had managed to learn fleeting thunderclap, the strongest and most complex technique available in the sixth goddess tablet. it was also the technique that phoenix flame had repeatedly tried but failed to learn. so, when phoenix flame saw gentle snow had learned the technique after only a day, how could she not be jealous? meanwhile, inside the ring, dead soul took a deep breath to calm his nerves. your advanced gold combat technique is indeed amazing, but executing it must take a huge toll on your stamina and concentration, right? my sky-splitting hammer, on the other hand, is a self-developed gold implement manipulation technique. it costs me considerably less stamina and concentration to execute it than other gold-ranked techniques. with renewed vigor, dead soul said, lets see who can last longer! gentle snows expression darkened a little at dead souls words. indeed, while fleeting thunderclap was powerful, using it took a huge toll on her. with her concentration being at the tier 6 intermediate standard only, she couldnt afford to use it many times in quick succession. at most, she could use it about ten times before she depleted her concentration. to make matters worse, only the techniques third strike could damage dead soul. she would most certainly lose if she fought a protracted battle with dead soul. however, just as dead soul was getting ready to resume the fight, he suddenly stopped, and his gaze grew solemn as he turned to look at a figure walking out of the fog. snow might not be able to wear you out by herself, but what if she has help? shi feng asked, smiling as he looked at dead souls ugly expression. a moment later, the verdant rainbow party was announced the winner of the match, and all the human players in the crucible couldnt help but burst into excitement. this was the first time the human race had two parties entering the top eight. more importantly, both parties had the potential to win the championship. it was especially so for the verdant rainbow party. in addition to shi feng, an expert who could defeat the arbiter of death, the party also had gentle snow, who could face dead soul in direct combat. with two key experts in the verdant rainbow party, the party would have a much greater chance at victory when going up against parties with only one key expert. verdant rainbow was also excited by this situation, and she couldnt help but feel she had made the best decision in her life to recruit zero wings assistance. subsequently, the championship progressed as everyone expected. in the championships third round, both the star maiden party and the verdant rainbow party defeated their opponents with ease, progressing into the top four and making the human spectators ecstatic. in the last continental championship, not a single party from the human race managed to enter the top 8. this, in turn, led to the human race receiving less than 20% of the admission tickets for the continental championship. now that two human parties had entered the top 4, the human race would receive 35% of the admission tickets for the next continental championship. if one of these parties could win the championship, the human race would occupy 40% of the admission tickets like the holy race did last time. this would allow more chosen ones from the human race to compete for the crucibles legacies, expediting the growth of human players. amidst the human spectators excitement, the semi-finals officially began. first match: star maiden party vs ink crystal party. go, star maiden! all hail the star maiden! it seems the star maiden party will be entering the finals this time. the humans lucked out this time. they went from not having anyone in the top 8 to having two parties in the top 4. when the star maiden party entered the ring with the ink crystal party, many holy race and crystallian players couldnt help but grow envious. after all, outside of ranking first in the preliminaries, the ink crystal party had no outstanding battles throughout the championship. even the opponents it was matched against were relatively weak, with the strongest opponent being only a former top-8 party. compared to the three other parties that had entered the top 4, the ink crystal partys performance was inconspicuous. however, shi feng, garuda, rin, dead soul, and a few other experts thought differently about the match-up. they all wore serious expressions as they watched the crystallian girl named ink crystal enter the ring. Chapter 3733 - Chapter 807 - Ink Crystal chapter 807 C ink crystal when the star maiden party and the ink crystal party appeared in the canyon designated as the battlefield for their match, rin approached garuda and curiously asked, who do you think will win? the star maiden partys performance thus far could only be described as outstanding. elises ability to fully utilize her divine artifacts potential made her utterly invincible, and she single-handedly dominated all of her partys opponents. in contrast, whether it was ink crystal or the ink crystal party, both had displayed unremarkable performances thus far. yet, it was an undeniable fact that the girl named ink crystal gave off an extremely dangerous feeling, and she was likely to be a pseudo-sixth-floor expert. all i can say is that the little girl is very dangerous, garuda answered after some thought. the feeling i get from her is the same as when i am in front of the old people from my guild. the old people from your guild? rin couldnt help but look at ink crystals figure on the screen in surprise. doesnt that mean the star maiden is destined to lose? the thunder empire, the guild garuda belonged to, was one of the holy races ten strongest guilds. it was also among the three oldest royal powers among the holy race, and it was considerably well-known even among the crystallian race. meanwhile, every one of the thunder empires old monsters could strike fear into a royal power. they were all pseudo-sixth-floor experts who had developed their own advanced gold holy arts. they had also developed their concentration to the tier 6 limit standard and hence could utilize 100% of their divine artifacts potential. i wouldnt say that. after pondering for a moment, garuda said, aside from having tier 6 limit concentration, elise has also learned a primordial god-ranked mana technique. not to mention, that black book is essentially a copy of herself. overall, i dont think she should be underestimated. rin didnt refute garudas statement, finding it reasonable. elises black book was extraordinary. it was even more powerful than the sun dynastys sunlight blade. on the surface, it might seem like the black book only allowed her to create an extra version of herself. however, it should be noted that it was a doppelganger that was invulnerable and did not consume concentration to maintain. there were many doppelganger skills in gods domain, with some being able to create doppelgangers that could use all of the users skills. some of these skills could even create multiple such doppelgangers. however, while powerful, all of these doppelganger skills shared a flawthey all required the user to split their attention to manipulate. this, in turn, placed a huge burden on the users concentration and prevented them from perfectly manipulating their doppelgangers. however, the star maidens black book was different. besides being impervious to attacks, it could perfectly replicate elises spells without any active manipulation, essentially granting elise a double-casting buff. while rin was chatting with garuda, the members of the star maiden party and the ink crystal party quickly maneuvered through the canyon. the canyon had a muddy, forested terrain, and there were cliffs all around. the environment also prevented players from flying, so the members of both parties could only travel on foot. however, as the canyons cliffs provided a panoramic view, it only took a few minutes before a chaotic melee broke out. unlike their party members, though, elise and ink crystal did not participate in the fight. instead, they walked toward each other as their party members were embroiled in battle. arent you going to help your party members? elise asked, wearing an indifferent expression as she looked at the crystallian girl in front of her. glancing at the five-on-five fight happening in the distance, ink crystal chuckled and said, what about you? arent you worried your party members might not be a match for mine? if we are comparing combat standards, my party members are superior. of elises five party members, only phoenix flame was at the unthinking realm. although the other four were strong, they were only fifth-floor experts who had learned a set of gold combat techniques. in comparison, ink crystals party members consisted of two unthinking realm experts. additionally, the three other members were slightly stronger than the four fifth-floor experts in elises party. unless elise intervened, it was almost certain her party members would lose. i believe in their strength, elise answered calmly. also, this is the ideal option for me. if i let you join the melee, my partys chances of winning will be slim. although elise did not speak loudly, everyone from the audience could hear her clearly, and many couldnt help but be surprised by her evaluation. they didnt think an expert like elise would be so wary of ink crystal, so much so that she would assume her party would lose in a full-blown battle with the ink crystal party. however, before the spectators could recover from their surprise, elise spoke once more. i originally planned to swap opponents with the verdant rainbow party again, but i decided against it after thinking about it, elise stated. whether we swap or not, my party will still have to face you. since everyone in the top four will get to enter the crucibles central area, i might as well take you on first. i wouldnt say your judgment is incorrect, but are you sure you can defeat me? ink crystal asked with a smile. of course, elise said as she turned to look at phoenix flame. then, when she saw phoenix flame suddenly gaining a burst of strength and killing the ink crystal partys two unthinking realm experts in one move, she understood the time had come. after all, i wont be fighting you alone. when the rankings for the preliminaries were announced, elise only needed one look at ink crystal to understand the latter was an existence on par with demons gates old monsters. hence, she grew vigilant of ink crystal, even more so than she was of garuda and rin. after all, she had watched garudas battles in the last championship, so she more or less knew what he was capable of. however, she knew nothing of ink crystal. the fact that ink crystal never met any decent opponents throughout the championship didnt help, either. fortunately, phoenix flames strength improved significantly after she learned several legacies from the sixth goddess tablet. although not as strong as experts like rin and garuda, she should be as strong as gentle snow after the latter had learned fleeting thunderclap. so long as phoenix flame could quickly eliminate ink crystals five party members, elise was confident they could work together to defeat ink crystal. while elise spoke, phoenix flame charged at ink crystal in a straight line. although the ink crystal partys three fifth-floor experts remained alive, she judged that her four other party members should be enough to deal with them. hence, she decided to regroup with elise to fight ink crystal ahead of time. very well! ink crystal nodded, smiling as she raised a hand. immediately, the many trees in the surroundings were uprooted and lifted into the air. lets see if your words can hold true. subsequently, before elise could even react, ink crystal launched the hovering trees at phoenix flame. the trees struck one another as they flew across the air, transferring their speed and strength. this process repeated 15 times in the blink of an eye and resulted in the trees at the front achieving an attack speed that even dead soul, who spectated the match from outside the ring, had difficulty keeping up. dodge! elise instinctively shouted. unfortunately, elises warning came too late. before phoenix flame could react, over a hundred accelerated trees bombarded her and erased her from the battlefield Chapter 3734 - Chapter 808 - God Among Mortals chapter 808 C god among mortals i died? phoenix flame blinked in confusion when she was resurrected outside the ring. after using nine revolutions, an advanced gold combat technique, to eliminate the ink crystal partys two unthinking realm experts, phoenix flame promptly executed void walker, a gold body technique, to blend herself with the void as she closed in on ink crystal. while executing void walker, both her speed and flexibility would increase dramatically. although the main events battlefield prevented players from flying, she could still move at incredible speeds. additionally, the instant phoenix flame entered within a thousand yards of ink crystal and saw the latter sending countless trees in her direction, she instinctively executed nine revolutions again to defend herself. however, phoenix flames defense was a complete joke in front of ink crystals attacks. although she managed to deflect the first tree to reach her, the second tree smashed straight into her body. then, before she could react, she was already resurrected outside the ring. what incredible attack speed. it feels like her attack speed is at least twenty or thirty percent faster than dead souls. am i dreaming? did she just combine fifteen attacks into one? she even did the same for over a hundred trees every participant in the continental championship was a chosen one of their respective race. although most failed to perfectly grasp what happened, they could still more or less tell what ink crystal did. not to mention, the strength combination technique ink crystal executed was a common technique known by virtually every player in gods domain. regardless of race, the most basic offensive techniques employed by players in gods domain typically involved some form of combination attack. meanwhile, every additional attack would increase the strength and speed of the combination attack, with the average expert in gods domain usually being able to combine three to four attacks and double their strength. for fifth-floor experts, the best they could accomplish was a 13-attack combination, though the majority could only accomplish a 12-attack combination. although it was possible to go beyond these numbers, every additional attack would increase the techniques complexity by a large margin. even the various royal powers old monsters would be fortunate if they could achieve a 15-attack combination. yet, not only did ink crystal achieve a 15-attack combination, but she had also done so over a hundred times simultaneously. compared to ink crystal, the various royal powers old monsters were nothing. how is she so strong? for the first time since the start of the continental championship, rin and dead soul experienced fear. they never thought an implement manipulation technique could be utilized to such an extent. they also understood that if they were in phoenix flames shoes, they, too, would most likely get killed in one move. when it came to mastery over techniques, ink crystal was in a completely different dimension. meanwhile, garuda also wore a solemn look as he gazed at ink crystals figure on the screen, his clenched fists trembling out of fear and excitement. as for verdant rainbow and death wind, their mouths were agape with incredulity. although phoenix flame was not on the level of experts like rin and dead soul, her fight with the ink crystal partys two unthinking realm experts still showed she possessed incredible strength. with the use of her advanced gold combat technique, she should have no trouble holding her ground against experts like rin and dead soul for a considerable amount of time. yet, ink crystal had crushed phoenix flame with a simple raise of her hand sure enough, she has reached the sixth-floor standard. unlike everyone else, shi feng wasnt particularly surprised when he saw ink crystal eliminating phoenix flame so easily. he was merely confused as he looked at the crystallian girl. in gods domain, players would often joke that those beneath tier 6 were no different than ants. meanwhile, a similar saying existed for the world towers trialsthose who couldnt reach the sixth floor were no different than ants. this was because before players reached the sixth-floor standard, they would expend a lot of stamina and concentration when using advanced gold-ranked techniques. this held true even for pseudo-sixth-floor experts using their self-developed advanced gold-ranked techniques. while the cost of using self-developed techniques was lower, it wasnt negligible. however, once players reached the sixth-floor standard, the cost of using advanced gold-ranked techniques would become negligible. in fact, they could achieve the standard of advanced gold-ranked techniques with their every move. even so, this wasnt the most frightening aspect of sixth-floor experts. what made sixth-floor experts truly terrifying was their concentration. although their concentration would remain at the tier 6 limit standard, their concentration pool would become seemingly inexhaustible. for this reason, they could multitask to an unbelievable extent, such as exhibiting 100% of their combat standard via numerous doppelgangers. this was also why sixth-floor experts were regarded as gods among mortals. it was impossible for players beneath the sixth-floor standard to stand up against them. but the birth of every sixth-floor expert is earth-shattering news. even if shes a crystallian player, i should have heard of her. not to mention, she is already a sixth-floor expert despite being so young. she should be a prime target of attention for the seven luminaries alliance. theres no way there would be zero information on her. shi feng was puzzled as he looked at ink crystals incredibly young visage. every sixth-floor expert was the foundation of their race. in shi fengs previous life, the primary reason the human race was inferior to the holy race was that the human race had fewer sixth-floor experts than the holy race. this, in turn, forced the human race to limit their operations to only a corner of the eternal realm, unable to uncover its hidden secrets. the situation was so bad that the various human powers never even learned the whereabouts of the crystallian races continent. the crystallian race didnt fare much better. back then, the holy race had grown so powerful that the crystallian race couldnt even afford to face them directly. it was especially so when it came to their younger generation. however, that was only because ink crystal wasnt among the crystallians younger generation. had a teenage sixth-floor expert like ink crystal appeared, the holy races chosen ones would have become a joke. yet, shi feng had never heard of a monster like ink crystal in his previous life. this was a truly confusing situation. if a sixth-floor expert appeared in the current eternal realm, it would instantly create a gap that could not be bridged with numbers alone. under ink crystals lead, the crystallians could take over the eternal realm with ease. inside the forested canyon it seems she isnt as strong as you described, ink crystal said after erasing phoenix flames existence. then, she returned her gaze to elise and continued, alright, its only you and me now. Chapter 3735 - Chapter 809 - Two-Fold Primordial God-Ranked Mana Technique chapter 809 C two-fold primordial god-ranked mana technique manifold execution? youve reached that realm already? elises expression grew solemn as she looked at ink crystal, behaving like she was looking at some kind of monster. although she spoke like she was asking a question, her tone was that of shock rather than questioning. it seems you know a lot. ink crystal did not answer elises question. instead, she leisurely walked up to elise and said, since you know ive reached that realm already, you should know that whether it is the holy race or the human race, neither has any hope of defeating me. naturally, the champions reward will be mine. however, elise suddenly chuckled when she heard ink crystals words. so what if youve reached that realm? elise said. then, she opened the black book she wielded and smiled, saying, i initially thought garuda was the only person i needed to take seriously in this championship. i didnt think you would be the first opponent i would take seriously. as soon as elise finished speaking, the aura she exuded skyrocketed in intensity. simultaneously, over a dozen meteorites appeared above the battlefield, blotting out the sky and creating an apocalyptic scene. this scene stunned everyone spectating the match. they never thought such a development would occur in this match. not only did a monster like ink crystal appear, but even elise, whose party only made it into the top 16 in the last championship, had become a monster that everyone present could only look up to in awe. how is this possible?! rin was dumbfounded when she saw the meteorites above the battlefield. when rin previously fought elise, the latter had obliterated her using star destroyer. hence, she knew exactly how powerful the skill was. originally, rin thought that star destroyer should be elises strongest move, but what was going on right now? at this time, ink crystal was similarly surprised to see the meteorites elise summoned. have you also reached the sixth-floor standard? ink crystal asked, surprise coloring her face. star destroyer was a profound skill that came with elises divine weapon. under normal circumstances, players shouldnt be able to use multiple instances of a profound skill. only players who had reached the sixth-floor standard should be able to do so. this was also one of the reasons sixth-floor experts could crush those beneath the sixth-floor standard. however, out of everyone watching the match, nobody was more surprised than shi feng right now. what is going on? shi feng couldnt help but feel the entire world had become foreign to him as he looked at elise. as far as shi feng could recall, the human race had only started to give birth to sixth-floor experts after the war between the human race and the holy race began. in fact, even the holy race, as mighty as they were, did not have any sixth-floor experts before the war. yet, now, not only had an absurdly young sixth-floor expert like ink crystal appeared among the crystallian race, but even elise had reached the sixth-floor standard already. this was simply unbelievable. madness! this is madness! i must be dreaming! how are the crystallians and humans younger generation so strong?! meanwhile, amidst the spectators silence and ravings, the dozen or so meteorites descended toward ink crystal. the power the meteorites exuded was so overbearing that even players outside the ring knew evasion was not an option. the meteorites would most certainly obliterate the entire battlefield, and they were no longer a force that individual players could hope to stop by themselves. however, ink crystal did not panic. instead, she calmly stared at the descending meteorites as the cane she wielded emitted a dark green glow. immediately afterward, countless massive vines emerged from the ground and attacked the meteorites. boom boom boom as the meteorites and vines collided, deafening sounds of explosions and devastating shockwaves spread across the battlefield. the entire canyon map crumbled, and the falling debris crushed elises and ink crystals remaining party members. when the dust settled on the battlefield, the spectators subconsciously gasped when they saw elise and ink crystal again. at this time, the two could be seen standing in the middle of a desolate wasteland. what used to be a forested canyon was now a barren desert with mending spatial fissures in the background. although many parties had performed beyond expectations thus far, their performances were still within everyones acceptance range. however, that was not the case for the battle between elise and ink crystal. their battle could no longer be considered a battle between players. or, more specifically, it couldnt be considered a battle between mortals. instead, it looked more like a battle between gods, and even experts like the earthen princess would likely die from just the shockwaves of this battle. meanwhile, after elise was done unleashing her barrage of star destroyers, her complexion turned slightly pale, and drops of sweat flowed down from her forehead. it was obvious the move had taken a significant toll on her concentration. in contrast, ink crystal looked no different than before, and it did not look like she had exerted herself in defending against elises attack. although i dont know what method you used, it doesnt seem like youve truly reached the sixth-floor standard, ink crystal calmly stated as she looked at the bottomless craters surrounding her. if this is all youve got, your defeat is inevitable. ink crystals words shocked the spectators. what did she just say? elise still hasnt reached that realm despite being so strong? when the spectators saw elises strength, many felt that she had already reached the rumored sixth-floor standard. yet, according to ink crystal, that didnt seem to be the case. it is true that i have yet to reach the sixth-floor standard. i can temporarily reach it only with the power of the black book, elise frankly admitted with a smile. however, even if my expenditure is greater, which one of us will emerge victorious remains to be seen! after saying so, elise raised her black book and created a twofold magic array covering the entire battlefield. as soon as she did so, her complexion turned deathly pale, a sign that she had pushed her concentration to its limits. meanwhile, when the twofold magic array appeared, shi feng, who was seated outside the ring, couldnt help but be shocked. obsidian! shi feng shouted in his mind when he saw the twofold magic array above the battlefield. he never thought elise would have such a trump card hidden. obsidian was a primordial god-ranked mana technique. it was also one of the legacies recorded in the sixth goddess tablet. the mana technique allowed players to reproduce any skill or spell they had recently used, and this included the profound skills of divine artifacts. however, the stronger the skill or spell, the more difficult it would be to reproduce. normally, it would already be challenging to reproduce a divine artifacts skills, let alone do it twice simultaneously. subsequently, apocalyptic meteorites appeared above the battlefield once more. this time, though, their numbers had doubled. Chapter 3736 - Chapter 810 - Frightening Ink Crystal Chapter 810 C Frightening Ink Crystal How can she use that move again so soon? Rin was at a loss for words when she saw the meteorites that covered the sky. It was commonly known that while the Profound Skills of Divine Artifacts were powerful, they all had long Cooldowns. This could be regarded as a restriction imposed on Divine Artifacts. Originally, Rin had already found it astonishing that Elise could multicast her Divine Artifacts Profound Skill. With such an ability, Elise could easily destroy a Holy City and influence the outcome of a war by herself. Yet, as if that wasnt enough, Elise could seemingly bypass the Cooldown of her Divine Artifacts Profound Skill and double the number of instances she used Is she really the Elise that I know? At this time, even Verdant Rainbow, who was relatively familiar with Elise, couldnt help but be dumbfounded. She never thought Elise was strong to such an extent. Now, not even Demons Gates old monsters could hold a candle to Elise, let alone those from the human races younger generation. Aside from Basic Attributes, what made Divine Artifacts powerful was their Profound Skills. They were typically stronger than the Tier 6 Skills and Spells of players. However, due to the rarity of Divine Artifacts, players tended to use their Divine Artifacts Profound Skills with caution. This was because Profound Skills had very long Cooldowns; players could often only use each Profound Skill once per battle. Even so, one use of a Profound Skill was usually enough to turn the tide of battle. Hence, Verdant Rainbow found it unbelievable that Elise could go against common sense and use her Divine Artifacts Profound Skill without Cooldown. Meanwhile, when Shi Feng saw Elise using a Twofold Obsidian, realization dawned upon him. He was previously confused about why Elise would use Star Destroyer as soon as her fight with Ink Crystal began. Now, he finally understood why she had done so. Although Elise could artificially raise her combat standard to the sixth-floor standard, she would be courting death if she tried to compete with a bona fide sixth-floor expert in combat standards. Hence, she could only rely on the Profound Skills of her Divine Artifacts to achieve victory. Meanwhile, in a situation where both sides had two Divine Artifacts and could utilize them to their fullest extent, whether Elise could exhaust Ink Crystals arsenal of Profound Skills became critical. If Elise succeeded, even Ink Crystal would have difficulty resisting the full might of a Divine Artifact. After all, not everyone would have learned a technique like Obsidian. If Ink Crystal was caught off-guard, she would likely get killed. Try to block this if you can! Elise shouted as she raised her hand and called the meteorites in the sky down on Ink Crystal. Meanwhile, Ink Crystals situation was as Elise expected. Previously, Ink Crystal had exhausted Blooming Thorn to defend against Elises Star Destroyer. Blooming Thorn was the only Super-large-scale Destruction Profound Skill attached to the cane, and it had a long Cooldown of one hour. Although she still had other Profound Skills available, none could match the scale and power of Elises Star Destroyer. However, even as the 30-plus meteorites were about to make contact, Ink Crystal did not panic. Calmly, she released her cane, letting it fall and submerge into the ground. Then, in the blink of an eye, spears made of vines emerged from the ground, forming several protective layers around Ink Crystal. Subsequently, space across the battlefield distorted, and every meteorite that crashed into the vine barriers was deflected to the surroundings. Divine Wheel?! Impossible! How did she learn it?! When Rin and Dead Soul saw the spatial distortion induced by the vine barriers, their eyes bulged and nearly popped out of their sockets. Gold-ranked Implement Manipulation Techniques were relatively common in the Crystallian races Greater Gods Domain. However, when it came to defense-type Gold Implement Manipulation Techniques, only one could be considered to have reached the Peak standardDivine Wheel. It was also the only Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique made publicly available for all Crystallian players to learn by the Crystallian races sacred land. However, although many years had passed since Divine Wheel was made publicly available, not a single player had learned it. Because of this, many regarded it as a technique that could not be learned. Before Rin and Dead Soul could snap out of their daze, Ink Crystals vine barriers had already deflected all of Elises meteorites. Immediately afterward, the vine spears making up the vine barriers rose into the air and lingered around Ink Crystal for a moment. Then, they scattered to the surroundings at lightning speed, stirring up a storm that was as powerful as Elises Star Destroyer. Boom! A deafening thunder echoed across the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, the land split into thousands of pieces, and these pieces quietly hovered in the dark void that was now the battlefield. As for Elise, she had already appeared outside the ring before anyone realized it. The Star Maiden lost? Just like that? Incredible! That girl is an absolute monster! The storm created by those vines has definitely reached the standard of Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Techniques! Is she really only in her teens? How can someone so young learn two Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Techniques already? Many among the spectators were in disbelief when they saw the devastated battlefield and the defeated Star Maiden. In Gods Domain, very few players could successfully learn Peak Gold-ranked techniques. Those who managed to do so were typically old monsters who were centuries old. Yet, despite being in her teens, Ink Crystal had not only reached the legendary sixth-floor standard, but she had also learned two Peak Gold-ranked techniques A short moment after everyone was immersed in shock, though, the Crystallian players suddenly started to cheer in celebration. Previously, many Crystallian spectators were devastated when they saw Rin and Dead Soul getting defeated by humans. Some even fell into despair, thinking they had fallen to the bottom of the three races. But now, because of Ink Crystal, the Crystallian race would become the undisputed champion among the three races. In front of Ink Crystal, the likes of Garuda and Elise were nothing but jokes. All hail our Goddess Ink Crystal! Our race will become the champion this time! Just this time? Dont you mean this time and for many years to come? Have you forgotten that our goddess is only in her teens? Indeed! Even if the Holy Races Divine Fist is strong, I doubt he is much stronger than the Star Maiden. The same goes for Black Flame, the guy who defeated Dead Soul. Not to mention, both Garuda and Black Flame are much older than our Goddess Ink Crystal. The gap between them will only grow bigger in the future. At this time, whether it was the Crystallian participants or spectators, they all wore looks of excitement and worship as they stared at Ink Crystals calm visage. Although not clearly stated on the admission tickets, the three races had tacitly agreed to send only experts under the age of 35 to participate in the Continental Championship. With the Crucible of the Ancients being the home to countless powerful Legacies, so long as Ink Crystal could keep winning the Continental Championship and letting the Crystallian race secure the most admission tickets out of the three races, it would only be a matter of time before the Crystallian race became the strongest out of the three races. Unlike the Crystallian players, the Holy Race and human players in the Crucible wore ugly expressions on their faces. They never thought Ink Crystal would be so terrifyingly strong, so much so that they couldnt help but suspect she was an old monster in disguise. With her existence, it wouldnt even be strange if the Eternal Realm fell into the hands of the Crystallian race in the future, let alone the Crucible of the Ancients. While everyone in the Crucible was engaged in a heated discussion, the second match of the semifinals was announced. Next up will be the semifinals second match! May the Divine Fist Party and the Verdant Rainbow Party enter the ring! Chapter 3737 - Chapter 811 - Battling the Divine Fist Party Chapter 811 C Battling the Divine Fist Party When the Divine Fist Party and Verdant Rainbow Party members entered the ring, a sympathetic discussion began among the spectators. How unfortunate. Although the Divine Fist Party won the last championship, its destined to win only second place this time. Personally, I think the Star Maiden Party is even unluckier. The party is clearly qualified to compete for second place, yet it encountered Ink Crystal in the semifinals. I know, right? If the Star Maiden Party had not swapped opponents with the Verdant Rainbow Party earlier on, it could have very well finished in second place, receiving significantly better rewards. Indeed. I wanted to see the Star Maiden Party fight the Divine Fist Party. The intensity of the fight should be equal to the fight with the Ink Crystal Party. Many spectators were still immersed in the previous match. They all sympathized with the Star Maiden Partys situation. As for the semifinals second match, nobody really thought about it. After all, the previous match was so exciting and intense that it was difficult for anyone to recover in a short time. Outside the ring Your Highness, Black Flame has profited off us greatly this time, Phoenix Flame said as she begrudgingly watched Shi Feng enter the ring with his party. If the Star Maiden Party hadnt swapped opponents with the Verdant Rainbow Party, it could have secured second place in the championship at the very least. Yet, now, it could only settle for a spot in the top 4. In contrast, not only did the Verdant Rainbow Party get to avoid a fight with the Earthen Princess Party and enter the top 4 with ease, but Gentle Snow also learned a Legacy from the Sixth Goddess Tablet. I wouldnt necessarily say that, Elise said as she glanced at Garudas figure in the ring. Garuda is the former champion. He must have received an extraordinary reward from the Crucible, so even I cant confidently say I can defeat him in my current state. Lets just hope they dont lose too miserably. Otherwise, we really will be made fun of for swapping opponents. Phoenix Flame agreed with Elise that the Divine Fist Party shouldnt be underestimated. It was also why they decided to take the risk and face the Ink Crystal Party first. Meanwhile, at the spectator stands Commander Azure, do you think Guild Leader Black Flames party can win? Frost Raven asked, her eyes glimmering with expectation when she saw Shi Fengs party entering the ring. Although she knew the human race could no longer win the Continental Championship this time, she still couldnt help but be excited to see Shi Feng, a fellow Swordsman, leading his party into the top 4. The Swordsman class did not excel in Strength like Berserkers or Agility like Assassins. Because of this, the class was heavily disadvantaged when fighting Holy Race players, who were strong in all physical aspects, and Crystallian players, who excelled in Attack Speed. Yet, Shi Feng still managed to defeat Daystar and Dead Soul, the former being the Holy Races Arbiter of Death and the latter being the player with the fastest Attack Speed among the Crystallian races representatives. How could Frost Raven not get excited after seeing these accomplishments? I cant say for sure, but I dont think the odds favor them, Azure Dragon said, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes as he looked at Garudas figure on the screen. Garuda is the former champion and superior to Rin when it comes to individual strength. Its been some time since the last championship, so he should have already digested the Legacy he acquired from the Crucibles central area and become much stronger. Although Black Flame managed to defeat the Arbiter of Death and the Dragon Hammer, I wouldnt put my money on him beating Garuda one-on-one. Right now, I think the Verdant Rainbow Partys only option to win is to eliminate Garudas party members before they can regroup. Otherwise, if Garuda is allowed to regroup with even a couple of his party members, the Verdant Rainbow Partys chances will plummet. After all, Garuda isnt the only strong player in the Divine Fist Party this time. After saying so, Azure Dragon shifted his attention toward a female Holy Race player with an icy expression. This player was none other than Extreme Feather, who had encountered Shi Feng before. Compared to the other participants, Azure Dragon had a much better understanding of Extreme Feathers capabilities. This was because he had fought her in an ancient ruin in the southern region and near the Western Continent. At the time, Azure Dragons party consisted of the Order of Twelves Great Commander and five of the Orders commanders, himself included. Their party had encountered and fought Extreme Feather when she was alone. Yet, despite their numerical advantage, they lost. Not only that, but Extreme Feather had also slain four of the Orders commanders while suppressing the Great Commander. The fights outcome was so humiliating that everyone in the party agreed to keep the matter a secret. Hence, none of the other members of the Order of Twelve knew about it. Moreover, it should be known that Extreme Feather had not been using the two Divine Artifact-ranked moon glaives she was currently using. Now that she was equipped with two Divine Weapons, she was definitely much stronger than when Azure Dragon faced her in the ancient ruin. Even if she wasnt as strong as the Divine Fist, she should not be weaker than Dead Soul or Rin. While Azure Dragon was watching Extreme Feather maneuver her way around a stone maze, she suddenly paused and turned toward a particular direction, looking like she had detected something. A moment later, she transformed into a streak of light as she advanced toward a corner of the maze, her speed so fast that it amazed even experts who had learned Gold Body Techniques. How fast! What kind of Movement Speed is this? Its practically as fast as my Attack Speed! The spectators watching Extreme Feather were shocked by her Movement Speed. Extreme Feather moved like she was using Instantaneous Movement, covering several hundred yards in the blink of an eye. Nobody could even begin to imagine how terrifying she could be if she paired this Movement Speed with her moon glaives, weapons known for having a high Attack Speed. Meanwhile, after Extreme Feather sped down a corridor and turned a corner in the stone maze, she stopped a short distance in front of a human Swordsman. The human Swordsman was none other than Shi Feng. So its you. Extreme Feathers icy expression became several degrees colder as she looked at Shi Feng, who stood less than 100 yards away. You might have gotten lucky and escaped after looting the treasury last time, but you wont be as lucky this time. Outside the ring, Azure Dragon was greatly shocked when he heard Extreme Feathers words. He hadnt thought Shi Feng had encountered and clashed with Extreme Feather long ago. Moreover, it sounded like Shi Feng had emerged victorious in their clash. Meanwhile, as soon as Extreme Feather finished speaking, she charged Shi Feng, leaving a trail of light, her moon glaives poised to strike. A moment later, several hundred glowing blades appeared around Shi Feng, the display of Attack Speed giving Dead Soul goosebumps as he spectated from outside the ring. Dammit! Another Advanced Gold Holy Art?! How many of these monsters are there?! Dead Soul suddenly felt old as he looked at Extreme Feathers elusive figure. In the last Continental Championship, Garuda was the only participant who had learned an Advanced Gold-ranked technique. Yet, in this season, aside from Ink Crystal, who had learned a Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique[1], the human races Gentle Snow had also learned an Advanced Gold Combat Technique, while the Divine Fist Partys Extreme Feather had learned an Advanced Gold Holy Art. All of a sudden, it felt like Advanced Gold-ranked techniques were now available wholesale TL Notes: [1]Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique: I have decided to change top-tier Gold to Peak Gold. I will also make the same changes to Flowing Spaces description in Chapter 455. Long story short, the author used different characters for technique ranks (ͨ-Basicߵ-Advanced-Peak), and I misinterpreted it. Its especially confusing when things like Concentration have easily understood ranks (-Basicм-Intermediate߼-Advanced-Peak). Fyi, the characters (Dng) and (J) can both mean rank, while ͨ just means ordinary/normal. Hence, Flowing Space is now a Peak Gold Body Technique rather than a top-tier Gold Body Technique. It would also explain why Flowing Spaces Second Step, Phantom Body, can already rank number one out of all Basic Gold Body Techniques. Chapter 3738 - Chapter 812 - Half-Step Mortal God Chapter 812 C Half-Step Mortal God As expected of the Angel of Death. Shi Feng smiled when he saw the several hundred glowing blades attacking him from all directions. Its a pity this move is useless against me. Suddenly, Shi Feng vanished, and over 50 phantom bodies appeared behind the congregating blades. The phantom bodies looked incredibly realistic, and it was impossible to distinguish Shi Fengs real body from them. Impossible! Extreme Feather was dumbfounded as she looked at Shi Fengs scattering phantom bodies. She couldnt believe that Shi Feng managed to evade all her attacks. The Holy Art she just used was Void Body. It was considered top-tier, even among Advanced Gold Holy Arts. The technique involved strengthening her body with Holy Aura to better integrate with the surrounding space. This, in turn, allowed her to achieve incredible speeds, which consequently increased the power she could exhibit. When she paired Void Body with the Thunderclap Moonglaives, the Divine Weapons she wielded, she was confident she could kill even Dead Soul in one exchange. Yet, the hundreds of attacks she had just executed failed to even graze the edge of Shi Fengs equipment At this time, the spectators were similarly surprised and confused by this development. When did he become so fast? Moon Demon and Holy Blood were in disbelief when their eyes failed to keep up with Shi Fengs movements. Was he still hiding his strength when we fought? Previously, Shi Feng had to rely on his Law Projection to kill them. Even in his fight with Dead Soul, Shi Feng still needed to rely on his Law Projection to defeat the Dragon Hammer despite having Gentle Snows assistance. So, what in the world was happening right now? Currently, simply looking at the speed Shi Feng was achieving with his body technique was enough to instill a feeling of helplessness in Moon Demon and Holy Blood. Besides Moon Demon and Holy Blood, Dead Soul similarly couldnt help but widen his eyes when he saw Shi Fengs speed. All the afterimages Shi Feng created were indistinguishable from the real deal. It wouldnt matter if Dead Souls Attack Speed remained superior in such a situation. If he failed to locate the real Shi Feng and attacked an afterimage, he would have exerted himself for nothing and become open to attacks. If comparing threat levels, Shi Fengs Movement Speed was greater than even Gentle Snows Fleeting Thunderclap. What Moon Demon, Holy Blood, and Dead Soul didnt know was that Flowing Space was a Peak Gold Body Technique developed by the Goddess of Space. Even though Shi Feng was only executing the techniques second level, Phantom Body, it could already rival Advanced Gold Body Techniques in speed. Additionally, although Extreme Feather had two Divine Weapons equipped, it should be known that Shi Fengs Basic Attributes were currently on par with that of a Level 190, Tier 6 player equipped with three Divine Artifacts. So, even though Extreme Feather had two Divine Weapons equipped, she would still have difficulty landing any attacks on him. After all, even small differences in Basic Attributes could lead to significant differences in the effects that combat techniques of the same rank could achieve, let alone a difference in one Divine Artifacts worth of Basic Attributes. Before Extreme Feather could create some distance between them, Shi Feng unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and Winter of Eternal Night. Subsequently, the two swords transformed into countless dazzling stars that followed Shi Fengs phantom bodies across the maze corridor. Gold Combat Technique, Swords Orbit! Gold Combat Technique, Flowing Spaces Phantom Body! The simultaneous use of two Gold Combat Techniques. This was something Shi Feng could only accomplish after his base Concentration had reached the Tier 6 Peak standard. Although Swords Orbit was only a Basic Gold Combat Technique, when paired with the extraordinary Flowing Space, it could rival offense-type Advanced Gold Combat Techniques. Although Extreme Feather did her best to defend against the countless sword lights that filled the maze corridor, she failed to block them all. In less than three seconds, her HP zeroed out, and she died. She got killed? Just like that? How is Black Flame so strong?! Many spectators were stunned when they saw Extreme Feather getting eliminated. Phoenix Flame, who had been paying close attention to Shi Feng, was especially shocked. Extreme Feathers performance was in no way inferior to Dead Souls and Rins. In Phoenix Flames opinion, if Shi Feng had to work together with Gentle Snow to eliminate Dead Soul, he should not stand a chance against Extreme Feather by himself. Yet, Shi Feng had defied expectations and eliminated Extreme Feather. Moreover, he had accomplished it so quickly that it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say he was nearly as strong as Elise. After all, although Shi Fengs performance was not as spectacular as Elises, he still managed to eliminate an expert of Rins caliber in a very short time. Meanwhile, following Extreme Feathers defeat, many spectators started to take an interest in the match that they previously thought would be uneventful. As the former champion, there was no doubt Garuda was stronger than Rin and Dead Soul. If Shi Fengs strength was limited such that he could only defeat an expert like Dead Soul by relying on his Law Projection and Gentle Snows assistance, the Verdant Rainbow Party would definitely lose. However, if Garuda had to fight two experts of Rins caliber simultaneously, the outcome would become uncertain. While the spectators were discussing the matchs outcome, Gentle Snow, Verdant Rainbow, Fervent Samsara, Heavy Abyss, and Death Wind had successfully regrouped and encountered the four-armed Garuda in one of the mazes halls. What the fuck?! Can Black Flame get any luckier?! Phoenix Flame subconsciously cursed out loud when she saw the latest development shown on the screen. Currently, in addition to Gentle Snows group encountering Garuda by himself, Shi Feng was also within 3,000 yards of them. Once Gentle Snows group engaged Garuda in battle, the commotion generated would definitely catch Shi Fengs notice. With Shi Fengs monstrous speed, it wouldnt take him more than a couple of seconds to reach the battlefield. At that time, Garuda would have to face the entire Verdant Rainbow Party by himself. In such a situation, the Divine Fists chances of victory would be slim. After all, Gentle Snow and Verdant Rainbow were not pushovers. Gentle Snow was strong enough to hold her ground against Dead Soul, while Verdant Rainbow could rely on her Divine Weapon to attack Garuda from range. If an expert like Verdant Rainbow attacked with all her might, not even Garuda could afford to ignore her attacks. However, contrary to Phoenix Flames expectations, Garuda remained calm despite facing Gentle Snows group of five. Your luck truly is rotten to encounter me first, Garuda said as he leisurely stood up. He did not put his guard up in the slightest, behaving like Gentle Snows group was akin to a small pack of harmless monsters. Dont get so full of yourself, Garuda. There are five of us here. Even if you are stronger than Rin, you wont have an easy time defeating us, Death Wind said, sneering. Dont get careless. He is definitely stronger than he was in the last championship, Verdant Rainbow said as she glared at Death Wind. Although she somewhat agreed with what Death Wind said, she doubted the five of them could defeat the player regarded as the number one expert in the last Continental Championship. At the very least, it wouldnt be an easy victory. If any of you were as strong as Elise, I might have taken you more seriously. Looking at Death Wind, Garuda said coldly, But none of you are, so dont talk yourselves up so much. As soon as Garuda finished speaking, a giant phantom over 1,000 meters tall appeared around him. The phantom had a hundred arms, and it radiated an aura as strong as that of an Ancient Saint. Meanwhile, the moment the hundred-armed giant appeared, a look of surprise flashed in the eyes of both Elise and Ink Crystal. A Half-step Mortal God? TL Notes: [1]Half-step Mortal God: The God () in this instance isnt referring to the Gods ()/Ancient Gods (Ϲ)/Primordial Gods (Զ) in Gods Domain. Instead, it is referencing Chapter 808s title God Among Mortals. (,, all translate to God, so idk man.) Chapter 3739 - Chapter 813 - Black Flame and Garuda Chapter 813 C Black Flame and Garuda Is this Garudas trademark move, Myriad Fists? What a powerful phantom. Its more than twice as big as it was in the last championship. Its aura is also nearly as strong as a bona fide Ancient Saint. Wait, this cant be Garudas self-developed Myriad Fists! Shouldnt it only be at the Gold Holy Art standard? This phantoms aura can already rival that of Ancient Saints. It should be at the Advanced Gold Holy Art standard at the very least. Many spectators who had watched Garuda in the last Continental Championship were shocked when they saw the 1,000-meter-tall phantom. It was especially so for those from the Holy Race. This was because the phantom Garuda summoned last time didnt even reach 500 meters. They hadnt expected Garuda to improve so much since the last championship. There was a huge disparity between Basic and Advanced Gold Holy Arts. Among the Holy Races royal powers, players who could grasp Basic Gold Holy Arts would only be treated as a chosen one and nothing more. However, for players who could grasp Advanced Gold Holy Arts, the various royal powers would treat them as future Guild Leaders. As for players who could develop their own Advanced Gold Holy Art, not even the Holy Races royal powers would dare to think of having any such players. Learning someone elses technique and developing ones own technique might ultimately lead to one learning a technique, but there was a qualitative difference between the two processes. When one learned another persons technique, one could, at most, execute it normally. However, when executing a self-developed technique, in addition to being able to execute it normally, one could also reduce ones Stamina and Concentration expenditure to a great extent. Given an expert who could only use an Advanced Gold Holy Art two or three times and an expert who could use it over a dozen times, the result of a clash between the two was obvious. In fact, it wouldnt even be strange if an expert who managed to develop their own Advanced Gold Holy Art could simultaneously fight two or three experts who had only learned another persons Advanced Gold Holy Art. While the other spectators were shocked by Garudas self-developed Advanced Gold Holy Art, Phoenix Flame looked at Elise in astonishment. Your Highness, did you say he is a Half-step Mortal God? When Phoenix Flame overheard Elises mutterings, she couldnt help but doubt her ears. Yes. He has indeed reached that step already, Elise said solemnly. Hes actually reached it ahead of you? Could he have acquired a Legacy superior to the Sixth Goddess Tablet? Phoenix Flame couldnt help but turn to look at Garudas figure on the screen in shock. As Elises close confidant and student, Phoenix Flame knew what it meant to be a Half-step Mortal God. It was a term used to refer to players close to becoming a sixth-floor expert, also known as a Mortal God. To be considered a Half-step Mortal God, players would need to fulfill two requirements: develop their own Advanced Gold-ranked technique and raise their Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard. In reality, once players reached the standard of a Half-step Mortal God, their ascension into a Mortal God was virtually guaranteed. All they needed to do was have their Concentration undergo metamorphosis to be able to apply Manifold Execution. However, unlike Ink Crystal, whose background was shrouded in mystery, Garuda had participated in the previous Continental Championship. Hence, there was detailed information available on him. In the last championship, Garudas Concentration standard was the same as Elises; both were at the Tier 6 Advanced standard. Even the Holy Art he developed barely reached the Gold standard and was nowhere near the Advanced Gold standard. Although Elise managed to advance her Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard before the current Continental Championship, she only managed it because of the Sixth Goddess Tablet. Phoenix Flame found it hard to imagine Garuda could achieve such rapid growth in his Concentration without the Sixth Goddess Tablet. She also doubted he could get his hands on a Legacy similar to the Sixth Goddess Tablet. After all, the Goddess of Space was a first-class existence, even among Primordial Gods. Obtaining the Legacy of such an existence would not be an easy task. Not to mention, Garuda had improved his self-developed Holy Art to the Advanced Gold standard in such a short period. Compared to his Concentration development, this was an even more incredible accomplishment. Its not out of the question. Dont forget that he got to enter the Crucibles central area as the former champion, Elise said calmly. Phoenix Flame agreed with Elises explanation. Across the entire Eternal Realm, the Crucible of the Ancients was currently the only known location that could potentially have Primordial God Legacies. So, it was entirely plausible for Garuda to acquire a Legacy surpassing that of the Goddess of Space in the Crucibles central area. While Phoenix Flame was feeling upset that she wouldnt get to access the Legacies in the Crucibles central area once again, Gentle Snows group of five suddenly appeared outside the ring. Evidently, all five of them were killed by Garuda. Moreover, they didnt even manage to waste Garudas Concentration and Stamina, let alone buy time for Shi Feng to meet up with them. Dammit! Is he a monster? When Verdant Rainbow saw Garudas calm expression on the screen, she couldnt help but feel vexed. After sensing the presence of Garudas giant, Shi Feng swiftly moved to regroup with them and was currently already within 1,000 yards of their location. They could have fought Garuda as a full party had they managed to buy themselves even a few seconds. Yet, despite having a five-on-one advantage, they failed to survive even one move against Garuda. In only an instant, Garudas phantom had thrown a hundred punches, each stronger than the third strike of Gentle Snows Fleeting Thunderclap. As a result, Gentle Snow only managed to block three punches before she died, while everyone else turned into ashes without blocking a single punch Fools! Just because you defeated a couple of ordinary chosen ones of the Holy Race, you think you can win against the Divine Fist Party? Against Lord Garuda? When Extreme Feather saw the ugly expressions on Verdant Rainbows group, her depressed mood vanished. Her beautiful eyes even started to sparkle when she saw Shi Feng stepping into the same hall as Garuda. Even if you defeated me, what can you do against Lord Garuda? A Half-step Mortal God! This was the Divine Fist Partys greatest trump card to win the Continental Championship this time. Garudas strength had already reached a realm the average chosen one could not hope to reach. Inside the maze You are the only one left. You are quite strong, seeing as you managed to eliminate Extreme Feather and the others, Garuda said calmly as he watched Shi Feng enter the hall from an entrance different from Verdant Rainbows group. But this is as far as your party can advance. After saying so, Garuda materialized his phantom once more and bombarded Shi Feng with a hundred punches. A Half-step Mortal God? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the phantom attacking him. However, his instincts kicked in, and he promptly cast his Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection before executing Swords Orbit. Chapter 3740 - Chapter 814 - Purgatory Phantom Garb Chapter 814 C Purgatory Phantom Garb The instant Shi Fengs Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection appeared, space within the hall became sluggish, and Garudas punches faced greater resistance. This, in turn, caused his lightning-quick punches to slow down considerably. Immediately afterward, the dazzling sword lights of Shi Fengs Swords Orbit struck Garudas fists. Boom Boom Boom The clash between fists and sword lights lasted several seconds, and the outcome shocked the spectators outside. He blocked them?! Phoenix Flame couldnt believe her eyes when she saw Shi Feng still standing in the hall. It should be known that Garudas Myriad Fists had already reached the Advanced Gold Holy Art standard. Each of his punches should carry nearly 100% of his Strength. Additionally, they possessed speed that could overwhelm even Gentle Snow after just three hits. Yet, despite using only a Gold-ranked sword technique, Shi Feng blocked Garudas Myriad Fists completely. He had even done so without losing a single HP Besides Phoenix Flame, the other spectators were similarly astonished. How is this guy so strong?! Hes actually matching Garuda! Crap! What is going on with the humans this season? First the Star Maiden, and now Black Flame? Are the humans on the rise? Luck! Its all luck, I say! Lord Garuda is a Half-step Mortal God! Theres no way a human who hasnt even reached the Unthinking Realm can compete with Lord Garuda! A heated discussion erupted among the spectators. Originally, when everyone saw Garuda displaying his strength as a Half-step Mortal God, they thought the match would conclude uneventfully. They didnt expect another monstrous expert to emerge from the human race. How did he become so strong?! Chalk Splendor looked dumbfounded as he stood outside the ring. Thats the Divine Fists Myriad Fists! Chalk Splendor had a much better understanding of Shi Feng than the other players present. The first time they met, Shi Feng was merely a Taboo-level existence who could barely withstand the might of the Sunlight Blades Sunlight Body. If not for Verdant Rainbows assistance, Shi Feng would have eventually collapsed from exhaustion. At the time, Shi Fengs overall strength was, at best, at the average standard of the various royal powers Holy Children. Although Chalk Splendor was astonished when Shi Feng defeated his elder sister, Daystar, he could still more or less accept the outcome. After all, Shi Feng had won by a very small margin and heavily relied on the six Level 200, Tier 6 War Goddesses he summoned. If it werent for the War Goddesses, Daystars undead army could have easily worn out and killed Shi Feng. Now, though, Chalk Splendor was truly dumbfounded. Although Garuda was also regarded as a Holy Child, he couldnt be put on the same level as the other Holy Children from the Holy Races royal powers. This was because he was the undisputed number-one expert among the Holy Races younger generation. Even Daystar and her dazzling accomplishments could not hope to hold a candle to him. Moreover, that was before Garuda had reached the Half-step Mortal God standard. Black Flames Law Projection is incredibly powerful. It is much stronger than even my Dual Advanced Law Projection, Daystar explained when she saw her little brothers look of surprise. His Basic Attributes are also astonishingly high. Despite not having any Divine Artifacts, he has the Basic Attributes of a Level 190 expert equipped with three Divine Artifacts. In comparison, Garuda only has two Divine Artifacts. His Law Projection is also at the same standard as mine. Even if Garudas Myriad Fists has reached the Advanced Gold standard, its unsurprising that Black Flame can neutralize the technique with such advantages. Doesnt that mean Garuda cant do anything against that bastard? Chalk Splendor said reluctantly. Garuda was the Holy Races strongest chosen one. If even Garuda couldnt do anything about Shi Feng, Chalk Splendor had difficulty imagining how he was supposed to get revenge on Shi Feng. It should be known that Garuda was already the ceiling of strength in the current Eternal Realm. Meanwhile, when dealing with experts of Garudas caliber, having numbers was meaningless. After all, they could simply escape whenever they felt their lives were threatened. This was also why the various powers feared the Greater Gods Domains old monsters. I wouldnt necessarily say that, Daystar said as she returned her three eyes to the screen. Then, while looking at Garudas figure, she continued, Garuda is our races strongest chosen one, after all. Even if Black Flame has a unique Law Projection, Garuda wont lose. At this time, Rin and Dead Soul were seated near Chalk Splendor and Daystar. The two naturally overheard Daystars comments. Although neither of them said anything, their calm expressions as they looked at Garudas figure on the screen showed that they agreed with Daystars words. As the discussions outside the ring continued, the dust and smoke in the hall settled. Currently, Garuda had already dismissed his phantom and was observing Shi Feng from a hundred yards away, a hint of joy and playfulness in his eyes. You are good, Garuda said, chuckling as he glanced at Shi Fengs Law Projection, which covered a radius of several thousand yards. This Law Projection alone is enough to render my Myriad Fists useless against you for a long time. Had this fight taken place in the last championship, you might have become the champion. Thank you for the compliment. Shi Feng was a little surprised to see Garuda talking to him so carefreely. Returning the gesture, he smiled and said, But my petty trick is probably useless against you now, right? As the winner of the last Continental Championship, Garuda must have benefited significantly from the Crucibles central area. Although a Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection was powerful, it should be as threatening as a gentle breeze to a peerless chosen one like Garuda. In Shi Fengs previous life, many had commented that Garudas abstention in the war between the two races was the only reason the human race could have any living space in the Eternal Realm. Even the Three Absolutes, who were bona fide sixth-floor experts at the time, had clearly expressed their inability to fight Garuda. This showed just how frighteningly strong Garuda was. You are right, Garuda said as he worked his shoulders. Then, with a faint smile, he continued, You are the first person in this championship to make me use my full strength. The moment Garuda finished speaking, the Divine Artifact-ranked breastplate he wore suddenly bloomed with purple-gold brilliance. Then, Garudas body suddenly split into 16 identical copies of himself, each copy radiating an aura stronger than even Garudas original body. Phantom World! A Profound Skill of the Purgatory Phantom Garb! When Garuda activated this Profound Skill, even Shi Fengs expression darkened. Phantom World was one of Garudas trademark moves. Assuming that a player could utilize 100% of the Purgatory Phantom Garbs potential, they could split into a maximum of 1,000 clones of themselves. In Shi Fengs previous life, the most clones Garuda had ever created in battle were 100. This was because 100 clones were the most Garuda could control perfectly. Seeing as Garuda had created 16 clones, it most likely meant he was already at the standard where he could perfectly control 16 clones. Chapter 3741 - Chapter 815 - Complete Goddess Law Projection Chapter 815 C Complete Goddess Law Projection You can be proud of yourself, the Garuda clones said, smiling at Shi Feng. I was originally saving this move for that little girl, but Ill let you have the honor of facing it first. After saying so, the 16 clones each conjured a 1,000-meter-tall phantom with their Holy Auras. The phantoms took up a large area of the spacious hall, and each radiated an aura stronger than the phantom Garuda had previously conjured. This development made the previous battle look like nothing more than a joke. Following this scene, silence enveloped the spectators outside momentarily. How is this possible?! Is this the strength of the former number-one expert? Death Winds jaw dropped when he saw the 16 giant phantoms displayed on the screen. Verdant Rainbow, Gentle Snow, and the others similarly wore ashen expressions. They never imagined Garuda could be strong to such an extent. Amazing! This Skill is simply amazing! Not only are the doppelgangers created stronger than the original, but they can also use Myriad Fists! How generous of the Thunder Empire to let Garuda use the Purgatory Phantom Garb! With it, Garuda is truly invincible. Black Flame sure is unlucky. If not for the Purgatory Phantom Garb, he would have totally had a winning chance against Garuda. Although Black Flames Law Projection is powerful, Garuda can offset most of its suppressive effect with his own Law Projection. With Garudas doppelgangers being stronger than the original, even after Black Flames Law Projection suppresses them, they should still be as strong as Garudas original body. There are also sixteen of them on the field. No matter how I look at it, the fight is as good as over. Amazing! No wonder Lord Garuda can remain calm after watching Ink Crystals fight. Even a Mortal God will have trouble facing sixteen such doppelgangers simultaneously. Many spectators were shocked and excited by Garudas display. They never imagined that Garuda would have another trump card besides his combat standard. Suddenly, many players started wondering what kind of exciting fight they would see when the Divine Fist Party and the Ink Crystal Party clashed. As for the current fight, the outcome was already apparent. After all, Shi Feng had to rely on his powerful Law Projection to match Garuda before the latter activated Phantom World. Now that Garuda had produced sixteen doppelgangers that were stronger than himself, the effects of Shi Fengs Law Projection would become negligible. At this time, even if Shi Feng was similarly at the Half-step Mortal God standard, he would still lose to Garuda. Inside the maze hall Its over! Garudas 16 clones executed Myriad Fists against Shi Feng simultaneously, the conjured phantoms throwing over a thousand punches at Shi Feng. Each of the phantoms punches was akin to a falling meteorite, generating sparks as they brushed against the air. Together, the phantoms created a vast and beautiful meteorite shower that dwarfed Elises multicast Star Destroyer. As expected of the Divine Fist. Shi Feng was amazed by the sight before him. Garudas move was so powerful that Shi Feng was certain he would die if he tried to block it with Dark Moon. Hence, rather than attempting a futile action, he raised the Shadow Incinerator and muttered, Worlds Descent! Boom! Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering echoed across the hall. Immediately afterward, wisps of black smoke descended upon the entire battlefield and enveloped the entire ring in no time. Before Garuda could react, he felt a powerful suppression on his body, suppressing him in all aspects and making him incredibly sluggish. Now, he could only execute Myriad Fists at 70% of its original speed. What a powerful Law Projection! Garuda was shocked by the change in Shi Fengs Law Projection. However, he quickly regained his calm. Even so, you still cant stop my Myriad Fists! Although Garudas clones were overall 30% suppressed, their combined might was still greater than what Shi Feng could withstand. At most, Shi Feng could take a few more hits than before. Is that so? When Shi Feng sensed his perception of the world around him achieving unprecedented clarity, he smiled and vanished. Third Step, Flowing Light! Subsequently, a streak of light could be seen shuttling between the rain of burning fists. In the time it took to take a breath, Shi Feng maneuvered his way through all the phantom fists and appeared in front of one of Garudas clones. You The eyes of Garudas clones widened when Garuda saw Shi Feng intact. He failed to comprehend how Shi Feng could evade all his lightning-fast attacks. Logically, even a Half-step Mortal God shouldnt be able to escape unscathed. Yet, Shi Feng had succeeded despite not even being at the Unthinking Realm standard. What Garuda did not know was that Flowing Space was a Peak Gold Body Technique developed by the Goddess of Space. Even when executed to the third level only, Flowing Space could already rival the average Peak Gold Body Technique. Not to mention, Shi Feng executed the technique after strengthening his Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection into a Goddess Law Projection. While Garuda was in a daze, Shi Feng swung the Shadow Incinerator at the clone before him. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! As the Shadow Incinerator fell, darkness enveloped the battlefield. The only thing visible was a beautiful moon that rapidly expanded across the entire ring. This Shi Feng was momentarily stunned when he saw the clone getting erased, and the land 1,000 yards before him becoming a bottomless abyss. He did not expect the Goddess Law Projection to amplify Dark Moon to such an extent. Besides Shi Feng, the spectators outside were similarly astonished. What a terrifying attack! Is that a Divine Weapons Profound Skill? No way, right? Has his Concentration reached the Tier 6 Limit standard as well? Is everyone a monster this season? After a brief silence, the spectators fell into a frenzy. This was especially true for the spectating human players, who all started to view Shi Feng in a new light. Shi Fengs attack could only be considered lackluster compared to Elises Star Destroyer, which destroyed nearly half of the battlefield. However, there was no doubt that Shi Fengs attack carried as much power as Elises Star Destroyer. Not to mention, Shi Fengs attack had one-shotted Garudas clone. Phoenix Flame was also stupefied by this situation. A Goddess-ranked Mana Technique! Phoenix Flames heart was restless as she looked at the fading moon on the screen. Has he fully mastered a Goddess-ranked Mana Technique? Chapter 3742 - Chapter 816 - Third Advanced Law Chapter 816 C Third Advanced Law Unlike the other spectators, Phoenix Flame had studied the Legacies of the Sixth Goddess Tablet. Hence, she knew what Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques were. The Goddess-ranked Mana Technique recorded on the Sixth Goddess Tablet was also something Elise had been trying to learn all this time. Unfortunately, Elise never succeeded. The best she managed to learn was a Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique. Although it was a powerful Mana Technique, it was still inferior to Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques. Had Elise learned a Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, her fight with Ink Crystal would have gone much differently. Meanwhile, when Phoenix Flame saw Shi Feng gathering his mana into his sword before one-shotting one of Garudas clones, she could only link the attack with a fully mastered Goddess-ranked Mana Technique. Apart from that, she could not think of any other possibility. He has indeed learned a Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Elise said with a complicated expression. But he shouldnt have fully mastered it yet. Otherwise, his mana wouldnt scatter so quickly after his attack landed. This still isnt the techniques perfect form? Phoenix Flame stared at the bottomless abyss on the battlefield in astonishment. Shi Fengs attack had obliterated everything within 1,000 yards in front of him. Moreover, this was done within the battlefield of the Crucible of the Ancients main event. The attack could have obliterated a large map if this fight had occurred in the outside world. Naturally. But going by the power of his attack, he shouldnt be far off from fully mastering the technique, Elise said. Then, after taking one last glance at the bottomless pit, she got up from her seat and left. Lets go and rest. Are we not going to watch the rest of the fight, Your Highness? Phoenix Flame asked. The outcome has been decided. What else is there to watch? Elise responded nonchalantly before making her way into the rest area. The outcome has been decided? When Phoenix Flame saw Shi Feng executing the same Mana Technique again, she stopped paying attention to the fight and followed Elise. Indeed, it was exactly as Elise stated. While others might still have difficulty determining the fights outcome, it was a different story for those who knew about Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques. In a situation where Shi Feng was close to perfecting his mastery over a Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, unless there was a huge gap in Basic Attributes, even a Half-step Mortal God equipped with a Divine Weapon would have very little chance of beating him. After all, Shi Feng could exhibit the power of a Divine Artifacts Profound Skill every time he attacked, whereas actual Profound Skills had long Cooldowns. Not to mention, Shi Fengs Law Projection severely suppressed Garuda. Inside the ring Dammit! Why is his sword technique so powerful? His Movement Speed as well! Defending against his attacks is simply impossible! While manipulating his remaining clones, Garuda no longer had his previous composure. My only choice is to go on the offense. Otherwise, my defeat will be inevitable. Although Garuda had the numerical advantage, he couldnt keep up with Shi Fengs speed. Shi Feng could strike and retreat whenever he wanted. He was also strong enough to eliminate a clone each time he attacked. This situation gave Garuda a huge headache. Currently, the only thing Garuda could be happy about was that Shi Feng was investing a significant amount of Concentration into each of his attacks, which, in turn, limited the number of attacks he could execute. Meanwhile, Shi Fengs excitement grew as the fight progressed. This Profound Skill is simply amazing. Not only did it elevate my Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection into a Goddess Law Projection, but it also integrated a Law into my Dark Moon. Although I still cant unleash all of the mana I have gathered, I am getting closer to achieving the perfect Dark Moon with each subsequent execution. After eliminating another of Garudas clones, Shi Feng couldnt help but be astounded by the Shadow Incinerators Profound Skill, Worlds Descent. Shi Feng had only reached entry-level in his mastery over Dark Moon. More specifically, he could only use the Law of Space as the techniques foundation to gather mana. However, when he activated Worlds Descent, the Profound Skill introduced a new Law into his Dark Moon, allowing the technique to improve qualitatively. Additionally, whenever he executed Dark Moon, the operations of the magic elements involved would be displayed in his mind. The clarity of this display even grew with each subsequent execution. Because of this, even though it was incredibly taxing on his Concentration to use Dark Moon, he kept doing so in an attempt to grasp the introduced Law. Laws related to the magic elements were of utmost importance to any player. Nobody would ever complain that they knew too many Elemental Laws. This was because every Elemental Law a player grasped would strengthen their control over mana. At the same time, the Law Projections they could cast would also become stronger. Hence, when players reached Tier 6, apart from weapons and equipment at the Legendary rank or above, they would primarily seek out the Laws contained in various Legacies. Now that Worlds Descent could integrate and display a Law into Dark Moon, Shi Feng naturally had to make the most of this opportunity. Not to mention, said Law was the Law of Darkness. The Law of Darkness was an Advanced Law like the Law of Destruction and the Law of Space. Normally, opportunities to learn an Advanced Law could only be found in Primordial God Legacies, while God and Ancient God Legacies only contained Basic Laws. Now that Shi Feng had an opportunity to learn the Law of Darkness, how could he let it slip by? Once Twice Three times Subsequently, Shi Feng executed Dark Moon one time after another. Unfortunately, even after all of Garudas clones were eliminated and the winner of the match was declared, Shi Feng still did not grasp the Law of Darkness. If only I had more time Shi Feng sighed when he appeared outside the ring. Sixteen executions of Dark Moon only allowed Shi Feng to reach entry-level in his mastery over the Law of Darkness. Although he could now manipulate mana using the Law of Darkness, he couldnt integrate it into his Dark Moon like he could when Worlds Descent was active. While Shi Feng felt dejected, many spectators were jumping for joy. What an incredible human! I cant believe he defeated the Divine Fist! Indeed! I originally thought the Star Maiden would be the human races strongest representative this time! But after watching this match, I think Black Flame should be the strongest! I look forward to the finals! Previously, after watching Elise and Ink Crystals fight, everyone lost interest in the fight between Shi Feng and Garuda. Now, though, everyone started to look forward to the fight between Shi Feng and Ink Crystal. It was especially so for the human players. They never imagined that the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, a Guild with no background, could defeat Garuda, the former champion, and lead the Verdant Rainbow Party to the finals. Amidst the spectators cheers and expectations, Garuda walked up to Shi Feng after he was resurrected outside the ring. You are good; Ill give you that. I didnt think I would lose to you, Garuda said as he crossed his four arms across his chest. Then he turned to look at the departing Ink Crystal Party and continued, But you are most likely going to have a tough time against Ink Crystal. I hope you can defeat her and become the champion. That way, we might be able to become fellow travelers. After saying so, Garuda left for the rest area with his bitter party members. Like everyone else, he intended to stay behind and watch the finals two hours later. Fellow travelers? Shi Feng couldnt help but grow curious as he watched Garuda leave. He could sense that Garuda sincerely did not care about losing. Garuda behaved like his goal was never to become the champion but to achieve something greater instead. Is it the path beyond Tier 6? Garuda was the champion of the last Continental Championship, so Shi Feng couldnt help but suspect that the other party had learned the method to go beyond Tier 6. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng became even more determined to win the championship. By the time the following season arrived, the entrance to the Eternal Realm might very well have been discovered already. At that time, even more talented experts and top-tier Divine Artifacts would appear in the Continental Championship, making it exponentially harder to become the champion. Chapter 3743 - Chapter 817 - Battle for the Championship Chapter 817 C Battle for the Championship Crucible of the Ancients: The two-hour break quickly passed, and players again filled the main event venue. Some preliminary participants even returned an hour earlier to secure better seats in the spectator stands. Rin, who do you think will win? Dead Soul curiously asked as he looked at Rin, who had just walked up to the ring. As a fellow Crystallian, I am naturally rooting for Ink Crystal, Rin said, rolling her eyes. The Continental Championship is a place for the three races to compete. The better our race does in the championship, the more sixth-floor experts we can produce in the future. Dont tell me youre hoping for the Holy Race and the human race to reign over us. What a boring answer, Dead Soul said, sighing. Then, he nonchalantly continued, Im betting on Black Flames victory. Although his victory will put our race in second place, he is the expert who defeated me. I dont wish to see him lose to anyone. Dead Souls words earned him a look of disdain from Rin. However, Dead Soul didnt mind Rins reaction and simply continued, Im sure you are aware, but the Holy Race is much stronger than us and the human race. After the major system update, many old fellows back home have already decided to help the humans resist the Holy Race on the Eternal Continent. That way, we can minimize our living areas exposure when the Eternal Realms entrance is discovered. So, it doesnt really matter whether Ink Crystal or Black Flame wins. Black Flame winning might even be good news for us. After all, you and I will both be part of the vanguard legion headed for the Eternal Continent. If Black Flame is strong enough to defeat Ink Crystal, I can only see it as good news for our future alliance. You sure have put a lot of thought into this matter. Rin couldnt help but look at Dead Soul in surprise. Contrary to her previous statement, Rin secretly hoped for Ink Crystals defeat. Neither Rin nor Dead Soul had expected Ink Crystals appearance. They never imagined there could be another member of the younger generation who could surpass them. While knowing that the Crystallian race had more talented experts was reassuring, Ink Crystals origins were shrouded in mystery. Even now, the powers they belonged to had yet to uncover Ink Crystals details. It was as if Ink Crystal had suddenly sprouted from the ground one day. Additionally, the executives of Rins Guilds had warned her not to approach Ink Crystal, and she was advised to behave like Ink Crystal did not exist. Since her Guilds executives wished to treat Ink Crystal like she did not exist, Rin would naturally be more inclined to wish for Black Flames victory. After all, Black Flames victory would increase the likelihood of the human race producing more sixth-floor experts. Meanwhile, the stronger the human race became, the easier it would be for the alliance between the Crystallian race and the human race to resist the Holy Race. Amidst Rin and Dead Souls hushed conversation, the Ink Crystal Party and the Verdant Rainbow Party arrived before the staircase leading into the ring and quietly waited for the start of the final match. Quick, look! Whats going on with the Ink Crystal Party? Why has the partys roster changed? Crap! It really did change! Isnt this against the rules? Everyone quickly noticed something peculiar when the Ink Crystal Party entered their sight. Originally, besides Ink Crystal, the five other members of the Ink Crystal Party were either at or close to 30 years old. Now, though, these five members were nowhere to be seen. Instead, five teenagers had taken their place. Although they did not look like they were in their mid-teens, like Ink Crystal, they were still in their late teens. Half-step Mortal Gods! All five of them are Half-step Mortal Gods! Am I dreaming?! When Extreme Feather saw the Ink Crystal Partys new members, shock and horror colored her eyes. Half-step Mortal Gods! Among the Holy Races younger generation, Garuda was the only person who managed to have reached this standard. Yet, five such experts had appeared in the Ink Crystal Party. Moreover, the feeling of danger Extreme Feather got from looking at each of them was no less than what she got from Garuda At this time, Rin and Dead Soul similarly froze from shock. Judge! Isnt the Ink Crystal Party cheating for making substitutions? Many players began shouting for the judge to assess the situation. They all suspected that the system had made a mistake. After all, the Continental Championship had been hosted quite a few times already, and they never heard of anyone replacing their members in the middle of the championship. At most, participating parties could swap opponents with parties of the same race. However, despite everyones shouting, the mighty existence overseeing the championship did not respond. The mighty existence merely announced the start of the finals and called for the Ink Crystal Party and the Verdant Rainbow Party to enter the ring. Legendary-ranked disguise tools? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished as he looked at the Ink Crystal Partys five smiling teenagers. It was unlikely that the system had made any mistakes. However, it was a fact that parties participating were prohibited from swapping members in the middle of the Continental Championship. This left only one possibilityInk Crystals party members had been disguising themselves this entire time. There were plenty of disguise tools in Gods Domain. Most of them could be seen through using Master Identification Skills or Advanced Observation Skills, and only Legendary-ranked disguise tools could evade detection. However, Legendary-ranked disguise tools were difficult to come by, and seeing even one such tool was a rare event, let alone five in the same party. But compared to the combat standards of the five teenagers, the significance of Legendary-ranked disguise tools paled significantly. You guessed correctly, Ink Crystal said, smiling as she looked at Shi Feng. They have been in disguise all this time. I felt it would be too cruel to the other participants if my party members revealed their strength right from the start. So, to give everyone some hope, I had them disguise themselves. As a reward for guessing correctly, I can give your party a chance. What chance? Verdant Rainbow asked. If our parties fought six-on-six, you guys wouldnt have even the slightest chance of winning, Ink Crystal frankly said. Thus, I propose a one-on-six. My party will send only one player into the ring, while your party can enter with all six members. The winner will become the champion, while the loser will settle for second place. Chapter 3744 - Chapter 818 - Battling a Sixth-Floor Expert Chapter 818 C Battling a Sixth-Floor Expert Ink Crystals words elicited a series of gasps from the spectators. Is that little girl insane?! She has so many Half-step Mortal Gods on her party, yet she chooses to fight one-on-six?! What a presumptuous little girl! Shes not placing any significance on the Verdant Rainbow Party! She has a point, though. Those five Half-step Mortal Gods can probably take on the rest of the top eight parties simultaneously and win. We will only have a boring match if the Verdant Rainbow Party fights them fairly. Although many spectators found Ink Crystals suggestion wildly arrogant, even more found it interesting. Otherwise, the Continental Championship would conclude with a very boring final match. After all, even if Ink Crystal stood by and did nothing, her five Half-step Mortal God party members were strong enough to sweep away the rest of the top 8 parties. At this time, even Elise couldnt help but turn to Rin, who sat nearby, and asked, Rin, what is Ink Crystals origin? It was already shocking enough that a Mortal God had appeared among the Crystallian race. Now, five more Half-step Mortal Gods had appeared among the Crystallians. They all even belonged to the same party. Such a party could reign supreme across the Eternal Realm. Not to mention, all six members of this party were ridiculously young. Elise found it hard to imagine that any power could nurture so many monsters. If a power managed to nurture one peerless chosen one, the achievement could only be chalked up to luck. However, if a power managed to nurture multiple peerless chosen ones, it was proof of that powers strength and foundations. No matter how Elise thought about it, there was no way a power capable of producing one Mortal God and five Half-step Mortal Gods could be unknown. This I dont know, either, Rin said, shaking her head. My superiors merely told me to avoid provoking her party and behave like the party doesnt exist. In reality, Rin was even more confused by this situation than Elise. Royal powers were the strongest known powers among the Crystallian race, and there were only a few of them in existence. Although it was possible for a royal power to nurture a monster like Ink Crystal, simply being able to nurture one such monster would already be a miracle. There was no way any royal power could nurture a group of such monsters. Likewise, while apex and pseudo-apex powers could potentially nurture a monster like Ink Crystal, they would need ridiculous amounts of luck. As for the possibility of Ink Crystals party having independent origins, that was completely out of the question. The development of every genius involved various resources. The stronger a genius wished to become, the more resources they needed to consume. No small team or ordinary power could afford the resources required to produce Ink Crystals party of six. You dont know? Behave like they dont exist? Elise was astounded by Rins response. Ninth Street, the royal power Rin originated from, was the second strongest royal power among the Crystallian race, and it was not much weaker than the Holy Races Thunder Empire. Evidently, Ninth Streets executives knew something about the Ink Crystal Partys origins, yet they had warned the Earthen Princess not to have any contact with the Ink Crystal Party. This implied that the Ink Crystal Partys origins were so powerful that even Ninth Street feared it. While Elise questioned Rin, Ink Crystal moved her gaze from Verdant Rainbow to Shi Feng. I will only make you this offer once. Will you take it or not? Ink Crystal asked as she looked at Shi Feng. She behaved like a child who had found a new and interesting toy, and a hint of eagerness could even be heard in her voice. Leader, how sly of you! We had to hold ourselves back this entire time, yet youre going to steal our one opportunity to show off? a bald young man from the Ink Crystal Party said in dissatisfaction. The other members of the Ink Crystal Party nodded in agreement. They had to act weak throughout the entire competition. Now that they could finally show off their strength in front of everyone, Ink Crystal decided to steal their thunder. Scram! Ink Crystal glared at the bald young man. If you oppose me again, Ill have you all banned from logging into Gods Domain for a month! Ink Crystals threat immediately silenced her party members. A one- or two-day ban might be tolerable, but a one-month ban from Gods Domain was absolute torture. They didnt doubt Ink Crystals ability to act on her threat, either. Back to the topic. After silencing her party members, Ink Crystal turned back to Shi Feng and asked, What are your thoughts? Well pass on the one-on-six. We cant afford such a humiliating situation, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Instead, lets fight one-on-one. Its a fair arrangement, and neither side can complain if they lose. Verdant Rainbow and the others did not voice any objections. They all agreed with Shi Fengs suggestion. It didnt matter whether they fought Ink Crystal one-on-six or one-on-one. The fights outcome would ultimately depend on whether Shi Feng could defeat Ink Crystal. After all, the last thing a Mortal God feared was group battles. If Shi Feng could not defeat Ink Crystal by himself, it wouldnt matter if the rest of the Verdant Rainbow Party fought alongside him; nothing would change. Okay. Well do a one-on-one, then. Ink Crystal nodded and entered the ring by herself. Guild Leader Black Flame, be careful. I doubt the strength she has revealed thus far is everything she has, Verdant Rainbow said to Shi Feng. I understand. Shi Feng nodded. He did not bother to say anything else, stepping directly into the ring. Meanwhile, a minute after Shi Feng and Ink Crystal entered the ring, the mighty existence hovering in the air closed off the rings entrance and announced the start of the final match. Subsequently, the map for the final match materialized. This time, the battlefield was set inside an ancient temple held up by massive stone pillars. Each pillar had a radius exceeding 100 meters, and there were an endless number of them throughout the temple. However, despite the large temple, Shi Feng and Ink Crystal arrived on the battlefield with less than 1,000 yards between them, with clear line of sight of each other. Let me see the strength you used to defeat Garuda, Ink Crystal said to Shi Feng before she released her cane and let it sink into the ground. Immediately, spears made of vines emerged from the ground and rotated around Ink Crystal. As more spears formed, the speed of their rotation also increased, and after just three seconds, a powerful typhoon raged around Ink Crystal. The typhoon repeatedly shattered the surrounding space, and its power increased over time. This move was none other than Thornstorm, the Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique Ink Crystal used to kill Elise previously. Whoosh! With a wave of her hand, Ink Crystal directed the countless vine spears to scatter with explosive momentum, covering all her sides. Fighting seriously right off the bat? Shi Fengs scalp grew numb when he saw Ink Crystals attack, and he dared not hold back in the slightest. Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection! Worlds Descent! Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Suddenly, a full moon rose above the battlefield, showering endless moonlight on Ink Crystals Thornstorm. Chapter 3745 - Chapter 819 - Black Flame and Ink Crystal Chapter 819 C Black Flame and Ink Crystal When the moonlight shone on the rotating vines, the latter stopped in place, looking as if they had collided with an impenetrable wall. This situation lasted several seconds before the initial clash between Ink Crystal and Shi Feng ended with their attacks canceling out each other. However, Ink Crystal did not intend to stop after their initial exchange. Immediately, she executed Thornstorm again, sending another batch of vine spears flying at Shi Feng. When Shi Feng saw this, he similarly executed Dark Moon without hesitation. Once Twice Three times Over a dozen exchanges occurred in no time, the sight shocking the spectators outside. The once-majestic and ancient temple looked devastated on the screen. The towering pillars within 10,000 yards of Shi Feng and Ink Crystal were covered in cracks, and the ground looked like a meteorite had struck it. The destruction caused was comparable to that of Elises Star Destroyer. Are these two monsters? Phoenix Flame muttered as she looked at the calm expressions on Shi Feng and Ink Crystal. Seated nearby, Rin and Dead Soul were similarly astonished. They never imagined Shi Feng and Ink Crystal could remain unfazed in such an intense fight. Whether it was Ink Crystals Implement Manipulation Technique or Shi Fengs Mana Technique, both exhibited power comparable to that of the Profound Skills of Divine Artifacts that were utilized to 100% of their potential. Yet, despite the two having used their respective techniques over a dozen times, they didnt look the slightest bit exhausted. This Black Flame fellow is quite good to be able to match the leader so far, the bald young man from the Ink Crystal Party said as he watched the ongoing fight. Then he smiled and continued, But if strengthening his Law Projection is all he can do, this match is as good as over. The spectators couldnt help but be shocked at the bald young mans words. Although the bald young man didnt speak loudly, everyone present was a chosen one of their respective race. They were also Tier 6 players. So, they could overhear even conversations taking place a thousand yards away. So far? As good as over? Elise looked at the bald young man in astonishment. She felt like the other party was joking. After all, if what he said was true, it meant that Ink Crystal had not been fighting seriously this entire time. Although Elise acknowledged that sixth-floor experts were powerful, she did not think that Shi Feng was as fragile as the bald young man described. There werent many experts who could utilize a Divine Artifacts potential to 100%. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that there were only a handful of such experts in the human races Greater Gods Domain, and the various apex powers feared them greatly. Meanwhile, given Shi Fengs ability to unleash power rivaling the Profound Skill of fully exerted Divine Artifacts over a dozen times in a row, even the current Demons Gate would have to rethink its decision to persecute him. In fact, even the Sun Dynasty would have to consider whether continuing to persecute Shi Feng would be worthwhile. Yet, the bald young man spoke as if Shi Fengs strength was insignificant However, Elise knew better than to dismiss the bald young mans words. After all, despite his deceptively young age, the young man was a Half-step Mortal God. There was no way he couldnt understand the strength Shi Feng was currently displaying. Even a bona fide sixth-floor expert should have difficulty defeating Shi Feng quickly. While Elise was wondering about the reason for the bald young mans somewhat arrogant claim, Ink Crystal stopped attacking Shi Feng and quietly inspected him for a moment. Then, she began walking toward the ground like she was descending a flight of invisible stairs, each of her steps causing the surrounding space to condense. When Ink Crystal arrived on the ground, the spectators were given another shock. This was because an illusory forest had appeared around Ink Crystal and pushed back Shi Fengs Law Projection. In the blink of an eye, the two Law Projections shared the battlefield equally, and Ink Crystals strength made a full recovery. A Goddess-ranked Law Projection?! Elise couldnt help but doubt her eyes. As the owner of the Sixth Goddess Tablet, Elise was no stranger to the concept of the Goddess-ranked Law Projection. She was even working to achieve it. Unfortunately, achieving the Goddess-ranked Law Projection was easier said than done. The base requirement to cast a Goddess-ranked Law Projection was to master and combine three Advanced Laws. However, without sufficient Legacy Guidance, even mastering the three Advanced Laws needed would be nigh impossible, let alone merging them into one. In Shi Fengs case, he could only barely achieve a Goddess-ranked Law Projection because of a Skill. Ink Crystal, however, did not rely on any external forces. She relied only on herself to form a Goddess-ranked Law Projection Garuda and the other experts who had mastered two Advanced Laws were similarly stunned by this development. A monster! Shes an absolute monster! Rin felt her worldview crumbling as she looked at Ink Crystal. Not only did Ink Crystal possess a one-of-a-kind talent for combat, but she also possessed an equally astounding comprehension of World Laws. Inside the temple I commend you for making it this far despite not having reached even the Unthinking Realm, Ink Crystal said, smiling as she looked at Shi Feng. But youre not the only player who has grasped a Primordial God-ranked Law Projection in this championship! For making me use this move against you, you can be proud! After saying so, Ink Crystal raised her hand once more. Immediately afterward, countless vines emerged from the ground, each easily piercing through space. Together, the vines transformed the battlefield into an empty void in the blink of an eye, and their aura was significantly stronger than before. Meanwhile, hovering in the middle of these vines, Ink Crystal looked like she was the worlds ruler. This scene dumbfounded the spectators outside. A Mortal God! This was a real Mortal God! With a lift of her hand, Ink Crystal had reduced an entire map to nothing! Before the spectators could recover from their astonishment, the countless vines traversed across the void and attacked Shi Feng from all directions. Each vine rivaled Elises Star Destroyer in power, and a hundred attacked Shi Feng at a time. Sure enough, dealing with a sixth-floor expert isnt easy. When Shi Feng saw the vines attacking him, he understood he could no longer hide his cards. Tier 6 Super Spell, Sword Law World! Holy Manas Shadow! Chapter 3746 - Chapter 820 - Outcome Chapter 820 C Outcome When Shi Feng activated Sword Law World, Chains of Law emerged from the void to restrain Ink Crystal. Even though Ink Crystals Law Projection put up a strong resistance against the chains, they still weakened her by 15% in all aspects. What a powerful Tier 6 Super Spell! Ink Crystal was a little surprised when she sensed the Chains of Law affecting her. However, her surprise was brief before she said, Even so, you still cant stop my Thornstorm! Previously, when she allowed Shi Fengs Law Projection to affect her, it suppressed her in all aspects. It even suppressed her surrounding environment, preventing her from using her surroundings to her advantage. Now, although Sword Law World had similarly weakened her in all aspects, it failed to recreate the Law Projections environmental suppression. However, before the first hundred vines could connect, Shi Feng suddenly transformed into a 20-meter-tall giant covered in glowing divine patterns. His Life Rating also increased, and his Basic Attributes could now rival a Level 190 player equipped with four Divine Artifacts. After activating Holy Manas Body, Shi Feng executed Dark Moon to defend himself without hesitation. This time, a moon several times larger appeared in the void, and the moonlight it radiated eliminated the oncoming vines like light erasing darkness. The difference between the two attacks immediately became apparent. Crap! He managed to block even that?! No way! Ink Crystal got pushed back! When the radiant moonlight dissipated, the spectators were stunned to see Ink Crystal moving back by half a step. Ink Crystals five party members were especially shocked by this development. What an incredible Berserk Skill! He actually managed to push the leader back by half a step! the bald young man from the Ink Crystal Party said in astonishment as he looked at Shi Fengs mighty figure. When enhanced by Ink Crystals Primordial God-ranked Law Projection, Thornstorm could exhibit unbelievable power. Even players equipped with four Divine Artifacts using a Peak Gold-ranked technique couldnt necessarily neutralize it, let alone overpower it. Players like Garuda and Daystar, who had previously traded blows with Shi Feng, were equally shocked. He still wasnt going all out just now? Garuda had mixed feelings as he looked at Shi Feng. Originally, Garuda thought Shi Feng had only won their fight by a small margin. If he wasnt being humble, he might even consider it a lucky victory. However, it was evident that Shi Feng had never fought him seriously. Otherwise, the duel could have ended on the first exchange. Meanwhile, unlike most other spectators, Verdant Rainbow grew ecstatic when she saw Shi Fengs small victory. We have a chance! Verdant Rainbow thought, her eyes sparkling when she saw Ink Crystal getting pushed back slightly. Truthfully, Verdant Rainbow didnt have much confidence in Shi Feng defeating Ink Crystal. Now, though, it would seem she was mistaken, and Shi Feng had a great chance of winning. Although Ink Crystal lost less than 1% of her HP in the exchange, it should be known that she no longer possessed a stronger attack. So long as Shi Feng could repeat this exchange, it would only be a matter of time before he won. . Meanwhile, inside the ring, Shi Feng naturally realized his advantage. Thus, he promptly brandished the Shadow Incinerator at Ink Crystal again, not allowing the other party to catch her breath. Not to mention, Worlds Descent only had a five-minute duration. Once the Skill ended, he would no longer have a Goddess-ranked Law Projection backing him. At that time, he would be completely at Ink Crystals mercy. Are you trying to whittle me down? How boring. When Ink Crystal saw Shi Feng attacking her frenziedly, she did not panic. Instead, she calmly said, I was originally thinking of giving you some hope, but now I should show you what it truly means to be a Mortal God. After saying so, Ink Crystal stamped her feet and began to dance. Then, countless vine spears materialized in the void and rotated around her as if dancing along with her. When this new batch of vine spears appeared, Shi Fengs heart sank. This isa Twofold Implement Manipulation Technique! When Shi Feng saw the rotating vine spears impacting and transferring their power to one another, he quickly understood that Ink Crystal was executing a Twofold Implement Manipulation Technique. Moreover, she wasnt simply executing the same technique twice simultaneously. She had also merged the power of the two techniques, achieving a situation where 1 + 1 was greater than 2. Boom! The instant the moonlight of Dark Moon collided with the vine spears, Shi Feng instantly experienced a powerful backlash through the Shadow Incinerator. Immediately afterward, he stumbled three steps backward, and his HP fell by 10%. A Twofold Peak Gold Technique?! This must be a lie! How can there be such a huge difference with just a one-floor difference?! Rins jaw dropped as she looked at the dancing girl in the ring. Among Crystallian players, experts who had progressed to the later stages of the fifth-floor standard would be considered incredibly fortunate if they could properly execute a Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique. As for executing a Twofold Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique, that was something they didnt even dare to think of accomplishing. Yet, Ink Crystal had accomplished it with ease. Garuda, who was a Half-step Mortal God, was similarly horrified by this development. He never imagined there could be such a huge gap between him and Ink Crystal in technique usage. Is this what a true Mortal God is like? Elise was thunderstruck as she looked at Ink Crystal. Although Elise had previously managed to execute a Twofold Primordial God-ranked Mana Technique, which could be considered as strong as a Twofold Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique, she only managed it with the help of the black book she wielded. In contrast, Ink Crystal performed this complicated execution all by herself. Im bound to lose at this rate! It seems I can only go for broke! When Shi Feng saw Ink Crystal attacking him again with a Twofold Thornstorm, he gripped the Shadow Incinerator with both hands and executed a simple downward slash. Profound Skill, The End! After he undid the Shadow Incinerators second seal, The End became his greatest trump card. Although the Skills 30-minute Cooldown prevented him from using it more than once in a single fight, in return for sacrificing one level, he could unleash the Shadow Incinerators full power and deal a devastating blow that covered a 50,000-yard radius. The attack could also theoretically reach the Tier 6 Limit standard. Suddenly, flames that burned as hot as the sun appeared in the void and collided with the oncoming vine spears. Boom Boom Boom Spatial storms swept the battlefield, causing cracks to even appear on the barrier around the ring. When the storms subsided, Shi Feng and Ink Crystal stood quietly facing each other. Shi Feng remained intact. In contrast, Ink Crystal lost 20% of her HP, and her clothes looked scorched. However, the silence on the battlefield lasted very briefly as Ink Crystal promptly followed up the exchange with another Twofold Thornstorm. I lost? When Shi Feng saw that his last-ditch attempt failed to kill Ink Crystal, he stopped struggling and let Ink Crystals Thornstorm devour him. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng disappeared from the battlefield, Ink Crystal revealed a solemn expression as she looked at where Shi Feng originally stood. What a terrifying attack. If not for the Divine Illusion Garbs ability to weaken one instance of fatal damage, I would have died just now. Chapter 3747 - Chapter 821 - Crucibles Central Area Chapter 821 C Crucibles Central Area Black Flame still lost. Sure enough, the gap in combat standards is too significant to bridge. Even so, Black Flame is incredibly strong. Had he participated in any of the past championships, he would have definitely been number one. Many spectators were in awe of Ink Crystals power when they saw the matchs conclusion. At the same time, they couldnt help but sympathize with Shi Feng. After all, with the strength Shi Feng possessed, he shouldnt have any trouble winning the Continental Championship under normal circumstances. In fact, besides the Verdant Rainbow Party that Shi Feng led, the Divine Fist Party and the Star Maiden Party could have similarly become the champions in any of the Continental Championships past seasons. Unfortunately, an unreasonably strong monster named Ink Crystal appeared this season. Dammit! We were so close to winning the championship! Death Wind felt unresigned as he watched Ink Crystal walk out of the ring. Second place isnt a bad result, Verdant Rainbow said. Unlike Death Wind, she felt happy and content with their final placement. We have already exceeded our original goal of entering the top four to enter the Crucibles central area. Hearing this, Death Wind no longer dared to speak any further. If not for his wager with Shi Feng, he would have left the Continental Championship with a huge win. However, after losing a Divine Artifact, he wasnt sure if he could leave with a net positive. Amidst the twos conversation, Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss remained silent. Apart from feeling joyful at winning second place in the Continental Championship, they also felt they had broadened their horizons. A Mortal God! That will be my goal from now on! Extreme Feather decided, her eyes brimming with fighting spirit as she watched Ink Crystal step out of the ring. Besides Extreme Feather, many other players began to regard Ink Crystal as their strongest opponent. This included even those who failed to make it into the main event. The sixth-floor standard! I will eventually reach it! Then, Ill lead the Order of Twelves Party to become number one! Frost Raven said as she focused on Ink Crystal. Your chance will come, Azure Dragon said in encouragement. By the time we return and complete the Seven Luminaries Alliances commission to garrison Shadowring Town, the Great Commander should be done with matters on his side. When the next Continental Championship comes around, you could be a match for Ink Crystal already. Azure Dragons words immediately earned him the ridicule and disdain of many players around him. However, Azure Dragon paid them no heed. Although Frost Raven was much older than Ink Crystal, she carried the hopes of the Order of Twelves many commanders and Great Commander. This was because Frost Raven had only been in contact with Gods Domain for an incredibly short time. More specifically, she had started her journey in Gods Domain less than a year ago. Yet, in less than a year, Frost Raven ascended to the fifth-floor standard. Her talent for combat was unprecedented, and it definitely wasnt beneath Ink Crystals. All she lacked were time and opportunities. Amidst the spectators discussions, the mighty being hovering above the ring spoke. The Continental Championship is officially over. All parties who failed to pass the preliminaries will be teleported back to where they came from, while parties that made it into the main event will remain to receive their rewards. The top four parties will also be qualified to enter the Crucibles central area. I wish you all a good harvest. As soon as the mighty being finished speaking, the parties that failed to make it into the top 32 were teleported out of the Crucible of the Ancients, while the top 32 parties were teleported to the starting plaza. Crucible of the Ancients: This place again? When Gentle Snow saw her surroundings, she realized they had been teleported back to the starting plaza. Mhm. Whenever the championship ends, parties that made it past the preliminaries will be teleported back here, Verdant Rainbow explained. Then, members of these parties can freely choose a stele or statue to challenge. While Verdant Rainbow spoke, veteran participants of the Continental Championship had already scattered like startled birds and frenziedly charged at the 10,000-meter-tall steles and statues. Only first-time participants and members of the top four parties stood in place. What are these people doing? Extreme Feather wondered as she watched the strange situation unfold around her. Knowing this was Extreme Feathers first time participating in the Continental Championship, Garuda patiently explained, There might be plenty of steles and statues here, but each can only give out their Legacies once. So long as a stele or statue becomes occupied, nobody else can inherit its Legacy. At Garudas explanation, realization immediately dawned on Gentle Snow and the other first-time participants. There were indeed many steles and statues in the plaza. However, only 99 housed Legacies left behind by Primordial God-ranked existences, which meant that not everyone could get the chance to inherit a Primordial God-ranked Legacy. After all, 32 parties had participated in the main event. Even if the top four parties were excluded, there were still 168 players who needed to choose their reward from this plaza. Our time is limited. Lets head for the central area quickly. After glancing at Chalk Splendor and the other players competing for the Primordial God-ranked Legacies, Shi Feng quickly led his party to the Crucibles central area. Shi Feng had learned about some of the Crucibles rules in his previous life. Although he didnt know what exactly was awaiting them in the central area, he knew that players could only spend a limited amount of time there. Once they exceeded their time limit, they would be forcibly teleported away. In exchange for this time limit, though, the central areas steles and statues did not limit the number of players who could learn from them. Players who entered the central area could also repeatedly challenge their chosen Legacy until they successfully learned it or ran out of time. They couldnt make any changes once they made their choice. Two hours later, Shi Feng and the others arrived at the Crucible of the Ancients central area. The steles and statues in the central area were starkly different from those in the starting plaza. Even the shortest ones here reached 20,000 meters in height. Steles and statues measuring up to 60,000 meters could also be seen sporadically, each radiating a Divine Might stronger than that of Ancient Gods. The average Tier 6 player would find themselves petrified in the presence of such Divine Might. When Shi Feng and the others entered the central area, the voice of another mighty being entered their ears. However, unlike the mighty being who presided over the championship, the current one did not sound like an old man. Instead, the current mighty being sounded like a young and friendly girl. Congratulations on making it to the central area, little ones! You still have two days and six hours remaining. You may use this time to challenge any one Legacy here once. If you fail, you will be teleported away from the Crucible. Additionally, as you all have entered the top four this time, every person will receive an admission ticket for the next season. The mighty beings words immediately astounded Garuda and those who had entered the central area in the past. Challenge any one Legacy once? Shi Feng and Verdant Rainbow, who had received prior information on the central area, were similarly stunned. Shi Feng, in particular, couldnt help but doubt his hearing. After all, this situation completely differed from what he had learned in his previous life. Chapter 3748 - Chapter 822 - Three Great Legacies Chapter 822 C Three Great Legacies Whats going on? Why are the rules different from last time? When Phoenix Flame heard the mighty beings explanation, her expression turned ugly. Besides Phoenix Flame, Elise also wore an ugly expression, evidently dissatisfied by the central areas new rules. However, before anyone could vent their dissatisfaction, the mighty being continued explaining the rules. You will be restricted in what weapons and equipment you may use to challenge your desired Legacies. Members of the champion party may use up to one Divine Artifact, the runner-up party may not use any Divine Artifacts, and the second and third runners-up may only bring up to three Fragmented Divine Artifacts. That is all. I wish you a fruitful harvest. When the mighty being finished speaking, Garuda and the others couldnt help but be stunned. Why is the difficulty so much greater this time? Garuda grew confused when he sensed his Divine Artifacts being suppressed. Lord Garuda, are the Legacies challenges difficult? Extreme Feather asked. If you were to challenge the easier Legacies here, you would likely succeed on the first try. However, itll be hell if you try to inherit a Legacy from the 60,000-meter-tall steles and statues, Garuda explained frankly. The last time I came here, I challenged a 60,000-meter-tall statue without any Divine Artifacts, and I had to make over a dozen reattempts before I managed to get an S-rank evaluation. Now that everyone only has one attempt Extreme Feather, Phoenix Flame, and many others fell silent at Garudas words. Everyone had seen how strong Garuda was. If they excluded the Ink Crystal Partys five Half-step Mortal Gods, he would be a strong contender for the third-strongest expert in the current Continental Championship. Although Garuda was not as strong in the last Continental Championship as he currently was, it still wouldnt be easy for him to score a good evaluation on his first attempt. Naturally, it would be even more difficult for those who werent Half-step Mortal Gods. When Garuda finished speaking, Gentle Snow suddenly pointed at the scattering fog in the distance and exclaimed to Shi Feng, Guild Leader, look! Those steles and statues there are so tall! Gentle Snows exclamation immediately attracted everyones attention, and they couldnt help but look at where she pointed. As the fog in the central area scattered, more steles and statues became visible. Compared to those visible from the onset, these new steles and statues were much taller. Even at a rough glance, they were at least 100,000 meters tall. How is this possible?! Garuda was astounded by this development. Before today, the tallest steles and statues known in the Crucibles central area were only 60,000 meters tall. Even so, the existences they represented were already far superior to those of the 10,000-meter-tall steles and statues in the starting plaza. Garuda couldnt even begin to imagine what kind of terrifying existences the 100,000-meter-tall steles and statues represented. Besides Garuda, even Shi Feng, who had known that changes would occur to the Crucible of the Ancients after the major system update, was rendered speechless. In the direction that Gentle Snow pointed, Shi Feng could see that the 100,000-meter-tall steles and statues were still not the tallest. Farther beyond them, he could vaguely see three towering steles that blotted out the sky, and he estimated them to be at least 300,000 meters tall. Although he was nowhere near them, the Divine Might they radiated already felt as strong as that of Ancient Gods. He didnt even dare to imagine how powerful their Divine Might would become once he got up close. Sure enough, the Crucibles Three Great Legacies have appeared! the bald young man from the Ink Crystal Party exclaimed when he saw the three towering steles in the distance. Leader! Lets hurry over there! Lets go! Ink Crystal nodded and dashed for the steles without hesitation. When Garuda, Elise, and everyone else saw this, they exchanged looks, not knowing how to proceed in this situation. It went without saying that the three 300,000-meter-tall steles held Legacies beyond their wildest imaginations. After all, even the 10,000-meter-tall steles and statues in the starting plaza already held Legacies left behind by Primordial God-ranked existences. However, nobody here was a fool. They only had one challenge attempt. If they tried to challenge the 300,000-meter-tall steles, they wouldnt just risk getting a poor evaluation. There was a great likelihood they might not even get a passing evaluation. If that happened, all their effort to get here would have been for naught. Guild Leader Black Flame, what should we do? Verdant Rainbow asked. She didnt know what to do in this situation, either, so she decided to seek Shi Fengs opinion. After all, Shi Feng was the only reason she and Death Wind could enter the central area. Without Shi Feng, they couldnt have even entered the top 16, let alone the top 4. Although players had to depend on themselves to secure the Legacies here, it would definitely help to have Shi Fengs superior insight and knowledge. Lets go and check them out, Shi Feng replied without hesitation. The other Legacies here might be good, but if we want to reach greater heights in the future, those three steles are probably the only ones that can help us. Of course, if you want to gain immediate improvements, going for the other Legacies wouldnt be a bad idea. In his previous life, although the Three Absolutes had mentioned that the Crucible of the Ancients held clues about the path beyond Tier 6, they never revealed any details. However, he was willing to bet they were referring to the central areas three 300,000-meter-tall steles. As for the other Legacies here, if they couldnt help him exceed the limits of Tier 6, it wouldnt matter how many of them he acquired. Take the difference between fifth- and sixth-floor experts, for example. The former was only regarded as an apex expert, while the latter was regarded as a Mortal God. Between a mortal and a god, there was no comparison. At Shi Fengs words, Verdant Rainbow, Garuda, and Elise promptly decided to chase after the Ink Crystal Party. Guild Leader, can we get a passing evaluation? Gentle Snow whispered to Shi Feng, a trace of worry in her eyes. The Ink Crystal Partys members could not only challenge the Crucibles Three Great Legacies with one Divine Artifact, but each of them was also a Half-step Mortal God or above. In contrast, out of three other parties, Garuda was the only one who could compete in combat standards. Gentle Snow would be lying if she said she wasnt worried about challenging the 300,000-meter-tall steles under such circumstances. Dont worry. We have a greater advantage than even Ink Crystals party, Shi Feng said, chuckling. While we might not have any Divine Artifacts, we have the God Chaser Sets. If the central area had not imposed any restrictions on the weapons and equipment players could use, Shi Feng would not have dared to let Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss challenge the Three Great Legacies. However, since such restrictions existed, the central areas challenges were most likely designed around them. In a situation where the current Continental Championships average level was set at Level 190, the God Chaser Sets would provide them with a significant advantage. After all, the new and improved God Chaser Sets granted Basic Attributes rivaling a full set of Level 220 Legendary Equipment. Even if Gentle Snow and the others couldnt currently match Half-step Mortal Gods equipped with a Divine Artifact, they shouldnt be too far behind. Meanwhile, going by the behavior of Ink Crystals party members, it was obvious they were confident in passing the Three Great Legacies. They might even be confident in scoring a good evaluation. In that case, Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss shouldnt have much trouble securing a passing evaluation. Chapter 3749 - Chapter 823 - Steles Evaluation Chapter 823 C Steles Evaluation When Shi Feng and the others arrived before the three towering steles, their bodies and souls shuddered. It felt like they were standing before three living Primordial Gods rather than steles, and they had to steel themselves just to look at the steles. What a powerful mental oppression! This should already be at the level of bona fide Primordial Gods. Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the three steles. Although his memories of his past life were incomplete, he vaguely understood that the three steles could already match the average Primordial God. If these steles were sentient, they could suppress Ancient Gods with just a thought. This included Ancient Gods who had reached Level 240 and above. These steles were no longer existences that those at Tier 6 could hope to resist. The three steles had varied offerings. Starting from Shi Fengs left, the words Divine Law were engraved on the first stele, the words Divine Concentration were engraved on the second stele, and the words Divine Technique were engraved on the third stele. Evidently, the three steles corresponded to Gods Domains Three Foundational Legacies. The Three Foundational Legacies were the same for all races. Whether it was the human race or the Holy Race, the players of both races needed to study World Laws. As for technique, the human races combat techniques and Mana Techniques, the Holy Races Holy Arts, and the Crystallian races Implement Manipulation Technique could all be put under this category. The concept of Concentration was also uniform across all races. If players wished to advance to Tier 6, their Concentration must reach the Tier 6 standard. Additionally, if a players Concentration increased, so would their overall strength. Are we only allowed to choose one of these three steles? Extreme Feather grew hesitant as she examined the three steles. Every one of Gods Domains Three Foundational Legacies was of utmost importance. Players could achieve a qualitative transformation if they improved in all three categories. But now, the central areas rules limited them to only one Legacy. If they wanted to inherit all the Legacies of all three steles, they would need to participate in and enter the top 4 of two more Continental Championships. Shi Feng also grew hesitant as he looked at the steles before him. When it came to World Laws, he had already learned three Advanced Laws. If he could merge them into one, he could cast a Goddess-ranked Law Projection without any external assistance. Concentration was also of utmost importance to him. His Concentration had already reached the Tier 6 Peak standard. If he could advance his base Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard and apply the Mental Condensation technique, he could potentially undo the Shadow Incinerators third seal. As for techniques, he was also lacking in this department. Presently, besides Dark Moon, there was nothing else in his repertoire that he could use against sixth-floor experts. Neither the Gold-ranked Swords Orbit nor Flowing Spaces Third Step were strong enough for the job. If he could improve his mastery over the two techniques, he wouldnt be limited to using The End to threaten sixth-floor experts. While Shi Feng and everyone else hesitated, Ink Crystal and her party members moved with purpose. As if premeditated, the six moved toward two of the three steles. Ink Crystal alone chose the Divine Concentration stele, while her five party members chose the Divine Law stele. None of them chose technique? The Ink Crystal Partys choices perplexed Verdant Rainbow. Out of the Three Foundational Legacies, Technique Legacies could provide players with the most apparent improvements. Take Gold Combat Techniques, for example. If a fourth-floor expert learned one, they could instantly put up a fight against fifth-floor experts. If a fourth-floor expert learned a set of Gold Combat Techniques, even defeating fifth-floor experts wouldnt be out of the question. As for Advanced Gold Combat Techniques, they could give even Unthinking Realm experts a headache in the right hands. If Shi Feng hadnt learned the Goddess-ranked Mana Technique Dark Moon, he couldnt have stood up against Ink Crystal. Their fight would have ended as soon as it began. They probably arent lacking such Legacies, Shi Feng said after giving the matter some thought. When Verdant Rainbow looked at Ink Crystals fading figure, she couldnt help but agree with Shi Feng. Normally, Advanced Gold-ranked techniques were already considered an exceedingly rare treasure by the various royal powers, let alone the Legacy held by the 300,000-meter-tall Divine Technique stele. No matter how she thought about it, the Divine Technique Legacy should be a Peak Gold-ranked technique at the very least. Yet, nobody from the Ink Crystal Party chose the Divine Technique stele. While this decision initially confused Verdant Rainbow, she quickly understood the reason behind this decision when she recalled the two Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Techniques Ink Crystal had usedthe Ink Crystal Party did not lack Peak Gold-ranked techniques. Since Ink Crystal did not lack techniques and her progress in World Laws had reached a point where she could cast a Primordial God-ranked Law Projection, the optimal choice here would naturally be to improve her Concentration. Meanwhile, after realizing the intent behind the Ink Crystal Partys choices, everyone quickly understood what they should base their decision on. They could either further enhance their strengths or compensate for their weaknesses. While everyone considered which Legacy they should choose, the Divine Law stele suddenly lit up. Then, all five of Ink Crystals party members appeared in front of the stele and collapsed one after another, looking incredibly feeble. What happened to them? Everyone was stunned when they saw that Ink Crystals party members had spent less than 20 minutes challenging the Divine Law stele. Garuda and those experienced with the central areas challenges were especially shocked. Normally, when challenging the 60,000-meter-tall steles and statues, players needed at least an hour or two to secure an A-rank evaluation. Yet, these five Half-step Mortal Gods had concluded their challenge in just 16 minutes. Could the challenge be very simple? Is that why they finished it so quickly? Phoenix Flame wondered as she started walking toward the five players, intending to ask them about the challenge they faced. However, before Phoenix Flame could approach the five players, the Divine Law stele revealed two evaluations. At the same time, three of the five players transformed into streaks of light and disappeared, leaving only the bald young man and a girl with a ponytail. Desert RiverCrystallian RaceAge 17Evaluation C C Flaming LotusCrystallian RaceAge 16Evaluation C C Silence enveloped the area following this development as everyone stared at the Divine Law stele in disbelief. Five Half-step Mortal Gods, each equipped with a Divine Artifact, had challenged the Divine Law stele confidently. Yet, their challenge concluded in less than 20 minutes, with three failing their challenge and the other two receiving only a passing evaluation. After seeing this, no one could imagine how difficult the steles challenge was. Just when everyone was gradually returning to their senses, the Divine Concentration stele suddenly lit up, and a person flew out. This person was none other than the Mortal God Ink Crystal. However, the current Ink Crystal was riddled with wounds, and she was obviously heavily injured. When she landed on the ground, she even stumbled and nearly fell. More importantly, it hadnt been more than 10 minutes since Desert River and Flaming Lotus concluded their challenge Chapter 3750 - Chapter 824 - Choice Chapter 824 C Choice Why is she out already? Everyone couldnt believe their eyes when they saw Ink Crystal emerge from the Divine Concentration stele. It was one thing for Desert River and Flaming Lotus to return quickly. However, nobody expected Ink Crystal to return so soon as well. They had seen for themselves how strong Ink Crystal was. She was the undisputed number-one expert in this seasons Continental Championship. Nobody would find it strange even if she spent half a day inside the Divine Concentration stele. Yet, she had concluded her challenge less than 40 minutes after she started it. Just how difficult was the challenge for her to be defeated so quickly? However, unlike everyone else, Garuda still did not give up hope. Quickly, he turned to the Divine Concentration stele to check Ink Crystals evaluation. As someone who had experienced the central areas challenges in the past, Garuda knew that while time spent in a challenge could be used to estimate a players evaluation, it wasnt always accurate. Subsequently, Ink Crystals evaluation appeared on the Divine Concentration stele with a flash. Ink CrystalCrystallian RaceAge 16Evaluation C A Sure enough! Garudas complexion brightened considerably when he saw this evaluation. That gave me a scare. Thank goodness she received an A. Everyone else was similarly relieved upon seeing the evaluation shown on the Divine Concentration stele. This was especially so for Extreme Feather, Death Wind, and those visiting the Crucibles central area for the first time. If even a Mortal God like Ink Crystal scored only a C- or B-rank evaluation, players who werent even Half-step Mortal Gods like themselves would have no hope of passing the Three Great Legacies challenges. However, since Ink Crystal got an A-rank evaluation, players beneath Half-step Mortal Gods would still have a chance at securing a C-rank evaluation. So long as they could get a C-rank evaluation, they could at least receive some rewards rather than leave empty-handed. What an ignorant bunch! Desert River, the bald young man of the Ink Crystal Party, sneered as he watched the members of the other parties sigh in relief. Do they think that whatever we can accomplish, they can too? Do they think the term Half-step Mortal God exists for nothing? Flaming Lotus, the girl with the ponytail, nodded, surprisingly agreeing with Desert Rivers words. Ignore them and focus on recovering, Ink Crystal said as she consumed a Concentration Recovery Potion and sat down. Once theyre done with their challenge and we receive our reward, we will leave immediately. We still have many things to do later. Hearing this, Desert River and Flaming Lotus stopped paying attention to the other parties and focused on their recovery while waiting for the other parties to finish their challenge. Guild Leader, what should we do? Gentle Snow asked Shi Feng worriedly. Should the three of us choose these three steles? Guild Leader, I think these three steles are a little too difficult for us three. I think it would be better if we went for the other steles, Fervent Samsara said. I agree. Otherwise, we could very well waste this precious opportunity, Heavy Abyss added. Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss were well aware of their respective circumstances. They couldnt even match experts like Phoenix Flame in combat standards, let alone Half-step Mortal Gods like Desert River. If even Half-step Mortal Gods only had a chance to get a passing evaluation, it was very unlikely they could pass the Three Great Legacies challenges. No, you should still go for these steles, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, while looking at Ink Crystals group, he continued, You only need to avoid the Divine Law stele. Depending on which you are most proficient in, choose between the Divine Technique and Divine Concentration steles. Shi Feng was certain that it didnt matter how well they scored in the other steles and statues in the central area. Even acquiring an S-rank evaluation for the other steles and statues probably wouldnt benefit them as much as acquiring a C-rank evaluation for the three tallest steles. In his previous life, the Three Absolutes had clearly stated that the Crucible of the Ancients held the method to go beyond Tier 6. If any Legacies in the current Crucible held such a method, he felt it would have to be the three steles before him. Not to mention, the Ink Crystal Party seemed to know a lot about the Crucible of the Ancients. Desert River and Flaming Lotus could have easily secured an S-rank evaluation had they challenged any other stele or statue. Yet, they insisted on the Divine Law stele. Moreover, they did not get upset even after acquiring a C-rank evaluation. This showed that merely acquiring a C-rank evaluation was already a worthwhile outcome. Hence, it would be a shame for Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss to not even try. The Ink Crystal Partys choices also gave a general idea of the three steles challenges. If players only sought to get good results, they should challenge their most proficient field rather than their weaknesses. When Ink Crystals five party members chose the Divine Law stele, they did so to compensate for their weaknesses. On the other hand, Ink Crystal was incredibly strong in Concentration. The fact that she could accomplish Manifold Executions proved this. Hence, she got an A-rank evaluation, while Desert River and Flaming Lotus only got C-rank evaluations. Meanwhile, Garuda and Elise evidently reached the same conclusion as they had their party members challenge the three steles based on their strengths. Then, the two challenged the Divine Concentration stele like Ink Crystal. Lets go in as well. When Shi Feng saw Garuda and the others finish choosing, he walked up and entered the Divine Law stele. His achievements in World Laws were undeniably better than his achievements in Concentration and technique, so the Divine Law stele was his best option. Meanwhile, Gentle Snow, Verdant Rainbow, and Death Wind chose to challenge the Divine Technique stele, while Fervent Samsara and Heavy Abyss chose the Divine Concentration stele. At least theyre smart enough to go for their field of expertise after watching us suffer, Desert River said, clicking his tongue when he saw the three parties decisions. Suddenly, Ink Crystal opened her eyes and looked at the three steles before her. Then, with a heavy expression, she said, Even if they choose their strengths, its pointless. Apart from Garuda and Elise, the best the others can achieve is C-rank. Desert River and Flaming Lotus chuckled when they heard Ink Crystals words. They could imagine the looks of shock the three parties members would wear once they were inside the three steles. Inside, these people would learn just how weak they were. They would also learn that even the peerless chosen ones of an entire race were nothing more than ants. Chapter 3751 - Chapter 825 - Geniuses of the Myriad Worlds Chapter 825 C Geniuses of the Myriad Worlds Upon entering the Divine Law stele, Shi Feng found himself in an endless sea of stars. Amidst this starry sea was a three-story tower of epic proportions, and its presence here was akin to that of an overlord as countless worlds orbited it. When Shi Feng looked at these worlds, he could see countless players residing in them. Not only did these worlds house human, Crystallian, and Holy Race players, but there were also players whose races Shi Feng had never seen before. Incredible! Upon inspecting these worlds, Shi Feng was dumbfounded. This was because he could vaguely see many foreign players whose strength matched Garudas. Some even felt as strong as Ink Crystal. What shocked Shi Feng the most was that these worlds housed players even more terrifying than Ink Crystal. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng flew into the towers first floor, an icy, mechanical voice rang in his ears. System: You are required to survive against a genius from the myriad worlds. You may choose your opponent from one of three grades. Your opponent will be fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Survive for thirty seconds, and you may proceed to the next floor. The quality of the Legacy you will receive on the next floor will depend on your opponents grade. Subsequently, Shi Feng appeared on a ring with a 1,000-yard radius, and a translucent screen appeared before him. The screen showed three grades based on the World Towers standards. The first grade corresponded to the pseudo-sixth-floor standard, the second grade corresponded to the sixth-floor standard, and the third grade corresponded to the sixth-floor ranker standard. Assuming he could ascend to the second floor, he would receive a Complete Possession Law Legacy of a different quality, depending on which grade he chose his opponent from. The first grade would grant him a Pseudo-Primordial Gods Legacy, the second grade would grant him a Primordial Gods Legacy, and the third grade would grant him a Legacy from a mighty being, even among Primordial Gods. No wonder three of the Ink Crystal Partys members got disqualified. Realization dawned on Shi Feng as he looked at the screen. He also couldnt help but be surprised. Possession Legacies were among the best kinds of Legacies in Gods Domain. Unlike Legacy Guidances, which only unilaterally allowed players to experience the use of a technique or World Law, Possession Legacies allowed players to possess the bodies of the Legacies creators. This, in turn, allowed players to gain and experience the creators perceptions and even thoughts as they used their Legacies. Meanwhile, Complete Possession Legacies were even more incredible. This was because they allowed players to go through their creators breakthrough process. Players could experience firsthand the birth of a Legacy. This would greatly help them avoid detours when learning a Legacy. Most of the players who could reach this mighty tower were unlikely to settle for a Pseudo-Primordial Gods Complete Possession Legacy. They would definitely make the third grade of experts their first choice, as this could help them break through the confines of Tier 6 in the future. However, sixth-floor rankers were not ordinary sixth-floor experts. Based on Shi Fengs past life experiences, experts of this standard were likely to be at the late stage of the sixth floor. They were not opponents an entry-level sixth-floor expert like Ink Crystal could match, much less Half-step Mortal Gods like Ink Crystals party members. Even if the selected sixth-floor ranker was only equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, a Half-step Mortal God equipped with a Divine Artifact would have difficulty surviving against the other party for a long time. While Shi Feng pondered which grade he should select, the mechanical voice from before began to urge him. You still have ten seconds to decide! You will be teleported away if you do not make a choice! Subsequently, a countdown timer appeared on the screen. Ten Nine Eight To hell with it! Gritting his teeth, Shi Feng chose to challenge an opponent from the third grade. Although the safer choice here would be the second grade, he couldnt give up on the Legacy of an existence considered mighty even among Primordial Gods. Not to mention, he was equipped with the God Chaser Set. With it, his Basic Attributes could rival Level 190 players equipped with three Divine Artifacts. He had a much greater advantage than Desert River and Flaming Lotus. If they could survive for 30 seconds, there was no reason he couldnt. The instant Shi Feng made his choice, a gnome-like young man who wasnt even one meter in height appeared before him. The gnome youth was fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, and he was similarly at Level 190. However, the gnome youth was in a completely different league from Ink Crystal. The instant the gnome youth appeared, Shi Feng felt like a mountain had fallen onto his shoulders, and his Basic Attributes started to plummet. Crap! What is this Law Projection?! Shi Feng couldnt help but curse out loud as he looked at the gnome youth before him. He also couldnt understand how Desert River and Flaming Lotus survived this challenge. Currently, Shi Feng already had his Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection active. Yet, his Basic Attributes still fell by 50%. This suppression was even greater than when he used his complete Goddess Law Projection to suppress Garudas Pseudo-Primordial God Law Projection. Under such suppression, even Level 190 players equipped with three Divine Artifacts would have their Basic Attributes reduced to the same standard as the gnome youths. Before Shi Feng could recover from his shock, the gnome youth raised the two claw-like weapons he wielded and instantly split into a hundred doppelgangers. Then, each doppelganger tore apart space with their claws as they converged their weapons at a single point, creating a black hole-like object. A Peak Gold Fusion Technique? Shi Feng was stunned by this scene. A Twofold Peak Gold-ranked technique was the limit of what most sixth-floor experts could achieve. An example would be Ink Crystal, who could use the Twofold Thornstorm. The control required to execute such a technique was already freakish. Nevertheless, the gnome youth had merged two Peak Gold-ranked techniques. The complexity of this technique was leagues above Ink Crystals Twofold Thornstorm. It was comparable to the difference between Tier 5 and Tier 6 Spells. Upon seeing the Peak Gold Fusion Technique, Shi Feng threw his calm aside and frantically used his trump cards one after another. Worlds Descent! Sword Law World! Void Barrier! Immediately, Shi Fengs Law Projection was no longer suppressed thoroughly. Even so, he could only extend his Law Projection up to 50 yards in the presence of the gnome youths Law Projection, and his Basic Attributes were still weakened by 20%. Meanwhile, due to Sword Law Worlds effect, the power of the gnome youths black hole fell by 30%. However, despite this change, Shi Feng still saw the Void Barrier cracking bit by bit the instant the black hole touched it. Evidently, the Void Barrier could not withstand the black holes power. War Goddess Summoning! Heroic Pledge! When Shi Feng saw the Void Barrier cracking, he knew he would face certain death if he couldnt block the gnome youths attack. Immediately, he summoned six War Goddesses, intending to resist to the very end. Chapter 3752 - Chapter 826 - First Generation Primordial God Chapter 826 C First Generation Primordial God When the gnome youth saw Shi Feng summoning six Level 200 War Goddesses, a hint of disdain flashed in his eyes, and his Strength Attribute skyrocketed once more. Evidently, he had used a Berserk Skill to counteract Sword Law Worlds effects and return his black hole to full power. Activate your battle array to block it! Shi Feng wasnt surprised to see the black hole recover its power. In response, he had the War Goddesses activate their battle array to defend against the attack. The Feather of Oath, also known as the Twelve Heavenly Wings, was one of the Goddess of Spaces most prized possessions. While each War Goddess might not be as strong as an Ancient God of the same level, if all the summoned War Goddesses formed their unique battle array, they could hold their ground against even Primordial Gods of the same level. As Shi Feng could only summon up to six War Goddesses, he could not reproduce the complete War Goddess Battle Array. Even so, with the effects of the incomplete battle array and Heroic Pledge, the six War Goddesses should have no trouble withstanding the gnome youths attack. After all, NPCs had much greater amounts of HP than players. Meanwhile, after the War Goddesses formed their battle array, a spear-wielding War Goddess, the recipient of the Heroic Pledge, swung her spear and caused the surrounding space to stagnate. A moment later, a barrier made of divine patterns appeared before her and collided with the approaching black hole. Advanced Gold Defensive Technique, Gods Protection! Boom! A sizable portion of the ring vanished along with a loud boom, leaving behind a dark void. How resilient, the gnome youth said when he saw Shi Feng still alive. After blocking his attack, the spear-wielding War Goddess had been sent flying 100 yards away and lost 5% of her HP. Meanwhile, because of Void Barriers protection, Shi Feng escaped unscathed. But how many times can these War Goddesses protect you? After saying so, the gnome youth executed the same Peak Gold Fusion Technique, leaving no time for Shi Feng to catch his breath. Is this a rankers strength? Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the damage the spear-wielding War Goddess had sustained. Although he had already estimated that the gnome youth could cause significant damage to the War Goddess, he didnt think she would lose 5% of her HP from one attack. Even the average NPC would have ten times or more HP than players of the same level and tier. Naturally, War Goddesses, who possessed superior Life Rating, would have even more HP. Even if a War Goddess stood still and did nothing, a player of the same level and tier would need considerable time to kill her. Yet, the gnome youth managed to cause 5% HP damage to the spear-wielding War Goddess, even after she had used an Advanced Gold Defensive Technique. If it were a player standing in her place, the gnome youths attack could have killed them several times over. When Shi Feng saw the second black hole approaching, he dared not let the War Goddess receive it as she had before. Immediately, he activated World of Frost and executed Swords Orbit with the summoned frost swords. Simultaneously, he executed Flowing Space, transforming into a streak of light as he frantically tried to evade the gnome youths attack. Although Shi Feng could not use the Gold-ranked Swords Orbit to block the black hole, he could attack the gnome youths claws to disrupt the other partys attack. When it came to the Strength Attribute, Shi Feng had quite the advantage over the gnome youth. So, although he could only land some of his attacks on the gnome youths claws, he still managed to affect the other partys attack rate to a large extent and buy himself precious time. Twenty-eight seconds Twenty seconds Ten seconds Despicable ant! Is running the only thing you know?! The gnome youth gnashed his teeth as he watched Shi Feng scurry about. When executing Flowing Space, Shi Feng could achieve speeds comparable to the gnome youth. Although the gnome youth could still accurately predict Shi Fengs movements, the constant interruption of the frost swords and War Goddesses forced him to spend much more time preparing and launching an attack at Shi Feng. Originally, the gnome youth could have killed Shi Feng in under one second. Now, he needed over one second to launch an accurate attack at Shi Feng and force the spear-wielding War Goddess to block it. When less than three seconds remained, the spear-wielding War Goddess still had a little over 50% of her HP. When the gnome youth saw this, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. Be proud that you have forced me to this point! Suddenly, the gnome youth stabbed his claws into his chest, and blood spewed all over. The spattered blood turned into 20 clones of the gnome youth, each a perfect replica of the original. Immediately, the gnome youth and his clones scattered and executed the same Peak Gold Fusion Technique against Shi Feng from all directions. Crap! When Shi Feng saw the 21 black holes around him, he inwardly cursed, feeling that this challenge was utterly ridiculous. Executing a Peak Gold Fusion Technique over 20 times simultaneously simply wasnt something a mortal should be capable of. While cursing, Shi Feng instinctively executed Flowing Space and activated Abyssal Eyes Abyssal Power. He also had the six War Goddesses take the initiative to intercept some of the attacks, hoping to increase his chances of survival as much as possible. Boom Boom Boom The War Goddesses attempted to intercept as many of the gnome youths attacks as possible. However, even after all six of them died, one black hole still remained, and it threatened to pull Shi Feng into it with its powerful gravitational force. Shatter! When Shi Feng saw the black hole coming within ten yards of him, he swung the Shadow Incinerator at it with all his might. The End! A towering pillar of flames illuminated the ring, and a powerful shockwave shook the barrier protecting the ring. When the black hole vanished, Shi Fengs bloodied figure fell out of the void. Fortunately, just as he was about to crash into the rings shattered floor, he corrected his posture and landed on his feet. How close. I nearly died. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw that he had less than 1% HP remaining and was heavily injured. If not for the gnome youth being equipped with only Legendary Weapons and Equipment, Shi Feng would have died, even if he tried to defend himself with The End. Dammit! When the gnome youth saw that Shi Feng had survived, he could only disappear from the ring in frustration. Following the gnome youths departure, the systems icy, mechanical voice rang inside the tower. System: You have passed the first floor trial. You may proceed to the towers second floor, where you will be randomly assigned a mighty being based on the World Laws you have learned and undergo a Complete Possession Law Legacy. If you can replicate 80% of the Law Legacy, you may proceed to the third floor. Before Shi Feng could react, he found himself fully recovered. Then, his surroundings changed as he was teleported to the towers second floor. It is detected that you have learned the Advanced Laws of Destruction, Space, and Darkness. The First Generation Primordial God Abyss has been designated for you. Please get ready for the Complete Possession. When the notification ended, Shi Fengs consciousness started to grow heavy. Then, he found himself dragged into a chaotic void. Chapter 3753 - Chapter 827 - Law Projection That Exceeds the Primordial God Rank Chapter 827 C Law Projection That Exceeds the Primordial God Rank Is this a First Generation Primordial God? Shi Feng wondered as he looked at the 10,000-meter-tall human-like being before him. Although the other partys figure was shrouded in darkness, he could see countless worlds contained in the other partys eyes. Merely looking at these worlds made Shi Feng feel like they were weighing down his body, suffocating him. In front of this mighty being, even Ancient Gods and their ilk were merely jokes. He even felt the average Primordial God was nothing before the Primordial Abyssal God. Before Shi Feng could inspect the Primordial Abyssal God, his consciousness was drawn into the other party. Incredible! Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he sensed everything the Primordial Abyssal God sensed. Is this a Primordial Gods perception and strength? Within the Primordial Abyssal Gods perception, Shi Feng could sense the existence of five Greater Gods Domains in the Void Sea. Although these Greater Gods Domains were far apart, he felt he could reach them instantly. He also felt like he could easily tear apart their seemingly indestructible World Barriers. However, rather than these things, what astonished Shi Feng even more was the Void Seas magic elements. These magic elements, which were normally violent and uncontrollable, were currently orbiting the Primordial Abyssal God and forming World Laws naturally. Just as Shi Feng was about to inspect these naturally occurring World Laws, a ten-headed behemoth 100,000 meters tall appeared in the distance. A hundred 10,000-meter-tall monsters followed the behemoth, and they swarmed at the Primordial Abyssal God as soon as they appeared. Although Shi Feng could not see the level of these monsters, he recognized the 10,000-meter-tall monsters. Void Eaters! They were the nightmares of Greater Gods Domains. Even existences such as Ancient Gods were nothing more than food to Void Eaters. Even a lone Void Eater could easily destroy a royal power. In Shi Fengs previous life, a Void Eater invaded the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain. Five royal powers had to join forces at the time to defeat it. Even then, two participating royal powers suffered severe losses, and all five royal powers lost nearly one-third of their territories. Furthermore, four sixth-floor experts suffered permanent deaths. Fortunately, the human races Greater Gods Domain never had to face such a fearsome monster. Otherwise, it really would have faced destruction. As for the 100 Void Eaters the Primordial Abyssal God faced, not even ten Holy Races would be enough to defeat them. There was also a ten-headed monster that was clearly stronger than the Void Eaters. Meanwhile, before these monsters could get within a million yards, the Primordial Abyssal God looked at them. Suddenly, Shi Feng sensed all the magic elements within a radius of tens of millions of yards coming under the Primordial Abyssal Gods control. Then, they swarmed toward the Primordial Abyssal God like bees returning to their nest. As this happened, the Primordial Abyssal God merged the Laws of Destruction, Space, and Darkness within his body. Then, the Primordial Abyssal God created a rotating miniature world using the three Advanced Laws as the core and the Laws of Water, Earth, Wind, and Fire as the foundation. When this miniature world took shape, the magic elements within a 5,000,000-yard radius of the Primordial Abyssal God naturally formed a world of darkness that destroyed all forms of foreign energy. The instant the Primordial Abyssal Gods Law Projection took shape, the ten-headed behemoth and the Void Eaters began rapidly losing HP. Additionally, the Void Eaters movements slowed to a crawl, and their Basic Attributes fell by over 90%. The ten-headed behemoth, which was still able to move normally, turned around and fled as soon as this happened. As for the Void Eaters, they died before they could escape the Primordial Abyssal Gods Law Projection. Although my Law Projection still isnt perfect, at least it has finally reached this step, the Primordial Abyssal God said in a satisfied tone as he looked at the Void Eaters corpses. When the Primordial Abyssal God finished speaking, Shi Fengs consciousness withdrew from the other partys body and retreated into the distance. A few minutes later, Shi Feng found himself back on the towers deserted second floor. The Primordial Abyssal God truly is powerful. That Law Projection definitely exceeded the standard of the average Primordial God. When Shi Feng recalled how the Primordial Abyssal God utilized his three Advanced Laws and four Basic Laws, he was amazed. Merely merging World Laws was already challenging for most Tier 6 players, let alone combining them to form a world. Yet, the Primordial Abyssal God did it. Although it must have taken the Primordial Abyssal God countless attempts to reach this outcome, he nevertheless succeeded. The miniature law worlds rotation was like a galaxys rotation. It occurred naturally and did not require active control from the Primordial Abyssal God. Because of this, the Primordial Abyssal Gods Law Projection could achieve scale and stability superior to any Law Projection requiring active control. System: You are required to recreate the Abyssal World immediately. You have three attempts. Your performance will be judged based on your best result. You have ten seconds to prepare. When Shi Feng heard the systems notification, he instantly snapped out of his daze. I dont even get time to think? The notification rendered Shi Feng speechless. However, he dared not waste time. Immediately, he consumed an Eternal God Crystal and began attempting to create the Abyssal World inside his body. The Primordial Abyssal Gods Law Projection was completely different from the average Law Projection. The average Law Projections formation required active manipulation of magic elements. However, instead of doing that, the Primordial Abyssal God created a miniature world within his body. While the process of creating this miniature world was extremely complicated, since Shi Feng got to share the Primordial Abyssal Gods senses, he could view every step of the process with perfect clarity. Although Shi Feng had not fully mastered the four Basic Laws the Primordial Abyssal God used, he could still imitate them since Basic Laws were much easier to learn than Advanced Laws. On his first attempt, Shi Feng easily merged the three Advanced Laws. However, because he failed to merge the four Basic Laws properly, he didnt even manage to create a miniature world. As a result, he concluded his first attempt with only a 16% Legacy Completion Rate. On his second attempt, Shi Feng was extremely careful when merging the four Basic Laws. In return for his patience, a miniature world formed within his body. Only, because of a problem with how he manipulated the four Basic Laws, the miniature world collapsed two seconds after it formed, and his second attempt ended with a 49% Legacy Completion Rate. On his third attempt, Shi Feng spent ten seconds familiarizing himself with the four Basic Laws operations before he started to construct a miniature world inside his body. Ultimately, he managed to create a miniature world and maintain it for ten seconds before it collapsed due to his Concentration giving out. His third attempt concluded with a 73% Legacy Completion Rate. Chapter 3754 - Chapter 828 - Evaluation Chapter 828 C Evaluation Crucible of the Ancients, Central Area: Your Highness! You got a B for your evaluation! Phoenix Flame said excitedly when she saw Elise getting kicked out of the Divine Concentration stele. Youve also exited slightly later than Garuda! This makes you the second best out of everyone here! B-rank? Elise sighed in relief when she saw her results displayed on the Divine Concentration stele. Thank goodness I saved a trump card. Otherwise, I would have concluded the challenge with a C-rank evaluation. Meanwhile, Garuda couldnt help but scrutinize Elise when he saw her results. He hadnt thought Elise could also score a B-rank evaluation. Its only a B. If we werent trying to compensate for our weaknesses, we could have easily scored a B, Desert River scoffed when he heard Phoenix Flame celebrating Elises results. Flaming Lotus nodded in agreement. She was similarly dissatisfied by this situation. Dont feel disgruntled, Ink Crystal calmly said as she glanced at her two party members. They are not like you. With the current Legacies the Holy Race and human race have, their talent is already at the level of monsters. They can most likely reach the sixth-floor standard in the near future, so its normal for them to get a B-rank evaluation. Leader, do you think that item will appear? Desert River asked, diverting his attention from Phoenix Flame and Elise. Whether it was Garuda or Elise, they were indeed talented individuals. However, compared to the members of the Ink Crystal Party, they were nothing but ants. Their goals in attending the Continental Championship had never been the same since the beginning. It should appear, Ink Crystal said after some thought. This is the first Continental Championship after the major system update. I have also scored an A. So, theres at least a 50% chance that item will show up as a reward for me, while you two should have a 10% chance of acquiring it. Only 10%? Desert River and Flaming Lotus started to feel regret when they heard Ink Crystals words. Even if you score a B-rank evaluation, the probability of that item showing up wont reach 20%, Ink Crystal said in consolation. After all, that item is the key to advancing beyond Tier 6. Do you think it can be obtained so easily? It seems well have to try our luck again next time. After thinking it over, Desert River and Flaming Lotus agreed with Ink Crystal. To begin with, they had only participated in the Continental Championship to try their luck. After all, they were only Half-step Mortal Gods. Out of everyone in their party, only Ink Crystal had a chance to obtain that item. While Ink Crystal and Desert River conversed, a figure was suddenly blasted out of the Divine Law stele. Your Highness! Black Flame is out! Phoenix Flame smiled when she saw who got kicked out of the Divine Law stele. I thought he could last a little longer inside, but he didnt even survive for thirty minutes! It seems he has also scored a C-rank evaluation only. Phoenix Flame was greatly dissatisfied by the fact that Shi Feng had led the Verdant Rainbow Party to secure second place in the Continental Championship. It was especially so after she saw how the Verdant Rainbow Party performed when challenging the Three Great Legacies. Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, Heavy Abyss, and Verdant Rainbow had all scored C-rank evaluations in their challenges. The only person who failed was Death Wind. This was a truly confusing and frustrating situation. Fortunately, Phoenix Flame didnt have to experience even more frustration as Shi Feng concluded his challenge only a few minutes after Gentle Snow and the others. He didnt even last thirty minutes? Extreme Feather looked at Shi Feng with disdain when she saw how quickly he had concluded his challenge. The Verdant Rainbow Party placed second in the Continental Championship. Although the partys members could not equip any Divine Artifacts, they were not restricted in how many Fragmented Divine Artifacts they could equip. Hence, they had a significant advantage in Basic Attributes over the members of third- and fourth-ranked parties. Since Shi Feng and his party members lasted only as long as she did, it meant that their talent was inferior to hers. Sure enough, scoring a B-rank evaluation is tough for those who havent reached the Half-step Mortal God standard. When Garuda saw Shi Fengs pale complexion and how quickly the other party had concluded his challenge, he wasnt particularly surprised. Subsequently, he turned to look at the resting Star Maiden and thought, It seems Elise will be my only opponent in the next season. At the same time, Elise also looked at Garuda, similarly considering him her greatest opponent in the next Continental Championship. Unlike Verdant Rainbow, the two of them knew how important it was to perform well in the central areas Legacy challenges after the major system update. Even if their scores were only one rank higher, the rewards they would receive later would be worlds apart, and such a difference in rewards would create an unimaginable gap between them in the future. Dammit! The Guild Leader is only one minute short of reaching the thirty-minute mark! Gentle Snow felt frustrated as she looked at the system clock. Based on everyones challenge results, the 30-minute mark could be regarded as a milestone. Those who lasted 30 minutes in their challenges were virtually guaranteed a B-rank evaluation, while those who failed to last 30 minutes would either score a C-rank evaluation or fail. The only exception to this rule so far was Ink Crystal. Meanwhile, Shi Feng spent 29 minutes on his challenge. He was just one minute short of reaching the B-rank threshold. Twenty-nine minutes? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he overheard all the discussion. Was I inside for that long? As far as he could recall, he had only spent 30 seconds battling on the first floor and a few minutes possessing the Primordial Abyssal God and learning how to create the Abyssal World. Although he had also spent some time entering the tower, he wouldnt get anywhere near 29 minutes even if he added everything up. Only a C? Ink Crystal looked at Shi Feng. What a pity. Originally, Ink Crystal thought Shi Feng could secure a B-rank evaluation. However, it seemed that she overestimated him. As everyone waited for the system to announce the rewards for the Legacy challenge, the Divine Law stele suddenly shone with a golden radiance that illuminated the central area. When the golden radiance faded, a line of information gradually appeared on the Divine Law stele. Upon seeing this information, everyone gasped. This How is this possible? Am I hallucinating? When Desert River saw the latest information on the Divine Law stele, he couldnt help but rub his eyes and check again. However, no matter how many times he repeated this action, the outcome remained the same. Black FlameHuman RaceAge 31Evaluation C S! Chapter 3755 - Chapter 829 - Promotion Land Chapter 829 C Promotion Land S-rank? Didnt he spend less than thirty minutes inside? Phoenix Flame, Extreme Feather, and everyone else couldnt believe their eyes when they saw Shi Fengs results. This was especially so for Garuda and Elise. Could there be an error? When Garuda saw Shi Fengs pale complexion, he couldnt imagine how Shi Feng could receive an S-rank evaluation. Even a bona fide sixth-floor expert like Ink Crystal had only scored an A-rank evaluation. Besides an error with the stele, Garuda couldnt think of any other reason for Shi Fengs S ranking. Leader, is there really something wrong with the Divine Law stele? Flaming Lotus asked as she turned to look at Ink Crystal. The stele cannot be wrong. Ink Crystal shook her head. Then, she turned to look at Shi Feng, smiling as she said, Although the steles challenge primarily tests combat standards, a players talent also weighs considerably in the evaluation. His S-rank evaluation shows he has extraordinary talent in World Laws. Should we recruit him, then? Flaming Lotus asked in a hushed tone. With his talent and S-rank evaluation, it is likely he can reach that step. If he succeeds, he can be of great help to us in the future. Reach that step? Ink Crystal laughed as she looked at Flaming Lotus. Its only his talent for learning World Laws that sticks out. Reaching that step is easier said than done. Not to mention, Black Flame has no noteworthy power backing him. Even with our support, his chances of reaching that step would be less than 10%. Id rather recruit Garuda than Black Flame. At least Garuda has multiple royal powers backing him. Flaming Lotus fell silent at Ink Crystals words. Indeed, reaching that step required more than talent. Players also required sufficient backing. Meanwhile, Garuda, who had the support of more than one royal power, would have a much greater chance of reaching that step than Shi Feng, who didnt have even one royal powers support. Guild Leader Black Flame, you truly are full of surprises, Verdant Rainbow exclaimed as she walked up to Shi Feng. An S-rank evaluation Even Ink Crystal only scored an A-rank evaluation. Once word of this spreads, the various apex powers will likely try to get your help for the next Continental Championship at any cost. The fact that Shi Feng helped her get second place in the Continental Championship already exceeded her expectations. It was definitely worth her going through the effort to acquire all those precious materials for Shi Feng. She had even gained two admission tickets for the next Continental Championship. Now that Shi Feng had scored an S-rank evaluation in the Divine Law steles challenge, it went without saying the rewards he would receive later would be much better than those of Garuda and Elise, who only scored B-rank evaluations. This meant that Shi Feng was likely to surpass Garuda and Elise in strength by the time the next Continental Championship came around. For various human apex powers seeking to acquire the Crucible of the Ancients Legacies, apart from Demons Gate, everyone else would not let go of the opportunity to partner with Shi Feng. I was just lucky, Shi Feng said, chuckling. He was well aware of his circumstances. He achieved a 73% Legacy Completion Rate on his last attempt only because he had performed every step flawlessly. If given another try, he doubted he could achieve even a 60% Legacy Completion Rate, let alone 73%. You are too humble, Verdant Rainbow said, shaking her head. Then, she put on a serious expression and continued, Guild Leader Black Flame, would you be willing to deepen your trade relations with the Seven Luminaries Alliance after this? When Shi Feng heard Verdant Rainbows suggestion, he understood she had her sights set on the next Continental Championship. Thus, he readily replied, Naturally. The Seven Luminaries Alliance was a transcendental apex power among the human race. Its resources and connections far exceeded Zero Wings reach. If Zero Wing could deepen its trade relations with the Seven Luminaries Alliance, its development speed would skyrocket. While everyone was digesting Shi Fengs results, a system notification suddenly rang in their ears. System: Congratulations to all who passed the Legacy Trials! Each player will now be granted a reward based on their evaluation. You may choose one of the offered rewards based on your preferences! When the system notification ended, the three steles released streaks of light at the players before them. System: Congratulations! You have received an S-rank evaluation from the Divine Law Stele. You may choose one of two rewards. System: For the first option, you will receive one complete Primordial God-ranked Law Projection Legacy Guidance, the Primordial Abyssal Gods Blessing, and a Legendary Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll. System: For the second option, you will receive one Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll. Tier 7 Promotion Land? Shi Fengs hands trembled slightly when he saw the two reward options. Although he had long known that the Crucible of the Ancients held a method to go beyond Tier 6, he hadnt thought scoring an S-rank evaluation in the Three Great Legacies challenges would let him enter the Tier 7 Promotion Land directly. However, after recovering from his surprise, he hesitated over which option to choose. Although the first reward option only offered a Legendary Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll, it also offered a Primordial God-ranked Law Projection Legacy Guidance. If he received this Legacy Guidance, he could almost certainly advance his Law Projection to the Primordial God standard. In that case, he could suppress most Tier 6 players he faced in the future regarding Law Projections. The Primordial Abyssal Gods Blessing was also amazing. In Gods Domain, even a God-ranked Blessing could raise the average NPCs Life Rating to the standard of Heroes. A Primordial God-ranked Blessing could absolutely raise a players Life Rating to whole new heights. If he could have a Primordial God-ranked Law Projection and the Primordial Abyssal Gods Blessing, he would have a much easier time challenging his Tier 7 promotion. However, the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll was also irresistible. According to the two scrolls introductions, the Legendary version only gave him one opportunity to enter his Tier 7 Promotion Land, whereas the Inferior Divine version gave him two opportunities. With the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll, even if he failed his first attempt, he could have a second chance at his Tier 7 promotion. This would undoubtedly increase his chances of going beyond Tier 6. After all, neither he nor anybody else knew anything about Tier 7 Promotion Lands right now. If he could experience his Tier 7 Promotion Land before his serious attempt, he could prepare better for his Tier 7 promotion. Chapter 3756 - Chapter 830 - Players From Outside the Eternal Realm Chapter 830 C Players From Outside the Eternal Realm Which should I go for? Shi Feng hesitated as he considered the two reward options. The first reward option would grant him a significant increase in strength, thereby increasing his chances of advancing to Tier 7. The second reward option granted him an additional attempt at challenging his Tier 7 promotion. If he failed his first attempt, he wouldnt need to wait until the next Continental Championship and enter the top 4 again to reattempt his Tier 7 promotion. However, before Shi Feng could consider his options properly, another system notification rang in his ears. System: You have ten seconds left to make a decision. If you fail to decide, you will be teleported out of the Crucible of the Ancients without any rewards. System: Nine seconds remain. System: Eight seconds remain. Not even a chance to think, huh? When Shi Feng saw the countdown, he looked at the others around him and saw that their bodies were fading. Evidently, they had already determined the best reward for themselves. System: Six seconds remain. I pick the second option! After thinking it over, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and chose the second reward option. The complete Primordial God-ranked Law Projection Legacy Guidance and the Primordial Abyssal Gods Blessing might be tempting, but he knew advancing to Tier 7 wouldnt be easy. In his previous life, the Three Absolutes could have entered the Continental Championships top 4 multiple times had they kept participating together. Yet, they stopped participating entirely after entering the top 4 once. They also never advanced to Tier 7. Shi Feng could think of two reasons for this situation. The first reason was that the Three Absolutes knew there was no hope of advancing to Tier 7. Hence, they decided to give up trying altogether. The second reason was that each player could only get one opportunity to advance to Tier 7 via the Crucible of the Ancients. Afterward, players would not receive any more opportunities, regardless of how many times they entered the Crucibles central area. Regardless of the situation, it was best if Shi Feng chose the second reward option. After Shi Feng made his decision, a tattered scroll appeared in his bag space. Countless divine runes were imprinted on the scroll, and the scroll itself radiated Divine Might that rivaled that of Divine Artifacts. However, before Shi Feng could inspect the scroll, his consciousness blurred momentarily, and his surroundings changed completely when he recovered. Am I back? When Shi Feng saw the familiar entrance of Shadowring Towns Zero Wing Residence, he felt like he had just awakened from a dream. Currently, there was a stream of players coming and going from the Residence. Foot traffic had more than doubled. Many Holy Race players also walked the streets of the town, all of them at Level 185 or above. Some of these players have even reached Level 190 already. The players walking nearby were taken aback when Shi Fengs party suddenly appeared out of nowhere. How did these people teleport here? That Swordsman looks like Zero Wings Guild Leader! He really is Black Flame! Black Flame is back! So what if hes back? The present situation is no longer the same as before. Shadowring Towns fate wont change with his return. When the human and Holy Race players looked at Shi Feng, some were surprised while others scoffed. Nobody tried to hide their discussions from Shi Feng. Whats going on with these people? The bystanders behavior puzzled Gentle Snow. Shadowring Towns current atmosphere felt completely different than before. Before she left for the Crucible of the Ancients, Shadowring Towns atmosphere felt relaxed and comfortable. But now, a depressing atmosphere surrounded everyone in the town. This was true for both human and Holy Race players. It seems something big must have happened in the past two days, Verdant Rainbow said, similarly noticing Shadowring Towns strange atmosphere. Immediately, she turned to Shi Feng and continued, Guild Leader Black Flame, I will return for now and draft a new partnership agreement for Zero Wing. Once the new contract comes into effect, Zero Wing can enjoy a 20% discount on all resources purchased from the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Twenty percent? Isnt that the ally treatment? Death Wind was astonished. Rainbow, what did you get from inside? The Seven Luminaries Alliance was one of the oldest apex powers in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Its foundations were so strong that none of the other apex powers dared to underestimate it. For this reason, few powers in the human races Greater Gods Domain could ally with the Seven Luminaries Alliance. However, if a power became allies with the Seven Luminaries Alliance, it could enjoy a 20% discount on all resources it purchased from the Seven Luminaries Alliance. That would put the final price just a little above the cost. Countless human powers sought this treatment, and even Demons Gate was no exception. In the current Greater Gods Domain, only three powers were allies with the Seven Luminaries Alliance, and they were either apex powers or existences rivaling apex powers. However, Zero Wing being offered ally status wasnt what surprised Death Wind the most. What truly surprised him was that Verdant Rainbow made the offer. Although Verdant Rainbow was a peerless chosen one nurtured by the Seven Luminaries Alliance, she did not have the qualifications to grant Zero Wing ally status. Nevertheless, Verdant Rainbow was not one to make empty promises. Since she dared to make Zero Wing such an offer, it meant that she was confident she could convince the Seven Luminaries Alliances Grand Elders to go along with her. This led Death Wind to wonder what Verdant Rainbow obtained in the Crucible of the Ancients to warrant such a bold promise. However, Verdant Rainbow did not answer Death Winds question. She merely looked at Shi Feng, waiting for his reply. Okay. Zero Wing looks forward to deepening its relations with the Seven Luminaries Alliance, Shi Feng said, chuckling. He similarly concluded that Verdant Rainbow must have gained an incredible harvest. Otherwise, she would never make such a promise. We will be taking our leave, then, Verdant Rainbow said before dragging Death Wind away, completely disregarding the resentful gaze the other party was giving her. Once Verdant Rainbow and Death Wind were out of sight, Shi Feng turned to Gentle Snow and the others. What rewards did you get? Shi Feng asked quietly. Although Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss had only scored C-rank evaluations, they should have also received extraordinary rewards based on Verdant Rainbows behavior. A huge windfall! Gentle Snow exclaimed through the team chat. All three of us received an Epic Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll! So long as we gather the listed materials and reach Level 200, we can head to the Promotion Land and challenge our Tier 7 promotion! You got one, too? Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised by this revelation. He also understood why Verdant Rainbow was so confident she could convince the Seven Luminaries Alliances Grand Elders. The opportunity to advance to Tier 7! This was likely the first time such an opportunity had appeared in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Any player who successfully advanced to Tier 7 would bring unimaginable benefits to the power they were affiliated with. Before Shi Feng could ask Gentle Snow for more details on the Epic Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll, he suddenly received a call from Hidden Soul. Seeing this, he decided to leave the questions for later. Guild Leader! I finally reached you! When Hidden Soul saw the call had connected, she urgently said, Something big happened in the Eternal Realm! Something big? What is it? Shi Feng asked. Players from outside the Eternal Realm have appeared! Taking a deep breath, Hidden Soul said, A day ago, a stable space-time passage appeared in the southern region, and a group of Level 220-plus, Tier 6 players emerged from it! Based on our investigations, those players came from outside the Eternal Realm! Chapter 3757 - Chapter 831 - Taboo Nucleus Chapter 831 C Taboo Nucleus They found an entrance already? Shi Feng was astonished by Hidden Souls report. In his previous life, by the time the various powers exploration teams found a way into the Eternal Realm, the average level of players was already above Level 200. On the other hand, the average level of players in the current Eternal Realm hadnt even reached Level 190. Events surrounding the Eternal Realm were clearly progressing much more rapidly in this life than in his previous life. Meanwhile, the powers currently operating in the Eternal Realm probably had mixed feelings about this development. This was because the arrival of players from outside the Eternal Realm would undoubtedly upset the status quo. In this situation, powers with strong foundations outside the Eternal Realm could thoroughly exert their advantages, while powers with weak foundations would face disaster. Even among Tier 6 players, the difference between players at Level 200 or above and players below Level 200 was like night and day. Not to mention, there were far more Tier 6 players outside the Eternal Realm than inside. Following the arrival of these Level 200-plus, Tier 6 players, the powers behind them could oppress powers lacking foundations. These powers could also explore Level 200-plus maps and obtain the resources there, which would give them a huge advantage. Thankfully, not all is bad news, Hidden Soul added. Although a space-time passage into the Eternal Realm has been discovered, it isnt exactly safe. According to the outsiders, they entered the passage with a 1,000-man Tier 6 legion but exited with less than 50 players remaining. Additionally, less than ten powers know about this space-time passages location right now. So, it should take a few more days before other powers can send their forces into the Eternal Realm. That is indeed good news. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng added, Since so few outsiders have arrived, the powers behind them shouldnt be able to expand rapidly for the time being. If we use this time to increase the Guilds overall strength, we can still compete with those powers. I have already contacted our Gods Domain to send as many Level 200-plus, Tier 5 experts to use as possible. We should get an additional 1,000 Level 200-plus, Tier 5 experts in five days, Hidden Soul said. Then, she furrowed her brows and continued, The problem is the Seven Luminaries Crystals they need for their Tier 6 promotion and their limited combat standards. I doubt more than a hundred of them can advance to Tier 6. If we want more Level 200-plus, Tier 6 experts, our only other option is Gazing Moon Citys Tier 5 experts. But those experts dont come from our Gods Domain. Many of them dont even operate in Star Lake City. If we involve them in the Eternal Realm, we will likely expose the World Fragments existence. Have only Gazing Moon Citys Tier 6 experts come. We still cannot expose the World Fragments secret, Shi Feng said firmly. As for the lacking combat standards of our Gods Domains Tier 5 players How is the Tower of the Abysss construction coming along? Hidden Soul didnt understand why Shi Feng was asking about the Tower of the Abyss, but she still inquired about the towers construction before she answered, It wont take more than half a day before it is completed. Good! Shi Feng was elated by the answer. He originally thought it would take a few more days, so this was a pleasant surprise. Gather as many of our Level 200-plus, Tier 5 members at Shadowring Town as possible. Include even those who lack the strength to reach Tier 6. The Tower of the Abyss could be regarded as the heart of the Holy Race in his previous life. It had helped the Holy Race produce countless experts. It also became a gathering place for riches. If Zero Wing could activate its Tower of the Abyss now, it could largely resolve its predicament of insufficient Tier 6 players and Seven Luminaries Crystals. Understood! Hidden Soul promptly acted on Shi Fengs command. Meanwhile, after issuing instructions to Hidden Soul, Shi Feng had Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss get some rest. None of them had had a decent rest during the Continental Championship. Now that the championship was over, they should use this time to recuperate and go through what they gained from the championship. As for Shi Feng, he went to his office in Zero Wings Residence to inspect the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll. Zero Wings Residence, Guild Leaders Office: No wonder no human player ever managed to go beyond Tier 6 Shi Feng smiled wryly when he finished inspecting the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll. It costs 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal just to activate this scroll. Even apex powers will have difficulty meeting this requirement. Not to mention, a Taboo Nucleus is needed to complete the actual Tier 7 promotion. This is a joke. For many human powers, the price of 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was still bearable. However, the required Taboo Nucleus was something even apex powers would not dare to think of obtaining. This was because a Taboo Nucleus could only be obtained by killing one of the Twenty-Two Taboos! This was not a secret in the human races Greater Gods Domain. On the contrary, this was public information readily available in the Greater Gods Domains Grand Library. Each Taboo Nucleus was an incredible energy source and the ideal material for making Divine Artifacts. Unfortunately, although the various powers knew that Taboo Nuclei were ideal for making Divine Artifacts, nobody had ever managed to kill any of the Twenty-Two Taboos. Even when several apex powers worked together, they remained helpless against the Twenty-Two Taboos. Yet, the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll was now telling him that he required a Taboo Nucleus to advance to Tier 7. If this wasnt a joke, what was it? Shi Feng finally understood why the Three Absolutes could never go beyond Tier 6. He also understood why the Holy Race had tried to invade the Twelve Sanctuaries in his previous life. It was a fact that no human player could kill any of the Twenty-Two Taboos. The majority of the Twenty-Two Taboos also resided in the Twelve Sanctuaries. Thus, if the Holy Race wanted to kill them, it must first invade the Twelve Sanctuaries. Of course, the Taboo Nucleus wasnt compulsory to advance to Tier 7. It was just that using a Taboo Nucleus would provide the greatest success rate, which was 20%. It was also the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scrolls baseline requirement. If players used other materials instead of a Taboo Nucleus, their promotion success rate would be less than 5%. Such a success rate was the same as zero. Ultimately, it was still necessary to kill one of the Twenty-Two Taboos. Star Lake City, Airport: At this time, an interstellar spaceship exceeding two kilometers in length appeared above the airport, the sight of the behemoth causing a stir among the people in the airport. Crap! An interstellar spaceship! Its an actual interstellar spaceship! Am I dreaming? Even first-tier cities dont get to see an interstellar spaceship once every few decades. Why would one appear in Star Lake City? I heard that an interstellar spaceship can travel across multiple interstellar continents in a single day, but most conglomerates dont even qualify to buy one. Only a very small number of cross-realm conglomerates have such a ship. Could it be that the bigshot of some cross-realm conglomerate is passing by our city? Wait! Look! Its landing! When the airport crowd saw the interstellar spaceship slowly descending toward the tarmac, they began to wonder about the identity of the big shot who had decided to come sightseeing in Star Lake City. Chapter 3758 - Chapter 832 - Guests From a First-Tier City Chapter 832 C Guests From a First-Tier City Star Lake City, Airport: A man and a woman alighted from the interstellar spaceship under the airport crowds gaze. The man was three meters tall and looked to be in his forties. His arms were thicker than most peoples waists, and his muscles looked like they were made from steel. At first glance, one would think he was a bear rather than a human. Meanwhile, the woman standing beside him looked like she was in her early twenties. Although her height was under two meters, she exuded an irresistible charm as she walked. Many men and women found their gazes subconsciously drawn to her. When these two individuals appeared, whether it was the receptionist who came to greet the interstellar spaceships passengers or the mental strength grandmasters observing the situation from hundreds of meters away, they all broke out in a cold sweat and felt suffocated. Great grandmasters! Those two are great grandmasters! The two-star mental strength grandmasters watching from afar gasped in unison. They were especially shocked when they looked at the fairy-like woman. It felt like they were looking at the most terrifying monster in existence. Great grandmasters! For the people living on the Starlight Continent, great grandmasters were akin to gods who could single-handedly upset the balance of the entire continent. Normally, those who could achieve this standard by the age of 100 would already be regarded as an apex existence across the continent, and such an individual would appear only once in a century. As for individuals who could achieve the great grandmaster standard before reaching 30? They existed only in legend. What an impoverished city. I dont know why Red Frost is willing to put up with such a place, the muscular, middle-aged man said as he surveyed Star Lake City, hints of dissatisfaction and anger coloring his eyes. Had she admitted her mistake, the commander would have pleaded leniency for her, and she wouldnt have had to come to this place. Uncle Xiao, you know as well as I do what kind of person Big Sis Frost is. Shed rather break than bend, so stop being angry at her, the fairy-like woman said. Its good news that Big Sis Frost has recovered. If she performs well after she returns, she might be able to join the ranks of the current generations chosen ones. I know that. I wouldnt have bothered coming here with you otherwise. The middle-aged man rolled his eyes at the fairy-like woman. Lets hurry and find her. The sooner she returns, the sooner she can be accepted by those old monsters. After saying so, the middle-aged man stepped into the luxury levitating car that came to receive them. Seeing this, the fairy-like woman followed him happily. Star Lake City, Zero Wing Tower: After Star Lake Citys promotion into a second-tier city, many of Zero Wings internal members from the Eternal Realm migrated to the city. Because of this, Zero Wings headquarters became the center of Star Lake City, with many talented newcomers visiting it to undergo tests and training every day. These newcomers all hoped to get their big break by becoming internal members of Zero Wing. If they succeeded, they would instantly join the upper echelons of Star Lake Citys society and become the target of recruitment for the citys established families. Zero Wing? The middle-aged man frowned when he saw the simulated battle being shown on the screen in the first-floor lobby. Seriously, what is Red Frost thinking? She used to be a potential candidate for the Divine Glory Lists top 100. How can she settle for becoming a sparring partner in a small Guild? I heard that Zero Wing helped Big Sis Frost recover her Concentration. Shes probably just helping Zero Wing out of gratitude, the fairy-like woman said, excitement coloring her eyes as she watched Red Frost fight in the simulated battle. I didnt think that Big Sis Frost would become stronger rather than weaker after idling for so long! In her current state, she should fare even better in the battle of the chosen ones! Indeed! She can probably rank within the Divine Glory Lists top 60 or 70 with her current strength! the middle-aged man said in a surprised tone as he scrutinized Red Frosts movements. With such strength, she can compete for the top two among the seeded candidates this time! If she can undergo the old commanders training before the competition, she might even reach the standard of the Divine Glory Lists top 50! While the two were talking, Pace Angel approached them in a hurry. A visit by two mental strength great grandmasters would be taken very seriously by even cross-realm conglomerates, let alone a budding power like Zero Wing. Dear guests, may I know what brings you to Zero Wing? Pace Angel asked carefully. We are friends of Red Frost. We come from Holy Hymn City, the middle-aged man stated after looking at Pace Angel. Tell your Guild Leader that we will be bringing Red Frost back with us. To show our gratitude to Zero Wing for caring for Red Frost, we can take a few Zero Wing members with us. The middle-aged mans words immediately caused a stir among the people in the lobby. Holy Hymn City? Isnt that a top-ranking first-tier city on one of the Twelve Ancient Continents? We get to live in that city? Everyone was initially shocked when they heard the middle-aged man was from Holy Hymn City. Immediately afterward, their surprise turned into awe and desire. Even Pace Angel, who was currently tasked with managing the affairs of Zero Wings main headquarters, trembled a little at the middle-aged mans words. There were countless interstellar continents in the Greater World. Among them, twelve continents stood out in particular. They were the largest and oldest continents in the Greater World, and they corresponded to the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries. The resources they possessed far exceeded those of other continents, and many technologies used by the Greater Worlds inhabitants today originated from these twelve continents. Meanwhile, Holy Hymn City was a mobile city based on one of these twelve continents. Moreover, as Holy Hymn City had the word Holy in its name, it meant that the city was one of the few top-ranking first-tier mobile cities operating on these continents. Many chosen ones of conglomerates sought to live in the city. Unfortunately, very few could do so. This was because the various cross-realm conglomerates and ancient families would fight tooth and nail for the several residential slots the city offered each year. This Im afraid I dont have the authority to preside over this matter. I will need to contact my Guild Leader, Pace Angel said, quickly realizing the importance of the matter when she snapped out of her daze. Go ahead. We will catch up with Red Frost in the meantime, the middle-aged man said as he approached Red Frost, who had just exited the combat simulation room. On the other side, Pace Angel quickly logged into Gods Domain and contacted Shi Feng. When the call connected, Pace Angel briefly sighed in relief before reporting, Guild Leader, two great grandmasters from Holy Hymn City have suddenly visited the main headquarters. They say they are here to bring Commander Red Frost back to Holy Hymn City. Great grandmasters from Holy Hymn City? Upon hearing Pace Angels report, Shi Feng recalled some of the information he had heard about Holy Hymn City in his previous life. Then, he replied, Alright, Ill log off and meet them. Chapter 3759 - Chapter 833 - Divine Glory Lists Top 10? Chapter 833 C Divine Glory Lists Top 10? Zero Wing Tower, Guild Leaders Private Room: When Shi Feng climbed out of his virtual gaming cabin, a wave of nausea hit him, causing him to stumble and nearly fall. Was the trip to the Crucible so taxing? Shi Feng was shocked to see barely anything remained of his gaming cabins Life Potion reservoir. When he departed for the Crucible of the Ancients, the reservoir still held a months worth of Life Potion. Yet, now, only a thin layer of Life Potion was left in the reservoir. His expenditure in the past two days was simply astonishing. Not daring to take any risks, Shi Feng hastened to the nearby fridge, retrieved a drop of Stardew, and drank it. When the Stardew entered his stomach, Shi Feng felt his foggy mind clearing up considerably. His mental strength also strengthened at an incredible speed. In just ten seconds, his mental strength had become several times stronger than before, far exceeding the standard of three-star grandmasters. The pseudo-great grandmaster standard! Shi Feng couldnt help but be surprised when he sensed the change in his mental strength. He hadnt thought participating in the Continental Championship would yield such astonishing effects. Most chosen ones would hit their limit once they reached the three-star grandmaster standard. Only a few individuals with extraordinary talent could exceed that limit and reach the pseudo-great grandmaster standard. However, so long as a person managed to reach the pseudo-great grandmaster standard in the Greater World, even powers as mighty as cross-realm conglomerates would try desperately to recruit this person. This was because once a person became a pseudo-great grandmaster, so long as they kept adding to their foundation, they would eventually reach the great grandmaster standard. According to the Gods Domain Associations rules, once a person became a great grandmaster, they would be qualified to manage a first-tier mobile city. This, in turn, would enable them to lead the civilization behind them to prosperity. With this, I wont have to worry about facing those two great grandmasters, Shi Feng thought with a smile. Then, he put on a coat and made his way downstairs. In the real world, confronting a great grandmaster would be considered an act of suicide, even for three-star grandmasters. Although the Gods Domain Associations presence would deter most great grandmasters from taking direct action within a city, it wasnt difficult for a great grandmaster to humiliate a three-star grandmaster. However, it was a different story now that he had become a pseudo-great grandmaster. Unless the two great grandmasters from Holy Hymn City went all out, they would have difficulty making him suffer with only their mental strength. Regarding Holy Hymn City, Shi Feng had more or less heard about it due to its fame in his previous life. The citys fame was primarily due to two reasons. Firstly, it was a top-ranking first-tier mobile city on one of the Twelve Ancient Continents. This status attracted many paragons and chosen ones to live and train in the city. Secondly, the citys ruler was one of the Greater Gods Domains Eight Legendary Adventurer Teams. The Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team! Unlike most other adventurer teams, Holy Dragon Spear originated from a collaboration between several ancient families. It also vigorously recruited peerless geniuses. Although the adventurer team controlled only one city in the Greater World, it was strong enough to pick fights with apex powers. In Shi Fengs previous life, Holy Dragon Spears fame peaked during a defensive battle against the Holy Race in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. At the time, 10,000 of Holy Dragon Spears Tier 6 experts faced an army composed of one million Tier 6 experts from the Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Mark. Although these Holy Dragon Spear experts were ultimately annihilated, they managed to drag over 900,000 Tier 6 Holy Race experts down with them. After that battle, over half of Holy Dragon Spears 10,000 experts suffered permanent deaths. Although it could be regarded as a tragic loss, the loss of the Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Marks army was even worse, with over 200,000 experts suffering permanent deaths. This, in turn, drastically reduced the forces the two royal powers could deploy against the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Meanwhile, the fact that a force of 10,000 Tier 6 experts could achieve such a battle record against an army of one million Tier 6 Holy Race experts shocked the various apex powers. None of them had thought the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer teams Tier 6 experts were so frightening. It should be known that the Tier 6 experts sent by the Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Mark were not ordinary experts. Each of them was either a fifth-floor expert or an expert close to reaching the fifth-floor standard. To defeat one million such experts while heavily outnumbered was nothing short of a miracle. First-floor Lobby: When Shi Feng arrived at the lobby, he saw Red Frost grimacing in dissatifaction as she conversed with a man and a woman. Xiao Yilong, stop persuading me. When I chose to leave Holy Hymn City, I already decided never to return, Red Frost said, shaking her head with a determined look. Not even when you have the chance to get revenge? Xiao Yilong asked. Then, putting on a smile, he continued, Holy Dragon Spear already has a way to enter the Eternal Realm. If we work with the other powers who know about the passage, we can easily explore the Eternal Realms Level 200-plus Taboo Ruins. If we have the weapons and equipment of these Taboo Ruins, combined with the Legacies the old commander has prepared for the adventurer teams chosen ones, you will have a chance to defeat that person. Or are you willing to remain beneath that person for the rest of your life? Do you not care about how he stole your Legacy and caused you to become cursed? Red Frost grew hesitant when she heard Xiao Yilongs words. That person? After approaching the trio, Shi Feng couldnt help but look at Red Frost curiously. Although he had long known that Red Frosts curse was extraordinary, he hadnt expected the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team to be involved. Moreover, by the looks of it, even Holy Dragon Spear didnt have a solution to the curse. The Uncrowned War God, Ember Dragon! Red Frost answered, not bothering to hide this information from Shi Feng. He is one of the current Divine Glory Lists top 10 experts. He is also responsible for getting me cursed by one of the Twenty-Two Taboos in a Mythical Era ruin. You must be Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, Xiao Yilong said as he looked at Shi Feng. Although you have helped Red Frost a lot, if you want whats best for her, you should persuade her to return to Holy Dragon Spear. Only if she returns will she have a chance to get revenge. Otherwise, she can never catch up to Ember Dragon, and Zero Wing will also face persecution at every turn. Ember Dragon might not have bothered himself with Red Frost before, but it is a different story now that she has recovered. She can never catch up to Ember Dragon? Shi Feng chuckled at Xiao Yilongs holier-than-thou expression. I cant say the same for anyone else, but if its Red Frost, so long as she joins Zero Wing, surpassing the Uncrowned War God isnt a problem! You are as crazy as the rumors say. Shi Fengs response momentarily took Xiao Yilong aback. However, he quickly recovered from his surprise and scowled at Shi Feng contemptuously as he scoffed, Do you honestly think you can trade blows with the Divine Glory Lists top 10 experts simply because you defeated a few of the Holy Races chosen ones? Well, I can tell you now that your battles in the Eternal Realm are nothing more than childs play to us! None of the Greater Gods Domains true powerhouses have entered the Eternal Realm thus far! Since you are so confident in your strength, how about we fight a simulated battle?! If I cant defeat you in three moves, I will stop persuading Red Frost and leave! Do you dare to accept my challenge?! Chapter 3760 - Chapter 834 - Abyss Unfolds Chapter 834 C Abyss Unfolds Whats going on? Why is that great grandmaster challenging the Guild Leader? He thinks he can defeat the Guild Leader in three moves? How arrogant is he? The Guild Leader is among the Divine Glory Lists top 300 experts! That person might be arrogant, but its a fact that he is a great grandmaster. In an even fight in a simulation battle, not even the Divine Glory Lists top 100 experts can necessarily beat him. Xiao Yilongs challenge sparked discussions among the people in the hall. Zero Wing was no longer an unknown Guild. Not only was it the sole Guild based in Star Lake City, a second-tier mobile city, but it also wielded considerable influence in the Eternal Realm. Additionally, Shi Feng, Zero Wings Guild Leader, was an expert on the Divine Glory List. His name was known by many across the Greater Gods Domain, and few Guilds and experts would dare to challenge him. However, Xiao Yilong, as a great grandmaster, was no ordinary individual, either. Besides being qualified to be the City Lord of a first-tier mobile city, he could enjoy executive treatment if he joined a pseudo-apex power. This was because even the weakest great grandmasters could rank among the Divine Glory Lists top 100. It was just that most great grandmasters found it beneath them to do so unless they could enter the top 10. What? Dont tell me you dont dare? Xiao Yilong curled his lips at Shi Feng. If youre worried about having an equipment disadvantage, we can fight under the same Basic Attributes. I can defeat you in three moves nonetheless. Dont be rash, Shi Feng, Red Frost hurriedly whispered to Shi Feng after hearing Xiao Yilongs provocation. Xiao Yilong is only a step away from the pseudo-sixth-floor standard. Even the current Divine Glory Lists top 30 experts cant beat him under the same Basic Attributes. Red Frost knew Xiao Yilong well. The man might look like a musclehead, but he was a meticulous person. He would never fight unprepared. Although Shi Feng currently ranked among the Divine Glory Lists top 300 and could be considered an apex expert in the Greater Gods Domain, he still had a long way to go before he could match a veteran expert like Xiao Yilong. While Xiao Yilong might not have much fame in the Greater Gods Domain, he was well-known within the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team. Even among the many apex experts in Holy Dragon Spear, Xiao Yilong could rank among the top two Shield Warriors. Dont worry, Commander Frost. I know my limits, Shi Feng said, nodding to Red Frost. Then, he turned to Xiao Yilong and continued, Since you wish to test me, we can fight in the advanced combat simulation room on the third floor, Mr. Xiao. At least youre not a coward. Xiao Yilong was a little surprised by Shi Fengs answer. He hadnt expected Shi Feng to accept his challenge. After Shi Feng agreed to Xiao Yilongs challenge, he led the other party to an advanced combat simulation room on the third floor, the sight causing a stir in the crowd in the lobby. Immediately, everyone focused their attention on the lobbys broadcast screen, which now showed the situation in the advanced combat simulation room. Big Sis Frost, your Guild Leader sure is something, Twilight Leaf, the fairy-like woman, said as she watched Shi Feng go upstairs. Then, she turned to Red Frost and smiled. If anyone else had heard your goal is to take revenge on the Uncrowned War God, they would probably have been scared out of their wits. Yet, your Guild Leader is willing to stand up for you and claim that he can help you defeat Ember Dragon. I can see why you were willing to join a small Guild like Zero Wing. Its just that he will probably suffer at Uncle Xiaos hands first. I wouldnt necessarily say that, Red Frost retorted. Although Xiao Yilong is strong, Shi Feng is by no means weak. Are you sure youre not just putting him on a pedestal? Twilight Leaf asked, astonished by Red Frosts claim. Thats Uncle Xiao we are talking about. Even if Black Flame is strong enough to enter the current Divine Glory Lists top 100, it will still be a tall order to survive three moves against Uncle Xiao. I dont know if Shi Feng can enter the current Divine Glory Lists top 100, but based on what I heard, he killed Demons Gates White Ghost in the Eternal Realm not long ago. He even did it with just three moves, Red Frost explained. He killed White Ghost in three moves? Twilight Leaf was surprised. Demons Gate was an apex power, and the Six Great Paragons it nurtured in this generation were known across the Greater Gods Domain. White Ghost was especially well-known among the Greater Gods Domains upper echelon, and many believed his combat standard was already worthy of the Divine Glory Lists top 100. He merely needed time to bring his other parameters up to standard. Assuming there was no difference in Basic Attributes, only the Divine Glory Lists top 30 experts could defeat White Ghost in three moves. If Shi Feng had accomplished such a feat, Xiao Yilong might have trouble defeating him. While Red Frost and Twilight Leaf chatted, Shi Feng and Xiao Yilong appeared on the broadcast screen. Currently, Shi Feng and Xiao Yilong could be seen standing on a street in a dilapidated city. Their Basic Attributes had been lowered to the same standard, and they stood less than 500 yards apart. Since they were both at Tier 6 in the simulation, they could close this distance in three seconds if they sprinted. Its started! Holy! That Shield Warrior is so fast! Hes as fast as experts executing an Advanced Gold Body Technique! Following the simulation room announcing the start of the duel, everyone saw Xiao Yilong raising his shield and saber, splitting into three, and charging Shi Feng from three different directionsmoving faster than Tier 6 experts executing Basic Gold Body Techniques. Before anyone in the lobby could react, Xiao Yilong arrived within 20 yards of Shi Feng. Then, all three copies of himself swung their sabers down at Shi Feng, the weapons leaving afterimages that made it look like three walls of sabers were descending upon Shi Feng. Additionally, these saber walls formed a triangular encirclement as they came down on Shi Feng, which made it impossible to dodge them all. Sure enough, he is only one step away from reaching that standard. Red Frost subconsciously held her breath when she saw Xiao Yilongs performance. The others in the lobby might be unable to determine the intricacies behind Xiao Yilongs move, but experts who had learned Advanced Gold Combat Techniques could tell that Xiao Yilong had just executed an Advanced Gold Fusion Technique. This indicated that Xiao Yilong could already achieve the Advanced Gold Combat Technique standard with his every move. Otherwise, he could never have pulled off such a complicated fusion technique. Why isnt he moving? Twilight Leaf stared at Shi Feng in confusion. Did he give up? If Shi Feng had indeed slain White Ghost in three moves, his strength wouldnt be too far behind Xiao Yilongs. Yet, even though Xiao Yilong was already attacking him, Shi Feng still did not unsheath his swords. Amidst Twilight Leafs confusion, Shi Feng suddenly raised his right hand at Xiao Yilong. Immediately afterward, an indescribable wave of energy spread from Shi Feng. Miniature Abyssal World! Chapter 3761 - Chapter 835 - Walking Disaster Chapter 835 C Walking Disaster Boom! Darkness suddenly enveloped the simulated battlefield, and all magic elements converged on Shi Feng like metal particles attracted to a magnet. Is it a Domain Spell? Xiao Yilong was astonished by this development. All he could see right now was darkness. However, before Xiao Yilong could use a Control Removal Skill, he felt like a mountain had fallen on his shoulders. His movements and mana grew sluggish. As a result, his Advanced Gold Fusion Technique crumbled, and his HP plummeted. 98% 95% 90% In only a second, Xiao Yilong had already lost 15% of his HP What is this move? In the first-floor lobby, Twilight Leaf was similarly stunned as she watched Xiao Yilongs HP decrease. Twilight Leaf knew Xiao Yilongs strength well. Under the same Basic Attributes, even Domain Spells should only be able to suppress him slightly. Not to mention, Xiao Yilong had several Tier 6 Domain Spells in his repertoire. Even if he couldnt shrug off Shi Fengs Domain Spell, he should be able to put up some resistance. Yet, Xiao Yilong couldnt even move right now, let alone resist. All he could do was watch as his HP disappeared. It was simply unbelievable. When Xiao Yilong saw that his HP kept decreasing and his Mana kept dissipating, he knew he couldnt hold back any longer. Immediately, a clearly visible Law Projection expanded from Xiao Yilong and quickly covered a 1,000-yard radius. Upon casting his Advanced Law Projection, Xiao Yilong recovered much of his maneuverability. His Divine Body also regathered his dissipated mana. Xiao Yilong sighed in relief at this development. Although he was still suppressed, at least he could fight now. An Advanced Law Projection? Shi Feng was unfazed by the quality of Xiao Yilongs Law Projection. In response, he activated the Shadow Incinerators Worlds Descent. Currently, his Miniature Abyssal World could only be considered an unfinished product. Its Completion Rate didnt even reach 60%. Fortunately, Worlds Descent could artificially enhance his control over his Law Projection. Although it wasnt enough to let him recreate the Primordial Abyssal Gods Law Projection, it should let him achieve a passable standard. Boom! Under Worlds Descent, the operations of the World Laws making up Shi Fengs incomplete Miniature Abyssal World started to flow much more smoothly. This, in turn, allowed the Miniature Abyssal World to go from merely suppressing Xiao Yilongs Advanced Law Projection to devouring it completely. Additionally, like a black hole, the Miniature Abyssal World consumed Xiao Yilongs mana. Although Xiao Yilong desperately activated Tier 6 Domain Spells one after another to resist the Miniature Abyssal World, he still couldnt stop it from restraining his movements and reducing his HP. 50% 30% 10% When the duel reached the five-second mark, Xiao Yilongs HP zeroed out. Since the duel started, all Shi Feng did was raise his hand A strange silence enveloped the first-floor lobby. Everyone wore a look of disbelief as they looked at Xiao Yilongs corpse on the screen. Big Sis Frost! What did Black Flame just do?! After snapping out of her daze, Twilight Leaf immediately turned to Red Frost for answers. Not even Tier 6 Domain-type Super Spells can be that powerful! It can practically kill any Tier 6 player once activated! Twilight Leaf was confused and horrified by what Shi Feng had just done. In the Greater Gods Domain, even Level 240-plus Ancient Gods could, at best, suppress Tier 6 players heavily when using Tier 6 Domain Spells. They couldnt kill Tier 6 players with Domain Spells alone. Not to mention, Shi Feng and Xiao Yilong fought under the same Tier and Basic Attributes. Yet, Shi Feng still managed to kill Xiao Yilong simply by activating what seemed like a Domain Spell. With such capabilities, calling Shi Feng a walking disaster wouldnt even be an exaggeration. This Red Frost had no idea how she should answer Twilight Leafs question. She was similarly confused by how Shi Feng could kill a Tier 6 player with only a Domain Spell. Meanwhile, on the simulation battlefield Sure enough, I still cant cast the Miniature Abyssal World properly. Shi Feng sighed in disappointment. Then, after his pale complexion recovered slightly, he looked at Xiao Yilongs corpse and thought, Although I pushed my mental strength to its limits, the results I achieved are still satisfactory. I hadnt thought I could crush an Advanced Law Projection, but I guess it is to be expected from the Law Projection created by the Primordial Abyssal God. Shi Feng was honestly surprised he could kill Xiao Yilong with just the Miniature Abyssal World. After all, his Miniature Abyssal Worlds Completion Rate didnt even reach 60%. Although he had strengthened it with Worlds Descent, his original goal in using the Skill was only to strengthen the suppressive effect on Xiao Yilong. However, the Miniature Abyssal World exceeded his expectations. Despite being an unfinished product, it could still crush Xiao Yilong, an expert who could cast an Advanced Law Projection. It was simply terrifying. Of course, the Miniature Abyssal World wasnt without its flaws. It placed a huge burden on the users mind. Shi Feng had to stretch his mental strength thin just to use it for several seconds. It definitely wasnt a move suited for long battles. Subsequently, Shi Feng withdrew from the simulation battlefield and climbed out of his simulation cabin. At the same time, Xiao Yilong climbed out of his cabin, looking pale. When he saw Shi Feng again, fear, confusion, and frustration flashed in his eyes. I lost. I am not your match. Per our agreement, I will stop trying to persuade Red Frost. After staring at Shi Feng for a few seconds, Xiao Yilong admitted his defeat. However, that doesnt change my opinion that you lack the ability to help Red Frost! Ember Dragon has already thrown full support behind one of Holy Dragon Spears chosen ones! If that chosen one gains control of the adventurer team, it will be the end for Red Frost! Xiao Yilongs words made Red Frost, who had hurried to the combat simulation room, realize that she might have underestimated the severity of the situation. I understand your concerns, Mr. Xiao, Shi Feng said, chuckling at Xiao Yilongs frustration. But like I said before, if Commander Frost joins Zero Wing, even the Uncrowned War God will no longer be a problem. Since the Uncrowned War God wishes to prop up his own representative in Holy Dragon Spear, Zero Wing can do the same by supporting Commander Frost! Chapter 3762 - Chapter 836 - Zero Wings Capital Chapter 836 C Zero Wings Capital Zero Wing will support Red Frost? Xiao Yilong chuckled at Shi Fengs words. Although Red Frost is qualified to compete, do you know how much Ember Dragon has invested in his chosen candidate? Or do you think Holy Dragon Spears Elders, Grand Elders, and many experts will support Red Frost just because you said you would support her? Shi Feng did not respond immediately. He knew Xiao Yilong still wasnt done, so he quietly stared at the other party. You must know by now that a space-time passage into the Eternal Realm has been discovered, and crossing it is a challenge. Every 1,000-man, Tier 6 legion that tries to enter the Eternal Realm reaches it with only several dozen players alive. This is because the passage teems with countless Void Creatures and a type of corrosive energy that eats away at players mana. If players wish to traverse the passage safely, they must find safe zones to rest. However, there are very few places where players can safely rest in the space-time passage. Moreover, these safe zones are not permanent and appear randomly. If players want fixed rest locations, their only option is to capture one of the Void Fortresses in the passage. But to capture a Void Fortress, the monsters infesting it have to be cleared out, and the manpower and resources required to accomplish this are astronomical. It costs 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per day to maintain each players mana inside the space-time passage. This number would be even higher if they fight. Thus, the Great Commander has declared that whoever in the adventurer team can lead a team to capture a Void Fortress in the space-time passage will become Holy Dragon Spears decision maker. To help his chosen candidate, Ember Dragon has gathered various God-ranked Legacies and 300 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal from the several conglomerates backing him to win over the experts in the adventurer team. Compared to Ember Dragon, how many God-ranked Legacies and Seven Luminaries Crystals can Zero Wing offer? Xiao Yilongs words echoed in the corridor, surprising Red Frost. She didnt expect the competition this time to be so intense. Setting aside the precious God-ranked Legacies, the 300 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal alone were not something most conglomerates could afford, let alone the current Zero Wing. If Red Frost wants to win this competition, her only option is to return to Holy Hymn City, seek forgiveness from the familys Grand Elders, and gain the old commanders resource support. Only then can she gather sufficient manpower in the adventurer team to challenge a Void Fortress. Otherwise, she still stands no chance against Ember Dragon! Xiao Yilong said as he looked at Shi Feng with a hint of disdain. Shi Feng was indeed strong. When Xiao Yilong realized Shi Feng had killed him with nothing but a Law Projection, he was very taken aback. However, that wasnt enough to sway his opinion of Zero Wings insignificance when resolving Red Frosts predicament. After all, they had fought under the same Basic Attributes. In the Greater Gods Domain, a players strength comprised more than their Law Projection. Levels, weapons, and equipment were also crucial factors. Although Shi Feng currently thrived in the Eternal Realm, he had yet to reach Level 200. He also did not possess any Divine Artifacts. Under such circumstances, how was he supposed to compete with players outside the Eternal Realm who averaged Level 220? Some of these players were even equipped with Divine Artifacts. Not to mention, Zero Wing was nowhere near as wealthy as conglomerates operating in the Greater Gods Domain. Its only 300 million units. Zero Wing can finance Commander Frost with 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in a month, Shi Feng said, smiling. Additionally, so long as Holy Dragon Spears Elders and Grand Elders support Commander Frost, Zero Wing can grant them one opportunity to improve their combat standards. Even reaching that step wouldnt be out of the question. Shi Fengs words immediately stunned Red Frost and the others. Is he exaggerating, Big Sis Frost? Twilight Leaf asked as she tugged on Red Frosts sleeve. If Shi Feng truly meant what he said, he would need to come up with 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal and hundreds of God-ranked Legacies and above within a month. In the current Greater Gods Domain, only the various apex powers could fulfill such a promise. I dont know, Red Frost said, shaking her head. When she looked at Shi Feng again, she felt like she was looking at a stranger. Five hundred million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in a month? Giving Holy Dragon Spears Elders and Grand Elders an opportunity to improve their combat standards? If Red Frost hadnt known that Shi Feng wasnt one to exaggerate his words, she would have suspected that he had lost his mind. After all, no matter how she racked her brain, she simply couldnt figure out how Zero Wing could come up with so many resources. You dont have to doubt Zero Wings capital, Shi Feng said when he saw Xiao Yilongs look of skepticism. I will let Commander Frost bring 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to you in the Greater Gods Domain in three days. Zero Wing will subsequently deliver the remaining 400 million units within a month. As for whether Zero Wing can help your Elders and Grand Elders achieve a breakthrough, you will find out once you meet up with Commander Frost in the passage. If you dont have any other problems, I can establish a Gods Domain Contract with Commander Frost right away. You can also return and organize your forces as soon as possible. Seven Luminaries Crystals were indeed precious in the Greater Gods Domain. The average conglomerate could, at most, come up with tens of millions of units on short notice. Although apex powers could provide 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in a month, it would hurt them significantly to part with such a huge sum. As for Legacies that could help fifth-floor experts achieve further improvements, even pseudo-apex powers did not have many. Under normal circumstances, there was no way Zero Wing could compete with Ember Dragon financially. After all, the Uncrowned War God had multiple conglomerates backing him. However, it was a different story after Shi Feng obtained the Tower of the Abysss design. With the Tower of the Abyss, Zero Wing would no longer lack Seven Luminaries Crystals or methods to help players improve their combat standards. As for why Shi Feng had decided to get involved with Red Frosts affairs, it was because of Holy Dragon Spear. Holy Dragon Spear was an adventurer team with extraordinary strength. Its foundations were vastly superior to those of the current Zero Wing. Now that a passage into the Eternal Realm had been discovered, the war between races had officially begun. If Red Frost became Holy Dragon Spears decision maker, it would be equivalent to an alliance between Zero Wing and the adventurer team. This, in turn, would elevate Zero Wings overall strength in the Greater Gods Domain by a large margin. More importantly, Shi Feng could get the help of Holy Dragon Spears legendary 10,000-man Tier 6 army. He might not have cared as much about getting this armys help if it were before his trip to the Crucible of the Ancients, but now that he knew the method to advance to Tier 7, Holy Dragon Spear had become the key to killing one of the Twenty-Two Taboos. If he missed this opportunity to ally with Holy Dragon Spear, it was unlikely he could find another power that could help him in the foreseeable future. Subsequently, Shi Feng signed a Gods Domain Contract with Red Frost under the witness of Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf. According to the contract, Zero Wing would give Red Frost 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal and her supporters a chance to achieve a breakthrough. In return, once Red Frost became Holy Dragon Spears decision maker, she had to ally with Zero Wing and grant Zero Wing the authority to mobilize Holy Dragon Spears full force once. After Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf reluctantly left Zero Wing Tower, Shi Feng promptly returned to his room and logged into Gods Domain. Chapter 3763 - Chapter 837 - Tower of the Abyss Takes Shape Chapter 837 C Tower of the Abyss Takes Shape Star Lake City, Airport: Uncle Xiao, do you think Big Sis Frost stands a chance? Twilight Leaf asked worriedly as she looked at Zero Wing Tower through the window of the interstellar spaceship. Although Black Flame has signed a Gods Domain Contract agreeing to help Big Sis Frost, that person has Ember Dragons full support. The family is also taking a neutral stance on the matter. On top of that, Big Sis Frost wont receive the old commanders guidance now that she has refused to return with us. At this rate, Im worried Big Sis Frost wont be a match for that person in the familys Battle of the Chosen Ones Red Frost was once considered a peerless genius that appeared only once in centuries by the family. By the tender age of 15, she had reached the Unthinking Realm and developed her Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard. Unfortunately, while exploring a ruin in the Twelve Sanctuaries, an encounter with Ember Dragon robbed her of her coveted Legacy and caused her to be cursed by one of the Twenty-Two Taboos. The Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos were dreaded by even Ancient Gods. The curse of these existences was so powerful that Holy Dragon Spear could do nothing about it. The curse also grew stronger over time, weakening Red Frost continuously and forcing her to leave Holy Hymn City and the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team. Despite later achievements in the Starlight Realm, Red Frosts situation did not improve. Although she returned to the Twelve Sanctuaries to try to lift her curse and get revenge at one point, her efforts proved futile, and she had no choice but to spend the rest of her days retired in the Starlight Realm. Originally, Red Frost should have regained the familys support now that she had recovered partly from her curse and reclaimed much of her strength. However, that did not happen. This was because a new prodigy had appeared in the family, and she needed to compete and win against this monster before the family would throw its support behind her. Twilight Leaf was currently considered the number-two genius among the familys younger generation. However, even she could only react in fear at the thought of facing that monster. In her opinion, the chances of Red Frost, who was no longer at her peak, defeating that monster were slim. Red Frost doesnt stand a chance in the Battle of the Chosen Ones. That persons combat standard can already rival the current Divine Glory Lists top 10. It is also why Ember Dragon is supporting her in the first place, Xiao Yilong said, shaking his head. Red Frosts only hope now is the breakthrough opportunity that Black Flame mentioned. If Black Flame can let the fifth-floor Elders and Grand Elders reach that standard, winning them to our side will be easy. Reach that standard? Various thoughts filled Twilight Leafs mind when she heard Xiao Yilongs words. The sixth-floor standard! Also known as the Mortal God standard! No one in the human races Greater Gods Domain had ever reached this standard thus far, and it was only theorized to exist because of the World Tower. When Shi Feng logged back into Gods Domain, he promptly activated World-Breaking Teleportation and made his way to a secluded area in the Void Sea near the Miniature Ancient World. Then, he erected an Isolation Barrier and waited. Roughly 14 hours later, a peerless beauty with long, flowing hair appeared in the area. The woman was clad in white holy armor and armed with a crimson spear. When Shi Feng saw this womans face, he exited the Isolation Barrier to greet her. The peerless beauty in question was Red Frost, who had been operating in the Starlight Realm for many years. Currently, although Red Frost was still cursed, her level had reached 223. She was also equipped with a Legendary Equipment Set, and the crimson spear she wielded was of extraordinary quality. Although the spear was not at the standard of Divine Artifacts, it radiated Divine Might that rivaled that of Divine Artifacts. In terms of overall strength, Red Frost could challenge the current Divine Glory Lists top 50 and possibly emerge victorious. Sorry for the long wait, Guild Leader Black Flame, Red Frost apologized. She also couldnt help but feel a little surprised when she saw Shi Fengs in-game character. When Red Frost first met Shi Feng in the real world, Shi Feng was only a newcomer trying to join Star Lake Citys City Legion. He wasnt even at the peak of Tier 4 back then, let alone Tier 6. Yet, in only a few months, Shi Feng had already become an expert whom she had to look up to. Not at all. The average Tier 6 player would need over 20 hours to come here from the Starlight Realms central region. You have already exceeded my expectations by arriving in less than 14 hours, Shi Feng said as he looked at Red Frost, who looked exactly like her real-world self. Then, he activated World-Breaking Teleportation and continued, Lets continue our conversation in the Eternal Realm. After Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf left, Shi Feng had instructed Red Frost to meet him outside the Miniature Ancient World. This was so that he could improve Red Frosts strength. The reason Holy Dragon Spear could become one of the Greater Gods Domains Eight Legendary Adventurer Teams was that most, if not all, of its members possessed astonishing combat power. Although it wasnt stated in Holy Dragon Spears rules, those who knew the adventurer team would know that only its strongest member could become its decision maker, also known as the Great Commander. Although Red Frost had already recovered a considerable portion of her strength thanks to the Mana Purification Technique, she was still somewhat lacking compared to Holy Dragon Spears current Great Commander. Thus, it was of utmost importance that she improved her strength. Otherwise, even if she captured a Void Fortress and became Holy Dragon Spears next Great Commander, many in the adventurer team would be reluctant to follow her orders. With Zero Wings current resources, it wouldnt be possible to improve Red Frosts equipment standard within the foreseeable future. However, it should be possible for Red Frost to improve her combat standard within a short time. After all, according to Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf, Red Frost was a monstrous prodigy who had reached the Unthinking Realm and honed her Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard by the age of 15. While Red Frost might have suffered from weakening mana throughout these years, she had not stopped refining her combat standard and Concentration. By now, she had already developed them to their current limits, and all she needed was the right opportunity to transcend these limits. Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town: Presently, a seven-story tower had become the focal point of the towns players. This was because the towers size surpassed even the Town Lords Mansion. Nobody had ever seen or heard of such a large construction before. Additionally, upon its completion, the seven-story tower caused the density of the energies in Shadowring Town to more than double. This effect was superior to that of many Special Constructions, which prompted many to wonder about the towers function. Look! Its Black Flame! Is he going to lift that towers barrier? When the players on the streets saw Shi Feng appear before the seven-story tower, they quickly gathered around him, hoping to learn the towers purpose. Chapter 3764 - Chapter 838 - Sixth-Floor Standard Opponent Chapter 838 C Sixth-Floor Standard Opponent This Is this an Epic Construction? With her face hidden under a Black Cloak, Red Frost curiously scrutinized the seven-story tower before her. The longer she inspected it, the more shocked she felt. As the descendant of an ancient family based in the Twelve Sanctuaries, Red Frost understood more about Gods Domain than most apex power executives. While most players and even apex powers thought that Special was the highest rank for constructions in Gods Domain, she knew it wasnt actually the limit. Epic Constructions! Normally, Special Constructions could affect one type of energy at most, and it typically corresponded to the race they belonged to. In the case of the human races Special Constructions, they could only manipulate Mana; they could not manipulate other types of energy, such as Holy Power. However, it was a different story for Epic Constructions. Epic Constructions could manipulate all types of energy rather than just one. From what Red Frost could sense, the seven-story tower before her was attracting Mana, Holy Power, and even Eternal Energy for its own use. This led her to suspect the tower might be one of the Epic Constructions of legends. No, its not an Epic Construction, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, while lifting the barrier on the Tower of the Abyss, he added, Its an Advanced Epic Construction! Advanced Epic?! Red Frost gaped in shock. How can this be?! Advanced Epic Constructions should have disappeared in the Mythical Era! Studying the history of the Greater Gods Domain was one of Red Frosts hobbies. Thus, she knew that the human races Greater Gods Domain had experienced at least two major setbacks in technological development across history. The first happened before the Mythical Era, and the second happened during the Mythical Era. Because of these two setbacks, the human races development slowed down massively. Meanwhile, Advanced Epic Constructions were rarely seen, even during the Mythical Era. It was rumored they were passed down from a prior era and possessed abilities that were borderline miracles. If an Advanced Epic Construction were to appear in the modern era, it would definitely send the entire Greater Gods Domain into turmoil. Unfortunately, Zero Wing lacks the technical abilities and materials to recreate it perfectly, Shi Feng said, putting a damper on Red Frosts excitement. It is only an Epic Construction right now and cannot accomplish its most vital function. What a pity. Red Frost sighed in disappointment as she looked at the Tower of the Abyss. Advanced Epic Constructions were highly specialized. If an Advanced Epic Construction couldnt accomplish its most vital function, its value would plummet. Even if the system considered it an Epic Construction, its usefulness might be inferior to Special Constructions. It is indeed a pity. Shi Feng chuckled when he saw Red Frosts hopes vanishing. But the Tower of the Abyss is still an unimaginable opportunity for current players, so dont feel down. Unimaginable opportunity? Could it be the breakthrough opportunity you spoke of, Guild Leader Black Flame? Red Frost asked. By now, Red Frost no longer doubted Shi Fengs claims about allowing Holy Dragon Spears Elders and Grand Elders to achieve a breakthrough. After all, quite a few Special Constructions could already give fifth-floor experts a significant harvest, so it wasnt far-fetched for an Epic Construction to have similar or better capabilities. However, she personally couldnt bring herself to be interested in this so-called breakthrough opportunity. As someone who had already reached the limits of the fifth-floor standard, even an Epic Construction was unlikely to be of any help to her. Unless, of course, this Epic Construction could help her mana recover completely, but that obviously wasnt possible. Each of the Twenty-Two Taboos could match Primordial Gods. Not even the power of Divine Artifacts could do anything about the curse of these existences, let alone an Epic Construction. Thats right. When Shi Feng saw the barrier covering the Tower of the Abyss disappearing, he smiled and said, You must have entered the World Tower before, right? In that case, you should know that apart from testing players, the World Tower does nothing else. It neither provides guidance nor anything for players to learn from. Yes, that is true. Upon reaching the fifth floor, I only had a bunch of walls to attack. If I could break them, I could proceed. If I couldnt break them, I could only stay where I was, Red Frost said, nodding. When recalling the World Towers fifth-floor test, she couldnt help but feel exasperated. The World Towers fifth-floor test was clearly a test of players destructive power. More specifically, it tested players on whether their destructive power had exceeded a certain threshold. However, even when she executed Advanced Gold Combat Techniques and Taboo-ranked Mana Techniques, she could not break the final wall on the fifth floor. If not for the World Tower limiting players Basic Attributes, weapons, and equipment, she would have thought that Divine Artifacts were required to conquer the fifth-floor test. Of course, some experts also believed Peak Gold Combat Techniques were required to break the final wall. However, Red Frost knew not even Peak Gold Combat Techniques would work. This was because Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander had already tried itto no avail Then, what if I tell you the Tower of the Abyss functions similarly to the World Tower, but unlike the World Tower, the Tower of the Abyss requires players to defeat one opponent on each floor to progress? Shi Feng whispered to Red Frost. It functions similarly to the World Tower and provides opponents to fight against? Red Frost nearly grabbed Shi Feng out of excitement when she heard his words. Opponents! For experts like herself, opponents of a similar caliber were something they could only dream of having. Some of them didnt even dare to dream about it. The higher a player climbed the combat standard pyramid, the fewer peers they would have. After players reached the standard where they could execute an Advanced Gold Combat Technique with their every move, it would become virtually impossible for them to find a sparring partner. This was because every player of this caliber was either the leader of a major power or the core executive of an apex power. With the importance of these players roles, theyd be committing suicide if they exposed their strength and trump cards to others. Thus, unless absolutely necessary, they always avoided fighting other players, especially in one-on-one scenarios. If the Tower of the Abyss could truly match players with opponents of roughly equal or possibly even greater standards, it would be a literal heaven for experts! You dont need to doubt my words. I can also tell you that the opponents you face on each floor are not fixed. Instead, your opponents will come from a pool of thousands upon thousands of players, Shi Feng added when he saw the trace of zeal in Red Frosts eyes. Moreover, the Tower of the Abyss not only has opponents at the fifth-floor standard but also the sixth-floor standard! The sixth-floor standard?! How is that possible?! Red Frost was shocked. Fortunately, she still had the presence of mind to keep her voice down when she exclaimed. The World Tower ends on the sixth floor. How can there be opponents at the sixth-floor standard? The Mortal God standard! This was a standard that no player of the human race or the Holy Race could imagine reaching, let alone having opponents of this standard to fight against. Countless experts would get on their knees just to receive some guidance from a Mortal God. Not even in her dreams would she dare to think of fighting against Mortal Gods as much as she wanted! Chapter 3765 - Chapter 839 - Primordial Swordsman Chapter 839 C Primordial Swordsman When Shi Feng removed the barrier on the Tower of the Abyss, he immediately received a series of system notifications. System: Congratulations! Zero Wing has become the first Guild to construct an Epic Construction. Rewarding 50,000 Guild Reputation Points. Rewarding 30,000 Town Popularity Points to Shadowring Town. System: Congratulations! Shadowring Towns Popularity has reached 50,000 points. You have been promoted to a 3-star Count of Holy Ring City. Rewarding five levels and 50 Holy Ring City Reputation Points. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to become a 3-star Count of Holy Ring City. Rewarding five levels and 100 Holy Ring City Reputation Points. Following the system notifications, a purple-gold glow enveloped Shi Feng, and his level increased from 190 to 200 in the blink of an eye. At the same time, like an Ancient God that had just awoken, the Tower of the Abyss started to radiate an aura that suffocated every player in Shadowring Town. Crap! What rank of construction is that?! How can it radiate such a powerful aura?! Look! That towers attracting Eternal Energy on its own! The gathered Eternal Energy is condensing into mist?! Am I hallucinating?! When the Holy Race players and human players in the vicinity saw the mist-like Eternal Energy around the Tower of the Abyss, their eyes immediately turned bloodshot. Eternal Energy had an invigorating effect on the mind for all races. The denser the Eternal Energy, the greater its effect, and the greater the help it could provide players learning techniques. The Eternal Realms environment, which was rich in Eternal Energy, was also why some players were willing to abandon their levels to enter the Eternal Realm. Yet, despite the richness of Eternal Energy in the Eternal Realm, the Tower of the Abyss could create an even better environment in its vicinity. Moreover, this was only the towers exterior. If the tower could already create such an environment outside, they couldnt even imagine what kind of environment was available inside. Is this an Epic Constructions power? Red Frost couldnt help but exclaim in her heart when she saw the Eternal Energy gathered around the Tower of the Abyss. When Shi Feng told her the Tower of the Abyss could simulate sixth-floor experts, she had already considered the tower a treasure beyond the reach of even apex powers. After seeing the environment the tower created around itself, she felt that she had still underestimated its value. If players could train in such an environment, their training efficiency would increase by at least a hundredfold. Lets go in. After taking a moment to admire the Tower of the Abyss, Shi Feng entered it with excitement. In his previous life, the Tower of the Abyss was a priceless treasure that helped the Holy Race produce sixth-floor experts one after another. This result had tormented all human players with jealousy, and Shi Feng was no exception. After snapping out of her daze, Red Frost quickly followed Shi Feng into the Tower of the Abyss. Upon entering the Tower of the Abyss, Shi Feng and Red Frost arrived inside a simple hall. The hall was the size of a football field. Apart from a large teleportation portal and a 100-meter-tall phantom with a blurry appearance standing beside it, there was nothing else in the hall. My creation is called the Tower of the Abyss, and I created it while referencing the World Tower. This tower has seven floors, and I have populated them with experts from all walks of life. It costs each person 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to use the teleportation portal, and only by defeating one expert on each floor can each person proceed to the next. It also costs 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to maintain the Tower of the Abysss daily operations. As the new owner of my creation, I hope you can use it well. When Shi Feng approached the teleportation portal, the phantom offered a simple introduction to the Tower of the Abyss before vanishing into thin air. It only costs 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per person? Shi Feng was astonished when he heard the phantoms introduction. Although he had never entered the Tower of the Abyss in his previous life, he knew how much it cost Holy Race players to use it. Each entry cost a whopping five Eternal Gold and 2,000 units of Holy Power Crystals. The Holy Races Holy Power Crystal was the equivalent of the human races Seven Luminaries Crystal. Thus, 2,000 units of Holy Power Crystal was equivalent to 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Holy Power Crystals were considered hard currency among the Holy Race, and the average Tier 6 Holy Race expert would need about two weeks to earn 2,000 units. Of course, even with such a steep entry fee, Holy Race experts still poured into the Tower of the Abyss in droves. After all, opportunities to spar with opponents of equal standards were rare. Not to mention, the Tower of the Abyss could provide opponents up to the sixth-floor standard. Thus, it was understandable that using the Tower of the Abyss cost a fortune. However, Shi Feng never imagined the actual cost would be so little. If it only cost 100 units to start a challenge, it meant that the Tower of the Abysss owner in his previous life made five Eternal Gold and 1,900 units of Holy Power Crystals each time a player started a challenge. Even calling this daylight robbery would be an understatement. Red Frost was also stunned. She never thought the Tower of the Abysss operating cost would be so low. It should be known that 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was nowhere near enough to hire a fifth-floor expert as a sparring partner, let alone sixth-floor experts. Typically, players needed to fork out at least 5,000 units to get a sparring partner of the fifth-floor standard. Moreover, the hiring player needed to be sufficiently strong to get a fifth-floor expert to agree to be their sparring partner. Otherwise, not even 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal could sway a fifth-floor expert. After all, all fifth-floor experts were considered apex existences in their respective Realms. It would sully their reputation if it was made known that they would stoop so low as to fight significantly weaker opponents for money. Shi Feng didnt dwell on the matter for long. After transferring all of the Seven Luminaries Crystals in his bag, which amounted to several tens of thousands of units, to the Tower of the Abyss, he spent 100 units to enter the teleportation portal. Tower of the Abyss: After stepping through the portal, Shi Feng appeared in the middle of a colosseums arena, surrounded by shouting and cheering spectators. These spectators came from various races, many of which Shi Feng was seeing for the first time. All of these spectators possessed extraordinarily high Life Ratings, with the weakest being at the standard of Dragons. Some of these spectators even had Life Ratings surpassing that of Ancient Gods. Additionally, based on their subtle movements, they were at least equal to Ink Crystal in combat standards. Challenger! Select your opponent! Before Shi Feng could make further observations, a three-meter-tall, two-horned Demon standing on the edge of the arena suddenly spoke up. Immediately afterward, a list of opponents appeared before Shi Feng. There are human Swordsmen to choose from? Shi Feng was greatly shocked when he saw the list. In Gods Domain, the quickest way for players to improve via sparring was by fighting players of the same race and class. This way, not only could players learn and adopt the strengths of their opponents, but they could also better understand and correct their weaknesses. Originally, Shi Feng thought the Tower of the Abyss wouldnt have any human experts to challenge. After all, the human race was but one of many races in Gods Domain. Not to mention, based on the history of human players, there shouldnt exist any sixth-floor experts among the human race, much less sixth-floor experts of the Swordsman class. Yet, there were currently dozens of Primordial Era Swordsmen on the list. Moreover, they were all sixth-floor experts Chapter 3766 - Chapter 840 - Unthinking Technique Chapter 840 C Unthinking Technique Challenger! Quickly make your choice! the two-horned Demon urged when he saw Shi Feng still looking through the list. If you do not select an opponent in thirty seconds, you will be randomly assigned one, and you may not proceed to the next floor until you achieve victory or your opponent admits defeat! At the Demons reminder, Shi Feng studied the list at a quicker pace. The information the Tower of the Abyss provided on each opponent was incredibly detailed. The information included not only a brief biography and the greatest achievements of each opponent, but also their preferred combat style. Because of the differences in the weapons, equipment, and techniques each player possessed, everyone had their own preferred style of combat. Some players preferred to fight defensively, some preferred to fight proactively, some preferred to overwhelm their opponents with one powerful attack, some preferred to overwhelm their opponents with weaker but more numerous attacks, etc. Naturally, if players sought to improve, the quickest way would be to spar against opponents with a similar combat style. It seems he is the only one who fits my style perfectly, Shi Feng thought as he considered a Swordsman named Hope. Besides being a dual-wielding Swordsman whose strength lay in his Law Projection, Hope was also one of the few listed Swordsmen close to reaching the World Towers seventh-floor standard. He was a peerless existence during his era. Even when fighting against other sixth-floor experts under the same Basic Attributes, nobody could last more than ten moves against him. Although the list had another Swordsman comparable to Hope, the other party used a greatsword. Thus, it would be more beneficial for Shi Feng to learn from Hope. Subsequently, Shi Feng chose Hope as his opponent. As soon as Shi Feng made his decision, a Level 200 Swordsman appeared a short distance away from him. The Swordsman had a deep cut running through one of his eyes, and his Basic Attributes were exactly the same as Shi Fengs. As a fellow Swordsman, it is unwise for you to designate me as your opponent, Hope stated as he stared at Shi Feng. He behaved like he understood why Shi Feng had chosen to fight him. I am not your match in my current state. Let us meet on the fifth floor. After saying so, Hope turned around and walked out of the arena. Seeing this, the two-horned Demon promptly announced the conclusion of the match. Victor: Black Flame! After announcing the outcome, the Demon turned to Shi Feng and said, Your opponent, Hope, has requested to fight you on the fifth floor. Do you wish to head to the fifth floor directly? If not, you may head to the second floor and choose a new opponent. I will head to the fifth floor, Shi Feng answered without hesitation. He was already at the fifth-floor standard. Since the difficulty of the Tower of the Abysss floors corresponded to the World Towers floors, he would merely be wasting his time if he fought on the first four floors. Tower of the Abyss, Fifth Floor: The fifth floor was set on a large island. The island was devoid of any energy, and players could rely only on themselves to fight. Currently, Hope sat in the middle of the island with his eye closed, behaving like he did not notice Shi Fengs arrival. Is this him at the fifth-floor standard? Shi Fengs heart shuddered as he looked at the one-eyed Swordsman a hundred yards away. Although Hopes physical appearance remained the same, he felt completely different compared to when he was on the first floor. If the first floors Hope were described as a human infant, the fifth floors Hope would be an adult dragon. Even though the one-eyed Swordsman was just sitting there, Shi Feng dared not move even a step closer to him. Since you have chosen to meet me here, I wont hide anything from you, Hope said as he opened his single eye. Even so, he remained seated and showed no intention of standing up. I have mastered only one move in my life. If you can block it completely, you win. The instant Hope finished speaking, Shi Feng instinctively activated Void Barrier, rendering a 100-yard radius immune to all damage for 30 seconds. Boom! Before Shi Fengs senses could even react, a crack had appeared on the defensive barrier protecting him. However, that was not the end of Hopes attack, as the sword light that cracked the defensive barrier did not fade. Instead, it persistently tried to pry open the barrier like a walnut. Without hesitation, Shi Feng cast his Miniature Abyssal World and executed Swords Orbit in an act of self-preservation. Fortunately, his desperate attempt paid off, and he blocked the sword light in the nick of time. However, he failed to neutralize the attack completely as he stumbled by a step. This is within the fifth-floor standard? Shi Feng was in disbelief as he stared at Hope, who remained seated on the ground. When Shi Feng arrived on the fifth floor, the Tower of the Abyss had indicated to him that his opponent was restricted to the fifth-floor standard. Logically, there shouldnt be any fifth-floor experts who could threaten him. After all, he had defeated even Garuda, who was at the Half-step Mortal God standard. Yet, when Shi Feng faced Hopes attack, he felt death descend upon him. Additionally, Hopes attack was so unbelievably fast that Shi Feng didnt even sense when the other party had executed his attack. If Shi Feng hadnt activated his Miniature Abyssal World to weaken Hopes attack, his fate would have been sealed. However, before Shi Feng could recover from his shock, many other cracks appeared on his Void Barrier. Five seconds later, Shi Feng was back in the Tower of the Abysss first-floor hall. What an incredible attack! Shi Feng felt amazed when he recalled Hopes unstoppable sword light. Despite using the Gold-ranked Swords Orbit and the Miniature Abyssal World, he had still failed to keep up with Hopes Attack Speed and ultimately died from a stab to his heart. Fortunately, Shi Feng didnt get tortured for nothing. The reason Hopes attack was incredible wasnt because the other party had executed an almighty Peak Gold Combat Technique. From Shi Fengs analysis, Hope should have only executed an Advanced Gold Combat Technique. As for how Hope had managed to exhibit such frightening speed with an Advanced Gold Combat Technique, it was because he had executed it without thought. This, in turn, allowed him to complete his technique much faster than someone who executed an Advanced Gold Combat Technique with conscious thought. In the past, I only thought about pursuing powerful sword techniques and achieving the power of Advanced Gold Combat Techniques in every move. I thought this was the correct way to reach the sixth-floor standard. But looking at it now, it seems I was mistaken, Shi Feng thought. Then, he recalled Garuda, who was at the Half-step Mortal God standard. Garuda has already developed himself to the limit in all aspects. Logically, he should have reached the sixth-floor standard already. Yet, he did not. I previously suspected his Concentration might have needed to undergo a qualitative transformation for him to achieve Manifold Executions and reach the sixth-floor standard, but it seems Concentration was never the key. Instead, the key is to merge Gold-ranked techniques with the Unthinking state. Only then can one freely use Gold-ranked techniques! Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng excitedly spent another 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to challenge Hope. Previously, Shi Feng was clueless about how players could reach the sixth-floor standard. He only knew that sixth-floor experts could multitask to an extreme extent. An example would be Ink Crystal, who could accomplish the unbelievable task of executing a Twofold Peak Gold-ranked technique. However, after his fight with Hope, Shi Feng finally learned the direction he should take to reach the sixth-floor standard. Now, he only needed to train in this direction. In another part of the Tower of the Abysss fifth floor Red Frost wielded her spear in darkness as she stood before a human female with short hair and an indomitable expression. Like Red Frost, the human female was also a spear user. Currently, though, she had a hole in her heart, and her HP was at zero. Victor: Red Frost! You may proceed to the sixth floor! Chapter 3767 - Chapter 841 - Experts Paradise Chapter 841 C Experts Paradise Shadowring Town, Tower of the Abyss: Shortly after Shi Feng returned from the fifth floor once more, a flash of light appeared beside him. When the light faded, he saw Red Frost standing there, looking tired and wearing a wry smile. Are you still having trouble surviving even one move against your sixth-floor opponent? Shi Feng asked curiously. No, thats not it, Red Frost said, shaking her head. I can barely last three moves now. Its just that I only managed to merge one of my three Advanced Gold Combat Techniques with the Unthinking state. If I want to truly trade blows with that person, I must also merge the remaining two techniques. But I dont know if I can make it with only two days left. Red Frosts response rendered Shi Feng momentarily speechless. Then, he said, It doesnt matter, even if you cant make it. Your goal in returning to Holy Dragon Spear is to win the Elders and Grand Elders to your side. You dont need to be at the sixth-floor standard to do that. The sixth-floor standard was a legend in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Throughout known history, not a single human player had ever reached the sixth-floor standard. Although Red Frost had already developed herself to her current limits in all aspects, the sixth-floor standard was still beyond her. Even with the Tower of the Abysss assistance, she would need time to make the final step. Not to mention, it had only been an hour since the two of them entered the Tower of the Abyss. Both of them had also started their respective climbs from the fifth floor. Yet, while he still struggled against Hope on the fifth floor and could barely integrate Swords Orbit with the Unthinking state, Red Frost had already set foot on the sixth floor. Additionally, in just a little over a dozen attempts, she had integrated an Advanced Gold Combat Technique with the Unthinking state and could now survive three moves against her sixth-floor opponent. The difference between them was stark, and the rate of Red Frosts improvement was unbelievable. With my current standard, winning over those Elders and Grand Elders shouldnt be difficult, Red Frost said. Then, she looked at Shi Feng worriedly and asked, But can Zero Wing gather so many Seven Luminaries Crystals in just a little over two days? Shi Feng had promised Xiao Yilong to provide her with 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in a month. Moreover, he promised to deliver the first 100 million units in three days. She might not have been as concerned if she didnt know about Zero Wings internal situation, but she knew clearly that apart from Shadowring Town, none of Zero Wings other properties could generate Seven Luminaries Crystals. With Zero Wings current state, it would be impossible to make 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal even in a month, let alone three days Its simple. Youve already seen the effects of the Tower of the Abyss for yourself, Shi Feng said, chuckling. So long as I open it to the public and charge each person five Eternal Gold and 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, making 100 million units in three days isnt a problem. When the Tower of the Abyss was made available to the public in his previous life, a little over a million Holy Race players challenged it each day. That was also the maximum capacity the tower could handle. Considering the steep markup the towers owner charged, this meant that the tower generated two billion Holy Power Crystals each day. This far exceeded the revenue any other business could generate. Of course, when the Tower of the Abyss was constructed in his previous life, the connection between the Eternal Realm and the outside world had already been established for a long time. Thus, there was no lack of players coming to use the Tower of the Abyss. At present, although the various human powers had already discovered a passage leading into the Eternal Realm, only a small number of Tier 6 experts could cross it. Thus, Shi Feng did not expect the Tower of the Abyss to generate a daily income of two billion units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Even so, the tower shouldnt have difficulty generating a daily income of 100 million units. You plan to open it to the public?! Shi Fengs words astounded Red Frost. We are talking about the legendary sixth-floor standard here! If news of the towers function gets out, even the Holy Races royal powers will lose their minds, let alone the human races apex powers! Theyll do everything they can to snatch it! Be it the human race or the Holy Race, the existence of sixth-floor experts was unheard of. Even a fool would know how the two races apex and royal powers would react if they learned of the Tower of the Abysss capabilities. With Zero Wing having only recently established itself in the Eternal Realm, there was no way it could defend the Tower of the Abyss. Theyre more than welcome to try, Shi Feng said, chuckling nonchalantly. Nobody knew better than him what kind of influence the Tower of the Abyss could have over players. However, he also knew that with Zero Wings current resources, once the outside worlds Level 200-plus, Tier 6 experts flooded the Eternal Realm, Zero Wings days would be numbered. After all, Zero Wing had offended many powers. Given the opportunity, these powers would try to destroy Zero Wing as soon as possible. If Zero Wing wanted to survive this predicament, its only option was to make the Tower of the Abyss available to the public. After all, the Tower of the Abyss wasnt just a tool to make Seven Luminaries Crystals. It was also a tool for powers to strengthen themselves. While Shi Feng and Red Frost chatted, Hidden Soul appeared in the hall and approached them with hurried steps. Guild Leader, Ive finished gathering the manpower you requested. They are ready to move out at your command, Hidden Soul reported. Good. Have them head to the various NPC Cities and spread the news of the Tower of the Abyss, Shi Feng said, nodding. State that each player may challenge the tower once a day. Announce that Tier 6 players who join Zero Wing can enjoy a 50% discount when using the tower. Additionally, all normal members of Zero Wing can challenge the tower up to twice a day, while elite members get three attempts and core members get five attempts. Besides helping the Holy Race produce numerous sixth-floor experts, the Tower of the Abyss also allowed the Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Mark, the towers owners at the time, to become the Holy Races de facto number one and number two powers. After all, very few players who considered themselves experts could resist the temptation of becoming a Mortal God. Although the Tier 6 experts Zero Wing could recruit from the current Eternal Realm were still nowhere near enough to fight the outside worlds Tier 6 experts, if they worked with Shadowring Towns NPC guards, it shouldnt be difficult to prevent the town from falling into the hands of others. By the time the outside world established a safe route into the Eternal Realm, Red Frost would have already made Holy Dragon Spear her own. By then, Zero Wing would be strong enough to confront any single apex power or royal power. This, in turn, would enable Zero Wing to buy itself more time to strengthen its position. Subsequently, Hidden Soul carried out Shi Fengs instructions and had Zero Wings members travel to the Eternal Realms various NPC Cities. Then, these Zero Wing members started to publicize the effects of the Tower of the Abyss, causing a commotion across the Eternal Realm. Chapter 3768 - Chapter 842 - Uproar in the Eternal Realm Chapter 842 C Uproar in the Eternal Realm Is this a scam? How can a construction provide guidance at the sixth-floor standard? Its fake. Nowhere in the Greater Gods Domain can you find an opportunity to spar with sixth-floor experts. How can a construction achieve such a thing? Why would Zero Wing crazily advertise it like this if its real? Why not benefit from it in silence? Indeed. So long as the various apex and royal powers arent stupid, theyll do everything they can to snatch such an opportunity. Zero Wing would have to be run by idiots to let others know it has such a miraculous construction. I agree! Not to mention, Zero Wing is charging only five Eternal Gold and 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for the opportunity to spar with a sixth-floor expert! How can such a wonderful opportunity exist? This must be a scam! When news of the Tower of the Abyss spread across the various NPC Cities on the Eternal Continent, many players and powers were skeptical. Some even felt that this was an attempt by Zero Wing to trick Tier 6 experts into joining it. After all, since the Sun Dynasty, Sovereign Mark, and Demons Gate started to target it, Zero Wing had lost many of its members, and its strength waned with each passing day. Shadowring Town, Volcano Rat High-Class Bar: Raven, what do you think of the news Zero Wing is spreading? Azure Dragon asked when he overheard the conversation of the independent experts in the bar. Although he, too, found the news too good to be true, he couldnt help but be tempted. The price of five Eternal Gold and 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal was neither high nor low. This was roughly a weeks income for members of the Order of Twelve. Take Verdant Rainbows commission that they accepted, for example. The commission allowed him and Frost Raven to make 10 Eternal Gold each in a week. While losing a weeks income might affect their daily operations, it would definitely be money well spent if they could get an opportunity to fight a sixth-floor expert. After all, they had personally witnessed the might of a Mortal God during their trip to the Crucible of the Ancients. Ink Crystals strength was deeply ingrained in their hearts. It was a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, they were only spectators at the time. They didnt get the opportunity to fight Ink Crystal in person. I dont know, Frost Raven said, shaking her head as she looked out the window at the seven-story tower in the middle of the town. But Guild Leader Black Flame himself released this information. It shouldnt be false. After all, he is the runner-up of the most recent Continental Championship. He wouldnt need to destroy his reputation just to earn some money and resources. Not to mention, he has close ties with the Seven Luminaries Alliances Verdant Rainbow. Of course, I also find Guild Leader Black Flames actions strange. If whats advertised is true, the various apex and royal powers will definitely try to snatch the Tower of the Abyss. Screw it. Lets go and try it, Azure Dragon said, gritting his teeth. If the information turns out to be true, well profit. If its fake, well take it as a learning opportunity and stop interacting with Zero Wing and Black Flame in the future. Others might regard the sixth-floor standard as a myth or legend, but Azure Dragon knew it wasnt a legend. He had witnessed Ink Crystal in action, so he knew it was possible to reach the sixth-floor standard, and he yearned to do so. Now that an opportunity to spar with a sixth-floor expert was presented to him, there was no way he could pass it up, even if there was a chance it was fake. Lets go right away, then, Frost Raven responded, enticed by Azure Dragons words. If it turns out to be true and we go there late, the opportunity might disappear. It went without saying that the opportunity to fight a sixth-floor expert would come at a great price. In Frost Ravens opinion, even if Shi Feng was telling the truth, it was unlikely Zero Wing would share many opportunities with the public. If they missed these limited opportunities, they would regret it for the rest of their lives. Many experts gathered outside the Tower of the Abyss after hearing about it. However, only a few Tier 6 experts actually decided to spend their hard-earned money and resources to test Shi Fengs claims. One minute Two minutes Three minutes As time passed uneventfully, many players outside the tower started to feel bored. However, that changed when the first player exited the tower with a manic expression, dashed to the Zero Wing recruiters nearby, and expressed his wish to join Zero Wing. Immediately, the spectating players lost their calm. Its real! Its actually real! Frost Raven muttered in disbelief as she walked out of the Tower of the Abyss. Although she did not get to fight a sixth-floor expert in the Tower of the Abyss, the list of opponents the tower had provided proved Shi Fengs claims. Not to mention, the fifth-floor opponent she fought in the tower was even more terrifying than Garuda, the number one player of the Holy Races younger generation and a publicly acknowledged Half-step Mortal God. Most importantly, while fighting her fifth-floor opponent, she got an inkling of how to advance to the sixth-floor standard. Madness! Black Flame must be out of his mind! Why would he share such a thing with the public?! Is he not afraid the various apex and royal powers will snatch it?! Azure Dragon stared at the Zero Wing recruiters nearby in confusion. The Tower of the Abysss advertised effects were real. Azure Dragon could easily imagine many independent Tier 6 experts across the Eternal Realm would join Zero Wing once this information spread. However, even if many of these independent experts gathered, it was unlikely they could repulse the various apex and royal powers. After all, there was a significant difference between the combat and equipment standards of independent experts and of the various apex and royal powers experts. Simply put, Zero Wing was destined to lose the Tower of the Abyss. Commander! We should inform the Great Commander about this! If we dont act quickly, we might never get another chance to enter the Tower of the Abyss! Frost Raven stated. Right! Ill go offline immediately! When Azure Dragon heard Frost Ravens reminder, he promptly logged out of the game to report this shocking news to the Order of Twelves Great Commander. At the same time, news about the validation of the Tower of the Abysss effects spread across the Eternal Realm, causing an uproar among the human race and the Holy Race. Many players and powers that initially adopted a wait-and-see stance began to flood Shadowring Town like crazy. They also began to do everything they could to amass Seven Luminaries Crystals, causing the market value of Seven Luminaries Crystals to increase by threefold in just half a day. Even then, demand exceeded supply. In only a day, the Tower of the Abyss earned Shi Feng a net profit of 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Additionally, so many Tier 6 experts joined Zero Wing that the Guilds Tier 6 member count exceeded 30,000. Now, Zero Wing already had as many Tier 6 members as the various apex powers did in the Eternal Realm. Shadowring Town, Zero Wings Residence: As expected of the number one money-printing machine. Shi Feng couldnt help but gasp in amazement as he looked at the 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal that Hidden Soul had delivered to him. If possible, he would have preferred to keep the Tower of the Abyss a secret. However, the discovery of a passage into the Eternal Realm left him with no other choice. With how many Seven Luminaries Crystals I have now, I should be qualified to visit the Abyss Workshop, right? Shi Feng turned his attention to the Abyss Workshop Certification in his bag but couldnt help hesitating a little. Chapter 3769 - Chapter 843 - Abyss Workshop Chapter 843 C Abyss Workshop Should I risk it? Even after taking the Abyss Workshop Certification out of his bag, Shi Feng remained hesitant. Although he had obtained the Abyss Workshop Certification long ago, he could never bring himself to waste his first visit to the Abyss Workshop. The Abyss Workshop. It was a name rarely seen in the history books of the human races Greater Gods Domain. The players who had visited the Abyss Workshop were also few and far between. Yet, the Abyss Workshop was publicly acknowledged as one of the Greater Gods Domains Three Great Workshops. It was a place that gathered the most advanced technologies to have ever appeared in the Greater Gods Domain. It was also one of the most expensive places in the Greater Gods Domain. From what he had heard in his previous life, the Abyss Workshop sold items beyond ones imagination, such as Advanced Epic Combat Puppets that could rival Tier 6 Gods. It was also rumored that on their first visit, each player would be offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase Divine Artifacts and World Sources! Be it Divine Artifacts or World Sources, either could help Shi Feng tremendously. However, although the Abyss Workshop allowed players to acquire incredible items with great convenience, this convenience came with extortionate markups. This, in turn, caused even the smallest transactions to exceed 10 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. With the going rate for Divine Artifacts at 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, Shi Feng didnt even dare to imagine how much he would need to buy a Divine Artifact from the Abyss Workshop. Although World Sources were less valuable than Divine Artifacts, they were much rarer. This was because World Sources typically only appeared after the destruction of a Realm. Most players would spend their lives without ever experiencing such an event, let alone its byproduct. After Shi Feng obtained the Feather of Oath, he had constantly thought about how to repair it. Unfortunately, World Sources were incredibly rare. Even an apex power like the Seven Luminaries Alliance would have difficulty obtaining one. Not to mention, repairing the Feather of Oath required six World Sources. Hence, Shi Feng dared not enter the Abyss Workshop without a sufficiently large stockpile of Seven Luminaries Crystals. He would regret it for the rest of his life if he entered without enough Seven Luminaries Crystals to buy a Divine Artifact or a World Source. Now, though, he had 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal in his possession. This was an amount that even apex powers would have difficulty taking out on short notice. It was also enough to buy two Divine Artifacts. Although the Abyss Workshop imposed extortionate markups on its products, he felt 200 million units should be enough to buy at least one Divine Artifact. To hell with it! After thinking it over, Shi Feng chose to teleport to the Abyss Workshop. With what I have right now, I should be able to afford the average Divine Artifact! I just hope I dont get offered top-tier Divine Artifacts! After entering the Abyss Portal and experiencing an hour-long teleportation, Shi Feng appeared before a shipyard floating in the Void Sea. The entire shipyard was less than a hundred yards in length and width. Compared to Flying Ships that typically measured hundreds of yards, it looked no different from a birdcage. Is this the Abyss Workshop? Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt his eyes as he looked at the small shipyard before him. The Abyss Workshop was one of the Three Great Workshops. Some players in his previous life even felt it deserved to be ranked number one among the Three Great Workshops. Thus, he found it hard to believe the small shipyard before him could have anything to do with the Abyss Workshop. That fellows token still exists in this era? Before Shi Feng could inspect the shipyard, a pleasant female voice came from it. Then, a female elf with long silver hair dressed in shabby work clothes stepped out of the shipyard from a small iron door, yawning as she said, Since you came here with that fellows token, you can come inside. Although the silver-haired elf spoke without any hostility, Shi Feng felt an existential threat. [Enos] (? ? ?) Level ? ? ? HP ? ? ? ? ? ? Besides her name, every other section of the silver-haired elfs personal information was filled with question marks. This was a situation Shi Feng had only encountered once in all his lives, and that was when he came face to face with a Primordial God! Of course, the Primordial God in question wasnt a living one, only the soul of a Primordial God who had died many years ago. Even so, the soul was still many times stronger than the average phantom conjured by a Primordial God. The silver-haired elf, on the other hand, was a living creature. She definitely wasnt a phantom or a soul. Indeed! This led Shi Feng to think of a possibilitythe silver-haired elf was a living Primordial God! An existence that could crush Ancient Gods like ants! You came at the right time. I happen to have a batch of newly made items that I can sell to you, Enos said, yawning as she pointed at a pile of items inside the shipyard. You have five minutes to decide. Leave once your time is up. This isnt a place a little fellow like you should visit right now. Heeding Enoss warning, Shi Feng quickly approached the item pile and scanned it. There were 33 items available for sale, and every one of them made Shi Feng drool. If possible, he would very much want to buy everything. Of the 33 items on sale, 16 were Advanced Epic Combat Puppets, each strong enough to rival Ancient Gods. If these 16 Advanced Epic Combat Puppets operated together, they could form a Small Gold Battle Array that could further strengthen them. Even one of these Advanced Epic Combat Puppets could incite the various apex powers into action if brought to the outside world. However, besides their incredible power, these Advanced Epic Combat Puppets also came with an incredible price tag, each selling for 120 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Aside from the Advanced Epic Combat Puppets, Enos also sold a Legendary Flying Ship, nine Craftsman-ranked Potions, and six World Sources. [God of the North Sea] (Legendary Flying Ship) It has the power to clash with Ancient Gods. Selling Price: 600,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal [Four Gods Potion] (Craftsman Potion) When consumed, the Four Gods Potion grants a permanent improvement to Concentration. Each player can consume up to three bottles in their lifetime. Selling Price: 60,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal [World Source] (Divine Artifact) An item born from the destruction of a Realm. Selling Price: 50,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal While Shi Feng was in awe of Enoss wealth, his gaze fell on the last item in the pilea dark-silver eyeball the size of a fist. He couldnt help but gasp when he saw it. A Primordial Gods Eye? Chapter 3770 - Chapter 844 - Enoss Offer Chapter 844 C Enoss Offer [Primordial Abyssal Eye] (Divine Artifact Rank Material) The Primordial Abyssal Eye is a naturally occurring nucleus that is composed of the power of the Abyss. It was originally broken into three parts by the Eternal Spear, but it has since been repaired by Enos. Unique item. Selling Price: 300,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Shi Feng was rendered speechless when he saw the dark silver eyes information. Poor! He was too poor! Although he brought an amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals that exceeded even the various apex powers normal operating funds, it would seem he had still underestimated the items sold by the Abyss Workshop. To make matters worse, one of the items he desperately needed just so happened to be beyond his budget. No wonder I could never find the core fragments to repair the Abyssal Eye. It turns out all three of them were here. Realization dawned upon Shi Feng as he looked at the complete Primordial Abyssal Eye. The Abyssal Eye was a possession of the Abyssal Lord. If Shi Feng could repair it, it would definitely help him greatly in his Tier 7 promotion. To repair the Abyssal Eye, he had to find the missing fragments of the Primordial Abyssal Eye, which served as the Abyssal Eyes core. Unfortunately, despite tasking many guild members to search for the Primordial Abyssal Eyes fragments, he had come up empty. After seeing the repaired Primordial Abyssal Eye on sale in the Abyss Workshop, Shi Feng promptly understood that the Primordial Abyssal Gods awarding him the Abyss Workshop Certification had actually been a hint. Moreover, if he missed this opportunity to buy the Primordial Abyssal Eye, he would likely lose the opportunity to repair the Abyssal Eye forever. After all, the Primordial Abyssal Eye was a unique item. While Shi Feng hesitated, Enos approached him and lazily waved her hand at the pile of items before him. Immediately, the items disappeared, and a list of items appeared in Shi Fengs hands. Now that youve seen the items, have you decided what to buy? Enos asked with a friendly smile as she pointed at the list. My products are of high quality and low price. If you miss this opportunity, there wont be a next time. Shi Feng didnt know whether to laugh or cry at Enoss words. The items Enos sold were indeed of high quality. However, none were things that the average player could afford. In fact, even pseudo-apex powers would find it difficult to afford them. Lady Enos, can you give me a discount if I buy in bulk? Shi Feng asked, gritting his teeth. He definitely couldnt afford the Primordial Abyssal Eye. However, the lower-priced Advanced Epic Combat Puppets, Four Gods Potions, and World Sources were all things he wanted very much. Yet, there was no point in buying just one or two units of these items, as they could only exhibit their value in sets. Firstly, the Advanced Epic Combat Puppets. A group of sixteen could form a Small Gold Battle Array, but even only three could still form a Small Silver Battle Array and become a fearsome force in the outside world. Secondly, the Four Gods Potions. Three bottles could increase a players Concentration standard from the Tier 6 Intermediate standard to the Tier 6 Limit standard, which would enable the player to utilize 100% of a Divine Artifacts potential. In the current Zero Wing, where a few members had already developed their Concentration to the Tier 6 Intermediate standard, the Four Gods Potion would be of significant help. Lastly, the World Sources. With six World Sources, Shi Feng could return the Feather of Oath to its former glory, turning it into an item that could be used against Primordial God-ranked existences. Unfortunately, even if Shi Feng wanted to purchase these items in sets, three Four Gods Potions were all he could afford with his 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. My prices are final, Enos stated firmly. Do you buy items here, Lady Enos? Shi Feng asked, still unwilling to give up. I have some precious items in my possession. I hope to exchange them for Seven Luminaries Crystals. Besides selling items, it was common for NPC Shops in Gods Domain to buy items from players. The only problem was that most NPCs were only willing to purchase high-value items. Currently, he had plenty of precious items in his possession, such as Divine Water of Life and Eternal God Crystals. He even had a Divine Artifact he couldnt use. If Enos was willing to accept the Sunlight Blade, he could exchange it for a significant sum of Seven Luminaries Crystals even at 10% of its going rate. Forget it. I dont accept items here, either, Enos said, smiling. Then, looking at Shi Fengs anxious expression, she continued, If you really want the items on the list, I can give you an opportunity. An opportunity? What opportunity? Shi Feng sighed in relief when he heard Enos making him an offer. He knew this was likely a lifeline the Primordial Abyssal God had prepared for him. After all, under normal circumstances, nobody would think to bring 300 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on their first visit to the Abyss Workshop. Even the Guild Leaders of apex powers would most likely be forced to watch their precious opportunity fly away. You should have heard of the Twenty-Two Taboos, right? Enos said, grinning as if she could see through all of Shi Fengs thoughts. This is a threshold you must cross in the future. It just happens that I need a particular material. This material can only be obtained from the Undying Mother, one of the Twenty-Two Taboos. So long as you agree to kill the Undying Mother and bring me its Undying Tentacle, I can sell you all of the items here at cost. When you attempt to cross that threshold in the future, I will even help you halve the difficulty. What do you think? System: Congratulations! You have triggered the Mythical World Main Storyline Quest The Past World. Do you accept it? Quest Content: Kill the Undying Mother in three months. Rewards unknown. Kill the Undying Mother? Shi Feng couldnt help but wonder if the system was joking with him. The Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboo Bosses were not equals. In fact, there was a huge disparity in strength among them. If one were to consider the 22nd-ranked Taboo to be only strong enough to give Ancient Gods a headache, the Undying Mother would be a disaster that could devour Ancient Gods. In his previous life, a 100-man team from the Holy Race had snuck past the frontlines to raid the Undying Mother. The team consisted of some old monsters from the Holy Race and several dozen experts from the Holy Races Transcendent List. In the end, not only did they team-wipe, but every member of the team also suffered a permanent death. Although the Holy Race had tried its best to keep the matter a secret, the human race eventually learned about it since the battle took place in human territory. While the details of the battle remained unknown, it was discovered that at least 30 members of the raid team had been equipped with Divine Artifacts. In addition, even the weakest member of the raid team was a Level 230 expert at the fifth-floor standard who could use Gold Holy Arts. Nevertheless, the raid team had failed to last even a minute against the Undying Mother. Of course, you are free to refuse. Its all up to you, Enos said, shrugging. You have one minute left. Sure enough, good things dont come easy When Shi Feng saw Enoss behavior, he had a sneaking suspicion that the amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals he brought did not actually matter. Even if he had come with significantly greater amounts of Seven Luminaries Crystals, Enos would probably not let him leave with anything good unless he accepted her Mythic-ranked World Main Storyline Quest. After thinking up to this point, he gritted his teeth and said, Fine! You have a deal! Chapter 3771 - Chapter 845 - Complete Abyssal Eye Chapter 845 C Complete Abyssal Eye When Shi Feng accepted Enoss offer, a series of system notifications rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! You have accepted the Mythical World Main Storyline Quest The Past World. Quest Content: Kill the Undying Mother and obtain its Undying Tentacle in three months. Rewards unknown. System: You have accepted The Past World Quest. Enoss Favorability for you has increased by 20 points. All items in the Abyss Workshop can be purchased at cost. System: The Undying Mother senses your existence and curses your soul. As time goes by, your soul will gradually weaken until it ceases to exist. Following the system notifications, the prices on the list in Shi Fengs hands underwent drastic changes. Advanced Epic Combat Puppets were now 40 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal each, down from 120 million. The God of the North Sea Flying Ship now cost only 350 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, down from 600 million units. Four Gods Potions were now 30 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal each, down from 60 million. World Sources were now 35 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal each, down from 50 million. The Primordial Abyssal Eye now cost only 80 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, down from 300 million units. Youve made a smart choice. But dont forget: you only have three months. You must bring me the Undying Tentacle in three months, Enos said. Also, youd best act within 45 days. Otherwise, your soul will become too weak to confront the Undying Mother. If you dont have any questions, hurry up and buy what you want. You have thirty seconds left. As expected of a Mythic-ranked World Main Storyline Quest. Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised by Enoss warning. He immediately returned his attention to the list in his hands. A Mythic-ranked World Main Storyline Quest naturally wouldnt be an easy quest to complete. He was well aware of this. It was unreasonable to expect him to kill the Undying Mother in 90 days, let alone 45 days. Even if the entire human race came together, he doubted they could find a way to kill the Undying Mother in such a short time. However, Enos was a Primordial God-ranked existence. She must know he lacked the capabilities to complete her quest. Yet, she still placed a three-month time limit on her quest. This must mean that once he accepted the quest, there would be a lifeline he could rely on to complete it. As for what that lifeline was, it was most likely the Primordial Abyssal Eye! I want to buy the Primordial Abyssal Eye, Shi Feng said without hesitation. I also want three World Sources. If there was anything he could use to kill a Taboo Boss like the Undying Mother, it would have to be the complete Abyssal Eye. After all, the Abyssal Eye was the Abyssal Lords possession. It could exhibit power far beyond the average Divine Artifact at its peak. If he leveraged it effectively, killing the Undying Mother wouldnt be out of the question. So long as he killed the Undying Mother, not only could he complete Enoss quest, but he could also obtain a Taboo Nucleus and challenge his Tier 7 promotion. Are you not going to choose the Advanced Epic Combat Puppets? Enos looked at Shi Feng in surprise. She hadnt thought Shi Feng would spend his remaining Seven Luminaries Crystals on World Sources rather than Advanced Epic Combat Puppets, which could help him against the Undying Mother. Nevertheless, she quickly took out the four items Shi Feng requested and said, One Primordial Abyssal Eye and three World Sources. Your total comes to 185 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Im fine with the World Sources. Heres 185 million units, Shi Feng said as he handed Enos the majority of his Seven Luminaries Crystals. When he received the Primordial Abyssal Eye and World Sources, he couldnt help but look at them zealously. Enoss Advanced Epic Combat Puppets were indeed amazing. A group of sixteen could form a Small Gold Battle Array and gain the strength to rival Ancient Gods. Even if he bought just three or four, they could still help him greatly in his conquest of the Undying Mother. However, the Abyss Workshop wasnt the only source of Advanced Epic Combat Puppets for Shi Feng. With enough Seven Luminaries Crystals, Shi Feng could modify and strengthen the Advanced Dark-Gold God Slayer Combat Puppets to the Advanced Epic rank. Even if the God Slayer Combat Puppets turned out to be inferior to Enoss combat puppets, the difference shouldnt be too significant. But it was a different story for World Sources. They were items that might only appear after a Realms destruction. Who knew when he would get another chance to acquire World Sources so easily? Suit yourself, Enos said, shrugging, as she couldnt understand Shi Fengs thoughts. Then, she waved her hand at Shi Feng and continued, Since youre done shopping, its time to leave. Immediately, Shi Feng felt a powerful force pulling him from behind and into a space-time passage. When he came to his senses, he was already back in his office in Shadowring Town. Is this a Primordial Gods strength? When Shi Feng saw that he was back in his office, he couldnt help but be amazed by Enos. The difference between them was so massive that he didnt even have time to react to the other partys actions. It was no longer a difference that could be compensated with Basic Attributes. While Shi Feng recalled Enoss capabilities, Red Frost suddenly called him. Guild Leader Black Flame, its almost the appointed time. Are we not leaving yet? Red Frost asked, feeling a little puzzled as she looked at Shi Fengs somewhat dazed expression. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary is far from the Starlight Realm. Although I have a Tier 6 Teleportation Passage Scroll for the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, the journey will still take several hours. If we dont leave soon, we might not make it Leave? But isnt there still a day to When Shi Feng heard Red Frosts question, his first thought was that they still had plenty of time. However, before he finished his sentence, he suddenly recalled that not all places in Gods Domain experienced the same time flow. Thus, he quickly changed his words and said, Okay, well leave right away. Previously, he had already discussed with Red Frost that they would visit Holy Dragon Spears headquarters together. After all, Zero Wing needed to partner with Holy Dragon Spear to raid Taboo Bosses in the future. As Zero Wings Guild Leader, he naturally had to be present when Red Frost participated in Holy Dragon Spears Battle of the Chosen Ones. Ill go to you now, Red Frost said, nodding before hanging up. After concluding his call with Red Frost, Shi Feng had Hidden Soul deliver the Tower of the Abysss recent profits to him. Then, he carefully took out the Primordial Abyssal Eye from his bag. System: The Abyssal Eye has discovered the missing fragments of its core. Do you wish to repair the Abyssal Eye with the Primordial Abyssal Eye? Repair it! Shi Feng chose to repair the Abyssal Eye after taking a deep breath. TL Notes: [1]Battle of the Chosen Ones: I have decided to capitalize battle of the chosen ones. Ive already made the changes to previous chapters. Chapter 3772 - Chapter 846 - Tier 7 Skill Chapter 846 C Tier 7 Skill TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 160: Added a sentence to the Abyssal Eyes description: It is a naturally occurring Abyssal Relic composed of the power of the Abyss. TLs interpretation: An Abyssal Relic (Ԩ) can be considered the Abysss version of a Godly Relic ( / ). Zero Wings Residence, Guild Leaders Office: When Shi Feng agreed to repair the Abyssal Eye, one of his rings suddenly shattered into black tendrils and wrapped around the dark silver eyeball in Shi Fengs hand. Meanwhile, the previously dull-looking eyeball suddenly moved, its pupil contracting and dilating like a pulsating heart. Following this rhythm, spatial ripples spread from the Primordial Abyssal Eye and the black tendrils, turning the office space into a dark void. A few seconds later, the dark silver eyeball morphed into a swarm of dark silver divine runes, which flowed into the black tendrils and repaired their fractured divine patterns. When the last divine rune disappeared, the spatial ripples subsided, and a gold ring etched with layers of silver divine patterns appeared in Shi Fengs palm. Thank goodness Shadowring Town isnt an ordinary Guild Town. Shi Feng sighed in relief as he looked at the void around him and his offices magic barrier. The magic barrier that protected his office could withstand a bombardment from Tier 6 attacks. Yet, it had cracked when the spatial ripples struck it. The power of the spatial ripples could already rival that of Tier 6 Curses. If these spatial ripples had appeared in the average Guild Town, they would have demolished the entire town. Even the average Guild City might not survive. Recovering from his surprise, Shi Feng directed his gaze to the Abyssal Eye in his palm. [Abyssal Eye] (Ring, Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Strength 20,000, Agility 10,000 All Attributes (Increases according to the users level) When equipped: Increases all Attributes by 200%; Reduces all hostile dark-type effects by 90%; Ignore Levels +20 Additional Skill 1: Dark Cluster. Continuously cause dark damage to a radius of 1,000,000 yards for ten seconds. (Up to Tier 7) Cooldown: 20 natural days Additional Skill 2: Abyssal Will. Grants the wearer the power of the Abyss, increasing Defense by 500%, Strength by 400%, Agility by 300%, Physique by 300%, and Endurance by 400%. Also increases Concentration by one rank. (Up to Tier 7) Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 10 natural days Possession of the Abyssal Lord. It is a naturally occurring Abyssal Relic composed of the power of the Abyss. It has the power to control the Abyss. Tier 7? The Abyssal Eyes updated stats dumbfounded Shi Feng. The highest known tier that could appear in the current human races Greater Gods Domain was Tier 6. Even the mighty Ancient Gods could only use up to Tier 6 Taboo Skills and Curses. No person or object could exceed this limit. Not even Divine Artifacts could do so. Thus, the existence of Tier 7 Skills and Spells was as illusory as Primordial Gods. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to call them myths. No wonder I have to kill the Undying Mother! As Shi Feng looked at the repaired Abyssal Eye, he suddenly understood why Enos had given him such an unreasonable quest. Considering how Skills and Spells were categorized, Tier 6 Taboo Skills and Curses should theoretically be comparable to Tier 7 Skills and Spells. However, Shi Feng felt otherwise when he weighed the difference in strength between Ancient Gods and Primordial Gods. Thus, while the Undying Mother might be an existence that Ancient Gods feared, it would most likely end up dead or heavily injured if struck by a Tier 7 Skill or Spell. If the Undying Mother became heavily injured, killing it would become much easier. Its a pity Dark Cluster has a twenty-day Cooldown. Shi Feng was slightly disappointed as he looked at the Abyssal Rings first Skill. If Dark Cluster had a shorter cooldown, like ten days or so, he could have tested it out before the fight against the Undying Mother. Now, he could only fly blind. After inspecting the Abyssal Eyes stats, Shi Feng equipped it with great expectation. Immediately, he felt an unprecedented sense of relief spread across his body, and the surrounding void started to warp in his presence. As expected of an Abyssal Relic! Shi Feng was astonished when he checked his stats. Now, my Basic Attributes are already at the standard of a Level 220, Tier 6 expert equipped with two Divine Artifacts! In Gods Domain, as long as players had Level 200-plus equipment, they could expect the Basic Attributes their equipment granted to increase by at least 10% for every five levels they climbed beyond Level 200. Thus, a massive difference existed between a Level 200 players Basic Attributes and a Level 220 players Basic Attributes. Currently, his level just so happened to be at Level 200. With his Superior Divine Body, the Shadow Incinerator, the upgraded God Chaser Set, which granted him the Basic Attributes of a full set of Level 220 Legendary Equipment, the Dragons Fury Secret Treasure Set, etc., he could easily match the Basic Attributes of a Level 200, Tier 6 player equipped with three Divine Artifacts. Nevertheless, his Basic Attributes still werent up to the Level 220 standard. More specifically, he remained slightly inferior to a Level 220, Tier 6 player fully equipped with Legendary Equipment and armed with a Divine Weapon. However, after he equipped the Abyssal Eye, his Basic Attributes skyrocketed, pushing him to heights he had never achieved, even in his previous life. Based on his estimates, he should now match Level 220, Tier 6 experts equipped with two Divine Artifacts in Basic Attributes. Shortly after Shi Feng finished redecorating his office, Red Frost arrived. Guild Leader, lets go. If we wait any longer, we might be late for our meeting with Yilong, Red Frost urged when she saw Shi Feng counting Seven Luminaries Crystals. Okay. Shi Feng nodded and put away the nearly 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal he had received from Hidden Soul. Then, he activated a World-Breaking Gate to the Starlight Realm. After crossing the World-Breaking Gate and entering the Void Sea, Red Frost promptly took out a purple-red scroll made from dragon hide. The dragon skin scroll was like a living Tier 6 Dragon. When Red Frost unfurled it, it unleashed a roar that scared most of the Tier 5 and Tier 6 players within a hundred thousand yards into fleeing. Only a few Tier 6 teams dared to resist the flow, carefully approaching the source of the roar. However, when these Tier 6 teams reached the source, Shi Feng and Red Frost had long since disappeared from the Void Sea. All that remained was a collapsing and shrinking teleportation passage that radiated powerful Mana and Dragon Might. Chapter 3773 - Chapter 847 - Meeting the Shimmering Sword Again Chapter 847 C Meeting the Shimmering Sword Again Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Flame Vein Holy City, Teleportation Hall: A pillar of light rose from one of the teleportation arrays in the Teleportation Hall. Then, a group of players emerged from the light; Shi Feng and Red Frost walked among the group. What an incredible city. The Tier 6 population here is already comparable to the Eternal Realms. When Shi Feng scanned the interior of the Teleportation Hall, he found that over 20% of the people in the crowded building were Tier 6 players. He had only ever seen such a high proportion of Tier 6 players in the Eternal Realm, which was a gathering place for the Greater Gods Domains experts. Tier 6 was a massive threshold in the Greater Gods Domain that only a small minority of players could reach. For context, the average Elementary Gods Domain could give birth to only 100 or so Tier 6 players. Thus, any player who could successfully reach Tier 6 would be considered a frontline combatant and treated as a guest by hegemonic powers. Yet, Flame Vein Holy Citys Teleportation Hall alone currently hosted over a thousand Tier 6 players. Some of them were even at Level 220 or above. This was considered a rare sight, even in the Holy Cities of other Sanctuaries. Today is just special, Red Frost explained. Today is when Holy Dragon Spear hosts its Battle of the Chosen Ones. As anyone is welcome to buy a ticket to spectate the competition, many Tier 6 players have come running here. Youd be lucky to see even one-third of the Tier 6 players here during normal times. I see. Shi Feng immediately came to a realization. Battles between apex experts, especially experts on the Divine Glory List, were a good learning opportunity for the average Tier 6 player. But as these battles rarely occurred, the average Tier 6 player could only rely on battle videos, which were much less effective for learning. Thus, the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer teams Battle of the Chosen Ones was a golden opportunity for many Tier 6 players. In a situation where Tier 7 was inaccessible, the significance of combat standards would exceed equipment standards once players reached Tier 6. Meanwhile, the chosen ones nurtured by the various pseudo-apex and apex powers were all experts who had learned techniques inaccessible to the average Tier 6 player in the Greater Gods Domain. If the average Tier 6 player could learn one or even half of a technique from these chosen ones, it would elevate their combat standard to the next level. Hence, many Tier 6 players had come running to spectate Holy Dragon Spears Battle of the Chosen Ones. In reality, if not for the teleportation inside the Twelve Sanctuaries costing an exorbitant amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals, Flame Vein Holy City would have already been packed with Tier 6 players. After leaving the Teleportation Hall, Red Frost led Shi Feng through the citys bustling streets. Because of her familiarity with the citys layout, they quickly arrived in front of a large Battle Arena in the heart of the Holy City. The Battle Arena was the size of a town. It had over 30 entrances, and 100 members of Holy Dragon Spear guarded each one. These Holy Dragon Spear members were all fifth-floor experts at Level 220 or above. They were fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment, and the party leaders among them were even equipped with eight-piece Legendary Equipment Sets and Combat-ranked Secret Treasures. Executives of hegemonic powers would be embarrassed if they compared equipment standards with these Holy Dragon Spear members. These 100-man teams were comparable to the various apex powers trump card legions. Just one of them could overpower any power operating in the current Eternal Realm. Following Shi Feng and Red Frosts arrival, two individuals waiting outside the Battle Arenas main entrance approached them. The two individuals were Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf. Compared to their appearances in the real world, Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf looked somewhat different in Gods Domain. Xiao Yilong was already a giant in the real world, his muscular body reaching three meters. However, he was even taller in Gods Domain, coming in at four meters. He was also a Level 230 High Demidragon fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifact-ranked equipment, and his shield was even a complete Divine Artifact. As for Twilight Leaf, she was a Level 225 Catkin Swordsman. She looked much less like a fairy in Gods Domain, having adopted a wild temperament instead. Although her equipment standard was inferior to that of Xiao Yilong, she still possessed a mix of Fragmented Divine Artifact- and Legendary-ranked equipment. The crystalline sword on her back also radiated the aura of a Divine Artifact. What took you two so long? I nearly thought you wouldnt show up, Xiao Yilong grumbled as he looked at Shi Feng. When he turned to Red Frost and saw that she was only Level 223 and fully equipped with Legendary Equipment, he couldnt help but sigh, I already talked to the old commander and the others about your situation. They have agreed that they will support you in capturing a Void Fortress so long as you can come in second place in the Battle of the Chosen Ones and last ten moves against the champion. Otherwise, there will be no further discussion Just ten moves against the champion? Xiao Yilongs words surprised Red Frost. She didnt think the adventurer teams old commander, Elders, and Grand Elders conditions to help her would be so simple. The Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team nurtured ten chosen ones this generation. The prerequisite for becoming a chosen one was to reach the fifth-floor standard. Thus, although the chosen ones werent equally talented, the difference in combat standards among them was minor. Unless there was a huge disparity in equipment standards, it was unlikely for a match between Holy Dragon Spears two strongest chosen ones to conclude under 50 moves. Do you think its a low requirement? Xiao Yilong asked, having seen through Red Frosts thoughts. Then, his expression suddenly darkened as he asked, How many exchanges do you think I can last against the adventurer teams strongest chosen one? Twenty? Red Frost answered in an uncertain tone. Shi Feng also turned to look at Xiao Yilong, curious to learn how strong Holy Dragon Spears strongest chosen one was currently. Five, Xiao Yilong said after taking a deep breath. I fought her after I returned from visiting you, and I lost after only five exchanges. Moreover, I only lasted that long because I am a Shield Warrior. Otherwise, the fight could have ended after the third exchange. How many exchanges do you think you can last? Twilight Leaf wore a downcast expression. She knew this news would likely come as a great shock to Red Frost. Only five exchanges? Shi Feng suddenly smiled when he heard Xiao Yilongs answer. It seems Holy Dragon Spears strongest chosen one will indeed be a good opponent for Commander Frost. Before training at the Tower of the Abyss, Red Frost would have indeed lost a fight against Holy Dragon Spears strongest chosen one. However, after training at the Tower of the Abyss for the past three days, Red Frost had reached the sixth-floor standard and was now vastly stronger than before. You Have you been listening to me? Im talking about an actual fight in Gods Domain here! Xiao Yilong snarled as he glared at Shi Feng, who was only at Level 200. Shi Fengs calm demeanor enraged him, and he wanted nothing more than to fight Shi Feng once more to demonstrate his true strength. However, before Xiao Yilong could challenge Shi Feng again, their surroundings suddenly grew noisy. When Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf turned to check the commotion, a hint of fear suddenly flashed in their eyes. At this time, two women could be seen walking toward the Battle Arenas main entrance. Both were elves. One of them looked younger than 20 and had blond, curly hair. She was at Level 227, carried an emerald staff, and wore a white robe. The other elven woman was a Swordsman in her mid-twenties. She had long light blue hair topped with a silver crown, and a rapier hung at her waist. Laura? Shi Feng was stunned when he saw the elven Swordsman. Chapter 3774 - Chapter 848 - Holy Dragon Spears Little Monster? Chapter 848 C Holy Dragon Spears Little Monster? Do you know that Swordsman? Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf couldnt help but turn to Shi Feng in astonishment when they overheard his mutterings. Of course. Shes my friend, Shi Feng said, puzzled by Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leafs reaction. Why? Do you bear a grudge against her? Nothing to that extent, Xiao Yilong said, shaking his head. Then, while watching the two eye-catching elves enter the Battle Arena, he added tentatively, I just know that her origins are extraordinary and that she is a ruthless person. Extraordinary origins? Shi Feng grew even more confused. Shi Feng knew the origins of the woman named Laura Crader very well. After all, he was the one who had brought Laura out of the Stratified Abyssal Realm. However, after the explosion in the World Passage, Shi Feng had never seen Laura again. Although he had scoured the Eternal Realm and tasked Fervent Samsaras subordinates with looking into Lauras whereabouts after they garrisoned Gazing Moon City, nothing had turned up. Originally, Shi Feng had already thought of giving up his search. He hadnt expected to encounter Laura in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. He also never imagined Laura could have reached Level 221 already. Her leveling speed was simply phenomenal. Additionally, her aura was starkly different; she now gave off the feeling of an unsheathed blade. For a moment, Shi Feng had even wondered if he was looking at someone else. That woman joined Holy Dragon Spear under the Great Commanders recommendation, Xiao Yilong said in a hushed tone after checking his surroundings. When she first arrived, she hadnt even reached Level 160. Yet, the Great Commander granted her the position of Honorary Elder, putting her status just below his in the adventurer team. He even assigned her to be Heisers instructor later on. Initially, the little monster was very dissatisfied by the decision. However, she somehow convinced Heiser to become her student in just half a day. Back then, that little monster was a brat who behaved as she wanted in front of anyone. Not even the Great Commander could do anything about her. Yet, that woman managed to tame that little monster Heiser? Little monster? Recalling the elf with blond, curly hair, Shi Feng asked, Are you referring to that elven Mage God from just now? Yes, Xiao Yilong said, sighing helplessly. She is Heiser, the Divine Songstress. She is our adventurer teams strongest chosen one and Red Frosts strongest opponent in todays competition. Divine Songstress Heiser? Shi Feng was again puzzled as he searched his memories. As far as he could recall, nobody in the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team went by the name of Heiser. Or, more specifically, nobody well-known in the adventurer team went by that name. After Holy Dragon Spears battle against the Sun Dynasty and Sovereign Mark in his previous life, the adventurer team became a hot topic across the human races Greater Gods Domain. Practically everyone gossiped about Holy Dragon Spear in their free time. Back then, even the Tier 6 party leaders of Holy Dragon Spear were widely known, let alone the adventurer teams chosen ones. It should be known that Xiao Yilong was considered one of Holy Dragon Spears top three Shield Warriors. Based on Xiao Yilongs claims, Heiser should be superior to him in both strength and fame in Holy Dragon Spear, so there was no way she would have been unknown in Shi Fengs previous life. Yet, Shi Feng could not recall any information about her. Lets hurry inside. The competition is about to start. Big Sis Frost still needs to get registered, Twilight Leaf urged when she saw Shi Feng lost in thought. At Twilight Leafs reminder, Xiao Yilong looked at the time and quickly ushered Shi Feng and Red Frost into the Battle Arena. The Flame Vein Battle Arena was Holy Dragon Spears most prized construction. This was because it was a Special Construction. In Gods Domain, most Guild Cities would only have an Advanced Battle Arena. The Advanced Battle Arena could accommodate about 200,000 to 300,000 people and allow players to fight under equal levels and Basic Attributes. It also offered players a combat environment that was more conducive to learning. The Battle Arenas owner could also host competitions that offered rewards to attract customers. Coming after the Advanced Battle Arena was the Peak Battle Arena. This construction could only be found in the Holy Cities operated by apex powers and a few pseudo-apex powers. It could accommodate up to 500,000 people and allow players to fight a perfect simulation of themselves, letting them discover their flaws more easily. As for Holy Dragon Spears Special Battle Arena, it was vastly superior to even the various apex powers Peak Battle Arenas. In addition to being able to accommodate one million people, it could also let spectators experience fights from a first-person perspective. For this reason, the Flame Vein Battle Arena was extremely popular at all times, and it was a challenge just to buy a ticket to enter the Battle Arena. Flame Vein Battle Arena, VIP Seating Area: When Shi Feng and Xiao Yilong entered the VIP seating area, hundreds of pairs of eyes immediately scrutinized Shi Feng. Ive never seen that person before. Is he Xiao Yilongs acquaintance? Hes Black Flame. Hes currently a top-300 expert on the Divine Glory List. I heard he is supporting Red Frost to compete for the position of Great Commander. A mere top-300 expert dares meddle in these waters? Does he not know Heiser has Ember Dragon backing her? Its not surprising. He isnt the first person to try such a thing in our Sanctuary. He probably thinks he can establish a foothold in our Sanctuary after killing one of the Holy Races Holy Children and entering the Divine Glory Lists top 300. Unfortunately, he has no idea such achievements are worthless here. Xiao Yilong has also fallen behind the times to throw his support behind Red Frost. Once this farce ends, hell probably have to retire to the second line. As for Black Flame, hell know his place once he watches the Battle of the Chosen Ones. The executives of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys various powers started a discussion among themselves as they watched Shi Feng take his seat. Although they spoke softly, they did not speak in private channels. Thus, Xiao Yilong could hear every word they said. Unfortunately, despite his frustration, he could do nothing but swallow his grievances. The people sitting in the VIP seating area were big shots in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Outside of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, few people knew of them. But as someone who had grown up in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Xiao Yilong knew that even the weakest of them was as strong as the Divine Glory Lists top 50 experts. They had simply faded from peoples memories after their long absence from the Greater Gods Domains spotlight. Amidst the discussions of the VIP seating areas occupants, the first match-up in the Battle of the Chosen Ones was announced. Divine Songstress Heiser vs Sky Piercer Red Frost! Chapter 3775 - Chapter 849 - Holy Dragon Spears Strongest Chapter 849 C Holy Dragon Spears Strongest Flame Vein Battle Arena, VIP Seating Area: I didnt expect we would get to watch such an exciting first match. A face-off between the current and former number one chosen ones. Rarely has such a situation occurred in Holy Dragon Spears history. I heard that Red Frosts condition has improved. If she has recovered her peak strength, we will be in for an interesting match. So what if Red Frost has recovered her peak strength? Dont forget that Heiser is the most monstrous talent Holy Dragon Spear has nurtured in the last couple of centuries. She has long since caught up to Red Frosts peak. Not to mention, Ember Dragon recently gave her a Peak Gold Combat Techniques Legacy Guidance. With Heisers talent, she has probably grasped it completely already. Dammit! How lucky can Holy Dragon Spear get? First, there was Red Frost. Now, there is Heiser! With such monsters, I bet it wont be long before Holy Dragon Spear climbs a few ranks higher in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. When the big shots in the VIP seating area saw the first match-up, some exclaimed in surprise, while some sighed ruefully. The majority, though, expressed their curiosity about Heisers current strength and Holy Dragon Spears future ranking in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary was one of the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries, and it was rumored that its existence predated the Greater Gods Domain. Many ancient families and powers operated in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, with those at the pseudo-apex standard numbering as many as eight. However, due to the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary having many Taboo Dungeons and Taboo Resources, competition within the Sanctuary was incredibly fierce. To prevent outside forces from invading and stealing these Taboo Dungeons and Taboo Resources, the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys various powers had agreed to form a united front when dealing with outsiders. Additionally, they had agreed not to wage large-scale wars against one another. Instead, they would periodically host team competitions to decide how many Taboo Dungeons and Taboo Resources each power could occupy. These team competitions restricted each participating team to 100 members. Due to this restriction, every participant mattered. Thus, the advent of Heiser and the return of Red Frost would benefit Holy Dragon Spear greatly. Holy Dragon Spear was already the fifth-ranked power in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. If it could raise its rank by even one, the number of Taboo Dungeons and Taboo Resources it could own would increase by a large margin. While the VIP spectators conversed, several dozen Level 230-plus, Tier 6 experts entered the VIP seating area. Upon seeing these experts, many VIP spectators rose from their seats to greet the two men leading the group. Of the two men, one was a middle-aged elf with graying hair, while the other was a young demidragon with two pitch-black wings sprouting from his back. The middle-aged elf was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, and his level reached 239. This was a level that few players could reach in the Greater Gods Domain. As for the young demidragon, though his level only reached 235, he was also fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Additionally, the presence of Elemental Laws could be vaguely seen in his pale golden eyes. Great Commander? Why are you here? When Xiao Yilong saw the middle-aged elf, he promptly went to greet the other party with a confused expression. Has the problem at the passage been dealt with? The middle-aged elf was South Lake, the Holy Dragon Hunter. He was Holy Dragon Spears strongest member as well as the adventurer teams Great Commander. After Holy Dragon Spear discovered the entrance to the Eternal Realm, he promptly left to preside over the situation there to prevent other powers from having any nefarious ideas. The situation at the passage has been stabilized. So, when Vice Guild Leader Ember expressed interest in our Battle of the Chosen Ones, I dared not ignore his request, South Lake said with a smile. As South Lake spoke, Xiao Yilong glanced at the young demidragon beside South Lake, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes. Ember Dragon! He was the First Vice Guild Leader of the Dragon God Palace, one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. He was also known as the Uncrowned War God, one of the Divine Glory Lists top ten experts. Most importantly, he was the thief who had stolen Red Frosts fortuitous opportunity and used it to become a powerhouse that few powers in the Greater Gods Domain dared to provoke. You flatter me, Great Commander South Lake. I am but a Vice Guild Leader of the Dragon God Palace, Ember Dragon said with a faint smile. He behaved like he did not notice Xiao Yilongs expression of disgust. I came here hoping the Dragon God Palace could establish a partnership with Holy Dragon Spear. If we work together, I am certain our future achievements in the Eternal Realm can rival the various apex powers. Ember Dragons words greatly shocked the various powers executives present. As the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys first-ranked power, the Dragon God Palace possessed incredible strength already. It was also one of the first ten powers to discover the Eternal Realms entrance. If Holy Dragon Spear partnered with the Dragon God Palace, they could establish control over the entrance. This, in turn, would allow their strength to skyrocket in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Great Commander, are we really going to partner with the Dragon God Palace? Xiao Yilong was similarly shocked by the news. It should be known that Red Frost wasnt the only one who suffered from Ember Dragons actions. Holy Dragon Spear, as a whole, also suffered immensely. After all, the adventurer team had sacrificed many experts while competing for the ruin, with the faction that Red Frost and Xiao Yilong belonged to having sacrificed the most. Yet, they had nothing to show for their sacrifices. To make matters worse, Holy Dragon Spears rank in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary kept falling afterward, and only recently did it climb to fifth place. Originally, Xiao Yilong thought that things would start to turn around for their faction now that Red Frost had recovered. But if Holy Dragon Spear truly partnered with the Dragon God Palace, neither Red Frost nor their faction would ever be able to see the light of day again Its not decided yet, which is why I returned. I will use the competition results to discuss this matter with the Elders and Grand Elders. Youll naturally know the outcome after our discussion, South Lake said, looking at Xiao Yilong calmly. Alright, enough of this topic! Lets watch the competition! Xiao Yilong dared not object. As he was merely a vice commander in Holy Dragon Spear, he had neither the strength nor authority to question South Lakes decisions. Frost, its all up to you now Xiao Yilong prayed as he turned to the ring to look at Red Frost. South Lake already made his intentions clear: he would decide based on the Elders and Grand Elders decisions. If Red Frost managed to win enough Elders and Grand Elders to her side after the Battle of the Chosen Ones, the partnership with the Dragon God Palace would fall through. However, if Red Frost couldnt win enough support, she would no longer have a place in Holy Dragon Spear. Chapter 3776 - Chapter 850 - Divine Songstress vs Sky Piercer Chapter 850 C Divine Songstress vs Sky Piercer Flame Vein Holy City, Flame Vein Battle Arena: As Red Frost and Heiser stepped into the ring, a primeval forest materialized around them, indicating the start of the match. The crowd outside the ring burst into excitement at this sight, and even the spectators in the VIP seating area quickly took their seats. The VIP seating area was on the top floor of the Battle Arena. When the match began, the entire floor split into a hundred private rooms suspended above the ring. Occupants of these rooms could not only overlook the entire arena through the floor-to-ceiling windows but also watch the battle from a distance of 20 to 30 yards. Dragon God Palaces VIP Room: Vice Guild Leader Ember, is she your former rival? a young man covered in dark gray bandages asked as he looked at Red Frost, who was currently equipped with a suit of white holy armor and wielded a crimson spear. She doesnt look like anything great. Arent you making a mountain out of a molehill by coming here in person? If the occupants of the other VIP rooms could hear how the young man spoke to Ember Dragon, they would be frightened. They would also assume his life would be forfeited. Ember Dragon was the First Vice Guild Leader of the Dragon God Palace, one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. He was also one of the Divine Glory Lists top ten experts. Few people in the Greater Gods Domain would dare criticize him. Even the Dragon God Palaces Guild Leader had to behave politely when dealing with Ember Dragon. Yet, the young man covered in bandages openly criticized him. However, the bandage-wearing young mans behavior did not arouse any reaction from the dozen or so Dragon God Palace members present. Even Ember Dragon himself did not show the slightest hint of displeasure. Instead, he maintained a calm expression, behaving like this situation was normal. How can she possibly be my rival? After glancing at Red Frost, Ember Dragon said, Even if she has fully recovered, I can still defeat her in a few moves under the same Basic Attributes. I only came here this time to check on Heiser. Is that little girl strong? the bandage-wearing young man asked, feeling a little surprised when he saw Ember Dragon looking at Heiser with a serious expression. Right now? Not at all. Under the same Basic Attributes, I am confident I can kill her in 50 moves, Ember Dragon said, shaking his head. Then, he continued in a serious tone, But her growth rate is incredible. She conceptualized an Advanced Gold Combat Technique two weeks ago. I estimate she might even reach the Half-step Mortal God standard in a month and become qualified to join us! A teenage Half-step Mortal God? The bandage-wearing young man also started to look at Heiser seriously after hearing Ember Dragons evaluation. Achieving the Half-step Mortal God standard wasnt a big deal for those in their group. However, it was a big deal to achieve it before twenty years old. If such a talent was properly nurtured, they might just be able to reach the legendary Mortal God standard. While Ember Dragon and the bandage-wearing youth conversed, Heiser and Red Frost met in the primeval forest and stood one hundred yards apart. So, you are the former number one that Leaf told me about, Heiser said, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes as she scrutinized Red Frost. I shouldnt expect anything less from a genius the old commander and the others admire. Even though your soul is still weakened, you give me the same feeling as those in the Divine Glory Lists top 30. I cant imagine how strong you were at your peak. Heisers words immediately shocked everyone in the audience. What?! Red Frost can rival the Divine Glory Lists top 30, even though shes not at her peak?! No wonder she used to be labeled the most talented genius Holy Dragon Spear has seen in the past few centuries. Many among the audience looked at Red Frost in surprise and admiration. Although Heisers assertion sounded far-fetched, nobody doubted her. Divine Songstress Heiser! This name had long spread to all corners of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. After all, Heiser was publicly acknowledged as the most talented genius the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team and the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary had seen in the past few centuries. Thus, nobody had any reason to doubt Heisers evaluation. Youre not half bad, either, Red Frost said, smiling. Youve already reached the Half-step Mortal God standard at such a young age. You can definitely be considered one of the best among the younger generation. Red Frosts response immediately stirred up the audience once more. A Half-step Mortal God?! Impossible! How can Heiser be a Half-step Mortal God already?! A Half-step Mortal God? Isnt that the realm few people in the Greater Gods Domain have reached? Heavens! Am I dreaming? Arent we supposed to be the same age? How is Heiser a Half-step Mortal God already when I reached the Domain Realm only recently? Many youths in the audience felt like they were losing their minds right now. In the Greater Gods Domain, those who could reach the Domain Realm by 20 would already be considered rare geniuses, while those who could reach the fifth-floor standard by 20 would be given the chosen one treatment by apex powers. As for the Half-step Mortal God standard, it was a realm that many older-generation monsters could only dream of achieving. Yet, they were now being told that Heiser had reached it already! Besides the general audience, the various executives occupying the VIP rooms also stared at Heiser in disbelief. She isnt denying it? A monster! Shes a monster! How can anyone become a Half-step Mortal God before twenty?! Has Holy Dragon Spears time to shine finally come? Let alone the members of the younger generation, most of the old monsters of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys eight pseudo-apex powers hadnt even reached the Half-step Mortal God standard yet. After all, even the task of developing Gold Combat Techniques was already incredibly challenging, what more developing Advanced Gold Combat Techniques? Its over! Its all over for us! A Half-step Mortal God! How can she be a Half-step Mortal God already?! Despair colored Xiao Yilongs face as he looked at Heiser. As a prominent expert in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Xiao Yilong knew how much time and effort was required just to learn a set of Advanced Gold Combat Techniques. As for self-developed techniques, he had just barely reached the threshold of developing Gold Combat Techniques. He didnt even dare to think about developing Advanced Gold Combat Techniques in his current state. In Gods Domain, there was a huge gap between players who had learned the Advanced Gold Combat Techniques of others and players who had developed their own Advanced Gold Combat Techniques. It was especially so after the major system update. Just the difference in Stamina and Concentration consumption was like night and day. Didnt you say she only conceptualized an Advanced Gold Combat Technique two weeks ago? the bandage-wearing young man asked as he looked at Ember Dragon. How is she a Half-step Mortal God already? There was a huge difference between conceptualizing an Advanced Gold Combat Technique and coming up with a finished product. Many talented geniuses would find themselves stuck at this step. Even if a person could ultimately succeed, it would typically take them several months to complete an Advanced Gold Combat Technique. If Heiser managed to develop her own Advanced Gold Combat Techniques in just two weeks, words such as genius and monster would no longer suffice to describe her. Chapter 3777 - Chapter 851 - Sixth-Floor Expert? Chapter 851 C Sixth-Floor Expert? Idont know Ember Dragon was similarly surprised by this turn of events. Then, he looked at the VIP room that South Lake, Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander, and another man occupied, and continued, But South Lake should have something to do with this. Otherwise, Heiser couldnt have improved so quickly. Ember Dragon acknowledged that Heiser was the most talented genius to have appeared in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary in the past several centuries. However, he did not think she could improve at such an unbelievable rate. Even with her talent, it simply shouldnt be possible for her to go from conceptualizing an Advanced Gold Combat Technique to completing it in two weeks. When a person conceptualized an Advanced Gold Combat Technique, their idea would often be riddled with flaws they needed to rectify to complete their technique. In this situation, a person would be lucky to complete their technique after several hundred attempts. Are you saying Heiser received that Legacy Guidance from the Apocalypse Berserker God? When the bandage-wearing young man followed Ember Dragons gaze and saw the white-haired old man sitting beside South Lake, realization dawned on him. I thought Apocalypse was adamant about saving it for Red Frost all this time. Im surprised he changed his mind so quickly. Now, Im really starting to pity Red Frost. First, she had her opportunity stolen by you in her younger days. Now, even the Apocalypse Berserker God has sided with Heiser. With this, she isnt even qualified to fight Heiser, let alone sway the opinions of Holy Dragon Spears Elders and Grand Elders. She only has herself to blame, Ember Dragon said, sneering as he looked at Red Frost. Had she partnered with me back then, she would have long since become Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander. Now, all she can do is watch helplessly as the person who has nurtured her since she was young sides with someone else. The Apocalypse Berserker God was formerly one of Holy Dragon Spears four commanders. He rose to prominence many years ago. He was also regarded as one of the Ten Great Berserker Gods in the Greater Gods Domain over a century ago, and many considered him to be Holy Dragon Spears strongest member. He had even obtained a Primordial God-ranked Legacy Guidance during his active days. Presently, although Apocalypse was only an ordinary Grand Elder in Holy Dragon Spear, it was well-known that he still had the Primordial God-ranked Legacy Guidance with him, and many believed he was saving it for Red Frost, the Apocalypse Legions successor. Nobody ever thought he would give it to Heiser and enable her to reach even greater heights. I originally thought Heiser only had the potential. I hadnt expected her to reach this step so soon, Ember Dragon said, a hint of fanaticism in his eyes. With her talent, I might just be able to recommend her to that side so long as she joins us! That side? The bandage-wearing young mans eyes lit up in excitement. Indeed. She does have the qualifications. Heisers talent thoroughly exceeded their expectations. Although she was a genius nurtured by Holy Dragon Spear, she would know to accept their invitation so long as she wasnt a fool. In another VIP room Unlike everyone else in the arena, South Lake reacted calmly to the revelation of Heisers combat standard. While the audience was making a commotion, he turned to the indifferent old man beside him, a hint of glee flashing in his eyes. Do you regret it? South Lake asked playfully. Your precious student is in a tough spot now because of you. Two days ago, she still had a chance to put on a performance. But now, she doesnt even have that. There is nothing to regret. She chose this, the old man said as he looked at Red Frost calmly. Moreover, it is beneficial for the adventurer team to have a Half-step Mortal God leading it. With this, the other powers will have to think twice when making a move against us in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary in the future. Thats good to hear. South Lake sighed in relief at the old mans calm response. The current Gods Domain is no longer as peaceful as before. Without a sufficiently strong expert leading Holy Dragon Spear, the other powers can easily devour us whole. I know that. The old man nodded and glanced at the Dragon God Palaces room. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary might seem peaceful right now, but following the discovery of the Eternal Realms entrance, the flames of war had reignited in the Greater Gods Domain. Particularly, the Twelve Sanctuaries would definitely become the various powers main targets of contention once more. If Holy Dragon Spear did not have a sufficiently strong expert to lead it, it wouldnt even be able to defend its current resources and territories, let alone expand. In the ring What a surprise. You are the second person to see through my true combat standard, Heiser exclaimed in wonder, looking at Red Frost. In that case, Ill stop hiding it. Admit defeat. We might have been able to have a good fight if you were still at your peak and we were at the same level. But in your current state, I wont need more than three moves to win. In reality, Heiser was speaking humbly when she said she could win in three moves. After all, she was currently at Level 227, while Red Frost was at Level 223. Even without considering the difference in equipment and combat standards, this four-level gap was enough to tilt the scales heavily in her favor. Little girl, while you might be a Half-step Mortal God, you still arent strong enough to make me surrender, Red Frost said before thrusting her spear. Simultaneously, the weapon transformed into a flame dragon hundreds of meters long that flew toward Heiser. Advanced Gold Fusion Technique, Flame Dragon Dance! With just one move, Red Frost turned the primeval forest into a sea of flames. Apart from the extremely violent fire element, all other magic elements ceased to exist. This development made the audience watching the match from a first-person perspective gasp. Law Suppression? Is this an Advanced Gold Combat Technique? The average fifth-floor expert would be fortunate to even execute an Advanced Gold Combat Technique normally. Yet, despite her weakened soul, Red Frost managed to merge her Law Projection with an Advanced Gold Combat Technique perfectly, elevating its power to the standard of Peak Gold Combat Techniques. The level of expertise she showed was simply unheard-of. I see. When Heiser saw Red Frosts Flame Dragon Dance, she immediately understood that even with a level advantage, she couldnt neutralize Red Frosts attack with just an Advanced Gold Combat Technique. Immediately, Heiser raised her emerald staff and created the magic arrays for three Tier 6 Curses. Then, she combined the magic arrays and drained all forms of energy within a radius of several thousand yards, creating an energy vacuum. Immediately afterward, a dragon claw the size of a mountain appeared in the sky and attacked the oncoming flame dragon. Peak Gold Combat Technique, Triple Samsara! This was Heisers strongest combat technique. It was also because of this technique that she could develop her own Advanced Gold Combat Technique. Boom! The instant the dragon claw and flame dragon collided, cracks appeared on the barrier covering the ring, and the primeval forest on the battlefield was reduced to ashes. The destructive power of the two attacks could already rival that of Ancient Gods of the same level. After the explosion, Heiser and Red Frost both stumbled three steps backward. Compared to Red Frost, though, Heiser lost slightly less HP. However, before the audience could marvel at the two, Red Frost swung her spear and thrust it at Heiser again. This time, though, the weapon split into two flame dragons instead of one. Twofold Advanced Gold Fusion Technique, Flame Dragon Dance! Silence enveloped the arena the moment the two flame dragons appeared. Even Heiser was momentarily taken aback. A Mortal God? Chapter 3778 - Chapter 852 - Divine War Begins Chapter 852 C Divine War Begins When Heiser saw the two flame dragons before her, shock, desire, and doubt overwhelmed her. She even forgot to resist. All she did was mutter a question. You area Mortal God? Mortal God. This was a realm that Heiser could only dream of achieving, even after developing her own Advanced Gold Combat Technique. It was also the dream of countless players in the Greater Gods Domain. Unfortunately, she couldnt even find information on the World Towers sixth floor after scouring the Greater Gods Domain, not to mention information on Mortal Gods. Yet, a living, breathing Mortal God now stood before her. After all, apart from a Mortal God, she couldnt think of any other kind of expert that could simultaneously execute two Advanced Gold Fusion Techniques. The difficulty of executing an Advanced Gold Fusion Technique was greater than even that of Peak Gold Combat Techniques. Even as a Half-step Mortal God, Heiser found executing a Peak Gold Combat Technique difficult. Naturally, a Twofold Peak Gold Combat Technique was out of the question. Since Red Frost could accomplish such an impossible feat, it could only mean one thing. Red Frost was an expert who had reached the sixth-floor standard! Red Frost was a Mortal God! However, before Heiser could get confirmation from Red Frost, the two flame dragons devoured her, and she was already outside the ring when she regained her senses. Am I hallucinating? Did I just see a Twofold Advanced Gold Fusion Technique? Watching from his VIP room, South Lake couldnt help but rub his eyes as he looked at the battlefield. However, no matter how many times he had the system replay the match, the outcome did not change. Silence! South Lakes room wasnt the only place enveloped in silence. At this moment, time seemed to have stopped for the whole arena as the spectators stared at Red Frost, their faces colored with shock, excitement, and disbelief. How?! How is this possible?! How did she reach the legendary sixth-floor standard?! Ember Dragon gazed at Red Frost like he was meeting her for the first time, his eyes brimming with desire and disbelief. In the human races Greater Gods Domain, anyone who was an executive of a pseudo-apex power or above would know that there wasnt actually much of a difference in the combat standards of their strongest members. Not to mention Half-step Mortal Gods, even experts who could develop their own Gold Combat Techniques were as rare as a phoenixs feather among pseudo-apex powers. As for Half-step Mortal Gods who could develop their own Advanced Gold Combat Techniques, this was already the limit that apex powers could achieve. For this reason, Half-step Mortal Gods were typically key representatives or individuals with substantial influence in apex powers. They were the true foundation of apex powers. As for the Mortal Gods of legend, if any apex power had an expert of this caliber, it would have already become the sole ruling power in the human races Greater Gods Domain. This was because a sixth-floor experts technical knowledge was an irresistible temptation to experts who had reached the limits of the fifth-floor standard. Even if a sixth-floor expert was poorly equipped and low-leveled, many fifth-floor experts would still seek to become their follower, hoping to receive pointers and watch them fight up close. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that so long as a Mortal God issued a summons, countless experts would come together and form an organization of epic might and proportions under the Mortal God. Holy Dragon Spear would be nothing but a joke compared to such a behemoth. A sixth-floor expert! Frost is a sixth-floor expert! Xiao Yilong grew ecstatic after realizing Red Frosts combat standard. Then, he turned to Shi Feng and eagerly asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, is Red Frost a sixth-floor expert already? Although Red Frosts performance made it clear she was a Mortal God, Xiao Yilong still couldnt help but turn to Shi Feng for confirmation. He felt that only Shi Feng could give him the real answer. Yes. Commander Frost reached the sixth-floor standard not long ago, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Presently, she is the undisputed number one in the human races Greater Gods Domain when it comes to combat standards. Shi Feng could empathize with Xiao Yilongs shock and excitement. He vividly remembered how shocked he was when the first Mortal God appeared in the human races Greater Gods Domain. After all, this was a sign that human players could achieve greater heights! Great! This is great! Xiao Yilong laughed, unable to contain his excitement any longer. With this, the Elders, the Grand Elders, and even the Great Commander must stand with us! A Mortal God! So long as Holy Dragon Spears Elders and Grand Elders had a functioning brain, they would know what this meant. As for the partnership with the Dragon God Palace, how could it compare to the humongous benefits Red Frost could bring Holy Dragon Spear? It is my loss. I shouldnt have expected less from a genius the old commander admires, Heiser said, taking the initiative to approach Red Frost when she saw the latter walking out of the ring. Then, she tentatively asked, Can I ask for a chance to receive your guidance? Guidance? Red Frost was a little surprised when she saw the anxiety in Heisers eyes. She hadnt expected her opponent to be so straightforward and innocent. Nodding, she said, Of course. Thank you. Heiser couldnt help but smile when she heard Red Frosts answer. Subsequently, after Heiser reluctantly made her way to the spectator stands, Twilight Leaf and the other chosen ones of Holy Dragon Spear swarmed Red Frost. They all expressed their wish to receive guidance from Red Frost in the future. Suddenly, the highly anticipated Battle of the Chosen Ones became an exhibition match. However, nobody from the audience voiced any complaints about this change. On the contrary, everyone was more than happy to see Red Frost fight every participant. It seems theres no longer a need to decide who is number one, South Lake said, smiling wryly as he looked at the chosen ones surrounding Red Frost. Indeed, the old man beside South Lake said, chuckling. Now, our Great Commander should carefully consider how he should compensate our number one chosen one. Otherwise, she might very well lose her temper and leave Holy Dragon Spear. If that happens, his days as the Great Commander will be over. You South Lake rolled his eyes at Apocalypse. Fine. Isnt it just making an enemy out of the Dragon God Palace? Whats there to be afraid of? However, before South Lake and Apocalypse could continue their conversation, the defensive magic array protecting Flame Vein Holy City suddenly shattered, and multiple space-time passages appeared above the city. Immediately afterward, Level 220-plus, Tier 6 NPCs and players flew out of these space-time passages in an orderly formation, forming an army of half a million in no time. When the players in Flame Vein Holy City saw the two NPCs lead the army, they couldnt help but be shocked. Grand Duke of the Imperial Ice Empire, Hawke Barron, a Level 244, Tier 6 NPC! Grand Marshal of the Five Saints Empire, Highgate the Heavenly Dragon, a Level 242, Tier 6 NPC! Whats going on? Why are the two empires here? Did the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty join forces? The army above the city consisted of NPCs and players from the Imperial Ice Empire and the Five Saints Empire. Members of two pseudo-apex powers, specifically the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty, were also among its ranks. When Flame Vein Holy Citys players saw this, they were dumbfounded. Regional System Announcement: The Imperial Ice Empire and the Five Saints Empire have declared war on Flame Vein Holy City. Flame Vein Holy Citys City Lord has requested assistance from all players in the Holy City. If the city wins the war, players will be awarded Contribution Points to exchange for treasures from the citys treasury. If the city loses the war, all players will have their Flame Vein Holy City Reputation Points and ownership of the citys real estate reset. TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 844: Original: The Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboo Bosses were not equals. In fact, there was a huge disparity in strength among them. For example, the 22nd-ranked Taboo was only strong enough to give Ancient Gods a headache. The 14th-ranked Undying Mother, on the other hand, was a disaster that could devour Ancient Gods. Corrected version: The Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboo Bosses were not equals. In fact, there was a huge disparity in strength among them. If one were to consider the 22nd-ranked Taboo to be only strong enough to give Ancient Gods a headache, the Undying Mother would be a disaster that could devour Ancient Gods. Chapter 3779 - Chapter 853 - Super-Ancient Ruin Chapter 853 C Super-Ancient Ruin The system announcement echoed across Flame Vein Holy City three times, sending hundreds of millions of players into turmoil. Have the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty lost their minds? Why are they initiating an all-out war right off the bat?! Do they not know that Holy Dragon Spear is allied with Red-Tailed Dragon? Theyre probably trying to catch Holy Dragon Spear by surprise. After all, the Divine Wing Dynasty isnt among the powers who discovered the Eternal Realms entrance, so its main forces are still in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. On the other hand, both Holy Dragon Spear and Red-Tailed Dragon have their main forces at the entrance. A national war? How many years has it been since such a war occurred in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary? I didnt expect to receive such a surprise the moment I came online! Whos joining the war? Contact me! We must let the Imperial Ice Empires and the Five Saints Empires people know that the people of Flame Vein Holy City arent pushovers! As more Tier 6 NPCs and players appeared above Flame Vein Holy City, the citys original inhabitants started to form teams to target either the two empires NPCs or the two pseudo-apex powers experts. This situation stunned the players who had come to watch the Battle of the Chosen Ones. More than eight pseudo-apex powers operated in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, the most famous of which were the first-ranked Dragon God Palace Guild and the second-ranked Red-Tailed Dragon Guild. As for the Divine Wing Dynasty, it was a Guild slightly weaker than the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team, but it still ranked sixth. Nobody in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary had ever anticipated an all-out war among these four powers. After all, it had been ages since an all-out war between pseudo-apex powers occurred in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. The last time it happened was over a century ago. Meanwhile, such a war often affected not just the pseudo-apex powers involved but also the countries and cities affiliated with them. Thus, a war involving pseudo-apex powers would embroil a huge portion of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. For players not directly involved in the war, the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary was now a land of opportunity and hardship. They could now kill Tier 6 NPCs without consequences, including high-status NPCs, who were considered walking treasure troves. Flame Vein Battle Arena: Over a thousand Tier 6 experts from Holy Dragon Spear surrounded the VIP room Ember Dragon occupied, creating an oppressive atmosphere. Ember Dragon! Has the Dragon God Palace gone crazy?! Even if you win, you will accomplish nothing but benefit outsiders! South Lake bellowed as he glared at the calm-looking Ember Dragon. The raid by the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty happened so suddenly that he didnt receive any prior news about it. Even more shockingly, these two powers were willing to involve the Imperial Ice Empires and the Five Saints Empires strongest combatants. Hawke Barron, Grand Duke of the Imperial Ice Empire, a Level 244, Tier 6 NPC! Highgate the Heavenly Dragon, Grand Marshal of the Five Saints Empire, a Level 242, Tier 6 NPC! The strongest combatants of their empires, these two NPCs stood just below the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos in strength. In the Greater Gods Domain, few NPCs ever reached Level 240 or above. Those who did manage to do so could rival Ancient Gods of the same level, and defeating them required a full party of equally leveled players fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. However, even apex powers considered Divine Artifacts the highest form of luxury. This made it extremely difficult for pseudo-apex powers to assemble a six-man party fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Not to mention, all six players needed to be at Level 240 at the very least. Upon reaching Level 200, players could only receive EXP from killing monsters of the same level or higher. Additionally, players were limited to receiving EXP from quests ranked Epic or above. To make matters worse, the availability of monsters plummeted starting from Level 220, while the difficulty of killing them skyrocketed. This caused most players to stagnate in their levels after reaching Level 220. I never truly wanted things to come to this point, Great Commander South Lake, Ember Dragon said, his smile thin. Glancing at Red Frost standing outside the ring, he continued, But you only have your Mortal God to blame for this. We originally intended to partner with Holy Dragon Spear and jointly explore the super-ancient ruins youve been hiding. Now, though? We plan to take the ruins for ourselves! Super-ancient ruins? You know about the hidden site?! South Lakes expression twisted in shock. Although Holy Dragon Spear has done well to keep it under wraps, nothing stays hidden forever, Ember Dragon said, a low chuckle escaping him. Super-ancient ruinsone of the few Level 230-plus Taboo Dungeons in the Greater Gods Domain. If Holy Dragon Spear gets to exploit it freely, you will eventually crush every other power in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. In that case, we might as well strike first! After saying so, Ember Dragon retrieved a turbid, dark golden dragon eye from his bag and chanted. Immediately, Flame Vein Holy City shuddered as a massive fissure tore it in two. Then, a colossal gate over 100,000 meters tall rose from the citys depths, unleashing an oppressive Divine Might that made even Level 220, Tier 6 experts buckle. The Flame Dragon Gods Nest? Shi Feng gaped as he stared at the colossal crimson gate. Chapter 3780 - Chapter 854 - Flame Dragon Gods Nest Chapter 854 C Flame Dragon Gods Nest The mountainous gate enveloped in red-hot flames stood quietly in the middle of Flame Vein Holy City, its sudden appearance putting a damper on the brewing battle. Is thata Taboo Secret Lands entrance? But the Divine Might its giving off is much stronger than that of Level 220 Taboo Secret Lands. Could it be a Level 230 Taboo Secret Land? Impossible. Ive been to the Level 230 Taboo Secret Land under the Dragon God Palaces control. The Divine Might its entrance radiated was only at the standard of Level 220 Ancient Gods. This entrances Divine Might is even more frightening than the Level 240-plus Ancient Gods Ive encountered. Could this be a Level 240 Taboo Secret Land? The crimson gate that suddenly appeared piqued the curiosity of the players from Flame Vein Holy City and the two invading empires. Secret lands werent particularly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Unlike dungeons, the inside of a secret land was like a miniature world. There were many monsters and rare resources for players to harvest. Thus, every Level 200-plus Taboo Secret Land was a leveling paradise for players. It was common knowledge that the difficulty of leveling up would skyrocket once players reached Level 200. However, so long as players were willing to fork out the money, they could still pay to enter the Level 200-plus Taboo Dungeons under the various powers control. The only problem was that each dungeon instance had a limited number of monsters. Additionally, dungeons would also enter a cooldown period once players completed them. However, Taboo Secret Lands were different. Although the Bosses inside secret lands would not respawn after getting killed, the other monsters respawned like monsters out in the fieldsand fairly quickly at that. Moreover, the monsters of Taboo Secret Lands were much easier to kill than those of Taboo Dungeons. Players didnt need to operate in teams; they could grind in relative safety in parties of six. Unfortunately, because there were much fewer Taboo Secret Lands than Taboo Dungeons, any that appeared in the Greater Gods Domain would immediately be snatched up by the various powers. Even apex powers would join in on the action if it wasnt inconvenient; they would never complain about owning too many Taboo Secret Lands. This was why the various powers members were at a higher level than independent players on average. When it came to Level 240 Taboo Secret Lands, only apex powers owned them. Unless one was a genius nurtured by an apex power, one could only dream of entering a Level 240 Taboo Secret Land. Whats going on? When Shi Feng saw the crimson gate, confusion colored his eyes. Why is the Flame Dragon Gods Nest active already? The Flame Dragon Gods Nest might be new to the players and powers in the current Greater Gods Domain, but it was known by all in his previous life. The Flame Dragon Gods Nest! It was one of only three super-large-scale Taboo Secret Lands found in the human races Greater Gods Domain. It was also one of only three Level 240-plus Taboo Secret Lands found in the human races Greater Gods Domain. When the Flame Dragon Gods Nest initially appeared in his previous life, everyone assumed it was merely a Level 240 Taboo Secret Land. But because of Holy Dragon Spears excellent security measures and the fact that the various apex powers were busy dealing with the Holy Races invasion, nobody could investigate the secret land in detail. This situation changed only when the Holy Races invasion reached the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. At the time, to resist the Holy Races invasion, Holy Dragon Spear had decided to let outsiders enter the Flame Dragon Gods Nest en masse. From that point onward, the various powers learned that the Flame Dragon Gods Nest wasnt just a Level 240 Taboo Secret Land like they initially assumed. Instead, it was a Level 240-plus Taboo Secret Land. The various powers also understood how Holy Dragon Spear could defeat an army of one million Holy Race experts with just ten thousand Tier 6 experts. Yet, in this life, even though the war with the Holy Race had yet to begin, the Flame Dragon Gods Nest had already been activated. It was also done when Holy Dragon Spear was completely unprepared. Why do you have the entrance key? South Lake gazed at Ember Dragon in disbelief after he saw the towering crimson gate. Why are you so surprised that I have it? Ember Dragon said as he glanced at South Lake. Do you think youre the only ones who can obtain a Primordial Dragon Legacy? Do you think youre the only ones who have entered those super-ancient ruins? No wonder we could never find the entrance key! Realization dawned on South Lake. Through a stroke of luck, Holy Dragon Spear had obtained a teleportation key that could periodically open a teleportation gate to the super-ancient ruins inside the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. However, because they could never find the secret lands entrance key mentioned in the super-ancient ruins records, they could only stare at the secret lands sealed entrance. Now, it was revealed that Ember Dragon had the entrance key all along. So what if you have the entrance key? Apocalypse said as he rose from his seat and cast a cold gaze at Ember Dragon. You are in Holy Dragon Spears Flame Vein Holy City! Do you think you can come and go from here as you please? When Apocalypse finished speaking, his personal information, which was previously hidden, became available for all to see. Level 240! Besides being one level higher than South Lake, Apocalypse was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Additionally, because he was at Level 240, his Divine Artifacts could unleash their Basic Attributes at the maximum, allowing his Basic Attributes to achieve heights much greater than those of the Level 239 South Lake. When the Holy Dragon Spear members present saw Apocalypses level, surprise and a sense of pride filled them. Their confidence in dealing with the two empires forces also grew. Level 240 was a major turning point for players and NPCs. With the help of the Holy Citys magic arrays, Apocalypse would have no problem dealing with Hawke Barron or Highgate by himself. Once Flame Vein Holy Citys City Lord joined the fight, the Dragon God Palaces and the Divine Wing Dynastys members would have a very difficult time entering the Holy City. If the two pseudo-apex powers couldnt even enter the Holy City, they shouldnt even think of entering the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, much less take control of the secret land. As expected of one of the Ten Great Berserker Gods from over a century ago. Only apex powers and a few pseudo-apex powers can take out someone of your level, Ember Dragon said as he looked at Apocalypse, who exuded an aura much stronger than even that of South Lake, Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander. But since we dared to act, do you think we came unprepared? After saying so, Ember Dragon crushed the dragon eye in his hand. Immediately afterward, the crimson gate opened and sucked all Tier 6 players within one million yards of it, leaving only the NPCs of the Holy City and the two empires to confront each other. Chapter 3781 - Chapter 855 - Fourth-Ranked Divine Set Chapter 855 C Fourth-Ranked Divine Set Taboo Secret Land, Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Shadow Mountains: When the blinding light faded, Shi Feng found that his location had changed completely. But before he could scrutinize his surroundings, a series of notifications rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! You have entered the Flame Dragon Gods Nest and initiated the Flame Dragon Gods Trial. System: You have initiated the Mythical Quest Flame Dragon Gods Trial. Quest Content: Kill the monsters inside the Flame Dragon Gods Nest to obtain Undying Souls. Upon collecting 100 Undying Souls, you may open the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury and exchange Undying Souls for the Flame Dragon Gods rewards. System Warning: You have entered the Taboo Secret Land C Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Due to external interference, you will not be allowed to log out or contact the outside world. You may only leave the secret land if you find the exit or die. System Warning: If you die in the secret land, part of your Immortal Soul will be lost. Please proceed with caution. The system notifications left Shi Feng stunned for a long while. Sure enough, it is the same as in the rumors. Shi Feng didnt know whether to laugh or cry when he looked at the system notifications displayed before him. The Flame Dragon God was also known as the Primordial Flame Dragon. It was a Primordial God-ranked existence, and the Flame Dragon Gods Nest it left behind was a trial rather than a place for players to level up. For this reason, once players entered the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, they had to collect enough Undying Souls to exchange for an exit ticket if they wanted to leave the secret land safely. Otherwise, their only other exit option was to leave behind a part of their Immortal Souls. It was incredibly challenging to obtain Undying Souls. Although players only needed to kill monsters in the secret land to get them, monsters were not guaranteed to drop Undying Souls. Not to mention, even the weakest monster in Flame Dragon Gods Nest was a Level 230 Legendary monster. A Level 220, Tier 6 player fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment would have difficulty killing even one of these monsters. Moreover, these monsters typically roamed in groups. There were also many Level 230-plus Divine monsters. However, although it was difficult to obtain Undying Souls, the rewards players could exchange for from the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury were definitely well worth the effort. There were the Six Great Divine Sets in the human races Greater Gods Domain. The Flame God Set, ranked fourth among the Six Great Divine Sets, could be exchanged for from the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. In Shi Fengs previous life, the reason Holy Dragon Spear could become one of the Greater Gods Domains Eight Legendary Adventurer Teams wasnt just its legendary 10,000 Tier 6 experts. The Flame God Set in its possession also played a crucial role. One of the reasons other apex powers feared Demons Gate was because it possessed a Divine Set. Although the Divine Set in question wasnt one of the Six Great Divine Sets, it still allowed its wearer to overwhelm experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Even the old monsters of apex powers would be rendered helpless. Meanwhile, with the Flame God Set being one of the Six Great Divine Sets, so long as a player equipped it, they could instantly compete with Primordial Gods of the same level and become invincible in the Greater Gods Domain. In Shi Fengs previous life, Holy Dragon Spear managed to get all eight pieces of the Flame God Set. Presently, though, the Flame Dragon Gods Nest had just been activated. This was also the first time Holy Dragon Spears members were entering the secret land. Thus, now was the best opportunity for Shi Feng to obtain the Flame God Set. While Shi Feng was in a daze, the other Tier 6 players who had also landed in the Shadow Mountains sprang into action. As if afraid others would claim all the monsters, they quickly formed parties to kill those roaming the Shadow Mountains outer area. [Undying Dragon Knight] (Evil Spirit, Legendary) Level 230 HP 8,000,000,000,000,000 [Undying Dragon Knight Captain] (Evil Spirit, Legendary) Level 232 HP 12,000,000,000,000,000 Level 220-plus, Tier 6 players would not have any difficulties soloing Tier 5 Legendary monsters of the same level. However, the Legendary monsters in the Shadow Mountains were at least Level 230; they were already nearly as strong as Level 210, Tier 6 Divine Bosses. Thus, Level 220-plus, Tier 6 players needed to fight in six-man parties to kill these Legendary monsters. Boss Abyss, that person seems to be the Divine Glory Lists Black Flame! a Level 224, Tier 6 Berserker wearing the Divine Wing Dynastys Guild Emblem suddenly exclaimed as he pointed at Shi Feng. Demons Gate has placed a huge bounty on his head! We can get a Fragmented Divine Artifact if we kill him! Should we do him in? The Berserkers words immediately piqued the interest of several Divine Wing Dynasty members around him. Whether it was the prestige of killing a Divine Glory List expert or the rewards from Demons Gates bounty, neither were things the average core member of a pseudo-apex power could easily ignore. Were not here to have fun. We need to quickly regroup with the others and focus on grinding monsters. If we are too slow in collecting Undying Souls, we wont be able to recoup the price we paid to come here, Abyss Water, who was a Level 226, Tier 6 Assassin clad in dark gray clothes and the leader of the group, said. However, when his gaze fell on Shi Feng, his eyes suddenly narrowed as he muttered icily, Black Flame? Boss, do you know him? Abyss Waters abrupt change surprised the Tier 6 Berserker. Of course! Of course, I know him! Abyss Water automatically sneered when he saw that Shi Feng was only Level 200. He was the one who humiliated me on the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Dark Star! If it wasnt for him, I never would have had to return to join the Divine Wing Dynasty! It seems the heavens are finally on my side, allowing me to meet him here! After saying so, Abyss Water vanished and reappeared within 30 yards of Shi Feng, his behavior attracting the attention of many nearby. Isnt that Abyss Water, the Divine Wing Dynastys number one chosen one? Who is that Swordsman? Why is Abyss Water interested in him? When the surrounding players sensed the killing intent Abyss Water radiated, they all understood that he intended to act against Shi Feng. They also couldnt help but wonder about Shi Fengs identity. After all, Abyss Water was an incredibly famous expert in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Yet, he was now willing to harm his reputation just to attack a player of a much lower level. Heiser! Guild Leader Black Flame is in trouble! We need to help him! Twilight Leaf, who had similarly landed in the Shadow Mountains outer area, said to Heiser anxiously when she saw Abyss Water advancing on Shi Feng. Abyss Water was the Divine Wing Dynastys number one chosen one. Among the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys youths, only Heiser could achieve a convincing victory against him. Although Shi Fengs combat standard and Law Projection were incredible, the significant level difference between him and Abyss Water made it impossible for him to defeat Abyss Water. No rush. Lets watch first, Heiser said as she calmly looked at Shi Feng and Abyss Water. I heard from Big Sis Frost that Guild Leader Black Flame has been supporting her behind the scenes all this time and that she admires him greatly. Even my teacher has sung his praises. Ive already decided I will challenge him to a fight, so this is a good opportunity to check out his strength. But Guild Leader Black Flame is only Level 200, while Abyss Water is Level 226, Twilight Leaf said anxiously. Does he even stand a chance with such a huge level gap? Dont worry, Heiser said, smiling. Then, she glanced at Abyss Water and continued, I know Abyss Waters standard. If Guild Leader Black Flame is as great as Ive heard, he should have no problem surviving a couple of moves. I will intervene once he starts to struggle. Hearing this, Twilight Leaf could only agree with Heisers decision. If she were to fight Abyss Water one-on-one, her chances of victory would be slim. Not to mention, the party that Abyss Water led was composed entirely of the Divine Wing Dynastys chosen ones. They might not be as strong as her, but they werent significantly weaker. Chapter 3782 - Chapter 856 - Fleeting Strike Chapter 856 C Fleeting Strike TL Notes: Made a change to the name of the Abyssal Eyes second Skill in Chapter 846: Abyssal Power -> Abyssal Will Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Shadow Mountains, Outer Area: Long time no see, Guild Leader Black Flame, Abyss Water said, smiling at Shi Feng. The last time we met, you humiliated me in front of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance using your Mana and Basic Attributes advantage. What do you say I return the favor using my level advantage? Nobody can ensure fairness in field PvP, Shi Feng said, chuckling. He was honestly quite surprised to meet Abyss Water again. But are you sure you have the strength to back up those words? I might have had difficulty killing you if we were still on Dark Star, Abyss Water said, recalling Shi Fengs Gold Body Technique. Then, he smirked and continued, But we are now in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary! I am also no longer the same as when we first met! Now, I have the Blood Reincarnations! With the Passive Skill of these twin Divine Daggers, I can prevent one target from moving more than a hundred yards away! Unless I am killed, even a Level 240 Ancient God cannot escape me! After saying so, Abyss Water surrounded Shi Feng with afterimages before drawing the two crimson daggers he carried and brandishing them. He created a crimson energy blade each time he swung his weapons, and these energy blades repeatedly merged to form larger and more powerful energy blades that could tear through the secret lands space. In a flash, over thirty such energy blades attacked Shi Feng from various directions. Advanced Gold Combat Technique, Spiritual Light Blades! Advanced Gold Combat Technique, Thousand Blades! Many of the Level 225-plus experts present paled when they saw Abyss Water executing two Advanced Gold Combat Techniques in quick succession. None of them felt they could survive Abyss Waters attack. Although Abyss Water did not manage to fuse the two techniques, the timing of his execution allowed him to achieve a pseudo-fusion effect that drastically increased the power of his crimson energy blades. When going up against Abyss Waters pseudo-fusion technique, even experts with Basic Attributes superior to Abyss Water using an Advanced Gold Defensive Technique wouldnt necessarily escape unscathed. Not to mention, many of the experts present didnt even have a Divine Artifact. Only in their dreams could they surpass Abyss Water, who wielded two Divine Artifacts, in Basic Attributes. Its over! This unexpected turn of events shocked Twilight Leaf. Dammit! Heiser also realized the severity of the situation and quickly raised her staff, creating multiple magic arrays under her feet. However, before Heiser could intervene, Shi Feng suddenly unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and used the Abyssal Eye. Tier 7 Skill, Abyssal Will! Immediately, the Skill increased Shi Fengs Defense by 500%, Strength by 400%, Agility by 300%, Physique by 300%, Endurance by 400%, and Concentration by one rank. The improvements werent restricted to the Tier 6 Limit standard, either. Boom! Suddenly, Shi Feng started to radiate an aura of indescribable power that shattered the surrounding space. The crimson energy blades attacking him also looked like they had frozen in place. Swords Orbit! Subsequently, dazzling stars filled the area, and the crimson energy blades exploded and faded from existence. And all the while, Shi Feng merely stood in place. Silence! Absolute silence! This development stunned everyone, including Heiser. Impossible! Abyss Water was dumbfounded as he looked at the Shadow Incinerator in Shi Fengs hand. Abyss Water could tell that Shi Fengs sword technique was nothing special. Yet, Shi Fengs sword moved at an incredible speed. Logically, not even a Level 230, Tier 6 Swordsman should be able to achieve such a speed, let alone a Level 200, Tier 6 Swordsman. Before Abyss Water could regain his wits, Shi Feng suddenly transformed into a streak of light and appeared behind him. Then, under the gazes of the surrounding players, Shi Feng casually sheathed the Shadow Incinerator. Click. When the Shadow Incinerator returned to its sheath, Abyss Water noticed his line of sight shifting upward. Then, a headless body briefly entered his sight before his vision darkened. Unfortunately, it doesnt seem like you can back up your words. After glancing at Abyss Waters corpse, Shi Feng collected the item Abyss Water dropped, then executed Flowing Space and disappeared into the depths of the Shadow Mountains. Abyssal Will only had a five-minute duration. Although he could trample on Level 225-plus, Tier 6 experts during this period, he would have trouble defeating experts like Abyss Water once the Skill ran out. At the very least, he couldnt end the fight quickly. Many Level 220-plus experts from the Divine Wing Dynasty were currently scattered across the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Even if he were at Level 220, they could easily wear him down with zerg tactics. Not to mention, the Divine Wing Dynasty also had Level 230-plus experts in the secret land. Thus, the wise thing to do here was to leave the Divine Wing Dynastys sphere of activity before Abyssal Wills duration ended. What in heaven The fights over? Just like that? Are you kidding me?! This must be an act! How can a Level 200 Swordsman one-shot Abyss Water?! The sight of Shi Feng dispatching Abyss Water in a single motion astounded everyone. They couldnt get their heads around it. Abyss Water should have had an overwhelming advantage in Basic Attributes. Yet, the battle concluded with Shi Fengs landslide victory. If they didnt know any better, they would have thought Shi Feng was the Level 226 Assassin while Abyss Water was the Level 200 Swordsman. Leaf, is Guild Leader Black Flame really at Level 200 only? Heiser asked as she looked at Twilight Leaf. She couldnt help but feel that Twilight Leaf knew something she didnt. Unless Shi Feng was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, there was no way he could kill Abyss Water as a Level 200, Tier 6 Swordsman. However, based on her observation, Shi Feng didnt have a single Divine Artifact on him. This must mean that Shi Feng wasnt actually a Level 200 player like she previously thought. Instead, he was likely at Level 235 or higher. Otherwise, it didnt make sense that she couldnt keep track of Shi Fengs attack. This I dont know, Twilight Leaf said hesitantly. She originally wanted to say she was certain that Shi Feng was Level 200, but even she couldnt bring herself to believe that a Level 200 player could execute such a rapid attack. Even with a Tier 6 Berserk Skill, it still shouldnt be possible. You dont know? Heiser grew confused. Didnt you meet him in person before? It was no secret in Holy Dragon Spear that Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf had visited Red Frost in the real world. After all, the adventurer team owned only one interstellar spaceship. Every time the interstellar spaceship was used, it would attract the attention of many in the adventurer team. Borrowing it even required the approval of at least two Grand Elders. I did meet Guild Leader Black Flame, Twilight Leaf said, scratching her cheek awkwardly. But he hadnt even reached Level 200 at the time Chapter 3783 - Chapter 857 - New Twelve Wings of Heaven Chapter 857 C New Twelve Wings of Heaven He wasnt even at Level 200? Heiser was stunned. What do you mean? Are you saying he really is only Level 200 right now? Had Shi Feng been hiding his level, Heiser would have found the situation more believable. In fact, she would rather believe Shi Feng was at the same level as Great Commander South Lake than accept that he had killed Abyss Water as a Level 200 player. Although it was mind-boggling for someone from the Eternal Realm to be at such a level, it wasnt completely out of the question. After all, Shi Fengs presence in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary proved he possessed the means to travel freely in and out of the Eternal Realm. He could have simply been leveling outside the Eternal Realm in that case. Many conglomerates and pseudo-apex powers owned Level 200-plus secret lands in the Greater Gods Domain. It wouldnt even be surprising if these powers secretly owned Level 230-plus secret lands as well. If these powers mobilized a bunch of experts to help Shi Feng grind, so long as he secured the last hits, he could gain significant EXP. Of course, another possibility was that Shi Feng was already at a very high level and that he had simply kept it hidden. However, this was an unlikely scenario. The Seven Luminaries Alliance shouldnt be underestimated. If Shi Feng had truly been at Level 230 or above, he wouldnt have ended up on the Luminous Glory List or the Sacred Glory List. He wouldve landed straight on the Divine Glory List from the start. Yet, Twilight Leaf was now saying that Shi Feng was indeed only Level 200 No matter how Heiser wrestled with the idea, she couldnt fathom it. After all, how could a mere Level 200, Tier 6 player, devoid of any Divine Artifacts, overwhelm her senses? Im certain. Guild Leader Black Flame was only Level 190 when he fought Uncle Xiao in a simulation battle three days ago. Uncle Xiao even complained afterward about not being able to fight at full strength, Twilight Leaf stated firmly. As for whether Guild Leader Black Flame is Level 200 nowthat I cant say for sure. Is that so Heiser fell into thought for a moment. Then, the corners of her mouth raised into a playful smile as she said, I guess my teacher wasnt joking when she described Guild Leader Black Flame as mysterious. Now, I have another expert I can challenge besides Big Sis Frost! Subsequently, Heiser and Twilight Leaf advanced deeper into the Shadow Mountains to regroup with the other members of Holy Dragon Spear. Meanwhile, a commotion broke out in the Shadow Mountains outer area as news of the Divine Wing Dynastys number one chosen one getting killed got around. Simultaneously, the legend of a Swordsman named Black Flame spread like wildfire. This was the first time in centuries that a Level 200 player had managed to kill a pseudo-apex powers Level 226 chosen one in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Moreover, this Level 200 player wasnt even among the Divine Glory Lists top 30. Instead, he was only ranked 281st. When the Divine Wing Dynastys executives learned of this matter, they immediately issued a kill order for Black Flame, adamant in recovering their reputation. Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Forest of the Dead: This should be a good spot to level up. Shi Feng sighed in relief after checking his map. After running for over four hours, he finally crossed the Shadow Mountains and arrived at the Forest of the Dead, a map with higher-level monsters. The lowest-level monsters in the Forest of the Dead were Level 235. As every five levels was a small turning point for monsters, the Forest of the Deads lowest-level monsters were much stronger than the Shadow Mountains lowest-level monsters. A Level 235 Legendary monster would be as strong as a Level 220 Divine monster. Not to mention, many Level 235-plus Divine monsters roamed the Forest of the Dead. If a group of Level 235 Legendary monsters showed up with a Level 235-plus Divine monster in the lead, no Tier 6 party under Level 230 could survive. Thus, it was unlikely any other teams or parties would venture into the Forest of the Dead right away. They would likely spend a day or two grinding in the Shadow Mountains before considering coming here. This presented Shi Feng with a golden opportunity to grind here undisturbed. Immediately, Shi Feng retrieved the Feather of Oath and the three World Sources from his bag. Then, he had the Feather of Oath absorb the three World Sources. My success rides on you now. Shi Fengs heart clenched with anxiety as he watched the Feather of Oath absorb the World Sources. Shi Feng never got around to repairing the Feather of Oath since he had to start his journey to the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary shortly after obtaining the World Sources from Enos. Now that he was stuck in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, unless he could find a party or a team willing to accept a Level 200 player, the Feather of Oath was his only hope for getting out of the secret land alive. So long as he could summon Level 220, Tier 6 War Goddesses, a party of six War Goddesses should help him get through the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Otherwise, he would have to lose a portion of his Immortal Soul to leave. After absorbing the three World Sources, the Feather of Oath released a colorful radiance. Countless divine runes filled the area 100 yards around the Feather of Oath. At a glance, it looked like a primordial being was about to manifest, and many nearby monsters fled in fear. A minute later, the divine runes merged with the Feather of Oath, leaving it with its original appearance. But upon closer inspection, several golden streaks could be seen adorning it. As expected of one of the Goddesss most prized possessions. Even though it is only partially repaired, it already has such a powerful Divine Might and feels nearly as strong as a Divine Artifact. Shi Feng was amazed by the Divine Might emanating from the white feather in his hand. He promptly inspected the Feather of Oaths stats. [Feather of Oath] (Divine Artifact) An item worn by the Goddess of Space. It is a treasure created using the souls of twelve heroes from before the Great Destruction. However, the Feather of Oath suffered serious damage during a fight against three Holy Ancestors, and repairing it will require six World Sources. (Current number of World Sources absorbed: 3) Additional Skill 1- War Goddess Summoning: For every 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal expended, summon one War Goddess of the same tier (up to Tier 6 and equipment up to the Divine Artifact rank) but no more than twenty levels higher. Every War Goddess summoned will last six hours. Up to nine War Goddesses can be summoned at the same time. No incantations required. No Cooldown. Additional Skill 2- Heroic Pledge: Expend ten God Crystals to temporarily upgrade a War Goddess by one tier (up to Tier 6 and equipment up to a Divine Set). Duration: 1 hour Cooldown: 6 hours Additional Skill 3- Goddess Battle Array: Expend three God Crystals to allow the War Goddesses to form a Small Advanced Gold Battle Array (at least six War Goddesses are required). Duration: 10 minutes Cooldown: 3 hours Chapter 3784 - Chapter 858 - Dark Primordial Tribe Chapter 858 C Dark Primordial Tribe Amazing! Shi Feng dared not believe his eyes when he saw the Feather of Oaths updated stats. After sensing the Divine Might the Feather of Oath emanated, he initially thought it would only be as powerful as the average Divine Artifact. However, the Feather of Oaths improvements far exceeded his expectations. In its current state, Shi Feng felt that the Feather of Oath could rival the Abyssal Eye. It should be known that the Abyssal Eyes abilities could only achieve the Tier 7 standard because it was fully repaired. In comparison, the Feather of Oath remained partially damaged. Yet, it already had the potential to breach the Tier 7 standard. Additionally, the War Goddesses he summoned could now come equipped with Divine Artifacts instead of only Fragmented Divine Artifacts. They could also exceed him by up to 20 levels. The War Goddess Summoning Skill alone trumped many Divine Artifacts. War Goddesses already possessed stunningly high Basic Attributes, even without Divine Artifacts. Shi Feng dared not imagine how powerful they would become if they were fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Although Divine Artifacts and Fragmented Divine Artifacts were only separated by one rank, they were worlds apart in performance. It was like the difference between Ancient Gods and ordinary Gods. Moreover, he could summon up to nine War Goddesses with the improved War Goddess Summoning. Who among the same level could contend with him if he were to summon nine Ancient Gods to fight for him? Not to mention, there were still the Feather of Oaths second and third Skills, which were even more extraordinary. Although it cost a hefty sum of God Crystals to activate these two Skills, their effects were well worth the cost. If he could equip a War Goddess with a Divine Set, said War Goddess would become invincible among opponents of the same level. The Goddess Battle Array could also temporarily increase the strength of the War Goddesses by a large margin. From what Shi Feng could recall, Gold Battle Arrays were already the strongest battle arrays that the various human powers possessed. If an ordinary hegemonic power were to get its hands on a Gold Battle Array, its status would instantly skyrocket to match that of conglomerates. Although Shi Feng didnt know how powerful an Advanced Gold Battle Array was, he wouldnt discount the possibility that it could let the War Goddesses hold their ground against Primordial Gods of the same level. While Shi Feng was marveling at the Feather of Oaths astonishing Skills, the commotion caused by the Feather of Oath attracted a Tier 6 Divine monster. [Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand] (Dark Primordial Tribe, Divine) Level 236 HP 100,000,000,000,000,000 The Dark Primordial Tribe? Shi Feng was speechless when he saw the hundred-meter-tall monster that exuded a strange form of mana. He didnt know whether he should consider himself lucky or unlucky. The Dark Primordial Tribe consisted of a group of creatures that were no weaker than any other creature in the Greater Gods Domain. In his previous life, they were first seen after the discovery of the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. More specifically, they were creatures the Primordial Flame Dragon had sealed in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. The Dark Primordial Tribe originally inhabited the depths of the Void Sea. Even among the terrifying creatures that inhabited the boundless Void Sea, the Dark Primordial Tribe was considered powerful. The weakest member could rival Ancient Gods, while the stronger ones could kill even Primordial Gods. Although the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand before Shi Feng was only a walking corpse with an incomplete soul, it should still be able to exhibit at least 20% of the combat power it possessed when it was alive. It could be considered one of the Flame Dragon Gods Nests overlords. Without a 100-man Tier 6 team of experts of the same level, killing it would be a challenge. Meanwhile, despite having intelligence lower than a childs, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand immediately attacked as soon as it saw Shi Feng. The land beneath the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand instantly withered, and a suffocating darkness spread across tens of thousands of yards. Then, a dozen colossal hands erupted from the corrupted ground, each a thousand meters tall, striking at Shi Feng from multiple angles. The sheer power they unleashed transformed the surrounding area into a death zone hundreds of yards in radius. This scene made Shi Feng use the Feather of Oath without hesitation, spending 900,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to summon nine Level 220, Tier 6 War Goddesses. The nine War Goddesses summoned had varying equipment standards. The strongest War Goddess wielded a greatsword. She came equipped with eight Divine Artifacts, with the rest of her equipment consisting of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. The weakest War Goddess came equipped with only five Divine Artifacts, but even she was not an existence Shi Feng would dare to fight head-on. However, even after summoning the nine War Goddesses, Shi Feng remained uncertain as he looked at the colossal hands smashing down at him, and he quickly decided to spend ten God Crystals to activate Heroic Pledge. There existed a 16-level gap between the War Goddesses and the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. Although the War Goddesses came equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts, overcoming such a significant level gap remained a challenge. But before Shi Feng could activate Heroic Pledge, the greatsword-wielding War Goddess suddenly jumped, flying straight into the air like a cannonball. Clang! In the blink of an eye, the War Goddess appeared before the dark colossal hands, the greatsword in her hands suddenly flaring with golden light. Immediately afterward, numerous divine runes wrapped around the weapon and compressed the surrounding space onto it. Shi Feng felt like the world itself was gravitating toward the greatsword. Then, before he could react, the War Goddess struck the area where the colossal hands converged with her greatsword. Boom! With a loud bang, the sky disappeared What grade of combat technique is this? This scene dumbfounded Shi Feng. The Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands attack was far from ordinary. Seeing as the dark mana hands it summoned could superimpose their power, its attack definitely reached the standard of Gold Combat Techniques. Without using an Advanced Gold Defensive Technique or some other lifesaving measure, a Level 236, Tier 6 tank would be swatted like a fly, suffering devastating damage. Yet, with a single strike, the greatsword-wielding War Goddess shattered the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands attack, along with the sky above. It should be known that the secret land created by the Primordial Flame Dragon was no ordinary secret land. The stability of its space was superior to that of many Realms; even the Eternal Realm barely rivaled it. Nevertheless, the War Goddess still erased the space within tens of thousands of yards with her attack. Not even Peak Gold Combat Techniques should be capable of such destruction. Before Shi Feng could regain his senses, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand launched another attack, this time firing a dark laser beam at the greatsword-wielding War Goddess. The beam obliterated everything in its path, cleaving the land in two. It was clear that the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand was getting serious. However, the greatsword-wielding War Goddess was not to be outdone. She promptly transformed her silver greatsword into three bolts of lightning, each more terrifying than the last. Then, she merged the three lightning bolts into a purple-gold lightning bolt and had it strike the beam of darkness. Following the impact, the greatsword-wielding War Goddess fell back a step, the exchange revealing that she was slightly disadvantaged in Strength. Her HP also fell by 2%. Immediately afterward, though, a bow-wielding War Goddess shot an arrow into the sky and summoned a Healing Rain that rapidly restored the greatsword-wielding War Goddess to full health. Though individually weaker, the nine Level 220, Tier 6 War Goddesses were not at all inferior to the Level 236 Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand when they fought as one. It was clear they could fight the monster head-on! Chapter 3785 - Chapter 859 - Soloing a Divine Boss Chapter 859 C Soloing a Divine Boss Great! Theres a chance! Shi Fengs eyes lit up when he saw that the greatsword-wielding War Goddess was only slightly disadvantaged in Strength. Normally, soloing a Tier 6 Boss with 100 quadrillion HP should be impossible for a player. After all, such a monster could recover 2% of its HP every five seconds. It was nigh impossible for a player to overcome this barrier by themself. However, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand was a little different. As a monster that had died long ago, it didnt possess battle recovery like normal monsters. So long as one could survive its attacks, one could grind it to death. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng took out ten Eternal God Crystals and activated the Feather of Oaths second Skill, Heroic Pledge. Immediately, a War Goddess wielding a square shield and a spear had her equipment transformed into a Divine Set. The intensity of her aura surged, and she became much stronger than even the greatsword-wielding War Goddess, who was equipped with eight Divine Artifacts. The change in the shield-wielding War Goddesss aura caught the attention of the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. Almost instinctively, the magic eyes that covered its body shone with dark light, and hundreds of greatswords exuding strange mana filled the area within a thousand yards, occulting the sky. Is this the power of the Dark Primordial Tribe? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned as he looked at the one thousand greatswords floating silently in the sky. At first glance, the floating greatswords seemed to be weapons. However, on closer inspection, Shi Feng realized that they were actually puppets. Moreover, each of these puppets was a Level 236 Divine monster. In other words, besides the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand, he now had to face a thousand Level 236 Divine monsters as well A thousand Divine monsters! Even a 1,000-man Tier 6 legion would have difficulty fighting such an array of monsters! Die Die All of you die! Although the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand did not possess a mouth, the mental fluctuations it gave off conveyed its thoughts directly into Shi Fengs mind, and they radiated hostility toward the living. As the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand conveyed its thoughts, the dark greatswords in the sky aimed their tips at Shi Feng. Evidently, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand knew its true opponent in this battle. Use your Goddesss Howl! Shi Feng instinctively shouted at the shield-wielding War Goddess when he saw the dark greatswords targeting him. Goddesss Howl. This was a Tier 6 AOE Taunt Taboo Skill that the shield-wielding War Goddess had learned. Although the Taboo Skill had a five-minute cooldown, it would compel all enemies within 1,000 yards to attack the user once activated. Should taunted targets try to resist this compulsion and attack someone else, they would receive significant amounts of continuous damage. In contrast, the user would receive a buff to their Basic Attributes over time, starting at 100% and capping out at 300%. Responding to Shi Fengs command, the shield-wielding War Goddess stomped on the ground and let out a low shout, stirring up a storm that swept across a thousand yards. Additionally, over a thousand golden chains emerged from the golden magic array under her feet and established a link with the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand and the dark greatswords to force them to target her. When the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand and the dark greatswords turned their focus to the shield-wielding War Goddess, she did not panic. Instead, with a swing of her spear, she called down countless lightning bolts from the sky to strike them. Subsequently, damage values in the hundreds of billions appeared above the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand one after another. Almost instantly, it lost over a hundred trillion HP, and its HP bar fell 0.1%. Their HPs are shared? Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw how much HP the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand lost. Originally, he was quite troubled by the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands HP of 100 quadrillion. He had no idea how long it would take him to kill such a tough monster. After all, even the greatsword-wielding War Goddess could only deal a few hundred billion damage in each attack while suffering from 16 levels worth of level suppression. Even if all nine War Goddesses attacked together, they could, at most, cause three to four trillion damage per second. At that rate, it would take them seven to eight hours to kill the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. Moreover, that was assuming the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand did not resist or fight back. If the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand fought normally, the fight would take several dozen hours to conclude. Fighting for dozens of hours in the same location was incredibly risky. Although he was currently in the Forest of the Dead, there was a chance some teams would enter the map and notice the commotion he was causing. At that time, all his effort would be for naught. Fortunately, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand shared its HP with the dark greatswords it summoned. Although the addition of these dark greatswords significantly increased the threat to Shi Feng, it also drastically reduced the time needed to kill the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. Meanwhile, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand, furious at the shield-wielding War Goddess actions, had the dark greatswords attack her in a frenzied manner, the sight giving Shi Feng goosebumps. After all, this was equivalent to an attack conducted by 1,000 Level 236 Divine monsters. However, the shield-wielding War Goddess remained unfazed and raised her shield defensively. Then, a bubble of golden divine runes formed around her, stopping all the dark greatswords inconceivably fast attacks. When the dark greatswords concluded their first round of attacks, Shi Feng saw that the shield-wielding War Goddess hadnt lost even 10% of her HP. Under the effects of the bow-wielding War Goddesss Healing Rain, the shield-wielding War Goddesss HP was restored to full in less than a second. In the meantime, the eight other War Goddesses used their Offensive AOE Skills one after another, each move plundering over ten trillion HP from the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. As for Shi Feng, he didnt stay idle, either, continuously executing Dark Moon against the dark greatswords. Although the damage he caused was far less than that of the War Goddesses, he still managed to deprive the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand of one trillion HP with each attack. This would speed up the battle and minimize his chances of discovery by other players. Ten minutes Twenty minutes Forty minutes The battle intensified as time passed. When the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands HP fell to 20%, it went berserk and summoned another thousand dark greatswords. With their numbers doubled, the dark greatswords reduced the shield-wielding War Goddesss HP by more than 50% in just one round of attacks. Not even Healing Rain could restore her to full HP before the next round of attacks. When Shi Feng saw this, he promptly activated his Miniature Abyssal World to suppress the dark greatswords. However, as maintaining the Miniature Abyssal World placed a huge burden on his Concentration, his complexion turned a shade lighter with every second he kept it active. Meanwhile, the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands HP decreased at a snails pace 15%..10%..5%.. When the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands HP fell below 100 trillion, it suddenly went berserk a second time, increasing the number of dark greatswords on the battlefield from 2,000 to 3,000. However, before any of these dark greatswords could wreak havoc, the shield-wielding War Goddess hurled her spear into the sky. Immediately afterward, a golden spear ten thousand meters long fell from the sky, its majesty visible across hundreds of thousands of yards. Boom! In just one strike, the area within ten thousand yards of the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand was turned into a sea of lightning, and the Divine Boss lost its last bit of HP. Chapter 3786 - Chapter 860 - Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal Chapter 860 C Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal Finally. Shi Feng sighed in relief as he looked at the fallen Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. The Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand proved even tougher than anticipated. He truly had not expected the Divine Boss to have a second berserk phase. This battle would have been lost if not for the shield-wielding War Goddess. Three thousand Level 236 Divine monsters! Such a force would devastate most Realms in the Greater Gods Domain. Though every Realm had plenty of Divine monsters, none had 3,000 Divine monsters at Level 236. Even a Level 230, Tier 6 tank wielding a Divine Shield could barely contend with a Level 236 Divine monster. However, most upper-ranking hegemonic powers didnt even have more than a few Level 230, Tier 6 tanks, let alone Level 230, Tier 6 tanks with Divine Shields. Only pseudo-apex and apex powers, with their Level 235, Tier 6 tanks fully equipped with Divine Artifacts or Divine Sets, stood a chance against 3,000 Level 236 Divine monsters. Weaker powers shouldnt even dream of engaging such a horde. Following the death of the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand, Shi Fengs experience bar soared. In the blink of an eye, he rose from Level 200 to Level 201, and then again to Level 202. Normally, even a 1,000-man legion of Level 230, Tier 6 players would consider the EXP from the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand a substantial reward. Now, Shi Feng monopolized this EXP. Additionally, it was also multiplied by the maximum possible EXP bonus due to the 36-level gap between him and the Divine Boss. As a result, his level skyrocketed until he reached Level 212. Twelve levels in one go? Shi Feng was astounded at how many levels he gained. In the Greater Gods Domain, even with unlimited access to Taboo Secret Lands, players past Level 200 would need a week or more to level up once. Furthermore, this duration would only increase with their level due to the scarcity of higher-level monsters. Yet, he gained 12 levels in one hour. This was likely the fastest anyone had ever leveled up in the human races Greater Gods Domain post-Level 200. Its a pity Level 236 Bosses like the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand are incredibly rare. Otherwise, I could have aimed to hit Level 220 within a day. Wistfulness filled Shi Feng as he glanced at the fading Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand. With the Feather of Oath, if I were at Level 220, I could even compete with the Dragon God Palace and Holy Dragon Spear for the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. The Flame Dragon Gods Nest was one of three super-large-scale Taboo Secret Lands in the human races Greater Gods Domain. It was also one of only three Level 240-plus Taboo Secret Lands that Shi Feng knew of, and it could have a huge impact on a powers development. This was because it could let players progress to Level 240 and beyond unobstructed. Since Tier 7 remained unattainable in the human races Greater Gods Domain, Level 230-plus, Tier 6 players and Divine Artifacts became units of measurement for a powers overall strength. The more a power commanded, the stronger it would be. For this reason, whoever controlled the Flame Dragon Gods Nest would secure a future as an apex power for themselves. This was also why Holy Dragon Spear could fight an army of one million Tier 6 Holy Race players with just an elite force of 10,000 Tier 6 players. When Holy Dragon Spear showed up on the battlefield with 100 Level 240-plus, Tier 6 experts and 10,000 Tier 6 experts close to Level 240, it had shocked the various human powers. At the time, even apex powers in the human territories boasted only a few thousand Level 235-plus, Tier 6 experts after years of accumulation, while conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers would be fortunate to have a hundred. After all, although the monsters in secret lands respawned quickly, it didnt happen instantly. Thus, the EXP secret lands could yield was finite, and powers could not afford to grant all their members unrestricted access. However, a super-large-scale secret land could accommodate many more players than large-scale and ordinary secret lands. This was why Holy Dragon Spear could produce so many Level 235-plus, Tier 6 experts in a short time. They could have even competed against the various apex powers experts if not for their inferior equipment standards. While Zero Wing was a formidable power in the Eternal Realm, it lagged far behind the various powers operating outside the Eternal Realm when it came to levels, weapons, and equipment. If Zero Wing could gain control of the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, it would undoubtedly make up for the Guilds deficiencies. The problem was that the Dragon God Palaces and Holy Dragon Spears frontline experts were already inside the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Without sufficient strength, Zero Wing had no hope of challenging these two pseudo-apex powers for the secret lands ownership. Thus, Shi Feng could only keep his thoughts to himself. He was already lucky to gain entry into the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. It was simply unrealistic to try to snatch it from the jaws of two pseudo-apex powers. After all, each of these pseudo-apex powers had at least a 100-man team of Level 235-plus, Tier 6 experts inside the secret land. They also had all sorts of Divine Artifacts to fall back on. Even with the Feather of Oath, he stood no chance. Subsequently, Shi Feng turned his gaze to the items the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand dropped. The Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand dropped very few items for a Divine Boss. Besides 144 Undying Souls, it dropped only two other items. Be that as it may, the two other items dropped were extraordinary. Shi Feng would even go as far as to describe them as terrifying. [Dark Divine Silver] (Godly Relic) An ultra-rare metal born through the condensation of the Void Seas darkness. The Dark Divine Silver can be used to forcibly upgrade a Fragmented Divine Artifact into an exclusive Divine Artifact. The resulting Divine Artifact can only be used by the bound user and cannot be used by others. [Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal] (Divine Artifact) A soul crystal formed by the Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand after devouring a part of the Primordial Flame Dragons soul. The Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal can be absorbed by Dragon-type creatures for one bloodline transformation opportunity. How powerful was this Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand when it was still alive? When Shi Feng finished reading the descriptions of the two items, he suspected that the Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand was much more fearsome when it was still alive than he had first thought. Although Shi Feng found it unbelievable that the Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand could come back to life in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, he initially hadnt thought it had reached the standard of Primordial Gods. However, the Primordial Dragon Holy Crystals description forced him to rethink his assessment. After all, if the Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands strength did not reach the Primordial God standard, it could never have devoured a portion of the Primordial Flame Dragons soul. The Dark Divine Silver is useless to me, but I can give it to Snow to upgrade her Chaos Wind Blade, Shi Feng muttered as he put away the Dark Divine Silver before reaching for the Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal. This thing, however, is something I can use. I wonder how much it can improve the Frostflame Dragon? After saying so, Shi Feng retrieved the Ancient Oath from his bag and summoned the Tier 5 Frostflame Dragon. Currently, the Frostflame Dragon was the only Dragon-type creature in his possession. Chapter 3787 - Chapter 861 - Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration Chapter 861 C Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration After Shi Feng took out the Ancient Oath and chanted, a summoning array five hundred yards in radius appeared on the ground. Subsequently, a dragon over three hundred meters long flew out of the summoning array and landed before him. Despite being at Tier 5, the dragon exuded an aura comparable to that of a Tier 6 monster. It was like a king that had descended to the mortal world. When the Frostflame Dragon saw Shi Feng, the dignified look on its face vanished as it rubbed its head against him, its eyes filled with joy. It behaved like a child who had not seen its parents in a long time. Here you go, little guy, Shi Feng said as he threw the fist-sized Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal to the Frostflame Dragon. The Divine-ranked Frostflame Dragon could grow into a Tier 6 Dragon if fed normally. The only problem was that this process required time. Thus, since his promotion to Tier 6, Shi Feng had treated the Tier 5 Frostflame Dragon only as a means of transportation. But that could potentially change now that he had obtained the Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal. If he could promote the Frostflame Dragon to Tier 6, it would greatly help him. As a Divine Flying Mount, the Frostflame Dragon already possessed the Basic Attributes of Tier 6 monsters despite being at Tier 5. Once it advanced to Tier 6, it might surpass Tier 6 Gods in Basic Attributes. At that time, while its offensive capabilities might remain inferior to War Goddesses equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts, its HP and tanking capabilities would be leagues above War Goddesses of the same level. It could compensate for the War Goddesses inadequate defensive capabilities. Additionally, the Movement Speed of Flying Mounts would skyrocket once they reached Tier 6. Not only could they fly between Realms, but they could also let players riding on them gradually recover their Stamina and Concentration. Tier 6 Flying Mounts were essentially miniature mobile fortresses. This was also why Tier 6 Flying Mounts could be used for cross-realm travel. After swallowing the Primordial Dragon Holy Crystal, the Frostflame Dragon became drowsy and slept beside Shi Feng. A moment later, divine runes gradually surfaced on its scales. Within a minute, three layers of divine runes covered the entire Frostflame Dragon, creating a cocoon of divine runes. When the cocoon formed, it radiated a powerful aura that shook the mending space in the area. Then, the cocoon released draconic roars that echoed across tens of thousands of yards, scaring all Tier 5 monsters in the vicinity into fleeing. Four minutes later, a pitch-black dragon surrounded by flames and frost emerged from the cocoon, its body reaching a thousand meters long. Immediately afterward, the dragon let out a deafening roar that shook the space within tens of thousands of yards. This isits Tier 6 form? Shi Feng was momentarily taken aback when he sensed danger from the Frostflame Dragon. Rather than a Tier 6 monster, he felt like he was standing before an Ancient God right now. Immediately, Shi Feng pulled up the Frostflame Dragons Attribute Panel, wanting to see what was going on. What perverse Attributes! When Shi Feng saw the Frostflame Dragons statistics, the Feather of Oaths War Goddesses suddenly seemed lackluster. [Frostflame Sacred Dragon] (Dragon, Advanced Divine) Level 212 HP 6,000,000,000,000,000 At their peak, Sacred Dragons were existences that could rival Ancient Gods. Thus, it was wonderful news that the Frostflame Dragon had evolved into a Sacred Dragon. Additionally, the Frostflame Sacred Dragon possessed unbelievably high HP and Defense. Despite being at Level 212, it already had six quadrillion HP, which was only slightly lower than the HP of a Level 230 Legendary monster. Paired with its Sacred Armor Defense, it could probably shrug off the attacks of a Level 230 Legendary monster. Its sturdiness could definitely match Level 220 Divine monsters. Subsequently, Shi Feng looked at the Ancient Oath in his hand and saw that it had similarly undergone significant changes. [Ancient Oath] Can be used to summon an Advanced Divine-ranked Tier 6 Frostflame Sacred Dragon as a partner to fly and fight freely in the sky. If the Frostflame Sacred Dragon dies, it will need 30 natural days to return to life. The Frostflame Sacred Dragon can gain EXP through combat, but it cannot exceed the Ancient Oaths wielder by more than 10 levels. Additional Effect: The Frostflame Sacred Dragon will share 20% of its Basic Attributes and 30% of its Concentration with the Ancient Oaths wielder. Crap! A Dragon-type Divine Artifact?! Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he switched his gaze between the Ancient Oath and the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. It was already a huge surprise that the Frostflame Dragon managed to evolve into a Sacred Dragon. However, the changes to the Ancient Oath were even more astonishing. Being able to share 20% of the Frostflame Sacred Dragons Basic Attributes was equivalent to gaining one Divine Artifacts worth of Basic Attributes. On top of that, he could also share 30% of the Frostflame Sacred Dragons Concentration. This was an effect all Tier 6 players would kill to have. System: Congratulations! Your Concentration has exceeded the Tier 6 Limit standard and reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard. System: Congratulations! You are the first player from the human race to have achieved Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration. Rewarding the Special Skill Mind Gaze. [Mind Gaze] (Special Skill) When activated, weakens the targets Concentration by 50%. Duration: 30 seconds Cooldown: 3 minutes With my current strength, I should be able to match Ink Crystal, even without summoning the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. When Shi Feng sensed the changes to his body, he suddenly felt that sixth-floor experts were no longer out of his reach. With his Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration, he could now cast the Miniature Abyssal World without struggling. He should also be able to execute Gold Combat Techniques while maintaining the Miniature Abyssal World. If he paired Gold Combat Techniques with the Miniature Abyssal World, he should have no trouble fighting sixth-floor experts at the same level and Basic Attributes. Not to mention, he also had the Basic Attribute bonus from the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. Now, he was basically a Tier 6 Humanoid Boss. Tier 6 Shield Warriors of the same level were unlikely to have even one-fifth of his HP, while Level 220, Tier 6 experts would need at least three or four Divine Artifacts to match him in Strength. Moreover, this was before the Frostflame Sacred Dragon gained any additional levels. If the Frostflame Sacred Dragon were ten levels higher than him, a Level 220, Tier 6 expert would need at least five Divine Artifacts to surpass him in Strength. Just as Shi Feng was about to get a feel for the improvements brought about by the Frostflame Sacred Dragon, his Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration allowed him to detect a group of players that appeared within 10,000 yards of him. There were 20 players in this group, each with exceptional Concentration. Even the weakest among them had Tier 6 Advanced Concentration. Three Tier 6 Limit Concentration and nine Tier 6 Peak Concentration? Is this one of the top teams of the three powers? Shi Feng was a little surprised when he noticed the Concentration standards of the approaching 20-man team. It was incredibly challenging for players in the human races Greater Gods Domain to achieve Tier 6 Peak Concentration. Generally, only those with extraordinary talent or special encounters could achieve it. As for players who could develop their Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard, they were either established powerhouses in the Greater Gods Domain or the strongest chosen ones nurtured by the various apex and pseudo-apex powers. This was because players had no standardized methods to develop their Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard. It wasnt something that could be achieved by killing monsters or doing quests. Thus, there shouldnt be more than a few powers that could take out three players with Tier 6 Limit Concentration and nine with Tier 6 Peak Concentration. Before Shi Feng could recover from his surprise, the 20-man team emerged from a spatial passage that suddenly formed before him. The members of this team were all above Level 230. The highest-level player among them was even at Level 239, a level only a small number of players had achieved in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Chapter 3788 - Chapter 862 - 281st on the Divine Glory List? Chapter 862 C 281st on the Divine Glory List? Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Forest of the Dead: When the 20 young men and women emerged from the spatial passage, they carefully observed their surroundings while scrutinizing Shi Feng, who stood beside the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hands corpse. Meanwhile, Shi Feng also studied them with interest. Greetings, friend. I am Jun Tiankuo, and these are my friends, a young man carrying a draconic shield said, breaking the silence. We were nearby and noticed the commotion here. We thought a Team Dungeon had appeared, so we hurried here to check. I hope you dont misunderstand. Jun Tiankuo? Shi Feng couldnt help but scrutinize the young Shield Warrior when he heard the other partys name, curiosity filling his heart. Even so, he maintained a calm expression as he said, Greetings. I am Black Flame. As you can see, there are no Team Dungeons here. Shi Feng had heard the name Jun Tiankuo in his previous life. It was the name of someone who would eventually become one of the human races Ten Great Tanks. Jun Tiankuo started his journey in Gods Domain as an independent player operating in the Twelve Sanctuaries. In the real world, he was a combat fanatic known for seeking out extreme challenges with like-minded individuals. He had even fought wild beasts that roamed the wilderness of the Greater Worlds interstellar continents. Although Jun Tiankuo operated as an independent player in Gods Domain, he was backed by a rather powerful family in the Greater World. His family operated a corporation specializing in intercontinental shipping. While the corporations roots in Gods Domain might be shallow, it was affiliated with a pseudo-apex power. Unfortunately, Jun Tiankuos life wasnt all sunshine and rainbows. One day, he accidentally provoked Demons Gate in the Eternal Realm. Though he already ranked as one of the Greater Gods Domains Ten Great Shield Warriors at the time, he was nothing in front of Demons Gate. Thus, his family was abandoned by their patron, and the family corporation fell apart. Later on, Jun Tiankuo went to the Eternal Continents royal capital to establish Dragon Cry, a Guild that had over 500 Level 235-plus, Tier 6 players and could compete with conglomerates and upper-ranking hegemonic powers at its peak. Jun Tiankuo himself also became one of the human races Ten Great Tanks. However, before he could make a true comeback, Demons Gate sent four of its Nine Great Experts after him. Thereafter, his journey in Gods Domain ended, and Dragon Cry disbanded. Although Jun Tiankuo lost his final battle, it still shocked everyone in the Greater Gods Domain. After all, Demons Gates Nine Great Experts were all Level 240-plus experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Yet, Demons Gate deemed it necessary to send four of them after him. Two of them were even sixth-floor experts. Additionally, the battle revealed that Jun Tiankuo had reached the sixth-floor standard. Had two or three more players of similar caliber fought alongside him, he would have survived the encounter with Demons Gates experts, and Dragon Cry would have become a pseudo-apex power. Unfortunately, Dragon Crys foundations were too shallow, and Jun Tiankuo was the only person in the entire Guild who could trade blows with Demons Gates Nine Great Experts. Presently, though Jun Tiankuo had yet to become enemies with Demons Gate, his level was already extraordinary. He even had two Divine Artifacts equipped, with the rest of his equipment comprising Fragmented Divine Artifacts. He was much stronger than Shi Feng had ever been in his previous life. Tiankuo, looks like its just him, a female Cleric who was Level 236 said to Jun Tiankuo through the team chat after she scanned the area with her Tier 6 Divine Eye of Detection. That corpse likely belongs to the Regional Boss. Should we ask him what happened here? The other members of the team nodded in agreement. They had entered the Forest of the Dead ahead of the various powers teams to get a head start in conquering Team Dungeons and Regional Bosses. Now that the Regional Boss was dead, they would have skipped exploring the starting map for nothing if they didnt at least ask what had happened to it. They also werent worried about offending Shi Feng. Although Shi Feng had nine Level 220 War Goddesses and one Level 212 Sacred Dragon protecting him, they werent much of a threat to their team. No need. Jun Tiankuo shook his head. Then, he looked at Shi Feng and said, Brother Black Flame, since nothing else is happening here, well be moving on. If fate allows it, I will treat you to a drink at the Flame Vein Bar. After saying so, Jun Tiankuo sent Shi Feng a friend request and prepared to leave with his team. Ill hold you to it, Shi Feng said after accepting the friend request. If you get into trouble in the Eternal Realm, you can find me in Shadowring Town. Shi Feng had a good feeling about Jun Tiankuo. He felt that Jun Tiankuo was an expert worth befriending. After all, besides being big enough of a threat to warrant Demons Gate to send four of its Nine Great Experts after him, Jun Tiankuo also reached the sixth-floor expert through his own efforts. On top of that, Jun Tiankuo was a Shield Warrior. Tanks of his caliber were crucial when raiding Taboo Team Dungeons and Taboo Bosses. After saying so, Shi Feng recalled the War Goddesses and the Frostflame Sacred Dragon and chose to teleport to the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. As soon as he did so, he transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the secret lands core area. Since players had started to appear in the Forest of the Dead, the map was no longer suitable for him to grind in. Thus, he could only head to the less populated Flame Dragon Gods Treasury to search for better opportunities. Back at the Forest of the Dead, Jun Tiankuo and his teammates silently looked at each other for a moment after Shi Fengs departure. Tiankuo, do you know him? What is his background? the female Cleric asked Jun Tiankuo in confusion. Hes only a Level 212 Swordsman. He doesnt even have a single Divine Artifact on him. How can he behave so brazenly before us? The other team members were also visibly confused. They couldnt understand why Jun Tiankuo would behave so respectfully toward a Level 212 Swordsman. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Level 230-plus players like themselves could kill a Level 212 Swordsman in one move. They would already be benevolent if they simply settled on asking a few questions. Most other players in their shoes would have killed Shi Feng outright. After all, Shi Feng was the only player in the area. While it was unlikely a low-level player like him could solo a Regional Boss in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, it was better to be safe than sorry. You guys might not know him since your focus is only on the Twelve Sanctuaries, but he is the 281st expert on the Divine Glory List. He has also made a name for himself in the Eternal Realm and established a powerful Guild there, Jun Tiankuo said, looking in the direction Shi Feng had taken with a hint of admiration in his eyes. Hes only 281st on the Divine Glory List? Tiankuo, are you serious? Jun Tiankuos teammates couldnt help but laugh when they heard his words. Any random chosen one from the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary can enter the Divine Glory Lists top 100! Heck, every one of us here is stronger than him! Facing his teammates laughter, Jun Tiankuo did not feel embarrassed. Instead, he turned to the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand and said, Then, what if I tell you that he one-shotted the Divine Wing Dynastys Abyss Water not long ago? Also, he was the only one in this area when we arrived. Besides him, who else could have killed this Level 236 Regional Boss? Chapter 3789 - Chapter 863 - Flame Dragon Gods Treasury Chapter 863 C Flame Dragon Gods Treasury Jun Tiankuos teammates fell silent momentarily when they heard his words. Tiankuo, are you saying that he killed this Boss alone? Looking at the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand, the female Cleric blurted out, But how is that possible? Hes only level 212. He might have War Goddesses fighting for him, but theyre only Level 220. Even if the Boss stood still and did nothing, they wouldnt be able to kill it. Not to mention, we rushed over as soon as we heard the commotion. Without at least a team of several hundred, theres no way this Boss can be killed so quickly. One of the main headaches the various powers frontline teams faced when raiding Regional Bosses stemmed from their immense HP and rapid battle recovery. As strong as their team of 20 was, even they lacked the firepower to take down a Level 236 Regional Boss in a short time. This was why they chose to inspect their surroundings the moment they arrived in the area rather than pay attention to Shi Feng. After all, they simply couldnt fathom the possibility of a Level 212 player soloing a Level 236 Boss in only an hour or so. It may be impossible for others, but Black Flame is different, Jun Tiankuo said before sharing a battle video with his teammates. It was none other than the recording of the fight between Shi Feng and Abyss Water. One of my friends recorded this in the Shadow Mountains. Do any of you think you can survive his attack? Despite being only three seconds long, the battle video captured the entire fight. It opened with Abyss Water initiating the fight, followed by Shi Feng neutralizing all of the crimson energy blades. Then, the video concluded with Shi Feng appearing behind Abyss Water and decapitating him. When the video ended, Jun Tiankuos teammates were left stunned. I dont know about you guys, but I dont have the slightest confidence in surviving that attack. Now, do you still think he cant kill this Regional Boss? Without waiting for a response, Jun Tiankuo added with a longing gaze, Ever since the Eternal Realm appeared, Ive wanted to meet the experts there. I also want to meet the rumored Holy Race experts. Its a pity I never got the chance. But now that several powers have already discovered the entrance, I believe it wont be long before its coordinates become public. When that time comes, I plan to test myself in the Eternal Realm and see where I stand in Gods Domain! When Jun Tiankuos teammates heard his words, their interest was piqued, and their eyes lit up in excitement. They, like Jun Tiankuo, constantly sought to push their limits with extreme challenges. Previously, they thought the Twelve Sanctuaries were the center of the Greater Gods Domain. They thought that so long as they could reach the Twelve Sanctuaries apex, it would be the same as reaching the Greater Gods Domain apex. Thus, they never saw the need to leave the Twelve Sanctuaries. But now, they realized they had been terribly mistaken. If even the 281st-ranked expert on the Divine Glory List was such a terrifying existence, how strong were the top 100 experts? Of course, they knew the Divine Glory Lists rankings werent necessarily reliable. Even so, it could still give a general impression of a players standard. Besides the Divine Glory Lists experts, there were also the foreign players in the Eternal Realm, such as the Holy Race players, who were considered much stronger than the human players. This was the first time since Gods Domains launch that players of other races had appeared. Suddenly, the doors to a whole new world had opened to them. Meanwhile, after a ten-minute teleportation, Shi Feng arrived before an ancient temple surrounded by mountains. The temple spanned an area greater than a large city, and countless divine patterns covered the surrounding mountains to form a barrier that enveloped the entire temple. The moment Shi Feng crossed the barrier, a powerful suppressive force acted on him, drastically weakening him. If, outside the barrier, he was considered a divine being capable of shattering worlds, within the barrier, he was just a mortal with above-average strength. Once inside the barrier, Shi Feng quickly landed in a plaza in the middle of the temple, where he discovered that many other players had already arrived before him. These were all players who had rushed to the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury upon collecting 100 Undying Souls. Most of them were Level 235 or above, but there were also a few players who were below Level 235. So many people have arrived already? When Shi Feng scanned the plaza, he spotted over a hundred figures, far more than he had anticipated. As the Flame Dragon Gods Nest was a secret land, players would need to obtain its Access Key if they wanted to control it. Although the Access Key would not let players prohibit others from entering the secret land, it could be used to control the size of the entrance and move the entrances location up to 10,000 yards from its original location. For example, if the Flame Dragon Gods Nests controlling power shrunk the entrance to accommodate only two or three players and moved it to a location fortified with magic arrays, it would become very difficult for other players and powers to enter the secret land. They would have to obtain permission from the controlling power beforehand. Additionally, the Access Key could grant Key Imprints to other players, allowing these players to leave the secret land whenever they wanted. In the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Key Imprints could let players exit the secret land without dying and losing a portion of their Immortal Souls. For these reasons, if a power wanted adequate control over the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, it must have the secret lands Access Key, which could only be exchanged for in the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. The Flame Dragon Gods Treasury was situated in the secret lands core area. Besides being a place for players to exchange Undying Souls for rewards, it was also populated with many monsters. This made it the best place to farm Undying Souls. Thus, anyone seeking the secret lands Access Key would come to the treasury as soon as possible. Of course, that was assuming they had enough strength to kill the monsters here. Otherwise, they would have come here for nothing. System: You have discovered the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. You may exchange for the Flame Dragon Gods reward directly from the Flame Dragon God Plaza. So thats why theyre all standing here. Originally, Shi Feng thought the players in the plaza were waiting for their companions to arrive. But now, he realized that they were instead browsing the items available for exchange in the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. Out of curiosity, Shi Feng also started to browse the treasurys exchange list. Many rumors surrounded the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury in his previous life. One of the rumors was that the treasury contained clues to how to go beyond Tier 6. However, because the Holy Dragon Spear had occupied the Flame Dragon Gods Nest early, by the time secret land was opened to the public, almost all of the items in the treasury had already been exchanged. Furthermore, nobody from Holy Dragon Spear had managed to go beyond Tier 6. So, everyone merely used it as a conversation topic during their free time, and nobody actually believed it. In this life, though, the Flame Dragon Gods Nest had activated abruptly, and even Holy Dragon Spear was only entering the secret land for the first time. So, this was a good opportunity to see what the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury had to offer. However, shortly after calling up the exchange list and seeing what it offered, Shi Feng couldnt help but rub his eyes in doubt. Worlds Scar? Shi Feng was shocked when he saw the fifth item on the exchange list. Worlds Scar. It was publicly acknowledged as one of the Greater Gods Domains Ten Great Divine Swords. It was also the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys number one Godly Relic. In his previous life, it was used by one of the Eternal Realms Three Absolutes, Aurebeth. Chapter 3790 - Chapter 864 - Empresss Relic Chapter 864 C Empresss Relic No wonder Aurebeth had such a good relationship with Holy Dragon Spear. When Shi Feng saw the Worlds Scar on the exchange list, he suddenly realized why Aurebeth had steadfastly supported the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer team in his previous life. Even when Holy Dragon Spear was besieged by three of the Holy Races royal powers, she had not hesitated to help the adventurer team and sustain heavy damage to her soul. Shi Feng had to admit that Holy Dragon Spear was incredibly skilled at making investments. It took a lot of courage and foresight to give Aurebeth the Worlds Scar before she rose to prominence. Any other power would never have given her such a priceless treasure if they didnt know her true potential. Fortunately, Holy Dragon Spears bet had paid off in spades, as Aurebeth eventually became one of the Three Absolutes of the Eternal Realm. She was also someone who would always reciprocate kindness. Given the significance of a good sword to a Swordsman, it was only natural that she would go above and beyond to help the adventurer team. Of course, there was a bigger reason Holy Dragon Spear was willing to give the Worlds Scar to Aurebeththe Worlds Scar available for exchange was a damaged item; it wasnt the complete Worlds Scar. Currently, the Worlds Scar was only an ordinary Divine Artifact. Otherwise, there was no way the Greater Gods Domains number one Divine Sword would rank only fifth on the exchange list. Shi Feng wondered if he could exchange the Worlds Scar and use it to recruit Aurebeth. However, he couldnt help but gasp when he saw how much it cost. Worlds Scar C 5,000,000 Undying Souls It was an astronomical amount. Subsequently, Shi Feng shifted his gaze upward to inspect the prices of the top four items and suddenly felt the 144 Undying Souls he obtained from killing the Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand were nothing but a joke. Flame Dragon Gods Access Key C 10,000,000 Undying Souls Primordial Dragon Tablet C 20,000,000 Undying Souls Empresss Scales C 30,000,000 Undying Souls Flame God Set C 50,000,000 Undying Souls While Shi Feng was lamenting his poverty, he suddenly received a system notification. System: Kalisha has detected the aura of the Primordial Dragon Relic[1] Empresss Scales. The second stage of the Inferior Mythical Quest Sanctuarys Rise is activated. Quest Content: Obtain the Empresss Scales within 30 days and hand it to Kalisha. Rewards unknown. If you fail to complete the quest within 30 days, all your Attributes will be halved permanently. The notification echoed three times in his head, its contents stunning him. Crap! Shi Feng felt nauseous as he looked at the notification. Is Kalisha messing with me?! Shi Feng hadnt thought that his decision to come to the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury as soon as he collected enough Undying Souls would backfire. Thirty days! Thirty days werent enough time for him to collect even 10 million Undying Souls, let alone 30 million! Even if Holy Dragon Spear, the Dragon Gods Palace, and the Divine Wing Dynasty joined forces, they still wouldnt be able to collect 30 million Undying Souls in 30 days! Guild Leader Black Flame, would you like to enter the Underground City World with us? While Shi Feng was scratching his head in agony, a rugged voice suddenly entered his ears. Turning to the source, he saw Xiao Yilong, Red Frost, Twilight Leaf, Heiser, and Laura approaching him. Seeing as they were walking in a group, it was evident they had already formed a party. The Underground City World? When Shi Feng heard Xiao Yilongs words, some of his forgotten memories resurfaced. The Underground City World was an area inside the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. In addition to various precious resources, players could obtain many Undying Souls by grinding there. However, the Underground City Worlds resources were limited, and the dangers inside were several times greater than that of the outside world. Moreover, each player could enter the Underground City World only three times in their lifetime. Thus, very few players ever bothered to enter the treasurys Underground City World in his previous life. After all, the cost of dying in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest was incredibly high. Who would dare take such a risk? Most importantly, by the time Holy Dragon Spear opened up the Flame Dragon Gods Nest to the public, it had long since explored the Underground City World and taken everything valuable. Even if other players entered the Underground City World, they wouldnt get anything noteworthy. Rather than put themselves at risk for no reason, they would be better off grinding for levels outside. Mhm. We hear the Underground City World is a great place. Although its a little more dangerous, the harvest is amazing. Its just that it costs one million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per person to enter, Twilight Leaf said, nodding. Then, slightly embarrassed, she continued, The Great Commander and the others refused to take us outside with them because of our low levels, so we can only try our luck in the Underground City World. But Uncle Xiao and I only have tens of thousands of units, so were hoping to borrow some from you, Guild Leader Black Flame. When Twilight Leaf finished speaking, Xiao Yilong also couldnt help but feel a little embarrassed. The Flame Dragon Gods Treasurys Underground City World might be a place of opportunity for them, but they couldnt afford the exorbitant entry price. It should be known that it only cost 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for Tier 5 players to challenge their Tier 6 promotion. Even then, countless Tier 5 players already considered it a nightmare. One million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal simply wasnt a sum the individual player could take out. No problem. Shi Feng chuckled when he heard Twilight Leafs request. I can give you the Seven Luminaries Crystals you need, but in exchange, I want 90% of the harvest we get from the Underground City World. What do you think? If he operated solo, he would not be able to collect 30 million Undying Souls in 30 days. However, if he had a party with experts like Xiao Yilong and Heiser, he might just be able to meet this unreasonable quota. Im fine with that. I only care about leveling up, Heiser stated. Im fine with it, too. After pondering for a moment, Xiao Yilong and Twilight Leaf also agreed with Shi Fengs condition. Red Frost and Laura Crader could already be considered half-members of Zero Wing, so they naturally didnt have any qualms about accepting Shi Fengs offer. However, they couldnt help but look at Shi Feng curiously, wondering how he managed to level up so quickly. After all, he was clearly at Level 200 not long ago. Yet, now, he was at Level 212 already. His leveling speed was simply astounding. Okay, lets head to the Underground City World, then, Shi Feng said as he sent a party invite to Xiao Yilong and the others. Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Underground City Worlds Entrance: As the monsters around the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury were generally around Level 240, players around Level 230 would only be a burden to teams eager to raid Bosses for Undying Souls. Thus, many players around Level 230 were currently gathered at the Underground City Worlds entrance, more than three times the number of players gathered in the central plaza. These players either sought to form parties with others or hire experts to escort them inside the Underground City World, their presence creating a lively atmosphere outside the Underground City World. Guild Leader Black Flame, although the Underground City World has five difficulty levels, even the easiest Simple Mode is extremely dangerous. Several parties that went for Simple Mode have already been teleported out of the secret land, Xiao Yilong said solemnly as he pointed at the five teleportation gates that led into the Underground City World. As a precaution, I suggest we test the waters first with Normal Mode. Five difficulty levels? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned as he looked at the five teleportation gates before him. From what he could remember, the Flame Dragon Gods Treasurys Underground City World should only have three difficulty levels: Simple, Normal, and Hard. Yet, there were now Nightmare[2] and Asura above them. While Shi Feng was in a daze, a system notification suddenly rang in his ears. System: You have received Dragon Princess Kalishas Blessing. You may activate the Underground City Worlds God Mode difficulty. Do you wish to enter the God Mode Underground City World? TL Notes: [1]Primordial Dragon Relic(): Like the Abyssal Eye being an Abyssal Relic(Ԩ), The Empresss Scales can be considered a Godly Relic(). Im not sure why the author decided to specify them in such a way, but thats how it is. [2]Nightmare(ج) C For those wondering, the rank/mode after Hard should have been Hell (), but the author decided on Nightmare for some reason. Chapter 3791 - Chapter 865 - Remnants of a Primordial World Chapter 865 C Remnants of a Primordial World In a valley shrouded in white fog, a 20-man team fought a Level 235, Tier 6 Shadow Ape. [Shadow Ape] (Shadow Creature, Divine) Level 235 HP 30,000,000,000,000,000 The Shadow Ape was over 100 meters tall. Yet, it could do nothing to the Level 235 Demidragon Guardian Knight before it. The Demidragon Guardian Knight in question wielded a crimson war hammer in one hand and a dragonscale shield in the other. Although the Shadow Ape bombarded him with a flurry of punches using its six arms, he easily blocked the attacks with his shield. He would also use the force of the Shadow Apes punches to propel him toward its ankles and attack with his war hammer from time to time, causing it to stagger and lose over 100 billion HP. The Guardian Knights teammates were equally excellent. They were all at Level 233 or above, and each of their Skills dealt over 100 billion damage to the Shadow Ape, while their normal attacks caused 30 to 40 billion damage. Everyone, keep it up! Also, be careful of the Shadow Ape going berserk! It doesnt have much HP left! Whirlwind Bulwark, the Demidragon Guardian Knight, commanded while tanking the Shadow Apes attacks. Relax, Commander. Its not our first time killing this Shadow Ape, a Level 234 Cleric said jokingly as she healed Whirlwind Bulwark. Even if it goes berserk, we can still dodge its attacks with our eyes closed. Everyone else nodded in agreement, their expressions looking relaxed. Subsequently, when the Shadow Apes HP fell to 30%, its skin turned crimson, its size doubled, and its Attack Speed increased significantly. Shadow spears also started to rain from the sky, covering a 1,000-yard radius around the Shadow Ape. Seeing this, Whirlwind Bulwark let out a low shout as he activated the Tier 6 Skill Guardian Angel. Immediately, numerous translucent holy barriers formed above him and his team, shielding them from the falling shadow spears. Even though the shadow spears the Shadow Ape summoned had greatly increased in number and speed after it went berserk, they still couldnt break through the holy barriers. At most, they caused Whirlwind Bulwark to lose some HP as they bombarded his holy barriers. However, this damage was quickly neutralized when the teams Cleric cast her Tier 6 Spell Aurora Healing, which healed Whirlwind Bulwark and everyone else on the team for 5% of their HP every second. As such, the Shadow Ape going berserk changed nothing. Its HP still fell rapidly over time. 30% 20% 15% When the Shadow Apes HP fell below 1%, an icy longsword suddenly appeared from a distance and plunged into its body like a meteorite, instantly devouring the rest of its HP. Then, the Shadow Ape fell, and items appeared all over its corpse. This turn of events surprised Whirlwind Bulwark and his team, and they immediately turned to where the icy longsword came from. A 100-man team had emerged from the mist, taking them unawares. The elegant female Mage God walking in the lead was holding up a Tier 6 Curse Scroll. What is the meaning of this, Fira? Whirlwind Bulwark demanded, looking livid. Kill-stealing, naturally. Isnt it obvious enough? Fira, the female Mage God, said with a faint smile. Also, have you forgotten my Guild Leaders warning? While you might have his admiration, that doesnt excuse you from paying your protection fees. Weve already said Pale Horn wont be getting involved in your war with the Holy Knights! Also, weve already paid the White Dragon Nations protection fees for this month! Its only been a few days since then, yet you want us to pay you again? Dont you think youre being excessive? Star Butterfly, the female Cleric behind Whirlwind Bulwark, protested angrily in response to Firas words. Excessive? Fira scoffed. I dont think so. On the contrary, I think you should be honored. So long as the White Dragon Nation wins, Pale Horn will face fewer troubles in Nightmare Holy City. Not to mention, my Guild Leader has already promised that so long as Pale Horn kills a hundred members of the Holy Knights, the White Dragon Nation will stop troubling you in the future. You wont even need to pay any protection fees. Of course, if you refuse to comply, we will simply have you disappear from Nightmare Holy City. You How can you do this?! Star Butterfly shouted in frustration. The White Dragon Nation was one of the two strongest Guilds operating in Nightmare Holy City, and it had many experts under its wing. If it decided to target the Pale Horn adventurer team, the outcome was obvious. Bulwark, this is your last chance, so think carefully. Otherwise, I cant guarantee what will happen to you all today, Fira said, smiling. Meanwhile, Star Butterfly and the other members of Pale Horn turned gloomy when they heard this. Leaving Nightmare Holy City was out of the question. After all, it was one of the few safe havens for human players. However, although they considered themselves strong, the White Dragon Nations experts far outnumbered them. If the White Dragon Nation kept harassing them out in the fields, it would only be a matter of time before they got worn out and killed. Arent you afraid that I will join the Holy Knights? Whirlwind Bulwark asked coldly. One of the two strongest Guilds operating in Nightmare Holy City was the White Dragon Nation; the other was the Holy Knights. It was also because these two Guilds were fighting for control over Nightmare Holy City that the situation in the city had become the way it was. You can do that, but itll depend on whether you can walk out of here alive, Fira said as she raised her hand. Immediately, a crimson scroll inscribed with divine runes appeared in her hand, emanating an oppressive aura that made everyone present shudder. Meanwhile, more White Dragon Nation members suddenly appeared in the surroundings, their numbers exceeding 200. These players had previously been hidden under the effects of a Group Invisibility Scroll, and they now surrounded Whirlwind Bulwarks team. However, rather than these players, Whirlwind Bulwark was more concerned about the scroll in Firas hand. How generous of the White Dragon Nation to take out a Divine Soul Curse for us, Whirlwind Bulwark said as he eyed the crimson scroll solemnly. The Divine Soul Curse was a special type of Magic Scroll. Although it lacked any offensive capabilities, it could forcibly bind with the souls of targeted players. Should the bound players get injured or die, they would permanently lose a portion of their souls. Normally, the Divine Soul Curse would only be used against VIPs of hostile powers or an army of tens of thousands. My Guild Leader just wants you to think carefully, Fira said as she played with the scroll in her hand. Well? Which side will you choose? Before Whirlwind Bulwark could respond, a crack stretching dozens of kilometers suddenly appeared in the foggy sky. Then, streaks of white light shot out of the crack and landed between the Pale Horn adventurer team and the White Dragon Nation. Is this the God Mode Underground City World? Shi Feng wondered as he scanned his surroundings, taking note of the unfamiliar players around him and their shocked expressions. Although Shi Feng had never been to or heard of the God Mode Underground City World in his previous life, he didnt find it too strange to meet other players here. Any place in Gods Domain labeled a world had the possibility of housing players. Even an Underground City World was no exception. However, what surprised Shi Feng was that these players all had very high levels. They were all at least Level 230; many were even at Level 235 or above. If these players were in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, they would be among the highest-level players. System: Congratulations! You have discovered the remnants of a primordial world. World Suppression will be greatly increased. Taboo Restriction on players will be lifted. Who are you people?! How dare you stand in the way of the White Dragon Nation?! Fira demanded coldly as she glared at Shi Fengs party. Chapter 3792 - Chapter 866 - Difference Between Then and Now Chapter 866 C Difference Between Then and Now At Firas question, Shi Feng couldnt help but turn to look at the other party. Being at Level 237, Fira was a very high-level Elementalist. Yet, despite her impressive level, she was only equipped with Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Her equipment standard could only be considered terrible compared to the Greater Gods Domains players. The other players were even worse, with some being equipped with Epic Equipment. If they were in the Greater Gods Domain, it would be unbelievable for players of such high levels to be so poorly equipped. Under normal circumstances, any player capable of reaching Level 230 and above in the Greater Gods Domain would have at least several pieces of Legendary Equipment. Could it be that materials needed to repair Legendary Equipment dont drop here? Shi Feng speculated. There were countless worlds in Gods Domain, each with its own circumstances and development directions. Some worlds made it easier for players to level up, some worlds made it easier to procure high-quality weapons and equipment, and so on. Evidently, the primordial world they were currently in made it much easier for players to level up. But in exchange, the difficulty of obtaining high-quality equipment here was much greater than in the Greater Gods Domain. None of the 200-plus players here were equipped with Legendary Weapons or Equipment. After taking another look at his surroundings, Shi Feng quickly understood the situation. After all, PvP and kill-stealing were common in the Greater Gods Domain. Of course, it was still rare for so many players to get involved because of a Level 235 Divine monster. However, Shi Feng was more interested in the Shadow Apes loot than the stand-off before him. The Shadow Ape dropped 15 items, none of which were weapons or equipment. Instead, it dropped 13 Legendary Materials, one Taboo Equipment Design, and one Gold Combat Technique Legacy Crystal. If such loot were to drop from a Level 235 Divine monster in the Greater Gods Domain, it would shock the various powers. Although many monsters in the Greater Gods Domain could drop Legendary Materials, the Taboo Equipment Design and the Gold Combat Technique Legacy Crystal were not items that any random Divine monster could drop. It was especially so for the Taboo Equipment Design. Normally, Taboo Equipment Designs had a very low probability of dropping in Taboo Dungeons. The drop rate was so terrible that players wouldnt necessarily get one even after clearing hundreds of Taboo Dungeons. More often than not, they would only get some Level 200-plus Taboo Equipment. Because of the rarity of Taboo Equipment Designs, any that appeared on the market could typically go for as much as a Divine Artifact. After all, if players relied only on raiding Taboo Dungeons to obtain Taboo Weapons and Equipment, it would take ages to fully equip an entire team. In comparison, if players had Taboo Weapon Designs and Taboo Equipment Designs, they could easily equip an entire Guild with Taboo Weapons and Taboo Equipment so long as they had enough materials. Hey, did you not hear what I said? Firas gaze grew cold as she looked at Shi Feng. Initially, Fira was somewhat apprehensive of Shi Feng and his party. After all, their entrance was incredibly abrupt and unusual. Thus, she declared her origins to provoke a reaction from them. As one of Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds, the White Dragon Nation was known by all in the Holy City. The Holy Knights was the only power that could oppose it. However, she had not expected Shi Feng to behave so indifferently after hearing the White Dragon Nations name. He didnt even bother to pay her, a Vice Guild Leader of the White Dragon Nation, any heed. This was the first time it had ever happened to her since she started playing Gods Domain. Not even the Guild Leader of the Holy Knights dared to treat her like that. Have these people been scared silly? How dare they ignore the Vice Guild Leader? These people are dead. Theyll probably be erased from Gods Domain now that theyve angered the Vice Guild Leader. The White Dragon Nations members looked at Shi Feng and his party with sympathy and amusement in their eyes. Fira was not known for having a good temper. The last time an adventurer team failed to comply with her warning to leave the White Dragon Nations leveling spot within a given time, she ordered their annihilation without hesitation, even though the adventurer team was only a few seconds from leaving the area Now that Shi Feng and his party had dared to ignore Fira, it wasnt hard to imagine what awaited them. Friend, youd best respond to Fira and leave here quickly. Shes a Vice Guild Leader of the White Dragon Nation, one of Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds. Besides the Holy Knights members, she only needs a few words to decide the fate of anyone in the city, Whirlwind Bulwark suddenly said to Shi Feng on a private channel. Nightmare Holy City? Vice Guild Leader of one of the citys top two Guilds? Shi Feng grew even more surprised as he looked at Fira. According to Whirlwind Bulwarks introduction, the White Dragon Nation should be a powerful Guild. After all, any Guild capable of ranking at the top in a Holy City should be a first-tier Guild in Gods Domain. Yet, despite being a Vice Guild Leader in such a Guild, Firas equipment standard was so terrible. Even in the Starlight Realm, the executives of ordinary hegemonic powers would be fully equipped with Legendary Equipment at the very least. Yet, Fira, a Vice Guild Leader of one of Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds, didnt have any Legendary Equipment on her. Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine how far behind this remnant of a primordial world was in terms of equipment standards. Finally getting scared? Unfortunately for you, its too late for regrets! When Fira saw Shi Fengs surprise, she sneered and said, Die with Whirlwind Bulwarks team! After saying so, Fira activated the Divine Soul Curse she held. Immediately, a magic array composed of divine runes appeared above Shi Feng, Whirlwind Bulwark, and the others. Subsequently, Shi Feng and the others felt a nefarious presence enveloping their souls. A Divine Soul Curse? Shi Feng was shocked when he saw that he had received a Cursed Soul status. The Divine Soul Curse was a near-extinct Divine Rune Scroll in the Greater Gods Domain. It was one of the best tools for eliminating enemies. Not only did it come with no side effects, but it was also an AOE Skill that could not be dodged or resisted. Should players be killed within 24 hours, they would die a true death. Even if players only sustained heavy injuries, their souls would be permanently weakened. Many people hated the Divine Soul Curse because of its potent effects, which resulted in its persecution and near extinction. In the current Greater Gods Domain, each Divine Soul Curse was valued as much as a Divine Artifact, and only the various apex powers owned them. However, they would never use this special scroll unless they were going up against their mortal enemies. Im sorry, friends. I hadnt expected to get you involved in our conflict. I will distract them as much as possible, so try to escape with my team, Whirlwind Bulwark hurriedly said to Shi Fengs party. As a Guardian Knight, Whirlwind Bulwark was only good at defense. Without special tools, he had no chance of escaping. The only thing he could do in this situation was help others escape. Dont joke around, Commander! Commander! If were going to die, we will die together! At worst, well leave Gods Domain and become private instructors! I refuse to believe well starve to death! When Pale Horns members saw Whirlwind Bulwark getting ready to take a stand, they couldnt help but disapprove of his actions. They knew how strong Whirlwind Bulwark was. If he focused on escaping, he still had a chance of escaping the White Dragon Nations encirclement. Yet, he had chosen to abandon this chance to create an opportunity for them to escape. Escape? Heiser, who stood beside Shi Feng, suddenly laughed. Then, she walked toward Fira. What is she doing? Star Butterfly stared at Heiser in confusion. Dont tell me shes going to fight Fira? She must be crazy! Thats Fira, the Elemental God, we are talking about! There are no more than a handful of Elementalists in Nightmare Holy City who can fight her head-on! Pale Horns members couldnt help but think that Heiser was out of her mind when they saw her approaching Fira. Many experts in Nightmare Holy City acknowledged Fira as the Elemental God. She had mastered over a dozen Gold Combat Techniques and Saint-ranked Mana Techniques. What? Do you want to fight me? Fira chuckled when she saw Heiser walking up to her. She hadnt expected there to be any more Elementalists from Nightmare Holy City who would dare to challenge her, especially not one who was only Level 227. However, before Fira could say anything else, Heiser suddenly raised her hand and created magic arrays for Tier 6 Spells one after another. When the ninth magic array appeared, the White Dragon Nations and Pale Horns members were thoroughly dumbfounded. Ninefold Tier 6 Spell, Thunder Gods Roar! This was the product of Heisers self-developed Advanced Gold Combat Technique, Nine Heavenly Wheels! Chapter 3793 - Chapter 867 - Godlike Party Chapter 867 C Godlike Party Boom! Boom! Boom! Apocalyptic lightning bolts rained down on Fira. Sensing the danger they posed to her, she promptly cast a Tier 6 Defensive Spell, creating a magic barrier around herself. However, despite her best efforts, her magic barrier shattered after blocking seven lightning bolts; the eighth lightning bolt turned her into a charred corpse. At a glance, Heisers attack did not seem sensational, affecting only a radius of several dozen yards. Even so, it petrified everyone outside Shi Fengs party and created an eerie silence. The Vice Guild Leaderis dead? The Vice Guild Leader got killedjust like that? What did she do?! The White Dragon Nations members could not process what just happened. They all stared at Heiser with confusion in their eyes. It all happened too quickly! In merely an instant, Heiser had cast nine instances of a Tier 6 Spell! They had never seen or heard of such a feat before! Despite being known as the Elemental God in Nightmare Holy City, Fira could, at most, instant-cast six instances of a Tier 6 Spell. Even so, this already allowed her to be nigh-invincible in Nightmare Holy City. Yet, Heiser had completed a ninefold Tier 6 Spell Was this something a human should be capable of? Not to mention, Heiser had overpowered Fira and killed her in the first exchange Firas dead How is this possible?! Thats Fira we are talking about! Although she doesnt rank among the top 10 in Nightmare Holy City, she is still among the top 20! How can anyone overpower her to such an extent?! Besides Kowloon Demon, the Holy Citys number one expert, I cant think of anyone else who can accomplish such a feat Commander, do you know this person? Pale Horns members were similarly filled with disbelief. After all, Fira, one of Nightmare Holy Citys top 20 experts, had just been one-shotted. Moreover, the player responsible for her death was even ten levels beneath her. If this news were to spread, it would shock the entire Holy City. Whirlwind Bulwark stared at Heiser in a daze as he quickly ran her face through his memories, trying to find a match with Nightmare Holy Citys experts. As for Heiser being an expert from outside Nightmare Holy City, he didnt even entertain the possibility. After all, Nightmare Holy City was the only place known to be safe for humans. This was also why everyone operating in Nightmare Holy City greatly feared the White Dragon Nation and the Holy Knights. However, none of the experts Whirlwind Bulwark had met in Nightmare Holy City resembled Heiser. Although Leia, the sixth-ranked player in Nightmare Holy City, was also a female elf like Heiser, she was a Swordsman. Thus, the chances of Heiser being Leia in disguise were zero. I dont know her, but we should get ready to break out of this encirclement, Whirlwind Bulwark said through the team chat. Now that Fira was dead, the White Dragon Nations experts no longer had a leader. This undoubtedly made it easier for their team and Shi Fengs party to escape. Not to mention, they had an expert like Heiser fighting on their side. Elementalists were known to be humanoid artillery. Heiser should have no trouble blowing a path for them. As Whirlwind Bulwark finished speaking, the White Dragon Nations members also started to snap out of their daze. Immediately, they put aside their fear of Heiser and rushed at her en masse. Admittedly, Heisers ability to one-shot Fira was terrifying. However, there was ultimately a limit to a persons reaction speed. Any Tier 6 expert would lose when attacked by several dozen Tier 6 experts, let alone 200-plus Tier 6 experts. Die! How dare you kill our Vice Guild Leader! All of you must die today! The White Dragon Nations 200-plus experts charged at Heiser as one, completely ignoring Whirlwind Bulwark and the others. This was because they knew that if they allowed news of what happened here today to reach Nightmare Holy City, none of them would have a place in the Holy City in the future. It should be known that they were the elites of the White Dragon Nation. Each of them was a fifth-floor expert who had mastered several Gold Combat Techniques. Their equipment standards were also top-notch in Nightmare Holy City. If more than 200 of them working together couldnt even kill a Level 227 Elementalist, they would be too embarrassed to show their faces in public. In the blink of an eye, numerous Tier 6 Skills and Spells bombarded Heiser from all directions, making dodging impossible. Whirlwind Bulwarks heart sank when he saw this. He never expected the White Dragon Nations members to shamelessly throw their strongest attacks at Heiser. Even a Guardian Knight like himself would not be able to defend against all these attacks. Moreover, even if he did catch them all with his shield, the residual damage would be more than enough to kill him from full HP This was the advantage of numbers. Even if the White Dragon Nations members were inferior to him in combat standards, several dozen of them working together could kill him with ease. However, a second later, Heiser cast Tier 6 Defensive Curses one after another, instantly completing a threefold Tier 6 Curse and creating a triple-stacked barrier that isolated her from the rest of the world. Additionally, unlike Firas magic barrier, Heisers magic barrier did not outright block the attacks that struck it. Instead, it deflected the attacks, minimizing its energy consumption. Peak Gold Combat Technique, Triple Samsara! No matter how many attacks struck the barrier, none reached Heiser. Even after the initial round of bombardment ended, the barrier still had plenty of mana remaining. Naturally, Heiser never lost any HP. Did she justinstant-cast a threefold Tier 6 Curse? The White Dragon Nations members were dumbfounded. How is this possible?! Whirlwind Bulwark and the other Pale Horn members were similarly stunned. Although they had seen others instant-casting Tier 6 Defensive Curses before, they had never seen anyone instant-casting a threefold Tier 6 Curse, much less single-handedly blocking the attacks of over 200 Level 230-plus experts. With such strength, Heiser could already be described as a humanoid fortress. They couldnt even begin to imagine how terrifying Heisers Basic Attributes were for her to remain unscathed after receiving the attacks of so many players. Everyone! Dont be scared of her! Executing such a combat technique must put a huge strain on her Concentration! I refuse to believe she can keep it up for long! one of the White Dragon Nations members shouted. The other White Dragon Nation members nodded in agreement. The more powerful a combat technique was, the greater its burden on the users Stamina and Concentration. Immediately, they started the next round of bombardment. Arent you guys going to make a move? Ignoring the White Dragon Nations members, Heiser turned to Shi Feng and the others and said, Ill be taking these peoples lives for myself if you all keep standing there. When the White Dragon Nations members started another round of attacks, Whirlwind Bulwark and his team originally wanted to assist Heiser. However, her words gave them pause. It sounded like she was confident she could eradicate the White Dragon Nations 200-plus experts by herself. Although it sounded like a joke, when Whirlwind Bulwark and his team saw the calm expressions of Shi Feng and his party, they couldnt help but wonder if it really was a joke. Since youre offering, Ill use them for practice, then, Red Frost said, itching to take action after hearing Heisers invitation. The moment they arrived in this remnant of a primordial world, they experienced a World Suppression of unprecedented strength. Hence, it was necessary to let their bodies adapt to this new level of suppression. They had refrained from making a move thus far only because they wanted to see how strong exactly the White Dragon Nations Level 230-plus experts were. Otherwise, they would have taken action the moment Heiser killed Fira. After Red Frost finished speaking, she vanished and reappeared in the middle of the White Dragon Nations members, her Divine Spear jutting out of a Level 233 Shield Warriors back. Immediately afterward, she stomped on the ground and turned her surroundings into a sea of flames. Advanced Gold Fusion Technique, Flame Dragon Dance! With a thrust of her spear, Red Frost skewered over 30 melee experts, killing them on the spot. Her display of strength was even more terrifying than Heisers Is she really human? Whirlwind Bulwarks pupils dilated at this sight. The White Dragon Nations melee experts were by no means mediocre. Any of them could withstand attacks from a Divine monster of the same level. Yet, Red Frost moved so quickly that she completely overwhelmed their senses. Additionally, she could pinpoint and strike their defensive blind spots with her every attack; from an outsiders perspective, it looked like they were throwing themselves at her spear. It seems the equipment standard here isnt the only thing different from the Greater Gods Domain. Their combat standards are also limited to the ordinary Gold standard. Watching Red Frost and Heiser mow down the White Dragon Nations experts gave Shi Feng a general idea of the standards of the remnant primordial worlds players. Then, he stopped spectating and unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator. Since were done collecting data, its time we put an end to this battle! Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! With a swing of the Shadow Incinerator, Shi Feng instantly reduced several dozen fleeing members of the White Dragon Nation to ashes, leaving only their weapons and equipment behind Chapter 3794 - Chapter 868 - Holy City Shaken Chapter 868 C Holy City Shaken Another one? Since when did Nightmare Holy City have so many experts? The Pale Horn members, who were preparing to flee, were stopped by Shi Fengs might. They felt that the world must have gone crazy. Since when could a Level 212 player one-shot dozens of Level 230-plus experts? They had never thought there could be such a large gap between players. Even the infallible zerg tactic had been thoroughly shattered. A second ago, the White Dragon Nation still had over 200 experts encircling Shi Fengs party. A second later, only a few dozen of these experts remained standing. Moreover, these few dozen players managed to stay alive only because their instincts prompted them to activate their lifesaving measures in the nick of time. Otherwise, they would have been charred or reduced to ashes like their allies. M-Monsters! Run! These people are monsters! It was unknown which White Dragon Nation member called for retreat, but when the other White Dragon Nation members heard it, they turned around and fled without hesitation. They also didnt forget to escape in different directions, knowing that if they tried to escape as one, nobody would make it out alive. However, Shi Feng did not bother to chase the fleeing White Dragon Nation members. Instead, he sheathed the Shadow Incinerator and activated the Miniature Abyssal World. Suddenly, everyone within a thousand yards of Shi Feng felt the world around them darken. The fleeing White Dragon Nation members, in particular, felt like they were caught in a quagmire. No matter how they struggled, they could only move sluggishly, and their HP kept decreasing. One second Two seconds Three seconds In just a few seconds, the surviving White Dragon Nation members silently collapsed like puppets that had their strings cut, becoming deader than dead. Isnt hea Swordsman? When Whirlwind Bulwark saw Shi Feng eliminate the remaining White Dragon Nation members without lifting a finger, he couldnt help but doubt his understanding of Gods Domain. Setting aside the huge level gap, it should be known that the White Dragon Nation member closest to Shi Feng was over 200 yards away, while the farthest was over 600 yards away. They even escaped in different directions. Yet, Shi Feng killed them nonetheless. With such capabilities, how was anyone supposed to escape Shi Feng? Even zerg tactics would lose their purpose before him Meanwhile, the other Pale Horn members looked at Shi Feng in awe and fear. Although they had met many experts in the past, none were as terrifying as Shi Feng. Moreover, he had other experts who were equally terrifying Initially, they didnt think much of Shi Fengs party. After all, the partys highest-level member was only Level 230. This starkly contrasted with their team, which consisted of only Level 230-plus players. Whirlwind Bulwark, their commander, was even Level 235. Now, though, when they saw Shi Fengs party looting the charred corpses and gradually moving closer to them, they got goosebumps. It felt like a bunch of almighty gods were inching toward them. At this time, though, Shi Feng was similarly thunderstruck. This was because of the Taboo Weapons and Equipment he looted from the White Dragon Nations members. Excluding a few outliers, over 95% of them were made by players Moreover, among these Taboo Weapons and Equipment, even the worst reached the Level 230 Epic rank, while the best reached the Level 235 Fragmented Legendary rank. Players could only dream of obtaining these items in the Greater Gods Domain. In the current Greater Gods Domain, even the Seven Luminaries Alliance, known for being the best weapon and equipment manufacturer, could only produce up to Level 230 Epic Equipment. For most Level 230 experts, Level 230 Epic Equipment was the best equipment they could get their hands on, as it was comparable to ordinary Legendary Equipment. Unfortunately, even the Seven Luminaries Alliance could only produce Level 230 Epic Equipment in very small quantities. This was for two reasons. Firstly, the materials needed were rare, and many could only be obtained from Taboo Dungeons. Thus, mass production was out of the question. Secondly, the production success rate was abysmal, which increased the production cost to a point where it would be cheaper to simply buy Legendary Equipment. As for Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Weapons and Equipment, nobody in the Greater Gods Domain could produce them. It was also nearly impossible for them to find alternatives. In terms of Basic Attributes, Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment was comparable to Level 230 Taboo Legendary Equipment. Every piece of Level 230 Taboo Legendary Equipment was the fruit of many Taboo Dungeon runs. Due to its rarity, the various apex powers executives wouldnt have more than a few pieces each, while ordinary core members were not qualified to own any. Yet, most of the Taboo Weapons and Equipment the White Dragon Nation members dropped were made by players. When it came to weapon and equipment manufacturing, the remnant primordial world was leagues above the Greater Gods Domain. While Shi Feng was busy looting, Whirlwind Bulwark took the initiative to approach him. I am Whirlwind Bulwark, the commander of the Pale Horn adventurer team. Thank you for saving us from the White Dragon Nation, Whirlwind Bulwark said gratefully. If you need any assistance in Nightmare Holy City in the future, please feel free to ask. I will do my best to help. Pale Horn might not be a first-tier adventurer team, but it was still one of the more well-known adventurer teams in Nightmare Holy City. And although Pale Horn might only have 20 members, they were all top-tier experts. Thus, they could still help with resolving small issues in the Holy City. The other Pale Horn members nodded in agreement. While they might be afraid of Shi Fengs party, they were also keen on establishing a connection with the party. The White Dragon Nation was a behemoth of an existence in Nightmare Holy City. Yet, Shi Fengs party had handily eliminated over 200 of the White Dragon Nations experts while being heavily disadvantaged in levels. It was the dream of many players to be acquainted with monstrous experts like Shi Feng and his party members. Nightmare Holy City? After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng asked, Brother Bulwark, could you give us a detailed introduction to Nightmare Holy City? Shi Feng didnt have the slightest knowledge about this remnant primordial world. He only came here because of Kalishas Blessing, which activated the Underground Citys God Mode. Although he didnt know how challenging the God Mode Underground City was, he knew he needed to collect 30 million Undying Souls in 30 days. Otherwise, his account would be crippled. Thus, the first thing he needed to do was figure out the situation. Only then could he collect Undying Souls more efficiently. An introduction? Shi Fengs question stunned Whirlwind Bulwark. Then, he suddenly realized something as he looked at Shi Fengs level and asked with a dazed expression, Could it be Are you not from Nightmare Holy City? Besides Whirlwind Bulwark, the other Pale Horn members were also filled with disbelief as they looked at Shi Feng and his party. It was a well-known fact that Nightmare Holy City was the only hospitable location in this region. Nobody could leave this region unless the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss was defeated. Thats right. We arent players from this region, Shi Feng said, nodding. He didnt feel a need to hide this fact. After all, players couldnt simply remain in their starting worlds forever. As their levels and strength increased, they would eventually find a way out. Additionally, even if Pale Horns members found out about his partys origins, they could not harm his party. They even stood to benefit from working with his party. Upon hearing Shi Fengs answer, realization dawned on Whirlwind Bulwark and the others. They finally understood why they had never heard of Shi Fengs party despite being so strong. However, after realizing this, they also couldnt help but feel dejected. It was especially so for Whirlwind Bulwark. Whirlwind Bulwark considered himself a powerful expert. After all, he was regarded as one of Nightmare Holy Citys top ten Guardian Knights. Even if he were to move to another region, he believed he would still be at the top. But after meeting Shi Fengs party, he realized that he was sorely mistaken. The other regions definitely had experts who were far more extraordinary than he had imagined. However, what Whirlwind Bulwark and the others did not know was that Shi Fengs party didnt come from another region of this remnant primordial world. Instead, they came from the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Moreover, even among the Greater Gods Domains apex experts, Shi Feng and his party members could be considered powerful. Subsequently, Whirlwind Bulwark began introducing Nightmare Holy City in detail. While Whirlwind Bulwark shared his knowledge with Shi Fengs party, the White Dragon Nations move against the Pale Horn adventurer team was exposed and sparked an uproar in Nightmare Holy City. After all, the outcome was simply unbelievable. Despite going after Pale Horn with over 200-plus experts, Firas team failed to kill any of the adventurer teams members and was even annihilated by a mysterious six-man party Chapter 3795 - Chapter 869 - Invaders? Chapter 869 C Invaders? Nightmare Holy City, White Dragon Nations Guild Residence: Inside a grand meeting room, dozens of Level 237 experts and above were currently seated, surrounded by an oppressive atmosphere. The cause of this situation was the middle-aged man seated at the head of the conference table. The middle-aged man was a ten-meter-tall giant with crimson hair, clad in dark-gray scale armor. Although the man did not say a word, his oppressive aura caused everyone in the room to break out in a cold sweat. Those who met the mans gaze felt like a giant beast was staring at them. The middle-aged man was Tyrant Wyvern, the Guild Leader of the White Dragon Nation. Who can tell me where these people came from? Tyrant Wyvern asked indifferently as he watched the battle video of Shi Fengs party. So much time has passed, yet nobody can give me an answer? Guild Leader, we have already put all our resources into the investigation. Weve even employed many adventurer teams to look into the matter. But these people seem to have just appeared out of nowhere. We cant find any information on them, an executive hurriedly explained while wiping the sweat on his forehead. After Fira was killed, she had promptly contacted them offline and told them to investigate Shi Fengs party. But regardless of the avenue they tried, the result was the same. Apart from these peoples IDs, they had failed to find any other information. These people killed over 200 of our experts, yet we dont even know who they are?! Useless! All of you are useless! Tyrant Wyvern exploded in anger. Continue investigating! Also, have everyone in the Guild search for these people! Since these people dare to oppose us at this critical time, none of them should think about remaining in Gods Domain! Understood! Everyone in the room nodded and quickly left to carry out Tyrant Wyverns orders. Nobody dared to drag their feet. No information at all? Appeared out of nowhere? After watching the guild executives leave, Tyrant Wyvern suddenly frowned as he recalled a distant memory. Could they also be invaders, like Kowloon Demon? While the White Dragon Nation was initiating a manhunt for Shi Fengs party, an executive meeting also occurred in the Holy Knights Guild Residence. How interesting! A single party wiped out Firas entire team! Not even Kowloon Demon had such courage back then! Dawn Forest, the Guild Leader of the Holy Knights, laughed after he watched the battle video of Shi Fengs party. This was definitely the first time the dreaded White Dragon Nation had been humiliated to such a degree. Despite going after the Pale Horn adventurer team with a team of over 200 experts, the White Dragon Nation concluded its operation without managing to kill any of the adventurer teams members. On top of that, its forces were even annihilated. Of course, any expert who had watched the battle video would also understand that the defeat of Firas team was not unwarranted. Shi Fengs party was indeed strong. The only problem was that only a small fraction of players in Nightmare Holy City had access to the battle video. The majority only knew that over 200 experts from the White Dragon Nation had lost to a party of unknown individuals. This dealt a huge blow to the White Dragon Nations prestige. Guild Leader, how should we proceed? Nocturne, a Level 238 female Ranger fully equipped with Fragmented Legendary Equipment, asked. The enemy of our enemy is our friend, Dawn Forest said, grinning. Then, he turned to Nocturne and added, Try to find these people and invite them to join us. What if they refuse? Nocturne asked. Refuse? Dawn Forest scoffed. Even if those people are strong, theyre still nothing in front of the White Dragon Nation. Their only choice if they want to survive is to join us. They will know what to do if theyre not stupid. I understand. Nocturne bowed and left the meeting room. While Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds were searching for Shi Fengs party, the players in the city excitedly discussed the party. Whats the situation? Are these people crazy? How dare they kill the White Dragon Nations members? I know, right? The White Dragon Nation and the Holy Knights are now offering astronomical prices for these peoples whereabouts. Several of the citys top-ranking adventurer teams have already been tempted to join the search. Not even Kowloon Demon was as crazy as these people back then. Indeed. Kowloon Demon only killed a couple of White Dragon Nation experts at the time. On the other hand, these people killed Fira, a Vice Guild Leader of the White Dragon Nation. Shes one of the top figures in the Guild. The White Dragon Nation is offering one Level 230 Fragmented Legendary item for the life of each member of this party. It would be great if I could kill one. I had to save up for two years to afford my current Level 230 Epic Leg Guards. When the resting players talked about Shi Fengs party, their voices were filled with awe. They hadnt expected such brave individuals to exist. Besides the Holy Knights, nobody in Nightmare Holy City dared provoke the White Dragon Nation. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the two Guilds ruled over the city with an iron fist. Although many experts had tried to oppose the two Guilds in the past, only Kowloon Demon, the Holy Citys number one expert, managed to survive. Everyone else was forced to retire from Gods Domain permanently. Now that Shi Fengs party had killed over 200 experts and a Vice Guild Leader from the White Dragon Nation, it went without saying the Guild would not spare the party. Amidst the discussions in Nightmare Holy City, Whirlwind Bulwark and his team led Shi Fengs party into the city, their appearance instantly garnering exclamations from the players near the citys entrance. Crap Arent those the people who killed the White Dragon Nations experts? It cant be, right? Dont they know the two Guilds are currently searching for them? These people must be out of their minds! How dare they show up in the city?! Do they think the White Dragon Nation wont dare touch them in the city? Or do they think the citys low-level NPCs can protect them? Are these people delusional? Have they not heard about the upstart Guild that provoked the White Dragon Nation a few years ago? When the White Dragon Nation obliterated that Guild in the city, none of the NPC guards could do anything about it. Quick! Notify the White Dragon Nation! When the players at the entrance saw Shi Fengs party leisurely strolling down the street and browsing shops, they were amazed and flabbergasted. Even though Shi Feng and his party members had just thoroughly offended the White Dragon Nation, they dared to appear in the city. Their behavior could only be described as suicidal. Shortly after Shi Fengs party appeared in Nightmare Holy City, the news reached the White Dragon Nation and the Holy Knights. What? Theyre strolling in the city now? Are you sure you didnt mishear? Dawn Forest was stunned. Ive already had people verify it. It is them without a doubt, Nocturne said very seriously. Good! Ill head over immediately! Notify the others in the Guild and have them gather as quickly as possible! Dawn Forest commanded. Meanwhile, inside the White Dragon Nations Residence, Tyrant Wyverns expression darkened when he received the news. Good! Very good! You still dare to swagger in the city after killing my people? Tyrant Wyvern fumed after hearing his subordinates report. Have everyone in the Guild drop what they are doing and go after these people with me! Chapter 3796 - Chapter 870 - Primordial Eras Wealth Chapter 870 C Primordial Eras Wealth Nightmare Holy City, Main Street: Commander, more and more people are tailing us now. The White Dragon Nations experts are most likely on their way here. Should we inform Guild Leader Black Flame? Star Butterfly said worriedly after glancing at the players monitoring them from all corners of the street. By now, everyone in the city should have already learned about Shi Fengs party killing the White Dragon Nations experts. Thus, the partys casual strolling in Nightmare Holy City was a huge affront to the Guild. It should be known that the White Dragon Nation had millions of members inside Nightmare Holy City. The Guilds Tier 6 experts exceeded 10,000. Killing several players inside the city was childs play for the Guild. Whirlwind Bulwark nodded in agreement. The White Dragon Nation was a vengeful Guild. It would never let any slights against it slip by. Although Whirlwind Bulwark acknowledged the strength of Shi Fengs party, he did not believe the party could resist the White Dragon Nation on the Guilds home ground. Guild Leader Black Flame, the White Dragon Nations experts will be here soon. We must hurry if you want to look up information on the Northern Badlands Taboo. Okay. Lets head over to the library now, Shi Feng said, nodding. Through Whirlwind Bulwarks introduction, Shi Feng already had a general understanding of players standards and development status in this remnant primordial world. Virtually every Level 200-plus player in this world was currently based in Nightmare Holy City. Because of this, the citys player population exceeded 300 million. Additionally, the combat standards of the players here were incredibly high. Only players who had mastered a Gold Combat Technique could be considered elite-level experts. Additionally, the average level of Tier 6 players here was Level 230, while elite-level Tier 6 experts averaged Level 233. However, nobody had reached Level 240 thus far. Seven Luminaries Crystals were the primary currency in this world, while Undying Souls were a rarer and more valuable form of currency. Every monster here had a chance of dropping Undying Souls. Players who accumulated 30,000 Undying Souls could exchange them for a chance to take on the cross-region challenge inside Nightmare Holy City. So long as players passed the challenge, they could head to other regions to live. However, only a handful of players had conquered the challenge thus far. But compared to the ease of obtaining Undying Souls in this world, what interested Shi Feng more was the Taboo Boss Whirlwind Bulwark mentioned. The Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos were publicly acknowledged as being invincible. No power could kill them. Yet, as luck would have it, the Twenty-Two Taboos Taboo Nuclei were key to getting promoted to Tier 7. At this point, Shi Feng did not have any confidence in killing any of the Twenty-Two Taboos, not even the weakest of them. However, when he learned that the Taboo Boss mentioned by Whirlwind Bulwark resembled the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, he felt that his chance had arrived. If the Taboo Boss Whirlwind Bulwark mentioned was similar to the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, he would have a solid chance at obtaining a Taboo Nucleus. After all, the Taboo Boss in question was under Level 240. Level 240 was a considerable milestone for monsters in Gods Domain. Although nobody could inspect the levels of the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, everyone estimated they should be at least Level 240. This meant the minimum requirement to raid them was a Level 240 team. But now, the remnant primordial world was suspected of having a Taboo Boss below Level 240. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. The Twenty-Two Taboos were one of the main reasons the Holy Race invaded the human races Greater Gods Domain in Shi Fengs previous life. If the Holy Race were to learn that there was a low-level Taboo Boss in this remnant primordial world, they would invade it at all costs. After all, the difficulty of killing a Level 240-plus Taboo Boss was exponentially greater than that of a Taboo Boss under Level 240. Moreover, every Taboo Boss was unique. They would never respawn once killed, and nobody knew when a new Taboo Boss would be born. Hence, when Whirlwind Bulwark finished his introduction, Shi Feng promptly had him lead the way to Nightmare Holy City. This was so that Shi Feng could look into the details of the Taboo Boss. Additionally, he also needed to study Nightmare Holy Citys market to find a way to earn Undying Souls quickly. Although the monsters in this world dropped Undying Souls, there was a limit to a six-man partys capabilities. Even if they were to grind all day, every day, they would not be able to obtain 30 million Undying Souls within a month. They could only obtain such a large sum through Nightmare Holy Citys players. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng agreed to stop window shopping and proceed to their goal, Whirlwind Bulwark and the other Pale Horn members couldnt help but sigh in relief. Had Shi Fengs party decided to continue wasting time here, the White Dragon Nations experts would definitely catch up to them. However, an astonishing scene occurred on the main street before they could make their way to Nightmare Holy Citys library. The bustling street suddenly became devoid of pedestrians, and the restaurants and bars on both sides shuttered. Meanwhile, a large group of players appeared at one end of the street, all wearing the White Dragon Nations Guild Emblem. At a glance, these White Dragon Nation members numbered over 10,000. Moreover, they were all Level 235 and above These White Dragon Nation members all exuded intense killing intent, scaring the players who had taken shelter inside the surrounding shops and restaurants. None of these bystanders dared to peek through the windows lest they be mistaken for an accomplice of Shi Fengs party, only watching the situation through their Magic Mirrors. Crap! Did the White Dragon Nation mobilize all its elites? Isnt the White Dragon Nation overreacting? Its just one party. Is there a need to mobilize so many people? The intimidating scene shocked the bystanders. After all, the White Dragon Nations elite experts were Level 235 or higher and equipped with Level 230 Epic Equipment at the very least. Even experts who had mastered Gold Combat Techniques felt suffocated when looking at this gathering. Moreover, this was when the White Dragon Nations members werent targeting them specifically. They couldnt even imagine what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of these elites killing intent. This Is the White Dragon Nation crazy? Whirlwind Bulwark also experienced intense pressure when facing this scene. Originally, Whirlwind Bulwark thought that the White Dragon Nation would just mobilize one or two thousand experts. After all, Shi Fengs party only had six members. They werent mortal enemies, either. Thus, he had never expected Tyrant Wyvern to come after Shi Fengs party with an army. Not even Kowloon Dragon, Nightmare Holy Citys number-one expert, had received such treatment when he provoked the White Dragon Nation in the past. In fact, the White Dragon Nations current response was over ten times greater. However, just as the White Dragon Nations elite experts were closing in on Shi Feng, Whirlwind Bulwark, and the others, another army of players appeared at the other end of the street. Although smaller than the White Dragon Nations army, this other army still had over 10,000 players, and they all wore the Holy Knights Guild Emblem. Over 20,000 elite experts from two of Nightmare Holy Citys strongest Guilds had gathered on the main street. This was definitely a first in the Holy City. Subsequently, the Guild Leaders of the two Guilds stepped forward and looked at Shi Fengs party of six. Are you the experts who killed Fira? Tyrant Wyvern and Dawn Forest spoke in unison, the scene stunning the eavesdropping bystanders. They had never imagined that the two Guilds highest authority would be interested in six players who didnt even average Level 230. TL Notes: [1]elite-level experts: Fyi, elite-level experts (or elites) is officially a thing starting from this chapter. Thus far, the author has been rather vague with the term, only using , which translates to elite. In this chapter, though, the author used 񼶡, which translates to elite-level/rank expert. I considered using first-class but opted against it since itd get wordy very quickly. Chapter 3797 - Chapter 871 - One Woman, One Spear Chapter 871 C One Woman, One Spear Incredible! They got the Guild Leaders of the citys top two Guilds to come to them! Who are these people? The bystanders were shocked and confused by the situation unfolding before them. Even Whirlwind Bulwark found it baffling. Tyrant Wyvern and Dawn Forest were big shots who could shake the entire Nightmare Holy City with so much as a sneeze. Under normal circumstances, meeting either of them would be as difficult as winning the lottery. Yet, both had now come together because of a single party. Yes, that would be us, Shi Feng calmly responded to Tyrant Wyvern and Dawn Forests question. What can I do for you two? Red Frost and the others also curiously walked over to look at the two Guild Leaders. They behaved like the 20,000-plus elite experts surrounding them did not exist. To ordinary experts, a standoff involving tens of thousands of elite experts was indeed intimidating, especially when over half of these elite experts blatantly exuded killing intent. The average expert would probably collapse mentally when subjected to such heavy menace. However, Shi Fengs party remained unfazed. After all, major conflicts between pseudo-apex powers typically involved upwards of several million experts. Sometimes, hundreds of millions of experts could even be involved. Thus, a conflict involving 20,000-plus experts was nothing. Not to mention, there was not even a single Fragmented Divine Artifact among these players. Very good. I hadnt expected you to have the courage to admit it. Tyrant Wyvern couldnt help but raise his eyebrows slightly when he saw how calmly Shi Feng behaved. I am Tyrant Wyvern, the White Dragon Nations Guild Leader. Since you have admitted your sins, that makes things simple. Hand over all your weapons and equipment. Then, publicly kneel and apologize to Firas team. Do that, and I will let this matter slide. Otherwise, you will pay the consequences! Guild Leader, arent we letting them off too easily? Tyrant Wyverns words surprised the guild executives behind him. Tyrant Wyvern was known for his ruthlessness in Nightmare Holy City. Normally, even when only a few normal guild members were killed after a failed kill-stealing attempt, he would regard it as a provocation by the other party and wouldnt rest until the other party had been annihilated a few dozen times. Now that Fira and her team of over 200 elite experts had been wiped out, it wouldnt be surprising if Tyrant Wyvern called for the permanent erasure of Shi Fengs party from Gods Domain. Yet, he was willing to settle with just an apology Enough! I have my own considerations! Tyrant Wyvern glared at his subordinates, silencing them. Compared to avenging Fira, Tyrant Wyvern was much more interested in the weapons and equipment of Shi Fengs party. He was also somewhat wary of the identities of Shi Feng and his party members. Through the battle video, Tyrant Wyvern could tell that Shi Feng and his party members possessed extraordinary Basic Attributes. Under normal circumstances, even he could not one-shot Fira. Yet, the Level 227 Heiser had done it. Logically, even if Heiser had used a combat technique above the Gold standard, she still shouldnt be able to one-shot Fira. Thus, Tyrant Wyvern concluded that the weapons and equipment used by Heiser and the rest of Shi Fengs party were far above the Fragmented Legendary rank. If he could get his hands on these powerful weapons and equipment, it would propel his overall strength to a whole new level and greatly increase his chances of clearing the cross-region challenge. He might even be able to let other members of the Guild clear it. At that time, the White Dragon Nation would officially become the number-one Guild in Nightmare Holy City. The only problem was obtaining these items. Even if he applied the Divine Soul Curse to Shi Fengs party, they wouldnt drop all their equipped items on death, much less the items in their bags. If they moved their weapons and equipment into their bags when they neared death, it would be a huge loss to the White Dragon Nation. Friend, you dont have to listen to Tyrant Wyvern. So long as you join the Holy Knights, I can guarantee nothing will happen to you in Nightmare Holy City, Dawn Forest said, smiling at Shi Feng. Additionally, once you and your party members join the Holy Knights, so long as you perform well, you will be assigned an Elder position at the very least. Madness! This is madness! Am I hearing things? That Dawn Forest is making such a promise to a group of unknown experts? Not even Kowloon Demon received such an offer back then! Dawn Forest did not keep his voice down, so the bystanders heard him clearly. However, they couldnt understand why he would offer such conditions to Shi Fengs party. As the Holy Knights was one of Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds, its Elder positions were highly valued and hard to come by. Even elite experts would have less than a 10% chance of becoming Elders after toiling over a decade for the Guild. Yet, Dawn Forest now offered Elder positions to all six members of Shi Fengs party. This was definitely a first since the Holy Knights inception. Forest! Are you determined to oppose me?! Tyrant Wyvern glared at Dawn Forest. Although he had already guessed that Dawn Forest was here to make trouble for him, he hadnt expected the other party to act so blatantly. Brother Tyrant, how can you say that? Dawn Forest scoffed. Good talent is hard to come by. Since you have generously offered these friends to me, I naturally cant mistreat them. The Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation had been fighting in Nightmare Holy City for many years, so neither side feared the other. Now that there was an opportunity to recruit a group of experts and suppress the White Dragon Nation, Dawn Forest naturally wouldnt let it go. Good! Very good! In that case, you leave me no choice but to get rid of the Holy Knights as well! Tyrant Wyvern said, his expression darkening. Immediately afterward, he commanded, Attack! Do you think thats enough to scare me? Brothers, attack! Dawn Forest promptly responded by commanding his guild members to engage the White Dragon Nations experts. In the blink of an eye, a fight between the elite experts of the White Dragon Nation and the Holy Knights broke out in the middle of Nightmare Holy Citys main street. Although the citys Level 200-plus, Tier 6 NPC Guards tried to intervene, their efforts were futile, as the two Guilds quickly suppressed them. The main street quickly became a bloody battlefield with the two sides bombarding each other with Skills and Spells. Explosions echoed across the city. In reality, there wasnt much difference in strength between the Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation. This was also why the conflict between the two Guilds had lasted for so long. Unfortunately, because Dawn Forest had failed to show up with as many elite experts as Tyrant Wyvern, his forces were quickly suppressed and forced to give up ground repeatedly. Of course, this slight advantage still wasnt enough to let the White Dragon Nations experts annihilate the Holy Knights experts. Seconds after the battle began, the street was strewn with corpses. The magic barriers protecting the shops on both sides of the street also shook violently, their collapse imminent. After some more time passed, Dawn Forest and his subordinates were ultimately forced to one end of the street. Now, the White Dragon Nation had full control over the main street. How surprising. I was certain you would have gone with Forest, Tyrant Wyvern said when he saw that Shi Fengs party never got involved with the battle. Then, he sneered and continued, I dont know if I should consider you smart or dumb. Did you think I would forgive your provocation simply because you steered clear of the conflict between our two Guilds? But Im not unreasonable. I can give you two options. For the first option, you wont need to apologize to Firas team, but you must turn over all your weapons, equipment, and bag items. Additionally, you must sign a contract agreeing to serve the White Dragon Nation for fifty years! As for the second option, permanent death! Now, make your choice! The bystanders gasped upon hearing this. Although they had long since known about Tyrant Wyverns ruthless personality, they never expected him to be this ruthless. While he might have excused Shi Fengs party from begging for forgiveness, he replaced it with the condition of serving the White Dragon Nation for 50 years. Moreover, if Shi Fengs party refused to comply, they would be forced to retire permanently from Gods Domain and lose the ability to ascend to greater heights. Before Shi Feng, the leader of the six-man party, could voice his refusal, Red Frost suddenly stepped forward with her spear in hand. Then, she casually walked toward Tyrant Wyvern as if strolling in her backyard. What? Is that beauty thinking of taking action? Red Frosts actions stunned the players watching from the surrounding shops. Besides being a powerful expert, Tyrant Wyvern had the White Dragon Guard protecting him at all times. The White Dragon Guard consisted of elite experts who were much stronger than those under Firas leadership. They were also equipped with Battle Array Equipment that could let a 500-man team form a Large Silver Battle Array. Under the effects of this battle array, it would be as if the White Dragon Guard had received a one-rank upgrade to all their weapons and equipment. In a death match, the White Dragon Guard could eliminate all the elite experts Dawn Forest had brought. Commander, is Guild Leader Black Flames party insane? Why would they have only one person fight? Star Butterfly was bewildered when she saw the rest of Shi Fengs party remaining motionless. Thats the White Dragon Guard we are talking about! Theyre completely different from Firas team! Meanwhile, Tyrant Wyvern frowned when he saw Red Frost approach. He hadnt expected there to be someone impervious to reason. Waving his hand, he commanded, Kill her! Suddenly, over a thousand Spells and arrows flew at Red Frost. The attacks were densely packed like a wall, making them impossible to avoid. However, shortly after these attacks were launched, Red Frost raised her crimson spear and thrust it forward. Then, a pillar of scorching flames shot into the sky, incinerating the oncoming Spells and arrows. Scorching Blood! This was the Profound Skill of Red Frosts Divine Spear. Moreover, she could exert 100% of the Skills potential because she was now a sixth-floor expert. Chapter 3798 - Chapter 872 - Terror of a Sixth-Floor Expert Chapter 872 C Terror of a Sixth-Floor Expert Boom! Shortly after the towering flame pillar appeared, a loud explosion rocked Nightmare Holy City, followed by an eerie silence. At this moment, time seemed to pause, as the members of the White Dragon Nation and the Holy Knights had stopped fighting. All they did was stare at where the flame pillar had passed by. The players spectating from the surrounding shops were similarly dumbfounded as they stared at the lava hell that had appeared in the middle of the main street. They also couldnt help but gape at the large hole in Tyrant Wyverns chest. In just one move, Red Frost had obliterated the White Dragon Nations White Dragon Guard and killed Tyrant Wyvern, one of Nightmare Holy Citys top ten experts. Moreover, she was only a Level 223 Berserker Whirlwind Bulwark and the other members of Pale Horn gasped when they saw this scene, their eyes nearly falling out of their sockets. From the fight with Firas team, Whirlwind Bulwark and the others already knew that Shi Fengs party was strong. However, looking at things now, they realized that Shi Fengs party most likely never fought Firas team seriously. Who is that woman? When Dawn Forest saw the destruction Red Frost caused, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably. Had a magical-class player caused this level of destruction, he wouldnt have been particularly surprised. However, this was the first time since he started playing Gods Domain that he had seen a Berserker with such a destructive Skill. Not only that, but the Skill also had an incredibly fast activation timeso fast that he had failed to react to it. How can this be? The Guild Leader got one-shotted? At this time, some of the White Dragon Nations elite experts finally reacted to Tyrant Wyverns death. She killed the Guild Leader! Revenge! We must take revenge! That Skill of hers must have a long cooldown! Shes only one person! Use this chance to kill her! Suddenly, the White Dragon Nations 10,000-plus elite experts turned their attention away from the Holy Knights elite experts and charged at Red Frost en masse. As the White Dragon Nations Guild Leader, Tyrant Wyvern was the face of the Guild. Thus, the consequences of his death were vastly greater than Firas. Not to mention, Red Frost had one-shotted him. If they couldnt kill Red Frost and avenge Tyrant Wyvern immediately, the White Dragon Nations status in Nightmare Holy City would plummet, and its future development in Nightmare Holy City would be severely impacted. Dammit! These people are out of their minds! Whirlwind Bulwark felt his scalp grow numb when he saw the White Dragon Nations experts going after Red Frost as one. However, before the White Dragon Nations members could reach her, Red Frost suddenly split into a hundred copies of herself, each no different from the real deal. Then, every one of these copies executed an Advanced Gold Combat Technique simultaneously. Pssh! Suddenly, blood splattered everywhere, and several hundred White Dragon Nation experts closest to Red Frost turned into ashes, leaving behind a bunch of weapons and equipment on the ground. With just a thrust from her spear, Red Frost had killed another several hundred players Subsequently, Red Frost kept thrusting and swinging her spear, while the White Dragon Nations elite experts kept falling in swaths, like wheat in the autumn harvest. No one was strong enough to resist her attacks. In just 30 seconds, over half of the White Dragon Nations Level 235-plus experts were killed. During this time, many ranged attacks were launched at Red Frost. However, they were nothing but jokes, as they couldnt even hit any of her copies. Additionally, she ensured her copies would always be near the White Dragon Nations frontline experts, limiting the opportunities the ranged experts had to attack her. Devil! She must be the devil incarnate! Monster! Shes a monster disguised as a player! Run! Run away! Eventually, the thought of revenge disappeared from the minds of the White Dragon Nations members, replaced by unadulterated fear. Now, they could no longer care less about their Guilds reputation. They had never met such a terrifying player before. Even the Taboo existence they fought in the past would look cute compared to Red Frost. After all, they could at least damage said Taboo existence a little. In contrast, they couldnt even put up the slightest bit of resistance against Red Frost. This was no longer a battle between players. It was merely a massacre. In no time, the remaining White Dragon Nation experts fled like frightened mice, the sight stunning the spectating players. Before today, the most spectacular battle they had seen involved several dozen experts defeating several thousand experts. Red Frosts accomplishment of defeating an army of 10,000-plus elite experts thoroughly shattered their understanding of experts in Gods Domain. Who are these people? Whirlwind Bulwark experienced an unprecedented shock as he looked at Shi Feng and his other party members, who remained unfazed. Red Frosts ability to suppress the White Dragon Nations elite experts single-handedly was nothing short of fantasy. Yet, Shi Feng and the others behaved like this outcome was only natural. What Whirlwind Bulwark didnt know was that the White Dragon Nations elite experts were only superior in levels. Although they were fully equipped with Level 230 Epic Equipment or above, Red Frost had a Divine Spear and a Legendary Equipment Set. Thus, they remained far behind her when it came to Basic Attributes. Not to mention, Red Frost had already reached the sixth-floor standard. With the White Dragon Nations members being inferior in Basic Attributes and combat standards, it was only natural that such a frightening gap existed between them and Red Frost. This was also the cruelty of Gods Domain. Even if each statistical difference was not overwhelming, they could develop into an insurmountable gap when compounded. As Pale Horns members watched Red Frost slaughter the White Dragon Nations members, they couldnt help feeling excited. This was because they were certain Red Frost was a player. Getting to know such a terrifying player was something they could brag about for the rest of their lives. In less than three minutes, the originally congested street became deserted. All the White Dragon Nation experts who had come with Tyrant Wyvern had either died or fled with their tails between their legs. As for the weapons and equipment littering the street, neither the spectating players nor the Holy Knights members dared to pick them up. On the contrary, the Holy Knights members made sure to stay several hundred yards away from these items lest Red Frost misunderstand them. Meanwhile, Heiser smiled at the shocked Dawn Forest and asked teasingly, Guild Leader Forest, is our performance outstanding enough? Chapter 3799 - Chapter 873 - Number One Expert? Chapter 873 C Number One Expert? Though Heisers voice was neutral, the Holy Knights felt the icy hand of death grip their hearts when they saw Red Frost approach. Their breaths grew ragged, and cold sweat covered their backs. They wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away. Never had anyone managed to slaughter the 10,000-plus elite experts from the White Dragon Nation and put them to flight. Had someone told them of Red Frosts achievement before, they would have laughed it off as a joke. Now, though, they couldnt laugh at all. This was especially so for Dawn Forest, who had come here looking to take advantage of the situation. Naturally, Dawn Forest understood the meaning behind Heisers words. However, he also knew that he mustnt offend the other party. The Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation were age-old adversaries, so one could say that the two Guilds were evenly matched. Since Red Frost could single-handedly suppress the White Dragon Nations elites, she could naturally do the same to the Holy Knights elites. Thus, when faced with Heisers playful smile, Dawn Forests expression turned indescribably ugly. Had he known this would happen, he would have never stuck his nose where it didnt belong. Friends, I believe there must be some misunderstanding. I only invited you to join the Holy Knights because I couldnt stand the White Dragon Nations tyranny. Had I known you were so strong, I wouldnt have been such a busybody. As an apology for the offense, the Holy Knights is willing to pay five million Undying Souls as compensation, Dawn Forest hurriedly said to Shi Feng, no longer putting on airs. How generous! Whirlwind Bulwark gasped when he overheard Dawn Forests words. Although anyone with a discerning eye could see that Dawn Forest was here to take advantage of the situation, the Holy Knights had more or less contributed to wearing out the White Dragon Nations experts. Yet, he offered to pay a whopping five million Undying Souls as compensation. For context, although Pale Horn was a relatively famous adventurer team in Nightmare Holy City, its stockpile of Undying Souls hadnt even reached 100,000. Even if Pale Horn saved up Undying Souls for the next decade, it still couldnt come up with five million Undying Souls. This was because Undying Souls were indispensable in Nightmare Holy City. They could be used to increase the production success rate of weapons and equipment. They could also be used to learn various Gold Combat Techniques. Each attempt at learning a Gold Combat Technique cost 10,000 Undying Souls, and players typically required three to five attempts before they succeeded. Thus, expert players consumption of Undying Souls in Nightmare Holy City was incredibly high. While the drop rate of Undying Souls in the Nightmare Holy City Region was quite high, a sum of five million Undying Souls was by no means a small amount, even for the Holy Knights. Such a loss would significantly affect the Guilds development. However, as Whirlwind Bulwark wasnt the leader of a large Guild, he didnt know about Dawn Forests considerations. For Guilds like the Holy Knights, it was their worst nightmare to make an enemy out of experts like Shi Fengs party. If Shi Fengs party decided to ambush the Holy Knights elite experts out in the fields, a few bouts would be more than enough to make the Guild suffer. Moreover, the Holy Knights could do nothing about Shi Fengs party. Should such a situation persist over a long period, the damage to the Guild would be tremendous. Not to mention, besides apologizing for his mistake, Dawn Forest intended to use the five million Undying Souls to establish a connection with Shi Fengs party. Five million Undying Souls? Shi Feng was a little surprised. Nightmare Holy City was far wealthier than he imagined. He never expected a Guild to be able to take out five million Undying Souls. This was already equivalent to a Worlds Scar. When Dawn Forest saw Shi Feng frowning slightly, he mistook it for dissatisfaction with his compensation. After hesitating briefly, he gritted his teeth and said, If thats not enough, what if I add this ancient magic tome? After saying so, Dawn Forest retrieved an ancient tome made from dragon skin from his bag. Printed on the tomes cover were lines of divine runes in constant motion. Although nobody present could understand the divine runes, the ancient tome radiated a Divine Might that instilled an indescribable sense of fear in them. Isnt this the Flame Dragon Gods Divine Might? Shi Feng couldnt help his surprise when he saw the ancient tome in Dawn Forests hands. The Flame Dragon God, also known as the Primordial Flame Dragon, was a Primordial God-ranked existence. Since this ancient tome recorded the Flame Dragon Gods Divine Might, it had to be closely related to the Flame Dragon God. In terms of value, an item closely related to a Primordial Dragon was worth no less than a Divine Artifact. Apex powers would even fight to exchange their Divine Artifacts for such an item. After all, Primordial God-ranked items were unique and much rarer than Divine Artifacts. Brother Black Flame, what do you think? Dawn Forest hurriedly asked when he noticed Shi Fengs interest in the ancient tome. Dawn Forest obtained this ancient tome many years ago. Although its Divine Might indicated its preciousness, he hadnt even managed to open it thus far, much less uncover its secrets. Thus, rather than let it collect dust in his bag, he might as well use it as a gift. It would be a good outcome if he could win Shi Fengs favor with it. After all, the status of Shi Fengs party in Nightmare Holy City would definitely surpass that of the White Dragon Nation and the Holy Knights after today. In that case, I wont hold back, Shi Feng said as he accepted the ancient tome with a smile. His main goal in this remnant primordial world was to collect Undying Souls. Establishing a good relationship with the local powers would naturally speed up his collection of Undying Souls. He had also learned of an existence that was potentially similar to the Twenty-Two Taboos. If this Taboo Boss was the real deal, he would need far more than just a six-man party to defeat it. Dawn Forest sighed in relief when Shi Feng accepted the ancient tome. Then, he promptly transferred five million Undying Souls to Shi Feng. As for the various Taboo Epic and Taboo Fragmented Legendary items scattered on the street, Shi Feng decided to sell them to Dawn Forest at a bargain. The White Dragon Nation had left over 6,000 Taboo Epic Equipment and 400 Taboo Fragmented Legendary items behind. Although Dawn Forest had to fork out an additional 4.5 million Undying Souls for them, he was more than happy to do so. All Level 230-plus Taboo Epic and Taboo Fragmented Legendary items were made by players. Due to the low production success rate, it was very difficult to produce many in a short time. Likewise, it was also difficult to buy them in bulk, even if one had the money to do so. Hence, it was a windfall for the Holy Knights to purchase over 6,400 of these items at once. After Shi Feng made a large sum of Undying Souls, he happily went to Nightmare Holy Citys library to verify whether the Northern Badlands Taboo existence was similar to the Twenty-Two Taboos. Meanwhile, news of Shi Fengs party thrashing the White Dragon Nation quickly spread throughout Nightmare Holy City, shocking everyone. Incredible! This person single-handedly suppressed the White Dragon Nations elite experts and intimidated the Holy Knights! Id be set for life if I had half her strength! Im guessing Nightmare Holy City will have a new number-one expert. I doubt Kowloon Demon can match this female Berserker. Goddess! Shes my goddess from now on! For a time, everyone in Nightmare Holy City discussed Shi Fengs party, particularly Red Frosts terrifying display of strength. The appearance of the party relegated the citys two former overlords to second place. In the Nightmare Holy City Regions Northern Badlands, a young man in platinum armor was contending with the Putrid Dragon, a Level 237 Divine Regional Boss. The young man stood six meters tall, with four horns growing out of his head and two sets of arms. On the other hand, the Putrid Dragon had a frame exceeding a thousand meters in height and a fearsome corrosive power. Usually, it could easily wipe out a Tier 6 team of the same level, but at this time, it could do nothing against the young man with the glacial expression. The two were evenly matched, which allowed the 19 players behind the young man to chip away at the Putrid Dragons HP. After nearly two hours into the battle, the Putrid Dragons HP fell to zero, and several players behind the young man leveled up, reaching Level 237. While the team rested, a blonde female Elf appeared before the 20-man team. The Elf was a Level 239 Swordsman, a top-tier existence even in Nightmare Holy City. Yet, when she faced the young man in platinum armor, she had a respectful expression. Kowloon, a new expert has appeared in Nightmare Holy City. From what I heard, she may be your match. My match? Kowloon Demons resting eyes opened slightly at this word. Then, he shook his head and said, There are no experts in Nightmare Holy City, only frogs stuck at the bottom of the well. Only the fellows outside can match me. Im not talking about those people, Leia, the Elven Swordsman, said with a serious look. Shes a new expert. She single-handedly defeated over ten thousand of the White Dragon Nations elites. The White Dragon Nations elites? How is that possible? Kowloon Demon was skeptical of Leias words. Besides having superior weapons and equipment, this persons combat standard would need to reach the sixth-floor standard to accomplish this. I cant tell myself; have a look for yourself, Leia said as she shared a battle video with Kowloon Demon. The battle video showed Red Frost transforming into a hundred copies of herself without suffering any reduction in her combat power. It also showed her mowing down the White Dragon Nations army with an unstoppable force. In only three minutes, she had traumatized the White Dragon Nations elite experts into fleeing in a panic. Impossible Kowloon Demons eyes widened as he watched the battle video. How could there be a sixth-floor expert here? So shes really at the sixth-floor standard? When Leia got her answer from Kowloon Demons shock, she was stunned despite herself. After all, this was the legendary standard she had been pursuing until now. Incredible! Incredible! Kowloon Demons eyes lit up as he stared at Red Frosts figure in the battle video. I never expected to find a qualified opponent in this backwater place! Before Leia could say anything more, Kowloon Demon stood up and took out a Magic Scroll from his bag. What are you doing? Leia exclaimed when she saw the Magic Scroll in Kowloon Demons hands. The Tier 6 Divine Runic Teleportation Scroll. Only a few such scrolls existed in the entire Nightmare Holy City, each a lifesaving treasure that could be used to escape even Ancient Gods. What do you think? Of course, I am going to meet her! Kowloon Demon said excitedly. She might have the qualifications to join us. After saying so, Kowloon Demon disappeared from the Northern Badlands, leaving Leia behind, kicking the ground in exasperation. Chapter 3800 - Chapter 874 - Badlands Taboo Chapter 874 C Badlands Taboo Nightmare Holy City, Library: The libraries in Gods Domain werent just places for players to learn about Gods Domains history and various knowledge. They also served as a marketplace for players to sell information. So long as players had battle videos or information they believed was important in Gods Domain, they could pay a fee to sell it in a library for in-game currencies. Although this could be regarded as an alternative to selling information on the official forums, the two were different. This was because the Magic Crystal Balls in libraries could perfectly reproduce a players experience as if they were reading the players memories. They could collect information that was far more detailed than what players could collect. Because of this, even though players typically had to pay exorbitant amounts of in-game currency for information at libraries, many were still willing to do so. A Taboo Boss! The Northern Badlands do have a Taboo Boss! Shi Feng grew excited when he saw the information recorded on the Magic Crystal Ball in his hand. According to the librarys records, as many as 119 teams had challenged the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss, and over a hundred players had specifically gone to investigate it. As a result, much information was available. If he were to compile all the information on the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, the result wouldnt compare to what was available on the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss. This was because almost every player who faced the Twenty-Two Taboos suffered a permanent death. This, in turn, also resulted in very few players daring to investigate the Twenty-Two Taboos. And even if some powers managed to obtain information on the Twenty-Two Taboos, they wouldnt casually sell it at a library. On the other hand, Nightmare Holy Citys players and powers differed slightly. Although over 99% of the players who faced the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss similarly suffered permanent deaths, many players were still willing to study it and share the information they collected. This was because Nightmare Holy Citys players could not advance deeper into the Northern Badlands and travel to other regions if they could not eliminate the Taboo Boss. Unless they could pass the impossibly difficult cross-region challenge, they would only spend the rest of their lives stuck in the Nightmare Holy City Regionunlike the Greater Gods Domains players and powers, who could still explore the boundless Void Sea even without killing the Twenty-Two Taboos. As for how monsters in Gods Domain could be judged to be Taboo Bosses, it was simple. Take the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos, for example. Although the Twenty-Two Taboos were currently invincible in the Greater Gods Domain, they hadnt been strong from the start. Instead, they grew into their current strength. This was also why many of the Twenty-Two Taboos were mutated monsters. Of course, simply growing in levels and tiers wasnt enough for a monster to be considered a Taboo Boss. Only after a monster could cast a True World and gained a unique ability, such as the Undying Mother and its unique ability Undying, would they be deemed as one. Shi Feng browsed the battle records of the 119 teams that had fought the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss. Although these teams never managed to see its true appearance, their experiences proved that it could cast a True World. When subjected to the World Laws of a True World, players would be subjected to an all-encompassing suppression of 50% or more, regardless of their levels, equipment standards, or Law Projection standards. Even bona fide Ancient Gods were no exception. Moreover, this was only the effect of a True Worlds Basic Laws. A True World could have other effects depending on the Taboo Bosss level and the unique World Laws they mastered. The Northern Badlands Taboo Boss had clearly displayed a True World, as every player who challenged it experienced an all-encompassing suppression of 50% or more. Even Level 239, Tier 6 experts were no exception. Its a pity that none of these records show the Taboo Bosss unique ability. Otherwise, I could make better preparations. Shi Feng sighed when he finished reading all the available information. None of the players who shared their findings in the library had seen the Taboo Bosss unique ability. The only good news was that the Taboo Boss was under Level 240. Had it been a Level 240 Taboo Boss, a normal attack would be enough to one-shot a Level 239 tank equipped with five Divine Artifacts. However, based on the librarys records, a Level 239 tank fully equipped with Level 235 Fragmented Legendary equipmentafter activating his lifesaving measuresonly lost 80% of his HP when struck by a giant arm from the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss. Based on this information alone, Shi Feng knew that the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss had not reached Level 240. It was likely only at Level 238 or Level 239. It seems Ill have to increase the partys level quickly. Shi Feng got a headache when he saw the levels of Red Frost and the others through the party window. Although leveling up in the Nightmare Holy City Region should be quite easy, itd be wishful thinking if he thought he could kill a Taboo Boss with a six-man party. Hed need at least a 100-man team. Moreover, he had to kill the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss in 20 days. This was because he still had Kalishas quest to collect 30 million Undying Souls in 30 days and Enoss quest to kill the Undying Mother. After researching the Taboo Boss, Shi Feng went to a VIP reading room to study the ancient tome he received from Dawn Forest. When Shi Feng initially obtained the ancient tome, he didnt dare to study it in detail. This was because he quickly recognized the flowing divine runes on the ancient tome formed divine patterns. Others might not recognize what these divine patterns represented, but as a Divine Engraver, Shi Feng was certain it was a Sealing Engraving. The Sealing Engraving was a commonly used sealing method before the Mythical Era. It was impossible to undo without sufficient knowledge of divine engravings. Among the reasons the Greater Gods Domains various powers were heavily invested in divine engraving research were the items sealed by Sealing Engravings that they obtained from ruins. The Sealing Engraving placed on the ancient tome wasnt particularly powerful. Any Basic Divine Engraver could undo it. They merely needed to make a copy of the Sealing Engraving to undo it. Immediately, Shi Feng analyzed the Sealing Engraving and copied it using the pure mana of Seven Luminaries Crystals. One minute Ten minutes Thirty minutes After going at it for two hours, Shi Feng finally completed a copy of the ancient tomes Sealing Engraving. The instant he undid the Sealing Engraving, all the information in the ancient tome became available to him. A dragons roar also shook the room. Chapter 3801 - Chapter 875 - Dragonslayer Chapter 875 C Dragonslayer As the ancient tome released one dragon roar after another, the VIP reading rooms magic barrier ramped up to maximum defense. In this state, the magic barrier could easily withstand Tier 6 attacks. Yet, the dragon roars still pushed it to the brink of failure before they subsided. How close! Shi Fengs heart pounded as he looked at the cracked barrier. Had the ancient tome released a few more dragon roars, the barrier would have shattered, and the dragon roars would have spread across the entire Nightmare Holy City, alerting everyone of the birth of a priceless treasure. Although Red Frost had just repelled the White Dragon Nation and intimidated the citys many powers and players, that didnt mean she could take on the entire city. Whether it was Red Frost or their party, they would quickly be drowned to death if the whole city decided to attack them. Nonetheless, following the removal of the Sealing Engraving, the identity of the ancient tome also came to light: a Mythical Era Creation. Specifically, it was the Dragon-Hunting Artillery Construction Design! The Dragon-Hunting Artillery, also known as the Dragonslayer, was a terrifying weapon that could hunt even Dragon Gods. While the average player might not have much use for it, it was a priceless treasure for teams and powers. If a town had a few Dragon-Hunting Artilleries constructed, nobody would dare to attack it recklessly. Even Ancient Gods would avoid the town like the plague. This was because the Dragon-Hunting Artillerys attacks could injure even Primordial Gods. In Shi Fengs previous life, when the Holy Race started to besiege and occupy the Eternal Realms various Neutral Cities, they suffered a devastating blow when they stretched their hands to the southern regions Luminous Sky City. This was because the city secretly possessed three Dragon-Hunting Artilleries. Back then, a single shot from a Dragon-Hunting Artillery turned over a dozen Level 240-plus experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts into ash and permanently erased several hundred thousand Tier 6 experts. Had the old monsters leading the Holy Races army not promptly reacted and destroyed the three Dragon-Hunting Artilleries with their trump cards, the Holy Race might have even lost that siege. What is this construction cost? On top of ten Lightning Nuclei, it also needs five hundred million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal? Shi Fengs scalp went numb when he saw the main materials needed to construct the Dragon-Hunting Artillery. Even advancing from Tier 6 to Tier 7 only cost 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Yet, the Dragon-Hunting Artillery required 500 million units to construct. The Lightning Nucleus was also an extraordinarily precious material that could only be obtained from Grade 1 Lightning Crystal Veins. Normally, only one out of ten Lightning Crystal Veins would have a Lightning Nucleus. Moreover, each Realm only had a few Lightning Crystal Veins, with some not having any. To make matters worse, Lightning Nuclei could be used to power Void Fortresses and increase the chances of lightning-type Flying Mounts advancing to Tier 6. This made them incredibly valuable and virtually impossible to find on the market. Not even pseudo-apex powers would have enough Lightning Nuclei to construct the Dragon-Hunting Artillery. It seems I have no choice but to ask Verdant Rainbow about the Lightning Nuclei. Looking at the design, Shi Feng felt he would have to rely on the Seven Luminaries Alliance to construct the Dragon-Hunting Artillery. If he depended on Zero Wing, he would never be able to finish gathering the needed Lightning Nuclei. Just as Shi Feng was about to study the Dragon-Hunting Artillerys design, he suddenly received a call from Whirlwind Bulwark. Brother Bulwark, did something happen? Shi Feng asked when he saw Whirlwind Bulwarks terrified face. Of Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds, one had already been devastated by Red Frost, while the other had expressed goodwill to them. Hence, Shi Feng found it puzzling why Whirlwind Bulwark would have such an expression. Although Whirlwind Bulwarks equipment standard wasnt anything special, his combat standard was excellent. He could even compete with the Divine Glory Lists top 100 experts in combat standards. Its Kowloon Demon! Hurriedly, Whirlwind Bulwark explained, A few minutes ago, Kowloon Demon came to the library demanding a match with Miss Frost. Miss Heiser was very dissatisfied with his challenge, so she decided to teach him a lesson, only to get killed. Currently, Brother Xiao is trying to buy time while Miss Leaf goes to find Miss Frost and Miss Laura at the librarys Legacy Room. Heiser was killed? Shi Feng was surprised. Is Kowloon Demon that strong? Heiser was already a Half-step Mortal God. Shi Feng found it hard to believe that anyone from Nightmare Holy City could kill her in a one-on-one fight. Even if her opponent was of the same combat standard, her superior equipment standard should give her an overwhelming advantage. Hes terrifyingly strong! Whirlwind Bulwark exclaimed fearfully. When Kowloon Demon first appeared, he challenged and defeated every expert in Nightmare Holy City. He even killed several hundred of the White Dragon Nations experts just to be able to fight Tyrant Wyvern. Originally, Tyrant Wyvern swore to erase Kowloon Demon with the White Dragon Nations strength, but he later abandoned the idea. Since then, neither the White Dragon Nation nor the Holy Knights has dared to provoke Kowloon Demon. Kowloon Demon must have heard about Miss Frosts achievements and has come to challenge her. I understand. After hearing Whirlwind Bulwarks explanation, Shi Feng understood that Kowloon Demon was a battle maniac. However, he wasnt particularly surprised by this information, as many such people were in the Greater Gods Domain. Ill be there soon. Battle maniacs usually never backed down until they achieved their goal. It hadnt been long since Red Frost initiated a Gold Combat Technique learning session in the librarys Legacy Room. Should Kowloon Demon interrupt her now, the 10,000 Undying Souls she spent would be in vain. After saying so, Shi Feng disconnected the call and left the reading room. Library, first-floor hall: Presently, the normally tranquil hall was boiling with excitement as the players in the hall discussed Kowloon Demon and Heiser, whom Star Butterfly had just resurrected. Dammit! Is that guy a monster?! Heiser, who had fallen to Level 226, was filled with disbelief as she glared at the tall young man in front of her. Again! She got one-shotted again! This time, the battle even ended without her realizing what had happened Meanwhile, Kowloon Demon suddenly turned to the staircase leading to the librarys second floor. More specifically, he looked at the cloaked man walking down the staircase. Are you their party leader? After Kowloon Demon gave Shi Feng the once-over, disappointment flashed in his eyes. It seems I was wrong to have any expectations for you. Ill give you one minute. Have that woman called Red Frost come fight me. Otherwise, youll suffer worse than that girl! Chapter 3802 - Chapter 876 - Primordial Dragonoid Chapter 876 C Primordial Dragonoid At Kowloon Demons words, Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly hurriedly approached Shi Feng with nervous expressions. Guild Leader Black Flame, dont be impulsive. This is how Kowloon Demon behaves toward everyone, Whirlwind Bulwark whispered. Kowloon Demon has already risen to Level 240. He also possesses a Level 240 Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. Im afraid there is nobody in Nightmare Holy City who is his match now. Although Whirlwind Bulwark knew Shi Feng was strong, Kowloon Demons level advantage was simply too much to overcome. After seeing Kowloon Demon one-shot Heiser twice, he felt that even Red Frost was unlikely to be a match for Kowloon Demon. Meanwhile, Shi Feng didnt get angry at Kowloon Demons provocation. He merely observed the other party in silence. A Primordial Dragonoid? When Shi Feng looked at Kowloon Demons four horns and four arms, he suddenly thought of a Mythical Era race from the Greater Gods Domain. Primordial Dragonoid! According to rumors, Primordial Dragonoids rivaled Dragons in Life Rating, though their population was lower than even that of Dragons. Of the races human players could convert to, the Primordial Dragonoid race had the strongest Physique. However, throughout Shi Fengs previous life, nobody from the human races Greater Gods Domain had managed to become a Primordial Dragonoid. More specifically, the method to convert to this Mythical Era race had never been found. In addition to being a Primordial Dragonoid, Kowloon Demon also wielded four extraordinary sabers. All four were Level 240 Taboo Legendary Weapons. Such weapons were incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain; only apex powers had them. You are the first to recognize my race in Nightmare Holy City. Kowloon Demon narrowed his eyes when he heard Shi Fengs words. Is your party not from here? Thats right; we are not. We only came here by chance, Shi Feng said, not bothering to withhold this information. According to the information Whirlwind Bulwark provided, this remnant primordial world didnt consist of just the Nightmare Holy City Region. Anyone who bothered to investigate would quickly know that his party didnt originate from this region, so he might as well admit it. The players and powers of Nightmare Holy City Region had to progress to other regions sooner or later. Before that happened, it would undoubtedly be in their best interests to partner with players from other regions. Hence, if the locals knew that his party came from outside the region, they would be more inclined to partner with his party. Is that so? Kowloon Demons gaze suddenly turned cold at Shi Fengs admission. In that case, you should know that this isnt a place you should covet! Anyone who dares to will be granted permanent death! As soon as Kowloon Demon finished speaking, the intensity of his aura skyrocketed. He no longer kept his aura suppressed, its true state startling even the resentful Heiser. Xiao Yilong, who was Level 230, revealed a terrified expression when he sensed Kowloon Demons oppressive aura. Hes as strong as the Great Commander? At this moment, Xiao Yilong felt like he was looking at South Lake, Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander, when he looked at Kowloon Demon. He felt utterly powerless and couldnt even muster the thought of resisting. However, Xiao Yilong couldnt understand why he was getting such a feeling from Kowloon Demon. After all, Kowloon Demon didnt have a single Divine Artifact on him. Nevertheless, the aura the other party radiated was comparable to that of South Lake fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. As for Whirlwind Bulwark and the others, this situation shocked them even more. Is he really Kowloon Demon? Star Butterfly felt like she was looking at a completely different person when she looked at Kowloon Demon. Although Star Butterfly had known that Kowloon Demon was strong in the past, the difference in their Basic Attributes definitely didnt reach a point where she would feel despair. Currently, it felt like Kowloon Demon could crush her with just a wave of his hand. This made her suspect that a Level 240 Humanoid Boss had disguised itself as Kowloon Demon and appeared before them. As expected of a Primordial Dragonoid. This Life Rating is simply absurd. Shi Feng was similarly astonished by Kowloon Demons unsuppressed aura. The current Kowloon Demon was like a Dragon equipped with weapons and equipment. Although these were only Legendary and Fragmented Legendary items, Kowloon Demons Basic Attributes should not be much inferior to the Level 239 South Lake. Considering that you came here by accident, I can give you a chance, Kowloon Demon said indifferently as he glanced at Shi Feng. Send someone from your party of six to fight me. So long as this person can last three moves against me, I will allow your party to leave Nightmare Holy City safely on the condition that you never return to this region. Otherwise, today will be the last day your party spends in Gods Domain! Of course, you can rest assured that I wont take advantage of my Basic Attributes. I will fight you with similar Basic Attributes. Heiser and Xiao Yilong recovered their composure slightly when they heard Kowloon Demons follow-up words. Although they didnt understand why Kowloon Demon had reacted so intensely when they mentioned they werent from this region, they knew he was seriousif nobody from their party could last three moves against him, he would erase them from Gods Domain. Fortunately, Kowloon Demon didnt intend to capitalize on his Basic Attribute advantage. In a competition of combat standards, Red Frost absolutely stood a chance against Kowloon Demon. Are you sure you will only fight with similar Basic Attributes? Shi Feng asked for verification. Naturally. I always keep my word, Kowloon Demon said with certainty. Then, he glanced at Shi Feng and added, Youre not worth breaking my promise. Alright, hurry up and call that Red Frost woman over. My patience is limited, so you had best not waste time. When Kowloon Demon finished speaking, Xiao Yilong promptly tried to contact Red Frost, not daring to waste any time. While Xiao Yilong was calling Red Frost, Shi Feng suddenly approached Kowloon Demon and calmly unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator, saying, In that case, I will fight you. I hope you will keep your promise. Chapter 3803 - Chapter 877 - Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration vs. Sixth-Floor Standard Chapter 877 C Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration vs. Sixth-Floor Standard Guild Leader Black Flame? Xiao Yilong was dumbfounded by Shi Fengs initiative to challenge Kowloon Demon. He couldnt understand what was going through the other partys mind. Kowloon Demons combat standard was the best Xiao Yilong had ever seen. Even Heiser, a Half-step Mortal God, had failed to survive one move against Kowloon Demon. Moreover, Kowloon Demon likely hadnt relied on his Basic Attribute advantage in the two times he one-shotted Heiser. Otherwise, he wouldnt have offered to fight one of their partys members with similar Basic Attributes. After all, this would almost guarantee Heiser could survive three moves against him. Thus, Red Frost, who could similarly one-shot Heiser, should be the best candidate to trade blows with Kowloon Demon. Although having Red Frost fight Kowloon Demon right now would mean wasting 10,000 Undying Souls, it was much better than jeopardizing the whole partys safety. So, why was Shi Feng stepping forward right now? Guild Leader Black Flame, we should let Big Sis Frost handle this, Heiser said anxiously. Kowloon Demons combat standard has likely reached the sixth-floor standard already. Aside from Big Sis Frost, the rest of us will have difficulty surviving three moves against him. Shi Feng clearly hadnt reached the sixth-floor standard yet. If he tried to fight a sixth-floor expert with similar Basic Attributes, it was unlikely he could last three moves. You want to fight me? Kowloon Demon looked at Shi Feng in surprise. It seems that you are quite confident. But do you really think you can last three moves against me despite not being a sixth-floor expert? When Shi Feng appeared, Kowloon Demon could immediately tell that the other party was not a sixth-floor expert. This was why he had reacted in disappointment. At this point, Kowloon Demon was refraining from eliminating Shi Fengs party out of respect for Red Frost, a sixth-floor expert like himself. Otherwise, he would have permanently erased the party from Gods Domain, regardless of how they ended up in the Nightmare Holy City Region. As for why Kowloon Demon had offered this three-move agreement, it was only to determine Red Frosts exact combat standard. He had never expected Shi Feng, who wasnt even at the sixth-floor standard, to challenge him. This made him wonder if he had misjudged Shi Feng. I have a few tricks up my sleeve, Shi Feng said calmly as he looked at Kowloon Demon. While you might be a sixth-floor expert, I am confident I can last three moves against you under the same Basic Attributes. Under normal circumstances, Shi Feng could only rely on the Feather of Oath if he had to fight a sixth-floor expert who matched South Lake in Basic Attributes. However, he would prefer to avoid such a scenario if possible. The Feather of Oaths War Goddesses might be able to defeat Kowloon Demon, but they were unlikely to kill him. After all, players were not monsters; they wouldnt fight to the death unless the situation called for it. If an expert like Kowloon Demon managed to escape, he would become an endless stream of trouble for his enemies. This was why the various apex powers in Shi Fengs previous life generally chose to avoid confrontation with the Three Absolutes. An apex power might have the means to defeat the Three Absolutes, but it lacked the ability to kill them. If it made an enemy of the Three Absolutes, its members would suffer. Likewise, unless Shi Fengs party had the means to kill Kowloon Demon, they would have no choice but to play by his rules. Otherwise, they would only suffer a bigger headache. Good! Lets see if you can survive three moves against me! Kowloon Demons expression darkened at Shi Fengs words. Immediately, Kowloon Demon brandished his four sabers, weaving a web of attacks and casting it at Shi Feng. The speed of his execution was so quick that few experts present managed to react to it. Is this the move he used against me? Heiser looked at the saber web solemnly. She finally understood how Kowloon Demon had managed to kill her before she could process what had happened. Fast! His attacks were too fast! Both times she challenged Kowloon Demon, she started the fight with less than ten yards between them. As a result, his saber web hit her before she could react. Now, not only was she spectating the fight from a distance, but there were also 30 yards between Kowloon Demon and Shi Feng. This gave her just enough time to react to Kowloon Demons saber web, or more specifically, track his sabers movements, and this outcome shocked her. After all, Kowloon Demon was currently fighting with his Basic Attributes suppressed. She doubted she could keep track of his attacks if he fought at full strength, even if they had been 300 yards apart. What speed! Meanwhile, Shi Feng was also astonished by the speed of Kowloon Demons attacks. If not for his Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration, which enabled him to perceive time flow at a slower rate, he would have had difficulty keeping up with the other partys speed. Without hesitation, Shi Feng executed Swords Orbit with the Shadow Incinerator and the Winter of Eternal Night. Clang Clang Clang A series of metal collisions sounded in the hall in quick succession. The frequency of the collisions was so high that it felt like hundreds of weapons were clashing simultaneously. The collision of the sabers and swords also produced numerous sparks that illuminated the entire hall and shockwaves that forced many Level 230, Tier 6 players back a step. Are they human? Heavens! Im Level 235, yet I cant even stand steadily right now! How strong are their attacks?! The spectators in the hall were stunned by the repercussions of the clash. Shi Feng and Kowloon Demon had traded only one move, yet that was enough to turn the librarys first-floor hall into a void battlefield. The power of their attacks was so great that it wouldnt be an exaggeration to consider them Humanoid Bosses. You are good. I hadnt expected you to keep up with my speed, Kowloon Demon said as he looked at Shi Feng in surprise. He hadnt thought a non-sixth-floor expert like Shi Feng could keep up with his reaction speed. Moreover, Shi Feng had accurately blocked every one of his attacks. But how will you fare against my next move? After saying so, Kowloon Demon swung his four sabers in unison, creating over two dozen saber lights that merged into one and split the hall in half. When Shi Feng saw the oncoming saber light, he dared not hold back anymore. Immediately, he activated the Miniature Abyssal World and swung the Shadow Incinerator, creating a full moon. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Chapter 3804 - Chapter 878 - Royal Power? Chapter 878 C Royal Power? Boom! A deafening explosion resounded throughout the library. For a moment, the light in the hall disappeared. Then, a full moon rose, returning peace to the world. In the blink of an eye, the first-floor hall became a dark void, and standing in the middle of this void were Shi Feng and Kowloon Demon. Although there was a huge level gap between the two, with Shi Feng being Level 212 and Kowloon Demon being Level 240, Kowloon Demon was the only one to sustain damage in the second exchange, his HP falling by 5%. Guild Leader Black Flame won? Heiser couldnt believe her eyes. It was obvious that Shi Feng had yet to reach the sixth-floor standard. Yet, in a clash with Kowloon Demon, a bona fide sixth-floor expert, he had emerged superior. We won? Xiao Yilong was dumbfounded when he saw that only Kowloon Demon received damage. He couldnt help but grow excited. Although this was only the second exchange, it should be virtually impossible for Kowloon Demon to kill Shi Feng in the third exchange unless he shamelessly fought using his full Basic Attributes. Thus, their party had effectively won the agreement. Meanwhile, Whirlwind Bulwark and the other Pale Horn members gaped at this situation. Arent we in the library?! Is Guild Leader Black Flame really only Level 212? Rather than the clash between a sixth-floor expert and a non-sixth-floor expert, Pale Horns members were more surprised by the destruction Shi Feng caused. Nightmare Holy Citys library was the sturdiest structure in the city. Even Level 235-plus players fully equipped with Level 235 Fragmented Legendary items could only create some cracks, at most, when they attacked the library. Yet, Shi Feng, despite being a Level 212 player, had turned the entire first-floor hall into an empty void. They didnt even dare to imagine what would happen if his attack struck them. Who are you? After noticing the loss of his HP, Kowloon Demon couldnt help but stare at Shi Feng as if the other party was a monster. His voice when he spoke was also filled with confusion; his calm composure was nowhere to be seen. Havent I already told you? In response to Kowloon Demons question, Shi Feng chuckled and said, We come from another region. Another region? Do you take me for a fool? Kowloon Demon glared at Shi Feng, not believing the other partys words in the slightest. While there might be many experts in other regions, none have someone like you. Despite not being a sixth-floor expert, you managed to overpower a sixth-floor expert. Not to mention, you dont even know the rules of this region and the surrounding regions. There might be experts stronger than him in other regions, but they were all well-known experts. If a fifth-floor expert could overpower a sixth-floor expert with similar Basic Attributes, this person would be a legendary existence known by all. However, Kowloon Demon had never heard of Shi Feng. Rules? What rules? Shi Feng looked at Kowloon Demon curiously. According to Whirlwind Bulwark, there shouldnt be any unspoken rules in Nightmare Holy City. Had there been any, Dawn Forest, the Guild Leader of the Holy Knights, would have informed Shi Feng about them when trying to befriend him. Yet, Dawn Forest hadnt. This meant that none of Nightmare Holy Citys players knew the rules Kowloon Demon spoke of. Suddenly, Kowloon Demon took out a silver Tier 6 Divine Rune Scroll and unfurled it before Shi Feng. Immediately afterward, a translucent silver barrier enveloped Shi Feng and Kowloon Demon, isolating them from the outside world. Shi Feng was surprised to see the translucent silver barrier. Dimensional World was a lost Tier 6 Divine Runic Curse in the Greater Gods Domain. Only Primordial God-ranked existences could destroy the barrier it created within a short timeframe. Even if South Lake, Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander, were here, he would need at least a day of nonstop attacking to break it. As for Magic Scrolls that held the Dimensional World Spell, they were extinct in the Greater Gods Domain. Nobody outside can hear us now, so lets be frank, Kowloon Demon said sternly. Before you make up any stories, I will have you know that Dragons Crown, the royal power I come from, controls the Nightmare Holy City Region and the several hundred regions around it. No player outside of the Nightmare Holy City Region doesnt know Dragons Crown. A royal power? Kowloon Demons words momentarily stunned Shi Feng. As far as Shi Feng could recall, there were no royal powers in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Not even the mysterious Seven Luminaries Alliance had reached the standard of royal powers. It was barely strong enough to contend with the Holy Races royal powers. However, Kowloon Demon claimed that this remnant primordial world concealed a human royal power. Moreover, the information Kowloon Demon revealed about the remnant primordial world was frightening. It should be known that Nightmare Holy Citys players were already shockingly strong. Yet, there were actually hundreds of regions like it in the remnant primordial world. Although Nightmare Holy City wasnt filled with fifth-floor experts, many of its inhabitants were experts who had mastered Gold Combat Techniques. There were over 10,000 such experts in the White Dragon Nation alone. Yet, Dragons Crown controlled hundreds of other city regions like the Nightmare Holy City Region. It definitely wasnt an exaggeration to consider Dragons Crown a royal power. It could absolutely compete with the Holy Races royal powers. Thats right. Dragons Crown is one of the only two royal powers in Gods Domain. This is something all players outside know. When Kowloon Demon saw the surprise on Shi Feng, he couldnt help asking in confusion, Only native players of the Nightmare Holy City Region would be ignorant of this information. But youre not from Nightmare Holy City, so who are you people? Shi Feng didnt know how he should answer Kowloon Demons question. After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng ventured awkwardly, Would you believe me if I said I come from another world? Chapter 3805 - Chapter 879 - Chapter of Space Chapter 879 C Chapter of Space Heiser and Xiao Yilong grew worried when they saw Kowloon Demon isolating the space around him and Shi Feng with the Tier 6 Divine Runic Curse Dimensional World. What is Kowloon Demon trying to do? Does he plan to go back on his word and fight with his full strength? Xiao Yilong muttered anxiously as he stared at the translucent silver barrier. Originally, Xiao Yilong thought their trip to this remnant primordial world would be filled with opportunities. Especially after seeing the states of Nightmare Holy City and its top two Guilds, he was certain they would be able to earn a lot of Undying Souls. However, the dangers here far exceeded his expectations. Never had he expected to encounter a Level 240 expert here, let alone one with such a terrifying combat standard. If Kowloon Demon disregarded his reputation and fought with his full strength, their party might not leave this remnant primordial world, let alone earn Undying Souls from it. I dont think so, Heiser said, shaking her head. Then, while recalling her fight with Kowloon Demon, she added, Hes a battle maniac through and through. Hes fixated on improving his strength. At his standard, finding worthy opponents is nigh impossible. Though not a sixth-floor expert himself, Guild Leader Black Flame can fight sixth-floor experts on even Basic Attributes. In a sense, experts like Guild Leader Black Flame are much rarer. If Kowloon Demon acts rashly, he might never come across another opponent like Guild Leader Black Flame. I guess youre right. Xiao Yilong agreed with Heisers opinion. For those seeking ultimate strength, the higher they climbed, the lonelier they became. Then, he looked at Kowloon Demon and sighed, Still, this world really is scary. I thought Red Frost had become the strongest human player in terms of combat standards. I hadnt expected to meet other sixth-floor human experts in this God Mode Underground City. Moreover, according to Kowloon Demon, there should be quite a few sixth-floor experts in this world. If the Greater Gods Domains old monsters learn of this, their jaws will probably drop Mortal Gods! To his knowledge, Red Frost was the only player in the human races Greater Gods Domain to have reached this standard. Before Red Frosts resurgence, everyone even thought it was impossible to achieve this legendary standard. Yet, it was now revealed that there was not just one, but multiple sixth-floor experts in this remnant primordial world. This was unbelievable news. Heiser stared at Kowloon Demon. Although she didnt make any comments, she strongly agreed with Xiao Yilongs sentiment. Meanwhile, silence descended momentarily in the interior of the Dimensional World after Shi Feng revealed his origins. Kowloon Demon simply stared at Shi Feng, his expression changing from cold to confused. Another world? Kowloon Demon finally broke the silence. Then, with a firm gaze on Shi Feng, he added, Had you been a sixth-floor expert, Id 100% suspect that you were sent by that side to mess with me. But youre not. You even managed to overpower me. There isnt anyone like you in this world. This is really unexpected. I always assumed those old records at headquarters were just legends. I never thought there could be human players outside our world. But now, it seems those ancient records were factual. If Im not mistaken, you and that girl should be using the so-called Fragmented Divine Artifacts or Divine Artifacts, right? That would explain your frightening Basic Attributes. Since you are from outside of this world, how about partnering with Dragons Crown? Our world should have many things you need. Not to brag, but there isnt anything in this world that Dragons Crown cant obtain. Kowloon Demons zealousness and fighting spirit disappeared. Now, his eyes were filled with joy and anticipation. He looked at Shi Feng as if he were looking at a mountain of treasure. A partnership? Shi Feng was momentarily surprised. Then, he quickly calmed down and said, Its not out of the question. No power could resist the lucrative potential of a trade agreement between worlds, least of all one involving this remnant primordial world. The weapon and equipment production technology here far outpaced anything found in the Greater Gods Domain. Even the Level 235 Taboo Epic Weapons and Equipment produced here could fetch astronomical prices in the Greater Gods Domain, let alone the Level 240 Fragmented Legendary and Legendary Equipment. Of course, no one would sell these Taboo Weapons and Equipment for money unless absolutely necessary. After all, they were the foundation of a powers strength. What the powers in the Greater Gods Domain truly lacked werent high-level players, but Taboo Weapons and Equipment. With enough Taboo Weapons and Equipment, their members could raid Taboo Dungeons nonstop and level up rapidly. Taboo Dungeons werent particularly rare in the Greater Gods Domain. It was just that most players lacked the strength to raid them. If players were strong enough to raid Taboo Dungeons nonstop, they could level up as quickly as grinding in Taboo Secret Lands. I heard that you need a lot of Undying Souls. Kowloon Demon laughed when he saw Shi Feng feigning hesitance. While precious, theyre not particularly rare in this world. If you partner with Dragons Crown, you only need to bring Dragons Crowns members outside. In return, Dragons Crown will pay you ten million Undying Souls per trip. This should be a great deal for you. Bring you out? Shi Feng frowned slightly. While my party can come and go here freely, taking people out is another matter altogether. Shi Feng wasnt surprised by Kowloon Demons desire to head to the Greater Gods Domain. After all, it was only a matter of time before this remnant primordial world linked up with the Greater Gods Domain. If Dragons Crown could establish itself in the Greater Gods Domain ahead of time, it would stand to benefit more once the linking happened. This was similar to Shi Fengs desire to establish Zero Wing in the Eternal Realm. However, his party had used a teleportation passage to reach this remnant primordial world, and they could only return by using the Return Crystal that the Underground City had given them. Moreover, this Return Crystal was bound to them, so they couldnt give it to others. Evidently, the Underground City did not want the players of this remnant primordial world to leave. Furthermore, Shi Feng was unable to use the Abyss Workshop Certifications World-Breaking Teleportation due to the interference set in place by the Primordial Flame Dragon. Otherwise, he could have long since traveled in and out of the Flame Dragon Gods Nest freely. I know that, Kowloon Demon said. Then, he hesitantly pulled out a tattered sheet of paper from the five-colored ring he wore and added, We naturally cant leave using normal methods. But leaving wont be a problem if we use this item. The Chapter of Space? Shi Feng gasped when he saw the tattered paper in Kowloon Demons hand. Chapter 3806 - Chapter 880 - Primordial Royal Powers Foundation Chapter 880 C Primordial Royal Powers Foundation Do you know this Godly Relic? Kowloon Demon looked at Shi Feng in surprise. He hadnt expected Shi Feng to be able to recognize the tattered paper, much less name it. After all, he had gone to great lengths to uncover its identity. Additionally, the Chapter of Space had been stored in Dragons Crowns Guild Warehouse since the Guilds inception. If not for the secret information he had obtained from an ancient ruin, he might never have bothered to pay the ridiculous price to exchange it. I know a little bit. Shi Feng nodded. The Chapter of Space is one of the seven types of power contained within the Seven Luminaries Codex, a Godly Relic that has existed since the birth of Gods Domain. It is rumored to have the power of spatial teleportation. Shi Feng had been searching for the Seven Luminaries Codexs fragments. However, he had located only the Chapter of Time thus far. Although he knew that the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary contained a fragment of the Codex, he hadnt thought it would be in this remnant primordial world. He also hadnt expected it to be in Kowloon Demons possession. After all, the Seven Luminaries Codex never reacted. Thats right. Kowloon Demon nodded. Then, he confidently stated, This Godly Relic should be powerful enough to take us out. Although it can only let us leave for a limited period and will forcibly teleport us back once time is up, it is the only viable method I can think of. Indeed. Shi Feng did not doubt Kowloon Demons words. The Seven Luminaries Codex was no ordinary Godly Relic. It was rumored that even Primordial Gods had sought to possess its power. The Goddess of Space had even created a replica of it. Thus, the Seven Luminaries Codex shouldnt have difficulty bypassing the Primordial Flame Dragons seal. Consider this Dragons Crowns token of sincerity, Kowloon Demon said, gritting his teeth as he handed the Chapter of Space to Shi Feng. With this item, once you leave this world, you can soul-teleport up to 100 friends to your side at the cost of 500 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per friend. The soul teleport lasts three days and has a cooldown of seven natural days. Dragons Crowns members will add you as a friend before you leave. Once you teleport us to your side, we will pay you the teleportation cost plus ten million Undying Souls. What do you think? Kowloon Demon would have preferred not to give Shi Feng the Chapter of Space if possible. However, he knew he was unlikely to meet another group of players like Shi Feng. Moreover, even if players from another world came here, Dragons Crown wouldnt necessarily be the first to meet them. Simply put, Dragons Crown could only partner with Shi Feng to access the world outside, while Shi Feng didnt necessarily have to partner with Dragons Crown to access this worlds resources. Its a good deal, Shi Feng said as he looked at the Chapter of Space he had obtained for free. But before we proceed with this deal, I need you to agree to a few conditions. So long as you agree to them, I can sign a Gods Domain Contract with you immediately to seal the deal. If not, I cant accept this Chapter of Space. What are your conditions? Kowloon Demon asked without hesitation. Firstly, I can bear all of the teleportation expenses, but you must trade at least 10,000 Level 235-plus Epic Weapons and Equipment with me each time you go out. Of course, I will buy them at market price. Additionally, you are not allowed to sell Taboo Weapons and Equipment to other powers, Shi Feng stated. No problem. Since you are Dragons Crowns partner, we naturally wont cooperate with other powers outside, Kowloon Demon said, nodding. Secondly, I hope you can help me when needed. I will compensate you appropriately for your assistance, Shi Feng stated in a non-negotiable tone. Dragons Crown was a royal power operating in this remnant primordial world. It would be a huge waste to only trade with the Guild, especially with Zero Wings current precarious situation in Gods Domain. Zero Wing needed more strength to contend with apex powers and royal powers. I have no problem with this condition, either. We are partners. Dragons Crown will naturally ensure its partners safety. Kowloon Demon accepted the second condition without hesitation. Lastly, I require manpower to raid the Northern Badlands Taboo, Shi Feng said. Then, after pausing to think for a moment, he continued, If we successfully kill the Taboo, I want only half of its loot and priority in choosing the first item. If you agree to help, I will sign a contract promising ten consecutive teleport sessions. The Northern Badlands Taboo Boss was an important step in Shi Fengs preparation to slay the Undying Mother. When it came to sourcing experts, Dragons Crown was naturally more reliable than the Pale Horn adventurer team. You are aiming for that Taboo? Kowloon Demon was surprised. He hadnt expected Shi Fengs objective to be the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss. After all, the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss was a significant challenge, even for Dragons Crown. Moreover, it sounded like Shi Feng was confident in taking down the Taboo Boss, with or without Dragons Crown. Give me three days. I will bring you a team of players as strong as myself in three days. Moreover, they are all experts at Level 240 or above, Kowloon Demon said after pondering for a moment. Of course, if you are in a hurry, I can also get you a 100-man team thats much stronger than any team you can find in Nightmare Holy City. One hundred experts as strong as you? Shi Feng couldnt help but be astonished by Kowloon Demons nonchalant attitude. Although Shi Feng had long since known that a royal power in this remnant primordial world would not be weak, he didnt expect Dragons Crown to be this terrifying. Even if the 100 experts Kowloon Demon promised werent all at the sixth-floor standard, as long as they could match him in Basic Attributes, it would still be a frightening team. It would be like having a team of 100 South Lakes. Not even the Greater Gods Domains apex powers could necessarily come up with such a line-up. Subsequently, Kowloon Demon signed a Gods Domain Contract with Shi Feng on behalf of Dragons Crown. According to the contract, so long as Shi Feng left the remnant primordial world, he had to initiate the first teleport session within ten days. He also had to conduct ten teleport sessions back-to-back. As for the compensation of 100 million Undying Souls for the ten teleport sessions, Dragons Crown would pay 50% of it as a deposit on the first teleport session. This could be considered Shi Fengs fourth condition. After signing the contract, Kowloon Demon dismissed the Dimensional World and left the library immediately, leaving the spectators shocked and excited. They had never thought that Nightmare Holy Citys number-one expert would lose. After today, the status quo in Nightmare Holy City would most likely undergo drastic changes. Nightmare Holy City, Nightmare Hotel: Kowloon, do you have any idea what you are saying? Currently, Kowloon Demon stood facing a crystal ball with a graceful female knight inside. Although the female knight spoke in a neutral tone, he couldnt help but tense up in fear. Not only are you asking for the chosen ones Ive trained, but you also want them to raid a Taboo Boss for a bunch of outsiders? Are you tired of being the Guilds number-one chosen one? Do you want to get replaced? Or do you think the kids I nurtured are disposable assets you can squander? Big Sis Jade, listen to me. Wiping the sweat on his forehead, Kowloon Demon explained, I am doing this to help you. This person I met in Nightmare Holy City is extraordinary. Ive already established a partnership with him. If this deal works out, I promise those chosen ones under you will achieve excellent results in the next Battle of the Two Royals. They will surpass the chosen ones training under the other Vice Guild Leaders. At that time, you will also be promoted to First Vice Guild Leader. Chapter 3807 - Chapter 881 - Difference Between the Two Worlds? Chapter 881 C Difference Between the Two Worlds? Nightmare Holy City: Three days after signing the agreement with Kowloon Demon, Shi Feng arrived at Nightmare Holy Citys airport with his party. Joining them were the Pale Horn adventurer teams commander, Whirlwind Bulwark, and vice commander, Star Butterfly. At this time, Kowloon Demon was already waiting outside the crowded airport with a 100-man team. The presence of Kowloon Demons team caused a commotion among the players in the airport. This was because every member of the team was Level 240 or above. Additionally, they all had incredible equipment standards. Nobody in the current Nightmare Holy City owned a Level 240 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set, yet every member of this 100-man team was equipped with a Level 240 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set at minimum. The woman standing at the head of this team was especially eye-catching. She had a divine pattern between her eyebrows, and her graceful body stood over two meters. Most importantly, she was a Level 243 Guardian Knight equipped with a Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment Set. Crap! Who are these people? Even the Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation combined cant come up with such a line-up! Shush! Keep it down! Dont you see theyre with Kowloon Demon? It seems the rumors of Kowloon Demon having extraordinary origins are true after all. Dont you guys recognize that Guardian Knight? Shes been hosting the citys cross-region trial for the past few years. When the Guild Leaders of the Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation first met her, they nearly fell to their knees. Could these people be the successful challengers of other regions? The players in the airport quietly discussed Kowloon Demons team. The players who had challenged the cross-region trial, in particular, couldnt help their awe and envy of the youths led by the female Guardian Knight. It was the dream of all players in Nightmare Holy City to pass the cross-region trial. However, only a handful of players had ever succeeded, and they were all legends in Nightmare Holy City. Furthermore, according to rumors, only a small fraction of the players who passed the cross-region trial had been eligible to join the power the female Guardian Knight belonged to. Thus, it was only natural that the youths on the same team as the female Guardian Knight were objects of envy. When Dragons Crowns chosen ones overheard the discussions around them, they couldnt help feeling proud and delighted. Dragons Crown was a Guild that all players in this world sought to join. Meanwhile, not only were they members of Dragons Crown, but they were also the Guilds carefully selected chosen ones. After constant training, their strength had skyrocketed, and each of them was now strong enough to overshadow an entire city regions powers. Meanwhile, Kowloon Demon noticed the arrival of Shi Fengs team and said to the female Guardian Knight beside him, Big Sis Jade, theyre here. Following Kowloon Demons words, the Dragons Crown members immediately turned their attention to Shi Fengs team, their gazes filled with displeasure and mild hostility. As chosen ones training under Purgatory Jade, Dragons Crowns Second Vice Guild Leader, not even the Guilds Elders were qualified to demand their help with raiding Bosses, let alone a bunch of outsiders. Yet, Purgatory Jade had agreed to let them help these outsiders. Kowloon Demon, Dragons Crowns strongest chosen one, even expressed worship toward Shi Feng. Moreover, even though they were contributing most of the manpower for the upcoming raid, they would receive only half of the Taboo Bosss loot. This situation displeased them greatly. They couldnt understand why Shi Fengs party warranted such treatment. Meanwhile, under the resentful gazes of Dragons Crowns chosen ones, Shi Feng calmly approached Kowloon Demon. As for Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly, they had become so anxious that they didnt even dare to raise their heads in front of Dragons Crowns team. Initially, they were already very surprised when Shi Feng invited them to raid the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss together. They hadnt expected to be on the same team with individuals whom even Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds had to kowtow to. Guild Leader Black Flame, let me introduce you. This person here is Purgatory Jade, the commander of the trump card team behind me. She has trained every member of this team, Kowloon Demon said. Additionally, Commander Jade is very experienced in raiding Taboo Bosses. Her team nearly killed a Level 240 Taboo Boss in the past. Its a pity that the Taboo Boss escaped at the last moment. She nearly killed a Level 240 Taboo? Shi Feng looked at the Guardian Knight named Purgatory Jade in surprise. Simply surviving against a Taboo Boss was a challenge. In the current Greater Gods Domain, no team could push a Level 240 Taboo Boss to the brink of death. Rest assured, I wont steal command over the raid from you. I am only here to see if you are as strong as Kowloon Demon says, Purgatory Jade said as she scrutinized Shi Feng. Although she didnt show it on her face, she felt slightly disappointed when she saw that Shi Feng was only Level 216. But let me be upfront. If I feel your instructions might cause my team to suffer a true death, I will have them retreat without hesitation. Dont blame us when that happens. According to Kowloon Demon, Shi Feng and his party came from a foreign world with exceptional weapons and equipment. Even the legendary Fragmented Divine Artifacts and Divine Artifacts existed in this world. Moreover, despite not being a sixth-floor expert, Shi Feng had managed to overpower Kowloon Demon by a slight margin. Furthermore, Shi Feng intended to form a team to raid a Taboo Boss. Even if said Taboo Boss was under Level 240, killing it would still be a significant challenge. This was also why Purgatory Jade had gone out of her way to come here. However, the low levels of Shi Fengs team disappointed her. Even Whirlwind Bulwark, the highest-level member of the team, was only Level 239. As for Red Frost, Laura, Twilight Leaf, and Heiser, they were only Level 230. Purgatory Jade felt there was nothing special about the foreign world Kowloon Demon spoke of, aside from its extraordinary weapons and equipment. Okay. Lets set out immediately, then, Shi Feng said, nodding. Then, he took out the Ancient Oath and summoned the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. Suddenly, a giant magic array appeared in the sky, covering the entire airport. Immediately afterward, a 1,000-meter-long, Level 226 Dragon slowly descended from the sky like a sovereign, radiating a powerful Dragon Might that struck fear into the hearts of the Tier 6 players in the airport. Even an expert as strong as Kowloon Demon felt greatly pressured. A Sacred Dragon? Chapter 3808 - Chapter 882 - Tier 7 Skill Chapter 882 C Tier 7 Skill Heavens! What rank of a Flying Mount is that?! Could it be a Legendary Flying Mount? Crap! Thats a Sacred Dragon! That Flying Mount is a Tier 6 Sacred Dragon! The sudden appearance of the Frostflame Sacred Dragon sent the players in the airport into a frenzy. Although Nightmare Holy Citys players primarily relied on Flying Mounts to get around, Flying Mounts were extremely rare in the city. Most first-rate teams only had Tier 4 Basic Extraordinary Flying Mounts; even the Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation only had Tier 5 Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mounts. Nobody dared to dream of owning a Tier 6 Flying Mount, much less one that was a Sacred Dragon. It should be known that the average Tier 6 Dragon was already considered invincible among opponents of the same level. Sacred Dragons possessed Bloodlines superior to those of ordinary Dragons. They were akin to Bosses among Dragons. A single Level 226, Tier 6 Sacred Dragon could likely defeat the Holy Knights and the White Dragon Nation combined. Nonetheless, such a frightening existence was someones Flying Mount. This was simply unbelievable. The chosen ones of Dragons Crown were even more dumbfounded by this situation. Unlike the ignorant players of Nightmare Holy City, they had a much better understanding of the world they resided in. Thus, they knew the Tier 6 Frostflame Sacred Dragon was an existence that trumped even Legendary Flying Mounts. Although Legendary Flying Mounts were rare in their world, they werent rare to the point of nonexistence. The two royal powers ruling the world had over a dozen Tier 6 Legendary Flying Mounts in total. However, none of those Legendary Flying Mounts could hold a candle to the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. A Tier 6 Sacred Dragon? Could this be one of the legendary Divine Flying Mounts? As Purgatory Jade looked at the descending Frostflame Sacred Dragon, her curiosity about Shi Fengs world grew. Although Shi Fengs partys average level was pitiful, the partys ownership of the Frostflame Sacred Dragon alone made it worth Dragons Crown befriending. It should be known that the Frostflame Sacred Dragon was only Level 226. Yet, Purgatory Jade already felt threatened by it. Once it reached Level 240, who could be a match for Shi Feng in a one-on-one fight? Besides Nightmare Holy Citys players and Dragons Crowns members, Red Frost, who was familiar with Zero Wing and Shi Feng, was equally surprised by the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. She had no idea when Shi Feng had gotten his hands on such a Flying Mount. At the same time, she finally understood why Shi Feng had been leveling up so slowly despite grinding with them for the past few days. He had most likely shared the majority of the EXP he received with the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. Otherwise, he would have long since reached Level 220 or higher. Amidst the surrounding players discussions, Shi Feng hopped onto the Frostflame Sacred Dragons back. Get on. With the Frostflame Sacred Dragons speed, we should reach the Taboo Boss in about five hours, Shi Feng said to Dragons Crowns members when he saw them getting ready to summon their respective Flying Mounts. At Shi Fengs invitation, many of Dragons Crowns members excitedly hopped onto the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. When they felt the mana-nourishing effect of the Divine Flying Mount, their dissatisfaction with Shi Feng disappeared, and they now acknowledged him as their commander. After all, although the Frostflame Sacred Dragon was only Level 226, its resilience was greater than even that of a Level 240 tank, and it was more than qualified to tank a Taboo Boss. With the Frostflame Sacred Dragon distracting the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss, the chances of the raid succeeding would increase greatly. After a five-hour flight, Shi Fengs team arrived at a mountain range in the Northern Badlands. A demonic mist enveloped the central area of the mountain range, the place where the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss resided. Although many players had entered the mist in the past, few ever made it out alive. Guild Leader Black Flame, the Taboo Boss is inside that mist, Kowloon Demon said, pointing at the demonic mist in the distance. The mist is a product of the Northern Badlands unique environment. It devours the mana of any player within range. This mist is also why nobody has ever gotten a glimpse of the Taboo Bosss true appearance. But because this mist is caused by the environment, its density varies from time to time. If we want to raid the Taboo Boss, we will have to wait until the mists density falls. Otherwise, we will have to raid it handicapped. As a native of Nightmare Holy City, Whirlwind Bulwark agreed with Kowloon Demons statement. The Northern Badlands Taboo Boss might be terrifyingly strong, but its strength wasnt the only reason it was difficult to raid. The demonic mist that enveloped its sphere of activity also played a significant role. For this reason, all teams that challenged the Taboo Boss in the past had chosen to do so when the demonic mist was at its thinnest. If a team were to enter the demonic mist when it was dense, that team would have no chance of surviving. This demonic mist is indeed troublesome. After surveying the area from the Frostflame Sacred Dragons back, Shi Feng found that the demonic mist covered a radius of hundreds of thousands of yards. It was definitely one of the major hurdles to raiding the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss. However, he quickly added, But we dont need to go inside. We just need to lure the Taboo Boss to us. Lure it to us? Kowloon Demon shook his head and chuckled when he heard Shi Fengs solution. Then, he explained, Guild Leader Black Flame, you might not know this, but the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss loves this demonic mist. Many teams have tried to lure it out, but none have succeeded. This is also why the teams that tried to raid the Taboo Boss all had to fight it inside the demonic mist. Its a pity the suppression of this world is too powerful. Otherwise, I could slowly chip away at this mist with my Tier 6 Large-scale Destruction Curses, Heiser said, sighing. The suppression that the remnant primordial world imposed on players was as powerful as that of the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. This was also why players of Nightmare Holy City had to rely on low-tier Flying Mounts to fly, even after reaching Tier 6. In any other world, Tier 6 players could have easily flown at speeds nearing those of Tier 5 Flying Mounts. Its not up to the Taboo Boss to decide whether it wants to come out, Shi Feng suddenly said. Then, he raised his hand and cast the Abyssal Eyes Dark Cluster Skill, one of the two Tier 7 Skills he possessed. Before anyone could react, the sky above the Northern Badlands turned pitch-black. Then, all the mana in the map began converging in the sky, causing the mana-devouring demonic mist to thin out rapidly. A moment later, Shi Feng brought his hand down toward the demonic mist. Tier 7 Skill, Dark Cluster! Boom! TL Notes: To recap: Flying Mounts have major and minor ranks. Major ranks: Common, Extraordinary, Legendary, Divine Minor ranks: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced Naming scheme: [Minor rank] [Major Rank] Flying Mount (e.g. Intermediate Common Flying Mount.) Chapter 3809 - Chapter 883 - Return of the Princess Chapter 883 C Return of the Princess Northern Badlands: As Shi Feng brought his hand down, the Abyssal Eye on his finger emitted a pitch-black radiance. In the blink of an eye, darkness enveloped a 1,000,000-yard radius, depriving everyone within the affected area of their sight and even the rest of their five senses. A moment later, countless dazzling stars rained down from the pitch-black sky, causing powerful explosions as they bombarded the land. After innumerable stars had ravaged the mountain range, a 100-meter-tall, one-horned demon could be seen escaping the remaining wisps of demonic mist in a miserable state. Pitch-black scales and spikes covered the one-horned demon. The mana it exuded was strange, its form sometimes illusory and sometimes solid. Everyone who sensed this strange mana felt death loom over them. Currently, though, most of the one-horned demons scales and spikes had been stripped from its body, and dark green blood oozed from its wounds. Meanwhile, although everyone was shocked by Shi Fengs ability to force the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss out of its habitat, the shock was short-lived, quickly overwhelmed by the instinctual fear they felt at the sight of the one-horned demon. [Tosas, the All-Consuming Demon (Mutant)] (Primordial Demon, Divine) Level 239 HP 1,600,000,000,000,000,000 The simple data presented elicited gasps from everyone present. Red Frost and those who were facing a Taboo Boss for the first time were especially shocked by Tosass HP. Is this a Taboo Boss? Xiao Yilong felt despair when he saw Tosass 15 HP bars. He suddenly understood why even apex powers were powerless against the Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos. Despite Tosas being only a Level 239 Taboo Boss, he could not see any hope of players killing it. Normally, an ordinary Level 239, Tier 6 Boss only had 200 quadrillion HP at the maximum; Tosass HP was eight times greater. However, that still wasnt the most important point. A Mutant! This was what made Tosas a true headache for players. Mutated monsters had incredible learning capabilities. A Mutant that lived long enough could match the combat standards of a fifth-floor expert. With such a combat standard, a Mutant could nullify most of the combat techniques of players, forcing them into a melee. Unless players had a significant level advantage, the Mutant would quickly overpower them with its extraordinary Basic Attributes. Were you damned humans the ones who ambushed me? Tosas demanded, glaring at Shi Fengs team with its six eyes and completely ignoring the bellowing Level 226 Frostflame Sacred Dragon. Then, it raised one of its hands and swiped at the empty space before it. Suddenly, everyone felt the world around them spinning. Before anyone realized it, one of the Frostflame Sacred Dragons wings had disappeared, and its 1,000-meter-long body spiraled uncontrollably to the ground. Be on full alert for its movements! Activate the Tier 6 Divine Runic Domain Spell to resist its True World! Purgatory Jade shouted as the team fell out of the sky. It has likely mastered a World Law related to space and can attack us from any distance! At Purgatory Jades words, many of those present immediately understood what had happened just now. Tosas was only Level 239. Even if it was a Taboo Boss, its attacks shouldnt be fast enough to evade their detection completely. In that case, there was only one explanation for this situationTosass attack trajectory was outside of their perception. Shi Feng looked at Purgatory Jade in surprise. He hadnt expected her to identify Tosass unique World Law so quickly. This led him to think that Kowloon Demon hadnt been exaggerating about Purgatory Jade and that the woman had indeed pushed a Level 240 Taboo Boss to the brink of death in the past. A spatial law, is it? While freefalling, Shi Feng got a mild headache as he looked at the stationary All-Consuming Demon. Not all unique World Laws mastered by Taboo Bosses were equal. Those related to space were especially tricky to deal with. Take Tosass ability to attack from any distance, for example. Regardless of where the All-Consuming Demon stood, its attacks could always reach their target. Its attacks could also come from any direction. Even if players saw it attacking, they wouldnt know where to direct their defense. Tosass attack method completely ignored defensive and evasive maneuvers. The only good news was that Dark Cluster had heavily injured Tosas. Although its 1.6 quintillion HP had only dropped to 1.5 quintillion, it no longer had battle recovery. Its mobility should have also plummeted. Otherwise, it wouldnt have stopped attacking after crippling the Frostflame Sacred Dragon; it should have followed up with more attacks to reduce the number of threats. That despicable Primordial Gods power! Tosas was visibly dissatisfied when it saw that it had only heavily injured the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. But this is it for you ants! After Tosas finished speaking, an invisible ripple spread from it and covered a 10,000-yard radius in an instant. Meanwhile, Shi Feng and the others started to lose Basic Attributes rapidly, and the gap in Basic Attributes between the two sides widened even further. Die! Suddenly, Tosas pulled a longsword enveloped in Soul Fire out of its chest, clearly intent on permanently erasing the ants before it. When everyone saw the flaming longsword, almost all of them trembled instinctively. As for Shi Feng, he knew he couldnt afford to conserve his cards when he saw Tosas preparing for an all-out attack. He hastily took out the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal and summoned the Dragon Princess Kalisha. Currently, Kalisha was Shi Fengs strongest trump card against Taboo Bosses. Although Kalisha had yet to fully recover, she could already rival Primordial Gods. In comparison, while Tosas might be close to reaching the standard of Primordial Gods, it still wasnt one. Thus, Shi Feng decided to take a gamble. He wagered that the current Dragon Princess was stronger than the All-Consuming Demon! The summoning of the Dragon Princess was instantaneous. The moment Shi Feng initiated the summoning, a colossal figure descended from the sky. Before this colossal figure, even the Frostflame Sacred Dragon looked like a little snake. This colossal figure belonged to none other than Kalisha. Following Kalishas abrupt appearance, Tosas canceled its attack and stared solemnly at the Dragon Princess. A Primordial Dragon? Chapter 3810 - Chapter 884 - Princess vs. Taboo Chapter 884 C Princess vs. Taboo Whatshappening here? An Ancient God? No Although the Divine Might of the Ancient Gods Ive encountered in the past was also terrifying, it cant compare to this NPCs Divine Might. What level of existence is this NPC? Could she be one of the Primordial Gods of legend? Are you kidding me?! Black Flame can summon a Primordial God?! Kalishas appearance excited and shocked everyone present. They were excited because they now had a solution to Tosas, and they were shocked because of Kalishas unbelievably strong Divine Might. Purgatory Jade, in particular, couldnt help but change her opinion of Shi Feng. As a Vice Guild Leader of Dragons Crown, Purgatory Jade differed with Kowloon Demon on the world outside of theirs. More specifically, she looked down on it, even after seeing Shi Feng had a Sacred Dragon for a Flying Mount. On the way to the Northern Badlands, Purgatory Jade had learned through conversations with Xiao Yilong and the others that they were considered top-class experts among the outside worlds various powers. Heisers adventurer team even regarded her as its strongest chosen one. Although Heiser was indeed strong as a Half-step Mortal God, she wouldnt be anywhere near the top if she were put among Dragons Crowns chosen ones. In other words, the outside world was only superior in Flying Mounts, weapons, and equipment. When it came to nurturing experts, the outside world could not compete with Dragons Crown. If Dragons Crown had access to similar weapons and equipment, it could trump all of the outside worlds players and powers. However, Shi Fengs actions after arriving in the Northern Badlands forced Purgatory Jade to revisit her evaluation of the outside world. First, he had used an unbelievably powerful large-scale Destruction Spell to thin out the demonic mist and force the Northern Badlands Taboo Boss out of its habitat. Now, he had summoned an existence that was apparently a Primordial God. Neither of these feats was within Dragons Crowns capabilities. Before Purgatory Jade could recover from her surprise, Kalishas mountainous figure suddenly shrank, transforming into a two-meter-tall human woman in a crimson dress. Then, she appeared in front of Shi Feng and glanced at Tosas and Shi Fengs teammates, her gaze causing everyones soul to shudder. Everyone felt as if they were staring at destruction itself. You have a real knack for finding opponents. How did you even find such a little fellow? Kalisha said to Shi Feng, her expression serious as she scrutinized the All-Consuming Demon in the distance. If I hadnt recovered some of my strength, I might not have been a match for this little fellow and its spatial law. After saying so, Kalisha pointed a finger at Tosas. Before anyone could react, a lightning longsword had pierced the All-Consuming Demon, and the True World it cast shattered. Immediately afterward, Tosass aura waned, and its body withered. Its Basic Attributes also plummeted, and its HP instantly fell by 200 quadrillion. However, after Kalishas attack, her complexion paled visibly. I have sealed part of its power. This is all I can do for you, Kalisha said, glancing at Shi Feng. Then, as her body transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from the remnant primordial world, she added, The rest is up to you now. As Kalisha disappeared, Tosas revealed a manic expression. So what if my strength is sealed? You ants will still die! Tosas bellowed as it swung its soul sword at Shi Fengs team. Suddenly, over a hundred sword lights flew at Shi Fengs team, each carrying enough power to threaten Shi Feng with death. The formidable attacks showed no sign of coming from a heavily injured or suppressed monster. As the sword lights closed in on Shi Fengs team, Purgatory Jade stepped forward and stood in front of everyone. Then, the two small round shields she wielded suddenly expanded and deflected all of the sword lights. What an incredible defensive move! Shi Feng exclaimed. Although Tosas had been weakened and could no longer cast its True World, its Strength remained superior to that of Level 240 players. The attack it just executed also had the empowering effect of a Peak Gold Combat Technique. Even players with similar Basic Attributes would have difficulty defending against it, let alone players with inferior Basic Attributes. This is nothing. When Big Sis Jade uses this move, she can survive an attack from even Level 240-plus Taboo Bosses. Now that Tosas has been weakened so much, there is no way it can threaten her life, Kowloon Demon stated proudly. Once he finished boasting, he turned to his fellow guild members and shouted, Everyone, listen up! Its time we showed Guild Leader Black Flame Dragons Crowns capabilities! Understood! Like Kowloon Demon, the rest of Dragons Crowns members wore proud expressions. At Kowloon Demons command, they promptly split into parties of three to five and used various Combination Techniques, Skills, and Spells. Each attack they launched was no weaker than that of Tosas, and they chipped away at the All-Consuming Demons HP. 80% 79% 78% As expected of a royal powers chosen ones! Shi Feng had to marvel at the damage output of Dragons Crowns chosen ones. In that case, I should also attack with everything Ive got. Immediately, Shi Feng took out the Feather of Oath and summoned nine Level 236 War Goddesses to join the offensive. Although the War Goddesses were lower-level than Dragons Crowns chosen ones, each was equipped with three to six Divine Artifacts. Thus, their Basic Attributes were far superior. Each could rival one of Dragons Crowns parties, while the nine of them together could match half of Dragons Crowns team. Subsequently, time passed quickly. Over half an hour later, Tosas had only 1% of its HP remaining. Perhaps sensing that death was imminent, the All-Consuming Demon went berserk and shattered Kalishas seal when its HP fell to 1%. As a result, not only did it manage to recast its True World, but the attacks from its soul sword also became unblockable. The Boss is almost dead! If you want to live, attack it with everything youve got! Shi Feng shouted when he saw Tosas starting to one-shot every player it attacked. As Shi Feng spoke, Tosas eliminated another two Dragons Crown members with its soul sword. Seeing this, none of the Dragons Crown members dared not hold anything back and promptly attacked with their trump cards, causing the All-Consuming Demons HP to fall even quicker. At this rate, it would only take a few more seconds before Tosas lost all its HP. Die! Even if I die, you are going down with me! Tosas naturally understood its imminent demise as well. Out of spite, it directed its attention to Shi Feng, the leader of the team, and swung its soul sword at him. Now that Tosas was free of Kalishas seal, it could enhance its attacks with its unique spatial law, allowing them to be unpredictable and unblockable. Thus, Shi Feng had no choice but to use Void Barrier, his strongest lifesaving measure, to protect himself. Boom! Boom! Boom! However, after withstanding only a few attacks, the Void Barrier, which was supposed to last 30 seconds, shattered. When Shi Feng saw Tosas swinging its weapon again, his eyes turned bloodshot. Miniature Abyssal World! Worlds Descent! Flowing Space! Shi Feng did not know whether it was because of his Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration or his Miniature Abyssal World improving, but the instant he executed Flowing Space, his body transformed into multiple streaks of light that traveled around Tosas, and he dodged the All-Consuming Demons attack by the skin of his teeth. Just as Tosas locked on to Shi Fengs figure and was about to execute another attack, the nine War Goddesses a short distance away completed their Combination Combat Technique. Ultimately, before Tosas could drag Shi Feng down with it, a hundred golden lightning bolts pierced its body and plundered the last vestiges of its HP. As Tosas reluctantly collapsed, the surviving members of Shi Fengs team received a series of system notifications. TL Notes: Fyi, Tosass HP started to decrease from 80% because of the damage it suffered from Dark Cluster (-100 quadrillion) and Kalisha (-200 quadrillion). Chapter 3811 - Chapter 885 - Primordial Demons Loot Chapter 885 C Primordial Demons Loot System: Congratulations! Your team has killed Tosas, the All-Consuming Demon. You are the first team to have killed a Taboo. Rewarding 100 World Reputation Points and the Taboo Hunter title. Regional System Announcement: Congratulations! A team has successfully killed Tosas, the All-Consuming Demon. The Northern Badlands teleportation passage will open in 24 hours. All players may use it to travel to other regions. All-Region System Announcement: Congratulations! A team has successfully killed Tosas, the All-Consuming Demon. The Primordial Divine Kingdoms Taboo Legacy Lands activation progress has reached 3%. Upon receiving the system notifications, everyone snapped out of their daze and revealed ecstatic expressions. Hooray! We did it! Were the first team to kill a Taboo Boss! Our names will be remembered in the libraries across the various regions! Its not just in libraries! This is an all-region system announcement! The whole world will know of us now! Initially, none of Dragons Crowns chosen ones were confident about killing Tosas. This remained true until the very last moment. After all, Taboo Bosses were symbols of invincibility in their world. Many powers and legendary teams had tried to kill them but never succeeded. In comparison, they were merely a bunch of chosen ones nurtured by Dragons Crown. Even if the Taboo Boss they fought was only Level 239, they were still unlikely to kill it. Unlike the rest of their guildmates, Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon werent immersed in the excitement of killing a Taboo Boss. Instead, their attention was on the details of the all-region system announcement. The activation progress of the Primordial Divine Kingdoms Legacy Land? Kowloon Demon was shocked and excited. I see! No wonder we could never gain access to that place! The Primordial Divine Kingdoms Legacy Land had always been a sore point for the two royal powers of this world. It was also why nobody in this world could break through the limits of Tier 6. But now, the Legacy Land had finally been activated. Although the activation process had only reached a meager 3%, it was a momentous step that could affect their entire world. It seems we wont have any peace for the foreseeable future, Purgatory Jade sighed. Nobody had placed much importance on raiding Taboo Bosses in the past because there werent any concrete benefits. Now that everyone knew the connection between the Taboo Bosses and the activation of the Primordial Divine Kingdoms Legacy Land, the various powers would undoubtedly start hunting Taboo Bosses like there was no tomorrow. Naturally, the various powers would also pay special attention to the players who successfully raided a Taboo Boss. Kowloon, did you say we only have a hundred slots for going to that other world? Mhm. We can send only a hundred people there each time, and they can stay there for only three days, Kowloon Demon answered. In that case, we must extend our partnership with Black Flame. The best-case scenario is to thoroughly tie Black Flame to us, Purgatory Jade said after some thought. That other worlds various methods are the key to raiding Taboo Bosses. I understand. Kowloon Demon nodded in agreement. They had narrowly defeated Tosas. If not for Shi Feng luring Tosas out with his large-scale Destruction Spell and suppressing it with the help of the NPC he summoned, they never could have achieved victory. It should be known that Tosas was the weakest Taboo Boss in their world. The Taboo Bosses of other regions were all Level 240 or above. If they wanted to raid those Taboo Bosses, they had to have the weapons, equipment, and tools of Shi Fengs world. While Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon conversed, Shi Feng leveled up twice and reached Level 218 following Tosass death. Red Frost and the others also leveled once. This Taboo Hunter title is incredible! Just having it equipped increases my Basic Attributes by 15%! The bonus is even doubled against Taboo Bosses! Twilight Leaf exclaimed at her new title. It is indeed powerful. Even if we arent facing Taboo Bosses, itll be like gaining five extra levels on our weapons and equipment, Red Frost commented. I am currently at Level 231, but my Basic Attributes are comparable to those of the old fellows at Level 236. While his party members happily discussed the Taboo Hunter title, Shi Feng turned to Tosass corpse. When Tosas died, it didnt just contribute abundant EXP. It also dropped five items. Although this was a pitiful amount, all five items dropped were extraordinary. Even the weakest one radiated Divine Might at the Ancient God standard. The most eye-catching of the buncha blood-red crystal the size of a basketballeven caused the surrounding space to collapse with its mere presence. Is that the Taboo Nucleus? Shi Feng subconsciously licked his lips as he looked at the blood-red crystal, excitement coloring his eyes. The Taboo Nucleus was one of the key components for advancing to Tier 7, and only Taboo Bosses dropped it. Now that he had a Taboo Nucleus, 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, and the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll, he finally had all the prerequisites to challenge his Tier 7 promotion. If he wanted to, he could enter his Tier 7 Promotion Land this instant! However, Shi Feng quickly suppressed the impulse. Although he could indeed challenge his Tier 7 promotion right now, his current chances of success probably didnt reach 10%. If he wanted a better chance at getting promoted to Tier 7, he had to kill the Undying Mother and receive the Abyss Workshops assistance. Otherwise, he would only waste his Taboo Nucleus and Promotion Land Scroll. Guild Leader Black Flame, the Boss has dropped five items: a Taboo Nucleus, two ancient tomes, and two pieces of equipment of unknown quality, Kowloon Demon said as he approached Shi Feng. Then, he abruptly suggested, According to our original agreement, we will split the loot 50/50, and you will have priority to pick the first item. But we managed this great feat only thanks to your trump cards, so how about you pick three items while Dragons Crown takes the remaining two? Kowloon Demon would be lying if he said he wasnt interested in the Taboo Bosss loot. However, considering that Shi Feng was Dragons Crowns only recourse to access the outside worlds resources and the only reason they managed to complete the raid, he might as well use the loot to deepen Dragons Crowns ties with Shi Feng. Since you said so, I will gladly take you up on your offer, Brother Kowloon, Shi Feng said without reservation. Shi Feng never even dared to think about raiding a Taboo Boss in his previous life, much less obtaining the loot of one. Every item dropped by Tosas was extremely precious, so he was more than willing to accept Kowloon Demons favor. He immediately walked up to Tosass corpse and picked up the Taboo Nucleus without hesitation. Only after doing so did he turn his attention to the four remaining items. Chapter 3812 - Chapter 886 - Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell Books Chapter 886 C Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell Books How strange! I cant appraise these two pieces of equipment? Could they be broken? Shi Feng was greatly surprised by the boots and the short robe Tosas dropped. His Eyes of Reality had successfully appraised even the Origin Myth, a Divine Artifact. Yet, they showed no reaction to the boots and robe Tosas dropped. It was as if these two pieces of equipment were pebbles on the roadside. Guild Leader Black Flame, do you need us to conduct an appraisal for you? Kowloon Demon asked when he heard that Shi Feng had failed to appraise Tosass loot. Regarding appraisal methods, nobody in this world can best Big Sis Jade. Dont listen to his exaggeration, Purgatory Jade said modestly. The Craftsmans Eye is an appraisal method I obtained after becoming an Advanced Craftsman Forger. So long as an item isnt worthless, I can get some information out of it. An Advanced Craftsman Forger? Shi Feng couldnt help but stare at Purgatory Jade in disbelief. Only a few forging players had ever achieved the rank of Craftsman in the Greater Gods Domain, able to produce Legendary Equipment. Besides having extraordinary talent, each of these individuals had spent countless resources to secure this achievement. Yet, it was now revealed that Purgatory Jade was not only a sixth-floor expert but also an Advanced Craftsman Forger. If her talent was made known to the Greater Gods Domain, it would put countless expert players to shame. Do you need me to conduct an appraisal? Purgatory Jade asked. Ill have to trouble you with it, then, Shi Feng said as he handed the two pieces of equipment to Purgatory Jade. Three minutes later, Purgatory Jade finished appraising the two pieces of equipment. They werent broken after all. Instead, they were growth-type Godly Relics. The boots were called the Spatial Boots, while the robe was called the Evil Soul Robe. Both pieces of equipment were at the Legendary rank currently and could grow to become Divine Artifacts. As they were Godly Relics, each came with heaven-defying effects. The Spatial Boots had a passive effect that could improve the users body techniques by one rank, up to the Peak Gold rank. It also had a Profound Skill called Spatial Movement that allowed the user to teleport freely within a 1,000-yard radius for one minute when activated. The Evil Soul Robe had a passive effect that increased the users Concentration by two ranks, up to the Tier 6 Limit rank. It also had a Profound Skill called Soul Doppelganger that allowed the user to create up to 100 soul doppelgangers. The Soul Doppelganger Skill had a cooldown of one natural day, and each soul doppelganger could use 100% of the users Basic Attributes and lasted for ten minutes. The abilities of the two pieces of equipment were amazing for Legendary Equipment. If they could grow into Divine Artifacts, their abilities would become even more heaven-defying. The only problem was that they needed player levels to grow. More specifically, each Godly Relic needed 20 player levels to be upgraded to the Fragmented Divine Artifact rank. Moreover, they accepted only levels from players above Level 200. If it already cost this much to upgrade them into Fragmented Divine Artifacts, the cost to upgrade them into Divine Artifacts was unimaginable. However, despite the harsh upgrade conditions, Dragons Crowns members stared at them with a yearning gaze. After inspecting the two pieces of equipment, Shi Feng turned his sights to the two ancient tomes. Upon careful examination, he immediately got goosebumps. Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell Books? Shi Feng couldnt believe his eyes as he looked at the two ancient tomes introduction. [All-Consuming Fire] Requires: Magical Class, Tier 6 Limit Concentration Pseudo-Tier 7 Large-Scale Destruction Spell [Soul World] Requires: Magical Class, Tier 6 Limit Concentration Pseudo-Tier 7 Large-Scale Defensive Spell According to the records in the Grand Library, the strongest Skills and Spells that players could learn were only Tier 6. Most Tier 6 players had to sacrifice significant amounts of blood, sweat, and tears to obtain Tier 6 Skills and Spells. As for Tier 6 Taboo Skills and Curses, they were regarded by the various powers as their foundation. Typically, if guild members wished to learn one, they would need to pay an astronomical amount of Guild Contribution Points and sign a Gods Domain Contract with strict terms. Shi Feng had never heard of Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells before, much less known that Tier 6 players could learn them. Although it might seem like there was only a half-tier difference between Tier 6 Spells and Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells, there was a qualitative difference between them. Currently, many players assumed that Tier 6 Taboo Skills and Curses rivaled Tier 7 Skills and Spells, but that was only conjecture. After all, nobody had ever reached Tier 7 in the human races Greater Gods Domain, and neither had anyone seen a Tier 7 Skill or Spell before. However, Shi Feng knew how big of a difference there was between Tier 6 and Tier 7 Skills and Spells. In an era where Tier 7 players did not exist, Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells were definitely the strongest Skills and Spells in existence. This was especially true for the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells before him. Of the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells Tosas dropped, one was a large-scale Destruction Spell, while the other was a large-scale Defensive Spell. If a Tier 6 player learned both, no other Tier 6 player would be able to match them in the current Greater Gods Domain. Guild Leader Black Flame, you have to make your choice quickly. The demonic mist has begun to condense again. We need to leave this place before it recovers. Otherwise, itll become much more troublesome to leave, Kowloon Demon urged as he looked at the demonic mist creeping up to them. Okay. After looking at the two ancient tomes in his hand, Shi Feng glanced at the two Godly Relics Purgatory Jade held, gritted his teeth, and said, Ill take these two tomes. Are you sure? Purgatory Jade gazed at Shi Feng in astonishment. Although she hadnt inspected the two ancient tomes, she could tell they were extraordinary. Even so, she doubted they could match the two pieces of growth-type Godly Relics in her hands. Im sure. Shi Feng decisively stored the two Spell Books in his bag. Godly Relics were indeed hard to come by. It was especially so for these two growth-type Godly Relics. They would be heaven-defying once they grew into Divine Artifacts. They might even come with Tier 7 Skills like the Abyssal Eye. The problem was that Shi Feng couldnt afford to wait. Compared to wagering his chances on this possibility, it would be safer to go with the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell Books, which could instantly elevate a Tier 6 magical class player into an apex existence. Alright, then. When Kowloon Demon saw that Shi Feng had given up on the two Godly Relics, he subconsciously sighed in relief. Then, recalling his objective, he inquired, Guild Leader Black Flame, now that travel restrictions have been lifted, how about we hunt the Taboo Bosses in other regions? Although the other regions Taboo Bosses are all Level 240 and above, Dragons Crown will mobilize its main force to support you. We will also split the loot according to our current arrangement. Ill pass on the offer this time, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. We have already achieved our goal here, so its time we returned. We can collaborate in the future if the opportunity arises. Shi Feng had already exhausted his trump cards on Tosas, so he could no longer hunt any Taboo Bosses within a short period of time. Even if he were to hunt another Taboo Boss, it would have to be the Undying Mother. After all, he didnt have much time left. Alright, then. Kowloon Demon didnt try to force the matter when he saw Shi Fengs lack of interest. Instead, he smiled and said, Dont forget our agreement once you return to your world. I wont. Shi Feng chuckled. Then, he took out a Return Crystal and chanted the incantation to activate it. Seeing this, Red Frost and the others also took out their Return Crystals and left this remnant primordial world with Shi Feng. Chapter 3813 - Chapter 887 - Returning to the Secret Land Chapter 887 C Returning to the Secret Land You let him go, just like that? Purgatory Jade asked Kowloon Demon. She had been immersed in studying the two Godly Relics just now, so she didnt hear Shi Feng and Kowloon Demons conversation. I did try to invite him, but he didnt seem interested in the other regions Taboo Bosses, Kowloon Demon said, smiling wryly. Maybe he felt that nothing else is attractive in our world, so he decided not to stay any longer. What a pity. Ill have to get the Guild Leader to send better equipment to rearm the team right away. We cant have Guild Leader Black Flame think there is only this much to Dragons Crowns strength, Purgatory Jade sighed. She had originally planned to let Shi Feng know about Dragons Crowns foundations so that he could better understand the necessity of their partnership. Unfortunately, she had missed the chance to do so. Contact the 23rd and 39th legions; have each garrison Nightmare Holy City with 50,000 elites. We must not let any other powers stay in this region and come into contact with Guild Leader Black Flames people! Understood! At Purgatory Jades command, Kowloon Demon promptly took out a Tier 6 Divine Runic Teleportation Scroll and teleported back to Nightmare Holy City. Meanwhile, Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly were shocked when they overheard Purgatory Jades words. They hadnt expected a behemoth like Dragons Crown to attach such importance to Shi Fengs party, mobilizing an army of 100,000 elite experts just to prevent other powers from coming into contact with Shi Fengs party. It should be known that Nightmare Holy Citys two strongest Guilds had a total of just over 20,000 elite experts. Since you are friends with Guild Leader Black Flame, I will give these two tokens to you, Purgatory Jade said, handing two tokens with Dragons Crowns emblem to Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly. With these tokens, you can freely enter any region under Dragons Crowns control. You can also contact me if you have trouble in the future. Thank you, Vice Guild Leader Jade! Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly gratefully accepted the tokens, celebrating inwardly. They never thought that minor characters like them would receive such treatment just for traveling with Shi Fengs party for some time. They werent novices in Gods Domain. They knew these tokens werent just entry passes for Dragons Crowns territories. These tokens symbolized Dragons Crowns protection. These were items that even Nightmare Holy Citys top two Guilds could only dream of obtaining. Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Flame Dragon Gods Underground City: Following a bright flash at the Underground Citys entrance, Shi Fengs party returned to the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Compared to a few days ago, the entrance was much more crowded, and the appearance of Shi Fengs party did not attract any attention. Were finally back. When Twilight Leaf saw the familiar scene and players around her, she felt she had been living in a dream for the past few days. Sure enough, the feeling of home is the best. I nearly lost all my confidence from staying in Nightmare Holy City. Indeed. Not only are Nightmare Holy Citys players high-level, but they also have astonishingly high combat standards. If not for our superior weapons and equipment, we would have never been able to establish a foothold there, Xiao Yilong, who was currently Level 235, lamented. In the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, they could be considered top-class in terms of combat standards. However, they were only average in Nightmare Holy City. And if they were to compare themselves to Dragons Crowns chosen ones, theyd be nothing. Dragons Crowns 100-man team had well over a dozen Half-step Mortal Gods. In contrast, the players gathered outside the Underground City averaged only Level 230. Although there were quite a few fifth-floor experts among them, the ratio between fifth-floor and non-fifth-floor experts was nowhere near as frightening as that of the remnant primordial world. We collected many Undying Souls this time, so how about exchanging them now? Heiser proposed. Many players have gathered in the treasury these past few days. If we dont hurry, everything decent might disappear. Their party had grinded nearly ten million Undying Souls these past few days. Although 90% had gone to Shi Feng, the rest of them still received nearly 200,000 Undying Souls each. Additionally, Shi Feng had compensated each of them with 200,000 Undying Souls for helping with the Taboo Boss raid. In other words, excluding Shi Feng, each of them now had nearly 400,000 Undying Souls to their names. They could already exchange for a Divine Artifact with this many Undying Souls. I agree. Weve been away for quite some time, Red Frost said, nodding. I just checked and found out that the flow of time here differs from that on the other side. Apparently, weve been gone for nearly ten days now. Many teams should have collected a considerable amount of Undying Souls during this period. If we dont hurry, there might really be nothing left for us. The Flame Dragon Gods Treasury had a limited stock of items. Meanwhile, ten days were enough for the teams operating around the treasury to collect tens of thousands of Undying Souls. It wouldnt even be strange if some teams collected over a hundred thousand Undying Souls. After all, the drop rate of Undying Souls was very high around the treasury. The monsters here also offered abundant EXP, allowing players to level up quickly while grinding for Undying Souls. No expert player would miss this opportunity. Lets go and take a look, then, Shi Feng said, nodding. He also felt that they should examine the treasurys situation. It was normal for worlds in Gods Domain to experience different timeflows. This was especially true for a world that did not allow the use of the Abyss Workshop Certifications World-Breaking Teleportation. He wouldnt even be surprised if time flowed several dozen times slower in the remnant primordial world. Although he wasnt interested in most of the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury items, he had to get the Empresss Scales. If someone else redeemed it before him, he might lose his will to live. Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Central Plaza: A gentle breeze carrying Eternal Energy blew out from the central plaza, refreshing the minds of all players here. As Shi Fengs party approached the central plaza, they saw many Level 235-plus experts stationed around it. Why are there so many people surrounding the plaza? Shi Feng frowned as he surveyed the central plaza. The experts surrounding the plaza came from various powers. None were independent players, so those powers should be responsible for this blockade. There were also six magic barriers enveloping the plaza: three external and three internal. Even breaking through these defensive layers would be challenging for Level 240 players, much less redeeming items in the plaza and leaving safely. Brother Black Flame, I see the old commander over there. Should we go and ask him whats going on? Xiao Yilong suggested as he pointed at one of the legions standing guard outside the magic barriers. Okay. Shi Feng nodded. Chapter 3814 - Chapter 888 - Flame Dragon Gods Exchange Chapter 888 C Flame Dragon Gods Exchange Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Central Plaza: Under Xiao Yilongs lead, Shi Feng and the others quickly arrived before a 1,000-man legion of Level 235-plus experts. Sitting in front of the legion was Apocalypse, one of Holy Dragon Spears former commanders. As a Level 240 player fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, his aura could make most Level 230 players tremble. Frost, where have you all been? Apocalypse inquired when he saw the party walking toward him. Ive been looking for you since a while ago, but you just disappeared. I even thought you all were killed. We were in the Underground City this whole time. There is something special about that place, so we couldnt be reached, Red Frost said, chuckling. Then, she asked curiously, Did something happen here while we were away? Whats with the blockade? Its nothing. Its just the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys various powers jointly monopolizing this place, Apocalypse said nonchalantly. News of the secret land spread across the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary shortly after it appeared. In just three days, over eight pseudo-apex powers have mobilized a large number of experts into the secret land. Many adventurer teams have also found their way inside. So, after discussion, Holy Dragon Spear and the other pseudo-apex powers have decided to station some experts at this plaza to prevent other powers and players from redeeming items. I see. Realization dawned on Shi Feng when he heard Apocalypses explanation. Nobody could resist the temptation of the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. Although pseudo-apex powers were powerful, their available manpower paled compared to the vast number of independent players and adventurer teams. If the various Guilds, adventurer teams, and independent players were allowed to freely exchange for the treasurys items, it wouldnt take long before everything good was redeemed. But now that the several pseudo-apex powers had joined forces, outsiders could no longer enter the central plaza. After all, there were thousands of Level 235-plus experts stationed here. Not even an apex power could come up with so many high-level experts on such a short notice. You dont have to worry. You all are members and friends of Holy Dragon Spear, Apocalypse said, smiling at Shi Feng and the others. So long as you reveal your identity, you can freely enter the plaza and exchange for items. None of the powers here will stop you. Elder Apocalypse, what if I want to bring some people in? Shi Feng asked. Shi Feng was used to the law of the jungle practiced in Gods Domain. It was common for powers to seal off entire maps so that they could monopolize the resources there. Thus, he wasnt surprised to see the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers blockading the exchange plaza. As an ally recognized by Holy Dragon Spear, Shi Feng naturally wouldnt encounter any trouble if he redeemed some inconsequential items from the treasury. However, it would be a completely different story if he redeemed one of the more important items. The current blockade was very thorough. Not only did the blockade prevent outsiders from entering the exchange plaza, but it also functioned as a trap for those who entered it. There were only so many players inside the plaza. If he were to redeem one of the more important items, the various pseudo-apex powers would immediately discover his actions. It might still be fine if he only redeemed some of the ordinary Divine Artifacts, but they wouldnt let him get away with any of the top four items. At that time, they would retaliate. Thats not a problem. In response to Shi Fengs question, Apocalypse pulled out one of Holy Dragon Spears elders tokens and handed it to him, saying, You can bring a few dozen players with you if you have this elders token. That should be enough, right? Dont tell me you want to bring hundreds or thousands inside. Of course not, Shi Feng said with an awkward smile. If possible, he really would have done so. Unfortunately, the circumstances did not allow it. Alright, go inside if you want to redeem items. If theres anything you want, you should act quickly. The number of available items will only decrease with time, Apocalypse said. Thank you, Elder Apocalypse, Shi Feng said as he accepted the token. After Shi Fengs party parted ways with Apocalypse, Red Frost suddenly turned to Shi Feng. Guild Leader Black Flame, do you need me to talk to the old commander? Red Frost suggested. You have several million Undying Souls on you. Although this isnt enough to affect the several pseudo-apex powers core interests, theres no guarantee that some wont get greedy. Indeed. The millions you have are already enough for some pseudo-apex powers to take action secretly, Heiser said. She similarly understood Shi Fengs predicament. It might be fine if he only exchanged for items worth a few hundred thousand Undying Souls, but the items worth several million Undying Souls would most likely tempt a few pseudo-apex powers into action. No need. You guys go and redeem your items first. Ill be there in a moment, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he turned down Red Frosts suggestion. The Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty were no longer Holy Dragon Spears only competitors in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Many other pseudo-apex powers had also joined the competition. If Holy Dragon Spear were to stand out right now, it would have to face all these pseudo-apex powers simultaneously. Even if Holy Dragon Spear was a pseudo-apex power, it wouldnt last long against so many pseudo-apex powers. Since Holy Dragon Spear couldnt be depended on, Shi Feng might as well depend on himself from the beginning. After watching Red Frost and the others enter the central plaza, Shi Feng went to a hotel in the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury and rented the largest VIP lounge. I originally wanted to wait a little longer, but it seems I have no choice but to summon them now. Shi Feng smiled wryly as he looked at the Chapter of Space in his hands. Then, he took out a bunch of Seven Luminaries Crystals and began to summon Kowloon Demon and the other chosen ones of Dragons Crown, whom he had added as friends beforehand. When Shi Feng injected all the Seven Luminaries Crystals into the Chapter of Space, space-time passages appeared in the lounge one after another. Then, individual figures walked out of these space-time passages, exuding auras that caused the lounges magic barrier to shake. Is this the world outside? When all 100 Dragons Crown members appeared in the lounge, the magic barrier shattered, unable to withstand their terrifying auras any longer. As a result, their auras spread throughout the hotel. Chapter 3815 - Chapter 889 - Mind-Boggling Wealth Chapter 889 C Mind-Boggling Wealth Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Advanced Hotel: Shortly after Dragons Crowns members appeared, Shi Feng noticed that their weapons and equipment had undergone earth-shattering changes. Take Kowloon Demon, for example. When Shi Feng first met him, he was only equipped with Level 240 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Now, he was fully equipped with Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment. He also wielded a Level 240 Legendary Weapon. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say he was completely different from when he participated in the Tosas raid. However, the substantial improvement in equipment standards wasnt the only thing that surprised Shi Feng. Besides that, he also noticed that the equipment used by Kowloon Demon and the other Dragons Crown members all came with battle arrays. More specifically, it was a 100-man Silver Battle Array that could provide an all-around improvement when activated. Is this Dragons Crowns foundation? When Shi Feng saw the current equipment of Dragons Crowns members, he finally understood their initial disdain for the Greater Gods Domain. Although the remnant primordial world did not have access to Divine Artifact-ranked weapons and equipment, they had Level 240 Legendary Battle Array Equipment Sets. Anyone with such a set could be proud of themself, regardless of their whereabouts. Divine Artifacts and Fragmented Divine Artifacts might be stronger than Level 240 Legendary Weapons, but they were incredibly rare. Even apex powers would have difficulty fully equipping a 100-man team with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. While Dragons Crowns Level 240 Legendary Battle Array Equipment Set might not provide as many Basic Attributes as a full set of Fragmented Divine Artifacts, it could definitely be considered among the best equipment in the Greater Gods Domain. Guild Leader Black Flame, we meet again, Kowloon Demon said, smiling as he approached Shi Feng with his six-meter-tall frame. Then, he proffered a Fragmented Legendary Spatial Bag to Shi Feng and continued, As per our agreement, here are 50 million Undying Souls and 10,000 pieces of Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Each piece currently goes for 50,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on the market, so the total comes to 500 million units. Ten thousand pieces of Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment? Shi Feng was shocked. According to their previous agreement, Dragons Crown only needed to trade 10,000 pieces of Level 235-plus Epic Weapons and Equipment with him on each teleport session. In the current Nightmare Holy City, Level 235 Epic Weapons and Equipment only went for 5,000 to 8,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. This was an absolute steal for the Greater Gods Domains players, as Level 235 Epic Weapons and Equipment were superior to ordinary Legendary Weapons and Equipment that capped out at Level 220. In the Greater Gods Domain, even the weakest piece of Legendary Equipment cost more than 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Thus, the price of Level 235 Epic Equipment would only be higher. Shi Feng could easily make a tenfold profit by reselling it. Not to mention, Level 235-plus Epic Weapons and Equipment were currently regarded as mainstream by the various powers main forces. They were key to raiding Level 220-plus Taboo Dungeons. As for Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment, that was something Shi Feng had never considered obtaining in bulk. After all, Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment was incredibly rare in Nightmare Holy City. Even the Guild Leaders of the citys top two Guilds were equipped with nothing more than Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Under normal circumstances, there shouldnt be anyone willing to sell Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment in large quantities. Yet, Dragons Crown was willing to take out 10,000 pieces! This was absolute madness! Mhm. These 10,000 pieces are a sign of Dragons Crowns sincerity. From now on, each time you summon us, we will bring you at least 10,000 pieces of such equipment, Kowloon Demon said, nodding. This equipment is excellent, but Im afraid I cant come up with 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on such short notice, Shi Feng said truthfully. Although he yearned to have the equipment in Kowloon Demons spatial bag, he didnt even have 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on him. Unless he returned to the Eternal Realm or sold some of the Taboo Equipment, it would be impossible for him to collect 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal quickly. Dragons Crown can accept payment in installments if you have trouble obtaining the necessary funds. You simply have to settle the rest of the payment the next time you summon us, Kowloon Demon said nonchalantly. He had expected such a situation. How about this? After pondering for a moment, Shi Feng pulled an Intermediate Divine Engraving Scroll from his bag and said, This is an Intermediate Divine Engraving Scroll. It can enhance the Attributes of a Fragmented Legendary item by 30%. Although it isnt enough to elevate a Fragmented Legendary item to the Legendary standard, the difference will be small. What if I use this to trade with you? It was incredibly difficult for Shi Feng to come up with 500 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal right now. This was because many Zero Wing members needed Seven Luminaries Crystals to challenge their Tier 6 promotion. The construction of the Dragon-Hunting Artillery also cost a huge sum of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Thus, even if he did return to the Eternal Realm, he wouldnt be able to pay for Dragons Crowns equipment. However, if he could pay with Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls, it would be a different story. He could mass-produce Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls, and each cost him only 1,260 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. Thus far, he had only refrained from selling them in the Greater Gods Domain for fear of empowering his enemies and attracting unwanted attention. However, he would have no such concerns if he sold the scrolls to Dragons Crown. Currently, Dragons Crowns members could only enter the Greater Gods Domain through the Chapter of Space and stay here for three days at a time. Since they couldnt remain here long term and had to rely on him to visit the Greater Gods Domain, they were no threat to him. Additionally, the remnant primordial world appeared to be no better than the Greater Gods Domain in terms of divine engraving technology. He hadnt seen any Basic or Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls on sale in Nightmare Holy City, at the very least. As for the value of Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls, they shouldnt be much lower than Fragmented Legendary items. A 30% improvement? Purgatory Jade, who had remained silent this entire time, exclaimed as she stared at the scroll in Shi Fengs hand. A hint of eagerness flashed in her eyes, though she quickly suppressed it before asking, This is indeed a good item. May I know how you intend to conduct the trade, Guild Leader Black Flame? Shi Feng raised two fingers after thinking for a moment. Two pieces of equipment for one scroll? That cheap? Shi Fengs offer took Kowloon Demon by surprise. Then, after noticing Purgatory Jades elated expression out of the corner of his eye, he hurriedly added, Guild Leader Black Flame, we have a deal! We will trade at least 5,000 Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls with you each time we come here! Kowloon Demons response stunned Shi Feng. He had been ready to trade two Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls for one Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment. He hadnt expected Kowloon Demon to misunderstand him. Moreover, not only was Kowloon Demon willing to accept the misunderstood price, but he also seemed content with it. However, Shi Feng didnt bother to correct Kowloon Demon. After all, this was a win-win situation. Subsequently, Shi Feng accepted the 10,000 pieces of Level 235 Fragmented Legendary Equipment and 50 million Undying Souls from Kowloon Demon. As for the 5,000 Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls, he promised to hand them over to Kowloon Demon before Dragons Crowns members returned. Brother Kowloon, Im a little embarrassed to say this, but I need you all to help me with something right away, Shi Feng said awkwardly. I will compensate you for your services with 500 Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls. Guild Leader Black Flame, do tell us what you need help with, Kowloon Demon said, his interest piqued when he heard the compensation offered. You are now Dragons Crowns most valued ally. Any trouble you face is Dragons Crowns trouble. I need to head to a place to exchange for some items in a moment. Im likely to encounter members of other powers looking for trouble. When that happens, I will need you all to take action, Shi Feng said, providing a rough summary of his request. A fight with the powers of your world, is it? Kowloon Demon subconsciously licked his lips when he heard Shi Fengs words, and his eyes lit up with fighting spirit. Rest assured, Guild Leader Black Flame! If a fight happens, leave it to Dragons Crown! After receiving Kowloon Demons promise, Shi Feng had Dragons Crowns members conceal their identities and follow him to the central plaza. Chapter 3816 - Chapter 890 - Disappearance of the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key Chapter 890 C Disappearance of the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Central Plaza: As more players entered the secret land, the number of players teleporting to the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury also increased. After weaving their way through the crowd outside the central plaza, Shi Feng and Dragons Crowns members arrived before the magic barriers enveloping the plaza. The various pseudo-apex powers have sealed off this place! Outsiders are not allowed to enter! a Level 236 elven Berserker, the leader of a 20-man team stationed inside the magic barriers, stated to Shi Feng and his team. We are allies of Holy Dragon Spear. Here is my token, Shi Feng said, taking out the elders token he received from Apocalypse. Holy Dragon Spear? The elven Berserker glanced at the token in Shi Fengs hand. After verifying its validity, he raised his hand and opened a gap in the magic barriers. Then, he stated, Friends of Holy Dragon Spear, as space in the plaza is limited, you can only stay inside for an hour. You must leave once you have reached the time limit. Okay. Shi Feng nodded. After letting Shi Fengs team through the barriers, the elven Berserker suddenly smiled and said, Brother, are you willing to sell your Undying Souls. I can buy them from you at a high price. I am buying each Undying Soul for 100 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. If you prefer real-world resources, I can also use Mental Strength Potions and Stardew to trade with you. Im selling Mental Strength Potions for only ten Undying Souls per bottle and Stardew for only 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. These items are best for mental strength recovery and development! You can supply Mental Strength Potions and Stardew directly? Shi Feng was surprised by the elven Berserkers offer. Since the major system update, whenever players sustained injuries in Gods Domain, their mental strength in the real world would also be negatively impacted. Additionally, their mental strength would also determine the quality of weapons and equipment they could equip in Gods Domain. This led to the skyrocketing prices of potions that aided in the recovery and development of mental strength. Now, even Mental Strength Potions, which used to be the most common potion, were in short supply. Naturally. How about it? Would you like to stock up on some? I strongly recommend buying some Stardew. Theres hardly any supply on the open market, the elven Berserker said, smiling. If you can improve your mental strength, youll be able to use much better weapons and equipment. Otherwise, even if you get your hands on better weapons and equipment, you can only stare at them without sufficient mental strength. It is a tempting offer, but Im afraid it is out of my budget, sorry, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, he made his way into the plaza with Kowloon Demon and the others. What a bunch of cautious newcomers. The elven Berserker grimaced in displeasure as he watched Shi Fengs team walk away. Meanwhile, after Shi Feng arrived at the central plaza, they were greeted by the sight of a rowdy marketplace. At a glance, there were at least 10,000 players in the plaza. Of these players, a small minority were members of the various pseudo-apex powers, while the rest were independent players and members of other powers. Currently, these players were either redeeming items from the treasury or purchasing Undying Souls from other players. After taking a moment to listen to the hawking players, Shi Feng found that many powers were buying Undying Souls at prices far more favorable than that of the elven Berserker. While it cost ten Undying Souls to buy one Mental Strength Potion from the elven Berserker, Mental Strength Potions could be had for just five Undying Souls in the central plaza. Some powers even offered them for four Undying Souls per bottle. That punk back there sure is evil, Kowloon Demon commented as he glanced at the hawking players. Luckily, you didnt accept his offer, Guild Leader Black Flame. Id say that he was pretty kind already, Shi Feng said. Casually pointing at some cloaked players standing in a corner, he continued, Those people secretly monitoring the plaza are the real killers. Theyre keeping track of everyone who redeems items. Once they see something valuable disappear from the list, they will immediately know who redeemed it. If they see that its not a player affiliated with them, they will most likely take action outside the plaza. On the surface, it might seem that the various pseudo-apex powers were harmoniously sharing the treasury with each other. In reality, there was constant infighting. No wonder you wanted us to come here with you. Your world really isnt peaceful, Guild Leader Black Flame, Kowloon Demon said as he scanned the plaza. There were at least a thousand of these cloaked players loitering around the plaza. Moreover, they clearly belonged to several dozen different powers. The scale of the conflict here was unlike anything he had seen in his home world. Most regions in the remnant primordial world were governed by one power. Even in contested regions, there would only be two or three powers competing for the ruling position; there had never been a situation where dozens of powers clashed. Guild Leader Black Flame, how will you conduct your exchange? Do you need our help? Purgatory Jade asked. After careful observation, she knew that every corner of the magic barriers was scrutinized. The instant a player clicked to redeem an item from the treasury, the cloaked players would immediately find out what they had redeemed by referencing the most recent item to have disappeared from the exchange list. The only way to trick these cloaked players was to have dozens of players pretend to redeem items at the same time. That way, the cloaked players would have difficulty determining who exactly had redeemed an item. That wont be necessary, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. The items he would be redeeming ranked among the treasurys top five. Even if he had Purgatory Jade and the others pretend to redeem items, nothing would change. The observers already knew they were part of the same team when they entered the magic barriers. The various pseudo-apex powers would simply target the entire team. Subsequently, Shi Feng pulled up the treasurys exchange list. When he saw that all five of the top five items were still available, he immediately spent ten million Undying Souls to redeem the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key. Before Shi Feng could redeem his second item, loud exclamations suddenly arose in the plaza. Its gone! The Access Key is gone! Heavens! Someone redeemed the Access Key! Quick! Check the Recording Crystals! See who redeemed the Access Key! Upon hearing these exclamations, everyone in the plaza subconsciously looked around, their eyes colored by greed and madness. Chapter 3817 - Chapter 891 - Nobody Is Allowed to Leave Chapter 891 C Nobody Is Allowed to Leave The various powers members in the plaza went into a frenzy following the disappearance of the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key, frantically searching for the person who had redeemed it. Others contacted their respective superiors, causing the originally peaceful atmosphere to freeze. Youre next. Ignoring the commotion around him, Shi Feng redeemed the Empresss Scales after acquiring the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key. When Shi Feng entered the remnant primordial world, he thought that he would be fortunate if he could obtain enough Undying Souls to exchange for the Empresss Scales. However, after the trade with Dragons Crown, he had over 50 million Undying Souls. Even after factoring in the 30 million Undying Souls he needed for the Empresss Scales, he would have nearly 28 million Undying Souls left. Although 28 million Undying Souls were nowhere near enough to let him exchange for the Flame God Set, it was enough to redeem the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key. Once he had the Access Key, he would have a greater chance of gaining control over the Flame Dragon Gods Secret Land and turning it into Zero Wings backyard. This, in turn, would allow Zero Wings members to rise to Level 240 or higher without any bottlenecks. I still have nearly 18 million left. What should I exchange them for? Shi Feng hesitated as he looked at the exchange list. The executives of various powers operating in the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury received word of the Flame Dragon Gods Access Keys redemption shortly after. The executives of ten pseudo-apex powers and over two dozen conglomerates immediately rushed back to the central plaza with their subordinates, none daring to drag their feet. Meanwhile, the various powers members resting nearby also hurried to the central plaza. Although only a small portion of the ten pseudo-apex powers forces was resting near the central plaza, their total forces still exceeded 30,000. The various conglomerates also had over 50,000 members resting nearby, while the independent players in the vicinity exceeded 100,000. Currently, all of these players had gathered outside the magic barriers enveloping the central plaza. How could you not have found out which pseudo-apex power redeemed the Access Key yet?! Why do you think I had you imbeciles keep an eye on this place?! Ember Dragon, the Dragon God Palaces First Vice Guild Leader, bellowed at the cloaked man before him. Vice Guild Leader, weve already checked several times. None of the pseudo-apex powers members were redeeming items at the time of the incident, the cloaked man said anxiously. But we did find over a dozen suspicious people. These people were all redeeming items when the Access Key disappeared. Who are they? Ember Dragon questioned coldly. Six of these people are members of four conglomerates, while eight are independent players. All eight independent players are executives of well-known adventurer teams. Besides them, there are three people from lesser-known Guilds, one of whom is closely related to Holy Dragon Spear, the cloaked man reported in a trembling voice. Closely related to Holy Dragon Spear? A cold glint flashed in Ember Dragons eyes. Who is it? Black Flame! the cloaked man responded. Then, he hurriedly pulled up a video recording of Shi Feng and continued, This is him. He used one of Holy Dragon Spears elder tokens to enter the plaza. Out of everyone in Holy Dragon Spear, only Apocalypse is qualified to hold that token The little man supporting Red Frost? It seems he has benefited from her rise, Ember Dragon said, sneering as he looked at Shi Fengs figure in the video. Notify the other pseudo-apex powers. Tell them that we should lock down the plaza immediately if they still want the Access Key. Besides the pseudo-apex powers members, everyone else must stay put and hand over all their spatial bags. We can decide what to do with the Access Key after finding it. Understood! the cloaked man responded, then left to execute Ember Dragons command. When the other nine pseudo-apex powers received Ember Dragons proposal, they all agreed to lock down the central plaza, prohibiting anyone from leaving. They also paid special attention to the 17 individuals suspected of having redeemed the Access Key. Central Plaza: Why wont you let us leave? Why must we hand over our spatial bags? Do you know who we are? We are core members of the Star Dragon Conglomerate! What is the meaning of confining us here?! Arent you pseudo-apex powers going too far? We paid you a bunch of Undying Souls to come here. Now, even though we havent redeemed anything, you want us to hand you all our items? Do you think we wont retaliate? The many independent players and various conglomerates members were infuriated when they saw the internal magic barriers becoming active and the various pseudo-apex powers members pouring into the central plaza. They had never expected the various pseudo-apex powers to be so crazy. Besides targeting the suspicious individuals, the various pseudo-apex powers also prohibited players who were not members of the various pseudo-apex powers from leaving. Those who wanted to leave had to turn over their spatial bags or die. On the other side of the plaza, Xiao Yilong and the others, who had just finished exchanging their Undying Souls, also wore ugly expressions. Ember Dragon is definitely targeting you with this arrangement, Big Sis Frost! Twilight Leaf expressed her anger after reading the message they had just received from Apocalypse. Ember Dragon knows Guild Leader Black Flame must have brought a lot of resources since he is here to support you. If Guild Leader Black Flames possessions get confiscated, your partnership with him will become a joke to the various powers. It is indeed a cunning move, Xiao Yilong said grimly. The Dragon God Palace alone might not be enough to threaten us, but if Ember Dragon gets the other pseudo-apex powers to cooperate with him, we will have no choice but to concede It cant be helped. Red Frost also understood the situations implications. After pondering for a moment, she said, Yilong, go and meet up with the old commander. Have the old commander hold back those people as long as possible. In the meantime, Ill find Guild Leader Black Flame and have him transfer his items to me. Okay! Upon hearing Red Frosts decision, Xiao Yilong agreed this was the only thing they could do in this situation. Chapter 3818 - Chapter 892 - Kill Them Chapter 892 C Kill Them Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Central Plaza: The central plaza was the size of several stadiums. Sometime after the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key disappeared, the ten pseudo-apex powers had amassed a force of over 50,000 inside the plaza. After grinding in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest for over a week, these pseudo-apex power members had all reached Level 230 at the very least. Over 20% of them had even reached Level 235 or higher. Currently, these pseudo-apex powers members formed a tight encirclement around the players in the plaza. Meanwhile, the core executives of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ten pseudo-apex powers had gathered at the edge of the magic barriers. The sight of these core executives made the independent players and members of various conglomerates extremely anxious and helpless. There are only ten pseudo-apex powers in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, and all ten have gathered for the Access Key. Are we doomed this time? Dont despair just yet. Before they come to a conclusion, we still have hope of making it out alive. Dammit! Im one of Primordial Rock Holy Citys top ten experts! Why do I have to leave my fate in the hands of these powers?! So what if youre one of Primordial Rock Holy Citys top ten experts? Dont you see the people there? They are all members of conglomerates. Together, they represent over twenty conglomerates. Even though these conglomerates have more members gathered outside the barriers than the pseudo-apex powers, do you see them resisting? Arent they still like us? They can only let their members wait for the pseudo-apex powers verdict. The players trapped in the magic barriers all stared at the Advanced Tent, where the core executives of the ten pseudo-apex powers had gathered, their anxiety levels reaching an all-time high. The ten pseudo-apex powers core executives were powerful individuals who could single-handedly influence the harmony in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. It had been centuries since all ten pseudo-apex powers had last gathered for a meeting. Yet, they were unfortunate to be involved in such a rare event. This was an absolute disaster for them. If the ten pseudo-apex powers were adamant about having everyone inside the barrier hand over their possessions, they would have to comply or be permanently erased from Gods Domain. Even members of various conglomerates would not escape unscathed. Inside the Advanced Tent The representatives of the ten pseudo-apex powers sat around a round table, each accompanied by one or two bodyguards. Among those present, the ones from the Dragon God Palace and Red-Tailed Dragon stood out the most. Ember Dragon was the Dragon God Palaces representative this time. Although he was only Level 237, the bandaged young man and demidragon woman who flanked him were terrifying. In addition to being Level 240, both were equipped with at least five Divine Artifacts, with the rest of their equipment comprising Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Meanwhile, Tarnished Wind, a giant of a man, was Red-Tailed Dragons representative. He was Level 240 and fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. He was also the Red-Tailed Dragons designated successor. Although he only had one bodyguard, the man beside him was a Level 241 High Elf fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. After the Dragon God Palaces and Red-Tailed Dragons groups, Holy Dragon Spears group stood out the most. Great Commander South Lake, who had risen to Level 240 after grinding in the secret land, represented the adventurer team, and standing beside him was Apocalypse. So, what should we do with those people? The eight-meter-tall Tarnished Wind took the initiative to break the silence. While having them surrender their belongings is a good solution, many of them are core members of conglomerates. If we confiscate their items, those conglomerates will be dissatisfied. So what if theyre dissatisfied? Do you think they can topple us? Cloud Rider, the Divine Wing Dynastys Guild Leader and a Level 240 player equipped with seven Divine Artifacts, said disdainfully. The secret lands Access Key is at stake here. While those 17 key suspects are the most suspicious, we cant guarantee they didnt transfer the Access Key to someone else. Rather than risk it, we might as well confiscate everyones items. I disagree, South Lake said, shaking his head. We are talking about offending every conglomerate in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Have you forgotten that they comprise a significant portion of our Mental Strength Potion supply? They might not be able to do anything against us in Gods Domain, but they can reduce or even outright stop supplying potions to us. Are you sure you can afford such a loss? Great Commander South Lake, what you say makes sense, Ember Dragon said, chuckling. But this secret land is paramount. We can always find other suppliers of Mental Strength Potions, but there is only one Flame Dragon Gods Nest. If we lose it, I doubt well ever find another secret land like it. Also, as Guild Leader Cloud Rider said, the people inside the magic barriers can transfer items among themselves. So, whether it is the conglomerates or our members, I suggest confiscating everyones items. This is the safest solution. Are you out of your mind, Ember Dragon?! Every player in Gods Domain has their secrets! South Lake bellowed. Also, we have been taking turns guarding the magic barriers, and it is currently Holy Dragon Spears turn to guard them! Do you intend to confiscate the items of all of Holy Dragon Spears members?! Why the need to be so angry, Great Commander South Lake? Cloud Rider said nonchalantly. There may be more of your members caught up in the mix, but Vice Guild Leader Ember is doing so out of consideration for all of us here. Not to mention, its not like we wont return their items after inspecting them. All we want is the Access Key. None of us are interested in anything else. The representatives of the other pseudo-apex powers nodded in agreement, none expressing any additional opinions. Although ten pseudo-apex powers operated in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, they werent equal in strength. Now that the first-ranked Dragon God Palace and the second-ranked Red-Tailed Dragon were confronting each other while the fifth-ranked Holy Dragon Spear and sixth-ranked Divine Wing Dynasty had taken sides, the other powers couldnt afford to speak their minds at all. Does that mean you will show the items in your spatial bags to everyone, Guild Leader Cloud? South Lake asked sarcastically. Players in Gods Domain, particularly executives of the various powers, all had secrets they didnt want others to know. These secrets were usually unsafe to keep in warehouses and could only be carried in personal spatial bags. Needless to say, the Guild Leader of a pseudo-apex power would be carrying plenty of such secrets, such as offensive trump cards and lifesaving measures. Outside of critical situations, these secrets would never be revealed. I wasnt present in the plaza at the time of the incident like your adventurer teams chosen ones, so why should I show you my possessions? Cloud Rider sneered. Or perhaps Holy Dragon Spear has acquired the Access Key after all? Is that why you are constantly resisting?! Dont you dare slander me! South Lake bellowed, glaring at Cloud Rider. I agree with Great Commander South Lakes opinion. Everyone has their secrets. I am against having so many innocent people expose their secrets, Tarnished Wind spoke in support of South Lake. Tarnished Winds words put the other pseudo-apex powers representatives in a bind. They didnt know whether to continue supporting Cloud Rider. After all, should Red-Tailed Dragon go crazy, they would suffer. How about we each take a step back, Ember Dragon suggested suddenly. We wont have everyone surrender their belongings anymore, but you must stop worrying about the various conglomerates members, Great Commander South Lake. We just need to permanently kill everyone besides our members and the innocent conglomerates members. That way, we can minimize the possibility of the Access Key being stolen and thoroughly avoid offending the various conglomerates. We will vote by a show of hands, and the minority will obey the majority. Before South Lake could say anything The Hundred Dragon Assembly supports the proposal! The Moonlight Family supports the proposal! In no time, more than half of the pseudo-apex powers present had voiced their support for Ember Dragons proposal. This situation caused South Lakes expression to turn ugly. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. Chapter 3819 - Chapter 893 - Hephaestuss Flame Chapter 893 C Hephaestuss Flame Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Central Plaza: While the players trapped in the magic barriers fell into a panic, Red Frost quickly found Shi Feng sitting in a corner, redeeming items, and tried to persuade him to transfer his possessions to her for safekeeping. Guild Leader Black Flame, were running out of time, Red Frost said, slightly exasperated by Shi Feng, who refused to go along with her arrangement. The old commander wont be able to buy us much time. Because of our partnership, Ember Dragon is bound to come after you. But as I am Holy Dragon Spears future representative, nobody will dare confiscate my possessions unless they wish to start an all-out war with Holy Dragon Spear. Red-Tailed Dragon wont sit by and watch, either. So, your safest option now is to transfer your most valuable possessions to me for safekeeping. Commander Frost, I understand what you mean, Shi Feng said, a little moved by Red Frosts concern for him. After all, very few people would be willing to bear the pressure of multiple pseudo-apex powers to help someone. However, he still refused Red Frosts goodwill, explaining, But Im afraid there is no negotiating this matter. I really cannot take out the items in my bag. Otherwise, I will be plagued with endless troubles. I understand your concerns. Who in Gods Domain doesnt have some secrets? Red Frost rolled her eyes at Shi Feng, feeling that he was making a mountain out of a molehill. She had seen many treasures before as the former number-one chosen one of Holy Dragon Spear. She had seen even Godly Relics before, let alone Divine Artifacts. Even if Shi Feng did have Godly Relics in his bag, it would be an exaggeration to say that he would be plagued with endless troubles if they were discovered. Only ordinary powers and independent players would think so. This Shi Feng didnt know what to say in response to Red Frosts skepticism. His bag held items that could influence the entire Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, there was more than one such item. Setting aside the Book of Eternity and the newly acquired Dragon-Hunting Artillery Design, just the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell Books could make every player in the Greater Gods Domain lose their minds. As for the Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll, it was an item that even the Holy Race would try to obtain at any cost. While Shi Feng was wondering how to explain his situation to Red Frost, a soul-piercing scream suddenly echoed across the plaza, sounding like it originated from the depths of hell. Immediately afterward, silver-black flames erupted from a corner of the plaza, rising hundreds of meters into the air and causing the souls of all players in the area to shudder. Madness! These pseudo-apex powers must be out of their minds! Theyre trying to permanently erase us! A Tier 6 Soul Fire?! Dammit! I knew these pseudo-apex powers were crooked! After having us gather Undying Souls for them, they are now trying to get rid of us! Fight! We must fight back! I agree! Even Legendary Equipment Sets will be reduced to ashes if burnt by a Tier 6 Soul Fire for several seconds! Our only hope is to break the barriers! When the thousands of players trapped in the plaza saw the conclusion the ten pseudo-apex powers had reached, they attacked the magic barriers and the pseudo-apex powers members out of desperation. In the blink of an eye, the flames of war engulfed most of the plaza. Hephaestuss Flame?! Are the Great Commander and the others insane?! Red Frost stared at the silver-black flames in stupefaction. There were six tiers of Soul Fire. Tier 1 was the weakest, while Tier 6 was the strongest. Soul Fire also existed in different types, and Tier 6 Soul Fire came in various levels of strength. However, even Basic Tier 6 Soul Fire, the weakest of the bunch, could incinerate a Tier 6 players Immortal Soul in seconds. As for powerful Tier 6 Soul Fire, also known as Advanced Tier 6 Soul Fire, they could impart permanent death to players and render useless resurrection items that could give players a second chance at Gods Domain. Hephaestuss Flame was one type of Advanced Tier 6 Soul Fire. Normally, it was impossible for a single pseudo-apex power to command an Advanced Tier 6 Soul Fire. The cooperation of at least several pseudo-apex powers was necessary. This was because Soul Fire of such caliber burdened its users heavily. To control it, many players with Tier 6 Peak or Tier 6 Limit Concentration were required. Otherwise, using an Advanced Tier 6 Soul Fire would be counterproductive. Amidst Red Frosts stupor, several hundred Level 235-plus expertssome of them fifth-floor expertswere killed by Hephaestuss Flame without resistance. As expected of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers. They even managed to get their hands on a Tier 6 Soul Fire like Hephaestuss Flame. Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the roaring silver-black flames. Hephaestuss Flame wasnt easily obtained in the Greater Gods Domain. It had been extinct since the Mythical Era, and its value exceeded that of Divine Artifacts. Besides its ability to annihilate players Immortal Souls, it was also highly valued because it could increase the production success rate of forging and alchemy. As for Hephaestuss Flames offensive capabilities, they were of secondary importance. This was because its offensive power only reached the standard of Profound Skills of Divine Artifacts utilized to 100% potential. While they might be equal in power, only one player with Tier 6 Limit Concentration was needed to exert a Divine Artifact to its full potential. There was no need to go through the hassle of mustering several dozen elite players. Guild Leader Black Flame, you have to escape! Now! If you get hit by those flames, you can never be resurrected! Red Frost hurriedly said after she returned to her senses. Ill try to interrupt their casting in the meantime! While Red Frost was persuading Shi Feng, the ten pseudo-apex powers executives watched the battle through their Magic Mirrors. Escape? What can someone ranked 281st on the Divine Glory List possibly do in this situation? Ember Dragon smirked as he watched Red Frosts actions. While I might lose the Access Key, at least I can remove one of your supporters. Although the ten pseudo-apex powers did not commit their full strength to the frontlines, they still mobilized over a thousand Level 235-plus experts. These experts had mastered multiple Gold Combat Techniques and possessed at least Level 230 Epic Equipment. Each pseudo-apex power had also contributed one expert who could rank among the Divine Glory Lists top 30 to lead the army. With these experts at the helm, Hephaestuss Flame could exhibit its full power at all times. Even Red Frost, a sixth-floor expert who had reached Level 231, would succumb to such a line-up, let alone Shi Feng. Great Commander, should we try to negotiate with Tarnished Wind? When Apocalypse saw Red Frost planning to make a move, his anxiety rose. Red Frost was Holy Dragon Spears hope. If Red Frost were to die while attempting to protect Shi Feng, the adventurer team would suffer a devastating loss. I want to, but Ember Dragon somehow managed to convince Tarnished Wind not to side with us, South Lake said, gritting his teeth. If we dont have Red-Tailed Dragons support, none of the other pseudo-apex powers will take us seriously Are we supposed to just watch, then? Apocalypse asked. We wait! Once Red Frost is under attack, we can use her status as the future Great Commander of Holy Dragon Spear as an excuse to intervene. At that time, the others wont be able to say anything about us, South Lake said, clenching his fists so hard that his knuckles trembled. His expression also turned chilly as he gazed at the Magic Mirror before him. Meanwhile, as Red Frost was about to rush up to the ten pseudo-apex powers army, a cloaked man with horns suddenly appeared before the army, exuding a terrifying aura akin to that of a dragon from primordial times. The souls of everyone in the army involuntarily shuddered. Who are you?! How dare you stand against us?! someone from the army shouted. The pseudo-apex powers of this world, huh? Let me see what youre made of! Chapter 3820 - Chapter 894 - Primordial Dragonoids Might Chapter 894 C Primordial Dragonoids Might He wants to see what the pseudo-apex powers are made of? This guy must be insane! He is brazen, but he does have the strength to back his arrogance. He might have hidden his personal information, but I still gleaned some using my Peak Identification Skill. Surprisingly, he is Level 240. He is also fully equipped with Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment. Not even the various pseudo-apex powers can necessarily come up with a full set of Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment. Level 240? Could he be the old monster of a major power? When the resisting players in the plaza saw Kowloon Demon appear at the forefront of the battlefield, they stopped what they were doing to stare at and discuss Kowloon Demon, a hint of expectation brightening their eyes. A Level 240 expert was undoubtedly among the highest-level players in the Greater Gods Domain. Kowloon Demon was even fully equipped with Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment. If he fought seriously, the magic barriers set up by the ten pseudo-apex powers would crumble in no time. If the magic barriers disappeared, everyone would have a chance to escape. No wonder hes so bold. When the Level 237 Berserker representing the Dragon God Palace saw through Kowloon Demons level and equipment standard, he immediately scrutinized the other party seriously. After all, even in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, few individuals could match Kowloon Demons level and equipment standard. Your level and equipment are not attainable by independent players. May I know which power you are from? The other leaders selected to lead the ten pseudo-apex powers forces similarly scrutinized Kowloon Demon in silence, none willing to make the first move. Suddenly, silence enveloped the plaza. Dammit! Arent these pseudo-apex powers being too cautious?! a Level 229 Cleric exclaimed out of anxiety when he saw the passivity of the ten pseudo-apex powers forces. The leaders of these powers are all cunning people. They wont act rashly when dealing with experts of such caliber. The average power cant produce such experts, so this guy is likely the executive of a pseudo-apex power, a middle-aged Level 230 Berserker said, wearing a helpless expression as he looked at the pseudo-apex powers silent leaders. If that guy is from a pseudo-apex power, the ten pseudo-apex powers wont dare to kill him and risk thoroughly offending that power. Although the ten pseudo-apex powers have entered an alliance, they still cant afford to have a vengeful pseudo-apex power ambushing their core combatants all the time. Is this the end for us? the Level 229 Cleric said bitterly. He had thought the Flame Dragon Gods Nest was his ticket to success. In a way, his assumption wasnt wrong, as his level had skyrocketed since he had entered the secret land. Now, he was only one level short of qualifying for an executive position in the various powers. However, he hadnt expected to get dragged into this catastrophe. Thats not necessarily true, the middle-aged Berserker said, gazing at Kowloon Demon expectantly. So long as that guy doesnt come from a pseudo-apex power, we can still escape! If Kowloon Demon was not from a pseudo-apex power, the ten pseudo-apex powers would have to take action to maintain their reputation. After all, over 20 conglomerates were watching the situation. If the ten pseudo-apex powers conceded to a player not from a pseudo-apex power, the conglomerates involved in this incident would definitely strive to secure more benefits for themselves. Inside the Advanced Tent hosting the pseudo-apex powers core executives How surprising! This person is not only Level 240 but also has an aura comparable to yours, old commander, South Lake exclaimed via party chat as he scrutinized Kowloon Demon through his Magic Mirror. But I dont recall hearing about such a person in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Could he be the expert of a foreign pseudo-apex power? Even among apex powers, Level 240 players were scarce. They were even rarer among pseudo-apex powers. Their respective powers typically treated them like treasures, never mobilizing them unless absolutely necessary. Thats likely the case. As far as I know, no such person exists among the other powers in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Apocalypse said, stroking his beard as he looked at Kowloon Demon vigilantly. The heavens are truly in our favor! South Lake exclaimed joyfully. Although I dont know which power this person is from, it doesnt matter as long as he is from a pseudo-apex power. Ember Dragon will have trouble proceeding with his plan. No pseudo-apex power in the Greater Gods Domain was a pushover. If anyone dared to kill a pseudo-apex powers Level 240 expert, that power would retaliate in full force. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ten pseudo-apex powers were only in a temporary alliance. If only the power directly responsible for killing Kowloon Demon suffered retaliation, the rest of them would most certainly stand by and do nothing. I doubt Ember Dragon will dare to take action, Apocalypse said after analyzing the situation. While he might be the Dragon God Palaces First Vice Guild Leader, he has already exhausted his authority to wage war against us. He cant afford to offend another pseudo-apex power while he is still fighting us. As South Lake and Apocalypse conversed, Ember Dragon revealed an ugly expression. He had not expected a lunatic like Kowloon Demon to come forward and disrupt his plans. While the other pseudo-apex powers hesitated to voice their opinions, their Magic Mirrors suddenly showed Kowloon Demon speaking. Dragons Crown, Kowloon Demon answered without reservation. Then, he eagerly added, But you shouldnt have heard of it before. Can we start fighting now if you have nothing else to say? Dragons Crown? The Level 237 Berserker from the Dragon God Palace confronting Kowloon Demon was visibly stunned. As far as he could recall, no pseudo-apex power in the Greater Gods Domain went by the name of Dragons Crown. Hes not from a pseudo-apex power? South Lakes expression instantly turned ugly at Kowloon Demons answer. So, hes just an expert from a no-name power? No wonder he doesnt have any Divine Artifacts! How audacious of him to stand against us! Ember Dragon laughed as he looked at the Magic Mirror before him. Relay my command! Kill this person and all those who dare stand against us! None of the other pseudo-apex powers representatives objected to Ember Dragons unilateral decision. Since Kowloon Demon wasnt from a pseudo-apex power, they had no concerns about killing him, so they naturally didnt need to stop Ember Dragon. After all, Kowloon Demon was merely a Level 240 expert without any Divine Artifacts. Central Plaza: Dragons Crown? When Red Frost heard the cloaked Kowloon Demons words, her brain seized up momentarily. How can someone from Dragons Crown be here? Amidst Red Frosts confusion, the ten pseudo-apex powers experts went into action. Since you are not from a pseudo-apex power, let me impart a truth to you today, the Level 237 Berserker from the Dragon God Palace said as he raised his hand. Suddenly, the Hephaestuss Flame behind him flared up, transforming into a thousand-meter-tall dragon that lunged at Kowloon Demon. The consequence for provoking a pseudo-apex power is death! When the independent players in the plaza saw the Hephaestuss Flame-turned-dragon, despair overwhelmed them. Hephaestuss Flame could exhibit the power of a Divine Artifacts Profound Skill exerted to 100% potential. When manipulated by over a dozen Level 235-plus experts, it could fight even a Level 240 expert equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts head-on. A Level 240 player without Divine Artifacts would face certain death against it, as would the other independent players in the plaza. Come! When Kowloon Demon saw the incoming Hephaestuss Flame, he drew and brandished his four sabers, creating a dense web of saber lights before anyone could react. Immediately afterward, the Hephaestuss Flame-turned-dragon shredded into countless segments and dissipated. Chapter 3821 - Chapter 895 - Hidden Apex Power Chapter 895 C Hidden Apex Power Silence! Incomparable silence! Time seemingly stopped in the central plaza. Be it the independent players waiting for death to claim them or the ten pseudo-apex powers forces, everyone stared into the air in utter disbelief. The Hephaestuss Flame disappeared? Wait Its not just the Hephaestuss Flame! Even the magic barriers have disappeared! What on earth did he just do? When the players in the plaza saw the thoroughly shattered sky, their minds went into overdrive, trying to process what just happened. All they had seen was a dragon of flames lunging at Kowloon Demon and Kowloon Demon retaliating with his sabers. Then, the dragon of flames disappeared, and the sky shattered. Could he have Divine Artifacts hidden on him? The Level 237 Berserker from the Dragon God Palace goggled at Kowloon Demon, his mind roiling with confusion and horror. The leaders of the other pseudo-apex powers teams were equally puzzled. Unlike most other players present, they were the chosen ones of pseudo-apex powers. They were fifth-floor experts who had mastered many Gold Combat Techniques and developed Gold Techniques of their own. Even the weakest among them had Concentration at the Tier 6 Peak standard. Thus, they had clearly perceived what had happened. The instant after Kowloon Demon unsheathed his sabers, he had executed an attack that rivaled Peak Gold Combat Techniques against the Hephaestuss Flame-turned-dragon at an incredible speed. More specifically, he had executed one Advanced Gold Combat Technique with each of his four arms, superimposing them to create a fusion attack that overwhelmed the Hephaestuss Flame-turned-dragon. A single person had executed four Advanced Gold Combat Techniques simultaneously! This was simply unheard-of! Meanwhile, a deathly silence also enveloped the Advanced Tent the pseudo-apex powers core executives occupied. A Mortal God! Apocalypse shouted as he stared at Kowloon Demons figure in the Magic Mirror, his voice nearly cracking. Hesa Mortal God! As soon as Apocalypse broke the silence, everyone in the tent revealed varying expressions. Some reacted with excitement. Some reacted with fear. Some reacted with disbelief. How can this be?! How can he be a Mortal God?! Ember Dragons expression was beyond ugly as he glared at his Magic Mirror. How can there still be another person who has reached that realm besides Red Frost?! Have we been mistaken this entire time? Confusion also engulfed the bandaged youth standing beside Ember Dragon. Until recently, the sixth-floor standard, also known as the Mortal God standard, had been nothing more than an unattainable dream for the Greater Gods Domains experts. Red Frosts advancement to this legendary standard was a marvel in itself. Never in his wildest dreams did he anticipate seeing another sixth-floor expert so soon. This revelation completely invalidated the results of their previous investigations. Its over! How can this person be an expert of that standard? What are we supposed to do now? What are we supposed to do? Nothing. Were doomed. Although this person has no Divine Artifacts, hes a Level 240 sixth-floor expert. Not even the Divine Glory Lists current top three can necessarily beat him. If he is adamant about taking revenge, all we can do is bear the consequences After realizing the severity of the situation, some of the pseudo-apex powers representatives began a panicked discussion. Previously, when the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys various pseudo-apex powers learned that Red Frost had become a Mortal God, they had taken the news in stride. They only worried about the future Holy Dragon Spear. After all, Red Frost had yet to reach Level 240, and there was a massive difference between players who had reached it and those who hadnt. However, it was a completely different ball game with Kowloon Demon. The thought of him going on a rampage was too terrifying to contemplate. Unless they hid in their Holy Cities and relied on the cities NPCs and magic arrays, Kowloon Demon could kill them whenever he wanted. If they left the safety of their Holy Cities, even if they operated alone or with a team, they would never be safe. Hahaha! I never thought there would be a time these bastards would panic. South Lake was delighted when he saw the frightened representatives of the other pseudo-apex powers. Then, through the party chat, he said, Thank goodness nobody on our side made a move. Now that these bastards have made themselves such a formidable foe, the old monsters behind them will have to be extra careful when going out in the future. That might be the case, but its best if we also develop with caution moving forward, Apocalypse said worriedly as he looked at Kowloon Demon through the Magic Mirror. Until recently, there has never been any news of Mortal Gods existing in the Greater Gods Domain. Yet, shortly after Red Frost achieved the sixth-floor standard, another Mortal God suddenly appeared. Theres no saying whether other powers have such experts hidden. We should be especially wary of this possibility now that we have extended our reach to the Eternal Realm. The various powers will certainly reveal many of their trump cards to secure the Eternal Realms resources. Indeed. I have never heard of any power named Dragons Crown. I even checked again just now, but no pseudo-apex power, conglomerate, or even upper-ranking hegemonic power goes by this name, South Lake said, solemnly looking at Kowloon Demon. Logically, a power capable of nurturing such an expert cannot be unknown. Yet, weve never heard of it. It seems the Greater Gods Domains waters are deeper than we imagined. While South Lake and Apocalypse were having a private conversation, an angry shout suddenly sounded in the tent. All of you, shut up! Ember Dragon bellowed, his expression growing colder. Why are you all panicking? Its only a Mortal God. Even if he is strong, he is only one person. We are an alliance of ten pseudo-apex powers. The Flame Dragon Gods Treasury has placed a powerful suppression on all players. Even using combat techniques here is a great burden! He doesnt have any Divine Artifacts, either. If he wants to execute that powerful slash, he will have to use that combat technique at all times. We can easily rely on Divine Artifacts and Hephaestuss Flame to whittle him. Not to mention, we all have our trump cards. If we each use one, do you think he can survive? The various representatives calmed down at Ember Dragons words. Kowloon Demon was indeed powerful, but he was only one person. He didnt have any Divine Artifacts, either. In contrast, they had over ten Level 240 experts equipped with Divine Artifacts. In terms of Basic Attributes, they were superior to Kowloon Demon. If Kowloon Demon were to fight using the same combat technique he used just now, he would quickly run out of steam, even if he was a sixth-floor expert. On the other hand, the Profound Skills of Divine Artifacts did not burden their users whatsoever; their Level 240 players could freely use various Divine Artifact Profound Skills against him. As long as they threw enough bodies at him, they could kill him. Since we have reached a consensus, let us take action together and teach this dastardly power a lesson! We must let everyone know that a mere Mortal God is still not enough to meddle with the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys affairs! Ember Dragon said. As he spoke, he glanced at South Lake and Apocalypse, as if his words were addressed to Holy Dragon Spear. Although South Lake knew Ember Dragons words were a veiled threat to Holy Dragon Spear, he dared not express any opinions. Originally, the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers maintained a delicate harmony, as there wasnt much difference in their strength. They had even formed mini-alliances to keep each other in check. However, that all changed following Red Frosts ascent to the sixth-floor standard. Even Red-Tailed Dragon, an ally of Holy Dragon Spear, had started to change its stance. If Holy Dragon Spear stepped too far out of line, it would likely face a similar fate as Kowloon Demonganged up on by the group. However, Holy Dragon Spear was not a lone individual like Kowloon Demon. It was a large organization that many people depended on. It did not have the option of running away. As Ember Dragon was about to leave the tent, the Magic Mirrors suddenly showed cloaked figures appearing in front of Kowloon Demon one after another. In just three seconds, 98 cloaked figures stood before Kowloon Demon. Although these individuals cloaks concealed their information, such simple concealment methods were useless against the Peak Identification Skills of the various pseudo-apex powers representatives. This How is this possible This must be an error! How can they all be Level 240 experts?! This is impossible! Nearly a hundred Level 240 experts and a Mortal God? Could Dragons Crown be a hidden apex power? Chapter 3822 - Chapter 896 - Make Them Choose Peace Chapter 896 C Make Them Choose Peace Following the appearance of the cloaked players, a momentary silence descended upon the central plaza once again. Madness! This is madness! Who are these people?! Crap! Nearly a hundred Level 240 experts! Even the Dragon God Palace would have difficulty coming up with such a line-up! Difficulty? More like impossible! What do you take Level 240 experts for? Cabbage? Only an apex power could possibly have so many Level 240 experts! The sudden appearance of the Dragons Crown members stupefied the players in the plaza, especially the members of the ten pseudo-apex powers. Boss Tracer, are we doomed? a Level 236 Elementalist from Red-Tailed Dragon asked as she looked at the Level 238 Demidragon Ranger before her. If I cant log into Gods Domain again, Ill get kicked out of the City Legion immediately. I just bought a house in the city center after saving up enough City Contribution Points At the young female Elementalists words, the other youths in Red-Tailed Dragons team turned to the Demidragon Ranger anxiously. Internal competition in first-tier City Legions was fierce. Although they were all geniuses, they still had to pay astronomical prices to secure a spot in these City Legions. Originally, they planned to save City Contribution Points until they were 50 before retiring. If they were to suffer a true death here, they could only live in the slums from now on. I dont know, the Demidragon Ranger named Light Tracer said helplessly. The origins of these people are a mystery, but they likely come from a hidden apex power. Only an apex power can create such a team. We cant beat them in battle, so you all must pray you get lucky afterward. As soon as the fight starts, do your best to escape. If you can get away, stay as far away from Red-Tailed Dragon as possible to avoid retaliation and lie low. Then, once the storm subsides, go somewhere else to develop. Boss Tracer, arent you coming with us? the young female Elementalist asked when she saw Light Tracer reaching for his longbow. Its impossible for me, Light Tracer said, shaking his head. As the leader of the vanguard this time, the Guild will sacrifice me to appease the other side. The Guild will find me, even if I escape. You guys, on the other hand, still have hope. After hearing Light Tracers words, the rest of the Red-Tailed Dragon team members felt bitter. It was bad enough that they were assigned the menial task of guarding the central plaza. Now, they even had to become scapegoats for their superiors. However, they also recognized that there was nothing they could do to change the situation. Many past examples had shown the frailty of pseudo-apex powers when dealing with an apex power. Every pseudo-apex power that had ever bared its fangs against an apex power no longer existed today. Aside from Red-Tailed Dragons members, the expressions of the other pseudo-apex powers vanguard members didnt look pleasant, either. Initially, they thought they were only dealing with a no-name power. They had never expected to encounter a hidden behemoth. On the other side of the plaza Guild Leader Black Flame, did you bring them here? Red Frost asked Shi Feng, unable to contain her curiosity any longer when she saw more Dragons Crown members appear. Dragons Crown was a royal power of a remnant primordial world. While it might lack Divine Artifacts and Fragmented Divine Artifacts, it commanded far more Level 240-plus experts than all the apex powers in the Greater Gods Domain did. If Shi Feng truly had a way to transport Dragons Crowns members to the Greater Gods Domain, Red Frost couldnt imagine what would become of the Greater Gods Domain. Mhm. I summoned them here, Shi Feng said, nodding. Then, he smiled and added, Consider it one of the safety measures I prepared for redeeming items. A safety measure? You call this a safety measure? Red Frost stared at Shi Feng blankly. This was a team of chosen ones from a royal power. She refused to believe Shi Feng had summoned these chosen ones just to have them be his bodyguards. This was a blatant show of force. Moreover, this was without the ten pseudo-apex powers knowing that Dragons Crown was a royal power. They would be frightened to death if they learned of Dragons Crowns status. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary has a long history. Who knows how many trump cards the pseudo-apex powers have in their possession? It never hurts to be cautious, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Then, he pointed at the pseudo-apex powers teams and continued, Of course, this can also be regarded as a reminder to the pseudo-apex powers. Otherwise, Zero Wing will have difficulty establishing a partnership with the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary in the future. In reality, Shi Feng had summoned Dragons Crown members with selfish motives. The Flame Dragon Gods Nest was one of the few super-large-scale Taboo Secret Lands in the Greater Gods Domain. It was also one of the few secret lands that could allow players to quickly level up to Level 240 and beyond. It went without saying that the secret land would be fiercely contested. With Zero Wings current strength, there was no way the Guild could occupy the secret land, even with the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key. The primary purpose of the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key was to adjust the approximate location and size of the secret lands entrance. Its secondary function was to create Key Imprints so players could leave the secret land without dying or spending Undying Souls. Although Zero Wing had recruited many experts in the Eternal Realm, the Guilds forces were already stretched thin to defend Shadowring Town. It had no spare forces to occupy the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Hence, Zero Wings only option to occupy the secret land was to partner with the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys local powers. The more, the better. After all, there was no way Holy Dragon Spear could defend Flame Vein Holy City by itself now that the secret lands existence had become public knowledge. To convince the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys local powers to partner with Zero Wing, it was first necessary to set an example for the local pseudo-apex powers. More specifically, Zero Wing needed to convince the ten pseudo-apex powers that it had an extremely powerful backer they could not oppose, even if they all joined forces. Otherwise, with Zero Wings current standards, no local power would negotiate with it peacefully. Partnership? What partnership? When Red Frost saw Shi Fengs nonchalance, a ridiculous thought suddenly came to her mind. Dont tell me you want to occupy the Flame Dragon Gods Nest? Shi Feng might not have had enough Undying Souls to redeem the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key previously, but it was a fact that the Access Key had disappeared shortly after he showed up in the central plaza. He had even brought Dragons Crowns members with him. When Red Frost linked these two points, she suddenly felt that it wasnt out of the question for him to have redeemed the Access Key. Indeed! Shi Feng nodded. Even if Zero Wing and Holy Dragon Spear join forces, it is unlikely we can safely defend the secret land from others. We can only truly occupy the Flame Dragon Gods Nest by uniting more pseudo-apex powers. Impossible. Red Frost shook her head. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys local pseudo-apex powers all have ties with apex powers. They also dont have the best of relationships with one another, with some even holding grudges. They will jump at any chance to take each others place in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Even if you have the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key and Dragons Crowns chosen ones, they will still get the various apex powers involved. Shi Feng nodded, acknowledging Red Frosts concerns. Then, he smiled and said, Thats why Ive sent someone to talk to them. You sent someone to talk to them? Red Frost rolled her eyes at Shi Feng. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ten pseudo-apex powers were incredibly stubborn and showed no respect for anyone. Even if the Seven Luminaries Alliances Verdant Rainbow were to negotiate with them, she wouldnt achieve any positive results. After all, all these pseudo-apex powers were more or less backed by apex powers. Mhm. That person should have arrived already, Shi Feng said as he looked at the Advanced Tent at the edge of the magic barriers. Chapter 3823 - Chapter 897 - Another Mortal God? Chapter 897 C Another Mortal God? Flame Dragon Gods Treasury, Central Plaza, Advanced Tent: The representatives of the ten pseudo-apex powers all wore gloomy expressions as they sat at the round table, staring at their respective Magic Mirrors. Everyone, voice your thoughts, Tarnished Wind said, breaking the silence. Do any of you know the origins of Dragons Crown? Nobody spoke after Tarnished Wind. Everyone merely shook their head as they focused on the figures of the Dragons Crown members displayed in their Magic Mirror, intent on uncovering any helpful information. Sure enough, no one knows, South Lake sighed. Our luck is truly rotten, coming across a well-hidden apex power under such circumstances. Itll be difficult for us to appease the other party. Appeasing the other party shouldnt be difficult, Ember Dragon countered calmly. While we might have organized the operation this time, that person was the one who asked for a fight. We can just compensate Dragons Crown for its troubles afterward. At worst, we will have to sacrifice those involved. I doubt an apex power like Dragons Crown will demand anything more. After all, we all have connections with apex powers. The other apex powers wont sit back if Dragons Crown tries to take things too far. Thats true. Tarnished Wind agreed with Ember Dragon. Although we arent subordinates of those apex powers, we trade with them a lot. If a hidden apex power tries to get involved in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary and eliminate us all, itd be no different from plundering the resources of other apex powers. Those apex powers wont sit still and do nothing. As a hidden apex power, Im sure Dragons Crown can understand this point. The problem is figuring out Dragons Crowns goal in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Dragons Crown has hidden its existence so well until now, so why did it suddenly make such a high-profile appearance here? If we cant figure this out, we might unknowingly offend it in the future and get destroyed. The various pseudo-apex powers representatives nodded in agreement. Nobody doubted whether Dragons Crown was a hidden apex power anymore. Even if it wasnt one, with its ability to muster nearly a hundred Level 240 experts, it still wasnt an existence pseudo-apex powers could recklessly provoke. Not to mention, the topic of hidden apex powers wasnt anything new in the Greater Gods Domain. Take Demons Gate, for example. It was the most recent apex power to have appeared out of nowhere. Initially, nobody knew about this organization of lunatics. By the time everyone knew Demons Gate was an apex power, it had already decimated over a dozen pseudo-apex powers. The fact that Dragons Crown was a hidden apex power wasnt concerning. After all, several apex powers were already operating publicly. These surface apex powers had long since established a balance of power in the Greater Gods Domain. If any apex power tried to overstep its boundaries, other apex powers would intervene for their own sake. This went double for hidden apex powers. Dragons Crowns high-profile appearance meant that this hidden apex power no longer wished to operate behind the scenes; it wanted to step into the limelight. To debut on the public stage, it would most certainly conduct an operation somewhere. Thus, they needed to find out how Dragons Crown planned to execute its debut. The last thing they wanted was to unknowingly stand in Dragons Crowns way and get eliminated because of it. It was also unlikely that other apex powers would wage an all-out war against another apex power because of one or two pseudo-apex powers. How about this? Rather than waste time guessing, lets ask them, Ember Dragon said, drumming his fingers on the table. We dont need to know their exact plans. We only need a general idea of what they want to accomplish and offer our full cooperation. That way, we can largely avoid conflicts with Dragons Crown. This South Lake frowned. Then, he skeptically asked, Will they be willing to talk to us, though? Once a hidden apex power decides to debut, it will carry out every step of its plan in secrecy to prevent other apex powers from interfering. If we accidentally angered Dragons Crown, wouldnt we worsen the situation for ourselves? Do you think the situation will improve without us doing anything? Ember Dragon scoffed. Dont forget, we have a not-so-insignificant misunderstanding with Dragons Crown. If we dont clarify our stance, Dragons Crown might very well decide to dispose of us. It would be inappropriate to have the frontline personnel ask these questions. After pondering for a moment, Tarnished Wind suggested, We should go there in person. That way, we can show Dragons Crown our sincerity. I second this! I second this, too! The other pseudo-apex powers representatives all agreed with Tarnished Winds suggestion. They would only worsen their relationship with Dragons Crown if they had their subordinates negotiate such an important affair. That wont be necessary! As the representatives were getting up from their seats, a clear and unfamiliar voice suddenly entered their ears, startling them. When everyone turned to the source, they saw a graceful female knight standing at the Advanced Tents entrance. She had an eye-catching divine pattern between her brows, and her level of 243 was even more striking. Who are you? How did you get in here? Where are the guards? Everyone in the tent, including Tarnished Wind and the other Level 240-plus experts, promptly armed themselves when they saw the female knight. They behaved as if they were facing a formidable enemy. As the Advanced Tent they used was meant to host the core executives of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ten pseudo-apex powers, at least one large-scale Great Grandmaster Magic Array was set up to protect it. There were also a hundred Level 235-plus fifth-floor experts standing guard around it at all times. Normally, even a Level 240 expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts would need considerable time to break through a large-scale Great Grandmaster Magic Array. It was also impossible to break the barrier without making a commotion. Not to mention, everyone present was an expert. Nevertheless, nobody had noticed the female knight before she spoke. I am Purgatory Jade, Dragons Crowns Second Vice Guild Leader. You dont need to doubt the safety standards of your tent. I could only enter here because I have this Tier 6 Divine Runic Teleportation Scroll. As Purgatory Jade introduced herself, a magic scroll appeared in her hands. The scroll had divine runes hovering around it, and it exuded mana that was denser than even that of Ancient Gods. I can freely enter and leave any place not protected by a Craftsman Magicians magic barrier with this scroll. A Tier 6 Divine Runic Teleportation Scroll?! South Lake was shocked as he looked at the scroll that Purgatory Jade held. Isnt that the Teleportation Scroll rumored to be able to travel anywhere besides the Taboo Zones established by Primordial Gods?! As expected of a hidden apex power. Pseudo-apex powers like us can only marvel at the strength and foundation you possess, Tarnished Wind sighed, the fighting spirit that flickered in his eyes disappearing. If even a Mortal God like yourself can only serve as the Second Vice Guild Leader, I cant even fathom how big a gap exists between our Guilds. At Tarnished Winds words, many of the other pseudo-apex powers representatives quickly realized a critical point they had missed. Another Mortal God? Chapter 3824 - Chapter 898 - A Talented Subject Knows the Right Leader to Serve Chapter 898 C A Talented Subject Knows the Right Leader to Serve A Mortal God?! Another Mortal God?! Ember Dragon felt an indescribable sense of oppression as he scrutinized Purgatory Jades every move. Feeling his sanity reaching its limit, he turned to the bandaged youth beside him and quietly asked, Didnt you say that there were no sixth-floor experts in this Greater Gods Domain?! Why are they appearing one after another now?! Are you sure youre not playing tricks on me?! I dont know. The bandaged youth was equally surprised as he looked at Purgatory Jade. However, he quickly stated in a firm tone, But Im certain she hasnt come into contact with that side yet. She hasnt? Ember Dragon sighed in relief and quickly regained his composure. Then, when he returned his gaze to Purgatory Jade, a hint of passion appeared in his eyes as he thought, Although I dont know Dragons Crowns origins, the fact that it has two sixth-floor experts should mean that it has a guide to the sixth-floor standard. If I can win Dragons Crowns favor, Ill be able to advance to the sixth-floor standard before those people! At that time, pseudo-apex powers will be nothing but jokes! Besides Ember Dragon, the representatives of the other pseudo-apex powers also marveled at Dragons Crowns strength and foundation, and they all started to have their own designs. Currently, none of the Greater Gods Domains surface apex powers had sixth-floor experts. Although these apex powers might have hidden their sixth-floor experts, the possibility was low. After all, if these apex powers gained a sixth-floor expert, it would be in their best interest to let everyone know about it. Firstly, a sixth-floor expert could serve as excellent promotional material. In Gods Domain, any power that wanted to flourish needed a constant influx of talented newcomers. By letting everyone know it had a sixth-floor expert, an apex power could attract many geniuses. Take Holy Dragon Spear, for example. Talented newcomers from all over the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary flocked to Holy Dragon Spear once they discovered that Red Frost had achieved the sixth-floor standard. This was also why the various powers started to be wary of the adventurer team. Secondly, a sixth-floor expert could be used as a deterrence. If an apex power had a sixth-floor expert under its command, other apex powers would have to think twice when picking a fight with it. Before a conflict escalated into an all-out war, they would likely avoid pulling small tricks on it. These two points alone made it more than worthwhile for the various apex powers to reveal the sixth-floor experts under their command. Yet, there had never been any news of any apex power having a sixth-floor expert all these years. Even news of experts reaching the Half-step Mortal God standard was few and far between. Thus, the various apex powers most likely did not have any sixth-floor experts. Although the current Dragons Crown wasnt well-known, the fact that it commanded at least two sixth-floor experts already put it above all the surface apex powers. Not to mention, Purgatory Jade had introduced herself as merely Dragons Crowns Second Vice Guild Leader. It should be known that a Guilds strongest member would never be a Vice Guild Leader. Many pseudo-apex powers Vice Guild Leaders couldnt even rank among the top 20 of the Guilds strongest combatants. Even if Dragons Crown operated somewhat differently, the fact that Purgatory Jade was the Second Vice Guild Leader meant that the Guild should at least have ten sixth-floor experts. This number was utterly terrifying. Compared to the other pseudo-apex powers representatives, South Lake and Apocalypse reacted much more calmly to the latest revelation. This young lady looks about the same age as Red Frost. Between the two of them, who do you think is stronger, old commander? South Lake asked Apocalypse through the party chat. Although South Lake was surprised that Purgatory Jade was a Mortal God, he didnt find it unbelievable that Dragons Crown could have two sixth-floor experts, considering that his adventurer team already had one. Both of them might have reached that realm, but After thinking for a while, Apocalypse continued, If they fought with the same Basic Attributes, Frost wouldnt last more than five moves Only five? South Lake looked at Apocalypse in astonishment. It pains me to say it, but this person Even though she has no Divine Artifacts, I doubt I can last three moves against her Apocalypse said, deep-seated fear coloring his eyes as he gazed at Purgatory Jade. What?! South Lake was thoroughly dumbfounded. On the surface, South Lake might be Holy Dragon Spears number one expert, but the truth was that Apocalypse was the actual number one. Furthermore, even after considering all the experts operating behind the scenes in the Greater Gods Domain, Apocalypse could compete for a spot among the top ten. Initially, South Lake thought that Apocalypse could still triumph over Purgatory Jade by relying on his vastly superior equipment standard. He had never expected to hear such an evaluation from Apocalypse. Vice Guild Leader Jade, may I know what brings you to our humble place? Do you have instructions for us? Ember Dragon took the initiative to break the silence when he noticed the other representatives lost in their own thoughts. He also made sure to maintain a respectful attitude. As Ember Dragon spoke, the representatives of other pseudo-apex powers snapped out of their daze and cursed their slow reactions. Im not here to give instructions, Purgatory Jade said as she walked up to the round table and casually took a seat. Im only here to discuss a partnership with you all. A partnership? Everyones eyes lit up at these words. Dragons Crown was an apex power that had at least two sixth-floor experts. It would be a godsend if they could collaborate with such a powerful Guild. Yes, a partnership. Purgatory Jade smiled as she took in everyones reaction. However, this partnership isnt with Dragons Crown, but Dragons Crowns most valuable ally instead. Your most valuable ally? Ember Dragon was greatly shocked by Purgatory Jades statement. Tarnished Wind, South Lake, and the other representatives also gasped in shock, wondering if they had misheard. Dragons Crown was frighteningly powerful, even for an apex power. Yet, it was willing to act as an intermediary for someone else. Purgatory Jade even emphasized that Dragons Crown valued this ally greatly. Most likely, this ally was at least as strong, or even stronger than, Dragons Crown. Vice Guild Leader Jade, it is our honor to be able to partner with Dragons Crowns most valuable ally, Ember Dragon said, being the first to express his stance. May we know how we can conduct this partnership? And can we know who your ally is? The content of the partnership is something you all know. It is this secret land. It is also the Access Key you have been searching for, Purgatory Jade stated. Although Purgatory Jade spoke leisurely, her words shocked the various representatives to their core. They also finally understood how the Access Key was redeemed so quickly. After learning who was responsible for redeeming the Access Key, the various pseudo-apex powers representatives were more or less conflicted. However, when they realized that the other party was a power that could get Dragons Crown to act as an intermediary, they immediately stopped fussing over the details and accepted the situation. After all, it would be suicidal to try to compete with a power as strong as Dragons Crown. As for Dragons Crowns most valuable ally, its name is Zero Wing! Chapter 3825 - Chapter 899 - Astonishing Zero Wing Chapter 899 C Astonishing Zero Wing Zero Wing? To my knowledge, there is no apex power named Zero Wing. Could Zero Wing be a hidden apex power as well? The pseudo-apex powers representatives were confused momentarily when they heard the name of Dragons Crowns ally. Red-Tailed Dragons Tarnished Wind even began rummaging through his memories for information about all the apex and pseudo-apex powers he knew, hoping to find information about Zero Wing. However, no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldnt recall anything about a power named Zero Wing. Meanwhile, South Lake and Apocalypse were stunned to learn the name of Dragons Crowns ally. Did we mishear her? After regaining his senses, Apocalypse quietly asked South Lake, Or is the Zero Wing that Miss Jade mentioned just a Guild that goes by the same name as that Zero Wing? Apocalypse knew the name of Zero Wing well. It would be hard not to know. After learning that Red Frost had recovered from her condition, Apocalypse had promptly launched an investigation of Zero Wing, which shared close ties with her. Hence, he was well-informed about the Guilds situation. Zero Wing was not at a Guild with an established history. Instead, it was an upstart Guild that had gained popularity following the Eternal Realms birth. Thus far, the Guilds achievements included occupying an entire second-tier city by itself, establishing a solid foothold in the Eternal Realms Crystal City of Secrets, partnering with two pseudo-apex powers, and occupying a Neutral Town in the Eternal Realm. However, even with all these achievements, Zero Wing could barely reach the standard of upper-ranking hegemonic powers when placed in the vast Greater Gods Domain. If not for Red Frost, Apocalypse wouldnt even have paid a second glance at a Guild like Zero Wing. Therefore, he had difficulty envisioning Zero Wing having any sort of connection to a hidden apex power, let alone receiving equal treatment. I dont think we misheard, South Lake said, shaking his head. Also, it shouldnt be possible for two Guilds with the same name to exist in Gods Domain. The system wont let that happen. Could it really be that Zero Wing, then? Apocalypse was filled with disbelief. But Ive already thoroughly investigated Zero Wing. I am certain it is an upstart Guild. Even its Acting Guild Leader entered Gods Domain only recently. How can it possibly have any dealings with a power like Dragons Crown? Could it really be an overlapping name? After hearing about Apocalypses investigation, South Lake couldnt help but wonder if the Main God System really had made a mistake. None of the Greater Gods Domains hidden apex powers were ordinary. Although South Lake didnt know why these apex powers had chosen to hide themselves, history had shown that they were all incredibly closed and arrogant. They would only pay attention to powers of equal standards. Even if they decided to have dealings with a weaker power, they would maintain only a superior-subordinate relationship. They would never treat weaker powers as equals, much like humans would never treat ants as equals. Zero Wing? It cant be, right? Ember Dragon was also confused by Purgatory Jades answer, and he couldnt help but scrutinize South Lakes and Apocalypses reactions, hoping to gain verification from them. Ember Dragon naturally knew about Zero Wing. He had even tried to use the recent commotion to eliminate Zero Wings Guild Leader to reduce Red Frosts influence over Holy Dragon Spear and strengthen his own. Of course, like Apocalypse, had it not been for Red Frost, Ember Dragon would have never known or cared about Zero Wing in the first place. Even after observing South Lake and Apocalypse, though, Ember Dragon failed to glean any useful information. He only saw them reacting with astonishment. Evidently, they didnt know anything more than the others in the tent. As for Cloud Rider, the Divine Wing Dynastys Guild Leader, when he heard Zero Wings name, the first thing that popped into his mind was Zero Wings Guild Leader, the person responsible for killing the Divine Wing Dynastys number one chosen one. However, he quickly dismissed the idea that this Zero Wing was the same as the one mentioned by Purgatory Jade. After all, it was impossible for any dealings to exist between a dragon and an ant. After a long silence, Purgatory Jade spoke up again. Do you have any other questions? Purgatory Jade asked, observing everyones confusion. Although she found it strange how Zero Wing seemed to have little to no fame in the Greater Gods Domain, her expression remained unchanged. If nobody has any problems, I will let Zero Wings Guild Leader discuss the specifics of the partnership with you. Please do. Ember Dragon, Tarnished Wind, and the other representatives nodded in response. Subsequently, Purgatory Jade pulled up her Friends List, sent a message, and had everyone in the tent follow her out to welcome Zero Wings Guild Leader. None of the pseudo-apex powers representatives objected to her arrangement, either. They could not afford to neglect the Guild Leader of a Guild capable of standing on equal footing with an apex power. Thus, they followed Purgatory Jade out of the tent without hesitation. After Ember Dragon and the other representatives exited the tent, they waited about five minutes before two figures approached them, along with the rest of Dragons Crowns Level 240-plus experts. The powerful aura these Dragons Crown members exuded made the ten pseudo-apex powers members tremble in fear and automatically make way for them. Black Flame? Zero Wings Guild Leader? Upon getting a clear look at the two figures walking in the lead, South Lake, Apocalypse, Ember Dragon, and Cloud Rider revealed colorful expressions. Impossible! Impossible! How can it be that Zero Wing?! When Ember Dragon saw Shi Feng and Red Frost approaching the tent with Dragons Crowns members, his brain froze. As for South Lake and Apocalypse, they were indescribably shocked and excited. Am I dreaming?! It really is that Zero Wing?! South Lake couldnt help but rub his eyes as he looked at Shi Feng and Red Frost, wondering if he was hallucinating. Zero Wings Guild Leader? When Apocalypse saw Shi Feng, he was similarly at a loss for words. Initially, Apocalypse thought that Shi Feng had thrown his full support for Red Frost to ride on her coattails and form a connection with Holy Dragon Spear. At the time, he had been contemptuous of Shi Fengs behavior. But now, he realized that he had gotten everything wrong. Rather than Shi Feng riding on Red Frosts coattails, it was the other way around. Elder Apocalypse, didnt we meet just recently? Have you forgotten me already? Shi Feng joked when he saw Apocalypse gawking at him. How can that be? Apocalypse promptly snapped out of his daze and coughed awkwardly. Its just that I didnt expect you to be such a big shot, Guild Leader Black Flame. You have really hidden yourself well. I bet Frost has been having a good laugh this whole time. Red Frost couldnt help but chuckle when she saw Apocalypses awkward expression. She had never thought a day would come when her extremely stern teacher would show such a nervous expression. As for Zero Wings actual situation, she had no intention of informing Apocalypse or South Lake. She felt that it might be more beneficial to maintain this misunderstanding. Guild Leader Black Flame, Ive already conveyed your intentions to them, Purgatory Jade respectfully told Shi Feng. You can hash out the details of your partnership with them. Sorry for the trouble, Vice Guild Leader Jade, Shi Feng said, nodding. Then, he looked at Ember Dragon and the other pseudo-apex powers representatives and continued, I wont waste everyones time. Besides the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty, everyone willing to cooperate can come inside and chat. After saying so, Shi Feng stepped into the Advanced Tent with Red Frost, followed closely by Holy Dragon Spears South Lake. As for Tarnished Wind and the representatives of the other pseudo-apex powers that werent explicitly mentioned, they glanced at Ember Dragon and Cloud Rider sympathetically before entering the tent as well, leaving the two standing outside with ugly expressions. When the various conglomerates members and the independent players saw this scene, they were greatly shocked. Who is that person? He got the other pseudo-apex powers to cast aside the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty! I think that person is called Black Flame! Black Flame? Do you mean the Divine Glory Lists 281st-ranked expert? Chapter 3826 - Chapter 900 - Times Have Changed Chapter 900 C Times Have Changed Central Plaza, Advanced Tent: Guild Leader Black Flame, is it okay to exclude those two powers? Red Frost asked Shi Feng quietly, worried about the other partys decision. Red Frost knew that Shi Feng had chosen to exclude the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty primarily for her and Holy Dragon Spears sake. However, the partnership regarding the Flame Dragon Gods Nest was of utmost importance. If the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty were to harass Zero Wing secretly, Zero Wing would have trouble coping. After all, she knew that Zero Wings actual circumstances were nowhere near as optimistic as the various pseudo-apex powers were led to believe. It didnt actually have the strength to stand as equals with a power like Dragons Crown. Furthermore, the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty both knew the location of the Eternal Realms entrance. They could easily enter the Eternal Realm to strike at the heart of Zero Wings development. Dont worry. Even if they enter the Eternal Realm, they cant do anything to Zero Wing, Shi Feng said nonchalantly after sitting down. The Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty were indeed much stronger than the current Zero Wing. However, what Red Frost didnt know was that Zero Wings partnership with Dragons Crown wasnt an act. Zero Wing had indeed established deep ties with Dragons Crown. Should Zero Wing come into real trouble, Dragons Crown would intervene. Not to mention, there was the Dragon-Hunting Artillery Design he obtained from the remnant primordial world. So long as Zero Wing constructed a few in Shadowring Town, not even the Holy Races royal powers could threaten the town, let alone the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty. Additionally, once Zero Wing stabilized its control over the Tower of the Abyss and the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, it would not lack experts to command. Even surpassing the Holy Races royal powers would be possible. Now, all Zero Wing needed to do was occupy the Flame Dragon Gods Nest successfully. Just in case, once this incident is over, I will lead Holy Dragon Spears main force to stabilize the route to the Eternal Realm. That way, Holy Dragon Spear will have an easier time reinforcing Zero Wing, while Zero Wings members can access the Flame Dragon Gods Nest more conveniently, Red Frost said. When she saw that Shi Feng was willing to help her and Holy Dragon Spear to such an extent, she made up her mind to throw Holy Dragon Spears support behind Zero Wing. Okay. Ill leave the passage to you, Shi Feng said, smiling when Red Frost took the initiative to help. If Holy Dragon Spear could establish a stable route between the Eternal Realm and the Greater Gods Domain, it would be a big help to Zero Wing. Although he could transport players in and out of the Eternal Realm with the Abyss Workshop Certifications World-Breaking Teleportation, the number of players he could transport was limited. Itd be impossible for him to let Zero Wings hundreds of thousands of members enter and grind in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest en masse. If Zero Wing could secure a stable way out of the Eternal Realm, it could send thousands, or even tens of thousands, of members to grind in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest at a time. This would undoubtedly accelerate Zero Wings growth by a large margin. As Shi Feng and Red Frost conversed, the various pseudo-apex powers representatives sat around the table and quietly stared at the two. South Lake, Holy Dragon Spears luck truly leaves me speechless, Tarnished Wind said, feeling a little envious of Holy Dragon Spear when he saw Red Frost sharing a rather close relationship with Shi Feng. First, you got an expert like Red Frost. Now, you even managed to latch on to Zero Wing. Its a fluke. Its all a fluke, South Lake said modestly. Inwardly, though, he was all smiles. What happened to the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty is a shame, though. If not for Ember Dragon, they could have also had a share of the secret land, Tarnished Wind sighed. The other representatives nodded in agreement with Tarnished Winds comment. The grudge between Ember Dragon and Red Frost wasnt much of a secret in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Originally, everyone thought that Red Frost would fade into obscurity after her downfall. Nobody had expected her to find a powerful patron like Zero Wing. Now, the tides had turned, and the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty would eventually fall to the bottom ranks of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary because of their inability to participate in the partnership this time. Since everyone is here, I will get straight to the point, Shi Feng stated when he saw that the various pseudo-apex powers representatives had quieted down. Firstly, I would like to clarify that the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key is already in Zero Wings possession. Im sure everyone here knows about the Access Keys effects, so I wont go into detail about them. Secondly, due to a lack of manpower in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Zero Wing will need everyone here to cooperate in defending the secret land. Of course, Zero Wing wont let your efforts be in vain. In exchange for guarding the secret land with all your might, Zero Wing can promise entry for your members at a fee of half their income in the secret land and ten bottles of Life Potion per day. Following Shi Fengs words, silence enveloped the tent again as everyone stared at him in disbelief. After a while, Tarnished Wind raised his hand tentatively and asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, are you sure this is your only condition? At this time, South Lake, Apocalypse, and even Red Frost couldnt help but doubt Shi Fengs words. In the Greater Gods Domain, powers that occupied Level 230 secret lands or below typically charged their allied members exorbitant fees to grind in their Taboo Secret Lands. Some even required payment of a piece of Level 230 Taboo Legendary Equipment or a Fragmented Divine Artifact per player or party. As for the loot obtained in the secret land, it was standard practice for powers to collect everything their allied members obtained. After all, each secret land was limited in resources. Yet, Shi Feng only charged a fee of ten Life Potions per person per day. Moreover, he only asked for half of their harvest in the secret land. He was basically letting them in for free. Although the value of Life Potions had skyrocketed due to the major system update, it was still nothing compared to being able to level up to Level 240 quickly. Many powers would be willing to pay a fee of twenty or thirty bottles of Life Potion a day, let alone ten. Of course. If you are fine with this condition, we can establish a Gods Domain Contract for the partnership immediately, Shi Feng replied, smiling. The Flame Dragon Gods Nest was certainly valuable. By relying on Dragons Crowns banner, Zero Wing could also monopolize the secret lands harvests if it wanted to. However, Life Potions were much more useful to the current Zero Wing than the secret lands harvests. After all, unlike the various pseudo-apex powers, Zero Wing did not have many Life Potion manufacturing facilities and connections that could handle the needs of millions, or even tens of millions, of members. Thus, Zero Wing needed to stock up on Life Potions to continue growing. Otherwise, if the Guild were to engage in an all-out war with any power, its operations would quickly get crippled. Even if Zero Wing had a stable supply of weapons and equipment, if its members couldnt quickly recover their mental strength, they wouldnt be able to keep fighting. Moving forward, the stockpiling of mental strength recovery potions was also an essential step for powers in Gods Domain when preparing to wage war against other powers. Chapter 3827 - Chapter 901 - Pseudo-Apex Powers Wealth Chapter 901 C Pseudo-Apex Powers Wealth Okay! Red-Tailed Dragon is willing to cooperate! Tarnished Wind accepted the partnership with Zero Wing on Red-Tailed Dragons behalf without hesitation. He didnt even bother to discuss it with Red-Tailed Dragons current Great Commander. The Hundred Dragon Assembly is also willing to cooperate! I can sign a Gods Domain Contract on behalf of the Moonlight Family! Upon seeing Tarnished Winds response, the other pseudo-apex powers representatives promptly followed suit, worried that Shi Feng might regret his decision or limit the number of partners. Five minutes later, eight of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers finished signing a Gods Domain Contract with Zero Wing. Another hour later, the eight pseudo-apex powers jointly took control of the Flame Dragon Gods Nests entrance with the help of the Access Key in Shi Fengs possession. Each also mobilized several of their trump card legions to take turns garrisoning Flame Vein Holy City. This situation dumbfounded the Dragon God Palace and the Divine Wing Dynasty, which were still contemplating occupying Flame Vein Holy City by force. Have they lost their minds? Isnt it just a partnership? Why have they gone as far as to commit their trump card legions? Ember Dragon nearly went crazy when he received the latest report from his subordinates. It was already bad enough that this incident had tarnished his reputation in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary and caused the Dragon God Palaces Guild Leader to doubt his capabilities. Now, the eight pseudo-apex powers behavior was even testing his sanity. To his utter confusion, the eight pseudo-apex powers mobilized their trump cards to clear out the players in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Furthermore, they did not hesitate to start a war with the Dragon God Palaces and the Divine Wing Dynastys members, preventing them from grinding in the secret land. It seems Black Flame is quite capable, the bandaged youth said jokingly. Unlike Ember Dragon, he did not react angrily to the news. But you dont have to worry. Ive looked into Zero Wing. Well? Whats up with that Zero Wing? Ember Dragon asked, looking at the bandaged youth with eagerness in his eyes. Is it really one of those hidden ancient powers? I can only say that you were unlucky, the bandaged youth said, shaking his head. Then, he calmly explained, They have already gone through all their records and are certain that Zero Wing isnt some hidden ancient power, and neither is Dragons Crown. However, Dragons Crown is indeed powerful. It is likely to be an existence that closely rivals apex powers. Zero Wings Guild Leader must have gotten lucky and acquainted himself with one of Dragons Crowns executives. I wouldnt even be surprised if Zero Wing turns out to be a Guild secretly cultivated by Dragons Crown. Black Flame has deceived those pseudo-apex powers. Dragons Crown only closely rivals apex powers? Ember Dragons gaze turned cold after learning this. Black Flame! How dare you deceive me! I will make you and Dragons Crown pay for this! Hold your horses, the bandaged youth said. It still isnt time to expose ourselves. What about this secret land, then? Even the Guild Leader is considering replacing me because of Black Flame! Ember Dragon bellowed. Black Flame is only an ant ranked 281st on the Divine Glory List! If I dont deal with him, my days in the Dragon God Palace will be numbered! I understand your troubles, the bandaged youth said sternly. But the situation is different now. That side might be taking action soon, so we havent much time left. We need to establish a stable route to the Eternal Realm quickly. Black Flame is nothing but a clown flaunting strength he doesnt have. We have plenty of time to deal with him later. While we are at it, we can even take care of Dragons Crown at that time! That side is taking action soon? Ember Dragon cooled down when he heard the bandaged youths words, the anger in his eyes replaced by fear. I understand. Ill personally lead a team to establish a route immediately. Flame Vein Holy City, Flame Vein Advanced Hotel: After officializing his partnership with the eight pseudo-apex powers, Shi Feng left the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. Players inside the Flame Dragon Gods Nest could not communicate with the outside world or go offline. Additionally, ten days had gone by in the Greater Gods Domain while he was away in the remnant primordial world. It was unhealthy to spend such a long time in Gods Domain, even for great grandmasters. Thus, he needed to relax his mind and body in the real world. I got quite a harvest this time. In addition to the Empresss Scales, I even got the Worlds Scar. Shi Feng felt delighted as he looked at the Worlds Scar, which he had spent five million Undying Souls to redeem, in his bag. With this weapon, I should be able to rope Aurebeth into Zero Wing and add another sixth-floor expert to the Guild. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to use the Worlds Scar himself. After all, the weapon was publicly acknowledged as the Greater Gods Domains number one Divine Sword in his previous life. No Swordsman could resist owning such a weapon. However, Shi Feng changed his mind after redeeming the Worlds Scar. This was because the current Worlds Scar was a thoroughly damaged Divine Artifact that players couldnt wield. There was also no mention of how the Worlds Scar could be repaired. Under such circumstances, Aurebeth was probably the only person in the Greater Gods Domain who could return the Worlds Scar to its former glory. After all, Aurebeth had wielded the complete Worlds Scar in Shi Fengs previous life. While Shi Feng was sorting his harvest, a knock came from the door of his hotel room. Then, the door opened, and Apocalypse entered the room respectfully. Guild Leader Black Flame, excuse my interruption, Apocalypse said as he walked up to Shi Feng. Then, he took out a list and awkwardly continued, After discussing with the other powers, we have decided on the first batch of players we will send into the secret land. The eight of us will send a total of 80,000 players into the secret land for ten days. According to our agreement, we will pay you eight million bottles of Life Potion through the Gods Domain Association. They should reach Star Lake City in three days. Eighty thousand players will be entering for ten days? Shi Feng was surprised. Assuming that each pseudo-apex power would send 10,000 players into the Flame Dragon Gods Nest for ten days, each would have to pay Zero Wing one million bottles of Life Potion. This was a significant amount, even for a pseudo-apex power. Yes. We decided to send a few more people since this is the first batch, Apocalypse said, nodding. Of course, if you think there are too many, we can reduce the number. No need. Eighty thousand is fine, Shi Feng said as he stamped the contract list with the Flame Dragon Gods Access Key. Contrary to Apocalypses opinion, Shi Feng was glad to see the eight pseudo-apex powers send more players into the secret land. After all, this would increase the number of Life Potions he could obtain. As for whether the eight pseudo-apex powers would redeem the Flame Dragon Gods Treasurys items, he did not prohibit it. Although the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury had plenty of good items, the only precious item that remained was the Flame God Set. However, the Flame God Set required 50 million Undying Souls to redeem. That wasnt an amount that the eight pseudo-apex powers could obtain in ten days. On the other hand, he could collect the remaining 50 million Undying Souls Dragons Crown had promised him the next time he summoned Dragons Crowns members. Hence, he wasnt worried that someone would snatch the Flame God Set. After Shi Feng settled his agreement with the eight pseudo-apex powers, he logged out to rest. However, five seconds after he disappeared, a lithe figure suddenly entered his hotel room covered in sweat. I was still too late? When Heiser saw that Shi Feng was no longer in the room, she couldnt help feeling frustrated as she recalled the instructions her teacher Laura had given her before abruptly leaving. I guess I can only wait until he comes back online Chapter 3828 - Chapter 902 - Missing Realm Chapter 902 C Missing Realm Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center: Illuminated by the midday sun, the hatch of Shi Fengs virtual gaming cabin opened, and Shi Feng climbed out of it, a sense of weakness spreading across his body. Sure enough, spending ten days in-game is draining on the mind, Shi Feng thought as he looked at himself in the mirror and saw that he had lost weight. Fortunately, the flow of time in the remnant primordial world wasnt too different. Had a month gone by while I was there, Id need several days to recover, even with Stardew. After the major system update, the souls of players and their accounts had essentially been synchronized. This had thoroughly changed the way players played Gods Domain. In the past, it didnt matter how long players spent in Gods Domain each gaming session. Only when they engaged in mentally stressful activities such as high-intensity battles would their exhaustion be reflected on their resting bodies in the real world. However, after the major system update, even if players didnt engage in battle, they would be subjected to constant mental stress so long as they had high-quality weapons and equipment equipped. It was as if players were genuinely living in Gods Domain and carrying their heavy weapons and equipment around all the time. This situation made it impossible for players to rest properly in Gods Domain and required them to recuperate in the real world. Otherwise, they would eventually collapse from exhaustion in Gods Domain and be forcibly logged out. While Shi Feng was about to drink the drop of Stardew he had retrieved from the refrigerator, a holographic projection suddenly appeared in his living room. The projection was of a graceful woman with an imposing appearance. This woman was none other than Xia Qingying, one of the Green God Corporations Senior Vice Presidents. Guild Leader Shi, you really dont make it easy for others to get in touch with you, Xia Yingqing grumbled, looking fatigued. Where have you been this whole time? Ive contacted Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow multiple times, but every time, they say you are busy with something. Yet, they refuse to tell me where you went. They werent lying. I was indeed occupied with something urgent recently, Shi Feng answered. Before he left for the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, he had informed Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow not to share his whereabouts. Did something happen on your side? The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary was one of the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries, which every power in the Greater Gods Domain wished to engage. Meanwhile, as Zero Wings Guild Leader, he had long since become a thorn in the side of the Eternal Realms various powers. This was especially so after the appearance of the Tower of the Abyss, which had earned the attention of even apex powers. If he was merely operating in the Eternal Realm, he wouldnt fear anyone targeting him. Although an entrance to the Eternal Realm had already been discovered, very few Level 230-plus experts could actually enter it right now. Additionally, the ones who did make it into the Eternal Realm didnt have particularly good weapons and equipment. This was because most Level 230-plus experts did not wish to risk suffering a permanent death in the dangerous space-time passage. Furthermore, Level 230-plus players were the leading force in clearing out the monsters in the passage. Hence, he was more than capable of defending himself in the Eternal Realm. However, it was a different story if he were to operate in one of the Twelve Sanctuaries. The Twelve Sanctuaries were filled with Level 230-plus experts. A Tier 6 player who had yet to reach Level 220 like himself would be incredibly weak there. If any apex power intended to target him, his chances of survival would be less than 20%. Hence, before leaving for the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, he had reminded Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow not to share his whereabouts. He had even told them not to interrupt him if nothing serious happened. Of course, something happened! Something huge happened! Xia Qingying huffed, rolling her eyes at Shi Feng. Since you left me with the task of training an absurd number of Divine Engravers, Ive been trying every means to gather the necessary manpower across numerous mobile cities! Although I eventually secured the required manpower without attracting attention, the cost of materials is killing me! Do you know how many connections I had to pull to barely cover the expenditure of all these people? Are you lacking Seven Luminaries Crystals? Shi Feng quickly understood Xia Qingyings problem after hearing about the other partys complaint. If its Seven Luminaries Crystals, I can have Hidden Soul send some to you now. It was indeed difficult for a single corporation to nurture 10,000 Divine Engravers in one go. This was because the main material used to produce Divine Engraving Scrolls was Seven Luminaries Crystals. The various powers considered Seven Luminaries Crystals a strategic resource, so it was difficult to obtain them in bulk under normal circumstances. Recently, the only reliable way to obtain Seven Luminaries Crystals in bulk was by selling Eternal Coins. Fortunately, the current Zero Wing did not lack Seven Luminaries Crystals. Thanks to the Tower of the Abyss, Zero Wing had become the number one earner of Seven Luminaries Crystals in the Eternal Realm. Seven Luminaries Crystals? Xia Qingying looked at Shi Feng in astonishment. Where have you been all this time? The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Shi Feng answered truthfully. Whats wrong? He had already established a partnership with eight of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers. He was even staying in Flame Vein Holy City, protected by over a hundred Level 240-plus experts. Even if apex powers sent Level 240 elite experts after him, he would not be in any danger. Thus, he didnt mind revealing his current whereabouts. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuary? I didnt think youd have the means to go there. At Shi Fengs answer, Xia Qingying couldnt help but scrutinize him in surprise. But thats not right. Even if you are in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, how can you not know about the Cruise Wing Realms disappearance? The Cruise Wing Realm disappeared? Shi Feng was momentarily stunned. How is this possible?! Who did it?! Did a Primordial God take action?! Although some Realms had disappeared in his previous life, they were some of the weaker Realms in the Greater Gods Domain. However, he had never received any specific information about the reason for their disappearance; all he had heard were speculations. As for the Cruise Wing Realm, it had always existed in his previous life. There had never been any problems with it. He knew this because the Cruise Wing Realm was no ordinary Realm. Even among the thousands of Realms in the Greater Gods Domain, it ranked among the top 100. Thus, any power that was a hegemonic power or above would know of its existence. Furthermore, the Cruise Wing Realm was among the Greater Gods Domains top 30 Resource Realms. It was extremely rich in various resources. Because of this, various resources could be obtained from the Cruise Wing Realm at a much cheaper price than other places. Many powers could even profit by reselling the Cruise Wing Realms resources to distant Realms. The Cruise Wing Realm was also incredibly strong overall. While not as strong as the Twelve Sanctuaries, it had as many as three pseudo-apex powers. Thus, even mighty Level 240 Ancient Gods could not make the Cruise Wing Realm disappear. Only a Primordial God could accomplish such a feat. Chapter 3829 - Chapter 903 - New First-Tier City Chapter 903 C New First-Tier City You really dont know. After seeing Shi Fengs surprised reaction, Xia Qingying explained, The Cruise Wing Realm went missing five days ago. Shortly after the incident, news of it quickly spread across the Greater Gods Domain. The players operating in the Cruise Wing Realm were also abruptly logged out of the game and could no longer log back in. Everyone was logged out of the game and cant log in again? Shi Feng was even more confused after hearing this. In his previous life, although some Realms had disappeared abruptly, the players caught in these Realms could still log into Gods Domain. There had never been a case where a Realms disappearance caused players to lose access to Gods Domain. Yes. Because of this incident, the supply of raw materials in the Greater Gods Domain has become tight, and prices have increased by 50% to 100%. Some materials cant even be bought with money anymore, Xia Qingying said helplessly. The production of Basic and Intermediate Engraving Scrolls requires Mana Sealing Wood. Although its a material thats available in every Realm, the Cruise Wing Realm made up 40% of the Greater Gods Domains supply. Without the Cruise Wing Realm, Id have no choice but to source Mana Sealing Wood from other places. In that case, I can only source several hundred players worth every so often. Any more than that, Ill start attracting unwanted attention. That is true. After hearing Xia Qingyings explanation, Shi Feng admitted that they had a huge problem. Mana Sealing Wood was a rare material in the Greater Gods Domain. Although every Realm produced it, most only produced it in small quantities. The good news was that the demand for Mana Sealing Wood was low, and it was typically only used when producing special high-ranking Magic Scrolls. The bad news was that Mana Sealing Wood was one of the main materials needed to produce Divine Engraving Scrolls. If Zero Wing intended to nurture only a few dozen Divine Engravers, it could easily procure Mana Sealing Wood without attracting attention. However, to source enough Mana Sealing Wood to nurture 10,000 Divine Engravers without relying on the Cruise Wing Realm, it would have to source from dozens of Realms or more. It was impossible to conduct an operation of such scale with absolute secrecy. Thats why I have been looking for you, Xia Qingying sighed. Originally, the Cruise Wing Realms disappearance already presented a huge headache. Now, the various powers have even started frantically investigating the reason for its disappearance, fearing their Realms might be next. They arent letting any details slip past them. Although I stockpiled some Mana Sealing Wood before this incident, it can only last us another two days. I can get some Mana Sealing Wood, but Im afraid its impossible to supply tens of thousands of players long-term without attracting attention Shi Feng frowned. There were many ways to obtain large amounts of Mana Sealing Wood. The simplest method would be to buy it from the Seven Luminaries Alliance. If they purchased it through the Alliance, they could easily nurture hundreds of thousands of Divine Engravers, let alone tens of thousands. However, if they were to buy such a large amount of Mana Sealing Wood, the Seven Luminaries Alliance would definitely look into the matter. If it were revealed that Zero Wing could produce Divine Engraving Scrolls, it would truly be the end for Zero Wing. It should be known that the significance of the Divine Engraving Scrolls was far greater than even that of the Tower of the Abyss. Although the Tower of the Abyss could provide fifth-floor experts with opponents and directions to advance beyond the fifth-floor standard, the benefits of owning the Tower of the Abyss were still resistible to powers that could enter it. After all, not everyone could succeed, even when offered a path to success. Very few experts possessed the talent necessary to advance to the sixth-floor standard. As for the Tower of the Abysss wealth-generating capabilities, it was true that it could generate astronomical amounts of Seven Luminaries Crystals. However, while it might be enough to tempt ordinary powers into action, it wasnt enough to make apex powers forgo the method of reaching the sixth-floor standard. In a situation where Zero Wing allowed everyone besides its enemies to use the Tower of the Abyss, apex powers that werent hostile to Zero Wing wouldnt care to seize the Tower of the Abyss. Zero Wing didnt have to concern itself with the envy of ordinary powers, either. Nobody could threaten Zero Wing in the Eternal Realm outside of apex powers. However, it would be a different story if the various powers learned of Zero Wings ability to mass-produce Divine Engraving Scrolls. Since the major system update, players had been subjected to a constant mental burden when using high-quality weapons and equipment. Because of this, Epic and Fragmented Legendary Weapons Equipment became mainstream in the Greater Gods Domain. In such a situation, having the ability to produce Divine Engraving Scrolls that could enhance the Basic Attributes of Epic and Fragmented Legendary items would be a game changer. There was no way the various powers could resist seizing this opportunity for themselves, especially when it was in the hands of a weak power like Zero Wing. Are you free these next two days? Xia Yingqing asked suddenly. I dont have anything planned, Shi Feng answered without much thought. Good. Xia Qingying smiled. A new first-tier mobile city has appeared on the Starlight Continent. The birth of a first-tier city is rare and happens only once every few decades or centuries. To celebrate its achievement, the first-tier city in question has decided to host an auction of unprecedented scale, and the Green God Corporation just so happens to have received an invitation. Rumor has it that the auction will feature Fragmented Divine Artifacts and Eternal Stones. However, all transactions must be made with Eternal Coins. Many powers are also considering using this auction to earn Eternal Coins, so they are willing to auction some of their wealth. I dare say this will be the grandest trade fair the Starlight Continent has ever seen in the past century. Even Eternal Stones are being sold? Shi Fengs eyes lit up after hearing this. He had been trying to obtain Eternal Stones all this time. Unfortunately, since the Holy World became the Eternal Realm, obtaining them became even more difficult. Additionally, as everyone knew about the Eternity Set, those with Eternal Stones treated them like family heirlooms. This situation prevented him from turning the Eternity Gauntlets and the Eternity Crown in his possession into Divine Artifacts. If Eternity Stones were sold at the aforementioned auction, it would be an excellent opportunity for him to obtain some. So long as he could get about a dozen more, he could turn the Eternity Crown into a bona fide Divine Artifact. At that time, the Eternity Crown alone would trump the God Chaser Set he currently used. All attendees will have their identities hidden, so we can buy Mana Sealing Wood in bulk without worry. I heard that you made a lot of money in the Eternal Realm, so it will be up to you then, Xia Qingying said, smiling when she saw Shi Fengs eagerness. The Green God Corporations passenger plane will arrive at Star Lake City in three hours. Do you have any problems? Three hours is enough. Shi Feng nodded. Ill head over to the airport after I take stock. Zero Wing currently had plenty of Eternal Coins because of the Tower of the Abyss. After all, each player had to pay five Eternal Gold and 2,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal each time they challenged the Tower of the Abyss, and there were tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand players challenging the tower each day. Even after he repaid the debts he incurred for purchasing the upscale shop in Luminous Sky City and materials from the Seven Luminaries Alliance, Zero Wing should still have plenty of Eternal Coins on its books. Okay. Dont be late, Xia Qingying said, hanging up the call after getting Shi Fengs agreement. On the Green God Corporations supersonic passenger plane, a tall woman sat beside Xia Qingying. The woman sported a ponytail, and a black veil covered her face. Although the womans expression was hidden, she exuded a cold aura that made those around her tremble subconsciously. After Xia Qingying ended her call with Shi Feng, the veiled woman glanced at the holographic projection of Shi Feng displayed above Xia Qingyings wrist and asked, Is he the rumored Black Flame from our world? Mhm. Hes the one I mentioned to you before, Xia Qingying replied, nodding. Then, with a playful smile, she continued, Had he entered the Greater Gods Domain with your batch, his current achievements might have matched yours. Chapter 3830 - Chapter 904 - Changes to Star Lake City Chapter 904 C Changes to Star Lake City Star Lake City, Zero Wing Training Center After his call with Xia Qingying ended, Shi Feng tidied up and went to the combat simulation hall where Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow, and the other Zero Wing executives usually trained. Since the major system update, combat simulation halls had become the primary place for players to visit when resting offline. Besides being able to train against simulated experts, players could also recover the Concentration they expended in Gods Domain. Most importantly, players could watch the top experts of their respective Guilds spar. Before the introduction of Soul Synchronization, the top experts of the various Guilds could be considered elusive creatures in the real world. They typically spent most of their time in Gods Domain, rarely appearing before others. However, following Soul Synchronizations introduction, even great grandmasters with powerful mental strength had to go offline regularly to rest and recuperate. This situation resulted in the usually unpopular combat simulation halls becoming a gathering place for top experts. The Zero Wing Training Centers combat simulation hall was an indoor stadium with six floors. The first and centermost floor was a vast open space, the second and third floors comprised small and medium simulation fields, and the fourth to sixth floors held viewing boxes. The viewing boxes on the fifth and sixth floors were exclusive to the Guilds core members and executives; normal members could only use the fourth floors viewing boxes. Those newcomers named Lin Yaoyue and Zhuo Yalin are incredible! They actually lasted ten moves against Big Sis Fire when working together! They can probably rank among the top ten newcomers this time! Indeed. Everyone in the latest batch of newcomers is incredibly strong. Even the Myriad Forest Empires Empress Blood Arrow Leroja and the Red Star Kingdoms Undefeated Battle Maniac Cross have withdrawn from their respective Guilds to join us. We have to work harder. The Guild only has so many simulation fields. Normal members like us might still get to use them now, but as more members move to the Guilds headquarters, well probably have to rent simulation fields outside to rest. The youths gathered in the fourth floors general area sighed as they watched the physical combat on the first floor. A sense of urgency welled up in their hearts when they considered Zero Wings rapid growth. Before Zero Wings fame extended beyond Star Lake City, only some people from the city applied to join the Guild. However, after Zero Wing became famous, geniuses from Star Lake City and experts from neighboring mobile cities and the Starlight Realm began to flock to the Guild. While Zero Wings youths were talking, a young man with black hair wearing a white sweatshirt walked past the crowd in the fourth floors general area and entered the fifth floor. The fifth floor? Who is that person? Since he can enter the fifth floor, he should be a core member at the minimum, but why havent I seen him before? Hes probably another one of those peerless geniuses who joined our Guild. I really envy these people. They become core members as soon as they join. In contrast, normal members like us have to undergo many rigorous tests to get promoted. We also have to wait in line to use simulation fields. Thats only the tip of the iceberg. I heard that core members get to spar with the Vice Guild Leaders. Many heirs of corporations have offered our two Vice Guild Leaders millions of Star Coins to host a lesson. Even then, the Vice Guild Leaders rejected all such offers. I heard that, too! If I could spar against the two Vice Guild Leaders, I can die without regrets! Envy colored the eyes of the youths in the fourth-floor general area as they watched the black-haired young man walk up to the fifth floor. This situation, in turn, stunned the black-haired young man. Millions of Star Coins to host a lesson? Shi Feng was astonished when he overheard the discussion of the Zero Wing members on the fourth floor. He hadnt expected Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow to become so popular in Star Lake City. Even the Guild Leaders of hegemonic powers would rarely receive such treatment from the younger generation of corporations. While marveling at the changes in Star Lake City, Shi Feng arrived at a viewing box on the sixth floor. Guild Leader, Ive finished sorting out all of Zero Wings profits like you asked, Hidden Soul reported after Shi Feng entered the viewing box. She handed him an electronic tablet and stated proudly, After deducting the funds needed for the Guilds expansion, Shadowring Towns maintenance, and repaying the money you owe, the Guild has 1.35 million Eternal Gold Coins left on its books. That much?! Shi Feng was shocked. Although he had long since known that Shadowring Town would be incredibly profitable after the Tower of the Abysss addition, he hadnt expected it to be this profitable. It should be known that Zero Wing owed 5.55 million Eternal Gold to the Seven Luminaries Alliance and 0.7 million Eternal Gold to Luminous Sky City. Furthermore, the current Eternal Realms player population was still relatively low, and it was challenging for players to reach Shadowring Town. Nevertheless, Zero Wing still had 1.35 million Eternal Gold remaining after repaying all its debts and covering its operational costs! Aside from apex powers, no other power could have such wealth in the current Eternal Realm. Even pseudo-apex powers would be fortunate to have half a million Eternal Gold right now. If you urgently need Eternal Coins, tomorrow is the lease renewal date for Shadowring Towns shops. We should be able to get another 400,000 Eternal Gold, Hidden Soul said seriously. That wont be necessary, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Register these Eternal Coins for me at the Gods Domain Association. I need to use the money today. The Gods Domain Association was the Greater Worlds largest and most mysterious organization. Not only was it present in all mobile cities in the Greater World, but it also offered insurance for player transactions made outside of Gods Domain. However, this service came at a hefty price, with the Gods Domain Association charging anywhere from 10 million to over 100 million Star Coins to insure each transaction. It was not a service the average player could afford. Okay. Ill have someone do it right away. It should take two hours at most, Hidden Soul said, nodding. Then, she hesitantly continued, By the way, Guild Leader, while you were out of reach, many pseudo-apex powers and some hidden pseudo-apex powers contacted me and Snow. Contacted you two? What did they want? Shi Feng asked calmly. All these pseudo-apex powers were powers with few to no members present in the Eternal Realm during its inception. Now that an entrance has been discovered, these powers are thinking of expanding into the Eternal Realm. However, they wont have any advantage over other pseudo-apex powers if they enter the Eternal Realm now, so they plan to acquire Zero Wing to remedy that problem, Hidden Soul said worriedly. Acquire us? Shi Feng chuckled. How much are they offering? Chapter 3831 - Chapter 905 - Zero Wings Mortal God? Chapter 905 C Zero Wings Mortal God? They still havent given us a price, Hidden Soul answered. As Snow and I couldnt get in touch with you recently, we used that as an excuse to avoid discussions. But judging from their tone and how many unfamiliar Level 230-plus experts have appeared in Shadowring Town recently, I suspect they wont take no for an answer. Wont take no for an answer? Shi Feng sneered. Okay, I understand. If they get in touch with you again, have them contact me directly. Evidently, Shadowring Town had become an even fatter sheep in the various powers eyes ever since the Tower of the Abysss addition. However, who would end up the hunter and the hunted remained to be seen. Oh, right, Hidden Soul said, suddenly recalling something. Miss Frey from the Galaxy Conglomerate sent you an invitation a few days ago. She pulled out a gold invitation card and handed it to Shi Feng. According to the invitation, you are invited to attend a once-in-a-century trade fair hosted by Desolate Star City, a newly promoted first-tier mobile city. It just so happens that the trade fairs opening ceremony is today. Even the Galaxy Conglomerate is sending out invitations? It seems this trade fair is quite something. Shi Feng was surprised as he looked at the invitation card. It was indeed rare for a second-tier mobile city to be promoted into a first-tier mobile city in the Greater World. Each interstellar continent typically experienced such an event only once every few decades, and some might see the birth of a first-tier city only once in a century. Thus, Desolate Star City hosting a grand trade fair to celebrate its promotion wasnt strange. The event could boost the citys fame and announce its status to the rest of the Starlight Continent. If it could get many powers to attend the event, it could also showcase its strength and influence. However, while the birth of first-tier mobile cities might be rare, after years of development, the various interstellar continents had come to possess quite a few first-tier cities. Nowadays, the average interstellar continent had at least ten first-tier cities, while more developed ones have twenty or even thirty. The Galaxy Conglomerate, which reigned over the Starlight Continent, normally wouldnt even bother celebrating the birth of a first-tier city, let alone take the initiative to invite others to join the celebration. The Galaxy Conglomerates willingness to send out invitations on Desolate Star Citys behalf showed that there was something special about the city. At the very least, it wasnt the average first-tier city. Are you going? I can arrange a flight for you if you are, Hidden Soul asked. If you leave on a passenger plane now, you should be able to make it in time. That wont be necessary. Vice President Xia has already arranged it for me, Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he put away the invitation with a smile. Subsequently, Shi Feng instructed Hidden Soul to recruit more members for Zero Wing in the Eternal Realm. He also instructed her to extend Zero Wings recruitment to the rest of the Greater Gods Domain. Any player who had reached the fourth-floor standard, regardless of their level or equipment, could join Zero Wing. Additionally, he had all core members and executives of Zero Wing gather in Shadowring Town within a day so that he could help them level up once he returned from the trade fair. Guild Leader, isnt it too soon for us to recruit fourth-floor experts from the rest of the Greater Gods Domain? Hidden Soul was shocked to hear that Shi Feng wanted to recruit fourth-floor experts from all over the Greater Gods Domain. She wasnt surprised that Shi Feng wanted to help them level up. After all, the Eternal Realms native players were all frantically grinding for levels. They all wanted to increase their strength and seize more resources before high-level players entered the Eternal Realm en masse. However, recruiting fourth-floor experts from the Greater Gods Domain was an entirely different matter. Setting aside whether Zero Wing had the manpower and resources to recruit members on such a large scale, nobody would respond positively to its recruitment, even if it could fulfill these requirements. On the contrary, Zero Wing would become a laughingstock in the Greater Gods Domain. Fourth-floor experts might be common in the Eternal Realm, but they held significant influence in the Greater Gods Domains various Realms. They typically occupied high positions in hegemonic powers, as hegemonic powers needed to make substantial investments to produce experts of such caliber. Zero Wing was nothing more than an upstart Guild from the Eternal Realm. Even if it did hold significant influence in the Eternal Realm, it remained insignificant in the vast Greater Gods Domain. Its fine. Just spread the word. While youre at it, you can announce that Zero Wing now commands a Mortal God. Additionally, core members of Zero Wing can redeem Life Potions without limit, while internal members can redeem one bottle a day, and normal members can redeem one bottle every three days, Shi Feng said firmly. A Mortal God?! Hidden Soul was stunned. Do we really have a Mortal God?! Mhm. Shi Feng chuckled. Its even someone you know. Someone I know? Hidden Soul couldnt help but doubt her ears when she heard Shi Fengs words. A Mortal God was akin to legends and myths in the Greater Gods Domain. Until now, Hidden Soul had only heard about the existence of a Mortal God through Gentle Snow, Fervent Samsara, and Heavy Abyss. According to them, when Ink Crystal was revealed to be a Mortal God during the Continental Championship, she shocked the three races chosen ones. Moreover, she had thoroughly crushed the chosen ones of the three races; nobody had been able to draw out her true strength. Its Commander Frost, Shi Feng explained with a smile. She was lucky enough to reach the sixth-floor standard ten days ago with the Tower of the Abysss help. Although Red Frost was Holy Dragon Spears future Great Commander, she was also Zero Wings training consultant. Thus, it wasnt a lie to say that Red Frost was a member of Zero Wing. Commander Frost has reached the sixth-floor standard? And it happened ten days ago? Hidden Soul grew even more surprised. Everyone who was an internal member of Zero Wing or above knew that Red Frost was a first-class expert, even among fifth-floor experts. Many experts in Zero Wing had sparred with Red Frost before, and Hidden Soul was no exception. Thus, she didnt find it impossible that Red Frost had achieved the sixth-floor standard. Even so, rationality still made her incredulous. If Red Frost had truly reached the sixth-floor standard, it would bring Zero Wing unimaginable prosperity. Star Lake City would also undergo a metamorphosis because of her. Once this news spread, players from all over the Greater World would flock to Star Lake City. Zero Wing would also become famous throughout the Greater Gods Domain. Alright, enough daydreaming. Hurry up and go, Shi Feng said, waving his hand in front of Hidden Souls eyes. Okay! Ill get it done right away! When Hidden Soul came back to her senses, her eyes shone with unprecedented joy. Then, she sped out of the room, practically teleporting. While Hidden Soul was making her way to the Gods Domain Association and arranging for the promotion of Zero Wings recruitment drive in the Greater Gods Domain, Shi Feng rushed to the airport to await the arrival of the Green God Corporations private plane. Chapter 3832 - Chapter 906 - Gods Domains Strongest Player Chapter 906 C Gods Domains Strongest Player Starlight Continent, Green God Corporations Private Passenger Plane: Guild Leader Shi, we must be extra careful when buying Mana Sealing Wood in Desolate Star City later, Xia Qingying said seriously as she led Shi Feng aboard the passenger plane. The trade fair this time is out of the ordinary. It can be considered a first-class event, even compared to all the events hosted on the Starlight Continent and the neighboring continents throughout the years. Besides powers from the Starlight Continent, many powers from other interstellar continents have also been invited to attend the event, and some of them are bound to have established a foothold in the Eternal Realm. Since the Divine Engraving Scrolls started circulating in the Eternal Realm, many powers have thoroughly analyzed the scrolls. They should already know plenty about the scrolls by now, especially the scrolls material composition. If we slip up, it will be the end for us in the Greater World. Dont worry. I know the consequences, Shi Feng said, nodding. Ill buy Mana Sealing Wood in small batches from different sellers and have them delivered to different Realms for your people to collect. Although Desolate Star Citys trade fair was held in the real world, the transfer of purchased goods had to be done in Gods Domain. With the Gods Domain Association insuring the transaction, neither party would dare to mess around. Otherwise, they would be punished by the Gods Domain Association and suffer dire consequences. As for how he could avoid drawing attention, it was simple. Every power in Gods Domain needed rare materials. So long as he didnt have all the Mana Sealing Wood he bought delivered to the same location, the sellers wouldnt think too deeply about his purchases. He could also conduct his purchases in person without worry. Not all powers were qualified to participate in such a grand trade fair. Naturally, those who failed to qualify would try to get attending powers to make purchases on their behalf. Moreover, there would be plenty of such powers. After all, now that various powers were trying to accumulate Eternal Coins, it was an excellent opportunity to purchase rare items and materials at a bargain. So long as the sellers he bought from didnt crosscheck their sales, nobody would suspect a thing. Alright, then. Xia Qingying blinked in surprise. She hadnt expected Shi Feng to be so quick on the uptake. Then, she smiled and continued, By the way, Ill introduce you to someone later. You can think of the other party as your great senior. This person arrived in the Greater World much earlier than you. If you can join forces with this person, youll have a much easier time in the Greater Gods Domain. A person who arrived in the Greater World much earlier than I did? Shi Feng had his interest piqued when he saw Xia Qingying snickering. Could this person be one of the experts who went missing from our Gods Domain? Many experts had abruptly disappeared from their Gods Domain in this timeline. Although these disappearances had caused a huge uproar in Gods Domain, nobody knew where these experts had gone. However, as Shi Feng had entered the Greater Gods Domain in his previous life, he knew that most of these experts had entered the Greater Gods Domain ahead of time because of the Green God Corporations intervention. After returning to this timeline, Shi Feng had thought of gathering these missing experts. After all, these experts had all accomplished extraordinary achievements in his previous life. It was also because of these experts that Zero Wing could survive Demons Gates persecution. Unfortunately, he failed to gather much information on these experts. Now that Zero Wings development was focused on the Eternal Realm, gathering these experts became even more difficult. It seems you know quite a lot, Xia Qingying said when she saw Shi Fengs relatively calm reaction. You are correct. This person is one of the experts who went missing in our Gods Domain. Also, it would be more accurate to say that the Green God Corporation can attend this fair only because that person received an invitation. Otherwise, the Green God Corporation, a corporation that is based in only several dozen cities, wouldnt be qualified to attend this event at all. Are the requirements that high? Shi Feng was surprised. The Green God Corporation might have branches in only several dozen cities on the Starlight Continent, but it couldnt be considered an ordinary corporation. Otherwise, it wouldnt have the ability to let people from their homeworld live in a third-tier mobile city as soon as they entered the Greater World. If even the Green God Corporation wasnt qualified for an invitation, how many corporations and powers from the Starlight Continent were qualified to receive one? Two hundred? One hundred? Extremely high! Xia Qingying said, nodding solemnly. As far as I know, only corporations with operations in 150 cities or more on the Starlight Continent have received an invitation. As for the Starlight Realms powers, only upper-ranking hegemonic powers and a handful of pseudo-upper-ranking hegemonic powers were invited. The invitation conditions for foreign corporations and powers are even more stringent. To be invited, foreign corporations and conglomerates need to be among the top ten of their respective continents, while foreign powers in the Greater Gods Domain have to be an upper-ranking hegemonic power. When Xia Qingying spoke up to this point, a prideful expression appeared on her face. This trade fair will be the grandest trade fair that the Starlight Realm and the neighboring Realms have ever seen in the last century. It might even exceed the trade fairs hosted by pseudo-apex powers, Xia Qingying said as she led Shi Feng to the passenger planes VIP cabin. When Xia Qingying pushed open the door to the VIP cabin, a lounge half the size of a basketball court entered Shi Fengs sight. Two people were currently seated in the lounge. One was an agile-looking, sixteen-year-old girl dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, while the other was a woman with a curly ponytail whose face was covered by a black veil. Although the veiled womans appearance was hidden, she radiated extremely powerful mental fluctuations that exceeded even that of one-star great grandmasters. Evidently, the woman had reached the two-star great grandmaster standard, a standard that only a handful of individuals had reached on the Starlight Continent. Big Sis Xia, what took you so long? Also, can you please talk some sense into my commander? This is my first time going on a long-distance trip, yet she wont even let me get off the plane to look at this city! What if I miss out on a potential opponent? the agile-looking girl grumbled as she approached Xia Qingying and tugged on her sleeve. Sit down. You will get to look around once we arrive in Desolate Star City, the veiled woman said indifferently, her voice compelling the girl to return to her seat obediently. As this awkward interaction took place, Shi Feng suddenly thought of a name as he looked at the veiled woman. This was the name of the strongest player of his home Gods Domain in this timeline. It was also the name of the legendary Midnight Tea Partys strongest commander. Endless Scars! Chapter 3833 - Chapter 907 - Endless Scars Chapter 907 C Endless Scars Let me start with the introductions. After the agile-looking girl returned to her seat, Xia Qingying gestured toward Shi Feng and said, This person here is Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame. As for this beautiful woman Endless Scars, right? Shi Feng said before Xia Qingying could finish speaking. Do you know me? The veiled woman stared at Shi Feng as if sizing him up. Yet, at the same time, it didnt seem like she was looking at Shi Feng specifically. Have you seen Scarss real appearance before? Xia Qingying looked at Shi Feng in astonishment. Xia Qingying wasnt surprised that Shi Feng knew Endless Scarss name. After all, Endless Scars was a very well-known figure in their Gods Domain. At one point, she was even recognized as the strongest player, having accomplished many unimaginable achievements. Even the Green God Corporations chairman couldnt resist meeting and chatting with Endless Scars in person. However, despite her fame, few people had ever seen Endless Scarss real appearance. Xia Qingying only met Endless Scars in person because she was the Green God Corporations liaison with Endless Scars. Even now, the other senior vice presidents and Grand Elders of the Green God Corporation still did not know what Endless Scars looked like. They only knew that she existed. Its just a hunch, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Out of the experts who have gone missing in our Gods Domain, I can only think of a few. Shi Feng recognized Endless Scars at first glance only because they were acquaintances in his previous life. Without his past lifes memories, he would never have recognized her. After all, the highest position he had achieved in the first ten years of playing Gods Domain in this timeline was the Guild Leader of Shadow, a second-rate Guild. There was no way he could become acquainted with a big shot like Endless Scars. However, after meeting Endless Scars in this timeline, Shi Feng couldnt help but admit that she had greatly exceeded his expectations. He had never expected her to be so terrifying A two-star great grandmaster on the verge of the three-star great grandmaster standard This was a standard that Endless Scars had never achieved in Shi Fengs previous life. Her mental strength was already comparable to the old monsters of apex powers. You have quite an accurate intuition, Endless Scars stated calmly. How boring. Couldnt you have at least pretended to be surprised? Xia Qingying shook her head and sighed when she saw Shi Fengs calm reaction. Anyway, you guessed correctly. Scars is the great senior I mentioned to you before. It is also thanks to her that newcomers like you get to live in a third-tier mobile city as soon as you enter the Greater World. Because of Miss Scars? His curiosity piqued, Shi Feng asked, Could Miss Scars be the executive of a major power? It wasnt easy to convince a third-tier mobile city to offer such a privilege to an entire world. After all, there were countless people immigrating into the Greater World from countless parallel worlds at all times. There was also a limit to how many inhabitants each mobile city could accommodate. Its a pity, but youve guessed wrong! Xia Qingying said, grinning. Scars has established her own adventurer team in the Greater Gods Domain. She has also received the favor of one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Grand Elders, so she can be considered one of Eternals Internal Elders. As for Scarss adventurer team, although it isnt well-known in most Realms, it is incredibly famous in the Twelve Sanctuaries. What is the adventurer teams name? Shi Feng asked curiously. The Angel Sanctuarys Blood Wing adventurer team! Xia Qingying answered proudly. Although Blood Wing doesnt have many members, it closely rivals the Angel Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers. Even the Angel Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers have to treat her with respect. The Blood Wing adventurer team? Although Shi Feng had never heard of this name before, he still couldnt help but admire Endless Scars. For players of their Gods Domain, simply establishing a foothold in the Greater Gods Domain could already be considered a significant achievement. Yet, Endless Scars had managed to entrench herself in the Twelve Sanctuaries and even make a name for herself there. As for this little girl here, she is Drifting Bean, Blood Wings latest chosen one. Dont let her age fool you; her ranking on the Divine Glory List is higher than yours, Xia Qingying said, pointing at the girl sitting obediently beside Endless Scars. Big Sis Xia, enough with the introductions. I know he is Zero Wings Guild Leader and an expert on the Divine Glory List. Lets hurry up and take off. Itd be bad if we are late, Drifting Bean interrupted, finding Xia Qingying long-winded. She wasnt interested in learning about Shi Feng in the slightest. Most experts on the Divine Glory List were jokes in the eyes of the Twelve Sanctuaries players. Only those ranked among the Divine Glory Lists top 30 were worthy of admiration, while those who werent even ranked among the top 100 were inconsequential. I guess youre right. At Drifting Beans reminder, Xia Qingying realized that now wasnt the time for lengthy conversations. Ill inform the captain to take off immediately. A minute later, the Green God Corporations private plane took off from Star Lake City and departed for Desolate Star City at a speed far exceeding the speed of sound. When Desolate Star City was a second-tier mobile city, it operated in a remote part of the Starlight Continent. However, after becoming a first-tier mobile city, it quickly moved to the continents central region. This put it in close proximity to Star Lake City, so the Green God Corporations private plane reached the citys airport in less than six hours. When the Green God Corporations private plane arrived, the airport, which could accommodate over a thousand passenger planes, was packed. Passenger planes landed and took off from the airport once every few seconds. When Xia Qingying and the others alighted from the plane, the head attendant in charge of welcoming arriving guests sensed the powerful mental fluctuations Endless Scars radiated. She immediately approached the group and said respectfully, Welcome to Desolate Star City. As the city is celebrating its promotion, all arrivals must present an invitation to enter the city. Guests without an invitation can only enter the city after the celebrations. Furthermore, all passenger planes can only stop at the airport for fifteen minutes. Here is our invitation, Drifting Bean said as she handed the head attendant a silver invitation. Distinguished Silver Guests, please follow me. When the head attendant saw the silver invitation, she behaved even more respectfully. She didnt even bother to lead Xia Qingyings group into the arrival hall, where a long line of people was waiting to go through the formalities for entering the city. Instead, she summoned a limousine and drove the group into Desolate Star City. Crap! Why dont they have to wait in line? a young man queued up in the arrival hall grumbled in dissatisfaction. Im also an invited guest, so why must I wait in line here? Little friend, you might have been invited, but you only received a bronze invitation. Did you not see that girls silver invitation? You need to be from a conglomerate, at the very least, to receive a silver invitation, an old man waiting in line behind the grumbling young man said. The trade fair this time is extraordinary, and many big shots have been invited. Those are not people that we can afford to offend. After hearing this, the young man shrank back and dared not say anything more. Chapter 3834 - Chapter 908 - Fourth Tablet Chapter 908 C Fourth Tablet Starlight Continent, Desolate Star City: After a one-hour drive, Xia Qingyings group arrived at a massive building in the heart of Desolate Star City. The building was over 500 meters tall with a radius of three kilometers. Its entrance, measuring 100 meters in height, made arriving guests feel tiny. Dear guests, welcome to Desolate Star Citys trade fair. You are free to browse around in the next two days. There will also be a special auction open only to Silver Guests in the evening, the head attendant introduced dutifully. I will be your full-time guide during this period. If there is anything you would like to know about Desolate Star City, please dont hesitate to ask me. You are going to be our full-time guide? Xia Qingying exclaimed in astonishment. Had the head attendant before them been ordinary, Xia Qingying wouldnt have said anything. However, the other party was a bona fide three-star grandmaster. The head attendant didnt look particularly old, either. If she were to join a conglomerate, she would receive a role in senior management at the minimum. Yet, a three-star grandmaster like her had been tasked with working as a guide. Xia Qingying couldnt fathom how powerful Desolate Star City was. That is correct, the head attendant answered nonchalantly. Feel free to let me handle any requests you have in the next two days. Okay, I understand. After suppressing the shock in her heart, Xia Qingying asked, In which area are rare materials sold? Rare materials are primarily sold in the east district. The various powers have representatives operating stalls there, so you can negotiate prices with them directly, the head attendant answered. If you want to rent a stall, an ordinary stall costs 200 million Star Coins for two days, while stalls in prime locations cost 500 million Star Coins for two days. Isnt this daylight robbery? Xia Qingying was flabbergasted. Even at its current size, the Green God Corporation could, at best, come up with two or three hundred million Star Coins on short notice. Yet, the corporations total liquid assets were only enough to rent an ordinary stall for two days. In other words, the average corporation wasnt even qualified to set up a stall here. At this time, only Endless Scars and Shi Feng looked calm. They behaved like they were used to having three-star grandmasters serve as their guides and seeing stalls with a daily rent of hundreds of millions of Star Coins. When Endless Scars saw Shi Fengs calm reaction, she was a little surprised. Qingying has been to many grand events with me, but even she is still shocked by this situation, so how can he remain unfazed? After seeing Shi Fengs response, Endless Scars couldnt help but wonder what kind of Guild Zero Wing was that it could give him the confidence to think nothing of such a grand event. Could he be naturally arrogant? Will there be anything good sold at the evening auction? Drifting Bean asked. I cannot say, the head attendant answered. But according to the information I received, Fragmented Divine Artifacts will be sold at the auction. The highly popular Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls will also be available. Commander, this auction seems pretty good. It actually has Fragmented Divine Artifacts and Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls. Should we go and take a look? Drifting Bean asked Endless Scars with an inquisitive look. Sure, but we are here for Qingyings sake, so we will finish buying materials first and then go, Endless Scars said. Afterward, the head attendant led the group to the trade fairs east district. Many powers had already sent representatives to set up stalls in the east district and sell their specialties. Every stall had holographic projections displaying the goods it sold and a detailed introduction to them. The quantity and variety of goods sold in the east district could rarely be found, even in the Greater Gods Domains various Holy Cities. Among the various stalls, the largest one belonged to the Galaxy Conglomerate. Even Endless Scars, who showed little interest in the other stalls, couldnt help but browse the Galaxy Conglomerates stall. Incredible! Xia Qingying was in awe when she saw that the Galaxy Shop displayed over a dozen Fragmented Divine Artifacts. When her gaze fell on a particular glowing staff for Clerics, her eyes locked on to it immediately as she asked the salesperson, How much for this Sages Will? Dear customer, you have an excellent eye! At Xia Qingyings question, the salesperson introduced enthusiastically, The Sages Will is a Fragmented Divine Artifact that the Galaxy Conglomerate had sacrificed thousands of elite experts to recover from a primordial ruin. It has a hidden ability known as Will Amplification that can enhance the wielders neural reaction speed and resistance to mental impacts. Since you are the first customer to have expressed interest in this staff, the Galaxy Conglomerate will offer it to you at a bargain price of just 30,000 Eternal Gold! Thirty thousand? That much? Despite knowing that Fragmented Divine Artifacts for Clerics were rarely sold in the Greater Gods Domain, Xia Qingying was still taken aback by the price. Thirty thousand Eternal Gold was not a small sum in the current Eternal Realmat least, it was not for her. Although she had been generating income by reselling items using her connections with the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, she still didnt have enough Eternal Coins to buy the Sages Will. To afford it, she would have to sell her Legendary Weapon and all her Legendary Equipment. What about this tablet? Shi Feng suddenly asked, pointing at a badly damaged stone tablet on display. That tablet was recovered from the same primordial ruin. Although we couldnt identify it, we believe it should be very valuable, so it is priced at 20,000 Eternal Gold, the salesperson explained awkwardly. The Galaxy Conglomerate failed to identify the badly damaged tablet despite having used various means. It was as if the tablet was a piece of scrap. If the Galaxy Conglomerate tried to sell the tablet for 20,000 Eternal Gold without offering any explanations, it would be daylight robbery. Twenty thousand? Shi Feng expressed hesitancy as he scrutinized the tablet. Actually, Shi Feng was somewhat familiar with the damaged tablet. This was because he had seen more than one of such tablets already. Furthermore, the mana interpretation method engraved on the damaged tablet was the same as the ones engraved on Aqua Roses and Elises Goddess Tablets. However, due to the damage to the tablet, he could only glean limited information from it using the mana interpretation method. Even so, this information was enough to assure him of the tablets identity. This was because the information he obtained labeled the damaged tablet as the Fourth Goddess Tablet! According to the Sixth Goddess Tablet in Elises possession, there was a series of eighteen Goddess Tablets. The earlier a Goddess Tablets position in the series, the greater its significance. Although Elises Goddess Tablet placed sixth in the series, Shi Feng still benefited from it greatly. He dared not even imagine what benefits he could reap from the Fourth Goddess Tablet. Chapter 3835 - Chapter 909 - Desolate Star Auction Chapter 909 C Desolate Star Auction You call that a bargain? A broken tablet for 20,000 and a Fragmented Divine Artifact for 30,000? What do you take Eternal Gold Coins for? Loose change? Drifting Bean protested. Although Drifting Bean had never been to the Eternal Realm, she knew that Eternal Coins werent easy to come by. Most players earned the Eternal Realms currency by completing quests and trading with NPCs, and the output was pitifully low. To make matters worse, it cost a fortune to use the teleportation services of NPC Cities. Players seeking to teleport to NPC Fortresses situated in Level 200-plus maps had to pay at least two Eternal Gold per teleportation. Players also had to pay a hefty price to rest in NPC Fortresses. Because of all these expenses, most upper-ranking hegemonic powers currently operating in the Eternal Realm had only accumulated around 40,000 Eternal Gold thus far. To establish itself quickly in the Eternal Realm, the Blood Wing adventurer team also worked hard to acquire Eternal Coins. Even so, Blood Wing had only acquired a little over 100,000 Eternal Gold thus far. Thirty thousand Eternal Gold! This was already enough money to hire Blood Wings main force to help raid multiple Taboo Dungeons. Moreover, Blood Wing wouldnt necessarily be able to find such offers. While Drifting Bean was voicing her displeasure, Endless Scars fiddled with her quantum watch and sent a list to Xia Qingying, whose eyes were glued on the Sages Will. Then, she said, Qingying, if you want a good weapon, Blood Wing has some that are comparable to that Sages Will. I can sell one to you for 20,000 Eternal Gold. Will that be alright? When Xia Qingying saw the statistics of the several Fragmented Divine Staffs Endless Scars had sent to her, she was immediately tempted. Fragmented Divine Artifacts were of great significance to any power. They werent items that could be obtained easily. Oftentimes, much manpower and resources had to be invested to obtain just one Fragmented Divine Artifact. Under normal circumstances, no power would sell its Fragmented Divine Artifacts. The only reason some powers were willing to do so now was for the sake of the barely explored Eternal Realm. Otherwise, they wouldnt sell their Fragmented Divine Artifacts for even 300,000 Eternal Gold, let alone 30,000. In the current Gods Domain, it was definitely a bargain to acquire a Fragmented Divine Artifact for 20,000 Eternal Gold. As Blood Wing was an adventurer team, obtaining Fragmented Divine Artifacts wasnt easy. If Endless Scars arbitrarily sold one to an outsider for such a low price, it would cause dissatisfaction among the adventurer teams members. Big Sis Xia, dont worry. The commander has the authority to do this much, Drifting Bean said, chuckling when she saw Xia Qingyings worry. Then, she turned to Shi Feng and stated proudly, Guild Leader Black Flame, seeing as you come from the same world as the commander, if you want a Fragmented Divine Artifact, the commander should be able to sell one to you cheaply as well. Itll be much cheaper than anything you can get from the market. At Drifting Beans words, the Galaxy Shops salesperson couldnt help envying Shi Feng and Xia Qingying. Thirty thousand Eternal Gold was by no means an exorbitant price for a Fragmented Divine Artifact in todays market. If one could buy a Fragmented Divine Artifact for 20,000 Eternal Gold, one could resell it immediately for a profit of 10,000 Eternal Gold. Not even the executives of conglomerates could receive such a privilege. Why you little! Endless Scars was at a loss for words on Drifting Beans initiative. However, when she considered how Xia Qingying was trying to help Shi Feng establish a partnership with Blood Wing, she ultimately decided against refuting the offer Drifting Bean made to Shi Feng. Ill pass. Commander Scars already has enough on her plate running her adventurer team, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. He might have considered it if it was an offer to purchase Fragmented Divine Artifacts in bulk, but just one piece didnt interest him. He turned back to the Galaxy Shops salesperson and continued, I want this tablet. Can we sign the contract now? Dear customer, do you really want this tablet? The salesperson looked at Shi Feng in surprise. After overhearing Drifting Beans offer, he originally thought he wouldnt be making any sales to Xia Qingyings group. He hadnt expected Shi Feng to buy the expensive stone tablet. Of course. Since this tablet comes from the same primordial ruin as that staff, it should have its secrets. If I can uncover these secrets, I should make a good profit, Shi Feng said, feigning excitement. Are you not going to sell it? Sell! Of course, were selling it! The salesperson promptly took out the sales contract for the stone tablet, fearing that Shi Feng might regret his decision. While Shi Feng was completing his purchase, Drifting Bean and Endless Scars looked at him in confusion. They hadnt expected Shi Feng to be indifferent to a Fragmented Divine Artifact. Is he the type of person who dislikes owing favors? Endless Scars wondered. She couldnt figure out what kind of person Shi Feng was. Many interests were linked between the Greater Gods Domain and the Greater World. Soon after her adventurer team saw success, many friends and family sought her help. Although this development gave her many problems, it also allowed her to view the world around her with much greater clarity. If there was an opportunity to obtain a Fragmented Divine Artifact cheaply, few people could resist taking advantage of it. Even the helmsmen of upper-ranking hegemonic powers couldnt necessarily resist it, let alone the Guild Leader of an upstart Guild. Big Sis Xia, theres nothing more I can do to help you. How can he refuse such a good opportunity? Drifting Bean whispered to Xia Qingying in exasperation. She sincerely felt that Shi Feng was an idiot. After all, by refusing her offer, he missed out on a good deal and an opportunity to establish closer ties with Endless Scars. Xia Qingying was also at a loss. Although she knew that Shi Feng was wealthy enough not to care about making a quick profit, she couldnt understand why he would dismiss the opportunity to get closer to Endless Scars. Subsequently, after Shi Feng was done shopping at the Galaxy Shop, he visited several dozen other stalls and purchased a large amount of Mana Sealing Wood. He also had these sellers deliver the Mana Sealing Wood to various NPC Cities situated in various Realms for Xia Qingying to collect. About two hours later, the female head attendant led Shi Feng and the others to Desolate Star Citys high-end auction venue. Far fewer guests were in the auction venues lobby than in the trade fair outside. Moreover, even the weakest guest was a one-star grandmaster. The leaders of some attending groups were even great grandmasters, existences rarely seen on the Starlight Continent. Greetings, distinguished guests. Welcome to the Desolate Star Auction. May I know if you would like to sit in the general area or in a private room? the female receptionist at the front desk asked when Xia Qingyings group approached her. Seating in the general area is free, while the private rooms cost one hundred Eternal Gold each. Give us a private room. We dont want others to know what we buy, Drifting Bean said. Understood. It just so happens we have one room left, the receptionist said after checking the electronic tablet in front of her. Ill reserve it for you now. However, before the receptionist could confirm the reservation, someone suddenly shouted for her to stop. Hold it! That last room belongs to us! Have them go to the general area! As soon as these words fell, a group escorted by one of Desolate Star Citys male head attendants entered the lobby. Two young men, one chubby and one handsome, walked at the head of the group. Following them were six three-star grandmasters and one great grandmaster dressed like bodyguards. The one who spoke just now was the chubby young man. When Shi Feng and Xia Qingying saw these people, they were momentarily stunned. Although they did not recognize the chubby young man, they were very familiar with the handsome young man. This was because the other party was Xiao Quan, the son of Silver Frost Citys City Lord. Chapter 3836 - Chapter 910 - Gold Guest? Chapter 910 C Gold Guest? We were here first! What gives you the right to take our room?! Drifting Bean frowned, seething at the chubby young man. Many other guests glared at the chubby young man at Drifting Beans words. Who is this person? How dare he act so arrogantly here? We are in Desolate Star Citys territory. Are they not afraid of being kicked out? Everyone capable of attending the auction was someone of extraordinary stature. They were either the heirs of conglomerates or executives of upper-ranking hegemonic powers. Rarely would anybody dare disrespect them in public. Yet, someone not only had the gall to jump the queue, but this person even did so in a wildly arrogant manner. This person was challenging the authority of Desolate Star City. While Desolate Star City might be only a first-tier city, everyone present knew that an extraordinary power backed the city. Otherwise, it couldnt have invited so many powers to attend its trade fair. What gives me the right? The chubby young man glanced at Drifting Bean and said arrogantly, The fact that I am Angels Retributions Crocodile Fang! The chubby young mans answer frightened everyone present. Even Drifting Bean paled. Angels Retribution? Isnt that the Angel Sanctuarys number one power? Heavens! Desolate Star City managed to invite even Angels Retribution? Crocodile Fang Ive heard of that name before. Isnt that the son of Angels Retributions current Guild Leader? Not long ago, the successor of the Cruise Conglomerate provoked Crocodile Fang and ended up losing his successor qualifications. I heard he couldnt even stay in mobile cities anymore and could only wander outside In the blink of an eye, the guests in the hall no longer dared to disparage the chubby young man. Some even fled the lobby, not daring to get involved in this conflict. The Twelve Sanctuaries were the center of the Greater Gods Domain. Any power capable of ranking as the number one power in any of the Twelve Sanctuaries was not an opponent the average power could afford to provoke. Even if an extraordinary power backed Desolate Star City, it was unlikely that this power would dare to oppose Angels Retribution. Why the sudden silence, little girl? Crocodile Fang sneered at Drifting Bean. Im already showing you leniency by having you go to the general area. If you keep upsetting me, I might even decide to have you kicked out of Desolate Star City! Although Drifting Bean still wanted to fight back, she ultimately chose to grit her teeth and keep quiet. As a local of the Angel Sanctuary, Drifting Bean knew plenty about Crocodile Fang. In reality, there was nothing remarkable about the chubby young man. His talent was mediocre, barely reaching the fourth-floor standard after receiving astronomical resources from his father, Angels Retributions Guild Leader. If they were to meet out in the fields, Drifting Bean was confident she could kill Crocodile Fang under three moves. The problem was the authority Crocodile Fangs father wielded. Previously, when Crocodile Fang kill-stealed the Cruise Conglomerates successor and got killed because of it, Angels Retribution demanded the Cruise Conglomerate dismiss its successor and hand over the rights to ten Holy Cities. Failure to comply would mean making an enemy out of Angels Retribution. As the Cruise Conglomerate was no match for Angels Retribution, it had no choice but to concede. Otherwise, its operations in the Angel Sanctuary would cease to exist. Although the Blood Wing adventurer team was second only to the Angel Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers, it wasnt a pseudo-apex power. It was nowhere strong enough to compete with the Angel Sanctuarys number one power. It should be known that Angels Retribution was publicly acknowledged as being strong enough to rival the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. If Blood Wing were to become enemies with such a behemoth, surviving in the Greater Gods Domain would become a challenge. When Drifting Bean chose to concede, Crocodile Fang noticed Xiao Quans gaze directed at the woman beside Drifting Bean. Brother Xiao, do you know this beautiful woman? Crocodile Fang asked in an amused tone. You should have told me you knew her. Wouldnt that have solved our misunderstanding? I do know her. In response to Crocodile Fangs question, Xiao Quan looked at Xia Qingying with a calm smile and said, But Miss Xia has never given me the time of day. She even humiliated me a bunch in Silver Frost City. How would I dare introduce you to her, Brother Fang? She humiliated you? Crocodile Fang laughed. In that case, how about I help you resolve the misunderstanding between you two? After saying so, Crocodile Fang walked up to Xia Qingying. Pretty lady, Brother Xiao and I are good friends, and it hasnt been easy for me to invite him out on a trip. For my sake, how about you share a drink with Brother Xiao to clear up your past misunderstandings? Crocodile Fang said. Then, he glanced at Drifting Bean and continued, If you agree, I will treat this little beautys offense as nothing more than a misunderstanding. Otherwise, this little beauty will have to keep me company for a day as compensation. You Xia Qingying turned ashen upon hearing this. She had never thought Xiao Quan could be acquainted with someone like Crocodile Fang. At this time, the female head attendant responsible for escorting Xia Qingyings group stepped forward hurriedly to intervene, saying, Dear guest, please be reminded that we are in Desolate Star City. We have a duty to ensure the freedom of all guests visiting Desolate Star City. The female head attendants behavior surprised the spectating guests. They had never expected such a minor character to get involved in this situation. Did she not know of the consequences of angering Crocodile Fang? However, everyone quickly noticed that Crocodile Fang did not react angrily to the female head attendants intervention. Of course, I understand. However, my father is acquainted with that great personage. If I say a few words to that great personage, I believe she wont give you any trouble out of respect for me, Crocodile Fang said, chuckling as he looked at the female head attendant. Just as the female head attendant was about to say something else, the male head attendant in charge of escorting Crocodile Fangs group stopped her. Shuoyun, stop interfering! Mr. Fang is a Gold Guest invited by that great personage! Mr. Fang knows what he is doing! Youll be finished if you anger that great personage! the male head attendant quietly dissuaded the female head attendant while pulling out an invitation made of gold. When the female head attendant named Shuoyun saw the gold invitation, her expression darkened, and she dared not say anything more. Although Desolate Star City had invited many people to its trade fair this time, very few received a gold invitation, and every one of them was highly valued by that great personage. It seems I have no choice but to use my Elder status. When Endless Scars saw that Crocodile Fang did not intend to stop his persecution of Xia Qingying, she knew that an ordinary powers authority would not be enough to deter him. If she wanted Crocodile Fang to back off, she would have to use her status as one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Elders. At this time, though, a deep voice suddenly entered everyones ears, shocking them. Does Desolate Star City not know how to host a proper event? So what if they are Gold Guests? Arent we also? Chapter 3837 - Chapter 911 - Starlights Hegemon Chapter 911 C Starlights Hegemon Guild Leader Shi? Since when were we Gold Guests? Shi Fengs words confused Xia Qingying and Endless Scars. They wondered if he had indeed lost his mind. After all, even if he claimed to be a Gold Guest, his lie would quickly be exposed with a simple check unless he could back his words with evidence. Besides Xia Qingying and Endless Scars, the female head attendant named Shuoyun was also stunned by this situation. Since when did Shi Fengs group become Gold Guests? Gold Guests? Xiao Quan laughed at Shi Fengs words. Did you get promoted without my knowing, Guild Leader Black Flame? Or are you claiming that Zero Wing can already rival pseudo-apex powers? How about you show me your invitation to let me broaden my horizons? Xia Qingying gnashed her teeth at Xiao Quans words. Originally, they still had a slim chance of escaping this mess if Crocodile Fang chose not to pry into Shi Fengs claim. After all, of those present, only she and Xiao Quan knew about Zero Wings actual circumstances. But now Broaden your horizons? Sure, Ill grant you your wish! Shi Feng said calmly as he pulled out the gold invitation Frey had sent him. Upon seeing the invitation made of pure gold, Xia Qingying and Xiao Quan were dumbfounded. Impossible! It must be a fake! Xiao Quan instinctively shouted when he saw Shi Fengs gold invitation. To receive a gold invitation from Desolate Star City, one had to be at least the representative of a pseudo-apex power or an individual of equivalent status. How could Zero Wings Guild Leader possibly receive a gold invitation? This is an authentic gold invitation, Shuoyun said after inspecting Shi Fengs invitation. But this isnt an invitation handed out by Desolate Star City. Its real but not distributed by Desolate Star City? Xia Qingying smiled wryly when she heard Shuoyuns analysis, the glimmer of hope in her heart vanishing. However, despite her despair, Xia Qingying wasnt particularly surprised by this outcome. Although Zero Wing had recruited plenty of fourth-floor experts in the Eternal Realm recently and even absorbed some of the Green God Corporations geniuses, it still wasnt anywhere near strong enough to be considered a pseudo-apex power. Naturally, it wouldnt receive a direct invitation from Desolate Star City. Endless Scars also looked at Shi Feng, a little speechless. She hadnt expected Shi Feng to pull such a stunt. Now, their entire group had become a complete joke. Big Sis Xia, could Guild Leader Shi have stolen this golden invitation from somewhere? Drifting Bean whispered to Xia Qingying worriedly. Desolate Star Citys golden invitations held great significance. It might be fine if Shi Feng had received the golden invitation from someone affiliated with Desolate Star City, but it would be a big problem if he had stolen someone elses. Idont know Xia Qingying shook her head. She was similarly doubtful about Shi Fengs gold invitation, but she didnt find it appropriate to ask him about it in this situation. Pretty lady, you have a very interesting friend! Its not even a gold invitation from Desolate Star City, yet he dares to flaunt it before me! Crocodile Fang laughed as he took in Xia Qingyings ugly complexion. But dont you worry. While I might not know who gave your friend a gold invitation, he did give me a good laugh. So long as you and that little beauty beside you accompany us for a few drinks, Ill forget about todays offense. As soon as Crocodile Fang finished speaking, the six three-star grandmasters and one elderly great grandmaster behind him walked toward Xia Qingying and Drifting Bean. Crocodile Fang was painfully aware that he had no hope of succeeding his father as Angels Retributions Guild Leader if he relied on his own strength. However, he knew a secret that others did not knowXiao Quan was in contact with Demons Gates core executives. If he could gain the favor of one of Demons Gates core executives through Xiao Quan, he might have a chance at competing for the position of Angels Retributions Guild Leader. Now that there was such an excellent opportunity to get on Xiao Quans good side, Crocodile Fang naturally couldnt miss it. Although Xia Qingyings group possessed an authentic gold invitation, he couldnt care less about offending the group since it wasnt a direct invitation from Desolate Star City. After everything he said before, if he failed to get revenge for Xiao Quan now, he could forget about getting the other party to introduce him to Demons Gates core executives. Mr. Fang! You are in Desolate Star City! Please abide by the citys rules! Shuoyun said, interposing herself between Xia Qingyings group and Crocodile Fangs bodyguards. These people are similarly Desolate Star Citys distinguished guests. Although their gold invitation doesnt come directly from Desolate Star City, it is still a gold invitation to Desolate Star City. Anyone who can send a gold invitation on Desolate Star Citys behalf must be one of the citys management powers. If that great personage learns of your actions, you will have difficulty explaining yourself. Why would I have a hard time explaining myself? Since youre going to such lengths to protect them, Ill let you in on a secret. Angels Retribution was invited by the Great Miss Lunar River this time to discuss an alliance with Kings Paradise. So, even if that gold invitation comes from one of Desolate Star Citys management powers, I dont care. You can have them come to me. Id like to see what theyd dare to say, Crocodile Fang stated confidently. Kings Paradise? Isnt that one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers that was second only to apex powers over half a century ago? When Xia Qingying heard Crocodile Fangs words, her complexion turned even gloomier. She had never expected Desolate Star City to be backed by Kings Paradise, the power that nearly unified the Angel Sanctuary long ago. Moreover, it would seem that Angels Retribution and Kings Paradise intended to enter an alliance. This news could not be any worse for her group. Although Shi Fengs gold invitation was authentic, it only came from a power under Desolate Star Citys management. Like Star Lake City, Desolate Star City also had many powers assisting its City Lord with the citys management. However, while these powers might wield significant authority in the city, it was far from that of the City Lords. Having a management power challenge Angels Retribution was nothing but a joke. This Crocodile Fangs words gave Shuoyun pause. A guest was only a guest. She would be doomed if she ruined the alliance between Kings Paradise and Angels Retribution. I will have to report this to Miss River. Only she can decide on this matter. Sure. Feel free to call her if you dont mind the trouble, Crocodile Fang said nonchalantly. He only feared one power and one person across the Starlight Continent. The power in question was Kings Paradise. Although Kings Paradise had to go into seclusion after challenging an apex power and failing, many years had passed since the event. By now, even if it hadnt recovered to its peak, it should at least be comparable to the current Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. As for the person he feared, it was Frey, the Fourth Princess of the Galaxy Conglomerate. In addition to being the Third Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation, Frey was also a popular figure in the Eternal Realm, and many pseudo-apex powers sought to partner with her. Guild Leader Black Flame, who gave you this invitation? While Shuoyun was making a call with her quantum watch, Xia Qingying asked about the origins of Shi Fengs invitation. It might still be fine if the invitation came from one of Desolate Star Citys management powers, but it would be terrible otherwise. Frey, Shi Feng answered honestly. Chapter 3838 - Chapter 912 - Kings Paradise Chapter 912 C Kings Paradise Desolate Star City, City Lords Manor: The City Lords Manor was a majestic building levitating a thousand meters above Desolate Star City. Its top-floor reception room had a panoramic view of the entire city. Many of the Starlight Continents heavyweights had gathered in the top-floor reception room. These heavyweights included City Lords of first-tier cities, helmsmen of conglomerates, and presidents of corporations with branches in hundreds of mobile cities. Individuals such as the heirs of conglomerates and City Lords of second-tier cities were not qualified to sit here. Although over a hundred people sat at the round table in the middle of the room, most kept their mouths shut. They didnt even dare to breathe loudly, staying as silent as possible as they observed the two young women at the main host and main guest seats. Of the two young women, one exuded the aura of a noble princess; the other, the aura of an army general. The former was none other than the Galaxy Conglomerates Fourth Princess Frey, while the latter was Kings Paradises First Vice Guild Leader Lunar River. Miss Frey, do you have anything to add to our partnership? You dont have to hold back with me, Lunar River said, smiling with satisfaction as she looked at the stack of mostly signed contracts in her hands. So long as you can provide us with 10,000 of Shadowring Towns priority entry slots long-term, any conditions are negotiable. Miss River, that is a huge demand. The Red Dragon Nation only has 30,000 priority slots. The most we can give you is 5,000 slots, Frey said, exasperated by Lunar Rivers appetite. This wasnt the first time Lunar River had brought up Shadowring Towns priority entry slots in their three-hour discussion. On the contrary, she had mentioned it many times. This situation gave Frey a huge headache. Unlike in the past, Shadowring Town was now overcrowded with players at all times. As soon as someone stepped out of the town, someone else would immediately take their place. Some human and Holy Race players would even sell their place in the town to others for two Eternal Gold per slot. Even in the current Eternal Realm, a fourth-floor expert would be fortunate to save 50 Eternal Silver a day. After all, players daily expenditures in the Eternal Realm were extremely high, especially for players operating in high-level maps. Due to the introduction of Soul Synchronization, players had to consume potions that aided in Concentration recovery and Concentration improvement if they wanted to operate out in the fields for long periods. Otherwise, the burden their weapons and equipment placed on their mental states would quickly wear them out. Such Master Potions typically cost 20 to 30 Eternal Silver per bottle and lasted no more than six hours, while Grandmaster Potions of this variety cost upward of one Eternal Gold per bottle. Not to mention, once players returned to a city, they would need to rely on good food and accommodation to recover their Stamina and Concentration quickly. Five thousand it is, then, Lunar River said when she saw that Frey refused to budge. But if you decide to sell more slots, please get in touch with me first. I promise to give you a satisfactory price, Miss Frey. You overestimate my abilities, Miss River. I only got a head start on the other powers due to a stroke of luck, Frey said, shaking her head. Then, she sighed, If you want more priority entry slots, your best bet would be to seek out Zero Wing. Like the other Guilds partnered with Zero Wing, I have only a few tens of thousands of slots. You are too modest, Miss Frey. You are among the first batch of people to own private shops in Shadowring Town. Now, the various pseudo-apex powers have trouble even renting a shop in Shadowring Town, let alone owning any, Lunar River said, wearing a respectful expression. Inwardly, though, she felt nothing but contempt for Frey. After all, the other party couldnt even be bothered to hide the delight on her face. Then, Lunar River continued, I also heard that many powers have approached you about the 20,000 Tower of the Abyss allied entry slots in your possession. The Tower of the Abyss truly is a guiding light for fifth-floor experts. Even I cant help but want to enter it. Its a pity that theres a daily limit on how many players can use the tower. Yes, many have approached me about the allied entry slots. You are very well-informed, Miss River. I hadnt expected you to know about the allied entry slots despite having yet to enter the Eternal Realm, Frey said, nodding. Then, she sighed, Regarding the Tower of the Abyss, I agree it is a wonderful place. Its a pity that my comprehension is slightly poor. I have had barely any harvest, even with the allied entry slots two daily entries. As for the Red Dragon Nations 20,000 allied entry slots I possess, we only received them because Guild Leader Black Flame wants everyone in the alliance to improve together. However, after distributing the slots across the Red Dragon Nations subordinate powers, I only have 3,000 remaining. There arent even enough for my legions to share. Each of your legions has at least 10,000 members, so 3,000 slots is indeed a bit too few. Lunar River nodded, feigning sympathy. Inwardly, though, she did not believe a single word Frey said. The Tower of the Abysss training system was one-of-a-kind. Unless the Red Dragon Nation had enough slots for its own use, it would have to be stupid to share its precious allied entry slots with its subordinate powers. If the Red Dragon Nation could afford to share its slots, the Guild had to have excess slots. Now that you mention it, I do hope I can meet Guild Leader Black Flame. His name has appeared many times during my research of the Eternal Realm. His success in establishing his Guild in the chaotic World Ark and constructing Shadowring Town are akin to legends, Lunar River sighed. Then, she turned to meet Freys gaze and continued, Of course, the support you and Azure Fangs Vice Guild Leader have provided is also indispensable, Miss Frey. Without you two, Shadowring Town could never have achieved its current success, and Zero Wing could never have deterred the World Arks various powers from coveting its town. Deter the various powers? Miss River, you truly overestimate us, Frey said, shaking her head. We might as well have been cheerleaders in that situation. Zero Wings strength is the sole factor deterring the various powers from taking action. You are too modest, Lunar River said, shaking her head. She refused to believe an upstart Guild was strong enough to deter the Holy Races royal powers and the human races apex powers from occupying Shadowring Town with force. Frey could tell what was going through Lunar Rivers mind, but she didnt bother to explain herself. After all, even she would be just as skeptical if she were in Lunar Rivers shoes. While the two were chatting merrily, Lunar River suddenly received a call, and her expression quickly turned ugly. Did something happen? Frey asked curiously. Its nothing. Its just an argument between a seniors son and some little fellows that needs my intervention. As those little fellows have a gold invitation sent by one of Desolate Star Citys management powers, many powers are paying attention to this matter, Lunar River said. Then, she suggested, Since the Galaxy Conglomerate is now one of Desolate Star Citys management powers, how about you go with me, Miss Frey? This is a good opportunity to let the various powers meet you. Okay. After thinking about it, Frey felt it was necessary to let everyone know that the Galaxy Conglomerate had become one of Desolate Star Citys management powers. Chapter 3839 - Chapter 913 - Suffocation Chapter 913 C Suffocation Desolate Star City, Auction Venue: As time passed, more and more guests gathered in the auction venues lobby because of the commotion Crocodile Fang caused. Many of these guests looked at Shi Fengs group sympathetically. Angels Retribution was the Angel Sanctuarys number one power. No matter how extraordinary the power backing Desolate Star City was, even it would likely have to defer to Angels Retribution. It was especially so when this situation involved Crocodile Fang. Crocodile Fang was a famous bully in the Angel Sanctuary. He was the pampered son of Golden Leo, Angels Retributions Guild Leader, who had an absolute say over the Guild. Because of this, he could go about his bullying fearlessly and only had to be wary of the executives of apex powers. Miss Shuoyun, are you done with your call? What did Miss River say? Crocodile Fang asked tentatively when he saw Shuoyun had ended her call. While Crocodile Fang might be a prodigal and a tyrant, he wasnt a fool. If he were to take action in Kings Paradises territory, even if Kings Paradises Lunar River chose not to say anything about it, she would be dissatisfied with him. Who knew what she would do to him in the future? He wasnt strong enough to ignore Kings Paradises retaliation, either. Thus, he needed to know Lunar Rivers stance. If Lunar River decided not to care about this matter, he could deal with Xia Qingyings group at will. If she reacted negatively to his intentions, he would have to tone down his actions as a show of respect to Kings Paradise. If she expressed anger toward his intentions and had him get lost, he would have no choice but to give up on his persecution of Xia Qingyings group today and find an opportunity some other day. After all, hed be provoking Kings Paradise if he continued to take action after Lunar Rivers warning. While Kings Paradise might have chosen to operate behind the scenes in Gods Domain after failing in its challenge to become an apex power over half a century ago, it still wasnt an opponent that Angels Retribution could afford to provoke casually. Crocodile Fang had to be especially wary of Lunar River, who had inherited the position of Kings Paradises First Vice Guild Leader at a young age. Yes, inherited! Unlike others, Lunar River did not have to compete for her position in the Guild. This was because of her monstrous talent. She was the most talented player to have appeared in the Angel Sanctuary in the past few centuries, and she was practically certain to become Kings Paradises Guild Leader in the future. At the age of 16, Lunar River had secretly debuted on the Divine Glory List under a pseudonym and achieved third place. Although her name suddenly stopped appearing on the list later on, Angels Retribution had kept track of her actions throughout the past decade or so. Lunar Rivers most recent public appearance was four years ago. Back then, she had already reached Level 240 and had killed the Giant Sanctuarys number-one player in ten moves, along with the 100 Level 230-plus fifth-floor experts accompanying him. The event terrified the Giant Sanctuarys powers; for some time, none dared to let their top experts leave the safety of their Holy Cities. Four years had passed since then. Now, Crocodile Fang dared not imagine how terrifying Lunar River had become. The Angel Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers even guessed she might have achieved that standard already. Otherwise, Kings Paradise wouldnt have made such a high-profile comeback. She said that she would be here soon, Shuoyun answered. Before she arrives, you are not allowed to do anything or leave! She will come in person? Crocodile Fang sighed in relief at this answer. Okay, Ill wait for her here. The news of Lunar Rivers decision to make a personal appearance was neither good nor bad. It showed that she was upset about the situation, but not so much that she was willing to offend Angels Retribution. So long as he didnt go too far in persecuting Xia Qingyings group, Lunar River shouldnt have any problems. After saying so, Crocodile River returned to Xiao Quan and patted the other party on the shoulder. Brother Xiao, I promise to get revenge for you. I will have that pretty lady accompany you for a drink and apologize, Crocodile Fang said confidently. Ill look forward to it, Brother Fang, Xiao Quan said joyfully. Originally, he had already given up getting revenge on Xia Qingying and Shi Feng after his superior instructed him to let go of this matter. He never expected fate to play in his favor. They want us to apologize?! Drifting Bean exploded when she overheard Crocodile Fang and Xiao Quans conversation. We were here first! Yet, not only do they want to take our room, but they also want us to apologize?! They must be dreaming! I refuse to believe Desolate Star City will turn a blind eye to this! The surrounding spectators nodded in agreement. Inwardly, though, none of them were optimistic about the situation. The various powers revolved around interests. Without sufficient benefits, there was no way Desolate Star City would casually offend a behemoth like Angels Retribution. How about I reveal my Internal Elder status? Endless Scars suggested. With the Eternal Chamber of Commerces influence, Crocodile Fang should tone down his actions. Absolutely not! Xia Qingying vetoed. Your identity must be kept secret for your safety in the real world! You are our worlds greatest hope for achieving success! Nothing can happen to you! Very few people knew about Endless Scarss identity as one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces Internal Elders. Only those extremely trustworthy were let in on the secret. This secrecy was to ensure Endless Scarss safety in the real world. Internal competition within the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was extremely fierce and cruel. While revealing her status in Eternal might keep her safe from the Greater Gods Domains various powers, it would expose her to the dangers within the apex power. So long as her competitors learned of her identity, they would have plenty of methods to eliminate her. In that case, we can take shelter in the Gods Domain Association if the situation looks bad, Endless Scars said after some thought. With my mental strength standard, so long as Desolate Star City doesnt take any direct action, nobody can stop us. The Gods Domain Association had a branch in every mobile city. It was also an existence that no power dared disobey. So long as they entered the Gods Domain Association, not even apex powers would dare touch them. They should also have no trouble leaving Desolate Star City. If Endless Scars had the Chamber of Commerce send a team of bodyguards to escort them, Angels Retribution wouldnt dare continue standing in their way. I guess thats our only option if things dont go well, Xia Qingying said, nodding. Although Xia Qingying had heard from Shi Feng that his gold invitation came from Frey, she still didnt feel safe. After all, Frey was the Galaxy Conglomerates Fourth Princess and a Vice Guild Leader of the Red Dragon Nation, a pseudo-apex power. She was also a popular figure in the current Eternal Realm. Why would such a big shot send Shi Feng an invitation to Desolate Star City? It was a gold invitation, no less. The two stood on parallel lines, and it was only due to luck that they had crossed paths before. Suddenly, a commotion appeared outside the auction venue. Many of the guests in the lobby rushed to the entrance. It was obvious that Desolate Star Citys representative had arrived. Since Miss River has arrived, you bunch should start considering what to do! Otherwise, I will have my people decide for you! Crocodile Fang sneered at Xia Qingyings group when he saw the approaching crowd. As Crocodile Fang finished speaking, a large group of people entered the lobby, led by two young women. The two women were none other than Kings Paradises Vice Guild Leader Lunar River and the Red Dragon Nations Vice Guild Leader Frey. Big Sis River, youre here! As soon as Crocodile Fang saw Lunar River, he immediately greeted her as if he were greeting a relative. He grew even more elated when he saw the woman beside Lunar River. He hadnt expected to be able to attract the attention of a big shot like Frey. Greetings, Miss Frey! I am Angels Retributions Crocodile Fang! It is an honor to meet you! While Crocodile Fang was introducing himself, the bored Frey suddenly noticed a young man standing a short distance behind Crocodile Fang. A smile immediately blossomed on her face, and she approached the other party without hesitation. Guild Leader Black Flame! You actually showed up! Chapter 3840 - Chapter 914 - Black Flames Influence Chapter 914 C Black Flames Influence The lobby fell silent at Freys words as every guest present looked at the inconspicuous young man. Whats going on? Why is Miss Frey taking the initiative to greet that person? Crap! Who is that guy? Miss Frey normally doesnt even care to greet the heads of the pseudo-apex powers based in Galaxy City. Could that guy be an apex powers chosen one? Black Flame Ive heard of this name before. He made quite the name for himself in the Eternal Realm. He also recently debuted on the Divine Glory List as a top 300 expert. What? That cant be right. How can a top 300 expert on the Divine Glory List receive such treatment? I heard that Miss Frey didnt even pay respect to the Skylight Associations Nineteenth Sword, one of the current Ten Great Sword Gods. The guests present were executives of either conglomerates or top-tier upper-ranking hegemonic powers. They more or less knew about Freys circumstances, so they were greatly confused by her attitude toward Shi Feng. They now eyed Shi Feng as if looking at a monster. Xia Qingying was also dumbfounded by this situation. She hadnt thought that Shi Feng had been telling the truth when he said his invitation came from Frey. After all, Freys current status had risen so much that even the Guild Leaders of pseudo-apex powers had to treat her with respect. She was already a popular figure in the Greater Gods Domain. When it came to influence, she stood among the top of the Greater Gods Domain. Hence, Xia Qingying couldnt imagine how Shi Feng, who only entered the Greater World recently, could have dealings with Frey. Furthermore, judging by Freys tone, their relationship was not shallow. So, hes the Guild Leader of that Zero Wing? At Freys words, Lunar River looked at Shi Feng, intrigued. Miss Frey, do you know each other? Crocodile Fang was stunned to see Frey greeting Shi Feng so affectionately. Crocodile Fang visited Desolate Star City this time with two goals. He wanted to negotiate an alliance with Kings Paradise on Angels Retributions behalf and get acquainted with Frey, a popular figure in the current Greater Gods Domain. Before the Eternal Realms appearance, the Red Dragon Nation was a mediocre pseudo-apex power and would never have garnered the attention of Angels Retribution. However, after the Eternal Realm appeared, Frey led the Red Dragon Nations forces to swiftly occupy a major city and expand the Guilds operations. This brought the Red Dragon Nation abundant funds and resources. The many secret treasures the Red Dragon Nation obtained also enabled it to produce many experts, significantly increasing the Guilds overall strength. Now, the Red Dragon Nation already rivaled the Greater Gods Domains Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. Moreover, its foundations in the Eternal Realm were vastly superior to what many of them had. For pseudo-apex powers looking to expand into the Eternal Realm, it would be in their best interests to join forces with the Red Dragon Nation. With the Red Dragon Nations assistance, they could establish themselves more quickly in the Eternal Realm. This point could be seen simply by looking at the attitude of Kings Paradises Lunar River toward Frey. Thats right. Are you Crocodile Fang, the representative of Angels Retribution that River mentioned? Frey asked as she turned to Crocodile Fang. That is me. Crocodile Fang nodded, not daring to put on airs. River mentioned that you had a conflict with someone at the auction venue, Frey stated, narrowing her eyes. Then, she pointed at Shi Feng and questioned Crocodile Fang coldly, You couldnt have caused trouble for my guest, Guild Leader Black Flame, right? This is a misunderstanding! Its all a misunderstanding, Miss Frey! When Crocodile Fang saw Freys dissatisfied look, he knew that he had provoked someone he shouldnt have provoked. I was only trying to invite Guild Leader Black Flame for a chat on my friends behalf. I had no other intentions. I am willing to apologize if I offended Miss Freys guest. Crocodile Fangs words stunned the surrounding guests. Even Xia Qingying and Endless Scars hadnt expected the arrogant Crocodile Fang to react so flexibly. Misunderstanding? How can you call this a misunderstanding?! You were the one trying to snatch our room first! Not only that, but you even wanted to have Big Sis Xia apologize to that guy over there! Drifting Bean retorted in dissatisfaction as she pointed at Xiao Quan. Now, you say that this was all a misunderstanding? Little girl, I already said I would apologize. What more do you want? Crocodile Fang said, smiling at Drifting Bean nonchalantly. Or do you want Miss Frey to make an enemy out of Angels Retribution before you are satisfied? Drifting Bean gnashed her teeth at Crocodile Fangs words. However, she dared not say anything more. Crocodile Fang had essentially just employed a feigned retreat. He knew he couldnt afford to offend Frey, so he took the initiative to apologize. By doing so, he could show his respect to Frey while minimizing the humiliation he had to suffer. If Xia Qingyings group continued to pursue the matter, they would become the inconsiderate guests in this situation. Moreover, it was as Crocodile Fang said. Shi Feng was only a guest invited by Frey. Would Frey be willing to burn her bridges with Angels Retribution for Shi Feng? It should be known that Angels Retribution was the Angel Sanctuarys number one power. It could rival the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers, similar to the current Red Dragon Nation. What do you think, River? Frey suddenly asked Lunar River, acting like she had not heard what Crocodile Fang and Drifting Bean had just said. However, Freys words elated Crocodile Fang. It was obvious that Frey did not wish to offend Angels Retribution too terribly. Hence, she sought Lunar Rivers opinion. And if Kings Paradise still wanted to ally with Angels Retribution, the result of asking Lunar River was self-evident. You are one of Desolate Star Citys highest authorities. Since this issue happened in Desolate Star City, you naturally have the final say, Lunar River said, chuckling. Her behavior made it seem like she had already given her answer. In the end, its still all about profits! Drifting Bean felt aggrieved when she heard the exchange between Frey and Lunar River. That person is ultimately Angels Retributions representative. This is already the ideal outcome for us, Xia Qingying said, consoling the bitter girl beside her. We cant make things difficult for Miss Frey. Stronger! I must become stronger! Drifting Bean inwardly vowed. She decided that she must develop the Blood Wing adventurer team into a power that even Angels Retribution feared. At that time, she would be able to give Crocodile Fang a piece of her mind in a similar situation. However, before Xia Qingying and Drifting Bean could react, a cold voice suddenly entered their ears and echoed in their minds. In that case, get lost! Desolate Star City doesnt welcome you! Frey shouted at Crocodile Fang and Xiao Quan, her voice sonorous and powerful. It sounded like a pronouncement of fate, and it made everyone in the lobby stare at her in disbelief. Chapter 3841 - Chapter 915 - Because I Am Stronger Chapter 915 C Because I Am Stronger Did I mishear? Heavens! Does she want to fall out with Angels Retribution?! Madness! This is madness! Who is that guy?! How can he get Miss Frey to go to such lengths for him?! Everyone present was a member of a major power, so they knew that nobody would casually offend a pseudo-apex power, much less do so for an outsider. Such behavior was extremely irrational in Gods Domain. It should be known that Crocodile Fang represented Angels Retribution. Frey driving him out of Desolate Star City was tantamount to slapping Angels Retribution in the face. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say she was making an enemy of Angels Retribution. Guild Leader Black Flame, what is your relationship with Miss Frey? Drifting Bean asked, staring at Shi Feng in astonishment. Why is she willing to help you to such an extent? Xia Qingying and Endless Scars also looked at Shi Feng, finding it incredible that a big shot like Frey would thoroughly offend Angels Retribution for the Guild Leader of a small Guild. If Shi Feng were to say that nothing was going on between him and Frey, nobody would believe him. Miss Frey? Crocodile Fang was stupefied, his eyes filled with confusion as he looked at Frey. Although Crocodile Fang knew that Frey shared close ties with Shi Feng, he had thought that Frey would, at worst, give him a harsh admonishment. Hence, he dared to say what he did to Drifting Bean. It was to remind Frey not to offend Angels Retribution for the sake of a guest. Crocodile Fang had never expected Frey to be willing to thoroughly offend Angels Retribution for Shi Feng. This was insanity. Take them away! I dont want to see them in Desolate Star City in the future! Frey ordered Shuoyun, not bothering to even glance at Crocodile Fang. This Shuoyun was also confused by this situation, and she couldnt help but turn to Lunar River. Frey might be one of Desolate Star Citys highest authorities, but even Kings Paradise would have to properly consider whether it wanted to provoke a power like Angels Retribution. Furthermore, this issue occurred in Desolate Star City, the mobile city controlled by Kings Paradise, so Shuoyun felt it would be wiser to let Lunar River make the final decision. Big Sis River, could this be a mistake? I am here on Kings Paradises invitation! Crocodile Fang said, looking at Lunar River with an ugly expression. If I am driven out, there wont be any further negotiations between us! Crocodile Fang knew speaking with Frey was meaningless at this point, so he could only pin his hopes on Lunar River. If he truly was driven out of Desolate Star City, it would be a huge embarrassment for him. I already said that Frey has the final say, Lunar River said to Shuoyun, ignoring Crocodile Fangs words. Shuoyun no longer held any doubts after hearing Lunar Rivers words. Even so, the shock she felt did not decrease in the slightest. On the contrary, these words intensified it. As a member of Kings Paradise, Shuoyun knew that Kings Paradise did not have any relationship with Shi Feng. She also knew Lunar River was acquainted with Angels Retributions current Guild Leader. Yet, for Shi Fengs sake, or more specifically, for Freys sake, Lunar River was willing to offend Angels Retribution. This was a very confusing situation. Why are you still standing there? Lunar River glared at Shuoyun. Understood! Shuoyun snapped out of her daze and had the other head attendants nearby surround Crocodile Fangs group. Big Sis River! Are you going to destroy the long relationship between our two Guilds for some outsiders?! Crocodile Fang panicked when he saw the approaching head attendants. He felt Lunar River must be out of her mind to choose to abandon Kings Paradises partnership with Angels Retribution to befriend Frey. Shuoyun, take them away! Lunar River said, acting as if she did not hear Crocodile Fang as she had Shuoyun escort Crocodile Fangs group to the airport. Her nonchalant expression also made it seem like what she had just done was something trivial. Ultimately, Crocodile Fang could only leave the auction venue in shock and frustration. He had never expected Lunar River to drive him out without hesitation. He felt that she must have truly lost her mind. What Crocodile Fang didnt know was that Lunar River didnt do all this to gain Freys favor. Instead, she had done it for Shi Feng, Zero Wings Guild Leader. Originally, Lunar River believed that the Red Dragon Nation and Azure Fang were the true owners of Shadowring Town with Zero Wing serving as a front. Although Frey had stated otherwise, Lunar River had been skeptical. However, after seeing Freys attitude toward Shi Feng, Lunar River felt that Shadowring Town might genuinely be under Zero Wings control. As expected of one of the most popular figures in the current Greater Gods Domain. Even Desolate Star Citys administrator is willing to do Miss Frey such a huge favor, Xia Qingying exclaimed softly as she watched Crocodile Fang and Xiao Quan getting escorted out of the auction venue. Then, she turned to the silent Shi Feng and asked, Guild Leader Black Flame, you couldnt have gotten some dirt on Miss Frey, right? Otherwise, why would she stand on your side so decisively? As the person who had brought Shi Feng into the Greater World, Xia Qingying felt that she knew plenty about him. Based on what she knew, it should be impossible for him to have anything to do with Frey. After all, one stayed in Star Lake City this entire time, while the other stayed in Galaxy City, one of the best first-tier mobile cities in the Greater World. The two were worlds apart in status. If Xia Qingying had to come up with a reason for Frey to side with Shi Feng, it would be that Shi Feng had blackmail material on Frey. Endless Scars also couldnt help but look at Shi Feng curiously. Frey was the spokesperson of the Red Dragon Nation, an existence that rivaled the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers. Even the Grand Elders of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would have difficulty getting such staunch support from her. I dont have anything like that, Shi Feng said, shaking his head with a smile. As for why Miss Frey is willing to help me, I can think of only one reason. What is it? Xia Qingying grew even more curious. Frey stood at the top of the Greater Gods Domain in status. It wasnt easy to convince someone like her to provide help to such an extent. When Xia Qingying put herself in Freys shoes, she couldnt think of any reason to offend Angels Retribution, a pseudo-apex power as strong as the Red Dragon Nation, for Shi Feng. Its because I am stronger than them! Shi Feng said confidently. Chapter 3842 - Chapter 916 - Everlasting City Chapter 916 C Everlasting City Stronger than them? Xia Qingying looked at Shi Fengs average-sized body, feeling he was joking with her. As for Endless Scars, although she had her face covered with a veil, it wasnt difficult for those around her to see the disdain under that veil. Realistically speaking, Shi Feng, as a great grandmaster, was indeed stronger than Crocodile Fang. However, Xia Qingying obviously wasnt asking about mental strength standards but why Frey would go against Angels Retribution for Shi Feng. Zero Wing was stronger than Angels Retribution? No matter how they looked at it, there was no comparison between the two Guilds. The two Guilds were worlds apart simply in the number of fifth-floor experts and Level 230-plus experts each commanded. The current Zero Wing was vastly inferior to even the Blood Wing adventurer team, let alone Angels Retribution. If you dont want to say it, forget it, Xia Qingying said, giving up on getting an answer from Shi Feng. Regardless, thanks to your acquaintance with Miss Frey, we managed to get out of this mess. Otherwise, we would have been in deep trouble. When Shi Feng saw Xia Qingyings skepticism, he did not try to explain himself. The current Zero Wing was no longer the same Guild that Xia Qingying knew before. Zero Wing had changed dramatically since the Tower of the Abysss construction, and the Guilds fifth-floor experts were skyrocketing in number by the day. Aside from levels and equipment standards, Zero Wings experts had already exceeded the various pseudo-apex powers experts in quantity and quality. As Zero Wings ally, Frey was well aware of these changes. Although the Red Dragon Nations fifth-floor experts didnt get the privilege of using the Tower of the Abyss at least ten times a day like Zero Wings fifth-floor experts, they still got to use the tower twice daily. This allowed Frey to create a legion rivaling even the trump card legions of apex powers. At this rate, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that the Red Dragon Nation was guaranteed to rival apex powers. All it needed was time to digest the Tower of the Abysss benefits. It was also because Frey knew about the Tower of the Abysss astonishing effects that she knew how terrifying Zero Wing was. If comparing only the quantity and quality of fifth-floor experts in the Eternal Realm, Zero Wing was likely superior to even apex powers, let alone Angels Retribution. Furthermore, this was only the trump card that Frey currently knew about. Zero Wings true trump card right now was Dragons Crown. However, besides the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ten pseudo-apex powers, no other powers in the Greater Gods Domain knew about Dragons Crown. It was also unlikely that this information would spread any time soon, as none of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys ten pseudo-apex powers wanted others to know about Dragons Crown. Regardless, so long as Frey wasnt dumb, she would naturally know how she should choose in this situation. While Shi Feng and Xia Qingying were talking, Lunar River approached them. Dear guests, I am truly sorry for the upsetting incident you have experienced in Desolate Star City, Lunar River apologized sincerely. Then, she put on an indescribably friendly smile and continued, As compensation, the auction venues third-floor allied rooms will be permanently open to you all. Additionally, the city will provide you a 20% discount on all transactions you make in the auction this time. Twenty percent? Is that okay? Drifting Bean asked excitedly. Although many excellent goods were sold at the trade fair, nothing had grabbed her attention. However, Desolate Star Citys auction was a different story. It was rumored that the auction would sell even Divine Artifacts. Although she wouldnt necessarily be able to afford a Divine Artifact, she should be able to buy the materials needed to repair her Fragmented Divine Artifact. Such materials were rarely seen under normal circumstances. Now that the various powers were willing to sell even Divine Artifacts, they would naturally sell materials necessary to repair Fragmented Divine Artifacts as well. However, many auction items did not come from Kings Paradise. If Lunar River offered them a 20% discount, this also meant that Kings Paradise would have to foot the bill for that 20%. With each transaction worth tens of thousands of Eternal Gold or more, this 20% discount could end up becoming a significant expenditure for Kings Paradise. Of course. This is Desolate Star Citys apology, Lunar River said, smiling. Then, she guided Shi Feng and the others into the auction hall. This scene made the various powers members present jealous. However, when they considered the relationship between Shi Feng and Frey, they kept their jealousy to themselves. Those local to the Starlight Continent even reported this situation to their superiors in detail, prohibiting their members from provoking Zero Wing. Otherwise, they would be responsible for the consequences of their actions. As for Desolate Star Citys auction, it turned out grander than expected. Over 10,000 items were sold in the auction, many of which were Fragmented Divine Artifacts and rare materials needed to repair Fragmented Divine Artifacts. There were even two Divine Artifacts. However, as each Divine Artifact sold for more than 500,000 Eternal Gold, most attending powers could only sigh helplessly. If Shi Feng hadnt secretly spent 1.27 million Eternal Gold to buy 120 Eternal Stones, he would have bid on those two Divine Artifacts. Xia Qingying and Drifting Bean also gained a significant harvest. Xia Qingying bought herself another high-quality Fragmented Divine Artifact, while Drifting Bean collected enough materials to repair her Fragmented Divine Artifact. After the auction, Xia Qingying hastily returned to the Green God Corporations main headquarters because of an urgent matter. As for Shi Feng, just as he was about to take a passenger plane back to Star Lake City, Shuoyun suddenly invited him to have a chat at the City Lords Manor. Guild Leader Black Flame, forgive me for inviting you here on such short notice, Lunar River said, getting up from her seat when she saw Shi Feng entering her office. Then, she poured a cup of tea and pushed it across her desk. Its nothing special, but have a taste of this tea steeped with Stardew. Its mental recovery properties are slightly stronger than that of Stardew. It should accelerate the recovery of your mental strength. Shi Feng drank the tea without reservation. Immediately, he experienced a sense of comfort that spread to his soul. Like Lunar River said, the teas recovery properties were superior to Stardews. He even felt that his mental strength would make a full recovery by the time he returned to Star Lake City. After experiencing the teas effects, Shi Feng bluntly asked, What business do you have with me, Miss River? You are a very straightforward person, Guild Leader Black Flame, Lunar River said, stroking her long hair. Then, she sat down and continued with a smile, In that case, I will speak frankly on behalf of Kings Paradise. I have heard from Miss Frey that your Guild is fully responsible for constructing the Tower of the Abyss. I dare say that the towers value is limitless. The only problem is that the Eternal Realms players have outgrown the maps surrounding Shadowring Town, making it wasteful to have the Tower of the Abyss remain there. If the Tower of the Abyss is constructed in a big city with a player population exceeding one hundred million, the profits it can generate for Zero Wing will increase by at least one hundredfold. Could you elaborate on the main point, Miss River? Shi Feng asked, then calmly took another sip of tea. Guild Leader Black Flame, you may not be aware, but there is a reason why the Eternal Realms various pseudo-apex powers and apex powers, as well as its many hidden powers, are not rushing to attack Shadowring Town, Lunar River said leisurely, looking at Shi Fengs calm composure. Seven days ago, a massive island appeared in the Eternal Realms central region. There is an incredibly old city on that island called Everlasting City. The city is very special. Although many NPCs live in it, it is enveloped by a barrier that prevents players from entering. According to investigations, Everlasting City hosts a monthly competition for players. During the competition, the various powers can send as many teams of players as they want into the city to occupy land. Currently, though, all players who exceed Level 220 will have their levels suppressed to Level 220 once they enter the city. Of the teams that participate in the competition, the top ten teams that occupy the most land can receive a Great Lord Token, which can be used to construct a Guild City anywhere in the Eternal Realm. Teams that manage to occupy at least four plots of land will also receive a set of Eternal World Magic Array Scrolls that can help defend against the Eternal Realms Void Beast Tide! You might not have heard of the Void Beast Tide, but it is a periodic disaster that occurs in the Eternal Realm once every few months or at least once a year. In the face of a Void Beast Tide, most cities and towns will be devoured; only a few cities can barely withstand it. Currently, Kings Paradise is one of the few powers that have the ability to secure the Eternal World Magic Array. Our teams even have the potential to enter the top ten. So long as Zero Wing is willing to hand over half the shares of the Tower of the Abyss and reconstruct it in Kings Paradises Guild City, Kings Paradise will guarantee that Zero Wing receives a set of Eternal World Magic Array scrolls after every competition and never falls to a Void Beast Tide. What do you think of this proposal, Guild Leader Black Flame? Chapter 3843 - Chapter 917 - Lauras Gift Chapter 917 C Lauras Gift Of course, if you find that the price is too much, I am willing to settle for just one-third of the Tower of the Abysss shares. Lunar River quickly amended her words when Shi Feng remained silent. Then, she continued in a confident tone, Everlasting Citys competition will involve all three races living in the Eternal Realm, so its intensity will be unprecedented. Most participating pseudo-apex powers might have trouble occupying even one plot of land, let alone four. Although Kings Paradise has been operating behind the scenes for quite some time now, we can absolutely rival apex powers. We were only unlucky in timing when we tried to take the next step over half a century ago. Lunar River was confident that Shi Feng would ultimately side with Kings Paradise. This was because the average pseudo-apex power couldnt even make any waves in an all-out fight among the three races, so Everlasting Citys competition was destined to be a contest among apex and royal powers. If Zero Wing wished to survive the Eternal Realms upcoming disaster, its best choice would be to partner with Kings Paradise. Although it also had the option of partnering with one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers, their asking price would be much more excessive. In fact, Lunar River was certain that Shi Feng already knew why the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers hadnt taken action against Shadowring Town thus far. It was because they were waiting for the upcoming Void Beast Tide to destroy Shadowring Town and give them an opportunity to occupy the Tower of the Abyss for themselves. The Void Beast Tide, is it? That is indeed troublesome. Shi Feng nodded. The monsters of the Void Beast Tide came from the depths of the void, so they had incredibly high levels. This was something he had witnessed in his previous life. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to call the Void Beast Tide an apocalyptic disaster. Subsequently, he smiled at Lunar River and asked, Miss River, may I know how your Guild compares to a royal power? A royal power? Shi Fengs question stunned Lunar River. She couldnt understand why he would ask such a question. However, she still made a rough estimate and answered, Compared to the Holy Races royal powers that currently operate in the Eternal Realm, Id say we have 30% of a royal powers strength. Thirty percent? Thats quite significant, Shi Feng said, nodding. That should put Kings Paradise in an above-average position in the struggle among the three races. May I know what you mean by this, Guild Leader Black Flame? Lunar River frowned at Shi Fengs nonchalant evaluation. Do you think Kings Paradise is weak? No, thats not what I meant, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Then, he calmly smiled and continued, What I mean is that Kings Paradise still isnt strong enough to take one-third of the Tower of the Abysss shares. Shortly after the Holy Race constructed the Tower of the Abyss in his previous life, many of its royal powers had fought over it. At the time, apex powers werent even qualified to participate in the conflict. Yet, despite only rivaling apex powers, Kings Paradise dared to demand one-third of the Tower of the Abysss shares. It even demanded that the Tower of the Abyss be moved to its Guild City. This was nothing more than a pipe dream. Kings Paradise simply did not understand the horrors of owning the Tower of the Abyss. Guild Leader Black Flame, it is estimated that the next Void Beast Tide will occur in less than a month, while Everlasting Citys competition will be held tomorrow. This is Zero Wings last chance to get a good price. Once the competition is over, Kings Paradises price will no longer be as generous, Lunar River said, half-amused and half-fuming. She had never imagined that there would come a day when someone would look down on Kings Paradise. Thank you for your goodwill. If there is nothing else, I will be taking my leave, Shi Feng said before turning around and leaving. He had no intention of continuing this discussion. Bastard! Arrogant bastard! You are as arrogant as the rumors say! When Shi Feng had left the room, Lunar River finally snapped, throwing Shi Fengs teacup to the floor and cursing. Fine! Have it your way! Well see if you can stay arrogant after the competition! After leaving the City Lords Manor, Shi Feng quickly rented a supersonic passenger plane through the Gods Domain Association, returned to Star Lake City, and logged back into Gods Domain. Additionally, he had Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow try to have all of Zero Wings Level 200-plus fifth-floor experts gather at Shadowring Town as soon as possible. Although his discussions with Lunar River had not ended on a happy note, she had reminded him about Everlasting Citys competition. Everlasting Citys competition was very well-known in his previous life during the Eternal Realms middle stages. This was because it was one of the few events where the three races had competed with one another using their full might. However, due to the Holy Races overwhelming strength, the human race never saw success in the competition. The various human powers could only rely on themselves to survive the Eternal Realms Void Beast Tides. Hence, the various human powers had suffered tragic losses whenever a Void Beast Tide occurred, with some even having their progress in the Eternal Realm wiped out. Now that Zero Wing had Dragons Crown backing it, it naturally had to compete in Everlasting Citys competition. When Shi Feng came online, he noticed a pair of big blue eyes staring at him. These eyes belonged to Heiser, the current strongest chosen one of Holy Dragon Spear. Guild Leader Black Flame, youre finally back. Do you know how long Ive been waiting for you? Heiser grumbled at Shi Feng. Do you have business with me? Shi Feng looked at Heiser in surprise. Of course! Before my teacher left, she wanted me to pass on an item and a critical message to you, Heiser said as she retrieved an old, dilapidated stone tablet from her bag. Teacher said that you might have refused this item before, but youd certainly need it in the future. She mentioned that it was especially useful for people who were challenging that step. A Golden Law? People who were challenging that step? Shi Feng was confused when he saw the stone tablet that Laura had offered to give him in the past. The existence of Gold Tablets was no secret in the Greater Gods Domain. There were 88 Gold Tablets, each recording a complete Gold Combat Technique. For the various powers, it was indeed a precious treasure. Even for the current Zero Wing, a Gold Tablet could significantly add to the Guilds foundation. However, Lauras message puzzled him. People who were challenging that step! If Laura was referring to experts trying to advance to the sixth-floor standard, a complete Gold Combat Technique was indeed a helpful reference. However, it was by no means necessary. Moreover, judging by Lauras words, she wasnt referring to the sixth-floor standard. Ahh! Im drained! Now that Ive passed that item to you, I can finally log off! After handing over the tablet, Heiser promptly pulled up her system interface and logged out of the game, leaving Shi Feng staring blankly at the stone tablet in his hand. About half an hour later, a chill suddenly ran down Shi Fengs spine as he looked at the seemingly familiar stone tablet. A Goddess Tablet?! Chapter 3844 - Chapter 918 - Nineteenth Goddess Tablet Chapter 918 C Nineteenth Goddess Tablet Could this be a mistake? Shi Feng had analyzed Lauras stone tablet using many mana interpretation methods. However, no matter how many methods he applied, the outcome was always the same. They all pointed to the dilapidated tablet being a Goddess Tablet! However, this Goddess Tablet wasnt any of the eighteen Goddess Tablets. According to the information he deciphered, this was the nineteenth tablet the Goddess of Space had created long after the Eighteen Goddess Tablets. At first glance, the stone tablet merely recorded three Golden Laws. In reality, these three Golden Laws were the key to unlocking the biggest secret contained within the Eighteen Goddess Tablets. They also served as a tracker for the Eighteen Goddess Tablets. However, this function cost 10,000 God Crystals per activation and had a cooldown of one natural day. Ten thousand God Crystals per activation Even apex powers would choke at this price. Shi Feng stared at the Nineteenth Goddess Tablet in exasperation. Originally, he wanted to contact Laura and ask her about the tablet, but he found that her name was grayed out, indicating that she couldnt be reached. It seems Ill have to find a solution on my own. The Eighteen Goddess Tablets were indeed of utmost importance to him. They recorded rare and powerful combat techniques and Mana Techniques, and they were likely crucial to his promotion to Tier 7. Judging by the actions of Ink Crystals party during the Continental Championship, the Crystallians knew how to advance to Tier 7. They even had a sixth-floor expert long before the Tower of the Abyss was constructed. Yet, never had he heard of anybody from any of the three races successfully getting promoted to Tier 7 in his previous life. This showed that the difficulty of reaching Tier 7 was beyond imagination. Based on the information he had now, he was certain that sixth-floor experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts were not strong enough to reach Tier 7. In other words, if he did not find a way to become even stronger, hed have no chance of conquering his Tier 7 promotion land. Besides the Fourth Goddess Tablet that I own, I know the whereabouts of two other Goddess Tablets. Therefore, I only need to accumulate 150,000 God Crystals to locate the remaining fifteen Goddess Tablets. After thinking it over, Shi Feng felt he had a good chance of collecting all of the Eighteen Goddess Tablets. He only needed 150,000 God Crystals to do so. But before that, I need to get my hands on an Eternal World Magic Array. Otherwise, Shadowring Town might not survive the impending disaster. Shi Feng pulled up his Friends List and contacted Purgatory Jade. Guild Leader Black Flame, do you have good news for us again? You contacted me so soon after you came back online, Purgatory Jade said jokingly. Vice Guild Leader Jade, you jest. But I do have a beneficial offer for Dragons Crown, Shi Feng said, slightly shocked when he noticed the change in Purgatory Jades equipment. It had only been a day since they last met, yet Purgatory Jade had already replaced her Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. She had also replaced her previous shields with Divine Shields. The transformation was simply terrifying. If he hadnt known that Dragons Crown had no foundations in the Greater Gods Domain, he would have suspected that the Guild had been operating in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary for many years already. Well, what is it? Purgatory Jade asked, smiling. So long as it is something Dragons Crown can accomplish, we will cooperate to the best of our abilities, Guild Leader Black Flame. After separating from Shi Feng, Purgatory Jade had promptly tasked Dragons Crowns members with investigating the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary and the Greater Gods Domain. Although they couldnt conduct a comprehensive investigation due to time constraints, they still managed to learn about Zero Wings circumstances in the Greater Gods Domain. While Zero Wing might not be as strong as Purgatory Jade expected, she felt it was a worthwhile partner for Dragons Crown. On the contrary, Dragons Crown might even benefit from Zero Wing being weaker than expected. After all, this gave Dragons Crown more opportunities to display its value to Zero Wing, thereby encouraging Zero Wing to continue summoning Dragons Crowns members to the Greater Gods Domain. In only a day, Purgatory Jade had already benefited greatly from the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, which increased her ambitions toward the Greater Gods Domain. Now, all she needed was more time to realize these ambitions, and the only way she could get more time in the Greater Gods Domain was by getting Zero Wing to keep summoning Dragons Crowns members. Im afraid I will need you all to take direct action this time, Vice Guild Leader Jade, Shi Feng said after some thought. As you will have to fight against many experts, how does 1,000 Intermediate Divine Engraving Scrolls sound? Experts? Are they strong? Purgatory Jade was surprised to hear Shi Feng mention the word expert. Purgatory Jade knew about Shi Fengs strength. While he might not be a sixth-floor expert, he was strong enough to trade blows with sixth-floor experts. Since he recognized their upcoming opponents as experts, it must mean that these opponents were quite strong. However, according to their investigation, the Greater Gods Domain barely had any Half-step Mortal Gods, let alone bona fide sixth-floor experts. They are very strong! Shi Feng said sternly. Although he had never heard about any sixth-floor experts existing during the Eternal Realms early stages in his previous life, Ink Crystals appearance in the last Continental Championship proved that at least one hidden sixth-floor expert existed before the Tower of the Abysss advent. And now that Ink Crystal had revealed herself, her appearance might cause a butterfly effect that led to other hidden sixth-floor experts making their public debut. If the Holy Race and the Crystallian races hidden sixth-floor experts were to appear, paired with their equipment advantage and the competitions level restriction, Dragons Crown would be in for a tough fight. How interesting. When Purgatory Jade saw Shi Fengs serious expression, she knew he wasnt joking. This led her to wonder how there could be so many experts in the Greater Gods Domain. Okay, well accept this deal. When will we meet? And where? As soon as possible. I will send you the coordinates of our meeting point, Shi Feng said as he sent his hotels coordinates to Purgatory Jade. Okay, well be there in half an hour! Purgatory Jade answered after looking at the coordinates. Then, she disconnected the call. Big Sis Jade, did something happen on Zero Wings side again? Kowloon Demon asked as he looted the weapons and equipment scattered on the ground. They were all items dropped by players. Its nothing. He just wants us to fight some experts, Purgatory Jade said, smiling. Alright, pack up! Were returning immediately! Are there really experts for us to fight in the Greater Gods Domain, Big Sis Jade? Kowloon Demon asked, feeling a little frustrated as he looked at the ruins of the Twin Wolves Guilds Holy City. That Berserker God called Fierce Wolf who came to challenge us was supposed to be the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys sixth strongest expert. Yet, he didnt last even one move against you. I thought the Twelve Sanctuaries were supposed to be the center of the Greater Gods Domain. If that guys performance is indicative of the Greater Gods Domains standards, I doubt any of the Greater Gods Domains experts can pose a challenge to us. This place is nothing like our homeworld. Just obey my orders! Youll get a chance to show off once we return! Purgatory Jade glared at Kowloon Demon. Then, she promptly had everyone teleport back to Flame Vein Holy City using a Return Scroll. On the other side, after his call with Purgatory Jade, Shi Feng promptly used a Tier 6 Teleportation Scroll to go to a vast forest several maps away from Flame Vein Holy City. It should be fine to summon Kalisha here. After surveying his surroundings, Shi Feng retrieved the Empresss Scales from his bag and activated the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal to summon Kalisha. Chapter 3845 - Chapter 919 - Primordial Dragons Blessing Chapter 919 C Primordial Dragons Blessing As Shi Feng held up the Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal and chanted, a spatial crack spanning dozens of kilometers appeared above the vast forest. It looked like the sky was being torn apart, striking fear in the monsters and players in the map. A moment later, a pair of gigantic hands emerged from the spatial crack and pried it wide open. Then, a titanic figure over 10,000 meters tall walked out of the spatial crack, radiating a terrifying Divine Might that made the souls of all creatures in the forest shudder. Subsequently, the titanic figure pointed at a figure on the ground, emitting invisible ripples that instantly spread hundreds of thousands of yards. All creatures that came into contact with these rippleswhether Level 200-plus Regional Bosses or Level 220-plus, Tier 6 playersfainted without resistance. Thank goodness I didnt summon her in the city. Shi Feng sighed in relief when he saw the commotion Kalisha had caused. A mere mental ripple from Kalisha had caused all life within a several-hundred-mile radius to lose consciousness. The consequences would have been unimaginable if he had summoned her inside Flame Vein Holy City. Although traces of Gods could be found in the Greater Gods Domains Twelve Sanctuaries, it was a different story for Ancient Gods. Should an Ancient God appear, the various powers would immediately mobilize all their forces in pursuit. In the case of Kalisha, an existence capable of rivaling Primordial Gods, even apex powers would try to track her down at all costs. Normally, players who completed quests assigned by Ancient Gods could obtain lost Legacies from the Greater Gods Domains Primordial Era. If they were lucky, they might even obtain clues pertaining to the Tier 7 promotion. These factors were more than enough to make the various powers go crazy. With Kalisha being an existence that rivaled Primordial Gods, it would only be natural to assume that her quests would offer even greater rewards. Heavens blessed, it seems you are very lucky. I didnt think you would recover my lost possession so quickly, Kalisha said with a satisfied smile when she saw the Empresss Scales in Shi Fengs hands. With this item, I will soon be able to regain all my strength and no longer have to hide from those Evil Gods and Demon Gods. As per our agreement, you are now my true contractor. For your valiant efforts, I will give you three options for your reward. The first option is a Phantom Crystal I made. Sealed inside it is a trace of my consciousness. You can use it to conjure an illusion doppelganger of me to assist you in battle for three hours. The second option is a request for me to take action once in person. The third option is a Growth-type Tier 7 Spell Book passed down by a Primordial God. It is something that I found in the depths of the Void Sea. I have yet to fully recover my strength, so I cannot stay for long. You have thirty seconds to consider. System: Congratulations! You have completed the second stage of the Inferior Mythical Quest Sanctuarys Rise. Rewarding five levels. Kalishas Favorability of you has increased by 100 points. You have become Kalishas true Soul Contractor and obtained the complete Primordial Dragons Power. Following the system notification, Shi Fengs level increased from 218 to 223, catching up to the Greater Gods Domains mainstream Tier 6 players levels. However, the increase in his level did not attract Shi Fengs attention. Instead, he focused on the three options Kalisha had given him. Any of the rewards Kalisha offered could cause an uproar across the Greater Gods Domain. Regarding the first options Phantom Crystal, while the conjured phantom wouldnt be as strong as Kalisha herself, it could stay in battle for three hours. Whether it was used to fight a Guild War or raid a Taboo Boss, it would be very useful. The second options request was also amazing. Although he could request Kalisha to make only one move for him, she would do so in her peak condition. In other words, he could get an existence that rivaled Primordial Gods to make a move for him. He wouldnt trade away this valuable opportunity, even for multiple Divine Artifacts. As for the third options Growth-type Tier 7 Spell Book, countless Tier 6 players would go crazy over such an item. Normally, even if a Tier 6 player obtained a Tier 7 Spell Book by some miracle, they wouldnt be able to learn it due to tier restrictions. However, Growth-type Spell Books were an exception. Players of any tier could learn them. Moreover, players could upgrade a Growth-type Spell all the way to its maximum tier as long as the growth conditions were met. In other words, a Growth-type Tier 7 Spell Book could let players who were Tier 6 or below obtain a bona fide Tier 7 Spell. The value of such a Spell Book easily exceeded that of several dozen Divine Artifacts. It was truly a priceless treasure. As the 30-second time limit approached, Kalisha asked, Have you decided yet? I pick the Phantom Crystal! Shi Feng answered firmly. Although the second and third reward options were extremely tempting, they couldnt solve his immediate concern, which was the fight against the Undying Mother. After nearly getting wiped at the end of the Tosas raid, Shi Feng knew better than to rely on a devastating strike to kill a Taboo Boss. If he wanted good odds for conquering the Undying Mother, his best bet would be the Phantom Crystal. Although Kalishas phantom wouldnt be as strong as the real deal, it should still be able to hold its ground against one of the Twenty-Two Taboos. After all, while the Twenty-Two Taboos were powerful, they ultimately hadnt reached the standard of Primordial Gods. On the other hand, Kalisha was an existence that rivaled Primordial Gods. As for the third options Growth-type Tier 7 Spell Book, while it might be priceless to others, Shi Feng didnt strictly need it, as he had the Abyssal Eye. As you wish. At Shi Fengs answer, Kalisha conjured a silver crystal and handed it to him. Now that you have obtained my complete power, this also means that you have become a thorn in the eyes of those Evil Gods and Demon Gods. Those things will remain a significant threat to you before I fully recover and eliminate them, so try to master my strength as quickly as possible. After that reminder, Kalisha turned into a streak of light and disappeared into the spatial crack, leaving Shi Feng stupefied as he stared at the latest system notification. System: Warning! Warning! Evil Gods and Demon Gods now view you as a true enemy. You have triggered a Life Curse, causing you to lose 10% of your Basic Attributes permanently every time you die. An Evil Demons Shadow will also attack you once every 30 natural days. The Evil Demons Shadow will grow stronger with time. To lift the curse, you must kill the Evil Gods and Demon Gods responsible for cursing you. Fuck! Shi Feng swore subconsciously when he saw the system notification. Previously, the curse of the Evil Gods and Demon Gods only caused him to be periodically attacked by Evil Demon Shadows, which was not a big problem for him. But now, the curse would also cause him to lose 10% of his Basic Attributes every time he died. This was a massive penalty, especially when he was aiming to get promoted to Tier 7. However, despite his frustration, Shi Feng didnt dwell on the matter for long. He quickly shifted his thoughts to the power Kalisha mentioned. Although he had already enjoyed Kalishas blessing before, its effects were limited, as she had lost much of her strength. Now that Kalisha had obtained a Primordial Dragon Relic and recovered her lost strength, he could finally use the complete Primordial Dragons Power. TL Notes: Fyi, the Soul Contract was introduced in Chapter 291-Players who signed a Soul Contract would have to permanently contribute a portion of their soul to the contractor to gain a portion of the contractors power.*Up to 10 Advanced chapters are available for $5 at hostednovel.com Chapter 3846 - Chapter 920 - Zero Wings Blade Chapter 920 C Zero Wings Blade So, this is the true Primordial Dragons blessing? Surprise colored Shi Fengs eyes as he read the Primordial Dragons Powers introduction. [Primordial Dragons Power] As the Soul Contractor of the Dragon Princess Kalisha, you may have Kalisha possess your body and transform you into a Primordial Dragon for five minutes. You will have the intuition of a Primordial Dragon throughout this duration. Cooldown: 3 natural days Primordial Dragons were akin to myths to the Greater Gods Domains players. Even the various apex powers executives had only ever heard about Primordial Dragons; never had they seen one. Everyone only knew that Primordial Dragons were existences equal to Primordial Gods. Generally, even a sliver of a Primordial Dragons strength or Legacy could let an ordinary player stand at the apex of the Greater Gods Domain. As for becoming a Primordial Dragon, that was not something players dared to think about. No wonder the system warning was so over the top! If it means being able to have such power, getting hunted by every Evil God and Demon God in existence is a small price to pay! Many players would even be willing to get hunted by the entire Greater Gods Domain! As Shi Feng looked at the dragon pattern on the back of his right hand, he suddenly felt that he had received an enormous windfall. He even felt this was the most significant harvest he had ever obtained since he started playing Gods Domain. Transforming into a Primordial Dragon! Setting aside the all-around improvements players could receive from becoming a Primordial Dragon, simply the intuition of a Primordial Dragon could already be considered unimaginable wealth. So long as players utilized it properly, it could help them improve their strength much more effectively than even the Tower of the Abyss. Although the Tower of the Abyss was incredible, it ultimately only functioned to provide players with opponents. Players intuition remained unchanged, and theyd have to rely on themselves to fumble around and achieve enlightenment. However, it was a different story if players transformed into a Primordial Dragon. Besides their extremely high Life Rating, Dragons were strong because their intuition was vastly superior to that of other races. As Primordial Dragons were existences that transcended Dragons, their intuition was naturally even more superb. If players could learn with a Primordial Dragons intuition, theyd be able to improve at the speed of light. After Kalisha left, the monsters and players in the forest regained consciousness. Noticing this, Shi Feng dared not linger, promptly using a Return Scroll to teleport back to Flame Vein Holy City. Then, he met up with Dragons Crowns members and used World-Breaking Teleportation to travel back to Zero Wings Residence in Shadowring Town. Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town, Zero Wings Residence: Due to Shi Fengs summons, the originally crowded Guild Residence became even more congested. Teams of Zero Wing experts returned to the Residence every few minutes, the sight shocking many of Zero Wings new members and passersby. Whats going on? Why have so many of Zero Wings experts returned? The Snow Goddess Gentle Snow, the Reincarnated Spear Demon Fervent Samsara, Knights Blade Heavy Abyss, Demon Queen Phoenix Rain, the Twin Shadows Hidden Soul and Fire Dance, the Phantom Flower Shadow Flower, the Purple Witch of Lightning Ji Luorong, Shadow Spear Crimson Heart Why have all these Divine Glory List debutants gathered? Arent they supposed to be fighting the Holy Race on the World Arks frontlines? Its not just them. Even Zero Wings younger generation experts have gathered. Half an hour ago, I saw Wordless Ember, Sleeping Quicksand, and Jun Luosha returning to Zero Wings Residence. These are all experts who have gone undefeated in the Battle Arena. Why have so many experts gathered? Is something going to happen to Shadowring Town? The players residing in Shadowring Town were very familiar with Zero Wings experts. Initially, everyone thought that Zero Wing was doomed after the Holy Race decided to give it special attention and Zero Wings Guild Leader Black Flame suddenly went missing. However, as Zero Wings casualties increased, experts started emerging in the Guild one after another. These experts thrived on the World Arks frontlines, their contributions eventually earning Zero Wing the recognition that it was comparable to pseudo-apex powers. Now that all of these Zero Wing experts had gathered, it was difficult for others not to overthink matters. Vice Guild Leader Soul, why did the Guild Leader gather us so urgently? Nightingale Zhuo Yalin asked Hidden Soul out of curiosity. Is an apex power planning to attack us? Clear Sky Lin Yaoyue also looked at Hidden Soul curiously. Zhuo Yalin and Lin Yaoyue had joined Zero Wing not long ago. Although they had never participated in any of Zero Wings major battles, they knew something big must be happening now that so many of the Guilds fifth-floor experts had gathered. I have no idea, Hidden Soul said, smiling wryly. The Guild Leader simply contacted Snow and me and told us to gather everyone out of the blue. An apex power is attacking us? Isnt that great news? Ive been wanting to test the Gold Combat Technique I created in the Tower of the Abyss, Ji Luorong, who had risen to Level 224, said eagerly. Indeed. Phoenix Rain, who had reached Level 225, agreed with Ji Luorongs sentiment. Although the Tower of the Abyss can simulate various powerful opponents, those fifth-floor opponents are too strong for us to fight properly. If we could fight fifth-floor experts of roughly equal strength, we might have an easier time achieving a breakthrough. Although they had fought many experts from the Holy Race and other human powers since entering the Eternal Realm, these experts varied in combat standards, and most hadnt even reached the fifth-floor standard. With the recent improvements they had achieved, thanks to the Tower of the Abyss, the improvements they could achieve through field PvP had become extremely limited. In their current state, they could only improve quickly by fighting the experts of apex powers. Amidst the discussions of Zero Wings experts, Shi Feng arrived at the Residences courtyard with the cloaked members of Dragons Crown. When the thousands of Zero Wing members in the courtyard saw him, they promptly stood to attention. Guild Leader! Guild Leader, are we really going to war with an apex power? Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at the experts in the courtyard. It was especially so when he looked at Hidden Soul, Phoenix Rain, Crimson Heart, Shadow Flower, and the others who had come forward to greet him. In his previous life, these were all experts who had made a name for themselves after entering the Greater Gods Domain. Now, not only had they joined Zero Wing, but their talents had also started to shine. Additionally, they had all reached the fifth-floor standard and were all at Level 220 or higher. Moreover, they were fully equipped with Legendary Equipment, and the weapons they wielded were at least Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Of all these experts, Gentle Snows and Phoenix Rains improvements stood out the most. Since Gentle Snow passed the Goddess Armaments trial and received the Tower of the Abysss assistance, her combat standard had soared to indiscernible heights. Shi Feng already felt threatened when he got within 20 yards of her. As for Phoenix Rain, she had apparently encountered a fortuitous opportunity since entering the Eternal Realm. Not only did she sport a Divine Staff, but her Concentration had also reached the Tier 6 Limit standard. This was simply incredible. So, this is Zero Wing? When Purgatory Jade scanned the courtyard, she found that Zero Wing had far more experts than she anticipated. It looked nothing like a recently established guild. Guild Leader, all 534 of the Guilds Level 200-plus fifth-floor experts have gathered, Hidden Soul reported after arriving before Shi Feng. Good! Shi Feng was surprised that Zero Wing now had over 500 fifth-floor experts. He hadnt expected the Tower of the Abyss to be so effective. Now, Zero Wing already had enough fifth-floor experts to rival what the pseudo-apex powers had in the Eternal Realm. Also, Vice Guild Leader Frey had someone deliver a confidential letter to you not long ago. It was entrusted to her by Kings Paradise, Hidden Soul said as she proffered a letter to Shi Feng. She said you might change your mind once you read it. Chapter 3847 - Chapter 921 - Commotion at Everlasting City Chapter 921 C Commotion at Everlasting City No need. Have someone return this letter to Vice Guild Leader Frey, Shi Feng said, waving his hand and refusing to accept the letter. Tell her that I wont be negotiating that matter. Guild Leader, are you sure you dont want to take a look? Hidden Soul asked worriedly. Although she knew nothing about the power known as Kings Paradise, it was unlikely to be a nobody, considering it could get Frey to send a message on its behalf. Moreover, even if they ignored Kings Paradises strength, the letters contents should be of great importance since Kings Paradise chose to send its message through such confidential means. Not to mention, Frey had deliberately emphasized that the letter might change Shi Fengs mind. I already know whats written inside, so theres no need to read it, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at the worried Hidden Soul. But you can let everyone have a look at it. Let us have a look? Hidden Soul was stunned. Can we? Of course. I was about to tell you all about the letters contents anyway, Shi Feng said, nodding. Even without reading Lunar Rivers letter, Shi Feng could tell that the woman was going to tell him how intense Everlasting Citys competition would be and that he should give up his pointless struggle and trade away his control over the Tower of the Abyss. However, what she didnt know was that he understood the competition better than anyone else from the human race. Subsequently, Hidden Soul followed Shi Fengs instructions and shared the letters contents with everyone who would participate in Everlasting Citys competition. Everlasting City? Phoenix Rains pupils shrank as she read the letters contents. Heavens! Six royal powers, thirty-five apex powers, and over a thousand pseudo-apex powers from the three races will participate in the competition? Hidden Soul was similarly shocked. It should be known that the human races Greater Gods Domain had fewer than 200 pseudo-apex powers, while its apex powers numbered less than ten. Yet, the number of pseudo-apex powers that would participate in Everlasting Citys competition was more than five times what the human race had, while the number of participating apex powers was more than triple. Moreover, there was no limit to how many members each power could mobilize. The competitions intensity would be dozens of times greater than that of the Crucible of the Ancients. All the Zero Wing members gathered were shocked after learning this news. They had never expected such a frightening battle to take place in the Eternal Realm. Even apex powers would be nothing more than ants in this battle, let alone pseudo-apex powers. How interesting. Purgatory Jades eyes lit up with a hint of fighting spirit after she finished reading the letter. Originally, she was pretty disappointed with the Greater Gods Domain after learning more about it. However, Everlasting Citys competition finally gave her a sense of challenge. Guild Leader Black Flame, will we fight for Everlasting Citys land? Kowloon Demon asked excitedly. Mhm. Well try to occupy four plots, Shi Feng said, nodding. Only four? Isnt that too little? Kowloon Demon felt that Shi Fengs ambition was too small, especially considering Zero Wing had Dragons Crowns assistance. Its already a lot, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at the confident Kowloon Demon. Although we have your help this time, Everlasting City has only 144 plots of occupiable land. There arent even enough for every participating apex power and royal power to occupy four plots. Furthermore, these powers wont just mobilize a fraction of their experts; they will commit all their available manpower. Additionally, some of these powers will recruit experts of other powers as mercenaries. I estimate that each participating power will have at least 1,000 fifth-floor experts. We also have to split our forces to occupy and defend four separate plots of land. Not to mention, some powers will likely join forces near the end of the competition. So, occupying four plots of land is easier said than done. Indeed. Kowloon Demon fell silent after hearing this. He had already achieved the minimum equipment standard to be considered an apex expert in the Greater Gods Domain. So long as his opponents didnt come at him with a sixth-floor expert of their own or overwhelming numbers, he would have no trouble safeguarding a plot of land. After including Purgatory Jade, Dragons Crown could guarantee the occupation of two plots of land. However, any more than that would be stretching it. Furthermore, what Kowloon Demon didnt know was that the human race and the Holy Race possessed foundations that couldnt be threatened easily by a few sixth-floor experts. Snow, Rain, come with me, Shi Feng instructed Gentle Snow and Phoenix Rain quietly. Shi Feng knew that Zero Wing would not be able to occupy four plots of land in Everlasting Citys competition if it relied solely on Dragons Crown. Even if they set aside the Holy Races apex and royal powers, the human races many pseudo-apex powers were more than enough to give any sixth-floor expert a run for their money. He wouldnt even be surprised if Kowloon Demon and Purgatory Jade got killed in action. After all, such occurrences had happened more than once in the war between the human race and the Holy Race in his previous life. Otherwise, the Holy Race would have long since occupied the human races Twelve Sanctuaries. Hence, when Shi Feng considered participating in Everlasting Citys competition, he had already decided to use the Dark Divine Silver to upgrade Gentle Snows Chaos Windblade into an exclusive Divine Artifact. Additionally, he intended to give the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells, All-Consuming Fire and Soul World, to whichever magical class expert in the Guild had Tier 6 Limit Concentration. If not for the Eternal Stones he bought at Desolate Star Citys auction needing a day to several days to arrive, he would have even lent the Eternity Crown and the Eternity Gauntlets to Gentle Snow to increase her overall strength further. While Shi Feng was preparing for Everlasting Citys competition, a 5,000-meter-long Flying Ship crashed through space and arrived above a small island in the Eternal Realms southern region. However, the instant the Flying Ship exited the void, it immediately lost all power and plummeted to the island. Vice Guild Leader River, we have reached the designated location. The Flying Ship has only 2% durability remaining. It will take at least half a month of repairing before it is ready to fly again, a Level 240 old man wearing a Divine Artifact-ranked gray robe reported respectfully to a woman who looked like the personification of darkness. Good! Proceed according to plan! All 4,000 combatants will follow me to Everlasting City, while all logistics members will remain here to help with the repairs and the construction of defenses! Lunar River commanded through her suit of armor. Then, she gazed in the direction of Everlasting City, which was over a million yards away, and stated determinedly, Its time we let the world know about Kings Paradise! After saying so, Lunar River summoned a 500-meter-long, Tier 6 Three-Headed Phoenix and took off on it. Upon seeing this, the rest of Kings Paradises members followed suit, blotting out the sky with an army of Flying Mounts as they sped toward Everlasting City. TL Notes: Fyi, The Dark Divine Silver was obtained from Dead Thousand-Eyed Demonic Hand in Chapter 860. [Dark Divine Silver] (Godly Relic) An ultra-rare metal born through the condensation of the Void Seas darkness. The Dark Divine Silver can be used to forcibly upgrade a Fragmented Divine Artifact into an exclusive Divine Artifact. The resulting Divine Artifact can only be used by the bound user and cannot be used by others. The two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells were obtained from the Tosas raid in Chapter 886. [All-Consuming Fire] Requires: Magical Class, Tier 6 Limit Concentration Pseudo-Tier 7 Large-Scale Destruction Spell [Soul World] Requires: Magical Class, Tier 6 Limit Concentration Pseudo-Tier 7 Large-Scale Defensive Spell Chapter 3848 - Chapter 922 - Apex of the Three Races Chapter 922 C Apex of the Three Races Eternal Realm, Everlasting City: Everlasting City was like a giant tree that connected heaven and earth. This tree had 144 branches, each representing a separate zone the size of an ordinary NPC City. The sight of the city amazed the gathered players. However, what was even more astounding was how many powers had gathered outside the city. Over a thousand pseudo-apex powers were present, each with at least 1,000 fifth-floor experts, and some even commanding over 2,000 fifth-floor experts. Nevertheless, despite a combined total of over 1.5 million fifth-floor experts under their command, these pseudo-apex powers would only be competing for a few dozen zones. This was because the majority of Everlasting Citys 144 zones had already been reserved by the six royal powers and thirty-five apex powers present. Commander! This is madness! How can there be so many fifth-floor experts here?! With the current situation, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce will have trouble occupying even four plots of land! Drifting Bean, a Level 233 Swordsman, said in exasperation as she looked at the various powers teams gathered outside Everlasting City. It will indeed be difficult. We can ensure the safety of only the lands we occupy at the beginning, Endless Scars, a Level 241 Elementalist wielding a celestial staff and wearing a veil, said in agreement. The number of participating experts is more than double what Eternals executives anticipated. The two other races are much stronger than the human race. I guess it will come down to who can survive the longest. When Endless Scars received the order to help the Eternal Chamber of Commerce with Everlasting Citys competition, she initially thought it would be a simple task. She even looked forward to the competition. However, after arriving outside Everlasting City and seeing the teams of the alien races, she couldnt help but be shocked. Whether it was the Holy Race or the Crystallian race, both vastly outnumbered the human race in fifth-floor experts; all of their apex powers had at least 5,000. Although the Eternal Chamber of Commerce also commanded over 5,000 fifth-floor experts, many had been recruited from adventurer teams. Even so, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce still couldnt compare to the apex powers of the two alien races, especially the Holy Races. Every fifth-floor expert under the Holy Races apex powers was equipped with two or three Fragmented Divine Artifacts. In contrast, the Eternal Chamber of Commerces fifth-floor experts were a mixed bag. While the stronger ones might have two or three Fragmented Divine Artifacts, most were fully equipped with Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Although Everlasting Citys level restriction would limit the Fragmented Divine Artifacts advantage over Legendary Weapons and Equipment, these differences would be considered minor only in individual fights. These small individual differences would be compounded in a battle between legions, and the legion with the better equipment would have a much greater chance of victory. Fortunately, Everlasting Citys competition wasnt a duel between teams but a free-for-all. This meant that survival was the top priority for all participants, as only survivors could compete for a winning spot. The competition also had a 12-hour time limit, so the more forces a power could preserve, the greater its advantage. Commander, look at the Holy Races side. Who is that young man? Many of the Holy Races experts seem in awe of him, Drifting Bean said, pointing at a Level 226 young man among the Holy Races experts. As the young man walked among the Holy Races players, those in his way would take the initiative to make way for him. Some of these players included Level 240-plus experts. That person should be Divine Fist Garuda, the Holy Races number one chosen one, Endless Scars said as she looked at the young man in question vigilantly. I hadnt thought the Thunder Empire would send him here. It seems the Thunder Empire is taking the competition seriously. The Holy Races number one chosen one? When Drifting Bean heard Endless Scarss introduction, her eyes shone with fighting intent as she looked at the young man. Dont even think about it, Endless Scars said, chuckling at Drifting Beans reaction. Garuda is rumored to have reached the Half-step Mortal God standard already. Even among the older-generation experts, few can trade blows with him. Considering the significance of this competition, the Thunder Empire must have equipped him with Divine Artifacts and various trump cards. Only Demons Gates Star Maiden Elise and the Crystallian races Earthen Princess Rin can match him. After saying so, Endless Scars turned to where the Crystallian races experts had gathered, only to find many of the Crystallian experts suddenly directing their attention to a girl who had just appeared among them. They looked at the girl as if she were their monarch, their eyes full of reverence. Even the experts of the Crystallian royal powers maintained a respectful expression as they looked at her. Who is she? A sudden chill ran down Endless Scarss spine as she stared at the Crystallian girl. A Mortal God?! Besides the Crystallian experts, Garuda and Elise also turned to look at the Crystallian girl. Ink Crystal! I finally get to fight you again! Garuda and Elise looked at the Crystallian girl as if she were their greatest opponent, their bodies trembling with excitement. Those who hadnt participated in the most recent Continental Championship wouldnt know about the Crystallian girl named Ink Crystal. All the powers in the know had decided to keep a tight lid on her existence. After all, the news of someone achieving the Mortal God standard was so incredible that it might rewrite the history of the three races. A Mortal God? What are you talking about, Commander? Drifting Bean asked the dazed Endless Scars in confusion. Its nothing. Maybe its just my imagination, Endless Scars said, shaking her head. No matter how heaven-defying a sixteen-year-old is, there is no way she can reach that realm at this age. Commander, look over there! The emblem of that Flying Ship looks like Zero Wings! Drifting Bean exclaimed as she pointed at a gigantic Flying Ship approaching Everlasting City. Could the Swordsman standing on the deck be Guild Leader Black Flame? Why are they here? When Endless Scars saw the six-winged emblem on the Silverwing Flying Ship, a hint of shock and confusion appeared under her veil. Compared to the surprise Endless Scars felt when she learned that Shi Feng was acquainted with the Red Dragon Nations Vice Guild Leader Frey, the surprise she currently felt was on a completely different scale. This was Everlasting Citys competition they were talking about! The upcoming competition would involve an all-out battle among the three races. Many of the human races pseudo-apex powers, such as the Red Dragon Nation, couldnt even participate in the competition. It wasnt that they were prohibited from joining, but that they lacked the strength to join in on the action. For them, joining would be suicide. Thus, Endless Scars found it bewildering that an upstart Guild would dare to embroil itself in such a battle. When the Silverwing Flying Ship landed and Shi Feng descended from it, Divine Fist Garuda, Star Maiden Elise, and even the Earthen Princess Rin suddenly turned to look at him through the crowd, their behavior surprising the many players present. Who is he? Chapter 3849 - Chapter 923 - Taking Action Chapter 923 C Taking Action Commander, why do I get the feeling that those chosen ones you mentioned are all looking at Guild Leader Black Flame? Drifting Bean asked in confusion. Whether it was the Holy Races Garuda or Demons Gates Elise, they were all existences that the Blood Wing adventurer team could not hope to get acquainted with. But now, Drifting Bean could clearly see that Garuda and Elise were scrutinizing Shi Feng. Her gut instinct as a fifth-floor expert also told her that the two were eager to fight Shi Feng. Could he also be acquainted with these two people? Naturally, Endless Scars could also perceive the fighting spirit in Garuda and Elise as they looked at Shi Feng. It was obvious they regarded Shi Feng as an opponent. However, her common sense told her that this shouldnt be possible. Garuda was a Half-step Mortal God, while Elise was strong enough to match Half-step Mortal Gods. Despite having developed in the Greater Gods Domain for years, Endless Scars doubted her chances of victory in a fight against either of these individuals would exceed 50%. It hadnt even been a year since Xia Qingying brought Shi Feng to the Greater World. No matter how quickly he improved, there was no way he could have caught up to Garuda and Elise already. After all, the two of them were backed by behemoths, while Shi Feng was backed by a Guild he had established only months ago. Besides Endless Scars, Lunar River, who had arrived with a 4,000-man legion a while ago, was also looking at Shi Feng. Is he still being stubborn? When Lunar River saw that Zero Wings team comprised only 600-plus players, she felt that Shi Feng was here to mess around. Just the pseudo-apex powers present already commanded a combined total of over 1.5 million fifth-floor experts. Even a legion of 3,000 fifth-floor experts would have difficulties surviving in the upcoming competition, let alone a 600-man team. Kings Paradise was confident in securing four plots of land only because of its sturdy foundations. Otherwise, even if it participated in the competition with 4,000 fifth-floor experts, it would still leave with nothing but casualties. Vice Guild Leader, should we invite them to join us? Shuoyun, a Level 235 Cleric in Gods Domain, asked quietly. Its too soon for that, Lunar River said after considering the matter. Well invite them once they have trouble holding on. The rules of Everlasting Citys competition made it different from the average war between powers. In addition to restricting player levels to Level 220, the competition also had a 12-hour time limit. Only after the 12 hours were up would the occupants of each plot of land be decided. As for how occupants were decided, it was simple. Once the competition began, all players on Everlasting Citys island would be considered participants and given an Everlasting City Token. The Token would drop on death, and whichever team held the most tokens on a particular plot of land at the end of the competition would become its occupant. In other words, the various powers members had to move about hunting other players throughout the competition. They couldnt simply hunker down at a particular location. To make matters worse, the participating apex and royal powers had already reserved a significant portion of Everlasting Citys 144 plots of land. This severely limited the space the pseudo-apex powers 1.5 million fifth-floor experts could fight in, so the various pseudo-apex powers would likely be embroiled in chaotic battles as soon as the competition began. In this situation, weaker powers with smaller forces would likely be the first to be eliminated. On the other side of the island Today is the best opportunity to learn about the trump cards of the three races major powers, so keep your eyes open! Do not miss the performance of any expert on the battlefield! Pay extra attention to the various powers chosen ones! They might become our greatest enemies in the future! Make sure to keep an eye on our Guilds chosen ones! Once you see the top experts of other powers approaching them, notify them immediately! This is the best battlefield for them to hone themselves! We must not let them die at the hands of old monsters! Keep an eye on experts with great potential! All these people are our future assassination targets! Make sure to record every battle, especially the ones between the various powers top experts! This is one of the few battles where the three races major powers will reveal their trump cards! An arena for established experts! A cradle for new-generation experts! A treasure trove of information for the various powers! At this moment, Everlasting City had become the center of the three races, and every participating power was employing all available means to benefit from the citys competition. As a dull bell ring echoed from Everlasting City, the translucent barrier covering the city disappeared, while a new translucent barrier formed on the islands outermost layer. Immediately, the 1,000-plus pseudo-apex powers, 35 apex powers, and six royal powers on the island flew toward their chosen plots of land in a frenzy. Guild Leader Black Flame, which plots should we choose? Kowloon Demon asked excitedly as he watched the members of the various powers take to the skies. The forces of the various powers werent evenly distributed across Everlasting Citys 144 plots of land. Some plots had more players, while some had fewer. Some had stronger players, while some had weaker players. However, regardless of which land Shi Feng chose, Zero Wings team would face at least 10,000 fifth-floor experts. Moreover, as these were all unknown experts, fighting them would be an absolute thrill. We wont go anywhere. Well just watch from here, Shi Feng said, observing the situation in the air. He wasnt in a hurry to join in on the action. We will strain our Stamina and Concentration if we join the chaos from the onset. We wont get many city tokens, either, so we might as well take action after they are done killing each other. Guild Leader, although your idea is sound, Im afraid some powers wont let us just watch, Hidden Soul said, looking at a 2,000-man legion heading straight for their team. The legion was led by Crocodile Fang, who had been driven out of Desolate Star City because of Shi Feng. Endless Scars, who had already occupied Plot 003 with the Eternal Chamber of Commerces forces, also noticed the movement of Angels Retributions forces and frowned at the sight. That damned bastard! Rather than fight the aliens together, hes targeting people on our side?! Is he not afraid the various powers will persecute him in the future?! Drifting Bean gnashed her teeth as she glared at Crocodile Fang. Originally, Drifting Bean thought the matter with Crocodile Fang was over after Freys intervention. She hadnt expected him to appear here. Moreover, he even chose to attack Zero Wing as soon as the competition began. In a clash between a legion of 2,000 players and a team of 600-plus players in an open space, Zero Wings team was overwhelmingly disadvantaged. Black Flame! You humiliated me in Desolate Star City! Now, its time for me to get some payback! Ill show you that you are nothing without Frey! Crocodile Fang gnashed his teeth as he glared at Shi Feng. Then, he commanded his forces to annihilate Zero Wings team. Chapter 3850 - Chapter 924 - One-Man Army? Chapter 924 C One-Man Army? Everlasting City, Plot 059: Plot 059 was situated several thousand meters above ground. At this time, 4,000 figures descended upon it and separated into 40 teams. Then, these teams spread across the land in all directions like a swarm of locusts, eliminating the other players on the land. While Kings Paradises forces were seizing control of Plot 059, Lunar River arrived at the edge of Plot 059 with several dozen private guards. She showed no interest in the battle taking place in Plot 059. Instead, she quietly observed the situation of the other plots of land. Vice Guild Leader, everything is going according to plan. None of the neighboring plots have teams from apex or royal powers. The teams of our allies have also arrived safely, so we will soon have a force of 10,000 players. As for Angels Retribution, which we excluded from our alliance, its forces suddenly took action against Zero Wing, Shuoyun reported. Who is leading Angels Retributions forces? Lunar River asked. According to our intelligence, Crocodile Fang is the commander, while Angels Retributions main force commander, Blacksteel, is acting as his vice commander, Shuoyun answered. Then, she continued worriedly, Angels Retribution has mobilized 2,000 players this time, while Zero Wing has only a little over 600. Zero Wing might not hold out against Angels Retribution. That old fellow let his son lead over Blacksteel? Lunar River was slightly surprised. The commander of every major powers main force had extraordinary status. They were either the Guilds First Vice Guild Leader or one of the Guilds Grand Elders. Blacksteel was well-known in the Angel Sanctuary. Over half a century ago, he was already recognized as one of the Angel Sanctuarys top ten experts. Now, he was even considered one of Angels Retributions Six Overlords. Yet, Crocodile Fang was assigned to lead Angels Retributions forces in Everlasting Citys competition instead of Blacksteel. No matter how Lunar River looked at it, this situation was unbelievable. Amidst her confusion, Lunar River received a communication request. The caller was none other than Angels Retributions Blacksteel. Commander Blacksteel, are you perhaps calling me to reconsider allying with Angels Retribution? Lunar River asked nonchalantly, looking at the stalwart middle-aged man carrying a greatsword in the video chat. Thats right. Although youve repeatedly refused our request for partnership before, I am confident you wont refuse us again this time, Blacksteel said, looking at Lunar River. I know you are trying to partner with Zero Wing to get ahold of the Tower of the Abyss. However, it seems that Zero Wings Guild Leader has been reluctant to agree to your partnership. So, I will create an opportunity for you. It is no longer a secret that Crocodile Fang has a grudge against Black Flame. Even if Angels Retribution takes action against Zero Wing in this competition, none of the other human powers will say anything. Are you saying you will do me a favor? Lunar River asked, her expression remaining indifferent. It will depend on your willingness to cooperate. Blacksteel chuckled. If you partner with us, we will naturally show Zero Wing mercy out of consideration that it will become one of our future partners. But if you refuse, we will show no mercy. At that time, even if you secure an Eternal World Magic Array, you wont be able to transfer it to Zero Wing. You are very calculating, Commander Blacksteel, Lunar River said, chuckling. It was obvious Blacksteel had contacted her with the knowledge that Kings Paradises forces were currently occupied and couldnt assist Zero Wing. But arent you underestimating Zero Wing and me a little too much? Underestimate you? Never, Blacksteel said, smiling. If you decide to take action personally, we will naturally be powerless to do anything against Zero Wing. But are you really willing to expose your strength at this critical moment? Are you challenging me? Lunar Rivers gaze sharpened. Five minutes! Blacksteel extended five fingers at Lunar River. You have five minutes to consider whether to expose your strength to save Zero Wing or reestablish Kings Paradises partnership with Angels Retribution. I will contact you again in five minutes. Blacksteel hung up after saying so, his words causing the Kings Paradise members around Lunar River to become deathly silent. Vice Guild Leader, should we take action? Shuoyun asked. The competition has just started. Its still too soon for us to make a move, Lunar River said. Then, she commanded Shuoyun and the rest of her private guards, You all make a trip down below. I dont need you to save the others. You only need to rescue Black Flame. Make sure not to move within 100 yards of Blacksteel. None of you are a match for him yet. You wont be able to escape if you get within 100 yards of him. Understood! Shuoyun and Lunar Rivers other private guards bowed and left. On the other side, Angels Retributions 2,000-man legion arrived within a thousand yards of Zero Wings team. Uncle Blacksteel, how did it go? Crocodile Fang asked nervously, looking at the stalwart middle-aged man beside him. Did she agree? In reality, Crocodile Fang was only a puppet commander; Blacksteel was the legions true commander. Crocodile Fang was assigned to command Angels Retributions forces this time to make up for his mistake. If he couldnt complete his assignment of reestablishing the partnership with Kings Paradise, his good days would end. Three minutes! Blacksteel did not respond to Crocodile Fangs question. Instead, he looked at the 100 experts standing respectfully behind him. Every one of these 100 experts was equipped with multiple Fragmented Divine Artifacts and exuded a dangerous aura. Lunar Rivers people should arrive about three minutes later, so I want you all to eliminate everyone except Zero Wings Guild Leader in three minutes! Yes, Commander! The 100 experts responded confidently in unison, as if killing Zero Wings 600-plus experts in three minutes was a trivial matter. They immediately charged Zero Wings forces, their speed so fast that even Tier 6 experts could only catch a glimpse of their afterimages. If one observed them carefully, one would notice that they were all executing Gold-ranked Footwork. Is this the main forces strength? Crocodile Fang was astonished by the speed of these experts. This was the first time Crocodile Fang had seen Angels Retributions main force in action. Blacksteel had always been responsible for managing and training Angels Retributions main force. As a result, besides Angels Retributions Guild Leader, everyone else in the Guild was in the dark about the strength of Angels Retributions main force members. However, after seeing them in action, Crocodile Fang finally understood why it was mentioned that these main force members were 90% of the reason Angels Retribution dared to participate in Everlasting Citys competition. When Angels Retributions main force members went into action, over at Zero Wings resting area Guild Leader Black Flame, do you need our intervention? Purgatory Jade asked, looking at the 100 players closing in on them. Based on her observation, Angels Retributions 100 experts were all very strong. Although their combat standards were inferior to the chosen ones under her tutelage, their equipment standards were much better. They werent opponents that Zero Wings members, most of whom hadnt even reached Level 220, could handle. No need. Shi Feng shook his head. Then, he looked at Phoenix Rain and said, Rain, Ill leave them to you. Me? Can I? Phoenix Rain asked, surprised that Shi Feng would let her take action. Mhm. It would be the easiest for you to deal with this situation, Shi Feng said, nodding. But dont go all out. Itd be bad if we caused too much of a commotion. Okay, Ill try my best, Phoenix Rain sighed and stepped forward. When Phoenix Rain stepped forward by herself, the advancing main force members and the spectating members of Angels Retribution were stunned. They had never expected Zero Wing to send only one person to fight them. Is Zero Wing taking us for the Eternal Realms little fellows?! Angels Retributions main force members laughed when they saw Phoenix Rain raising her staff and chanting. At the same time, a cold glint flashed in their eyes. After going unmatched in the Angel Sanctuary for so long, they hadnt expected to be underestimated by a small Guild in the Eternal Realm. When Angels Retributions main force members got within 100 yards of Phoenix Rain, she finally finished chanting and gestured toward Angels Retributions forces with her free hand. Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell, All-Consuming Fire! Chapter 3851 - Chapter 925 - Plot 095 Chapter 925 C Plot 095 Dark purple flames suddenly burst from the void, forming a gigantic sword 10,000 yards long that struck at Angels Retributions members. When the sword of flames appeared, all players within a 10,000-yard radius of Phoenix Rain felt their souls tremble with fear. This scene even caught the attention of the various powers experts all over Everlasting City. Is thata large-scale Destruction Spell? How can a large-scale Destruction Spell have such a huge range? Everyone participating in Everlasting Citys competition had seen large-scale Destruction Spells before, but never had they seen one with a range of 10,000 yards. Moreover, even at first glance, it was obvious the power of the dark purple flames exceeded the Tier 6 Limit standard. Boom! The sword of flames fell on Angels Retributions members before they could react, effortlessly burning through them and the land they stood on. When the flames dissipated, a bottomless rift appeared on the island that Everlasting City stood on. Theyre all gone? The spectating experts were dumbfounded when they failed to see any Angels Retribution members in the aftermath. Commander! What rank of Spell is that?! Drifting Bean goggled at the scene below in disbelief. As the Blood Wing adventurer team operated in the Angel Sanctuary, it had plenty of intelligence on Angels Retribution, the Angel Sanctuarys number one power. It also had information on Blacksteel, Angels Retributions main force commander. The stalwart man was single-handedly responsible for eliminating many of the Angel Sanctuarys powers, and even Endless Scars wouldnt dare to say she could defeat him with 100% certainty. Yet, Blacksteel had just been one-shotted by a Spell This Spell should have already exceeded the Tier 6 Limit standard, Endless Scars stated, gaping in shock behind her veil as she stared at the missing section of the island. As the owner of the Origin Mage class, a Peak Hidden Class, Endless Scars knew that not even large-scale Destruction Spells that reached the Tier 6 Limit standard could injure Blacksteel. This was because he was one of the few experts in the Greater Gods Domain to have developed his Concentration to the Tier 6 Limit standard, which allowed him to exhibit 100% of the potential of Divine Artifacts. In a situation where he was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, his opponents would have to be able to exhibit 100% of a Divine Artifacts strength to threaten him. On the other side, Dragons Crowns members were similarly shocked by Phoenix Rains attack. This Spell is probably comparable to the attack Guild Leader Black Flame used before, Kowloon Demon said, staring at the bottomless rift ahead in astonishment. I hadnt expected Zero Wing to have another monster like Guild Leader Black Flame. Purgatory Jade hadnt expected Zero Wing to have such a trump card, either, and couldnt help casting a long look at Shi Feng. However, compared to everyone else, the ones most surprised by Phoenix Rains attacks would have to be Zero Wings executives. Guild Leader, what Spell did you let Rain learn? Isnt it a little too powerful? Hidden Soul asked Shi Feng quietly. Hidden Soul knew Phoenix Rains strength better than anyone else. Normally, Phoenix Rain would be fortunate if she could defeat even one of the 100 experts who had charged them, let alone wipe out Angels Retributions 2,000 experts in one move. If Hidden Soul had to guess who could have helped Phoenix Rain increase her firepower by so much in such a short time, it would have to be Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng had previously called Phoenix Rain and Gentle Snow aside. He must have given them something during that private discussion. Its a secret for now, Shi Feng said, chuckling. You can also learn something like it if the opportunity arises. The existence of the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells was a secret that Zero Wing could not afford to expose at present. It wasnt that he did not trust Hidden Soul and the others. It was just that Zero Wing still couldnt afford to ignore the threat of the human races various apex powers and the alien races powers. Thus, the fewer the people who knew about the Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells, the better. Besides, obscuring the existence of the Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells could increase their effectiveness in critical moments. Unless Phoenix Rains opponents had the strength to counter these Spells, even sixth-floor experts would face certain death. Moreover, unlike the Profound Skills of weapons and equipment, the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells had short cooldowns of only three to five hours. In the current Gods Domain, they were weapons of absolute destruction. Theyregone? Am I hallucinating? Werent they supposed to be Angels Retributions forces? When Shuoyun and Lunar Rivers other private guards returned to the bottom of Everlasting City and saw that Angels Retributions members were no more, they all gaped in shock. They also didnt know how they should proceed in this situation. They had already steeled themselves for heavy losses. After all, they would be going up against a legion organized by the Angel Sanctuarys number one power. The legion was even led by the famous Blacksteel. Yet, before they saw any action, Blacksteel and the rest of Angels Retributions legion were annihilated without the slightest bit of resistance Is this why Zero Wing refuses to partner with us? Shuoyun had a complicated expression as she stared at Shi Fengs figure in the distance. Not even Kings Paradise could annihilate Angels Retributions 2,000-man legion in one move. With such strength, Zero Wing was more than qualified to turn down Kings Paradises partnership offer. Besides the various apex and royal powers, the other powers in Everlasting City quickly exploded in an uproar after a moment of silence. Zero Wing? How come this is the first time I have heard about this Guild? Could it be a hidden power? We have to be careful of Zero Wing moving forward. Someone keep an eye on Zero Wing! Once Zero Wings members make a move, I want to be informed immediately! We must not give Zero Wing any chances! There was no way the various powers present would not fear a Spell that could wipe out a 2,000-man legion in one move. They dared not take their chances with it, even if they knew such a Spell would have a long Cooldown and cast time. Of course, the various powers didnt get too hung up over the Spell. They simply had a few members watch Zero Wings movements before they resumed battling one another. After all, even if Phoenix Rains Spell could be reused multiple times in this competition, it would see limited uses, as the competition had a 12-hour time limit. The effect one player could have on a competition of such scale was also extremely limited. This was because each power had to occupy four plots of land to receive an Eternal World Magic Array. In other words, the outcome of the competition still depended on the overall strength of the various powers. Moreover, once a power was given sufficient time, it could construct barriers in their respective plots of land to enhance their forces. Since Zero Wing preferred to spectate rather than compete for an early advantage, the various powers naturally wouldnt mind letting it do so. They simply needed to be careful not to let Zero Wing snatch the fruit of their efforts. How cautious of these powers. Theyre not giving us any chances. When Shi Feng saw the numerous Observation Skills being used on his team, he knew it would only be a waste of time to continue waiting here. It seems well have to act in advance. Realistically speaking, trying to occupy four plots of land in Everlasting City with just a little over 600 players was absurd. With so few players, Zero Wing would not only have difficulty defending its land, but it would also have trouble collecting city tokens. The competitions rules stated that the power holding the most tokens on a particular plot of land at the last second would become its occupant. In other words, so long as another power snuck more tokens into Zero Wings land at the last second, this team could snatch Zero Wings land from right under its nose. Simply put, the competition was about who could collect the most Everlasting City Tokens. Even if a power managed to occupy many plots of land with overwhelming force, its efforts would be futile if it couldnt collect enough tokens. Thus, the competition was very disadvantageous to powers with few members like Zero Wing. Now, Zero Wings only hope of succeeding was to compete in lands with the most players. However, timing was key. If Zero Wing acted too early or too late, it would cause an outflow of tokens to other plots of land, which, in turn, would reduce the number of tokens Zero Wing could collect. Before taking action, Zero Wing needed to collect enough intelligence and select lands with the most tokens. It also needed to ensure it could secure these tokens in one fell swoop. Guild Leader, according to our investigation, the three plots of land with the most players all have apex powers competing over them, Hidden Soul said, frowning as she watched the fierce battles across Everlasting City. Plot 034 has nearly 30,000 players, a human apex power, and a Crystallian royal power competing over it, Plot 068 has over 30,000 players and two Holy Race apex powers competing over it, and Plot 095 has nearly 40,000 players, a Crystallian apex power, and a Holy Race royal power competing over it. Lets go with Plot 095, then, Shi Feng said without hesitation. Chapter 3852 - Chapter 926 - Ranking Chapter 926 C Ranking Everlasting City: Quick! Inform the higher-ups that Zero Wing is taking action! The angle theyre taking Are they going to Plot 095? What?! Plot 095?! Impossible! Is Zero Wing crazy?! When the players monitoring Zero Wings movements saw that Zero Wings forces were headed to Plot 095, they were surprised. They hadnt expected Zero Wing to make such a crazy move. By now, the powers competing over each of Everlasting Citys 144 plots of land were already fixed. Among them, the royal powers were involved in 17 plots of land, making these 17 plots essentially off-limits for other powers. As it so happened, Plot 095 was one of these 17 plots. By aiming for Plot 095, Zero Wing was effectively snatching food from a tigers mouth. Rainbow, why is Black Flame going for Plot 095? You were the one who strongly recommended Zero Wing for a reserve slot in the Human Alliance. Is he not afraid Zero Wing will sustain heavy losses by going up against a royal powers team? a black-robed old man wearing the Seven Luminaries Alliances Guild Emblem asked Verdant Rainbow after reading his subordinates latest report. Our race is already at a disadvantage against the two alien races. We hardly have any powers that can compete with them. Now that Zero Wing has a chance to be cultivated by us, it would be a pity if it were to meet its demise here. He might be trying to collect more tokens, Verdant Rainbow said, her voice uncertain. Then, she recalled the situation in the last Continental Championship and added, But you dont need to worry too much, Elder Martial. Im sure Guild Leader Black Flame knows what he is doing. Who knows? He might even give you a surprise. A surprise? The black-robed old man shook his head at Verdant Rainbow. I only hope that it doesnt turn into horror. Now that the two alien races have found a path into the Eternal Realm, there isnt much time left for the human race. A war between races, is it? Verdant Rainbows expression grew solemn. The current Eternal Realm had already become a junction for the three races. Previously, none of the three races had a reliable way to enter the Eternal Realm, so the human race wasnt under much threat. However, following the discovery of the Eternal Realms entrances, the powerful Holy Race would likely invade the human races Greater Gods Domain. At that time, a war between races would be inevitable. Everlasting City, Plot 095: Dammit! Those are Zero Wings members! Run! Spread out and run away! We must not let Zero Wing take advantage of us! Following the arrival of Zero Wings team, the commanders of several 1,000-man legions fighting on Plot 095 promptly commanded their forces to scatter. In response, the experts operating under them fled in all directions without hesitation, as if they had just seen a terrifying monster. Phoenix Rains All-Consuming Fire had left a deep impression on everyone fighting in Everlasting City. Everyone also understood that they could do nothing against such a terrifying Spell. Naturally, they wouldnt waste time battling Zero Wing. Even if, deep down, they believed that Phoenix Rain couldnt use that Spell again within a short time, they dared not take their chances. Everlasting Citys competition was about which power could collect the most tokens. It wasnt a fight to the death. So long as they survived, they would have more opportunities to collect tokens. Why did these people run away as soon as we arrived? Hidden Soul was flabbergasted by the scene before her. Once upon a time, Zero Wing was a pushover everyone dared to bully. Yet, it had now become an existence that everyone feared. Moreover, these were not ordinary players they were talking about, but experts from pseudo-apex powers. Hidden Soul found this situation truly unbelievable. Run? Not on my watch! As the various powers experts fled, Gentle Snow reached for the Chaos Windblade on her back and leaped into the air. Then, with the greatsword raised, she cast Chaos World, instantly creating a miniature world covering a 5,000-yard radius that was isolated from the outside world. The Skill Gentle Snow had just activated was called Chaos World, one of the Chaos Windblades Additional Profound Skills. The Skill became much stronger after the Chaos Windblade was upgraded into a Divine Artifact. It now allowed Gentle Snow to create a realistic world comparable to Shi Fengs Miniature Abyssal World. All enemies caught in the Chaos World would have their Basic Attributes and mobility heavily suppressed. However, none of the players present was a weakling. They were all fifth-floor experts. Many were equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, while some were even equipped with Divine Artifacts. The instant Gentle Snow activated Chaos World, many trapped players resisted it by using similar Skills. This greatly weakened the Chaos Worlds suppressive effect, making it no longer capable of stopping players from fleeing. It seems its still necessary to have Dragons Crown take action. When Shi Feng saw that Gentle Snow had failed to suppress the various powers experts, he decided to have Purgatory Jades group intervene. There were only 40,000 players on Plot 095, while the battlefield he had chosen to land on had nearly 4,000 players. With how wary the various powers were of Zero Wing, he would have difficulty finding another big haul like this if he let these players escape. However, before Shi Feng could give his command, Gentle Snow tightened her grip on the Chaos Windblade and swung it at the ground. Suddenly, the Chaos World shattered, its countless fragments transforming into space-time storms that swept up everyone within its radius. Each space-time storm rivaled a Divine Artifacts Profound Skill exerted to 100% potential. If targeted players couldnt counter with a Divine Artifacts Profound Skill exerted to 100% potential or a Peak Gold Combat Technique, they stood no chance against the space-time storms. Gentle Snows complexion visibly paled after she completed her attack. It was obvious the attack had taken quite a toll on her Concentration. However, her efforts were not in vain; her attack had annihilated over 80% of the players caught in her Chaos World. As for the survivors, only a small portion of them were unscathed; the rest suffered heavy injuries, retaining less than 30% of their HP and looking worse for wear. Was that a Peak Gold Combat Technique? Shi Feng was surprised by Gentle Snows attack, which was not much weaker than Phoenix Rains All-Consuming Fire. Although Shi Feng did not know the exact rank of the combat technique Gentle Snow had just used, he knew it had reached the Peak Gold standard at the minimum. He even felt it could rival Ink Crystals serious attack. How interesting, Purgatory Jade thought in admiration, a hint of approval coloring her eyes as she looked at Gentle Snow. Kowloon Demon and I should be the only ones in the team who can fully block this technique. Its a pity it places such a heavy burden on its user. If she could use it repeatedly, she would stand a chance against Kowloon Demon and me. Subsequently, the tokens owned by the 3,000-plus players Gentle Snow killed appeared in her bag space. This, in turn, caused a drastic change to Plot 095s ranking list. Plot 095 Team Ranking List1st C Zero Wing C 8,426 Tokens Chapter 3853 - Chapter 927 - Zero Wing and Evil Nature Chapter 927 C Zero Wing and Evil Nature Are my eyes playing tricks on me? Did someone else just seize Plot 095s first place? Zero Wing?! Didnt Zero Wing just enter Plot 095?! Zero Wing already has 8,426 tokens?! What did it do in Plot 095?! Besides those participating in Everlasting Citys competition, the various powers also had observers stationed outside the island. When these players noticed the sudden change in Plot 095s ranking list, they couldnt help but doubt their eyes. As Plot 095 was considered one of Everlasting Citys forbidden zones, most powers didnt bother to pay much attention to it. After all, everyone knew that the ultimate occupant of Plot 095 would be Evil Nature, one of the Holy Races Ten Great Royal Powers. If there hadnt been so many players gathered in Plot 095, which afforded more opportunities to collect tokens, the powers involved in Plot 095 would have long since fled to greener pastures. Yet, Evil Nature, originally placed first in Plot 095, was replaced by Zero Wing. This was a major event that could upset the entire competition. First place? How interesting! The black-robed old man from the Seven Luminaries Alliance burst out laughing when he saw the change in Plot 095s ranking list. Rainbow, you did a great job recommending Zero Wing! The old fellows from Demons Gate promised they would seize the Sun Dynastys Plot 113, yet theyre still behind by over 1,000 tokens. In contrast, Evil Nature is no weaker than the Sun Dynasty, yet Zero Wing already leads it by over 4,000 tokens. Those old fellows will have a stroke if they learn about this! Zero Wing has 8,426 tokens? Verdant Rainbow was surprised when she inspected Plot 095s ranking list. She couldnt fathom how Zero Wing had obtained so many tokens so quickly. After including the experts mobilized by the various apex and royal powers, the number of players participating in Everlasting Citys competition was only about two million. If these players were evenly distributed among the citys 144 plots of land, each plot would only have a little more than 10,000 players. Depending on how the various powers arranged their players, 8,426 tokens could already comprise all the tokens on a plot of land. Not to mention, it hadnt been more than 20 minutes since Zero Wing arrived in Plot 095. Even if the experts fighting in Plot 095 were a bunch of harmless livestock, it shouldnt be possible for Zero Wing to collect over 8,000 tokens in such a short time. Everlasting City, Plot 059: Vice Guild Leader, something big happened on Zero Wings side! Shuoyun exclaimed as she approached Lunar River, who was busy organizing a siege. Zero Wing has risen to Plot 095s first place with over 8,000 tokens! It is now leading Evil Nature by more than 4,000 tokens! First place? Leading by more than 4,000 tokens? Lunar River chuckled when she heard Shuoyuns report. Then, while recalling Shi Fengs face, she said, So this is why you refused to partner with us? Vice Guild Leader, now that Zero Wing has secured such a huge lead, unless the various powers involved in Plot 095 let Evil Nature freely slaughter their experts, there is very little Evil Nature can do to topple Zero Wing, Shuoyun said anxiously. She couldnt understand why Lunar River was still in the mood to laugh. It should be known that Kings Paradise was hoping for Zero Wings failure. After all, Zero Wing would be willing to seek Kings Paradises help only if it crashed and burned. Yet, what had happened was the opposite of what Kings Paradise hoped for. Not only did Zero Wing not fail, but it had even secured first place in Plot 095. At this rate, Kings Paradises plans would be completely disrupted. Based on your analysis, there is indeed a high possibility that Plot 095 will go to Zero Wing, Lunar River said leisurely. But do you think a monarch would let an ant occupy their throne? Vice Guild Leader, are you saying that Evil Nature will take action? Shuoyun gasped. Evil Nature is targeting many plots of land, so its top experts are very scattered. Although it is unlikely to mobilize all its forces, the limited forces it mobilizes should still be enough to make Zero Wing suffer, Lunar River stated calmly. This should let Zero Wing know the gap between powers beneath the apex standard and powers at the apex standard and above. Zero Wing will also understand how difficult it is to occupy four plots of land in Everlasting Citys competition. Alright, enough about Zero Wing! All of you, get ready! We will be seizing Plot 047 next! We will likely have to clash with the Holy Races number one chosen one! This will be a good chance to see how powerful the Holy Races Half-step Mortal Gods are! Understood! Lunar Rivers words stimulated Shuoyun. She hadnt expected Lunar River to take action so soon. The gap between powers below the apex standard and powers at the apex standard and above wasnt limited to equipment. It also included Legacies. This situation led to a significant difference in the quantity and quality of experts nurtured. It was also why Kings Paradise had been operating behind the scenes all these years. As an upstart Guild, Zero Wing had no idea how big of a difference this gap was. Everlasting City, Plot 095: As the experts who survived Gentle Snows attack were heavily injured, Zero Wings forces had an easy time hunting them down. Although most of Zero Wings members were behind the various pseudo-apex powers experts in levels, many still managed to achieve victory one-on-one. They could even finish their opponents under a dozen moves when they fought two-on-one. Zero Wings forces eliminated the remaining several hundred experts in less than ten minutes, increasing Zero Wings token count to 9,265 and putting Zero Wing ahead of Evil Nature by 5,000 tokens. As the number of players on the battlefield decreased, the number of players engaging in guerilla warfare would increase, making it harder for the various powers to rack up kills and tokens. Thus, Zero Wing was already guaranteed to become Plot 095s occupant. Guild Leader, a group of concealed players are rapidly approaching us! Azure Shadow, who carried a longbow on his back, reported in the team chat. They are very fast! Theyll reach us in ten seconds at most! There are players coming for us? How many? Hidden Soul, who was resting, asked curiously. Zero Wing became very famous in Plot 095 because of Gentle Snow. After all, unlike Phoenix Rains All-Consuming Fire, Gentle Snows attack that annihilated over 3,000 experts in one fell swoop wasnt a Spell with a long Cooldown but a combat technique. Unless Zero Wings opponent had an expert of a similar caliber, its only option would be to wear out Gentle Snows Stamina and Concentration with numbers. Because of this, the powers operating in Plot 095 avoided Zero Wing like the plague. Any player that encountered Zero Wings team would promptly turn around and flee. Since the initial battle, this was the first time anyone had taken the initiative to approach them. Its a party of six Although Azure Shadow had doubts when he saw the results of his Scouting Skill, he still answered truthfully. Only six? Do they not have any Rangers or Assassins among them? Ji Luorong was stunned by this answer. Reconnaissance should be the top priority for groups wandering Everlasting Citys chaotic battlefield. Otherwise, they wouldnt even know what killed them. Yet, a six-man party was approaching Zero Wings team of 600-plus players. However, before Azure Shadow could conduct further verification, six players appeared in the sky above the street that Zero Wings team occupied. Each of these six players was equipped with at least five Divine Artifacts, with the rest of their equipment comprising Fragmented Divine Artifacts. The leader of the party, a one-eyed old man with white hair, was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, and the aura he radiated was so powerful that many of the Zero Wing members present went weak in the knees. After scanning Zero Wings forces, the one-eyed old man looked at Shi Feng and asked, Are you Zero Wings Black Flame? Thats right. And you are? Shi Feng asked, standing up from the ground. Evil Natures Unseeing Demon! The old mans words gave birth to a powerful attack that assaulted everyone on Zero Wings team. Apart from those with at least Tier 6 Peak Concentration, everyone else experienced a wave of dizziness. Chapter 3854 - Chapter 928 - Royal vs. Royal Chapter 928 C Royal vs. Royal A mental combat technique! Phoenix Rain was shocked when she felt the mental storm the old man emanated. Mental combat techniques were extremely rare in Gods Domain. According to the various human powers understanding, the Holy Race wasnt proficient in mental development but physical development. Yet, the old man could intimidate players with Concentration beneath the Tier 6 Peak standard with nothing but a glare. This was unheard-of. Unseeing Demon? Shi Feng was also shocked by the one-eyed old man. The Transcendent Lists 12th-ranked Unseeing Demon? The Transcendent List was the Holy Races version of the Divine Glory List. However, the Transcendent List had much more substance than the Divine Glory List. Any expert on the Transcendent List could pose a significant threat to the major human powers. Those ranked in the Transcendent Lists top 100 could rival the Divine Glory Lists top 10, while those ranked in the Transcendent Lists top 20 had all grown to become sixth-floor experts in Shi Fengs previous life. Unseeing Demon was one of these experts. In Shi Fengs previous life, Unseeing Demon had fought all three of the human races Three Absolutes in one-on-one duels. He won against one of them, drew with one of them, and lost to one of them. He was, without a doubt, a super powerhouse. Yes, that is me, the one-eyed old man answered. Since you know me, I will give you a chance. Surrender all your tokens, and I will let you leave Plot 095 alive! After Unseeing Demon said so, the five players behind him revealed their auras, which rivaled that of Level 220 Ancient Gods. The implication was clear: they would immediately take action should Shi Feng refuse. The appearance of Unseeing Demons party naturally caught the attention of the powers observing Zero Wings movement from a distance. Among them, the spectating human powers were dumbfounded by this development. Six experts that rival Ancient Gods of the same level! Is this the strength of a royal power? Theyre no different from Humanoid Bosses! Just one of them can take care of the entire Plot 095, let alone six! Unseeing Demon?! Isnt Evil Nature being excessive?! Why would it mobilize an old fellow like him?! Apart from the five other royal powers, who else can contend with Evil Nature now?! Experts who could rival Ancient Gods of the same level were typically among the strongest combatants of the various pseudo-apex powers. As mighty as the human races Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers were, even they had no more than ten such experts each, while the weaker ones had only five or six such experts. Yet, Evil Nature had mobilized six such experts to seize just one plot of land. The gap in strength between Evil Nature and the human races pseudo-apex powers was like heaven and earth. They stood on completely different levels. Has Evil Nature gone insane?! Isnt this just a competition?! Why would it mobilize an old monster like Unseeing Demon?! Does it really think the human race is a pushover?! The Seven Luminaries Alliances Elder Martial was furious as he glared at Unseeing Demons figure displayed on his Magic Mirror. Elder Martial, is Unseeing Demon that strong? Verdant Rainbow asked, Elder Martials fury piquing her curiosity. That old fellow isnt just strong, Elder Martial sighed helplessly. Hes a walking disaster! Others might not know who Unseeing Demon was, but as a Grand Elder of the Seven Luminaries Alliance, Elder Martial knew just how terrifying of an existence the one-eyed old man was. According to the Seven Luminaries Alliances investigation, Unseeing Demon had once destroyed several Realms by himself. He was a walking disaster through and through. With that old fellow there, Plot 095s ownership is already decided. Turning to Verdant Rainbow, Elder Martial said, Contact Black Flame and have him leave Plot 095 immediately. If Unseeing Demon decides to take action, not even the Holy Races other royal powers can stop him. Not even the other royal powers can stop him? Hearing this shocked Verdant Rainbow even more. Verdant Rainbow knew a little about the other royal powers experts. They had quite a few existences who could rival Ancient Gods. They had even mobilized experts who could rival the Holy Races Holy Ancestors. Thus, she couldnt help but doubt Elder Martials statement. As Verdant Rainbow was about to call Shi Feng, the Magic Mirror showed him responding to Unseeing Demon. You want us to surrender our tokens? After glancing at Unseeing Demon and the five experts behind him, Shi Feng stated plainly, Im afraid youre not strong enough to make us do that. Young man, are you tired of living? Unseeing Demons voice grew cold. Unseeing Demon had run rampant in the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain for many years. Since the human race was weaker than the Holy Race, he naturally didnt regard human players to be of any significance. Although Evil Natures investigation showed that Shi Feng had previously defeated Garuda, Unseeing Demon viewed their fight as nothing but children playing house. A true powerhouse who had mastered many top-tier Holy Arts could easily defeat Shi Feng and Garuda. Shortly after Unseeing Demon finished speaking, a crisp voice suddenly entered everyones ears. Guild Leader Black Flame, can you leave this matter to us? Immediately, everyone turned to the source of the voice and saw that the speaker was none other than Purgatory Jade. Of course. Since you are interested, I will leave it to you, Miss Jade, Shi Feng said, consenting to Purgatory Jades initiative. Little girl, do you know that you are courting death?! Unseeing Demon glared at Purgatory Jade, unleashing an even more powerful mental storm at her. However, before Unseeing Demons mental storm could reach her, Purgatory Jade unleashed a mental pulse that thoroughly neutralized it. Old man, are you referring to yourself? Purgatory Jade retorted, looking at the surprised Unseeing Demon indifferently. Put away your useless mental combat technique and bring out your true abilities. Otherwise, Ill end you in three moves. Chapter 3855 - Chapter 929 - Purgatory vs. Unseeing Chapter 929 C Purgatory vs. Unseeing TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 918: Original: She had also replaced her previous shield with a Divine Shield. (Purgatory Jade) Edited: She had also replaced her previous shields with Divine Shields. The ease with which Purgatory Jade nullified Unseeing Demons mental storm made the five Evil Nature members behind the one-eyed old man start to take her seriously. They also looked at her as if she were a monster. As long-time party members of Unseeing Demon, they knew how powerful the old mans mental combat technique was. Even experts with Tier 6 Limit Concentration would have trouble resisting his mental storm. Only the old monsters of the Holy Race could shrug it off. Unseeing Demons mental combat technique, or more specifically, Mental Secret Technique Spiritual Blade, was equivalent to a Peak Gold Combat Technique. He was the only player in Evil Nature to have succeeded in learning it. This was because the innate Concentration of his Unique Class Holy Soul Fighter was 50% stronger than other classes. Even then, it had taken him years of research and practice to learn it. Yet, a young human woman had managed to match Unseeing Demons mental attack. This was simply unbelievable. It seems you arent all talk after all. Unseeing Demon smirked. No wonder you dare to look down on me. With that move alone, you are indeed qualified for me to fight you seriously. As soon as Unseeing Demon finished speaking, he unleashed an incredibly dense Holy Aura that transformed him into a 100-meter-tall, six-armed, three-eyed giant. Now, he was akin to an awakened Primordial Holy Demon, his presence alone shattering the surrounding space and expelling the Eternal Realms World Power within a 1,000-yard radius. When the five Evil Nature members saw this, they quickly retreated a thousand yards away lest they get swept up in Unseeing Demons battle. Spread out! Shi Feng also commanded Zero Wings members to retreat by 3,000 yards, leaving enough space for Purgatory Jade to fight Unseeing Demon. When experts of Purgatory Jade and Unseeing Demons caliber fought, only experts of a similar standard could intervene. The ripples of their battle could easily kill weaker experts. Unseeing Demon did not pay any attention to the withdrawal of Zero Wings forces. His full attention was on Purgatory Jade and the two shields she wielded. He had long regarded Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members as walking corpses. Once he dealt with Purgatory Jade, he could retrieve the tokens in the hands of Zero Wings other members whenever he wanted. After sensing that Shi Feng and the others had distanced themselves from her, Purgatory Jade launched herself off the ground and instantly appeared above Unseeing Demons 100-meter-tall body as if teleporting. Immediately afterward, her shields expanded into two 1,000-meter-tall hills, and she smashed them into Unseeing Demon, the downward pressure blurring the space beneath them. Peak Gold Combat Technique, Collapsing Earth! However, Unseeing Demon didnt think much of Purgatory Jades attack and simply threw a punch at the descending shields, the dense Holy Aura circulating around his arm condensing at his fist. Boom! When shields and fist collided, the impact turned the space within a 1,000-yard radius into an empty void. The street and the surrounding buildings vanished, as if a black hole had appeared in the middle of the city. As soon as their first exchange ended, Purgatory Jade and Unseeing Demon traded several more blows, each exchange producing tremors and explosions that players operating in the surrounding plots of land felt and heard. Crap! Who is fighting over there?! Whats with this huge commotion?! The commotion seems to be coming from Plot 095. Could a royal powers experts be taking action? Is this the strength of a royal powers experts? When the players in the surrounding plots of land looked toward Plot 095, some were glad, and some were frightened. Although the various powers knew they couldnt afford to provoke royal powers, they had never known how powerful royal powers were. However, after sensing the commotion in Plot 095, they finally understood why royal powers were feared. Even without experiencing the battle in person, they knew that the average fifth-floor expert would be no different from cannon fodder in a battle of such a level. After several exchanges, the fight between Purgatory Jade and Unseeing Demon paused. When it came to equipment standards, Unseeing Demon, who was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, had a huge advantage over Purgatory Jade. However, Purgatory Jades Guardian Knight class granted her incredibly high HP and Defense. She was also a Primordial Dragonoid. Hence, she had lost only 10% of her HP thus far despite being inferior to Unseeing Demon in Basic Attributes. This outcome astonished the five spectating Evil Nature members. Guild Leader, should we help her? Hidden Soul asked, growing worried as she looked at Purgatory Jades HP. Currently, there werent any noticeable differences in combat standards between Purgatory Jade and Unseeing Demon. Although Purgatory Jade had lost only 10% HP in their several exchanges, this outcome already sealed her fate. After all, neither of them were near exhaustion. Their fight could easily go on for a hundred exchanges. In that case, it was only a matter of time before she fell. Relax. If this is all Unseeing Demon has, he wont be able to kill Purgatory Jade, Shi Feng said, chuckling. She isnt just a Guardian Knight. As Shi Feng spoke, Purgatory Jade cast a Tier 6 Holy Heal on herself. The Spell not only healed her HP back to full but also provided her with continuous healing for 30 seconds. This sight dumbfounded Hidden Soul. A hidden class that comes with self-healing? Unseeing Demons eyebrows twitched when he saw the fruits of his effort erased. Thats right. Im not just a Guardian Knight. Im also a Divine Dragon Knight. When it comes to self-healing capabilities, I am no weaker than the average Cleric, Purgatory Jade admitted while nonchalantly dusting her armor. If this is all youve got, it will be the end of the line for you. You are full of surprises. Unseeing Demon did not grow flustered after learning about Purgatory Jades class. On the contrary, his eyes brightened with vigor, and he gathered his Holy Aura on all six fists, transforming them into six illusory, pitch-black miniature worlds. Out of everyone in the younger generation, you are the second person to make me use my full strength! After saying so, Unseeing Demon launched all six fists at Purgatory Jade, the six illusory miniature worlds merging and transforming into a black beam. The speed and power of this attack were completely different from his previous attacks. The name of this attack was Worlds Light. It was the strongest Fusion Holy Art in his arsenal, and it combined the strength of his current form and one of his Divine Artifacts Profound Skills. Almost instinctively, Purgatory Jade executed Collapsing Earth to defend against Unseeing Demons attack. Boom! Following a loud report, Purgatory Jade flew across the sky, her body leaving a wake of nothingness that extended over a thousand yards, smashing through several skyscrapers before coming to a halt. The commander will win for sure now! The five spectating Evil Nature members grew excited when they saw Purgatory Jades HP had fallen below 50%. However, just as they started celebrating, Purgatory Jade stamped her feet and demolished the skyscraper she was in. As she remained suspended in the air, a dazzling light burst from her body, and her HP rapidly recovered, returning to full in just two seconds. At the same time, her shields transformed into a miniature world several hundred meters in diameter, composed of divine patterns. Old man, you are very strong, Purgatory Jade said as she gazed at Unseeing Demon, innumerable divine patterns flashing in her eyes. Since coming to this world, you are the first expert I have needed to fight with my full strength! As the miniature world enveloping Purgatory Jade began to rotate, a look of surprise appeared on Unseeing Demons face for the first time in this battle. A MortalGod? Chapter 3856 - Chapter 930 - Another Mortal God? Chapter 930 C Another Mortal God? A Mortal God?! Impossible! How could she have reached that realm?! The five spectating Evil Nature members gawked at Purgatory Jade. The sixth-floor standard, also known as the Mortal God realm, was akin to a myth. This was true for the human race, the Crystallian race, and the Holy Race. According to legend, anyone who reached the sixth-floor standard would become a god among mortals, invincible among those of the same tier. Until now, Ink Crystal from the Crystallian race was the only person known to have reached the sixth-floor standard. They hadnt expected to meet a second one here. Mortal Gods were considered invincible against opponents of the same tier not just because their powerful Concentration could drastically reduce their Concentration consumption but also because they were capable of Manifold Execution. They could fuse two Peak Gold-ranked techniques to achieve unimaginable destructive power. There was no doubt that Purgatory Jade was a Mortal God. The miniature world she had formed with her shields was obviously a fusion of Collapsing Earth and a combat technique of similar rank. Seeing as she could fuse two Peak Gold Combat Techniques, she must have reached the sixth-floor standard. This is truly unexpected. First, there was that little girl from the Crystallian race. Now, there is you. Unseeing Demon stared at Purgatory Jade, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit. The sixth-floor standard was a realm that every fifth-floor expert in Gods Domain yearned to reach, and he was no exception. Come, then! Let me experience the power of that legendary realm! After saying so, Unseeing Demon gathered his Holy Aura at his fists again, forming a series of illusory, pitch-black miniature worlds. As you wish! Purgatory Jade did not hesitate to clash with Unseeing Demon. Subsequently, Purgatory Jade and the miniature world enveloping her transformed into a beam of light that shot at Unseeing Demon. In response, Unseeing Demon threw all six of his fists again, launching a black beam at Purgatory Jade. When the two beams collided, it felt like two worldsone black and one whiteslammed into each other. The entirety of Plot 095 became brightly lit, and smaller, interwoven beams of black and white pierced the ground and the sky. Three seconds later, the dazzling beams faded, and both Purgatory Jade and Unseeing Demon flew a hundred yards back. Both had also lost over 20% of their HP. At a glance, it was clear that they were evenly matched. However, before anyone could recover from their surprise, Purgatory Jade cast another miniature world of divine patterns around herself and launched herself at Unseeing Demon. Dammit! Unseeing Demon turned ashen when he saw Purgatory Jade coming at him again. I shouldnt have insisted on trading blows After executing his Fusion Holy Art, Worlds Light, for a second time, Unseeing Demon had exhausted his mind and needed to rest for a few seconds before he could use it again. Out of desperation, Unseeing Demon executed a top-tier Holy Art to defend himself. Unfortunately, his efforts were futile; he was flung into the distance the instant his attack collided with the oncoming white beam, and his body smashed through one building after another as his HP plummeted. 75% 50% 30% When Unseeing Demons body stopped, his HP had already fallen into the red. Just as he was thinking about getting up to resume fighting, Purgatory Jade again appeared before him, enveloped in her miniature world of divine patterns. She gave him no time to catch his breath. Ultimately, Unseeing Demon disappeared in a white radiance, and the 4,000-plus Everlasting City Tokens in his bag appeared in Purgatory Jades bag. Its a stomp? The fights outcome astonished Hidden Soul and the other Zero Wing members. While Mortal Gods might be unreachable existences, the Zero Wing members hadnt held out much hope for Purgatory Jades victory. After all, Unseeing Demon was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, so his Basic Attributes must have far exceeded hers. Yet, as soon as Purgatory Jade got serious, the fight became one-sided. Unseeing Demon barely even got to resist before she killed him in three moves This was bound to happen, Shi Feng said as he looked at where Unseeing Demon disappeared. The fight might have taken a different direction had Unseeing Demon engaged Purgatory Jade in close-quarters combat, but he chose to trade blows with her. Besides being able to multitask to an extreme extent, a sixth-floor expert can execute powerful combat techniques at little cost. Unseeing Demon could only execute his Fusion Holy Art ten or so times. He also couldnt use it in rapid succession. In contrast, it is trivial for Purgatory Jade to execute Peak Gold Fusion Techniques. It is obvious he would lose fighting like that. Shi Fengs explanation enlightened Hidden Soul and the others. They now found Unseeing Demon pitiful. Had Unseeing Demon taken advantage of his powerful Basic Attributes to engage Purgatory Jade in close-quarters combat, she wouldnt necessarily have been his opponent. After all, a Peak Gold Fusion Technique required time to set up. If he kept her busy, even if she was a sixth-floor expert, she might not have been able to execute any Peak Gold Fusion Techniques. In a fight where neither side could use powerful fusion techniques, the side with superior Basic Attributes would have an advantage. As for whether Unseeing Demon could defeat Purgatory Jade, it would depend on whether he could deplete her HP before he exhausted his Concentration. Following Unseeing Demons death, a dramatic change occurred to Plot 095s ranking list. Zero Wings team, originally ranked first with 9,265 tokens, now had 13,628 tokens. As for Evil Nature, originally ranked second, it fell off the ranking list. That old bastard lost? What happened in Plot 095? Did Evil Nature abandon it? What? Evil Natures gone from the ranking list? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? The various powers in Everlasting City were astonished when they saw the change in Plot 095s ranking list. They had never expected Zero Wing to seize Plot 095. Neither had they expected Evil Nature to disappear from Plot 095s ranking list. As for the powers who knew what had happened in Plot 095, they were even more astonished. The walking disaster Unseeing Demon had been defeated. Moreover, he had been defeated by a small Guild of the human race. This situation sounded like it came straight out of a fairy tale. A Mortal God?! Who is that Guardian Knight?! Why dont we have any information on her?! Elder Martial of the Seven Luminaries Alliance was ecstatic as he looked at Purgatory Jades figure in his Magic Mirror. Unable to contain his excitement, he turned to Verdant Rainbow and asked, Rainbow, arent you close to Black Flame? Do you know that Guardian Knight? The existence of a Mortal God among the human race was an earth-shattering discovery. It could even change the status quo of the various human powers, allowing the human race to make a great leap forward. Chapter 3857 - Chapter 931 - World Idol Chapter 931 C World Idol I dont know her. Ive had people keep an eye on Zero Wing throughout this period, but this is the first time Ive seen her. She should have joined Zero Wing only recently, Verdant Rainbow said, smiling wryly as she looked at Elder Martial, who very clearly wanted to seek guidance from Purgatory Jade. You dont know her? Elder Martial stroked his white beard at Verdant Rainbows answer. Regardless, this is a good opportunity for us to get to know her. Unseeing Demon might have been defeated, but Evil Nature is still a royal power; a single Mortal God isnt enough to topple it. Have the Divine Luminary Legion reinforce Zero Wing in Plot 095 immediately! Elder Martial, are we really going to mobilize the Divine Luminary Legion? Elder Martials decision surprised Verdant Rainbow. The Divine Luminary Legion was a trump card among the Seven Luminaries Alliances trump card legions. It was a gathering of chosen ones from multiple generations. Although it had no sixth-floor experts, it was one of the few trump cards that allowed the Seven Luminaries Alliance to combat royal powers. By having the Divine Luminary Legion assist Zero Wing, the Seven Luminaries Alliance would be giving up on a plot of land in Everlasting City. Do it. Elder Martial nodded. Itll be worth it if we can befriend a Mortal God. I understand. Upon hearing Elder Martials reasoning, Verdant Rainbow felt that his decision made sense. In a situation where none of the various human powers had sixth-floor experts, the existence of the first human sixth-floor expert was akin to a banner. It was especially so now that Purgatory Jade had revealed herself before the various powers of the three races. Once the competition was over, Verdant Rainbow could imagine many powers from all three races trying to curry favor and establish partnerships with Purgatory Jade. The various human powers, in particular, would try to obtain her method and experience in reaching the sixth-floor standard. While the Seven Luminaries Alliance might be an apex power, it wasnt the only apex power of the human race. If it could establish close ties with Purgatory Jade in this competition, it would have a much easier time trading and establishing partnerships with Purgatory Jade than the other apex powers later. However, just as Verdant Rainbow was about to inform the Divine Luminary Legion, the five Evil Nature members in the Magic Mirror suddenly made a move. They scattered to the five corners, surrounding Zero Wings team, retrieved a two-meter-tall idol from their bags, and erected the idols around Zero Wings team. Immediately afterward, the five idols raised a Holy Power barrier that covered a 5,000-yard radius and isolated Zero Wings team from the outside world. Theres something strange about this barrier! I cant feel the presence of any Mana! Phoenix Rain exclaimed when she sensed the change in her surroundings. The Holy Power here is also eroding my Mana ten times faster than normal! At Phoenix Rains exclamation, the other Zero Wing members quickly realized what was happening, and their faces immediately changed color. Mana was the human players primary source of strength. If their surroundings had no Mana for them to use, the power of their Skills, Spells, Mana Techniques, and combat techniques would plummet. The strengthened erosive properties of Holy Power on Mana made things even worse. Once their Mana was eroded completely, only death awaited them. Yet, if they wanted to resist this erosive effect, they would have to designate a portion of their Mana to resist it while battling. This would further reduce their combat power. World Idols? Shi Feng frowned at the holy idols erected around Zero Wings team. The Holy Races World Idols were very well-known in his previous life. They were powerful tools critical in the war between the Holy Race and the human race. With only five World Idols, one could seal and alter the environment of a large area for six hours. During this period, players caught in the seal could not leave it, while players outside could freely enter it. The World Idols were the perfect tools for trapping and killing players. Their only flaw was that they were single-use consumables that were difficult to produce. Even the Holy Races royal powers had only a few in their possession. What a surprise! You know about the World Idols, a four-armed, middle-aged man from Evil Nature exclaimed, looking at Shi Feng in delight. But you can be proud of yourselves. Not only did you kill the commander, but you also forced us to trap you with the World Idols. Not even the Vice Guild Leaders of other royal powers can receive such treatment from us. So what if youve trapped us? Hidden Soul said, looking at the four-armed, middle-aged man. Do you think you can kill us with just the five of you? Of course not. The four-armed, middle-aged man laughed. But its a different story if one of Evil Natures trump card legions comes here! Even if you have a Mortal God on your side, all of you will die here today! The faces of Hidden Soul and the other Zero Wing members sank at the four-armed, middle-aged mans words. If they had to fight one of Evil Natures trump card legions in this extremely unfavorable environment, their demise would be inevitable, even if they had Purgatory Jade. After all, if Purgatory Jade had to split her focus to resist the erosion of her mana, she would likely have trouble fighting experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. As Evil Nature was a royal power, each of its trump card legions was led by at least one expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. With the assistance of the World Idols, it would be easy for said expert to distract Purgatory Jade. At the same time, over at Plot 066 Two legions of Holy Race players stood in the central plaza of Plot 066, surrounded by piles of player corpses. These corpses numbered over 10,000 and belonged to players from over a dozen pseudo-apex powers. Commander Vocalist, we have already eliminated over 70% of the players in Plot 066, a girl wearing Evil Natures Guild Emblem reported to a three-eyed young man carrying two moon glaives on his back. Additionally, Team Demon has reported that their attack on Zero Wing failed and that Zero Wings sixth-floor expert killed Commander Demon. They have trapped Zero Wings team using the World Idols and are requesting reinforcements. That old man lost? Slumbering Vocalist, the three-eyed young man, laughed. How interesting! I guess this is to be expected of a Mortal God. Besides our Holy Hymn Legion, Commander Demons Holy Scorpion Legion has also received this news. Should we go, Commander Vocalist? the girl asked. Of course! Why shouldnt we? Slumbering Vocalist said, grinning. Thats a sixth-floor expert we are talking about. I also heard that Zero Wings Guild Leader defeated Garuda in the Continental Championship. This is my chance to prove that I have surpassed Garuda and become the Holy Races number one chosen one! Understood! I will have everyone get ready immediately! At Slumbering Vocalists words, the girl promptly mustered the members of the Holy Hymn Legion. While the Holy Hymn Legion members gathered, Slumbering Vocalist turned to look at a three-eyed woman standing a short distance away. The woman in question was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts and wore the Sun Dynastys Guild Emblem. Daystar, you should have heard it, too, right? Interested in joining me? Slumbering Vocalist asked in a playful tone. I heard that you lost to Black Flame. This is a good opportunity to redeem yourself. Chapter 3858 - Chapter 932 - Earth-Shattering Chapter 932 C Earth-Shattering Are you trying to start a fight, Vocalist?! Holy Blood, the Sun Dynastys First Holy Child, glared at Slumbering Vocalist. If not for Daystar being the commander of the Sun Dynastys forces in Plot 066, he would have attacked Slumbering Vocalist on the spot. Slumbering Vocalist was Evil Natures number one chosen one. In terms of combat standard, he wasnt much better than Daystar, the Sun Dynastys number one chosen one. However, ever since Daystar lost to Shi Feng, Slumbering Vocalist behaved like she had lost to him and made fun of her at every opportunity. This, in turn, made it seem like the Sun Dynasty was inferior to Evil Nature. Sure! Fight me if you dare! Slumbering Vocalist said calmly as he glanced at Holy Blood, who was equipped with only Fragmented Divine Artifact-ranked equipment and a Divine Artifact-ranked weapon. Lets see how many rounds you can last against me! Youre stronger than me now only because you have your Guilds Divine Artifacts to rely on. Do you think youd be a match for me if we competed in combat standards? Holy Blood said sarcastically, resisting the impulse to take action. So what? Youre free to use your Guilds Divine Artifacts as well, Slumbering Vocalist said, chuckling. But would the Sun Dynasty dare to bestow its Divine Artifacts on a person like you? Vocalist, thats enough out of you, Daystar stated coldly when she noticed Holy Blood about to give in to his anger. If you want to prove you are stronger than me, feel free to go after Black Flame. You can rest assured that the Sun Dynasty will never intervene. Never intervene? Slumbering Vocalist smiled at Daystars statement. In that case, Ill deal with Black Flame on your behalf. Ill teach him that the Holy Races chosen ones are superior to the human races chosen ones in every aspect! Suit yourself, Daystar said indifferently. But let me warn you: do not underestimate Black Flame. Even during the Continental Championship, he never fought us with his full strength. Never fought with his full strength? So what? With an absolute difference in Basic Attributes, even a Mortal God will fall before me! Slumbering Vocalist said nonchalantly before he turned around and left with his legion. After the Holy Hymn Legion left Plot 066, Holy Blood turned to Daystar. Daystar, what were you thinking? Holy Blood asked in confusion. You are fully equipped with Divine Artifacts now. Your combat standard is also superior to that bastards. Why would you concede such a good opportunity to him? If that bastard kills Black Flame, our reputation will be ruined. He isnt that easy to kill, Daystar stated firmly as she looked toward Plot 095. If he could be defeated so easily, Garuda never would have lost to him. But Slumbering Vocalist is fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Paired with the World Idols effect, even Zero Wings Mortal God might not be a match for him, let alone Black Flame, Holy Blood rebutted, exasperated by Daystars confidence in Shi Fengs strength. Holy Blood admitted that Shi Fengs combat standard surpassed theirs. Even so, he still wasnt anywhere near reaching the sixth-floor standard. All we need to do is wait for the outcome, Daystar said, unperturbed. If he does get defeated, it would only prove that he is nothing special and no longer qualifies to be my opponent. After saying so, Daystar led her legion to another plot of land to continue collecting Everlasting City Tokens. Everlasting City, Plot 095: About two hours after the activation of the World Idols, many of the various powers members had gathered in Plot 095 in addition to Evil Natures two trump card legions. These players had come to spectate and record the inevitable battle between Evil Nature and Zero Wing. I wonder how Zero Wings Mortal God will fare against an expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts while affected by the World Idols? Shell probably be defeated in no time. After all, we are talking about the World Idols here. Even a sixth-floor expert should need to commit much of their attention to resisting the World Idols effects. Although Zero Wings sixth-floor expert defeated Unseeing Demon in three moves, that was because Unseeing Demon chose to trade blows with her. Had he engaged her in close-quarters combat, he would never have lost so miserably. How strange. Such a major event has occurred, yet the Sun Dynasty, the Thunder Empire, and Sovereign Mark havent sent anyone here? They probably feel that the outcome is obvious, so they couldnt be bothered to send anyone. After all, how strong could a shackled sixth-floor expert be? The various powers scouts engaged in an enthusiastic discussion as they observed the trapped Zero Wing members. They were curious to learn how strong a sixth-floor expert could be and what kind of price a royal power would have to pay to kill a Mortal God. If they could have their questions answered, it would give them a better chance at resisting Mortal Gods in the future. Elder Martial, are we just going to watch? Verdant Rainbow asked, clenching her fists in frustration as she stared at Evil Natures legions in the Magic Mirror. With the World Idols deployed, we can do nothing about this situation. Even if we mobilized all of the Seven Luminaries Alliances forces, we would simply be contributing our tokens to Evil Nature, Elder Martial said, shaking his head. He was similarly bitter about the situation. All we can do now is collect as much information as we can on Evil Nature to better deal with the Holy Race in the future. If only the Golden Kingdom were here. Wed be able to render the World Idols useless with the Golden Kingdoms power. Verdant Rainbow also understood that the Seven Luminaries Alliance stood no chance against Evil Nature in the World Idols barrier. It might be a different story if they had the Golden Kingdom here, but the Divine Artifact was protecting the Seven Luminaries Alliances town on the Western Continent. As the various powers discussed Zero Wings fate, inside the World Idols barrier Guild Leader, a lot of people have already gathered. My Cooldown is also done. Can we start now? Phoenix Rain asked Shi Feng, looking at the 2,000 Evil Nature members gathered in the distance. I guess this is all the members Evil Nature can muster, Shi Feng muttered, surveying the Evil Nature members chatting in midair. Go ahead, then! Okay! At Shi Fengs response, Phoenix Rain excitedly began to chant. The Spell Phoenix Rain cast was none other than the Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell All-Consuming Fire. However, unlike before, she now cast it after activating her Divine Staffs Profound Skill, Mana Sacrifice. When activated, Mana Sacrifice would ignite her mana, increasing its effectiveness by 200% for one minute. It had a long Cooldown of one natural day and was Phoenix Rains greatest trump card. When Phoenix Rain completed the chant for All-Consuming Fire, dark-purple flames poured out of the void. The flames appeared much more quickly than before. A flaming sword exceeding 10,000 yards emerged from the void in just three seconds and pierced the World Idols barrier. Boom! Before anyone outside the barrier could react, a deafening sound echoed across Everlasting City. Then, the barrier shattered and turned into particles of light. Chapter 3859 - Chapter 933 - Lunatic Black Flame Chapter 933 C Lunatic Black Flame Everlasting City, Plot 095: Countless particles of light rained from the sky following the barriers destruction. Although the barriers destruction produced no sound, the sight dumbfounded the players outside the barrier. This was especially so for the Holy Races various powers. It shattered? The World Idols barrier shattered? I must be dreaming! How could a single Spell shatter the World Idols barrier?! Its a prison that can trap even old monsters fully equipped with Divine Artifacts! Could Evil Nature have used defective World Idols? The barriers created by World Idols were regarded as nigh impenetrable by the Holy Races players. In the long history of the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain, no player trapped by a World Idol barrier had ever escaped, let alone shattered it. Hence, when the Holy Race players saw the barrier shatter, their first instinct was to doubt it. However, Shi Feng was unsurprised by this outcome. Unbeknownst to the Holy Races players, there were plenty of ways to break a World Idol barrier in Gods Domain. Pseudo-Tier 7 Large-scale Destruction Spells were only one such method. Every one of the Three Absolutes in his previous life could single-handedly shatter a World Idol barrier. Evil Natures members would be delusional if they thought they could trap him with a World Idol barrier. Old Dragon, what is the meaning of this?! Why did the World Idols fail?! Slumbering Vocalist demanded, glaring at the five players responsible for setting up the World Idols. Did you all embezzle the Guilds World Idols and replace them with defective ones?! The killing intent Slumbering Vocalist exuded was so intense that it was almost tangible; it made Old Dragon and Unseeing Demons other party members shudder. Commander Vocalist, we would never dare do that! The World Idols are only ever used for crucial actions! We would never joke around with our lives! Old Dragon, the four-armed middle-aged man of Unseeing Demons party, explained hurriedly. Not to mention, Commander Demon instructed us to prepare these World Idols for the Crystallians Ink Crystal! The commander would kill us had we brought defective ones! Is it really not you? Slumbering Vocalist asked for confirmation. Although he had already inwardly accepted the middle-aged mans refutation, the implications of this situation were too grave for him to simply pardon them. This was a sixth-floor expert they were talking about! This was an existence regarded by the three races as a Mortal God! Just a moment ago, Evil Nature had the perfect opportunity to do as it wished against one such existence. Yet, everything was now a mess. Evil Nature would become a joke among the three races if this situation was not handled properly. Even Slumbering Vocalist, the number one chosen one of Evil Nature, would not be able to shoulder the consequences of this situation. As for recapturing Purgatory Jade, that would happen only in their dreams. After all, even an old monster like Unseeing Demon had lost to her. Without the World Idols restricting her, nobody could stop her so long as she focused on escaping. Commander Vocalist, look over there! While Slumbering Vocalist was losing his mind, Bladeweaver, the Holy Scorpion Legions commander, suddenly pointed toward the shattered World Idol barrier. Zero Wings members seem prepared to fight! Prepared to fight? When Slumbering Vocalist turned to where Bladeweaver pointed, confusion filled his mind as he saw Zero Wings team emerging from the raining particles of light and steadily advancing in their direction. Is Black Flame out of his mind? Or does he think a Mortal God can solo two of Evil Natures trump card legions? Everyone had seen the strength Purgatory Jade had displayed against Unseeing Demon. After a thorough analysis of her strength, some powers had concluded that she could fight a top 50 Transcendent List expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, at best. If she had to fight two such experts simultaneously, she would face certain death if she stood her ground. This was also why Evil Nature had mobilized two trump card legions to Plot 095. All of Evil Natures trump card legions were commanded by experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Although the combat standard of these commanders might be inferior to Unseeing Demons, they were still experts who had mastered Peak Gold Holy Arts. Furthermore, the vice commanders of these legions were equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts and had mastered multiple Advanced Gold Holy Arts; they could slay fifth-floor experts as if slaughtering chickens. Besides Purgatory Jade, the only noteworthy combatants Zero Wing had were Black Flame, Gentle Snow, and Phoenix Rain. Even if Black Flame could match one of Evil Natures commanders, two vice commanders should have no problem distracting him for some time. As for Gentle Snow and Phoenix Rain, the two remaining vice commanders should be enough to keep them busy. Simply put, it was suicidal for Zero Wing to attack Evil Natures trump card legions. However, before Slumbering Vocalist could wrap his mind around the situation, Shi Feng unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator hanging by his waist. Charge! At Shi Fengs command, Zero Wings members charged Evil Natures legions, spearheaded by Dragons Crowns chosen ones. Black Flame! Since youre so eager to die, Ill grant your wish! Slumbering Vocalist promptly snapped out of his daze when he realized his opponent had a death wish. Turning to Bladeweaver, he said, Commander Bladeweaver, Ill have to trouble you with holding back Purgatory Jade! Ill get rid of Black Flame first before joining you to deal with her! Okay, leave it to me. Bladeweaver nodded, not objecting to Slumbering Vocalists arrangement. Slumbering Vocalist was Evil Natures number one chosen one. While his combat standard might be lacking compared to the Sun Dynastys Daystar, he was the undisputed number one among the Holy Races chosen ones when it came to offensive capabilities. He was among the few individuals among the younger generation who could match Unseeing Demons offensive capabilities. With the offensive capabilities of Unseeing Demon, the 12th-ranked player on the Transcendent List, killing an expert ranked 281st on the human races Divine Glory List would be trivial. As soon as Bladeweaver agreed to his suggestion, Slumbering Vocalist turned into a flash of light as he charged Shi Feng. He also spun his moon glaives, creating space-time storms that shredded everything in their path. The move Slumbering Vocalist had just executed was his self-developed Fusion Holy Art. It was a fusion of Endless Blades and Spatial Imprisonment, the former being a Peak Gold Holy Art and the latter being a Profound Skill of his Divine Weapons. This Fusion Holy Art could match Unseeing Demons Worlds Light in power. If he were to use this move against a Swordsman, a non-Defense-oriented class, he could end the fight on the spot. However, when Slumbering Vocalists space-time storms got within 500 yards of Shi Feng, a tall figure suddenly intercepted them. As soon as the tall figure appeared, he brandished his four sabers, creating over two dozen saber lights that merged into one and bisected the world before him. Boom! When the saber lights and space-time storms collided, both shattered and faded from existence. In the end, Slumbering Vocalists attack was neutralized, and the tall figure stumbled several steps backward before he regained his footing. You! How?! Slumbering Vocalist stammered, at a loss for words, as he glared at Kowloon Demon, who had previously stood beside Purgatory Jade. Youre also a Mortal God?! Chapter 3860 - Chapter 934 - Evil Nature Defeated Chapter 934 C Evil Nature Defeated That guy blocked it?! Is he a monster?! Isnt that Commander Vocalists strongest move?! Dont tell me that guys another sixth-floor expert?! Two sixth-floor experts in a single team?! Wasnt Zero Wing supposed to be beneath pseudo-apex powers?! Evil Natures members were dumbfounded when they saw Kowloon Demon had neutralized Slumbering Vocalists attack. As members of Evil Nature, they were well aware of Slumbering Vocalists strength. Although his combat standard was inferior to Unseeing Demon, he was already on par with Unseeing Demon in offensive capability. Previously, Purgatory Jade, who was barely equipped with Divine Artifacts, could block Unseeing Demons all-out attack only because her combat standard had reached the sixth-floor standard. Thus, when everyone saw Kowloon Demon, who similarly had few Divine Artifacts equipped, block Slumbering Vocalists all-out attack, they could only assume that his combat standard had also reached the sixth-floor standard. Besides Evil Natures members, the spectating members of the various powers were also shocked by this development. A second one?! How many secrets has Zero Wing kept from me?! Verdant Rainbow was at a loss for words as she stared at Kowloon Demon in the Magic Mirror. Sixth-floor experts were akin to myths in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Before the Crystallian races Ink Crystal appeared, everyone thought that reaching the sixth-floor standard was nothing but a pipe dream. But now, sixth-floor experts had seemingly become stock items in Zero Wings team, with two appearing in a row. She wouldnt have believed this development if she hadnt witnessed it. While everyone was in a daze, Slumbering Vocalist issued a command. All team leaders, cooperate with me and Commander Bladeweaver to kill these two Mortal Gods! Everyone else, proceed according to plan and swiftly eliminate Zero Wings other members! Slumbering Vocalist executed the Peak Gold Holy Art Endless Blades to distract Kowloon Demon. Team leaders, attack the Mortal Gods from afar! Tanks, protect those attacking! Do not engage the Mortal Gods directly! Coordinate with me and Commander Bladeweaver to wear them out! All 2,000 Evil Nature members took action at Slumbering Vocalists command. Among them, the 100 team leaders gathered into two teams and coordinated with Slumbering Vocalist and Bladeweaver to tackle Kowloon Demon and Purgatory Jade. They moved without hesitation, with full confidence that they could defeat the two Mortal Gods. Sixth-floor experts might be able to use Peak Gold Fusion Techniques at little cost, but they would still burn some Stamina and Concentration in the process. They couldnt use these powerful techniques indefinitely. Moreover, as Slumbering Vocalist and Bladeweaver were strong enough to confront and distract Kowloon Demon and Purgatory Jade, the two Mortal Gods would not have much leeway to target anyone else. So long as enough experts worked together with Slumbering Vocalist and Bladeweaver, it would only be a matter of time before the two Mortal Gods collapsed from exhaustion. As Evil Natures team leaders encircled Kowloon Demon and Purgatory Jade, about a dozen youths wearing Dragons Crowns Guild Emblem charged forward to intercept them. Conceited brats! Do you think you can stop us with just the few of you?! When Evil Natures team leaders saw the youths charging them, they used their strongest moves without hesitation, wanting to eliminate these obstructions as quickly as possible. These team leaders, who were fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, either attacked with Advanced Gold Arts or worked together to execute Combination Holy Arts to launch a flurry of melee and ranged attacks. Although the power of their attacks was weaker than Slumbering Vocalists space-time storms, the coordination of these attacks was enough to kill any expert without an Invulnerability Skill or a Peak Gold Defensive Technique. However, even as the attacks of the Evil Nature team leaders were about to land, the Dragons Crown youths did not falter. Six of them worked together to execute an Advanced Gold Combination Defensive Technique, while the remaining seven either executed bewildering footwork or started to glow brightly. Boom Boom Boom Suddenly, a series of loud explosions echoed across Plot 095. Buildings several thousand yards from the source of the explosions collapsed, and numerous spatial tears appeared in their place. After a round of offensive by both sides, the spectating players gasped when they saw the 13 Dragons Crown youths emerge from the dust unscathed. Many even started to doubt life. Heavens! Seven Half-step Mortal Gods?! What kind of power is Zero Wing?! Besides two Mortal Gods, it also has seven Half-step Mortal Gods who are so young! Not even Evil Nature has so many Half-step Mortal Gods among its younger generation! When the Mortal God standard was still an impossible dream, the Half-step Mortal God standard became the extreme that the various powers experts sought. However, achieving this standard was easier said than done. Many of the various powers old monsters could only dream of reaching it, let alone experts of the younger generation. Even now, the number of known Half-step Mortal Gods was very limited. Nonetheless, Zero Wing, a Guild of little renown before today, had seven Half-step Mortal Gods. Furthermore, every one of them was unbelievably young. Not even the Holy Races royal powers necessarily had such a foundation. Where did the Guild Leader find all these monsters? Hidden Soul was astonished when she saw that the Dragons Crown youths had neutralized the Evil Nature team leaders attacks. First, it was two sixth-floor experts. Now, it was seven Half-step Mortal Gods. Not even apex powers could come up with such a lineup. Half-step Mortal Gods? When Slumbering Vocalist saw the 13 youths pinning down Evil Natures 100 team leaders handily, he couldnt help but glance at Shi Feng in disbelief. Who are you people?! If it were only the two Mortal Gods, he could still attribute it to Zero Wing having unprecedented luck. However, no amount of luck could let a Guild come into possession of so many talented youths. Only a Guild with incredibly formidable foundations could produce this many Half-step Mortal Gods. After all, even the Holy Races royal powers had to go to great lengths to produce even one Half-step Mortal God, let alone seven. Just as doubts were assailing Slumbering Vocalist, a figure came crashing down near him from the sky. When he saw this figure, his pupils instantly shrank. Bladeweaver! Slumbering Vocalist couldnt believe his eyes as he stared at Bladeweavers empty HP bar. Bladeweaver was the commander of the Holy Scorpion Legion. His combat standard was superior to Slumbering Vocalists, and his defensive capabilities surpassed even those of Unseeing Demon. It was why Slumbering Vocalist trusted him to deal with Purgatory Jade. But now, Bladeweaver died in the span of only a few moves Chapter 3861 - Chapter 935 - Top 10 Teams Chapter 935 C Top 10 Teams Silence enveloped the battlefield following Bladeweavers death. The players who had witnessed his death were especially terrified as they looked at Purgatory Jade. The Evil Nature members engaged in battle with Zero Wings forces might have been too busy to care about anything else, but it was a different story for the spectating players. They all saw the fight between Purgatory Jade and Bladeweaver. In essence, Purgatory Jade had executed only one move against Bladeweaver. Unlike when she fought Unseeing Demon, she did not trade blows with Bladeweaver but defeated him with absolute speed. As soon as their fight began, Purgatory Jade surrounded Bladeweaver with hundreds of afterimages and attacked him from all directions. Although Bladeweaver tried his best to block and dodge Purgatory Jades attacks, his HP kept decreasing, and he died a few seconds later. Of course, this wasnt to say that Bladeweaver was weak. It was just that he wasnt as well-rounded as Unseeing Demon. Having specialized in defense, he hadnt grasped any Peak Gold Holy Arts that amplified his Movement Speed and Attack Speed. Hence, even though he was superior to Purgatory Jade in Basic Attributes, he was still slower than her. This flaw allowed Purgatory Jade to land an attack once every few attempts, the compounding effects of which caused his swift demise. Furthermore, Bladeweaver had fought Purgatory Jade without support, as the Dragons Crown youths occupied the Evil Nature team leaders. If he had even one healer assisting him, Purgatory Jade could never have killed him. Before Slumbering Vocalist could come to his senses, Purgatory Jade appeared near him, evidently looking to cooperate with Kowloon Demon. Dammit! Slumbering Vocalist frowned when he saw Purgatory Jade. He already had his hands full dealing with Kowloon Demon. If Purgatory Jade, who was even stronger than Kowloon Demon, joined the fight, he would share Bladeweavers fate. Upon thinking up to this point, Slumbering Vocalist gritted his teeth, pulled out a crimson stone, and crushed it. He ran? Kowloon Demon was surprised when he saw Slumbering Vocalists figure fading. Although the battle was currently in Zero Wings favor, Evil Natures experts outnumbered Zero Wings experts. Zero Wing had already suffered over 30 casualties. Had Slumbering Vocalist chosen to fight to the bitter end, Zero Wing would have lost about two to three hundred members, greatly impacting its ability to collect tokens later. Just you wait! Evil Nature will make you pay! Slumbering Vocalist shouted, glaring at Kowloon Demon and Shi Feng. After saying so, Slumbering Vocalist commanded the Holy Hymn Legion and the Holy Scorpion Legion to scatter. The spectating players gawked at this outcome while Zero Wings members hurriedly gave chase, trying to collect as many tokens as possible. Slumbering Vocalist didnt even hesitate to escape. Verdant Rainbow was quite surprised as she watched Evil Natures members scattering in the Magic Mirror. According to the Seven Luminaries Alliances intelligence, Slumbering Vocalist was extremely arrogant and overbearing. He was the type to fight to the bitter end, even in a hopeless battle. Although Evil Natures defeat was already guaranteed in this battle, he should have kept fighting to leave Zero Wing with only a pyrrhic victory. He made the right choice. After all, the competition has just begun. There will be plenty of opportunities later, Elder Martial said calmly. Opportunities? Will Evil Nature dare to continue provoking Zero Wing after this? Verdant Rainbow asked curiously. Zero Wings team has two Mortal Gods and seven Half-step Mortal Gods. It also has that terrifying large-scale Destruction Spell and Guild Leader Black Flame, who is stronger than even Garuda. Not even royal powers can come up with such a lineup. Zero Wings team could probably even rank among the top ten teams in this competition. Verdant Rainbow did not doubt Evil Natures ability to take revenge on Zero Wing. However, even if Evil Nature managed to do so, it would be at a huge cost. Evil Nature might even lose its ability to occupy four plots of land. How can it be that simple? Elder Martial shook his head and chuckled. If we consider only the number of Half-step Mortal Gods each team has, Zero Wings team can indeed rank in the top ten. However, in terms of overall strength, Zero Wing would be fortunate if it could rank in the top twenty. You shouldnt underestimate the various royal powers and apex powers. Currently, teams that can rank in the top ten all have trump cards that can easily kill sixth-floor experts. Also, as I said before, Everlasting Citys competition has just started. Many players are still in the competition, so the distribution of tokens is scattered. However, as time passes, fewer players will remain in the competition, making it more difficult to hunt for tokens. The distribution of tokens will also become more concentrated. When only one or two hours remain, that is when Everlasting Citys competition will truly begin. At that time, the various powers will start to reveal their cards to obtain more tokens. Zero Wing still cant rank in the top ten in strength, even with such a lineup? Verdant Rainbow was astonished. Besides the six royal powers, only a few other powers participating in Everlasting Citys competition commanded experts of Unseeing Demons caliber. Even the Seven Luminaries Alliance couldnt confidently say it could win against Zero Wing in this competition. Hence, Verdant Rainbow found it hard to believe that Zero Wing couldnt rank in the top ten. Here is the latest information collected. Youll understand once you read it, Elder Martial said, handing a piece of paper to Verdant Rainbow. How is this possible?! Verdant Rainbow gasped when she read the paper. The paper was a list of the various powers current performances. Unsurprisingly, all six participating royal powers were in the top ten. However, what surprised Verdant Rainbow wasnt the royal powers performances but the performances of six non-royal powers. Although the paper didnt have any specific records, it showed that each of these six non-royal powers had already collected over 40,000 tokens, nearly triple what Zero Wing had collected. Among these six non-royal powers, two pseudo-apex powers of little renown stood out. One was the Crystallian races Savage Gods, while the other was the human races Kings Paradise. The two had collected 50,000 tokens thus far, their performances close to catching up with the six royal powers. Zero Wing didnt even rank in the top 30 in terms of the number of tokens collected Rainbow, get ready. While Verdant Rainbow was in a daze, Elder Martial ordered, We will start our hunt now. If we cant secure more tokens in the early stage, we will have difficulty securing four plots of land later. Understood! Verdant Rainbow promptly organized the Seven Luminaries Alliances forces at Elder Martials command. Ten hours after the competition started, the lands inside Everlasting City lay in ruins. After hours of frenzied killing, over 90% of the participating players had been eliminated, and the remaining players all started to operate covertly across the city. Plot 079: Guild Leader, I found two teams fighting here. The teams are small; they only total a little more than a hundred players, Hidden Soul reported through the team chat. One of the teams is from the Crystallian races Savage Gods, while the other is from the Holy Races Thunder Empire. Who are they led by? Shi Feng asked, his interest piqued by this information. Currently, Zero Wing had only collected about 35,000 tokens. This still wasnt enough to guarantee four plots of land. After all, there were only 144 plots of land in Everlasting City; only a maximum of 36 powers could leave with an Eternal World Magic Array. After factoring in powers that would occupy more than four plots of land and last-minute confrontations, itd be fortunate if two dozen powers could leave with an Eternal World Magic Array. Not to mention, Zero Wing hadnt been doing particularly well at collecting tokens due to its lack of numbers. Although Zero Wings members had split into many groups, the teams overall performance still couldnt match that of the various apex and royal powers. Compared to the large haul at the beginning of the competition, Zero Wings subsequent income of tokens was pitiful. And worse, players in the competition started to operate more covertly as time passed. Now, large-scale battles were few and far between. After a slight pause, Hidden Soul said, Ink Crystal and Garuda. Chapter 3862 - Chapter 936 - Clash Between Experts Chapter 936 C Clash Between Experts How did they bump into each other? Fervent Samsara was surprised by the news. As someone who had participated in the last Continental Championship, Fervent Samsara remembered Ink Crystal and Garuda as if he had met them yesterday. His memory of Ink Crystal was especially vivid. After all, Ink Crystal was akin to a god in the Continental Championship. No mortal could ever forget her. Guild Leader, should we intervene? Gentle Snow asked Shi Feng, her beautiful eyes filled with excitement and trepidation. Gentle Snow was well aware that she had hardly contributed to their party in the Continental Championship. It was especially so when their party went up against Garudas and Ink Crystals parties. She had fared no differently than an infant against them. However, after returning from the Continental Championship and training in the Tower of the Abyss, she often considered challenging them. We can try, Shi Feng said after some thought. Soul, send us your coordinates. Send them to Purgatory Jades group as well. Well take action once everyone has gathered. Both Savage Gods and the Thunder Empire currently ranked among the competitions top ten in the number of Everlasting City Tokens collected. With Ink Crystal and Garuda the central figures of their respective powers, they likely held many tokens. If Zero Wing could kill even one of them, it could occupy four plots of land with certainty. Of course, killing these two individuals would not be easy. The teams that managed to survive this far were all elites among elitesfar superior to even the two Evil Nature legions Zero Wing faced earlier. Not to mention, Zero Wings numbers had dwindled significantly since then. Zero Wing didnt even have 200 members left in the competition, so tackling a force of over a hundred players would be a challenge. Okay. Hidden Soul nodded before sending Shi Feng a set of coordinates. After Shi Feng received the coordinates, he promptly used a Tier 5 Group Invisibility Scroll and headed to the coordinates with Gentle Snow and the others. With less than two hours remaining in Everlasting Citys competition, the various powers had already grown desperate. They now resorted to any means to locate and kill other players. Zero Wing had experienced their desperation on more than one occasion. During these encounters, Zero Wings forces had been bombarded with large-scale Destruction Spells that rivaled Tier 6 Curses as soon as they were detected. Moreover, these Spells hadnt been cast one by one but in barrages of seven or eight. Even a tank as powerful as Purgatory Jade had nearly died under such assaults. For this reason, Zero Wings forces would now only move out after concealing their appearances and aura. Otherwise, the probability of an unexpected failure would skyrocket. About a dozen minutes later, Shi Fengs group regrouped with Hidden Soul. Currently, a massive barrier enveloped a skyscraper several thousand yards away. The barrier isolated the members of Savage Gods and the Thunder Empire from the outside world. Evidently, the two powers did not want others to take advantage of their battle. Ink Crystal, there hasnt been a moment I didnt regret not fighting you in the Continental Championship. I even tried to find you using my connections after the competition, but you seemed to have evaporated into thin air; no matter how hard I tried, I never could find you. Thankfully, the heavens have been kind to me. Not only did you appear in this competition, but you even appeared before me now, Garuda said, expressing his excitement and eagerness to fight Ink Crystal. How about we fight to our hearts content today? Just you and me; the winner takes all the tokens while the loser withdraws! Are you sure you want to fight me one-on-one? Ink Crystal looked at Garuda indifferently. Have you forgotten losing to Black Flame? You might have grown stronger since then, but you are still nowhere strong enough to fight me. Ink Crystals arrogant and indifferent words enraged the Thunder Empires members. However, just as some were considering attacking Ink Crystal, a lithe figure suddenly stood in their way, the sight of this figure smothering their urges. Miss Ink Crystal, I admit you are strong, but if you think you have become invincible after reaching the sixth-floor standard, you are sorely mistaken! Extreme Feather stated, staring at Ink Crystal coldly as she reached for the two Divine Artifact-ranked moon glaives on her back. Then, she vanished. When Extreme Feather reappeared in everyones sight, she had already crossed a hundred yards and appeared behind Ink Crystal, her moon glaives bearing down on Ink Crystals back. How fast! Hidden Soul was shocked when she saw Extreme Feathers movements from afar. This was the first time Hidden Soul had seen a player display such speed in Gods Domain. Extreme Feather had crossed the hundred-yard distance between her and Ink Crystal instantly. Moreover, by the time Hidden Soul had sensed Extreme Feather again, her weapons were already bearing down on Ink Crystal. Fifth-floor experts would not be able to react to her speed, even with their sixth sense. As expected of the Angel of Death. Not only has she fused Phantom Dash with Lunar Cicada, but she has even integrated the fusion technique into her movements. At this rate, it wont be long before she becomes peerless in reaction speed. Shi Feng was secretly amazed when he saw this scene. Phantom Dash was a Tier 6 Skill that allowed its user to achieve instantaneous movement. It also enhanced its users Attack Speed and reaction speed. As for Lunar Cicada, it was a Gold Holy Art that thoroughly concealed the users existence when executed. Normally, simply fusing the two moves would be a huge achievement. However, Extreme Feather had gone a step further, having integrated the fusion technique into her movements to the point where she could execute it instinctively. Only extraordinarily gifted individuals could accomplish such a feat. If Extreme Feathers opponent wasnt ready for this fusion technique, they would be struck, even if they were a sixth-floor expert. Extreme Feathers moon glaives were only inches away from Ink Crystal when a stone cane suddenly appeared in their way, as if premeditated. Clang! The sound of metal and stone colliding echoed throughout the battlefield. You?! Extreme Feather looked at the bald young man wielding the stone cane in surprise. She had never expected anyone to be able to keep up with her speed. You are very fast. Had your opponent been an ordinary sixth-floor expert, your attack could very well have landed, Desert River, the bald young man, said to Extreme Feather. Then, he glanced at Garuda and continued, But you are still ten years too early to have my team leader fight you. After saying so, Desert River swung his cane, instantly compressing the surrounding space and sending Extreme Feather flying with an explosion that had reached the Tier 6 Limit standard. Youvereached the sixth-floor standard?! Extreme Feather stared at Desert River in even greater astonishment, her hands trembling from the collision of weapons. Thats right, Desert River admitted frankly. Now, you should know you are not qualified to fight my team leader. I alone am enough to deal with you all! Is that so? When Garuda saw that Desert River had reached the sixth-floor standard, he did not despair. Instead, he simply said in frustration, I wanted to save this secret for Black Flame, but it seems that isnt possible now. After saying so, Garuda threw a punch in Desert Rivers direction. Multiple phantom fists hundreds of meters in size immediately appeared out of thin air and converged on Desert River. Each phantom fist carried power at the Tier 6 Limit standard, their fusion causing the surrounding space to collapse. Although Desert River had promptly responded to the attack by executing two Peak Gold Defensive Implement Manipulation Techniques, the impact still sent him stumbling several steps back. Chapter 3863 - Chapter 937 - Ink Crystal Takes Action Chapter 937 C Ink Crystal Takes Action Youve reached it, too?! Desert River gawked at Garuda. The defensive move Desert River executed was a fusion of two Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Techniques. Even if Garuda had used a fusion of a Peak Gold Holy Art and a Divine Artifacts Profound Skill against him, he should have been able to block the attack without taking damage. But Garuda had blown apart his defensive move. The only explanation Desert River could think of for this situation was that Garuda had executed a fusion of two Peak Gold Holy Arts. In other words, Garuda had reached the sixth-floor standard. Did you think you were the only one who had improved? Garuda said, glancing at Desert River. Then, he turned to Ink Crystal and continued, Your teammate has lost. Will you fight me now? When Garuda indirectly admitted he had reached the sixth-floor standard, the Thunder Empires members briefly fell into a daze before they exclaimed ecstatically. His Highness truly is our races number one chosen one! A sixth-floor expert! Our race finally has a sixth-floor expert as well! The cheers of the Thunder Empires members were deafening. They behaved as if they had obtained a priceless treasure. Their confidence skyrocketed. As the Thunder Empires members celebrated Garudas achievement, Hidden Soul and the other Zero Wing members watched from afar with grim expressions. Dammit! Are those people monsters?! How can they reach that standard one after another?! Hidden Soul was filled with mixed feelings when she saw the Crystallian race and the Holy Race gaining Mortal Gods one after another. Besides Hidden Soul, Gentle Snow and the others also felt unreconciled. Its normal for them to achieve the sixth-floor standard. After all, they are experts who have received the Crucible of the Ancients Legacies, Shi Feng said, looking at his dejected teammates. Not to mention, they were already close to reaching the sixth-floor standard before that. It was only a matter of time before they reached it. The generalization of the sixth-floor standard might be unthinkable for players in the current Greater Gods Domain, but as someone who had met and heard about more than ten sixth-floor experts in his previous life, Shi Feng had expected all along that sixth-floor experts would become more numerous. He even felt that more sixth-floor experts would appear in this life than in his previous life. Hence, Shi Feng wasnt surprised to learn that Desert River and Garuda had reached the sixth-floor standard. On the contrary, he was glad about their achievements. After all, he himself was only a step away from reaching the sixth-floor standard. He needed more opponents to help him achieve a breakthrough. But now that they have achieved the sixth-floor standard, it will become much more difficult for us to obtain their tokens. Savage Godss team will be especially tricky now that it has two sixth-floor experts. Moreover, Ink Crystal and Garuda are fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Even if Miss Jades group arrives, we might not be able to do anything against them, Hidden Soul said anxiously. Ink Crystal and Garuda were sixth-floor experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. With the huge disparity in Basic Attributes, Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon might not be a match for Ink Crystal, even if they worked together. Not to mention, there was also Desert River, who was equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts. The Thunder Empires situation was more or less the same. Although Garuda was his teams only sixth-floor expert, the Thunder Empire, a royal power, should have trump cards that could pose as great a threat as Desert River. Amidst Hidden Souls worries, Ink Crystal and Garuda stepped away from their respective teams and stood facing each other. Since you have reached the sixth-floor standard, you are indeed qualified to fight me, Ink Crystal said, smiling at Garuda. Then, she raised her cane and continued leisurely, Come! Let me see how much you have improved! Okay! I hope you wont disappoint me! At Ink Crystals leisurely response, Garuda conjured a 3,000-meter-tall phantom around himself without reservation. The giant had a hundred arms and looked like a mighty Ancient Saint. Compared to before, the hundred-armed giant Garuda conjured using his self-developed technique Myriad Fists had much more substance this time. It was also much taller, and its aura was much stronger. As soon as the phantom giant took shape, it threw a hundred punches at Ink Crystal that converged on a dozen points. These compounded punches were stronger than the attack that knocked Desert River back just now. As these compounded punches came bearing down on Ink Crystal, it felt like a dozen mountains were falling from the sky. Peak Gold Fusion Holy Art, Myriad Fists! When Ink Crystal saw the descending fists, she raised her cane and summoned countless vines from the ground thousands of yards around her. These vines intertwined with one another to form massive vine spears that spread out like the petals of a lotus flower and attacked the descending phantom fists. Boom! Boom! Boom! After a dozen collisions and explosions, the twofold barrier that enveloped the Savage Gods team and the Thunder Empire team shattered. The area a few thousand yards around Ink Crystal and Garuda turned into a dark void mixed with a few traces of light. Monsters! These two are monsters! Hidden Soul was indescribably shocked as she took in the destruction before her. The fight between Ink Crystal and Garuda was unlike anything Hidden Soul had experienced. It felt more like a fight between two giant monsters than two players. The shockwaves alone were enough to kill the average Tier 6 player. This level of destruction is already close to matching that of my All-Consuming Fire. Phoenix Rain was also astonished. She had never thought a clash between sixth-floor experts could be this terrifying. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to call it a clash between Ancient Gods. Out of the Zero Wing members present, only Shi Feng reacted calmly to the destructiveness of Ink Crystal and Garudas fight. Clashes between sixth-floor experts occurred relatively frequently during the war between the human race and the Holy Race in his previous life. Moreover, these clashes involved Level 240-plus sixth-floor experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. The shockwaves they caused had been enough to ruin a huge portion of an entire Realm. In comparison, the consequence of Ink Crystal and Garudas fight was minuscule. Of course, this was primarily because of Everlasting Citys powerful suppression. Otherwise, their fight could have easily erased the entire island. While everyone was awestruck by Ink Crystal and Garudas fight, Garuda executed his Peak Gold Fusion Holy Art a dozen more times in rapid succession. He modified every execution, hoping to find an exploitable weakness through speed, numbers, and power. However, no matter what he tried, Ink Crystal would always block all his attacks and emerge unscathed. How long are you going to keep defending?! Garuda bellowed at Ink Crystal, who refused to take the initiative to attack. Do you think you can find my weakness simply by defending?! Find your weakness? Ink Crystal shook her head at Garudas anger. Then, she inserted her cane into the ground and said, I never thought of doing that. I only refrained from attacking to see where your limits lay. But if this is all you have, this battle is over. As Ink Crystal spoke, she summoned even more vine spears to create a second lotus flower of vines. Then, before anyone could react, the two lotus flowers collided near Garuda and exploded, the resulting explosion erasing one-third of Plot 079. When the dust settled, Garuda fell from the air, his body spewing blood all over. His HP also fell rapidly and hit zero after three seconds Chapter 3864 - Chapter 938 - Sixth-Floor Grading Chapter 938 C Sixth-Floor Grading He died? Impossible! Everyone watching the fight was stunned when they saw Garudas death. Extreme Feather, Garudas confidant, was especially dumbfounded, her aloof expression replaced by one of disbelief. Ink Crystal and Garuda were evenly matched just a second ago. Yet, Garuda was one-shotted a second later. This situation seemed like a joke no matter how Extreme Feather looked at it. How can there be such a huge difference between sixth-floor experts? Fervent Samsara couldnt accept what he just witnessed. Even during the last Continental Championship, Garuda was already regarded as the Holy Races number one chosen one, his combat standard having reached the Half-step Mortal God standard. Now that he had reached the sixth-floor standard and fully equipped himself with Divine Artifacts, he should at least rank among the ten strongest experts of the three races, if not the strongest. Yet, as soon as Ink Crystal went on the offensive, Garuda was one-shotted This development shattered Fervent Samsaras understanding of the sixth-floor standard. What do you think of the gap between the Refinement Realm and the Void Realm? Is it big? Shi Feng did not offer Fervent Samsara an answer but posed a question instead. Its huge! Fervent Samsara answered without hesitation. The Refinement Realm was merely a starting point for players in the Greater Gods Domain. To put it bluntly, players who had reached the Refinement Realm had only learned the basics of controlling their bodies: how to make subtle adjustments to their bodies so that they could execute movements more accurately. However, the Void Realm was a completely different story. Players who had reached the Void Realm could constantly perceive everything in their immediate vicinity. A Refinement Realm expert would have no secrets in front of a Void Realm expert; no matter how perfectly a Refinement Realm expert executed their movements, a Void Realm expert would know everything they were doing. Void Realm experts could also locate and target the weak points and blind spots of Refinement Realm experts in advance. There was simply no comparison between the two groups of players. The same goes for the sixth-floor standard, Shi Feng said, some foggy memories gradually regaining clarity as he gazed at Ink Crystal. Then, he instinctively continued, The Mortal God standard primarily focuses on using and controlling the mind. Or, more specifically, the soul. In Garudas case, he has only achieved the Refinement Realm standard in this regard. He stood no chance against Ink Crystal. Guild Leader, do you mean thatInk Crystal has already reached the Void Realm standard in controlling her mind? Fervent Samsara asked as he stared at Ink Crystals distant figure in disbelief. They were all players of Gods Domain. Yet, Fervent Samsara could only ever dream of reaching the sixth-floor standard, while Ink Crystal, a girl who was 17 years old at most, had already made considerable progress in the sixth-floor standard. At this point, he couldnt help but askwere they even playing the same game? I dont know. Shi Feng spread his hands and smiled wryly. I only say that its possible. After all, I havent reached that standard, either. In his previous life, the human race had given birth to many sixth-floor experts. Although he didnt specifically know how these experts had reached the sixth-floor standard, he did know about the categorization method of sixth-floor experts. The categorization method divided the sixth-floor standard, called the Realms of Essence, into Refinement, Flowing Water, and Void. The Three Absolutes in his previous life had all reached the Realms of Essences Void Realm. It was why the Holy Races various powers had always been reluctant to provoke them. After all, experts of this realm were already capable of simultaneously fighting several or even a dozen novice sixth-floor experts. At the time, only the Holy Races royal powers commanded over a dozen sixth-floor experts, while apex powers would be fortunate to have more than a handful. Everyone from Zero Wing looked at Shi Feng in exasperation. Ink Crystals victory meant they had to kill her if they wanted to leave with any tokens. Yet, they didnt even know how strong she was. It might be fine if Ink Crystal was only at the peak of the Refinement Realm. After all, they had two sixth-floor experts on their team. However, itd be a different story if she had reached the Flowing Water Realm. Even with the same equipment standard, a Flowing Water Realm expert could easily defeat two Refinement Realm experts. And if she was at the Void Realm standard, theyd be better off going on their merry way. Guild Leader, a message just came in from Miss Jade. She says her group will reach us in five minutes max, Hidden Soul reported in a hurry when she saw that Ink Crystals team was already getting ready to leave. Should we take action now to delay them? Now that Ink Crystals team had concluded its fight with Garudas team, it naturally wouldnt stay in Plot 079 for much longer. In that case, Ink Crystals team was bound to take flight. Although they could secretly tail Ink Crystals team, the team could easily detect them once they were in the air, even if they remained invisible. Of course, they also had the option of waiting until Ink Crystals team entered another plot of land before chasing after it. However, theyd risk losing the team amidst the sea of buildings. If they wanted to snatch Ink Crystals tokens, their only option was to delay her team until Dragons Crowns group arrived, which obviously wasnt a wise move. Ink Crystal could one-shot even an expert as strong as Garuda. Even if Shi Feng had the strength to fight sixth-floor experts, he wouldnt be much stronger than Garuda. Not to mention, Garuda was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts this time; his Basic Attributes were definitely superior to Shi Fengs. As Shi Feng hesitated over whether to take action, Ink Crystal suddenly turned around and looked toward Zero Wings team. Come out! Youve been spying long enough! Do you think I havent noticed you? Ink Crystal shouted, her voice echoing across thousands of yards. Weve been discovered?! Hidden Soul stared in shock at Ink Crystal, who stood over 5,000 yards away. Although fifth-floor experts could foresee the future, they could only see briefly into the future. Moreover, they could only foresee events in their immediate vicinity, normally about two or three hundred yards. A distance of 5,000 yards already challenged the limit of a sixth-floor experts sight, let alone foresight. A sixth-floor expert should, at most, be able to foresee events one or two thousand yards away. Hidden Soul found it hard to believe the foresight of sixth-floor experts could extend up to 5,000 yards and beyond, especially when they were all Tier 6 players. Not to mention, Zero Wings members were all invisible right now. However, before Shi Feng and the others could fully process Ink Crystals words, a team of 500-plus players suddenly rushed out of a building near Ink Crystal and surrounded her team. Why is she here? Shi Feng was stunned as he looked at the woman in black armor leading the team of 500-plus players. This was because she was none other than Lunar River, Kings Paradises First Vice Guild Leader. Chapter 3865 - Chapter 939 - Overlimit Skill Chapter 939 C Overlimit Skill As Kings Paradises members surrounded Ink Crystals team, their eyes shone with eagerness, as if they hadnt witnessed Ink Crystals display of power. Lunar River, the leader of Kings Paradises team, even appeared within 20 yards of Ink Crystal. As expected of the expert who killed Garuda. I didnt think youd be able to detect us from such a distance, Lunar River said, smiling at Ink Crystal as she played with her ponytail. Garuda was our original target, but since youve killed him and detected us, well have you become our new prey, Miss Ink Crystal! Lunar Rivers words caused a deathly silence to befall the area. Even Extreme Feather and the other surviving members of the Thunder Empire couldnt help but stare at Lunar River in disbelief. How dare she? Hidden Soul was similarly astonished as she looked at Lunar River from a distance. Everyone who had witnessed Ink Crystals fight with Garuda should know how terrifying her strength was. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to call her a walking disaster. While Lunar Rivers team might hold the numerical advantage, it wasnt big enough to offset Ink Crystals strength advantage. After all, Ink Crystal was directly responsible for destroying one-third of Plot 079s land. She might not even break a sweat dealing with Kings Paradises 500-plus members. When Savage Godss members finished processing Lunar Rivers words, many burst into laughter, as if they had just heard the funniest joke in their lives. You want to treat us as prey? Are you sure youre not biting off more than you can chew? Desert River scoffed. Without waiting for Ink Crystal to express her stance, he swung his stone cane at Lunar River. Suddenly, a powerful compression acted on the space within a radius of several hundred yards, compressing it to the tip of Desert Rivers cane. The Kings Paradise members within the affected area felt as if they carried a mountain on their backs, their bodies becoming indescribably heavy. All they could do in this situation was watch as Desert Rivers stone cane came bearing down on Lunar River. Peak Gold Fusion Implement Manipulation Technique, Spatial Blast! This was the same technique Desert River had used against Extreme Feather previously. He was going all-out immediately, not intending to show mercy to Lunar River. However, even as Desert Rivers cane descended upon her, Lunar River did not attempt to dodge or block it. Instead, she reached for the jet-black greatsword on her back and executed the Tier 6 Skill Dimensional Hexa Slash. Immediately, six dimensional slashes converged on the tip of Desert Rivers cane, colliding directly with the point of compressed space. Boom! A deafening explosion echoed across Plot 079. Immediately afterward, Desert River was sent flying back over 20 yards, his stone cane trembling and his HP depleting by nearly 10%. How is this possible?! Hidden Soul and the other Zero Wing members watching from a distance gawked at this scene. Desert River was a sixth-floor expert. Although he wasnt fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, even experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts executing a Peak Gold Combat Technique shouldnt be able to withstand his fusion technique. Nevertheless, Lunar River had repulsed Desert River with only a Tier 6 Skill. This shattered their understanding of Tier 6 Skills. No wonder she dares to face Ink Crystal. Shi Feng was similarly surprised by this development. However, unlike his teammates, he knew how Lunar River had achieved what she had just done. She can already reach the Overlimit standard with her Tier 6 Skills, is it? In his previous life, there had been only one instance where a non-sixth-floor expert had managed to hold their ground against a sixth-floor expert with similar Basic Attributes. The person who had accomplished this feat was none other than Verdant Rainbow, the Seven Luminaries Alliances God Hunter. She had single-handedly defeated one of the Holy Races old monsters at the time thanks to her ability to execute Tier 6 Skills at Completion Rates beyond 120%. By design, it was incredibly difficult for players to achieve 100% Skill and Spell Completion Rates in Gods Domain. This was especially so for high-tier Skills and Spells. Even fifth-floor experts would have difficulty achieving a 100% Completion Rate with their Tier 6 Skills and Spells. As for those who could go beyond 100% and achieve the theoretical limit of 120%, they were as rare as a phoenixs feather. Of course, for those who achieved a 120% Completion Rate with their Skills and Spells, their journey wasnt over. After all, 120% was only the theoretical limit of Skill and Spell Completion Rates. In reality, it was possible to go beyond 120% and enter the Overlimit territory. Once a Skill or Spell achieved the Overlimit standard, it would gain the power to break the limitations of its tier. In the case of a Tier 6 Overlimit Skill, its power would be no weaker than that of Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills. However, achieving the Overlimit standard with Tier 6 Skills and Spells was easier said than done. Verdant Rainbow was the only player in the human races Greater Gods Domain to have accomplished this feat in Shi Fengs previous life. Hence, he was surprised to learn that Lunar River had also achieved it. The moment Desert River was sent flying, Ink Crystal turned toward Lunar River, her indifference replaced by fascination. A Tier 6 Overlimit Skill! To think the human race had hidden an expert such as yourself! Ink Crystal exclaimed. But you are still not my match. While Tier 6 Overlimit Skills might be powerful, they are limited by their Cooldowns. How many times can you defend against my Implement Manipulation Technique, I wonder? After saying so, Ink Crystal raised her vine cane and summoned two vine lotus flowers from the ground. The move she used was Twofold Thornstorm, the fusion technique she had used to eliminate Garuda earlier. Lunar River did not panic when confronted with Ink Crystals Twofold Thornstorm. On the contrary, she smiled and said, I naturally know that Tier 6 Overlimit Skills arent enough to defeat you, but I am not your only opponent, Miss Ink Crystal! As soon as Lunar River finished speaking, she and 499 other Kings Paradise members retrieved a light golden scroll from their bags and activated it. Immediately, divine patterns formed and hovered around them, linking them and causing their combined aura to skyrocket in intensity. Their aura became so powerful that even the Zero Wing members spectating from thousands of yards away shuddered. A Large Advanced Silver Battle Array? Shi Feng gasped when he saw the divine patterns hovering around Kings Paradises members. Looking at these divine patterns, he finally understood why Lunar River was confident Kings Paradise could secure four plots of land in Everlasting Citys competition. A Large Advanced Silver Battle Array! Although battle arrays were not uncommon, their rarity increased with size and rank. In the human races Greater Gods Domain, Medium Silver Battle Arrays were already as rare as a phoenixs feather, while Medium Advanced Silver Battle Arrays were regarded as a strategic resource by the various apex powers. As for Large Advanced Silver Battle Arrays, not even apex powers could get their hands on these things. However, should a 500-man team come to possess a Large Advance Silver Battle Array, it could fight even Taboo Bosses, let alone a sixth-floor expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Once the battle array took shape, Lunar River executed a cross slash at the two vine lotus flowers smashing toward her. Tier 6 Skill, Divine Cross Slash! Chapter 3866 - Chapter 940 - Siege Weapon Chapter 940 C Siege Weapon When Ink Crystals Twofold Thornstorm and Lunar Rivers Divine Cross Slash collided, a powerful space-time storm swept across Plot 079. However, Ink Crystals fusion technique turned out weaker than Lunar Rivers Overlimit Skill, as the dazzling cross slash cut through the two vine lotus flowers like a hot knife through butter and continued toward Ink Crystal. Only after Ink Crystal followed up with another Twofold Thornstorm did she neutralize Lunar Rivers attack. As soon as the Divine Cross Slash faded, Ink Crystal created another set of vine lotus flowers to attack Lunar River. Her Concentration was seemingly boundless, and she gave her opponent no room to breathe. However, Lunar River had apparently anticipated Ink Crystals attack, as by the time Ink Crystals third Twofold Thornstorm was bearing down on her, she had already swung her jet-black greatsword nine times, launching nine dazzling sword lights that shredded the two vine lotus flowers. Peak Gold Combat Technique, Nine Polar Flashes! Boom! Boom! Boom! After Ink Crystal and Lunar River traded several dozen moves, the remaining two-thirds of Plot 079 shattered into dozens of small islands suspended in the air. The land of Plot 079 had been devastated, the sight stunning all spectating players. An entire plot of land got destroyed?! Monsters! These two must be monsters! Lunar River? Who is she? Why havent I heard of her before? Besides Zero Wings members, many of the players spectating from outside Everlasting City were also drawn by the activity at Plot 079. They had never thought a clash between two players could destroy a plot of land in Everlasting City. However, compared to the destruction, everyone was more surprised that Lunar River could hold her ground against Ink Crystal. Ink Crystals strength spoke for itself. She was strong enough to one-shot Garuda, even after he had reached the sixth-floor standard. Yet, even after several dozen exchanges, the outcome of the fight between Ink Crystal and Lunar River remained indeterminate. This was simply unbelievable. On one of the islands created from the remnants of Plot 079 This Lunar River person is incredible! Shes actually holding up against that girl! Kowloon Demon exclaimed as he looked at Lunar River in the Magic Mirror. If we compare only overall strength, she can probably rank in the top five in our world! Whether it was Mortal Gods or players who could use Tier 6 Overlimit Skills, they were all talents that royal powers like Dragons Crown could only obtain through luck. Royal powers regarded such individuals as their foundation. Originally, Kowloon Demon thought there was nothing special about the Greater Gods Domain and that it couldnt compare with the remnant primordial world he came from. After all, Red Frost was the only known sixth-floor expert in the human races Greater Gods Domain. But ever since he participated in Everlasting Citys competition, the number of noteworthy experts he encountered kept increasing. Key among them was Ink Crystal, who even he felt inferior to. Now, he had even encountered an expert capable of using Tier 6 Overlimit Skills. This was truly a surprise. Although Lunar River is strong, that Crystallian girl is the true terror! Purgatory Jade sighed as she watched Ink Crystal holding her ground against Lunar Rivers powerful attacks. She has nearly reached that realm at such a young age. In terms of talent, she probably exceeds even the Guild Leader in his younger days. That monster would probably have a stroke if he learned of this, Kowloon Demon said, agreeing with Purgatory Jade. But now that they are evenly matched, it should make it easier to snatch their tokens. The current situation was ideal for them to take advantage of. Regardless of which side won, both would ultimately lose. An easier time? Purgatory Jade shook her head as she watched the two people clashing in the Magic Mirror. I wouldnt necessarily say that. On the contrary, we might have a tough fight ahead of us. While the two might be evenly matched, their teams are not. Kings Paradise has the numerical advantage and the support of a Large Advanced Silver Battle Array. Although Savage Gods has another sixth-floor expert to spare, its defeat is inevitable. As Purgatory Jade spoke, the rest of Savage Godss and Kings Paradises members finally entered the fray. Just as Purgatory Jade speculated, the odds did not favor Savage Gods. Despite being a sixth-floor expert, Desert River could only defend himself passively, as he faced dozens of fifth-floor experts with Basic Attributes rivaling players fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. After both sides clashed for several minutes, Savage Gods and Kings Paradise had lost about a dozen players each. Although the casualties for both sides looked similar, Savage Godss team comprised only about 100 members, while Kings Paradises team comprised over 500. Hence, while Savage Godss casualty rate reached nearly 20%, Kings Paradises casualty rate didnt even reach 5%. Miss Ink Crystal, Id suggest you simply surrender your tokens, Lunar River said as she fought. In ten more minutes, youll be all thats left of your team. You will ultimately lose your life as well. You can still leave with your life if you hand over your tokens now. Im sure you can make up for your loss in the remaining time with your strength. You dont have to fight us to the bitter end. Originally, Lunar River sneaked into Plot 079 to ambush Garuda. With his tokens, Kings Paradise would instantly be propelled to the top ten in the number of tokens collected. Unfortunately, her plans fell short, as she hadnt expected Ink Crystal to kill Garuda and discover her team. This left her with no choice but to use her trump cards against Ink Crystal. Lunar River did not wish to fight an expert like Ink Crystal. After all, even if her team could ultimately defeat Ink Crystals team, it would be at the cost of significant casualties. The minimum number of players required to activate a Large Advanced Silver Battle Array was 500. If Ink Crystal managed to kill half her team, she would have difficulty finding replacements to activate the battle array again. And if she couldnt activate the battle array, she would have a hard time facing the various powers throughout the rest of the competition. Ink Crystal fell silent at Lunar Rivers proposal. Although she was more than capable of continuing her fight with Lunar River, it was a fact that her teammates were not faring well against Kings Paradises members. As Ink Crystal and Lunar River continued clashing in silence, something suddenly impinged on their senses. They immediately stopped fighting and turned toward a particular direction, a hint of gloom in their eyes. Team Leader? Vice Guild Leader? When Desert River, Shuoyun, and the rest of Savage Godss and Kings Paradises members noticed Ink Crystal and Lunar Rivers sudden pause, they couldnt help but follow the twos gaze in confusion. A moment later, in the north of Plot 079, multiple massive space-time passages opened up in the sky. As soon as these space-time passages appeared, players started to emerge from them in batches like a well-trained army. Players riding flying machines also emerged from the largest of the space-time passages one after another. When these flying machines reached a thousand in number, they merged to form a palace of steel and iron, the sight of which numbed the scalps of Savage Godss and Kings Paradises members. An Epic Siege Weapon! A weapon exclusive to royal powers! Chapter 3867 - Chapter 941 - Four Royals Chapter 941 C Four Royals TL Notes: Made a change to Chapters 825 and 826: The gnome youths Peak Gold Fusion Technique changed to Twofold Peak Gold Fusion Technique. Madness! This is madness! Is the Thunder Empire out of its mind?! An Epic Siege Weapon?! An Epic Siege Weapon?! Is the Thunder Empire trying to erase the entire Everlasting City?! Is this necessary? All this just because Garuda got killed once? When the spectating players and powers saw the iron palace, they dared not believe their eyes. A Siege Weapon! This was a weapon created to attack cities inhabited by Gods in the Primordial Era. Theoretically, it could concentrate the power of all its operators to launch attacks exceeding the Tier 6 Limit standard. Even a Common-ranked Siege Weapon was worth multiple Holy Cities, let alone an Epic-ranked Siege Weapon. The higher a Siege Weapons rank, the more comprehensive its abilities. A high-rank Siege Weapon could also accommodate more operators, allowing it to harness and exhibit greater power. Once a Siege Weapon reached the Epic rank, it could theoretically destroy an entire Realm with one strike. It was not a weapon that could be countered with manpower alone. It was also a weapon exclusive to royal powers. More specifically, only powers with an Epic Siege Weapon could become royal powers. As for the iron palace, it was called the Lightning Nation, and it was one of the Thunder Empires three Epic Siege Weapons! The Thunder Empire must be crazy! Does it need to bring out the Lightning Nation just to deal with two pseudo-apex powers?! Isnt it worried that other royal powers will use this opportunity to attack its Realms?! Verdant Rainbow was confused and shocked as she stared at the iron palace in the Magic Mirror. Siege Weapons were the most crucial trump cards for any power. They were mighty weapons that could safeguard an entire Realm. However, the cost of mobilizing a Siege Weapon was mind-boggling. Even if the average upper-ranking hegemonic power got their hands on a Siege Weapon, itd be too poor to deploy the weapon. Most importantly, players still lacked the know-how to reproduce and repair Siege Weapons to this day, as the technology had been lost since the Primordial Era. Hence, Siege Weapons were essentially irreplaceable consumable items, and powers that owned them would never deploy these strategic tools under any circumstances outside existential threats. This was especially so when it came to Epic Siege Weapons. While Verdant Rainbow thought that the Thunder Empire was making a mountain out of a molehill, space-time passages appeared in the three other cardinal directions of Plot 079. The experts that emerged from these space-time passages all wore Guild Emblems of royal powers. These royal powers were Evil Nature, the Sun Dynasty, and the Crystallian races Ninth Street. Each of these royal powers had not only mobilized over 10,000 experts but had also brought Epic Siege Weapons of their own. All of a sudden, a four-way face-off involving four Epic Siege Weapons was taking place above Plot 079. One of these Siege Weapons was as bright as the sun, one was wreathed in crimson flames, one was shrouded by thundering clouds, and one was surrounded by a galaxy of stars. It was as if four starkly different worlds were facing off in the sky. They radiated overbearing auras that covered tens of thousands of yards and suffocated many Tier 6 players. Parting Forest, is such an overreaction necessary? Garuda didnt even suffer a true death, a short-haired Crystallian woman in her early 30s and wearing a golden robe scoffed at the stalwart, middle-aged man in charge of the Thunder Empires army. It might not have been a true death, but the soul damage he suffered will stifle his development for a considerable period. Im sure you dont need me to explain the consequences this would have in the ever-changing Eternal Realm, right? Of course, you might not think much of it since he isnt your races chosen one, the four-armed, middle-aged man named Parting Forest said, unfazed by the Crystallian womans taunt. Jade Hunter, if Ninth Street insists on protecting her, I advise you to abandon the idea! The Thunder Empire will claim her life! The Crystallian woman named Jade Hunter did not try to continue her conversation with Parting Forest. Instead, she turned to the leaders of the two other royal powers and asked, Do the Sun Dynasty and Evil Nature share the same opinion? No, no. Youve misunderstood our intentions, Miss Jade Hunter, Slumbering Vocalist, the leader of Evil Natures army, said with a smile. Evil Nature is only here for the tokens. So long as Miss Ink Crystal surrenders all her tokens, Evil Nature will leave immediately. Following Slumbering Vocalist, Daystar, the leader of the Sun Dynastys army, turned to Lunar River and said, Since Evil Nature wants Miss Ink Crystals tokens, the Sun Dynasty will have Miss Lunar Rivers tokens. The Sun Dynasty will keep its hands clean of any other matters. Jade Hunter sighed at Slumbering Vocalists and Daystars responses. Then, she turned to Ink Crystal and said, Miss Ink Crystal, as you can see, Im afraid you can only count yourself unlucky. If you do not want to die, surrender your tokens now. As for the Thunder Empire, I will help you stop it. Jade Hunter! Do not stick your nose where it doesnt belong! Parting Forest glared at Jade Hunter. Have you forgotten that Ninth Street has yet to establish a foothold on the Eternal Continent? If you insist on offending the Thunder Empire, Ninth Street can forget about gaining a foothold there! Jade Hunters expression darkened at Parting Hunters threat. She hadnt expected the Thunder Empire to take Garudas death so seriously that it would refuse to show Ninth Street any respect. Siege Weapons, huh? As Ink Crystal observed the four Siege Weapons hovering around her, enthusiasm colored her eyes rather than fear. Although Ive heard a lot about these things from those old fellows, Ive never seen one in person before. Let me see how strong the royal powers prided Epic Siege Weapons are! After saying so, Ink Crystal set her sights on the Thunder Empires Lightning Nation, getting ready to fight it. Upon seeing this, Lunar River quietly stood aside to watch, showing no intentions of running away. She behaved as if her turn was next after Ink Crystal. Are those two crazy? Epic Siege Weapons are among the strongest trump cards the royal powers possess! Are they really standing their ground? Many of the spectating players were shocked to see Ink Crystal and Lunar River standing their ground against four Epic Siege Weapons. If this was merely a clash between players, they wouldnt have been as surprised to see Ink Crystal and Lunar River stand their ground. After all, Ink Crystal was a Mortal God, while Lunar River was an expert who could match Ink Crystal. They were both powerhouses who could solo entire legions. However, Ink Crystal and Lunar Rivers opponents were not players but Siege Weapons. Siege Weapons were akin to myths in Gods Domain. Epic Siege Weapons, in particular, were the lifeblood of royal powers. A royal power would never deploy its Epic Siege Weapons for anything less than an existential crisis. This was also why few people were aware of the might of Epic Siege Weapons; they only knew that they could not fight these weapons. Of course, due to how rarely Epic Siege Weapons were put into action, anyone who said they werent interested in watching Ink Crystal and Lunar River fight an Epic Siege Weapon would be lying. Since you want to fight, Ill grant your wish! When Parting Forest saw that Ink Crystal was eager for a fight, he commanded the players operating the Lightning Nation to attack her. Immediately, the iron palace controlled by a thousand fifth-floor experts launched a thousand bolts of Lightning of Destruction at Ink Crystal, each bolt carrying power at the Tier 6 Limit standard. The momentum and might of the attack terrified the players who had never seen a Siege Weapon in action. They never thought that an Epic Siege Weapon could be this powerful. It was as if a thousand experts had attacked with Peak Gold-ranked techniques simultaneously. This simply wasnt a force that a single player could fight. Chapter 3868 - Chapter 942 - The Oriole Behind? Chapter 942 C The Oriole Behind? When the Lightning Nation launched a thousand bolts of Lightning of Destruction and turned the sky above Plot 079 into a sea of lightning, the spectating players gasped. Although many of those present had long known about the terror of Siege Weapons, they never thought that it would be this terrifying. Normally, even one bolt of Lightning of Destruction would be enough to severely injure a Tier 6 God. Yet, the Lightning Nation had launched a thousand bolts simultaneously. Boom! Boom! Boom! As if the bolts of Lightning of Destruction had eyes of their own, they all arced toward Ink Crystal. The power they carried far exceeded that of Ink Crystals Twofold Thornstorm. However, Ink Crystal did not panic at this sight. She simply performed a simple step, causing a vague, illusory world to descend upon her and alter the World Laws of her surroundings. This, in turn, suppressed the power of the Lightning of Destruction and allowed her to exhibit greater power. Immediately afterward, Ink Crystal split into a hundred physical copies of herself, using them to distract and mislead the Lightning Nations operators as she advanced on the Epic Siege Weapon. Although the Lightning Nations operators had tried to attack her doppelgangers regardless, she never failed to have her doppelgangers evade any oncoming attacks. Even that isnt enough to kill her? How strong is she? As expected of a Mortal God. Not even an Epic Siege Weapon can threaten her. I guess this proves that even royal powers are powerless against sixth-floor experts. When the spectators saw Ink Crystal successfully surviving the Lightning Nations first barrage of attacks, admiration colored their eyes. They had never thought Ink Crystal would be so strong as to render the Epic Siege Weapon of legend ineffective. At this point, they couldnt think of anything that could possibly kill a sixth-floor expert. Normally, it would take at least a thousand experts executing Peak Gold-ranked techniques to neutralize an attack comprising a thousand bolts of Lightning of Destruction. However, not even royal powers commanded a thousand of such experts. In other words, not even royal powers could kill Ink Crystal right now. Currently, even Kowloon Demon and the other chosen ones of Dragons Crown gawked at this scene. Kowloon Demon, who had also reached the sixth-floor standard, was especially dumbfounded. He couldnt believe what he was seeing. No matter how he racked his mind, it shouldnt be possible for anyone to face a thousand Peak Gold-ranked techniques and emerge unscathed. Is this the true strength of a sixth-floor expert? When Hidden Soul saw Ink Crystals mesmerizing performance, desire and anticipation filled her. She inwardly decided to lock herself in the Tower of the Abyss after the competition and not come out until she reached the sixth-floor standard. Previously, Hidden Soul thought she had already become an apex existence in the Greater Gods Domain after she reached the fifth-floor standard. However, this trip to Everlasting City had shown her that, in reality, fifth-floor experts were a dime a dozen, and players could only be considered to have reached the apex after reaching the sixth-floor standard. Once a player reached the sixth-floor standard, they could go head-to-head with even apex and royal powers. While most of the other spectators were excited over Ink Crystals performance, Shi Feng remained calm. He did not share the excitement of those around him. Neither did he have an optimistic view of Ink Crystals chances against the Lightning Nation. The might of Epic Siege Weapons was not limited to their offensive capabilities. Their other abilities were equally incredible. They could also defend against attacks from Level 240-plus Ancient Gods, place a lockdown on designated areas, replicate World Projections, etc. In his previous life, these Epic Siege Weapons were pivotal to the Holy Races success in pushing the human race back all the way to the Twelve Sanctuaries. If sixth-floor experts were enough to deal with these mighty weapons, the human race would never have lost so much territory. It seems you are quite good at evading. I wonder how long you can keep that up. At the height of the spectators excitement, Parting Forest suddenly shouted, Activate the Law Projection! At Parting Forests command, the Lightning Nation converted its surroundings into a world of its own, placing a powerful suppression on Ink Crystal and her Pseudo-Goddess Law Projection. Immediately, Ink Crystals speed plummeted, and over half of her doppelgangers were obliterated by the second wave of Lightning of Destruction. In the blink of an eye, the tables had turned on Ink Crystal. I guess this is my limit, Ink Crystal sighed. When she saw that her death was imminent, she pulled out a pitch-black stone tablet from her bag and crushed it without hesitation. Suddenly, Ink Crystal transformed into a streak of light and disappeared from Everlasting City. However, as the Everlasting City Tokens she carried could not be taken out of the city, they fell out of her bag when she disappeared. Ink Crystal held over 30,000 tokens. When these tokens appeared, the four royal powers members promptly moved to snatch them, their eyes shining with greed. As for the other powers present, none dared to step forward. Even Kings Paradises members only dared to watch from the side. If even an expert as strong as Ink Crystal was no match for an Epic Siege Weapon, anyone else in her shoes would merely be cannon fodder. Not to mention, the Thunder Empire wasnt the only one taking action this time. All four royal powers were competing over the tokens. Any other power that dared to step forward would face the wrath of four royal powers. Only a fool would aim for the tokens in this situation. The four royal powers members drew closer and closer to the tokens. Five hundred yards Three hundred yards Two hundred yards When the four royal powers representatives were within 100 yards of the tokens, a figure suddenly zipped past them and arrived next to the tokens before they could react. Then, the figure waved his hand, swiftly collecting the tokens on the ground with his Mana Domain and stashing them in his bag. This scene shocked everyone present, especially Lunar River, who was hatching up an escape plan some distance away. Guild Leader Black Flame? When Lunar River looked at the figure who had collected the Everlasting City Tokens, she recognized the other party immediately. The other party was none other than the Guild Leader of Zero Wing, the Guild she had sought to partner with. Black Flame! Chapter 3869 - Chapter 943 - Primordial Dragon Transformation Chapter 943 C Primordial Dragon Transformation Big Sis Jade, what do you think Guild Leader Black Flame is trying to do? Kowloon Demon asked, dumbfounded by Shi Fengs actions. Logically, based on the current situation in Plot 079, there shouldnt be anyone outside the four royal powers who would dare to get close to Ink Crystals tokens, let alone snatch them. Yet, Shi Feng had snatched the tokens right under the four royal powers noses Although the four royal powers currently did not have any sixth-floor experts present, their Epic Siege Weapons more than made this shortcoming inconsequential. Any of these Epic Siege Weapons could easily quash a sixth-floor expert. Ink Crystal had already demonstrated this point to everyone. Purgatory Jade didnt know how to answer Kowloon Demon. Dragons Crown was a royal power. As one of Dragons Crowns Vice Guild Leaders, Purgatory Jade knew very well that there was a qualitative gap between Epic Siege Weapons and sixth-floor experts. Even a force of a dozen sixth-floor experts would not be enough to fight one Epic Siege Weapon, much less four. On the other side, when Shi Feng finished looting the tokens Ink Crystal dropped, the four royal powers representatives finally returned to their senses. Black Flame! Youve done it now! Slumbering Vocalist shouted, excitement welling up within him as he looked at Shi Feng. Blood Gods Heaven! Activate Crimson Space! Do not let our dearest Guild Leader Black Flame escape! At Slumbering Vocalists command, the operators of Blood Gods Heaven, an Epic Siege Weapon wreathed in flames, promptly cast a crimson barrier on the area, isolating a 5,000-yard radius from the rest of the world. So long as Blood Gods Heavens energy reserves did not run out, players inside the barrier could never leave. So, you are the Guild Leader Black Flame whom Garuda spoke of, Parting Forest said, slightly confused as he looked at Shi Feng. He couldnt understand how Garuda had been defeated by Shi Feng, a person who seemingly valued his wealth over his life. Ill cut to the chase. Hand over your tokens to me, and the Thunder Empire will steer clear of this matter. Parting Forest did not harbor any hostility toward Shi Feng. On the contrary, he had a somewhat favorable impression of Shi Feng because of how frequently Garuda had spoken about the other party. If there werent three other royal powers competing over Ink Crystals tokens right now, he wouldnt have minded letting Shi Feng go. So, you are Black Flame? Jade Hunter was also slightly confused as she took in Shi Fengs inconspicuous appearance. No matter how she looked at him, she couldnt figure out how he had secured second place in the most recent Continental Championship and even traded blows with Ink Crystal. Shi Fengs actions were also perplexing. It wasnt a secret that he shared a feud with Evil Nature and the Sun Dynasty. Yet, rather than avoid them, Shi Feng had foolishly appeared before them. For a moment, Jade Hunter even suspected that the person before her wasnt Shi Feng but someone disguised as him. How dare he? Daystar was stunned as she looked at Shi Feng. As someone who had fought Shi Feng on several occasions, Daystar believed she understood him well. She knew that he wasnt foolish and that he would never do anything if he wasnt confident of success. However, no matter how Daystar looked at it, Shi Fengs action of snatching city tokens from four royal powers was tantamount to suicide. It was especially so when all four royal powers had mobilized an Epic Siege Weapon. Before Daystar could recover from her shock, Slumbering Vocalist had already commanded Blood Gods Heaven to attack Shi Feng. Blood Gods Heaven took a different approach than the Lightning Nation regarding offense. While the Lightning Nation relied on numbers to overwhelm its opponent, Blood Gods Heaven relied on raw power. Under the control of 1,000 of Evil Natures members, Blood Gods Heaven conjured a 10,000-meter-long Blood Spear and launched it at Shi Feng. The Blood Spear could seemingly penetrate all things in existence. As it closed in on Shi Feng, it gathered the space within thousands of yards at its tip, distorting the surrounding space to an extreme extent and immobilizing all the players within the affected area. The Blood Spear also carried power stronger than that of Phoenix Rains All-Consuming Fire. Even if a Tier 6 tank fully equipped with Divine Artifacts had activated their Lifesaving Skills, they would still die if they got hit by it. Is he not going to escape? Daystar was very surprised to see Shi Feng doing nothing in the face of the Blood Spear. Evil Natures Blood Gods Heaven was no stranger to the Holy Races royal powers. On the contrary, they were very familiar with it. This was because the various royal powers relied on their Epic Siege Weapons to deter one another. Hence, they all knew about the abilities of their opponents Epic Siege Weapons. In the case of the Blood Spear conjured by Blood Gods Heaven, it had the power to destroy an entire world in the truest sense. Any player who dared to block it would have only one ending. Soul Annihilation! Of course, players in Everlasting City would not suffer Soul Annihilation due to the citys Law Suppression. However, anyone struck by the Blood Spear would still suffer heavy injuries to their soul, which would require a long time to recover. In the Eternal Realms ever-changing times, such injuries would undoubtedly cause a player in the first echelon to fall to the second echelon. They would also miss out on many of the Eternal Realms opportunities. This was also why Ink Crystal had withdrawn from the competition without hesitation. Although the Lightning Nations Lightning of Destruction was not as terrifying as the Blood Gods Heavens Blood Spear, she still wasnt willing to take her chances. You could only look down on Evil Nature before because you had two sixth-floor experts with you! Lets see who will save you now! Slumbering Vocalist gloated, looking at Shi Feng contemptuously. In Slumbering Vocalists opinion, Evil Natures previous loss to Zero Wing was only because of Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon. Now that Shi Feng was without allies in the barrier, his fate was sealed. Is that so? As Shi Feng looked at the sneering Slumbering Vocalist, he activated Primordial Dragons Power. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt unprecedented power burgeoning forth from the depths of his soul. Immediately afterward, he allowed Kalisha to possess him. Subsequently, he noticed that time around him seemed to have stopped, as everyone and everything in his surroundings had apparently frozen in place. Even the Blood Spear was no exception. Then, his body burst apart, and his Concentration and consciousness were magnified countless times. From the outsiders point of view, Shi Feng had suddenly disappeared as all of this happened. However, immediately afterward, everyone in Everlasting City felt a tremor of fear from the depths of their souls. Before anyone could react, a dragon nearly 10,000 meters long emerged from the void. The dragons claws were larger than even the floating islands that Plot 079 had become, and the dragon itself could easily overlook the entire Everlasting City. Chapter 3870 - Chapter 944 - Primordial Dragons Might Chapter 944 C Primordial Dragons Might A Dragon! How can there be such a huge Dragon? No! Thats not a Dragon! Thats a Primordial Dragon of legend! The players in Everlasting City were stunned when Shi Feng reappeared as a Primordial Dragon nearly 10,000 meters long. This was especially so for the players and powers observing the situation in Plot 079. They had never expected Zero Wings Guild Leader to have such a trump card. A Primordial Dragon? Endless Scars, who was spectating the situation from a different plot of land, was similarly stunned. A Primordial Dragon! Anyone who had bothered to learn about Gods Domain would know that Primordial Dragons were existences comparable to Primordial Gods. In other words, they were among the strongest existences in Gods Domain. A Primordial Dragon! From his hiding spot, Kowloon Demon gazed upon the mountainous figure in the distance with a look of disbelief. Is this the trump card Guild Leader Black Flame has been hiding? In all honesty, despite Dragons Crowns partnership with Zero Wing, Kowloon Demon had never taken Zero Wing seriously. After all, the two Guilds operated on completely different levels. However, as Kowloon Demon looked at the Primordial Dragon before him, he suddenly felt that Zero Wing was like a bottomless abyss full of secrets. Its hidden foundations were simply terrifying. No, thats not a real Primordial Dragon, Purgatory Jade said, firmly denying Kowloon Demons statement. It should only be an imitation. Guild Leader Black Flame must have used some means to transform into a lifeform resembling a Primordial Dragon. If it were a real Primordial Dragon, we wouldnt even be able to look at it directly. Thats true. Kowloon Demon nodded as he looked at the Primordial Dragon before him. Although he felt suffocated simply being in its presence, this degree of intimidation was nowhere near that of a real Primordial Dragon. The Primordial Dragons of legend were akin to Primordial Gods. Even a remnant trace of a Primordial Dragons aura could immobilize Tier 6 players, let alone one that came directly from the source. Although the Primordial Dragon before him exuded an oppressive aura, it still wasnt powerful enough to immobilize Tier 6 players. So what if you can transform into a Primordial Dragon?! Can you block the full might of Blood Gods Heaven?! Although Slumbering Vocalist was inwardly shocked to see Shi Feng transformed into a Primordial Dragon, his expression remained calm as he looked at the descending Blood Spear. The all-out attack of an Epic Siege Weapon exceeded the Tier 6 Limit standard and could injure even Taboo Bosses. Shi Fengs imitation of a Primordial Dragon might seem intimidating, but it was nothing more than a glorified Tier 6 creature. It was not strong enough to block an attack that exceeded the Tier 6 threshold. However, as Slumbering Vocalist spoke, Shi Feng, who had transformed into a Primordial Dragon, swiped his claw at the descending Blood Spear. Boom! A thundering boom echoed across Everlasting City, while a powerful shockwave shattered the remains of Plot 079 and sent the debris flying to nearby plots of land. After blocking the Blood Spear, Shi Feng staggered backward and crashed into a nearby plot of land, his claw trembling. His visible HP bar also fell by nearly 3%. As expected of an Epic Siege Weapon. An imitation of a Primordial Dragon isnt enough to match it in Strength. Shi Feng was astonished as he looked at his trembling claw. After transforming into a Primordial Dragon, his Life Rating had risen to the limits of Tier 6 creatures. Nonetheless, he couldnt match an Epic Siege Weapon in raw power. However, compared to Shi Feng, the members of the various royal powers were even more shocked by this development. He lost only 3% HP?! How much Strength does this imitation Primordial Dragon have?! Holy Bloods jaw dropped when he saw how little damage Shi Feng had sustained. As an executive of the Sun Dynasty, Holy Blood knew full well how frightening Epic Siege Weapons were. It was not an exaggeration to say they could destroy entire worlds in one hit. Yet, Blood Gods Heavens attack had barely damaged Shi Feng. If no Epic Siege Weapons were deployed in this competition, nobody could compete with Shi Feng. So what if you can take a hit?! You will still die to Blood Gods Heavens power! When Slumbering Vocalist saw that Shi Feng was still alive and healthy, he commanded Blood Gods Heaven to launch another attack. Immediately, Blood Gods Heaven conjured another 10,000-meter-long spear and sent it flying toward Shi Feng. That remains to be seen. When Shi Feng saw another Blood Spear descending toward him, he swung his dragon claw again. Only this time, his claw transformed into 12 sword lights that converged on the Blood Spear. Gold Combat Technique, Twelve Extreme Slashes! Suddenly, a powerful impact resembling a planetary explosion shook Everlasting City. However, even after the Blood Spear disappeared, Shi Fengs body remained in place, and his HP did not decrease. Impossible! Slumbering Vocalists eyes widened in shock when he saw that Shi Feng had taken no damage. Just a moment ago, Blood Gods Heavens Blood Spear could still damage Shi Feng. But now, it couldnt even stagger him, let alone damage him. Before Slumbering Vocalist could recover from his shock, Shi Feng executed Twelve Extreme Slashes again, targeting the imposing mechanical weapon operated by Evil Natures members. Boom! Blood Gods Heaven shook when struck by the 12 sword lights, the barrier covering its surfaces flickering and cracking slightly. However, the Epic Siege Weapons energy reserves quickly restored the barrier to its original state. The defensive capabilities of Epic Siege Weapons are truly incredible. No wonder they were used against Taboo Bosses back then. When Shi Feng saw that Blood Gods Heaven remained intact, he couldnt help marveling at its defensive capabilities. His Strength in his current form undoubtedly reached the limits of the Tier 6 standard. When he paired this Strength with a Gold Combat Technique, he could exhibit power matching that of Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells. Under normal circumstances, he could send even Taboo Bosses flying. Yet, his attack had barely exceeded Blood Gods Heavens defensive threshold. If any other Tier 6 player were standing in his shoes, theyd have no hope of overcoming its defenses. Even a sixth-floor expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts would be no exception. Parting Forest! Jade Hunter! Daystar! Are you still going to stand there and do nothing?! He has snatched Ink Crystals tokens! With his current strength, he can easily break through the barrier! We wont be able to find him again once he escapes! Slumbering Vocalist shouted, seeking aid from the three other royal powers when he saw that Shi Feng could match Blood Gods Heaven. It seems this is the only way. Parting Forest, Jade Hunter, and Daystar exchanged looks with one another. They understood that should they remain passive, not only would they be letting Shi Feng leave with over 30,000 Everlasting City Tokens, but they would also become a joke to all powers participating in the competition. Immediately, the representatives of the Thunder Empire, the Sun Dynasty, and Ninth Street commanded their Epic Siege Weapons to attack Shi Feng. Chapter 3871 - Chapter 945 - Suppressing the Four Royals Chapter 945 C Suppressing the Four Royals Above Plot 079 The spectating players were shocked as the Thunder Empire, the Sun Dynasty, and Ninth Street joined the fight with their Epic Siege Weapons. Madness! This is madness! Four royal powers are working together to attack one person?! Four Epic Siege Weapons! Such a force is likely already enough to raid Taboo Bosses! One player against four Epic Siege Weapons. This was undoubtedly a first in Gods Domain. Is there a need to go this far for one person? Do these royal powers not care about their reputation? Verdant Rainbow, watching the battle in Plot 079 from another plot of land, couldnt believe her eyes when she saw the four royal powers using their Epic Siege Weapons against Shi Feng. Normally, it would already be considered excessive for a royal power to use even one Epic Siege Weapon to deal with an apex power. As for the situation before where the Thunder Empire had used an Epic Siege Weapon against Ink Crystal, it was also an incredibly rare occurrence, and it had only happened a few times throughout the Holy Races and the Crystallian races history. However, Verdant Rainbow had never thought that the four royal powers would be willing to use the four Epic Siege Weapons against Shi Feng. Not even royal powers had received such a treatment before. It cant be helped. Black Flame poses too much of a threat to them, Elder Martial said, shaking his head. Black Flame has shown he can take on an Epic Siege Weapon by himself. If he escapes, he can undoubtedly affect the four royal powers plans and rankings. To protect their interests, they cannot let him get away. Even so, isnt this too much? Four Epic Siege Weapons! This much force is already enough to deal with a royal power! Verdant Rainbow exclaimed, staring at the four Epic Siege Weapons in the Magic Mirror. According to the information collected by the Seven Luminaries Alliance, the number of Epic Siege Weapons each royal power possessed ranged between one and four. Hence, a force of four Epic Siege Weapons was enough to take down most royal powers. Yet, such a force was now being used against Shi Feng Besides Verdant Rainbow, Lunar River also found the four royal powers behavior unbelievable. Never even in her wildest dreams had she thought the four royal powers would take Shi Feng so seriously. Vice Guild Leader, we still have a Divine Boundary Breaking Scroll. We should leave immediately. If we wait any longer, we might miss our chance to escape, Shuoyun hurriedly reminded Lunar River when she saw that the battle in the sky was about to begin. Although the four Epic Siege Weapons had placed a lockdown on Plot 079s space and made it impossible for players to leave normally, their team just so happened to be carrying a Divine Boundary Breaking Scroll. With this scroll, they could leave through a teleportation passage, even if their surrounding space was sealed using World Power. Its not the right time yet, Lunar River whispered, her eyes fixated on Shi Fengs unwavering figure. The Divine Boundary Breaking Scroll needs time to form a teleportation passage. Although the four royal powers have their attention on Black Flame right now, they are also keeping an eye on us. We will use the scroll once the fight truly begins. But there are four Epic Siege Weapons. Im worried that Guild Leader Black Flame might not survive long enough for the passage to finish forming, Shuoyun said worriedly as she watched Shi Feng clash with Evil Natures Blood Gods Heaven. Although Shi Feng was evenly matched with Blood Gods Heaven, the balance would quickly collapse when the three other Epic Siege Weapons joined the fight. Once that happened, she wouldnt even be surprised if the fight ended in a few exchanges. At that time, Kings Paradises team would lose its chance to escape. Theres nothing we can do about it. We can only pray he holds out for a while, Lunar River said, her gaze still locked on Shi Fengs figure. Although Lunar River was frustrated by Shi Fengs incredible display of strength, she could only hope that he could do better and last a little longer against the four royal powers Epic Siege Weapons. Otherwise, every Kings Paradise member here would die. In the air, the battle played out as Shuoyun had anticipated. As soon as the three other Epic Siege Weapons joined the fight, Shi Feng struggled to keep up. He could only execute one combat technique at a time to attack or defend. With the precise and coordinated attacks of the four Epic Siege Weapons, two or three attacks could always find their way past his guard. After the two sides fought for about five seconds, Shi Feng had already lost over 20% of his HP. Black Flame! Lets see how long you can hold on this time! Slumbering Vocalists face shone with joy when he saw Shi Fengs HP bar decreasing rapidly. At this rate, it wouldnt be long before he could pay Shi Feng back for the humiliation Zero Wings team had put him through. As Slumbering Vocalist spoke, a Lightning of Destruction conjured by the Lightning Nation whizzed toward Shi Feng. Just as Shi Feng was about to block it with his claw, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he promptly retracted his claw. Now that Ive mostly adapted to using combat techniques, its time to try using Mana Techniques! As Shi Feng looked at the oncoming bolt of lightning, he gathered all available energy within a 10,000-yard radius at his tail and swung it as if he were swinging a sword. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Boom! Shi Fengs tail bisected the Lightning of Destruction, which could rival Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells, cut through the Lightning Nations defensive barrier, and hurled the Lightning Nation back several hundred yards. A loss of 129 durability points?! How is this possible?! Parting Forest was dumbfounded when he saw that the Lightning Nation had lost not only its defensive barrier but also 129 durability points. Just a second ago, Shi Feng could only match the attacks of their Epic Siege Weapons. Yet, a second later, he had shattered the Lightning Nations attack and damaged the Lightning Nation directly. This situation was incomprehensible to Parting Forest. The loss of 129 durability points was especially mind-blowing. It should be known that the Lightning Nation currently only had a little over 10,000 durability points remaining. Although it had a maximum durability of 100,000 points, it had already seen some wear and tear when the Thunder Empire found it. Its heavy use over the years had also taken quite a toll. In other words, Shi Fengs attack had caused the Lightning Nation to lose about 1% of its current durability. This was more than what the Epic Siege Weapon had lost over the past decade. Before Parting Forest could recover from his shock, Shi Feng attacked the three other Epic Siege Weapons with Dark Moon, pushing them back over a thousand yards and causing them to lose nearly 200 durability points each. This situation immediately sent Slumbering Vocalist and the others into a panic. Sure enough, a Primordial Dragons control over magic elements is much stronger! Shi Feng was very satisfied with the damage he dealt the Epic Siege Weapons, and he couldnt help but want to continue testing his attacks on them. However, before Shi Feng had time to execute another Dark Moon, Slumbering Vocalist and the others opened up space-time passages and retreated with their respective Epic Siege Weapons, none staying behind to fight Shi Feng Chapter 3872 - Chapter 946 - Legend Chapter 946 C Legend They left? Why did they leave? What in heaven is going on?! The spectators were dumbfounded when the four Epic Siege Weapons disappeared from Plot 079. They never expected such an outcome. Victory was clearly in the four royal powers grasp. It was only a matter of time before they killed him. Yet, seconds after the battle began, they retreated, fleeing as if they had just seen a ghost. This situation confused everyone watching. Vice Guild Leader, what happened to those four powers? Why did they leave so suddenly? Shuoyun asked, her mouth agape. Each of the four royal powers had mobilized an Epic Siege Weapon against Shi Feng. This was potentially enough force to bring down even a Taboo Boss. Yet, the four royal powers had fled from Shi Feng. It should be that Black Flame caused substantial damage to those Epic Siege Weapons, Lunar River said, recalling Shi Fengs sword light shattering the Lightning Nations defensive barrier and hurling it. Then, she continued with mixed feelings, Players still cannot repair Siege Weapons, so any damage a Siege Weapon suffers is permanent. Once a Siege Weapon runs out of durability, it will be scrapped. Although the four royal powers can secure a better placement in the competition if they obtain Black Flames tokens, the benefits they can reap from the competition are nothing compared to the significance of Epic Siege Weapons. So long as the four representatives have functioning brains, they will not continue to fight Black Flame. Originally, Lunar River had not taken Zero Wings strength seriously. However, she had never expected the Guild to show up with sixth-floor experts. She also hadnt expected Shi Feng to be able to fight four royal powers and win. Contrary to her thoughts, Kings Paradise was inferior to Zero Wing, not the other way around. At this time, many other spectating experts also realized why the four royal powers retreated, and they couldnt help but look at Shi Feng with admiration and amazement. Merely the courage needed to fight four royal powers as a single person would disqualify most players in Gods Domain, let alone the courage needed to fight four Epic Siege Weapons. Yet, Shi Feng had not only done so but also achieved a big victory. He had frightened the four royal powers to the point where they did not dare to fight him. This was unprecedented in the history of all three races. It deserved to be considered a legend in Gods Domains history. What a pity, Kowloon Demon sighed when he saw that the four royal powers had retreated. Those four Epic Siege Weapons should still have more unused abilities. If Guild Leader Black Flame had stayed his hand a little longer, we might have been able to uncover all their abilities and reduce our Guilds losses when we fight them in the future. Although the intelligence we collected is a little lacking, we still gained a lot from this trip, Purgatory Jade said, chuckling as she watched Lunar Rivers team getting ready to leave. It truly is surprising that this Greater Gods Domain has an expert who can use Tier 6 Overlimit Skills and an expert who has reached that realm of the sixth-floor standard. Once we return with their battle videos, we should be able to convince that monster to join Dragons Crown. Kowloon Demon nodded in agreement, excitement flashing in his eyes. Although they didnt get to collect much information in Everlasting Citys competition, they did witness a few exciting experts. Once they returned to their homeworld with these experts information, Dragons Crown could recruit many of the remnant primordial worlds independent experts, especially those nigh-invincible monsters. Those monsters had remained undefeated in their homeworld for a long time and could never find any worthy opponents. If Dragons Crown could successfully tempt these monsters to join it using the Greater Gods Domains experts as a lure, the Guilds strength would increase significantly. After the four royal powers left, Shi Feng did not waste even a second of Primordial Dragons Powers five-minute duration, promptly flying to Plot 037, which was nearest to Plot 079, and using his powerful perception to hunt for players. In less than three minutes, he had eradicated the remaining thousand or so players in Plot 037 and earned over 10,000 tokens, putting Zero Wings total to more than 80,000. This, in turn, elevated Zero Wing to the top 10 in the total number of tokens collected, putting it right behind the six royal powers. However, as the end of the competition drew closer, the struggle for tokens escalated. All six royal powers stopped conserving their strength, using their Epic Siege Weapons to sweep through plot after plot of land and harvest tokens at a frightening rate. Besides the royal powers, the 35 apex powers also unveiled their respective trump cards, deploying Siege Weapons and using items that rivaled Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells in power. Even sixth-floor experts would get obliterated if they werent careful against these apex powers. As the three races powers fought, many of their young experts displayed outstanding featsto the point where even Shi Feng, a reincarnated player, was astounded. He had never expected the standards of the three races experts to surpass those of his previous life. First, there was Rin, Ninth Streets Earthen Princess. She had seemingly achieved the sixth-floor standard while fighting the forces of seven apex powers. At the moment of her breakthrough, she masterfully executed a Peak Gold Implement Manipulation Technique and one-shotted nearly a hundred experts. Next, there was Daystar, the Sun Dynastys Arbiter of Death. Although she didnt achieve a breakthrough in the middle of battle, that was because she was already at the sixth-floor standard this entire time. She revealed this secret when she single-handedly obliterated an apex powers 500-man team, shocking the Holy Races various powers. On the human races side, Elise, Demons Gates Star Maiden, also revealed that she had reached the sixth-floor standard during an encounter with Daystar. As neither side had an advantage, their fight ended in a draw. The Seven Luminaries Alliances Verdant Rainbow also performed spectacularly, executing Tier 6 Skills at nearly the Overlimit standard. With these powerful Skills, she sniped over a hundred experts of three apex powers from a great distance, stunning all the spectators. When the bell signaling the end of the competition rang, the fighting in Everlasting City finally stopped. Then, a translucent screen appeared above the city, showing the participants rankings. 1st C Sun Dynasty C Occupied Land: 9 Plots C Total Tokens Collected: 124,146 2nd C Thunder Empire C Occupied Land: 8 Plots C Total Tokens Collected: 116,455 7th C Seven Luminaries Alliance C Occupied Land: 7 Plots C Total Tokens Collected: 94,467 9th C Zero Wing C Occupied Land: 6 Plots C Total Tokens Collected: 86,487 Chapter 3873 - Chapter 947 - New Divine Glory List Chapter 947 C New Divine Glory List As the ranking list appeared in the sky, a commotion erupted in the city as many players expressed their disbelief in the placements. As expected of the Holy Race. They monopolized the top two spots. Sure enough, the human race is weak. Although three human powers are in the top ten, theyre ranked seventh to ninth. What the hell is up with Zero Wing? Its not even a pseudo-apex power, yet its ranked ninth? When the powers of the three races saw the names of the top ten powers, some laughed in ridicule while others were skeptical. It was especially so for the human races pseudo-apex powers. They thought they were hallucinating when they saw Zero Wing coming in ninth place. It was true that Zero Wings team had two sixth-floor experts and Black Flame, who could repel four Epic Siege Weapons by himself. However, the various pseudo-apex powers still found it unbelievable that Zero Wing could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Seven Luminaries Alliance and Demons Gate. The Seven Luminaries Alliance was one of the human races most ancient powers. Its foundations surpassed those of the average apex power. As for Demons Gate, it was an apex power that commanded many experts. Its forces this time were even led by Elise, who had reached the sixth-floor standard. Even so, it only managed to come in eighth place. In comparison, Zero Wing was a small Guild, and the team it had deployed to the competition was even smaller. Yet, it had surpassed many of the three races apex powers and secured ninth place in the competition. This outcome greatly shocked the various human powers. Ninth? Lunar River fell silent as she stared at the ranking list. Originally, Lunar River had expected Kings Paradise to enter the top 10, obtaining a Great Lord Token in addition to an Eternal World Magic Array. If Kings Paradise could secure a Great Lord Token, it would be able to establish itself in the Eternal Realm immediately. In the end, however, Kings Paradise secured only four plots of land. It even nearly lost its fourth plot to an apex power. In contrast, Zero Wing had secured six plots of land and placed ninth in the competition. This outcome made her previous words to Shi Feng a complete joke. Only ninth? Shi Feng was surprised as he looked at the rankings. Was the competition that intense? In his opinion, Zero Wing had obtained an impressive amount of tokens. According to his memories, the champions of Everlasting Citys competition in his previous life never got more than 90,000 tokens. Yet, despite collecting 86,487 tokens, Zero Wing only came in ninth place. The intensity of the competition was simply terrifying. While Shi Feng was surprised by the competitions outcome, the powers of the three races etched Zero Wings name into their minds, and they no longer regarded it as a nobody. Although Zero Wing had entered the competition with less than 700 members, its team comprised two Mortal Gods and more than ten Half-step Mortal Gods.[1] Not even royal powers could necessarily come up with such a lineup. Not to mention, there was also Black Flame. After transforming into a Primordial Dragon, Black Flame had single-handedly repelled the Epic Siege Weapons of four royal powers. Such a battle record was unprecedented in the three races history. It was also an unforgettable record. After all, Black Flames fight against the four Epic Siege Weapons was beyond spectacular and exciting. Many players had recorded the battle and planned to study it carefully. They also felt their experience gave them bragging rights. Zero Wing! Black Flame! Slumbering Vocalist glared at Shi Fengs figure aboard the Silver Wing Flying Ship. Just you wait! It wont be long before Evil Nature will make you regret everything you did today! After saying so, Slumbering Vocalist got on his Flying Mount and flew away from Everlasting City with Evil Natures members. He had no intention of lingering in Everlasting City for even a moment longer. Elder Martial, the Holy Races and the Crystallian races apex and royal powers have left. Can we return to Shadowring Town now? Verdant Rainbow asked impatiently. The magnitude of the battles in Everlasting Citys competition was dozens of times greater than that of the Continental Championship. Besides Mortal Gods, many Half-step Mortal Gods also appeared in the competition. Just the number of Half-step Mortal Gods she fought in the competition already exceeded ten. Moreover, these experts had different combat styles, making her fights with them very fruitful. She wanted nothing more than to plunge into the Tower of the Abyss to digest the experience she had gained. I understand your urge to consolidate your gains, but the Tower of the Abyss will have to come later. We have more pressing matters right now, Elder Martial said, looking at the Holy Races and the Crystallian races departing powers. We must quickly return and strengthen our defenses to prepare for the inevitable! Already? Verdant Rainbow exclaimed. I still wasnt sure before, but I am now, after this competition, Elder Martial said solemnly. Whether it is the Crystallian race or the Holy Race, they are likely to attack us soon since they have the numerical advantage when it comes to Level 220-plus experts. If they miss this opportunity and let us bridge the gap, they will have much greater difficulty dealing with us in the future. I understand. Verdant Rainbow grew serious after hearing Elder Martials statement. I will head back and strengthen our defenses immediately. On the other side, Shi Feng returned to Shadowring Town with his team after the conclusion of Everlasting Citys competition. Upon returning, he promptly had Hidden Soul deliver the promised Intermediate Divine Pattern Scrolls to Purgatory Jade. He also had Gentle Snow start a mass recruitment for Zero Wing. Then, he locked himself up in a workshop and studied the Dragon-Hunting Artillery design he had obtained from the remnant primordial world. According to his memories, the first Everlasting City competition was a precursor of the war between the Holy Race and the human race. The battle that followed the competition was also the most crucial in the war. This battle was unlike any of the skirmishes that had occurred before. It was a siege in the truest sense, spearheaded by the Holy Races NPCs. The Holy Races armies, comprising players and NPCs, besieged many NPC Cities inhabited by human players. In his previous life, this initial battle led to over 70% of the human races NPC Cities on the Eternal Continent falling under the control of Holy Race NPCs. Many Guild Towns faced destruction as well. This situation greatly reduced the scope of human players activities in the Eternal Realm. As a result, human players could only travel on foot to many of the Eternal Realms high-level maps. It also became impossible for human powers to compete over maps with ancient ruins. Now that the first Everlasting City competition had concluded, the Holy Race could launch its invasion anytime. With Shadowring Town having the Tower of the Abyss, it went without saying that it would become the Holy Races priority target. If Zero Wing did not immediately strengthen Shadowring Towns defenses, the town might not even survive the Holy Races initial siege, let alone the Void Beast Tide. As Zero Wing began to recruit members, half a day went by quickly. At this time, the Seven Luminaries Alliance suddenly updated its Divine Glory List. The new list saw dramatic changes in its entries and placements. It was especially so for the top ten players. Only two out of the original top ten players remained, the change sending shockwaves across the human races Greater Gods Domain. TL Notes: [1]more than ten Half-step Mortal Gods: This isnt a mistranslation. Either the author forgot that there were only seven Half-step Mortal Gods in Dragons Crowns team (mentioned in Chapter 934), or some of Dragons Crowns Half-step Mortal Gods were hiding their strength in the fight against Evil Nature. (It is also possible that someone achieved a breakthrough in the competition.) Chapter 3874 - Chapter 948 - Dawn of a New Era Chapter 948 C Dawn of a New Era Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town, Violet Moon Bar: The towns Violet Moon Bar was as popular as ever among independent players. Besides providing players with high-end drinks that could help with Concentration recovery, the bar also served as a place to exchange information. At this time, a female Swordsman carrying three longswords on her back entered the bar. She exuded a powerful aura as she approached the bar counter and ordered a Fiery Blue Moon. After paying 50 Eternal Silver for her drink, she turned to the Shield Warrior sitting beside her with a resentful look. Commander Azure Dragon, youd better have called me here for something important. I just got into the Tower of the Abyss when you interrupted me, Frost Raven grumbled before taking a sip of the Fiery Blue Moon the bartender had prepared for her. The Tower of the Abyss had become a holy land for the human races experts in the Eternal Realm. Countless experts lined up to enter it every day. Queuing services had even appeared for the tower, each slot costing one Eternal Gold. That was about as much money as the average fourth-floor expert earned in the Eternal Realm. Frost Raven had gotten her turn inside the Tower of the Abyss not long ago. However, before she reached the fifth floor, Azure Dragon had called her to meet him. Dont get angry at me just yet, Azure Dragon said apologetically, looking at the resentful Frost Raven. I didnt interrupt you on purpose. I have shocking news to share with you. Shocking news? What is it? Frost Raven asked indifferently. Not even for a second did she think Azure Dragons so-called shocking news could be as important as the Tower of the Abyss. Didnt you ask me to keep an eye on Guild Leader Black Flames movements? Azure Dragon chuckled, paying no mind to Frost Ravens attitude. What?! Did you get a new battle video of Guild Leader Black Flame, Commander?! Frost Ravens indifferent expression vanished instantly, replaced by a look of urgency. Frost Raven had always strived to become the strongest expert, at least among Swordsmen players. She also felt that she had the talent to achieve that goal. However, after doing her best in the Continental Championship, she suddenly realized that the world was much bigger than she had thought. Frost Raven had never thought that there could be alien races playing Gods Domain. Moreover, these alien players were astonishingly strong. Of course, she was aware of her current limits, so she had set Shi Feng as her first goal. Shi Feng was not only the second-strongest expert in the Continental Championship but also a Swordsman. He had many aspects that she could study. Hence, she asked Azure Dragon to collect battle videos of Shi Feng. You should know about Everlasting Citys competition, right? Azure Dragon did not answer Frost Ravens question directly. Its the one that many pseudo-apex powers wanted to hire us to help with, but you refused to participate because you werent interested. Did Guild Leader Black Flame participate in Everlasting Citys competition? Frost Raven asked in surprise. The average power might be ignorant of Everlasting Citys competition, but it wasnt much of a secret to the Order of Twelve. Frost Raven even received many offers for her help. However, as Everlasting Citys competition was a battle between powers, the battles in the competition would primarily be team battles. As she wasnt interested in team battles, she had turned down all the offers she received. Although Zero Wing had been developing rapidly in the Eternal Realm, it was still far from matching the various pseudo-apex powers. It was especially so when it came to its member count. Zero Wing would be at an overwhelming disadvantage if it participated in the competition in its current state. Not to mention, there was also a huge gap in levels and equipment standards between its members and the various pseudo-apex powers members. Yes! Not only did he participate in it, but he even made a name for himself! Azure Dragon said excitedly. Its a shame you werent there to witness that legendary fight! It was one man against four royal powers! One man against four royal powers? Frost Raven was stunned. The concept of royal powers might be foreign to human players operating outside the Eternal Realm, but for human players residing in the Eternal Realm, the words royal power were synonymous with fear. Even the human races apex powers would try to avoid a confrontation with royal powers. Yet, Shi Feng had fought four royal powers by himself. Frost Raven couldnt even imagine what kind of scene that could be. But thats not why I called you here, Azure Dragon said, looking at the dejected Frost Raven. Then, he pulled out a thick booklet and placed it on the counter. This thing. This is why I called you here. The Divine Glory List? After snapping out of her daze, Frost Raven looked at Azure Dragon in confusion. Didnt you show this to me not long ago? Besides briefly introducing all entries, the Seven Luminaries Alliance would also attach battle videos to the Divine Glory List to prove the authenticity of its evaluations. Because of this, the Divine Glory List was one of the few sources for players in the Greater Gods Domain to obtain the battle videos of apex experts. Outside of public matches, the average player would never get to witness experts of such caliber in action. This is the latest edition. Getting this wasnt easy; I had to borrow it from a friend in the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Otherwise, we would have had to wait at least half a day before the latest edition reached Shadowring Town, Azure Dragon said, caressing the booklet as if it were a precious treasure. Isnt it just the Divine Glory List? Frost Raven rolled her eyes at Azure Dragon. Only the placements outside the top 500 will see significant changes. The top 100 placements hardly ever change. If not for Guild Leader Black Flame debuting on the Divine Glory List, I wouldnt even have looked at it. Youd better take a look before passing judgment, Azure Dragon said, chuckling. I can tell you that the changes this time will send shockwaves across the Greater Gods Domain. The new rules implemented for the Divine Glory List might even frighten you. New rules? Azure Dragons words piqued Frost Ravens curiosity, and she couldnt help but look into the booklet. New Rules for the Divine Glory List: Although the Divine Glory List will continue to record 1,000 of the strongest experts in the Greater Gods Domain, players evaluations will no longer be based on levels and equipment standards. Instead, players will be judged solely on combat standards. Additionally, only players aged 50 or under will be considered. When Frost Raven saw the new rules, her eyes shone brightly. In the past, the Divine Glory List only considered players overall strength. This skewed the evaluations toward levels and equipment standards. If players were judged solely on their combat standards, the evaluation would undoubtedly be fairer. It would also offer others a clearer look at a players talent. Immediately, Frost Raven turned the pages to see who ranked first on the new Divine Glory List. At the same time, several names came to mind. Since the new Divine Glory List considered only combat standards and restricted entries to players no older than 50, Shi Feng and Elise were likely to see their rankings soar. After all, they were younger generation experts who had represented the human race in the Continental Championship. The person who ranked first on the Divine Glory List was Purgatory Jade! Who is this person? Frost Raven was momentarily stunned. Then, she promptly looked to see who came in second place. Chapter 3875 - Chapter 949 - Top Ten Experts Chapter 949 C Top Ten Experts Lunar River? Who is this? Frost Raven was stunned again when she saw who was ranked second on the Divine Glory List. No matter how much she searched her memories, she couldnt recall any information on the player named Lunar River. Although the Seven Luminaries Alliances Divine Glory List would see significant changes in every iteration, that was only true for the bottom ranks. As for the top 100 ranks, it wouldnt be strange for them to remain the same for several months or even a year. As for the top 10 ranks, it had already been years since a change occurred. Yet, the Divine Glory Lists top two ranks were now under different ownership. Moreover, they were occupied by experts Frost Raven had never heard of. Before today, Solitary Warlord, the former number one on the Divine Glory List, had defended his position for over a decade. He was also the youngest expert to join the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate, becoming one of the Alliances twelve Grand Elders. Even Spear Paradise, the former number ten on the Divine Glory List and Scarecrow Foxs Great Commander, couldnt survive more than three moves against Solitary Warlord. It was also rumored that Solitary Warlord was very close to becoming a Mortal God. But now, Solitary Warlord occupied neither first nor second place on the Divine Glory List. This situation made Frost Raven seriously doubt the validity of the Divine Glory List before her. Just as Frost Raven was about to express her skepticism to Azure Dragon, she suddenly noticed the addition of a Combat Power Evaluation section to the Divine Glory List. Immediately, she inspected the evaluations of Purgatory Jade and Lunar River. 1st C Purgatory Jade C Sixth-Floor Expert 2nd C Lunar River C Overlimit Expert How is this possible?! Frost Raven gawked at the twos evaluations. The sixth-floor standard, also known as the Mortal God standard, was an unattainable goal for most experts in the human races Greater Gods Domain. If Frost Raven hadnt witnessed a sixth-floor expert in the Continental Championship, she would have similarly thought it impossible to reach that standard. Nonetheless, Frost Raven felt the sixth-floor standard remained far from her reach. She also doubted that anybody from the human races Greater Gods Domain could reach it anytime soon. Yet, someone had reached it. Moreover, it was an expert she had never heard of before. As for the Overlimit standard, it was as much of a legend as the sixth-floor standard in the Greater Gods Domain. After all, many fifth-floor experts already had difficulty achieving a 100% Completion Rate with their Tier 6 Skills and Spells, let alone exceeding the 120% threshold. Achieving the Overlimit standard might be even more challenging than the sixth-floor standard. The top two is only the tip of the iceberg, Azure Dragon said, unsurprised by Frost Ravens reaction. The later ranks are even more shocking. Even more shocking? Her curiosity piqued by Azure Dragons words, Frost Raven quickly turned the pages to inspect the Divine Glory Lists later ranks. 3rd C Elise C Sixth-Floor Expert 4th C Kowloon Demon C Sixth-Floor Expert 5th C Red Frost C Sixth-Floor Expert 6th C Black Flame C Pseudo-Sixth-Floor Expert 7th C Solitary Warlord C Pseudo-Sixth-Floor Expert 8th C Aurebeth C Pseudo-Sixth-Floor Expert 9th C Mourning Tone C Pseudo-Sixth-Floor Expert 10th C Spear Paradise C Pseudo-Sixth-Floor Expert When Frost Raven finished inspecting the top ten ranks, the shock in her eyes intensified. She even started to wonder if she was hallucinating. How could there be so many sixth-floor experts?! Frost Raven looked at Azure Dragon in disbelief. She wouldnt have been as surprised if only the top two players on the Divine Glory List had achieved the unprecedented. After all, the Greater Gods Domain was vast, so it wasnt impossible for one or two extraordinary monsters to appear. But now, four out of the Divine Glory Lists top five experts had achieved the sixth-floor standard, with the remaining one having achieved the Overlimit standard. Solitary Warlord, the undisputed number one expert of the Divine Glory List for over a decade, was even knocked down to seventh place. This is why I called you here, Azure Dragon said sternly. According to the information I received, Everlasting Citys competition is the main reason behind the Divine Glory Lists overhaul. Moreover, it isnt just the human race that has gained sixth-floor experts. Many of the Holy Races and the Crystallian races younger generation experts have also achieved the sixth-floor standard. The upcoming war among the three races might pose a huge threat to the various powers, but it is also an opportunity for talented individuals to shine. Although the Tower of the Abyss offers extensive guidance, we will never get to fight sixth-floor experts unless we can conquer the fifth floor. However, that might not be the case for the war. The two other races are bound to have the top experts of their younger generation participate. If we can challenge their sixth-floor experts, they will help us more than the Tower of the Abyss. The Great Commander knows you are eager to achieve the sixth-floor standard, so he asked me to take you to that secret land to level up. He hopes you can raise your level before the war so it doesnt become a weakness later. Really? Frost Raven grew excited at Azure Dragons words. As the Order of Twelve was an alliance of adventurer teams in the Eternal Realm, it had hardly any Taboo Secret Lands in the Greater Gods Domain. It was especially so for Level 235 Taboo Secret Lands. The entirety of the Order of Twelve owned only one such secret land. Moreover, it was a medium-sized one shared with other pseudo-apex powers. This greatly limited the number of members the Order of Twelve could send into the secret land. Of course, so get ready to leave, Azure Dragon said, chuckling. If the Holy Race and the Crystallian race want to have an easier time occupying the ancient ruins on our side, they will have to invade our NPC Cities before the first Void Beast Tide. The NPC Cities the Order of Twelve is based in will likely come under siege at that time. Hence, the Great Commander has decided to loosen the entry conditions for that secret land. So, make sure to do your best to catch up in levels. The upcoming war is an opportunity you do not want to miss. Frost Raven nodded, her eyes shining as she said, Im ready to go, Commander Azure! As the entrances into the Eternal Realm remained unsafe, the various powers of the three races could afford to send only a small number of elites to fight in the upcoming war. This created a conducive environment for the geniuses of the three races to fight. She had to capitalize on this opportunity. Otherwise, once the entrances became safe, war weapons would quickly take over the leading role in the war, and opportunities for geniuses and experts to clash would become scarce, just like the current situation in the human races Greater Gods Domain. As Frost Raven left Shadowring Town with Azure Dragon, a 20-man team escaped pursuit from hundreds of experts on a Void Island in the Greater Gods Domain. Currently, the members of this 20-man team were gasping for breath as they slumped on a pile of rubble, their faces pale from Stamina and Concentration exhaustion. These Demons Gate lunatics! All we did was pass by that ruin! Did they have to chase after us for so many days?! a Level 233 Shield Warrior complained angrily. Theyre not just chasing us. According to my friend, Demons Gate has placed a bounty to have all of us permanently eliminated from Gods Domain, a middle-aged elven man, who was a Level 231 Ranger, said in despair. With Demons Gates bounty on our heads, well be doomed, even if we make it into the Eternal Realm. Chisha, dont you have some connections with the Eternal Chamber of Commerce? Do you have a way to get Demons Gate off our backs? the leader of the team, who was a middle-aged man and a Level 239 Cleric, asked as he looked at Xuanwu Chisha, the Iron Valkyrie. I might have some connections, but if were talking about getting the Eternal Chamber of Commerce to stop Demons Gate from coming after us, Im afraid, Xuanwu Chisha, who had reached Level 235, said as she studied the latest edition of the Divine Glory List. However, before she could finish her words, her mind froze when she saw who was ranked sixth on the latest Divine Glory List. Sixth place?! A pseudo-sixth-floor expert?! Chapter 3876 - Chapter 950 - Fourth Legacy Chapter 950 C Fourth Legacy Chisha, whats wrong? the middle-aged Cleric asked, surprised by Xuanwu Chishas behavior. As long-time companions in the Greater Gods Domain, the middle-aged Cleric understood Xuanwu Chishas character well. She was a calm and ruthless killing machine, and very rarely could anything shake her composure. The other team members also looked at Xuanwu Chisha curiously, wondering what had excited the taciturn Iron Valkyrie. Its nothing. I just saw a fellow compatriot on the Divine Glory List, Xuanwu Chisha said, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief as she looked at the name occupying the Divine Glory Lists sixth place. Someone else from your homeworld entered the Divine Glory List? The middle-aged Cleric grew envious when he heard Xuanwu Chishas answer. Your world is really amazing. That should be the second person from your homeworld to have entered the Divine Glory List, right? You yourself have even entered the top 100. In contrast, I am the only one struggling to support my world. I hope I can get some help soon. Following the middle-aged Clerics words, the other team members also expressed their envy. It was incredibly difficult for players new to the Greater Gods Domain to establish themselves. This remained true even after they had grown strong enough to enter the Divine Glory List. Their team was a small team established by a group of mediocre powers. Besides obtaining resources for their respective Gods Domains, their goal in forming this team was to better explore the Greater Gods Domain, develop their strength, and resist the teams of other powers. For players originating from the same Gods Domain, they would undoubtedly have an easier time developing if they could have more companions of equal strength. At the very least, they wouldnt have to worry about getting persecuted by the various powers just to obtain some resources. Big Sis Chisha, what is that persons rank? a petite girl, a Level 230 Berserker, asked curiously. Did they get into the top 300? I heard that anyone who manages to enter the top 300 of the latest Divine Glory List can be considered a chosen one among chosen ones. The Seven Luminaries Alliance is even willing to transport them into the Eternal Realm for free. The others in the team also cast curious gazes at Xuanwu Chisha. There was no room for doubt regarding Xuanwu Chishas strength and talent. She was second only to their teams leader, Green Doctor. Oftentimes, she was also the one to bail their team out of troublesome situations. This made them wonder what kind of genius Xuanwu Chishas fellow compatriot was. Could this person be in the new Divine Glory Lists top 500? Or possibly the top 300? Hes sixth on the Divine Glory List, Xuanwu Chisha answered truthfully despite her skepticism about Shi Fengs ranking. She couldnt be faulted for her skepticism. After all, Shi Feng was only a genius on the Luminary Glory List when they first met. She was leagues ahead of him at the time. Although his subsequent achievements had enabled him to enter the Divine Glory Lists top 300, he was still far from becoming a true powerhouse. But now, Shi Fengs ranking on the Divine Glory List had skyrocketed to sixth place. He had even surpassed Solitary Warlord, the publicly acknowledged number one player in the Greater Gods Domain. No matter how Xuanwu Chisha looked at it, this situation felt like a dream. Sixth? You mean Black Flame?! Green Doctor looked at Xuanwu Chisha in astonishment, feeling she was joking with him. Sixth place on the Divine Glory List. This was an existence second to only Mortal Gods. This was also an existence far out of their reach. Yes, its him, Xuanwu Chisha said definitively. Were saved! Were saved! Green Doctor cheered excitedly at Xuanwu Chishas confirmation. Chisha! Can you introduce us to him once we enter the Eternal Realm? Were saved? Xuanwu Chisha looked at Green Doctor strangely, unable to understand what he was talking about. They were currently being hunted by Demons Gate, an existence that even apex powers did not wish to provoke. Its no surprise that you dont know. When Green Doctor saw Xuanwu Chishas confusion, he quickly put two and two together and explained, A friend of mine in the Eternal Realm told me this: Black Flame has accomplished great things in the Eternal Realm. He offended not just Demons Gate but also several royal powers. However, neither Demons Gate nor the royal powers could do anything against him. Demons Gate even withdrew its bounty on him. By now, he can be considered a big shot in the Eternal Realm. If we can get his protection, Demons Gates bounty will no longer be a problem. Of course, we wont be taking advantage of him! Well pay him appropriately for his help! When the others heard Green Doctors explanation, they all turned to Xuanwu Chisha in astonishment. They never thought her fellow compatriot could render even Demons Gate helpless. Okay, Ill give it a try. But I dont know if he will agree to help, Xuanwu Chisha said in a daze. She couldnt help but feel like she was dreaming as she looked at Shi Fengs rank on the Divine Glory List. She also couldnt imagine how Shi Feng could ward off the lunatics from Demons Gate. After all, the current Eternal Realm was no longer the same as before. The various powers already had access to a considerable portion of their means and foundations, drastically reducing the effectiveness of individual strength. Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town: After Shi Feng handed the Dragon-Hunting Artillery Construction Design to Melting Flame and Silk Radish for further research and tasked Hidden Soul with gathering the required Lightning Nuclei, he made his way to one of the Guild Residences secret rooms to study the Fourth Goddess Tablet. The damage to the tablet is much worse than I thought. Shi Feng frowned as he inspected the stone tablet covered in cracks. No wonder the Galaxy Conglomerate treated it as scrap. Less than 10% of the tablet is identifiable. Without the correct mana interpretation technique, uncovering even basic information from it would be impossible. Although Shi Feng had already known that the Fourth Goddess Tablet was severely damaged when he bought it from the Galaxy Conglomerates shop at Desolate Star Citys trade fair, he hadnt expected it to be this damaged. He also finally understood why a behemoth like the Galaxy Conglomerate had failed to identify the Fourth Goddess Tablet. The engravings on the tablet recorded crucial information. With less than 10% of the engravings intact, one couldnt obtain much information from the tablet, even with the correct mana interpretation method. Gathering any information without the right mana interpretation method would be next to impossible. After calming his emotions, Shi Feng retrieved an Eternal God Crystal from his bag and carefully interpreted the information on the tablet. Chapter 3877 - Chapter 951 - Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana Chapter 951 C Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana Shadowring Town, Zero Wings Residence: After applying the Eternal God Crystals buff[1] on himself, Shi Feng began to interpret the mana fluctuations from the stone tablets engravings. In no time, bits and pieces of information appeared in his mind. Amazing! Shi Feng was shocked by the information he uncovered. The Fourth Goddess Tablet recorded nine Legacies. Although that was much fewer than the Sixth Goddess Tablet, which recorded 24 Legacies, all nine were extraordinary. The Fourth Goddess Tablet recorded as many as five Peak Gold Combat Techniques. It even recorded two Large-scale Gold Combination Techniques, something the various powers would die for. Of these two combination techniques, one required 20 players to execute, while the other required 24. Both combination techniques could match Tier 6 Overlimit Skills in power when properly executed. However, unlike Overlimit Skills, these combination techniques did not have a Cooldown. So long as players had sufficient Concentration and Stamina, they could execute them indefinitely. In other words, these combination techniques could allow teams of 20 or 24 players to fight Overlimit experts. Overlimit experts were exceedingly rare among the three races. Even in Shi Fengs previous life, only a handful of players could use Tier 6 Overlimit Skills and Spells. However, many players could execute Gold Combat Techniques. Any apex power could easily come up with a thousand such experts. This was equivalent to dozens of Overlimit experts. Not even royal powers could come up with such a lineup. As for the Fourth Goddess Legacys last two Legacies, both were Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques. That was one more Goddess-ranked Mana Technique than what the Sixth Goddess Tablet had. After reading the introduction, Shi Feng excitedly interpreted the actual Legacies. First Legacy Nothing Second Legacy Nothing Third Legacy Nothing After interpreting mana fluctuations for nearly five hours, Shi Feng nearly broke down when he discovered that the details of eight out of nine Legacies were missing. Dont tell me there isnt even a single Legacy remaining? Shi Feng couldnt help feeling anxious as he looked at the last Legacy he had yet to interpret. The first seven of the eighteen Goddess Tablets were the most important. Moreover, by the looks of it, the Fourth Goddess Tablets Legacies were superior to the Sixth Goddess Tablets. If Zero Wing could obtain even one of these Legacies, it could elevate the overall strength of the Guilds frontline experts to the next level. Currently, Zero Wing didnt have a single complete Gold Combat Technique Legacy, let alone Peak Gold Combat Technique Legacies. The Guild could only offer its members recordings of Gold Combat Techniques to learn from. The effectiveness of such a learning medium was vastly inferior to that of a proper Legacy Guidance. As Shi Feng interpreted the Fourth Goddess Tablets final Legacy, a system notification informed him that the interpretation process had concluded. Incomplete Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Threefold Mana Body! Its incomplete? Shi Feng was at a loss for words when he saw the systems description of the ninth Legacy. Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques could be grouped among the best Mana Techniques in existence. Any player who could master one would be no weaker than an expert who had mastered a Peak Gold Combat Technique. Apex powers could also use Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques to bolster their foundations. However, it was a different story if a Goddess-ranked Mana Technique was incomplete. Not only would its effectiveness decrease, but it would also become more difficult to learn than complete Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques. Simply put, it would be useless to both individual players and powers. Just when Shi Feng was about to abandon the Fourth Goddess Tablet, Threefold Mana Bodys Legacy Guidance descended upon the depths of his mind. Immediately, he was given a demonstration of Threefold Mana Bodys execution, and he could suddenly control all the magic elements in his body. It wasnt until the demonstration had ended that he returned to his senses. What a heaven-defying Mana Technique! As Shi Feng stared at the Fourth Goddess Tablet in his hands, he no longer regarded the incomplete Threefold Mana Body Technique as useless. The Threefold Mana Body Technique functioned like a Mana Purification Technique. It was designed to strengthen the users mana. However, unlike a Mana Purification Technique, whose effects were permanent, Threefold Mana Bodys effects only enhanced the users mana when in use. Players would also continuously burn Concentration and Stamina while using it. In return, though, Threefold Mana Bodys effects were incredible. Although players could benefit from a Mana Purification Technique forever once they learned it, copies of high-ranking Mana Purification Techniques were not easy to come by. Even copies of the Silver Mana Purification Technique were as rare as a phoenixs feather, let alone those of a higher rank. Furthermore, the Mana Purification Techniques obtained from the Western Continent limited the number of players that could learn them; each copy allowed only one player to learn from it. In contrast, the Threefold Mana Body Technique could be passed on to an unlimited number of players. Additionally, the technique came in three stages, each corresponding to a particular grade of Mana Purification Technique. The first stage, named the Onefold Mana Body, provided effects rivaling that of the Silver Mana Purification Technique. The second stage, named the Twofold Mana Body, had effects rivaling that of the Gold Mana Purification Technique. As for the third stage, named the Threefold Mana Body, its effects rivaled that of the Advanced Gold Mana Purification Technique. Unfortunately, as the Threefold Mana Body Technique recorded was incomplete, only the first two stages were available for study. Nonetheless, Shi Feng was very satisfied with it. He even felt that the Fourth Goddess Tablet was a little too amazing. As far as he could remember, there was no Gold Mana Purification Technique. More specifically, nobody in his previous life had ever obtained a copy of it. But now, he had the chance to learn it. He could even share it with as many people as he wanted. It would be an understatement to regard the Fourth Goddess Tablet as anything less than heaven-defying. At this point, Shi Feng promptly retrieved another Eternal God Crystal from his bag and used it on himself. Then, he began moving the magic elements in his body according to the Legacy Guidances demonstration. It wasnt difficult to move his bodys magic elements according to the Threefold Mana Body Techniques requirements. He simply had to make a copy of the flow of magic elements in his body. So long as he could create a copy of this magic element network, hed have executed Onefold Mana Body successfully. If he wanted to execute Twofold Mana Body, hed have to make a copy of the composite network he had created with Onefold Mana Body. It was akin to multicasting Spells. There were only two challenges in executing the Threefold Mana Body Technique. Firstly, the user had to know how their bodys magic elements operated. Secondly, the user had to have strong Concentration and be able to multitask extremely well. Fortunately, Shi Fengs Mana affinity was incredibly high, and his Concentration was at the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, so he successfully executed Onefold Mana Body on his first attempt. Immediately afterward, he proceeded to Twofold Mana Body. His first attempt failed His second attempt also failed His 89th attempt still failed Despite his numerous failures, Shi Fengs efforts were not for naught, as he grew increasingly proficient in copying the composite magic element network of Onefold Mana Body. When Shi Feng made his 90th attempt Success! When Shi Feng successfully executed Twofold Mana Body, a system notification rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! The strength of your Mana has reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard. All Skill and Spell Completion Rates have been permanently increased by 5%. TL Notes: [1]Eternal God Crystals buff: So long as a player absorbed an Eternal God Crystal, not only could they receive bursts of inspiration for a short period, but their Concentration and Mana Perception standards would also be temporarily increased by one rank. (Taken from Chapter 621) Fyi, Mana Purification Techniques were introduced in Chapter 572, and the ranks previously mentioned were: Common, Bronze, Advanced Bronze, Silver. Also, Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques can be equated to Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques. Its just that they were developed by the Goddess of Space, who is an Ancient God, so theyre technically not Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques. Chapter 3878 - Chapter 952 - Earth-Shaking Transaction Chapter 952 C Earth-Shaking Transaction Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana?! The system notification dumbfounded Shi Feng. Although the strength of his mana was already incredible before and could rival that of Ancient Gods, the effects of his Mana Purification Technique couldnt stack with those of the Threefold Mana Body Technique. This was proven when he successfully executed the Onefold Mana Body, but the technique did not enhance his mana. This showed that Onefold Mana Bodys effects were indeed equal to that of the Silver Mana Purification Technique. He had estimated that the Gold Mana Purification Technique shouldnt be much better than the Advanced Silver Mana Purification Technique, even if it was superior, and that hed need the Advanced Gold Mana Purification Technique to elevate his Mana to the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard. However, he hadnt expected to achieve this standard after successfully executing Twofold Mana Body Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana! Shi Feng never even dared to imagine having such mana in his previous life. After all, even players fully equipped with Divine Artifacts could, at most, have mana strength that rivaled that of Ancient Gods. Nobody had ever obtained mana surpassing that of Ancient Gods. In Gods Domain, mana was the foundation of everything that revolved around human players. The stronger a players mana, the greater their Life Rating. Take Tier 5 and Tier 6 players, for example. The difference in mana strength between the two was like night and day. When Tier 5 players used Tier 5 Skills and Spells, they could only exert power at the Tier 5 standard. However, when Tier 6 players used Tier 5 Skills and Spells, they could exert power close to the Tier 6 standard. This was the difference in Life Rating. Now that his mana had reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, his Life Rating had also reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard! Before Shi Feng could get a feel for his Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana, a wave of nausea suddenly overwhelmed him, and his complexion turned pale. This situation forced him to stop executing Twofold Mana Body immediately. The load on Concentration and Stamina is equally terrifying. It feels like Ive been executing Dark Moon this whole time. When Shi Feng sensed that he had expended one-third of his Concentration, he gained a better understanding of the Threefold Mana Body Technique. The Threefold Mana Body Technique might be powerful, but the burden of maintaining it was akin to executing Goddess-ranked Mana Techniques consecutively. If he were to use this technique in battle, hed run out of Concentration in no time. He could only use it as a last resort in his current state. Nonetheless, it is a trump card second only to Primordial Dragons Power. Shi Feng started to have many ideas as he stared at the Fourth Goddess Tablet. Although Twofold Mana Body significantly burdened the users Concentration and Stamina, a fifth-floor expert with Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana could fight sixth-floor experts. This was a trump card that Zero Wing desperately needed. With the Tower of the Abyss, it was only a matter of time before Zero Wing would have a considerable force of sixth-floor experts at its command. The only problem was that Zero Wing lacked time. However, after experiencing the benefits of the Threefold Mana Body Technique, Shi Feng felt that Zero Wing could rely on the technique to buy itself the precious time it needed. The effect fifth-floor experts could have in the war among the three races was extremely limited. Only sixth-floor experts had the strength to change the situation of a theater single-handedly. However, so long as a fifth-floor expert learned the Threefold Mana Body Technique, even if they could only elevate their mana to the Tier 6 Advanced standard, theyd become a combatant capable of exchanging several blows with a sixth-floor expert. If the Threefold Mana Body Technique were distributed to Zero Wings members, it would help compensate for the lack of quantity and quality of Zero Wings experts. Just when Shi Feng was thinking of contacting Hidden Soul to have her distribute the Threefold Mana Body Technique to the Guilds executives, Gentle Snow suddenly contacted him, wearing an urgent look. Guild Leader, we noticed an increase in the number of Holy Race experts in Shadowring Town. These new experts average Level 230 and are fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. We believe they come from the Holy Races apex powers, Gentle Snow said. Then, she shared a video taken by Zero Wings members near the Shadowring Basin, the video showing an area isolated by a large, opaque barrier. Our members also discovered this barrier not long ago. It resembles the barrier granted to newly constructed Guild Cities in the Eternal Realm. Combined with the heavy presence of Evil Nature members around the barrier, we believe that Evil Nature has constructed a Guild City near Shadowring Town. Evil Nature is likely planning to use its Guild City to fight a protracted battle with us and prevent anyone from entering or leaving Shadowring Town on foot, making it impossible for us to grind in the World Ark As Shadowring Town was a subsidiary town of Holy Ring City, powerful NPCs patrolled the towns vicinity daily. This made it impossible for the various powers to attack the town directly. However, now that Evil Nature had a Guild City to serve as its forward operating base, it could slowly isolate and wear down the town. In the past, Zero Wings members could rely on their resurrection advantage to thwart any of the Holy Races attempts at isolating Shadowring Town. But now that Holy Race players could resurrect near Shadowring Town, Zero Wings members would have nothing to offset the strength advantage of Holy Race players. Moreover, as the World Ark was currently the main area of activity for Zero Wings members, once Shadowring Town became isolated, Zero Wing could only wait for its doom. How bold of Evil Nature to pull such a move. It should already have its hands full fighting the Seven Luminaries Alliance across numerous NPC Cities, yet it still decided to come after us? It even committed a precious Great Lord Token to the World Arks inner area. Shi Feng was surprised by the barrier in the video. He had never expected Evil Nature to go so far as to commit its Great Lord Token just to persecute Zero Wing. However, he quickly smiled and continued, Since they want to play, well play with them! Contact Verdant Rainbow and ask if she is interested in permanently removing Evil Nature from the Eternal Realm! Remove Evil Nature? Gentle Snow was stunned. Gentle Snow might not know exactly how strong the Holy Races royal powers were, but she was fully aware of Zero Wings current strength. Furthermore, after experiencing the Intercontinental Championship and Everlasting Citys competition, Gentle Snow already understood that the foundations of royal powers far exceeded those of apex powers. An apex power might not even have the means to resist a royal power. Not to mention, Evil Natures strength was above average among the Holy Races ten royal powers. Hence, trying to remove Evil Nature from the Eternal Realm with just the forces of Zero Wing and the Seven Luminaries Alliance was nothing short of a fantasy. The various powers might even think they were crazy if they learned of their aim. Just go and notify her, Shi Feng said, not bothering to explain himself. In his previous life, all of the human races apex powers combined could not threaten even the weakest of the Holy Races royal powers. However, things were different in this life. Not only did he achieve Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana, but he had also acquired a Great Lord Token, something he never even considered in his previous life. With these cards in his hand, removing a royal powers forces from the Eternal Realm was not an unattainable goal. After Gentle Snow returned to her senses, she promptly contacted Verdant Rainbow. Chapter 3879 - Chapter 953 - The Proper Way to Use the Great Lord Token Chapter 953 C The Proper Way to Use the Great Lord Token Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town, Zero Wings Residence: Guild Leader Black Flame, Im very busy right now. Are you sure youre not joking with me? Verdant Rainbow asked when she saw Shi Feng enter the conference room. Even after arriving at Zero Wings Residence, she still couldnt believe what Shi Feng had invited her here for. An offer to remove a royal power from the Eternal Realm. This came as an even greater shock to her than the latest issue of the Divine Glory List. Had anyone else made her this offer, she wouldnt have believed a single word. However, after witnessing Shi Feng single-handedly repel four royal powers in Everlasting City, she couldnt help but wonder if he might actually have a way to eliminate Evil Nature from the Eternal Realm. Im very certain, Shi Feng said, smiling as he sat down. Im sure the Seven Luminaries Alliance is tired of having its NPC Cities targeted by Evil Nature, right? Because of Evil Nature, the Alliance has to commit significant manpower to garrison its NPC Cities and cannot explore many high-level maps. Now, Evil Nature has even used its Great Lord Token to persecute Zero Wing in the World Ark. Since Evil Nature is such a nuisance, why dont we work together to eliminate it from the Eternal Realm and save us all this trouble? This Can it even be done? Verdant Rainbow asked bluntly. As a royal power, Evil Natures foundations are extraordinary. The number of Level 230-plus experts and war weapons it has in the Eternal Realm far exceeds what our two Guilds have. Under normal circumstances, certainly not. But things are different now, Shi Feng said, chuckling. So long as you lend me a thousand Level 235-plus experts fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts for several days, I can take care of Evil Nature. If you dont believe me, I can sign a Gods Domain Contract. You want that many elites? Can you not reduce your equipment requirement a little? Verdant Rainbow was shocked by Shi Fengs condition. It might be easy to put together a thousand Level 235-plus experts in the current Eternal Realm, but it was a different story if these experts had to be fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. No. This is my bottom line. Shi Feng shook his head. In his previous life, after the first Everlasting City competition ended, the top ten powers had eagerly used their Great Lord Tokens to secure more territory for themselves in the Eternal Realm. It wasnt until the Eternal Realms development had reached its later stages that the various powers discovered the real use of the Great Lord Tokens granted by Everlasting City. This discovery made every power that had ever obtained and used a Great Lord Token dearly regret their actions. At first glance, the Great Lord Tokens sole purpose was to construct a Guild City anywhere in the Eternal Realm, and it was indeed a precious function in the Eternal Realm, where City Building Orders were incredibly rare. However, this function was insignificant compared to the Great Lord Tokens true function. When the Eternal Realm had entered its later development stages, and the various powers were mostly done exploring the few Level 230 Taboo Maps available, they suddenly discovered that many lost civilization cities were hidden in these maps. These lost civilization cities could also be considered the Eternal Realms most precious existence. As for the condition to activate these lost civilization cities, it was to become the Great Lord of the map they occupied. In other words, the true purpose of the Great Lord Token wasnt to construct a city but to awaken one! Shi Feng vividly remembered that when the Holy Race discovered the first lost civilization city, an all-out war broke out among its ten royal powers. The war had shocked both human players and Holy Race players. Even when the Holy Race waged war against the human race, only four of its royal powers had participated. The remaining six royal powers paid no attention to the war whatsoever. Some of them didnt even have a presence in the Eternal Realm. But when the first lost civilization city appeared, the situation in the Eternal Realm changed completely. All of the Holy Races royal powers entered the Eternal Realm in full force, culminating in a war among the ten royal powers that lasted several months. The war destroyed a significant portion of the Eternal Realm, and over a billion Tier 6 Holy Race players had suffered a true death. Furthermore, it wasnt just Holy Race players who had suffered from this war. Over a hundred million Tier 6 human players had suffered a true death as bystanders. Two of the Three Absolutes also got seriously injured, while one nearly died a true death. Because of this war, the human race learned how powerful the Holy Race truly was. Even if the human races apex powers banded together, theyd be nothing but a joke before the Holy Races royal powers. Just one Epic Siege Weapon could push the human races apex powers to the brink of collapse. If the Holy Races royal powers mobilized all their Epic Siege Weapons, the human races apex powers would disappear in the blink of an eye. Out of all the human races apex powers in Shi Fengs previous life, the Seven Luminaries Alliance was the only one that could retaliate against the Holy Races royal powers. This was because it had secured a lost civilization city. As for the other apex powers that had obtained a Great Lord Token in the past, they had already used their tokens by the time the lost civilization cities were discovered. They also no longer had the ability to secure Great Lord Tokens. Thus, they missed the opportunity to obtain the Legacies of these lost civilizations. Currently, as many of the top ten powers from the recent Everlasting City competition had already used their Great Lord Token, it was a prime opportunity for Zero Wing to secure a lost civilization city. This was because players could not seize the lost civilization city of others with force alone. Once a lost civilization city was awakened, other players could only seize it by occupying and reawakening it using another Great Lord Token. Otherwise, the city would never change ownership. And as Everlasting Citys competition was the only source for Great Lord Tokens, Zero Wing would not have to worry about losing its lost civilization city until the next competition. As for which lost civilization city to go for, Shi Feng already had one in mind. Not all lost civilization cities were equal. The Legacies they held differed in strength. Some Legacies were even exclusive to specific races. Take the Magic Civilizations Legacy that the Seven Luminaries Alliance obtained, for example. The Legacy amplified the effectiveness of magic arrays, allowing the Great Grandmaster-ranked defensive magic arrays of cities to resist even the attacks of Epic Siege Weapons. Because of this Legacy, the human races various powers managed to hold on in the Eternal Realm. However, as magic arrays were unique to the human race, the Magic Civilizations Legacy would be utterly useless in the hands of the Holy Race and the Crystallian race. Likewise, should the human race come across a lost civilization Legacy exclusive to the two other races, the Legacy would be useless. Of course, not all lost civilization cities held race-specific Legacies. On the contrary, most held general-purpose Legacies. Among them, the one that stood out the most was a primordial civilization city occupied by the Sun Dynasty. The primordial civilization city in question did not hold any Legacies. The city was mostly in ruins when it was discovered, with no functional building in sight. All the city had was a Siege Weapon. Firmament! It was also the only known Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon discovered in the Eternal Realm! Because of this Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon, the Sun Dynasty was instantly acknowledged as the Holy Races number one royal power, becoming the envy of all other royal powers. Now that the threat of other powers seizing Zero Wings lost civilization city did not exist, Zero Wing simply needed to have the ability to capture the primordial civilization city. From what Shi Feng had heard, the Sun Dynasty had relied on a thousand Level 240 experts fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts to capture the primordial civilization city. Hence, requiring only Level 235-plus experts was already a concession. If he were to reduce the equipment requirement as well, he couldnt guarantee theyd be able to capture the primordial civilization city. Are you willing to make this transaction, Miss Rainbow? Shi Feng asked the hesitant Verdant Rainbow. Chapter 3880 - Chapter 954 - Twelve Seats Chapter 954 C Twelve Seats Guild Leader Black Flame, your requirement is too high, Verdant Rainbow said, smiling wryly. Many Level 235-plus experts might have entered the Eternal Realm because of Everlasting Citys competition, but Fragmented Divine Artifacts arent cabbages. Many of the Greater Gods Domains fifth-floor experts have only one or two Fragmented Divine Artifacts, while some unluckier ones have none. Even with the Seven Luminaries Alliances robust foundations, we can, at most, fully equip about 700 players with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Only 700? Shi Feng fell silent after hearing this. Fragmented Divine Artifacts were indeed extremely rare in the Greater Gods Domain. Many ordinary and upper-ranking hegemonic powers only had a few pieces, and some might not even have any. This was why Level 220-plus Taboo Epic and Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment was considered mainstream in the Greater Gods Domain. However, as pseudo-apex and apex powers had monopolized Taboo Dungeons and Taboo Secret Lands for many years, they should have no trouble fully equipping many experts with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. With the Seven Luminaries Alliance being a transcendental existence even among apex powers, Shi Feng thought the Alliance would have no trouble fully equipping a thousand experts with Fragmented Divine Artifacts in the current Eternal Realm. Not to mention, the Alliance must have transferred some of its arsenal to secure its position in Everlasting Citys competition. However, to his disappointment, the Alliance only had enough Fragmented Divine Artifacts to fully equip about 700 players in the Eternal Realm. This was nowhere near enough players to capture the primordial civilization city. If they couldnt capture the primordial civilization city, there was no way they could deal with Evil Nature. The Seven Luminaries Alliance might not have all the experts you need, but Verdant Rainbow trailed off. Then, as she looked at Shi Fengs pondering expression, she continued, I know a group of Level 230-plus experts who are fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts at the very least. If we include them, we should barely have a thousand people. However, persuading these people will not be easy. I will need you to agree to a request of mine, Guild Leader Black Flame. Otherwise, Im afraid we cannot proceed with this partnership. What is your condition? Shi Feng asked, unsurprised by Verdant Rainbows words. He was the one who had suggested they cooperate to deal with Evil Nature. Hence, it was only natural that he made some concessions. Moreover, Zero Wing wasnt in a position to negotiate an advantageous deal with the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Although Evil Nature was a big problem for Zero Wing and the Seven Luminaries Alliance, leaving Evil Nature unchecked posed a much bigger problem for Zero Wing than for the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Currently, Zero Wing was based only in Shadowring Town and the Crystal City of Secrets. On the other hand, the Seven Luminaries Alliance was based in many NPC Cities across the Eternal Continent. It even had a Guild Town on the Western Continent. Hence, even if the Alliance had its operations hindered by Evil Nature in multiple NPC Cities, it could still develop comfortably in the Eternal Realm. In contrast, if Zero Wing were to lose Shadowring Town and the Crystal City of Secrets, it would no longer be able to survive in the Eternal Realm Simple. Verdant Rainbow smiled. After our collaboration, I want you to apply to be a Grand Elder candidate in the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Should you win one of the Senates twelve seats, I will need you to push for me to become a Vice Alliance Master in the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Do you have that much confidence in me? Shi Feng looked at Verdant Rainbow in surprise. This was not a request he had expected. The Seven Luminaries Alliance was the human races most transcendental apex power. It wasnt merely a large Guild but also a huge organization. Regarding the Seven Luminaries Alliances twelve Grand Elder positions, they were held by experts recognized by the Alliance. So long as one was sufficiently strong, any expert from any power could take on these positions. This included independent experts and the Seven Luminaries Alliances own members. Despite not having to participate in the management of the Seven Luminaries Alliance, the elected Grand Elders could enjoy the best privileges offered by the Alliance. They could easily purchase items exclusive to the Alliances core executives. They also wielded considerable authority, having a voice in the nomination of candidates for the Seven Luminaries Alliances Vice Alliance Masters. Naturally, given the great authority and freedom of these Grand Elder positions, many players in the human races Greater Gods Domain yearned to become members of the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate. Thus, whenever the term of the Alliances Grand Elders was about to end, many experts would apply to become candidates. Of course, not just anyone could apply. Players must have reached the fifth-floor standard or grasped at least one Gold Combat Technique to qualify for candidacy. Additionally, the competition for the twelve Grand Elder positions had no requirements for age or talent. Strength was the only requirement. Hence, players under Level 240 and those not fully equipped with Divine Artifacts had virtually no chance of winning. According to Shi Fengs memories, the Seven Luminaries Alliances twelve Grand Elder positions rarely changed hands. Even when a change did occur, it would be limited to the bottom-ranked Grand Elders. Currently, he had neither reached Level 240, nor was he fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. His chances would be slim if he tried to compete for the twelve Grand Elder positions. Of course. Verdant Rainbow nodded. You are ranked sixth on the latest Divine Glory List and publicly acknowledged as the younger generations strongest Sword God. There is also a considerable time before the competition begins. With the many opportunities available in the Eternal Realm, if you still say you dont stand a chance, I dont think anybody else can help me. So, will you accept my condition, Guild Leader Black Flame? No problem. I can agree to this condition. Shi Feng nodded without hesitation. He had already planned to compete for a spot in the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate, even before Verdant Rainbows condition. After all, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had extraordinary foundations. Should he succeed in becoming a Grand Elder, he could directly purchase many Divine Artifacts suitable for himself and materials to repair Fragmented Divine Artifacts instead of going to the trouble of procuring them himself. Most importantly, he could purchase the Eternal Stones needed to repair the Eternity Set. With the Seven Luminaries Alliances extraordinary foundations, it should have many Eternal Stones in its Guild Warehouse. Once he became a Grand Elder, he could collect Eternal Stones much more quickly. Like the Flame God Set, the Eternity Set was also one of the Six Great Divine Sets. So long as a Tier 6 player equipped it, they would instantly become an existence comparable to Primordial Gods. If Zero Wing could get its hands on the two sets in addition to the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament, it would no longer fear any power in the Greater Gods Domain. That settles it, then. A hint of excitement flashed across Verdant Rainbows eyes when Shi Feng agreed to her condition. Ill need about half a day to gather the necessary manpower. If thats all from you, Ill contact them right away. After saying so, Verdant Rainbow promptly left the conference room, her actions so swift that Shi Feng didnt even get to remind her about sealing their deal with a Gods Domain Contract. Eternal Realm, Ice Blast Sea: On an island pelted by hail, a team of 200-plus players sat in a Seven Luminaries Ore Vein littered with the corpses of over 10,000 players from the Holy Race and the human race. If one inspected these corpses carefully, one would notice that these players averaged Level 235. Many of them also wore the Guild Emblem of apex powers. Yet, despite being led by multiple Level 240, Tier 6 NPCs, all these players were killed without exception. Rin, didnt you say that the Holy Races and the human races younger generation have many experts? None of these players were a sixth-floor expert. Even the strongest among them were only Half-step Mortal Gods. If such players were to enter the Hundred Race Battlefield, they wouldnt even make it into the top 10,000, a Level 235, six-meter-tall Crystallian man with a lanky build said, exasperated as he scanned the corpses around him. Speaking of which, now that you have reached the sixth-floor standard, you should be able to enter the Hundred Race Battlefields inner area with me. If youre lucky, you might even be able to compete for the inner areas top 100 and fight Ink Crystal for that standards Legacy. As the lanky man spoke, he shifted his gaze to Rin, only to find with a distracted look. Out of curiosity, he asked, Whats wrong? Is something on your mind? Verdant Rainbow, the person who got us here, messaged me. She wants us to head to Shadowring Town to lend Black Flame a hand. In return, shell consider the favor we owe her repaid, Rin answered as she stared at the message from Verdant Rainbow. Black Flame? The expert who bested you in the Continental Championship? The lanky man pondered Verdant Rainbows request. Then, he nodded and continued, Lets go, then. We can use this opportunity to size him up. If his strength is good, we can consider bringing him to the Hundred Race Battlefield. Chapter 3881 - Chapter 955 - Hundred Race Battlefield Chapter 955 C Hundred Race Battlefield Made a change to Chapter 952: Original: Guild Leader, we discovered many Holy Race experts lurking in the Shadowring Basin several hours ago. These experts average Level 230 and are fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. They seem to be from the Holy Races apex powers, Gentle Snow said, sharing a video recording taken by Zero Wings members near the Shadowring Basin. The video showed an area isolated by a large, opaque barrier. Edited: Guild Leader, we noticed an increase in the number of Holy Race experts in Shadowring Town. These new experts average Level 230 and are fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. We believe they come from the Holy Races apex powers, Gentle Snow said. Then, she shared a video taken by Zero Wings members near the Shadowring Basin, the video showing an area isolated by a large, opaque barrier. Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town: As a long line of players from the human race and the Holy Race waited to enter Shadowring Town, a giant, five-headed avian exceeding a thousand meters in length landed outside the town. The five-headed avian was shrouded by dark-gray flames and radiated a powerful Divine Might, its arrival drawing many envious and astonished gazes. A Five-Headed Death Bird! This was a monster that usually only appeared in the dangerous parts of the Void Sea. Its Life Rating was superior to even that of ordinary dragons. Furthermore, even the weakest among them was a Level 230 Divine monster. Because of this, it was incredibly difficult to turn a Five-Headed Death Bird into a Flying Mount; no apex power had ever accomplished this feat. Who are these people? How did they turn a Five-Headed Death Bird into a Flying Mount? Wait! Arent those Crystallians?! Crystallians? Why would Crystallian players appear here? Shouldnt they be active in the southern and eastern regions? Are they also planning to seize Shadowring Town? Zero Wing sure is pitiful. It had finally gained a foothold in the Eternal Realm thanks to Shadowring Town. Yet, before it could relish the fruits of its labor, the Holy Races various powers set their sights on the town. Now, even the Crystallian race has come to get a piece of the action. The players waiting to enter Shadowring Town curiously discussed the Crystallian players that had jumped down from the Five-Headed Death Bird. They all assumed that these Crystallian players were here to seize the town from Zero Wing. Amidst the bystanders discussions, the Crystallian players approached Shi Feng and the Seven Luminaries Alliance members gathered outside the towns entrance. Guild Leader Black Flame, sorry for the long wait, Rin greeted Shi Feng as she walked up to him in her six-meter-tall frame. Then, she pointed at the team behind her and continued, This is Ninth Streets Snow Wolf Legion, which will be coming along with us, while this person beside me is Commander Snow Wolf. As Rin gave her introduction, the lanky young man beside her scrutinized Shi Feng. So, you are Black Flame? The guy who defeated Garuda in the Continental Championship? Snow Wolf asked, a little surprised as he looked at Shi Feng, who wasnt even two meters tall. Shi Feng was only Level 223. His equipment also comprised Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Such an equipment standard couldnt even match that of the various apex powers elite experts, let alone the various royal powers elite experts. Not to mention, his movements indicated that he hadnt reached the sixth-floor standard. Hence, Snow Wolf found it hard to believe Shi Feng had defeated Garuda, the Thunder Empires strongest chosen one. That is me. Shi Feng nodded, similarly surprised as he looked at Snow Wolf. Although Snow Wolf was only Level 235, Shi Feng could sense that the other party was a bona fide sixth-floor expert. A veteran sixth-floor expert at that. Yet, he had never heard of the other party in his previous life. The human race might not have had much information on the Crystallian race in his previous life, but Mortal Gods were incredibly well-known figures. Logically, there was no way someone who had achieved the Mortal God standard this early into the Eternal Realms development would be unknown. You have good talent. Its a pity you dont have any powers to back you, Snow Wolf said after he was done sizing up Shi Feng. Are you willing to become an internal member of Ninth Street? You might not be able to join Ninth Street in a real sense, but you can sign a Gods Domain Contract with the Guild. If you have Ninth Streets resources and my guidance, you can reach the sixth-floor standard without a problem. If luck is on your side, you may even get to participate in the Hundred Race Battlefield with us. The Hundred Race Battlefield is an extremely rare opportunity in Gods Domain. Weaker races dont even qualify to participate. Currently, out of our three races, only the Crystallian race and the Holy Race have this qualification. Moreover, the Crystallian race has more slots than the Holy Race. The Hundred Race Battlefields participation slots? Shi Feng was even more surprised to hear this. The Hundred Race Battlefield was undoubtedly an unfamiliar term to current human players. Even in his previous life, very few powers knew about it. The Hundred Race Battlefield. As the name suggested, it was a battlefield involving players from many races. It was rumored to hold opportunities that could let players achieve greatness. Only, as the human race never had any royal powers in his previous life, it was too weak to even participate in the Hundred Race Battlefield. Obtaining a participation slot for the Hundred Race Battlefield was incredibly difficult. Even royal powers could secure only a few dozen slots, while some might not even get 20. Because of this, rarely would any power share their participation slots with outsiders. Thats right. So long as you sign a Gods Domain Contract with Ninth Street, it wouldnt be impossible for you to enter the Hundred Race Battlefield with your talent, Snow Wolf said, nodding. How about it? Are you interested in joining us? The Hundred Race Battlefield is indeed tempting, but I will pass on joining Ninth Street, Shi Feng said, turning down the offer. The Hundred Race Battlefield might be able to let players achieve greater heights, but he currently didnt lack such opportunities. He even had a Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll, which was hard to come by even in the Hundred Race Battlefield. Hence, he did not need to participate in the Hundred Race Battlefield. His top priority was improving his strength. Thats a shame. When Snow Wolf heard Shi Fengs refusal, he did not try to persuade the other party. In Snow Wolfs opinion, Shi Fengs strength and talent were subpar. Whether Shi Feng joined Ninth Street would not affect the Guilds performance in the Hundred Race Battlefield. Moreover, Snow Wolf suspected that Shi Feng did not understand the importance of the Hundred Race Battlefield. Otherwise, the other party would not have casually rejected his kind gesture. After Shi Feng chatted with Rin for a bit, the group took off on the Silverwing Flying Ship. They flew straight to Skeleton Hill where the primordial civilization city was situated. Skeleton Hill was one of the few Level 230 Taboo Maps located on the Eternal Continent, and it was also a place that many powers wanted to explore right now. In his previous life, every Level 230 Taboo Map in the Eternal Realm was a priority exploration target for the various apex and royal powers. These maps allowed players to level up to Level 230 and occasionally spawned Level 240 Taboo Dungeons. As Level 240 Taboo Dungeons were one of the few places in Gods Domain where players could obtain Level 240 Taboo Weapons and Equipment, they were regarded as a treasure trove by both apex and royal powers. Additionally, Level 240 Taboo Weapons and Equipment were crucial in competing for the qualifications to participate in the Hundred Race Battlefield. After crossing multiple high-level maps and Taboo Maps and shaking off countless monsters, the Silverwing Flying Ship arrived at a plain littered with skeletons half a day later. This should be the place. When the flying ship stopped above a forested area surrounded by three mountains, Shi Feng jumped off and retrieved the Great Lord Token from his bag. System: Do you wish to use the Great Lord Token to become the Great Lord of this region? Yes! System: It is detected that an archaic city occupies this region. A new city cannot be constructed here. Do you wish to spend 200,000 Eternal Gold Coins and 10,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to awaken this city? Awaken it! Chapter 3882 - Chapter 956 - First-Generation Hero Chapter 956 C First-Generation Hero TL Notes: Made a change to Chapter 936: Desert Rivers stone cane changed to stone staff. I have also changed Ink Crystals cane to vine staff. Eternal Realm, Skeleton Hill: After 200,000 Eternal Gold and 10,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal disappeared from Shi Fengs bag, the forested area shook, and countless lightning bolts emerged from the void to strike the land, shattering it. Immediately afterward, an ancient city comparable to the Crystal City of Secrets in majesty rose from the ground. How can there be an archaic city here?! When Snow Wolf saw the ancient city emerging from the ground, his mouth fell wide open. As the name suggested, archaic cities referred to cities that had existed in a distant era. Although these cities were typically discovered in a near-ruined state, they often held Legacies that did not exist in the modern era, making them incredibly valuable. Moreover, the older an archaic city was, the more valuable its Legacies were. However, the old age of archaic cities made finding them incredibly difficult. Most would already be in ruins by the time they were discovered. Some might have even returned to the earth, never to be found. Although upper-ranking hegemonic powers could get lucky and find an archaic city after searching a Realm for several years, such occurrences were few and far between. Normally, only pseudo-apex powers and above could reliably locate archaic cities. Nonetheless, theyd need to spend years scouring dozens of Realms. In the case of the archaic city before him, Snow Wolf could tell it was extraordinary at a glance. Although the city was in relatively good shape, hinting that it wasnt from a particularly distant era, it radiated Divine Might that resembled that of Primordial Gods. This meant that, contrary to its appearance, the city must have come from an extremely distant era. Furthermore, it should be superior to the average primordial city. If not for them being bound by a Gods Domain Contract, Snow Wolf would have attacked Shi Feng without hesitation. Guild Leader Black Flame, is this the place you want to capture? Rin asked, shocked when she saw the many monsters inside the city. The monsters inside the archaic city were all Level 230 Divine monsters, and they easily numbered over 10,000. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to call the city a nest of Bosses. In Gods Domain, Level 200 was a major turning point for players and monsters. Before Level 200, a Tier 5 player fully equipped with Legendary items could easily solo a Tier 6 Divine monster. However, after Level 200, even a Tier 6 player fully equipped with Legendary items could only stand their ground against a Tier 6 Divine monster. Upon reaching Level 220 and above, also known as Taboo Levels, players would need a party equipped with top-tier items to stand a chance against a Tier 6 Divine monster. Although their team comprised fifth- and sixth-floor experts fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, theyd still have to fight in 6- to 20-man groups if they wanted to kill a Level 230 Divine monster. If they fought solo, they would only be able to stand their ground at best. Furthermore, theyd have to be careful not to lure too many monsters at a time. Should they accidentally draw the attention of a thousand monsters or more, even a team of their caliber would be doomed. As Shi Feng looked at the monster-infested city, he recalled the battle video the Seven Luminaries Alliance had secretly recorded of the Sun Dynasty and explained, There might be many monsters, but their perception range isnt particularly wide. They are also quite spaced from one another. So long as we lure these monsters out bit by bit, we can safely exterminate them. If thats the case, this will be easy! Rin, lure the closest monsters to the entrance! Tanks, you all will receive the monsters at the entrance! Everyone else, focus on attacking! Snow Wolf commanded. Okay, leave it to me! Rin answered as she waved her staff and executed an Implement Manipulation Technique, launching over a hundred pebbles toward a dozen ten-meter-tall Demonized Half-Orcs. The pebbles flew and landed with great precision, each landing by the feet of a Demonized Half-Orc. Although they did not cause any damage, they created just enough noise to draw the monsters attention. When the Demonized Half-Orcs followed the sounds and found only pebbles by their feet, they scratched their heads in confusion. But just as they were about to look away, they heard another barely audible sound of a pebble falling nearby. With their curiosity piqued, the Demonized Half-Orcs walked toward the source of the sound. As this cycle repeated, the dozen Demonized Half-Orcs moved closer to the citys entrance. However, no other Demonized Half-Orcs joined the group due to Rins perfect timing and control of the pebbles. Charge! When Snow Wolf saw the dozen Demonized Half-Orcs fast approaching the citys entrance, he gave the command to engage the monsters. Immediately, several dozen five- to six-meter-tall Crystallian experts sprang forth, some conjuring stone walls with their staves to smash the Half-Orcs, while some turned their flesh into metal before charging headlong into the Half-Orcs. After issuing his command, Snow Wolf also joined the fight. With a wave of his stone staff, the ground shook and the space around the Demonized Half-Orcs distorted. This disrupted the Half-Orcs movements and reduced the accuracy of their attacks, lowering the pressure on the tanks and healers. Additionally, the warped space neutralized the din of battle, allowing the tanks to fight to their hearts content and hold aggro more effectively. This, in turn, reduced the chances of rearline attackers stealing aggro. Are these two monsters? The Seven Luminaries Alliances members were stunned by this scene. They had never thought fighting Tier 6 Divine monsters so silently was possible. However, despite their astonishment, the Seven Luminaries Alliances members did not stop attacking the Demonized Half-Orcs. Less than half an hour later, the dozen Demonized Half-Orcs had been killed, contributing a significant amount of EXP to Shi Feng, who was covered in injuries. Its a pity the monsters here dont drop items. Otherwise, wed have made a small fortune after killing so many high-level Divine monsters. Shi Feng inwardly sighed as he looked at the corpses of the Demonized Half-Orcs. Divine monsters were walking treasure chests outside the Eternal Realm. It was especially so for Level 220 Divine monsters and above. Besides dropping Taboo Weapons and Equipment, they also had a small chance of dropping Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Unfortunately, the monsters in the primordial civilization city gave only EXP and nothing else. Good! Next wave! Snow Wolf ordered Rin again. Im already familiar with these monsters combat rhythm, so you can lure more. Okay, Ill lure more, then. Rin nodded. She had previously limited the number of Demonized Half-Orcs she lured to a dozen so they could understand the monsters standards. Otherwise, a 1,000-man team of elite experts like theirs would have no problem tackling a hundred Divine monsters of similar levels. Not to mention, their team had two sixth-floor experts. Subsequently, Rin and Snow Wolf swiftly worked together to lure a hundred Demonized Half-Orcs. They also ensured their battle with the monsters made no sound. Moreover, whenever a Demonized Half-Orc died, they would quickly lure another to the entrance, maximizing the potential of the teams AOE attacks. Is this how sixth-floor experts cooperate in battle? Shi Feng felt like he was watching the cooperation of a hundred players as he watched Rin and Snow Wolfs performance. He never thought that the cooperation between sixth-floor experts could yield such incredible results. He also dared not imagine how it would be like to confront two sixth-floor experts simultaneously. After recovering from his surprise, Shi Feng started to contribute to the fight seriously, using Miniature Abyssal World to weaken the Demonized Half-Orcs and greatly shorten the time needed to kill them. After five days of continuous progress, the team eliminated all the Demonized Half-Orcs in the citys outer and inner areas. In these five days, Shi Fengs level had skyrocketed, reaching Level 229. Now, he was only 17% away from the Level 230 threshold. After catching a breather, the team made its way to the heart of the city, arriving before a sunken tower. The stone tower had three floors, each a hundred meters in height. The first two of the towers three floors were underground, and only the uppermost floor remained above ground. Many divine patterns were engraved on the towers exterior, and just the Divine Might they radiated made it difficult for even experts with Tier 6 Peak Concentration to approach the tower. When everyone entered within 100 yards of the tower, Shi Feng suddenly sensed a frightening mental pulse from within the tower. Immediately afterward, everyone involuntarily took several steps back. Before anyone could recover from their surprise, the entrance to the towers third floor opened, revealing a 20-meter-tall man armed with a greatsword and clad in a suit of silver armor. As the man walked out of the tower, his white cape fluttered in the wind, and divine runes lingered around him. The mans presence felt primordial, and everyone shuddered as they stood in his aura. When Shi Feng saw the giant of a man walking out of the tower, his eyes widened in shock. A First-Generation Hero?! Chapter 3883 - Chapter 957 - Absolute Thunder Chapter 957 C Absolute Thunder As the giant figure exited the tower, everyones casual expression turned ugly. This was especially so for Shi Feng. [Adegas] (First-Generation Hero of the Human Race, Tier 6) Level 230 HP 90,000,000,000,000,000 (90 quadrillion) Why is it a First-Generation Hero? Shi Feng stared at the giant figure in bewilderment. The video the Seven Luminaries Alliance had captured in his previous life was very detailed. The video showed not only the entire process of the Sun Dynasty capturing the primordial civilization city but also the sole treasure, the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament, stored inside the city. As far as he could remember, the Guardian Boss that emerged from the central tower should have been a Primordial Half-Orc King, which was a Level 230 World Boss and a bona fide Primordial Godkin. It was an incredibly tough opponent, and the Sun Dynasty had sacrificed over half of its 1,000 Level 240 elite experts to defeat it. But now, not only was the citys Guardian Boss different, but it had even become a First-Generation Hero. This was an existence with a Life Rating comparable to Ancient Gods and a combat standard rivaling that of War Goddesses. Most importantly, the First-Generation Hero before them was equipped with a Divine Set! Indeed! Adegas wasnt just equipped with Divine Artifacts but a Divine Set! It should be known that one of the Twenty-Two Taboo Bosses was a First-Generation Hero. Moreover, this First-Generation Hero ranked third among them and had slain multiple Ancient Gods in the past. The Grand Library also held records of multiple apex powers attempting to raid this First-Generation Hero, only to have their raid members granted a true death. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that nothing short of a Primordial God could defeat this First-Generation Hero. Although Adegas was undoubtedly weaker than the Taboo-ranked First-Generation Hero, considering he was just Level 230, the last First-Generation Hero to have been slain by players, according to the Grand Librarys records, was a Level 224 one. At the time, over 3,000 Level 240 players had participated in the raid, many of whom were experts equipped with one or two Divine Artifacts and multiple Fragmented Divine Artifacts. There had also been more than ten Level 240 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Nonetheless, over 2,000 members of the raid team had died in battle. If not for the low level of the First-Generation Hero in question, at least half of those 2,000-plus players would have suffered a true death. A Level 230 First-Generation Hero! This was an insurmountable hurdle for their 1,000-man team. Even if they had two sixth-floor experts and Snow Wolf was fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, they still had zero chance of defeating Adegas. Accepting this mission was the worst decision ever! Snow Wolfs expression turned indescribably gloomy as he watched Adegas walking out of the tower. Although Snow Wolf did not know how powerful the human races First-Generation Heroes were, he could tell how terrifying an existence Adegas was by simply looking at the other partys 21 HP bars. Run away! Shi Feng commanded when he saw Adegas was out of the tower. However, as soon as Shi Feng voiced his command, Adegas suddenly pointed his greatsword at the sky. Immediately, everyone felt the world around them tremble. Then, before anyone could react, multiple magic arrays appeared in the sky. Fivefold Tier 6 Curse, Worldshaper! Even when cast normally, the magic barrier created by Worldshaper could be broken only by Tier 6 Gods or existences of a similar standard. When five Worldshapers were cast on top of one another, they compressed space to the extreme, and even Tier 6 Ancient Gods would struggle to break out of the compound barrier. Intruders, do not attempt to escape, Adegas suddenly said in a deep and booming voice. Unless you defeat me, you can only remain here. But it is evident none of you have the strength to kill me. Esteemed Hero, may I know what we can do for you? Shi Feng asked, not bothering to put up any resistance. After all, trying to resist a Level 230 First-Generation Hero with their current team would be a joke. Unless he could get Kalisha to show up in person, any attempt they made to fight Adegas would end in their demise. Simple! Defeat me! Adegas stated. Of course, it is impossible with your strength alone. There is only one way you can defeat me: by mastering the Skills I have developed. So long as you can exceed the limits of these Skills, it will be possible for you to defeat me. After saying so, Adegas waved his hand and imprinted divine runes on the mind of everyone present, which directly conveyed information into their mind. System: Adegas, son of a Primordial God, has temporarily granted you the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill Absolute Thunder. If you fail to defeat Adegas in three natural days, you will be deprived of the Skill and face the wrath of Adegas. System: It is detected that you have a Great Lord Token. The sooner you defeat Adegas, the greater the rewards you will receive from the Primordial Civilization City. You are advised to master Absolute Thunder. Three days. I will give you only three days, Adegas said, sweeping his gaze over everyone as if passing a sentence. If none of you can defeat me in three days, all of you will die! When Adegas finished speaking, some players were surprised, while some despaired. Heavens! Am I hallucinating? This is a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill! This NPC must be out of his mind! Three days?! How is that enough time to practice a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill to the Overlimit standard?! Were doomed! So far, Lunar River is the only Overlimit expert in our Greater Gods Domain, and even she would need more than three days to practice a Tier 6 Skill to the Overlimit standard, let alone a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill! The system must be toying with us! Everyone had mixed feelings over the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill or Spell they just received. It was naturally great news that they could learn a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill or Spell. After all, even Tier 6 Skills and Spells were incredibly precious in the Greater Gods Domain. Core executives of apex powers would be fortunate to have a dozen Tier 6 Skills and Spells in their arsenal, while the average Tier 6 player wouldnt have more than a few. The average Tier 6 player likely wouldnt have learned any Tier 6 Taboo Skills or Curses, either. As for Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells, this was the first time they had heard about such things. However, nobody could feel happy about their sudden windfall. After all, theyd be delusional if they thought they could master a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill or Spell to the Overlimit standard. They might not even achieve a 100% Completion Rate in three days. Do or die, is it? After Shi Feng withdrew from the immersive demonstration of Absolute Thunder he was just given, he executed Twofold Mana Body and attempted the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill. TL Notes: The Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells received from Adegas are probably determined based on their classes, so the system notification about Absolute Thunder should be limited to Shi Feng and other Swordsmen. Chapter 3884 - Chapter 958 - Skill Completion Rate 126% Chapter 958 C Skill Completion Rate 126% [Absolute Thunder] Requires: Sword Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill Allows the user to execute three slashes. Each slash triples the users Strength and speed. Cooldown: 30 seconds After receiving a complete demonstration of Absolute Thunder in his mind, Shi Feng couldnt help but notice a resemblance to the Goddess of Spaces combat technique that Gentle Snow had learned. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say it was an exact replica. Only, Adegass Absolute Thunder came in the form of a Skill. Regarding the Skill itself, it allowed the user to meld three slashes into one, each slash carrying the power of lightning. When the three slashes merged, they would become unstoppable and could bisect an entire continent. The power Absolute Thunder allowed its user to exhibit was far beyond that of Tier 6 Taboo Skills. Merge! Shi Feng executed three slashes at a single point. Even though the surrounding space had been compressed to the extreme, he still managed to create a hundred-meter-long lightning dragon that struck the fivefold barrier, causing it to tremble slightly. This scene drew the attention of those around him, and everyone couldnt help but stare at him in astonishment. Why is his attack so powerful? Im also a Swordsman, so why do I produce only three small lightning arcs when I execute Absolute Thunder? Could he have exceeded 100%? Everyone found the power of Shi Fengs attack unbelievable. It was especially so for Snow Wolf, who had already attempted the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill he was granted. He cant even accomplish Manifold Execution yet, so how is he progressing faster than me? As Snow Wolf stared at Shi Feng, he couldnt help but suspect what Shi Feng had learned wasnt a Pseudo-Tier 7 but something easier. Otherwise, how could the other party have achieved a higher Skill Completion Rate than him on the first attempt? Most of those present might despair in this situation, but Snow Wolf regarded it as a massive opportunity. After all, this was a chance to learn a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill, something many of the Hundred Race Battlefields monstrously talented experts could only wish to obtain. Now that this opportunity had appeared before him, how could he possibly let it slip by? As for why Snow Wolf felt he could secure this opportunity, it was because he, as a sixth-floor expert, could perform Manifold Execution. The ability to perform Manifold Execution was the primary factor that set sixth-floor experts apart from fifth-floor experts. Among the benefits of Manifold Execution was improved learning efficiency. For sixth-floor experts, practicing a technique once was akin to practicing it a hundred times. This was also why Snow Wolf felt he had a chance to complete Adegass challenge. While Snow Wolf was confused by Shi Fengs performance, a system notification rang in Shi Fengs ears. System: Absolute Thunder activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate 106%. You have exceeded the first threshold. Sure enough! Excitement colored Shi Fengs slightly pale complexion when he saw the system notification. Mana was the driving force behind Skills and Spells in Gods Domain. Due to the complexity of Tier 6 Skills, the average fifth-floor expert would be fortunate to execute a Tier 6 Skill at a 100% Completion Rate. Most of the time, they would be stuck at around 90%. There were two reasons for this. Firstly, Tier 6 Skills and Spells required very complex mana control, far beyond anything required to use Tier 5 Skills and Spells. Secondly, it was because the strength of their mana was lacking. As the tier of Skills and Spells increased, so would their mana cost. The mana cost of Tier 6 Skills and Spells was horrendously high; most players couldnt use Tier 6 Skills and Spells with only their own mana. More often than not, they had to rely on external mana. It was also why they could not achieve high Completion Rates with Tier 6 Skills and Spells. After all, external mana could not be controlled as easily as ones own mana. Hence, Skills and Spells executed with the help of external mana could not have high Completion Rates. However, so long as players could meet the mana cost of their Tier 6 Skills and Spells, they could drastically increase their Skill and Spell Completion Rates. This was where the Threefold Mana Body Technique came into play. When executed, the Mana Technique could qualitatively improve the users mana by compressing it. This, in turn, increased the quantity of mana the user could store in their body, thus making it easier for them to use Tier 6, and possibly even Pseudo-Tier 7, Skills and Spells that were incredibly taxing on mana. In Shi Fengs case, because his mana strength could reach the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard when he executed Twofold Mana Body, he also enjoyed a flat 5% Completion Rate bonus to all his Skills and Spells. In other words, he could exceed the 120% threshold with his Skills and Spells much more easily than other players. He simply needed to achieve a 116% Completion Rate, while others needed to achieve a 121% Completion Rate. When Shi Feng saw that Absolute Thunder had come off Cooldown, he promptly executed it again with the Shadow Incinerator. System: Absolute Thunder Skill Completion Rate 104%. I was too impatient this time. I executed the first slash too quickly, causing the second and third slashes to fall behind. Shi Feng promptly understood what had gone wrong as he looked at his reduced Completion Rate. Subsequently, he made his third, fourth, and fifth attempts System: Absolute Thunder Skill Completion Rate 113%. System: Absolute Thunder Skill Completion Rate 115%. System: Absolute Thunder Skill Completion Rate 109%. System: Absolute Thunder Skill Completion Rate 117%. A day passed by in the blink of an eye, with Shi Feng executing Absolute Thunder countless times. After his initial attempts, he had achieved a 107% Completion Rate at his worst and a 120% Completion Rate at his best, and his results stabilized at 115% and above. However, no matter what he tried, he could never exceed the 120% threshold. As Shi Feng sat and tried to figure out what had gone wrong, a stone sword smashed into the fivefold magic barrier, making it shudder. The impact also threw the energies within the barrier into such chaos that everyone had difficulty keeping their body steady. Good! Im finally at 120%! Just one last step to go! Snow Wolf exclaimed as he looked at the unstable barrier. Sure enough, he truly is a monster. Shi Feng couldnt help but look at Snow Wolf in admiration. In just a day, Snow Wolf had practiced a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill to a 120% Completion Rate. Even Lunar River, who was already an Overlimit expert, would have difficulties accomplishing such a feat. Although Shi Feng could similarly achieve a 120% Skill Completion Rate with Absolute Thunder, that was because he had a flat 5% bonus. Without it, he could only achieve a 115% Skill Completion Rate, a far cry from Snow Wolfs achievement. But how can the energy fluctuations he caused be so powerful? Even if he draws all the energies inside the barrier, it shouldnt be enough to let him create such a violent energy shockwave. As Shi Feng scrutinized the chaotic energies around him, realization suddenly dawned upon him. Shi Feng stood up and drew the Shadow Incinerator. However, he did not rush to execute Absolute Thunder. Instead, he continuously compressed the mana around him and gradually expanded the compression area until he reached the limits of his control. Now! Shi Fengs eyes snapped open. Then, he repeated the three slashes he had executed countless times in the past day. Suddenly, a lightning arc stretched into the sky, piercing the fivefold barrier like a hot knife through butter. Furthermore, the lightning arc did not weaken even after piercing the barrier, streaking tens of thousands of yards away like a shooting star crossing the sky. System: Absolute Thunder activated successfully. Skill Completion Rate 126%. You have exceeded the second threshold. Chapter 3885 - Chapter 959 - First Battle Against a First-Generation Hero Chapter 959 C First Battle Against a First-Generation Hero TL Notes: Changed First Generation Hero to First-Generation Hero Sure enough! Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw the system notification. Simply put, the power of a Skill or Spell was determined by the amount of mana fueling it. When players could access only the mana within a certain distance, their only option to supply more mana to their Skills and Spells was to continuously compress the mana in their vicinity. It was similar to the principles behind the Threefold Mana Body Technique. By condensing the mana within a fixed volume, players could increase the quantity of mana they could access without increasing the volume of mana. Fortunately, everything turned out as Shi Feng had guessed. Although compressing external mana was incredibly challenging, his experience with the Threefold Mana Body Technique had taught him how to compress mana effectively. Combined with his powerful Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration, he managed to compress the external mana around him to the point where he could use it to execute Absolute Thunder at the Overlimit standard. What a terrifying strike! He broke through all five layers in one attack! His Skill must have exceeded the 120% threshold! But hasnt it only been a little over a day?! Is Black Flame a monster?! It will be the Boss challenge next. I wonder if Black Flame can succeed? The sight of Shi Fengs attack piercing the barrier shocked and excited the members of the Seven Luminaries Alliance and Ninth Street. They had never thought someone could practice a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill to the Overlimit standard within three days. Hope rose within their hearts. Everyone understood that a Level 230 First-Generation Hero was not an opponent their team of 1,000 could defeat. If they wanted to leave with their lives, theyd have to abide by Adegass condition, practice the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells he had granted them, and defeat him. Otherwise, theyd meet with death. As expected of the Continental Championships second strongest expert. Fighting spirit flared up in Rins calm eyes as she watched Shi Feng walking up to Adegas. After experiencing Everlasting Citys competition and reaching the sixth-floor standard, Rin had thought that only other sixth-floor experts could be her opponent. Although Shi Feng had means that could grant him incredible strength, these means were ultimately external objects and could not be considered his real ability. However, Rin changed her mind after seeing Shi Feng practice a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill to the Overlimit standard. She strongly believed that, even in the next Continental Championship, he would be an incredibly strong opponent for her. I admit that this human has a talent for learning Skills, but whether he can defeat the Guardian Boss is a different story. Ultimately, itll depend on us to defeat the Boss, Snow Wolf said. Although he was surprised by Shi Fengs accomplishment, he quickly resumed practicing the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill he had received from Adegas, paying no attention to anything else. Although Snow Wolf did not know how powerful the human races First-Generation Heroes were, he could sense how terrifying of an existence Adegas was. Adegas was equivalent to a Level 230 World Boss. Furthermore, Basic Attributes aside, Shi Feng couldnt even compete with Adegas in combat standards. After all, the latter had a whopping 21 HP bars. In Gods Domain, the more HP bars monsters and NPCs possessed, the more intelligent they would be. According to Snow Wolfs experience, Adegass 21 HP bars indicated that the NPC could easily execute Peak Gold-ranked techniques. Such a combat standard could not be toppled with just one Pseudo-Tier 7 Overlimit Skill. Only sixth-floor experts capable of Manifold Execution would stand a chance of defeating Adegas. Rin did not refute Snow Wolf. Instead, she, too, resumed practicing the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill she received. Although the archaic city raid had put them in a perilous situation, it had also granted them a massive opportunity. If they could defeat Adegas and secure a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill, their combat power in the future would skyrocket. Thus, they naturally couldnt waste time paying attention to Shi Feng. As Snow Wolf, Rin, and a few other experts practiced their Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills, Shi Feng arrived within 100 yards of Adegas. So, you are the first challenger, huh? Adegas opened his eyes and gazed down at Shi Feng, who was only one-tenth his height. Then, he drew his greatsword from the ground and stated, Three moves! So long as you can survive three moves from me, you will win! I only need to survive three moves? Shi Feng sighed in relief when he heard the rules of Adegass challenge. In a direct confrontation with a Level 230 First-Generation Hero, Shi Feng had no doubt he would lose. After all, the God Chaser Set he currently equipped only rivaled Level 220 Legendary Equipment in Basic Attributes. Even though he had other items enhancing his Basic Attributes, such as the Dragons Fury Set (an Extraordinary Secret Treasure Set), multiple Divine Artifact-ranked ornaments, the Shadow Incinerator (a Godly Relic that was comparable to Divine Artifacts), and the Ancient Oath, which provided him with 20% of the Frostflame Sacred Dragons Basic Attributes, his Basic Attributes remained slightly inferior to that of Level 230 experts fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. His Basic Attributes would be even worse when compared to Adegass.[1] However, if he only had to survive three moves, he felt that he still had a chance of winning. Take this! Adegas said as he swung his silver greatsword with both hands. Boom! In the blink of an eye, the greatsword carved with countless divine patterns launched over 30 sword lights at Shi Feng, each a thousand meters long. The sword lights tore through time and space, and together, they formed a massive wall that slammed down on Shi Feng. Shi Feng dared not act recklessly against the oncoming wall of sword lights. Wielding the Winter of Eternal Night with one hand, he activated the weapons Active Skill Holy Manas Shadow, reconstructing his body into a gigantified version of himself. Besides his height increasing to over a dozen meters, his Basic Attributes also increased substantially. Immediately afterward, he swung the Shadow Incinerator at the wall of sword lights. Incomplete Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Threefold Mana Body! Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Suddenly, a black crescent clashed with the oncoming sword lights. From a third persons perspective, it looked like two worlds had just collided, as countless spatial cracks formed around the primordial civilization city. When the sword lights faded, Shi Feng stumbled a dozen steps back. His HP had also fallen by over 10%, and the Shadow Incinerator in his hand trembled violently. The first attack is already this strong? Shi Feng gasped at the feeling of numbness in his arm. Although Adegas had granted each of them a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill or Spell, he required challengers to survive three moves against him. However, Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells had long Cooldowns. This meant that challengers could use their Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill or Spell to defend against only one of Adegass three moves. It also meant that the longer a challenger waited to use their Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill or Spell, the greater their chances of winning the challenge. However, Adegas was far stronger than Shi Feng had imagined. Even though Shi Feng had already committed a significant portion of his strength, he nearly failed to block Adegass first move. And going by the nature of NPC trials, there was no doubt that Adegass subsequent moves would be even stronger. Before Shi Feng could catch his breath, Adegas executed his second attack. Although this was another simple slash, the 30-plus sword lights created this time didnt simply advance on Shi Feng side-by-side. They merged to form a 10,000-meter-long sword light that shattered space and time as it descended upon Shi Feng. Dammit! When Shi Feng saw that Adegass second attack was much stronger than the first, he promptly executed Twofold Mana Body, followed by Absolute Thunder. Immediately, a thousand-meter-long lightning dragon rose into the air and collided with the sword light, creating countless lightning bolts that bombarded the surroundings. When the dust settled, a crater over a dozen meters deep with a 1,000-yard radius appeared around Shi Feng. His feet had sunk deep into the ground, and his HP fell under 30%. This scene stunned everyone watching. They had never thought a Pseudo-Tier 7 Overlimit Skill would be barely enough to defend against Adegass second attack. They couldnt imagine how anyone was supposed to defend against the NPCs third attack. Die! Adegas was unsurprised by this outcome, executing his third attack without pause. Although Adegas had apparently simply slashed at empty air once again, he had actually executed the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill that everyone, including Shi Feng, was incredibly familiar with. Absolute Thunder! When Shi Feng saw the 10,000-meter-long lightning dragon descending upon him, he activated Primordial Dragons Power and transformed into a Primordial Dragon without hesitation. Then, he swung his massive claw wreathed in pitch-black flames at the lightning dragon. The End! TL Notes: [1]Shi Fengs current equipment setup: 1) God Chaser Set (rivals Level 220 Legendary Equipment) 2) Extraordinary Secret Treasure Set C Dragons Fury Set. 3) Shadow Incinerator (Godly Relic that rivals Divine Weapons) 4) Multiple Divine Artifact-ranked ornaments (Divine Ornaments, such as the Abyssal Eye. Cant think of anything else.) 5) Frostflame Sacred Dragons 20% Basic Attributes sharing. Chapter 3886 - Chapter 960 - Towers Second Floor Chapter 960 C Towers Second Floor Boom! When the two dragons clashed, the impact created an explosion that echoed across the entire Skeleton Hill map and reduced 99% of the buildings in the primordial civilization city to dust. It also damaged the spectating members of the Seven Luminaries Alliance and Ninth Street, causing them to lose over half their HPs and their minds to grow weary. Did he lose? When everyone regained their bearings and looked at the bottomless pit in the middle of the battlefield, they couldnt help feeling dejected. As the dust settled, the silhouette of a person appeared hovering quietly above the bottomless pit. The figure in question was 20 meters tall, so apart from Adegas, it could not be anybody else. And since only Adegas remained on the battlefield, Shi Feng had evidently failed to survive the First-Generation Heros final attack Sure enough, he still lost, Snow Wolf muttered, staring at Adegass figure grimly. Shi Fengs defeat did not surprise Snow Wolf. On the contrary, he had expected it. However, the strength Adegas displayed had exceeded his expectations. Despite being at Level 235 and equipped with four Divine Artifacts and the rest of his equipment comprising Fragmented Divine Artifacts, Snow Wolf determined that he was still much inferior to Adegas in Strength. To make matters worse, the Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill Adegas had used in his final attack reached the Overlimit standard. Unless Adegas suddenly decided to lower the difficulty of his trial, Snow Wolf did not think he could survive Adegass final attack, even if he were to counter it with a Pseudo-Tier 7 Overlimit Skill. However, just as everyone was despairing over Adegass trial, they received a system notification. System: Congratulations! Your team has captured the archaic city. Rewarding one level and 30 Free Legacy Skill Points. You will be teleported out of the city in five seconds. We succeeded? Didnt Guild Leader Black Flame die? The system notification surprised and confused everyone. Nobody could understand what had just happened. However, amidst everyones confusion, someone suddenly pointed at the smoke-filled air above the bottomless pit. Look over there! At this players prompt, everyone followed this players finger and looked above the battlefield. Immediately, they spotted the silhouette of a second figure in the smoke-filled air. This second figure was much shorteronly one-tenth of Adegass height. Not even that could kill him? Rin was dumbfounded as she stared at the second figure amidst the dispersing smoke. This second figure was none other than Shi Feng. Not only did Shi Feng look fine, but his HP had recovered to full, as if he had never clashed with Adegas. How is this possible?! Snow Wolf was equally shocked when he saw that Shi Feng was unscathed and looked even more spirited than before. Even if I were to defend against that final attack with a Pseudo-Tier 7 Overlimit Skill, I still wouldnt be able to survive it. How did he not die? Unfortunately, Snow Wolf did not get to voice his questions to Shi Feng. Before anyone could react, Adegas swiped his hand in the air and teleported everyone except Shi Feng out of the primordial civilization city. Well done, young man. I never expected you to block my last attack, Adegas said approvingly to Shi Feng after teleporting the others away. As a reward for your achievement, I will grant you the true Absolute Thunder. I hope you can take that final step. After saying so, Adegas transformed into a series of divine runes that submerged into Shi Fengs mind. System: Congratulations! You have received the complete version of First-Generation Hero Adegass Absolute Thunder Skill and its corresponding Legacy memories. Your Absolute Thunder Skills Completion Rate has increased by 5% permanently. System: Congratulations! You have defeated the First-Generation Hero Adegas. Rewarding two levels and 100 Free Legacy Skill Points. Following the system notifications, a purple-gold glow enveloped Shi Feng as his rewards for capturing the primordial civilization city and defeating Adegas took effect. His level rose to 231, putting him on par with the Greater Gods Domains apex experts.[1] How close. I nearly missed the rewards, Shi Feng sighed in relief as he looked at the system notifications. [Absolute Thunder (Complete Version)] Requires: Sword Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill Allows the user to execute three slashes. Each slash quadruples the users Strength and speed. Cooldown: 20 seconds Shi Feng survived Adegass last attack with just a sliver of HP. However, because of The Ends side effects, he lost a level and severely damaged his soul. He had also been continuously executing the Threefold Mana Body Technique to practice Absolute Thunder before his challenge, which had drained his Concentration. As a result, his soul became overly drained, causing him to suffer a true death shortly after he blocked Adegass attack. Fortunately, the Sacred Phantom Rings Phantom Substitute could help him take on a true death. Otherwise, hed have had to rely on Hidden Soul and the others to resurrect him with Soul Essence[2]. Hed also have missed out on Adegass reward. The complete version of Absolute Thunder was much stronger than the one he was initially given. Besides providing a stronger buff to Strength and speed, its Cooldown was also ten seconds shorter. He could use it as a general Skill when grinding for levels and raiding Bosses. Although the citys Guardian Boss turned out much stronger than I expected, this complete version of Absolute Thunder makes all the extra trouble worthwhile. After glancing at Absolute Thunders updated description, Shi Feng flew to the sunken tower in the middle of the city. The sunken tower before him was why this primordial civilization city had garnered great fame in his previous life. It was also where the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament was stored. The reason royal powers were considered as such in Gods Domain wasnt simply that they had significantly more Level 240-plus experts and Divine Artifacts than apex powers. It was largely because of their advantage in Siege Weapons. As mighty as the Seven Luminaries Alliance was, it never got its hands on an Epic Siege Weapon, much less an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon. Furthermore, Firmament was the sole Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon in the Eternal Realm. Any non-royal power that got its hands on Firmament would instantly gain the strength to trade blows with royal powers. Inside the sunken tower After Shi Feng entered the sunken tower and walked down a dark corridor for about three minutes, he arrived in a town-sized space. The space was filled with stone pillars that were hundreds of meters tall and covered in divine runes. Hovering in the middle of this stone forest was a giant mechanical sword composed of countless sky-blue metallic structures. This mechanical sword was none other than the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament. Just as Shi Feng was about to collect Firmament, the ground beneath the Siege Weapon shook as countless stone slabs engraved with divine patterns shifted. A few seconds later, a staircase leading down presented itself to Shi Feng. A second floor? TL Notes: [1]Level 231: The raws wrote Level 232, but Shi Feng was only Level 229 when he reached the tower. He also lost a level when he used The End, so it would be 229 C 1 + 2 + 1 = 231. [2]Soul Essence: The raws wrote Divine Water of Life, but in Chapter 590, it was stated that although the Divine Water of Life could be used to resurrect NPCs, it was useless on players. On the other hand, Soul Essences sole purpose was to resurrect players. Chapter 3887 - Chapter 961 - Alchemy Door Chapter 961 C Alchemy Door Why is there a second floor? The appearance of a staircase beneath Firmament stunned Shi Feng. As far as he could recall, the Sun Dynasty had never gained access to the towers second floor. Even after developing the primordial civilization city into one of its crucial bases, the Sun Dynasty still only had access to the towers uppermost floor. There had also never been any hints that players could access anything besides the uppermost floor. This led to everyone assuming that the sunken parts of the tower were only for decoration. Before Shi Feng could figure out what was happening, a system notification rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! You have defeated Adegas within two days. You have received the primordial civilization citys Level 2 Authority. You now have control over the first two floors of the Philosophers Tower. Level 2 Authority? Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw the system notification. Players wouldnt get full access to a lost civilization citys many Legacies immediately after capturing it. Under normal circumstances, they would be granted Basic Authority, which provided access to only the citys basic functions and Legacies. To access more functions and Legacies, theyd have to develop the city to a certain degree and gain Level 1 Authority, Level 2 Authority, or higher. In Shi Fengs previous life, despite the various powers efforts to develop their lost civilization cities, only three powers had achieved Level 2 Authority in their cities. One of these powers was the Seven Luminaries Alliance, and it was precisely because of this Level 2 Authority that human players managed to retain some living space in the Eternal Realm. Otherwise, human players would never have had enough strength to survive in the Eternal Realm. Now that Shi Feng had obtained this primordial civilization citys Level 2 Authority simply by defeating Adegas, how could he not be excited? With Level 2 Authority, he could access more of the primordial civilization citys Legacies. He could also access the citys advanced functions, such as the Teleportation Tower. In the Eternal Realm, players typically had to rely on Flying Mounts to travel long distances, as few NPC Fortresses and Cities offered teleportation services. Additionally, the few NPC Fortresses and Cities that did offer such services charged an exorbitant price that the average player could not afford. As for Guild Towns and Cities, only Guilds with Guild Residences in them could access them via teleportation. However, the Teleportation Tower function of lost civilization cities could change this situation. Upon unlocking this function, players could establish Teleportation Towers in up to five Guild Towns or Cities and enable teleportation between them. This could help to strengthen a Guilds control over its Guild Towns and Cities and attract more independent players to develop in these places, drastically accelerating its development in the Eternal Realm. This function was something the present Zero Wing desperately needed. After a moment of delight, Shi Feng turned his attention to the Philosophers Towers second floor. Although it was great news that he now had Level 2 Authority in the primordial civilization city, advanced functions such as the Teleportation Tower could only be considered a small bonus compared to the citys Legacies. Shi Feng immediately stored the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament in his bag and made his way to the second floor. The Philosophers Towers second floor was much smaller than the uppermost floor, only the size of a stadium. Large bookshelves decorated the space, and suspended in the middle of this space was a crimson crystalline door. Divine runes faded in and out of existence around the crimson door at every moment, giving the impression that the door was alive and breathing. The door also exuded Divine Might comparable to that of Ancient Gods, making it impossible for the average Tier 6 player to approach it. Its the Alchemy Door of legend? Shi Feng gasped when he finished appraising the door. [Alchemy Door] (Godly Relic) The Alchemy Door is the greatest creation created by the First-Generation Philosopher after gathering the help of several Primordial Gods. Spend 1,000 God Crystals to activate the Alchemy Door and grant one Alchemist one Alchemy Recipe. The granted recipe can only be up to one rank higher than the target Alchemist. Cooldown: 60 natural days The Alchemy Door was regarded as a legend by all alchemist players in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Very little information was available on it, even in the Grand Library. According to legends, the Alchemy Door held all the alchemy recipes created since the birth of Gods Domain, and anyone who controlled the Alchemy Door would have a direct pass to becoming a Divine Craftsman-ranked Alchemist. No alchemist player had ever achieved the rank of Divine Craftsman in Shi Fengs previous life. According to records, only the First-Generation Philosopher had managed to achieve the Divine Craftsman rank. Subsequent Philosophers only managed to achieve the High Craftsman rank at best. No wonder the Alchemy Door is considered a direct pass to the Divine Craftsman rank for alchemists. Its ability is simply unbelievable. Its only flaw is its exorbitant cost. Shi Feng was astonished when he read the description of the Alchemy Door. Once alchemists reached the Master rank, they needed to obtain a significant amount of proficiency points and practice an alchemy recipe of a higher rank to get promoted. However, high-ranking alchemy recipes were incredibly hard to obtain in Gods Domain. An alchemy recipe at the Great Grandmaster rank was worth as much as one Divine Artifact. Under normal circumstances, nobody would share their high-ranking alchemy recipes. If alchemist players wanted to get promoted from a Great Grandmaster to a Craftsman, theyd need to develop a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe. However, it was difficult to obtain Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipes to use as reference, as they were rarer than Divine Artifacts. Even the various apex powers did not have more than a handful of such recipes. Moreover, these recipes were of utmost importance to the various apex powers due to the heaven-defying and life-changing effects of Craftsman Potions. In Shi Fengs previous life, even sixth-floor experts greatly desired Craftsman Potions. Thus, if alchemist players had access to the Alchemy Door, theyd undoubtedly have a much easier time getting promoted. The only problem was that God Crystals were as rare as Fragmented Legendary items in Gods Domain. They were also one of the main materials needed to repair Fragmented Legendary items. Thus, the various powers regarded God Crystals as a strategic resource. Normally, only a dozen or so God Crystals were required to repair a Fragmented Legendary item. Yet, the Alchemy Door required 1,000 God Crystals per recipe. This was enough God Crystals to turn nearly a hundred Fragmented Legendary items into Legendary items. This was by no means cheap. Thinking up to this point, Shi Feng decided to have Silent Wonder be the first to use the Alchemy Door. Silent Wonder had long since accumulated the proficiency needed to become a Craftsman Alchemist. She simply lacked a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe to study and practice. If she could get her hands on a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe, she would have a great chance of immediately becoming a Craftsman Alchemist. For the current Zero Wing, the usefulness of a Craftsman Alchemist surpassed even that of a sixth-floor expert. Its time I returned. The war among the three races should have started long ago. After storing the Alchemy Door, Shi Feng spent 300,000 Eternal Gold to repair the primordial civilization city. Then, he activated a Guild Transfer Scroll and disappeared from the Philosophers Tower. Chapter 3888 - Chapter 962 - Ominous Cavalry Chapter 962 C Ominous Cavalry Shadowring Town, Zero Wings Residence: As the light around Shi Feng faded, he found himself back in the courtyard of Zero Wings Residence in Shadowring Town. Ive only been gone for about a week. How did the Guild get so many more fifth-floor experts? As Shi Feng scanned his surroundings, he found that the number of Guild members loitering in the courtyard was several times more than before he had left. He even spotted close to a hundred Level 225-plus fifth-floor experts. This was a number that would have been impossible a week ago. Generally, when it came to Guilds that commanded fifth-floor experts, less than 5% of their fifth-floor experts would be present at their main headquarters at any time. Sometimes, that number might not even reach 1%. Although Zero Wing was active in only Shadowring Town, Luminous Sky City, and the Crystal City of Secrets, no more than 10% of its fifth-floor experts should be in its Guild Residence in Shadowring Town at any given moment. Yet, there were nearly 100 fifth-floor experts in the Residences courtyard. If he included the fifth-floor experts inside the Guild Hall, the total would exceed 150. In other words, Zero Wing currently had over 1,500 fifth-floor experts under its command. Some pseudo-apex powers might not even have this many fifth-floor experts. Amidst Shi Fengs bewilderment, a loud explosion suddenly came from a distant location, causing the Zero Wing members in the Residence to tense up. A moment later, the fifth-floor experts in the courtyard summoned their Flying Mounts and rushed to the source of the explosion. Seeing this, Shi Feng promptly chased after a familiar figure. Guild Leader, youre back! Blue Phoenix, who had advanced to Tier 6 and risen to Level 227, exclaimed joyfully when she saw Shi Feng catching up to her. Mhm. Shi Feng nodded. Then, he asked curiously, Whats the situation here? The Holy Races Ominous Cavalry is attacking us. The explosion just now was a rescue signal sent by one of our three Guilds resurrection camps in the inner area, Blue Phoenix explained. The Ominous Cavalry? Blue Phoenixs answer surprised Shi Feng. Isnt that one of the Holy Races adventurer teams? What gives them the courage to attack our resurrection camp? In his previous life, the Ominous Cavalry was famous in the Eternal Realm. It was an adventurer team founded in the Eternal Realm, though it had initially operated under a different name. The adventurer team changed its name because all its members had become Holy Seal Cavaliers, a Mythical Era Class that had become available to Holy Race players following Holy Ring Citys opening. The Holy Seal Cavalier Class was very special. It allowed players to merge with their Mountsfor a potential gain of up to 100% of their Mounts Basic Attributes. Thus, the stronger a Holy Seal Cavaliers Mount, the stronger they would become. The only problem with the class was the complexity of the merging process. The stronger the Mount, the lower the merging success rate. Even fifth-floor experts could only merge with Tier 6 Extraordinary Flying Mounts at best; Tier 6 Legendary Flying Mounts were completely out of their reach. Even so, the Holy Seal Cavalier Class was still very powerful. It was also because of this class that, despite being an adventurer team with only several thousand members at its peak, the Ominous Cavalry produced several sixth-floor experts and made a name for itself in the Eternal Realm. At one point, even Demons Gate had suffered a huge loss at the hands of the Ominous Cavalry. Presently, Holy Ring City only became accessible not long ago. Logically, with the Ominous Cavalrys limited numbers, even if the adventurer team sought to target human players, it should only engage human players in field PvP. It was unwise for it to target fortified locations defended by many experts. We dont know why they are doing this, either. The Ominous Cavalry has already attacked several of our resurrection camps, Blue Phoenix said angrily. Although the Ominous Cavalrys members are few in number, they are fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts and have high combat standards. Additionally, they always retreat with uninterruptible teleportation tools after dealing some damage, giving our armies no chance to encircle them. Big Sis Rain and the others are also busy grinding for levels in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, so we dont have many capable experts to defend our resurrection camps. Zero Wing has suffered several thousand casualties in the past three days because of the Ominous Cavalry. In that case, lets hurry over there, Shi Feng said, summoning the Frostflame Sacred Dragon. I dont know where the resurrection camp is, so you lead the way. Understood! Blue Phoenix grew joyful when she heard that Shi Feng would join the battle. Immediately, she got on the Frostflame Sacred Dragon and directed it toward a resurrection camp in the World Arks inner area. As an Advanced Divine-ranked Flying Mount, the Tier 6 Frostflame Sacred Dragon was much faster than Blue Phoenixs Tier 5 Flying Mount. Originally, Blue Phoenix needed over a dozen minutes to reach the besieged resurrection camp. However, thanks to the Frostflame Sacred Dragon, she arrived within 5,000 yards of the resurrection camp in less than three minutes. As the Frostflame Sacred Dragon hovered 5,000 yards above the resurrection camp, Shi Feng and Blue Phoenix could see a chaotic battle below them. Of the two sides fighting in the battle, one was an army with over 3,000 Level 225-plus human players assisted by magic barriers, while the other was a team of less than 30 Level 227-plus Holy Race players. The Holy Race players were fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts and rode on Tier 6 Flying Mounts. Despite the camps barriers suppressing these Holy Race players, not even the Level 235-plus elite experts of the Red Dragon Nation and Azure Fang could stop them from slaughtering the members of the Red Dragon Nation, Azure Fang, and Zero Wing. In only three seconds, over a dozen Level 225-plus fifth-floor experts were killed. The leader of the Ominous Cavalrys forces was a Level 230 four-armed young man with a savage appearance. As he finished off a Level 235 elite expert from the Red Dragon Nation, a space-time passage suddenly appeared a short distance away. Then, a charming, fairy-like woman wearing a silvery-gray robe and holding an ancient wooden staff emerged from the space-time passage and silenced the battlefield. This woman was none other than Frey, whom Shi Feng had met not long ago in the Greater Worlds Desolate Star City. She had reached Level 231 and was equipped with as many as four Divine Artifacts. The rest of her equipment also consisted of Fragmented Divine Artifacts, and the aura she exuded was not much weaker than that of Daystar during Everlasting Citys competition. Chapter 3889 - Chapter 963 - Eternal Chosen One Ranking List Chapter 963 C Eternal Chosen One Ranking List TL Notes: Made a change in Chapter 962: Original: However, thanks to the Frostflame Sacred Dragon, she arrived above the resurrection camp in less than three minutes. Edited: However, thanks to the Frostflame Sacred Dragon, she arrived within 5,000 yards of the resurrection camp in less than three minutes. When Frey appeared on the battlefield, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to her in unison. Even the savage young man, the leader of the Ominous Cavalry, paused to look at her. Hooray! The Vice Guild Leader is here! Lets see how Mad God can continue doing as he likes! Vice Guild Leader Frey is 65th on the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List, while Solitary Mad God is only 82nd! Hell definitely lose to Vice Guild Leader Frey in a direct confrontation! Admiration and reverence colored the eyes of the Red Dragon Nations members as they looked at Frey. It was as if she were the overlord of this region; nobody could resist her. I hadnt expected the famous Netherworld Queen to use a Tier 6 Teleportation Scroll to meet me in person. Im truly honored, Solitary Mad God said, staring at Frey, who exuded an aura no weaker than that of Ancient Gods of the same level. I was originally hoping to force the 51st-ranked Black Flame to face me, but since you showed up, Ill test my strength on you first! After saying so, Solitary Mad God merged with his Mountain Devourer, a Tier 6 Advanced Extraordinary Flying Mount, transformed into a 1,000-meter-tall, four-armed giant, and punched at Frey. Despite throwing only one punch, Solitary Mad Gods fist split into a hundred afterimages midway through, each carrying the power of a Level 230 Ancient Gods attack. This attack was clearly a Peak Gold Holy Art, and the sight of it shocked the Level 235 elite experts who had clashed with Solitary Mad God before. Never had they imagined that Solitary Mad God hadnt been fighting them with his full strength just now. Arrogance! When Frey saw Solitary Mad God attacking her, she waved her weapon Nethersoul and created two threefold Tier 6 magic arrays under herself. Of the two magic arrays, one created a barrier that blocked all of Solitary Mad Gods punches, while the other called down hundreds of pitch-black Soul Spears on Solitary Mad God himself. Each Soul Spear carried power at the Tier 6 Limit standard, no weaker than Solitary Mad Gods punches. However, Solitary Mad God was not one to be beaten. He threw two punches into the sky in rapid succession, striking down every Soul Spear and turning the sky into an empty void. As neither side could get the upper hand, their fight quickly turned into a stalemate. Eternal Chosen One Ranking List? What is that? Shi Feng was confused when he overheard the conversations of the Red Dragon Nation and Azure Fang members. Seeing Shi Fengs confusion, Blue Phoenix explained, Its a ranking list that the Holy Race came up with recently. It records the younger-generation experts of the three races, and only those under 50 can enter it. But unlike the Seven Luminaries Alliances Divine Glory List, it only records a hundred players. It also judges players solely on their strength and age; talent doesnt matter. A ranking list for the three races younger-generation experts? Shi Feng was surprised to hear this. He had never heard of the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List in his previous life. There had never been a ranking list for the three races experts, either. Each race only bothered to rank its own experts. Mhm. You are ranked 51st on the list, Guild Leader, while Vice Guild Leader Freys rank rose to 65th two days ago after she fought the Thunder Empires Garuda and survived several dozen moves against him. As for Solitary Mad God, he replaced the Sun Dynastys Holy Blood as 82nd on the list after defeating the other party, Blue Phoenix said. Then, she sighed, Currently, the Holy Races and the Crystallian races experts dominate the list. The human race doesnt even have 20 players on it. Fortunately, there are sixth-floor experts like Big Sis Frost to hold the line for us, so we have seven players in the top 30. Seven? Did someone else reach the sixth-floor standard? Shi Feng asked. As he ranked sixth on the Divine Glory List, he hadnt expected seven players to be ahead of him on the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List. Moreover, all seven players were Mortal Gods, judging by Blue Phoenixs words. Azure Fangs Aurebeth achieved a breakthrough when fighting the Holy Races and the Crystallian races chosen ones not long ago. Besides her, another expert named Mourning Tone also achieved a breakthrough after numerous battles, Blue Phoenix explained enviously. Now that the war among the three races had begun, the various powers of each race were either ambushing the enemys NPC armies or assisting their sides NPC armies. Whenever an NPC City was involved in a battle, there would even be hundreds of thousands of Tier 6 NPCs and over ten million Tier 6 players participating, resulting in grand spectacles that could normally only be found in Realm Wars. As the three races various powers treated these siege battles as a place to nurture their chosen ones, they had all tacitly agreed to limit the experts they mobilized to under Level 235. This created many opportunities for the participants of these siege battles to fight chosen ones and geniuses, achieving unprecedented growth. The training effects of these siege battles overshadowed even that of the Tower of the Abyss. Because of this, the various powers were doing everything they could to transfer more of their geniuses from their respective Greater Gods Domains into the Eternal Realm. Unfortunately, as Zero Wing was busy defending its territories, its members did not have the opportunity to participate in these battles. Shi Feng wasnt particularly surprised to hear that more players had achieved a breakthrough thanks to the war. After all, this was a common occurrence in the war between the human race and the Holy Race in his previous life. If fifth-floor experts relied only on themselves to improve, it would be incredibly difficult for them to reach the sixth-floor standard. Even if they could eventually succeed, itd take them a lot of time. But if they could freely fight against other geniuses, theyd have a much easier time achieving a breakthrough. Only, such opportunities were incredibly rare. Now that the war among the three races provided players with such an opportunity, it was only natural for the birth of sixth-floor experts to be accelerated. As Shi Feng and Blue Phoenix chatted, the Frostflame Sacred Dragon arrived above the resurrection camp, its massive frame casting a shadow over the camp. Immediately afterward, Shi Feng and Blue Phoenix jumped off its back and entered everyones sight. Boss Mad God! That person seems to be Black Flame! Half Night, the vice commander of the Ominous Cavalry adventurer team, said to Solitary Mad God. Should we retreat now? Following Shi Fengs arrival, their opponents would have two experts on the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List. Should Shi Feng and Frey join forces, the Ominous Cavalry would be in a tight spot. We will retreat, but first, let me see if Black Flame is as strong as Daystar says! Solitary Mad Gods eyes burned with intense fighting spirit as he stared at Shi Feng. Immediately, he threw all four fists at Shi Feng, the four fists merging to create a colossal fist that shattered everything in its path. Even time and space were not spared. The attack was much stronger than anything he had used against Frey thus far. Chapter 3890 - Chapter 964 - Stunning Strike Chapter 964 C Stunning Strike Guild Leader Black Flame? Worry flashed in Freys eyes when she saw Solitary Mad God going after Shi Feng. After exchanging several dozen moves with Solitary Mad God, Frey already had a good idea of the other partys strength. While he might not have reached the sixth-floor standard, he already had the strength to trade blows with a Level 230 Ancient God. The attack he had executed against Shi Feng, in particular, was something she would have to dodge lest she sustain heavy injuries. Although Shi Feng had reached Level 232, his equipment remained the same as beforea Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. Furthermore, it wasnt even a Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment Set. This meant that his equipment level was, at most, Level 220. His Basic Attributes werent even comparable to that of a Level 230 expert fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, let alone Solitary Mad God. Even if Shi Feng ranked sixth on the Divine Glory List, with such a huge difference in Basic Attributes, it was unlikely hed be able to repulse Solitary Mad Gods attack. However, despite her wishes to help Shi Feng, Frey was busy dealing with the several Ominous Cavalry experts attacking her. She didnt have the leeway to lend Shi Feng a helping hand. Is this the strength of the Holy Seal Cavalier Class? Shi Feng was a little surprised as he looked at the colossal fist descending toward him. Solitary Mad Gods attack was no weaker than Snow Wolfs all-out attack. In his previous life, Shi Feng had only heard of the Holy Seal Cavalier Class and knew it was a powerful Mythical Era Class. Nonetheless, he hadnt expected it to be this powerful. Despite being at Level 230 and equipped with just three Divine Artifacts, Solitary Mad Gods Strength was close to matching that of Snow Wolf, a Level 235 player equipped with four Divine Artifacts. Of course, Shi Feng did not let his surprise hinder his response. He unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator without hesitation and slashed at the colossal fist. Incomplete Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Threefold Mana Body! Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Boom! Suddenly, two meteors seemingly collided in the sky, brightly illuminating the entire map and creating a shockwave that propagated tens of thousands of yards. Daystar wasnt exaggerating! You stopped even my strongest Fusion Legacy Skill! As expected of the 51st-ranked Eternal Chosen One! When Solitary Mad God saw Shi Feng unscathed, he licked his lips as if he had just seen a rare delicacy. The next time we get to duel, I will kill you! After saying so, Solitary Mad God snapped his fingers, prompting the battling Ominous Cavalry members to flock to him. Then, he retrieved a golden scroll from his bag. Solitary Mad Gods words incited the members of Zero Wing, Azure Fang, and the Red Dragon Nation to rage. This arrogant bastard is just asking for it! Indeed! Hes only ranked 82nd, yet he dares say he will kill our Guild Leader! If you have the gall, dont run away! Well see wholl be the last one standing! Brothers, charge! We must kill them all today! Upon seeing that the Ominous Cavalry was about to retreat, the members of the three Guilds charged forward in a frenzy. Even the healers abandoned their duties to join the offensive. Dont act on your own! Maintain formation! Frey hurriedly commanded when she saw this happening. The Ominous Cavalry might number fewer than 30, but over half were Level 230 players fully equipped with at least Fragmented Divine Artifacts. In comparison, the three Guilds members were mostly Level 226 and Level 227, equipped with only Level 220 Fragmented Legendary Equipment and Level 225 Taboo Epic Equipment. Although the Ominous Cavalrys members were suppressed by the resurrection camps magic barriers, they still had enough of an advantage in Basic Attributes to cause Soul Annihilation to the three Guilds weaker members. Soul Annihilation was disastrous not only to players but also powers. After all, every power had to invest considerable time and resources to produce fourth- and fifth-floor experts. Not to mention, players with the talent necessary to achieve such high combat standards were few and far between, making each loss ever more significant. Only the Level 235-plus elite experts in the resurrection camp could truly fight the Ominous Cavalrys members. It was also because of these elite experts that a one-sided slaughter did not occur in the resurrection camp. If only a bunch of Level 225-plus players were defending the camp, the camps defenders would have long since been eradicated. Although these Level 235-plus experts werent as well-equipped as the Ominous Cavalrys members, having only a few Fragmented Divine Artifacts paired with Level 235 Taboo Epic and Fragmented Legendary Equipment, their level advantage allowed them to reduce the gap in Basic Attributes. Hence, two or three Level 235 elite experts were enough to distract one Ominous Cavalry member. If five or six elite experts worked together, they might even be able to kill the Ominous Cavalry members below Level 230. Unfortunately, the various powers could only mobilize a limited number of Level 235-plus elite experts into the Eternal Realm, and Azure Fang and the Red Dragon Nation were no exception. Moreover, as they had to station most of these elite experts in the NPC Cities at the frontlines, they could only commit about 300 players to the World Ark. They even had to distribute these elite experts among multiple resurrection camps. However, Freys words failed to stop those blinded by rage. Over a thousand players had gotten within 500 yards of the Ominous Cavalrys members in the blink of an eye. You ants! Do you think I cant kill you?! Solitary Mad God scoffed at the oncoming human players and swung one of his arms. As Solitary Mad God swung his colossal arm, he swept up a powerful storm that sent every human player within a 500-yard radius flying hundreds of yards away. The players struck by his attack also saw their HPs plummet. This scene stunned the human players who were still planning to take action. Everyone had already known that Solitary Mad God was strong after watching his devastating exchanges with Frey and Shi Feng. However, only after seeing him heavily injuring over a thousand players with one attack did they truly understand his strength. At the same time, many of the younger players present found it unbelievable that there could be such a huge gap between them and Solitary Mad God. Of those present, only Shi Feng, Frey, and the Level 235-plus elite experts were unsurprised by this situation. Unlike those who had never experienced the higher player levels of Gods Domain, they knew how terrifying a Level 230-plus expert with extremely high combat standards and a significant advantage in Basic Attributes could be. To such an expert, numbers were nothing but a joke Count yourselves lucky this time! You wont be as lucky the next time you meet me! Solitary Mad God said as he swept his gaze over the human players he had sent flying. Then, he unfurled the golden scroll in his hands, intending to leave with his teammates. Although Solitary Mad God was confident in his strength, he wasnt so arrogant that he believed he could simultaneously defeat two Eternal Chosen Ones. In that case, he naturally had to retreat. However, a deep voice echoed across the battlefield before Solitary Mad God could fully unfurl the golden scroll. Itd be rude of me not to return the favor. Since you threw a punch, let me reciprocate with a slash. As this voice fell, Solitary Mad God promptly traced its origin back to Shi Feng. However, before Solitary Mad God could utter any words of provocation, Shi Feng had already swung the Shadow Incinerator at him. Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill, Absolute Thunder! Instinctively, Solitary Mad God launched his strongest attack at the 10,000-meter-long lightning dragon that had abruptly appeared above him. Boom! After a blinding flash, Solitary Mad Gods body sank hundreds of meters into the ground, two of his arms flew into the distance, and his HP fell by over 50% Chapter 3891 - Chapter 965 – Holy Ring City Chapter 965 C Holy Ring City Boss Mad God! Crap! How is this possible?! The Ominous Cavalrys members couldnt believe their eyes when they saw Solitary Mad God had gotten slammed into the ground. They were well aware of Solitary Mad Gods strength. Although his combat standard had yet to reach the sixth-floor standard, he could already compete with Level 230 Ancient Saints in Strength and face a Level 230 Ancient Saint head-on. Even a Level 230 sixth-floor expert equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts wouldnt necessarily be able to do better than him. Yet, Shi Fengs attack had overpowered Solitary Mad God. It had nearly even claimed his life Besides the Ominous Cavalrys members, even Frey looked at Shi Feng in shock. She strongly suspected that her Grandmaster-ranked Observation Skill was defective. According to her Observation Skill, Shi Feng was only equipped with Fragmented Legendary Equipment. He didnt have a single piece of Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment on him. The only Divine Artifact he had equipped was a ring. Yet, he heavily injured Solitary Mad God. This was simply unbelievable. While Frey was in a daze, Solitary Mad God straightened his upper body. At some point, he had fully unfurled the golden scroll in his hands. The scrolls activation transformed him and the other Ominous Cavalry members into streaks of light that vanished from the resurrection camp. Hmph! And here I thought he had the strength to back up his arrogance! Blue Phoenix scoffed when she saw Solitary Mad God fleeing without even lifting his head. Its a pity we dont have any means to interrupt his teleportation. Otherwise, we would have been able to annihilate the Ominous Cavalry once today, Frey sighed, looking at the crater that Solitary Mad God was previously in. The teleportation tool he used should be a Divine Artifact. Without an incredibly powerful Godly Relic, itd be impossible to interrupt it, Shi Feng said, shaking his head as he recalled the golden scroll in Solitary Mad Gods hands. In Shi Fengs previous life, neither the powers of the human race nor the Holy Race could do anything against the Ominous Cavalry. Besides having multiple sixth-floor experts, another reason for this was that it had a powerful escape tool. The tool was rumored to be a Divine Artifact. If that was indeed the case, unless one had a powerful space-sealing Godly Relic or the ability to one-shot Solitary Mad God, nobody could stop Solitary Mad God from escaping. Regardless, its great that you could make it this time, Guild Leader Black Flame. Otherwise, we would have suffered much greater losses, Frey said to Shi Feng as she scanned the resurrection camp, noting that they had suffered only a few hundred casualties. Once players reached the standard of Level 230 Ancient Gods, even the ripples of their fight could kill non-elite experts under Level 235. Had her fight with Solitary Mad God dragged on, the damage to the resurrection camp would have been much more severe. I just happened to have returned to Shadowring Town, Shi Feng said. When he noticed the haggard look on Frey, he asked, You look tired, Miss Frey. Is the war among the three races not going as expected? Freys Concentration was already at the Tier 6 Limit standard. Unless she had suffered soul damage, the only other reason she would look tired was that she had been working without rest for a long time. Judging by her fight with Solitary Mad God, her soul was in perfect condition. Therefore, she hadnt gotten any proper rest recently. No, thats not why Im tired, Frey said, shaking her head. The war is going well. We are still holding on for now. Its just that Holy Ring Citys recent opening has intensified competition in the World Arks core area; we have been constantly clashing with the Holy Race over the citys entry slots. The fact that the maps in the core area are Level 220-plus Taboo Maps doesnt make things any better. These maps are crucial leveling spots for the various powers, so we cannot afford to give up any ground. This has led to many large-scale battles recently. It might not have been so bad if they were only normal battles; losing some levels and equipment would still be tolerable. However, the Holy Race occasionally mobilizes experts rivaling Level 230 Ancient Gods in strength. This has led to the permanent death of many of our geniuses. To address this problem, we had to mobilize our own Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts. Currently, the human race is occupying five resurrection camps in the core area and has mobilized 24 Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts. Excluding the three Ancient God-ranked experts needed to defend each resurrection camp, the remaining nine are tasked with assisting the teams operating in the core area. Although I am assigned to garrison the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp, I also have to move around providing emergency support since were stretched too thin in this region. Even then, it would have still been fine if that was all I had to do. The problem is that recently, the Holy Race has started to attack our resurrection camps in the core area. The last time the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp was attacked, the Holy Race mobilized six Ancient God-ranked experts. We only survived thanks to the Super-large-scale Great Grandmaster Magic Barrier we had erected over the camp. However, according to our latest intelligence, the Sun Dynasty and Evil Nature have transferred nearly 20 more Ancient God-ranked experts from the frontlines. By the looks of things, they seem intent on capturing all of the core areas resurrection camps Freys words caused Blue Phoenix to turn gloomy. Evidently, the human race was not doing well in the World Arks core area. Guild Leader Black Flame, I couldnt get in touch with you before because Blue Phoenix told me you were doing an important quest, but now that you are back, I have something to request of you, Frey said as she looked Shi Feng in the eye. I hope you can get Purgatory Jade and her team to help us defend the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp. Its no trouble if you want only Zero Wing to help, but I cant make any promises regarding Dragons Crown, Shi Feng said, neither agreeing to nor denying Freys request. The Taboo Maps in the World Arks core area were crucial for Zero Wings members to level up. If the human race were to lose its resurrection camps in the core area, many of Zero Wings members would fall behind in levels. The human race would also lose access to Holy Ring City. However, whether Dragons Crowns members could provide timely assistance was up to luck. After all, he needed to get his hands on the second batch of Undying Souls as soon as possible. He couldnt possibly delay summoning Dragons Crowns members and miss redeeming the Flame God Set for the sake of defending a resurrection camp. Its also fine if only you can help, Frey said, nodding excitedly. Ill head back to the camp and inform Verdant Rainbow. Once the Holy Race makes a move, Ill contact you right away. Previously, Frey had only considered getting Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demons help, as they were sixth-floor experts. Although Shi Fengs combat standard was also incredibly high, his equipment left much to be desired. In her opinion, Shi Feng would have difficulty fighting Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts. However, she changed her mind after witnessing Shi Feng heavily injure Solitary Mad God. His strength far exceeded her expectations. Even among the Ancient God-ranked experts operating in the World Arks core area, his strength was above-average. Okay. After seeing Frey take her leave, Shi Feng had Blue Phoenix stay behind to tally Zero Wings casualties and hand out compensation while he returned to Shadowring Town. On the other side of the World Ark, multiple streaks of light broke through space and time to land in the middle of a rainforest. When the lights faded, the figures of the heavily injured Solitary Mad God and the other Ominous Cavalry members appeared. Boss Mad God, only 23 of us made it out alive. Racket, Bull, and two others were caught in Black Flames attack and died, Half Night, the Ominous Cavalrys vice commander, reported tentatively. Black Flame! Solitary Mad Gods gaze turned cold at the report. He realized that he had underestimated the human player named Black Flame. He had never expected the Ominous Cavalry to suffer such severe losses. I will remember this! I will make Zero Wing suffer tenfold! Boss Mad God, Im afraid that might be difficult to accomplish. Black Flames strength is extraordinary. Even if we were to fight him with better weapons and equipment, its unlikely we can do anything to him, Half Night said, fear coloring his eyes as he recalled Shi Fengs attack. Upgrading our equipment might not do the trick, but what if I get a better Mount? Despite his pale complexion, the arrogance and confidence on Solitary Mad Gods face remained clear as he stated, Weve accumulated a lot of merit points and money recently thanks to those three human Guilds. If we use everything to redeem a Tier 6 Legendary Flying Mount, Black Flame will no longer be my match! Half Nights eyes lit up at these words. What made the Holy Seal Cavalier Class powerful wasnt just its Legacy Skills but also its ability to let players merge with their Mounts. The improvement a powerful Flying Mount could bring exceeded even that of one or two Divine Artifacts. Chapter 3892 - Chapter 966 - Zero Wing Alone Is Enough Chapter 966 C Zero Wing Alone Is Enough World Ark, Shadowring Town: Guild Leader, here are the latest reports on the Guilds income and expansion progress. Ive also included reports on the recent state of the war, Blackie said, wearily placing a stack of papers onto Shi Fengs desk. This many? As Shi Feng perused the documents Blackie had prepared, he was reminded of Blackies managerial talent. Blackies attention to detail was unquestionably superior to that of combat-oriented Vice Guild Leaders like Hidden Soul and Gentle Snow. The data Blackie compiled not only listed the Guilds various revenue sources in detail but also provided recommendations for expanding them to allow the Guild to maximize the use of its Eternal Coins. He had also categorized the Guilds newly recruited members so that they could be put into roles that best utilized their talents. For example, some experts were more adept at using combat techniques, while others were more adept at using Skills and Spells. Even if these experts had similar combat standards, their performances in battle would differ depending on their assigned roles and opponents. Besides that, Zero Wing managed to attract many fifth-floor experts to join it thanks to the 10,000 Level 235 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment that Shi Feng had obtained from Dragons Crown. Currently, Zero Wing already had nearly 2,000 fifth-floor experts under its command. Even before the Tower of the Abysss appearance, only a few pseudo-apex powers could come up with a force of nearly 2,000 fifth-floor experts. The only problem was that most of Zero Wings fifth-floor experts were under Level 230. As for those who were Level 230 or above, there were only 106 of them, and they primarily consisted of players from the Greater Gods Domain who had entered the Eternal Realm by luck. All 106 players were fully equipped with Level 235 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Paired with the Behemoth Set (a Combat-ranked Secret Treasure Set) and the Intermediate Divine Strengthening Scrolls that Blackie had distributed to them, they could barely match the standards of the various powers Level 235-plus elite experts. Currently, excluding the main force members operating in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, these 106 players were the strongest members of Zero Wing. They also played a crucial role in ensuring the development of Zero Wings members in the World Ark. If not for them, Zero Wings members would be easy prey for the Holy Races elite experts. A few elite experts from the Holy Race would be enough to slaughter a 100-man team of Zero Wing members under Level 230. Even so, these 106 players could, at most, let 50,000 of Zero Wings Level 225-plus elite members[1] safely grind in the Taboo Maps around the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp. As for the Guilds more numerous normal and internal members, they had no choice but to fend for themselves. After all, the World Arks Taboo Maps were limited in size and number. This made competition in these maps extremely intense, making securing even a small leveling spot challenging. Moreover, it was largely thanks to the Seven Luminaries Alliance, the Red Dragon Nation, and Azure Fang that Zero Wing could have its current leveling spots in the World Arks core area. Otherwise, Zero Wing would be fortunate if it could even occupy a 10,000-man leveling spot. However, the biggest change Zero Wing experienced during this period was to its income. Originally, Zero Wing earned at least 300 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal and 800,000 Eternal Gold daily through Shadowring Town. But now, Shadowring Town wasnt generating even one-third of those amounts, and these numbers were still falling by the day Does Evil Natures interference have such a huge impact? Shi Feng was surprised by the sharp drop in the Guilds income. Yes, its affecting us massively, Blackie sighed, nodding. It might have been fine if it were only Evil Nature harassing us since Evil Nature only has a limited number of elite experts operating in the World Ark. But after Evil Nature constructed its Guild City, it placed a bounty on all players entering and leaving Shadowring Town. Evil Nature is rewarding each kill with one Eternal Gold and one merit point. Merit points can be used to redeem items from Evil Nature. The more merit points a player accumulates, the better the items they can redeem. With 1,000 merit points, players can redeem Fragmented Divine Artifacts, Advanced Gold Holy Arts, and even permanent priority access to all of Evil Natures Guild Towns and Cities. This bounty has sparked a frenzy among the Holy Race players in the World Ark. They are targeting every player caught entering or leaving Shadowring Town, including Holy Race players. This situation has scared many players from visiting Shadowring Town. Now, only the experts of powers affiliated with Zero Wing dare to come. If not for Holy Ring Citys NPC patrols, those people would have flattened Shadowring Town by now Shi Feng was astonished by this revelation. He never thought that Evil Nature would take things so far. It would have been nothing had Evil Nature simply placed a bounty on Zero Wings members. All of Zero Wings members getting killed once would only cost Evil Nature a few hundred thousand Eternal Gold. Even if this were repeated several times, Evil Nature would simply lose a few million Eternal Gold. However, it was simply ludicrous to place a bounty on every player caught visiting Shadowring Town. Over two million players visited Shadowring Town daily at its peak. Even at a conservative estimate, Evil Nature would lose tens of millions of Eternal Gold just by keeping its bounty active for several days. Not even apex powers could afford such an expenditure. Of course, Shi Feng had to admit that Evil Natures ludicrous move was incredibly effective. Now, most players entering and leaving Shadowring Town had to do so in armies. Many elite experts also had to garrison the town at all times. This restricted Zero Wings development and deterred many experts from joining the Guild. Although the number of hunters outside the town has decreased significantly recently since everyone is occupied with the core areas Taboo Maps, Evil Nature has a 1,000-man legion of elite experts garrisoning Evil Sky City at all times. This legion will also occasionally attack the armies coming and going from Shadowring Town, Blackie sighed. Previously, Miss Aurebeth, Azure Fangs Saintess, got fed up with the constant harassment and brought the fight to Evil Nature. But it didnt take long before Evil Sky City mobilized three Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts against her. Although Miss Aurebeth has already reached the sixth-floor standard, she was ultimately forced to retreat. Guild Leader, with Zero Wings current state of development, unless we find more powers to reinforce us, there is nothing we can do about Evil Natures blockade. We can only watch as Shadowring Town declines. In the past, Blackie didnt have much of an understanding of royal powers and only knew they were stronger than apex powers. However, as more outside players entered the Eternal Realm, he eventually realized the fearsome might of royal powers. Despite Aurebeth being a Level 230 sixth-floor expert equipped with multiple Divine Artifacts, even she was no threat to Evil Nature In Blackies opinion, the only way Zero Wing could survive this ordeal was by sacrificing some of Shadowring Towns benefits to partner with the several apex powers that had previously expressed interest in the town. Finding more partners is indeed a way out. Shi Feng nodded. Then, he chuckled and continued, But if we are simply talking about dealing with the current Evil Nature, we dont have to sacrifice Shadowring Towns benefits. Zero Wing alone is enough to handle this problem. TL Notes: [1]Zero Wings elite members: This is not referring to elite experts. This is simply referring to the rank of members above normal members. Chapter 3893 - Chapter 967 - Craftsman Alchemist Chapter 967 C Craftsman Alchemist Zero Wing alone is enough? Blackie was at a loss for words when he heard Shi Fengs confident statement. Is Silent Wonder online? Shi Feng asked, not bothering to explain himself. Silent Wonder? Although Blackie didnt understand why Shi Feng would suddenly ask such a question, he still answered to the best of his knowledge. Outside of her daily four-hour offline break, she is always online. Okay. Have her come to my office. I have something to discuss with her, Shi Feng said, nodding. Now that Shi Feng had obtained Firmament, he could easily solve Shadowring Towns predicament. Blackies report simply reminded him of Zero Wings flaws. The current Zero Wing lacked powerhouses to defend its interests. This was a problem that had plagued the Guild since the birth of the Eternal Realm. It was just that outside experts couldnt enter the Eternal Realm before this, so everyone had more or less the same levels and equipment standards. However, as more outside experts entered the Eternal Realm, Zero Wings lack of capable experts became more apparent. The gap in levels and equipment standards between an upstart Guild like Zero Wing and the Greater Gods Domains long-established powers could not be overcome in a short period. It was especially so when it came to high-ranking weapons and equipment. Players had to invest significant time and effort to raid high-level dungeons and complete high-difficulty quests to obtain these items. Of course, it wasnt impossible for players to obtain high-ranking weapons and equipment quickly. So long as they had the proper connections and enough money, theyd have no trouble obtaining Fragmented Divine Artifacts. This was why powerful lone wolves occasionally appeared among the Greater Gods Domains younger generation. These lone wolves might not have the backing of a major power, but they came from wealthy families that enabled them to obtain powerful weapons and equipment. If they could find opportunities to hone their combat standards on top of that, theyd quickly become powerhouses in the Greater Gods Domain. The current Zero Wing similarly could quickly let a fifth-floor expert rival Level 230 Ancient Gods in strength. Take the Flame God Set, for example. Any fifth-floor expert who equipped it would instantly become strong enough to beat up even the royal powers Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts. The problem was that Zero Wing could only produce one such expert; it couldnt produce a second one. It also couldnt produce a group of experts that could rival Level 230 Ancient Gods and single-handedly defend its territories in the Eternal Realm. Fortunately, Zero Wings situation wasnt completely hopeless. It might not have the years of accumulation needed to produce a group of Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts, but there was an alternative method it could use. Craftsman-ranked Lifestyle Players! When Lifestyle Players achieved the Great Grandmaster rank, any apex power or below would treat them as VIPs. When Lifestyle Players achieved the Craftsman rank, even royal powers would treat them with great care. The reason for this was simple: Craftsman-ranked Lifestyle Players could make products with heaven-defying effects. These items could even be used to produce powerhouses in batches. Take Craftsman Forgers, for example. With the requisite designs and materials, they could mass-produce Fragmented Divine Artifacts. They could even produce Divine Artifacts, albeit at a low success rate. This was also the case for Craftsman Alchemists. The Craftsman Strength Potion they produced could increase the users Strength by 500% for ten minutes. Such a potion could let a Level 235 elite expert beat up even Level 230 Ancient Gods. Currently, Silent Wonder had already reached the limits of the Great Grandmaster Alchemist rank. With her astonishing talent in alchemy, if she used the Alchemy Door, she would likely achieve a breakthrough and become a Craftsman Alchemist on the spot. At that time, Zero Wing would gain the capability to trade blows with royal powers in the truest sense. Ten minutes later Silent Wonder entered Shi Fengs office under Blackies escort. When she saw Shi Feng behind the desk, a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in her eyes. Just a moment ago, she had been attempting to produce a Craftsman Potion. The potion was from a recipe she had developed, thanks to a flash of inspiration. However, before she could ascertain the feasibility of her recipe, Blackie suddenly intruded on her workspace and dragged her here. Guild Leader, do you need me for something? Silent Wonder asked after calming her emotions. However, Shi Feng did not answer Silent Wonder. Instead, he asked, How confident are you of developing a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe right now? About 10%, Silent Wonder answered, staring at Shi Feng in astonishment. She hadnt expected Shi Feng to ask such a question, and she couldnt help but worry. The most crucial step for a Great Grandmaster Alchemist to become a Craftsman Alchemist was the development of a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe. However, recipes did not appear out of thin air. The development of every alchemy recipe required many experiments and the expenditure of large amounts of materials. This was especially so for the development of a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe. The materials required were extraordinarily precious. In reality, most, if not all, of the Greater Gods Domains successful alchemists couldnt have achieved what they had accomplished without the financial backing of a major power. It was simply impossible for individuals to support the growth of the Alchemist Subclass financially. For the sake of developing a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe, Silent Wonder had already spent over 100,000 of Zero Wings Eternal Gold on research and development. Yet, even the latest recipe she was experimenting on only had a 10% chance of being a new Craftsman Potion. Most major powers would probably find this result unacceptable. About 10%? Shi Feng nodded. Not bad. Shi Feng knew that Silent Wonder was not one to exaggerate. If she said she had a 10% success rate, she must only have a 10% success rate. Of course, a 10% success rate was by no means low. On the contrary, Silent Wonder could be considered extremely talented for achieving such a standard after spending just 100,000 Eternal Gold. Apex powers typically had to spend the equivalent of several million Eternal Gold just to let a Great Grandmaster Alchemist have a general idea of how to develop a Craftsman-ranked Alchemy Recipe. Nonetheless, they would find their investment worthwhile. If their Great Grandmaster Alchemists could come up with a recipe that had even a sliver of a chance of success after spending just 100,000 Eternal Gold, theyd be smiling in their sleep. Silent Wonder sighed in relief at Shi Fengs response. Are you interested in becoming a Craftsman Alchemist? Shi Feng asked leisurely, as if he were asking about the weather. His question coming so calmly and abruptly stunned Silent Wonder momentarily. Guild Leader, do you have a way? Silent Wonder asked after snapping out of her daze. I do. Not withholding any information, Shi Feng said, I obtained an item called the Alchemy Door. It can help alchemists learn an alchemy recipe up to one rank higher than them. However, the exact rank of the recipe will depend on the alchemists talent. If you wish to use the Alchemy Door, you must sign a Gods Domain Contract agreeing to work only for Zero Wing. I will find someone else if you dont want this opportunity. The development of any Craftsman Alchemist did not come easily. Moreover, the Alchemy Door cost 1,000 God Crystals per use. Zero Wing only had enough God Crystals to use the Alchemy Door once. If Zero Wing wanted to use it again, the Guild would have to either use the more precious Eternal God Crystals or buy God Crystals. Furthermore, the Alchemy Door could only be used once every 60 natural days. Under such circumstances, there was no way Zero Wing would let an alchemist who wasnt working exclusively for the Guild use the Alchemy Door. I accept! Silent Wonder answered without hesitation. There was even a hint of excitement in her eyes as she looked at Shi Feng. Lets sign the contract now, Guild Leader! Silent Wonders prompt response surprised Shi Feng. It took him about three seconds to recover and take out the Gods Domain Contract he had prepared beforehand. After Silent Wonder signed the contract, Shi Feng immediately handed her the Alchemy Door and 1,000 God Crystals. Chapter 3894 - Chapter 968 - Divine Blood Chapter 968 C Divine Blood Zero Wings Residence, Guild Leaders Office: After the crimson crystalline door absorbed 1,000 God Crystals, its two panels slowly opened, and the divine runes engraved on them gradually lit up. A moment later, lines of runes appeared in the opened door. One line Two lines Three lines With each line of divine rune that appeared, the Alchemy Doors Divine Might grew stronger, eventually reaching a peak when the runes formed three golden sheets of paper. What powerful Divine Might! Shi Feng was shocked by the mental impact the Alchemy Doors Divine Might had on him. When he first came across the Alchemy Door in the Philosophers Tower, it already exuded Divine Might rivaling that of Ancient Gods. The average Tier 6 player would be immobilized in its presence. But now, the Alchemy Doors Divine Might was already close to matching that of Kalisha after she had fully recovered and returned to her peak. Kalisha, the Dragon Princess, undoubtedly had the Primordial Dragon Bloodline. Although she was only at Tier 6, she could be considered among the closest existences to Primordial Gods. Yet, despite being an inanimate object, the Alchemy Door could exude Divine Might that nearly matched Kalishas. Shi Feng couldnt even begin to imagine how powerful the First-Generation Philosopher was to be able to create such a Godly Relic. After the three golden sheets of paper appeared in the Alchemy Door, a paragraph of divine runes appeared inside the door. The divine runes were simple, and any player who had studied divine runes could understand them. According to the paragraph, the three golden sheets of paper represented three alchemy recipes of different ranks, specifically the Basic Craftsman, the Intermediate Craftsman, and the Advanced Craftsman ranks. Silent Wonder was allowed to inherit the Legacy of one of them. However, the process of inheriting the Legacy was a challenge, and should she fail to stay conscious throughout the process, she would only receive the Legacy of a Great Grandmaster Alchemy Recipe as consolation. This revelation dumbfounded Shi Feng. There are three Craftsman Alchemy Recipes available to choose from? Shi Feng couldnt help but rub his eyes. He couldnt believe what he was seeing. Although he already knew from the Alchemy Doors introduction that players could obtain Craftsman Alchemy Recipes from it, seeing it in person was an entirely different experience. He was especially shocked when he saw that Silent Wonder had Intermediate and Advanced Craftsman options. After all, alchemy recipes of such ranks were few and far between in the Greater Gods Domain. They were more valuable than even Divine Artifacts. The difference between Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipes wasnt limited to the complexity of their production processes. They also differed in rarity and effectiveness. The last time an Intermediate Craftsman Alchemy Recipe appeared in the Greater Gods Domain, it had propelled an upper-ranking hegemonic power into an apex power. Unfortunately, following the death of the Craftsman Alchemist who owned the recipe, the apex power in question also faded into the Greater Gods Domains history. As for Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipes, it had already been centuries since the last one had appeared in the Greater Gods Domain As Shi Feng wondered whether Silent Wonder could even withstand the Alchemy Doors Divine Might, she trudged forward, arrived before the Godly Relic after a difficult struggle, and stared at one of the golden sheets of paper. She looked like she was trying to engrave all the divine runes on the paper into her brain. She went straight for the Advanced one? Shi Feng was startled by Silent Wonders decision. Despite being a Lifestyle Player, Silent Wonder had a strong talent for combat. She had also made extraordinary progress in the development of her Concentration. Nonetheless, it wasnt wise for her to challenge an Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipe so soon. In Shi Fengs opinion, Silent Wonder would undoubtedly succeed if she tried to inherit a Basic Craftsman Alchemy Recipe with her talent. She should also have a good chance of succeeding if she challenged the Intermediate Craftsman Alchemy Recipe. After all, he had witnessed her capabilities in his previous life, so he knew that the Craftsman rank wasnt her limit. But if she were to try to inherit an Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipe in her current state, her chances of success likely wouldnt reach 10% As Silent Wonder inherited the Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipe, the divine runes comprising the golden paper flowed into her head and flooded her mind with information. However, her brain had trouble handling the influx, as was evidenced by her pale complexion and the cold sweat covering her forehead. Ten seconds Twenty seconds Thirty seconds As time passed, the golden paper started to disintegrate bit by bit. As this happened, Silent Wonders complexion grew paler, and she was rapidly reaching her limit. Hold on a little longer! The inheritance process is almost done! Shi Feng shouted when he saw Silent Wonders body sway when only 5% of the inheritance process remained. As the inheritance process depended entirely on Silent Wonders willpower, he could only help by providing words of encouragement. At Shi Fengs reminder, Silent Wonder seemingly saw the light at the end of the tunnel. She immediately straightened her body and bit her lip to keep herself from falling unconscious. 4% 3% 2% 1% When the last of the golden paper disappeared, Silent Wonder gasped for air as if she had just surfaced from a long dive. Unprecedented excitement also colored her face. I did it! Guild Leader, I did it! Silent Wonder reported ecstatically to Shi Feng despite her deathly complexion. What potion is the recipe for? Shi Feng asked curiously. It might have been centuries since the last Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipe had appeared, but quite a few had been developed throughout the Greater Gods Domains history. According to the Grand Librarys records, there were nearly a hundred such recipes, each with varying effects. The most famous among them would have to be the New Life Potion, which could resurrect players who had suffered a true death. However, it had already been centuries since the last player had learned the New Life Potions recipe. Divine Blood! Silent Wonder answered. Chapter 3895 - Chapter 969 - Pseudo-Tier 7 Combat Power Chapter 969 C Pseudo-Tier 7 Combat Power Divine Blood? Shi Feng searched his memories for the name of the potion Silent Wonder had learned but failed to come up with anything. What are the potions effects? Although there were quite a number of Advanced Craftsman Alchemy Recipes in the Greater Gods Domain, players only knew a small portion. While Shi Feng was a little disappointed that the recipe Silent Wonder had learned wasnt for one of the stronger known recipes, so long as Divine Blood wasnt a recovery-type potion, it should greatly help the current Zero Wing. This Silent Wonder hesitated momentarily, unsure how to word her answer. Ultimately, she simply shared the potions information with Shi Feng and stated, I think youd best look at it yourself, Guild Leader. [Divine Blood] (Advanced Craftsman Potion) A potion concocted by the First-Generation Philosopher using Eternal Essence extracted from God Crystals. When consumed, the potion temporarily improves the users Life Rating and provides an unrestricted 400% increase to all Basic Attributes for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes An unrestricted increase of 400% to all Basic Attributes? Divine Bloods introduction stunned Shi Feng, making him wonder if he was hallucinating. Although there were many berserk-type Skills, potions, and tools in Gods Domain, they all came with limitations, such as being effective up to a certain tier. This was why the higher a players tier, the less frequently they could be seen using berserk-type Skills, potions, and tools. This was especially so for Tier 6 players, and there were two reasons for this. Firstly, berserk-type Skills, potions, and tools that could affect Tier 6 players were incredibly rare. Even apex powers didnt have access to many of these things. Secondly, the effectiveness of berserk-type Tier 6 Skills, potions, and tools on the various major powers top combatants paled in comparison to that of Advanced and Peak Gold Combat Techniques. They might not even have any effect on players fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. However, Divine Blood did not have such a restriction. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to call the potion heaven-defying. Additionally, Divine Blood provided an astonishing boost to Basic Attributes. Although it did not provide as large an improvement as specialized potionssuch as the Craftsman Strength Potion, which increased the Strength Attribute by 500%it provided a 400% increase to every Basic Attribute. This was more than what the Abyssal Eyes Tier 7 Abyssal Will Skill provided. Moreover, Divine Blood had a Cooldown of only five minutes. How confident are you of producing Divine Blood? Shi Feng asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement. If Divine Blood could be mass-produced, it would absolutely rewrite the status quo of the current Greater Gods Domain. After all, the potion could instantly turn players fully equipped with just Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment into Pseudo-Tier 7 combatants. At just Level 230, a Pseudo-Tier 7 combatant could fight a Level 240 Ancient God-ranked expert. The production process is too complex. I doubt I can achieve even a 20% success rate with my current capabilities, Silent Wonder said, shaking her head. If I can advance to the Craftsman rank, I should be able to raise it to 40%. Less than 20%? Shi Feng wasnt too surprised by Silent Wonders answer. After thinking for a moment, he continued, Its a little low, but Divine Blood is too important to ignore, so do your best to produce as many as you can. Guild Leader, Im afraid this will be difficult, Silent Wonder said, scratching her nose awkwardly as she shared a list of materials with Shi Feng. Shi Feng frowned when he saw the materials needed to produce Divine Blood. The cost of producing Divine Blood far exceeded his expectations. Besides about 100 Eternal Golds worth of secondary materials, Divine Blood also required three God Crystals to produce. Any player who had delved into the production of items in Gods Domain would know that theoretical success rates did not translate to practical success rates. With a success rate of under 20%, Silent Wonder would be fortunate if she could successfully produce Divine Blood once out of ten tries. A more realistic scenario would be one success out of every 20 tries. In other words, it would cost Zero Wing 60 God Crystals and 2,000 Eternal Gold to produce one bottle of Divine Blood. Guild Leader, why dont we wait a little longer? Silent Wonder suggested to Shi Feng when she saw his ugly look. Ive already obtained Divine Bloods recipe. Although it isnt directly related to the potion I am researching, I learned some Craftsman-ranked production methods from it. I am confident I can become a Craftsman Alchemist within four months. At that time, the cost of producing Divine Blood will go down significantly. No need! Shi Feng shook his head and firmly stated, You might have learned some production methods, but you still need actual practice to better grasp them. Moreover, four months is too long. I will have Blackie procure the materials you need, so just focus on making the potion. Zero Wing urgently needed top combatants that could fight Ancient God-ranked experts. Even Shi Feng had to rely on the Threefold Mana Body Technique and Dark Moon to fight Level 230 Ancient God-ranked experts, let alone Level 235-plus Ancient God-ranked experts. If the production of Divine Blood was delayed by four months, Zero Wing would miss out on many of the Eternal Realms ancient ruins. Not to mention, Shi Feng didnt have much time left until he needed to kill the Undying Mother. If he could supply every member of a 100-man raid team with a bottle of Divine Blood, the raids success rate would undoubtedly increase. As for the God Crystals needed to produce Divine Blood, as long as Zero Wing was willing to pay the price, obtaining a large amount from the various powers wouldnt be impossible. Thank you, Guild Leader! I wont disappoint you! Ill try to become a Craftsman Alchemist as soon as possible! Silent Wonder grew ecstatic at Shi Fengs words. As Shi Feng stated, theoretical studies werent enough for an alchemist to improve; practice was also necessary. The only problem was that this practice came with an exorbitant price tag. Typically, Guilds would only procure production methods for their alchemists to study. At most, they would grant their alchemists some materials to practice these production methods a few times. Never would they give their alchemists a blank check to practice production methods. After Shi Feng instructed Blackie to assist Silent Wonder in producing Divine Blood at all costs, he started to learn how to produce the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll. Divine Blood might be a terrifyingly powerful trump card, but it only had a 30-second duration. It was only suitable for critical situations and could not be used to fight other powers over a long period. In contrast, although Divine Engraving Scrolls did not provide as significant an improvement as Divine Blood, they could provide players with long-term improvements. In the case of the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll, it could be used to strengthen the Basic Attributes of Legendary Equipment permanently. So long as he could mass-produce the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll, it would ease Zero Wings equipment problem. After all, Legendary Equipment was much more readily available than Fragmented Divine Artifacts. With my Concentration at the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, if I use the Threefold Mana Body Technique to improve my control over mana, I should be able to learn how to produce the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll, Shi Feng thought as he stared at the Advanced Divine Enhancement Engravings Legacy recorded in the Book of Eternity. Then, he clicked to learn the Legacy. Chapter 3896 - Chapter 970 - Drawing the Sword Chapter 970 C Drawing the Sword A day later Did I make a mistake in the solidification process? But I engraved the nine divine patterns perfectly, so why cant I solidify them? Shi Feng couldnt help but hesitate as he watched the scroll in his hands turn to ash. Should I make another learning attempt? The cost of learning the Book of Eternitys Legacies increased with the rank of the divine engravings he chose. Starting from the bottom, learning a Basic Divine Engraving cost only five God Crystals. However, it cost 50 God Crystals to learn an Intermediate Divine Engraving and 500 God Crystals to learn an Advanced Divine Engraving. For the sake of learning the Advanced Divine Enhancement Engraving, he had spent 500 Eternal God Crystals. Eternal God Crystals were much more precious than ordinary God Crystals. They also had many more uses than ordinary God Crystals. If not for Zero Wing lacking ordinary God Crystals, he would never have used Eternal God Crystals as a replacement. After all, Zero Wings stockpile of Eternal God Crystals had already fallen below 10,000, and he had no way of replenishing it. Unlike ordinary God Crystals, Eternal God Crystals could not be obtained from ruins and Taboo Dungeons. It was also unlikely he would come across a treasure trove like the Nameless Citys treasury. Just one more time. If I still cant find the reason, I will give up and try again when my Concentration is stronger or my control over mana has improved. After thinking it over, Shi Feng bit the bullet and spent another 500 Eternal God Crystals to learn the Advanced Divine Enhancement Engraving. However, he swore this would be his last attempt at learning it. Although Zero Wing could use some Advanced Divine Enhancement Scrolls in its current situation, they werent a necessity, merely icing on the cake. Legendary Equipment might be much more readily available than Fragmented Divine Artifacts, but the rarity of Taboo Legendary Equipment was no less than that of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. In the case of Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment, its availability was just slightly higher than that of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. When it came to the Eternal Realm, there were probably more players equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts than players equipped with Taboo Legendary Equipment. In other words, even if he could produce the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll, it wouldnt help Zero Wing by much. Rather than Taboo Legendary Equipment, the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scrolls produced would likely be used to enhance Zero Wings Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment. However, while the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll could provide a greater improvement than the Intermediate Divine Enhancement Scroll, it wasnt enough to let Zero Wings elite experts match the various apex and royal powers elite experts in Basic Attributes. Hence, rather than waste Eternal God Crystals on trying to learn the Advanced Divine Enhancement Engraving, it would be more worthwhile to use them to produce Divine Blood. After Shi Feng chose to learn the Advanced Divine Enhancement Engraving again, the Book of Eternity released a colorful brilliance, giving him another mental demonstration of the Advanced Divine Enhancement Engravings inscription process. Like before, the demonstration started with the Structural Analysis of nine divine patterns, followed by the Structural Remodeling of the magic elements operations. Once the Structural Remodeling of all nine divine patterns was complete, they were quickly put through Structural Solidification. When the nine divine patterns were remodeled and solidified, the mana structure they created attracted far more mana than the Intermediate Divine Enhancement Engraving. Is it because my Concentration is lacking? After rewatching the demonstration, Shi Feng had a vague idea of what went wrong. Technically, he hadnt made any mistakes. He had replicated the demonstrations Structural Remodeling and Solidification perfectly. However, there was one thing that was different between his inscription attempts and the demonstration. Time! He had spent over ten minutes remodeling the nine divine patterns. In comparison, the demonstration spent only five minutes on this process. If he wanted to shorten the time he spent on Structural Remodeling, besides increasing his proficiency, his multitasking ability would play a crucial role. If he could simultaneously remodel all nine divine patterns, it would drastically shorten the time he spent on Structural Remodeling. Of course, simultaneously remodeling all nine divine patterns was a huge challenge, and not even the demonstrator in the demonstration had made such an attempt. Instead, the demonstrator took an easier approach, dividing each divine pattern into multiple parts and remodeling these parts simultaneously. While not as fast as remodeling nine divine patterns simultaneously, this approach greatly accelerated the remodeling process of each divine pattern. At this point, Shi Feng took out more Seven Luminaries Crystals and tried to simultaneously remodel each divine pattern from multiple facets. Failure Another failure On his 25th attempt, Shi Feng finally managed to bring the remodeling process down to eight minutes. As soon as he completed the Structural Remodeling of the nine divine patterns, the mana structure they composed solidified spontaneously. Did I do it? Shi Feng subconsciously held his breath when he saw that the scroll on the table had not been reduced to ash. The production of Advanced Divine Engraving Scrolls was costly. Each attempt cost 5,110 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. He had already spent over one million units of Seven Luminaries Crystals thus far. Although this amount of Seven Luminaries Crystals was no longer significant to the current Zero Wing, hed have spent 1,000 Eternal God Crystals and over one million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal for nothing if he failed to produce the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll. System: Congratulations! You have produced the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll. System: Congratulations! You are the first player to become an Advanced Divine Engraver. Rewarding Advanced Divine Engravers Insignia and one level. Success! Shi Feng grew ecstatic when he saw the system notifications. The system rewards were nothing significant. The Advanced Divine Engravers Insignia only halved his Concentration expenditure when producing divine engravings, while the level reward only increased his level from 231 to 232. However, his success in producing the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll meant that Zero Wing now had the capital to purchase God Crystals in bulk. For the Greater Gods Domains various powers, the Intermediate Divine Enhancement Scroll was only useful for improving the strength of their upper-middle-level combatants. It might help the various powers improve their overall strength considerably, but it wouldnt be much help in changing their standings in the Greater Gods Domain. This was because the various powers primarily relied on their top-level combatants to compete with one another. However, it was a different story for the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll, which could improve the Basic Attributes of Legendary Equipment by 50%. Once a piece of Taboo Legendary Equipment was enhanced by the Advanced Divine Enhancement Scroll, its Basic Attributes could rival that of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. With Fragmented Divine Artifacts being available in very limited numbers in the current Greater Gods Domain, a batch of Advanced Divine Enhancement Scrolls could let the various powers gain many new top-level combatants. The attraction of top-level combatants to the various powers far exceeded that of Eternal Coins. Even if Shi Feng had the Abyss Chamber of Commerce charge God Crystals for Advanced Divine Enhancement Scrolls, the various powers would be more than willing to pay the price. After thinking up to this point, Shi Feng promptly began mass-producing Advanced Divine Enhancement Scrolls. After completing about a dozen Advanced Divine Enhancement Scrolls, Shi Feng decided to sell them through the Abyss Chamber of Commerce to test the waters. However, before he could do so, Blackie suddenly contacted him. Guild Leader, the bastards from the Ominous Cavalry attacked one of our leveling teams in the core areas Frost Shadow Forest! Blackie reported grimly. By the time Vice Guild Leader Frey arrived, over half of the team had been killed. Among them, about 60% are elite members who have just reached Level 220. Most of them are only equipped with Level 220 Epic and Fragmented Legendary Equipment, so they have likely suffered a true death Do you know where the Ominous Cavalrys members are right now? Shi Fengs expression became indescribably cold when he heard Blackies report. Anyone who could become an elite member of Zero Wing was a guild member who had made significant contributions and possessed great talent and strength. They had trouble displaying their strength only because their levels and equipment standards lagged behind those of experts of pseudo-apex powers and above. Had they joined a major power instead of Zero Wing, they would have become elite experts by now. These players were willing to stay in Zero Wing because they believed in the Guilds future. Yet, they got bullied by an adventurer team like the Ominous Cavalry. This time, the Ominous Cavalry had truly angered Shi Feng. According to the Seven Luminaries Alliance, the Ominous Cavalry promptly retreated to Evil Sky City after attacking our members, apparently worried about our retaliation, Blackie said in frustration. Evil Sky City currently served as Evil Natures main headquarters. Its defenses were comparable to those of a Holy City. Now that the Ominous Cavalrys members had taken shelter in the city, Zero Wing could do nothing to them. Good! Make sure to keep track of their location! Shi Feng stated calmly. However, despite his calm tone, Blackie could sense the killing intent he radiated. Tally the players who have suffered a true death and resurrect them using the Soul Essence in the Guild Warehouse. Also, gather a thousand of the Guilds fifth-floor experts in the front courtyard. Its time we taught the Ominous Cavalry who they can and cannot provoke! Chapter 3897 - Chapter 971 - Advent of Firmament Chapter 971 C Advent of Firmament Guild Leader, dont mess around! Blackie panicked at Shi Fengs words. Thats Evil Sky City were talking about! Since the war among the three races began, everyone in the Eternal Realm had come to truly understand the might of royal powers. More specifically, anyone who failed to understand this wouldnt be able to survive out in the fields. As mighty as the human races various apex powers were, even they could only rely on their resurrection camps to resist Evil Natures harassment in the World Ark. None dared to take the fight to Evil Sky City, Evil Natures base of operations in the World Ark. Although Blackie believed in Shi Fengs strength, itd be suicidal for Shi Feng to confront Evil Nature now. The two were on completely different levels. I know what Im doing. Just gather the players I need, Shi Feng said. He understood Blackies concerns, but he didnt bother to explain himself. Also, have them sign a confidentiality agreement regarding the entire operation. The Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament! This was, without a doubt, Zero Wings ultimate trump card. It should never be used unless absolutely necessary. Its first deployment should be used to deal as much damage to the enemy as possible. Otherwise, once the surprise factor was lost, the enemy would be on guard against it and likely flee as soon as they learned of its deployment. After all, the enemy would have to be stupid to face an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon head-on. Originally, Shi Feng had intended to reveal Firmaments existence at a critical moment during the war to deal a devastating blow to Evil Nature. However, now that the Ominous Cavalry had spat on his face, hed have reincarnated twice for nothing if he still chose to hold his nose. World Ark, Evil Sky City: Despite being a newly built city, Evil Sky City had already developed from a Basic City into an Advanced City under Evil Natures management. Its size rivaled that of medium-sized NPC Cities in the Eternal Realm, and its population of Holy Race players exceeded ten million. Evil Nature also spared no expense in fortifying the citys defenses, lining the city wall with Advanced Defensive and Offensive Constructions. The city wall was also made with Divine World Sand, a rare material in Gods Domain. Due to the interference of the Divine World Sands World Laws, even if Evil Sky City lost its defensive magic array, Tier 6 players wouldnt be able to fly or jump across the walls; they could only enter the city through the city gates. Combined with the citys defensive magic array, the city wall could withstand attacks from Ancient Gods under Level 240. Evil Sky City was superior to many of the Eternal Realms NPC Holy Cities in defense. Inside a high-class bar in Evil Sky City Boss Mad God, we really showed it to Zero Wing this time! Half Night, the Ominous Cavalrys vice commander, said excitedly as he raised a bottle of the bars most expensive malt liquor. Of the 600-plus elite members we killed, close to 400 of them probably suffered a true death! We even earned enough merit points to buy you an Advanced Legendary Flying Mount! With this, your strength can be considered above average even among Level 230 Ancient Saint-ranked experts! The other Ominous Cavalry members in the bar congratulated Solitary Mad God as well, their excitement no less than Half Nights. I already said that I would pay Zero Wing back tenfold. After downing a mouthful of malt liquor, Solitary War God confidently stated, Now that I have the Void Screamer, I am confident I can kill Black Flame the next time I see him, so I want you all to keep an eye out for Black Flames whereabouts. Boss Mad God, according to the intelligence we received, Black Flame is very elusive. Even if we ask other people, its unlikely well learn of Black Flames whereabouts, Half Night said before pausing momentarily. Then, he continued, But I received a piece of news yesterday that might give you a chance to deal with Black Flame. What is it? Solitary Mad God asked curiously. The information comes from a friend of mine in Evil Nature. After eyeing the other independent players nearby, Half Night said carefully, It seems Evil Nature is planning to capture all of the human races resurrection camps in the core area. To achieve this goal, Evil Nature has recalled some of its experts from the frontlines. Among those experts are Frostclaw, the person you clashed with not long ago, and Fist Emperor, the 19th-ranked Eternal Chosen One. Zero Wing, Azure Fang, and the Red Dragon Nation all have members stationed in the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp. Once Evil Nature starts attacking the core areas resurrection camps, Black Flame will most likely show up to defend the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp. We can use that opportunity to deal with him. Im sure Evil Nature wouldnt mind our participation. Are you saying we should attack the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp with Evil Nature? Solitary Mad God scratched his head at Half Nights words, visibly annoyed. It is indeed a good opportunity, but itll be troublesome if we come across Fist Emperor. Do you have a grudge against Fist Emperor, Boss? Half Night asked, looking at Solitary Mad God strangely. Frostclaw and Fist Emperor were among the titles concocted by players fighting on the frontlines of the war. The title of Frostclaw belonged to Evil Natures number two chosen one, a player known by all in the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain. As for the title of Fist Emperor, it belonged to a rising star in the war. In Half Nights opinion, the Ominous Cavalry shouldnt have dealings with such famous individuals. Not to mention, they were all Holy Race players operating in the Eternal Realm. With their common enemy being the human race, itd be illogical for Fist Emperor to attack the Ominous Cavalry while besieging the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp. If Fist Emperor insisted on doing so, it would have to be because he had a grudge against Solitary Mad God. No, thats not the case, Solitary Mad God said, shaking his head. Then, a hint of fear colored his eyes as he continued, Fist Emperor is a lunatic through and through. He despises having his fights interrupted by others. I first encountered him on the Western Continent before I established the Ominous Cavalry. At the time, he attacked me without warning simply because I stumbled upon his fight with another player. He wasnt as strong back then, so we exchanged a few dozen moves with neither of us gaining the upper hand. If I hadnt teleported away afterward, hed probably have chased me to the ends of the world. Now that he has defeated Garuda and received Evil Natures support, I really doubt I can beat him, even with my current strength. If he happens to be leading the siege on the Blood Curse Resurrection Camp, hell definitely attack us should we dare to get involved. What a lunatic. Half Night was astonished as he listened to Solitary Mad Gods recollection. Fist Emperors behavior of attacking anyone who stumbled upon his fights was simply absurd. Yet, such a lunatic ranked 19th on the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List. It would be an absolute nightmare for the Ominous Cavalry should it get targeted by this lunatic. Just as Half Night was considering asking his friend from Evil Nature about which resurrection camp Fist Emperor was assigned to besiege, a loud bell suddenly rang across the city, causing the noisy bar to fall silent. Upon hearing this bell, Half Night and everyone else in the bar rushed out of the building without hesitation. The ringing of the citys bell often signified the appearance of an enemy planning to attack. It was also precisely because of this that everyone couldnt help but wonder who would dare attack Evil Sky City. When Half Night and the others exited the bar, they immediately spotted a gigantic sword-shaped mechanical construct hovering above the city. The sword was thousands of meters long and blotted out the sun as it gradually descended toward the city, creating a spectacular scene that shocked everyone in the city. Chapter 3898 - Chapter 972 - Zero Wings Black Flame? Chapter 972 C Zero Wings Black Flame? Is that a Siege Weapon? Whose Siege Weapon is this? How dare they bring a Siege Weapon here? Do they not know this is Evil Sky City? Is the owner of this Siege Weapon looking to wage war against Evil Nature? The players in Evil Sky City were confused by the sight of the gigantic mechanical sword hovering above them. They never thought they would see a Siege Weapon not owned by Evil Nature appearing above Evil Sky City. Evil Nature was one of the Holy Races ten royal powers. Under normal circumstances, even other royal powers wouldnt entertain the thought of sending their Siege Weapons near Evil Sky City. After all, doing so would be a provocation to Evil Nature. Not to mention, the mechanical sword had appeared directly above Evil Sky City. This could no longer be considered a simple provocation but an act of war. After a brief moment of surprise, the Evil Nature members garrisoning Evil Sky City promptly sprang into action. In the blink of an eye, over 200,000 Evil Nature members flew to the offensive and defensive facilities situated across the city. At the same time, Evil Natures executives gathered above the city and stared at the Siege Weapon above them in confusion. Which power does this Siege Weapon belong to? I dont recall seeing it before. Could those Sun Dynasty bastards be trying to intimidate us? I cant think of anyone else whod dare to pull such a stunt. I dont think so. Ive seen the Sun Dynastys Siege Weapons before. None of them resembles this sword. Also, this sword is running on Mana rather than Holy Power. One of the human races apex powers has likely come to make trouble. As Evil Natures executives stared at the sword-shaped Siege Weapon, they speculated and quickly concluded that it belonged to one of the human races apex powers. However, confusion still plagued them, as they couldnt understand why a human apex power would be so deranged as to break the unspoken rule of the three races and deploy a Siege Weapon against a city. Setting such a precedent would not benefit anybody. Boss, which human apex power do you think this is? Is it not afraid to start an all-out war among the three races? Half Night asked, curiously staring at the sword-shaped Siege Weapon. All three races had tacitly agreed not to deploy Siege Weapons in the war, and there were a few reasons for this. Firstly, it was so that the various powers could develop their budding geniuses. Should Siege Weapons be deployed, these geniuses would be at high risk of permanent death. Secondly, it was so that the various powers could prepare for the wars climax. The mobilization of Siege Weapons required significant amounts of energy and preparation time. As nobody could assure theyd be the winner of the war, it was in the various powers best interests to conserve their strength before the inevitable all-out battle. Any power that prematurely deployed its Siege Weapons would likely be taken advantage of by other powers. Now that one of the human races apex powers had deployed its Siege Weapon against Evil Sky City, it went without saying Evil Nature would respond with its own Siege Weapon. This would likely end in a lose-lose situation. After all, even if the upcoming battle did not escalate the war among the three races, it would likely start an all-out war between the two powers. Before a winner was decided, neither power should consider developing peacefully in the Eternal Realm. Evil Nature has clashed with the Seven Luminaries Alliance many times recently. If I have to guess, this Siege Weapon most likely belongs to the Seven Luminaries Alliance, Solitary Mad God analyzed calmly. But I doubt the Seven Luminaries Alliance will start an actual fight. After all, nobody stands to benefit from such a fight. The Seven Luminaries Alliance is probably here just to flex its muscles. The other Holy Race players nearby agreed with Solitary Mad Gods sentiment. Evil Nature had indeed put a lot of pressure on the Seven Luminaries Alliance recently. Hence, the Seven Luminaries Alliance had likely sent a Siege Weapon here to warn Evil Nature to restrain itself unless it wished for mutual destruction. However, just as everyone was thinking that the sword-shaped Siege Weapon belonged to the Seven Luminaries Alliance, a young Swordsman wearing a six-winged emblem on his chest stepped out of the mechanical sword. Black Flame? This Siege Weapon is Zero Wings? How is this possible?! Evil Natures executives were dumbfounded when they saw the Swordsman. There was no Evil Nature member in the Eternal Realm who did not recognize Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, and Guild Emblem, especially not after Everlasting Citys competition. How dare he show up here? Solitary Mad God and the other Ominous Cavalry members were similarly stunned when they saw Shi Feng. They never thought that Zero Wing would be the power that had come to Evil Sky City to provoke Evil Nature. Black Flame was even the one leading the provocation. However, before anyone from the Ominous Cavalry could recover from their surprise, Shi Fengs voice echoed across Evil Sky City. Everyone who is not a member of the Ominous Cavalry or Evil Nature, you have three minutes to leave Evil Sky City or face the consequences! Your time starts now! Shi Fengs words sparked an uproar among Evil Sky Citys ten million-plus players. What?! Zero Wing is going to attack Evil Sky City?! Evil Nature aside, what kind of power is the Ominous Cavalry? Everyone in Evil Sky City was shocked by Shi Fengs declaration of war. They also couldnt help but wonder about the Ominous Cavalrys identity. It was widely known that Evil Nature had placed a hefty bounty on Zero Wing, so it wasnt strange for Zero Wing to retaliate against Evil Nature. However, for most players in the city, this was their first time hearing about the Ominous Cavalry. This made them wonder why Zero Wing was targeting it. Evil Natures executives were especially stunned by this situation. Originally, they thought that Shi Feng had simply come to pick a fight with Evil Nature. They never thought that he had also come to find trouble with a power called the Ominous Cavalry. Moreover, Shi Feng mentioned the Ominous Cavalry before Evil Nature, making it sound as if the Ominous Cavalry was his primary target and that dealing with Evil Nature was only a matter of convenience. Shortly after Shi Fengs declaration, some players who knew about the situation quickly became the center of attention as they started to talk about the relationship between Zero Wing and the Ominous Cavalry. In no time, everyone found out why Zero Wing had come to besiege Evil Sky City, and they couldnt help but pity Evil Nature. Apparently, the Ominous Cavalry had attacked Zero Wings leveling team out in the fields. However, as the Ominous Cavalry feared Shi Feng, it fled to Evil Sky City for shelter. This led to Shi Feng besieging Evil Sky City to get to the Ominous Cavalry. Although Evil Natures persecution of Zero Wing had most likely played a role in Shi Fengs decision to besiege Evil Sky City, it could still be considered an unfortunate bystander in this situation. Boss Mad God, what should we do? We stand little chance against a Siege Weapon. Theres still a while before we can teleport again, Half Night asked anxiously when he heard Shi Fengs declaration. Even a Common Siege Weapon was not something individual players could hope to resist. Besides Solitary Mad God, everyone else in the Ominous Cavalry would face certain death should they face a Siege Weapon. Furthermore, it would be a permanent death Dont panic just yet. This is Evil Sky City. Even if we are Black Flames main target, he will have to get through Evil Nature first, Solitary Mad God replied as he looked toward a three-eyed young man among the Evil Nature executives hovering in the sky. This three-eyed young man was none other than Fist Emperor, Evil Natures new number one chosen one. Although Evil Nature would likely paint a target on the Ominous Cavalry after this incident, Solitary Mad God was confident that the psychotic Fist Emperor would never allow Shi Feng to bypass Evil Nature and target the Ominous Cavalry directly. Fist Emperor, what do you think we should do? Should we help that Ominous Cavalry or whatever to fight Black Flame? Frostclaw, a tall and savage-looking woman who was at Level 231 and equipped with four Divine Artifacts, asked the three-eyed young man beside her. Chapter 3899 - Chapter 973 - Myth of Light Chapter 973 C Myth of Light At Frostclaws question, the other Evil Nature executives turned to look at where the Ominous Cavalry members had gathered in the city, a cold glint flashing in their eyes. Evil Nature was one of the Holy Races ten royal powers. Although Evil Nature had been persecuting Zero Wing and never took Zero Wing seriously, it was still unpleasant to be used as a shield by some no-name group to fight Zero Wing. Black Flame is smart. Now that he has brought up the Ominous Cavalry, even if he fails to capture Evil Sky City, he can at least sour the Ominous Cavalrys relationship with us, the three-eyed young man nicknamed Fist Emperor said, chuckling. Its a pity he came across me! I will let him know that even if its an ant I want to crush, he still isnt allowed to touch it! Evil Natures executives couldnt help but shake their heads at Fist Emperors arrogant and domineering words. However, as the young man was Evil Natures new number one chosen one, which granted him as much authority as the Guilds Vice Guild Leaders, they could only humor him and ensure the Ominous Cavalrys safety in the upcoming battle. As for whether Zero Wing could threaten Evil Sky City, none of them were worried about that. Evil Sky City might only be an Advanced City, but its defenses were comparable to those of Holy Cities outside the Eternal Realm. While Siege Weapons might have astonishing destructive power, only Epic Siege Weapons could break a Holy Citys defensive barrier within a short time. As for Siege Weapons below the Epic rank, theyd need at least half a day of constant bombardment to exhaust a Holy Citys energy reserves and damage the city directly. With Evil Sky Citys offensive capabilities, half a day was enough to destroy any Siege Weapon below the Epic rank several times over. Siege Weapons might be terrifying weapons to the ordinary powers, but it was a common occurrence for Evil Nature and other royal powers to deal with Siege Weapons. Although Siege Weapons were nigh-insurmountable opponents to individual players, they werent invincible. Any Ancient Saint-ranked expert could damage Siege Weapons under the Epic rank. To capture the human races resurrection camps in the World Arks core area, Evil Nature had recalled over 20 Level 230-plus Ancient Saint-ranked experts from the frontlines. Including those originally garrisoning Evil Sky City, Evil Nature now had 40 Ancient Saint-ranked experts in the city. Such a force was enough to deal with multiple Siege Weapons below the Epic rank, let alone one. Raise the city barriers energy supply to the maximum! Have the citys 36 Towers of Destruction coordinate their attacks with me! Fist Emperor commanded as he glanced at the Evil Nature executives around him. As for everyone else, focus on supporting me and defending against that Siege Weapons attacks! Understood! Frostclaw and the other 38 Ancient Saint-ranked experts responded cooperatively to Fist Emperors orders, none expressing dissatisfaction. In no time, Evil Sky Citys defenses began to operate in an orderly manner under Fist Emperors command. First, three defensive barriers covering Evil Sky City appeared one after another. Then, Evil Natures fifth-floor experts gathered under the 36 Towers of Destruction situated across the city. The Tower of Destruction was a Peak Offensive Construction. It fired nine Destruction Beams at a time, each carrying power at the Tier 6 Limit standard. When all nine beams converged, they could exhibit power rivaling a sub-Level 240 Ancient Saints full-power attack. Its only flaws were its high energy consumption and long Cooldown of one minute. To maximize the Tower of Destructions potential, the coordination of nine fifth-floor experts was necessary. If 36 Towers of Destruction attacked in unison, not even Level 240 Ancient Saints would dare to receive it head-on. In less than a minute, the Eye of Destruction of all 36 Towers of Destruction lit up, causing the dense Holy Power within the city to pool around them. A moment later, 36 Eyes of Destruction, several hundred meters in size, rose into the air, making it seem like the city was coming to life. The Eyes of Destruction also released a terrifying aura that petrified the monsters in Evil Sky Citys vicinity. Amazing! Are these Evil Natures prided Towers of Destruction? Heavens! I was right to visit Evil Sky City at this time! The last time Evil Nature used its Towers of Destruction was when the Thunder Empire attacked one of its cities several years ago! I must record all this and show it off to my classmates! As expected of a royal power. I cant believe Evil Nature would invest a Threefold World Wall in an Advanced City. Even a standard World Wall can keep a Level 240 expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts at bay for two to three hours. A Threefold World Wall can probably withstand a hit from even a Holy Ancestor. But Black Flame truly is crazy to come to Evil Sky City. I wonder how long he can last against 36 Towers of Destruction? I hope he doesnt fall or run away too quickly. The Holy Race players in Evil Sky City were excited by the activation of Evil Sky Citys defenses. Many even cheered as if they were in a festival. Boss Mad God, it seems Black Flame is intent on besieging the city. Should we put some distance between us? Half Night asked. When he saw Shi Feng calmly counting down in the sky, he couldnt help but get goosebumps. Dont worry. This is Evil Natures headquarters. Even if the Sun Dynasty and the Thunder Empire were to attack Evil Sky City together, the city would stand strong for quite some time, Solitary Mad God said before finding himself a seat at a nearby open-air restaurant and pulling out a bottle of malt liquor. When Half Night saw Solitary Mad Gods nonchalant behavior, he thought he might be overthinking things. As a royal power, Evil Natures foundations far exceeded those of any human apex power. Not to mention, 40 Level 230-plus Ancient Saint-ranked experts garrisoned Evil Sky City. Even if an Epic Siege Weapon were to show up, Evil Sky City could resist for a considerable period. Hence, there was no way Evil Sky City would lose to Zero Wing, an upstart power in the Eternal Realm. In the sky, when Shi Feng finished counting down to the last second, he saw that nobody had left Evil Sky City. On the contrary, many Holy Race players shouted for him to hurry and get on with his act. Three minutes have passed. Since you dont plan to leave, you will receive no mercy from me, Shi Feng said as he glanced at the Holy Race players in the city. Then, he waved his hand and commanded, Attack! At Shi Fengs command, the 1,000 Zero Wing members controlling Firmament executed an attack sequence in unison. The next moment, the various mechanical parts of Firmament lit up brightly as it plunged toward Evil Sky City. This was Firmaments first Profound Skill, Myth of Light! Arrogance! Do you think you can defeat Evil Sky City with just a Siege Weapon? When Fist Emperor saw the plunging column of light, he commanded, After this attack, everyone charge with me! However, before anyone could respond to Fist Emperors command, countless swords of light suddenly appeared above Evil Sky City, their dazzling radiance blinding everyone. Immediately afterward, a deafening explosion echoed across the sky as the seemingly infallible Threefold World Wall was reduced to nothing Chapter 3900 - Chapter 974 - Fallen City Chapter 974 C Fallen City The Threefold World Wall wasnt the only thing erased by Firmaments Myth of Light. The sky above Evil Sky City had also been obliterated. From the city, it would look as if an umbrella covered the city right now, blotting out the sun and turning day to night. As expected of an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon! Its power is truly astonishing! Shi Feng was greatly shocked when he saw Firmament had obliterated the Threefold World Wall. Although he had known that Firmament, an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon, was an incredibly powerful weapon, only after seeing it in action did he understand how the Sun Dynasty could tower over the Holy Races other royal powers in his previous life. The World Wall was touted as the Holy Races strongest defensive barrier. Evil Sky City was even protected by a threefold version of it. The Threefold World Wall was a defensive measure that the Holy Races various powers used to prevent attacks from apex and royal powers. Moreover, they would normally reserve it for Holy City-ranked Guild Cities. Yet, Firmaments Myth of Light had turned the Threefold World Wall into a joke. However, after a brief surprise, Shi Feng couldnt help but wince in heartache. As an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon, Firmament had only three Profound Skills: Myth of Light, Lakelight Mirror, and Celestial Guidance. Each of these three Profound Skills was more amazing than the other. The usage cost also increased substantially. The last Profound Skill, Celestial Guidance, even required more players to execute it. Of the three Profound Skills, Myth of Light had the lowest requirements: 1,000 players to execute; 100 God Crystals or Holy Origin Crystals and five million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal or Holy Power Crystal to activate. If executed perfectly by 1,000 Tier 6 experts, Myth of Lights power could rival a Primordial Gods attack. As for Lakelight Mirror, Firmaments second strongest Profound Skill, it similarly required 1,000 players to execute. However, each activation cost 500 God Crystals or Holy Origin Crystals and 50 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal or Holy Power Crystal. As for Celestial Guidance, Firmaments strongest Profound Skill, not only did it require 3,000 players to execute, but it also cost 3,000 God Crystals or Holy Origin Crystals and 200 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal or Holy Power Crystal per activation. Simply put, every one of Firmaments attacks cost a fortune. Using it was simply beyond the means of the average power. If not for Zero Wing having nearly 10,000 Eternal God Crystals in its warehouse, Shi Feng would never have dared to deploy Firmament. As Myth of Lights blinding radiance faded, the Holy Race players in Evil Sky City fell deathly silent. Many players who wanted to continue taunting Shi Feng had their mouths agape, their minds unable to process what had happened. Its gone? Could this Threefold World Wall be fake?! How can it be destroyed in one hit?! What rank of Siege Weapon is this? Could it be an Epic Siege Weapon? As everyone stared at the giant mechanical sword hovering in the sky, shock and curiosity filled their minds. They all wondered what rank of Siege Weapon Firmament was. Under normal circumstances, even Epic Siege Weapons would have difficulty destroying a Threefold World Wall in one hit. Yet, Firmament had accomplished it. This was simply unbelievable. How can Zero Wing have an Epic Siege Weapon? Half Night, who had been expecting an entertaining exchange between Zero Wing and Evil Nature, lost his composure as he stared at Firmament. Didnt they say that the human race doesnt have Epic Siege Weapons? All from the Holy Race knew about Epic Siege Weapons, which were synonymous with invincibility. They were the best weapons for besieging fortified locations, and non-royal powers stood no chance against them. The Holy Races royal powers had proved this point many times. It would spell disaster for the Ominous Cavalry should Zero Wings Epic Siege Weapon target it. Everyone in the adventurer team would most likely suffer a true death What are you afraid of?! Solitary Mad God said, glaring at Half Night. Unlike his vice commander, he remained calm as he stared at the Siege Weapon in the sky. Black Flame might have gotten himself an Epic Siege Weapon, but dont forget that we are in Evil Sky City, Evil Natures headquarters. If one Epic Siege Weapon were enough to take it down, Evil Nature might as well disband and stop existing in Gods Domain. Youre right. Half Night quickly returned to his senses at Solitary Mad Gods words. An Epic Siege Weapon might be a nigh-invincible existence to individual players and most powers, but they werent infallible against royal powers. Otherwise, the headquarters of the various royal powers would have been destroyed countless times in the many all-out wars they had fought. However, throughout the history of the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain, a royal powers headquarters had never been destroyed by just one Epic Siege Weapon. Although Evil Sky City was nowhere near as strong as Evil Natures headquarters in the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain, Evil Nature had developed it like its headquarters. The citys defenses definitely wouldnt fall simply because an Epic Siege Weapon attacked it a few times. Shortly after Solitary Mad God finished speaking, Fist Emperor suddenly pulled a pulsating, crimson nucleus from his spatial bag and raised it above his head. Immediately afterward, countless runes emerged from the nucleus and reconstructed the Threefold World Wall in the blink of an eye. Its repaired?! Whats going on?! Evil Nature can instantly repair even a Threefold World Wall? Is this the strength of a royal power? The reconstructed Threefold World Wall was in pristine condition. It looked like it had never been struck by Firmament. This sight stunned many of the panicking Holy Race players in Evil Sky City. The shock they experienced from witnessing this spectacle was no less than when they witnessed Firmaments attack. Black Flame! I admit you are qualified to besiege Evil Sky City! But dont you dare underestimate a royal powers strength! Fist Emperor sneered at Shi Feng. A single Epic Siege Weapon isnt enough to let you act arrogantly in Evil Sky City! An Ancestors Heart? Shi Fengs face betrayed some surprise when he saw the pulsating nucleus in Fist Emperors hand. It seems you are quite knowledgeable. When Fist Emperor saw that Shi Feng recognized the pulsating nucleus, he continued delightedly, Although this Ancestors Heart doesnt have much life energy left, it is enough to repair the Threefold World Wall a hundred times over! With the massive cost of using an Epic Siege Weapon, I doubt Zero Wing has the reserves to launch a hundred attacks with it! While youre attacking, my side can also freely attack you through the World Wall! I want to see how long you can last! After saying so, Fist Emperor waved his hand, signaling for the 36 Towers of Destruction to attack Firmament and deplete its durability. This development stunned the players in Evil Sky City. They never thought that Evil Nature had such a frightening foundation. Ancestors Hearts were considered priceless treasures even by royal powers. According to rumors, should an Ancestors Heart be used to power an Epic Siege Weapon, the Epic Siege Weapon in question would be able to exhibit strength at the Holy Ancestor standard. It could also allow Siege Weapons below the Epic rank to exhibit power at the Epic standard. Thus, powers that managed to get their hands on an Ancestors Heart would usually treat it like a priceless treasure that should never be used unless absolutely necessary. Yet, Evil Nature was using an Ancestors Heart to power a citys defense. This was prodigal. Sure enough, things wont be that easy, Shi Feng sighed as he looked at the Ancestors Heart in Fist Emperors hand. It cant be helped! Everyone, proceed with Plan B! Use Lakelight Mirror! Its useless! The Threefold World Wall is much stronger now that it is powered by an Ancestors Heart! Youd better accept your death! Fist Emperor scoffed when he saw Firmament lighting up again. Before Fist Emperor could continue provoking Shi Feng, an azure lake suddenly appeared in the sky. The lake was a beautiful sight to behold, and just a glance was enough to mesmerize many of the players in the city. However, when Fist Emperor saw the lake, unprecedented fear overwhelmed him. He felt like he was standing before a black hole, an entity of utmost beauty and danger. Boom! As a column of light rose into the sky and illuminated the entire World Ark, the Holy Race players returning to Evil Sky City to rest were shocked to find that Most of Evil Sky City had disappeared Chapter 3901 - Chapter 975 - Famous across the Eternal Realm Chapter 975 C Famous across the Eternal Realm In a withered forest outside Shadowring Town Tiankuo, whats going on? We just got back to Shadowring Town. Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Cyanic Jewel, a Level 240 female Cleric with an elegant look, asked the Level 240 young man carrying a draconic shield sitting beside her. As Jun Tiankuo, the Level 240 Shield Warrior, urged his Twin-Headed Dragon to fly faster, he explained, A friend of mine in Zero Wing messaged me saying that Guild Leader Black Flame led a group of experts to Evil Sky City. It seems he intends to avenge the Zero Wing members who got killed by the Ominous Cavalry while leveling. Is he crazy? Thats a royal powers headquarters! Cyanic Jewel was shocked to learn about Shi Fengs actions. Tiankuo, dont tell me youre going to help him? Since parting ways with Shi Feng in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Jun Tiankuo had researched the other party in depth and set the other party as his goal. As soon as he reached Level 240, he even traversed the Eternal Realms treacherous entrance and threw himself to the frontlines of the war to temper himself, all so that he could challenge Shi Feng one day. By the time they reached Shadowring Town, Jun Tiankuo had already climbed to 45th on the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List. However, although he wanted to challenge Shi Feng right away, Shi Feng was absent from the town, so they could only settle for the next best thing: clashing with the Holy Races experts operating in the World Arks core area. It wasnt until recently that they learned Shi Feng had returned to Shadowring Town. Yet, in the short time it took them to return to the town, Shi Feng had already left to attack Evil Sky City. In Cyanic Jewels opinion, Shi Feng was absolutely deranged. Of course, with Jun Tiankuos personality, she knew he would not let Shi Feng die in Evil Sky City. Naturally, Jun Tiankuo answered firmly. Then, a hint of worry flashed in his eyes as he continued, I hope we can make it there in time. From what I heard, Fist Emperor, the 19th-ranked Chosen One, is in Evil Sky City. With his presence and Evil Sky Citys defenses, Zero Wing is likely in danger. I really wonder whats going through Guild Leader Black Flames head. What gives him the courage to attack a royal powers headquarters? Cyanic Jewel muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. The other youths riding the Twin-Headed Dragon nodded in agreement. They thought Shi Feng was insane. After all, Zero Wing was nothing more than an upstart Guild in the Eternal Realm. Yet, rather than trying to protect what little territory Zero Wing had left in the World Ark, Shi Feng had decided to attack a royal power. Not even lunatics would dare to do such a thing. When the Twin-Headed Dragon flew within 20,000 yards of Evil Sky City, a pillar of light suddenly rose in the distance, startling Jun Tiankuo and his companions. What the hell happened to Evil Sky City?! When the light encompassing Evil Sky City faded, Cyanic Jewels eyes widened in shock. As an Advanced Guild City, Evil Sky City had a stable population of over ten million players. It occupied an area over ten times larger than Shadowring Towns and had robust defenses that even apex powers would have difficulty breaking. But now, a bottomless pit had devoured most of Evil Sky City. Even the few buildings that survived were severely damaged. If not for their team having passed by Evil Sky City multiple times before, Cyanic Jewel would even have suspected the city before them used to be a monster-infested city rather than a Guild City operated by Evil Nature. Cyanic Jewel and the rest of Jun Tiankuos team werent the only ones shocked by the state of Evil Sky City. Fist Emperor, who was brought back to life by a powerful resurrection tool, and the surviving players in Evil Sky City were also shocked. They had no idea what had happened for Evil Sky City to be reduced to such a state. At this moment, less than 100,000 players remained in Evil Sky City, which used to house over ten million players. Furthermore, out of the several hundred thousand Evil Nature members garrisoning the city, only Fist Emperor and some Evil Nature members stationed at the citys fringes remained alive Black! Flame! Fist Emperor bellowed as he glared at Shi Feng. You will pay for this! Evil Sky City was Evil Natures headquarters in the Eternal Realm. It was the future of Evil Natures development in the Eternal Realm. But now, the city had fallen while under his supervision. Several hundred thousand Evil Nature members also suffered true deaths. Even Frostclaw was among the casualties. Outside of clashes with other royal powers, Evil Nature had never suffered a loss on such a scale against any other power. Most importantly, Evil Nature could not construct a new Guild City within a short period. This meant that Evil Natures members would have to take shelter in the various NPC Cities when the Void Beast Tide occurred, putting the Guild in direct competition with the Holy Races other powers. Evil Nature might even have to fight other royal powers over these NPC Cities. To make matters worse, it wasnt any of the human races apex powers that had destroyed Evil Sky City but an upstart Guild that had some success in the Eternal Realm. This was an absolute humiliation for Evil Nature. After Fist Emperor finished speaking, he promptly took out a Holy Stone from his bag, transformed into a streak of light, and disappeared into the horizon. Seeing this, the surviving players in Evil Sky City snapped out of their daze and began to flee in all directions, none daring to linger in the fallen city. It had taken Firmament only one attack to bring Evil Natures headquarters to ruin. Such a terrifying attack was not something players could hope to survive. Although nobody knew whether Zero Wing could afford to use the same attack again, nobody was dumb enough to try their luck. In less than ten seconds, no players remained in Evil Sky City. Shortly after the fall of Evil Sky City, news of it spread across the Eternal Realm like wildfire. What did you say? Evil Sky City has fallen? Youre saying Zero Wing was behind the attack? Investigate! Mobilize all our spies in the World Ark! I want to know every detail of this matter! When the three races various powers received this news, their first reaction was to deem it false information. After all, this was a royal powers headquarters they were talking about. Even two royal powers working together might not necessarily be able to bring it down, let alone a single upstart Guild. However, as more information on the situation became available, the various powers had no choice but to accept that Evil Sky City had indeed fallen. At the same time, they couldnt help but grow fearful of the Guild called Zero Wing. Sis, Evil Nature sure has some rotten luck. I wonder what Black Flame did to ruin Evil Natures headquarters? Regardless, weve lucked out this time, Chalk Splendor laughed after reading the report he just received. Those Evil Nature bastards used to mock me for losing the Sunlight Blade. Now that theyve lost their headquarters, Id like to see how they can continue making fun of me. Okay, dont get too excited. Do you have any idea how many strings I had to pull to get you out of trouble? Daystar said, glaring at her younger brother. Then, she returned her gaze to the battle video playing on her desk, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes as she continued, Not even top-tier Epic Siege Weapons can destroy a Threefold World Wall enhanced by an Ancestors Heart. It seems everyone has been underestimating Zero Wing a little too much. World Ark, Blood Curse Resurrection Camp: Rainbow, did you hear the news?! Frey asked excitedly as she rushed into the Advanced Tent occupied by Verdant Rainbow. Guild Leader Black Flame captured Evil Sky City and killed most of the Evil Nature members in it! Aside from Fist Emperor, the rest of the Ancient God-ranked experts recalled from the frontlines were eliminated! He even annihilated the Ominous Cavalry! Chapter 3902 - Chapter 976 - Evil Sky Citys Treasury Chapter 976 C Evil Sky Citys Treasury Ive heard it already, Verdant Rainbow responded absentmindedly as she carefully studied a 12-page document for fear of missing any information. Guild Leader Black Flame sure knows how to surprise people, Frey sighed as she took a seat in the tent. An Epic Siege Weapon! I cant believe he has been hiding such a thing! Only royal powers have been seen owning such a caliber of Siege Weapon thus far. How did he even get his hands on one? Regardless, Evil Nature is definitely writhing after the fall of Evil Sky City. It might even be regretting persecuting Zero Wing in the first place. Its also going to suffer once the Void Beast Tide occurs. Frey had watched Shi Feng and Zero Wing grow from basically nothing. Initially, Zero Wing was only a small Guild from an Elementary Gods Domain. However, once the Guild expanded its development into the Eternal Realm, it quickly established itself in the Crystal City of Secrets. Later, it established itself in the World Ark and enabled the Red Dragon Nation, a pseudo-apex power, to make significant profits. Now, it had demolished Evil Natures headquarters in the Eternal Realm, a feat the Red Dragon Nation dared not even consider attempting. Shi Feng and Zero Wings growth happened so rapidly that it was simply astounding. Is this why he was confident of eliminating Evil Nature from the Eternal Realm? Verdant Rainbow took a deep breath to soothe her thumping heart. After she finished the document, she felt both excited and relieved. The Guilds core executives had been highly critical of her latest assistance to Shi Feng. This was because this assistance came at a massive cost. However, after learning of Shi Fengs accomplishments, she felt her sacrifices were not in vain. According to the Seven Luminaries Alliances latest intelligence report, the Siege Weapon Zero Wing used against Evil Sky City was extraordinary. It was superior to the average Epic Siege Weapon. The Seven Luminaries Alliance was a transcendental existence, even among the human races apex powers. When it came to intelligence gathering, not even the Holy Races royal powers could necessarily match it. According to the Alliances investigations, although an Epic Siege Weapon could be used to take down Evil Sky City, the action would come with a hefty price tag. Additionally, the process would be long and arduous. The fact that Zero Wings Siege Weapon could destroy Evil Sky City in what was essentially one hit proved that it was undoubtedly at the Epic rank at the very least. The Seven Luminaries Alliances current estimates gave a 90% probability that it was at the Epic rank and a 10% probability that it was at the Inferior Legendary rank. Furthermore, even if Zero Wings Siege Weapon was only at the Epic rank, its offensive capabilities surpassed all of Evil Natures Epic Siege Weapons. This advantage would allow it to suppress any of Evil Natures Epic Siege Weapons one-on-one, although it might be at a disadvantage facing two of Evil Natures Epic Siege Weapons. However, should Evil Nature withdraw two of its Epic Siege Weapons from the frontlines to deal with Zero Wing, it would risk getting eliminated from the war. The war among the three races might be known as such, but it wasnt strictly a competition over NPC Cities among the three races. Powers of the same race also competed among themselves over these NPC Cities so that more of their members could have shelter against the impending Void Beast Tide. It was also because of this internal competition within the Holy Race and the Crystallian race that the human races various powers still had room to breathe. Otherwise, with how far behind the human race was, the Holy Race and the Crystallian race would have long since captured all of the human races NPC Cities. Should Evil Nature allow Zero Wing to tie up two of its Epic Siege Weapons, the Seven Luminaries Alliance could partner with other powers to take over the NPC Cities occupied by Evil Nature. After all, the main factor that differentiated royal powers from apex powers was Epic Siege Weapons. Once this factor was removed, an apex power wouldnt necessarily lose to a royal power in a fight. If Zero Wings Siege Weapon turned out to be at the Inferior Legendary rank, in Verdant Rainbows opinion, she had won the jackpot. Of course, the possibility of this being the case was extremely low. According to the intelligence the Seven Luminaries Alliance had collected on the Holy Race, none of the known Holy Race powers owned an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon. However, when it came to the ranking system of Siege Weapons, even a half-rank advantage would let a Siege Weapon fight against multiple Siege Weapons and win with ease. With the current number of Epic Siege Weapons Evil Nature had deployed to the Eternal Realm, it had no way of defeating an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon. Hence, eliminating Evil Nature from the Eternal Realm wouldnt be difficult if Zero Wing had an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon. So long as Evil Nature didnt join forces with other royal powers, the Seven Luminaries Alliance could even guarantee Evil Natures elimination. World Ark, Evil Sky City: Guild Leader Black Flame, after what youve done here, you must be careful of Fist Emperor, Jun Tiankuo said after meeting up with Shi Feng, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes as he remembered something. That guy is a complete lunatic on the wars frontlines. Even the Holy Races royal powers are helpless against him. Is he very strong? Shi Feng asked, confused by Jun Tiankuos warning. Shi Feng had never heard of the title of Fist Emperor. He found it hard to believe that the Holy Races royal powers would be helpless against an expert he had never heard about before. After all, even Garuda, the Holy Races number one chosen one, did not possess such influence and capability. Not really. Jun Tiankuo shook his head. Fist Emperor might be a sixth-floor expert, but his strength isnt why the royal powers are helpless against him. Its because of his background. I dont have any concrete information, but rumors have it that he is the disciple of some almighty individual among the Holy Race. There are also rumors saying that he hails from a powerful family. In any case, it is a fact that the Holy Races royal powers fear him. Even when Fist Emperor caused several of their chosen ones to suffer permanent deaths, they simply turned a blind eye to his actions. They even forbade their chosen ones from taking revenge. This matter has already spread on the frontlines. He has a background that can influence the Holy Races royal powers? After hearing Jun Tiankuos explanation, Shi Feng understood why the other party had cautioned him about Fist Emperor. If Fist Emperor were to utilize his background, Zero Wings opponent might no longer be limited to just Evil Nature. Thank you. I will be careful. Its nothing. Many people on the frontlines already know about this, Jun Tiankuo said, waving his hand. Then, fighting spirit flared in his eyes as he continued, If you want to thank me, I hope you can allow me to duel you under the same Basic Attributes, Guild Leader Black Flame. No problem. Just contact me whenever you want to fight, Shi Feng said, not opposed to satisfying Jun Tiankuos request. Jun Tiankuo was one of the human races Ten Great Tanks in Shi Fengs previous life, so there was no harm in improving relations with him. After all, when raiding Taboo Bosses, a powerful tank could greatly reduce the raids difficulty. Thats a promise. Jun Tiankuos gaze grew determined at Shi Fengs words. I still need to do a friend a favor. I will visit Zero Wing once Im done. Okay. Shi Feng nodded. After watching Jun Tiankuos team leave on the Twin-Headed Dragon, Shi Feng contacted Blackie and had him bring some people to ransack Evil Sky Citys City Lords Mansion. Besieging cities was one of the most popular activities among Gods Domains various powers. This was because they could get a free Guild City and all the wealth accumulated in the city. If this were in his previous life, not even the Seven Luminaries Alliance would ever consider besieging Evil Sky City, let alone Zero Wing. The Seven Luminaries Alliance would have been over the moon if it could seize a Guild City from the Holy Races apex powers, let alone from one of its ten royal powers. Chapter 3903 - Chapter 977 - Divine Pathstone Chapter 977 C Divine Pathstone World Ark, Evil Sky City: Upon entering the City Lords Mansion, the Zero Wing members behind Shi Feng froze in shock at its opulent interior. Holy! I dare say not even the Seven Luminaries Alliance would be willing to splurge on such an interior! Blackie exclaimed as he scanned the mansions lobby. Not only did Evil Nature construct a miniature world inside the mansion using Law Fragments, but it even used Holy Power Crystals to construct the whole interior! Weve hit the jackpot! At least several billion units of Holy Power Crystals must have been used to construct a miniature world of this size! Pace Angel, the manager of the Zero Wing Training Center in Star Lake City, blurted out, her eyes shining as she scanned the miniature world that was equal to several stadiums in area. Its definitely more than just several billion units, Shi Feng said, equally shocked by Evil Natures wealth as he looked at the miniature world suffused with incredibly dense Holy Power. Holy Power Crystals were the Holy Races equivalent for Seven Luminaries Crystals. Besides being a crucial resource for Holy Race players to advance to Tier 6, Holy Power Crystals were also necessary to power the Holy Races various war weapons. Take Firmament, for example. Even now, Shi Feng was still reeling from using it. Merely activating Lakelight Mirror once cost him 500 God Crystals and 50 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. That was as much as one-fourth of a pseudo-apex powers liquid Seven Luminaries Crystals. If Zero Wing hadnt made a lot of Seven Luminaries Crystals through the Tower of the Abyss, its development would have instantly come to a standstill. The act of constructing a miniature worlds environment using Holy Power Crystals was no different from constructing a palace using Seven Luminaries Crystalsutterly wasteful. The only benefit from doing so would be an increase in the mana density inside the palace. Moreover, compared to a palace constructed using Magic Crystals, the mana density would only be one or two times higher. After all, the palaces mana density was still largely dependent on the mana density of the area and its Mana Gathering Magic Array. Although the Holy Power Crystals could also provide the miniature world with an isolating effect, the cost far outweighed the benefits. Guild Leader, are we really going to ransack this place? Blackie asked Shi Feng reluctantly. If we dismantle this miniature world, we will destroy many Holy Power Crystals in the process. In Gods Domain, dismantling any construction would result in significant material losses. In Blackies opinion, since Zero Wing had already captured Evil Sky City, there was no need to ransack the place. Although human players had no use for Holy Power Crystals, their presence allowed the World Laws in this miniature world to become more observable. Players seeking to advance to Tier 6 or master World Laws could benefit greatly from this miniature world. It must be done, regardless of the losses, Shi Feng said definitively. Shi Feng would have chosen to occupy Evil Sky City had it not been constructed using a Great Lord Token. After all, he had already gone through the trouble of capturing it. Although it was currently severely damaged, this was nothing that couldnt be repaired with money. And even if it was a Guild City of the Holy Race, only a few modifications were needed to make it usable for human players. However, Evil Nature had constructed Evil Sky City using a Great Lord Token. This changed things completely. In his previous life, Great Lord Tokens were highly contested items. They remained high-priority targets, even after they had been used to construct a Guild City. The first reason was that they could be used to awaken lost civilization cities. The second reason was that they could be used as a consumable to improve ones authority in a lost civilization city or activate hidden advanced functions. Although Evil Natures Great Lord Token could no longer be used to awaken lost civilization cities since it had been used to construct a Guild City, he could still use it to increase his authority in the primordial civilization city or activate the citys hidden advanced functions. While Zero Wing could also benefit greatly from Evil Sky Citys extravagant City Lords Mansion, this paled in comparison to the benefits the Guild would gain from the primordial civilization city. Alright, then. Despite his reluctance, Blackie gave the command to start dismantling the City Lords Mansion. While Blackie was overseeing the dismantling process, Zero Wings Assassins found Evil Sky Citys treasury hidden inside the mansion. Isnt this level of security excessive? Hiding a treasury in a threefold miniature world? This is like a Matryoshka doll. If not for our perceptive brothers, we would have missed this treasury, Blackie commented when he heard from the Assassins the measures Evil Nature had taken to conceal its treasury. Shi Feng was not surprised by this situation. It was common practice for powers to store their treasures in the safest locationtheir headquarters. To prevent other powers from locating and plundering their treasures, they would also employ various methods to hide their treasuries, and only the Guilds core members and above would know the location of these treasuries. In reality, Evil Nature, a royal power, could be considered very lazy for hiding its treasury in nothing more than a threefold miniature world. If this were the headquarters of a pseudo-apex power, the treasury would likely be hidden within a gigantic maze. The maze would be so large and complex that even those familiar with its layout would need considerable time to reach the treasurys entrance. After walking for about ten minutes under the Tier 6 Assassins lead, Shi Feng and Blackie arrived inside a miniature world the size of a football field. Dense Eternal Energy filled the miniature world, refreshing everyone mentally the moment they entered; its effect on mental acuity was nearly one-third of that of the Eternal God Crystal. As expected of a royal power! Shi Feng was awestruck by the mountains of treasure in the miniature world. Even his breathing had grown heavier. Although the miniature world wasnt particularly large, the items it stored were extraordinary. Besides many Fragmented Divine Artifacts, it also had many God Crystals and Holy Origin Crystals. Not even the Nameless Citys treasury held as many God Crystals as Evil Sky Citys. At a glance, there were easily over 100,000 God Crystals and Holy Origin Crystals in the treasury. Even if a pseudo-apex power were to take out all its God Crystals or Holy Origin Crystals, it wouldnt necessarily be able to come up with such an amount. Yet, Evil Nature stored this amount in just one city. Even if Evil Sky City was Evil Natures headquarters in the Eternal Realm, it was still a ridiculous number. While Blackie and the others were celebrating this astounding discovery, Shi Feng directed his attention to the stone pedestal in the middle of the treasury. The pedestal itself was inconspicuous. It was about two meters tall and emitted no energy fluctuations. It looked like it was made using nothing but ordinary stone. In contrast, the broken tablet hovering above the pedestal was very conspicuous. A Goddess Tablet? After briefly studying the tablets mana fluctuations, Shi Feng discovered that he could analyze the tablet using the mana interpretation method for studying the most recent Goddess Tablet he had obtained. However, even after making this discovery, Shi Feng quickly shifted his attention to the stone pedestal under the tablet and used a Master Appraisal Skill. I nearly got tricked. When Shi Feng saw the appraisal results, he was glad he had inspected the pedestal. [Divine Pathstone] (Consumable, Godly Relic) A divine stone birthed alongside Gods Domain. It can be used to connect to any world depending on the God Crystals used. No wonder Evil Nature kept so many God Crystals here. They were all prepared for this Divine Pathstone. When Shi Feng saw the Divine Pathstone, he couldnt help pitying Evil Nature. Divine Pathstones were regarded as priceless treasures by the Holy Race and the human race in his previous life. Although its only function was to create a pathway between two worlds, it was something countless powers from both races sought. After all, Gods Domain was a massive place. Human and Holy Race players werent the only ones in it. However, because unspeakably powerful monsters lurked in the depths of the Void Sea, players of the two races could not explore beyond their respective Greater Gods Domains. This was where the Divine Pathstones ability to create a permanent pathway between two worlds came into play. Of course, if it was simply the ability to create a pathway to the Greater Gods Domain of another race, Divine Pathstones wouldnt have been particularly attractive to the various powers. What made Divine Pathstones truly valuable was their indirect ability to increase the Tier 7 promotions success rate! Chapter 3904 - Chapter 978 - Ember Dragons Identity Chapter 978 C Ember Dragons Identity Guild Leader, is it necessary for you to escort that pedestal yourself? Blackie asked, confused when he saw Shi Feng tagging along with the transport carriages. Many items in Evil Sky Citys treasury were non-bag space items. Some couldnt even be stored in bags with non-bag space item slots and could only be transported using manpower. The stone pedestal in the treasury was one of these items. Although Blackie already knew what the pedestal was and agreed that its ability to create a permanent pathway to another world was valuable, he still didnt think the Divine Pathstone was worth anywhere near as much as the combined value of the God Crystals, Holy Origin Crystals, and Fragmented Divine Artifacts in the treasury. In Blackies opinion, even if Evil Nature were to send people to snatch back its items, itd prioritize the Fragmented Divine Artifacts and Holy Origin Crystals. After all, these were items that could increase the overall strength of any power by a large margin. You dont get it. Shi Feng chuckled as he looked ahead at the horse carriage carrying the Divine Pathstone. The true value of that pedestal far exceeds the combined value of everything else in that treasury. Evil Nature might really go all out to retrieve it. Tier 7! For many expert players in Gods Domain, whether they were from the human race, the Crystallian race, or the Holy Race, it was their dream and goal to reach Tier 7. However, no matter how much effort the various powers and players had put in, nobody from the three races had ever reached Tier 7. The reason for this was that the Tier 7 promotion was too difficult. Just like how some players could never advance past Tier 4, Tier 5, and Tier 6, not just anyone could reach Tier 7. They needed to have the necessary opportunities, talent, Legacies, etc. Furthermore, as nobody from the three races had ever reached Tier 7, the players of the three races didnt have any experiences they could draw on to lower the difficulty of their Tier 7 promotion. However, while the three races might not have any players who had reached Tier 7 before, it wasnt necessarily the case for other races. If one could use the Divine Pathstone to connect to a world with Tier 7 players, one could increase the probability of promotion to Tier 7 for Tier 6 players. After all, compared to challenging the Tier 7 promotion with zero information, players would undoubtedly have an easier time if they had a pioneers experience as reference. Of course, finding a player world where Tier 7 players existed was not easy. The Divine Pathstone needed a worlds precise coordinates to connect to it. Otherwise, the pathway could not be established. In Shi Fengs opinion, Evil Nature likely did not know the coordinates of any player world with Tier 7 players. Otherwise, it wouldnt have kept the Divine Pathstone in its treasury but used it instead. It also wouldnt waste time competing over Primordial God-ranked Legacies in the Eternal Realm. After all, the personal experience of a Tier 7 player was much more useful than the vague clues hidden in these Primordial God-ranked Legacies. After four hours of traveling by horse carriage, Shi Feng safely deposited the Divine Pathstone into Zero Wings Guild Warehouse. Just as he was about to visit the primordial civilization city, he suddenly received an offline call from Red Frost. When the call connected, he was greeted by a gloomy expression. Seeing as you are contacting me from the real world, did something happen at the passage? Shi Feng asked after Red Frost remained silent despite having taken the initiative to contact him. Red Frost was the Holy Dragon Spear adventurer teams representative, and she was currently tasked with overseeing the exploration of the passage into the Eternal Realm. It was of significant importance to the current Zero Wing that a safe route through the passage was established. Once Zero Wing had a safe route into the Eternal Realm, it could be used to strengthen Zero Wings foundations and solve the Guilds lack of elite experts. Zero Wing could more or less be considered a Guild that had been established following the birth of the Eternal Realm. Its foundations were much weaker than that of most other powers operating in the Eternal Realm. As a result, Zero Wing could only operate in a small area during the Eternal Realms birth. In contrast, the various major powers operated in many NPC Cities simultaneously, which enabled them to secure Residences and raise their popularity in these NPC Cities. With these advantages, they could attract independent experts to join them much more easily. Although Zero Wing currently had Shadowring Town to boost its popularity, the number of players the town could attract was nowhere near that of NPC Cities. Hence, Zero Wing was still limited in the number of experts it could recruit. However, once Zero Wing had a safe route in and out of the Eternal Realm, it would no longer have to worry about recruiting experts. It could simply send its existing members to the Greater Gods Domain to level up quickly. At that time, these Zero Wing members would become combat-ready experts, and Zero Wings growth would no longer be stifled by its lack of experts. The exploration of the passage is progressing smoothly, Red Frost said, shaking her head. Then, in a low voice, she continued, But for some reason, the Great Commander, who has been very supportive of me, suddenly wants to sever Holy Dragon Spears partnership with Zero Wing. Moreover, Holy Dragon Spear isnt alone in this decision. The other pseudo-apex powers share similar sentiments. Sever our partnership? Do they not want to level up in the secret land anymore? Shi Feng was stunned by this news. Although the partnership between Zero Wing and the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers favored Zero Wing a lot, it remained that Holy Dragon Spear and the other pseudo-apex powers could reliably get their members to Level 240 thanks to this partnership. Without the Access Key in his possession, even if these pseudo-apex powers managed to get their members into the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, these members would have to die if they wanted to leave the secret land; they wouldnt be able to exit normally. This definitely wasnt a wise move. As for Zero Wing, it would also be negatively affected. Without Holy Dragon Spear establishing a safe route into the Eternal Realm, Zero Wing could not send players to grind in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest en masse, severely restricting Zero Wings development speed. Ive already mentioned this to the Great Commander and the others, but they still insist on cutting ties with Zero Wing, Red Frost said with an ugly expression. Additionally, Ember Dragon suddenly came to me, saying he wants to discuss something important with you in person. Ember Dragon? Shi Feng was even more surprised to hear this. Shi Feng didnt have many dealings with Ember Dragon, so it was strange for the other party to visit Star Lake City to talk to him in person. Hed be less surprised if Ember Dragon had come to talk to Red Frost. After all, they shared a long-standing feud. Do you want to talk to him? Red Frost asked. Since hes here, lets talk, Shi Feng said, deciding to meet with Ember Dragon after thinking it over. Shi Feng was certain the Dragon God Palace had something to do with Holy Dragon Spear and the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys other pseudo-apex powers decision to cut ties with Zero Wing. However, Shi Feng couldnt determine what the Dragon God Palace had done to make its past enemies turn against Zero Wing. Half an hour later, Shi Feng met Ember Dragon in one of the Zero Wing Training Centers lounges. Ember Dragon was a tall and lanky man with a sickly appearance. However, despite his appearance, he gave off an indescribably dangerous vibe. If not for Red Frost entering the lounge with Ember Dragon, Shi Feng might have even considered leaving immediately. I finally get to meet you, Guild Leader Black Flame, Ember Dragon said, giving Shi Feng a business smile. This should be our first time meeting in the real world. I am Ember Dragon, a Vice Guild Leader of the Dragon God Palace. Seeing as youve gone through the trouble of meeting me here, I assume you are behind Holy Dragon Spear and the other pseudo-apex powers decision to cut ties with Zero Wing, Shi Feng stated frankly, looking at Ember Dragon. Compared to how he carried himself in Gods Domain, Ember Dragon conducted himself with much less dignity in the real world. Just say whatever you have to say. You are a very straightforward person, Guild Leader Black Flame. But I like straightforward people, Ember Dragon said, replacing his business smile with a cold expression. In that case, Ill get to the point. I am not visiting you on behalf of the Dragon God Palace but the Nebula Consortium. The Nebula Consortium? Ember Dragons words stunned Red Frost. Staring at him in disbelief, she asked in a quivering voice, Youre a member of the Nebula Consortium? Shi Feng frowned at Ember Dragons introduction. He had heard about the Nebula Consortium in his previous life. Although he didnt know much about it, he did know it was an extraordinary entity with shares in several human apex powers, such as the notorious Demons Gate and the mysterious Eternal Chamber of Commerce. At the same time, the Nebula Consortium was the main producer of Stardew. Because of this, many corporations, conglomerates, and even City Lords of first-tier cities sought to get into the Nebula Consortiums good graces. Ignoring Red Frosts question, Ember Dragon sneered at Shi Feng and said, In light of Zero Wing ruining the hard-earned peace between the human race and the Holy Race, the Nebula Consortium hopes to put Zero Wing under its supervision. To achieve this goal, the Nebula Consortium will send someone to assist with Zero Wings management. Should Zero Wing refuse to be supervised, it will no longer be permitted to continue operating henceforth. Hasnt the Nebula Consortium been indifferent to Gods Domain this whole time? Red Frost grew anxious at Ember Dragons words. Many corporations and conglomerates relied on the Nebula Consortium in the Greater World. If the Nebula Consortium decided to persecute Zero Wing, Zero Wing would face many difficulties moving forward, such as not being able to purchase the Life Potions necessary for the Guilds development. Not to mention, there was no saying what action the various powers, which sought to enter the Nebula Consortiums good graces, would do against Zero Wing. I am only here to convey the Nebula Consortiums message. There is nothing I can do to change the Nebula Consortiums decision, Ember Dragon said, glancing at Red Frost. Then, he smirked at Shi Feng and continued, I advise you not to make an enemy of the Nebula Consortium, Guild Leader Black Flame. Even if youve managed to get an apex power to back you, the consequences will still be unbearable for you. Ruined the peace between the human race and the Holy Race? Unbearable consequences? Shi Feng smiled as he looked at Ember Dragons elated expression. Since you are acting as the Nebula Consortiums messenger, please convey my message to Nebulas higher-ups: You similarly cannot bear the consequences of making an enemy out of Zero Wing! Chapter 3905 - Chapter 979 - Times Have Changed Chapter 979 C Times Have Changed Silence descended upon the lounge as Shi Feng finished speaking. Even Red Frost, who had been seething at Ember Dragon, couldnt help but pause to look at Shi Feng, a trace of panic flashing in her eyes. Never did she expect Shi Feng to give such a response. Does he not know about the Nebula Consortium? After a brief surprise, Red Frost had to wonder if Shi Feng even knew what the name Nebula Consortium represented. Moreover, the more Red Frost thought about it, the more she was convinced this was the case. After all, Shi Feng was basically a newcomer in the Greater World. The Nebula Consortium also maintained a very low profile in Gods Domain, so most players in the Greater Gods Domain only knew that it was a very powerful pharmaceutical company selling the highly sought-after Stardew. Only the executives of the various powers and corporations knew how terrifying the Nebula Consortiums strength and influence were in both the Greater World and the Greater Gods Domain. The Nebula Consortium controlled 80% of the Greater Worlds Stardew production. This point was enough to deter the various apex powers from offending it. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to call the Nebula Consortium the underground emperor of Gods Domain. Just as Red Frost considered explaining the situation to Ember Dragon, the latter smiled and said, You are as arrogant as you are in Gods Domain, Guild Leader Black Flame. Do you know how many powers in Gods Domain wish for such an opportunity? Yet, you refused it? As if Ember Dragon had guessed Shi Fengs response long ago, he curled his lips in contempt and continued, Do you think you are already standing at the apex of Gods Domain? Just because you have an apex power backing you? Or is it because you managed to steal Evil Natures headquarters and thrive in the Eternal Realm? Do you truly believe nobody can do anything about you? I pity your ignorance. You have no idea that the Gods Domain and Greater World you know is merely the tip of the iceberg. Regardless, I will convey your message word for word. I hope you do not regret your decision. Ember Dragon despised Shi Feng. Shi Feng had not only foiled his plan to take control of Holy Dragon Spear but also snatched the Flame Dragon Gods Nest he had plotted for years to steal. If not for the Nebula Consortium executives unexpected decision, he would probably never have had the chance to take revenge on Shi Feng. As Red Frost stated, the Nebula Consortium was never one to meddle with the affairs in Gods Domain. Even when Demons Gate and the Eternal Chamber of Commerce clashed, the Nebula Consortium remained indifferent despite being a shareholder in the two apex powers. The Nebula Consortiums decision to interfere with Zero Wings operations was definitely a first for Ember Dragon since he joined the consortium. When he received the instructions to convey the Nebula Consortiums intent to Zero Wing, it took him a while to recover from his shock. Naturally, Shi Fengs refusal to accept the Nebula Consortiums arrangement was the best outcome for Ember Dragon. Before Red Frost could explain, Ember Dragon left the lounge without another word. This bastard! Hes clearly trying to use the Nebula Consortium to deal with us! When Red Frost saw that Ember Dragon didnt even try to negotiate or listen to her explanation, she knew what he was trying to do. However, despite her anger, she could do nothing about the situation. Although the Nebula Consortium sold Stardew to powers and corporations all over the Greater World, its existence was shrouded in mystery. Nobody knew where its headquarters was located. It only made its presence known through the Stardew-selling shops it operated in first-tier mobile cities and a small number of lower-tier mobile cities. In fact, apart from Ember Dragon, Red Frost had never met another official member of the Nebula Consortium despite being the Acting Commander of Holy Dragon Spear. It was as if the Nebula Consortium didnt exist. However, the Stardew it produced and sold proved that it existed. In this situation, if Ember Dragon was intent on using the Nebula Consortium to get revenge on them, it wouldnt matter even if she explained Shi Fengs ignorance. None of her words would reach the consortium. As for whether Ember Dragon was pretending to be a member of the Nebula Consortium, that was unlikely to be the case. After all, the behavior of South Lake and the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys other pseudo-apex powers already made this point very clear. Besides the Nebula Consortium, Red Frost could not think of any power that could get the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers to abandon their partnership with Zero Wing. Let him be, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at the angry and frustrated Red Frost. Even without his interference, nothing will change. Zero Wing cannot and will not accept the Nebula Consortiums conditions. While the Nebula Consortium might have said that it would only supervise Zero Wings management, what it was actually doing was forcing Zero Wing to become its subordinate power. Had any other power received such an offer, they would definitely accept it with pleasure. After all, the Nebula Consortiums influence surpassed even the Seven Luminaries Alliances. If a Guild became a subordinate of the Nebula Consortium, even if it were only a midlevel Guild in the Greater Gods Domain, nobody would dare to provoke it unless absolutely necessary. Even apex powers would have to weigh their options before taking action. However, even if Zero Wing could receive a huge status boost by subordinating itself to the Nebula Consortium, Shi Feng would never agree to it. Setting aside the Book of Eternity, simply the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament was enough to make him invincible in the Eternal Realm. Hence, regardless of Ember Dragons interference, Shi Fengs answer to the Nebula Consortium would be the same. That might be the case, but Red Frost knew about Zero Wings situation. With the Tower of the Abyss and the partnership with a royal power like Dragons Crown, Zero Wing indeed had the qualifications to refuse to join the Nebula Consortium. But the Nebula Consortium controls 80% of the Stardew on the market. Many corporations and city lords in the Greater World strongly desire Stardew. Not only can they use Stardew for themselves, but they can also use it to attract geniuses, thereby letting their corporations and cities prosper. Now that Zero Wing has offended the Nebula Consortium, the consortium only needs to give the word for a bunch of corporations and city lords to persecute us. Based on my understanding of the Great Commander, he would never renege on his promises. Yet, he has done so this time. He is likely being pressured by Holy Hymn Citys City Lord and the family corporations financially supporting Holy Dragon Spear. Speaking up to this point, Red Frost couldnt help but reveal a frustrated and apologetic look. Originally, she had promised to have Holy Dragon Spear assist Zero Wing. But now, not only did she fail to do so, but her feud with Ember Dragon also caused Zero Wing to become enemies with Ember Dragon, a representative of the Nebula Consortium. It is indeed troublesome to be pressured by a first-tier citys City Lord and a bunch of family corporations, Shi Feng said, expressing his understanding of South Lakes predicament. After pondering for a moment, he asked, Commander Frost, do you think Great Commander South Lake would be interested in taking over Holy Hymn City? Chapter 3906 - Chapter 980 - New City Chapter 980 C New City Taking over Holy Hymn City? Red Frost thought Shi Feng was joking with her when she heard his question. With a wry smile, she said, Guild Leader Black Flame, I am not trying to cast doubt on Zero Wings strength, but taking control of a first-tier mobile city, let alone a top-ranking first-tier city, is not easy. Setting aside whether the Great Commander and Holy Dragon Spears other executives will be interested, the family corporations financially supporting the adventurer team will never allow such an action. Every top-ranking first-tier city in the Greater World has existed for a long time. Virtually every power and family based in such a city has a vested interest in the citys prosperity. Should Holy Dragon Spear try to monopolize Holy Hymn City, those family corporations will stop supplying funds or resources to the adventurer team. At that time, Holy Dragon Spear will struggle to even survive, not to mention compete with the citys other pseudo-apex powers. Every pseudo-apex power required an astronomical amount of money and resources to operate. While Holy Dragon Spear might be an adventurer team, it was no exception to this rule. Unfortunately, despite having achieved great success in Gods Domain, Holy Dragon Spear still wasnt self-sustainable. Although the adventurer team generated significant revenue from operating Guild Cities, producing and selling weapons and equipment, and accepting commissions, it still wasnt anywhere near enough to cover the adventurer teams operating costs. If Holy Dragon Spear were to lose the money and resources of Holy Hymn Citys corporations, many of its members would no longer be able to afford to live in Holy Hymn City. And if Holy Dragon Spear were to lose these members, how was it supposed to compete with Holy Hymn Citys other pseudo-apex powers? Of course, it had to be said that it was the dream of all pseudo-apex powers to monopolize a top-ranking first-tier city. This could even be considered one of the prerequisites to becoming an apex power. After all, if a power could freely dictate a top-ranking first-tier citys policies, it would have a much easier time attracting geniuses and paragons of the younger generation. This, in turn, would qualitatively enhance the powers growth. However, a power could monopolize a top-ranking first-tier city only if it did not have any competition. Otherwise, other powers could always interfere with the citys management through the city legion. Although a power could also take control of a city by filling the entire city legion with its geniuses and paragons, achieving such a feat was nothing but a pipe dream. Hence, the only realistic way to achieve such a monopoly was by pressuring the competition into relinquishing control over the city. And the only way to do so was by murdering the opponents forces in Gods Domain until the opponent submitted, which was a task that demanded a lot of manpower and resources. There were as many as four pseudo-apex powers based in Holy Hymn City. The adventurer team was outnumbered three-to-one. Should Holy Hymn City decide to wage war against these pseudo-apex powers, its expenditure would shoot through the roof. Since those family corporations wont offer their support, Zero Wing will provide all the funds and resources Holy Dragon Spear needs, Shi Feng said, unsurprised by Red Frosts explanation. He knew that wars between powers were primarily fueled by money. How much are Holy Dragon Spears monthly operating costs? Zero Wings development was already close to reaching a bottleneck. Originally, Shi Feng had considered advancing Star Lake City into a first-tier mobile city to help Zero Wing break through this bottleneck. However, if Zero Wing could gain control over a top-ranking first-tier city like Holy Hymn City, it would stand to benefit much more. Under normal circumstances, Zero Wing could never occupy Holy Hymn City. But now that a rift had formed between Holy Dragon Spears executives and family corporations[1], the situation created an excellent opportunity for Zero Wing to do so. Holy Dragon Spear has far fewer internal members than other pseudo-apex powers. We have about three million internal members, many of whom live in Holy Hymn City, Red Frost said after pondering Shi Fengs question. The members in Holy Hymn City are paid an average monthly salary of 30,000 Star Coins, which translates to a monthly expenditure of 90 billion Star Coins for the adventurer team. However, the Star Coin expenditure is only a minor issue. The real problem is the Life Potion consumption. Our 200,000 elite combat members receive upwards of 30 bottles of Life Potion a month. Including the consumption of our Master Lifestyle Players, the adventurer team consumes about 15 million bottles of Life Potion a month. A monthly expenditure of 90 billion Star Coins and 15 million bottles of Life Potion? Shi Feng was astonished by the numbers Red Frost reported. He felt that Holy Dragon Spears expenditure was incredibly high. Zero Wing only paid its internal members a monthly salary of 10,000 Star Coins. Even so, this was already considered very high in Star Lake City. After all, this was a salary that the average person could only obtain by becoming a reserve member of a city legion. Yet, Holy Dragon Spear offered its internal members three times that amount. Not to mention, Holy Dragon Spears internal member count exceeded Zero Wings by more than tenfold. Suddenly, Shi Feng understood why Holy Dragon Spear still needed financial support despite occupying Flame Vein Holy City. The adventurer teams expenditure simply wasnt something the average power could afford. These are only Holy Dragon Spears normal operating costs. If Holy Dragon Spear wages war against Holy Hymn Citys three other pseudo-apex powers in Gods Domain, I wouldnt be surprised if its expenditure doubledat the very least, Red Frost said, looking at Shi Fengs astonished expression. Then, she advised, Holy Dragon Spears Life Potion consumption is something even the adventurer team itself cannot afford without assistance. I suggest Zero Wing prioritize preparing for the Nebula Consortiums retaliation. The Nebula Consortium secretly holds shares in many apex and pseudo-apex powers. Should the Nebula Consortium have them take action, Zero Wings expenditure will undoubtedly skyrocket. Regarding the Eternal Realms passage, I will gather a group of experts in my name to establish a new safe route. Although the efficiency will be lower, accomplishing it shouldnt be difficult. In Red Frosts opinion, Zero Wings success in the Eternal Realm still wasnt enough to let it support Holy Dragon Spear, an organization more than ten times its size. Not to mention, once Ember Dragon reported back to the Nebula Consortium, the consortium would most likely begin its persecution of Zero Wing. Once that happened, even with its absolute control over Star Lake City, Zero Wing would likely have difficulty purchasing resources such as Life Potions from other powers and corporations. At that time, Zero Wing would be fortunate if it could secure enough Life Potions to support itself, let alone to support Holy Dragon Spear. That wont be necessary, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. If I can gather the necessary funds and resources, are you confident you can convince Great Commander South Lake to take action, Commander Frost? If you can get the funds and resources, I am 90% sure I can convince him, Red Frost answered, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. But is it really worthwhile for Zero Wing to do such a thing? I understand Ember Dragon; he is a vengeful bastard who will jump at any opportunity to take revenge. Zero Wing will definitely have to waste a lot of money and resources fighting the Nebula Consortium. Once Holy Dragon Spear goes to war, should Zero Wing run out of funds, it would spell the end for Zero Wing The benefits of monopolizing a top-ranking first-tier mobile city might be tempting, but once a war between powers began, it couldnt be stopped on a whim. Should Zero Wing run out of funds while the war was ongoing, only death awaited Zero Wing. It hadnt been easy for Zero Wing to achieve its current success. Now that it was facing the Nebula Consortiums wrath, Red Frost couldnt understand why Shi Feng would want to make such a risky decision. Ninety percent, is it? At Red Frosts answer, Shi Feng smiled and said, Ill gather the funds as soon as possible and contact you when Im ready. After saying so, Shi Feng returned to his room and logged into Gods Domain. If it were before obtaining the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament and the Divine Pathstone, Shi Feng wouldnt have made such a risky decision. But now that Zero Wing had a new city and the Divine Pathstone, it could easily obtain the funds and resources needed to fund Holy Dragon Spears war. Zero Wing could even use this opportunity to further strengthen itself. TL Notes: [1]a rift had formed between Holy Dragon Spears executives and family corporations: Im assuming this rift is referring to the family corporations putting pressure on South Lake to cut ties with Zero Wing. [The family corporations did so because of the Nebula Consortiums interference.] Chapter 3907 - Chapter 981 - Connecting to the Remnant Primordial World Chapter 981 C Connecting to the Remnant Primordial World Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town: When Shi Feng came online and was about to give Blackie a call, he received a call request from the person himself. I was just about to call you. I didnt think you would call me first. Did something happen again? Shi Feng asked, chuckling as he looked at the ugly expression Blackie wore. Zero Wing had just obtained Evil Natures treasury, so Blackie should be excitedly counting their harvest right now. After all, he had been racking his brain on how to get Silent Wonder the God Crystals she needed. The haul of God Crystals they obtained from Evil Natures treasury should have alleviated his concerns. Yet, Blackie looked even more concerned than before they plundered Evil Natures treasury. Exactly. I was even in the middle of counting how many God Crystals we got this time, Blackie said, exasperated. I dont know whats going on with Evil Nature, but it tripled its bounty on Zero Wing and even opened it to players of all three races. None of our guild members dare to leave Shadowring Town without ample preparation. Evil Nature already placed a bounty on all players caught entering and leaving Shadowring Town when Evil Sky City still existed. Because of this, Zero Wing had to keep compensating its guild members with money and Life Potions. After all, players would suffer significant mental damage whenever they died in Gods Domain. Without the assistance of Life Potions, theyd need at least a day before they could fully recover. Nobody in the current Eternal Realm could afford to lose so much progress. Until the fall of Evil Sky City, Zero Wing had already burned through more than half of the eight million bottles of Life Potion that Shi Feng had obtained from eight of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers. The Guild only had about three million bottles of Life Potion left in reserve. Moreover, this was after the Guild had limited the number of players grinding out in the fields. Otherwise, there might not even be three million bottles remaining. Now that Evil Nature had tripled its bounty on Zero Wings members and opened it to players of all three races, Zero Wings members were in a dire situation. After all, the rewards had become so lucrative that many of the human races experts and powers might be tempted into action. If Zero Wing did not use its remaining supply of Life Potions conservatively, it would likely run out of Life Potions in just four or five days. The bounty has been tripled and opened to all three races? How generous of Evil Nature! Upon learning about Evil Natures updated bounty, even Shi Feng couldnt help but be tempted. Evil Natures previous bounty of one Eternal Gold per person was already incredibly high. Although the updated bounty targeted Zero Wings members specifically, the head of each Zero Wing member was now worth three Eternal Gold. If a team could kill a 100-man team of Zero Wing members, it could earn even more than if it had killed a Regional Boss. There were very few Regional Bosses in the Eternal Realm. Most teams couldnt even secure one Regional Boss kill per day. Now that killing Zero Wings members had become even more lucrative than killing Regional Bosses, who wouldnt be tempted by such an opportunity? This still isnt the worst news, Blackie said, shaking his head. I more or less expected Evil Natures retaliation, considering that we destroyed Evil Sky City. What I didnt expect was for the several dozen corporations supplying us with Life Potions to suddenly sever ties with us. They are even willing to pay the exorbitant cancellation fee to do so. This is terrible news, considering Evil Natures updated bounty. Although Ive tried to contact other suppliers, none are willing to sell Life Potions to us. At this rate, the Guild will run out of Life Potions in five days maximum. At that time, the elite and core members who joined the Guild for Life Potions will definitely leave After the implementation of the major system update, Life Potions became a necessity for Gods Domains expert players. This was because the Life Potion worked wonders to aid in recovery from mental fatigue and damage. In reality, many of the fifth-floor experts and Level 230-plus players who joined Zero Wing recently had done so because of its Life Potions. Should Zero Wing run out of Life Potions, Blackie couldnt even imagine what would become of the Guild. The Nebula Consortium sure works quickly! When Shi Feng heard Blackies report, he immediately thought of the Nebula Consortium. Although Life Potions were in high demand, they werent in demand to the point where it was impossible to get any. The only reason so many corporations would unanimously refuse to work with Zero Wing would be pressure to do so. Of all the enemies Shi Feng could think of, only the Nebula Consortium had the influence to get so many corporations to comply so obediently. The Nebula Consortium? Blackie stared at Shi Feng in shock. Guild Leader, are you talking about the Nebula Consortium that produces Stardew? As an executive responsible for managing Zero Wings daily operations, Blackie had done a lot of research into the Greater Gods Domain and the Greater World. He had even paid a hefty price to obtain information from the Seven Luminaries Alliance. The information the Seven Luminaries Alliance provided included a list of powers to be wary of. Among the powers listed, the Nebula Consortium was placed at the top. The Nebula Consortium was the primary producer of Stardew, a potion useful even to mental strength great grandmasters. Because of this, only individuals and powers who no longer wished to have access to Stardew would dare to offend the Nebula Consortium. However, no such individual or power existed. After all, the development of mental strength could increase an individuals lifespan, and there was nobody who did not wish to live longer. This was especially so for those who had witnessed the wonders of the Greater World and the Greater Gods Domain. Which other Nebula Consortium do you think can influence so many corporations? Shi Feng replied nonchalantly. Doesnt that mean itll be very difficult for us to get Life Potions from now on? Blackie fell into despair at Shi Fengs words. Now that the underground emperor had issued its decree, who in the human races Greater Gods Domain would dare to do business with Zero Wing? Powers operating in Gods Domain relied primarily on Life Potions to develop rapidly. If Zero Wing were to lose access to Life Potions, itd be impossible for Zero Wings members to catch up to the various powers members in levels Dont worry too much. It might be difficult, but its not impossible, Shi Feng sneered. The Nebula Consortium might think it has killed Zero Wing with this move, but which one of us will end up dead remains to be seen! Although the various powers feared and respected the Nebula Consortium, there was a limit to their compliance. Once this limit was exceeded, the various powers would be willing to take the risk, even if it meant offending the Nebula Consortium. Blackie, is the pedestal we took from Evil Nature still in the Guild Warehouse? Shi Feng asked. It is. Ive turned it into a decoration in the warehouse. To detract attention from it, I even had someone make several copies of it and used them to display Holy Race-exclusive Divine Artifacts, Blackie said, grinning. Now, even if the Assassins of other powers sneak into the warehouse, theyll never suspect the importance of that pedestal. As the Divine Pathstone was an item Shi Feng considered important, Blackie dared not take any chances with it. Hence, he immediately thought of ways to conceal it the moment it was transferred into the Guild Warehouse. Now, even he would need a moment to figure out which pedestal in the warehouse was the Divine Pathstone. If others were to find their way into the warehouse, they wouldnt even think that one of the pedestals in there was a priceless treasure. Good job! Shi Feng nodded when he heard the measures Blackie had taken to conceal the Divine Pathstone. Now, I want you to transport those pedestals to Skeleton Hill using Firmament. That place has a Guild City that I built just recently. Transport them using Firmament? Shi Fengs instructions astonished Blackie. Wouldnt that attract a lot of attention? Outsiders might be assuming Firmament was an Epic Siege Weapon, but Blackie was one of the few people who knew that Firmament was an Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon. Even if the Divine Pathstone was a priceless treasure, he still felt it would be incredibly prodigal to transport it using Firmament. Siege Weapons consumed energy simply by being in use. In Firmaments case, it consumed 10,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal per minute while active. If it were active for ten minutes, it would have consumed 100,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, enough to fund a Tier 5 players Tier 6 promotion. Moreover, the Guild City Shi Feng mentioned was several hours away by flight. That would be several million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal down the drain. This operation is vital. No accidents are allowed, Shi Feng said, chuckling at Blackies reluctance. We already made a fortune thanks to Evil Nature, so stop being stingy. Alright, then. Blackie nodded in understanding. Then, he disconnected the call and arranged for the Divine Pathstones transfer. As for Shi Feng, he used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport to the primordial civilization city. When Shi Feng arrived at the primordial civilization city again, the city had undergone tremendous changes. Although the Sages Tower remained buried in the ground, many tall buildings now filled the city. Many Level 200-plus NPCs could also be seen roaming the city, giving it a prosperous atmosphere. Now, all thats left is to see whether the other side is willing to cooperate, Shi Feng muttered as he took out the Chapter of Space he had received from Kowloon Demon. The Chapter of Spaces Cooldown had ended, so he could summon Purgatory Jades team once more. Chapter 3908 - Chapter 982 - Underestimated Primordial World Chapter 982 C Underestimated Primordial World Skeleton Hill, primordial civilization city: After Shi Feng had the Chapter of Space absorb 50,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal, a large space-time summoning array appeared on the ground. A moment later, a hundred indistinct silhouettes appeared in the summoning array. These silhouettes became more defined as the absorbed Seven Luminaries Crystals supplied their mana to the Chapter of Space. When all 50,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal were exhausted, these silhouettes transformed into spatial tears that spat out Purgatory Jade and the rest of her 100-man team. Purgatory Jade and her teammates had undergone tremendous changes since Shi Feng last saw them, their average level having increased from Level 240 to Level 243. Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon had even risen to Level 245. Level 245? Shi Feng gasped as he looked at Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon. Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon might only be two levels higher than their Level 243 teammates, but anyone who had encountered Level 245 NPCs before would know that there was a qualitative difference between the two levels. This was because weapons and equipment received a relatively significant improvement every five levels. As Level 245 players, Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon could equip Level 245 weapons and equipment. Of course, Shi Feng wouldnt have been so surprised if Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon had simply reached Level 245. After all, player-usable Level 245 weapons and equipment did not exist in the Greater Gods Domain. The best weapons and equipment players could access were Divine Artifacts, which had a hidden cap of Level 240. The reason for Shi Fengs intemperate reaction was that Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon were fully equipped with Level 245 Taboo Legendary Weapons and Equipment. This had completely shattered his general knowledge of the Greater Gods Domain. Thanks to the Intermediate Divine Strengthening Scrolls, we could finally kill Level 245 Bosses and level up to 245, Purgatory Jade said happily. We also got lucky. Those Bosses dropped a bunch of Level 245 weapons and equipment we could use. They drop Level 245 weapons and equipment? As Shi Feng scrutinized Purgatory Jades suit of dark plate armor, a hint of shock and ecstasy colored his eyes. Shi Feng had never heard of anyone obtaining Level 245 weapons and equipment in his previous life. In the eyes of the Greater Gods Domains players, Level 240 Divine Artifacts were the best weapons and equipment players could obtain. Even the Holy Race was no exception. Yet, according to Purgatory Jade, the remnant primordial world not only had Level 245 monsters, but these monsters also dropped Level 245 Taboo Legendary Weapons and Equipment. This completely changed his perception of the remnant primordial world. Shi Fengs first impression of the remnant primordial world was that it was a good place to level up. This was because high-level monsters were all over the place, allowing players to reach Level 240 and beyond relatively easily. In comparison, players in the Greater Gods Domain had to rely on Level 240-plus Taboo Secret Lands to go beyond Level 240, and there were only three such secret lands across the Greater Gods Domain. Unfortunately, this boon came with major flaws. Unlike in the Greater Gods Domain, Combat Technique Legacies available in the remnant primordial world only went up to the Gold rank. The quality of the remnant primordial worlds weapons was also relatively low, with Fragmented Divine Artifacts nearly nonexistent. If Purgatory Jade hadnt participated in the Tosas raid and gotten herself a growth-type Godly Relic, she would have been limited to using Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment for the rest of her life. The remnant primordial world was so lacking in advantages that Shi Feng was still hesitant about establishing a pathway to it when he ordered Blackie to transfer the Divine Pathstone. After all, Divine Pathstones were incredibly rare, having appeared only a handful of times among the three races in his previous life. He had only stuck to his decision because of Evil Natures bounty and the Nebula Consortiums persecution. If Zero Wing could not solve its current predicament, its development would be restricted to the Crystal City of Secrets and Shadowring Town. Although Zero Wing had access to Luminous Sky City, due to the citys proximity to the frontlines of the war among the three races, the Guild would have to commit a lot of its manpower to the city if it wanted to develop there, a luxury it currently couldnt afford. Hence, it was necessary to establish a path to the remnant primordial world. Not only would this let more Zero Wing members level up quickly, but it would also let Zero Wing recruit members from an entire Realms worth of players[1], killing two birds with one stone. But now, Shi Feng found that he had severely underestimated the remnant primordial world. Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment! Although it remained slightly inferior to Divine Artifacts in Basic Attributes, it trumped Divine Artifacts in availability. The fact that Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon could get themselves a full set in such a short time proved that the drop rate was good. If the effects of Secret Treasures and Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls were included, Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon should match Level 240 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts in Basic Attributes. Even the Holy Races royal powers did not have many Level 240 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Each of these experts was a stabilizing force that even Epic Siege Weapons could not kill easily. If Zero Wing could come up with a thousand Level 245 fifth-floor experts fully equipped with Level 245 Taboo Legendary Weapons and Equipment, it would become truly unstoppable in the current Eternal Realm. You seem very interested in my equipment, Guild Leader Black Flame, Purgatory Jade said, grinning when she saw Shi Fengs eyes glued to her equipment. Since youre so interested, I can exercise my authority to sell a set to you. As for the price, how about two Divine Artifacts or two Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures? Two Divine Artifacts or two Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures? Shi Feng immediately shook his head at Purgatory Jades offer. While it is an acceptable price, I dont have any excess Divine Artifacts or Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures. Although Zero Wing had obtained some Divine Artifacts exclusive to Holy Race players from Evil Natures treasury, Shi Feng had already instructed Blackie to use Origin Myth to convert them into Divine Artifacts that were usable by human players. It was like how he converted the Sunlight Blade and gave it to Fire Dance. Hence, Zero Wing had no excess Divine Artifacts it could use to trade. As for Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures, they were even scarcer than Divine Artifacts. Securing the First Clear of God Mode Team Dungeons was the only reliable way to obtain them. Due to this scarcity, nobody would trade their Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures away. It wasnt a bad deal to trade a full set of Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment for two Divine Artifacts. However, it wasnt a profitable deal, either. After all, without Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls, Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment would only match Level 240 Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Based on current market rates, one Divine Artifact was worth about five or six Fragmented Divine Artifacts. So, two Divine Artifacts could be traded for a full set of Fragmented Divine Artifacts. However, nobody would ever trade their Divine Artifacts at such rates. What a pity, Purgatory Jade sighed. However, she kept her smile and continued, If you have any unneeded Divine Artifacts or Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures, you must save them for me. I promise Dragons Crown will give you a satisfactory price. Dont be too disappointed, Miss Jade, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Although I wont be buying your items, I have an offer worth far more than a few Divine Artifacts and Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures. Really? What is it? Purgatory Jade asked, looking at Shi Feng with eyes bright with curiosity. Long-term entry into the Eternal Realm! Shi Feng stated. TL Notes: [1]an entire Realms worth of players: This isnt a mistranslation. I assume the remnant primordial world is a very populated world? For reference, in Chapter 870, it is mentioned that Nightmare Holy City has a population of over 300 million players. Chapter 3909 - Chapter 983 - Insane Zero Wing Chapter 983 C Insane Zero Wing Long-term entry into the Eternal Realm? Shi Fengs words stunned Purgatory Jade momentarily. Then, she excitedly asked, Have you found a connecting passage?! The ability to stay in the Eternal Realm long-term was incredibly tempting to Dragons Crown. Whether it was Zero Wings Intermediate Divine Strengthening Scrolls or the Eternal Realms Secret Treasures, both had allowed Dragons Crown to benefit massively, such as finally killing their homeworlds previously unkillable Level 245 Bosses. These Bosses had even allowed Dragons Crown to obtain plenty of Level 245 weapons and equipment. Unfortunately, due to a lack of powerful secret treasures, Dragons Crown couldnt form a sufficiently strong team to raid Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeons. If Dragons Crown could gain long-term entry into the Eternal Realm, it would have a much easier time obtaining Intermediate Divine Strengthening Scrolls, Secret Treasures, and even Divine Artifacts. Its not exactly a connecting passage, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. Although my solution can connect two worlds and let players travel between them, it comes with restrictions similar to your summoning. Similar restrictions? Is there a time limit? Purgatory Jade grew disappointed at Shi Fengs answer. If Shi Fengs solution only allowed them to travel to the Eternal Realm for a limited duration, it wouldnt benefit them significantly. At most, they would get another opportunity to trade within a set timeframe. Somewhat, but not exactly. Players who use my method to travel between worlds will have their strength eroded by the foreign worlds World Power. Although it isnt lethal, they will grow weaker over time, Shi Feng explained. To get rid of the erosion effect, players simply need to return to their homeworld and rest. Either that, or they can rest in this city! Although the Divine Pathstone was heaven-defying, it had a massive flaw: Players using it to travel to a foreign world would be treated as trespassers and receive strong rejection from the foreign world. This rejection would weaken them over time, making it impossible for them to explore the foreign world for long periods. Fortunately, the Divine Pathstone offered a solution to this problem, granting the town or city it was used in a powerful cleansing effect that helped dissipate World Power. This could be considered a benefit given to the Divine Pathstones user. This was also why Shi Feng had chosen to connect with the remnant primordial world. It only weakens players? Purgatory Jades eyes brightened at Shi Fengs explanation. Dragons Crown only sought to obtain secret treasures from the Eternal Realm, so this weakening effect was not a problem. With Dragons Crowns foundations, it could easily establish itself in the Eternal Realm, even if it had to send players in rotation. Before Purgatory Jade could ask more questions, Kowloon Demon suddenly spoke up. Guild Leader Black Flame, what does Dragon Crown need to pay for this access? Kowloon Demon asked, looking at Shi Feng warily. The benefits of having near-constant access to the Eternal Realm were massive for Dragons Crown. It wasnt hard to imagine Shi Feng charging an astronomical price for this access. If Shi Fengs price touched upon Dragons Crowns foundations, it would become difficult for them to reach an agreement. I dont need Dragons Crown to pay anything. Dragons Crown only needs to fulfill two of my conditions. Moreover, one of these conditions is highly beneficial for Dragons Crown, Shi Feng said, chuckling as he looked at Kowloon Demons wariness. My first condition is for Dragons Crown to lend me some manpower to help me complete a task. My second condition is to set the connection point of the pathway in one of Dragons Crowns super-large-scale Holy Cities accessible by teleportation. Then, I will need you to advertise the pathway in the remnant primordial world and not restrict anyone from traveling between our two worlds. Upon hearing Shi Fengs conditions, Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon couldnt help but look at Shi Feng in confusion. They couldnt understand what he was trying to achieve. Of the two conditions, only the first one made sense. Shi Fengs second condition was essentially welfare to their homeworlds players. Although fulfilling this condition would cause Dragons Crown to lose many of its advantages, the fact that Dragons Crown would gain partial control over the pathway more than made up for this loss. However, it was a different story for Shi Feng. He would lose the initiative to trade with their homeworlds players and powers by giving everyone free access to the pathway. This would drastically reduce the benefits he could obtain. Guild Leader Black Flame, Dragons Crown can fulfill both of your conditions, Purgatory Jade answered after taking a deep breath. But are you sure you want to do this? The remnant primordial worlds other powers will likely choose to partner with powers other than Zero Wing. Should that happen, the most youll get out of them is an entry fee. If the remnant primordial worlds various powers could enter the Eternal Realm without restrictions, it went without saying they would make comparisons when choosing powers to partner with. Purgatory Jade more or less knew about Zero Wings situation in the Eternal Realm. The Guild was, at best, above average. It definitely wasnt ranked among the top. Hence, it was likely that the remnant primordial worlds various powers would choose to partner with powers other than Zero Wing. At that time, all Zero Wing could get out of these powers was an entry fee to its city. Thats right. The entrance fee is all I want, Shi Feng said, nodding. Moreover, once the pathway is established, I will host a monthly auction for this primordial civilization citys priority entry slots. Shi Fengs response rendered Purgatory Jade speechless. Guild Leader Black Flame, are you certain of your decision? No matter how she thought about it, there was no way Zero Wing could profit more from selling priority entry slots than partnering with the remnant primordial worlds various powers. After all, the biggest hurdle to the cooperation between the Eternal Realm and the remnant primordial world was the lack of a connecting pathway. So long as a pathway existed, the remnant primordial worlds various powers wouldnt care if they could send a group of players or only one player over; they could still trade with the Eternal Realms powers. Even if they needed priority entry into Zero Wings city, they only needed to secure one priority slot. Mhm. We can sign a Gods Domain Contract right now if you want, Shi Feng said, nodding firmly. By the way, when you are advertising the pathway, please mention that Zero Wings auction will use God Crystals as the trading currency. The minimum bid for each slot will be one God Crystal. The minimum increment for bids is also one God Crystal. The first auction will only have 10,000 slots. A minimum of one God Crystal per slot? And there will even be 10,000 slots? Kowloon Demon stared at Shi Feng in shock. Even in the remnant primordial world, God Crystals were very rare. They were one of the primary materials to repair Fragmented Legendary items. Yet, Zero Wing intended to sell its citys priority entry slots for at least one God Crystal each! It even expected to sell 10,000 slots! This was beyond madness! However, Purgatory Jade and Kowloon Demon didnt dwell on this matter. Since the pathway belonged to Shi Feng, he could do whatever he wanted. So long as Dragons Crown could freely access the Eternal Realm, whether Shi Feng made any profit was none of their business. After establishing a contract with Dragons Crown, Shi Feng completed their prior trade agreement, receiving 50 million Undying Souls and 10,000 pieces of Level 235 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment from Purgatory Jade. When Blackie finally transported the Divine Pathstone to the primordial civilization city, Shi Feng promptly spent 5,000 God Crystals to establish a pathway to the space-time coordinates Purgatory Jade provided. Then, he spent 10 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal to activate the primordial civilization citys Teleportation Tower function, using it to link the city with Shadowring Town. When the teleportation link formed, a giant teleportation gate appeared in Shadowring Towns central plaza, attracting the attention of many players in the town. Guild Leader, isnt the price for the priority entry slots a little too steep? When Blackie saw the list of city rules and management details Shi Feng had sent him, he couldnt help rubbing his eyes, wondering if he had read it wrong. The primordial civilization city has just opened. Although it provides players with a significant leveling advantage, the price of 100 bottles of Life Potion or one God Crystal per slot is I dont think many powers can accept such a price When the Tower of the Abyss appeared in Shadowring Town, the towns priority entry slots had also become incredibly valuable. Even so, the price never reached one God Crystal or 100 bottles of Life Potion. After all, they were only selling priority entry into a city, not selling shops or houses. Even if many powers would like for their members to have easy access to Skeleton Hill, a Level 230 Taboo Map, they werent so desperate that they would pay such a steep price for this benefit. Dont worry. Its not expensive, Shi Feng said, chuckling at Blackies concern. If the primordial civilization city only offered access to a Level 230 leveling map, its priority entry slots naturally wouldnt be worth so much. However, it was a different story if the city allowed access to a world that produced Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment. When Blackie saw that he couldnt persuade Shi Feng, he could only carry out his instructions and publish the details pertaining to Zero Wings new city on the Eternal Realms official forum. Shortly after Blackies post went live, the entire forum exploded with activity. Is Zero Wing insane? One God Crystal for each priority entry slot? Are you sure this isnt a robbery? Chapter 3910 - Chapter 984 - City of Monsters Chapter 984 C City of Monsters Zero Wings announcement sent shockwaves across the Eternal Realm. Isnt it just a Guild Citys priority entry slot? Is Zero Wing insane? Even at Shadowring Towns peak, its priority entry slots only reached two Eternal Gold each. Is Zero Wings new city so amazing that its worth paying one God Crystal to enter? Impossible! Were talking about a heaven-defying town that comes with a neutral status here! Moreover, besides letting us trade with players of other races, the town also has the Eternal Realms one and only Tower of the Abyss! Theres no way any other town or city can hold a candle to Shadowring Town! According to Zero Wings introduction, its new city is in Skeleton Hill. If Im not mistaken, thats a Level 230 Taboo Map. Only a few powers have erected Guild Cities in the Eternal Realms Taboo Maps thus far. Most of them are even Holy Race powers. Zero Wing has likely set this price for the various powers. After all, even with a Flying Mount, reaching any Taboo Map from the nearest town or city would normally take several hours. For the sake of exploring Taboo Maps, the various powers might choose to cough up the dough. The price of 100 bottles per priority entry slot is indeed outside the average players budget. I heard that a major power had recently started persecuting Zero Wing, causing many corporations and powers to stop cooperating with it. This is likely Zero Wings attempt at salvaging the situation. Even so, Zero Wing is still asking for too much. One God Crystal or 100 bottles of Life Potion. I doubt many powers would be willing to pay such a steep price. Initially, many players on the forum felt that Zero Wing had lost its mind when pricing its new citys priority entry slots. However, after learning more about the primordial civilization city, many independent players and adventurer teams grew interested in it. Level 230 Taboo Maps were currently the primary leveling spots for the Eternal Realms frontline players. These were also the most dangerous places in the Eternal Realm because players had to face powerful monsters and the players of other races. For independent players and adventurer teams, these Taboo Maps were not only a place to level up but also a place of opportunity hiding many ruins and Legacies. Finding even one of these things could propel the average players strength to greater heights. However, these opportunities also made the competition in Taboo Maps extremely brutal. If not for the Eternal Realms large and plentiful Taboo Maps having hostile environments that prevented long-term stays, the various powers would have long since monopolized them. If independent players and adventurer teams could access a Guild City built within a Taboo Map, they could save on travel time and significantly extend their exploration time. Eternal Realm, Shadowring Town, Mystery Blue Hotel: Commander, what do you think is going through Guild Leader Black Flames head? This is the Nebula Consortium were talking about! Although this new city can let players save on several hours of travel time, theres no way the average expert can afford Zero Wings asking price! Drifting Bean exclaimed after she finished reading Zero Wings forum post. Then, she looked at Endless Scars and asked, Does Guild Leader Black Flame truly think the various powers will rush to buy those slots? The average player in the Eternal Realm might not know which power Zero Wing had offended, but as Endless Scarss successor-in-training, Drifting Bean knew which power it was. So long as the Nebula Consortium gave the word, few powers in the human races Greater Gods Domain would dare to cooperate with Zero Wing unless they no longer wanted access to Stardew. If Zero Wing wished to obtain resources such as Life Potions, it could only obtain them through ordinary players. As most ordinary players could never get their hands on a resource as precious as Stardew, they naturally wouldnt be influenced by the Nebula Consortium. They could simply purchase Life Potions from various mobile cities and resell them to Zero Wing, and thered be nothing the Nebula Consortium could do about it. After all, the corporations and powers in the various mobile cities relied on selling Life Potions to generate income. Not even the Nebula Consortium could get them to abandon this revenue stream. Yet, instead of targeting ordinary players, Zero Wing had chosen to sell its priority entry slots to the various powers. Zero Wing was obviously making the various powers take sides. So long as the various powers werent stupid, they would never buy Zero Wings priority entry slots. Zero Wing is likely trying to get back at the Nebula Consortium, Endless Scars said after pondering the matter. But even if the primordial civilization city is situated in a Taboo Map, I dont think the various powers will budge As an Elder of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, Endless Scars knew plenty about the conflict between the Nebula Consortium and Zero Wing. Although she admired Shi Feng for daring to stand up to the Nebula Consortium, she knew that the Nebula Consortium was too powerful for Zero Wing to topple. After all, even the Seven Luminaries Alliance had difficulty dealing with the Nebula Consortium. Hence, Endless Scars felt that Zero Wings attempt at making the various powers take sides using the primordial civilization city was futile. Unless the various human powers went crazy and wanted to offend the Nebula Consortium, they would never buy Zero Wings priority entry slots. Then, are we still going to develop in the primordial civilization city? Drifting Bean asked. Long-term development wont be possible, but we can use this opportunity to explore Skeleton Hill, Endless Scars said, shaking her head. Then, she continued, According to the information Zero Wing shared on the forum, Shadowring Town has a teleportation gate to the primordial civilization city. Since few powers will dare to visit the city, we can use this opportunity to explore a Taboo Map without interruption. Gather the others. Understood! At Endless Scarss command, Drifting Bean promptly contacted the other members of Blood Wing. As Endless Scars gathered the main force members of the Blood Wing adventurer team, other well-informed adventurer teams based in Shadowring Town also prepared to develop in Zero Wings primordial civilization city. Now that the Nebula Consortium had begun its persecution of Zero Wing, the various powers would limit their interactions with Zero Wing for fear of offending the consortium. This meant that adventurer teams that lived in the cracks finally had an opportunity to get a head start on the various powers. They naturally couldnt miss such an opportunity. Eternal Realm, primordial civilization city: A moment after a beam of light descended upon the Teleportation Tower, Endless Scars stepped out of the tower with Blood Wings main force members. Commander, whats going on here? Drifting Bean was dumbfounded when she exited the Teleportation Tower and saw the crowded street outside. Werent the various powers supposed to keep their distance from this city? How is this possible Not to mention Drifting Bean, even Endless Scars had difficulty believing her eyes. Contrary to her expectations, Zero Wings primordial civilization city was packed with players sporting various Guild Emblems. Moreover, the levels of these players were monstrously high. Even the lowest-leveled player she could spot was Level 235, while the higher-leveled players reached Level 240or higher. Chapter 3911 - Chapter 985 - Uproar Chapter 985 C Uproar Are these powers not afraid of offending the Nebula Consortium? Endless Scars was greatly puzzled when she saw the multitude of Level 235-plus players in the street. She wondered if Shadowring Towns teleportation gate had brought her to the wrong place. Although the Nebula Consortium did not publicly announce its persecution of Zero Wing, news had long since spread among the upper echelons of the Greater Gods Domain. Practically every upper-ranking hegemonic power or above already knew about it. Level 235 players were considered top-tier existences by every power in the Greater Gods Domain. As for Level 240-plus experts, they were incredibly rare in the Greater Gods Domain, with over 90% of them originating from pseudo-apex powers or above. Furthermore, any power that could afford to send their Level 240-plus experts into the Eternal Realm would be a first-class major power in the Greater Gods Domain. Regarding these first-class major powers, the Nebula Consortium should have informed them about the situation privately. For them to still send so many of their elite experts to Zero Wings new city was tantamount to a slap to the face for the Nebula Consortium. There was no way the consortium would turn a blind eye to such provocation. Besides Endless Scars, even Verdant Rainbow, who had come to the primordial civilization city to advise Shi Feng to rethink his tactics, was stunned by the citys populousness. The primordial civilization city was a big city that had opened up recently, so it couldnt have too big of an NPC population. The fact that the citys streets were so crowded meant the citys player population had already exceeded ten million. A city with ten million players might not be spectacular, but it was a different story when all ten million were Level 235-plus experts. Even in the Greater Gods Domain, few cities could achieve this level of prosperity. Not to mention, the primordial civilization city was a city in the Eternal Realm. If Verdant Rainbow hadnt known any better, she would have assumed that the Nebula Consortium had committed a heinous act that offended the Greater Gods Domains various powers, prompting many powers to express their dissatisfaction with the Nebula Consortium by visiting the primordial civilization city. However, the fact of the matter was that there wasnt any grudge to speak of between the Nebula Consortium and the Greater Gods Domains various powers. Unbeknownst to Endless Scars and Verdant Rainbow, none of the high-level players in the primordial civilization city originated from the Greater Gods Domain. Instead, they came from the remnant primordial world. Dragons Crown was one of the remnant primordial worlds overlords. A simple advertisement from it was enough to entice many powers to visit the primordial civilization city. Of course, Dragons Crowns advertisement wasnt the sole contributor to the primordial civilization citys popularity. It was also partly because of Dragons Crowns recent success in conquering Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeons. This was a feat Dragons Crown had never managed in the past. Now that it had succeeded, the various powers naturally did some digging. From what the various powers learned, Dragons Crown had somehow gotten ahold of powerful tools that could enhance the Basic Attributes of equipment. This, in turn, allowed Dragons Crown to raid Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeons. After further investigation, the various powers learned that Dragons Crown had obtained these Basic-Attribute-enhancing tools from a place called the Greater Gods Domain. Unfortunately, as only Dragons Crown could access the Greater Gods Domain, the various powers could do nothing but drool. After all, nobody had the strength to do anything about Dragons Crown in the remnant primordial world. However, when Dragons Crown suddenly announced it would let all players in the remnant primordial world travel to the Greater Gods Domain for free, the various powers instantly lost their cool. Almost immediately after receiving the news, they mobilized their expert armies to the primordial civilization city, which resulted in the city becoming packed with expert players within half a day of its opening. In front of the Divine Pathstone A 100-man team stepped out of the space-time passage created by the Divine Pathstone. The leader of the team, a Level 240 Demidragon Guardian Knight, gazed at his surroundings excitedly, behaving as if he had just arrived in the land of his dreams. Commander, I heard Guild Leader Black Flame intends to sell this citys priority entry slots. Should we buy one for each of us? Star Butterfly, a Level 239 Cleric, asked Whirlwind Bulwark as she scanned her surroundings with equal excitement. Now that this city is connecting our two worlds, its bound to become the center of the two worlds in the future. If we can establish a foothold in this city, we can make a fortune through it! I thought of this, too, Whirlwind Bulwark said, nodding. Then, a hint of concern appeared as he continued, But the news came so suddenly that I didnt get to prepare much. Many adventurer teams also had the same idea. If we include the Greater Gods Domains native powers as well, Im not sure if the 600-plus God Crystals we brought will be enough to secure a slot for everyone. Then, well just buy as many as we can. I just hope that the several apex powers and several dozen pseudo-apex powers that came here this time wont be too interested in the slots. Otherwise, small adventurer teams like ours wont stand a chance, Star Butterfly sighed. As the Pale Horn adventurer teams members made their way to the Zero Wing Auction House in the heart of the city, Endless Scarss team just so happened to walk past them and overheard their conversation. Connecting our two worlds? Several apex powers and several dozen pseudo-apex powers? Small adventurer team? These words repeatedly stimulated the nerves of Endless Scars and the other members of Blood Wing. If Endless Scars and her teammates hadnt seen that Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly were fifth-floor experts and that the rest of Pale Horns members were incredibly high-leveled, they would have regarded Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly as raving lunatics. Moreover, Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly werent the only ones who spouted such ludicrous words. Many other Level 240 fifth-floor experts on the street held similar discussions. Endless Scars and her teammates immediately realized they had stumbled upon a huge discovery. As an adventurer team with close ties to the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, Blood Wing had access to a lot of information unavailable to the public, including the fact that the human races Greater Gods Domain had yet to be fully explored. Hence, even if an unknown Realm occupied by human players were to suddenly appear, Endless Scars and her teammates wouldnt find it surprising. Nonetheless, the conversation between Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly still shocked them. It should be known that there were only several apex powers in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Yet, according to Whirlwind Bulwark and Star Butterfly, the primordial civilization city was connected to an unknown Realm that supposedly had several apex powers and several dozen pseudo-apex powers. If all these powers were to enter the Greater Gods Domain, they would thoroughly upset the existing balance. Moreover, the average level and strength of this unknown Realms players were astonishingly high. Despite the Pale Horn adventurer team looking to be nearly as strong as the Blood Wing adventurer team, Star Butterfly only regarded Pale Horn as a small adventurer team. If that was the case, how strong was this unknown Realm exactly? Most importantly, this terrifying Realm was connected to Zero Wings primordial civilization city! As Drifting Bean watched the Pale Horn adventurer team walk away, she couldnt help but whisper to Endless Scars, asking, Commander, are we still going out to explore? Chapter 3912 - Chapter 986 – Crazed Auction Chapter 986 C Crazed Auction Explore? What nonsense are you spouting? Endless Scars rolled her eyes at Drifting Bean. Gather all available resources immediately! We must secure as many priority entry slots as possible before the other powers react! But, Commander, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce will criticize you if we use that many resources to bid for Zero Wings priority entry slots, Drifting Bean said worriedly. You might even lose your Elder position if your competitors join hands. Endless Scarss status as an Elder of the Eternal Chamber of Commerce was one of the main reasons the Blood Wing adventurer team could achieve its current success in the Angel Sanctuary. As the Nebula Consortium was one of the Eternal Chamber of Commerces shareholders, overtly supporting Zero Wing was akin to going against the Eternal Chamber of Commerce. If Blood Wing were to spend large amounts of resources to buy the primordial civilization citys priority entry slots, Endless Scarss competitors in the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would not hesitate to use this opportunity to strip her of her Elder qualifications. Should Endless Scars lose her status in the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, Blood Wing would have difficulty surviving in the Angel Sanctuary. So what? At Drifting Beans concern, Endless Scars retorted nonchalantly, Might is right in Gods Domain. Now that the primordial civilization city is connected to such an incredible Realm, the status quo in the Eternal Realm and the Greater Gods Domain is bound to undergo tremendous changes. If we can establish a foothold in this city, Eternal will come to us for help, not the other way around! Anyone who wasnt a fool could tell the significance of the primordial civilization city. It would most certainly become the center of the Eternal Realm and the unknown Realm in the future. If Blood Wing could establish a foothold in the city, the adventurer team would have a lot of initiative in establishing partnerships with the powers of both Realms. Shed have to be an utter fool to miss such an opportunity. Moreover, the unknown Realm had an overwhelming advantage over the Greater Gods Domain when it came to leveling up to Level 240. If Blood Wing could rely on this advantage to mass-produce Level 240 players, her authority in the Eternal Chamber of Commerce would skyrocket. She would no longer have to fear the Nebula Consortium at that time. After all, the relationship between apex powers and the Nebula Consortium leaned more toward mutual cooperation. Even if the Nebula Consortium held shares in the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, Eternal was by no means a subordinate of Nebula. Realization dawned upon Drifting Bean at Endless Scarss explanation. Immediately, she gathered all the God Crystals and Life Potions in Blood Wings possession. As the adventurer teams and independent players who came to the primordial civilization city raised God Crystals and Life Potions at all costs, the auction for the citys priority entry slots commenced to thundering applause in the Zero Wing Auction House. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Zero Wing Auction House. I will be your host for todays auction, Blackie introduced himself to the audience as he stood on the stage. Surprise and joy filled Blackie when he saw the packed auction hall. Although none of the attendees came from the Eternal Realms major powers, he found it surprising that so many independent players would appear. After all, the minimum bid for the upcoming auction was one God Crystal. It was not a price the average player could afford. Zero Wing will lease 10,000 priority entry slots for the primordial civilization city today. The lease lasts one month, and customers who place a successful bid today will receive preference in next months auction. Under the same bidding price, old customers will have priority. Everyone in the auction hall grew excited at Blackies announcement. Originally, everyone thought they would have to compete fiercely every month for the primordial civilization citys priority entry slots. Although having priority bidding rights didnt guarantee them victory, any advantage was better than no advantage in the upcoming auctions. Without further ado, we will start by auctioning 100 slots! All customers are free to bid on each of the 100 slots for ten seconds! After ten seconds, the highest bidder for each slot will be the winner! The starting price for each slot is one God Crystal or 100 bottles of our local worlds Life Potion! Each increment may not be less than one God Crystal or 100 bottles of Life Potion! As soon as Blackie finished speaking, the 100,000-plus players in the auction hall began placing bids through the system frantically. The Strong Mountain adventurer team will bid three God Crystals per slot! These first 100 slots are ours! Three God Crystals?! What gives you the nerve to call out such a price?! Im buying 20 slots for five God Crystals each! Im bidding 600 bottles of Life Potion! I just want one slot! None of the players hesitated to bid on the first 100 priority entry slots. Even the adventurer teams in attendance did not adopt a wait-and-see approach. In just a few seconds, even the lowest bid had already reached 500 bottles of Life Potion, while the highest reached ten God Crystals. The attendees feeding frenzy completely exceeded Blackies expectations. Madness! This is madness! Isnt it just a one-month rental? Do you people have to go to such lengths? Why dont you guys let me have this first batch for five God Crystals per slot? There are still 9,900 slots to go anyway! The price will fall later! Old man, who do you think youre fooling?! Everyone here has come prepared! The price will only go up the further we get into the auction! Im bidding 600 bottles per slot for all 100 slots! As the ten-second time limit drew closer, every bidder grew anxious. Many even started to persuade others to give up on the current batch. However, nobody present listened to the advice of those around them. Everyone kept raising the prices of the first 100 slots. When the closing bell rang, some attendees rejoiced while others grew dejected. How are these people so rich?! I bid 800 bottles of Life Potion per slot, yet I didnt win a single bid?! Are these people Zero Wings shills?! Drifting Bean was dumbfounded when the system informed her that all 100 of her bids had lost. In preparation for the auction, Endless Scars had exercised her authority and connections to obtain 100,000 bottles of Life Potion. This was virtually all the Life Potions the Blood Wing adventurer team could muster. Originally, Drifting Bean thought they could secure at least a few hundred slots with this many Life Potions. However, they had failed to secure even one slot despite bidding 80,000 bottles for 100 slots. This outcome was utterly incomprehensible. Whether it was 800 bottles of Life Potion or eight God Crystals, neither was a sum accessible to the average expert player. Many players might not even consume 800 bottles of Life Potion within their lifetimes. Yet, such an amount wasnt enough to secure even one of the primordial civilization citys priority entry slots. Drifting Bean refused to believe there wasnt shill bidding involved! Commit all 100,000 bottles for the next 100 slots! Endless Scars said, gritting her teeth. Understood! At Endless Scarss command, Drifting Bean placed her highest bid on the second batch at the very last second. When the system alerted Drifting Bean that she had won all her bids, although she winced at how much she had just spent, she simultaneously felt relieved. Endless Scarss decision was proven to be wise as the auction progressed. Apart from the first batchs 100 slots selling for nine God Crystals or 900 bottles of Life Potion each, none of the slots in the subsequent batches sold for less than ten God Crystals or 1,000 bottles of Life Potion. The crazed demand for the priority entry slots confused many people. After the auction for the primordial civilization citys priority entry slots concluded, news of it quickly reached the Eternal Realms various powers. Initially, these powers had expected the auction to become a joke. However, the reality made their jaws drop. Chapter 3913 - Chapter 987 - Astonishing Wealth Chapter 987 C Astonishing Wealth Are you sure youre not joking? How can a measly 10,000 slots sell for over 40,000 God Crystals and seven million bottles of Life Potion? Which power is behind such a crazy stunt? What? A bunch of independent players and adventurer teams bought them? Since when have independent players and adventurer teams been so wealthy? As news of the auctions outcome spread, the various powers that had expected the auction to become a joke found themselves questioning reality. God Crystals were incredibly precious in the Greater Gods Domain. Even pseudo-apex powers didnt necessarily have 40,000 God Crystals in their possession. Not to mention, who would pay upwards of 1,000 bottles of Life Potion just for one month of priority entry into a Guild City? With that many Life Potions, one could pay for one month of access to a special-tier mobile city. When the various powers executives learned of this crazy behavior, they felt that either they or the buyers had lost their minds. While the various powers were floundering over the auctions outcome, they finally received information regarding the primordial civilization city, which triggered a mental breakdown. The primordial civilization city was connected to an unknown human Realm where multiple apex powers existed. Players of this Realm could level up to Level 240 without relying on Taboo Secret Lands, making it a leveling paradise. Furthermore, many of this Realms powers were trading Level 235-plus Taboo Epic Equipment and Level 240 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment for Combat-ranked Secret Treasures and Extraordinary-ranked Secret Treasures, respectively, in the primordial civilization city at a one-to-one ratio. With direct access to such an incredible Realm, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to consider the primordial civilization city a cradle for nurturing powerhouses. This discovery tempted the various powers, making them hesitate over whether they should develop in the primordial civilization city. However, the Nebula Consortiums influence ultimately made the various powers give up on moving into the primordial civilization cityat least for now. As for their reasoning, it was simple. Firstly, the Nebula Consortium would not be happy with them should they cave in so readily. With how crowded the primordial civilization city was, theyd have to obtain its priority entry slots if they wanted to establish a long-term presence there. But if they were to compete for the priority entry slots, theyd definitely use the more readily available Life Potions rather than the more precious God Crystals. In that case, theyd be defying the Nebula Consortium. This would likely earn them the consortiums ire. Secondly, the priority entry slots were too expensive. Once the craze over the primordial civilization city settled down a few days later, the price of the priority entry slots would fall. Hence, it would be wiser for them to bide their time. Their patience could also be taken as a show of respect for the Nebula Consortium, so the consortium shouldnt mind it too much if they were to compete for the priority entry slots a few days later. For these reasons, the various powers decided to wait a few days before sending their geniuses and paragons to develop in the primordial civilization city. In any case, even if the independent players and adventurer teams got a head start, a few days wouldnt be enough for them to catch up to the various powers geniuses and paragons. Not to mention, with the various powers boycotting Zero Wing together, Zero Wing would be without support out in the fields. Even if Zero Wing no longer lacked Life Potions, its guild members would still suffer severe losses because of Evil Natures bounty. Allowing Zero Wings wounds to fester for a few days would make negotiating a partnership with Zero Wing much easier later on. Simply put, they could kill three birds with one stone by being patient for a few days. Primordial civilization city, Zero Wings Residence, Guild Leaders Office: While the various powers were discussing how to get Zero Wing to give them more priority entry slots, Blackie excitedly reported the auctions outcome to Shi Feng. Guild Leader, we made a total of 42,164 God Crystals and 7.34 million bottles of Life Potion from todays auction! Thats nearly as many God Crystals as we got from Evil Natures treasury! Blackie couldnt help being ecstatic as he looked at the financial statement in his hand. Excluding those leased today, the primordial civilization city still has 290,000 priority entry slots. If we subsequently sell 10,000 slots once every three days and leave 200,000 slots for ourselves, we can make at least 400,000 God Crystals and 70 million bottles of Life Potion a month! If converted to Star Coins, 70 million bottles of Life Potion is equivalent to 2.1 trillion Star Coins! With this many Star Coins, well be fine even if we expand Zero Wings internal member count by tenfold! We earned that much?! Shi Feng was astonished. Even if he added all the money Zero Wing had made in his previous and current lives, the total would not come anywhere close to 2.1 trillion Star Coins. Not to mention, the 2.1 trillion Star Coins did not include the God Crystals earned in the auction. Originally, Shi Feng was quite troubled about his decision to sponsor Holy Dragon Spear. Even if he could come up with the 90 billion Star Coins and 15 million bottles of Life Potion needed, it would take him a month to get everything ready. But now, even if Holy Dragon Spears expenditure were to double, Zero Wing could easily afford it. The sale of the primordial civilization citys priority entry slots was even more profitable than robbing Evil Nature. But Im not sure we can maintain this high income for long. As we release more slots, the average price of each slot will likely decrease. Moreover, as both sides demand for Secret Treasures, Taboo Weapons, and Taboo Equipment is met, demand for the priority entry slots will also decrease, Blackie sighed. The mainstream players on our side catching up to the remnant primordial worlds players in levels would be the final nail in the coffin. You dont have to worry about that, Shi Feng said, chuckling. Trade between the two sides might decrease over time, but I assure you that the number of players on our side trying to get into the remnant primordial world will only increase over time. Furthermore, I still have a trick up my sleeve. The remnant primordial worlds true value lay in its Level 240-plus resources. It was just that the Eternal Realms players had yet to explore and understand the remnant primordial world, regarding it as no more than a slightly special Level 240 secret land. Once they entered the remnant primordial world, they would naturally learn about the Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeons and the Level 245 Taboo Legendary Weapons and Equipment the Dungeons produced. At that time, the entirety of the human races Greater Gods Domain would probably go crazy. You still have a trick up your sleeve? Shi Fengs confidence confused Blackie. He couldnt understand what more the primordial civilization city had to offerother than trade and leveling resourcesthat could attract the players of both sides. From tomorrow onward, auction this thing through the Abyss Chamber of Commerce. Auction one every three days. Only Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment and Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures can be used as bids, Shi Feng said, handing Blackie about a dozen Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls. It had taken him several hours just to produce this small stack. With this thing, we dont have to worry about the primordial civilization city lacking visitors. Ill get it done right away! Blackie accepted the Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls, feeling elated when he realized what Shi Feng was aiming to achieve. By selling Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls through only the Abyss Chamber of Commerce in Luminous Sky City, Zero Wing could increase the interaction between the Eternal Realm and the remnant primordial world. Firstly, since the Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls were sold in the Eternal Realms Luminous Sky City, the remnant primordial worlds powers would have to interact with the Eternal Realm to obtain the scrolls. As for the Eternal Realms powers, although they could bid on the Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls using Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures, they would need the remnant primordial worlds Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment to use the scrolls on. After Blackie left the room, Shi Feng retrieved the Abyss Workshop Certification from his bag and teleported to the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, intending to redeem the Flame God Set. Chapter 3914 - Chapter 988 - Flame God Set Chapter 988 C Flame God Set Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Flame Dragon Gods Treasury: When Shi Feng arrived at the treasurys plaza, he found it packed with members of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers. These players were either normal members trading Undying Souls with each other or executives collecting Undying Souls from their respective guild members. All of you, stop holding on to your Undying Souls. If you turn in all your Undying Souls to the Guild now, you can still get a considerable amount of contribution points. You can even ask for Stardew if you prefer that option. But if you wait until the treasury is almost out of items, your Undying Souls will become worthless, a Level 240 old man from Red-Tailed Dragon advised as he swept his gaze across the Red-Tailed Dragon members who had come to turn in their daily quota of Undying Souls. However, none of the Red-Tailed Dragon members bought into the old mans words. They turned in no more than the required number of Undying Souls, which had the old man shaking his head. How many more Undying Souls do we need to reach 50 million? Tarnished Wind, a Giant player and the designated successor of Red-Tailed Dragon, asked the old man quietly. Were still a little over eight million short, the old man replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. Thats about the same as Holy Dragon Spear, Tarnished Wind said, gritting his teeth. Those cunning bastards! If they hadnt banded together to force us to buy everything they own, we would have collected enough Undying Souls long ago! Currently, the various pseudo-apex powers had their sights set on one thing and one thing only in the Flame Dragon Gods Treasurythe Flame God Set! Originally, the various pseudo-apex powers had already given up on redeeming the Flame God Set after the Flame Dragon Gods Nests Access Key fell into Shi Fengs hands. However, following the Nebula Consortiums intervention, the various pseudo-apex powers again had designs on the Flame God Set. As Red-Tailed Dragon and Holy Dragon Spear happened to have the most Undying Souls out of the eight pseudo-apex powers operating in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, they ended up in fierce competition. Red-Tailed Dragon and Holy Dragon Spear had gradually increased their purchase prices to obtain the Undying Souls in the possession of the six other pseudo-apex powers members. Initially, they bought Undying Souls for only one Mental Strength Potion or one Life Potion (30,000 Star Coins) per ten Undying Souls. Now, they were paying 20,000 Star Coins per Undying Soul. However, while this price increase might have allowed Red-Tailed Dragon and Holy Dragon Spear to collect many Undying Souls within a short period, it also inspired more and more players to hold on to their Undying Souls as time passed in the hope of getting a better price. As for the six other pseudo-apex powers, they took things a step further. Although they had given up on competing for the Flame God Set after realizing they couldnt win against Red-Tailed Dragon and Holy Dragon Spear, they did not immediately try to sell their Undying Souls to either of the two powers. Instead, they banded together and declared that if Red-Tailed Dragon or Holy Dragon Spear wanted their Undying Souls, either power would have to buy everything they owned at the going rate. The six other pseudo-apex powers held nearly 200 million Undying Souls in total. If bought at 20,000 Star Coins per Undying Soul, that would cost nearly four trillion Star Coins altogether. Red-Tailed Dragon could never accept such an astronomical price. Not to mention, Red-Tailed Dragon didnt need that many Undying Souls. Announce to the other powers members that Red-Tailed Dragon will buy their Undying Souls for 30,000 Star Coins each! Make sure they know that this is their only chance to sell their Undying Souls for this price! Tarnished Wind said after much consideration. Are we really going to do this? the old man asked worriedly. If we raise the price to 30,000, Holy Dragon Spear will most likely follow suit. Once that happens, wed be fortunate to collect 100,000 Undying Souls before those opportunists switch to waiting for the price to increase again. And should the other powers realize we might never collect enough Undying Souls, theyll demand we buy their Undying Souls for an even more ridiculous price. Red-Tailed Dragon and Holy Dragon Spear were in a stalemate only because they still had self-restraint. Both sides had tacitly agreed to keep the price of Undying Souls at 20,000 Star Coins. After all, should either side dare to raise the price any further, they might end up spending several hundred billion Star Coins for the Flame God Set. Even if Red-Tailed Dragon was wealthy, it couldnt afford such extravagance. I must have the Flame God Set! Tarnished Wind said definitively. So long as I can get the Flame God Set, itll be worthwhile even if Red-Tailed Dragon has to tighten its belt for an entire year! Divine Sets were of great significance to the Greater Gods Domains powers. It was especially so for pseudo-apex powers. If Red-Tailed Dragon owned a Divine Set, apex powers would no longer regard it as an ant. Even if it accidentally offended an apex power, the apex power in question would only respond with a token retaliation, at most. So long as Red-Tailed Dragon paid some compensation, the apex power wouldnt try to take things too far. The old man fell silent at Tarnished Winds words. He similarly understood the significance of a Divine Set to Red-Tailed Dragon. After pondering for a moment, the old man instructed his subordinates to purchase Undying Souls for 30,000 Star Coins each. Shortly after Red-Tailed Dragon increased its purchase price, news of it reached Holy Dragon Spear. Dammit! Is Tarnished Wind out of his mind?! Thirty thousand Star Coins?! Does he want mutual destruction?! South Lake nearly exploded when he read the latest report from his subordinate. Due to the recent incident with the Nebula Consortium, Holy Hymn Citys various powers and corporations had put a lot of pressure on Holy Dragon Spear. This situation forced South Lake to sever Holy Dragon Spears ties with Zero Wing and put his grand ambitions on hold. In a last-ditch effort to revive his ambitions, South Lake decided to risk it all on the Flame God Set. However, with Red-Tailed Dragons latest price increase, Holy Dragon Spear might lose much of its shares to Holy Hymn City should it continue competing with Red-Tailed Dragon. At that time, Holy Dragon Spear would no longer be the same as before. Great Commander, why dont we give up? With our current finances, we cant afford to pay 30,000 Star Coins per Undying Soul, Apocalypse advised. The six other powers are also banking on the fact that we need their Undying Souls to redeem the Flame God Set, so they will only sell their Undying Souls to us if we agree to buy everything they have. South Lake similarly understood the other pseudo-apex powers intentions, and he couldnt help feeling frustrated. Do we give up? South Lake muttered and fell into thought. About ten seconds later, he sighed, So be it. Tell the other powers that Holy Dragon Spear is giving up the competition. However, they must help dispose of Holy Dragon Spears Undying Souls! Otherwise, I will tell Tarnished Wind my decision, and no one will have it easy! Originally, after seeing Red Frost reach the sixth-floor standard, South Lake thought Holy Dragon Spear could rely on its partnership with Zero Wing to steadily improve the strength of its members. If the Tower of the Abyss was as amazing as Red Frost described, Holy Dragon Spear could even become an apex power. However, before he could turn his dreams into reality, Zero Wing had somehow offended the Nebula Consortium, foiling his plans and forcing him to depend on the Flame God Set. The Flame God Set was Holy Dragon Spears last hope at becoming an overlord in the Greater Gods Domain. But now, even that hope was lost. Just as Apocalypse was about to contact the six other pseudo-apex powers, a surprised outcry arose from the treasury plaza. At the same time, horrified expressions appeared on the faces of the players in the plaza. Quick! Look at the exchange list! The Flame God Set is gone! Chapter 3915 - Chapter 989 - Fourth Divine Sets Might Chapter 989 C Fourth Divine Sets Might Did Tarnished Wind redeem it? The cries of the players in the plaza momentarily stunned South Lake. Then, confusion appeared on his face as he muttered, But that shouldnt be possible! Red-Tailed Dragon should still be short of several million Undying Souls! Even if it raised its purchase price to 30,000 Star Coins, theres no way it can collect so many so quickly! Could Tarnished Wind have reached an agreement with the other powers? Apocalypse wondered, his expression turning ugly. Several million Undying Souls might not be a significant amount, but it was by no means little, either. There was no way Red-Tailed Dragon could get such an amount through the various powers members alone. The only explanation was that it had purchased the Undying Souls in the possession of the other pseudo-apex powers. However, if that were the case, it would be the worst possible news for Holy Dragon Spear. Holy Dragon Spear had expended considerable resources and Star Coins to obtain the Undying Souls it currently possessed. If these Undying Souls ended up becoming useless, the adventurer team would suffer severe losses. That shouldnt be the case, South Lake said firmly, shaking his head. If Tarnished Wind decided to accept the other powers conditions, Red-Tailed Dragon wouldnt have needed to announce it was raising its purchase price. The other powers would have gladly sold their Undying Souls at the previous price. Tarnished Wind must have put a lot of work into keeping his actions a secret to finish collecting the remaining Undying Souls without the other powers noticing, Apocalypse sighed. Unlike Holy Dragon Spear and Red-Tailed Dragon, the other pseudo-apex powers had long since given up on competing for the Flame God Set. To dispose of the Undying Souls in their possession, they kept a very close eye on the Undying Souls Holy Dragon Spear and Red-Tailed Dragon possessed. This was so they could ensure neither power could collect the necessary 50 million Undying Souls. Yet, Tarnished Wind had collected 50 million Undying Souls for Red-Tailed Dragon without the other pseudo-apex powers noticing. This came as a huge surprise to Apocalypse. While Apocalypse was lamenting Holy Dragon Spears situation, a young man walked into the Advanced Tent occupied by Apocalypse and South Lake. Despite looking no older than 20, the young man was already a Level 236, Tier 6 Ranger who had reached the fifth-floor standard. He was also fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, and his strength was no weaker than the chosen ones nurtured by apex powers. Dayspring, did something happen on Red-Tailed Dragons side? Apocalypse asked. Dayspring was among the latest batch of chosen ones nurtured by Holy Dragon Spear. While not as talented as Heiser, he was still a genius that Holy Dragon Spear would only see once every few years. Outside of grinding in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, he was tasked with keeping an eye on Red-Tailed Dragons situation whenever he was on break. Im not sure what happened, but Red-Tailed Dragon seemed to go crazy after news came from the plaza that the Flame God Set had disappeared. In addition to mustering its forces, Red-Tailed Dragon sealed off the plaza with a Great Grandmaster War Barrier, Dayspring reported. Red-Tailed Dragon has sealed off the plaza? South Lake was stunned. Wasnt Tarnished Wind the one who redeemed the Flame God Set? That cant be Who else has the Undying Souls to redeem it apart from us? Apocalypse was equally confused. As powers that had operated in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest for quite some time, they knew it was impossible for the average power to obtain 50 million Undying Souls without relying on others. Collecting 40 million Undying Souls had severely impacted Holy Dragon Spears and Red-Tailed Dragons daily operations. Apocalypse found it hard to imagine any other power could collect 50 million Undying Souls so quickly and without anybody noticing. No, theres still one other power! Its just that South Lake suddenly thought of Zero Wing. However, when he recalled the Nebula Consortiums recent interference, he couldnt believe Zero Wing would be foolish enough to come to the Flame Dragon Gods Nest to redeem the Flame God Set. After all, the protection of an apex power[1] was useless against the Nebula Consortium. Regardless, we should go and take a look! Apocalypse, have all our experts gather at the treasury plaza! Understood! Apocalypse promptly contacted all the Holy Dragon Spear members in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest. While Holy Dragon Spear assembled its forces, Shi Feng looked at the Flame God Set in his bag space with great joy. After waiting for so long, its finally mine! Shi Fengs heart pounded as he studied the eight-piece equipment set. The Flame God Set! It ranked fourth among the Six Great Divine Sets of the human races Greater Gods Domain. In his previous life, Holy Dragon Spear had relied on it to make a name for itself among the human race and the Holy Race. The set had even elevated Holy Dragon Spear into an adventurer team that every power had to be cautious of. Shi Feng never dared to have designs for the Six Great Divine Sets in his previous life. After all, the Six Great Divine Sets were feared by even apex powers. The manpower and resources required to procure one of these sets could deter even apex powers from trying, let alone weaker powers. But now, he had redeemed the complete Flame God Set just by spending 50 million Undying Souls. This situation felt like a dream to him. When Shi Feng inspected the Flame God Sets statistics, he was dumbfounded. [Flame Gods Crown] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Pauldrons] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Gauntlets] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Bracers] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Cuirass] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Belt] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Greaves] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 [Flame Gods Sabatons] (Divine Artifact) Equipment Requirement: Tier 6, Strength 200,000, Agility 200,000 Flame God Sets Four-piece Effect: Provides an unrestricted 100% increase to all Basic Attributes and a 10% increase to all Skill and Spell Completion Rates. Grants the use of the Tier 7 Profound Active Skill Flame Gods Roar. Flame God Sets Eight-piece Effect: Improves the users Law Projection by one rank. Reduces Equipment Requirement by 50%. Grants the Tier 7 Profound Passive Skill Dragons Will, weakening the effects of mental attacks by 90% and Law Projections by 50%. (If the user is not the Flame Dragon Gods Legatee, the Flame God Sets quality will be lowered to the Fragmented Divine Artifact standard, and the set effects will be halved.) Sure enough, theres no way the Main God System would let players get a complete version of one of the Six Great Divine Sets so easily. Shi Feng was at a loss for words when he finished reading the Flame God Sets statistics. He had indeed obtained the Flame God Set. It was also every bit as heaven-defying as he expected. However, unless one was the Flame Dragon Gods Legatee, equipping the Flame God Set would cause it to be weakened to the Fragmented Divine Artifact standard. With such a penalty in place, the Flame God Set couldnt even be considered a regular Divine Set, let alone one of the Six Great Divine Sets. However, Shi Feng quickly recovered from his disappointment and replaced his God Chaser Set with the Flame God Set. Although the Flame God Set couldnt exhibit its true potential unless equipped by the Flame Dragon Gods Legatee, it still provided more Basic Attributes than the average Divine Artifact-ranked equipment. Not to mention, it came with two Tier 7 Profound Skills. Upon equipping the Flame God Set, Shi Feng felt power coursing through his body. Even his Life Rating changed. With my current Basic Attributes, I should match the various pseudo-apex powers Level 240 old monsters. Shi Feng couldnt help marveling at his updated Attribute Panel. In his previous life, he had to actively avoid the various pseudo-apex powers Level 240-plus old monsters. This was because those old monsters were fully equipped with Divine Artifacts and possessed ancient Legacies that granted them Basic Attributes rivaling those of Level 240 Ancient Gods. Now, with the Basic Attributes provided by the incomplete Flame God Set and the Frostflame Sacred Dragon, he could already match the Basic Attributes of the various pseudo-apex powers Level 240-plus old monsters. While Shi Feng marveled at the Flame God Sets might, the treasury plaza suddenly became noisy as a legion of 1,000 Level 240 elite experts surrounded it. This sight surprised even the pseudo-apex powers that had come to check on the situation. Tarnished Wind must be really anxious to mobilize even the Crimson Dragon Legion! South Lake exclaimed when he saw Red-Tailed Dragons strongest trump card legion deployed around the treasury plaza. Then, as he swept his gaze across the plaza, he suddenly noticed a familiar face. Guild Leader Black Flame? TL Notes: [1]the protection of an apex power: The apex power here is referring to Dragons Crown. Holy Dragon Spear and the other pseudo-apex powers of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary are under the assumption that Dragons Crown is an apex power. Chapter 3916 - Chapter 990 - Sundered Sky Chapter 990 C Sundered Sky Guild Leader Black Flame? South Lakes words stunned Apocalypse. Great Commander, are you sure youre not mistaken? The current situation in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest was completely different from when Zero Wing was still partnered with the various pseudo-apex powers. The Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers had initially been willing to partner with Zero Wing only out of respect for and fear of Dragons Crown, a suspected hidden apex power. Otherwise, even if Zero Wing had redeemed the Access Key, the various pseudo-apex powers would have tried various means to occupy the secret land. Now that the Nebula Consortium had conveyed its intention to persecute Zero Wing to the various pseudo-apex powers, it no longer mattered whether an apex power backed Zero Wing. The various pseudo-apex powers no longer had to concede to Zero Wing. This was also why they dared to have designs on the Flame God Set. If Shi Feng dared to redeem the Flame God Set, the various powers would not treat him as courteously as before. Have a look yourself, South Lake said, pointing at a cloaked figure in the middle of the treasury plaza. When Apocalypse looked at the cloaked figure South Lake indicated, he instantly recognized the other party as Shi Feng. After all, Shi Feng hadnt bothered to hide his appearance. Anybody who had met him before would recognize him. Is he crazy? Apocalypse was stunned. Apocalypse did not doubt that Shi Feng had the Undying Souls to redeem the Flame God Set. After all, Shi Feng had already shown himself capable of obtaining many Undying Souls within a short period when he previously redeemed the Access Key and Empresss Scales. Hence, Apocalypse didnt find his having collected enough Undying Souls to redeem the Flame God Set strange. What Apocalypse hadnt anticipated was for Shi Feng to boldly come and redeem the Flame God Set by himself. The treasury plaza wasnt particularly large. Not to mention, there were only several hundred players in the plaza right now. With just a glance, anyone could see that Shi Feng was the only player not sporting the Guild Emblem of a Primordial Dragon Sanctuary pseudo-apex power. Now that Shi Feng was trapped in the plaza, he was at the mercy of Tarnished Wind. After all, even a Level 240 Ancient God would need some time to break out of a Great Grandmaster War Barrier. Sure enough, this young man is still too ignorant, South Lake said, shaking his head as he watched Tarnished Wind approach Shi Feng with the Crimson Dragon Legion. He thinks he can run rampant in the Greater Gods Domain just because he has an apex power backing him. He has no idea that there are existences that even apex powers fear in this world. Should we intervene? Apocalypse asked when he saw Tarnished Winds forces encircling Shi Feng. Since the threat of Dragons Crown was no longer a concern, Tarnished Wind would not hesitate to attack Shi Feng. With the Crimson Dragon Legion mobilized, only Holy Dragon Spear had the forces necessary to get Shi Feng out of this situation. As Zero Wing and Holy Dragon Spear were formerly partners and Shi Feng was someone Red Frost thought highly of, Apocalypse naturally couldnt stand by and watch as Tarnished Wind killed him. Of course, but not immediately, South Lake said, shaking his head. Then, while looking at Shi Feng, he continued, We might be able to save him this time, but we cant save him all the time. He needs to experience some suffering and learn that pseudo-apex powers arent easy opponents. Youre right. Apocalypse nodded in agreement. He similarly felt that Shi Feng needed to experience defeat. Otherwise, Shi Feng might fall under the illusion that there were no powerhouses in the Greater Gods Domain and that he could do whatever he wanted so long as he had Dragons Crowns backing. Apocalypse was familiar with the name of Black Flame. As the sixth-ranked expert on the updated Divine Glory List, Shi Feng could be considered an apex expert. Under normal circumstances, the various pseudo-apex powers would try to avoid antagonizing him, even more so if they knew of his backing. However, now that Zero Wing had made an enemy out of the Nebula Consortium, Shi Feng would be dreaming if he thought his status as the sixth-ranked player on the Divine Glory List could get Tarnished Wind to back off. Over at the treasury plaza, the situation played out as South Lake and Apocalypse had anticipated. Tarnished Wind did not show any fear when he stood before Shi Feng. There was even a hint of excitement in his eyes. Its true! You really did redeem the Flame God Set! exclaimed Tarnished Wind, who was Level 241, as he stared at the Flame God Set under Shi Fengs Black Cloak. As if the Black Cloak was fake, it could not hide any secrets from him. Then, he demanded, Guild Leader Black Flame, hand over the Flame God Set, and I will promise you safe passage out of the secret land! Otherwise, I will have you disappear from Gods Domain, even if you have the Flame God Set equipped! Commander Wind, are you so confident you can defeat me? Shi Feng looked at Tarnished Wind in surprise. In his previous life, the Flame God Set was regarded as one of the Six Great Divine Sets of the human races Greater Gods Domain. Although the players of this timeline had yet to witness its might, some of its information could still be found in the Grand Library. According to the Grand Librarys records, the Flame God Set could grant its wearer strength to rival Primordial Gods. Even though he was only Level 233 right now, he was already strong enough to overpower the average Level 240 player. Naturally, Tarnished Wind answered confidently. Had it been any other Divine Set, I would be powerless against you. But I know that unless equipped by the Flame Dragon Gods Legatee, the Flame God Set will only be on par with Fragmented Divine Sets. Not to mention, youre only Level 232. I might have feared you slightly had you been Level 240, but in your current state, you are unqualified to stand against me. So, hand over the Flame God Set or die! After saying so, Tarnished Wind, who was eight meters tall, swung his gigantic war hammer at Shi Feng. The moment the war hammer moved, all players in the treasury plaza felt it dragging the surrounding space along. It was as if Tarnished Wind was swinging a miniature world at Shi Feng, his attack causing the space within the plaza to distort heavily. Dammit! South Lakes expression turned serious at this turn of events. As for Apocalypse, he unsheathed the Divine Saber he carried and dashed forward. As the successor of Red-Tailed Dragon, the second strongest pseudo-apex power in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, Tarnished Wind had risen to fame long ago. When he was still at Level 230, he had shocked the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary by surviving several minutes against a Level 235 Ancient God despite being equipped with only a Divine War Hammer and Fragmented Divine Artifact-ranked equipment. He could accomplish this astonishing feat because of World Hammer, a technique he had developed by fusing two Advanced Gold Combat Techniques. Now that Tarnished Wind was Level 241 and fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, even the Level 240 old monsters of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuarys pseudo-apex powers would not dare to receive his World Hammer lest they get one-shotted. This move is quite powerful, Shi Feng commented, marveling at Tarnished Winds attack. Then, he unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and continued, But its still not enough to defeat me! Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill, Absolute Thunder! Suddenly, a bolt of lightning sundered the sky, piercing the War Barrier and streaking tens of thousands of yards away from the Flame Dragon Gods Treasury. As the lightning faded, Tarnished Wind stared dumbfounded at his missing arm and HP bar, which had fallen by over 50%. Chapter 3917 - Chapter 991 - Clues to the Undying Mother Chapter 991 C Clues to the Undying Mother Everyone in and around the plaza gradually returned to their senses as the lightning faded. However, when they saw the state Tarnished Wind was in, their eyes widened in shock. This was especially so for the various pseudo-apex powers executives. Tarnished Wind got heavily injured? South Lake couldnt believe his eyes. When Tarnished Wind took action, South Lake had thought of many possible outcomes, but none included a scenario where Tarnished Wind suffered severe injury. As Holy Dragon Spear and Red-Tailed Dragon were long-time partners, South Lake knew how strong Tarnished Wind was. Aside from Apocalypse, nobody present could confidently say they could face Tarnished Winds World Hammer and come out unscathed. To suppress Tarnished Wind, South Lake would have to work with Apocalypse at the very least. But now, Shi Feng had heavily injured Tarnished Wind with a single move. This situation overturned South Lakes worldview. Is this the Flame God Sets power? Apocalypse couldnt help but link Shi Fengs performance to the Flame God Set. According to the Grand Library, the Flame God Set could grant a Tier 6 player strength rivaling that of Primordial Gods. Although Apocalypse had doubted this information, this situation made him reconsider his opinion. Tarnished Wind was a Level 241 player fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. He could stand among the strongest players in the Greater Gods Domain. On the other hand, Shi Feng was only Level 232the gap between them was over five levels. Unless Shi Feng could rival a Level 232 Primordial God in strength, it shouldnt be possible for him to injure Tarnished Wind heavily with one move. Impossible! Youve obtained the Flame Dragon Gods Legacy?! Tarnished Wind glared at Shi Feng, his eyes filled with vexation and disbelief. Tarnished Wind had happened across information in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest that the Flame God Set could only unleash its true potential in the hands of the Flame Dragon Gods Legatee. However, even after fully utilizing Red-Tailed Dragons available manpower, he failed to find any information about the Flame Dragon Gods Legacy. This was also why he was certain Shi Feng couldnt fully utilize the Flame God Set, even after redeeming it. Take a guess, Shi Feng retorted, chuckling. Then, he executed the Threefold Mana Body Technique and swung the Shadow Incinerator. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Aside from Absolute Thunder, this was the strongest attack he could muster. Although not as powerful as Absolute Thunder, when enhanced by his Pseudo-Tier 7 Mana, Dark Moon could exhibit power that surpassed that of Peak Gold Combat Techniques and touched upon the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard. Even when uninjured, Tarnished Wind couldnt block this attack completely. Now that he was missing an arm and heavily injured, he naturally stood no chance against it. Despite his attempt to block the attack, Tarnished Wind lost all his remaining HP to it. This situation petrified the Crimson Dragon Legion members considering joining the fight. Subsequently, a peculiar scene played out in the treasury plaza. Despite the Crimson Dragon Legion comprising Level 240 elite experts, none of the legion members dared to approach Shi Feng. On the contrary, they took a step backward for every step forward Shi Feng took. The scene was so spectacular that it shocked even Apocalypse, who had fought in the Greater Gods Domain for over a century. The Crimson Dragon Legion was Red-Tailed Dragons strongest trump card legion. It was a first-class legion in the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, primarily established to counter the various pseudo-apex powers Level 240 old monsters. No matter how powerful a player was, there was a limit to their Stamina and Concentration. When empowered by a Large-scale Silver Battle Array, the Crimson Dragon Legion members, despite being equipped with only a few Fragmented Divine Artifacts, could achieve Basic Attributes on par with players fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. If any pseudo-apex powers Level 240-plus old monsters were to fight the Crimson Dragon Legion alone, they would ultimately collapse from exhaustion. Although the Crimson Dragon Legion would sustain severe losses in the process, the death of a Level 240-plus old monster more than made up for these losses. But now, the Crimson Dragon Legions prided ability to whittle down Level 240-plus old monsters had turned into a joke in front of Shi Feng. After all, if Tarnished Wind couldnt survive even two moves against Shi Feng, the Crimson Dragon Legion members naturally wouldnt fare any better. They might not even last one move against him. In that case, there was no way they could last long enough to see Shi Feng run out of Stamina and Concentration. What the Crimson Dragon Legion members didnt know was that Shi Feng couldnt use the combination of the Threefold Mana Body Technique and Dark Moon many times. Even if he stopped using the Threefold Mana Body Technique, he still couldnt use Dark Moon a thousand times consecutively. Could he be the second coming of Empyreal Wraith? South Lake was shocked and envious as he looked at Shi Feng. Empyreal Wraith. He was one of Demons Gates Nine Great Experts. The various apex powers feared him the most out of the Nine Great Experts. This was because he possessed a Divine Set and incredible talent for combat, with rumors saying he had reached the Half-step Mortal God standard. These factors enabled him to simultaneously fight over ten old monsters fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Even apex powers did not have many Level 240-plus old monsters fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Most were also required to defend strategic locations and couldnt be mobilized on a whim. Hence, Empyreal Wraiths strength made him a huge threat to the various apex powers. Although Shi Feng had yet to reach Empyreal Wraiths level, he already had the makings of Empyreal Wraith. He should already be strong enough to threaten an entire pseudo-apex power by himself. After all, no pseudo-apex power had more than ten Level 240-plus old monsters fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. After Red-Tailed Dragons forces retreated from the treasury under an old mans lead, the executives of the other pseudo-apex powers promptly approached Shi Feng to cozy up to him and express that their powers would never be enemies with Zero Wing. They also took the initiative to withdraw their members from the Flame Dragon Gods Nest and compensate Shi Feng with triple the entrance fee they previously agreed on. This situation allowed Shi Feng to earn over a million bottles of Life Potion. Guild Leader Black Flame, congratulations. Zero Wing has finally stepped into the Greater Gods Domains uppermost echelon in the truest sense. Now that youve redeemed the Flame God Set and defeated Tarnished Wind, even the Nebula Consortium will likely have to reconsider its conflict with Zero Wing, South Lake said, offering his most sincere congratulations. It was just a fluke, Shi Feng said, shaking his head. I doubt the Nebula Consortium will even take notice of my fight here. The Nebula Consortium had a presence behind multiple apex powers. Shi Feng wasnt gullible enough to believe that a player equipped with a Divine Set was enough to get such a terrifying existence to take Zero Wing seriously. You are too modest, South Lake responded out of courtesy. He did not refute Shi Fengs words because he agreed with Shi Fengs sentiment. Moving on from this topic, he continued, Regarding the Undying Mother you asked us to investigate, I finally obtained some reliable information yesterday. It was last seen in the Giant Sanctuarys Demon God Forest five days ago. It appeared in the Demon God Forest five days ago? Shi Feng was both delighted and troubled by this unexpected news. The Undying Mother was the biggest obstacle for his reaching Tier 7. The Greater Gods Domains Twenty-Two Taboos were nomadic monsters that brought death and destruction wherever they went. It was incredibly difficult for players to obtain information on them. This was because players who encountered them usually died without knowing how they were killed. Hence, finding any of the Twenty-Two Taboos was a chore and required a lot of time. Originally, Shi Feng thought it would be weeks before he could locate the Undying Mother. Hence, he was pleasantly surprised to learn of its whereabouts so soon. At the same time, though, he couldnt help but frown when he heard where the Undying Mother was last seen. The Giant Sanctuarys Demon God Forest, also known as the Lair of Demon Gods, was an incredibly dangerous forbidden land in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Chapter 3918 - Chapter 992 - Demon God Forest Chapter 992 C Demon God Forest Are you certain about this information? Shi Feng asked South Lake. Raiding the Undying Mother was already a challenging task. Even if he now had the Flame God Set, he still wasnt confident he could kill the 14th-ranked existence among the Twenty-Two Taboos. If he had to fight it in the Demon God Forest, the probability of failure would be even higher. The Demon God Forest might be an unfamiliar name to most players in the Greater Gods Domain, but all the powers operating in the Twelve Sanctuaries knew of it. Demon Gods were Gods born from Demonic Creatures. Some Demon Gods were born as such, while others were Demonic Creatures that evolved into Demon Gods later in life. However, without exception, they were all incredibly powerful, with the weakest Demon God rivaling Tier 6 Dragons and the stronger ones rivaling Primordial Gods. As its name suggested, the Demon God Forest was the habitat of Demon Gods. In Shi Fengs previous life, even the Holy Races royal powers never considered conquering the Demon God Forest. If he had to raid the Undying Mother in the Demon God Forest, it would be akin to fighting a Boss amidst a horde of Bosses. Of course, not all was bad news. Taboo Bosses were considered the enemy of all creatures, including Demon Gods. This was because Taboo Bosses gained their strength through devouring other living creatures. Hence, like all other creatures, Demon Gods regarded Taboo Bosses as mortal enemies. If a Demon God were to stumble into Shi Feng while he was fighting the Undying Mother, he could rest assured that the Demon God would attack both him and the Undying Mother. Im certain, South Lake said firmly. This information is widely known in the Giant Sanctuary. You can find out about it just by asking around. Shi Feng was surprised by this answer. Its widely known? The Twenty-Two Taboos were walking disasters. Few players could survive an indirect encounter with a Taboo Boss, and even fewer could survive a direct encounter. One would normally have to see it in person to determine which Taboo Boss one was dealing with. However, experts who could get close enough to the Undying Mother to determine its identity and live to tell the tale were few and far between in the Greater Gods Domain, so there shouldnt be many players who knew about the Undying Mothers whereabouts, let alone the player population of the entire Giant Sanctuary. Mhm. This matter has caused quite a stir in the Giant Sanctuary, South Lake said, nodding. Then, with a hint of fear in his eyes, he continued, The Undying Mother devoured many Demon Gods after it appeared in the Demon God Forest, provoking one of the Ancient Demon Gods residing in the depths of the forest to confront it. Their fight was earth-shattering, its repercussions reaching several dozen cities neighboring the Demon God Forest. Many expert players went into the forest to investigate out of curiosity, and what they found shocked them to the core. The Level 244 Ancient Demon God that confronted the Undying Mother had lost half its body and over 80% of its HP. The Undying Mother was in a slightly better state, but it was still heavily injured and had less than one-third of its HP remaining. It was even continuously losing HP. The news of a heavily injured Level 244 Ancient Demon God and a heavily injured Taboo Boss tempted many powers into action. However, all six pseudo-apex powers that mobilized their armies into the Demon God Forest suffered severe losses. Including the other powers and players that tried to take advantage of the situation, over a million players suffered a true death. To rub salt into the wound, the Ancient Demon God and the Undying Mother were fine and disappeared after killing all nearby players. Even a Level 244 Ancient Demon God isnt a match for the Undying Mother? Shi Feng was astonished. A Level 244 Ancient Demon God should be as strong as a Level 244 Ancient God. Yet, the Undying Mother still nearly killed it. This showed just how terrifying the Undying Mother was. However, Shi Feng quickly realized this was an opportunity of a lifetime. Now that an Ancient Demon God had heavily injured the Undying Mother, the Taboo Boss would need some time to make a full recovery. After all, the injuries caused by an existence of such caliber wouldnt be limited to just physical injuries but also soul injuries. Injuries to the soul required a long time to heal. This was true for both players and monsters. Without a powerful tool for soul recovery, five days were not enough for the Undying Mothers heavily injured soul to recover. Great Commander South Lake, thank you for the information. I owe you a favor for this, Shi Feng said. After learning of this important news, he decided to return to Zero Wing as soon as possible. If he were to miss this golden opportunity, he would have a much more difficult time defeating the Undying Mother. Im glad it can be useful to you. Ill have my people keep an eye on the Giant Sanctuarys various powers. Ill update you once those powers receive news of the Undying Mother, South Lake said, happy to have Shi Feng owe him a favor. Experts of Shi Fengs caliber could greatly help any power. However, such experts were rarely willing to owe others a favor. After all, the cost of repaying these favors was often more trouble than these were worth. Not to mention, their favors were incredibly valuable and couldnt be assigned a monetary value. In reality, most of the favors apex experts owed were from when they were weak. Getting them to owe a favor in their current states was next to impossible. After bidding goodbye to South Lake, Shi Feng promptly used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport back to Zero Wings Residence in the primordial civilization city. Why are there so many people here to join the Guild? Shi Feng was surprised when he looked out his office window and saw the long line of players waiting to enter the Guild Residence. Although quite a few players were already lining up to join Zero Wing when he left for the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary two hours ago, they only amounted to several tens of thousands. But now, that number exceeded 100,000, with the players waiting in line occupying the entire street outside the Residence. Its because of the Advanced Divine Strengthening Scroll, Blackie explained with a smile. After the scroll went on sale at the Abyss Chamber of Commerce, many powers and independent players started to crave Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment and Fantasy-ranked Secret Treasures. This has caused the primordial civilization citys player population to explode. Those without priority slots will need to wait in line for three days just to get into the city. Since we hold most of the citys priority entry slots, many independent players in the city have decided to join Zero Wing. Currently, over 10,000 Level 235-plus experts have already applied to join. At this rate, itll only be a few days before we have over a million Level 235-plus members. Its that effective? Shi Feng was surprised. Originally, he thought the Advanced Divine Strengthening Scroll would only lure more players into the primordial civilization city. Although he had expected independent players to join Zero Wing for the convenience of entering the primordial civilization city, he had anticipated it would take at least one or two weeks before that would happen. He never expected it to happen so soon. By the way, Guild Leader, in the short time you were away, something unbelievable happened in the Guild! Blackie suddenly said, looking at Shi Fengs surprised expression. A second Mortal God has appeared in our Guild! Chapter 3919 - Chapter 993 - Second Mortal God Chapter 993 C Second Mortal God Second? Who? Shi Feng asked, his voice trembling from excitement. In his previous life, the Mortal God standard remained the highest achievable combat standard, even at the end of the war between the human race and the Holy Race. A Mortal God fully equipped with Divine Artifacts could more or less rival fifth-floor experts equipped with Divine Sets. Now that he had the Flame God Set, the Guild would have three peerless combatants if Zero Wing could gain a second sixth-floor expert. That would put it on par with the weaker apex powers that had participated in the middle stages of the war in his previous life. Youll never guess who it is, Blackie said. After a pause for suspense, he continued, If I hadnt witnessed this person conquering the Tower of the Abysss fifth floor, I would never have believed it myself. Is it Snow? Or Samsara? Of everyone Shi Feng could think of, only Gentle Snow and Fervent Samsara could reach the sixth-floor standard so soon. Gentle Snow had passed the Goddess of Spaces trials and achieved significant improvements. She also possessed an incredible talent for combat, so it wasnt impossible for her to reach the sixth-floor standard so quickly. As for Fervent Samsara, he was originally only a step away from the sixth-floor standard. The foundations he had laid for himself were not much weaker than Red Frosts. Hence, he also had a good chance of achieving the sixth-floor standard. Neither, Blackie said, grinning. Its Phoenix Rain! Rain? Blackies answer stunned Shi Feng. Shi Feng remembered that Phoenix Rain had only reached the fifth-floor standard not long ago. Although the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells he gave her had significantly increased her combat power and allowed her to trade blows with sixth-floor experts, there remained a qualitative difference between her and sixth-floor experts in combat standards. After all, Phoenix Rain had learned barely any Gold Combat Techniques. Itd be ludicrous to expect her to develop her own Advanced Gold Combat Technique in such a short period. Youll know once you meet her, Blackie said, snickering. Youll definitely be surprised. You might not even be the strongest player in our Guild anymore. Did she improve that much? Shi Feng couldnt help but chuckle at Blackies confidence. Its no longer that easy to surpass me now. Although he couldnt fully utilize the Flame God Set, he already had the strength to fight Level 240 sixth-floor experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. A Mortal God without proper equipment and a sufficiently high level would not be a match for him. Subsequently, Blackie summoned Phoenix Rain, who had returned from grinding in the Flame Dragon Gods Nest some time ago, to Shi Fengs office. When Phoenix Rain stepped into the room wearing a dark purple robe, Shi Feng couldnt help but suspect he was hallucinating. Level 242! Before leaving for the Flame Dragon Gods Nest, Phoenix Rain was only Level 225. Yet, she was now one level higher than even South Lake, Holy Dragon Spears Great Commander. Her leveling speed was simply unbelievable. When Shi Feng took a closer look at Phoenix Rain, he grew even more shocked. Are you really Phoenix Rain? Shi Feng asked subconsciously. What had undergone a tremendous change wasnt just Phoenix Rains level but also her equipment. When Shi Feng saw her equipment, he truly believed he was hallucinating. After all, not only was she fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, but the divine runes engraved on them also looked uniform and interconnected. It was obvious she was wearing an equipment set. In other words, Phoenix Rain was equipped with a Fragmented Divine Set! This was equivalent to the Flame God Set he had obtained. However, he only obtained the Flame God Set out of sheer luck. If he hadnt been able to get a large amount of Undying Souls from Dragons Crown, he could never have redeemed the Flame God Set before the various pseudo-apex powers, and he would still be stuck with using Fragmented Legendary Equipment. Guild Leader, hasnt it only been a while? Have you forgotten about me already? Phoenix Rain joked. No, but havent you improved a little too much? Shi Feng asked. If it had only been an improvement in combat standards, he could have chalked it up to Phoenix Rain having a sudden inspiration. After all, nothing was certain when it came to a persons understanding. However, it was a different story for weapons and equipment. These were not things that could be upgraded easily. Obtaining a Fragmented Divine Set required significant manpower, resources, and opportunities. It might seem unbelievable to outsiders, but anyone who has experienced the Flame Dragon Gods special trial grounds like I did wouldnt find it surprising, Phoenix Rain said, shaking her head. When she spoke of the Flame Dragon Gods special trial grounds, her eyes darkened with a hint of fear. The Flame Dragon Gods trial? When Shi Feng heard the mention of the Flame Dragon God, he immediately understood how Phoenix Rain had achieved such an incredible improvement. The Flame Dragon God was a Primordial Dragon, an existence matching Primordial Gods. Trials prepared by such existences were both a blessing and a disaster. Should players stumble upon such a trial and fail to pass it, the consequences were dire. Conversely, if players passed such a trial, they would reap life-changing rewards. I could only pass the trial thanks to the two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells you gave me. Otherwise, it would have been impossible, Phoenix Rain said. The difficulty of the Flame Dragon Gods trial was beyond her imagination. Even sixth-floor experts wouldnt be able to pass the trial if their strength was limited to the Tier 6 Limit standard. Fortunately, she had two Pseudo-Tier 7 Spells to turn things around. Otherwise, she would have had to start over with a new account. While Phoenix Rain was describing the special trial grounds to Shi Feng, Blackie suddenly knocked on the door and entered the room with a serious expression. Guild Leader, three players suddenly appeared outside the Residence. They give off a powerful presence, and all three are above Level 240. The man leading the group is a sixth-floor expert, and I suspect that the other man and woman with him are also sixth-floor experts. They say that they are from a royal power named Silver Will, and they are here to meet you, Blackie said worriedly. But it doesnt feel like they come with good intentions. Chapter 3920 - Chapter 994 - Last Primordial God Chapter 994 C Last Primordial God Someone from Silver Will wants to meet me? Shi Feng looked at the picture of the three players Blackie shared. Then, he nodded and continued, Okay. Bring them to the lounge. Shi Feng wasnt surprised that Silver Will had sent representatives to meet him. After all, the benefits of the primordial civilization city were too significant to ignore. With Silver Will being one of the remnant primordial worlds two royal powers, it was only a matter of time before the Guild came to Zero Wing. Even if Silver Will hadnt come to him, he would have gone to Silver Will. After all, Silver Will held as much strength and influence in the remnant primordial world as Dragons Crown. The Holy Race and the Crystallian race had yet to establish a safe route into the Eternal Realm. Hence, they still couldnt exhibit their true strength. This was why the human races apex powers could still trade blows with the Holy Races and the Crystallian races powers in the Eternal Realm. However, that would all change once the two alien races had safe routes into the Eternal Realm. At that time, the human race would lose control of at least 90% of its Guild and NPC Cities. Even apex powers would barely be able to survive in the Eternal Realm. Although Zero Wing could protect its hold over the primordial civilization city and Shadowring Town with the Inferior Legendary Siege Weapon Firmament, that would be all it could do. Zero Wing would be unable to compete with the Holy Races and the Crystallian races powers over the Eternal Realms ruins and resources. However, if Zero Wing could partner with Dragons Crown and Silver Will, it would be able to fight the Holy Race and Crystallian race. At Shi Fengs answer, Blackie left to receive the three Silver Will representatives. Zero Wings Residence, top-floor VIP lounge: When Shi Feng entered the lounge with Phoenix Rain, they saw three people sitting in the room, the Silver Will members Blackie previously mentioned. The leader of the group was a red-haired man in his fifties with a keen-witted and capable look. He was Level 244 and equipped with a Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment Set. The man and woman sitting next to him were much younger, looking to be in their mid-twenties. Even so, they were Level 243 and Level 242, respectively. They were also equipped with Level 240 Taboo Legendary Equipment Sets. When the two parties saw each other, surprise flashed in their eyes. Three sixth-floor experts? Shi Feng was astonished by Silver Wills strength. Although Blackie had previously mentioned that all three of Silver Wills representatives were likely sixth-floor experts, Shi Feng was still shocked when this speculation was validated. In Shi Fengs previous life, the human race only started to produce sixth-floor experts long after the start of the war with the Holy Race. Although much had changed in this timeline, barely any human powers in the Eternal Realm had sixth-floor experts. Yet, Silver Will was already strong enough to casually send three sixth-floor experts to convey its message. Another Mortal God? The red-haired man from Silver Will stared at Phoenix Rain in surprise. According to Silver Wills investigation, Zero Wing should only have one Mortal God under its command. As for Zero Wings Guild Leader, Black Flame, he only had the strength to fight sixth-floor experts. Overall, Zero Wing could only be considered middle-of-the-pack among the Eternal Realms powers. However, upon seeing the Level 242 Phoenix Rain, the red-haired man started to revise his opinion of Zero Wings strength. That female elf feels very strong, perhaps nearly as strong as you, Commander, Bloodsoaked Knight, the young man who was a Demidragon Berserker, exclaimed in the party chat. It seems Zero Wing is more than we expected. Mortal Gods were few and far between, even among the remnant primordial worlds royal powers. Some apex powers might have only one sixth-floor expert. As for sixth-floor experts who had reached the standard of Umbra Talon, the red-haired man, there were only a handful of such individuals in the remnant primordial world. Indeed. I thought there were hardly any experts in this Eternal Realm. It seems our trip here wasnt for naught, Flawless Cotton, the young woman who was a Demidragon Cleric, said calmly. With such an expert under its command, Zero Wing is qualified to become our partner. Bloodsoaked Knight nodded, similarly acknowledging Zero Wings strength. After both sides were done sizing up each other, Umbra Talon initiated the conversation. Greetings, Guild Leader Black Flame. I am Umbra Talon, the current commander of Silver Wills main force, Umbra Talon introduced. Then, he pointed at the two people beside him and continued, Beside me are my vice commanders, Bloodsoaked Knight and Flawless Cotton. The purpose of our visit is to determine whether Zero Wing is, as Purgatory Jade says, qualified to become our partner. Become your partner? Shi Feng looked at Umbra Talon in surprise. What do you mean? It seems Purgatory Jade hasnt informed you yet, Umbra Talon said, smiling when he saw the stunned look on Shi Feng. Then, he explained, I believe you know that Purgatory Jades team successfully conquered a Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeon not long ago. This matter sparked an uproar among the various powers, causing many to investigate her teams success. It has also kindled the various powers interest in Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeons. I am aware. Shi Feng nodded. But these arent the key points. Putting on a stern expression, Umbra Talon said, Im not sure if you know this, but the remnant primordial world holds the possibility to let players reach Tier 7. It is a Promotion left behind by the last Primordial God to be born in our Gods Domain. To activate this Promotion Land, 100 Undying God Crystals and one drop of Mutants Blood are required. As Undying God Crystals can be obtained from Level 245 Taboo Team Dungeons, procuring 100 is not difficult for Silver Will and Dragons Crown. However, its a different story for the Mutants Blood. It is an item that can only be obtained from Level 240-plus Taboo Bosses. Not long ago, we received news of a Taboo Boss becoming heavily injured in the Giant Sanctuary. Many human and alien powers have also learned of this matter and have prepared many experts to raid it. This is the perfect opportunity for us to obtain Mutants Blood. However, based on our experience, experts beneath the sixth-floor standard would be ineffective against this Level 240-plus Taboo Boss. As Zero Wing has experience defeating a Taboo Boss, Purgatory Jade suggested we include Zero Wing in our alliance. Originally, Silver Will was against this idea. But after coming here in person, I believe Zero Wing is qualified to join us. So, what do you think, Guild Leader Black Flame? Are you interested in raiding that Taboo Boss with us? We dont need to be the ones to kill the Taboo Boss. We only need to snatch a drop of Mutants Blood. If we succeed, Purgatory Jade and I can make the decision to assign Zero Wing ten of the 100 slots to enter the Promotion Land. When Umbra Talon finished speaking, Blackies and Phoenix Rains eyes lit up. They never thought a Taboo Boss could be injured. This was undoubtedly an excellent opportunity to kill it. As for Shi Feng, he hadnt expected so many powers to set their sights on the Undying Mother. Neither had he expected this matter to attract the Holy Race and the Crystallian race. However, what surprised Shi Feng even more was that the remnant primordial world housed a Promotion Land left behind by Gods Domains last Primordial God. Chapter 3921 - Chapter 995 - Taboo Crusade Chapter 995 C Taboo Crusade The last Primordial God to be born? From what Shi Feng had learned about the human races Greater Gods Domain in his previous life, the last Primordial God to be born in Gods Domain should either be the Goddess of Space or the God Slayer. Hence, unprecedented joy and excitement filled him when he heard Umbra Talons words. According to the Tier 7 Promotion Land Scrolls description, the Promotion Land players used to conduct their Tier 7 promotion significantly impacted their chances of advancing to Tier 7. The stronger the Promotion Lands owner, the greater the chances players could advance to Tier 7. As the Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll only teleported players to the nearest Promotion Land, the quality of the Promotion Land that players got was random. However, if players could determine the location of a Tier 7 Promotion Land beforehand, they would no longer be at the whims of the Tier 7 Promotion Land Scrolls randomness. Originally, Shi Feng had considered using the Inferior Divine Promotion Land Scrolls extra opportunity to try his luck. But now, it would seem that was unnecessary. Regardless of whether the Promotion Land in the remnant primordial world belonged to the Goddess of Space or the God Slayer, both were excellent options. After all, the two had already been incredibly strong, even before they evolved into Primordial Gods. It went without saying they would become even stronger after they ascended to the realm of Primordial Gods. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that their Promotion Lands were the best places for human players to challenge their Tier 7 promotion. Now, all he needed to do was obtain the Undying Mothers Undying Tentacle. Then, he could use the Promotion Land Scroll to teleport to either the Goddess of Spaces Promotion Land or the God Slayers Promotion Land. He wouldnt even need to gain the Promotion Lands acknowledgment like everyone else. Guild Leader Black Flame, I assure you that Zero Wing isnt being short-changed, Umbra Talon explained when he saw the stunned look on Shi Feng. The Undying God Crystal isnt a guaranteed drop. The manpower and resources needed to collect 100 are immense, so we will have to properly compensate the families and corporations that will aid us in this endeavor. Of course, if Zero Wing is the one to secure the Mutants Blood, Silver Will can share five more slots with Zero Wing. Im sure Dragons Crown wouldnt mind doing the same. No problem. Zero Wing is willing to join this operation, Shi Feng answered after returning to his senses. Now that the powers of all three races had their eyes set on the Undying Mother, it was unrealistic for Zero Wing to seize the kill on the Taboo Boss. Not to mention, the Giant Sanctuary was the playground of the human races apex powers. Zero Wings only option now was to partner with Silver Will and Dragons Crown. Otherwise, Zero Wing would be nothing before the Giant Sanctuarys apex powers. At Shi Fengs answer, Bloodsoaked Knight and Flawless Cotton couldnt help looking at him in disdain, thinking he was too greedy. Silver Will was only willing to let Zero Wing participate in this joint operation out of respect for Purgatory Jade and Phoenix Rain. If Shi Feng were all that Zero Wing had, it would never be qualified to partner with Silver Will and Dragons Crown. After all, their goal was to snatch a drop of Mutants Blood under the eyes of the three races powers. In such a situation, even the average Level 240 expert would be of little use, let alone an expert below Level 240. Ultimately, it would be up to Level 240-plus sixth-floor experts to accomplish this task. After Shi Feng signed a Gods Domain Contract with Umbra Talon and agreed to meet up at the Demon God Forest in 12 hours, he promptly contacted Silent Wonder. Silent, how is the production of Divine Blood going? Shi Feng asked. If Divine Blood were to be used in a team setting, it would be best if every team member could use it to maximize its potential. Originally, he had planned to wait until Silent Melody had produced 100 bottles of Divine Blood before he challenged the Undying Mother. That way, theyd have a great chance of killing the Taboo Boss, even in a fair fight. However, now that many of the three races powers had started preparing to raid the injured Undying Mother, he could no longer afford to wait for Silent Wonder to produce 100 bottles of Divine Blood. Any number of bottles would be good in this situation. Divine Blood? At Shi Fengs question, Silent Wonder said with a haggard face, Ive only produced five bottles so far. Youve produced five bottles already? Shi Feng was surprised. Divine Blood was a Craftsman Potion. If a Great Grandmaster Alchemist tried to produce it, their production success rate would be very low. Although Blackie had supplied Silent Wonder with ample materials, the combination of a long production time and low success rate would undoubtedly hamper her production speed. Hence, Shi Feng originally estimated that hed be lucky to get two or three bottles from Silent Wonder. However, contrary to his expectations, she had produced five bottles. Her talent in alchemy was much stronger than he thought. If you arent in a hurry, I can produce another bottle in three hours, Silent Wonder said confidently. No, five bottles are enough, Shi Feng said, satisfied with this result. Having one extra bottle of Divine Blood wouldnt help much in defeating the Undying Mother. Moreover, if he delayed his departure by three hours, he might not make it to the meetup in time. After all, the Giant Sanctuarys Demon God Forest was a forbidden land. Even if he flew to it from the nearest NPC City, it would take him a long time to reach. Not to mention, he had to travel to the Giant Sanctuary from the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary. Giant Sanctuary, Demon God Forest: The entrance to the Demon God Forest was normally devoid of players. Now, nearly ten million expert players had gathered at the foggy entrance. Most of these players were Level 235 or above, and nearly 100,000 were Level 240 or above. Furthermore, 20% of these Level 240-plus players came from the Holy Race and the Crystallian race. This sight shocked the players and powers that had come to spectate the upcoming crusade. Why are there so many alien players in our territory? Four royal powers from the Holy Race and two from the Crystallian race. I never expected to see such a spectacular sight after Everlasting Citys competition. The Seven Luminaries Alliance is amazing! It gathered over 20,000 Level 240-plus experts on such short notice! What a spectacular sight! Nearly 100,000 Level 240-plus players have gathered! Isnt this already enough to defeat all Twenty-Two Taboos together? The last time I saw so many experts gathered to raid the Twenty-Two Taboos was over three centuries ago! I never thought I would get another chance to witness such a scene within my lifetime! When the players watching the live broadcast via the official forum saw the situation at the Demon God Forests entrance, they were inevitably excited. The Twenty-Two Taboos of the human races Greater Gods Domain were regarded as invincible existences and walking disasters. No power had ever defeated them. But now, everyone felt they might witness the fall of one of the Twenty-Two Taboos today. As more players gathered outside the Demon God Forest, Shi Feng finally arrived with Phoenix Rain and the others. Chapter 3922 - Chapter 996 - Meeting Aqua Rose Again Chapter 996 C Meeting Aqua Rose Again So many powers and players have come. Phoenix Rain was taken aback when she saw the sea of players outside the Demon God Forest. Guild Leader, is it fine for us to bring only 100 players? Every major power here had shown up with at least 1,000 experts. Some had even mobilized over 10,000 experts. In contrast, Zero Wing only came here with a 100-man team. With so few players, Zero Wings team might even be mistaken for one of the spectating independent teams. Were here to raid a Taboo Boss, not to fight the Demon Gods in the Demon God Forest. Theres no point in bringing so many players, Shi Feng said nonchalantly as he looked at the various powers teams. The Twenty-Two Taboos were not your average Boss. Aside from sixth-floor experts, those under Level 240 would serve little purpose in a fight against one of the Twenty-Two Taboos. They might not even live long enough to face the Taboo Boss. The Twenty-Two Taboos werent considered disasters just because of their frightening Basic Attributes but also because of the unique World Laws they had mastered. These unique World Laws prevented players from damaging the Twenty-Two Taboos unless their technique or overall strength had reached a certain standard. Not to mention, their opponent this time was the 14th-ranked Undying Mother. The players Shi Feng brought were all Level 240-plus experts Zero Wing had recruited from the remnant primordial world. They were equipped with the Level 240 Taboo Fragmented Legendary Equipment Sets that Zero Wing had obtained from trading with Dragons Crown and enhanced using Intermediate Divine Strengthening Scrolls. They were also equipped with the Combat-ranked Behemoth Secret Treasure Set. In terms of Basic Attributes, they could rival the various apex and royal powers Level 240 elite experts. However, he didnt bring these experts to have them fight the Undying Mother. They were simply here to ward off the Demon Gods that might get in the way. After all, as the habitat of Demon Gods, the Demon God Forest was crawling with Demon Gods. The fight with the Undying Mother would likely attract many Demon Gods. While these Demon Gods might prioritize attacking the Undying Mother, they definitely wouldnt mind attacking any players in their way. To avoid such a distraction, it was necessary to have some players deal with these Demon Gods. Although having more players on guard duty would allow them to deal with more Demon Gods, this would also increase the likelihood of players accidentally getting killed by the Undying Mothers attacks. Any attack from the Twenty-Two Taboos could inflict Soul Annihilation on the average Tier 6 player. Even Level 240 players would suffer a similar fate if they werent fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts or possessed incredibly high combat standards. Unless Zero Wing could ensure all the members it mobilized at least had Basic Attributes rivaling those of players fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, mobilizing any more members would only worsen the Guilds losses. It would be much wiser to mobilize a small number of capable experts to distract and lure the attracted Demon Gods away. Shortly after Shi Feng finished speaking, two 100-man teams of cloaked players approached Zero Wings team. They were none other than Dragons Crowns and Silver Wills teams, led by Purgatory Jade and Umbra Talon, respectively. Since everyone is here, lets enter the forest, Umbra Talon said quietly. If we encounter the Undying Mother inside, the few of us will be responsible for attacking it, while everyone else should improvise based on the situation. Once one of us secures the Mutants Blood, everyone must cover their retreat! No problem. Shi Feng and Purgatory Jade nodded. After Shi Feng, Purgatory Jade, and Umbra Talon were done assigning tasks to their respective teams, they entered the Demon God Forest with the crowd in search of the Undying Mother. The Demon God Forest was massive. It was much larger than any empire found outside. The Demon Gods scattered across the forest were also Level 220 or above. However, for teams that averaged Level 235 or higher, the Demon Gods residing in the forests outer area were not much of an obstruction. After trekking for five hours, Shi Fengs group arrived at the Demon God Forests inner area. From this point onward, they could occasionally see Level 235 player teams struggling against Level 230-plus Demon Gods. A team is fighting up ahead. Judging by the commotion, at least ten Demon Gods are involved, Kowloon Demon said, looking at the sudden glow appearing in the distance. He heard faint explosions coming from the same direction when he focused his ears. Those Demon Gods must have been attracted by a big fight for so many of them to be grouped up! The Undying Mother is likely engaged in battle in that direction! There are indeed more than ten, Umbra Talon said, looking in the direction where the bright glow originated. Then, in an expectant tone, he continued, Lets go and take a look. After saying so, Umbra Talon charged forward, with Purgatory Jade, Shi Feng, and everyone else following closely. After advancing for five minutes, Shi Feng and the others arrived outside a massive crater where over a hundred 1,000-man teams fought against over 5,000 Level 235-plus, Tier 6 Demon Gods. When they arrived, the crater was already littered with the corpses of over a thousand Demon Gods and tens of thousands of players. Many weapons and equipment also littered the crater, but nobody could be bothered to loot them. Hold the line! Do not let any Demon Gods get near the center of the battlefield! Another dozen Demon Gods have joined from the northeast! Teams with manpower to spare, intercept them! The Grand Elders already have their hands full fighting the Undying Mother! If any Demon God disrupts the fight, all our efforts will be wasted! Every player in the crater fought desperately against the Demon Gods before them. Nobody had time to rest, and there were players and Demon Gods dying in almost every moment. The battle was intense, almost as if it was a world war. As Shi Feng scanned these teams, a small team fighting a Level 236 Demon God nearby caught his attention. More specifically, his attention was drawn toward a familiar figure in the team. Why is she here? Shi Feng stared at the familiar figure in surprise. The familiar figure was none other than Aqua Rose. Compared to when Shi Feng last saw her in Luminous Sky City, she was now Level 237 and fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts. The staff she wielded was even a bona fide Divine Artifact. Aqua Rose handily cast threefold Tier 6 Spells one after another at the Level 236 Demon God. Moreover, her Spell Completion Rates were extraordinarily high, at least exceeding the 100% threshold. Compared to Heiser, a Half-step Mortal God, her overall strength would come out only slightly behind. When Shi Feng spotted Aqua Rose, someone from her team also noticed his groups arrival. Dammit! Are these people here to snatch our loot?! A Level 239 Shield Warrior in Aqua Roses team panicked when he saw Shi Fengs group emerging from the forest. The Level 236 Demon God had barely any HP remaining. At most, it would be another ten minutes before the Demon Gods valuable loot would be theirs. It was incredibly difficult for players to encounter a Level 236, Tier 6 Demon God outside the Demon God Forest. Only now that the various powers had joined forces to invade the Demon God Forest did they have an opportunity to kill a Level 236, Tier 6 Demon God. Under normal circumstances, they wouldnt dare to enter the Demon God Forests inner area. Doesnt that Swordsman look familiar? He looks like the Divine Glory Lists sixth-ranked Black Flame! a Level 237, Tier 6 Swordsman in Aqua Roses team exclaimed. As Shi Feng didnt hide his identity, the Level 237 Swordsman could quickly recognize him. Black Flame? Isnt he being targeted by the Nebula Consortium? The Level 237 Swordsmans words stunned the Level 239 Shield Warrior. I heard that the Nebula Consortium is very dissatisfied with him and has instructed the Eternal Chamber of Commerce and Demons Gate to eliminate him when given an opportunity. Eternal and Demons Gate have mobilized many experts and old monsters to raid the Undying Mother. How dare he show up here? Chapter 3923 - Chapter 997 - Level 245 Primordial Godkin Chapter 997 C Level 245 Primordial Godkin Guild Leader Black Flame? Aqua Rose paused her spellcasting at the mention of Shi Fengs name. When she looked in the direction of Shi Feng and saw that it was indeed the person who had previously taken care of her and her younger sister, her eyes widened in surprise. However, a moment later, Aqua Roses expression turned ugly. Her current team comprised experts from various powers, some of which were closely related to the Eternal Chamber of Commerce and Demons Gate. If these experts were to inform Eternal and Demons Gate about their discovery, it would spell doom for Shi Feng. After all, besides experts from the Holy Races and the Crystallian races royal powers, many of Eternals and Demons Gates old monsters were fighting the Undying Mother at the heart of the battlefield. Aqua, we should quickly tell Guild Leader Black Flame to run, Seven Melody, who had tagged along with Aqua Rose on this expedition, said anxiously. My old man said that Nebula secretly issued a kill order against Zero Wing. Any power subordinate to Nebula must kill Guild Leader Black Flame should they encounter him. With so many of Eternals and Demons Gates old monsters nearby, Guild Leader Black Flame will be doomed if they take action. Im afraid its too late, Aqua Rose said, glancing at a Level 237 Ranger in her team entering a call with someone. With those old monsters speed, they wont need more than five seconds to get here. This isnt enough time for Guild Leader Black Flame to escape. We can only stop them if Teacher is willing to help Thatmight be difficult. When Seven Melody thought about her aunt, who was also dealing with the Undying Mother, she doubted the other party would make a special effort to help Shi Feng. The Scarlet Merchant Alliance was only a pseudo-apex power. If their opponent were only another pseudo-apex power or even one of the Nine Great Pseudo-Apex Powers, her aunt might agree to buy time for Shi Feng to escape if they pleaded for help. However, it was a different story if their opponent comprised multiple apex powers. Not to mention, the Nebula Consortium had specifically named Shi Feng as its target. In such a situation, not even the Scarlet Merchant Alliances Guild Leader would dare to intervene, let alone her aunt. We should at least try, Aqua Rose said, deciding to give her teacher a call regardless of the odds. However, as Aqua Rose was opening her contact list, a loud bang suddenly came from afar. Immediately afterward, numerous Spells and streaks of light flew out from the center of the battlefield and scattered across the crater, shattering the earth and bursting it like a bubble. Before anyone could react to the unexpected friendly fire, over a hundred figures flew out from the center of the battlefield. Run! Everyone, run! Get out of the Demon God Forest immediately! Dammit! This was nothing but a trap! The Undying Mother has tricked us all! Were doomed! The Undying Mother was never heavily injured! Nobody in the Greater Gods Domain can kill it now! Some of the individuals who had fled from the center of the battlefield shouted as they retreated, their voices filled with frustration and despair. This scene stunned the players who were still fighting the intervening Demon Gods. However, it didnt take long for everyone to figure out what had happened when countless 1,000-meter-long, amorphous hands emerged from the shattered earth. [Undying Mother (Mutant)] (Primordial Godkin, Divine) Level 245 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? A Level 245 Primordial Godkin?! Seven Melody fell into despair when she saw the statistics presented to her. She never thought the Undying Mother could have reached Level 245. It also never occurred to her the Undying Mother might be a Primordial Godkin. In Gods Domain, monsters would grow exponentially stronger with each level beyond Level 200. Theyd even receive a qualitative improvement every five levels. The average Primordial Godkins Life Rating was already greater than that of Dragons. Not even Ancient Gods would dare say they could beat a Primordial Godkin of the same level in a direct confrontation. Against a Level 245 Primordial Godkin, even Level 240-plus players fully equipped with Divine Artifacts would be like Tier 3 players facing a Tier 4 player; theyd be fortunate if they could even block an attack from the Level 245 Primordial Godkin. At this time, a Level 244 Elementalist who had fled from the center of the battlefield suddenly stopped in front of Aqua Rose and Seven Melody. The Elementalist had a head of white hair but the appearance of a little girl. When she saw Aqua Rose and Seven Melody staring at the amorphous hands in a daze, she scolded them anxiously, Aqua! Melody! Why arent you running away?! Teacher? Aqua Rose was dumbfounded when she looked at the black-robed Elementalist and saw that the other party was missing a hand and had only 50% HP remaining. The little girl in question was Aqua Roses teacher, Forlorn Chime. She was known by many as the Silent Witch, and she became one of the Greater Gods Domains Ten Great Mage Gods over a century ago. With the help of the Scarlet Merchant Alliance, she had gained a full set of Divine Artifacts and mastered multiple Primordial God-ranked Mana Techniques. She had also developed multiple Gold Combat Techniques and one Advanced Gold Combat Technique. Although Forlorn Chime wasnt necessarily invincible in the Greater Gods Domain, few players and monsters could threaten her. Never had she fallen into such a miserable state, even during that one encounter with a Level 245 Ancient God. Well?! What are you still standing there for?! Run away! Forlorn Chime shouted again when she saw that Aqua Rose and Seven Melody still werent moving. However, before Forlorn Chimes words could get through to Aqua Rose and Seven Melody, an amorphous hand suddenly towered behind them. At this sight, Forlorn Chime drew a series of divine runes in the air with her remaining hand without hesitation, completing several dozen lines and forming a threefold divine runic magic array in less than a second. Threefold Tier 6 Divine Runic Spell, Void Boundary! This Tier 6 Defensive Spell could block an attack from a Level 245 Ancient God. It was also the strongest Defensive Spell Forlorn Chime could cast. Immediately, three indistinct spatial barriers formed at Forlorn Chimes palm, intercepting the amorphous hand slamming down on them. Boom! The spatial barriers shattered upon contact with the amorphous hand, and Forlorn Chime was sent flying over a thousand yards away. Just as her HP was about to zero out, it stopped at 1, letting her barely keep her life. How is this possible?! Seven Melody was dumbfounded when she saw that her aunt couldnt block even one attack from the Undying Mother. Although Seven Melody already knew the Undying Mother was unkillable after seeing it was a Level 245 Primordial Godkin, she never thought it could overpower Forlorn Chime with just one of its amorphous hands. It should be known that there were over a thousand amorphous hands across this land While Seven Melody was in a daze, the amorphous hand that nearly killed Forlorn Chime swiped at Aqua Rose and Seven Melody once more. Is this the end? As Aqua Rose stared at the oncoming amorphous hand, her mind was devoid of any thought of resistance. The amorphous hand was akin to a moving planet. Although she could try to defend against the attack with all her might, she did not believe, even for a second, that any of her Spells could stop it from crushing her. However, just as the amorphous hand was about to reach Aqua Rose and Seven Melody, a towering bolt of lightning suddenly struck it from the side. Then, as if a train had just struck it, the amorphous hand flew aside and slammed into the ground, creating a crater over a hundred meters deep. Guild Leader Black Flame? Aqua Roses beautiful eyes widened in shock as she turned to where the lightning originated. Chapter 3924 - Chapter 998 - 30-Second Primordial God Chapter 998 C 30-Second Primordial God He blocked it?! Seven Melody had eyes like saucers when she saw Shi Feng sending the amorphous hand flying. But how is this possible?! Not even that old woman managed to block its attack! Forlorn Chime was Level 244 and fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. She was one of the Scarlet Merchant Alliances old monsters and had risen to prominence over a century ago. Even back then, she could already fight a Level 245 Ancient God and survive for quite some time. If she couldnt block even one attack from one of the Undying Mothers amorphous hands without taking damage, it went without saying the Undying Mother was significantly stronger than a Level 245 Ancient God. Yet, Shi Feng had blocked the attack that Forlorn Chime had failed to block. Moreover, Seven Melody could see that Shi Feng was only Level 232. The quality of his equipment should also be much inferior to Forlorn Chimes. Besides Seven Melody, the other old monsters who had fled from the center of the battlefield were also shocked by Shi Fengs accomplishment. A few even forgot to defend themselves against the amorphous hands and got killed. When did he become so strong? Kowloon Demon was surprised by Shi Fengs strength. Kowloon Demon remembered that the first time he fought Shi Feng, although Shi Feng could rival sixth-floor experts, the other party only had a 50% chance of beating him, even after he had suppressed his Basic Attributes to match Shi Fengs. In an actual fight, Kowloon Demon was confident he could trounce Shi Feng if he did not suppress his Basic Attributes. Even if Shi Feng had leveled up a lot since then, there should still be a significant gap in strength between them. Not to mention, ever since his first visit to the Greater Gods Domain, he had upgraded much of his equipment. So, what was up with this situation? Even though Shi Feng was only Level 232, the attack he had executed felt deadly to Kowloon Demon. It had even sent the amorphous hand flying, a feat Kowloon Demon doubted he could replicate. Wasnt he supposed to only rival sixth-floor experts? Flawless Cotton was similarly stunned when she saw Shi Feng blocking one of the Undying Mothers attacks. The Undying Mothers strength was self-evident. In Flawless Cottons opinion, only Umbra Talon and Purgatory Jade could just barely block the amorphous hands attacks without taking any damage. Hence, Shi Fengs attack, which sent an amorphous hand flying, completely shattered Flawless Cottons understanding of Gods Domain. Incoming! Everyone, spread out! Umbra Talon shouted when he saw over a dozen amorphous hands extending toward their group. At the same time, he reached for the two axes on his back and stood in front of everyone. Subsequently, Umbra Talon brandished his axes, stirring up a storm as he created an illusory world before him. When the amorphous hands collided with the illusory world, each collision forced Umbra Talon back a step. After over a dozen steps back, he successfully blocked the attacks of all the amorphous hands, shielding the players behind him from all damage. This thing is really powerful, Umbra Talon said when he saw that he had lost over 50% HP. However, this was still an acceptable outcome. With Flawless Cotton healing him, he could tank the dozen or so amorphous hands by himself. However, as if to ridicule Umbra Talon for his thoughts, over a hundred amorphous hands shot out from the ground ahead and bombarded him like raindrops. Umbra Talons face sank at this turn of events. Leave the defense to me. You guys should figure out how to deal with the Boss, Purgatory Jade said before leaping forward and standing in front of Umbra Talon. At the same time, the two round shields she wielded transformed into iron walls that covered all directions. Upon completing this transformation, Purgatory Jade twisted and turned her body, making the iron walls, which were apparently composed of World Laws, spin with her. When the amorphous hands came down on Purgatory Jade, not only did they fail to break the iron walls protecting her, but all their power also dispersed into the surroundingsas if they had just struck a wall of air. They didnt damage Purgatory Jade in the slightest. What brilliant Law Manipulation! Shi Feng was amazed at this scene. Law Manipulation[1] was a special way of using World Laws in Gods Domain to perform various complex tasks. However, as most players already had difficulty replicating the standard operation of World Laws, few players could accomplish Law Manipulation. Even after his Concentration had reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, Shi Feng had only begun to attempt Law Manipulation. On the other hand, Purgatory Jade could already put Law Manipulation into practice. Her multitasking standard was simply unprecedented. My Law Manipulation is only entry-level. Its only doing well now because the Undying Mother isnt proficient at attacking. It wouldnt have been as effective against the Primordial Demon from before, Purgatory Jade said, glancing at Shi Feng and giving her opinion of the Undying Mother. Since our defense is no longer a concern, we should consider how to deal with these amorphous hands! Umbra Talon said upon seeing that Purgatory Jade had the situation under control. However, when he swept his gaze across the crater and saw how many amorphous hands there were, he winced. At Umbra Talons words, everyone else also turned to look at the amorphous hands scattered across the crater. According to the intelligence their respective Guilds had collected, the Undying Mother didnt have a specific form. Every amorphous object could be considered an incarnation of the Undying Mother, so damaging any of these amorphous objects was equivalent to damaging the Undying Mother. While this made it easy to damage the Undying Mother, the Taboo Bosss undying nature made it so that unless all its incarnations were destroyed simultaneously, it could rapidly reconstruct the destroyed amorphous objects and stay alive. There were over a thousand amorphous hands in the crater. Unless they could get enough experts to survive and attack all these amorphous hands, their chances of killing the Undying Mother were nonexistent. Im afraid simultaneously eliminating all these amorphous hands isnt possible, Bloodsoaked Knight said, feeling helpless as he watched the players fleeing from the crater. Previously, he thought defeating the Undying Mother would be easy with so many powers working together. However, when it came down to the actual fight, there werent even a hundred players who could hold their ground against the Undying Mother Were not out of options, Shi Feng suddenly said. I have a solution, but itll be difficult to pull off and requires the cooperation of many players. Cooperation? How should we cooperate? Also, most players here cant survive even a hit from an amorphous hand, Kowloon Demon said. I can make it so everyone here can fight the amorphous hands for a short period. My only concern is that they cant kill all the amorphous hands fast enough, Shi Feng said, glancing at the amorphous hands that had one trillion HP each. Most Tier 6 players would need significant time to deal one trillion damage, even against a defenseless target. A short period? How short is it? Umbra Talon asked. Thirty seconds! Shi Feng said as he pulled a bottle of Divine Blood from his bag. This Divine Blood can let me wield the strength of a Primordial God for 30 seconds. During this period, I should be able to completely suppress all these amorphous hands. TL Notes: [1]Law Manipulation (֮): I am using this name as a placeholder for now. I might come back and change it when I have more information on this supposedly special method of using World Laws in the future. Chapter 3925 - Chapter 999 - Unfathomable Zero Wing Chapter 999 C Unfathomable Zero Wing It can let you wield the strength of a Primordial God for 30 seconds? Umbra Talon stared at the bottle of crimson liquid in Shi Fengs hand in astonishment. As an executive of the royal power Silver Will, Umbra Talon knew how difficult it was to let a Tier 6 player exhibit strength that rivaled that of Primordial Gods. Even Silver Will only had a handful of items that could accomplish such a feat. Despite the significance of the Undying Mother raid, the Guild was only willing to grant him the use of one of these items. Moreover, this item was only good for one attack. In contrast, Zero Wing had brought an item that could grant a player the strength of a Primordial God for 30 seconds Purgatory Jade was similarly shocked by this revelation. She never thought that Zero Wing, a Guild that only fared moderately well in the Eternal Realm, would have such a trump card. But even if all of us here get to freely attack these amorphous hands for 30 seconds, theres no way we can eliminate them all in such a short time, Kowloon Demon said, pointing at the amorphous hands that were all over the crater. These amorphous hands each had one trillion HP and the Defense of a Primordial Godkin. They could also exhibit the power of a Gold Combat Technique with every attack. Not to mention 30 seconds, even if Shi Feng were to suppress these amorphous hands with his Law Projection for 30 minutes, the players here still wouldnt be able to kill them. After all, the Law Projection would suppress only the Basic Attributes of the amorphous hands; their Defense and combat standards would remain the same. There are still too few powers gathered. Most are still scattered across the Demon God Forest, Purgatory Jade said while repulsing the amorphous hands attacks. Then, she glanced at the various powers teams that had just arrived outside the crater and continued, But now that there is such a big commotion here, it is only a matter of time before the other powers arrive. We can try raiding the Undying Mother once all the other powers are here. Indeed. We can give it a try. Umbra Talon nodded. Although many players had already fled the battlefield, it was a fact that only a few powers were present when the Undying Mother was first discovered. Over 90% of the powers in the Demon God Forest were still blindly searching for the Undying Mothers whereabouts. If all the powers in the Demon God Forest gathered, it might be possible to eliminate all the amorphous hands within 30 seconds. Not to mention, the other royal powers and apex powers must have brought their own trump cards. Even if the Undying Mother wasnt heavily injured as rumored, they still had a chance of defeating it. Guild Leader, can that potion give me the strength of a Primordial God if I use it? Phoenix Rain suddenly asked Shi Feng after pondering in silence. After looking at Phoenix Rains Fragmented Divine Set, Shi Feng answered, More or less, yes. The Divine Blood could increase the users Basic Attributes by 400%. Although Phoenix Rain was only equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, the set effects of a Fragmented Divine Set should let her match the Basic Attributes of Level 240 old monsters fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. Even if the Divine Blood couldnt enhance her Basic Attributes to the standard of Level 240 Primordial Gods, they should be close to reaching it. In that case, I have a way to heavily injure the Undying Mother! Phoenix Rain said firmly. If we include the various powers strength, defeating it shouldnt be difficult. Are you sure? Shi Feng looked at Phoenix Rain in surprise. Although Shi Feng knew that Phoenix Rain had gained a significant harvest from the Flame Dragon Gods trial, he found it hard to believe she could heavily injure the Undying Mother, even with the strength of a Primordial God. After all, the Undying Mother was only half a step from reaching the realm of Primordial Gods. Not to mention, it was Level 245. So long as it hasnt reached Tier 7, I am 90% confident I can pull it off, Phoenix Rain said, nodding. At Phoenix Rains confident response, Purgatory Jade and Umbra Talon couldnt help but reevaluate their opinions of her. They never thought that Zero Wings second sixth-floor expert would have such strength. Okay. Ill leave dealing with the Undying Mother to you, Shi Feng said, taking out another bottle of Divine Blood and handing it to Phoenix Rain. You have another one? Umbra Talon was shocked once more when he saw Shi Feng taking out a second bottle of Divine Blood. Yes. Although Divine Blood is precious, Zero Wing still has some, Shi Feng said, pulling out a third bottle of Divine Blood at Umbra Talons question. Upon seeing the third bottle of Divine Blood, even Purgatory Jade, who thought she understood Zero Wing, was dumbfounded. Divine Blood! Its ability to grant its user the strength of a Primordial God alone already made it a priceless treasure. On top of that, it even had a 30-second duration. This was an unprecedented Berserk Potion. If Zero Wing only had one bottle of this terrifying potion, Purgatory could still chalk it up to luck. After all, if one was lucky, it was possible to find such items in primordial ruins. However, if Zero Wing had multiple bottles of Divine Blood, it could no longer be considered a lucky find. No wonder Dragons Crown has kept its partnership with Zero Wing. This also explains why Purgatory Jade recommended Zero Wing so strongly. Ill have to talk to the Guild Leader about reevaluating our relationship with Zero Wing. When Umbra Talon saw Shi Feng taking out three bottles of Divine Blood, he further elevated his evaluation of Zero Wing. Zero Wings primordial civilization city had already become the center of the remnant primordial world and the Eternal Realm. It was no longer an existence Silver Will could ignore. However, Silver Will never placed much importance on the small Guild known as Zero Wing. All its attention was focused on Dragons Crown. But now, Umbra Talon felt that Silver Wills approach might be wrong. Even when dealing with a Taboo Boss, Silver Will was only willing to commit one item that could let players momentarily rival Primordial Gods. Yet, Zero Wing had committed three such items to the Undying Mother raid. This was enough to show that Zero Wing wasnt as weak as the rumors made it out to be. While Shi Feng, Umbra Talon, and Purgatory Jade were discussing their strategy for the upcoming raid, a powerful pulling force suddenly acted on the several amorphous hands in the distance, dragging them out from the ground and exposing their full length, which measured several thousand meters. Furthermore, the ground burst apart as a monster with a giant mouth was dragged out from the ground with the amorphous hands. Is that the Undying Mothers true appearance? Crap! Who is that person?! How much Strength does he have to pull the Undying Mother out of the ground?! When everyone saw the abomination that was nearly 10,000 meters long and the many amorphous hands that grew from its body, their first reaction was to stare at it in surprise, as this was the first time anyone had seen the legendary Undying Mothers true appearance. Then, they simultaneously stared in amazement at the Giant player responsible for dragging the Undying Mother out from the ground. The Giant player in question was an eight-meter-tall man wearing a suit of dark gray armor decorated with tusks. He wielded a war axe over ten meters long in one hand while holding an amorphous hand with the other. The amorphous hand was like a baby snake in the Giant mans hand, completely powerless to resist. So this is the legendary Undying Mother. Its Strength is nothing special, the Giant man scoffed as he casually threw the amorphous hand aside. As the Giant man spoke, surprise appeared on the faces of many of the human players present. Juggernaut! Hes Juggernaut! Heavens! The Seven Luminaries Alliance sent its Third Seat here?! Everyone stared at the Giant man in surprise, and many Berserker players cast gazes of admiration upon him. Juggernaut, the Third Seat of the Seven Luminaries Alliance. He was a living legend in the human races Greater Gods Domain. He was already regarded as invincible in the Greater Gods Domain over a century ago, and he was considered the strongest Berserker God to have appeared in the Seven Luminaries Alliance since its inception. Rumor had it that he had gone to the depths of the Void Sea to pursue the method to go beyond Tier 6. While the crowd marveled at Juggernaut, a powerful storm suddenly swept across dozens of amorphous hands, inflicting hundreds of cuts upon them. Standing in the middle of this storm was a scythe-wielding elven man with a youthful appearance. Unlike other elves, this elven man had two curved horns growing from his head. A thick layer of crimson mist also shrouded him, making him look like a demon from hell. Everyone who saw the elven man felt their soul shudder. How could it be?! When Seven Melody saw the demonic elven man, her pupils contracted in fear. Why is Demons Gates Empyreal Wraith here?! Chapter 3926 - Chapter 1000 - Divine Set Experts Chapter 1000 C Divine Set Experts Empyreal Wraith? Aqua Rose couldnt help but stare at the demonic elven man at Seven Melodys exclamation. Is he that Empyreal Wraith? Empyreal Wraith, the expert most feared by the various powers out of Demons Gates Nine Great Experts. He was known for his many acts of carnage. As the only red apex power in the human races Greater Gods Domain, Demons Gate had no lack of members who frequently committed mass murder. However, even among these players, Empyreal Wraith was a unique existence. This was because on top of killing his prey, Empyreal Wraith would also devour their souls. He would even devour the souls of hundreds of players daily, behaving no differently from a Mutant. It was also because of Empyreal Wraiths habit of devouring player souls that the various apex powers eventually got fed up with his antics and decided to hunt him in full force. In the end, however, the various apex powers not only failed in their endeavor but also suffered significant losses. As the various apex powers didnt wish to worsen their losses, they ultimately chose to let him be. Nowadays, wherever Empyreal Wraith went would quickly become a hell for players. Apart from the members of apex powers and Demons Gate, nobody was safe from him. In recent years, however, his existence had gradually faded from the publics sight. According to rumors, he was busy exploring the Void Seas ancient ruins in search of a way to go beyond Tier 6. Regardless, it didnt bode well for the players present for Empyreal Wraith to show up here. You dont have to be too concerned with Empyreal Wraith, Forlorn Chime said, her complexion looking much better after drinking a Regeneration Potion. Then, she glanced at Empyreal Wraith and continued quietly, Many powers have come to raid the Undying Mother this time, some of which are apex and royal powers. Even Empyreal Wraith wouldnt dare to mess around and ruin the plans of all those apex and royal powers. Thats great. I nearly had a panic attack, Seven Melody said, patting her chest and breathing a sigh of relief. Empyreal Wraith is even more terrifying than the rumors make him out to be. Its crazy how he can injure several dozen amorphous hands simultaneously. If he were to use that attack against us, wed probably be dead in the blink of an eye. Teacher, what if its a must-kill target set by Demons Gate? Aqua Rose asked, looking at Forlorn Chime tentatively. A must-kill target set by Demons Gate? Forlorn Chime glanced at Aqua Rose before turning to look at Shi Feng, who was standing in the distance. Are you referring to the kill order the Nebula Consortium placed on Zero Wing? Mhm. Aqua Rose nodded. Dont even think about it. Just give up, Forlorn Chime said, shaking her head. You younglings might not be aware of this, but Empyreal Wraiths second identity is that of one of the Nebula Consortiums Protectors. The Protectors are a group of experts Nebula nurtured internally. Every member of this group is a famous expert in the Greater Gods Domain, and they exist solely to carry out Nebulas dirty work. Back when the various apex powers tried to hunt down Empyreal Wraith, they didnt fail because they couldnt kill him. Itd be more appropriate to say that they gave up out of fear of the Nebula Consortium. Now that the Nebula Consortium has voiced its intent to persecute Zero Wing, theres no way Empyreal Wraith will spare Zero Wing. Hes one of the Nebula Consortiums Protectors? Aqua Rose was shocked to learn about Empyreal Wraiths alternate identity. Amidst Aqua Roses surprise, Empyreal Wraith finally noticed Shi Fengs presence after sending the surrounding amorphous hands flying. Taking a step forward, Empyreal Wraith disappeared from where he stood. When he reappeared in everyones sight, he was already standing within 300 yards of Shi Feng. Are you Zero Wings Black Flame? Empyreal Wraith asked, staring at Shi Feng as if looking at an ant. I heard you are pretty strong and that even the Nebula Consortium is unworthy of your attention. You flatter me, Shi Feng said, smiling calmly as he looked at Empyreal Wraith. But you are correct that the Nebula Consortium is unworthy of Zero Wings attention. Demons Gates Nine Great Experts had caused Zero Wing much trouble in Shi Fengs previous life. Although Zero Wing fiercely retaliated against Demons Gate, causing the apex power to lose millions of Tier 6 members and hundreds of millions below Tier 5, it still lost over a hundred Guild Cities. This was partly due to Demons Gates Nine Great Experts, which naturally included Empyreal Wraith. Shi Feng had many encounters with Empyreal Wraith in his previous life. However, due to his inadequate equipment standard, he could barely hold his ground against Empyreal Wraith with the help of his two Personal Guards who rivaled Ancient Gods. Now that he had obtained the Flame God Set, even if he couldnt fully utilize it, he was confident of being on even footing with Empyreal Wraith. After all, the complete Flame God Set was much stronger than Empyreal Wraiths Extreme Evil Set. Even if the current Empyreal Wraith was Level 246, which was higher than the Empyreal Wraith of his previous life, Shi Feng did not fear the other party. If youre so eager to die, Ill grant you your wish! The atmosphere around Empyreal Wraith turned cold at Shi Fengs words. Even players thousands of yards away felt an indescribable chill enveloping their body. However, just as Empyreal Wraith was about to reach for the scythe on his back, a wild and powerful voice suddenly echoed across the crater, making him freeze in place. Wraith, I wont mind playing with you if you insist on starting an internal conflict right now. At these words, an eight-meter-tall figure appeared between Shi Feng and Empyreal Wraith, like a wall separating the two. Juggernaut! Are you going to interfere with the Nebula Consortiums affairs?! Empyreal Wraith barked as he glared at the giant figure warily. Juggernaut! Although Juggernaut was only Level 245, Empyreal Wraith knew that the rumors of Juggernaut being the strongest Berserker God to have appeared in the Seven Luminaries Alliance since its inception were not without basis. Juggernaut had only become known as such because of his many achievements. Moreover, Juggernaut had come equipped with the Weeping Earth Set, a Divine Set known for granting its user exceptional Strength. Although the Weeping Earth Set was not one of the Six Great Divine Sets, its compatibility with Juggernauts Primal Warrior Class, a Hidden Class, allowed him to exhibit Strength comparable to that of the Six Great Divine Sets users. I will not get involved with the Nebula Consortiums affairs, but I wont sit by and watch as you cause internal strife here, either, Juggernaut said, showing no intention of backing away, even at the mention of the Nebula Consortium. Fine. I will play by your rules this time, but youd best not obstruct me again once the raid is over, Empyreal Wraith said and gave Shi Feng one last glance before leaving. When Aqua Rose saw Empyreal Wraith turning away, she finally released her bated breath. As for Juggernaut, after making sure that Empyreal Wraith had given up on targeting Shi Feng immediately, he turned to Shi Feng and said, Boy from Zero Wing, I helped you this time because of Verdant Rainbow, but this will be the only time I help you, so watch yourself. After saying so, Juggernaut flew to the Seven Luminaries Alliances army, which was confronting the various powers from the Holy Race and the Crystallian race. He showed no interest in getting acquainted with Shi Feng. Chapter 3927 - Chapter 1001 - Divine Bloods Might Chapter 1001 C Divine Bloods Might Thats it? Umbra Talon raised an eyebrow when he saw Juggernaut leaving after giving Shi Feng a reminder. Then, he turned to Shi Feng and whispered jokingly, It seems none of these people think highly of you, Guild Leader Black Flame. Zero Wing was a Guild that commanded two sixth-floor experts. Under normal circumstances, even royal power executives like Umbra Talon wouldnt dare to disregard Zero Wing. The powers based in the human races Greater Gods Domain should treat Zero Wing with even more respect, considering that there were only a handful of sixth-floor experts in the human races Greater Gods Domain. While Juggernauts Strength might rival that of Primordial Gods, he was still a fifth-floor expert. If he faced any sixth-floor expert with similar equipment standards, he would suffer a miserable defeat. Zero Wing also had access to Divine Blood, a potion that could briefly let a sixth-floor expert of Phoenix Rains caliber gain a Primordial Gods Basic Attributes. Isnt this better? This will save us from becoming a thorn in the various powers eyes during the raid, Shi Feng said nonchalantly. The forces the various powers committed to the Undying Mother raid far exceeded his expectations. He never expected even Divine Set experts to show up. Evidently, the various powers were dead set on slaying the Undying Mother. The current Zero Wing might be able to face an apex or royal power one-on-one, but it would be doomed in a fight against multiple apex and royal powers. After all, Divine Set experts were no trivial matter. They were the strongest combatants of an entire race. Even during the war between the Holy Race and the human race in his previous life, Divine Set experts were regarded as strategic combatants. If a Divine Set expert were to face a Taboo Boss alone, they could confront it without fear. If multiple Divine Set experts joined hands, they might even be able to kill an existence like the Undying Mother. The various powers might be competitors in the crusade against the Undying Mother, but if an overly strong competitor were to appear, they would definitely unite to eliminate this threat first. Hence, the various powers ignoring Zero Wing was great news for Zero Wing. As Shi Feng and Umbra Talon chatted, experts from the Holy Race and the Crystallian race arrived at the center of the battlefield, one after another. Six alien royal powers had come for the Undying Mother. On the Holy Races side were the Thunder Empire, the Sun Dynasty, Evil Nature, and Sovereign Mark. On the Crystallian races side were Ninth Street and Five Heavenly Staves. These six royal powers brought over 20,000 Level 240-plus elite experts. Additionally, a Level 245 player equipped with a Divine Set led each of these six royal powers forces. These army commanders presence was not much weaker than Juggernauts. Besides the six alien royal powers, the Seven Luminaries Alliance, the Eternal Chamber of Commerce, and Demons Gate also had a Divine Set expert commanding their forces. As soon as the six alien royal powers arrived, the Divine Set experts of these apex and royal powers tacitly took on the role of distracting the Undying Mothers amorphous hands. At the same time, their forces focused on damaging the appendages. Nine Divine Set experts, several dozen Level 245 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, and tens of thousands of Level 240-plus elite experts fought against the Undying Mother. Each amorphous hand had about a hundred Level 240-plus, Tier 6 elite experts attacking it. Although these experts could only dish out a pitiful several million DPS, together they still dealt several hundred million DPS. As a result, the HP of the amorphous hands continuously decreased over time. Of course, the Undying Mother was no pushover. Aside from operating independently, the Undying Mothers amorphous hands could coordinate their attacks. When a dozen amorphous hands struck together, they could nearly one-shot Level 245 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts and obliterate any Level 240-plus elite experts within their range. After just a minute into the battle, the three races had already lost several hundred elite experts. In return, the Undying Mothers amorphous hands lost over 1% of their HPs. Although the losses the three races suffered were tragic, it was only a matter of time before they eliminated the Undying Mothers amorphous hands. What a terrifying monster! Even against such an incredible lineup, the Undying Mother can still kill so many elite experts, Kowloon Demon exclaimed, marveling at the Undying Mothers strength as he fought an amorphous hand at the edge of the battlefield. Although it was understandable for a Level 245 Taboo Boss to be strong, the Undying Mother was going up against nine Level 245-plus Divine Set users. Each Divine Set user could exhibit strength rivaling that of Primordial Gods and fight the Undying Mother head-on without losing any ground. Honestly, Kowloon Demon had not expected these Level 245-plus Divine Set users to be so strong. After seeing their performance, he felt that, even as a sixth-floor expert equipped with a Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment Set, escape would be his only option if he faced one of them in a one-on-one fight. If he were to fight two or more simultaneously, he would face certain death. Yet, despite fighting nine Level 245-plus Divine Set users, the Undying Mother still had the leeway to thin the numbers of the players attacking it. Kowloon Demon dared not imagine the result if Dragons Crown, Silver Will, and Zero Wing were the only ones to face the Undying Mother. The Undying Mother is indeed stronger than rumored. If not for the various powers reaching a tacit agreement after multiple open and secret struggles, we might not get to see the Undying Mothers death today, Shi Feng said, secretly celebrating as he watched the three races powers work together to raid the Undying Mother. The Undying Mothers strength exceeded his expectations. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that killing the 14th-ranked Taboo Boss with just the forces of a single power was impossible. The Undying Mother could exhibit strength rivaling that of Primordial Gods when it attacked with a dozen of its amorphous hands. Although it couldnt replicate such combination attacks with all its amorphous hands, it could still simultaneously execute about a dozen such combination attacks. This was equivalent to fighting a dozen monsters that rivaled Primordial Gods. No power in existence could defeat such an opponent alone. Only thanks to the joint effort and sacrifices of the six alien royal powers and three human apex powers could they steadily reduce the HP of the Undying Mothers 1,000-plus amorphous hands. Otherwise, the Undying Mother would be invincible. After attacking for over 20 minutes while disregarding their casualties, the three races powers finally reduced the amorphous hands HP to 20%. It was at this moment that the Undying Mother finally felt the threat of death. Before anyone could react, the Undying Mothers amorphous hands rapidly merged, each merger resulting in a stronger amorphous hand. At the same time, the Undying Mothers main body, the monster with a giant mouth, shrank in size. Its life aura also weakened considerably. Not good! The Undying Mothers getting desperate! Juggernauts expression changed at the sight of the amorphous hands merging. Everyone, split up! In less than two seconds, only 32 of the Undying Mothers amorphous hands remained on the battlefield. These amorphous hands were no longer translucent, having taken on a dark gray hue. Their presence alone caused the surrounding space to shatter and mend itself repeatedly, as if unable to withstand their existence. Before anyone could act on Juggernauts command, one of these dark gray amorphous hands lashed out at the Seven Luminaries Alliances army. I wont let you! Juggernaut roared and swung his war axe, the weapon transforming into a streak of light that struck the oncoming amorphous hand. This attack was a fusion between one of his self-developed Advanced Gold Combat Techniques, Splitting Heaven, and the Profound Skill of his Weeping Earth Set, Earth Shatterer. Earth Shatterer could provide an unrestricted 300% increase to his Strength. When paired with Splitting Heaven, it led to the creation of his strongest attack. Boom! When the light dissipated, although Juggernaut was forced several steps back, he ultimately stopped the amorphous hands attack. However, by this time, the other 31 amorphous hands had already risen into the air, ready to smash down on the players before them. This scene struck despair into the hearts of players in the battlefield. Rain, do it! When Shi Feng saw this scene, he promptly commanded Phoenix Rain to attack the Undying Mother with all her might. In response, Phoenix Rain drank the bottle of Divine Blood in her hand without hesitation. The moment she drank it, everyone presentincluding the Undying Motherfroze and turned to her. A Primordial God? Chapter 3928 - Chapter 1002 - Kill Secured Chapter 1002 C Kill Secured What a strong life aura! Shi Feng was shocked as he looked at Phoenix Rain. Starting from Tier 3, a players life aura would become obvious. Although the strength of a players life aura didnt directly correlate with their strength in combat, it could accurately represent their Life Rating. Normally, the higher a players tier, the higher their Life Rating would become. Upon reaching Tier 6, a players life aura would feel like a flowing lake in the perception of others, making it very difficult to conceal. Only after reaching the Domain Realm could players barely hide their life aura from others. In Phoenix Rains case, her life aura had reached a point where it wasnt only mentally perceivable by others but also visible to the naked eye. Compared to the life aura of other Tier 6 players, the difference was like night and day. They couldnt even be compared on the same scale. If someone were to say Phoenix Rain was a Primordial God, nobody would doubt it. While the players on the battlefield remained frozen, the Undying Mother quickly resumed its attack. The 31 amorphous hands in the air stacked on top of one another to form a miniature planet with a radius of over 100,000 yards, blotting out the sun. Then, the Undying Mother swung the miniature planet down upon the crater. The pressure the miniature planet exerted as it descended toward the ground made even Juggernauts face change color. A multifold Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell? Shi Fengs expression also turned ugly as he looked at the miniature planet. He could tell that the attack had already exceeded the limits of Tier 6 Skills and Spells. Its power rivaled that of Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills and Spells, and multifold versions at that. With this attack, the Undying Mother could likely trade a few blows with a Primordial God of the same level. As the miniature planet plunged from the sky and everyone felt the approach of death, Phoenix Rain suddenly raised her staff and created an enormous magic circle underfoot. The magic circle covered a radius of 10,000 yards, and it rampantly sucked the mana from its surroundings and warped the space in the affected areas. An instant later, a bright red flame with purple-gold electric arcs materialized above the magic array. The fist-sized flame was like a black hole, devouring everything in its vicinity. It also set half the sky above the Demon God Forest ablaze, incinerating it into an empty void while reducing the Undying Mothers miniature planet to ashes. As for the Undying Mother itself, over half its body was burnt to ash while the remainder fell to the ground. The Undying Mothers aura became incredibly weak, and its HP was down to 5%. It also only had a few amorphous hands left intact, with the others erased from existence. Crap! What kind of Spell is that?! Above Tier 6! This Spell is definitely above Tier 6! Ive seen Ancient Gods casting multifold Tier 6 Super Spells before, and those werent even one-tenth as powerful as this Spell! A Spell that goes beyond Tier 6? Who is this person? Why havent I heard of her before? Everyone was stunned by the effects of Phoenix Rains Spell. Unfortunately, although Phoenix Rain didnt conceal her appearance, those without a sufficiently high-ranking Observation Skill couldnt see her information, as she had an Advanced Black Cloak equipped. Phoenix Rain? Why is she here? Aqua Rose muttered in shock as she stared at Phoenix Rain. Aqua, do you know her? Forlorn Chime asked, looking at Aqua Rose in surprise. Phoenix Rains achievement of heavily injuring the Undying Mother in one move was unbelievable. She was an existence that the various powers would desperately try to befriend. Forlorn Chime had difficulty imagining that her disciple would be acquainted with such an existence. More or less, Aqua Rose answered awkwardly. Although Aqua Rose didnt have an Observation Skill that could see through the concealment effects of an Advanced Black Cloak, she had met Phoenix Rain more than once back in their home Gods Domain. She had even clashed with Phoenix Rain in the S-League. Hence, she remembered Phoenix Rain, who was the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilions Great Pavilion Master at the time, very clearly. Back then, they could even be considered enemies in Gods Domain. Even apex powers will try to befriend an existence like her. Since you know her, you should use this relationship to your advantage. It might help you reach greater heights in the future, so dont waste it, Forlorn Chime advised when she saw Aqua Rose being somewhat secretive about her relationship with Phoenix Rain. When Seven Melody heard her aunts words, she couldnt help but get excited and thought about getting Aqua Rose to introduce her to Phoenix Rain. If she could similarly become acquainted with Phoenix Rain, she would no longer have to worry about offending experts from apex powers in the future. Just as Aqua Rose was about to explain that Phoenix Rain likely belonged to Zero Wing, multiple shouts suddenly echoed across the battlefield. The Boss is nearly dead! Everyone, charge with me! This Boss belongs to the Sun Dynasty! Charge! Do not let others snatch this Boss! Kill! As everyone realized that the Undying Mother was heavily injured and only had 5% of its HP remaining, they started fighting each other without hesitation, all intentions to cooperate like before thrown to the wind. Demons Gate, proceed as planned! Seal the area around the Boss with the Isolated World! Trap that woman as well! Do not let her kill the Boss! This Boss belongs to us! Empyreal Wraith commanded amidst the chaos. At Empyreal Wraiths command, the surviving Demons Gate members swiftly converged on the Undying Mother. At the same time, a hundred Level 240-plus elite experts from Demons Gate took out incredibly old magic scrolls from their bags, unfurled them, and started chanting. A moment later, a miniature world enveloped the Undying Mother and the Demons Gate members around it. Multiple World Barriers also appeared around Phoenix Rain, trapping her and preventing her from reaching the Undying Mother with her attacks. Even though she broke these World Barriers with her Primordial God-ranked strength, new barriers would quickly appear as soon as she destroyed them in a never-ending cycle. They even brought out an Advanced Craftsman Magic Barrier? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the World Barriers covering the Undying Mother and Phoenix Rain. Advanced Craftsman Magic Arrays were incredibly rare in the human races Greater Gods Domain. However, they were also incredibly powerful. According to rumors, an Advanced Craftsman Magic Barrier could trap even a Primordial God for a considerable time. As no more than ten players had ever achieved the Craftsman Magician rank throughout the history of the human races Greater Gods Domain, Advanced Craftsman Magic Arrays were treated as priceless treasures. Even apex powers wouldnt have more than a few sets. Hence, Shi Feng found it shocking that Demons Gate would deploy an Advanced Craftsman Magic Barrier here. After Demons Gate deployed its trump card, the other powers present also used their respective trump cards one after another. These trump cards were either items that could unleash the attack of a Primordial God or grant players the strength to rival Taboo Bosses. In no time, many Primordial God-ranked attacks bombarded the World Barriers covering the Undying Mother, rapidly draining the energy reserves of Demons Gates Isolated World. In less than a minute, the Isolated Worlds World Barriers replenishment slowed down. The replenished World Barriers also started to come with cracks. Speed up the attack! The Boss is nearly dead! Empyreal Wraith shouted when he saw the Undying Mothers HP hit 1%. At the same time, he started using his trademark moves against the Undying Mother, hoping to finish the Undying Mother before the Isolated World failed. Ten billion HP One billion HP One hundred million HP As the 10,000-plus Demons Gate members zealously traded their lives to damage the Undying Mother, the Taboo Bosss HP plummeted. When the Undying Mothers HP fell below 100 million, Empyreal Wraiths face lit up with unprecedented joy. However, before he could claim his cherished prize, a space-time passage suddenly opened next to the Undying Mother. Then, before he could react, a person rushed out of the space-time passage and swung a sword at the Taboo Boss. Following the sword swing, a dragon-shaped lightning bolt sundered the land up to 10,000 yards away and plundered the remaining HP of the Undying Mothers amorphous hands. Black Flame! Empyreal Wraith was stunned as he stared at the figure that suddenly appeared beside the Undying Mother. Chapter 3929 - Chapter 1003 - Twofold Berserk Chapter 1003 C Twofold Berserk Guild Leader Black Flame? When Shi Feng appeared in the center of the battlefield and finished off the Undying Mother with a spectacular lightning bolt, Empyreal Wraith wasnt the only one stunned. Aqua Rose, who was retreating from the battlefield, was also rendered speechless. Is Guild Leader Black Flame insane? How dare he steal Empyreal Wraiths kill? Seven Melody was equally shocked and confused as she looked at Shi Feng. The fact that Empyreal Wraith was here for the Undying Mother raid could already be considered a nightmarish situation for Shi Feng. Yet, after getting rescued by Juggernaut, rather than leaving the Demon God Forest while Empyreal Wraith was occupied, Shi Feng threw himself into Demons Gates Isolated World. He even stole the Undying Mother kill from Empyreal Wraith. Such behavior was nothing short of suicide. Empyreal Wraith was a lunatic among lunatics. He was an existence that the various apex powers experts dreaded to meet. Now that Shi Feng had stolen the Undying Mother kill from Empyreal Wraith, not even the Seven Luminaries Alliances intervention could stop Empyreal Wraith from killing Shi Feng. Inside the Isolated World Having secured the kill of the Undying Mother, Shi Feng received the bulk of the Taboo Bosss EXP, hence his level skyrocketed. One level Two levels Three levels Brilliant lights repeatedly appeared around Shi Feng, his level going from 232 to 237 in three seconds. Immediately afterward, a series of system notifications rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! You have slain the Undying Mother and unraveled its curse. Rewarding two levels and the Undying Slayer title. When this title is equipped, you will receive up to three Undying effects daily. System Warning: You have slain the Undying Mother and angered the other Taboo existences. They are very likely to ambush you in the future. What an incredible title! Shi Feng didnt think much about the level reward. Although it increased his level from 237 to 239, the improvement in his strength was minimal. However, when he read the effects of the Undying Slayer title, his eyes shone with excitement. Three Undying effects daily. This was, without question, a heaven-defying ability. The Undying Slayer title was especially useful now that he had the Flame God Set. Now, it would be much harder for others to kill him permanently. Although there was a possibility of dropping the Flame God Set on his first death, making it easier to kill him in his subsequent revivals, only Primordial Gods and the like should be able to cause him to drop the Divine Set on his first death. While Shi Feng marveled at his new title, Empyreal Wraiths expression turned unprecedentedly ferocious and cold. Youre dead! Dead! I will kill you no matter what! Empyreal Wraith bellowed, his voice sounding like a demon from hell. The bloodlust he radiated exploded in intensity, making even the Demons Gate members present shudder. Is this kid out of his mind? He even dares to steal from Empyreal Wraith? Or does he think Empyreal Wraith wont dare to touch him? Juggernaut got a headache when he saw the situation in the Isolated World. Empyreal Wraith was a problematic lunatic whom even Juggernaut would normally try to avoid. His chances of defeating Empyreal Wraith in a fair fight were only 50%. If not for Verdant Rainbow viewing Shi Feng highly and putting her hopes on Shi Feng securing a seat in the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate, he would never have helped Shi Feng in the first place. But now, Juggernaut couldnt save Shi Feng, even if he wanted to. Unless the players outside could break Demons Gates Isolated World, nobody could help Shi Feng. Get Soul Annihilated! As Empyreal Wraiths voice echoed in the Isolated World, his scythe transformed into a space-shredding storm that swept toward Shi Feng. The storm was no weaker than Juggernauts all-out attack. The Extreme Evil Sets Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill? Shi Feng muttered as he stared at the oncoming storm. Although the storm wasnt as powerful as the Undying Mothers miniature planet attack, it still wasnt something Tier 6 players could resist head-on. You know quite a lot, Empyreal Wraith said, surprised that Shi Feng could identify his attack. But its too late for regrets now! Even if you have the strength to kill Tarnished Wind, you will still die today! And your guild members as well! Ill make sure to kill every single one of them! As the storm was about to sweep over Shi Feng, he retrieved and drank a bottle of Divine Blood. Immediately, his Life Rating skyrocketed, and his boundless life aura spread across the Isolated World. You have a lot of treasures. When Empyreal Wraith sensed Shi Fengs life aura evolving to match that of Phoenix Rain, he did not panic. On the contrary, he smirked and continued, But so what if that potion can elevate your Basic Attributes to the Primordial God standard? What makes Primordial Gods powerful arent just their Basic Attributes but their Skills and Spells that exceed Tier 6. The attack you used against the Undying Mother just now should be a Skill that goes beyond Tier 6, right? Such Skills have long Cooldowns. Unless you have another one in your arsenal, today will mark your end! In reality, Empyreal Wraith was quite wary of individuals who could exhibit strength at the Primordial God standard. Of course, his fear didnt stem from these individuals having Primordial God-ranked Basic Attributes but from their ability to execute Pseudo-Tier 7 attacks. Take Juggernaut, for example. The Weeping Earth Set he wore came with a Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill. If he were to use the Skill with his Basic Attributes, Empyreal Wraith would not be able to block it without using a Skill of a similar tier, and only death would await Empyreal Wraith. This was also why Empyreal Wraith hadnt dared to take action against Juggernaut previously. Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills typically had Cooldowns of one day or more. If he had expended his Extreme Evil Sets Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill, hed have had no way to defend against the Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills of the other Divine Set users. However, now that the Isolated World protected him, Empyreal Wraith no longer had to conserve his Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill against Shi Feng. Once he eliminated Shi Feng, he simply needed to wait for the Undying Mothers loot to spawn, secure it, and leave with the escape measure he prepared beforehand. With the original gap in our Basic Attributes, a onefold berserk is indeed not enough to let me block your Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill, Shi Feng said, calmly drawing the Shadow Incinerator as he stared at the oncoming storm. But what if I undergo a twofold berserk? After saying so, Shi Feng activated the Abyssal Eyes Tier 7 Skill, Abyssal Will. Immediately, his Defense increased by 500%, his Strength by 400%, his Agility by 300%, his Physique by 300%, his Endurance by 400%, and his Concentration by one rank. Then, he swung the Shadow Incinerator and drew a black moon before him. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Chapter 3930 - Chapter 1004 - Shocking the Crowd Chapter 1004 C Shocking the Crowd As the sword light resembling the night sky cut through the storm covering the interior of the Isolated World, it clashed with countless wind blades, the collisions shattering the space inside the barrier. Impossible! After getting knocked back over a hundred yards in midair, Empyreal Wraith stared in disbelief at the trembling scythe in his hands. Had Shi Fengs attack simply neutralized his Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill Death Storm, Empyreal Wraith might have been surprised, but he wouldnt have found it incomprehensible. After all, it was still possible for Tier 6 players to achieve twofold berserk so long as they had the necessary Skills or tools. However, Shi Feng had not only overpowered Empyreal Wraiths attack but also sent him flying over a hundred yards. Empyreal Wraiths Death Storm could rival Juggernauts strongest attack in power. Yet, even though the Undying Mother had barely damaged Juggernaut after overpowering the Giants strongest attack, Empyreal Wraith was not only overpowered by Shi Feng but even lost nearly 30% of his HP. This meant that Shi Fengs attack was stronger than even the Undying Mothers. As expected of a Divine Set user. I barely damaged him, even when under the effects of a twofold berserk. As Shi Feng stared at the confused Empyreal Wraith, he couldnt help but marvel at the sturdiness of Divine Set users. Under the effects of Divine Blood and Abyssal Will, Shi Fengs Strength Attribute should theoretically match that of Primordial Gods of the same level. Yet, his strongest attack only caused Empyreal Wraith to lose about 30% HP. This proved that, even without being one of the Six Great Divine Sets, the average Divine Set was superior to individual pieces of Divine Artifacts. Tier 6 players equipped with a Divine Set were already qualified to fight Primordial Gods of the same level. A moment after Shi Feng and Empyreal Wraith traded blows, the Undying Mothers corpse began to fade from existence while emitting a colorful radiance. When the corpse was gone, 17 light spheres resembling miniature stars appeared in its place. The instant these light spheres appeared, the density of the Eternal Energy inside the Isolated World skyrocketed, causing Shi Feng and Empyreal Wraith to dismiss any thoughts of continuing their fight. The Bosss loot has appeared! Quick! Grab it! It was unknown who was the first to shout inside the Isolated World. However, as soon as the Demons Gate members in the barrier were alerted to the Undying Mothers loot, over a hundred Demons Gate members lunged at the loot with bloodshot eyes. They didnt even wait for Empyreal Wraiths command before taking action. A Taboo Bosss loot! This was the first time a Taboo Boss had been killed in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Moreover, it was even the Undying Mother, which ranked 14th among the Twenty-Two Taboos. It went without saying that its loot would be amazing. Seeing this, Shi Feng dared not waste any more time with Empyreal Wraith. However, just as he was about to go for the loot, Empyreal Wraith suddenly manifested a hundred doppelgangers and attacked him from all sides, forcing him to turn his attention away from the loot. Scram! Without hesitation, Shi Feng drew the Winter of Eternal Night and, together with the Shadow Incinerator, executed Swords Orbit, sending Empyreal Wraiths doppelgangers flying and turning the area 1,000 yards around him into a dead zone. However, before Shi Feng could go for the Undying Mothers loot, Empyreal Wraiths doppelgangers obstructed him once more. You might be strong, but I wont let you get to the loot so easily! Empyreal Wraith said. After realizing that Shi Feng outclassed him in Basic Attributes, Empyreal Wraith no longer tried to fight Shi Feng head-on, opting to distract Shi Feng as the other Demons Gate members went for the loot. However, when the 100-plus Demons Gate members moved within 100 yards of the loot, multiple large tears suddenly appeared across the Isolated Worlds World Barriers. Demons Gate bastards! Do you think youre worthy of the Taboo Bosss loot?! All of you, die! The Taboo Bosss loot is mine! Many voices came through the cracks. Following these voices, experts from the Holy Races four royal powers, the Crystallian races two royal powers, the Seven Luminaries Alliance, and the Eternal Chamber of Commerce appeared inside the Isolated World one after another. A moment later, eight Divine Set users and over 40 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts launched a fierce bombardment on the 100-plus Demons Gate members closest to the Undying Mothers loot. Boom! Boom! Boom! Several thousand yards around the Undying Mother turned into a dark void in the blink of an eye. No player could be seen in this dark void, only the 17 light spheres. Dammit! Empyreal Wraiths eyes turned bloodshot when he saw the 100-plus Demons Gate members getting Soul Annihilated. Every one of these 100-plus Demons Gate members was a chosen one. Demons Gate had expended a ton of resources to develop them to their current states, so their deaths were a massive loss to the Guild. While Empyreal Wraith was distracted by his anger, Shi Feng executed Flowing Space and appeared beside the light spheres within the void zone. Then, without hesitation, he grabbed the five light spheres that exuded the densest Eternal Energy and put them into his bag. It seems luck is on my side. When Shi Feng glanced at the items in his bag, he was delighted to find the Undying Tentacle among them. However, while Shi Feng was celebrating his haul, everyone else was dumbfounded by his actions. How dare he?! Forlorn Chime was shocked when she saw Shi Feng taking five items for himself. The apex experts of the six alien royal powers, the Seven Luminaries Alliance, and the Eternal Chamber of Commerce were already inside the Isolated World. To snatch the Undying Mothers loot before their eyes was to make an enemy out of them. Merely the thought of becoming enemies with over 50 apex experts sent shivers down Forlorn Chimes back. Never had such a situation occurred throughout the Greater Gods Domains history. Guild Leader Black Flame, arent you acting a little too soon? Purgatory Jade, who had also charged into the Isolated World, asked Shi Feng through the team chat. Even if you managed to get the loot, I doubt we can get you out of here safely with all these experts attention on you Umbra Talon nodded in agreement. He felt that Shi Feng was utterly insane. Although he was confident their team could take on any of the royal powers present, that was only if they had to deal with one royal power. They would perish if they had to fight all six royal powers together. I got the item. You guys dont need to help me. Instead, find an opportunity to secure the remaining loot, Shi Feng answered with a chuckle. Then, he turned his gaze toward the fast-approaching experts. At this time, the six Divine Set users of the six alien royal powers had already appeared before him. They had no intention of letting him leave without a fight. Black Flame, what a suicidal bastard you are! Empyreal Wraiths mood lightened up significantly when he saw this scene. Although Empyreal Wraith found it a pity he wouldnt get to kill Shi Feng himself, he could at least bring good news back to the Nebula Consortium. As for whether Shi Feng could get out of this situation alive, Empyreal Wraith didnt even entertain the possibility. After all, even if he and Juggernaut were to join forces, they would face certain death in a fight against six Divine Set users. Shi Fengs twofold berserk might have boosted his Basic Attributes to a frightening level, but he was vastly outnumbered. If all six Divine Set users were to use their Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills simultaneously, there was no way Shi Feng could block them all. With the damage of these Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills, even one landing would spell the end for Shi Feng. After all, players were not monsters. No matter how heaven-defying Shi Fengs Basic Attributes were, his HP would not let him survive a direct hit from a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill. Under Empyreal Wraiths expectant gaze, the Divine Set users of the Thunder Empire, the Sun Dynasty, Evil Nature, Sovereign Mark, Ninth Street, and Five Heavenly Staves used their respective Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills against Shi Feng. Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill, Lightning Nations Judgment! Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill, Holy Sons Collapse! Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill, Song of Destruction! All six Divine Set users launched their Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills simultaneously. After witnessing Shi Feng overpowering Empyreal Wraiths Death Storm, they knew they couldnt give Shi Feng even the slightest opening. Do you think six Divine Set users are enough to kill me? Shi Feng unsheathed both his swords when he saw his opponents going all-out against him. Swords Orbit! Suddenly, countless sword lights assailed the oncoming Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills, resulting in countless explosions that shook the entire Isolated World. The powerful shockwaves also depleted the Isolated Worlds remaining energy reserves and turned the area it had previously covered into a void zone. The experts outside the collapsed Isolated World gasped when they saw this scene. They never thought a collaboration between six Divine Set users could be so frightening. Had this exchange occurred outside the Isolated World, how much of the Demon God Forest could remain intact? Black Flame is dead! Everyone, get ready to fight for the loot! Wait! Someones there! Black Flame! Its Black Flame! Hes still alive! Just as the various powers army commanders were about to command their forces to fight for the Undying Mothers loot, a player inside the void zone suddenly shouted in horror while pointing at a section of the void zone. When everyone turned to where this player pointed, they all gasped. Chapter 3931 - Chapter 1005 - Famous Across the Three Races Chapter 1005 C Famous Across the Three Races Hes not dead?! Why is he not dead?! Shock and confusion colored Empyreal Wraiths eyes as he stared at the familiar figure in the void zone. Six Divine Set users had simultaneously attacked Shi Feng with their respective Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills. Furthermore, from what Empyreal Wraith could see, Shi Fengs Swords Orbit was much weaker than his Dark Moon. Even if he blocked all six Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills, the residual damage still should have killed him. Yet, not only did Shi Feng not get killed, but he barely lost 20% of his HP. This situation was simply incomprehensible Besides Empyreal Wraith, everyone else was similarly dumbfounded by this situation. This was especially so for the six Divine Set users who attacked Shi Feng. They knew better than anyone just how powerful their joint attack was. How did he survive that? Could it be that hes already reached Tier 7? What kind of berserk measures did he use? How can he be fine after receiving our joint attack? Is he really a player? The Divine Set users of the six alien royal powers stared at Shi Feng as if he were a monster. Their Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills were the most destructive attacks in their repertoires. They had even tacitly matched the timing of their attacks to prevent Shi Feng from seizing an opening. Hence, they never expected such a result. Regardless of everyones surprise, Shi Feng nonchalantly patted the dust off his body. Then, he executed Flowing Space, appeared before the six Divine Set users, and attacked them with Swords Orbit. Abyssal Will was a bona fide Tier 7 Skill. It didnt simply enhance his Basic Attributes but also HP and Defense. The 500% increase in Defense had propelled his Defense to a height that only a Tier 6 tank equipped with one of the Six Great Divine Sets could match. Furthermore, this Tier 6 tank had to have a Pseudo-Tier 7 Defensive Skill activated. With such Defense, he could likely survive the six Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills, even if he received them without blocking. Subsequently, countless sword lights bloomed around Shi Feng, repulsing the six Divine Set users and reaping over 10% of their HPs. The spectating players gasped when they saw this scene. He forced back six Divine Set users in a single move? Is Black Flame really a player? Divine Set users were undoubtedly the strongest players among the three races. They also served as a powers foundation. Even royal powers likely wouldnt have more than ten Divine Set users under their command. Yet, Shi Feng could face six Divine Set users simultaneously and put up a good fight. This was the first time most of the experts present had witnessed such a situation. After repulsing the six Divine Set users with Swords Orbit, Shi Feng glanced at the 40-plus experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts around him. When these experts met Shi Fengs gaze, any thoughts they had of attacking him instantly vanished. Their bodies even froze in fear. While they might be fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, their Basic Attributes were a far cry from those of Divine Set users. If Shi Fengs Swords Orbit hit them, they wouldnt just lose 10% HP but would likely get one-shotted. Its about time I left. When Shi Feng saw that the experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts dared not approach him, he executed Flowing Space and exited the battlefield. After just a few flashes, he was already out of everyones sight, his speed much faster than even Tier 6 Legendary Flying Mounts. What? Hes gone, just like that? The players outside the void zone were stunned when they saw Shi Feng disappearing like a lightning bolt. Why did those royal powers let Guild Leader Black Flame leave so easily? Seven Melody muttered, staring at the six alien royal powers experts in confusion. Although Shi Feng had the upper hand, anyone could tell his twofold berserk had a limited duration. Moreover, the six royal powers should have more trump cards. There was no way they had come unprepared. What more do you think the six royal powers experts can do? Forlorn Chime sighed, looking in the direction where Shi Feng had disappeared. Black Flame is much stronger than any of us expected. While it is true that the six royal powers can defeat Black Flame given enough time, if he is determined to escape, they would have to commit all their forces to pursue him. They would never get him if they left even a small portion of their forces to fight for the Undying Mothers loot. However, the six royal powers arent united at heart. They are all competing for the Undying Mothers loot. If they were to chase Black Flame, the rest of the Undying Mothers loot would likely fall into the hands of the apex powers here. Between the five items in Black Flames possession and the 12 items here, which do you think would they choose? Regardless, after this battle, I doubt any power among the three races would dare to underestimate Zero Wing anymore. The three races powers wont dare underestimate Zero Wing? Seven Melody turned to Empyreal Wraith at Forlorn Chimes comment, smirking. The Nebula Consortium will probably have a headache now. Seven Melody disliked the Nebula Consortiums tyranny very much. She hated it even more once she learned that the Nebula Consortium was why Demons Gate could run rampant in the Greater Gods Domain. Now that Zero Wing had become a Guild that all three races had to be wary of, the Nebula Consortium would undoubtedly suffer a huge blow to its prestige. After all, Zero Wing had a Mage God who could heavily injure the Undying Mother and a Sword God who could fight six Divine Set users. With such experts under its command, not even the various apex powers would dare to provoke it casually. Following Shi Fengs departure, a chaotic brawl ensued among the three races powers as they fought over the Undying Mothers remaining loot. The fight involved four royal powers from the Holy Race, two royal powers from the Crystallian race, and three apex powers from the human race. The fight lasted over two hours and resulted in the deaths of over 100,000 experts, including three Divine Set users and over a dozen experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. In the end, the Seven Luminaries Alliance, relying on its home advantage, and the Thunder Empire each left with two items, while the other powers each left with one item. At the last minute, Dragons Crown and Silver Will swooped in and jointly secured one item. The losses of the three races powers in the battle against the Undying Mother exceeded everyones expectations. Moreover, following this battle, Zero Wing became the focus of the three races. A Mage God who could heavily injure a Taboo Boss, a Sword God who could fight six Divine Set users simultaneously, and a Siege Weapon suspected to be at the Epic rank. Although Zero Wing was a small Guild with barely over a million members, it was superior to many apex powers in top combat power. Despite not being an apex power, Zero Wing was better than apex powers! TL Notes: Here is a clearer list of the loot distribution: -Zero Wing: 5 items -Seven Luminaries Alliance: 2 items -Thunder Empire: 2 items -Sun Dynasty: 1 item -Sovereign Mark: 1 item -Evil Nature: 1 item -Ninth Street: 1 item -Five Heavenly Staves: 1 item -Demons Gate: 1 item -Eternal Chamber of Commerce: 1 item -Dragons Crown+Silver Will: 1 item Chapter 3932 - Chapter 1006 - Super-Ancient Design Chapter 1006 C Super-Ancient Design Eternal Realm, primordial civilization city, Zero Wings Residence: Whats the current situation in the Demon God Forest? Shi Feng asked when he saw Blackie enter his office with the latest war report. Have Rain and the others evacuated safely? Shortly after Shi Feng exited the battlefield, he had the misfortune of getting hunted by a Level 245 Ancient Demon God because of his ties with Kalisha. As a result, he spent the next two hours fleeing for his life in the Demon God Forest. If not for the Seven Luminaries Codexs Chapter of Space and his extra bottles of Divine Blood, he would never have been able to shake off the Ancient Demon Gods pursuit. However, while he might have safely escaped the Demon God Forest, he didnt know if he could say the same for the rest of his team. For all he knew, the various powers might have directed their anger at Phoenix Rain and the other Zero Wing members after his departure. Theyve evacuated successfully and are on their way back, Blackie said excitedly. According to the offline report I received, many pseudo-apex powers teams approached them to congratulate Zero Wing. These pseudo-apex powers want to establish trade relations with Zero Wing and have offered to sell some of their shops in the Eternal Realms NPC Cities to us at a 50% discount. In return, all they ask is we give their members a 10% discount when using the Tower of the Abyss. Here is the list of shops they are willing to sell. This many? Shi Feng was surprised when he saw the list Blackie passed to him. Are you sure theyre not joking? The list indicated six pseudo-apex powers were willing to partner with Zero Wing, each offering to sell over 30 shops across seven to ten NPC Cities. Moreover, these shops were all situated near prime locations or streets with high foot traffic. If a pseudo-apex power were to buy all these shops, its economic power would soar to the next level. If Zero Wing could obtain all these shops, its daily income and area of influence would skyrocket, making purchasing various materials and recruiting new members much easier. Its development speed would also increase significantly. Yet, all the six pseudo-apex powers asked in return was a 10% discount for the Tower of the Abyss. No matter how Shi Feng looked at it, this was a huge loss for them. After all, the Tower of the Abysss entry fee was so exorbitant that their normal and elite members wouldnt be able to afford iteven with a 10% discount. Only their core members and chosen ones would have the financial resources to afford the fee. With so few players taking advantage of this discount, the six pseudo-apex powers wouldnt save much money from it. I thought the same initially, Blackie said, chuckling. But I later received a very important piece of news, and Im guessing it is because of this news that those pseudo-apex powers are willing to make such a favorable offer. What news? Shi Feng asked curiously. Its just a rumor for now, so I cant be sure, Blackie said before pausing for a moment. It seems that the Seven Luminaries Alliance is suggesting to give you, Guild Leader, and Phoenix Rain seats in the Senate. If thats true, Zero Wing will have two Grand Elders in the Seven Luminaries Alliance, giving us a considerable voice in the Alliance. No wonder. Shi Feng was enlightened after hearing this. The 12 Grand Elder positions in the Seven Luminaries Alliances Senate were highly prized. Although they didnt give players the authority to participate in and manage the Seven Luminaries Alliances internal affairs, they granted players the authority to dictate who to appoint as the Alliances Guild Leader and Vice Guild Leaders. Hence, those vying for these positions would do their best to win over the Alliances Grand Elders. With the war among the three races intensifying, it was only a matter of time before the Holy Races and the Crystallian races armies besieged the human races NPC Cities in the Eternal Realm. However, as only the human races various apex powers could truly resist the full might of these alien armies, only NPC Cities with close ties to these apex powers would have a real chance of survival. The six pseudo-apex powers had to be aware of this and, hence, had decided to obtain the Seven Luminaries Alliances protection. To obtain this protection, they would naturally be willing to sacrifice some of their profits in their NPC Cities. Guild Leader, should we buy these shops? Blackie asked worriedly. With our current strength, we can barely afford to defend two or three NPC Cities. But if we want to buy even more shops across more cities, we would have to start relying on the Seven Luminaries Alliance. If it was only defending two or three NPC Cities, Zero Wing could tackle the task by itself. After all, the Guild already had many Level 240-plus experts under its command. Once the Guild had enough Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment to equip all these experts, it could easily produce several legions that rivaled the various apex powers elite expert legions in strength. However, if Zero Wing wanted to protect more NPC Cities, it would have to use the Seven Luminaries Alliances strength, which would mean owing the Alliance a favoran incredibly huge favor. Of course! Why wouldnt we buy them? Shi Feng said without hesitation. But their shops span across seven to ten cities. Where would we find so many experts to defend all these cities? Blackie said with a wry smile. Are we really going to ask the Seven Luminaries Alliance for help? We might lack experts right now, but that is a problem we can fix. Also, how can the Guild have more experts if we dont expand our development? Shi Feng said, casually waving his hand. Since those powers are willing to sell their shops, well take everything they offer. The current Zero Wing was indeed short of experts. However, as Zero Wings stockpile of Divine Blood grew and the Tower of the Abysss effects became more apparent to the public, Zero Wing could surely grow to rival royal powers. Now that there was a chance to purchase so many shops across so many NPC Cities, hed be a fool not to take it. After all, the presence these shops offered could already rival that of a pseudo-apex power. I understand. Ill contact them right away, Blackie said. After hearing Shi Fengs confident response, he realized that this was indeed an excellent opportunity for Zero Wing to expand its area of influence. He immediately left Shi Fengs office to contact the six pseudo-apex powers representatives. After Blackie left, Shi Feng activated his offices magic barrier and carefully retrieved the five items he snatched from the Undying Mothers loot. The five items were a glass bottle holding pitch-black liquid, an amorphous tentacle, a pitch-black Taboo Nucleus, a tattered scroll, and a parchment fragment. The glass bottle holding pitch-black liquid was the Mutants Blood that Dragons Crown and Silver Will needed, while the amorphous tentacle was the Undying Tentacle he needed to complete Enoss quest. As for the tattered scroll and the parchment fragment, he couldnt glean any information from them without performing a detailed appraisal due to their damaged states. This isa super-ancient design? Shi Feng was dumbfounded when he finished appraising the tattered scroll. Chapter 3933 - Chapter 1007 - Enoss Reward Chapter 1007 C Enoss Reward [Light of Dawn] (Great Grandmaster Engineering Design) Can be used to construct the Super-Ancient Magic Bomb, Light of Dawn. It can be detonated to deal Pseudo-Tier 7 destruction damage to a radius of 1,000 yards. Pseudo-Tier 7 destruction damage? Is this the strength of a super-ancient civilization? Shi Feng was at a loss for words when he finished reading Light of Dawns description. Heaven-defying! It was absolutely heaven-defying! This was likely the first super-ancient design to have appeared in a players hands in the human races Greater Gods Domain. Like Epic Siege Weapons, the method of producing super-ancient technology was long lost in the Greater Gods Domain. Even High Craftsman Forgers and Engineers could not replicate or repair it. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the Light of Dawn Design was worth several times more than the combined value of everything else the Undying Mother dropped. Light of Dawns ability to exhibit power at the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard was something Shi Feng had never seen on a magic bomb in his previous life. Moreover, the Light of Dawn Design was only a Great Grandmaster Design, which meant that even Great Grandmaster Engineers could produce it with a high success rate. This was a stark contrast to Divine Blood, which would have an abysmally low production success rate unless Craftsman Alchemists produced it. It only costs ten God Crystals to produce one? Thats not too bad. Shi Fengs eyes lit up when he saw the primary materials needed to produce Light of Dawn. Although it was admittedly extravagant to trade ten God Crystals for one Pseudo-Tier 7 attack, it remained an incredibly worthwhile trade for a power. After all, only Divine Set users and experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts could reliably survive a Pseudo-Tier 7 attack. Moreover, most could only defend against one Pseudo-Tier 7 attack within a set period. In other words, two Lights of Dawn would give players a high chance of killing a Divine Set user or an expert fully equipped with Divine Artifacts. If a power could arm a legion of players with multiple Lights of Dawn, it would be equivalent to having a legion of Divine Set users. Even royal powers wouldnt dare confront such a legion head-on. After Shi Feng inspected the Light of Dawn Design, he turned his attention to the parchment fragment. [Myriad Doppelgangers] (Action-type) Pseudo-Tier 7 Taboo Skill Create up to 10,000 true doppelgangers. The more true doppelgangers are created, the less Strength each doppelganger will receive. If three or fewer doppelgangers are created, each will receive 100% of the users Strength. Duration: 5 minutes Cooldown: 6 hours A Pseudo-Tier 7 Taboo Skill? Shi Feng couldnt believe his eyes when he saw Myriad Doppelgangers introduction. The fact that the Undying Mother had dropped a super-ancient design was already mind-blowing. He never expected it to drop a Pseudo-Tier 7 Taboo Skill as well. A Pseudo-Tier 7 Taboo Skill could rival bona fide Tier 7 Skills. Apart from relying on weapons and equipment that came with Tier 7 Skills, players could only access Tier 7 Skills by learning them after reaching Tier 7. As Myriad Doppelgangers was a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill, it could be learned by Tier 6 players. Additionally, it was a Doppelganger Skill with true doppelgangers, which meant that the player would never die so long as even one doppelganger remained alive. Myriad Doppelgangers also allowed its user to create up to 10,000 true doppelgangers. Even if creating so many doppelgangers would result in them coming out much weaker than the main body, it was still a heaven-defying ability. Myriad Doppelgangers could already be considered an Immortality Skill. After Shi Feng chose to learn Myriad Doppelgangers, he had Blackie come and collect the Light of Dawn Design and Mutants Blood. He tasked Blackie with assigning trustworthy Great Grandmaster Engineers to secretly produce Lights of Dawn. As for the Mutants Blood, it was to be handed to Purgatory Jade and Umbra Talon to complete their transaction. Once Shi Feng was done giving Blackie instructions, he took out the Abyss Workshop Certification and teleported to the Abyss Workshop, not daring to delay turning in the Undying Tentacle even a moment longer. The ascension to Tier 7 was a feat no player from the human race, the Crystallian race, and the Holy Race had ever accomplished, so it went without saying the Tier 7 promotion was impossibly difficult. Considering that Enos had stated she could halve the difficulty of crossing that threshold, Shi Feng regarded her quest as top priority. Not to mention, Enoss quest was a Mythical World Main Storyline Quest with a time limit. Normally, the sooner players completed such quests, the greater the rewards. Players would receive only the minimum guaranteed reward if these quests were turned in at the last minute. Hence, Shi Feng did not intend to delay turning in Enoss quest. Void Sea, Abyss Workshop: Much had changed in the Abyss Workshop since Shi Feng last visited. Originally, the shipyard was only a hundred yards long and wide; now, it was a thousand yards long and wide. Furthermore, he saw other players at the shipyard. Although there were only two other players here, one of them exuded an aura no less frightening than that of Demons Gates Empyreal Wraith. Although both players wore Advanced Black Cloaks that hid all their information, Shi Fengs Master Observation Skill allowed him to see that they were not human players. One of these players was a tall Crystallian woman, while the other was a woman with long ears and aquamarine eyes, looking very much like the Ancient Elves that had long since disappeared from the Greater Gods Domain. Of these two non-human female players, the Crystallian woman was none other than Ink Crystal, whom Shi Feng had met several times before. As for the woman who resembled an Ancient Elf, she was entirely unfamiliar. However, judging by how the elven woman interacted with Ink Crystal, the two should be close acquaintances. When these two women saw him appearing, they turned toward him and scrutinized him. Black Flame? Ink Crystals face flashed with surprise when she saw Shi Feng, who hadnt bothered hiding his appearance. Do you know this human kid? the elven woman asked, looking at Ink Crystal curiously. How is his strength? Is he qualified to become our helper? Hes quite strong. He can match the average sixth-floor expert in technical standards. However, Im afraid he is still somewhat lacking to be our helper, Ink Crystal said, shaking her head. Only the average sixth-floor expert? At Ink Crystals answer, the elven woman sighed, What a pity. The average sixth-floor expert wont be of any use to us. It seems well have to seek out that genius from the Holy Race to fight for that promotion opportunity. After this brief exchange, Ink Crystal and the elven woman turned into streaks of light and disappeared from the Abyss Workshop, leaving Shi Feng by himself outside the shipyard. Even the average sixth-floor expert is useless to them? Shi Feng couldnt help but doubt his ears when he overheard the conversation between Ink Crystal and the elven woman. Although the two didnt speak loudly, he still heard them clearly. Sixth-floor experts, even those who barely reached the standard, were considered the uppermost existences among the Holy Race and the human race in his previous life. Yet, Ink Crystal and the elven woman spoke as if such sixth-floor experts were insignificant existences who couldnt even qualify to participate in the promotion opportunity they spoke of Shortly after the two left, a pleasant female voice came from the shipyard. You sure act fast. You completed my commission before even those two little fellows. It seems youre not a disgrace to Old Abyss after all. Following this voice, Enos, a female elf with long silver hair, stepped out of the shipyard while yawning. Since youve completed my commission, I will give you an opportunity to cross that threshold as promised, Enos said. With a wave of her hand, the Undying Tentacle in Shi Fengs bag appeared in her palm. Then, she raised her other hand and presented a fruit that oozed near-liquid Eternal Energy to Shi Feng. This is the Abyssal Fruit. It can greatly increase your chances of crossing that threshold. However, this fruit can only be stored for three days once it leaves my hand, so youd best search for a Promotion Land quickly. But considering that youve completed my commission so quickly, I can do you a favor and send you to a place near one of Old Abysss Promotion Lands right now. However, I cannot guarantee whether you can return from there alive. Im very busy, so you only have one minute to consider. As Enos finished speaking, system notifications entered Shi Fengs ears. Chapter 3934 - Chapter 1008 - Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land Chapter 1008 C Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land System: Congratulations! You have completed the first phase of the Mythical World Main Storyline Quest The Past World. Rewarding one Abyssal Fruit (Eternal Object). System: Congratulations! You have completed the first phase of the Mythical World Main Storyline Quest The Past World with an S-rank rating. Rewarding the coordinates to one of the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Lands. System Warning System Warning System Warning: You will be teleported to an area where the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land is located. If you fail to advance to Tier 7, you will not be able to return. Please choose carefully. A Tier 7 Promotion Land left behind by the Primordial Abyssal God? Shi Feng hesitated when he saw the system warning. Quite a few sixth-floor experts had appeared among the human race and the Holy Race in his previous life. Some of these sixth-floor experts were fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, and some were even equipped with one of the Six Great Divine Sets. Yet, he had never heard of any player reaching Tier 7. This showed just how challenging the Tier 7 promotion was. The quality of the Promotion Land was of utmost importance for the Tier 7 promotion. The higher the quality of a Promotion Land, the more likely players were to reach Tier 7. The Primordial Abyssal God was undoubtedly one of the strongest Primordial Gods to have appeared in the Greater Gods Domain. Of course, if it was true that the Goddess of Space and the God Slayer had evolved into Primordial Gods, they would also be incredibly strong among Primordial Gods. After all, the two could already fight Primordial Gods while they were mere Gods. Now that Enos was offering to send him to one of the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Lands, Shi Feng felt that he would regret it for the rest of his life should he miss this opportunity. After all, he doubted he could find another opportunity like this in the future. The only problem was the risks that came with this opportunity. If he failed to advance to Tier 7, his account would be as good as crippled. You have 30 seconds left, Enos said impatiently as she toyed with the Undying Tentacle in her hand. She sounded like she couldnt wait to begin working on the new material she had just received. After much deliberation, Shi Feng asked, Lady Enos, may I redeem some items before I leave for that Promotion Land? Shi Feng wasnt confident in advancing to Tier 7, even if he still had a bottle of Divine Blood and the Flame God Set. Enos also didnt seem like she would give him time to prepare. If he were to challenge his Tier 7 promotion in his current state, there was a strong possibility of failure. However, if he could redeem some items from Enos, his chances of success would undoubtedly increase. I will let you redeem up to three items, Enos said, nodding. But let me preface this by saying youre not allowed to redeem war weapons such as the God of the North Sea. That is fine. Shi Feng chuckled at Enoss words. Although Enos was likely trying to avoid letting him cheat his way through his promotion, Shi Feng honestly never considered redeeming the God of the North Sea, a Legendary Flying Ship. Alright, take your pick, Enos said, snapping her fingers and creating a series of holograms before Shi Feng. [Advanced Epic Combat Puppet] Original Price: 120,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Current Price: 40,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal [Four Gods Potion] (High Craftsman Potion) When consumed, the Four Gods Potion grants a permanent improvement to Concentration. Each player can consume up to three bottles in their lifetime. Original Price: 60,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Current Price: 30,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal [World Source] (Divine Artifact) An item born from the destruction of a Realm. Original Price: 50,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Current Price: 35,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal [Frostflame Ocean] (Divine Artifact, Longsword) Original Price: 300,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Current Price: 100,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal [Origin World Trees Seed] (Godly Relic) Original Price: 2,000,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Current Price: 1,000,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Shi Fengs breath instantly grew heavy when he saw the items displayed before him. He had to admit that Enos had many incredible items. He even suspected that Enos knew he was carrying 1.2 billion units of Seven Luminaries Crystal on him, which was something he had Blackie prepare before he came to the Abyss Workshop. The Frostflame Ocean was known as one of the Ten Great Divine Swords in his previous life, and it was something he urgently needed. The same could also be said for the Origin World Trees Seed. If he let the Winter of Eternal Night devour such a Godly Relic, it might even evolve into a Divine Artifact. Whether it was the Frostflame Ocean or the Winter of Eternal Night, having a Divine Weapon that suited him would undoubtedly increase his strength by a significant margin Unfortunately, he could redeem only three items from Enos. Moreover, he only had 1.2 billion units of Seven Luminaries Crystal. After factoring in the 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal needed to activate his Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll and another 100 million units in case he needed to use the scrolls second chance, he would be left with just one billion units. This wasnt enough to redeem both the Frostflame Ocean and the Origin World Trees Seed, so it was one or the other. Ill redeem three World Sources! Shi Feng said after pondering his options. Although obtaining a compatible Divine Weapon could significantly increase his overall strength, he could benefit much more from having the complete Feather of Oath. After all, the Goddess of Spaces Twelve Wings of Heaven were said to be comparable to Primordial Gods. They would undoubtedly be of great help to him in the Tier 7 Promotion Land. Okay. Here you go. As if having guessed Shi Fengs decision long ago, Enos snapped her fingers and summoned three World Sources before him. At the same time, 105 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal disappeared from his bag. After Shi Feng put the three World Sources into his bag, Enos drew several lines of divine runes in the air. A moment later, a crimson space-time passage appeared before her. The instant the crimson space-time passage appeared, an overbearing Divine Might gushed out of it. The Divine Might placed immense pressure on Shi Feng and made him dizzy. Go on. I hope you will have already reached that step the next time I see you, Enos said, raising her hand when she saw that Shi Feng was immobilized. Suddenly, Shi Feng felt an indescribable force wrap around his body. Before he knew it, he was thrown into the space-time passage and disappeared from the Abyss Workshop. Chapter 3935 - Chapter 1009 - Chaos Creatures Chapter 1009 C Chaos Creatures When Shi Feng entered the crimson space-time passage, he was deeply shocked by what he saw. The Greater Gods Domain! He was moving away from the human races Greater Gods Domain at an incredible speed. His speed was so fast that the enormous Greater Gods Domain shrank and disappeared in seconds. A few minutes later, he passed by another Greater Gods Domain before it, too, vanished from his sight. After passing by over a hundred Greater Gods Domains, Shi Feng vaguely saw the end of the crimson space-time passagea door of unimaginable proportions. Before he could get a better look at the pitch-black door, he was sucked into the portal. System: You have discovered the Void Boundary. You can no longer contact the outside world. You cannot go offline unless you experience a permanent death. The sound of a system notification rang in Shi Fengs ears. However, it failed to register in his mind as he gawked at the mind-boggling sight around him. The crimson space-time passage had left him stranded in a corner of the Void Sea, and everywhere he looked, corpses were floating in the dark void. The sea of corpses stretched as far as he could see, and every one of these corpses radiated a terrifying Divine Might. Despite their apparent age, even the weakest among them still radiated Divine Might rivaling that of Ancient Gods. Some even radiated Divine Might rivaling that of Primordial Gods. Shi Fengs mind blanked out as he stared at these floating corpses. He dared not imagine what had transpired here to create such a scene. Primordial God-ranked existences[1] stood at the very apex of Gods Domain. Even Primordial God-ranked existences would have difficulty killing other Primordial God-ranked existences. Yet, there were countless dead Primordial God-ranked existences in this Void Boundary. Before Shi Feng could process this situation, the protective blessing Enos had cast on him wore off. Immediately afterward, the boundless Divine Might from these Primordial God-ranked corpses made him feel as if someone had walloped his head with a bat. Not good! I cant stay here for much longer! I must leave! Shi Feng clenched his teeth, fighting to stay conscious as he pulled out the Tier 7 Promotion Land Scroll. Then, he injected 100 million units of Seven Luminaries Crystal into it and teleported to the Primordial Abyssal Gods Tier 7 Promotion Land. Shortly after Shi Feng turned into a streak of light and traveled to the depths of this void region, he found himself rapidly approaching a gigantic planet. However, a colossal phantom appeared between him and the planet before he could reach the planet. At the same time, he felt as if countless chains had latched on to him and forcibly halted his advance, and all he could do in this situation was watch as the colossal phantom approached him. Enos sent you? The colossal figure sounded surprised as it looked at Shi Feng. Enos shouldnt have many slots left. She must have high hopes for you to send you here, little fellow. As the colossal phantom spoke, Shi Feng regained his ability to move. However, before he could speak up, the colossal phantom waved its hand, and in the blink of an eye, the Taboo Nucleus in Shi Fengs bag appeared within its grasp. Before you is one of the Promotion Lands with the most Chaos Creatures held captive. There are still 5,712 ordinary Chaos Creatures, 134 powerful Chaos Creatures, and four top-tier Chaos Creatures here, the colossal phantom said. Then, it held up the Taboo Nucleus and continued, This Taboo Nucleus can be used to absorb the strength of a Chaos Creature to replicate its complete World. The stronger the Chaos Creature, the stronger its World. The Worlds of these Chaos Creatures can greatly help you in constructing your own World, but you have only one chance. It is up to you whether you can find a suitable Chaos Creature to mimic and reach that step. After the colossal phantom finished speaking, it injected a line of divine runes into the Taboo Nucleus. A moment later, the Taboo Nucleus transformed into a streak of light and returned to Shi Fengs bag space. At the same time, Shi Feng was sent plunging into the planet behind the colossal phantom. As Shi Feng landed in an uncultivated region on the planet, he finally finished processing the colossal phantoms words and recovered from his shock. Chaos Creatures? Construct my own World? Shi Feng was at a loss for words as he looked at the Taboo Nucleus in his bag space. Although the Grand Library had very little information on Chaos Creatures, he had still read about them in the past. They were terrifying creatures that lived in the deepest depths of the Void Sea, and every one of them was strong enough to give Primordial Gods a headache. But now, this Promotion Land required him to steal the strength of a Chaos Creature. This was akin to stroking the whiskers of a tiger. However, what surprised Shi Feng even more was that to advance to Tier 7, players were required to construct their own Worlds. This was simply demanding the impossible. Although players could perform Law Projection through the mastery of World Laws, the illusory world created during this process could only be considered a type of Domain. It was nowhere close to being a true World. A true World would be akin to one of the many worlds found in Gods Domaincomposed of a complete set of functioning World Laws. If a player wished to create such a World, theyd have to grasp every World Law in existence, which simply wasnt a feat mortals could accomplish. No wonder all those sixth-floor experts back then failed to reach Tier 7. The difficulty is ridiculous. After learning about the requirement for reaching Tier 7, Shi Feng suddenly understood why even the Three Absolutes had failed to advance to Tier 7 in his previous life. In the human races Greater Gods Domain, most chosen ones nurtured by the various powers would need to undergo many challenges just to master one World Law. As for the old monsters who were several centuries old, most would have only mastered a few Basic Laws and combined them into an Advanced Law; they were still far from constructing a World of their own. Fortunately, the Main God System didnt deprive players of all possibilities to reach Tier 7. Players could still create their World by replicating the Worlds of Chaos Creatures. It would be similar to copying a magic array, only thousands of times more complicated. Even so, this was still a chance for players to advance to Tier 7, and it was infinitely easier than creating a World from scratch. The only problem was finding a compatible World. After all, while actual, functioning worlds had complete sets of World Laws, the composition of World Laws wasnt necessarily the same for every world. For example, some miniature worlds could have World Laws skewed toward a particular element, causing them to be icy cold or scorching hot all year round. If players could find a World with World Laws skewed toward those they were proficient in, they would undoubtedly have an easier time replicating it. Thankfully, there are over 5,000 Chaos Creatures in this Promotion Land. I wasnt given a time limit, either. Otherwise, I really would have no chance. When Shi Feng recalled the colossal phantom mentioning how many Chaos Creatures resided in this Promotion Land, he couldnt help but celebrate his decision to accept Enoss offer. Had he chosen other Promotion Lands, he would undoubtedly have far fewer Chaos Creatures to choose from. Even if he were to use up his Inferior Divine Tier 7 Promotion Land Scrolls two attempts, he doubted he could find a Promotion Land as good as this one. While Shi Feng pondered how to find a Chaos Creature, the land under him suddenly shook. Before he could react, a two-headed crocodile over a thousand meters long emerged from the ground near him, exuding an aura that was much stronger than even that of the Undying Mother. Level 254? Superior Divine? Shi Feng gasped when he used an Observation Skill on the giant beast. [Chaos Crocodile] (Chaos Creature, Superior Divine) Level 254 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? TL Notes: [1]Primordial God-ranked existences: These dont necessarily refer to the Primordial Gods of the human race. They can also be the Primordial God-ranked existences of other races, such as the Holy Races Holy Ancestors. Chapter 3936 - Chapter 1010 - Complete Feather of Oath Chapter 1010 C Complete Feather of Oath Did it sense me? Shi Feng immediately felt a great deal of pressure when he saw the Chaos Crocodile looking about. Level 254! He had never seen or heard of such a level in any of his lives. Past Level 200, monsters would gain a significant increase in Basic Attributes with each level-up. A Level 254 monster, even if it was only an ordinary Tier 6 Divine monster, would have Basic Attributes rivaling that of the Level 245 Undying Mother. Needless to say, a Level 254 Superior Divine-ranked Chaos Creature would have much higher Basic Attributes. Before Shi Feng could turn around to leave, the Chaos Crocodile let out a deafening roar. Immediately afterward, a surge of World Power descended upon him, sending him stumbling. What a powerful suppression! Even with Miniature Abyssal World active, my Basic Attributes still got suppressed by 20%! Is this a true Worlds suppressive effect? Shi Feng was astonished when he saw the drop in his Basic Attributes. After his Concentration and Mana had reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, his Primordial God-ranked Law Projection could let him come out with a small advantage, even against the Undying Mothers unique Law Domain. Yet, despite being at Tier 6 like the Undying Mother, the Chaos Crocodile could overwhelm his Miniature Abyssal World and suppress his Basic Attributes by 20%. He dared not imagine how an Advanced Law Projection would fare against the Chaos Crocodiles World. Upon realizing the disparity in strength, Shi Feng summoned several hundred true doppelgangers using Myriad Doppelgangers and fled in all directions without hesitation. Even if he used his last bottle of Divine Blood, he dared not say he could beat the Level 254 Chaos Crocodile in Basic Attributes. Moreover, that was assuming his Basic Attributes werent suppressed by 20%. With his Basic Attributes suppressed, hed be asking for an early death if he tried to fight the Chaos Crocodile head-on. All he could do in this situation was run away. However, the moment Shi Fengs true doppelgangers turned to flee, the Chaos Crocodile also took action. All the Chaos Crocodile did was raise and lower one of its mountainous claws. Immediately afterward, the ground around it began to sink, and over half of Shi Fengs true doppelgangers were reduced to dust in a few breaths Did it use a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill? After Shi Feng ran a thousand yards away, he finally sensed stable ground underfoot. When he turned back and saw the collapsed ground behind him, a shiver ran down his spine. The suppression the Promotion Land imposed on its inhabitants was much stronger than that of the Eternal Realm. Even as a Tier 6 player equipped with the Flame God Set, Shi Feng could only exhibit speed and destructive power equivalent to those of a Tier 3 player in his home Gods Domain. Under such circumstances, a Tier 6 Skills effective range would be a radius of two hundred yards, at most. For a Skill to affect a 1,000-yard radius in this Promotion Land, it had to be at the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard. At this discovery, Shi Feng was glad he decided to flee. Even if he were to use Divine Blood and Absolute Thunder, he doubted he could last long against a Level 254 Chaos Creature capable of using Pseudo-Tier 7 Skills. Subsequently, Shi Feng continued fleeing with his remaining 100-plus doppelgangers. Due to the Promotion Lands powerful suppression, over half of his remaining doppelgangers were still eliminated before they successfully escaped the Chaos Crocodiles perception. In a forest shrouded by fog, Shi Feng carefully retrieved the Feather of Oath from his bag after ensuring no Chaos Creatures were within a thousand yards of him. Moving alone in this Promotion Land with my current strength is next to impossible. Lets hope the actual Feather of Oath isnt too different from its legends, Shi Feng inwardly prayed as he looked at the Feather of Oath in his hand. Then, he took out the three World Sources he had redeemed from Enos. The Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land might have more Chaos Creatures, giving players a better chance of finding a suitable World to replicate, but the Chaos Creatures here were simply too powerful. Even the Divine Set users he had met thus far would have a high chance of dying if they encountered one of these Chaos Creatures. If he wanted to explore the Promotion Land safely, he would need strength rivaling that of the Promotion Lands Chaos Creatures. Hence, he had no choice but to place his hopes on the Feather of Oath. The Feather of Oath was one of the Goddess of Spaces most prized possessions. According to legends, the Feather of Oath could let its user fight Primordial Gods. Although many players doubted the validity of this legend, Shi Feng didnt need it to fight Primordial Gods. He only needed it to grant him strength to distract the Promotion Lands Chaos Creatures. After all, his goal was only to absorb a Chaos Creatures strength using the Taboo Nucleus, not to kill them. System: Three World Sources detected. Do you wish to repair the Feather of Oath with them? Repair it! Shi Feng clicked the option to repair the Feather of Oath. Immediately, the three World Sources turned into three purple-gold divine runes that merged with the Feather of Oath, causing it to emit a colorful brilliance that illuminated a small section of the foggy forest. A few seconds later, the colorful lights faded, and the Feather of Oath landed back in Shi Fengs hand, exuding unbelievably dense Eternal Energy. When Shi Feng noticed this change, he promptly used an Appraisal Skill on the Feather of Oath. [Feather of Oath] (Divine Artifact) An item worn by the Goddess of Space. It is a treasure created using the souls of twelve heroes from before the Great Destruction. Although the Feather of Oath suffered serious damage during a fight against three Holy Ancestors, it is now repaired. Additional Skill 1- War Goddess Summoning: For every 1,000,000 units of Seven Luminaries Crystal expended, summon one War Goddess of the same tier but no more than twenty levels higher. (The summoned War Goddesses can reach up to Tier 6 and come equipped with Divine Artifact-ranked Equipment Sets.) Every War Goddess summoned will last six hours. Up to twelve War Goddesses can be summoned at the same time. No incantations required. No Cooldown. Additional Skill 2- Heroic Pledge: Expend ten God Crystals to double a War Goddesss Basic Attributes. (No limit.) Duration: 30 minutes Cooldown: 6 hours Additional Skill 3- Goddess Battle Array: Expend 100 God Crystals to have twelve War Goddesses form a Large Advanced Gold Battle Array. Duration: 30 minutes Cooldown: 6 hours Amazing! Excitement shone in Shi Fengs eyes as he looked at the fully repaired Feather of Oath. Although the cost of using the complete Feather of Oath was much higher, its three Skills had improved qualitatively. Now, the equipment of the War Goddesses he summoned would no longer be random. Instead, all War Goddesses would come equipped with a Divine Set. This improvement was much greater than if a player switched from a full set of Divine Artifacts to a Divine Set. In Gods Domain, the hidden level limit of Divine Artifacts for players was Level 240. However, that was not the case for NPCs. This was also why Holy Cities guarded by Level 240-plus NPCs were incredibly difficult to capture. After all, if a player and an NPC fully equipped with Divine Artifacts were to reach Level 243, the players equipment would stop at Level 240, while the NPCs equipment would grow to Level 243. This meant the Level 243 NPC would receive more Basic Attributes from his equipment than the Level 243 player. To make matters worse, NPCs inherently had more Basic Attributes than players. This disparity in equipment level only served to widen the gap in Basic Attributes between players and NPCs. Now that he was Level 239, he could summon Level 259 War Goddesses, and he could summon up to 12 at a time. If he were to encounter the Chaos Crocodile again, he felt that he might even be able to kill it, let alone keep it pinned. Chapter 3937 - Chapter 1011 - Advanced World Chapter 1011 C Advanced World Promotion Land, Northern Plain: Awoo! A powerful howl echoed across the Northern Plains outskirts. The howl came from a giant wolf over 1,500 meters tall as it glared vigilantly at the woman approaching it with a greatsword in hand. The giant wolfs vigilance increased with each step this greatsword-wielding woman took. When this woman came within a hundred yards of it, the giant wolf lunged forward and bit down on the figure. In response, the woman raised her greatsword to meet the attack. Boom! After a brief collision between the giant wolfs fangs and the womans greatsword, the giant wolf was forced three steps back, while the woman regained her footing after taking only one step back. Immediately afterward, she lunged at the giant wolf, her greatsword poised for attack. After several dozen exchanges between the two, the giant wolf let out a frustrated howl before turning around and fleeing the Northern Plain, abandoning its fight with the greatsword-wielding woman. This Promotion Land is absurdly massive. Its almost as large as the average Gods Domain. I didnt think it would take a day of travel just to reach the Promotion Lands core area. Hopefully, there is a powerful Chaos Creature whose World suits me, Shi Feng thought, glancing at the fleeing Chaos Frostwolf before quickly shifting his focus to a distant mountain range. After repairing the Feather of Oath, Shi Feng felt that completing his Tier 7 promotion with just an ordinary Chaos Creatures World would be a waste. Hence, he decided to aim for the powerful Chaos Creatures residing in the Promotion Lands core area. According to the colossal phantom, the stronger the Chaos Creature, the stronger their World would be. Going by this logic, when players were advancing to Tier 7, the stronger the World they created for themselves, the stronger they would be at Tier 7. With the Level 259 War Goddesses being able to easily suppress ordinary Chaos Creatures, Shi Feng would have a much easier time completing his Tier 7 promotion if he only targeted ordinary Chaos Creatures. But in that case, should he encounter other Tier 7 players in the future, he wouldnt have any obvious advantages over them. On the other hand, if he were to replicate a powerful Chaos Creatures World, he would be able to manipulate a lot more World Power. This would give him an advantage over the average Tier 7 player. Not to mention, he had already constructed the Miniature Abyssal World. Thanks to it, he could fight Mortal Gods despite not being a Mortal God himself. It would be a shame if he couldnt maintain such an advantage once he reached Tier 7. Moreover, now that he had a chance to create a stronger World, he naturally had to try it. As for the four top-tier Chaos Creatures, Shi Feng dared not set his sights on them. According to the Grand Librarys records, the average Chaos Creature already had the strength to give Primordial Gods a headache, while powerful Chaos Creatures were as strong as the average Primordial God. As for top-tier Chaos Creatures, the average Primordial God would flee for their lives as soon as they encountered one. Even with the Feather of Oath, Shi Feng doubted a Tier 6 player like himself could last long enough to steal a top-tier Chaos Creatures strength and replicate its World. If not for this Promotion Land belonging to the Primordial Abyssal God, it might only hold some powerful Chaos Creatures. Some Promotion Lands might not even have powerful Chaos Creatures, offering players only ordinary ones. After traveling across the Promotion Land for the past day, Shi Feng realized that his time here was limited. Due to the presence of many Chaos Creatures, Chaos Energy filled the entire Promotion Land. This Chaos Energy continuously eroded the energy of players, and how long a player could survive in this Promotion Land depended entirely on their Divine Body. The stronger a players Divine Body, the denser their Mana would be and the longer they could resist the erosion of Chaos Energy. At the current rate his Mana was being eroded, Shi Feng estimated that players with a Gold Divine Body could only last a day here, while players with an Epic Divine Body could last two days and players with a Legendary Divine Body could last three days. Shi Feng should have no trouble lasting a week with his Legendary-ranked Superior Divine Body. This was also why he dared to challenge the core areas powerful Chaos Creatures. Although the core area was massive, six days should be enough for him to find a powerful Chaos Creature that suited him. About twenty minutes after Shi Feng and the greatsword-wielding War Goddess started making their way toward the mountain range, a series of roars came from the mountain range. The roars sounded different, apparently coming from different Chaos Creatures. Moreover, these roars were so powerful that they flattened the peaks of the mountains at the edge of the mountain range. Whats going on? What rank of monsters are fighting here? Shi Feng stared at the flattened mountaintops, stunned. If the roars of these Chaos Creatures alone could flatten the peaks of the nearby mountains, they were unlikely to be ordinary Chaos Creatures. Before Shi Feng could recover from his shock, 15 Chaos Creatures rushed out of the mountain range, their massive framesover 2,000 meters in heightdevastating the land and mountains they crossed. After making their exit, these 15 Chaos Creatures turned around to glare at a five-headed dragon standing at the edge of the mountain range. The five-headed dragon was covered in pitch-black scales and had black electric arcs flowing all over its body. Two of its heads were missing, torn from its body along with the necks connecting them. As for its three remaining heads, one had its fangs clamped down on the flaming lion stomped under its feet, while the other two glared at the 15 Chaos Creatures outside the mountain range. Initially, the 15 Chaos Creatures still desired to continue their fight with the five-headed dragon. However, they all froze in place when they sensed their Basic Attributes decreasing gradually. Is thisan Advanced World? Shi Feng focused on the five-headed dragon after he saw the decreasing Basic Attributes of the other Chaos Creatures. A powerful Chaos Creature that has grasped an Advanced World? [Five-Headed Chaos Dragon] (Chaos Creature, Superior Divine) Level 258 HP ? ? ? ? ? ? In the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land, ordinary Chaos Creatures had their strength suppressed to a point where they could only maintain a height of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Seeing as the 15 Chaos Creatures surrounding the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon were over 2,000 meters tall, they should all be powerful Chaos Creatures. Yet, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon had suppressed the Basic Attributes of these powerful Chaos Creatures with its World Power alone. Besides an Advanced Worlds World Power, Shi Feng couldnt think of any other possibility to explain this situation. However, under normal circumstances, only top-tier Chaos Creatures should be able to grasp an Advanced World. As the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons size did not exceed that of the 15 Chaos Creatures around it by much, it obviously still fell under the category of powerful Chaos Creatures. Yet, it had already grasped an Advanced World. This was simply unbelievable. While Shi Feng marveled at the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World, the 15 Chaos Creatures realized they were no match for their adversary. Despite their reluctance, they ultimately decided to flee and abandon their territory. Could this be my chance? As Shi Feng looked at the injured Five-Headed Chaos Dragon and the fleeing powerful Chaos Creatures, hesitancy flashed in his eyes. A moment later, he gritted his teeth and summoned 11 more War Goddesses, saying, To hell with it! Attack! Advanced Worlds were normally exclusive to top-tier Chaos Creatures. Before this encounter, he never dared to consider replicating an Advanced World. But now, the injured Five-Headed Chaos Dragon presented him with this opportunity. Although the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World likely allowed it to exhibit strength greater than that of the average powerful Chaos Creature, he should still have a chance of success with the complete Feather of Oath. Chapter 3938 - Chapter 1012 - War Goddesses vs. Five-Headed Chaos Dragon Chapter 1012 C War Goddesses vs. Five-Headed Chaos Dragon At Shi Fengs command, the 12 Level 259 War Goddesses dashed across the grassy plain, charging the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon. Roar! Almost as soon as the War Goddesses moved, the Level 258 Five-Headed Chaos Dragon sensed them from over 10,000 yards away, and one of its heads let out a powerful roar. The roar caused the flow of time in the area to stagnate. Whether it was the flowers and grass dancing with the wind or the falling gravel, everything within a several-thousand-yard radius froze in place. Immediately afterward, a pitch-black lightning bolt streaked toward Shi Feng. Shi Feng felt death descending upon him at this scene. He activated Heroic Pledge almost instinctively, doubling the Basic Attributes of the shield-wielding War Goddess leading the charge. The shield-wielding War Goddess in question also understood that the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons attack was not to be trifled with. Without hesitation, she planted her golden shield into the ground, erecting nine World Barriers between her and the lightning bolt. Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill, Worlds Protection! This was the Profound Skill of the shield-wielding War Goddesss Divine Set. It was also the strongest Defensive Skill in her arsenal. Boom! The instant the pitch-black lightning bolt made contact with the World Barriers, six of them vaporized, while the remaining three World Barriers cracked and shattered one after another. The pitch-black lightning bolt only disappeared after colliding with the golden shield, forcing the shield-wielding War Goddess back several steps, and reaping over 10% of her HP. How strong! Is this the strength brought about by an Advanced Worlds enhancement? Shi Feng was shocked to see the shield-wielding War Goddess lose over 10% HP. Under the effects of Heroic Pledge, the shield-wielding War Goddesss Basic Attributes could rival those of Primordial Gods of the same level. Nonetheless, she lost so much HP despite using a Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skill. A War Goddesss HP was several dozen times higher than that of players of the same level. An attack that could cause a War Goddess to lose even 10% HP would be enough to kill a player of the same level several times over. The average powerful Chaos Creature definitely couldnt exhibit such power, even with a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill. The only explanation was that the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons roar was enhanced by the World Power of its Advanced World, making the lightning bolt, which resulted from the roar, difficult for the shield-wielding War Goddess to neutralize. As Shi Feng marveled at the might of an Advanced World, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragondissatisfied with the outcome of its attackreared all three of its remaining heads to launch a much stronger attack. Dammit! When Shi Feng saw the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon preparing to launch a similar attack, he promptly took out the Taboo Nucleus and injected 100 God Crystals into the Feather of Oath. Dont even think you can kill me off so easily! Shi Feng targeted the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon with the Taboo Nucleus, using it to absorb the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength. Although doing so would anger the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon even more, he could weaken the Chaos Creature to a certain extent. Additionally, he expended the 100 God Crystals he had just injected into the Feather of Oath to activate the Goddess Battle Array. This caused golden divine runes to light up all over the 12 War Goddesses, and their auras, in turn, surged in power. Now, even the other 11 War Goddesses exuded auras rivaling that of the shield-wielding War Goddess. Subsequently, with the shield-wielding War Goddess as the center, the 12 War Goddesses executed a combination technique, which was also the strongest combat technique the Goddess of Space had granted them. God-Slaying Spear! Although this combination technique could be executed with just six War Goddesses, completing it required some time. However, when executed by 12 War Goddesses, no preparation was required; it could be launched straight away. Immediately, a 5,000-meter-tall phantom of the Goddess of Space appeared on the battlefield and cast the golden spear in its hand at the roaring Five-Headed Chaos Dragon. Bang! The pitch-black lightning bolt created by the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons threefold roar exploded on contact with the golden spear. Numerous spatial tears appeared around the epicenter of the explosion. Good! I still have a chance! Shi Feng was overjoyed when he saw the War Goddesses neutralizing the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons attack. The Taboo Nucleus required time to absorb the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength. Although he didnt know how long this process would take, it definitely wouldnt be short. Hence, if, even after activating both Heroic Pledge and the Goddess Battle Array, the War Goddesses couldnt neutralize the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons attacks, he would have had no choice but to retreat. Following the War Goddesses initial clash with the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon, a system notification rang in Shi Fengs ears. System: The Taboo Nucleus needs 90 seconds to absorb the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength. Ninety seconds? When Shi Feng saw the time needed to absorb the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength, he was neither happy nor sad. With his current strength, killing the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon was out of the question. However, if he only had to survive 90 seconds against it, he should have a good chance of success. After all, both Heroic Pledge and the Goddess Battle Array lasted 30 minutes. So long as the War Goddesses could keep the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon pinned, all he needed to do was not get killed for 90 seconds. Curse you, Abyss! the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon bellowed at the skies when it saw numerous incorporeal chains embedding themselves into its body and sapping its strength. Then, it turned to the Taboo Nucleus responsible for draining its strength and glared at Shi Feng. Puny creature! I wont let you have my strength, even with the Primordial Abyssal God helping you! After saying so, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon flew toward Shi Feng, the movement of its wings collapsing the space within a 3,000-yard radius. Without hesitation, the 12 War Goddesses took to the skies to intercept the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon. However, their Basic Attributes plummeted as soon as they were within 3,000 yards of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon, and all the benefits they received from the Goddess Battle Array were negated in the blink of an eye. Only the shield-wielding War Goddess could barely rival Primordial Gods of the same level. Even if you have an Advanced World, I wont fall so easily! As Shi Feng watched the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon getting closer, he took out the Phantom Crystal and summoned Kalishas phantom. Chapter 3939 - Chapter 1013 - Tier 7 Concentration Chapter 1013 C Tier 7 Concentration TL Notes: Made a correction in Chapter 1012: Primordial Dragon Legacy Crystal -> Phantom Crystal (introduced in Chapter 919) Ive also made a change in Chapter 919: Changed illusion doppelganger to phantom doppelganger As Shi Feng crushed Kalishas Phantom Crystal, a phantom doppelganger 10,000 meters in height descended upon the Northern Plain. Ten thousand meters? Shi Feng couldnt believe his eyes when he saw Kalishas towering phantom. The suppression the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land exerted on its inhabitants was the strongest Shi Feng had ever seen. Even powerful Chaos Creatures that could challenge Primordial Gods of the same level had their heights reduced to under 3,000 meters. Although the size of NPCs and monsters didnt fully correlate with their strength, it could indicate their energy standards. A 10,000-meter-tall phantom! If speaking purely in mana standards, Kalishas phantom was much stronger than even the 12 War Goddesses when enhanced by Heroic Pledge and the Goddess Battle Array. This situation was simply unbelievable. Although Kalisha, the Dragon Princess, was regarded as one of the ten strongest NPCs in the human races Greater Gods Domain in his previous life, she only rivaled Primordial Gods of the same level. Not to mention, while he might have helped Kalisha recover her strength in this life, her phantom should only hold a small portion of her strength. The phantom shouldnt be anywhere close to matching Kalisha herself. Despite that, Kalishas phantom was already stronger than even the Goddess phantom the War Goddesses conjured when they executed the God-Slaying Spear Technique. Shi Feng dared not imagine how strong Kalisha was right now. Kalishas gigantic phantom similarly frightened the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon. The Five-Headed Chaos Dragon, with its height of over 2,000 meters, could already be considered massive. Shi Feng would appear smaller than an ant if he were to stand before it. Nonetheless, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon was nothing more than a slightly larger lizard before Kalishas phantom. You came to that old fellows territory to conduct your promotion? It seems Ive underestimated you before, Kalisha said, glancing at her surroundings before looking at Shi Feng in surprise. She completely ignored the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon before her. I got lucky. I happened to complete a commission and earned the opportunity to come here, Shi Feng explained in response to Kalishas praise. Is that your target? Kalisha finally turned to look at the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon before her. Then, she said with a nod, Not bad. It has already grasped an Advanced World despite having yet to reach adulthood. At this rate, it might be able to crown itself as a king among Chaos Creatures once it reaches adulthood. Can you stop it from attacking me for 90 seconds? Shi Feng asked worriedly when he heard Kalishas evaluation of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon. A king among Chaos Creatures! This was a top existence among Chaos Creatures. Even the Primordial Abyssal God should have difficulty dealing with such an opponent. Seeing as Kalisha had given the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon such a high evaluation, it likely hadnt revealed its true strength thus far. Ninety seconds? Kalisha glanced at the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon that was opening its three mouths once more. Without hesitation, she answered, That wont be difficult. After saying so, Kalishas phantom raised its hand and erased all light within a 10,000-yard radius. At the same time, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Basic Attributes plummeted to just 70% of their original values in the blink of an eye. Immediately afterward, the phantom lowered its hand, creating a dark ripple that neutralized the three pitch-black lightning bolts the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons roars created. Meanwhile, the 12 War Goddesses seemed to have been freed from their restraints as they recovered their Basic Attributes. Because of this shift in circumstances, the War Goddesses Basic Attributes exceeded that of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon by a slight margin. Now, even without the intervention of Kalishas phantom, the 12 War Goddesses could keep the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon from Shi Feng. Subsequently, time passed rapidly as the Taboo Nucleus absorbed the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength. Eighty seconds Sixty seconds Thirty seconds Even as the Taboo Nucleus absorbed the last vestiges of its strength, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon never managed to touch Shi Feng. Despite its frustration, the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon ultimately transformed into light particles and disappeared from the Promotion Land. System: Congratulations! Your Taboo Nucleus has absorbed the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength. Do you wish to receive the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons World Structure? System: You have ten minutes to decide. Once you accept the World Structure, you will have one natural day to replicate it before it automatically disappears. The higher the fusion rate, the more World Power you can access after you complete your promotion. System: If you cannot finish replicating it in one natural day, or if your fusion rate fails to reach 70%, you will fail your promotion, and you will not be able to receive the power of a Taboo Nucleus again for one year. A fusion rate of 70%? Shi Feng smiled wryly as he read the system notifications. No wonder nobody from the three races ever managed to reach Tier 7. This requirement is simply ridiculous. Shi Feng was pleasantly surprised when he saw he was given a one-day time limit to replicate the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World. However, when he saw the requirement of a 70% fusion rate, he felt like someone had just poured a bucket of cold water over him. The process of constructing an unfamiliar World using unfamiliar World Laws was already a huge undertaking in itself. However, the Tier 7 promotion required him to replicate the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World and ensure its compatibility. In other words, hed have to make modifications to the replicated Advanced World. This was a fatal requirement for someone who couldnt even construct a World of his own. After all, he could modify a World from countless aspects. How was he supposed to know which modifications, or combination of modifications, would make the Advanced World more compatible with him? Shi Feng got a headache when he thought up to this point, and he hesitated over whether to accept the World Structure of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World. How lucky of you to obtain something as good as the Abyssal Fruit! When Kalisha saw Shi Fengs indecision, a look of vexation appeared on her phantom. With the Abyssal Fruit, your chances of making that step are drastically higher than others, so stop hesitating and wasting time. The Abyssal Fruit? At Kalishas exasperated remark, Shi Feng grabbed the Abyssal Fruit from his bag and ate it whole, wondering what effects it would bring him. Although he had previously inspected the Abyssal Fruit, its introduction only stated that it was an Abyssal Relic and nothing else. Hence, he had left it sitting in his bag. Now that the Taboo Nucleus had finished absorbing the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons strength, it was the right time to use the Abyssal Fruit. Three seconds after Shi Feng consumed the Abyssal Fruit, he sensed immense power welling up within his body and condensing in the depths of his mind. Then, it augmented his Concentration at a frightening rate. Ten seconds later, Shi Feng felt he had broken through some kind of restraint. Originally, his perception only extended 1,000 yards away. Now, he could perceive everything within a 100,000-yard radius. Tier 7 Concentration?! Shi Feng was shocked by this sudden transformation. Out of all Attributes in Gods Domain, Concentration was the most difficult to raise. Even after reaching Tier 6, many players Concentration would still be stuck at the Tier 5 standard. Most Tier 6 players would have to undergo a long development period before their Concentration could advance from Tier 5 to Tier 6. This showed just how difficult it was to develop ones Concentration. Although Shi Fengs Concentration was previously at the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, it had still been a far cry from the Tier 7 standard. He had even considered slowly developing his Concentration to the Tier 7 standard after completing his Tier 7 promotion. But now, the Abyssal Fruit had propelled his Concentration to the Tier 7 standard. Chapter 3940 - Chapter 1014 - 96% Fusion Rate Chapter 1014 C 96% Fusion Rate System: Congratulations! Your Concentration has reached the Tier 7 standard. Rewarding Level +1 and 100 Free Legacy Skill Points. Following the system notification, a purple-gold light enveloped Shi Feng as his level increased from 239 to 240. However, this supposedly monumental achievement did not draw Shi Fengs attention, as he focused entirely on his mental state. Are these the benefits of having Tier 7 Concentration? Shi Feng had difficulty believing the changes brought about by the improvement of his Concentration. His perception range increasing from 1,000 yards to 100,000 yards in the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land was only the tip of the iceberg. Compared to the improvements to his control over mana, the improvement to his perception was insignificant. With a flick of his wrist, Shi Feng controlled the mana within a 100,000-yard radius as if it were an extension of himself, creating seven mana vortices in the blink of an eye. Each of these mana vortices gathered one of the seven magic elementsearth, water, wind, fire, time, illusion, and spaceas they orbited him, eventually forming seven independent Law Projections. With another flick of his wrist, Shi Feng merged all seven magic elements to create a Miniature Abyssal World that covered a 100,000-yard radius. Immediately, all the Chaos Creatures drawn by his fight with the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon and caught within his Miniature Abyssal World were heavily suppressed, their Basic Attributes reduced by 50% or more. No wonder Enos can promise to double my chances of getting promoted. With such incredible mana control, I can probably create a World from scratch if given enough time, let alone replicate a Chaos Creatures World. When Shi Feng saw how effortlessly he had constructed the Miniature Abyssal World, he suddenly understood why Enos had placed so much faith in the Abyssal Fruit. Even the difference between Tier 7 Concentration and Pseudo-Tier 7 Concentration was utterly staggering, let alone between Tier 7 Concentration and Tier 6 Limit Concentration. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say they were entirely different things. If he still needed to use his hands before to manipulate magic elements, those magic elements were now his hands; he could move them with just a thought. With such incredible mana control, he could have these magic elements reproduce World Laws as easily as having his body perform various actions. Compared to before, when it felt like he was manipulating a puppet with strings, the difficulty was drastically lower. After Shi Feng familiarized himself with his improved Concentration, he promptly accepted the World Structure of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World. This place is too close to the core area. I should find a safer place to study the World Structure. When Shi Feng sensed over a dozen Chaos Creatures within 100,000 yards of him, he promptly traveled to the Promotion Lands outer area with the War Goddesses and Kalishas phantom. With Kalishas phantom dealing with the Chaos Creatures in their way and the War Goddesses protecting him, Shi Feng arrived at the outer area in less than two hours. Then, he found a safe location and studied the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World. As expected of an Advanced World. Its complexity is truly astounding. If my Concentration hadnt reached the Tier 7 standard, I might not be able to replicate even 30% of it in a year. After spending half an hour accepting all the information recorded in the Taboo Nucleus, Shi Feng better understood how difficult it was to reach Tier 7. Although he had known that constructing a World would be difficult, only after seeing the World Structure of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World did he understand why he had never heard of any player from the human races Greater Gods Domain successfully advancing to Tier 7. The Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World comprised 1,000 Basic Laws and 36 Advanced Laws centered around the Law of Destruction. These World Laws intertwined and operated around one another, and only when all of them were positioned correctly could they form a complete World. In the human races Greater Gods Domain, most Tier 6 players would be fortunate if they could even replicate a Basic Law and get it to function properly. As for experts among Tier 6 players, they struggled to even get an Advanced Law to function properly. Yet, to construct a World, players needed to simultaneously operate over a thousand World Laws, some of which were Advanced Laws. Even Mortal Gods capable of Manifold Execution would likely find it impossible to accomplish such a feat. Although the difficulty is high, I should be able to replicate the Advanced World with my Tier 7 Concentration. The only problem now is modifying it. After taking a deep breath, Shi Feng began his first attempt at replicating the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World. The real challenge in constructing a World was establishing a functioning framework of World Laws, also known as a World Structure. In a situation where he already had a functioning World Structure, he could simply copy it as if copying a magic array and skip this challenging step entirely. As Shi Feng expected, his Tier 7 Concentration allowed him to fully reconstruct the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World in under three hours. It even operated normally, albeit with some minor problems here and there. System: Congratulations! Your replicated Advanced World has achieved a 45% Fusion Rate. System: Congratulations! Your replicated Advanced World has achieved a 46% Fusion Rate. System: Congratulations! Your replicated Advanced World has achieved a 61% Fusion Rate. As Shi Feng ironed out the problems in the Advanced Worlds operations, the Advanced Worlds Fusion Rate also increased. Finally, 28 hours after Shi Feng accepted the World Structure of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World, he achieved a 69% Fusion Rate. He was just 1% short of meeting the requirement to advance to Tier 7. Sure enough, the system wont let me achieve a 70% Fusion Rate simply by making a perfect copy. Shi Feng frowned when he saw no more imperfections in the Advanced World he had constructed within his Divine Body. With his Tier 7 Concentration, perfectly replicating the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World was simple. Even so, this simple task had taken him over 20 hours to complete. As there were only 48 hours in one natural day in Gods Domain, he had just 20 hours to modify the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World and increase its compatibility with him The Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World had 1,000 Basic Laws that could be altered in various ways. Even if he made only one modification to each of these Basic Laws, he would end up with a thousand different combinations. If he were to try every possible combination, it could take him years to find the right one. With the time I have left, going down the less volatile route of modifying Basic Laws is out of the question. If I want to increase the compatibility of this Advanced World quickly, modifying its Advanced Laws that serve as its core should be the way to go. After mentally glancing at the miniature world he had created within his Divine Body, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and decided to modify the Advanced Worlds Advanced Laws. On his first attempt, Shi Feng modified the position of only one Advanced Law. Nonetheless, the change had destabilized the World Structure so much that the Advanced World collapsed on the spot However, after his first failed attempt, Shi Feng quickly reconstructed the Advanced World and modified a different Advanced Law, having no intentions of stopping. Unfortunately, his second attempt still failed. Third attempt Fourth attempt Nearly 20 hours and 4,345 attempts later, Shi Feng sat on the ground with a pale complexion and sweat pouring down his head. Of the thousands of attempts Ive tried, only two didnt fail catastrophically. Moreover, neither of these successful attempts achieved anything close to a 70% Fusion Rate. Have I mistaken my approach this whole time? Shi Feng grew extremely irritated when he saw what little time he had left. Modifying the Advanced Worlds World Structure was much more challenging than he expected. He only succeeded in producing two stable World Structures out of his 4,345 attempts. Furthermore, both successful attempts yielded Fusion Rates so pitiful he nearly cried when he saw them. One yielded a 26% Fusion Rate, while the other yielded a depressing 9%. They were such terrible results that he never even thought of improving them. Wait, theres still another way! As Shi Feng stared at the system notification informing him that he had five minutes remaining, an idea he had never considered occurred to him. The World Structure of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World centered around the Law of Destruction. Because of this, Shi Feng never dared to touch it. After all, it was the most important foundation of the Advanced World. However, he had already tried modifying the other Advanced Laws and achieved little to no success. Only the Law of Destruction remained untouched. It was also his last opportunity at success. Its all or nothing! When Shi Feng saw less than four minutes remaining, he stopped hesitating and tried replacing the Law of Destruction with the Miniature Abyssal World. The Miniature Abyssal World was a miniature world the Primordial Abyssal God created after much time and research. Serving as the core of this miniature world was the Law of Abyss, an ultimate World Law that surpassed even the Law of Destruction. More specifically, the Law of Destruction was only one part of the Law of Abyss. Hence, the Miniature Abyssal World should be able to replace the Law of Destruction as the core of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons Advanced World. As soon as Shi Feng replaced the Law of Destruction, a system notification rang in his ears. System: Congratulations! Your replicated Advanced World has achieved a 96% Fusion Rate. You have met the requirement for fusion. Do you wish to proceed with the fusion? Chapter 3941 - Chapter 1015 - Tier 7 at Last Chapter 1015 C Tier 7 at Last I did it? Shi Feng couldnt believe his eyes as he stared at the system notification. He had only been flogging a dead horse when he decided to replace the Law of Destruction with the Miniature Abyssal World. After all, with the time he had left, he hadnt had many attempts left. However, his last-ditch attempt had not only achieved a Fusion Rate exceeding 70% but even reached 96%. Although he didnt know how great a 96% Fusion Rate was compared to other players who had successfully advanced to Tier 7, he was more than happy to accept it. Tier 7! This was a realm no player from the human races Greater Gods Domain had ever reached. Even if he had achieved only a 70% Fusion Rate, he wouldve accepted it without hesitation, let alone a 96% Fusion Rate. There was no doubt that any player who successfully reached Tier 7 stood among the strongest players in Gods Domain. They would become an existence revered by players of all races. They could trade blows with bona fide Primordial Gods. They were vastly superior to half-baked Tier 6 Divine Set users. After returning to his senses, Shi Feng promptly chose to fuse with the Advanced World he had created. Immediately afterward, he felt the Advanced World connecting with his Divine Body, causing his Divine Body to produce and supply the Advanced World with dense mana. He no longer had to commit much of his mental capacity to control and maintain the Advanced World. One minute Two minutes Ten minutes As the Advanced World connected itself with all of the mana supply points in Shi Fengs Divine Body, it began to refine the mana in his body. As this happened, Shi Feng felt his body heating up like a furnace. This process continued for nearly a day when Shi Feng suddenly felt like he had become a different personlighter and more comfortable, as if an invisible weight had been removed from his body. System: World fusion completed. Your World Power has reached the Gold rank. Any Skills and Spells used within your World will have their Completion Rates increased by 10%. You have received an additional Tier 7 Legacy Skill to learn. System: Congratulations! You have become a Tier 7 Sword Law Saint (Advanced Sword God). Base Basic Attributes +60,000, all Resistances +3,000, Mana recovery rate increased by 1,000%, Mana Strength increased by 500%, Concentration increased by 500%, Stamina recovery speed increased by 500%, HP recovery speed increased by 300%, Concentration recovery speed increased by 500%, all physical, magical, and mental attacks received that are below the Tier 7 standard will be weakened by 80%, all Basic Attributes increased by 500%, and reaction speed improved by 500%. Rewarding 3,000 Legacy Skill Points. Amazing! The improvements Shi Feng received for reaching Tier 7 startled him. The base Basic Attributes he received for becoming a Tier 7 Sword Law Saint was five times more than when he became a Tier 6 Sword Law Saint. He also received an additional 500% bonus for all Basic Attributes. Once he factored in the bonuses from his equipment, hed have higher Basic Attributes than when he had fought Empyreal Wraith with the assistance of Divine Blood and Abyssal Will. He had truly become a humanoid Boss. However, what surprised him the most wasnt the increase in his Basic Attributes but rather the 500% increase in his reaction speed. With his current reaction speed, even Mortal Gods would have difficulty keeping up with his attacks. Although their eyes might be able to keep up with his speed, itd be meaningless if their bodies couldnt keep up. With my current strength, I can probably beat those Taboo Bosses, even without any techniques or Skills, Shi Feng thought, astonished when he sensed the surrounding space trembling because of his movements. The Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land was extraordinarily stable. It also exerted an unimaginable suppression on its inhabitants. Even Tier 6 players could only exhibit strength at the Tier 2 or Tier 3 standard here. However, this suppression seemingly disappeared after he became a Tier 7 Advanced Sword God. The Promotion Lands space now felt like paper to him, shreddable with just a little force. After Shi Feng familiarized himself with his newfound strength, he pulled up the list of Tier 7 Legacy Skills he could learn, curious to see what achieving Gold-ranked World Power qualified him for. [Heavenly Sword] Requires: Sword Tier 7 Peak Legacy Skill Conjure a Heavenly Sword using World Power to perform a frontal AOE attack carrying up to 1,000% of your Strength. Cooldown: 10 minutes Learning condition: 1,500 Legacy Skill Points [Lightless] Requires: Sword Tier 7 Peak Legacy Skill Rapidly execute nine slashes. Attack Speed of each slash can be increased up to 1,000%. Cooldown: 1 minute Learning condition: 1,500 Legacy Skill Points [Eternal Sword] Requires: Sword Tier 7 Apex Legacy Spell (Super Large-Scale Destruction Spell) Conjure a World Sword using all your World Power to perform a large-scale annihilation attack. Cooldown: 1 natural day Learning condition: 2,000 Legacy Skill Points Even the cheapest one costs 1,500 Legacy Skill Points? The cost of learning Tier 7 Legacy Skills flabbergasted Shi Feng. The Tier 7 Legacy Skills he was offered were undeniably powerful. Even the weakest was a Tier 7 Peak Legacy Skill significantly better than the Profound Skills of Divine Artifacts. It exhibited much greater power and had a much shorter Cooldown. However, it cost 1,500 to 2,000 Legacy Skill Points to learn just one of these Tier 7 Legacy Skills. It was many times more than what he had to pay to learn his Tier 6 Legacy Skills. If not for his promotion reward, which included 3,000 Legacy Skill Points, he wouldnt have been able to afford even one Tier 7 Legacy Skill with his existing Legacy Skill Points. I only have 3,910 Legacy Skill Points, so I can only pick two to learn. After deliberating on it, Shi Feng learned Lightless and Eternal Sword. Lightless had a short Cooldown, making it highly effective in extended battles. As for Eternal Sword, although it had a long Cooldown, it was an incredible AOE Spell. So long as he didnt encounter existences on par with the human races Ten Great NPCs, he could use Lightless and Eternal Sword as powerful deterrents in the war among the three races. Just when Shi Feng finished learning the Legacy Skills and was thinking about how to return, he suddenly realized an old man with an indistinct face was standing before him. The old man was only the size of a normal human. However, Shi Feng choked when he sensed the old mans aura. He felt as if he was standing before a powerful Chaos Creature when he was still at Tier 6. How many years has it been? I never thought a young fellow like you would succeed. You even grasped an Advanced World, the old man said. Although his appearance was indistinct, the joy in his voice was apparent. Out of the hundreds who have succeeded in the past, you are the second to have made such an accomplishment, after the young fellow named Space. Since you have already advanced to Tier 7, it is time you returned. If the opportunity arises, I hope we can meet in person. As the old man finished speaking, he drew a divine rune in the air. Before Shi Feng could open his mouth, the divine rune transformed into a crimson space-time passage that engulfed and took him away from the Promotion Land. TL Notes: Made a change in Chapters 264, 475, 651 (These are the chapters where Shi Feng advances to Tier 4, Tier 5, and Tier 6, respectively.): All Basic Attributes +(value) changed to Base Basic Attributes +(value) for clarity. Chapter 3942 - Chapter 1016 - New Overlord Chapter 1016 C New Overlord Eternal Realm, primordial civilization city: Shi Feng appeared in the Teleportation Tower in a flash of light, a massive headache assaulting him as he stepped out of the teleportation array. Why is the trip back so much rougher? If my Concentration hadnt reached Tier 7, I would probably have fainted by now, Shi Feng thought to himself as he looked at the fading crimson space-time passage behind him with lingering fear. From the moment the old man sent Shi Feng into the space-time passage until he exited, he felt as if someone had repeatedly hacked at his soul with a blade. The excruciating experience wouldve been unbearable for the average person. Shi Feng even suspected that he might have suffered Soul Annihilation had he undergone this experience when he was still at Tier 6, and he would never have reached the Primordial Abyssal Gods Promotion Land. However, Shi Feng soon forgot about his headache when he stepped out of the Teleportation Tower and saw the street before him. More specifically, his attention was drawn to the many shops, high-end hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. that lined the sides of the street. They were all Advanced Constructions that had dozens of floors. Additionally, he saw many high-ranking caravans and high-level players traversing the street. Most of these players were Level 230 or above, including quite a few Level 240 experts. There were also Mysterious-Iron Flying Ships sailing everywhere over the city. He even spotted 1,000-meter-long Flying Ships from time to time. This situation dumbfounded him. The current primordial civilization city looked nothing like a recently established Guild City. It looked more prosperous than even the Holy Cities outside the Eternal Realm. How long was I away? Shi Feng couldnt help but wonder if he had returned to the wrong world when he saw the wares of the various shops. Many shops lining the street sold Level 240-plus Taboo Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Some even sold Level 250 Taboo Legendary Equipment. This was not a sight he would dare to dream of before he left to challenge his Tier 7 promotion. Before his departure, Dragons Crown had only recently gained the ability to farm Level 245 Taboo Legendary Equipment. It was still far from fully equipping its members with such equipment, let alone selling to outsiders. The shops before him were not situated in the citys central area. They were only near the Teleportation Tower, an area that was barely a prime location of the city. Even so, over 20 shops sold Level 240-plus Taboo Legendary Weapons and Equipment. Some even sold Level 250 Taboo Legendary Equipment, an item he had never seen before. This wasnt a transformation that could occur in just two or three days. With many questions plaguing him, Shi Feng hurried back to Zero Wings Residence for answers. Upon returning to the Guild Residence, Shi Feng found that far fewer experts were garrisoning it than before. Although the average level of Zero Wings members had risen considerably, the number of fifth-floor experts in the Residence was at least 90% lower. Furthermore, when he entered the Guild Hall, he failed to see a single guild executive he knew. Unable to hold back his curiosity, Shi Feng contacted Blackie and asked, Blackie, whats the situation in the primordial civilization city? Besides sixth-floor experts who could serve as pillars of the Guild, Zero Wing also needed plenty of fifth-floor experts to function. If the Guild relied solely on its few sixth-floor experts to raid Taboo Team Dungeons in the remnant primordial world, it wouldnt be able to obtain many Level 240-plus weapons and equipment. Zero Wing was undoubtedly in crisis now that the Guild had seemingly lost 90% of its fifth-floor experts. Guild Leader, youre back! Blackie cried out joyfully when he saw Shi Feng through the video call. Its been close to 20 days since I last saw you! Had you stayed missing any longer, I wouldve had Soul and the others forcibly log you out of the game! Twenty days? Blackies words startled Shi Feng. Although he had long since assumed the crimson space-time passage had warped the flow of time, he never expected so much time to have passed. He didnt dare to imagine what would have become of Zero Wing had he decided to extend his stay in the Promotion Land by a few more days. Yes, you were gone for nearly 20 days, Blackie said, nodding. A lot of things happened during this period. Firstly, the war among the three races is in full swing. As a result, our races various powers have lost over one-third of their NPC Cities and Guild Cities. Fortunately, many powerhouses emerged from our race. We even have over 20 sixth-floor experts now. If not for Zero Wing having Firmament and Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, and Fervent Samsara reaching the sixth-floor standard, we might not have been able to keep our operations in Shadowring Town, the Crystal City of Secrets, and the primordial civilization city. Snow and the others reached the sixth-floor standard? Shi Feng was elated by the news of Gentle Snow, Hidden Soul, and Fervent Samsara becoming Mortal Gods. Although he knew that they wouldnt have difficulty achieving the sixth-floor standard with their talent and the help of Tower of the Abyss, he hadnt expected them to achieve it this quickly. Regardless, this meant that Zero Wing now commanded five Mortal Gods. None of the other human apex powersaside from the Seven Luminaries Alliancehad achieved this number in his previous life. But the war is no longer the main focus in the Eternal Realm during this period, Blackie continued. The thing that has everyones attention now is the space-time passage that opened up in Holy Ring City some time ago. It leads to a primordial ruin that drops forging designs for Level 240-plus Taboo Legendary Equipment and Fragmented Divine Artifacts. This discovery further escalated the bloodshed among the three races. Thus far, over ten sixth-floor experts and Divine Set users have already suffered a permanent death because of this primordial ruin. It produces Level 240-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Designs? Shi Feng was shocked. He wouldnt have been as surprised or bothered if the primordial ruin only dropped Level 240-plus Taboo Legendary Equipment Forging Designs. After all, it was possible to obtain Level 240-plus Taboo Legendary Equipment from the remnant primordial worlds Taboo Dungeons. However, it was a completely different story if the primordial ruin dropped Level 240-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Designs. Obtaining one such design was tantamount to gaining the ability to mass-produce Divine Artifacts. If anybody were to get their hands on a Level 240-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Design, Zero Wings Advanced Divine Strengthening Scrolls would instantly become obsolete. After all, Divine Artifacts might be incredibly difficult for current players to produce, but many Great Grandmaster Forgers could produce Fragmented Divine Artifacts. Moreover, if these Great Grandmaster Forgers got their hands on a Level 240-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Design, they might even achieve a breakthrough and become a Craftsman Forger. It is because that place drops Level 240-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Designs that competition over it has intensified over time, Blackie said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Many of the Holy Races and the Crystallian races royal powers that were initially indifferent to the Eternal Realm have come for a piece of the action. Besides that, the Nebula Consortium has somehow helped Demons Gate become the human races first royal power. Now, even the Seven Luminaries Alliance fears Demons Gate. Demons Gate has been promoted into a royal power? Shi Feng was dumbfounded after hearing this. In Gods Domain, powers couldnt simply proclaim themselves an apex or royal power. They needed the Gods Domain Associations recognition. Even the Holy Races and the Crystallian races various powers were no exception. In Shi Fengs previous life, Demons Gate was nowhere close to matching the Seven Luminaries Alliance, let alone becoming a royal power. Furthermore, even after the Seven Luminaries Alliance obtained an Epic Siege Weapon in his previous life, the Gods Domain Association still hadnt recognize it as a royal power. Hence, he found it hard to believe Demons Gate could become a royal power simply by relying on the Nebula Consortiums help. Chapter 3943 - Chapter 1017 - Second Great Divine Set Chapter 1017 C Second Great Divine Set Demons Gates promotion caught everyone by surprise. None of the various powers expected it to get promoted before the Seven Luminaries Alliance, Blackie said. Then, when he saw Shi Fengs skeptical look, he sighed helplessly, However, Demons Gate quickly proved to everyone it deserved to be a royal power. Shortly after the Gods Domain Association announced Demons Gates promotion, Demons Gate dealt a heavy blow to the Thunder Empire in the primordial ruin. The Thunder Empire mobilized the Lightning Nation, seven Divine Set users, and nearly 30 old monsters fully equipped with Divine Artifacts for that battle. Yet, over half of these experts were permanently killed, and even the Lightning Nation got destroyed Even the Lightning Nation got destroyed? This news took Shi Feng by surprise. The Thunder Empires Lightning Nation was incredibly famous in his previous life. It was labeled the strongest offensive Epic Siege Weapon. It could injure even Primordial Gods if used without regard for its durability. He highly doubted the Thunder Empire would use the Lightning Nation conservatively when there was a threat of permanent death to many of its top experts. The Thunder Empire would be even less likely to hold back when the Lightning Nation itself faced the threat of destruction. However, he also found it hard to imagine Demons Gate having any means to defend against the Lightning Nations full power. Even if Demons Gates Nine Great Experts were mobilized in full force, they would only be throwing themselves into the jaws of death by facing the Lightning Nation. Yet, Demons Gate had somehow destroyed the Lightning Nation. This was simply unbelievable. After its sudden rise, Demons Gate began mass-recruiting members and expanding rapidly. It also assembled the various human powers to seize the fortress in the primordial ruin. Now, Demons Gate is even proposing to let it fully manage the fortress, Blackie said, smiling wryly. The reason Demons Gate gave is that the Holy Race and the Crystallian race are going to besiege the fortress tomorrow. At that time, they will undoubtedly do everything they can to seize control of the fortress, but Demons Gate is confident it can lead the human race to victory, so it wants full management rights over the fortress in return. Nobody wants to leave their fate in Demons Gates hands, so the various human powers have mobilized most of their elite experts to fight in the upcoming battle. So thats why there are so few experts and guild executives in the Guild Residence. Realization dawned on Shi Feng at Blackies explanation. In Gods Domain, fortresses found in certain special locations usually had authority keys that determined who got to control them. If Demons Gate was allowed to gain 51% of the authority tokens for the primordial ruins fortress, it might as well have full management rights over the fortress. By now, it was obvious the primordial ruins fortress concerned the various powers future development. In such a situation, the various powers had to go all-out in reinforcing it, whether to defend the fortress from the Holy Race and the Crystallian race or prevent Demons Gate from gaining full control. Naturally, Zero Wing was no exception. Guild Leader, since youre back, you should hurry to the fortress, Blackie said excitedly. Rain and Snow are needed to protect Shadowring Town and the Crystal City of Secrets, whereas Firmament is required to protect the primordial civilization city. Soul, Samsara, and Frost are the only sixth-floor experts we currently have at the fortress, and theyre honestly not enough to protect our interests. If you join them, we should have a better chance at preventing Demons Gate from taking over the fortress. Okay, Ill head there now. Shi Feng nodded without hesitation. Zero Wing and Demons Gate were currently mortal enemies. Although all human powers needed to stand united against the Holy Race and the Crystallian race, Zero Wing would definitely have a hard time if Demons Gate gained full control over the primordial ruins fortress. After disconnecting the call, Shi Feng used a Guild Transfer Scroll to teleport to Shadowring Town. Holy Ring City, primordial ruin, Twilight Fortress: The Twilight Fortress was a super-large fortress that could accommodate up to three million players. The fortress was brightly lit, and its relatively narrow streets were crowded with players. A 100-meter-tall Battle Arena the size of multiple stadiums stood in the central area of the fortress. The Battle Arena was lively throughout the day and even more so at night. Many of the various human powers experts and chosen ones would gather there to train or spectate matches. On the Battle Arenas top floor Even Samsara cant last three moves against him? Hidden Souls expression turned grim when she saw the young man wrapped in bandages inside the ring defeat Fervent Samsara in three moves. Where did Demons Gate find these people? The girl before could match me, while this persons strength is even more monstrous. Only Rain stands a chance against him. Elise kept telling me Zero Wing is strong and has many experts, but I find it hard to believe, the bandaged young man scoffed, glancing at Fervent Samsara, who had just been resurrected outside the ring. I heard your Guild Leader is quite strong. How about you call him to fight me? Ill fight him with just one hand. Ill even consider it his victory if he can damage me. How about it? Dammit! Im going up next! I refuse to believe I cant land a hit on him! Hidden Soul seethed. Dont be impulsive, Red Frost said, holding Hidden Soul back. That young man is provoking you. Demons Gate is trying to reduce our levels before the battle over the fortress. Dont get tricked. The top-floor ring was unlike the other rings in the Battle Arena. Players killed in the ring might not lose any weapons or equipment, but they would lose a level as a penalty. Are we supposed to just let him talk down to us, then? Hidden Soul gnashed her teeth. Recently, as Demons Gates reputation and influence grew, and it annexed many pseudo-apex powers, it suddenly challenged Zero Wing to a fight in the Battle Arena. Additionally, Demons Gate stated it would need only three members to defeat everyone from Zero Wing, regardless of how many members Zero Wing sent to take the challenge. Once this challenge became public, Zero Wing had no choice but to accept it to protect its reputation. However, the experts Demons Gate sent were unbelievably strong. Zero Wing and Demons Gate had fought two matches thus far, and Zero Wing had lost both. Moreover, Demons Gate had yet to send out Elise, its strongest chosen one. I managed to identify the equipment he is using, Red Frost said helplessly. Although the tool he used to conceal his information can prevent even my Peak Observation Skill from uncovering all his information, the equipment he is using should be the Blood Drinker Set, the Second Great Divine Set that went missing long ago. The Blood Drinker Set? Hidden Souls eyes widened in shock at Red Frosts words, and she couldnt help but stare at the bandaged young man in disbelief. TL Notes: Made a change in Chapter 989: Fourth Divine Set -> Fourth Great Divine Set Chapter 3944 - Chapter 1018 - Fleeting Strike Chapter 1018 C Fleeting Strike Big Sis Frost, are you sure you arent mistaken? Hidden Soul asked in disbelief. Everyone in the Greater Gods Domain knew about the Six Great Divine Sets. They were regarded as equipment that could let Tier 6 players fight Primordial Gods of the same level. Hidden Soul had seen the effects of the Flame God Set, the Fourth Great Divine Set. Even though Shi Feng could only unleash half of the Flame God Sets potential, it was enough to let him match the average Divine Set user. She dared not imagine how powerful one of the Six Great Divine Sets would be if its user could unleash 100% of its potential. Yet, according to Red Frost, the bandaged young man from Demons Gate was equipped with the Blood Drinker Set, the Second Great Divine Set. If the young man could fully utilize the Blood Drinker Sets potential, even all five of Zero Wings Mortal Gods attacking him together wouldnt necessarily guarantee their victory. Im certain. The crimson shade hidden under those bandages resembles the Grand Librarys records perfectly, Red Frost sighed, shaking her head. No wonder Demons Gate dares to make such a bold challenge, Fervent Samsara said as he regrouped with Hidden Soul and Red Frost outside the ring. Then, he continued in confusion, But didnt the Blood Drinker Set go missing centuries ago? How did it end up in Demons Gates hands? The Nebula Consortium was largely the reason Demons Gate could run rampant in the Greater Gods Domain all this time. Although Empyreal Wraith with his Extreme Evil Set was powerful, he wouldnt have been enough to deter the various apex powers from persecuting Demons Gate. Many pseudo-apex powers even dared to openly oppose Demons Gate. However, had it been known that Demons Gate possessed the Second Great Divine Set, even the Seven Luminaries Alliance would have feared it, let alone a bunch of pseudo-apex powers. What should we do now? Hidden Soul asked anxiously. Judging by that persons movements, he reached the sixth-floor standard long agoand hes Level 243. With him equipped with the Blood Drinker Set, even the Holy Race and the Crystallian race would only have a few players capable of dealing with him. As for the human race While Hidden Soul and the others were feeling helpless against the bandaged young man, a deep and familiar voice suddenly echoed across the top-floor arena. Since you insist, I will be your opponent. At these words, everyone in the arena turned to where the voice came from and saw a cloaked Swordsman walking toward the ring from the entrance. Black Flame! Hes Black Flame! Hes still alive? Didnt he get hunted and killed by the Holy Races and the Crystallian races royal powers in the Demon God Forest? He mustve survived their pursuit. But why would he expose himself here? Is he not afraid those royal powers might come after him again? Many of the various powers experts were surprised to see Shi Feng. Shi Fengs fame had skyrocketed since the battle in the Demon God Forest. Not only did he steal the Undying Mothers loot from several royal powers, but he had even repulsed multiple Divine Set users before escaping. After this battle, Shi Feng soared to second place on the Divine Glory List. Although he had quickly fallen to 11th place due to the many geniuses produced by the war among the three races, it was still a rank that most chosen ones could only dream of achieving. Youve finally shown yourself. I thought you would remain in hiding for fear of getting targeted by the several anomalies that recently appeared among the Holy Race and Crystallian race, Lunar River from Kings Paradise said, her lips curving into a smile as she watched Shi Feng walking into the ring. She was seated in the VIP stand, drawn here by the confrontation between Zero Wing and Demons Gate. Her temperament and equipment standard had drastically changed compared to when she participated in Everlasting Citys competition. She now gave off the feeling of an unsheathed sword, intimidating those around her. This young man from Demons Gate is far from ordinary. Can you last more than a few moves against him? Vice Guild Leader, is that young man from Demons Gate really that strong? asked Shuoyun, who was also wearing a Black Cloak to hide her information. Guild Leader Black Flame can rival sixth-floor experts in combat standards. He even repulsed multiple Divine Set users last time. Even if that young man is equipped with the Second Great Divine Set, I doubt Guild Leader Black Flame would lose in just a few moves, right? You arent aware of the full situation, so its normal for you to have such thoughts, Lunar River said. After glancing at the bandaged young man on the ring, she continued, If all that person has is the Second Great Divine Set, he naturally wouldnt be able to defeat Black Flame in a few moves. However, that person isnt some no-name expert. Hes not? At Lunar Rivers words, Shuoyun couldnt help but look at the bandaged young man in confusion. But this person only debuted during the battle between Demons Gate and the Thunder Empire. Before that, there was never any information about him in Demons Gate. Of course, there isnt any information on him in our Greater Gods Domain, Lunar River said nonchalantly. But he is very famous in the Hundred Race Battlefield. He is the Hundred Race Ranking Lists 421st-ranked Soul Hunter. In the current Eternal Realm, only those anomalies from the Holy Race and the Crystallian race are superior to him in overall strength. As for everyone else, if we compare solely in combat standards, Ink Crystal might be able to match him. Shuoyun gaped at Lunar Rivers evaluation, staring at the bandaged young man in disbelief. Ink Crystal was known by all in the current Eternal Realm. She was publicly acknowledged as the Crystallian races number one chosen one. Although it had been a while since anyone last saw her, she had never fallen out of the Eternal Chosen One Ranking Lists top ten. She was not an existence brand-new sixth-floor experts could hope to match. In addition to Lunar River and Shuoyun, many other spectators in the VIP stands focused on the bandaged young man. Elder Martial, is it impossible for Guild Leader Black Flame to win? Verdant Rainbow asked the white-haired old man beside her in confusion. If that young man didnt have the Second Great Divine Set, Guild Leader Black Flame might have had a chance. But now? Impossible. You cant even put them in the same league, Elder Martial said firmly, stroking his beard. Nebula is extremely invested this time. Be it Black Flame or Zero Wing, I suggest you advise them not to stick their heads out during this period. Verdant Rainbow sighed helplessly at Elder Martials words. Originally, after witnessing Shi Fengs performance in the Demon God Forest, she thought Zero Wing could suppress Demons Gate and trade blows with the Nebula Consortium. However, she was recently granted access to information she had never been privy to, which made her realize that their world had far more secrets than she had imagined. Inside the ring, Shi Feng stood facing the bandaged young man. Elise told me some time ago she thinks you may eventually grow to match her. Although I disagree with that sentiment, I can give you a chance, the bandaged young man said, his crimson eyes sizing up Shi Feng contemptuously. I will let you make the first three moves, and I will receive them with only one hand. If you can damage me, you win! However, before the bandaged young man could say anything else, Shi Feng casually unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and swung it at him. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! Subsequently, what happened next took place in the blink of an eye. For a mere instant, a black flash lit up the entire arena. When the flash of light disappeared, the bandaged young man had just finished raising his dagger and entering a defensive stance. Immediately afterward, his vision turned gray, and he collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Before anyone could react, the winner of the duel was displayed above the ring. Winner: Black Flame! Chapter 3945 - Chapter 1019 - Tier 7 Combat Power Chapter 1019 C Tier 7 Combat Power Twilight Battle Arena, top-floor arena: Black Flame won? Am I hallucinating? Why does the ring look bisected? A one-hit kill! Is this the strength of someone in the Divine Glory Lists top ten? The players watching the duel gaped at the bandaged young mans corpse, shocked by Shi Fengs display of strength. Everyone here had witnessed the strength of the bandaged young man from Demons Gate. Even before clashing with Zero Wings Fervent Samsara, he had several duels with sixth-floor experts and hadnt lost a single HP. Yet, the bandaged young man had failed to block even one move from Shi Feng. They couldnt even begin to imagine how strong Shi Feng was. While the rest of the arena was in an uproar, over at the Seven Luminaries Alliances VIP seating area That person couldnt even withstand a single blow? Verdant Rainbow muttered, staring at Soul Hunters corpse in disbelief. Wasnt he supposed to be equipped with the Second Great Divine Set? Could it be a fake? No other player or power in the human races Greater Gods Domain better understood the Six Great Divine Sets than the Seven Luminaries Alliance. Hence, Verdant Rainbow knew that once a Tier 6 player equipped one of the Six Great Divine Sets, so long as they could fully access its potential, they could exhibit strength rivaling that of Primordial Gods of the same level. Not to mention, Soul Hunter was a sixth-floor expert; the Second Great Divine Set should shine even more in his hands than in the hands of other Tier 6 players. Although Verdant Rainbow could tell that Shi Fengs attack had undoubtedly reached the Tier 7 standard, it shouldnt have been enough to one-shot Soul Hunter. Under normal circumstances, shed consider it a miracle if Shi Feng could even hold his ground against Soul Hunter using such an attack. After all, if Soul Hunter was equipped with the Second Great Divine Set and could access its full potential, his Strength Attribute should rival that of Primordial Gods of the same level. After including his advantage in combat standards, he shouldnt have gotten one-shotted by Shi Feng. Thus, this bizarre situation led Verdant Rainbow to question the authenticity of Soul Hunters Blood Drinker Set. If that were the case, Fervent Samsara wouldnt have been defeated so quickly, Elder Martial said, shaking his head. Then, as he watched Shi Feng sheath the Shadow Incinerator, he continued sternly, Soul Hunters Blood Drinker Set is the real deal, but it seems that he has yet to fully unlock its potential. Nevertheless, his Basic Attributes should still be slightly superior to those of the average Divine Set user. The fact that he still got one-shotted must mean Black Flame is a bona fide Tier 7 combatant[1]! A bona fide Tier 7 combatant? At Elder Martials firm assessment, Verdant Rainbow couldnt help but focus on Shi Feng, her fists clenched and her eyes wide with shock and envy. Quite a few Divine Set users could launch attacks rivaling those of Primordial Gods of the same level. Even so, they couldnt be considered Tier 7 combatants. This was because most could only launch one-off attacks that reached the Primordial God standard. To be considered a Tier 7 combatant, players had to be able to fight Primordial Gods of the same level in a direct confrontation. It wasnt enough to just be able to launch one-off attacks that reached the Primordial God standard. Currently, only a handful of individuals across the three races could be considered a Tier 7 combatant. Hence, Verdant Rainbows reaction to Shi Fengs achievement was only natural. Over at Zero Wings VIP seating area, Zero Wings members rejoiced when they saw Soul Hunter getting one-shotted. The Guild Leader is simply incredible! This outcome mustve dumbfounded those Demons Gate bastards! Fervent Samsara laughed as he looked at Demons Gates silent seating area. Id expect no less! After all, this is a Tier 7 combatant were talking about! Hidden Soul said, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the space within the ring that remained shattered even now. Out of the three races, only royal powers have such experts thus far! After the three races established safe routes into the Eternal Realm, the number of experts capable of launching attacks that rivaled those of Primordial Gods had increased significantly. As a result, only powers with bona fide Tier 7 combatants would have any true sway in the current Eternal Realm. Although the gap between Tier 7 combatants and experts capable of launching one or two Tier 7 attacks wasnt exactly insurmountable, the latter would still need to work in groups of ten or more to have a fighting chance against a Tier 7 combatant. Even the royal powers of the three races did not have many players capable of launching Tier 7 attacks, as such players typically had to be equipped with a Divine Set and have sixth-floor combat standards. Thus, having even one Tier 7 combatant would be enough to suppress a royal power in the Eternal Realm. While Zero Wings members were celebrating, the bandaged young man who had resurrected outside the ring glared at Shi Feng with fear and anger in his eyes. He never imagined Shi Feng would be strong to such an extent. Black Flame, you win this time! But dont think this is over! It wont be long before I crush you under my feet! Soul Hunter barked before swiftly exiting the arena. After Soul Hunter left, Hidden Soul, Blackie, and the others approached Shi Feng. These people from Demons Gate are arrogant as always. If not for Rain and Snow being occupied, we wouldnt necessarily have lost the first two matches, Blackie said, disgruntled by Soul Hunters attitude. Indeed. Rain and Snow should be able to win against him, Hidden Soul said, nodding. After Shi Feng, the strongest players in Zero Wing were Phoenix Rain and Gentle Snow. Although their equipment was vastly inferior to Soul Hunters, they wielded extraordinarily powerful Skills and Spells. Hence, even if Soul Hunter was equipped with the Blood Drinker Set, Phoenix Rain and Gentle Snow would still have a solid chance of beating him. Winning against him might be easy, but its a different story for the other expert from Demons Gate. As soon as Hidden Soul finished speaking, a clear and powerful voice entered the ears of Shi Feng and the other Zero Wing members. When they turned to look at the speaker, they saw that it was none other than Kings Paradises Lunar River. The suit of pitch-black armor Lunar River previously wore had been replaced with a suit of crimson armor. The pitch-black greatsword she carried had also multiplied, coming as a pair now. Although Lunar River had concealed much of her personal information by wearing a Black Cloak, her current aura was much stronger than when she participated in Everlasting Citys competition. She gave off the feeling of a Primordial Demon God that had just awoken from its slumber, brimming with power. Hes not the strongest expert Demons Gate sent this time? Shi Feng looked at Lunar River strangely. Although his clash with Soul Hunter was brief, he could tell the other party was strong. In addition to being equipped with the Blood Drinker Set, Soul Hunter rivaled Ink Crystal in combat standards. If not for Soul Hunters inability to fully exercise the Blood Drinker Sets potential, even Shi Fenga bona fide Tier 7 playercouldnt have killed him so easily. Hence, Shi Feng found it hard to imagine that Demons Gate still had stronger experts. Of course, hes not the strongest, Lunar River said, chuckling at Shi Fengs confusion. He might be incredibly strong, but the person in charge of Demons Gates forces here is someone else. This person also happens to be someone you all are familiar with. Someone were familiar with? Hidden Soul looked at Lunar River curiously. Soul Hunter rivaled Ink Crystal in combat standards. He was also equipped with the Second Great Divine Set. Even Empyreal Wraith, after reaching the sixth-floor standard, was no match for him. Hence, she found it hard to believe Demons Gate could have an expert stronger than Soul Hunter. Yes. Lunar River nodded. Then, she smiled and said, That person is Elise, the Star Maiden! TL Notes: [1]Tier 7 combatant: This term refers to Tier 6 players who can reliably dish out attacks that reach the Tier 7 standard. (In other words, everyone is under the assumption that Shi Feng is still a Tier 6 player. Nobody assumes he has reached Tier 7.) Chapter 3946 - Chapter 1020 - Imperial Power Chapter 1020 C Imperial Power Elise? Shi Feng reacted skeptically to Lunar Rivers answer. Shi Feng knew Elise well. She was Demons Gates strongest chosen one and among the earliest experts to make a name for herself in the Continental Championship. Afterward, her reputation even grew to match that of Daystar, the Arbiter of Death. At the rate she grew, she could even reach the same height as the Three Absolutes in his previous life. Nonetheless, Shi Feng found it hard to believe Elise could be stronger than Soul Hunter. Setting aside the difference in combat standards, Soul Hunter would leave Elise in the dust in equipment standards alone. After all, the Blood Drinker Set not only provided more Basic Attributes than the Flame God Set but also didnt have as stringent of a use condition. Even though Soul Hunter had yet to unlock the Blood Drinker Sets full potential, it still provided him with more Basic Attributes than the average Divine Set. If Elise wanted to surpass Soul Hunter in Basic Attributes, shed have to obtain either the fully unlocked version of one of the four lower-ranked Great Divine Sets or the legendary First Great Divine SetAurora. The Aurora Set! Even in Shi Fengs previous life, little information was available on the Aurora Set. It was last seen over a millennium ago, and players chances of finding it were almost nil. As for the four lower-ranked Great Divine Sets, Zero Wing currently possessed the Flame God Set and still had functioning pieces of the Eternal Set, so neither of these two Great Divine Sets could be in Elises possession. As for the two other Great Divine Sets, even Shi Feng didnt have any clues about them, as they had gone missing over a century ago. Hence, it should also be nigh-impossible for Elise or Demons Gate to have obtained them. At Shi Fengs skepticism, Lunar River chuckled and said, Guild Leader Black Flame, although I dont know exactly how strong Elise was previously, I can tell you that she is currently the apple of Demons Gates and the Nebula Consortiums eye. Even Soul Hunter has chosen to be her follower. Soul Hunter is her follower? Lunar Rivers words shocked Shi Feng. Is she very special? In Gods Domain, players would never become followers unless they were willing to submit themselves to another player. If Elise could get Soul Hunter to become her follower, she had to have something that convinced him to submit to her. Otherwise, hed only be wasting his time by becoming her follower. Of course, Lunar River said, smiling. Have you heard of the Hundred Race Battlefield before? Ive heard of it. Shi Feng nodded. It resembles the Crucible of the Ancients and is a good place to obtain Promotion Land Scrolls. Indeed. However, Promotion Land Scrolls arent the only things the Hundred Race Battlefield has to offer, Lunar River said. After a slight pause, she continued, It is also a place for players to join greater powers. More specifically, the Hundred Race Battlefield is a testing ground for greater powers to assess potential recruits. Guild Leader Black Flame, Im sure you know that becoming a royal power isnt the finish line for a power, right? Its just that the strongest powers among the human race, the Crystallian race, and the Holy Race are royal powers. Beyond royal powers are imperial powers[1], and powers that seek to reach that standard must command at least two Tier 7 players. However, despite the vastness of Gods Domain, few players have ever advanced to Tier 7. Because of this, there might not be even a single imperial power out of several dozen Greater Gods Domains. Fortunately, the Hundred Race Battlefield weve landed in has multiple imperial powers. If Tier 6 players like ourselves could join one of these imperial powers, we would have a much better chance of advancing to Tier 7. Are you saying Elise passed the test of an imperial power? Shi Feng came to a sudden realization at Lunar Rivers words. There was no lack of examples of geniuses from weaker powers joining stronger powers in the human races Greater Gods Domain, so he wasnt too surprised to hear of stronger alien powers recruiting geniuses from the human race. After all, the Main God System didnt dictate that players of different races should be hostile to one another. It was just that there was no penalty system implemented for killing alien players. No, Elise didnt take any imperial powers test but rather got approached by one, Lunar River said, envy flashing in her eyes. Elise is now a core member of said imperial power. This is also why Demons Gate could develop so rapidly, and the Nebula Consortium would provide its full support to Demons Gate. Her situation is similar to the Fist Emperor you offended. Fist Emperor is also a member of an imperial power? Shi Feng suddenly understood why Jun Tiankuo would say that Fist Emperor had a background so powerful not even the Holy Races royal powers dared to provoke him. It turned out that Fist Emperor hailed from an imperial power. Moreover, he likely wasnt just a normal member of said imperial power. In that case, it was only natural the Holy Races royal powers dared not provoke him. On the contrary, powers capable of sending players to the Hundred Race Battlefield would do their best to fawn over him so their members could have an easier time there. After recovering from his surprise, Shi Feng looked at Lunar River and asked, Miss Lunar, I doubt you told me all this just to chat with me, right? He and Lunar River were acquaintances at best. Information on the Hundred Race Battlefield was incredibly precious. Even if she were to sell it for a high price, plenty of powers would buy it. He refused to believe she would give him this information for no reason. You are a sensible person, Guild Leader Black Flame, Lunar River said, her lips curving up slightly. The next Hundred Race Battlefield will happen soon, and I hope to secure a good placement there. However, my current Divine Artifacts are insufficient for that purpose. As this primordial ruin drops Level 250-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Designs, I hope to get a share of the Twilight Fortress. Now that you are a Tier 7 combatant, few powers can outcompete Zero Wing in securing the Twilight Fortresss Twilight Tokens. If Zero Wing and Kings Paradise join forces, even with Demons Gate, the Seven Luminaries Alliance, and the Eternal Chamber of Commerce as our opponents, we can secure at least 40% of the Twilight Fortresss shares. Rest assured, I dont want much. I only need a 5% share. A 5% share? Shi Feng scrutinized Lunar River for a moment. Then, he nodded and said, Zero Wing is fine with this arrangement, but I want full command over our forces. Although Lunar River had concealed much of her information, Shi Feng could tell she had reached the sixth-floor standard. On top of that, she was also an Overlimit expert. Kings Paradise was no ordinary pseudo-apex power, either. The ten Level 245-plus experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts standing behind her proved this. Kings Paradise could already match some of the weaker human apex powers in equipment standards. Thus, it wasnt a loss for Zero Wing to partner with Kings Paradise. No problem, Lunar River agreed without hesitation. After establishing their partnership, Shi Feng and Lunar River discussed how they would compete for Twilight Tokens. As their discussion took place, three hours quickly passed, and the first light struck the walls of the Twilight Fortress. Before the players in the Twilight Fortress could admire this first ray of sunshine, numerous black dots appeared on the horizon, eclipsing the sun and plunging the fortress into darkness once more. When the players saw this, they all gasped. Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Everyone, gather up! The Holy Race is attacking! TL Notes: [1]imperial power: The direct translation is beyond royal power rather than imperial power, but having characters repeatedly mention beyond royal power in conversations sounds awkward. Chapter 3947 - Chapter 1021 - Five Absolutes Chapter 1021 C Five Absolutes The Holy Races ten royal powers? Shi Feng was shocked by the sight of the ten legions approaching the Twilight Fortress. A gathering of the Holy Races ten royal powers! Never in his previous life had such an event occurred. Until the end of the war between the human race and the Holy Race, only six of the Holy Races royal powers had participated. The remaining four royal powers never appeared, as if they didnt exist. But now, all ten of the Holy Races royal powers had shown up. The Thunder Empire, Evil Nature, Sovereign Mark, the Sun Dynasty, the Undying Court, Skygazer, Netherlord, the Crimson Dynasty, Celestial Melody, and Holy Shield. Each of these ten royal powers had mobilized a legion of over a million playersfor a total of over ten million Holy Race players. These players were not ordinary experts but Level 240-plus elite experts. Moreover, over 10% of these players were fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts, and 5% had at least one Divine Artifact. Over a million elite experts and tens of thousands of fifth-floor experts equipped with at least one Divine Artifact Is this the true strength of a royal power? Crap! The commanders and vice commanders of these legions are simply monsters! All of them are equipped with Divine Sets! Does the Holy Races Greater Gods Domain have a higher drop rate for Divine Sets?! A total of 106 Divine Set users and 745 experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts! Did these royal powers mobilize everything in their treasuries? The hearts of the players in the Twilight Fortress skipped a beat as they stared at the approaching Holy Race army. They couldnt fathom how they were supposed to defend the Twilight Fortress against such an army. The human races various powers had assembled over three million Level 240-plus experts in the Twilight Fortress to deal with the Holy Races and the Crystallian races impending siege. The various pseudo-apex and apex powers had even mobilized most of their elite experts. Nonetheless, they had assembled only a little over 70,000 players fully equipped with Fragmented Divine Artifacts and about 10,000 fifth-floor experts with one or more Divine Artifacts. As for experts fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, they numbered 200. As for Divine Set usersthere were only 17 such players in the Twilight Fortress, a pitiful number compared to how many the Holy Races royal powers had mobilized. Seeing this situation, the experts of the human races various powers had only one question. Could they even win? Although they had the defenders advantage in this siege, the fortresss defensive magic array merely weakened the Basic Attributes of enemies within its range by 10%. The huge disparity in numbers was more than enough to offset this 10% suppression. As the players in the Twilight Fortress discussed their chances, five young men and women separated from the Holy Race army and hovered proudly above the Twilight Fortress. Despite their young age, the appearance of these five youths sent shivers down the spines of everyone in the fortress. Many were even in fear and trembling. The Five Absolute Chosen Ones! Is this the strength of the Five Absolute Chosen Ones? The players in the fortress despaired when they saw the five youths from the Holy Race. As expected of the Holy Races strongest chosen ones. In addition to reaching the sixth-floor standard, they all have reached the Tier 7 combatant standard, Shi Feng thought, marveling at the five youths in the sky. Shi Feng recognized three of these five youths: a tall young man with four arms, a three-eyed young woman wielding a crimson flag, and a three-eyed young man. The tall young man with four arms was Garuda, the Divine Fist. He was Level 242 and equipped with the Thunder Empires prided Lightning Beast Set, one of the Holy Races Nine Great Divine Sets. Moreover, unlike Soul Hunters Blood Drinker Set, his Lightning Beast Set already had its full potential unlocked. Even though he was merely hovering in place, a Law Projection comprising lightning and light formed naturally around him. The three-eyed young woman wielding a crimson flag was Daystar, the Arbiter of Death. She was at an even higher level than Garuda, having reached Level 244. She was equipped with the Death Wanderer Set, also one of the Holy Races Nine Great Divine Sets. Departed souls wandered around her at all times, making her look like the queen of the dead. The three-eyed young man was Fist Emperor. Although he was only Level 243, he was equipped with the Skyquake Set, another of the Nine Great Divine Sets. With the Skyquake Set, he exuded an indescribable sense of power. The space around him repeatedly cracked and mended itself, evidently having trouble withstanding this power. As for the remaining two youths, one was a six-eyed, four-armed young man, while the other was a tall four-armed young woman. Although Shi Feng did not recognize either, he was familiar with the Wrath Setagain one of the Nine Great Divine Setsthe six-eyed young man wore. As for the four-armed young woman, she was Level 245 and wielded two sabers. Unlike her peers, she did not equip one of the Nine Great Divine Sets. Even so, space-time fissures surrounded her constantly, so the Divine Set she wore was unlikely to be inferior to the Nine Great Divine Sets. Above the Twilight Fortress What a bunch of killjoys! Why did you all show up? How is the other side supposed to resist? Tyrant Claw, the six-eyed, four-armed young man equipped with the Wrath Set, sighed and shook his head after glancing at the four youths beside him. You are free to step aside if you dont want to fight, Fist Emperor said, glancing at Tyrant Claw. Then, he glared at Shi Feng, who stood inside the Twilight Fortress, and continued coldly, I came here for only one purpose this time! Black Flames life is mine to claim! You all can do whatever you want with the others! There are hardly any noteworthy experts here. I heard that Black Flame is quite strong. If we let you have this prey, the others might not be enough to make up for our loss, Morning Echo, the tall, four-armed young woman, said playfully. Morning Echo! Dont push your luck! Fist Emperor scoffed, glancing at Morning Echo. According to the latest reports, the Star Maiden will show up. If you can kill her, that side might decide to promote you to an elite member. Leave the Star Maiden to me if you dont want this opportunity. What are you getting all worked up for? I was only joking. I cant be bothered to fight a person whos not even a top 20 Eternal Chosen One, Morning Echo said, grinning at Fist Emperors reaction. Then, that settles it. Youll get Black Flame, but youre not allowed to touch the Star Maiden. Rest assured, I wont stoop so low as to compete with you all, Fist Emperor pridefully said when he saw all four of his peers looking at him for confirmation. When Fist Emperor finished speaking, a massive space-time rift suddenly opened above the Twilight Fortress, covering the entire fortress. When everyone turned toward the rift, they saw a lithe figure gracefully emerging from its depths. The mana within tens of thousands of yards thickened with each step this lithe figure took. By the time this lithe figure exited the rift, only mana remained within tens of thousands of yards around her. No other forms of energy existed inside or around the Twilight Fortress, as if a tsunami of pristine mana had swept through it. Silence enveloped the Twilight Fortress and its surroundings following the arrival of this lithe figure. Even the Holy Races Five Absolute Chosen Ones stared at her with eyes full of vigilance and fighting spirit. Shes Elise? The lithe figure had emerged from the space-time rift with a black book in her arms. When Shi Feng saw this lithe figure, his mind froze momentarily. Chapter 3948 - Chapter 1022 - Anomalies Chapter 1022 C Anomalies Is she really that Elise? Fervent Samsara muttered, gawking at Elise. Fervent Samsara had participated in the Continental Championship with Elise, so he knew her quite well. Although she ranked high among the three races chosen ones in the championship, the difference between her past self and her current self was like night and day. It wouldnt even be an exaggeration to say they were completely different people. Setting aside the fact that Elises level had reached a staggering 251, just the aura she exuded when hovering in the air made Fervent Samsara feel like he was gazing up at a mighty mountain. Besides those familiar with Elise, the other sixth-floor experts in the Twilight Fortress were also amazed and shocked by Elises overwhelming aura. No wonder she could get selected by that side. Shes simply a monster, Verdant Rainbow said, smiling wryly at the intense pressure she felt from her former rival. Although Demons Gate and the Seven Luminaries Alliance were not mortal enemies, they often butted heads with each other. As a chosen one nurtured by the Seven Luminaries Alliance, Verdant Rainbow naturally couldnt avoid clashing with Demons Gates chosen ones of the same generation. During the Continental Championship, Verdant Rainbow was still confident she could put up a good fight against Elise. But now, her gut instinct told her she couldnt resist Elise, despite her having reached the sixth-floor standard. This made her wonder how much stronger Elise had gotten in the time they hadnt met. What an incredible combat standard! Shes giving me a sense of danger! Shi Feng exclaimed softly as he looked at Elise. Lunar River rolled her eyes at Shi Fengs exclamation, her expression seemingly saying, Thank you for stating the obvious. Regarding Lunar Rivers exasperated response, Shi Feng had no idea how to retort. Although Elise was equipped with an unknown Divine Set that matched the human races Six Great Divine Sets, she was still a Tier 6 Lifeform. A big gap remained between her and a bona fide Tier 7 Lifeform. Setting aside the difference in Basic Attributes, merely the different tiers of Skills and Spells they could access made it incredibly difficult for Tier 6 players like Elise to pose any threat to Shi Feng. Shed need to be able to use techniques to make up for the gap between Tier 6 and Tier 7 Skills and Spells, which wasnt something just any Peak Gold Combat Technique could accomplish. Nobody is allowed to attack Elise! We will deal with her! Everyone else, start besieging the fortress! While the players inside and outside the Twilight Fortress were stunned by Elises appearance, Daystar eyed her old rival warily as she issued an order to the Holy Race army behind her. The other four of the Five Absolute Chosen Ones nodded in tacit agreement, nobody objecting to Daystars arrangement. In reality, capturing the Twilight Fortress could only be considered a secondary objective of the Holy Races ten royal powers. The main reason the ten royal powers joined forces to besiege the Twilight Fortress was to create an opportunity for the Five Absolute Chosen Ones to fight Elise. Elise was the only player to have been recruited by an imperial power as a core member in the last Hundred Race Battlefield. This situation made the Hundred Race Battlefields various powers green with envy. Despite being called the Hundred Race Battlefield, over a hundred races participated in it. Moreover, every race qualified for the Hundred Race Battlefield was strong. Even the weakest participating race had several apex powers, while the stronger ones had over 20 royal powers. In the eyes of these stronger races, even the mighty Holy Race was no more than a slightly larger prey compared to the weaker races. Out of all the races participating in the Hundred Race Battlefield, only three had a power that went beyond the royal standard, reaching the imperial standard. Two of these imperial powers commanded two Tier 7 experts, while one commanded three Tier 7 experts. In the past, the imperial power with three Tier 7 experts rarely recruited players from the Hundred Race Battlefield. Yet, it had taken the initiative to invite Elise and promoted her to a core member. This situation confused the Hundred Race Battlefields various powers. Even the two other imperial powers were surprised by this situation. To uncover the reason behind Elises recruitment, the other two imperial powers issued a commission to probe her standards. Anyone who could produce satisfying results would be handsomely rewardedthose who had already passed the basic recruitment test would get immediately accepted as a normal member, while those who were already normal members would have their statuses elevated. There was no way the Holy Races ten royal powers could resist the temptation of such a reward. The three imperial powers recruitment standards were exceedingly high. Even if one managed to come in first place in the Hundred Race Battlefield, they wouldnt necessarily accept ones membership application. Not to mention, the highest the Holy Race had ever placed was in the top 50, which barely met the recruitment conditions of the three imperial powers. Furthermore, even after becoming a member of an imperial power, the treatment one received would differ drastically depending on whether one was a normal member or an elite member. In the case of normal members, even if they were to pay an astronomical price and make many contributions to the Guild, they would, at best, get to redeem the coordinates of a Tier 7 Promotion Land with several dozen ordinary Chaos Creatures. Better privileges, such as having the Guild capture an ordinary Chaos Creature from the depths of the Void Sea for ones research, were not for normal members to enjoy. Chaos Creatures were monsters so dangerous even Holy Ancestor-ranked existences would have to risk death to defeat, let alone Tier 7 players. Under normal circumstances, multiple Tier 7 players had to work together and risk permanent death to capture an ordinary Chaos Creature. The entire process could also take months to complete. As imperial powers had hundreds of millions of normal members, there was no way they could afford to offer such a privilege to normal members. However, elite members were granted such a privilege. The only caveat was that they might need to wait decades or centuries for their turn to arrive. Theyd also have to pay an unimaginable price and make significant contributions to the Guild. Nonetheless, all of these sacrifices would be worthwhile, as they would get to increase their chances of advancing to Tier 7. For the sake of the Holy Races future, the Holy Races ten royal powers were willing to help the Five Absolute Chosen Ones, who had already become normal members of the two imperial powers, fight for this opportunity. Even the royal powers that the Five Absolutes had no affiliation with were willing to do their best to help. Which one of us will go first? Tyrant Claw asked, glancing at Daystar, Garuda, and Morning Echo. Ill go first. She and I are old rivals, Garuda said, rubbing his fists as he looked at Elise with admiration, jealousy, frustration, and excitement. Originally, Elise wasnt even an opponent he took seriously. But now, she had become someone he had to challenge. He had to admit that fate truly worked in twisted ways. TL Notes: Made a correction in Chapter 1006: Original: If not for the Seven Luminaries Codexs Chapter of Space and his extra bottles of Divine Blood, he would never have been able to shake off the Ancient Demon Gods pursuit. Edited: If not for the Chapter of Space, which he had merged with the Seven Luminaries Codex, and his extra bottles of Divine Blood, he would never have been able to shake off the Ancient Demon Gods pursuit. Chapter 3949 - Chapter 1023 - Third Stage Chapter 1023 C Third Stage Elise, we meet again. As Garuda looked at Elise, he couldnt help but think back to the Continental Championship a few months ago and sighed inwardly. Garuda recognized Elises talent. After all, despite not even entering the top four in the first Continental Championship, she had led her party into the top four during the second one. The rate of her improvement was much more impressive than that of the average chosen one. Nonetheless, Garuda didnt think his talent was worse than Elises. He had even reached the sixth-floor standard before she did. But now, their statuses were worlds apart Garuda was unconvinced by this result. Now that his Guild had issued a commission to probe Elises standards, he could use this opportunity to prove that his talent wasnt any worse than hers. Make your move, Elise said indifferently. Okay! Let me see how much youve improved! Garuda said, smiling. With his eyes burning with fighting spirit, he punched at Elise with all four of his fists. Suddenly, the sky above the Twilight Fortress seemingly fell as a hundred phantom fists thousands of meters in size rained on Elise. The sight of these phantom fists sent shivers down the spines of the players in the fortress; some even despaired. This was because the power of each phantom fist rivaled that of Pseudo-Tier 7 Profound Skills used by Divine Set users. Yet, Garuda had thrown a hundred of such punches. This was already comparable to the fierce attack of a Taboo Boss. Just as the phantom fists were about to reach Elise, they merged, creating six phantom fists ten thousand meters in size. Naturally, the power each phantom fist carried became more devastating. Is Garuda insane? Hes getting serious right off the bat? Tyrant Claw was surprised to see the six gigantic phantom fists. As someone who had frequently clashed with Garuda, Tyrant Claw knew this move well. The Sixfold Hundred Splitting Fists! Hundred Splitting Fists was an original Advanced Gold Holy Art developed by Garuda. The threefold version of the technique already surpassed the average Peak Gold Holy Art in power, while the sixfold version was as strong as a fusion art that merged two Peak Gold Holy Arts. Incredible. The current Garuda is likely stronger than Ink Crystal when she fought in Everlasting City, Daystar said, marveling at the speed of Garudas improvement. However, unlike the Holy Races Absolute Chosen Ones, Elise, the recipient of Garudas Sixfold Hundred Splitting Fists, was unfazed. She simply opened the black book she held and began creating a series of magic arrays under her feet. Additionally, as soon as these magic arrays appeared, they quickly expanded to cover a radius of several thousand yards. Threefold Sixfold Ninefold The magic arrays Elise created were for a Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell. With each additional magic array she created, the surprise of the magical class players in the Twilight Fortress grew. Tier 6 players would be considered rare geniuses if they could speed-cast a Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell. As for speed-casting multiple instances of a Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell, even those capable of speed-casting just a twofold version would be marked as a chosen one. After all, multicasting a Spell was much more difficult than performing the Strength Combination of melee players. Yet, Elise was speed-casting a ninefold Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell! This was a feat much more complex than combining over a dozen attacks! However, Elise still wasnt done. Even after the appearance of the ninth magic array, more followed. It wasnt until the twelfth magic array appeared that she was finally done. Meanwhile, the space within tens of thousands of yards started to crumble under the presence of the twelvefold magic array. At the same time, everyonebe they the various human powers experts or the Holy Races powerhousesstared at the twelvefold magic array as if they had just seen a miracle. A twelvefold Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell! How is this possible?! Hidden Soul couldnt believe her eyes as she stared at the twelvefold magic array under Elises feet. Most sixth-floor experts would find it challenging to even conjure a ninefold magic array for a Tier 6 Spell. The complexity of a Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell was much greater than that of a Tier 6 Spell. To be able to cast twelve instances of a Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell simultaneously was simply unbelievable. This was no longer a feat mere mortals should be capable of. Have you reached the third stage already? Garuda was also stunned by this scene, thinking that the Main God System was joking with him. Unfortunately, the Twelvefold World-Destroying Spear gradually emerging from the twelvefold magic array proved that he wasnt hallucinating. The sixth-floor standards third stage! One of the main factors that differentiated sixth-floor experts from fifth-floor experts was their ability to perform Manifold Execution. However, even after reaching the sixth-floor standard, not everyone could perform Manifold Execution to the same level. At first glance, the implementation of Manifold Execution might seem like it only required one person to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously. In reality, to perform Manifold Execution was akin to manipulating multiple individuals to move simultaneously. To put things into perspective, suppose that each sixth-floor expert was in charge of a 100-man unit. Depending on the degree of mental control sixth-floor experts could exert, some sixth-floor experts could only get their subordinates to perform simple actions, some could get their subordinates to execute complex maneuvers, and some could get their subordinates to present a fluid synchronized dance, as if they were one body. This feat might appear simple to the casual eye, but to put it into practice was a completely different story. This was especially so for Manifold Executions third stageHundred-as-One. Those capable of performing Manifold Execution to this stage could no longer be regarded as a mortal but a god. Garuda had never heard of anyone reaching this stage, even on the Hundred Race Battlefield. However, Elise did not respond to Garudas question. Maintaining her indifferent expression, she launched the manifested World-Destroying Spear at him. In the blink of an eye, the World-Destroying Spear dispersed the six phantom fists and tore through the fabric of space, creating a starry void that extended tens of thousands of yards into the sky. In the starry void, Garuda, who had transformed into a Sacred Lightning Beast after using his Lightning Beast Sets Tier 7 Profound Skill Lightning Transformation, suffered multiple fractures all over his 10,000-meter-tall body. Additionally, despite having gained the HP of a Tier 7 monster of the same level, he still lost of his 10% HP from Elises attack Even though Ive transformed into a Tier 7 Lifeform, you managed to damage me to such an extent. You truly are a monster, Garuda said. When he saw the decrease in his HP bar, he couldnt help but revise his opinion of Elise. If he hadnt reacted quickly and activated Lightning Transformation in time, Elises Twelvefold World-Destroying Spear would have obliterated both his body and soul. But since youve forced me to use my Tier 7 Profound Skill, this is the end of the line for you, Garuda said, executing Hundred Splitting Fists at Elise once more. With the boost from the Sacred Lightning Beasts Tier 7 Life Rating, Garuda no longer limited himself to executing only a Sixfold Hundred Splitting Fists and executed a ninefold version instead. Immediately, nine meteor-like phantom fists tens of thousands of meters in size rained down on Elise. The power each phantom fist carried was magnitudes greater than before. They were stronger than even Elises Twelvefold World-Destroying Spear. Is he trying to kill us as well?! Morning Echo suspected Garuda had lost his mind when she saw the colossal phantom fists. Hurriedly, she readied herself to activate her Divine Sets Tier 7 Profound Skill should Garudas attack threaten her safety. As Morning Echo prepared for the worst, Elise suddenly turned a page of her black book and split into two perfect copies of herself. Immediately afterward, two twelvefold magic arrays bloomed under the two Elises feet. However, the two twelvefold magic arrays created werent for the Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell World-Destroying Spear but rather the Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell Supernova Destruction. Subsequently, two radiant beams shot out of the twelvefold magic arrays and converged on Garudas phantom fists. The radiant beams erased all of Garudas phantom fists. It even pierced through Garudas body and obliterated one of his arms, causing him to lose over 10% HP Chapter 3950 - Chapter 1024 - Taking Action Chapter 1024 C Taking Action Primordial Ruin, Twilight Fortress: When the radiant beams faded, revealing the outcome of the clash, everyone from the human race and the Holy Race was dumbfounded. They never imagined the clash would end like this. Elise is too strong. Garuda is no match for her whatsoever. Out of everyone from the three races, probably only the mysterious Ink Crystal can compete with her now. No wonder Demons Gate is determined to gain full control over the Twilight Fortress. Elise alone is enough to defeat the experts from the various pseudo-apex powers and the Seven Luminaries Alliance. When I first heard that the Gods Domain Association promoted Demons Gate to a royal power, I thought the Association was bribed to do so! But now, it seems Demons Gates promotion is the real deal! With this, our race finally has its own royal power! Despite Demons Gates terrible reputation in the human races Greater Gods Domain, the experts in the Twilight Fortress grew ecstatic after witnessing Elises strength. The various powers chosen ones even looked at her with admiration. After the start of the war among the three races, the chosen ones of the three races would frequently clash. However, the human races chosen ones had always been suppressed by the Holy Races and the Crystallian races chosen ones. Even when it came to the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List published by the Holy Race, only a few human experts had made it into the top 30. Garudas strength was clear for all to see. He ranked among the top five of the Eternal Chosen One Ranking List. After activating Lightning Transformation and turning into a Sacred Lightning Beast, the aura he exuded surpassed even that of Taboo Bosses. Yet, despite being an existence capable of fighting Primordial Gods, he still lost to Elise. This outcome became a huge motivation to the human experts present. How strong! Hidden Soul exclaimed as she stared at Elises figure. I doubt I can survive that attack, even using Divine Blood and activating my strongest Lifesaving Skill! The third stage! Is this the might of someone at the sixth-floor standards third stage? Lunar River clenched her fists as she stared at Elise. Then, she sighed, No wonder those existences would choose her. But with this, even if we defeat the Holy Race, the subsequent competition over the fortress will be difficult The other sixth-floor experts present also sighed at Lunar Rivers mutterings. No Tier 6 player could survive getting hit by two of Elises Twelvefold Supernova Destructions. If not for Garuda transforming into a Sacred Lightning Beast and becoming a Tier 7 Lifeform, he would have died on the spot. The third stage, is it? Shi Feng was also shocked by Elises display of strength. He never imagined that reaching the sixth-floor standards third stage would enhance ones use of Concentration to such an extent. Most sixth-floor experts could not cast even one Twelvefold Supernova Destruction. Yet, Elise had done so twice simultaneously. The power of her attack could already rival the all-out attack of the Five-Headed Chaos Dragon. While Shi Feng marveled at Elises performance, Daystar and the other Absolute Chosen Ones looked at Elise solemnly. Her strength is simply monstrous. No wonder those existences would choose her, Tyrant Claw said, his voice no longer as relaxed as before. Indeed. Although Ive long since guessed that Garuda wouldnt be able to kill her by himself, I never thought she would be this strong. Daystar nodded, her expression similarly turning serious. It seems we have no choice but to act together. Although Im not keen on this idea, I can tell it is our only choice, Morning Echo said, shrugging at Daystars proposal. Then, Garuda and I will be the vanguard while you guys try to find an opening, Tyrant Claw said, getting ready to join Garuda in tackling Elise. Elise is indeed a good opponent, Fist Emperor said, fighting spirit burning in his eyes as he looked at Elise. However, he quickly turned his attention toward Shi Feng and continued, But before we work together, I still have Black Flame to deal with. Suit yourself, Morning Echo said, laughing at Fist Emperors decision. But can you do it quickly? If youre still not done when we finish dealing with Elise, dont blame us for not cutting you a share of the rewards. Dont worry. Black Flame doesnt have his siege weapon with him. He wont last three moves against me! Fist Emperor said, glancing at Morning Echo. Then, he transformed into a 10,000-meter-tall giant and charged Shi Feng. What a lunatic, Morning Echo said, clicking her tongue when she saw Fist Emperor wasting his Tier 7 Profound Skill without hesitation. The commission to probe Elises strength was a golden opportunity for them to raise their standings in the imperial powers to which they belonged. Yet, Fist Emperor prioritized his revenge on Shi Feng over seizing this opportunity. He even wasted his Skyquake Sets Tier 7 Profound Skill. Fist Emperors Skyquake Set was superior to Garudas Lightning Beast Set. Likewise, its Tier 7 Profound Skill Ancestral Transformation was slightly stronger than the Lightning Beast Sets Lightning Transformation. In the last Hundred Race Battlefield, Fist Emperor even killed over a dozen Tier 7 combatants simultaneously with the help of this Tier 7 Profound Skill. However, in return for granting its user immense power, Ancestral Transformation only had a short duration of one minute, much shorter than Lightning Transformations three-minute duration. Hence, it was only suitable for quick fights. For Fist Emperor to use Ancestral Transformation against Shi Fengsomeone who wasnt even in the top 20 of the Eternal Chosen One Ranking Listwas an absolute waste. It was akin to using a cannon to kill a mosquito. On the other side, the sight of Fist Emperors 10,000-meter-tall frame charging the Twilight Fortress worried the experts in the fortress. Everyone had seen how powerful Garudas Lightning Transformation was. The Sacred Lightning Beast was not an opponent the average Tier 6 player could fight. Even the shockwaves of its attacks were lethal to Tier 6 players. Now that an equally strong giant was charging the fortress, how could they not panic? However, before everyone could return to their senses, Fist Emperors voice suddenly echoed across the battlefield. Black Flame! I have come for your life! Fist Emperors shout prompted everyone in the Twilight Fortress to look at Shi Feng. They never thought one of the Five Absolutes would come after Shi Feng specifically. Hes going straight for Black Flame? Soul Hunter snickered when he saw Fist Emperor throwing a punch straight at Shi Feng. Shi Feng might stand among the apex of the three races as a Tier 7 combatant, but Fist Emperor was currently a Tier 7 Lifeform. There was still a huge gap in strength. Moreover, with Fist Emperors current size, a single punch from him could obliterate everything within a 1,000-yard radius. If Shi Feng chose to evade Fist Emperors punch rather than block it, many Zero Wing members would likely get killed. Dammit! Lunar River, who stood beside Shi Feng, wore a grim expression when she saw Fist Emperors attack. She instinctively reached for the two pitch-black greatswords she carried and leaped forward to defend against the punch. In a one-on-one fight, Lunar River was confident she could last a long time against Fist Emperor, even if he had Ancestral Transformation active. However, Fist Emperors attack had caught her off-guard. If she were to evade or deflect the attack, every non-Divine Set user within the attacks AOE would face only one outcome Soul Annihilation! The members Kings Paradise sent to the Twilight Fortress were its most elite experts. Kings Paradise would be finished if they were permanently killed. However, before Lunar River could block the lightning-fast punch, a figure suddenly appeared before her and blocked the mountainous fist with one hand. Boom! A powerful shockwave spread across the battlefield, pushing all Tier 6 experts within a 1,000-yard radius back over a hundred yards. Even the space within that 1,000-yard radius cracked and nearly shattered. Guild Leader Black Flame? Everyone was shocked when they regained their bearings and saw the source of the shockwave, especially Lunar River. Lunar River was dumbfounded as she stared at Shi Feng, the person hovering before her. With just one hand, Shi Feng caught Fist Emperors mountainous fist. Moreover, he had done so without budging an inch or losing a single HP Chapter 3951 - Chapter 1025 - Tier 7? Chapter 1025 C Tier 7? Guild Leader? Besides Lunar River, Hidden Soul and the others similarly stared at Shi Feng with their mouths gaping and eyes bulging. After transforming into a 10,000-meter-tall giant, Fist Emperor was a bona fide Tier 7 Lifeform. Even though he could only achieve the standard of Gold Holy Arts with his every move in this body, he was still a Tier 7 combatant, a height few across the three races could reach. Yet, Shi Feng had not only withstood a Tier 7 combatants attack head-on but had also done so with just one hand. This situation shattered everyones understanding of the Swordsman class. You! How?! Fist Emperor similarly had not expected Shi Feng to block his attack. Before making his move, Fist Emperor had considered various possibilities as to how Shi Feng would respond to his attack, such as dodging, blocking, or running away. The only possibility he never considered was of Shi Feng stopping his punch with one hand without losing any HP. For a moment, Fist Emperor even suspected his Ancestral Transformation was a sham. Either that or a bug had occurred in the Main God System. He blocked a Holy Ancestors attack with one hand?! How much Strength does he have?! Daystar, Tyrant Claw, and Morning Echo stared at Shi Feng in horror when they saw Shi Feng stopping Fist Emperors attack seemingly effortlessly. They had witnessed Fist Emperors Ancestral Transformation in action before, so they knew how powerful it was. Under normal circumstances, they could only block Fist Emperors punches if they used a Pseudo-Tier 7 Skill. Besides Daystar and the others, Elise and Garuda also paused their fight to stare at Shi Feng, their eyes wide with disbelief. Has he used his Legacy Berserk Skill and Divine Blood already? Elise wondered, her indifference replaced by confusion. An attack from a Tier 7 Lifeform was something even she would need a Pseudo-Tier 7 Spell to counter. The fact that Shi Feng could stop Fist Emperors attack with one hand meant his Strength Attribute had reached a heaven-defying level. As far as she knew, only Zero Wings rumored Divine Blood could let Shi Feng obtain such Strength. During Shi Fengs absence from the Eternal Realm, Zero Wing had relied on Divine Blood and Light of Dawn Magic Bombs to keep its several dozen NPC Cities safe throughout the war. Divine Blood allowed Zero Wings elite experts to match, and sometimes even surpass, Divine Set users of the same level in Basic Attributes, while Light of Dawn allowed Zero Wings members to launch numerous Pseudo-Tier 7 attacks with no Cooldown. Because of this, Zero Wing only needed a few dozen elite experts to firmly defend an NPC City. This, in turn, made Zero Wing famous across the three races. If Shi Feng used Divine Blood and a Legacy Berserk Skill together, it wouldnt be impossible for him to match Fist Emperor in Strength. So what if you can match me in Strength?! You will still die here today! Fist Emperor bellowed as he created over a dozen true doppelgangers and had them simultaneously execute Devouring Shadow, a Peak Gold Holy Art known for enhancing its users Attack Speed to the extremes. Suddenly, Fist Emperor and his doppelgangers transformed into colossal shadows that swept toward Shi Feng, their speed so fast most of the Tier 6 experts present failed to react to them. In response to the colossal shadows approaching him, Shi Feng unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator and lashed out with it. Swords Orbit! The colossal shadows suddenly stopped moving when they collided with the blooming sword lights. A moment later, they even shattered and exploded. Before anyone could figure out what had happened, Fist Emperor and his doppelgangers were sent flying thousands of yards away, their HP bars decreasing by a visible chunk. Impossible! How can you be so fast?! Fist Emperor glared at Shi Feng, his heart full of doubts. The Skyquake Set had two Tier 7 Profound Skills. One of them was Ancestral Transformation, while the other was Myriad Clones. Myriad Clones allowed him to create up to 100 true doppelgangers that had 100% of his current Basic Attributes. Although Fist Emperor could have created 100 true doppelgangers, he limited himself to just 13 true doppelgangers as he could only execute up to 14 instances of Devouring Shadow simultaneously. Nonetheless, 14 instances of Devouring Shadow were more than enough to let Fist Emperor overwhelm Garuda. Even with Lightning Transformation active, Garuda could defend against only four Devouring Shadows at most. Yet, Shi Feng had not only blocked all 14 Devouring Shadows but also damaged Fist Emperor and his doppelgangers. What a monster! Is Black Flame really not in the top 20? Morning Echo exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise when she saw Fist Emperor getting suppressed despite using his trump cards. Fist Emperors Ancestral Transformation was no less powerful than Garudas Lightning Transformation. It even trumped Garudas Lightning Transformation in terms of offensive capabilities. Yet, Shi Feng still handily suppressed Fist Emperor. This made Shi Feng even more terrifying than Elise. Daystar, should we help Fist Emperor first? Or prioritize dealing with Elise? Tyrant Claw asked when he saw things werent looking good for Fist Emperor. Without help, it would only be a matter of time before Garuda and Fist Emperor were defeated. Hence, intervention was necessary. However, if they wanted to kill Elise or Shi Feng quickly, at least four had to work together. Lets help Garuda first. Fist Emperor has his doppelgangers. Even after his Ancestral Transformation ends, Black Flame will have trouble killing him quickly, Daystar said after analyzing the situation. Moreover, our main target this time is Elise. The Twilight Fortress comes second. Tyrant Claw and Morning Echo nodded. Although theyd undoubtedly have to face Shi Feng if they wanted to capture the Twilight Fortress, Elise concerned their future. They naturally had to prioritize dealing with her. However, before the trio could take action against Elise, Shi Feng suddenly flicked the Shadow Incinerator at Fist Emperor. Goddess-ranked Mana Technique, Dark Moon! One Two Three Fourteen Dark Moons appeared in the blink of an eye, slashing at Fist Emperor and his doppelgangers. Although Fist Emperor and his doppelgangers tried their best to block these attacks, their movements simply couldnt keep up with the speed of these Dark Moons. All they could do was watch as the Dark Moons bisected them and ended their lives. Hesdead? Daystars eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Fist Emperor and his doppelgangers collapse one after another. How is this possible?! How can a Tier 7 Lifeform fail to react in time?! Besides Daystar, Garuda and Elise again paused their fight to stare at Shi Feng, their eyes practically falling out of their sockets. What kind of Attack Speed was that?! How did I fail to catch that?! Elise focused on Shi Fengs cloaked silhouette. When she saw that Shi Feng had concealed his information, she used the Peak Identification Skill she learned by chance on him, only to be dumbfounded. Tier7? [Black Flame] (Tier 7, Advanced Sword God, Level 240) Chapter 3952 - Chapter 1026 - Fighting the Ten Royal Powers Chapter 1026 C Fighting the Ten Royal Powers Elises words stunned all those who heard her, especially Garuda. Tier 7 players! This would be a very unfamiliar term for players who had never ventured beyond their respective Greater Gods Domains. However, those who had entered the wider Hundred Race Battlefield would know a little about Tier 7 players. Even so, most chosen ones would never get to associate with Tier 7 players. This was because Tier 7 players were unreachable existences. Even joining a Guild with a Tier 7 player was extremely difficult, let alone coming into contact with one. Shi Feng was nothing more than an up-and-coming genius from the human race. He wasnt even qualified to participate in the Hundred Race Battlefield. Yet, Garuda was now being told that Shi Feng was a Tier 7 player Impossible! How can he be Tier 7?! Garudas eyes turned bloodshot when he saw Shi Feng killing Fist Emperor effortlessly, his mind filled with madness, shock, and doubt. However, despite his refusal to believe Elises words, deep down in his heart, he understood it. With Ancestral Transformation active, Fist Emperor was not an existence Tier 6 players could kill, much less with ease. Shi Feng did not rely on any convoluted techniques or overwhelming force. All he did was perform an attack so fast that not even Fist Emperorafter becoming a Tier 7 Lifeformcould react. Besides Shi Feng being one of the legendary Tier 7 players, Garuda could think of no other explanation for this situation. Dammit! How can he be Tier 7?! On the other side, Daystars mind also fell into disarray after she used a Peak Identification Skill on Shi Feng. Daystar knew Shi Feng well. She was one of the earliest Holy Race players to butt heads with Shi Feng. However, although he could already be considered an expert back then, he was nowhere near the top. Yet, she was now being told that Shi Feng had already been promoted to Tier 7. How could she possibly believe this? Tier 7?! Are you sure youre not mistaken, Daystar?! Morning Echo whispered. Even those three imperial powers havent had a new Tier 7 player appear in their midst in a century! How can someone with barely any information on this matter reach Tier 7?! For chosen ones like themselves, reaching Tier 7 was their lifelong dream. However, even the core members of the three imperial powers had less than a one-in-a-million chance of reaching Tier 7, let alone other players. Theres no mistaking it. My Peak Identification Skill can see through the concealment of even Divine Artifacts, Daystar said, shaking her head. Then, she looked at Shi Feng in the distance with a complicated look and continued, He is indeed a bona fide Tier 7 player. Daystar had already learned how difficult it was to reach Tier 7 through the Hundred Race Battlefield. The fact that the Hundred Race Battlefield had only three imperial powers proved this. What should we do now? Should we continue dealing with Elise and besieging the Twilight Fortress? Morning Echo asked, growing hesitant after hearing Daystars confirmation. The imperial powers commission was of utmost importance. It decided whether they could get promoted to elite members. As for the Twilight Fortress, it was the key to obtaining Level 250-plus Fragmented Divine Artifact Forging Designs, something that could greatly impact the current war among the three races. Have everyone retreat, Daystar sighed. We stand no chance against a Tier 7 player. Retreat? Why should we retreat? Tyrant Claw suddenly said. Staring at Shi Feng, he added greedily, He might have reached Tier 7, but he should have gotten promoted only recently. He hasnt even gotten his weapons and equipment sorted. This is our chance! Despite not having the backing of an imperial power, he managed to reach Tier 7! He must have a huge secret! So long as we kill him, we might get this secret! Are you willing to simply abandon such a golden opportunity?! Tyrant Claws words caused Daystar and Morning Echo to fall into thought, evidently tempted by his words. It was true that Shi Feng was a Tier 7 player. However, Shi Fengs current opponent wasnt limited to just the few of them but over ten million elite experts from the Holy Races royal powers. With such a force, theyd stand a chance against even a bona fide Primordial God, let alone a Tier 7 player. Lets do it! Daystar gritted her teeth, her gaze becoming firm. Inform all royal powers to deploy all their Epic Siege Weapons! Do not hold anything back! So long as we can kill Black Flame and obtain his secret to reaching Tier 7, the Holy Race will be the fourth race in the Hundred Race Battlefield to birth an imperial power! Well stand at the top of Gods Domain! Ill contact the other powers immediately, Morning Echo said, excited by the future Daystar described. On the other side, the majority of the players in the Twilight Fortress were also stunned by how Shi Feng managed to kill Fist Emperor so swiftly. They never imagined that Fist Emperor, one of the Holy Races Five Absolute Chosen Ones, would die to Shi Feng. Guild Leader, what have you been up to during this period?! How did you get so strong?! Even that Fist Emperor couldnt last more than a few moves against you! Youre practically stronger than Elise! Hidden Soul asked, looking at Shi Feng in amazement. Lunar River agreed with Hidden Souls sentiment, and she couldnt help but scrutinize Shi Feng. She felt like she was meeting him for the first time again. Fist Emperor was a sixth-floor expert equipped with the Skyquake Set. He was nigh-invincible among the three races. Under normal circumstances, multiple experts of equal caliber would be needed to kill him. Yet, Shi Feng had eliminated Fist Emperor and his true doppelgangers with what was essentially one attack. This was simply unbelievable. Its nothing. I went to a Promotion Land and was lucky enough to advance to Tier 7, Shi Feng replied truthfully to Hidden Souls barrage of questions. Tier 7? Red Frost looked at Shi Feng as if he were a monster. Nobody from the three races had managed to advance to Tier 7 thus far. To human experts, Tier 7 might as well be an unattainable myth. Yet, Shi Feng had somehow reached it? Before Hidden Soul and the others could ask more questions, ten colossal machines suddenly approached the Twilight Fortress from a distance. The appearance of each machine struck fear into the players in the fortress. Are you kidding me? Ten Epic Siege Weapons? How are we supposed to defend against this? The various powers experts were shocked as they stared at the ten colossal machines hovering in the sky. Normally, even one Epic Siege Weapon was enough to destroy a Holy City. If an Epic Siege Weapon was utilized without regard for cost, it could even force Divine Set users into a temporary retreat in fear of a permanent death. A force of ten Epic Siege Weapons was likely enough to sweep the entire Eternal Realm. It seems the Holy Race is determined to capture the fortress this time, Shi Feng said, similarly astonished as he looked at the ten colossal machines floating in the sky. Guild Leader Black Flame, why dont we retreat for now? Lunar River whispered, looking at the ten Epic Siege Weapons powering up for an all-out attack. If its only to seize the fortress, they wouldnt need to utilize their Epic Siege Weapons strongest attacks, let alone attack with all ten Epic Siege Weapons simultaneously. They are likely doing so to deal with you. Just because Ive only recently been promoted and my equipment is still lagging, they think this is the perfect opportunity to deal with me? As Shi Feng watched the ten Epic Siege Weapons charging up their attacks, his eyes burned with fighting spirit. I have yet to go all out after advancing to Tier 7, so let me try my hand on you! Chapter 3953 - Chapter 1027 - Fame Spreads Across Gods Domain Chapter 1027 C Fame Spreads Across Gods Domain Previously, whether it was his fight against Soul Hunter or Fist Emperor, Shi Feng had only relied on his Basic Attributes and reaction speed to overwhelm them. He never even got to use any of his Tier 7 Legacy Skills. As it happened, the biggest factor differentiating Tier 7 players from Tier 6 players was the different tiers of Skills and Spells they could access. After Shi Feng finished speaking, he jumped into the sky to meet the Epic Siege Weapons and unsheathed the Shadow Incinerator. At the same time, he unleashed his Miniature Abyssal World and spread his World Power, instantly covering hundreds of thousands of yards with it. Immediately afterward, he began condensing his World Power into the Shadow Incinerator. What is with this World Power? How can his World impose a stronger suppression than Teachers? Elise, who was spectating the battle from below, was stunned when a terrifying World Power suddenly enveloped her. As a core member of an imperial power, Elise had the fortune of meeting Tier 7 players. Thanks to her teacher, she even got to experience the full might of a Tier 7 players World Power, which was also the key factor separating Tier 7 players from Tier 6 players. After players reached Tier 7, they could use the World Power generated by their World to provide themselves with an all-around improvement while imposing a terrifying suppression on their opponents. These two effects made it nigh-impossible for those below Tier 7 to resist Tier 7 players. However, even her teachers World Power felt insignificant compared to Shi Fengs. Shi Fengs World Power was so dense that she felt like she was drowning in water. Attack! All Siege Weapons, attack with full force! Tyrant Claw commanded, panicking when he sensed the effect Shi Fengs World Power had on the ten Epic Siege Weapons. Epic Siege Weapons could fight Primordial God-ranked existences largely because their World Domains could resist the Worlds of Primordial God-ranked existences, making them immune to the suppression effects. However, the ten Epic Siege Weapons World Domain failed to counteract the suppression of Shi Fengs World. Furthermore, their energy reserves even started to deplete rapidly. This was not a situation Tyrant Claw had expected. At Tyrant Claws command, all ten Epic Siege Weapons fired their strongest attacks at Shi Feng. The attacks of these Epic Siege Weapons were stronger than even Fist Emperors all-out attack. When all ten attacked together, even a Tier 7 player like Shi Feng shouldnt be able to evade them all. However, Shi Feng never intended to avoid the ten Epic Siege Weapons attacks. When he saw the Epic Siege Weapons launching their attacks, he merely raised the Shadow Incinerator and swung at them. Tier 7 Apex Legacy Spell, Eternal Sword! Suddenly, every player in the primordial ruin was shown a scene they would never forget. A giant sword composed of World Power instantly incinerated the ten Epic Siege Weapons attacks. Then, the entirety of the primordial ruin began turning into an empty void at a rate visible to the naked eye. The sky, the ground, and the oceaneverything disappeared. When the giant sword swept across the ten Epic Siege Weapons, six fell on the spot, while the remaining four suffered near-catastrophic damage, their durability falling to the single digits. As for the players controlling the Epic Siege Weapons, all of them, without exception, suffered Soul Annihilation He erased half of the miniature world? Lunar Rivers pupils dilated as she stared at the unbelievable scene before her. Although the primordial ruin was only a miniature world, the stability of its space surpassed that of the Eternal Realm. Yet, Shi Fengs attack had fragmented over half of this miniature world. It had also destroyed six Epic Siege Weapons, heavily damaged four Epic Siege Weapons, and obliterated 80% of the Holy Races ten-million-strong army. Even the remaining four of the Five Absolute Chosen Ones were erased. Lunar River suspected that even if she were to tell others about this matter, nobody would believe her. The Holy Races ten royal powers were incredibly powerful. Even if the human and the Crystallian races joined forces, they still wouldnt be a match for the ten royal powers. Yet, these royal powers were nothing but a joke before Shi Feng. Two attacks were enough to annihilate all their top and elite combatants. Is this the power of an Advanced World? Shi Feng was also shocked by the destruction he had wreaked on the primordial ruin. None of the Tier 7 Skills he had used in the past had been as strong as Eternal Sword, be it in destructive power or range. However, even if Eternal Sword was a Tier 7 Apex Legacy Spell, it shouldnt be this powerful. After all, Epic Siege Weapons were known to be able to fight Primordial Gods, albeit only ordinary Primordial Gods. Under normal circumstances, the Holy Races Epic Siege Weapons should have been able to put up a good fight against him. Yet, his Eternal Sword had destroyed six Epic Siege Weapons and heavily damaged four. Even if these Epic Siege Weapons didnt have much durability remaining originally, they still shouldnt have fallen to just one attack. The only explanation he could come up with for this situation was his Miniature Abyssal World, an Advanced World constructed using the Five-Headed Chaos Dragons World Structure. It must have drastically enhanced the destructive power and range of his Eternal Sword. Retreat! Everyone, retreat! After the primordial ruin fell into a brief silence, someone among the surviving Holy Race experts called for a retreat. At these words, the remaining one million or so elite experts fled without hesitation, some running while others teleporting away. In less than a minute, the Holy Race army vanished. Following the withdrawal of the Holy Race army, the Zero Wing members in the Twilight Fortress cheered in celebration, all of them chanting the name of Black Flame. Shi Feng had single-handedly defeated the Holy Races ten royal powers, inflicting immense losses. Most importantly, he was a bona fide Tier 7 player. With such a person at the helm of Zero Wing, the Guilds future was immeasurable. The Holy Races royal powers have lost over 80% of their elite experts. After this battle, the Holy Race is unlikely to be a threat in the war anymore, Elder Martial from the Seven Luminaries Alliance said after seeing the Holy Race army retreating. Then, he sighed, I never imagined I would see the human race prosper in the Eternal Realm in my lifetime. Every one of the Holy Races royal powers was a tough opponent for the Seven Luminaries Alliance. They were so powerful that merely protecting the human races current territory in the Eternal Realm was challenging. But now, the Holy Race had become the biggest loser out of the Eternal Realms three races. Indeed. Once the Crystallian race learns of this, I believe they, too, will make the right call, Verdant Rainbow said. Then, she looked toward Shi Feng and smiled. Tier 7! This is truly the surprise of the century! The Nebula Consortium will be petrified once it learns of this! The average player might not understand the significance of Tier 7 players, but Verdant Rainbow knew it well. She knew how much influence even one Tier 7 player could have on a power and a race. Any power gaining a Tier 7 player would instantly be regarded as a top-tier royal power, while a weak race would instantly be regarded as a strong one should they come to have a Tier 7 player. If said power could produce a second Tier 7 player, it would become an imperial power. The first Tier 7 player was considered the most crucial milestone for all powers and races. After all, only Tier 7 players could travel to the deepest parts of the Void Sea and capture Chaos Creatures. If Tier 6 players had easily accessible Chaos Creatures to reference, theyd have a much higher chance of advancing to Tier 7. Furthermore, once a Greater Gods Domain gained a Tier 7 player, other Greater Gods Domains would actively seek to trade with it and pay astronomical prices for their geniuses to receive training there. The Greater Gods Domain with the Tier 7 player would instantly become a trade hub for the dozens or hundreds of neighboring Greater Gods Domains. Subsequently, everything played out as Verdant Rainbow had expected. Half a day after the Twilight Fortress came under Zero Wings management, the Crystallian powers announced their withdrawal from the Eternal Realm. They also offered to pay astronomical prices to have their chosen ones develop in Zero Wing, which made the various human powers jealous of Zero Wing. Of course, despite their jealousy, the various human powers did not shy away from trying to partner with Zero Wing. This situation caused Zero Wing to replace Demons Gate as the human races number one power. As for the Holy Races various powers, they similarly withdrew from the Eternal Realm. They even offered to trade the Hundred Race Battlefields participation slots for the right to trade in the Eternal Realm. Glory Greater Gods Domain: A Holy City existed in the inner area of the Void Sea of the Glory Greater Gods Domain. Groups of Level 240-plus, Tier 6 experts entered and exited the city at all times. If one observed these players, one would find that all these players were chosen ones who rivaled Garuda in strength. These players would be regarded as powerhouses in any Realm. But in this Holy City, these chosen ones behaved no differently from ordinary players. They even merrily discussed how they had a good harvest in the Void Sea and how many Guild Contribution Points they earned today. A woman with dark green skin sat on the top floor of the Holy Citys central tower. After reading the message she just received, the woman tilted her head, the silver crown on her head shifting slightly. Fist Emperor? A Tier 7 expert killed that little fellow? Chapter 3954 - Chapter 1028 - Outside of Gods Domain (Grand Finale) Chapter 1028 C Outside of Gods Domain (Grand Finale) At the crowned womans words, the elven man on the screen before the woman halted his challenge of the World Towers seventh floor. A Tier 7 expert killed that little guy? The elven man with a sapphire embedded in his forehead was surprised. Moon, are you sure youre not mistaken? Setting normal and elite members aside, every executive of our three powers knows Fist Emperor is Remnant Flames newest apprentice. Apart from that madwoman whos always busy pioneering, who would be so bored as to provoke that old man? Madwoman? The woman named Sorrowful Moon chuckled at the elven mans words. Laura is going to have a long chat with you once I tell her about this. Didnt those guys heavily injure her last time? Is she awake already? the elven man asked in astonishment. Do you think she would let herself enter a fully unconscious state? Right before she was heavily injured, she split her consciousness into multiple strands and scattered them. Now, one of those strands has finally returned. Im sure it wont be more than a few days before she wakes up, Sorrowful Moon said nonchalantly. Since its not Laura, which Tier 7 expert did it? the elven man asked. According to my apprentice, the person is called Black Flame, a newly promoted Advanced Sword God, Sorrowful Moon said, looking at the message in her hand. A newly promoted Advanced Sword God? What a brave greenhorn! The elven man laughed. But this also means we finally have a new Tier 7 player. Why hasnt the Association notified us yet? That area is under Enoss jurisdiction. She was probably too caught up in her work to notice, Sorrowful Moon sighed. It seems Ill have to notify her. Since we have a newcomer, does that mean one of us will finally get to go pioneering? the elven man asked excitedly. That will depend on whether you can beat Old Man Flame, Sorrowful Moon said, smiling. Void Sea, Abyss Workshop: Dammit! Why am I the last to find out about this?! Im definitely getting an earful this time! Enos said, panickedly pulling out an ancient silver token after reading the message she had just received. Black Flame? Is it that little fellow from last time? Isnt he from the most recent world Laura pioneered? Its potential is unexpectedly high. After saying so, Enos disappeared from the Abyss Workshop. Eternal Realm, primordial civilization city: Inside the spacious Guild Leaders Office of Zero Wings Residence, Shi Feng sighed repeatedly as he read the reports of Zero Wings progress reports for the past month. Since the battle at the Twilight Fortress, Zero Wing had expanded over a thousand times in size in just one month. Its businesses now covered over half the Eternal Realm, nearly two-thirds of the Primordial Dragon Sanctuary, and several dozen other Realms. Now, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Zero Wing was a behemoth. Additionally, Zero Wing had joined forces with the Seven Luminaries Alliance to bankrupt the mighty Nebula Consortium and acquire the technology to produce Stardew. Now, Zero Wing no longer lacked Stardew. Thanks to this virtually unlimited supply of Stardew, Zero Wings core executives made rapid progress, increasing the number of sixth-floor experts under the Guilds command to 40. Gentle Snow and Aurebeth, who later joined Zero Wing, even reached the sixth-floor standards third stage. Once their Concentration reached the Pseudo-Tier 7 standard, hed simply need to capture a Chaos Creature for them to study, and theyd have a chance to advance to Tier 7. This would have been an unimaginable situation for Zero Wing in his previous life. My equipment is still lacking. Otherwise, I couldve captured a Chaos Creature this time, Shi Feng thought, recalling his recent expedition to the Void Seas depths. In the past month, Shi Feng had undone another of the Shadow Incinerators seals and evolved the Winter of Eternal Night into a top-tier Divine Artifact by merging it with Solomons Sword, which he had reconstructed after gathering its fragments. However, as he lacked the Flame Dragon Gods Legacy, he could only utilize a portion of the Flame God Sets potential. This prevented him from capturing a Chaos Creature from the Void Sea. After all, the Chaos Creatures roaming the Void Sea moved in groups of a dozen or more. My next priority should be to upgrade my equipment. Either that or elevate my Miniature Abyssal World into a Peak World. That way, I should be able to capture an ordinary Chaos Creature by myself. Capturing even the weaker powerful Chaos Creatures shouldnt be a problem. Shi Feng knew the potential of Zero Wings current core executives. Apart from Gentle Snow and Aurebeth, individuals like Hidden Soul, Fire Dance, Wordless Ember, Phoenix Rain, Fervent Samsara, and Red Frost also had a chance of advancing to Tier 7. They only needed sufficient equipment standards and Chaos Creatures to reference. While Shi Feng was in thought, the space within his office suddenly distorted. In the blink of an eye, a silver-haired female elf appeared before him, her presence stagnating the space and time in the primordial civilization city. Out of everyone in the city, only Shi Feng was barely unaffected by this female elfs presence. What a powerful World! Shi Feng inwardly exclaimed. He could barely extend his Advanced World past his body in the presence of Enoss World. Enoss World was clearly of a much higher rank than his. Not bad for a newcomer. Youve just been promoted to Tier 7, yet youve already grasped an Advanced World. It even has such a high compatibility. Are you sure youre not some old fellow in disguise? Enos said, scrutinizing Shi Feng as if she was looking at a little monster. Lady Enos, may I know what brings you here? Shi Feng asked curiously. I have business with you, and very important at that, Enos said. But this isnt the place to talk. After saying so, Enos tapped the ancient silver token in her hand on the floor, causing space and time to distort once more. A minute later, a three-meter-tall stone door popped into existence. Shi Feng could feel the stone door was astronomically heavy as he looked at it. It was so heavy that the entire Eternal Realm buckled under its weight. If you want to know what Gods Domain is, follow me, Enos said, pushing open the door. Then, she entered the door and disappeared from the office without waiting for Shi Feng to reply. What is Gods Domain? Shi Feng wryly smiled as he followed Enos through the door. Many people had wondered what Gods Domain was. Many also knew Gods Domain wasnt just a simple virtual reality game. After all, the game had the incredible ability to continuously develop the brains of its players. If given the opportunity to learn about Gods Domain, he doubted anybody would miss it. After Shi Feng crossed the stone door, his vision suddenly darkened, as if he had lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted by a scene that dumbfounded him. The place he was at was a small data center. Countless strings of data flowed around the data center at all times, and at the center of this data center was a holographic projection that displayed several lines of data. Ember 06749Successfully connected to Data Exchange Center 106. Remaining Energy: 92% Controllable Engineering Mechas: 12 Damaged Engineering Mechas: 8 Constructable Bio-Bodies: 31 Qualified Engineering Mecha Pilots: 1 After reading the displayed data, Shi Feng quickly discovered that he wasnt a physical body but a holographic projection. What is this place? Shi Feng asked, staring at Enos, who stood beside him as another holographic projection. Gods Domain! Enos answered. It is also where you and your friends have been living. Are you saying that we are all fake? Shi Feng asked, his expression contorting. Even the real world Ive been living in is simulated? Hold it. None of you are artificial intelligence. You simply had your consciousness uploaded before the Great Destruction consumed our planet, Enos said, soothing Shi Fengs unstable emotions. However, while traveling to this new planet, the evacuation pods suffered damage and crashed all over the new planet. After crashing, some evacuation pods remained in hibernation, some became active, some were awakened by others, and some were destroyed. The consciousnesses transported by these evacuation pods also suffered memory loss of varying extents. To prevent further memory corruption, the evacuation pods have suppressed parts of your memories while you safely reside in Gods Domain. However, as each evacuation pod has limited storage, consciousnesses without sufficiently strong mental strength will have their memories in Gods Domain wiped periodically and given a fresh start. As these evacuation pods are meant to rebuild human civilization, they come with all the necessary equipment to do so, including machines to rebuild your physical bodies, Enos said. Then, she pointed at the central display and continued, However, whether it is reconstructing a body or manipulating those mechas, you will need great mental strength and willpower. The minimum requirement is to reach Tier 7 in Gods Domain. You are a lucky one. Your pod has only been active for a short time, so it still has plenty of energy. You have enough time to learn how to pilot these mechas. You can even reconstruct your body if you so desire. However, this planet isnt particularly safe. Before you are sufficiently strong, its best not to waste your resources reconstructing a body. On that note, every evacuation pod has limited energy reserves. You must find an external energy source if you dont want your pod to return to hibernation. Fortunately, there are many wrecked migration spacecraft outside. New wreckages are also being added every day, so you shouldnt have difficulty finding more energy if you are careful. This evacuation pod is undoubtedly a lucky one, as it has you. According to the Associations regulations, you will have full rights to this evacuation pod, as you are the first Tier 7 player to come from it. However, the Association cannot help you much at the moment. If you want to live well on this planet, the Association recommends that you train as many new Tier 7 players as possible so that it will be safer to conduct activities outside. Additionally, everything Ive just told you is restricted to Tier 7 players, so dont share it with anyone else. Now, good luck, and may the embers burn forever! After saying so, Enos disappeared from Ember 06749, leaving Shi Feng staring at the real world around him in a daze. Rebuilding civilization? When Shi Feng looked up at the starlit sky displayed on the evacuation pods ceiling, he saw sporadic glimmers of light streaking across the night sky. Upon closer inspection, he found that each of these glimmers was a gigantic spacecraft. However, for some reason, these spacecraft were falling out of the sky like meteors. Evidently, Enos wasnt lying to him when she mentioned new wreckages appearing from time to time. Im going to have to sort out my plans in Gods Domain. After staring at the night sky for some time, Shi Feng heaved a sigh and instructed the evacuation pod to return him to Gods Domain. ~The End~ TL Notes: Firstly, I cannot promise the last part of this chapter is 100% accurate. The raws felt hastily written, and the terms and descriptions used are vague, so I had no choice but to take some creative liberties, specifically the our planet part. Raws simply wrote the planets Great Destruction.